LITERARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 36, 10 February 1906, Page 10

LITERARY.

Whitaker's Almanac "or 1906 maintains its position as one of the most useful works of reference issued from the British press. It is replete with information, corrected up to the latest date, upon an immense variety of subjects of public interest and importance. In his preface the editor calls special attention to the concise account of the Indian Empire, followed by articles concerning the British colonies, with statistical tables showing their progress, and the principal foreign countries. Notable features are also the "Political History of the World in 1904-5," an epitome of the military and educational systems of the world, and a paper on geographical progress. There are admirable retrospects of sport, railway, shipping and trade statistics, property sales during the year, army and navy lists, exhaustive, directories, and an immense amount of other matter on many subjects with regard to which inquiries are being constantly made. Whitaker's Peerage for 1906 brings up the roll of the aristocracy to the latest date. To the average man this book serves all the purposes of the elaborate and costly volumes which are devoted to this subject. There is a general tendency to extend the details, so that now the titles and pedigrees of the members of the peerage are given fully, while the most essential facts, concerning baronets, knights, and men of lesser rank are set out. The hook nor contains 724 closely printed pages. "Cassell's Magazine" for January introduces several new and attractive features. Among the most notable, perhaps, are two coloured, reproductions of works of eminent artists—Turner's "Fighting Temeraire" and Goodali's "A New Light in the Harem." The second instalment of H. Rider Haggard's new African story, "Benita," is introduced by a synopsis, which enables readers who missed the opening chapters to continue the tale. Miss Marie Corelli contributes a paper, in which she endeavours to prove that "Right and wrong are actual laws—immortally existent—above your view, my view or anyone else's view." Of more interest to the average reader than Miss Corelli's pose as a moral philosopher are several excellent stories by Robert Barr, W. Pett Ridge, W. B. Maxwell and other popular writers. Among the articles is an appreciative account of the author of "Quo Vadis," with photographs of the author and his family. The "Windsor Magazine" for January contains no fewer than twenty-eight of the clever "Vanity Fair" cartoons, reproduced in colour. A very fine selection from the works of Mr James Sant, R-A., illustrates the art of that eminent Academician, Mr. E. F. Benson contributes a humorous sketch, entitled, "The Superannuation Department, 1945." The second instalment of "Ulysses McLeod," by Justus Miles Forman maintains the promise of an entertaining series. There are short stories by Robert Barr and L. G. Moberley and Arthur Hem ing, while Mr. Anthony Hope's novel, "Sophy of Kravonia." has already made the career of the enterprising Sophy a subject of literary concern. Mr. Herbert Paul, who has been selected to stand as one of the Liberal candidates for Northamptonshire (vice Mr. H. Labouchere), is the well-known journalist and historian.' He was formerly leader-writer on "The Daily News." Latterly he has devoted himself to historical and biographical literature, and achieved marked success. He sat in Parliament during the last Liberal Government's brief term of office. As a writer of bright and wholesome stories Mr. Henry Ha rland has won a large constituency of readers in England and America. He has died at San Remo at the age of forty-four. Mr. Harland was American by birth, but had lived mostly in Europe. He was educated in Rome and Paris, but went to Harvard to take his degree. He besran his literary life in New York by writing sensational novels under the name of Sidney Luska. Fifteen years ago he dropped sensationalism, returned to Europe, and devoted himself to the production of stories of real artistic merit. He hit on the idea of "The Yellow Book." a quarterly in which, under his editorship, a brilliant band of writers and artists "cam? to their own"with works of a highly original and often revolutionary character. Mr. Harland's "Grey Roses' and "Comedies and Errors" won him the favour of the "fit though few." In 1900 appeared "The Cardinal's Snuff-box." dainty and sunshiny, and it established him as a popular favourite. Since then be published 'The Lady Paramount" and "My Friend Prospero" in the same light and piquant style. He had finished, it i a believed, an important new novel. He had been ill for a long time. Mr. Harland claimed to be a "dormant" baronet, as a direct descendant of Admiral Sir R- Harland, who emigrated to America in 1770. A prominent local bookseller states that the largest circulation of any copyright work is that of "Enquire Within Upon Everything." There have been no less than a million and a quarter copies of this book sold. "East Lynne" enjoys the largest circulation of any copyright work of ficlion, nearly half a million. In 1537, Tennyson's "Poems by Two Brothers" was published. This holds the record for being the earliest published copyright work. The thickest single volume in print is the "Catalogue of Current Literature," which measures ton and a-half inches from cover to cover. The longest life in any dictionary of Biography is Mr. Sidney lee's "Life of Shakespeare," which fills fifty pages of the Dictionary of National Biography. The largest number of volumes in any single series is the Bohn Library of 770 books. The most expensive English scientific work is the story of the "Challenger" voyage. This is told in fifty volumes, costing a sum of over £100/100. Mr. George Meredith's brilliant "Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit" has appeared in the fine pocket edition of Mr. Meredith's works, published by Messrs. A. Constable & Co. Among other things, Mr. Meredith's essay is a plea for better public taste in the choice of plays. 'The pig," he says, "supplies the most popular of dishes, but it is not accounted the most honoured of animals, unless it be by the cottager," and he looks forward to the day "when the cottager's view of the feast shall cease to be the humble one of our literary critics.-*.' Mrs. Max MuDer has done a good service in compiling an "aftermath" from the writings of her late husband, the result being a valuable and suggestive volume which Messrs. Constable & Co. publish under the title of "Thoughts on Life and Religion.'* The book is small enough to be carried in the pocket, and for reading in moments of leisure or of depression it meets a need felt by many. The keynote is optimism, and on every page there is some solid thought en which ttO-t oo—_____Xl KB MH-BQlßdn

The Rev. James Marchant has undertaken to write the official life of the late Dr. Barnardo, with whom he was in close touch for twenty years. Professor James Clark, of the Technical College, Truro, gave an address in his native town of Hawick on the ideals of an educative system. He remarked that if there was a curse in education greater just now than before, it was that of books. They did not want so many books They wanted teachers with more leisure, with better training and more insight. What they ought to educate abrwelverything else were the senses. By nature study they had a great corrective to bookstudy. As an examiner of many thousands of examination papers he was bound to tell them that most of the failures were due to the fact that the candidate was incapable of using English as a means to an end. They wanted also to bring the hand into co-relation with the eye, and every child should have a certain amount of manual instruction. They tried to educate all in the same way, which was a great misfortune. They should as far as possible not fit the student ta the curriculum, but fit the curriculum to the student. An entry relating to Shakespeare has been discovered by Sir Henry MaxwellLyle and Mr. Stevenson, of the Public Record Office, in one of the household account books of the Earls and Dukes of Rutland kept at Belvoir Castle. The entry is: 1613. it, -Sft '"V " Marti V' t° Mr. Shakespeare in gold about my Lorde's impre_o, xliUisto Hiehard Burbage for payntiug and making yt, in gold xliiijs.—iiij 11 viijs." The cryptic entry is explained by Mr. Sidney Lee in "The Times." An "impreso"—properly "impresa" was a hieroglyphical or pictorial design, in miniature, which suggested some characteristic quality or experience for the person for whom it was devised, usually wigji the addition of a short motto. The sixth Earl of Rutland was a patron of poetry and the drama, and it is assumed that he sought the assistance of Shakespeare and his colleague Burbage, who was painter as well as ac*or, in designing an 'impresa' for the shield, weapons and armour with which he made a brave show before the Court at Whitehall in a tilting match on Lady Day, 1613. Shakespeare at this time had retired to Stratford-on-Avon as a gentleman of substance. Only last October Mr. E. W. Wallace, of "Nebraska University, found in the Public Record Office mention of William Shakespeare as one of the plaintiffs in a Chancery suit of 1615 relating to the ownership of property in Blackfriars. Rev. C. W. Gordon—better known as "Ralp Connor"—is devoting some of tbe royalties he derives from his stories to encouraging the Institutional Church Movement in Canada, He promises £100 to every Presbyterian church in British Columbia and Alberta, which will organise an Institutional Church and raise £300 for the purpose. The Jewish origin of Jules Verne, denied by his son. has, the "Jewish World" states, been established. In the "Gazeta Novodowa," Warsaw, a correspondence has taken place, which shows that Jules Verne was originally called Olsezewics, and was born of Jewish parents, in Plock, Russian Poland- He left the country, turned Christian, and adopted the name of Verne.