LITERARY NOTICES.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9359, 7 March 1896, Page 4

LITERARY NOTICES.

We have already had occasion lo speak in 6 ertns of high praise of Mr William Heine- m nann's Empire Library of Standard Works. ■ B L'wo new volumes are now to hand, which B >ught to strengthen the claims of the series S in the public fivour. They are the g ' Romance of an Empress " (Catharine 11. H >f Russia), aud the " Story of a Monaroli," » lealing with the name remarkable person- X ige. Both volumes are translations from M ,h. French of K. Walisz-wski. Byron's ffi iso&r.e epigram uu Catharine —hardly quot« M Able nov»___ya—really sums up what there . « is to be said about her character. The X shameless scandals of her private life, her , m intellectual ability, her patronage of Voltaire, ug. Diderot and other French philosophers, hei f iriuniphß of military conquest, all make up a combination quite unique in history. The title ot the "Semiramis of the North," • which is often given to her, suggests the nearest parallel it we ransack the legendary to find her like. Nsedless to say, the story of her life is full of interest, and it hua never been told iv nuch detail before. M, Waliszdwski has had the advantage of consuiting the volumes published by thi Russian Imperial Historical Society and ■ , number of documents iv the Suato urohivet in Russia aud Frauce, which are quite out - of ordinary reach. He deals ■ with the •■'■ Empress as he finds her, auy with an unsparing hand. One consequence of hu fearlessness is that the boons have been forbidden to be circulated iv Russia—a /act that will not make them any the less interesting or acceptable to English readers. ,' iluougn Mr Fountain Barner we have received* from MoH.rs Ward; i_ock, ana Bowden, Loudon and Melbourne, some of : tho latest ventures in up-to-date faction - published by that enterprising firm. 1»« ;- volumes of the dainty "Nautilus ' senw :\; first attract attention—their shape and . get up being very inviting. One, 'A .-;■. Comedy of Honour," by Mora Vynne, II & an amusing little lovo »tory, the plotot-,.'. which hangs on the somewhat lamilar ~,* dcv.c. of eugagiug two girls to the wrong.-.£ young men, aud at the same time making. 1 them fall in love with ths right oues. J hope we have made our meaumg dear ; tt,;v 1 not all we can say is that our readers will g:| derive much amusement by following,the - r rM complications for themselves m the boofc. ?t. , " A Late Awakening," by Maggie Swanu, if cast in a much more tragic vein. A grave, ; , «• bookish " clergyman, of over forty, owrte*. ,- in a moment ot impulse, a bright, pretty, -. and, if the truth must be confessed, n« cver J; intellectual eirl of twenty—the .poiluoUW. : of an old friend who died leaving her to . ; the vicar's care. As may be imagiuea, aw ' union turns out a very uubappy one. •»» story is very pathetically told. # A novel which excited groat mtawr* when it passed through ihaWindsorMagarm „ —" A Bid for Fortune," by Guy iiootbby- > is now to be had in Messrs Ward, Look *a 4 , 1 Bowden's Colonial Library. It deals wiw ■/ the adventures, or rather .machinations, o\ ; a certain Dr. Nikola, a highly W» te ™?t .' personage, with a strong flavour of JM: Supernatural about him, who manages^» , exercise a very malign influence on *»•«£ of those who unfortunately become W. - objects of His attention. The interest rt the story, in spite of its improbabilities, » kept up with great Skill. •»»» #._-,_ The of Martin Hewitt (same library), by Arthur Morrison, are a eenw of detective sketches of the fihrfo* Holmes type. They are of exciting uttJJ md highly ingenious. The author ...«*« . ase not only of the ordinary xutn<»oiwol crime, but in the volume « d « »° *,£ morbid pathology and gipay folk tore to bw aid to heighten the mystery of his v*™**" , Wonder has often been expressed that no ~ _:»-_^«S_^ _»ni-«>d with what seems to be a /cry .«"- ul " Benteu witn w» d BUrroan d in gs of picture of the habits a the Irish peasantry. x ""~ ™ . n0 _■ oocupi- . very tag. •_» oS tl» -t-t>o» OS.A., is a slirnng book of adventore, r deaiiog with frontier »i,e in *t.Far WjJ What with cowboys, soldiers, *°^ h f ££ Indians there is no lack of exoitiug *»« , ~ ST.-d the book should bjjanj * favourite with boys as well « «•