LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND THE DRAMA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7383, 18 July 1885, Page 4 (Supplement)

LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND THE DRAMA.

The entire literature of Abyssinia, it is ((aid, does not include more than one hundred volumes, The correspondence of Peter the Great ia to be published. Eight thousand letters have been collected. The International Musical Congress at Antwerp, which promises to be of exceptional importance, is to sit from the Sth to the 11th of next August. The French pitch has been officially adopted in Belgium, and all military bands and institutions receiving subventions from the State have been ordered to use it. "Russia's Warning," is the title of a book which Mr. Hubert E. H. Jerningham has in band. It is an attempt to bring together faots relating to the Anglo-Russian question. Mrs. Harrison's (Lucas Malet) new story, " Colonel Euderby's Wife," has boon published. Like its predecessor "Mrs. Loriuicr," it deals chiefly with the habits of a village community. Messrs. Kcgan Paul and Co. are the publishers. It may interest the readers of the two greater illustrated papers to hoar that the story for the Illustrated London News at the beginning of next year, will be written by Mr. Payn, and that Mr. Christie Murray will contribute the story to the Graphic. The largest organ in the world was recently completed by Walck, of Ludwigsburg, aud placed in the cathedral church of Riga. The instrument measures ,S6 feet in width, 32 feot from back to front, and 65 feet high. It contains 6526 pipes, distributed among 114 sounding stops. During a recent performance at San Francisco, Miss Emma Nevada placed a laurel wreath round Sijjnor Arditi's neck, and attached to the wreath was a diamond ring and a letter, in which tho prima donna ■aid she would never forget the kindness shown her by the rn»3tro on the occasion of her debut five years ago. Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. will publish immediately for English readers Commander Schley and Professor Soley's account of " The Rescue of Greely." Since the time of the literature of the Franklin search expeditions, no such thrilling account of Arctic experiences and adventures has been printed. The Clarendon Press will publish immediately a work on "The European Concert in the Eastern Question, , ' in which Professor Holland has collected and annotated tho treaties and other documents which aro the official record of the action of tho great Powers with reference to the Ottoman Empire. Messrs. Putnam announce "Man's Birthright ; or, the Higher Law of Property," by Mr. Edward H. G. Clark. The work is described ae an attempt to reconcile the natural right of each generation to the ownership of the surface of the earth, and the bounty of nature with the claims and proper requirements of individual ownership, including a demonstration of the inadequacy of tho theories of Mr. Henry George. Many of the London composers arc, not without reason, annoyed by the fact that raußio was so poorly represented at tho opening of the Inventions Exhibition, the day's performance being by military bands exclusively. Serious difficulties in regard to the proposed brass band competition have arisen, and it ia probable that this part of tho exhibition scheme will have to be abandoned. Mr. George Fry, F.L.S., inventor of tho system of sweet ensilage, which is declared by some authorities to be "the ensilage of the future," has written a book iu which he describes his system, gives instructions na to carrying it out, and recounts his experience and the results of careful investigations into the physiology and chemistry of ensilage. The book will bo ready in May, and will be published by the Agricultural Press Company, London. Severals works of fiction are promised soon. Miea M. Grant has a novel in the Press called " Cara Roma," a tale of love at Rome. Messrs. F. Warne and Co., are about to publish a novelette by .Mr. J. M. Cobban, author of "The Cure of Souls," which was received with so much favour a few years ago. It is called " Tinted Vapours ; a Lancashire Mystery," and gives a view of Lancashire life and industry. Mr. Redway will publish a novel called "A Regular Pickle," by Mr. Henry W. Nesfield, the author of "A Chequered Career."'