LITERARY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2433, 31 October 1900, Page 64

LITERARY NOTES.

— Messrs Longmans, Green, and Co. will shortly publish a life of the late Di James Martineau. The biographer Avill be Mr A. "W. Jackson, M.A.

— Messrs Methuen announce that they have taken over the publication of Mr W. W. Jacobs's two very popular books, "Many Cargoes " and "Sea Urchins."

— A book that has had a great sale in America is called "A Furnace of Earth." Mr Grant Richards announces it for publication in England. The Avriter is Miss Hallie Erminie RiA'es.

— Messrs Maemillan and Co. are preparing an illustrated edition of "Elizabeth and Her German Garden." The book has been a striking success, the sale up to the present being OA'er 20,000 copiee.

— The second edition of Mr J. C. Ken.- j Avorthy's book, "The Anatomy of Misery," Avith ail introduction by Count Tolstoi and a new preface, and an appendix of correspondence with Dr Alf. Russel Wallace, -will be issued shortly. >

— Messrs Archibald Constable ami Co. will, shortly publish a new edition of the "Paston Letters," in which the separate prefaces and introductions to the three volumes by Mr Gairdner will be superseded by a general preface and a general introduction in a volume by itself.

• — The autobiography of the late Duke of Argyll, which is being edited by his wicloav, Avill probably make its appearance in the autumn. Some of the best letters written by Tennyson were those addressed by him to the Duke.

— Mr T. Edgar Pemberton has just finished a '.monograph on Bret Barte, f or Jareeniiy*

and Co.'s "English Writers of To-day" series* and Mr Theodore Wratislaw is noAv putting the final touches to his study of Algernon Charles Swinburne for the same series. — A volume from the pen of the late Mr H. D. Traill is announced by Messrs Archibald Constable as in the press. Under the title of "England, Egypt, and the Soudan," Mr Traill has given a comprehensive resume of the latter-day history of the country front the time of Mehemet AH to the death of "the Khalifa.

— The Golden Penny has secured the first story by Mr Hall Came Avhich Avill hav^ appeared since "The Christian." It is a short serial of great dramatic poAver, entitled "Jan the Icelander," and its publication will begin in the autumn.

—Mr Fisher Unwin is publishing a neAV edition' of Professor R. K. Douglas' b book on China, which. was. written for the "Story of the Nations" series.- This history has been brought thoroughly up to date by the addition of a new chapter which dealst with the present state of affairs in China and the events which produced them, and also by the addition of neAV illustrations.

— Australia is not a literary country, but it has produced a number of men who have done their best to express it in prose and verse— especially, perhaps, verse, ior it has many vigorous singers. The best of Australia's national poets — as distinguished from private poets — i& Mr Henry Lawson, Avho is piobably also her best prose writer. His \crse is contained in a volume entitled "In the Days When the World Was Wide " and his prose in "While the Billy -Boils." Mr LaAvson, who was on the Sydney Bulletin, as all the recent individual Australian writers have been, has not settled in England Avith the purpose of leading a literary life there. — An interesting book; of travel, to appear this autumn, is the account of the Antarctic Expedition of the Belgica, written by the only English-speaking member of the creAv, Mi 1 Frederick A. Cook, who accompanied the expedition as surgeon, anthropologist, and photographer. The book Avill be very elaborately illustrated from photographs, the first taken of the regions explored, and ib also contains Eome coloured plates showing, among other things, the extraordinary colour and light effects obserA'ed. Mi ' Heinemamt is the publisher.

—Mr Newbolt, Avho is to edit the neAV Monthly RevieAv, first came to the front as the author of the booklet called "Admirals All." This was in the autumn of 1897; but, rather more than tAvo years previously, Mr Newbolt had published a tragedy called VMordved." "Mordred," again, had been preceded by a little story from Mr Newbolt's pen, entitled "Taken From the Enemy" (1892), one of Messrs Chatto's series of "Handy Novels." In 1898, it Avill be remembered, came "The Island .Race," a volume of. verse which included "Admirals All" ; and it is to Mr Newbolt that Aye OAve the "Stories from Froissart," published by Wells Gardner last year. These embody all Air NeAA'bolt's acknowledged contributions to literature up till now.

— New editions of Heine's poems, and especially of his "Bueh der Lieder," continue to appear. "~ Messrs Dent and Co. have now joined the Londoixpublishers who cater for the ii.ero&fcing number of Heine readers in England. The littJe volume (Containing '"JDas Bueh der Lieder," Avhich they have just jbaties,. is admirable for its handy size, its dainty cover, and, above all, for its admirably clear type. Of course, the poenia are -in the original Geiman, for who would read Heine in an English translation, and who, indeed, is there to translate the often untranslatable.

— When that delightful book, "Elizabeth and Her German Garden," appeared in the spring of 1898 there was no end to the questioning of reviewers and readers. Who could Elizabeth be? How had she gained that wholesouled love of Nature, that almost religious passion for her "careless-ordered garden"? Whence came her exquisite literary sense? Thore" was no answer to these and other questions, which were renewed last year on the appearance of "A Solitary Summer," by the .same Avriter. One fact only was declared. Elizabeth was an Englishwoman married to a German landowner. But now the identity of Elizabeth is disclosed. According to the NeAV York Critic, she is none> other than the beautiful Princess ■ Henry of Pless, nee Miss CoriiAvallis-We»£, the sister of Mr George Cornwallis-West, Avho married 1 . Lady Randolph Churchill the other day. Her German garden is on the Prince's estates in Pomerania, on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

— Perhaps the most epoch-making of all expeditions into the interior of Africa was that Avhich traversed wastes previously impassable to Europeans. This expedition " Avas led by William Cotton OsAvell, of whom Judge Hughes (Ayith whom he Avas at Rugby under Arnold) said : '"Without his help "Livingstone could never have crossed the Kalahari Desert." Oswell was one of the pioneers of our Empire in South Africa, and received the gold medal from the French Geographical institution for his discoA'ery.of Lake Ngami. His life, written by his son, W. E. Oswell, and illustrated with many original drawings and photographs, will be published shortly by Ml- Heinemann, and at the present moment, Avhen we are actively engaged in building up a great Commonwealth, this record of his adventurous and patriotic career ought to find many readers. — Messrs Maemillan and Co. are-bringing-out the very interesting book on "Profitsharing between Employer and Employee," by Mr Nicholas Payne Gilman, which has attracted much notice in America in the last ten years. Mr Gilman warmly advocates profit-sharing, as the most promising and equitable method of settling the A^exed questions of the modern industrial world. Tracing the history of the remuneration of labour from the primitive days of product-sharing to the payment of Avages in money, he shoAvs the false logic of those who condemn the whole Avages system as wrong, and seek to supersede it by co-operation. A gradual evolution appears to him more hopeful than a sudden change. Moreover the sharing of profits, Avhile increasing the Avorkman's interest in his Avork, alloAVs due poAver to the skilled manager, Avhereas co-operation has always shoAvn an irrational jealousy of direc tion by the superior intelligence. Mr Gilman bases his arguments on a careful study ofi all the exepriments made in Europe and America. He gives a long account of Leclaire, the "father of profit-sharing," and! of the still flourishing house-painter's business founded by him in 1842. France claims the largest share of profit-sharing firms, and! the most successful; the United States holds the second place. A carefully tabulated list giA*es "valuable information as to the number of profit-sharing firms in every country, with their varying methods of payment in cask or annuity, and a second table gives the list' of firms Avho have tried the experiment and failed. Readers must be referred to the book for the vea&ons in each case of success or failure, which are set out in a full, clear, and 1 Aery interesting manner. It is an excep,tionally readable contribution to economia