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Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1605, 7 February 1873, Page 3

here as a dramatist than a novelist; eome'of his works having been represented at times on our unpretending stages. His splendid drama " The Lady of Lyons," and the witty comedy " Richelieu," have been frequently applauded by an enthusiastic New Zealand public. We will briefly mention "The Duchess of La Valliere"; "The Sea Captain"; "Money"; a drama imitated from the French comedy V Sonneur et V argent of Ponsard; and last,.but nob least, "Not so bad as we seem," a very *. humorous comedy in five acts, written for "amateur performance in 1851. Not content with using the mask of Thalia, Lord Lytton took in hand the scourge of the satirist and wrote "England and the English"; " Letters to John Bull, Esq.," whfeh obtained an immense success, and passed through ten editions; and " The New Tiinon," a satire of modern London, It is with regret that wo are compelled, through want of apace, to pass rapidly over productions of great merit, and deserving of more attention than can be given to a mere nomenclature. The three lasfc books which we have yet to speak of are sufficient, in our opinion, to entitle their author to the gratitude of posterity, on account of the erudition they evince, and the philosophical spirit which dictated them. " Athens, its rise and fall," a book worthy to be put on a parallel with " Dcs eausss de la grandeur et de la Decadence dcs Bomains," of Montesquieu; " The Lost tales _of Miletus," a literary gem; and " Historical Beview of the Btate of Europe at the accession of Queen Victoria." We must Dot forget to cite his admirable translation of the poems and ballads of Schiller, one of the best extant. At 26 years of age Lord Lytton entered into political life, and sat in Parliament as member for St. Ives, in the Liberal interest. He was not re-elected, and kept himself aloof for a period of many years, during which his political opinions altered, aud it j was as a Conservative that he was returned to the House of Commons in 1852, by one of the Boroughs of the County of Herts. In ] 858, Lord Derby gave him a seat in his Cabinet with the portfolio of Secretary of State for the Colonies. ' British Columbia and Queensland were added to the Colonial empire under his administration. Lord Lytton retired from office in 1859, and after an interval of seven years he was called by her Majesty to the House of Lords, as a reward * for his literary and political services. His Lordship may be classed amongst the most accomplished writers and orators of the present century. '; He died in harness at the age of 67, after 52 years of various, successful, and lucrative authors Hip."