LITERARY NEWS.

Mr. Murray has in the press "The Census and the Church-rate : a charge," by the Archdeacon of Barnstaple; and a new " Life of William Pitt," by Earl Stanhope.

" Political Ballads of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries," edited by Mr. W. Walker Wilkins, are announced as forthcoming by Messrs. Longman and Co.

The same publishers are preparing " Collier, Coleridge, and Shake- speare : a review," by Dr. Ingleby • and a volume of Sermons, by the late Reverend J. T. Boone, incumbent of St. John's, Paddington.

Messrs. Hurst and Blackett announce for appearance in the first week of August, Captain Langley's "Narrative of a Residence at the Court. of Meer Ali Moored, with Wild Sports in the Valley of the Indus," in two volumes, with illustrations.

A new novel by the Honourable C. Stuart Saville, entitled " Night and Day," is to be shortly published by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett; who also announce "The Road to Honour," a novel, in three volumes.

An "Histoire de Catherine II." in two volumes, by E. Jauffret ; and a new work by M. Horn, entitled " Liberte et Nationalites," are an- nounced by M. Dentu, Paris.

Messrs. Didier and Co., Paris, are preparing an " Histoire de la Maison de Savoie," by the Princess Belgiojoso; and "Les Toccoa," a series of contemporary biographies, by the Marquis de Belloy.

A fourth edition de luxe of M. Victor Hugo's " Legende des Siecles," and a volume of historical sketches, entitled " Histoires d'il y a Vingt Ans," by Mane—Theeel—Phares (the nom de plume of the feuilletonist of the Independance Belge)—are announced by Messrs. Michel Levy, frame, Paris.

" Notes sur les Budgets de la Guerre et de la Marine en France et en Angleterre," a statistical handbook, compiled from official sources, has been brought out at the Imperial typographical office of M. Henri Plon, Paris.

The indefatigable Alexandre Weill has published another work on the question of Paris house rent, under the title " Qu'est-ce que le Proprie- taiTe d'une Maison a Paris ? "

Abook on a rather curious subject has been brought out by M. Amyot, Paris. It is entitled " Les Emanations, Recherches Bur l'Origine et la Formation Fore-ee et Perpetuelle des Mendes," by M. Snider, author of " La Creation et sea Mysteres Devoiles."

The French Academy has awarded the Halphen prize, for the best work published within the year, " au point de vue litteraire ou his- torique," to M. Emile de Bonnechose's " Histoire d'Angleterre."

M. Nicolai, Berlin, has published (in French) " Les Reformer de l'Empire Ottoman, en tenant speeialement compte de la position des Chretiens en Orient par rapport a la domination Turque, ' by M. F. Eichmann, formerly Councillor of Legation at Constantinople. The book passes for being semi-official.

The last part of the third volume of Grimm's great " Worterbuch der Deutschen Sprache," has been published at Leipzig. It ends with the word " Erseheuen." A further part will not be brought out before the beginning of next year. Prince Emil of Wittgenstein, late Russian commander of cavalry during the Crimean war, has just published, through Brockhaus, Leip- zig, a series of sketches in verse, from the Caucasus, under the title, " Hadschi Jurt."

A new " Life of Louis Napoleon," by "Lucian Herbert," and a work by the well-known Julius FrObel, entitled " Die Forderungen der Deutschen Politik," have been brought out by M. Sauerlander, Frank- fort-on-the-Main.

The first volume of a " Geschichte der Konigreich's Hannover von 1832-60" (History of the Kingdom of Hanover from 1832 to 1860), by Dr. H. Albert Oppermann, has been published by M. Otto Wiegand, Leipzig.

A distinguished German author, Teodor Oelkers, who was condemned to ten years' imprisonment in consequent* of the political events of 1848, has just brought out the history of hus prison life in two volumes, entitled, "Aus dem Geffingnissleben."

The history of William Tell has found another critic in Dr. B. Hibder, Berne, who has brought out " Schweizergeschichtliche Forschungen caber Wilhelm Tell" (Researches in Swiss History about William Tell). The book concludes for the existence of the Swiss hero.

Another new journal, called La Venezia, has been established at Florence. Its declared object is to advocate the interests, uphold the claims, and give publicity to the wrongs of Venice.

The London correspondent of the Manchester Review of last Saturday, in alluding to "some silly gossip in the worst possible taste about Eng- lish literary men, &c., which had appeared in the New York Times, and which has been very properly censured in the Saturday Review," says :— " The culprit, it seems, is that old offender, Mr. Edmund Yates." This explanation is necessary to render intelligible Mr. Thackeray's article in the Cornhill Magazine for August, in-which he suggests that the gossip mentioned above is hardly worthy of the notice of the Saturday Review, and intimates that, after all, the valuable information which this correspondent has picked up may possibly not be founded on fact.

And, suppose, Mr. Saturday Reviewer—you censor rnorum, you who pique yourself (and justly and honourably in the main) upon your charac- ter of gentleman as well as of writer,—suppose, not that you yourself in- vent and indite absurd twaddle about gentlemen's private meetings and transactions, but pick this wretched garbage out of a New York street, and hold it up for your readers' amusement—don't you think, my friend, that you might have been better employed? Here, in my Saturday Review, and in an American paper subsequently sent to me, I light, astonished, on an account of the dinners of my friend and publisher, which are described as tremendously heavy,' of the conversation (which does not take place), and of the guests assembled at the table. I am informed that the proprietor of the Cornhill, and the host on these occasions, is ' a very good man, but to- tally unread ; ' and that on my asking him whether Dr. Johnson was dining behind the screen, he said, God bless my soul, my dear sir, there's no per- son by the name of Johnson here, nor any one behind the screen,' and that a roar of laughter cut him short. 1 am informed by the same New York correspondent that I have touched up a contributor r; article ; that I once said to a literary gentleman, who was proudly .pointing to an anonymous article as his writing, Ah! I thought I recognized your hoof in it.' I am told by the same authority that the Cornhill Magazine shows symptoms of being on the wane,' and having sold nearly 100,000 copies, he (the corre- spondent) should think 40,000 was now about the mark.' lien the grace- ful writer passes on to the dinners, at which it appears the Editor of the Magazine 'is the great gun, and comes out with all the geniality in his power.'

"Now suppose this charming intelligence is untrue ? Suppose the pub- lisher (to recall the words of my friend the Dublin actor of last month) is a i

gentleman to the full as well informed as those whom he invites to his table ? Suppose he never made the remark, beginning God bless my soul, my dear sir, &c., nor anything resembling it ? Suopose nobody roared with laughing ? Suppose the Editor of the Cornhill Magazine never touched up' one single line of the contribution which bears marks of his hand ? ' Suppose he never said to any literary gentleman, recognized your hoof' in any periodical whatever? Suppose the 40,000 subscribers, which the writer to New York considered to be about the mark,' should be between 90,000 and 100,000 (and as he will have figuees, there they are.) Suppose this back-door gossip should be utterly blundering and untrue, would any one wonder? Ah ! if we had only enjoyed the happiness to number this writer among the contributors of our Magazine, what a cheer- fulness and easy confidence his presence would impart to our meetings! He would find that poor Mr. Smith' had heard that recondite anecdote of Dr. Johnson behind the screen ; and as for the great gun of those banquets, with what geniality should not I come out' if I had an amiable companion close by me, dotting down my conversation for the New York Times "