CURRENT LITERATURE.
The first number of Cosmopolis for 1897 does more than justify the note of universality, or citizen-of-the-worldishness, which is suggested by its name, and was struck on its start by its pro- moters. Of the twenty-two articles of various kinds which make up its contents no fewer than fifteen are French. This is due, in considerable measure, no doubt, to the fact that the present number is partially given up to a criticism of the politics, art, drama, litera- ture, &c., of the world for 1896, and that this criticism is given in different languages. On the other hand, it must be allowed that those articles which are in every respect the "strongest "—such, for example, as "Henrik Ibsen en France," by 31. Georges Brandi'm —are the work of foreigners. It may, indeed, be asked of the aonductors of Cosmopais if too much space is not given to such emphatically "set" subjects as "Notes on New Books," "The Theatre in London," and "The Globe and the Island," even though the writers upon them are so truly authoritative as Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. Arthur Walkley, and Mr. Henry Norman. Would it not be better to have more variety than is indicated by the appearance of but four independent or non-departmental English articles ? Of these three are good.—the paper of Sir William Martin Conway and Mr. Hugh Robert Mill on "The Mountains of South America," the second of Professor Max
"Literary Recollections," and Mr. S. R. Crockett's story-sketch bearing the startling title of "Maria Perrone, Murderess and Saint." The Professor's reminiscences deal chiefly with Froude and Kingsley, and in the spirit of apology and defence. It is rather curious to find that
the result of the celebrated Newman-Kingsley controversy was the sudden collapse of the sale of Kingsley's most popular books. "I saw him after he had been with his publishers to make arrangements for the sale of his copyrights. He wanted the money to start his sons, and he had a right to expect a substantial sum. The sum offered him seemed almost an insult, and yet he assured me that he had seen the books of his publishers, and that the sale of his books during the last years did not justify a larger -offer." Mr. Crockett's Italian story is full of a power that is yet kept well in hand, and has absolutely nothing of what is vulgarly known as the " Kailyard " about it. The passionate love of a woman for her husband is admirably brought out, though Maria eeems in the long-run to be guilty of perjury—not of murder—for the sake of that husband. No objection can be made to the general character of the contents of Cosmopolis, in respect of the quality of the literature it gives to the public. But it is too apt to run into grooves.
The Pall Mall Magazine contains various good articles, and its illustrations are of a high order. But it has still that air of heaviness of which complaint has been made before. Of course, there is Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson's story of "Saint Ives," which shows him almost if not altogether at his best in point of style, but of which as regards mere plot-interest it is impossible to say anything definite as yet. Otherwise heaviness pervades the magazine. It is to be found in a too long-drawn-out story of Highland murder and mystery and prophecy, styled "Loch Dhuairg " ; an account of Warwick Castle which is a glorified auctioneer's catalogue ; even the paper on " Curling " from the pen of the Lord-Advocate for Scotland is thin. There is a symposium oa "The Sixtieth Year of the Queen's Reign and How to Cele- brate It," which in one sense comes to too much, and in another acmes to too little. Perhaps there is something in the idea of a working man—a compositor—of associating the coming sixtieth year with the promotion of technical education.
There is much that is readable, but nothing that has the note of distinction, in the January number of Chapman's Magazine. Mrs. Andrew Dean's story of "An Arabian Bird" makes a promising start, and "A Three Days' Man," by Winifred Graham, and "A Tangle of Hay-time," by Mrs. Murray Hickson, have in them an element of genuine light comedy. The number is not specially strong in the tragic, however; "Prisoners Three" is clever, but can scarcely be true, even of the mining camp of Celestial Gulch, and Mr. Robert Barr's "Purification" is mechanically "lurid." The cleverest story in this number is Mr. G. S. Street's "The Poetry of a Loan." Even it is too elaborately cynical.
The Badminton Magazine continues to sustain its deservedly high reputation for variety and quality, both of letterpress and of illustrations. Thus most excellent in different styles are Mr. Lanes Shand's "The Coverts," Colonel Ward's "Anecdotes of Indian Shooting," the Marquess of Granby's "Hooks and I "— though the Marquess is somewhat given to digression—and Miss Bessie Macmorland's " A Tobogganing Tour." The strictly" sport- ing" articles are diversified by stories which are also excellent.
The Lighterman," for example, which tells of how a scoundrel
attempts to take vengeance on the barrister who has been the means of securing him a term of penal servitude, and meets instead w ith his deserts, is much abovethe average of ordinary magazine fiction.
The January number of the Month, which is the first of a new series, is a very readable one. Whether Mr. Herbert Thurston, who contributes the first article on "How to be Made an Angli- can: a New Light on Continuity," and which is based on a state- ment in the Guardian, beginning "We do not imagine that pains are taken to make it clear at Rome that the Latin Church in England loses at least as much as it gains," is right or wrong in his arguments ; but it is at least clear that he knows the art of con- troversy. This may be gathered from such a sentence as, "There is surely something a little anomalous, if not slightly humorous, in the idea that the modern Anglican clergyman, who professes such profound veneration for his Mother, the pre-Reformation English Church, continuous and indefectible, should be required to prove his fitness for receiving her orders by signing the Thirty- nine Articles, in other words, by giving that venerated Mother a slap in the face." The Rev. George Tyrrell contributes to the Month a careful paper on the Hon. W. Gibson's work on "The Abbe de Lamennais and the Catholic Liberal Movement in France." He takes the view which has already been urged in the Spectator, that Mr. Gibson has given undue prominence to Comte, and has exaggerated his influence on De Lamennais. The miscellaneous articles in the Month are at least up to the average. Mr. S. H. Dunn's "Indian Sketches in Black and White" are exceptionally readable. "Gilbert Franklin, Curate," is the title of a story which is to run in the Month for some time. As yet we have glimpses only of the heroine and the villain ; the latter is rather too much of the conventional seducer, but he is admirably drawn.
The new number of the Economic Journal is not quite so popular in the general character of its contents as some of its predecessors ; yet not a few both of the articles and of the notes, such as " Cleing,es in Trade Organisations," by Mr. H. John Falk; "An Imperial Customs-Union," by Mr. J. G. Colmer ; and "Benevo- lent Loan Associations in France," by Miss A. P. McIlvaine, will be found of general interest. Mr. Colmer is very cautious in his treatment of the question of a Customs-Union, although he holds that "no more important subject is before the statesmen of the Empire at the present moment." For the rest let his own words speak for themselves:—" The scheme must be simple and moderate in its incidence in the United Kingdom, and must interfere as little as possible with Free-trade. The same remark applies to the fiscal conditions obtaining in the Colonies; and certainly no scheme will have any chance of acceptance which involves the giving up of any of their powers of self-government." Economic specialists will find this number of the Journal an eminently attractive and important one.
The most generally interesting paper in an admirable number of Science Progress is one by Mr. C. A. Barber on " Sugar : the Outlook in the Colonies," which is undoubtedly one of the questions of the hour. Mr. Barber marshals his facts and figures generally in a very businesslike fashion. He comes to the con- clusian that, if the sugar-bounties were abolished "In Britain, numerous industries would be affected, prominent among which would be the decayed refining industry, and the greatly de- veloped jam trade. And, sobered by sad experience, the Colonies would take up the question so long neglected of bettering their extracting processes, and new machinery on economical lines would lay the foundation for a future of profitable industry. But the planters would also have to devote increased attention to the improvement of their canes,—not only as regards their sac- charine content, but also with regard to their capacity for resisting disease. There are, in fact, at the present moment diseases in the cane-fields which threaten to sweep away some of the most magnificent varieties of the sugar-cane." Mr. Barber proposes in a future paper to deal with various scientific questions connected with the origin and spread of those diseases, and, from a non- commercial point of view, his second article is likely to be at least as readable as the first. Among the more interesting papers in an exceptionally good number of this magazine, "Selection on Man," by Mr. John Beddoe, F.R.S., and "The Origin of Lakes," by Mr. J. E. Marr, deserve special attention.
Scotland has no reason to complain of the amount of attention it receives in the pages of the new number of that excellent quarterly, the Reliquary and Illustrated Archmologist. Two of the leading papers in it concern that country, being "A Record of the Kistvaens Found in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright," by Mr. Fred R. Coles ; and "The Graves of Ardkeiling, Strypes, Elgin- shire," by Mr. Hugh W. Young. Both are admirably written and beautifully illustrated. Mr. Edmund Lovett's "Hop Tallies" is also worth reading, even by men who are not arclueologiste. There is no very striking paper in the new number of the Preparatory Schools' Review, though there are several articles that are informing, such as Mr. W. R. Williams's not too ponderous "Entrance Scholarships" and the papers which constitute a sort of symposium on "Corporal Punishment." It must be allowed, however, that there is rather too much buckram stiffness about this Review.
The Entr'acte Annual, which is compiled by Mr. W. H. Combes and illustrated by Mr. Alfred Bryan in his own broad but yet strong fashion, is as lively as ever. Among the papers which may be singled out on account of their readability are Mr. John Hollingshead's on "Unmitigated Pothouses," "The Quintessence of Hard Luck" by Charles Warren, and "The Missus Did It," by the editor.
Previous page
