CURRENT LITERATURE.
The September number of the Universal Review contains some noteworthy papers. Professor Mahaffy's article on Germany in particular, though often trivial, is shot with keen reflections, his general impression being that Prussian ascendency is still un- popular, a fact due, he thinks, to a lingering boorishness in the North German people. He formed an unpleasant impression of the Emperor, whom he accuses of strong anti-English feeling. Mrs. Lynn Linton, in an article sparkling with epigram and audacity, but bad in sentiment, contends that marriage would be greatly improved by allowing divorce when the parties hate each other; and Mr. G. Moore protests almost angrily against the worship of actors which is the fashion of the hour. Acting he maintains to be the lowest of the arts, and for most actresses a school of immorality. He is too sweeping in his assertions, but certainly the history of actors does not justify the statement that the theatre is one of the best of moralising agents. We have ourselves been interested in the account of the rise of the Graphic, whose founder says that some of its artists now earn .23,000 a year. Mr. Quilter condemns outright all English sensational novels, and says their authors will all be forgotten :—" The graves of these ephemeral reputations lie thick around us at the present moment. Poor Conway is dead, but his reputation died before him; the author of ` Vice Versa ' is scarcely remembered now. 'John Inglesant's ' successors have
gradually found fewer and fewer readers ; the author of ` Mr. Isaacs ' has excited his last enthusiasm; Mr. Christie Murray has sunk into his proper place of a good, capable, second-rate novelist, and the same story might be repeated almost ad infinitum. And now it seems likely that, as far as popular favour is concerned, Mr.
Rider Haggard will also join the majority." Very few things will last ; but Mr. Christie Murray's humour and Mr. Haggard's Homeric scenes will remain excellent of their kind, even though they should be forgotten.
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