LITERARY NEWS.
Some interesting documents relating to Milton have been discovered by Mr. D. Hamilton at the State Paper Office. Among them is a trea- tise of the poet in justification of the war with Holland, written, it appears, by desire of the British Government ; and some further letters &owing the energetic intervention of Milton and his friends in behalf of the persecuted Protestants of the Alpine Valleys. The Camden Society is to publish the whole of these papers.
Messrs. Hurst and Blacked announce "Travels in Eastern Africa, with the Narrative of a Residence in Mozambique, from 1856 to 1859," by Mr. Lyons M'Leod, late British Consul at Mozambique ; also, " The Upper and Lower Amoor, a Narrative of Travel and Adventure," by Mr. Atkinson, author of "Oriental and Western Siberia ; " a volume of 4' Lectures on Art, Literature, and Social Science," by Cardinal Wiseman ; and " A Journey on a Plank from Kiev to Eaux-Bonnes," by Lady Charlotte Pepys.
Messrs. Williams and Norgate are preparing for publication a work in two volumes by M. Fr. Michel, entitled "The Scotch in France, and the French in Scotland." It will be a kind of biographical history, embracing the annals of the Scottish Guard of the former Kings of France, those of the families of the archers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and sketches of the commercial relations between the two countries.
A new commentary on Junius is announced from the pen of Mr. Josiah Parkes, father of the well-known Miss Bessie Parkes, the zealous advo- cate of the rights and wants of women. The work is stated to contain many new facts and documents in favour of the claim of Sir Philip Francis to the authorship of the " Letters."
" George Eliot," the author of "Adam Bede," has addressed the following letter to the Times—"Mr. Newby, the publisher, in issuing a work under the title of Adam Bede, Junior,' has not only made use of my title, but has so worded his advertisement as to lead many persons into the belief that I am the author of his so-called 'Sequel.' The extent to which this belief has spread urges me to come forward with a public statement that I have nothing whatever to do with the work in question, or with Mr. Newby. I am not the first writer who has had to suffer from this publisher's method of trading. The readers of Currer Bell's life will remember a very unpleasant illustration of it."
It is remarked that the " Imperial" almanacks are unusually nume- rous this year in France. Paris alone has produced some thirty of these publications, with the name of "Napoleon," "Napoleon III.," " l'Em- pereur des Francais," &c. dec., on the title-page. In one of the most recent of these pamphlets, the " Almanach des Victoires de Napoleon III.," there are some curious illustrations, representing battles between Zouaves and men in the uniform of our present Volunteers.
The coming French expedition to China is productive already of nume- rous literary contributions, two more of which were published this week by Henri Plon, Paris. The first of these is a work by M. Dabry, en- titled "L'Organization militaire des Chinois, ou la Chine et sea Armees ;" and the second a volume of dialogues, called " Le Guide des Armees Olen en Chine." The last-named work gives examples of conversa- tion in English, French, and Chinese, and might be useful to our soldiers taking part in the campaign.
Two new papers have appeared at Paris, the one, La Vie modern, edited by M. Ernest Lacan, devoted to music, theatres, and the fine arts ; and the other, La Rigence, under the direction of M. Journmid, to the study of chess, which game, as is well known, is carried on chiefly at Paris in the " Cafe de la Regenee."
The second and last volume of the "%empires acientifiques d' Arago " has been issued this week by Gide, Paris; and the first and second vo- lumes of the " Correspondence de Beranger," by Perrotin and Co.
Cherbnliez, Paris, has just issued the ninth and last volume of an im- portant biographical work, "La France Protestante." The work, edited by Messrs. Eugene and Emile Haag, contains the lives of all the distin- guished Protestants of France, from the Reformation to the present time.
Tlsstoielgian Royal Historical Commission, instituted by King Leopold in 1,4nu:',:has just published its report, from which it appears that during Huns Bonder-five years of its existenoe, the Society has published nineteen of ancient elaronisimpef the country, and prepared six quarto Yuman, _ _ more, which are now in the press. The nineteen volumes contain tome most important historical works, among others the great Chronicle of Brabant de Dynter and the historico-poetical legends of Ninove, St. Amend, Tronchiennes, and Godfrey of Bouillon. Of the works in-the press the next volume, which is to appear in a month or two, will begin a series of "Travels of the Sovereigns of Belgium," under the editorship of M. Gachard.
A Servian, named Moses Paitsch, has published at Vienna a curious little book in which he advocates the use, for telegraphic purposes, of a new universal language entitled " Pasigmphy.' The words are to be formed by the ordinary Arabic ciphers, employed in very ingenious combinations, productive, according to the author, of an immense saving of time and trouble in the telegraphic intercourse between the different nations of Europe.
The Invalide Rune of St. Petersburg announces the first two volumes of a "History of the War of 1812," by General Bogdanovitch, head of the Military Academy of Moscow. The author, it is stated, has had at his disposal all the secret archives of the Russian Empire, it being in- tended to make this history the most complete extant.
Previous page
