The Britannia describes the literary projects on foot in London, during the month of April, so as to present a very comprehensive survey of the market: THE lists of the publishers begin to give good promise of works of value and interest as well as of amusement, which we may expect during the present literary season. In the Historical Section, notwithstanding the certainty of his library edition being followed by a shilling reprint, Mr. Murray not only announces a second volume of Washington Irving's “Mahomet”—in which the fortunes of his regal successors are delineated-but also a life of Washington by the same author. We are no admirers of that free trade in literature which savors so strongly of piracy, and would gladly contribute our exertions in devising the means of defeating the present system. As a retaliation on the former piracies of English works by American publishers, it may, indeed, serve to convince our descendants in the West of the advisability and advantage of an international copyright. In every other view it must be regarded as most detrimental to the true interests of Literature and literary men. The late Secretary of Ceylon proffers a history of the introduction of Christianity into that island, and of its progress under the missions of the various nations which from time to time have seized its sovereignty. Sir Emerson Tenant's Christianity in Ceylon (Murray) will doubtless contain much information hardly attainable by other authors, but which would be open to him in his official capacity. Of The History of Rome under the Emperors (Longmans), by the Rev. C. Merivale, of Trinity, Cambridge, two volumes are promised in the present month, besides a Critical History of the Language and Literature of Greece, from the pen of Colonel Mure. Such synoptical views of the literature of a nation are the peculiar creations of the art of printing, and their advantages are beyond dispute. For Greece such a work has never yet been completed. Müller, indeed, commenced the task, but his death left the synopsis at the age of Isocrates. The Correspondence of the Emperor Charles V. and his Ministers (Bentley) cannot but form a most valuable contribution to the history of his age. Besides the original letters preserved in the family archives in Vienna, the Itinerary of the great emperor, from 1519 to 1551, is promised, with a connecting narrative, and characteristic notices of the emperor and his cotemporaries. A History of Banking, by Mr. Lawson, is also amongst Mr. Bentley's announcements. Ten Years of the Church of Scotland, from 1883 to 1848 (Blackwood), Historic Scenes, by Miss Strickland (Colburn), Modern State Trials (Longmans), by Mr. Townsend, The Early Conflicts of Christianity (Longmans), and a second series of the Notes of a Traveler, by Mr. P. Laing (Longmans)-in which his observations on the social and political state of the European people are continued to the late eventful years 1848 and 1849 -Memoirs of the War of Independence in Hungary (Gilpin), from the pen of the gallant defender of Comorn, the General Klapka, and a laborious History of Man (Van Voorst), by Dr. R. Gordon Latham, conclude the historical list. The Biographical Section is even more fully represented than that of history. In this department we are still promised, by Mr. Murray, the long-announced journals and letters of Sir Hudson Lowe, and the autobiographical fictions of Mr. George Borrow; as well as (for the first time announced) the life of the author of "Tremaine," with his political and literary correspondence, his diaries and his letters. Judging from our own recollections of that extraordinary man, his depth of thought and peculiarity of opinion will be constantly lightened and illustrated by his eccentricity in life and manners. The curiously grated windows of Hyde House still remain to attest one of his peculiar tones of thought and modes of action. Mr. Bentley announces Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the Prime Ministers of England; and Mr. Murray those of Vice-Admiral Penrose and Captain J. Trevenen by their nephew, the Rev. J. Penrose. The Lives of the Speakers of the House of Commons (Shoberl,, cannot fail of being most interesting to the many noble families who derive their descent from the successive occupance of the Speaker's chair. Mr. James A. Manning, of the Inner Temple, the author, proposes to commence with the life of Sir Thomas Hungerford, in the reign of Edward III., and to continue it down to the present occupier of the throne of St. Stephen's. Leigh Hunt's Autobiography (Smith and Elder) is one among the promised novelties that will be looked forward to with interest by every class of readers. Among lighter and imaginative literature, we have to expect The Initials: a novel of the day (Bentley); Royalists and Roundheads: a new historical romance (Shoberl); and Odd Leaves from the Note-book of a Louisiana Swamp Doctor (Bentley), by anonymous authors; another historical romance from the well-tried pen of Lieut. Grant, the author of "The Scottish Cavalier," under the title of Memorials of the Castle of Edinburgh (Blackwood's). The Ways of the Hour, by Fenimore Cooper (Bentley). The Earl's Daughter (Longmans), by the author of " Amy Herbert," and the Phantom World, a series of narratives of apparitions and such like wonders, by Mr. Christmas, who has already trenched on the subject in his last work on science and history, are also announced by the same publisher. Treston Tower (Colburn), by the Rev. R. Cobbold; a new serial novel, The Daltons, by Charles Lever; and Anscher, a Story of the North (J. W. Parker), completes, we believe, this portion of our summary. The travelers have a goodly following. Four Years Adventures of a Hunter in the Wilderness of South Africa (Murray), will not only be a record of the sporting adventures of the boldest and greatest destroyer of the great game of the African deserts, Gordon Cumming of Altire, but afford many a valuable note of geographical discovery by the laird of Altire, whom report records as having penetrated many hundred miles further into Central Africa than any previous traveler. The witness of one who has become domesticated in a foreign land cannot but make Mr. Mansfield Parkin's work on Abyssinia (Murray) of great value. We are also promised-Gaypacho, or Summer Months in Spain, by W. G. Clark (J. W. Parker); Para, or Scenes and Adventures on the Banks of the Amazon, by J. E. Warren (Bentley); Auvergne, Piedmont, and Savoy (Parker), by Mr. Weld, the historian of the Royal Society. Pictures of Nuremburg (Bentley) will give the author, Mr. Whitling's, rambles in the valleys of Tranconia, as well as his recollections of the ancient city. Leaves from a Lady's Diary, giving her travels in Barbary, has changed from the column of promises to that of performances even while we write. A Voyage to the Arctic Sea (J. Van Voorst), in search of the long-lost Franklin expedition, will be welcomed with pleasure. It is put forward as the work of Mr. R. A. Goodsir. Life in the Forest and the Frontier (Bentley), by Mr. Alfred Street, the author of "Frontinac," and Im pressions and Experiences of the West Indies (Longmans), by Mr. Robert Baird, complete this part of our catalogue, The Poets muster only three in number, but are headed by the author of "Philip Van Artevelde," who promises another five act play, The Virgin Widow. Another dramatic poem, called The Roman (Bentley), is a reprint of a masterly poem already known by the analysis of it in Gilfillan's "Second Gallery of Literary Portraits." Aletheia; or, the Doom of Mythology, is by W. C. Kent, a new candidate for the bays. Among the Hand books Mr. Murray announces one for the environs of London, by the able author of "The Hand-book of London;" whilst from Mr. Bentley's press will issue Anecdotes of London and its Celebrities, by Mr. Jesse. To this class belongs Mr. Weir's Sketch of Literary Society in the Days of Dr. Johnson. Religious works form an important item in the list. Besides new editions of Canon Dale's Domestic Liturgy and Family Chaplain, the Rev. R. Montgomery, under the title of God and Man, gives the outlines of religious and moral truth according to the Scripture and the Church; the Rev. F. C. Cook proffers a new edition of the Acts of the Apostles, with practical and devotional suggestions for readers and students; and the author of the "Christmas Holydays in Rome," a martyrology under the title of the Early Conflicts of Christianity. To the addresses and charges of the late kind-hearted Bishop of Norwich, we can hardly look forward with pleasure. Theology was not Bishop Stanley's best point; and his personal qualifications, as well as his admitted eminence in secular attainments, went far to cover the deficiencies in his theological learning. Pottery, ancient and modern, are about to have their historians. Mr. Samuel Birch, of the British Museum, whose peculiarly recondite knowledge, as well as his constant diligence and accuracy, fit him for the task, promises a complete history of the ancient fictile art. To Mr. Joseph Marryat falls the same task with regard to European and Oriental pottery and porcelain of later days. "Memoirs of Dr. Chalmers," republished in handsome form by HARPER & BROTHERS, are spoken of with unexpected liberality and favor by the Westminster Review: "We have great pleasure in announcing the appearance of the first volume of this work, which, when complete, we may, perhaps, take an opportunity of noticing more at large. The Memoirs will form a most appropriate introduction to Dr. Hanna's admirable edition of the 'Posthumous Works of Dr. Chalmers,' which has recently been published in a corresponding form and size, and which we have little doubt will find a place in most libraries. 'The period of Dr. Chalmers's life comprised in the present volume, extends from his birth to his farewell sermon at Kilmany; the narrative includes what may be regarded as the period of growth and preparation. That growth, in all its parts, was natural and unencumbered, having an ease and freedom, which bestowed upon it both beauty and strength. This is exemplified in almost every page of the Memoirs, in which, for the most part, the subject of them is allowed to become his own biographer; the editor stating his part to have consisted in little more than selecting, arranging, and weaving into a continuous narrative, the materials already possessed by the family of Dr. Chalmers, or which friends and correspondents had presented to him. In doing this, he continues, he was relieved of one difficulty, frequently the greatest with which a relative, who undertakes a biography, has to contend; namely, the conflict between what is due to truth, and what is due to affection or relationship. In fact, the materials left by Dr. Chaliners were so ample as to cause, perhaps, considerable difficulty in the way of selection. The narrative is exceedingly interesting, being written in that pleasant easy style that invites one to continue the perusal when it has been commenced." 44 The Westminster Review speaks of Emerson's Representative Men," published in Boston by TICKNOR, FIELDS, & Co., and in London by BоHN, as containing "subjects handled by a master of language, and one of the most original-minded men of the day." The Athenæum lauds the lately published additional volumes of "Grote's History of Greece," published by MURRAY, London, as a work honorable to the literature and scholarship of the country." "Not soon again, we may be sure, will the great subject of Greek history be undertaken by a man uniting so many qualifications for treating it worthily; it is every way desirable, therefore, that Mr. Grote, now that he is thus engaged, should fairly exhaust himself of all that he knows or thinks in connection with it. Should he finish his work in the same spirit and with the same care that he has hitherto displayed, not Germany herself will be able to exhibit an historical performance more solid, more philosophic, more thoroughly accomplished according to its method." |