502 



LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1890. 



Greece. As was the case last year so is it this. 

 The great majority of books has been far above 

 average merit. Chief among these are the " His- 

 torical Essays " of Prof. Constantine Paparrigo- 

 pulos, containing eleven monographs reproduced, 

 " The Capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 

 1453," by A. Paspatis, deserves especial mention 

 and commendation for its thoroughness and the 

 additional light which it throws upon that un- 

 happy event, from which Europe and the civil- 

 ized world has suffered ever since. The " His- 

 tory of Cyprus " is very full and well done. G. 

 Maurojiannis has supplied a real want in his ex- 

 cellent " History of the Ionian Islands, from 

 1755 to 1815." The subject of " European Di- 

 plomacy in Greece since the Days of Capo D'ls- 

 tria " is fairly dealt with by C. Meletopulos. 

 Madam C. Parrin has begun the publication, in 

 parts, of a " History of Woman," to make several 

 volumes. In archaeology two books are note- 

 worthy, viz., " Christian Athens, an Essay, .His- 

 torical and Archaeological," by T. Neroritsos, and 

 " Archaeology of the Monastery of Daphni," near 

 Athens, by G. Lambakis. A bibliography of all 

 the works on topography and geography which 

 have appeared in modern Greek between 1800 and 

 1890 has been prepared and issued by the His- 

 torico-Ethnological Society of Athens. It con- 

 tains some fourteen hundred entries. " Athens," 

 illustrated, is appearing in parts, and promises 

 well. The topography of Attica and of the Pi- 

 raeus forms a part of the original plan. Poetry, 

 the drama, and fiction have come before the pub- 

 lic largely in the weekly papers, but there is 

 hardly anything of much value to be noted this 

 year. D. Koromilas's comedy " The Times " is 

 said to be good, but having rather a political 

 tendency. A pretty poem comes from a Zanti- 

 ote, A. Martzokis, entitled ''The Prior of the 

 Monastery of Anaphonitra." The best collec- 

 tion of lyrics published for many years is said to 

 be " Words of the Heart," by a young writer, 

 Constantine Manos. Two translations of Shake- 

 speare's ' Hamlet " have been made, to be added 

 to two previous versions. One is by J. Polylas, of 

 Corfu, excellently done ; the other, by C. Dami- 

 ralis, of less merit. In theology and philosophy 

 almost nothing has been done so far as publica- 

 tion is concerned. 



Holland. Two years ago note was made of 

 Vol. I of Dr. Pierson's fine work, " Geestelyke 

 Vooronders," which gives an account of the 

 sources of civilization and intellectual life. In 

 Vol. II the learned writer sketches Greece in its 

 epic poems and history. Homer, Pindar, Herod- 

 otus, Thucydides, and Xenophon furnish mate- 

 rials, which are admirably and effectively used. 

 The book is suggestive and stimulating to stu- 

 dents of ancient lore. Mr. Kalff's "History of 

 the Literature of Holland in the Sixteenth 

 Century " is pronounced to be a valuable reper- 

 tory for students and general readers. He has 

 done full justice to the spirit and intelligence of 

 the people, and delineated Dutch characteristics 

 in a clear and agreeable way. A posthumous 

 work of Prof. Jarissen's has been published, 

 " Historische Bladen." The lectures of which it 

 consists are written with earnestness and feeling, 

 and give a good survey of the History of Hol- 

 land in the seventeenth and eighteenth centu- 

 ries, and under the French dynasty. His papers 



on Cromwell, Henry IV, Madame de Maintenon, 

 and Marie Antoinette are well worth reading. 

 Prof. Blok has published a good monograph on 

 Louis of Nassau, brother of William the Silent. 

 Mr. Nyhoff has undertaken a defense of the 

 stout Duke of Brunswick, who was very unpop- 

 ular in the days of Stadtholder William V. Prof. 

 Fruin has given a fine description of the relation 

 of William III to England. The correspondence 

 between the Duke of Anjou and the Prince of 

 Orange and the States has been published, and is 

 pronounced by the critics to be valuable. Vol. 

 II has been brought out of the correspondence 

 of Christian Huygens, down to the year 1659. 

 Ter Gouw's " Amsterdam " shows how badly that 

 city behaved at the siege of Haarlem in" 1573. 

 Interest in India is as lively as ever, as shown by 

 realistic novels, Indian sketches, romantic stories, 

 etc. Leendertz's " Van Atjek's Stranden " is 

 both instructive and pleasing. Books of travel 

 which are worth noticing are one about South 

 Africa, by Hendrik P. M. Muller, and another 

 about Russia, by Westeroven van Meeteren. 

 Something, not much, has been done for the 

 stage. Novels and tales have been produced in 

 abundance, but they are mostly without any spe- 

 cial merit. Hooyer and De Veer write serials, 

 and Jan Holland glorifies the Roman Catholic 

 Church and its institutions in "Athanasius 

 Mors." Lady novelists continue to compete 

 with masculine rivals, and secure fair success ; 

 but the production of novels this year is, on the 

 whole, disappointing. Schimmel has brought 

 out anew the best of his old verses and added 

 some fresh ones, under the title " Innerlyk Le- 

 ven." There is nothing of moment in philoso- 

 phy or theology to be put on record. There have 

 died this year, Prof. Cobet, the great Greek 

 scholar ; Dr. Campbell, well known for his " An- 

 nals of Netherland Typography to the Fifteenth 

 Century " ; Annie Foore ; and the poet Ten Kate. 

 Italy. Literature has flourished in Italy this 

 year better than in the previous year. Signor 

 Carducci, by far the best of Italian poets, has 

 published " Terze Odi Barbares," i. e., a third en- 

 stallment of odes in classical meters. They are 

 marked by vivid imagination, fine language, and 

 genuine inspiration, with a little stiffness and 

 some doubtfulness occasionally as to the mean- 

 ing. This remark applies with force to the " Ode 

 to the Queen of Italy," or " The Lute and the 

 Lyre." Signor Gabude d ? Annunzio has published 

 a volume entitled " L'Isoetto : la Chimera," but 

 the poems are not new. His verse is criticised 

 as having much color but little substance. Other 

 poets and verse makers hardly deserve mention 

 here. A distinguished poetess named Vivanti 

 has appeared, and Signor Carducci has written a 

 preface to her poems. Some translations of 

 merit have been made from Longfellow's writ- 

 ings. In the way of romance, E. de Amicis has 

 brought out a novel entitled " II Romanzo d'un 

 Maestro." The critics complain that the book is 

 too vague and uncertain in its teaching to prove 

 of much value to readers, yet the book is well 

 written, and will repay examination. Matilde 

 Searo, one of the best novelists in Italy, has pub- 

 lished a book called "Adio A mare," which is 

 said to be highly attractive. Other writers of fic- 

 tion this year are of little account. S. Farina, 

 Valcarenghi, S. B. Abini, E. de Marchi, and a 



