LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1872. 



4G9 



Lira," in both of which he shows his good 

 taste in imitating the best Spanish poets. 

 Sefior Arnao, a distinguished poet and fervent 

 Catholic, has published a collection of poems 

 on religious subjects, " La Voz del Creyente " 

 ( u The Voice of the Believer "), intended to 

 celebrate the glories of Catholicism, which, be- 

 sides being models of purity in form, are full 

 of feeling. Sefior Aguilera, one of the best 

 modern Spanish poets, has also published a 

 charming volume, " La Leyenda de Noche 

 Buena (" The Legend of Christmas "). 



Among the numerous novels which have 

 appeared, Sr. Rodriguez Correa's charming lit- 

 tle volume, "Rosas y Perros," must be men- 

 tioned. It is admirably written, and describes 

 Spanish bureaucracy with most comic exacti- 

 tude, and is full of interest from beginning to 

 end. Sr. Fernandez y Gonzales, the most fer- 

 tile of Spanish novelists, has published several 

 novels this year, " El Algibe de la Gitana " 

 ( u The Gypsy's Well "), " Los Martires de la 

 Familia " (" The Family Martyrs "), and " El 

 Montero de Espinosa" ("The Huntsman of 

 Espinosa ") ; and Sr. Selgas a charming novel, 

 " La Manzana de Oro " (" The Golden Apple "). 

 By Sr. Sepulveda we have "En el Sitio " ("On 

 the Spot "), and " La Muger de listed " (" Your 

 Wife "). The distinguished author of popular 

 tales, Sr. Trueba, has written " El Gaban y la 

 Chaqueta " (" The Overcoat and the Jacket ") ; 

 and Sr. Frontaura, "El Hijo del Sacristan" 

 (" The Sacrislan's Son "). Sr. Moya has given 

 us " El Club de los Solteros " (" The Bachelors' 

 Club ") ; Sr. Puig, " Coche y Palco " (" Carriage 

 and Opera-box"); Sr. Lozano, "El Criado 

 Modelo " (" The Model Servant ") ; Sr. Ruigo- 

 mez, the pretty novel, " Silvestre del todo " 

 (" Silvester Everything ") ; Sr. Diana, the in- 

 teresting " Calle de la Amargura " (" The Street 

 of Sorrow"); and Sr. Padilla, "La Semilla 

 del Bien " (" The Good Seed "). These slight 

 notes render it evident that the number of 

 novels which have appeared during the year 

 is large for Spain. 



Senors Castro y Serrano and Juan Garcia, 

 whose works are always received by the Span- 

 ish public with delight, have not published 

 any thing this year. A witty anonymous 

 work, and which has been well received, is 

 " Un Viage a los Infiernos del Sufragio Uni- 

 versal " ("A Journey to the Regions of Uni- 

 versal Suffrage"). The author describes the 

 intrigues at the elections in country towns in 

 Spain. Great praise is due to Sr. Fastenrath's 

 u Pasionarias de un Aleman Espanol " (" Pas- 

 sion-Flowers by a German Spaniard "), in which 

 he gives a critical account of the well-known 

 Ober-Ammergau play. The author is a Ger- 

 man, but he writes throughout in the purest 

 Spanish. "El Monge Gris" ("The Gray 

 Monk"), by General Ametller, is an enter- 

 taining volume, describing the conduct of the 

 Aragonese and Catalans in the East during 

 the middle ages. 



Of books of travels,. the only one deserving 



especial mention is Sr. Alvarez's "Viaje al 

 Oriente" ("Voyage from Manila to the Ma- 

 rianas"). Of a more serious description is Sr. 

 Collell's fine imitation of the old Catalonian 

 work, " Altra Peregrinacio del ventures Pere- 

 grini " ("Another Perigrination of the Happy 

 Pilgrim ") ; and, lastly, as a specimen of an 

 interesting and instructive work, I may refer 

 to "Las Mugeres Espafiolas y Americanas" 

 (" Spanish and American Women ") a collec- 

 tion of articles written by the best Spanish 

 authors, illustrated with engravings by the 

 best living Spanish artists. 



Of critical works, the most important, from 

 the difficulty of the subject and admirable 

 manner in which it is treated, is the first part 

 of the " Catalogo Descriptive 6 Hist6rico del 

 Museo del Prado de Madrid," by Don Pedro 

 Madrazo. This instalment includes the Italian 

 and Spanish schools, and represents the work 

 of many years, during which Sr. Madrazo has, 

 by searching in the archives, and by the com- 

 parative study of the pictures of Madrid and 

 those of other museums, been able to classify 

 them with due exactitude. This volume is 

 enriched with historical notes of great interest 

 on the pictures and on the artists who painted 

 for the Kings of Spain. 



Some slight progress is to be observed in 

 philosophical studies; and it is to be hoped 

 that every day they will be more generally 

 developed, owing to Sr. Fabie's translation of 

 Hegel's "Logic," it being indispensable to 

 popularize this study, as it is beginning to have 

 followers in Spain. 



The study of the classics is little pursued in 

 Spain; for this reason, Sr. Ascarates's "Obras 

 de Platon," " Oraciones Escogidas de De- 

 mostenes," by Sr. Roda, and Sr. Orellano's 

 " Grandes Poemas," merit notice. 



As regards historical works, I should men- 

 tion that the "Cronica General de Espafia" 

 has this year been completed, a work which 

 comprehends the history of the different prov- 

 inces, written by different authors, under the 

 direction of Sr. Rossell. The " Historia Gen- 

 eral de Andalucia," by Sr. Guichot, is also 

 drawing to a close. The " Documentos Ine- 

 ditos para la Historia de Espana," published by 

 Sr. Salva, will probably end this year, with 

 the fifty-sixth volume, or at any rate there 

 will be an alteration in the form and manner 

 of publication. Sr. Zaragoza has collected a 

 series of interesting notes upon the history of 

 the insurrections in Cuba. A distinguished 

 general of the Spanish army, General Sando- 

 val, has written an extensive historical mono- 

 graph, a work of many years, on the battle 

 of Aljubarrota, "La Batalla*de Aljubarrota," 

 which occurred at the end of the fourteenth 

 century, and in which the Spaniards were de- 

 feated by the Portuguese. This feat of arms 

 gave rise to the famous monastery, which was 

 built by the Portuguese on the battle-field, and 

 is one of the finest existing monuments of 

 Gothic art. Sr. Guerra, the learned antiquary 



