LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1873. 



437 



nous description of the whole vegetable world 

 of Norway. Useful hand-books of botany, 

 chemistry, and ornithology, have been pub- 

 lished by H. L. Sorenssen, G. Schult, and 

 Leonard Steineger. A large biographical and 

 literary dictionary of our men of science has 

 been collected and edited by Dr. F. Kitcr, un- 

 der the title of "Norges Lseger i del 19 a " Aar- 

 hundrede." 



Heiirik Ibsen has edited a voluminous 

 dramatic poem, entitled "Reiser og Galileeer, 

 et verdenshistorick, Drama," The appearance 

 of this important poem has been long expect- 

 ed by the public, whose anticipations may be 

 judged from the fact that four thousand cop- 

 ies were sold in less than eight days. No new 

 work by Bjornstjerne Bjornson, who some 

 months ago started for a second visit to South- 

 ern Italy and Rome, has appeared during this 

 year, except a splendid edition of his " Brudes- 

 laaten "(" The Wedding Ring"), with wood- 

 cuts from original designs by Ad. Tidemand, 

 the famous painter. The people's edition of 

 Bjornson's " Tales of Norwegian Peasant Life," 

 consisting often thousand copies, published at 

 Christmas-time, last year, has been exhausted 

 already, and a second impression will be com- 

 pleted within the year. Jonas Lie, who is still 

 resident in Rome, has published a rather volumi- 

 nous tale of national life, "Tremasteren Frcm- 

 tidi-n ellerLiv nordpaa," which has strength- 

 ened his reputation as a highly-gifted novelist. 

 From Mr. A. Munch 's pen we have got a se- 

 lected collection of his lyrics, written and pub- 

 lished during the last thirty years; and of 

 tli, collection of "Norskc Folke-Eventyr," by 

 Asbjornsen and Moe, known to English read- 

 ers from Mr. Dasent's translation, a new fifth 

 impression has just left the press. 



PORTUGAL. It is never difficult to choose 

 from among the books published during the 

 year in Portugal those that are worth men- 

 tioning. 



8. Julio da Vilhena has just published the 

 "Racas Historicas da Peninsula Iberica," a lit- 

 tle work which shows a laudable ambition. 



"Portugal and Socialism, a Constitutional 

 Examination of Portuguese Society," is the 

 latest and the most important of the political 

 publications of 8. Oliveira Martins, author 

 of the "Theory of Socialism." A thoughtful 

 writer, S. Martins devotes himself to the study 

 of the social questions which agitate Rurope, 

 and applies the results of his labors to his na- 

 tive country. He believes that socialism would 

 prove a blessing to Portugal, and his high char- 

 nrtf-r forbids us to doubt his sincerity. The 

 style of his book is excellent. 



8. T. Braga has just brought out an histori- 

 cal and critical study on Camoens, and nnother 

 on "Amadis de Gaule, and the Origin and 

 History of the Romances of Chivalry." In 

 spite of the defects of this laborious writer, his 

 two volumes are well worth reading. 



Our greatest writer, 8. ITerculano, the illus- 

 trious historian of Portugal, is printing his 



miscellaneous works Opuscules. They are 

 publications of by-gone days, some of them 

 political and economical, some of them upon 

 questions of morals or general literature. 

 Highly successful at the time they first ap- 

 peared, they ought not to be judged from the 

 stand-point of 1873, as our critics are doing. 

 Long out of print and sought after, these 

 Irochures are of importance, both for the liter- 

 ary biography of their author and for the his- 

 tory of the ideas of the time in which they 

 were brought out (1836-'57), and on this 

 ground alone, independently of their literary 

 merits, they will always be read with interest. 

 Your readers are aware that 8. Herculano has 

 not finished his "History of Portugal." The 

 fourth volume stopped at the death of King 

 Alfonso III. (A. D. 1297). The author now 

 announces the publication of some historical 

 fragments, materials for the fifth volume of 

 the work. 



RCSSIA. Some of the Russian journals are 

 doing a very useful thing in the way of liter- 

 ary statistics, by publishing not only the num- 

 ber of their subscriptions, but the residences 

 of the subscribers, and thus enabling us to 

 learn something of the comparative enlighten- 

 ment and the tendencies of inhabitants of va- 

 rious districts. I have passed through whole 

 provinces of Russia where the chief newspa- 

 per taken was the St. Petersburg Gazette, 

 through others where rarely any thing could 

 be found except the Son of the Fatherland. 

 The Messenger of Europe, by far the best 

 monthly journal, for the present year issued 

 6,958 copies of each number, of which 181 

 were sent abroad. The Russian Past, an his- 

 torical monthly, has constantly increased in 

 circulation since it started. In 1870 its circu- 

 lation was 2,600 copies; in 1871, 8,500; in 

 1872, 4,252; and in the present year 4,920 

 copies. The comparatively great subscription- 

 list of this journal, as well as of the Russian 

 Archives and the numerous publications of the 

 various historical societies, are proofs of the 

 increase of a taste for history. On the 6th 

 of December, at the unveiling of the statue 

 of Catherine II., a decree of the Emperor 

 was issued to the Cesarevitch, as President 

 of the Russian Historical Society, thanking 

 him for his services, and authorizing the so- 

 ciety to add to its name the title "Imperial." 

 On the same day the society published the 

 eleventh and twelfth volumes of its "Proceed- 

 ings," the former containing letters of Peter 

 the Great, and the latter containing the first 

 part of the dispatches from the British am- 

 bassadors during the reign of Catherine II., 

 from 1762 to 1769. The dispatches are print- 

 ed in both English 'and Russian, and as pict- 

 ures of court-life and court-intrigue, they are 

 of the highest interest. It is easy, however, 

 to see that the ambassadors knew nothing of 

 Russia outside of the court circle. Kosto- 

 marof writes history that can be read with 

 pleasure, and we welcome his new book "Rus- 



