438 



LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1873. 



sian Ilistorr in the Lives of its Chief Actors," 

 as a great "boon. Prof. Kostoaiarofs pen is 

 neuT idle, and during the year, besides other 

 tilings, he has also published un excellent mon- 

 ograph on the "Traditions of the Earliest 

 Russian Chronicle." The " History of tin- U. 

 union of the West-Russian Uniutes in Uld 

 Tiinos," by the well-known archaeologist 

 lovitch, chiefly from unpublished manu- 

 scripts ; the monograph of D. Y. Somokvasof 

 on " Ancient Russian Cities," an attempt to in- 

 nate the origin of the Kus'mn "town," in 

 which the author's zeal for his subject seems 

 to outrun his discretion ; the studies on the 

 "Posen Poles in 1848," and on Galicia, pub- 

 lished in the European Messenger, and the vul- 

 uable "Russian Genealogies," destined to fill 

 in part the omissions in the imperfect work of 

 Prince Dolgoruky. 



Turning from history to law, wo find what 

 is, perhaps, the capital book of the year, and 

 which should speedily find a French or Gor- 

 man translator, " Consuls and Consular Juris- 

 diction in the Enst," by F. Martens, Professor 

 of International Law in the University of St. 

 iburg. It is an historical treatise on the 

 origin and history of the consular institution, 

 and the powers which by custom and treaty 

 have been given to consuls in the East. Mr. 

 Martens criticises the judicial reforms in Tur- 

 key and Egypt, and endeavors to answer the 

 question as to what should bo the necessary 

 powers of a consul in the East at present. 

 Mr. Znamensky, in a thick book published at 

 Kazan, on " The Parish Clergy in Russia since 

 the Reform of Peter," shows the gradual de- 

 cline of the system of leaving the election of 

 the clergy to the parish, and treats of the rad- 

 ical reforms of the last years, which go back 

 nearly to the first principles of Russian church 

 government 



In general literature the year just p.ist has 

 been poorer than nny for a long time. None 

 of the groat writers have published any thing 

 t least, worthy of himself and wo have had 

 only the productions of authors of the second 

 or third class, and of some new men whose 

 rank in literature is yet to be determined. 

 The preference is, perhaps, to be given to 

 Soltykof, who writes under the pseudonym of 

 Stchedrin. 



In the drama, we have this year two plays 

 by Ortrofiky, "Late Love " and "Snowbnd ; " 

 the latter a dull piece of bad verse, more like 

 a ballot programme than a serious play. Palm 

 has published a play of some merit, railed 

 "The Old Gentleman;" Averkief, a new hi~ 

 torical drama in verse, "Temnii and She- 

 makha," which lacks the freshness of his 

 other pieces; and Pisemsky, a play, cull. 1 

 I'. . .1." 



Of popular poetry, we have a large install- 

 ment in the " Onega Ballads," collected by the 

 Ute Prof. Hilferding, who unfortunately died 

 in the midst of his labors. The book of Py pin. 

 "Characteristic* of Literary Opinions of the 



nt Century in Russia," has now appeared 

 entire, after having b.-.d tin- misfortune to pro- 

 cure for the European Messenger a second 

 warning, and to cause the election of its au- 

 thor to the Academy to be canceled. It is a 

 most interc-ting and remarkable book. 



1'oliticul literature is increasing in II 

 The "Xiitionul Question in History ami Liter- 

 ature," by A. Gradofsky, may be taken us an 

 exposition of the views of the BUvonophUes. 

 But the most noteworthy book on political 

 subjects is the " War and Revolution," by the 

 Aeademieiim Bezobrazof, which is not only a 

 study of the French Revolution, but a true 

 treatise on contemporary politics. 



Two or three volumes of the new lli:- 

 Encyclopredia have been issued; but the arti- 

 cles on Russian subjects are not so good as 

 they should be. We cannot help looking with 

 more anxiety for the " Dictionary of Kus-ian 

 Contemporaries," by Suvorin, which is air* 

 announced as in the press. 



In the literature of travel we have the first 

 volume of the travels in Toorkistan and Cen- 

 tral Asia of the naturalist Severtzof a book 

 of travel in Spain, Eirvpt, Arabia, and India, 

 by Skalkovsky ; and the entertaining storv of 

 " A Russian Workman on an American Plan- 

 tation." Colonel Veninkof, the Secretary of 

 the Geographical Society, has published, in 

 one volume, his lectures before the Staff Acad- 

 emy and his articles in the Military L'> 

 " On the Russian Boundaries in Asia." It is 

 furnished with maps, and is important not only 

 for geography, but more so for the history of 

 Russian advance in Asia. 



Russian literature has this year suffered a 

 loss in Fedor Ivanoviteli Tntclicf, a graceful 

 and pleasing poet, and a warm friend of litera- 

 ture. He wrote little, but that little is good. 

 Ho died in July, at the age of seventy. His 

 early life was passed abroad in the diplomatic 

 service, and since 1857 ho was at the head of 

 the foreign censorship. 



SERVIA AND CROATIA.. In the literature 

 of the South-Slavonians I remark the fol- 

 low in;; original productions: The fourth vol- 

 iime of " Starine," an arehajological publica- 

 tion, and vols. xxi. -xxiv. of the scientific 

 orj:an of the South-Slavonian Academy, tho 

 chief contributors to which arc ]>r. Hacki, 

 I'r. Danic'io' Stojan Novakovic', and others. 



In poetry I note, among other*, " Pjcsmo 

 i l!e-iede"V Songs and Tales") by Pa'ulino- 

 vic': the old Croatian poets, particularly those 

 of tho sixteenth century, edited and explained 

 by Dr. Danic'ic'; " Wreath of Serbro-Cn.a- 

 tian Songs," by Lazar Kostic', the same 

 writer who has translated several dramatic 

 works of Shakespeare. Finally, as authors of 

 dramatic poetry, we may mention "The I!mr- 

 Cado," by Kiiknlvevic', and "The Fall of 

 Novogorod," by Matiya Ban. The best nov- 

 els of the year are " Cohlen Whip," " Salt and 

 Broad," and "Pobratim," nil by Dr. Vladan 

 Gyorgyevic'. 



