496 



LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1886. 



Baker, Haldene wrote on " Sub-Tropical Cul- 

 tivation and Climate," Geikie's " Class-Book 

 and Outlines of Geology " was issued, also 

 Wood's " Luminif erous ^Ether," llartmaim's 

 " Anthropoid Apes," and a translation of Weid- 

 ersheim's " Elements of the Comparative Anat- 

 omy of Vertebrates." 



Among philosophical works were Maudsley's 

 "Natural Causes and Supernatural Seemings," 

 Seth's lectures on " Scottish Philosophy," Hal- 

 dene and Kemp translated the second and 

 third volumes of Schopenhauer's "The World 

 as Will and Idea," and there appeared Sorley's 

 " Ethics and Naturalism," and Caroline Had- 

 don's " Studies in Hinton's Ethics." 



Political and social economy were treated 

 in Sir Henry Maine's "Popular Government," 

 in " Class Interests in their Relation to Each 

 Other and to Government," and Barnes's 

 " Labor Problem." There were also published 

 Taylor's "Introduction to a History of the 

 Factory System," Graham's "Social Problem 

 in its Economical, Moral, and Political As- 

 pects," Lord Brabazon's " Social Arrows," 

 White's "Problems of a Great City," Birk- 

 beck's " Historical Sketch of the Distribution 

 of Land in England," and Phillips's "Labor, 

 Land, and Law." Giffen issued a second se- 

 ries of his collected " Essays in Finance," Rae 

 a book entitled "The Country Banker," and 

 Thwing's "The Family," and Robertson Smith's 

 "Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia," dis- 

 cussed this branch of sociology. 



LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1886. The 

 unsettled condition of political affairs has had 

 its effect, and that not altogether favorable to 

 good letters. Literature, nevertheless, in the 

 broad sense of the term, has flourished to a 

 fair extent, and various works of merit have 

 been published. The love of letters continues 

 to manifest itself, and writers of ability and es- 

 tablished reputation, as well as new candidates 

 for public favor, have contributed freely. In 

 accordance with the plan heretofore adopted, 

 we give the record in the alphabetical order of 

 countries on the Continent. 



Belginm. The number of books on history 

 and its cognates is not large this year. Alt- 

 meyer's posthumous work, entitled " Les Pre- 

 curseurs de la Reforme aux Pays-Bas," is val- 

 uable, though not attractive in style, and M. 

 Nameche has published three volumes of his 

 " Cours d'Histoire Nationale," as a separate 

 work, under the title "Le Regne de Philippe 

 II dans les Pays-Bas." A fifth volume of the 

 "Correspondence of the Cardinal de Gran- 

 velle " has been published by M. Piot, suc- 

 cessor to the much-lamented Louis Gachard, 

 keeper of the records of the realm, who died 

 during 1886. M. S. Bormans has edited the 

 Latin memoir of Onuphrius, the Pontificial le- 

 gate, on the " State of Liege, in 1468," when 

 the struggle against Charles the Bold was at 

 its height. M. F. Van der Haeghen and bis 

 collaborators have completed the excellent 

 " Bibliographic Lipsienne," in which the fa- 



mous Belgian philologist receives the due meed 

 of praise. The new volumes of " National 

 Biography " extend from Van Helmont to 

 Henschling. In the department of local his- 

 tory may be named the first portion of M. 

 Genard's " Anvers a travers les Ages." 

 Count d'Alviella published a summary of his 

 lectures at the University of Brussels, in his 

 " Introduction to the General History of Re- 

 ligions " ; and M. G. Kurth, in his " Origin of 

 Modern Civilization," has contributed an im- 

 portant book on the early centuries of the 

 middle ages. The critics charge the writer 

 with a too manifest purpose of striving to up- 

 hold the Church of Rome. In social science 

 the contributions are few and meager. M. 

 Roose's " The Work of P. P. Rubens " is highly 

 praised for its type and illustrations; the first 

 numbers only have been published. Several 

 interesting volumes of travel have appeared, 

 giving accounts of explorations and visits in 

 Congo and other parts of Africa, in the United 

 States, etc. The school known as " Young 

 Belgium " continues to be active and energetic 

 in various departments of literature, chiefly in 

 poetry and fiction. M. C. Lemonnier, now 

 resident in Paris, has published " Happe- 

 Chair," which is said to be a sort of Belgian 

 counterpart of Zola's " Germinal." Some aes- 

 thetic essays have been published, and several 

 new plays by Rulens, Waller, and Nautet, 

 have been put on the stage in Brussels. Flem- 

 ish literature excites much attention, and fresh 

 editions of the older writers, as II. Conscience, 

 Madame Courtmans, etc., have appeared. In 

 the drama the production is steady, and on 

 the whole creditable. Various indications are 

 given that Flemish literature is increasing in 

 importance, especially as one half the popula- 

 tion of Belgium use the old tongue. A num- 

 ber of monographs on the Flemish movement 

 and on local history have been published, ar 

 M. F. de Potter continues his great work 

 the history of " Ghent from Early Times to 

 Present Day." Two publications of old texl 

 have aroused public attention, and M. N. 

 Pauw has brought out the edicts of the magis 

 trates of Ghent in the fourteenth century. 



Bohemia. Bohemian literature seems to 

 growing and improving, and the record fc 

 1886 is on the whole encouraging. Cech, now 

 in the prime of life, contributes excellent speci- 

 mens of poetry, satire, etc., and J. Vrehlicky, 

 the most esteemed of national poets, has pub- 

 lished two volumes of lyric and narrative 

 poetry. I. Zeyer and A. Heyduch have also 

 brought out poems of superior merit. The 

 drama is well sustained, and novels are both 

 abundant and good. J. Braun writes histori- 

 cal novels, F. Herite satirical sketches, Vreh- 

 licky ironical and sentimental tales, and Z. 

 Winter stories drawn from Bohemian archives. 

 Illustrated books meet with popular favor, 

 among which may be named the " Queen's 

 Court Manuscript," by Manes; "Bohemia," 

 containing a description of Prague, by E. Tou- 



