LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1887. 



437 



had been some sixty years professor in the 

 University of Copenhagen, and was known to 

 the world of scholars everywhere. His "Rec- 

 ollections," or Autobiography, and his "Opus- 

 cula Academica," posthumous publications, are 

 regarded as no less valuable than interesting. 

 Prof. Johannes Kok, the linguist, died Jan. 20, 

 1887; Bishop D. G. Mourad, distinguished as 

 an orator and for services to the state in past 

 years, died March 28 at a very advanced age ; 

 M. A. Goldschmidt, the great Danish poet and 

 author, died August 15, aged sixty-eight, deep- 

 ly lamented ; and T. Lange, one of the fore- 

 most poets and novelists of Denmark, died 

 August 25 he is best known, probably, by his 

 " The Stream and the Ocean," and " Light 

 Nights." In the department of history we note 

 the chief books which have appeared during 

 the year. T. Lund has published Vol. VIII of 

 his valuable " History of Denmark and Nor- 

 way at the Close of the Sixteenth Century " ; 

 Chr. Brunn gives a treatise on " The Establish- 

 ment of Absolute Government in Denmark " ; 

 L. Lund writes in a scholarly manner of the 

 "Real Portraits of Jesus," a volume which has 

 produced quite a sensation in Denmark ; and 

 O. H. Aagard has furnished a monogram on 

 Scottish history from 1536 to 1560. In biog- 

 raphy, G. Bricka's "Danish Biographical Lexi- 

 con " promises to supply a much-felt need ; it 

 has reached its sixth part thus far. The popu- 

 lar biography of the great naval hero, Tor- 

 denskjold (1691-1720), by W. Carstensen and 

 G. Liltken, with costly illustrations, has been 

 completed. M. Holme and Garde have under- 

 taken to bring out an illustrated record of the 

 recent " Danish Boat Expedition in Green- 

 land " ; only the first eight parts have appeared. 

 Galschiot's "Denmark Illustrated" is advancing 

 slowly ; part 24 is the latest issued. A. Thorsen 

 has completed his elaborate work on the reign 

 of King Frederick VII. George Brandes, the 

 distinguished critic and litterateur, is busy on 

 the sixth volume of his " Main Currents in the 

 Literature of the Nineteenth Century " ; he 

 means to publish the work when finished both in 

 Danish and in German. H. Pontoppidan, one of 

 the best among the younger writers of fiction, 

 has brought out two new volumes, viz., " Mimo- 

 sas, or Sensitive Plants," and " From the Huts," 

 a series of minor tales, in which he depicts pow- 

 erfully the hard lot of the peasantry. O. M oiler 

 furnishes new "Tales and Sketches" of merit, 

 and A. Steenbuch, in his "Rector Lassen," 

 gives evidence of keen observation of provin- 

 cial life and manners. Mrs. Ina Lange, in a 

 story entitled " A Fate," deals with life a hun- 

 dred or more years ago. The critics speak in 

 high terms of the book. G. Jensen, in " A 

 Hunting," tells in a lively and pleasant way 

 about the hunter's life and exploits ; and the 

 famous poet, H. Drachmann, has just put forth 

 a long story under the name "With the Broad 

 Brush." In the drama, Drachmann, early in 

 the year, wrote a fairy piece, " Once upon a 

 Time," which was well received for its poetic 



fervor, and proved a great success at the Royal 

 Theatre. G. Betzonick's " The Soldier " was 

 a still greater success, and roused much enthu- 

 siasm by its glorification of the deeds of the 

 army in the first Sleswick war. E. Brandes 

 published anew drama entitled " Love," which 

 met with favor on the stage, and is said to be 

 a work of rare merit. Liebenberg's monu- 

 mental edition of Holberg's comedies has 

 reached part 37, but it will require nearly 

 double that number to complete the work. In 

 philosophy, H. Hoffding has published a large 

 and valuable work on "Ethics," which is re- 

 garded as a proper accompaniment to his 

 " Psychology " (1882). Prof. Thomden's 

 "Unity of Matter "is highly praised by the 

 critics. As noted last year, there exists a 

 strong disposition to translate into Danish the 

 writings of American authors, such as Cooper, 

 Ingersoll, Miss Alcott, Henry James, etc. The 

 great poet, Goldschmidt, whose death was 

 noted above, left a number of manuscripts, one 

 of which, " Small Sketches from Fancy and 

 Reality," has been published. 



France. Literary production has been fertile 

 and abundant, and there is no falling off of 

 books published this year. It is simply im- 

 possible in our limited space to mention all, or 

 even a tenth part, of the books which have 

 appeared. Hence we shall endeavor to name 

 those only which indicate most fitly the drift 

 or tendency of literature in the several depart- 

 ments. In history, philosophy, and criticism 

 the year's productions are noteworthy; but in 

 great creative or poetic invention there is a 

 marked decline. As one critic phrases it, 

 "there is no doubt that Victor Hugo, Th6- 

 ophile Gautier, and Michelet have carried the 

 most splendid of its radiance to their tombs." 

 Out of the large number of contributions to 

 history we name M. Taine's "Studies respect- 

 ing Napoleon I" ; Renan's " Histoiredu Peuple 

 d'Israel," vol. i, which is characterized by all 

 the writer's brilliancy and well-known skepti- 

 cism ; Thureau-Dangin's very able " History 

 of the Monarchy of July," vol. iv; M. A. 

 Sorel's "Europe and the French Revolution"; 

 J. Lichtenberger's " History of Religious Ideas 

 in Germany," from the rise of Wolf and his 

 school to the present epoch of ultra-Roman- 

 ism and infidelity; G. d'Avenel's third volume 

 of his work on " Richelieu et la Monarchie 

 Absolue"; J. Zeller's second part of his "En- 

 tretiens sur 1'Histoire du Moyen Age," from 

 Louis I, end of eighth century, to the Crusades; 

 L. Auquez's capital volume on "Henry IV 

 and Germany " ; L. Marlot's " Correspondence 

 of Louise de Coligny," which is characterized 

 as fascinating to a high degree ; and A. Van- 

 dal's narrative of the mission of the Marquis 

 de Villeneuve to Constantinople in 1728-1741. 

 In philosophy, religion, and science, publications 

 have been numerous. M. Ferraz's work on 

 " Spiritualism and Liberalism " is regarded as 

 valuable and timely, predicting as it does a 

 complete harmony between science and the 



