438 



LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1887. 



idealistic philosophy. M. E. de Pressenss6 

 continues his vigorous apologetic work in be- 

 half of religion by an interesting volume enti- 

 tled "Les Antecedents du Christianisme." M. 

 Guyau discourses of " Irreligion and the Fu- 

 ture." M. Nourisson opposes evolution in his 

 work " Philosophies of Nature," as exemplified 

 by Bacon, Boyle, Toland, and Buffon. Dr. Paul 

 Regnard says, in a book devoted to this sub- 

 ject, that the epidemic intellectual malady of 

 the seventeenth century was sorcery ; of the 

 eighteenth, miracles ; of the nineteenth, som- 

 nambulism ; and that the malady of the twenti- 

 eth century will be a universal outbreak of 

 carnage. Animal magnetism is treated of fully 

 by A. Binet and 0. Fere, and Dr. La Tourette 

 gives a scholarly account of hypnotism and 

 its adjuncts. M. P. Hervieu, in his " L'ln- 

 connu," presents a curious yet interesting 

 study of insanity. A. Laissant, in his book 

 " L'Anarchie Bourgeoise," argues in favor of 

 establishing a great socialist- republican party 

 to overcome the influence of the bourgeoisie, 

 whom he holds to be authors of the ills which 

 have afflicted France since the Revolution ; and 

 A. Duruy and E. Manenvrier discuss freely and 

 pointedly current educational theories. The 

 novels of the year have been much the same 

 as last year's, in quality as well as quantity. 

 The Zola school continues its disgusting work, 

 and seems to find abundance of readers. Paul 

 Bourget's " Andr6 Cornelis," a story after the 

 Hamlet type, is highly lauded by the critics, as 

 also are Guy de Maupassant's " Mont-Oriol " 

 and " Pierre et Jean," and M. Prevost's " Le 

 Scorpion." Victor Cherbuliez writes elegantly 

 in his " La Bete," but is held by the critics 

 to have produced a melange less savory than 

 satisfactory. M. de Bonnieres gives a good 

 study of a young French girl in " Jeanne 

 Avril " ; E. Arene furnishes some gay and 

 pretty stories of the south ; and P. Loti pre- 

 sents a series of Japanese romances under the 

 title "Madame Chrysantherae." In poetry the 

 palm is said still to belong to two veterans, 

 M. Sully-Prudhomme and M. Francois Copp6e. 

 The former has given nothing new this year, 

 but M. Coppee has published a charming vol-' 

 ume entitled " Arriere-Saison," full of kindli- 

 ness of heart and genuine sentiment. One 

 of the critics designates him as the French 

 "Wordsworth. M. de Rouchaud's "Poemesde 

 la Mort " are highly commended for artistic 

 execution; M. C. de Pomairols shows delicate 

 sensibility in his " La Nature et 1' Art " ; M. 

 Henri Guerin's " Pallas Ath6n6 " has been 

 much noticed. He is one of the few young 

 poets who gives promise for the future. M. 

 Samain's " Invitation " is pronounced to be 

 one of the masterpieces of French contemporary 

 literature. Among the essayists who continue 

 to hold high rank are M. Taine, M. Renan, M. 

 Jules Soury, M. M6zieres, M. Ernile Monte- 

 gut, etc. The last named has recently pub- 

 lished " Choses du Nord et du Midi " and 

 " Melanges Critiques " ; Renan has issued in 



one volume a collection of his "Discours et 

 Conferences." Two names deserve special 

 mention in this connection, viz., M. J. Dar- 

 mesteter and M. Eugene M. de Vogue. The 

 former is characterized as the more intensive 

 and suggestive; the latter more of an artist, 

 more delicately harmonious. His " Souvenirs 

 et Visions," and particularly the pages on the 

 Crimea, testify to his rare talent and skill. The 

 literature of travel is well represented this 

 year. M. Pierre Loti, in his " Propos d'Exil," 

 describes excellently the latest foreign coun- 

 tries visited by him, China, Tonquin, Annam, 

 India, Oboch. Albert Tissandier gives the 

 public "Six Mois aux Etats-Unis," and C. 

 Bigot tells of his experiences and observations 

 in " De Paris au Niagara." Henri Conti de- 

 scribes "L'Allemagne Intime"; G. de Moli- 

 nari furnishes a useful volume made up from 

 letters in the " D6bats," on " Panama, La Mar- 

 tinique, Haiti"; Emile Daireaux deals with 

 " La Vie et Les Moeurs a la Plata," a compre- 

 hensive work ; and Dr. Bernard presents a 

 highly colored picture of primitive conditions 

 in his "L'Algerie qui s'en Va." We may 

 further mention here the "Lettres de Gustave 

 Flaubert," edited by his niece. These cover 

 the period from 1830-'50, and are delightful 

 memorials of a great man. The miscellaneous 

 writings of M. Guizot and his wife have been 

 collected under the title "Le Temps pass6." 

 Something also has been done in the way of 

 bringing out new editions of standard works, 

 such as Vol. I of "The Works of Blaise Pas- 

 cal "; "Select Works of Voltaire," edited by 

 G. Bengesco ; " The Works of Cardinal de 

 Retz,"in eight volumes, edited by M. R. Chan- 

 telauze; and an edition of "CEnvres et Corre- 

 spondance Inedites de d'Alembert," by Charles 

 Henry. 



Germany. The number of books published 

 this year is very large, amounting in all to 

 nearly 17,000. This includes books of every 

 possible kind, in poetry, fiction, history, biog- 

 raphy, the sciences, the fine arts, philosophy, 

 etc. Our record is necessarily confined to a 

 selection from these, which will, however, we 

 hope, give a fair idea of literary culture as well 

 as progress in Germany during 1887. In poetry 

 the publications have not been strikingly good 

 or important. The Westphalian poetess, An- 

 nette von Droste-Hnlshoff, died prematurely 

 and much lamented. A complete edition of 

 her lyric and epic works has been brought out, 

 and is highly prized. Otto von Leixner, au- 

 thor of " Diimmerungen," makes his first ap- 

 pearance this year, as does also Ernst von 

 Wildenbruch, author of "Liederund Balladen," 

 in this particular line. The poems of Martin 

 Greif, the Bavarian poet, have reached a fourth 

 edition. Karl Schaeffer and Paul Bahr have 

 brought out two excellent volumes of lyric 

 poetry, under the titles " Heiderosen " and 

 "NenesBuch der Lieder." Several epic pro- 

 ductions deserve notice, viz., R. Gottschall's 

 " Merlins Wanderungen," a satire on Parisian 



