LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1877. 



LITERATURE, ENGLISH. 453 



novels, which are improving every year, do so 

 very gradually, and those which are readable 

 are incredibly few. Books on scientific sub- 

 jects, although their number is small, are 

 somewhat more satisfactory. It is evident 

 that the taste of the public is daily improv- 

 ing; for it is not uncommon to find two and 

 three editions announced of scientific works, 

 even of those which are not used as text-books 

 in the Spanish universities and schools. The 

 public are becoming daily more interested in 

 lectures and conferences, in the provinces as 

 well as at Madrid. Besides those held at the 

 Ateneo of Madrid during the winter months, 

 an interesting and instructive course of lect- 

 ures has been given at the university upon 

 agriculture ; at the Conservatory of Arts on 

 natural science ; and at the Geographical So- 

 ciety and Free Institution on a variety of sub- 

 jects. The conferences held at the Free Insti- 

 tution have been very popular, and have been 

 listened to with great attention by a mixed 

 audience of men and women. For the first 

 time in Spain, the public have paid a small 

 sum on entering to remunerate the lecturer, 

 and women have been seen to take an interest 

 in these subjects. 



The most important critical historical work 

 which has appeared this year in Spain is " La 

 Vida de la Princesa de Eboli," by Muro. It 

 ia rarely that a critical work of this high type 

 is written in Spain, the result of many years 

 of careful study of original documents, and 

 having no other object than to state the exact 

 truth of what had taken place. A great num- 

 ber of excellent critical studies on the leading 

 characters of the reign of Philip II. have been 

 written by Gachard, Pidal, Prescott, Mignet, 

 and Mouy, as valuable as this volume by Muro, 

 but none of them is superior to it. The Prin- 

 cess of Eboli, during great part of her life, had 

 great influence over Philip II. ; it has always 

 been supposed that the king was violently en- 

 amored of her, and that his jealousy caused 

 him to banish and persecute the princess and 

 Antonio Perez in the latter years of her life. 

 Sefior Muro gives numerous details of the his- 

 tory of these supposed amours, and comes to 

 the conclusion that not a single document ex- 

 ists by which they can be proved, and, on the 

 contrary, that all the letters and original docu- 

 ments which he has consulted tend to show 

 that no amorous connection ever existed be- 

 tween them. This idea is so new that, if trne, 

 it puts an end to a number of theories which 

 have been established on it. The former view 

 of this subject is still upheld by many critics. 



The Spanish Government bought, early in 

 1876, two bronze tablets, engraved with Ro- 

 man inscriptions of a very high interest. Dr. 

 Berlanga published at the time a pamphlet in 

 which he describes them. Since then he has 

 written " Los Nuevos Bronces de Osuna," in 

 which he gives the original text, and transla- 

 tions with extensive learned commentaries. 

 This volume has met with the approbation of 



the German critics of such subjects. The tab- 

 lets found at Osuna contain twenty-two arti- 

 cles of the municipal laws granted to the town 

 of Julia Genetiva. They were engraved a lit- 

 tle after the middle of the first century A. D., 

 in the time of Vespasian. The Marquis of 

 Loring has the remaining tablets belonging to 

 this series, found at Osuna, Malaga, and Sal- 

 pensa; they form a unique collection, and the 

 only one known to exist in Europe on the Ro- 

 man municipal law. They have been all de- 

 scribed by Dr. Berlanga. 



A useful book 'has also appeared, " Apuntes 

 Biograficos de Escritores Segovianos," by Ba- 

 ena, in which the biographies collected by 

 Colmenares have been enlarged and improved. 

 "Recuerdos Historicos de Avila," by Arias, 

 contains a series of documents which will be 

 useful to illustrate a life of St. Teresa. 



Books of travel are becoming most popular 

 in Spain ; it is highly probable that in time 

 they will form an important branch of Spanish 

 literature. The best is certainly "De Madrid 

 a Madrid dando la Vuelta del Mundo," by Du- 

 puy de Lome, a young diplomatist, who has 

 resided for two years in Japan, and afterward 

 traveled round the world. This book is writ- 

 ten in a light and easy style, but with much 

 power of observation and criticism. 



LITERATURE, ENGLISH. The year 1877 

 was distinguished by the appearance of no 

 work of the first order of genius or of merit. 

 Books giving evidence of talent, learning, and 

 research, were not wanting. Of light litera- 

 ture there was the usual quota. Religious and 

 political discussion were as active as ever. 

 The only form of literature that seems to have 

 grown in power and effective influence is that 

 which is cultivated in periodicals. At no for- 

 mer period has an equal amount of ability and 

 knowledge found expression in reviews and 

 magazines. Many of the books that appear 

 are made up of "articles," or set out more at 

 large what had thus been rehearsed in epitome. 

 It is probable that these facts stand in the re- 

 lation of cause and effect, the more ephemeral 

 gaining at the expense of more durable work. 

 In quantity the amount of publication shows 

 no decline, but an increase rather. The whole 

 number of new books was 4,614, exclusive of 

 American importations and of reprints. The 

 several departments in the order of numerical 

 proportion stand : 1. Fiction ; 2. Theology ; 8. 

 Education ; 4. Juvenile ; 5. History and biogra- 

 phy; 6. Belles-lettres; 7. Poetry and drama; 

 last in diminishing series, travels, arts, sciences, 

 economics, jurisprudence. The active literary 

 exchange that goes on between England and 

 America brings before the public of either 

 country the best books of the other in simul- 

 taneous publication or in prompt reprinting. 

 Having in a preceding article (LITERATI-RE AND 

 LITERARY PROGRESS, AMERICAN-, under the head 

 Republications) referred to the more important 

 of the English books reproduced here, what 

 follows is mainly supplementary to that 



