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Oxford, where he graduated in 1835, in the third class in classics. Immediately after his graduation he received a college fellowship, which he still retains, being now third senior on the list; and in 1842 he was elected to one of the Vinerian Fellowships, which afforded him the alternatives of divinity, physic, or law. Accordingly in 1843, he became a member of the Society of Lincoln's Inn, but soon after abandoned his legal practice and gave his attention wholly to literature. In 1847 he received the degree of Doctor of Civil Law from his university, and for a brief period, in 1851, he held the office of vice-president of Magdalen, when he rendered his society good service in treating with Lord Russell's commissioners.

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Charles Reade's first story, "Peg Woffington, was published in 1852, and was followed by Christie Johnstone" the next year. These stories are simple in plot and unpretentious in design, but are full of dramatic force, rich in incident, and marked by a peculiar tenderness and pathos. Three years later appeared two other novelettes, "Clouds and Sunshine" and "Art, a Dramatic Tale." These first stories met with a flattering success, and immediately gave the author high rank as a writer of fiction. In 1856 appeared the first of his more important novels, "It is Never too Late to Mend." In this work he aimed to arouse public attention to the brutalities of the prevailing prison system, and was instrumental in bringing about a wholesome reform. The same method of attack upon various social and public wrongs was pursued by Mr. Reade in many of his later works. Hard Cash" (1863) was directed against the abuses of lunatic asylums, and so forcibly were the facts presented that an official investigation was directed, which led ultimately to a change in the English lunacy laws. "Put Yourself in his Place" (1870) is an exposure of the system of terrorism practiced by the trades-unions in English manufacturing towns for the intimidation of independent workmen. Among the most popular of his other novels are The Double Marriage, or White Lies" (1857); "Love Me Little, Love me Long" (1859); "The Cloister and

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the Hearth" (1861): "Griffith Gaunt, or Jealousy" (1866); "A Terrible Temptation" (1871);The Wandering Heir" (1872); and "A Hero and a Martyr" (1875). His latest production, "The Coming Man," recently published, has excited a good deal of attention.

Mr. Reade has also won a reputation as a dramatic author, and, indeed, exhibits in many ways a decided inclination toward the stage. Among his first literary efforts was a drama in five acts, entitled "Gold," which appeared in 1850. In conjunction with Mr. Tom Taylor he published in 1854 a volume of plays, containing "Masks and Faces," which is a dramatization of his first story, "Peg Woffington;" "Two Loves and a Life," and "The King's Rival." Many of his later novels have also been dramatized with success.

Although it was not until about the age of forty that Charles Reade achieved eminence as an author, yet the number and frequency of his works that have ap peared since that time are an abundant testimony to the amplitude of his intellectual powers, as well as to a remarkable degree of personal industry and energy. As an example of the latter characteristic, a London paper, Light, recently called attention to the fact that when he issued "his great prose prison-epic" he was his own publisher. He managed and paid for the printing, bought the paper, arranged with the binder-in fact, brought out the book to be sold on commission, and punctually every week superintended the accounts. This," says Light, "is only one indication of the superabundant energy and vigor of the man. Nothing has been too small or too great for him to learn. Had printers failed, he was quite capable of taking of his coat and setting up his work with his own hands. Had every publisher in Europe been in a league against his works, he would have turned his house into a book-shop and published there. Had he been born on the Continent face to face with the

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censor,' he would have conquered the censor and alarmed the king. Well may we call him Charles the Bold; the title would be perfect if one did not feel a longing desire to christen him Charles the True."

In personal appearance Mr. Reade is tall, erect, of a commanding presence, with a full, expressive brown eye and a noble brow. His manner is singularly dignified without being arrogant, and in society he sustains an enviable reputation as a conversationalist. The account of the "mirror-multiplied and grotto-bedecked" surroundings of the sanctum of Mr. Rolfe, the literary character in "A Terrible Temptation," is said to be

a pretty accurate picture of Mr. Reade's Own manner of work. His literary style is characterized by great terseness and vigor, and by a wealth of incident which few writers have possessed. Nearly all of his works have been translated into the different languages of Europe, and their great popularity has won for him the reputation of one of the leading novelists of the age.

LITERARY NOTICES.

Mr.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. By Henry James, Jr. (English Men of Letters. Edited by John Morley). New York: Harper & Bros. So little is known as yet of the life and character of Hawthorne that he furnishes a comparatively new subject to the biographer and critic, and almost anything that could be written about him now would possess freshness and interest for the majority of readers. James's little book contains very little of what is meant by biography in the ordinary sense, and what little it does contain is simply a reproduction of materials which Mr. George Parsons Lathrop had already used in his Study of Hawthorne." It is, as he himself says, rather a critical essay than a biography; and in point of fact the materials for an adequate and detailed life of Hawthorne, if they exist at all, have been prevented, by his own express prohibition, from being rendered accessible. The industry and zeal of Mr. Lathrop have brought together all the data that zeal or industry could discover; and how scanty these are the reader of his " Study" already knows.

Viewed as a critical essay, Mr. James's little book possesses what a Frenchman would call

the defects of its qualities." It is wonderfully subtle, acute, penetrating, and discriminating-it may be pronounced, we think, on the whole, the finest piece of purely literary criticism that American literature contains; but it produces the effect which such over-elaborate criticism always does, in burying our broad general conceptions of Hawthorne under a mass of minute distinctions. The literary method adopted by Mr. James is that of Sainte-Beuve, and he possesses much of Sainte-Beuve's delicate insight and graceful felicity of touch; but while the great French critic seldom fails to convey a distinct and definite impression of his subject, both as a person and as a writer, Mr. James seems to be afraid of those bold, decided, unhesitating strokes which would give body and form to his ideas. He is so cautious, guarded, qualified in all he says, so anxious

apparently to avoid self-committal, and so distrustful of anything like emphasis or affirmation, that the most attentive reader will find it next to impossible to deduce from what he has written any clear and comprehensive conceptions either of Hawthorne as a man or of Hawthorne as an author.

One reason, we regret to say, for Mr. James's excessively guarded and tentative tone appears to be the fear of appearing “provincial" in the eyes of that public for which his book was written. Many little touches here and there show that English readers were chiefly in his mind while he was writing; and this is proper enough, in view of the fact that his book was designed for publication in an English series. But what is less easily explained and accepted is a certain air of condescension toward America and Americans, which has often before been observed in foreigners, but which still possesses all the charm of novelty when exhibited by one who is an American himself. Mr. James has hitherto been accused of having exhibited this in his tales, and has been excused on the ground that as a novelist he was merely portraying character and manners; but this explanation will hardly suffice for what seems to us a distinctly patronizing tone, not only toward Hawthorne but toward everything American—a certain air of condescending affability, as of one who is familiar with much better things, but who has a sort of genial willingness to recognize and even applaud whatever of good he may happen to discover in us. Mr. James will probably regard our criticism as a specimen of that self-consciousness which he declares to be the national characteristic of Americans, and it would be difficult to justify it by any single passage from his essay that could be brought within our limits; but the truth is that the entire book is pervaded with it, and no one who reads it as a whole will find any difficulty in perceiving what we mean. Such being the case, we should be justified, perhaps, in insti

tuting a comparison between the works of the two writers, with a view to discovering the grounds upon which Mr. James considers himselt entitled to patronize Hawthorne and his milieu; but this would not only be beyond the legitimate function of literary criticism, but would also work injustice to Mr. James, by as. suming that to be intentional which is probably only the unconscious reflection of a state of mind which is far removed, let us hope, from that "provincialism" which he so much dreads.

One thing, however, which we should not omit to add is that, though unsatisfactory as a whole, and somewhat provoking in manner, Mr. James's essay contains much excellent criticism very beautifully expressed. We do not, for our own part, believe that there is nearly so much doubt about the quality of Hawthorne's romances or the permanence of his fame as Mr. James would seem to imply; but the peculiar merits of those romances and the basis upon which that fame must rest have never been analyzed with more discriminating acuteness, or demonstrated by more conclusive arguments. There are a score of passages that we had marked as almost demanding quotation; but our space, unfortunately, will not allow us to introduce even one, and we must content ourselves with warmly commend, ing the essay to the attention of all intelligent readers.

A LADY'S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. By Isabella L. Bird. With Illustrations. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

In a collection of letters written by an English lady travelling in Colorado to a sister at home one would hardly expect to find anything very exciting; yet for downright adventurous interest there is no recent book of travels that will compare with "A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains." Miss Bird is already known favorably both as a traveller and as a writer, and her journey of five hundred miles on horseback through Japan was an achievement such as few ladies have been able to boast of. Το none of her previous adventures, however, did she bring such zest and hearty enjoyment as to her Rocky Mountain rambles, and the record of these is in consequence much the best thing she has written.

The letters are not dated, but we gather from certain details incidentally mentioned that Miss Bird's journey was made in 1873. Even at a period so recent as that, the experiences of a traveller in Colorado were very different from what they would be now. The picturesque era of the frontier desperado is past; pioneers, tourists, and settlers have crowded into the vast wastes whose solitary awesomeness impressed Miss Bird so powerfully; the

paths and “trails" amid which she found it so difficult to pick her lonely way have become the beaten highways of travel; and no portion of Colorado is now left to which it would be possible to attach that romantic glamour of remoteness and solitude with which she has suffused Estes Park and its surroundings. Colorado is no longer "the land that is very far off," but a full-blown "State," whose farthest distances can be easily reached in a few days from New York; and Miss Bird's book is the record of a condition of things which has passed away as completely as if it belonged to another century and another social régime.

The journey of over seven hundred miles was made by Miss Bird on horseback, and entirely alone, save for casual encounters with settlers, ranchmen, freighters, hunters, desperadoes, and Indians; but her narrative is more remarkable for the skill with which she imparts picturesqueness to the ordinary incidents of such a journey than for any especially daring or perilous adventures which it contains, though there was no lack of either danger or adventure. It is difficult to conceive of a lady as performing many of the feats or making some of the ventures which she describes; but not the least interesting feature of Miss Bird's book is the demonstration which it affords of what a woman can do without compromising in the slightest degree the essential purity and dignity of womanhood. After an experience very exceptional and varied, she herself bears testimony to the fact that womanly dignity and manly respect for women are the salt of society in this wild West."

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With the space at our command it would be impossible even to summarize the events of Miss Bird's journey, and we will end as we began, by saying, with the utmost possible emphasis, that for downright adventurous interest, no recent record of travel will compare with "A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains."

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND
ITS EARLY
LITERATURE. By J. H. Gilmore, A.M.,
Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and English in
the University of Rochester. New York:
D. Appleton & Co.

This is an outline sketch of the history of the English language and its literature up to the time of Chaucer, and is intended apparently to serve as a text-book in schools and colleges. As text-books are commonly used it is entirely inadequate, being confined rigidly to the dry bones of the subject; but properly supplemented with lectures and illustrative readings by the instructor-which, indeed, is the only rational method of instruction in this department-the book will probably be found very serviceable in the class-room, as furnishing an

excellent course of lessons introductory to the subsequent studies in literature proper. All the salient facts relating to each topic are included, and copious notes are given, with references to the best writers who have treated the same period. At the end of the volume is added an outline for a systematic course of reading, extending over the whole field of literature, including American, with lists of the best critical essays to be read in connection with each group of authors. Perhaps the chief value of the book lies in its usefulness as a guide for those who would pursue a thorough course of reading and study in English literature, and need just the intelligent advice and directions that are here given. THE CHILD'S CATECHISM THINGS. By John D. Champlin, Jr. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

OF COMMON

This ingenious and useful little book is probably an outgrowth of the excellent "Child's Cyclopædia of Common Things," which we took occasion to commend in a recent number, and to which it will serve as a stepping-stone or introduction for younger students. Its contents are arranged on the familiar plan of question-and-answer, but the subjects with which it deals are first classified into the three great natural divisions of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, and then the different topics under each head are treated in course as suggested by one another. There can be no doubt that this is much better than a strictly alphabetical arrangement, and, moreover, all the advantages of the latter are secured by a full topical index at the end. All the common things which come within the range of daily life, and especially those that are likely to arouse the curiosity of children, are treated in surprisingly small compass; but by casting the questions into the form of what lawyers would call “ leading questions," these are made to convey nearly as much information as the answers, and much space is thus saved. Both in school and family the "Catechism" ought speedily to secure an honored place; and even adults will find that it answers many a question that is seldom answered so satisfactorily elsewhere. It is truly a cyclopædia in miniature, and more practically useful than cyclopædias commonly are.

FOREIGN LITERARY NOTES.

IT is stated that the late Senator Centofanti, who has just died at the age of eighty-five, has left a volume of Memoirs, which will derive great interest from the author's connection with the Liberal movement in Italy.

DR. CHARLES MACKAY has a work in press

in the French language, under the title of " kécréations Gauloises, ou Origines Françaises," in which all or almost all of the words in M. Littré's Dictionary, for which that author has failed to find an etymology, are traced to their Celtic roots.

IT is stated that the young Maharaja of Udaipur, the acknowledged head of the princes of Rajputana, has ordered all official business in his principality to be conducted in Sanskrit, which has hitherto been as much a dead language in India as Latin in Italy.

IT is reported that M. Tourguenief, who proposed passing the winter in Russia for the purpose of studying the state of affairs and of public opinion in his native country, has received an intimation from high quarters which has compelled him to give up the project.

A NEW edition of the Russian poet Lermontof's works will shortly be published, the last edition, published in 1873, having been exhausted. The editor, M. Efremof, has newly revised the text, and supplemented it from the author's MS. The edition will be in two volumes, the first of which will contain a portrait of the poet, two fac-similes of his hand-writing, and a biographical sketch.

WHEN Mr. Tennyson sits down to writewhich he usually does for five hours a dayhe gives strict orders that he shall not be disturbed. There have been callers who, through some blunder of servants, have got into his library while he was writing and were denounced by him for their intrusion as if they had been his worst enemies. Any interruption while he is at work is said to make him wild; he raves like mad, and, figuratively, foams at the mouth. In his work he is deliberation personified, spending hours sometimes on a single line.

THE British Museum has acquired about a thousand more tablets and fragments of inscribed terra-cotta documents from Babylon. Among them is a tablet of Samsu-Irba, a Babylonian monarch hitherto unknown, who probably lived about the time of Bardes, and was one of the intermediate rulers between Cambyses and Darius, B.C. 518. Another fragment has a representation of one of the gates of Babylon.

THE librarian Bodeman, of Hanover, has discovered in the Göttingen Library the famous "reckoning-machine" of Leibnitz. This wonderful instrument, which at one time attracted the astonishment and admiration of all

Europe, was invented by the philosopher during a long stay in Paris in 1672. The machine cannot only add and subtract, but even divide and multiply. Herr Bodeman has recovered this unique treasure for Hanover.

THE later Jewish literature, as represented in the oldest Midrashim, will soon be more accessible to the curious, thanks to Dr. August Wünsche. Herder long ago expressed a wish that an expert would fish up the pearls from this deep sea of poetry, theology, and science, and we may trust Dr. Wünsche, as a student of Jewish literature who has already made himself a name by various scholarly works, and who now invites subscribers to his Bibliotheca Rabbinica through Mr. David Nutt, 270 Strand. The price of each fasciculus, containing from six to seven sheets, will be two marks.

AN enterprising publisher at Barcelona is now issuing to the public heliographical and photo-typographical copies of one hundred selected illustrations which have appeared in sixty editions of "Don Quixote," published during the last 257 years at Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, the Hague, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Tours, and Venice. Already ninety examples have been published, and the remaining ten will shortly be issued to complete the work.

MR. JOHN PAYNE has found time, in the midst of his labors on his translation of the 'Thousand and One Nights," to complete a new volume of poems, which is now in the press, and will be published almost immediately. The volume will comprise about forty pieces of various lengths, from a sonnet to a poem of 1500 or 1600 lines, and will contain some specimens of the verse in the "Arabian Nights" rendered in the original rhyme and form.

Mr. Payne's version of the "Thousand and One Nights" is steadily progressing toward completion; it will form eight or nine large volumes, and will contain from 10,000 to 12,000 lines of verse.

MR. J. A. SYMONDS is about to print a second edition of "The Age of the Despots," which forms the first volume of his work upon "The Renaissance in Italy." Besides considerable changes and additions in the substance of this volume, he has added a new chapter on the growth of the Communes in Italy, and their transformation into tyrannies, and on the causes which prevented the unification of the Italians in a kingdom or a federation. We are also informed that he is preparing the last section of his work on the Italian Renaissance, which will be a review of Italian literature from the origins to the close of his period, with special reference to the intellectual conditions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

SCIENCE AND ART.

THE COLOR OF THE SKY.-" Why is the sky blue?" is a question which has often been asked, but never satisfactorily answered.

Helmholtz offered an explanation which de. pended on the reflection of solar light by the air particles in the atmosphere. These particles, being very minute, would reflect preferably the shortest waves of light, i.e., blue waves, while they would allow the longer waves, corresponding to green and red light, to pass through them; just as a log of wood floating on the surface of still water would throw off the tiny wavelets caused by a falling drop in its neighborhood, while the same log in long ocean swells would be tossed to and fro without noticeably impeding the progress of the waves. Dr. E. L. Nichols (Philosophical Magazine, December) has propounded another view, which has much to recommend it.

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According to Young and Helmholtz's theory of color-impression, there are in the eye three sets of nerve-termini, one set chiefly influenced by the red, another by the green, the third by the violet rays. The impression of color is the resultant of the intensities of these three effects. The impression upon these nerves is not directly proportional to the intensity of the ray, the different nerve-termini being subject to different laws. For very feeble rays the "violet" nerves are very sensitive, while the 'green' and red'' nerves scarcely act at all. As the light increases in intensity, the "red" and "green" nerves increase in activity, while the "violet" nerves become tired and dazzled. For rays of dazzling brilliancy, the "red" nerves are in their most sensitive condition. Thus, of the simple colors, as the brightness increases, red and green change to yellow, blue becomes white. Daylight, at ordinary intensities, affects the three sets of nerve-termini equally; the resultant impression is whiteness. Now daylight is simply the light of the sun weakened by manifold diffuse reflections. The direct rays of the sun, as we let them fall upon any colorless object, appear also a white light; but on attempting at noon on a clear day to gaze into the sun's face, the impression is of blinding yellow. It is not that the direct rays differ in composition from diffuse daylight, but that the "violet" nerves cannot transmit the action of such strong light. The moon, with enormously less illuminating power than the sun, seems bright, and is far brighter than the open sky. In passing from the intensity of the moon's rays to those reaching us from a corresponding bit of the open sky, we may, perhaps, take a step as great as that between the brightness of sun and moon. In general, white light will appear bluer and bluer as its intensity diminishes, and this law will apply to the skies; as the light they reflect becomes fainter and fainter, they will increase in blueness, even though the light by the process of reflection suffer no change in composition.

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