To begin with, he tells of volumes of poetry without end, describing at considerable length the "Robespierre" epic of Frl. delle Grazie and the didactic poem "Faust und Prometheus" of Herr Hango. In the former, "the author developes her conception of the French Revolution in a series of varied, effective pictures, sometimes, however, degenerating into coarseness." Of the latter we read: "His Faust is not Gretchen's Faust, but his grandson'; it is not love-making, but investigation of the universe, that engages him; Prometheus, the thief of fire, kindles the torch for him, too, which illumines the darkness of the eternal riddle of nature and humanity. Dealing with the science of to-day, whose teachings he renders in luminous parables and melodious verses, the poet, with commendable outspokenness, declares himself against the lawlessness that follows in its train as well as the gloomy pessimism which is built up upon it." Herr Nordau has published a play, " Die Kugel," which has not proved successful. Herr Sudermann's comedy, "Die Schmetterlingsschlacht," was a failure in Berlin and a success in Vienna. It "is more suggestive of a contest between loathsome, poisonous spiders than one between light but lovely butterflies." The same writer has scored the greatest success of the year in fiction with his novel "Es War." "A deep moral tone breathes through the whole; the descriptions of the country and the people that appear in it have a North German, or, to be more accurate, East Prussian character; the local coloring of the language, the mode of thought, the conduct of life, are singularly successful." Herr Spielhagen's latest novel, "Stumme des Himmels," is described as lacking in lifelike character. It" possesses neither a political nor a social purpose; it only deals with a question of society, and a tolerably wellworn one, being an onslaught on aristocratic prejudices." The "professorial" novel seems to be played out, neither the "Cleopatra" of Herr Ebers nor the "Julian der Abtrünnige of Herr Dahn having succeeded in effacing the memory of their predecessors. Other fiction of note includes "Wider den Kurfürsten," by Herr Hans Hoffmann, a tale of the siege of Stettin in 1678; "Die Martinsklause," by Herr Ludwig Ganghofer; and shorter stories by Herr Heyse and Frau von Ebner-Eschenbach. Bismarck literature naturally cuts a large figure in the work of the year, and includes a fivevolume biography by Herr Hans Blum, a collection of Fürst Bismarck's speeches, a new

volume of "Tischgespräche " (including some interesting conversations with Motley), and even the first issue of a Bismarck "Jahrbuch." Professor von Sybel's Professor von Sybel's "Geschichte der Begründung des Deutschen Reichs durch Wilhelm I.," of which the sixth and seventh volumes have appeared during the year, is virtually a biography of the Iron Chancellor. Goethe literature is represented by Herr Richard Meyr's essays, and Shakespeare literature by Herr E. Bormann's "Shakespeare-Geheimniss," which latter, "in its curious handling of the Shakespeare-Bacon controversy, surpasses all its American and European predecessors in grotesque invention. According to this author, Bacon's Instauratio Magna consists of two parts, the one scientific and written in prose under his own name, the other symbolic, in dramatic form, under the pseudonym Shakespeare. Herr Bormann finds hints of the solution of this riddle, in particular in the names of the characters; thus in Hamlet' the soldier Francisco is no other than Francis Bacon, while Horatio, who to Bernardo's question, What, is Horatio here?' replies, ' A piece of him,' desired thereby to designate the wisdom (Horatio) of Bacon, which was embodied in him!” Germany has lost two great men during the year, Freytag and Carriere. Of the latter, described as "the most eloquent and purest representative" of idealism, there have been published three books: "Christus,' "Christus," "Das Wachsthum der Energie," and "Fichte's Geistesentwickelung." They "breathe the same enthusiastic inspiration, and reveal the same passion for beauty" as the older works by which Carriere is so widely known.

6

Dr. Alfred Ipsen, writing of Danish literature, tells us that Denmark exhibits some symptoms of a renascence of poetry, and, in fiction, "a tendency toward symbolism and sundry vague forms of mysticism." Herr Drachmann has, in "Völund Smed," given political handling to a familiar Eddaic myth, the work being characterized by an "exuberant and somewhat sentimental sensuousness." Herr J. Jörgensen's "Bekendelse" is a beautiful collection of poems. "A characteristic of this author, as of others of the younger generation, is a certain monotony and a total absence of ideas everything is emotional with them, and there is a tone of archaism in their imagery." The most important novel of the year is " Hjarl," by Herr Einar Christiansen. "The book is by no means sensational, but recounts plainly and quietly the story of a young man from his boy

s;

hood in a rich, aristocratic, but somewhat monotonous home, his hopes and strivings and his disappointments and shortcomings, telling it in an earnest tone, which moves the reader without being in the least sentimental." Another noteworthy novel is by Herr Schandorph, called "The College Years of Vilhelm Vang," which pictures "the hidden opposition between inherited culture and the modern plutocracy." "As for books on literature, the year has furnished a crop uncommonly rich in quality. There are at least two voluminous studies of more than usual ability: a monograph on Swedish Romanticism (the literature of the first half of the present century), a beautiful book written in a somewhat rough style, by Herr V. Vedel; and a large monograph on Poul Möller, a Danish poet of the same period, by Herr Vilhelm Andersen, a young and promising student of our literature."

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Norway was not represented in the " Athenæum summary of a year ago, and perhaps it is for this reason that the Norwegian correspondent, Dr. C. Brinchmann, does not confine himself to the happenings of a single year, but roves somewhat indefinitely over the whole field of recent literature. He purposely says little of the two men who chiefly represent Norwegian literature, because their recent works are already familiar enough to English readers. The man who stands next to them in importance is Herr Lie, whose latest work, "Lystige Koner," is not a novel, but a play. It is said to have made "rather a weak impression.' Herr Garborg has just published a tale in verse, Haugtussa," in which "he relates the sad love story of a young peasant girl who grows up amongst the cattle and the ling-covered hills. The girl is a visionary who holds converse with fairies and other supernatural beings, and some parts of the book contain so much naively gentle poetry that one is amazed how Garborg's morbidly reflective mind could have produced it." "Det Store Lod," the latest piece of Herr Gunnar Heiberg, the dramatist, "describes the influence of money on an enthusiastic idealist." Herr Knut Hamsun, one of the newer men, is made the subject of a paragraph, which concludes with mention of "Pan," characterized as 66 a wonderful book, notable for deep and genuinely poetic descriptions of nature and daring love scenes," and the drama, "Ved Rigets Port," a "weak and rather ordinary production." The best known of women writers, Camilla Collett, died a few months ago, and we are told of the rest that,

with the exception of Fru Amalie Skram, they "scarcely need to be mentioned from the point of view of art." Other items of interest are the continuation of Herr Jaeger's history of Norwegian literature, and Herr Collin's "Kunst og Moral," which "gallantly takes the field against the immoralities of naturalism, and warmly insists that the laws of morality should be respected even in art.”

Real

Swedish literature, with which we close this section of our summary, is discussed by Herr Hugo Tigerschiöld. "The Swedish poetical temperament, strongly influenced by its natural environment of vast and sombre forests, widely extending lakes, and foss-broken streams, is fundamentally lyrical. The simple, melancholy tone of a folk-song runs through all true Swedish poetry." A number of lyrists have published during the past year, representing both the older and the newer schools. ism, it seems, is losing its hold in Sweden, and "a strong bent towards romanticism and symbolism is observable in every direction." This dictum is illustrated by mention of several works of fiction, the most noticeable being Fru Malling's "En Roman om Förste Konsuln." This book is described as "containing unusually elegant and intimate sketches of the most remarkable personages who lived during the earlier stage of Napoleon's career. With the exception of Napoleon himself, who is too romantically drawn, and the heroine (the youthful Edmée), a prettily poetic creature, the other numerous personages in the romance are excellent portraits. This romance, which testifies to careful study, especially of the memoir writers of the period, is marked by quite an extraordinary power of vivid and concentrated character-sketching." The Bellman and Gustaf Adolf commemorative festivals, both held during the past year, are discussed at some length, and each has stimulated the production of a considerable literature. Herr Victor Rydberg is represented by " Varia,” a volume containing the "pieces written by him of late years, pieces in which the author, with youthful enthusiasm, goes forth to combat modern materialism." Herr Tigerschiöld's paper ends with the following bit of news: "The Swedish Authors' Union, which published its first literary calendar at Christmas, with contributions from many of our most eminent authors, has petitioned the Government for several necessary modifications to the legislation referring to literature, with a view to Sweden's accession to the Berne Convention."

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The New Books.

"THE COMING CONTINENT.”*

Victor Hugo's prediction that in the twentieth century Africa would be the cynosure of every eye seems already in a fair way of fulfilment. According to a later dictum, of Lord Salisbury, "foreign politics" already means for England African politics; and what Europe in general thinks of the natural resources and political possibilities of the "coming continent" may be gathered from the broad fact that of its total area of 12,000,000 square miles she has left unappropriated only about 1,000,000, which are confined to the sandy wastes of the Libyan Desert and the powerful and inaccessible States of the Soudan. Africa contains Africa contains about one-quarter of the land of the globe, her area being more than thrice Europe's, or almost

as much as North and South America's combined; and as one-fifth of her surface consists of rich savannas, and one-half of imperfectly tilled fields and fairly fertile virgin soil, the Malthusian danger in its broader aspect would seem to be, in our era of swift transport and world-wide commercial solidarity, relegated to the dim future, even for the populous countries of Western Europe.

A popular general account of this deeply interesting transitional Africa of to-day, with its unique confrontation of the old and the new, the polished and the barbaric, which may serve in lieu of first-hand impressions that very few of us are likely to attain, is a need which is now satisfactorily met by Mr. Frank Vincent's "Actual Africa." Mr. Vincent is a veteran traveller who needs no introduction in that capacity to our readers; and his latest work shows the same modest merits of pith and literalness of statement, and abstention from heightened colors and strained contrasts, which have made his widely-read volume on South America a favorite with readers in want of plain information. Leaving to more florid pens the task of painting the marvels and dilating on the mysterious and legendary past of the mighty continent that has inspired the literary fancy since the times of Herodotus and Strabo, he contents himself with setting forth in simple prose such simple facts of actual observation as any plain traveller seeking information would wish to gather for himself. If a certain

ACTUAL AFRICA; or, The Coming Continent. A Tour of Exploration. By Frank Vincent. Illustrated. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

flavor of the guide-book is now and then manifest in Mr. Vincent's work, that does not, at least, impair its usefulness. "Actual Africa" is the fruit of two years' travel, within which period the continent was circled, and several deep dips were taken into the interior-notably one, by river and caravan-road, to the capital of the famous Basongo chieftain, Pania Mutembo, in the heart of the Congo Free State. Nearly all the capitals and large towns, native and foreign, of the seaboard countries were visited; Madagascar was traversed; a long excursion was made through the centre of the Boer Republics and British Colonies; the Nile, Quanza, Congo, Kassai, Sankuru, and Kuilu rivers were ascended; and a détour was made by Madeira, the Canaries, and the Cape Verdes. The author's attention was about evenly divided between the native States, with their dependencies, on the one hand, and European possessions and protectorates, on the other; and it may perhaps be objected that a rather disproportionate amount of space (over a third of the volume) is given to the already familiar Mediterranean countries, which are now well within the orbit even of " conducted " tourists. Mr. Vincent is a quick observer and a succinct writer; and while anything like a fair résumé of his very copious record is out of the question here, a few random passages from the more noteworthy chapters may serve as samples of the whole.

ley, the capital and centre of the diamond minAn interesting account is given of Kimbering district. Kimberley is a progressive modern city, with its population of 30,000, its tramways, electric lighting, cabs, good shops, hotels, theatres, daily papers, and Botanical Garden. The four great mines, the Kimberley, the De Beers, and the Bulfontein and Dutoitspan, lie on the outskirts of the town, and are now united under the control of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Limited, with a capital of $20,000,000, a sum about equalling the annual output. During the past twenty years South Africa has exported over fifty millions of carats of diamonds, of a total value of $375,000,

000; so that, a carat equalling four grains, the weight of diamonds exported has amounted to about fifteen tons! The Kimberley gems present a great variety of colors-green, blue, pink, brown, yellow, orange, etc., with the intermediate tints. The stones vary in size from those of that of a pin's head to one found a few years ago in the De Beers Mine, which weighed in the rough 428 carats, and measured (un