Literature.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 214, 3 April 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

Literature.

— One of the most impoi taut rcpiint- of the new ye »r is the new eilition of Mr John Morli'v'M works, the firit vulicnc of which, •• Voltaire," i* now published The edition is i-sucd by Messrs MficnilI in, nnd Mr .Moi ley's books «ill «••«") the fresh wlvant lire that tbo e.le.ir type .md neit binding, which »re the hill -nark of tint Hun, cm b-'Btow. The scries is uiufoiin with that of Emerson's a oik*, ifsued by th* sune publisher", for which Mr Morley wrote an introduction We h.ive only one smull fault to find with \lessi> M icfiillini'.sHPttinarof "Voltaire" — nimelv, that m tbe nevero simplicity of the titl"-p.uro th ■ n- ider is not informed what edition it is that ho has before him. It h, we beliove, the fourth edition of "Voltaire" that has been issued in fourteen yours, the l»ook having oiiginally appp-ired in 1872. But for the rest the publishers have co-operated cxcelleutly well with the author, and the volume is ,m admirable combination of plain printing nnd hi#h thinking. — In accordance no doubt with the same severe simplicity, the letters "M.P." do not appear nfter Mr John Morley'* name on the title-pago ; but just as Mr Morloy'b literary eminence helped to raise him to hijrh political station, go no doubt his political following will now serve to swell thp number of his readers. Voltaire, he icmiuds us, hinted on a certain occasion to Cardinal Fleury that to h ivo written opic and drama does not disqu ilify a man for serving his king and country in the busy fields of affairs. Mr Morley's cweer ia already a proof that t» have written hooks of serious criticism does not disqualify a man for strenious service under a dernocrario Government. — The newest project ia the book world is a otries of little volumes on our " Historio Towns." They will be edited by Mr E. A. Freeman and the Rev. William Hunt, and published by Messrs Longmans. The towns to be treated in these volumes will, as far as possible, be with reference to the special part they nlayed in the general history of the kingdom— that i*, there are towns, like B'i«tol in one aire and Hull in another, which, without bein^r heads of shires, rose to importance through commerce. There are, aeain, towns which gathered round a castle, an abbey, or a bishopric, is Windsor and Pontefra°t, St. Edmundsoury and Evesham. Wells and Lichfield, — There are, lastly, towns whioh, from -mall importance in earlier times, have ris'-n to greatness within tbo last two centuries, and have out-tripped all the ie>t, with the single exception of London itself Primarily the general historic no«ition of each place will be considered, but the purely local history will not be il together disregarded, and in this way the editors anticipate that local object* ;tnd events may gain an interest whioh rh>*y have not heretofore obtained. The ntibliaher* have the following volumes in preparation :—": — " Manchester," by George Silisbury; "London," bv W. J. Loftie; "Exeter," by HJ. A. Freeman; "St. Andrew's," by Andrew Lang ; " Cinque Ports." by Professor Burrows ; " Oxford," >w C W. Boasn ; " Winchester," by Dean Kitchin ; '• Carlisle,'' by Crinon Creijrhton; "Bristol," by Rev. W. Hunt; •Lincoln," by Precentor Venables; "Colchester," by Pujv. E. L. Cutts ; " York," by Canon Raiue. — The demand for books at moderate, prices continues to tempt the publishers to make new ventures. Tbe latest in a new edition of Shakspere's works printed in readable type and in a handy form, together with a text free from speculative -eadings, and unencumbered with notes md comments. The issue will be comrtlete in twelve fortnightly volumes at eighteenpenee each. M ssrs Kegan Paul, Trench and Co. are the publishers. — A beautiful volume has been prepared by Messn* Hodder and Stoughton of the Sermon on the Mount, to which the Bishop of Ripon writes the preface. The •vealth of illustration^ the delicacy of the lecorative borders, and the get up, should piisure a large sale among that clans — a very large one — which prefers a religious to a secular present. — The Religions Tract Soriety U carrying through the Press the latest translation of tho " Pilgrim's Progress," a version in the Cree langu ige for the Indians in the far north of America. The work h;iH heen undertaken at the instance of Bishop Horden, of Moosonee, and will very shortly be ready for transmission.

A harness maker, like an undertaker, ■teals in " the trappings and the suits of whoa." Marrikd Buss.— The following episode occurred in Melbourne recently: — Ernest R Knight, charged with forging iia wife's name to a cheque for £20, and utteiing it, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment at the City Police Court. The prosecution was instituted at the instance of his wife, who is a woman of independent means, to whom he was recently married. The husband is addicted to drink, and has been continually imposing on her by means of forgery. M. DoJardix Bka,umetz has reported of the Health Society of Paris a remarkable <:ase of hydrophobia. Last; November a man, aged 26, died at Colombes, near Paris, after presenting every symptom of hydrophobia. M. Tachard, the family lootor, ascertained that the deceased had • nice been bitten by a dog in March, '884, and found, onexaminingthe mark of i bite, that the wound was completely healed. Not lonpr asro an eminent special pleader was at the theatre seemg 1 the play of • Macbeth." In the scene whore Macbeth, qne-tioniue the winches in the : ivern, 8-iys " Whnt is't you do?" they nswer "A deed without a name." This 'ilirnse struck the enrs of the npecinl oleu'ler much more forcibly than the most nerjrctic pnssig-e of the play, and he immediately remarked to a friend, " Why then, it'a void." Old Rome is gradually disappearing, 'ike old London, for the destruction of the historical monuments in th« former is rapidly proceeding. The population is increasing by immigration tit the rate of 2,000 a month, and uew houses are springing up in all directions. The > Roman princes, who own most of the large properties in the city, are catting them up and selling them as building allotments. Even the beautiful grounds of the Villa Borghese, with their venerable ilex trees, avenues of cypress, lawns. Fountains, and flowerbeds, so graphically described in Hawthorn's " Transformation," are doomed. The same fate awaits some of the narrow and picturesquelywinding streets in the heart of the old city ; and by and bye everything will be as modern, as pretentious, and as French aa the Via Nazisnale. Only the other day the vineyard containing the tomb of the Scipios, alongside the Via Appia, was sold for3s4d the square yard. But the municipality interfered and rescued the l.md from the hnnila of the speculator. The Jockey Hoht. — Victoria lost one of her best cross-country jockeys when J. Hunt was killed, writes " Augur " in the \nstrala.*i;in. No biavor lad ever crossed a horse's back, and as he was always quiet and respectful, he was a ueneral favourite. His victories on Granville and Goodwood are of too recent date to need repetition, but they were accomplished in first class Btyle, and had Hunt lived, no douht he would have become one of the wealthiest of our jockeys, for he was sober and industrious and took care of his earnings. Huht was born in Australia, ami was of German parentage. His bereaved mother has been seriously ill ever since she heard of the death of her son. During life. Huht was mo«t intimately associated with Mr Richard M'Kenna, from whose lesklence the funeral mov*»d. Over GO joctays and stable hoyt walked in front of the hearse, and a long line of vehicles followed. The coffin wa* covered with wreaths of flowers, scat by )ov'mg friends, and when it was lowered into the grave in the Church of England portion of the Melbourne Cemetery, the grief of bin old associates was pitiable to behold.