LITERARY NOTES. THE LINCOLN history in The Century, by the private secretaries of Mr. Lincoln, Messrs. Nicolay and Hay, will deal during the coming year with the political and military history of the early period of the war. New light will be thrown upon certain events of that period by the publication of correspondence and other documents never before printed, and unknown to but a small circle. The historians now enter upon a more important and personal part of their narrative. The pablication of this history has brought an increase of 25,000 subscribers to The Century. THE WAR SERIES in that magazine has given it 75,000 new subscribers, probably the greatest gain from any one feature in the history of magazines. This series, so far as it relates to the descriptions of campaigns and battles by distinguished generals, will virtually close with the November number. Future papers on this subject will be of a general or at least untechnical sort,-among them a curious and popular statistical paper on "Regimental Losses in the War," narratives of personal adventure, "Colonel Rose's Tunnel from Libby Prison," Hard Times in the Confederacy," etc., etc. General Sherman's article on 66 The Strategy of the War" will appear in an early number. MRS. FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT will contribute a short serial to the coming volume of St. Nicholas for Young Folks, which is said to be a worthy successor of that author's famous Little Lord Fauntleroy," which appeared in St. Nicholas a year ago. Joel Chandler Harris, John Burroughs, Frank R. Stockton, H. H. Boyesen, J. T. Trowbridge, Col. Richard M. Johnstone, and Louisa M. Alcott are among the many distinguished writers who will contribute serial and short stories to this famous magazine for young people. It will have an illustrated series on Australia, and Mr. Edmund Alton, author of "Among the Law-makers" (Congress), will contribute "The Routine of the Republic," describing the daily practical workings of the administrative departments, the White House, etc. EDWARD EGGLESTON, author of the famous Hoosier Schoolmaster," will furnish a novel to The Century for 1887-8. It is a story of Western life, and depicts a trial in which Abraham Lincoln was a chief actor. It was written before any part of the Life of Lincoln had been published, and the appearance at this time of Mr. Lincoln as an important auxiliary character in a work of fiction is a pure coincidence. GEORGE W. CABLE will contribute a novelette to early numbers of the The Century, and Frank R. Stockton has written a three-part story, "The Dusantes," for the same magazine. Mr. Stockton's new novel, "The Hundredth Man," has just been issued in book form. THE SIBERIAN PAPERS, by George Kennan, will be a great feature of The Century for the coming year. Mr. Kennan has just returned from a journey of 1500 miles through European and Asiatic Russia, undertaken at the request of the editor of The Century. By means of a circular letter from the Russian Minister of the Interior, Mr. Kennan was enabled to visit nearly every important prison and mine in Siberia. He made the intimate personal acquaintance of more than three hundred exiled liberals and Nihilists, and he will give a thorough account of the terrible convict system of Siberia. Mr. Kennan's papers will be further enriched by a Three Good Giants." the compilation of John Dimitry, from François Rabelais, will be a leading gift-book of the season, as the incomparable wit and satire of the French master are presented in a form to relieve them of serious objections to general circulation, and to increase their effectiveness by worthy illustrations. The compiler writes, Rabelais, through some contemporaneous influence, rising subtly in his favor among men who are neither afraid nor ashamed to judge for themselves, is, in one sense, slowly becoming a naturalized citizen of our modern literary republic." To this influence the fine execution of this edition must contribute to a high degree. Grandgousier, Gargantua, and Pantagruel are the famous trio of giants of the title, and it is to their history, relieved of the philosophy and profanity of the author, that the book is devoted. The labor has been performed without the least sacrifice of the qualities of the imagination of Rabelais or the connection and expression of the incident, so that one may have quite all of the original entertainment and truly appreciate the genius that conceived and wrought. The matter affords opportunities for the unrestrained exercise of Doré's grotesque imagination, and he has worked in full sympathy and given some very fine examples of his power in the fullpage drawings. A Robida, in his minor but more numerous text illus Setting aside its literary contents, which are of a high order of merit, the collection of receipts for the kitchen and for the sick-room, its practical suggestions and advice for the raising and care of plants and flowers, its instruction for beautifying homes by simple means, and other practical features, make it invaluable to every household." BOSTON THEATRE. "A Run of Luck," at the Boston Theatre, is an immense success, draws nightly large audiences, and promises a long run. The plot of the play is interesting, but the chief feature is the introduction of a hunting scene, with English thoroughbred hunters, a pack of hounds, and a race-course scene. Nowhere outside of the spacious Boston Theatre could this play be so effectively produced. Indeed, this theatre is not only the leading theatre of Boston, but of this country, and all plays there produced are worthy of a visit. If the reader is detained over night at the Hub, he is sure of being richly entertained if he attends the Boston Theatre. When now the frosts of autumn warning give For first of all her family must be shod. That for low prices he cannot be beat. While cost and price have lately reached bed-rock. The proper boot to follow after plow, The fitting thing to grace a ball-room bow. To have assistance and the right advice, In need of boots or shoes on him to call, And see his prices and his goods this fall. A home, however humble it may be, A great share takes of every true man's heart; And from a happy home is loath to part. He counts as money it is wise to spend; And thinks it will repay him in the end. And mats, and rugs, and art-squares for the floor, And China, delicate as one can get, They sell goods cheap, they buy with great insight— They are at work from morning until late, That our state trade should not our borders leave. A Winter Idyl. And now the goodwife looks around with care To grace the home and please the children dear, Of toilet goods a great variety; Fine combs and coarse, of celluloid or shell, The products of our own and foreign land. They are prepared to serve one hot ice-cream. And greet one, as he enters, with a smile; In outside things an interest they take; New trade they want, the old will not forsake, They gain good-will, and serve one well meanwhile. They ask fair prices, and would fain, When one has traded, have him trade again. A handsome store, and with it correspond. 335 |