He will prob of which there are several in the volumes he has so far put forth. ably see also that he is called to higher work than to go on making barrackroom ballads; though we should be sorry to miss those he has given us, and it is hard to resist the flattery of having one's songs sung by camp-fires wherever the British soldier is found. There is much to interest Canadians in this volume. We find ourselves celebrated as one of the "Four New Nations," and as a great and increasingly important factor in the British Empire. This notice of "The Seven Seas" may fittingly conclude with a few quotations from poems in which Canada is mentioned. Among the songs of the cities in "A Song of the English" are: HALIFAX. "Into the mist my guardian prows put forth, The Warden of the Honour of the North, QUEBEC AND MONTREAL. "Peace is our portion. Yet a whisper rose, Foolish and causeless, half in jest, half hate, VICTORIA. Now wake me and remember mighty blows, "From East to West the circling word has passed, In "The Native Born," the poet celebrates Australia, Canada, South Africa and India. Here is the stanza on Canada : "To the far-flung fenceless prairie, Where the quick cloud-shadows trail, To our neighbour's barn in the offing And the line of the new-cut rail; To the plough in her league-long furrow To the weight of a half-year's winter Lastly, from the "Song of the English," a poem every Canadian might well take pride in committing to memory: "Draw now the threefold knot firm on the ninefold hands, And the law that ye make shall be law after the rule of your lands, This for the Maple Leaf, and that for the Southern broom. 1. O. Miller. ARTHUR J. STRINGER'S EPIGRAMS. A half-dozen persons strolling together amid the scenic splendours of nature will find that their tastes vary, one person finding an idyll in one scene, the second in another, the third in still another, and so on. Take the same halfdozen people into an art gallery, and their tastes will be found to vary as widely. Let them set out to choose their life companion from among their mutual acquaintances and no two will select the same individual. Why, then, should we all expect to admire the same novelist, the same historian, or the same poet? As our countenances differ, so do our tastes. If, then, I read a volume of poetry, I cannot expect that all the moods of the poet will find an echo in my mind, but rather should I be satisfied if several, of a large number, touch my heart and please my fancy. Arthur J. Stringer's little volume of "Epigrams" contains forty quatrains, each embodying a thought of more or less importance. They vary in theme and in power, and each particular reader may select those which suit him best. To those who have felt the need of extraneous sympathy the following should be pleasing: REMORSE. Red lips that dumbly quiver for his kiss, And now but fondly touch his graveyard stone- He had not died, if he had only known. To those who admire a sharp criticism this will be pleasant: THE SHADOWING GODS. 'I scorn your empty creeds, and bend my knee To none of all the gods adored of men ; I worship nothing, that I may be free! 'Mayhap,' said one; 'you kneel to freedom then.' The following contains a noble thought on the subject or our "new religion": THEOLOGY. The gods dwelt nearer men in olden days, And through our world ethereal feet once trod : The work in the volume lacks variety, but that is intentional; but no one can deny that it possesses polish and evidences taste. The romance of the Canadian North-West is fast passing into history-for there is little romance where the threshing-machines, the railroad, the steamboat and the town-constable are to be found. The Riders of the Plain are soon to pass into memory and civilization is forcing itself along close in the wake of an increasing population. But the history of this part of America, during the past two hundred years, has furnished and must continue to furnish plenty of material for the novelist. Gilbert Parker embodied some of it in "Pierre and His People." He has given us a further instalment in his new collection of tales entitled, "A Romany of the Snows."† In this book, Mr. Parker shows more artistic power, more humour, and more dramatic ability than in his previous volumes, and it is difficult to believe that any person could be disappointed in the book. It is bright all the way through and must still further add to Mr. Parker's popularity in Canada—and yet at the present moment, he, among novelists, stands highest in the favour of Canadian readers. * Some men win fame as writers because of the facts they present; others because of their manner of presenting these facts. Among the latter is Prof. Goldwin Smith. Because of his pure, smooth, classical English, he is the model of nearly every Canadian writer of to-day, and also of many persons in the United States and Great Britain. Perhaps no other living writer has been so daring in running counter to people's prejudices, tastes and beliefs; and that, in spite of this, he has retained the respect yea, the admiration of all literary and political Epigrams, by Arthur J. Stringer, author of "Watchers of Twilight," etc. London, Ont.: T. H. Warren; paper. classes, is a notable circumstance and an evidence of the power of the man's personality as evidenced in his work. He has created no new school of literary or of political thought, yet he has more or less affected all schools. During the past few years he has devoted his power of scientific analysis to the Christian Bible, and the result of his labour is published under the title "Guesses at the Riddle of Existence."* Dr. Smith's views will suit many people, but startle more, even though his preface says that "it is hoped that nothing in these pages will be found fairly open to the charge of irreverence or of want of tenderness in dealing with the creed which is still that of men who are the salt of the earth." The book aims at a new interpretation of the Jewish history and of the gospels. The titles of the fine Essays, of which the book is composed, are Guesses at the Riddle of Existence, The Church and the old Testament, Is there another Life? The Miraculous Element in Christianity, Morality and Theism. Under the title of "Phroso," Mr. Anthony Hope has given us a most thrilling tale of adventure, one which holds the reader fascinated from start to finish, and which may be ranked among the masterpieces of sensational and exciting fiction. Although highly improbable in many instances, the reader's interest and curiosity are so stirred that for the time being he is quite willing to accept it all as real and natural. The story is told by Lord Wheatley, an English lord who has purchased the island of Neopalia in the Mediterranean (?), and is an account of his own adventures on trying to take possession of the island which legally belongs to him, but being a stranger the Neopalians are hostile to him and make a bold fight for their Lady Euphrosyne, the "Phroso" of the story. Eventually, however, Lord Wheatley and Phroso become friends, and even more. At the end of the story they are left living together happily and peacefully on their island, thus settling the difficulty of rulership. 66 A story very similar to "Phroso" in the realistic adventures through which the hero passes, but much more probable in its incidents, is John Strange Winter's Grip."‡ It is the tale of a young bull-headed Englishman whose motto is Grip," that is, he never ceases to pursue an aim which he has once conceived. His desires to many a young lady whose parents dislike him because of his comparatively low position in society, and in pursuit of a successful rival he goes to France, only to get into endless trouble and to spend several years as a forcat in the Bagne of Toulon. There is a freshness and vivacity about the tale which must make it extremely popular, and it deals with a peculiar life, somewhat horrible in its details, yet not too much so to disgust the reader, nor is it anywhere unwholesome. Canada's history has yet to be written in an intelligent way. Events must be considered in the light of their results and men in the light of what they accomplished. So far our histories have been recitals of facts, dates and names, while the social and economic sides of the different periods have been ignored. In "Topical Studies of Canadian History" (Toronto: Chas J. Musson), Nellie Spence has come nearer to the mark in the spirit of her book, although she has not attempted a complete history in her 187 pages. As a topical study, however, *Guesses at the Riddle of Existence, and other Essays on Kindred Subjects, by Goldwin Smith, D.C.L. Toronto: Copp, Clark Co. Cloth, $1.25. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co. Toronto: The Bain Book and Stationery Co. Cloth, illustrated, 306 p.p. Grip, by John Strange Winter. New York: Stone & Kimball. Cloth, gilt top, uncut edges, 245 p.p. her work is broadly conceived and excellently done. The introductory topic is "The Canada of To-day," and the closing one is "Canadian Literature and Art." Arthur G. Doughty, of Montreal, has recently completed another illuminated volume, which makes the eighth book he has executed by hand. The title of the work is "The Song-Story of Francesco and Beatrice," and many of the initial letters and handpieces are from designs suggested by specimens in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, etc. The book is now in the possession of Sir Donald A. Smith. Five new candidates for entrance to the "little corner book-shelf" of Canadian poetical works are about to step into the arena from the busy press of William Briggs. They are John Stuart Thomson's "Estabelle and Other Poems," Dr. Theo. H. Rand's "At Mina's Basin and Other Poems," Dr. Chas. E. Jakeway's "The Lion and the Lilies: A Tale of the Conquest, and Other Poems," Margaret Currie's "John St. John and Anna Grey: A Romance of Old New Brunswick," and Walter A. Radcliffe's "Morning Songs in the Night." When the London Spectator remarked that "Canada is going to be a land of poets," its editor evidently had assumed the mouth of prophecy. The interest aroused by the announcement of the coming issue of the History of Annapolis County, began by W. A. Calrik, left unfinished at his death, and now finished and edited by Judge Savary, has induced an increase of the edition from the original 1,250 to 2,000 copies. Its treatment of the expulsion of the Acadians will be of special interest to the student of the early history of Canada. William Briggs, Toronto, has just published a critical "Review of Historical Publications Relating to Canada," appearing in 1896, together with some of the more important of the publications of 1895. This is the first of a series of "University of Toronto Studies in History." The "Review" is edited by George M. Wrong, M.A., Professor of History in the University of Toronto, and among the contributors are Dr. J. G. Bourinot, C.M.G., Clerk of the House of Commons of Canada; the Rev. Abbey Casgrain, the well-known writer and Professor of History in Laval University, Quebec; Sir J. M. LeMoine, of Quebec; the Hon. David Mills, Q.C.; Dr. George Stewart, of Quebec; James Bain, jr., of the Toronto Public Library; Professor Clark, of Trinity University; Professor Shortt, of Queen's University; Professor Mavor, of the University of Toronto; Professor Coleman, of the School of Practical Science, and many others. The term "historical" has been interpreted in a liberal sense, and books of travel and exploration are included. In France, England and the United States, as well as in Canada, works are continuously appearing which bear upon the history of Canada. Probably few persons realize the number and range of these works, or the steadily growing interest which the history of Canada is arousing. The review is a useful Bibliography, and as it will be continued annually it will form a permanent record in the field of literature which it covers. * It is seldom that you get a book of 405 pages so thin that it will slip easily into a pocket, but this is the case with a handsome little edition of Gulliver's Travels. It is printed on thin, strong paper, is sold at 50 cents, and is published by Dent's, in Great Britain; Macmillan's, in New York; and Wm. Tyrrell & Co., in Toronto. As a political satirist, Jonathan Swift is still worthy of being read; yea, studied. "THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE" BANQUET. THERE is nothing extremely new in HON. THOS. BALLANTYNE Vice-President. dinner itself was a sumptuous one, being supplied by Webb, who is the Delmonico of Toronto. The wit and humour, the eloquence and the thought were of an exceedingly high order, and, taken as a whole, were never equalled at any other gathering in Canada. HON. J. C. PATTERSON, of Owing to the fact that the Manitoba Legislature was called together for February 18th, the Honourable J. C. Patterson, Lieutenant-Governor Manitoba, was unable to leave Winnipeg to attend the Banquet. This was much regretted by the many who would have been pleased to have an opportunity of congratulating him on the success of a publication which owes much to his generosity and support. In his absence the chair was taken by the Honourable Thomas Ballantyne, ex-Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly. The vicechairs were occupied by Mr. Barlow Cumberland and Mr. John A. Cooper (editor). The guests present were: -J. S. Bour T. H. BEST, Business Manager. |