... MR. P. G. HAMERTONS NEW BOOK * No one who knows anything about Mr. Hamerton (and there are few readers who have not read at least one of his works) need be told that his new work on the Sa6ne is a very pleasant one. Mr. Hamerton always writes like a scholar, and a man of obser- vation and taste. He has, too, an agreeable and unobtrusive humour, which, like a delicate sauce, gives zest to the ...

... RPECENT POETRY AND VERSE ALTHOUGii not so stated on the title-page, we fancy that A Story Without Names, and Other Poems, by Rev. J. Bownes (Sampson Low), is a second edition; eve certaitily met with The Shipwreck years ago, and this verse has stuck in our memory ever since &nd through the raging storm I saw On deck an awfut sight; Some figures rushing up and down, As if quite mad ridtlt ...

... NIM-1-abl? eo? ?W=At LADY VALERIA, by A. Moberly (Bentley and Son), is a work full of promise. Aw~kwiardly constructed, wasting enough material for several well arranged novels, and with an altogether over- crowded canvas, its complications are interesting. And what, by reason of its rarity, is still better, the author has plenty of imagina- tion, and even a sense of humour. Both were ...

... I~ TI*E t.s f ~ ~-,s -- MR. lRvrNG'S complete recovery from the severe attack of congestion of the larynx, which compelled him a fortnight since to seek rest at Bri hton, has given great satisfaction to his admirers. Nothing could have been more enthusiastic than the welcome accorded to him on Saturday evening, when he suddenly presented himself on the dismal waste of the Harmuir. It was ...

... MESSRS. JAMES NESBIT AND CO.-This firm has brouglh out a new Hymnal under the title of Church Praise. It was com- piled by a Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Englanid, appointed by the Synod which met at Newcastle-on-Tyne in April, s88i. It is based upon Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship, of which these publishers purchased the copyright. 'They made so many changes, and so ...

... X2Zoloo > W~ooM~o MUR4U& s )ziomgogNT XS~Xu I ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA.-An opera new to London, though frequently performed in the provinces, entitled Victorian, was pro- duced at Covent Garden on Saturday night before a somewhat thin audience. Its composer, Mr. Julian Edwards, is one of the con- ductors of the company, and an overture from his pen was heard at one of the orchestral concerts given ...

... XUSI MADAME SCttUxMANN.--It seems strange that a work like Schumann's early Piano Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. ix, should not have been heard at the Popular Concerts before Monday last. It is a favourite ?? among pianists, and indeed it is toler- ably familiar to the musical public. It is a pity that some particulars of the history of this composition were not given in the analytical programme ...

... JusIl TILE OrERA.-The Carl Rosa rehearsals are practically ended and the English season at Drury Lane will commence on Easter Monday with the Bohemnian Girl, Madame Georgina Burns and Mr. Maas playing the chief parts. Mer. Alaas, who last Sunday made a highly-successful debzt at M. Pascieloup's concert in Paris, seems inclined to adopt the older repertory, for his appearances are for the ...

... pl!-? ?g ;4 NE TMEAT Es MR. EDOUIN and his American company at the ROYAL AVENUE Theatre have been more happy in their second than in their first venture. The Musical Comedy, by Messrs. Charles Hoyt and G. L. Gordon, played here for the first time on Saturday evening resembles, it is true, in some respects its predecessor, in which the antics of the photographer Binks and his visitors were ...

... TI-IEATkES' THE dramatic version of. Mrs. Campbell Praed's novel, The Bond of Wedlock, produced at the OPERA COMIQUE on Wednesday evening, with the title of Ariane, furnishes Mrs. Bernard Beere with another artistic triumph, and is likely to prove one of the most attractive of the pieces in which she has appeared. The story of the play is, unfortunately, somewhat painful ; for it deals with ...

... .. ?? . - ?? -- It. THE fourth paper on The British Army, by Sir Charles Dilke, appears in this month's Fortnightly. It is mainly devoted to our weakness in field artillery, to the militia, and to the volunteers. As regards guns we have not, all told, enough to supply the two much. vaunted army corps, and, if these army corps went out of the kingdom, there would be practically no artillery ...

... 4 THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE.-Pending the completion of the new Gilbert and Sullivan opera-which, report says, will be of a less fantastic character than some of its ?? Pirates of Penzance has been revived at the Savoy. There is no need to again describe at length the well-known plot and the always charming, though equally familiar, music. Audiences can now once more laugh at the humour of the ...