CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, according to the London Athenæum, in its annual review of the literature of England and other countries, has published the book of the year in verse.

DURING his life M. Renan wrote and circulated among his most intimate friends a little book entitled "Henriette Renan: Souvenir pour ceux qui l'ont connue." Only a hundred copies were printed; but we learn that Madame Renan will give it to the public so soon as her son, M. Ary Renan, shall have completed five pictures for its illustration. These pictures will include the birthplace of Renan in Brittany, and also one or two Syrian pictures. This charming little book of Renan's will not only introduce his readers to a woman of fine temperament, whose life was characteristic of her race, but also contain some of those local descriptions and portraitures in which he is always felicitous.

We are also informed that a volume of M. Renan's philological memoirs will appear.

THE newest literary sensation in Paris is an accusation of plagiarism against Sardou. It is asserted that he has not only taken suggestions from other pieces for his new play, Madame Sans-Gène, but has deliberately reproduced in his first act a little French piece written a half century ago.

ALMOST five hundred years after Chaucer ceased to write we are promised the first complete edition of his works in prose and verse. Professor Skeat has devoted to it the labor of

several years, and his first volume, containing

a life of Chaucer, a list of his works, the "Romaunt of the Rose," and the "Minor Poems," with full introductions and notes, will appear before long. The work will be completed in six volumes The "Oxford Chaucer" will be published by the Clarendon Press, and will match the standard edition of Piers Plowman," by the same editor.

SINCE Mr. Heinemann became the publisher of the North American Review in this country, the interests of English readers seem to have been more liberally consulted. In the programme of the forthcoming number we notice the following: "The House of Representatives and the House of Commons," by a mem

THE VOCABULARY.-How many words are included in the vocabulary of ordinary persons? Professor Max Müller thinks a farm laborer would not have more than three hundred words in actual use, and the same writer declares that a well-educated man, who has been at the University, and who reads the Bible, Shakespeare, and the daily papers, together with circulating library books, seldom uses more than three or four hundred words in actual conversation. A contributor to Cassell's Saturday Journal has been at considerable pains to check these theories, and the conclusion he arrives at is that the figures given are too small. Farm hands, he finds, are able to name all the common objects of the farm, and to do this involves the use of more than the entire number of three hundred words allotted to them. Then, by going through a dictionary and excluding compound words, or words not in pretty constant use, he found that there were under the letter "s" alone 1018 words that are to be found in ordinary people's vocabulary. It would be nearer the truth, we are told, to say that the agricultural laborer uses 1500 words, and knows or can guess the meaning of 1500 more, and that intelligent farm hands and artisans command 4000 words, while educated people have at call from 8000 to 10,000. Journalists are credited with 12,000.

ONE of the autograph sales of the last year was of an early мs. by Tennyson which was never published. It was written in 1823 and was entitled " Mungo, the American: A Tale by Alfred Tennyson.' Showing how he found a sword, and afterward how it came to the possession of the right owner, after the space of two years.

DR. STOPFORD BROOKE On Decadent POETRY. -Dr. Stopford Brooke, who has been for some months delivering Sunday evening lectures on

Tennyson's poetry, came appropriately on December 31st to the canto in "In Memoriam,' the farewell to the old year-"Ring out, wild bells." Dr. Brooke, though he is certainly no laudator temporis acli, nevertheless thinks that the pleasures, alike of rich and of poor, are less simple than they were twenty years ago. There is, he says, an efflorescence of sensuality in amusements, in literature, and in art; and even in religion there is a sensuousness which is itself the child of excitement. Dr. Brooke declaimed, in his gentle way, against a world "which believes that man is half beast and half fool." He is specially severe on the decadent poets. Their verse he characterized as mean bowlings and cynic chillness, and added that the poetry that liked to sing of decay carried its doom within itself. He was confident, however, that great poets would

come soon.

"SELF-HELP" has been translated into every European language, including Czech, Croatian, and Turkish, and also into Japanese. In England alone about 180,000 copies of the book have been sold.

CARLYLE'S BIRTHPLACE AT ECCLEFECHAN. The house at Ecclefechan, and the room in which Thomas Carlyle was born on December 4th, 1795, are tended with pious care. The furnishings of the tiny rooms, the bric-a-brac, and prints-to which there has recently been added a portrait group, consisting of Carlyle, his brother Robert, and his lifelong friend, Provost Swan, of Kirkaldy-enhance the oldworld aspect of the interior, which remains almost exactly in the condition it was a century ago. During the twelvemonth ending September 16th, as many as 580 persons have visited the place of Carlyle's birth. Of that number, two were Chinese, two Germans, one Frenchman, two Australians, and fourteen Americans. The house at Cheyne Row, Chelsea, where he lived so long, has a tablet on the outside to mark it.

"MARCELLA," Mrs. Humphry Ward's new story, which is to be published in England by Messrs. Smith. & Elder, and in New York by Messrs. Macmillan, will be a shorter novel than "David Grieve," although, like it, it will be divided into four books.

A COPY of Dickens's works, the de luxe edition in thirty volumes, was sold under the hammer last week for £11 10s. The auction

value of these once-coveted editions of books seems to be declining.

THE new volume of "The Canterbury Poets," which will be published toward the end of April, is to be an anthology of nature poems, edited by Mrs. E. Wingate Rinder. Unlike most compilations of the kind, it is to consist, not of a series of merely descriptive pieces, but of complete poems, interpretative rather than descriptive. Mrs. Wingate Rinder's idea has been favorably received, and she has already secured the assistance of many writers of note. The selections are to be from the writings of living poets only, as the aim of the anthology is to exemplify the nature poetry of "the later Victorians."

MR. FREDERICK DOUGLASS, the negro orator, and late United States minister in San Domingo, has, it seems, written an introduction for a translation of the life of Toussaint L'Ouverture by the late M Victor Schoelcher. The translation will be by Mr. Theodore Stanton, an American journalist in Paris.

THE famous story-writers of to-day, except the women, began life in other walks than literature. It is significant that most of them started in journalism-Kipling, Howells, Black, Matthews, Sullivan, Stockton, French, Farjeon, Barrie, and David Christie Murray. Conan Doyle was a doctor. Stevenson was an engineer. Walter Besant was a college professor. Thomas Hardy and Hall Caine were architects. Jerome K. Jerome was a plain every-day clerk.

AT a sale at Messrs. Puttick & Simpson's the five volumes of the first edition of Mr. Ruskin's " Modern Painters" fetched £8 15s. ; 'Missale ad Usum Sarum" (Paris, 1515), £23; Savage Landor's 'Poems" (1795) and “Simonidea" (1806), first editions, £16 7s. 6d. ; a Ms. collection of poems by Thomas, Lord Fairfax (about 1670), £5 5s. ; Clarendon's "Rebellion," 4 vols., large paper, illustrated with 400 portraits, £21; Allot's " England's Parnassus" (1600), £10 15s. ; and a vellum Latin мs. Bible, written in a minute and clear hand (1400), £9 5s.

COUNT TOLSTOI, the novelist and philanthropist, recently said he is now able to live on five copecks, or two cents per day. When he ate meat the daily cost was $1.50, but now that he is a vegetarian his wants of the stomach are

abundantly supplied at one seventy-fifth of his former extravagance.

STATISTICS prepared in Paris show that the proportion of novels to serious works read in the public libraries of the municipality is less than fifty-two per hundred. Of 1,583,000 volumes circulated from the district library rooms, only 817,000 were novels. Among the authors in popularity, Alexandre Dumas ranks first and Emile Zola eleventh.

MR. WILLIAM HEINEMANN is going to bring out two volumes of short stories, one by the author of "The Heavenly Twins," the other by Mr. Zangwill. The former is to bear the title "Our Manifold Lives," the latter "The King of Schnorrers: Grotesques and Fantasies."

As instances of swiftness in literary production, it may be mentioned that Mr. Haggard does his 4000 words at a sitting; Mr. David Christie Murray thinks nothing of writing a three-volume novel in five weeks, and Mr. Henty has just been confessing to an interviewer that he produces his stories at the rate of 6500 words a day.

MISCELLANY.

CURIOSITIES OF DIAMONDS.-Since it was discovered that diamonds consist of pure carbon there is hardly any chemist who has not performed more or less extensive experiments and investigations into the nature and origin of this most highly valued of precious stones. These researches, however, have gone on in secret, and the common ear has seldom heard that there have been-and, for aught we know to the contrary, are yet-diamond seekers in the modern laboratory. That the results of such experiments have been published by few is no proof that few experiments have been made, for human nature and vanity prefer silence to publicity, where investigations have failed and hopes been disappointed. It was not only the incomparable splendor of this king of gems, and its being of such enormous value, that led chemists anxiously to experi. mentalize upon the origin of the diamond; but its isolation from every other substance in many other respects rendered the inquiry a peculiarly fascinating undertaking. anomalous composition of the gem, the singular localities in which it is discovered, and its unique physical characters, all seemed to set speculation in activity and at defiance.

The

The general physical qualities of the diamond are so well known that we may be very brief in their description. The figure of the stone varies considerably; but most com. monly it is a hexagonal prism, terminated by a six-sided pyramid. When pure it is colorless and transparent. In its natural state it is covered with a dullish crust, often of a muddy color, on the removal of which the brilliant jewel beneath flashes forth in all its characteristic lustre. Its specific gravity is from 3.44 to 3.55. It is one of the hardest substances in nature, and as it is not affected by a considerable heat, it was for many ages considered incombusti. ble. Pliny says, if laid on an anvil and struck with a hammer, the anvil will inevitably split, and in many instances the diamond has been known to indent the steel. Sir Isaac Newton, observing that combustibles refracted light more powerfully than other bodies, and that the diamond possessed this property in great perfection, suspected from that circumstance that it was capable of combustion at a very high temperature. This singular conjecture was verified in 1694, by the Florentine academicians, in the presence of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany. By means of a powerful burning-glass they were able to destroy several diamonds. Singularly enough, Sir H. Davy employed the same lens many years afterward to effect the same purpose, directing the rays upon a diamond placed in a jar of oxygen gas. Francis I., Emperor of Germany, witnessed the destruction of several large diamonds by means of the burning-glass; and these experiments were repeated by Rouelle, Macquer, and D'Arcet, who proved conclusively that the stone was not merely evapo. rated, but actually burned, and that if air was excluded it underwent no change. Diamonds are not all the pure unsullied gems which glitter in our jewels; they appear in a variety of colors, some of which enhance, while others detract from, their value. Sometimes it is tinged with blue, yellow, green, or a beautiful rose color, and frequently it is brown, or dull yellow.

As usual upon disputed points, speculation has been busy about the origin of the diamond, and a large number of theories, all more or less probable, have been propounded to set the matter at rest. The two most reasonable expositions are, perhaps, the explanations put forward by M. Parrot and Baron Liebig. The former scientist, who has laboriously investigated the perplexing subject, is of opinion that the diamond arises from the operation of

violent volcanic heat on small particles of carbon contained in the rock, or on a substance comprised of a large proportion of carbon and a smaller quantity of hydrogen. By this theory, as he conceives, we are best able to account for the cracks and flaws so often noticed in the gem, and the frequent occurrence of included particles of black carbonaceous matter. Baron Liebig, on the other hand, claims the credit of offering a simple explana tion of the probable process which actually takes place in the formation of the diamond. His contention is that science can point to no process capable of accounting for the origin and production of diamonds, except the powers of decay. If we suppose decay to proceed in a liquid containing carbon and hydrogen, then a compound with still more carbon must be formed; and if the compound thus formed were itself to undergo further decay, the final result, says this eminent authority, must be the separation of carbon in a crystalline form.

Some very fine specimens of the diamond crystal have long been found near the town of Purnaor Pannah, in Bundelcund. The mines producing them are situated in a range of hills, called Bund-Ahill by the natives, extending about twenty miles in length by between two and three in breadth, and are said to be partitioned into twenty-one divisions; but we do not know that the whole belonged to Bundelcund. Of these, the mines of Rajepoor, Maharajepoor, Kimmerah, and Guddaseah con. tain the best diamonds; and one dug from the last-mentioned mine has been reputed one of the largest in the world. It was kept in the fort of Callinger, among other treasures of Rajah Himmut Bahadur. A number of rajahs are proprietors of the mines, each having a charge of his own, without any interest in the produce of the rest. A superintendent is ap. pointed to inspect the produce, and every diamond as soon as found is registered, valued, and, if the rajah does not choose to keep it, is offered for sale. When sold he receives two thirds of its value. In the reign of the Emperor Ackbar, the mines of Pannah produced to the amount of £100,000 annually, and were then a considerable source of revenue; but for many years they have not been so profitable, although some diamonds of exceptional size and value are discovered occasionally in the Guddaseah mine.

Diamonds are also found in the ferruginous sand and gravel which forms the beds or banks of rivers in various parts of the Indian peninsula, from Bengal to Cape Comorin, especially

in Golconda and Visapore; and good samples of this precious gem have now and again been found in the district of Banjar, in the East India Island of Borneo, some of wonderful lustre and size, and very superior quality. An enormous diamond found in this island, weighing 367 carats, is said to be now in the possession of the Rajah of Mattan. Considerable quantities of diamonds of all sizes and values have, dur. ing the last hundred and fifty years, been obtained from the Brazils. The diamond mines are situated due north of the Rio Janeiro; and great numbers are also collected from the river Jigitenhona, the waters of which being turned aside, or dammed out, the mud at the bottom is first removed, under which is a stratum of rounded pebbles and gravel. In this gravel the diamonds are found, and separated by washing them with great care. The system of diamond-washing adopted in Brazil is bor. rowed from the methods employed in Hindostan, and is an interesting and exhaustive operation. The washing begins with the rains, about November. The upper parts of the troughs are charged with cascalbs (diamond earth), and a man, standing before the open end or at the side, dashes water upon the contents; he then stirs the mass with his fingers to relieve it of the worthless earth, dust and clay, and when the water runs clear the washing is repeated. A pocket of diamonds may thus sometimes, but very rarely, be hit upon; but often after the gravel has received as many as twelve separate washings, diamonds, although of diminutive size, will still be found in it. A good washer takes from half an hour to three quarters of an hour in order to exhaust a single pan-full. Sometimes, to encourage the other laborers, a slave who is fortunate enough to find a stone weighing more than an oitava and a half receives his freedom, but the discovery of diamonds of this size is few and far between. Magnifying glasses are not yet in use, although they would save much trouble and prevent loss. The present rude system is very severe upon the sight, which soon fails, and past twenty-five years of age few eyes can be trusted. In fact, children are always the best washers. It is during this operation that robberies are mostly effected. The civilized thief pretends to be short-sighted, and picks up the plunder with his tongue, but most of the stones disappear by being tilted or thrown over the lip of the pan during the washing, and are picked up at leisure. In India the miner has been seen to jerk the stone into his mouth, or stick it in

the corner of his eye; and so clever, indeed, are some of these diamond thieves that from twelve to fifteen overseers are required per gang of fifty light-fingered men.

The diamonds are invariably valued by their weight in carats, a carat being equal to four grains. The value increases as the squares of their respective weights; thus, if a diamond of one carat be worth £8, one of two carats will be worth £32.

About one half the weight of the diamond is cut away by the lapidary, and the quantity of diamond powder used in polishing a very large diamond has sometimes cost a thousand pounds sterling. One of the most interesting objects in Amsterdam is the diamond-mill, where all the great diamonds are sent to be cut and polished and prepared for setting. It belongs to a Jew, and a very large staff of skilled men are employed in the various processes through which the stones have to go before they are ready for mounting. Four horses turn a wheel, which sets in motion a number of smaller wheels in the room above, whose cogs, acting on circular metal plates, keep them in continued revolution, Pulverized diamond is placed upon these, and the stone to be polished, fastened at the end of a piece of wood by means of an amalgam of zinc and quicksilver, is submitted to the friction of the adamantine particles. This is the only mode of acting on diamond, which can be ground, or even cut, by particles of the same substance. In the latter operation diamond dust is fixed on a metal wire which moves rapidly backward and forward over the stone to be cut. The largest diamonds are usually reserved for roses, which always rise in the centre to an angle, and the smaller are used as brilliants and have a flat octagon on the upper surface. There is, of course, a marked distinction between rose diamond and a brill. iant. The one is entire and set vertically, while the other is divided and set horizontally. The diamond has always enjoyed an undisputed pre-eminence among precious stones, not only on account of its rarity, but also from its unequalled brilliancy. Some of these stones have been sold for almost fabulous prices, and many of the most celebrated diamonds known to exist have changed hands from time to time under strange and roman. tic circumstances.-" Curiosities of Diamonds," Gentleman's Magazine.

CHRISTMAS IN CALCUTTA.-In England the

celebration of Christmas Day has become stereotyped. For children, of course, its charm remain, for children have not yet become too sophisticated to enjoy eating too much, and the presents inseparable from the occasion are not likely to pall with repetition. But to the givers of the feasts and the arrangers of the Christmas-trees the sport is somewhat stale and the wheels somewhat run down, as in the Kingsley ballad. And if for the givers of Christmas parties and the parents of the rising generation Christmas Day is a rather labored kind of festivity, much worse is it for the lonely and the bachelor. In the same way the typical Christmas weather has been settled for all time. It very seldom comes off; but when it does there is a general chorus of approval. There should be a hard white frost, all the land should look white, and the sun shine red through the faint morning mist. The ponds should be frozen hard, and skating by daylight and torchlight should dispel the fiend Indigestion which dogs the steps of turkey and plum pudding. So deeply is this picture engraved on our minds, so often is it presented to us on cards and in almanacs, in colored supplements and in picture-books, that it seems quite unnatural to the healthy English mind that Christmas Day should ever dawn otherwise than glittering white with snow or hoar frost, and in the Autipodes our brothers are inclined to resent the brilliant sunshine and balmy air as a sort of desecration of the national feast-day. They eat their plum pudding with its sprig of holly with a sense of injury, as something whose mere presence ought to have been enough to cause a change in the weather, and they complain bitterly that it is impossible to feel like Christmas" without Christmas weather.

It is human to grumble and not unpleasant. Otherwise it would be difficult to understand how any one can take exception to warmth and sunlight in place of those December fogs which we know so well. And much may be done at Christmas time in the East which is impossible in the West. Let us take a typical Christmas Day in Calcutta, and spend it as it should be spent undeterred by the fetich of English Christmas traditions. Let us take the Victo. ria and drive down to Garden Reach, a few miles down the Hooghly, and picnic. Our way lies across the Maidan, and a paternal Administration has sent out legions of coolies, each with his leathern water-bottle, to shake water over the road and lay the dust. The sun