BOOKSELLERS' PROVIDENT INSTITUTION. Subscribers will notice that they are requested to meet at 56, Old Bailey, on the 24th October, to consider the propriety of revising the rules.

ACCIDENT TO MR. BENTLEY.-An accident occurred to Mr. Bentley, the publisher, on the 21st inst., at Chepstow station, on his return from Tenby with his wife. Just as the up-train was in sight of the station, in hurrying after his luggage, he fell over the platform with great violence. It was only by his being dragged off the rail, where he lay motionless, that he escaped instant destruction. He was conveyed back to the Beaufort Arms by Mr. Watkins and Mr. White, under whose skill the fractured thigh is progressing favourably.-Globe.

THE SWINDLERS.-Such of our readers as may be favoured with orders from swindling firms at Manchester, or elsewhere, will do well to forward the orders to the police of the towns whence the orders are dated. Here is a reply from Dublin: "Yours of the 19th inst. has been duly received, and in reply I beg to inform you that John Crauford is merely a lodger at No. 6, Lower Jervis Street, and that he was on one occasion in custody here, and convicted for having obtained goods on false pretences, and is said to be living by a system of getting goods in a similar maner. (Signed) JAMES RYAN, Acting-Superintendent, Dublin Metropolitan Police Office.

Mr. Holmes informs us that he has recently sold Mr. Porteus's business, High Road, Lee, to Mr. Sarjeant, late of Albany Road, Camberwell. Also, Mr. Edward Vallis's business, Swindon, to Mr. Joseph New, of that town. And Mr. Lewis's business (bookbinder), 22, Paternoster Row, to Messrs. Southgate & Long.

Mr. Bucknall, of Wigan, has transferred his business to Mr. Platt.

Mr. Warwick Savage, some years with Messrs. R. &. W. Wright, of Stafford, has succeeded to the business lately carried on by Mr. Bowering, of Burslem.

MIDDLESBOROUGH-ON-TEES.-Messrs. Burnett and Hood have retired from the firm of Wilkinson, Barnett & Hood, printers, &c., and commenced business separately. Mr. Wilkinson will continue the business he established, and is now sole proprietor of the Middlesborough Weekly News, hitherto printed by the late firm.

Mr. William Tyler, formerly of Bolt Court, printer, has been elected Secretary of the City Dispensary.

BIRMINGHAM.-Mr. Benjamin Hall has assumed as partner his old apprentice, Mr. Charles English, and the firm will trade under the name of Hall & English.

We

A HINT TO ASSISTANTS. "Let the invoices be plainly written, and the figures plainly made; some we get are so difficult to read, and the figures so difficult to decipher, that one would imagine a spider had tumbled in the inkstand and walked over the paper, the scrawl is so wretched. don't like to hurt anyone's feelings, but it is painful to see our assistants poring over the invoices, and wasting a morning in trying to make them out. Never put invoices inside goods, but always in an envelope outside, directed to us, as sometimes the invoice gets sent home with the goods, which is not very pleasant to J. & T. SPENCER, Leicester,' who have printed the above pertinent remarks, and have sent copies to their wholesale correspondents.

won.

THE PERIODICAL PRESS.-We this month give our second instalment of a collection towards a history of the periodical press. This chapter relates chiefly to those papers which incurred a large amount of odium at the time of their ap. pearance, but which most unmistakeably fought the battles by which our present freedom was It will be seen that all the agents in the great work were what one of our contemporaries would call "an inferior class of men," and consequently but little is known of them, and of the work in which they were engaged. From the difficulty under which we labour in obtaining information, our sketch is necessarily imperfect; but many of our readers will, no doubt, be able to fill up some of the missing gaps, so that, in a future number, we may complete and continue the chapter.

66

We have received information of several additions to our list of comic periodicals. 'Mephistophiles" flourished, we understand, for a week in London about the year 1859; the "Town Crier," a Birmingham monthly, filled with local allusions, is a well-written and clever paper, which has existed for about four years; various magazines and pamphlets written in the dialects of Lancashire and Yorkshire-of which the "Pogmoor Olmenack" may be taken as a fair representative-claim notice as comic periodicals; and a whole host of London broadsheets published from time to time, principally with second-hand engravings, might be mentioned. Sufficient, however, for the day.

The National Atlas, published at 6d., by Mr. John Heywood, of Manchester, in small 4to, containing thirty fairly well engraved maps, neatly done up in half cloth, is without exception the cheapest atlas published in this or any other country. How it can been done for the retail price alone, to say nothing of any margin for profit is a puzzle we cannot solve.

TO ANTHROPOLOGISTS.-The Athenæum has discovered that " an inferior class of men" exist, in England. It consists of wholesale stationers, retired gentlemen of fortune, the son of an earl, a Wood Street warehouseman, and some others, who, having the misfortune to be the House Committee of the Royal Hospital for Incurables, have incurred the displeasure of the superior grade of beings who write in the pages of our contemporary, and under whose direction the polite tastes of the public are attempted to be guided. It would be a matter of some interest if the history of the writer of the article in question should be investigated by some of the "inferior class of men" mentioned by name in the Athenæum of September 21.

In anticipation of the great public interest which will be manifested with respect to Abys sinia, Mr. Stanford has just published a routemap of that country. The same gentleman has also published a map of England, showing the difference that will be made in the boroughs by the operation of the new Reform Bill.

Cheap editions of the "Excelsior" readingbooks have just been published by Mr. Murby, the price being about one-fourth less than before. This excellent series of Readers commends itself to the notice of teachers, as not only containing all that is necessary for the several standards, but also a great deal of useful information in an interesting form.

The Proof Sheet is the title of a new bi-monthly journal for printers, published by Messrs. Collins and M Leester, type founders, Philadelphia.

"CIRCE."-The Pall Mall Gazette a short time ago had an article showing that a novel called "Circe," published in Belgravia, contained plagiaries from a French source. A day or two later the same journal published a letter, purporting to be from Miss Braddon, which offered to repurchase at cost price all numbers of Belgravia which contained any part of the novel in question! Miss Braddon writes to inform us that this letter is a forgery. Are we returning to the vile practises of days gone by-of the extinct Age and Satirist? The other day a journal called the Tomahawk contained a similarly forged letter from Mr. Cole: has the Pall Mall fallen to the level of the Tomahawk? Infamous fabrications of this kind are not to be tolerated. In the present case, if Miss Braddon had been absent from home, there is an obvious possibility of commercial loss. It is our contemporary's duty to discover and punish the forger.-Globe.

Upon the appearance of this, a writer in Public Opinion remarks, that "the letter in the Pall Mall Gazette bearing the signature of Miss Braddon may have been a forgery, but the fact remains uncontradicted, that Circe' is a gross and impudent plagiarism from the French novel 'Dalila.' The latter part of the above paragraph is chiefly remarkable for its flippant vulgarity and one-sidedness, and deserves no serious consideration. We must express regret, however, that Miss Braddon has had the misfortune to meet with such sorry advocacy. Still the question presses itself, who and where is Babington White? The attempt to divert at

tention from the theft that has been committed by getting up a discussion about a forged letter will not be successful. If White does not shortly appear on the scene to vindicate his ingenious but suspicious conduct there will be only one conjecture that he is a myth, as we have throughout the controversy suspected."

66

The Early English Text Society has issued the first part of "The Vision of Piers Plowman" of William Langland, one of the most precious relics remaining of our fourteenth century literature. The text has been carefully edited by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat; the work will be completed in four volumes. Also another volume, 'Manipulus Vocabulorum," a Rhyming Dictionary of the English language, by Peter Levins, first published in 1570, the first rhyming dictionary in the language. This has been edited for the Society by Mr. H. B. Wheatley. Under the auspices of the Society, Bishop Percy's folio manuscript volume of Ballads is being reprinted. The first part of Vol. 2, and Part 2, completing Vol. 4, have just been issued. A small number only have been printed, and we would recommend all collectors of ballads, and all who are curious in these matters, to secure a copy forthwith. Messrs. Trübner are the publishers for the Society.

A volume of Songs by the Poet Laureate, with accompaniments by Mr. Arthur Sullivan, and illustrations by John Millais, is in preparation.

Messrs. Rivingtons have added to their Catena Classicorum, Thirteen Satires of Juvenal, with notes and an excellent biographical and critical Introduction, by Mr. G. A. Simcox. "Three Satires have been altogether omitted, as not required, in the Oxford examinations, which proceed on the creditable hypothesis, that all candidates for pass or honours either possess, or cultivate the temper to which such reading is as painful as it ought to be.'

The following advertisement has appeared in the Times and other papers :

THE MARTIN TUPPER TESTIMONIAL.

It is proposed to give to Mr. Martin F. Tupper,
Now at length,

A Testimonial in acknowledgment of his services
To Literature and Religion;

And as many of his friends

Both in America and in the Colonies,

No less than in the British Isles,

Might like to join in such recognition of honour
To the Author of " Proverbial Philosophy,"
This announcement is made public.
The form of the Testimonial
Will be determined by its amount:
Probably the simplest form is best.

A List of Subscribers will appear in due course.
Meanwhile contributions will be thankfully received, &c.

This has been improved upon by the Spectator thus:-

Come ye gleaners of pearls, for which our Tupper dived deep, And wrenched from the oysters of Meditation and in the sullen waters of Oblivion;

Genuine pearls, not paste, from genuine beds of oysters, Then flung forth again on strings of his own spinningStrings which Tupper spun at the spinning-wheel of Wisdom;

Turning the spindle of Thought with the muscular leg of power,

Come, give a tithe of their cost to the great pearl-diver, Tupper.

Many in Australasia, and many more in Erin,

Some in hardy Scotia, and thousands in merrie England, Only a few in Wales, for the Eisteddfodd does not know him,

But some in the Isle of Man, and more in the Isle of Thanet,

All these wear the pearls which the minstrel-diver gave them!

Give him back a tithe of the cost of those pearls of Wisdom:

Give it in postage-stamps, or better, in post-office orders, Or cheque crossed to Herries and Co., to account of the Minstrel-diver.

N.B. The Testimonial's form will probably be as simple, As the Bard's own simple taste, namely, paid in cash to

his order.

The following has since been issued:

1T

T IS ANNOUNCED THUS EARLY THAT, in accordance with the expressed wish of several subscribers and others (including the person chiefly inte rested) there will be no published list of the contributions to this fund. After some months, to give time to America and the Colonies, the account will be closed. Meanwhile, subscriptions continue to be received by the Hon. Treasurer.

Mr. George Augustus Henry Sala, the wellknown special correspondent of the Daily Tels graph, and author of "How I Tamed Mrs. Cruiser," "Twice Round the Clock," and other books, appeared in the Bankruptcy Court on the 18th, on his own petition. He ascribes his bankruptcy to his heavy travelling expenses, and insufficiency of income. His debts are stated at £2,659; and among his creditors are the proprietors of the Daily Telegraph, £500; Mr. Daniel Pratt, of Bolt Court, Fleet Street, newspaper proprietor, £800; and the "Friendin-Need" Insurance Office, £854. The bankrupt, in answer to the usual questions, stated that he had no property of any description, no book debts, no books; and that his life was insured, the policy being held by a creditor. After the appointment of an accountant as trade assignee, protection was granted till the next sitting.

George Brown, a well-known reporter, who for more than twenty years has been employed on the London press, was lately stricken with paralysis, and incapacitated from ever again pursuing his profession. Under these circumstances, an appeal is made to his friends and the public for subscriptions to put his wife in some small way of business. Subscriptions may be forwarded to the office of Lloyd's Newspaper, Salisbury Square.

DORE'S VIVIEN AND GUINEVERE. The pictorial monument M. Doré has expressed his intention of raising to Mr. Tennyson, and to his own powers, is nearing its completion. The instalment we had last Christmas in "Elaine," whetted the appetite, and created a desire for more. We have now to congratulate the Messrs. Moxon on the completion of another portion of M. Doré's work. The volume to be issued next Christmas, comprises Vivien" and "Guinevere," and we have no doubt will meet with even greater success than its predecessor. The text is now before us, together with the artists' proofs, and photographs from the original drawings; and our examination has convinced us that, however highly the former volume is prized, the present transcends it in several respects. We are disposed to agree with the publishers that the drawings are superior to those which were given in Elaine,' as well in poetic imagination as in dramatic effect. Not that the artist has altered in any respect his peculiar manner. None of his old resources are exhausted; none seem to be failing. Doré is still Doré. He still exhibits vigour where vigour is necessary; he is still refined where refinement is in place; and, it must be confessed, he is still careless where carelessness is a vice. The illustrations are eighteen in number, and differ much from each other as regards subject matter, treatment, and the degree of their value, both as interpreters of the text and as to their intrinsic excellence as drawings Some are figure-subjects, and depend for their success upon the ability which has been displayed by the artist in exhibiting human emotion; some are effective simply as delineations of natural scenery; whilst some furnish noteworthy examples of that wonderful Salvator-like power possessed by M. Doré of complementing the purely personal interest by natural scenery. In all, however, there is something to admire. The effect of light and shade; the revelation made of vast and desolate space; the dexterity and facility of handling displayed in each-are as noticeable as they ever were in M. Doré. But, as we have hinted, what most strikes us in him is that faculty he possesses in an eminent degree, of harmonizing, or it may be of contrasting, inanimate nature, and even vegetable forms, with the temporary situation of the personages that figure in the story. The opening scene of "Vivien" will serve as an illustration of our meaning. Here we see the utmost congruity between the human agents and the forms of nature. Vivien, stolen from Arthur's court, is at Merlin's feet. They are in the woods of Broceliande. A storm is coming on, but the winds have not yet begun to rise. This is

accurately and admirably represented by the artist. The oak, too, at whose feet they are reposing-huge and old-assumes dignity and importance. To the observer (and not by mere force of prospective knowledge derived from the poet's words, but by its natural forms) the tree appears to be a partaker in what is transacting to have become a personage-and seems, indeed, to anticipate the time when it will be a dominant actor in the scene. The branches and ground-roots extend themselves in undefined, but monstrous semi-human shapes, and add greatly to the effect intended to be created. All is in keeping with the story as we have it. Atogether, the artist has, in this scene, placed a most fitting portal to the fair mansion he has erected for Christmas guests. And what is most observable in this, the earliest drawing, is to be seen with equal clearness in several others. "The disem

barkation of Vivien and Merlin" on the sands of Brittany is almost equal to it in effective beauty. The forms of the sheer perpendicular cliff of mountain-limestone that faces them; the atmosphere by which they are surrounded; the very manner in which the waves are breaking-are rendered not only with local fidelity, but are felt to harmonize in an extraordinary way with the situation represented in the text. The last scene, again, in which Merlin, over-talked and overworn, has yielded, told her all the charm, and slept, is most dramatically represented, and forms an appropriate termination to the weird story. As we have said, the artist sometimes exhibits censurable carelessness. In the illustrations to "Guinevere" there is occasional departure from local truth. For instance, the incident entitled "The Parting," and that other, The Dawn of Love," in which the lovers are represented by the poet as riding under groves that looked a paradise of blossom, are not true to nature, and remind us more of what we think Eastern scenes to be, than of our own England. Even here, however, especially in the latter picture, that harmony we have observed between the human passions of the various personages and the natural scenery by which they are surrounded is tery distinctly preserved. To the lovers, trees, fruits, flowers, birds and sky undoubtedly partook of their own feelings, and are consequently represented not as they were in reality; but as they appeared to the imagination of the two at the time. In "The Cloister Scene," even, when the architecture and the mural decorations are utterly at fault, the genius of the artist saves him from failure. He is desirous of being effective,--and is This is his essential characteristic. In none of the drawings, indeed, is theeffect ever weak or scattered. M. Doré, perhaps, as much as any living artist, has the power of concentration, and of carrying the eye to where, had the scene presented itself in reality, it would have been fixed by the beholder himself.

It would be invidious to select any of the engravings for special commendation. All the gentlemen who have been engaged, have done their work in a way highly creditable to their profession. In more than one instance, they seem to have improved upon the original drawings. The photographs, too, are splendid examples of the art, and will serve to show readers how our best English engravers are able to reproduce the most famous artist of the day.

OLD BALLADS.-Mr. Lilly requests us to state that he has prepared a sixteen-page detailed prospectus and catalogue of the old ballads mentioned in the last BOOKSELLER, and that copies may be had gratis by the country trade through their London agents.

ALMANACKS.-The first that has come to hand for 1868 is "Thorley's Illustrated Farmers'," a showy work got up for the especial purpose of puffing Thorley's Cattle Food, and glorifying the successful maker of it, whose portrait is given just preceding that of an ox-both appear to be in a thriving condition. Next we have a pretty little gem-Rimmel's Perfumed "-containing the Seven Ages of Man, printed in chromo-lithograph. Lastly, Cassell's "Illustrated," the cheapest and most elegant of all the pictorial calendars; the illuminated cover is one of the most successful pieces of colour printing that we have seen. Among the illustrations are a set of original woodcuts representing the "Birds of the Year," and a large double-page engraving, containing portraits of the Royal Family of Prussia.