Literary Gossip.

LITERARY GOSSIP .

MR . William Andrews , F . R . H . S ., is out with his " Punishments in the Olden Time . " The book is brimful of information of a curious character related in pleasant style . The illustrations are numerous and well executed . W . Stewart and Co ., of Holborn Viaduct Steps , are the publishers . "Holiday Haunts and Echoes " is the title of a new work from the pen of Mr . H . Calvert Appleby . It is to deal ivith personal reminiscences of

remarkable spots , both in Britain and on the Continent . Prior to publication in complete form the sketches are , Ave observe , to appear simultaneously iu a number of provincial journals . Doubtless his new work will win for Mr . Appleby a wider circle of admiring readers .

Simpkin , Marshall , and Co . have just issued a volume of pleasing poetry by Mr . John Brent , F . S . A ., historian of Canterbury , aud the author of one or two well-received poetical works . This , the latest production of his pen , appears under the title of " Justine , a Martyr ; ancl other poems . " Justine is a typical maiden of old Rome in the clays of the Empire , who , having embraced Christianity , suffered death for her adherence to the faith . Mr . Brent tells the touching story of her heroism with great dramatic power . In the minor poems , too , the author more tha ~ sustains his established reputation . The book is a most enjoyable one , and , being elegantly bound in white and gold , will form a graceful gift book .

"In the Derbyshire Hig hlands ; or Highways , Byeways , and My Ways in the Peake Countrie "—such is the fanciful name of a new book written by " St-rephon , " whose previous works dealing with the scenery of Derbyshire have met with much press praise . " Strephou ' s " descriptive ability shows no deterioration in this selection of new pen-pictures of lovely places iu and about Dovedale , along the banks of the Wye , ancl elsewhere in the English Switzerland . He points out in a manner at once graphic ancl pleasant an infinit y of

beautiful landscapes , almost unknown to the tourist , and yet hardly a day ' s journey on foot from Buxton , the metropolis of the Peak . By way of contrast to the charming spots he shoivs us , shut out . as it ivere , from the clamour of commerce , "Strephon" plays tbe part of guide to the treasures of Chatsworth and Haddon in tivo chatty chapters . The latter papers having recently appeared in the pages of Cassell's Magazine of Art , will be familiar to many of our readers . With confidence we commend this volume to every lover of the picturesque . Mr . J . C . Bates , of Buxton , is the publisher .

Miss Rosa Mackenzie Kettle , the gifted novelist whose stories we have often had occasion to speak of in terms of unqualified praise , has recently given to tbe world yet another work called " The Falls of the Loder , a . Romance of Dartmoor . " The plot is a fascinating one , the characters firmly sketched , and the scenery exceedingly well described . The " get-up " of this , the author ' s edition of Miss Kettle ' s stories , reflects great credit upon the publisher , Weir , of Regent Street .

A delightful biographical sketch reaches us from the Edinburgh Publishing Company , written by Mr . James Simpson , a member of the Scotch press . The author displays considerable originality , and possesses , moreover , the by no means common power of telling a story in a manner which never loses its hold on the reader .

It is astonishing how much can be legibly written on a post card . We have from Mr . Samuel C . J . Woodward , a clever stenographer , and the publisher of the Phonographic Meteor , photographs of two ordinary post cards , on tbe first of which has been penned in microscopic English script a sketch of