Messrs. BLACKWOOD are issuing a standard edition of the works of
GEORGE ELIOT. _Adam Bede_, of course, comes first, admirably printed
in dainty volumes of blue and gold. Glancing over the work brings back
to the memory of my Baronite a certain schoolboy who, instead of going
home to dinner, used to spend the interval in the reading-room of a
free library, literally dining off _Adam Bede_, then just out. It
will be interesting to observe how far the public of to-day, more
especially the young men and maidens who read novels, will take to
GEORGE ELIOT. In this new standard edition opportunity, alike in
respect of charm and cheapness, is made alluring.
_The Curse of Intellect_ is an unattractive title, suggestive rather
of a series of essays on the melancholy lives of certain geniuses
than of the weird tale--for such it is--of a Man-Monkey. This story,
published by Messrs. BLACKWOOD, and written by MACHIAVELLI COLIN
CLOUT, is a modern version of _Frankenstein_, the distinction being
that, whereas _Frankenstein_ constructed his own monster, the hero of
this romance, one _Reuben Power_, finds a monster ready to hand in a
kind of "Mr. Gorilla," whom he educates to speak a strange language,
also to read, write, and think in excellent English. This Converted
Ape kills his maker, and then considerately puts an end to his
own miserable existence; he does not, however, possess a soul
(_Frankenstein's_ Monster was also deficient in this respect). "For
O it is such a 'norrible tale;" and, except to those who occasionally
enjoy "a 'norrible tale," this cannot be recommended by