Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 14, 1874, Page 9

A i mmrr——— e i i i | THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE:#SATURDAY, =FEBRUARY ! 14, + 1874-—-SUPPLEMENT. MODERN EXTRAVAGANCE.. jio Expenso of Entertainments for Children. y fovenile - Parties Costing from $500 to $1,600. m’mm of Transforming Boys and Girls into Miniature Men and ‘Women. : Iach 88 tho extravagance which is indulged 1oin connection with tho_entertainments given Jysdults to their acquaintances of mature years, is tobe deprecated, it is ‘of comparatively little £onEOqUEDCO when contrasted with tke relative smount of expendituro which is bestowed upon SUPPOSED AMTSEMENT OF CHILDRES, e ¢ay supposod amusemont, becauso the childin whom natural vitality and enthusiasm psvo not been spoiled by artificial stimulants il fird groater enjoyment in sunlight, air, not orer-fine clothes, and possibly a good ramp, than jnall the miniature imitations of grown people’s ties and mapners which can b arranged for ihem. o long as they areboys and girls to each ther,—the diffcrence of eex nover obtruding it- lf a5 d difference of sex (except inasmuch as (3 male, being usurlly tho stronger, is naturally {he pratector of the’weaker human creature),— dimplo, unartificialzatherings are the kind which smuso them. It is only whea tho artifi- (st stimulus which is administered to them in {howay of enterininments that are fac-similes in miuiazure of those of their parents or elders, 18 developed them into beaux ard belles, some- times av an almost infantile age, that such gath- erings arc enjoyed. Then do we soe tho happy faces of children, with perhaps a sudden gust of passion, s farious quarrel, with as sudden and epergetic reconciliation? By no means. Theso m. MINIATCRE MEN AND WOMEN, . with all tho passions and petsy envy and. malico of the mature social cphemera. Viewed in this light, is it not eomething oven worso than ex- tavaganco to wasts hundreds of dollars iu mking happy children into misersple little pappets ? Setting aside, however, any moral view of the yuestion, and looking at it merely in a financiol light, ot us soe what it costs to entertain theso children not yet emancipated from the nursery. Commencing with the invitations, then: Mrs. Emith decides that she will give A JUVENILE PARTY for the benefit of Master Augustus, aged 11, and Miss Kntie, aged . This will include all the . soung lady's and gentleman’s friends, ranging from tho sges of 2 to 13 Thero will bo about o buadred of them. Itshallbo a lawn party in the month of June. Possibly a fancy-dress afteir is decided upon. Mrs. Smith has a large Iawm attached to her country-house. When sho first came back from Europe, she gave dejcuners loher friends; but 8, in tius busy Western world, especially so far toward the Occident as Chicago, few gentlemen had the loisure to at- tehd them, they soon fell into tabby-partics, axd wero' gradually taboood. Tho tabbics found it difficult to talk even scandal, exéept of the weakest sort, without a sufliciency of the ‘malo element present to add s stronger flavor of wmggestion. Clubs being rathor s failura here, ibey did not catch the spico of diluted club- gossip to_keep them on the qui-vive; ad so necessarily sach eatertaiuments died of taeir own insuity. It was quite possible, howaser, o get together all the babies, masculine snd feminine. : Actuated by this thought, aud determined that tho whole thing should ba done in style, - TIE INVIFATIONS £r» first thougLt of. These consisted a vesr azo of three cards; but, next Eeasop, the rule will Dbetosend the invitation engraved in script on s sing:lun sheet of heavy Engligh note-paper, something after the following etyle : Mr. Smith requests the pleasure of Miss Maggie Brown's company at & Fancy-Dress Juvenile Reception tobe given by Master and Mxs Smith, on Thursday, Juze 10, 9990 United States avenuc, Froms until 11 o'clock, {cmm' R.E.V.P. These are ordered from the engraver's, and cost, at the lowest estimate, from £30 to $50. Nexe Mrs. Smith bethioks ber of THE BUPPER. It costs just as much for these liltle peo- ple 28 for their elders. ~Tho same vi- wads sre served, with the probable result that the young gourmands will consume much larger quantities than tho older gourmets, and 1ay the foundation of a very active dyspepaia. which shall entertain tbem Iater in life. For Ter 100 little guests, then, Mre. Smith must pay from $150 to 3200 for their supper. Though it is to be s Lawn-Party, still there must be ) FLORAL DECORATIONS ® for the house ; and, as it will not do to rob their ‘oD vines or bushes, these must be provided by the florist: From 100 to $200 is spent id beau- tifying the interior of the house, $50 to $100 in tahle-decorations, and from £50 to £300 for sdditionn! floral arches and various ornaments for the gprounds. A boutonniere is also pre- sented to esch little visitor on his-or her ar- rival. Wo find, then, that from £200 to 3600 is the sum that must be spent at the florist's. Next, there are awnings and marquees’ to be thought of. A large one for the collation, and another for dancing, will add an additional €50, while one or two more for a sholtered rest will take another 315. The grounds and narquece aro algo to_be lighted. A _calcium- light will cost from $5 to $10, while the ncees- #ary colored lighta and Chincee lanterns will be $%5more. An oxteneion of gas-lights into the merquees will bo $50 at least. Next, there is - THE CHILDREX'S COSTUMES fobe thonght of. ‘Master Augnstus shall go as “ Louis Quatorze.” His suit will have to be made for bim, and will cost sbout 75, a8 it can ouly be made of the finesc material. 1liss Ka- ti's will, however. be mnch morc ex- pensive. She is to _ personify “‘Snow.” A white silk dress is covered with marabodt feathers, costing $200; a girdle with pendants of satin-spar, to simulate icicles, made to order, €50 ; o coronet of satin-spar and marsbout, or ‘her mother's dismonds, diamond ear-drops and bracelets; white kid-gloves, 31.50: &ilk hose, £3; white kid shoes, $5, witn diamond buckles. ' Thus, independent 'of her jowsls, we find this young lady's dress costing $253.50. A chatelaine of satin-spar besds, with marabout fan, and crystal viniagrette, will cost from $15 upward,—not usually exceeding $50. On arrival, each guest is furnished with a troquet-card, on which his or Ler name is en- gaved. These cost about $10. Later in the evening, at about 7 o'clock, a slight refection is served, or lemonado and cske 476 kept almays in Teadiness in one of the tents. ‘This may be esti- matedat §20. At 7:30 or 8 d'clock. dancing com- Deaces. The order of danciug, printed on tiny I.‘:n! with pencil attached, costs cbout $15. At 9 Oclock, supper ia served, and the “meou is printed on white satin, & copy of which is given toeach guest. Theso cost about $50. 'ho coat of giving such a paity, then, to the Joung Buths and their 100 little scquaintances, MAY BE THUS STMAED U] Yarquees and_awnings. L:m.sx:uuam, calciumm, Of course, this is extravagance, but it is of {odern extravagance wo aro writing and not of e grdinary, necossary social awenities of life, Tht tho lezser sum s a fair estimate of the cost ia Lawn Party given to a child, we have found Obo the case by inquiry ; and that the latter @ has also been reached, 18 ALSO A FACT. Toall thinking minda this scems eimply scan- . Afew may be able to affordit; the By certainly are not. Of. course, ono 'h""l that oll expenditure of money Alkh fally within & person's _income 1I842iiva of norme geod, taramtich 88 i5 gives %X to vagions ;xmn. of srtar pagchsnism, tef colve ¢ho VIl o‘,; such AR ATEHSE but the effect of much of this .cxvenditure is Dbad. While the one person can afford to be thus lavieh, the ninety-nine cannot. .While it may bo quite within Mrs. Smith’s means to spend $1,000 or 31,500 in giving the juniors of her familv o party, Miss Maggie Brown's mother might find 1t altogether out of the question to spend $500. Btill, sho feels anxious that Maggio should ap- pear a8 an associate of the little Smitks : 80 the young lady . is sent to their party, sttired ns & “Tlower-Girl”; but 220 has been oxpended upon ber dress. Tk:ough theydo not keop a cat- risge, Maggio must Lo eent in one, and it must also call for her; so this adds another 6. It Miss Maggie is invited and goes to but one party, & week, this will cost no inconsiderable sum at tho end of a year. Children specdily Jearn from theiz elders that it docs not answer to wear & dress too often, sud soon grow clamorous for mauy chavres. Tho catringe-hiro alone, for the year, wonld bo £312. Ii 18 not likely that any Young Miss will 5o so often; but a dozen such parties in the ecuson would be sufficiently ex— pevsive, to say vothing of the demoralization at- tendant thoreupon. Miss Maggio Drown's mother feels that she must return the civilitics that her doughter has réceived; 50, having o lawn, she gives . . AN IN-DOOR RECEPTIO: She limits her expenditureto invitation-cards aud orders of davcing ; and the number of guests 10 50, as being more wilhin the neccesary bounds with which she muet condent hereolf. The sup- Per is accordingly less cxpensive. Her outlay is about as follows: Invitation cards, -$ 20.00 10.00 15.00 Murle..... ... Yloral decoration p $342.50 Miss Maggie's quiet, unostentations Recep- tion, we fiud. costs ber father nearly 3400. Tus, when the money-market is tight, and the banks refuso to diecount freely, is not a pleagant -sub- ject for consideration. How much lesa so to the Tatlier, who, anxious for the welfaro of bis chil- dren, both morally and physically, eces in how deleterious a way this money Lo could so ally spere bas been wasted. The children are 2 NONE THE NAPPIER, and become blase before they reach their teens. Lawn-partics arc tho pleasantest Lhings in the world for chbildren, if rationally given. Archery and croquet also bave their charms; fancy-dress may bo admitted, and dancivg allowed; - and it can all be done in _a pleasant . way st a trifling cost. Sensible peoplo generaliy prefer children to marionettes ; but, in modern society, with its tendency to lavish expenditure, the latter scex | to abound. Another place where woman's vanity displays itself isat - 3 DANCING-SCHOOL. Nothing esn be prettier than to see children ce graceiully ; nothing mora absurd than the 1nanner in which they are decited out to perform 2t some of those ncsemblies. Point-lacoe, eatin, nod diamcnds aronot proper adjuacts to the ypure loveliness of the little ones. Why not o powder, rouge, end patches at onco, ‘that 'nt 8 the young lady may a finished coguette; at 18, alrcady faded; nt 25, blase; while ot 38, if eho lives lo thot age, ber blauched boir and ruincd bealth are exponents of the prematura decay conse- quowt upon tho unnatural forcing process gra- tnitousiy bestowed upon her infancy ? The foud mocbier of a little girl of 4 years drosces her in pink satin, and orders for her from Paris a Point-lacs dress worth $500. Kid gloves arp Torced on tho chubby Lands, and_diamond drops appended totbeears. Tugs, chaine, and braceleta are added; aud, to crown the whole, the child is told how mauch'ber dress coste, and that it is undsomer thav that of suy of Ler associates,— tho seeds thus beiug sown in infancy of that deification of dress and worship of mere wealth which bavo already becomo tho prevailing re- Tigion of America. Many people, realizing per- haps that it would bo desirable tosend their chil- dren to the man considered as being the best teacher in bis art, are provented from go doing, not on acconut' of his charges, but be cause, 85 o seusible woman once xaid, T cannot afford, even if I thonght it wise, 1o dress my children 'in_ silk, eatin, aud lace; aind, if I send them simply clad in white muslin, {hey aro snubbed by the overdreesed oues, irTi- tated, and made to ect an unduo valuo upon drose.” This, o a great extent, also appliea to crdinary_school-attire. Children are scot in €ille, aud allowed fo wear ornaments not st all fitting place or age,.until the qaestion of “*WHEREWITHAL SHALL iWE LE CLOTIED Tecomes tize leading ono in their mind. Ticre, ot least, there i8 room for wide reform and mestimable retreochmont., Keep the littlo ones children o8 long es may be. It is much casier, no doubt, if one has pleuty of moncy, to ordcr a perty aiter the geueral plan suited to adulls ; bul, with o hittle niore pefsonal tronble, 2 much more charming and amusing fete might e arrauged, aud the babies bo back in their uurscrios at o desirable hour. Upon this let overy [father insist: that tho .xising generstion sholl not be ruined Ly = premature Inxury ond dissipation, Toot every mother taka it to heart if sho would Jiave * her children rise up and call hier blaseed.” TLet at lenst that one ulcer of extravagance bo oradicated. Keep the little ones BOYS AND GIRLS, instead of making them besux and belles; and, 31 the ready thousnnds must be expendod, take tho chidren to sco some of Nature's show- places,—the iwmmediato consequence of which 1Tl bo & beal:Lfal oxcitement, and the after- gults 5 plessant memory while Tife eliall last. Cut off tho extravegant dress and unwholosomo partics altogetl:or. e NI TR “SUNNY ITALY.” Extract from a private lotter dated . Fronxscs, Dee, 30, 1870, 1f wo could exchange “Sunny ltaly,” with its chilly air, greot rooms, small fire-places, and smoky chimneys, for the genuine comfort of cold weather in Wieconein or Chicago, I know one fellow who would be willing to give up his chanco of secing Rome, even though bo is so neer to it. ) T have gotten so surfeiled with the treasures of art that it is_with positive dismay that I hear of rome magnificent gallers or splendid church which one 15 morally bound to vieit. 3 No tourist has 80 well described my feelings about o majorily of the “Old Masters” as Mark Twain; and,. when you go out of 2 sunny street’ into n great cavern-of & church, Whero the pavement freezes through’ the soles of your shoes in about five minutes, and tho cold settles sbout the roots of your hsir inn minnte aud o balf, yon are oot in a condition to admire gomo ebominable Pagan picture of the Lost Judgment, unless indeed the flames in the lower left band corner of the picturo could havo some power to worm the great barn ‘where it hangs. One nceds, for the gallrics of Italy: First, & warm skull-cap (for churchos) ; socond, 2 very hieavy overcoat, lined with fur; third, a pair of mittens:. fourth, & pair of Arctic over- £hoes; filth, ibicker flunnels than you would wear anywhore clso on the face of the earth. Mild Winters. Tio mildoess of the present season, says the Pall Mall Gazile, though unususl, beats no comparison to that of some winters *long gone by." In1172 the temperaturo was 8o high that leaves came ont on the trees in January, and birds hatebed their broods n February. In 1280 the winter was equally mild, and tho maidens of Cologne wore wreatha of violets and corn-flowers at Christmas and on Twelfth Day. In 1421 the trees flowered in tho month of March, and the vines in the month of April. Cherrics * riponed _in the ssme month, snd grapes appeeredin May. In 1572, the trecs wero covered with leaves in January, and tho birds Latched their young iu Februars, 83 in 1172; in 1595, the samo ibing was repeated, and it »dded that tho corn wesin the earat Easter. There was in Franco neither gnow nor frost throughout the wintess of 1538, 1607, 1609, 1617 and 1650 ; fivally, in 1662, even io the north of Germany, the ioves were uot lighted, and trees Dlossomed in Fobinary. Coming to later'dates, the winter of 151647, when it thundered at Paris on the 26th of Jantary, and that of 1866, the Searof tho great innodation of the Seine, may e mentioned as’exceptionuily mild. — —————— Newman in Japan. -4 painfal incident, of which wo learn the par~ tioulars Ly private lotter from Japan, shows how little the Oriental mind spprecintes tho dignity of a Republicsn Prosident. The Rev. J. P, New- man, in the course of his tour of inspection mong th consulates of tho world, took & walk e day in Yoddo, and, paemng a Criminal Court Gting the progress of 3 trial, attempted to en- for. In this he was repulsed, s0 he wrote upon bis card, % Bov. Dr. J. P. Nowman, Chaplain of the Unifod Statos Senate, and special friend of President Grant,” ond sent it to the suthonties inside. The card was takien in with great cere- mony, and soon n snswer came back expreating {he agonizing grlof of tho. Court that there wag N6 ORA DreRant uflciently bigh ‘g:.l;.tq Tov | Founded vy LITERATURE. Art in Scandinavia and ftussia. AN ART-TOUR TO NORTEEEN CAPITALS OF EUROPE. By J. DEIAVINGTON ATSmN#oN. New York: Macmillan & Co. Taine, in a small, thin volume on ** Art in the Netherlands,” has given a clearer, firmer idea of the genjus of the Datch pation, than Motley has done in the whole of bis voluminous histories Taino Las seized on the spirit of the people, and by his magic talent, madeit visible. Hohas rendered its distinctive phoses and tendencies intelligible, and, in order to do this, has dis- covered the sources of its orign, the canses which gave it birth, the influences which molded, imbued, and directed it. Above all, he has studied the soil and the sky, which stamp an indelible impress on national character, and ho has gone back over the entire conrse of Tuetonic history, that ho might know how iustincts were implanted which have been gradually trine- formed into habits, and have governed the motive, tho accomplishmont, and the destiny of the Netherlands. Somewhat after the same manner, but with much less brilliant effect, the present writer has studied the Art of Scandinavia and Russia. Ho lacks tho grasp, the acumen, the splondor, of Taine's gonius; but ho has, neverthelees, excellent qualifications for his task, He hasa practical knowledge of art,sn intelligent acquaintance with the various gal- laries and schools of Europe, s freedom from prejudice, and an honest desire to get at tho truth. From an elevated point of view, which ombraces the circumstances and influences that control snd modify the artistic' temperament, expression, and facilities, bo bas regarded the past and present condition and the future pros- pect of painting, sculpturo, and architecture, among the Northern European pations. He bas not the seer's insight, which pierces to the centre as well as the circumferenco, and reveals reasons and principles, and resolves them into & philosophy. Yet he is a wise and candid guido in paths out of the beaten course of travel, aud points out & great deal that is novel and illug- trative in tho character, scenery, climato, eivil- ization, and Art-culture of countries seldom penetrated. Lot us skip lightly along the way ho slowly traveled, and jot down a fow of tho points he carefully delineated. Denmark lies first on the route, and the col- lections of Art and Scienco in its besutiful capital nro subjected to a thorough inspection. These are more systematically arranged than in auy viker Continental city, and are expresely educational in character. The Musoum of An- tiquity cootaine a total of 40,000 specimens, of exceeding intercet and value, presenting a full and coutinuous history of the couutry for many centuries, Tho Royal Library comprises up- wards of ‘400,000 volumes and 15,000 manu- scripts, These, with minor museums of a kin- dred nature, furnish abuadent support for the intellectual lifo of the people. The Royal Gal- lery of Art numbers 701 works of o fair average. The national dovelopment iu Art and Litera- ture has not been vigorous or luxuriant. ° Thoro is abounding talent, but not of tho higheat char- acter. The Kingdom is Giminutivé, its popula- tion being less than that of London, and 1ts pe- cuniary resources aro mengre. 1ts musoums and gallerics are not enlarging, snd art and litorary products find o scanty market. Sculpture, which had o grand cxponent in Thorwaldsen, i8 in ad- vance of painting and architocture. Indeed, this 1ast has never existed a8 a fine art in Donmark. Landecapo hos succeeded bester than figure painting, for tho reason that it needs lesd severs study. As anatural consequence of their man- time situstion, Danish artists have handled ‘marine subjects with euperior skill, and, in inter- national competitions, have taken o first rank,— England alone being able to rival them. Soren- son. Melby, and Neumann, since Stanfield and ‘Furner, stend first smong the painters of tho ocean. Tassing into Norway, we find Art in its infancy, though showing: elements of strength and vitali- ty. Architecture and sculpture are almost equal- 1y apknown, and painters are comparatively fow. Only-thres or four have oxtended thoir reputa- tion boyond their . country's frotiers. They excel in lsndscape,—surpassing in this, departmont the artists of Sweden, Denoivark, =nd Russia. Bt little can be expect- ed 1n the way of Art from a vation whoso land is sterilo, only one-hundredth part being under culturo; whose inhabitants scarcely exceed a million, and the majority of whom are compelled to an endless struggle with churlish Nature for the baro means of subaistence. A considerable number=-of eminent scholars snd artists have given Sweden repute w:ong other pations. Linnwus, the naturalist; Der- gelins, the chemist ; Swedonborg, the mystic 3 Frederika- Bromer, the novelist ; Jenny Lint and Clristine Nilsson, tho vocalists,—not to mention & respectablo list of scalptors and painters,—have poured lustre upcn her history. A good deal of mental sctivity hos prevailed among the pegglu, especinlly in_the present generation. @' has sccomplished noth- iog in srchitecture, but in sculpture g displayed singular talent. Strenuous and not unsuccessful efforts have been made to cs- tablish & native School of Art; and o National Muscum and Gallery was completed in Stock- holm in 1863, and furnished with large but com- monplace collections. Swedish _artists have taken up the study of Nature in earnost,—s most hopoful indication. Drawn from the work- ing classes themselves, it would scem to be their province to depict peassnt-life, which presents novel snd picturesque snbjccts for painting. Sweden, likothe rest of Scandinavis, afforda fine eketebigg-ground. Its ecenery is wild, rugged, znd sombre; but its sunscts are of pecyliar splendor, its fields are rich with bloom in sum- 1mer, and shifting atmospheric phenomena give an infiniteveriety of light and shade. Under skillfal trearment, the grandenr of Nature may bo soft- ened by besuty, its coldness warmed by color, 2nd many new and charming effects reproduced upon canvas. In surveying the condition of Art throughont Seandinavia, it must be acknowl- edged less interesting aud valyable in itself than l? » manifestation of race, climate, aod nation- ality. I{ is_difficult to realize that Russia—an Em- pire lying on the remote boundary of Europe, ana not yet moro than Lalf emerged from Asi- atic barberism—should bave an Art-history worth contemplating. The chasm between rc- finement on tho ono band and_savagery on the other, is lard to overleap. The extreme be- tween the _enlighteoment of higher circlea of Russian society and the ignor- ance of the Russian bordes bewilders the understanding., When Ferdinand Hiller first weat to St. Petersburg, be exclaimed in astonishment, ** Why, 1 can't phi bere! Half those I meet bavo a command of the piano equel tomina.” And such is the general surprise at the discovery that, in tha wealth of her Art-re- sources and the extent of her Art-culture, Rusais 18 ranidly rising to a level with the oldest civiliza- tions of Europe. Boundless ambition and opu- lence bove enabled her to annihilate time and perform unparalleled prodigics in her strife for foremost place smong modern nations. Sho is not yot old enough to have cultivated a sturdy growth of native Art, but she has imported the finest exotics that conld be purchused, and put under s forcing process every dficoverable gom of _home-genius. She eatablished” at St. Petersbirg, in the Imperial Hermitage, gal- lerics and museutns yielding in eize sud value to none on the Contineut, and, insomo deamn;nonta, surpassing all others. Among the 1,500 pictures n‘:fildnd 1n the catalogue thero are numbered many of the poblest examples of ancient and modern Art. The Dutch paintings are not ex- celled, except by Holland and Dreeden ; tho rep- rosentatives of the Spanish school distance all competition, save by Spain itgelf ; and tho por- taits by Vandsck and tho sketches of Rubons are only exceeded in England and Bavaria. The mineralogical collection is the richest in the world ; and tho same may be said of the collec- tion of classical jewelry. 4 g On a ecale commensnrate with these Art-col- lections, tho Imperial Art-Academy is endowed. 1t was founded in 1757, and has provision for tho education ond_partial msintenance of 300 pu- pils. A branch-Acpdemy is 3iso sustained in Romo. A “Society for tho Encouragement of the Fine Arts” hss for many years beenin active existence. It supports students at the Acndemy, sends young artists on foreign travel with smple_sapplies, gives commirsions, snd purchases piciures. With such fostering’ caro and oncouragement, it is mot surprieing that there have sprung up scores of Russaisu arfists of notablo talent and proficiency. In the ro- Guction of works iln thde highest gepnrlm;n ts of they have already acquired a supremacy g::’r ogiand. With this brillisot Art-recod in the brief past, what may not bo predicted of Ras- sin's future Art-history? A distinct nationul school has Bcarcely et been established; bat, with her exhaustless materials and unlimited onter- prise, the doy is uot far distant when Russis will Gompare with othor nations in ATis 2 she now does in area and empive. ‘Having already monopolized 8o much w there is hitlo lnl‘t in which to ‘tdlB?’ !g:ll.ghu smanufagiory of mmosaics At Bl ", the Emveros Nicholws, in 1663, % now accomplishes work equaling in_ beauty of execntion rhe ‘most hm:gl estabushments of the kind in Europe. No expenss isspared to ‘procure the fineat material, and to finish exquis- osaica. its m The number of tints employed is said to exceed those used in the Pope's fac~ tory, by several thousand. The cost of ‘mosaica | i8 60 great as to render them an Imperial luxury. A single work often occupies s mumber of artigans for. years, weighs several -tons, and de-' mands an outlay of thousands of pounds. ‘Moscow. rates far below St. Petersburgin its Art-tressures and Arw-attainments; yet here Government is diligently at work stimulating artistic taste and talent. Situated under a warmer sky, and nearer the centre of tho old Byzaniine civilization, the city presents s strange snd picturesque combination of Orientaliem with Europeanism. Thero is not much to instruct the mind of the architect, yot brilliant coloring and fantsstic outlino meet the eye at every turn, and strongly stir - the imagi- pation. In studying the .advantages for Ari- education in Moscow, evervthing points to the conclusion that the city may eventaally nourish and sastain the chief Art-achool of. Russia. 1In fact, its nuclens now exists in the Stragonoff School, organized in 1825, for the 1nstruction of the people in the elements of design. Up of 500 pupils arc apnuully taught in its classes, which are open to both sexes. In the recent Tnternational Expositions of Europe, Russia has displayed a remarkablo sdvance in Art-education, and developed promising germs of a national style, Her material resources are vast, her em- pire oxtends over & sixth part of the territory of the globe, her population azrounts to 70,000,000, and her rovenue to £50,000,000 sterling. With intellectual forces in proportion and effective operation, Russia i achieving & career in devels opment 8nd zequirement that challenges the world's wonder and aimiration. Mman. A¥ OUTLINE STUDY OF MAN: oz, Txx Bopr AXD Mrxp v Oxe SxsTes. With filuatrative diagrams, and s Method for Blackboard-Teaching—By Mamx Horkis, D. D., LLD. New York: Scribner, Armstrong & Co. # U Comte is right in his well-known view that there are three stages of philosophizing, and that Theology and Metaphysics sre merely the temporary and provisionsl methods of a finally complated and perfected Science, it is quite cer- tain that his doctrine is mot for this age, but ‘thatit must bo realized,if realized at sll, in somo far-distant time. The promisc of an alti- mutely-perfected Scionce does not yet appear,— at least not to the ordinary observer. Meantime, there scems to be not only no abatement, but rather incresse, of interest in the atudy both of Theology and Metaphysics; and Science, instead of supplanting these, is rather indebted to them for some of its recent snd much-trumpeted achievements; or, shall we say, conjectures. Nothing can be mere motaphysical thah the Iatest scientific theory which defines matter to be simple points of force. And what shall we say of Herbert Spencer's doctrine of an un- Knowable and abgolute Power, which he makes the reality of all -phenomens, if we do not callit theological? If wo say, with Stewart, that the object of Melaphysics is to ‘‘irace the various branches of human kuowledge to their first principles in the constitution of the humean mind:" and it, by Theology, we are to understand that knowledge of God, and of our duty to Him, which we derive from express rev- eition, we may be very suro that theso are no morely tempornry methods of Science, which it will supersede, but that they will, in all the fa- ture, a8 they have done in the past, enlist in their service the strongest and best-trained minds. Tho history of metaphysical and theo- logical inquiry is the history of human reason in activo exerciso, Tho same instinctive feeling which malies the strong man glory in his strength, and the runner in_his speed, has in all sges led men into those fields of inquiry which aro suggestod by the words Theology and Meta~ sics. PRI TE is within the lst few senrs, eapecially, that many of the issucs from the press have given emphatic indorsement to Pope's line, that The Yroper study of mankind is Man, Among works of {his class may be mentioned, - a8 perbaps the most notable and valuable, *The Human Intellect,” by President Porter, and “Antology; or, The Completed ~Science of Mind," by the Rev, Dr. Hamilton. But these Works aro so voluminous, and they zim to be 0 oxhaustive in their discussious; that many, probably on that account, would refrain from the attempt to master them. The ** Outline Study of Man " is a less ponder- ous_ and formidable volume. The anthor is a modern Diogenes, who, baving gone forth to £cek a man, has given us the result of his search in_the work before us. And yet he is very unolike the sucient sceker, for he is,not & cyic; be takes with him in_ bis quest a clearer and brighter light, and be finds a man by construcling bim, 88 he of the tub could never have dobe. Those who are sc- quainted with any of Dr. 'Hopkins' previously- ublished writings, especially his ‘‘ Law of Tove, and Love a4 & Law,” will come fo this volumo expecting to find in it exact dofinitions, nice discriminations, admirable method, con- structive talont of a high order, showing itself in perfect clearness of arrangement, and an absence of that philosophical or technical nomen- clature by which many authors confase and bo- wilder their roaders more than they instruct and enlighten them. Nor will they be disanpointed, for to this volume sny fair-minded critic would readily and heartily conceds all these excellences, Of his own work the anthor Bays, in the proface, that its ‘‘method is con- structive, and 8o, excopd a8 a positive and pro~ gressive system must be, not critical or ‘contro- versial. 1t gives a Law of Conslruction for the universe 8o far a8 we know 1t, by which the whole, including man, is brought into one sys- tem. It giveas Law of Conduct for man that grows out of the construction ; and also a_Law of Limitation that enables us, a5 is shown in the ZLaw of Love, 10 carry the Law of Conduct into the details of life.” In pursning the method thus described, the author first seeks to find man's place. All beings and objects are divided into two great classes; Organized and Unorganized. Again, all organ- ized bodies are divided into two classes: Vege- tables and Animals. Tn this lattor cluss Man is found, and his place is found to be bigher than all otliers in the class. Or. by another process, the place of Man is reached thus: “In the be- ginning the earth was witheut form and void.” Gravitation must have brought this chaos into such a condition that it might serve tho purpose of aworld. But Gravitetion only brings par- ticles of matter togother ; it does not unite them. This is done by tho Attractian of Cobesion. Co- Tiesion, howaver, brings about an indiscriminato mixture of different kinds of matter. Henco wo need another and & higher power to produce those variotics andcombinations of matter which now exist. That power is Chemical Affinity. These several laws sre also the condition of the manifestation and force which isnext above them, and which is Vegotable Life. After this comes Animal Lifo, and then Man. Though thus marking the work of creation by these successive snd apward steps, yet tho aathor holds to no doctrine of Dovelopment, or Evolation. * Evorythicg is carricd up, and then something is added; it is not doveloped from what is below, or caused by it, but added to it till we reach Man at the top.” Man's placo in the creation is thus ascertained and fixed, and now the work of constructing Man begins. Heis made up of body and mind, the lower existing for the higher, and the bigher conditioned .npon the lower. The body. is re- garded a8 the subject of two scicnces,—Anatomy and Physiolozy ; and the former is viewed as the condition of the latter. By a separate consider- ation of the varions systems in the body,—es the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory,—we are showh how it is, like ‘extornal Nature, built up in unity, with ono system conditioned upon another tarouglout. © But we cannot carry farther our sketch of tho plan of this work, nor illustrate more_fully tho author's method. . We have already said enough to show the admirablo clearness of arrange- ment which marks the volume throughout. At every step of the discussion, the author shows & thorough mastery of the work which he has taken in hand. On that portion of the work which is devoted to the mind and its various facultics and powers, he does not, in all re- spects, follow the same order of arTangement s, that which usually obtains in works upon 3eu- tal Science ; but ho shows himself able, in every instance, o give areason for tho faith that is in him, and which has led him to differ from other thinkers. A chartat the close of the volume gives the reader, at & glance, & conspectus of the whole work. We have expressed, thus far, such an noquali- fiod commendation of this work that we feel our~ selves entitled to point ont, with regret, what seems to us an important omission. ““An Out~ “line 8tudy of Man,” which embraces an examina~ tion botl; of tho body and the mind, ouglt, a8 it seems to us, to give some aitention to the con- nection between theso two, and to the reciprocal influences which they exert upon each other. We are shown how each acts by virtue of its own independent powers ; but the question, how each octs upon the otber, is passed with- ont notice. A consideration’ of that guestion tight not properly belong to & work on Pbysi- ology exclusively, nos 10 & work devoted wholly to Mental Science; but, where body and mind are, as here, brought under our view, we should have been glad if some attention had been givon to this question. Tbat, in the consideration of it, we aze not left wholly to conjecturs, the re- cent work of Bain proves; and that we, a5 yol know but litife. upon- this sabject, makes itn;] tho more desirable that men like' Dr. Hopkina should undertake to increase the sum of onr knowledge. & ouida.” BEBEE; om, Two LITTL: WOODEX Smoes, By “OumA." "Philadelphia : J. 8. Lippincott & Co, ‘When we take up one of ** Quida's " books, we are sure that we have & masierpiece in haod, glowing with splendid and captivating attributes; and we are quite ag sure that it will have some gisnt wrong between man and woman for its subject, and depict it in so harsh and ruthless & manner a8 to hurt our moral sense and irritate s against the work and tho suthor. Thereiss sad history written on *Onida’s” heart. Bhe has suffered some grievous fate, which has poisoned the fountain of her life; and she avonges herself by infusiog its venom into everything shewrites. She presents the sorrow- ful pectacle of a woman endewed with nncom- mon talents, using them, with a spitefal delight, to defame and degrado both man and womsn- kind. The sentence which Ruskin_pronounces upon the pictures of Doreo:. * Bad, with an awfal power !" involuntarily rises up against the books of “ Onida,"” although, applied to them, it may be charged with_exaggeration. - There 18 & likoness between the genius, and most probably the career, of this unique En- glishwoman and the greatest writer of the pres- ent conturyin France. Their names may hever have been coupled beforo; but.had **Quida” been of tho same nationality ss George Sand, her works would have been held in much higher es- toem. Asit is, thoir origin creatos s strong prejudice against them. We caanot accord to & woman trained smid English customs of pro- priety the license which we allow to one who has been nurtured in the lax morality of the French school. * Ouidn* should bave had her home in Paris. Her cynicism, her biting sarcasms, ber disbelief in goodnoss, her mockery of the somblance of houesty and generosity, would have been in keeping. there, ‘and spplauded as piquant adjuncts to-her brilliancy. ; Bebee” is a fair sample of *OQuids' sbility, with fewer caustic jeers and tauats than usual in her books, but with & current of bitter- ness_saturating every page. The language is onderfal. Tho choreest: words Gt 1ato- the smoothes: sentences that flow ono aftor the other in an unbroken succession, with the shythm and eupbony of poetry. Ouly measure ia wanting to transform them into heroic verse. Thero is & great chain in such elegant diction, aod *“ Ouida " is complete mistress of it. She also has the art of exciting a breathless interest in her story, of poopling it with life-like char- acters, and of leading thom oa to an intensely- pathetic catastrophe. The scewne of * Bebeo ™ is locatéd in Flanders; and the life, tho manners, tho features of the country are described with graphioc and exact fidelity. Bobeo, the girlish heroine of the story, isan exquisite character, stainlessand stead- fost in purity. Bho falls in the way of » human devil,—one of ‘‘ Ouida's" favorite instruments of action,—and_for & crucl period_hovers like s dove under the serpent’s spell. We witnoss her prolonged _trial ad torture, but_mercifally not | her fall. Bebee is not vitiated, but relentiessly Iilled, and the painfal drama closes on an in- direct but absolute murder of unmitigated atrocity. There is an improvement in the morality of Quida’s " late novels, objectionable as many of their traits still romain. Readers who admiro her gifts, but do‘;:xom their evil direction, may cherish o hope that syentually she will eee'the mischief of her course, and devote herself to the elevation of virtuo with ag much spiri¢ &8 sho has in the past to ita degradation. Iceland. SIX WEEKS IN THE SADDLE: A Parstca's Joun- FaLIN [oELayp. By 8. E. Waiirn. London* Macmillan & Co, Ar. Wallor hadread the Icolandicsaga, Burnt Njal,” and was fired with a dosire to visit the scenes of the tragedy, and bring back in iy portfolio sketches of what was most wild and picturcaque. Btraightway he took passage ina little Danish steamer that plies regularly be- tween Copenhagen and Reykjsvih, and, after 3 week's rough voynge, was landod at the Capital of the 1emote Arctic island. Hiring a guide and buying saddle-horscs,—there is mot s wheeled vehicle of any sort in Iceland,—he imme- diately started for the point of his desti- nation, His traveling-kit embraced litis more than his painting materials, aflask of whisky, and tho regulation tooth- brush and pocket-comb. Ha relied upon tho hospitality of the natives for sustenance for himself and train, and, during his journey of 500 miles and_back, was supplied with the uest tle land afforded, and not o farthing . of récom:pense nccepted. This was noble hospifality, so fas ey intent was concerned ; but it kept Lim cuz starvation-diet. The most sumptuous faro t] could generally bo provided was fish dried to & parchment, black bread néeding to be split i o hatchet, rancid bhtter or tallow, cheese, an mill. Churches, which are invaniably vsed & barns when not in requisition for religious s, vices, wore often Lis shelter at night, add bozrd; snd blanket his ancasy bed. Not much incident varied bis travel. 1t was a daily ride over bogs or lnva-beds, through o bleak aud barren country, now tameand how bold and wild. Once in his entire coureo, bo saw an ash-treo which had reached an aliitudo of 30 feet. With this single exception, the folisge of the island was limitcd to sparso owtha of willow and birch, not exceoding 4 or Eeat in height. The berbago cousists of rare and acant patches of grase, which the inhabi- tants guard with vigilaot care, cutting it, where in suflcient quantities, for the uss of their cattle in winter, Horses aro turned loose to find ;onfiehmens grazing dry stubble, or to erigh. g 4 5 Yot this desolate and destitute island is s fre- quent resort for English sportsmen: Fish and wild fow! abound, and these, with strange aud cxceptional sconery, attract thé adventurer. Our tourist met rumerous parties encamped, and equipped with every appliance for.sport an essential for comfort, pursuing smusement in this out-of-the-way place,~a volcanic deeertin the Fri&id Zone. = Mr. Walter is a good traveler, enduring every gort of discomfort with inperturbable good humor. He has omitted s description of tho Geysers and Mt. Hecls, with which the intelli- gent reader is supposed to be familiar, and given a readablo account of that which was peculiar to his experience. Saxe Hlolm’s Storics, SAXE HOLMS STORIES. New Yorl Armstrong & Co, Ttis sate to say the half-dozen stories com- prised in the above volume are among the most original and powerful that havebeen contributed by an American writer to their department of fiction. * Esther Wypn’s Love-Lezters,” which opened the series as thoy appearcd in Scribner’s fagarine, instantly arrested attention by its vivid, poetic imagination, its fine, delicate touches of fecling, and its passionate fire. It was followed by *Droxy Miller's Dowry,” a story of similar force, but more subdued and cool in tone, and with & wonderful incarnation of pure, beautiful, spiritnal womanhood moving* through it, tho central, inspiring motive and figure. A sequel, *“The Elder's Wife,” did what se- quels soldom do, sustained the primary concop- tion and carried it to s lofty conclusion, It pre- gented successive portraits of woman 58 bride, wife, mother, and tescher, which Lave ecarcely their parallel for loveliness and sanctity. They ghow, bettor than the most elabfim disquisi- tions, could, what rofining and pufifying infla- ences_overy good vomsn may diffuse through Dber bousehold and over s community,—ove: woman who lives in close commanion with Trut! snd Natare, and looks for the las of her conduct tothe instincts of a fresh, untrammeled, and upright heart. ‘Another of these stories, which has embodied the bighest moral lesson, is ** How One Woman Kept Her Husband.” It is as efficient a counter- active to the disorganizing and demoralizing gocial theory which would cherish and consecrato sclfishneas, and loose all bonds the moment they fetter impulses, a8 could be desired. Itis nigh- 1y ideal, and stiil not out of the bounds of tho real. The wife's subtle, tenacious, victorions struggle for the retention of her husband's love a8 almost superhuman. , Yet it farniskes an ex- ample, like that of the Savior's Divine virtues, unspproachably perfect, but not inimitable. It touches with immense Impreesiveness the ono true way of reciaiming wandering affections ; to lure them back tenderly, patiently, thongh it cost the expenditure of the eutirg pbysical, moral, and mental forces. A volume of stories like these is worth a wholo Iibrary of sermong. 14 reaches, b tho charm of fiction, a multitude of readers which didactic cseaya cannot epcounter. Its author needs no pulpit, no platform, from which to sddress mankind and exbort them to wiser and holier living. In the privacy of her closet, under the shelter of & nom do plume, in thq gulss of ro- : Scribner, ‘mance, she bay scnt ont to the world a series of homiliea on the great topics of the hour, which strike direct to the heart, and leave an impress thera by the might of their geniua and trut Life-Boat Work, STORM WARRIORS; 0B, LUE-DoAT WORK OX THE ‘Goopwrx Sawps, By the Bav. Joux Giryons, AL A., Rector of Holy Trinity, Rumsgate. London: Micmillsa & Co. Nowhore on the earth ia there a grander and ‘more heroic service being done by man for his brother-man than in’ the life-boat work on the coust of England, It involves every element of hardship and dsoger, and is accomplished by unparalleled toil, exposure, and suffering. It is well that a cbronicler, inspired by the noble theme, should now and then transcribe some of the valiant deeds achieved, to show to the world what intrepid and unselfish souls xnimate a body of humble, hard-handed, and poorly-rewarded seamen, engagod in the life-work of rescuing shipwrecked marinere. The * Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck” was founded in 1825. It haa at presont a storm-fleet of 233 life-boats, stationed at tho most perilous places on the coast, and kept conatantly ready for service. Since its foundation, the Socioty has, by its varions instrumentalitics, sa-ad 22.- 000 lives. Since 1841, the life-boats of the port of Newcastlo alone have rescued 466 persons from 62 stranded vessels. <The atatement that, in tho year 1850, thera were 681 wrecks on the shores of England, and loss of about 784 lives, exhibits the imporfance of an extensive and ef- ficient enterprise in aid of dieabled shipping and imperiled sailors. The first model of "the life- boatanow in use was launctied in 1852. Its capacity to defy broken_surfs snd raging waves was quickly proved, and a flect copstracted and manned for active and continual exerciso. The mariners now saffering shipwreck on the eands or rocks of the English cosst have the blessed confidence that dauntless courage and tireless effort, supported by the most potent mesns, will effect their preservation, if it be possible to hn- man powers. BIr. Gilmore has portrayed, in the eloquent Isnguage of truth, a fow of the remarkablo res- cues which the Rimegate life-boat has effected on the Goodwin Sands,—s fatalrecf just outside the harbor. He has told tho tales as they were recounted to bim by the heroos, “ quiot, broad- chested, uz_cndraat-(x:ged men,” who have it deep- Jy written in upon their hearts that ** They have acall to sava lite.” Never were more thrilling, broatbless adventures recited. Thoy swell the heart with wonder and venoration .at a modest snd fearless chivalry which exalts humanity to the height of sublimity. Parlor Dramas, ' DBAMATIC STORIES FOR BOUSE AND SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. By Lavixia Howz Purres, Chicago: . C. Griggs & Co. This book comprises a serios of twenty-six short dramas, enitable for private dramatic rep- resentations by persons of various sges, gener- ally including children. Tho private drama is already popular, and needs yet more general cultivation. It is exceedingly well adapted to afford intellectnal, moral, aud eocial entertain- ment, and, st the same time, to stimulate ton study of character and of life. One difficnlty in the way of the spresd of the homo and social drama has been the lack of plays that were brief without lack of forco, and moral withont insipiaity. Ars. Phelps Las long been favorably known, to the Eastern public more parlicularly, as a.writer for children. In the present work sho haa succeed- ed at least in making every story suificiently in- teresting to hold the attention of the reader un- tilitia ended. The soverer critic will say that her childres are not o perfectly childlike as they might be; but, on the other hand, if they were, their laoguago mignt not have forco enongh to sustain a dramatic piece. Wo think rs. Phelps bas nearly found the happy medi- m, and that thoso who put her pieces on the mimic patlor-stage will find them exceedingly entertaining to themselvos and friends. Chicago’s Watcr-System. THE TUNNELS AND WATER-SYSTEM OF CHI-- €AGO : USpEs THE LAKE AND GNDER THE RIvER. Tilustrated by WaLus, Chicago: J. M. Wing & Co. This is & timely and valuable work. Our water-systom and tunnels under the river have always been the sdmiration of strangers, and intelligent people everywhere have been anxjous to know the means by which our city secured for itself the use of the pure, eparkling waters of Loke Michigan. The work before us givos tao history of the whole subject, the difficulties overcome in the cobstructon of onr taunels, and the means by which tho several works wers constructed- The book is elaborately illus- traced, eo that all can readily understand the text. Itisa very valuable contribution to the Dhistery of the city. % Cooks Received, IMSTORY OF THE ENGLISH INSTITUTIONS. By Pimue V. Sirza, 3L, A, Barrister-at-Law, Felfow of King's College, Cambridge. Philadelphia : 3, B. Lip- piacott & Co. TN LIVES OF THE CHIEF JUSTICES OF EXN- GLAND. By Lord Caurnes, Author of “ The Lives of tho Lord Chanceliors of England.” In Four Volumes. Vol.II Boston: Lstex & Lauglat, THE YOUNG MAGDALEY, axp Orurs Zorxs. By Fraveis S. Sxrrm, Phiindelphia s T..B. Poterson & Bros. S, ARMINGTON'S ; oF, THE Surgator Sxx. By . Turw WeionT., Boston: Lee & Shepard, TUE MARTYRED CHURCH. Dy Wirtrax F. Grur. Losfor : Sbepard & Gill. COMPARATIVE TOLITICS. By Ebwaup A. Frrz: stax, Hon, D, C. L., Late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, Now York: Mecmilizn & Co. > EUROPE VIEWED THROUGH AMERICAN SPEC- IACLES, ByCmsnirs CarmoLt Furto, Editor of the Baltimore American, Philadelphias J.vB, Lippincott & Co. z Perlodicals Keéceiyed. British Quarterly Review—January. Leonerd Scott Publishing Company, New York. Con- tents : * The Baliad: Its Naturosnd Literary Aftinities ; * Modern Selentific Inquiry and Religious Thought ;” * Inductive Thoology ;" “ Masson's Milton aud His Times ;” * Mind aud the Science of Energy:" * Revision of the Text of the New Testament ;" ** Mr. Bright's Return to tho Ministry ;” * Henry Thoreau, tho Poets ‘Naturalist;"™** Mr. Mill's Antobiography;” ** Coa- te%pcnr_v Literature.” * Monthly for February, Penn Monthly an Association, Philadelphis. Contents: *The 3lonth ;" ** The Communisms of tho Old World;" # Eriembild'a Rovenge;” ‘The Succession of Lifo in North America;” “The Public School System of Philadelphia ;" “ Aftermatl;” New Books.” OQur Monfhly for Janusry. _ Alfred Marticn, Philadolphia. Contents: * Footprinss in Bra- Zil" (llastrated), Argonaut; “ Princeton; or, How »_College Grew.” D. . Grogory, D.D.; “How, Do I_Know What Is the Bible? " Tryon Edwarda, D. D.; “ An Undertakor's Story,” Mrs. Margaret Hosmer 31 A Sundsy in Paris " (Illus- trated), English Clergyman; ** A Sonnet,” H. S. Quincy'; “The Law of Compensation,” William J. Orton, M. D.; “An Invasion and Its Results " (illustrated), Mabel Berriman; * Four Orders of Suns,” R. A. Proctor, B. A.; “The Cranberry Morah,? W: Mol; 41 Amired” (Pootry), C. B8.B.; ! Tho Lost Child.” Day of Iest; “Our Young People;” * Our Miscallany;" Our Bcien- 460 Summary ;” “ Our. Book-Table.” Carront numbers of Lulell's Living Age sod Every Saturday. Bothof these are publishing asenal entitled * Far from the Yadding Crowd,” rolative to which the London Speclalor rasa : “ 1t it is not written by George.Eliot, theu there is anew light among zovelists.” A editorial departmens has been added to Ecery Saturday, and that periodical intendsto publish, from time to time, original American_novels, the first of which will bo* His Two Wives," by Mrs. Mary Clemmer Ames. American Historical Recordfor January. Jobn E. Potter & Co., Philadelphia. "American Naluralist for February. Pesbody Academy of Scicocs, Salem, Mass. . Wisconsin Lumberman for Febrarv. Wi consin Lumberman Publshiog Compaoy, Al waukee. Literary ftems. J.R. Oagood & Co., Boston, will soon issuo the “ Life of Theodore Parke?,” by the Rev. O. B. Frothingham; * Fables in Song,” by Robort Lord Lytton ( Owen Meredithi); *The Son of Valcan, ” by the suthor of ** Ready-Afonoy Mor- tiboy ;" and Jules Verne's new book, ** Tho Mfys- terious Islaad.” Roverts Bros., Boston, will be- fora long issne the ** Record of a Scbool,” by A- Bronson Alcott; a complete edition of thepoems of the painter William Blake, edited by the poct ossotii; & new volame of dovotional postry by Christins Rossotti; a now cdifion of argarct TFuller's worka; two new books by Arhur Helps,—one 3 novel, and the other & book abont animale. Little & Brown, Boston, are soon to publish the tonth sad concluding volamo of Ban- B ofts « Hiatory of the United States,” which brings down tho parration to the end of the Rovglution, The same firm bave just iasued tho firat two volumes of “The History of tho Birds of Korth Americs,” and the third volume will follow in March. ‘This work ia edited by Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of tho Smithsonisa Inatitate ; TReT. . Bremer, of Doston ; and Robert Ridg- O edions of Dr. Clacke's book have = gone 8ex in Education. E ZMiss M. G. Hogg, a daughter of the Ettrick Shepherd, is the author of & recently-published L‘OOE of stories entitled * Dr. Dunbar. p —Mrs. Aassiz's life of her husband is nearly ready for the press. She had been at work upon it for years. —The logf-cxpected « Early Hisfory of Prop- ;rzx.-'g by M. Emile de Laveleye, is in prees in aris. . * —M. H. Taine is engaged upon a history of the French Revolation, which hss for the past threo years exclusively occupied his time. The first part is now approaching completion. —Seuor Castelar’s *‘Life of Byron” is now being translated. for speedy gtish, by Mrs. Arnold, of London. —Peter & Costes have in preparation Lord Derby's translation of the ** Nliad," edited by Dr. Shelton Mackenzie. —The German authorities in Alsace have had & now first reader prepared, for the express pur ‘pose of teaching the youngidea to shoot German- fashion—instead, we suppose, of at Germaus. —The simultaneous pubiication of Xfiss Brad- don's ** Taken at the Flood " by eight provincial English journals has been such a success that they havo made arrangemeats for another movel from the same author, —A curious book is being_published by two French firms and Messrs. Trubner & Co.,of London.' It is s manual of the Chinese mandarin language, compiled after Ollendorils method. The abject of this publication is to teach Chinese to all who tpeak Engliah. —Ex-President Woolsoy's parting_sddrasses to his graduating clagses st Ynle will form the staple of bis book, * Helpful Thoughts for Yotng Men,” soon o be isaned by Lothrop., —Gen. James Grant Wilson has devoted his literary leisure Iataly to *! Skotches of Illustrions Soldiers,” embraciog twenty-eightgreat warriors, from tbe Chevalier Bayard and tho Corstable de Bourbon down to Geoe. Grant, Sherman, and Lee. Tho work will be published by the Putnams. —Mr. Gladstono will have in the Fobruary number of the Conlemporary Reciew a transla- tion from Homor. in verse, of “ Tho Shield of Achilles.” A varioty of motes will accompany the poem. 2 —Freytag’s series of novels, *Our Ancestors,” hag reached its third volume ia Germany, with “Dor Nest der Zauukoenige,” whose bero, [mmo, is of the timo of the Emperor Henry II. Thess are what might be called sociological novols. —Mr. Robert Buchanan says of his great countryman, Thomas Carlyle, that his influencs has been thoroughly noxious, and that he nag lanppon&‘d grery. lulx:d gr Ifi;nn'x;y and throe greaf ios—**the lie of the South, the lie of i aud tho Lo of o German W7ar.? Jamaies, —Dr. McCosl as nearly completed a *His tory of Scottish Philosophy,” which wil ba pub. lished late in the yeat by the Cartars. It will be largely biographical in charactor, embracing tho lives of above a hundred Scottish thinkers, —A London literary paper says of George Eliot’s habits of composition : ‘It is said that on her manuscrip: she toils tremendonsly, work- ing on an averago six bours a day, and rarely sccomplishing in that timo more than 30¢ or 400 words. Hor Iabors aro 8o exhausting thal she devotos all the remainder of the tima to re- O o et & o —A Boston letter to & California paper reports that tho Globe newspsper prnpn:uv to tryp for ) better luck as an evoning journal, and that, next summer, 3r. Howells is to give wav, as editor of tho Allantic, to Mr. H. E. Scudder, a literary patner in the publishing firm of Houghton & 0. —DBayard Taylor's now volume, summarizing the travels of Marco Polo, Vigne, and Shaw, in **Contral Asia,” will cdhtain also a_supplement- ary chapter giving a rapid review of the Rugian campaign against Khiva, —Thoe London Graphic is to publish Victor Hugo'a now novel, **1n the Year '93,” in inatall- ments, and the issuo of tho completed work has Dbeen deferred some months in consequence of the arrangoment. 2 —It is stated that 8,463 different books and pamphlets have been published in Eogland it the year 1873, the highest number roached i any otber year being G59. Some of those are American importations, but the number excIndes all now editions, 3nd gives a rato of publication, excluding Sundays, of about ton and a half 3 day. Tuo pamphlets are exueml{7 few, only 170, tnat kind of pablication having been killed by the newapaper; and the works of fiction siané foremost, 831. Next comes theology, with 7i( works ; and next, 588 books of art, or booka sc illustrated as to be books of art. Aflor these follow historics, books of pootry, and 233 \voruhal travel, geography, or geographical ro- 86AIC] ———— TEA-TASTING. Professional tea-tasting calls into action all the sccees, some of which are thus developed toa degreoof porfection seldom attained in any other art. An interesting sight to tho unia- jtiated would be the sanctum of & professional chaazee, or ‘TEA-TASTER. The long rows of apparently innnmerable littlo sample-boxes and bottles ; the large, re- volving, round table, aud many tiny, pure- white tea-capa ; the delicate little scales, with grain-weights, that vibrate with the gentlest breatn ; & silver spoon, the magic wand of tho profession ; the glass tumbler ; the bright cop- per tea-kettle, pulling forth the steam of boiling water,—all remind you of tea-making. Bo seat- ¢d, and watch the movements of the chaaze. Dozens of - tea-samples are placed aronnd the inner odge of the table (these selected from smong hundreds); 28 many tea-cups are placed before thiom; just twenty grains in weight of cach sample (carofally aversged s regards the size of the leaf of the tea) is placed in cack littlo cup; just ona gill of water, while boiling, in poured in each, and the taster counts the minates; now he sits down and scans the liquid tea a3 the vapor rises from all tho samples. In meditation deop, ho'is lost ta the outer world. He then agitates eacn little pool, as if to call up some tiny nymph. His penetrating eyes scan the varions shades, from light to dark. He now inbales their etherial odors. The twitching of certain muscles shows the effect of appreciation or dislike. Thus he continuea unto the ond, DEEP IN¥ CONTEMPLATION. Thunder, lightning, artillery, cannot arouse him; be is Jost to all other thoughts; it is tes, and tea alone, that absorbs his whole attentioa. The rounds are gono once more. From the little spoon he sips the stesmingliquor, Hodocs not drink it quickly, bat as though he feared it would burn, or that he would loso its delicious flavor. He twirls it around in bis mouth, asiv Wero: extracts its quality ; then'expels it. Each infusion shares, the same criticism ; and with intense thought he sums up_all the characteris- ties, Tho reault fizes the value; each eample shows its worth from the fignro be has made Thus all the tess of commerce are valued by these experts. ' ODSERYE THE LIST OF PRICES: Only 34 cent difference in price between some. and 15 much 8 21 between otbers. Who wonlé have thonght thore was eo great differenco {o Yalue? Tho widest rango at the present day in the value of tea is from 20 cents to 21.50 per pound; in many instances varying but little in value from one to the next up to the higheat. (Theso are wholesale prices.) As an article of merchandise in this conatry, tea has been sold a2 Liigh 28 83 per pound (wholesalo). In China it is eaid to ufi fiiqh a8 $50 for tho finest o} spring-pickings or Mandariu tes,—o perfectly- white Pekoe leaf, which is scldom or aver ex« ried from that country.—exceptto Russia Tt Swriter has secn » similar deseription of thi- tea, which bsd been grown in Iodis, ia th Upper Astam Tea Company's plantation, auc which was sold st tho Commercial Sale-Rooma, in London, England, for 28,50 PE= rOUND, GOLD. This tea was exported from Londom to St. Petorsburg,—the Luseisng, after tho highsi classes of Chinese, being the consumers of the finest grades of tea grown, aud which is sent to them overland by caravapa. The quescion arises, Wherein is the difference invalus? 8o far as the great mass of the peo- ple are concerned, we answer, Where? As with The dainty and most costly breakfast of the Egyptian Quecen, consisting of a simpla clive with ita envelopes, or a bottle of wine boughs in Koickerbocker times at60ccnts, aud laid away in some rusty old cellar till now, when some modern Mark Antony, with more money than brains, will give 240 for tie coveted liquor: 8o with tea. Ono that is sonnd and pure, costing now > ABOUT 60 CENTS AT WIOLYSALE, ’ shonld bo good enough for zencral use, taking from it all mystification aad fagrizd worsh, Dut the fault of our tea is more in the improper se- Tection of 1t by the iguorsnt, and the seifishness and meanness of the unprincipled aduiteratorn of it, than 1n any deficiency of quality or smount of tes imported to this country for the low price above stated. Ask the professional tea-tzsler (thore =re but few-in this country,—ssy a dozen men, all told, among the thousande wlio deal it tea); sak him if those fancy prices do not savor more of faucy than of n;l value. 08205 THE YOUNGHA- . ablication in En- i i