The New York Herald Newspaper, December 21, 1874, Page 3

HOLIDAY BOOKS. of Good Things from the Press. A Harvest SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND POETRY, Outcroppings of the Lotos Club. TRANSLATION OF A RUSSIAN BARD. —_—_—_._____. Results of Linguistic Studies in } the Orient. BOOKS OF THE SEASON. poe ete denen bs About this, the Christmas time, we are honored with @ profusion of volumes in all the glory of typography, engraving and embellishment. The tendency to extravagant bindings or over deco- Fated covers ig growing, and it seems as if tho art of the bookmaker Was devoted to the outside rather than the inside of his publication. The first holiday oook that comes to ug 18 entitled ‘Lotos Leaves, Original Essays and Poems by” the Members of the Lotos Club, Edited by Mr, Brougbam and Mr. Eiderkip, Published py William F. Gill & Co., Boston,” This is a quarto vue, printed on the finest paper, in good type, filed with iltustrations by New York and Boston artists. Some of the illustrations, especially the one OD, page 8, entitled, “Log Rolling in the South,” and another on page 321, illustrating Une, “The lotos biowa by every winding creek,’ are exceedingly fine, Beyond these there is nothing especially valuable im the way of art, the frontispiece being something terrl- ble In its way, As we have said, this pook is & eollection of essays written by members ot the Lotos Club, @ literary and social association tn New York. It is dedicated to Alfred Tennyson, the poet of our day,” and bas a preface singu- larly stupid, containing one idea worthy of re- membrance—namely, that the profits of the book Wul be presented to the American Dramatic Fund, There are thirty-two essays and poems, ana among other authors we observe Whitelaw Reid, the dis. Unguished editor of the Tribune ; John Brougham, the actor; Mark Twain, Petroleum V. Nasby, Wilkie Collins, Noah Brooks, John Hay, Henry S, Olcott, J. Henry Hager, Colone! Thomas W. Knox, Robert B. Roosevelt and I. H. Bromley, Mr. Reid gives an admirable sketch of his life in the South, which shows a aescriptive faculty that would have given him a high place in literature had he sought his vocation outside the sphere of the 2ribune, Mark Twain's “Encounter with an Interviewer” is absurd, and rather too long to be amusing. The most valuable contmbutions are “How We Hung John Brown,” by Colonel Olcott; “Edgar Allan Poe and his Biographer,” by Mr. Gill; “Players in a Large Drama,’’ by J. H. Bromiey,” and “Liberty,” by Colonel Hay. Colonel Hay’s poem, in fact, is one of the most striking Works of that gifted writer. It 1s injurea, however, by @ wood engraving showing Liberty as.an angel, standing on @ guillotine, the axe of Which has fallen, taking with 1% the head of a king. There is something repulsive in this picture, but the drawing 1s 60 vad that it becomes amusing. There is nothing in it at all resembliug that fear- ful machine, Mr. Hay’s poem 1s as follows:— LIBERTY, What man is there go bold that he should say, “Thus and thus only woud L have the sea For, whether lying caim and. beautiful, Clasping the earth in love, and throwihg back The smile of heaven fram waves of amethyst; r whether, freshened by the busy winds, It bears the trade und nuvies of the world To ends of use or stern activity; Or whether, lashed by tempes To elemental tury, it gives way At alli Ky bi Le wild ust all its rocky barriers, in w' just Of ruin drinks the blood of Mving things, And strews its wrecks o'er leagues of desolate shore ; Always it is the sea, and all bow down tore Its vast and varied majesty. 8o all in vain will timorous men essay ‘To set the metes and bounds of Liberty. For Freedom is its own eternal law. It makes Its own conditions, and in storm Or calw alike fulfils the unerring Wit, tus not, then, despise it when it hes Still as a sleeping lion, while a swarm Ot gnat-like evils hover round its head; Nor doubt it when, in mad, disjointed times, It shakes the torch of terror. and its cr} e flame awtul form Thrills o’er the quaking Of riot and war we see it ae by the peasois., winere “oe ligt aci a ings down its grooves nell ot shudder! ings, For always inthine eyes, O Liberty! . bhines that high Hane whereby the world is saved; Ana though thon slay us we will trust in thee. The sketch “How We Hung John Brown” is an account of the experience of Colonel Vicott asa volunteer in the Southern militia who surroundea the scaffold of that extraordinary fanatic. Colonel Olcott was one of the guard that accompanied the wagon bearing the victim to the gallows, “an old man oferect figure, seated on a box of fresh cut deal, clad in & black sult, with a black slouch hat @nd with blood-red worsted slippers on his feet.'? Mr. Bromley describes the inauguration of Presi- dent Lincoln, and his work is an exceedingly fine bit of writing, with a little tendency to leave the narrative and preach, which lengthens the sketch but weakens it, Mr. Gill, the publisher of the book, has written a valuable contribution to the literature of the life of Edgar Allan Poe. It leads ue to hope that the time may come when some of our ambitious authors will study the life of Poe and tell us the truth about him. A few days ago we had occasion to review Mr, Stod- dart’s sketch. Mr. Gill adds some additional information to what we learned from Mr. Stod- dard. He denies that Poe was a gambler and rake in his university, and contradicts the stories of Dr. Griswold, which are the basis of much of what ts known of the poet’s Ife. There has always been an unpleasant legend that Poe, before he died, went to the house of a lady to whom he was engaged to be married, in Providence, R, 1, and behaved so badly that the engagement was broken of. This story Mr. Gill destroys cémpletely, and quotes @ letter trom Mrs, Whitman, the lady in question, written last year, an extract frum which 18 worth publishing:—"No such scene as that de- scribed by Dr. Griswold,” she writes, “ever transpired in my presence. Noone, certainly no ‘woman, who had the slightest acquaintance with Edgar Poe could have credited the story for an instant, He was essentially and instinctively a gentieman, utterly incapable, even in moments of excitement and delirium, of such an outrage as Dr. Griswold has attriputed to him. During the last years of his unhappy life, when- ever he yielded to the temptations that were drawing him into the fathomiess abyss, he always Jost himselt in sublime rhapsodies on tne evolution Of the universe, speaking as from some imaginary Platiorm to vast audiences of rapt and atte tive listeners. During @ visit to the city in the | by Gustave Doré and others.’” the + stand that the panna have been published,’ ‘I cannot help what you have heard, my dear madam, but, mark me, I shall not marry her.’ He left town on the same evening, and next day was reeling through the streets of the city which wai the lady’s home, and in the evening, which should Dave been the evening before the bridal, in his drunkenness he committed such outrages in her house as made it necessary to summon the police.” This 1s the story) which bas hung like a cloud over the memory of Poe, which Mr, Gill destroys for- ever, and ‘or which service we thank him. The poem which ts referred to is the one beginning “I Baw thee once, and once only, years ago.’? Lippincott & Co. send us ‘The New Hyperion,” ® book of travels, by Edward Strahan, “illustfated There ta no table of contents of the tilustrations, but our impression 1s that there ts very little of Doré ana very much ofthe others.” The book 1s a bright, interesting one to those who liave travelled in Europe, made especially attractive by the fne manner in which tue Lippincotts have printed it, Porter & Coates send us another Llustrated book, entitled “Tne Stately Homes of England,” with 210 engravings on wood. This 1s an elaborate description of thir- teen of the houses of the Engitsh nobility, Alton Towers, in Staffordshire, the home of the Talbots, now occupied by the Earl of Shrewsbury; Cobham Hail, in Kent, the home of the Earb of Darnley; Mount Edgecumbe, in Devonshire, and Cothele, in Cornwall, the homes of the family of the Earl of Mount Eagecumbe; Alnwjck Castle, in Norspum- berland, one of the ‘homes of the Percys; Hard- “wick Hall, in Devonshire, Chatsworth, in Derbyshire, two of the many and princely seats of the House of Cavendish, the Duke of Dev- gnspare ; Arundel Castle, belonging to the Duke of Nortolk} Pensn thd hgme of the sidneys, where Sir Philip Sidney was born, and now occu- pied by Baron de TIsle and Dudley; Warwick Cas- tle, in Warwickshire, the home of the Vernons, * occupied by Lord Vernon; Hatfield House, in Hert‘ordshire, the home of the Cecils, occupied by the Marquis of Salisbury, ana Vassirbury, in Hert- Jordshire, the home of the Capels, now occupied by the Earl of Essex, This is one of the moat at- tractive gift books of the season, and is an ex- ceedingly valuable picture of that high and splen- did iife of the English nobility. J. B, Ford & Co, gend us a litule collection of stories entitled “Tne Man tn the Moon and Other People,” by R. W. Ray- mond, These stories form bright Christmas read- ing, and the book is handsomely printed and illus- trated, and will make @ fino addition to our ro- mantic literature, Gail Hamilton prints @ series of fourteen sketches callea “Nursery Noonings,” on the edu- cation of children, published by Harper & brothers, and beautiiully printed. The chapter on “baby taik’’ is worthy of Charles Lamb. Altogether itis an addition to Gail Hamilton’s well earned fame. Harpers also send us a series of sketches eutitled “The Ugly Girl Papers.” This is a little handbook telling in @ plain, simple way, how our young lady frtends may acquire a clear com- Plexion, take care of their hair, wasn their eye- brows, learn the “secret of grace,” secure fragrant. breath, whiten the arms, remove freckles, trim the eyelashes, refine the skin of the shoulders and arms, with many other delicate and proper mat- ters that even the best of our young ladies are not above knowing. ‘The book 1s pleasantly written, with occasionally mild old-matdisn aphorisms like these:—“Such is the love of man—it is a riddle whose learning has cost gray hairs on many 8 temple, the roses on many cheeks;” “Let women, if they would remain charming, by all Means keep their hold on love, their faith in romance; “Youth has ita day- long reveries while its hands are at work.” However, this Kind of pmiosophy does no Particular harm, especially iu @ book the main Purpose of which is to teach young ladies how to be handsome. Occasionally we have some curious information, The way to give a youthiul appearance to faded cheeks ts to use a cosmetic made by “boiling gum benzoin in spirits of wine ;” while to restore suppleness to the joints nothing is better than the anointing of the voay With ol. We are iniormed that the feet should be washed every night ana morning, and that aiter the bath it wouid be well to anoint the whole toot im purited olive oil. “A pair of stockings should be drawn on at night to prevent the oll sticking to the sheets.” Women are advised to wash their stockings themvelves rather than to keep their washing bills down by wearing them too long. One way to reduce corpulency is to take Turkish baths; apd as some of our readers may be anxious to attain this result we give them the bill of tare :— “Breakfast, four or five ounces of beef, mutton, kidney, brotied fish and any cold meat ex- cept beef or pork,.@ large cup of tea without milk or sugar, @ little biscuit and an ounce of dry toast. Dinner, five or six ounces Of any fish except salmon, nerring or eels; any vegetables except beets, carrots or turnips, an ounce of dry toust, the fruit of a pudding, any Poultry or game, two or three glasses of good claret, sherry or madeira, but no champagne, pors or beer. For tea, two or three ounces of iruit,a Tusk or two and a cup of tea without milk or sugar. Supper, three or tour ounces of meat or fish and @ glass of claret. Before going to bed, it desired, a nightcap of grog without sugar was allowed, or a glass of clares or sherry.” ii of mace 1s good for thin hair, while parings of po- aloes before cooking, boiled by themselves and the water strained off, will make a cheap hair dye. Carbolic acid is good forcorns, Altogether We think this book would be @ good addition co. tho literature of @ respectable and ambitions family in which there are a large number of mar- Tageable young ladies, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION. Messrs. Scribner, Armstrong & Co. send us the Oriental and linguistic studies of Professor Dwight. Itis@ most scholariike and attractive though, in acertain sense, fragmentary volume, The title leads us to suppose it is one homogeneous essay or @ series of continuous essays on the same subject, while, in point of ‘act, nos only do the themes widely differ, but the essays themselves appear, as is irankly stated by the author, to have been writ- ten at long intervals, three of the most at- tractive—the two on China and the one on British India—having been written at least fifteen years ago. Then, too, the very clever one on the Queen's English dates as iar back as the angry con. troversy between Dean Alford and Mr. Moon and the occasional share our pugnacious towns- man, Mr. Richard Grant White, took in it, Why 1s it, we are often and here incidentally tempted to ask—not that the quarrels of authors are so angry but that those who squabble about words and particles, Scaliger and Casaubon, anu Bentley and Boyle, Alford and Moon—are 80 especiaily pugnacious, Even Professor Whitney, when he touches the outer edges of this topic, loses or comes near los- ing bis equilibrium, and when Dean Alford adds to" his grammatical heresies the outrageous error of autumn of 1848 I once saw him after one of those Rights of wild excitement, before reason had fully recovered its throne. Yet, even then, in those frenzied moments, when the doors of the mind’s haunted palace were left all anguarded, his words were the words of a princely ttellect over- wrought—a heart only too sensitive and too Qnely strung. I repeat ¢hat no one acquainted with Poe would have given Dr. Griswold’s scan- dalous anecdote a moment's credence.” Tue Griswold story, which Mr. Gill thus destroys, ts as sollows ‘oe’s name was trequently @asociated with that of one of the most brilliaat women of New England, and it was publicly announced that they were to be married. He had Grst seen her on his way from _ Boston, when he visited that city to deliver a poem ,before the Lyceum there, Restless, at midnight he wandered from nis hotel, near where she lived, until he saw her walking ina garden. He conceived instantly one of his most exquisite poems, worthy of himself, of ner and of the most exalted passion, They were not mar- ried, and the breaking of the engagement efords @ striking illustration of the strangeness of his character, He said to an acquaintance in New York, who was cougratulating him on the pro pect of bis anion with @ person of so much genius and 80 Many virtues, ‘it isa mistake; I am not going to be married.’ ‘Why, Mr, Poe, I under- considering our civil war “the most unprincipled in the history of the world,’ we cease to be sur- prised at the irritability and just resentment of the New Haven professor. In ¢peaking of this volume as fragmentary we only mean to statea fact and to imply no disparagement. We have Tratner a weakness for essays, and in these no one can fail to detect the philulogical threaa which runs throngh tem all and, as it were, strings them together, . To our mind thig book, espectally in its rela- tions to the East, ite language, literature, condl- tion and pros; 8, 18a phenomenon exceedingly creditable to the writer and to the institution to which he belongs. This study of the East, in these relations, is the growth of but a few years. If, seventeen years ago, when the American negoti- ator, of the treaty of which Professor Whitney , Bays (Pp. 62) “it promised the attainment at last of the purpose of long years of peaceful diplomacy and warlike endeavor in the laying open that vast and populous empire to the knowledge of Europe and European tdeas”—if he had sought, as we dare say he did, through the lengtn and breadth of this land, for any student or echolar who had any precise knowledge of the land ither he was going he would have found none,\ A stray invalided missionary now and then, crazy on tne subject of opiain; 4 few retired mer- . chants, as has been said, with lareg ior tunes and eXaggerated livers, and who thought the vile jargon of pigeon English quite sufficient, migat have been found. At the great depository of current information as to China, known as the ‘Chinese Repository,’ there ‘Was not a copy to be had, and when, on the return of the embassy, one was brought to the United States, no library would purchase it ana it was presented to one tn Philadelphia, while we very much doubt if any one hes ever looked into it. ‘Till 1858—in fact till later, in 1861—when the Angio- French aumies forced their way to Pekin and enforced the treaties, nothmg was known of China. Mr, Whitney tells the piteous truth of the past (p. 123) when he says that br, Morrison, the | @reat sinalogue of that day, ‘who died im 1834, never set foot in the interior beyond the limits of Canton,” provably, we may add, beyond the limits of the foreign factories, How different things are now this volume attests. Here we have a pro- fessor of what is at least cognate literature, and at this moment, one who was a mere interpreter, Mng- lish Ambassador at Pekin, with a staff of thorough and accomplished students, and last, not least, as Professor Whitney reminds us, an American Chi- nese dictionary, @ work of thirty years’ residence {n that Empire of a modest Utica printer, on the eve of publication, We refer to the work of that emi- nent Orientaliat, Dr. Williams, the faithful adjutant’ of every competent and incompetent envoy—fl- teen in thirty years—we have sent thither. <Jt is now in the press, Great as is the temptation to diverge from the strict line of criticism—for Mr. Whitney's book, or rathey. tbat part r lating to the East to which our narrow limits confine us ip.gtrangely suggestive— we must saya word anon as to the book itself. Chinese history is to most peoplé a8 unattractive as a Chinese nomenclature, bug we,age Round and. quite willing to say that nowhere, that we are aware, ia there a more readable or attractive summary of it, throughout the 4,000 years, when so many others born and dying, it has survived, | than in professor Whitney's two essays covering lltle over seventy pages. It has a singularly felicitous “way of putting it.” As for instance, how real does he make the “man” Vonfucius, who died 551 years before our Saviour was born, about the time of Cyrus the Greatyand the fall of Babylon (oad where are Persia and Assyria now?) and the ‘arquins, “Tne Persians,” saya Mr. Whitney, “soon made of their Zoroaster @ being of supernatural gifts, whoin person fougnt with the powers of dark. ness ana held converse with the Supreme Being. ‘Thus the Indian monk, Buddha, underwent a yet more wondrous transformation ; bis life, as related | by his followers, ia filled a@ nauseam with pre- Posterous marvels, while hia doctrines have been | 80 changed and perverted and overlaid that their identity is almost utterly lost—neither the Buddha nor the Buddhism of the modern Buddhists has any fair title to the name. But Coniuctas has no + more been @ subject of mythical and legendary history to the Chinese than Wasbington to ui 1s a man, whose birch, life, opinions, acts, writings are plainly on record, and incapaple of misappre- henston.” One other passage only can we venture to ex- tract China was one people and one kingdom a thou- sand years before that dim and hali-mytnical period when the Greek heroes led their tollowers + to the siege of Troy, and it bas maintained ever since, unbroken, the identity of its language, its national character and ita tustitutions. Whac changes, what overturnings and reconstructions, has not every other part of the world had to un- dergo during that interval of jour thousand years! Tnere atone upon the earth's face does stability seem to have reigned, while revolution has been elsewhere the normal order of things. We say deliberately stavility, not inaction. China has known during all that time as constant action, often a8 violent commotion ag other countries, and in many respects not less real progress; had it been stagnant only, bad there not been in ita healthy vital action, 1t must long since have perished in inanity and putrescence; but, tar from that, China has seen within the last two hundred years one of 1t8 happiest and Most prosperous periods, Here is a probiem for the student of history, of which the interest cannot easily be overstated. How bave the Chinese | succeeded in finding and maintaining the stadie equilibrium Which other races have vainly sought? Isit in their character or their peculiar external | circumstances, or in the wisdom with which they | have harmonized the two, thar their strength has lain? As we look upon this venerable structure, the sole survivor of all the fabrics of empire reared by the hands of the men of olden time, we can hardly belp wishing that it migat have been leit to stand until it should fail of itself; that the generations to come might have seen whetner It Yet retained enough of the recuperative energies which bad repeatedly raised it from an estate far lower than that ito which it was seeming now to have Jajlen, to give it a renewed lexse of its old life, a return to its ancient prosperity and vigor. | ‘That is now no longer possible, We are not so very sure of the {mpossibility; but, let that pass. Well does the waylarer aloug that flat coast remember the grand promontory of Shantung rising up to tellof the birthplace of Confucius, Equally attractive is the outline sketch of British India, and we thank Mr, Whitney for the manli- ness with which, rising above the low Anglu- phobism of the day, he says (page 2) with empha- 818 that “in the East England is the great repre. sentative of the progressive tendencies of modern culture, the foremost civilizing and Christianizing Power, which is doing more than any other” (he might have said “all others’) to bind together the nations of the earth in one bond of brotherhood by community of interests and institutions.” We repeat our regret at the inability to notice more of the varied contents of this volume, The Appleions send us “The Evangel,” by Dr. Coles. his remarkable book is nothing more or ; less than the life of Ohrist in verse. Of lives of Christ in prose there arenoend; but this, we believe, is the as Hage an autnor bas been bola enough to put tl sacred history into rhyme, It may be urged against the present volume that the Gospels are poetic enough as they stand. So they are; but that did not prevent Pope and Longfellow from converting certain passages ito metric form. Looking at “The Evangel” from the @uthor’s standpoint we can see no reason why the book should not have been written. He con, fesses that he does not see why rhyme should be a crime or verse felony. Poetry is the language of Paradise. Words, he says, ‘have the same right to dance and sing as the dewdrops to sparkle and the stars to shine.” “The Evangel” is meant to be @ poetic version and verse by verse paraphrase, 80 faras it goes, of the four gospels. Dr. Coles has gone about his work inthe most reverential spirit and alter years of diligent and critical study of the text. He acknowledges the difficulties and delicacy of the task and makes no pretensions to having written agreat poem. His object ts te tell the story of Christ's life in verse simply and truthfully, and he has succeeded, The poem itself would not make mach more than an hour's reading, but the volume 1s quite oulky, owing to the length and frequency of the notes, which are rather longer than it seems to us there ig any necessity for, “The Evangel” will doubtless find many to object to it and algo many admirers, The only wonder is that the iife of Christ has not been put into verse before, and we cannot be too ‘thankful that the task has at last been undertaken by so graceful a poet and ripe @ scholar as Dr. Coles, The volumé ts most elaborately gotten up as regards printing and binding, and {s illustrated With twenty-eight Albertype reproductions from Guido, Correggio, Murillo, @érome, Hoiman Hunt, Paul Veronese, Ary Scheffer and other great mas- ters, Mr. Bierstadt has been unusually successiul in making these reproductions, which pregerve ail the grace and beauty of the originals. POETRY. Messrs, J. R, Osgood & Co. send us “The Circas- sian Boy, translated through the German from the Russian of Michail Lermontof. By S. S. Co- nant.” The book is printed with all the taste and Wealth of typography characteristic of the Uni- versity Press, Mr. Conant, who has attained a high reputation as 4 journalist, snows in his work the best evidences of scholarship and poetic in- sight. Lermontoff is placed by Mr. Conant ‘in the second place of the triad of flinstrious poets whose genius illuminated the Jiterature of Russia 1n the first half of the present century.” He be- longed to the aristocracy of Russia, was highly educated, and became an officer in the army. He was @ poet of promise; but in an ode composed on the death of a brother poet he painted senti- ments that gave offence to the Vourt, and led to 4 clam {9 thdv” these poems have been carelesmy Dis banishment to the Caucasus, His tempera- Megi~lritable, exagting, severe—led him into constant diMiculties, which ended tn duels, in one of which he received a mortal wound. He was called the Byron of Russia. “Men who knew him,’ says Mr. Conant, “only from the outside, called him dlas¢, because he despised the pleas- Ures of soctety and satirized its frivolities in caustic verse. A Wild, reckless Ife was his delight A daring horseman; he was fond of the chase, and took a keen enjoyment in adventurous encounters with the warlike mountaineers in the Caucasus. Hig restless spirit sought excitement rather than fame, HS scorn was not affected, it was inborn and genuine. He went into battle as some mea seek the ganitng table—for distraction and reltef from himself, But with all this hatred of society, all this scornful renunciation of ita pleasures and frivolitics, he possessed @ deep and passionate love of nature. The sight of & beautiful Mower awoke the tenderest emotions in his heart.”” “His poetry,” says Mr. Conant,” is the expression of some strong emotion—either love or hatred, admiration or scorn; and in many of his works we find the same strange mingling of pathos | and irony, wit and humor, go characteristic of the poetry of Byron.” The translation of the poems is a fne specimen ‘of clear, simple, re- fined English, A little song embouied in tt will give an idea of Lermontois poetic Jancy and Mr. Conant’s telicity of translating poetic expression. Ob! stay with me, ‘ Aud nevermore depart Life in the stream is alw ‘Of cool aud auiet heart Tl summon all my sisters here, Stall make toy Gant ey took cles nake thy troubled eyes look clear ‘And lighten all tue day.” And sott thy bed shalt ever be, Benea h the waiers deep ; The murmuring waves shail sing for thee, __ And charm thee into sleep. ‘ T love thee, and would have thee share ‘This tranquil life of mine; Here all is calm and bright and fair, And it spall all be thine. Mr. Bret Harte has added another volume to his already reapectable collection of works, which Osgood & Uo publish in a style uniform with their standard edition of the poets, The volume 1s entitled “Echoes From the Foot fills,” and con- tains twenty short poems, Six of them are on Spanish subjects, suggested by Mr. Harte’s rest- dence in California; six of them are in dialect; the remainder are miscellaneous poems. Some of these are familiar 10 us from publication tn the magazines, They are all marked with Mr. Harte's originality of expression, and, show traita, or, More accurately, pertaps, resembiances, of Mr. Harte’s unquestioned genius, Our general criti- done and do nos show that advance 1a his art which we had hoped ‘rom a writer who haa attained the high and just celebrity of Mr. Harte. The best poem In the book is ‘The Babes in the Wood.” 16 is the story of a runaway couple who fly from the restraints of civilization, or with some darker motive, perhaps, into the Big Pine Flat country, where they live in disguise. Two lean lads in their teeus, and ‘Than even the bait of spruce and a Where they built their nest, and each aay grew leaner. They hide in frontier seclusion, keeping their secret, until one evening, “out of the sunset’s rosy glow,” the Sheriff of Mariposa arrives with a warrant for their arrest, and then comes th? catastrophe :— Too late! they had seen him cross the hill; Tran to their tent and found them lying Dead in each other’s arms, and still Claspmg the drug they had taken flying, And there lay their secret, co!d and bare, ‘Their life, their trial—the oid, old gore For the sweet biue eyes and tne golden hair ‘as @ woman's shaine and a woman's glory. “Who were they? Ask no nore, or ask ‘The sun that visits their grave so lightly; Ask of the whispering reeds or task ‘The mourning crickets that chirrup nightly, AlLof thelr lite but its love torgot, Kverything teuder and sot anc mystic, We can hardly call Mr. Harte's book a real con- tribution to our poetic literature. He can ao Much better work than anything in tnis volume, and we hope to see him vindicate his reputation by something more worthy of nis genius. James Miller, of Broadway, sends us a new edi- aon of the works of Shelley, witha memotr vy James Russell Lowell. This is really an old book Yeprinted irom the old plates, which were first uséd nearly fourteen years ago. It now comes to | us with red lines around the page. For a second hand book Mr, Muler has made @ pleasant looking volume, We wish thatsome of our publishers would really give us this royal poet’s works in a style worthy of his genius and fame. Mr. Lowell's sketch of Shelley’s life was writven many years ago, and it is imperfect in this, that it does not contain the latest information im reference to Shelley. Although — this singularly gifted and obrillians gentleman died more than fifty years ago, he was a very young man at the time, scarcely out of his boy- hood, He might still be living, in the course of nature, as Proctor, who only passed away the otber day, was his senior, Shelley was born in 1792, and had he lived he would be in the eighty- second year of his sge; consequently, must be considered as really & man of ourown time. Any edition of his works that professes to bea stand- ard should give us the true story of his life, and not the obsolete memoir of Mr. Lowell—a sketch so hastily written that tt does not mention even the date of his death. So much is known of the poet, his brilliant, brief, eccentrio career, that it would be almost like telling an old, old story to repeat any incidents of his life, or even toa tempt an estimate of his genius, al- though he has not exercised as deep an im- fluence on the imagination of the century as Byron, or upon the poetical conscience of the age as Wordsworth, yet he shows genius in some respects higher than either—ricb, overflowing, courageous, daring. Time and expertence would have chastened it into a style that might have been surpassed only by that of Shakespeare, for Sheliey died an exceedingly young man, scarcely out of his boyhood, in his twenty-ninth year. Therefore, the best of his Works were, after all, the crade expressions vfearly genius. His death was @ calamity to literature, and, although many of his poems will be forgotten on account of their atheism and political allusions, the discussion of events that have long since lost their interest, ‘there are passages that will live as long as the English language. LITERARY CHIT-CHAT. Mr. James E. Munson’s new “Dictionary of Prac- tical Phonography” gives the phonographio ex- Pressions tor 60,000 English words and for 5,000 Proper names. It is more extensive than any former shorshand dictionary. Mrs, Muloch Cratkh’s mew fairy tale, “The Little Lame Prince," reprinted by Harpers, is a charming story. The last book from Sir Arthur Helps’ prolific pen 4s entitled “Social Pressure,” and 's dedicated to Mr. W. E. Forster, M. P, Mr. J. Blair Scribner {8 the youngest American publisher. Colonel John Hay’s last poetic effort is deeply religious, His first was ‘Litule Breeches,” The present literary rage appears to be for me- moir8 aod personal reminiscences, By the way, Scribner, Armstrong & Co. are the American pub- lishers of the “Greville Memotrs,”’ which Mr. Stod+ dard will bol! down to @ obric-a-brac volume, to be published in January. Mr. Henry Holt 13 said to be one of the few pub- lishers who consults his own taste as to what books be shall print. If he likes a book be will publish it, whether he joes money or not, Bret Harte reports that much-talked-of play as nearly ready. The novel has been under way for some time. Mr. Harte will not live in Morristown, N. J., after this year, Taine’s Christian name is Hip} Henri, as many suppose, Mr. Sidney Howard Gay ts hard at work on Bryant’s “History of the United States. The ilustrations, by both French and American artists, are progressing rapidly. Mr. Clarence Uook, the art critic, is preparing a book on “Household Art,” a subject with which he is thoroughly conversant, Miss Nelly M. Hutchinson, who writes the Trioune'’s “Gossip on Literature,” is also one of the editorial writers of that paper. She is not re- lated to the Autchinson family of singers, as has polyte, and not been reported. Mr. Edward Burlingame, who is transi ating “Wagner's Autobiography and Easays’’ for Henry Holt & Co., has just recovered jrom @ severe attack Of ilness, NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1874—WITH SUPPLEMENT. Scnnnemeeememeneeene THE COMING HOLIDAY, Doings av the Stores and Christmas Present Buying. SIGHTS IN BROADWayY. A Ee Woman and Her Influence at the Festive Season, SCENES OF THE SIDEWALKS. ‘Let us go in here,” said ove of two ladies to the other on Broadway, on Saturday, and as this Tequest was complied with the ample skirts of womanhood brushea past the lower extremities of HERALD reporter. The plate glass and heavy Mahogany door of s store was thrown open by @ little boy, whose present duty in life seemed to be to open and close that door; the ladies passed Within, the reporter, with an enterprise that was characteristic Of bis profession, entered with them, Entered, did he say? The throng of ladies Of all sizes, of all ages, of all styles of beauty and of a great many more styles of dress was 60 en- compassing that @n entrance was not Very easily accomplished, The exercise of a little patience, and the result was that some progress was made, On the walls, on long and high ranges of shelves, on jong gpunters that seemed to atretch way beyond™ she next” block, were exhip- {ted thousands upon thousands of what the trade calls “fancy articles,” but whieh emblazoned placards, here and there placed over the heads of the gazing crowd, designated as “holiday pres” ents.» What an aroma of varied smeils there was in this store! At one place there was the fra- grance of numberiess perfumes, at another there was the smell of new wood—tiis was where the voys were strewn; at another a captivating scent of Russia leather—this was where the porte- monnates, the leather tfavelling bags and tho pocketbooks were for snie.” Then there was the hum and the confusion of simu!taneous talking, the shouts 01 cash boys, of ‘one out of five,” “five out often,” as they handed the money andthe bills to the cashier. Was it possible for anything haman not to lee] a slight extra tremor of the blood, just the feeblest possibie wish that he were achild again, so tbat somebody might think of him and pick Dim out .a present to put into the great stocking of Santa Claus? This lg the season when there is @ gen- eral call to happiness—a obustie of the spirite and a stir of the affections—and who can or who ought to remain insenaibie? This is just about the time when we all ought to say with Tiny Tim, “God bless us every one.” Letus, then, Join the ladies, who were the moving cause of the reporter’s entrance to the store, and see—not rudely, not inquisitively, not impertinently, of course, but with that Kind of observation which 1s peculiar to the profeasion—an observation that observes without being observed. Jt is slow loco- motion along this crowded store; but then this slowness is favorable to observation and to linger= ing over holiday attractions, There isa display of leather gouds that attracta the Jeminine attention of our friends. What an admirable adaptation of color} There are no “loud” colors; nearly all neutral tints. Dressing cases, fitted up with cutlery, . hand mirrors, brushes and combs. One of the ladies atops in her'survey to look with some minuteness atone of these cases filled up fora gentleman's use, I¢ is very neat, and if the articles side are as good as they look the gentleman who may be the happy recipient wit henceforth shave with ease and comiort. The young lady trom Germany, who looks as though she had reached the middie of her teens, and who presides over this part of the vazaar, is asked by the lady the price of this particular dressing case, It is $20. The ladies look intelligently and satistiedly at one another, but no decision ig reached, There are other at~ tractive articles in leather—collar boxes, glove boxes, writing desks, pocketbooks and photograpn albums, in infinite variety. The ladies pass on to the Swiss carved wood display. Brackets, shelves, bookracks, inkstands, match stands, picture frames, bouquet holders, are all here in ricnly carved wood. A glance is suficienw But the next display is attractive to fem- tnine eyes, it 18 a cluster of gorgeous fans—real black thread lace, point and point appliqué tips, and ivory, motner of pearl and tor- toise shell handles, are the varietfes, at prices Varying from $10 to $160, ‘There are evening fans too, in colors, with maribou tips; Russia leather fans, new gold and silver inlaid sticks; solid tor- toise shell fans, ivory and richly painted mono- gram ians, all of a Sutter of delight. Then there are attractive dis- plays of fine Japanese ware, dolls, large aud small— some of them lookin than the average baby. Whitby jet jewelry, ahell jewelry and French gilt ‘abt Venetian flower sets, decorated porcelain, nglis garnet jewel and many of the indispensabvles tor a complete lady’s vouet, The ladies take @ rapla but com. plete lance at all these articies, as we pass em the threading of our way around this store, and wuen they have completed the circuit they return to the German girl who presides over the leatner goods and the dressing cages. They take up the case that first attracted them, and alter a more thorough exammation of it than belore, decide to buy it. it is Wrapped up 10 the whitest of paper, and then the dressing case exchanges ownership, and #0 do two $10 bills, {t 18 the season of tairies, and the reporter would have liked @ iairy to have toia Dim whether that dressing case was going toa brother, @ lover, or a husbana. Let us hope th: it was for the husband. The lady who bought looked as though she was the happy wile of some noble man. Some practical reuder desires to know whether the reporter saw any more pur- chases in thia store. Yes, the reporter did. Every lady didn’t buy $20 dressing cases; but nearly every lady bought sometning, and buying was certainly the rule, and mereiy looking on without buytng was the exception. {here Was NO more reportorial observation to be made in thts store. These columns are not devoted to advertising, and 60 the reporter care- fully excludes the name and number thereof, Broadway was more than usually attractive on Saturday. HOW BROADWAY LOOKED, That promenade in the early hours of the after- noon is geverally spprope sted by ladies. Ordi- narily the feminine form presents fteelf, by its leigurely walk aud ita affectation of unconscious. hess of attractiveness, in this well Known thor- oughfare for the adoration uf mankind, On Satur- day it Was too much occupied with doing good service for Santa Claus to cate for the male pedes- trians that here and there intercepted its -path- way. Nearly every lady carried a small parce! or several of them, and many were accompanie by children, There was a charming earnest- ness about their manner thet gave them @ beauty that no hair dyes, aureated tinctures or belladonna could — give. Havanyorntoas criticism Of the hard-hearted men must have been disarmed by this real display of natoral and spiritual beauty. Woman was shop- ping, nov.or heraeli alone on Saturday, but w: preparing sweet surprises for those she loves, W 1t any marvel, then, she should look captivating The maduess for the tollet was for once put aside. She no longer thinks of herseif and her adorn: but gives herseit up ina thousand charm- a to the promotion of the happiness of she loves, It is well that women should have these days, that are free trom any anxieties as vo their personal adornments; for dress ever id ever Will be ag & web spread in the way of righteousness, Eve frilled her apron of fig leaves beiore she had worn it y. All the way from Fourteenth to Twenty-third street, Broadway Was lined with women of various presentations of loveliness, all intent om the same mission. They were either carrying to their carriages (those who had carriages) esUl Of purchases, or they had encumbered themselves with a cluster of drab- colored bundles. American women, ap toa cer tain age, sald to be the prettiest: in the world, and it seemed yesterday thas there were groupe of ladies bere and there of whom tt may have been truti ae toa er were the lists ot ay, of Froi 7s toarnays better garnished With briiiant color and pretry faces, THE PICTURE DRALERS. In our admiration of the throng of Ifates that are all around us as we wander suoughtfully slong the sidewalk we are forgetting the purpose on Which they are go gealoudly intent. Here isa store that Cl. ae intellectual faces giauce long and intently at the window of, and many of these turn to the door and enter. It ts the store of @ picture dealer and a seller ofe: v= ings. The store ts well filled with ladies an tiemen, who observe intelligenuy the paintings and the engravings on the walls. In the water- color drawing end chromo room there are many beautiful gems of the easel of the artist. Notably a “margaret” irom Faust, whose tear drops in the eyes correct your first imp! OD, Which is that sne was sort of Eve, incapable of falling, lore Whom one 18 tempted to lower the eyes out of respect, On our way ous of this store we see a lady ana gentleman, evidently busband and Wife. Who have selected af atabineg of some s 2g g , bronzes in large varieties, | which appear to put the ladies in | prettier and cleaner even | French ornaments, real { ; @nd the amiabie Peter Cooper occupied & deauty. They inquire the price; $70 ts the answer, and they purchase it, This ia their way of remem bering Christmas, Making #2 addition to the ars treasures of their home. THE SIXTH AVENUB STORES. Sixth avenue stores are patronized gene: bya humpbler clase than those who frequent Bro: 5 ‘There are jewer ladies there the rustle of whose Oregs 18 stiff with lavish costiiness, Even if any of the ladies who were in the more prominent and pr deow Boag the Ce Oe stores on t avenue, on jaturday, were.the soupy Oman of dresses of this description they did wisely mot to them. A stranger would have su) from tbe Pressure of the crowd at ali the stores that every- thing was given away, and that she unimportant Matter of paying for that which yon chose was entirely dispensed with. At two of these Sixty avenue stores, names Of which mag witnout dil- ficuity be guessed at, there was a toy department ‘hat the most venerable Santa Claus would be Proud of and the like of which he had scarcely seem before, however great bis longevity might have been, Doli furniture in all the varieties ; dolk houses of various ranges of stoves, and with alt the modern improvements, Parior rg books, cows that give milk and don’t kick, dogs that and don't bite, and babies that cry, and thaw cab ve put%o sieep on tue hotice, with elegantly fitted cradies 10 put them ip, and an abundance of b Sree at; thonas ce of bed covering to keep cnildren who e mus) parlor organs and trum: only “Old Hundred” cai “Mulligan Guards” and D Then it was noticeable that 1f the ladies had any loose cash left, alter all the presenta had bee bough, there were thousands of ways of disposing of 1t in the d. tion o1 their own personal adorn- ment. Gloves were very pretty and very cheap, and some of tuem bad 80 many buttond that it seemed that nothing short oi a machine would able to en the Lepage eer mornin; wrappers, pretty and ubcostly, wealskiy ia" and mufs, from $100 ‘and upward. utter Was eaid to be a very @ppropriate presen\ for ladies, and was generally accepsable. Any gentleman therefore with @ $100 bill that he hag no specific personal use tor, and who desires to be remembered by some angel of his who bas taken the female form, ma@y make her sublunary existence extremely comfortable Goring this winter, by investing tn the direction of shortest possible pets, upop which a be played but the ankee le” also. SKIDS, A word to the wise is enough. STRERT STANDS, At thi ason of the F Nag when there is peace on earth and goodwill toward all mankind, it would be a departure from the spiritof the time \f we were to omit from thts brief chronicle of the scenery of the sidewalk the numerous pedestrian merchants that line the west side roadway from Canal to Fourteenth street, dowm to Sixth avenue. Here many a German, many an Italia! who has come to our shores with the com: mendable desire of bettering himself in the Eeorits has broug)t nis talents lor artand mechane ical Ingenuity to 4 good and appreciative market, Workers in Wood for very low sums present ay almost endiess variety of practy ‘@rvicies for the adornmens of the home, oys thas Dave a re« markaoly ingenious construction are sold by the constructor himself, and paper birds that fy and metallic birds that warble and whistle divinely are ovtainable for atew cents. Sidewalk florists have, too, quite am attractive diaplay of Christmas evergreens and slips 0; mistietoe, and numero evergreen devices realy for fixing on the walla of the pariors without any further trouble. Photos graphs, colored pictures, ingeniously painted Carus, envelopes and letter paper are all spread on a little board on the sidewaik. Saob of these street merchants Saturday was exteusively pa- tronized, apd industry ana enterprise therefore received a very appropriate encouragement, CHRISTMAS PROSPECTS, This stroll by a reporter of the HERABD through the principal streets where ladies most did con~ gregate Saturday served to show that thereta every prospect of Christmas being @ very jolly and avery happy one. Old and young are evidently: busily planning for happlucas, and the nie aays that are to come” are to be made to yteld the fun that it 1s possible to get out of them. The storekeepers will have reason to be glad at thi lor the days that are just past Dave Deen Very dull in & mercantile way for them. Santa Ulaus h made their hearts to rejoice and their goods to ba exchanged Jor dollars, So that this Christmas 1¢ likely to be like the old-fashioned Christmas time when it was blessed to him who giv s and to hint who takes; twice biessing tn itnefiect, blesmngd the Giver of good gifts and the seller thereof, too, “A merry Christmas” 1s therefore the good word now. LAFAYETTE’S WATCH. DOUBTS OF THE GENUINENESS OF THE SOUVENTR. {From the Louisville Courier-Journal, Dec. 17.) The cable despatch which Mashea over the wires of America afew days ago to the effect that Minister Washburne, on behalf of the United States, had presented to M. Oscar De Lafayette, at Paris, the watch presented to the Marquis De La fayette by General George Washington, was read With unusual interest. The watch presented to General Latayette was a curious and untque affatr, and was given to\nim as 8 souvenir of the Revo+ lutionary struggle which virtually terminated by | the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, is te had borne aD honorable part. rquis Was op hie last visit to this 5, ine Watch was stolen from him at Nashvill d now a watcb, which is, with great reason, believed to be the same, has been tound aud banded over to the family of Lafayette in France. After alk that bas been said and done, wouldu’t there be great appontment tf 1 shoud turn out that the watch story, so far as ita identity 18 concerned, hoax, or if there should at least be some doubt #8 to its entity? We will not Venture an opinion on this gabject; but there are a few facts, well known to parties in this city, concerming the history of the time. iece which will be of interest in this connectiot In 1859 the Watch was soid to Julius Mendel, o this city, by man named Jim Fowler, who came from California, and said be got it from @ gambler i a gambling house 1 San Francisco, and that he received it 12 pawa jor & small amount.of money. The waicn bore the !ollowing inscription :— which Latayet Whoo the MM country, in ii Qe ORGE WASHINGTON “ i GILBERT Morris DE LAFAYETTE } CAPITULAMON OF Yoneows, be oe a The watch remained several oom Mr. Men- @el’s possession, and was regarded of little value, except a8 @ relic, and in this particular, even, 16 Was greatly depreciated, because o/ twe doubts to its identity. It nevertheless attracted muct attention, and had its identity been certain ther would have been Many eager purchasers. Amon; the number who were anxious to ootain posses- s10n Of it was Mr. George Wolf, who offered $1,000: for proof of its identity. Mr, Mendel all the time discredited its identity, and sbout three Years ago soid it to a strangef for the small sun of $40. Ihe watch was taken to New Orleans, where its fame soon spread soroad, and ita spans: then seemed everywhere accredited. he result was that last summer Congress appro= priated $300 for the purchase and restoration of) the watch fo the Lalayette family. It is to be hoped that this interesting timeptece ts the verita- ble souvenir given by Washington, and probably it is, But Mr. Mendel doesn’t believe it. He thinks its discovery was a put up job by & San Francisco sharper. He says there are many watches of the same pattern in emstence, and believes the watch to be vogus, with a counterfebt engraving, THE ITALY OF AMERICA, Tne great hall of Cooper Institute was filled to ita utmost capacity by an mtelligent audience on Sat- urday evening. Before eighto’clock more than 3,000 Persons were presens ana hundreds were unable to enter to listen to the lecture on ‘Southern Cali« fornia, the Italy of America,’ by Mr. Jy A. Johns son, editor of the Santa Barbara Press, and, although two opportunities were given the audience to disper: they remained an hour and three-quarters ‘ving close at the entire lecture which w: tention to received with frequent plause, The lece . Abram 8. tet) turer was introduced by Hi Upon the platiorm. The address was illustra by about 160 atereopticon views, projected upon @ Screen and magnified to some Miteen fee quare. thered son to ‘At the close a large number of citizens about the platiorm and requested Mr. Jo! repeat the lecture at an early day. Mr. Coopes heartily congratulated the lecturer and expressed ‘his determination to visit Southern California ins few months, EDUCATING THE INDIAN. DAUGHTERS OP A GREAT INDIAN CHIZP AT st MABY'S INSTITUTE. (Prom the Milwaukee Sentinel, Dec, 18.) Two daughters of Hole-in-the-Day, the noted Chippewa Indian chief, of Minnesota, are being educated under the Kind care.of the Schoo! Sisters of Notre Dame, The girls are intelligent, ana are making a fair degree of progress in acquiring the socomplishments of their paie-faced sisters, Ta elder of the sisvera, about tweive years of aid to be aimeatt pointe, Wate tis feys jou! othe rej wi St. Maryla Ipetitare, on yesterday. afte the bad ved and were ‘tain! shree young iriends wo com way 1 janesota tO 6 them. The boys visti fanged irom eight to twelve of age, Were fine specimens of the Indian race. Mist Hoije-in-tne-Day was dressed in i black bodice and 9 flaming dress of the gy Mh attern, and ber sister in @ neat calloe. The chik ren conversed in their native tongue and pares to be ‘he boys are in also the well provided jor by the kind and ey are well pro’ Sisters of the institate and will members of sociats.