The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 24, 1896, Page 23

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MAY 24, 1896. 23 ) ] " EN and women who delight in what is known as genial in lit- erature can never get too much of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Whether it be something new from his own pen or something new writ- ten about him by an observant friend or an appreciative critic there is alwaysa welcome for it. For that reason the two volumes of his ‘‘Life and Letters” by John T. Morse Jr. find a wide circle of read- ers ready to receive them with an eager ex- pectency of delight. The author prefaces his work with an expression of fear that the reader will find in them too much of memoir and too little | of correspondence. To this he pleads in | confession and avoidance the fact that to | Dr. Holmes' letter writing was an irksome | task and that except to Motley and to | Lowell during their absences in Europe he very rarely wrote spontaneously in the way of friendship. Asa consequence thereare | comparatively few of his letters of general interest and he has left far less wheat for | those who glean after him than any other | eminent literary man of his time. | Dr. Holmes' judgment of the work of | biographers was not encouraging to those who have undertaken the task for him. | In one of his pungent paragraphs he say: +1I should like to see any man’s biography with corrections and emendations by his zhost. . We don’t know each other's secrets quite so well as we flatter ourselves we do.”’ This remark of Dr. Holmes must not prejudice the reader against Mr. Morse’s | work. While of course it wou!d be very | interesting to have the work subjected to | the corrections of a wit so subtle and so | penetrating as that of the ghost of the Autocrat must be, yet the author has done his task so well and with such true sym- | | myselt who ever dreamed of such a thing as opening | her lips without having her father and her | mother and all her littie impish brothers and sisters for her audience—nay, if there waseven a cherry-cheeked kitchen-girl to romance with occasionally, it might possibly be endurable. Nothing but vinegar-faced old maids and drawing - room sentimentalists—nothing that would do to write poetry to but the sylph of the confectioner’s counter—and she, sweet little Fanny, has lelt us to weep when we think of her departed smiles and her too fleeting Ice- cream. 1 do believe Ishall never be contented until I get the undisputed mastery of a petti- coat. The letters written from Paris show him in 8 much more contented frame of mind. They contain no laments of a lack of female society, and are devoted to more serious themes. 1t would not be fair, however, to infer from this change that the Parisian girls were more attractive than those of Cambridge. Some portion of the altered tone must be attributed to the fact that while the letters from Har- vard were written to a schoolmate those from Paris were written to his parents. Among the interesting features of these | Parisian letters are passages which by showing what Holmes considered the nov- eities of life there give usan idea of what he had been accustomed to in Boston. In one of these letters, for example, he says: Tne truth is I live in Paris just as if I had been there all my life, and, indeed, I can hardly conceive of anybody’s living in_any other way, so complcteiy have I naturalized It seems hideous to think of more | than two meals a day. Howgcould I ever have dined at 2 o'clock? How could I ever Lave put anything to my mouth bnt a sflver fork? | How could I have survived dinner without a napkin? * * * As for napkins and silver forks, the most ordinary eating-house in Paris considers them as indispensable, and so with | regard to many things which we consider as luxuries they make a part of the ordinary ex- istence of the Parisian. It is impossible to avoid drawing from this the conclusion that in Holmes’ youth the Bostonians ate their beans with a knife and dispensed with napkins except on pathy with the subject operated “on, nothing short of that ethereal wit can | undertake to amend it. The work in fac is in every respect & most worthy addi- | tion to the literature of American biography, and despite the author’s | modest disclaimer of having nothing new | to tell, gives us @ much better conception than we have had before of what manner of man Dr. Holmes was. It is a striking characteristic of Dr. Holmes that while both as a medical and as a literary man he devoted much study | to the subject of heredity he paid little at- | tention to his own genealogy. He was as- | sured that Le came of the best New Eng- | land stock and to him that was so suffi- cient he cared not to concern himself | about the matter any further. It appears | from the records, however, that the first | of his family to come to this country settled in Connecticut in 1686, and that | from that time on they held such posi- | tions in the community as to justify Dr. Holmes in regarding self as one of | that aristocracy of blood. breeding and | culture which in the last generation com- pletely dominated New England and still gives the tone and color to its society. | " That Dr. Holmes was an aristocrat in | his thought and feelings is known toevery | reader of his writings. As the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table he saysfrankly: *“Igo for the man with family portraits against the one with a 20-cent daguerreotype | unless I find out that the latter is the bet- { ter of the two. I go for the man who in- berits family traditions and the cumula- tive traditions of at least four or five | enerations.”” These feelings, however, | id not prevent him from recognizing the better man with the 20-cent daguerreotype | when he found him. In a letter writtenin | 1865, commenting on the changes in Bos- | ton society produced by the fall of old families and the rise of new ones, he says: | We have such cases here, some of them really pleasant t0.look upon as illustrating the fair chance everybody runs here. “——," who lived with us seventeen years ago and whom you have seen at Pittsficld, has & house on Pink- ney street bard by and is now at ner country seat & few miles out of town. The sons of a decensed citizen go to our fashionable assem- blies whose father 1 remember “a boy that lived out.” BB is AA inpoint of wealth and stylish residence. You remember how he be- gan. Ilike it. I like to see worthless rich peo- ple have to yield their places to deserving poor ones who, beginning with sixpence or nothing, come out at last in Beacon street and have the sun come into their wiidows all the year round. Another feature of Dr. Holmes’ charac- ter, which was manifest in his life and is portrayed vividly in his letters, was his single-hearted devotion to Boston. Ina country where nearly haif the people re- move their residence from one State to another and where nesrly every one travels more or less, he lived content where he was brought up. He passed two years of his youth in Europe studying medicine, and In his old age he went there again for three months, gut otherwise he lived all his years and almost all his days inor near Boston. It was no exaggeraiion to bhim to speak of the State House asthe «“Hub of the solar system.” He was doubtless proud of the great Republic that stietched westward to the Pacific Ocean, but he regarded ail of it west cf Charles River as being simply a background to Boston and never at any time paid much attention to it. X : The letters begin with some written by Holmes while a student at Harvard toa friend, Phineas Barnes, whom he had known at school at Andover. In one of these he deciares that he has changed but little in becoming a Harvard man, and 5oe! on to say: “'I wear mly gills erect and o not talk sentiment. comb my hair - a little more carefully and button my coat a little tighter. T smoke most de- | voutly and sing most unmusically; bave written poetry for an annual. Iam totally undecided what to study—it will be law or physic, for I cannot say I think the trade of authorship quite adapted to this meri- aull:' another of these college letters, he bitteriy laments the lack of female society and draws no pleasant picture of the Cam- bridge girls of those days. He writes to st 1 in thi ighborhood < a girl in s neighbor) w‘xilouzhgf:od'e‘\‘rer roflu above the freezing point, | shall not be afraid of gayety more than of old, state occasions. There was, nevertheless, a very brainy race of men and women in Boston at that time, and as we read their names in the letters that follow Holmes’ return to this country we are forced to confess that the absence of napkins among the Bostonians of that day had at least the good result of not permitting them to hide their talents. When Holmes returned he found the intellect of New England agitated by a zeal for the moral, mental and political regeneration of man. A thousand reforms were advocated. Peace societies, anti- slavery societies, temperance socieiies, woman'’s rights societies and societies for the relief of the poor abounded. In these movements Holmes took no part, and a | letter from Lowell upbraiding him for his indifference to reform and the betterment of humanity drew from Holmes one of | the best letters in the volumes betore us. The letter is too lonz and too meaty for an adequate digest to be presented here, but | the concluding passage sums it up thus; | 1 shall follow the bent of my natural thoughts, which grow more grave and tender, | or will do <o, as the years creep over me. | but I shall have more courage to be serious. Above all, I shall always be pleased rather to show what is beautiful in life around me than to be pitching into giant vices against which the acrid pulpit and the corrosive newspaper will always anticipate the gentle poet. Each of us has his theory of life, of art, of his own existence and relations. It is too much to ask of you to enter fully into mine, but be very well assured that it exists—that it has its axioms. its intuitions, its connected beliefs, as well as your own. Lef me try to improve and please my fellow-men after my own ashion at present. When I come to your way of thinking (this may happen) I hope I shall be found worthy of a less qualified approbation than | you have felt constrained to give me at this | time. With this quotation, which gives a state- ment of Dr. Holmes' philosophy of life and shows at once his conception of his relations to the world, and his broad and kindly tolerance of all who differed from him, we must close our review. It is hard to lay the book aside. Dr. Holmes is so charming & companion that over these letters one could epend a whole long sum- mer’s day, and find no moment dulf Our object, however, has not been to make & digest of the work, but only to voint out to those who Jove literature and genial souls where they can find flelds and pastures new for their delight. In these letters there is both pleasure and in- struction, and Dr. Holmes, who has already won fame in the diverse fields of poetry, criticism, romance and science, will be known hereafter 8l as one of the most accomplished and graceful of Ameri- can_letter-writers. [For sale by Doxey, 631 Market street. Joux McNAUGHT. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF AMEKI- CAN COMMERCE. This volume illustrates the dignity of labor, the beneflcence of liberty and the triumphs of invention. Itisan epicon the marvels of in- telligent work. The wonders of the material development of the most remarkabie of the centuries of recorded time are exhibited in this gallery of pen pictures. It is in these words that Dr, Chauncey M. Depew introduces one of the most re- markable works on American commerce that has appeared in this country, and of which he is the oditor. The witty orator | and ablé financier confesses that the task has been a labor of love, and the reader is quite able to believe this statement. Mr. Depew further declares that nowhere else can there be found such a comprehensive history of the commerce of America. And indeed it is unique, comprehensive, reli- able and intensely interesting. Its origin came about in a peculiar manner. A year ago the New York Shipping and Commer- cial List, the oldest commercial newspaper in this country, celebrated its centenary. To comme~morate this the idea was put forward of attempting a compact history of American commercial development. The interest of prominent business men was enlisted—among_others that of Dr. Depew and Governor Morton of New York. The former gentlemuan undertook the edit- She succeeds vo perfection, and it almost | feelings to aid_the match between Arnold | ment to Bella. ing of the work and the latter to contr| a Ek:mh of American banking, G To further carry out the centennial idea the history was divided into 100 chapters, each chapter being devoted to some im- portant branch of business or commercial affairs. Each of the men who treat of their particular business is an acknowl- edged authority in his particular line, well ualified to contribute the article desired. si‘he result is, as we have said, remarkable, and, to again quote the words of the editor, *“No one can rise from a perusal of these papers without having an increased admiration for the nineteenth century and | a most hopeful view of the twentieth.” | “‘One Hundred Years of American Com- | merce” will fill a great want felt by the | business men, the professional men and ! the youth of the United States. There is { nothing about it that is ephemeral., To the first it will appeal for the reason that | it contains valuable suggestions gained | from the experience of men who have | been successful in trade. To the second its importance arises from the same causes, added to which is the acknowledged fact | that the more a professional man knows of trade the more accomplished wi!l he be in his particular studv. And for the youth | of this country the work possesses excep- tional opportunities for the study of the commercial interests of America, for it will undoubtedly take its place as a stand- ard work of reference. Typographically the book is all that could be wished. It bears the imprintjof | D. O. Haynes & Co., New York, who are | represented in this City by John J, New- | begin, 43 Flood building. - AN ENGAGEMENT. The name of Sir Robert Peel as author of a story is enough in itself to awaken curiosity in the character of the work, ard when curiosity leads one to take up ““‘An | Engagement” it is quite probable that the | story will be finished before the work is | laid down. Sir Robert, in the volume at hand, tells a love story, and tells it ad- mirably. He begins by announcing the engagement of Arnold Hopetoun and Miss Bella Carstairs. Arnold is honestly in love, and the young lady is supposed to reciprocate his attachment. Their friends wonder why they don’t marry, as Miss Carstairs is not well off and Arnola’s salary of five hundred a year will offer an improvement in her position. Bella’s | mother was as poor as a church mouse, and, though the daughter was a beauty, Mrs. Carstairs’ means were so strait- ened that the girl's matrimonial prospects were shim indeed. Arnold was an ardent lover and eager to marry, but Bella was tired of poverty and she preferred to wait until Hopetoun’s salary reached respecta- ble figures. For Belia's sake Arnold often importuned his uncle, Lord Drillingham, to obtain for him a promotion. Finally the uncle secures for him a profitable post in Canada, but Bella’s mother draws the line at whatshe considers exile to Canada. Kate Drillingham, Arnold’s cousin, visits | the Carstairs tourge them to consent to | the union of Bella and Arnold and a short | residence in Canada. Snhe fails in her mission, and is even treated with some | degree of haughtiness by Mrs. Carstairs. Kate has heretofore sacrificed her own | and Bella. Now she forms a dislike to | Bella and resolves to win Arnold away. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, Simon Came- ron of Pennsylvania, Edward Bates of Missouri, Wililam L. Dayton of New Jer- sey, John L. McLean and Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio. Next month’s convention may Bave all or nearly all of the following names brought before 1t: William Mec- Kinley of Ohio, Thomas B. XKeed of Maine, Levi P. Morton of New York‘. Wil- liam B. Allison of lowa, Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois, Matt S. Quay of Pennsylvania and Charles F. Manderson of Nebraska. Among the prominent Democrats whose names may be presented before the Demo- cratic convention at Chicagoin July are: Grover Oleveland, John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, William C. _ Whitney of New York, David B. Hill of “New York, William E. Russell of Massa- chusetts, William R. Morrison of Iili- nois, Richard P. Bland of Missouri. Of each of the fourteen Presidential possibilities just mentioned the volume contains a portrait and biography. There are some seventy illustrations in the vol- ume, which has value in a historical sense. The cloth-bound copy hason the cover a special design of Lincoln’s head stamped in gold and surrounded by a wreath. [Chicago: Laird & Lee, publish- ers; price 75 cents. COLD DISHES FOR HOT WEATHER. ‘With the summer season that is now fairly upon us comes the problem of what should be placed on the table during the hot weather. The problem may, at least in California, be termed a perennial one, and it isasa probable aid to its solution that this little book arrives. The well under- stood love of the American for iced victuals was happily hit off on one occa- sion by a French authority: *The Ameri- cans,”” said he, “‘eat and drink ice till they get dyspepsia. Then they fall back on hot water.” 'lji‘:li-s fact notwithstanding the service of food a froid is one which is not well enough understood in this country. The work under review will therefore be wel- comed by the perplexed housewife, who will find in its pages not only valuable hints for hot weather cooking, but appe- tizing receipts for numerous additions to the luncheon and supper table all the year round. The work of colle{:!tion hax; been admi: ably prepared by Messrs. Ysaguirre an La;i‘.;rcg. [.\'ew)" York: Harper & Bros. For sale in this City by A. M. Robertson, Post street; price $1.] THE CAVALIERS, This is a historical novel dealing with the stirring times of the Civil War in Eng- land during the reign of Charles I. The facts upon which the story is based may be found in “Green’s History of the Eng- lish People.” The pen pictures of the Protector of England are of pecaliar interest. The plot | of the story takes up the adventures of Thomas Duncombe, who belonged to the Royalist party. Sir Austin Leigh, of Beau- champ Hall, his father’s nearest neighbor, resolved to hold the hall against Crom- well's forces, and Duncombe rode to Ox- ford to get re-enforcements. On the tri be had an opportunity of saving the life | of Cromwell. In Oxiord he rescued Mary | Death from Lord Wilmot, but being badly | ‘“mmded was nursed back to health by She Half Spoke, Dreamily Gazing at the Cartoon With Glimmered Eyes. [ Reproduced from *“Alida Craig.” breaks Hopetoun’s heart to consider that he is still in_honor bound by his engage- Kate, furthermore, insists that if Miss Carstairs holds him to the engagement he must make good his promise of marriage. Arnold goes to get a decision from Bella, and is astonished to receive a letter from her absolving him from his engagement, and informing him that Miss Carstairs has received a propo- sal from a man of wealth and position and that it is to her interest to accept. And 8o the flies who had flitted awhile aim- lessly in the web of Eros escaped from the tangles after all, and Arnold marries Kate, while Miss Carstairs is ‘“‘engaged’ to an- other. The latter doesn’t marry, however. The *‘Other’s’” family objected, and so she signs herself still “Miss Carstairs,”” and now looks upon Mrs. Hopetoun with something suspiciously akin toenvy. The story hasn’t an objectionable feature in it. [New York: Frederick A. Stokes Com- W For saie by Hartwell, Mitchell & ; price 50 cents.] POLITICAL REVOLUTION OF 1860. “Lincoln’s Campaign, or the Political Revolution of 1860,” by Osborn H. Old- royd, is a book of particular interest on the eve of the Presidantial battle of 1896. The political campaign of 1860 was one ot intense excitement, with its four tumuit- uous and exciting conventions, each nomi- nating candidates for President and Vice- President of the United States. The Re- publican candidates were Lincoln and Hamlin. The Democratic party was split | in twain—the Northern wing having as candidates Douglas and Johnson, and the Southern wing Breckinridge and Lane. Bell and Everett stood for the ‘“‘Constitu- tional Union party.” Mr. Oldroyd has aimed to give a correct and impartial his- tory of these conventions, together with their platforms. His material has been gathered from the New York Herald, Springfield (Ili.) Journal, and from other authentic sources of information, and the volume makes a useful reference book. Many of the badges, medals, songs and miscellaneous emblems of the Lincoln campalign of 1860 are reproduced, as illus- trative of the make-up of a Presidenual canvass. The author remarks that the Republican convention which meets next month in St. Louis will be similar to that of 1860 in us%eot to the promi- nent men who wil be candidates. In 1860 the men whose names were resented to the convention were: William H. SBeward of New York, | her, King Charies sent him to France with confidential dispatches to the Queen of Engtand and to Cardinal Mazarin. Upon his return, years after, he went to Carisbrooke Castle, where King Charles was a prisoner, as an agent of the Parlia- ment, but really in order to arrange for the King’s escape. There he found Melody Leigh, the girl he loved, disguised as a servant, nndgrendy to help him. The at- tempt at escape failed and Duncombe was taken to London for trial, but Cromwell remembered the rescue and pardoned him. It is to be hoped that much more of this class of literature may be piaced on the market during the coming season. The extraordinary demand for works treating of the life of Napoleon, which set in last year, is evidence of the fact that from a financial point of view publishers would do well to handle matter of this kind. 8. R. Keightley, the author of “The Caw liers,” will doubtless be heard from again in this connection. [New York: Harper & Bros. For sale in this City by A. M, Robertson; price $1 50.] ALIDA CRAIG. Despite a conventionality of plot, which is not atoned for by originality of treat- ment, this is a fairly well-written novei of life in New York. Its author, Pauline King, has taken the well-worn theme of the love of a man for a married woman years his senior; of his attraction toward an artist—a bachelor maid—Alida Craig by name, during the absence of his former flame; of his struggles to keep “true” to the love of his youth, married though she is. Philip Herford, a wealthy young bache- lor, is introduced to the reader as the hero of the story. While at college he had conceived a violent admiration for Mme. Fremiet, the French actress, who in turn is beloved of an English nobleman, the Duke of Axminster. The husband of the actress conveniently dies and the noble- man proposes marriage. He is rejected, as Mme. Fremiet prefers the companion- ship of Herford. Numerous personages are introduced, with the apparent object ¢f instilling bumor into the plot, who have no bearing on the tale. Among these is an illiterate chorus girl, who, in addition to her stage work, poses in her spare time for what sge terms “the nood.” The story goes mer- rily along till the last chapter, in which, as isright and proper, Herford marries Alid and the English nobleman Mme. Fremiet. It might be well for the author in her future work to avoid attachin: the vast quantity of sentiment to small matters, which. she does in *“Alida Craig.” A couple of pages devoted to lingering thoughts on a lady’s glove and two or three paragraphs to advertising dry-goods firms and paper-makers appear to us as somewhat out of place. [New York: George H. Richmond & Co.] . SKETCHES OF WAR HISTORY. This is volume 4 of papers treating of the history of the war, prepared in con- formity with the rule of the Loyal Legion Commandery of Ohio relating to his- torical papers. By the terms of, this rule it is provided that: ““The recorder (W. H. Chamberlin) shall solicit companions to prepare papers for the commandery relating to their ex- periences and observations in the battles | and campaigns of the late War of the Re- bellion, one of which shall be read at each stated meeting, and he shall publish all such papers.” The results of this general order, as shown in the papers, are highly interest- ing. One sketch, by First Lieutenant A. B. Isham of the Seyenth Michigan Volun- teer Cavalry, is ugliculnrly noteworthy. It is entitled “The Story of a Gunshot Wound,” and describes the sensations of the writer while in the hospital. The light it throws upon the sufferings of the injured, especially during the “‘probing for fragments” process, is a vivid one, ana yet withal room is given to the humorous end of the matter. Instance a letter writ- ten by Sergeant A—— to his mother, wherein, after stating that his wounds are a ‘‘mere nothing” (needless to say thisisa willful misrepresentation), the writer con- cludes, “Your affectionate son, A. 5.— If you could manage to send me a box of grandmother’s custard pies they would be highly appreciated.” [Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company.| MARK HEFFRON, This is a recent novel by Alice Ward Bailey, published by the Messrs. Harper. It treats of the adventures of Mark Heff- ron, who, in the opening chapters, is visit- ing one of the numerous summer resorts that make a specialty of combining outing life with instruction of the “popular lec- ture'! order. At Beau Lieu House, the resort in ques- tion, he makes the acquaintance of a young maid from Louisville, Gordon by name, whose object in staying there is to deliver addresses on art. Of | course the hero promptly falls in love with Miss Gordon, and the numerous set- backs, interruptions and checks which his affection receives are well described by the author. ‘Mark Heffron” is one of the best books adapted for summer reading that we have seen this season. The character work is especially good, while the touches of local coloring are applied with a master hand. New York: Harper & Brothers. For sale y A. M. Robertson; price $1 25.] EXTRAORDINARY CASES. Henry Lauren Clinton has collected a number of sketches of extraordinary cases which have come before the American courts from time to time. Scattered through the book are anecdotes of Judges, lawyers, journalists and well-known men. All the cases cited are remarkable for the widespread interest they aroused at the time of their trial, and for the fierceness of the legal battles they brought forth. Very interesting is the opening chapter of Mr. Clinton’s work which exhibits to the reader some of the peculiarities of legal practice in the first half of the century. The ingenuity of legal talent in prepar- ing defenses is evidenced by the cases of Proper and Cantor (chapter 8), and in fizhting matters involving human life in those of Carnal and Grunzig. The book is a very interesting and read- able one, possessing peculiar qualities which recommend it to_members of the bench and bar. [New York: Harper & Bros. For sale in this City by A. M. Rob- ertson, Post street; price $2 50.] THE FIVE. This is the title of an odd little 40-page parchment-covered book, the author of which has not seen fit to let his name be known to his possible host of readers. The writer affects a colloquial style, something like that of which John Kendrick Bangs has recently had a sort of monopoly. The (]lf'uic, the Respectable Man, the Poet, the umorist and the Socialist are ‘‘The Five,” and the stories in which they figure are “Through India,” “The Telephone” and “In a Second-class Carriage.”” They are worth while reading, too; light and airy, and too short to be tiresome. [San Francisco: H. S. Crocker & Co. For sale by A. M. Robertson; price 25 cents.] CHRONICLES OF MARTIN HEWITT. Arthur Morrison’s ““Chronicles of Martin Hewitt”’ have been published in Apple- ton’s Town and Country Library, No. 191. This is a popular edition of a work that ranks high in literature of its kind. The six detective stories which make up the chronicles are: “The Ivy Cottage Mys- tery,” ““The Nicobar Buliion Case,” “The Halford Will Case,” *Case of the Missing Hand,” *‘Case of Laker, Absconded,” and the ‘‘Case of the Lost Foreigner.”’ SNew York: D. Appleton & Co. For sale by William Doxey; price 50 cents.] OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, ‘We loved him well. or gay, or ssd, In radiant prose, or verse his meter, For when he smiled the world seemed glad, And love and life grew sweeter. Or did be si Then 8o did we, A sympathy so close did bind us In twinkling mirth his form we see And all out tears of him remind us. Perennial sunshine kept him sweet And nestled warm within him— No halo of & saint cffete, But beaven’s own shining in him. Then come, soft winds, and whispering tell The world’s refrain: we ioved him well. —Ellen Burns Sher: In New York Crizic. CAMPFIRE STORIES. Under this title a scries of sketches of the Union army in the Southwest is pub- lished, the author being Edward Ander- son, who, in the late war, was colonel of the Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Cavalry. The stories are such as have been toid at Grand Army campfires, and are a ming- ling of fun and pathos, comedy and tragedy. There are thirty-one stories in the volume of 203 pages, and the illustra- tions are numerous. [Chicago: Star Pub- lishing Company. Sold by booksellers; price 25 cents.] AFTER THE NIGHT HAD PASSED. Ada C. Halstead has written a love story, the principal scenes of which are laid in California, in the vicinity of Santa Bar- bara. It is one of those happy summer stories where everything comes in the end just the way the reader wants it; where vice is crushed after a season of seeming victories, ana virtue, having trodden a thorny path, at length reaches a throne and is blissfully triumphant. The author- ess Las woven into her story a description of a floral fete at Santa Barbara, and she proves herself to be quite thoronghly Cali- fornian in her love for the varied scenery of the Golden State. The story is illus- trated. [Chicago: Laird & Lee; price cents.] MEMOIRS OF A LITTLE GIRL. An excellent juvenile story is “The Memoirs of a Little Girl,”” by Mrs. Edward R. Johnes. It is replete with pleasing pic- tures of child’s play, and the girl’s view of the actions of her elders and of passing events generally are interesting and us- ing. The book is admirably well written. E ew York: Trans-Atlantic Publishing Company; price 75 cents. | SONGS FROM THE GREEK, This is a little volume of ‘‘translations” by Jane Minot Sedgwick. There are sixty P‘?l in the book and thirty songs. After ooking over a few of the songs one is forced to the painful conclusion that they Eloise | “OUR GREAT ICEBERG MELTING AWAY.” James Buchanan. 5 2= Sootee o e A Cartoon From the Presidential Campaign of 1860, in Which the Rising Sun of Abraham Lincoln Is Shown Melting the Coldness and Conservatism of have suffered in the “translation.” [New York: George H. Richmond & Co., pub- lishers.] LITERARY NOTES. In the palace of the Shahs of Persia at Teheran is a room hung with Gobelin tapestry, and next to it is the library, filled with priceless MSS. Of all the caligraphers Mir seems to be the most famous, and his writing is valued at 2 tumaris a line. At this rate the MSS. by him in the Shah’s possession must be worth millions of doilars. Messrs. Macmillan are to start in Lon- don a series of novels at a shilling, begin- ning with one by Theo Douglas entitled “A Bride Elect.” Jobhn Murray (London) has published another volume in the series relatifig to % College, London, which is to be published shortly by D. Appleton & Co. Two illustrated articles in the forthcom- ing number of the Century are ‘‘Sargent and His Painting,” with special reference | to Mr. Sargent’s work in the new Boston Public Library, and “Lights and Shadows | of the Aihambra,” written by Mrs. Pen- | nell, and with a great number of illustra- | tions by Joseph Pennell. work with the title “The Gentle | Shakespeare: A Vindication,” is being | published by the Roxburghe Press. The | author is John Pym Yeatman. One gath- | ers from a prospectus of the book that it | has been compiled from original sources, {and from manuscripts never before pub- | lished. These are described as giving a geneafogical history of the poet's family, | from the time of King Edward III, with | an account of the Arden and Griffin fami- | lies, with which he was connected. The | vindication is an attempt to rescue Shake- American women of the colonial and revo- | Speare’s ancestrv from the ‘“‘faise impres- | lutionary times. The subject of it istl?g;igrggffeigigl!s 9:n;:g§gt§;~;fr-a's A Dolly:é Maoison, the. wife of the Preft:|wipi;,mine Witt Hyds* o8 Bowdoin|dols dent of that name, and a woman of many | Jeye, to be published m the June Scrib- parts. She and ber times—Martha Wash- | ner’s, will give an insight into the intel- ington called her “My dear Dolly”—are | lectaal and spiritual side of the life of an written about by Mrs. Wilder Goodwin. | average college boy who is intensely inter- She belonged to a Virginia Quaker family, | and was a widow when Aaron Burr intro” | duced her to Madison. Some of the char- | acters who come into_the telling of the | story are Alexander Hamilton, Lafayette and Paul Jones, and indeed the personal note of the book all through is consider- ested, not only in the athletics, but also in ;he social and studious pursuits of his col- ege. Professor C. G. D. Roberts’ new book, “Earth’s Enigmas,”’ has gone through its first edition, and a second edition is now on the press of Lamson, Wolffe & Co. The able. J=as firm hasin press a ‘‘History of Can- The Wet Dog, “‘a paper tor people with | ada” and s'l’:ook of poems, “The Book of money to burn.”’ is the title of a new | the Native,” by the same author. weekly published by Dinsmore & Beal, | _Bret Harte is writing a serial for pub- Boston. *It barks alike at the just and |lication in an English periodical, and unjust, merely for amusement; it kicks up Henry James is writing a love story for funny antics and bites ail the unjust | the Illustrated London News. It will be- within easy reach.” | zinin July and run for thirteen weeks. The memoirs of Bertrand Barere are to | Mr- James has ready for press a new vol- be translated into English. Barere was | ume of stories, *'Embarrassments.” that notorious member of the committee |#!Lee’s vest-pocket ‘“‘Pointers for Busy of public safety who was called by | People” contains twenty thousand facts of Macaulay the greatest liar, debauchee, | Jmportance; the prominent events of his- coward and brute that ever lived. The | tory—area, population, location and rulers memoirs are said to show that Macaulay | Was Wrong. | The work, “Naval and Military | Trophies,”” which Nimmo is publishing in | London, will illustrate some remarkable personal relics. For instance William | Gibb's illustrations include the swords of | Oliver Cromwell, John Hampden, Captain | Cook, General Wolfe and the great Duke of Marlborough. Other drawings show the bullet that killed Nelson, ihe dirk he used as a midshipman, the cocked hatand | sword that he wore at the battle of St. | Vincent, and the maintruck of the French flagship L'Orient, blown up at the Nile. The plates will also repregent the scarf used tc lower the body of Sir John Moore | into his grave at Corunna and the sword | and scabbard found with the body of | Tippoo Sahib after Seringapatam. Neces- sary illustrations of several relics of the | Du{e of Wellington are given. | John Lane promises at an early date a | volume of verse which Dr. Garnett has | translated into English. Dr. Garnett's | volume consists of a hundred sonnets from Dante, Petrarch and Camoens. He ar- ranges the Dante and Petrarch verse on the | plan others have foillowed, but has had to | deal with that of Camoens without a prece- dent and so he groups it in what appears to be the most natural sequence. He dedi- | cates the volume to Professor Charles Eliot Norton, the well-known American scholar. | The New Bohemian has recently under- gone a change of ownership and its pres- ent managers wiueului;e and improve it until, they hope, it shall be a standard in quality as well as size. The May num- ber has been increased sixteen pages and as many more will be added to each issue | for several months. Two new departments | have been introduced—"The Passing Show” and “The Borders of Bohemia,” and more attention is also given to book reviews and periodical notices. A record, both comprehensive and accu- rate, of the world's progress during 189 is presented in ‘‘Appleton’s Annual Cyclo- pedia.” The contributions to science, the inventions in industry, the events affect- ing the well-being of nations, are chronicled with clearness and fairness. The annual, in short, is an epitome of progress; as such it_has come to be welcomed by all who wish to keep well informed. The last volume, just issued, joins the preceding ones in the series, adding to the vast store of human knowledge the busy and impor- tant record of 1895. H. 8. Stone & Co. of Chicago announce for publication enrli m June a story whose title is, ““The Boy Called Checkers, a Hard-luck Story.” Theauthor’s name is Henry M. Blossom Jr. Mr. Biossom, who is a 8t. Louis man, is known as the author of ‘‘The Documents in Evidence,” that clever little skit which was printed with such ingenuity of plan. The Stevenson fragment, to be published in the June 15 Chap-book, is entitled “A Walk in Carrick and Galloway.” Zola’s new volume, ‘“Rome,” is bein published by Macmillan & Co. The booE will be of interest to every student of re- llfiionu systems llFiVing an exceedingly minute account of the inner life of the heart of the Roman Catholic Church— the Papal court. Its dignitaries, their ideals ard ambitions are clearly pictured and re- ligious questions of the day are fully dis- cussed. But it is far more than a merely ‘‘religious novel”; itis a strong story of keen rivalries, sure to satisfy those who care more for human interest than the discussion of theories. Two Cardinals of the old and of the new_schools are eager for the tiara soon to slip from the head of Leo XIII. Young men show themselves either as the degenerate sons of old fam- ilies, or as the best hopes of young Italy. There is a soldier from Garbaldi’s’ army, a scheming deputy, and, among the other women in the story, two heroines, one at least young, both very beautiful. ‘“Ice Work, Present and Past,” is the title of an important new volume in the International Scientific Series b{JDr. T. G. Bonney, proifessor of geology at University of all nations—States of the Union, popula- tion, area, capitals and cities of more tnan 10,000 inhabitants—all the largest cities of the world, the great battles, chief rivers, lakes, mountains, etc., postal regulations, rules of order, constitution of the United States, lexicon of foreign, legal and tech- nical "terms, Australian ballot system, patent laws, telegraph cipher, etc. [Chi- cago: Price 25 Laird & Lee, pablishers. and 50 cents. | McClure’s” Magazine for June will con- tain a dramatic and descriptive story of a battle by Stephen Crane, the young author whose wonderful study of war from the standpoint of the private soldier, “The Red Badge of Courage,” isa literary suc- cess ufthe day. The story will be illus- trated by Taber, whose pictures of soldiers are always a good story in themselves. The same number will contain an early story by Rudyard Kipling, reprinted by special permission, and relating how Mowgli, the woli-child, introduced him- self into the society of white men; a rail- road story by Cy Warman, and a good in- staliment of Anthony Hope's new novel “Phbroso.” All will be fully illustrated— the Kipling story with eleven drawings by W. A. C. Pape, / NEW TO-DAY. Children whovibrate all through their grow- ing years between health and sickness, chfidren who are pale and peevish, thin and weak, children who never seem to grow right, whose develop- ment is retarded, whom food does not seem to nourish, should take Scott’s Emulsion of Cod-liver Oil and Hy- pophosphites. It con- tains vety essence of nourishment most needed when vitality is low. Consumptives {ind new hope in it and thin and emaciated adults always gain flesh and strength after taking it. It is a pleasant and valatable food.