UBRARY SCHOOL REESE LIBRARY OF THK I UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. DESCRIPTIV LIST OF BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG W : M. (iRISWOLl) CAMBRIDGE, MASS : W : M . GRISWOLD, Publishkh 1895. )oo >840 Cahun, L 430 Oallwell, F. M 950 Cameron, V. L 397 CampbeU, C. (C.) 2827 , H 4065, 4067 , T: 2425 Oarove 3855 OaiToU, L: 3935 Carryl, C: E 3937 Catlin, G: hl900 Cervantes 1012 Chambers, W: 268 Champlin, J: D., 30, 35, 2500, h2294. Champney, E.. (W.), 710, 1190, 1210, 1375, 2200, 2505;— h877, h967. Cheney, C. E h2295 Chesnez 961 Church, A. J:, 772, 817, 834, 1216, 1218. Clacy, E 846 Clarke, M.. (N.) 2396 Coffin, C: C, 1955, hl613, h2291, h2298. Coleridge, C. R 1125 Conant, H.. S 3100 Coolidge, S., 735, 3905, 4075, 4077 Cooper, Ja. F. Deerslayer hlOlO Last of :\rohicans hl047 Miles Wallingford hl770 Pathfinder hl020 Pilot hl400 Prau'ie hl658 Red Rover hl080 Spy hl425 Stories of Prairie hl659 Ta\^o Admirals 865 Wvandotte hl225 LIST OP AUTHORS. Ck)rbett, J 825 CoryeU, J: R 1016 Cowper, F 783, 819 , W: 2425 Cox, G. W 1273 , M. M 4085 , P 3498, 3501 Oraigin, L. T Ii2121 Crailv, D. M. (M.), 3702, 3899, 3900. Crake, A. D: 790 Crowninshield, M.. (B.), 120, 970, 1500. Dalton, W:, 500, 553, 585, 600, 670, 2220. Damon, W: E 3000 Dana, R: H:, 2d 4315 Dante 2450 D'Anvers, N h595 Dai-TV'in, C: Ro 25 Daunt, A 1470 Davis, M. E. M h2245 Day, L. B 3750 Defoe, D 341 De Liefde, J 1065 De Mille, Ja 1248 De Morgan, M 3715 De Witt 960m Diaz, A. M 4095 Dod, S. B 870 Dodge, M.. (M.), 1055, 1090, 4105 Douglas, Marian hl615 Doyle, A. C 857, 1014 Drake, S: A 1715 Drysdale, W: 2115 Du Chaillu, P 1333 Dumas, A. [D.] 3881 E., A. L. 460 Earle, A. M hl655 Edgar, J: E., 265, 722, 800, 837 Edgeworth, M 2350 Eggleston, E:, 3910, 4120;— li575, 1700, li2052. , G: C hl947 Enault, L 2905 Everett, W: 4130 Ewing, J. H. (G.) 891, 2825 Eyster, N. (B.) 4140, li630 Farjeon, B: L 393 Farrar, C. A. J 1505 , F: W 280, 881 Farrington, M. V 781 Ffenn, G: M 2240 Field, E. M 845 Fisher, A. B 2700, 2830 Fletcher, R. H 4150 Fouque, 935, 1332, 3850 Franklin, B: 225 Freeman, E: A: 788, 812 , J. E 818 French, H: W 575 Frith, H: 1232 Froissart 935 Garrison, W.-P 25 Gibbon, E: 812 Gibeme, A 858 Gibney, S 799 Gilliat, E 798, 808 Gillies, M 836 Gilman, A 1213, 2375 Goldsmith, 2350 Goodwin, M. W hi 653 Goss, W. L h2255, 2256 Gould, S. B 3725 ill LIST OF AUTHORS. Grant, Ja. , Bo. 1135 1475 Greenwood, G 2385, 2800 Greey, E: 605, 610, 615 Griffis, W: E 3755 Grimm, J. & W: 3775 H., H 4160 Hacklander, F: W: 3815 Hakliiyt h 590 Hale, E: E., 1000, 2340;— hl672 , L. P 1000, 4170 Hallowell, S.. C 4180, 4181 Hamlin, G 175 Hanson, C. H 780 HaiTis, J. C Ii2280 Hauff, W: 3738-3740 Hawtliorne, N., 250, 255, 1270, 1271;— I166O, 675, 695. Henslowe, J. E 855 Henty, G: A., 392, 394, 398, 403, 406, 407, 440, 465, 718, 771, 786, 787, 838, 849, 861, 867, 872, 874, 946, 955, 1020, lil065, 1075, 1076, 1224, 1365, 1373, 1374;— li570, 1065, 2260. Herbert, H: W: 809, 844 Herodotos 1278 Hi^ginson, T: W...h590, h2067 Hoare, E : 1073 Hoffmann, E. T. W: 3785 , F 1162, 3805 Holbrook, K 55 Holder, C: F: 1620, 2907 Holt, E 869 Homer 1273, 1280 Hope, A. R., 295, 310, hl680, 1850. Hoppin, A 4185 Howard, 0.0 4190 Howells, W: D., 315, 3950, b2103 Howitt, W: 809m Hughes, T: 4315 Hume, D : 812 Humplirey, F.. A 4192 Hunt, L 2450 Ingersoll, E 2820 Trying, W. Alhambra 1005 Crayon Miscellany .... 1004 Chronicle of Grenada . . 1008 Jak, 78, 80, 2750, 2751, 4195, 4200. James, G: P. R. . .832, 841, 854 Jamison, C. V 4360, 4365 Jewett, S.. 4210, 4215 Johnson, R 4225, 4230 Joinville 722 June, Jenny 135 Kellogg, W. L hl766 Kemble, F.. A 3800 Ker, D: 1360 Kingsley, C: Hereward 789 Heroes 1272 Waterbabies 3885 Westward Ho! 824 Kingston, W: H. G., 349, 350, 765, 873, 2226;— hl955. Kipling, R 3615 Kirkland, E.. S., 130, 131, 185, 925. Knight, C: 825s Knowles, J. T 778 iv LIST OF AUTHORS. Knox, T: Wallace, 380, 390, 395, 405, 415, 510, 550, 555, 705, 755, 898, 1200, 1300, 1350, 2100, 2205, 2258, 2345;— hl799. La Bedolliere, E. de 3640 Laboulaye, E: 3743 Lamartine, A. de 821 v Lamb, O: 1280, 2395 Lang, A 325 Lanier, Sidney 774, 779, 935 Leander, R: .' 3819, 3820 Leighton, Ro. . . .770, 799k, 1335 Lermontof 730 Lillie, L. C 4240 Lloyd, E 839 Longfellow 20, 2425 Loring, J. S hlOlO Lossing, B. J: 1800 Longhead, F. H 97 Lowell, J. R 2425 , Ro 4250 Lulvin, Ja 65, 70 Lummis, C: F 1680 Lyail, Edna 852 Lytton 786m, 1221, 1280 Mabie, H. W 1330 Macaulay, Lord 2425 , Ja 285 MaoDonald, G 3895 McDnff, J: R 1236 Mace, J: 47, 150, 151 Mackarness 60, 61 Malory, T: 779, 780 Manson, Gr: J 90 Markham, R: 4260 Mairyat, F:, 343, 344, 835, 862, 1465. Marsh, J. B 796 Marshall, E. (M.) 853 Mary-Lafon 776 Matthews, B 4270 , 3845 May, Sophie 4280, hl790 Mayhew, H 1127 Menzies, L. L. J 782 Merrill, G: W. 720 Mller, O. T. . . .2835, 2840, 4290 Milman, H. H 812 Molesworth, M. L 885, 962 Monroe, A. F 1705 Morris, E 95 Morrison, J. C 812 Munroe, K, 100, 114, h572, 1625, 1626;— h620. Musaens 3780 Musset, Paul de 3880, 3881 Napier 786p Nesbitt, M. L 200 Newhall, C. S 2810 Nichols, L. D 4300 Meritz, G 1160, 1162, 3870 Noble, L. A 1070 Noel, M 3115 Nordhoff, C: 105, 110, 2000 Norway, G 1320 Ober, F. A 400, 990, 2150 Ogden, Ruth hl750 Oliphant, 3Ia. O. (W.), 821, 847 Opie, A 2350 Optic, Oliver 4304-20 Otis, Ja 4330, 4335, 4340 Ourliac, E: 3881 Page, T: N h2250, h2275 Palgrave, F 812 , F. T 2430 LIST OF AUTHORS. Parton, Ja 270, 280 Patmore, C 2425 Peard, F. M 801, 805, 843 Peattie, E. W 1115 Pendleton, L: 4350 Perrault 3708 Petersen, M 3872, 3874 Pollard, A 1212 Porter, J 802 Pratt, M.. E 4375 Preston, H. W 1220 Pressense, E. (D.) de 962k Pulci 2450 Pyle, H., 795, 810, 1118, 3825, lil940. Rajii 3750 Easpe 3925 Rathbone, A.. (M.) 785k, 848 Eay, 1155 Ea\Tnond, E 4385 Reid, Mayne, 112, 380, 420, 833, li2056. Richards, L. E.., 2845, 3625, 4395 Richter 3795 Riddle, A. G Iil960 Rideing, W: H: 895, 1490 Ripley, A. P 851 Roberts, a E 2760 Robertson, T. C 812 Roe, A. S 4410 Romannt, C 345 Roscoe 812 Roiisselet 475 Ruskin 3865 Saintine 15 Sand, G: 3879 Scbwatka 385 Scott, Wa.: Betrothed 7951 Count Robert 715 Ivanhoe 794 Kenilworth 823 Redgamitlet 871 Tales of a grandfather. 111, 830. Talisman 792 Waverley 864 Woodstock 842 Scndder, H. E., 20, 22, 760, 1050, 1325, 1550, hl645, 2350, 3890. Seawell, M. E., hl420, hl800, hl945/ Sewell, E. M 812 Shakspere 750, 2395, 2400 Shaw, F. L 889 820 3720 3515 940 320 Shelley, M. W. (G.) Shelton, F. W. ... Sherman, F. D. . . Simms, W: G. ... Smiles, S : Smith, M. P. W., 1520, 4420-24, h2075. Soley, Ja. R 1803, 1900 Sophokles 1273 Soiithey, R 2425 Sp^Ti, J 980-85 Stables, G 353 StaiT, F: 2605 Steele, Ro 775 Stephens, C: A 1503 , Ja 812 Stevenson, E. 1 868 ,Ro. L: ....815, h965 Stewart, A 1276 vl LIST OF AUTHORS. Stockton, F. R: Beeman 3732 Floating Prince 3731 Jolly fellowship 1628 Personally conducted . . 740 Roundabout rambles • . . 17 Story of Viteau 03>0 Tales out of school 18 Tiug-a-ling 3730 Watchmaker 3733 Wliat mgt hav been . . . 4430 Stoddard, R: H: 3736 , W: O., 1570, 1685;— hl657, h2125, h2400, 4440. Stowe, H. (B.) 2805 Fncle Tom's cabin, see List of Romantic Nov- els, No. 995. Stuart, E 963 Swett, S 4450 Tanner, J: hl950 Tasso 4448-50 Taylor, 31 435 Thackeray 3737 Thanet 4460 Thomas, Martha M c - Cannon h2235 Thompson, M 45 Thornbiu-y, Wa 829 Tinseau 964 Todd, 0: B 1725 Tolstoi 1372 Towle, G: M., 355, 360, 365, 410, 825a. Treat, M.. S 3110 Trowbridge, J: T., 4470-96;— hl767, h2200. True, C. K h641 Tyrrell, H: 700 Vandergrift, Ma 3665 Verne, J 3930 Viollet-le-Duc 50 Walsh, W; S 2600 Warner, C; D h640 Watson, E. H 1244 , H: G hl677 , Lily 1145 Weir, Ja hl716 Wells, H. P 1504 Westall, W: 956 Wliipple, E. P 280 ^Tiitoomb, LP 2550 Whitney, A. D. (T.), 3005 4502-07 Wiggin, K.. D 4515-17 Wilbraham, F. M 814 WUkins, M.. E 4525 Williams, F 826-28 Wood, J: G: 2815 Woodman, C; H hl612 Wordswdrth 2425 Wright, H. C 305, 1710 , S. A 4535 Wys, J: R 342 Yonge, C. M.., 777, 806, 813, 816, 840, 859, 883, 1370, 3704. Young, A 1060 UNIV^J^SITY ' BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. GENERAL. CHATTERBOX. [Estes.] "The bound volume of an English weekly which has a large sale. It is not difficult to see why. The pictures ar not as a rule too good; the poems ar generally of a domestic character; there ar anecdotes of canine sagacity, short papers upon natural history, little moral tales, — even Boccaccio is called into service, — riddles, and bits of advice, the whole very cheap." [Atlantic. 5 LITTLE ONE'S ANNUAL. [Estes.] " An annual made of weekly issues, but less of a scrapbook than Chatterbox. It is of a hier order of art and literature. There is a brightness of appearance in the fair tjq^e and sketchy pictures which counts for a good deal in the attraction of the book." [Atlantic. 10 ST. NICHOLAS, Harper's Young People, and the older period- icals for children — ^TS^ideawake, Riverside, and Om* Young Folks — ar too wel known to require mention here. DAME NATURE AND HER THREE DAUGHTERS [by " X. B. Saintine," i. e., Jo. X. Boniface: Houghton, 18G9] 'Ms a book which shos much aptitude for interesting and instructing the young. No parent need be at hand when his bright boy or girl is reading it, for it expounds itself and holds fast the reader, who thinks he is told the most channing stories when he is really listening to lectures on the origin of common things, like cotton-thread, silk, sugar, pasteboard, etc., all «f which is evolvd out of a dispute in the game of guessing — arising from that very important first ques- tion, 'Is it animal? Is it vegetable? Is it mineral?' Grand- papa's conversation abounds in humor and tender sentiment, and the little folks' responses ar wonderfully natural." [Nation. 15 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. EOUNDABOUT RA^IBLES in Lands of Fact and Fancy [by Fr. E: Stockton: Scribner, 1872] "is the best book for children we hav had the pleasui'e of reading in a long time. There is a collection of illustrations, and a short story, varying from a page and a half to several pages in length, fitted to each one. All the stories ar told so apparently 'con amore' that it seems as if the authoi'f must hav had a hand in choosing his subjects. ]Mr. Stockton has an unusual combination of qualifications for tell- ing stories to the young. He not only narrates with spirit, but with an excellent perception of what is interesting from a child's point of vue. . . Many stories illustiute this trait, but none better than ' Building Ships.' No natural boy with the least turn for a boat or for tools could read that simple description of how to construct a toy vessel, without a glo and a desire to get to work. Another qualification is the author's sense of responsibility — a trait which in lively story-tellersi is so frequently and sadly lacking. Perhaps it is simply instinctiv good judgment and refined moral feeling, and not a distinct intention of quietly encom-aging what is good, and as quietly suppressing or turning aside what is ruf or coarse or sentimental in the thot of the juvenile audience; but it sounds very thotful and paternal. . . One story alone, * Going after the Cows,' wil perhaps be relished rather more by the elders than the little boys whom it describes; but it is really a gem of its kind, and we would on no account spare it. The author seems to betray a Pennsylvania origin or training, not more by his Quaker -like gentleness of spirit than by his persistent use of wil in place of shal, and by several other peculiarities, more or less failings of the Keystone State. ' Little Bridget's Bait ' 6t to be mentioned as an exceedingly nice speci- men of innocent fairy-story," [Nation. 17 TALES OUT OF SCHOOL [by Fr. K: Stockton: Scribner, 1875] "wil be sufQciently described and commended when we say that it is another ' Roundabout Rambles.' It is an inexhaustible fund of amusement and instruction. A Itired teacher, armed with it, might convert a dul day into a perfectly delightful sea- son." [Nation. 18 THE BODLEYS TELLING STORIES, [by Horace Elisha Scud- der: Houghton, 187G.] " These stories wil find an attentiv audience. GENERAL.. / These embrace some account of historic buildings in Boston, sketches of Joseph Warren and Patrick Henry, the Goffe and Whalley legend, the life of Andersen, an abstract of ' Evangeline,' a glance at the mysteries of tyjje-setting and stereotyping, a sugges- tion of the charms of Hyannis, and kindred matters." [Nation.] — " It is a curious medley, but it wil delight the young folk of either sex, and wil introduce them agreeably to several branches of learn- ing which ar apt to be distasteful at the start. It consists of leg- end, romance and poetry, — old songs and music, — adaptations of Mother Goose; negro fables in dialect; descriptions of Arab street- life in New York; an animated account of the invention of the art of printing; ballads, anecdotes and allegories. All these varied contents ar ingeniously woven into a narrativ of the doings of the Bodley family from day to day, and :Mr. Scudder manages his story-telling so wel that nothing appears to be lugged in for pur- poses of instruction, but each new thing is the natural outgrowth of some incident or conversation. The illustrations ar as various and almost as entertaining as the reading-matter." [Appleton's. 20 THE BODLEYS AFOOT, [by H. E. Scudder: Osgood, 1879.] " The young Bodleys ar unfailingly real, and they ar always set about something delightful. Not all of them ar afoot this time; in fact it is only Nathan who walks to Hartford with his cousin Ned. The great sensation of the book is Martin's marvelous brother Hen, who looms from the other side of the world, choke- full of hau'-breadth escapes and all manner of adventures by land and by sea. Few ar the events in which Hen has had no part; few the bhds and beasts he has not seen; few the queer and fas- cinating things he cannot do. What Nathan hears is much more than what he sees, for at every interesting point of his journey somebody starts with the story of the locality. It is, fortunately, nearly always a story of the Redmen, and the colonial annals ar thus turned over to charming purpos. Throughout the book, if any curious or remarkable thing is mentioned, as a song or an adventure of any kind, Mr. Scudder satisfies the excursiv instinct of children by bringing it in, and once in it has its own fitness. He does this with entire boldness, and with an imaginable wink to the older reader. Mr. Scudder makes his Bodleys as interesting as any- thing they hear; and there is some verv fresh material treated BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. with uncommon cleverness in tlie sketches of those old-fashioned Hartford people, the kinsfolk of the Bodleys, which we commend to all who like New England life." [Atlantic. 22 WHAT MR DARWIN SAW [by Wendell-Phillips Garrison: Harper, 1880] is an " admirably arranged selection from Darwin's voyages. It has been this very judicious editor's idea to tel stories of animals, men, localities, and nature in the language of the great naturalist, and he has found that this addi'esses itself as clearly and charmingly to the young as to the old. It is a book of ex- tracts from Darwin's Voyage round the World, and these ar given with the least possible— and it is extremely little — modification or rearrangement. The accounts of wild animals fitly come first; those of wild men folio; and geography and abstracter natural history, meteorology, etc., ar delightfully insinuated in then' order. Some pages ar added giving biographical sketches of the notable persons named in the extracts ; there ar good maps, and an abund- ance of excellent illustrations. We commend the book heartily for the wisdom of its conception and its thoro acceptability. One could hardly choose a book for an intelligent boy which would more successfully appeal to his love of nature, or more pleasingly acquaint him with the great master in the literature of science." [Atlantic. . 25 THE YOUNG FOLKS' CYCLOPAEDIA OF COMMON THINGS, [by J: D. Champlin: Holt, 1879.] " How many questions you young folks ask of older ones every day! Some of these the old folks answer; but sometimes they ar too busy, and sometimes they don't kno. And how many questions you would like to ask that you never do ask, for fear of being troublesome! Now, if you hav one of these cyclopaedias, instead of asking questions you look in your book and there is your answer. A cyclopaedia, you kno, does not merely giv definitions, like a dictionary. It tels a good deal about everything which it mentions at all. For instance, if a boy wishes to kno about bees, he can turn to the word ' Bee ' in the cyclopaedia and find out all about their habits and food. A girl hears a good deal about the telephone, but does not understand what it is. She will find it described in this cyclopaedia in language which she can comprehend. The book is in one volume, and is of a convenient size to keep on your book- AMUSBJCENTS AND OCCUPATIONS. shelvs at home, or to take to school with you. It does not in- clude history, but is full of interesting facts, and contains niuner- ous pictui'es which help to make the meaning plain. It is printed in clear, distinct type, on good paper." [St. Nicholas. 30 AMUSEMENTS AND OCCUPATIONS. THE YOUNG FOLKS' CYCLOPAEDIA OF GAMES AND SPORTS, [by J: D. Champlin: Holt, 1890.] "If happiness de- pends upon games — and they hav doubtless something to do with it — the young people of the present day 6t to be happier than any of their predecessors; for in this book they can learn something about every game known to civilized life, and certainly no such collection has ever appeared before. Moreover, the natm'al tend- ency of boys, when not engaged in activ out-door exercise, to test the various forces of nature, is fostered by a number of chemical and mechanical experiments, which it is to be hoped ar not as dangerous as they look. The account of whist gives all the recent additions to the ' American leads ' now so generally adopted." [Nation. 35 WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT. [by Daniel Carter Beard: Scribner, 1882.] "There is hardly one of the familiar sports and amusements of boys, 12 years and upwards, which is not here explained and described. These and many which ar un- familiar ar noticed under the headings of the seasons to which they ar most appropriate. There is a long chapter on kites which might instruct even the Chinese ; and one on ' Knots, Bends, and Hitches,' which, with that on ' Rigging and Sailing of Small Boats,' forms the best two in the book. That on ' How to Camp without a Tent ' has a good many useful hints. . . There is an excellent chapter on taxidermy, and one on sleighs and sno-shoes; and the book concludes with a list of indoor amusements." [Nation. 40 THE BOYS' BOOK OF SPORTS, [ed. by Maurice Thompson: Centmy Co., 188G.] "Few books ar better fitted to awaken in boys a healthy impulse for out-door life. It opens with a tale of ' Marvin and his Boy Hunters,' in which Instruction in the use of fire-arms is very sldlfully and entertainingly given. This is fol- loed by chapters on archery, fishing, boat-building and sailing. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. camping, swimming, photograpliing, etc., and ending with, a capi- tal account of base-ball, in which the science of effectiv pitching is taut. These ar by different writers, as C: L. Norton, D. C. Beard, and W: L. Alden, who uniformly sho gTeat cleverness in their explanations and du^ections; those on boat-building and ice- sailing especially being models of accurate and simple description. The illustrations ar all admu'able." [Nation. 45 GR.VND-PAPA'S AEITHMETIC, a Story of two Little Apple Merchants, [by Jean Mace : N. Y., Wynkoop, 1868.] " We kno no children's books which ar so unique as those of Mace, in whose 'History of a Mouthful of Bread,' the chemistry of food was made as charming as a fairy tale. The present volume is equally delightful, with a fairy-like element, shoing how a wise little girl, in the wonderful time of Long Ago, taut her little brothers, Save-all and Scatter, who sold the most mai'velous of all apples for the invariable price of eight tocai's each, the mysteries of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, not forgetting fractions. This may seem a very common and dul thing to do, but it is neither dul nor common to our author, who enters upon his task with the feelings of a chUd and a poet." [The Al- bion. * 47 LEARNING TO DRAW, [by Viollet-le-Duc : Putnam, 1880.] " The first pages, which ar quite level with the childish comprehen- sion, alone make the book worth buying; but there ar many pas- sages and pages, if not chapters, scattered throu the volume which the youthful reader could profit by without an instructor. Frag- ments of Mr. Majorin's discourse with Jean about geometry, per- spectiv, comparativ anatomy, geolog}^, contour levels, the Alps, Pompeii, etc., wil interest any boy or girl, whUe the varied and skilful illustrations wil pique curiosity or teach direct lessons of truth and beauty." [Nation, 50 HOW? [by Kennedy Holbrook: Worthington, 1886.] "Much may here be learned about the making of toys, boats, cars, baskets, whirligigs, blo-pipes, cornstalk fiddles, compasses, birds, snakes, leather work, portraits, windmUls, stencUs, telescopes, circles, pano- ramas, etc., etc.; with information about divers art processes, in- chiding photography, about the keeping of aquaria, the arrange- ment of conjuror's tries and of certain physical experiments." [Nation. 6 55 AMUSEMENTS AND OCCUPATIONS. WAYS FOE BOYS [Lothrop, 1887] '' tels youngsters in a concise but clear way, aided by diagrams, how to make Idtes, tents, men- ageries, boats and sno-shoes. There ar also simple instructions for walking, skating, and tree culture — this last chapter being the most useful in the book." [Nation. 60 THE BOY ENGINEERS [by Ja. Lukin: London, 1877; Putnam, 1878] " deals with the mystery of the lathe, and stimulates the inventiv faculty by shoing how two lads made shift with a contriv- ance which seems very antiquated beside the kon lathes now made for boys at a wonderfully lo price. The instruction is here thrown into the form of a story, which relieves it of much of its dryness. These heroes of the workshop make M'^ooden does with automaton figures, an organ, a house, presently a steam-engine; indulge in wood-carAdng; and finish with some experiments in electricity. Not every boy can profit by this book, but where nativ aptitude is present it wil be found useful." [Nation. 65 THE YOUNG MECHANIC [by J a. Lukin, London; Putnam, 1871] " does not fall behind its pretensions, and may be recom- mended without reserv. Its directions ar simple and perspicuous, by one who evidently knoes how to do what he describes; and if careful adherence to them could be insured, it is probable that a much greater nimiber of l)oyish experiences in carpentry and joinery would bear fruit and determin future training than now do for want of just this disciplin." [Nation. 70 LONG LOOK HOUSE [by E: Abbott: Boston, Noyes, 1876] "is addressed to boys from 8 to 12. It begins at the very beginning of the House — its planning — and reaches the final moving into it of the family; not an inch of the process is slurred over. Materials and staking out fil each a chapter ; next we hav plumbing, heating apparatus, etc. The subject in each case, except liting by gas and waterworks, is elucidated in conversations with (or at) Max, aged six, who is the most attentiv child we ever met. His father often talks for pages A\ithout interruption on the boy's part, and, in fact, the dramatic part of the story goes for nothing. Thotful boys of enquiring minds 6t to enjoy the details of house-building, whicli ar clearly and sunply described." [Nation. 75 THE FITCH CLUB, [by " Jak," i. e., Annie Bowles Williams: CroweU, 1885.] " Mr. Fitch, the carpenter, is the hopeful friend BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. of the lads, allowing work to be done in his shop, organizing the Club which sets them all to doing something, and arranging the platform where they can hav then' lectures. The young people hav a printed paper, and the stories, dialogs, and other compositions ar too natural not to be genuin. The tone is ex- cellent, the language is excellent and the story is short." [Bos- ton '• Lit. World." 78 PKOFESSOR JOHNNY, [by " Jak," i. e., Annie Bowles Wil- liams : Crowell, 1887.] " This writer is sensible, and has struc a good line of work. This little book has to do with experiments in physics, and employs the usual apparatus of boys and gh'ls and their elders." [Atlantic. 80 OATS OR WILD OATS? [by J. M. Buckley: Harper, 1885.] " A survey is attempted of various professions and occupations from farmer to dentist, and advice is given on the choice to be made, as also upon various other subjects of conduct. The multiplicity of subjects saves the writer from being tedious on any one of them, but the common-sense and commonplace ar pretty interchange- able." [Atlantic. 85 EEADY FOR BUSINESS [by G: J. Manson: Phil'a, Penn Pub. Co., 1889] " is designed to giv young men some idea of the leading professions, of the special qualities required for success in them, and the course of study necessary for learning them . . the author treats the electrical engineer, the chemist, the architect, the banker, the broker, the sea-captain, and many others, as wel as of the older ' learned professions.' " [Critic. 90 FARMING FOR BOYS [by Edmund Morris (1804-74): Ticknor, 1868] " is very pleasant reading, if understood to be a romance ; it would be a good book for general cu'culation, containing many valuable hints, and lilcely to help and teach country boys and gu'ls that their lives need not be all drudgery. Boys and girls, of course, must be entertained, and they like stories, like to dream of making money and doing all sorts of hard work if they ar to gro suddenly rich by it; and as a stimulus to their imagination this kind of agricultural pap may be nourishing and excusable." [Nation. * 95 THE ABANDONED CLAIM [by Flora Haines Longhead: Houghton, 1891] "tels of three children of a San Francisco me- AMUSEMENTS AND OCCUPATIONS. chanic, suddenly thrown upon theii' own resources, who decide to take up Government land for a home. Their farming exper- iences ai' wel related, and make an interesting story, albeit things really run a little too smooth for probability. The tone isf serious without being dul." [Nation. 97 UNDEK ORDERS, the Story of a Young Reporter, [by Kirk Munroe : l*utnams, 1891.] " ]VIi\ Mum'oe's reporter has this advant- age over some in life, that his destiny is arranged for in advance, and is sure to be a fortunate one; but then he was gifted with pluc, and the snobbishness with which he set out in activ life was only skin-deep. The story lets the reader into the language of the reporter's business, and is no more misleading than is any narrativ of activ life wherein the writer selects character and cir- cumstance; but we suspect that the young collegian who takes it for his guide-book will exhaust its capacity for instruction or inspiration pretty rapidly." [Atlantic. 100 MAN-OF-WAR LIFE [by C: Nordhoff: 1855,— new ed., Dodd, 188o] " is a graphic picture of a bygone time. In 1855 it was stil true enuf to the life, tho the events recorded occurred some 10 years earlier. It is now history, and at every succeeding decade its value wil be found to liav increased instead of diminished. . . The book is a good antidote for an unreasoning desu'e to 'go to sea,.' At the same time it wil gratify harmless curiosity about life afloat, describing technical matters with great clearness." [Nation. 1 05 THE MERCHANT VESSEL [by C: Nordhoff: Dodd, 1884] 'Ms a gi-aphic, ti'uthful, and most interesting account of the author's experiences as a sailor." [Nation. 110 THE STORY OP .TACK HAL- 'Tales of my Grandfather,' and YARD the Sailor Boy. [Designed for ' .Tack Halyard.' Wherever I hav American children by W: S. Cardell. found a person — man or woman — .30th ed.. by M. T. Leavenworth: who had access to these books at Phil'a, Uriah Hunt, 183-3.] " If I wer the age of 10 or 12, I hav heard that asked how the general education of they wer all read throu with in- our people could be most advanced tense delight, not only read, but at a slight cost and trouble, I should read over and over again, when no say, supply every child with copies other books possessed an equal at- of ' Robinson Crusoe,' ' The Swiss traction or gave equal pleasure. Family Robinson,' the Fairy Tales, And in many of these cases I hav ' The Arabian Nights,' Scott's heard that this reading exercised a BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. very important influence upon the habits and tastes of the individual, and gave a fondness for study, after they had been loolied upon as hope- less dullards by schoolmates and parents. The wonderful romances gave the first impulse to their think- ing faculties, enchanted their imagi- nations, taut them the meaning of many words seldom used in ordin- ary conversation, familiarized them with fine literary styles, gave them a hi idea of the pleasure to be de- rived from reading, and in fine, laid the foundation for all their subse- quent intellectual cultivation. Giv a child these books, and if he hav any capacity, he wil not thereafter wait til books ar brot, but wil hunt for them and thus educate him- self." [Hesperian, 1863. Ill RAN AWAY TO SEA. [by [T:] Mayne Reid: Ticknor, 1858.] " Had we a son at school, of vaga- bondish propensities and daring withal, we should take an early op- portunity of slipping this volume into his hand. It is written clev- erly euuf, but in the intensest melo- dramatic style. The young hero is supposed to hav done what the title indicates, and to hav caut a terrible Tartar for his pains. He elopes from the neborhood of a sea- port in the West of England, and ships on board a vessel which turns out to be a slaver. The bru- tality into which he is plimged is almost sickening, nor ar the scenes on the coast of Africa, the chase by a man-of-war cruiser, the ' middle ' passage, the burning of the slaver, and the escape on the raft, less tliicly studded with horrors." [Al- bion. 112 DORYMATES. [by Kirk Munroe: Harper, 1889.] " Few callings excel that of deep-sea fishermen in its varied dangers and hardships. These ar most graphically described in this book. ' Breeze ' McCloud, a very winning lad, courageous and unselfish, is picked up at sea by a Gloucester fishing schooner when an infant, and adopted by the captain. As soon as he is old enuf, he ships for a cruise for early mackerel off Cape Hatteras. During the next few months one adventure felloes another in rapid succession, bringing in almost all the misfortunes which could befall a fisherman. Several times he goes adrift in a dory,' is lost in the fog, caut by the ice, imprisoned in an iceberg, seized by an octopus, as well as kidnapped and shipwrecked." [Nation. 114 THE CRUISE OF THE GHOST [by W: L. Alden: Harper, 1881] "is a most delightful, exciting, plausible, and intoxicating little book, and those lads who hav a love of the water and of boats wil regret that it is not continued in the same vein throu an unlimited number of volumes." [Nation. 115 PLUCKY SMALLS [by M.. (Bradford) Crowninshield : Lotlu'op, 1889] " givs a capital description of the life of an apprentice on board of a man-of-war [? not a school-ship like those maintained by the states of Mass. and N. Y.?— W: M. G.]. The hero is a wharf-rat who givs an account of himself and his adventures in a natural and modest w^ay, which makes him a very attractiv and interesting little character." [Nation. 120 10 AMUSEMENTS AND OCCUPATIONS. THE AMERICAN GIRL'S HANDY BOOK, [by Adelia Bell Beard and M.. Caroline Beard: Scribner, 1887.] "It would be hard to find a better gift for a girl fond of using her fingers and pleasing her friends than this book. It covers some of the ground of the 'American GMs' Home-book of Work and Play/ but is superior to tliat in respect of the novelty and variety of information given as to making fancy and useful articles. The chJipters on 'Furniture, Old and New,' and on 'Seaside Cottage Decoration,' ar especially charming. Tlie authors must be among the most ingenious of then- sex. Their instructions ar clear, and accompan- ied by a great many excellent illustrations, which at once embel- lish tlie text and aid much the reader's comprehension. We also find suggestions for pastimes and pleasures for every season of the year, and some of the games described embody unusual novelty. The hints given for Thanksgiving and Christmas merriment ar capital. Then, too, the different kinds of topics ar nicely inter- mingled, so tliat Aveariness is avoided." [Nation. 125 SIX LITTLE COOKS, [by E.. Stansbury Kirkland: Cliicago, McClurg, 1877.] "We ar introduced to a household of cousins whom an Aunt Jane inspires with an almost fatiguing zeal for learning how to cook. ... A praiseworthy versatility enables the author to keep up the form and the interest of a story, and now by a picnic, or again by a bu-thday, or unexpected company, or the cook's holiday, or the mistress's ilness, to furnish a pretext for the intervention of the 'little cooks.' The conversations ar natural and sprightly, and Aunt Jane's directions plain, practical, and altogether excellent." [Nation. 130 DORA'S HOUSEKEEPING. [Chicago, McClurg, 1877.] "A cook-book with a sequel is an unquestionable novelty, but our readers may remember that ' Six Little Cooks ' dealt almost ex- clusivly with the liter products of the kitchen, such as rolls, cakes, pastry, jellies, etc. Evidently this was a one-sided training for the future American mistress, and breakfast and dinner stil loomd portentously with their soups, meats, vegetables and made-dishes. With a versatility which does her great credit, the author invents an emergency which places Miss Dora in her absent mother's place for several months, and then her ant steps in and guides 11 OF THE !W1VERSITY OF BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. lier throu a labyrinth, of raw and incompetent and fuj^itiv ' help,' and lends her tliat inexhaustible receipt-book which the ' Six Little C5ooks ' wer allowed to draw from so freely. The story does not flag- either, and is enlivened with some good character-sketching. The housewifely advice is sound, sensible, and civilized. We cor- dially recommend these two books as containing almost the whole gospel of domestic economy, and really calculated to instruct yoimg housekeepers in the best principles and practice." [Nation. 131 THROWN U1»0N HER OTV^ RESOURCES [by " Jenny June," i. e., J.. (Cunningham) Croly: Crowell, 18D1] "is a book to tel what girls can do if obliged to earn their living. The chapters ar called ' The I'oint of View,' ' How to Work Exactly,' ' Business Methods,' ' Motiv Tower in Work,' and so on.'' [Critic. 185 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. THE HISTORY OF A MOUTHFUL OF BREAD [by Jean Mace : Paris, 18(51, — N. Y., Wynkoop, 18(58] " is a series of letters to a child on the nature and functions of the digestiv apparatus, is not only thoroly wel adapted to the comprehension of any ordin- arily intelligent child of 10 or 12 — the facts ar so aptly illustrated, so delightfully told that they cannot fail to be interesting. . . The child who has studied it nnderstandingiy wil not only hav been taut the components of his blood, the action of his heart and lungs, and the functions of his digestiv tube, but wil also leain to look at nature with the eyes of a naturalist — to find brothers in all animate things, to si)eculate curiously on the degrees of affinit>' between himself and an earth-worm." [Nation. 150 THE LITTLE KINGDOM ; or the Servants of the Stomach [by Jean Mace: London, Saunders, 18G7] " consists of familiar lectures on the physiology of human and other animal life. The author givs a pretty complete and accurate description of those parts of the body, such as brain and nervs, muscles and bones, and the different organs of sensation, which act more or less under the control of the wil, and may, therefore, be said to constitute a ' little king- dom,' the pupil to whom he is talking, an intelligent girl of 12, being bailed as the queen of this 'little kingdom.' In his former treatis, Mr. Mace described a 'little republic,' consisting of the 12 BEHAVIOR AND LANGUAGE. stoinacli, with the liver and all the digestiv apparatus, — ^the heart and lungs, the veins and arteries, with the whole process of the circulation of the blood, and the continual waste and repair of all the tissues'of the body ; these topics being included in the ' history ' of a morsel of food after it has been swalloed." [Illus. London News. 151 BEHAVIOR AND LANGUAGE. CHATS [by G. Hamlin: Lee, 1881] " ar really little sermons or lectures, incorporated in pleasant, sprightly talks, with sometimes a chapter which is scarcely anything but an essay, and occasionally a story or fantasy to vary the seriousness. The wisdom inculcated is of various kinds, hygienic, social, moral, educational, etc.; and our young folks need it all, and would be the better for reading so sensible a little book. Once in a while the author's opinions seem too positiv in regard to trifles, but in general every dictum is admirable. The chapter, for instance, called ' Brain or Stomach ' abounds in common sense. ' Judging in haste,' ' Preparing to be old,' ' She would be a poetess,' ar the titles of some of the topics discussed. The book has been written in a very earnest spirit and cannot fail to do good." [Nation. 175 NOTES FOR BOYS [:\IcClurg, 1887] " treats a great variety of topics, from unselfishness, truth and honesty, to the choice of a profession and marriage, in a straitforward, wholesome way, Avhich impresses one both with his good sense and with his clear comprehension of the temptations and dangers besetting a boy on his entrance to business life. All subjects ar treated from the standjjoint of an Englishman of the middle class who desires his son to be successful, not in the ordinary meaning of the word, but in the making the best use of his opportunities, both for LJm- self and for those about him. In the matter of sports, cricket is put first; while of football he says ' I do not think liily; the Rugby game is especially brutal,' in which judgment we heartily agree with him." [Nation. 180 SPEECH AND MANNERS [by E.. Stansbury Kirkland: Mc- Clurg, 1883] "is an excellent little treatis, and the author very skilfully sugars the instruction-pil. JMany common errors of speech ar brot to ligLt and dwelt upon forcibly, and many defects 13 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. in manners, more especially those whicli children ar apt to sho, ar clearly pointed out. The necessity of habit in order to speak correctly, and of unselfish consideration for others in order to act courteously, ar strongly insisted on. Good suggestions ar mad(i with reference to composition and letter-writing. The book is an admirable one for mothers to read aloud to their children." [Na- tion.] — " We notice the omission of one objectionable phrase, — ^the use of ' up ' in unnecessary connection with verbs, as ' ate up.' " [Atlantic. ^ 185 GRAMMAR-LAND [by M. L. Nesbitt: Holt, 1878] " givs an almost ideal dramatization of a dry and, for children, dishearten- ing study. It does not go very far. Judge Grammar examins all the impersonated parts of speech in turn, and makes them declare by what sign they can be detected; the youthful reader gets a glimpse of conjugation, a fragment of syntax, and all the rest is pure fun and enjojanent. The humor is wel sustained throughout, and Dr. ^^erb, Mr. Adjective, Mr. Adverb, etc., talk always in char- acter. Since the author can point to the success of her ' jeu d'es- prit ' as a text-book, we recommend it for the same purpos and heartUy. Perhaps, however, those A^iio hav learned the rudiments by the old method wil most delight in this new departure. Of course, also, it can be pleasurably read without thot of self-im- provement." [Nation. 200 BIOGRATHY. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF B: FRANKLIN [Nugget ed.— Putnam, 1889] " is one of the books whose salt never loses its savor. Few books written since the printing-press came into use hav done so much to keep the world morally and intellectually fresh. Its morality is of the soundest. If the famous old philosopher had little or no faith in Revelation, he yet regarded the practical teachings of Christianity as worthy of all acceptation and was a true Christian in his love of right, his feeling of human brother- hood, and his inveterate 'hate of hate' and love of wisdom and peace. The story of his earthly pilgrimage is a tale of wonder, whicli loses nothing in the telling; it is a tale 99 times told, which cannot be told too often . . . never wer subject-matter and style so perfectly adapted one to the other as in this mind-molding book. 14 BIOGRAPHY. There is liardly a tale in ' The Arabian Nights ' so fascinating as this story of the boy who, beginning as candle-malver and i^rinter's apprentice, came to be the organizer of a new republic and the darling of a dying monarchy," [Critic. 225 See also Bajard (940, 941), Wallace (803), Gama (355), ^lagellan (360), Cortez (2220), Mary of Scotland (821v), Drake (365), Sidney (825), Capt. Smith (640-641), Lady Russell (853a), Mrs. J: Adams (after 2205), Washington (same), Boone (same), Hodson (485), etc. BIOGRAPHICAL STORIES FOR CHILDREN [by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Boston, Tappan, 1843] "contains wel told and inter- esting stories of West, Newton, Dr. Johnson, Cromwell, Franldin, and Queen Christina." [So. Lit. Messenger. 250 TRUE STORIES FROM HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY, [by Nathaniel Hawthorne : Ticknor, 1850,] " A man who can write wel for children deservs to be listened to by anybody, and fathers and mothers wil find themselvs looking over the sholders of the little folk upon these sunple and delightful pages. Sincerity is never thrown away, and children learn by instinct its force in a book. These stories ar tried favorites. The volume includes the whole of Grandfather's Chau' — a piece of old oaken furniture which passes from house to house and oner to oner, connecting in a cheerful way the ^^liole of New England history, from the settle- ment of Plymouth to the close of the Revolutionary war. A gen- uin book, in a true spirit," [Literary World, 255 LITTLE PRINCES: Anecdotes of Illustrious Children of All Ages and Countries [by ( — ) Slater: Cundall, 1843] "is a collection of the current anecdotes of illustrious children, and of some drawn from rarer sources of reading; which may cultivate generous and amiable thots in children of every rank." [Exam- iner. , 260 NOBLE DAMES OF ANCIENT STORY [by J: E. Edgar: Hogg, 1864] "begins with the marriage of Isabel the Fair and Edward II. in 1308, and closes the book with the death of the duchess of Orleans, in 1848. The story of ' Isabel the Fair ' is folloed by ' Philippa of Hainault ' — a life of great interest and full of romantic incident." [Reader. 265 15 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. STORIES OF REMiVEKABLE PERSONS [bv W: Chambers: Chambers, 1878] " is entertainingly written ; it combines with its moralizing ninch valuable biographical information, some of which is very curious; we ar given the history of that Scotch lord, of whom we hav heard the legend, who found his life-work in sharpening razors, and who made his tailor wear his new clothes until they wer fitted to his form before he would don them himself ; the career of De Lesseps givs occasion for a general description of the Suez Canal, and in the story of the Herschels we get the history of early telescope manufacture. Interesting to our public, particularly, ar the careers of A. T. Stewart, the Astors, Horace Greeley, and the Jubilee Singers, to which, perhaps, 6t to be added the story of the Lord Gordon of Erie notoriety. This is especially, of course, a book for boys, to whom it wil be commended by its excellent typography; but the elders wil find amusement and instruction in it as wel. The most noted of the persons whose lives it tels, whom we hav not mentioned, ar the Wordsworths, the Fairbairns, Lord Eldon, M.. Somer^ille, and Desmoulins." [Nation. 268 CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY, [by James Parton: Houghton, 1884.] " Many of the sketches ar reviews of current lives, such as the lives of E: Coles, Myron Holley, Gerrit Smith, P: Burnett's Autobiography, the lives of Greeley and Bennett, of T: Edward, Robert Dick, and J: Duncan. Mr. Barton's style is as wel calcu- lated to interest the young as their elders, and what he offers is wholesome reading." [Nation. 270 HISTORIC BOYS, [by E. S. Brooks: Putnam, 1885.] "The author's style is too ambitious and is marred by archaic affecta- tions." [Nation. 275 SOME NOTED PRINCES [by Ja. Parton et al.: Crowell, 1885] " consists of 50 sketches. Tho ostensibly written for the young, we ar inclined to think that these essays may be read with even greater pleasure by the old. Some of them, especially those by E. P. Whipple on the college days of Macaulay, Prescott, Choate, and C: Kingsley, ar above the heads of all but the most thotful of young readers. Canon Farrar writes pleasantly of dean Stanley 16 BIOGRAPHY. and Westminster Abbey and of Disraeli. Especially interesting is the account of A^ictor Hii^io's homes. ' Tea with Carlyle ' is a capital bit of descriptiv writing. The accounts of the royal fam- ilies of England, Denmark and Ravaria ar entertaining. The best paper is on ' Dickens with his children,' by his dauter." [Nation. 280 STIRRING STORIES OF PEACE AND WAR [by Ja. Macau- lay : Hodder, 1885] " is an excellent selection of the most animat- ing incidents in history from Gustav Vasa's days to those of Gor- don. Of course the author goes over familiar ground; but to such stoc subjects as the conquest of Mexico and the escape of Charles II., some less known occurrences of a more modern date hav been added, which wil be new to most people." [Athenaeum. 28.") YOliNG DAYS OF AUTHORS [by A. R. Hope [IMoncrieff] : Hogg, 1885] " describes the youthful days of the young Chouan heroes, of Heine, Basil Hall, Alfieri, W: Hutton, of Mrs. Grant of Laggan (whose American u|)bringing is here recorded), and of Andersen, make a sufficiently diversified field which is wel worked by the author." [Athenaeum. 295 CHIV^VLRIC DAYS [by E. S. Brooks: Blackie, 1887] ''narrates ' stories of courtesy and courage in the olden times ' — stories of much interest, but spoilt in the telling. The style is long-winded, elaborate, and over-full of moralizing." [Athenaeum. 300 CHILDREN'S STORIES OF THE GREAT SCIENTISTS, [by Henrietta Christian Wright: Scribner, 1888.] "The stories of Galileo, Newton, Franklin, and Linnaeus, telling, as it wer, of the beginnings of science, lend themselvs easily to a picturesque and graphic treatment, while this is almost impossible in narrating the discoveries of Lyell, Agassiz, Tyndall and Darwin. The author has been very successful in the early chapters." [Nation. 305 YOTTNGSTERS' YARNS [by A. R. Hope [:iIoncrieff] : Routledge, 1887] " slios the reverse side of many stirring incidents in English history, the German sailor-boy Joachim Nettlebeck, the ' American Tar ' Ned Meyers, the ' Bacwoods Boy,' and the ' Army of Crusoes ' (the French prisoners on Cabrera in the Peninsular War) having for diverse reasons no cause to bless the generally triumi^hant 17 BOOKS FOR THE YOITNG Union Jack. But the tales ar of no nationality, and for graphic descriptions of pluc and adventure wil be found entertaining." [Athenaeum. 310 LIBEARY OF UNIVERSAL ADVENTURE BY SEA AND LAND. [ed. by W: D. Howells and T: S. Perry: Harper, 1888.] "From the youthful point of vue, this collection leaves little to be desired in point of range and variety. Capt. J: Smith's cap- tivity among the Turks, Capt. Cook's fate. Baron Trenck's suffer- ings, the mutiny of the ' Bounty,' even the horrors of the Black Hole ar to be found here; and we hav also episodes, like Napoleon III.'s escape from Ham, Dr. Judson's imprisonment in Burma, F: Douglass' escape from slavery, and Owen Brown's flight after Harper's Ferry." [Nation. 315 LIFE AND LABOR, or Characteristics of Men and Industry, Culture, and Genius, [by S: Smiles: Harpers, 1888.] "Mr. Smiles' method is wel known. Maldng a few bags, labeled Great Young Men, Town and Country Life, Health and Hobbies, Great Old Men, Single and Married, and the like, he stuffs them with anecdotes, incidents, and quotations. The result is a book which one can dip into at any point and pull out a plum; of batter there is very little." [Atlantic. 320 THE TRUE STORY BOOK [ed. by Andrew Lang: Longman, 1893] " contains 24 tales of adventure, only one of which, ' The Spartan Three Hundred,' is borroed from ancient history. There ar escapes from prison and captivity (Casanova, Trenck, Cervantes, and Caesar Borgia), tales of pirates, Kaspar Hauser, Grace Darl- ing, etc. The adventures of the Young Pretender ar told at considerable length ; but the largest space is devoted to ' The Conquest of Montezuma's Empire,' reduced from Prescott's history. Mr. Lang says of it: 'That is a very long story, but to the author's taste, it is simply the best true story in the world, the most unlikely and the most romantic' There ar but two stories from North American history, 'A Boy among the Red Indians ' (from Tanner's Captivity), and ' The Shannon and the Chesapeake.' " [Nation. 325 ON HONOR'S ROLL, instances of heroism in the 19th century, [by Laura (Jewry) Valentine: Warne, 1885.] "Vivid descriptions 18 EXPLORATION. of the defense of Plevna [1877], Abu-Klea [1885], the rescue of Sh' C: Wilson, the defense of Rorke's Drift, etc." [Athenaeum. 330 EXPLORATION. ADVENTURES BY SEA AND LAND [Poiter & Coates, 1874] "givs accounts of hunting expeditions in Ceylon, of a fire at sea, of the desert, of shipwrec and starvation, the little African's ad- ventures, an adventure in the time of the Circassian War, of the fair of Nishni Novogorod, and of the Tschutski people, a hardy race who inhabit a peninsula jutting out on the North Pacific Ocean. There is nothing grotesque or improbable in tlie book, and it com- bines instruction with entertainment, making it of value to chil- dren of all ages." [Aldine. • 335 PERILOUS INCIDENTS IN THE LIVES OF SAH.ORS AND TRAVELERS. [Porter & Coates, 1874.] " Here we read of pirates ; of captivity among the Japanese; a sea-fight on the Cuban coast; a winter in the Frozen Ocean; shipwrecs, voyages to the East Indies, etc." [Aldine. 340 ROBINSON CRUSOE, [by Dan- iel DeFoe: 1719; abridged, Lee. 1881.] " There is no difRcnlty in un- derstanding the attempt to abridge ' Robinson Crusoe,' and the tasli it- self is not the hardest in the world. Considerable liberties wer taken with the original by the wife of Prof. .7: Farrar, of Harvard, who regarded it as rather a doubtful work to set before children; whore- as, by pruning, it might be made to serv a moral purpos. Her para- phrase is now published and con- densed in turn by Mr. W: T. Adams. In spite of his care to simplify the style of Mrs. Farrar, which was eminently correct, but based on models now in disrepute, it wil be found hard reading for children un- der 10 or 12. The book, however, is very comely." [Nation.] — See also notice in Griswold's List of Roman- tic Novels (No. 920). 341 SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, [by J: Rudolf Wyss (1781-18.30); 1812, London: Warne, 1888.] "A nearer version of the original title would be ' The Swiss Robinson Crusoe.' The volume before us is a veritable Falstaff among books, and is stud- ded from beginning to end with il- lustrations that will delight its readers, especially the full pages in colors. The translation is newly made from the original by Mrs. H. B. Paull, whose aim has been to ' render the German sentences into good, simple Anglo-Saxon English,' without altering the simple text of Wyss." [Critic. SAME. [ed. by W: H: Giles Kingston: Routledge, 1890.] " The translation is good, like the print; the pictures ar wel chosen and wel executed. Tl^ slight cuts and alterations seem judicious enuf; while one passage,— that about 19 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. Fritz and the dogs, unaccountably omitted in various modern editions, is here fully restored." [Saturday Review. 342 POOR JACK, [by F: Marryat: Warne, 1887.] " Since Robin- son Crusoe no books hav been written which approach this and Masterman Ready in humor, truth, and character. They hav proved to be the making of a multitude of boys and an undefiled source of profit and entertainment." [Satur- day Review. 3-13 THE LITTLE SAVAGE, [by F: Marryat: Routledge, 1988.] " We of the older generation kno there is no one more entertaining in adventure than Capt. Marryat. Even Ruskiu, whose entire approval mortals so rarely gain, says of these boys' books, ' There is more vital amuse- ment in them than in any other books whatever.' A youthful Rob- inson Crusoe, this English boy, who was, born on a desert Hand and livd to be the solitary survivor of the little company which had been shipwrecked on ft, did finally suc- ce<;d in getting away, and became a living part of the great world." [Critic. ' 344 THE ISLAND HOME, or The Young Castaways [edited by Chris- topher Romaunt: Boston, Gould, 1852] " is a story which bids fair to rival the far-famed Robinson Crusoe in the estimation of youth- dom. It is a narrativ of the ad- venturous sojourn of an exceedingly pleasant party of youngsters on an Hand otherwise uninhabited, told with considerable skil. We become as much interested in the Max, Johnny, Arthur, and the rest of the goodly company, as in the Swiss Robinson Family; the latter book our heroes appear perfectly familiar with, and they — of course, acting out a real history— philosophically compare their contrivances and resources with those of the fictitious person- ages in that volume, who in sort AVer their illustrious predecessors." [Sartain's Mag. 345 WITH AXE AND RIFLE, or the Western Pioneers, [by W: H. G. Kingston: Low, 1878.] "This author's boolis differ one from another only in tliese respects, that the scenes ar laid in different parts of the world, the heroes ar named variously, while the ad- ventures in one ar to those in another as tweedledum is to tweedle- dee. Nor do we believe that the writer has very much choice in the matter. He apparently gets a series of electros put before him and ' writes up ' to them. If the cuts relate to North Amer- ica, why, then, he lays the scene there, and, if they happen to be prairie sketches, to the prairie he must perforce carry the heroic boys and preternaturally gifted girls who form the w^el-remembered puppets which Mr. Kingston works for our children's amusement and instruction. He gets them into all manner of adventures, so long as tlie cuts last, and ends the stor}' and nialies everybody 20 EXPLORATION. happy when he has used the hist. The trie is a simple one, and the result not very great, but in the hands of so admirable a mas- ter of his craft, always readable, and never poisonous to healthy minded children." [Examiner. 349 NOTABLE VOYAGES [by W: H: Giles Kingston: Routledge, 1879] " givs an abridgment of Ir\'iug's ' Columbus,' and of Dampier's and Cook's ample narrativs. Other subjects ar: Vasco da Gama, Magellan, Drake, Cavendish, Schouten and Lemaire (the rounding of Cape Horn), and Parry. From the South Seas to the frozen Serpent of the North, scarcely any part of the globe is left untouched, and the lesson in geography therefore is considerable, if only the atlas be kept open as the reading proceeds." [Na- tion. 350 YOUNG FOLKS' BOOK OF AISIBKICAN EXPLORERS, [by T: Wentwortli Hig- ginson: Lee, 1877.] "The hi praise awarded Mr. Higginson for the execu- tion of his 'Y. F. History of the U. S.' must be renewed for the idea of the present worls. He has rightly conceived that the narrativ sources of history can be made as clear and as interesting to the youthful mind as ' Robinson Crusoe '; and happily the size of our continent and the fact that three nationalities took a leading part in its discovery and settlement, combine to giv a fascinating variety to the relations which ar avail- able partly in the quaint English of the original, partly in that of Hakluyt and others, and partly in the sympathetic versions of modern scholars. Mr. Hig- ginson's selections, which begin with the Norse discovery and end with the Purit- ans at Salem, hav been made with great discrimination, and often with a more subtle purpos than children, not on the lookout for historical ' side-lights,' wil discover on the first or on the twentieth reading. The field covered is surpris- ingly wide for the size of the volume. Columbus, the Cabots and Verrazzano, Cabeza de Vaca, Cartier, De Soto, Ribaut and Laudonniere, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Capt. J: Smith, Champlain, Hud- son, the Pilgrims and the Puritans ap- pear in chronological sequence, telling their stories or celebrated by contem- poraries and associates. Every book or chapter is introduced by a statement of the authorities quoted, and brief foot- notes, not too numerous, explain the hard words and otherwise illustrate and correct the text." [Nation. 590 HEROES OF AMERICAN DISCOV- ERY [by " N. D' An vers," i. e., Nancy R. B. (Meugens) Bell; Routledge, 1885] " contains enuf which is new and fresh to make it a geuuiu acquisition. The ex- plorations of the Rocky Mountains form an important part of the work, but they come down only to Fremont's time; it would seem as if it might hav been better to omit Columbus and De Soto for the sake of including Major Powell and other later explorers." [Nation. 593 21 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. WESTWARD WITH COLUM- wield so mechanic a pen as would BUS. [by Gordon Stables: Blackie, tarnish the romance of the voyage 1893.] "The author deals with one of Columbus. The author tels us of the most inspiring themes which of the boyhood of Columbus, as a writer could devise, and his Avel as the achievements of the dis- treatment is such that it can not coverer and navigator, and from fail to hold boys enrapt. It would both points of vue his work is wel be hard indeed for any man to done." [Saturday Review. 353 VASCO DA GA3^1A. [by G: M. Towle: Lee, 1878.] " Da Gama has a great but dim name, a character of real heroism, and ex- ploits of the first order in the field of discovery. The story is told wel, and the interest sustained throughout. Neither is it ex- clusivly suited to children; the adventures ar so unfamiliar and so exciting as wel as instructiv that adults, too, wil find it worth reading. The style is just what it should bfr— no fine writing, no ' writing down ' to the assumed level of childhood, and, on the other hand, nothing above then- comprehension. Quite young children, too, can get enjoyment from it." [Nation. 355 MAGELLAN [by G: M. ToAvle: Lee, 1879] "is one of a capital series of books for boys called ' Heroes of History/ written in a vivid and instructiv manner. They ar just the books which ar needed; when boys can hav true stories as full of interest and adventures, we do not see why the wretched books of sensational fiction which they ar now devouring should not disappear. • Of this volimie nothing especial need be said, except that it comes in very wel as a sequel to the life of Vasco da Gama." [Nation. 360 DRAKE, the Sea-King of Devon [by G: M. Towle: Lee, 1882] " is one of the best of an interesting series. . . But the form in which it is cast — neither a history nor a romance — is one in which it is dificult lo maintain the balance between fiction and truth. The adventures ar no doubt true; the conversations ar probably fic- titious." [Nat^n. 365 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH, or Pokings round the Pole [by Ro. Michael Ballantyne: Nelson, 1881] "is wel calculated to im- part to the audience for which it was written all the old mis- conceptions in regard to the Polar regions, and many new ones." [Nation. ^^^ VOYAGE OF THE VIVIAN TO THE NORTH POLE AND BEYOND, [by T: W: Knox: Harper, 1884.] "The story, if the 22 EXPLORATION. extremely prosy thread of narrativ upon which the items of a sort of Arctic encyclopaedia ar strung can be called a story, is that of a French and an American ship which visit Kamchatka, pass fchrou Bering Strait, enter the pac, find an open polar sea, which they cross, and drift down on either side of Greenland into the waters of the Atlantic. . . There is a good store of authentic in- formation on the Polar regions in the book, and every bright child wil enjoy looking at the pictm-es. Meanwhile the race of Mayne Eeids, who can make their boy heroes liv, seems to be be- coming extinct." [Nation.] — "While the author has not much freedom of style, his material is so good that boys, with their cast- kon digestiv powers, wil hav no difficulty in bolting the book." [Atlantic. 380 CHILDREN OF THE COLD [by F: Schwatka: Cassell, 1886] " contains very interesting articles on the life of Eskimo children near Hudson Bay. . . All boys and girls wil enjoy the vivid account of the games, toys, and manner of life of the little Eskimos, who seem, their cluuatic limitations considered, to hav much the same tendencies as children in other lands. Here one may learn where and how they liv, how their houses ar built-, what ar their play things, how they make sleds and coast on them, how the dogs ar fed, what they hav in place of candy, their work, hunting, and fishing, how their clothes ar made, and much about theh sports and exercises of skil and strength. The book contains nothing to which exception can be taken, and we can heartily recommend it." [Nation. 385 GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY. THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN AUSTRALASIA, [by T: W: Knox : Harper, 1888.] "■ The heroes visit the Hawaiian Hands and other groups in the south I*acific before they reach Australia and New Zealand. This earlier portion we hav found more en- tertaining than the latter, from the fact that man}' of the chapters on the English colonies ar so packed with facts and statistics as to make the reading of them like eating pemmican." [Nation. 390 MAORI AND SETTLER, [by G: A. is one that has many points of lilve- Heuty: Scribuer, 1890.] " The strug- ness to the wresting of our own gle of the British settlers of New national area from the red men. Mr. Zealand against the Maoris (1S63-4) Henty, the English writer for boys 23 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. who fills much the place which Syl- vauus Cobb [!!] filled a geueratiou ago, has depicted this struggle in a narrativ which many of the boys will vote ' thrilling.' The hero of the story is Wilfrid Renshaw, a lad in the family that has come to make a home in the Southern ocean. Mr. Atherton, a burly botanist and natur- alist, is the second figure of inter- est. . . We hav glimpses of scenery and strange customs, and portraiture of savage character." [Critic. 392 THE GOLDEN LAND, [by B: Leopold Farjeon: Ward, 1886.] " The incidents ar few, but, what is far better, we take a personal interest in the characters. For the heroes of startling adventures we care noth- ing, being simply curious to kno how they get out of their scrapes. But these children, whose love for their widoed father is so pure, we folio with the deepest concern from Eng- land across the ocean and throu the bush, leaving them on the threshold of their Australian home with re- gi-et. Their conversation is natural and entertaining. The stories which their imaginativ uncle tells ar thor- oly delightful, while throu the book runs a vein of delicate humor, min- gled with pathetic touches, espec- ially in the story of the little sto- away." [Nation. 393 THE YOUNG CARTHAGINIAN, by G: A. Henty. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 150. C394 THE BOY TEAVELLERS LN CENTRAL AFRICA, [by T: AV. Knox: Harper, 1883.] "The route is a not impossible one even for boys: it lies u}) the Nile to the Albert and Mctoria lakes, thence across country to Tabora, and thence, turning their bacs on Ujiji and Tanganyika, to the east coast and to Zanzibar. But, as usual, a much larger area of the continent is covered in conver- sation than by actual journeying, and excuses ar made for telhng what Schweinfurth saw and what Livingstone and Stanley did, with something about the Niger, the West Coast countries, etc. l*ictm"es, for the most part authentic and pertinent, aboimd. The little library, created with so much painstaking, ranks among the most instructiv of the juvenil? ]>nblications of late years, as among the most entertaining. . . The event has shown that the writer had a mission, and that he knew how to recommend himself to the young. He has had a host of imitators, but hardly any rival." [Nation. 895 IN SAVAGE AFRICA [by Vernon Lovett Cameron: Nelson, 1887] "is a book of much interest, wel illus- trated, in which the author's local knoledge has enabled him to giv much likelihood to the stoi'y of a young sailor wrecked on the west coast, who manages to cross to Zan- zibar. Sufferings as a slave, adven- tures with hippopotomi. crocodiles, and elephants, glimpses of fetishism and sorcery, combine to make this an excellent introduction to the Dark Continent." [Athenaeum. 397 BY SHEER PLUCK [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1883] "may be rec- ommended as not only entertaining but improving. The hero is left to 24 GEOGRAPHY :— AFRICA. his own resources at an early age. West Africa [1873]. Tlie rest of his Those resources seem at first to con- adventures, his patron's fate, Sir sist chiefly of an unusual supply of Garnet, King Coffee, African fever ' pluc ' ; it is, hovv^ever, supplement- and a triumphant return with ulti- ed by a knoledge of the art of taxi- mate wealth and honor, must be dermy, which brings him into con- read in the author's words to be duly tact with an eminent and wealthy appreciated." [Saturday Review. 398 naturalist, who takes him out to THE KNOCKABOUT CLUB IN NORTH AFRICA, [by F; Albion Ober : Estes, ISDl.] " The pictures ar poorer, the fictitious macliinery is less foi-mal than in the Knox books, and the author helps himself to hni'j; qiiotarioiis without indicating the sotu'ce. The book is a good deal of a jumble, and in falling upon a greater abandon of style we get more slang also. Mr. Knox's puppets spoke schoolmaster's English, but Mr. Ober's ar not above the use of newspaper English.'' iOO THE YOUNG COLONISTS [by G: or humiliating chapter in English Alfred Henty: Routledge, 1884] " de- history than the war in the Trans- scribes the war in South Africa vaal, and the treaty which conclud- [1880-81], ending with the rout of ed it. is not to be found.' " [Satur- Majuba Hil, which the author char- day Review. 403 acterizes thus: — 'A more disgraceful THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT, [by T: W. Knox: Har- per, 1882.] " The author is able not only to check the works he draws upon to fil his narrativ, but to select wisely and to assim- ilate thoroly. Hence, considering the mass of information he im- parts — too great, at best, we ar inclined to think — ^lie is singularly successful in not fatiguing his readers. His humor has much to do with his success. . . The account of the Boulak Museum is made very interesting, and the discovery of the royal mummies last year is described at length." [Nation. 405 THE CAT OF BUBASTES, by G: " is a tale of the Nile expedition A. Henty. See " Novels of Ancient when the tardy relief corps arrived Life," No. 10. C406 too late [1885] to rescue Gordon." THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM [Critic. 407 [by G: Alfred Henty: Scribner, 1891] MARCO POLO, [by G: M. Towle: Lee, 1880.] ^' The style is not so wel adapted to children as ]\Ir. Eggleston's, being more artificial. The book, however, is not only entertaining in itself, but wil be wliol}' new to most of his readers. The story of Mon- 25 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. tezmna everybody has read, but how many of the dass for whom the book is designed hav even heard the name of Marco Polo ? '' [Nation. 410 TKAVELS OF MARCO I'OLO. [by T: W. Knox: Putnam, 1885.] " A young member of a ' Eeading and Geographical Society ' reads at each meeting one or two chapters of the ' Travels,' and another folloes with explanations of obscm'e passages and additional in- formation in regard to the countries and people described. In this way the greater part of the book is ,read ' with very slight reduction or alteration.' The additions to Marco Polo's story ar generally wel chosen and interesting, but, notwithstanding all Mr. Knox's care, a considerable knoledge of the geography of Asia is necessary for the understanding of many passages. The illus- trations ar admu'able." [Nation. 415 THE CLIFF CLBIBEES. [by Mayne Reid: Ward, 1864.] " Three young travelers start from the Indian metropolis on a botanical excursion into the Himalayas, and before long they enter a secluded valley, lovely as a tiny Garden of Eden, wel stocked with trees and succulent plants, watered by a limpid lake, and abound- ing in deer, wild oxen, etc. It is lucky for them that their little paradise affords wherewithal to stoc their larder, for they soon find that the rocs surrounding the valley ar upright as the w^alls of a fortress, and that the glacier over which they so recently entered is now rendered impassible by a succession of crevasses." [Ath- enaeum. ' 420 WARRIORS OF THE CRES- pot rulers. Timur or Tamerlane, the CENT, [by W: Davenport Adams: Tartar, is another conspicuous fig- Appleton, 1892.] " The men whose ure. Then comes Babar ' the Lion,' lives ar sketched wer the great who founded the Mogul empire in Sultans of Ghazni and the great India: later. Akbar the Great; and Moguls of India. Those renowned that Shah Jahan who wil be re- warriors and rulers wer men of a membered as long as marbles and fiery spirit and indomitable wil, pos- precious stones endure by the match- sessing in liberal measure the quali- less mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, bilt ties which fitted them to be conquer- to perpetuate his love for his lost ors and founders of empires. The wife. The brilliant list ends with very mention of their names sug- Aurangzib. the last of the great Mo- gests dominion and conquest, the guls. It would be difficult to find, barbaric magnificence, the cruelty in so small space, a more admirable and the splendor, the corruption and account of these renowned men. the tyranny of an Eastern sovran History under the author's hand be- in an Eastern eoui-t. Mahmud the comes as fascinating as romance." Great leads in this procession of des- [Hostou " Lit. World." 425 26 HISTORY:— ASIA. THE BLUE BANNER; or the Ad- ventures of a Mussulman, a Chris- tian, and a Pagan, in the Time of the Crusades and Mongol Conquest. [by Leon Cahun: Lippincott, 1878.] " The story describes the adventures of a foUoer of Jinghis Khan, and is crammed with accounts of bloody fights [1206-21]. This wil commend it to the young reader, while the pains which hav been taken to se- cure accuracy wil disarm the objec- tions of his elders. Those who care for the subleties of the modei'n novel wil not be attracted by the tumultuous head-breaking and pro- fuse slauter of this one. It may be our fault that the story seems to us somewhat confused, but what is to be expected of an account of Jinghis Khan?" [Nation. C430 RALPH DARNELL [by Meadows Taylor: Blackwood, 18G6] " givs pul- sation to the past history of India. Without such aids, the matter-of- fact West would form but an im- perfect idea of that vast country. Histories of India we hav in plenty, full and accurate in detail; narra- tivs of events, but dry and meagre as records of the springs of action out of which gradually a sovranty has been added to the British em- pire greater than that of the Great Mogul. In ' Tara.' Capt. Taylor gave a picture of India during the fierce struggles of the Hindoos and the Mohammedans in Dekkan, toard the middle of the 17th century, when Sivaji Rajah destroyed the army of Beejapoor at his fortress capital of Pertabghur, in 1657, and the Mo- hammedan empire rose to the zenith of its power. The action of ' Ralph Darnell ' begins in 1747, but the in- termediate hundred years hav a chapter devoted to them, bringing the history down to 1756. Ralph's Indian life is spread over 20 years, embracing the most memorable period of the rise of British power under Clive, from the awful day of the Black Hole." [Reader. C435 WITH CLIVE IN INDIA, [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1SS3.] " The circumstantial details [1745-63] ar accurately laid down, and perhaps the author has here contrived to ex- ceed himself in stirring adventures and thrilling situations while the realities ar preservd." [Saturday Review. 440 WAR AND PEACE: a Tale of the Retreat from Cabul. [by " A. L. O. E.," i. e., C. Maria Tucker: Carter, 1863.] " These four letters ar regard- ed as a pledge to children of a ' first- rate ' book. This one does not fal belo the mark. The sorro and heroism which make ' war ' a fearful in- strument of disciplin, and the bless- ings of Christian peace, ar repre- sented in just proportions throu a very interesting narrativ of the disastrous operations of the British in Afghanistan [1841]. the materials being chiefly di:awn from the jour- nal of Lady Sale." [Church Monthly. 460 THROUGH THE SIKH WAR. [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1893.] " Boys wil delight in this story of a young fello's adventures in India during that anxious time [1845-49] when we beat the Sikhs. The hero, quite a boy, goes to join his uncle. Percy volunteers for the English service, and with him we witness the sanguinary tussles. Mr. Henty always knoes what he is writing about, and no inconsiderable knol- edge of Indian history, life, and the intrigue which is part and parcel of it, is to be gained from this emi- nently readable story. His charac- ters occasionally make lengthy speeches; and his descriptions of the battles ar so detailed that the hero necessarily occupies a secondary part in them. We can wel under- 27 BOOKS FOR THE YOLTXG. Stand that complaint is made that As collateral reading:— Mr. Henty's books distract boys' at- AUTOBIUGRAPHY OF MAJOR tention from more classical novel- HODSON. [Ticknor, 1S59.] The au- ists; for to read them is always a thor " was a Paladin of the 19th pleasure and an instruction." [Spec- century, a brave, dashing, chival- tator. C465 rous, gentle-tempered fello, and it THE SERPENT-CHARMER, [by is impossible to read his letters with- L: Rousselet: Scribner, 18S0.] " The out conceiving the hiest respect for plot appears to be founded on fact, his character as a soldier and as but the book is rather a boy's book a man. The idea was happily con- than a novel, and is filled with an ceived by his brother to make him uninterrupted series of wild adven- tel the story of his life in his copi- tures told in an agreeable and in- ous and entertaining correspond- teresting way. Many European ence, and the book has a certain households at isolated stations in permanent value, in giving us an India wer placed at the outbreak of outline of the Indian rebellion from the revolt [1S57] in the position of a cool, clear-headed and educated the Bourquien family, tho few of man, who was on the spot from the them came throu the terrible inter- beginning." [Southern Lit. Messen- regnum of anarchy, rapine, and ger. C4S5 slauter as wel." [Nation. C47o THE XEST HUNTERS [by W: Dalton: London, Hall, 1863, pp. 434] " has interesting and wholesome stories of travel and adventure. The author has a happy and ingenious way of so ^\eaving the fictitious adventure of his imaginary heroes with the narrativs of trustworthy travelers, so that his stories hav an air of reality such as no others of the same kind possess. His ' plucky boys ' ar this tuMe sent to that delightful region of romance, the Indian Archipelago, where they hunt the edible nest of the sea- SAvallo, pursue tigers, and encounter all manner of adventures." [Critic. 500 THE STORY OF J: G. PATOX [Armstrong, 1892] " tels in a simple way of the struggles of a poor Scotch lad to get an educa- tion, of his self-denying work among the poor of Glasgow, and of nearly 30 years' toil among the cannibals of the New Hebrides. Few books of adventm'e hav such thrilling incidents as ar nar- rated by this missionary, whose perils from storm, sicness, and the hostility of the nativs wer equalled only by the courage and ])atience with which he endured them. Nor ar there any more attractiv pictures of savage life than those which ^Ir. Faton draws of these poor ilanders after they had become Christians.'' [Na tion. 505 28 GEOGRAPHY :— ASIA. THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST [by T: W. Knox : Harper, 1879] " is crammed witli pictorial and other infor- mation;^ the writer speaks mostly from an unusual personal ex- perience in foreign parts ; and his ' two youths ' ar properly put in charge of an older person, so that there is nothing sensational or unreal in their doings." [Nation. 510 SAME, Siam and Java [1880]. " What this extensiv tour- ist has seen is again deftly supplemented by selections, with due credit, from approved works on the various countries under con- sideration — e. g., for Siam, Vincent's ' Land of the White Elephant,' Yule's ' ]kIarco Polo ' and Edwin Arnold s ' Light of Asia ' ar likewise made use of, and the result is a surprising variety of information, which frequently becomes episodical, as in the cases of alligators, elephants, pearl-di^dng, etc. . . Its utUity would hav been greatly enhanced by an index, for the sake of which some of the gaudiness of the binding could hav been dispensed with." [Nation. 550 PHAULCON THE ADYEN- of Christianity iu Siam wer tlie priu- TURER [by W: Dalton: Beeton, eipal cause of liis brief but brilliant 1862] " lias adopted the same plan prosperity, and afterwards of liis as that Avhich he pursued in his sudden and disastrous downfall; romantic biography of ' Will Ad- and their history, together with that ams.' endowing his hero with an of the brave, self-devoted, and ener- historie name, and availing him- getic men who strove to establish self of truths so far as they serv an empire in the East ar made more his purpos and form a fitting foun- exciting, and yet not less faithful, dation for his fictitious biography, by the picturesque arrangement to The remarkable career of the fa- which Mr. Dalton has resorted. The mous Greek is admirably adapted chapters descriptiv of the Portu- for the purposes of historic fiction, guese settlement on the Meinam ar and he has contrived to lend it all interestmg; and the author con- the lustre of romance. He has based trives, with much skil, to convey an his narrativ on the works of the instructiv account of the manners, Jesuit fathers, D' Orleans [1692] and customs, morals, and political con- Tachard [1689]. He intermingles dition of Ayuthia, the old metropo- with the personal adventures of lis of Siam, without departing from Phaulcon several graphic scenes il- his function of story-telling into re- lustrativ of the doings of his French gions of undue weight and serious- contemporaries. The exertions of ness." [Parthenon. C553 Phaulcon in the cause of the spread SAME, Ceylon and India [1881]. "The author's two young gentlemen and their care-taker hav some reality about them, thanks to his possessing a sense of humor. T\Tiat he has seen, too, 29 BOOKS FOR THE YOLTNG. enables him to appropriate and assimilate thoroly what he acknol- edges having borroed from other authorities." [Nation. 555 OUE BOYS IN CHINA [by H: W. French: Lee, 1883] "is not a mere book of travels, — it contains a good story. This is a good thing, because the text is not so full of dialog as Mr. Greey's, nor so spicy with jokes and anecdotes as Mr. Knox's. The illustrations ar abundant and intelligently chosen, and the clearly given infor- mation is conveyed in a lively style without ever overweighting the story. Even to those who hav read many books on China, the one before us is interesting, and it wil hold a boy's attention." [Nation. 575 THE WAR TIGER, [by W: Dal- eut sea-king, and a person of weight ton: Griffitli, 1858.] Tbe autlior, who and influence in the business of the has evidently made Chinese history empire. The adventures of this and everything connected with the youth in his efforts to reach the extraordinary people of China his throne and persuade the emperor of peculiar study, has fixed upon the the treason that is undermining his epoch which marked the fall of the dynasty in his own court, his efforts last of the emperors of the Ming to sustain the falling monarch, and dynasty [1644], and the reconquest his rescue of the princess, the eni- of the land by the Tartars, as the peror's dauter, from a thousand dif- historical basis on which his ro- ficulties and dangers, ar the themes mauce is built. The hero is a youth, upon which the fictitious portion of the son of a wealthy merchant, who, the narrativ is founded." [Lit. Ga- as the owner of a large trading fleet, zette. 585 is looked upon as a sort of independ- THE ENGLISH BOY IN JAPAN, [by W: Dalton: London, Nelson, 1858, pp. 308.] " Like most good books for boys, to men also this volume wil be more interesting than more pretending volumes of history and travel. The incidents ar exciting enuf to stimulate curiosity, yet not improbable enuf to create disgust. There is nothing told which might not hav happened, and the reader is gratified by finding that the romance ends in a legitimate way, with virtue rewarded, justice done, and a happy lot to all the heroes. . . The scenery of Japan, harbors, gardens, roads, hils, volcanoes, earthquakes, rulers and people, court practices, street practices, and life on shipboard, — all the pleasant and all the grotesque features of the Japanese land and life, — ar brot into the easy reading of three or four hours." [North Amer. Review. 600 YOUNG AMERICANS IN JAl^lN. [by E: Greey: Lee & Shep- ard, 1881.] " If all the makers of boys' books on foreign countries 30 GEOGRAPHY :— JAPAN. wer as conscientiously accurate in spirit and details as Mr. Greey, the adults of the next generation would be saved much vicious prejudice. The text is a pretty lively and amusing story of travel from Nagasaki, overland and by way of the Inland Sea, to Tokio. There, the hilarious comments of Johnnie and Fitz, the criticism of Mrs. Jewett and Sallie, and the sage and explanatory remarks of the professor on the objects seen in theu^ travels, end. Fun without caricature, facts A\ithout dulness, abound in this most interesting book," [Nation. 605 THE WONDEKFUL CITY OF TOKIO. [by E: Greey: Lee, 1882.] " The Jewett family not only go out to see the sights, but study the detaU of lacquer, porcelain, fan-making, ink, and dry- goods, so that much really valuable information is conveyd to the reader in a pleasing way. The book opens a windo into the mysteries of Japanese art-production, and to hav read it is for the American boy or girl an introduction to a fascinating study." [Nation. 610 THE BEAR AYORSHIPPERS OF YEZO [by E: Greey: Lee, 1883] " is mai'ked by accuracy in details, and to sympathetic observation is added the fruit of critical reading of nativ and foreign authors. Tlie author takes us into Yezo and Karafuto, or Saghalin. We brush against Ainos, Japanese, Russians, and the various savage tribes on the frontier of the Czar and Mikado. With pen and pencil the author depicts the bear-hunts, festivals, worship, courtship and social customs, fishing, hunting and trap- ping, and makes a story both readable and hily amusing. It is interesting to study the Yankee among the seal-hunters, as wel as to see the Ainos as the Japanese see them." [Nation. 615 WILL ADAMS, [by W: Dalton: renew our acquaintance with him Bennett, I860.] " This booli is a under the guise of a wel-written fic- story, but it possesses in large meas- tion. But interesting tho the tale be, ure tlie interest of an historical nar- and tho many of the imaginary ratiy. Will Adams was one of those scenes ar grafically described, Mr. fine old naval heroes of whom we Dalton desei'vs the most praise for Englishmen may wel be proud, and the admirable manner in which he as the first of our countrymen who portrays the state of Japan more livd in Japan, and who livd there than two hundred years ago." [Lit. at an eventful period, we ar glad to Gazette. 670 AJMIISING AD^'ENTURES [by H: Tyrrell: N. Y„ Leslie, 1886] " is a wel described journey of three American lads from New York 31 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. to India. They TLsit London, Paris, Venice and Vienna, and pass throu Servia and Bulgaria on their way to (Constantinople dui'ing the war of 1885. Their route thence to India is by the Black Sea, Persia, and Afghanistan. A good deal of geographical and historical information is conveyed in an entertaining way, and probably few young readers would detect the fact that the book is written for the pictures, which ar very numerous and in many places exceedingly good." [Nation. 700 ZIG ZAG JOURNEYS IN THE LEVANT, [by Hezekiah But- terworth : Estes, 1885.] " The narrativ is a curious conglomerate of Cook's ticke(ts, Talmudic legends, Christian hymns, stories from ancient history, paragraphs on contemporary politics and tallc like this : ' Charlie greatly loved his father's companionship. The friendship between fathers and sons is a pleasing featm'e of Boston life. It is not an uncommon thing foi- a Boston boy to choose his ow^n father for his confidential companion and most intimate friend.' This is twaddle, and it is sprinkled all throu the book. . . The pictures ar from poor to ordinary." [Boston "Lit. World." 70.3 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE LEVANT [by T: W. Knox: Harper, 1894] "takes the young tourists along the southern coast of the Mediterranean to Carthage, and thence to Greece, the Troad, Constantinople, Smyrna and Cyprus. It provides plenty of infor- mation for boys and girls who hav a sound digestion for facts and dates and ar not too fond of plumcake ; it is also wel supported in the matter of illustrations. The book is sensibly and pleasantly written, but sometimes savors rather strongly of the guide-book." [Nation. 705 THREE VASSAR GIRLS IN THE HOLY LAND, [by E.. (W.) Champney: Estes, 189.3.] " Mrs. Champney has more of the novelist in her than most of the school of book-makers to which she belongs. Her girls go to Palestine with that ease which characterizes all these book travelers. They see everything of which a picture exists, and some member of the party is always prepared with the necessary historical and archaeological information; but, in addi- tion, a story of character and adventure is cleverly worked out, and the reader feels that he or she has taken in ever so much information throu the pores of the fiction." [Atlantic. 710 32 GEOGRAPHY :— EUROPE. COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS, [by A^'altel• Scott, 1831.] " The scene is Constantinople— the time, that of the Second Crusade [1147-9]— and the chief persons ar princesses and pala- dins. There is great variety of hu- man character, and picturesque groupings of all the leading nations and popular religions: we hav the polished and wily Greek— the blunt and valorous Frank— the fierce and activ Saracen — in short, the cour- tesy and villany of the finest civ- ilization, and the blunt sincere sym- pathy of the semi-barbarous. Of all these, the most natural, as wel as the most heroic character, is Here- ward of Hamilton: one of those Saxons whom the stern policy of William the Conqueror had obliged to seek fortune where it was best found, and who, accordingly, trans- ferred his courage and his hatred of the Norman name to the ranks of the Varangian gards of Alexios Comnenos." [Athenaeum.]— For the later career of Hereward see " Hereward." 715 FIGHTING THE SARACENS, [by G: Alfred Henty: Brown, 1891.] " At 16 the hero is knited by King Richard. There ar various encoiuit- ers with Arabs, in all of which he comes off victorious; he is equally successful in defying the Tyrolese on the way home. At 18 he is in England, created Earl of Evesham, betrothed to his cousin-heiress, and making head against King John. We leave this gilded youth at 20, a belted Earl, a husband, and a privy counselor— everything, in fact, ex- cept a widoer and a grandfather, which a man can hope to become by good desert at three score years and ten." [Boston " Lit. World." 718 CRUSADERS AND CAPTIVES [by G: W. Merrill: Boston, DeWolfe, 1890] " narrates with spirit the Children's Crusade [1212]. The story of the boy-preacher, Stephen, the shepherd who won to his belief the young lord Louis of Montrose and his fair sister Margaret, and of the gallant army of 30.000 children who set forth [1212] to defy the Moslem hosts, is one too striking to fail in attracting youthful eyes to its perusal. There wil be no dis- appointment in store for those who seek pleasure and profit in these pages." [Critic. 720 THE BOY CRUSADERS, [by J: G: Edgar: Cassell, 1865.] " The au- thor folloes Joinville, and the charm- ing simplicity of his original has lent an extra inspiration to his pen." [Reader. 722 THE CIRCASSIAN BOY, by Ler- montof : Boston, 1875. 730 WHAT KATY DID NEXT, [by "Susan Coolidge": Roberts, 1886.] "Katy goes to Europe, and is so fortunate as to enjoy the novelties and beauties which, she sees, with ideal enthusiasm. Somehow^ despite the familiarity of the g:round, the story does not lac interest and freshness. The book is bright, sensible, and entertaining." [Nation. 735 PERSONALLY CONDUCTED, [by Frank R: Stockton: Scrib- ner, 1889.] " The author assumes that he is accompanied by all his readers, and we w^ander from place to place with a dim con- sciousness of being one of a party of eager boys and girls who jostle each other good-humoredly in their efforts to keep close to 33 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. their genial ' conductor,' as lie describes this or that object of in- terest. We smile with them as he points out at Home the den 'in which the old wolf established her little oiphan asylum,' or gravely doubts whether the Pallavicinis in\it.ed the Empress Maria Theresa to sit doAAii in one of their squirting swings, or pictures Oiotto as buying one of Mr. Ruskin's books to find out what he meant by some of his groups and symbols on the Cam- panile at Florence, or refers to those schools in England with * classes where ignorance of America is taut to the pupils.' The descriptions hav just enuf history to quicken the intelligence and not overtask the memory. The best chapters ar possibly those in which ar described English country life and scenery." [Nation. 710 ZIGZAG JOURNEYS IN THE BRITISH ISLES. [ by Hezekiah Butterworth: Estes, 1889.] "The author journeys to the scenes of the old English fireside tales and gets at the originals of Shaks- pere's and Mother Goose's stories. He travels in the land of Moore and Goldsmith, tarries in the region of the Pilgrim Fathers, and sets before us the origins of old English Christmas stories and ballads in a most enticing way." [Critic. 750 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN GREAT BRITAIN [by T: W. Knox : Harper, 1890] " is an effort to roll into one an itinerary, a guide-book, a history and a gazetteer. . . It wil be pondered with pleasm'e by those who hav traveled, and wil recall much which is of interest. It emphasizes many of the differences which exist in ways of life. It could not, however, be trusted as a guide in laying out a tour, and it wil scarcely be carried as a lamp to the feet on the road." [Nation.] — " The sub-title. Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey throu Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, with Visits to the Hebrides and the Isle of ^lan, indicates the scope of the book. If one does not ask too much in the way of charac- terization of young people, and is indifferent to graces of style, he can pic uj) a good deal of information, as he could hav done if the main matter of the book had been used baldly as material for a scrapbook. The author sometimes takes one also out of the beaten trac, as when he treats of moc parliaments and house-boats. There is a profusion of good pictures." [Atlantic. 755 34 GEOGRAPHY :— ENGLAND. THE BODLEYS IN ENGLAND, [by H. E. Sciidder: Houghton, 1883.] " Some items of interest can be gleaned from it by patience and perseverance ; and those cautious purchasers whose special aim is to avoid placing anything injurious before the eyes of youth wil welcome its advent. But the boy or girl of spirit (from a literary point of vue) wil prefer instruction less diluted, entertain- ment more spicy. The style, meant to be easy, lapses occasionally into carelessness." [Nation. 760 A YACHT VOYAGE ABOUND ENGLAND, [by W: H: Giles Kingston : Chicago,, Bevell, 1890.] " A party of schoolboys spend the summer in visiting the principal English seaports, one of the number being the historian. TMiile the style is generally marked by a boyish simplicity, considerable descriptiv power is shown, the author's familiarity with the sea being constantly evident. Especially good is the account of the rescue of a shipwrecked crew by a life-boat, ^luch historical information is given of the places visited, together with descriptions of docyards, harbors, lighthouses, life-saving apparatus, fishing fleets, and in fact nearly everything which would be seen on such a voyage, including the resuscitation of a half-drowned person. There ar numerous wel-chosen pictures, which, tho not very new, giv the book an attractiv appearance." [Nation. 765 THE PILOTS OF POMONA [by Bo. Leighton: Scribner, 1891] " has for its scene of action the Orkney Hands. Adventure abounds, and is in general probable enuf. . . Mr. Leighton's style is thoroly good, with a judicious admixture of dialect. The careful descriptions of scenery, animals and plants, together with manners and ways of life, hav every appearance of accm'acy, and may wel interest not only the boys, but their fathers and mothers too." [Nation. 770 50-61. the burning of the Imperial City. Beric the Briton goes to Rome with BERIC THE BRITON [by G: Al- a band of his uativ folloers, and fred Henty: Scribner. 1892] " is tlie the vicissitudes that he experiences story of the Roman invasion, and there form tlie frameworlv of a most givs pictnresque scenes of such wel instrnctiv and entertaining account known historical events as the de- of the manners and customs of the feat of Queen Boadicea and the de- Roman people at that time, from a struction of her towns, and the li- gladiatorial fight with lions ' in the centious court of Nero at Rome, and areua, face to face with death and 35 BOOKS FOK THE YOUNG. the Roman populace,' down to the hour when the city has become a smoking ruin. Whether or no Nero fiddled during the conflagration, as is popularly supposed, Mr. Henty does not say. In the end the sturdy Beric goes bac to England, the gov- ernor of a Roman province." [Critic. 771 337-340. THE COUNT OF THE SAXON SHORE [by Alfred J: Church: See- ley,— Putnam, 1SS7] " is an historical romance, with varied and exciting adventures, and presenting a really valuable picture of a little-known period. The characters ar wel drawn —that of Carna, the British maiden, particularly wel; while the Count Aelius, the Saxon captiv Cedric, the Romanized Briton Martiauus, and the usurping Emperor Constantino ar hardly less so. Mr. Church is fortunate in his choice of a period and a locality so wholy fresh and unhacneyed and at the same time possessing so great historical in- terest. The story is ingeniously made to introduce the great Druid temple Avhich we kno as Stone- henge; and a Pictish raid, with the capture and sac of Winchester (Yenta Belgarum), ads interest to the narrativ." [Nation. 772 510-42. THE AGE OF CHIVALRY, [by T: Bulfinch: Boston, Crosby, 1859.] " The romantic tales which wer the literature of the hier class before the art of printing related to knights, dragons, enchanted castles, dun- geons, giants, and fair ladies, and contained many references to the customs and manners of the times. It is these tales which Mr. Bulfinch has collected, modernized, and now presents to the public. That such a prince as Arthur ever livd [510-42?] there is some doubt; but no doubt that the tales and romances con- tained in the ' Age of Chivalry ' ar as old as the hils, if not older. Dante, Ariosto and Boccaccio, Spenser, Mil- ton and Scott, and Longfellow and Lowell, hav each told, in comely verse, some portions of these en- chanting tales. The book before us is divided into two parts; the first being devoted to King Arthur and his knights, and the second to the Mabinogion, or Welsh popular tales." [Home Journal.]—" We ar ac- quainted with no other compendious manual of the mythology of the Mid- dle Age— a mythology with as fixed forms, as commonly received tradi- tions, and as intimate relations with language, literature, and life in its own and succeeding times, as the body of Greek or Roman fable. We can only express our emphatic and unqualified praise, alike of matter and manner, alike as to what the book contains and what it excludes." [North Amer. Review. 773 THE BOY'S MABINOGION. [by Sidney Lanier: Scribner, ISSl.] " This delightful series of boys' books comes to an end with ' The Boy's Mabinogion,' a companion vol- ume to his ' Froissart ' and ' King Arthur.' These weird Welsh tales open to the young reader a new and strange mine of legend, ' tho not so rich as the ' Arabian Nights,' they ar more vigorous, and their fascination is of a more manful character.' Their distinctiv pecu- liarity, as is shown in the introduc- tion, is an extravagance and grotes- queness, and ' a greater sense of foreignness, of a wholy different cul- tus, than even Chinese or other an- tipodal tales.' " [Nation. 774 THE STORY OF ALEXANDER. [by Robert Steele: Macmillau, 1S94.] " This history is delightfully desti- tute of fact, and presents only the 36 HISTORY:— ENGLAND. marvelous and fanciful legends of the Middle Ages, in which Alex- ander is made a son of Auectanabus, King of Egypt, conquers Sir Balaan of Tyre as well as Gog and Magog, and visits Jerusalem, where he is humbly received by the bishop and the mayor, attired in gorgeous silks from Tartary. Fortunately. Buce- phalus is retained intact, and pran- ces throu the story with all his an- cient fascinations. The illustrations and the book ar very dainty and charming." [Nation. 775 JAUFREY THE KNIGHT and the Fair Brunissende: a Tale of the Times of King Arthur [by Mary- Lafon: London, Addey, 1S56] "is representativ of the old romance. It is said to be taken from the rimes of the troubadours in the 13th cen- tury. It claims from us an utter and complete abandonment of the mind to the old notions of knights- errant and of the sort of adventures they encountered. Mr. Elwes givs a color to his translation by printing it in prose, which is, for the most part, blank verse printed prose-wise. The effect is good, because the stilted pace, the pompous inver- sions, and the ridiculously artificial way of telling artificial things, ar all in keeping with the sort of thots presented to the mind. . . It is admirably illustrated by Dore, who has gone to work Avith a most humorous sense of what he Avas about. He is desperately serious and romantic, yet in every picture there may be found a something corresponding to the twitch about the corner of the mouth in a man whose jest it is to look portentous." [Examiner. 77G THE HISTORY OF SIR T: THUMB [by C. M.. Youge, 1859] " tels the story of Tom Thumb in association with the story of King Arthur. ]Many a young reader wil obtain throu this book a first peep into the fairy land of Arthurian romance. It is a new story, faith- ful throughout to old legend, and told gracefully with many a little turn of independent fancy." [Ex- aminer. 777 THE STORY OF KING ARTHUR, [by J. T. Knowles: Griflith, 1861.] " The stories ar narrated in simple language. The book wil be very pleasant to boys not yet ripe for the ' Idyls of the King.' To them Arthur wil always be a hero, and Guenivere, Lancelot, and ' the bold Sir Bedivere,' real entities. The au- thor tels us that he has ' done little but abridge and simplify Sir T: Mallory's Collection of the Leg- ends.' " [Critic. 778 THE BOY'S KING ARTHUR, [ed- ited by Sidney Lanier: Scribner, — Low, 1880.] " We do not see the necessity for a specially boyish King Arthur. Malory's book has always been a favorit, not only with boys of some literary turn, but with boys in general. The charming language of Malory, the constant and bloody battles, the mystic leg- end of the Grail, the splendid and stately rhetoric of the concluding chapters, make Malory's book the English classic of boyhood." [Sat- urday Review. 779 STORIES OF THE DAYS OF KING ARTHUR [by C. H. Hanson: Nelson, 1882] " is a capital book for boys. The author asserts that it is ' the most complete epitome of the Arthurian legends which has been prepared for young people ' — Mr. Lanier's ' Boy's King Author ' con- sisting entirely of extracts from Sir T: Malory, while the present com- pilation embraces many legends of which Malory took no account. It is a question whether the fulness of narration in Mr. Lanier's stories wil not make up for the greater completeness of this selection; it favors uniformity of style, at any BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. rate, for it is entirely in Malory's words, while here we hav passages in the editor's modern style side by side with others in which ' the quaint style of Malory ' is pre- servd. The book is so good, how- ever, that Ibis slight blemish (if it be one) is hardly noticed." [Nation. 780 TALES OF KING ARTHUR and His Knights of the Round Table [by Ma. Vere Farringtou: Putnam, 1888] " is a handsom volume, wel illustrated. It is pleasantly written, tho not always with sufficient care; and wil giv our young people a good idea of various of the Arthur- ian legends. It is, of course, im- possible, in treating material of this kind, to avoid some presentation of ideas which we dislike to put be- fore boys and girls, but these our author has touched very lightly." [Nation. 781 LEGENDARY TALES OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS, [by L.. L. J. Menzies: Smith, 1864.] " ' The follo- ing legends,' says the preface, ' hav been selected from those preservd in the ' Chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth.' Her selection in- cludes ' The Legend of the Brothers Beli and Bran,' ' The Legend of Al- ban of Verulam,' ' The Legend of Esyllt and Sabrina,' dear to Milton, and ' The Legend of Lear and his Three Dauters '; and there can be no doubt that the hope of the author, ' that they may serv to kindle in the minds of those who read them a love for the men who in olden times trod the soil we tread, and to giv them fuller enjoyment of tho great poets of their country,' wil be amply realized. The tenderness of some of the tales is such that one frequently fancies he is reading a prose version of the ' Idylls ' of Ten- nyson; and whether we turn the compliment on the Laureate or the Legend, it holds equally true of both." [Reader. 782 CAED WALLA [by Frank Cowper: Seeley, 1887] " is a story of the Saxons in the Isle of Wight and Sussex. As a story it might be more interesting, tho both care and skil ar evident in the description of the social condition of the Saxons and the sketches of monks." [Sat- urday Review.]—" How Caedwalla conquers Edilwalch and takes pos- session of Cissanceaster, and later kils the brutal Arwald and recovers the realm of Wessex, and then, re- linquishing his throne, goes to Rome as a pilgrim; also how Aedric and Wulfstan ar restored to their father, who is concealed in the ruins of the Roman villa at Bradiug— we leave the intelligent reader to discover. The story abounds in incident both exciting and amusing." [Athen- aeum. 783 871-901. THE SEA-KINGS IN ENGLAND. [by Edwin Atherstone: Cadell, 1830.] " The fortunes of Alfred hav been chanted in epic, celebrated in lyric, ode, and hymn, represented in drama and melodrama, narrated in history, and embellished in romance and novel ; and yet, neither in poetry nor prose, has any work been pro- duced approaching to a realization of those charms which our early conceived notions and associations surround the character. . . Ed- mund is the hero of the tale, and the son of Alfred's brother. This youth is placed in the monastery of Glastonbury, with the destruction of which splendid pile by the Danes the story opens. The retirement of the Saxon prince to the swine- herd's cottage, his reappearance in the field, his visit to the Danish camp in disguise, the destruction of the Danish tleet, the atrocities of the battles which folloed, and the con- 38 HISTORY :— ENGLAKD. version of some of the Danish lead- ers, might all be suspected to hav been taken from the repositories of Mr. Cottle's poem. Mr. Atherstone deservs at least the praise of in- dustry. He has, to some extent, lifted the curtain which hangs over the manners of our ancestors, and has succeeded in affording what we think tolerably correct notions of their customs in peace as wel as in war. The Danish encampments ar also spread before us in bold and powerful sketches, and the whole tone of the work partakes strongly of the agitated, uncivilized, and law- less age to which its characters be- long." [Monthly Review. 785 THE CHRONICLE OF ETHEL- FLED, [by A.. (Manning) Rathboue (1807—): Hall, 1861.] "The author has selected a hero whom to de- fame would be an easy but thank- less task. King Alfred [871-901] shines throu the centuries with a light which no historian could dim in the popular estimation. He is to us the impersonation of Saxon strength and wisdom. Brave as Ar- thur, but with more reality about him; bold and wise as the first Ed- ward, but with more poetry about him, he stands as the typical pat- tern of what an English king should be. ' The Chronicle of Ethelfled ' is very slight, and light and pleasant to read. It is one of those historical snatches throu which runs a uarro vein of personal, fictitious narrativ which gently tickles our appetite for knoledge, and yet leaves us satis- fied to accept as facts, statements which we should not venture to re- peat without further inquiry. We feel that we hav received a good general idea of the period described, and rest content. The supposed writer of the ' Chronicle ' is sister to Alfred's (jueen. She records, in a simple, graphic manner, the domes- tic life of the times, and the terror which the frequent incursions of the Danes produced in the land." [Lit. Gazette. 785k THE DRAGON AND THE RAVEN [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1885] " is a wel built super- structure of fiction on an interest- ing substratum of fact. The in- vasions of East Anglia and Wessex by the Danes, King Alfred's reverses and triumphs, the battle of Ethan- dune, the siege of Paris by the Norsemen, ar all treated in a man- ner most attractiv to the boyish reader." [Athenseum. 786 HAROLD, [by Baron Lytton (1805- 73): Bentley, 1848.] "Our English and Norman ancestors breathe as freely, and move with as little wCnght of history on their bacs, as if they had livd but yesterday. The drier histo- rical details ar for the most part relieved with charming effect by in- troduction of the graphic style of the simpler Saxon chronicle. And tho the romantic interest of the book accumulates sloly, it is always in progress, becomes at the last very strong and full, and servs to make more vivid the impression which, before every other, would seem to hav been intended by the novelist, of the actual men and motivs which governd this particular period of history. The fiction creates a healthy appetite for fact, the relish to ascertain and understand yet more. The characters most elabo- rated ar those of Harold and Ed- ward the Confessor. In these, the weakness and greatness of the Saxon, we may read why it was that we wer conquered, and how it was that we imposed our institu- tions on the conqueror. Harold is as finely done as any character we can remember in the range of his- toric fiction. Into the grand, cold, stil lines of history is breathed the 39 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. breath of life, full, hi-bearted, brave." [Examiner.] — " This is Bul- wer's most successful attempt at writing an historical novel, but with all its merits, it is stil rather an attempt than a performance. Considerd as a history of the ISTor- man invasion, it contains many more facts than can be found in Thierry. But he has not managed his materials in an imaginativ way, and fact and fiction ar tied rather than fused." Graham's Mag. C7S6m WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, [by C: Napier: Routledge, ISoS.] " This is precisely the sort of ro- mance we should hav expected from a Napier, full of fierce contests and bold encounters, impetuous, graphic, and concise; every page tels of a battle-field or feat of arms of hi emprise, not unmingled, as in the deeds of ancient chivalry, with the softening infiuence of woman's love. The author yields to the in- fluence of his own fiction as com- pletely as if the work wer a truthful military chronicle, so eager and ear- nest is his style, so much heart has he thrown into his vivid and pic- turesque descriptions. Sir C: Napier was not, however, a merely impul- siv writer: he was wel read in the history of the period he had chosen, and made good use of his reading; he was thoroly familiar with his localities, and whether his scene wer Saxon or Norman, he proved himself equally master of the neces- sary details. It is in the manner of telling this story that the chief merit of the romance lies." [Exam- iner. C7S6p 1066. WULF THE SAXON [by G: Al- fred Henty: Blackie, 1894] " is a capital story of the unequal conflict of Harold with his northern and southern foes. Wulf, a youth of Sussex, a glorified Saxon iu some ways, wins his way to honor in those stirring times by a display of cour- age and endurance which wil set boys in a glo as they read. The description of the fight at Stamford and that at Hastings [1066] ar in Mr. Henty's most vigorous style." [Saturday Review. 787 OLD ENGLISH HISTORY FOR CHILDREN [by E: A: Freeman: Macmillan, 1869] " is a solid, con- scientious and entertaining history of England to the Conquest. It is the book which the parent of a groing child — say of 12 or upwards — can hardly excuse himself for not purchasing; and it is as fit for a Christmas gift as a book of tales. The style, iu fact, would alone rec- ommend it — English history told in simple and colloquial English, which without being in the least con- strained, is almost monosyllabic. . . . The steady, chronological march of the narrativ is relieved here and there by episodes which the author wil not admit to be history, nor yet omit wholy, because a grain of truth may be in them. These, with warnings duly prefixed, he casts in a form akin to the Bible-English. He givs also occasionally a ballad, and in other ways keeps up the young reader's interest to the end. The notes ar for grown people." [Nation. 788 1070. HEREWARD, the Last of the English, [by C: Kingsley: Ticknor, 1866.] " The author has written nothing better than this recital of the adventures of Hereward, son of the famous Lady Godiva and the ' grim earl ' Leofric, her husband — who as a boy, under Edward the Confessor, was outlawed, as too hard a case for his parents to man- age; who took service with foreign princes and turned sea-rover on his 40 HISTORY :— ENGLAND. own account; who was the last of the Berserkers and the first of the knights-errant; who performed un- paralleled feats of valor and cun- ning; who, on the Duke of Norman- dy's invasion of England, felt him- self, in spite of his outlawry, stil an Englishman at heart, sailed over to England, and collected an army to contest the Norman's rights; who contested them long and bravely, but at last found the invaders too many for him and was driven for a subsistence to the greenwood, where he set the fashion to Robin Hood and the dozen other ballad- heroes whom the author enumer- ates; who under his reverses grew cold and faithless to the devoted wife whom he had married out of Flanders, and who had foUoed his fortunes over land and sea; who, re- pudiating Torfrida, thot to patch up his prospects by a base union with a Norman princess, for whom he had cherished an earlier but an unworthy passion, and by a tardy submission to the new king; who at last, disappointed, humiliated, de- moralized by idleness, fell a victim, in his stalwart prime, to the jeal- ousy of the Norman knights. The hero, as the reader sees, is an his- torical iigure, duly celebrated in the contemporary and other chronicles, English and Norman. How many of his adventures ar fiction does not here signify, inasmuch as they wer destind to become fiction in this novel; and, as the elements of a novel by a man of genius, be- come animated with a more lively respectability than could ever ac- crue to them as parcels of dubious history." [Nation.]— For the earlier adventures of Hereward see " Count Robert of Paris." 789 THE RIVAL HEIRS [by Augus- tine D: Crake: N. Y., Young. 1882] " were Saxon and Norman in the years between the battle of Hastings and the return from the first cru- sade. It is a tale for the elders in the school-room, and for the purity and smoothness of its style it may be commended to such of them as can stand the horror of the deeds of a brutal time. The bare outUnes which the chronicles furnish hav been filled in with details almost too real, some of them, in their cruelty. The author folloes scrupulously the lead of such writers as Freeman." [Nation. 790 1154-89. THE BETROTHED, [by Walter Scott, 1825.] " The events ar sup- posed to hav happend on the borders of Wales. Gwenwyn, a Welsh prince, asks the hand of Eveline, dauter of Raymond Berenger, the Norman castellane of a fortress in his neborhood, and, of course, a for- midable enemy to his name and na- tion. Raymond refuses, and Gwen- wyn advances to the attac of the for- tress at such short warning that the Norman has not time to receive the help of the neboring barons. This would hav been a matter of little consequence to Raymond, and the Welsh might hav knocked their heads against the walls to as little purpos as they had often done be- fore, but for an unfortunate promis, which, during the short preceding interval of tranquillity, he had made to Gwenwyn, to meet him on any future occasion in fair fight and without the protection of ditches and engins. The chivalrous notions of the times compelled him to march out with a part of his slender garri- son to certain destruction, leaving the castle and his dauter to the pro- tection of a small band of Flemish feudatories. The knight is, of course, slain, and the victorious Gwenwyn attacs the castle, which, after being defended a single day with difiiculty, is relieved by the ad- 41 BOOKS FOR THE YOUXG. vance of Hugo de Lacy, by whom the Welsh prince is slain and his foUoers cut to pieces. In return for this service, and in consequence of certain previous arrangements with her father, he seeks the hand of Eveline, and after a reasonable time is solemnly affianced to her. This conduct excites the indignation of Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, by whose preaching the Constable had lately been induced to assume the ensigns of a Crusader. He in- sists on the immediate performance of his vow, and De Lacy is obliged to leave his betrothed under the care of his nephew Damian. The results of this arrangement every reader wil anticipate. The Constable, on his return, finds his affairs at home on the point of utter ruin, and Damian charged with breach of trust to him and Iris sovran. Tho these charges prove to be in the main false, De Lacy is wise enuf to perceive that Eveline wil be a more suitable bride for his nephew, and the work closes with their marriage." [U. S. Lit. Gazette. 791 THE TALISMAN [by Walter Scott, 1825] " forms a link between ' The Betrothed ' and Ivanhoe. In ' The Betrothed,' Richard Coeur de Lion appears for a few moments as the heir-apparent to the throne. The reader of ' The Talisman ' finds him in Palestine, having left his kingdom, not long after his acces- sion to its throne, to the miseries and distractions described in Ivan- hoe. The story is principally occu- pied with the sicness of Richard and his contests with his fello crusaders of Austria and France. An import- ant character is the Prince Royal of Scotland, who servs incognito in the English army and finally marries the sister of the English king. Saladin appears in various disguises, not al- ways probable or consistent, in one of which he cures Richard with a talisman. The author enters into the character of Richard with spirit, and it occupies a large part of the work. . . The curious in these mat- ters wil probably be interested in the comparison between this Talis- man and the Saracen of Mrs. Cottin, a crusade romance of great reputa- tion in its day. The time, the place and the principal characters ar the same. It is evident that the writers hav drawn in many instances from the same sources." [U. S. Lit. Ga- zette. 792 IVANHOE. [1820; condensed. Holt, 1876.] " If it be true, as Mr. John- son says, that he ' has found people, neither few in number nor contemp- tible in culture,' who wer prevented from reading Scott's novels ' by the tedious process required to reach the heart of the story,' we can only say that thej' ar much to be pitied, and that we fear their case is beyond even the administration of them in the most homoeopathic doses. They either hav the taste to enjoy works of the order of the best of Scott's novels — for we allow there is a dif- ference among them— or thgy hav not. If they hav it, they wil never be content with any dilution or diminution of their bulk as they came fresh and free from the en- chanter's brain. There is a charm in the very careless profusion with which Scott pours forth his words which no lover of his immortal sto- ries would willingly forego. We ar glad to affirm that within the range of our acquaintance the magic of Scott's genius stil holds good its spels for young and old. The num- ber of readers has so enormously increased since Scott's time that the proportion of his votaries may be less than when he alone swayed the imagination. But we do not doubt that the absolute number of his readers is as great as ever. His books ar stil the staf of intellectual 42 HISTORY:— ENGLAND. life on which intelligent parents nourish the minds of their children, and we believe there ar very few of those who seek to escape from the toils and troubles of life into the fields of imagination who do not oftenest take him for their guide and interpreter." [Nation. 793.— " Hav you read ' Ivanhoe '? Do you like it? What a silly question! What two silly questions! You must hav read, and you must hav liked, that most gorgeous and magnificent tale of chivalry. I kno nothing so rich, so splendid, so profuse, so like old painted glass, or a gothic chapel full of shrines, and banners, and knightly monuments. The soul, too, which is sometimes wanting, is there in its full glory of passion and ten- derness. . . . But there is no finding fault with a book which puts one so much in mind of Froissart. ' Ivan- hoe ' is more like him than any thing that has been written these three centuries." [M.. R. Mitford, 1820. 794 THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, [by Howard Pyle: Scribner, 1883.] " The narra- tiv is thoroly pleasant, often pictur- esque, and it will infallibly interest." [Nation. 795 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, [by J. B. Marsh: Routledge, 1889.] " Every Christ- mas endows Robin Hood with a new lease of life, and shos how fresh and living must be the springs from which gushes this ever-delightful romance. Castaly itself could hardly be more perpetual, more ex- haustless. Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and Little John ar figures which hav entranced the childhood of the English nation during all the centuries from 1193 to 1889, and that entrance English children stil. The old English ballad- books bubble over with them; their green jerkins flash throu the by- ways and hiways of early England; their pranks and capers giv fun to many a poem, and their cross-bos and arros kindle our youthful dreams stil with fond and emulous enthusiasm. What forest is like Sherwood Forest, for thrilling ad- venture and haunted glades and raity oaks and whizzing deer? What friar was ever so fat and funny and lovable as Friar Tuck, who steals wine for Robin from the monastery cellars, and is one day found dead ' under the green- wood tree ' ? What maid is half as pretty as Maid Marian, who sick- ened and died of the court-life of stately London, and whose death broke Robin's heart? And wh§re did ever such charming abbesses and bold cavaliers and splendid hounds and brillant huntsmen liv, as in this gay and deathless ro- mance? " [Critic. 796 THE BOY FORESTERS [by A.. Bowman (f, 1886): Routledge, 1868] " attempts to reproduce, and does it with some surface fidelity, the life of the men whom harsh forest laws of Norman England and the oppression of the lords-of-the-manor drove into exile in the greenwood. The story is interesting, and the sen- timents of the outlaws wil be found to be in the main hily creditable to their religious, moral and polit- ical training. That children would get amusement from it as cer- tain as that their fathers would get amusement from ' Ivanhoe,' and the amusement would not be of a much different kind, nor, making due al- lowance for the discrepancy of age, would it be at all different, we sup- pose, in degree." [Nation. 797 THE FOREST OUTLAWS, [by E. Gilliat: Seeley,— Putnam, 1886.] " The principal historical characters ar Henry II. and Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln. The character of this fa- mous prelate, whose undoubted 43 BOOKS FOR THE YOtTXG. sanctity was tempered by a certain shrewd worldliness, is wel deline- ated, as is also life at the great monastery of St. Albans and in the cities of London and Lincoln; but far less is told of Robin Hood and his band than we could hav wished. The author has been at great pains to imitate the forms of speech of that period, and in some cases has put into the mouths of his charac- ters their words taken from their writings or contemporaneous rec- ords. In this way he has made a very faithful picture, but at the same time has lessened the interest of his excellent story by being often unintelligible." [Nation. 798 1216-72. JOHN O' LONDON [by Somer- ville Gibney: Ward, 1887] "deals with the sufferings of the Jews, the rapacity of the barons, and the as- cendancy of the resolute bishop of Lincoln, Grostete. The bishop is presented with considerable power, and the church history of the period is cleverly treated without at all proving burdensom to the interest of a charming story of love and ad- venture." [Saturday Review. 799 1262. THE THIRSTY SWORD [by Ro. Leighton: Blackie, 1892] " is a story of Norse pretensions to rule Scot- land, and of the invasion of Norse- men, under Hakon, of the Western Isles. It is a striking narrativ of the strife between Norse and Scot, and the feud between Alpin of Bute and his uncle MacAlpin, the assas- sin of his father." [Saturday Re- view. 799k HOW I WON MY SPURS, [by J: G: Edgar: Beeton, 1863.] "He sees in the Barons' War [1262-65] an ancient monarchy opposed in noble desires by a selfish aristocracy and an ignorant democracy; but it does not greatly matter, perhaps, how he reads history; there ar bat- tles and adventures, and the book is interspersed with very good woodcuts of knights in conflict, and of castles and other places men- tioned in the story." [Exam. 800 1272-07. PRENTICE HUGH [by F.. M.. Peard: National Society, 1887] " is a capital story of life in the Fen Country, and then among the carv- ers at Exeter. Miss Peard has told her tale clearly and wel, and has studied carefully in the contempor- ary chronicles, tho she does not force medisevalisms upon us. The 'prentice boy after many adventures is allowed to assist in the carving of the cathedral choir, just then rising into beauty. Perhaps his casual meetings with Edward I. ar too frequent, even for a hero, but the boy is naturally described, and his monkey, an object of repulsion to the grown people, and an un- ceasing joy to the children, lends a new attraction to the tale." [Sat- urday Review. 801 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS, [by J.. Porter: 1810; rep., McClurg, 1892.] " We ar glad to see so attractiv an edition of this romance. To be sure, its hily , colored sentiment is as old-fashioned as wil be most of the iutrospectiv, analytic fiction pf to-day 80 years hence, and its rather Grandisonian hero is far away— centuries away— from the real Wallace; but the story has suf- ficient vigor and movement and enuf real feeling to make it stil a favorit with bright boys and girls,— that is, if they ar not already familiar with their Scott, for then they ar apt to find Miss Porter's thrilling tale but 'prentice work." [Atlantic. 802 LIFE OF SIR W: WALLACE [Glasgow, 1859] " is a popular nar- 44 HISTORY:— ENGLAND. rativ, comprising iu the true spirit of hero-worship all the events in the life of the great Scottish pat- riot [f, 1305]. It is a book in which boys wil and men may take de- light, for it is full of action and adventure. Appended to it is a list of works illustrativ of the Life and Acts of Wallace, from Henry the Minstrel's Poem down to this very readable compilation." [Literary Gazette. 803 THE DAYS OF BRUCE [by G.. Aguilar: 1852] " takes up the his- tory of the Scottish Chiefs, just where J.. Porter finished hers,— with the death of Wallace. Bruce, sore and stricken in conscience, de- serted the banner of Edward, and placed himself at the head of the adherents of the great Scottish patriot. This tale shos the progress of his fortunes, throu adversity, frequent defeat, much suffering and sorro, to the triumphant moment when he could wear the Scottish crown and wield the Scottish scep- tre, in complete defiance of the rival and hostil power. Certain in- teresting love histories ar inter- woven with the historical material, very much in the vein of Miss Porter; but it wil be no wrong to the talent of Miss Aguilar to say that the peculiar charm of her predecessor, which made her so pre- cious to young hearts, is stil unri- valed." [Southern Review. 804 1327. THE ABBOT'S BRIDGE [by F.. M.. Peard: Whittaker, 1891] " is a vigorously-told tale of the time when England was involvd in ec- clesiastical disputes, and the Church, gross, rich and powerful, was being undermined in its influence among the poor by the purer order of Francescan; Friars." [Critic. 805 THE LANCES OF LYNWOOD [by C. M.. Y^onge: Parker, 1855] " is a pleasant volume with the flavor of Froissart about it, a ro- mance of the days of the Black Prince (1330-76)." [Examiner. 806 1381. ALICE OF FOBBING. [Parker, I860.] " The scenes which accom- panied the insurrection of Wat Tyler, the terrible state of the coun- try, the tyranny of the nobles, and the bitter resentment of the serfs, ar wel described, and the writer seems wel acquainted with the man- ners and customs of those early times." [Lit. Gazette. 807 JOHN STANDISH [by E: Gilliat: Seeley, 1888] " is a more than us- ually successful attempt at histor- ical fiction. It deals with the re- bellion of Wat Tyler, and as the author thinks it ' more important to reproduce the words and thots of the past than to rely for a faithful picture on inventories of clothes and furniture,' he has made what seems a fairly successful illustration of the times. The notes ar too numer- ous for adult readers, but excellent for children." [Athenaeum. 808 THE BOYS' FROISSART. See later under France. THE KNIGHTS OP ENGLAND, FRANCE AND GERMANY, [by H: W: Herbert (1807-58): Redfield, 1852.] "The Saxon and the Nor- man knights occupy 7 narrativs; three ar given to the Crusaders [1096-1241]; as many to illustrations of feudal history; while the Scottish legends extend to 10. These all af- ford great variety of material and characterization. Mr. Herbert is of the proper temper to illustrate the deeds of chivalry. His style and manner ar of that stately class which seem properly suited to the era of the bold barons, who ' drank the red wine throu the helmet barred,' who wer proud and daring, insolent and licentious, but who 45 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. could Strangely mingle love and hu- mility with the wildest deeds of ambition and of audacious courage." [Southern Review. 809 1390. JACK OF THE MILL, [by W: Howitt: Routledge, 1871.] " We can not number the years since our first i-eading of this booli, but it was long ago, and we ar glad to see the story revived, finding our pleasant recollections of it confirmed on re- perusal. It is a semi-historical novel, relating to the persecutions of the Lollards and the wars of the Hussites, under Ziska [1360-1424], and inculcating religious freedom also by examples of Jewish fidelity and humanity. The portraiture of England in those days, both in its scenery and in its social and polit- ical condition, is calculated to leave truthful and lasting impressions, while the romantic adventures of the hero ar, if our experience is a test, sure to be vividly remembered beyond the age of childhood." [Na- tion. C809m MEN OF IRON [by Howard Pyle: Harper, 1892] " is a story of the fortunes of a young Englishman who is attached to the household of a powerful nobleman during the reign of Henry IV. (1399-1413). Young Myles Falworth is of the stuf of which heroes wer made in those bracing times. Wonderful and rapid Is his rise to knightly distinction. But the author has plausibly pre- pared the way for the advancement of his hero, and has designed a pic- turesque setting for a stirring story. The training of young Falworth, the sports and brawls of his comrades, together with some stout fiting. ar described with excellent spirit. In- deed, with arms and armor, fencing and tilting, the author deals in gen- erous fashion, and not ih a dry an- tiquarian style." [Sat. Review. 810 BELT AND SPUR [London, 1882] " is a collection of stories of chiv- alry. It begins with Wace's ac- count of ' how Duke William and his knights landed in England,' and ends with * the act of arms between the Lord Scales and the Bastard of Burgundy ' in 1467. The stories ar 17 in number, of great variety, both in character and in style of narra- tion, being taken from a great num- ber of chronicles. Most of them ar genuin history, the least historical being a most entertaining account of the exploits of the outlaw Fulk Fitzwarine, in the reign of King John. Of especial interest is the account of ' the last deeds of Sir Harry Hotspur '—giving many de- tails which the reader of Shaks- pere recognizes." [Nation. 811 HISTORICAL SELECTIONS, [se- lected by E.. M. Sewell and C. M.. Yonge: Macmillau, 1868.] " The ob- ject of the compilers was to enlarge the sphere of historical knoledge, as presented to the young in out- lines and abridgments, ' by contin- uous and chronological selections, taken, as much as was practicable, from the larger works, which it is next to impossible for young people to read at school, and which many may never hav the time and opportu- nity to read in after-life.' And in making the selections they wer guid- ed by the idea of imprinting upon the memory and imagination of their readers ' certain definit terms and distinct biographies ... as land- marks, round which other less im- portant incidents may be grouped,' as wel as by the desire of present- ing specimens of good and attractiv English composition. As regards the latter object, the compilation may be said to be very wel exe- cuted. The selections— from Free- man's ' Norman Conquest,' Roscoe's ' Kings of England,' Lingard's ' Eng- land,' Pearson's ' England during 46 HISTORY :— ENGLAND. the Early and Middle Ages,' Hook's ' Archbishops of Canterbury,' Pal- grave's ' History of Normandy,' Knight's ' Normans in Sicily,' Steph- en's ' Essays on Ecclesiastical Biog- raphy,' Milman's ' Latin Christian- ity,' James' ' Richard Coeiir de Lion,' Hume's ' England,' T. C. Robertson's ' Becket,' Morrison's ' Saint Ber- nard,' Lord Campbell's ' Lives of the Chancellors,' Gibbon's ' Roman Empire,' Creasy's ' English Consti- tution,' and a few other books— ar not only historically instructiv but, almost all, pleasant and attractiv reading— made the pleasanter by the omission of cumbersom details and passages, and more intelligible by a number of introductory sketches, destind to fil gaps or to serv as connecting links. On the other hand, the mere titles of the books from which extracts ar taken ar sufficient to sho how limited the range of this so-called ' European History ' is ; in fact— which a closer examination fully proves— it is al- most restricted to the history of England." [Nation. 812 140G-37. THE CAGED LION [by C. M.. Yonge: Macmillan, 1870] " is writ- ten in exceptionally good English, and the historical characters ar ac- curately drawn. But all is cold, lifeless, and unreal. The story seems to gro duller and duller as we pro- ceed with it. The characters do not project from the canvas like the figures of the wizards who hav brot the past bodily before our eyes, and hav spoilt us for mediocre at- tempts. We do not hear the cracked old bels clanging from the steeples, or see the quaint gable- ended houses of the period, or the processions of mailed knights fa- mous in many a joust and tourna- ment. We only gaze on certain fig- ures who seem to walk wearily across the stage, and to exclaim in solemn accents, ' I am Henry V.,' or, ' I am John, Duke of Bedford.' The traditionary Richard Whittington thrice Lord Mayor of London, and his remarkable cat, are effectively introduced." [Examiner. 813 FOR AND AGAINST; or Queen Margaret's Badge [by F.. M. Wil- braham: Parker, 1858] " is a ro- mance of Warwick the King-maker [1420-71], and abounds in incidents of the kind proper to old romances of the modern school, duly begin- ning with three horsemen who might be seen riding over a hill. But it is, at the same time, wel enuf studied to afford both enter- tainment and instruction." [Exam- iner. 814 1455-85. THE BLACK ARROW, [by Ro. L: Stevenson: Scribner, 1888.] " The personal exploits of the hero hav the national struggle for bacground. Dick fights and loves, and also runs away in manly fashion. He is the eternal boy, with nothing mediaeval about him, except his doublet and hose. There is a certain monotony of hacking and killing in his career which, in the mature mind, begets a listlessness as to its catastrophe. Few ar the men and women who re- tain that youthful joy in deeds of physical daring which the author ap- pears to carry with him from the shooting of the first blac arro to the last. The narrativ is all alive. Dick is always up and doing, always too busy for dul thinking, or for making critical observations on the radiance of the sun by day or the shine of the stars by night. His physical bravei-y is no greater than his moral courage, which he proves gallantly when his royal namesake, Richard of Gloucester [1452-85], qualifies a granted favor with— ' By the glory of Heaven, there your favor dies.' 47 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. ' Mine be the loss,' says Dick, and turns his bac upon the glittering future so recently opening before him." [Nation. 815 GRISLY GRISELL [by C M.. Yonge: Macmillan, 1893] " is the nic- name given to a poor little damsel whose face had been marred by an explosion. Grisly Grisell was a faithful namesalie of Chaucer's meek heroin, and bore rebuffs and hard names with a noble spirit of for- bearance, studying only how she might make her presence endurable to those about her. To this end she threw her energies into learning the nature of herbs and potions, and the wise counsel she was obliged to giv herself under suffering taut her courage, judgment and sagacity. The time came when she made herself not only useful to, but beloved by, all about her, and won the confidence of those hi in authority at Court, and the affectionate devotion of her husband, who liad been .ioined to her under compulsion and loathing." [Critic. 816 1471. THE CHANTRY PRIEST, [by Alfred J: Church: Seeley, 1884.] " The author has deviated a little from history, but givs what seems to be a faithful picture of manners in the 15th century. He oes a good deal to the Paston Letters. Grant- ing that young people can learn his- tory by reading historical stories, this is likely to be a very useful book, as it certainly is very interest- ing. There should be some mention of the manuscripts from which the splendid colored plates ar copied. The hero narrates the story of his own life, and tels us of Caxton, of the schoolmaster-printer of St. Al- bans, and of the battles of Barnet [1471] and Flodden." [Saturday Re- view. 817 1487. A KING PLAY [by J. E. Free- man: Freeman, 1863] " recorded the romantic history of Lambert Simuel, his loly birth, his sudden rise to ap- parent power with all its brilliant concomitants, his conduct in bat- tle, his defeat, his degradation to the office of scullion to Henry VII., and his subsequent advance to the more exalted post of falconer. His life and adventures ar wel calculated to attract the attention and interest of children; and Mrs. Freeman's simple style is wel adapted to impress the picture of the times." [Parthenon. 818 1488. THE CAPTAIN OF THE WIGHT [by Frank Cowper: N. Y., Young, 1888] " is a romance of Carisbrooke Castle in 1488, and the author has made industrious efforts to render the book a faithful record of the martial, domestic and social life of the time." [Critic. 819 1499. PERKIN WARBECK [by M.. W. (Godwin) Shelley: 1834] " is strictly historical, embracing a period fruit- ful of associations of the most romantic character. The author had abundant materials for an efCectiv narrativ. That he used them to the very best advantage it would be hazardous to say. We can imagin that in the hands of Scott, scenes more impressiv, delineations more graphic, and characters more strik- ing might hav been produced. But the work is far from being deficient in these particulars. For easy flo of diction, and that simplicity of phrase so wel suited to narrativ, it is to be preferred to the shoy grandiloquence of ' The Last Days of Pompeii,' and wil please more of that numerous class of readers who seek for en- tertainment in the relation of im- 48 HISTORY {—ENGLAND. portant and hazardous adventures and heroic achievements, rather than in elaborated sentiment, or in the exhibition of overcharged passion or extravagant actions." [American Quarterly. 820 1561-72. MAGDALEN HEPBURN [by Ma. Oliphant (Wilson) Oliphant: Hurst, 1854] " is a story of the Reformation, with J: Knox [1505-72] prominently introduced among the dramatis personte, and with storms and sieges among the incidents. Magda- len is true love to a cousin Paul, becomes an orphan and a Royal ward under the regency of the Earl of Arran [t, 1575], refuses to be of- ficially provided with a husband, and finds refuge under the same roof with Knox, whose friend her Paul is, and whose companion he had been. "We confess that we like the author better when she deals with the world as it is. Few hav a clearer or more genial insight into its home mysteries. We enjoy heart- ily always the Scottish flavor of her books, but we do not so wel like to taste in addition the savor of conven- tional dialog established to be read in romances of the 16th century. This we wil say, but we desire to say it lightly, for the book is thoroly enjoy- able, pleasant women move to and fro in it, characters ar wel discrimi- nated (we hav a charming Scotch girl, Jean, and another less charm- ing, Alice, but both excellent foils to the heroin), and there is a sense everywhere of the right and good, as wel as of the picturesque." [Ex- aminer. 821 1567-68. THE ABBOT, by Walter Scott: 1820. C821S As collateral reading:— MARY STUART, [by Alphonse de Lamartine: Edin., Black, 1859.] " Weak, sentimental, luscious, ideal- izing Lamartine could not hav had a better subject for his pen than that beautiful Mary, Queen of Scots, the loved, the persecuted, the fasci- nating, and the frail. We might hav expected the most romantic poem-history from him; full of rhe- torical flights and bewildering in its typographical redundances; a poem-history made of conjectures and psychology, with a poet's lofty disregard of matters of fact. But Lamartine has been sober where we expected more than his usual intoxi- cation, and has stood quietly on the earth when we looked for his sail- ing off in his many-colored balloon out of sight among the stars. His little book is a history, not a fanciful declamation, and it is care- ful not to be an advocacy. It is a book which wil anger Miss Strick- land and Mr. Fronde alike, neither of whom is content to weigh with even-handed measures. But while it displeases the fanatics and par- tisans of either side, it wil delight all those who ar willing to study history without passion, and to ac- cept historical characters for what they wer without insisting that they wer what they should hav been, or what we think they should hav been. It is really a comfort in these days of passionate historians to meet a book which is not vitupera- tiv, unjust, one-sided, and false,— and to be able to read pleasantly and coolly, without being called on to hurl anathemas at the author or his treatment, according to the vues we may hold. And we o Mr. Lamartine thanks that he has had the good sense to reproduce Mary's touching story without thinking it necessary to make himself either champion or accuser." [Lit. Gazette. C821V 49 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE CHILDREN OF THE CHAPEL [Masters, 1864] " is a charmingly-told tale. The hero, gen- erous and bright, but without much head for study, is stolen, on his way to school, by the master of the Queen's choristers, Gyles; and the interest of the story lies in the hard- ships which the little fello undergoes at the hands of his cruel task-mas- ter. The author, in introducing the morality-play of the ' Pilgrimage of Pleasure,' which the boys perform before the Queen, takes occasion to weave into his story much antiquar- ian knoledge; and the manners and customs, and even the phraseology of the period, ar preservd through- out with a considerable amount of artistic consistency." [Reader. 822 1575. KBNILWORTH. [by Walter Scott: 1821.] "In The Abbot Scott introduced :\Iary of Scotland [1542- 87], in Keuilworth he brings them into the presence of Elizabeth [1533- 1603]. He has drawn Mary as lov- ing, lovely, and fascinating, but withal a spiteful and passionate beauty; while Elizabeth, with her frequent and uncouth oaths, is in- deed a royal termagant. He would, perhaps, hav evinced more taste in softening rather than hiteniug the portraits which historians hav given of these ladies. The time of the story is placed in the ISth year of Elizabeth's reign [1575], when she shou in the pride of her power and the meridian of her life. The most prominent character is the Earl of Leicester. He is represented as cruel in his wrath, grasping in his ambition, and treacherous in his love. The gallantry, address and accomplishments which adorn his character serv to deepen these darker shades. In thus portraying the favorit earl, the author has copied very closely the Leicester of Schiller. The objects of their love ar not the same, but they ar the same lovers— timid, suspicious, and temporizing, and in the end aban- doning their victims to the fury of the storm, while they seek to pre- serv themselvs. The lovely and il- fated Amy is drawn with those nice and true strokes which proclaim the Author of Waverly. But her his- tory is the greatest fault of the book. It is a tale of unbroken, un- relieved distress. The pleasures of the fete at Kenilworth— which ar de- scribed in the spirit of Shakspere— , ar thrown into confusion by her dis- tresses; the gorgeous festivity, the joyous spirit which breathes over them, saddened by her presence. The unpleasant feeling arising from the description of her woes is not relieved by any nobleness or gener- osity in the calculating Leicester; and the final catastrophe not only disgusts the taste, but the feelings of the reader." [Literary Repos. 823 1580-SS. WESTWARD HO! [by C: Kings- ley: Macmillan, 1855.] " The author has read the time carefully, and has studied Hakluyt with the other rec- ords, English and Spanish, of the marvelous achievements of the ad- venturers on the Spanish main, the fame and profit whereof made the cry of ' Westward Ho! ' the motto of English enterprise and energy in the 16th century. Nor has he less had in vue the inculcation of a bit- ter hatred and contempt for Jesuit- ism as the deadly enemy of man- hood, truth and liberty, civil and re- ligious. As a glorification of Eliza- beth and her England— a holding up of unconscious rectitude and manly hardihood as tlie jewels of English character, a picture of the great struggle, in the old world and the 50 HISTORY :— ENGLAJSTD. new, of England and Protestantism against Spain and tlie Inquisition— 'Westward Ho!' is a booli wliieb had to be Avritten, and has been written in a worthy spirit." [Na- tional Review.]—" In describing such a period as that of Queen Elizabeth, the author, in common with every man ' whose limbs wer made in England,' can not help delivering himself to the inspiration and as- piration of the time. The various adventures of his hero enable him to describe the rural life of the period, the manners of the court, the war in Ireland, as wel as the character and aims of the sturdy sea-kings who made war on the Spanish colonies. The romance evinces a thoro study of the liter- ature, history and social character- istics of the time. The author has especially caut, as by moral infec- tion, the spirit which animates the accounts of the old English voyagers, and discovers the quaint ferocity which characterizes their impres- sions of the Spaniards. In his pages, and seemingly in his heart, he has produced the passions of that day in respect to Spain. The closing scenes of the book ar devoted to a long and vivid narrativ of the gradual destruction of the Armada [1.5SS]. There ar passages in the volume of great eloquence and beauty, es- pecially the descriptions of scen- ery. As a novel, the events hav little connection with each other, having no other bond than the casual one of the presence of the hero in each. Among the most in- teresting portions ar those in which appear Ralegh and Spenser [1553- 99], Drake and Hawkins [1520-95], Grenville [1510-91] and Lord How- ard [1536-1624]. The characteriza- tion is generally good, tho there ar frequent violations of probability in incidents. The book, as a whole, is a splendid and striking produc- tion, fastening the attention it sometimes tantalizes, and compen- sating, by a certain dark, daring, and vehement life for its not in- frequent affectation and wilfulness." [Graham's Mag.]—" Seldom hav we been more reluctant to finish the reading of a book than when we laid down this record of the glorious days of ' good Queen Bess.' There is an intensity of life in the style of Kingsley which takes captiv at once the imagination. You ar no longer under the sun of the nineteenth cen- tury. You ar plunged into the tur- bulence and turmoil of the heroic age in England— an age whose mity problems and contests awoke the genius of man to such gigantic ef- forts as hav hardly had a parallel. You look throu no long vista of ages; you ar with Amyas, the tall, overgrown youth, as he steps for- ward into the writer's magic ring, with pulses precociously beating for the ' battle of life '—no figura- tiv term in those days. You gaze into the noble face of the chivalrous, gentle, pure-souled Francis Leigh. But how shall we speak of the glimpses given into a ' World ' then indeed 'New'? of Margarita, La Guayra, Higuerote, and the ' Banks of the Meta ' ? What those grand South American forests may be in reality, we kno not; what they hav been to the imagination of Kings- ley, we never can forget. To read a chapter of these descriptions is like spending an hour on conse- crated ground. The ' dauter of the Sun,' Spanish-born and forest-bred— wild, resolute, passionate Ayacanora —in her transition from the savage to the civilized state, givs us a fresh and brilliant phase of woman's na- ture. We feel that she is the only mate for the Herculean Amyas, whose bigotry, national prejudices, and terrible oaths of vengeance, so long fight down the impulses of his really noble heart." [Nat. Era. 824 51 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. FOR GOD AND GOLD [by Julian Corbett: Macmillan, 1SS8] " deals with the times of Sir Francis Drake [1540-95], whose character and ca- reer offer excellent opportunities to the writer of adventure based on a semblance, at least, of fact. The story recalls ' Westward Ho ' to some extent, but hardly enuf to in- vite comparison. But even if one wer tempted to make the compari- son, ' For God and Gold ' has noth- ing to lose thereby. For it is a story with an interest and individu- ality of its own, written in a quaint and taking way, and dealing with brave, bi-minded, and generous peo- ple. No one can help loving the hero captain, or admiring his de- voted and courageous men. Nor can one folio the history of their ex- ploits as told by the polished and scholarly Mr. Festing without be- ing interested." [Nation. 825 RALEGH, his Exploits and Voy- ages, [by G: M. Towle: Lee, 1881.] "Ralegh's life [1552-1618] has been many times told, but it has a charm that wil always make it worth tell- ing again. It is worth while to tel the apocryphal stories of the cloak and the ring, as they ar stories which everybody 6t to kno; but the reader 6t to be informed that they ar apocryphal." [Nation. 825a As collateral reading:— LIFE AND TIMES OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. [Ticknor, 1858.] " Sidney's never-waning popularity is due to the fact that he was the embodiment of the gentleman of that age. The prestige which sur- rounds him is the homage that man- kind universally pays to consistent goodness, in persons of conspicuous talent or eminent position. His life was elementary and suggestiv, i-ather than activ and practical; and iindoubtodly nothing became him therein like the leaving it. We ar willingly recalled to the scenes of that tempestuous era by the associa- tions of this most agreeable narra- tiv: and as Ave turn over its pages, the fitful scenes of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's [1572], of the Ar- mada [1588], and of other stirring deeds of those days, stand out clear and sharp on our mental horizon." [Albion. C825h MEMOIR OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, [by H. R. Fox Bourne: Chapman, 1862.] "The author sketches the history of Sydney biography, and by the unaffected manner of his introduction, sends the reader with a good wil to the book, in which we find the same grace of a quiet simplicity. The facts ar wel grouped, and there is not one florid sentence. There ar no circuitous phrases, no sentences cumbrous with long words. Every- thing is told in the directest way and in the simplest phrase, without pushing to affectation even the evi- dent preference for Saxon English." [Examiner. — SAME. [Putnam, 1892.] " The author has recast his excellent mem- oir, and shos Sidney morg as the courtier, man of affairs, and soldier than as the author of Arcadia and of some of the sweetest love-son- nets in the language, tho this side of his character is by no means neglected. We feel anew the undy- ing charm of the man who surely deservs to be deemd, in the hiest sense of that much-abused word, the typical gentleman of our race, and whose greatness, notwithstanding all his accomplishments, all his share in the many-sided life of his time, was the greatness of character rather than of achievement. The il- lustrations ar numerous and very well selected." [Atlantic. 825.1 W: SHAKSPERE: a Biography, [by C: Knight: 1843.] "Biography, 52 HISTORY :— ENGLAND. we can not call this book, but it is clever biographical romance, and sets before us the scenes and char- acters in the midst of which there is good reason to suppose that Shakspere livd, thot, wrote, and made himself immortal." [Exam- iner. CS25S THE YOUTH OF SHAKS- PEARE. [by Folkestone Williams: N. Y., Burgess, 1847.] " The author has collected every established fact and traditionary incident, and the result is, that a narrativ, life-like and real, is produced. [Albion. 826 SHAKSPEARE AND HIS FRIENDS, [by F. Williams: N. Y., Burgess, 1847.] " We ar introduced to a gallery of living portraits, rich in coloring, truthful in delineation, and striking in their development of individual character. The great con- temporaries of the immortal bard ar all brot upon the canvas. Elizabeth, Southampton, Essex, Raleigh, Ben Jonson [1573-1637] and the gifted actors of ' The Globe ' move before us, while the graphic incidents and picturesque descriptions lend addi- tional fascination to the work." [Al- bion. 827 THE SECRET PASSION [by F. Williams: N. Y., Burgess, 1847] " completes the history of the great bard, and is principally devoted to the solution of the mystery of that absorbing passion which gave rise to the sonnets. The author has made out an ingenious case, which he has invested with his usual graphic powers of delineation, call- ing in the aid of auxiliary incidents and characters to illustrate his de- sign, and producing, as a whole, a hily interesting and wel told tale." [Albion.]— [Letter to the Editor of the Critic, Feb., 1861.]—" In your current impression under the head of ' Books Wanted,' I notice ' Shakespeare and his Friends, by Gait.' Will you permit me to say that Mr. Gait never wrote a line of it; that the work has long been out of print, and I hav for several years been vainly endeavoring to procure a copy either of the orig- inal or of the pirated editions. Let me take up a line or two more of your space to assure your corres- pondent that ' Shakespeare and his Friends ' is an early production of (Yours, «fec.) Folkestone Williams." 828 SHAKSPERE'S ENGLAND, [by G: Walter Thornbury:- Longman, 1856.] " Shakspere's works ar full of reference to the manners of his time; and an agreeable and easy guide to a comprehension of them, written with a distinct vue to the informing of those who desire to carry a modicum of the right sort of knoledge to the reading of their Shakspere, is a work usefully de- signed." [Examiner. 829 TALES OF A GRANDFATHER [by Walter Scott: 1828] "is one of the best children's books we hav ever seen. Its object is by select- ing the most striking incidents, at distinct eras, to present a forcible, tho not a continuous picture of the entire history of Scotland. The book embraces a period from the earliest notice to 1603. Its details, of course, comprise all the romantic and striking events of the Scottish annals; and these, tho involvd in political theory, ar told in a style at once perspicuous and amusing, with perfect simpleness, and yet with no puerility." [Athenaeum. 830 1603. JUDITH SHAKESPEARE, [by W: Black: Harper, 1884.] " So sweet and gracious a figure as ' Judith Shakespeare ' would be sure of a welcom even if presented by an unknown hand. It was wel imagind of Mr. Black to choose her 53 BOOKS FOR THE YOL'XO as the centre of a sketch of coun- try life— call it pastoral or idyl, as one pleases. If it was somewhat hazardous to put a story so close in place and time to ' Kenilworth,' he has chosen a side of the life so different as not to provoke com- parison with Scott. The smooth-flo- ing Avon, the wide white skies, the sunny rose-filled garden, make fit place for his pretty maids." [Na- tion. 8^1 1627. LORD MONTAGU'S PAGE, [by G: P. R. James: Phil'a, Childs, 1858.] "Lord Montagu is the associate and intimate friend of the Duke of Buckingham. . . . He is sent to Rochelle, just at the beginning of the memorable siege [1627] by Richelieu and Louis XIII., and chance throes him into frequent intercourse with the great Cardinal, and into an unconscious aiding of his schemes The new portraiture, tho in liter colors than of yore, is sketched with a master's hand; as ar also the mere outlines of several real personages of the time, such as the Prince of Soubise, the Duke of Rohan, the Duchess of Chevreuse, and Guitou, the valiant defender of Rcchelle. The love portion is pretty and full of unexpected turns; the wind-up is graceful." [Albion. 832 THE WHITE GAUNTLET [by [T:] Mayne Reid: Skeet, 1864] " re- lates an episode previous to the first conflict between the Parliament and the King. It introduces Pym, Hamp- den, Martin, and Sir Harry Vane. It has incident and bustle, but it has the worst faults of the historical novels of the past generation, and a good deal of extra vulgarity to boot." [Reader. 833 1641. WITH THE KING AT OXFORD [by Alfred J: Church: Seeley, 1886] " purports to be written by a ycung Royalist. All which con- cerns events at Oxford is told with a detail and realization wel kept up, and the story is completed by a more sketchy treatment of the be- ginning and end of the war. Prof. Church seems to hav begun with considerable enjoyment of his task, and in some of his pages the pithy simplicity of the old style is un- commonly wel caut, but the amuse- ment appears to have flagged some- what, and the scene of the ' purg- ing ' by Colonel Pride lacs even such spirit as may quicken a slight and hasty narrativ. The author's best passages ar ecclesiastical and local. His story is illustrated with curious drawings contemporary with his personages." [Saturday Rev. 834 THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST, [by F: Marryat: Hurst 1S48.] " Humphrey Armitage re- claims fields from the waste; tames wild animals, and uses saw and hatchet effectually. And his brother, with some of the other characters, leads the young mind onward by easy steps, from scenes of mere do- mestic to scenes of public or polit- ical interest. The historical element is conceived in a tone sufficiently lib- eral to reconcile the independent thinker, with suflicient deference to conventional opinions to repel no one. There is a really healthy tone of moral feeling about all Captain Marryat's writings, rendered evi- dent in many ways, and especially by an air of manly candor, and free- dom from anxious reservs. His style, too, from its sterling sim- plicity, is admirably adapted to children. In short, we strongly sus- pect him to be our best existing writer for young people. He givs them what they really feel inter- ested in; and his tone is such as to inspire boys with frank manliness, girls with firm womanliness." [Ex- aminer. 835 54 HISTORY :— ENGLAND. THE CAREWES [by M.. Gillies: Kent, 1S60] " is written from the popular side, and wel displays not only its public course, but in part also its effect upon the homes of the people." [Examiner. S3G CAVALIERS AND ROUND- HEADS, [by J: G: Edgar: Bell, 1861.] " Seeing that it does no very great harm now to believe that King- Charles was a sainted martyr, and Cromwell anything but what he should be, we may let Mr. Edgar's politics pass for the sake of the hon- est heartiness with which he pro- fesses them." [Critic. 837 FRIENDS THO DIVIDED [by G: Alfred Henty: Griffith, 1883] "is a novel founded on those parts of the story of the Civil "War in which Prince Rupert figures most largely." [Saturday Review. 838 JUDGED BY APPEARANCES, [by Eleanor Lloyd: London Lit. Soc, 1886.] " The principal figure in the story is that of a Puritan ant. And the booTk is solid and substantial, fit for the large capacity of such readers as wil consent to be com- pensated for a good deal of seven- teenth-century divinity by plenty of story." [Saturday Review. 839 UNDER THE STORM, [by C. M.. Yonge: Whittaker, 1887.] " The sound of battle scarcely echoes throu the story, which professes to tel only how a family of children kept themselvs alive during the na- tion's troubles. The heroic tempera- ment of the eldest boy is displayed quite as finely in his care of his sis- ters as in his defense of the com- munion vessels." [Nation. 840 1651. THE CAVALIER, [by G: P. R. James (1801-60): Peterson, 1859.] " Mr. James, taking up a thread let fall in ' Lord Montagu's Page,' weaves from it a very brief and rather sketchy narrativ of adven- ture, wherein we ar now at a chateau, and now across the Straits. There is a glimpse of Cromwell, an episode of ' the crowning mercy of Worcester'; but, tho the practised hand and the mind garnished with historic lore be evident, there is no superabundance of novelty or in- dividuality. We hav gone throu such part of the checkered course of the Cavalier as is here set down, but he will not find a place in our recollection side by side with ' Mary of Burgundy ' and ' Richelieu.' " [Albion. SAME ("Bernard Marsh"), Bentley, 18(>4. 841 WOODSTOCK [by Walter Scott: Carey, 1826] " is a picture of Eng- land after Worcester [1651], when Charles I. was hunted like a nox- ious beast. The story is intended to exhibit the exertions and sacrifices which his adherents wer ready to make in this hour of his peril, their devout loyalty and chivalrous honor, together with the habits of recless dissipation which the same troubles had generated in a portion of the Cavaliers, as contrasted with the contempt for established orders in church and state, the spiritual pride, puritanical principles and religious enthusiasm of the prevailing party. With the exception of Cromwell and the fugitiv prince, the great men of the period ar but sparingly ex- hibited. It is as every production of such hi and practised talent must be, spirited and interesting." [U. S. Lit. Gazette. 842 1652. TO HORSE AND AWAY, [by F.. M.. Peard: Whittaker, 1888.] " Happy the period which has this author for its romancer, and happy the child who gets the romance to read. ' To Horse and Away ' is a story of some English lads and 55 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. maidens in the disorderly times of 1652, when the Roundheads had usurped [sic] the government, Charles II. was in hiding, and most of his supporters wer refugees. Whether the restless Adrian, who stole away one dark night from the Red House to go off to fight for the King, did more important servig than the more self-controled Roger, who staid at home and garded the women and children, each boy must determin for himself." [Critic. 843 THE CAVALIERS OF ENG- LAND [by H: W: Herbert: Redfield, 1852] " givs pictures of ancient chivalry, colored with warmth. The reader is borne along rapidly in the stream of the narrativ. Mr. Her- bert builds on a loving historical study, and brings to his sketches the wel known arts of cultivated historical fiction. His out-of-door life stands him in good stead, too, as wel as his library studies, when a tournament is on foot or battle to be done." [Literary World. 844 1653. ETHNE. [by E. M. (Story) Field: Young, 1888.] " No men did more to assure liberty and its blessings to remote posterity than did the ruth- less soldiers of the Lord and Oliver Cromwell, yet none hav assumed to us in the lapse of time so unlovable personality. Especially during the occupation of Ulster [1653], while the nativs wer being transplanted to the wilds of Connaught, do the Roundheads appear wholy cruel, hy- pocritical, and inhuman. The char- acter of Roger-Standfast-on-the-Roc, the dominating personality in ' Ethne,' confirms preconceived hos- tility against his class. He has no vices, but his virtues ar insufferable. . . . The greater part of the story, couched in exaggerated phrases of Puritan cant, is exceedingly tire- som. It bgars the stamp, however, of industrious research, and several chapters descriptiv of customs of the peasantry ar wel worth read- ing." [Nation. 845 1662. PATTIE DURANT. [by Ellen ( ) Clacy: Virtue, 1863.] " The picture of the motivs for resistance and the sufferings of the noncon- formists [16G2] ar remarkably truth- ful and affecting. A simpler, more artless, more touching little story it would be hard to find, and tho the incidents ar few and of a generally uniform character, they ar very nat- urally wrot, and tend to sustain the reader's interest throughout." [Ex- aminer. 846 1665. CALEB FIELD [by Ma. Oliphant (Wilson) Oliphant: Harper, 1851] " is a delightful volume, in which an interesting story is told in a style of greatest purity and sweet- ness. The author is evidently a student of the old English prose writers, and has caut some of their grand serenity and repose in the movement of his thots and senti- ments." [Graham's Mag. 847 CHERRY AND VIOLET [by A.. (Manning) Rathbone: Hall, 1853; N. Y., Dodd, 1866] " is a tale of the great plague, written in the sup- posed character of one who livd at the time, and printed in the old type. It is by the lively and versa- til writer of supposed memoirs of the first Mrs. Milton, of Mrs. Mar- garet More, of the much provoked Mrs. Palissy, and of other bygone dames; having the same character of artless narrativ which distin- guished its predecessors, only like them perhaps occasionally a little too artless, and prone to what Sir Hugh calls affectations even in its extreme desire to avoid them. The strength of the writer lies in do- 56 HISTORY :— ENGLAND. mestic scenes, and in expressing the homely thots, anxieties, and hopes connected with them; which leads her in this latest of her stories wisely to avoid, in the incidents by which she illustrates the terrible days of plague and fire, any direct comparison with such a master of description as DeFoe." [Examiner. 848 1666. WHEN LONDON BURNED [by G: Alfred Henty: Scribner, 1894] " is a tale of the great fire of 1666, but it covers other ground as well — notably that of the Restoration, the Plague, and the war with the Dutch." [Critic. 849 1679. HUNTED AND HARRIED, [by Ro. M. Ballantyue: Blackie, 1892.] " This tale of the Covenanters is a rousing and picturesque story, told from a rigidly Cameronian point of vue." [Saturday Review. 850 1680. MY MISTRESS THE QUEEN [by M.. Anna (Paull) Ripley: Blackie, 1885] " is a pretty story in the form of an autobiography written by a girl who went to Holland in the train of the Princess Mary, af- terward Mary I." [Athenaeum. 851 IN THE GOLDEN DAYS [by " Edna Lyall," i. e., Ada Ellen Bay- ley: Hurst, 1885] " is deeply inter- esting for its touching and tender recital of the love story and mis- fortunes of its lovers. Hugo is the friend of that noble patriot Algernon Sidney [1622-83], of whom a strik- ing and a very moving pic- ture is presented— and, rather than betray his friend, he remains faithful to the point of death, re- fusing even the dazzling offers made him by Charles. As for Joyce, she is a true woman, and proves that ' the crown of a woman's love is the bearing of pain for and with the one she loves.' The book would be overweited with sadness but for the delightful glimpses we get into the home of the fine old nonconforming patriot and soldier. Col. Wharncliffe. Many historical characters ar freshly and vigorously drawn, in- cluding J: Evelyn, the little Duchess of Grafton, Sir W: and M.. Denham, Betterton the actor, and Francis Bampfield. But, apart from all his- torical aspects, as a narrativ of hu- man love and human suffering, the novel is one to giv unusual pleas- ure." [Academy. 852 IN THE SERVICE OF RACHEL LADY RUSSELL [by Emma (Mar- tin) Marshall: Seeley, 1892] " is a particularly pretty story. The scenes in the home-life of Lady Russell [1636-1723] ar taken from her letters. The imaginary characters ar made very real and interesting." [Satur- day Review. 853 As collateral reading:^ LETTERS OF RACHEL, LADY RUSSELL [Longman, 1854] " is one of the most beautiful books in the language. It opens with the effu- sions of a happy wife, and toards the close is interspersed with many of the mother's letters to her children. One of these is so peculiarly full of the sweet spirit that pervades them all, that it wil make a most profound impression on all readers. There is no better evidence in liter- ature than these letters afford of the superiority of matter over manner, for there is not a trie of art in them. In these letters, written without the remotest thot that any stranger's eye would read them— full of a sort of clumsiness in the use of words, and without one apostrophe to anything — written in a blundering way, if 57 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. you wil— tliere is a perfectness of grace and beauty, a charm of taste, an exquisit delicacy, tliat it would be vain to look for in the cleverest letters written with a purpos of dis- play. None of the fascinations of the French in this respect ar lost upon us; we enjoy all the letters of their lady-writers, and think them extremely entertaining; but not to credit our country with all such correspondence ever published, — not even to get an English S6vign§, would we giv up the possession of these letters of Lady Russell. As they ar now published, we would hav them become, more than they ever hav been, a household book. We speak of their writer as a hi- hearted woman, and a heroin, and so far we do wel;— but her noble- ness and fortitude, her piety, and all the graces of her life, wer but a beautiful expression of the char- acter which is in this country pecu- liarly reverenced, as that which most adorns an English wife and mother. It is a character simple enuf in all its excellence and hon- esty. It implies no abnegation even of the little wholesom tittle-tattle which all women love. The ne-^ edition opens with a letter of gossip written before her marriage." [Ex- aminer. C8o3a 1685. THE FATE, [by G: P. R. James: Harper, 1851.] " The events de- scribed ar those of the rebellion of 1685, and many of the prominent characters ar sketched with bold- ness 'and fidelity. Monmouth, Jef- fries, Churchill, Feversham, Kirke, the Duke of Norfolk, and others, figure. The plot is skilfully con- trived and artistically developed." [Literary World. 854 DUKE'S WINTON [by J. R. Henslowe: Maxwell, 1886] "deals with the neborhood and battle of Sedgemoor, and is written by one who knoes the country wel. The period is comparativly unhacneyed in literature, and the author is wise enuf to meddle with historical per- sonages as little as possible. His fictitious characters ar treated with spirit, and differ sufliciently in their natures to provide the reader with fresh subjects of interest. The in- grained coquetry of Temperance, the beautiful Mistress Ashbridge, who, in spite of her sincere devotion to Monmouth's fugitiv folloer, Humph- rey Braden, can not help flirting with every man that crosses her path, contrasts sharply with the quiet, hopeless love of her sister Per- nel for one of Temperance's many adorers. The few scenes which de- scribe the interior of the court and the Council-chamber ar more life- like and probable than usual; and Claverhouse is a picturesque and sympathetic figure on any canvas." [Saturday Review. 855 FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM. [by Walter Besant: Harper, 1889.] " The author selects an exciting and dramatic yesterday hitherto ovei"- looked by novelists [!! Had the critic not read ' Lorna Doone ' ?] The landing of Monmouth with in- tention to rescue Protestant England from the rule of his uncle, and the vengeance wreaked on the West by the cruel and gloomy Stuart after his victory at Sedgemoor, furnish historical foundation for a fiction full of movement and human warmth and color." [Nation. 856 MICAH CLARKE, [by Arthur Conan Doyle: Longman, 1889.] " The story of the Rebellion of 1685 has been forestalled by Mr. Besant. But the tale can be twice told without loss, especially when there is no re- semblance between the characters and the minor incidents. Micah had a stirring time for a month or two, 58 UNIVERSITY OF HISTORY :— ENGL AND. and describes his adventures graph- ically. He is not the hero of his tale, but an humble folloer of Deci- mus Saxton, who had sold his sword to every prince in Europe, but was none the less able a soldier be- cause he plied his trade neither for principle nor patriotism, but for money and pure love of fight. Deci- mus is a spirited example of the soldier of fortune, and his figure makes a brilliant contrast to that of the unhappy Monmouth." [Na- tion.]—" The interest of the book is rather in the painting of the char- acters of the actors than in their acts. The rebellion was so short that, in order to make it the theme of the story, Mr. Doyle has intro- duced a lot of bushwhacking ad- ventures, which, while they ar in- teresting enuf, ar hardly pertinent, and might with profit hav been cut down by half. In fact, the book, while being interesting, strikes one as being very much in need of a blue pencil and a thoro editing. 462 pages and an appendix is consider- ably more than the Monmouth in- cident wil stand. There is no love interest in the story, with which to carry off the dryness of this his- torical novel, and while Micah Clarke is far above the average novel, it does not equal ' The Refu- gees ' in any particular." [Overland. 857 1685-88. AIMEE [by Agnes Giberne: Car- ter, 1872] " is founded on the per- secutions and sufferings of the Hu- guenots, and givs some fine ex- amples of religious heroism." [Hearth and Home. 858 A REPUTED CHANGELING, [by C. M.. Yonge: London, Stock, 1889.] " The story itself presents a pleasant picture of the home life of English gentlefolk, and the adven- tures of sweet Anne Woodford (leading her, at one time, to be an attendant upon the baby son of King James) wil fascinate the girl- reader, who enjoys the detail of the ' vie intime ' of queens and prince- lings." [Critic. 859 THE HOME-LIFE OP ENGLISH LADIES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. [Bell, I860.] "Among the women whose lives ar selected to illustrate the picture ar Mrs. Evelyn, Mrs. Godolphin, Lady M.. Boyle, afterwards Countess of War- wick, Mrs. Baxter, and Anne, Count- ess of Dorset. Besides these wo- men, whose lives and characters ar wel known, several others of lesser note ar sketched; and copious ex- tracts ar given from their letters and other contemporary records." [North Amer. Review. 860 1689. ORANGE AND GREEN [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1887] "de- scribes the heroic defense of London- derry [1689] as conducted by a hand- ful of youths against the wishes and judgment of the bulk of the inhab- itants; there was little fiting, only a long blockade. Again, the Irish had the best of the fiting at the Boyne, Aughrim, and Limerick; if it had not been for the cowardice of King James, who ran away from the first and fled direct to Prance, the issue of the war might hav been different. It is true that this im- pression is, to this day, entertained by the peasantry, who speak of ' Shemus ' coupled with an unsav- ory epithet, and it was shared by the gallant Sarsfield. Mr. Henty de- nies to the Irish the praise that they wer actuated by loyalty to their king, or attachment to their religion —they wer really fiting to gain pos- session of the land. [Athen. 861 59 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 16S9-1792. SNARLEYYOW. [by F: Marry at: Colburn, 1837.] "This is .an ex- travaganza very broad indeed, but extremely amusing. The story would seem foolish but that the handling of it is so clever, so full of humor, that the reader is too much absorbd in the enjoyment of the ludicrous to quarrel with the unnatural plot out of which his en- tertainment is extracted. The prin- cipal actors ar a tyrannical, treach- erous, cowardly captain, a compli- cation of all which is mean and ma- lignant, — an il-conditioned, il-tem- pered mangy dog,— a half-starvd cabin boy; and the crew of a king's cutter." [Examiner. 862 IN THE '15 [by H. C. Adams: Hodder, 1893] "begins some 20 years earlier than the '15 with the battle of Killiecrankie. The story deals, not merely with a great his- torical event, but portrays faithfully life in England two centuries ago." [Saturday Review. 863 WAVERLEY. [by Walter Scott: 1814.] " Here there is little taken from tradition, tho the whole story, otherwise loosely constructed, is held together by the thread of his- tory. The Chevalier is a historical character; a young prince, who be- lieved that his father had the same right to his kingdom which others hav to their estates; and who, if he had been told at the moment of in- vasion that the majority of the na- tion had a right, and wer disposed to reject him, would hav replied that this question was the one to be decided. The author has painted his character in bright colors, and the evidence of facts bears him out in so doing. It is not surprising that a dethroned and discrowned sovran, or one who has seen that hope, which is briter than a crown, de- ferred and destroyed, should fall into excesses in exile, poverty and hu- miliation, to which in better days he was a stranger. This was evidently the case with Charles-Edward. In the days of Waverley he was a brave and romantic young adven- turer, who, so long as his prosperity lasted, possessed the attachment of all about him." [North Amer. Re- view, 1831. 864 THE TWO ADMIRALS, a Tale of the Sea. [by Ja. F. Cooper: Bent- ley, 1842.] " The two admirals ar a Pylades and Orestes, the course of whose long career in glorious war and generous friendship has never been severely troubled til one of them, Bluewater, begins to perplex his mind with the Hannoverian suc- cession. On the landing of Charles- Edward [1745] Bluewater is so far influenced by his Jacobite sympa- thies as to hold himself apart from an action with the French, until af- fection for his bi'other officer, rather than duty to King George, hurries him to interpose at a critical mo- ment." [Albion. 865 THE LAST OF THE MACALLIS- TERS. [by Amelia E. (H.) Barr: N. Y., 1886; London: Clarke, 1890.] " It is a pure joy to turn to the old familiar methods of romance, and the romance of history, as they ar illustrated in this spirited story pf the Highlands during the '45. ' The Last of the Macallisters ' is decid- edly not faultless. It is disdainful, indeed, of historical accuracy. Nor does the story respect the antiquar- ian spirit in the least, while it wer easy to point out that in several small matters the author's presen- tation of life in the Highlands is incorrect. But it is the spirit, not the array of dry yet accurate detail, which is the life of romance. There is no want of atmosphere and color and movement in the story. The Glasgow lawyer, whose nativ cau- 60 HISTORY :— ENGLAND. tion is constantly struggling with his Jacobite sympathies, is an ex- cellent study, while the chief of the Macallisters, his two sons, and the rest of the characters ar persuas- ively presented." [Saturday Re- view.]—" The author has chosen those exciting days when the clans wer listening for the word to strike for the last [last? Did the writer never hear of 'Henry IX.'?] of the Stuarts. To-day no true Highland- man speaks of Prince Charlie with- out a tender inflection, and the ro- mance of that most forlornly heroic episode can never be exhausted. Mrs. Barr conveys to the reader some understanding of the devotion to a name which commanded to the last the willing sacrifice of ' heart and hand and siller and land and life itsel'.' Tho her semi-barbarous MacAllisters and roving Romanys ar hily-colored, they ar full of nature and life, and the plot in which they move is wel knit together. Here again she has drawn one character which in its mixture of fire and caution, of enthusiasm and wary self-interest, is peculiarly Scotch. This is the legal adviser and friend of the hot-headed MacAllister. Fraser can define rebellion and treason, and is perfectly familiar with the punishment for both en- joined by the law, so he declares that the gathering of the clans is a finable offence, and warns the Mac- Allister, ' Ye maun break your ranks, I'll no be coerced into going for Charlie.' But the ranks form and fight and win at Preston. The darlv day of CuUoden has not yet dawned when the news comes to the lawyer that young Donald Fraser had died for Charles Stuart. 'Ah!' he says, drily, 'he oes me a thousand merks, but I'm glad I let him hae them.' But when he hears how bravely Donald dies, the old man forgets his gard and bursts out: ' I wish I had made him take 10,000 merks. He shall hae a monu- ment, the best money can buy him, that shal he. Where is Charles Stuart now?'" [Nation. 866 BONNY PRINCE CHARLIE, [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1887.] " Ronald Leslie is the son of a Scotch officer who has fot in the '15, has taken service with the French, offended the Court by run- ning off with an heiress, and paid the penalty of his offense in a long imprisonment. The son mixes him- self in Jacobite plots shortly before the breaking out of the '45, escapes to France, makes a friend of Mar- shal Saxe, and after a variety of ad- ventures, secures the release of his fatlier and mother, — for she also has been imprisoned. The lad's journey across France with his faithful at- tendant and his hairbreadth es- capes from the machinations of his father's enemies, make up as good a narrativ of the kind, — the limitations above mentioned being understood— as we hav ever read. Mr. Henty can tel a capital story; but here for freshness of treatment and variety of incident he has surpassed him- self. It would be unfair to say that he flags in the second part of the story, where he gets on to historical ground; it is only that he can not move so freely. Prestonpans and Culloden ar familiar scenes, and it is not easy to make much of them." [Spectator.]—" The incidents of the battles of Dettingen [1743] and Fontenoy [1745], and of the Pre- tender's romantic march from the Highlands to Derby, and the defeat at Culloden, ar told with much spirit. The scenes laid in France giv a vei-y good idea of the lawless- ness prevailhig during the middle of the last century. The book is thoroly interesting, and the historical por- tions ar skilfully interwoven." [Na- tion. 867 61 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. WHITE COCKADES [by E: Ire- nffius Stevenson: Scribner. 1887] " is an episode of Prince Charlie's wan- derings. His fictitious escape from Windelstrae Manor and ' bloody Cumberland's ' brutal subordinates is no more wonderful than wer many of his actual adventures during the six months when he was hunted like a wild beast throu the Western Isles. The fidelity of the Master of Windelstrae and of his young son is but one instance out of hundreds of a loyalty and devo- tion unparalleled in history. Mr. Stevenson tels the story simply and without waste of words, but has not been quite able to project him- self into the spirit of the time and people. Tho his work lacs the per- sonal enthusiasm of his namesake's ' Kidnapped ' and has not, like that, the very smel of the heather, it has certainly the merit of sympathetic imagination." [Nation. 868 OUT IN THE '45 [by Emily Holt: London, Shaw, 1888] " is a story of a Cumberland family of girls. It shos a good deal of historic research and scrupulous care in matters of detail affecting manners, customs, speech and costume. The sketches of the Jacobite sisters, tbeir worthy old maiden ant, and their Scottish relativs ar incisivly drawn and pre- sented with skil and distinction. In- struction and amusement ar clev- erly combined." [Saturday Rev. 869 A HIGHLAND CHRONICLE, [by S. Bayard Dod: Dodd, 1892.] "A pleasant tale of Scottish life in the time of the young Pretender. There ar a number of different threads at the stai't, but they ar woven as the story progresses. Gypsy life makes a part of the plot, and the love- story is a pretty one, with no more obstacles than may serv to test the lovers' devotion. Honesty (' barring a little shifting for a living '), honor, devotion and loyalty— these ar cer- tainly more agreeable to dwell upon than ar their opposits. The book is as fresh and sweet as any Highland stream." [Commonwealth. 870 REDGAUNTLET. [by Walter Scott, 1824.] " In the rebellion of '45, the head of the family here de- scribed lost his head; but he had married an English woman, whose property descended to his son. The intrigues of bis surviving brother, who adhered to the Pretender's cause and strove diligently to ob- tain such control over his nephew's person and feelings as to make him au instrument in his desperate pur- poses, form the plot. Prince Charles- Edward is introduced and strikingly portrayed; but the prominent per- son is Redgauntlet, whose extraor- dinary character ia powerfully con- ceived and executed; and the subor- dinate actors ar all quite good with- out being remarkable." [U. S. Lit. Gazette. 871 1779-82. HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND [by G: Alfred Henty: Scribner, 1891] " is a spirited tale of the de- fense of Gibraltar in 1779-82." [Critic. 872 1789-1815. MARMADUKE MERRY, the Mid- shipman [by W: H. G. Kingston: Nelson, 1870] " furnishes a lively picture of life in the navy. The hero is captured by the French, goes throu the usual amount of hard- ship, and then enters upon other adventures of which a full and racy account is given." [Examiner. 873 1811-12. THROUGH THE FRAY [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1885] " is a capital tale of the Luddite riots in Yorkshire. The most realistic in- cidents are ' strictly accurate in all 62 ENGLAND:— LIFE. their details,' and the book wil in- terest most young readers." [Ath- enaeum. 874 CONTEMPORARY. THE NEW HISTORY OF SAN- FORD AND MERTON [by F. C. Burnand: Roberts, ISSO] " purports to be 'a true account of the ad- ventures of Masters Tommy and Harry, with their beloved tutor, Mr. Burlow,' and is a lafable bur- lesque of the real ' History of San- ford and Merton,' vphich the boys of fifty years ago used to read in the lac of anything else, and which parents and gardians then looked upon as descriptiv of the ideal sys- tem of boy training. Burnand, whose contributions in the line of parody and burlesque to the columns of Punch hav made his name fa- miliar to lovers of humor wherever the English language is read, has been particularly happy in his ' new ' history of the adventures of the two famous boys and their tutor. It is a thoroughly jolly book, and its fun is of a sort that will excite more than a smile from the laziest of readers even in the hottest days of this hot summer." [Boston Transcript. 878 ERIC, or Little by Little [by F: W: Farrar: N. Y., Carleton, 1859] " is a story of great simplicity, in- volving the features of English school life. The style is pure, the narrativ well sustained, and the aim of the book significant. Simple as ar the materials, they ar wrot with much pathos, shoing the il effects of flogging upon a sensitiv, hi spirited boy, who has been accus- tomed to honorable, deferential treatment in the home circle. ' Lit- tle by little ' the self-respect of the boy is broken down, and he is pre- pared for a loer range of associates, and the reception of obscene, base, and unmanly ideas, til the whole moral fabric is degraded." [Great Republic. 881 COUNTESS KATE [by C. M.. Yonge: Loring, 1865] " is a tale of girlish life in England, carefully and thoroly written, full of childish character and with an admirable moral. It aims to sho the superior efficacy of love over sternness in dealing with a spirited child; and is thoroly wholesom and truthful." [North Amer. Review. 883 "CARROTS": Just a Little Boy [by M.. L.. (S.) Molesworth: Macmil- lan, 1877] " is one of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good fortune to meet. Carrots and his sister ar delightful little be- ings, whom to read about is at once to become very fond of." [Exam- iner. 885 MY BOYHOOD, [by H. C. Bark- ley: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1878.] '"' The author relates his adventures with his dogs and horses, the little in- cidents which occurred in his sports, of which he was very fond, and the peccadilloes which he seems to hav enjoyed with a becoming satisfac- tion. The scene is a clergyman's family in the eastern counties, and one gets by the way characteristics of the community, sketches of in- dividual peculiarities, and glimpses of such soberer life as can not be kept altogether from children's eyes. The ideal which the book wil incite its readers to reach is the being a ruf rider, a strong swimmer, and a dead shot— an out-of-door, noisy, ad- venturous existence." [Nation. 887 A SEA CHANGE [by Flora L. Shaw: Roberts, 1881] "is a charm- ing story. The little maiden Marian is rescued from the ocean in night and storm, so nearly drowned, and with so many of her memories gone from her, that she may be said to begin a new life. As the story goes on, her character is seen to be very sweet and noble, and its loveliness is 63 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. in striking contrast to the persistent selfishness of the young girls with whom she is compelled to associate. In the account of Marina's London life, the educational forcing process is wel described. The book is interesting throughout, tho the action drags in the middle, and is hurried toard the end, making the denouement, which is not too prob- able, seem sudden and confused. But the story as a whole is so sound and sweet that we lay it down with regret, wishing that all literature for children wer as pure and whole- som. It is a book especially suit- able for girls." [Nation. SS9 A FLATIRON FOR A FARTH- ING, [by J. H. (G.) Ewing: Rob- erts, 1886.] " The author displays a wonderful insight into the work- ings of the mind of a lonely and fanciful boy, and it is hard to realize that the work is fiction and not an autobiografy. The other characters, the nurse and the rector especially, ar exceedingly wel drawn. The story is true to life, also, in the sudden transitions from grave to gay, and the humor of some passages is equalled only by the tender pathos of others. There is a delicate charm about it which wi\ be more percep- tible to the old than to the young, but no boy or girl can read it with- out being the better for the pure atmosphere which it breathes, as well as the gentle life which it pic- tures." [Nation. 891 SARA CREWE, [by Frances (Hodgson) Burnett: Scribners, 1888.] " The story of an od child, who was left at a fashionable school in London by her papa while he stayed behind in India. At first rich, she was petted and left to do as she pleased. Then, of course, or there would have been no story, the papa lost his money and Sara became a drudge at Miss Minchin's; and then of course again, the Indian gentle- man who was the villain at first that robbed her papa turns up at the nic of time, makes things strait, and reinstates Sara in riches and happi- ness. The story in its outlines is rather conventional, but Mrs. Bur- nett is too good a story-teller not to invest it with animation and a sharp sort of spirit." [Atlantic. 893 STOEIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY FOR YOIINO AMER- ICANS [Harpers, 1892] "i» excellent. The most salient events of English history, from the invasion of Caesar to the present day, ar epitomized with considerable skil and with a simplicity of style which makes the narrativ easily within a child's compre- hension. It was a wise thot, and quite in the line of the best methods of teaching, to scatter throu the work so many wel-selected historical and national poems. The illustrations ar numerous and usually very good." [Atlantic. 894 YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF LONDON [by W: H: Rideing: Estes, 1884] "is rather a description than a history, as the his- torical portion occupies only 10 chapters out of 24, the remainder of the volume being really a guide-book. An historical character, however, belongs to aU these chapters, and they abound in his- torical incident and reminiscence. Both parts of the book ar 64 GEOGRAPHY :— FRANCE. good, being written in an attractiv style. It may be heartily recommended." [Nation. 895 ZIGZAG JOURNEYS IN EUROPE [by Hezekiah Butterwortb : Estes, 1879] " introduces the youthful reader to the ' "Zigzag Club,' an association of six boys . . . and describes the trip they took in England and France. At every important town stories ar told relating to its history or traditions, and the book is profusely illustrated with spu'ited and effectiv cuts. The plan is a good one and is w^el and entertainingly carried out. As a specimen of the stories told we wil mention ' The White Ship/ ' Joan of Arc,' 'The Wise Men of Gotham,' 'The Story of the Dauphin.' The inside covers contain good clear maps of the countries visited." [Nation. 896 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN CENTRAL EUROPE [by T: W. Knox : Harper, 1892] " describes a journey throu some of ihe more interesting parts of France, Switzerland and Austria. Consider- able space is given to a description of a reception at the French Academy and an evening at a noted salon, in which few young readers can take an interest, while places to which boys would naturally go ar not mentioned. The volume is wel illustrated, and has maps of the routes pursued conveniently placed on the inside of the covers. If it had an index it might be useful as a book of reference, since it contains many valuable historical facts and short biogTaphies of distinguished characters." [Nation. 898 A SUMMER IN NORMANDY [by Ellis: Rout- ledge, 1878] " calls for a full measure of praise. It is a well-bred, motherly account of an English family's sojourn at a French fann- house in 1870. It opens with a glimpse of the home in England, and ends with a description of a Scotch farm-house, while all the rest of the book tels of the quiet life across the Channel. . . All this is a useful picture of French character to set before boys and girls." [Nation. 900 SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE, for Young People [by E.. Stansbury Kirkland: McChu'g & Co., 1878] "is composed in the way in which a history for young people 6t to be written. That is, the author has aimed to present a consecutiv and agreeable story from which the reader can not only learn the name of kings and succession of events, but can also receive a vivid and per- 65 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. inanent impression as to characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods. She has that rare quality among writers of history, knoing what to omit; and appreciates to the full that fundamental rule for a writer of children's histories — never to giv a proper name or a date in the narrativ which is not indis- pensable." [Nation. THE STORY OF VITEAU. [by Fr. R: Stockton: Scribner, 1884.] " The scene of the ' Story of Viteau ' is laid in Bourgogne in 1236. At the beginning, the younger of the two sons of the widoed Countess of Viteau is captured by one of a band of robbers. He finally escapes only to find that his mother and brother hav been obliged to flee from the officers of the Inquisition, which has just been established at Toulouse. The castle is then taken by the robbers, and the boys go to Paris to intercede for their mother, who is accused of holding heretical opin- ions, with the young King. The story ends happily with the recap- ture of Viteau and the destruction of the robber band. There is, it wil be evident, no lac of stirring in- cident, and the interest of the reader is kept alive from the begin- ning to the end. The author has wisely, in our opinion, refrained from the attempt to imitate the speech of those days, and all the characters talk naturally and simply. It is a thoroly good story, tho of rather slight texture." [Na- tion.] — " Mr. Stockton has told his historical tale with simplicity and di- rectness, and while he can not alto- gether lay aside his drolery, he has not allowed it to dominate in his work. One discovers from this book, if he has doubted it before, that the author's humor, dry and unintentional as it appears, is really a subtle force which he understands perfectly. His naivete is a dis- tinct, measured quality." [Atlantic. 930 925 THE BOY'S FROISSART. [Scribner, 1879.] "The editor has made out of the famous chronicles a book for boys, not using the work as material for new stories, but skilfully excerpting and arranging Johnes' translation, so as to make a continuous narrativ, which folloes the general divisions of the original, and, so far as it is expedient, the separation by chapters. The great bulk of the selections is taken from the first two books, from the first half of the first book, and in the second from the adventures of Philip Van Arteveld. From the third book a few chapters only ar taken, to sho Froissart's personal adventures as a chronicler and to giv a glimpse of the Gaston de Foix. From the fourth book a little more is given recounting the crusade against the Saracens. The selections include some notable passages, such as the sea fight before Sluys, the taking of Calais, the battle of Poi- tiers, and the insurrection of Wat Tyler; we ar sorry to miss the ex- ploits of Bertrand du Guesclin and much of the details in the disturb- ances in Flanders, but we think the editor was judicious in giving large blocs of Froissart, rather than many isolated fragments. He has skilfully condensed his material stil further by running his pen throu superflu- ous passages, and quickening the fio of the narrativ by this means and by the omission of episodes and trivial details. He has not troubled his boyish reader by notes and com- ments, wisely trusting the book to him for enjoyment, and concealing 66 HISTORY :— PRANCE. any school-master purpos he ' may hav had. Our only doubt is if he has not given too much. Proissart is so very leisurely and so indifferent to any complaint of dulness that only here and there would a young reader be found to march throu his entire work. May it not be that even these 400 pages wil leave the reader too satisfied? We should like a boy to rise from Froissart hungry. . . We welcom most heai'tily so sensi- ble an addition to literature for the young. Especially is it a good thing that American boys should hav the curtain lifted for them, and a glimps given of a world so unlike theirs in outward sho, so like it in all the essentials of life. Here is scope for the imagination, and material upon which to build dreams which ar less harmful than those excited visions of heroism in real life which ar fed from the stories of impossi- ble adventure which make so much of our boys' reading. Under the guise of these romantic scenes lie lessons, too, of chivalry and courage . and manly virtue which wil not be overlooked by the generous boy. There is a time in the life of every girl when she dreams, and if she can hav Fouque, her dreams wil be enchantments with no unwholesome wakening; then is the time when her brother may wel be set to read- ing Froissart and Walter Scott." [Atlantic.]—*' There is no better or more healthful reading for boys than ' fine Sir John,' and this volume is so handsom, so wel printed, and so wel illustrated, that it is a pleas- ure to look it over. The selections compriiLe about one-ninth of the work. They appear to hav been made with good judgment, and wil giv~ the reader a tolerably complete vue of the 14th century. We hav the battles of Sluys (1340), Crecy (1346). and Poitiers (1356), the siege of Calais (1347), the career of Philip 67 van Artevelde (1350-82) and the in- surrection of Wat Tyler (1381), as wel as some incidents in the revolt of the Jacquerie (1358), and the se- dition of Etienne Marcel (1358). The translation is Johnes'; the edi- tor givs as a reason for not using the ' stronger, briter, and more pic- turesque ' translation of Lord Ber- ners, that it would hav been more difficult for his readers. In this he is probably right, altho it seems a pity. He has, however, done a very good thing in appending to the ac- count of tlie battle of Crecy the same in Berners' translation, and also in the original. The introduction is excellent, and yet we fancy part of it as much above the level of the readers as Lord Berners' diction would hav been. That is to say, af- ter a brief sketch of Froissart's life, and some sensible words to boys upon true chivalry and what it means in the 19th century, Mr. Lanier goes on to speak of Sir T: Malory's ' Morte d'Arthur,' its or- igin in the chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and a comparison be- tween the chivalry depicted by him and by Froissart. The comparison is instructiv, but its tone and its scholarship ar rather above the av- erage of boys." [Nation. 935 THE LIFE OF THE CHEVA- LIER BAYARD, [by W: Gilmore Simms: Harper, 1848.] " This is a very pleasant and lively history of the noble and gallant Bayard (1475- 1524), the ' knight without fear and without reproach.' In reading his adventures, one almost fancies he is perusing some romance of chivalry, and expects to read of some giants overcome, some dark magician foiled, and some benevolent fairy as- sisting the bold knight in his at- tempt to release his distressed dam- sel from their malignant power." [Godey's Mag.]—" The name of Bay- ard has a magic in it which apper- booe:s for the young. tains to few, even of the most emi- printed, iu such bold type. Mr. nent characters whose deeds form the subject of histoiy. Born in an age when the feudal system totterd to its fall, and when chivalry was fast folloing in the footsteps of its parent, the glory of the Round Table seems for a moment to hav revived in his person. It was but for a moment, however, and the last flickering spark expiring with him, it resembled in its death struggle the dying dolphin, illuminating the siu-roimding waters with the bril- liancy of its unrivaled colors. He was the bravest, the most generous, the most magnanimous of men; lov- ing glory for itself, seeking danger that it might ad to his fame, above all mercenary motivs. Many lives of Bayard hav been written, the most remarkable as wel as by far the most graphic of which is that by ' The Loyal Servant.' It possesses all the advantages of contemporary biography. ... It strikes us that Mr. Simms would hav done a more acceptable service to literature had he revived the English translation of this book, and published it with editorial notes." [Southern Lit. Messenger. 940 THE VERY JOYOUS, PLEAS- ANT AND REFRESHING HIS- TORY OF THE FEATS, EX- PLOITS, TRIUMPHS AND AT- CHIEVEMENTS OT^^ THE GOOD KNIGHT WITHOUT FEAR AND WITHOUT REPROACH, GENTLE LORD DE BAYARD. [ed. by E: C. Kindersley: Longman, 1848; N. Y., Dodd. 1884.] " This is a condensed translation of the cele- brated Memoirs of Bayard pub- lished 3 years after his death, and supposed to hav been written by his secretary. It is done into excellent English, preserving not a little of the quaint simplicity and freshness of the original French; and is also very quaintly as wel as beautifully Kinderslej^ does not rate at too hi a mark the merits of a chivalrous nar- rativ which has kept the fame of its hero fresh and unsullied for near 3% centuries. ' Le loyal servi- teur ' has worthily vindicated the character he assumed. There is lit- tle doubt that he was at the side of Bayard, or not far from it, throughout most of the scenes de- scribed; his narrativ has generally, in some trifling incident or other, the touch of truth; even the voluble, gentle phrases which ar continually heaped upon the hero ar a piece of the reality of the time; and never was a fragment of genuin history at once more life-like and more full of romance, more joyous, pleasant, and true. There is perpetual sun- shine on the page, even in the midst of danger and death; for the heart of the true man and chivalrous gen- tleman is made buoyant and pre- dominant over all. The various characters so vividly sketched in the book, the loutish German soldier, the vaporing Spaniard, the hauty Venetian, the savage Albanian, be- come all more or less subdued to the nature of the gallant Frenchman; as every incident related in it min- isters to his reputation and glory." [Examiner.]—" There is nothing so healthy for boys to read as books which present the portraiture of a noble character; and if King Arthur deservs to be placed by the side of the Chevalier Bayard, yet there is this difference, that he is a fictitious character, while the model presented in Bayard is that of an historical personage. This book, therefore, combines the heroic features of the ' King Arthur ' Avith the historical value of ' Froissart.' As a picture of society in the 16th century, and a narrativ of some of its most stir- ring events, its value is great. The condensed translation is excellent. 68 HISTORY:— FRANCE. thoroly readable for boys (to wliom archaisms ar a stumbliug-bloc), and at the same time possessing a racy flavor of antiquity." [Nation. 941 1572. BY FIRE AND SWORD [by T: Archer: Cassell, 1885] " describes the terrible incidents of that struggle of the Huguenots which lost France forever so many of the best of her sons and their posterity. It is wel worth reading." [Athenaeum. 945 SAINT BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE. [by G: Alfred Henty: London. Blackie, 1893.] "Philip Fletcher givs and takes not a few hard knocs on behalf of his Protestant kinsfolk and co-religionists in France. The story is not indeed one of Mr. Henty's happiest efforts. The adventures of Philip culminate in his escape from the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. That terrible scene is described with no little force. The author, when once fairly warmed with his subject, wields as vigorous a pen as could be desired." [Spectator. 946 DOROTHY ARDEN [by F. M. Callwell: Nelson, 1890] "a story of the persecution of the French Protestants under Louis XIV., is a good example of this class. It takes us over historic ground in an agreeable manner, and as it pays due attention to the facts, it enlarges our kuoledge of the time." [Boston " Literary World." 950 1793-4. IN THE REIGN OF TERROR. [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1888.] " Harry Sandwith goes to dwel in the house of a French noble, and the principal part of his story con- sists of the contrivances by which, with consummate boldness and skil, he rescues the dauters of the fam- ily from the fate to which they ar doomed. When the party ar on board one of the vessels which is to be sunk at Nantes, one would giv them up but for the wel known vi- tality of heroes and heroins. But Mr. Henty is equal to the occasion, rescues them from death in a most ingenious way, and brings a capital story to an appropriate end." [Spec- tator. 955 FOR HONOR AND LIFE [by W: Westall: Harpers, 1894] "is the story of a very youthful gentleman of the heroic and ever-faithful Swiss Guard. A survivor from the ruthless slauter of his companion-in- arms, he seeks one place of conceal- ment after another, performs many valiant deeds, and has various hair- breadth escapes, one of the last and most thrilling being from the Con- ciergerie itself. It is a tale of ad- venture pure and simple, and as such is fairly wel constructed and told, moves rapidly, and is never dul. As it wil prove most attrac- tiv to young readers, whether it be specially intended for tliem or no, it may be added that it is whole- som in tone and reasonably accu- rate historically." [Atlantic. 956 CONTEMPORARY. LITTLE ROSY'S TRAVELS [ N. Y., Randolph, 1868] " is a book we can praise heartily. It is an account of a very human little girl's adventures in the south of France, whither her father and mother took her to gro fat. Parents wil at once recognize its truth to nature, and children wil be the bet- ter and happier for making the ac- quaintance of so good a disobedient, kind-hearted, merry little personage as Miss Rosy. The scenes of the story, too, wil be new to the reader, and the book wil be a real treasure to whatever girl may be fortunate enuf to hav it." [Nation. 960 69 BOOKS FOR THE YOIING. A PARISIAN FAMILY, by H. (G.) DeWitt. See " List of French Novels," No. 2199. C960ra LADY GREEN SATIN, [by Bar- oness E. Martineau des Cliesnez: Porter, 1873.] "This delightful fairy tels us how the little white mice came to be Lady Green Satin and her maid Rosette; how Jean Paul taut them to perform wonder- ful tries on a small white board, which he called his theatre; how, when times wer bad and he could get no more money by exhibiting Lady Green Satin among the Pyrenees, he left his home and made his way to Paris. The story tels us how af- ter many days the little fello came to the great city; how he thot he could sleep in the streets and found that he could not; how he gained his lodgings for two sous a night, and then went and came, cold, wet, hungry, and sometimes very happy because Lady Green Satin and her maid Rosette had performed so wel that he had gained good friends, and best of all, had gathered many sous to send to his dear mother and sisters. The story is charmingly told." [St. Nicholas. 961 GRANDMOTHER DEAR, [by M.. L.. (S.) Molesworth: Macmillan, 1878.] " It tels of some English children going to dwel with their grandmother in France. The au- thor's concern is with the develop- ment of character, and seldom does one meet the wisdom, tact, humor, and good-breeding which pervade this little book. Thotful girls in their teens, and even their rude brothers, wil hav their moral sense quickened by perusing it, and it has the rare merit of being suggestiv to parents without becoming a story about children instead of for children. There ar many indica- tions that the personages ar copied from life; and whether they ar or not, Mrs. Molesworth has given them an individuality and consist- ency which prove her literary art to be not inferior to her kindly in- sight and sound judgment in the management of the young." [Na- tion. 962 ROSA or the Parisian Girl, by E.. (D.) de Pressense. See " List of French Novels," No. 2235. 962k BELFREY OF ST. JUDE. [by Esme Stuart: S. P. C. K., 1880.] " Miss Stuart has a great gift for writing stories which ar simple and yet out of the common, and interest- ing to children as wel as to their elders. The Belfrey was an old tower, which had become a dwell- ing-house, and held two families, whose lives became closely con- nected." [Saturday Review. 963 MY COUSIN MISS CINDER- ELLA, [by Leon de Tinseau: Apple- ton, 1884.] " No pen but a French one can make such a sketch as this. Its mingled lightness and pathos, wit and simplicity, cynicism and tenderness, ar wholy Gallic— also, may it be said, its fustian later pages? The story is of the slitest fabric, beginning with the account of the life of a little boy reared in an old chateau, in a fossilized group of relativs whom the child vaguely thinks of as ' ancestors.' The moldy life of the household vued by his childish eyes is full of half-comic, half-sad contrasts between crabbed age and youth. His relations with his ' enemy the gardener ' form one of the amusing touches in the sketch. A little girl cousin comes to dwel at the chateau. The boy groes up, enters school, goes to Paris to see the world, and meets his fate throu a mysterious corres- pondence. This is all the story, 70 GEOGRAPHY :— SWITZERLAND. which is more charming in manner than in matter, and which loses its charm after the hero reaches man- hood. One wishes that he might liav remained always a little boy at Vandelnay." [Nation. 964 THE IGNORAMUSES [by M.. (Bradford) Crowninsliield : Loth- rop, 1887] describes in detail a tour in Switzerland made by the very natural and, for the greater part, agreeable children whose voyage along the Maine coast was chronicled in " All Among the Lighthouses " (No. 1500). It is vastly superior to compilations like the Knox or Champney books, because the characters ar alive in- stead of being mere puppets — trumpets throu which the author communicates his more or less valuable information. As was said of another work, " there ar many indications that the personages ar copied from life; and whether they ar or not, the author has given them an individuality and consistency which prove her lit- erary art to be not inferior to her kindly insight and sound judg- ment in the management of the young." 970 AMONG THE MOUNTAINS; or, the Harcourts of Montreux [by A. G.: Loudon, 1864] "is a charming story, very nicely told, the facts re- lating to Swiss habits and customs, and many of the incidents them- selves being gathered by the au- thor." [Reader. 980 HEIDI, [by Johanna Spyri: Bos- ton, Cupples, 1884.] "There is something very fresh and wholesom about ' Heidi.' A little orphan who has fulfilled one mission, that of humanizing the soul of her mis- anthropic grandfather, the solitary Alp-dweller, is suddenly sent upon another — to cheer, and ultimately, by a plausible chain of circum- stances, to cure an invalid child of wealth in Frankfurt. In the end she restores ' the Aim uncle ' to so- ciety, and herself becomes the heir of a childless physician, not to men- tion the sunshine she brot into the life of a blind grandam to whom she ministered. No lover, except a goatherd, and we do not see her wooed or happily married. The story consists in the evolution of her own character, and its influence on those with whom she comes in contact, nor wil children ask for more. The book is full of the Swit- zer's delight in his breezy heights and broad vistas, and all the sights and sounds of nature awakened from her winter sleep. Humor is not Mrs. Spyri's forte, yet the boy Peter serves very well as the clown of the narrativ, and the heavy comedy of the Sesemann household detracts little from the general ar- tistic effect." [Nation. 984 RICO AND WISELI [by Johanna Spyri: Cupples, 1885] " ar two charming stories. They ar tales of peasant life, the scene of one being the country near Bern; of the other, alternately Upper Engadin, and Peschiera on the lake of Garda. Each story tells of an orphan child whose sad experience of sorro, ad- versity, and hard work is finally britened by finding a happy home, and both narrativs ar not only sim- ple and touching but graceful, sprightly and delightful as wel." [Nation. 985 71 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE KNOCKABOUT CLUB IN SPAIN, [by F: Albion Ober: Estes, 1889.] " The author is peculiarly fitted for the task of exploring anew the quaint cities and dusty roads: his travels in Mexico and the West Indies as naturalist, historian and explorer had filled him with enthusiasm for his theme, and given him ample preparation for taking in appreciativly all he saw. Accord- ingly he and the '■ Judge ' di'op into this enchanted country early in March. They travel much on horsebac and in the great lum- bering Spanish coaches; they peep into cathedral cities, cross ancient Eoman bridges at Sevilla and Salamanca, visit mity aque- ducts lUve that of Segovia, prowl among the cloisters and libraries of the Escorial, and dream delightful dreams in the Alhambra. All along the way they fall in with queer people and queer advent- ures, visit fantastic little towns associated with the name of Colmnbus, and haunt the picture galleries. Here they come on traces of Cervantes and Don Quixote; there they see relics of the Inquisition; yonder Ferdinand and Isabella attract them in grand old cities like Yalladolid or Granada. Everywhere old times and new times jostle each otlier in this dreamlike land which has been in a revery ever since Ximenes died and which is stil full of the story of the Cid. . . The travelers saw Andalusia and its 'beggars glorified by Southern sunshine, and Moorish princesses in its gold side by side with Mm-illo's Madonnas. Thence they slipped into mysterious Marocco and the region of the Great Desert." [Critic, 990 THE STOEY OF SPAIN, [by E: E. & Susan Hale: Putnam, 1886.] "We wer led to expect that younger readers would get from it a correct and wel proportioned, even if somewhat meagre outline of the history of the country. This book, however, is destitute of all historical perspectiv or proportion. The romantic side-lights ar electric lights ; the lights of history ar mere tallo candles. Of the 390 pages, exclusiv of the table of contents and the index — which ar very good — the first 150 cover the period to the establishment of the Moorish power in the 8th century; while the four centuries since the accession of Ferdinand and Isabella, a period which in- cludes by far the most important events ia the history of Spain, is ' done ' in 99 pages, one-fourth of which ar occupied by pictures, poetical translations and blank leaves. The stories of the Aben- 72 HISTORY :— SPAIN. cerrages, of Bernardo del Carpio, of St. James, of Roland, of the Cid, ar told with, all their romantic accompaniments, altho the authors admit that ' the historians ' deem them not even founded on fact; while the Armada — as, indeed, the whole war between Elizabeth and Felipe II. is not even alluded to." [Nation. 1000 THE CRAYON MISCELLANY. [Carey, 1836.] "The matter is deeply interesting, but its cliief beauty is beauty of style. The Con- quest of Spain by the Saracens [711-14], an event momentous in the extreme, is yet enveloped, as re- gards the motivs and actions of the principal dramatis per- sonse, in triple doubt and con- fusion. To snatch from this uncer- tainty a few striking and pictur- esque legends, possessing, at the same time, some portion of verity, and to adorn them in his own mag- ical language, is all Mr. Irving has done in the present instance. But that he has done this little wel it is needless to say." [Southern Lit. Messenger. 1004 THE ALHAMBRA. [by Washing- ton Irving: London, 1832.] "The finest compliment ever paid to Irv- ing was by Dickens, when he said that Irving had ' peopled the Al- hambra, and made eloquent its shados.' Perhaps no one of his works affords a more universal pleasure than this guide-book throu the deserted corridors and magnifi- cent ruins of the Moorish palace. As we go along, the past revives; the crumbling pillars of the delicate Morisco architecture ar restored, with their entablatures of porcelain and lapis-lazuli; the fountains play freshly in the morning sunlight, and we may almost fancy we hear the lutes again sounding throu the shady courts and gardens of the en- chanted place." [So. Lit. Messenger.] — " ' The peculiar charm of this dreamy palace is its power of call- ing up vague reveries and pictur- ings of the past, and thus clothing naked realities with the illusions of the memory and the imagination.' In this sentence, which begins the description of the Court of Lions — one of the courts of the Moorish palace of the Alhambra where ' the hand of time has fallen the litest,' is contained the secret of Irving's philosophy, and of much of the beauty of his writings. All his prose is poetry, for he sees nothing as it is, and cares little for anything as it stands; he values an object for its power of cheating illusion — for the dreamy power it may possess of calling up vague reveries and pic- turings of the past: with him naked realities ar poor forlorn things shivering in the wind; — until they ar clothed with illusions of the mem- ory and the imagination they ar ashamed to be seen. Irving is the modern Quixote, who goes about covering ' things as they ar,' and wrapping them in the pictured gar- ments of the past. . . Realities when garbed by him walk in silk attire; harp in hand, joy in the counten- ance, and all sorts of elegant de- light in attendance. . . But in the writings of Irving there is that ' en- semble ' of melodious style, senti- mental tenderness, rich association, and perfect placidity of temper, and gentle flo of intelligible thot, which calculates him for the place of a favorit from the drawing-room to the cottage. The women especially love him, and the men gro mello as they read; sometimes charmed by his ' fantasmagoria of mind,' some- 73 BOOKS FOR THE YOLTN'G. times softened by his gentle yet gloing pictures of waning glory. The Alhambra is a fine framework for legendary lore — connected as it is with the most romatic portion of the European annals, and invested by time, and verse and history, with scenes and characters, and fictions, innumerable and inexhaustible. . . It is a fine piece of composition: rich, varied, and soft, — to pass over its pages is like treading upon a velvet carpet of curious pattern: thgre is not a word which is not a picture: not a sentence Avhich is not smooth, deep, yielding, yet springy." [Examiner. 1005 CHRONICLE OF THE CON- QUEST OF GRENADA, [by Wash- ington Irving: Putnam, 1850.] " Every lover of the romantic and picturesque in history wil heartily welcom a I'e-issue of this charming Chronicle. By assuming the posi- tion of a contemporary, he is en- abled to exhibit the prejudices of the time [1492] Avith almost dra- matic vividness, and to giv events some of the coloring they derived from Spanish bigotry without ob- scuring their real nature and im- port. The beautiful mischlevous- ness of the occasional irony which peeps throu the narrativ is in the author's liappiest style. The book might easily be expanded into a dozen novels, so rich is it in ma- terials of description and adventure. In its present form it is replete with accurate history, represented with pictorial vividness. "[ Graham's Mag. 1008 DON QUIXOTE DE LA MAN- CHA. [by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Lea.] "Philip III. said when he saw a student lafing im- moderately over a book, ' That man must be either out of his Avits or reading Don Quixote.' , Certainly there is no production aa'c hav read so provocativ of mirth as this strange narrativ of the feats and follies of the gallant, the hi-toned, the visionary Knight of La Mancha. The book is far the best specimen Ave hav of the moc-heroic. Almost OA^ery adventure of the Don is a comic picture, and the ' honest squire ' amuses us as no other ac- quaintance can, save Dogberry or Falstaff. And yet Ave think that those AA'ho look on Don Quixote merely as an amusing satire on over- heated enthusiasm, or as a correctiv administered to a vitiated public taste, hav failed to catch its moral. It is at once the most ludici'ous and the most mornful of all personal histories. The spectacle of a noble soul thwarted in every endeavor, a man of acute sensibility exposed to ridicule at every turn, deeds of hi emprise ending in absurd and Avhimsical sallies, can not fail to pro- dvice a sad impression on every thinking mind." [Southern Lit. Messenger. 1012 THE WHITE COMPANY [by Arthur Conan Doyle: U. S. Book Co., 1891] is a " vigorous and interesting story. The White Company is a body of English archers; and the story of the deeds of these men and their leaders is interwoven with ac- counts of the Jacquerie uprising [1358], encounters with Du Guesclin, and the Avars for the restoration of Pedro the Cruel [I3G7]. The au- thor's style is excellently fitted to his subject, and his sketches of the Black Prince and of the famous French and English knights ar ex- ceedingly vivid." [Boston " Lit. World.'- ClOl-4 DICCON THE BOLD, [by J: Rus- sell Coryell: Putnam, 1893.] " Die- con Avas the son of Tom Hastings, Avho died fiting, more than 400 years ago, to make the Duke of Lancaster king. Diccon Avishes he might go to sea, so an uncle introduces him to .1: Cabot, Avho makes a place for 74 I^ISTORY :— HOLLAND. him on a ship bound to the Mediter- Columbus, who takes him with him ranean; but the vessel is sunk dur- in search for the New World. All ing a fight with Barbary pirates, this is told in so matter-of-fact a and the boy, drifting ashore on manner that it seems natural enuf some wreckage, is rescued by Span- while one is reading it." [Godey's. ish Jews, for whom he is afterwards 1016 1705-7. able to do a good turn in their time of sorest need. He has a bad quar- ter of an hour with the Inquisition, THE BRAVEST OP THE BRAVE and escapes throu paralizing the [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie, 1886] sanctimonious crew by refusing to " narrates the adventures of that lie. Going to the court of Spain great soldier C: Mordaunt, Earl of with one of his Hebrew friends, Peterborough. The young recruit, who wishes to buy the favor of the pressed for the war throu the ag- impecuuious King Ferdinand he ency of his employer, whose dauter sees the Grand Inquisitor Torque- looked on Jack too favorably, mada [1420-98] without being favor- worthily earns his commission, and ably impressed by him, and, more tels his tale with spirit." [Athen- to his liking, he meets Christopher aeum. 1020 THE BODLEY GRANDCHILDREN [by H. Scudder: Hougli- ton, 1882] "is a clever account of the relation of Holland to old New York, and to the Dutch episode of the wandermgs of the Pilgrim Fathers — interwoven with a description of Holland at the present day. It is interesting in the first aspect and graphic and accurate in the last — a good picture of modern Dutch life." [Nation. 1050 THE LAND OF I>LUCK [by Mary (^lapes) Dodge] " is written in the bright, entertaining style which Mrs. Dodge always com- mands, and is wel fitted to rouse an interest in the manners and history of this admhable people." [Nation. 1055 HISTORY OF THE NETHERLxVNDS. [by Alex. Young: Estes, 1884.] " Mr. Motley's work has been of advantage to Mr. Young, tho he makes use of new material and also of criticism on the earlier work. His l>ook will not suffer in one respect, for its clearness of language and straitforwardness of style ar more agree- able than Motley's hi color. It also brings the subject to date, and altogether one would liav to go far to find so business-like and interesting a history within the limits which Mr. Young has set himself. It is a pity that the cuts could not have been fewer if they wer to be so poor." [Atlantic. 1060 THE GREAT DUTCH ADMIRALS, [by Jacob De Liefde: Routledge, 1874.] " History could not wel be conveyed in a pleas- 75 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. anter form tlian it is here. De Ruyter occupies of right a third of the volume, and the introduction to him as a young monkey climb- ing to the top of the spire of Flushing cannot fail of its intended effect on the youthful reader. This admu'al and Cornelis de Witt particularly recommend themselvs by a boyhood which is not only father to their manhood, but is at the same time thoroly boyish, and therefore sure of the sympathy and admiration of boys the world over. The author's style is simple and familiar." [Nation. 1065 THE RHYHOVES OF ANT- WERP [by Annette Lucile Noble: Presby. Board of Pub., 1890] " is an admirable tale. The heroism of the Dutch Republic is portrayed in the story of the perils of a citizen's family in Antwerp, and in the siege of Alkmaar. The setting of the tale is faithful to the spirit, customs and conversations of those days; the characters ar wel contrasted, and enuf wooing and wedding is inter- mingled to satisfy the young heart. The introduction of Hans Sachs [1494-1576] into the tale is a clever hit. The book deservs to take its place among the best of our his- torical stories; it is neither denomi- national nor partisan in tone." [Bos- ton " Lit. World." 1070 WIND AND WAVE [by Har- riette E. Burch: Religious Tract So- ciety, 1884] •' is an interesting story founded on the siege of Leyden (1574). The strong religious and party feeling between Protestants and Romanists forms, of coiirse, a principal feature of the story." [Saturday Review. 1072 A TURBULENT TOWN, [by E: Hoare: S. P. C. K., 1884.] " Altho in the form of a story, it givs the historical incidents with clearness and accuracy." [Saturday Review. 1073 BY PIKE AND DYKE [by G: A. Ilenty: Blackie. 1889] "is full of historical facts put forward in the form of a story. . . Mr. Henty has certainly surpassed himself in the interesting manner in which he has set forth his tale of the rise of the Dutch Republic." [Saturday Re- view. 1075 BY ENGLAND'S AID [by G: A. Henty: Blackie, 1890] "is a story of the last years of the Dutch War of Independence. . . The Armada (1588), the capture of Breda (1590), the siege of Ostend, the conquest of Cadiz by Vere and Ralegh (1596), ar among the great military and naval enterprises described in this eventful chronicle. The story is told with great animation, and the historical material is most effectivly combined with an excellent plot. The maps and woodcuts ar good." [Saturday Review. 107G HANS BRINIvER, or the Silver Skates [by M.. E.. (Mapes) Dodge: N. Y., O'Kane, 1866; Low, 1867] " is a charming domestic story which is addressed, indeed, to young people, but which may be read with pleas- ure and profit by their elders. It contains two things,— a series of life-like pictures of an interesting country and of the od ways and pe- culiarities and homely virtues of its inhabitants; and then, interwoven with these, a simple tale, now pa- thetic, now amusing, and carrying with it wholesom influences on the young heart and mind." [Atlantic] — " This pleasant story before us af- 76 HISTORY:— GERMANY. fords glimpses of the natioual char- acter and inner life of the Holland- ers, and the author contrives with- out interrupting the narrativ too much, to allude to several topics of historical and topographical inter- est, more especially to that peren- nial war which Holland wages against the mity ocean, and the in- genious tactics and unflagging reso- lution with which it is carried on. The story itself is agreeable and full of good feeling, with occasional flashes of humor. The grand skat- ing match of school-boys and school- girls is an eminently national scene, portrayed with a spirit and hearti- ness which wil make all youthful readers long to cross the German Ocean and enter themselvs for the 'Silver Skates' forthwith." [Ath- enaeum. 1090 SIEGFRIED, THE DRAGON SLAYER, Heroic Life and Exploits of [Cundall and Bogue. 1848] " wil send j^oung and old to the grand times of heroic personal adventure, when the age of chivalry was but beginning. These exploits of Sieg- fried form a fragment of the Nie- beluugen-Lied, that celebrated cycle of the romance of early Germany. The narrativ is told in a clear, vig- orous style, as if every sentence wer meant to tel like one of the hero's sword strokes; but its simplicity by no means takes away from the ef- fect of the marvels related. Kaul- bach's illustrations ar in excellent keeping." [Examiner. 1110 THE STORY OF ROLAND, [by Ja. Baldwin: Scribner, 1883.] " The hero is not always in the foreground, and, such as the legends and the poets have lepresented him. would not hav flUed out the scheme of this plump book. So beside him figure his brother warriors, with his king and imcle, and the book might nearly as wel hav been called ' Charlemagne and his Knights.' Mi-. Baldwin has culled from a wide range of epics, French, Italian, and German, and has once more proved his aptitude as a story-teller for the yoimg, while conveying information for which many of their elders wil be thankful. As in the previous work, notes, grouped as an appen- dix, elucidate the narrativ and point to its sources." [Nation. 1112 WITH SCRIP AND STAFF [by Ella W. Peattie: Randolph] "is a story of the German portion of the Children's Crusade [1212], rather prettily told, but too painful, we think, for the little folk for whom it is written. A word on the rea- sons why the Crusaders' enter- prise, throu its dependence on the violently miraculous answer of God to its petitions, was doomed to fail- ure, altho undertaken in a spirit of faith and sacrifice, might hav been added with advantage. To the childish mind, the book would, as it stands, prove an admirable ar- gument for not believing in the ef- ficacy of saying one's prayers." [At- lantic. 1115 OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND [by Howard Pyle: Scribner, 1888] " is a tale of robber barons and holy monks, of peaceful cloistered days, and wild nights of fire and blood; a tale of incident which would be thrilling if only the actors had a little more vitality in them. They play their parts spiritedly enuf, kil and ar killed, bless and curse, and love and ar made love to in a quite lively and satisfactory manner as long as they ar on the scene, but they never come to life and walk oft" about their own business; one feels that between their exits and their entrances they ar lying quite peacefully in their box doing noth- ing, and that when the curtain is rung down, a little change of paint 77 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. and costume wil fit them for other parts to come." [Nation.]—" Is full of fiting, foraging, the rule of might, and the ' simple plan,' in which the hero and his father pass throu sharp persecution at the hands of a nebor- ing baron. The fortunes of Otto ar powerfully told, and the story throughout is exciting and interest- ing. Mr. Pyle's drawings ar medi- aeval in style, and possess the merit of illustrating the text with excel- lent force and fidelity." [Saturday Review. 1118 MAX, FRITZ, AND HOB. [by C. R. Coleridge: National Soc, 1892.] " We can hardly imagin a story which wil giv children greater pleas- ure than this. The scene is in the Bavarian Highlands, with an old castle buried in forests as a delight- ful bacground to the history of some young people. The friendship be- tween Max and his queer little cousin is something very fresh and touching. The young baron. Max, is a charming and dignified charac- ter, and the book is not without charm and happy description." [Spectator. 1125 THE BOYHOOD OF LUTHER, [by H: May hew: Low, 1863.] " Apart from its merits as an account of the circumstances under which Luther's boyhood may be supposed to hav been passed, it is very interesting as a minutely stippled picture of peasant life in the IGth century. The author evidently has a keen ap- preciation of the socialities of Ger- man domestic life, and his descrip- tions of it ar not the less pleasant because clothed in mediaeval dress." [Parthenon. 1127 JOHN FREDERIC THE MAG- NANIMOUS [London, Dean, 1860] " is the story of the Elector of Sax- ony, so remarkable for his great vir- tues and his many misfortunes; for his heroic championship of the Pro- testant faith; and his heroic equan- imity both in prosperity and in cap- tivity. From its hi moral lessons, no story could be more likely to be serviceable to the young, while its stirring incidents and dramatic ef- fect ar peculiarly calculated to rivet the attention." [Lit. Gazette. 1129 1618-48. PHILIP ROLLO. [by James Grant (t, 1887), London, 1854.] " Ro- mance and history ar dexterously blended in these picturesque pages, and in one type of character the vivacious force of the author's pre- sentment admits no dispute. The soldier of fortune plays a dashing and conspicuous part in his best work, and is portrayed with true creativ intensity, as becomes the ro- mancer nourished in the school of Scott and Dumas. Nor is his treat- ment of history such as to damp the fine enthusiasm aroused by the ex- uberant spirit of adventure and the romantic fervor, as of ever-victo- rious youth, which animates the rich and varied action of his more stirring stories. There is plenty of evidence that he was patient and keen in historical research, but his use of the material was consistently sound and artistic, being broadly ap- plied for purposes of local or chrono- logical color, and never a pedantic display of antiquarian detail. The portraits of Tilly (1559-1632) and Wallenstein (1583-1634), in the most elaborate of Grant's novels, can not, of course, be classed in the first rank of historical portraiture. The great captains of the Thirty Years' War ar, however, broadly and skilfully presented in the lurid atmosphere of his spirited and graphic romance; the descriptions of camp-life, of forays, assaults and sackings ar often brilliant, while the hero is one of the happiest examples of bravery 78 HISTORY :— AUSTRIA. and splendid fortune which hav de- lited lovers of romance." [Saturday Review. 1135 IN THE DAYS OP MOZART, [by Lily Watson: Religious Tract Soc, 1891.] " Mozart (1750-91) appears as the precocious clilld and lad who astonished Germany by his early genius. The hero is a young music- ian unknown to fame, who leaves his home sooner than sacrifice his great ambition, and dies before he reaches it. He makes an interest- ing figure, as does also his sister and protector, Elsa. All the acces- sories of the story ar very wel put in. Maria Theresia (1717-80), kindly but imperious; the lovely INIarie- An- toinette (1755-93), for w^hom the young magician cherishes a roman- tic passion; the foppish minister, Kaunitz (1711-94); and the calm, be- nevolent Haydn (1732-1S09) with his evenly balanced mind, so happily free from the common defects of the artistic temperament, — these go to make up an excellent little ' com- pany ' for the drama Avhich this very pleasing story unfolds for us." [Spectator. 1145 1837. A NEW EXODUS [by Catherine Ray: Nis"bet, 1887] "takes us away to Tirol and treats of the oppression and sufferings of the Protestants in 1837. Private and peculiar griefs ar mingled with the great common wrong; the tone is sad, yet the book is not lacking in bright touches. The development of Bertha's character is admirably portrayed." [Athen- aeum. 1155 CONTEMPORARY. BUSY HANDS AND PATIENT HEARTS. [by Gustav Nieritz: Jackson, 1SG3.] " We do not kno the author's name as that of a celebrated story-teller, but his ' Busy Hands ' we shal not soon forget. The bright little ]\Iagda, the sup- port of her rheumatic old mother and blind brother, is as pretty and helpful a Christmas picture as we ever set eyes on; while good Master Tanzer's and Mr. Gloaming's kind- ness to the poor afflicted ones wil lead old and young at Christmas time to think whose hearts and lot they can make blither and liter ere tlie New Year is rung in. We wil not tell the story of the book, but beg our readers who hav chil- dren to read it to them." [Reader. 1160 STORIES FROM GERMANY [by Frank Hoffman: Hodder & Stough- ton, 1SG8] " ar translations of the two charming tales ' Gold-seekers and Bread-winners,' by Franz Hoff- man, and ' The Cobbler, the Clerk, and the Lawyer of Liebstein,' by Nieritz." [London Review. 1162 GRETCHEN'S .TOYS AND SOR- ROWS, by "C. Halm." See "List of German Novels," No. 2420. C1170 PYTHIA'S PUPILS, by " Eva Hartner." See " List of German Novels," No. 2500. C1180 THEEE VASSAR GIKLS IN TYROL [by E.. (Williams) Champney: Estes, 1891] " renews our acqiiatatauce with tlie merry peripatetic trio of sweet giii graduates who for some 10 years hav been ' abroad,' in England, Italy, France, on the Rhein, and elsewhere, but who appear to be perennially youthful, keen-eyed and vivacious. They now tel us of their adventures at Oberam- mergau, Innsbriick, Botzen, Meran, and other delightful Tirolean 79 i;OOKS FOR THE YOUXG. localities, with a flying trip by the St. Gothard to Lake Maggiore. The illustrations, most of which ar excellent, render it equally a panorama of the wild and romantic region the lively ladies traverse." [Critic. 1190 THE BOY TRAVELLEKS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE [by T: W. Knox: Harper, 1893] " contains a large number of wel chosen and generally good pictures of cities of Italy and southern Spain, with an accompanying text, descriptiv and historical, closely packed with information, but which the dreary attempts at humor scattered thi'ou it cannot make entertaining. ... It should also be said that the usefulness of the book for reference is almost lost for the lac of an index.'' [Nation. 1200 THREE VASSAR GIRLS IN ITALY [by E.. (Williams) Champney : Estes, 1885.] " The ' gii'ls ' ar overtaken in this vol- ume at ]Milan, and ar foUoed by way of the Lake of Como and Verona to Venice; thence, via Padua, Ferrara, Bologna and Pisa to Rome. Two or three chapters ar spent here, and then we ar taken on to Naples and Sicily, with passing glimpses of Sorrento, Capri, Paestum, and the Baths of Baiae. We ar sorry to hav to say that the 'Vassar' t^-pe does not stand, to our minds, as the hiest type of American girlhood; but the author has toned down the type somewhat, and a dialog which might be offensivly loud is subordinated to descriptions which ar pleasantly quiet. There is a good deal of art information and criticism in her writing, and maps of the regions visited line the insides of the covers." [Boston " Lit. World." 1210 STORIES FROM THE HISTORY The very simplicity to which the OP ROME [by ( ) Beesly: Mac- legends hav been reduced givs a millan, 1878] " hits a Avant which nakedness to their barbarity which most parents hav felt, by providing we trust would seem repulsiv to cis- a substitute for ' fairy tales and the Atlantic mothers. The duel of the stories of nursery life ' wherewith Horatii and the Curiatii, which has to amuse children from four to six. no useful lesson for 19th century But her aim was not simply to children of any age, is noticeably amuse, and she selected these tales unsoftened by this process." [Na- ' with a vue to illustrate the two tion. 1211 sentiments most characteristic of TRUE STORIES FROM ROMAN Roman manners — duty to parents HISTORY [by Alice Pollard: Grif- and duty to country.' A bloodier fith. 1892] " is a skilful compilation collection of stories could hardly be of wood-cuts, illustrativ of the Ro- made from Pox's ' Book of Martyrs.' man conquests of Gaul, Numidia, 80 HISTORY:— ITALY. Carthage, and the East, and of the great military leaders of victorious Rome." [Saturday Review. 1212 THE STORY OF ROME, [by Arthur Gilman.] To be avoided. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 58. C1213 THE SEVEN KINGS OF THE SEVEN HILLS, [by Caroline (But- ler) Laing.] To be avoided. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 59. C1214 TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, by A. J: Church. See "Novels of Ancient Life," No. 170 C1215 TO THE LIONS [by Alfred J: Church: Putnam, 1889] " brings be- fore us the Rome of 112 A. D. The canvas is full of figures pictur- esquely drawn, and abounds in ani- mation and incident. Plinius the Younger and Tacitus ar characters In these moving pages, which re- volv about the heroic, halo-encircled forms of the twin sisters Rhoda and Cleona and their lives and loves. Bithynia and its wild mountains, Nikaia and its Greeks and Romans, Ephesos and its ' wild beasts,' ar the bacground against which the tragedy plays." [Critic.]—" It en- ters thoroly into the spirit of the time; it is fascinating from begin- ning to end; it is devout in spirit; it has finely delineated characters — including the younger Plinius— and is a noble tho pathetic story." [Bos- ton " Lit. World." 383— C1216 A DAY IN ANCIENT ROME, translated by E. S. Shumway. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 195. C1217 PICTURES FROM ROMAN LIFE AND STORY, by A. J: Church. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 215. 1218 As collateral reading:— SKETCHES OF THE DOMES- TIC MANNERS OF THE RO- MANS [Phira, 1822] " has not the form of a novel or a book of travels, but from the general liveliness of • the style and its occasional wit and satire is as entertaining as most tales and travels. ' It has often been remarked,' says the author, ' among all the labored volumes which hav been written on the sub- ject of the antiquities of the Ro- mans we possess no compendious ac- count of their domestic customs; and that, altho every wel-educated person is acquainted with Roman history, but few hav an accurate idea of Roman manners. It is in- deed only to be acquired by toiling throu a variety of authors, with which the generality of readers ar but imperfectly acquainted; and la- dies, in particular, ar deterred from the study by tlie classical allusions and the learned quotations in which the subject has been usually devel- oped. It therefore occurred to the author that a concise account of the state of society, clothed in plain language, divested, as far as possi- ble, of Latin terms, and pruned of all subjects which offend against delicacy, could not fail to be service- able.' The distinctness and method observd throughout the look im- press the facts and statements strongly upon the memory, and if we consider how much better we remember that by which our atten- tion is excited than that which fa- tigues us, it is hardly too much to say that most readers may be taut as much by this little volume as by Dr. Adams' heavy work. Moreover, we find here a much more minute and exact account of a part of this subject than is to be gathered from the usual compends of Roman an- tiquities, and that is the domestic economy of the Romans,— their in- door life and manners." [Theophilus Parsons in N. A. Review. C1219 81 I'.OOKt-' FOR THE YOUNG. THE FRIVATE LIFE OF THE ROMANS, [by Harriet Waters Pres- ton aud L.. Dodge: Boston, Leach, 1894.] " The subjects of the chap- ters ar the Family the House and Every-day Life; Cliildren, Slaves, Guests, etc.; Food and Clothing; Ag- riculture; and Travel and Amuse- ments. The book, in spite of its con- densed treatment, is no mere mar- shaling of facts; it is readable, in- teresting, and in the main trust- worthy. It deservs a place in the librai-y of every classical school, es- pecially as it stands alone [?] in its tield." [Nation. C1220 RIENZI, the Last of the Tribunes, [by Baron Lytton: Phil'a, Carey and A. Hart, 1S3G.] " The principal characters ar Rienzi— Walter de Montreal, one of the formidable freebooters, who at the head of large ' companies ' invaded States and pil- laged towns at the period of Ri- enzi's revolution— Petrarca— Irene, the sister of the Tribune— and his wife. We should err if we regarded Rienzi altogether in the light of romance. Undoubtedly as such— as a fiction, and coming under the title of a novel, it is a glorious, a wonder- ful conception, and not the less wonderfully and gloriously carried out. What else could we say of a book over which the mind so delight- edly lingers in perusal? In its de- lineations of passion and character —in the fine blending and contrast- ing of its incidents— in the rich and brilliant tints of its feudal paint- ings—in a pervading air of chivalry, and grace, and sentiment— in all which can thro a charm over the pages of romance, the last novel of Bulwer is equal to any of his former productions." [So. Lit Messenger. C1221 1379. THE LION OF ST. MARK, [by G: Alfred Henty: Blackie,— Scribner, 1S88.] " It has not been our lot in a long time to peruse so vigorous and absorb- ing a book for boys. The scene is laid at the time of the hard strug- gle of Venice against Hungary, Padua, and Genoa. The hero is an English boy, tho admitted to Vene- tian citizenship. He has all the gen- erous qualities with which this au- thor likes to endow his intrepid young heroes. It is a delight to folio this admirable youth throu a series of daring exploits and hairbreadth escapes, fascinated by the rapid nar- rativ, and always supported by a boundless confidence in the ability of Francis to rescue the imprisoned maidens, or circumvent the pirate Ruggiero, or contrive his own es- cape and that of his comrades from their Genoese captors." [Critic.]— " It treats of Venice in the latter part of the 14th century, the brave days of the bitterest struggle with Genova, of Pisani and Doria, of t"Be sea-fights of Antium, Porto d'Anzo, and Chioggia. The hero, Francis Hammond, son of an English mer- chant, is engaged in many bold en- terprises, and is as daring as he is successful. He rescues more than once two lovely Venetian ladies from dastard hands. He discovers ene- mies of the Republic plotting in Venice. He servs Venice on the sea in many a good fight. His enemy and rival turns pirate— a bad sort of renegade pirate— and after a few freaks of fortune comes to a very bad end. Every boy should read The Lion of St. Mark. Mr. Henty has never produced a story more de- lightful, more wholesome, or mox'e vivacious. From first to last it wil be read with keen enjoyment." [Saturday Review. 1224 THE CITY IN THE SEA [Seeley, 1883] " is a complete history of Ven- ice. It is admirably arranged and wel written. The colored pictures 82 HISTORY :— ITALY. ar rather too ambitious, and fail very mucli here and there, but some of them ar extremely good." [Sat- urday Review. 1226 UNDER BAYARD'S BANNER. [by H: Frith: Cassell, 1SS6.] " 'The days of chivalry ' wer on the wane when Louis XII. made war in Italy [1499], and the felonious deeds re- corded in this volume do not en- hance one's regret for the Middle Age. Bayard's figure of course stands out a bright exception, and the author has done wel to revive the memory of the famous captain." [Athenaeum. 1232 THE EXILES OF LUCERNA [by J: Ross McDuff: 3d ed., London, 1S59] " is interesting and wel writ- ten. The secluded valleys of Lu- cerna, Perosa, and St. Martino, hid- den in the recesses of the mountains which form the barrier between France and Italy, ar the scene of glorious struggles on behalf of re- ligious freedom. The great move- ments of persecution which culmi- nated in the outbreak of 1686 brot out displays of heroic constancy, strongly reminding the historical student of the early years of Chris- tianity. And in this book the Wal- densian sufferers hav found a me- morial at once wel conceived and worthily executed." [Lit. Gazette. 1236 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY, [by Em- ily H. Watson: Boston, Tilton, 1866.] " A compilation from familiar let- ters written by the instructor of the children of an American artist while abroad, simple in narrativ, sugges- tiv in incident, and instructiv as embodying a mass of matter per- taining to the habits, traditions, festivals, modes of life, etc., of the different communities visited. Tho designed for children, there is much to attract the attention of older readers." [Commonwealth. 1244 THE YOUNG DODGE CLUB. THE SEVEN HILLS, [by Ja. De Mille: Lee, 1872.] "The original Dodge Club was marked by great liveliness of movement in the inci- dents. Hi animal spirits wer an- other of its characteristics, and the Yankee reader wil recollect that it shoed that curious conception of the Yankee which makes him wear on his waistcoat the stars of our na- tional banner, the stripes of the same emblem being made into pan- taloons for him. Withal, there was evident in his accoutrements and his moral and intellectual outfit suf- ficient proof of his creator's clear perception that it was the Yankees who wer to buy the books in which this generation figured, and he is accordingly made as inventiv, cool, courageous, just, merciful, inde- pendent, and good-natured as he is Impudent, il-bred, and untutored. In the present book there is the same fondness for headlong mis- chief and practical joking, but there is also a great deal of guide-book in- formation about Rome, which is wel enuf told to make it in itself beguil- ing to children, and the concomitant horse-play wil make it quite irre- sistible to most boys. . . . There is a description of the ascent to the roof of St. Peter's and of the scene there presented to the eye, which is admirable for its spirit and viv- idness." [Nation. 1248 GREECE. THE WTJNDER-BOOK. [by Nath. Hawthorne: Ticknor. 1852.] " Haw- thorne may hav written more pow- erful stories than those contained in this volume, but none so truly de- litful. The spirit of the book is so essentially sunny and happy, that it creates a jubilee in the brain as we read. It is intended for children, but let not the intention cheat men and women out of the pleasure they 83 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. wil find in its sparkling and genial pages. Tlie stories ar told by a cer- tain Eustice Bright to a mob of children, whom the author re-bap- tizes with the fairy appellation of Primrose, Periwinlile, Sweet Fern, Dandelion, Blue-Eye, Clover, Huclvleberry, Cowslip, Squash-blos- som, Milk-weed, Plantain and But- tercup. The individuality of these little creatures is happily preservd, especially in the criticisms and ap- plications they malie after each story is told; and the reader parts with them unwillingly. The stories, six in number, ar classical myths, recast to suit the author's purpos, and told with exquisit grace, sim- plicity and playfulness. The book wil become a children's classic, and, to our taste, is fairly the best of its kind in English literature. It is a child's story-book informed with the finest genius." [Graham's Mag. 1270 TANGLEWOOD TALES, [by Na- thaniel Hawthorne: Boston, Tick- noi". 1853.] " The children's tales written for the imaginary audience at Tauglewood ar very clever, and admirably suited to delight the young as wel as to amuse the old. They ar old classical stories told in a fresh romantic way, as they might be told by a man of genius in play- ful humor, taking as much satisfac- tion as he givs over his pleasant undertaking. It is a child's book and a man's book, and a book over which wives and dauters may also discreetly entertain themselvs." [Examiner.] — " The stories come from his imagination, pure, delicate, consistent, full of moral beauty, and exceeding all fairy tales we can remember in interest and attractiv- ness. . . The subjects of the stories are ' The Minotaur,' a most captivat- ing narrativ of the adventures of Theseus; ' The Pygmies,' in which the redoubtable acts of those little warriors, in their combats with the cranes, ar dutifully blazoned; ' The Dragon's Teeth,' devoted to the life of Cadmus, . the discoverer of A B C, and therefore of deep interest; ' Circe's Palace,' a glorious account of the victory of Odysseus over the most beautiful of witches; ' The Pomegranate Seeds,' in which the story of Proserpina is gracefully adapted to children's minds; and ' The Golden Fleece,' or the ad- ventures of Jason. It is almost needless to say that all these stories evince the felicity and transform- ing power of genius." [Graham's Mag. 1271 THE HEROES: Greek Fairy Tales for my Children, [by C: Kingsley: Boston, Ticknor. 1856.] " Perseus, the Argonauts. and Tiieseus ar the subjects. The pre- face invites children to gather ex- amples of courage and endurance from these antique legends, and re- minds them how much we ar be- holden to Greece for the rudiments of science, and the perfection of some branches of art. Nothing could be more felicitous than the style and language employed. In simplicity they ar adapted to the youngest, and yet they rise at times almost into classic stateliness." [Albion. 1272 TALES OF ANCIENT GREECE. [by G: W. Cox: Chicago, McClurg, 1877.] " Its four parts consist of ' The Gods and Heroes,' ' Tales of the Trojan War,' ' Tales of Thebes,' and ' Miscellaneous Tales,' and furnish a pretty complete outfit of the com- monplaces of Greek mythology, of Homer, Sophocles, and Herodotus. Admirable in style, and level with a child's comprehension, these ver- sions constitute an abridged and purified Lempriere Avhich might wel find a place in every family, either as a preparation for classical train- ing or (as far as it wil go) as a sub- 84 GEOGRAPHY :— SWEDEN. stitute for it. Forms like KirkP, Eurydike, etc., in Mr. Cox' folloing of the Greek orthography, wil offer no obstacle to those who hav been taut the approved Latin pronun- ciation of the present day." [Na- tion. 1273 THE TALE OF TROY [done into English by Aubrey Stewart: Mac- millan, 1886] " is one of those fas- cinating renderings of classic leg- ends of which English scholars hav given us so many. For the most part the story is derived from the ' Iliad ' and the language of the poet is foUoed very closely when- ever followed. The beginning and the end, for which Homer gave no materials, ar told by the author in language not unworthy to go Avitli the rest, altho the style is his, not Homer's." [Nation. 1276 A STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE [by Ja. Baldwin: Scribner, 1887] " is a happily conceived and executed introduction to classical mythology. The story is built about the adventures of the youthful Odysseus, who is carried from his home by his tutor to visit his grand- parents, and to whom, in the course of his travels, various legends of classical mythology ar related. It therefore at once contains a collec- tion of heroic stories, and servs to conduct the young hero to the threshold of the Trojan War. The purpos of the writer is not to giv ' a simplified version ' of Homer, but ' to pave the way, if I dare say it, to an enjoyable reading of Homer.' " [Nation. 1277 THE ADVENTURES OF ULYS- SES, [by C: Lamb: Phil'a, Gebbie, 1890.] " The Odyssey as it passed throu Lamb's mind, with all its angles and saliences, picturesque- uess and fairy-lore, lies here pano- rama-wise, and is reproduced in es- sential sweetness and strangeness, just as he might hav told it with the children at his knee. Lamb's Odysseus is Homer's, and yet he is not: he is Ella's; rugged, grand, fearless as the Homeric, but poetical and pathetic more than even the Greek artist could draw him. The ' Aaveutures ' ar in prose of a kind that melts into poetry and music. . . Mr. Lang, in a pleasant, infantile preface, speaks to the children about Homer and the gods." [Critic. 1280 THREE GREEK CHILDREN, by A. J: Church. See "Novels of An- cient Life," No. 87. C1285 THE BOY'S AND GIRL'S HERO- DOTUS, ed. J: Silas White. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 97. C1287 THE BOY'S AND GIRL'S PLU- TARCH, ed. J: Silas White. See " Novels of Ancient Life," No. 143. C1295 THE BOY TRAVELLERS O NORTHERN EUROPE, Ad- ventures of Two Youths in a Journey throu Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, with Visits to Heligoland and the Land of the Midnight Sun. [by T: W. Knox: Harpers, 1891.] " This is the twelfth, as we count, in the series of jom'neys made by these unwearying youths, whom travel keeps perpetually young, and whose conversation remains at a stage of instruct! v fullness unparalleled in juvenile experience. We marvel at the amount of knoledge which these youngsters can receive and disgorge, but it must be remembered that, wherever they go, they hav, besides 85 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. their guidebooks, tlie special copy of the Quarterly Review which treats the subject in hand, or some book devoted to theu' interests. We would not be Mrs. Bassett or Dr. Bronson and travel about with these two youths for a good deal. ^Ul the same, if one dis- misses the notion that the people in the book ar real, one may help himself to a vast amount of assorted knoledge and illustrativ pictures; and that, no doubt, is just what boys and gu'ls who read this book do." [Atlantic. 1300 NORTHERN LIGHTS [Phil'a: ' There ar many cliarming pictures Porter, 1874] " is a collection of 35 of Swedish life in the early part of short stories, translated from the the century in ' The Loss of John best Swedish and Finnish authors. Humble,' which giv the book an un- The simple language of these tales, usual interest and even value. The the good moral lesson each teaches house of the Stockholm merchant is without becoming tedious, the fa- pleasantly pictured, while the little miliar illustrations drawn from maiden Frida is a character of every-day life, will make ' Northern whom the reader becorhes very fond. Lights ' particularly acceptable to So is it with the hero, a sailor-boy, American boys and girls, especially who is wrecked near the North those who live in rural homes. We Cape. He and his companions spend need some such quieting, whole- the winter on this desolate shore in some, soothing influence, like a cool a suo hut, amid privations and breeze from the north, to allay the sufferings most graphically de- feverish excitement of the times in scribed. Finally they ar rescued by which we liv, to provoke sober a party of Lapps with dog-sledges, thot, and call the minds of the which gives the author, who ap- young to the contemplation of seri- pears to be a Norseman, an oppor- ous things." [Aldine. 1315 tunity to describe some of the cus- THE LOSS OF .JOHN HUMBLE, toms of these rather uninteresting [by G. Norway: Scribner, 1889.] people." [Nation. 1320 THE VIKING BODLEYS. [by H. E. Scudder: Houghton, 1884.] " The Vikings ar a family party of six, who ar not at all savage, or recless of comfort. They stay at the best hotels, exhibit the mod- ern civilized interest in pictures and statues and books, and go constantly in search of literary reminiscences. Altogether, their title to the formidable name they assume is shared by all persons who cross the North Sea or travel along its coast for amusement and instruction. Mr. Scudder has attempted to differentiate his travelers from ordinary tourists by giving a definit aim to their wanderings — this aim being to discover connecting links between the Old World and the New, or, in other words, to search for the footprints of their ancestors. The Vikings cross from Hull to 86 HISTORY :— NORWAY Christiania, travel thence by rail to Throndhjem, thence by steamer to Hammerfest and the North Cape. Here the tourist's dread enemj', fog, interferes with their plan of seeing the midnight sun shining across the Arctic Ocean; they set their faces southward and finally reach Copenhagen. The descriptions ar vivid and interesting, and the temptation to gush is steadily resisted. Small talk and family banter flo freely at all times and places, and not a Bodley of them all ever shos any signs of being overawed. The result is a sufficiently realistic picture, not only of the places visited and the impressions received, but also of the way in which average wel-bred people talk and act while sight-seeing. Children of a smaller growth will perhaps skip some of the learning, and those of a larger gi-owth the frivolity; but young people of all ages wil be pleased with the fluent narrativ and with the excellent illustra- tions." [Nation. 1325 so far apart that they reached from heaven to earth, and who pursued the sun as he was sinking and de- voured it, whereupon awful dark- ness came over all— the darkness of the Fimbul winter." [Nation. 1330 THIODOLF THE ICELANDER [by F: de la Motte-Fouque: Futnam, 1845] " tho not a work of so hi a character as Unhine, and lacking the brilliancy of design which marks that beautiful story, is a pro- duction of genius. It carries the reader into that old world of lofty, ideal chivalry in which Fouque's mind delited to dwel and create. For the present time this work may to some minds seem quite dead and worthless, but it is not so for us. We can not read of those knightly virtues of honor, purity, devotion, and that strength of wil and power of action, and iron, unshrinking courage, without feeling that they hav a response from the very heart of this age and people; that they can now stand us in stead more than ever they did men before, because for bier and broader ends. To us it does not seem that the age of NORSE STORIES RETOLD [by Hamilton W. Mabie: Roberts, 1882] " ar fascinating reading for young or old, tho the style is not spec- ially adapted for childi'en. They tel of the making of the world, Odin's search for wisdom, the apples of Idun, Thor's wonderful journey, the twilight of the gods, the new earth, and many other Northern legends. The reader wil be im- pressed by the weird and gloomy features of these Scandinavian myths, by which they ar distin- guished from the serene beauty of the Greek legends; and also by a peculiar vastness of conception, oing to their atmospheric or astrono- mical bacground. The gods ar in constant conflict with the powers of darkness and with various zoo- logical monsters— for example, a colossal snake, which grew until he coiled around the whole eai'th; the giant Thjasse, with eagle plumage, who carried ofC Loki and made him promise to steal the apples of Idun to which the gods oed their eternal youth and beauty; the giant Fenris wolf, whose hungry jaws stretched 87 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. chivalry is past, but that it is just beginning, and we find very use- ful lessons in these tales of old knighthood, these pictures of Scandi- navian antiquity, and perhaps all the more useful because the author has cast himself wholly into the spirit of ancient romance, and has not alloyed it with the mixture of meaner, tho more advanced, epochs. As a novel, Thiodolf can hardly prove satisfactory to those who measure the imagination of an au- thor by the foot-rule of their own understanding, and Avho wil not permit any departure from the his- toric unities and probabilities. But to all imaginativ persons of uncon- taminated taste, to the young espec- ially, it wil be most welcom." [Har- binger. 1332 IVAR THE VIKING [by Paul Du Chaillu: Scribners, 1894] "is 'a ro- mantic history based upon authentic facts of the third and fourth cen- turies.' It may be asserted that we kno almost nothing of the Norse- men not only of the third and fourth centuries, but of those succeeding, down to the so-called Viking Age, which began with the middle of the eighth century. The oldest of the Eddie songs do not, in all prob- ability, antedate the ninth century, and the Sagas ar later. The great body of Mr. Du Chaillu's ' authentic facts ' is, in reality, derived from the tenth century. IMuch of his mythology could not possibly be earlier. The picture of Walhalla, for instance, as we hav it. is a dis- tinct growth of the Viking Age. What the Norse mythology of the third century was, no man knoes, and it is utterly inrtipable of recon- struction from what we hav left of it. The history of the Norse chief- tain begins with his birth, and tels of his fostering away from home, of his education, his expeditions and his voyages, and finally of his accession to rule upon the death of his father. Like the good old-fash- ioned tales everywhere, it ends with a marriage, and Ivar and his bride sail away home on a dragon-ship. The story is characteristically spir- ited, and the romantic part, at least, leaves nothing to be desired." [Nation. 1333 OLAP THE GLORIOUS, [by Ro. Leighton: Blackie, 1894.] "Mr. Leighton tels us that it ' is not so much a story as a biography. My hero reigned as king of Norway. The main facts of his adventurous career— his boyhood of slavery in Esthonia, his life at the court of King Valdemar, his wanderings as a Viking, the many battles he fot, his conversion to Christianity in England, and his ultimate return to his nativ land— ar set forth in vari- ous Sagas.' The interesting and fascinating story carries us bac as far as A. D. 981, making us enter into all the daring and noble deeds of Olaf, and even sympathize with what to us may seem horrible deeds of cruelty, but which wer typical of those times, and which in our hero's case wer but the just punish- ment of crime or betrayal." [Satur- day Review. 1335 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [by T: W. Knox: Harper, 1880.] "Youngsters who study this vohime wil kno more about the subject than many of thek elders. Nearly every boolv of any value in English dealing with the subject has been consulted, and the result is a vast mass of information on a great variety of subjects. This plan of giving as much solid 88 HISTORY :— RUSSIA. information as possible necessarily imparts a rather dry, guide- book style to the greater part of the book, whereas the narrativ of the author's trip across Siberia is at once easy and likely to be remembered." [Nation. 1350 COSSACIv AND CZAR [bj- D: Ker: Chambers, 1892] " is a very spirited story of tlie struggle be- tween tlie Swedes and tlie Russians, and of Mazeppa and [1709] ' dread Poltava's day.' " [Saturday Re- view. 1360 A JACOBITE EXILE, [by G: Al- fred Henty: Blackie, 1S93.] "The historical element and the romantic ar wel mixed. The plain facts about Karl XII.'s campaigns, while he was stil in the first flush of his vic- torious career, ar fascinating enuf. The surprise of the Russians at Narva [1700], for instance, is one of the most curious events in mili- tary history; and it does not lose its interest in Mr. Henty's skilful hands. Then the young Jacobite's private adventures make a more than usually exciting tale. Besides a visit to the inside of a Russian prison, a sojourn with a band of Polish brigands, and a hair's-breadtli escape from a pac of famished wolves, we hav a distinct novelty in the hero's visit to Warsaw. The Swedish king takes it into his head — always, as every one knoes, just a little cracked — that Charlie Carruth- ers could do a little bit of diplomatic work for him. The lad had won Karl's favor by an ingenious sug- gestion which had helped him out of a military diflEiculty. He sends him, not a little against his wil, to Warsaw, to intrigue against Augus- tus the Strong. His attempt to ful- fil this mission, his dealings with Herr Soloman INIuller, and his ad- ventures in the charcoal-burner's hut, ar worked into a more than usually good story. Mr. Henty de- servs, as usual, the praise of keep- ing the sentimental element in the bacground. It is, of course, ' de rigueur ' to giv a glimpse of the fair one whom the brave may be sup- posed to deserv. But he is judici- ous enuf not to do anything more than conform to the custom, and his tales ar all the better in every way for it." [Spectator. 1365 KENNETH, [by C. M.. Yonge: Appleton, 1855.] " The larger por- tion is devoted to a description of the sufferings, adventures and hero- ism of two young people, at- tached as prisoners to the rear gard of the French army, in its re- treat from Moscow [1812]. Kenneth and his sister ar both drawn with the peculiar power of the authoress; and the deep and quiet intensity displayed in the representation of the affections, and of those prin- ciples which hav their source in the affections, fixes and fastens the attention of the reader." [Graham's Mag. 1370 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH, [by Nicolai Tolstoi: Bell and Daldy, 1862.] " He teaches a far larger circle of scholars by a delightful retrospect of his early life, doubtless with some coloring of fiction. Read as a specimen of Russian litera- ture, or as a sentimental narrativ of boyish history, the book is equally interesting. Its author aptly com- bines a mature power of analysis with a hearty enjoyment and full comprehension of youthful feelings. The narrativ of the boy Nicolai's career begins with his 11th year and ends when he is 16. We see him in the school-room and parlor, in his 89 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. homely games and boyish troubles. We laf at the misfortunes attendant on his first attempt at hunting, and the stil greater perplexities arising out of his fii'st participation in a ball at Moscow. We share in the zest of his precocious flirtations, and sympathize with him when, at night, he tucs his head under his pillo and revels till morning in waking dreams about the beauty which en- slaves him. We understand his ex- citement while composing verses to be presented to his grandmama on her birthday, and his bashfulness when the poem is produced and read in public. We folio him in his boyish follies, and comprehend the mental torture, the strivings in a rude, harsh way of his good and bad passions when the retribution comes. He is an ugly, pensiv lad. fanciful and blundering, timid and ambitious, unpleasantly given to tears, but with a brave heart under all; thoroly im-English in his tem- perament, and on that account a more interesting subject of observa- tion. But the charm of Count Tol- stoi's book lies in his presentment of the boy's thots when they ar strongest and most pathetic. Be- sides the hero of the story, many other characters ar delicately drawn. One personage is the tutor, a gen- uin Russian, of lo birth and scanty education, but generous and hi- souled. Yet more attractiv is the portrait of the chambermaid to Nicolai's grandparents, nurse to his mother, and stanch protectress to himself." [Examiner. 1372 JACK ARCHER, [by G: Alfred Henty: Low, 1883.] "The Crimean war is already so far forgotten that the old story of that triumphant but melancholy episode in our his- tory may be worth writing for young folk. So at least thinks this author and we hav no fault to find with the way in which he has per- formed his task. He has certainly added very much to the interest and value of the book by a series of plans of the principal battles." [Saturday Review. 1373 SAME (" The Fall of Sebasto- pol '■). " This author possesses rare tact in writing for boys. His stories hav the dash, the rapid spring from adventure to adventure which young readers find so attractiv in the dime novel. At the same time the tales ar unexceptional in tone, manly, re- fined and wel-written. The present story relates the adventures of two midshipmen, who went to Crimea and took part in the battles of Bala- klava, Inkerman, the Tchernaya, and the tremendous siege of Sebas- topol [1854-5]. These boys ar typical middies, full of courage, warm- heartedness, and fun." [Boston " Lit. World." 1374 THREE VASSAR GIRLS IN RUSSIA AND TURKEY, [by E.. (Williams) Champney: Estes, 1889.] "They see Montenegro, Greece, Turkey, St. I'etersburg, the Balkan peninsula, Moscow, Nijni-Novgorod, and Crimea. In these journeys they learn much of the peculiar customs and superstitions of the people, and crowd their pages with ricli tidbits of information, besides having most delightful and semi-thrilling adventures. Traveling over the ground of the war of 1877-78 at Shipka Pass and Tlevna, they 90 GEOGRAPHY :— CANADA. learn in detail about that mit}^ duel between Moscovite and Otto- man." [Critic. 1375 ZIGZAG JOURNEYS IN NEW FRANCE AND ACADIA. [by Hezekiali Butterwortli : Estes, 1884.] "The 'History Class' ar herein supposed to learn a little history, tel stories of Acadia, and to visit Nova Scotia, the St. Lawrence, Quebec, etc. The traveling amounts to but little as personal experience, but servs as occasion for more history and much legend. . . The historical portions ar more or less confused, but wil help to refresh the read- er's memory; the topical descriptions ar not without interest, and many of the illustrations ar good." [Nation. 1450 SETTLERS IN CANADA, [by F: Marryat: Warne, 1886.] " This book after deliting successiv generations of boys for more than forty years, bids fair to do the same for as many years to come. We cannot remember in fiction any better description than this of the life of the early emigrants to the West. The scene of the story is laid on the northeastern shore of Lake On- tario, and we watch with great interest the progress of the settlers in bilding then' log huts, in clearing and planting the land, as wel as in their more exciting adventures with wild animals and Redmen. The characters of the old hunter, Malachi Bone, and his pupU, the silent John, ar especially A\el di-awn. The illustra- tions, particularly those of the animals, ar excellent." [Nation. 14G5 IN THE LAND OF THE MOOSE, THE BEAR AND THE BEAVER [by Achilles Daunt: Nelson, 1885] "is an excellent book of hunting stories, written for boys, but wel adapted for reading by theii* elders. Three trappers spend the summer in the Lake Athabasca region. Their adventures ar without num- ber, and as they kil various animals in succession, one of the trappers takes out his note-book and reads copious notes con- cerning the habits and appearance of the animal just slautered, so that the book is a sort of treatis on natural history in disguise." [Nation. 1470 JACK IN THE BUSH [by Ro. Grant: Boston: Jordan, Marsh & Co., 1888] " recounts the exploits in Lower Canada, of six boys, taken thither by a self-sacrificing gentleman, who was a sound sportsman and a master of the art of properly governing the 91 ' S R Al?>v OF THh UNIVERSITY OF BOOKS FOR TIIK YOUNG. youth in his charge. The author knoes about sabnon fishing, and is perfect!}^ familiar with the phenomena of Canadian woods-lLfe. His book is instructiv, interesting, healthy reading from begin- ning to end." [Nation. 1475 BOYS COASTWISE [by W: H: Eideing: Appleton, 1884] "is a graphic story of adventure in a New York pilot boat, with a large amount of information concerning steamships, lighthouses, the life-saving service, wreckers, etc. The story is neither iniag- inativ nor realistic, but it wil be read with interest and with profit." [Nation. 1490 ALL AMONO THE LIGHTHOUSES [by M.. Bradford Crown- inshield : Lothrop, 1886] " givs instruction of a novel sort, balanced by an almost equal amount of pleasant story-telling. Indeed, the infonnation and the story go necessarily hand in hand. In all this history of a trip aL>ug the ]\Eaine coast there is not ;i page of dul reading, and much which is very bright and plea ►sing, aside from the good descriptions of many lighthouses visited. . . A little history and a touch of science here and there ar brot in by the delightful Inspector, Uncle Tom; and a few entertaining stories ar told by the mate, Mr. Guptil, who is much more a real character than the mere mouthjiiece of facts who is apt to figure in children's books." [Nation.] — The compiler can testify from per- sonal experience to the excellence of this work. It has the uncom- mon merit of being almost as interesting to older persons as to chil- dren, and is therefore admirably suited for reading aloud. The author's husband was for some years a lighthouse inspector, so there can be no question as to the accuracy of the information about buoys, diving-apparatus, etc.; but the chief atti'action of the book is the sympathetic sketching of different t;s"pes of char- acter, and the picturesque description not only of the scenery but also of the life on the ^Maine coast. The talk of the nativs is admir- ably exemplified in the amusing dialect of those here introduced, and a vi\id but unexaggerated notion is given of the hardships as wel as of the lafable incidents of their lives. All readers of the book Avil be glad to kno that the literary life of the lighthouse children is not finished in this volume, but may be found continued in The Ignoramuses (No. 970). 1500 92 GEOGRAPHY:— UNITED STATES. THE EINOCK^iBOUT CLUB IN THE WOODS, [by C: Asbui-y Stephens: Estes, 1S81.] " The author takes a little party of boys and young men on their bicycles from Boston to Andover, Me.; thence by launch and ' carry ' upi' the Richardson and Range- ley Lakes and around to I'hillips and Farmington; thence by rail and stage to Moosehead Lake; across Moosehead into the network of lakes and rivers which extend north tx) the Canada border; and so on to the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay. The book is properly written, deals with camping out, hunting, fishing, and related adventures, is interlarded with a good many stories which help to pass away the time while in the woods, as wel as to fil out the book, and supplies touches of information, his- torical and other, by the way." [Boston " Lit. World." 1503 CITY BOYS IN THE WOODS [by H: P. Wells: Harper, 1889] "narrates the adventures of two green boys, luxuriously reard, who go on a trapping expedition into the wildest part of Maine. . . . The author givs a generally accurate and interesting descrip- tion of life in the woods and of the modes of maldng one's self comfortable and happy on small means and by devices from the ,store(house of natureu A trapper named Dant becomes their good genius,— feeds and clothes them, teaches them the art of trapping and other arts of woodcraft, and finally restores them wel and hearty to their unnatural parents. The chapter on beavers is most interesting. The mingling of sound instruction in natural history, woodcraft, and sport which runs throu the book, cannot fail to interest the gTown reader as wel as the young one." [Nation. 1.504 THROUGH THE WILDS [by C: A. J. Farrar: Estes, 1892] "is an account of the tour of four boys throu the Rangeley Lakes and the region adjacent, including a part of the White Mountains and the Dixville Notch. From a certain lac of imagination in the author and the particularity with which the daily doings of the party ar related, even their meals being frequently mentioned, the book, as a story, is hardly successful." [Nation. 1505 THEIR CANOE TRIP [by M.. P. (Wells) Smith: Roberts, 1889] " narrates the summer pleasuring of two enterprising lads, who embark upon the tortuous and altogether deceiving Piscataquog [quis?] river, and, throu many obstacles, make their way to the 93 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. kindlier waters of the ^lerrimac and tlience homeward. The at- mosphere of the book is pleasant and wholesom.'' [Critic. 1520 THE BODLEYS ON WHEELS [by H. E. Scudder: Houghton, 1878] " narrates a trip to Essex County, Mass., by carriage. An- thony Thacher's quaint narrativ of his shipwrec, the stories of Lady Frankland and Flud Ireson, the account of ' Lord ' Timothy Dexter, and the ' Little Broom-Merchant,' ar the chief ingredients of the ingenious pot-pourri." [Nation. 1550 THE CAPTAIN'S BOAT, [by W: make up a tlioroly nautical story. O. Stoddard: N. Y., Merrlam Com- They go fishing and sailing, and fig- pany, 1894.] " A little town on tlie ure in two dramatic ' rescues,' shores of Long Island Sound is the Avhich bring them friends and work home of the two lads whose exper- a pleasant change in their lives." iences, as owners of the Sea Lion, [Springfield L"y Bulletin. C1570 ALONG THE FLOKIDA KEEF [by C: F: Holder: Appleton, 1892] " purports to be a record of the experiences of several bo^'s among the Florida Keys, with a story as a sort of thread ujjon which ar strung nimierous observations of the varied and remark- able fauna of that region. The story is of trifling importance, but the varied adventures of the boys, while sailing, hunting, and fishing, ar sufficiently exciting to make a very readable book. The natural history is somewhat of the sensational order, and would probably hav benefited by revision at the hands of some sober-minded biologist. Stil, with all its faults, the book ^jreseuts a picture of life in a quarter far removed from the experience of most boys, and they wil incidentally learn more or less about creatm'es not to be found in zoological gardens and which most of us hardly kno even by name." [Nation. 1620 CANOE]\rATES. [by Kirk Munroe: Harper, 1892.] "Two boys make a trip in canoes from Key West along the Florida Keef to the western coast of the mainland, and thence throu the Ever- glades to the Atlantic. They hav numerous adventures in ter- I'ible storms, with thieves, coAvboys, wild animals, and huge fish, and especially with the Seminoles, of whom a very descriptiv ac- count is given. There ar excellent descriptions, also, of the pe- culiar scenery of the Keys and Southern Florida, of the sponge- fishery, and of life in a lighthouse, on a key, in a station on the Atlantic coast, and in a Redskin village. ]Much information is given about canoes, their construction and management.'' [Nation. 1625 94 GEOGRAPHY:— UNITED STATES. BIG CYPRESS [by Kirk Munroe: Boston, Wilde, 1894] " is a story re- plete with practical information concerning pioneer life in a little known but intensely interesting por- tion of the United States. It out- lines the processes of ' claiming.' ' filing,' ' holding down,' and ' prov- ing up' a homestead; deals with the Seminoles of South Florida; de- scribes those rare animals, the man- atee and the crocodile; tels of ' wracking.' or beachcombing; of the raising of pineapples and cocoanuts, and deals with a score of other sub- jects as luiique as they ar interest- ing." [Springfield Library Bulletin. C1626 A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP [by [Frank R: Stockton: Scribner, ISSO] " is the record, recited by the elder, of the travels of two boys, aged 16 and 14, throu the South and the Bahamas. The addition of a bright young girl to the party, with a hint of chaperonage in the person of an erratically sensible mother and an eccentric father, lends interest and piquancy to the adventures, which ar not too improbable. The mid- night scaling of Fort Marion by the two boys, which ended by their gladly backing out of the scrape af- ter being badly victimized by the Redskin sentinels, is very funny. So if the farcical attempt of the three friends to restore the African queen to her rights in the African colony of Nassau. There is a shipwrec on the way home, but of course a happy conclusion. The relations between the boys and Corny ar very nicely arranged." [Nation. 1628 A NEW-MEXICO DAVID [by C: F. Lmiimis: Scribner, 1891] " givs, in a number of short stories and sketches not remarkable for literary quality, a clear impression of some aspects of life iu Arizona and western New Mexico. The Tueblo Kedmen and the Mexicans of mixed Spanish and aboriginal blood ar the princi- pal figures, and unconsciously we absorb a good deal of informa- tion about them and about their savage nebors, the Navajos, Apaches, and Comanches. The descriptions of New Mexican games, and the instruction 'How to Thro the Lasso,' will be hailed by boys." [Nation. 1680 THE TALKING LEAVES [by W: Osborn Stoddard: Harper, 1882] " is a capital Indian story of Arizona, any incident of which might be true; and the whole bears evidence of local color studied on the spot. The action is rapid and natural, and the story thrilling, yet not likely to upset the imagination. The book is a good one for boys to read, and they can't help liking it." [Nation. 1685 FIKST BOOK IN AMERICxlN HISTORY, [by E: Eggleston: Appleton, 1889.] "The history of a nation is very difficult to present intelligibly to the mind of a child, because the picturesque treatment which alone is suited to chOdren is not easily main- tained for long stretches of time, and because, moreover, children 95 BOOKS FOR TOE YOUNG. lac the capacity to folio a continuous narration, covering centuries, in which the only thread of connection is one adapted to adults— the continuity of national life and the sequence of cause and effect. For these reasons children do not care for national his- tories, but only for stories of special events and personalities. ]Mr. Eggleston folloes the right plan of associating history with biografy. He selects 17 persons whose lives approximately cover the whole period — Columbus, the Cabots, J: Smith, Franldin, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and others — and givs a remark- ably lucid and interesting account of them. The knoledge of his- tory which the child wil obtain from a book like this is, of course, incomplete, but so is any knoledge which he can obtain; and at any rate it is interesting, and wil stay by him." [Nation. 1700 THE STORY OF OUR COimTRY [by Adeline F.. Monroe: Boston, Lockwood, 1876] " begins with Colmnbus, and takes so very genial a vue of him that the effort to get him canonized seems tardy enuf. No villain, indeed, is allowed upon the scene from beginniag to end until we come to Arnold, who has one of the 28 chapters all to himself. The author retains alike the myth of Pocahontas' rescue of Smith and the little hatchet of the Father of his Country." [Nation. 1705 CHILDREN'S STORIES IN A]\IERICAN HISTORY, [by Hen- rietta Chiistian Wright: Scribner, 1886.] "It wil not do to giv children erroneous notions, and the matter is not helped by the book being written in the childese dialect. The facts ar loosely stated, and the whole effect is not to giv children precise informa- tion, or even interesting information, but merely general ideas, and these ar sometimes erroneous."' [Atlantic. 1710 THE MAKING OF NEW ENGLAND [by S: Adams Drake: Scribner, 1886] "is the story in outline to the confederacy of the colonies in 164:^>. The book is remarkable for its clear arrange- ment, simple style, and the wel-sustained interest of the narrativ. The author avoids burdening his story with many dry details by putting them in notes at the end of each chapter. The pictures wel illustrate the text." [Nation. 1715 THE STORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK [by C: Burr Todd: Putnam, 188 ] "is rather a narrativ of the growth of the city than a study of municipal development. It has bits of an- 96 HISTORY :— UNITED STATES. tiquarianism and sketches of events which hav taken place within the limits of the city, but one cannot read sucli a book without being struc by the absence of any strong civic independence or self consciousness. The city seems to hav had little really individ- ual existence." [Atlantic. 172,5 THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER [Par- ker, 1859] " describes the expedition under Newport in 1606, and involvs, of course, a detail of the struggles and difficulties of the settlers in maintaining themselvs in the infant colony. It is quietly and pleasantly written, and contains in a short ap- pendix, references to the principal authorities consulted." [Literary Gazette. 625 COLONIAL, BOY, A. [by Nellie (Bless- ing) Eyster: Lothrop, 1889.] " An old house in Frederick, full of antiquities, Is the scene of the story, and there ar two heroes, a schoolboy of today and a lad, the son of one of the first set- tlers. The former discovers a diary of the latter, giving incidents in the history of the first few months of the colony. This diary, in which the author repro- duces the spirit, tho hardly the quaint style of those days, cannot fail to awaken an interest in a somewhat un- familiar part of our early annals. The best chapter, however, is that which describes an unexpected visit to Gen. and Mrs. Washington at Mt. Vernon, which is a charming piece of writing." [Nation. 630 CAPT. J: SaOTH. [by C: Dudley Warner: Holt, 1881.] "The figure of Capt. Smith combines, in a rare degree, the qualities of picturesqueness and his- toric importance, and Mr. Warner, with- out shirking the historically import- ant (and comparativly uninteresting) in- cidents in Smith's career, has a keen eye to the humorous side of them, and describes them with the intuitive skil of a humorist. His narrativ of Smith's American experiences rests, of course, on Mr. Deane's annotated edition of Smith's own accounts, which had al- ready been systematically arranged, and to some extent popularized, by Prof. Henry Adams. But Mr. Warner's book wil, from its form, be read far more widely than Mr. Adams' article, for it humorizes, as wel as popularizes, the amusing tale of Smith's mendacity and Pocahontas' fame. He is also in a position to mention and to refute the rebutting evidence brot in after Messrs. Deane and Adams' case was closed." [Nation. G40 LIFE OF J: SMITH [by C: Kittredge True: Cin'ti, Phillips, 1882] "may be recommended to those who wish this best class of books for boys— heroic bi- ography. The story of Smith and Poca- hontas, we notice, is told in the old way, with no intimation that it is a fable. It is all right to relate such stories, but the reader should be cau- tioned about them in a note." [Na- tion. 641 1680. G R E A T-G RAN DMOTHER'S GIRLS IN NEW MEXICO [by E.. (W.) Champney: Estes, 1888] " is to be commended, not only as an interesting and wholesom story, but also as a work in which is manifest 97 BOOKS FOR THE YOrTvu. a praiseworthy historic accuracy. The authorities cited include nearly all the important writers in English upon New Mexico (tho Bandelier, the greatest of them all, is not re- ferred to) ; and from their works, and from those of a few Mexican writers, she has drawn an abund- ance of picturesq and dramatic ma- terial for the historic framework around which her story is built. Added to this equipment for her task, she has traveled throu, and studied intelligently, the region which she describes. The result is both pleasing and instructiv — a ro- mantic narrativ that has the cruel- ties of the Spaniards and the labors of the missionaries for its theme, and for its climax the revolt of 1680." [Critic. 877 1704. G R E A T-G RAN DMOTHER'S GIRLS IN NEW PRANCE, [by E.. (Williams) Champney: Estes, 1887.] " Those who ar acquainted with the extreme grisliness of the Deerfield episode may be surprised to learn that a charming tale for young people has been founded upon it. The strange story of the captivity of Eunice Williams is here related by a fictitious character, one Sub- mit Dare, who is in fact the heroin of a book good enuf to make us wish it wer better." [Critic. 967 TWICE TAKEN [by C: W. Hall: Bos- tou, Lee, 1867] deals with the same events. 1015 PATHFINDER, The. [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper, Lea, 1840.] " We hav read this work with au interest and a delight wliich we hav no terms to express. It is a true work of genius. •. . These vol- umes wil renew and increase all the old admiration which the author's earlier works awakened. Then, too, the sub- ject—the wild woods and waters of our country— the old border warfare — the Mingoes and Delawares— the reader's old acquaintance, Chingachgook, the Mohican chief— and last, but more than all. Natty Bumpo, the veritable Leatherstocking, with his long rifle, KiUdeer, a personage more familiar, more vividly and truly real to our imaginations and affections than nineteen-twentieths of the living men of flesh and blood of our daily ac- quaintance. The Pathfinder of these vol- vmies is Leatherstocking, in the prime of manhood, acting as a scout and guide for one of the English regiments gar- risoned on the shores of Lake Ontario, He is here freshly and clearly before us, the same inimitable being, with all his individual traits, with absolute iden- tity of person, just what he whom we knew so perfectly when he was intro- duced to us in the earlier and later periods of his life, should be at the age of forty. And the special charm of the whole is that we hav him in an en- tirely new light— Natty in love! and most admirably is he drawn. He is just what he should be in love, just what nobody but he could be. The conception and the execution ar perfect; and the whole rep- resentation is instinct with a pathos, a moral beauty and sublimity, equally touching and ennobling in its effect upon our mind. As to the rest, the peculiar- ities of Natty's most original character ar charmingly brot out by the con- tact into which he is thrown "with a positiv and dogmatical old salt-water sailor, who had wandered up to the 98 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. shores and upon the bosom of a thing so incomprehensible to him as a fresh- water sea." [New York Review.] — " The work is wel iwritten, and filled with in- cident. . . Natty Bumpo is a character that can never grow stale. He is one of nature's philosophers. There is a beautiful simplicity in his actions, and a fountain of fresh, free thot in his words which wil always excite emotion and interest." [Southern Lit. Mess. 1020 1757. LAST OF THE MOHICANS, The. [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper: 1838.] " Among books which wil always remain with everybody, ' The Last of the Mohicans ' takes, a foremost place. Who has for- gotten Uncas, or Maqua le Subtil, or the stately and sententious Chingach- gook, or above all, Hawkeye, most real of American creations of fancy, and real in so many aspects, as the Pat"hfinder, as Leatherstocking, as La Longue Car- abine? Who has not Killdeer in an im- aginary gun-rac, and hanging on a peg in the store-house of memory the blanket which the Delaware chief threw bac that he might display the tortoise on his breast to his ancient tribe? Who has not seen in air-drawn pictures the cav- ern, with the sassafras screen, behind which the ' Palefaces ' lurked while the deadly fight raged between the Mohic- ans and the Mingoes, who had ' dared to set the print of their moccasins in the woods ' which once owned the sway of the Delaware tribe; the grave of Cora, beneath the young pines; the dead Saga- more, attired in the full-dress of his tribe and rank, with the children of the Lenape listening for the lament of the stern old warrior, whose lips remain silent, as he looks his last on Uncas? " [Spectator.]—" In painting Indian scenes of stil life, or in delineating the warrior and hunter, the battle or the chase, our novelist, as he is the first who seized upon subjects so full of interest for the romancer, so is he alone and unrivaled in this branch of his art. The forest, ocean, and camp constitute the legiti- mate empire of Mr. Cooper's genius. At his bidding the savage warrior, the fear- less seaman, the gallant soldier move, speak and act with wonderful reality. . . . Cooper unfolded the mysteries of the pathless wilderness, snatched its nativ lords from the oblivion into which they wer sinking, and bade them liv, before the eyes of the admiring world, in all the poetry and romance of their characters. The magic of his pen has invested the forest with an interest such as genius can alone create; he has so portrayed the character of a primitiv people, who wer men until the contact of civilization made them brutes, that, when they shal at length liv only in the page of history, it is alone throu the inspired pen of the novelist that future ages wil most delight to contemplate their character. Both Scott and Cooper hav thrown an exaggerated poetic inter- est around the characters they most loved to draw;— the rude Hilander and the savage of the American wilds ar, perhaps, equally indebted to the imagi- nation of the novelist for the peculiar charms with which they ar invested." [So. Lit. Messenger. 1047 ^YITH WOLFE IN CANADA, [by G: Alfred Henty: Scribuer, 1886.] "The hero, a lad of 17, is an aide of Wash- ington in the Braddock expedition and a captain of scouts during the later op- erations on Lakes George and Cham- plain. In the last 100 pages only the 99 BOOKS FOR THE YOUKG. story of the capture of Quebec by Wolfe is told, the young captain being the leader of the party first scaling the Hights of Abraham. The book is thoroly interesting, and wil giv the reader a good idea of the military events pre- ceding the conquest of Canada." [Na- tion. 1065 RED ROVER, The. [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper: Phil'a, Carey, 1827.] "The opening scene is at Newport, on a day of mingled rejoicing and sorro at the capture of Quebec and the fall of Wolfe. A mysterious-looking vessel, reputed to be a slaver, is anchored in the outer harbor, and becomes an object of specu- lation to three individuals who ar early introduced." [North Am. Review. 1080 WYANDOTTE [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper (1789-1S51): Bentley, 1843] " de- sturdy. God-fearing settlers, and the quaint simplicity of their home life, into which the war with its attend- ant horrors made such a terrible break. It is tenderly and sweetly told and cannot fail to interest the youthful reader." [Boston " Lit. World." 1390 1779 Sept. THE PILOT, [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851): N. Y., 1823.] "The scene is almost always on the ocean, and the principal characters ar seamen; of course a very large and valuable part of the book must lose much of its charm with those who hav no acquaintance with sea terms or sea manners. From this cir- cumstance it may not be universally preferred to the Pioneers or the Spy; but we think it richer than either in passages of original and true humor, of scribes the fortunes of Captain Wil- genuin pathos, and of just and natural loughby and his family, who hav set- tled at the Knoll, a hilloc that rose out of the pond in the form of a little rocky iland. It is minutely described, but without fatiguing you, for every sentence and touch brings out a point of the tempting scene. The spot is also chosen by the settler, partly as being easily defended against any hostil at- tempt which the savages might med- itate, being near the Susquehanna, and at that period on the outskirts of civ- ilization. Our readers may guess from these hints that the fiction is one not only of much domestic interest but of exciting incident." [Monthly Re- view. 1225 PAUL AND PERSIS [by M.. E. Brush: Lee, 18S2] " is a story of Revolutionary times, the scene being laid in the Mohawk Valley. It givs a vivid and charming picture of the eloquence. The language is uniformly good, and suited in its character to the occasion, and few books exhibit more accurate and felicitous sketching of hu- man character and conduct, or more graphic pictures of the beauty or terrors of inanimate nature. ' Long Tom ' is perfectly original, and is drawn to the life. He is one of a class of men who ar peculiar, not merely to this country, but to a very small part of our country; who leave the little iland, which cradled them among the waves, and wander over the ocean, until it is to them as a home, and dry land becomes a strange thing;— and his person, habits, tastes, and thots ar portrayed with great power and success. The evolutions on shipboard in storm and danger, and the appearance of the sea, convulsed and foaming under the lash of the tempest, ar all described with the same remarkable skil and effect." 100 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. [U. S. Lit. Gazette.]—" The character of Paul Jones Is drawn to admiration. The description of his conduct, firm, conii- dent, and collected, whilst guiding the vessel of Captain Munson throu the sur- rounding dangers, breasting the angry waters, now bounding over a little space of clear sea, and again almost within the dangerous fury of the breakers, evinces the pen of a master, and the whole picture is strong and natural." [N. Y. Mirror. 1400 1780. THE SPY. [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper (1789-1850): N. Y., 1821.] "The narrativ turns on the fortunes of Henry Whar- ton, a captain in the royal army, who imprudently visits his father's family at West Chester (the neutral ground) in disguise, and there falls into the hands of an American party under the com- mand of Major Dunwoodie, his sister's lover and his own friend. He is tried and condemned as a spy, but succeeds in making his escape by the assistance of Harvey Birch, the pedler, himself a British spy, and with the connivance of ' Washington, who, under the assumed character of Harper, had been an inmate at the house of Wharton's father at the time of the stolen visit, and was firmly convinced of the young man's innocent intentions. Harvey Birch, by whose mysterious agency every important inci- dent in the book is more or less affected, tbo a convicted spy of the enemy, with a price set upon his head, turns out in the sequel to hav been all along in secret the confidential and trusty agent of Washington. This finely conceived character, on whom the interest of the narrativ mainly depends, is not without historical foundation." [North Am. Re- view.]—" The conception of the Spy, as a character, was a noble one. A patriot in the humblest condition of life, — almost wholy motivless unless for his country, —enduring the persecutions of friends, the hate of enemies- doomed by both parties to the gallows — enduring all in secret, without a murmur,— without a word, when a word might hav saved him, —all for his country; and all, under the palsying conviction, not only that his country could not reward him, but that in all probability the secret of his pat- riotism must perish with him, and noth- ing survive but that obloquy under which he was stil content to liv and labor. It does not lessen the value of such a novel, nor the ideal truth of such a conception, that such a character is not often to be found. It is sufficiently true if it wins our sympathies and commands our respect. This is al- ways the purpos of the ideal, which, if it can effect such results, becomes at once a model and a reality. The char- acter of the ' Spy ' is not the only good one of the book. Lawton and Sit- greaves ar both good conceptions, tho rather exaggerated ones. Lawton was somewhat too burly a Virginian, and his appetite was too strong an ingred- ient in his chivalry." [W: G. Simms.]— ' The Spy ' " was not merely a triumph, —it was a revelation, for it showed that our society and history, young as they wer, could furnish characters and in- cidents for the most Inviting form of romance. There was a truthfulness about it which everybody could feel. And yet there was a skilful grouping of charac- ters, a happy contrast of situations and interests, an intermingling of grave and gay, of individual eccentricities and nat- 101 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. ural feeling, a life in the narrativ and a graphic power in the descriptions which, in spite of some commonplace, and some defects in the artistic arrangement of the plot, raised it, at once, to the first class among ■works of the imagina- tion. But its peculiar characteristic, and to which it oes, above all others, its rank as a work of invention, was the character of Harvey Birch." [Homes of American Authors. 1425 BOYS AND GIRLS OF THE REVOLU- TION, The [Lippincott, 1876] •' con- sists of stories gathered from old jour- nals, diaries and letters. Most of them ar, so far as we kno, new, and they ar certainly welcome. There is consider- able inequality in the working up; all ar graphic and interesting, but some run overmuch into sentiment and what is called ' newspaper English,' such as ' glorious nobleness of this night's deeds.' Again, the term ' Boys and Girls ' is made to include young men and women. These ar slight faults, however, and the book as a whole deservs to be popular. One of the best and truest to the title is ' The Little Black-eyed Rebel.' " [Na- tion. 1612 THE BOYS OF '76. [by C: Carleton Coffin: Harper, 1876.] "An excellent Idea has been admirably carried out. Taking- four young patriots, the au- thor narrates their various adven- tures and experiences; and as one or other of them participated in each of the campaigns and battles, the record makes a complete military history of that memorable struggle. Tho linked with partly fictitious per- sons, the descriptions of battles ar systematic and historically accurate as wel as vigorous, animated, and picturesque; and the introduction of the personal element enables the au- thor to bring in naturally many things which illustrate the society, domestic life, and industries of the period. . . The story of the Revolu- tion has never been more agreeably told. The illustrations, of which there ar 300, comprise numerous maps, reproductions of contempor- ary engravings, portraits of eminent persons connected with the struggle, pictures of historic houses and scenes, etc." [Appleton's. 1613 PETER AND POLLY, [by ' Marian Douglas, ' i. e., Annie Douglas (Green) Robinson (1842-): Boston, Osgood, 1876.] " Peter and Polly ar motherless twins, mere children at the outbreak of the war when the story opens, and when they ar sent by their father to an un- known aunt in New Hampshire, to whose care he entrusts them, himself at the same time joining the Continen- tal army. Their long journey from Charlestown to her aunt's distant home, their somewhat loveless and unhappy life there, Peter's enlistment and de- parture for the army a few years later, and finally the close of the war, the re- turn of the father and the reunion of the twins, ar told in a simple and attrac- tiv manner. The story is as plain and unpretending as the times and manners of which it treats, and a story of this kind is as restful and as delightful as an hour spent among the furniture and fur- nishings of olden times, the spinnets and spinning wheels, the tall does, oaken cupboards, and rush-bottomed chaii's of our grandmothers. In the opening chapter only, tho style is labored, but 102 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. all traces of this ar lost as the story progresses." [Library Table. 1615 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORA- TORS, [by Ja. Spear Loring: Boston, Jewett, 1852.] " It is pleasant to turn over Mr. Loring's gossiping pages. He writes con amore, to be sure, with a pen full of panegyric, which even pat- riotism wearies of in at the hundredth repetition; but we ar accustomed in such chronicles to a little vague en- thusiasm, remembering that if there wer not a good deal of this commodity, no man could get throu the labors of cel- ebrating so large a number of mixed notables and mediocrities. \'ou cannot expect the critical powers of an Aris- totle to be applied to such an under- taking. The man who puts his foot into such a thing wil not boggle at a puff. Delightful ar the unreservd com- munications of the genuln antiquarian. Facts ar facts in his eyes, and one pretty much of the same importance as another. Every date is an era. Every piece of prose broken into irreg- ular lines is poetry. It is astonishing how much a certain species of tomb- stone verse enters into the New Eng- land chronicles. The poetic genius has produced no Spensers or Milton s in that region; but wel-ni every country school- master and parish clergyman has paid the muse the compliment of recording his emotions in doggerel." [Literary World. 1640 WASHINGTON, [by Caroline Matilda (Stansbury) Kirkland (1801-64): Apple- ton, 1857.] " This work is intended es- pecially for young readers; but many of every age wil enjoy it more than any other life of Washington. The only mark of its peculiar adaptation to the young is the omission of many ' details of battle and statesmanship, the cruel- ties of war and politics,' and the inser- tion in their stead of numerous personal anecdotes, not a few of which now first see the light. The writer has suc- ceeded better than any other biographer in vivifying the image and memory of Washington, and had the book been written by a member of his own family, it could hardly hav furnished a more thoroly lifelike exhibition." [North Am. Review.]— A work having the same claims to attention as those mentioned above, but written by an author possess- ing a larger store of information, and better judgment in the choice of in- cidents to be described, is the Life of Washington by H. E. Scudder, Hough- ton, 1890. 1645 THE COLONIAL CAVALIER, [by Maud Wilder Goodwin: New- York, Lovell, 1894.] " As far as the provinces of the New World could represent the mother country, Vir- g-inia and Maryland reflected the Cavaliers as Massachusetts and Connecticut reflected the Puritans. Throu local gossip and homely de- tails of life and customs, this little volume offers a sense of fireside in- timacy with the Colonial Cavalier, with his open-handed hospitality, his recless profusion, his chivalry to women, his quic-tempered, sword-thrusting honor, his lace ruffles, buckles, jewels and feath- ers. Givs glimpses of the ancestry of the Washingtons, Jeffersons, Madisons, Lees, etc. Appendix givs list of authorities on Southern colonial history." [Springfield Li- brary Bulletin. H1653 SOCIAL LIFE IN OLD N"BW ENG- LAND), [by Alice Morse Earle: Scrib- ner, 1894.] " The author's style is de- 103 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. lightful, and almost every page is in- teresting. Slie devotes this volume to the social side of the Puritan's life, treating child-life, courtship and mar- riage, domestic service, home interiors, table plenishings. We ride with her on turnpikes and understand the ways of travel and the mysteries of the tavern. With bright colors she shos that the inborn love of the Teutonic races for holidays and festivals could not be re- pressed even by Judaistic Puritanism. ' Raiment and Vesture ' ar displayed before us, and doctors and patients wel described. . . To sho her willingness to face the facts usually ignored by glo- rifiers of the Yankee Puritans, the au- thor devotes one or two pages to the New England custom of ' bundling,' but does not seem to kno how widely pre- valent it was. Almost as a matter of course she refers it to the nauty nebors of the Yankees, evidently not thinking it possible that it should hav come from England, tho in reality it had been notoriously prevalent for centuries on all the coasts of northwestern Europe." [Critic. 1655 ON THE FRONTIER [by W: Osborn Stoddard: London, Hodder, 1894] " deals with the life of the settlers and redmen in what was the Wild West in Washington's time. The author has respected the record of history, and has made conscientious preparation of the ground of his story. His frontiers- men ar fine sturdy fellos with plenty of grit, and his pictures of their life on the borders of the Iroquois country ar uncommonly spii-ited." [Saturday Rev. H1657 STORIES OF THE PRAIRIE, [by Ja. Fenimore Cooper: Hurd, 1868.] " For boys of a pretty good age this book is a desirable one. It consists of the most adventurous and exciting incidents of the most interesting of the prairie stories, separated from tho context. They are all the better, perhaps, for the excision, whether we think of young readers or old. The wearisom re- flections of the novelist, which ar so much dead wood, the reader of these razeed stories wholy escapes. And for the rest, the rapid movement of these tales, the stirring character of the incidents, the courage and ready resource of the actors, cannot fail to interest boys and be of service to them. Cooper, whatever else mayjDe said of him, was certainly a strait- forward, manly man, without a really unsound streak in him." [Na- tion. H1659 EAST AND WEST [by E: E. Hale: Cassell, 1892] " is sure to in- terest young readers. It narrates the experience of two young Salem people who separately and in dif- ferent ways found themselves in the Northwest Territory when first occupied. The bright picture of Salem life with which it opens is succeeded by spirited sketches of frontier experience and Indian fif- ing." [Atlantic. H1672 NIGHTS IN A BLOCK HOUSE, [by H: C. Watson: Lippincott, 1852.] " So long as we can separate dar- ing deeds from the th5ts of the suffering with which they ar con- nected, they excite admiration. Wel do we remember the time, in our boyish days, when a book like this would fix us in the chimney corner, where we took sides with the bold pioneer in his strifes with the dreaded ' Indians.' But now we think of ' the poor Indian.' We feel 104 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. that only in a most imperfect state of society can such scenes as those described in this book be enacted. Blood and murder ar familiar top- ics, — weapons of death ar gleaming continually, and make us long for the day when they shal be every- where supplanted by the plowshare and pruning hook. Stil, if we must kno how evil and foolish men hav been, it may as wel be throu inter- esting forms; and such we hav in the book before us. The stories ar told with a good deal of dramatic vigor, — the language of the times and places is put into the actor's mouth, and the whole forms an ex- citing account of border struggles and dangers." [Norton's Lit. Ga- zette. 1677 As collateral reading:— jMEN of the backwoods, The. [by " Ascott Ro. Hope," i. e., A. Ro. H. Moncrieff: N. Y., Dutton, 1880.] " Most of the good stories of early bac- woods life ar collected in this volume and retold in an entertaining manner. The hook may be read with interest by any one who loves stories of adventures in the wilderness. The author has di- vided the volume into two parts, the first of which is devoted to the white men, the second to the Redskins: and without observing an exact historical order, he has so arranged his sketches as to trace throu the half century during which a constant struggle was going on with the western savages, the principal events which characterized it from the fli-st appearance of the settlers in the valley of Ohio, to the fall of Tecumseh. The concluding chapters glv a great deal of valuable information about the red- man's religion, manners, and ordinary way of life, which has apparently been derived from books of authority." [Na- tion. 1680 THE WINTER LODGE, [by Ja. Weir: Lippincott, 1S54.] " It is a story founded upon Indian warfare and the perils of a frontier settle- ment in Kentucky. One of the early chapters of the book givs a graphic description of the Mam- moth Cave." [Norton's Lit. Ga- zette. H1716 As collateral reading: — DANIEL BOONE, AND THE HUNT- ERS OF KENTUCKY, [by W: H: Bog- art (1810-): new ed., N. Y., Miller, 1856.] Boone is here described " not merely as the recless adventurer and pioneer, but as a patriot and sage. He certainly displayed the gentler, no less than the hardier, traits of the true hero; and his virtues would hav made him the ornament of civilized society, had not his exposures and privations inurd him to rudeness of a border life, and made its wild sports, ruf encounters, and thic-sown perils a necessity of his na- ture. . . To the life of Boone is added an interesting series of biographies of the early hero-hunters of Kentucky." [North Am. Review. 1720 A LOYAL LITTLE RED-COAT, [by Ruth Ogden: N. Y., Stokes, 1890.] "The heroin is a stanch adherent of the King, altho the war is over. But Hazel's father had, with great personal loss, folloed his convictions, and Hazel loy- ally foUoed him. Her intervue with Hamilton, and the fearlessness and naive simplicity with which she givs her opin- ions on a case which the great lawyer had defended, is one of the best chap- ters. The Van Vleet tea-party has a genuin colonial flavor." [Nation. 1750 THE UNSEEN HAND [by Elijah Kellogg: Lee, 1882] "is a story of homely Ufe in Western Pennsylva- nia at the close of the last century. Mr. Kellogg's dry style seems to 105 BOOKS FOR THE YOUXG. suit the place and times; we always hav respected the sincerity of his purpos and the realistic efficacy of his work; if he had only seen all which he saw from the outside, in- stead of being- in the life itself, he would hav been likely to write better books. There is too little art in them, and yet they hav good stuff." [Atlantic. H1766 A START IN LIFE [by J: Town- send Trowbridge: Lee, 1888] " is a lively story of life in the Genesee country, when western New York was stil a wilderness. The hero, Walden Westlake, goes thither to gro with the country, and this vol- ume relates, in a way to delight the boyish heart, his adventures with a disgruntled schoolmaster and a thievish bear." [Boston " Lit. World." 1767 IN OLD QUINNBB ASSET, [by " Sopliie May," i. e. Rebecca Sophia Clarke: Bos- ton, Lee, 1891.] " A more graceful and charming tale it would be hard to fiud. Here is old Quinnebasset with its asso- ciations and memories, its old houses and fireplaces, and here ar the very people walking its streets, discussing the electoral votes in the same formal Eng- lish as during Washington's time. And here is the heroin keeping a diarum, which she fils with quaint girlish fancies, and doing all the old-fashioned house- hold tasks— spinning, making possets, discoursing on religion, getting into mis- chief, dressing for a gi-and ball, teasing her suitors, and being as bewitching and merry as Miss Clarke's heroins always ar, and as full of spontaneous life as the original from whom we suspect this same Elizabeth Oilman was drawn." [Critic. 1790 JOHN BOYDS ADVENTURES [by T: W: Knox: Appleton, 1893] " is the story of an American sailor in the early part of the present cen- tury. He passes throu the usual ex- periences of heroes in sea-stories, is attacked by privateers and pirates, is shipwrecked, and makes an in- voluntary voyage in a slaver. His capture by Algerine pirates and im- prisonment in Tripoli giv occasion for an interesting account of some of the episodes in our naval war with the Barbary states. There is a lac of life and color in the story, and there is no originality and very little excitement in it, but it is un- objectionable. John Boyd being a manly fello who deservs his promo- tion." [Nation. 1799 THE STOKY OF THE U. S. NAVY [by Benson J: Lossing: Harper, 1880] "■ the intended for boys, is as painstaking, orderly, and minute as if an adult audience wer in Yue. There is no attempt at picturesqueness or fine \\'riting. There ar plenty of pictures, portraits, medals, trophies, monuments, famous ships and batteries — aud not too many apocryphal vues of naval com- bats. The peaceful achievements of the na^y ar not overlooked, and happily there ar few shameful deeds to cover." [Nation. 1800 PAUL JONES, [by Molly Elliot Sea- counter of the Bonhomme Richard as well: Appleton, 1893.] "Thackeray's seen from the decs of the Serapis. All ' Denis Duval ' never reached the prom- Americans hav regretted this, for the ised description of the memorable en- master's touch must have added new 106 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. glory to the already world-wide fame of explosion of the Intrepid. The author Commodore Jones. We can be wel con- has not, however, told it in a "better way tent, however, with the spirited rehersal than Maclay tels it in his history, and of the incidents enacted off Scarborough has not, we think, equaled in pathos or on Sept. 24, 1784 [sic], which is now interest her own story of ' Little Jarvis.' presented by Molly Elliot Seawell, in Her picture of naval life contains many her recently published story. A con- eirors and anachronisms. Historically scientious study of the sources of history the incidents ar true, tho the traditions has equipped this capable author for her of the service ar that Stewart, Decatur task, which none wil gainsay was wel [1779-1820], and Somers wer intimate undertaken." [Critic. 1420 alike with each other, and that the In- 1804 Feb. trepid grounded before she was blown DECATUR AND SOMERS [by Molly up. Miss Seawell wil not hav written Elliot Seawell: Appletons, 1894] "is a in vain, however, if she make known pleasant story, narrating two of the exploits of the American navy one of most touching and heroic passages in which was characterized by Nelson as the history of our navy, the destruction ' the most bold and daring act of the of the Philadelphia ofE Tripoli, and the age.' " [Nation. 1800 THE BOYS OF 1812 [by Ja. Kiissell Soley: Estes, 1887] "is a general history of the navy from the beginning, under Biddle and Barney, untU the fleet commanded by M. 0. Perry helped Scott's amiy to win in Mexico. In clear, straitforward style, with plenty of anecdotes and occasional tidbits, the Professor leads his boy-readers on from the Delaware Bay to the Irish Sea, and thence by way of Tripoli, the ocean duels of 1812, Lakes Erie and Champlain, to California and the Mexican Gulf. . . The au- thor has unnecessarily cheapened, and so far injured, his work by omitting an index. Even boys nowadays look for that grip on the eel of science." [Critic. 1803 BLUE JACKETS OF 1812, to which is prefixed an account of the French War of 1798. [by WUlis J. Abbot: Dodd, 1888.] " The author 6t to find a first-rate audience, for he has told an interest- ing story, in an interesting manner, without recourse to the rather cheap frils with which juvenile literature is apt to be decorated. Ml'. Abbot writes brightly, occasionally allowing himself the use of imaginary dialog; but for the most part his work is narrativ drawn from good sources." [Atlantic. 1805 ZACHARY PHIPPS [by Edwin Las- hope those times wer really good enuf to setter Bynner (1842-92): Houghton, 1892] condone the badness of a boy who ran " is a tale of the good old times. We away to sea at the tender age of 8, 107 BOOKS FOR THE YOUXG. and to permit him, wlien barely of age, to become an acceptable Legation's at- tachC in London. Certainly Zachary did far better than if he had been good and stayed at home and pursued humdrum knoledge under the shado of Master Til- leston's cane. Whatever of national im- portance was going on from Boston to Florida, he managed to be in it. A most innocent accomplice of treason, he made one of the picturesque Washita expedi- tion planned in the angry heart of Burr. Barely old enuf to bio a whistle, he shared the Constitution's naval fame. Again, in the hand-to-hand tussle be- tween the Chesapeake and Shannon, he was literally right on dec. As a climax of adventui-e, to him was it given to witness those atrocities in Florida which make Jackson appear more of a murderer than a soldier. Zachary's career makes a capital book for youthful readers, and is not without serious interest. The au- thor's historical vision, while patriotic, is unprejudiced, and he givs history a dramatic value without distortion of facts. Some touches of characterization ar very vivid— for instance, in the pass- ing glimpses of Mrs. Blennerhasset and of Burr. Burr's last appearance in New York, poor and persistently dishonest, apparently unmoved by private neglect and public scorn, yet sorro-stricken by the death of his grandchild, makes one feel, not how ignoble he was, but how noble he might hav been." [Nation. 1835 LIFE AJSIONGST THE INDIANS, [by G: Catlin (1796-1872): Appleton, 1867.] " Any father of a family who is will- ing that his boys should read Cooper's novels or Mayne lleid's, and would pre- fer to hav them avoid dime novels and the unnatural bacwoods romances of Dr. J. H. liobinson or Emerson Bennett, wil lOS do wel to get this. . . The author is him- self a hily interesting character, and he not only writes in an exceptionally good style, but with sense as rare and human- ity by no means common. His words breathe only sincerity and truthfulness, even where — as when he acquits the Red- men of having ever been cannibals— he speaks too sweepingly in favor of a much-slandered race. Both volumes ar divided between North and South Amer- ica, and in an unexaggerated narrativ of actual adventure the boy-reader is most agreeably transported over plains and down rivers and along foreign coasts, learning nothing but what he wil be the better for remembering, and getting a much better idea of the Red- men than one adult in a thousand has. If we wer teaching school we should make this book and ' Last Rambles amongst the Indians of the Rocky Moun- tains and the Andes,' a text-book of American history and geography— such a text-book, let us ad, as under slavery could never hav been tolerated in this country. For when, prior to 1860, would a school committee hav approved chap- ter IX. of the ' Life,' which tels the shameful truth about the Georgia and Florida Redmen? " [Nation. 1900 WITHIN THE CAPES, [by Howard Pyle: London, Warne, 1883.] " The capes between whose points the tale opens and closes ar those of Chesapeake Bay. What givs a most pleasant flavor to the book and makes it of genuin lit- erary importance, despite its unpretend- ing modesty, is the skil with which the author transports us in the midst of a simple and pastoral people, and makes us see and understand their ways and manners. He presents to us a Quaker settlement where people and place ar BnOKR FOU THE YOUNG. alike charming; the men ar grave and brave; the women ar gentle and beauti- ful; there is a roling landscape and a fertil soil. . . Here is variety enuf, and it is set before us skilfully, with a cer- tain old-fashioned quaintness of a pleas- ant flavor." [Saturday Review. 1940 MIDSHIPMAN PAULDING, [by Mol- lie Elliot Seawell: Appleton, 1891.] "The story of young Paulding's adventure with the Dutch landlord and of the win- ter at Sackett's Harbor is told with con- siderable snap. . . The way he acted when under fire, and the way the bril- liant victory of McDonough on Lake Ghamplain was fot, and what part Mid- shipman Paulding took in it— all this is wel told. The book sties to facts with- out being matter-of-fact or prosy in style." [Critic. 1945 THE SIGNAL, BOYS [by G: Gary Eg-g-leston: Putnam, 1877] " depicts impossible characters in improb- able situations. The story remains very poor fiction for all that; just as the historical setting given them fails entirely to lend reality to the adventures described. For the rest, the battle of New Orleans in 1815 is made the motiv of the narrativ." [Nation. 1947 1815-20. GREY HAWK, [by J: Tanner: Lippin- cott, 1S83.] " An unadorned tale of life on the Red River of the North in the early part of this century is the auto- biografical history of J: Tanner's cap- tivity. This, edited by Edwin James, the historian of Long's expedition to the Rocky Mountains, was a classic, in its way, more than 50 years ago. It has now been condensed and reprinted under English editorship, as ' Grey Hawk.' It is the true story of a little boy, stolen in Kentucky by Shawnees, who grew up adopted and naturalized among the Ottawas, to whom he was transferred by purchase. Its interest lies in its di- rect speech and in its homely detaUs of the barbarism and poverty of noma- dic hunters, often distressed for want of food and often in misery from rum. The savage virtue of hospitality and the civilized vice of drunkenness have many examples in its pages, and one learns that life among the less fierce tribes of the Northwest was an irregular succes- sion of hunting, starvation, very trans- ient abundance and carousing, cold, and poverty." [Nation. 1950 SNOW-SHOES AND CANOES [by W: H: Giles Kingston: Lippincott, 1876] " purports to describe the early days of a fur-trader in the Hudson's Bay Territory. It is an unpretentious nar- rativ, easily understood and certain to interest. We might compare it with Gerstaecker's works, but the English au- thor has less imagination and a much less graphic style than his German pro- totype. In fact, we rather recommend the story for its apparent adherence to facts and the small quantity of romance in it. It has much to tell of hunters, trappers, voyageurs, and Indians, and the hardships of life, half a century ago, in the region now known as Mani- toba." [Nation. 1955 ANSEL'S CA\^ [by Albert Gallatin Riddle (1S15-): Cleveland, Burrows, 1893] " is a story of early life in the ' Western Reserve,' opening in 1813, when these lands wer covered by a great forest, and communication with the outside world was throu an almost unbroken wilderness. The story was 109 BOOKS FOR THE YOLWG. written twenty years ago, and because anteed the right of the Seminole the personages go by their proper names, tribes to her soil, but ' shamefully publication was delayed until the death broken,' upon the principle that of the principal actors and the disper- sion of their descendants." [Critic. 1960 As collateral reading:— HISTORY OF THE U. S. AND ITS PEOPLE, [by E: Eggleston: Appleton, 1888.] " The author omits to notice that Texas revolted against a government which pro- hibited slavery, and treats the mo- rality of the Mexican war, which was one of pure slaveholding ag- grandizement, as an open question to this day. In fact, all which is said of Texan independence is very misleading." [Nation. H2052 OSCEOLA, [by [T:] Mayne Reid: Hurst, 1859.] " The scene is Florida; and, altho it begins with some scenes of striking adventure and ' palpitat- ing interest ' at a somewhat earlier period, it is upon the war of the Indian possessors of the soil with its wily invaders from the north, that the main portion of the story is made to bear. When compelled to depart, for a few pages, from his ingenious dovetailing process to giv the reader a clearer insight into the historical and political position of the ' men and things ' with which he deals, and prove his assertion that his ' writing is in truth a his- tory,' the author givs a clear ac- count of the history of Florida, from the cession of the territory by Spain in 1821 to the outbreak with the Redmen in 1832. He traces the gradual conflict with the ' pale-fac- ed usurpers,' who wer ' moving down from the north ' ; the sad story of covenant ' solemnly made, and solemnly sworn to,' which guar- ' covenants between the strong and weak ar things of convenience, to be broken whenever the former wils it' ; and the formal declaration of the ' Great Father ' of the U. S., that the Seminoles must be dispossessed and remove to other lands. ' You wil not go willingly? Be it so. We ar strong; you ar weak; we shal force you,' was ' the spirit of the reply Jackson made to the Semi- noles ' when they resisted the pro- position and refused to leave the land of their birth. . . Altho a few chapters read somewhat more like a chronicle than incident dexter- ously dovetailed into a work of fic- tion, yet they ar brief, wel written, and full of soul-stirring interest." [Lit. Gazette. 2056 THE HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. [byT: Wentworth Higgin- son: Harper, 1885.] " In the opening chapter, ' The First Americans,' we hav a brilliant essay on the Mound- Builders, or, rather, the Pueblo- Builders, to whom the author be- lieves the whole aboriginal race be- longed. The second chapter—' The Visit of the Vikings,' is a vivid sketch of those villainous old heroes who wer the terror of their times- more of them in fact, than of their discoveries in North America. The author does not trouble himself much about the many minor mat- ters which so lumber history; he seizes the few salient points, and, with the perfection of his touch, makes them stand out before us as 110 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. living pictures, as actual scenes, in which, somehow, we seem to hav an important part. . . ' Our Coun- try's Cradle ' is one of the best chapters, giving the scenes and times of Washington's administra- tion with vividness — Mrs. Washing- ton, Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Sedgwick, and the rest, all the society and ' ton ' of the times. The politician, the statesman, the real student of his- tory must delv in details of facts and figures, and must go elsewhere than to this author to find them. But the life of a people, the salient points of their religion, customs, politics, history, are what the mil- lions everywhere, the youth espec- ially, ar most concerned with, most interested in, — wil nowhere be found more delightfully presented than here." [Boston " Lit. "World." 2067 A BOY'S TOWN, [by W: Dean Howells: Harper, 1890.] "There can be few men who could remember so keenly and genially, could note so aptly, and could render so sympa- thetically and almost coherently, the chaotic life of a boy [in Ohio]. All the happiness, the grief, the fear, the bigotry, the ambition, the cruelty, and the tenderness strangely stirred in the heart of a boy by his groing vital force, ar depicted in the author's best manner, simple, sen- sitiv, and genial." [Boston " Lit. World." 2103 THE CEDARS: More of Child Life, [by " Ellis Gray," i. e., L.. T. Cragin: Boston, Lockwood, 1877.] " The good and rather rare qualities of the author of ' Long Ago ' [1S76] reappear, so that children who hav read the earlier instalment wil not be disappointed by the present. The story continues to be autobiograph- ical, and evidently from experience, and if it has become somewhat more romantic, we suppose this is due not to conscious embellishment on the part of ' Ellis Gray,' but to the in- creased age of her youthful charac- ters. Ellis is now 12 and at board- ing-school, while Die is within a year of entering Harvard — say 16. The author's hiest praise consists, we apprehend, in the fidelity of her descriptions and suggestions of Bos- ton and suburban life a quarter of a century ago." [Nation. 2121 SALTILLO BOYS [by W: Osborn Stoddard: Harper, 1882] "is a pleasant story, the scene being a town in central New York 30 years ago. The boys de- scribed ar from 13 to 16 and belong to a school in which the master endeavors to impress the value of self-government upon his pupils. This lesson is fairly wel brOt out in the various incidents given of life in and out of school." [Nation. 2125 1855-59. THE BOY SETTLERS, [by Noah Brooks: Scribner, 1891.] "It is wel that the rising generation should learn the history of those times — the struggle to free Kansas from the in- iquitous institution of slavery; the toils, the hardships, the successes of northern emigrants. The Indians and herds of buffaloes sweeping in vast armies across the prairie, form ex- citing episodes of the story. As a vivid and careful study of one of the most significant periods of American history, this book wil be appreciated and enjoyed by readers young or old." [Boston " Lit. World." 2133 111 BOOKS FOn THE YOUNG. HEKOES IN HOMESPUN [by Ascott Eo. Hope [Moncrieff] : London, 1894] " deals with the early history of the more activ and militant spirits of the Abolitionist movement from the days of J: Woolman to those of J: Brown." [Saturday Eeview. 1850 THE SAILOE BOYS OF '61. [by Ja. Eussell Soley: Estes, 1888.] " This clear, spirited and authoritativ narrativ is quite within the comprehension of children, but it is not at all 'wTitten down.' It can be read with interest by adults, and we kno of no better brief picture of the naval features of om* civil war. The spirit in which Prof. Soley writes is admirable, and Southerners can read his pages from beginning to end without offense." [Nation. 1900 CTJDJO'S CA^TE [by J. T. Trowbridge: Boston, Tilton, 1864] " is a spiritedly ■written tale. ' Cudjo ' is a run- away slave, and bis ' Cave ' is among the mountains of Tennessee. We hav perils, escapes, and flights; and it would appear that all those in Tennessee who had Northern proclivities, whether white or blac, wer hunted down like wild beasts. One poor schoolmaster gets tar- red and feathered, ana whipping white women seems not altogether uncommon. The descriptions ar all excellent." [Reader.]— " The plot is wel conceived and sustained, and the interest never flags from the first page to the last. There is no dul reading in the book, no interminable preludes or introduc- tions. The hero is a young schoolmas- ter, and a real hero he proves himself in his gentleness, conscientiousness, and manly moral and physical courage. Carl, the German boy, is au inimitable picture of young German life and character. Toby, the house negro, is, in his mingled stupidity, cunning, and faithfulness, drawn to the life. Nor ar the negroes of the cave less excellent. Events hurry forward, different characters are strangely grouped, new elements and ca- pacities constantly developed, while truth to the original conception is con- stantly adhered to. Graphic descriptions and picturesque situations abound." [Continental. 2200 CAPTAIN PHIL, [by M. M. Thomas: Holt, 1884.] " The hero is an orphan lad who accompanies his older brother during the whole of the war. He is present at the first battle of Bull Eun. Afterwards he joins the Western army, under Kosecrans, remains with it during the pursuit, first of Bragg and after- wards of Johnson, and is in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Chicka- mauga, and in the march to the sea. All the phases of camp life, its humors and its hardships, the peculiarities of the different men, their talk, their songs, their heroism, often their simple piety, ar represented with a graphic force and truthfulness worthy of great praise. Scattered throu the book ar incidents, almost every one of which, Mr. Thomas assures us, ' is a real experience,' of courage and devotion displayed on the battlefield, and especially after the bat- tle, in rescuing or in succoring the 112 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. wounded. Equally "wel done ar the de- scriptions of the contrabands and the poor whites, and the scenery of the country throu which the army passd." [Nation. 2235 IN WAR TIMES AT LA ROSE BLANCHE [hy M. E. M. Davis: Boston, Lothrop, 1888] " stands among the best of the liter war books In Its graphic pictures of plantation life, from a stricuy domestic point of vue — even from a nursery standpoint; for it is a child's observation and experience and memory which giv form to these charm- ing sketches — a child who sees her young brothers go off to the war, and who sits upon the fence to wave them a goodbye as they march down the lane; who sees the work of the sugar plantation de- volving on her mother's shoulders; who finds that a Yankee boy among those encamped on the lawn can ' play ladies ' with her and make delightful wooden dolls. An unaffected pathos and sim- plicity make these pages seem, not de- scriptions but experiences; the figures which move throu them, old and young, blac and white, liv and hav a Veritable being. The whole book, in its truth and tenderness, is like one of its pictures— a morning-glory groing on a soldier boy's grave." [Nation. 2245 TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES [by T: Nelson Page: Scribner, 1888] "is a most natural, pleasing, and at times touching story. The scene is laid in a plantation in Virginia, and the adven- tures described ar those of two boys who, tho too young to join the army, yet come freely in contact with the ex- citement, anxiety, privation and sorro which war entails." [Nation. 2250 JED. [by Warren Lee Goss: Boston, Crowell, 1880.] " In some respects this is the best boys' book about the Civil War we ever read. The hero, a Mas- sachusetts lad who, having been a drum- mer-boy before the war, wins his shoul- der-straps by faithful service and falls in one of the last skirmishes, is a manly fello with a noble spirit, of whom no boy can read without being the better for it. There is an air of truthfulness about the book, also, which confirms the author's statement that the incidents narrated ar real ones. The description of Andersonville is an unusually power- ful piece of writing, while the account of the escape of Jed and his companions possesses a thrilling interest." [Na- tion. 2255 TOM CLIFTON, [by Warren Lee Goss: Crowell, 1892.] " His hero mi- grates in youth from New England to Minnesota, and goes throu the adventures, perennially fascinating, of establishing a new home, hunt- ing, fishing, farming, and exposure to ' blizzards.' The civil war breaks out, and the youth, with a group of companions, enlists. Mr. Goss did not serv in the West, but his exper- iences in the ranks need but little change to insure verisimilitude when his boys fight at Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, and Missionary Ridge. Its horrors of capture folio, and thrilling efforts at escape, with final release in time to share the hurrahs at the return of peace. There is, perhaps, too much history for suc- cessful fiction, but boys ar good at skipping, and for the more faithful readers the history is fairly close to the accepted version of the cam- paigns the author describes." [Na- tion. 2256 113 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE LOST ARMY, [by T: W: Knox: Merriam Co., 1894.] " Two Iowa boys of 15 attach themselvs as wagoners to Gen. Lyon's army. Af- ter the battle of Wilson's Creek they accompany S: R. Curtis in his mem- orable march throu Arkansas to Helena. The detailed description of the two campaigns is enlivened somewhat by the scouting and for- aging adventures of the boys. The book contains a considerable amount of historical information, but no map of Arkansas." [Nation. 2258 1861-5. AMONG THE CAMPS, [by T: Nelson Page: Scribner, 1891.] "Each story has reference to some incident of the war. A vein of mingled pathos and humor runs throu them and greatly hitens their cbarm. It is the early experience of the author himself, doubtless, which makes his pictures of life in a Southern home during the great struggle so vivid and truthful. There is none of the bitter- ness of the contest, however, to be perceived in the book, as the author has wisely chosen incidents in which Con- federate and Union soldiers meet only to do some kindness to a child." [Na- tion. 2275 ON THE PLANTATION, [by Joel Chandler Harris: Appleton, 1892.] "The autobiographic character of this book invests it with peculiar interest. The sub-title calls it ' a story of a Georgia boy's adventures during the war,' and it is really a valuable, if modest, con- tribution to the history of the war within the Confederate lines, particu- larly on the eve of the catastrophe. While Mr. Harris in his preface pro- fesses to hav lost the power to distin- guish between what is true and what is imaginativ in his episodical narrativ, the reader readily finds the clue, and it is instructiv to notice how ' Uncle Remus' ' humor is robbed of its contagiousness when the tale is about a funny incident in his own experience which he is too conscientious to embellish. The history of the plantation, the printing-office, the blac runaways and white deserters of whom the impending break-up made the community tolerant, the coon and fox- hunting, forms the serious purpos of the book, and holds the reader's interest from beginning to end. Like ' Daddy Jake,' this is a good anti-slavery tract in disguise, and does credit to Mr. Har- ris' humanity." [Examiner. 2280 MY DAYS AND NIGHTS ON THE BATTLE-FIELD, [by C: Carleton Coffin: Ticknor,— also Low, 1864.] " This book is freely illustrated with daring incidents on the battle-fleld, and with numerous diagrams of the ground. There is also a leaf de- voted to the explanation of military terms. And, altho it is freely spiced with what Southern sympathizers call Northern brag, there is little doubt it wil be a favorit with all young readers. Many of the descrip- tions ar capital, and the illustrations assist the reader greatly." [Reader. 2291 As collateral reading:— YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF THE WAR [by J: Denison Champlin (1S34-): Holt, 1881] " can be heartily recom- mended. Indeed, the book givs a great deal more than it promises, for it is equally wel adapted to general readers. It is, in short, a wel written and en- tertaining history, fair and impartial in tone and aiming rather at incident and 114 HISTORY:— UNITED STATES. graphic narrativ than at political and strategic analysis, altho these ar not ne- glected; affording, therefore, probably as good an account of these events as most Tvil desire. It is copiously illus- trated as wel -with maps and plans, as with portraits, vues, and pictures of special objects of interest. Few or none of the illustrations ar ' made-up ' pic- tures. There is an index." [Nation. 2294 THE CIVIL WAR [by Mrs. C. E. Cheney: Estes, 1883] " can be heartily recommended. The first few pages strike one as being rather stif and artificial in style, and altogether there is too great tendency toards digression and ' moral- izing.' The story, however, is exceed- ingly wel told, and in a spirit of keen sympathy with the objects and results of the war, if at times a little intoler- ant in tone." [Nation. 2295 IHARCHING TO VICTORY [by C: C. Coffin: Hai-per, 1888] " deals with the events of 1863. The greater part is necessarily taken up with an account of the military operations; but those civil events, both at home and abroad, dii'ectly connected with the war ar also intelligently treated. The author's descriptions of the great battles, especially those of which he was an eye-witness, ar exceedingly sphited. He would have given a better idea of each battle as a whole, however, if many of the minor details, such as the movements and fortunes of each brigade engaged, had been omitted. Due credit has been given to the valor and pat- riotism of the Confederates, and, but for a few passages where the author's feelings hav got the better of his judgment, the book wil giv its readers a clear conception of the magnitude of the con- test, and at the same time inspire in them a true pride in the men, both North and South, who fot it. Numerous illustrations, maps, and an index ad to the value and attractivness of the volume." [Nation. 1955 FREEDOM TRIUMPHANT, the Fourth Period of the War of the Rebellion, from September, 1864, to its Close, [by C: Carleton Coffin: Harper, 1891.] " The opening- of the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley is the starting-point of the narrativ, and once in motion the author keeps on in his hearty, sometimes headlong fashion to the end of his story. He mingles per- sonal experience with historic in- cident, and thus personally con- ducts the reader. He has a com- mendable way of placing at the close of each chapter a list of the au- thorities to which he has referred. If Mr. Coffin's style is both journal- istic and hily accented, one only wonders that he can keep his pace so wel as he does." [Atlantic. H2298 1876. LITTLE SMOKE, [by W: O. Stod- dard: Appleton, 1891.] " The scene is 115 BOOKS FOR THE YOirXG. the Blac Hils. The real hero is not Life in a lodge is wel described, as the Sioux boy whose name the book ar also some of the sports of the bears, but Bert Raynor, a plucky Ogalallah youth. Interwoven with Ohio boy, who, having ventured into Bert's story ar the adventures of his this region in company with two two white companions, which ar prospecting miners, is captured by amusingly told. Gen. Custer's defeat savages. They spare him solely be- and death and Bert's escape ar the cause of his courage and endurance, closing incidents." [Nation. 2400 POLITICS FOR Y0U:N^G A3IERICANS. [by C: Kordlioff: Harper, 1875.] " The object of this little work is ' to explain in simple language, and by familiar illustrations fitted for the com- prehension of boys and girls, the meaning and limits of liberty, law and government, and human rights, and thus make intelligible to them the political principles on which our system of govern- ment is founded'; the author ads that 'the book grew out of an attempt in a few letters to instruct his oldest son in the political knoledge which every American boy 6t to possess to fit him for the duties of citizenship.' These extracts indicate pretty clearly where to look for the merits of the work and its defects. As a volume of ad\ice on the leading questions of contemporary politics, addressed by a thotful and conscientious father to a bright boy of 16 or 17, who had been already familiarized by the household talk and reading with political nomenclature and the relations and in some slight degree the history of existing parties, it may be hily commended. It would be difficult to find, indeed, a safer guide for a young man getting ready to ' cast his first ballot,' and we say this all the more readily because we ar in hearty agreement with nearly all Mr. Nordhoff's political and economical opinions. The chapters on Property, Money, Labor and Capital, the Usury Laws, Banks, Banking and Cui^rency, Greenbacs and Commerce, Strikes, the Malthusian Theory, Proliibitory La^s, and on economical questions generally, ar excellent. It would indeed not be easy toi improve on them for the pm^pose named.'' . . . The work, however, is said to be dogmatic. " In short, the best training for politics, as for most other things which one can giv a boy, is to teach him not so much what to think as how to think, and above all to think accurately and closely.'' [Nation. 2000 116 UNIVERSITY I ' GEOGRAPHY:— MEXICO. AMONG THE LAWMAKERS [by Edmund ^Uton [Bailey]: Scribner, 1886] " is written for boys, but most adults can read it with profit, for the rules and procedure of Congress ar a deep mystery to the rest of the world. It contains a graphic picture of the administration of our Government, and the picture is made more complete by digressions, such as not merely illustrate in detail the work of Congress, but ' also exhibit by examples the constitutional relations bet^veen the three departments of the Gov- ernment.' Some of the titles of chapters wil giv a good notion of the scope of the book: The Federal Executive, Secret Sessions, Counting the Electoral Vote, Close of a Congress, An Inaugura- tion, The Federal Judiciary, A Vacant Chan-, Into the Hm-ly-burly [the House of Representatives], Foreign Relations, An Impeach- ment Trial. It wil be seen that there ar few phases of public life in Washington which ar not described here with more or less fulness." [Nation. 2005 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN MEXICO, [by T: W. Knox: Har- per, 1889.] "The author has made a careful study of the best works on Mexico; he has attained a hi degree of accuracy. . . Cortez burns his ships (p. 251) in the old style; probably the orators hav given that error an indestructible life." [Nation. 2100 THE CRUISE OF A LAND YACHT [by Sylvester Baxter: Boston: Authors' Mutual Pub. Co., 1892] '' givs a lively and inter- esting narrativ of a trip to Mexico in a private car. He has de- vised a party of young people with pretty clearly marked surface peculiarities, but the substance of his book is in the description of life in the Southwest. The book affords young readers a very agreeable introduction to Mexican scenery, life and antiquities." [Atlantic. 2110 THE MYSTERY OF ABEL FOREFINGER [by W: Drysdale: Harper, 1894] "is the story, wel told and rapid in movement, of the haps and mishaps befalling two boys dm-ing a West Indian and Mexican torn-, and, tho full of adventure, is, as boys' books go, noticeably free from exaggeration and over-sensationalism." [Atlantic. 2115 117 BOOKS FOR THE YOIWG. BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST, [by G: Alfred Henty (1832-): Blackie, 1890.] " It Is decidedly daring to intro- duce an English boy in Mexico during the triumphant invasion of Cortez, but the thing is not incredible, and Roger Hawkshaw is the most promising of heroes when he sets sail from Plymouth for the West Indies, and is ■wrecked on the coast of Central America. He makes his way to Tabasco, and finds himself eventually in Tezcuco, where he is re- gally entertained. ' Was ever an Eng- lish boy in so strange a strait as mine? ' he asks. ' What an extraordinary peo- ple! Gold seems as plentiful with them as common pottery with us.' Tho he does not become cacique, the Aztec king Cacama ofCers the hand of his sister to him, and he eventually marries the lovely Amenche, and goes home laden with wealth. But long before this happy event he endures not a little calamity and abundant flting under Cortez. Pres- cott's brillant work has of course sup- plied the author with the richest mate- rial of romantic history, yet it must be admitted that his skil has never been more convincingly displayed than in this admirable and ingenious story." [Sat- urday Review. 570 THE WHITE CONQUERORS [by Kirk Munroe: Scribner, 1894] " is a story of Mexican feuds at the time of the Spanish invasion. The author accepts the romantic be- liefs as to the measure of civiliza- tion and refinement of Mexico in the days of Cortez, and writes ac- cording-ly; but his story is most of the time independent of this. It is realistic, exciting, sanguinary, al- tho relieved by some sentimental passages. As a story it is interest- ing, and as an endeavor to revivify an American period which has al- most passed from the thots of men, altho the civilization depicted was the hiest on our continent, it de- servs hi praise." [Godey's. H572 As collateral reading: — MONTEZUMA, [by E: Eggleston: N. Y., Dodd, 1880.] " Montezuma was a Redman in the strict sense of the term, but a hero of a different type from the Red Jacket, Brant, and Pocahontas. In classing Montezuma with these he tac- itly accepts Morgan's vue, that the' Mexicans wer but more advanced Red- men; we ar surprised, therefore, to find here the old vue of the character of the Mexican empire as an absolute mon- archy, with a court of great splendor and elaborate ceremonial. This notion we supposed had been completely dis- posed of by Morgan and Bandelier. It is important that our young people should not hav their minds preoccupied with false conceptions; and the true vue is certainly as picturesque as the false, and far more interesting. Apart from this we hav nothing but praise." [Na- tion. 575 THE E:\OCKxVBOUT club in the ANTILLES [by F: A. Ober : Estes, 1888] " is a rambling description of tlie yarious ilands, written to accomijanj pictures of all degrees of excellence and appropriateness. It contains considerable information, and en- ables the reader to form a faiiiy strong impression of the life and scenery of the places visited." [Nation. 2150 118 GEOGRAPHY:— SOUTH AMERICA. THREE VASSAR GIRLS IN SOUTH A3IERICA. [by Lizzie (Williams) Champnej : Estes, 1884.] " The style is without charm, and the heroins ar unattractir. The story, however, is meant to be of only secondary importance, and to serv as a lure to the reader to absorb the infonnation contained in this account of a journey to the Amazons, .etc. The author draws her facts and illustrations from good sources." [Nation. 2200 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN SOUTH A^IERICA. [by T: W. Knox: Harper, 1885.] " The boys study the history of the places they ^dsit, as wel as the accounts of the other travelers, abstracts of which ar given in the form of letters or in conversations. Much attention is also paid to a description of the natural products of the various countries. The narrativ is skilfully interwoven with tills solid information, and the book almost always interest- ing. , . The book would hav been far more useful had the author taken the pains to ad an index. A table of contents, however full, by no means takes its place." [Nation.] — " The book describes the adventures of two youths in a journey throu Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentine Republic, and Chile, with descriptions of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and voyages upon the Amazon and La Plata rivers: it is a cyclopaedia of informa- tion, which makes one's head reel, but which appears to be calmly assimilated by Mr. Knox's youths. Boys ar cormorants, however, and we hav no doubt they would make a moderate luncheon of this book." [Atlantic. 2205 CORTEZ AND PIZARRO [by W: between Venezuela and the Pacific. Dalton: London, Griflin, 1861] " is Tliey take part in the war of libera- a resume of the histories of the two tion against [1810-31] the Spaniards, great Spaniards who conquered who ar ultimately defeated ' and Mexico and Peru, rewritten in a compelled to recognize the inde- very graceful style, and with an pendence of the country. These appreciativ spirit. In his preface, warlike sketches ar interspersed Mr. Daltou acknoledges his indebt- with details of natural history." edness to the old Spanish chronicler, [Saturday Review. 2226 Bernal Diaz, as wel as to the more ^^^ GRAND CHACO [by G: modern pages of Prescott, Irving j^^^j^^j^e Fenn: Partridge, 1892] " is and Helps. [Critic. 2220 ^^^^^.^^^^ ^^ ^^^ adventures of an IN NEW GRANADA [by W: H: exploring party on the Parana and G. Kingston: Nelson, 1879] "we Paraguay, and is one of the best hav a picture of a Scotch family stories the author has written. The settling in the province which lies pictures of forest scenery, and of 119 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. wild animal and vegetable life ar respect for nature and truth, the excellent. Without a touch of ex- stoi'y is thoroly interesting and ex- travagance, and with a consistent citing." [vSaturday Review. 2240 HISTORY. [SEE GEOGRAPHY.] TEK BOYS ^\^0 LIVED ON THE ROAD FROM LONG AGO TO NOW [by J.. Andrews: Lee, 1885] " and whose early lives ar here sketched, ar Kablu, the Aryan boy, who came down to the Plains of the Indus; Darius, the Persian boy, who knew about Zoroaster; Kleon, who ran at the Olympic Games; Horatius, whose ancestor ' kept the bridge so wel ' ; Wulf , who helped to make England; Gilbert, the Page, who wU one day become a Knight; Roger, who longed to sail the Spanish Main; Ezekiel Ful- ler, the Pinitan boy; Jonathan Dawson, the Yankee boy; and Frank Wilson, the boy of 1885, who rides to and from school 40 miles every day in the cars. The writer has designed in these very interesting sketches to trace the progress of our race from its Aryan som'ce to its present type, Altho this book describes children, and is so written to be attractiv as wel as instructiv to children, the account of their surroundings at the different periods indicated has been so faithfully studied out, and is so clearly de- scribed, that few grown persons wil fail to enjoy it and to learn something from it. The style makes the book wel suited for read- ing classes." [Nation. 2300 INVENTIONS. STORIES OF INVENTORS [by E: Everett Hale: Roberts, 1885] "begins with Archimedes and Friar Bacon, and ends with Nas- myth and Bessemer. The author's method is to allow the subjects to tel their stories. With some he has been fairly successful, but with others, the material at his disposal was not so easUy used. Much in the account of the steam-engine, for instance, is beyond the intelligence of his readers." [Nation. 2340 LIFE OF ROBERT FULTON, and a History of Steam Navi- gation [by T : W. Knox : Putnam, 1886] " sketches the first attempts at river boats on a large scale, the growth of the fleet on the Great Lakes, the early boats on British waters, and, most interesting of all, perhaps, the history of the Atlantic traffic. 120 LITERATURE. The romance of the Cunard and Collins and Innian and Guion and other lines is told with fairly minute particulars of famous ships and memorable disasters and fast passages; there is a pa- thetic obituary of the ' Great Eastern ' and a closing chapter on naval architecture and exploit." [Boston " Lit. World." 2345 LITERATURE. THE CHILDREN'S BOOK. [ed. by H. E. Scudder: Houghton, 1881.] " To present in new shapes the old and familiar tales of infancy and youth is the perpetual endeavor of publishers, and this season we hav a conspicuous instance in ' The Children's Book.' Mr. Scudder may be said, in his selections, to hav sot to ' sweep the decs,' for he begins with Aesop, and carries his readers throu fairy tales, folk-lore, Andersen's tales, the Ai-abian Nights, the moral tales of Goldsmith, Aiken, Edgeworth, and Opie; thi'ou GuUiver, Munchausen, and classical mythology; to say nothing of the poetry — hymns, ballads, romances, etc. This thic quarto is, of course, not exliaustiv of the sources drawn upon, but it touches nearly every age and variety of taste." [Nation. 2350 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE [by Arthur Gil- man : Houghton, 1873] " is not meant for the young readers, but all young folks from 11 to 99 wil find it ^'ery useful indeed. It is just the book for any boy or girl who wishes to kno what Eng- lish literature means, where it comes from, what it is good for, and how it is to be enjoyed. .Vnd also it is just the thing for persons who kno these things, and who like to hear all about it again, in a few words. It is a very long book or a very short one, just as j'ou choose to make it. You may read it throu in a day, or you may study and study it for months, — a good and safe companion always." [St. Nicholas. 2375 STORIES FROM FAMOUS BALLADS, [by "Grace Green- wood " : Ticknor, 18G0.] " All famous ballads ar so close to Nature in their conceptions, emotions, incidents and expressions, that it seems hardly possible to change their form without losing their soul. The present little volume proves that they may be turned into prose stories for children and yet preserv much of the vitality of then' sentmient and the interest of their narrativ. Grace 121 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. Grreenwood has contrived to combine simplicity with energy and richness of diction, and to present the events and characters of the ballads in the form best calculated to fil the youthful imagin- ation and kindle the youthful passion for love and adventure." [Atlantic. 2385 TALES FEOM SH.UvESPEARE. [by C: and M.. Lamb, with a continuation by Harrison S. Morris. In four volumes. Lippincott, 1S94.] " Lamb's ' Tales ' hav been read by millions of people, most of whom wished that the authors had not stopped with only about half of the plays. Mr. Morris has attempted to make good the deficiency, and thousands of young people should feel greatly obliged to him, for he has done the work wel, altho the Lambs used, by preference, the most romantic material, ignoring most of the historical plays. Any one not yet supplied with the older tales should now see a double inducement to buy them." [God- ey's. 2395 THE GIRLHOOD OF SHAKSPERE'S HEROINES, [by M.. (NoveUo) Clarke: Putnam, 1851.] " The design seems to be a portraiture down to the most familiar details of what the girl- hood of Catherine, Ophelia, etc., must hav been. Premising that such characters really livd and spoke and acted as Shakspere represents, her intention is to let us kno the events in early life which shaped their minds and produced those mental features, so clearly and wonderfully delineated by the gTeat di'amatist. The shrew Katherine and her boy-lover Giulio Vinci ar drawn with force. The spoiled girl is here before us, w^ho, with the fate of hiunan natm'e, is to become the shi'ew of Shakspere. Bi- anca is as clearly represented as her sister. [So. Lit. Messenger. 239G SHAKSPERE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK [N. Y., Ford, 1882] '' is a presentation of three plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As you Like It, and Julius Caesar, very much as the editor, R. E. Raymond, might read them to an audience of young people; that is, with parentheses of explanation between the more attractiv and intelligible dramatic lines. The idea is capital and not il carried out." [Atlantic. 2400 THE CHILDREN'S GARLAND FROM THE BEST POETS, [by Coventry Patmore: Cambridge (Mass.), 1863.] " With excellent 122 LITERATURE. judgment and discrimination, the editor has selected more than 170 pieces ' fitted to please children of and from the age at which they hav usually learned to read.' Among the pieces thus brot together ar many of the fine old English songs and ballads, copious selections from Cowper, Southey, Campbell, and Wordsworth, Lord Macaulay's splendid ballad of ' The Ai'mada,' and poems by Bryant, LongfelloAv, Lowell, etc. ' The test applied,' says the edi- tor, ' has been that of having actually pleased intelligent children, and my object has been to make a book which shal be to them no more nor less than a book of equally good poetry is to grown persons.' " [North Amer. Review. 2425 CHILDREN'S TREASURY OF ENGLISH SONG, [by Fr. Turner Palgrave : Macmillan, 1875.] "• The compiler's taste is un- exceptionable. He has had in vne children of 9 or 10 and those of 15 or 16 years of age, and has divided his work mto 2 parts accord- ingly. The selections ar mainly lyi'ical and of a hi order. Foot- notes explain difficult or obsolete words, and at the end ar notes historical and critical and a chronological list of authors." [Na- tion. 2430 STORIES FROM THE ITALEIN POETS [by Leigh Hunt: Chapman, — also Putnam, 1846] " being a summary in Prose of the Poems of Dante, Pulci, Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso, with com- ments. . . The poems ar tm'ned into admirable stories — the swel, the power, the passion, and the beauty of Italian verse, ar all made manifest and familiar to the common everyday eye and ear — not merely by translation, but by rendering their fictions into conversational, life-like, and understandable scenes, incidents, and characters, which move and speak with clearness, force, and meaning. To do this required no common power, and Mr. Hunt has proved himself a master of his art; he has thoroly embodied the spirit of the originals, and placed before us a series of pic- tm-es, the truth of which must be felt by all ranks and kinds of people, and which, but for his labors, might hav remained a mystery, except in name. To strip the poems of the great Italian masters of their floing verse, and startling, quaint expression, and by inversion and reduction bring them within the fireside vue and manner of speech, without saciificing a single beauty of the original, argues almost magical power, and, tho this is not the 123 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. age of mii'acles, yet the task has been accomplished; that which has hitherto been a volume sealed, a fountain closed, is now opened fah' to the eye, and overfloing to the sense and fancy. All hav heard of Dante, Ariosto, Tasso, &c., but few hav been able to contemplate their beauties or drink in the sphit of their labors." [Albion.] — " The author has selected the best inci- dents and descriptions, and translated them into a poet's prose. We call it so, for its picked and choice expression. The simple strength, the earnestness, the passion, in the prose of this book, we do not think hav ever been excelled. Evei^ syllable is strait- forward, sincere and unsui^erfluous. The mity Florentine stands out from the rest in the gruu majesty which belongs to him. We ar not aware that the real tinith of Dante's connection with Bea- trice was ever distinctly stated, until now, by Mr. Hunt. All his biographers seem to hav shrunk from the disenchanting conclu- sion which his own writings lead us to in this matter. If we mistake not, indeed, Eossetti founds upon the sonnets in the ' Vita Nuova,' here quoted by Mr. Hunt, a pm^ely abstract and allegor- ical meaning. But we think Mr. Hunt right; and ar always gi'ati- fied for the truth of an3i:hing, e^-en when it brings in question so world-wide a romance. The ^Hiunors of Giants ' and the 'Battle of Roncesvalles ' ar the subjects taken from Pulci. It was this fine, honest, mirthful poet who first blended the serious and facetious in the old fables; and Mr. Hunt, who finds in him the raiser of romance out of street ballads, and the founder of the chivalrous epic, has done him hearty justice. Alas! that we can make no stay among the knights and damsels, the magicians and giants, the enchanted palaces and gardens, the flying horses and harpies (all so true to themselvs, all so consistent with the laws that govern them), which crowd the wonderful imagination, and the large-hearted, liberal fancy, of divine and glad Ai'iosto." [Ex- aminer. 2450 TALES FROM ARIOSTO. [Paul, 1ST9.] " The story of ' brave Rinaldo's lovely lady ' is a sealed book to all children, and to many grown persons, and there is no one who cares about literature at all, stil less who cares especially for the great epics, who wil not be grateful to the editor for the work she has done so wel. It is not everyone who feels the charm of these tales. The 124 NATURAL SCIENCE. knights, male and female, and the beautiful maidens with whom Spenser has made us familiar, ar a weariness to the flesh of man}' readers, and these would of course find Ariosto equally tiresom. To others the very names of Sacripante and Bradamante hav an unspeakable attraction; for they transport us into a world which is not fairj'-land, nor history, nor allegory, but a world apart, with some of the cliaracteristics of each, and a light and color pecu- liarly its own." [Satin'day Ke\iew. 2455 NATUEAL SCIENCE. THE YOUNG FOLKS' ASTRONOMY [by J: D. Champlin: Holt, 1881] " is an admirable little text-book for beginners, who 6t to find it as entertaining as a fauy tale." [Atlantic. 2500 IN THE SKY-GARDEN [by Lizzie (Williams) Champney: Bos- ton, Lockwood, 1870] " is an ingenious and felicitous essay to teach children a fe^' of the most interesting facts about stars. It does not fall into the error, so common in books of juvenile science, of appending philosophical explanations, of which ' Science in Sport,' the book last mentioned, is an extreme specimen. It is adapted to plastic memories; but little truth is told, and that little is dressed in cheerful, wholesom stories." [Nation. 2505 A BUNCH OF WILD FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN, [by Ida Prentiss Whit comb : Randolph, 1891.] " The author has arranged the common wild flowers, traced their family resemblances, and described them succinctly but effectivly in a series of brief chap- ters with outline illustrations Avhich greatly aid the eye and sup- plement the descriptions. The book is so small, so simple, and so direct in style that it is eminently fitted to be the companion of children in their out-of-door life." [Outlook. 2550 THE STORY OF A MOUNTAIN, [by W: Shepard Walsh: Lippincott, 1889.] " How a mountain is born, groes, is destroyed and its materials redistributed, how it serves as a tide-mark of geologic ages, what flora and fauna it shelters upon its bosom, is told with skil and power. From first to last the economy of water is wel illustrated, and the talk about rivers, rils, clouds, rain, steam, and vapor — subterranean, terrestrial and celestial — is 125 BUOHS FOR THE YOUNG. maintained with spirit between Prof. Morian and the young folk of the story.'' [Critic. 2600 ON THE HILLS, [by F: Starr: Lothrop, 1890.] "This work consists of a series of elementary essays on geological topics, in a style fitted to attract young readers. The best part of the book is the good-humored personal element, with narrativ of the author's field experience, by which the essays ar brot down to a form of statement which boys may easily appreciate. The briter readers of such a book may be led to the excellent result of going out on tlie hils themselvs and discovering that they too can find stories which ar worth telling, for they wil be flavored with the delight of personal effort." [Nation. 2G05 THROUGH MAGIC GLASSES, [by Arabella Burton (Bucldey) Fisher: Appleton, 1891.] "The glasses ar the lenses which make the telescope and microscope; the spectroscope also, and the photo-camera, with their wonderful disclosures, ar brot into use. The book is simply a clear, animated and most attractiv introduc- tion to the study both of astronomy and of the loer forms of life." [Atlantic. 2700 THE STORIES MOTHER NATURE TOLD HER CHILDREN [by J.. Andrews : Lee, 1888] " tels some of nature's quiet laws and habits of sea and land, and wil help supplement the imperfect knoledge which we cannot conceal before the scrutinizing questions of childhood." [Critic. 2705 NATURAL HISTORY. BIRCHWOOD. [by "Jak," i. e., Annie Bowles Williams: Crowell, 1885.] "A city boy hires himself out to a farmer to pic berries. With other boys and girls, he forms a natural-history society. They fit up an old house for their collections of wood, minerals, birds and insects, and start a library and reading room. The story is naturally told, and the children whose doings ar re- corded ar thoro boys and girls." [Nation. 2750 THE RIVERSIDE MUSEUM [1886] " is a distmct advance on ' Birch wood,' of which it is the sequel. The author shos that both boys and girls can find much pleasure, as wel as profit, in studying some branch of natural history. The narrativ is thoroly healthful in tone, and does not depend upon sensational incidents to sustain 126 NATURAX, HISTORY. its interest. The account of the old naturalist is very amusing." [Nation. 2751 CHARLEY'S TRIP TO THE BLACK MOUNTAIN [by G. E. Roberts: Masters, 1862] "is nothing more than the narrativ of a walk with a boy of seven, possessing the instincts of a natur- alist. It breathes a kindly and affectionate sphit, contains some lively descriptions of scenery, and the bit of romance introduced at the close is graceful and pretty. We may caU it a prose idyl, and believe it wel calculated to find favor with boys of the thotful type." [Parthenon. 2760 HISTORY OF MY PETS, [by "G.. Greenwood": Ticknor, 1859; U. S. Book Co.,1890.] "We bespeak a welcome for 'Stories of My Childhood,' now reissued after thek first appearance, but com- paring favorably with the major part of our juvenile literature in interest and in literary style. They hav the pre-eminent merit, almost lost sight of in the too conscious productions of the present day, of being written with an eye single to the children who ar invited to read them. Hence clearness, directness, simplicity in the narrativ, with nothing for adults to read between the lines." [Nation. 2800 QUEER LITTLE PEOPLE AND THEIR FRIENDS [by Har- riet (Beecher) Stowe: Ticknor, 1867] "is a thoroly delightful and healthful book. The childlike love of beasts and birds and insects is rightly and wisely di'awn upon, not by asking children to laf at beasts in the habits of men, but by translating the real life of the animals into humanity as literally as children's intelligence would allow. There ar capital bits of sathe and fun in them. We hav enjoyed it very much, and expect aU wide-awake children and all childlike grown people to enjoy it too." [Nation, 2805 JOE AND THE HOWARDS [by C. Stedman Newhall: Boston, Graves, 1869] " is a sensible, pleasant book which it wil do most boys and girls good to read, ' I think,' says its author, ' that a child's book should be at once instructiv, entertaiuing, and true to nature.' So she goes on to make a book by using what she herself has learned in some of her open-air study of natural his- tory, choosing for presentation facts which the children may them- selvs observ any day that they like to look for them. But, facts being dry things, our author puts them into a story; and 127 BOOKS FOR THE YOUN'G. this she does so wel — not making the story servile to the facts, as do most writers who make her attempt, and not giving us im- possible personages, but personages really wel-drawn — that she fairly earns the praise she hoped for, of being both entertaining and true to nature." [Nation. 2810 OUK DOMESTIC TETS [by J: G: Wood: Koutledge, 1870] " givs a good deal of information about the best ways of caging and taming various birds, insects and animals, which children 6t to find interesting and valuable. ^Ir. Wood writes pleasantly, and with a practical knoledge of his subject which, while it admu'ably adapts his work to the childi'en for whom it was intended, makes it also agreeable reading for such of their elders as take interest in the various matters discussed. The hiving and swarming of bees, the care of sUk-worms, and the management of canaries, ar among the numerous topics treated, and the letter-press is accom- panied by sufficiently careful diagrams and illustrations." [Na- tion. 2815 FEIENDS WORTH KNOWING [by Ernest Ingersoll: Harper, 1881] " may be commended as an agreeable account, sure to inter- est boys and girls, of the manners and customs, so to spealv, of many nativ birds, beasts and insects." [Atlantic. 2820 BEOTHEES OF PITY, [by J. H. (Gatty) Ewing: N.' Y., Young, 1882.] " The author has the faculty of combining scenes and in- cidents from natural history with the forcible teaching of needful lessons, and yet without the least suspicion of a perfunctory moral. It is a surprise to find a book so simple in style, so picturesque, whether it be by a mere hint, as of the robin redbreast I;>ing dead in the moonlit quarry and the sexton beetles busy about him, or the fuller drawing of the home of the hedgehog." [Nation. 2825 NATUEAL HISTOEY FOE YOUNG FOLKS [by C. (C.) Camp- bell: Nelson, 1884] "is evidently the result of years of research on the part of the author Her object has been to simplify the more scientific side of the subject, and ' to explain how the dif- ferent orders of animals, from man down to the ducbilled platy- pus, resemble one another.' The chapters ar arranged according to the latest and most advanced system, and the book is not too much padded with anecdotes, but is yet thoroly entertaining." [Saturday Eevlew. 2S27 128 NATURAL HISTORY. WINNEKS I:N LIFE'S EACE [by Arabella Bucldey [Fisher]: Appleton, 1882] "is deyoted to the vertebrates, here called the ' great bac-boned family.' This book is a successor to the author's ' Life and Her Children,' which treated invertebrates. . . A careful examination has revealed no serious errors, and from incidental remarks it is evident that the author [who was secretary to Sir C : Lyell] has resorted to recent and eminent authorities for the facts which ar marshalled with praiseworthy clearness in orderly suc- cession. The illustrations ar fresh and accurate. There is little poetry, no cant, and no objectionable sentimentality. There is an excellent index." [Nation. 2830 LITTLE FOLKS IN FEATHERS AND FUR AND OTHERS IN NEITHER, [by "Olive Thorne " Miller: Dutton, 1879.] "Of this book we can speak almost unreservedly in praise. It is very unconventional talk, on the childish level, about penquins and turtles, and earwigs, and armadilloes, and devil's darning-needles, and crabs, and codfish, and much else. The illustrations ar ex- cellent." [Nation. 2835 QUEER PETS [by "Olive Thorne," i. e., Harriet (Mann) Miller: Dutton, 1880] " comprises a collection of stories descriptiv of the pets of a little girl. Birds and animals from all parts of the world ar purchased for her, and their habits and peculiarities ar chaimingly described." [Nation. 2840 FOUR FEET, TWO FEET, AND NO FEET [by Laura E. (Howe) Richards: Estes, 1885] "is a most attractiv book. It is crammed with illustrations remarkable for thek' truthfulness and beauty; and accompanied by short stories, prettily told, which convev much information about birds, beasts and insects." [Na- tion. " 2845 THE LOOKABOUT CLUB [by M.. E. Bamford: Lothrop, 1887] " givs an account of a family club organized by some dwellers in the country and of the curious creatures they found in the brooks and fields. It is pleasantly written." [Nation. 2850 DOG LIFE. [Nelson, 1874.] " There is hardly a boy of any age who would not take delight in the stories contained in this wel- printed volume. The subject is one of the most absorbing and charming which can be set before the young." [Nation. 2900 129 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE CAPTAIN'S DOG [by L: Enault: Crowell, 1888] "is a charming story. The dog's character and intelligence ar drawn by a loving hand, his human companions pleasantly sketched, and the incidents of the story told with grace, humor and esprit." [Nation. 2905 THE IVORY KING [by C: F: Holder: Scribner, 1886] has " chapters on mammoths and mastodons, the sacred ^^^lite Ele- phant of Siam, baby elephants and trie elephants, and of the ivory traffic) in Africa." [Boston " Lit. World." 2907 OCEAN WONDEES. [by W: E. Damon: Appleton, 1879.] " ' Every man,' says the author, ' 6t to hav a hobby. There is no real life without enthusiasm for something; and there is no pas- sion so healthful as that for natural objects.' At any rate, no hobby can be so wel worth pursuing when summering in the counti-y. Tired mothers seated here or there on a stray roc, while their children ar digging in the sand, and wUling but unable to answer the questions which these constantly ask, wil find this hand- some volume as necessary as a shawl and a sun-umbrella; while children of a larger growth, like butterfly -hunters in the interior, wU by its aid more intelligently and thoroly enjoy all the strange products of the sea." [Library Table. 3000 BOYS AT CHEQUASSET [by A. D. (Train) Whitney: Loring, 1865] " is chiefly devoted to delightful annals of bird's-nesting, with much lore about the eggs. It has also the wholesom moral for parents, that a taste for collecting natural objects, besides the innumerable out-door sympathies to which it leads, is one of the best means for making a child systematic and thoro in all his ways." [North Amer. Review. 3005 THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS, [by H.. Stevens Conant: Tick- nor, 1868.] " The author's aim being to interest the young in a rather tempting natural pursuit, she is at liberty to stimulate curiosity by the use of almost any supposable incidents and ad- ventures." [Nation. 3100 INSECT LIVES, [by Julia Perkins (Pratt) Ballard (tl894): Cincinnati, Clarke, 1879.] " The introduction givs the necessary information to the beginner, and then the author in a very charm- ing and easy way shos from her own experience the delights of watching the spinning of the cocoon and the shedding of it, and 130 POETRY. the emergence of the known moth from the unknown shel; how the entomologist's curiosity is piqued and gratified; how fastid- ious in their diet worms ar found to be, and the rest. The young naturalist cannot fail to be stimulated by this book, and wil be rightly directed by it." [Nation.]—" It is written with the most agreeable simplicity and good sense. The volume is abundantly illustrated with the wel-engraved studies of insects in their dif- ferent stages of transformation ; and it is to be as cordially praised for these as for the graceful, unaffected, and interesting quality of its literature." [Atlantic. SAME, Among the Moths and Butterflies. [Putnam, 1890.] " The author has gathered numerous interesting and curious facts about the more remarkable American insects. Especial attention has been given to the rearing of the mature insect from the co- coon, the characteristics of the chrysalides, and the distinctiv man- ners and habits of the various caterpillars and their parasites. The illustrations ar exceptionally fine. Mrs. Ballard successfully avoids technicalities on the one hand, and the trashy style af- fected by some so-called ' popular ' writers. We do not kno of any book better fitted to interest wel-grown boys and girls in the insect life about them." [Nation. 3105 MY GARDEN PETS [by M.. Sue Adelia (Davis) Treat: Lothrop, 1887] " is a charming little book for old or young. It describes, in unaffected style, some phases of the life of spiders, ants and wasps." [Nation. 3110 BUZ. [by Maurice Noel: Holt, 1886.] "A good deal of infor- mation about bees is very pleasantly given. . . The daily life of the hive, the division of labor, the perils of the bees, and theu- marvelous instinct ar brot clearly before the mind. One forgets at times that the purpos of the book is not simply entertainment, but instruction." [Nation. 3115 POETRY. THE BROWNIES: Then- Book, [by Palmer Cox: Century Co., 1887.] "These tiny, moon-eyed grotesquCvS now hav a whole boo]-: wherein to disport themselvs, and may clamber and scamper and skip and slide throu 144 pages. So eager and irre- 131 BCOiTft FOR THE YOrXG. pressible ar they that they even tumble and pour out over the cover. Within, we find them skating, bicycling, playing tennis and base-ball, canoeing, tobogganing, visiting the circus and men- agerie — and, indeed, it is difficult to mention any amusement, lilvely to commend itself to a wel-regulated Brownie in which they hav not indulged." [Critic. 3498 ANOTHER BEOWN^IE BOOK [by Palmer Cox: Century Co., 1S90] " seems like an international exhibition of Brownies, there is such a crowd of them in policemen's helmets, Chinese cues, German jJeaked hats, French blouses and every conceivable na- tional and professional costume. Their sports and vocations ar as varied as their dresses. They congregate like the peoples on the plain of Shinar to build a colossal sno man; they deliver the most subversiv scientific lectures in the academy; they hav a yacht-race worthy of being reported in any number of ' extras ' ; they hit the mark in every sense at an archery competition; and they hav that degree of success when the,y go fishing which hu- man fishermen claun to hav." [Critic. 3499 THE BROWNIES AT HOME, [by Palmer Cox: Centm-y Co., 1893.] " Any chOd who had not already become acquainted with Mr. Cox's ' Brownies ' is to be pitied, for the artist's little people ar so numerous and so funny that children who hav not met them hav missed a great lot of fun." [Oodey's.] — " If a thotful person wer called upon for a reason for the hi esteem in which the Brownies ar held, he might truly say it is because of their in- domitable energy. Their drolery of figure, face and action is surely something to admire, but it is their energy, their dauntless refusal to be suppressed, which makes them just what they ar. And is it too fanciful to imagiu that Mr. Cox shares with his offspring this excellent (luality? When one thinks he has led his children their very last dance, lo and behold! he and they tm'n up again; and then it is all hands round, down the middle, into the secret places of the White House or over the face of the World's Fair, in just the same amusing, krepressible swarms as of old." [At- lantic. 3500 THE BROWNIES AROUND THE WORLD [by Palmer Cox: Century Co.; Unwin, 1894] " wil rejoice the hearts of children. The pictures of this antic folk ar as full of drolery as ever. Their 132 FICTION:— ANIMAL STORIES. passage across the Atlantic on a raft suggests some of the most diverting drawings. They visit all the countries of Em'ope and not a few in Asia, and everj^^here sho themselves to be a race of iniinite freak and urepressible fun." [Saturday Keview.] — "The ever-welcom little beings swarm as usual over the pages, getting themselvs into and out of new scrapes, and entertaining their admirers with new antics, while they vue the world and its wonders and comment upon them." [Nation. 3501 LITTLE-FOLK LYRICS, [by Frank Dempster Sherman: Hough- ton, 1892.] " A little volume of playful verse, in which the writer almost unconsciously, one may say, for the most part dramatizes as an imaginativ and fancifid child. He is not quite so original in this as Mr. Ste\enson in his inimitable A Child's Garden of Verse, but he is by no means without his own special skill and charm. The verses ar such as a happy, healthly-minded child wil enjoy in companionship ^ith an older friend, and the older reader wil find a common ground on which they may meet." [Atlantic, 3515 ANBIAL STORIES. ^SOP'S FABLES, [by T: .Tames: Murraj% 184S.] " Fables —that is, moral or prudential tales, having beasts, birds, or other irrational objects for speakers,— ar indebted, if not for their origin, at least for their introduction into Greece to ^sop. Yet the fame of iEsop rests solely on tradition. There is great wisdom and not a little wit in these fables. Probably there is no other book, of the same compas, in which so many valuable lessons ar sug- gested to human prudence. We find ' sermons in stones, and good iu everything,' The value of the pre- cept is incontestable in every case; and could we trace all our knoledge to its source, we should be surprised, perhaps, to see how much of what is practical and useful in life we o to fables. This edition is remark- able for the clearness and concise- ness with which each tale is nar- rated; and the reader wil not be slo to acknoledge his gratitude to Mr, James for having relieved the book from those tedious and un- profitable appendages, called ' mor- als,' which used to obscure and dis- figure the older editions," [Exam- iner, 3601 THE .JUNGLE BOOK, [by Rud- yard Kipling: Century Co,, 1894,] " Mr, Kipling is a nineteenth-cen- tury ^sop. In this spirited, delight- ful book he has dramatized the beasts of the jungle, the wolf, the tiger, the jackal, the elephant, the panther, and has even associated a man cub with them; he has en- tered also into the hide of the camel, the mule, the terrier, and the horse, and all for the sake, not of pointing a moral, but of delineating charac- ter, and telling the varied life which goes on just beyond the inner eye of man. Verily man is extending his kingdom of letters, Barye's ani- 133 BOOKS ron THE YOUNG. mals ar hardly more works of art than ar Kipling's." [Atlantic. 3615 THE JOYOUS STORY OF TOTO [by Laura E. (Howe) Richards, Lon- don: Blackie, 1886] "may be read with pleasure by most children, and by some grown people, too. The language is natural and humorous, and the conversation of Toto and the creatures of the forest, who ar his only playmates, is spontaneous and spirited. Miss (sic) Richards has an amusing way of individual- izing the characters of these friends —the bear, the raccoon, the squirrel, etc.— who all meet to enliven the blind leisure of Toto's grandmother in a lonely cottage in a wood. Toto is not thron into slumber in order to hear and see these thmgs, and the author has recourse to no ar- tifice to create an illusion. Utterly impossible things happen in a prob- able and natural manner which lit- tle people may believe in or not as they list. Toto himself is a nice healthy American boy. The book contains extravagant stories within a story extravagant in itself. Some of the creatures ar not bad racon- teurs, and the grandmother's tales ar, considering their soiu'ce, delight- fully purposless and moralless." [Saturday Review. 3625 MOTHER MICHEL AND HER CAT [by Emile de la BedoUiere: Phil'a, Leypoldt, 1864] "is a de- lightful little book for young people. . . . The story was, we think, in- tended, in a quietly humorous way, to travesty the style of such novels as ' The Mysteries of Paris.' It leads Mother Michel's cat throu many perilous adventures, occa- sioned by the animosity of a deadly human fo; but it givs the excellent animal a calm death, at last, at a venerable age, as also a monument and an epitaph. The grotesque idea of the tale is exceedingly pleasing to fancy, and there is good natural wit and contagious sprightliness in the manner of its elaboration." [Albion. 3640 LITTLE SPECKLY, or The Ad- ventures of a Chicken, told by Her- self, [Routledge, 1878] "is a fable of French origin, and very good and wholesom in every vfaj. This ex- traordinary fowl, who escapes the pot with unvarying success amid all her shifting experiences hi and lo, city and barnyard and forest life, would be perfectly happy but for the acquired knoledge that she has no soul. She contrives, however, to furnish many a salutary lesson to those who hav souls in the course of her entertaining narrativ, and may wel become as an authoress the pet which she began and ended by being on account of her resem- blance to a partridge." [Nation. 3650 UNDER THE DOG-STAR, [by " Ma. Vandergrift," i. e.. Ma. T. Janvier: Porter, 1881.] " ' Jock ' writes his autobiography, which we ar by turns ready to pronounce most canine or most human, to prove the falsity of the common sayings about ' a dog's life ' and ' a cat-and-dog life.' He inserts the stories to which he from time to time listens with his play-mates the children. One of them, ' The Onion that Sprouted,' is quite a marvel of the story-teller's art, in its unaffected simplicity and its faint touch of pathos. Its moral is exactly the one which the history of ' the Peppers ' failed to teach- that keen, sweet pleasure may be found in the love and care of little things." [Nation. 3665 FAIRY STORIES. FAIRY TALES: Their Origin and Meaning [by J: Thackeray Bunce: Macmillan, 1878] " fairly down to the level of childish comprehension, and simply and entertainingly com- 134 FICTION:— FAIRY STORIES. posed. Nothing but good can come of the comparisons here instituted between the mythology and folk- lore of the several Aryan nations. Norse, Gaelic, German, Russian, Greek, and Indian fables ar de- lightfully mingled, and their iden- tity established with an effect quite broadening to the juvenile under- standing." [Nation. 3700 THE FAIRY BOOK [by Dinah Maria (Muloch) Craik: Macmillan, 1863] " givs us all the old favor its, and most of the pretty stories of Mrs. D'Aulnoy. There ar also a few tales of German or Scandina- vian origin. The old English stories of 'Jack the Giant Killer,' 'Tom Thumb,' &c., hav been left unaltered in their ' charming Saxon simplicity of style, and intense realism of nar- ration.' " [Parthenon. 3702 A STOREHOUSE OF STORIES, [ed. by C. M.. Yonge: Macmillan, 1872.] " Its contents could il hav been suffered to pass away and be forgotten. Every one of its four hundred solidly printed pages is a legitimate possession of the English- speaking nursery. ' Evenings at my Grandmother's ' and ' Elements of Morality ' occupy by far the greater portion of the book. With the first- named, the three or four Persian stories called ' Blossoms of Moral- ity ' fit very wel, and ' A Puzzle for a Curious Girl ' naturally pairs off with Salzmann's prosaic modern and realistic ' Moralisches Ele- mentarbuch.' This last is given in the translation by Mary Woll- stonecraft. . . ' Family Stories ' ar downright fairy tales of the most approved description, and ar hinged on to the various actions— conduct and misconduct— of an interesting family of eight generations, just one year apart in age." [Nation. 3704 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. [Cundall, 1843.] To Perrault (1628- 1703), whatever the Messrs. Grimm may say, we o the popular form of this most enchanting of all the fairy tales. We call it so, because its moral is one which can not sink too early or too deeply into children's hearts: the lesson which teaches them that gentleness and grace of mind, that loveliness and beauty of soul, may triumph over the worst disadvantages of ugliness and worldly privation. Perrault was a man of real depth and great variety of acquirements; and in a cheerful old age turned to this wise work of instructing and entertaining chil- dren." [Examiner. 3708 FRIENDS AND FOES FROM FAIRY LAND [by Lord Brabourne: Little, 1885] " deals altogether with elvs and witches, in 3 stories of un- equal length, but all markedly orig- inal in treatment, wel sustained in interest, and excellent in style, tho there is no condescension to the in- fant vocabulary. There is true im- agination in developing the several characters, whether human or brute, and it is seldom that descriptions of natural scenery ar so felicitous without being labored or conscious." [Nation. 3710 THE NECKLACE OF PRINCESS FIORIMONDE [by M.. De Morgan: Macmillan, 1880] "is a charming, fresh and genuin collection, and of even merit. The first three of the seven stories hav to do with malig- nant witchcraft; the last, the ' Wise Princess,' is an allegory, teaching that happiness and duty ar insepar- able; while the 'Pedlar's Pack,' the ' Bread of Discontent,' and the ' Three Clever Kings,' ar so many clever satires with very obvious morals." [Nation. 3715 CRYSTALLINE; or the Heiress of Fall Down Castle [by F: W. Shelton: Scribner, 1854] " is the old story of ' the Maid and the Magpie ' 135 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. worked over, and made as good as new. We feel that a delicate spirit is at work subtilizing the main facts of the legend, and imparting a rare poetical meaning to its litest details. In its present form the whole is a dainty prose poem." [Al- bion. 3720 A BOOK OF FAIRY TALES, [by Sabine B. Gould: Dodd, 1894.] ' Whoever values his eyesight wil not read far in this volume. Tho the type is good and clear, and the paper exceptionally unreflecting, the page is quite spoiled for want of leads." [Nation. 3725 TING-A-LING [by Frank R: Stockton: Hurd, 1869] " is the name of the fairy-hero of this rollicking set of stories. He is the smallest kind of a fairy, as one may guess by knoing that his sweetheart, Ling- a-Ting, was drowned in a tear. He is the intimate friend of the largest and most amiable of giants, and the two together confound the machina- tion of the most deformed of dwarfs, in aid of the loveliest of princesses and the most gallant of princes. The regular fairy story machinery is put in requisition, especially that of the Arabian Nights. But as no person capable of inventing so good stories as those of the Thousand and One Nights wil ever do so with the earnestness which givs those im- mortal tales their chief fascination, so the author of ' Ting-a-Ling,' tho he relates with an ingenuity which wil claim the youthful attention, does so in such an evident spirit of burlesque that he must draw forth the protestations of all but the very youngest of his readers — or the old- est. A good deal of enjoyment, we should think, could be got out of it when the oldest read it to the youngest, especially from the ac- count of the five magicians, and their offering to the dwarf. The pic- tures ar notably commendable, being full of humor." [Nation. 3730 THE FLOATING PRINCE, [by Frank R: Stockton: Scribner, 1881.] " Mr. Stockton easily surpasses in humor all American writers for chil- dren. His drolery is as spontane- ous and unexpected and original as that in ' Alice's Adventures.' Noth- ing can be more absurdly clever than those stories. We must ask pardon of the readers of St. Nicho- las for assuming that everybody does not luio that the Floating Prince is a young gentleman of good family who starts on his travels in search of all the other requisits of a kingdom besides a ruler, and pics up his army and navy and chan- cellor-of-the-exchequer and aristoc- racy and common people as he goes along. The school-boy aristocrats desert, and their adventures form a story by itself, and less lafable than that to which it serves as a sequel. Here the central conceit is of a city which runs down and has to be wound up." [Nation.]—" It is a capital book, if one has lost all his reverence for fairies. If the com- parison is not too shocking, it is a sort of atheistical fairy-book, very funny, very clever, and very en- joyable, if one has got over his be- lief. We recommend it to all parents, and they can do as they think best about shoing it to their children." [Atlantic. 3731 THE BEE-MAN OF ORN. [by Frank R: Stockton (1834—): Scribner, —Low, 1887.] " Nothing could be more inimitably and inexhaustibly delitful than this sheaf of ' fanciful tales.' . . We think that older people appreciate even better than chil- dren their demure and elusiv humor, as they do that of ' Alice's Adven- tures.' The book is full of people who ar entitled to become classic figures— the Bee-Man himself, the 136 FICTION:— FAIRY STORIES. Languid Youth, the Very Imp, the Griffin and the Minor Canon, Old Pipes, the Jolly-cum-pop, and the rest of the genial and plausibly im- possible train. Mr. Stockton's sunny fancy has done more than to giv a great many people pleasant half- hours from time to time; it has really added a distinct charm to lit- erature, and, so far forth, to life." [Overland.]—" Imagin an orthodox fairy tale addressed to grown peo- ple, told in the language of the most modern every-day life, and stripped of mystic meaning or commonplace moral; ad to it a number of sly and lightly aimed hits at human foibles —that is a description of Mr. Stocli- ton's new stories. It would be idle to describe the fanciful humor of them." [Athenaeum.]—" The method by which Mr. Stockton controls the vagaries of his familiar is wel known. His work is gravely to demonstrate a grotesque or ridicu- lous proposition in plain and dii'ect language. The writers of the fa- mous fairy stories of all ages and climes knew the value of this method, and furious satirists hav availed themselvs of it at once to cloak their literal meaning and to poison their shafts. Mr. Stockton uses it neither to scourge evil nor to reform abuse, but with the wholy beneficent intention of provoking spontaneous lafter. In the story of ' The Griffin and the Minor Canon ' there is a hint of more serious pur- pos. Here the author seems to emu- late those achievements of true humorists which ar greater tho not rarer than is the successful pro- vision of pure amusement. Beneath the fantastic imagery it is not hard to discern the self-seeking ungen- erous, cowardly mob contrasted with the exceptionally modest, unselfish and courageous individual. The griffin is a novel symbol for even- handed justice, encouraging the good and terrorizing the wicked. He is a creature of most upright soul, of beautiful discrimination and in- sight. We can not but regret his demise, and wish that it wer pos- sible to resuscitate him. Here and there on the earth's surface may stil be found a community which would be none the worse of a permanent griffin to persuade it, by wagging his red-hot tail, to honor and reverence a minor canon." [Nation. 3732 THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE, AND OTHER STORIES, [by Frank R: Stockton: Scribners, 1894.] " There is always an access to hon- est pleasure when a fresh volume of Mr. Stockton's stories comes out. Never did one keep the same manner so unchangeably, and yet vary the incidents so widely. It is interest- ing, by the way, to note how fre- quently this writer ads to the ef- fectivness of his stories by making the story-teller one of the charac- ters. It is an affidavit of the credi- bility of the tale, which the tale sometimes requires." [Atlantic. 3733 ADVENTURES IN FAIRY LAND [by R: H: Stoddard (1825-): Ticknor, 1853] " is one of the most charming little series of fantasies which ever came from the pen of a poet. The airy creations of the gifted author liv and move in an atmosphere of love which seems to belong to the ' heaven ' which ' lies about our infancy.' Too much praise can not be bestowed upon the purity and tenderness of thot which pervade the volume. Mr. Stoddard has proved himself the friend and benefactor of children by the de- licious ' adventures,' and many a fireside wil be gladdened by them." [Southern Lit. Messenger. 3736 THE ROSE AND THE RING [by "Michael Angelo Titmarsh": Har- per, 1855] " is a charming little piece 137 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. of foolery, illustrated with the most grotesque designs. It was produced for the Christmas diversion of some English children. No doubt these little folk wer delited with the Fairy Blacstic and her marvelous doings, and with the beautiful Bet- sinda, while Kutazoff, HedzofE and Hogginarmor enabled them to ' sup full of horrors.' Everywhere the bright wit of Mr. Titmarsh flashes throu, like a blade beneath a worn and rusted scabbard." [Southern Lit. Messenger. 3737 THE CARAVAN, [by W: Hauff (1802-27) : Appleton, 1850.] " This is a good translation of a good book. The stories ar thoroly German, tho the costume and manners ar Asiatic, and from their supernatural char- acter, take a strong hold upon the feelings throu the imagination. The Spectre Ship is especially powerful." [Graham's Mag. 3738 ARABIAN DAYS' ENTERTAIN- MENTS, [by W: Hauff (1802-27): Boston, Phillips, 1859.] "All of us remember the Arabian Nights, the delight of childhood, the intoxica- tion of hours stolen from the play- ground or the declension of p e n n a —ah, what would we not giv to read it once again with the fresh- ness and joy of its first perusal, when our faith was firm in the ring and the lamp, when all its rosy lights invested our future, and each one of us looked forward with con- fidence to the possible palace and its attendant vassals! So tenderly does the memory of that early enchant- ment linger in our heart, that we ar inclined to regard with the greatest favor all books designed to afford children a like satisfaction. This volume consists of a series of stories in which the glorious ab- surdities of Oriental reverie ar mingled with the fantasies of Teu- tonic superstition. . . . The title of ' Arabian Days' Entertainments ' is promising of enjoyment, and the promis is more than kept, for the stories ar not only fascinating, but pure and innocent." [So. Lit. Mes- senger. 3739 HAUFF'S TALES. " A Hauff re- vival is by no means a bad feature of the juvenile publications of the current season. There is, to begin with, a new issue of Houghton, Mif- fiin & Co.'s edition of the ' March- enalmanach,' Avhich they appropri- ately entitle ' The Arabian Days' Entertainments ' ; then comes the fresh translation, by E: L. Stowell, styled ' Tales of the Caravan, Inn, and Palace' (Chicago: McClurg); and finally, six of the series (less than half), without their setting, ar presented in Pinkerton's ' Little Mook, and Other Fairy Tales ' (Put- nams). All these versions ar illus- trated, and the last two hav partly borrowed from the same source. Mr. Stowell's is to be praised for its fidelity and completeness, and for its good English; Mr. Pinkerton's is rather to be called a paraphrase. On the other hand, the New York edition is somewhat more open and tasteful in its typography. These ar the main considerations for pur- chasers, who will in any well- stocked bookstore find all three vol- umes side by side for comparison. Nor wil it come amiss to examin, if accessible, the ' Selections from Hauff's Stories,' published two years ago by the Rivingtons (Lon- don). Designed by its teacher-edi- tors as a first German reading-book for schools, it contains ' The Caliph Stork.' ' The Phantom Crew,' ' The Amputated Hand,' 'The Rescue of Fatima,' ' Little Mudj,' and ' The False Prince ' in the original text, with an exhaustiv vocabulary, while the fifth and sixth stories ar closely translated in an appendix. 138 FICTION:— FAIRY STORIES. There ar many families in which such a book wil serv a double pur- pose." [Nation, 1881. 3740 ABDALLAH [by E: Rene Lefebre Laboulaye: Scribner, 1870] " is an allegorical romance, full of thot, fancy and feeling. It may be vued as an admirable work of art, inter- esting to readers of all ages; too imaginativ to be considered as a ser- mon in disguise, but particularly adapted to enlist the sympathies of youth on the side of right, and to inculcate lessous which penetrate the more deeply by being received unconsciously throu the medium of fantastic and graceful fiction. The scene is laid amid the misty gran- deur of the East, which is associ- ated in the mind of the young with gorgeous spectacles and incidents, both natural and supernatural. The narrativ is exceedingly interesting, and exclusivly Oriental, and the au- thor, carefully avoiding all wearisom digressions, happily contrives to giv. as if by accident, in the course of his story, striking delineations of Oriental manners, customs and characters." [Hearth and Home. 3743 TALES OF THE SIXTY MAN- DARINS, [by Ramaswami Raju: Cassell, 1886.] " The enthusiasm of Prof. H: Morley, in his introduc- tion, is as wel founded as it is sincere: ' This is a real book of new fairy tales.' A slight examination of the rollicking pages shows that it is more than a collection; it is a selection of the best gems out of a heap of jewels." [Nation. 3745 FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL, [by Lai Behari Day: Macmillan, 1886.] " Like all Oriental fiction, with its astonishing fertility of invention and its endless surprises, these tales hav an irresistible attraction, and th§re is nothing in them — from big- amy to burying alive — which need keep them out of hands to which the ' Arabian Nights ' is allowed. The grotesque outweighs the bloody; and neither ar the few ghosts calculated to make children nervous or sleep- less." [Nation. 3750 JAPANESE FAIRY WORLD [by W: B. Griffis: Schenectady, Ja. H. Barhyte, ISSO] " fils an undoubted gap in child-lore, and needs chiefly a more literary finish to giv it an assured place in our standard col- lections. The tales ar wel chosen in point of interest, and their infre- quent bloodiness never approaches that of ' Hop o' my Thumb.' The first dozen of the two or three dozen ar without exception readable, and we hav set a mark against several which folio—' The Fisherman and the Moon-Maiden,' for its pretty sentimentality; ' Smells and Jingles,' on account of its identity with a wel-known Western fable." [Nation. 3755 DANISH LEGENDS, [by H. G. Andersen (1805-75): Pickering, 1846.] " This is a charming little book. . . There is an occasional Northern coloring, but only so far as it could not be helped. All the rest is so free from anything national or ex- clusiv, that we do not remember to hav met any production so given up to a sense of the variety of being that exists in the universe. We hav so strong a sense given us of the feelings of dues and ducklings; of swans and storks; of mermen and mermaidens; of nitingales, flowers, and daisies; even of slugs and cut- tle-fish; and of what all sorts of animated creatures round about us. think, do, and might say if they could speak; that one's conscious- ness as a human being almost be- comes lost in the crowd. The fault of the book is, that all the stories hav too much meaning; that they overflo with intention and moral; 139 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. not always obviously, sometimes ob- scurely, but stil with iucessaut dili- gence. You desire occasionally some- thing more childish and less clever. But the genius and refinement ar undeniable." [Examiner. 3765 THE SHOES OF FORTUNE, [by H. C. Andersen: London, 1847.] " We wonder if this delightful and simple Dane ever read Goldsmith. His ' Shoes of Fortune ' run over the selfsame ground as that of Mr. Rigmarole in the ' Boar's Head Reverie at Eastcheap,' and tel us as plainly, after as far bac a jour- ney in fifty pages, what enormous advantages it is for all of us, whether we ar great town council- lors or simple copying clerks, to be- lieve in the steady progress of the world, and be content with the at- tainable. In a like wise and tender vein ar all the marvels of this writer's lover fancy; and we grieve that we must pass the Sno Queen, the Elder Bush, Tommelise, the Storks, and the Rose-elf— all of them filled with the most surprising sympathy for everything animate or inanimate, whether in words of imagination or reality." [Examiner. 3767 TALES, [by Hans Christian An- dersen: London, I860.] "Wherever there ar children who read books, Andersen's Tales should be among the books they hav to read. Nothing can be of its kind more exquisit than the playfulness of the short stories in which the taste of Andersen's peculiar humor is not spoilt by admixture with the senti- mentalism which finds its way into his longer works, or even into such of his stories as the Sandhills of Jutland or the Mudking's Dauter. This volume contains more than 40, and includes the whole of his best writing. Here we find the faithful Tin Soldier, the Shoes of Fortime, the Ugly Duckling, the Emperor's New Clothes, the Red Shoes, the Daisy,— all the tales which giv to Andersen fame in the world as long as children shal be born who kno how to enjoy a good child's story with the soul of a man's wit under its playfulness." [Examiner. 3768 THE FAIRY RING [by Jacob (1785-1863) and W: Grimm: Murray, 1S4G] " is supplementary to ' Ger- man Popular Stories.' That book, tho published above 20 years ago, must stil be fresh in the minds of many of our readers. The prince sitting on the fox's tail, the waggish elvs pulling on the breeches which the benevolent shoemaker left for them, and the host of deluded wights who leaped over a precipice to catch the clouds reflected in the water, ar yet before us, tho we hav not set eyes on the book for a greater number of years than we now care to count. The stories in the ' Fairy Ring,' coming from the same source, ar also of the same school— short, pithy, and surprising. The young may read them for amusement, aud the old, as addi- tional food for the reflection that these works ar the relics of an old mythology, and that in them a con- nection may be traced between races widely severed." [Examiner. 3775 LEGENDS OF NUMBER NIP [by J: C: A: Musaeus (1735-87): Macmillan, 1865] " is pleasant read- ing of the wholesomest, in a book which, while it pleases, may do something to educate the English fancy into a right sense of fairy lore. It is an incorporation into English literature of the series of Riiberzahl legends from Musaeus, who, before the Grimms wer born, delited Germany by embodying in its literature some of the best fairy lore current among the people. . . 140 FICTION:— FAIRY STORIES. Mr. Lemon lias entered into the spirit of Musseus, and tels the tales again in the old pleasant vein. . . The genial play of invention in these stories seems to be very difficult of attainment in this country. It is wonderful to think how few good fairy tales hav been produced in England. As a branch of our liter- ature they ar almost unrecognized, and when they ar invented for the benefit of children the inventions ar too commonly confections of crude, would-be childishness, with no fairy- like delicacy of conception, no swift, ingenious, imaginativ turns to which the writer has for the time given heart and soul, producing them with as good faith and as pure enjoy- ment as the poet feels in exercise of his hier, but not more spiritual form of creative power. Our few English attempts at a fairy tale ar usually written with a visible sense of coming down to some theoretical point, vulgarly supposed in this country to be ' the capacity of chil- dren.' Every natural child reads under instinctiv protest this make- believe literature, and should be trained to detest instead of to en- joy the part goody and part bogy style which is thot moral and educa- tional by too many purveyors of lit- erature for English nurseries." [Ex- aminer. 3780 THE NUT CRACKER [by Ernst Th. W: Hoffmann (1776-1S22): Cas- sell, 1S92] " is a fantastic fairy tale of extraordinary fascination even for older people. Dul, indeed, must be he who is not interested in the mysterious adventures of young Mr. Drosselmeier and the seven-headed son of Queen Mouseyrink, the en- chanting description of Toyland, the beautiful, simple-hearted devotion of Marie Stahlbaum for the Nut- cracker, and the eccentricities of Godpapa Drosselmeier with the glass wig." [Saturday Review. SAME, [in "The Serapion Brethren."] London, Bell, 1886. 3785 FAIRY TALES FROM BREN- TANO [by K.. (Freiligrath) Kroek-. er: Scribner, 1884] " shos delightful ease and freedom in her selection. The extravagant invention and ab- surd surprises of these stories ar simply irresistible, while in the de- scriptions of nature and in allegor- ical passages which old heads wil take pleasure in unfolding to young ones, th§re is a peculiar poetic quality of a hi order. This is visible in a story not essentially original (' Ninny Noddy '), as in those which ar." [Nation. 3790 THE BLACK AUNT [by Richter. transl. by C: A. Dana: N. Y.: Garrigue, 1848] "is a collection of clever little tales, full of quaint simplicity, and plain unmistakable good sense." [Albion. 3795 THE CHRISTMAS TREE, and Other Tales, [transl. by F.. (Kemble) Butler: Parker, 1855.] " This is a story-book of the best kind for young people. The Germans kno how to write stories which ar sto- ries, with plenty of incident, and— giv them a little latitude— plenty of quaint turns of thot and surprise. The fault common to English sto- ries is that every child soon knoes their routine; but with a German story-teller, he can not make quite so quic work. And as the Germans kno how to write good stories, so does Mrs. Kemble kno what is a good story when she sees it. We may be sure that her perception of a striking touch of poetry or senti- ment, or of a dramatic situation, is not slo." [Examiner. 3800 THE FOREST CAVE, [by Frank Hoffmann: Faithful, 1863.] "The language here is so idiomatic, and floes so easily, that one is scarcely 141 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. conscious of its being a translation. Tlie story itself is a charming one —full of incident and adventure; and the religious teaching fits in so naturally, and yet so tellingly, at the proper place that a thotless boy or girl would at once be aroused to its importance. Herein lies the whole art of conv§ying religious in- struction in written language. The present tale has our entire ap- proval." [Reader. 3805 OTTILIE'S STORIES FOR LIT- TLE FOLKS [Boston, Button, 1865] " is a charming series, comprising ' Frau Luna and her voyages,' ' A Queen, a Story for Girls,' and ' Leon and Zephie, or the Little Wander- ers,'— each distinct from the other, but all permeated by the delightful mystic element so common to the German mind." [Commonwealth. 3810 ENCHANTING AND EN- CHANTED, [by F: W: Hackliinder: Lippincott. 1871.] " The author's delicate imagination raises these above the common run of fairy tales into almost poetical regions. Chil- dren wil enjoy them, of course, on account of their wonderful plots; but older folk may almost revive their childish pleasure in histories of magic, throu the author's skill in managing the old machinery of dwarfs and kobolds, enchanted cas- tles, and princesses of peerless beauty. 'The Elfin Tree,' the first of the series, reminds one of An- dersen in its subject, and somewhat, also, in its realism and sympathy with children's feelings. ' The Dwarf's Nest ' and ' Castle Silence ' ar more interesting, however, with the weaver getting his designs from the wonderful slips of cloth left in his loom by the dwarfs, whom he hears whirring at it at night Avhen the moon is full; and with the si- lent valley, in which every one who enters it becomes dumb. Hack- liinder attempts an Arabian story, which in point of ingenuity is worthy of its models, but is so oddly Germanized in point of style and treatment as to be quite destructiv of the sentimental interest one feels in the stories where he is nativ and to the manner born." [Nation. 3815 FANTASTIC STORIES, [by R: Leander, i. e., R. Volkmann: Rout- ledge, 1874.] "The title is a wel- chosen one to describe a collection of tales of all sorts of lengths which ar half fairy tales, half legend; or rather, fairy tales told in the legen- dary manner, with a poetic and melancholy or a grotesq vein run- ning throu them. They ar thoroly German, and the lessons they teach subtle and transcendental or quaintly satirical. Practical matter- of-fact little folks wil find them- selvs interested but much puzzled, like cats who look into a glass and then go behind it to investigate. The more finely attuned wil be strongly moved as by poetry. Such writing is apt to impress any kind of a child more than he knoes at the time, and is likely to recur to his memory in later life, when the dates of battles and boundaries of states hav l^een forgotten, bringing with it the same sweetly painful sensa- tions that stirred his young heart when he first read it." [Nation. 3819 SAME (Dreams by a French Fireside). [Chapman, 1885.] " The book grew out of love for German manners and German customs. ' Now and then, when the sno was flying out of doors, he took his pen and tried to scribble hasty lines. . . . dream figures iipon the paper; and the war mail carried the light de- lineations to his wife, to whom this little book is dedicated.' It is a re- 142 FICTION:— FAIRY STORIES. markable book, now bold and strik- ing in thot, now dreamy and weird, and always graceful." [Atbenseum. 3820 THE WONDER CLOCK [by How- ard Pyle: Harper, 1887] " is of the goblin and magical order, and one of the best emulations of the Ger- man popular fairy story. It is not easy to dig in the furros of these old workers in fiction — the simplic- ity and pithiness of the popular creation is hardly attainable by the educated literary mind; but the au- thor of the ' Wonder Clock ' has so deeply imbued himself with the character of the literature collected by the Grimms that to most children these stories wil hav as great in- terest as their prototypes." [Nation. 3825 SWANHILDE [adapt, by Carrie N. Horwitz: Lothrop, 1889] "is somewhat in the vein of the ' Ara- bian Nights.' They ar full of inter- est, and the English is particularly good."' [Nation. 3827 THE PENTAMERONE. [by Gi- ambattista Basile: Bogue, 1848.] " This is a delightful work, admir- ably translated. The stories hav the air of being told by some one overfloing with animal spirits. They hav an almost Rabelaisian over-in- formation with vivacity which seeks vent in a redundancy of quaint phrases. The materials of the dif- ferent tales ar, for the most part, our old friends the Ogres, Cinder- ella, and so forth. Some of them, however, ar curiously modified. In some of the stories we find the grim grotesqueness of northern heroes as- suming a classical polish. Giant Goldenbeard of Gammer Grethel (the Devil of the more plain-spoken Germans) is here transformed into Time with his classical attributes. ' The three enchanted princes ' throuout, and various passages in some of the other stories, ar more closely akin to the ' Arabian Nights ' than to the old fairy tales of the European version. Altogether the collection, even in English, retains a strong impress of the Mediterran- ean; not only in the peculiarity of the style, but in the heterogeneous mixture of Teutonic, Classic, and Oriental forms." [Examiner. 3830 SPANISH FAIRY TALES, [by " Fernan Caballero": ed. by J: H. Ingram: Lippincott, 1881.] "There is a great choice among these stories, which hav been eked out with two of De Trueba's. Some ar mere fa- bles. Obviously, not all ar peculiar to the peninsula: ' The Foolish Wolf and the Shrewd Fox ' reminds us of Uncle Remus (Brer Rabbit smearing Brer Possum's chops with butter); ' Benibaire ' recalls a Japa- nese tale in Prof. Griffis' collection; ' The Three Wishes ' and several others hav their counterparts in Grimm. But much which was old and even rubbishy could be for- given for the pretty morality of ' Fair-Flower.' Mr. Ingram's trans- lation is intelligent and cultivated." [Nation. 3840 THE ENCHANTED MOCCA- SINS, [ed. Cornelius Matthews: Putnam, 1877.] " It is ten years, as we ar reminded by the preface, since we first made the acquaintance of this and its companion stories under the title of the ' Indian Fairy- Book.' We do not find that our then favorable impression of the col- lection was il-grounded, but, on the contrary, ar glad to meet again the mity Grasshopper, the Man-with-his- leg-tied-up, the legend of the origin of maize, and the other humorous and poetic creations of the aborig- inal fancy which Mr. Matthews has gleaned from Schoolcraft and other sources. He has, it is true, ' re-in- terpreted and developed ' them", but 14.3 BOOKS FOR THE YOUXG. the development wil trouble nobody except the purists in folk-lore." [Nation. 3845 FANCIFUL TALES. THE WHITE LADY AND UN- DINE, [by La Motte Fouque (1777- 1843) and C. von Woltmann: Pick- ering, 1844.] " ' Undine ' has been long familiar to English readers, and a favorit with all who can relish a most pure and delightful fancy. This translation is more lightly and prettily executed than any with which we wer acquainted. . . . The ' White Lady ' is less known, but she deservs no less favor than ' Un- dine.' The story is as pretty a piece of the supernatural as could be wel conceived." [Examiner. 3850 THE STORY WITHOUT AN END. [by Ernst Carove: London, Wilson, 1834; Boston, Munroe, 1836; new ed., Scribner, 1868.] "All which is sweet, serious, and solemn In childhood and its dawning con- ceptions, finds a portraiture in this * Three Days' History ' of the wan- derings of a child among the com- mon productions of nature. He is described as making his first ac- quaintance with the most attractiv and striking objects; he discourses with flowers, insects, birds, reptils, will-o'-the-wisps, etc., and hears from their own mouths an account of their several histories, feelings, and vocations. The language is ex- quisitly poetical, full of infantine simplicity and faery-like extrava- gance." [Examiner.]—" It is a beau- tiful attempt of Genius to bring bac the poetical aspect of Nature, and to sho how adapted it is to unfold the soul of Childhood in all its faculties. It reveals, in strong con- trast, the unuaturalness of those circumstances whicli ar thrown round the opening years of most children. It bids us go bac and ask of our own early life what was the story told to it, and how that story has probably affected our sub- sequent experience. It opens the door of thot so gently, that even the effeminate and indolent ar tempted to go over the spiritual threshold." [Amer. Monthly Mag.] — " The story itself is a charming one, being one of those beautiful combinations of allegory and fancy which rarely come to us but from the German; defying analysis, but generally describable as a prose poem in honor of the beauties of spring and the operations of nature, whose continuation, in the translator's words, ' lies in a wide and magnificent book,' to read which, ' so as to discover all its beautiful meanings, you must hav pure, clear eyes, and a humble, lov- ing heart; otherwise you wil com- plain, as some do, that it is dim and puzzling; or as others, that it is dul and monotonous." [Round Table.]—" A querist has asked what writer was meant by Longfellow when he said, many years ago: ' Spoke lull wel iu languafre quaiut and olden One who dwels beside the castled Khine, When he called the flowers so blue and golden Stars that in earth's Armament do shine.' The poet meant Carove, a German, whose ' Story without an End ' was translated many years since by Mrs. Austin, and published in this coun- try with an introduction by Mr. Al- cott. In this pretty and profusely symbolical story a water-drop has just been relating her personal ex- periences, when ' the root of a for- get-me-not caut her by the hair and sucked her in. that she might be- come a floweret, and twinkle ' as brightly as a blue star. on the green firmament of earth.' " 3855 A TRAP TO CATCH A SUN- BEAM, [by Matilda A.. (Planche) 144 FICTION:— FANCIFUL TAI>BS. Mackarness: Boston, Munroe, 1849.] " We ar introduced to old David Coombe, a cobbler of twenty years' standing, but those years of labor hav sufficed only to provide the sup- plies of food and raiment needful from day to day, with no com- fortable residuum of ' money laid up.' David has become rather rusty in manners and apparel, and down- hearted to boot. He has a visit from a sisterhood of Sunbeams, and the effect of their good counsels is to induce him lo mingle more with his fello-creatures, to cultivate his genial impulses, and seek out oc- casions for their exercise. He ap- plies to his kind-hearted landlady to clean his room for him, and makes a similar application of soap and water to his person, with happy ef- fect both to his inner and outer man. To learn how much pleasanter his life is made by an attention to Tts duties, beyond the surgery of old shoes, tho that is not neglected, the pleasant domestic scenes and inci- dents in which he consequently plays his part, and the frequent visit of the Sunbeams, we must re- fer our readers." [Literary World. 3860 THE CLOUD WITH THE SIL- VER LINING, [by Matilda A.. (Planchg) Mackarness: Boston, Mun- roe, 1853.] "The author of the series of little stories with these quaint titles has taste, pathos, and sympathy with the poor. In this charming little book we hav first the darkness, then the light kindling along its edges; first the cloud, then the silver lining." [Na- tional Era. 3861 THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER, [by J: Ruskin (1819—): Smith, Elder, 1850.] "This little tale is by a master hand. The writer is profoundly learned in the book from which all the real and true lore of fairy land comes. In his feeling, painting, description, and in all his most extravagant in- vention, he has nature at his side. The story has a moral as charming as the best piece of enchantment of the good Perrault, and the writing is so good that it would be hard to say which it wil most please, the wise man or the simple child." [Ex- aminer. 3865 THE RAT CATCHER, [by Gustav Nieritz: Scribner, 1854.] "The former works over the old legend of ' The Pied Piper of Hamelin,' and comes nearer to the spirit of the original than any other version. Browning's is spirited, but it is in some respects inferior to this." [Al- bion. 3870 THE PRINCESS ILSE [by Marie Petersen: London, Bell, 1856] " is a charming and graceful little legend of the rise and course of a German river. The moral is excellent, and enhances instead of deadening the interest of the story. We do not think that either children or grown- up people can fail to be pleased with ' Princess Use.' " [Athenaeum. SAME (the authorship wrongly ascribed to L. von Ploen- neis). [Boston, Gould & Lincoln, 1867.] "We believe that there ar not fewer than four translations of Luise von Ploenneis' ' Princess Use ' now in our market. In Germany the story has long been very popular, and why it has been so much of a favorit it is easy to see. It is not so easy to see why it should be deemed a child's book. It moralizes the old legend of the Princess Use, or rather moralizes that most de- lightful portion of the ' Pictures of Travel ' in which Heine deals with the famous Harz legend. Frau von Ploenneis makes out of it an alle- gory, graceful and rather successful as allegories go, to the effect that pride is of the devil— the father of i4r BOOKS FOR THE YOUXG. all lies— and that only in usefulness is there any real happiness. Stil, her version of the story is poetical in its way, pretty enuf in its details, fanciful with some original and some borroed fancifulness, and very pleas- ing for its purity and kindness, and the freshness of its nature painting. We hav our doubts if American boys and girls— whatever may be the case with German children— wil not find it too fanciful. The Princess Use partakes too much, as far as her actions ar concerned, of the nature of the river Use, and the river par- takes too much of the character of a human being, for either to be any- thing but a rather baffling creature to the understanding of childhood. A child wil gro to it, however, or 6t to gro to it; and whoever makes a gift of the ' Princess Use ' to any young friend may properly feel that he has given him a pleasure which wil last, which wil increase for a long time, and never wil wholy fail." [Nation. 3872 FAIRY FANCIES, [by M.. Peter- sen: Hurst, 1870.] " It is venture- some, but we venture it, to express the opinion that The Wandering Lights of the ' Fancies ' [" Irrlich- ter"] is a more beautiful production, truer to the inspiration of nature, and more likely to be genuinly at- tractiv to the imagination of child- hood, than the famous ' Story without an End,' which has long held undisputed precedence in the realm of fancy and suggestion in literature. In that book, whose beauty we fully confess and ar- dently admire, a child's mind is made to do too much, to de- duce too much, to work harder than it could naturally work, and yet to combine with that the dreamy attitude of prolonged con- templation. It is impossiljle but that the young reader must weary of it, if it wer only of the surfeit of sweets and riches. Hily poetical, it is monotonous; it holds the mind in an unchanged attitude, and strains the intellectual vision over the minute touches of the exqui- sitly finished picture. ' The Wan- dering Lights ' is as beautiful, as fanciful, as rich in suggestion, but more lively, more vivid; and its les- sons, addressed to the heart and to the fancy, ar drawn from sources more familiar and easy of recourse to a child's mind and experience. . . Thenceforward the story is a strik- ingly beautiful combination of poet- ical, natural imagery, and pure, wholesom, household life; the true poetry of human existence in joy, sorro, labor, success, failure, sin, and I'epentance, and wrapped around it a transparent veil of fancy, span- gled with quaint, touching realisms of the things we call ' soulless '— the animal and the vegetable crea- tion, the atmospheric influences, and the spirits of the air, taking form and voice in their sympathy with human beings of but ' span- long lives.' Miss Eden has per- fectly rendered the depth and mean- ing of the original, and has enriched it with a gracefulness and ease for which her translation of 'Princess Use ' is remarkable. A version of the seemingly inexhaustible legend of the Yergissmeinnicht with which we ar not familiar, completes the contents of this pleasant volume, but it is by no means worthy of its close companionship with ' The Wander- ing Lights ' and '" Princess Use.' " [Examiner. 3873 THE WILL O' THE WISPS [" Irrlichter," by Marie Petersen: Chapman, 1883] " is translated, a book which is now in its Slth edi- tion. We can hardly prophesy such success for the English version, tho it is very wel done; but the idea and treatment ar too entirely Ger- 146 FICTION:— FANCIFUL TALES. man and unsuited for English read- ers, to whom not only the scenery and manners, but even the senti- ments, ar strange and not altogether pleasing." [Saturday Review. 3874 THE WINGS OF COURAGE, by " G: Sand." See " List of French Novels," No. 2306. C3S79 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN [by Paul de Musset (1804-80): transl. by !Emily Makepeace: Low, 18G31 " is an honest fairy tale of the right school, shoing how a poor miller and his wife, in their ruinous old cottage which let in the wind and the rain, made friends accordingly with Mr. Wind and Mrs. Rain; how the miller livd under a griping feudal baron; what wonderful gifts he got in his need from his friends Wind and Rain, and what came of his getting them; and how the mil- ler's acute boy prospered by making Wind and Rain his prisoners and servants. Mrs. Rain's gift was a magic puppet-sho which acted 12 plays; and when the sho was given away and the miller's son made pup- pets for himself, and tried to re- member one of the plays, that of ' The Chevalier Jessamine and the Princess Eglantine,' that play in three acts for the puppet-sho, as young Peter remembered it, is in- terpolated in the story, and is, per- haps, the quaintest and most com- ical thing in the book." [Examiner.] ^" It is an ingenious and most amusing fairy tale; shoing how John Peter, a miller, received magical gifts from Mr. Wind and Madam Rain, and foolishly abused them til his son, Peter, wiser than his sire, found out a proper use for them, and ended by obtaining letters of nobility from the Conqueror, and marrying a baron's dauter. The story is full of fun— the puppet-play especially— and the illustrations of Mr. Wind and Madam Rain ar ad- mirably grotesque." [London Re- view. 3880 PRINCE DARLING'S STORY BOOK [Routledge, 1880] "has at least the merit of furnishing an in- structiv contrast to English pabulum for the young. It consists of four translations from the French, the first and much the longest being E: Ourliac's ' History of Prince Coque- luche,' a satire which can only be appreciated by grown people, and wil, we fear, seem a little tedious to children. Dumas' ' Honey-Stew of the Countess Bertha ' is a story of ghosts and kobolds, not too blood- curdling to be read after dark, and partakes of the quality of the gen- eral fairy tale of all countries. Pref- erence, however, wil be given, we believe, to Paul de Musset's ' Gaffer Wind and Dame Rain,' which has more poetry and originality than all the rest, and includes a little drama for a puppet-theatre. But it is, while perfectly pure, curiously un- moral, and one hesitates to declare whether the lesson of it is the evil of gossip, or the duty of imprisoning one's benefactors. As Wind and Rain ar incorporeal and irrespon- sible existences, whose malevolence and love of mischief ar as promi- nent as their beneficence, perhaps their treatment wil appear less un- natural than if they had been hu- man beings." [Nation. 3881 THE WATER BABIES: a Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, [by C: Kingsley: London, 1863.] " Some of the wise men who do not see with the minds and hearts of children, and who believe that only Peter Parley kuoes what wil exactly fit into a child's mind, hav said it is too full of man's satire, too bewildering, too deep for a child's understanding. But of one child lying on a sic bed, hovering between life and death, to whom this tale was read, tlie simple 147 BOOKS FOR THE YOfNG. criticism was that ' It is like fresli air.' " [Examiner. 3885 DREAM CHILDREN [by H. E. Scudder (1838—): Cambridge, Mass., Sever, 1864] " is a tale, the charm of which wil not pass away with a single reading. This little work is one which the children wil not fail to delight in, and which their elders may wel glance over, both for amusement and profit. "We hav few simple stories so touching, in all the wide range of this department of our literature, as the closing tale, ' The Prince's Visit,' while of all of them it may be said that they wil cultivate the imagination and in- struct the heart." IChurch Monthly. 3890 THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN. [by G: MacDonald (1824—): Strahan, 1871.] "It is a graceful story, full of romance and adventure, with a deep meaning un- derlying the beauty of the surface, which givs it the life and mystery which form the subtle charm which Mr. MacDonald weaves into all his works, but especially into those he writes for the young. Faith in that which is invisible, and the courage of that which we believe, ar what he tries to teach. He speaks with a tender, earnest eloquence which draws a response from the heart of the reader, like perfume from the flowers, or music from the harp un- der the touch of a master minstrel. "We hope Mr. MacDonald wil keep his promis and tel us the further history of the beautiful Princess and Curdie the miner; but more than all, we desire to be told more about the mysterious and lovely lady who livd in the turret, and whose surround- ings wer as beautiful and wonder- ful as the clouds at sunset." [Ath- enajum. 3895 ADVENTURES OF A BRO"WNIE. [by Dinah Maria (Mulock) Craik: London, 1872.] " ' A brownie,' (we may quote for the benefit of grown readers who hav forgotten the leg- ends of their childhood, or wer not deeply instructed in them) ' is a curi- ous creature— a fairy, and yet not one of that sort of fairies who fly about on gossamer wings and dance in the moonlight, and so on. He never dances, and as to wings, what use would they be to him in a coal-cellar? He is a sober, stay-at- home household elf— nothing much to look at, even if you did see him, which you ar not likely to do— only a little old man, about a foot hi, dressed all in brown, with a brown face and hands, and a brown peaked cap, just the color of a brown mouse. And like a mouse, he hides in cor- ners, especially kitchen corners, and comes out only after dark, when nobody is about, and so sometimes people call Ifim Mr. Nobody.' How her particular brownie played harm- less pranks upon the cook and in the farmyard, and on all sorts of people and in all sorts of situations, doing good folks' work for them while they slept, and plaguing the nauty ones, Mrs. Craik tels very prettily indeed. Old folks may en- joy her book as much as young ones." [Examiner. 3899 THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE and his Travelling Cloak [by Mrs. Craik: Daldy, 1874] " is a charming story, simply and beautifully told by one who has made a study of children, and who is full of tender- ness toards them." [Examiner. 3900 NINE LITTLE GOSLINGS [by "Susan Coolidge": Roberts. 1876] " is a delightful book of stories and pictures. The first chapter tels how Johnny, who is not a boy, had a very narro escape from something which was not an accident; the next and next, up to the ninth and last, giv each an interesting history of events 148 FICTION:— IMPOSSIBLE STORIES. which seem as if they must hav happened somewhere; while one and all ar most originally and pleasantly told in the service of Mother Goose's melodies. We cordially advise all. of our young friends of from 8 to 80 to read this book." [St. Nicholas. 3905 QUEER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, [by E: Eggleston: Scribner, 1884.] " To readers of fairy-tales they wil seem for the most part less ' queer ' than lively, chatty, bright. An excellent ' mor- ale ' combines with genial humor and vivacious fancy to make them instructiv as wel as charming. Lit- tle girls wil pronounce them ' per- fectly lovely.' Boys wil like some very much, but find others too near the nursery level. Many of the sto- ries ar very short, but all ar pithy. In general, they ar best adapted to readers of 8 to 12." [Nation. 3910 SUMMER LEGENDS, [by Ru- dolph Baumbach: Crowell, 1888.] " In ' Summer Legends ' we hav a collection of charming fairy stories. These tales hav had a wide circula- tion in Germany, which is not sur- prising, since they ar full of the aroma of those forests whore Easter hares run about, and where gnomes and fairies dwel, visible on Midsum- mer's Day, and ready to besto their favors on mortals in perplexity. But it is not only the fairy-story lover at the bac of every brain that wil be gratified by the ' Summer Leg- ends '; he who loves a nineteenth- century barb for his magic arro, wil find that, too, in the pungent satire which Baumbach, as an ob- server of to-day, can not escape, and as a poet of nature can not help wrapping in field-flowers, wood- mosses, and mist-wreaths. . . . The book, then, wil charm many moods of young and old, to whom the verses which serv as a prolog wil prove a fitting key to a ' box where sweets compacted lie.' It is im- possible not to be reminded once more, in reading these graceful and clever stories, as one has often been reminded before in German litera- ture and German art, that the line between the poetic and the grot- esque is more faintly marked than with other nations. But these ar crumplings in the rose-leaves which can not spoil their fragrance, nor make us less debtors to the hand which has gathered them." [Nation. 3915 IMPOSSIBLE STORIES. ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, [by Rudolph E. Raspe, 1785: Cassell, 1869.] " They ar probably few who, having arrived at what ar said ^o be years of dis- cretion, or at any rate the period when we ' put away childish things,' when the wondrous achievements of Jack the Giant-Killer and his confrere of the Beanstalk ar fading from recollection, hav not derived an almost equal amuse- ment from a persual of the marvel- ous adventures of that cosmopolitan hero, Baron Munchausen. And ex- cept a few who ar given to the quantitiv analysis of literature, not many wil care to ascertain with ac- curacy who was the real author of these ingenious stories." [Exam- iner. 3925 DOCTOR OX, ETC. [by Jules Verne (1828—): Osgood, 1874.] " The scene is a small Flemish town, the inhabitants of which possessed an extraordinary amount of phlegm. The worthy citizens never did any- thing of importance without taking ten years to deliberate. Their ex- traordinary sloness and stolidity extended to the way in which their amusements wer carried on. To this place came a certain Dr. Ox, who offered, at his own expense, to liglit the town with a new oxyhydric gas 149 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. which he had discovered. Permis- sion was, after miich deliberation, granted, and the doctor began lay- ing pipes. But the lighting project was only a cloak to other aims. The doctor had a theory that by im- pregnating tlie air with oxygen he could rouse these Flemings from their torpor and make them as ex- citable as Parisians. His calcula- tions wer verified, and an immense amount of fun is to be foimd in the descriptions of how the mode of life of the citizens became gradually changed. Occasionally, when the doctor's gas was shut off, they re- turned to their original state, when the contrast between their late ex- citement and their then phlegmatic state is very cleverly described." [Arcadian. 3930 ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, [by "Lewis Car- roll" (1832—): Macmillan, 1866.] " This book 6t to hav two columns to itself, as the most wonderful, delicious, and impossible piece of nonsense ever written. It is the story of a little girl who sees a rab- bit take a watch out of his waist- coat pocket, and folloes him down his hole into Wonderland. And as soon as Alice gets there she begins to eat things and drink things, and to become alternately a giantess and a pigmy. One time she opens like a telescope and is taken for a ser- pent, another time she is as small as a mouse and is nearly drowned in a pool of tears of her own weep- ing. Then she gets into the house of the rabbit and groes so suddenly as to almost fil it. The rabbit him- self and his Irish gardener ar knocked over into a cucumber frame; a lizard, which is sent down the chimney, is sent up into the air like a sky rocket by a kic from Alice's foot which is in the fireplace, and then Alice dwindles away again until she can hide behind a thistle. After that she makes the acquaint- ance of a baby which turns into a pig, and a Cheshire cat which melts into thin air, leaving his grin be- hind him; of a March-hare and a hatter; of the Queen of Hearts, who plays croquet with hedge-hogs for balls and live flamingoes for mal- lets; of a moc turtle with the head and feet of a calf, which dances a lobster quadrille; and of a trial by jury under a despotic govern- ment. All these things ar illus- trated by Mr. Tenniel as if he had gone down the rabbit hole with Alice. They ar interspersed with the most heretical parodies of nurs- ery rimes, such as,— ' Tou ar old, Father 'WiUiam,' the young man said, ' And your hair has become \ ery white ; And yet you incessantly stand on your head, — Do you think, at your age, it is right? ' ' In my youth,' Father William replied to his son, ' I feared it might injure the brain ; But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none. Why, I do it again and again.' If our readers ar not afraid of an overdose of lafter injuring the brain, we strongly recommend to them 'Al- ice's Adventures.' The more we look at the book the more firmly we ar convinced that it has a much longer lease of life before it than any of its competitors, and that the humor, both refined and broad, of text and pictures, wil survive in the memory of the rising generation til it has become the declining generation." [London Review.]—" There is no plot to speak of, the jest lying in the incessant opposition of unexpected ideas, throu a long train of delight- fully whimsical fancies which ad- mit only the faintest suggestion of reality. It is a child's dream of wonders, and drifts like a dream throu nearly 200 pages of some of the best nonsense ever written for children. Almost every line wil tickle a child's imagination, and al- 150 FICTION:— IMrOSSIBLE STORIES. most every page contains something whicli may stir a clever and liglit- hearted man to Ififter. The w^ant of construction is a little felt toards the end, if one reads the book, as we could not help doing, strait throu at a sitting. But it is all so clever, and so deliciously purposless, so happy an example of the effect pro- duced by incessant surprise of whimsical and unexpected incidents or turns of dialog, that the only thing not wonderful is the an- nouncement on the title page that it is now in its ' fifth thousand.' " [Examiner. 3935 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN, [by C: E. Carryl: Ticknor, 18S5.] "For a frank imitation of ' Alice in Won- derland ' this book is undeniably clever. . . The humor and the in- genuity ar unflagging, and one only feels that the metamorphoses ar rather too rapid." [Nation. 3937 LULU'S LIBRARY, [by L. M. Alcott: London: Low, 1886.] " Miss Alcott has made her specialty of those years in a girl's life which come between the time of the doll and the time of the lover. She has written of all the phases of youth — of bridals and of schools and of ' little men ' and of young mothers. But her own subject is the girl proper. Here, however, she writes of little children for little children, and does it charmingly. Best, per- haps, of the stories is that which tels of Lily's journey into Candy Country, Cake Land, and Bread Land. Excursionists of this kind hav foUoed now for some twenty years the footsteps of Alice into Wonderland; but Miss Alcott shos a fresh inventiveness, and takes her little readers so realistically throu the sticky and indigestible countries of sweets and cakes that they wil enjoy the plain loaf at the end in perfect sympathy with the heroin. Names of good things ar generally international euuf for English read- ers, tho some of the candies and ' cookies ' may need translation, and there is more maize meal in the wholesom country diet than our lit- tle ones ar accustomed to." [Sat. Review. 3940 CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY. [by W. D. Howells: Harper, New York, 1892.] " There is rare fun and freshness in Mr. Howells' illustrated volume. It is redolent, indeed, of all these, especially of November sweets, when turkey and cranberry- sauce crown the board and pumpkin pies smile saucily from its end. Mr. Howells shows in these tales an un- expected tenderness lurking in a corner of his capacious heart — a ten- derness for children under a veil of humor that is particularly attractiv, and also a grotesque yet merry fancy which cannot fail to delight them. AVhat a delightful world is the child- world and how few there be that enter it! We prayerfully hope Mr. Howells wil return to his ' second childhood ' and talk ' baby ' and Christmas and fairy-tale for many an ensuing season. His touch is so light, so playful, so understanding, that it is a shame not to tickle child- hood with it as this book does: the art of being ' grand-pere ' is as rare as the true moonstone. We won't spoil the feast by describing the bill-of-fare; but happy infant or infanta who gets ' Christmas Every Day ' like this." [Critic. 3950 AMERICAN STORIES. EIGHT COUSINS, by L. M. Al- LITTLE MEN, by L. M. Alcott. cott. See " Novels of Amer. City See " Novels of Amer. Country Life," No. 239. C4017 Life," No. 73h. C4019 151 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. LITTLE WOMEN, [by Louisa M. Alcott: Roberts, 1869; new ed., large type. 1892.] " These dear ' Little Women.' Meg. Jo. Beth, and Amy, ar already bosom friends to hun- dreds of other little women, who find in their experiences the very mirror of their own lives. In Part First we find them four natural, sweet girls, with well-defined char- acters, which, in Part Second, ar developed to womanhood throu such truthful and lifelike scenes as prove Miss Alcott to be a faithful student of nature. It isn't ' a, la mode ' now to be moved over stories, but we pity the reader who can repress a few tears as wel as many hearty lafs over the lives of these little women." [Galaxy. 4020 AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL, by L. M. Alcott. See " Novels of Amer. City Life," No. 327. C4022 UNDER THE LILACS, [by Louisa M. Alcott: Roberts,— Low, 1878.] " Altho the author's name is not by any means unknown, and her pre- vious books justified us in expecting something better than the common run of children's stories, we wer hardly prepared for so fresh and delightful a tale as this. The scene is, of course. North America; but altho English children may be puz- zled by a few Yankee expressions, and by allusions to fruit, flowers and insects they hav never heard of, there is nothing in the book at all repulsiv to our ideas, and the events related could just as wel hav happened in a quiet town in Eng- land to a woman of moderate means, who, with her two little dauters, has charge of a large empty house, comes a poor little starving boy who has escaped from a circus, where he was il-treated. The little acro- bat is fed, clothed, and made much of; the tries he and his dog perform win for him the applause of the children, and his bright and quie M'ays make him a valuable acquisi- tion to the young lady, who, with her invalid brother, come to occupy the house. He is occasionally tempted to return to a roaming life; but the report of the death of his father sobers him, and his aim is thenceforth to be ' respectable.' The loss of his poodle, Sancho, when the hero is tempted to visit a traveling circus, forms one of the principal episodes in the book, and, when he is at last found again, but dyed blac, and shorn of his beautiful tail, which he was in the habit of holding in his paw (we had almost Avritten hand) whilst waltzing, the joy of all the little and big people in the book is fully shared by the reader. After this episode Ben's progress in the paths of respecta- bility, which, in Miss Alcott's hands, never means dulness, is as rapid as it is constant; and when his father returns safe and sound to settle down as an ostler in the town, his happiness is complete. This de- lightful book ends, as all books should, with a double marriage ' un- der the lilacs.' " [Examiner. 4025 THE STORY OF A BAD BOY, by T: B. Aldrich. See "Novels of Amer. Country Life," No. 145. C4030 TRY AND TRUST [by Horatio Alger: Boston, Loring. 1873] " is a book for boys by a capital writer. It is the story of an orphan boy who had been wel trained, and fairly educated, but who on the death of his mother was left without means. His uncle in a distant city, influ- encd by the pride of his family, failed to assist him. He was then obliged to take a situation as bound- boy by the selectmen. His upright conduct and fearlessness carry him safely thro many perils. The mas- ter to whom he is bound is very 152 FICTION:— AMERICAN LIFE. cruel, but his unreasonable treat- ment serves to slio the heroism of the boy, who bravely carries out the last advice of his loved mother, to ' try and trust.' After leaving his inhuman master he meets with many adventures, and finally—. But you must read the book for your- selvs, young friends. Its fresh in- cidents wil delight you and you'll take in good lessons without knoing it." [St. Nicholas. 4035 THE RED MOUNTAIN OF ALASKA, [by Willis Boyd Allen: Estes, 1889.] " For those boys who like their adventures without any spice of probability, without any real thread of interest in the plot, without a good English literary style, without any genuin local color belonging to the region de- picted, or any common sense among the dramatis personae, and stuffed with inverted chronology and an- achronisms like a pudding with suet and plums, this is just the sort of book which they wil like." [Nation. 4045 REAL BOYS ASD GIRLS [by M.. C. Bartlett: Boston, Lockwood, 1882] " is a little book in which a family of vigorous children is portrayed in some of the adventures of young life. There is a great deal of live- liness in the book, and honest fun, and childish nonsense; there is something too of pure home feeling. Like many of its class, it is really more entertaining to those who hav children tlian to those who hav par- ents." [Atlantic. 4055 GRANDPA'S HOUSE [by H.. Campbell, formerly H.. Campbell (Stuart) Weeks: Hurd, 1SG8] "is full of life yet never boisterous; ten- der in sentiment but never feeble; natural without being hard, and pleasantly salted with humor and merriment. We can not recall any writer for the young amongst us who has such a store of incident, and so clear insight into the char- acteristic human nature of children. She writes as one who has been among them without their knoing it; who has not observd for the pur- pos of writing, but has written be- cause she observd; she sends forth one charming scene after another, without any evident attempt at dressing them for sho, and lets her incidents go as if she had no need to economize, but could draw from an unfailing source. This book is of New England country life, and there is a freshness of tone and a quiet force about it which come strait from the hils." [Riverside. 4065 SIX SINNERS [by "Campbell Wheaton," i. e., H.. Campbell: Put- nam, 1877] " is a natural, amusing, breezy little story, healthful in sen- timent, and having in itself its own excuse for being. Dora Maynard, its heroin, a buoyant little soul with the concomitant of a fine physique, seems to gravitate natur- ally toward mischief, becoming in- volved in endless ditficulties, such as torn frocs and pinafores, no less than troublesom bruises and hair- breadth 'scapes. The first chapter givs two very amusing episodes which wil make the ' grown-ups ' laf as heartily as the ten-year olds for whom the book is written, tho they bring considerable disgrace upon the little madcap concerned in them, and lead very naturally to the ' denouement ' of school. But this sonsie little wildtlower is not to be immured in a hothouse. She is sent to a school, which, tho by no means ideal, is under the rule of a practical, clear-sighted New Eng- land woman; here Dora learns hab- its of perseverance and patience, and here she meets with a trial which calls, up all her fortitude and 153 BOOKS FOR THE YOrNG. endurance, bringing out traits in tlie little girl's character that might otherwise liav lain dormant until womanhood." [Library Table. 4067 A ROUND DOZEN, [by "Susan Coolidge," i. e., S.. Chauncey Wool- sey: Roberts, 1883.] "To say they ar hers is to declare them fresh, bright, kindly, refined, and abound- ing in common sense as wel as pleasant fancy. There is ample variety of suT\iect in the volume be- fore us, and both boys and girls wil be wel pleased." [Nation. 4075 NOT QUITE EIGHTEEN, [by "Susan Coolidge": Roberts, 1894.] " In this odly named book it is the every-day duties and homely virtues of whicii the young reader is re- minded; and so pleasantly and nat- urally withal, that the most wary avoider of morals wil not be inclined to revolt." [Nation. 4077 RAYMOND KERSHAW, [by Ma- ria Mcintosh Cox: Roberts, 1888.] " Good lessons of family affection, and of self-denial, of courage and of enterprise, ar taut. It is the nar- rativ of a struggle with limited means by a family suddenly bereft of their supporter. It is very wel told and in a sweet spirit, the charm of which wil, perhaps, be as much hltened to some readers as marred to others by the Anglican coloring." [Nation. 4085 WILLIAM HENRY AND HIS FRIENDS, [by Abby (Morton) Diaz: Osgood, 1871.] "The author de- scribes with faithful accuracy a specimen family of a very large and worthy class of New England coun- try people— the class which is often referred to as ' the bone and sinew of our country.' The Carver family represents a substantial, honest, hi- principled country-folk, and the ac- count of them and their doings at Summer-sweeting Place must un- doubtedly giv a keen pleasure to the large number of readers who can understand and sympathize with every word of the book. All the homely virtues ar either cheerfully taut, or pleasantly implied, and one receives the impression of health and good-heartedness which the au- thor undoubtedly wished to make." [Nation. 4095 DONALD AND DOROTHY, [by M.. (Mapes) Dodge: Roberts. 1883.] " Never wer there a more charming brother and sister, and it is need- less to say to any one acquainted with the author's pen that she has made the narrativ of their home- life and country pleasures brimful of vivacity and cheerfulness." [Na- tion. 4105 THE HOOSIER SCHOOLBOY, [by E: Eggleston: Scribner, 1883.] " It would be hard to find a more vigorous or wel-told story of school- boy life. The whole book is instinct with manliness and right feeling. Jack, the hero, is a brave, intelligent, and resolute lad whose vmfolding character reveals all the germs of a noble manhood. With no love of fifing, he fights pluckily when oc- casion calls, yet never fails to esti- mate rightly the finer quality of moral courage. Perhaps he shos too mature decision for his years, but that one error may be forgiven to the idealism of the author. The in- cidents of the story ar admirably varied, and all full of interest. In short, the book is an eminently de- lightful one." [Nation. 4120 THINE, NOT MINE, a Sequel to Changing Base, [by W: Everett: Roberts, 1891.] " A capital book for boys and girls; capital because its manly lesson of unselfishness is pre- sented frankly, but not priggishly, and because the type of family life set forth is sterling New England. The author constantly interjects also telling little shots at the weaknesses 154 FICTION:— AMERICAN LIFE. of boys and ffirls. which wil he felt by them and appreciated by their elders." [Atlantic. 4130 TOM HARDING AND HIS FRIENDS, [by Nellie (Blessing) Byster: Phil'a, Ashmead, 18G9.] " This is by the author of ' Chinca- pin Charlie,' a merry, mipretending little book for young people which we remember to hav read and liked. ' Tom Harding ' has the same good quaUties. There is no pretense or nonsense in it; there is a very good understanding of the nature and habits of boys; and if there is, per- haps, a little more ' vital religion ' than it is very wel to giv boys in the books which after all do their best when they abstain from point- blank inculcation of truths, stil, hers is neither a Pharisaical nor a mawk- ish religiosity, but is unaffected and honest, and wil at least not repel the young men to whom it is of- fered. And Miss Eyster, with her frankness, and heartiness, and lik- ing for boyish fun and activity, digs about the roots of all those good plants in the human nature for her readers, and wil do them ten times or a thousand times the benefit which she could do by preaching. She makes boys acquainted with real boys, who ar not perfect in- deed, but who ar actually existent, and in many ways admirable." [Nation. 4140 MARJORIE AND HER PAPA. [by Ro. Howe Fletcher: Century Co., 1892.] " A piece of pleasantrywhich has the uncommon uegativ excel- lence of not attempting too much. It is a genuin bit of playfulness between a father and his child, full of sweet naturalness and the kind of condescension which is delightful because it is the grave adaptation of six feet to tTiree feet. The book ot to be a nursery favorit, since the reader wil get his or her pleasure while the listener gets a like pleas- ure." [Atlantic. 4150 NELLIE'S SILVER MINE [by " H. H.," i. e.. H.. (F.) (H.) Jackson: Roberts, 1878] " rehearses the his- tory of twins of twelve, a boy and a girl, the children of a clergyman whose il-health makes a milder cli- mate necessary; the bleak winds of the New England coast ar ex- changed for the mildness of the south of Colorado, and the exper- iences of Nelly and her brother ar very pleasantly and smoothly told. Little Nelly, whose lovableness is sure to win its way wherever she may go, makes many queer fi'iends in this new country and in the dark days which come to her parents proves herself to be a very brave little woman. There is a healthy stir in all the chapters, and an at- mosphere of familiarity with the scenes described." [Library Table. 4160 THE FETERKIN PAPERS, [by Lucretia Perkins Hale: Osgood, 1880.] " What it is that makes these papers so very funny, it would not be easy to say, but funny they indubitably ar. We suspect a great part of the secret lies in the solemn and utterly matter-of-fact attitude of the author toard her characters. She is never caut exchanging looks of sympathy with the audience, but is gravely considerate and sympa- thetic toard the absurdities of the remarkably moral, wel-meaning, ri- diculous Peterkins." [Boston " Lit. World." 4170 EEC'S BEDTIME, [by S.. Cath. (Fraley) Hallowell: Porter, 1874.] " The tone of the writer makes it- self felt, as does the atmosphere of some Quaker houses, where a stranger is affected by the purity and peacefulness, the innocence and cheerfulness, without any one of those virtues being mentioned by 155 BOOK'S FOR THE YOUNG. the inmates— an atmosphere which is the result of the habits of genera- tions, and not to be at once ac- quired by admirers of it. Another merit of the book, and one which may have a natural relation to that just commented on, is the thoi'o rhiladelphia flavor it preserves throughout. Now. Boston is just as good as Philadelphia, and New Eng- land is full of excellent and worthy states not inferior to Pennsylvania; but New England and Boston hav given us a great many stories. That ' section ' has been endlessly and profusely and minutely admired by its sons and daughters. We hav had ' parin' bees,' ' huskin's,' and evening singing-schools, and pork and beans, and squashes and do- ntits, and Mayflower relics and Puritan manners and Yankee dia- lect servd so often— and it 6t to be said so wel— that most of us hav come to accept them as the chief national characteristics, and the more docile of those born out of New England probably fancy by this time that such things really wer familiar to them in some stage of their existence, or, if tliey wer not, they Ot to hav been." [Nation. 4180 NAN, the New-Fashioned Girl, [by S.. C. (F.) Hallowell: Lothrop, 1877.] " From the title one might infer a satire on the ' girl of the period,' and this misconception is confirmed on first acquaintance with the heroin. The careless, castle- building, slightly selfish miss of 16, depicted in the first chapter, seems doomed to mortification if not to misery, while her sister Hetty ex- hibits what we ar prepared to re- gard as old-fashioned devotion, thatfulncss, and energy. By-and-by, however. Nan, who aspires to be an artist, and has by hard sewing earned the privilege of instruction, suddenly chops her easel into kind- ling-wood, breaks off her lessons. and learns telegraphing from the artist's son in order more speedily to contribute to her suppoil and that of the family, which has been reduced by the father's loss of health and eyesight. The end of the story is reached when she takes the place of an operator of her sex, who makes a timely vacancy by getting married. This, as it hap- pens, is the only marriage in the book. There ar several lines lead- ing to betrothals and weddings, but the rehabilitation of Nan in the reader's esteem seems more impor- tant; and if part of this young lady's reward for sacrificing the long run to the present is to be getting a hus- band, it wil require another volume to sho us how it is done. The pres- ent history is more cheerful than may appear from our sketch of it, thanks to episodes in which fairs and candy-scrapes ar made use of to introduce a little local color — local to Philadelphia under a thin disguise." [Nation. 4181 TWO COMPTON BOYS, by A: Hoppin. See " Novels of Amer. Country Life," No. 162. C41S5 DONALD'S SCHOOL-DAYS [by Oliver Otis Howard: Lee, 1878] "be- ing principally a story of school-life and home influences, with a quaint, old-fashioned flavor, which lends it a peculiar charm. No mother who reads it aloud (and what mother does not find herself, with book in hand, the centre of an eager little audience on Christmas-day), wil es- cape the impression that some of the author's boyish reminiscences [he was born in Leeds, Maine] hav crept in among the pages. The book has none of the feverishness of the now popular child's literature, but, instead, it possesses a quiet, restful and yet withal inspiring influence, 156 FICTION:— AMERICAN LIFE. which deservs— so seUloiii do we find it— a hearty word of commeuda- tiou." [Library Table. 4190 THE CHILDREN OF OLD PARK'S TAVERN, by F.. A. Huinplirey. See " Novels of Amer. City Life," No. 211. C4192 SCOTCH CAPS [by " .Tak," i. e.. Annie Bowles Williams: Crowell tfe Co., 1888] " is a wholesom. manly story. The savageness which boys display toard each other at school, in rnf and heartless tries, is here developed into thrilling incident. It has, however, the tnffening effect which these conflicts ar supposed to produce in the formation of char- acter, and in the end the ' Scotch Caps,' a society formed by two lads who ar at first beset and boycotted by the whole school, come off tri- umphant." [Critic. 4195 ROLF AND HIS FRIENDS, [by " Jak," i. e.. Annie Bowles Williams: Crowell, 1SS9.] ".The hero is not a perfect boy, not a scholar, but a warm-hearted, unselfish little fello, to whom we become much more strongly attached than if he had been a prodigy of good sense and huirning. The astronomical chap- ters contain much information about the sun and moon, tho most boys would much prefer to learn about them as Rolf did than in the prosaic way of reading. The story is one of quiet but sustained interest, culmi- nating in a very wel described inci- dent." [Nation. 4200 PLAY DAYS, a Book of Stories for Children [by S.. O. Jewett: Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1878] " contains brief and pleasantly-told stories without invention and with staring morals. Dols, kittens, play- houses, the histories of buttons, Cru- soeing on a small scale, and like maimers ar the subjects." [Nation. 4210 BETTY LP:ICESTER [by S.. Orne Jewett: Houghton, 1890] " is a little book that may promis itself a very grGat success. We would say that it is the best story of its kind, if there wer a cla^ of story shoing anything like the same freshness and charm of touch." [Atlantic. 4215 PHAETON ROGERS [by Rossiter ■Johnson: Scribner, 1881] " is a capi- tal story in some ways, and the de- scription of the amateur printing office, the doings with the balloon, and Phaeton's various inventions, wil be voted vastly entertaining. The chapter ' How a Church Flew a Kite,' is likely to tide the aver- age boy to that extent that he wil remember it as long as he livs." [American. 4225 THE END OF A RAINBOW [by Rossiter Johnson: Scribner, 1892] " is an ingenious, but at times over- fanciful, story of the doings of some boys and girls in an inland town about 1850. Among other things, they search a mil-race for lost treasures, write prize stories for a newspaper, make an explor- ing expedition in a canal boat, and ' unhaunt ' a haunted house. The story is supposed to be told by one of the number, and is for the most part humorous after a boyish fash- ion." [Nation. 4230 ROLF HOUSE [by Lucy C. (Lillie) Harte: Harper, 1886] " is the sequel of ' Nan,' and shos how some boys and girls, suddenly left orphans and nearly destitute, struggled to sup- port themselvs by keeping an ' em- porium ' for the sale of fancy work. The story is wel told, and the char- acters of the unselfish heroin and her brave cousins ar made very at- tractiv." [Nation. 4240 ANTONY BRADE. [by Robert [T. S.] Lowell: Roberts, 1875.] "The story is one of school-days; and the 157 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. hearty out-door life, the hockey- playing, the trapping and the school-boy quarrels, ar just enuf seasoned with study and book- learning to make the picture of young life all the more real. There is a harmless little mystery in the story, and a good deal of fun, and if anybody, man or boy, can read the account of the disaster on the ice-pond without some springing of moisture in the eyes, we should not like to make his acquaintance." [St. Nicholas. 4250 ABOARD THE MAVIS, [by R: Markham: Dodd, ISSO.] " The scene is eastern Long Island, in the de- scription of Avhich region the au- thor may be trusted implicitly; here a merry set of boys and girls incur adventures by sea and land, listen to Revolutionary and other histor- ical tales, and, what is the crown- ing merit of Mr. Markham, behave and talk with great naturalness and vivacity." [Nation. 4260 TOM PAULDING, [by Brander Matthews: Century Co., 1892.] There is a quaint originality and life in this book which make it a very en- joyable story. The scene is laid in the upper part of New York city, the days of the Revolution being skilfully linked with our times. Three or four ' real ' boys, a girl, an adventure-loving Uncle Dick, the very model of what a boy would like in a bachelor uncle, ar the principal actors, and the seeking a buried treasure is the main incident. The interest in the hero's quest is more than wel-sustained, the last chapters being the best in the book. Tom himself is a manly, straitfor- ward, unselfish fello, devoted to his mother and sister— a boy, in a word, whose companionship is worth hav- ing, even tho it be only in a story." [Nation. 4270 THE LITTLE PRUDY STORIES. [by " Sophie May," i. e.. Rebecca Sophia Clarke: Lee, 1865.] " Com- pared with her, all other book-chil- dren ar cold creations of literature; she alone is the real thing. All the acquaintances of childhood, its originality, its tenderness, and its teasing,— its infinit unconscious drol- ery, the serious earnestness of its fun, the fun of its seriousness, the natural religion of its plays, and the delicious odity of its prayers,— all these waited for dear little Prudy to embody them. Sam Weller is not more piquant; Hans Andersen's nut- crackers and knitting needles ar not more thoroly charged with life." [T. W. Higginson in North Amer. Review. 4280 NIMPO'S TROUBLES, [by " Olive Thorne " Miller: London, Griffith, 1880.] " This is a capital history of the adventures of some most trou- blesom children, who wer left by their parents to board out for a month, while they went to a dis- tant city. The experience, tho very good for the children, must hav been rather an expensiv one in many ways, not only on account of the number of clothes belonging to herself and her mother which Nimpo contrived to spoil, but also from the number of articles which she obtained from her father's shop." [Saturday Review. 4290 LOTUS BAY: A Summer on Cape Cod. [by Laura D. Nichols: Lothrop, 1889.] " There is no climax or plot, no story properly speaking, but an agreeable mixture of life by the sea- shore, useful information, moral teaching by example rather than precept, and occasional quaint or pretty poetical quotations. The au- tlior's style is good, the book shos unvarying good taste, and is embel- lished' by attractiv illustrations." [Nation. 4300 158 FICTION:— AMERICAN LIFE. ALL ABOARD, by " Oliver Op- tic." See " Novels of Amer. Coun- try Life," No. 2m. C4:504 PAUL DUNCAN'S LITTLE BY LITTLE [by "Oliver Optic": ISOl] " is adapted for English readers. Paul is a boy-hero of the right sort, and prospers in the world. His af- fection for his mother, his courage and perseverance, and his deeds of daring on the sea, wil make him a favorit with all young readers." [Lit. Gazette. 4310 SEEK AND FIND, [by "Oliver Optic": Lee, 1868.] "The facility with which ' Oliver Optic ' turns out books for boys would be something wonderful and something commend- able if the books wer at all hard to make or good when made; but they ar all very poor. They ar lively with incidents; that praise can be given them, but the incidents ar usually improbable, and often wildly improbable, and fortunately impossible; the characters ar never real characters;— nobody ever re- members one of them Tialf an hour after the volume is closed; the sen- timents ar painfully vulgar; and altogether, tho a boy learns from Mr. Adams' books no one thing pos- sitivly bad, they ar not to be de- scribed as books of an improving and elevating kind. . . Such books, whatever Mr. Adams and the chil- dren may think, ar worse than worthless. They encourage youth- ful impudence and ' smartness ' and do nothing at all to take the average New England boy away from the Boston Herald, from a young American belief in his foolish self, and from general insufferable- uess. A single one of Scott's novels, a single book like Mr. Dana's excel- lent * Two Years Before the Mast,' or ' Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby ' is worth infinitly more than all the trash of ' The Starry Flag Series ' a million times re- peated. Or once repeated; each repetition increases the otfense and the injury. We assure Mr. Adams with most candid sincerity, that, no matter how little harm he means, he is doing a great deal of harm. In ' Seek and Find ' he stands in nearly the same relation to juvenile readers as that in which the Brad- dons stand to readers of a larger growth, and the success of both him and them, while it is a trophy of triumph to the writers, is a monument of the misfortune, to say the least of it, of their readers." [Nation. 4315 LAKE BREEZES, [by "Oliver Optic": Lee, 1878.] "For 'Lake Breezes ' we hav also a word of praise, and it is very pleasant to write it, because we hav had oc- casion, more than once, to join issue with its author. A little summary of ' Oliver Optic's ' literature for boys, if we had the space to giv it, would not be uninteresting, some of his earlier stories being so full of harmless yet exciting incident that he earned a deservedly foremost place among popular writers. Then came a succession of ' series ' which ar not positivly pernicious only be- cause they ar not immoral, but which typify some objectionable and precocious youths, who achieve a worldly success by reason of a Yankee ingenuity and a vulgar push and self-assertion. Nevertheless the present volume, tho it deals with the experiences of a very smart boy, has nothing objectionable about it, and wil be found very lively read- ing by its happy possessors." [Li- brary Table. 4320 TOBY TYLER [by Ja. Otis [Kaler]: Harper, 1881] " is a far bet- ter book than one would suppose from its gaudy and unpleasant cover. It is a natural narrativ of 159 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. the misadventures which befell a couutry lad who ran away with a circus, and is likely to act as a de- terrent on other lads who ar wont to think that the canvas walls en- close an earthly paradise. The ' living curiosities,' from Mr. Stubbs, the monkey, to Mrs. Treat, the fat woman, ar described simply, nat- urally, and with much quiet humor. We hav reason to believe that the vue presented of traveling circus- life is, in the main, a correct one." [Nation. 4330 TIM AND TIP [by Ja. Otis [Kaler]: Harpers. 1883] "is a very amusing and also pathetic little story, which must please all chil- dren, especially boys between 6 and 12. Tim is an orphan who runs away from bad treatment; Tip, the homely but faithful dog so fondly cherished by his young master." [Nation. 4335 SILENT PETE [by James Otis [Kaler]: Harper, 1886] "is a pa- thetic story, in which the gentle violinist is wel contrasted with the manly, unselfish Jerry, who devotes himself to the welfare of his weaker friend. The scenes ar laid partly in New Orleans and New York, and partly on board a brig which is wrecked off Cape Hatteras. Tho the virtues of these boys may be somewhat exaggerated, yet the story is in the main true to life, and shos, what boys in other cir- cumstances need to kno, that true nobility of character does not de- pend upon station in life, nor great charity upon the possession of riches." [Nation. 4340 KING TOM AND THE RUN- AWAYS, [by L: Pendleton: Apple- ton, 1891.] " A lively story of boy life in the South before the war. The writer, whether he tels a true narrativ or not, writes with intelli- gence regarding boy nature and a Georgia swamp; and if there is a little mechanical treatment, we doubt if a boy M'ould notice it, for he would be too much interested in the story. It is the purblind critic >\ho sees such things— and speaks of them." [Atlantic. 4350 LADY JANE [by Celia V. (Dakin) (Hamilton) Jamison: Century Co.. 1891] " is not a child's story of the ordinary kind. It is a novel in miniature and consequently not suited to childish minds. It is a careful analysis of character, an in- terweaving of incident and environ- ment, elaborately dovetailed details and a local color which one does not usually find outside literature for adults. Lady Jane was a little girl whose mother died in the wretched home of an unscrupulous French laundress, while they wer passing throu New Orleans on their way to New York. This old woman concealed the death of the mother, stole her money and clothes, and took the child away to another part of the city to beg and sing." [Critic. 4360 'TOINETTE'S PHILIP [by C. V. (D.) (H.) Jamison: Century Co., 1891] " is a book full of lively inci- dents agreeably told. Improbabili- ties in the plot ar plenty, but the children wil pass them by lightly, and be free to enjoy the pleasant picture of New Orleans life, the touch of rather transparent mystery, and, above all, the satisfactory end- ing, where everybody is made happy and even the disagreeable people be- come amiable." [Nation. 4365 RHODA THORNTON'S GIRL- HOOD, [by M.. E. Pratt: Lee, 1873.] " In Rhoda, we hav a motherly little girl, taking care of her small brother as wel as herself on a New England poor-farm. They ar or- ]»haus about whom nobody kuoes anything. By-and-by. Rhoda gets a 160 FICTION :— AMERICAN LIFE. pliice on a farm, where she man- ages to take Jimmy with her. They continue to dwel there several years, until it is discovered in a curious way that they ar related to a rich family. This is only a ruf outline of a really wel-conceived, wel-told tale. The style is simple and di- rect, and there is a pleasant humor- ousness throughout." [Nation. 4375 MIXED PICKLES [by Evelyn Raymond: Crowell, 1892] " is a very sprightly narrativ of the doings of six cousins suddenly brot together in the farm-house of their Quaker grandmother. Their varied charac- ters ar wel delineated, the plucky little Fritz and his bright sister Octave being made especially at- tractiv. The account of the man- ner in which the boy invalid is cured, both morally and bodily, tho marred a little by the improbable ' mystery ' of his great medical his- tory, is certainly novel and interest- ing. A little romance is introduced by the marriage of the delightful German uncle to the rather sharp but lovable Quakeress Ant. The story is thoroly wholesoin and enjoyable, and at times not a little amusing." [Nation. 4385 HILDEGARDE'S HOME [by Laura E.. (Howe) Richards: Lee, 1892] " is the story of a girl and her mother who had been used to a luxurious home in New York until the father died, and then with cheerfulness and grace had retired to an old-fashioned house in the country prepared to make the best of their altered fortunes. How Hil- degarde passed her days, the boys she knew, the sewing-circle she foi'med, the pleasant environments she found in her new life, her de- votion to her mother, all ar pleas- antly recorded in this little volume —recorded, it is true, with a good deal of sensibility and a display of endearment which sometimes seems an affectation, "but with an instinct for selecting the domestic influences of life which ar popularly supposed to interest and impress the minds of girl readers." [Critic. 4395 GOING TO THE DOGS; or. The Adventures of Frank, [by A. S. Roe: London, 1864.] " Frank is ' gen- teelly ' brot up to folio neither trade nor profession, and, of course, his career in life gives title to the book. We do no discredit to Mr. Roe in saying that his hero is no ' Tom .Tones,' and that the mantle of Henry Fielding has not fallen on the author's sholders. Of its class, however, ' Going to the Dogs ' is a book of more than average merit, and wil, no doubt, find as many buyers as did ' What Put my Pipe Out,' addressing itself, as it does, to a large and daily increasing class of readers who take things for granted because they see them in print." [Reader. 4410 .TOLLY GOOD TIMES, [by M.. P. (W.) Smith: Roberts, 1875.] "Un- usual grace and vivacity mark the style, while every incident seems ac- curately natural. The baby's talk and amusements, the boy's rufness, the children's squabbles, ar all de- lineated with amusing life-likeness, while the lessons of forbearance, kindness, obedience, independence, weave themselvs into the narrativ as they do in experience of whole- som family life, and not in a forced or didactic way. The Browns ar supposed to hav their home in Cin- cinnati, and the ' local coloring.' in- cluding some account of the devas- tations of the flooded Ohio, is not without interest." [Nation. 4420 THE BROWNS, [by M.. Prudence (WelLs) Smith: Roberts. 1884.] " The children ar very natural, and hav natural and real experiences and adventures, in the relation of which 161 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. a general description of Cincinnati and the country around is given. . . It is a sketch of a wholesom family life from day to day, where a wise, kind mother keeps the helm, and at the end she takes the children across country to Cape Ann for the summei'." [Boston " Lit. World." 4424 WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED, [by Frank R: Stock- ton: Dodd, 1874.] " ' Rouudbout Rambles ' was so very wel-told a collection of stories that it was nat- ural to suspect Mr. Stockton's heaven-born mission to be writing for children. That suspicion be- comes a fixed belief after reading his volume for this year. It is one of the funniest, most entertaining, and otherwise best-considered little books we hav seen for a long time. The scene is laid in a country place in Virginia after the war. . . It is a pleasant change to read an Amer- ican story at once truly boylike, spirited, humorous, and distinctivly American, that is neither slangy, nor underbred, nor full of impertinent young folks. The ' local color ' is well laid on, tho not violently. The negroes ar plentiful and deliciously ' cullud,' but the book is not overburdened with negro talk." [Nation. 4430 'among the lakes, by W: O. Stoddard. See " Novels of Amer. Country Life," No. 3. C4440 CAPTAIN POLLY, by Sophie Swett. See " Novels of Amer. Coun- try Life," No. 13. C4448 FLYING HILL FARM, [by Sophie Swett: Harper, 1892.] A lively book, detailing with humorous minute- ness the fortunes of various young people. Some of the situations seem a little strained, in the writ- er's anxiety to make her story in- teresting, but there is a healthy tone throughout, and a keen sense of the amusing. Boys and girls alike wil get a deal of honest entertainment out of it." [Atlantic. 4450 WE ALL [by " Octave Thanet," i. e., Alice French: Appleton, 1891] " is a pleasant little story of a fortnight's happenings on an Arkansas plantation. A Chicago boy, the spoiled child of a millionaire, is brot to visit his poor Southern cousins, and learns, while sharing their busy, unconventional life, that luxury is not the only good thing in the world. Rheumatic old ant Valley, playing Kuklux with the help of little Larry and the docil mules mounted with pillos, cuts a figure not soon to be forgotten. Al- together, the book is brightly writ- ten and givs a vivid picture of lone- some plantation life." [Nation. 4460 THE OLD BATTLE GROUND [by J: Townsend Trowbridge (1827—): N. Y., Sheldon. 1859] "is genial, earnest, simple and manly. Its syle is clear, idiomatic, and nerv- ous. It is a novel, tho a short one, and tho it deals with no other bat- tles than those of ' daily struggles of love and pride, and hatred and despair,' which since the world be- gan hav been fiercely fot upon that oldest of all battle-grounds, the hu- man heart." [Albion. 4470 A CHANCE FOR HIMSELF, [by .1: T. Trowbridge: Osgood. 1872.] " All Mr. Trowbridge's Yankee sto- ries ar good, but some of them ar better than others, and among the better ones we do not place this year's ' .Tack Hazard.' The idea of the story is excellent— the finding of an old trunk of counterfeit half- dollars in a log by the boy, his ex- citement over his treasure, which he believes to be genuin, and fhe bad effect on him of the gain of sudden wealth. The secondary idea is also good— the claiming of the ' treasure ' by old miserly Squire 162 FICTION:— AMERICAN LIFE. reternot, on whose land it was found, and the confusion to which he and his greedy nephew ar brot in the end by the discovery of its ' bogus ' nature. But in the filling out of this plan, the farcical turn of Mr. Trowbridge's invention, if it may be so called, gets so en- tirely the better of his judgment, that he permits Jack and the money to go throu a series of adventures which, tho possible, ar almost on a par in probability with the extra- ftrdinary coincidences in the play of Box and Cox." [Nation. 4475 THE POCKET RIFLE, [by J: Townsend Trowbridge: Lee, 1881.] " This little tale, tho especially writ- ten for boys, is good for girls and boys alike. It points a moral, but not didactically nor offensivly. The author understands the art of ju- venile writing at its best. He ap- preciates the necessity for amuse- ment, but he means that amusement shal always carry its lesson. The pocket rifle is a prize offered iu a country school to the best speller. The composition is narroed to the two britest lads, who had been great friends, but who, throu the rivalry and jealousies of the contest for the rifle, became estranged. Nothing could wel be more interest- ing than the author's little book, yet its lesson of the meanness of jealousy and some kinds of suspi- cion cannot fail of its mark." [Am- erican. 4480 PHIL AND HIS FRIENDS [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1883] " is the story of a poor boy stxmg by his sufferings from a father who was not disturbed by debt, into a keen sense of the beauty and honor of honest work. We ar glad of so good a lesson so forcibly impressed, and the author has been wise in not making his hero either too good or too successful a lad for one of his education and chances." [Critic. 4482 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL [by J. T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1883] " tels of the indomitable pluc with which three young men defended their rights and conquered their difficulties. The ' Tinkham Brothers ' seem, indeed, some years older and wiser than people ar apt to be in their teens, but we lose sight of this in the interest of a very graphic story. It illustrates the self-assertiv tendencies of Young America, that while the mother is supposed to be a most delightful friend and companion to her chil- dren, she for the most part felloes their lead and supports their plans, instead of taking the place of guide and gardian which would seem natural to her years." [Nation. 4484 THE LITTLE MASTER [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1886] " narrates the experience of a youth of 18, am- bitious to earn money and get an education, who found it hard work to teach a school because he was so small and his face so boyish that no one could be made to believe in his ability. How he persevered and succeeded, on his principle of governing by brains instead of muscle, is racily and graphically told, together with an account of the manoeuvres and intrigues of certain persons in the district. The narrativ is spirited and the sketches of character ar capital." [Boston "Lit. World." 4486 BOY WHO WAS HAZED, [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1887.] "The author's other books hav been ad- mirable and deservedly popular, biit this one is, in our opinion, the best yet. It is a story at once spirited and touching, with a certain dra- matic and artistic quality which ap- peals to the literary sense as wel 163 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG as to the story-loving appetite. Tlif'i-e is nothing goody-goody in it. as a moral tale against hazing; but it is a perfectly plain revelation, without comment, of the cruelty, the absurdity and the danger of the miscalled fun called hazing." [Critic. 4488 PETER BUDSTONE [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1887] " is an al- together good and wholesom book for boys of which it is hardly pos- sible to speak too hily. This author shos us convincingly how juvenile reading may be made vivacious and interesting, and yet teach sound and clean lessons. It shos forcibly the folly and crime of ' hazing.' " [Am- erican. 4490 DAVID VANE AND DAVID CRANE, [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lothrop, 1889.] " David Vane runs away from his stepfather's shop to his imcle's farm, only to find that farm-boys ar worked harder than shop-boys. But he also makes the acquaintance of David Crane, his uncle's hired boy, and learns a great deal about the art and mys- tery of maple-sugar making. The couple play clever tries with a de- tectiv from Boston sent to appre- hend the first David, and many ad- ventures ensue to the country David in town and the town David in the country." [Critic.]—" For one thing Ave can heartily commend this book, namely, its warm advocacy of the pleasures and advantages of a countiy life. At this day, when the set of the current is all toards the town, it is refreshing to read of a city boy who prefers work on a farm to being a clerk in a store. The story is interesting, and, at times, amusing, the two Davids be- ing mistaken for each other, with a i-esulting ' comedy of errors.' The little country girl Iluldah is an original and very attractiv charac- ter, as is also David Vane, who, we ar glad to say, makes a great suc- cess as a farmer." [Nation. 4492 THE KELP-GATHERERS, a Story of the Maine Coast, [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1891.] " Mr. Trow- bridge always has a story to tel. That is the secret of his success. It may not be an important story, but it is regularly laid out, and all the parts fit. It goes without any tin- kering on the part of the reader." [Atlantic. 4494 THE FORTUNES OF TOBY TRAPFORD [by J: T. Trowbridge: Lee, 1892] " is a vigorously told, thoroly interesting story of a boy by no means perfect, but an honest, manly, self-reliant yoimg fello, who, having a good deal to fight against, achieves a wel merited success. There ar few exciting incidents, the interest of the story depending wholy upon the way in which Toby defeated the evil designs of his enemies. Most of the subordinate characters ar distinctly drawn, as the teacher and Mildred, ar only less attractiv than the hero himself." [Nation. 4496 ASCUTNEY STREET, by A. D. (T.) Whitney. See " Novels of Amer. Country Life," No. 5k. C4502 BONNYBOROUGH, by A. D. (T.) Whitney. See " Novels of Amer. City Life," No. 199. C4503 FAITH GARTNEY'S GIRL- HOOD, by A. D. (T.) Whitney. See " Novels of Amer. Country Life," No. 30m, and " Novels of Amer. City Life," No. 244. C4504 ODD OR EVEN? [by Adeline Dutton (Train): London, Whitney, 188.3.] " Everybody is desperately self-conscious, the talk is very ' tall,' - and the phraseology has an uncom- fortable effect. . . The story is not very dul, and the people ar not, on the whole, objectionable; but it is hard work to read it, because it is 164 FICTION :— AMERICAN LIFE. suffused with pretentiousness, and conveys the idea that the author's aim is to express what she means in the least ordinary, the farthest- fetched words she can find." [Spec- tator. -ioOo THE OTHER GIRLS, [by A. D. (T.) Whitney: Boston, Ticknor. 1873.] "We hav spoken of our dis- like, or rather our lac of apprecia- tion, of Mrs. Whitney's books. There ar kinds of sensationalism besides those which greet us in the novels of the circulating libraries. Half the mothers of the land, to whom Mrs. Whitney's books ar the ideal of the mental pabulum to be fur- nished to their dauters, would be lost in horror at our heresy should they find us saying that those sto- ries of moral victory, evil, persever- ance, and all the gr&ater virtues, wer sensational— and yet that is exactly what we aflirm. Sensational, in that there is about them a noisy, hammer-and-tongs method of exal- tation, instead of a really forcible and lasting way of making aims better and energies nobler and characters stronger. There may be in these books an incitement to good, but to compare it with the tone of a class of stories we like far more, is like comparing the stimulus of a spasmodic camp-meet- ing to the earnest, thotful. suggestiv words of a wise and manly teacher, who scorns tricks of rhetoric, aud impresses by his own power. Of " The Other Girls " we hav only to say that it is like Mrs. Whitney's other writings. The same type of girl tries to be useful in much the same ways, aud says much the same things. The characters con- tinue to be Mrs. Whitney's, and not the world's; and ev.en their collo- quialisms— shal we say their slang? —do not succeed in making them like real young men and real girls." [Appleton's. C450n 1 A SUMMER IN LESLIE GOLDTIIWAITE'S LIFE, by A. D. (T.) Whitney. See " Novels of Amer. Countrv Life," No. 149. 4507 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL, [by Kate Douglas (Smith) (Wiggin) Riggs: Houghton, 1888.] " One can hardly imagin how it would be possible to write a sweeter story. It does not tel of the feath- ered tribe, but of a little invalid girl whose sic-room is the centre of the love and devotion of a house- hold. She is a Christmas child and rejoices in her birthday, aud it is fitting that from her should radiate briglrt and tender influence, not only to her near and dear friends, but to other suffering children and to her poorer nebors. An artistic foil to the pathos of the narrativ is the humor- ous description of the Ruggles fam- ily, and of the Christmas dinner given thtnu. at her urgent wish, in the sic child's own chamber. The sadness of the concluding chapter lias been softened with exquisit grace and delicacy." [Nation. 4515 TIMOTHY'S QUEST, [by Kate Douglas (Smith) (Wiggin) Riggs: Houghton. 1890.] " A book to win the hearts of children must be something more than a children's book. It must contain elements which ar strong enuf to last when the child has grown, and send him with a thril of pleasure back to its storied pages in after life. . . No purer, sweeter, nobler children's story ever was written. It is the story of a good boy who did not die young or lose all human quali- ties." and a baby girl good and beau- tiful at the same time. The young readers of the book wil see in it the manly struggles of the manly little hero to find a home for his adopted sister; they wil revel in his quiet, modest, sturdy determination and unselfishness, in the happy antics of his irrepressible dog Rags, 65 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. in the funny remarks of lazy, honest old Jebe Slocum, and the serio- comic happening at the White Farm. The grown up boy and girl wil see a picture of rural life in New Eng- land, painted with all the strength and sweetness of ' Ik Marvel ' or H: Ward Beecher. They wil ap- preciate the dark side of the life in Minerva Court, and the heart strug- gles of Miss Vilda Cummins, and the final triumph of Timothy and Gay. Jebe Slocum becomes a char- acter which remains as a type of the old time self-respecting Yankee ' hired man,' and Mrs. Tarbox takes rank as the typical country dress- maker—the local Associated Press. There is nothing childish in the book, yet it is full of the lafter and tears of healthy children." [Over- land. 4516 POLLY OLIVER'S PROBLEM [by Kate Douglas (Smith) (Wiggin) Riggs: Houghton, 1893] " can hardly fail of the sympathy, not only of younger but even of older readers. . . Polly Oliver, portrait or fancy as the case may be, after trials and sorros of an untimely personal nature, makes a successful venture into a hitherto unexplored tract of activity suited to young ladies endowed with fine imagina- tion, a little skil in music, and a pleasing personality. She is sent in the first place, by a benevolent lady, to tel tales 2 hours each day in the orphan asylums and Chil- dren's Hospital. . . As a further development of this pretty scheme a class for child's nurses is also hinted at, and visions ar thereby evoked of the happy future await- ing infant minds when they hav been freed from the terrifying or driveling inventions of the unaided nursery-maid. There ar also some hints for ways of becoming what the charity organization society puts down .as ' benevolent individuals,' such, for instance, ' buying up splendid old trees in the outskirts of certain New England country towns— trees which ar in danger of being cut down for wood.' " [Nation. 4517 YOUNG LUCRETIA, and Other Stories, [by M.. E. Wilkins: Har- pers, 1892.] " Miss Wilkins does not dub these ' stories for children,' and we suspect mature readers wil get the greatest pleasure out of them. Nevertheless they wil go strait to the heart— all of her stories take that road— of the young because of the inimitable skil with which in many of them she sets forth the fleeting sorros and joys of her little people. It is noticeable that most of the stories turn upon some child- ish trouble, keeping in tune thus with her stories for the old, but there is more sunshine in these tales. The humor is delightful." [Atlantic. 4525 THE FOSTER BROTHERS [by Susan A. Wright: Boston, Spencer, 1868] " is a healthy, agreeable little book, dealing realistically with such events as occur in the home, school, and vacation life of average New England boys. The moral lesson in- culcated is not too forcibly pre- sented, the best of good nature reigns throughout, the children ar natural,— whether at Lawrence, or Swampscott, or North Conway or plaging each other at home; and altogether we can praise ' Cousin Sue ' as an excellent writer for young children, whom she evidently loves and believes in." [Nation. 4535 166 Books Not Mentioned in Text. The folloing books, not mentioned in the text, ar recommended by ]Mr. Gardner M. Jones, head of the Salem Public Library. Anatomy and Physiology: — Health and strength for girls, 1884. Electricity : — Electricity simplified, by Sloane, 1891. Toy-making, by Same, 1892. Astronomy : — Eclipses, by Todd, 1894. Botany : — Fairyland of flowers, by Pratt, 1890. How plants gi'ow, by A. Gray, Geogiuphy and Histoiy: Fishing : — Boy's guide to fishing, by Keene, 1894. 1858. How plants behave, by Same, 1872. Outlines of lessons, by J.. New- ell, 2 v., 1889-92. Reader in botany. Same, 1889. China hunter's club, by Slosson, 1878. Coal and coal-mines, by Greene, 1889. Cooking: — Aunt Martha's corner cup- board, by Kirby, 1887. Dress : — Lettei^ to a little girl, by H.. vStarrett, 1892. America : Story of our continent, by Shaler, 1892. England : Around and about, by Ma- teaux, 1891. Short history of, by Ku-k- land, 1891. Greece: Story of the Iliad, by Church, 1S91. Story of the Odyssey, by Same, 1891. Retreat of the 10,000, by Witt, 1891. Japan : Japan in history, folklore 16: BOOKS NOT MENTIONED IN TEXT. and art, by W: E. ^^i-iflfls, Mythology, Teutonic: — 1892. Heroes of Ascard, by Keary, U. S.: 1883. Battlefields and campflres, js^atural History: Adventure 1893. by W. J: Abbot, 1890 Battlefields and victoi'v, by Same, 1891. Oldtime child-life, by E. H. Rollins, 1881. Government : — How we are governed, by A. L. Dawes, 1885. Heat: — Motive power of heat, by Car- not, 1890. Story of a tinder-box, by Tidy, P^iotography : 1889. Inventions: — Wonderland of work, by Ma- te OF THF UNIVERSITY OF y