The Bay State Monthly. Volume 2, No. 6, March, 1885

This book, Mr. Atkinson asserts, will prove to the mind of every thinking man that, if we persist much longer in sustaining the acts of coinage and legal tender which now encumber the statute book, our national credit will be impaired and all our working people, whose wages are paid in money, will be subjected to the most injurious form of special taxation which could be devised; it proves that a considerable portion of their wages will be taken from them under due process of law without power of redress on their part, while the rich and astute advocates of the present system will reap wealth which they nave not earned by taking from the laborer apart of that which is his rightful due. It is therefore of inestimable importance as giving the general reader a clear understanding of the real condition of things, and educating him into the right method of thinking about these matters, which sooner or later, will have to be settled by the voice of the people.

THE COUNTESS OF ALBANY. By Vernon Lee. Famous Women Series, Boston: Roberts Brothers. Price $1.00. In this volume we have a biography of a once famous, now almost forgotten, person. The Countess of Albany gained her prominence in the political and social world of the latter half of the eighteenth century, not by any greatness of character or of achievement, but solely by favor of Fortune; for it does appear as a compensation for the misery of her domestic life that she was accorded a position in the world gratifying to her nature to hold. Fate certainly owed the woman destined to live for a few years only, but those years long ones, the wife of that Stuart known as the Pretender, many years in which she could be mistress of herself and the recipient of kindly consideration, if not some measure of posthumous fame. The book gives us pictures not only of the countess, but of many persons of more or less renown with whom she was associated. We are introduced to a somewhat distinguished company of civil and ecclesiastical officials, persons of literary and artistic tastes—men and women yet of historic note. The pictures are sketched with great power and painted in solid. The subjects are mostly such as would have delighted a Flemish artist to paint, and they have received true Flemish treatment. The author displays not a little of Carlyle's power of characterization.

PLUCKY BOYS. By the author of "John Halifax, Gentleman," and other authors. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.50. If there is any book of the season that we can heartily commend to boys of the stirring wide awake kind, it is this. The eighteen stories of which it consists, are by well-known writers, all lovers of boys and admirers of pluck, truthfulness, and manliness in them. The various young heroes described represent in their characters some particular quality which entitles them to be classed under the title which the compiler has given the book. Mrs. Craik's story is called "Facing the World;" Sophie May tells about "Joe and his Business Experiences;" George Gary Eggleston contributes a sketch called "Lambert's Ferry;" Kate Upson Clark has a story called "Granny," and there are others by authors of such reputation as Amanda B. Harris, Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Wager Fisher, Hope Ledyard, Susan Power, Edith Robinson, and Tarpley Starr. The volume is bound in holiday style, and will make a capital gift book for that class of young readers for whom it was specially prepared.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Of Marion Harland's latest book, "Cookery for Beginners," the London Saturday Review says: "Mrs. Harland's little book shows its origin by the singular predominance of sweets (which is, speaking roughly, about three to one), and by such odd phrases—odd, that is to say, to an English ear—as that the chief merit of a cook is 'the ability to make good bread.' Alas! if that be so, how many inhabitants of London, England, possess a good cook? But Mrs. Harland is free from even a rag of national prejudice. She sternly, and with almost frightful boldness, denies the sacred PIE so much as a place in her book, and she ventures on the following utterance, which we purposely place in italics, and for which we hope that the eagle, whose home is in the settin' sun, has not already torn out her eyes. 'The best way,' says this daring inhabitant of Boston, Mass., 'to manage a boiled egg at the table [she speaks of it, it will be observed, as if it were a kind of wild beast] is the English way of setting it upright in the small end of the eggcup [Great powers! most Britons will cry, what is the large end of an eggcup?], making a hole in the top [note the precision of these indications] large enough to admit the eggspoon, and eating it from the top, seasoning it as you go.' The courage and genius of Mrs. Harland are not more clearly indicated by this sentence than the deplorable habits of her countrymen. She ought to be called, not Marion, but Columba. To desist from folly, however, her little book is a very interesting and valuable one. Its receipts, though few, are given with singular clearness and in the most practical of manners, and the mechanical value of the book is much increased by the inclusion of a large number of blank pages for additional receipts."

"The fine grade of religious books published by D. Lothrop & Co., Boston, justifies more than a passing notice. This firm turns out yearly an immense number of books of the choicest quality, and at all prices to suit the needs of Sunday-schools throughout the land. It has been the aim of the publishers to employ none but the best writers for these books, realizing it a most important part of Church work to provide for the needs of this large class. Mingling intellectual strength with deep religious feeling, at the same time the publishers strive to make the books interesting and attractive. For an untold number of examples prove that children and youth will not read religious or moral teaching presented in a dry manner, and why should they? Full of life and vigor, and overflowing with intense energy in every part of their nature, these young people require something healthfully to inspire to this force within them. If they do not find it in the natural avenues of the Sunday-school or the town library, they will elsewhere, in questionable literature—an indulgence in which results in a feverish taste for excitement. To help these young people develop into strong men and women, D. Lothrop & Co. have put forth every effort, sparing no expense. A glance at their Catalogue will give an idea of what they have been doing in this department."—The Messenger, Phila.

Of Amanda B. Harris' last work, the Advance says: "Pleasant Authors for Young Folks is a delightful little book. The name of its author is sufficient to attract many readers who have been pleased with her 'Wild Flowers' and other books and sketches. These 'Little Biographies' of Walter Scott, Charles Lamb, Charles Kingsley, Dr. John Brown, George MacDonald, Dinah Mulock-Craik, John Ruskin, Charlotte Bronté and others, are made up of stories and incidents from the lives of these writers, bits of criticism and gems of extracts, put together as deftly and skilfully and making as fine and polished a whole as a Roman mosaic of the temple of Vesta. Such a delicious bit of a book as this in the hands of a boy or girl is worth more as an incitement to reading and an education of literary taste than many a library of a thousand volumes."

"Every day we see that there is an absolute necessity for giving good books to our children. We cannot begin too early to cultivate a taste for healthful literature. The recent developments in several cities must call the attention of all careless parents to this fact. The influence of bad books upon children is so apparent as to be startling, and the boy who went armed to school last week in Pittsburg and gave his name to his teacher as 'Schuykill Jack,' is only one of a large number of weak-headed boys who have been depraved by reading these stories which they ought never to have seen. Do not consider it lost or wasted time during which you read to your boy; perhaps no other hours in your life are so wisely used, and it will not be without its fruit, you may be perfectly sure. Do not always read down to your children: they appreciate higher and deeper thoughts than you sometimes think they do."—New York Evening Post.

A "School of Library Economy" has just been established in Columbia College, to be opened in October, 1886. The object includes "all the special training needed to select, buy, arrange, catalogue, index, and administer in the best and most economical way any collection of books, pamphlets, or serials." The instruction is to be given by "lectures, reading, the Seminar, visiting libraries, problems, and work." We shall watch with interest this new species of technical school.

LAW IN EASY LESSONS.

"It is manifest that such a manual as Every Man His Own Lawyer would be a snare to the unwary, because it does not content itself with teaching the reader what to avoid, but professes to guide him in the labyrinthian paths of substantive law and technical procedure. It is equally clear, however, that a rudimentary acquaintance with the main principles of jurisprudence is indispensable to those who purpose to mingle in active life at all, and discharge the most familiar duties of the citizen. But law books are not inviting to the general reader—we may imagine, indeed, that Blackstone has rather lost than gained in the esteem of his professional brethren by the attempt to make his commentaries an exception to the rule—and the volumes may be counted on the fingers which are at once entertaining and trustworthy compends of legal lore. To the meagre collection of attractive introductions to this subject an addition has recently been made by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT in a couple of brochures, respectively called The Travelling Law School and Famous Trials, which are published in one volume by D. Lothrop & Co. The book is ostensibly written for boys, but it may be heartily commended to adult readers of both sexes. It is surprising how much sound law the author manages to insinuate in the guise of interesting incidents and pleasing anecdotes. Even they who are sickened by the scent of sheepskin and law calf, and who would as soon think of entering on a course of Calvinistic theology as on a study of jurisprudence, will imbibe through the author's cheerful narrative a good many useful notions of their legal rights and duties, just as children are persuaded to swallow an aperient in the shape of prunes or figs.

"In 'The Travelling Law School,' as the name implies, the reader is invited to accompany a party of young students in a tour through several of the Atlantic States, the incidents of the journey suggesting succinct accounts of the main features of Federal, State, and municipal law. A much larger sum of information can be thus informally conveyed in about a hundred pages than would at first sight be deemed possible; and notwithstanding the suspicion with which lawyers are apt to regard the transmission of knowledge through such a pleasant medium, we are able to vouch in this instance for its accuracy. We have been particularly struck by the light which the author manages to throw, in a quick, unaffected way, on the characteristic features of the American Constitution. This he does by illustrations drawn from the organic laws of other countries possessing parliamentary institutions, and his references, on the whole, are singularly exact, though he might perhaps have laid more stress on the centralizing tendencies which survive in the executive branch of the French republican Government.

"The plan followed in 'Famous Trials' is to take a given topic, like forgery, confessions, mistaken identity or circumstantial evidence and to illustrate the points best worth remembering by some actual and interesting case in which they were strikingly brought out.

"The instance of mistaken identity described by Mr. Abbott at some length is really much more curious than the Tichborne case, though the affair, having taken place many years ago in France, has been almost totally forgotten. The true husband's name was Martin Guerre, a man of fair social position and some property, who, after living happily with his wife Bertrande for about a dozen years, disappeared suddenly, and nothing was heard of him for eight years. At the end of that time the same Martin Guerre, as all the town people supposed, came back, recognizing his old neighbors and friends, and looking just as he used, except that he had grown stouter and sunburned. His wife also recognized him as readily as did his neighbors, and gave him an affectionate welcome. To innumerable questions about occurrences in old times, he returned satisfactory and explicit answers. To his wife, in particular, he rehearsed incidents of past years that had completely faded from her memory. When they awoke, for instance, on the morning after his arrival, he asked her to 'Bring me my white breeches trimmed with white silk; you will find them at the bottom of the large beech chest under the linen.' She had long forgotten the breeches and even the box, but she found them just as he had described. In the face of such evidence it seemed impossible to doubt that this man was the genuine Martin Guerre. Yet he proved after all to be an impostor, whose real name was Arnauld Du Tilh. Yet strange as it may seem, on the impostor's trial, although confronted with the man whom he was personating, he was able to answer questions about the past life of the Guerre family more minutely and accurately than the rightful claimant. Being disavowed, however, by the great majority of witnesses, including the wife, on the appearance of her true husband, he was sentenced to death for his fraud. Before his execution he made a confession, saying that some intimate friends of Martin Guerre, misled by the astonishing resemblance, had accosted him by that name, which gave him the idea of claiming Guerre's position and property; and that he had gained his intimate knowledge of Guerre's life partly from Guerre himself, whom he had known slightly in the army, and partly from several common acquaintances. With this slender outfit of material he came within an ace of effecting his design, thanks to an exceptionally tenacious and ready memory."—Extract from notice in "New York Daily Sun," of "The Travelling Law School." D. Lothrop & Co. $1.00.

AMERICAN BOOKS IN ENGLAND.

The cordial reception awarded to the best class of American books in England, is indicated by the following notices from the Oldham Evening & Weekly Chronicle of October 4:

"FIVE LITTLE PEPPERS AND HOW THEY GREW. By Margaret Sidney. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. This gorgeously got up and profusely and beautifully illustrated volume is one of engrossing interest. All the characters are skilfully drawn, the events are interestingly marshalled, and the plot most naturally developed. For humour and pathos, for sympathy yet fidelity, for loftiness of tone yet simplicity of style, this charming volume has few superiors. Here and there it reminds us of Mark Twain, anon of Dickens, and often of George Eliot, for the authoress has many of the strong points of all these writers. Such wholesome and bracing literature as this may well find its place in all our homes. It is a tale of a high order, and is a real study of life. It is fresh, breezy, bracing. It is strengthening and enthralling."

"CAMBRIDGE SERMONS. By Rev. Alexander McKenzie. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. This neatly and strongly got up volume consists of sixteen fresh, vigorous, chatty, colloquial sermons. The author has the solidity of the Scotch teacher, and the polish and beauty of the English preacher combined with the freedom, the raciness, interest, and the freshness of the American pulpit orator. These discourses are orations which were delivered extemporaneously and taken down by a shorthand writer. Hence they are homely, yet eloquent; natural, yet cultivated, and come right home to the hearts of the readers. No one could tire reading these sermons. They are as racy as a magazine article, as instructive as a lecture, and as impressive and lofty as a message from God. They are thoroughly American for their fearlessness, their living energy, and their originality. Sermons of this high order are sure to be in demand."

GOOD READING.

A glance at the way reading is generally taught in our schools will convince any impartial observer that this subject is made the driest and dreariest of all studies. In our graded schools, children generally read, on an average, an hour a day during the eight or nine years' course, at the rate of less than one book a year. The average child easily learns by heart in a few weeks all there is in the first three books, after that the constant repetitions are in the highest degree monotonous. There is nothing to attract his attention or stimulate his love for reading. The selections filling fourth, fifth and sixth readers are too often far above the mental grasp of the pupil, and are also of so fragmentary a nature as to be almost unintelligible to the average student. Word pronouncing, and that alone, is the only refuge of the teacher.

There can be no excuse on account of the cost, for the money now thrown away, and worse than thrown away, upon useless spelling books and mind-stupefying grammars, would purchase a rich supply of the best reading matter the English language affords for every school in the land.

I have tried this experiment, and to my mind it is no longer an experiment. I have seen the children of the poorest and most ignorant parents taking from the library works upon history, travels, biography, and the very best fiction, exhibiting in their selection excellent taste, and showing from their manner how much they love such books. They would no more choose bad reading than they would choose bad food when wholesome is provided for them. Shameful neglect, I repeat, and not innate depravity, drives our children into by-ways and forbidden paths. Let no one preach long sermons on the depraved tendencies of the young until he has tried this simple, cheap, and practical way of avoiding an unnecessary evil.—F.W. Parker.

The Golden Text Calendar, arranged by A.C. Morrow, editor of The Illustrator of the International Sunday-school lessons, with designs by Mary A. Lathbury, is specially adapted as a holiday gift. Beautifully lithographed and printed in nine colors. It contains the Golden Text for every Sunday, and more than fifteen hundred quotations from the best authors. The background of the calendar is of sprays of apple blossoms. To the right of the pad the passing of time is represented by the flight of birds and an angel bearing an hour-glass. To the left, a young girl, with light flowing hair, stands beneath the branches of a tree, gathering pink and yellow hollyhocks. The design is worthy of the artist, and the literary selections reflect credit upon the editor. Price, $1.00.

BABYLAND. The Boston Daily Globe says: "One need not concern herself about the 'Chatterbox,' or any of the annuals made up in England for American youth, when there are better books, in adaptability of matter to age, in engravings, paper and press-work, close by her at home. The mother may find a number of annuals published in this country which will suit her taste and purpose much better, and she ought always to give them the preference. BABYLAND for 1884 is in all respects a desirable publication for the youngest readers. Its songs and stories, its speaking pictures and its general attractiveness always win the smiles of little folks."

An interesting and suggestive little treatise on the "Care and Feeding of Infants," has been published by Doliber, Goodale & Co., Boston, who will send a specimen copy free to any address.

"AN ADMIRABLE BOOK."

The Literary World, in a critical review of one of D. Lothrop & Co.'s recent publications, The Travelling Law School, says:—"Mr. B.V. Abbott's object, in the second volume of the Business Boys' Library, is to give a series of first lessons on forms of government and principles of law. This is done by means of a very slight framework of imagination, a large amount of anecdote and illustration, a singularly lucid explanatory style, and a fullness of knowledge that 'backs' the narrative with manifest strength. The Travelling Law School is a fictitious body, taken about from place to place; all the objects and experiences encountered on the journey being examined in their legal aspects and relations, and their functions as such pointed out. Things that one can own are discriminated from things that are common property; Boston, New York, and Washington are differentiated in their civil and political bearings; the laws of the streets and the railroads, of money and the banks, of wills, evidence, fraud, and so forth and so on, are expounded by means of 'famous trials' and otherwise in an ingenious, always entertaining, and thoroughly instructive manner. We do not see why a course of instruction along the line of such topics as these would not be a wise feature in many schools of the higher grade, for which Mr. Abbott's book would be an admirable text-book. The study of such a book would be in the nature of a recreation, so full is it of matters of living interest, while of its practical value there could be only one opinion. Structurally it is in two parts, the second of which, entitled 'Famous Trials,' is separately paged." 12mo, $1.00.

A STANDARD GIFT BOOK.

A new edition of Arthur Oilman's The Kingdom of Home is announced by the publishers, and will form a strong attraction for holiday book-buyers. No poetical anthology has been received by the general public with such favor as this, and the reason is not far to seek. It contains the choicest poems on home subjects ever brought together, and the merits of its selections and pictures will keep it perennially in demand as one of the best gift books in the long catalogue of household treasures. The illustrations are abundant and exquisite. There are full page pictures, tiny ones, panel ones, head pieces, end pieces; some woven into the text, some the key-note of the stanzas, some of broad suggestions, some of quaint conceit. All subjects that bring up home associations are pictorially told in what, as to the rule, is the best of engraving. The old water-wheel is there, making music in the village glen; the limpid stream winding near the farmhouse; the spinning-wheel, "merrily, noisily, cheerily whirring;" the baby of the home saying her evening prayer, and John asleep beneath the summer boughs. Everything that clusters about the fireside, breathes in farewells, sings in marriage and throbs in love, finds embodiment. The idea of home comprises everything we hold dear—wife, children, friends; the roof that covers us, and the things we have learned to love about us. It lies at the very foundation of religion, and our ideal of heaven is simply a home. It is the love of home which strengthens us to endure toil, privation and suffering, and thousands in all ages have met death willingly to sustain the sanctity of their hearthstones. There is not a poet who has lived since the dawn of historic times who has not sung its praises, and from the vast amount of literature which has thus grown up, the contents of the present work have been selected. The compiler has shown rare judgment in the performance of his task, he justly says that the treatment of this subject has not been confined to the great poets. "It is not the poetry of the intellect, but of the heart; and many who have been eloquent on no other theme, have sung the praises of home in a way that has touched the hearts of thousands." The collection, therefore, includes not only the productions of the masters, but those of many a minor poet as well. The paper is beautifully white and clear, the margin liberal, and the binding at once chaste and elegant. It will make a book for the household; "one not for a day, but for all time." 8mo, Russia leather, seal grain, $6.00.

A SPECIAL LETTER.

As an indication of the great interest aroused by the matter of one of the recent publications of D. Lothrop & Co., while it was passing through the WIDE AWAKE magazine in serial form, we print the following letter written from BROOKLINE, Mass., and dated Oct. 6, 1884, and signed "A well wisher."

DEAR WIDE AWAKE:

We have read with great interest the "Anna Maria Housekeeping Talks," and think you could not do a better work than to publish them in a cheap form, so as to be within the reach of almost any one, and so ladies could buy them for their servants to read, It cannot fail of success, it seems to me. The "talks" are too good to have their light "hid under a bushel," and ought to be in the hands of every one who has a house in charge, whether servant or mistress.

In accordance with the general desire expressed in this and similar letters, the publishers have presented the papers in an attractive 16mo volume, published at $1.00. The subjects treated of embrace directions for the table and kitchen departments, the general arrangement and adornment of rooms, matters of dress and domestic economy, and numberless small details which every young girl will desire to be posted upon, and which even trained housekeepers are often grateful for being reminded of.

LOTHROP'S ILLUSTRATED POEMS.

Among selections of the choicest works of best authors, in this department, are George Eliot's story of HOW LISA LOVED THE KING, and her splendid hymn, O MAY I JOIN THE CHOIR INVISIBLE; Tennyson's MAUD, AND OTHER POEMS, also THE BROOK, AND OTHER POEMS; Adelaide Procter's beautiful poem THE LOST CHORD; the favorite Christian songs, THE NINETY AND NINE, and JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL; and the popular song, THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET. Each volume in this Series is furnished in elegant cloth bindings, or fringed floral bindings at $1.50 each.

LOTHROP'S POPULAR LIBRARY EDITIONS.

Book lovers whose critical judgment extends to the binding as well as to the contents of a volume, will find something quite to their taste in Lothrop's new list of Illustrated Library Editions, which includes a selection of favorites presented in a form most acceptable to gift-makers, and very desirable for library use. The illustrations are by notable artists, and admirably suited to the text. In this class may be mentioned among others the volumes named below, which are published in 8vo form, extra cloth, in morocco, full gilt, at the wonderfully low prices indicated.

POETS' HOMES. The desire of multitudes to know something of the home life of the poets whose verses have become familiar in every household, will find gratification in the attractive one-volume edition of the delightful sketches edited by R.H. Stoddard, Arthur Gilman, and others, under the title of POETS' HOMES. It contains appreciative chapters upon Bryant, Longfellow, Whittier, Trowbridge, Lowell, Homes, Bayard Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Piatt, Stedman, Aldrich, and other poets of reputation. The homes of these poets are described in charming sketches, many of which are accompanied by portraits and other illustrations. Cloth, $4.00, Morocco, $8.00.

HAYNE'S POEMS. The welcome accorded to the first edition of the "Poetical Works of Paul H. Hayne," has led to the publication of a new edition. The critical estimate of Mr. Hayne's works, favorable from the outset, accords him a place among the few American writers whose works are likely to have a permanent place in public favor. As has been appreciatively said, "He is a songster of the Southern groves, and having built a nest in the wild wood (referring to his country home at Copse Hill), he is content in the companionship of his mate and his young, warbling to nature and to nature's God. If his notes reach beyond his sylvan hall, and fall upon ears without its wall, and plaudits of approval come in return, he trills responsively a grateful melody, and resumes his solo as he would do had no encore greeted him." Cloth, $4.00, Morocco, $7.00.

In the same attractive bindings, are the following complete Works of FAMOUS POETS at uniform prices, extra cloth, full gilt, $3.00. Morocco, full gilt, $6.00.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Edited, with a critical Biography, by William Michael Rossetti. With an essay on the Chronology of Shakespeare's Plays, by Edward Dowden, LL. D. A History of the Drama in England to the Time of Shakespeare, by Arthur Gilman, M.A. A Critical Introduction to each Play, by Augustus W. Von Schlegel. An Essay on Shakespeare's Indebtedness to the Bible, a List of early editions to Shakespeare's Plays; an Index to noteworthy Scenes; an Index to all the Characters; a List of the Songs in the Plays; an Index to familiar Quotations, and a carefully prepared Glossary, Shakespeare's Will, etc. The above illustrative matter makes this the best-furnished one-volume edition in the market.

LORD BYRON, with portrait, correspondence, and notes, by Sir John Gilbert, W.J. Linton and others.

ROBERT BURNS. With portrait, correspondence and notes, edited by Allan Cunningham.

GOETHE. Translated in the original metres by Edgar Alfred Browning, C.B.

JEAN INGELOW. Including "The Shepherd Lady." 400 pages.

LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL, MARMION, and LADY OF THE LAKE.

Lord Macaulay's LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. With IVRY and the ARMADA. With illustration by Wequelin.

OWEN MEREDITH (Robert, Lord Lytton). "Lucille," "The Apple of Life," "The Wanderer," etc.

JOHN MILTON. With Memoir, Introduction and Notes, by David Masson, M.A., LL. D.

THOMAS MOORE. Unabridged. With explanatory notes.

ADELAIDE A. PROCTER. There are, in this volume, gems of as noble and perfect poetry as in any language.—London Athenæum.

JOHANN C.F. VON SCHILLER. The finest one-volume edition of the works of this favorite poet.

SIR WALTER SCOTT. Including introduction and notes.

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. "No poet was ever warmed by a more genuine or unforced inspiration."