commonly spoken of as the Catholic creeds." If he did say that, certainly no reader of THE WRITER should object to his being tried for heresy. His English is certainly anything but orthodox. H. L. R., JR.

WINCHESTER, Mass.

BOOK REVIEWS.

THE AFRO-AMERICAN PRESS AND ITS EDITORS. By I. Garland Penn. Illustrated. 565 pp. Sold only by Subscription. Springfield, Mass.: Willey & Company. 1891.

The first colored man's newspaper published in America was the Freedom's Journal, the first number of which was issued by Cornish & Russwurm, New York, John B. Russwurm, editor, in March, 1827. In 1870 there were but ten journals published by AfroAmericans in the United States; in 1880 there were thirty-one, most of them started after 1875, while in 1890 there were 154-a gain of 123 in the last ten years. Among colored newspaper and magazine writers who have attained eminence have been T. T. Fortune, of New York, John S. Durham, of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Robert Teamoh, of the Boston Globe, J. Gordon Street and Miss Lillian Lewis, of the Boston Herald, Professor W. S. Scarborough, contributor to the Forum, Harper's Magazine, and other periodicals, Rev. W. J. Simmons, D. D., Rev. Walter H. Brooks, D. D., and Rev. E. K. Love, editorial writers on the Baptist Teacher, and Rev. A. E. P. Albert, D. D., editorial writer on the Methodist Fournal. The colored writer has no recognition in in the South; in the North some of the white journals have had Afro-American reporters. Frederick Douglass, in answer to questions submitted to him, and to other prominent colored men, by Mr. Penn, expresses the opinion that the press in the hands of the negro has been a success, but only as a beginning. He goes on to say: "It has demonstrated in large measure the mental and literary possibilities of the colored race. I do not think that the press has been properly supported, and I find the cause in the fact that the reading public among the colored people, as among all other people, will spend its money for what seems best and cheapest. Colored papers from their antecedents and surroundings cost more, and give their readers less than papers and publications by white men. I think that the course to be pursued by the colored press is to say less about race and claims to race recognition, and more about the principles of justice, liberty, and patriotism. It should say more of what we ought to do for ourselves, and less about what the government ought to do for us; more in the interest of morality and economy, and less in

the interest of office-getting; more in commending the faithful and inflexible men who stand up for our rights, and less for the celebration of balls, parties, and brilliant entertainments; more in respect to the duty of the government to protect and defend the colored men's rights in the South, and less in puffing individual men for office; less of arrogant assumption for the colored man, and more of appreciation of his disadvantages, in comparison with those of other varieties of men whose opportunities have been broader and better than his."

These quotations show that there is a great deal of interesting matter in Mr. Penn's work. The author himself is a young man of twenty-four, a principal in the public schools of Lynchburg, Va,, and ex-editor of the Lynchburg Laborer, and he deserves credit for the manner in which he has carried through his undertaking. His book has wood-cut portraits and sketches of most of the leading colored writers of the United States more than 100 in all, and a fac-simile page of Vol. I., No. 3, of the Freedom's Journal. It is an interesting contribution to the history of American journalism.

W. H. H.

188 pp.

CRITICISM AND FICTION. BY W. D. Howells. Cloth. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1891. Criticism is seldom clad in a daintier dress than in this pretty little volume, "Criticism and Fiction," collected from the studies in criticism made by Mr. Howells in Harper's Monthly. Mr. Howells has the courage of his convictions and the strenuous faith of the realistic school of fiction to-day. He begins by saying that "what is true is always beautiful and good," and a few pages farther on condemns the ideal, and the young novelist who tries to make his characters look or talk like those of Shakespeare, Scott, Thackeray, or Hawthorne. The young novelist is instructed to idealize his personages; "that is, take the life-likeness out of them." A curious conception is this of the ideal and the way Scott and Thackeray painted their men and women; the ideal is "a type, it is artificial." It is singular that these artificial types have existed since the time of Shakespeare, at least, for some three hundred years. If" what is true is always beautiful and good," and vice versa, it would be difficult for Mr. Howells to show why these creations of Shakespeare, Scott, and Thackeray have survived, unless, indeed, it were the survival of the fittest.

Mr. Howells' book is very interesting reading, the more so because the reader is disposed to disagree with nearly every sentence, which adds a piquant sauce to the repast. Although a critic himself, Howells dismisses the critics in a breath. They can do little as guides," "Criticism has condemned whatever was, from time to time, fresh and vital in literature." He

66

makes a plea for signed criticisms, however, as having a tendency to make the critic more considerate; but, if criticism be valueless, why not dismiss it altogether? Howells praises the work of Señor Valdes, and agrees with him that the artist "must have the precious gift of discovering ideas in things." What is this but the true idealism? In fine, Mr. Howells, posturing as a realist through the whole of this entertaining little volume, is at heart an idealist, and has confused his terms, or else his readers.

E. A. T. Paper, 50 cents. 1891.

SALAMMBO. By Gustave Flaubert. 415 pp. Chicago: Charles H. Sergel & Company. This cheap edition of Flaubert's masterpiece has a portrait of the author on the cover, and has prefixed an introduction giving a sketch of his life. The translation is by J. S. Chartres, and seems to be well done. Paper and type are good, and the edition, for its price, is a very satisfactory one.

W. H. H.

THE VISION OF MISERY HILL. By Miles I'Anson. Illustrated. 150 pp. Cloth, $1.25. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1891.

Among the many books of poems constantly being issued this deserves especial attention because of the beauty of the dress given to it by the publishers. It is made in the best style of the Knickerbocker Press, with six illustrations drawn by Harry Fenn, and is altogether a very attractive volume. The author inscribes his verses to his fellow-miners of California and the Pacific Coast, with which localities many of them deal.

W. H. H.

PHOTOGRAPHIC OPTICS. By W. K. Burton. 110 pp. Paper, $1.00. New York: The Scovill & Adams Company. 1891.

The photographer who simply knows that a combination of light with a lens and a camera achieves certain results, and who is without a knowledge of the natural laws which cause those results, is indeed ignorant of an important factor in his art. "Photographic Optics treats, in a thoroughly scientific and practical manner the subject of light from its first active principle upward. The chapters on lenses and shutters are of interest to the professional and amateur alike.

B. P. R.

ARTISTIC HOMES IN CITY AND COUNTRY, WITH OTHER EXAMPLES OF DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. By Albert W. Fuller and William Arthur Wheeler. Fifth and Revised Edition. Oblong quarto. Cloth, $6.00. Boston: Ticknor & Company. 1891.

Seventy fine heliotype plates giving examples of American architecture in its latest development are included in this handsome volume. The plates show both floor plans and perspective views of the dwellings and other buildings represented, including some of the handsomest structures in America. "To keep abreast of the tide of improvement; to aid those

MINE OWN PEOPLE. By Rudyard Kipling. With a critical introduction by Henry James. 268 pp. Paper, 50 cents. New York: United States Book Company. 1891.

More of Mr. Kipling's stories will always be welcome so long as he writes as well as he does now, and this volume is sure to have an extensive sale. It contains some of the best short stories that the young author has written, including among others "The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney," "The Man Who Was," and "The Courting of Dinah Shadd." A good portrait of Mr. Kipling is given as a frontispiece.

W. H. H.

THROUGH RUSSIA ON A MUSTANG. By Thomas Stevens. Illustrated. 334 pp. Cloth. New York: Cassell Publishing Company. 1891.

Mr. Stevens is an experienced traveller, and he has had so much experience in describing his journeyings in various parts of the world that he knows the whole art of making an interesting book. His trip through Russia, while less novel than the journey described in "Around the World on a Bicycle," and less arduous than that described in his "Scouting for Stanley in South Africa," was still well worth writing about, and in his book we get a vivid picture of the Russia of to-day, away from the beaten path of travellers. A number of half-tone illustrations from photographs taken by the author increase the value and interest of the book.

W. H. H. THE OPEN DOOR. By Blanche Willis Howard. 436 pp. Paper, 50 cents. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, & Company. 1891.

"One

Miss Howard's newest novel does not possess the popular interest of "Guenn " or Summer," but it is a strong story, nevertheless, and it will find many new readers now that it is issued in the excellent Riverside Paper Series.

W. H. H.

THE GOVERNMENT HANDBOOK. By Lewis Sergeant. Third Edition. 544 PP. Half roan. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. 1891.

"The Government Handbook describes the forms and methods of government in every civilized country in the world. It contains all that was permanent in the text of the "Government Year-book," first published at the beginning of 1888, in addition to the constitutional changes which have occurred since that date, and a brief estimate of the political tendencies of the more important countries of the world. In describing the governments of different countries, where written constitutions exist, they have been either quoted in full or analyzed, and

the constitutions of different countries have been incidentally compared with each other. In connection with each country is given a brief mention of its political position and boundaries, its area and population, and the salient points of its financial condition. Questions of international government or mutual agreement, which could not be satisfactorily treated in connection with separate countries, are briefly handled in the introduction. The book is valuable to any one as a work of reference, and to writers seeking information about national institutions it is an almost indispensable help. YOUNGER AMERICAN POETS. 1830-1890. Edited by Douglas Sladen, B. A. Oxon. With an appendix of Younger Canadian Poets, edited by Goodridge Bliss Roberts of St. John, N. B. 666 pp. Cloth. New York: Cassell Publish

ing Company. 189

W. H. H.

Having noticed that Paul Hamilton Hayne was born January 1, 1830, Mr. Slader made him the patriarch of this anthology, and as the book was going to press at the end of 1889 he made it cover an exact period of sixty years. In it are represented all American poets born within that period, the patriarch of the poets now living, with a single minor exception, being Edmund Clarence Stedman. In all, including Canadian writers, 120 poets are represented. Mr. Sladen makes an interesting comparison, showing that in Stedman's "Victorian Poets" there are represented only sixty-five English poets who were born within the period 18301890. In "Younger American Poets" the reader will find many old favorites that constant quotation has made as familiar as household words. A brief biographical sketch of each author is given in connection with the quotations from his works, and the book has an excellent introduction expanded from Mr. Sladen's two articles printed in the New York Independent last year.

W. H. H.

THERE AND BACK. By George MacDonald. 634 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Boston: D. Lothrop Company. 1891.

A novel by George MacDonald is always looked forward to with interest by a wide class of readers, young and old, preachers and laymen, and "There and Back," this author's latest story, will at least compel interest by its strength, although the delicate spiritual imagination of some of Mac Donald's earlier works seems lacking. The scene opens with a picture of passion and strength. A proud baron, who had married beneath him, is presented with his first-born by the sister of his dead wife. The child is peculiarly deformed with webfooted hands and feet. The father rejects him in scorn, the aunt treasures the uncanny babe, and, when the baron marries the second time, runs off with the heir. He is brought up in humble life as a bookbinder, but learns to love a charming creature, Barbara. Side by side with his love for her, his spiritual nature develops, and when he loses sight of her he seems

to lose at the same time belief in God and better things. A striking scene in chapter fortynine is where Richard meets his father, not knowing he is his father, and makes a passionate plea for two neglected children of the baron. The story ends happily, the heir comes to his own again, and the woman he loves, and who would have married him despite his low birth, becomes a baroness. E. A. T.

ALDEN'S MANIFOLD CYCLOPEDIA. Vol. XXVII. O'FallonPalmiped. Vol. XXVIII. Palmistry-Perseus. Vol. XXIX. Perseverance-Pluperfect. Illustrated. Half morocco. New York: John B. Alden: 1891.

With the publication of each successive volume of "Alden's Manifold Cyclopedia" the value of the work increases, and it is evident now that when it is completed it will be a library in itself. The handy size of the volumes makes them exceptionally convenient for reference. They will be used a dozen times where the bulky volumes of the Britannica would be looked at once.

W. H. H.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE EARTH. By Rev. H. N. Hutchinson, B. A., F. G. S. 283 pp. Cloth. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1891.

"The Autobiography of the Earth" is an attempt to bring the scientific facts about the earth, clothed in an attractive shape, before non-scientific readers. It is not easy to give the facts of geological science in a readable shape. The book aims first to give a popular sketch of the former history of the planet which we call the earth, telling of its first appearance in the solar system, and the various changes through which it passed until it was rendered habitable to man. The book then endeavors to show how geologists obtained their conclusions; in compilation the works of Professors Geikie, Nicholson, Seeley, JukesBrown, and others have been drawn upon. Arabella Buckley, the charming writer on science (now Mrs. Fisher), has allowed the use of some illustrations chosen from her popular books. The descriptive portion of the book is enlivened here and there by some reflections of the author. One of the most interesting chapters is that on "The Forests of the Coal Period," with its illustrations of ferns of tree size. The book seems to be carefully compiled from the best authorities, and is well printed, as are all the publications of the Appletons.

E. A. T.

THE RAILWAY PROBLEM. By A. B. Stickney. 249 PP. Cloth, $2.00. St. Paul: D. D. Merrill Company. 1891.

Books upon sociology and economic problems are multiplying day by day. The age is eminently a practical one, and a work like "The Railway Problem" will attract attention from a large class of readers. This book treats of competition, the wars of rates, the fairness of legal rates, and the causes which have induced Granger legislation. An interesting chapter is

WHAT'S BRED IN THE BONE. By Grant Allen. 238 pp. Paper, 50 cents. Boston: Benj. R. Tucker. 1891.

This book ought to be widely read, if for no other reason than that to it was awarded the $5.000 prize offered by London Tit-Bits. The scene is laid in England and Africa. The hero is arrested for murder, and is found guilty, when the murderer, who is the very judge who hears the case, is stung by remorse, and confesses publicly.

O. M.

GEORGE P. ROWELL & COMPANY'S BOOK FOR ADVERtisers. 329 PP. Cloth. New York: George P. Rowell & Company. 1891.

For general use the most valuable part of this "Book for Advertisers " is the list of class publications and trade papers, which occupies about sixty pages, and includes classified lists of nearly all American publications outside of newspapers. No information is given about these publications excepting the name, the frequency of publication, and the estimated circulation. To advertisers the newspaper lists will undoubtedly be useful.

W. H. H.

LYRICS. Selected from the works of A. Mary F. Robinson (Madame James Darmesteter). 137 pp. Boards. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. 1891.

Madame Darmesteter's "Lyrics" are of a somewhat mournful tone, but they are thought

Boston:

W. H. H.

THE MUSICAL YEAR-BOOK OF THE UNITED STATES. Volume VIII. Season of 1890-1891. By G. H. Wilson. 140 pp. Paper, $1.00. G. H. Wilson. 1891. Mr. Wilson's "Year-Book" has come to be regarded as a standard work, and to those who have to write about musical happenings or are especially interested in such matters it is almost indispensable. This eighth volume is similar in character to previous issues, and it is as nearly complete as patient labor and constant care on the part of the compiler could make it. It is to be hoped that Mr. Wilson will get ample financial reward for his useful work.

W. H. H.

Mr. Putnam's "Question of Copyright" contains "a summary of the copyright laws at present in force in the chief countries of the world, a report of the legislation now pending in Great Britain, a sketch of the contest in the United States, 1837-1891, in behalf of international copyright, and certain papers on the development of the conception of literary property, and on the probable effects of the new American law." It summarizes everything that is of interest now in connection with the subject of copyright, and answers nearly every question regarding the present condition of copyright laws which is likely to be asked. W. H. H. THE PHONOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. Volume III. 1889. 288 pp. Cloth, $2.50. Cincinnati: The Phonographic Institute. 1889.

THE PHONOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. Volume IV. 1890. 384 pp. Cloth, $2.50. Cincinnati: The Phonographic Institute. 1890.

These two handsome volumes are a mine of useful information for shorthand writers, and particularly for writers of the Benn Pitman system. The editor of the magazine, Jerome B. Howard, is one of the most competent authorities in the country on shorthand matters, and that he knows how to make an interesting and successful shorthand magazine, these two volumes show. The volume for 1889 has a fine frontispiece portrait of Benn Pitman, and that for 1890 has a similar portrait of his brother, Isaac Pitman, the inventor of modern phonography. The 1890 volume also contains a number of portraits and sketches of well-known shorthand writers with fac-similes of shorthand notes, descriptive articles on various typewriters and other valuable features. Each number of the magazine contains at least six pages

of Benn Pitman shorthand for reading practice, besides a great deal of interesting matter in ordinary print and phonetic type. To writers of the Benn Pitman system the Phonographic Magazine is indispensable; to writers of other systems it is a valuable aid.

W. H. H.

FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS. By Dr. Paul Carus. 359 PP. Cloth, $1.50. Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company. 1891.

Students of metaphysics and of mysticism will welcome this latest acquisition to philosophical literature. It is really very valuable as a text-book of philosophy, especially so because it is written in language that all can understand. It covers the entire field of the known and the unknown, and while the author vouchsafes theories of his own on all cognate subjects, yet he does not insist on their being universally believed.

O. M.

313

"Down THE O-HI-0." By Charles Humphrey Roberts. pp. Cloth, $1.25. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Company. 1891.

There is a refreshing picturesqueness of description about this book, which makes it delightful reading. The author writes well and always brightly. The story is of a young girl who ran away from home in her childhood, and experiences several adventures "down the O-hi-o" before she is cared for by a sympathizing family of simple country-folks, among whom she grows to womanhood. Of course, there is a romance surrounding her, and finally a marriage to a young member of the Friends' religious society. "Down the O-hi-o" is well worth reading.

O. M.

THEODORIC THE GOTH. The Barbarian Champion of Civilization. By Thomas Hodgkin, D. C. L. Illustrated. 442 pp. Cloth, $1.50. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1891. This book carries us historically backward fourteen or fifteen hundred years to the time when the blood-thirsty northern barbarians, led by Alaric and Attila, twice conquered and then sacked the capital of the Roman Empire. With their death the barbaric tribes they had led often to victory split up, and the tribe of Ostrogoths, from which Theodoric sprang, settled in a region which now includes Vienna. By the fortunes of war, Theodoric in his boyhood was sent as a hostage to Constantinople, where the young barbarian received his first lessons in law and order, which in later years he was destined to substitute for the lawless and chaotic government of his ancestors. As king of the Goths and Romans in Italy for thirty-three years, the advancement and the welfare of his people became his earnest endeavor. He restored buried cities, rebuilt the aqueduct of Ravenna, and introduced a water supply, encouraged manufactures, erected baths and towers, surrounded the city with new walls, and kept the enemy at

a safe distance. Under his sovereignty agriculture prospered, the exporting of corn was an extensive industry, and commerce of all kinds was profitably carried on. Italy experienced a period of unusual tranquility and happiness, and in all respects Theodoric seems to have been able to rise above the disadvantages of his barbaric birth, and to prove himself to be several centuries ahead of his time. The book is an interesting and well-written contribution to the history of a period concerning which there is a dearth of authentic literature.

O. M.

These are three new paper-covered novels of the Town and Country Library Series. All three have more than average merit, and all are original in conception. The first is by Maxwell Grey, whose work, "The Silence of Dean Maitland," was such a literary success. In "The Three Miss Kings" the experiences of three orphaned English girls in getting married is the subject of an interesting narrative. "The Maid of Honor" is a story of French people, and is characteristic of the race.

O. M.

THE HOLY BIBLE. Lithographed in the Corresponding Style of Phonography by James Butterworth. 808 pp. Roan, gilt edges, $3.50. New York: Isaac Pitman's Sons. 1891. This is the third edition of the Bible which has been issued in phonography, both of the earlier editions, now exhausted, having been printed like this in the Isaac Pitman style of shorthand. The first edition was issued in 1867 and the second in 1871. All three editions have been lithographed. The transfers for this edition were made by James Butterworth, of South Shields, England, who spent a year in doing the work. The characters are beautifully written, and are so plain that a writer of any of the Pitman systems can read them with ease. The paper used was made especially for this edition, and combines thinness and opaqueness. Every shorthand writer who can afford it should own the work.

W. H. H.

OF

RUBBER HAND STAMPS AND THE MANIPULATION RUBBER. By T. O'Conor Sloane, A. M., E. M., Ph. D. 146 pp. Cloth, $1.00. New York: Norman W. Henley & Company. 1891.

A great deal of practical information about India rubber and its manipulation is given in Mr. Sloane's book. His descriptions of processes are so clear and simple that any one of fair mechanical ability can make numberless articles of the gum with home-made apparatus, the cost of which will be very small. One chapter gives full details, with illustrations, of