say) may compare with those of Dickens, there is no doubt of the ability of the rank and file of the profession to make a better living than their predecessors did. Nevertheless, with all the conditions apparently favorable, we are unable to make up our minds whether or not, among the dozen living novelists of high repute, there is one whom we can fairly number with "the great ones gone forever and ever by." Possibly the fault may not be so much in our stars as in ourselves. Possibly the very breadth and freedom of our choice has made it the more difficult for us to choose; so that greatness might pass before our eyes and we not recognize it. Certainly the attitude, even of the intelligent portion of the public, toward the art of fiction is a curious one. Indeed, it may be doubted if most of us really recognize it as an art at all. This is one of those things that they order differently-if not better-in France. There the men read fiction; they keep in touch with its results and with its tendencies as if it were of as much consequence as finance and politics. The Frenchman may be narrow in respect of not being cosmopolitan; he may not be as familiar with Mr. Hardy or Mr. James as we are with M. de Maupassant or M. Zola; but if his reading be entirely patriotic it is at least widely intelligent within its boundaries. How many Englishmen or Americans treat fiction or, for that matter, music or painting or the drama-a a vital topic of the day? How many educated men read novels or go to concerts, except, as it were, by accident? And is not this one potent reason why our appreciation of art of any kind is casual and too often strikingly superficial? Is not much of our fiction trivial because the novelist cannot be sure of commanding a thoughtful public? " It seems easy to reply to this question by pointing to the success of "Robert Elsmere' and “John Ward, Preacher,” and to the eagerness with which the subsequent novels from the same hands have been awaited and discussed. But this is in truth no answer at all. It would be hardly an exaggeration to say that these books were read, not because they were novels, but in spite of the fact that they were novels. The philosophy beneath the fiction was the bait held out to entrap the wise. An item is just going the rounds to the effect that the stories of "Albert Ross" have reached a sale of 540,000 copies. It would be as logical to conclude that this writer represents the public taste in fiction as to make a similar claim for Mrs. Ward, and to argue that indecency is as effective a sop to those who don't care much for novels as philosophy. However, notwithstanding our elementary state of æsthetic culture, we may have had two or three great novels among the scores of excellent ones which have found their way into print since Thackeray (or shall we say George Eliot ?) died. Since they were simply works of art, and not baited with anything in particular, they must wait for a generation of finer perceptions to bestow upon them their full meed of praise. Perhaps their critics may wonder why "The Return of the Native" and "Macleod of Dare" were overwhelmed in a tide of hyperphilosophy and pseudo-realism, and why a novel like "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," appearing almost simultaneously with "The History of David Grieve," should be for the moment wellnigh ignored. We do not mean to compare the two: comparison is, except under specific circumstances, a profitless method of criticism. But surely it may be said that the greatness of English fiction has not passed away while Mr. Thomas Hardy lives to draw such characters as Tess. It is not the sort of writing which that arbiter elegantiarum and censor morum, the editor of the popular magazine, cares to encourage. It is, indeed, too vivid, too human, too daringly pessimistic for the æsthetic nerves of magazine readers. But if ever there were a soul's tragedy powerfully painted, it is in this history of a wrecked life. And if fiction is to have a serious meaning to English readers, it must base its claim upon achievements at once so subtle and so powerful as this. That English criticism does not clearly recognize this truth is perhaps one reason why it has had so little force to guide the public. What it needs most in respect to fiction, as to other arts, is a different point of view. -Providence Sunday Journal. Survey of Current Literature. Order through your bookseller." There is no worthier or surer pledge of the intelligence and the purity of any community than their general purchase of books; nor is there any one who does more to further the attainment and possession of these qualities than a good bookseller.”—PROF. DUNN. Magazine Articles are from May Magazines unless otherwise indicated. * designates illustrated article. ARTISTIC, MUSICAL, DRAMATIC. CHENEY, SIMEON PEASE. Wood-notes wild: notations of bird music; col. and arr., with appendix, notes, bibliography and general index, by J. Vance Cheney. Lee & Shepard. por. 12°, $2. Simeon Pease Cheney was a music-teacher for many years, and, being an ardent lover of nature, devoted much time to the observation of the music of the birds in different parts of the United States. This observation convinced Mr. Cheney that all music in nature, animate and inanimate, is worthy of study and imitation; that it gives out charming tones, and forms pleasing melodic strains, using all the intervals of the major and minor scales, in perfection of intonation and finish of execution. The author supports this statement by giving the songs of many birds in musical notation on the staff. Shortly after writing these papers Mr. Cheney passed away, and the work has been edited by his son, John Vance Cheney, librarian of the public library, San Francisco, who has added an appendix, notes and bibliography of much value, and a complete index. MAGAZINE ARTICLES. Thomas Couture.* Healy. Century. vere. BIOGRAPHY, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Goss, ELBRIDGE H. Life of Colonel Paul ReIn 2 v. V. 1. J. G. Cupples Co. por. fac-simile, il. 8°, édition de luxe, per set, $10. Small-paper ed., 12°, per set, $6. GRIMKE, ARCHIBALD H. Life of Charles Sumner, the scholar in politics. Funk & Wagnalls Co. por. 12°, (American reformers ser.) $1.50. Sumner is considered intellectually as a defender of humanity, and chiefly as a political force of Abolition; as the history of the man is essentially that of the movement, important facts of an exciting epoch of American history are brought out in his career. The time covered is 1811-1874. Noted abolitionists are introduced. HILLIARD, H. W. Politics and pen pictures, at home and abroad. G. P. Putnam's Sons. por. 8°, $3. LORIMER, G. C. Charles Haddon Spurgeon: the Puritan preacher of the 19th century; a monograph. Ja. H. Earle. 12°, $1; full mor., $2. ROWLAND, KATE MASON. Life of George Mason, 1725-1792, including his speeches, public papers and correspondence; with an introd. by General Fitzhugh Lee. G. P. Put nam's Sons. 2 v., por. 8°, $8. George Mason settled after his marriage on the banks of the Potomac, and became the intimate friend of Washington, to whom he was a valuable adviser and for whom he drafted the "non-importation resolutions" which the latter presented to the Virginia assembly, and One of these procured their adoption, 1769. resolutions pledged the Va. planters to purchase no slaves imported after Nov. 1 of that year. In 1775 he was a member of the Virginia Convention, and declined an election to the Continental Congress. In May, 1776, he drafted the "Declaration of Rights" and the 'Plan of Government," which were adopted As a member of the convenJune 12 and 29. tion for framing the Federal Constitution, 1787, he proposed that the election for President should be direct and for a single term of seven years. SAINT-AMAND, IMBERT DE. The Duchess of Angoulême and, the two restorations; tr. by Ja. Davis. C. Scribner's Sons. por. 12°, (Famous women of the French court.) $1.25. WORMELEY, Katharine Prescott. 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Although the purpose is the same as that of the first edition published about six years ago, the subject-matter has been revised to meet the requirements of modern surgery and medicine. Hence an additional chapter on gynecology, with the most approved methods for trained nurse or amateur. When used as a text-book it should be preceded or accompanied by an elementary course in anatomy or physiology. MAGAZINE ARTICLES. New York Trade Schools. Auchmuty. North Am. Review. The True Aim of Education. Greenstreet. West Review (Apr.). FICTION. ABOUT, EDMOND. The mother of a Marquise. [Also,] The aunt's stratagem; from the original, [French,] by Mrs. Carlton A. Kingsbury. Cassell Pub. Co. 12°, (Cassell's sunshine ser., no. 104.) 75 c.; pap., 50 c. agonizing efforts of the rich bourgeoise to beTwo novelettes of French every-day life. The come the mother of a marquise are delightfully set forth in the one story, while the strategies of the aunt to wed her niece to an artist are equally amusing in the other. BARR, Mrs. AMELIA E. Romances and realities: tales of truth and fancy. New ed. Fords, Howard & Hulbert. 12°, pap., 50 c. BATES, FANNY D., [" Beulah," pseud.] Tatters: a novel. Lee & Shepard. 12°, (Good company ser., no. 17.) pap., 50 c. Tatters is first seen as a ragged, elfish child in the Whitechapel district, London, by a stranger on a slumming expedition. Through his investigation is revealed a strange and romantic story in which an English lord, the daughter of an exiled Austrian prince, Arthur Lucy Raglan and Lucy Mawbery are the chief actors. Tatters, while in the Lunley Court tenement and Queen's Rest, is subject to spiritual visitation and dreams. Woman's Place in Modern Life. Mme. Adam. Fort. The Woman's Exchange-Charity or Business? London Society. Lady Jeune. North Am. Review. EDUCATION, LANGUAGE, ETC. BALDWIN, JOS. Psychology applied to the art of teaching. Appleton. 12°. (International educational ser., no. 19.) $1.50. The hope of producing a book helpful to the great brotherhood of teachers inspired this vol ume. During four decades these chapters have been given as lessons to many classes of teachers. The practical results in a thousand schools have been observed with intense interest. From year to year, in the light of experience and study and criticism, these lessons have been remodelled. They are now submitted in the form which seems to the author best calculated to aid teachers in preparing themselves for their great work.-Preface. EVERYBODY'S pocket cyclopædia of things worth knowing, things difficult to remember and tables of reference. Harper. 24°, 75 c. 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New [uni- CAINE, HALL. The scapegoat. New enl. il. ed. 50 c. CLIFFORD, Mrs. W. K. Love-letters of a worldly woman. Harper. 12°, $1.25. "Mrs. W. K. Clifford's Love-letters of a worldly woman' is not only a book of beauty externally, but its interior is rich in good things. The clever author is an expert analyst of the emotions of susceptible young women who have love and marriage on the brain,' as the cant phrase goes. The book has three divisions called respectively' A modern correspondence,' 'Loveletters of a worldly woman' and 'On the wane,' each illustrating traits and phases of the sex which is often fickle as well as romantic. The pages are well seasoned with spicy satire and wit."-Phila. Evening Bulletin. CORELLI, MARIE, [pseud. for Minnie Mackay.] The soul of Lilith. Lovell, Coryell & Co. 12°. (Lovell's copyright ser.) $1. El-Râmi inherited from his father, Nadir Zaranos, a collection of valuable works on mystical lore of the Orient. Through this he gains insight to secrets of alchemy and physical magnetism; these are his agents in an experiment in which he tries to solve the problem of life and death. El-Râmi's plan, however, is not successful until he recognizes his medium in a dead child; then he prevents bodily decay, arrests the flight of the soul and subjugates it to his purposes of learning the dominant power of spirit over matter. The interest is in the supernatural results of the Oriental, which are solved mostly in London. COUCH, ARTHUR T. QUILLER, [“Q," pseud.] I saw three ships, and other winter tales. Čassell Pub. Co. 12°, (Cassell's sunshine ser., no. 109.) 75 c.; pap., 50 C. The three fates. Weird tales of superstitions of English country folk, by the author of "Noughts and crosses, "The splendid spur," etc. CRAWFORD, F. MARION. Macmillan & Co. 12°, $1. DAVIS, R. HARDING. Van Bibber and others. Harper. il. 12°, $1. EGGLESTON, G. CARY, and MARBOURG, DOLORES. Juggernaut: a veiled record. New ed. Fords, Howard & Hulbert. 12°, pap., 50 c. FLAMMARION, CAMILLE. Lumen: experiences in the infinite; tr. by Mary J. Serrano. Cassell Pub. Co. 12°, (Cassell's sunshine ser., no. 102.) 75 c.; pap., 50 c. By means of supposed conversations between Quæreus and Lumen, in which the former is interrogator and the latter expounder, theories of life and death are advanced, incidental phenomena of astronomy is explained, and the question of the soul's immortality is answered. FULLER, H. B., ["Stanton Page," pseud.] The Chevalier of Pensieri-Vani. [4th ed. rev.] Century Co. il. 12°, (The century ser.) $1.25. "That unique book, 'The Chevalier of Pensièri-Vani,' which gave the reading world such a pleasant surprise more than a year ago, appears in a new and improved edition from the Century Company. Mr. H. B. Fuller, the young author, has entirely revised it and written a new chapter, and the publishers have added pretty initial letters. It is not a novel, and indeed there is no book to compare it with. Long fellow's Hyperion' and Sterne's 'Sentimental Journey' may be classed with it. But there is more wit, more refined humor, more knowledge of art and letters than in either of them. The glimpses given of Italy are full of sunshine. The prorege, the chevalier, Hors-Concours and the Countess are as purely Tuscan as the vines and olives. The absurd Margravine represents a German type, the Duke of Avon and Severn an English, and Occident, with his musical protégée, an American. These and others are brought into pleasant contiguity, and the little squabbles over pictures, Aldine editions and antiquities do not disturb the harmony."-Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. GASKELL, Mrs. ELIZ. C. Cranford. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 24°, (Knickerbocker nuggets, no. 37.) hf. cl., $1. GRIFFITH, CECIL, [Mrs. S. Beckett.] Corinthia Marazion: a novel. J. B. Lippincott Co. 12°, (Lippincott's ser. of select novels, no. 131. 75 c.; pap., 50 c. Corinthia Marazion, adopted daughter and niece of Professor Lockyer, scientist, was besides his literary associate and the betrothed wife of his son. Recognizing that his term of life is limited, the professor uses means to bring a recreant lover to terms, and thus brings about unforeseen terminations, one of which is the marriage of a churchman to an agnostic. Through the life of an ill-sorted couple and a woman's varied experiences the moral is conveyed. HAGGARD, H. Rider. mans, Green & Co. HALE, E. EVERETT. Nada the lily. Longil. 12°, $1. Sybil Knox; or, home again a story of to-day. Cassell Pub. Co. 12°, $1. When the opportunity came for Sybil Knox to end a protracted stay in Rome, she gladly seized it, and for reasons of her own took second cabin passage in the Tropic; she has for a fellow-passenger Bertha Gerhard, in quest of a lost husband. The story tells how Mrs. Knox aided Bertha in the search, and of her impressions and experiences in her native New England village, Atherton; in these there is food for Speculation, comparisons and social study. HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER, ["Uncle Remus," pseud.] On the plantation: a story of a Georgia boy's adventures during the war; il. by E. W. Kemble. Appleton. por. 12°, $1.50. HARTE, FS. BRET. Colonel Starbottle's client, and some other people. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 12°, $1.25. Contains, besides the title story, The postmistress of Laurel Run," ""A Night at Hays," "Johnson's old woman," " The new assistant at Pine Clearing school," " In a pioneer restaurant," "A treasure of the Galleon," Out of a pioneer's trunk," "The ghosts of Stukeley Castle." HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL. The house of the The governor, and other stories. C. Scribner's Sons. 12°, $1; pap., 50 c. Contents: The governor; A deedless drama; As the sparks fly upward; A matter of fact; A fresh-water romance; The end of the beginning. stories of recent years are included here. The best of Mr. Hibbard's popular magazine HOWARD, BLANCHE WILLIS, [now Mrs. Julius von Teuffel,] and SHARP, W. A fellowe and his wife. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 12°, $1.25. HOWELLS, W. D. The quality of mercy: a novel. Harper. 12°, $1.50. KING, GRACE. Tales of a time and place. Harper. 12°, $1.25. Contents: Bayou L'ombre; Bonne Maman; Madrilène; or, the festival of the dead; The Christmas story of a little church; In the French quarter, 1870. All but the last story, which has its scene in Paris, are tales of the South, Louisiana, chiefly, before and just after the war. They are rich in pathos and dramatic incidents. LEFFINGWELL, W. BRUCE, ["Horace," pseud.] Manulito; or, a strange friendship. J. B. Lippincott Co. 12°, $1.25. Manulito is an Indian of the kind celebrated by Cooper, brave and generous, the trusted friend of a young white man. In a momentary impulse of his savage nature he seeks his friend's life. How he expiated this fault, and how the "strange friendship" became more strongly cemented between the two, is told in a story of early Western life, containing exciting hunting episodes and accounts of the horse-races, shooting matches and other rude festivities of a frontier village. LEMORE, CLARA. A covenant with the dead: a novel. J. B. Lippincott Co. 12°, (Lippincott's ser. of select novels, no. 132.) pap., 50c. When Lord Mirfield was fatally wounded in a railway accident, he sent for Abney Garth, his father's secretary, and after an unlookedfor confession, extracted from Garth a promise. The effects of this covenant and Garth's manner of keeping it take up most of a story in which the heritage of Fallow plays also an important part. MAARTENS, MAARTEN. A question of taste. Lovell, Coryell & Co. 16, (Lovell's Westminster ser., no. 67.) pap., 30 c. The hero, a bachelor, used to the excellent cooking of his mother, does not recognize that he is at a disadvantage until her death, when some culinary mistakes of his handmaiden warn him of this. He seeks a remedy in the restaurant cuisine. This likewise proving a failure, Joris Middlestrum makes another venture, in which he proves that cooking is a question of taste. MACQUOID, Mrs. KATHARINE S. Maisie Derrick. Lovell, Coryell & Co. 12°, (Lovell's international ser., no. 208.) pap., 50 c. Yardon Hall, an old English manor house, is the scene of the story. Here Maisie Derrick lived an uneventful life until her grandfather brings Druscilla Lescure to live at the hall. This incident is followed by disappointments and a mystery that involve a young man's constancy, a girl's happiness, a woman's treachery and a misanthrope's money and secrets. MALLOCK, W. H. A human document. Cassell Pub. Co. 12°, (Cassell's sunshine ser., no, 103.) 75 c.; pap., 50 c. "Seems to have been inspired by the reading of Marie Bashkirtseff's 'Journal.' Impressed with what he designates as the moral daintiness' of this hysterical child of genius, Mr. Mallock found himself, after perusing her memorable confessions, wishing that she had been swept off her feet by some real and serious passion,' and in 'A human document,' purporting to have been compiled from the diary of a beautiful Viennese, the wish is apparently fulfilled. The chief characters of the story are a young English poet and diplomat named Grenville, and Irma Schillizzi,the wife of an Austrian engineer. Their sentimental attachment is detailed with extreme fidelity and the ending is not at all in harmony with melodramatic ideas. Mr. Mallock is known to be an audacious student of the feminine heart, and in the depiction of Irma Schillizzi he has accomplished an exceedingly brilliant piece of literary dissection."-The Beacon. MILLET, F. D. A capillary crime, and other stories. Harper. il. 12°, $1.25. Contents: A capillary crime; a faded scapular; Yatil; Tedesco's Rubina; Medusa's head; The fourth waits; The bush. NEEDELL, Mrs. J. Hodder. The story of Philip Methuen. Appleton. 12, (Appleton's town and country lib., no. 90.) $1; pap., 50 c. Philip Methuen was the only son of a younger son. Disappointment in his own career led Methuen senior to educate Philip for the priesthood. Just before he is ordained, however, his destiny is changed by the sudden death of his cousin, and Philip is a most unwilling successor to a title and Methuen Place. The interest is in the sad effects of a strong man's self-sacrifice for what he believes to be right and just. The story occurs mostly in Dorsetshire. ROBINS, G. M. The ides of March. Lovell, Coryell & Co. 12°. (Lovell's international ser., no. 193.) pap., 50 c. One of the inheritances of the Westmorlands, an old English family of great wealth, was a prophecy" in doggerel, to the effect that when the last son was the only son of a younger son, and did not marry before the new moon fell upon a Sunday, March 1, that the family would become extinct. This coincidence of the moon only occurred twice in one hundred and fifty years, and was noted by the almanacs to happen in the year following that in which dwindled down to a father and son, who fulfilled The Westmorlands had the story opens. the conditions outlined by the "curse." The story turns on the many efforts the father makes to have his son marry before the fatal day. SCHUBIN, OSSIP, ["Lola Kirschner,"_pseud.] Felix Lanzberg's expiation; tr. by Elise L. Lathrop. Worthington Co. il. 12°, $1; pap., 50 c. SEELY, HOWARD. The Jonah of Lucky Valley, and other stories. Harper. il. 12°, (Harper's Franklin sq. lib., new series, no. 719.) pap., 50 c. Stories which have appeared in Harper's Weekly, Peterson's Magazine and Texas Siftings. Besides the one which gives title to the volume are: A romance of the Big Horn; A Daphne of the foot-hills; The sheriff of Oskaloo; "Yaller-bird" and Yaller-bird's Christmas turkey. STEVENSON, ROB. L. Across the plains; with other memories and essays. C. Scribner's Sons. 12, $1.25. Sidney Colvin, at Mr. Stevenson's request, made the selection of papers embraced under this title; they had appeared at different times in Fraser's, Longman's, Scribner's and the Magazine of Art. "Across the plains," written in 1879, purports to be leaves from the note-book of an emigrant between New York and San Francisco; The old Pacific capital" (1880) relates to Monterey; "Fontainebleau, village communities of painters," is dated 1882; these are followed by the " Epilogue to an inland voyage,' "Random memories," 46 The lanternbearers," "A chapter on dreams," "Beggars" and "A Christmas sermon." SMITH, F. HOPKINSON. A day at Laguerre's and other days nine sketches. Bost., Houghton Mifflin & Co. $1.25. Artist's ed., [limited to 250 copies,] 12°, net, $3. STOWE, Mrs. HARRIET BEECHER. Uncle Tom's cabin. New universal ed. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 12, 50 c.; pap., 25 c. TASMA, (pseud.) The penance of Portia James. United States Book Co. 12°, $1.25. The author of "Uncle Piper of Piper's Hill" their parts in a story of artist life. The scenes, has again taken Australian characters to play however, are chiefly in England and France. faithlessness of her husband, leaves him, supPortia James on her wedding day learns of the ports herself as a model, and finally does pen ance by taking care of her husband's child at the sacrifice of her life's happiness. TINCKER, MARY AGNES. San Salvador. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 12°, $1.25. TOURGÉE, ALBION W. Murvale Eastman, Christian socialist. New ed. Fords, Howard & Hulbert. 12°, pap., 50 c. |