The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-21

THIS story passed into a srain OF musio
Set for sweet singers and 10 Lc'bsn iutes.
Such is the story, elegantly told, replete with |
beauties of the highest order. Tle whole work |
is calculated to add greatly TO Bulwer's fame,
showing him as IL does in an entirely new hight,
and proving his powers TO extend into field in |
which he has heretofore been stranger. The
volume, though small. is literary gem, and all
of taste and judgment will not tail to appreciate
its merits. .H =.
The ADVENTURES OF REUBEN DAvIDGE IN
BORNEo. BY James Greenwood. Harper 81
Brothers. j. B. Lippincott Co. ..
lively, spirited work for boys. II has no
false sentimentality, no pedaDtic display of the
authors knowledge OF unOronounceable botani-
cal names, but is written In a simple clear style,
conveying considerable information under the
guise of adventures. The author particularly
informs Us that his hero was confined seventeen
years and four months among the Dyaks of
Borneo, and gives us an account OF his doings.
1t is of deep interest full of incident, without
any of the defects so common in works of its
class. What we need in America is a greater
supply of books for boys. When children are
given love sick romances their taste is vitated if
not their morality tainted. A few such national
productions as Tom Hughes furnished England
America. "Reuben Davidger" is one of the
needed kind, spicod with excitement and min
gled with faint of the terrible.
THE GOLD ERIoK. BY Ann S. Stephens. I. B.
Peterson d Brothers.
We had though. hat Mrs. Henry Wood could
invoke more ghosts, secure more heroes with
whom bigamy was virtue, ard heroines with
whom infanticide was petty oAense, than any
NJ thor attfhc l,ri, Id, 4oI
lowed on her closely and MIS-. Southworth some
times almost overlook her; but her imaginative
powers have heretofore kept her the lead. But
her prominence must fade before the horrors
conjured by the prolific pen OF Mrs. Stephens.
From the opening paragraph to the happy con-
cus on, the cIt nEing of CHAINS and the groanings
of captives are never allowed Tor a moment to
subside. Others writers have commenced their
volumes with a single murder; but Mrs. Ste
phens does not condescend to enter into the
pit and fight rivals with ordinary we lpons. She
seizes on the massacre of San Domingo, and lays
before us, not a coroner's jury and corpse, but
ships crew and beach lined with mutlated
human forms.
To keep up the superiority of the horrible
something original is necessary. The writer
secures this in prison, which, we are assured,
stood over copper mine, in which the convicts
were compelled to work, and where, for disobe-
dience, they were placed in an oven at about
| 2l2 degrees Fahrenheit, and slowly roasted.
Whether they were afterwards eaten Is unknown;
but as a slave is depicted as furnishing his young
master with steak cut from his own person,
we would not be surprised if Connecticut had
in the early part of the century, cannibalistic
| jailor.
/
From what we have said, our readers may con-
clude that the "Gold Brick" is a very terrible
and very interesting work. Interesting is
hardly the Notwithstanding is nearer the
truth. Perfectly unnatural its extreme disre-
gard for anything like probability Is its chief
merit. To those who fear no ILL., and like series
of literary plunges in the stream of horror, we
recommend the work. As there are more who
love the horrid than the legitimate, we suppose
it will have large sale. Messrs. Peterson pub
lshes it in their usual neat form.
PETROLEUM. History of the Oil Regions of
Pennsylvania. BY Rev. s. j. N Eaton. j. p.
Skelly Co., No. 7S3 Chestnut street, Phila-
delphia. "
Although the excitement incident to oil specu.
lation has died away, and those who 1ejoiced at
the naming OF petroleum now hear it mentioned
with rage and despair, yet it is of interest to
have an authentic narrative of what gave rise
to such fever, and the causes of its decline.
Mr.. Eaton, for many years a resident of Frank
lin, has witnessed the whole process, under
stands thoroughly the ns and outs of the trade,
knows from practical examination all about the
process of boring, and gives us the result of his
knowledge in the work before u.s. 1t is valuable
because of its evident truth, and the complete
familiarity of the author with his subject 1t is
published by new house, ]. p Skelly &
Co., who are well knoGn in the sale of engrav.
ings and 10 whom we tender our best wishes in
their new trade.
FAMILIAR ASTRONOMY. BY Hannah NJ. Bouvier.
Sower, Barnes q Pott No. 81 N. Third street
This work is a practical teacher In the study
of the stars. Astounding in questions, with the
answers given, ii cannot fail to be a most valu
able auxiliary to all textbooks on the subject.
In fact, any work having the imprint of thi.
house may be regarded as standard. Careful il
the style OF its publications. examining each
and issuing only the best, it has risen to a mrs
place in the rank of school-work publishers
This last addition cannot but prove most wei
come, for with 1t student, without an in
structor could become conversaut with tht
principles of the mystic, occult science. It il
made so plain that he who runs can read.
We have received from Carleton New York
through T. b. Peterson & Bros, at the last mo
ment, a copy OF "Baked Meats After the Flu
neral" by Miles O'Reilly &C. G. Halpine), and
"Jargal," by Victor Hugo, which we will notic,
next week.
OUR MAGAZINES.