The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-12-21
New Publications.

| ST.. ELMO A Novel. BY Augusta j. Evans,
Author of "Beulah," "Macaria," etc. New
York: Carleton Publisher
The many readers who remember Miss Evans
novel of "Beulah," will be glad to meet this
| new production from her pen. There is a fas-
cination in her stories fervor in the style and
a vividness and warmth in the descriptions
which never fail of their charm. Were her
| knowledge of life and character as correct
as her Imagination is vivid, and were her afflu-
emit fancy and rich command of language sub
jected ito the control of severer taste, she
might be one ..of our very best fiction writer's.
| AS it is, her books disappoint even while they
charm us, for it seems as if the author might
have made them better than they are.
"St. Elmo" is the story Of poor orphan who
is adopted by a rich lady, who falls
| in love with and rs beloved by the brilliant
but wicked son Of the latter, and of the vicissi-
tHdes which befel them both before arriving at
the happy consummation of reformation and
| matrimony. The character of the heroine is
well conceived, but unfortunately the author
has thought fit to add to her attractions by
| making her so learned as to be quite appalling.
At seventeen, this prodigy of erudition has
mastered dozens of studies which singly would
| take the lifetime of an ordinary man; and she
| scarcely condescends to talk exceptin Hebrew,
Sanskrit and other. equally ancient tongues
The hero is represented as noble nature
warped and perverted, sinful, to be sure, but
always, we are told, a "high bred gentleman"
He will strike most readers as a boor and a
ruffian. He swears at his mother, kicks the
furniture when in passion, and takes plea
sure in insulting those below him and in tor
turing the defenceless. These little peculiari-
ties rather seemed to increase his attractions
in the eyes of the heroine; but then, we believe
it is the theory of modern female novelists that
| women's hearts are best won by judiciOus
system of rudeness and arrogant snubbing,
tempered by rare intervals of lofty condescen-
sion. Even the gifted author of adam Bede"
has apparently fallen into the same idea and il
Illustrated it in the instance of sweet Esther Ly-
on and that laundering BOBBY, Felix Holt. Such
may be the approved method OF love-makng
with the women of their creation; but we
should not advise any young man, DESTROYS of
recommending himself to wide-awake girl
of flesh and blood, to tryit. A somewhat init
mate knowledge of the female sex, extending
over period of several years, has led us to
the belief that they very generally prefer cour-
tesy to rudeness, Difference to Indifference, and
compliments to scolding.
The faults of this book are however such as
grow rather out of the unpruned redundancy
than the deficiency of the authors powers, and
she has in spite of them made very interest
ing story. Its tone is elevated, and very sin
cerely religious, and it can at least exert no
harmful influence on the most youthful read
| er.
For sale at Packard's.
A1sop's Fables. Illustrated The PEOPLES
Edition New York: Fowler g Wells Re-
celved OF Lee & Shepard, Boston (For sale
by Bailey & Noyes.j
A complete, tasteful yet not too expensive
edition of the fables of the old Lydian story
teller has for some time been adesideratum. and
we are glad to find in the little volume before
us very successful combination of these yari
GUS requisites. tits compact in form, being
printed in double columns on clear and hand
some page, abounds in spirited illustrations,
and is tastefully bound and gilt. Just the
thing for Christmas for boy or girl
| IHE CHILDREN OF THE FRONTIER One vol
l6mo Illustrated. New York: ID. Appleton
q Co.
This is an agreeable little volume for children
designed to combine amusement with instrnc
| tion.I The sketches and incidents which form
the leading features of the story are, the editor
tells us, from the pen of Theodore Lund. a
Danish artist, we'll known in the West The
| Volume is pleasant addition to the store of
books from which young peoples libraries are
to be selected. For sale by Davis Brothers,
and Bailey 8 Noyes