The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1868-02-25
BOOK NOTICES,

"BROwNLOwS.n novel. BY Mrs. OFT
being Wc psy' Fl my
Of Select Novels. Published BY HARrER
BBaos, New New Y s,' Fol, sale 81 En.SoH &
This novel 10 fresh certifsste to the irresisti-
Bile attractivcness OF Mrs Oiiphants pen. We
have derived much pleasure, not unmiyed with
profit, from It's pcrusaL II 10 not an indefinite,
pufposeiess book, oarelesaly and sloveniy written
-pailins on the taste with its senseless verbiage
and insipid twaddie. A strong undercurrent Of
intense thought, a directnees Of ain, q won.
derful resolving Of the feelings and emotions Of
the human heart, courses through and imparts
value to each line. We are disguised with no
fustian or tinselly ornAteness, wsaried with no
tritensss OF incident or pisgiArized scenes,
panied with no gross conceits or indelioate per-
ceptions. All is chaste, dlgniHed, elegant. The
man OF business, or the father, following Mr..
Brownlow through his hard mental struggle be-
tween exped cncy and right, cannot but feel the
naturainess Of thought suggested, and HE probs-
bic similar tampering with rectitude and duty
under samencss Of circumstances. The impul-
sivc, pctted child, or the fond daughter in trac-
| ing Ssra's hungerlng after noble, worthy life,
her ethereslized speculations, whinsicalities
| and mistaken self-abnegstion, cannot withhold
sympathy or deny kindred responses OF thought
and feeling. The cold, platonic young man In
| accompanying Jack through his crude caloula-
lions and philosophical homilies, through his
gradual decline and malfeasancc, cannot but
| tremble as to the security Of his own ration
| alism. 1t Is a book clearly sending forth its
| warning voice against the arguing with evil,
against the dependence on human proposals,
against the reliability Of fortune, trust In the
changcable affections of the heart.
GOLD FRITZ AND THE NEW ERA" by L.
| MuHLBAch. Translated from the German by
conpiet. in one volume. PaslsSed b BY D. AZ:
FRENcu RioHAnDsoN, asi Pennsylvania
| avenue.
This Is another Of Louisa Muhlbach's agreeable
compounds Of history and romance. Scattered
facts in German history during the seventeenth
century arc here collected, subjected to careful
distillation, and given In the pleasing shape of
| connected, impressive narrative. We arc intro
duced to Frederick the Great, alias odd Fritz, ,
as he was In his last days: a weak, repining
unhappy king. As he PAGES his lonely apart
ment, lamenting the decay OF strength and vigor
recalling the adulation and greatness OF the
past, haunted by faces which once formed a cher
.ished circle-hope in tho present fnds itsel
merged In rccollections Of the past. Through
him we have the other and most important mem
bers OF the family presented. Thus the stern
ness and inexorability, as well As the acutenes
and penetration Of the old kiag, Is shown in hi
dealings with the intrigues, manor atlas, and So
| perstitions Of Prince Frederick william, heir
apparent to the throne. His watchfulness, care
and tenderness is displayed in his interest in
strict supcrintendence Of the education of hi
grsndchild, afterwards Frederick William tn
Third. A page or two from doethe's Records 4
intcrloped, adding much to the interest Of tn
work. The Rosicrucians, who fourished In tina
century, are Also exhibited In the exercise o
their mystic spells and strange incantations-
their pseudo miraclesand spiritual invocationi
German life, In the court, the field, the council
in the wild fsneles, yagueness and superstition
characterizing that era, all flnd correct portray
ais in the pages Of this book. .r....- ..