The Portland daily press., 1868-12-16
Terms $500 per a'a'a,.,,a, in aaranee.

caricatured, and the art which uoLos i,.oIs
felt from the beginning to the end of ,bs hoot
reSolutely refuses 10 make itself apnaren9
1t is as an idyl that the book wins upon a..
readers-as delineation of the Wholesome
country lite, which in all ages has possessed
sueh an attraction for men aid women who
Vaiue freedom more than sOc;ety-as every
body does once year at least. 1t is its appeal
10 tbs universal feeling which raises the book
10 ne rank of work of art, while the local
colorng. Indispensable to its effect, is carefully
preserved. IN the same way the FRANK and
hearty hospitality of Hannah Page, the shall
| nW eoncelt OF Sam War.er, the stee-bright
ySessssgy and polish of Mary Elliot, are ali uni
tjops qualities, but special In their manifesra-
fer Mt pefsg Elliot, for instance is very diff
| afamilv from Becky Sharp, yet there Is
a,,rratoc,ed ,nr sss and if Thackeray's typical
III a oonsc;a,,on S had only been endowed
ista,S Tnoris;tivenosw~ would swear they were
are not local characteristics, but the i,~it w
tiveness of old Mrs. Brown and Dsans..
Sharpe, and the unconscionable independsnca
OF Squire Frase-'s "hired man." would bar,llv
be found beyond the limits of New England
The sharp Characterization of these minor per-
sonaees, sometimes in single sentence, is es.
pecially admirable, though IL mast be confess
ed that there are also a number of 1st, End and
on the memory
The plot is simple, and so old fashioned that
from fist 10 last there is no bieauy in H. A
country girl OF unusual force of character and
capacity for culture falls in love with q SCHOOL,
master, who doe not fall in love with her
After recovering from this disappointment she
bestows her affections upon better mate who
mlraculously comes to life after his obituary
has appeared in all the newspapers, and the
book ends with Il marriage in prospect. It il
upon this slender thread that the story hangs.
But why talk of plots, after Dickens has
shown that the best of novels can be written
without plot.
The book though published in the name Of
sophia Cobb, is edited by her surviving sister,
Ms, MSS Emma Cobb; who, We undel stand, has
other products of their joint labor nearly read v
for publication. If The success of this first
venture should approach its merits, the second
cannot long be delayed.
'HnLsBoRo FARMS. By Sophia Dickinson Cobb.
Boston; Lee & shepard. 10 mo. pp. 423.
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY, for January, Is q
very brilliant number. All the high gods of
the New England Parnas5us ara in it, First
we have the opening chapters of Higginson's
"Malbone: an OldpoIt Romance" which Is
ripe and full of favor as a bottle OF old clarat;
then one OF Bayard Taylor's best poems, "The
Sunshine of the Godsi" next Edward Everett
Hale relates the story of "The Good .natured
Pendulum;" Parton describes "Ihe Mean
Yankees at Home;" Lowell contributes a wit
ty article "On certain Condescension in For
eigners," and poem, "The Flying Dutch
man." and there is also poem by Bryant. In
addition to these we have a chapter of boyish
"reminiscences by DR.. Holmes, entitled "Ciu.
dcrs from the Ashes" Mr. E. p. Whipple dis-
cusses "rhe Moral Significance of the Repub-
lican Triumph;" DR.. Henry I. Bowditch be-
gins series of papers ON Consumption In
America;" and Taylor describes "Fhe Teuto-
burger Forest. "Gnadenhltten," by HoweIIs:
"A Literary Gourmand," by Eugene Benson.
and Go operative Housekeeping" are the re.
naming prose articles. Whittiers fine poem.
After Election" We reprinted yesterday.
Our YoUNG Folks, for January, has fine
steel portrait of DIR. l. l. Hayes, the arctic
voyager, two tull-page illustrations, and any
number of smaller ones. "The Story of a bad
Boy" by Aldricb, begins WELL and there are
contributions from Mrs. Stowe, Mrs. Spofford,
Mrs. Agassiz, Trowbridge, the author of f"John
Halifax" and other favorites. The prospectus
of Our Young Folks for 1869 is full of brilliant
attractions.
EvERYSATURDAY, for Dec. 10. has Dickens
Ne'o Unconan1ercial Samples, being the authors
account of his voyage home from America !;
further chapters of Trollope's story; an article
on Peel, by Goodwin Smith, aud other mat
ters of interest.