The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-10
LITERATURE.
REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.

-.
SERMONS BY HENRY WARD BEEoHER. In two
volumes. Published by Harper & Brothers.
Philadelphia Agents: Claxton Remsen &
HaffelfDger.
These volumes contain forty sermons
preached by Mr.. Beecher, mostly In Plymouth
Church, Brooklyn, during the past ten years;
and they have been selected with the idea OF
presenting, as far as possible, correct view
Of the range of subjects he is accustomed TO
employ in his ministry. His discourses in re-
gard to the application of Christian truth to
the public questions of the day have been re-
served, and it is intimated that they may be
published in separate volume. Henry Ward
Beecher, more perhaps than any other
preacher of the gospel can claim to be a
power in the land His utterances always
claim hearing from his enemies as well
as friends; for it is well understood that
he always says something worthy of atten-
tion. Mr.. Beeoher, however, is too often
looked upon as mere sensationalist and
political preacher; and before the Re-
bellion brought the slavery question
to a crisis, aud enlisted every right
thinking man in the Union ON the side
of abolition, he was esteemed by perhaps a
majority OF his oountrymen as a mere poliu-
cal demagogue, who prostituted his sacred
Office by stirring up strife and dissension on
the vexed questions Of the day. Mr.. Beecher,
however, has got the majority on his side
now, although there are still many who retain
their old prejudices against him, notwithstand-
Ing the fact that they have altered their views
on the points of politics in which they once
differed with him most materially. We think
it WELL therefore, that in this collection of SER
mons Mr.. Beecher should have dropped poll
tics, and that he should have appeared only
as an earnest, independent, and fearless minis
ter of the Gospel of Christ. We commend
these volumes to Christians of all denomina-
tions and all shades of opinion, with the assu-
rance that they will find in them much of
profit and instruction, much profound thought,
and much genuine eloquence in the exposition
of the divine principles Of Christianity.
The sermons before us have been selected,
with Mr.. Beecher's approval, by the Rev.
Lyman Abbott, and in revising them for pub
ication Mr.. Beecher has chosen to present
them just as they were taken down phono-
graphically at the time of delivery, removing
only the most obvious faults which did not
inhere in their very structure.
THE WoMAN's KINGDOM By Mrs. Dnah Mu-
loeh Craik, Published by Harper &
Brothers. Philadelphia Agents: Claxton,
Remsen & HafFelfnger.
This is the latest aud, in many respects, the
best work of the esteemed author of 'John
Halifax" To those who have perused Mrs.
Craik's previous writings this statement is a
sufficient assurance that "The Woman 5
Kingdom" is not only novel that will repay
perusal, but that it is worthy of permanent
place in the library as household treasure, to
be referred to again and again with pleasur 9
which only good and noble book can in
spire. The title is an indication of the aim
Of the work, which endeavors to show, in a
gracefully written story, the influence of women
in the formation of character, their mission
as comforters and CONSIDERS and the response :
bilities which attach to them therefrom. We
would be doing no service to our readers to
give them description of the plot of the
story, which is simple in its construction and
satisfactory in its denouement. The following
dedicatory verses addressed to Mona Margaret
Paton-the little daughter Of James Noel
Patton, the artist, we presume-have a grace
and pathos Of their own which comma snd
them, and which persuade us to quote them,
independently of the fact that they accurately
describe the aims of the delightful story to
which they are pre6xed:-
My little girl sweet uncrowned queen
OF q fair kingdom, dim aud far;
Whose budding life, meath rosy screen,
Scal ce recognizes yet, ween,
What lives Of other women are;
Child. when the burden we lay down.
Thy tender hands must litt and bear
Green wreathed or hung with dead leaves
Take courage, both are holy wear.
Better to love than to be loved; ~
Better 10 serve and, serving. guide,
Than wait, with idle oars improved,
And fapping sail by each breath moved,
The turning of LIES solemn tide. III
Live, work. and love, as Heaven assign,
For heaven, or man, this sacred pArt
Ancestress of noble line
Or calm in maidenly decline;-
But keep till death the woman's heart.
Many Of those who read "The Woman's
Kingdom while it was being published seri
ally in Harper's Magazine, will doubtless be
pleased to have the completed work in the
book form in which it is now issued. The
story is copiously illustrated, but the majority
of the designs are not frSt-rate. few-whict
we take to be Mr. w. Small's, from the style
are very good, and admirably represent the
characters of the novel.
From Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfnger W,
have received "Life's Lottery, or Life and i'll
Aims" This is the fourth edition OF q story
xrbioh hoe nbfaiuad oous;dara bIa ar;f ~,