The Portland daily press., 1868-12-12
Terms $500 per. an',s,ns, S,s adrance.
Recent Publications.

1t has recently been said that to publish a
book of travels in Europe is an offense, ON the
face of it, which requires some apology from
the author to the public. We are inclined TO
accept the justice of this dictum, but We would
say that no apology which can be off red in
such a case can be considered so ample as Is
furnished by the book itself if it be good one.
l. is this best of all excuses which may be
Pleaded for Mr.. Edward King, the author of O
tile book called Ny Paris, Just issued by
i-or nG of Boston. 1t is not indeed, and ordi-
my travellers book, but a collection OF vivid
P'''u'e' OF Partisan life and sketches Of French
char'o'ei SUcA as only a slrewl aad leisureIy
observer can make. The streets, the boule-
yards, the cafeS, the attics the theatres. the
bal., the hospitals of the great city which
is the heart of France are passed in review for
us. We get glimpses of the life of the student,
the artist the workman, the Iorette, the soldier,
and many more; and what gives especial in
terest to the book, the ber;onages who appear
in it are actual ones. You know at once that
they are such people as really live and walk
The streets Of Paris. The book is one OF the
pleasantest companions one can have for SOL
itlry day in a railcar, or an evening by the
fire. An extract from tho volume will be
found upon the fourth page of this issue.
Fields, Osgood & Co., publish this week
two new volumes of noetry, both of which
have been eagerly expected. First We have
one volume of. Mr. Robert Brownins's poem
The Ring and the Book, which is tc be com
pleted in two volumes. 1t is a romance in
verse, a story OF love nd crime in Rome, two
centuries ago, told in the stately, melodious
and metaphysical verse which the author
loves. He tells US that he found the incidents
in an "old square yellow book" which lie
bought at stall for a ira and which contain
ed the report of
Roman murder-case;
Position of the entire criminal cause
or Guido Frances h nj. nob.I man,
With certain -Four the Cut-throats In his pay,
Tried all five. and tnun guilty. and put to death
BY leading OF hanging as befited ranks,
Al Rome on FEBRUARY wettN two,
Since our salvation SIX cen Ninety -eight;
Whe ein 1t is disputed it., and when
Husbands may iii alullerous wives, Vet scare
The cust0ma! forfeit
It will be seen that the tale involves ques-
tions which have not wholly died out of our
modern life, and it is the manner in which
they are discussed, the suggestions and spec
ulations which are presented to Us which keep
up our interest rather than the incidents Of
the complicated plot, or the charm of the po-
etry. The manner of telling the story Is
unique. First the author gives his version of
it; then we have the view taken of it by "Haf
Rome" then what "the Other Half Rome"
said about it; next the comments of the "up-
per circles;', then the murderer's own version,
and, finally, the speculations of the Canon
(1nnnsanhi who ia al nj. in the m IN 4.
ter. These various presentations of the case
fill the first volume of some $50 pages and
over 10000 lines. Far the sequel of the story
we have to wait for the next volume, Much
of the book will be found prosaic, but there
are passages of high p1etic beauty, many
flashes of quaint humor, and frequent in
stances of that condensation and force Of ex-
preston for which Browning's verse is nota =
BILE. Of course, to attempt any adequate crit
icism OF such work with the time and space
at our command would be absurd. We can
only indicate the character and design of the
book, and leave our readers to examine it fully
for themselves, A great deal of time and the
best powers of the author have evidently been
expended in its production. tReceived by
Loring, Short & Harmony
AS opposite as possible in character is the
other volume of poetry now befIre us, pub
lshed by the same house. Whittiers Among
the Hills, and Other Poems breathes, from its
first page to its last, the clear bracing atmos-
phere of New England and of the nineteenth
century. With the dead, far-away past and
with the dim air of crumbling, melancholy
Rome it has no more i'll common than a bob.
olink on an appletree in June has with Count
Ugolino in his tower, or the Prisoner of Chill
Ion. Less subtitle. less profound, possibly, in
its philosophy than this other book, it is not
less humanly true. 1t is healthy and fresh
as the breezes of the New Hampshire hills;
sweet and pure as the blue waters of the riv-
ers that flow down their sides. Most of the
poems in the volume have been printed bef1re,
though the longest one has received some ad.
dtions since as An Idyl OF Bearcamp Water"
1t appeared in the Atlantic Monthly. Tie two
pictures of New England farmers life which
it presents are in sharp contrast. but both are
true. The volume has several pleasing illus
trations. 1t will 5000 stand on many shelves
alongside of "Snow Bound" (Receiyed by
Loring Short and Harmony
The latest issue in the Autograph" edition
of Dickens works, published by Fields, Os.
good & Co.. is The UncoDlnlercioI Traveller. If
we mistake not, it completes the series. 1t
has several illustrations, and is a handsome
volume. (Receiyed by LDring, Short s. Har-
mon.)