The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-12-30
Recent Publications.

REALMAH.-By the author of "Fr;eods ii,
COUNCIL" 12nlo. PIP. 469, Boston, Roberts Broth
ers, 1869. Sold by Bailey and Noyes.
Those who recollect the delightful pages of
friends in Council" will be prepared to en-
Joy the quaint humor and digressive philoso-
ply of "Realmah." One asks a bnndred
times while reading i" what is the author driy-
ing at! only to conclude as many times, that
his precise aim is of little consequence so long
as ne entertains you on your way to it.
with such bright bits of thought and senti-
ment, such happy suggestions and illusions
such sketchy theories, such brilliant and var;-
ous mental pyrotechnics. Yet the book. de-
sultory as 1T appears, is not without serious
purpose, and beneath Mr.. Helps gayest smile
some deeper meaning may almost ALWAYS be
detected. He is master of that happy art by
which we are really instructed while we seem
to be only amused. His philosophy is full and
sound, while comic as his illustrations often
are, they never leave common sense in the
iuich. The ring of resonant metal ALWAYS
| responds to his stroke.
The story-for there is a story-tells of a
people who, years ago, dwelt in one of the, So
called, lake cities, now submerged beneath the
Swiss lakes. No author could desire a locali-
ty better fitted to allow his imagination free
plan, since the most hostile critic could hardly
confront him with a acounter-statement of facts.
"Realmah" is the hero of the romance-the
kingly soul, the man born to command the
conqueror by royal birthright, who becomes
the leader and the benefactor of his people.
All through the narrative there runs an in
genious parallelism with modern days full of
illusions to England especially in its present
political aspect. But the story is by no means
all IN the book which claims our attention: is
chapters are interspersed with delightful con-
Versations among group of more real
dranatis persone, which the author en-
ploys as an audience to the romance
thsse people, eight i'll number, repre-
sent contrastive characters and pursuits in
life, bound together by mutual friendliness
and, for the time being assembled under the
root OF one OF the party. The host, Mr. Milyer-
ton writes the story, and expressing through
1t his views on great variety OF subje cts, SUBJ
mlts IL to the rest, who pass judgment on it
and add all sorts of pithy little fables pro yerbs
and amplifications Of their own, shown to the
reader with glimpses of a very pleasant daily
life. They discuss all sorts of topics in the
way in which bright, quick-witted thoughtful
| people in this nineteenth century do talk
when they are thrown together under faver-
able circumstances. Simple as many of the
| conversations art, free from any attempt at
| tall talk there is always something in them
to suggest thought, some idea worthy of de-
| velopment.
We confess to great likiig for these irregu-
lar books, formed on no acknowledged model
either in choice of subject or mode of treat
ment, but in which the reader is led hither
and thither as one saunters over country
road in summer, stopping here and there to
pluck flower, sitting down on a stone to rest,
pausing in sweet idleness to hear the song of a
bird, and looking by turns, sharply upon the
ground beneath us for some physical fact, or to
the heavens above us for some vague, intangi-
BILE fancy. To all who share our taste in these
things we recommend "Realmah" as supply
ing them with rich feast of delicately prepar-
| ed viands. MIN s