The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-01-29
LITERATURE.
EvIEW OF NEW BOOKS.

AT Know ABOUT BEN EcCLBs. By Abrs-
am Page. Published by }. b. Lippincott
Co.
Is pleasant occasionally to meet with a
Ter who has a pleasantly original style,
,, without shocking our preiudioes, by his
iations from the accustomed order of things,
offending by efforts at strangeness aud sim
arity, knows how to tell the old story OF
e, hope, longing, and despair in such
inner as to give it all the charm of entire
Felty. The author of the work before us
s not do this altogether, but he has his own
y Of telling his story, and his deviations
m the ordinary routine of story-writers
hstitute the principal charm of the book
mewhat inclined to be garrulous, Mr.. Page
Pnches off from his main narrative a dozen
hes in every chapter to discourse upon every
pic under the sun; and il his philosophical
heotions and conclusions are neither very
Nv nor very profound, they are characterized
much shrewdness and practical common
nse. The author apologies for his wander.
)gs too often, however, and there are some
Unnecessary sneers at Puritanism and the
bnkees, two subjects that Mr. Page was evi
ently not sufficiently well informed about to
laks his opinions Of any value. The story o.
en Eocles is well worthy Of attention on its
Wn account. The characters are lifelike, and
be sketches of society and manners in a
forth Carolina village have an appearance OF
kuth and fidelity.
From Messrs. Smith q English we have
eeeived "The Letters of Madame de S6vigI6"
|nd "The Letters of Lady Mary Wortley
iontagu.' Published by Roberts Brothers,
Boston. Both of these volumes are edited by
lrs. S. J. Hale, who has arranged the letters
or the greater convenience Of the reader by
discardipg the order in which they were
written, and grouping those addressed to each
person together. Short Introductory bio.
graphical sketches of Madame de S6vignt
|snd Lady Mary Montagu are also given
These two famous letter-writers were remark
|able women, and they lived in remarkable
|tmes. Their writings give us great amount
Eof historical information about men ant
women, manners and customs, that can b.
obtained from no other source. Lady Mary
Montsgu, if she did not take Madam
fde S6vigI6 as her model, at least endeavorec
Ito rival the purity and grace of her style
THE letters of both ladies have been. .esteeme,
\ as models of composition, but hitherto the.
|have not been generally accessible. Th
edition issued by Messrs. Roberts Brothers
handsomely printed and bound, and is to b
Recommended to those who wish to read tn
/ letters on account of the interest of their sub
|jects or to study them as models of style.
-Messrs. Fields, Osgood & Co. are pub
Fishing uniform edition OF Charles Reade'
novels, which will be agreeable intelligence
Yer the admirers of that author. Hitherto Mr.
Reade's stories have been issued in all name
of styles, shapes, and sizes, to the disgust o
book buyers who like to have uniformity Of
their library shelves. This edition is printe
lin double columns, on fine paper, and is taste
fully bound in green cloth. "Hard CASH
and "Foul Play" have been issued, and ar
for sale by Turner Brothers & Co., No. so
Chestnut street.
-Sloan's Architectural Revie,o for Februar
has reached us, and we find it, as usual, file
with interesting articles on architecture an
building. The editors judiciously divide thei
space between the artistic and practical, an
those who are not particularly interested
architectural matters will find the architecture
Reriew to contain a large amount of interes
ing reading. The February number has fiji
designs for stores, churches, villas, ETC., wit
full descriptions OF all the details. Publishe
by Claxton, Remsen & Hafelfpger.