The New York herald., 1869-05-23
LITERATURE.
Raxia,x- Of New hooks.

Revfewp Of New Books.
THE On TESTAMENT HIsTORy. From tue creation
TO the return OF the Jews from captivity Edited
the University OF London. With maps and wood
cuts. New York; Harper Il Brothers, publishers.
1862
best "text book for the illustration Of OLD Testsmens
history" that exists at the present time. IL % writ
ten In an easy. interesting style giving all ths facts
narrated In the Old Testament. with copious and
valuable notes. We have no doubt that many Of the
spccuiations which the author indulges In can be
easily confuted; indeed. theRnly Objectionable fsa-
ture In the book these specdlalions For instance
we are told that the attempt to build city with s
sop reacnirg 70 heaven or, IN other words the
several times attempted since IN the name OF uni
versal empire. Three times was 1t made on the
very sp0s ny Nebuchadnezzar Cyrus and Aexan-
der. IL has been repeated In the empire OF Ihe
ROmans, and in its attempted revival by Charlie
magne and Napoleon" The connection OF the last
names with the subject ts sheer nonsense and ex-
hibits the animus OF the author. Neither Charlie
magne nor Napoleon aimed AZ universal empire 1t
is To be dcpl0rei that IN able work. such this
is Intended for the use OF students anything pail
paby absurd should have been permitted 10 find
place. Elsewhere and on other subjects we find tbe
same kind OF speculations, the author being at times
nnacc0untably reckless In his assertions II the OBJ
jecu0nabe feature to which we have alluded could
he eliminated this book would be unequalled by any
otner OF It's kind. Even as 1t fs II must rank ~ .
valuable production The mechanical execution u,
Harper, very excellent.
The NEW WEST; OR, CALIFORNIA IN ls67-68. Bv
Charles L0rlng Brace. New York: e. p. Putnam
son.
We cannot imagine for what purpose Mr. Brace
has written this book. Written records OF travel
and adventure are worth but little to the public II
they contain nothing new. The drst duty Of the
tourist author Il to depict scenes which have
before-or, at any rate very sedOm-been described.
Is 1t likely that Mr. Bayard Taylor would make
trip to Europe at this time, and returning publish
book containing nothing fresher than descriptions
OF 81. Paus Cathedral, Hyde Park, Windsor Castle,
the Tuileries. the Triumphal Arch aud other like
subjects with which our great grandfathers
were made familiar by other tOuristss We think
not Are we not as familiar with the characteristics
OF the people Of san Francisco a. we are with the
appearance Of the Vatican ut KOmes Has not the
old story OF gambling In mining stocks in California
been told over and over agains Has not the VAL
Icy OF the Yosemite been 'doDe to the death"
In all manners and shapesP Have We not had the
Digger Indians and those blessed Chinese written up
for our literary edldcati0n at least one thousand
timesf EvenS0uthern California with its apathetic
Inhabitants, delightful climate, splendid vineyards
and silk growing enterprises, is ike an old friend
We do not exaggerate when 1t Is asserted that Mr..
Brace could have remained at Hastings s-upon'
without going to the expense OF visiting
California. ON the whole, while this book
is not badly written and is not uninteresting 1t ills
vacant place the history OF the United States
With an almost unbounded held for an important
work Mr.. Brace has confined himself to
repetition of what others have said and said well
Even to those who have occasionally read the san
Francisco newspapers, without having read other
counts Of California this volume Of nearly four nun
dred pages will not convey much information. We
readily admit that n s well written; and that 1t viii
prove interesting to all who have never read any
thing about California (and no doubt there are
many such) we also agree to; but to that class OF
men most likely to read 1t the book s Of little value.
THE CHANGED BRIDES. BY Mrs. Emma ID. l.. N.
SOuthwOrth. Philadelphia: 4. Is. Peterson q
Brother.
We doubt II there is moro prolific writer IN the
United States than Mrs. S0uthworth. New novels
from her pen follow each other with rapidity
almost bewildering "The Changed Brides" Is writ
ten in the easy fluent STYLE that cbaracterizes all
the works OF the author. SO far the plot is con-
cerned 1t Is better than that OF 'How He Won Hern
and is interesting enough. That II viii commando
very large circulation we have no doubt. II Glow
He Won Herr could attain sufficient popularity to
call for a fourth edition. ''Tho Changed Brides"
talny deserves to reach It's eighth edition. Novel
reading IA undoubtedly merely a question OF taste,
and that Mrs. SouthwOrth's works have always pos
sesseo large number OF readers is stubborn TACT
which 1ser critics cannot do away with. We must
say, however that the book before can accept
bly, while away an Idle hour.
MODERN PRACTICE or THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH
A Handbook for Electricians and Operators. By
Frank l.. Pope. New York: Russell Brothers. 1859.
This Is an admirable work. la a small space MFR.
Pope has discussed the subject OF the electric tee.
graph with cearness and conciseness which leaves
those who desire to learn the use or tne apparatus
appears TO US quite correct Everything connected
with telegraphy that calls for description expla
nation Il described or explained. We know Of no
all who desire 10 become intimately acquainted with
the wonderful science or the electric Telegraph