The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-08-09
LITERATURE.

Reviews OF New Books.
Tue THREE BEnsroHs; OR, ANsxsNo or rIts GeAa.
BY Mrs. A. M. Bright Philadelphia: Oiaxt0n,
Remsen Il Hailbinng0r.
Although the auth0ress OF this work docs bring to
life again and make pious convert to Christianity
OF Agrippina, after her son Nero. our histories
teach us believe, had caused her 20 be murdered,
we cannot say but that she has written very good
story TO be made familiar with the social lives Of
such distinguished mOrtas as Agripps H. grandson
OF Herod; BcrnIce. his daughter; Nero. vespasan,
Titus, St. Paul the Apostle-n0t to mention other
personages OF hardly Less In Roman hstory--is
something too important TO DC rejected. OF course
we are too polite TO insist with lady that the
death Of AErtppin8 Ia . recorded TRUTH We have
faint recollection OF res6ing somewhere that sne
was murdered about the year So or 50 A. d., and
that her hopeful son, gazing upon tho dead body.
remarked tnat he had never known before how
handsome his mother was fhe romancer however,
can DO ANYTHING, and as at least zen Years have
we are wrong We really must plead guilty to hav-
ing gone through this book "wlth hop. skip and
jump" but we promise Mra Bright That her work
snail escape 'lil-natured criticism" from the
HERALD. seriously writing the story In spite OF
It's antiquity and defiance Or history, IS very wen
construction, but The incidents narrated are Interest,"
Ing and can hardly fan to please the reader We
should be rejOiced to know That its perusa inspired
the youthful mind with taste for the study OF
history, and trust that in THIS respect the design OF
the authoress Will be successfully carried out.
LEGENDS or FAIRY LAND. by Mrs. Anna Bache.
Philadelphia Caxton, i.einsen &c Hatiednger.
Except that the language could have been made
simpler and of understanding to the children,
for whom the stories are designed we have no fault
to and with the book. In very modestly worded
and astonishing for femininity) brief preface MIS-
Bache explains that most OF the stories are adapta
tiOns from The Of others-tho .Rival Fairiesr
and the fable Of the ''Needle and the ROsebush''
being genuine. Her 'versihcstion'' Is very smooth
children. altogether this little volume L. full OF
good, pleasant reading. and we can commend 1t to
viii interest and amuse the little ones at home.
HETTY. BY Henry Kingsley. New York, Harper
Brothers.
or all the stupid novels that we have read this
must rank with the duest and least interesting. lt
is a religious story. mildly diluted with burglary,
the object OF which was never contaminated, I'M
happily for the reader, who might have obtained
some recOmpense for the trouble OF reading the
book, had the gentleman roDber succeeded in getting
hold of the papers There Is u good deal ABOUT Cal.
vinsts, Methodsts and missionaries life among the
conversion to oil the Christian graces Of Rebecca.
But the book from beginning TO end, Is tumble, a
Had Il been made thlry-six chapters shorter every
person that reads II now would have beeu spared y
great bore.
SYDNEY ELLIOTT: A Novel. ny NJ. D. Nauman.
Philadelphia: Caxton, RcmseD 4 HaGeanger.
We doubt If many persons would suppose that the
Sydney Elliott, after whom this novel Is entitled ia
q woman, the name being decidedly masculine.
Such Is the fact however. ana she is the traditional
girl who finds herself suddenly plunged into poverty
by the death Of her father, and forced to depend
upon her labor for livelihood. thorough and en-.
thusiastic musician, she teaches music for living,
meets up With the inevitable wicked young lady, re-.
markably be auiiful, who, Of course fascnates sgd
ney's lover, WIN Cameron, and seduces that gen
tIeman from his allegiance to his true love. Not
satisfied with this, the arch temptress whose
cOgnOmen is Meta Gray, pursues Sydney
with unrelenting anlm0sity, discovers thdt
she Ia engaged to another and wOrthler mortal In
the person OF MIR. Iingh Raiston, whom she scauda-
engagement with. As wind up. Meta, who seems
to have acted throughout in o spirit Of pure mali
cI0usnesS land very reprehensibie Il was IA rfrht-
eOusy thrown into decline. she rcpents (they al
WAYS do that sweet thingst before dying confesses
her sins and iniquties to Sydney Is very nau rally
rylng the heroine who has by this time become an
authoress, but has not lost cher deiicacy and re-
serve;' from which are To conclude that she Ia
not strong minded woman. Since the marriage GER
em0ny was concluded the pair have lived very happ-
y together, a. we are delighted to learn Tbcy have
added many children TO the population Of the nation
and their lives have "a0wed In one calm unbrOken
stream'-sOmeihing dreadfulIy mOnOton0us, we
opne; but some people like tue idea. II IL poetcaL
In rendering our critical Judgment we unhesItu-
tingly declare that Sydney Elit0tp' IL love of
novel. II Is true there are almost too many dia-
logues about literary aud musical matters, and
good many OF the conversations are decidedly
forced. ON the other hand the story belongs 10 that
dear old idea which has been made the burden OF
two millions OF romances. its popularity Ia unfail.
ing. Several hundreds OF thousands OF IOvesick
romantic and sympathetic girls will read this latest
form of their ideal and promptly pronounce il mag.
niacent. We haye not The slightest doubt about