The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-05-29

--Ctrista,as Fsstiritiss-St- Stspbse's-tiasot
at Aerhisuk-1 stormy Ne,r Ts1r'x -Jilk;I.J
Cdls or "a Tsioeipeds-Psrsoaai.
THE following letter was mis-sent from san
Fruncisco TO IIongkong, and reached only last
week.-ED.l
New YoEE. January 2, 1869
This ~ known AZ - Ladies' Day " in New
York, from the circumstance that on this day the
ladies make their own New Years calls. Eman-
cipated from this day-lous confinement to the
house on New Years, not one or them j. 10 be-
found mt home this Anniversary. The streets
and avenues are full. the cnrs are crowded with
women. The amount of gossip done to-day Is
something not measurable by statistics. Every
ttdy gives her friends the cirsmst,tntiaI history
or the previous Lty-euumeratcs her New Years
enll-, and discusses her programme of Invitations
and her social projects for the winter. The men
all get quietly 10 their business, and New York
remains in the undisputcd possession Of the
women ON % Ladies' Day This custom of re-
cent years II not, however, fully observed to-day
for the streets are almost impossible from the
drifts Of yesterdays storm.
During the pleasant holiday season Of ten days
rlst ending. the distinctions between American
and European life have seemed to grow less sharp
and evident than usual. New York has put oil
somewhat Of IT. utiliturian hardness during the
time that has passed since Christmas eve. .. New
York il a city CT utility; Paris Is n city of lux
ury,r said the present Emperor Napoleon a year
ago. But with us the people Of leisure have
spent the holidays with their families, crowding
every railway and steamboat that left the city
while theatres, concerts, lectures, opera, panto-
mines, and church festivals, have been in quite
Piri-ian activity. \ large proportion Of the
heaviest business of the city had been suspended
bat the countless varieties Of the retail trade
that supply the Iuxuries of the holidays and pro-
vide giyers with their gifts, remain in brisk ac-
tivity. The book trade is especially lively.
There are nightly sales mt auction OF the ever
popular standard works, from the chOiccly Illus
tnted editions Of Shakespeare to the latest favor
ites Christeru imports the best French authors.
nud westcrmann the classics OF Germany, ranging
I5y,sn Rlsino end Goethe 60 Aucrbuch and Alex
andrc Dumas.
OF home literature there il a widely varied
supply this year. Scribner X Co. have issued
sumptuous editions Of the American Upper, the
irrcprezsiblc Timothy TiteOmb. The fluent idiocy
Of d. Rathrina - appears upon large paper, tinted
and s1nptuously bound and this latest utter
ance OF the oracle or Springfield II illustrated with
seventy cut. in the highest style Of art" l. e.
engraved from pictures by young artists OF this
cty.
To counterbalancc the quality Of +. Titcomb's
works. the. Scribuers issue such books as Max
NIuIIer'- Chips from German Workshop
and the reprint OF Froudic's - Short Studies ON
Great Subjects" (Froude, by the way, j. called
the ha1rdso1,sS literary in L0udon.) Scrib-
ner, Wilford & Co. issue, ut the price Of 500,
EaulbaetTs .. Illustrations OF Goethe, - ideal
portraits of Gretchen, DorDthea, NIisnon, and the
rest OF the Leading female characters created by
that great artist. IN explanatory text by Lewes,
a biographer Of Goethe, accompanies the plates
4 number Of the - Chefs d'Geuvre dcs Grands
Mattress reproduced in eolors by new proeess,
are presented in a handsome volume Mt the price
OF S1IO But the eostliest book that the Serb
ners offer il the .. Flora Javae," IN four masnii-
cent folio volumes, with 300 plates This II to
be- hal Tor the modest sum Of $1,000
The AppIetons issue a holiday book entitled
.. Th, Pot and the Painter" IL j. an imperial
octave oC 500 pages, containing 100 ensruyinss
illustrating choice passages from the EnSii-h
poets. This house publishes also large number
Of works tor children Juvenile literature -
assuun +. very extensive proportions . Oliver
Optic.-' the well-knOwu writer for the young, Is
probably the most popular author in the United
states The Applctons are reputcd to be the
weaIthi,-t, and the Ilarpers the widcst-known of
our firms. The Ilnrpers publish two new volumes
oF Henry Ward Beecher's sermons, and two of
BuIwer'- miscellaneous prose works-yery thought
flI and interesting essays and short stories. For
tie children they have Laboulaye's and Miss
MuIoeh'- Fairy Books,'' Mayhew's Juvenile
Biographies Of Franklin and other eminent men,
l., rf.Iiab ble
.' History Of Mouthful Of Bread"
Sheldon 4 Co. are also - strong" in juveniles
Among many others, the famous =. ROllo Books =
bear their imprint Magazine readers find good
ESSAYS in their Galaxy - and the shelves Of
their great establishment, ut No. 500 broadway,
contain specimens Of the whole range OF htera-
tare. from Plato down to Timothy Titcomb-
FiebLs. Osgood 4 Co. have surprised the liter
ary community by their change Of name The
oil firm title Of Ticknor Il Fiellz wns a valuable
business capital in itself But when Mr. Ticknor
retired from the concern, taking with hIin some
5000 900 of profts-for this has been one OF the
most money-making Of American publishing
houses-the junior partners allowed him to take
his name with him. and - To dissolve the title
by which the firm had gained worldwide repu-
tation Americans do not appreciate, like the
English, the Commercial value OF n name In
Edinburgh, a year and half ago, ! visited the
vaults Of Bell, Ranncy i Co, one Of the largest
wine importing firms in Great Britain, and was
Gold that the Erm name was u hl0tdTed years outer
Than any Of the present partners None Of their
names are included in this old title under which
tue firm had received orders from - each Of the
three Georges" The senior partner mentioned
this fact with evident pride No love Of his own
nlme had induced him TO incorporate 1t with the
ancient firm title. But to return to our books
F'ei'is s. O-good present dainty holiday list