The Portland daily press., 1870-10-01
PRESS.
PORIsLANn.
Saturday Morning, October /. 1870
Letter from Boston.

SATURDAY. Morning, October /, 1870
Letter from Boston.
Boston, Sept. Goth, 1870.
To the Editor Of the Press:
THE SEASON AND BUSINESS.
The first month of autumn is nearly ended
The depressing heat of the days of August is
past and we are in full enjoyment of Septem.
Der with its cooler atmosphere and skies soft
ened with the luminous mist of the golden
Indian summer. The lethargy and lassitude
OF summer are gone, and the luxurious loung-
er OF month ago 1.-THE sea beach or water
ing place is now the stirring, clearheaded
man OF business. Instead OF lazyly putting a
cigar on the grass in the shade, or saunterine
along the shore, in the utter abandonment of
nothing to do, he is to-day whisking round
street corners at rapid gait, and talks of
nothing but the opening season, the yield of
crops, the prospects for business, and the COM
mercial effect of the continuance of the war.
After the long season of inactivity we have
passed through, such evidences of the revival
~
POLITICAL.
The fall political campaign in this State
bids fair to be of more than usual interest
The Republican party will be considerably
weakened by the detection of those who will
vote the Prohibition and Labor tickets, yet
not enough, probably, to endanger it, The
Prohibitory party is almost wholly made
up of Republicans, and half probably, of the
Labor faction, while the other half is made up
of those who have been taught to consider
their candidate for governor, Wendell Phil
lips, as but one removal from Satan himself.
1t will require good deal of shrewd manage
ment on the part of the leaders to keep the
rank and file of the new parties in proper or
der, and insure straight vote. The Repub-
licans will run Clafin again, and probably
will re-elect him. The Democrats are still
looking for their coming man, but have not
yet put their finger upon him.
THE THEATRES. ~
The theatres are all doing an excellent busi-
ness. The Globe-late Selwyn's-the Boston
and the Museum, are crowded night after
night with audiences drawn from the best So
ciety of the city, while the Adelphi and How
ard attract different class, the style ofamuse-
ment at both these places being of a lower Or
der, though not positively immoral.
THE CHURCHES
Are mostly open again after the summer va J..
cations of their pastors. Last Sabbath sew
eral STAR sermons were preached by mem-
bers of the Boston clergy, which plainly
showed the strengthening effect upon the in
tellect of six weeks sojourn with nature.
There is nothing like turning an overworked
minister out to pasture, and congregations
are beginning to find it SO.
OUR LEcTURING SEASON.
To those who are fond of attending lee
lures, the coming season lin this city will be
one of delights. We are to have three SEP
arate courses-the Parker Fraternity, the
Bay State, and the Boston Lyceum-beside
half dozen independent courses, and occa-
sional ones before associations. Among the
speakers announced are Thomas Hughes, M.
p, Curtis, Morley Punshon. Beecher, Anna
Dickinson, E. Fl. Chaplin, Collyer, Banks,
Wendell Phillips, and others.
BOOKS AND BOOK PUBLISHING.
The announcement of the various publish
ers this season are of a character to make
glad the hearts of all lovers of good reading.
Hurd & Houghton, of the famous Riverside
Press, present list unrivalled in attractions
In addition to those already issued this season
ia--- f-i~--;--e, a.aassssed in press
"The ChiIdren's Crusade" passage in history
never before presented in detail; "rhe COM
plete works ofFrederic S. Cozzens," in six vol
umes; "a Handbook Of Legendary and Mytho-
logical Art;" "Suburn Sketches" a de-
lghtful collection by w. D. Howells, editor Of
the atlantic ;;"Black Peter" with twenty pic.
lures in silhouette; "Poems," by Lucretis
Maria Davidson; "The Mystery of Edwin
brood" (Household and Riverside edition)
"American Edition of DIR. William Smith
Dictionary of the Bble," and others. Of th'
works already issued, "Paris in December
1851" and the works of Hans Christian An
derson have met with an immense sale. eth,
Life of Arthur Tappan" and "The Choice o
Paris," with the Riverside imprint, appear to
day upon the shelves ofthe various bookstores
Readers in the prime of life will remember
when the name of Arthur Tappan was as ia
mllar as that of Phillips or Garrison, and
when the one who bore it was as fearless, and
outspoken in the same cause as either of those
apostles of freedom. Though never in oficia
ute, nor skilled in the use of tongue or pen
Mr.. Tappan's life was an eventful one, and hi
biography forms not unimportant link in th'
past history of the United States. "The Choic
of Paris" might be denominated condensed
Iliad in prose. The author, Mr.. Benjamin
claims to present in a harmonious entirety
the story of the great pae-Homeric tragedy
which of old deluged with blood the shores o
the Egean. The hero and heroine are o
course, Paris and Helen, while the after char
acters are mainly drawn from the niad.
From the press Of Peterson G. Brothers
Philadelphia, has inst been issued Octave
Fenillet's last novel "Camors," one of the
most interesting books of the season. Al
though it gives in fascinating shape, vivid
picture of Partisan lite and Partisan society
it is not perhaps so profitable volume for the
general reader as many others.
A new volume from the publishing hous
of Oakley & Mason, New York, is just nov
attracting considerable attention. 1t is 9Th
Story of a Working Mans Life, with sketche
oftravel in Europe, Asia, Africa and Ameri
ca, by Francis Mason, d. D., Baptist Mission
ary to Burmah. DIR. Mason was native o
England, an immigrant in early manhood t.
America, and it was here that he received hi
training for the ministry and was sent to Bur
nah with simplicity and directness that re
minds one OF Benjamin Franklin. ae has toll
us the tale of his career in this book, whcl
! should find a multitude of readers.
Scribner & Co.. of New York, have just is
sued tw, new volumes of their popular Illus
trated Library of Wonders Lighthouse
and Lightships." and Wonders of Architec
ture," the first illustrated with sixty engray
ings and the latter with fifty. No series Q
books ever projected or published in the
United States has ever achieved so wide an
sudden popularity as the Illustrated Librar.
and Cf the volumes already given to the pub
lie the two above mentioned are by no mean
the least interesting. In Lighthouses an
Lightships" the reader traces the progre.
from the ancient Pickering fire built upon IL
cliff Or beach as warning to the mariner, U
to the costly structure of modern times, wi.
the powerful Illuminating apparatus, while
the "Wonders of Architecture" the same pr,