New-York tribune., 1870-10-04
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
,urP1cA FOR THE ENGLISH,

tions in the performance of his work. that although
il specially addresses itself to the English public it
Is also deserving of notice this side of the water
Since the publication of Mr. George =. Putuams
American Facts" in 1916, no work of similar
character has appeared in England, and the great
breadth and rapidity of our development IN these
twenty -four years render new pictures OF American
life necessary a, present Most English works upon
the United States during that period nave peeh
sketchy and superficial i'm character dealing WIN
differences in the phenomena of politics and society
and rarely giving US reflections of ourselves drawn
from intimate and intelligent study Inc EhgllSh
pnbc Is familiar enough with our hotels and steam
boats. with Broadway and the Boston Common
Niagara and Western prairie. II has made some
acquaintance through its own wrteTsl WIN an I'M
rossible Yankee dialect and the manners oI class
.f American. unknown nj home but in all that
concerns the domestic life and habits of the great
LuIk Of our population. forms Of local government
the primary forms of political moral, and religious
discussion and the growth and power of new cur
rents Of opinion il is still wofuly ignorant. Many
of the interests which very important to MS,
and which we should gladly see examined by an I'M
partial foreign mind, escape the notice OF the ramd
tourists who in three or four months find material
enough for their two volumes.
Mr. Towles work we should think, must contain
q great deal Of information foy an English audience
II ne is not very thorough upon any one point ne
manages at least. to leave scarcely any aspect OF
American life untouched. He commences 10y setting
forth on single page, our form Of government thcn
sketches the Presidential Office and its character the
mode of election and Inauguration receptions ana SO
cial Hfe the Departments OF Government ana then
beads the Senate. House of Representatives, supreme
Conrt. State city. and town governments the po-
I 1 Il. maj tl.,.ls lsntap inn
and the prominent questions before the people, in
.ludiug the Reconstruction of the SOuth-all within
the space Of 4s pages The Free School system, our
Academies the Universities, with their form of gov
eminent and methods Of study, American Society,
with sketches of life in the principal cities, hotels,
and various other incidental features make up the
Erst volume
The second volume is equally crowded with
themes all of which of course are briefly and rapid
ly touched upon Arts amuscments, pastimes, anni-
versares suburban life, country fe summer resorts,
travel. railways. the professions, literature, the
press emigration, pass before our eyes like piano.
rama unroed by steam power and we hardly catch
a glimpse Of one picture before il is displaced by
another From crOquCt 10 caucuses, from buckwheat-
cakes 10 biology. from husking 10 woman suffrage,
from clam chowdcr to CoOc labor, from mape-Sugar
TO Methodist camp-meetings it would be difficult to
read his pages with foreign eyes we receive the i'm
preston that the Americans are the gayest and
oheerfullest Of men, that their lives full of di
version that they enjoy domestic fortune, material
comforts social freedom and incXhaustible recrea-
tiOn. Nevertheless there are few errors of state
ment except in some hasty generalizatOnS; but the
author has the faculty OF presenting everything IN
the sumies light and shifting the reverse of each
picture quickly that the reader soon forgets that
it has been exhibited He expatates on the profuse
bls-of-fare of our hotels. hut says nothing of the
deficient cookery; luXuriOusly describes our rail
road accommodations, and ignores the expressions
to which the travelling public must submits he even
saws Of Bridget hear it, We despairng housekeep-
ersg: with all her faults she is invaluable" And,
as il this were not enough he adds: " Sometimes not
often, the housewife hns troubles various and dis
couragng with her servants
Me Towle appears 10 have written i'm haste, with
the chief object of covering much ground as possi-
BILE While he has succeeded in this, and has no
doubt thereby secured wider circle Of readers in
England. some of his hurried half-statements I'M
press Us almost Comicaly. The bartender in New
York he says, " is a man with painfully cisp and
shiny hair. with a nurder0usly black moustache,
and dazzling constellation Of diamonds m ms shlTt
BOSOM" He states that the Phadclphians patron
ize the painters and prma donnas the sculpoTs and
university graduate, is more cordially received in
Boston society than the young man Of expectations,
or the wealthy man Of the world Moreover he as
serts. that i'm the United States the city govern
ments are for the most part pure and Efficient
From MI Towles views in regard to the Civil Ser
vice we entirely dissent The general dissatisfaction
with our present practice is increasing every year.
and very few thinking Americans, suspect, would
accept the following statement:
whether this practice OF rotation in office is wholly
too extensively exercised in America; hut II
has, perhaps, some advantage II puts the
cord Win the policy Of the administration; uiuses new
life INTO the public service il affords AN opportunity for
fLc secretaries 90 get Iid of an excessive civil force and
thus 10 economic; enables them 10 weed ont the ndo
lent, the ineihc.n ana me c'Trupt' ana 10 e1IC.ro
Judgment ln Tie me-" selectiohS ZIG men VINO 20 III ar
a. enceut II less skilled than, those WHO 20 Out
cetsts secf ana n decrease az energy I'm it, oXercise
II bad for the Ofice-holders themselves change
once iu four years brings new energies more aC'c hap
ts into tie public service and II the OhC eAOldcr know
ng the lIocJIOuS tenure lac mas Ithes upon as per
the general custom.
We should rather say: a change once in four
years brings new ignorance, more reckless habits
INTO the public service = and all the more so because
the of .c-holder does know the pgecarious tenure
he has
1t would be easy to poiut ont many more passages
where the Tose-tint is laid on with too full brush,
not much from incorrect as from insufficient state
ment I'm other respects his work is skllfully done
lie always bears IN mind the difference between En-
glish and American habits and takes pains to mark
them clearly. His air is intleXiby gay and good
humored, and he is successful in treating parties
secs, and societies, with friendly impartiality. We
are sure that his two volumes will do good service
abroad, while they will certainly increase his popu-
laTity at home.
RAMBLEs IN CUBA. New-YOrk: Carleton. ppl3G.
little volume of lively gossip and description
apparently private letters. written during two