The New York herald., 1871-02-09
LITE RAT RE.
Critielams ar New fsoouks.

This is o book or decided merit It Is wen wriW
ten, and the authoress gives evidence OF unusual
descriptive powers. We old In the preface thai
"Sh2oh Is not o creation but a GROWTH ana wd
TANK It has somewhat ou;grown Its legitN
mate proportions. some OF the sceneH
ana especially some OF the conversational
detailed, would have been better had the3
been shorter .'shlloh' is strictly . religiou9
book The reader Is duly warned by the authores4
to look neither for novel nor romance, but ID
simple story OF common life as lfe commonly rlnsyj
without intricate plot, strict unity or close sea
quence.n We cannot, therefore justly complain o1
the absence OF any OF these qualifications, 0bvou4
though 1t may be, and must award praise to th9
talent that can interest us Ia the commonplace,
scenes with which the book abounds.
The story OF "Shioh" Is told through q series Of
letters, written from village OF that name, by MISC
Winnie Frost, young lady who has there sought
temporary refuge from the gayetes as well as the
cares Of city life. Hcartsore from the conviction Of
her lovers ndety seeks reef In perfect retired
ment and Is sootnca and almost coaiortcd, hrst b1
the natural beauties OF the neishporhood oA
.'Shilohn aud next by her self-assumed dutiea
among ITS people. These letters. which are the
medium for conveying to US her history, arc ado
dressed by Miss Winnie to her dearest
friend, and 1t must be confessed that from first t6
last she exhibits SO keen an appreciation Of hef
IneTitOrlOus uCtS rs bcHuS SOucWudb 10 ucSlTOH
our own. Had she but added humility
TO her catalogue Of virtues Miss Winnie Frost would
have been almost perfect, Notwithstanding her some{
what masculine fund OF Information and tone OF
character. "Snioh' is intended to make apparent
the continual struggle between good ana evil In the
human heart, OF which we are all more OF
less sensible. Unfortunately, however, there
are comparatively few who, Ike the yonnd
lady In question, invariably side with "Bona,N
and aid in driving 'Mala" IN confusion
from the field. A less perfect character would
therefore have better exempliiel this struggle
But "Saoh'' is also designed we rhinE, to make
apparcat that no duty performed service oneredd
Is too slight to DC acceptable to God .WhateveH
thy hand nndesh to do. do 1t with thy mghtn or, I'd
use Mrs. jays words:-"The sterling usefulness Of
doing quiet duties In quiet ways. unobtrusively
and uncompainingiy, Is one which, though
the world may mako little account Of
II, God will surely bless and abundanti4
reward" The case OF Naaman the Syrianv
who ''was wroth" when he told by Elishq
simply to wash IN the river Jordan, and thought
he should have been told ITO do great thing,'a
no exceptional one. 1t is this feeling that litt9
acts must be valueless which the authoress Of
"Shoh" earnestly combats. Gas whole acres od
Persian roses required to make single ounce 01
pure ottar" she writes, $50 the souls balm is tho
slow product OF long course OF right living and
thinKng-eyery separate act and thought of which
contributes its minute bat precious particle 01
sweetness to the rich result"
FAIR FRANCE. BY Miss Mulock anthor OF "JohN
Halifax,n ..Oliven &C., SC. Harper 4 Brothers.
New YORK, publishers.
Ali or Miss MulocE's works are readable and
"Far France" is no exception to the rule. Yct ID
must be confessed that 1t Is by no means equal I'd
most OF her writings.
It's sketch OF the author,ss' impressions" Of
France formed during three separate tal verJ
short which she paid to that couatry. There had
probably never been tune when the title OF thid
book would nave attracted more attention and mord
readers than now. But we think few OF these VIII
not experience sensation or disappoint<
menr as they peruse lts pages. To ba
sure Miss Mulock appears to have travelled
more in the provinces than L. usual with
most strangers; but the time passed id
each town was exceedingly short, and
her accounts Of them are indeed, impressions rather
than descriptions. What she does miDutely de1
scribe are the cathedrals and churches. These apj
pear to have absorbed her attention. to the exclu{
sion of many other things which would certainly
have been equally Interesting to her readera Shd
looks from the heights OF her Protestant supes
rlority upon the Roman Catholic religion. audi
although we must do her the justice 10 say that She
endeayors " speak Of II without pre- udice she doea
so with an ar de protection which is sometimed
amusing. In describing the town OF Charsres the
authoress says:-'Tt is not q town possessing d
cathedral, but cathedral with small appendagd
OF atown;" and We could not help thinking, as We
read the remark that her book was sort OF iterari
Chartrcs. Instead OF giving las It's title gives ul
q right TO expecp a general idea OF Franc(
herself, with, OF course. accompanying sketches Of
her churches, 1t Is In fact picture OF the churches1
with merely an outline OF France Yet "Faiq
France" is pleasantly written, Is original in styq
and altogether well worth perusal. In her ac3
count OF her day In Paris Miss Mulock 1--WE speak Of
her always by her maiden name, since 1t was undeH
It she acquired her popularity says:-'As one trad
verses that wonderful modern city, yearly changing
so fastnew streets, avenues and taubourgs risings
until historical Paris is almost entirely obliterated
one cannot help wondering what will be the stor1
OF the future what new events, what possible rages
dies may still be enacted there.n Gould she have
looked one short year ahead how many changea
would she have foreseen-aye, ana tragedies, too
NOTES. EXPLANATORY AND PRACTICAL, on ruH
GOSPELS, by Albert Barnes. New York: Harper q
Bros.
This Is revised edition Of a work designed fof
Sunday school teachers and Bible classes. The ons
ect according to the author is to express as few
words as possible the real meaning OF the GospelsS
the results OF their critical study rather than the
process 0y which these results were reached
Although Mr.. Barnes cannot be expected to har4
monize to every ones satisfaction the different inter
pretations OF certain Scrpura passages which haya
set the whole Christian world At variance yet iu hiS
explanations OF words, phrases and customs and
description Of localities he evinces great deal OF
thoughtful study and deep research He also showa
that there is real contradiction in the different
narratives Of the eyangelists OF the same events II
Is admirably suited to the purpose for which it iS
written.
HANS BRErTMAyS AZ A UHLAN; WITH OTHER NEyN
BALLADS. BY Charles q. Leland. 7. Z. PetersoRl
Co., philadelphia
This Is the fourth series OF the somewhat famous1
and popular Breitmann books, the success OF which,
goes far to the preference OF our people fof