Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-11-20

MAJoR JoNEs's CoURTsHIP DETAILED, with
other Scenes, Incidents and Adventures, in a
Series of Letters by Himself Revised and En-
larged. To which are added Thirteen Humorous
Sketches. With Illustrations by Cary. New
York D. Appleton & Co. These letters and
sketches were first published twenty-eight years
ago, and soon found a large number of readers,
with whom they were very popular. The author
now renews the copyright, which he sold origin
ally for nominal consideration" and issues
the book with additions. In writing the letters
and sketches, he sought to portray southern
rustic life, with the pdtois and the social pecu-
larities of the Georgia Crackers" The book
is full of broad, coarse fun, brought out in lively
pictures Of the social ways andisports of south
ern life in the "rural districts. As the author,
Mr.. W. 7. Thompson, is a Georgian, these pic
lures are doubtless truthful. The illustrations
are appropriate; and there is portrait of the
author. For sale at Saniord's.
D. Appleton Co., publishers, send us two
novels, forming the forty.second and fOrty-third
numbers of their Library of choice novels,
THE DoCToR's DILEMMA" by Hesha Suatton,
and BESSIE, by Julia Kavanagh. The first of
these stories is by an author with whom we
have no previous acquaintance, though We
should judge this not to be her first effort at
novel writing. The doctors dilemma is not an
uncommon one in fiction, being the old story Of
man bound to marry one woman while in love
with another; but the author has made quite
good story cut of somewhat commonplace ma
teras. Bessie is not at all a commonplace
tale, as any one familiar with Miss Kavanagh's
peculiar style will easily believe. 1t is bright
and odd, and has the merit of ending satisfac-
torily. Both these novels are in paper covers;
they are for sale by Sanford & Co.
LIZA: A Russian novel By Ivan S. Turgen-
Jeff. Translated by w. R. 5. Ralston. New
York: Holt & Williams, publishers. The Rus
sian title of this book is "Dvoryanskoe Gnyez-
do > or "Nest of Mobiles" In the German trans
laton, it is rendered, "Das adelige Nest" and
in French, "Une Nichee de Gentilshommes."
Mr. Ralston has seen fit to change it into
"Llza," with the authors consent. But the
story does not depend on its title for its great
| excellence as work of Russian literary art,and
eliza" is the name of one of its principal char
dtbClo 4hpAeOhNi II h"o Nl uN''' iiiSiS w Wv
with actual men and women, and much less
with the conyentionalisms Of Russian aristOcra-
CIV than "Nest of Mobiles" might lead one to eX-
pect 1t is a story of Russian life
by man of genius who has won
great reputation, and of whom it has been
said truthlully, that "amid all his dealings with
fiction, he has never swerved from his regard
for what is real and true" His Russian pic
lures may be accepted as correct; and the hui
NOR, pathos, and picturesqueness with which
they are presented, make them effective. Some
of his stories, such as FATHERS and Children"
aud "Smoke," are SO essentially and peculiarly
Russian, that portions of them can not be fully
appreciated by American readers, just as ordin-
airy Russian readers would fail to appreciate the
richest points of Hosea Biglow, or the political
caricatures of Mast. We think eliza" will find
general favor among those able to appreciate
what genuine artist can do in literature. For
sale by Sanford & Co.
A WoMAN's VENGEANCE A novel by James
Payn, author of "Carlyon's Year" Harper &
Brothers publish this novel, thus adding another
to their already extensive "Hbrary of select nov
els" Mr.. Payn, the author, is a prolific writer,
and, we believe, quite popular. This is a fair
specimen of his powers. 1t is for sale by Grout
& Putnam.
BELLE ROSE. From the French of AmGdGe
Achard, by Mrs. Martha Laffitte Johnson Pub
lished by Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfnger,
Philadelphia. This is story of French army
life in the reign of Louis Fourteenth, and is a
tale of adventure, love and intrigue. "Bee
Poua - 20,
be beautiful woman, is a dashing young sol
der, and the hero Of the story the name being
only a sobriquet given him on entering the
army. The book is for sale by Sanford & Co.
The BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW contains
a scholarly article on "The Goths at Ravenna,"
a learned and heavy one on Immortality" a
practical and suggestive one on "Our Railway
| System" a critical one on "The Authorship of
the Fourth Gospel, and others on "The Present
Phase OF Prehistoric Archaeology" and on "Sir
Henry Lawrence" with notices of contemporary
literature.
The WESTMINSTER REVIEW, for October,
contains review of "The Heroes of Hebrew
History book written by the Bishop of VIM
chester, and finds il notable, chiefly on account
of "the condition of mind which it indicates on
the part Of the author" There is an article on
Pindar and his poetry, and one on Free Public
Libraries" which gives an account of these
institutions in England. Darwin's Descent of
Man" is reviewed. The Others papers are
The Scotch Education Settlement of 1925"
France, her Position and Prospects," and the
always rich aud interesting Contemporary
Literature" Published in New York, by the
Leonard Scott Publishing Company.