The New York herald., 1873-12-28

Edgeworth, Miss Berry, Lord Brougham, Mrs. Mar
Get, Admiral Smyth Hallam. Lord ROsse, Sir John
Herschel Going to Paris again she was enter
tanned by Nine. de Montalembert about whose
eccentricities she relates singular anecdote.
Mme de MontalemDert, 1t will be remembered,
was the mother OF Comte. Among Americans
whom she met during the first nall OF her long
career Washington Irving Longfellow and the Sill
Imam family m ade the pleasantest impression At
Florence she met an American authoress, who,
she declares, treated ner very rudely and who, on
that account, is made to cut very sorry figure
beside Mrs. Browning. At Rome she met Cardinal
Wiseman, then at the head OF a college OF young
men, educating for the Catholic Church,
who had their vlegiatura at Monte
Porzio. With this brief mention l have
not got nalf through the book, but have not space
to say more than that the volume teens with
anecdotes all related in that fresh and simple
style which, when it is the accompaniment OF old
age-as it is in the case OF Mrs. Somerye-proves
that the old age is pure, vigorous serene, kind
and wise.
Among other works which the Roberts Brothers
Will shortly issue are Arthur Helps' new Russian
ana Siberian tale, entitled 'Ivan de Biron;
"Thorpe Regis,u a novel, by the author OF
''The Rose Garden,n an English work OF fiction
which adds to the belief that the number OF really
clever women taking to authorship is increasing.
The publication OF ''The Laocoon,n by GotthOld
Ephralm Lessing, translated by Miss Ellen Froth-
lngham, is deferred for the persent, and may not
take place until the fall. Meanwhile fresh
edition OF the poetcal writings OF "H. H."
has just been prepared by the firm. No confidence
is violated In the remark that III. H." are the
initials of Mrs. Helen Hunt, whose fugitive poetry
has from time to time been admired in quarters
where admiration Is valuable. But fugitive poems,
like fugitive slaves, are sometimes not worth cap
turing, and scarcely repay reclamation. The
poems OF III. H." do not come under that cate
CORY, however. They are something very much
more than prose In full dress.
LEwEs NEW BOOK.
Very different from either of the books have
mentioned is Lewes' "Problems Of Life and Mind"
which James r. Osgood & Co. will have ready early
in January. Mr.. Lewes will not perhaps please o
great many readers but those whom he does please
he will please greatly. The origin OF this work
dates as far back as 1885, when the author was only
10 years old-too young to have made any valuable
advance in psychological studies. At that time he
planned treatise on the philosophy of mind, IN
which the doctrines Of Reid Stuart and Brown
were to be physiologically Interpreted. Mr. Lewes
was not long in discovering, however, that that
attempt was premature. He launched out I'M to
SCuuleS, WHICH occupied ulU uuJll looO, Wnen
he collected material for a work on animal psy-
chology. Though then AZ he did not disdain to
entertain the conviction that he was not entirely
even with his theme. He therefore relinquished
the work on animal psychology, and in 1862 began
investigating the Physiological mechanism OF feel
ing and thought. He believes that psychology is
still without the fundamental data necessary to it's
constitution as a science and that it is very much
in the condition OF chemistry before Lavolsier or
biology before Bichat. In the present WORK, what
he first intended to make an Introductory chapter
has grown into subsidiary work, the two volumes
OF which (al that are yet published) form but a
portion OF what is written. The chapter has ex-
panded into q work and the work into system,
and that which was intended as a preface
to psychology dscloses itself as the foundation o.
creed. The first volume-the only one quite ready
for publication here-is divided into two parts. OF
these the first relates to the method of science and
the second to the rules OF philosophizng. The first
part consists OF five chapters and 81 pages; the
second OF Is chapters and $50 pages concise
prelude to the second part is devoted to expli-
cation of the principles that underle bostatics,
psycnostatics, the method OF psychology, the blo-
logical data, psycho-dynamics psychological spec
trum, the sociological data and reasoned realism.
The l6 chapters are generalized under the head,
problem L." entitled "The Limitations of
Knowledge" The vast extent OF the series of
problems which Mr.. Lewes proposes to eucidate
may be OWNED from glance at the elements that
enter into this initial Mr.. Lewes is innately a
philosopher. His happiness depends upon his
freedom to push his researches to the utmost limits
of speculation. The subjects which Problem l.
has presented to him the principle OF relativity;
the sensational and DriOrf hypotheses;
the sensible, the extra sensible and
fl,n
ideal construction in science; the laws of nature
the use and abuse Of hypothesis; the passage from
the abstract to the concrete; ideal construction in
metaphysics; the search after causes; intuition
and demonstration; aXioms and their validity:
necessary truths; mathematics and empirical sci
ence; certain peculiaritles in Kant, and the part
played by sentiment In philosophy The readers
OF the HERALD will hardly question me when say
that "Problems in Life and Mind" will be rather
heavy reading for all who are not metaphysicians
or amateurs in metaphysics And yet, does not
this intensely practical age need to be melowcd
at the hands OF the abstractionsts? Take any
principle OF human action, and 1t ends in what the
practical mind sneeringly terms an abstraction.
But l have never been able to understand why a
sneer should be the inevitable accompaniment. II
the stuay OF distractions can develop satisfac-
tory theory OF human action and such an explana-
tion OF the relations between the finite and the
infinite as courageous and thoughtful man can
accept with selfrespect, Mr.. Lewes has done a
valuable service to humanity by his investiga-
tions.
POEMS AND TALES.
OF a batch of other publications contemplated by
the same firm one or two Will probably be post
poned until the fall. Among these Frithiofs
"5aga," and "Cloth of Gold and Other Poems," by
Thomas Bailey Aldricn, the last of which is under
gong the authors revision. Mr.. Adrichs story
prudence Palirey," now publishing in the atlantic
Mont'ly is to be issued in book form in the spring
Parton's "Lfe OF Jefferson" may also be looked for
about April. Mr.. Howes has just handed in the
manuscript OF story OF Italian life, the first in
stalment OF which Will probably be published in
the Atlantic next July. Among republications are