The Portland daily press., 1873-06-28
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE.

where she has lived with an uncle and aunt
and goes TO Little Babel-'-nresumably Bos-
ton in search Of employment. She. at first,
goes into domestic service in the house of a
woudbe il erary and artistic lady--one OF the
shoddy aristocracy which exists even in tie
republic ofle.ters. Here she meets colored
woman, who has been a slave, ,and whose sad,
simple story rou>es at once the generous
sympathy of Christie. Dismissed, on ac-
count OF an accid mt, from the service Of Mrs,
stuart, Christie next becomes an actress ;and
afterwards, successiyely a goyerness. com
p""'oh 10 beautiful insane girl, and seam
S'reSs' amer weary struggle. f,r existerce,
u''eri' Encouraged and desperate. she Is
tempted 10 'orgtt her hard lite, in a sleep be-
meath the black waves thai flow under the
bridge where she stands. But at this mo.
ment she is saved from suicide by poor yir,
whom she bad f,merIy befriended
and taken to house of good
woman, Mrs. Wilkins by name
Cinthy wilkins is one Of the best OF Mis- Al
COTS m my admirable sketches of charac er.
Dickens himself could hardly have bettered
the del,neation of her homely uncouth ap-
pearance. her great, warm, mOtherly heart,
her comfortable presence, and the clear sound
sense that expressed itself with such graphic
disregard of grammar and dictionary. A
page OF the wisdom of Cnthy Wilkins is
! worth whole library of moderr metaphysics.
After brief stay with the Wilkins amily,a
clergyman, Mr., Power-whose finely drawn
character is, it is said, study from lite of
Theodore Parker-introduces our heroine to
peaceful Quaker family where she finds
fre' ds and happiness.
We leave the rest of the story, with its e.e-
ment of romance. for our rea.lers to follow
tor themselves believing it to be unfair to au-
thor and public to anticipate the readers en-
joyment and interest in book, by resume,
such as can be given in the limits of news
paper review. In conclusion, we cordially
and earnestly recommend work to our
readers as story which cannot tail of eli it.
ing great interest and which is the attempt of
brave, true and pureheated woman to help
her sister-women.
Published by Roberts Brothers, Boston.
For sale by Loring, Short & Harmon.
L-st Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary.
Mrs. Mary Clemmer Ames, whose tender and
appreciative memorial of Alice and Phoebe
Cary, was published not long since-is the ed
itor of the present volume, which contains
the latest writing Of the lovely sister-poets.
In many respects, their styles were similar,
delicacy, warmth and melodious expression
belonging to both; although The poems of Al
ice are tiuged with gracious sadness and
their brightness veied as with remembrance
Of tears; while tho OF Phoebe are often gay
er, still pervaded with the same earnestness
aud depth of feeling. Graceful and some
times quaint wording, love of nature and
keen, true perceptions are to be ounu In the
writings of both, combined with Ell waited and
refued feeling.
OF the sentiment of scenery, the underlined
meaning which undcrles all outward beauty
OF landscape, Alice Cary seems to have had
peculiarly clear perceptions: We transcribe
few lines, selected here and there in the vol
ume, as specimens of er descriptive power:
"Some starved grape-vineyards round about
zigzag road cut deep with ruts-
A lit cluster of fishers huts,
And the black sand scalloping in and out
'Twixt tn land and th' wild sea-water."
''Gray fragments of some border towers,
That pellmell on circling mound
With furrow deeply worn around.
By the feet of children through the flowers
And all by the wild sea-water."
Her painting of storm is very original
and vivid
when the autumn clouds did pack
Hue ON hue. unto that black
That's blueish, like serpents back.
'.Emptying al their cisterns out
While the win6s in fear and doubt
Whirled like dervises about"
and these lines lines from her poem "Sayed''
are very striking:
"Hither and thither drifting DIR, ary,
The glory Of serener worlds he WON
As some strange shifting column 1T the sea
Catches the steadfast spleudoro of the sun.
We might continue indefinitely, quoting
| from these poems; but hope instead to re-
print some of them in our co.umns, so that
our readers may enjoy them in their entire
ness.
Phoebe Cary's ballad OF "Dovecote Milp'
has quiet and tender beauty, ano her shorter
pieces run through wide range of express
sion from the merry mock 'ry of the "Three
Wrens" to the serious elevated and glowing
"a Canticle."
The present volume is one of the very
choicest books of the season, and deep inter-
est attaches to these latest utterances of the
gifted sisters, w.ose lives and writings have
given so much happiness to those who know
them, either personally or through their po-
ems.
Published by Hurd & Houghtop, New
York. For sal by Loring, Short & Harmon.