The New York herald., 1873-09-22
EW BOOK s.

OF lterary execution nowadays that 1t seems
necessary even where substance ought to take
precedence, and fact IL constantly dressed in the
garb OF fiction.
The latest example OF this is Frances Elli0tts
Romance of Old Court Life in France" published
by ID. Appleton Il Co. The work is apparently
novel after the Muhlbach pattern upon first OPEN
ing Its pages, but the reader soon finds that 1t
lacks the pretensons to plot of the Muhlbach pat
ent historical romance, and the only resemblance
Is In the adoption OF the conversational style.
The book begins with Francis L. but Its pictures of
the captivity Of the King and its descriptions OF
his two m!stresses. Diane de Poitiers and
the Duchesse d'Etampes, though interest
ing, are far from being as picturesque
as they might have been painted. The
subject was one far more entrancing than that OF
George l. OF England and his Maypole and Ele-
phant," yet the superiority of Thackeray's treat
ment OF the latter shows that force Is of little con-
sequence as compared with SKILL And in the pic.
lures OF the famous personages which follow
Henry H., Catherine de Medci and her three royal
sons (Francis H., the first husband Of Marie Stuart,
Charles TX. and Henry III), Henry w., the famous
Henry OF Navarro, who came so near being one OF
the victims of st. Barthoomew's Day, and the
charming Gabrielle DEstrees, whom he loved with
the devotion and the perhdy of king; Louis XIII.
and Rlcheleu and Louise de Lafayette, and Mile.
de Hautelut; and OF the dssOlute court OF Louis
XIv.-we find nothing like the graceful pencil of
Thackeray or the glowing pages OF Macaulay.
But we get gmpses Of men and manners and
places and things that in themselves charm
ing, and these are brought into nearer view than
in the old French memoirs from which they are
taken.
1t Is difficult to turn from O book SO full Of inter-
est to "The Son of the Organ Grinder" even
though Nine. Schwarz Is its author Schwarz is
Swedish lady who began to write in 1852 and has
since published upon an average not fewer than
two books year. Schwarz's first work was called
ISLANDER" and her later books are on equally high
and lofty topics. Schwarz has five works which
have not yet been published in sweden. "The
Son Of the Organ Grinder" first appeared in 1868 in
Swedish and 1t is only now translated into Eng
lish by Selma Borg and Marie A. Brown, and pub
lished by Porter & Coates. Having waited ten
years for it in its English dress, we could have
waited ten years more without serious embar-
rassments. In a word. Schwarz is OF no In.
terest to anybody, and If English readers
had never heard OF her it would have
been all the better. There Is no excuse
for incompetent Observation-Disclosures who
make people say ~ will tell you" for ~ invite
you" or 81 ask you, and speaking of an hours
versation, inform US that the Professor had spoken
to him for whole hour"-putting books like this
upon the market and taking nonsense about
Schwarz writing Tor the world.
edmund Daun," novel by Ravenswood, which
is just published by G. W. Carleton Co., begins as
follows:-"The morning rays had dispelled the dark
ness OF night; the genial effulgence of q bright
May day broke upon the great city of New York. A
mixed population crowded its thoroughfares; the
din and hustle of busy lie filed the air and from
thousands Of chimneys the smoke of industry.
In street noted for Its grandeur, in mansion
the home OF luxury and fashion, sat Dora
Elveston. Looking through one OF the spacious
windows Of her apartment her eyes rested upon
the clear, blue sky, which impaired comforting
softness Dora was an orphan" What denoue-
ment this is for the war OF the ''morning rays"
upon the darkness Of night" the operations Of
the "genial effulgence" upon the ''great city Of
New York" "the din and hustle Of busy life" and
the "smoke OF industry" Dora Elverton--sweet
name-was an orphan, who sat in an apartment
looking, not at "the thousands or chimneys" but
at the sky, her apartment being in street 'noted
for its grandeur" /" which, in turn, was In man
sion, "the home OF luxury and fashion," Few Or
phans could do as well. edmund Dawn" contains
300 pages Of trash fine in every way and worthy
of perusal as a punishment for the past sins OF
novel readers.
In a handsomely printed little volume, entitled
'scottish Chan Books" Mr.. John Fraser has
which formed the intellectual food and amusement
OF the people OF Scotland for nearly hundred
years. The humorous chat books of Scotland we're
to the literature of the Eighteenth what light
fiction is to that OF the Nineteenth century, Mr..
Frasers essay seems only an Introduction to a
collection Of the chaf books themselves-to be
published, we presume, in the future-and 1t is
well worth the perusal Of all who are curious in
literary history.
collection Of Christian Red's shorter tales has
been published by the AppletOns with the title
'Nina's Atonement and Other Stories" They are
generally well drawn pictures of every day life.
Mrs. Ann 8. Stephens has written, or published,
or republished another nOvel-her twenty first
This one ls called "Bellehood and Bondage.n 1t is
not great book, but it is really enter tanning,
when one wants to read q novel with nothing
in It,
Mr.. Henry Morford has just published book Of
poems, which he calls 'Rhymes OF an Editor"
The title of the book has relation to Its contents
the poems being mostly on the topics which would
engage the attention OF man OF literary taste and
leisure in his rhyming moments. They are not
great poems, and they are not bad enough to be-
come facetious over. Some Of them will find ad-
mirers, and one OF them "a True Chevalier of the
LEGION" strikes us as being q particularly vigor-
GUS specimen OF homey verse making. We extract
some OF the best StanZas:-
went on the boat at Dover,
To cross to the coast OF France,
On bright and sunny morning OF certain late July;
And at the bridge encountered
man with an eagle glance,
Who forbade my smoking aft-ward, and gave me the
reason why
One glance revealed the captain
OF that fine mail packet boat
En- FrancG nOun< W Ecue" and in English called the
"Foam,"
But twas only on the passage
on the lapel OF his coat,
That the bright red ribbon which marked his
Gallo home
The badge of the Legion of Honor
To which always bow,
As II the First Napoleon before me living stood
Though they say that the decoration
- Has grown so common now,
That the wearer and the seer both think 1t little good.
En-, weIl- cannot Join them
For never quite forget
Whose hand first hung the token battle .halowed
breast;
And think that II I could wear IL
For some duty nobly met
They might keep their and garters their riband
and all the rest.
''Some duty nobly met'-ay,
The phrase has Its errand here,
E SI hat