The New York herald., 1874-12-06
The Lesson Of the Life Of an
American Sailor.
SOME THEOLOGICAL BOOKS.
A Glance at the Latest
Novels.
GEORGE SANDS INFLUENCE,
What the Girl with Her Feet on the Fender
Said About Poetry.

LIFE OF ANDREW H. FooTE, REAR ADMIRAL
UNITED STATES NAVY. BY James M. Hoppm.
Professor IN Yale College, Harpers, 1874.
Here is the story, gracefully and judiciousy
told, OF the life Of very remarkable man-of
Christian gentleman and OF as brave and thorough
sailor as ever stepped deck 1t is with the
author too q labor OF love, and as natural
growth OF the New Haven soil as are the noble
elms that hang over his hero's grave II fs marred
by very few OF those bemisnes which invariably
are detected IN clerical and semtclerical COM
position, and by at least one mistake into which
we wonder SO panstaking biographer should
be betrayed. One bIemisn Is such strange, mad
deduction as We ind at page SO, where we
read, speaking OF one OF Foote'S early
cruises. that 1.-The spirit room was empued
OF it's contents and the whole crew,
with the exception OF one veteran topper. joined
the movement, so that the Cumberland became
the first temperance ship in the United States
Navy; and how interesting is this when We think
OF future fate OF this vessel selected TO be the
martyr ship OF the civil war, when In the terrible
light with the iron-clad and iron-beaked Merri-
mac, with her nag 1ytng and her crew cheering,
she delivered her last fire at her country's foes,
and went down unconquered and unsullied In her
pure renown.n Another mstake-unless we read
history very incorrectly-is In attributtng to the
John Adams during her Eastern cruise in 1881 the
attack on Quallahpattoo tp. Az, in Sumatra,
which occurred In 1881. and In which Commodore
Downes took part (Cooper's Naval History.
vol g. p. 31). These, however, we are aware, are
very minute criticisms, thought Is just as well in
historical writing to be strictly accurate as to
facts. and TO avoid sentiment" and 'coinci-
dences."
The book Is really very clever one. It may not
be for our navy what "Southey's Nelson" is to
the British service, but no naval Lad or man can
read 1t and make its chief actor study without
advantage.
The highest and we doubt not the happiest
portion OF Foote'S career OF which, II egotism can
ever be permitted TO mngle with criticism, we can
speak from some observation, was the model cruise
OF the Portsmouth IN ls56'57 in the Eastern seas
II was MODEL in every particular. He had a
model ship, frame Of beauty and q thing
OF life. He had model crew and of1cers. the
crew Foote made what they became The officers
he chose for himself, and as one looks at their
names Up. LID, the living and the dead, and most
are living, we see with what sagacious dexterity
the choice was made. All were distinguished after.
wards when strife began, one OF them resuming
the commission which he had resigned. and we see
among them the names OF another who Is now, as
trusted man OF science, sounding the depths Of
the Pacific, and one man who, nearer at hand, our
townsman, Captain Simpson, is engaged In mos
responsible domestic service, and still another
who In this volume Up. 4o9) pays manly tribute
to his old commander, and who, close
at hand in his beautiful orange church
eloquenty breaches the gospel or peace
Such were Foote'S chosen companions on this
brilliant cruise, which, though in peaceful times,
had accidentally enough fighting about it to give
IL q dash OF the heroic. Werefer OF course to the
assault OF the Barrier Forts In the Canton River
1t was Foote'S luck more than once In his life, and
never more than In China, 70 have relatively In
capable superior. In 1856 the nag oficer in the
East was broken down oy age and innrm1ty. and
was quite content TO leave anything like decisive
action TO others. The whole conduct OF the affair
OF the Barrier Forts vas Foote'S. though the on
GERS OF the nagship gallanrly TOOK part in it.
Captain Foote returned TO brief period OF re.
pose, during which, indeed, he was compelled 10
look on the rising cloud OF civil war. In his polit-
ical opinions he was, though OF New England, no
ultraist He favored conciation. Foote had no
doubt as to his duty and Immediately asked for
active service. He got 1t at once, for
no one did MIN fuller justice than his neighDor
Secretary Welles, but 1t was not the .blue watern
No part OF the naval service OF the civil war; not
even the Intellectual pursuit OF the Alabama, was
very elevaung. steam has put an end to the ad-
venture OF blockading, such as Colingwood had
In the Cnannei never going ashore TOR two years,
or our squadron did at Tripoli or Vera Cruz or on
the western coast or Mexico But to such man
as Foote anything was better than lighting up
narrow river and Smelling earthworks. Yet he
went to work, not only without reptning, but
with will, and to the story so well told by his
biographer we must refer the reader.
For his services Foote was thanked by Congress
and made rear admiral. While being nursed
Al home the news came to him that, in utter
despair, as 1t were the administration had offered
him the South Atlantic squadron and ordered him
TO Charleston. On his way thitner fatal symptoms
OF disease, long latent and aggravated by his
wound arrested hIm in New York, and here, at
the Astor House, with his family around him. and
his dear lrlend, Edward Simpson, one OF the
Portsmouth group, and who was TO be (had he
lived bis nag ofiicer. at his side. he died on the
Goth OF June, 1869, aged ffty-six.
gHE COMMON FROG. BY ST. George Miyart F. r g.
Macmillan Co., London
The author begins his work by asking, What is
frog? and leads the reader through $50 delightful
pages before he finishes his definition. He Is
certainly In love with his subject, summing up his
admiration OF 1t by calling IL the martyr or science
More than any other animal, frogs have peen the
subject OF experiment Psychologists have ex-
sected their brains amputated their legs and
arms, removed their eyes and ears, injecting all
sorts OF poisons into their systems and touched
their nerves with the nne end OF stroke OF light
ming until we are ready to CRY, stay let the poor
iehow crawl under lilypod while you try your
practical jokes on some other vertebrate. MT.
hivart gives us in this charming little
volume great many facts which tend TO increase
our respect Tor the innaDitant OF the pond who
makes night hideous with his incessant music
Unwilling 70 admit that he is inferior in any re-
spect to other verteorates he claims that as there
are dying nsh and flying squirrels so there are ny.
ing frogs. He quotes, with entire approval the
following story, told oy Alfred Wallace Zone o!
the most curious and interesting creatures which
met IN Borneo was o large tree frog which was
brought me by one OF the Chinese worsmen. He
assured me that he had seen 1t come down. In a
slanting direction, from high tree, as II IL new
ON examining 1t found the toes very long ant
fully webbed TO their extremity SO that, when ex
panded. they offered surface much larger thar