The New York herald., 1874-12-21

quite sut1cient, mtgat have been found. At the
great depository OF current Information as to
China, known as the 'Chinese Repository; there
was not copy to be had and when, on the return
OF the embassy one was brought 20 the United
States, no library would purchase IL and it was
presented to one In Philadelphia, while we very
much doubt II any one has ever looked into 1t.
TIL ls5s-n fact TIL later, in 1S6l-when the Anglo
French armies forced their way TO Pekin and
enforced the treaties, nothing was known OF
China. Mr. Whitney tells the plteous truth OF the
past tp 1921 when he says that br. Morrison, the
great slnalogue OF that day, "who died IN 1884,
never set foot IN the interior beyond the limits OF
Canton" PROBABLY, we may add, beyond the limits
OF the foreign factories. How different things are
now this volume attests. Here we nave pro-
fessor OF what is at least cognate literature and
this moment, one who was mere In interpreter Eng.
lsh Ambassador at Pekin with a stan OF thorough
and accomplished students, and lasr. not least, as
Professor Whitney reminds US, an American Chi
nese dictionary, work OF thirty years. residence
In that Empire OF modest Utica printer, ON the eve
OF 0fpublicatiOn We refer to the work OF that emf
nent 0rientaiist DR.. Williams the faithful adjutant
OF every competent and incompetent envoy-f-
teen in thirty years-we have sent thither. 1t is
now In the press.
Great az Is the temptation to diverge from the
strict line OF criticism-for Mr.. Whney's book, or
rather that part relating to the East to which
narrow limits condne Us, iastrsngely suggestive
we must say word anon as to the book itself.
Chinese history Is to most people as unattractive
as is Chinese nomenclature, but we are bound and
quite willing to say that nowhere, that we are
aware, is there more readable or attractive
summary OF 1t, throughout the 1000 years, when
SO many others born and dying, 1t has survived,
than IN Professor Whitney's two essays covering
little over seventy pages. 1t has o stnRularly
fellcitous sway OF putting It," AS for instance,
how real does he make the "man" Confucus, who
died 551 years before our Saviour was born, about
the time Of Cyrus the Great, and the fall OF Babylon
(and where are Persia and Assyria nowO and the
Tarquins
"The Persians.n says Mr.. Whitney, ''soon made
OF their Zoroaster being OF supernatural gifts,
who in person fought with the powers Of dark
ness ana held converse with the Supreme Being.
Thus the Indian monk, Buddha, underwent yet
more wondrous transformations his life, as related
by his followers, Is filed ad nauseans with pre-
posterous marvels, while his doctrines have been
80 changed and perverted and overaid that their
identity Ia almost utterly lost-nether the Buddha
nor the Buddhism Of the modern Buddhists has
any fair title to the name. But COnluclus has no
more been subject of mythical and legendary
history to the Chinese than Washington to us; he
Is man, whose birth, life, opinions acts, writings
are plainly on record, and incapable OF misappre-
henston." 94a
One other passage only can we venture to ex-
tract-
sand years before that dim and nall-my tnical
period when the Greek heroes led their followers
since, unsroSen tie identity Of It's langusse lis
national character and Its Institutions What
changes what ana
dergo during tnat interval OF Our thousand years
There alone upon the earth's face does stability
seem to have regned, while revolution has been
elsewhere the normal order OF things. We say
deliberately stability. not inaction. China has
known during all that time as constant action,
often as violent cOmmoJlOn as other countries,
and In many respects not less real progress; had
healthy vital action, It W must long since since i have
perlshed IN lnanlty aud putrescence; but, Tar
two hundred years one OF It's happiest and
most prosperous periods Here Is a problem
for the student OF history, OF which the interest
succeeded IN finding and main tainng the stable
equilibrium which other races have vainly sought3
circumstances or IN the wisdom with which they
have harmOniZed the two, thai their strength has
the sole survivor or ali the fabrics OF empire
reared by the hands OF the men OF olden time, we
lett to stand until i should fail OF itself; that the
generations TO come might have seen whether II
yet retained enough Of the recuperatlve energies
lower than that INTO which 1t was seeming now to
have laen, TO give 1t renewed lease OF Its old
lite, return to It's ancient prosperity anu vlgor
That Is now no longer possible.
We are not SO very sure Of the imposstbtlity; but
let that pass Well does the waylarer along that
nat coast remember the grand promontory Of
shantung rising up to tell Of the birthplace Of
Confucius
Equally attractive is the outline sketch OF British
India and we thank Mr.. Whitney for the manli.
ness with which, rising above the low Anglo
y~bnh, <to< he
BIS that "in the East England is the great repre-.
sentative OF the progressive tendencies Of modern
culture, the foremost cvilizing and Christlanizng
Power, which Is doing more than any others the
might have said 'al Others' ITO bind together the
nations OF the earth In one bond OF brotherhood by
community OF interests and institutions" We
repeat our regret at the inability to notice OF
the varied contents OF this volume.
The Appletons send us "The Evangel," By DR..
Coles This remarkable book Is nothing moro or
less than the life OF Christ in verse. OF lives of
Christ In prose there are no end: but this We
believe. is the first time an autnor has been bold
enough to put the sacred history into rhyme. 1t
may be urged against the present volume that the
Gospels are poetic enough as they stand. So they
are but that did not prevent Pope and Longfelow
from converting certain passages into metric
form. Looking at ''The Evangel" from the
authors standpoint we can see no reason why
the book should not have been written. He con.
fesses that he does not see why rhyme should be
crime or verse felony. Poetry is the language OF
Paradise. Words, he says, "have the same righs
TO dance and sing as the dewdrops to sparkle
and the stars to shine" ''The Evangel" is
meant TO be poetic version and verse by
verse paraphrase, so far as 1t goes, OF the four
gospels DR.. Coles has gone about his work in the
most reverenta spirit and alter years OF diligent
and critical study OF the text He acknowledges
the d1lcultes and delicacy Of the task and makes
no pretensions to having written q great poem.
His object ts te tell the story OF Cnrlst's life In
verse simply and truthiully, and he has succeeded.
The poem itself would not make much more than
an hours reading, but the volume is quite bulky,
owing to the length and frequency OF the notes