The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-07-17
Recent Publications.

ExoTIcs. By j. F. C. and L. G. Boston: j. R. o.
good g. Co. For sale by Loring Short g. Harmon.
This is the title of book of translatons,
and the initials are those of DR.. James Free
man Clarke and of his daughter, Miss Lillian
Clarke. In the midst of other exhausting oc-
cupations DR.. Clarke has found leisure and in
clination for a work which indicates how
marked his success might have been in this
special line if he had been limited to merely
literary labor. His tfanslatlons are from the
Latin, German, French and Persian, and are
marked by felicity of style which gives pecu-
liar charm to the original thought. We annex
one or two specimens One is from the Latin
of Lord Ly:tleton, and is master. piece of
delicate rendering:
Come sleep! though thou most like to death appear
Yet come and share the couch on which lie,
Come soon, stay long. hold it sweet and dear
Thus without life to live, thus without death to die
The following from Ruchert is finely touched:
Why ask of them what they cannot say
Others who for thy good have little care?
Come close, dear friend, and learn better way!
Look in my eyes, and read my story there!
Trust not thine own proud wit; 'tis idle dreamlng!
The common gossip OF the street forbear;
Nor even trust my acts on surface seeming;
ASK only OF my eyes; my truth is there.
My lips refuse an answer to thy boldness;
Or with false, cruel words deny thy prayer
Believe them not, hate them for their coldness!
LOOK In nay eyes! my love is written there.
The translations by Miss Clarke are also very
satisfactory. We annex one Of them, and
heartily commend the whole book to the ap-
preciative and tasteful reader:
FROM RUcHERT.
Only shelter for my head sought
One stormy winter night:
To me the blessing of my life was brought,
Making the whole world bright
How shall thank thee for gift 80 sweet,
oh dearest, heavenly friend;
sought resting place for weary feet
And found my journeys end.
Only the latchet of friendly door
My timid finger tried;
A loving heart, with all its precious store,
To me was opened wide.
asked Tor shelter from passing Storm
My sun shall always shine!
would have sat beside the hearth an hour
And the whole heart was mine!
Our NEXT DOOR NEIaHBoR: A Winter in Mexiso.
By Gilbert Haven. New York: Ha-per Bros. Polt-
land Loring, Short g. Harmon.
A gcssipy sketch of adventures with moraliz.
ing comments His descriptions are sprightly.
He compares the houses of progress in Yuca
tan to brown dwarfs, with huge brown straw
sombreros pulled over their eyes. He
teaches US that chocolate should te
made so thick as "almost to make it
an edible" He is bold enough to drop into
verse sometimes, thus:
'Ihe hacienda with its trees
OF cocoa futtsring in the breeze,
Whose ffrit is tossed us by monkeys,
That's Yucatap, my Yucasan."
Not that the monkeys really did favor him in
that gentlemanly manner, but because he need
ed the keys for rhyme, and they undoubtedly
could have done so if they had met any. And
the monkeys had remembered how it was done
in story books.
Tomorrow will be, of az the year, the maddest
merriest day.
For Vera Cruz is join, to Mex co. and Lerdo comes
this way.'
The geographical accuracy of the last line is
commendabe if the metre be faulty. He is
hopelessly sad at the thought of leaving tt 3
people to Catholicism. but it seems, from bis
descriptions as if many crops of Catholics might
be ploughed in like clover before the mental
soil would be rich enough to bear Protcstantism.
He lamsnts Boston indifference to religion,
yet he makes sufficiently free with holy writ as
to compare the sweat rolling down a negro
stevedore to the precious oil on Aaron's head
which went down to the skirts of his garments,
especially noting that garments were what the
negro lacked.
His description of Mexico as it is, seems
faithful, and will be read with interest by those
who have studied its history. The Indians, he
says, have taste for music as marked as the
negro race, and have adopted many English
hymns. translating or supplying the words fell
c;tously. His assertion that ''The best letters
are clerical" may be offset by the proposition
that the best books of travel are not.
Mr.. Haven is Methodist Bishop and the
object of his journey was to purchase church
buildings in Mexico city and Puebla. In this
he was successful, more so than ir writing this
book, which is nevertheless finely printed and
illustrated