The Portland daily press., 1875-01-16
MAGAZINES.

Advance sheets of St. Nicholas for February
have been received. The frontispece is well
executed wood engraving, from Sir Edwin
Landseer's picture of "The Marmosets." Sew
eral wel-known writers are represented by
short stories. Rebecca Harding Davis has an
interesting story founded on the old fable OF
The Fox and the Raven, and in when yam
kee trader and the son OF an Indian chief per-
senate the respective characters. Some lively
incidents in the career of a certain Brch-Bark
Boy are narrated by Isabel Francis, and the
'Loy" himself is shown in picture by Eytinge.
Lucretia 2. Hale gives another bit OF delight
full anecdote about the famous Peterkin fam
lily; and Mary A. Hallock contributes story,
and large illustration drawn in that beauti-
full style in which she is surpassed by no artist
In the country.
The serials by louisa M. Alcott and j. L.
Trowbridge progress favorably, and the for
tunes of Rose among her Eight Cousins, and
of Jack among the Western settlers, are hkeiy
to prove equally interesting.
The number of The Lifting Age, for the week
ending January 10th, contains valuable ar
ticle on Modern Scientific Materialism, from
Biacksood; Contrasts of Ancient and Mod ern
History, part III, by Francis w. Newman,
Fraser; Early Eastern Travelers-Man deville,
Al the Year Roatad On the Vatna Jokull,
Fraser; The Life of the Prince Consort, Spectd-
tor; Advice to Young Housewives, Saturday
ReUieso; together with instalments OF the
Three Feathers by William Black, and
The Story of Valentine and his Brother, and
the usual choice poetry and miscellany. tits
Al. II. $50 a vn1uma
Advance sheets of Scribner's for February in
dictate an excellent number. Among the most
notable contributions are Major PowelPs Illus
trated papers on Colorado, Steadman's essay
On Morris, Rossetti and Buchanan, and j. r.
Hssards sketch, with portrait, OF Theodore
Thomas and his art work The number opens
with poem by Louise Chandler Moulton, il
Illustrated by Mary A. Haleck. Three addi-
tional chapters of DIR. Hollands Story of Sew
enoaks are given; Jules Vernes Mysterious
Island is continued and Sake HOlm's My
Tourmaline is concluded. Noah Brooks tells
about Miss Patty Gibson's Strange Adventure;
there is another installment of Some Old Let
tiers, through which we have glimpses of Lon
don society of forty years ago; and MI. Fair
field concludes his essay on Spiritualism, with
some references to the phenomenon OF mate
rialization;'' the editorial departments have a
number of brief practical and critical papers,
and marked feature of Etchings is the re-
production of several of Thackeray's recently
published pencil sketches.
Peterson's Journal for February is the first OF
the magazines in the field. 1t opens with a
short and entertaining story by Florence Percy
Allen, entitled Katharine Mavericks Chance.
Othet entertaining stories and sketches follow.
Helen Gilchrist furnishes an article Oh some
homes Of distinguished people, and speaks
among others of Whittier, and Celia Thaxter.
and Gail Hamilton. A curious speculation is
started by Henry Peterson on the growth OF the
EARTH He assumes tibet it feeds upon the air
and the ocean, and that the quantity of water is
being diminished yearly. paper by John
Smith, a man tolerably we'll known to most
people, treats of the cause and cure of hard
times. The writer does not believe that the
present currency is the cause of had times,
and advances some rather crude ideas after the
fashion of Philadelphia political economists,
upon the subject. A poem by Christina Ros.
setti concludes the number.