The Portland daily press., 1876-06-24

FOR SUMMER AFTERNOONS. BY Susan Coolidge;
author OF "The New Years Bargain etc. Pub
hshed by Roberts Brothers, Boston. For sale by
Loring, Short & Harmon.
The pretty title of Miss Coolidge's dainty lit
tie volume of stories and songs is very appropri-
ate to it, for between its moss green covers are
such stories and songs as one would wish for in
land where it was afternoon, where the swing
| OF the hammock and the cry of the cricket
in the grass would make no discord with the
rhythm of the poems, and the stories are not too
long for the readers mind, drifted off In clouds
or eyes that wander up among green boughs
By turns pathetic and playful, Miss Coolidge's
prose is very graceful, and her stories are
| bright and refined. "Edson's Mother and
Martin are stories of the wartime and lit
tie behind today's fashion of fiction, conse-
| quently. "UEder the Sea- reminds one of
OF Mr.. HowelPs charming stories. zone May
Day" is really idyllic in its freshness "Meta's
| Wedding" contains an excellent moral. most
| pleasantly noted. can Aloe Blossom" is
| somewhat in SAKE Holms yein-and is not
| quite bright and healthfu enough to be in Miss
Coolidge's best manner. "Polly's Pies is
pretty romance of a country maiden whose pas
try and whose heart were light together. "In
| Time of Solstice" is a very beautiful little
| poem; and the verses which prelude "An Aloe
| Blossom" have much force and depth OF feel
| ing-hut the very robins on the trees ought to
| chirp down such an array Of puns as that in
! which Miss Coldge has noted the uncertain
ties of the month which has been named "May'
until her ringing verses present the general
outlines of the subiunctive mood of verb.
| ka 4 al in oil ia hat
should be read in shadow of mountain pines
beside fresh brooks and under old apple trees,
or in sheltered hooks of seaside rocks-a pleas
ant companion "For Summer Afternoons"
| MEN AND MANNERS IN AMERICA ONE HUNDRED
YEARS AGO. Edited by H. e. Scudder. One of
the Sans. Souci Series. New York: Scrbner,
Armstrong g. Co. For sale by Loring, Short &
| Harmon.
The Sans-Souc Series bids fair to equal the
| Bric-a-Brac in interest and popularity. The
volumes are even handsomer in appearance,
the brown and gold covers having peculiarly
rich effect. The selection of matter stands in
scant need of praise. Mr.. Scudder has q rare
skill in separating grain from chaff and In
selling upon in the many books he consults
whatever there is of excellent wit or worth.
The initial Sans.Souci volume, that of the
Hayden "reminiscences, at once met with favor,
and now comes one having peculiar interest
to our people at this time, q collection of
sketches, from half-forgotten annals or lire
membered books, of the me1 and manners of a
hundred years ago. Mr.. Scudder has done his
work well, and has given us q view at once
picturesque and truthful of society and persons
at that time. He has dipped here and there
| f.~Ao e
cences, seeking as far as possible, to allow the
life of the times to he depicted by the persons
who lived there.
In his charming preface he cannot refrain
from giving the Boston of to-day rebuke.
He says; Boston narrowly escaped des true
ton from the hands both of its friends and of
its enemies. What would have happened, had
it been destroyed, instead of beseged, it is hard
to say; but there is reason to believe that the
site of the Old South would have been marked
by a monument and the good people would
never have ceased to regret the historic
church"
REPUBLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES AND AcTs OF
THE REVOLUTION IN AMERICA. Dedicated to the
young men of the United States, Fifty-tOur years
ago, by the late Hezekiah Niles. Editor Of the
weekly Register" New York: A. s. Barnes &
| Co. For sale by Dresser Mcclellan & Co,
| The republication at this time of this amir
ablework ty the grandson of its compiler is en-
inently appropriate. The young men to whom
it was dedicated are dead or in the winter Of
their age, but its contents deserve the attribute
of Immortality ard the lessons it teaches are as
valuable to the generation of to day as to their
fathers. They too mag be encouraged, as the
| .s1a fIn
ago, "to adhere to the simplicity OF truth, as
set forth in the principles and acts of their
fathers, and emulate the noblest deeds when
the liberties of their country are endangered by
foreign enemies or domestic encroachments. so
that the blessings which those patriots won
may descend to posterity and our Republic
forever continue to be the pride of humanity
and an asylum for the oppressed of all Ma
tions"
The work has been out of print for more
than half century. As now republished it
makes handsome octave volume of over five
hundred pages. Its contents are pretty fully
indicated in the old title-page, which reads:
''Princples and acts of the Revolution in
America: or an attempt to collect and preserve
some of the speeches, orations, and proceed
ings, with sketches and remarks on men and
things, and other fugitive or neglected pieces
belonging to the revolutionary period in the
United States"
A STUDY OF HAWTHORNE. BY George Parsons
Lathrop. Boston: james r. 0sgood & Co. For
sale by Bailey & Noyes.
Mr. Lathrop has undertaken to brush aside
still further the veil of mystery that conceals
the personality of Hawthorne. The task Is one
for which he is eminently fitted He brings to
it personal sympathy and genuine apprecia-
ton that insures satisfactory accomplishment.
. 1t is not Life of Hawthorne that he has
written. But he has drawn portrait or rath-
er, his conception of what portrait should be.
, he asks US to glance at this portrait and
then lay it aside and contemplate the man him.
} self. Especially does he dwell upon the early
} surroundings and influences that moulded the
= character of the boy Hawthorne. His paren-
tage, hi, life at Salem and in college, Puritan
| ism with its mixture of superstition, the books
: he read all contributed to his unique develop
! | ment.
) The life of Hawthorne involves to a consid-
, erable extent the history of New England.
The history forms the background Of the por-
trait. The chapter in which the author has
|
. Irving and Poe are drawn with very delicate
4 and discriminating hand. One of these chap
ters is already familiar as a magazine article.
i Not line has been hurriedy or carelessly writ.
0 ten. 1t is book of lasting value and will find
r its way to the library shelves beside the works
of Hawthorne as their companion and inter
e prefer.
T. THEoPHILUs AND OTHERS. By Mary Mapes Dodge
!. Author of "Hans Brinker," Rhymes and jim.
ges," etc. etc. Published by Scribner, Armstrong
8 6 Co. For sale by Loring, Short s. Harmon.
= Mrs. Dodge proves herself the possessor ol
= genuine, racy humor the inborn charm Of the
: siory-teller by nature, and freshness refine
9 ment and geniality of style that makes this vol
ume of short stories and sketches very delight
e full and lively reading. Moreover, in her pleas
= ant, homelke stories there are many wise and
c womanly hints to be found, and much swee