The Portland daily press., 1876-01-22

done more for it or is better qualified as guide
and teacher His object in this volume is set
forth in these words: ST venture to hope that
the thousands who now aim to make the inside
of their houses charming will find many hints
and suggestions which will be Of use, and that
the revolt from the vulgar, thu meretricious
and the commonplace, which have long
afflicted us, will resolve itself into social
government, when in every house the beautiful
married to the useful shall make life truer,
finer, happier. To this end work; and ask
your help. No one can do much, but together
We may do all''
The Introductory essays, on the dining room
and the library, are curious accounts of
the historical development of these rooms
from the feudal castle down, enriched with
many quaint engraving of halls, and feasting-
scenes, and furniture and reading desks and
bookcases. AS example of what America has
done in the dining-room we have as the front.
ispiece of the volume the dining-room in
Memorial Hall at Harvard, where the stu
dents sit at meat within lofty walls illuminated
by colored glass windows, surrounded by
pictures and busts.
The list of heliotypes of American interiors
embraces: the library of Mr.. Longfellow at
Cambridge; the dining-room of DR.. j. r.
Chadwick at Boston; the library of Mr.. Donald
G. Mitchell at West Haven; the library of Dr.
T. F. Breck at Springfield, Mass. the dining
room of Mr. George w. Nichols at Cincinnati;
the great halp' of Major J. L. Rathbone, at
Memlo Park, California; the library of Mr..
George B. Chase at Boston; the dning-room of
Mr.. j. V. L. Pruyn at Albany; the library OF
Mr.. Bryant at Roslyn; the ''study" at Harvard
College; the dinihg-room of Mr.. James Lee at
Boston; the drawlng-room Of Prof. Fairman
Rogers at Newport; the library and dining
room of Mr.. John G. Burnham at Boston; the
dining-room of Mr.. George James at Nah ant; !;
the hall of Mr.. Charles S. Sargent at Brook
line; the dining-room of Mr. Charles A. Cum
mings at Boston; the dining-room of Mr.. G.
w. Wales at Boston; the hall of Mr.. Francis
Peabody at Danvers.
The "houses of the gods' will attract mos t
eager attention. The old "Vassal House. at
Cambridge, built in 1879, and occupied by Geo.
Washington as his headquarters in 1775, has
been for nearly forty years the home of Long
fellow. In the northeastern quarter of the
house is room twenty-five feet by thirty in
size,-the library. This is given as the first of
American interiors. Two great windows look
out upon the lawn. Carved bookcases and
alcoves for books fill the spaces. The mautel-
piece is old tawny marble, sculptured with
lions and grifins. The walls are panelled to
the ceiling, where they are lost in fine and
effective cornice. A picture of Listz and a
bust or two, with brilliant Japanese screens
ornament the room. Within these walls Evan
geline and the Masque of Pandora and the
Morituri Salutamus were written. The home
OF Bryant is century old, but the library,
save for the Dutch tiles about the fireplace,
is of modern look. The two bay-windows open
out upon cluster of huge pear trees, through
which are caught glimpses of Hampstead Har-
bor. The library of Donald G. Mitchell is de-
scribed by himself The walls are finished
roughly with ordinary mortar foated off and
colored dark red. The cornice is of pine,
with beading of black-walnut. The book
shelves reach to the ceiling, and are also estab-
lished in either flank of the chmney-breast,
which extends into the room. The floor has
border of yellow-pine and black walnut, mitred
at angles almost two feet wide. The enclosed
space, OF white-pine, is'covered with English
Brussels carpet of small geometric pattern, the
colors being brown or fawn-color, with bits of
black, white. or yellow. The woodwork is
almost entirely of white pine, to which effect
has been given by variety of stain, by bi IS of
tile, and by spare use Of paper hanging.
BABYLON AND NINEvEH. By John P. Newman,
d. D. New York; Harper & Brothers. Portland;
Lorng, Short & Harmon.
In finely printed and elegantly illustrated
octave volume of 455 pages Mr. Newman gives
sketch of journey from Bombay up the Per-
sian gulf and overland past Balsorah, Bagdad,
Babylon and Nineveh to the Mediterranean
His sketches of the present appearance of the
cities made familiar to us in the Arabian tales
are interesting, as also the description of the
site of the Garden of Eden, of whose position
he is well assured. lie dwells at length On the
ruins of Babylon and Nineveh, and gives
condensed account of the results of the explora-
tions there, including some of the later transla.
tions of inscriptions not generally known, such
as the bill of sale of real estate, which shows
the Assyrians to have used legal forms like our
own,even to sealing with the thumb-nail instead
of the biblical custom of plucking off the shoe
and giving to the purchaser, which was a testi-
mony among their simpler neighbors. He saw
everything with the strong eye of faith, and
Bible history. His intercourse with the natives
was slight, and he adds little to the common
stock of knowledge about them, but sthe most
cursory view of a land which has been the bat
tlefeld of great nations for thousands of years
cannot fail to be both interesting and instruc-
tive.
THE CHEvALIER CAssE-CoU. The Red Camela
By Fortune Du Boisgobey Translated by Thomas
Picton New York: De Witt Publisher.
The story of the Chevalier Casse-Co is in
two volumes the first of which, the Red Cam
ella, is devoid of any semblance of complete
ness even in the most subordinate situations.
There is certain suggestion of Don Quixote
in the Chevalier who is fully as big fool
without being half the man, and the adven-
lures are of philanthropy run mad. The 5ook
has nothing Objectionable to the moral senti-
ment, but otherwise is of the absurdest, most
sensational and unsatisfactory type of the
French novel;
SAXON STUDIES. By Julian Hawthorne, Boston:
j. R. Osgood & Co. Portland: Dresser, McLel-
Ian g Co,
Saxon Studies is a collection of papers oligi-
nally contributed to the Contemporary Review
by Mr.. Hawthorne The author tells US in his
preface that his object is under cover of dis
cussing certain aspects of Dresden life, to steal
an entrance into far wider field of observa-
ten and remark Saxony was selected simply
as concrete nucleus about which to group
such thoughts and fancies as he wished to
ventiate. Nevertheless the ordinary reader
will be apt to consider the thoughts and fam
cles' as incidental to the description rather
than the reverse, inasmuch as it is easier to
cling to concrete object than to an abstract
fancy. As descriptive work simply it is
much superior, both in matter and manner, to
the ordinary book on foreign countries. A res
ident of Dresden for many years, Mr.. Haw-
thorne has;had abundant opportunities to OBJ
serve the habits and customs of the Saxons
and is not compelled to rely upon that very
brief and distant acquaintance which most
authors of foreign travel conten. themselves
with. Evidently the author has not very
high regard for the people of Saxony and he
has not been spaling in his structures nor hes
itated to express conclusions not at all f1atter.