The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-04-24
Recent Publications.

tion, finishes up the first epoch, 'the overthrow
of the European colonial system" covering
the time from 1748 to 1863, and gets well along
in the second, show Great Britain estranged
America" an epoch reaching from 1868 to
IVA. The first period is the time Of the minis
teries of Pelham and Newcastle, the first min
istry OF Pitt, and the conquest of Canada.
The second opens with the entry Of Charles
Townshend into the cabinet and the first prop
osition to tax America, and the volume closes
with the repeal of the stamp act In 1866.
The plan and merits of this edition have
been fully set forth in these columns, and 1t
only remains to reiterate the opinion heretofore
expressed, that it will be the favorite edition of
Bancrofts great work.
DAISY BRENTwELL. By Irene Widdemer. Pub
lished by G. P. Putnam's Sons. n. Y. For sale
by Loring, Short g. Harmon.
This story, the first essay in the novelist's
line of its author, is very pleasantly told; and
gives promise of excellent work in the future.
1t is an unaffected, simple and bright story of
life in village in one of the Middle States and
has the distinctness and something of the stiff
ness and exceedingly realistic manner of an
oldfashioned daguerreotype. The writer
tion of the amusing and characteristic points
OF everyday life, and the unexaggerated and
moderate design Of the book is praiseworthy.
As yet the writer's style lacks polish and grace
but these are qualities that increase with study
and experience. The binding OF the volume is
particularly tasteful.
A PARAGRAPH HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REvo-
LUTON. By Edward Abbott Boston: Roberts
Brothers, For sale by Loring, Short and Harmon
This little volume, the second of Abbott's
paragraph histories, extends to the American
Revolution the method which in the first work
was applied to the history of the nation entire.
The favor won by that will be extended to this,
for it is an excellent reminder to those who
| have not the time nor the inclination to read
large books. Nothing of Importance is omit
| ted, though of course the information is done
| up in the most concise form. The edition in
| deed is pocket one, meant, as its author says,
to be d:opped into the pockets of the people on
| their way to Philadelphia.
| Notes.
Scribner, Armstrong & Co. will publish on
this side the new series, Epochs of Ancient
History, in which the first volume will be on
1 The Greeks and the Persians, by Rev. G. w.
| Cox. ef
| A new novel by Mrs. Muloch-C Craik, The
| Laurel Bush, an old fashioned love story. will
be begun in the June Hsrper'r, and arrange
ments have also been made for Charles Reade's
| new story.
| A book of special Importance here Just now
has been issued by Henry s. King g. Co., Lon
don, The Fall in thePrice of Silver; its Causes
its Consequences, and their Possible Avoid
ance, with Special Reference to Indi1, by
Earnest Seyd, F. S. S.
The article on Final Causes aud Contempora-
| neous Physiology, translation from the Revue
des Deux Mondes in the April Presbyterian
| Quarterly by Mr.. William A. Smith, son Of
DR.. Henry B. Smith, is one of the many signs
of the rising faith of French scientists, and of
their dissent from the new materiallsm.
Fenimore Cooper's rovels are said to be quite
popular in Russia. During the years 1873 and
1874, 5000 copies of The Last of the Mohicans
were printed; of Wyandotte and of Lionel
Lincoln, $500 copies; and ths The Bravo ap-
peared in two translations-25OO copies of one
| and 1900 of the other having been published.
The American Architect and Building News
| for April 10 contains articles on Violet le-
Due Habitations, Constructive Art in Japan,
| etc. and IN elegant reproduction of the plans
| and elevation of the New York STATE Capitol.
| The plans are printed from the stone, while
| the perspective the negative for which was Ia
ken from the plas ter model, is printed from gel
| attn.
The Atlantic for June will contain one Of the
most striking papers ever written by Mark
| Twain; the beginning of a brilliant story en-
titled The American. by Henry Jamer, jr.
/! second paper by Mr.. Adams on The State and
the Railroads; sketch Of A Shaker Village,
| by w. d. Howells Mrs. Kemble's Gossip;
Centennial Hymn by Mr. Whittier; and poems
by T. B. Aldrich and others.
Septmius FELTON, is not, as some suppose,
| the work referred to in Longfellow's exquisite
| poem on Hawthorne, as ''the tale half DONE"
| This was the Dolliver Romance, which people
| generally understood Hawthorne was engaged
| on when his death came suddenly. II was not
then known, even by his intimate friends, that
he had written Septimius FELTON,, which was
| discovered afterward among his manuscripts.
G. P. Putnarl's Sons will presently publish
l a pamphlet entitled On the Best and Fairest
Mode of Raising the Public Revenue, by A.
l Crestadoro, formerly professor in the Unlyer.
| sity Of Turin. The author, in letter to the
| publishers, calls his work "a Free Trade Mes-
| sage to America on her first Centenary OF Free
| dom, from acountryman of Christopher Co.
l lumbus.'
The variations in the spelling Of Shakes
l peare's name furnishes the topic for an article
| in the May number of Scribner's Monthly, by
l j. H. Gilmore. There are five autographs of
/ Shakespeare in existence acknowledged to be
l genuine, four of which are spelled Shakspere
| and the fifth Shakespeare. Mr.. Gilmore con-
| cludes as follows: "From an inspection of
| these autographs it is evident that, however.
Sh-k-sp-r may have varied in spelling the last
| syllable of his name, he never inserts AN af-
| ter the L. So says Mr.. Furnival and so must
| any one say who takes the pains to examine
| the fac SMILES. On this point, the spurious
and the genuine autographs are all agreed.
Following out the'prlnciple, then, that man
has an unquestionable right to spell his name
as hs pleases, we ought not to force upon inn
peral Sh-k-sp-r, dead and turned to clay, an e
which he perslstently and Systematically re-
jected. Still further, from an inspection of the
poets autographs, the weight of evidence is
very decidedly against the insertion;of an a in
the last syllable of the name; Or in favor of
writing Shakspere, not Shakespeare.
Ehe Athenaum prints an extract from let
ter addressed by the late Lord Lytton to Mr.
Richard Bentley, and dated Kuebworth, Oct 6,
1850. 1t has special interest just now that
Pausanias is before the public. 1t was written
at a true when Bulwer was wsvering between
an English subject, with STAFFORD for the hero,
and Pausanius, on which he finally deter
mined. He says: II feel sure could make
very powerful aud effective tale, full of original
and striking matter in scene, plot and charao-
ter. The gorgeous life of the Mede
and Persian, contrasting with the severe man.
ners of the Spartan, could make very inter-
esting. Then have such good incidents-a
murder-the ancient necromancy or raising of
| the dead-the vast conspiracy among the Helots
which the Regent of Sparta (my bero) secretly
| healed, and which, if successful, would have
| shaken all Greece-and final catastrophe of
great terror in which Pausanias is walled up
alive in the temple in which he took refuge,