The Portland daily press., 1876-12-02
Recent Publications.


upon it, The volume is made up of seventeen
short papers. The "reminiscences are few--in-
deed we only learn that she used to take long
walks in search of wild flowers, for she was an
enthusiastic botanist The impressions are
many-for example, impressions of the winter
landscape as she saw it by night from ber win
dow easement while cautious friend warned
her that she would take cold; her impressions
are not unnaturally of the vaguest. and she
does not attempt to put them in words, but she
leaves the strong impression upon the reader
that she must have had sound teeth to care the
cold of winter night in search of the pctur-
esque.
With much that is trivial in these impress
sions there is much that is valuable. For ex-
ample the chapter giving impressions of the
modern French poets is little more than a
rhapsody over Victor Hugo, but she has one mo-
tceable thing: "The poets of to-day are nei-
ther classical nor romantic They are paint
ers. Initiated into the secrets of the studio
they have learned to see Nature in all her
details; and when they describe her it is with a
richness of epithet which is like graduated
scale of the finest aud freshest shades.
Classic poetry was too
musical. 1t sacrificed energy of thought TO
rhythm and sonorousness. This was both its
merit and its defect. as the picturesque is TO-
day the merit and defect Of young poets. The
ancient poets styled themselves children of the
Tyre: those of the present time might be called
children of the brush or the palette" This
definition is worth searching many pages
far nj ~
glances listlessly over them he happens sud-
denly upon some thought he would not will
ingly have missed, and thereafter contentedly
winnows, knowing that he will find some
golden grain in the chaff.
In this volume Madame Dudevant writes or
many things, of the woods, of the state of hef
mind, of universal suffrage, of wild flowers, of
education, of the forest of Fontainebleau, of
the commune, which she pites. and of the Ger.
mans, whom she detests. One of her chapters
is on "the philosophy of punctuation" and
she establishes rule which supersedes all other
rules, which renders the rest of the essay IN
necessary. 1t is this: "Punctuation ought to
be used more to facilitate the first reading.
than to give satisfaction as to rules at second
reading" Herein is the whole philosophy of
the art. The most characteristic paper in the
whole volume is the one on that curious book
lies Enchantements de Madame de Saman
IEsbatx'
The feeling of disappointment which the
book causes is in great measure due to the
translation. This is doubtless correct but it
does not convey George Sand. Her thought is
there, but all that makes her style is entirely
wanting. In the writings of George Sand
what she says is often of not so much import
auce as how she says it.
THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE. By George W. Cox.
New York: Scribner, Armstrong s Co. For sale
by Loring Short & Harmon.
The "Epochs of Modern History" series of
carefully prepared volumes, each complete in
itself, containing the ripe results of the
studies of men who are authorities in their re-
spective fields" won great and deserved sue
cess, success which has induced the publica
ton of similar series of books narrating the
history of Greece and Rome and entitled "Ep-
ochs of Ancient History" The third of the se-
ries is the AtheE:an Empire, and if its prede-
cessors equal it in point of scholarship, accIr-
acy and vigorous and sustained narrative the
success and popularity of the series are already
assured. This admirable little manual trav-
erses the same ground as that covered in the
second of the volumes of the authors "History
of Greece" and he has not hestated, as he tells
us, to reproduce substantially the same pic
lures of the most striking scenes and the most
prominent actors in the great drama The
Athenian Empire extended over little
more than two generations, from the found
ing of the confederacy Of Delos to the
demolition of the long walls" but its
duration measured one of the most notable
epochs of history, an epoch whose study is of
especial value to Americans, for its distinguish
ing feature was the attempt to weld into COM
pact political society number of cities whose
highest ideal was found in absolute isolation.
The history of the struggle between the broad
and liberal policy of the Athenian statesmen
aud the narrow and oligarohc spirit of Sparta,
the one reinforced by the Democratic senti-
ment among the Hellenes, the other buttressed
by the naughty intolerance of the great Eupa
trid houses, conveys lessons of priceless value
to wide-spreadng confederacy like ours
The story could not be better told than it has
been in these fascinating pages.
Those unfamiliar with Greek history will
find it an advantage if not necessity to con-
suit the first volume of the series, "The Greeks
and the Persians," in order to learn how the
city of the violet crown attained her preemi.
nent position in the cluster of Greek munic-
paities; how under the stress of war she broke
away from the narrow exclusiveness of the old
religious tribes; and how, by her skill, wis lom
aud energy she saved the land from the tyr
amy of Xerxes and 90 made herself the head
of the Hellenic group.
IvANHoE' Romance. By Sir Walter Scott.
Condensed by Rossiter johnson. New York:
Henry Holt & Co. For sale by Dresser Mcclellan
g. Co.
The condensed Ivanhoe" of Mr.. Johuson is
as neat piece of joiner-work as ever Jan
turned ont. One who has never read Scotts
novel would entertain no suspicion while look
ing over this volume that the text had In any
thing been tampered with. A boy, however
who has ever read both, will. miss many SEN
tence.s
The editor prefaces the venture with an apol-
ogy. insisting that the question is not whether
the works under his hands shall be read in this
whether they shall be read in some such edi-
tion as this or not at all. If this be the cues.
ton the implied answer is not to be hastily &C.
cepted. There seems to be no necessity for
reading. "Ivanhoe" at all; there is csitainly n
necessity for reading "The Last Days of POM
pei'' or "Our Mutual Friend, both of which
are announced for publication. Because Ivan
hoe belongs to the list of "books that every
boiy talks about and nobody reads" it does not
follow that it should be condensed. If this
reasoning be admitted there must at once be
published condensed editions Of Paradise Lost,
The Anatomy of Melancholy, The Ship of
FOOLS, the Religio Medci and a host OF other
works. He who falsely claims to havs read all
these can still further stretch his conscience
and swear to perusal of Scott's novels.
However, the reader who is too ndolent to
do his own skipping" will find that Mr.. john
son has saved him much trouble, aud has
doubtless done the work ruuch more iudici-
ousIy than the reader himself could do it. But
a man must be very hungry to like condensed
milk.