The Portland daily press., 1877-10-20

story IS told with such lvelines5 and thorough
understanding Of boys nature, such utter free
dom from cant;l such wholesome and lovely
thought-thati every boy who is so fortunate as
to read it will enjoy it and be made more manly
by 1t; while older readers will appreciate the
really dramatic truth of the writer's manner,
and the happy hits and hearty sympathy that
abound in every page.
Patsy, by Leora B. Robinson, author Of the
House with Spectacles New York: G. P.
Putnam's Sons; Portland Lonng, Short &
Harmony is a bright, pleasant and desirable
story for girls, in many respects; its principal
defect being the Introduction of some people
and episodes for the benefit of older readers,
that decidedly mar the general good style Of
the story. Mrs. Chittenden, for example, is
common enough type of too common scold,
who alternates foolish indulgence with not less
foolish severity y-but is neither advantageous
nor agreeable in book for children; the scenes
in the Sunday School are we'll done in some
points, but are also out of place in a juvenile
book and might have been reserved with good
effect for another place than that which they
now occupy. But so much of the story of
Patsy is bright and interesting that the chill
dren will enjoy it, giving little thought to the
points open to criticism.
Six Sinners is the uncompromising title of an
innocent and amusing story for girls by Camp
bell Wheaton NEW York: G. P Putnap's
Sons; Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony. It
will not take long for young readers to make
the acquaintance of Dora and her boarding
school companions, who will be found much
like other little girls and very pleasant friends
1t is not impossible that some of the brothers
OF these young readers too will take an interest
in the doings of these very lively little people
and will enjoy Dora's adventures and Uncle
Soils stories not less than will their sisters.
The Wings of Courage, translated from the
French by Marie A. Field (New York: G. P
Putnam's Sons; Portland: Loring, Short &
HARMONY is volume containing three fairy
tales of which the first gives its title to the
book. They are cbarmingly imagined-es-
pecially the first two-sufficiently possible and
still retaining the nameless grace of the true
wonder story. There is touch of allegory,
perhaps, but it is rather fragrance of reflec-
tion than set moral, and daintily disguised.
Such fairy tales as the Wings of Courage and
the Deserted Castle are by no me ans common,
Of Queen Coax one has less of praise to say
but it is still very pretty. The translation is
very unskiiful, over-iteral in idioms and by no
| means imparts the charm of the original
This week the new volumes of the Vest
Pocket Series Boston: James R. Osgood &
Co.; Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony in
| clude Favorite Poems by Edmund Clarence
Stedmap, Wordsworth, Goethe and Pope;
Rogers Pleasures of Memory; Carlyle's essays
upon Burns and upon Goethe; the Undine and
Sintram of the Baron de la Motto Fouque-two
wonder tales that might have slipped down to
earth on moonbeam, so delicate and lumin-
ous are they; and lastly soi disant Comic
burletta, Is She his Wife, by Charles Dickens,
which is stupid and vulgar in intention and
style.
The Worlds Progress: A Dictionary of Dates
New York: G. P. Potnam's Sons. Portland:
Loring, Short & Harmon is a volume without
which no working library is complete 1t holds
place in books of reference which no other
work fills, is indispensable to the student and
professional tman, and a great addition to q
general library. No one familiar with it and
whosetools books, would hesitats to rank it at
least next after dictionary ,cyclopedia andgazet-
teer in the list of reference books which he must
have. Indeed in many matters about which
information is sought the "World's Progress
| is better than cyclopedia 1t is more conye.
nient to handle, and its tables OF contemporary
events group incidents which in other works
one has to search through volumes to find. The
book is based upon Haydn's Dictionary of
Dates and the Oxford Chronological Tables
but has many additions. 1t indicates in brief
and suggestive terms, in Its contemporary
tables, all the great landmarks of history in their
order of succession, showing what was going
| on at the same time in different countries The
alphabetical part gi YES more full and ample
references to the same historical facts. The
biographical lists add greatly to the usefulness
of the tables, for BY ascertaining from them the
dates Of birth and death of any eminent person
| the tables will show at a glance what events
happened and what other eminent persons
| lived during the lifetime of that indiyidu-
al. The historical chart on which the whole
| course.of history is delineated, the tables of
heather deities and heroes, and the literary
| chronology are other useful features. The work
has been revised by Mr.. E. B. Perkins, and con-
tinued down to the month of August in this
| year of grace 1877; so the reader can now learn
IOm ~ euO cAdCb udtoS Vi Tue huSSlau passage
or the Danube, the breaking out of the Indian
war under Chief Joseph, the Peruvian earth
quake, or President Hayes's civil service order
| As revised the volume is a chronological and
alphabetical record Of all essential facts in the
progress of society at the present time, COM
pact manual Of reference to the world progress
| in arts, literature, politics, government and
social life; convenient, portable land not
over-burdened with details. a The revis-
| ion has been carefully made, though
one error Of carelessness (which however does
not in any way affect the value of the book }
has been permitted to escape the notice of
the editor, In the predatory remarks to
the biographical index the reader is
| referred to Socrates and told: 'The tables
on page 20 to "a show who lived and
what happened during the seventy years Of
/ Socrates's life." The fact is one has to look to
pages 733-737 for that information. The book
was repaged 10 the revised edition and the cor
responding change was not made in the prefa-
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