The Portland daily press., 1877-11-23
Magazine Notices

ScTibRer for December opens with paper on
the lumber trade of the United States,
by Charles ID. Robinson, entitled Tho
WSoden Age. The description of the life and
dangers of the lumbernen is aided by half q
dozen vigorous drawings by the young artist,
Kelly. Following closely upon this is Col.
Wariog's enthusiastic talk about The Thor
oughbfed Horse, which contains suggestions
about training for the turf aud riding to hounds
and picturesque description of an English
fox hunt, with reproductions of some of Leech's
famous cartoons. James Richardson's paper
on American Oyster Culture (also ilustrated)
Is not compilation of statistics, but an inter-
esting account of the methods employed in
American waters for the culture of tho oyster.
The travel paper takes the readers From the
Atlantic to the Andes, via the Amazon and
Madeira rivers, and has an account Ct caout-
chouc manufacture and some late information
with regard to the progress of Brazil With
her paper on Ants, of which many curious facts
are told, Mrs. Herrick closes her series Of mi
croscopic studies. Another scientific paper,
Mars and his Moons, is by Lieut. E w. Sturdy,
of the U. S. Naval observatory, whose calcula-
tions have met the approval of Prof. Hall, the
tiuued-Miss Trafton's hero coming nearer to
HIS Inheritance. and Mr.. Egglsston'S Indiana
story presenting new phases of life In the
Pocket. The reader is also enabled to compare
Mr. Eggleston's fiction with realty, by the
appearance in this number of the late Robert
Dale Ovens "reminiscences and anecdotes Of
life in the same part of Indiana. A valuable
paper in this number is a st udy of Keats, by
the poet r. II. Stoddard, who traces the life
aud analyses the genius of the ill-fated poet,
and gives him very high rank. The January
number will have the conclusion of this essay
Some Precepts for Slandering Safely, by
Charles Fl. Truax, is a curious paper showing
what one may or may not say against his
neghbor without liability to an action in law.
Edward Bellamy has q short story entitled
Lost; and Charles de Kay a long poem called
Hesperus. Other poems are contrlbuted by
| Emma Lazarus, Edgar Fawcett, Susan NJ
| Spalding and others. In his special depart
ment Dr. Holland discusses Protection, A Re-
| form in the Civil Service and The Public Chari-
| ties. and gives a record of the recent Harvard
Examination for Women. The Ole Cabinet
is about The Newspaper, The Ladies' Magazine
Man and the Powerful Politician, Architecture
| and Art in New York, etc.
! 81. Nicholas for December, of which 100, 900
copies have been issued, is the grand Christmas
holiday number, and contains ninety-six pages
| and fifty-seven illustrations, Including 'front.'
ispiece, The Holy Family. after the famous
| picture by Ittenbach. Henry w LoDgfel,ow
contributes Christmas poem, The Three Kings.
| William Cullen Bryant also has poem iu this
number, entitled The Mocking- Bird and the
| Donkey. Louisa NJ. Alcotts new story, Under
the Lilacs, serial for ai'ls, opens with an in
stallment of three long chapters, with four fine
| illustrations by Mary Hsllock Foote. A cspi-
| ital portrait of Miss Alcott, with an admirable
aud sympathetic sketch of her life, also appears
in this issue. The author of Alice in Wonder
land (Lewis CsrrolD furnishes fairy story,
Bruno's Revenge, full of sweet bright fsncies,
and with pretty illustration. There is =
fine, hitherto unpublished, sketch of bright
boy-life, rescued from the posthumous papers
of Theodore Winthrop; and this, with the
| opening part of The Tower -Mountaln-a short
! serial for boys, by Gustavus Frsnkenstein, with
superb illustrations by T. Moran and J. e.
Keley-adds greatly to the boy interest of the
number. Much other good matter is contained
in this number.