Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-02-14
A Valuable Book.

History of the Unitei ) tates from the Abb
original Times to the Present Day. BY
John Clark Ridpath, A. NJ, Professor of
History and Belies-Lettres, Indiana As
bury University. Royal oc,avC. Illus
trated with Maps, Charts, Portraits and
Diagrams. Sold only by subscription.
Prlce $500. Jones Brothers & Co., Phil
adeiphia, Chicago and Cincinnati.
The circumstantisl detail of 3S4
ycars-tbe years that have opened a
new world and created mighty nation
was never given Ill better style than
in this work. When We look through
the bulky volumes OF Bancroft we won
der that one man should attempt to
write all the history OF our country
when the preliminary portion Of 1t takes
up So much space. But We cannot see
that Professor R,dpath has omitted a
single material fact that is contained III
Bancroft, while he has avoided that
tedious detail which units the work OF
the latter Tor popular use. The in-
trigues of the English Court and Cabl
net, the petty squabbies Of the House
OF Commons, the rise and fail of parties
in England, which are Supposed to have
had all influence on AurrIcIn affairs,
these are indeed Omitted from Prot.
RIdpa;a's work but in their stead il
given brief and mastery SUMMARY Of
the causes which led to the American
Revolution, which We venture to say,
conVess a better understanding Of the
matter to ninety nine in every hundred
readers Take for instance the follow
ing extract
"Anothvr cause leading to the Revolu-
tion vas found in the natural DIS lsposiiion and
iRhsriied character Of the oOioHsfs. They
were, tor the most part, republicans in pol
itics and dis-enters in religion. The peo-
pie of EnglInd were monarchists and High
Churchmen. The colonists had never seen
a king. The Atlantic lay between them and
the British ministry. Their dealings vi, h
the royal officers had been such ~ To engcn-
der a dislike for munarchill institutions.
The people of America had not forgotten-
could no: well forget-the circumstances
under which their ancestors had csme To
the New World. For SIX generations the
cOl0nists had managed their own affairs !;
aud their methods Ot government were ne
cessarily republican. The experiences of
tn. rench and lndihn War hid shown that
Americans wee fully able to defend them
selves and their country"
AS Que important cause, is not that
more satisfactory than volume OF COM
mentary
The authors rare ability to condense
a vast amount of information into a sin
gle paragraph is shawn IN any of his
numerous, graceful biographies. Take
the following on Benjamin Franklin
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. the author of the
first treaty between the United States and
foreign nation, was born in Boston on the
18th of January, l7U6 Ills father was a
manufacturer of soap and candles To this
humble vocation the young Benjamin was
devoted b. his parents; but the walls of a
candle-shop We're too narrow for his sspir
ing genius. At the age of twelve he was
apprenticed 10 his brother to learn the art
Ol printing; bat the brother beat him, aud
he ran off to New York. There he found
no employment. In l723 he repaired to
Philadelphia, entered printing office, and
rose to distinction. He visited England !;
returned founded the ii iisI circulating libra
~ in America became a man OF science I;
edited Poor Richard's almanac; originated
the American Philosophical Society dis
covered the identity of electricity and light
nirg; made hirself known in both hemi-
spheres espoused the cause of the patriots !;
aud devoted the unimpdired energies OF his
old age to periecting the American Union.
The name oI Franklin is one OF the bright
est in the history OF any nation"
In this work Prof. Ridpath has sur
mounted ube difficulty which conironts
all historians to set forth all the facts,
with fitting comments, without on the
one hand making his work too volumi-
nous tor cOnmoU use, or on the other
making il mere outline Of dry and
disconnected facts.
A series of Charts show the cotem-
pOrary men and events, and colOred
maps illustrate the changes in political
boundaries from time to time. Thes e
are of great assistance to the reader
In short i. is difficult to find partIcu-
lar in which this History does not NEE t
every want Of the citizen and patriot
lt is the work of cultured mind and
careful historian, aud must take rank
as the best History of the United
States vet published.