The Portland daily press., 1880-11-17
The Magazines.

~A -AAfS'ie"h dutuOI-AllSS OOuatduCc ECAuA-
more Woolson-is very promising. The story
is sharply American. Its early scenes are laid
in an island on one of the great Western lakes
"a military post and an old fur trading station.
The peculiar society of the island offers aburf.
dant opportunities for novel and picturesque
treatment, and Miss Woolson rises to the
height of these opportunities. Her individual
characters are also very strongly developed.
Reinhart's illustration for the first part of this
story is a very strong picture. The city of
Pittsburg is the subject of very interesting
paper by G. f. Mailer, forcibIy illustrated by
Shirlaw. The number opens with twelve
Christmas Carillons by Annie Chambers Ket-
chum, with four excellent illustrations by
Frederick Moncure d. Conway contributes
the first of a series of papers entitled The Eng
ish Lakes and their Genii. His subject is the
country of Wordsworth and the illustrations
of natural scenery and of character by Alfred
Parsons and E. A. Abbey have remarkable
merit as pictures, apart from the interest at
taching to the subjects treated. Wof's en-
craving of Abbey's full-page illustration Of
Herricks poem, To Be Merry is one of the fin
est pictures that have ever appeared in the
other of her characteristic New England sto-
ries, with four illustrations by Abbey The
Sixth Year of Quong See is also beautifully lie
lustrated, and is an interesting description by
Catherine Baldwin Of a New Years celebra-
tion in Chinatown San Francisco. Miss Sa-
rah o. Jewett contributes poem, Two Morn
ings, with an illustration by Fredericks. 9th
er poems are contributed by James T. Fields,
III. II. Hudson, John b. Tabb, Rose Hawthorne
Lathrop, Philip o. Sullivan, and Miss Ada NJ
E. Nichols. A short story, Miss Cabot's Guest
is contributed by Horace E. Scudder. Charles
+. Thwing shows in an able article the results
of Recent Movements in Woman's Education;
an article by w. T. Davis, entitled The Queen
Ministry Lords. and Parliament, gives q salts
factory explanation OF the operation OF the
British Government and Mr.. Edward How
land contributes suggestive article, entitled
A Great City. Henry James, Jr.'s novel,
Washington Square, is concluded in this num-
Der, and will be followed by new serial nov
ell, entitled Laodicean, by Thomas Hardy
The Editors Easy Chair treats of the News
paper and Orator, the influence of Byron, the
Rugby Colony In Tennessee, and the Irish Ag-
| Wendell Philips, correcting q very common
error in the use of De as prefix to French
family names. The other Editorial Depart
| ments are we'll sustained.
The Atlantic Monthly for December is made
up as follows; Libel and its Legal Remedy.
E. L. Godkin; All Saints Eve, Rose Terry
Cooke; The Portrait of Lady, V.-X., Henry
James, Jr. The Romance of Sunrise Rock,
Charles Egbert Craddock; Childrens Labor,
Emma Il. Brown Clifford /. The Closed
Studio. II. OF Winter Nights; Edmund G.
Stedman; The Esthetic Value of the Sense
of Smell, Henry I. Finck; "reminiscences of
Washington, IX., The Polk Administration,
1S45-1S49; Gray, Collins and Beattie, T. S. Per
ry The Transitional American Woman, Kate
Gannet Wells; Benjamin Pierce: Astronomer,
| Mathematician, Oliver Wendell Holmes, DIR
Heidenhoff's Process and other Novels Mary
Wollstoncraft George e. Woodbury.; Progress
and Poverty, L., William B. Weeden, H.,
| Willard Brown; Norton's Medieval Church
Building; The Memorial History of Boston;
| The Contributors Club.
The December Scribner contains notable
variety of subjects. Art is represented by the
graphical, partly autobiographical life of JEAN
Francois Millet, the painter, by Alfred SEN
sier, which has proved popular success.
Glimpses of Partisan Art is an entirely differ
ent kind of paper, dealing with Partisan art of
| the day and illustrated with original sketches
| by Detaille, De Neuville, Berne-Bellecour, and
| others. Succeeding papers will include sketches
| by Madrazo, Muncacsy and others. The idea
| of the series is 10 give some impression OF the
| individuality of the artists, through their stu
| dio sketches, etc. Amusements are repre-
sented by paper on Sheridan's Rivals, in
| which Mr.. J. B. Matthews defends the dra-
matist from charges of plagiarism, and to
which Mr.. Blum contributes two striking
| drawings, of Jefferson as Bob Acres, and
| Mrs Drew as Mrs. Maaprop: also a
short paper by Grace Greenwood. on
| Social Aspects of the Drama in
London, and by a second paper on Secrets of
! Conjuring, by Henry Hatton, explaining The
| Indian Boxtrick, The Inexhaustible Bottle,
ETC., etc. Out-of-door life is reflected in Hunt
ing the Honey-bee, by r. E. Robinson; One
Duck, by John Burroughs and An English
War Correspondent (Archibald Forbes), by
Kate Field. American and European public
questions are discussed in The Railroads and
the People, The Civil Service Reform Publica-
tion Society, A Year of the Exodus in Kansas,
Alessandro Gavazzi, An English Hospital
Nurse, etc., etc. Peter the Great as Ruler and
Reformer, and Montenegro as We Saw it, the
last two papers containing number of excel
lent cuts A curious paper by F. g. Fairfield
is entitled A Study in Apparent Death. The
fiction comprises the second part of Mrs. Julia
Schayers Tiger Lily, short story by HI. III.
Boyesen, and sketch by Gustav Kobbe.
New inventions described in the Worlds
Work department relate to New Steam YES
sells, Chemical Ventilation, Plating Machine,
Pneumatic Clock System, improved Foot
Power for Sewing Machines, Novel Boat-rig,
New Thermometer, Utilization of River Cur
rents etc. Among the books noticed are
number of volumes for children. The Bric-a-
brac is bright and readable. Some unusually
popular features are said to be in reserve for
early numbers of Scr bner.
Appleton's Journal for December contains
novelette, from the German, entitled A Tree
in Odenwald, that is eminently readable.
There is brilliant anecdo.al paper on Alex
andre Dumas the elder, which of itself is worth
the price Of the humber. Then we have
long review of the concluding volumes of
McCarthy's History OF Our Own Times, and q
review of Sectional Fiction, meaning A FOOLS
Errand and other recent novels Of its class,
that is notably searching and pungent. There
is graphic sketch of Paris before the Revou-
ton, and most interesting article called The
Roof of the World, describing the adventures
of Lieutenant Wood i'll crossing the Hindoo
Koosh, and exploring the hitherto unknown
region of the upper Oxus. a. j. Fa .st writes
entertainingly and anecdotically of Memory;
Mr.. Grant Allen discusses The Dogs Universe
in an article that is both scientific and popular;
Mr.. Connolly reveals to many readers an Irish
poet, Clarence Mangan; and we have some
anecdotes of English rural life. The editor
nffect, all,r dnfenIs the nuhlic schools acainSt