Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-26
NEW PUBLICATIONS.


slster-in law and his eldest daughter. In two vol
umes. New York Charles Scribner's Sons. Sac
ramento: W. a. i C. S. Houghton. s yo., cloth
So.
These volumes are intended to supplement
Forsters quite unsatisfactory life of Dickens.
That work is recognized as anything but ex-
haustive. Its lack, for one thing, is in the
absence of the correspondence presented in
the books under notice. Dickens was noted
for expressing himself in his letters. They
were a reflex largely of his daily thought
constant reflection of his life. The authors
did not lack for material, as the THOUSAND!
and more pages before us attest. The letters
are arranged in chronological order, and form
narrative of the events of each year. The
collection dates from 1888, the commence
ment of Charles Dickens literary life. just
before the starting of the "Pickwick Pa
pers, ;" and is carried on up to the day before
his death, in 1870. Some difficulty was
found in being quite accurate in the arrange
ment of letters up to the end of 1889, for Dick
ems had careless habit in those days About
dating his letters, very frequently putting in
only the day of the week ON which he wrote,
CuElOuSly III COUlTdSb Will GLle udDlb VI lis
later life, when his dates were always of the
fullest A blank is made in Dickens COR
respondence with his family by the absence
of any letter addressed to his daughter Kate
Mrs. Perugini). In 1873 her furniture and
other possessions were stored in the ware
house of the Pantechnicon at the time of the
great fire there. All her property was de-
stroyed, and among other things, box of
papers which included her letters from her
father. This loss is much to be regretted as
the letters to Kate would have proven still
another key to the inner life of Dickens. 1t
is fortunate thing that materials were
in existence for the compilation of these
volumes, and that we are not left
lily constructed work of Forster, to get
glimpSes into the inner life of Charles Dick
ems. One thing which will strike the reader
as remarkable in the book under notice is
that Dickens, who presented to the world so
much matter for its reading, was ever able to
command the time, to say nothing of the
patient devotion, which was called for in so
extensive a correspondence Some solution
of the problem may be surmised, however, by
considering letter-writing by an industrious
author as a recreation-a rest from heavier
literary labors. Another thing that i'm
presses the reader deeply was the devotion of
but of great interest to his friends, to whom
he seems to have responded upon the slightest
call-answering letters which the ordinarily
busy man would scarcely consider worthy
moments notice. These two volumes we
know embrace only selected letters,
and we are left to imagine what
great bulk his entire correspondence must
have been. Into these letters we look as
into a mirror of the mind and we read in their
lines the true thoughts of the novelist; we
analyze his emotions, peer into his sympa-
thetic nature, and measure his loves and
his dislikes. 1t will probably remain an un-
explained blunder why the cOmpilers of these
volumes, who have been so faithful in all else,
should have omitted all reference to the early
life of Dickens and have begun the work with
his letters only. Surely some sketch of
Dickens from birth to manhood was due as an
introduction to such work as is before us,
for though the letters present Us Dickens
when in active literary life, the demand is
Just that such record should have been pre-
faced by something concerning him prior to
that-in other words, the book should have
been more independent of Forster's incom-
plete, stilted and mistaken biography.
You've MRS JARDINB. novel, New York Har.
per & Bros. San Francisco A. L. Bancroft & Co.
l vol. Svo.
This is new novel by the author of
John Halifax Gentleman" In this volume
Mrs. Craik has given simple, but sympa-
thetic love story-a love story of wife for
husband, and husband for wife. tits pas
sionate book, but the passion is chaste and
pure one, and the picture of it is healthful,
real and teaching. Mrs Jardine is drawn
tor us as a pure, loving and heroic woman, as
wise as a serpent, as patient as hope and as
brave as truth and purity always is. The
story has no dramatic incidents in tit is
rather a sketch of home under trial, of
pure natures tried in the fire. but it is written
with a tenderness and skill rarely equaled.
Were it not for the qualities referred to, the
story would be almost commonplace, so de-
void is it of incident and plot. The lover
of the dramatic and sensational, the stirring
and active, will find little in this novel to
satisfy him.
BIBLICAL THINGS Nor GENERALLY KNOWN New
York Dick & Fitzgerald San Francisco A. L.
Bancroft Co.; l vol; Svo cloth
This is compact volume, a compilation of
interesting facts referred to in biblical his
tory, with explanations and historical enlarge
ments. 1t embraces many rare questions and
statements with solutions-such matters as
are to the masses generally obscure, of which
they know little outside the biblical account
It will prove an interesting volume to al,
students of the Bible. The attention which
has during the last quarter of century,
been given to the lands and literature of the
Bible has put vast mass of fresh informa-
ton at command of Bible readers and there
are few portions of the Bible which have not
received elucidation by an enlarged knowl-
edge of ancient customs, or the closer obser-
walton of present Eastern habits. To be of
practical service to Bible students, the re-
suits of varied research and observation have
been collected for the sake of the many who
have not access to original sources of infor-
nation.
HYGIENE OF THE VOICE By Ghisani Durant, NJ D.
New York Cassell, Peter & Gapin. San Fran
cisco: Billings, Harbourne & Co.; vol, Svo.
This is useful book, one which singers es-
pecially will appreciate. The physiology of
the voice organs is too little studied by those
who use them most As the condition of the