New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-24

than by the ,ncsveness Of its reasoning the rac
ness and piquancy Of its style.
| His Biblical scholarship would appear meagre and
| feeble beside the splendid achievements of modern
4 German and English criticism; but he literally
| opened the Scriptures to thousands. He was the
| FIRST who attempted to popularize critical knowi-
| edge Of the Bible. IA the biographer truihiuy
saws of his Family Expositor' " If less striking
| in its scholarship than when he wrote II. TINS
| is partly because the book itself has helped
| to make the discoveries of such scholarship
| common and domestic. He was without the
| helps that the most inferior men may now
| have from the progress Of philology and the
| exactness of modern exegess but one OF
his claims TO regard is that he wrote before all
| these" His " Rise and Progress" book marked
by the interpretive type of his piety aud deal
| ing with the rcl gous life in the region OF emotion
and self-analysis has been read in nearly all the
languages of Europe and even in Eastern tongues,
| and has been exceeded by few religious books In
| the range and power of its effects.
A tnntarian in theology, he incurred the sus-
| piclen of Ariansm by his dislike OF attempts 10
| formulate divine mysteries and by the courtesy
which sometime made him seem politely indecisive
yet he was man of true courage, and of uncompro-
| missing principle, holding nonconformity with Its
scanty spends in the face of tempting oilers Oh pat
ronaRe and place from the Establishment
DR.. Stanford has made a reaudDe anu hNCiJ o'"B-
| raphy, and while failing to attain the ease OF
| style which be, seemingly, affects, no has shown
| good Judgment in his selection from his abundant
| materials. and has brought out IN firm outline the
| portrait Of a great IN goodness.
THE LOYAL RONINs. AN HIsToRIcAL ROMANCE FROM
TIE JAPANESE OF TAMENAGA sHuNsUL sHiMCHliko
sAITo AND EDWARD GREEY, ransiators u. r. ruV
MANS Sons.
This is probably the most intelligent and intell'
gible effort that has been made to put Japanese
romance before English-reading pubic. Inc
LOYAL Ronns is, in some degree, aJapanese Classic
and has been rendered into English before. notably
in Miss Mitford's " Tales of Old Japan" But the
present translators have taken care, IN view
of the vast differences in manners and Gus
toms between that people and our own,
to Intersperse much explanatory matter, ana
have contrlyed to do it without breaking
the interest of the story. The result is that
there may said to be little in the book when
is not as clear to the Western reader as 1t was to
the polite and accomplished people for whom IL was
originally written. We get picture of japanese
life and manners, far as all romances must reject
| life and manners, which cannot fail to interest
| many and which even the professional novel-read-
ers might find to have at least the navor
of novelty after long round of English stories
with their monotonous variations of a few themes
Another and most attractive feature III ~
the reproduction of the original illustrations ex
cept that instead of giving them IN Two sections,
difficult for Western readers to understand or ap,
preciate japanese pictures the sections are unted
and the illustrations thus adjusted to western eyes.
There is handsome Illuminated cover. when
| makes the book additionally attractive III the
| holidays. go
Mr.. Saito as the founder of " the modern school OF
| Nihonese fiction and the Charles Dickens of Japan"
The prv is one of conspiracy for vengeance on the
| part ~ forty-seven retaners OF japanese hODle-
| man. who having been grossly insulied by an
upstart official, committed the offence OF drawing
| sword upon him within the precincts OF me I'M
perIal palace, and was sentenced 10 commit SCR
| dispatch" as these tTanslatOrs render hdFfHp1;
| The scheme OF revenge is not communicated unlll
after three years of watching and waiting, after
much intrigue and many trials OF the bravery and
loyalty OF the retaineTs They persist III lie con-
sniracy tlough knowing that the price of success
Will be their own lives for they all sentenced
TO commit self-dspatch, and the denouement Is
grand sacri6cal suicide. The working out OF thls
story gives opportunity for the portrayal OF many
sides OF japanese life under the feudal system. |
the book has popular spirit, which makes II easy
TO understand why Tamenaga's admirers should
claim for him the name OF the Dickens OF Japan.
THE ANTI9UARY: a Magazine devoted to me s5geey
J. W. Bouion
This publication. which has now reached Its
second volume VIII found interesting TO the general
reader as well to the antiquarian The articles are
not written i'll tie dryasGust style, but apply the mod
ern humanitarian spirit subjects thai not many years
ago seemed only written for faded old to read
in rnouldy gares. Now Is beginning 10 DC felt mat
the whole world belongs everybody and that it
is the duty OF every writer Whatever subject to treat
the public as a reasonable person. who Is capable at
least of entering every matter that concerns human
beings
Here IL q journal that deals entirely with the past
and with things forgotten, and yet no man of intel
gence can fail find the greater part of its contents
entertaining ana instructive reading Mr. j. H. Pdrkers
serial article on the " Victorian Revival Of Gothic
Architecture d" is the appreciation Of an important
movement by a generous scholar who, while lie has
strong convictions Of his has unreasonable pre-
tndices and Will not be partisan, let who else may In
Part III OF Volume H. Mr.. r. A. Douglas LlthgOw begins
an essay Oh the "Orthography OF ShaBespeares Name
which contains much interesting matter on wel-worn
subject We are glad TO that Mr.. LhCow takes the
side of the longer form OF spelling the poets name
Shakespeare-and sorry that he thinks we must
give up the autograph signature In the British
Museum copy OF FioriO's translation OF MoDtaigues
Essays III be a fiction that this particular book be
longed TO Shakespe are IL pleasant one while II
lasted. Mr.. Lithgow speaks of the passage in the
Tempest TACT III. u beginning with Gonzales
speech Had plantation of this isle, my lord" and
ending with the same speakers d" would with |
such perfection govern sir to excel The golden age
having been called plagiarism from the essay On
Canpbals" in Forio translation. We do not remember
10 have read go harsh a judgment anywhere but II is
certain that the resemblance very close, and
not be easily persuaded that Shakespeare did not have
knowledge Of Essays There is another passage in
the essay OF the Institution and Education of Child
rem" which is curious, and TO which do not remem
Der having attention called This is the passage |
which says:
For before the age OF lthirteenl have undergone |
and the ehieest paris the Latin tragedies
of buchanan Guerenti. and OF Murct which great |
staIe were acted and plaid in college Of Guienne
. and myself without ostcntatlon be II spOken) |
was repued If not chief master, yet principal actor
them.
Compare this with POlonius's answer TO Hamlets, |
Ny lord you played once in the university, you say-
That did l. my lord and accounted good actor"
It's but straw perhaps, yet 1t Is not without value
taken in connection with the important evidence
Lord Talbot Malahide has been reading Tho Grnb
ront To sn1ne nrnnt and hrrirs serios ofen