Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-11-05
THE BOOK TABLE.
EAST OF THE JoRDAE-BIBLE COM
MRNrARIEs-FRENcH DRAMA
Religious Discourses-Isms-a George the
-Illusions-Free Trade
English Letters.


EAST OF THE JORDAN. By Selah Merrill New York (:
Charles Scribner's Sons San Francisco: A. L.
Bancroft Co. l vol; royal syo.
This is record of travel and observation
in the countries of Moab, Gileai and Bashan.
IL is introduced by paper written by Pro-
fessor Roswell D. Hitchcock, President of the
Union Theological Seminary, New York
The work is fnely illustrated. Mr.. Merrill,
on the 20sh of October, 1874, was appointed
the archaologist of the American Palestine
Exploration Society, and sailed from New
Beirut, in Syria, on the 9th day of August.
During 1877 he made four different expe-
ditions, of which the Journal of but two is
given at length in this work. December %,
1875, he was placed in charge Of the explora-
ton work, which he carried on until the
summer of 1877, when he returned to
America. He has since been retained by the
society to write reports and assist Mr.. Meyer
in the preparation of the maps. During the
two years that he was in the field, he la
bored undsr the immediats advice and direc.
tion OF the Advisory COMMITTEES in Beirut.
This committee is composed OF men familiar
with many parts of Syria and Palestine.
This brief statement win point the value Of
the work, which contains the record of
the results of the explorations indicated.
The historic associations belonging to
the country east of the Jordan are rich
and various. Two and a half of the twelve
tribes that come out of Egypt under Moses
chose that side of the river for their home.
It was the region where John the Baptist
began his labors; half a year Christ minis
tered there, and the Christian Church there
sought refuge when the Roman legions began
to close in upon Jerusalem. Mr.. Rowelps
method is that of simplicity, terseness and
careful and constant effort to make himself
clearly understood by his readers.
IsMs, OLD AND NEW. By Rev. George C. Loriiner.
Chicago S. C. Griggs & Co. Sacramento: W. A.
C. S. Houghton. svo; muslin, 81 so.
This is work by the pastor of the First
Baptist Church of Chicago, member of the
Victoria Institute, and of the Philosophical
Society of Great Britain. The volume is
made up of series of discourses de-
hvered to his congregation by Mr.. Lori
mer treats of Upitarianism, Spiritualisn,
Skepticism, Liberalism, Journalism, Denom-
inationalism. Mormonism, Pauperism, Al
truism, Buddhism, Pessimism, Naturslism,
Materialism, Pantheism, Atheism and Ag
Mysticism. The trend of the discourses is
in his preface While it is pre- eminently
the duty of the pulpit to expound the doc
trines and precepts of Holy Writ, there are
times when it should confront and challenge
the ipsidious errors which unfit the public
mind to receive attentively and belivingly its
expositions. Exegesis, however eloquent
and elaborate, will be as poweilsss, morally
and religiously, as the learned inter-
pretations of dusty Egyptian HERO
glYphics, if confidence is seriously
impaired in the Divine origin of the Book
whose teachings it seeks to unfold.
Working for Christ in a community distin-
gaished almost as much by its mental rest
lessness as by its business activity, the author
became convinced if he would promote in the
highest sense the religious life of the uncon-
verted in his congregation he must diminish
their confidence in certain prevailing errors.
While not attempting an exhaustive
treatment of +" "isms," have tried to point
out their startling dissonances, their thought
encircling darkness, and their confortless,
hopeless, soulfreezing tendencies and l have
tried TO help my readers to grasp more deeply
and feel more intensely those essential doc
trines of religion that meet the necessities of
our spiritual life"
FOUR CENTURIES OF ENGLISH LETTERS. By w Bap-
tiste Scoones. New York: Harper & Bros. San
Francisco A. L. Bancroft Co.
This is q work of nearly 600 octave pages
in which Professor Scoones has collected Sc
lectiops from the correspondence of $50
writers, from the period of the s. Pastor Let
ters " to the present day. The work has been
most faithfully done. 1t required rare iu6g-
ment and superior qualities of discrimination
to make the selections. The quality of Eng
lish epistolary correspondence is not surpassed
by that OF any other European nation. Ia
quantity and variety France is our only sue
cessful rival. So extensive and various are
H. t,,,
a diligent search for himself can have 70 idea
Of their scope and character Ia putting forth
this volume we do not understand the author
to say that it is complete treasury of Eng
lish lstters from the Lancastrian to the Vic
torisn era, but he has simply endeavored,
after careful survey of nearly fve hundred
volumes, to make what he terms scanty
plot Of ground rich with some of the best and
brightest flowers of epistolary literature.
Carlyle defined good letters os "a an uncounted
handful Of needles, to be collected from an
unmeasured continent of hay" but Professor
Sc ONES has shown that having the opportun.
ity and the inclination he has also COM
manded success in the selection of the needles,
but to make the force of Carlyle's simile
complete, he has not claimed that all the
needles have been gathered in.
OUR LITTLE ONES AT HOME AND IN SCHOOL 81 So
Young Americans in Japan 81 SO. Boston Lee
& Shepard. Sacramento: W. A. & G. S. Hough-
ton.
Here are two quarto volumes for young
people. The first, with $50 illustrations of q
high character, is years collection of Oliver
Optics (Wm. L. Adams) well-known Inaga-
zine, "0ur Little Ones" In book form it
makes very fine volume, and one which is
especially adapted to the holiday season. The
contents are most happily varied between
&Al Nt1ro or olyn
songs, etc. The eDgravings are from designs
by such artists as Hayden, Hopkins, Moss,
Remmer, Bush, Beard, Wand, Herrick and
others eminent in their line.
The second volume under notice is by Ed
ward Greely. It describes the adventures Of
an American family, more particularly the
younger members of it, and a young japanese
whe had been educated in the States, in their
journeys through Japan. 1t appears to us
to be the best book on Japan for young folks
yet published, giving, as it does, in an enter.
tanning way, seasoned with an abundance OF
novel and ludicrous adventures, the manners
and customs of this strange people. The il
lustrations are profuse and graphic, and
make an interesting panorama of travel in
the Land of the Rising Sum-" 1t is an ex-
cellent book for holiday present.
Ur THE RIVER By Oliver Optic Boston: Lee &
Shepard. Sacramento W. A & C. s. Boughton.
One vol, svo., muslin boards. 81 So
This is compact volume for youths, and
the sixth and last of the Great Western Sc
ries. The events OF the story occur on the
coast of Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico and
on the Mississippi river. The volume and
the series close with the return of the hero,
by route not often taken by tourists, to'his
home in Michigan. His voyagiug on the
ocean, the great lakes and the Father of Wa
ters is finished for the present, says Optic,
but he believes that his principal character
has grown wiser and better since he was first
introduced to the public.
BAYARD TAYLoRs HOME BALLADS. Boston Hough-
ton, Mifflin & Co.. Sacramento w. A. Il G. s.
Houghton. One volume, quarto. s..
An elegant holiday volume, richly illus
trated and beautifully printed. The engrav-