The Portland daily press., 1881-02-12

L IN5S - DOuuauiV Aho VI mdnuai
which is an elegant addition to the library
table-has done his work with zeal, good sense
| and brevity 1t gives the approved pronunci-
alton and accent of debatable and difficult
words. as well as those apt to be mspro-
nounced in common use, and contains also
| rules and examples for the correct sounds of
foreign words which are often introduced in
English speech. As Mr.. Ayres observes, cor
rectness in speaking is ono of the tests Of good
social standing, and yet who is there that does
not occasionally miss an accent or fail to pre-
nounce correctly? Luckily, we can all point
to the disagreements of the doctors, Worcester
and Webster, as our excuse, while acknowl-
edging much obligation to Mr.. Ayres for
very convenient guide through the maze Of
English speech.
Browsing among Books, and Other ESSAYS.
By Abba Goold Woolson. (Boston Roberts
Brothers; Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony
This is volume of essays upon familiar sub
jects, and will be found easy and pleasant
reading They are not especially original, but
are sensible, thoughtful and agreeable. Mrs
Woolson evidently is well acquainted with the
best English literature; her style lacks some
thing of spontaneity, but is refined, smooth,
and at times impressive. Her humor is usual
ly quiet genial and effective, and she observes
clearly and accurately. Boston Common is
the subject of one of the pleasantest ESSAYS
and something in its literary quality recalls
Hawthorne's rare sunny moods. Duds and
The Humdrum Aspect OF Life are rather after
the fashion of school compositions The mys-
terious story OF the Deacon House indicates
that Mrs. Woolson wouldJio well to exercise
her talent for short stories; tbs natural and
supernatural are very cleverly blended in it;
and, as story of the present time should its
strange shadows are driven back by the
healthful everyday sunlight.
Mashallah! A Flight into Egypt. By
Charles Warren Stoddard (Appleton's New
Handy Volume Series; Portland Hoyt, Fogg
q Donham.) These rapid sketches Of jour
ney from Paris into Egypt are full of the color,
the impulse. the poetic abandon of Mr. Stod-
dard's manner. He has felt the ancient charm
OF Egypt, of which a strange essence vet lives
in its changed conditions of the present time,
and with careless but telling touch he trans
fers it to his pages. His identity of Bohemi-
"A ODooANO oodo q QiStAuCt udNOr 10 inc DOCK.
Mary Marston. By George Macdonald.
(New York: d. Appleton; Portland: Hoyt,
Fogg q Donham.) Mr.. Macdonald has a large
audience who eagerly await and take every
new work from his hands. They know very
well what they may expect of him, and are
never disappointed. The light skiwmer
OF novels will find little to enjoy in Mary
Marston; the course of the story is very slow,
and the narrative is of the development and
growth or the dwindling and waste of charac-
ter. 1t is less mystical than some of the au-
thor's novels; and Mary Marston, the heroine
and good angel of the story. is straightfor-
ward, bright and active young woman, who
practices at least as much as she breaches.
Mr.. Macdonald's ualaineresses, with their dark
tragic beauty and fierce and warped souls, fail
to impress the reader with sense of reality:
and in this novel Sepia is a portrait painted
in too monotonous black. Hesper is better
drawn; and Lefty, with her childish charac-
ter gradually blooming into fulness, is the
ideal OF such natures as George Eliot liked to
sketch, and which she perhaps had not enough
faith in and liking for sweet and simple peo-
pie to develop. OF course the book abounds
in benevolent humanity and in singularly d.
rect insight. Mr.. Mscdonald's admirers will
not fail to have much satisfaction of this latest
volume.
Messrs. Houghton & Miflin of Boston pub
lish very complete and useful catalogue of
their publications. 1t contains several speci-
men illustrations, and many notices of the
press descriptive of the books which they pub
lish. tits an indispensable and reliable guide
in adding to ones library, and will not itself
be found one of the least attractive volumes
upon the shelves. Messrs Houghton & Mif-
fins publications include new and standard
works in every department