Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-11-26
OUR BOOK TABLE.
.cHILDREN's BooK-cANAL BOY TO PRES
IDEHT-wooD MAGIC.

CHILDREN's BooK-cANAL BOY TO PRES
brentwood MAGIC.
California cr1ticised-camp Life-Pioneer
Times-Florida-No Hu-
man Figurs-Magazines.
CALIFoRSIANs AND MoRNoNs. By A. E D. De Ru-
| pert. New York: John Wurtell Lowell. San
| Francisco : A. L. Bancroft s. Co. VOL, svo. 81.
Count De Rupert, cultured French gen.
tleman, one whose naturally active observant
faculties have been quickened as well as tenn
pered by much travel, was a couple OF years
| ago for some months on the Pacific coast
looking at and studying us and ours. This
little volume tells very plainly how, in the
| eyes an unprejudicsd and fair-minded for
eigner, we appear. We must confess that
| De Rupert has viewed well and ju6g;d us
fairly. His estimate of the social side OF
California land he goes but little further than
| that is about as nearly a correct judgment as
| has been formed by any stranger. Ills criti-
cisms are to the point and kindly, but none
the less trenchaut. He smiles at our archi-
| lecture is enthusiastic over the climate of
| the interior; quietly laughs at our Boosting,
but discovers in us brave, energetic. enduring
! qualities, such as mark a successful people
always. On the Chinese question he sides
with the popular voice on this coast, and
gives some cogent reasons for his belief, forth
| flying them by liberal quotations from Cen
eral Miiler's paper on that subject. Our
| social habits engrossed much of his attention,
| and he finds in them much to commend and
much which meets with his disapprovsl. He
believes our women to be physically the most
| favored as regards beauty, and our men to be
remarkably strong and vigorous when COM
| pared with those Of other enlightened coun-
tries. We live better than the most English
speaking commercial people; we have an
independence that pleases him; and our
devotion to educational progress excites him
to warmest euiOgies His work is very read
able, and while it takes what is by many held
to be an extravagant review of the possible
results of viticuiture in California upon the
social habits of our people, his work as a
,, whole is fair and just commentary The
chapters devoted to Utah make about one
third the volume, and the remarks, with
regard to fairness and clearness Of view in
which we have INDUCED regarding De Rupert
on California will apply to De- Rueers on
Utah. 1t would be pleasing to discuss the
Counts criticisms at length, did space permit,
but the reader cannot do better than procure
the work and read it, with certainty of
| receiving suggestions regarding this people
that are OF value.
| PIONEER TINES IN CALIFORNIA. By William Grey.
San Francisco : W. NJ. Hinton u Co. Sacramento:
W. a. & c. S. Houghton.
This is large, indeed a bulky volume
About one-haf OF it is devoted to some very
well-told stories, and the other to sketches of
pioneer times in this State. We can easily
conceive why MIR. Grey wrote the stories
We fail to find any pardopable excuse for
some of the Pictures of Pioneer Times"
IL the main, the latter form an attack upon
"The Annals of San Francisco" and the
effort is to show that the "Annals " is not a
reliable and historical work. We do not I'M
derstand that it was Issued as history. It
was put forth as a mere sketch. Ithas never
been accepted as authentic history. 1t is q
man of straw, against which Mr.. Grey has
aimed bis heaviest blows. He shows very
clearly that he is no more qualified to record
history" than were the authors of the "An-
| nails" Ii they had selfish purpose, then so
did Mr. Grey, and the purpose of both is
clear. What conceivable excuse can there
be for Mr.. Grey to tear open
old wounds, and hold up decayed skeletons
to present view? What good end is secured
in wouDding the innocent aud shaming the liv-
ing by recounting the personal frailties of pro-
genitors who were quite as much to be pitied
as condemned 1t is not necessarily part of
history that this or that private citizen
proved untrue and failed in all he owed to
himself and those dependent upon him, and
there is no excuse for causing the children of
such TO blush by the recital Of the weak
nesses of the parent. Yet Of this kind Of
made up. Undoubtedly Mr.. Grey has told
many truths. We do not stand pre-.
pared to question what he pronounces to
| be "facts," but we do maintain that
as he has not aimed to write history Of
California, his sketches of several pioneer
men had better have been omitted from his
work. The history of California has yet to
| be written, and TO that task must be called
very different kind of writer from Mr.. Grey.
| We do not think this book will do anything
more than add to the scandal of the pioneer
days. 1t is to be regretted that the book is
especially dedicated to the boys and girls of
pioneer parents, for their time can be far
better utilized than by devoting any portion
of it to reading some of Mr.. Grey's sketches
If the good in them, and there is not little,
could possibly be sifted from the scandalous
| we might feel more kindly toward Mr.. Grey's
work but with the mixture as it is we can
not commend it.
CAMP LIFE IN THE WOODS AND THE TRICKS OF
TRAPPING AND TRAP-NAKING. By W. Hamilton
Gibson. New York; Harper & Bros. San Fran
cisco: a. l.. Bancroft Co.
This is a small quarto-one of the COM
pletest works we have ever seen or heard of
on traps and trapping. Ii there is any kind
of trap for bird or beast in use in A merica
or England, and adapted to the uses of hunt
ers (outside OF tropical climes) that is not
mentioned, described and illustrated in this
volume, it must be such a curiosity as to de-
serve a place in museum. The little book
before US contains comprehensive hints on
camp shelter, log huts, bark shanties, wood
| land beds and bedding, boat and canoe build
ing valuable suggestions on trappers' food,
and chapters on the trappers' art and all the
tricks and valuable bait receipts of the pro-
| fession also full directions for the use of the
steel-trap, and for the construction of all
kinds of traps, and detailed instructions for
the capture Of all fur-beariDg animals, and
valuable receipts for curing and tanning of
| fur skins, and-but we cannot further detail
| the matters set forth in this exceedingly in
teresting little book.
| THE CnILDRENs Book. By Horace E. Scudder
Boston : Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Sacramento
| W. A. & c. S. Houghton. VOL, auarto. 50 30.
A beautifully illustrated volume of nearly
| 500 pages of matter, chosen from the best
stories and poems in the English language
| Some idea of this admirable collection may
be gained by the statement that it is divided
into twelve parts Fables, Wonders, Songs,
Tales, Stories in Verse, Stories from Hans
Christian Andersen, Tales from the Ara
bian Nights" Ballads, Familiar Stories, Voy-
age to Lilliput, Baron Munchausen, Poetry.
and Ancient Stories. Thus the little ones
have in one volume selections from Esop's
| Fables to "Lochinvar )" from Whiting
ton and his Cat" to "Paul Revere's Ride y
from Blue Beard " to The Cyclops; !" from
1.-The Children in the Wood to &c Sinbsd the
Sailor !" from "Goody Two Shoe" to "Old
Ironsides )" from lullaby to the "Expedi-
ton of the Argonauts, and SO on to the end
of the chapter. A charming holiday pres
ert this handsome volume would make.
FLORIDA FOR TOURISTS, INvALrDs AND SETTLERS. By
| George NJ Barbour New York d Appleton
| Co. Sacramento: W. A. s. c. S. Houghton.
vol $50.
| This volume is Endorsed by W. ID. Blox-
ham, Governor Of Florida; George F. Drew,
Ex-Governor of Florida Seth French. ex-
| Commissioner of Immigration, and Samuel
| Fairbanks, Assistant Commissioner of Immi-
grafton. That is, these gentlemen vouch for
Mr.. Barbour's abilities and his advantages
| Co. &ba st,,J., Of he ri; rasourcea at