Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-03-18
OUR Bo0K TABLE.
cycLopsDrA OF PRACTICAL QUOTATIONS
LATE MAGAZINES.
Educational Theories Making Of Eng
land, a New Book by Professor
Green-Sew Eusic-Ete.

Prof Green's history of the English people
ia nopular and widely. circulated work.
His larger book on tbs same topic has
scarcsI,, less OF popular reading. Il may be
tbonoht that Green is falling into the error
that is running SO many writers OF this age,
that of writing too many books. But so long
az he is able to show, as ne does Ia TINS
instance, that his work is timely, and not
merely repetilive, is new, aud not mere
reh ,sh. he can continue TO produce with
safety all the Books that his indomltable
industry and fue scholarship may set as tasks
before him, 1t il not t. be said that he has
in this volume given any new facts, nor thas
he has traveTsed any paths that nave not
been tired by others, and long before MN;
But It is true that no one has as yet presented
the earlier history of England in all It's IN.
nortsnce. nor HAYS those who have treated of
it done SO with that connectedness that was
desirable. nor have any of theu-and this Is a
broad statement but uuderstandir giy made
preserved the matter IN that interesting form
that makes its reading the most attractive OF
which it is capable. Nfr. Green gives to wfa'
is Otherwise the dry bones Of history, the HE
and vigor of which q master hand Is capaDie,
and which even more able historians ana pro
founder scholars have failed to do. With
Green it seems to have been rule that none
of his narratives shall be dull, and when they
threaten to be so he invariably hastens the
story and condsnaes the recltal-lt must De
confessed at times with some punishment TO
the historical detail. WearisOme he seems
to have resolved that his writings never shal
be, With this motive in the front, we hence
often find him brief where others have been
full and elaborate, and that he at times gal
lops where Others have crawled. he makes
a connected story and wastes 40 time over ef-
forts to give the less important facts the force
of those of greater value. In his Introduction
Professor Green presents the plan OF the
work under notice in these words:
have thought it better to gather up and com
plete what could Of the history OF the Garner tihes
IN TO the union Of Engl4nd under Ecgberht ana
this is more because these years form dls'lict
period in our national history whose interest ana
importance have, think, still to be fui recog-
nized They iorm in fact, the period OF the making
of England-the sge during which our fat er5 con
euered and settled over the soil OF Britain ana when
their political and social lie took the form whlch IL
still retains The centuries of administrative organ
ization which stretched from Ecgberht to Edward
l. the age OF fun national development whlGn
extends from Edwards day to our own, only
become fully Ineligible TO US when we nave
fully grasped this age OF national formation
| cannot but feel, therefore, that IL Is no
slight mist rtune that such a period should re-
main com paratively unknown; and that us strug-
giles, which were in reality the ortn throeS oi our
national life should be still to most Englishmen, as
they were to Milton, mere battles OF KITES ana
crows Whether have succeeded IN setting THESE
readers must decide. The remoteness OF the ents,
the comparative pauciy of historical material, no
doubt make such undertaking, at the best,
hazardous one and one OF the wsest oil my frlendS-
who is az the time the greatest living auth"r-
ity on our earliest history-warned me at the out
set against the attempt to construct lvlng por-
traiture OF times which many previous hlsto-
rians themselves men OF learning aud apll5yi nave
left dead Perhaps it is my own vivid interest in
the subject which has encouraged me, IN spite OF
such warning, to attempt to convey It's interest 20
Others In doing so, however, nave largely aFalied
myself of some resources which have been hitheIGoi
think unduly neglected. Archaeological researches
on sites Of villas and towns, or along the line OF
road or dyke, often furnish us with evidence, even
more Trustworthy than that of written chronicle
viii the ground itself where We can real the III
formation it affords is whether in the history oil the
conquest the settlement of Britain, the 1ullest
and most Ger ain of documents. Physical geography
mas still part to play in the written records OF hui
man history, 10 which 1t gives much OF shape ana
form in the present work have striven, however
imperfectly to avail myself OF its aid may add,
in explanation of the reappearance OF few pas
sages relating principally to ecclesiastical matters,
which my readers may have seen before, that where
] had little or nothing TO add or to change, nave
preferred to insert passage from previous work,
with the requisite correction and references to the
affect alton Of rewriting such passage Tor the mere
sake of giving it an air OF novelty.
Alphonse Daudet's last novel is entitled
Numa Roumestan, and 10 l6no., -
volume from the press of Lee & Shepard,
Co., San Francisco. The translation is from
the French by Virginia Champ!in. Daudet
stands alone among modern French novelists
in the peculiarly and attractiveness OF his
style He handles his subjects boldly-so
boldly at times az to expose ignorance OF
some matters concerning which, If he wrote
of them at all, he should be better informed.
But these are minor notes. The present
novel purports to present the career
E IL ha1 OF OF a.
whose public position and profession should
have made him the model example and pat
tern Of virtue and goodness. But he is shown
to be weak-very weak in MS estimate of the
obligations che marriage contract imposed
upon him. With almost cruel severity he
tears the mask from the face of this man and
shows him as an imposter upon faithful and
trusting wife. 1t is said the portrait is drawn
largely from the history Of Gambetta, but it
is denied that it applies TO him in its darker
shades. The man who speaks is quite GER
tainly Gambetts, but the man who acts
is the result of combination that may be
made up of either fact or fancy-but in either
case is probable and natural. There is
In the novel some striking examples
of Daudet's gift of word painting. While he
is realistic he interwesves the fanciful so
adroitly and gives to the whole of his works
such an air of analysis of character, that the
reader is prepared to believe that his book ia
wholly imaginary, or if not wholly, at least
mainly resting on very prominent and we'll
defined basis Of truth. The very doubt and
uncertainty that surrounds the novel, as to
whether it is in fact peep into the sorrow
of real home and the unfaithfulness Of
hypocritical husband, whose falseness his wife
aud his mistress alone know, while the world
writes him good and true, and claps It's hands
over his wise and moral utterances. is what
L. - r-4L1 aE..ll
to the perusal Of the pages concerning the
great Insn-Zreat to al except his wife, and
to whom he owed all his greatness.
CYs1oPzpiA OF PRACTICAL QUOTATIONS., Exo1rsH AND
LATIN with appendix. BY J. X Hoyt and
Anna L. Ward I'd edition. New York !. X.
Funk & Co. San Francisco A L. Bancroft &
Co. IS.
This is royal octave volume of 900 close
pages. Il is PROFESSIONALLY the most com
plete and best-auanged book Of quotations
extant, and differs from all others in its nov
city. It is confined neither to prose nor
poetry. II Is practical, and the evidence is
patent that il is the result Of long aud
patient labor. The English and Latin quota
tons are arranged under subject heads,
and throughout are alphabetically pre-
sented. The cross and inter-indexine
is so complete that one in need of a sugges
tive line to stimulate or aid hating thought
may almost Immediately fad what is needed.
So, too, if definite quotation is needed it is
readily found, and in all other cases refer
euce to the copious concordance will give the
key to the matter desired. With each quota
ton the name of the writer and the place
where it may be found is given, thus enabling
the context to be consulted In this respect
the vslume is a literary brief book. The
appendix is a new feature in works Of this
order. 1t presents proverbs and notices in
Latin, French. German. Spanish and Italian
Latin law terms and phrases in common use
ecclesiastical terms and definitions, and the
names, nativity, etc, Of quoted authors.
The indexes are very complete, and are
three ia number topical" Ito the vol
ume) a concordance to English que
tations and an index to translation
of Latin quotations. The chief merit, hsw-
ever, of the work, is the higher plane upon
which It moves. II has more of the intel.