Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-09-01

reader misses nothing in the fullness of the
| narrative. OF course the great Battle of the
Wilderness Is treated at length 10 most in
teresiiug chapter, at the end of which Cen
ersl Humphreys gives it as his opinion that
General Grant neither intended nor wished
to fight battle in the WILDERNESS, End that
his doing so wss, under the circumstances,
unavoidable, not matter of choice. 1t will
interest CaliforDisns TO fad a history
of the cavalry division of the Army OF
the James, commanded by General
A. V. Kautz, before and during
the battle Of Drury's Bluff General Lsdlie
comes in fer severe treatment for his excess
sive prud ice during the sprirgire Of GsF.
Burnside's mine bsf0rs Petersburg. The
final surrender Of Lee st App1ms.toX Cours-
house is told briefly ard generously, I'D CON.
bstsnts usually speak Of each others re-
verses The closing sem eno5 is mastery
1t has not sesmed to me necess ary II at
tempt eulogy upon ihs Army Of the P3to-
mac or the Army OF Northern Virginia. .
The maps, index aud appendices axe as com
plete in ibis as in the preceding issues OF this
series. For sale by w E & o. S. Hough-
ton, Sacramento, and A. L. Bancroft Il Co.,
San Francisco.
"Italisn Rambles" By James jackson
Jsrves NV York: g. 2. Pa mans Sons.
Mr.. Iarves esstes IA his predatory note that
portions o these studies OF life aud manuers
in rev and old Italy hsve already eppsared
in letters 70 j uruGis a1d peEOi'cs.s I
Europe AK the u eel Ssate1. 4 hey treat
of untroddeu ways in Italy, IS sll travels IN
that well explored and c5piou,ly written up
psB Dsuls uust be now, aad bring before Us
very vividig the primitive, eon-eHted, IN
civilized lie Of the pesSan's Ia the Apeanins
Villages, and also tie antiquities OF Venice
Z oh cr
an exempla of dwindli1r. Feuescept City, Is
graphic enough, and the history Of VenstiGn
glass ard the 5peoialmzuuisctori5s &c MuFsno
i unique, can5siniug q great deal Of inlorma
tion ROT reaciiy found tlssWh here. The thiT-
teenih chapter. on the recently found terra
cot o busts Of Micheal Angelo ard Vittoria
Coionna. discovered in 81 old castle near the
Ne3politan frontier, II written with spirit
that prepares one for the bright banter Of the
hOmily on the pursuit OF bTic-a-brac. The
book winds mp with a chapter on New and
Old World Manners" in which there Is both
tru h and poetry. Boston Genes Ia for ter
rible castigation under the charge Of snob-
bery, though Mr.. Ja-ves remarks rather hap
PLY that il Europe beautiful mancers are an
imperative condition OF high caste, Eerving
to soften tho inVidiOus personal distinctions
Of rank, while in America social pretenders
are apt to consider themselves free 70 dis
pense with the courtesies which are the rule
ef good breeding elsewhere, there being no
fixed standard Of urbsne department. Foe
sale by A l.. Bancroft & Co, San Fra cisco.
1.-THE Navy in the Civil War.-II. The
Atlantic Coast" BIZ Daniel Ammen. New
York: Charles ScFibner's Sons. This cup
elemental series to the campaigns of the Civil
War was begun by Professor Solely. The
present volume treats of naval operations
from Cape Hatterss to Cape Floridg, along
the coasts. and within the sounds, rivers and
hsrbors of this watershed. Admiral Ammen
explains that two centers of opera ioHs really
existed the one at Port Royal, the depot of
supplies, and usual headquarters of the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron I;
the other within the sounds,
and on the coast of North
Carolina, over which the North Atlantic
Block sding Squadron held watch. The events
of each section ara treated separately. A
short initial chapter on the condition Of the
navy st the beginning of the war, and a later
one on the Monitor class Of vessels, are as iu-
teresting as the raids snd captures. The
story Of Lieutenant Cushing's gallant de-
struction of the rebel ironciad, ALTERNATE,
ia as exciting as any of the war stories ex-
taAt. A youth but q years old running his
launch "head on " to huge ram. aware Of
his object, placing and exploding the torpedo
with his own hand and receiving at the con-
mons mouth the blast of 100 FOUNDER rife
from the Albemsrle, spending the night in
the water and walking miles in the .swsmps
next day before be could find beat to con-
vey him to place of safety is like a tale
invented by a romancer for favorite hero.
The historical part of the book closes with
the shelling Of Fort Fisher, but few con-
clu6ing remarks contain tbs honest confession
of Southern gentleman, that if the South
had been the victorious party in the rebellion
her troubles would but have begun. South
Carolina en- the one side and Florida on the
other would have seeded, and the so-cslled
Coufederacy would have been disnenbsred
people. Appendices of the names and COM
members Of vessels serving during the war
are added, and an irdex. For sale by A. l..
Bancroft & Co., San Francisco.
1.-THE Priest and the Man" By William
WilbeJforce Newton. Boston: Cupples, Up
ham & Co. a man must be very confident
of his powers, and deeply infatuated with his
subject to undertake the composition Of
novel about story SO well known and no
complete In itself as shat of Abelard and
Heloise, but in his performance MIR. Newton
has yindicated his right to use this familiar
materisl. The picture of Psris in the twelfth
century Is an interesting study, the rise and
decline IF popular idols in the philosoph
ical and theological schools is grsphi-
callY portrayed, and TIE episode of the Egyp-
tisn girl Sejelma pietu iquely delightful
The flight of Abelsrd and Heloise into Brit
tAiny, and their PEASANT life there, carries
the readers sympathies 10 spite Of the cir
cumstances. The evident learning that Mr..
Newton pr s 'esses is never psdsntically thrust
upon one but only latent in his style, while,
if the lovs-msking of the ill.starred two is
rather full of classical illusions, it must be
remembered that lovers usually parallel
what they are reading with their own story,
and Abelard and Heloise only read the clas-
sics. The sketch of Abelsrd's character is
masterly-a man st once passionate and am
bilious. who, but for the terrible law OF the
celibacy of the clergy, would have wooed and
won Heloise perhaps, and died aud been for
gotten, like his fellow schoolmen. Heloise
is less distinct, except the word picture of her
actual physique, which is extremely vivid
The illustrations are fairly good, and an ap-
pendix adds two interesting letters by the
real Heloiss and Abelard, translated from
the Latin by Joseph Bsrington. For sale by
W. a. & @. S. Houghton, Sacramento.
The Navy in the Civil War-III. The
Gulf and Inland Waters" By A. L. Mahan.
This concluding volume of the naval opera
tions during the Rebellion treEts of the sea-
board, over the Gulf of Mexico, from Kew
West to the mouth of the Rio Grande and
inland over the course OF the Mississippi,
from Cairo, al the southern extremity of the
State Of Iiliuois, to the mouths Of ths river.
The aim of the national Government, Com
nader MahaB states was two-fold. First,
to enter the Mississippi river from the see,
and working up its stream in connection with
the land forces, to take possession Of The
well-known positions that gave command Of
the navigation. Simultaneously a similar
movement downward. with the like object,
was 30 BE- undertaken in the upper waJers
These attacks, if successful, as they proved
to be, were designed to sever the Stases in re-
bellion on the east side Of the river from
those on the west, which contributed men
and food to the support of the Confederacy.
The second object of the Government was TO
enforce strics blockade over the entire coast,
from the Rio Grande to Florids. This
portion of the naval history Of the rebellion
is more familiar to the ms ority of readers
than the Atlantic operations, and Vieksburg,
New Orleans and Mobile are satisfactorily
described by Commander Mahsn. The
maps, which facilitate an understanding of
fhsa ind faI 70 he