Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-05-03
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

|
as history. 1t is exhaustive and thor
oughly interesting. The first period treated
is that embracing Puritan Psalmody, 1920
| 1771; the second, the first American COM
posers, 1771-lSl5; the third, the establish
ment of the Boston Handel and Haydn
Society, 1S15-lS25 the fourth, the intro
| duction of Italian opera, 1S25-1S42; the
| fifth, the establishment of the New York
Philharmonic Society, 1S42-1S61; the sixth,
| the period of the civil war and its results,
| lS61-1SS0. Perhaps the most interesting
chapter in the wholly interesting history is
the last one, which is devoted TO The
! Cultivation of Popular Music Those who
! have reading or other interest i'll musical
! culture, the history of musical cultivation,
musical theory, the progress of musical
organization, the history of psalm tunistS,
| opera in America, the evolution OF the
| slave songs, negro minstrelsy, etc. will be
! delighted with DR.. Ritter'S work
| CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY AND Political De
| vELoPNENT OF THE UNITED STATES. By Simon
Sterne, OF the New York Bar New York
, Cassell Peter, Galpin & Co San Francisco
| \. L. Bancroft 4 Co. 81 p.
In the consideration and treatment of the
! Constitution of the United States Mr. Sterne
has very closely followed Story, the dcpar-
| lures being such only as more recent inter
pretations of the Supreme Court have rem
dered necessary. The treatment of the
State Constitutions and the late amend
ments thereto, and the period of history
| beginning with the close of the war of the
rebellion is wholly new. Mr.. Sterne has
handled his subject in statesmanlike
manner, and presented treatise of impair
TALLY and marked by broad views and
patriotic spirit. Mr.. Stcrne inclines strongly
to free trade principles, and he also points
out several broad fields which he believes
afford ample scope for the political re-
former. For instance our methods of leg
islation are wofully defective, primitive and
corrupt; the existing system of representa-
ton is faulty, inharmonious and unphilo-
| sophical; municipal government is a prey
to iobbery and venality. He believes these
and similar defects and evils are NOT so for
|
persistent appeal to the good sense of the
| people WILL as in the past, cause a spirit to
arise able to cope with them
ANCIENT EGYPT UNDER THE PHARAOHS BY John
| Kendrick, VI. \. New York John b. Alden.
The purpose of Professor Kendrick-and
which he has attained-is TO supply histor-
ical information concerning Egyptian arch
aOlOgy and history in the light of the re-
suits of the labors of travellers, artists and
antiquarians in the present century. IL
presents to us Egypt according to the pres
ent state of our knowledge Of that country
and its people, their arts, sciences and civil
| institutions, their religious faith and usages
The facts deriyable from inscriptions on
| Egyptian monuments, and on which the
history of Egypt is based mainly down to
the seventh century, have been augmented
and enlarged greatly by recent researches,
and especially by the labors of the French,
| Tuscan and Prussian expeditions. PROBES
| sor kendrick promises Us a similar vol
ume and next in order to this compre-
hending the history of those countries of
the East whose influence preceded and
acted upon that of Greece
| DUE WEST; or, ROUND THE WORLD IN Ten
MONTHS. BY Maturin NJ. Ballou. Boston,
| Houghton Mltfiin ~ Co Sacramento: G. :.
HOughtOn 81 30.
Circumnavigation of the globe is no
longer a novelty, and the books of tourists
have lost the interest they possessed when
the means of transit were more difficult
| than in these days. Ii is only the traveller
with rare observant powers who can now
| command hearing. A. Mr. Ballou him
self puts it, only the few both sec and feel
to such only may the simplest object in its
suggestiveness be full of beauty; such only
pluck delightful mysteries out of travel
We are left to speculate as to whether Mr..
Ballou desires to be classed with these few.
However be it said in sincerity that his
work is marked by ncwncss, breadth Of
thought and poetry, and in the multitude of
books of travel in these days, this is much
to say. We have contented ourselves to this
writing with reading his chapters on Japan,
India and Egypts clIriosities We have been
fairly compensated, and though not espe-
cially newly informed as to matters famiI-
lar to most readers, the pages have enter
| tanned and in a sense suggested thought
that other books of travel failed to awaken.
Mr.. Ballou is an easy writer, not without
grace and graphic in description, and rapid
in narrative. He would appear to better
advantage if he wrote without the use of
| the plural We One merit in his book is
| the regard Mr.. Ballou shows for his fellow
tourists He avoids the common error of
making them the butt of his wit And it is
to be said, after all things are considered.
that between the covers of this volume Mr..
| Ballou has given, though rapidly, very
much of interesting information concerning
the manners, morals, religions, architect
ure, products and industries of the greater
population of the world. He very readily
comprehends human nature, and presents
II as 1t is without projecting himself into
the record, or trimming it to suit his own
| philosophy, whatever it may be.
| DARwINIsM STATED BY HIMSELF Selected by
Nathan Sheppard. New York: d. Appleton Il
Co. San Francisco Jas. T. White x Co. 81 80.
This is selection of characteristic pas
sages from the writings of Charles Darwin
The author says the design is to make the
| book useful to those who know nothing or
| little about Darwins line of research and
argument, and yet would like to obtain
general idea of it in form which shall at
| once be authentic, brief and inexpensive
So far as the attainment of the economic
ends mentioned are concerned, this book
! cOmmends itself. But we cannot think
that il is at all an excusable method of
gaining knowledge of such philosophy