Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-12-12

antpodcs of the previous one in point
of lightness anda kind of Christmas heart
mess about ii. Miss AlCOtt's "SpiuninE-
Wheel stories have been running in
the st. Nicholas for the past year, and
are now, according to her profitable Gus
tom, gathered into book form. they are
very AlCotty; ! seem to see the faces of
"littlc men whom we all know back
of these new faces and although they
change with the age, and while rough old
Tom was happy with his vclocipcde THAT
divil of IL whirligig' Us the lrlShman
disrespcctfully called it, and these modern
youths must have bicycle of the latest
pattern, yet the souls are the same the
familiar honest sturdy little fellows that
have done so much for MS who were not
too old to start with.
am not quite sure whether like 'John
Acknowledgement latest novel, Or
not. 1t is very unequal in Workmanship !;
ut times ii il II little dull, ana then 1t
rises again with II bound i'll point OF inter
est as though it had merely stopped to
gather force for Il higher leap. But the
story is dangerous i'll the extreme. KAN
tout, being an artist, might be judged as
being somewhat on the same level as lla-
NOR, III "Gwcnn" in point OF moral dead
ness, and keeps right ON with ms love
and pursuit of the lady in the story as
steadily rs though she were not married
already while she rather enjoys it than
otherwise, and plunGes into 1t with the
zest of a fair Venetian. All, and that re
minds me. The whole story has II flavor
of life and times in Italy contemporaneous
with Charles stuart, the Pretendcr.
1t is Il little mixed i'll plot in fact, there
are two stories running neck and neck
and neither has so very much to do with
the other :, but the book has story to tell,
after all, and that is great thing now
adayS, as books go while there is Il
deal of fine work in sketching characters
all through it.
The firm has begun its fall issuing of
new heliotypeS as usual, about the best
in the last lot being two pictures. morn
ing after the painting by Jules LefebNre,
and "Esmeralda', by the same artist,
two beautiful female figures. Esmcraldl
standing with her back against the high
rail of an antique balcony with her head
upon her hand, her tambourine at her
feet while her trained goat has left his
arranged cards and is rubbing his head
atfectlonately against her arm, the faint
crescent of the moon, pale in the twilight
and distance The other, "Morning' rep
resents young girl knOtting flowers into
the scanty drapery upon her shoulder
while she looks out of the picture at you
from under her brows with face of pure
oval thoughtful and maidenly, rcmarka
bic from its utter lack of self-consclous
ness as well us from its own beauty.
Lee and Shepard have published anoth
er of Oliver Optics books III his industri
al education series square and Com
passes, and he proceeds to demonstrate
that II self-controlled young mechanic is
more of gentleman than certain other
individuals whose chief claim to the title
is money. The local flavor of the book
is strong and as usual, Lake Champlair
/ figures somewhat prominently i'll 1t. But
that wont make it less interesting to Bur
lington boys, | fancy. 1t is quite an i'm
provement on the previous volume of the
I..1t hat Ia
work III knocking over certain idols OF
false pride which we Yankees are IL
spite of ourselves occasionally setting W
and bowling bown before, even as child
rem.
Lastly, ID. Lothrop and Co. have pub
lished as IA little holiday volume Words
worths famous "Ode to Immortality. y
1t is finely illustrated Of course and
which makes it all the more valuable II
lovers of the old poet, among the illustra
tions are numerous portraits of the atl
thor at different ages, copied from the
old paintings in foreign art galleries
with all their quaint fashions of ruff ant
necktie etc, faithfully preserved enabl
ing us to see exactly how he looked whel
he wrote his famous studies of nature.
And as though that were not enough
for one season they have also issued Mis-
company with twelve other ideal Christ
mas poems, closing with Whittier
"Christmas Carmen 1t is II beautiful
thing, fringed with a glossy border o
silken floss, and resplendent on the on,
cover is il pink armed girl waving fare
well as She Drifts past in white raimen
and flowing, golden hair and on the 9th
er Il great knot of snowy waterliles
while within, one of the first pictures tina
catch the eye is Blossoms engraving o
Raphaels Sistine Madonna
This is about the first of the Genuin
W.;
, and am inclined to predict for it abou
the largest sale. Which reminds me
again, that the first edition of Nedder'
illustrations To the Rubaiyat is already eN
| haustcd. Pretty good, that, for Il twenty
five dollar book in these dull times
NEHITAS.