The Republican journal., 1885-05-14
Literature.

| Beers. This is the latest addition to the Amer
lean Men of Letters series; and despite the flip
pant way in which some of the critics refer to
N. p. Willis we think he is well entitled to rank
among American men of letters, and that this
book will recall attention to his works and bring
him many new admirers. The New York Her
aid reviewer says that "Willis belongs to a past
and his works are almost unknown to the pres
sent generation, y and the Boston Budget review
er says that CHS stories were light, pleasant
| trifes that few will care to read now." Willis
may be almost unknown to the present gener-
alton, but there are many who hold his writings
| in high esteem and the Messrs. Scribner are
evidently of the opinion that there are some
who will care to read bis stories, as they an
nounce for publication this month ''Prose Writ
ings of N. P. Willis" The Book Buyer says:
''Many of the best tales by Will. have perish
| ed for no other reason than that they were in
| accessible. The renewed interest shown in the
authors work has led Prof. Beers to compile
| this volume, which contains characteristic col
| lection of the authors fascinating stories and
| sketches" The fact is the hostile reviewers are
probably not familiar with the writings of Will
|
works having long been out of print they ma
turaly enough conclude that he is wholly for
gotten, which however Is not the case. Then
! they measure Willis by some of our modern
writers, whereas Willis had peculiar talent
of his own. As a letter writer and paragraph
er he had no equals in hi. days. His stories,
TOO, are bright and entertaining; and his "Iet-
| ters from Under Bridge are delightful read
ing now, and we have often wondered that
some enterprsing publisher has not brought out
a new edition for the satchels Of vacationsts.
! His 'Pencngs by the Way" also afford an in
| sight into European society of their date. with
sketches of many celebrities with whom Willis
came in contact during his sojourn abroad.
| These works, with his sacred poems and an
odd volume of The New Mirror, in the library
| of the writer, have made him familiar with and
an admrer of the writings of Willis, and Prof.
Beers story of his life is therefore most well
| come. AS Maine man, too. he is proud of
| this recognition of one of her sons. Prof.
| Beers says: "Wills was born Jan. 20, 1906,
in the little old seaport of Portland, Maine,
celebrated by the 'Aristocrat' for its great
| square mansions. the homes of retired sea
| captains. The town had aretd dy mad some
noise in literature, as the residence of that
| wild genius John Neal; and in February ~,
1907, a little more than year after the date
with which this biography begins, it witnessed
| the birth of its most lustrious citizen, Henry
| Wadsworth Lonefellow." The father of n.
z. Willis established the Eastern Argus in
Portland in 1903 and edited The Youths Com
| panon, which he began in 1927, for about
| thirty years. But we commend the reader to
| the book for details. 1t will be found not only
| to give an excellent picture of the subject but
an interesting review of the literature of the
period in which he lived. / vol, II mo-, TO.
Houghtun, Mflin 4 Co., publishers, Boston.
| NOTES.
| Pansy for May comes with the May flowers,
ana the little ones rejoice at its coming.
Good Cheer and Our Country Home. two pa
! pers published by ii. d. Watson, Greenfield,
Mass, are true to name, and Il credit to their
publisher.
\ story from the versatile pen of II. II.
| Clark of the United States Navy is announced
| by ID. LothrOp II Co., under the captivating
title of boy Life in the United States Navy"
The Book Buyer, published monthly by Chas.
Scribner's Sons, New York, at fifty cents
year, tells all about the new books, American
and foreign, and is very readable as well as
useful publication.
Miss Murfree's story for young people,
Down til" Ravine. which has been running
Il serial in Wide Awake, will be published soon
| in, nv lin, G.
Murfree retains on the title-page her pseudonym,
Charles Egbert Craddock."
Miss Anna l.. Dawes, the accomplished
daughter of Senator Dawes, of Massachusetts,
has in the press of D. Lothrop & Co., under the
title of "How We are Governed" popular
treatise on government in the United States.
The advance orders are said to indicate large
| sale
That bright. chatty story of swiss town life,
''At the Red Glove" is concluded in the June
Harpers, and readers will not be disappointed
ip the ending. The authorship has not yet
been divuged, though various guesses have
been made. Miss Woolson's eXceIlently-work-
ed story of Florida life, East Angels" reaches
It's sixth instament. and the same number will
contain a clever story by Brander Mathews,
called "The Secret of the Sea-" u wonderful
tale of ''a pirate crew."
''How shall Women Dress:" is Il question
that one would hardly expect to be discussed
i'll so grave an organ of opinion the North
American Review, and yet in its June number
this interesting topic is to be treated in a SYM
postum, by five eminent writers who have Civ
en- the subject much attention. viz, Charles
Dudley Warner, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Dr.
William A. Hammond, Mrs. L. NJ. King, and
Dir. Kate j. jackson.
Messrs Funk & Wagnalls, New York have
in press the following books: Historical Lights
BY Charles L. Little, author of biblical Lights
and Side Lights" This work will contain six
thousand extracts from Standard Histories and
Biographies. illustrating twenty thousand top
les especially arranged for ministers, lecturers
public speakers, editors, lawyers aud all who
have occasion to use illustrations drawn from
Historical literature. 1t will be issued in large
octave form of nearly 800 pages. Price $500
Apostolic Life. Vol Ill. By Joseph Parker
ID. D., of London. A series of discourses ol
1.-The Acts of the Apostles from chapter Xxx
to XVIII. This volume completes this Sc
ries. Price, S1.50 "Sunrise on the Soul By
Hugh Smith Carpenter D. D., author of ''Herf
and Beyond" 12mo, price. Sl.25. The Com
ing of the Lord. BY John c. Rankin, d. ID. A
brief, simple and positive form of the teaching
OF Scripture on this subject. 12mo., price !;
cents Elijah, the Reformer-A Ballad Epic
BY George Lansing Taylor, d. d. A volume
Of religious poems 12mo, price Sl.25.
The announcement that the rea name of the
author of ''The Prophet of the Great Smoky
Mountains" is not Charles Egbert Craddock
but Mary n. Murfree, will cause many reader;
of the May Atlantic to turn first to that story
to continue it in the light of this discovery. The
two chapters contained in this readable number
are among the best pieces of writing yet giver
us by this author. Mrs. Oliphant's serial is con
tinued, as is "A Marsh Isand.'' DR.. Home,
turns over some new leaves in his delightful
''New Portfolio, and the genial articles OF
"Madame Moh and her Salon" are completed
all too soon. Important short papers of thi:
issue are John S. Dwight's article on "Bach
1885, 1852 Richard A. PrOctor's ESSAY on ''The