The Portland daily press., 1886-06-19
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

What's To Be Done? Romance by N.
G. Tchernychewsky. translated and pub
lshed by benjamin r. Tucker, Boston, and
A Vital Question; or What is To Be Done?
by Nicolai G. Internationally, translated
from the Russian by Nathaniel Haskell Dole
and S. S. Skidelsky, are two versions OF the
same book by different translators. This
romance, the last work and only novel
from the pen of Tchernychewsky, appeared
in 1868 in st. Petersburg magazine, and
was written during the authors confinement
in st. Petersburg dungeon, prior to being
sent into exile in Siberia, where he still re-
mains with ruined health and shattered
mind, the present Gar refusing the innumer-
able petitions for his freedom. The Russian
Nihilists are said to regard the present work
as faithful portraiture of themselves and
their movements. The fundamental idea of
Tchernychewsky' book is that woman
should not be the slave Of man, but treated
as his equal and that the marriage system
should be purified and made sacred. 1t is
cry for liberty from the crushed Russian re-
former, and whatever may be thought OF
his theory of the solution of this vital ques
| tion," there can be no doubt, as one of the
| translators says, ''of the intense moral pur-
pose of the author" And it would be mis-
| take on the part of the reader to consider
| that he counsels free love-" in the ordinary
acceptation of the term. The unsettled state
of the labor question is discussed by Tcherny-
chewsky, who feels sure that cooperation
| is to be the great system of the future. The
characters of this remarkable novel are all
drawn from life Kirsanof is said to repre-
sent Professor Sheortch of st. Petersburg,
and Viera Pavlovna still lives. The book
was suppressed by the Russian government
as soon as it appeared, on account of its too
| liberal tendency; but it has had a powerful
| influence with the people.
Both translations are excellent; but in that
of Messrs. Dole and Skidelsky the constant
introduction of words in the Russian Ian
guage has the effect of confusing the mind Of
the reader. This occurs so often as to be
great drawback to the pleasure of reading.
For example, 'and you, says her mileatki;
that is her husband" Why not say huaband
in the first place? Again, IAN ex-student
(studentisha) sc" Why to us explain in
Russian the meaning of an English word?
Then comes "as srednaya" good-by. The
effect is distracting; and we turn with a
sense of relief to the strong smooth English
| of Mr. Tucker. Although in other respects
we have nothing but praise for the other
| translation.
Old Salem. By Elinor Putnam. Edited
by Arlo Bates. Boston: Houghton, Mifiin
& Co. Portland: Loring, Short q Harmony
| The sad cutting off of a literary career which
opened so brilliantly lends a pathetic inter
| est to our admiration for the charming pa
pers contained in this little volume The in
PRODUCTION by the husband of the writer is
| inexpressibly tender and touching, as is the
| dedication: ''For the son, too young to re-
| member her, have been gathered together
| these fragments of his mothers work, broken
| by death. The first three articles in this lit
| tie collection appeared in the Atlantic
| Monthly, where they attracted much atten-
| ton. To them has been added Two Salem
| Institutions, and My Cousin, the Captain"
| There is an unspeakable charm in these
"reminiscences of Old Salem, and the quaint,
| curious and musty relics of humanity and
bric-a-brac, of customs and costume, are re-
| produced by the pen of Mrs. Bates with ex-
| quisite skill and fidelity.
| The bright and interesting volume of Mrs
| Kate Tannatt Wood is unfortunately named
| That Dreadful Boy gives us terrible visions
the Bad Boy of Peck; and even the addition
| al information on the title page that it is an
| American novel does not fully reassure us.
| We beg that our readers will overlook the
name and accept the substance, which is ex-
| cellent. The book is not for boys, but rather
for parents, and contains much that is
thoughtful and useful 1t is the history OF
a bright and attractive boy, who having
lived through the period of "dreadfulness'
which is supposed to attack all youngsters
as inevitably as measels, chickenpox and
whooping cough. becomes blessing and a
comfort to his friends and family. MIS-
Wood evidently loves and appreciates youtht
and has much sympathy for the exuberan
vitality of the e,Jant terrible