The Portland daily press., 1886-02-24

essential truths OF GodS UNIVERSE HOW
ever that may be, he certainly has not much
respect for the popular forms OF religion,
and satirizes equally these and the extreme
of infdelity The story reminds one a little
of Gulliver's Travels, and the people and
customs of InqurendO Island are as eXtraor-
binary as those of Lilliput. Ihelr church IS
based upon numbers Mathematics is their
God. and their Bible is the Arithmetic.
Read your Arithmetic, pray to Mathe-
MATES. and NAV the Greatest Common Divi-
sor sustain and comfort you, IS the result
of their creed. The author mas expended
much ingenuity upon this WORK. ana IL Is
certainly curious and often amusing ana en-
Pertaining. as well as original But IL mas
rather a confusing effect upon the mind OF
tbe reader and there is quite too much of it,
Marlhorough. BY George Saintsbury. New
York. D.. Appleton & CO.. :; Portland: Loring,
Short & HARMONY This volume is one of
fine English Worthless Series, edited by
Andrew Lang, and is a compact and skilful-
w written biography of one of the most brill
liant military leaders that England has ever
produced. The story of the military career
as any to be found in the pages of history.
His four great victories of Blenheim, Ramil-
lies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet destroyed
the prestige of the French army, and to
great extent, its personnel, and after nearly
three centuries gave the English name the
lustre Of great continental victory. OF the
many strange and inconsistent elements III
his character, which tarnish the brightness
of his fame, much has been said by Macaulay,
Thackeray and others. The heat of contro-
versy has hardly yet subsidized on these
points but the estimate of his character, ON
the whole favorable put forth in this little
book, is worthy of consideration
War and Peace. A Historical Novel. By
Count Leon Tolstoi. Count Tolstoi having
long been considered one of the most famous
of Russian novelists, has only recently been
introduced to our English speaking nation
through a strong and earnest work entitled
'sMy Religion" The power and simplicity
of this confession of faith has made deep
impression upon us, and created a desire for
further knowledge of the works of so re-
markable man. For Count Tolstoi writes
eAAN
ness of his experience and an intense de-
sire to right wrongs. His great historical
novel entitled War and Peace treats OF the
/ Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1872, and
| created a profound sensation at the time of
| its publication. 1t was translated into
| French by Russian Lady, and has now
| been put into excellent English by Clara
Bell and published in two volumes by Will
liam Gottsberger, New York, 1t is a most
| thrilling romance, and exhibits fully the
sentiments and genius of its author.
The Infant Philosopher; Stray Leaves
| from Baby's Journal. By Tullio L. Yer
| di, NJ. d. (New York: Fords, Howard d
Hurlburt; Portland: Loring, Short d Har-
! mon.) This little book is not only amusing
but contains many valuable hints to mothers
and those having the charge of young chill
dren. The Infant Philosopher voices the
probable discomforts and would-be COM
plants of myriads of babies who are not
able to make their grievances understood.
He describes his sensations after taking par
egoric, recounts the adventures OF an after
| noon spent among his nurses relatives when
he is supposed to be breathing the fresh ali
of the park, and explains the cause of many
of the aches and pains which battle the Sa-
gacity of his fond mamma. We commend
the book to all those who are interested ID
the rearing and welfare of the little ones
i The House at Crague or Her Own Way
By Mary B. Sleight. (New York: Thomas
Y. Crowell & Coz A very pretty, bright and
entertaining story for young people, and one
which they are sure to enjoy immensely
though it has that unpopular appendage,
moral. One follows the fortunes of the
pretty Blanche and the good Rachel witt
much interest, feeling, as in real life, it il
hard that the innocent should suffer ever
more for the faults of the guilty than the
one who deserves punishment The author
shows much skill and versatility in charac
ter drawing, and gives us wholesome ant
agreeable story
Our Little Ann. BY the author of Tip Cat
Miss Toosey's Mission, and Laddie. (Bos
ton: Roberts Brothers; Portland: Loring
Short g. Harmony Anything that come:
from the pen of the writer of these charming
sketches must be welcome. They are 81
dainty, and gay and pathetic by turns, tina
our hearts are freshly won at every page
Our Little Ann has, in common with The
other works of this author, all those quail
ties, and one feels tenderness for the llttlt
book. even in handling it,