New-York tribune., 1888-03-22
SOME NEW BOOKS.

r. Palmer, shows merit IN tho porfayA ef sns nes''
inca sweet, strong, wholesome nasui~
number Of the sermons whicn MT opu
prcached last year have boon collected To volume
entitled aThe Best Brcads (Robcrt Carter Broth
erS)
4 scx,tchm.n. wtlliam watson, has written , read
.A c,.t,ve entitled Lie In the Ccnfcderats Army"
1scr4bnpr 4 wslfordl He was partner In sn sne+
neerug frm It Baton Rouge whom tho southern Stsfes
sec.dod ana though uunauratsed 10 Joined the CON
s.dsr,se Army. parsiy from love Of adventure and
partly, Is he says, from policy. He dsvotss hum
drcd pagos snd more to survey Of the situation bs-
foro the Rebellion and bis vews are those OF sn OUT
sdcr rhc really interesting pert Of the eotk u hat
which relates his experiences In the hsld Here ~ -
simple graphic and apparently truthful He was
senior sergeant OF his company and ssems :" have
beon thorough soldier. His description Of the con-
fusion and uncertainty that generally prevailed In tho
Confederate councils and the gnoraocs OF what was
going on during tho various b&ttles he wss engaged
in, reflect faithfully the average feelings Of The rank
and 6le The pictures Of the battle OF Pea Ridge and
of the Canfedcras retreat hom rnth afo full Of
interest. and he tells his story In the nost straight
forward and unaffected manner. He sreaks with Bit
ternes Of tho Southern politicians who did 70 much
talking and little lighting all through tho contest
and makes clear that there little confidence
In the Richmond Government 90 far ~ tho armies
were concerned. Watson escaped With but one wound
snd though taken prisoner soon paroled and man.
Honduras.
Esther, the Gcntile," Crane q Co., TopehaJ Is .
story Of Mormondom by Mrs. NJ W. Hudson. 1t
turns Of course the suffcrngs Of wives under the
Latter Day dspensaton, and is full Of the glowing
indignation which moves all feminine writers Of
fiction who deal with that subject.
The pretty volume which records tho Experiences
If Forty-nn during thIrty-fou years. residence
in California and Australia (The Williams Publishing
Co., Cleveland, Ohio, contains . curious record of
adventure, tho hero being Ohio boy, Charles D.
Ferguson Tho story is edited by F. 7. Wallace,
who fully imbued with tho biographers enthusiasm,
and. indeed. rather overdoes his admiration going
so far as Intimate, not obscurely, that since tho
days Of Marco Polo nobody has seen and done such
wonderful things his hero. In truth tho ups and
downs of MIR. Ferguson numerous and varied
enough TO make interesting narrative yet are they
not generally Of what would bo called phenomenal
Importance. He went through such experiences ~
many thousands Of Forty miners encountered and con-
cernng the like Of which many SCORES Of books have
been written. His story, however Is that Of plucky,
persistent, keen-wtted american lad, who managed
TO Keep his feet no matter whore Fortune placed
him, and who kept his eyes open wherever he wont.
No doubt there plenty Of grzsled miners who VIII
enjoy his recolectons, and plenty Of untried young
stcrs who would give great deal for tho oppor-
tunity to wander far sheld and to see ~ much
written fourteenth edition Of C. W. Bsrdeen's @Com-
mon School Law"
A book which men have confessed to reading in
their boyhood as If 1t novel; is the spirited
"Life of P. T. Barnum,' written by himself Tho
latest edition brings the story up to 90, and tesfhes
to the end the closing chapter to the pluck honesty
and kindliness of the "Great Snowman
The second volume Of the Henry Irving Shakes
peare contains five plays, namely, the Second and
Third Parts Of Henry the Sixth, Tho Tanning OF the
shrew, A Midsummer Nights Dream. King Richard
the Second: and In addition Charles Kembles con-
densaton Of the thrco parts Of Horny the Sixth In
one play printed, for the nIst time, from Krmbles
Ms. In Mr.. Iroings possession. This curious and
clever experiment will DO Of little interest to all
students Of Shakespeare Another interesting ana
fresh feature of this volume consists OF copious OK
tracts In the notes Richard the Second from Tho
Tragedy Of Richard the Second the original OF which
IS tho volumes Of MS plays in the Egerton Library,
now in tho British Museum. Few SHAKESPEARE stu
dents can have had opportunity Of examining this
old play before The notes to tho two parts OF
Henry the Sixth arc remarkably full and rich and
characterized by breadth and judgment We notice,
In one of the notes to tho Midsummer Nights Dream,
an indication Of superficial research on the limo
Farewell thou lob Of spirits" Mr. Marshall observes
Lob Is q singular term addressed to Puck am
inclined to suspect corruption In tho text etc.
and be adds: ain all the passages but ono In which
have found tho word, 1t evidently means q country
Iout' This looks as though Mr.. Marshall was not
thoroughly informed IN fairy mythology. The torn
aobp was In several English counties, and notably In
tho southern ones, applied less than century ago
land may be in some out ofthewsy villages even now)
to q species of Brownie who WA clearly lined
descendant of Robin Goodfellow. alias Puck This
Lob (sometmes styled "Lobltoby-the nre'1 was sup
posed to do household work, chores" and ~ forth,
for tho maids, In orthodox Brownie fashion, and to
exact payment In the shape Of bowl Of bread and
milk duly set Ia some private nook He was how
ever, prone to mischief when spied upon, and in his
fits of he played just such praDks a. Shakes
poare, closely following tradition, ascribes to Puck
Moreover, 1t must be remembered that Puck was
originally hend He was las he himself says In
the play called Hobgoblin Puck lndiherently. He
was Q Bogy, wherewith children were terrified. Reg-
naid Leak, in his Discoveries Of witchcraft' gives
long list Of the class Of spirits to which Robin Good
fellow was supposed to beiong, and they all appear
to be of tho Brownie kind Tho fact il that Puck
presented by Shakespeare 10 greatly rehned upon
popular legend.
little book for school use ID Nina Moore's I" Pill
erims and Puritans" (Ginn Co.. II tells In simple
language the story of the settlement Of Plymouth and
Of Boston the narratives being taken directly
possible from winihrops journal and the relation Of
Bradford and winslow.
f. A. Stokes q Brother have lately issued somo
pretty papercovered bits Of verso especially do
signed for gifts. The most ambitious Of these Is
Bethlehem to jerusalem poem by George Klingle
illustrated by sketches in color of tho sacred city
made BY Harry Fem. A series Of photogrsvure 70
productions Of designs by F. NJ Gregory illustrate
wssley's hymn, Jesus, Lover Of my Soul"
collection Of GOOD and True Thoughts from Rob
ert Browning" selected by Amy Cross. hes . neat
ivorine tablet on its coven "A Birthday Book Of
Birds" contains some musical birthday verses by
Dora Read Goodaie accompanied by some admirable
flower and bird sketches In color BY Miss Bridges