The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1888-01-22

many respects its praise fs well n ana
| lust: but we think the public would have been
gratiled II Mrs. Cheney had also
Gated some details OF Mr.. Wasson's biography.
The poems are marked with q fresh and orfgi-
nal Imagination, often surprising the reader
| with new conceptions and illustrations. III the
cultivation and taste OF the author and his
powor OF expression had been equal TO MS
thinking. these verses would indeed have peeh
q treasure. As they are. We study them with q
much higher pleasure than ia often derived
from The productions OF poets whose art is more
| finished, and whose fame Is wider than his.
In his Life and Labor" tHarpers) Mr.. Sam
uel Smiles has produced q worthy companion
volume to his Self Helps" Character and
| other useful works, the influence OF which In
forming or developing character has been very
considerable. In part II was prepared many
years ago. but within the last twelvemonth
| the early chapters have been rewritten and tho
later ones added. The authors marvellous In
dustry and extensive range OF reading are
noticeable on every page. His mind appears
to be n perfect storehouse OF facts, and the
manner in which he brings them to bear upon
the subject in hand exhibits the skill OF the
practised writer. At the age Of 70 he ia In full
intellectual vigor. and able to illustrate by
many fresh examples what can be accom-
pllshed by honest force Of will and steady per-
severance" He calls attention to his chapters
on "Over Brain Work" and the Conditions
of Health" which are to O certain extent the
result of personal experience.
The Rev. Montagu Cyril Bickersteth is the
author of THE Life and Episcopate Of the
Right Reverend Robert Bickersteth. D. d. this
fatherl. Bishop of Ripon, 1s57-1Ss4" tE. p.
Dutton & COL The subject OF this memoir was
An Anglican prelate, OF decided Evangelical
leanings, and Of pure and unostentatious piety.
whose life was a succession Of good works
quietly and faithfully performed. Although
not a brilliant man. intellectually considered.
he was regarded by his contemporaries as In
every sense a working Bishop" who conse-
Grated his episcopate to the strengthening and
enlargement Of tho Anglican Church within
his diocese. He declined, though holding he
reditary Evangelical opinions. to be classed as
a Low Churchman. preferring to remain loyal
to his Church, and to ignore the existence Of
party distinctions within 1t. He opposed the
disestablishment Of the Anglo : Episcopal
Church in Ireland, but was a consistent and
unwavering advocate of tho repeal Of the &C.
clesiastical law In England which prohibits
marriage with a deceased wife's sister. The
life Of Bishop Bickersteth has been written by
his son in a reverent spirit, and presents the
record Of a Churchman of the genuine stamn.
Some years ago Mrs. Jerome Mercier pro-
duced. for the use of young persons, a volume
entitled Our Mother Church." embodying an
elementary history Of the rites, usages. and
theology Of the Anglican Communion. Her
STORY OF Salvation" (E. F. Dutton & Co.. may
be considered a sort Of sequel to that work.
Under the form OF q conversation between an
elderly woman and two young girls, she has de-
veloped q method Of historic study OF the Bible
which is both practical and philosophical. She
writes from the point Of view Of a thorough
going Church Of England woman, with
out cant, harshness, or prejudice, but with
a degree Of piety and reverence which will
be respected by those who cannot agree with
her OF every point. She reviews the Old Tes-
tament from Genesis to the Prophets, and the
New Testament from the Gospels to the Reve-
lation, In accordance with the Interpretations
Of modern Anglican expositors. in a manner
to interest many persons outside the class Of
readers to which she addresses herself.
Her chapter on the poetry Of the Bible. metri-
cally considered, is admirable. and her account
Of tho different English versions Of the Bible
will prove valuable for reference. Under every
aspect we can commend Mrs. Mercier's book
to the youthful Christian seeking knowledge Of
the scheme and scope Of the Holy Scriptures.
Mr.. Chandos Fulton's novel, "ASociety Star.
or She Would Be All Actress" e. W. Dilling-
ham. as a picture of polite life and manner
in New York, is a ludicrous failure. Nc such
pure-minded, refined. and unaffected q heroine
as he ~portrays would be likely to take q sub.
ordinate part in a transforming theatrical
company. unless 1t was absolutely necessary
for her maintenance. which does not appear to
have been the fact nor would she consent to
marry a profigate and INSCRIPTIONS stock
gambler. as she is made to do. Yet the book
is far from being worthless: for. on ground
which is familiar to him. the author ex-
presses himself with clearness and intelli-
gence. As a playwright Of experience he has
considerable knowledge Of the stage, and on
subjects connected with 1t writes ex cathedra-
What he tells the a~spirant for histrionic
honors about the difficulties which beset the
debutant. particularly II he or she happens to
have been a successful amateur. is thoroughly
sound. Miss Julie Stalk makes q fair. ever q
successful debut. but Mr.. Fulton gives his
readers to understand that her youth. beauty.
and SOCIAL position have had q great deal to do
with her success. In whatever concerns actors
and acting his book may be commended. Not
so his slipshod style and frequent grammatical
blunders. II any subsequent edition is pub
lished, he might at least correct the bad
French in which 1t abounds.
Vladimir Korolcnko, a Russian story-writer
OF the school OF Gogol and Turgeneff, is a COM
ouh Liah' WAVE pEOuuC-
lions are. in part. now placed for the first time
before an English-speaking public In a volume
entitled The VaGrant and other Tales"
Thomas Y. Crowell & CO... translated by Mrs.
Aline Delano. a cultivated Russian woman liy-
ingin Boston. These stories bear q strong fam
lily likeness to the contemporary Russian litera-
ture of fiction. which has aroused 30 lively
an interest within the last quarter OF a century,
but possess an individuality entirely their own.
The author passed a somewhat stormy youth
and early manhood; was twice banished to
Siberia for his supposed radical opinions; and
is now living at Novsorod on sufferance,
apparently, uncertain whether at any mo-
ment an imperial Ukase may not send
him again to captivity In the frozen
north. He Is r~erlistic. dramatic and
above all imaginative. excelling, probably.
in the last-named quality most OF his con-
temporaries or immediate predecessors. THE
Forest Soughs," q weird woodland legend, is an
admirable example of his power in this direc-
ton. His best work. however, has been inspired