The Portland daily press., 1888-02-10

Robert Emmett. A Tragedy of Irish His
tory. By Joseph j. G. Clarke. Mr.. Clarke
has put into his tragedy heart and soul full
of sympathy with the wrongs of Ireland, and
intense interest in the events which he por-
trays. He has picturesque and dramatic
episode to delineate in the life ana death of
Robert Emmett, the Irish patriot and martyr,
and he has instilled into it strength and
fire, while following closely and carefully all
the historical facts in details. interviewer
with the story Of the sacrifice of his life for
Ireland, which Emmett made, is that of his
love for Sarah Curran, whom Washington
Irving immortalized in sketch entitled The
Broken Heart. Besides the literary merit of
Mr.. Clarke's drama-which is not inconsid-
erable-the volume contains reproductions
of the originals of all the portraits extant of
the young hero. The frontispiece is an au-
totype of the Comerford miniature, which
was sketched on piece of brown paper at
the time of the trial, and afterward tinted !;
and the autograph under the picture is from
one of Robert Emmet's books which he used
at Trinity College, Dublin. But more inter-
esting still are the fac smile reproductions
of the sketches made during the trial by
Petrie, the artist, which are very spirited
and full Of the expression of the moment.
The book is tastefully bound, and printed
ON heavy paper, and is handsome and at
tractiye volume, well worth a thorough ex-
animation. (New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons; Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony
The Vagrant. And Other Tales. By Vlad-
imir Korolenko. A realist, like all the Rus
sian writers of modern fiction, Korolenko
stands at the head of the younger generation
of writers. The sketches in the present vol
ume present a series of pictures, VIVID,
sparkling, tense with emotion, having an
undertone of deep melancholy like ''the
soughing of the forest" which he weirdly
and sympathetically describes, till it has for
you haunting and forceful charm which
holds you completely in its power. Vladi-
mir Korolenko is still young man, having
been born in 1853 in the Polish border. He
has struggled with poverty, been exiled for
refusing to take the oath of allegiance to
Alexander LII, and only within few years
has won enduring fame as writer. Most Of
his stories are founded on his Siberian ex
perience, and this series Of representative
sketches has been beautifully translated by
Mrs. Aline Delano, "a cultivated Russian
lady living in Boston, and form charming
volume. (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell
81 Co.; Portland: Loring, Short & Harmon)
Talks to Young Men with Asides to
Young Wmen). By Robert Collyer. Young
men as a rule have horror of being
preached to-" but the young man who
could not enjoy these talks" of Mr.. Collyer
must be Of a shallow and unimpressionable
nature, and sadly devoid of high aspirations
Mr.. Collyer Is so wise and so kindly, so
genial and so earnest, SO entertaining and so
instructive, that one absorDs the good he
gives as one inhales breath of fresh air
without stopping to analyze it or consider its
quality, until by and by he finds himself
somehow strengthened and helped before he
knows it. His are words controlled by the
wisdom won in life of experience, cry of
wayering from one who stands on the
heights, timely suggestion to the youth of
to-day, and helpful thoughts for those who
read them. Boston: Lee & Shepard; Port
land: Loring, Short g. Harmony
A Second Son. By NJ. C. w. Oliphant and
t. B. Aldrich. Why Mrs. Oliphant and Mr..
Aldrich should jointly write novel is best
known to themselves. But at all events the
story is clever one, full of well drawn char
acters. and as free from exaggeration and
sensationalism as the novels of both these
writers are sure to be. The hand Of Mrs.
Oliphant is plainly to be seen in the work,
and she is at her best in this tale Of English
life, which has its tragic features set against
a peaceful background of quiet country
homes. What Mr.. Aldrich's part in the
story is we do not discover-but all the same
it is good, sound, wholesome reading thor
oughly excellent of its kind and conveying a
moral lesson which it would be well for us
all to heed. Boston and New York Hough-
ton, MiffIin & Co.. Portland Loring, Short
& Harmony
A Phyllis of the Sierras, And Adrift From
Redwood Camp. By Bret Harte. The
bloom seems to have gone off the later writ
ings of Bret Harte, the old time freshness
seems falling But this is due probably to
no failure in the quality of his genius, but to
careless, ''pot-boiling" way he has fallen
into, from sheer indifference and the lack of
a., -, At. ~, -