The Portland daily press., 1889-12-20


the touch of true artist. The glories of the
forest are pointed out with the sympathy of
friend and companion. No form of animal
or vegetable life is thought unworthy of the
closet attention. A more delightful book for
lover OF nature cannot well be found but
the style is SO simple and charming that the
least observant and most prosaic person can
not Iall TO be pleased and interested. A
new England Winter will probably please the
general reader as much as any chapter, but
where all are so good choice can hardly be
made. Boston: Houghton & Mifflin; Port
land: Loring, Short & Harmon. Price
$L25.)
Inc Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,
Edited, with Notes, by John Bigelow. This
is one OF the most valuable volumes of the
knickerbocker Nugget series. The event.
full life of Franklin, told in his entertaining
way makes it exceedingly interesting to old
and young. In its present new and beautl-
ful dress it is gift book worthy of the sea-
son. New York: G. p Putnam's Sons:
Portland: Loring, Short & Harmon. Price
$1.OO)
D"hSo 1apIiei hoSSetti AS Designer and
Writer. BY William Michael Rossetti.
New York and Tendon: Cassell & Co.
Limited; Portland: Lcring, Short & Har-
mon.) This interesting and valuable volume
is called by the author, or editor, Notes-In
Guiding Prose Paraphrase of the House of
Lille. Mr.. William Rossetti distinctly states
That he has not attempted to write bio
graphical account of Dante Gabriel Rossetti-
nor TO estimate his power and performances
In art and literature. He simply presents a
synopsis of his works, and leaves people to
form their own judgments. The life work
OF the famous painter and poet is here con-
sidered in two branches. U His paintings
and designs, to which the Tabular List of
works of art serves as an Appendix; % his
writings, supplemented by an Index of Writ
ings. and also by the prose paraphrase of the
House of Life.
1T Is" says Mr.. Rossetti, ga book of men,
oranda and of Details" and one finds it sim
gularly free, indeed, from what might be
termed, personalities; in fact one longs for
more intimate acquaintance with this re-
markable man, which surely his brother,
who loved, admired and knew him thor
oughly, could give us. What we desire is the
view OF his life with which one SO near of
KIN must have been familiar, and which he
apparently shrinks from giving, because it
might be considered that his remarks would
Keep the faint of consanguinity." If, how
ever, Familiarity breeds contempt" where
contempt be possible then one would hardly
consider the members of ones own family in
position to overrate or judge too leniently !;
and sincere praise from brother who had
every opportunity to know the best and the
worst Of man. would certainly be of great
interest and Importance.
Mr.. Rossetti speaks with pardonable bit
terness of the deep injury done his brother
by Robert Buchanan who, under the pseu-
donym of Thomas Maitland, published in
the Contemporary Review" an article en-
titled 1.-The Fleshly School of Poetry" an
attack upon Dante Gabriel Rossetti, imput
| ing to him low and bad moral tone in his
writings. and low and bad moral motives
conducting to that tone. 1t seems that
several years later Mr.. Buchanan openly
proclaimed his attack to have been unjust
and wrongful, but meantime, the conse-
| quences to R0setti had been baleful to such
an extent that-says his brother-"he al
lowed sense of unfair treatment and sus-
picion that the slur cast upon himself and his
writings might be widely accepted as true, to
eat into his very vitals, gravely altering his
tone of mind and character, his attitude to-
wards the world, and his habits of life.
Constant insomnia and its counteraction by
reckless druggists with choral, all had their
share in making Rosetti changed man."
Evidently Rossetti had in excess what is
called the artistic temperament" delicate,
sensitive and morbid to degree. Hence
the pathos of his life and death. More than
eighty pages of Mr.. Rossetti's volume is de-
voted to the Interpretation of Dante Rossetti
| "Sonnet-SeQuence," under the aggregate
| title of The House of Life. 1t had been
said by the poets friends "they cannot be
understood" and Mr.. William Rossetti ex-
pounds them by a paraphrase in prose. He
says "the view which l express of the mean
ing of the sonnets must be taken simply as
my own view. l hardly think that my
brother ever explained to me, or debated
with me, the meaning of any one of them.
He and were won't to assume that there
was between us certain community of
perception which would enable me to under
otdlu Wudt uc WLOtcs Anu ottuio W
have been true to an unusual degree.
Mr. Rossetti's volume is one of great and
enduring interest.
Lotus Bay. By Laura ID. Nichols. Dos
ton. d. Lothrop Company A pretty and
pleasant story for young people, and with its
beauty of illustration and handsome covers,
very desirable as Christmas gift, is Lotus
oh rxs,, .4.sx.
account Of the manner in which Prof. Will
loughby's household took a summer outing
at the seashore. A happy time it proved to
be for all concerned, with deal of bathing,
boating and fishing, interspersed with some
useful reading and conversation about books,
and much knowledge acQrired by Nelly and
Harry about glaciers, moraines and bergs,
as well as about the Life-Saving Service and
the lighthouses along the coast. Some Of
the Cape Cod characters depicted fare very
| life-like, quaint and entertaining, and we
recommend the book for its many excellen
ees.
Early Voyages to America. A paper read
before the Rhode Island Historical Society
by James Phinney Baxter, A. NJ. The r. l.
Historical Society unanimously passed
vote of thanks to Mr.. Baxter for this essay,
which they pronounced a valuable mono
graph ON American history. The author
himself says that the subject requires for its
proper exposition much larger space and
more critical treatment than it has received
in this paper. What may be truly said is
that the subject is one of deep interest to all
and especially to Americans, and that Mr..
Bakers essay is one of the best, if not in
deed the best, which has been written relat-
ing to it. Mr.. Bakers contribution to the
discussion evinces extensive and careful re-
search, moderate and CANDID temper and
an unbiased judgment. No undue stress is
laid upon remote traditions, and the actual
evidence is not pressed beyond reasonable
bounds. The conclusion is favorable to the
claims of the early yoyagers, and their fail
ure to utilize their discoveries as Columbus
did, it ascribes TO the rndeness of the age.
and the disorders which arose in all Europe
from the ravegps of the black sipknass and