The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-11-30
The Magazines.

Sy IllDOllLcu ny Uhc aIp vi SiihS' ~"
per's Magazine for December is an ideal
Christmas Number. ltpresents to its
readers splendid gifts of story, essay
and illustration; and 1T has selected
these treasures of its bounty with Il
rare appreciation of what people in
their holiday humOr most wish to re-
ceive. First in order comes Edwin "A.
Abbey's portfolio of eleven illuStra-
tions for the Merry Wives of Wind
sor." Andrew Lang, in his Comments
on the Comedy, assumes another I'M
portant role in the first of the prom
ised series of Shakesperian revlyalS.'
Six complete stories follow the " Merry
Wives" on the programme. Rev.
Henry Van Dyke, in his paper on The
Flight into Egypt" considers this
episode from the bOyhood of Christ as
| it is recorded by the evangelists, en-
bellished in later years by myth ana
| legend, and then interpreted IN mas
terpieces of medieval and modern art.
Many of the famous pictorial represent
ationS of the subject are reproduced In
the accompanying engravings. LAT
cadio IIearn, sketches in "A Ghost IA
new species of spectre that haunts the
"civiliZed nomad.n Theodore Child's
exhaustive account of Modern Rus
sian Art" comes with the force OF a
revelation to the occidental mind
which is more or less unfamiliar with
| the artistic development of this empire
of the east. In "Oratorio and Drama"
| Rev. Haweis, M. A., predicts new
departure" which is nothing less than
| the reconciliation of church and stage
in a new art form, the Sdcfed Muse
Drama of the future. The holiday
| festival celebrated in this Number
comes to a close with Christmas ser
mon on Fraternity" and an after
service utterance on newspaper truth
fulness, by George William Curtis :
with piquant observations on the gen
eral character of ChriStmas and Thanks
giving literature, by William Dean
| Howells and with merry-making in
| the department of the Drd,cer, led off
by Charles Dudley Warner in humor-
Gus characterization of 1.-The Spirit of
| Christmas"
!Scrfbners Magazine for December is
holiday number of striking beauty and
attractiveness in its illustrations, and
the text of the articles will appeal to
the fancy and sympathy of readers,
rather than to their desire for inStruc-
tion in practical affairs. With the eX-
ception of the fourth inStalment of
Harold FredricS serial, each article
is complete in this issue. The con-
tents include a sympathetic study of
life in the poorest quarters OF New
| YOrk'S tenementS: vigorous end pa
per by Edward j. Phelps, Esq, eX-
minister to England; genial and dis
eliminating review of the whole field
of American humorous drawing by j..
A. Mitchell, the founder and editor of
Life; another story by Mr.. II. G. Bun
ner, editor of Puck, whose ''Zadoc Pine"
and esquire Five Fathom," in pre-
| vious Christmas issues, will be re-
called: vivid and picturesque ac-
count of some characteristic Breton
festivals; and sunny picture of life
and eccentric character on some OF the
| least frequented of the Bahama Islands
and numerous excellent stories.
Industrial science arni political
science, zoology, geology, physiology,
and scientific history, receive due
share of attention in the December
Popular Science Monthly. And all these
| SuDJtClS dlt ~ llCdttb 40
to the welfare, public or private, of
man. DR.. Charles G.. Abbott writes
about "The Descendants of Palaolith-
ic Man in America" Prof. G. Hanford
Henderson contributes an article on
GLASS Making" Grant Allen presents
"Plain Words on the Woman CUES
ton" Some New Phases in the Chi
nese Problem" are set forth by Willard
b. Farwell. One phase Of the tariff
question is sharply drawn by George
NJ. Wallace, under the title Govern
ment Aid to Injustice" Colonel Gar
rick Mallery concludes his comparison
of 'Israelite and Indian" in this num-
Der, by showing the resemblance be-
tween the myths and the social laws of
the two peoples. There is a sensible
and practical article on "Mental and
Physical Training of Children" by
Jessie O. Waller. In "The Struggle of
Sea and Land" DR.. Vinzenz Hilber de-
scribes the cutting away and the build
ing out of the sea-shore N present and
past times. Sir Morell Mackenzie's de-
scription of Speech and Song" is con-
cluded in this issue with the part on
Song: and there is curious account
of the suspension of Vitality in Ami
mails" by NJ. Victor Laporte.