New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-24


IN six volumes. 300. d. Appleton Co.
This handsomely made and important work is
the result of determination to furnish the Amerl-
can people with comprehensive bIographlcal
dictionary, or encyclopedias. modelled upon those
extensive undertakings Of the kind which are al
ready possessed or are in course Of publication, by
the principal nations of Europe. As the work
stands it is admirably compact and arranged with
remarkable judgment Nothing could be better
for the ordinary purposes OF reference, and prob
ABLY there Is no doubt that for popular publica-
hon six volumes are preferable TO twelve. The
Ceylopaedia' as now constituted includes the
names of above $4,000 prominent native and
adopted citizens of the United States, including
living persons from the earliest settlement OF the
country; also the names OF several thousand emil
nent citizens Of Canada Mexico, Brazil, Chill Peru
and all the other countries OF North and South
America" The editors state that 4" the great aim
has been 10 embrace all noteworthy persons OF the
New World, and 10 give biographies that shall
embody with sufficient fulness the latest result Of
historical research, rendering it reference-book
Of the highest order" The work also contains
the names Of nearly one thousand men Of foreign
birth, who, like Bishop Berkeley, Braddock Bur
goyne Cabot Columbus CORVALLIS, lafayette.
Montcalm and Whitefeld are closely identified
with American history. In all that pertains to
States and to its war annals. the information given
appears upon careful examination, TO be exact
and measurably detailed We have been dlsap-
pointed now and then by what has seemed an
excessive condensation in the narrative OF some
highly interesting campaign or battle; out' Ihe
limits of the enterprise having been once hxed no
doubt it was necessary TO abide by them. H. may
well be- too, that sound Judgment, from pracucai
point of view, has dictated the proportions OF the
memoirs in the greater number OF cases. ana that
the superior length accorded politicians over men
Of science, inventors. and men OF action not III
military hfe represents the probable relatively OF
popular interest and thus demonstrates inc gen.
eral wisdom OF the arrangement
At the same time il is obvious that Tor reference
PURPOSES it might have been well TO give more
space to the classes least generously represented,
and especially TO those pioneers, like De Soto, DE
Smet, Montcalm, ETC., whose adventures become
the more interesting as the time and conditions
amid which they lived and worked are more clearly
illuminated by modern historical research. we
have found also here and there some inaccuracy OF
statement, not indeed upon the more important
subjects, but upon matters not altogether trivial
Take for example the sketch Of the discovery or
gold in California, in the memoir Of James Wilson
Marshall. In the first place, the date Of the dis
covery given january ! g. lS48) is probably wrong
mony In the second place, after giving the true
fact of the finding, the writer adds: Another
version Of the story is that two MormOns who were
employed by him CMarshalD had found both gold
and platinum and hidden their pile Of treasure,
and that this was the deposit that accidentally
found by Marshall 1t is said that he never denied
this statement" Now there was really no war
rant for inserting this absurd fable. There is not
a shadow Of truth about it, Marshall most GER
tainly always denied any and every account OF the
discovery save that which appears in his published
biography Mr.. H. H. Bancroft moreover, in his
History of California" has given fully detailed
account of the event, and there seems no sufficient
reason for ignoring these authorities and printing
a wild invention having no support, and which
never obtained credence in California. 1t is not
q great matter but it would have been easy 70
avoid error in it.
The biographies of men of letters are as rule
full and we'll written. DR.. Edward Waldo Elmer
son indeed does not agree with the writer OF his
fathers life in these volumes, TO the complexion
Of the Sage OF Concord, and pOsterity may be puz-
zled on learning that he sallow and neverthe-
less always had fresh, healthy color in his face
But points Of this kind may very well be left 20
the biographers themselves, and as no man always
looks the same, 1t is quite possible that both de-
scriptions are true as TO different periods Natu
rally much space is devoted TO those distinguished
men whose nearness TO US in time magnitied their
fame The practice followed in other similar pub
locations, of giving the names Of the writers OF
the articles, or, at least, Of the principal
articles has not been observed in this case, and
there seems no good reason why IL should have
been. In an ordinary encyclopaedia, when the
name Of writer is often a guarantee for the
trustworthiness of the information, the rule may
be judicious one. In dealing with the career Of
celebrated people, on the other hand, it is obvi-
ously often desirable that the writer should hold
himself anonymous, to the end that he may be re-
iieved from the temptation TO say more or less
than the truth through hope or fear of the conse-
quences.
Among the inventors we find the names of
Morse, Edison-and Kelly. The memoir of the
first is Adequate that OF the second hardly SO
that Of the third sanguine, 10 say the least. II
must have required some courage 70 insert Mr..
Keely's name in the Cyclopaedia, and TO classify
him as an inventor seeing that practical results
have SO far come Of any Of his discoveries. and
that up 10 the present time. he would seem rather
20 deserve a place among Professor De Morgans
g paradoxersn than with the men who have def
nitely enlarged the scope of human knowledge and
added to the comforts and conveniences Of human
life Still, it is reasonable that, so long as peo.
ple want to know something about Keely, they
should be afforded the opportunity, and they have
it here. The political biographies. as before OBJ
served are very careful and full. and there is an
amount of information concerning the Government,
the Presidency, the Cabinet, and cognate matters,
which adds greatly To the value Of the work for
reference purposes OF course it would be impos-
sible to make such an undertaking faultless, and
such criticism as We have found necessary IL con-
fined to points Of such manifestly secondary conse
quence that the comparative perfection Of the
more serious and important work may be inferred
from these small deficiencies 1t remains to notice
the illustrations consisting Of fine gallery Of steel
portraits, sixty in number, and several thousand
woodcutS in the text. The former Of these are
almost without execution very good. and they con-