Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-03-22
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

6nkSe II King ArthurS Court. IL is a
wittier conceit than anything Mr.. Clemens
has given the public, for it is not histor.
ical recital, o relation of travels, an essay on
wit, MOI yet novel. Bat il is an original
conception by which two far apart coun.
tries are brought into the most curious and
amusing contrasts, and with profit and
genuine entertainment to the reader. Mark
pTetends 10 find q Connecticut Yankee in
London who recalls his experiences in the
age of King Arthur. The story is told
with great realistic effect, and the extra
ordinary contrasts OF modern slang and
archaic speech, of nineteenth century prog
ress and slxfh-century superstition, when
developed by master in the art of humor,
are ineIpressibly droll. The Yankee is
captured by one of the Knights of The
Round Table and brought TO the Court,
where he is about to be executed as a Gu
rious monster, when he chances 10 remem-
Der that an eclipse occurs On that day. So
he adopts the device which Rider Haggard
has used with so much effect in his TO-
mances, and threatens to destroy the sun
unless he is released. The suns disk be-
gins TO be o5scu.ed and before the eclipse is
ended he has been made great noble, Sir
Boss, with ample revenue, and the office of
Chief Adviser of the King. Then began
contests with jealous knights and especially
bouts OF witcncraft with Merlin in which
the famous magician ia completely van
pushed by modern science. Mark picture
OF the deficiencies of the Arthuriau Court
in little convenlences is very droll. No
soap, no matches, no looking glass except
metal one about as powerful as pail of
water, and not a chrome. | had been used
10 chrom0s for years and l saw now that
without nay suspecting it passion for art
had got worked into the fabric Of my being
and had become a part Of me-" And then
the makshitts forlight-''a bronze dish half
full OF boarding house butter with blazing
rag floating in it was the thing
that produced what was regarded as light"
How II comes about that this Yankee of
the nineteenth century was sent back ward
into the past and to the age of King Arthur
is easily and wittily explained. 1t was all
fancy due 10 an accident to the Yankee
whose wits went wondering, but no matter
how 1t came about the conceit is one of the
rarest and most original and humorous
order. Sarcasm is heaped upon the English
court, the advance and advantage of this
age revealed in a manner at once origina!
aGd forcible; the assault upon the divine
right" 10 rule is irresistible, and the wav in
which he brings aristocracy to the repub-
lican level is Uneoualed in the history of
satire. As has been well said OF Trains
work: He has no more reverence for the
beautiful legends which Tennyson has en-
banned in his "Idyls Of the King" than
Bob Ingersoll has for 81. Peters or the best
works OF some of the old masters. Some
OF MS cericature is very funny. As an
imaginative work wedo not recall its equal.
II Is as eXtravagant as anything II. Rider
Haggard has penned, but it mas sansibiiity
that the works of that author never has
proven him TO possess. The book is very
handsomely printed, freely and grotesquely
illustrated, and is an excellent example Of
the modern book making art II is sold By
subscription only.
From Talbot II. Wallis, late State Libra
riaD, we have received the new catalogue
OF the California State Library. 1t en-
braces all the works in the general depart
ment and makes a volume of nearly | 200
pages. The indexing is by authors"
That the work has been well done is evil
dent at a glance. II is about as thorough
an example of cataloguing Is il has been
our fortune 10 examine. We are given the
authors name, the full title of the book.
the place and date of publication and refer
ences of classification, together with nota-
tons OF the size of the book. When a
work IS in one volume, the number of
pages is given if less than 200. While it is
a catalogue By authors, classification has
gone to the extent of placing works of
fiction by themselves, as also maps, biog.
rapales, aliases, directories, encyclopedias.
newspapers and periodicals.. The work
was undertaken by Mr.. Wallis in 1885,
and in 1856 the law catalogue was issued.
The work upon the general department
began in the succeeding year. None of the
old catalogues were used. the whole work
being new. The plan adopted in making
the DOCK IS that suggested by the Ameri-
can Library Association. Perfection is
rarely attained in any catalogue, but GER
tairly Mr.. Wallis work comes as near to II
as any we have seen. He has gone beyond
the requirements of the code of the Associ-
alton referred to, and frequently given con-
tents indices in full, with now and then a
note OF explanation concerning the charac-
ter OF the work. In the department of
fiction the cataloguing has been by title of
book-a decided convenience. The State
Library now contains in its two depart
ments 1900 volumes. The work of the
printer and binder has been well done and
reflects high credit upon the capacity of
the State Printing Office, under the Super
intendency of ]. D. Young.
To encourage the art of photography,
and especially to encourage amateurs in
the art, Frank Leslies Illustrated
Weekly" offers prize of 800 photo
graphic camera Of the finest make TO the
amateur photographer who shall, within
the next three months, send in the most
perfect and artistic specimen of his or her
work. 1t is the purpose 10 devote a page
OF the periodical to the reproduction OF the
choicest pictures sent in competition, and
at the close of the competitive De-
Rod to produce photographs of the
chief contestants. II is novel
but a capital idea. Artists are
requested to send on cabinet portraits OF
themselves and note of the age and ex-
peIience of the artist. In sending entries
for this contest, the date when the pictures
were taken, descriptions of the subjects
and any other facts of interest regarding
them should be given. We would also
ike the age of the photographer and the
experience ne or she has had in the art
The prize-winner will be selected by Mr..
Pach, the photographer of New York, and
Joseph Becker, the head of the art depart
ment of Frank Leslie's Illustrated News-
paper" The first prize offered will, if the
competition is sufficiently animated, be
followed by others.
wide Awake" for April ID. Lothrop &
Co., Boston, opens with a burst of Eastern
beauty and hope; the frontspiece, by W.
L. Taylor, Eastern Offerings" embodies
the spirit of youth and bloom and glad
ness. Mr., Butterworth's story, The Pill
grims' Easter Lily" follows. w. ]. Rhees
OF the Smithsonian Institution, in What's
In q Name?" gives brief history of the
English founder of the famous institution
at Washington. The Difficulties of
Darling" by Mrs. L. B. Walford, is an
amusing story. How Simon and Sancho
Panza helped the Revolution" is a true
historical story, by Olive Risley Seward.
Work and Play" by Mrs. Fremont, is an
other true story. "Nervy's Wicked Sum-
mel" by Lucia Chase Bell, is also true,
evidently. The Fugitives of French
Cross, is pathetic Acadian story, by
Grace Dean Mcleod. Mrs. Sallie Joy
White has crisp article on Newspaper
Workers" Mrs. Frances 4. Humphrey
has paper on The English Primrose
The poems of the number are by Edith NJ.
Thomas, Harriet Prescott Spoford and