The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-01-25
BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

A WASHINGTON Bible CLASS. BIZ eau
Homtlton. The introduction tells us that
mother In Washington, high in the ranks of poll
| tics and fashion, mother of growing sons, took
counsel with other mothers like-minded as to
what should be the religious teaching of their
boys. Their clever, alert young minds absolutely
rejected sundry received doctrines; nor could
she enforce statements which her own reason
| could buttress only with authority. The mothers
seem to have put small reliance in the regular
| teachers or religion and theology. They resolved
| to see what they could do for themselves. 1.-THE
| Bible Is the source of our formulated faith.
| Whether It is authority or not, nothing else is
authoritative. Let us see, not what lie Calvinism,
! Luthernism, or Agnosticism, or Catholicism, or
Universalism, but what is Scripture; not what
| men say Scripture says and MEANS but what
| Scripture itself means and says" And thus, the
author says, 1.-THE Lord gave the word to the
| Bible class" to go ahead and make the new in
| terpretation. 1t was great success. Many dis
tingushed ladies attended of many religions
Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic Protestant,
| orthodox and unorthodox Quaker, and "radi-
| CAL" Men came, too, but they seem to have been
| held In stern subsection, and seldom "had spirit
left for any expression but of accord, at least
acquescence. But the women were simply
braced for battle and clustered round the chair
woman with great heartsomeness-some to dis
pute her positions, others to carry the fight
further and win even more advanced positions.
And strange to say, the eldest mothers in Israel,
the gentle, sweet-faced, white-haired grand.
mothers, pressed furthest to the front" And
when the season was over and the Bible class
drew to a close, the author tells us, the members
made united request for the manuscript notes
OF the chairwoman's talks. This book is the re-
suit. 1t has all the strength, the perepcacty,
and the charm of the authors we'll known style.
There is not a dull page in it, and the problems
of Biblical Interpretation are handled with clear.
rlaaanQcc hrIf xrifh q CIV
ent, religious spirit that cannot be mistaken.
Narrow orthodoxy and hide-bound ecclesiasti-
cism, 1t is needless to say, receive many sharp
raps, and the cause of ratiopalism of reasoning
ism, is advocated with keen logical force. The
book cannot fail Of wide reading and will excite
much discussion. d. Appleton s. Co., publishers,
New York, and for sale in Washington at Bren-
| tano's.
CHATA AND CHINITA. BY Louise Palmer
Heduens This is one of the bright new books Of
| the year. The scenes are laid in Mexico, and
give vivid pictures of the life that preceded the
Mexican war, when anarchy and allits attendant
evils flooded the country. The book is well writ
| ten, and the heroines "Chata and Chinita !"
cleverly drawn. For sale at all book dealers.
We have just been reading that quaint little
| volume. Fragments from an Old Inn,'' and its
| companion book, "The Vision OF Gold," both is
| sued by the Putnams, New York. They are the
| work of the poet Lillian Rozell Messenger who
years of age. There is merit in these works.
| 1.-The Fragments" composed of prose and verse
| alternating, Is introduced by little prose ro-
| nance which gives the rdison d'etre of the book
| On the first page is the following: 1T dawns on
me now, the meaning of that old Eastern Sphinx.
1t is dead joy looking at lfe else il is the why
| or existence facing the wherefore of eternity"
| On page 53 "Disappointment" will be found, one
| of the subtlest, truest poems in the book and
| lmportuning" Is one of the most imaginative
| and tender In 1.-THE Vision of Gold" we might
quote after score of lines full of power and
| beauty. What description is this of pathetic
| expressive eyes:
I'm Tubal's large, fair eyes 1t seemed the sadness
of all coming years.
Unkiss'd by Joy, lay sleeping, yet mantled by
m1sts OF tears" etc.
| Here is an original fancy:
| He finds the glittcring ore,
Like sunshine dead thousand years,
| Yet glowing for millions more"
| The prophetic song sung by the choral voices,
with its refrain, mo longer we cry when the
children die,' can sadly be interpreted by the OPP
pressed of humanity, especially 80 in Russia.
| The poem "Halloween' is full Of exquisite pic
lures and word painting. Do you not feel the
| low breeze of past midnight and see its semi
lightin these lines? The feudal knights accom-
pany the bride and groom to their home, the
castle, after the nuptials at her fathers.
ION through balmy dusk they went,
And low, sweet laughter, and carol gay,
| And whispers dim In the moonlit gray;
| Little tender rhymes OF moonbeams went
| From cleaning spears to the crescent bent
Der waves that lisp'd in loveful rune,
Close under the touch of fading moon."
Rereadings of these poems reveal new and hid
den meanings and repays thelover of the beauti-
| full for the seeking. The author has a new work
| in press, which will be looked for with pleasant
anticipations by her friends.
Echoes From Elf-land, :" by Mrs. Eliza A. Otis
| is Juvenile souvenir issued by the publishers
of the Times Mirror, Los Angeles, CAL Mrs.
Otis has set the old nursery tales of Little Boy
Blue, Cinderella, and other Mother Goose
| ditties to new rhymes in manner that will
please her little friends much as the old-time
| jinges did, Mr.. w. Andrew has made many
happy hits with his original illustrations.
| The author of the popular translations from
! Plato, entitled Socrates" "a Day in Athens
| with Socrates" ETC., has just completed new
volume of a similar character-"Talks with
| Athenian Youths" now in press with the Scrib-
ners. 1t contains five dialogues translated from
Plato, and selected for the purpose of illustrat-
| ing the typical Athenian youth of the time.
"The Science of Fairy Tales" is the newest
volume of the Contemporary Science Series, now
being issued by Scribner and Wexford. 1t deals
| with those tales which contain a supernatural
| element, and which are known as Sagas or
| Nursery Tales. the study of which is now SO i'm
1 portant branch of Folklore.
for 1891, is just received from the publisher,
James Wick, the scotsman, Rochester, N. Y
Besides the usual large number of woodcuts