New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-02-26
SOME NEW BOOKS.

49, annn,.nortcd tv a series of volumes of historical
biography. 10 be entitled CHRONICLES OF the bulldefS
OF the Commonwealth" Having completed his monu-
men,,l history Of the Pacific States and Territories, 1t
has appeared 10 Mr.. Bancroft desirable that the vast
,uount If personal material gathered during the
procress of that work. and OF which comparatively httie
coud he then employed, should be made use OF IN
n,esorvinc and perpetuating the individual history OF
all those active, energetic and influential men whose
connection with the development of the Far West has
bee, 50 close and 50 continuous that they are in truth
nor, and marcel OF the growth they have aided. We
Gather from The statements of the History Company
that the " Chronicles" as at present projected. VIII oc-
rupy some half dozen volumes, and that the lives VIII
be classified by occupations. Apparently also the enter
prise will require the admission Of some names more
famjljaIly associated with the East than with the west
yet 50 connected with the latter by great undertakings
that they are rightly and necessarily included amonE
the " Builders Of the Commonwealth" 1t IS obvious
that Mr.. Bancroft possesses signal advantages Tor the
carrying out Of such a literary work as TINS since a
large proportion of it has already been prepared IN
the prosecution Of his histories. His eminent illness
In other respects is not less clearly established by what
he has accomplished in biography and Characterization.
The new series therefore will no doubt receive a hearty
welcome.
Mr.. Moncure D. Conway has taken much trouble in
editing " George Washingt0n's Rules of Clvllity,' ana III
tracing them to their sources and restoring 'heih'
The book Is neatly printed by the United states Book
Company. Mr.. Conway thinks it clear that Washing
toms Rules of Civility were taken from a didactlc
pamphlet prepared by certain French Jesults al fOut'
a-Mousson early in the seventeenth century. lho
editor gives all the evidence on this question In a lone
and elaborate preface, and the remainder OF the volume
IS devoted to the reproduction of the rules themselves
with the French originals, and a new translauon.
But as Washington knew no French, he could not have
rendered the original into English himself. Mr.. Con-
way believes that he had access to an early English
translation. and the strongest evidence OF this Is that
..-l - u-ro- In .nnfad with h= pNp hondl n IN
tain several maxims found in the old English transla-
ton, which do not appear in the French original,
All Of which has a chiefly antiquarian interest. AS 10
the rules themselves, they are very good examples OF
the educational theories of the period in when theS
were written, and they help to illustrate incidentally
the manners Tor the want of manners) OF the same
period. Some of the i%nhibitionS aud directions must
have puzzled young George Washington, not a few OF
the personal habits referred TO being even then such as
would hardly have been tolerated by the toughest BACK
wOOdsman. Mr.. Conway thinks that Washington
character may have been largely formed upon these
rules. The vagaries of thought are unaccountable' vel
IL NAV occur to some that before he could think thus
Mr.. Conway must have formed a somewhat singular
conception of the Father of his Country.
Mr.. John Devoe BeltOn's Literary Manual OF
Foreign Quotations e.. p. Putnam's sons is not on
the same lines as the standard dictionaries OF quota
ton, and in so much as it differs from, 1t Is superior
TO, those works. The compiler has proceeded ]u'
diciously. Eschewing the futile ambition OF rakinS
together the biggest heap of quotations, which seems
10 be the leading impulse OF the average editor OF TINS
class Of books, Mr.. Bolton has confined himself
t. really literary quotations, and he mas usca
the space thus gained in Illustrating his eX-
cerpts by apt citations from good authors, at much
greater length than is usually possible In such
collections. The number of German and French quo
tatlons is also greater than usual, and the Illustrations
generally are freSher and more modern The merit
of the book is in short distinct. and it must be ad-
~, l. - ~oAd n;oco M ,roplr Tho only odd cir
rumstance about it is the appearance of any new book
Of the kind at a time when quotation appears TO be
SO completely going out of fashion and use. OF late
years there has grown mp an unwIltten bellei that
to quote a foreign language is pcdantic. affected. and
perhaps undemOcratic. Even the House OF Commons
has ceased to quote Horace. 1t may be that the
newspaper has done much TO discourage the old pTac'
tice, for being compelled to cater to the ign9raOt no
less than to the educated. its tendency was TO put
itself on the level Of the majority OF its readers. Bus
today it is only in a few books that quotation is still
resOrted to: and yet there must be a definite demand
for dictionaries and manuals Of quotation, for. as
Leibnitz asserted, the existence of a thing argues It's
necessity.
Professor Tuxley's letters TO The London Times"
on Mr.. Booths salvation Army scheme have been
published in pamphlet form by Macmillan & Co., with
an Introductory essay and an appendix containing
salvation Army documents which throw a HOOD OF lglt
upon the question. These letters are, it Is needless to
say, very interesting IrdNihSf i' 'NE nv "N'N "'
that for they expose the Booth methods in a manner
so conclusive that the philanthropist who, after read
ing them, could continue to believe In the vision,
safety or efficacy Of that scheme must be a ~singularly
c0nfding person. The considerations addressed 70 tho
social and other dangers inherent in the salvation
Army organization, with its principle OF unquestiOnlne
obedience to orders from headquarters, are of course
derived from the facts OF history. The world has had
ample experience OF that kind CT agencies, and 1t need
be in no doubt as TO their inevitable outcome.
benjamin l.. Tucker. Boston, is the publisher Of a
volume Of essays by Count Leo TOlstoi. under the title
*Clmrch and state" 1t includes papers on " Money"
the Mother" and "a second supplement 70 tho
Kreutzer Sonata All these essays are characterized
by the economic ignorance which distinguishes the
authors recent writings. That on Money" IS wildly
absurd. In the second supplement 10 the Ereutzcr
Sonata Count TOlStoi more fully develops the IDEAS
which he has borrowed from schopenhauer. In mono
Of these speculations is there anything reasonable,
practical or sane. We find only the fantasies Of a mind
tie condition Of which is thoroughly morbid. and which
makes blind dashcs at reform without khowIedgo
either Of the institutions it would rcvoluuonizc. or OF
that human nature which is reflected in Institutions.
Macmillan & CO. print the opening address By Mrs.
Eumplry Ward al University Hall. London rms
Institution is one Of the new settlements" established
for the purpose OF in,tructinG the conmon people IN
the results Of the q" higher criticism The idea Delhe
that though most Of those concerned have never
manifested much if any interest in orthodox religion,
with its fixed system OF definite rewards and punish
rent,. they may be brought to repoNe a stronger
faith in that new compromise between orthodoxy
and science which consists mainly in cvading the
logical implications OF both. Mrs. Wards address is
decidedly bright and clever. but one wonders what
the poor people who are supposed to have listened to
st. thought about it. or whether it could have conveyed
TO their not too widely opened minds a distinct I'M
preston Of any kind.
From the Truth-Sceker Company we have Lib
erty in Literature" an address by Colonel X. T..
Incersoll on the occasion OF the testimonial to Walt
Whitman in Philadelphia last october. As in some
sense an attempt 10 analyze Whitman's poetry the
address will be found interesting. The admirers OF
Colonel IngerSolrs luXuriaAt and tropical foridity Will
also appreciate it.