The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-26


almost continuous fighting. After eigh-
teen months service, mostly in the field.
it was mustered out at Augusta in June
1865. Its exploits during this time arc
recorded in its History, written and com
piled by Quartermaster-Se A. S.
Twitchell, historian of the Battery asso-
citation, in handsome volume of 250
pages, illustrated by portraits of mem
bers; and to the history are appended
biographical sketches of the members
living and deceased. The work is we'll
done, and the result volume that will
take good rank in the literature of the
war. OF peculiar and personal interest
to all those directly connected with the
Battery, it will be found of general in
terest to all who care for our military
history and worthy of place ON their
book shelves.
The Standard Arithmetic, by William
J. Milne of the New York State Normal
college, doctor Of law and of philosophy,
is written with view to secure two re-
suits; namely, skill in numerical compu-
tations, and proper understanding of
the reasons for the explanation of
processes and the solution of problems.
In practical business life, as 1.-THE learned
author recognizes, the processes taught
in schools are often of little value. lie
therefore adopts business methods of
,&,ti J., tbnyr aoD ha InHi-
ciously substituted for the processes of
the schools; though preceding them with
exercises which lead the students direct
ly and easily to clear apprehension of
the steps in the solution and the necessity
for them. His scheme on cursory ex-
animation appears wise one to the nom
pedagogical mind, though whether it
will stand the practical test of the class
room is a question for teachers to de-
terminc. The explanations are certainly
lucid, the steps logical, the definitions
and rules brief and accurate. The book
has the appearance of a practical bust
ness arithmetic. (New York: American
Book Company. Price 65 cents.)
Mrs. Jane G.. Austin has made the
early colonial period of Massachusetts
peculiarly her own for purposes of TO-
nance, and her series Of historical nov
els, linked like the Misunderstanding
tales of Cooper, are becoming long drawn
out in their sweetness. Though she has
not yet been canonized, like her name
sake ''the divine Jane" to whom Mr..
Howells does alteration, she is promis-
ing candidate for the golden book in
which the names of authors are 'writ
large So it happens that her early at
tempts in the field she has since indus
riously cultivated possess an interest
even beyond their intrinsic merit, like
the youthful studies of famous painters
or the newspaper sketches of Thackeray
and Dickens. These early efforts, col
lected from Harper's, the Atlantic, 'the
late lamented Putnam s." and other mags
azines, have been gathered into a volume
under the title David Alden's Daughter
and Other Stories of Colonial Times,
bearing the imprintIof Houghton, Mifflin
& Co. Interesting from their subject
matter and the manner of it's treatment
they have an added interest as the prem
tice work of the author of Betty Alden
and Standish of Standish. Though,
naturally enough, containing more of
promise than perfection, the standard of
performance is still very high, and the
stories entertaining in themselves and
without consideration of the ripper work
for which they were preparation.
Portland:- Loring, oShort d Harmon.
Price S1.25.)
Col. Knox and his Boy Travellers,
Frank and Fred, are still making the
tour of the world, and at last accounts
were at Buda-Pesth, listening to ''Mign-
on'' in the National Opera House. (The
Boy Travellers in Central Europe. By
Thomas w. Knox A curious, maca
ronic performance it was, too, the rule
that only the Hungarian tongue he used
on the stage having been so far de-
parted from that the character of
Mignon was presented in French, while
the principal male part was in German.
The boys are accompanied by the amia-
BILE Mrs. Massett and Little Mary, now
grown to be large, and they make their
way through France, Switzerland and
Austria to the old kingdom of the Mag
vars In this the thirteenth part the
scheme that was followed in preparing
the other volumes of the Boy Travellers
is still pursued, and readers will find the
same characters and the same general
form OF talk, observation, and Journal
making with which the preceding parts
of the series acquainted them. Three
excellent maps and hundreds of illustra-
tons elucidate the text. New York:
Harper d Brothers; Portland: Loring
Short & Harmony Price $500.
In An American Missionary in Japan
NJ. L. Gordon, minister of the gospel and
doctor of medicine, has made what Will
liam Elliot Griffis, himself a leading au-
thority on the famous island empire of
the East, calls contribution to the liter
allure both of knowledge and of power
The information is copious, genuine, and
ha 1c otnIo IL