New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-05

! an interesting introduction, by Andrew Lang, is
! pref.xed. and in which number OF good Illus
| trations are printed both compositions ana
architectural photographers. Inc Adventures
! of Mr. Verdant Green an ever refreshing
/ book. is ressued by Little, Brown e. Co.
| in two we-made volumes. Saintines exquisite
"Picciola." with illustrations by J. F. Gueldry.
comes from the Appletons. and an edition OF "A
Dog Of Flanders" Uippincott Company falls in
with these books story by Ouida which
is toleraby certain of a long life. Three
other tales are included in Ouida's volume.
which is nicely illustrated and bound
1t would take a painter of genius man
like Deacroix Gericault burning with dra-
matte fire, to adequately illustrate Carlyles
French Revolution" but such an artist fails
to come to the front, and in the mean time
publishers of reprints find safety in using
portraits instead of compositions for the en-
richment OF the pages. T. Y. Crowel IL Co.
have accepted this compromise in the two
volume edition of the history they have just
published The plates inferior. Under the
title of THE Book of Good Counsels" Sir Edwin
Arnold has prepared a new edition of his trans
lations from the Sanscrit fable-book. "Iiitopa-
desa" with illustrations by Gordon Browne Gm-
ported by Charles Scribner's SOns). He exc
plains that the first edition published thirty
years ago in India Other TRANSACTIONS of the
"Iitopadesa" for example, that of Charles Will
kins, and Knatchbuls imitation Of the Arabic
version. are certainly rather wearisome to a
Western reader. filled, as they are with quota
tions in aphorisms and poetry The tales are
artiflcay set one within another, like certain
marvellous boxes in fairy tales. and this con-
tinuous involution causes to forget what all
the wealth Of fiction was intended to teach.
For, from the Indian point of view, the Hit
opadesa" is emnently jdactic. Sir Edwin
Arnolds version abbrevates many details lie
translates the Sanscri. verse into beautiful Eng
lish verse. and though he follows the turns and
winGings of the original. they no longer seem
so complicated. Notes at the end of the volume
explain matters that might otherwise fail to be
understood Besides its utility as a representa-
tive of a cherished Oriental work the present
volume is in form handsome holiday book
1t is not the least of the good qualities OF
some Of the publications noticed in this column
that they are by American authors. In the
mass of reprints from foreign writer's which Is
published every Christmas 1t is good to find
that native authors and native themes are not
forgotten. "Our Colonial Homes" Gee
Shepard). an illustrated quarto by Samuel
Adams Drake. is full Of American history and
of good pictures of American relics. The
Brothers. George a. Cleaveland and Robert f.
Campbell have given themselves even wider
scope than Mr. Drake. They have gone to all
points of the compass for their subjects and
the photographers which crowd their excellent
folio include West Point. Independence Hall,
the Old South Westinghouse and many more
objects of historic interest. This is a work to
put in the hands of patriotic boys. So. also. is
the collection Of "Hstorcal Tales o. b. Lip
pncott Coz. which Mr. Charles Morris has
compiled. In four volumes he has related
succinctly a number of salient events in the his
tory Of America. England France and Germany.
like the ride of Paul Revere and the martyfdom
of Joan of Arc Since the annals to which he
has gone for his material are bristling with
memorials of heroic action. his versions Of old
episodes ought to stimulate the Imagination OF
a healthy boy. II they do not it will be be-
cause as a matter of sad fact Mr.. Morris ex-
hibts no great gift of narration in the telling
of his exciting stories. An illustration Of how
conspicuous this gift is may be drawn from
another holiday publication of the Lippincott
Company, the Tales from Shakespeare of
Charles and Mary Lamb In these celebrated
paraphrases there is all Of Shakespeare that
could be preserved in such metamorphosis of
his poetry. There is also great deal Of the
Lambs themselves, a ucidity and charm CT
diction which they owed much to their own
artless art to their loving adherence to the
atmosphere of their author. The present ed-
ton has been augmented by prose renderings
of those plays which Ella and his sister did not
include in their series. Mr. Harrison S. Morris
assumes responsibility for the continuation"
as it is styled on the title pages Of the four
little volumes in which the complete work is
printed 1t is a heavy responsibility. even
after predatory note has deprecated any COM
parison between the Lambs and their collabora-
tor. Mr.. Morris protests that the only aim OF
his continuation is the same as that Of the
first collection of tales-"tO provide the means
for readers old and young, to gain a knowledge
Of Shakespeare while from lack Of time or train
ing they not able TO find their way through
the wild poetic garden for themselves" Re-
garded in this strictly philanthropic light. the
continuation is not ill-advised performance.
Mr.. Morris has clcarncss in dealing with diff
fcult plays and gives his readers substitutes
for the latter which will serve a good purpose.
lie has written them, too, in creditable prose.
If they serve chiefly as outlines for richer de-
signs dscoverable elsewhere he has the inimit-
able style Of the Lambs own volumes 10 blame.
Comparison in the circumstances is absolutely
unavoidable. Rome of To-day and Yesterday
estes & LauriaU by John Dennie is a la
borious piece of descriptive and historical writ
ing, which succeeds in remaining as colorless
as the stuff of the chapters would permit. The
pictures inserted in the volume are inferior In
execution.
The holidays bring. they always DO n guam
tty of verse. and old. printed in thin
quartos, with pictures Mr.. Austin Dobson's
proverbs in Porcelain" Dodd Mead x Coz |
have been detached from the miscellaneous col /
lection published fifteen years since. and with
the addition Of another poem taken from
another volume. have been put forth in Illus |
trated form. Mr.. Bernard Partridge the |
artist selected for the venture. He is too skilled
a workman to have failed in his task, but his |
touch is little too heavy for Mr. DObson's |