The herald., 1893-08-20
fBY L. BEHYMER.I

AAoi. 1IhWfouCo Ouittcuucu, OuCo "a .
while the wanderar through the desert
Of printed verse chances upon an oasis
where everything in sight is natural,
human and refreshing. Such an expe-
rience may be gained by a perusal OF
Mr.. Chittenden's books volume which
is nowh pretentious. although every
thing in it is sincere. The title merely
indicates where the verses were written; !;
Mr.. Chittenden, although New orker
and gentleman by birth and education,
spent some years Of his life on Texas
ranch, where at times the muse was MS
sole company. and go adaptive was sne
that the result Of her promptings is q
book In which rattling dialect poems,
vers de sociel6 and sentiment of many
kinds and in many moods and manners
are found lust as they carnc from the pen,
without any effort at lsssiication-snd,
better still, without apologies or explain
ations. the author is one of the fortu-
nate fellows who write merely when the
spirit moves them, and who do not in
fict all. their fancies upon the periodical
press. His spirit is both cheerful and
sentimental without ever being NAV.
kish or coarse, and his book may be
commended to the many thousands of
readers who are curious as to what men
OF sentiment will write when prompted
only by the desire to say what is in their
minds.
The Arena Publishing company have
demonstrated in the past that the
works they publish are upon the vital
questions of the day, books that are
educational in regard to the great polit-
ical and reform movements OF the pres
ent epoch in history. Apart from the
books which young reviewers are fond
OF qualifying as "epoch-making;;" J" apart
from the books which command full
column notice in the great dailies, and
from those which meet us st every lit
erary assembly until we make up from
say-"Books we fear we must read''-
there are very many books, known to but
minor fame or hardly known at all,
which yet are immensely worth reading,
and linger far longer in the memory
than their more famous contemporaries.
Often one doesn't have the pleasure OF
even an introduction to them, until
they attain that not altogether honor
able old age in which they are ralegated
to the 25.cent counter. Sometimes they
are books which enjoy certain success
in their own country, but have never
been invited to cross the sea. Occasion.
ally they are 30 newly from the press
that no considerable number OF critical
spy-glasses have as yet been turned upon
them. But from whatever source they
come, they belong to that snul-refreshing
class, Books we are not Obliged to
read" and therefore are doubly well
come when they prove books, for one
cause or another, capitally worth reads
ing. A group Of such books
has lately travelled into the email
book stores and onto the reviewers desk
from almost all the quarters above
limited at, and glance over few OF
them may prove not uninteresting.
Among these too newly from the preess
to have as yet attracted wide critical
consideration-which it is, however safe
to prophecy they will sooner or later
command-are' One of Earth's Daugh-
tors by Ellen Roberts. and Miss Helen
Winslow'H study OF New England fac
tory life, which she calls Salome Shep-
ard, Reformer. Such a study Miss
Winslow is exceptionally fitted to make;
for, as those who have longest enjoyed
Der work best realize, she is not only
thoroughly familiar, by close and keen
personal observation, with what NAV be
called the domestic phases OF New Eng
land working lie, but she is sensitively
in sympathy with the New England
genius, its ambitions and aspi-
ratione, its honely humor, its
straight conscientiousness. The
sRme affectionAte appreciation and
shrewd interpretation of that genius
Which has made Miss Winslow's far
quoted rhymes as pungently redolent OF
New England pastures as Whiteomb
Riley's are OF the western prairiee.
speak in SAlome Shepard. and make it
AZ valuable contribution to the study
Of folk-types as it Is an interesting hint
sn the vexed question of labor and cap
ttal. It is curious, by the way, that in
comparably the most Systematic and ae-
curate prose studies of New England
olk-life have been given toliterature by
women--witnees the work of Harriet
Keecher Stowe, OF Sarah Orme Jewett,
Mary Wilkins and Annie Trumbull Slos-
son. In One of Earth's Daughters, the
Riie of iourneyman carpenter grows
aiscontented with her lowly condition,
thd leaves him to make her fortune in
Boston. She begins life ss book
seeper, makes come desirable acquaint-
.Hces and finally captures the heart of
IN old aud very rich judge, and proposes
20 her and marries her after her hus-
oand has ohligingly given her her free-i
dom. The old judge dies and the en-
;erprising lady marries q young man of
good family, who iaTatner shocked when
accident reveals to him his wife's career.
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Two new books brought out by the
Robert Bonner's Sons OF New York city
are The Froler Caee, French detective
Aovel, by J. L. Jacolliot, translated from
HE French by FL. o. Cooke, and All or
Nothing, Russian novel, after the Rue
ian of Count Nepormuk Czapski, by
Meta De We're. In the Proler Case we
Aave story that is a characteristic
french detective novel, equal to the
best OF Gaboriau'e. The plot is laid in
he central Office Of the Partisan police,
md the victim OF the murder is at the
aead OF the detective bureau. The bold
less, the mystery and the obstacles in
The way Of the sscape OF the perpesrator
the crime lend themselves to produce
deep and thrilling interest to every
'hapter and page Of the novel. There
sre no detective stories 40 good as tho
french. from which all our American
tories OF the kind are modelled. The
!roier Case 10 the work OF o past
master in the art Of whom the
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