The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-12-14
LITERARY NOTES.

The second of the series OF illustrated
articles on Pleasures of the Telescope py
Garrett P.Serviss, will open The POPULAR
Science Monthly for January. Under
the delightful guidance of Mr.. Servlss
the reader may view the beauties Orion,
of Lepus" crouching at the feet Oh tne
mythical giant" OF CAMS Major. W v,1a
contains the great Dog Star, OIL Mono-
ceros. and other consultations.
Why do we have a week of even days.
with sudath at the beginning or end,
OF it? Material for an answer to this
question will be furnished by the article
of the late Colonel Al. B. Ellis, entitled
On the Origin. of Weeks and Sabbaths,
to appear in the January Popular Science
Monthly. Col. Ellis finds that weeks OF
four, five, seven and ten days. and some
that include fractions, have been USED
by various people, but they all appear TO
be subdivisions of the lunar month.
The Presidents of the United States is
the title of an elaborate illustrated vol
ume written by John Fiske, Carl Schurz,
William E. Russell, ID. @. Gilman. John
Hay and others, which is to be published
Immediately by D. Appleton & Co. rms
volume contains brief biographies OF the
twenty-three Presidents of the United
States, many of them by distinguished
scholars and statesmen who were pecu-
liarly fitted by their training or contact
with our chief magistrates to render
ample and impartial justice to their sub
iects. These articles contain complete
record CT the most important events In
the nations history from the ina1gura-
ton of Washington to the summer OF 1894.
covering twenty-seven administrations
in period Of one hundred and five years.
The edition has added brief notices OF
the ladies of the White House, ana
sketches of other persons connected with
the families OF the PRESIDENTS.
Houghton, Miflin 8sCo. will soon pub
lish in two volumes Memoir of Maria
Edgeworth with a Selection from Her
Letters, by Mrs. Edgeworth." This
book, which was privately printed some
wears ago, is now published for the first
time, by permission of the Edgeworth
family. The work has been careful ~
edited by Mr.. Augustus JIG. Hare, who
contri butes preface to the work.
"A Story of Courage: Annals of the
Georgetown Convent of the Visitation,
by George Parsons Lathorp and Rose
Hawthorne Lathrop, will soon. be ISSUED
from the Riverside Press. This book,
written in the fullest sympathy and with
the most devout admiration, is history
of the Order of the Visitation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary from it's institution
by st. Francis de Sales, and an account
Of the founding of the Order and of the
Convent at Georgetown, DC. This book
will appeal very strongly to those whose
associations with the Convent and the
Academy have been intimate, both
Catholics and Professionals. This is the
first book written in collaboration by
Mr.. and Mrs. Lathrop.
Houghton, Miffiin & Co. are about to
publish book quite out of the ordinary
conventional sphere. Its name is "The
Great Refusal: Letters of a Dreamer IN
Gotham, and the author, Paul E. More,
has written a romance told in letters
and verses to the lady who inspires them.
The book cup hardly fail to attract in a
lutte remarkable degree those who catch
its meaning ana spirit, and who value
literary charm.