The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-01-01

INK <IUEl or THE tl>fL W AK. n cohein ,
atcount of the war In the United States oI
America between 1901 and 1895 Part J. by
John Goldman Ropes. New York: o. Il.
Iutnnm's sons For sale in Providence
BY Preston a. hounds.
This volume, the frst OF three carries
the story OF The civil war mp TO the open
ing Of the campaigns OF 1862, and includes
I'll the author has 10 say about the causes
OF the war and the temper OF the people
Y In both sections. Part III will include the
events between the Peninsular campaigA
and Grants Vicksburg campaign, while
The third part concludes the story
with Appomattox and the general obser-
vations OF the author. The point of
view OF Mr.. Ropes is somewhat novel.
ut is,n he tells us, ''to write OF the SUBJ
iccts treated from the standpoint OF each
OF the contending parties. In our judg-
ment, the war should not be SO depicted
% to imply that the North and South
Altered and quarreled about the same
things. That was not the fact. The
questions presented TO the men OF the
North were not the same as those with
which their Southern contemporaries had
20 deal. This might be very fully illus
4 trated by referring TO the relation
which the institution OF slavery bore
pared with its relation to the people OF
che South; but into this subject the scope
OF this book will not allow US to 60"
The working out OF this idea, that the
North and South were fighting for their
own ideas and principles, each distinct
from the other, is the first interesting
step with the author, and he thus lays a
foundation rather different from other
writer's, and quite agreeable to the
desire that is universal in botn
sections now that the dead past
b allowed to bury its dead,
SO far as the animosities of the war
are concerned. After having stated his
premises regarding the causes of the war
and the sentiment OF the people, Mr..
Ropes proceeds to give general view OF
the whole struggle, showing the objects
OF the different campaigns, and their re-
lations of each other, and describing the
more important movements and battles.
Il may be said, without entering
upon an exhaustive review OF the
book, that Mr.. Ropes has given
in this first part a very temperate and
restrained, yet clear, view of the war up
70 1862. His style is sincere and modest.
He does not indulge in pyrotechnics OF
any sort. His descriptions are uncolored,
and his judgment quite dispassionate.
The work Is admirably conceived, and it
seems to me must be accorded an i'm
portant place with the literature
Of the war, which is already very
voluminous but not especially rich in
books that aim to cover the whole field
and fully answer the whole question. A
word ought to be said regarding the hand
some and dignified form the publishers
have given the book, which is "bookish"
10 degree-very satisfactory TO the bib
liophile who expects book to satisfy his
visual taste as we'll as his critical demands.
Rhyming Governor.
NEWPORT BALLADS. by Charles G. Van
Zandt. Newport: the Newport Histori-
cal Society
Il is very well known in Rhode Island
that the late ex- Governor Van Zandt was
vcrsitier Of pleasant talent, and that
he had written large num-
-Aof Of poems, many OF them
.or social and fraternal occas-
Ions. Most of them have been published
IN newspapers, though several are new.
There Is no table of contents, but one
counts 26 pieces of verse. some of the
prices are distinctly clever, some have a
touch Of pathos that endears them to
class OF readers, ana some have narra-
tive form that gives them interest. None
are great or remarkable, and they need
not be TO be rather notable. There are
undoubtedly great number of collections
Of verse quite as meritorious as this in the
oeouestered corners OF business desks that
viii never see print. The book is nicely
printed, and bound after the style of early
editions OF the English poets Of Burns
times.
The BoY TRAVELLERS IN THE LEvANT. Ad-
ventures OF Two Youths in Journey
through Morocco. Algeria, Tunis. Greece.
and Turkey, with Visits TO ths Islands OF
Rhodes and Cyprus, ana the Site or An
# cirnt Troy. BY thomas w. Knox New
York: Harper and Brothers.
Il 10 scarcely too great praise to say that
there are no books for young people more
Valuable than those by Colonel Knox be-
longing to this series. They entertain,
and great amount OF very useful knowl-
edge Is implanted. This book is as de-
lightful as its many predecessors have
been, and manages TO impart TO even the
veteran browser among books of travel
aud adventure q new glow OF enthu-
viasm and new interest in one OF
Abe most interesting sections
.Gi the earth's surface. One
e.onot help giving this book an es-
oecially hearty welcome, because 1t is 80
-al,o and SO sweet. So much OF the liter
Ature intended for the young either tends
20 deprave or weaken, that book whose
only influence is toward strength through
genuine enjoyment Is thrice welcome.
WIuPLrs AND CRfsptSG PINS Studies In tie
Couture aud Ornaments OF Nomen. by
Theodore Cnild. New York: Harper ana
brothers.
TINS book arouses the melancholy IN
terest attaching 40 the last work of a
brilliant writer, cut of just rs his sun was
fairiy risen. At is a study OF feminine
hcadgcar OF aii ages, IRON Rebecca
el The well, that Is as informing as IL is
1eligntlul, and as delightful as It IA un-