The National tribune., 1895-12-26
RECENT LITERATURE.


AMERICAN WAR BALLADS. Edited by George
Cary Egglcston. Two volumes in one. Pub
lished by q. Y. Putnam- Sons, New York. For
sale by Ballantyne, Washington, D. &. Price
sl.j0.
1t does one good to read over these patriotic
songs that reused the men and women TO
brave deeds in war times. We have in our
patriotic literature some ringing, cheering
verses that have many times heartencd the
men on the field and the women in the homes.
Nowadays. far from war-times. they still thrill
one through and through with patriotic feeling.
There are the three old favorites of our Union
soldiers that because our men liked them are
poetry and not for any metrical value
Marching Through Georgia" "Tramp.
Tramp, Tramp" aud "John Browns Body"
Then. to be fair. all the verses of Maryland,
Nv Maryland" are TO be found here. but
" "Tentiug Tonight" that sweet, plaintivc
song seems to have been forgotten Mr.. Sted-
mans Wanted-A Man " is intense and has
some brave lines. Bret Harte's SReveillc" is
a favofte with many. These only few
of them all. We have surprisingly y-large
number Of good war poems. In the older
songs that favorite 1.-The Constitution and the
Guerrier" is not neglected. nor is the exciting
Carmen Belicosum of Guy Humphrey
McMasters:
In their ragged regmentals
Stood the old CoDtincnials
Yielding not,
When the grenadiers We're lunging,
And like bail fell the plunging
Cannot shot,
When the files
OF the Isles
From the smoky night cncampment bore the
banner OF the rampant
Unicorn,
And grummer. grummer. grummer, rolled the roll
of the drummer.
Through the morn.
The editor of this collection says Of it,
a. IF, ha tod in fbasa
volumes are rude some of them being scarcely
better than doegerel. while much of the ma
terial is poetry OF a very high order; but there
are certain characteristics common to all the
poems, and these are characteristics that dis
tinguish virile race which encounters diff
Guilty with stalwart courage and confronts
danger with an unruffied mind. 1t is the
poetry Of strength and manly self-reliance.
There is not a plaint OF weakness anywhere
in il"
HERBERT vANLENNERT. BY +. Keary. Pub
Iished by Lippincoti Philadelphia. For sale by
Bren ano. Washington, d. e. Price Sl.25.
long. realistic, and at the same time some
what prosy, romance.
A SOCIAL HIGHwAYMAN. BY Elizabeth
Phipps Train. Published by J. Il. Lippincott.
Philadelphia. For sale by Brentano, Washing
ton, ID. G. Price Sl.50.
An unpleasant story III very pretty binding.
THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF DY-
NAMO ELECTRIC MACHINERY. BY Nc
Fadden & Ray. Published by Laird " Lee,
Chicago.
A useful and handy little book of informa-
ton, especially valuable to men who are work
ing about electrical works and who. without
being expert electricians, want to know some
thing about the principles and practice of the
machinery and currents.
THE CHILDREN'S SHAKSPERE, BY f. Nesbit
Published by Raphael Tuck " Sons. New York.
Price 81
The stories Of Shakspere retold very simply
for the young folks and most daintily bound
and illustrated. Theclfildren must be delight
ed this year with theirn new books.
IDYLLIsTs OF THE COUNTRY SIDE BY G. Fl.
Ellwanger. Pubiishedsby Dodd, Mead & Co.,
New York. la,
series of essays on Walton, Gilbert White,
Thomas Hardy, Jeifries, Thoreau, and Bur
roughs. all delightful lovers of outdoors. Birds
sing insects hum, the breezes whisper and
flowers nod through the pages the critic
goes from one naturalist to the other to find
great Joy in each Walton guides him along
the streams. Gilbert White in Selbourne bids
him look around at the rocks and hills. the
trees and skies, and Hardy's books are read
for the sake of their marvellous landscapes.
Jeffries, the English writer, whose words paint
the eolors of violets and buttercups. and whose
birds do fiutter lovingly, lends another touch
oil appreciation oil gpod mother nature, and our
own Thoreau and Burroughs finish up the
list-the one with his philosophy and delicate
thoughts, the other with the songs of the wild
birds. So all who love the trees and birds and
country paths will do well to read this book
that they may later read the authors them
selves
ANCESTRY. BY Eugene Gieber. Published 10y
The Bailey, Banks * Bddle Co., Philadel pha.
Price % cents.
dainty little book OH the military and
hereditary societies of the United States. The
frontspiece is an exquisite portrait of a charm
ing dame. The Grand Army of the Republic,
The Daughters of the Revolution. The Aztec
Club, The Order of Cincinnati, The Legion of
Honor The Woman's Relief Corps, aud all the
societies represented, making it quite a
| valuable reference book.