New-York tribune., 1895-12-11

FAMOUS PLACES DESCRIBED AND ILLUS
TRATED.

lam Patten and Others tadsrIck 0saavG pp Stokes
Company. -
ANNALS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY AJ,,SS BY N,lS +; T :
aI.A M,Sassswa!ie s NswYoSk D. Iss's Appes"o Co.
GE AahES ANR BY Tan
Miiman' STANLEY and others with Views Of the
Cathedas and PCrtrsts Of the the pisTa,ss Wa,ton
episcopal PALACES. OF ENGLAND; ;Is,r. BY Ed; ID
by %nns SessnasH xsnsse' Ansed oS'aSo nt pp @
York. Thomas Whitaker.
BEAUTIFUL. BRITAIN, The Scenery and spien-
Homes Of Princes and Nobemen PssGes i e;ntaiS
sion Of Her Majesty the Queen and by savUr ManT OF OF
s ess asoc ana asss Fo ~pO pp as
and Mi'S Sew"York: 'fOii The Werner Company.
OLD CHESTER Etched and Described ey YORK. u:
Charles Scribners Sons.
THE BOOK OF OLD EDINBURGH BY iIf,9 JIfoa9l
iraioHs ash,Ss 1HR BY Wism anu Hee Sew EdiiioR
octave. PIP xii, 100. New-York; Charles scrio-
Amicis Translated by s r. Yarnall, N; A.
SS5Tatea deipha aenry l1 TTG T coSss SGSmss CO. 49, ~
CONsTANTINoPLE. Tho City Of the sultans BY
Cara M Epskne Ce%sna as, 1s5rated nrat o''A'0'
CONSTANTINOPLE BY F. Marion Crawfora'
Illustrated by Edwin L. Weeks. Quarto, PIP. ix'
70. New-York: Charles Scribner's Sons
When author and publisher put their heads to-
gether and decide TO be typographical they are
sure of an audience because they tolerably
sure to deserve one. The public can never tire
of good books of travel. good books filled with
that sort Of research which finds its field among
the monuments and great cities OF the Old World.
With the facilities of the present day for study
ing his material on the spot and photograph
ing or otherwise recording its physiognomy, the
author has little difficulty in making good
book a book that at least is attractive and In
etructve. Take. for example. the Abbey and
neighborhood of Westminster Both have been
written about and over again. but there
are three new books on the subject, and all three
can be cordially received. Sir Walter Besant's s
IS perhaps the most serviceable as a guide for
II is published In handy form, and is planned
moreover as he planned his London with
view to its being a practical companion. II he
had kept this point alone In sight he might
have been serviceable and nothing more. AS it
Is he has written Of Westminster with more
than seriousness he has felt ardent enthusi-
nsm for the old sanctuary Of Thorney Island,
the hiving congeries OF antique buildings In
which English life blood pulsed as passionatey
rs anywhere in Britain. though English citizen
thp was there unknown. This last remarkable
circumstance Sir Walter Besant touches upon
In his very earliest pages. He aims 10 SHOW
from the beginning that Westminster was an
Isolated spot with conditions in her life that
separated her from all other places in history.
and IL Is Just in this clear and constant recogni-
ton Of the individuality OF Westminster that
he is most engaging as a writer its history
If II had no citizens, as our author reminds
US, II was because 1t covered only small island,
cid by tbe nd bounded
IN every other direction by small streams that
ran into the river. There. on that detached and
priyate tract the law of mother church held
SWAY and while 1t paradoxcally offered shelter
10 the various persons who were wanted else
where for various offences. and who came to
Thorney Island for sanctuary, 1t had little space
at It's disposal for immigrants whom other places
did not want The possessions Of the Abbey
stretched from shore to shore Of the island, and
the Abbot ruled II all. In one sense OF the
word the history Of Westminster is the
history Of the Abbey Sir Walter Besant begins
With the intention Of having very little to do WITH
''the people of Westminster He ends by
showing you the centre of vitality. which could
not have become such without the presence of
people, without the daily iux and refux Of
national life The author has history. anecdote
happy gift Of reconstruction where
pageant or observance Of long ago is needed to
round out the within the readers mind;
and Joined TO all this he has vivid recollec
hon Of the readers probable character He does
not ply him too much with the fruits Of erudite
labor. He wants TO make him see Westminster,
not memorize all it's dates. and having accom-
plished this he may we'll rest content.
Sir Walter Besant has given himself wide
range in little volume and the numerous clever
oh
lnforced cover an extensive field outside the
central monument Of Westminster. Mrs. A. Muir
ray Smith, in her stately folio that central
church Of storied fame. will not go far afield;
she writes about the Abbey and to the Abbey she
will adhere. But in the long run she also sets
forth a never-endng line of stirring scenes and
winding professions. She aims frankly at show
ing far more than Sir Walter Besant pretends
TO- the connection between political and ecclesi-
astical England between the history Of the
Abbey and the history OF the English kings and
prelates. OF her text may speak cordially
1t Is written with intelligence and sufficient his
torical authority. The many pictures call for
similar approval But II is perhaps in the creation
Of an atmosphere through the perfect combina-
ton Of the two that this handsome volume Is
most provocative of admiration. The publishers
have done their best in giving the accomplished
huthor accomplished Illustrative aid Mr.. w. Hath
erell and Mr.. II. NJ. Paget, two of the cleverest
Illustrators in London. have been employed upon
the portrayal OF the Abbey and its relics Of the
historical events which make the glory Of the
building and its treasures. The result is beauti-
tul You get in this volume the color and the
picturesqueness Of English history. the splendid
episodes in the history Of the Abbey that
perhaps most often present In the minds of
those who tread the stony aisles and wander
round the edge of that sweet sunny place of turf
and quiet which transports you standing in the
Abbey close so far from London that the great
metropolis scarcely seems to exist
Mrs. Smith has taken pains to make her annals
thoroughly consecutive. She brings them down
10 the Jubilee Service of 1887 and one of the