The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-16

mark hi S latest work, he wrote the best
English fiction written since Thackeray
died. His early books will be read as
long as stories told in English speech
endure-and that will be until our
tongues are dumb. Pre-eminent among
these early books, outolassing even Far
From the Madding Crowd" and rival :
ling ''The Return OF she Native" Is The
Woodlanders' "a picture of English peas
ant life that no other novssist has ap-
preached. 1t is a volume that people
pull from their book shelves more Chan
once. aud read over and over again.
New editions are constantly called for |;
and the latest and best of these is that
put out by Harper Brothers in their
standard edition of Hardy's works.
{ For sale by Loring, Short & Harmony
Mars. BY Perciyal Lowell. This book
is the result of special study Of the
planet made during the last opposition
at the Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff,
Arizona, The author says: '' A steady
atmosphere is essential to the study of
planetary detail. the size of the instru-
ment being very secondary matter.
Next to atmosphere comes systematic
study. Of the extent to which this was
| realized at Flagstaff, I need only say
that the planet was observed there from
May "a, 1894, to April 8, 1895, during
which time, to mention nothing less, OF
drawinsg and sketches were made of it, T"
The General characteristics of the plan
ct, its Atmosphere it's Water System and
its Canals and Gases are treated in the
first five chapters of the book. The sixth
and concluding chapter discusses the
probability of Mars being inhabited. The
work contains twenty -four illustrations
based upon telescope photography,
map of the south pole of Mars, showing
the polar cap and its changes in 1894 !;
also an appendix and an index. The
planet Mars being for all practical pur
subject of especial interest to us. The
method and clearness of this truly scien-
tifio work will aid the general reader in
obtaining much that is interesting and
instructive from it's pages. The work is
handsom ely printed and bound. (Boston
and Now York: Houghton, Mifflin &
Co; Portland: Lor1ng, Short & Harmon. }
The Day of Their Wedding. By ". D.
Howells. This story tells in refined
and charming manner how Sister Althea
and Lorenzo Weaver, young members of
Shaker community, determined to be
of the earthly order, to give up the an
gelic life; and in the Day of Their We'd
ding we find them taking their first steps
among worldly people at Saratoga. The
curiosity and delightful simplicity, and
again the shrinking distaste and fear
manifested by the young lovers is very
delioately pictured. The charm of that
secluded life from which they have come,
and to which they return is faithfully
given. At the closing of the day of their
wedding we find them anxiously discus
sing their motives in leaving the heaven
ly order for that of the earthly, and they
decide to return to the Family and live
there separate; and the sweet little Shak-
er bride dons again her gray garb, leav-
ing behind her the beautiful hat and
gown that Lorenzo bought for her in the
morning, and in which she was married ;
and we lose sight of them as they walk
rapidly to the station to return to the
angelic life. (New York; Harper &
Brothers Portland: Loring, Short &
Harmon.)
The x Jewel. A Scottish Romance of
the Days of James vi. By the Hon.
Frederick Moncreiff. The action begins
in the year 1885, A soldier of fortune
Captain Andrew Melvil, surnamed the
Iron armed, returning to Edin burgh af-
ter years of absence, finds himself an OBJ
jeot of King James's suspicion, and is
banished to the Castle of Ruthven, in
strathearn: and then ensue adventures,
both in love and in war-and in both
"alps fair. +" New York: Harper &
Brothers; Portland: Loriug, Short &
Harmony