The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-08-23

, drawings rare merit and originality. The
Macmillans secured his services of the
book in question and it is not too much
to say that If Mr.. Fuertes continues as
he has begun he will become the finest
artist in his speciality in this country and
will produce work better than ANYTHING
since Audubon. Note the delicacy, ex.
preston and accuracy of his lines-the
beauty of his shading, the strength and
correctness of his likenesses.
Remarkably good, too, is the printer
skill in making ready the plates, Not
only are the impressions brilliant but the
drawings are most adroitly inserted into
the text, sometimes a tiny twig or bit
of feather or flower. wandering gracefully
into the heart of the printed words. These
cuts in black and white, reduced from
the originals, are decidedly the finest
series of small pictures of birds ever
printed.
The illustrator shows wonderfully
acute faculty for grasping subtle points
of form and action. His work is of gem
uine creative character with nothing
about it of the copyist's pencil.
!. DR.. Coues himself figures in rather a
new role in "Citizen Bird having
hitherto been known in such adult fields
of labor as in the authorship of The Cen
fury Dictionary or critical work upon the
Lewis and Clarke and Pike expeditions
and similar editorial presentation of MSS.
manuscript in the government archives of
Canada hidden away for century un-
disturbed and bearing the same relation to
pioneering on scientific lines in the
British Dominion as Lewis and Clarke
and Pike, with us. Coues' Key to North
American Birds occupies the same place
as Gray's Manuals in Botany.
But from amongst the learned
Doctors Of Science and Phil
osophy and turning from their investiga-
: tions and classifications, we now have
! Or. Coues tired for the nonce of disput-
ing in high places, taking little child
rem by the hand and teaching them some
thing of the birds he has himself loved
from his early days. In this pleasant task
he collaborates with Mrs. Mabel Osgood
Wright, well known for her delightful
and successful transcription of birds,
flowers, fields and woods, in "Birdcraft'
and "The Friendship Of Nature" Also
, turning from an older to younger audi
ence Mrs. Wright has written Tommy
Anne" which brought her the devotion Of
hosts of children who recognize in her a
court historiographer after their own
hearts.
The choice of title in this case is Mrs
/ Wright's and the grouping into narrative
f form Of both instruction and pleasure
> also the intent to exhibit the bird as oul
r feathered fellow Citizen of the Common
. wealth, who pays his taxes by his war
J upon harmful insects, delights us with fire.,
Q concerts and the sight of perfect beauty
Q and only asks in return for life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
8 "Citizen Bird is simple tale wherein
Uncle Hunter, with his daughter, Olive
teaches bird lore to Nat and Dodo ant
Rap the poor country boy. Nanny Bur
S is the old colored nurse. Olaf the fisher
man helps them to near views of the
osprey, king bird and water pewee.
3 Here are introduced the rudiments Of
Ornithology SO cunningly disguised as tc
seem all entertainment even though a
7 few charts, measurements and scientific
facts give body to the story.
This is an excellent text book for schools
and has already received warm endorse
ment from the U. S. Commissioner of
Education, DR.. W. T. Harris, also from
Senator George F. Hoar, whose personal
} petition signed by the birds themselves
!, has recently been so timely, eloquent and
: effectual and has attracted such general
attention.
Mrs. Wr1ght's drarnatis personae are
| very observing. The Catbird thus de-
scribes Nanny Bun, "She is q very big
person, wide like woodchuck, and has
dark face like the house people down in
. the warm country, where I spend the
. winter"
The "six guilds is sure to make a
classification which will remain in the
minds of children. "Ground Cleaners;
Tree Trappers; Sky Sweepers; Wise
Watchers; Seed Sewers; Weed Warriors %
or again, those that sing, croak and call
; are cannibals; that COO and scratch; trade
and paddle; swim and dive ~
Children will learn much and enjoy
much through these pages. And they will
acquire thereby quickness of observation,
thoroughness and patience; most of all
; in Importance, a love of nature, rover
, ence for the works of God and sense OF
/ the marvel that lies hid in every depart
z ment of the creators living world. We
are indeed all fellow citizens anddn this
child book we catch something of the
f exhileration of nature herself and say
| with Hugo's flower to butterfly
"Or, if thou wilt not bide with me
, Upon this quiet heather,
Oh give me wing thou beauteOus thing,
, That we may soar together"
All of which is CLEANED for the pleasure
5 of the subject chiefly, since the 81 ccess of
the book is unparalleled in this class OF
literature, five thousand copies having
already been sold, August 18th, when the
; publication was but a month old.