The times., 1897-08-29

volumes, fully equal In style ana interest
TO the promise OF the first. One of the
things for which this Ebra ary is marked is
the selection OF passages more or less
unfamiliar. but quite representative as
samples OF an authors work. In the
eleventh roiume of the series, for example,
We have. along with selections from The
Voyage Of the Beagle and The Origin
of Species selections showing Darwin's
religious and philosophical views, which
arenot rs well known as his scientific work.
One OF the Illustrations in this chapter,
moreover, deserves especial mention
lis i.reprodnctionof Of painting by Gairiel
Max, entitled THE Ape Man. which is
IN tEe Possession OF Ernst Haeckel- MaNs
religious paintings are well known, bat
this might be called scientific alle-
gorical picture. Three figures are shown
In tie twilight of a primeval forest-the
male. and female and the infant ape. There
is a curious. balf human expression on the
faceso: the little family, and the picture is.
as a whole, most unique piece OF art.
Dickens is, of course. represented in this
-olume by extracts of considerable length,
and there Is biography of the great story
teller, uy Laurence Hutton, which is as
go0a a. its sub iect Among other Things
Hutton quotes the remark of an anonymous
critic, that there is no evidence in Dickens
works that he ever read book Dickens
was above all a great original, and this
sentence might very well serve as a text
for a review of his works.
AnO. her Volume is very largely taken up
with Egyptian literature, from V hici: many
and vsri0us cop!ous extracts are given.
Another chapter contains a biography OF
Emerson by r. Garnert, who sums up the
work OF the Concord philosopher in the
words OF Keats, Beauty Is truth; truth
beauty he sa rs that this might be
considered Emerson's creed, and that
while Keats was inclined iuore to the
worship OF beauty, perhaps, than OF truth.
Emerson placed the two in equipoise. A
curious paradox is seen in turning from the
essays quoted from Emerson to the work Of
Jonathan Edwards. Two more opposite
systen.s Of thought. according to the popu-
lar ideas OF the two men, could not be Found,
yet tLe selections made from Edwards show
a calm. serene and hopeful temper, which
il most remarkably like certain works Of
the Concord. sage; and there is a bit ~
exquisite, pure and pious poetry which Ed
wards once inscribed in a young lady's aU-
tosraph album, which nobody ought 10 miss
seeing. II looks very much Us if two great
minds must eventually meet somewhere IN
the same plane.
Most people viii think that in one IN
stance at least, the cOmpilers did not
well in taxing less familiar aspects of a
man work, for in the twelfth volume
under The name of Henry Drummond,
not one selection from his religious master
pieces is to be found. The extracts are
all from his book on Tropical Africa. In
the same volume 10y the nature of the
alphabet, came Austin DobSon and Alex
andre Dumas pere ct fills. The editor
mentions one curious fact in connection
with his work on the writings Of the
elder Dumas. Wishing TO quote a scene
which he remembered as particularly fine,
he referred 20 the book, thinking that his
qaotattOn would take in some half Il
dozen pages. He found that the scene
covered l3O pages. 1t had seemed short in
the reading, lut was actually .of great
length. The selections are well made.
both from the works OF both the
elder and the younger Dumas Wash
ington people who went week after
Week to see that Amusing sht My
Awful pad,' may parentheticany be in
formed that this play is u very free trans
lation Of The Prodigal Father by the
author Of Camille, and there is not much
doubt that ia a good-natured fashion :he
writer satiriZed his father in this pro
dHction
Those who anticipate d wealth OF en-
Jcyment when they come to the quota
tons from Eugene Field viii be badly dis
appointed. Field is not on the pinnacle
o: fame IN this library He is not repre-
serted by his best work, nor is his biog-
raI'iiy equal TO its subject. In the middle Of
this same volume VIII be found a photo
gravure OF Munckacsy's famous Christ Be
fore PLATE" accompanying extracts from
the work Of Dean Farrar.
The fifteenth volume contains, for the
ave. age reader, two or three surprises. In
a lalf dozen pages from the writings Of
S6Tuel FOote, who flourished 720 TO I777
and wrote plots which seem to be molder-
inC IN the dust Of oblivion SO far rs the
theatrical public is concerned, will be found
the original Of nearly every standard joke
in this wor kadsy world. Doubtless the
!rK1al FoGte Travelled into the ancient
classics ard found them there, but they are
stdll hale and hearty at the present time
Jau'es Anthony Froude is represented by
a.; extract from Short Studies on Great
Eui'sects,' which for a whimsical sad
humOr and half-serious ethical meaning
canDot be surpassed. Not the least in
te'eSting chapter In this volume is that de
Toteii 70 foiE songs, in which the songs of
Various nations are compared.
The sixteenth volume contains copious
extracts from Richard Watson Glider :
wOIk, among them the pearl of all, his
sonnet On The Sonnet and several
Other poems, which asSuredly striae The.
keynote of his genius. Mr.. Godkin. of
Evening Post fame. shines in particularly
happy role writer OF an essay on
Criticism = Mr.. Godkin ought to know
what criticism is, if any one does, and he
gives veiy clear and concise resume of
what he kEOY7s. Two chapters in this
Nol0me are in marked contrast to each
other, and might artisticany have been
placed side 10y side. One is Gladstone,s s
Donderoas and majestic essay on Macau-
lay. aud the other is a short group of ex-
ccrpts from the autobiography of Grant.
Ono is the work oi d scholar and a states
man, fuli of bg. round periods; the other
is the work OF the modest man of
the people, simple, plain and blunt but
IL VIII bear comparison. Grant had q story
t. tell, and he told it, simply and forcibly,
first with his sword and then with his pea
ana History was made. GIa dstone has ma 20
history in his day also. but he does his Ifte-
atUfe with a difference. II is not Glad
stone; it is good English. oThe Harper's
Weekly Club, Nos. SI-93, Fifth avenue