The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-26

Romancs, A Dusky Genius, The Balance
Of Power. These stories illustrate the
simple primitive life of Northern Georgia,
where the author spent his boyhood.
They are mostly stories of master and
slave, showing the good Will and affection
existing between them. The fantastic
and humorous side Of the Negroes nature
is clearly shown as we'll as the peouliari-
ties of their white masters. number OF
negro songs are given, some Of them I'm
provised by ploughmen while trudeing In
the fragrant burrows across the bottom
lands. The stories are exceedingly inter
esting, especially The Dusky sisnius'
which is the gem of the collection. Inc
sketches with their songs and effective
illustrations make very attractive book.
(Boston and New York; HouRhton,
Miff1in & Co: Portland; Loring, Short %
Harmon.)
A Study of Child, by Louise E.
Hogan. The story told is seven-years'
diary Of a child's natural growth, showing
how he learned to talk, read, write add,
ETC., without direct teaching; and how.
incidentally the cultivation of obedience,
trust and other necessary attributes of
healthy growth in childhood were infu-
enced. The collection Of colored frontis-
pieces, drawings, and cuttings of which
there are over five hundred, orig mated in
the child's mind. as the result Of his ac-
|tivity. They are accompanied by the
child g explanations, and in many in
stances are interesting and thoughtful.
There is quite an element of fun through
out the book. The results of the child's
study at home, from an educational
standpoint, are given in the introduction,
with sufficient clearness and authority to
convince the most scepticsl Of the practi-
cal value of child-study. But this view
Of the study in question Is not the most
prominent feature of the book. The fas.
cination of watching. the gradual unfold
ing of the little mind instantly seizes the
reader, rs the story is told SO simply,
without suggesting any of the hot-house
methods SO often producing the hybrid.
~ A10bO ga AOtAoO<A anu 0CoA AA0 Pa CoocAt
almost startled by unexpected bits Of in
tel1igence, but no one has given COM
plete and natural record Of q child's inner
life before. zach year marks the growth,
step by step, and almost every phase Of
child-life Is taken up under one condition
or another in this book In a practical
way. New York: Harper & Brothers;
Portland; Loring. Short Il Harmony
In The Sargasso Sea, by Thomas A.
Janvier. In the Sargasso Sea is new
variation upon the immortal Robinson
Crusoe theme. Mr.. Janvier'sl hero is a
young graduate of Stevens Institute who
accidentally takes passage for Africa upon
ship that turns out to be engaged in the
abominable slave-trade. After various
misadventures he finds himself in the
weedy waste Of the dreaded Sargasso Sea,
tie only living person upon wrecked and
broken vessel. All around him are count
less ranks Of dismantlsd hulks that have
dr. fitted in from time to time to take their
place in this graveyard of dead ships. He
sets out upon q voyage of discovery, max
ing his way by jumping fro one deck to
another. He loses himself in the maze,
and starvation stares him in the face.
lucky chance enables him to replenish his
larder, but 1t is only after weeks Of weary
wandering that he gets back to compare
tive safety and the outer CIRCLE of this
strange labyrinth. There he finds COM
Portable quarters on newly wrecked
steamship, a steam-launch upon which he
can finally escape, and even a big blac K
cat to take the part OF Man Friday. OF
course there is treasure-trove galore, and
from an old Spanish plate ship he man
ages to secure and carry of bag of
jewels that turns out to be of inestimable
value. There is brave reading and ro-
nance with red blood In it. (New York:
Harper q Brothers; Portland: Loring,
Short & Harmon.