Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-07
LETTERS AND WRITERS
SOME NEW BOOKS.

|
Many Nations" by Bertha Palmer, is
the title of a book just published by the
Macmillan Company. 1t contains short
selections representative of early clas-
sic literature The selections are from
the prose and poetic writings of various
nations and include translations from
the Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese, He
brew, Babylonian, Arabian, Hindu, Per-
sian Greek, Roman, German, Scandi-
navian, Celtic, Russian, Italian, French,
Spanish, Portuguese, Anglo-Saxon, Fin
nish and American Indian tongues.
There are also some examples from
early English literature, A brief intro
duction for each set of stories gives the
literary and historic setting Of the selee-
tions. The book is useful both as story
book to put into children's hands, and
as supplementary reading book Tor
the use of teachers.
In writing "Stories of Pennsylvania" "
intended as school readings from PENN
sylvania history Prof. j. s. Walton OF
the state normal college at West Ches-
ter, Pa, and Prof. M. G. Brumbaugh OF
the University of Pennsylvania and
president of Juniata College, have done
a great service to the public by collect
ing and recording many irportant IN
cidents now almost forgotten. THESE
chapters and sketches are here present
ed in a series of entertaining and in
structive stories which reproduce the
atmosphere and feeling of the early
times and give the reader more vivid
picture of colonial and pioneer lie thah
volumes of ordinary narrative could 40.
! The stories represent every section OF
Pennsylvania and every period IN lts
/ history. While these stories nave an the
charm of romance they are historlcally
accurate and trustworthy. The basis OF
| all the incidents and sketches rests upon
the best authority being drawn in most
cases from such sources as the Colonial
Records. the Pennsylvania archives ana
the collections of the Pennsylvania Ills
torfcal Society The illustrations are
numerous. Published by the American
Book Co., New York
Some interesting thoughts on notable
! literary topics couched in lucld anu
finished prose, are to be found IN Vol,
une by John Jay Chapman. entitieu
d Emerson and Other Essays" The au-
I thor has strong opinions and knows now
\ to express them, and his characteristics
are especially noticeable to the Amerl-
/ can reader in the two first essays OF the
/ book, on Emerson and Walt Whitman.
The other essays of the volume are as
4 follows: "a study Of Romeo" Michael
( Angeles sonnets,' "The fourth canto OF
/ The Inferno" Robert Browning and
"Robert Louis Stevenson" Published
! by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
| For sale by Putnam, Davis d Co.
"The Pride of Jennico," by Agnes and
Egerton Castle, is a delightful example
! of the pseudo-historical novel. and has
/ some striking qualities which are lack
! ing in some of Anthony Hopes books,
to which it bears some resemblance. The
story is laid partly in Austria and part
| ly in England not many years prior TO
the beginning of the French revolution,
and is cleverly colored with the spirit
as found among the nobility and gentry
of those times. The hero, young Eng
lishman, narrates the most striking pc
riod Of his life, which includes some re-
markable adventures, in a remarkably
veracious manner. The characters are
well drawn, and include charming
heroine. Published by the Macmillan
Company.
An attractive little book to be com
mended for beginners in botany is First
Lessons With Pliants,' by Prof. L. H
Bailey of Cornell. This is an abridge.
ment of a larger book by the same au-
thor, and is designed to awaken an In
terest in plants and in rature rather
than to teach botany" There are many
delineations from nature by Prof. w. s
Holdsworth of the agricultural college
of Michigan.
A pamphlet which gives some much
needed instruction of an elementary
character about banking in a striking
manner, is What is a Bank?" by Will
| 1iar7 { If on.
thor of "Greenbacks," and including
some ingenious colored designs by the
author. This pamphlet is to be pub
lished by the committee appointed al
\ the last meeting of the American Bank
ers' Association, to take UP the work Of
informing people as to the uses of a
bank in every community.
FORTHCOMING VOLUMES.
The title of the new book which Mr.
w. H. Mallock will publish through the
Macmillan Company, in the course of a
few weeks, will be "Aristocracy and Ev-
olution." Its aim is to demonstrate that
the chief progressive movement of So
ciety is due to minority, the part
| played by the majority being altogether
subordinate alike in the sphere OF
thought government and wealth pro-
duction.
Mr.. L Zangwill's latest book, Dream
ers of Ghetto" to be published March
Is (Harper's), is a collection of biograph-
ical sketches dramatically treated
Characters so different as Spinoza, the
philosopher, Heine. the poet, Sabbatai
ZeVi, the Turkish messiah, and many
more, some learned, others illiterate, are
depicted, each against the background
of the particular environment that, with
more or less Of restrictions, constitutes
the ghetto Of his period and country
Thus the scene is shifted continually
from Portugal to Poland and from
Smyrna to Manchester. .
-Four Footed Americans with theil
non-footed and wing-handed kin, by
Mabel Osgood Wright, edited by Frank
M. Chapman, with 70 original illustra-
tions by Ernest Seton Thompson, is an.
nounced by the Macmillan Company
This book containing in story form the
life histories of the most notable North
American mammals, ranging from
the musk OK Of the barren grounds, tc
the peccary of the Mexican border
opens a fresh field in juvenile litera.
ture.
The Macmillan Company announces
the coming publication of "Tales of the
Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic" by
Col Thomas Wentworth Hfgginson
This book will treat of the cycle of ro.
nance that lies within the early Irish
English, Spanish and other traditions
Of the Happy islands of the west"
THE PERIODICALS.
The opening article in Appleton's
Popular Science Monthly for March de
scribes "a summer journey to the sa
hara desert; it is by Prof Angelo
Heilprin of the Philadelphia Academy O.