The record-union., 1899-01-01
THE BOOK TABLE.
eRECORD-UNION'' NOTES OF
SOME BOOKS OF THE DAY.
TrimaIchio's Dinner = American
Bookmen-New Novels-A Z
Woman's Essays.

~
ssF,inal Proof or the Value OF EVIL
dence' is a novel from the pen OF t. u
Holengin. author Of IAN ARTIST IN
Crime" Press of G. p. Putnam's sons,
New York; so cents. 1t is a powerfully
dramatic story. 1t is one of the Hud-
son Library series, published monthly.
s'Two Women Who Posed" IS a novel
by Facilis. Press of J. S. Ogilvie Pub
fishing Company, New York. 1t treats
of the trials of models and artists OF
Bohemia of New York, and its peculiar
people. 1t is a frank story, but not
unclean, though not Intellectually very
attractive.
Imperial America, the Policy of Ma
fional Expansion is by William G. Lee
we're, and is published by Forbes q Co.,
Chicago. 1t is an argument in favor OF
American expansion, or, as the author
puts it, American Imperialism" He
believes it is the destiny of this coun-
try, and that having put our hand TO
the pillow we should not look backward.
It is reasoned out in the nature of an
allegory.
From VIM Doxey, publisher, San
Francisco, we have 1.-The Purple Cow, :"
one of those quaint art creations in car
feature and wild fancy which frequent
ly comes from Doxey's prolific press.
It is a collection of rhyme and the most
grotesque Illustration after the order
OF the popular Lark Book series.
There are eighteen of the humorous
rhyming sketches in the little volume.
'Trimalchio's Dinner, by Petronius,"
is by Harry Thurston Peck. Press of
Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. A neat
volume, illustrated handsomely. Clear
~ the production of this clever book
was suggested by "Quo Vadis.'' Pc
tronius was the elegant gentleman and
polished epicure, whose vices. virtues
and splendid chivalry are so graphically
recited in "Quo Vadis." 1t is an
nounced as having been translated
from the Latin of Petronius arbiter.
While Mr.. Peck has in this graphic
Work-Which is free from the horrors
OF Roman tyranny as related in Quo
Vadis"-employed terms strangely
modern, expletives especially, the apollo
gy is made, and justifably, that this is
necessary because no other than slang
phrases can be found in our tongue to
express the full meaning of translated
idioms and Latin colloquialisms of a
certain class. The book is in three
parts, of Introduction, the recital Of the
story Of Trimalchio's dinner and bib
biographical index, besides an index to
the introduction and pungent preface
Mr.. Peck says his translation is based
a Ilx-1
tied by Bucheler Berlin, 1880, but he
used also for reference F'riedlander's
text 0eipzig. 1S91) and some early
variorum editions. The volume takes
US into the heart of the thought and
life Of the Romans of wealth and lux
ury. 1t is a graphic picture, indeed, of
some curious phases of Roman private
life under the Empire. 1t is to be noted
that the Introduction is of special
value, as it treats of prose fiction in
+ Greece and Rome, the novel of Petro-
MUS and the Cena of Trimalchionis.
Maids, Wives and Bachelors is an
octave volume of essays by the talented
writer and novelist Amelia E. Barr.
There are thirty-five short essays in
the book, all relating to home and So
ciety. duty and obligation, relation Of
the sexes, on love, marriage, singleness,
domestic economics, fashions and con-
ventionalfties. They are crisp, frank,
and, so far as we have read into the
volume, they are philosophically and
practically sound. Press of Dodd,
Mead & Co., New York.
Gloria Victis" is by j. A. Mitchell.
editor of Life author Of "Amos
judd and THAT Ford Affair" Press
of Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
1t is a society novel, strong, realistic,
vivid in recital and artistic in charac-
ter drawing and full of human interest,
though some of the people moving in
the story are very humble folk.
1.-THE Minister of State" is a novel by
John A. Steuart, author of 'In the Day
of Battle 'Kilgroom,'' etc. Press of
Dodd, Mead & Co., New York 1t is
the dramatic story of the rise of
genius from lowliest life to lofty sta
ton and of his ambitions and disap-
pointments. 1t is a powerful tale of
wonderfully well sustained interest.
american Bookmen; Sketches Chief
~ Biographical of certain Writers of
the Nineteenth Century is a handsome
volume by NJ. A. De Wolfe Howe. Press
of Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. 1t
is richly and beautifully Illustrated
with portraits, landscapes, plates. fac
smile MSS, etc. It's text is of Irv-
ing, Cooper. Bryan, Poe, Willis, Hal
1eck, Drake, the American historians
and humorists Emerson and Concord
Hawthorne. Whitman, Lowell, Whit
tier. Longfellow and Holmes. These
sketches are not elves" nor are they
mere gIances at careers. They are
more: they take us into the life and
activities of each of the ''bookmen"
considered. The task has been grace
fully accomplished. The result is a
valuable work, one that puts into 300
octava pages what else one might have
to search whole libraries for months
to obtain There is considerable new
light thrown upon the subjects; there
is critical concern in the treatment
but no severity or carping The an