New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-28
FEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.

VIEW BOOKS AND NEW EDi1IONS'
Houghton, Mifiin & Co. Issue among their
holiday publications 1.-THE Tent on the Beach
and Dramatic Lyrics" by Whittier. MT ana
Mrs Charles II. Woodbury. have made series
Of illustrations for the volume. Their pest
work has been done for THE Grave by the
Lake" which is we'll illustrated by gloomy
landscape, and THE Brother OF Mercy ior
which an effective interior study has been de-
tigned. The two pictures made respectively
Tor 1.-THE Paatine" and THE Dead snip OF
Harpswell" are also beautiful the same
publishers issue a holiday edition OF MI
Warmers delightful Backlog Studies" for
which Mr. Edward H. Garrett has made num-
Der OF clever drawings.
oMr. Isolate of Lonelyville' Or. H. RusselD
is the title Of a book by Mr.. C. c. Converse. IL
is also the designation of gentleman win
whom the readers Of the comic papers have long
been familiar They have known the type under
other names too r is the type on when the
caricaturst loves to pour his scorn. and the niue
legends under the pictures emphasize the SATIRE
The short stories gathered together by MI. con-
verse from the papers In which they have previ-
ousiv appeared portray Mr.. Isolate at full length
He is a laughabe individual. and so are his
adventures Mr.. Converse treats botn Win en-
cellent humor His book is amusing
The Faience Editions form a series Of reprints
published by T. Y. Crowell & Co, In INQUEST
but artistic form. for the holidays. The volumes
ara small the naper used in them is of good
tone and texture. the Illustrations are mace oY
competent artists and the binding when IS
variously red or green. is decorated in gold II
the edition calls for praise in that II combines
pood Typography and manufacture with low
price II is also 10 be commended Tor the eur
torial choice which 1t illustrates. THIS choice
is wide but always judicious the VoiuHles
3ust received include recent books like klplne
"Barrack Room Ballads" and NJ Rostands
"Cyrano de Bergerac" Among them we also
find Thoreau's Walden" Curtis's "Prue and l.
Hawthorne's "Bithedale Romance and MS
Snow Image" and that beautiful little rag
ment of modern French literature. The Attic
Philosopher" of Emile Souvestre. These are
admirable examples Of the holiday book that
is we'll made but inexpensive.
The scribners import the second edition OF
Robert Louis Stevensons marlborough Days
by Miss f. Blantyre Simpson. The two volumes
of letters edited by Mr. Colvin and just pub
ushed by the Scrlbners will naturally withdraw
attention. for the time, from all other Steven
soniana; but Miss simpsons contribution 10
the biography Of the novelist is pleasantly witt
Ten Il Is in good taste and II gives some in
teresting glimpses of his personality ana OF the
members OF his family. II will be preserved as
q minor but creditable work. trustworthy ana
useful within its limits.
From the same publishers we have received
the twenty-ninth volume of the Centenary Ed
ton OF Carlyle edited by Mr.. H. D. Trail
This Is the fourth OF the five volumes in when
the Critical and Miscellaneous Essays are
appearing We have often praised this edl-
,ion as volume after volume in it has ap-
peared, that we need hardly discuss 1t In detah
now We may note however, that the presence
of the essay on Scott in this volume has sug-
gested the printing of an especially beautiful
frontispiece reproduction Of the novelist's por-
trait
In the Thornton Edition OF the Brontes. edited
nv Temple Scott and imported by the Scribners
two volumes given to "Villette" have just ap-
peared.
Main Travelled Roads," by Hamlin Garland,
IS issued by the Macmillans in new edition.
with some additional stories In an introduc-
tcn to the volume Mr. Howells adVerts 10 a
certain harshness and bluntness and indifter-
ence to the more delicate charms of style in the
X.
has still to learn that though the thistle s full
of an unrecoGnized poetry, the rose has poe
try. too, that even overprase cannot spoil
Nevertheless. Mr.. Howells writes more TO praise
than to blame and his views cordially &C
cepted because in this book Mr.. Garland pre-
sents quite the best work he has ever done.
We have often noticed in his fiction DISPOSE
ton to be veracious than artistic but IN
"Man-Traveled Roads" the balance Is struck
with uniform discretion and uniform effect
L. 2. Dutton Co. publish in this country
'The George Meredith Birthday Book, Selected
and Arranged by d. M page of selections
is faced by page left blank for purposes Of
record. and so on to the end. There is, Of
course good stuff and bad among the quota
lions II Is always the case with such COM
pendiums We suppose that maiden born on
August l would be interested in the words
taken from The Egoist." They are few but
eloquent: Isn't she glorious?" The book is
prettily bound.
Firemen and architects are apt to know more
about freproof construction than anybody else.
incidentally, tenants who are dispossessed by the
flames on short notice also pick up bits of useful
information on the subject. and It often happens
that owners Of buildings do. too; although 1t
does not follow that man is familiar with the
qualities Of building that he rents to others
either the wholesale retail plan. The in
PRODUCTION OF the steel skeletoa into modern
usage In building has made necessary several
reforms. and II has been attended by others
that not inherently related thereto In
The Fireproohng Of Steel Buildings Dohr
Wiley & Sons octave volume Of over three
hundred pages. J. X. Fretag has dealt with thi:
natter In a thorough manner He cites few
notable fires to illustrate the requirements o
modern construction and the weak points to b.