The Portland daily press., 1900-12-20
CONCERNING BOOKS.

or the latest books from Messrs. Hough-
ton. Mlfflin s. Co. portland: Loring,
short & Harmony are, The Biography
OF Baby, by Milicent Washburn Shlnn ;
The Age of Faith, by Amory Ii. Brad
ford, ID. D., and three volumes OF the
New Riverside Biographical Series
These last are short, attractively written
lives OF Andrew jackson. by William
Garrett Brown, James b. Eads by Louis
How, and Benjamin Franklin by Paul
Elmer More. They are Of about one hun
dred pages, and OF size that can be
easily carried in the pocket, clearly print
ed. well bound, and each has a photo
gravure portrait While the subject mat
ter is necessarily In a condensed form,
these small Volumes will be found useful
not only for general reference. but as
valuable adjunots to the definite text
hook study of American history. They
are agreeable and interesting personal
sketches, and represent graphically the
character and achievements OF ca IN of
the men dslineated.
Other volumes are announced Tor publ
cation in the near future, among them,
Peter Cooper by X. W. Raymond, and
Thomas jefferson by II. Q. Merwin;
while in preparation ars volumes on
William Penn, General Grant and others.
The books are issued in two styles, a
Library Edition and school Edition.
Miss Shinn's volume has a very human
though rather peculiar interest. She
has undertaken 10 reduce to scientific
laws the ontogenetio evolution OF the
fully studied one special baby from the
hour OF it's birth until the child is one
year old. She transcribes the k icks and
the screams, the movements of the little
fists, OF the eyes and head, and the ida
das, and goo gas In the interest OF
science. Doubtless there are many scien-
lists, and perhaps other students who
tanning and valuable.
Sam Small said in one of his sermons:
81 hate theology and botany, but 1 do
love religion and flowers" 10 some
persons 1t woul1 be sheer vandalism to
tear the petals from lovely rose In order
TO understand about its pistils and sta
mems and ooroila. So with an Infant, to
watch it's smiles inSorder to ses whether
they come from muscular oontraotions
without any effort OF the brain, to trace
the peculiar position of the fat little legs
and the clinging or tiny hands to the
onild's ape ancestry, may be a valuable
method for the advanoement OF science,
but il inclines the ordinary mother TO
say as the lady in Punoh did to her hus-
band: SWELL, George, you may be de-
scencsd from q monkey, but Flossis and
are not" Or to sympathise with Pleas
ant Riuerhood, who assured her lover,
who constructed skeletons as profession
that she did NOS wish to view herself
or Ito be viewed in that bony Light So
We mothers prefer to consider our babies
as hits OF sunshine, and straight from
Heaven. rather than atoms of the ami.
NAL world. evolved from the lower ordsr
OF mammals, -scisntifis specimens 30 be
Investigated and classified. As to what
lie baby thought and felt. what 1t rsai-
tied, whether II was consciously happy
or otherwise, whether Its brain was ao-
tive or torpid at eight montha. VINO shall
sayf And il 10 Important that we shall
knowf
But give this book to some horrid man
Of science to review, and don't expect
the women who nave babies Of their