almost a dastardly thing to treat it on the common level of new books; to ridicule it is like insulting a lady, and to denounce it like taking advantage of a weaker person. But criticism cannot respect such whims as this; the novel must be judged on its own merits, whether the style makes a personally feminine appeal or not; there are other women who know how to write in a style that bears comparison with the work of the best men. "The Story of Avis" is about a woman, and she is thus introduced:

"Avis Dobell, sitting in the shadowed corner of the presi dent's parlor that night, had happened to place herself against some very heavy drapery, which clasped two warm arms of intense color across the chill of a bay-window. The color was that called variously and lawlessly by upholsterers, cranberry, gamet, or ponso; known to artists as carmine. In the gas-light and fire-light of the room the insensate piece of cloth took on a strange and vivid life, and seemed to throb as if it held some inarticu'ated passion, like that of a subject soul. Coy or Barbara would have known better than to have ventured their complexions against this trying background. Avis went to it as straight as a bird to a light-house on a dark night. She would have beaten herself against that color, like those very birds against the glowing glass, and been happy, even if she had beaten her soul out with it as they did."

Naturally after this Avis must be a great "colorist." She has been studying art for many years in Italy and France, and has just returned to her father, who is professor in a New England college. The novel is chiefly concerned with her endeavor and failure to devote herself to her art instead of marrying the young tutor, Ostrander, a man with a musical voice of exquisite modulations, with songs and brooks in it,-a budding professor of geology with looks like " a young Scandinavian god." The two meet, but not for the first time they find, at a highly esthetic "Chaucer Club," where Avis exhibits "a sketch in charcoal, strongly but not roughly laid in, and preserved by a shellac which lent a soft color, like that of a very old print, to the paper." The simile just quoted in regard to the light-house and the birds who kill themselves, receives an amplification a little further on. Avis being the Latin for bird, their is an obvious parallel between those luckless wild-fowl and Avis who dashes herself upon her love for Ostrander. So Miss Phelps

writes:

"While the current of these delicate human lives swept softly on in their elected channels, long waves thundered against the harbor light. Miles away through the night some homeless bird took wing for the burning bosom of the reflector, and straight, straight-led as unerringly as instinct leads, as tenderly as love corstrains, as brutally as nature cheats, with a glad fluttering at the delicate throat, with a trustful quiver of the flashing wings, like the bending of a harebell, like the breath of an arrow-came swaying; was tossed, was tora, and fell."

Avis and the people about her are cast in a mold which it is tame to call ideal; they are so superior that the mind of New York cowers before them. The adjectives which abound in these pages are equally superior and equally amazing to the humdrum intellect. Not only are the attitudes of the girls "lithe," but their nails are "ciear cut, cool and conscious; their natures have "muscles." The

illuminated hours of our first youth have a "piercing splendor," and at sixteen, Avis has "one of these phosphorescent hours." She stands "with her slender thumb piercing her palette," and a "tidal wave of color surges across her face." Ostrander, for his part, is supposed to enjoy a winter storm so much that he "flung himself upon the freezing rocks, possessed with a kind of fierce but abundant joy." It was on this occasion that he saw Avis. "She stood out against the ice-covered rock like a creature sprung from it, sculptured, primeval, born of the storm." Miss Phelps does not lack a satirical touch every now and then, sometimes rather too quickly alternating with magniloquent passages, but her humor must have deserted her when she makes Ostrander say, in the very tenderest part of his courtship:

"Do you see the bees on the wigelia?" Perhaps to such botanic souls wigelia is as common as clover. They certainly would never descend to "Dutchman's breeches." Perhaps only they can fully understand the beauty of a sentiment like the following. Ostrander has been definitely refused by Avis, and decides to enlist as a surgeon in the Army of the Potomac and never return to the college town: One man would answer as well as another to fill any mold, unless, perhaps the chalices of life; and it could hardly be said that the veins of his nature throbbed with sacramental wine, only a serviceable, secular brand.”

But there is no use multiplying such examples. The author is suffering from the common complaint called "gush," and many of her sentences are little better than those of the authoress of "St. Elmo." There are fastidious readers who will be so disgusted by one such expression that nothing can bring them to an acknowledgment of any good in the book. Yet, in spite of these great blemishes, the novel is interesting -almost absorbing. It is exactly similar in its effect to those women all of us have met, who irritate the nerves continually by the redundancy and over-fervidress of their talk, yet compel us to listen. Miss Phelps, for all her unreality and overstraining, does say many good things that show a knowledge of human nature. Her very boldness and excess may have an attraction, but she also has more deserving qualities. She reads women excellently, in spite of the alarming pedestal she hoists them upon. The fault of her literary work is not in the conception, but in the execution. There is a certain likeness in style between this book and Robert Buchanan's Shadow of the Sword." In both the limits between prose and poetry are confused, so that it would be hard to tell whether rhythmical blank verse had been written out without breakage into lines, or prose had been forced into the rhythm of poetry.

Mrs. Burnett's "Surly Tim and other Stories."* Iv reading most of even our cleverest storywriters, we feel that the places where we are likely *New York: Scribner, Armstrong & Co.

to be disappointed are really the important places. The characters are cleverly described, both in repose and in action, but we courteously consider the main points made, rather than strongly feel them. With Mrs. Burnett's stories it is otherwise. She succeeds best where it is most important to succeed. There may be uncertainty in minor passages, but the "main point" is made with unerring accuracy and with a force that may, without exaggeration, be called tremendous. Since Bret Harte's first and best volumes of short stories, there has been no similar collection published of equal originality and power with this. Mrs. Burnett has not as delicate a touch as is shown in Bret Harte's best work, nor has she as strong and disseminating an individuality (if we may thus describe the kind of originality which gives rise to "schools " in literature), but she has as great, if not greater, dramatic power, and seems to possess a wider range.

Indeed, the dramatic intensity of these stories might be unendurable were it not relieved by a vivid and refined humor. To say that there are humorous passages in "Esmeralda" and Lodusky' that Dickens or Harte might be glad to own, is not to say that Mrs. Burnett is an imitator of either. It will be interesting to see what sort of a career this young author makes, with her extraordinary talents. The not unhealthy youthful sentimentality of her early writings is gradually passing away. Her field of observation has widened, and her observation itself is more correct. There are some types of character which she has not yet mastered, and yet has not refrained from writing about; but, if her capacity to "take culture" proves as great in the future as it has been in the past, Mrs. Burnett will give us books not less heart-compelling than "That Lass o' Lowrie's," yet of a still firmer and more enduring artistic quality.

Attention should be called to the "Author's Note," which says that "That Lass o' Lowrie's ' and the present volume are the only works issued under her name which have been prepared and corrected for publication in book form under her personal supervision."

"Worthy Women of our First Century."*

HOWEVER much the next century may amuse itself over our speculative agonies upon woman's place in the universe, there will be some among the serious-minded, let us hope, who will take pains to point out that we did not wholly lose sight of certain practical and real aspects of woman herself. The biographical sketches which comprise the volume edited by Mrs. Wister and Miss Irwin, and still more, we may add, the plan of the book itself, indicate the ideal of womanly excellence held by those who officially represented the sex in the United States at the end of our first century. It is something to know, when one is tired of serious discussion and angry over the senseless chatter respecting women, to be reminded that the womanliness of

woman is what endures in all the changing aspects of her legal and industrial relations, and to be refreshed by a glance at literary portraits which are charming in themselves and very suggestive of different phases of life and society in which our grandfathers and their parents moved.

The two ladies who edit this volume indicate briefly in the preface the difficulties which they met, in endeavoring to secure characteristic figures from the original thirteen states for their gallery of heroic women. They intimate that, while they have failed so far to complete the number, the publication of the six sketches comprised in this volume may lead to a noble envy which will call out seven other worthy companion pieces. Let us be thankful for what we have. Miss S. N. Randolph writes the sketch of Jefferson's daughter, Mrs. Martha Jefferson Randolph; Miss Susan Fenimore Cooper, that of General Philip Schuyler's wife; Miss Elizabeth Hoar, that of Mrs. Samuel Ripley of Massachusetts; Mrs. Francis W. Fiske, not confining herself to a single character, sketches characteristics of New Hampshire women; an anonymous writer from South Carolina contributes a brief, picturesque account of Mrs. Rebecca Motte, and Mrs. Wister closes the volume with a lively biography of Deborah Logan.

The title of the book, and the fact of its emanating from a committee, are likely to create a prejudice against it in the mind of the reader, somewhat fatigued with patriotic literature and perfunctory reports; but really the chief objection to the book is the teasing manner in which private letters and journals are half opened and then shut hastily against the too inquisitive reader. The material is, in most cases, so fresh and piquant that we are ready to protest against so insufficient a use. Why should we not have a good hearty book about Mrs. Ripley? Why may we not see more of Deborah Logan and Sally Wister? Perhaps it is unfair to grumble as soon as we have finished the book; but we are sure that every reader will rise hungry from the feast.

Better than all, the glimpses given here of the diversity of domestic life in our first century make a thoroughly good contribution to the educative influences of our centennial reminiscences. Such portraits as these help us to understand our history and give us courage for the future. We are properly solicitous to have an "examination for women successful; but however much general culture may advance, the picture of Mrs. Ripley at once shelling peas and hearing a recitation in Greek or philosophy is likely to make our theories seem at first vague abstractions. We come back, however, to the more assuring reflection that the movements in the direc tion of higher education have no obscure association with the memory of this worthy woman's achieve

ments.

Two Books for Children.

*Worthy Women of our First Century.

cott & Co.

Edited by Mrs. O.

of 1875, and in this dainty quarto* we have a fresh collection of stories, verses, poems, and sketches for the delectation of the children. For that matter, we fancy that there are very few well-read people of mature years who will not turn these pages with delight. Here are many of the prime favorites of our childhood, both in prose and verse. The author

and editor has combined within his covers some of the very best selections which it is possible to give to reading children. Stories of the Northmen, Evangeline and Gabriel, the fight between the "Constitution" and the "Guerrière," Picciola, and many more in prose and rhyme are retold for the Bodley family, whose comments and doings are naturally interwoven with the author's borrowings. It must not be supposed that the Bodleys are invented for the purpose of having the stories told to them. Far from it; the Bodleys are all very much alive. “Phippy,” who did not like her name, and who had a way of putting it aside like a torn dress every now and then and arraying herself in a new and more charming one, is a real little girl who has her counterpart in more than one family that we know. And the ingenious "Cousin Ned," who used to tell stories in which he accompanied himself with divers mechanical appliances, was not only a capital good fellow, but he much resembled a certain young uncle who certainly yet "lives and moves and has his being." The pretty little songs, with music printed for young players and singers, give a new attraction to the volume. Nor should we fail to notice the pretty, though rather bizarre, binding. Of course there are illustrations, plenty of them, big and little, and all admirably designed to tell their own story to the eager eyes that will peruse them.

Some such another book, though made for children of tenderer years (who are expected to claim the services of their mothers in reading and explanation), is "Baby Days," a judiciously collected volume of the best things published, principally, in the *Very Little Folks " department of ST. NICHOLAS. When we have said so much it seems as if we had said all that was needed to describe the book.

Mrs. Dodge has again manifested her rare judgment in making just such a choice for her young readers as will be sure to please, and sure to leave the best impression. And it was a happy thought to gather into one sheaf the humorous, witty, grave and tender things which have gladdened the hearts of so many little people. Here are many first-rate things like the "Miss Muffett rhymes," "John Bottlejohn," and "Grandma's Nap." The pictures, we need not say, are wonderfully clever, for did they not come out of ST. NICHOLAS? The dress of the book is bright and attractive (the cover having been drawn by Miss Curtis and Mr. Moran from Mr. Drake's design), and a glance through the leaves will be sure to fix the wandering fancy of any child who does not cry for the moon.

The Bodleys Telling Stories. By the Author of " Doings of the Bodley Family in Town and Country," "Dream Children," etc. New York: Hurd & Houghton.

+Baby Days. A Collection of Songs, Stories and Pictures for Very Little Folks. With an Introduction by the Editor of ST. NICHOLAS. 300 Illustrations, N. Y.; Scribner & Co. Pp. 189.

66

New English Books.

LONDON, Oct. 6.

What will turn out probably to be one of the best books of the season is the first portion of the "History of England in the Eighteenth Century," by William Edward Hartpole Lecky, M. A., author of the History of Rationalism," etc., volumes 1 and 2, A. D. 1700-1760. This installment, it thus appears, will extend over more than half the time specified for the history, so that the size of the work will not be so large as to protract its conclusion beyond a reasonable period, and with the example of Macaulay to take warning by, Mr. Lecky will no doubt avoid the fatal mistake of aiming to leave nothing untold. It is well known that a history of this period was the cherished project of Thackeray, whose "Henry Esmond" shows how completely he had imbibed the spirit of the Queen Anne writers. A book of sterling merit may be expected from Mr. Lecky, who is yet a young man, with every advantage of position, leisure, etc., enabling him to do justice to any subject he may devote himself to. In public opinion, he seems to be generally coupled with Mr. Buckle, whose brilliant paradoxes have taken deep hold of younger readers; but as a historian, of whom calm, unbiased judgment, combined with exhaustless study of all available material, is required, Mr. Lecky will be placed far above his contemporary. Other important historical works to be looked for speedily are "The Personal Government of Charles the First, from the Death of Buckingham to the Declaration of the Judges in favor of ShipMoney, 1628-37," by Professor S. R. Gardiner of King's College, 2 volumes: this is another installment of a history of the times preceding the Commonwealth in England that has steadily won its way in public estimation until the early volumes are quite unprocurable; "History of Rome," by William Ihne, the distinguished German scholar, volume third of the English edition, revised and translated by the author; "The History of Antiquity," by Professor Max Duncker, translated by Evelyn Abbott, M. A., of Baliol College, Oxford; "The History of the Sepoy War in Hindostan," left unfinished by Sir John Kaye, and to be completed by Colonel G. M. Matteson, who takes up the narrative from the end of the second volume of Sir J. Kaye's work; "History of the War of Frederick the First against the Communes of Lombardy," a translation from the Italian of Chevalier G. B. Testa, revised by the author. The original has been received with high distinction on the Continent, and will be valuable in England, as throwing light on one of the great turning-points of modern history, scarcely treated of by any historian in our language. A book strictly historical, enriched with technical views from a competent source, is "Great Campaigns, a Succinct Account of the Principal Military Operations in Europe from 1796 to 1870." The author, Major Adams, Professor of Military History at the Staff College, not living to complete the work, it is edited from his papers by Captain Cooper King. The longlooked-for library edition of Mr. Green's "History

|

of the English People," and the final completion of D'Aubigné's "History of the Reformation in Europe in the time of Calvin," by the issue of the eighth volume, may be added to this brief enumeration, as also "Democracy in Europe,"-"A History," as it is expressly called by the author, Sir Thomas Erskine May, whose continuation of 'Hallam's Constitutional History" is in all our librarics. In biography a few leading books may be mentioned as forthcoming :-"The Life and Times of Sir Robert Walpole," by A. C. Ewald, 8vo; "Memorials of Charlotte Williams Wynn," a lady of the Georgian era, whose "Diaries of a Lady of Quality were edited by Mr. Hayward, a few years ago; "Memoirs of Lord Melbourne," the famous English premier, by J. McCullagh Torrens, M.P.; "The Life of Pius IX.," by Thomas Adolphus Trollope, 2 vols., 8vo. Mr. Trollope's long residence in Italy, and intimate knowledge of the country, well qualify him to do justice to that task; and it seems that authors regard the subject as so promising that they seize on it without waiting for the time when it would be more naturally "in order." A similar enterprise with Mr. Carlyle for its theme has been checked at the desire of the patient. A "Memoir of King Charles the Twelfth of Sweden," introduces us to a royal author,-his Majesty, Oscar the Second, King of Norway and Sweden, who desires to place the reputation of his illustrious predecessor on a firmer basis than the half mythical narrative of Voltaire, who wrote as an artist mainly for effect, without being very solicitous for historical truth. Foreign literature will be amply represented in many works, as "The Life and Writings of Lessing," by James Sime, M.A., in 2 volumes,— a book intended to rank with the "Lives" of Goethe and Schiller, by Lewes and Carlyle, and to furnish an exhaustive study of the life and works of the influential, though in England, comparatively littleknown, scholar. Lessing will also be the subject | of another book, by Miss Helen Zimmern, the biographer of Schopenhauer. "The Autobiography of Madame de Staal (Mdlle. de Launay)" is known from its vivid pictures of life in the old French court, in the first half of the last century, and is translated by Miss Selina Bunbury. "Niccolo Macchiavelli and his Times," is a translation from the original of Prof. Villani. "The Life of Wiclif," by Gerhard Victor Lechler, is translated from the original by Dr. Lorimer. Prof. Lechler's "History of English Deism" is referred to as the standard authority on the subject by all modern writers, and proves the vast acquaintance of the author with English theological literature, and his competence to do justice to the carcer of the first Reformer. "The Story of My Life," by the late Col. Meadows Taylor, is an autobiography of a gentleman well known by his novels of Hindostance life ("Tara,”

"Adventures of a Thug," etc.), as well as by a distinguished professional career. It will be edited by his daughter, and prepared by Henry Reeve. "The Life of Mozart," from the German of Dr. Ludwig Nohl, is translated by Lady Wallace, in 2 volumes, post 8vo. The "Memoir of Dr. Walter Farquhar Hook, Dean of Chichester," by Rev. W. R. Stephens, will perpetuate the memory of one who stood among the foremost churchmen of his day in the promotion and encouragement of all good works.

One of the greatest successes of the year is Captain Burnaby's dashing "On Horseback through Asia Minor," and this is the case, not from any connection of its subject with the Eastern war, but simply from the pleasure derived from a spirited narrative of adventure related with unflagging good humor.

Mr. Stanley is understood to be engaged in the preparation of a narrative of his adventures, though nothing certain about it may be known until his arrival herc. Other books of travel are: "The Land of Bolivia, or War, Peace, and Adventure in the Republic of Venezuela," by J. M. Spence; "Under the Balkans: Notes of a Visit to the District of Philippopolis in 1876," by R. Jasper More, crown Svo; "Travels in the Footsteps of Bruce in Algeria and Tunis," by Lieutenant-Colonel Playfair, with fac-simile illustrations from drawings by Bruce, now first published, taken during the time when the great traveler was preparing himself for his Abyssinian exploration, and in districts of North Africa scarcely explored since that date; "The Asiatic Provinces of Russia (Caucasus, Orenburg and Turkistan)," by Lieutenant Hugo Sturm, from the German, by Henry Austin Lee, of the Foreign Office; "Burma, Past and Present, with Personal Reminiscences of the Country," by Major-General Albert Fytche; "Pioneering in South Brazil: Three Years of Forest and Prairie Life in the Province of Parana," by T. Begg Wither, and "Livingstonia: Journal of Adventures in Exploring the Lake Nyassa, and in Establishing the above Settlement," by E. D. Young, R. N., and Rev. Horace Waller, the Editor of Livingston's last Journals, in 8vo.

For presents this ycar, preference seems given to handsome copies of standard books. An elegant work comprising both requisites is "English Pictures, Drawn with Pencil and Pen," by Rev. S. Manning and Rev. S. G. Green, whose pages will awaken reminiscences of many a charming nock of English "greenery" and scenes of old renown. Young people will find a wealth of amusement in "The Christmas Story-Teller: A Medley for the Season of Turkey and Mince-pie, Pantomime and Pium-pudding, Smiles, Tears and Frolics, Charades, Ghosts and Christmas-trees," while their scientific tastes will be gratified by a profusely illustrated little book, "The Home Naturalist."

Progress in Telephony.

THE speaking telegraph, or telephone, has now passed the experimental stage and is in daily use for commercial purposes. There are two forms of telephone. One of these is made in the shape of a small wooden tube, of a size convenient for the hand. At one end is a mouth-piece that may be placed at the mouth, as a transmitting device for speaking, or as a receiver, to be held to the car in listening to a message. Within the opening of the tube is secured an iron diaphragm, free to vibrate within a limited distance. At the back of this is a coil of fine wire wound round a bar of soft iron that extends through the wooden handle and is fastened at the opposite end with a set-screw. This coil is composed of insulated wire, and each end passes through the wooden handle to screws that may be used to connect it with the line wires. One end goes to earth, the other to the stations on the circuit. At the other end of the line, and at all waystations, the same apparatus is employed, and this makes all the new machinery required on lines of moderate length. On sending a message through the telephone, the instrument is placed before the mouth and the words are spoken into it. The vibrations of the voice cause the diaphragm to vibrate, and its motion so affects the bar of iron that an electrical current is developed in the coil, and this current, traversing the line, causes the receiving instrument to repeat these vibrations on the diaphragm held before the listener's ear. The receiving diaphragm gives its vibrations to the air confined within the open end of the instrument and the listener's ear, and he hears the words spoken before the transmitter at the distant end of the line, as a soft but perfectly distinct whisper. The vibrations given to the air are exceedingly delicate and cannot be heard much beyond the instrument, but this is not an inconvenience, as the instrument is casily held to the car. For way-stations, a loop is made in the line, and by passing the loop through one of these instruments, every word passing on the line may be heard. For calling attention, a bell signal is used that may be operated at either end of the linc. For branches and central offices, switch-boards, etc., are provided as in ordinary telegraphing. This style of telephone is reported to work well in sending messages from the lower deeps of coalmines to the surface. Hitherto, telegraphs have not been successful in mines, and, if this report is correct, a new field is opened for telephony. The other form of telephone is essentially different in construction and apparatus. It employs a battery, and the transmitting and receiving appliances are quite distinct. The receiving instrument consists of a small electro-magnet inclosed in a wooden box that may be conveniently held to the ear. Before the electro-magnet is a diaphragm of iron, fully exposed so that in use, it may be laid directly against

the car. This diaphragm is free to vibrate as it is magnetized or demagnetized by the varying electrical condition of the electro-magnet. The transmitting apparatus is inclosed in a small box and has a mouth-piece that carries an exceedingly thin diaphragm of mica, that is free to vibrate within certain limits. Over this is spread a delicate film of rubber, fastened down tightly at the edges. This is designed to act as a damper, to check or dampen the excessive harmonic vibrations that may accompany some sound vibrations sent through the apparatus. At the back of this diaphragm is secured a small wad of raw silk that has been rubbed in powdered plumbago. This graphite has the property of offering less or more resistance to an electrical current passing through it according to the pressure to which it may be subjected, and this property has been made of use in this form of telephone. The vibrations of the mica diaphragm, when moved by sound vibrations, change the pressure upon the mass of graphite held in the wad of silk, and this change of pressure changes its electrical resistance, and these changes of clectrical resistance re-appear in the electro-magnet in the receiving instrument at the other end of the line. These are the novel features of this form of telephone, all the other parts being essentially the same as those used on an ordinary telegraph line, except that all the here intended to make any comparison between usual Morse instruments may be omitted. It is not these two remarkable inventions, but to record the fact that they are now both available for the ordinary demands of trade and business. Each transmits words in any language, easily and clearly, whether spoken or sung, sending equally well both tones or noises. The musical telephone is constructed upon quite another plan, and will be described as soon as proper investigations have been made. Both of the

speaking telephones will transmit concerted vocal

music and some forms of instrumental music, but, in this case, cach singer must have a transmitting apparatus, and only those who hold the receivers to the car can hear the tones of the united voices.

New Sounding Apparatus.

THE new sounding apparatus used for deep-sea sounding on some recent scientific voyages has been applied to the comparatively shallow soundings made on commercial ships and steamers. The apparatus consists of a sounding-line 100 fathoms long made of fine piano-forte wire. To this is attached a heavy iron sinker, and above this a brass tube about 60 centimeters long, closed at the bottom and fitted with a screw-cap at the top that has a small hole in it so that the water may be admitted to the tube. Within this is placed a glass tube tightly closed at one end and lined on the inside with a mixture of starch and red prussiate of potash. In using the apparatus, it is not necessary to stop