Mabel's Library.-Better Path Stories, Kelos.-Boys and NOTES ON BOOKS The American Encyclopædia of Printing, edited by J. Luther Ringwa: (Menamin & Ringwalt; Lippincott), certainly supplies a desideratum. No such extensive wk has ever before been given to the public. A glance through its pages will convince any one that the art of printing was well worthy of being created as it has been by Mr. Ringwalt, who has devoted years of labor to collecting and arranging information of every description with regard to it. It is of course impossible for us to give more than a very general idea of the character of such a book, which it is to be hoped many of our readers will examine for themselves, and it will be sufficient to indicate in general terms the nature of its contents. In brief, then, it treats of the history of printing, of various kinds of printing, of the eminent men connected with the discovery and development of the art, of the products of printing, of the implements, of paper, of engraving, of inventions, of celebrated printing offices, of the auxiliary arts, of practice and process, all of which general heads cover an infinite variety of subjects. In the preparation of the Encyclopædia Mr. Ringwalt has had the assistance of a number of persons who possessed special information. Among the articles thus contributed may be especially mentioned that upon "Lithography," by Peter S. Duval, of Philadelphia; that upon the manner of making a book, from the manufacture of the paper to the time the completed volume is ready for delivery, by Mrs. Jessie E. Ringwalt; those upon various kinds of paper, by George E. Schaeffer, librarian of the United States Patent Office; that upon "Stereotyping,' "Wood Engraby John Fagan, Esq.; that upon ving," by William C. Probasco, and that upon Printing for the Blind," by Napoleon B. Kneass, Esq. The subjects are arranged in alphabetical order, and the work is made complete by an index. With regard to its mechanical execution, the volume, as is proper in an "Encyclopædia of Printing," is a beautiful specimen of typography, and is handsomely gotten up in every respect. The illustrations are numerous, and many of them are exceedingly curious and interesting, especially the lithographic fac-similes of an illuminated manuscript and of early specimens of printing. The production of this volume is creditable to Philadelphia enterprise, and we hope that the editor and all who have aided him in its preparation will be rewarded by the appreciation of the public indicated in a practical manner by an extensive sale. Such a book is certainly worthy of a place in any library.-Phila. Evening Telegraph. Lindsay Lee.-Losses and Gains, Moore.-Macdonald AND AUTHORS, Behind the Bars (Lee & Shepard).—The purpose of this interesting volume is to unveil the interior of an American insane asylum, from facts and impressions obtained from personal experience. Although the name of the author is withheld, the work is evidently the production of a singularly intelligent and cultivated writer, familiar with the sources of literary illustration, with no ordinary command of expression, and an exact and discrim inating judgment. The general system of the management of the insane adopted in this country is subjected to a searching criticism, which is fully sustained by a calm exposition of facts and a forcible illustration of details. In addition to the practical statements in respect to the unnecessary sufferings that are inflicted on asylum patients, the author indulges in frequent episodes of a literary and philosophical character, which give a certain human interest to the details of an otherwise unpleasant discussion. The critical suggestions upon the mental disorders of Queen Constance, Ophelia, Hamlet, and King Lear, as represented by Shakespeare, indicate a discriminating study of the great dramatist, and a curious insight into excertional psychological conditions.—Tribune. Sir Walter Scott; the Story of His Life, hy R. Shelton Mackenzie (Osgood).-A memoir gathering to itself the authentic incidents and anecdotes which Lockhart's work contains and the more re-, cent facts which have come to light in the reminiscences and correspondence of different persons, all set forth in a terse, concise, popular way, is just what has been needed. Mr. Mackenzie has now met this need. His book is admirable as a full and illustrations which accompany the memoir_are yet not diffuse story of Sir Walter's life. The finely executed. The work throughout reflects credit upon author and publisher.—Watchman and Reflector. Pictures of Travel is the final volume in the series of Hans Christian Andersen's works which Hurd & Houghton have presented to the American public in a form so agreeable. The series includes his romances, his stories for children, his autobiography, and his travels. Of the travels, this is the first American edition. The author's style in this department of literature is as unique as in his stories,-fresh, good-humored, frank, picturesque and captivating. In the present volne, he tells his adventures in Sweden, the Harz Mountains, Switzerland, and the Tyrol, where ten years ago he saw the "Passion Play," about which sc much has lately been writte The closing por tion of the book contains a pleasant account of his visit to Charles Dickens and of the dramatic performances by Dickens and other distinguished authors for the benefit of Douglass Jerrold's widow.-Boston Advertiser. Art: its Laws and the Reasons for them, collected, considered, and arranged for general and educational purposes by Samuel P. Long (Lee & Shepard)-Hon. George B. Emerson in a note to the author says: "I believe that any person who shall carefully read it would so understand the principles and have his eyes opened to the beauties of art, that he would never look upon a picture, a statue, or a noble building, without more interest and a higher power of appreciating and enjoying it." fulness and interest of detail. Mr. Labberton's plan to accomplish this end is an excellent one, and is carried out with great success. A series of chronological tables, arranged by periods, gives a succession of names or events, with dates equidistant from one another-ten years, five years, or two years apart, in different periods. The plan is to give the year to which the period or the institution may be most fairly assigned;-thus, for 1300, we have Dante, and for 1500, Erasmus. These dates are four hundred and twenty in number. Then follows a sketch, alphabetically ar ranged, of all these names, admirably executed; then an appendix, giving an analysis of institutions, the causes of wars, etc., and sixteen genealogical This work de tables of uncommon excellence. serves high praise, both as regards plan and execution. Nation. Stories from Old English Poetry, by Abby Sage Richardson (Hurd & Houghton).—There is a genuine strength as well as a witching graceHistorical Questions, by Robt. H. Labberton fulness in the literary feature of this volume that (Claxton, R. & H.), is intended as a companionfill us with high hopes of its author. Designed book to the author's "Outlines of History," a for young people, with all the prelusive notes, com. work which has received high commendation as ments, and introductions written directly for young an educational manual from the most competent eyes, the book--in respect to the stories themselves judges. The "Questions" are well adapted to -has entertainment for mature readers quite as de- practical use, presenting the leading facts of history fined and positive as is the pleasure with which in a concise and intelligible form. A good deal of boys and girls will regard it. Mrs. Richardson has attention has been given by the author to the deshown singular acuteness in her choice of subjects.velopment of literature and art, and the prominent The charm of these paraphrases lies in their naturalness, their open, flowing, and lucid style, their freedom from verbiage, and the admirable tone which pervades them. Here are gathered the most choice and fragrant flowers of the Elizabethan and pre-Elizabethan imagination. For young readers such a book is of inexpressible value, as it relates to what is permanent in literature, and may be read and re-read; a statement that certainly cannot be faithfully made of the usual popular style of "Juveniles."—Christian Union. The Incarnation and Principles of Evidence, a theological essay by R. H. Hutton, editor of the London Spectator, with an introduction by Samuel Osgood, D.D. (Pott & Amery), makes a small 16mo. of 88 pages. Dr. Osgood says: "The essential idea of this essay seems to me to express the inmost spirit of the reaction of faith on the part of our age against the materialism, utilitarianism and vulgar order of rationalism of the eighteenth century." The Mission of the Spirit, by Rev: L. R. Dunn (Carlton & Lanahan).-In this beautifully printed book we have the Scripture teachings concerning the office and work of the Holy Spirit brought before us in clear and convincing light. The surprise expressed by the author that so little comparatively has been written on this subject, is shared by many in the Christian Church, who will regard this work with its lucid statements, eloquent appeals, and comforting assurances as a valuable addition to Christian devotional literature.-S. S. Times. Outlines of History, by Robt. H. Labberton (Claxton, R. & H.), is one of the very few school text-books which have a distinctive idea and character of their own. It is an attempt to solve the problem which at present discourages all teachers of history-how to combine a general outline with features of intellectual culture in the history of the world are presented in an attractive manner. The student who shall make himself familiar with the answers to the questions in this volume will need little for the completion of his historical education. The work is accompanied with a Historical Atlas, containing a chronological series of one hundred maps, representing successive periods from the dawn of history to the present day. They are executed with singular accuracy and neatness, and will serve to impress the memory with the historical facts which have previously been gained by the study of the manuals. The whole series bears the marks of conscientious and faithful scholarship, in the complete and exact rendering of details which is not always found in educational works of more imposing pretensions.-Tribune. A Key to the Pentateuch, explanatory of the Text and Grammatical Forms, by Solomon Deutsch, A. M., Ph. D., author of "A New Practical Hebrew Grammar," Part I.: Genesis. (Holt & Williams).-The second part of this work is to contain Exodus and Leviticus, and the third, Numbers and Deuteronomy; and the whole is to be "the means of introducing the student to a full and thorough understanding of the Hebrew text of the Bible," being chiefly calculated to spare such beginners as have acquired some grammatical knowledge of Hebrew the trouble of hunting up roots, forms, and exceptions in dictionaries and grammars, and to enable them to study the Hebrew text without a teacher, or fully to prepare at home for every school lesson. The work is very elaborate and carefully done, and its Hebrew por tions are remarkable for distinctness and correctness.-Nation. The Historical Reader, by John J. Anderson, A.M. (Clark & Maynard), contains a series of selections from the most celebrated writers of ancient Tablet. and modern history, together with illustrative pas- | with pleasure as well as with profit.-N. Y. sages from favorite British and American poets, forming a reading-book for schools on a new plan, and showing an unusual degree of literary merit. It is intended not merely as a collection of exercises in the art of elocution, but to cultivate a taste for historical study, and to impart useful information in reference to the history of various countries at different periods. The pieces relating to the history of the United States are placed first in order, while the other selections are arranged in the regular chronological order. German Conversation: A Manual to succeed the German Course, by George F. Comfort (Harper). This manual is adapted for students in institutions of all grades, and is designed especially for those who have completed the author's "German Course." It is prepared in pursuance of the excellent plan, that the practical or speaking exercises of the language should accompany the study of its grammatical and literary principles. Among its chief features and merits we may mention that the conversations are on familiar topics of every day life, and relate to customs and manners in Germany which have a peculiar interest.. There are also extracts from catechisms of science and art, giving expression to many scientific terms in common use. A large collection of idiomatic phrases, items of news, and advertisements are also presented, with an ample vocabulary, definitions and references, and examples of German current handwriting in form of letters and business transactions. As a whole, it is a very complete and convenient manual, containing precisely that kind and variety of information and exercises which will be most serviceable to any one who is learning to speak the German language. School-Houses, by Jas. Johonnot (Schermerhorn), has been prepared with a view to meet the increasing demand for a better class of schoolhouses in country districts. It contains a variety of plans and elevations, with complete and intelligible descriptions, so that every taste may be suited, while no common carpenter will find any difficulty in constructing a building after the designs in the volume. The work is one of unquestionable practical utility, and its mechanical execution is a model of choice typography. Manual of Reading, by H. L. D. Potter (Harper).-A new work, which must commend itself to teachers of the art of correct reading. The subject is treated in four parts-Orthophony, Class Methods, Gesture and Elocution, and Calisthenics. Voice-training, action, and rhetoric are all treated in their relation to the best effects in the culture of the art. The work is very full and comprehensive, the examples and directions being simple, clear, and intelligent, and the selections adapted to train the vocal powers in right expres sion.-S. S. Times. Elements of Algebra, by Edward Brooks (Sower, Potts & Co.), is a new work by a distinguished author of mathematical works for the instruction of the young. We note a logical progress from step to step in the arrangement, great care in the statements, lucidness of expression, and conciseness, with simplicity, in the explanations, and whole treatment of the subject. The solutions are clearly illustrative of the rules, which are defined in the clearest, most accurate and intelligible terms. This fact alone stamps the book as superior among tent-books; for, simple as it may seem, the most difficult thing in the range of textbook making is to state a “rule” with clearness, conciseness, and point. The work is elementary, dealing with the first principles, but it is also constructed upon so thorough an understanding of the true theories of the science, as to make it an admirable introduction to higher algebraical studies. It is designed and well fitted for common schools, academies, seminaries, and normal schools. —S. S. Times. How to Do It (Osgood).-The peculiar experience of Rev. Edward E. Hale, united with his faculty of observation and his skill as an essayist, renders him of all writers one fitted to write for the young understandingly. The happy quality of adaptiveness is possessed by Mr. Hale in a high degree; and this instructive volume, designed exclusively for boys and girls between the ages of thirteen and nineteen, is one of a thousand in the fitness with which it serves its purpose. From it may be obtained valuable hints drawn from the author's own experience and observation during a period of forty-five years, directing the young how to talk, how to read, how to write, how to behave in society, and how to travel. The essays are singularly direct and lucid, and while fixing no arbitrary set of rules for study or deportment, give general suggestions that most young people may safely adopt as useful and judicious. The book will not repel those for whom it is designed, by any prosiness, and intelligent readers cannot fail to derive much benefit from it. A new edition of Racine's Athalie and of Corneille's Cid, edited by Edward S. Joynes, M.A., with brief explanatory notes, is issued by Holt & Williams. The celebrated tragedies are prised in two neat volumes, and, with the valuable notes of the present editor, form a serviceable introduction to the study of the French classics. com Hallahan, O.S.D. (Catholic Pub. Soc.)-The Biographical Sketch of Mother Margaret Mary great success of the original life of Mother Margaret Mary Hallahan, foundress of the Third Order of Dominican Nuns in England, and the edification it has given to thousands of readers everywhere, have induced her sisters and admirers to prepare an abridged life for more general reading. The abridgement is in every respect a creditable performance. In beauty of diction, as well as in the subject-matter treated, superior ability in biographical style is very discernible. The paper, printing, and binding are also of the first class. Catholic World. The Book of the East and Other Poems, by Rich. H. Stoddard (Osgood), is characteristic and very welcome. This volume is notably varied in the character of its many short poems, and all but a very few of them are very good. There is a touch of Heine about Mr. Stoddard's muse which is evident in several of them. His translations-at second-hand, of course-from the Asian love ditties and other short poems are most of them in this vein, and are very successful and delightful. His love songs are mostly delicate and very sweet. But with the exception of "On the Town," we think he quite fails in such subjects as deal with the passions and mysteries of life. His fingers make pleasant music for the sweet-stringed | lute, but for the grand-voiced organ he has not the power.-Evening Mail. The Last Knight, by Anastasius Grün (Hurd & Houghton), is a series of ballads founded on incidents in the life of Maximilian I., 1459-1518. The stirring incidents of that heroic time, the magnificent nuptials of Maximilian and Mary, the contest between France and Germany, and all the circunstance of romantic adventure, render the subject a most brilliant one. The national character of the theme has made the book a very popu lar one in Germany, and its issue, now for the first time in English dress, is very pat to contemporaneous events. The book as issued by the Riverside Press is an admirable specimen of typography. Cæsarine Dietrich, from the French of George Sand by Edward Stanwood (Osgood), one of the latest productions of the great French novelist, will commend itself to students of character on account of the masterly manner in which the heroine, "Cæsarine Dietrich," is portrayed. The novelist's idea appears to have been to describe a woman of proud, imperious temper, cold but not unaffectionate, firm but capricious, pure but totally devoid of moral sense, The character is full of contradictions, but it is intensely lifelike, and, although the story itself is weak, the description of "Cæsarine" proves that the pen of George Sand has lost none of its cunning.-Phila. Telegraph. Eirene; or, Woman's Right, by Mary Clemmer Ames (Putnam).-The scene of the story is laid such as we often meet in that part of our country. in New England. The principal characters are The incidents of the story, too, are not uncommon or overstrained. At the same time the scenes, the incidents, and the characters, though often found in real life, are entirely new, at least as here presented, in the broad field of fiction. The sketches of the war, made an essential part of the story, are said to be a portion of the writer's own all the principal incidents of the story are founded experience. upon facts, and the descriptions are undoubtedly nature. Altogether, it is one of the most delightfaithful pictures of what really exists in art and ful novels written by an American author.-Col lege Courant. Indeed, there can be little doubt that A Daughter of Heth, a novel by William Black (Harper).-If humor, sweetness, and pathos, and a story told with simplicity and vigor, ought to insure success, "A Daughter of Heth" is of the kind to deserve it. It is long since we have met with a book with better stuff in it than this.— Saturday Review. pictures of home life and sentiment are delicately and naturally drawn, and truth and consistency the skillful weaving of the web of mystery that sur. are never sacrificed to forced dramatic effects, in rounds the main feature of the story. Behind the Veil (Osgood).—And still they come? Novels whose chief hero is a wrongly sus pected murderer are scattered broadcast through the literature of fiction, and the subject has almost lost its object of harrowing the rind of the reader and keeping him intensely mystified. The author of "Behind the Veil" has succeeded, however, in building up a really fascinating and at times intensely interesting story upon this almost worn out foundation. The story has the usual elements: a The Lost Despatch, from the German of Friemurder, a striking resemblance between two broth- drich Friedrich, by L. A. Williams (Osgood), is a charming domestic story, marked by nice charers, a railway accident, how rescued and carried to the house of the heroine to recover, dangerously de-acterization and pure simplicity of style. The lightful convalescence, amateur virtuoso musicians, and a great variety of sick-rooms and illnesses. The first part of the book is admirable, and all through the author shows great talent for characterization and "situations," but towards the end he begins to doubt the capacity of his readers, and Anne Furness.-The Athenæum, London, thus "Anne Furness" leaves almost nothing to their natural unaided compliments the author of judgment. This fault is probably caused by a (Harper). The success of her venture, says the partial love for his favorite characters, and a desire reviewer, is beyond question. Not, indeed, that that all should see them with his eyes and compre- popularity can be predicted for the book, though hension of circumstances described with the great- there is every reason why it should be popular, for est minuteness over and over again. The author it has nothing in common with the flashy clever But saying has not yet caught the knack of letting his charac-productions of the popular novelist. ters tell the story; when they attempt it they are suddenly tripped up, and the reader is invited back a little to hear the author explain how and why and wherefore the speakers came to make so independent and interesting a remark. But these are defects that hardly strike the general reader, and as a whole the book is good, strictly moral in tone and tendency, and contains real men, women and boys, also a very lovingly portrayed mother of eleven children. It is a book it pays to read. that the author has succeeded is merely just recognition of marvellous imaginative power, delicate humor, and great powers of anaylsis. New England Legends, by Harriet Prescott Spofford (Osgood).—Mrs. Spofford's stories, stranger than fiction and more romantic than most fictions, are set forth after a thoroughly fas cinating manner. How thrillingly she tells the tale of the Salem witchcraft days, one should read to see. To find out all those mysterious horrors, she has ransacked all sorts of ancient hiding-places, -mostly town archives, family legends, memories of earliest inhabitants. No one else has pictured se vividly the whirlwind of fierce and bloody superstition which swept over quiet Salem, making it anything but a city of peace,-the remorseless spirit of persecution which spared neither saintliness nor station. --Tribune. MRS. H. B. STOWE's latest, and in many respects most thoughtful and complete work, is the charming novel, "My Wife and I; or, Harry Henderson's History." This is eminently a "Tract for the Times," and giving as it does Mrs. Stowe's individual ideas about the much vexed Woman Question, including marriage, divorce, suffrage, legislation, and all the rights claimed by the clarmorous, is spicy enough even for this most blasé newspaper age. It has already excited wide-spread interest as published serially in the Christian Union, The Cousin from India, by Georgina M. Craik (Harper), the second volume of the series of "Books for Girls," prepared by the author of "John Halifax Gentleman," is a genuine contribution to juvenile literature. It is the story of a clever, wayward, untutored little girl, who is sent, at the age of nine, for her health's sake, by her parents in India, to pass the remainder of her childhood in the happy, well-ordered Christian home of her uncle in England. How the nature of the wild, elfish little Effie is gradually transformed, under the good, gentle influences thrown about her there, is related in a very delightful and impressive manner. Originality, naturalness, vigor of style, and purity of moral make the book notable among the late publications for children.—Chicago Ev. Post. Tommy's Week, by Prudy, is a charming history of the adventures of Tommy Bancroft, said Tommy being a bright, restless, inquisitive boy of a few summers, who is into all sorts of mischief, innocently and incessantly, just like the boy common to every favored household. The author, Prudy, is a popular writer for young folks, as the readers of The Little Corporal have long been The book is published in pretty paper covers, by John E. Miller, at 30c. aware. a cordial reception in their new dress. Fresh attention has been called of late to the remarkable character of these Fables, and the differences between these and Æsop's is in favor of the former, so far as good story-telling is concerned. The engravings were executed by the eminent engraver on wood, Alexander Anderson. Nast's Illustrated Almanac (cr. 8°, pp. 64, with nearly 150 original illust.), pap. 30c., will be published in a few days by the Harpers. It will contain Almanac Eclipses, etc; Calendar; Voyage of Life, by Shakespeare; Ye Gambolier, by John Hay; The late Benjamin Franklin, by Mark Twain; Casabianca; or, the obstinate Sailor-boy, by G. P. Webster; Sam Weller's Moral Tale, by Charles Dickens; Jane Bludsoe, of Natchez, by Frank Bellew; How tu pick out a good Hoss, by Josh Billings; Aunt Jerusha, by S. S. Conant; The early Training of Nasby; A Night's Pleasure, by W. M. Thackerary; Advice to little Girls, by Mark Twain; The Beggar-maid, by A. Terny son; Ye true Story of Little Red Riding-Hood, by Alfred Mills; My Mother, by G. P. Webster; Rates of Postage; Distances to various parts of the World; Difference of Time; Length of principal Kivers. Miss Columbia's Public School; or Will it Blow Over? with over seventy original illustra tions by Thomas Nast, will shortly be published by Francis B. Felt & Co. It will be chiefly com posed of satirical and telling allusions to the leading topics of the day in politics, introduced in the course of an able satire. The same house announces as in press "The Land of Lorne; or, a Poet's Adventures in the Scottish Hebrides," by Robert Buchanan. RAND, MCNALLY & Co's. (Chicago) Railway Guide, the Traveller's Hand-Book to all Western Railway and Steamboat Lines, giving time cards of 300 railroads with statistical information of each town on every route, is published in monthly 16° volumes, of nearly 300 pages, at 25c. each. FORCE OF HABIT.-One of Holt & Williams's clerks called a boy to bring him a hammer and nail. The boy brought Hammer and Anvil (Spielhagen's novel). The Washerwoman's Daughter, from the German by Anna B. Cooke (Skelly), is a touch-improved ing little story of filial affection and fidelity, of the deceitfulness and uncertainty of riches, and of kindness rewarded. It has the charming simplicity of German style and life, and is translated into excellent English,—Lutheran Observer. Four, and What They Did, is a new story for the children by Helen C. Weeks, who has already established her power to please by "The Ainslee Stories," and other works. This is the story of the experiences of four children in the far West, and incidentally is instructive as well as entertaining. It contains several illustrations. The Fables of Pilpay (Hurd & Houghton). This edition of Pilpay's Fables, the first issued in America, is uniform with Hurd & Houghton's edition of Æsop. The ancient and wide-spread popularity of these Hindu stories will insure them some time THOMPSON, BIGELOW & BROWN'S new and edition of Mrs. Cornelius's Young Housekeeper's Friend, announced since, has just been issued. They also have published an important book for teachers, by Prof. Hiram Orcutt, M. A., of Tilden Ladies' Seminary, entitled The Teacher's Manual, containing treatises on the discipline of the school and other papers upon the teacher's qualifications and work. The volume will be received with interest by the friends of education. REV. H. W. BEECHER'S Life of Jesus the Christ, so long looked for by the reading public, now ready (Ford & Co.), has been pronounced by an eminent authority (the Rev. R. S. Storrs, D. D., of Brooklyn) to be "the book which the masses of the Christian world have been waiting. for." THE Saturday Review remarks of M. Henri Taine's Intelligence, just published in London, |