LEWIS WETZEL.
Birth of Lewis Wetzel—His Father Killed by Indians, and Himself and Brother carried off Prisoners—Their Remarkable Escape—Murder of an Indian—Serves in Crawford's Expedition—Pursued by Four Indians, and Kills Three—Escape from the Custody of General Harmar—Wetzel's Hunts for Indians—Assists a Relative to Recover his Betrothed from Savages.
When one reads of the early days of the great West and of the tornado-like encounters in which the borderers engaged, he finds that there are few more prominent figures than that of Lewis Wetzel, who was born on the Big Wheeling, Virginia, about the year 1764. He had four brothers, Martin, Jacob, John and George, and two sisters, Susan and Christina. Martin was the only brother who exceeded Lewis in age.
The home of the Wetzels exposed them to perils from the Indians, for it will be recognized by the reader as a spot peculiarly open to assaults from the red men.
This was proven by the terrible fate that overtook the family. One day the Indians suddenly appeared and made a fierce attack upon the house. Several of the smaller children were absent, and during the excitement the mother succeeded in getting away; but the old man was killed and scalped, and Lewis, then thirteen years old, and his brother Jacob, two years younger, were taken away prisoners.
In the fight, Lewis received a slight wound from a bullet, but it did not incapacitate him from traveling, and on the second night after the capture the Indians encamped on the Big Lick, twenty miles distant from the river, in what is now Ohio, and upon the waters of McMahon's Creek.
The prisoners were so young that the captors were justified in considering them of little account, and they did not take the trouble to bind them when they stopped for the night. Lewis, however, was old enough to watch for a chance to get away, and when sure all the Indians were asleep, he touched his brother and whispered to him to make ready to follow him.
They made their way out of the camp without difficulty, but had not proceeded far when they stopped.
"I don't like the idea of going home barefooted," said Lewis, "you stay here while I go back and get a pair of moccasins for you and a pair for me."
The daring lad succeeded in obtaining the necessary articles and soon rejoined his brother; but as they were about to start on again he expressed his dissatisfaction that they had no weapons.
"We can't get along without a gun; wait here a little longer and I'll bring one back."
And young Lewis did as he said he would. Now that each had a pair of moccasins, and the elder carried a good rifle, they were prepared for travel, and they plunged into the woods at once.
Lewis Wetzel displayed a knowledge of woodcraft on this occasion which was wonderful in one so young. He discovered the trail and followed it back without difficulty, and knowing he would be pursued, he kept such unremitting watch that he detected the approach of the Indians, and he and his brother hid in the bushes until they passed.
When they were out of sight, the brothers came back to the trail and followed after the Indians. It did not take the latter very long to find they had gone beyond the lads, and they turned about to find them.
But, as before, Lewis was on the watch, and he and his brother eluded them. Shortly after they discovered that two of the warriors were mounted and in hot chase after them; but Lewis gave them the slip in the same skilful manner, and reaching Wheeling the next day, they constructed a raft and crossed the river.
When they came to the ruins of their home and found that their father had been killed and scalped, they were so infuriated that they took a vow to kill every Indian that was in their power to kill, so long as they should live.
Such is the account as generally given, though a different version is entitled to equal credence. This says that the elder Wetzel was shot, in 1787, while paddling a canoe near Captina, on his return from Middle Island Creek, and that young Lewis received his first wound while standing in the door of his own home. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that he and his brother took the barbarous oath as stated, and it is equally a matter of history that they carried it out in spirit and letter.
Martin Wetzel acted the part of a wild beast and committed acts for which no law human or divine can find justification. No red Indian ever showed greater perfidy than did he. During Colonel Brodhead's expedition in 1780, Martin Wetzel was a volunteer. An Indian messenger, under promise of protection, came into camp and held an interview with Brodhead. While they were talking in the most friendly manner, Martin Wetzel stole up behind the unsuspecting red man, and quickly drawing a tomahawk, which he had hidden in his hunting-shirt, struck the Indian in the back of the head a blow which stretched him lifeless on the ground.
Colonel Brodhead was exasperated at the atrocious act, yet he dared not punish Wetzel, for three-fourths of the army would have rallied in his defence.
In the life of Daniel Boone we gave an account of the campaign of Colonel Crawford in 1782. Lewis Wetzel served as a volunteer, being no more than eighteen years of age. The campaign was one of the most frightful disasters that ever occurred in the West, Colonel Crawford being captured and burned to death at the stake.
Among the disorganized soldiers who managed to escape the terrible vengeance of the red men, was one named Mills, who reached a spring some nine miles from Wheeling, where he was forced to leave his horse and go the rest of the way on foot. From Wheeling he proceeded to Van Meter's fort, where he fell in with Lewis Wetzel, whom he persuaded to go back with him in quest of his horse.
Wetzel cautioned him against the danger, but Mills was determined, and the two made their way back to the spring, where they saw the horse standing tied to a sapling. The scout knew what this meant, but the sight of his animal drew Mills forward, and running up to the tree, he began untying him. Before he could finish, there was a discharge of rifles from the wood, and Mills fell fatally wounded.
Knowing that the warriors were all around him, the fleet-footed Wetzel bounded off like a deer, with four of the swiftest runners speeding after him. The chase was a terrific one, and after a half mile, one of the Indians came so close that the fugitive, believing he was on the point of throwing his tomahawk, suddenly whirled about and shot him dead, resuming his flight with the same desperate exertion as before.
The art of reloading his gun while on a dead run had been practised by Wetzel, until he could do the difficult feat with ease. Never was there more urgent need of that peculiar skill than on the present occasion, for at the end of another half mile, a second Indian was so close that Wetzel turned to fire.
Before he could do so, the warrior grasped the end of the barrel, and as he was immensely powerful and active, he brought Wetzel to his knees, and came within a hair's-breadth of wrenching the weapon from his grasp. The white man, however, during the fierce struggle, managed to get the muzzle of the gun turned toward the savage, when he pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.
The struggle was very brief, but during its continuance the other two Indians had approached so nigh, that Wetzel bounded away again at the highest bent of his speed and soon had his rifle reloaded. Then he slackened his pace, so as to allow them to come up, but they were suspicious of the white man who always seemed to have a charged rifle at his service, and they held back. Then Wetzel stopped and they did the same. Several times he wheeled about and raised his gun, when they immediately dodged behind trees. One of them did not conceal his body perfectly, and Wetzel fired, wounding him badly. The remaining warrior ran for life, shouting: "Dat white man's gun am always loaded!"
Actuated by that intense hate of the Indians which marked the career of Lewis Wetzel and several of his brothers, there was but the single thought of revenge which inspired the muscular arm to deeds as savage as the red man himself ever engaged in. While General Harmar was doing his utmost to establish peace with the Indians, Lewis Wetzel and a companion hid themselves near the fort, and, in pure wantonness, the former fired upon a warrior who was riding by. He was so badly wounded that he was barely able to reach the fort, where he died that night.
General Harmar was so indignant over the murder, which Wetzel unblushingly avowed, that he sent Captain Kingsbury and a squad of men with orders to take Wetzel dead or alive. All considerations called for the prompt punishment of the murderer, but his capture was an impossibility, inasmuch as he possessed the fullest sympathy of the frontiersmen, who would have rallied to a man in his defence.
When Captain Kingsbury reached the Mingo Bottom, and his errand became known, Lewis Wetzel and a large number of equally reckless companions formed a plan for attacking the party and massacring every one of them. Only by the interference of Major M'Mahan, who persuaded the Captain of his danger and induced him to withdraw, was the crime averted.
Sometime later, however, Wetzel was seized while asleep in a cabin, put in irons and carried to the guard-house. He was greatly humiliated by the shame of being handcuffed, and sent for General Harmar, to whom he made the characteristic proposal that he should release him among the large party of Indians who were around the fort, and allow him to fight it out with them. This of course was declined by the officer, who, however, consented to knock off his irons, but kept on the handcuffs, allowing him to walk about the fort.
After Wetzel had loosened his limbs by some moderate exercise, he suddenly made a break for the woods and was soon among them. He was fired upon by the guards, and General Harmar instantly sent a number of his fleetest runners, including several Indians, in pursuit.
They almost captured him too, for a couple of the warriors sat down on the log, under which he was crouching, and Wetzel afterwards said that his great fear was that his position would be betrayed by the tumultuous throbbing of his heart. The next day he came across a friend who released him from his handcuffs, furnished him with a gun and ammunition, and Wetzel paddled down the river for Kentucky, where he could feel safe from General Harmar.
The latter issued a proclamation offering a large reward for the capture of Wetzel, but no frontiersman ever made the dangerous attempt to take him, and soon after he joined a party of scouts under Major M'Mahan. They numbered twenty men, and were organized to punish the Indians for murdering a family in the Mingo Bottom. One of the inducements for enlisting was the offer of a hundred dollars to the man who should bring in the first Indian scalp.
The scouts had not penetrated far into the hostile country, when they suddenly found themselves in the presence of a large war party. A hasty consultation was held and it was deemed best to withdraw, but Wetzel refused to return until he should accomplish something. He announced that he would never be seen at home until he lost his own scalp or brought that of an Indian with him.
It was a dangerous task he had taken on himself, but he persevered and spent several days in prowling through the woods, hunting for the coveted opportunity. At last he found a couple of warriors encamped by themselves, and he watched by them until the night was far advanced. Finally one of them got up and moved away, taking a torch with him, doubtless with the intention of watching a deer lick. Wetzel was so anxious to kill both savages that he waited until daylight for the return of the other.
He did not show himself, however, and unwilling to wait longer, the merciless white man stole up to where the sleeping warrior lay and slew him with one furious blow of his knife.
Wetzel reached his home without difficulty and received the one hundred dollars reward for the murder.
A singular occurrence took place shortly after this. From the fort at Wheeling, there had been heard on several occasions, cries such as would be made by a wounded turkey, and more than once some of the men had crossed over to ascertain the cause. The fact that several soldiers were never seen again, did not arouse a suspicion of the real explanation in the minds of any one excepting that of Lewis Wetzel.
He concluded to make an investigation for himself. Cautiously stealing around in the direction of the sound, he approached a deep cavern, the mouth of which was some twenty yards above the river. From this crept forth an Indian warrior, who uttered the peculiar call that had lured so many to their death. Wetzel waited until he gained a fair sight of the savage, when he took careful aim and the decoy never uttered his deceptive signal again.
Wetzel supposed that his trouble with General Harmar would gradually die out with the lapse of time, but the commander had issued standing orders to his officers to arrest him wherever and whenever he could be found. On his way down the river toward Kenawha, Wetzel landed at Point Pleasant, where he roamed about the town with perfect unconcern. While doing so he unexpectedly came face to face with Lieutenant Kingsbury, who had set out to capture him once before.
Wetzel expected a desperate encounter with him, and braced himself for the attack; but Kingsbury, who was personally brave, saluted him with the order to get out of his sight, and passed on. Wetzel thought it wise to leave the neighborhood, and, taking to his canoe, he put off for Limestone, which place, and the county town, Washington, he made his headquarters for a considerable time after.
His skill with the rifle, and his reckless bravery, could not fail to render him a great favorite among the rough men of the border. Could his capture have been arranged with perfect safety to those concerned, it is not probable that any one could have been induced to undertake it.
One day Wetzel was sitting in a tavern in Maysville, when Lieutenant Lawler of the regular army, who was going down the Ohio to Fort Washington with a number of soldiers, landed and discovered him. Without a moment's unnecessary delay, he ordered out a file of soldiers, took Wetzel aboard the boat, and before the citizens had time to rally, he was delivered to General Harmar at Cincinnati.
The General placed him in irons again, preparatory to his trial for the killing of the Indian, and then followed a scene of extraordinary excitement. Petitions for the release of Wetzel poured in upon General Harmar from every quarter, and the indignation became so great that mutterings of a general uprising were soon heard. Serious trouble for a time threatened, for passions were roused to a high pitch, and the intensity deepened as the time for the trial approached.
Finally Judge Symmes issued a writ of habeas corpus in the case, and abundant security being furnished, Wetzel was released. He was escorted in triumph to Columbia, where he was treated to a grand supper, including the usual speeches and congratulations, and where no doubt he concluded his friends were right in looking upon him as a model of heroism and chivalry to whom it was an honor to do homage.
Lewis Wetzel hunted Indians as most men hunt the deer and buffalo. He looked upon the red man as legitimate game, and many a time has he slung his rifle over his shoulder and plunged into the woods for the express purpose of bringing down one of the race against which he had vowed eternal vengeance.
Numerous of his barbarous exploits must remain unrecorded, and well would it be could the necessity never arise for a history of any of them, for they do not show the character of an undoubtedly brave man in an attractive light.
Late one autumn he started out on one of his sanguinary hunts and directed his steps toward the Muskingum River. He had not tramped long when he discovered a camp where four Indians had established themselves for the winter. Not dreaming of any danger, the red men, contrary to their custom, had not taken their usual precautions, and kept neither watch nor sentinels.
This was a tempting opportunity, but a single white hunter, no matter how daring and skillful, might well hesitate before attacking four athletic and well-armed warriors; but the hesitation of Lewis Wetzel was caused only by the necessity for reflecting on the best course to be pursued.
He decided to make his attack on the four in the dead of night when all were sound asleep. He therefore waited patiently in the gloom until he saw they were wrapped in profound slumber. Then he stole forward, and with his dreadful knife, dispatched three in quick succession, but the fourth darted into the woods and escaped in the darkness.
It was near Wheeling, while he was engaged on one of his numerous scouts, that he came upon a deserted cabin. It was raining at the time, and he was glad to use the place as a shelter. A few pieces of boards were gathered together in the loft and used as a bed, but before he fell asleep, six Indians entered and started a fire, with a view of preparing their evening meal.
Had the scout been asleep when they entered they would have been certain to discover him by his heavy breathing, and as it was, Wetzel scarcely saw how he could escape detection. So he grasped his knife and held himself ready for the desperate encounter which was certain to follow such a discovery.
The Indians, however, did not dream of the presence of the human tiger that was glaring down upon them from the loft above, and soon the half dozen were unconscious in sleep. Feeling that his quarters were dangerous, Wetzel cautiously stole out during the darkness and hid himself behind a log which commanded the front of the cabin.
In the morning the first warrior who presented himself at the door was shot dead. Before the others could comprehend what had taken place the murderer was fleeing like a deer through the woods, and was soon safe from all danger of pursuit.
Such exploits as these increased the popularity of Wetzel, while the attempts made by General Harmar to punish him for his crimes deepened the dislike felt toward him for what was regarded as his unjust persecution of a worthy man.
Not long after the Indian-killer accepted the invitation of a relative to visit him on Dunkard Creek. It was some distance away, and the two men pursued their walk through the woods at a leisurely pace, talking of their hunting adventures, chatting like a couple of school-boys, and with no thought of impending trouble.
But when they emerged from the forest into the clearing where the home of the relative stood, a most startling sight met their eyes.
The house was a mass of smoking ruins. The Indians had been there and left this proof of their ferocity. Wetzel carefully examined the trail and found that the party numbered three warriors and one white man, and that they had taken off a single prisoner.
The last was the betrothed of the relative of the scout, and, as may well be supposed, he was wild with excitement and fury and determined to pursue them without an instant's delay. But Wetzel argued him into something like calmness, and he saw the necessity of placing himself under the control of such a wonderfully skillful woodman as was his companion.
The wish of Wetzel was to overtake the party before they reached the Ohio, though there could be no certainty as to how much start the red men had gained. It was soon seen, however, that they anticipated pursuit, for they had taken the greatest pains to hide their trail. They might have succeeded in the case of ordinary pursuers, but it was impossible to conceal the faint but unerring signs from the keen eye of Wetzel, who pushed forward on their path like the bloodhound tracking its victim through thicket and morass.
It soon became certain that the savages were making for the river, and feeling quite sure of the particular crossing they would seek, Wetzel left the trail altogether, and with his friend hastened to the same place.
It was a long distance, but the hunters for the time were tireless, never throwing away a single minute. As it was reasonable to believe that the Indians would take a short route to the stream, it can be understood that the pursuers could not hope to gain much in the race after all.
When night settled over the great wilderness, they were still a good distance from the Ohio. They stopped for a brief while until they could swallow a few mouthfuls of food. Then they hastened on again guided by the stars overhead. But even this help was soon taken from them by the heavy clouds which overspread the sky, and shut out the slightest twinkling orb in the firmament.
It was useless to seek to go any further, when, with all their cunning, they could not prevent themselves from losing their bearings and most likely going directly back upon the true course.
So they halted where they were, until it began to grow light in the East, when they resumed their hurried journey. They had not gone far before they struck the trail again, and one of the first tracks recognized was the imprint of the small shoe worn by the affianced of the young man.
The Indians, however, were still far ahead, and though the two hunters pushed forward with all the energy possible, they caught no sight of the enemy, as hour after hour passed away.
But Wetzel was convinced they were gaining, and both were in high hope, for as the afternoon wore to its close, they recognized from the signs around them that they were in the neighborhood of the Ohio, and undoubtedly were close upon the Indians and their captive.
The night had fairly set in when they reached the river side, and they caught the glimmer of the camp-fire of those on the other shore, just below the mouth of the Captina. Cautiously the two pursuers entered the river and swam across. A few minutes spent in reconnoissance enabled them to locate each member of the party, including the captive.
The sight of the young lady drove her betrothed almost frantic, and he insisted on attacking the marauders at once; but Wetzel, who was as cool and collected as though no enemy was within a dozen miles, would not permit it.
"The first hour of daybreak is the time," said he, "and nothing shall be done until then." His companion had no choice but to obey, though it drove him to madness to remain so near his beloved, without striking a blow in her behalf.
The long wearisome hours passed slowly, and at last it began to grow light in the East. The young man was quivering with excitement, but Wetzel had been engaged in too many terrific encounters to lose his self-possession at such a critical time.
The red men are early risers, when on the march, and as soon as it began to grow light in the East, they were astir. Wetzel directed his friend to take sure aim at the renegade, pledging him that he would attend to the Indians.
They fired simultaneously, and each brought down his man. The lover dashed into camp to his affianced, while the two warriors ran among the trees until they could learn the strength of the attacking party. The dauntless Wetzel followed as impetuously as though he had an entire company at his back.
As was his custom, he reloaded on the run, and after a short pursuit, fired his gun at random, so as to draw out the savages. It produced the effect, for the warriors, supposing him to be defenceless, came rushing forth, with uplifted tomahawks and whooping in triumph; but Wetzel took but a few seconds to reload his gun, when he shot the nearest through the body.
As there could be no doubt that his rifle was now unloaded, the single remaining Indian made for him with the fury of a panther. Wetzel, who was no less active and athletic, dodged from tree to tree and ran here and there, baffling the fatal tomahawk that was on the point of being hurled more than once, until his terrible rifle was ready again, when he wheeled and brought down the Indian, who must have wondered in his last moments at the wonderful gun carried by the white man.
While Lewis Wetzel was engaged in these extraordinary forays, several of his brothers were scarcely less active. As they were inspired by the same intense hate which nerved the arms of the more famous scout, it will be readily conceded that the murder of the elder Wetzel years before by the Indians was repaid with more than interest.
After Lewis had roamed through the wilderness some time longer, he concluded to make a journey to the extreme south, and for that purpose engaged on a flat-boat bound for New Orleans. While in that city he got into some serious difficulty, the precise nature of which is unknown. The result was he suffered imprisonment for two years. It is not improbable that he discovered the difference between breaking the law in the Western wilderness and in the Crescent City.
He finally found his way back to Wheeling, where he resumed his roaming through the woods, and soon became involved in his characteristic adventures with the red men.
He was returning one day from a hunt, when happening to look up, he observed a warrior in the very act of leveling his gun at him. Quick as a flash Wetzel dodged behind a tree, the Indian doing the same, and they stood facing each other for a considerable time.
Growing impatient of waiting, the scout resorted to the oft-described trick of placing his cap on the end of his ramrod and projecting it a short distance beyond the trunk. This brought the fire of the savage, and before he could reload the white man shot him.
Wetzel was known so generally as a daring and skillful scout, that General Clarke, while organizing his celebrated expedition to the country beyond the Rocky Mountains, used his utmost effort to secure him as a member of the company. Wetzel was not inclined to go, but he was finally persuaded, and when they started, he was one of the most valuable members. He kept with them for three months and then turned about and came home.
Some time later he left on a flat-boat, and went to the house of a relative, near Natchez, where he died in the summer of 1808.
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The third volume embraces, without abridgment, the fifth and sixth volumes of the French edition, and covers one of the most interesting as well as the most anxious periods of the war, describing the operations of the Army of the Potomac in the East, and the Army of the Cumberland and Tennessee in The West.
It contains full accounts of the battle of Chancellorsville, the attack of the monitors on Fort Sumter, the sieges and fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson; the battles of Port Gibson and Champion's Hill, and the fullest and most authentic account of the battle of Gettysburg ever written.
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"The head of the Orleans family has put pen to paper with excellent result.... Our present impression is that it will form by far the best history of the American war."—Athenæum, London.
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"We advise all Americans to read it carefully, and judge for themselves if 'the future historian of our war,' of whom we have heard so much, be not already arrived in the Comte de Paris."—Nation, New York.
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"This is incomparably the best account of our great second revolution that has yet been even attempted. It is so calm, so dispassionate, so accurate in detail, and at the same time so philosophical in general, that its reader counts confidently on finding the complete work thoroughly satisfactory."—Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia.
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"The work expresses the calm, deliberate judgment of an experienced military observer and a highly intelligent man. Many of its statements will excite discussion, but we much mistake if it does not take high and permanent rank among the standard histories of the civil war. Indeed that place has been assigned it by the most competent critics both of this country and abroad."—Times, Cincinnati.
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"Messrs. Porter & Coates, of Philadelphia, will publish in a few days the authorized translation of the new volume of the Comte de Paris' History of Our Civil War. The two volumes in French—the fifth and sixth—are bound together in the translation in one volume. Our readers already know, through a table of contents of these volumes, published in the cable columns of the Herald, the period covered by this new installment of a work remarkable in several ways. It includes the most important and decisive period of the war, and the two great campaigns of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
"The great civil war has had no better, no abler historian than the French prince who, emulating the example of Lafayette, took part in this new struggle for freedom, and who now writes of events, in many of which he participated, as an accomplished officer, and one who, by his independent position, his high character and eminent talents, was placed in circumstances and relations which gave him almost unequalled opportunities to gain correct information and form impartial judgments.
"The new installment of a work which has already become a classic will be read with increased interest by Americans because of the importance of the period it covers and the stirring events it describes. In advance of a careful review we present to-day some extracts from the advance sheets sent us by Messrs. Porter & Coates, which will give our readers a foretaste of chapters which bring back to memory so many half-forgotten and not a few hitherto unvalued details of a time which Americans of this generation at least cannot read of without a fresh thrill of excitement."
HALF-HOURS WITH THE BEST AUTHORS. With short Biographical and Critical Notes. By Charles Knight.
New Household Edition. With six portraits on steel. 3 vols., thick 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, per set, $1.50; half imt. Russia, marbled edges, $6.00; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, $12.00.
Library Edition. Printed on fine laid and tinted paper. With twenty-four portraits on steel. 6 vols., 12mo. Cloth, extra, per set, $7.50; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, per set, $18.00; half Russia, gilt top, $21.00; full French morocco, limp, per set, $12.00; full smooth Russia, limp, round corners, in Russia case, per set, $25.00; full seal grained Russia, limp, round corners, in Russia case to match, $25.00.
The excellent idea of the editor of these choice volumes has been most admirably carried out, as will be seen by the list of authors upon all subjects. Selecting some choice passages of the best standard authors, each of sufficient length to occupy half an hour in its perusal, there is here food for thought for every day in the year: so that if the purchaser will devote but one-half hour each day to its appropriate selection he will read through these six volumes in one year, and in such a leisurely manner that the noblest thoughts of many of the greatest minds will be firmly in his mind forever. For every Sunday there is a suitable selection from some of the most eminent writers in sacred literature. We venture to say if the editor's idea is carried out the reader will possess more and better knowledge of the English classics at the end of the year than he would by five years of desultory reading.
They can be commenced at any day in the year. The variety of reading is so great that no one will ever tire of these volumes. It is a library in itself.
THE POETRY OF OTHER LANDS. A Collection of Translations into English Verse of the Poetry of Other Languages, Ancient and Modern. Compiled by N. Clemmons Hunt. Containing translations from the Greek, Latin, Persian, Arabian, Japanese, Turkish, Servian, Russian, Bohemian, Polish, Dutch, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. 12mo. Cloth, extra, gilt edges, $2.50; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, $4.00; Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $6.00.
"Another of the publications of Porter & Coates, called 'The Poetry of Other Lands,' compiled by N. Clemmons Hunt, we most warmly commend. It is one of the best collections we have seen, containing many exquisite poems and fragments of verse which have not before been put into book form in English words. We find many of the old favorites, which appear in every well-selected collection of sonnets and songs, and we miss others, which seem a necessity to complete the bouquet of grasses and flowers, some of which, from time to time, we hope to republish in the 'Courier.'"—Cincinnati Courier.
"A book of rare excellence, because it gives a collection of choice gems in many languages not available to the general lover of poetry. It contains translations from the Greek, Latin, Persian, Arabian, Japanese, Turkish, Servian, Russian, Bohemian, Polish, Dutch, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. The book will be an admirable companion volume to any one of the collections of English poetry that are now published. With the full index of authors immediately preceding the collection, and the arrangement of the poems under headings, the reader will find it convenient for reference. It is a gift that will be more valued by very many than some of the transitory ones at these holiday times."—Philadelphia Methodist.
THE FIRESIDE ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF POETRY. Edited by Henry T. Coates. This is the latest, and beyond doubt the best collection of poetry published. Printed on fine paper and illustrated with thirteen steel engravings and fifteen title pages, containing portraits of prominent American poets and fac-similes of their handwriting, made expressly for this book, 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, gilt edges, $5.00: half calf, gilt, marbled edges, $7.50; half morocco, full gilt edges, $7.50; full Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $10.00; tree calf, gilt edges $12.00; plush, padded side, nickel lettering, $14.00.
"The editor shows a wide acquaintance with the most precious treasures of English verse, and has gathered the most admirable specimens of their ample wealth. Many pieces which have been passed by in previous collections hold a place of honor in the present volume, and will be heartily welcomed by the lovers of poetry as a delightful addition to their sources of enjoyment. It is a volume rich in solace, in entertainment, in inspiration, of which the possession may well be coveted by every lover of poetry. The pictorial illustrations of the work are in keeping with its poetical contents, and the beauty of the typographical execution entitles it to a place among the choicest ornaments of the library."—New York Tribune.
"Lovers of good poetry will find this one of the richest collections ever made. All the best singers in our language are represented, and the selections are generally those which reveal their highest qualities.... The lights and shades, the finer play of thought and imagination belonging to individual authors, are brought out in this way (by the arrangement of poems under subject-headings) as they would not be under any other system.... We are deeply impressed with the keen appreciation of poetical worth, and also with the good taste manifested by the compiler."—Churchman.
"Cyclopædias of poetry are numerous, but for sterling value of its contents for the library, or as a book of reference, no work of the kind will compare with this admirable volume of Mr. Coates. It takes the gems from many volumes, culling with rare skill and judgment."—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF POETRY. Compiled by Henry T. Coates. Containing over 500 poems carefully selected from the works of the best and most popular writers for children; with nearly 200 illustrations. The most complete collection of poetry for children ever published. 4to. Cloth, extra, black and gold, gilt side and edges, $3.00; full Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $7.50.
"This seems to us the best book of poetry for children in existence. We have examined many other collections, but we cannot name another that deserves to be compared with this admirable compilation."—Worcester Spy.
"The special value of the book lies in the fact that it nearly or quite covers the entire field. There is not a great deal of good poetry which has been written for children that cannot be found in this book. The collection is particularly strong in ballads and tales, which are apt to interest children more than poems of other kinds; and Mr. Coates has shown good judgment in supplementing this department with some of the best poems of that class that have been written for grown people. A surer method of forming the taste of children for good and pure literature than by reading to them from any portion of this book can hardly be imagined. The volume is richly illustrated and beautifully bound."—Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
"A more excellent volume cannot be found. We have found within the covers of this handsome volume, and upon its fair pages, many of the most exquisite poems which our language contains. It must become a standard volume, and can never grow old or obsolete."—Episcopal Recorder.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF THOS. HOOD. With engravings on steel. 4 vols., 12mo., tinted paper. Poetical Works; Up the Rhine; Miscellanies and Hood's Own; Whimsicalities, Whims, and Oddities. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $6.00; red cloth, paper label, gilt top, uncut edges, $6.00; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, $14.00; half Russia, gilt top, $18.00.
Hood's verse, whether serious or comic—whether serene like a cloudless autumn evening or sparkling with puns like a frosty January midnight with stars—was ever pregnant with materials for the thought. Like every author distinguished for true comic humor, there was a deep vein of melancholy pathos running through his mirth, and even when his sun shone brightly its light seemed often reflected as if only over the rim of a cloud.
Well may we say, in the words of Tennyson, "Would he could have stayed with us." for never could it be more truly recorded of any one—in the words of Hamlet characterizing Yorick—that "he was a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."—D. M. Moir.
THE ILIAD OF HOMER RENDERED INTO ENGLISH BLANK VERSE. By Edward, Earl of Derby. From the latest London edition, with all the author's last revisions and corrections, and with a Biographical Sketch of Lord Derby, by R. Shelton Mackenzie, D.C.L. With twelve steel engravings from Flaxman's celebrated designs. 2 vols., 12mo. Cloth, extra, bev. boards, gilt top, $3.50; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, $7.00; half Turkey morocco, gilt top, $7.00.
The same. Popular edition. Two vols. in one. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.50.
"It must equally be considered a splendid performance; and for the present we have no hesitation in saying that it is by far the best representation of Homer's Iliad in the English language."—London Times.
"The merits of Lord Derby's translation may be summed up in one word, it is eminently attractive; it is instinct with life; it may be read with fervent interest; it is immeasurably nearer than Pope to the text of the original.... Lord Derby has given a version far more closely allied to the original, and superior to any that has yet been attempted in the blank verse of our language."—Edinburg Review.
THE WORKS OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. Comprising the Antiquities of the Jews; a History of the Jewish Wars, and a Life of Flavius Josephus, written by himself. Translated from the original Greek, by William Whiston, A.M. Together with numerous explanatory Notes and seven Dissertations concerning Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, James the Just, God's command to Abraham, etc., with an Introductory Essay by Rev. H. Stebbing, D.D. 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, plain edges, $3.00; cloth, red, black and gold, gilt edges, $4.50; sheep marbled edges, $3.50; Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $8.00.
This is the largest type one volume edition published.
THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, CARTHAGINIANS, ASSYRIANS, BABYLONIANS, MEDES AND PERSIANS, GRECIANS AND MACEDONIANS. Including a History of the Arts and Sciences of the Ancients. By Charles Rollin. With a Life of the Author, by James Bell. 2 vols., royal 8vo. Sheep, marbled edges, per set, $6.00.
COOKERY FROM EXPERIENCE. A Practical Guide for Housekeepers in the Preparation of Every-day Meals, containing more than One Thousand Domestic Recipes, mostly tested by Personal Experience, with Suggestions for Meals, Lists of Meats and Vegetables in Season, etc. By Mrs. Sara T. Paul. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
Interleaved Edition. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.75.
THE COMPARATIVE EDITION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. Both Versions in One Book.
The proof readings of our Comparative Edition have been gone over by so many competent proof readers, that we believe the text is absolutely correct.
Large 12mo., 700 pp. Cloth, extra, plain edges, $1.50; cloth, extra, bevelled boards and carmine edges, $1.75; imitation panelled calf, yellow edges, $2.00; arabesque, gilt edges, $2.50; French morocco, limp, gilt edges, $4.00; Turkey morocco, limp, gilt edges, $6.00.
The Comparative New Testament has been published by Porter & Coates. In parallel columns on each page are given the old and new versions of the Testament, divided also as far as practicable into comparative verses, so that it is almost impossible for the slightest new word to escape the notice of either the ordinary reader or the analytical student. It is decidedly the best edition yet published of the most interest-exciting literary production of the day. No more convenient form for comparison could be devised either for economizing time or labor. Another feature is the foot-notes, and there is also given in an appendix the various words and expressions preferred by the American members of the Revising Commission. The work is handsomely printed on excellent paper with clear, legible type. It contains nearly 700 pages.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. By Alexandre Dumas. Complete in one volume, with two illustrations by George G. White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
THE THREE GUARDSMEN. By Alexandre Dumas. Complete in one volume, with two illustrations by George G. White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
There is a magic influence in his pen, a magnetic attraction in his descriptions, a fertility in his literary resources which are characteristic of Dumas alone, and the seal of the master of light literature is set upon all his works. Even when not strictly historical, his romances give an insight into the habits and modes of thought and action of the people of the time described, which are not offered in any other author's productions.
THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII. By Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00. Alta edition, one illustration, 75 cts.
JANE EYRE. By Charlotte Bronté (Currer Bell). New Library Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. Wimperis. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00.
SHIRLEY. By Charlotte Bronté (Currer Bell). New Library Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. Wimperis. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00.
VILLETTE. By Charlotte Bronté (Currer Bell). New Library Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. Wimperis. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00.
THE PROFESSOR, EMMA and POEMS. By Charlotte Bronté (Currer Bell). New Library Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. Wimperis. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00.
Cloth, extra, black and gold, per set, $4.00; red cloth, paper label, gilt top, uncut edges, per set, $5.00; half calf, gilt, per set, $12.00. The four volumes forming the complete works of Charlotte Bronté (Currer Bell).
The wondrous power of Currer Bell's stories consists in their fiery insight into the human heart, their merciless dissection of passion, and their stern analysis of character and motive. The style of these productions possesses incredible force, sometimes almost grim in its bare severity, then relapsing into passages of melting pathos—always direct, natural, and effective in its unpretending strength. They exhibit the identity which always belongs to works of genius by the same author, though without the slightest approach to monotony. The characters portrayed by Currer Bell all have a strongly marked individuality. Once brought before the imagination, they haunt the memory like a strange dream. The sinewy, muscular strength of her writings guarantees their permanent duration, and thus far they have lost nothing of their intensity of interest since the period of their composition.
CAPTAIN JACK THE SCOUT; or, The Indian Wars about Old Fort Duquesne. An Historical Novel, with copious notes. By Charles McKnight. Illustrated with eight engravings. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
A work of such rare merit and thrilling interest as to have been republished both in England and Germany. This genuine American historical work has been received with extraordinary popular favor, and has "won golden opinions from all sorts of people" for its freshness, its forest life, and its fidelity to truth. In many instances it even corrects History and uses the drapery of fiction simply to enliven and illustrate the fact.
It is a universal favorite with both sexes, and with all ages and conditions, and is not only proving a marked and notable success in this country, but has been eagerly taken up abroad and republished in London, England, and issued in two volumes in the far-famed "Tauchnetz Edition" of Leipsic, Germany.
ORANGE BLOSSOMS, FRESH AND FADED. By T. S. Arthur. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
"Orange Blossoms" contains a number of short stories of society. Like all of Mr. Arthur's works, it has a special moral purpose, and is especially addressed to the young who have just entered the marital experience, whom it pleasantly warns against those social and moral pitfalls into which they may almost innocently plunge.
THE BAR ROOMS AT BRANTLEY; or, The Great Hotel Speculation. By T. S. Arthur. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
"One of the best temperance stories recently issued."—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
"Although it is in the form of a novel, its truthful delineation of characters is such that in every village in the land you meet the broken manhood it pictures upon the streets, and look upon sad, tear-dimmed eyes of women and children. The characters are not overdrawn, but are as truthful as an artist's pencil could make them."—Inter-Ocean, Chicago.
EMMA. By Jane Austen. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25.
MANSFIELD PARK. By Jane Austen. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE; and Northanger Abbey. By Jane Austen. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25.
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY; and Persuasion. By Jane Austen. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25.
The four volumes, forming the complete works of Jane Austen, in a neat box: Cloth, extra, per set, $5.00; red cloth, paper label, gilt top, uncut edges, $3.00; half calf, gilt, per set, $12.00.
"Jane Austen, a woman of whom England is justly proud. In her novels she has given us a multitude of characters, all, in a certain sense, commonplace, all such as we meet every day. Yet they are all as perfectly discriminated from each other as if they were the most eccentric of human beings.... And almost all this is done by touches so delicate that they elude analysis, that they defy the powers of description, and that we know them to exist only by the general effect to which they have contributed."—Macaulay's Essays.
ART AT HOME. Containing in one volume House Decoration, by Rhoda and Agnes Garrett; Plea for Art in the House, by W. J. Loftie; Music, by John Hullah; and Dress, by Mrs. Oliphant. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS AT RUGBY. By Thomas Hughes. New Edition, large clear type. With 36 illustrations after Caldecott and others. 12mo., 400 pp. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25; half calf, gilt, $2.75. Alta Edition. One illustration, 75 cents.
"It is difficult to estimate the amount of good which may be done by 'Tom Brown's School Days.' It gives, in the main, a most faithful and interesting picture of our public schools, the most English institutions of England, and which educate the best and most powerful elements in our upper classes. But it is more than this; it is an attempt, a very noble and successful attempt, to Christianize the society of our youth, through the only practicable channel—hearty and brotherly sympathy with their feelings; a book, in short, which a father might well wish to see in the hands of his son."—London Times.
TOM BROWN AT OXFORD. By Thomas Hughes. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50; half calf, gilt, $3.00.
"Fairly entitled to the rank and dignity of an English classic. Plot, style and truthfulness are of the soundest British character. Racy, idiomatic, mirror-like, always interesting, suggesting thought on the knottiest social and religious questions, now deeply moving by its unconscious pathos, and anon inspiring uproarious laughter, it is a work the world will not willingly let die."—N. Y. Christian Advocate.
SENSIBLE ETIQUETTE OF THE BEST SOCIETY. By Mrs. H. O. Ward. Customs, manners, morals, and home culture, with suggestions how to word notes and letters of invitations, acceptances, and regrets, and general instructions as to calls, rules for watering places, lunches, kettle drums, dinners, receptions, weddings, parties, dress, toilet and manners, salutations, introductions, social reforms, etc., etc. Bound in cloth, with gilt edge, and sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt of $2.00.
LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S ETIQUETTE: A Complete Manual of the Manners and Dress of American Society. Containing forms of Letters, Invitations, Acceptances, and Regrets. With a copious index. By E. B. Duffey. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
"It is peculiarly an American book, especially adapted to our people, and its greatest beauty is found in the fact that in every line and precept it inculcates the principles of true politeness, instead of those formal rules that serve only to gild the surface without affecting the substance. It is admirably written, the style being clear, terse, and forcible."—St. Louis Times.
THE UNDERGROUND CITY; or, The Child of the Cavern. By Jules Verne. Translated from the French by W. H. Kingston. With 43 illustrations. Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. By Jules Verne. Translated by Geo. M. Towle. With 12 full-page illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
AT THE NORTH POLE; or, The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras. By Jules Verne. With 130 illustrations by Riou. Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
THE DESERT OF ICE; or, The Further Adventures of Captain Hatteras. By Jules Verne. With 126 illustrations by Riou. Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS; or, The Marvellous and Exciting Adventures of Pierre Aronnax, Conseil his servant, and Ned Land, a Canadian Harpooner. By Jules Verne. Standard Edition. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
THE WRECK OF THE CHANCELLOR, Diary of J. R. Kazallon, Passenger, and Martin Paz. By Jules Verne. Translated from the French by Ellen Frewer. With 10 illustrations. Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
Jules Verne is so well known that the mere announcement of anything from his pen is sufficient to create a demand for it. One of his chief merits is the wonderful art with which he lays under contribution every branch of science and natural history, while he vividly describes with minute exactness all parts of the world and its inhabitants.
THE INGOLDSBY LEGENDS; or, Mirth and Marvels. By Richard Harris Barham (Thomas Ingoldsby, Esq.). New edition, printed from entirely new stereotype plates. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, $3.00.
"Of his poetical powers it is not too much to say that, for originality of design and diction, for grand illustration and musical verse, they are not surpassed in the English language. The Witches' Frolic is second only to Tam O'Shanter. But why recapitulate the titles of either prose or verse—since they have been confessed by every judgment to be singularly rich in classic allusion and modern illustration. From the days of Hudibras to our time the drollery invested in rhymes has never been so amply or felicitously exemplified."—Bentley's Miscellany.
TEN THOUSAND A YEAR. By Samuel C. Warren, author of "The Diary of a London Physician." A new edition, carefully revised, with three illustrations by George G. White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
"Mr. Warren has taken a lasting place among the imaginative writers of this period of English history. He possesses, in a remarkable manner, the tenderness of heart and vividness of feeling, as well as powers of description, which are essential to the delineation of the pathetic, and which, when existing in the degree in which he enjoys them, fill his pages with scenes which can never be forgotten."—Sir Archibald Alison.
THOMPSON'S POLITICAL ECONOMY; With Especial Reference to the Industrial History of Nations. By Prof. R. E. Thompson, of the University of Pennsylvania. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.50.
This book possesses an especial interest at the present moment. The questions of Free Trade and Protection are before the country more directly than at any earlier period of our history. As a rule the works and textbooks used in our American colleges are either of English origin or teach Doctrines of a political economy which, as Walter Bagehot says, was made for England. Prof. Thompson belongs to the Nationalist School of Economists, to which Alexander Hamilton, Tench Coxe, Henry Clay, Matthew Carey, and his greater son, Henry C. Carey, Stephen Colwell, and James Abram Garfield were adherents. He believes in that policy of Protection to American industry which has had the sanction of every great American statesman, not excepting Thomas Jefferson and John C. Calhoun. He makes his appeal to history in defence of that policy, showing that wherever a weaker or less advanced country has practiced Free Trade with one more powerful or richer, the former has lost its industries as well as its money, and has become economically dependent on the latter. Those who wish to learn what is the real source of Irish poverty and discontent will find it here stated fully.
The method of the book is historical. It is therefore no series of dry and abstract reasonings, such as repel readers from books of this class. The writer does not ride the a priori nag, and say "this must be so," and "that must be conceded." He shows what has been true, and seeks to elicit the laws of the science from the experience of the world. The book overflows with facts told in an interesting manner.
THE ENGLISH PEOPLE IN ITS THREE HOMES, and the Practical Bearings of general European History. By Edward A. Freeman, LL.D., Author of the "Norman Conquest of England." 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.75.
HANDY ANDY. A Tale of Irish Life. By Samuel Lover. New Library Edition, with two original illustrations by George G. White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
"Decidedly the best story of the day, full of frolic, genuine fun, and exquisite touches of Irish humor."—Dublin Monitor.
CHARLES O'MALLEY, The Irish Dragoon. By Charles Lever. New Library Edition, with two original illustrations by F. O. C. Darley. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
HARRY LORREQUER. By Charles Lever. New Library Edition, with two original illustrations by Geo. G. White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
"The intense spirit and frolic of the author's sketches have made him one of the most successful writers of the day."—London Literary Gazette.
"The author is pre-eminent for his mirth-moving powers, for his acute sense of the ridiculous, for the breadth of his humor, and his powers of dramatic writing which render his boldest conceptions with the happiest facility."—London Athenæum.
"We hardly know how to convey an adequate notion of the exuberant whim and drollery by which this writer is characterized. His works are a perpetual feast of gayety."—John Bull, London.
POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. By the Rev. J. G. Wood, M.A. From entirely new electrotype plates, with five hundred illustrations by eminent artists. Crown 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.75.
Mr. Wood is an amusing, instructive, and sensible writer—always doing good work in a good way—and his work on Natural History is without doubt his masterpiece.
THE ODES OF HORACE. Translated into English verse, with Life and Notes, by Theodore Martin. With a fine portrait of Horace. 16mo. Cloth, extra, $1.00.
Mr. Martin's translation has been commended as preserving—more than any other—the spirit and grace of the original. It is the most successful attempt ever made to render into English the inimitable odes of Horace. The memoir prefixed to the volume is a most charming piece of biography.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY SYSTEMATIZED. With complete Tables based on Hesiod's Theogony; Tables showing the relation of Greek Mythology and History, arranged from Grote's History of Greece; and Gladstone's Homeric Tables. With a full Index. By S. A. Scull. Profusely illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, black and gold, $1.50.
"A book which will prove very useful to the student and man of letters, and of incalculable benefit as a hand-book."—Republic, Washington.
"A real want is supplied by this book, which is, in fact, a cyclopædia of Greek Mythology, so far as that is possible in a single volume of reasonable size and moderate cost."—Evening Mail, New York.
"This text-book on Mythology presents the subject in a more practical and more attractive style than any other work on the subject with which we are familiar, and we feel assured that it will at once take a leading position among books of its class."—The Teacher, Philadelphia.
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. By Thomas a Kempis. New and best edition, from entirely new electrotype plates, single column, large, clear type. 18mo.
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THE WORDS AND MIND OF JESUS AND FAITHFUL PROMISER. By Rev. J. R. Macduff, D.D., author of "Morning and Night Watches." New and best edition, from entirely new electrotype plates, single column, large, clear type. 18mo.
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A DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE. Comprising its Antiquities, Biography, Geography, Natural History, and Literature. Edited by William Smith, LL.D. Revised and adapted to the present use of Sunday-school Teachers and Bible Students by Rev. F. N. and M. A. Peloubet. With eight colored maps and over 350 engravings on wood. 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $2.00; sheep, marbled edges, $3.00; half morocco, gilt top, $3.50.
"No similar work in our own or in any other language is for a moment to be compared with Dr. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. The Christian and the scholar have a treasure-house on every subject connected with the Bible, full to overflowing, and minute even to the telling of mint and cummin."—London Quarterly Review.
COMPREHENSIVE BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Embracing accounts of the most eminent persons of all ages, nations, and professions. By E. A. Thomas. Crown 8vo. Cloth, extra, gilt top, $2.50; sheep, marbled edges, $3.00; half morocco, gilt top, $3.50; half Russia, gilt top, $4.50.
The aim of the publishers in issuing this work is to present in convenient size and at moderate price a comprehensive dictionary of biography, embracing accounts of the most eminent personages in all ages, countries, and professions.
During the last quarter of a century so many important events have been enacted, such as the Civil War in America and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and such great advances have been made in the line of invention and scientific investigation, that within that period many persons have risen by superior merit to conspicuous positions; and as the plan of this work embraces accounts of the living as well as of the dead, many names are included that are not to be found in other dictionaries of biography.
THE HORSE IN THE STABLE AND THE FIELD. His Management in Health and Disease. By J. H. Walsh, F.R.C.S. (Stonehenge.) From the last London edition. Illustrated with over 80 engravings, and full-page engravings from photographs. 12mo. Cloth, extra, bev. boards, black and gold, $2.00.
"It sustains its claim to be the only work which has brought together in a single volume, and in clear, concise, and comprehensive language, adequate information on the various subjects on which it treats."—Harper's Magazine.
"This is the best English book on the horse, revised and improved by competent persons for publication in this country. It is the most complete work on the subject, probably, in the English language, and that, of course, means the most complete in existence. Everything relating to a horse that history, science, observation, or practical knowledge can furnish, has a place in it."—Worcester Daily Spy.
THE HORSE. By William Youatt, together with a General History of the Horse; a dissertation on the American Trotting Horse, and an essay on the Ass and the Mule. By J. S. Skinner. With a beautiful engraving on steel of the famous "West Australian," and 58 illustrations on wood. 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.75.
BOOK OF THE FARM. The Handy-book of Husbandry. Containing Practical Information in Regard to Buying or Leasing a Farm; Fences and Farm Buildings, Farming Implements, Drainage, Plowing, Subsoiling, Manuring, Rotation of Crops, Care and Medical Treatment of the Cattle, Sheep, and Poultry; Management of the Dairy; Useful Tables, etc. By George E. Waring, Jr., of Ogden Farm, author of "Draining for Profit and for Health," etc. New edition, thoroughly revised by the author. With 100 illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $2.00.
AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY; or, The Natural History of the Birds of the United States. By Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Popular Edition, complete in one volume imperial octavo. 1200 pages and nearly 400 illustrations of birds. Formerly published at $100; now published at the low price: Cloth, extra, black and gold, $7.50; half morocco, marbled edges, $12.50.
This large and handsome volume, printed in a superior manner on good paper from the original stereotype plates of the larger edition, contains the Life of Wilson, occupying 132 pages; a full Catalogue of North American Birds, furnished by Professor Spencer F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution; Complete Index, with the names of over 900 birds described in the text, and is illustrated with nearly 400 figures of birds engraved on wood. It is exactly the same size as the larger edition, with the exception that the engravings are reduced in size and are not colored, reproducing every line of the original edition. It is one of the best books of permanent value (strictly an American book) ever published, noted for its beauty of diction and power of description, pre-eminent as the ablest work on Ornithology, and now published at a moderate price, that places it within the reach of all. Every lover of birds, every school, public or family library should have this book. We know of no other way in which so much pleasure, so much information, and so much usefulness can be had for the price.
AMERICAN CHESS PLAYER'S HAND-BOOK. Teaching the Rudiments of the Game, and giving an Analysis of all the recognized openings. Exemplified by appropriate Games actually played by Paul Morphy, Harrwitz, Anderssen, Staunton, Paulsen, Montgomery, Meek, and others. From the works of Staunton and others. Illustrated. 16mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25.
AMERICAN GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. Containing complete Practical Directions for the Cultivation of Vegetables, Flowers, Fruit Trees, and Grape Vines. By Thomas Bridgman. New edition, revised and enlarged, by S. Edwards Todd. With 70 illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $2.00.
DISEASES OF THE HORSE, AND HOW TO TREAT THEM. A concise Manual of Special Pathology, for the use of Horsemen, Farmers, Stock Raisers, and Students in Agricultural Colleges. By Robert Chawner. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25.
JERSEY, ALDERNEY, AND GUERNSEY COWS. Their History, Nature, and Management. Edited from the writings of Edward P. Fowler, George E. Waring, Jr., Charles L. Sharpless, Prof. John Gamgee, C. P. Le Cornu, Col. Le Couteur, Prof. Magne, Fr. Guenon, Dr. Twaddell, and others, by Willis P. Hazard. 8vo. Illustrated with about 30 engravings, diagrams, etc. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50.
THE TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA. How to Train and Drive him, with Reminiscences of the Trotting Turf. By Hiram Woodruff. Edited by Charles J. Foster. Including an Introductory Notice by George Wilkes, and a Biographical Sketch by the Editor. 20th edition, revised and brought down to 1878, and containing a full account of the famous "Rarus." With a steel portrait of the author, and six engravings on wood of celebrated trotters. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $2.50.
PORTER & COATES' INTEREST TABLES. Containing accurate calculations of interest at ½, 1, 2, 3, 3½, 4, 4½, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 per cent, per annum, on all sums from $1.00 to $10,000, and from one day to six years. Also some very valuable tables, calculated by John E. Coffin. 8vo. Cloth, extra, $1.00.
READY RECKONER (The Improved,) FORM AND LOGBOOK. The Trader's, Farmer's and Merchant's useful assistant. Containing Tables of Values, Wages, Interest, Scantling, Board, Plank and Log Measurements, Business Forms, etc. 18mo. Boards, cloth back, illustrated cover, 25 cents.
[Transcribers' Note]
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unpaired quotation marks were retained.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
Page [26]: "estray" was printed that way.
Page [61]: "rendered the greater? is" was printed with a lower-case "is".
Page [62]: "calvacade" was printed that way.
Page [65]: "wofully" was printed that way.
Page [70]: "tomahawk griped in his hand" probably is a misprint for "gripped"; "With scarcely the slightest plash" probably is a misprint for "splash".
Page [159]: Closing quotation mark added after 'my few relatives.'
Page [172]: "warfare" was misprinted as "war-ware" when split across two lines, and has been changed here.
Page [181]: "retrogade" appears to be a misprint for "retrograde".
Page [188]: "give it the reader" may be missing a "to".
Page [212]: "rallied their companion" may be a misprint for "railed"; closing quotation mark added after 'by it in the night.'
The page numbers of the advertisements originally were printed starting with "1", but to avoid confusion with the page numbers of the rest of the book, have been modified here to begin at "301".