“The Voyage of the Vivian”[W] is an account of an expedition to the North Pole. It presents an array of facts upon a groundwork of fiction. The facts have been taken from accounts made by explorers from the earliest time down to the present. As these explorers pass into those far-away frozen regions they recall and relate the experiences of the real characters who had been there before them. The author indulges in a little that is purely imaginary. He allows his crew to reach the open Polar Sea, “and explore islands and waters which are as yet concealed from mortal vision.” The book is designed for young readers, but those of mature minds will find it very entertaining. It is finely illustrated, many whole page pictures being given.
“My Aunt Jeanette”[X] is a very readable book; albeit some passages do bring a certain moisture to the eyes and a mist over the page that, for a time, interrupts the reading. It is the plainest kind of a narrative, without special literary merit, and the farthest remove from anything sensational. The reader is without ceremony introduced to a rural New England community, with the characteristics of New England of eighty years ago. He meets the settled pastor, and members of his flock, and finds them mostly worthy people, and decidedly religious. The principal character is so well drawn that, having laid the book aside, the image has the distinctness of a real presence.
“Wall Street in History”[Y] is a book well written and beautifully illustrated. It gives a concise, but clear, reliable history of that famous locality, and some events that have given it a world-wide celebrity. The maps, sketches, and numerous portraits add interest to the history, and give the varying aspects of the place from its primitive to its present condition. The site, at first a picturesque tangle of underbrush and wild vines, was partially reclaimed from its wilderness state by constructing there a wooden wall, which, for half a century, fenced in the city, and subsequently gave its name to a street where business is now transacted on a larger scale, and with more tremendous results than at any other place on the continent.
A collection of some thirty of Dr. O. W. Holmes’s poems[Z] has just been made by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., which for illustrations, typography and binding is a marvel of beauty. The frontispiece, a portrait of Dr. Holmes, is a real treasure. It is an etching by S. A. Schoff, and far surpasses anything of the kind we have ever seen of the genial doctor.
The Adventures of Robin Hood could not be better told than they have been by Howard Pyle.[AA] From the time he starts Merry Robin to the shooting match at Nottingham Town up to the sad hour of his death there is not a dull page in the book. The publishers have chosen a delightful make-up, with Old English style of illustrations, with numerous head and tail-pieces, and a sprinkling of red ink and queer devices.
[E] The Boy’s King Arthur. By Sidney Lanier. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1884. Price, $2.00.
[F] The Boy’s Froissart. By Sydney Lanier. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1884. Price, $2.00.
[G] The Boy’s Percy. By Sidney Lanier. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1884. Price, $2.00.
[H] Knightly Legends of Wales. By Sidney Lanier. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1884. Price, $2.00.
[I] A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. With illustrations by F. S. Church. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1885. Price, $2.50.