A new edition of that quaint, ingenious allegory, Salander and the Dragon, by Frederic William Shelton, has been published by John S. Taylor. We are glad to find that the originality and fine moral painting of this remarkable work have found such just appreciation.
The First Woman is the title of an instructive essay on the female character, by Rev. Gardiner Spring. It is written with clearness and strength, and contains several passages of chaste eloquence. The author would establish the position of woman on the old platform, without yielding to the modern outcry for the extension of her rights. (Published by M. W. Dodd).
A volume of Select Poetry for Children and Youth, with an Introduction, by Tryon Edwards, D.D., is published by M. W. Dodd. It is based upon an English selection of acknowledged merit, but with important additions and improvements by the American editor. Excellent taste is shown in its preparation, and it must prove a welcome resource for the mental entertainment of the family circle.
The Sovereigns of the Bible, by Eliza R. Steele (published by M. W. Dodd), describes, in simple narrative style, the influence of monarchy in the political history of the chosen nation. Closely following the Old Testament account, it is in a great measure free from the tawdry finery, gingerbread work, and German-silver splendor which shine with such dazzling radiance in many modern attempts to improve the style of the sacred records.
The Snow-Image and Other Twice-told Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields). This collection of stories is introduced with a racy preface, giving a bit of the author's literary autobiography. The volume is not inferior in interest to its fascinating predecessors.
Summerfield; or, Life on a Farm, by Day Kellogg Lee. (Auburn: Derby and Miller). This volume belongs to an order of composition which requires a true eye for nature, a genial sympathy with active life, and a happy command of language for its successful execution. The present author exhibits no ordinary degree of these qualities. His book is filled with lively pictures of country life, presented with warmth and earnestness of feeling, and singularly free from affectation and pretense. It finely blends the instructive with the amusing, aiming at a high moral purpose, but without the formality of didactic writing. We give a cordial welcome to the author, and believe that he will become a favorite in this department of composition. The volume is issued in excellent style, and presents a very creditable specimen of careful typography.
The Podesta's Daughter and other Poems, by Geo. H. Boker. (Philadelphia: A. Hart). The principal poem in this volume is a dramatic sketch, founded on Italian life in the Middle Ages. It is written with terseness and vigor, displaying a chaste and powerful imagination, with an admirable command of the appropriate language of poetry. The volume contains several miscellaneous pieces, including snatches of songs and sonnets, which evince a genuine artistic culture, and give a brilliant promise on the part of the youthful poet.
What I Saw in New York, by Joel H. Ross, M.D. (Auburn: Derby and Miller). A series of popular sketches of several of the principal objects of interest in our “Great Metropolis.” The author has walked about the streets with his eyes wide open, noticing a multiplicity of things which are apt to escape the negligent observer, and has described them in a familiar conversational tone, which is not a little attractive. Strangers who are visiting New York for the first time will find an abundant store of convenient information in this well-filled volume—and all the better for the agreeable manner in which it is conveyed.
A useful volume for the emigrant and traveler, and for the student of geography as well, has been issued by J.H. Colton, entitled Western Portraiture, by Daniel S. Curtis. It contains a description of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, with remarks on Minnesota, and other Territories. In addition to the valuable practical information which it presents in a lucid manner, it gives several curious pictures of social life and natural scenery in the West. No one who wishes to obtain a clear idea of the resources of this country should fail to consult its very readable pages.
One of the most important London publications of the present season, Lectures on the History of France, by Sir James Stephen, is just issued by Harper and Brothers in one elegant octavo volume. They were delivered before the University of Cambridge, and comprise a series of brilliant, discursive commentaries on the salient points of French history, from the time of Charlemagne to that of Louis XIV. Of the twenty-four Lectures which compose the volume, three are devoted to the “Power of the Pen in France,” and discuss in a masterly style, the character and influence of Abeilard, Bernard, Montaigne, Descartes, Pascal, and other eminent French writers. Apart from its valuable political disquisitions, no recent work can compare with this volume as a contribution to the history of literature.