Madame Récamier and her Friends. From the French of Madame Lenormant. By the translator of Madame Récamier’s Memoirs. Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1875.
This volume will doubtless be welcome to those already familiar with the Memoirs previously published. The work is largely made up of letters which are of no particular interest, except so far as they throw light on the character of the writers. Endowed by nature with extraordinary beauty, and possessing that knowledge of public events and skill in their interpretation which seems a special gift of Frenchwomen, Mme. Récamier became the centre of an admiring group of statesmen and littérateurs who sought the benefit of her intuitive wisdom.
A very strong testimony to Mme. Récamier’s many virtues is found in the warm friendship which existed between herself and other ladies holding a similar position in French society; in the loving devotion of the child of her adoption, who subsequently became her biographer; and—in the fear and jealousy of the First Napoleon, who paid her the compliment of a temporary exile. The personal attention she gave to her adopted daughter’s education is worthy of imitation.
Wayside Pencillings, with Glimpses of Sacred Shrines. By the Rev. James J. Moriarty, A.M. Albany: Van Benthuysen Printing House. 1875.
Father Moriarty’s work has one merit on which editors place a high value—brevity. A book of travels is not properly a history or topography of the countries visited, and a bird’s-eye view of the most salient features is all that we can reasonably ask at the traveller’s hand. The interlarded extracts with which some authors swell their volumes are often wearisome reading. In the above work the reverend traveller narrates all the important incidents of his journey, with descriptions of the various shrines on his route, in so picturesque a manner, and in so few words, that the reader will have no difficulty in laying up in his memory many pleasant subjects for reflection.
Eight Cousins; or, The Aunt-Hill. By Louisa M. Alcott. Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1875.
An entertaining volume for youthful readers, and one which conveys many useful lessons. The same charming freshness which won for Little Women its wide reputation will render this volume a favorite, notwithstanding its defects—one of which is a spirit of self-assertion in the heroine which is only too true to nature in the average American girl. However reluctant we may be to acknowledge the fact, we cannot fail to see that our so-called progress has had a tendency to weaken veneration for age and respect for authority. Miss Alcott shows her sympathy with this fault by sometimes placing age in a ludicrous light before her juvenile readers. The young people of this generation do not need any encouragement in the belief that age does not always bring wisdom, and we the more regret this mistake in a book otherwise commendable. Destroy the confidence and veneration with which childhood looks up to those placed over it, and you rob parents of that which constitutes a great charm in their offspring, and go far to break down the chief bulwark of society—the family.
Manual of the Sisters of Charity. A Collection of Prayers compiled for the use of the Society of Sisters of Charity in the Diocese of Louisville, Kentucky. Adapted to general use. Baltimore: J. Murphy & Co. 1875.
This is a new volume added to the already large devotional literature of the church. As its title imports, it was prepared especially with a view to the wants of the daughters of St. Vincent, though adapted to those of other religious, and of persons in the world. As it bears the imprimatur of the Archbishop of Baltimore, and has the approval of the Bishop of Louisville, and, in addition, has had the benefit of Mr. Murphy’s careful proofreading—a matter the importance of which can scarcely be over-estimated in devotional works—we deem further comment unnecessary. We would, however, suggest whether the use of a somewhat thinner paper would not make a better proportioned volume.
Miscellanea: Comprising Reviews, Lectures, and Essays on Historical, Theological, and Miscellaneous Subjects. By M. J. Spalding, D.D., Archbishop of Baltimore. Sixth Edition, revised and greatly enlarged. 1875.