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The Nation.
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[Vol. 71, No. 1832
which the datly task without such prep- aration seldom gives.
In March last wo extended a welcome to the firat of the four volumes of the ‘Cyclo- pmdia of American Horticulture,’ by Prot. L. H. Bailey and his assistant, Wilhelm Miller (Macmilian). The second {s now ts- sued, embracing the letters E—M. The large number of pen-drawn illustrations in the text are supplemented by a few striking photographic plates of full size, including a frontispiece group of portraits of prominent ‘American horticulturists. ‘The pen-drawing of the Ite Asa Gray which accompanies the article upon him is much inferior to the foregoing group. Plate xiv. shows Wash- Ington’s garden at Mount Vernon as it looks to-day. The rude sketch-maps of States show more or less broadly the chief horticultural areas; in Massachusetts, the Cape Cod cranberry belt Iles over against the straw- berry region; apples are at the opposite ex- tremity, in Berkshire, and again in Worces- ter and Middiesex Count
"The Memoirs of the Baroness Céclle de Courtot,’ translated trom the German by Jessie Haynes (Henry Holt & Co.), are not published In the form of an original auto- Biography, but have been compiled from letters and a dlary by Moritz von Kalsen- borg, the great-grandson of the lady to whom the letters in question were address- ed. The Baroness do Courtot, a lady-tn- waiting to the Princess de Lamballe, sur- vived the Terror and lived into the period of the Consulate. Her letters to Frau von Alvensleben, which form the chief material for this volume, were written from Paris betweon 1800 and 1808, Her sufferings dur- ing the days of the Convention are, indeed, told, but in the words of Frau von Alvens- Ieben's diary. The most important part of the record, which 1s personal rather than political, begins shortly after the coup d'état of Brumatre, and deals with Parisian soclety in the time when the First Consul and Mm¢ Bonaparte were engaged in concillating the g00d will of all groups, cliques, and parties. ‘The Baroness de Courtot recelved invita- tions to Malmaison, and saw enough of fasbionable life to furnish her with several subjects for character sketches. ‘The most romantic part of the book, however, ts the story of her engagement to the Vicomte Hector de Trellissac in the early part of the Revolution, bis astounding success in rescu- ing her from the guillotine, their separe. tion until after the return from Egypt, and final marriage. Altogether these memoirs must be held to rank well in the department of minor biography. The translation seems @ good one, but the proofreader has been too careless.
A Norwegian writer, Clara Tachudl, who ‘has already published biographies of Marie Antoinette and the Empress Hugénie, adds & volume, ‘Napoleon's Mother’ (Dutton), to the vast bulk of Napoleonic Iterature, The English translation 1s by E. M. Cape. A ‘g00d contemporary account of Letitia Bona- parte was written by the eminent army sur- geon, Jean Dominique Larrey, but latterly she has found little favor with writers and editors of memoirs. She 1s usually credited ‘with colossal greed and an unpleasant par- tlality towards certain members of her family. I the present sketch these hard lines of character are a good deal softened by the emphasis which 1s placed upon Le- Uitia’s self-control, in prosperity and mis- fortune alike. Certainly no wild animal
ever looked after its young more carefully than she watched over her children during the struggles of thelr infancy and early days. ‘The strength of her affection for her young- or half-brother, Cardinal Fesch, 1s also a point in her favor, ‘The most interesting part of her life 1a that which Iles before the
jstablishment of the Consulate. She never trusted in the permanence of Napoleon's po- Utieal fabric, Miss Tachud! has collected considerable information regarding the pe- riod of poverty and hardship, which will ap- peal to readers of biography no less than to students of history. There are so few women in modern times to whom the title, “Mater Regum,"' can be applied, that a well- prepared sketch of Letitia Bonaparte will hardly fall to secure its audience.
Every one familiar with the late Edward L. Pierce's Memoir of Charles Sumner, in four large volumes, will understand how mi tural and proper was the remark he 1s sald to have made when he first heard of the Intention to include a blography of Sumner tn the American Statesmen Series: “All the facta will be found in my work.” There was, fn truth, no chance for Mr. Moorfield Storey to display originality in research in bis “Charles Sumner’ (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.), Dut there was a rare opportunity to rear- range tbe topics and the colors and to analyze Sumner’s impressive character. The opportunity has been Improved to a con- siderable degree, but the main effort seems to have been to condense into a little more than four hundred pages a record of a busy public career covering about a quarter of a century. While Mr. Storey has relied al- most entirely upon Plerce’s investigations, it fe nothing less than amazing that he has not even mentioned either Pierce's name or his generous literary monument to Sum- ner. The book lacks vivacity and a literary touch, such as are apparent in every chapter of Mr. Morse’s biographies, however much ho leans upon others for his tacts. Mr. Storey gives us a good summary, a well- proportioned brief.
‘Muscle, Brain, and Diet: A Plea for Sim- pler Foods,’ by Eustace H. Miles (Macml!- Ian Co.), 1s a record of the personal expe- rience of a brain and muscle worker, not @ physician, who comes to the conclusion that for himself, at least, meat and stimu- Ianta are harmful and not healthful. It is consclentlously written and contains sug-
gestions of value. To some persons the suggestions of a private individual carry a kind of conviction which the writings of the trained aclentific observer do not inspire; to us, however, it appears that the handling of such a subject 1s attended with so many dificuities that the very best training 14 none too good for it, and we cannot admit that the author demonstrates his right to speak with authority,
‘The “Captiv!” is far the best of the come- les of Plautus for undergraduate classes, and the Allyn & Bacon College Latin Seri is sensibly strengthened by Prof. Elmer's edition, which has just appeared, Prof. El- mer {s very conservative in his treatment of the text, and makes » plausible plea for ‘the manuscript readings in many cases where previous editors have thought it ne- cessary to emend, We cannot see, however, that this laudable conservatism made neces- sary the relegation of bis own textual eritt- clam to a spectal appendix; and the use of this special appendix for the citations of authorities for statements made in the main
commentary 1s unfortunate, A considerable amount of repetition is apparent in the notes, perhaps justifable in most cases from the pedagogical point of view, but It was hardly necessary to state in three separate places that Plautus frequently seasons his Greek materials with Roman allusions, Terence only rarcly. The reference in the Introduction to Hrotswitha of Gandersholm as an “tmitator of Terence” perpetuates a tradition which would not Inst long if some one would try to point out the evidences of imitation, ‘The associates of Hrotawiths read Terence to their moral detriment, as It ‘seemed to her, and she tried, with Christian materials, to write pooms which would take the place of the pagan comedies. As one might expect from Prot. Elmer, the use of the subjunctive in Plautus recelves mi- ute attention, He naturally inaists, on his own views, which are well known to Latin- {nts through the American Journat of Phtiolo- gy and other publications, but the student 1s allowed to know, through references to Bonnett and others, that these viows are not universally accepted by competent philo- logists, Of the work as a whole one may fairly speak in terms of high commendation.
We have received from Henry Frowde three catalogues of the exhibits of the Ox- ford University Press at the Paris Bxposl- tion, the first being of the Educattonal. ‘Those of Paper and Binding are notico- able for very attractive photographic 1l- lustrations, frst, of the University paper-mill ‘at netghboring Wolvercote, which the anti- quarian Hearne notes in operation in 1728 by Jobn Beckford, “‘tamous for making pa- per.” Here is made that wonderful Oxford |.India paper which effects such incredi- dle saving in bulk and welght as is demon- strated by several object-lessons, with the aid of the camera, “‘Yapp bindings" are the specialty of this press, and are shown iu many beautiful examples. No, 172 in the catalogue ts the poetical works of Whittler, and the “unique design” represented is as elegant as it ts un-Quakerltke.
The twelfth volume of Mr. Charles F. Lummis's Land of Sunshine published tn Los Angeles, Cal., combines the issues from December, 1899, to May, 1900, inclusive. ‘The contents show steady evenness of worth and Interest, and the filustrations cover a wide range. Among the portraits are to be remarked the fine head of Dr. Edward Robe- son Taylor, the competent translator of Hérédla's verso; Willlam Kelth, the land- scape painter par ezcellence of the Pacific Const; B. A. Burbank, whose gift of In- lan portraiture, as evidenced here, old Cat- lin would have been the first to recognise, and receives here the praise of so high an authority as Mr. Lumm{s. Other more famil- Jar faces are those of Edwin Markham, Prest- dent Wheeler, who writes of his University of California, and the late Elliott Coues, shown also in a group with George Parker ‘Winship and others. Mr. Winship contrib- utes an article on the discovery of the Colorado. Mr. Lummis characterizes in his racy manner Mrs, Charlotte Perkins Stet- son and other representatives of Western letters, and in many departments plies his fluent and unresting pen. Pursuing his ‘fix- ed policy,” which 1s to make his magazine ‘entertaining, if possible, but valuable any- how,” he concludes his translation of Fray Zérate-Salmeron's Relactén concerning. New Mexico and) California, 1538-1628, ana pab-
Mshes entire a version of Fray @itvestms �
