Page:Peterson's Magazine 1856 Vol. XXX.pdf/75

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REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
77


Wayside Songs. By Edward C. Qoodwin. 1 vol. c York: Mason Brothers.—These poems are of ious merit. Some are quite common-place; but i cannot be said of all. We quote one of the best.

THE FISHERMAN'S ORPHAN.

The harbor bar moaned loud that day,
The curlew shrieked about the bay,
And to our little sheltered core
Thick clouds of mist the sea-weed drove.

I met but once my mother's sight,
For I was born the vory night
My father's boat was washed on shore,
dismantled of its sail and oar.

That barren grave-yard on the height,
Above which sea-birds wing their flight,
Is full of mounds—and often there
I linger, when the evening air

Fills softly on two narrow graves,
O'erlooking far those slumb'ring waves,
That murmur ever of the sea
That lonely made the world to me.

The volume is printed on handsome, hot-pressed per, and reflects much credit on the publishers.

Short Sermons On Important Subjects. By Jonan Edmondson, A. 31. With an Introduction by p. J. P. Durbin, D. D. 1 vol. Philada: Leary Gelt.—The author of this fine octavo volume a Wesleyan minister in the British connexion, le sermons were first published, we believe, by J Methodist Book Room in London. They come jhly recommended, in an introduction from the a of Br. Durbin, well known as one of the most ltivatcd and eloquent divines in the United States, ne surmons are short and plain, devoted to unconovoTted moral and religious subjects, and written a pure and agreeable style. The volume contains

  • er five hundred pages, and is printed with large

id clear type, with more than ordinary neatness. handsome portrait of the author faces the title page.

The Spanish Conquest in America. By Arthur Mp>. 2 vol: New York: Harper & Brothers. 'I>ilatla: T. B. Peterson.—The purpose of this work i to detail, not merely the Spanish Conquest of ■merica, but also the results of that Conquest. The uthor aims to show how the extirpation of the native acea came about, bow other races were introduced, 'hat colonial government prevailed, how slavery ?ew, and how the encomiendas, on which all Indian ociety depended, were settled. His book aims, heref'>rc, at more than a mere narrative of events :

  • 18 "a effort at a philosophical history. There is

ivory indication of pains-taking on the part of Mr. •Mps. The work is a duodecimo.

•r<"-k Adams. By Captain Chamier. 1 vol. Pkilsda: T. B. Peterson—The mutiny on board "* Bounty," and the foundation, by the ring leader, of a colony in the South Seas, are events »ell known to the reading public. Capt Chamier h" ma,1« these transactions the subject of the preMnt n0T8'» which is written with much power.

Salad for the Social. By the author of " Salad for the Solitary." 1 voL New York: Deuiitt <b Davenport. Philada: T. B. Peterson.—A capital book, which originated in a practice, on the part of the author, of treasuring up choice passages of favorite writers. These passages have been reduced to order, in the " Salad for the Social," so that the work, in manner, resembles somewhat Burton's " Anatomy of Melancholy." Washington Irving, 0. P. R. James, and other eminent literary men, speak very highly of the "Salad." It is numerously illustrated, and issued, altogether, in quite an elegant style. With persons of taste and reading especially it will be a great favorite.

Vagabond Life in Mexico. By Gabriel Ferry. 1 vol. New York: Harper & Brothers.—The author of this book resided in Mexico for seven years, and is, we believe, an equally capable and reliable writer. " The Mexican Vagabond," " The Franciscan Monk," "The Thieves Lawyer of Mexico," and "The Pilot Ventura," are among the characters sketched by Mr. Ferry. The book is written in a brief, gossipping style, and gives a vivid idea of the manners of the lower classes in Mexico. Some of the adven tures, narrated in the volume, are of absorbing interest.

Yankee Travels Through the Island of Cuba. By Demoticus Philalethes. 1 vol. New York : D. Appleton & Co.—The writer of this book is an American, who spent some time in Cuba, where he carefully studied the men, government, laws and customs of the Island. The result is a work of considerable value; quite thorough, if not exhaustive; and one which we can recommend to the public. At present, when there is so much curiosity respecting Cuba, the book ought to have a large sale.

Gleanings. Some Wheat—Some Chajf. By Miss A. A. Qoddard. 1 vol. New York: D. Appleton d; Co.—A collection of short tales and sketches, of much more than average merit The stories generally have that unity, which so many writers overlook ; they are characterized by incident rather than by sentiment; and they nearlj all "point a moral." Miss Goddard is a writer of whom we hope to hear more. The volume is very neatly printed.

A Treatise on Arithmetic Theoretical and Prac tical. By Elias Loomis, L.L.D. 1 vol. New York: Harper & Brothers.—This work aims at something more than being merely practical. Every principle is sought to be developed in its natural order; every rule to be demonstrated rigorously, though briefly: in short, the pupil is taught to think, and not only to learn by rote. We think the book an advance on most former arithmetics.

Select Orations of M. T. Cicero. Translated by C. D. Zonge. 1 vol. New York : Harper and Brothers. Philada: T. B. Peterson.—Another volume of that excellent series, "Harper's Classical Library." For what students call "a pony," the translation is capital.