REVIEW
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THE BEST WAY TO REMIT is by a post office order ; the next best by a draft ; and the next, by greenbacks, or the notes of any solvent banks. Only, in remitting , let nobody, if you can help it, into the secret; the fewer that know it, the more certainty there is of your money coming to hand.
" THE CHILDREN'S HOME" is the title of a new Magazine for juveniles, which is to be published by T. S. Arthur, of this city. Mr. Arthur is particularly qualified for such an enterprise. The price of the periodical will be $1.25 a year, or five copies for $5.00. Office, No. 323 Walnut street, Philadelphia.
ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE THE BEST. -Says the Sandwich (I ) Gazette :-" Peterson's Magazine is acknowledged to be the best for ladies. We cannot see how any lady, who has ever looked over it, can consent to do without it." And we could quote hundreds of similar notices. " AU REVOIR.” —This fine engraving is from a picture by Carl Becker, one of the first living artists of Germany. We are indebted for it, as for " The Lullaby," to the famous gallery imported by Bailey & Brothers, of Philadelphia. " A MUCH BETTER MAGAZINE is Peterson's," says the Lancaster (Mo.) Excelsior, " than others, and at one-third less price, which is quite an item of itself." "THE LULLABY" is engraved from a picture painted by one ofthe most eminent of modern artists. How the little thing hugs the poor puppy as she sings ! ENORMOUS CRINOLINES ARE DOOMED. - Nobody wears them in Paris now.
REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS. The Authorship of Shakspeare. By Nathaniel Holmes. 1 rol., 12 mo. New York : Hurd & Houghton.-This is an attempt to substantiate the theory of the late Delia Bacon, that the plays, attributed to Shakspeare, were not written by him, but by some other person. The argument, put in few words, is this. From what we know of Shakspeare, he had but little education, and was, therefore, incompetent to produce themoney, plays insoquestion He seems have cared only to make that he might set uptofor a gentleman in his native town ; he had none of the " noble scorn ofpelf" which belongs to true genius. It is more probable that the plays were the work of some other person who had reasons for not acknowledging them ; and that Shakspeare, as part owner of a theatre, was persuaded to copy them, to put them on the stage, and to let them be considered his. Of all the men of that day, young Francis Bacon, afterward known erroneously as Lord Bacon, for his real title was Lord Verulam, was the one most likely to have been the author of the dramas; for he not only was a poet, but he had, also, the multiform knowledge which the dramas display, and which no mere wool-stapler's son could, in that age, have acquired. Moreover, for twentyfive years after coming to the bar, Bacon had very little practice, and consequently a great deal of leisure. Lord Southampton, the friend of Shakspeare, was also Bacon's friend, and, it is suggested, was the go-between in this transaction. The argument, it will be seen, is a chain of mere probabilities. Destroy one of these links, and the whole is worthless. Now there is hardly one of the probabilities adduced in favor of Bacon, that is not stronger in behalf of Shakspeare. We have not the space to notice them all; we must content ourselves with only one. It is said that a man of the greatest genius, such as the world has held Shakspeare to be, could not have the vulgar love
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of money which Shakspeare confessedly had. Yet Bacon himself loved it quite as much, and owed his fall to that weakness. Scott, also, the next greatest name, perhaps, in English literature, loved money and position, and wrote, mainly to make money, and not simply for fame. We fancy, too, that Dickens, as well as other less famous writers of our own time, would do very little work, if they won reputation only. The truth is, people, who talk like Delia Bacon did on this subject, hardly understand human nature. Quite as absurd is the attempt to impeach the fidelity of the bust at Stratford. Hawthorne considered it to be a genuine, though rude, likeness. So did Chantrey, the sculptor, who believed it to have been taken from a mask. We have seen the bust ourselves and coincide in these opinions . It is the head and face of a man with great intel lectual powers, ideality being especially noticeable, but with animal propensities equally decided . Now nobody could have written the Shaksperian dramas who was not "of the earth, earthy," as well as, in other moods, pure almost to heavenliness. Ordinary thinkers will not understand that it is this union in the same person of such opposite qualities which makes the great genius ; and hence the cant that the bust cannot be reliable, because it makes the " divine Shakspeare" look as if he was fond of good ale, which he undoubtedly was. It is inconceivable that a man of mature years, as Mr. Holmes appears to be, should be led away by such a fallacy. And his arguments, in other respects, are no better. Beethoven's Letters. Translated by Lady Wallace. 2 vols , 12 mo. New York: Hurd & Houghton.-We cannot praise too highly the manner in which this house brings out its books. Type, paper, and binding, are all in the best taste. It is a real pleasure to have such volumes in one's library. Nor are the works, which Hurd & Houghton print, ever deficient in literary qualities. The present publication, as an example, is one of very great interest; it lets the reader into the heart of Beethoven, so to speak, as no mere biography ever can. A portrait and fac-simile of the great composer embellish the volames. Poems of Jean Ingelow. Illustrated. 1 vol., small 4 to. Boston: Roberts Brothers.- This is really one of the most elegant volumes ever issued from the press. It contains one hundred illustrations, from designs by Pinwell, Poynter, North, Houghton, Wolf, Dalziel, and others ; is printed on the finest paper; and is bound in cloth, new style, full gilt, beveled, and paneled. Of all the books, published this season, it is the most suitable for a Christinas, or NewYear's gift. The volume contains, we believe, all the poems of Miss Ingelow, as yet given to the public. The National Cook-Book. By a Lady of Philadelphia. 1 vol., 12 mo. Philada : T. B. Peterson & Brothers.- This is really one of the best cook-books we have ever examined. It contains five hundred and seventy-eight new receipts, never before published, all comparatively economical, and every one of which the compiler, a practical housewife, tested. Most cook-books are too extravagant for ordinary families. This is just the one for every-day use. The volume is printed in large type on clear white paper. A First Latin Reading Book. By William Smith, LL. D. 1 vol., 12 mo. New York: Harper & Brothers.-This contains an epitome of Cæsar's " Gallic Wars," and Lhomond's " Lives of Distinguished Romans;" with a short introduction to Roman Antiquities ; Notes, and a Dictionary. The work has been edited, in this country, by Henry Drisler, LL. D., of Columbia College, New York. An American Family in Germany. By J. Ross Browne. Iliustrated by the author. 1 rol., 12 mo. New York: Harper & Brothers.-A very entertaining book, both pictorially and otherwise. The descriptions of life in Germany are not only graphic, but accurate also ; and much valuable information underlies the sparkling surface of humor.
