Lovell's Recent Publications. In Lovell's American Author's Series. Cloth, $1.00; Paper, 50 Cents. No. 11. SUNSET PASS. By Capt. Chas. King. 66 66 Nothing could be better than the straightforward incisive style in which the tale is told."— 14. A LAZY MAN'S WORK. By Frances C. Sparhawk. 16. OUT OF THE NIGHT. By H. W. French. The world-famous painting of the "Lorelei" is made the subject for one of the most poetical and interesting tales of the year. In Lovell's American Novelists' Series. Paper, 25 Cents. No. 36. HER NURSE'S VENGEANCE. By George H. Masson. In Lovell's International Series. Price per Vol: Cloth, $1.00; Paper, 50 Cents. No. 113. A MARKED MAN. By Ada Cambridge. "116. PRINCESS SUNSHINE. By Mrs. J. H. Riddell. 118. ❝ 122. THE NIGHT OF THE 3d ULT. By H. F. Wood. "124. THE GREAT MILL STREET MYSTERY. By Adeline Sergeant. " 128. LOVER OR FRIEND. By Rosa Nouchette Carey. In Lovell's Foreign Literature Series. Cloth, $1.00; Paper, 50 Cents. "6. PROSE DRAMAS, VOL. II. By Henrik Ibsen. Containing "The Lady from the Sea," "An Enemy of Society," "The Wild Duck," "The Young Men's League." In Lovell's Occult Series. Cloth, $1.00; Paper, 50 Cents. " 8. NEILA SEN, AND MY CASUAL DEATH. By J. H. Connelly. In Lovell's Westminster Series. Paper, 25 Cents Each. "10. CITY AND SUBURBAN. By Florence Warden. "13. PASSION PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. By Canon Farrar. "17. A MARRIAGE AT SEA. By W. Clark Russell. A SERIES OF STUDIES IN THE RELIGION OF THE INCARNATION. By Eleven Prominent English Clergymen. Edited by Rev. Charles Gore, M.A., Principal of the Pusey House, and Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. 1 vol., 12mo, cloth, gilt top, $1.75. "This Lux Mundi' is a very important contribution to Christian apologetics."-Independent. "As a rare intellectual pleasure we can justly say that we have not often chanced upon a reading equal to that of Lux Mundi.'"-The Churchman. "They seem, at all events, to have traced the lines within which, if at all, the reconcilement of religion and science may be looked for."-New York Sun. "Not since the publication of Essays and Reviews '-a volume issued more than thirty years ago-has any such startling work from the orthodox standpoint been published in England."-Current Literature. "These sermons cannot fail to do good in broadening the thoughts of whoever may read them."-Tacoma Globe. "The essays are written in the spirit of a generous catholicity which recognizes the fact that theology must adapt itself somewhat to the changed condition of each age, and must extend a welcome to all new knowledge from every source."-Home Journal, N. Y. "That this is a remarkable book is proved by the way in which it has been praised and assailed in England."N. Y. Tribune. Lux Mundi,' in its way, is one of the most significant of recent contributions to religious thought."—Christian Union. "It is a clear and beautiful utterance of the Gospel message, and an apology for the Christian faith at once timely and vigorous."-Northwest'n Christian Advocate. The book will mark an epoch in theological controversy."-Denver News. RUDYARD KIPLING'S INDIAN TALES. SOLDIERS THREE, AND OTHER STORIES. Price per volume, cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cents. THE STORY OF THE GADSBYS. Paper, 25 cents. THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES. By J. McNeill Whistler. Extra cloth, gilt, $2.00; Edition de Luxe, $10.00. The publishers would announce that the second edition of this remarkable book is more than half exhausted, and that only a few copies of the Edition de Luxe remain unsold. UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY, Publishers, N. Y. In winter pou may reade them, ad ignem, by the fireside; and in summer, ad umbram, under some shadie tree; and there. with pass away the tedious howres. beyting guid From "Society as I Have Found it." (Copyright, 1890, by Ward McAllister Cassell Fublishing Co.) SOCIETY AS I HAVE FOUND IT. MR. WARD MCALLISTER needs no introduction. Although this is his first appearance as an author, his name is well known. For forty years he has been a conspicuous man of fashion, and for twenty years and more he has been a leader of society in New York and Newport, and he is known far and near as the inventor of "the four hundred." In "Society as I Have Found It" Mr. McAllister gives his exper'ences in the social world, and his pages sparkle with reminiscence and scintillate with humor. He gossips pleasantly of the "smart set," and while thus recounting his experiences, he deftly weaves in an amount of information on the manners and customs of good society that is not to be found elsewhere. Whatever Mr. McAllister says upon the subject of social laws is by the card, for his authority is undisputed. An important feature is the appendix containing fac-similes of visiting-cards, invitations, acceptances, regrets, etc., etc., covering every point, and all taken from Mr. McAllister's own card-basket. We give a few specimens of the good things in this book, as the best method of illustrating its character: "The placing of your guests at table requires an intimate knowledge of society. It is only by constant association that you can know who are congenial. If you are assigned to one you are indifferent to, your only hope lies in your next neighbor, and with this hope and fear you enter the dining room, not knowing who that will be. At the table conversation should be crisp; it is in bad taste to absorb it all. Macaulay, at a dinner, would so monopolize it that the great wit, Sydney Smith, said he did not distinguish between monologue and dialogue. "When the President of the United States goes to dinner, all the guests must be assembled; they stand in a horseshoe circle around the salon; the President enters; when the lady of the house approaches him, he gives her his arm, and they lead the way to the dining-room, the President sitting in the host's place, with his hostess on his right. On arriving at the house where he is to dine, if the guests are not all assembled, he remains in his carriage until notified that they are all present. No one can rise to leave the table until the President himself rises. If he happens to be deeply interested in some fair neighbor, and takes no note of time, the patience of the company is sadly tried. "On entering a salon and finding yourself surrounded by noted or fashionable people, you are naturally flattered at being included; if the people are unnoted you are annoyed. The surprise to me is that in this city our cleverest men and politicians do not oftener seek society and become its brilliant ornament, as in England and on the continent of Europe. Disraeli, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Palmerston, all were in society and were great diners out. In fact, all the distinguished men of Europe make part and parcel of society, whilst here they shirk it as if it were beneath their dignity. They should know that there is no power like the social power; it makes and unmakes. The proverb is that The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' "Now, as to the length of a good dinner: Napoleon the Third insisted on being served in three quarters of an hour. As usual here, we run from one extreme to another. One of our most fashionable women boasted to me that she had dined out the day before, and the time consumed from the hour she left her house until her return home was but one hour and forty minutes. This is absurd. A lover of the flesh-pots of Egypt grumbled to me that his plate was snatched away from him by the servant before he could half get through the appetizing morsel on it. This state of things has been brought about by stately, handsome dinners, spun out to too great length. One hour and a half at the table is long enough. "A word about the decoration of the table: In this we are now again running from one extreme to the other. A few years ago the florist took possession of the table, and made a flowergarden of it regardless of cost. Now, at the best dinners, you see perhaps in the centre of the table one handsome basket of flowers; no bouquets de corsage or boutonnières; the table set with austere simplicity; a few silver dishes with bonbons and compotiers of fruit, that is all. Now, nothing decorates a dinner-table as flowers do; and of these I think the Gloire de Paris roses, the Rothschild rose and Captain Chrystie's the most effective. A better result is produced by having all of one kind of flower, be it roses, or tulips, or carnations. "It is now the fashion to have the most superb embroidered table-cloths from Paris, in themselves costing nearly a year's income. But it is to be remembered that thirty years ago we imported from England the fashion of placing in the centre of the table a handsome piece of square scarlet satin, on which to place the silver. At the dinner the eye should have a feast as well as the palate. A beautifully laid table is very effective. I have seen Her Majesty's table at Windsor Castle all ready for her. I have heard her footmen, in green and gold, re-echo from hall to kitchen the note that 'dinner is served,' and then I was told to go; but I saw all I wanted to see. Her six footmen placed their hands on the little velvet Bishop's cap which covered the lion and the unicorn in frosted gold on the cover of her six entrée dishes; as dinner was announced this velvet cap was removed. The keeper of her jewel-room has a large book of lithographs of just the pieces of gold plate that are to decorate Her Majesty's table on different occasions, all regulated by the rank of her guest. Her Majesty, in the time of Prince Albert, dined at 8:15. Her head chief informed me then that her real dinner was eaten at 2 P.M., with the Prince of Wales, and it was for this he exercised his talent. At 8 and a quarter she took but soup and fish.. "It is to be borne in mind that a host or hostess cannot be too courteous or gracious to their guests; and again, that guests, in being late at dinner, oftentimes commit a breach of politeness. Apropos of this, while in Paris, one of our Ministers to the French Court related to me the fol lowing anecdote, illustrating true French politeness. His daughter arrived late at the dinner of a high personage. When her father remonstrated, she replied: Did you not see that one of the family arrived after us?' The next day our Minister heard that the Duchess, with whom he had dined, had sent her daughter out of the room to come in after them, to relieve them of any embarrassment at being late." (Cassell. $2.) From "The Pacific Coast Scenic Tour." (Copyright, 18,0, by Charles Scribner's Sons.) YOSEMITE THE whole day still lies before us, and it is part of the regular programme to spend it in seeing the Vernal and Nevada Falls. The carriage takes us across a bridge, where saddle horses are waiting for those who dread the climb. Make the driver stop a few minutes on the middle of the bridge, because thence you get one of the finest views of one of those unique mountain formations of the Sierra Nevada-the North Dome, as true to its name and as absolutely symmetri cal and regular as any capitol or religious edifice ever constructed. The falls we have seen so far are formed by creeks which fall over the Yosemite walls and then join the river below; but those we are to see now are formed by the Merced itself, and therefore promise to be more imposing in volume, even if inferior in height. A wide bridle-path leads up the steep gorge, perfectly safe for the most nervous, though much blasting was necessary to make it so. Superb views of the Valley beneath, of the precipitous cliffs on all sides, and from them a water-fall or two which would make the reputation of any ordinary mountain region, but which here are hardly noticed amid the abundance of first-class cataracts. A deserted log cabin near the foot of the Vernal Fall marks the place where we can either follow the horses up to the top of the fall or VALLEY. climb up by a steep footpath by the side of the fall. By all means this path should be taken, either going or descending, the latter being preferable, not only as being much easier, but because our descending from the top to the base of the fall makes it seem higher, grander and louder every moment. Approaching it by the footpath, we are soon enveloped in a drenching spray, the haunt of a superb rainbow, which at first forms a complete circle, but as we get up higher is gradually reduced to the semi circular form of ordinary rainbows (another reason for taking this path on returning, since a scenic crescendo is preferable to a decrescendo). The last part of the ascent is made on a series of stairs, dizzy but safe, built through a sort of cavern in the rock, where we can get a peep right into the home of rare ferns and mosses kept green by the spray. It would be impossible to find a more romantic and commanding spot than this. At your feet is the Vernal Fall and the turbulent Merced tumbling down the mammoth gorge; in the other direction, less than a mile upwards, is another water-fall, world famed - the Nevada and between these two falls are endless combinations of wild rocks and shooting waters. (Scribner. $2.50.)-From Finck's "Pacific Coast Scenic Tour." DOROTHEA LYNDE DIX. WHEN, in the summer heat of 1887, all that was mortal of Dorothea Lynde Dix had been buried at Mount Auburn in the presence of a few devoted friends, one of the latter wrote to another in England, "Thus has died and been laid to rest in the most quiet, unostentatious way the most useful and distinguished woman America has yet produced." To the present generation, so filled with present matters, so ignorant even of the immediate past, this judgment will no doubt seem to be the product of biased enthusiasm, for to very many the name of Miss Dix and the history of her achievements in behalf of the human race are little more than shadows. There is good reason to believe, however, that the verdict of the future will substantially agree with that of the friend we have quoted. Certainly no American woman has ever yet accomplished so much for the permanent relief of the afflicted, and if distinction is to rest on individual character and not on the more ephemeral charms of brilliancy in conversation and personal beauty, then Miss Dix had indeed claims of eminence before which mere notoriety must fade. It was well that the story of the "Life of Dorothea Lynde Dix" should be given to the world, and after reading the book one is convinced that the task could not have been entrusted to more competent or discreet hands than those of the Rev. Francis Tiffany. Miss Dix, we are told, had to almost the very end of her long life of eighty-five years an invincible repugnance to anything in the nature of autobiographical reminiscences. "My reputation and my services," she wrote on one occasion, “belong to my country. My history and my affections belong to my friends." By indefatigable labor, however, and with the assistance of many who knew Miss Dix and revered her memory, Mr. Tiffany has succeeded in putting together a detailed narrative of her early struggles and subsequent momentous career. He likens her, not unjustly, to St. Theresa. "Had she been born in 1515 in still mediæval and imaginatively religious Spain, instead of in 1802 in rational, practical New England, then, just as inevitably as in the case of St. Theresa, would she have founded great conventual establishments in a Malaga, Valladolid, Toledo, Segonia and Salamanca, as she in reality did great asylums for the insane in a Baltimore, Raleigh, Columbia, Nashville, Lexington or Halifax. Equally, too, she would have ruled them as abbess. Precisely the same characteristics marked her-the same absolute religious consecration, the same heroic readiness to trample under foot the pain of illness, loneliness and opposition, the same intellectual grasp of what a great reformatory work demanded." Instead of legends of the saints and tales of the supernatural, Miss Dix grew up in the warm, human, helpful creed of Channing, and from an early date she sought to manifest her faith by her works. When she undertook a reform in the methods of treating the insane, New England and the Southern States were blighted with a curse worse than that which now afflicts the unhappy subjects of the Tsar in Siberia. Maniacs were then subjected to outrages that would not now be visited upon wild beasts. They were leased out to the custody of the lowest bidder, impris oned in iron cages or noisome dungeons, loaded with chains, deprived of adequate food and clothing, made the victims of systematic violence and abuse. Miss Dix, by personal visits, collected a store of unsavory facts, and flung them like so many bomb-shells before various State legislatures. The movement begun by her attained rapid success; comfortable and well-managed institutions for the care of the insane were established all over the Eastern part of the country; she extended her efforts to England and Italy, and Europe as well as America has reason to bless the memory of this noble woman who never spared herself in her epoch-making struggle for the cause to which she gave the best years of her life. No less noteworthy, though perhaps less successful owing to conditions over which she had no control, were her deeds in behalf of the sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War. To the last she had the confidence and high esteem of Secretary Stanton, and the official recognition by the government of her services was as deserved as it was modestly received. It is not, however, so much in the sphere of achievement as in that of motive and ideal that the lesson of this beautiful life is to be sought. She was endowed by nature with exceptional energy and ambition, but her temperament was singularly sensitive and proud, and her childhood, as Mr. Tiffany tersely expresses it, was "bleak, humiliating and painful." Over all adverse elements, including persistent physical weakness and suffering, her indomitable spirit rose supreme, and she conquered where many a more fortunately endowed but less heroic soul would have succumbed to the pressure of mere material circumstances. Of this life so elevated in purpose, so rich in results, Mr. Tiffany has written circumspectly and forcibly. It is a book that ought to find many earnest readers, to whom it will be, even in the affairs of everyday, commonplace existence, a source of truly beneficent inspiration. (Houghton, M. $1.50.) Boston Beacon. CARDINAL NEWMAN. PEACE to the virgin heart, the crystal brain! Peace for one hour through all the camps of thought! Our subtlest mind has rent the veil of pain, Has found the truth he sought. Who knows what page those new-born eyes have read? If this set creed, or that, or none be best?Let no strife jar above this sacred head; Peace for a saint at rest! -EDMUND GOSSE, in the London Times. |