388 



LITEEATUEE AND LITERARY PROGEESS 



1869. 



the same side of the question, with more 

 warmth and less cogency. "The Feminine 

 Soul," by Elizabeth Strutt, and "Man and Wo- 

 man, Equal but Unlike," by J. Eeed, and 

 " Woman ; Her Eights, Wrongs, Privileges, and 

 Opportunities," by L. P. Brockett, deal with 

 the subject, if not with the dispute. On topics 

 more or less directly implicated in this ques- 

 tion, important books are, "Essay on Divorce 

 and Divorce Legislation," by President T. D. 

 Woolsey, a careful record of facts, exposition 

 of great principles, and a testing of our laws 

 by means of them, and "Moral Reforms sug- 

 gested in a Pastoral Letter," by the Et. Eev. 

 A. 0. Coxe. "History and Philosophy of Mar- 

 riage, or Polygamy and Monogamy Compared, 

 by a Christan Philanthropist," seriously argues 

 for Polygamy on both religious and humane 

 grounds. The temperance reform has called 

 out a reprint, for general circulation, of Mr. 

 Parton's articles inquiring, " Will the Coming 

 Man drink W T ine ? " and " Does it pay to 

 Smoke?," both which questions Mr. John Fiske 

 has answered affirmatively, and cleverly argued 

 for that conclusion in his " Tobacco and Al- 

 cohol." The movement for the abolition of 

 capital punishment is represented by " Christ 

 and the Gallows, or, Eeasons for the Abolition 

 of Capital Punishment," by M. H. Bovee. A 

 contribution of importance to the intelligent 

 study of our financial problems is the Hon. E. 

 G. Spaulding's " History of the Legal-Tender 

 Paper Money issued during the War of the 

 Eebellion." Bastiat's " Essays on Political 

 Economy," translated, is a contribution to 

 the rising discussion of the protective sys- 

 tem. Questions now essentially settled let 

 us hope are presented in diverse points of 

 view, in EOT. Gilbert Haven's "Sermons, 

 Speeches, and Letters on Slavery and its War," 

 in the inexhaustibly witty "Tribune Essays," 

 by Charles T. Congdon, and in " Conservative 

 Views ; the Government of the United States, 

 What is it?" A kindred topic is treated in 

 " The Chinese in California," by D. Cleveland. 

 "A Chapter of Erie," by 0. F. Adams, Jr., 

 has an interest reaching beyond the imme- 

 diate subject to the larger concerns of legisla- 

 tive and judicial purity. "Popular Amuse- 

 ments," by the Eev. J. T. Craue, and "The 

 Dance of Modern Society," discuss the subject 

 of amusement and recreation as related to cul- 

 ture and the moral welfare of society the lat- 

 ter with exceptional vigor of argument and 

 serious and witty invective. " Public Educa- 

 tion in the City of New York ; its History, 

 Condition, and Statistics," by Thomas Boese, 

 directs attention to an interest now increasingly 

 prominent in the consideration of the public. 

 And finally, the " Journal of Social Science," 

 containing the transactions of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Social 

 Science, a society which is doing the country 

 good service, is a repository of papers, thus 

 far, of the highest practical value. 



VI. TRAVELS. Books of Travel, Adventure, 



and Exploration, have been, if less numerous, 

 not less important and valuable in character 

 than in 1868. The opening of the Pacific 

 Railroad drew visitors across the continent, 

 and gave an impulse to the record and publi- 

 cation of what was seen. Mr. Samuel Bowles 

 gave us "The Switzerland of America, or, A 

 Vacation in Colorado," besides embodying the 

 substance of former books in " Our New West." 

 "The New West, or, California in 1867," by C. 

 L. Brace, though in some of its statements ob- 

 solete since the opening of the railroad, has a 

 value as history, photographing a state of soci- 

 ety some features of which are in a way to 

 be " improved oif." " The Sunset Land," by 

 Eev. J. Todd, D. D., and "The Yosemite 

 Guide-Book," by J. D. Whitney, also deserve 

 mantion. " A Winter in Florida," by Ledyard 

 Bill, and "A Guide-Book of Florida and the 

 South," by D. G. Brinton, M. D., have an in- 

 terest for invalids and intending emigrants. 

 "Adventures and Explorations in Old and 

 New Mexico," is a guide out of the beaten 

 track. " Across America and Asia," by Pro- 

 fessor Eaphael Pumpelly, has gone rapidly to 

 a third edition, an evidence of public apprecia- 

 tion well deserved. " Travels in the East-In- 

 dian Archipelago," by Prof. A. S. Bickmore, 

 combines the interest of scientific research with 

 that of stirring personal adventure and of 

 exploration in an unfamiliar region. " Our 

 New Way Eound the World," by 0. 0. Coffin, 

 has the dash of an enterprising newspaper 

 correspondent, and narrates in unfailing good- 

 humor, if not always in the best taste, the 

 victories of a Yankee over time and space. 

 " Notes in England and Italy," by Mrs. Haw- 

 thorne, does not need that its independent 

 merits should be reenforced by associations 

 with the memory of our peerless romancer. 

 Mr. Bayard Taylor's "By- Ways of Europe" 

 attracts by its unworn topics, though the 

 views have less of the transparent and achro- 

 matic character belonging to the author's earlier 

 works. " Our Admiral's Flag Abroad," by J. 

 E. Montgomery, commemorates the remark- 

 able cruise of Admiral Farragut in 1867-'68. 

 The Hon. G. M. Dallas's " Letters from Lon- 

 don," though not without interest, fell below 

 expectation. "The Letters of a Sentimental 

 Idler, from Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and the 

 Holy Land," by Harry Hare wood Leech, not 

 only describe, but reproduce, the spirit of 

 Oriental life. There were less than the usual 

 number of books made out of the stereotyped 

 "grand tour" and the Guide-Books, but, 

 though less than thirty in all represent the 

 activity in this popular class of books, it will 

 be seen that the quality is highly respectable. 

 VII. PHYSICAL SCIENCES. In this depart- 

 ment the number of original works, exclusive 

 of school text-books, is not large. Prof. J. P. 

 Cooke's "Principles of Chemical Philosophy," 

 and the " Manual of Organic Chemistry," by 

 C. W. Eliot and F. H. Storer; "Our Own 

 Birds; a Familiar Natural History of the Birds 



