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LITERATURE, AMERICAN, IN 1881. 



Art," being a new translation from the seventh 

 German edition, edited with notes by Clarence 

 Cook. S. (i. W. Benjamin gives a very read- 

 able account of " Onr American Artists " (Bos- 

 ton, Lotbrop), including painters, sculptors, etc. 

 A pleasant volume, by Mrs. J. A. Shedd, is 

 entitled " Famous Painters and Paintings " 

 (Boston, Os-good & Co.), and appears in a third 

 edition, rovisi-d and enlarged. President Bas- 

 com's " ^Esthetics, or the Science of Beauty," 

 is timely and suggestive. Of works from Eng- 

 lish and Continental sources a few are here 

 named : A. 8. Murray's " History of Greek 

 Sculpture, from the Earliest Times down to 

 the Age of Phidias " (New York, Scribner & 

 Welford) ; E. E. Viollet-le-Duc's " Discourses 

 on Architecture," from the French (Boston, 

 Osgood & Co.) ; G. G. Scott's " Essay on the 

 History of English Church Architecture prior 

 to the Separation of England from the Ro- 

 man Obedience " (New York, Scribner & Wel- 

 ford) ; J. Von Falke's " Greece and Rome, 

 their Life and Art" (New York, Holt) ; M. B. 

 Huish's " The Year's Art, 1881 " (New York, 

 Macniillan & Co.), being an epitome of all mat- 

 ters relating to painting, sculpture, etc., during 

 1880, in the United Kingdom ; and R. Schu- 

 mann's " Music and Musicians, Essays and Crit- 

 icisms" (New York, E. Schuberth & Co.). 



Works of Travel, Description, and Advent- 

 ure are unusually numerous and valuable this 

 year. W. H. Gilder's "Schwatka's Search, 

 Sledging in the Arctic in quest of the Franklin 

 Records " (New York, Scribner's Sons), is in- 

 tensely interesting, and very suggestive in con- 

 nection with that strangely infatuating desire 

 men have to reach the north pole. Paul du 

 Chaillu's " The Land of the Midnight Sun " 

 (New York, Harper & Brothers) is even more 

 full of interest and profitable instruction, as 

 relating to a land and people worthy of the 

 commendation Du Chaillu bestows upon them. 

 J. L. Hayes's "Pictures of Arctic Travel" 

 (New York, Carleton) deserve mention in this 

 connection. Miss Isabella Bird's "Unbeaten 

 Tracks in Japan " (New York, Putnam's Sons) 

 gives, in a third edition, a graphic account of 

 her travels in the interior, including visits to 

 the aborigines of Yezo and Ise ; and W. A. P. 

 Martin, in a compact and carefully prepared 

 volume, describes " The Chinese, their Educa- 

 tion, Philosophy, and Letters." Two of the 

 most attractive and valuable works on " the 

 Dark Continent " appear in translations, viz., 

 Emil Holub's " Seven Years in South Africa : 

 Travels, Researches, and Hunting Adventures 

 between the Diamond-fields and the Zambesi, 

 1872-'79" (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) ; 

 and Alexander da Serpa Pinto's "How I 

 crossed Africa; from the Atlantic to the In- 

 dian Oceans through Unknown Countries, and 

 Discovery of the Great Zambesi Affluents" 

 (Philadelphia, Lippincott & Co.). To these 

 add L. M. D'Albertis' " New Guinea, what I 

 did and what I saw" (Boston, Houghton, 

 Mifflin & Co.); R. S. Watson's "Visit to 



Wazan, the Sacred City of Morocco " (New 

 York, Macmillan & Co.) ; and L. Oliphant's 

 "The Land of Gilead, with Excursions in the 

 Lebanon" (New York, D. Appleton & Co.). 

 The same publishers are issuing "Picturesque 

 Palestine," with an introduction by Dean Stan- 

 ley, and descriptive matter from eminent Pales- 

 tine scholars and explorers. Parts one to 

 twenty are published. D. C. Poole's "Among 

 the Sioux of Dakota " furnishes a very instruc- 

 tive account of eighteen months' experience as 

 an Indian agent (New York, Van Nostrand). 

 Lady Duffus Hardy's " Through Cities and 

 Prairie Lands " (New York, Worthington) is an 

 attractive volume. J. Hatton's " To-day in 

 America " (New York, Harper & Brothers) 

 contains some capital studies for the Old World 

 and the New ; and A. E. Silliman, in his " Gal- 

 lop among American Scenery " (New York, 

 Barnes), gives numerous lively sketches of 

 American scenes and military adventure. As 

 a return compliment for our English cousins' 

 visits and remarks, Grant White deals most 

 effectively with the subject in his "England 

 Without and Within " (Boston, Houghton, Mif- 

 flin & Co.). S. A. Drake's "The Heart of the 

 White Mountains" (New York, Harper & 

 Brothers) is replete with interesting and val- 

 uable matter. E. de Amicis's " Spain and the 

 Spaniards," from the Italian (New York, Put- 

 nam's Sons), is a book of rare merit ; and the 

 historian E. A. Freeman's " Sketches from the 

 Subject and Neighbor Lands of Venice " (New 

 York, Macmillan & Co.) are marked by all the 

 author's well-known scholarship and ability. 



Juvenile books are very numerous this year, 

 and many of them are unusually excellent and 

 appropriate. We name only a few : " The 

 Golden Book of Tales," selected and edited by 

 Messrs. W. Swinton and G. R. Cathcart (New 

 York, Ivison & Co.), is a most charming vol- 

 ume, and contains a choice collection of holi- 

 day readings for boys and girls. Of similar 

 character and interest are, H. E. Scudder's 

 "The Children's Book, a Collection of the 

 Best and Most Famous Stories and Poems 

 in the English Language" (Boston, Hough- 

 ton, Mifflin & Co.); "Our Little Ones," and 

 "Young Folks at Home," by W. T. Adams 

 (Boston, Lothrop), containing illustrated sto- 

 ries and poems ; Mrs. H. B. Stowe's " Queer 

 Little People " and other volumes of stories 

 (New York, Fords) ; and S. A. Drake's 

 "Around the Hub," a boys' book about Bos- 

 ton (Boston, Roberts). T. W. Knox's "The 

 Boy Travelers in the Far East " (New York, 

 Harper & Brothers) is a thrilling narrative of 

 the adventures of two youths in a journey to 

 Ceylon and India, with a description of Bor- 

 neo, the Philippine Islands, and Burmah. W. 

 Hauff's " Arabian Days' Entertainment " (Bos- 

 ton, Houghton, Mifflin & Co.), and " Tales of 

 the Caravan, Inn, and Palace," both from the 

 German (Chicago, Jansen, McClurg & Co.), are 

 well worth reading ; and Mme. Guizot de Witt's 

 " Tales of Three Centuries," from the French 



