LITERATURE, AMERICAN, IN 1886. 



485 



the South," Maud Howe ; " The Mill Mystery," 

 Anna K. Greene; "Atla," Mrs. J. Gregory 

 Smith; "He fell in Love with his Wife," E. 

 P. Roe ; "Poverty Grass and other Stories," 

 Lillie Chace Wyraan ; " Homespun Yarns," 

 Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney; "A White Heron," 

 Sarah Orne Jewett ; " A Secret of the Sea," 

 Brander Matthews; "Misfits and Remnants," 

 S. D. Ventura and S. Shevitch ; " A Ranch- 

 man's Stories," Howard Seely ; " Cabin and 

 Gondola," Charlotte Dunning Wood; "Per- 

 dita aud other Stories," Ella Wheeler Wil- 

 cox; "Old Boniface," G. H. Picard ; "Ways 

 and Means," Margaret Vandegrift ; " Across 

 the Chasm," Julia Magruder ; "The Destruc- 

 tion of Gotham," Joaquin Miller ; " Hasch- 

 ish," Thorold King ; " The Wind of Destiny," 

 Arthur Sherburne Hardy ; " The Prelate," I. 

 Henderson; " Children of the Earth," Annie 

 Robertson Macfarlane ; " Footprints in the 

 Forest," the last of Edward S. Ellis's stories of 

 adventure ; " Not in the Prospectus," Parke 

 Danforth ; "After his Kind," John Coventry; 

 "Prince Peerless," Margaret Collier ; "A Step 

 Aside," Charlotte Dunning ; " Two College 

 Girls," Helen Brown ; " A Moonlight Boy," 

 E. W. Howe ; and " A Desperate Chance," J. 

 D. Kelley. 



History, The civil war group takes prece- 

 dence in point of numbers and importance, as 

 indeed it must continue to do for several years 

 to come. It divides itself naturally into his- 

 tory proper and biography. But there are 

 many biographies, like the Grant memoirs, 

 which would seem appropriately placed with 

 the histories. 



The late Gen. John A. Logan's "The Great 

 Conspiracy," on the other hand, is history 

 rather than biography, since, while devoted 

 largely to the campaigns of the civil war, it en- 

 ters into the preliminary plottings of politicians 

 more fully than has ever been done before, 

 and is marked by the author's strong individ- 

 ual peculiarities, although it may be inferred 

 that some of its original Saxon strength has 

 been editorially eliminated. " General George 

 B. McClellan's Own Story of the War for the 

 Union," published after his death, is a worthy 

 monument to the memory of an officer who, 

 whatever may have been his failings and fail- 

 ures, was an accomplished soldier and beloved 

 by the rank and file of his army beyond all 

 other commanders. General Pope's brief com- 

 mand of the Potomac Army is described in the 

 " Virginia Campaign of 1862." " The History 

 of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the 

 Potomac," by Gen. Francis A. Walker, is per- 

 haps the best of the corps histories. The au- 

 thor's excellent qualifications as a compiler and 

 editor render it a model in many respects. 

 "The Naval History of the Civil War," by 

 Admiral David D. Porter, combines history 

 with personal reminiscence, and official docu- 

 ments, in a bulky volume. " The Seventy- 

 ninth Highlanders, New York Volunteers," 

 by W. Todd; "The Fight for Missouri," 



by T. L. Snead ; and Willis J. Abbott's "Blue- 

 Jackets of '61," a spirited book for boys, are 

 full of widely different types of interesting 

 material. "The Volcano under the City," 

 published anonymously, is the first stated at- 

 tempt that has been made at writing the his- 

 tory of the draft riots in New York in 1863. 

 It is a most impressive book for any American 

 to read and ponder. Frank Wilkeson's " Rec- 

 ollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of 

 the Potomac " is in the line of personal narra- 

 tive, but is history nevertheless. With these 

 should be mentioned "The German Soldier in 

 the Wars of the United States," by J. G. Ro- 

 sengarten ; and H. W. Preston's " Documents 

 illustrative of American History, 1606-1863," 

 a highly valuable compilation. The Comte de 

 Paris's account of the " Battle of Gettysburg " 

 was republished in a volume by itself, from 

 his "History of the Civil War." Another 

 " History of the War with the South " is by 

 Robert Tomes, and hardly a week passes that 

 does not see the publication of some regimental 

 or State history of more or less importance, 

 each of which has its. circle of interested and 

 appreciative readers. Justin Winsor has fin- 

 ished the second and third volumes of his 

 " Narrative and Critical History of America," 

 a work so comprehensive in design and execu- 

 tion that it must be a guide to all future his- 

 torical research concerning America. Mr. Ban- 

 croft has added to his remarkable list of works 

 " A History of Alaska " and the fourth volume 

 of " California." In this connection are his- 

 tories of California, respectively, by J. Royce 

 and T. H. Hittell ; and Frederick L. Billon's 

 " Annals of St. Louis," which traces the his- 

 tory of the city back to the time of its French 

 founders. " Two Spies," and " Mary and Mar- 

 tha, the Mother and the Wife of George Wash- 

 ington," are added to the works of Benson J. 

 Lossing. " The Rear Guard of the Revolu- 

 tion," by Edmund Kirke (J. R. Gilmore) is 

 rich in local tradition. It treats of the cam- 

 paigns of the mountain-men against the Brit- 

 ish at King's mountain and the adjacent coun- 

 try. Livermore's " The Republic of New Ha- 

 ven," and Butler's "A History of Farmington, 

 Maine," are among the many local histories 

 that are demanding special alcoves in the great 

 libraries, and are already catalogued in the 

 several State bibliographies. 



0. E. Little's " Historical Lights " is intended 

 as a guide for historical students, and should 

 greatly economize time for those who are in 

 the regular lines of research. In " Sacred Mys- 

 teries among the Mayas and Qnichas " the au- 

 thor, A. Le Plongeon, is hardly limited by his- 

 tory, for he believes that some of the records 

 point to an antiquity of more than 11,000 

 years. Dr. Henry M. Baird, the accomplished 

 historian of the Huguenots, has brought out 

 "The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre" in 

 two handsome volumes, recounting the long 

 struggle for religious freedom in France. 

 "France under Mazarin" is by James Breck 



