LITERATURE, AMERICAN, IN 1887. 



Rideing published " The Boyhood of Living 

 Authors/' John Bach McMaster added " Ben- 

 jamin Franklin " to the " American Men 

 of Letters" series; Amanda B. Harris pub- 

 lished " American Authors for Young Folks " ; 

 David G. Haskins "Ralph Waldo Emerson; 

 his Maternal Ancestors " ; and Henry B. Stan- 

 ton, an old journalist, is to be remembered by 

 his " Random Recollections." Numerous lives 

 and sketches, fair and otherwise, of the late 

 Henry Ward Beecher were published, but the 

 reliable and permanent biography of the great 

 popular preacher is yet to be written. The 

 " Life and Times of Henry Melchior Muhl- 

 enberg" was written by W. J. Mann, D. D. 

 Mr. Albert R. Frey, of the Astor Library, 

 published his comprehensive volume on " So- 

 briquets and Nick-Names." In foreign biog- 

 raphy we have W. D. Howells in his charming 

 sketches of " Modern Italian Poets " ; u Dante : 

 a Sketch of his Life and Works," by May 

 Alden Ward; and "Madame De Stael," by 

 Bella Duffy in "The Famous Women " series. 



Poetry. This department is perhaps the 

 weakest of any in the literature of the year. 

 A collection of Helen Hunt Jackson's (H. H.) 

 poems and the " Early and Late Poems " of 

 Alice and Phoebe Gary recall the charming 

 talent for versification of three very pleasing 

 writers. Mr. Richard Watson Gilder, one of 

 the very best American lyrical poets, published 

 "The New Day," "The Celestial Passion," 

 and "Lyrics"; Minnie Gilmore, who is a very 

 pleasing writer of verse, wrote a collection of 

 poems entitled "Pipes from Prairie Land and 

 other Places " ; Alice Imogen Guiney, one of 

 the more recent Southern writers, published 

 " The White Sail " ; Joaquin Miller appeared 

 in " Songs of the Mexican Seas " ; while Selina 

 Dolaro, an English actress, did this country 

 the honor to publish here her " Mes Amours: 

 Poems Passionate and Playful," which, indeed, 

 we could have done very well without. Quite 

 a number of writers have grown poetical over 

 places, beginning with A. Bronson Alcott in 

 his " New Connecticut ; an autobiographical 

 poem"; and including Belle C. Greene's "A 

 New England Idyl"; Philip Bevan's "Songs 

 of the War for the Union," "The Mystic Isle," 

 etc. ; T. J. McMnrray's " Legend of the Dela- 

 ware Valley " ; and John J. Piatt's " Idyls and 

 Lyrics of the Ohio Valley." Harriet Prescott 

 Spofford published "Ballads about Authors," 

 and Brander Matthews "Ballads of Books." 

 Ernest Delancey Pierson published " Society 

 Verse by American Writers." Caroline Leslie 

 Field wrote " The Unseen King, and other 

 Verses," and Valeria J. Campbell published 

 " Little Poems for Little Children." Charles 

 Follen Adams gave us " Dialect Ballads," and 

 James Whitcomb Riley " Afterwhiles," a col- 

 lection of short poems, of which many are also 

 in dialoct, and these the best of them. Mari- 

 etta Holly (" Josiah Allen's Wife ") published 

 a volume of "Poems"; Arlo Bates one en- 

 titled " Sonnets in Shadow " ; Mrs. A. D. T. 



Whitney " Daffodils " ; and an anonymous 

 writer a volume entitled " The Heart of the 

 Weed." 



Criticism and General Literature. The year pre- 

 sents no important instances of critical writing, 

 and the works included under this head will be 

 rather those in general literature otherwise un- 

 classified. Horace E. Scudder published " Men 

 and Letters : Essays on Characterization and 

 Criticism," and Eleanor Kirke appeared in a 

 volume entitled "Beecher as a Humorist,'' 

 which gives a very fair representation of the 

 Plymouth Church pastor in that capacity. 

 Louise Chandler Moulton wrote " Ourselves 

 and our Neighbors: Short Chats on Social 

 Topics." The work covers a considerable field 

 of general public interest, and covers it satis- 

 factorily. " How I was Educated " is the title 

 of the autobiographical reminiscences of a num- 

 ber of personages, prominent and otherwise, 

 collected from the pages of the " Forum " 

 Magazine. Robert Collyer published " Talks to 

 Young Men (with Asides to Young Women)"; 

 S. Goodwin brought out his " Sketches and 

 Impressions," and Augusta Larned " Village 

 Photographs." Rose Porter, who is an inde- 

 fatigable writer and gifted with good taste, 

 published "Thoughts of Beauty and Words of 

 Wisdom: Selections from Ruskin." Griffith 



A. Nicholas is the responsible author of " The 

 Biddy Club," a work which, if it succeeded in 

 generally promulgatingits theories, would place 

 the " Biddies " upon a pinnacle of rare delight 

 which would doubtless satisfy even that rather 

 difficult class. Jeannette II. Walworth wrote 

 " Southern Silhouettes," Celia Parker Woolley 

 " Love and Theology," Sarah K. Bolton " Fa- 

 mous American Authors," and Capt. Samuel 

 Samuels an autobiographical work entitled 

 " From the Forecastle to the Cabin." James 



B. Pond told the story of " A Summar in Eng- 

 land with Henry Ward Beecher," and Henry 

 T. Finck published " Romantic Love and Per- 

 sonal Beauty," a work showing great industry 

 and enthusiasm. Henry Giles's " Human Life 

 in Shakespeare" was published in a new edi- 

 tion; E. C. Higginson published his "Life in 

 a Country Village in Wur Times." Mrs. C. II. 

 Metcalf issued a work entitled "Golden Op- 

 portunities in Every-Day Life," and William 

 Mathews his " Men, Places, and Things." R. 

 Osgood Mason, M. D., was the author of 

 " Sketches and Impressions : Musical, Theatri- 

 cal, and Social." J. Rogers Rees wrote " The 

 Diversions of a Book-Worm," and Margaret J. 

 Preston " A Handful of Monographs, Conti- 

 nental and English." James Porter, D. D., 

 brought out "Self -Reliance encouraged for 

 Young Ladies ; indicating the Principles and 

 Possible Measures which will insure Honorable 

 Success Here and Hereafter." Rev. John Philip 

 published " Lights and Shadows of Human 

 Life." S. G. W. Benjamin is the author of " Sea 

 Spray, or Facts and Fancies of a Yachtsman " ; 

 Henry A. Beers appeared in "An Outline 

 Sketch of American Literature " ; and " The 



