f fie & cii it in 
The Sanctp.vrv : A Story of the Civil War. Bv 
Gkoroe Ward Nichols, author of “The Stoiyof 
the Greet March,’’ with illustrations. [l2mo. pp, 
230. J Now York: Harper & Brothers. 
To a romancer who wishes to build his story upon 
a bold yet complicated plot, and to fill it with thrill¬ 
ing incidents, the scene and lime of a civil war offer 
perhaps the moat Inviting field possible. And de¬ 
cidedly the most, romantic chapter in onr late war was 
the “ march to the sea”—the disappearance of a vast 
army in the heart of the enemy’s country, the nimble 
of its mysterious movements, the breathless anxiety 
that awaited its advent, and finally the. glad shout 
that burst from its unbroken columns as they hailed 
the blue sea and the friendly fleet. Gen. Nichols 
told t'oe story of that wonderful march, in glowing 
word' that bear the impress of living truth, because 
he haJ himself seen and participated in what, he de¬ 
scribed. So far as the volume before us presents pic¬ 
tures of the strange situations and private calamities 
of the war, it is readable and praiseworLhy, But, 
considered strictly as a novel, it certainly cannot be 
ranked very high. Much of the conversation put into 
the mouths of persons of little cnducation is too 
stilted for possibility; and the author has signally 
failed in making his characters stand out distinctlyas 
For sale by Steele & Averv. 
GOOD NIGHT 
“ Good night, good night!” said a lovely child, 
As She turned her face, with affection mild. 
To receive a tender mother’s kiss, 
Ere she sank away to her dreams of bliss. 
“Good night!” and she uttered her little prayer 
To “ Our Father in Heaven ” In silenco there. 
While guardian angels took their stand 
To watch her through the dreamy land. 
The angola looked and sweetly smiled 
Upon the face of that, lovely child, 
And said, as she uttered that little prayer, 
“ Gf such the kingdom of heaven are." 
THE LITTLE SOLDIERS, 
“ Wife,” said a man when the war broke 
1 must enlist. It it is necessary for my nt 
hors to go, it is for 771 c to go. I can’t sta 
homo catty, anyhow.” 
“Oh, William, must you?” said his wife 
rowfully, “ must yon ? How can me : 
boys get along alone ? ” 
“ Yefl i father, go,” cried little Will “ 
you ouffht to go. They won’t take 
go in your stead, f 
go to keep the family credit good 
know, father, how- 
living individuals. 
Catalogue or Oasts or Fossils, from the Principal 
Museums of Europe and America, with short de¬ 
scriptions and illnstrations. By Henry A. Ward 
A. M.. F. G. S,, Professor of Natural Sciences in 
the University of Rochester, [3vo.—pp. v 22&] Price 
muslin, $1.25; paper, 15c. 
Tue Ward Geological Cabinets, ir the University 
of Rochester, have been pronounced by the highest 
authorities the most extensive and valuable on this 
continent. Prof. Ward, though still a young man, 
has achieved a most- wonderfhl success in bringing 
together fossil remains from every part of the world 
and giving them a complete scientific classification 
and arrange men i The Professor has a laboratory in 
Rochester, where several accomplished workmen are 
constantly employed In making casts of these speci¬ 
mens, to supply the demand for colleges, academies 
and private collections. The casts are like the Chi¬ 
naman’s cups, showing every crack and scam of the 
original, and are colored like the real specimens. 
This catalogue describes over twelve hundred of these 
casts, and gives accurate pictures of nearly two hun¬ 
dred. The prices, which vary from 15 cts. to $250.00, I 
are annexed, and there is also a convenient index, j 
The book will bo sent by Prof Ward to any address, 
on receipt of the published price. 
I think 
us, or we’d 
Some of the family ought to 
Don’t you 
many times grandma lias told 
us how her father left his oxen In the field and 
went to light the. enemy at. Lexington, without 
even going home to bid the folks good-bye’” 
“ rcs >” said Sammy, “ We’ll take earn of home 
for you; we’ll help mother. Go, father, and 
fight for the IJag of freedom.” 
“ Thank you, my brave boys,” cried the moth¬ 
er, “ thunk you. Go, father, eulist.” 
The man enlisted, and the boys, as good as 
their word, took care. There was a large*patch 
of ground near to the liou.se which Will dug, 
hoed, planted, and raised a good supply of vege¬ 
tables on, enough to eat and some to sell. Ho 
did it all himself, for Sam worked for Dr. Blake'. 
One day a gentleman came aloug, who, look¬ 
ing into Will’s premises and seeing the thrifty 
state of things, “ Why, I thought your father 
had gone to the war,” said he. “ Where did all 
The Lawyer in the School Room: Comprising the 
Laws of all the States on important F.ducatioual 
Subjects. Carefully compiled, arranged, cited and 
explained. By M. McN. Walsh. A.M., I.L. B„ of 
the Now York Bar. [12mo.—pp. ltll.l New York: 
•J. W. Sehennerhorn & Co. 
Tnis little volume supplies a long-needed authority 
on the subjects discussed—a work containing much 
valuable information, and that will prove both con¬ 
venient and instructive to many. The volume should 
be read by every one Interested in educational mut¬ 
ters, and especially teachers, school officers, ministers 
and lawyers. It Is a handsomely executed work, full 
of useful and reliable information, and we trust will 
have, as It merits, a myriad or careful readers. The 
author Is a native of this city, and a graduate of the 
State Normal School. A teacher of ability and expe¬ 
rience-having taught In this county, Albany, and sub¬ 
sequently in Enropo—Mr. W. is qualified to discuss 
the important subjects treated upon in his work. 
RUINS OF BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE 
r HE AMKR1CAN RED-WINGED S’l’AKLING 
A tourist writes from France:—“There are 
several localities in the vicinity of Nantes which 
are well worthy a visit. For instance, I imagine 
not a lew of our little folks in America would 
like to have joined me In an excursion I took 
the other day to the ruins of Bluebeard’s castle— 
that very Identical castle whore the story book 
tells ns the murdered wives hung in a line in the 
mysterious chamber! The original of Bluebeard, 
it seems, was one ferocious old chevalier Duval, 
who was, in truth, a ferocious old bigamist, and 
lived in this castle so long ago that hardly any¬ 
thing except tradition in regard to him yet re¬ 
mained. The excursion 1 a a delightful one, and 
you may reach the ruins either by a road which 
conducts through a charming rolling landscape, 
or by the pretty little river Erdre, which winds 
romantically northward from the center of the 
town. Just outside the primitive village of Jun- 
dlniere, immediately upon the sloping bank of 
the stream, you encounter some crumbling walls, 
so thickly covered with moss, ivy and brush 
that you can hardly discover them, and in the 
midst of a pretty wood, and this is all that still 
exists of Bluebeard’s castle. They undertake to 
place you on the very spot where the murdered 
wives were transfixed; for tradition takes strong 
hold on the ignorant, superstitious minds of 
those French peasants, and I doubt not that the 
old woman who shows the ruins for a few cents 
thoroughly believes the story from beginning 
to end.” 
The American Red-Winged Starling (Agelaius 
j Phaniceus) is named after the European Starling, 
which it resembles, except in color. It extends 
over a wide range of country, from Labrador to 
Mexico. In the North it is migratory, but In 
the Southern States and Mexico it remains all the 
year round. The male measures nine inches in 
length, and the female a little over seven. In 
color they arc so distinct that they would never 
bo taken for the two sexes of the same species. 
The male is of a beautiful glossy black, with the 
shoulders scarlet; the female is brownish-black 
above, mottled and streaked with brown or 
white; the head has two stripes of cream color 
on each side over the eye; and the lower sur- 
fuec is of a whitish cream color, streaked and 
spotted with black. The young male bird greatly 
resembles the female, but soon begins to show 
indications of belonging to the superior sex in 
the reddish markings of his shoulders, a distinc¬ 
tion oi which the females are always destitute. 
They pair about the middle of April, and build 
their nests a fortnight later—generally in marshy 
places, six or seven feet from the ground. The 
outside of the nest is of rashes and long grass, 
the lining of softer material. The female lays 
generally five eggs, pale blue, slightly tinged 
with purple, and marked with lines and spots of 
black. If the nest is robbed, they build again 
soon after in the same meadow. When taken 
alive, or reared from the nest, it soon becomes 
familiar, and sings frequently, bristling out its 
feathers. Its notes, though not remarkably va¬ 
rious, arc very peculiar. The most common one 
resembles the syllables amk-qwr-rce others, the. 
Shrill sounds produced by filing a saw; someare 
more guttural; and others remarkably clear. 
The most usual note of both male and female is 
u single chuck. In some instances the red- 
winged starling, like his European namesake, 
has been taught to articulate words pretty dis¬ 
tinctly. 
In the South the starlings collect in immense 
floeki during the winter, frequenting old vice 
and cornfields. During the spring and summer 
they feed on grubs, caterpillars ami other insects. 
Wilson, the ornithologist, pleads strongly for 
the bird, on the ground that its destruction of 
noxious insects is so extensive as to over-balance 
all the mischief it docs, but says: — “For their 
principal attacks upon the farmer’s property the 
starlings select the months of August and Sep¬ 
tember, when the oars of the Indian com are 
young, soft and,succulent., and present a tempta¬ 
tion too groat to resist. At this time, reinforced 
daily from all parts of the interior, they pour 
down on the low countries in prodigious multi¬ 
tudes. Hero they are seen, like vast clouds, 
wheeling and driving over the meadows and 
devoted cornfields, darkening the air with their 
numbers. Then commences the work of de¬ 
struction on the corn, the husks of which, 
though composed of numerous envelopments of 
closely-wrapt leaves, are soon completely or par¬ 
tially torn off; while from all quarters myriads 
continue to pour down like a tempest, blacken¬ 
ing half an acre at a time; and, If not disturbed, 
repeat their depredations till little remains but 
the cob and the shriveled skins of the grain. 
What little is left of the tender ear, being ex¬ 
posed to Hie rains nrul weather, is generally 
JosErn II. and His Court. An Historical Novel By 
L. Mi IILBAOK. Author of “Frederick the Grunt 
and his CourL” “The Merchant of Berlin," “Ber¬ 
lin an.l Ha»* »oud,” “ Frederick the Great and his 
o a . n ^-T.’ m St( }T of a Millionaire,” “Two Life 
Translated from the German hv Adki.ai de 
DeV. < n.ti.mtoN. L*vo.—pp. .mi New York: D. 
Appleton & Co. 1 
In this ponderous romance an authoress who has 
acquired Mime reputation In her own country exer¬ 
cises her imagination upon court life In the eighteenth 
century and make* herself for the nonce familiar 
with the private apartments and individual characters 
of kings and queen*, The narrative is written with 
considerable spirit; but whatever interest It is ex¬ 
pected to derive from illustrious name& will full it 
among the sturdy republicans on this siffi: the Atlan¬ 
tic, who care little for those who are “born great”— 
the little -1 of the great,—except as they affect history 
1:y their official acts. Sold by Adams & Ellis. 
Ceadock Nowell. A Tale of the New Forest Bv 
Richard Doddridge Black more. Author of Clara 
Brotiers' [8v0 ’ _pp - 218 -J New York; Harper & 
The idea of sacrificing the life of the mother at the 
birth of the hero or heroine in the first chapter of a 
novel, for the mere sake of enlisting the reader's 
sympathy, or giving a touch of pathos to the story, is 
so old that it now excites a srnile at every repetition. 
“Cradock Nowell ” Is one of the hundreds of tales ni' 
elegance of finish, far surpasses either of his 
former efforts in the same line. The instrument 
last completed was begun in August, 18<55; it 
has live stops, four and a half octaves of key¬ 
board notes, a swell and one octave of pedal 
notes. Its pipes are, as in all such instruments, 
part of metal and part of wood; the latter lie 
built himself, as he did all the wood-work of 
the entire instrument. The ease is of chestnut, 
finished upon the surface with a high polish, the 
grain being of unusual beauty; the front is high¬ 
ly ornamented with elaborate carvings, gilt 
pipes, mouldings, etc. To crown all, the sweet¬ 
ness as well as the volume of the tones emana¬ 
ting from this “ child born out of due time” are 
unsurpassed by any of the productions of the' 
best factories, and the whole work stands to-day 
a proud monument to the skill, labor and energy 
ol an old man, at a time of life when, ordinarily, 
there is neither capacity, ability nor inclination 
for achievements of this description. 
Watkins, N. Y„ Jan.. 1807. 3 . w. a. 
that tune grew in Egypt. The chopped straw 
clearly discernible in the body of the bricks, 
confirms the description of the manner of 
making them, as we find it iu Herodotus and iu 
the Book of Exodus. 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker, 
A MEMORIAL. 
Andrew Van Valer, born in 1780, in humble 
circumstances, was reared to the trade of cabi¬ 
net-making, from which he passed to the avoca¬ 
tion of farming among the hills of butter-making 
Orange county, in this State. Possessing by 
nature an unusually ingenious faculty, combined 
with extravagant love of music, he, in his man¬ 
hood, turned his attention in leisure hours to 
the investigation of the structure aud mysteries 
of musical instruments; and, although having 
never served either a long or short apprenticeship 
amoug musical craftsmen, in process of time he 
wrought out various instruments, such as vio¬ 
lins, violincellos, etc., and at length two pianos 
of the kind, size aud capacity then in use. In 
the further prosecution of his efforts he occupied 
hiiuseil with constructing an organ—gaining his 
knowledge and ideas from mere personal inspec¬ 
tion of such an instrument, together with occa¬ 
sional counsel aud direction from mechanics in 
the trade. His labor resulted in the production 
ol a four-stop organ, which for many years stood 
in his own parlor, until it was afterwards re¬ 
moved to the church where he was then an 
attendant. A few years later he built a second 
organ of similar dimensions, lately transferred 
irora his daughter’s house to the church where 
he is now an attendant. 
Mr. Van Valer has now readied the age of 
eighty years; and yet upon the twenty-third day 
ol December last he completed the setting up 
and tuning of his third organ, which for capac¬ 
ity of sound and range of pipes, as well as for 
correspondence reports the opera¬ 
tions at that place ot a Company recently organ¬ 
ized by wealthy capitalists iu New York, called 
the Pacific Pearl Company. The Company in¬ 
tends to operate at the Pearl Islands, about 
thirty miles from Panama. A sub-marine boat 
has arrived, capable of carrying ten or twelve 
men at one time, who can work under the water 
for many hours, and so constructed that it can 
be lowered or hoisted at a moment’s notice, and 
so arranged that when lowered they can open 
the boat at the bottom, by means of two trap¬ 
doors, allowing a space of ten feet square iu 
each, for working purposes. The Company cx- 
This is a most comical diversion, and never 
falls to elicit applause. Two boys are required 
.,3g§it§t^ 
Schoolday Dialogues. Compiled l»y Alexander 
Clark A. M. [16mo. — pp. 352.] Philadelphia: 
J. W. Doughaday & Co* 
In our schooldays a book ol' dialogues was In great 
demand amoug our follow pupils, and their recitation 
on the stage with a little theatrical costuming the 
height of glory. But most of the dialogues iu the 
hooks of those days were wretched enough, many of 
them being the loud-mouthed parts of absurd German 
plays, where Roderigo raves and Gomez moralizes or 
expostulates with vehemence and gesticulation ad lit/, 
The compiler ol' this volume has endeavored to get 
together something a little more home-like and inter¬ 
esting, and presents a good many entirely new dia¬ 
logues of real merit. Nothing is so efficacious in 
getting boys out of the sing-song style of speaking 
pieces as the recitation of dialogues. 
to personate the elephant; one represents his 
tore, and the other his hind legs. The two boys 
place themselves as shown in the illustration ; a 
quilt doubled over three or four times is now 
placed on the backs of the boys, which serves to 
form the back ol the elephant; a large blanket 
I or traveling shawl is then thrown over them, one 
I-- 1 is twisted to represent the trank of 
the animal, the other end serving in a similar 
manner to represent his tail. Two paper cones 
enact the tusks, and the elephant is complete. 
A bright and witty boy should be selected to 
perform t he part ot keeper, and lie must lecture 
npou the prodigious strength, wonderful sagacity 
and extreme docility of the animal, proving the 
latter quality by lying down and permitting the 
elephant to walk over him. It always amuses a 
company to show them the elephant .— The Play- 
Boom. 
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION, 
Professor I lger, the celebrated Viennese 
botanist and paleontologist, has recently pub¬ 
lished some remarks on the bricks of the ancient 
Egyptians, especially those of the pyramid of 
Daskour. On examining them through the 
microscope, the Professor discovered that the 
mud of the Nile, out of which they were made, 
contained not only a quantity of animal aud 
vegetable matter, but also the fragments of man y 
manufactured substances, wheuce wc may con¬ 
clude that Egypt must have enjoyed a high 
degree of civilisation upwards of four thousand 
ycare ago. Professor tJJger has been enabled, 
by the aid of his microscope, to discover in 
these bricks a vast number of plants which at 
manual : A New. Simple, Concise and 
Rasy Method of Acquiring a Conversational Knowl¬ 
edge of tho French Language: including a Diction¬ 
ary ol over Ten Thousand Words. By M. Alfred 
Havet. [pp. 300,] New York: D. Appleton A Co. 
Tue mastery of modern languages, especially 
French and German, is becoming rather a necessity 
than an accomplishment with those who would be 
well educated or who expect to travel. The design 
01 tho present work, which has been revised and 
corrected from the last English edition, is to make 
tlie grammar as brief and comprehensive as possible 
and give more than usual attention to conversational 
' xercisea and the acquisition and ready use of idiom¬ 
atic phrases. For sale by Adams & Ellis. 
Education in Germany.— The Fourteenth 
Congress of the Schoolmasters of Germany has I eu d of which 
just been held at Manheim; Hie sittings have 
lasted three days. Among the questions dis¬ 
cussed were the host methods of deweioping 
memory in children; the means of awakenin'*- 
