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14 "Hie History of Our Navy." ConsJdeir.tiotis of timeliness and nntc- Cedent deficiency in that iKirtion of .nir literature make doubly welcome tlic "Hh- tory or Our Navy," by John R. Spears. As the nutl:or of "The Port of ills-sing Shtpr' and "The Gold Diggings or Capo Horn' this Airitcr lias made short ex clusions on the -waters or literature, but in Ids latest vork l.c .ails away on an Important and significant voyage. His history is in four handsome, illustrated volumes and covers the entire period or the existence of our Navy from its jut-option U this year, 1S!7. It bears every evidence c-f thoroughness of studious acquaintance with the most minute de tails of the extensive subject, touching interesting' on our naval biography and heroism, our lights in native and foreign -water-, and tne progressive growth of iiavui construction, from its crude begin nings up to the present elaborate, intiic-i : e and "xpensivc engines of war, or, as some insist, of peace. Th? books ate timely because there bus grown recently a significant Interest in ihe naval branch or our national defense, and the people ."lie awakening to n conscious ness that our country is forging upward to pre-eminence among sea pow rs. It will probably be received with grat-fiil in terest by a let dmg public, who have made Capt- Malian's uuval writings so gen -Tally familiar, and who have delved eageiiy into every oirerlng of sea riction, for .Mr. Spears work is deficient in neither im liortanne nor engaging narrative. A A record for the library it will rank nt-nce as indispensable to all naval architects, constructors, commanders and student). Our first navy consisted of eight long row boats. The marines v. ere sixly-four I men 01 uie unvn 01 iTOVincncc, volunteers- Tlie equipment was a few lire arms and a liberal supply of round pav ing stones- They fought the first naval engagement at 2 o'clock on the inor ling or the ISth of June. 1772. in tlie waters near Providence. This significant, inci dent, is worth recalling in its interestiii" detail: On June 17, 1772, a rrovidence packet, named the llaunaii, and count. aimed liv t apt . Llnzce, cam e In sight of t lie t wo war vessels while she was on her regular pass ago rrom .New Vork to Providence. As the Hannah ranged up near thevessels she was ordered to heave to, in order that iter papers might be examined, but Capt. Lin zee, being favored by a tmart southerly wind Unit was inpiuly carrving him out or range ot the man-of-war guns, held rast on his coins a At thistheschooner Gaspr-wasadvisedto roliow and bring back toe ulleiiumg sicop, and, with all sills diawing, she obeveu Hie order. For a matter or twentv-five miles that was as eager and as oven a race as any sailor man would eare to see, but wiien thai, icugtu of cours naa lKen Aided over the racers found themselves cloe up at the Providence bar. The Vankeeknew Ills ground as he knew the deck of Ids sloop, but the captain or tlie Gaspe wasun lannliar -with it. A. few minutes later the stioal-drafi, llaunaii was crossing tne liar at a iKiint where she could barel scrape over, and tne deeper draft Gaspe, in trying to follow at full speed, was- grounded nard and fast. To make niatteis still worse for the Gaspe, tlie tide was just beginning to bh. not lor many Hours could her crew hope to float hjr. J.eaimg fur, fiiemv in this plight, Capt. Lm?ee sailed Into Proxideucc port. Hid thenev. she brought come before the days of i enev.vd and insistently unjust English ta -atloii the matter might hae been looked "upon a a capital joke on r revenue cull r, and tliat would have lieeii the end of it. But the matter was taken in a sciious light. As the sun went down the towu diunimer appeared on the streets, and with the long roll and tatoo by which public meetings were called be gathered the men or the town under a horse-shed that stood near one of the larger slorcs o'.er looking the water. While yet the peo ple were coming to the rendezvous a man disgul-ed as an Indian appeared on she ior and invited al1 "stout hearts" to meet him on the wharr at t) o'clock, disguised as lie was. As may lie inferred every n an of Providence set, about at once to mas querade as an Indian, but from the s-si-mbled number only sixty-four were oboaeu. Tradition has it that Aura nam "Whipple, who later on became one or the captains or the American n.ivy, vas ohuscii commander of this nocturnal ex pedition. They rowed away, eight lo a Wit, in eight smill lwats gathered from the vessels at anchor in the harbor. Tlu-j-arnianiitit wasa few pistolsnndabutiduiicc of tound stones. It was 2 o'clock in the morning when this galley fleet a i rived in sight or the stranded Gaspe. The tide had turned bv this lime and the schooner had begun tb light Itseir somewhat. A sentinel, pacing to and fro with sonic difficultv, saw the approaching boats and hailed them. A siiower of iiavihg stones was the most cf rccilve tf not the only icply he received, and he tumbled down below piecipitately. The lattle and crash of the paving stones on tlie deck touted the crew from their berths, and, running hastily on deck, the captain or the Gaspe fired a pistol ixnnt blank at his assailants. At that a single musket was rtied from the boat ,bv whom it will never be known, and the" captain dropped with a bullet in his thigh. Then the boais closed nl.oiU the st landed vessel and their crews swarmed over the rails. The j sHilois of the Gasp; strove to resist the on- slaught, but they weie quickly knocked down and secured. As soon as this was done the schooner was effectually find, ainl the captors, with th;ir prisoners, pulled twa y. This was the firs! fight American prow- v o:t on wuter- It was a victory for the ooloiiisi s. of Rhode Island, and this State may also peiui with pride to the fact that it was in the two houses of her legislature il-at it was rirst concurred in ordering her representatives in the Con gress to propose I he establishment of a navy, "at the expense of the continent.' The proposal "met great opposition." This was October 3, 1775. Stlned by the news of the coming Hessians, and -ne renewed aggressions of the British, on Noveinber 25 or that year naval commis sions were ordered issued, and our Kavy s-priuig into existence The rirst war vessels ordered to be built were 'fi-e ships or 32 guiiH, five of 2S guns, three of 24 guns, making in the whole thir teen." The cost was not to be "more than CCOCU 2-3 dollars each, on an aver agt, allowing two complete suits of sails for each ship." From these interesting beginnings the author carries us through the -nemoiable and creditable engagements or the two wars with England, the incidental lights before, and the notable sea battles .f the civil wai, and the achievements of our nautical sctvifc since, noting concurrently the growth and improvement in o.ir naval equipment. Tlie narratives of soma of these engagements arc given with such free and fu-f'i spirit that, jointd with the attendant patriotism theyinevltnblynrrjjse, one is can led from page to page as if the text were that of a romantic fiction Instead of a bloody actual history, mel lowed and ooloicd softly by perspective. As at the close of. the Revolution so at the close ot the war of secession the iiar ships -weie sold for merchant inariti0, much as shop-worn goods. This act and the period ot inactivity following up to the adinlnirtratiou of Secretary of Xavy Wllliam H. Hunt are the subject or a dis cussion which shares almost equal dis putants. But there Is- no question ot Mr. Spears' position, for he speaks boldly f the so-called economy of this period and the alleged brneflts accruing to us from permitting other nations to do the ex periment tin'. But the fact is we did not and could not benefit by Uicir experience to any de gree wortn serious consideration. Neither tile individual man nor tne aggregation or ' men called a nation can take advantage of the annreutice&uin wnicu another man or nation has served. I do not hope to have this statement believed by tliose to whom the only fruition of life and labor is a dollar. But there are some who under stand that national character, like Indi vidual character is of more importance than dollars; that the very chuckling over the dollars we saved ''while other nations were experimenting for us"' is contempti ble that, to takeanothsrand more material point or view, what we lost ill the devel opment; of the brains of our mechanics and inventors by letting the other nations do the 'experimenting for usM was Of in Tinltelv greater value than the whole revenue of the nation. It Is not the loss of a product o" ships that is to be de plored, but the lossot a product of men. lie is insistent in bringing to the reader's attention the distinction that the victories in naval construction during the .ece:it period a hich has developed our White Squodrot lme not been so much in the making if ships as in the making of tlw men win cai- make the ships. Thouinvc have been humiliated several tunes in our cnDrced position or going to foreign na tions foi I rains we may now believe Willi pijde that we have in our own lines "the skill, the tools, and the materials to build a navy -which "will in time lift us from fifth t first piuce among the sea powers. Tlie Illustrations alone of .Mr. Spea -s history are a liberal education on the sub ject. There ate over 100 portraits, pic tures of tea fights from famous painting--, digrams otvessils, maps showing the fields or engagements and other pictorial ex pletives, wiule tc-llingthe story in a graphic rapid and Impressive manner. This feat ur-3 must have engaged tli2 author's earnest at tention for a considerable time for it is probably as thorough as the compass jf the tJook permitted. (New York: Charles Scrlbne.'. Sous. Washington: All Booksellers-. 4 vols. $S.) "More Colonial Homes. The ubiquitous antiquarians in search of fuel lor the fire or patriotte colonial interest are covering the same ground in some instances. Not long auo we gave an account of a volume by Marion Hai land descriptive- of old pre-Rovolu-tlonary huiu?, and since then there has a pp;ai ed t w Ouodjciiu 3s, by S yduey G corge FWiir, on "Men, Women and Manners of Colonial Times.' In large part the lu t2nt of the Looks is Identical; tome or thi places described in each are the same, but Mr. Fishtji "s work i much more com prehensive, and, borrowing from the lati tude of his subject, he has been able to gie a diversilied riavor which is charm ing. Mr. Fisher is "not merely a ronnoi i seur of his subject, but he is a graceful historian, two accomplishments which blend with a happy resultant in his spir ited and syinjathrtis accounts of the men and women of the middle of the latt cen tury. Mr. Fisher calls attention to a significant fact for the reason of the interest, aside from patriotic moiiefc, which the study of the colonies has for us. It is their a riet. From Massachusetts to the Carrtliuas lh( u aider naif cd through communities or such distinct individualities thai they Here almost like dirrercnt in lions. Each "lad leen founded for a reaton and a purpose of its own. Each had a set or opinions an-1 laws peculiar to itself, and it was not un common tc lmd the laws and opinions .f nc a contiadlction to thote of anolh r Speaking of the growing realization of our obligations to otr forefathers, the wriier savs- We are re-discovering tlie debt wc owe to the colonies. We are turning to in vestigate every detail of colonial life with a loving devotion which it is hoped may be a sign of- stronger national feeling, or at least of ntt attempt to have a t rue na tional feeling, and to give up the so-called cosmopolitanism and vulgar worship of everything toreign which so long has oeen our bane. Hcfeirlog to the effects or the lnc1tAb, influence ot this new assort ition In: P tints to aj.chUeeu.re as one of the things most significantly affected by it. The Revolu tion killed aichitectuie, and the ait of building dcteilorated steadily until theci .'II war, wnen "we were In a reign ot iiorrfirs, with the scroll saw of the carpenter trium phant." Tlie Centennial Exposition or 1870 launched a positive influence, labelled Ronancsque, with all manner of grotcsque ness and Individual conceit, but even 'h.it -ias been overcome and we hive disco verid that hrc rit home we have a typebcttci woith rcadoptlng. One can infer the actual subject of Mr. Fisiiei's chapters from their relative titles- Cataliets and Tobacco can refer only to the Virginian.-. Puritans and Philosophy cliaractciizcs the .Massachusetts colonists. The Land of Steady Habits is, of ccuise, a chapter on Connecticut, just as Rhode I.'Iand, because of ltoer Williams, is pleasantly disguised under its other name, The Isle of Enors. The White Mountains and the Green caps a chapter which recites the virtues of the Vermont and New liainps'iire forefatheis. Quaker Picsperity needs no svnonym, bi'.t XoVa cai-san v.ill not stand in all minis t as at once significant of New Jersey. MamhtlanandiheTappan Zeeisa res-arch into the men and manners of early New York; Puritan and Catholic on the Chesa peake is palpably indicative of Maryland colonial lore; Landgraves, Pirates and Caslques is devoted to the Carolinas; and 3ankrupts, Spaniards and Mulberry Trees closes the volume with a study in Georgian colonists. The pictures are ail beautiful and appropilate. No better or nuro diverting book could be presented for a girt at any time than Mr. Fisher s "Men, Women, and Manners of Colviial Time?." (Philadelphia: .1. B. Lippiiunt & Co. Washington: Win. Ballantyne .t Sons. $-3.) "1 lie Cid Cainpeudor." Put nnmV'neroesof the Nation' "Series Jias received mi addition ty li.i long list, in the recent publication of II. Butler Clarke's lire or "The Cid Campeador." Spain has not before been represented in this, nnd it Is fitting that it should first be repre sented by its typical hero. Although the Cid was a person In fact, his character was a fictitious and posthumous accretion. In propria persona he w.isa daring warrior; but his aims were not always strong for justice. As Mr. Clarke points out: "He was unfit to be the hero of a great nation; but his compatriots soon forgot his cruelty, his safish an bit ion, and his lack of pa triotism, and, remembering only his heroic valor, and. his elfortsina :-;rea tea use, they, bythemouthoftheininstrels.endowedhiiii with all the viitues and graces.'' The Cid is merely a name around which the Span iards have grouped the qualities they most admire, rather than an actual person who possessed theso qualities He flouiisli?d ata critical epoch in Spain's history and his life with all the side lights is largc'j the chronicle ot the Impoitant events or the latter halt or the eleventh century in the peninsular nation. It was the period ot the beginning of the end of the Saractn supremacy In the West Mr. Claike has grouped these healings into an harmonious nairative, told with much spliit and giace, colorful as the story of Spain could not help being, and accurate as such a caieful scholar as this writer's reputation assures it must be. The illusttations in the book are more valuable than beautiful, a distinctive THE TIMES, WASHING TOjtf, SUN PAX, DECEMBER 26, 1897. quality, for which they were inserted. The ngeotthJ Claims left scarcely a monument, inscription or illustrated document bearing upon its history, so that in order to il lustrate tlie volume the author lias used drawings of places by his friend, Don Santiago Arcos, with whom ho visited the most famous sites connected with tlie history of the Cid. There arc In addition many maps, n8 cll as facsimiles of docu ments at.d coins. (New York: G. P. Put nam's Sons. Washington: Brentano. $1.50 Travels In Sicily. It was Goethe v,-l:o said, "Italy without Sicily leaves no image on the soul Sicily is thekeyto all," and William AgnewPaton, in t lie preface tc his beautiful new volume, Picturesque Sicily," points out that of American books on Sicily there jire nom, and of Kngllsh books there is a plentiful lack, -which, at first thought, seems ab surd, but upon consideration argues it self intoa fnct. .As an entity in the general sum ofkiiowlcdge.lt stands tora picturesque island which rises out of thc.Medlterranonn; as a foundation for Aetna and a play ground for brigands It looms indistinct in a mist of mystery, but there is an at mosphere of romance and a suggestion of high coloi. Mr. Patou's account of a journey through the island is one of the most delightful books of trevel which has been publlidied in some tlnio. He traveled not alone with his eyes and a notebook, but with an alert Imagination and the appreciation of n scholarly apihpiarian, before whom there wero always two Slcllys -one or today, the other of rv l emote yesterday. With these admiral le qualification: he couples a style of asy flow and u marked talent for at tractive descriptions- His pictures arj -ery vivid, because without tedium lie worksinto them u wealth of detail. He started froai Palermo, the cnpiliU, and nude the re spective objects of his description the im portant towns, villages and other point, or the isli.i.d. Monte Cuccio. Solunto, Plana Di Grecl, Ceralu, Corleone, Segest.i, Tru pani, Eryx, GirJentl, Camilla. Acraditiu and many others- As noted, the traveler observed with a dual vision, oiijj Tor the picturesque of today, the other for the historical of yesterd ty, and scarcely is lh(re a more fruitrul field for the itin erant student of the growth and m-u.itlons of geography. When the Mediterranean was the onlv who-e exprns; hnu been explored by civilized peop.e, the lands washed by its waves composed the whole of the world of antiquity, and Trinacria was the very center or civilization. J he nations that have dwelt around tne Mediterranean waged almost incessant war for the pos session of the island, and these wars were or paramount interest to mankind. For more than 1,500 years it was the battle field upon which men of European Mood contended with men of Asiatic blood for the dominion or the world. In Sicily, no less than in old Greece, was waged war of civilis-ation against barbarism; of philosophy against mystieivn,; 0r science ugaiusi astrology, and it is no exaggera tion to say that upon the results of the battles fought lu Sicily, or on the sea near her coast, oftentimes have hung the fate and future history of Europe. Sicily lias been the battleground, not only or race agaiust race and nation against nation, but of creed agaiust creed. The volume is a thing or intilnslc beauty. Thecovcr is a delliateycUow linen, almost the lightness ot cauaiy; the type face is exquisitely clear; the handsome paper receives it well, and the Iiair a hundred full-pagn illustration repeat pictorially what tlie author writes so graphically. More serious than the attractive chatti ncs3 of the main portion of the book are the three essays at the end, each an appendix, on the Mafia, Brigandage and the Sicilian Question. The last may be understood in the comprehensive statement, made often by French, German and Italian writers, that 'Sicily is the Ii eland ot' Italy." (New Yoik: Harper & P.ros. Washington: Woodward & Lothrop.? 2.50. ) "HiMorio "ew Yorlf." "Histbiic New Vork" is not a unified and consecutive history ot our largest city It is rather a symposium. The volume Is madt up ot disconnected monogiaphs on historic localities on Manhattan islam!, aud theli only common point is geography and excellence. They have the probable advantage over ti single history of equal length in that fourteeu men and women have diligently devoted themselves to an undertaking which otherwise would rep resent the efroit or only one. There is in New York city an organiza tion known as the City History Club, ie markable in the fact that within the first year of its existence it has increased to" tho number of forty classes. To meet the needs of this rapidly growing body of students, the editors of the Half Moon Papers undertook to superintend the pub lication of a series of monographs annu ally, which should be easily accessible lor those who might not find it convenient to consult the voluminous record and docu ments contained in the libraries. Their historic and literary worth recommend them, however, to an audience larger than the one for which they were designed. The twelve papers are FortAmsterdim in the Bays of tho Dutch," by Maud Wilder Goodwin; "The Stat Buys or Now Amsterdam." by Alice Morse Earle; "The Early History or Wall Street," by Os wald Garrison Vlllard; "Annetjo Jans' Farm." by Jluth Putnam; "The City Chest of New Amsterdam," by Edward Dana Durano; "Old Wells and Water Cour.scs of the IfRiihI of Manhattan," (I and II); by George Everett Hill and GcoYgo'E.' Waring, Jr.; "Old Greenwich, "' 'by Jls'a bethBisland; "The Fourteen Miles' itound,' by Alfred Bishop Mason and Mary MurOo'ck Mason; "King's College," by John R. Tine; "The Bowery," by Edward King wood Hewitt and Mary Ashley Hewitt, nnd "Governor's Island," by Blanche Wilder Bellamy. The pictures and mnps add greatly lo the beauty of the volume and to the facility of the reader's understand ing. New York of today is more or less familiar to all intelligent readers, and it is pleasant lo rovert with these interesting writers to the early history of the great city, from the time that the Dutch, estab lished Fort Amsterdam und Annetjo Jans and her husband took, possession of then farm, which is now the most thickly set tled portion of the city, until Wall street became an incipient power In finance, fore- """-. VAL-TtK "" 'I', ft I jpmoU-V f J Bhndowing its Xutuce greatness and the Bowery began putting on Its lurid colors not lo bo waslieii off forever, it would seem. (New York: G. P..Putnnm's Sous. Washington: Brcutoiip. $2.50.) TT3 A "Now flinl Book. P. M. Kllloway's '.'Sketches 0f .Some Com mon Bird-," l8iirfoUicr of those hooka which call tins unmlndf i-jurbitn to the remembrance that natuic has glolles of God's making which all the nUi"lrjrallties of art cannot duplicate. The liieiidship with natme is almost universal, but Itcoolsit we remove out selves from.hei- and her creatures. Books which lecalMo our minds the glories of the country aro welcome visitors, es pecially when they aie the legates of (he birds, nature's voice. The present; volume is made up of something more than sketches in spilo of the title, for the author gives us insight into the lire and histories or the birds wc see and hear. With-an interest which begets a charm lug intimacy, Ave follow the author into the meadows, anil there he points out to us this horned lark floating cloud-ward, singing and soaring; there we learn to know more of the piping meadow lark, and the voluble bobolink, and become familiar with the voices and movements of other meadow musicians. Wc visit the orchard, and there watch the pretty ways of the "doubting bluebird, "' hear the reveilles of the re I headed woodpeckers, nndohserveinterestlng incidents in the Hvps ot other orchard resident s. Along the hedgerows .ve ramble, there studying the homes, and habits of the many tenants of tlie common osage hedges. Among the birds of the bushed we find many old friends seemingly in new attire, for the writer is a keen ob server and calls attention to Tacts usually unnoticed Uy the casual stroller. His 1113 d -Jl .JOHN OI.1VKII HOHHES.s .; 'IV friends of the htghwnvand door yard prove to he ours as well, and his sketches of the robin, Baltimore oriole, ro-se-breasle'd gr s beak, and otlict? )oryanl visitors will surelj fan Into entjiusljisni any latent friend ship for the birds fn the mind or the reader. Woodlands, river-Wank, and swamp-lake, and the regal bln'sJ"of beak and talon fiiml-di subjects' of interesting and de iiglitful sketches, Which will lead the reader Into habits of closer observation und more Intimate friendship Tor na'ure.. The antjioi's hajipy 1"acu!t y of presenting his sub.ilcreiiirrtrihifiigly will, com err the study of ornithology into a" iccreatfon, n.rm.tim. -i-i. v -.. . . u '""nation. 'I he volume is ilJustiated with ior it gives inspiration as well as In nan-tones ,r,jm photographs made, with few exreptli ns, bv Dr. R. W. Shufoldi.of the Smithsonian Institution, from living birds nnd'iif-sts lu situ. ( Cincinnati: Thj Editor Publishing Company. Washington Bretnuo. ?lr.O.) "Gondola Days,." One of the charming qualities of that protean genius, P. Jlopkinson Smith, is that he always seems to be in love with his subject. Ills latest book, "Gondola Days," shrws this in a. marked degree. It Is full of the dreamy, delicious fascination of the Meima'd City, of love for Iter cli mate, her colorings, her treasures of the past, and her people, especially the gon doliers. To read this book Is like travel ing Veietlan waterways, without the pos sible discomfort.-; of the experience. One of Hie characteristic .bits of description is that of the Fishermen's Quarter, with its sagging lines and semi-decayed timbers. This is what the artisfarchitecl-author savs or it: The little devils of rot aud decay, deep down m the water, are at ths bottom of all this settling and toppling of jamb and lintel. I hey are really the guardians of the pic turesque. Seaich any fncadc'in Venice, from riow line lo cm nice, and you cannot, find two lines plumb or parallel. This is because these imps of destruction have helped the teredo to munch and gnaw and bore, un dermining foundation pile, grillage and bed stone. If you listen some day over the side of your gondola you will hear one of thes-3 old plies creak and groan as it sags and settles, and then up comes a bubble as If nil the fiends below had broken into a laugh at their triumph. 'lnis change goes on ccrywhere. No sooner does any inhabitant of the earth build a monstrosity of Ught-angled trian gles, than the little imps set to work. They know that Mother Nature detests a straight line, and so thev summon nil the j fairy forces of sun, wiml'and frost to break and bend and twist, while they scuttle and bore and dig, "until some fine morning artcr a siege of many veais, you stumble upon their victim. The doge who built it would shake his head in despair, but you forgHe the tireless littlo devils they have made it so delightfully picturesque. There are more than 200 pages of himinoiis, funciftil, daintily-worded de scriptions ot Venice and her ways, and some of them are much finer than the specimen quoted above. The book is il lustrated by the author, and artistically clad in red. There is but one flaw in tho wholo piod action, and that might bo de feiidui on the grclund'fef infoimality. Mr. Smith insists cm i&Ing'the second personal pronoun to an extent'-hitherto unprece dented in Jiterafure. He goes on with page after page df placid itatements that "you" do till'3, or go there, or are treated thus and so, until It Is rather maddening to reflect tiiat the person addressed may never do these delightful things. Besides-, it is not very good rhetoric. (New York nnd Boston: HougntoiiVMifflin i-Co. Wash ington: All Booksellers. $1.50.) "Modei'ii'-Spain. "Spain in'the Nineteenth Century'' Is the last of'n series of'histdrlcal narratives, by ' Elizabeth. wormeley'La timer. The author IllUUUQll fCL D IMUV Ui; UU lll.l Ulil Oil (,UU title of a historian, but others will be ready tp.yleld herthis name, nevei theless. As a clear, pleasantly worded and fully detailed account of the last hundred years in Spain the work v.lil certainly be useful to stu dents. Ttisahvays hard toget trustworthy information about contemporary history, and this book will conic n5 a delightful relief to many people who have been trying to learn something about the fnuch-lossod-about kingdom of Spain. "The Histoiy of Spain," begius the op- tnor, 'Since sne sang rrom wealth and greatness into a eecondrate, impoverished power, is ono continued tangle of revolu tions.'' THIS in itself makes a work like the present greatly needed. One of the earlier chapters of the l-ook, picturesquely called Tlie Lion in the Skin of a Fox, deals with the French invasion of Spain, under Napoleon, and tells the story in a stirring way. The massacre of Madrid in thus described: Men and women were walking abroadand all danger seemed at an end when Murat commenced a massacre. Spaniards who had had nothing to do with the ript were seized because they happened to be in the town. They were dragged before u French military commission and sen tenced at once to be shot. News of these executions spread like wildfire through the city. Every family, all ol' wl.ose male members were not under Its roof , suffered agonies or apprehension. By distant sounds or firing all knew that the work of dP.it h was going on. Two by two the victims were marched out and massacred by re peated volleys of musketry. All were denied in their last moments the consola tions or religion. The work next morning recommenced, and nearly a hundred victims hud perished before Murat, at the earnest intercession or the Spanish ministers, puo a stop to tlie carnage. Within si week artcr the tidings of the untoward massacre reached Bayoime, the Emperor Napoleon wa engaged in the most lij-rce, cruel und determined war Into which he had ever led or dispatched his legions war to the death with an undisciplined and high-spirited people, where each man fought for his own hand. Hitherto Ids battalions had fought regular tn.ops, and these thev had always conquered; they were whollv unprepared for the guerrilla warfare they wero now to race among the mountains and ravines or the basque Country, or Catalonia. There is :i pretty and pathetic chapter called To the Tirone from the Nunery, oii the accession or the young Queen Isa bella, in the early lorties, when Washing ton Irvingwas United States auibassadorto Madrid; and extracts I ram Mr. In lug's pr vatelettersare given, which ufford cJlmpses ortlicthlrteen-year-old maiden In the midst of moie or ies turbulent sc-ne-t, striving to bear herself with the dignity becoming a Queen. And there is another chapter jn another girl queen. Merceox, the fhildUh sweetheart or Alfonv XII , who died, after rivemonths of married happiness, in 187ri. The present King Alfonso XIII, byin May 17, lSSO ! the sou of the -econd marriage or Alfonso XI r, a marilagc made purely for state reasons. The very last Chapter of thebank deals with a topic of vPni interest to this c 'untrv, Spain's treatment of Cuba and the action of Canovas. The lat'-or HpeaksilLCidedl ngainstthe plauof innevi tion.biit is-Otherwise non-commltt.il. Theioar.iits,whicl. un-scatt-red through thubiok, more than twenty l:i number, will add much to its interest, being finely en graved and lull of exprewjn. Altogether. thisinvleJtvt.limi-jis one which students Df contemporary histoiy will br- glad to own. (Chicago: A. G. McClurg & Co'. Washing ton: Brentano. !?t'.50.) ItuctMit Fiction. Rc-adeis of Harper's Mugnzine during the last few months have liecn attracted to a serial story called "Spanish John," by the copious and splendid lllustiatious ac companying the text. Uiuii lending the nuirntlve interest in the pictures and ad miration for the artist were quickly shared by the engaging tale and Its; clever raconteur, the writer was William Mc Lennan, hlthsito inconspicuous in this Held. "Spanish John" w,;s last week re Issued in ." Icautiful book with ail of the attraetle Illustrations, which, were a pnrt of It? success in the magazine. The stoiy is a iq.uuucv of the days of the Scotch Pretender, and its heio is one of the .Mc DonnelK or Scotland- Designed ror the priesthood he goes to Rome to study, but eaily discorers thiil he is not working lo waids his real vocation an 1 leaves col!ge to Join the Spanish Hoops in Italy. His achievements in battle distinguish him and he accepts from the Pretender's son the mUsloti of conveying a large sum of money to Scotland After many difficulties he reaches Si.othnd with the gold, only to have It stoler after his ariival. This isnot the end of the story, which finishes as ail romantic siorlcs pioperly should with the hero tilumphant and hl enemies van quished, but it gives an idea or the tenor of tlij! tale. It Is admirably developed with a rich Imagination and a vigorou Hvho stroke. One feature which impi esses the reader is the sympathy audi under stund'ng which the writer has Tor the Irish aud the Catholic characters Intro duced. It should be particularly attractive to them on this account, aside from its inherent inputs as a vivacious romance well recounted. (New Vork: Harper & Bros. Washington: Woodward &I.uthrop. ?1.50. Mollte Elliott Seawell is represented in the most recent list of publications with a new Etory for boys, wifch any youthful lover of at venture and Iietoifm might be glad to rend and possess. It ii called "The Rock of the Lion"' from the central motif or the ftory, which is the struggle of the British for the rock or Gibraltar. The hero is iust tlie sort of a boy we glory in, a courageous, loyal lad who prefers :o be an American naval officer rather than to be an English peer. Such was the op portunity of Miss Sea well's Archie Basker viiie.and such was his choice. His eiz-i.e by a press-gang is the initial incident i a long list of adventures, which culminate finally in his promotion to a captaincy of the American navy. The period ot the story is that of about 17S0. Some or the famous characters introduced are Benjamin Pianklin and Paul Jones. Miss Seawell's publishers have been generous to her lit the matter or illustrations. There are twenty well-known and appro priate Tull-pagc drawings by A.I. Keli-r. (New Vork: Harper & Bros. Washington Wood wa id & Lothrop. S1.30.) Anyone reading Margaret Sutton Bris cot's story or '-Jimty," which is the initial tale of her collection bearing that title, will be tempted to read onward, and the varying charm of the others will lead him unhesitatingly through the entire do.'. en which fill the lioolc. The interest in Jimty a namu derived from James T.. through its natural evolution into Jim I is shared by his father, who is a ruined Virginian seeking work in New Vork and displaying a strange coalescence of worth- lessuess and nobility. A more impressive sketch is 'It is the Custom," describing the "supreme and terrible authority of a Russian per-sant over his daughter. The last thiee stories are'A. Goose Chase,""An Entomological Wooing" and ''The Qua ter Loaf." They group together in that (he same man is the Jiero of all three and all share-tbe.en,joyahleno5s in his strange adventures. In "A Goose Chase" we find liiiu following the lead of a flock of geese on a no less important errand of discovery than to rind which or two girls he win marry. In the " Wooing" he wins a wife by his skill in clearing her potato patch of bettles. Finally in "The Quarter Loaf" we discover Jilui the parent ot a bnby so small that it is introduced to a career in a dime museum. The other stories are "Tlie Trice of Peace," "An Echo,"' "'A Christmas Summer," "Concealed Weapons," "nnio Touscy's Little Game," "Princess I-Would-I-Wot-Not," and "Salt of the Earth." There are drawings by w. T. Sir.edley and A. B. Frost. (New Vork: Harper & Bros. Washington: Wood ward Lothrop. $1.50.) W. Fetit Ridge has written a number of novels nnd he doesn't belie bis experience In his last story, "Secret try to Baync.M.P." Ttitsisan English story, though it starts off bravely in the Rue La fayette, Paris, but as quickly as the train will take them the characters introd-ieod at the beginning of the first chapter are whisked over to London. There is a decided flavor of cosmopolitanism, in the sto.y, for besides the French and English touches, there is eastern Europe represented by a prince, and Russia represented by both spies and Nihi'ists. Another element of variety and coLtrustis found In tlie fact that though the hero's position as secre tary to a member of Parliament keeps 1 tm much' of ll.o time in a genteel ntmoeph ;re, he strays Into -London's squalid East End in search of enlightenment on social con ditions. tNew Vork: Harper & Bros. Wash ington: Woodward & Lothrop. ?1 25.' LITERARY NOTES. The Lounger in the Critic belies his name. He itf really a sprightly fellow, or, in derferencc to Miss Gilder, l: fit be said she is a sprightly woman. J.ast week she had a rich fund or new gossip. Tor in stance, we learn that V. D. Howells is domiciled in an apartment liotfe In upper New York writing a new novel; that Mark Twain's English publisher gave credit on the title page to the typewriter fcr her share of labor on the new book; that the cover design ior "following tne .equator was made by P. Berkeley Smith, a son of F. Hopkinson Smith; that the Paris Kiga'o calls Mr. Clemens' daughter "M'lle- Mark Twain;" that Harvard is to have a Phillips Brooks memorial; and various other items. The Critic it one or the most dependable newsy, cu.o'ully written, and soundly critical peiiodlcats in the literary world. There is no ether book of short stories receiving at present the flattering atten tion from the ravlajrj that is accorded Paul Kcstcr's "T.Jles of the I'eil Gypsy." The booksellers list it among their Host selling hooks. Mi-tri. Doubloihi ' M 'lure rind it one of the most eullel for of any issues since their establishment. "Th B'.'iityon," Mine. Blanc, bus I ecu awarded ,-i prize of .f3f.0 by the Feu ;h Acaii'iiny for hr collected articles fn n ih'i It viih den Deux' Mondes, "L.. AinerlcalaeH Ctvz Kile."." The eighth anniversary of the death of Robert Ilnv. nlng, Dctomber l'J, tran wm memorated at Rot.ert Browning Hall, Wil worth, IjiMion. Th:; addrei'H wa given by .Mr. Augiictiue BIrrell. It may be re membered that last year's annlvernary wis kept-at Marylclsoue Parish Church, when the golden weddl.ig or t-be p.rown ings was celebrated. "Literature," the new internal Imril period! -al. calls attention to the lit erary importance and activity of Chicago It remarks: The libraries of Birmingham and Boston sh-MVed loi l.MVG a circulation of above bti(i,i!bi; mat or Manchester, one or t75, U00; mat of Chicago, on : lur more man l,0oo,000. In eacn case, of course, rigures were greasly swelled y ephemeral fiction and the like; but, with ail allowance for ; this, sucli figuren mean great mental ac- , tivity. Of this Chicago shows many other signs. Tor one thing, 1c has at least two otner important libraries in active opera tion - the iNewnerry and tha or the Univer- , sity of Chicago. This university, only ' rour years old. is already an educational t centeror importance, nottairiy to be judg- ' ed by such feats as Mr. Moulton'.". who is trying to make "modern readers" accept the revised version of the Bible as litera- I lure. Again, the daily press of Chicago maintains an average merit which one is I so.iieiinies disposed to think the highest in j A-sneiicu. Dr. John Watson tln Maclaren) has de cllned tlie call to a London pulpit. At the same time he has told his Liverpool con gregatlon Just what it cost him in mentai effort t'. pi each continuously to the same people: "No one who is not a preach r lie say) can ever imagine the agony of produ'-tlon. To preach to the -amc people th-ee times a week, and to depend upon so fickle, nnd in my case, so slow, an instru ment as the brain how can one con tinue without losing power and becom ing stale and unprofitable? What a relief to Jn-gln again, to recast and Im prove 1 ne's iiics-iase for unaccustomed ears and new heart-'' In connection with this .Mis-- Gilder says that Dr. Watson should "shake up the barrel. There Is nothing that congregations forget so quickly as a sermon."' An entertaining Chicago feuilletonist amuses us at once and imparts the news or Mr- Hawkins Western failure in thii paragraph: The comparative financial failure of ntnony Hope readings in Chicago is an iiiuicnwou mac tne desiro for an thorn' reuuiiigs, which was never u sen sible one, is passing awuv. Hope Haw kins is a charming man and a clever writer, and he ha I een fully rewarded for these accomplishments, but he is not a notttblt; reader, and has iM reason to ex pect that the public will flock to hear nim recite the "Dolly Dialogues," or other Of his Compositions. The ensn nr Inn Maclaren was diiferent. Tor Dr. Watson is ' a minister or the Gospel, and appeals to a ! large element of the population that sel- , jiyin u iu uiraie.-N. wane uope iiaw km linos Ins pergonal following larcely In a less orthodox crowd. We believe that theauthor fad l-dyingotit. and that the writer, nice the shoemaker, must stick to Ills last unless his last happens to be his worst. Mr. Hawkins' rinancidl experience in Was-hmgtiii was not dissimilar to that in tb- Lake City. Pror. Lawrence Dunbar, since hi en listment in the Congressional Lihr.rv rorces, lias been giving some reading.-, in this city. They have been public af fairs, but they have been conducted in a so successfully quiet plan that the gen eral public h.-ib been kept quite in ig norance of the events. Perhaps in is doing it merely for practice- and will :-p-peal to a Intger public wIimi he fesls nice accomplished, for it is s.-.id that each ap-pearan-e sho-.s nn improvement, not m.'rely in his delivery, but in hi- ji.slg meut in making selections. Algernon Charles Swinburne thus ad dresses the London Tunes on the pripo--il English Academy, fashioned on 1 'Acad emic Fran-ais: Sir: In this decadent month, after the great sea serpent has- usually risen once more to tlie surface ot tlie press onlv per- "i'i. -u e-unoKeii in u i ar rrom unseason able effort to emulate the digestion of other contiibutors by swallowing the gigantic goosel)erry no sensible man will reel and no honest man will afreet surprise nt the resur rection of a more ''ridiculous monster" titan these. Th-;notIon of an English acad emy is too seriously stupid for farce and ' too essentially -vulgar ror comedy. But that i a man whose outspoken derision of the academic ideal oi idea has stood on record ' for more than a few years, and given deep offciisa to nameless If high-minded ceniors by the f tunic expression of its contempt and the unqualified vehemence or its ridi cule, should enjoy the unsolicited honor or nomination to a piotninent place in so un imaginable a gathering colliiviesliterarum It probably would turn out t be if ever it slunk Into shape and wiitlied into existence well, it seems to me that the full and proper definition of so preposterous an im pertinence must be left to others than the bearer or the name selected ror the adula tion of such Insult. The December Bibelot contains a tragedy, "The Pe-'th of Maclowe." by Richar-l Hcnglst Home. It is a valuable restora tion. Mr. Moser, for- January, will ie pubilsh "Snlnr. Agnes of Intercession," a tale by Dante Gabriel Roettl. Mr. II. G. Wells Is engaged upon nn am bitious novel showing rirth the lire or great citi-s as it will be 200 years hence. "When tlie Sleeper Wakes" is to be its title. It will probably be more interejtiug than Mr. Bellamy's pa?p Into the future has been. A new novel by Richard Marsh is Icing announced in the English papers, the title of which is ''The Beetle,' and which, ac cording tt the Daily Graphic, ''is tie M.nl of book -nliich you put down only for the puipose of turning up the gas and making sure that no person or thing is standing behind your chair and it is a 1 cck which no one will put down until finished except for the ronton above described." Mrs. Craigje (John Oliver ITobbO) is oahl by an EngPsh. publication to haie accrlou-s intention of devoting herself lo the produc tion of vorfcr. relating to biography and history, in ho ih of which she lakes great Interest. In answer to a question that was recently asked her as to why in writing she did not use her own name ( Pearl, and as to why she took such a name as John Oliver Hobbes, she said tbatit was to keep her from becoming sentimental. NOTES AND QUERIES. T V."?r v a.uy. Pren-lum on the " white' date til X.. "V..- 1... .i - ci m,w or 1Bu6 rtli from i to S-.od, according to condition. aivwjK" ity cal,ed Col!,mTj or C-nbo anjwJiLre. SUBSCRIBER. The principal city of Ceylon is Called Cdoiiiljo. It is not named for Columbus, but it was called Kalninbu.a corruption I ,; "' ' " ""- ""!"" name, Jvalam- ,-iAVn,',.t afe .t,ie A"r "est schools of en gineering in the United States? A. lL Probably, the Institute of Technology, Boston; tlie Slicrr-oia Scientific School. .New Haven, Conn.; tlie School of Mine Columbia College, New Vork, and the Lawrence Mcie.itific School, Cambrid-e Mass 'lo whom should I applyin London, Eng., to'tlie'owViVr'-rT3 ,,a ve ,aiw?'11 For a list or estates which have reverted to tnecrowu apply to the treasury .solicitnr, Whitehall, London: for a list or ''dormant; estates in chancery" apply to thechancerv fund commissioners, Law Courts, London. In what year- did Queen Victoria vlslb Ireland.' ,'. What year was Daniel u ouunell elected to Parliament.' j. K- Queen Victoria landed in Dublinon -ugsB lr lPu'2; again in August and .September. 18',-i, and In August 1SG1. :. Jn ISiiS; he took hisseat as member for Claro in August of that year. Picaie tell n.e where were the parents of Ciiariey liois wrj.-n he was stolen trorti them, and how old was he? W. H. J. Mr. Ross was at his business in Philadel phia; Mrs. Boss was at home. Charley Rosh was out on the street with hi elder brotner; he was four jcars old, but looked older. Did Dumas three inuikeeters really live? 2. What became of King Louis XIV S twin brotner alter his imprisonment in t-he Uab tile? K. S. 1A rtagnan di.I. The others were drawn rr..m scleral models. 'J. It is not certain that Louis XIV bad a twin brother Please let me know whata man or five feet, lite inciies. alto a man of Jlie leer, seven Inche-. ought to weigh In order to be in proportion? READER. A man of fl.efeet, five inche tall should weigh 1-10 iwunds; the minimum -weight should be lib pound, and tlw; maximum 175. A nan of lle feet, teeu iiichen should weigh 150 pounds, witha minimum of 127 and a maximum of IfaT pounds. What Is the punt-hment of a United States soldier if ne desert.-" the" Army and is captured? 2. What n the reward for the capture and return or a deserter? S. He must serve out Ids time in prkon, perliap.-: and may be punished further an a court-martial may direct- A and B both have -wagons of the same make and size. Tlie wheels of A's are fourreetin diameter and B'stwo feet. Ow ing to the size or his wheels A claim the lignter draft- IPs wheels being smaller, he claims tin; lighter draft- Whicn t- rlgac and why? J. 1-. PAGE. A is right. The power needed to pull the wagon is to tlie weight as the radio or the axle is to the radius of the wheel. If you work it our you will rind that A's wagon is pulled more easily. Can a young man study law at home with any success and can a young man witli a. good Kngllsti education ent?r a. law school on an equal fooling with a college grad uate ? 2. What should I first do to -ttidy law at home, and wna: boo&s should I pro cure? A SUBSCKIBER- He can study at home, but he would bet ter enter a law of rice and study under the direction of an older person. A knowledge or the classics Is required in many lw rcliool- A college graduate is credited with a certain nmouutof work lne whtcit 1-- not allowed to the non-graduate- 2. Get a lawyer's advice and look up tlie re quirements of admittance to the bar ami study to fill them- The books vary fnwn time to time- - B bets M that there is one-third more busine-vj done in one week, or one month on the Sev,' Vork Stock Market than there i. on the London Stock Market- Is Iks right? G. R. B. There are no definite figures of the business or the Loudon market ubtiiabte; no record is kept there of the amount of sales. Only the price at which a sale la made is quoted; not even the asking price nnd the price bid being recordeo:. B-ut though the Iot-i are smaller in London than j here tbe standard lot i ten shares there ! aud one hundred shares here, the business on the London market is said by a Nw- Vork stock reiorter of repute to be larger tliunon the New Vork market. Th London. Exchange divides it milway share into "Home Rails,' "Americans,"' '"InUhiM." "Colonial and "Foreign;" it handle- mines-. Home, American, Indian, Cukinial, For eign: brewery shares, omnibus shares, cor poration shares, and probably six other varieties; and, then, it has the ljmls di vided Into about a" many Kinds. We thinSc that B loses the bet- . Kind! v give description or the old frigate Constitution, and a condensed history from her completion to the present day? J. MacD- The Constitution was designed by John Himphrey, or Philadelphia, awl biH by by George Clagtorn, in loston; she was launched October il, 1707. having been three years in building, and cost, ready Tor sea, about $300,000. She is 175 feet; long, 43 1-2 Teet team, 1 1 1-2 feet deep, witn a tonnage displacement of 1,S76. She was called a rorry-four-gun frigate, but carried thirty 21-pounders on )wr maindeck, twenty-two 32-pouiidearroiiades on her spar deck and two 24-pound chasers. She tcrxedin the Mediterranean in l03 18013; in the war or 1S12, under Hull, de feated the Guernere: under Balnhridge, defeated the Java: ur.-der Stewart, the Cyane and-the Levant. She was in the Mediterranean In 184 0-1 1 and in the Pacific, 1S44-17. From 15:61 to 1S72 was a school ship at Annapolt-. and has been laid up most or the time since then. Who Is theauthor of th2 poemcomiiieneiiig "I would rather live in Bohemia than any other land:" What book would give me tilt best Idea of the altruistic manner-, or iiitig of the Bohemian people.' 2. Why will universities and the biglwr instltu Mofs of learning not recognize and teach phrenology.' Is It not just as important a science a-, many otner branches taught- . and worthv of ns much can-rul research? 3. What book would give one a good general knowledge or gr.immar who-e opportunities have not enabled him to become familiar with school grammar? Student. John Boyle 0RelIiy; the poem is called. "In Bohemia" nnd does not refer to tho Inhabitants of Bohemia, but to the so called "Bohemians" literary people of more or less reputation and little or no" money, in whom, according to themselves, were found all the redeeming vices and all the necessary virtues. O'Reilly was -iup-posed to be a Bohemian, and his poem Idealizes the Bohemians. Nowadays the onlv Bohemians" are called tramps and bums. 2. Because it has not been decided that phrenology isa real science, or that it? Is of any value whatever. 3. A grammar. How dees the money made at the Bureau or Engraving and Printing get into gen eral circulation? -'. AVnat ts.i tank clear ing'' 3. What is the difference between natural and representative currency? 4. When is the Lata nee ot trade ravorable. J. J-.. . The Government has to pa y it expense, which are enormous, and replaces old bills with new ones, so the money scatters quickly- 2. A comparison or the busi ness done by and between two or more tanks and a settlement or the deferences in amounts by the payment or a small sum or monev. Thus Pant A owes Bank B $1,000, and B owes A ?S00: ir A pays It ?i00, the matter is settled. The other day a New Vork bank settled $s,ooo,ooo worth ot business by aylngSl.OJb in earth. 3. A natural currency is a currency rhaD has some intrinsic value-like to I he Spar tan's iron money, the Virginia tonaeco money, our own gold and silver; represen tative cunenc-y represents something ot. value, but has no intrinsic value or Its own, like our paper money, lank checks, etc. 4- When we exported more guod than we imported, it used to be Mid tbatr the balance or trade v. as in our faor. - u