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Show The December Magazines. Among the good tLings in that excellent contemporary magazine The Elcctic, ot which Mr. Dwyer informs us he requires a monthly increasing in-creasing edition to supply the demand, de-mand, there is a review of English songs and ballads, a sketch of Jose ph Priestly, by Professor Huxley, contrasts con-trasts of ancient and modern history; Mr. Disareli's novels; the sun a bubble, bub-ble, by Richard A. Proctor; the Empress Em-press Eugenie, by Xapoieon HI; the future of Eastern Asia; far from the madding crowd; the philosophy of 'ife ; Julian Hawthorne's romance ; with the usual literary and scientific notes. Thdl'upuhir Science Monthly gives a sketch of Dr. J. Lawrence Smith, an American scientist, accompanied by a portrait. He is a South Caro-, linan, who has devoted bis life mostly, to the scientific interests of the southern south-ern universities, but filled the position of mining engineer of the Turkish government for four years with signal success. His original researches are no less than fitly in number and bis scient ,ic reports are numerous. An exceedingly interesting article on 'odors and life," by Pernand Pa-pillon, Pa-pillon, gives the philosophy of tho olfactory sense and the phenomenon oT smell. It is stated that the intensity in-tensity and delicacy of this sense! vary in mankind among different individuals, and particularly among i different races of men. In savage races this sense is very greatly more developed than among civilized men. It is said that some tribes of Indians can pursue their enemies and animals ani-mals of the chase by mere scent. The keenness of scent in certain animals ani-mals is well known. The chemical character of odorous bodies forms a curious chapter; and the sensations produced by smell jives the opportunity oppor-tunity for some entertaining historical histori-cal remniscencies of the ancient uses of odors in public worship and in private life, and the afiectation. of prominent promi-nent men and women for certain perfumes. "The natural history of the oyster" gives the life and habits nf the bivalve in its various stages. The oyster's companions and its eno-mies eno-mies are described and illustrated. The advantages of oysters as a diet are said to be their entire digestible qualities. An article entitled "some superstitions of hydrophobia" bv Charles P. Rassell, M, D... carries the reader back to early Egyptian history. his-tory. Pliny also dealt with the subject sub-ject of hydropnobia, which appears to' have been a disease known through ! .ill succeeding generations. Prof. S. l Langley, of the Alleghany observatory obser-vatory contributes au article on the transit of Venus, and the great conflict con-flict between religion and science is ably discussed by Prof Draper. The editor's table, literary notes and miscellany mis-cellany are valuable departments. The Ail. intic publishes the concluding con-cluding chapters of W. D. Howell's story, "a foregone conclusion," and presents poems by JamPB Maurice Thompson and Henry W. Longfellow; Long-fellow; giving the end of Etrclestnn'a. "rebel recollections;" and papers on Mr. Aldrch's poetry; old trees; the righteousness of money making, by Edward Atchison; water-color painting; paint-ing; about a barrel of lard; some results re-sults from my spiritual studies, by Robert Dale Owen, with reviews of recent liteature. The Atlantic's pio-gramine pio-gramine for 1S75 embraces nearly all of its old contributors who have given it its high literary character, with some new features of great interest. in-terest. This number of Scribntr's Monthly', is one of the host that has yet been U-sued. U-sued. Mr. Edward King's "great south" is tho opening article, in which the reader is carried to Kentucky Ken-tucky and the Mammoth Cave. "Foreboding," a poem by Celia Thaxtcr; is followed by another installment in-stallment of Paul Verne's ingenious Cruso story of the " mysterious island." "The transit of Venus" is described by David Murray. " The silver age," by William C. Conant, is an interesting description of the silverware manufacture, profusely illustrated. "Rambles in Madeira," is by S. G. W. Benjamin. There are also a variety of sketches and romances, ro-mances, and (he usual departments!. -Scribncr's St. Xtcholas is filled with good reading and beautiful illustrations illustra-tions for the children. "The garden of the gods," is the first piece, it being a description by Miss Eliza Krcatorex, of a part of Pike's Peak, being beautifully illustrated. "Prue's dolls," by Mary X. Prescott, will please the girls, while tbo boys cannot can-not help being delighted -with the dog story told in rhyme and translated trans-lated from the German. "Tchum-pin," "Tchum-pin," the Russian story, is concluded, and carries with it two beautiful en-j graving?. "Seas of grass," is an( article by Ethel C. Gale, on prairie, scenery. A. M. Machar contributes :i poem entitled "the jeweled tree, j in which he points a moral for young ( minds. The illustration by Abra- t ham Hosier is an exquisite one. ( Harvey Wilder gives the "chicka- J dees," which is also illustrated. An illustrated poem on "our dogs," by j 3. S. Colt, is one that will please both i old and young. Abby Morton Diaz, Benjamin E. Woolf, Margaret Ey- ( tinge, Hc.okiah Buttcrworth, Samuel , W. Cozzens, Helen C. Weeks and Olive Thome deal in fiction and fact thus enriching the contents of the 1 maizinc. 1 Mr. Dwycr has all the above on , sale. Also the London Qwen for Xnv. 7, the court chronicle, fir.ely illustrated. D'.vyer has also received from Har- i ner Brothers the following novels: i "Jack's Sister; or, true to her trust; : The Treasure Hunters; or the search ; for the mountain mine, by George Mar. vide Fer.n, author of 'Ship, : ahoy!' " etc. |