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Show I I REVIEWS OF BQQKS III I " 't THE WORLD ALMAHAC. H . '' Wo liavo received the World Almanac I ' and Eniiyclopodin for 1010. It is indeed 1 (. an encyclopedia brought up to dnto, em- I bracing 752 pages packed full of statis- I tics and matter of current interest. It ' ' ' is well indexed, and lias come to bo li invalunblo in every newspaper oflioo. Ii , It has with sufficient fullness all mat- I -r tcrs of current interest, from the ordi- I nary sports to the polar explorations. I It lias a complete official directory of I. tho Nation, with the party divisions in It the GOth and (31st Congresses, and also If the party divisions in Congress siuco li i the prominence of tho Republican party V in 1S50. It has full election returns, I . , It enumerates the .iudges of tho various I , Federal courts, details tho principal rail- road si'stems of tho United States and li i Canada, gives the marriago and divorce laws of the different States, carries the l i agricultural returns of tho different I crops, wool product, manufacturing in- , i dustries, etc., in the United States. Jt I ' gives also tho progress in electricity and in other lines of industry. It gives the organizations of tho chief churches in L tho United States, and of tho various 1 , societies, . fraternal and otherwise It I gives the organization of tho foroign ,, governments, tho diplomatic roprcscnta- . lives both of the foroign governments ' , and of tho United Statos abroad; and, 1 in fact, thoro is very little that can be thought of in tho way of currout inter- i ; est that it does not pvo. It is indeed , a comprehensive, usciul publication. II THE SEMINOLE REMNANT. I ' J. Tlio Seminolcs of Florida. By Minnie y . Mooro-Willson. Illustrntcd. Published I 1 by Moffat, Yard and Company, New York. This handsome book is made up chief- ly of an account of tho Sominoles who tvere left in Florida, who wore not I taken to Indian Territory- when the great removal of tho most of tho tribe I occurred-. Tho Sominoles, it appears, wore a branch of tho Creek Indians, but had so thoroughly separated themselves and wore in such an independent posi-J posi-J ' tion, tliat they seceded from tho Creek J fedoracy and sot up for themselves with ' a full organization of clans, chiefs, etc. The work throughout is a hot arraign- mont of tho perfidy of the whites to- wards the Seminolcs, of tho bad faith , with which they were treated, of tho II violation of Hags of tnico, ot plighted word of honor, and of cver3' rulo or civi- 1' lized warfare and recognized inter I course. The whites wore guilty at ev il cry point, and the Indians were tho I noble men who observed what was 1 light, who kept their word, who never 1 1 broke faith, and who staunchly dofond- ed their homes, their wives, and their ft, t childron. The book says (on page 50,) I ' "The records of the Indian Bureau sup- i port the statement that, before tho first I half of the Ninotcenth century had I passed, we had broken seven solemn J treaties with the Creeks, cloven with tho I Chorokees; the Chicknsaws and Choc- D, laws fiufferod too, saving nothing of H' smaller tribes." It recites how well tho B' Dolawares fought for the patriots in tho I; Revolutionary War and received the I promise of "Tho territorial right to a h State as large as Penus3'lvnnia and a I right to representation in our Con- I gross.'1 They wore moved time aftor I, ,lc until only a .remnant, remains of the patriotic Delawaros,' a few living .with the Cherokees and a few .at tho h "Vichitq. agency. A pretty bad record ' .-that, sur0 cnoCh. But ibis a' record . hat we are all familiar with, and that 'we are all ashamed of; but still wo know that wo would do it all over again ii wo had the chance. t . 'I'ho remnant of Seminolcs who arc U r so sympathetically taken up m this book : went to the southern part of the Flor-idau Flor-idau peninsula, where Ihcy have lived , 'in secret places and hidden homes, and in haunts which tho whito men have -j 4 nevor been ablo to find. Now, however, , ,it appears through the proposition 1o v! ' drfl, Lake Okeechobee, the likelihood -is of thisMiolding of the Indians being K again absorbed by the whites, and the if remnant made to emigrate to some ro il ?10H where they will bo cither merged 1?,otn,e" tribes or exterminated. A con siderable number of pages of vocabulary gives an idea of the construction of i tne benunole ianguago, which is said to bo peculiarly rich and clear. Tho work is n faithful witness, ono that appeals to one's sense of right and ono's sympathy, sym-pathy, but unfortunntoly nothing can bo dono by way of roliof, or even mitigation. mitig-ation. TRAINING A LITTLE BOY. The Scnslllvo Child; aa Revealed In Some Talks with a Little Boy. By Ivnto Whitlnjr Tatch. Fubllfihed by Moffat, Yard and Company, Now Yorlc. This is an attractively written little book, in which a small boy is mado the medium of tho sctling forth of some vory important matters. Tho talks with the Htfclo boy show how good, brave, and resourceful that, liiUc boy's mother was, and how uho cured him of n dread of tho dark, of fear of the thunder and storm, and how sho explained io him certain mysteries of life and doath It is all vory pleasantly written, lias a charm, candor, and carnestnoss that are extremely attractive and pleasant to tho reader. That little boy was born under exceptionally good circumstances, and had an idea! training from an ideal mother. And tho little- boy responded to that training with a wealth of affection af-fection and a brightnoss of intolloct that aro altogether to his credit and to tho credit of tho human race. OAPT. DERBY ON GRAMMAR. Amonp tho pieces which mado up the Phoenixiana of Capt. Derby whoso too early death deprivod America of ono of her most original humorists was ono entitled "A Now System of English Grammar. " It seems novor to have attracted much attention; but though thoro are in the volumo containing it articles moro broadly amusing, there aro nono in which wit and wisdom nro moro fully blended. After tho lapse of years the exact words and the particular illustrations employed escape me in part; but the lino of reasoning will not vary malorially from what is about, to bo given. This defect of Innguaqo. tho humorist or, as I prefer to call him hero, the satirist proposed to remedy by having all descriptions and opithets marked on a sufficient scalo of comparison not the boggardly thrco to which we arc now limited, but to a number largo onQugh to iudicato every variation of character in the object under consideration consider-ation and ovory possible degree of hu- mnn conception in regard to its nature. The lowest conccivablo amcmnt of any human quality consistent with its being at all would bo indicated by one. Its maximum would be represented by 100. Here, then, would bo a wide range between be-tween the perfection of tho idea expressed ex-pressed hy tho one number and its bare oxistence merely implied by the other, as well as tho feelings of the speaker about it in which all shades of thought and feeling would bo fittingly represented. repre-sented. By prefixing to each opithet a figure between 1 to 100 tho precise truth in regard to it, as it appears to him uttering it, would bo conveyed to him hearing it. For example, you are asked about j'our health. Instead of replying re-plying pretty well, tolerably well, very well, or some other ambiguous expression, expres-sion, you would say, bearing in mind that 100" indicates perfect health, I am 15, or 50, or 75, or 00 well, or any other number, as the caso may be. By this means the inquirer learns "definitely what ho wants to know. IIo has not been put off with formulas of speech whoso general applicabiliti' to different conditions of bodily health conveys nothing precise to tho mind. "The moment, mo-ment, this mothnd of expression comes into general use wo shall speedily become be-come exact, mathematical, truth-telling in the highest degree. JIow well the rule would work enn bo best illustrated by the narrative of a simple incident of news communicated communi-cated by a man to his friend in some such words as these: "On a 76 fine morning T was 55 slowly slow-ly walking down tho 33 clean avenue, when I chanced to meet the 22 voting and So charming Miss Smith, "about whom you ask. We at once exchanged tho 01 usual meteorological observations. observa-tions. 'It is a 76 beautiful day,' 1 remarked. 'Indeed, it is a 95 beautiful day.' sho replied, 'and I am 97 glad to have met you, for it is a 99 long timo since I have seen 3-011. ' I felt 77 fin tared 1)3 words liko those coining from a 79 lovoly girl, but proceeded to mnko tho 71 usual inquiries about her health, for I know that on that point you had been SO anxious. She told mo in reply thai it had been 7S poor, but sho was 100 glad to sav that it was now S7 good." Prof. Tliomas R. Louusbury in Harper's Magazine. LITERARY NOTES. There Is to bo a now novel this spring by David Gray, author of the two "Gallops" "Gal-lops" books; and that popular writer of short stories. Will Irwin, lias written a novel, 'which tho Century Co. will lsuo In March. Moffat, Yard & Company will publlnh Immediately a work entitled "Central America and Its ProblcmH," by Frederick Palmer, which will bo, curiously, tho only book In oxlstonco treat Ins Contral America Amer-ica authoritatively or In any sense adequately ade-quately Tho libraries show only books of desultory travel, or occasional' descriptions descrip-tions written many yonra ago. Mr. Palmer's book deals with Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama. Honduras, Costa Rica and San Salvador Individually and collectively, and winds up with three chapters on Mexico In Its political and ethnographical relations to Contral America and Its political relations to the United States. Mr. Palmer has recently returned from a thorough personal Investigation Inves-tigation of theso republics. Very striking facts In support of a theory of unusual Interest aro proscnlcd by Abbott H. Thayer, tho distinguished artist, and Gerald 11. Thayer, tho authors of "Concealing Coloration In tho Animal Kingdom," which tho Macmlllan Company Com-pany has Just published. For many years Abbott II. Thayer has been carrying on Investigations with regard to concealing conceal-ing coloration In animals. Theso have led to Important discoveries which aro now set forth In this book. His theory Is reinforced by numerous Illustrations representing tho exact coloring of birds and animals In relation to their environment. environ-ment. Tho lithographs by which these are reproduced were mado under the direct supervision of tho authors. Both sportsmen and those lovers of animal life who do their hunting with the camera, will alike And this revelation of nature's resources of Intense Interest. Tho Century Co. will Issue in Fobruary a new novel by Mrs. Helen It. Martin, author of "TIIUo: A Mennonlte Maid." The scenes of this now story aro laid among the Pennsylvania Dutch, the chief characters being a physician of these people and his dainty Southern wife. It is to bo called "The Crosswnys." "TlUIo" Is now In Its eleventh nrlntlng. The largeness of the task of publishing publish-ing "The Diary of James JC Polk" In a form commensurate with Its worth as a historical document Is responsible for the postponement by Messrs. A. C. Mc-Clurg Mc-Clurg & Co. of Its publication to the coming spring Instead of last fall, ns at first planned. The work will bo Issued In throe large octavo volumos of 100 pages ench, with two frontispiece reproductions of hitherto unpublished portraits, and will bo handsomely printed. Tho diary, which Is In the possession of tho Chicago Chi-cago Historical society, has been used as a toiircc by more than one American historian, but has never been given to the public except In extracts. It reflects a stern Integrity and strength of character char-acter which posterity seems unwilling to acknowledge that Polk possessed. It was written with the ultimate Idea of vindicating the author's political motives, but his death took place before he could revise It, and It now stands Its own expositor. ex-positor. In good season for Lincoln's birthday. A. C. McClurg & Co. will publish a small volume from the pen of Hon. Isaac N. Phillips, reporter for tho Supreme Court of Illinois, which embodies an analysis of Lincoln's character In a distinctly original manner. The book will bo Issued Is-sued In uniform style, with Col. Carr's "Lincoln at Gettysburg." Tho memory of General Low Wallace, whoso "Ren-l-Iiir" has never for a moment mo-ment been displaced from Its omlncnce In popular favor slnco the Harpers first brought It out nearly twenty-five years ago, has been further distinguished by the placing of a statue In the Capitol Hall of Fame In Washington. Present at the exercises that accompanied Its unveiling by the author's grandson, Low Wnllnce, Jr., wore many representative citizens, the governor of Indiana, who accented ac-cented the statue for tho State, and James Whltcomb Rlloy. who read a specially prepared poem There was 11 notable reunion, re-union, too, of tho Eleventh Indiana Volunteers, the General's old regiment, j It was pointed out hy certain veteran copiradcs that the representation of the General In uniform showed him bareheaded, bare-headed, whereas General Wallace wan always al-ways careful about wearing the hat; nor could aomo of them nuHo regard tli tjt.-ilue as Hfo-llko with no headgear t be scon. A new book of mountain-climbing nw exploration In tho Punjab Himalayas, r Fanny Bulloclc Workman and William Ii Workman, nan Just been published li "Peaks and Glaciers of Nun Kun," ThI book contains a map and ninety-two su pcrb Illustrations taken from photo praphn and showing remarkable and beautiful vlcW3 of the peaks and glacier, of the region explored. Tho most hrlll Ing part of tho work Is the descrlptloi of the oxploratlona of the Kun Kin group of mountains, about 100 miles ;ns of Sunogar, In tho province of Surln In tho course of tho expedition Mrs Workman mado the ascont of Pinnacle Peak, 23,000 foot, a record accent foi women, brcnklng Mrs. Workman's owr previous record of 22,5il8 foct. The descriptions de-scriptions of the preparation for the trip tho difficulties, not only with the sno an Icq and rocks, but with tno native portors nnd servants, make a most Interesting In-teresting story, while tho nccount of the actual climbing Itself Is most exciting ORIENTAL THOUGHT. For bringing a Diwan of Abu'l-Ala ii charming and convenient form 40 Eug lish readers, Mr, ITcnry Baorlein and his publishers, E. P. Dutton & Co., do servo tho thanks of all poctrv lovers says the Now York Evening Post. Ii: tho "Wisdom of the East" series ajv pears a vory roadnblo translation of quatrains from the old S3'rian poct-phil-osopher'a writings. Tho collection olT sets admirably tho floods of Khayyam and psoudo-Kfiayyam whoso monotonous amateurish reflections have long since palled upon those who look beyond fail words and tho quntrain's siron swing, Abu'1-Aln, who lived a generation bO' foro Khayyam, was intensely sincere in his religious views, which,- though tinged with gentlo C3'nicism, wore a garb of pootry which no voluptuary's creed could down.t His fatalism and scorn of revealed religion take on a majesty all Lhoir own. Theso quatrains are not superior su-perior to tho rest of tho collection: Abandon worship in tho mosquo and shrink From Idlo prayer, from sacrificial shcop. For Destiny will bring the bowl of sleep Or bowl of tribulation you shall drink. Tho scarlot eyes of Morning arc pursued pur-sued By Night, who growls along tho narrow lane: But as they crash upon our world the twain Dovour us and nro strengthened for tho feud. Myself did linger by tho ragged beach, Whereat wave after wave did rlso and curl: And as they fell, they fell I saw them hurl A message far moro eloquent than speech: ' "We that with song our pilgrimage beguile, be-guile, With purplo Islands which a sunset boro, , Wo, sunk upon the desecrating shore, May parley with oblivion awhile." The days are dressing all of us In white, For him who will suspend un In a row, But for the sun there Is no death. I know Tho centuries arc morsels of tho night. Here rings the Inevitable fatalism of tho East. But soon the sturdy thoughts of a courageous, worldly- wise man crop out: Adecd magnanimous, a noble thought Are as the music singing thro' the yea rs 1 When surly Time the tyrant doml-nocra doml-nocra Against tho luto wheroout of It was wrought. If I have harbored love within my breast, 'Twas for my comrades of tho dusty ' day. Who with me watched tho loitering stars at play, Whoe boro tho burden of tho same unrest. un-rest. For once tho witcheries a maiden flung Then afterward I knew she was the bride Of Death; and as ho came, so tender-eyed. tender-eyed. I I rebuked him roundly, being young. Yet if all things that vanish In their noon Aro but the part of some eternnl scheme. Of what tho nlgthlngalo may .chance to dream Or what the lotus murmurs to tho moon! When tho skeptic speaks, he cannot stifle his good nature and deep contentment content-ment with life. The note of resignation is not taken from a minor scale: man may be a pitiful fragment, but he can And his happiness: Lo! there arc many ways and many traps And many guides, and which of them is lord? For verily Mahomet has the sword, And he may have tho truth perhaps! perhaps! Now Ihls religion happens to prevail Until by that ono It Is overthrown Because men dare not live with men alone, But always with another falry-tnlc. Religion Is a charming girl. I sn'y: But over this poor threshold will not pass, Because I can't unveil her. and alas! 'The bridal gift 1 can't afford to pay. My faith It Is that all tho wanton pack Of living shall be hush, poor heart! withdrawn. As even to the camel comes a dawn Without a burden for his wounded back. Live well! Be wary of this life. I say; Do not o'erload yourself with righteousness. righteous-ness. 4 Behold! the sword wo polish in excess. ex-cess. We gradually polish It away. Say that you como to life as 'twere a feast. Prepared to pay whatever Is the bill Of death or toars or surely, friend, you will Not shrink at death, which Is among the least? Rise up against your troubles, cast away What Is too great for mortal man to bear. But seize no foolish arms against the sharo Which even' mortal person has to pay. "There Is no God but Allah!" that Is true. Nor is there any prophet eavo the mind Of man who wanders through the dark to find The Paradise that Is in me or you. USED BY OUH, BEST. "Forgot it cast it away." Haw-tbomo's Haw-tbomo's "Marblo Faun." "Sho was a respectable old guy." Thackeray's "Vnnitv Fair." "It's a sure thing." Goldsmith 's "She Stoops to Connuer." ' ' Twenty-three. ' 'Dickens 's " Talo of Two Cities." "Gave Hector a gift. a eilt, nutmeg lemon." Shakespeare's "Lovo's La-bor's La-bor's Lost." "Cut in and win." Thackeray's "Vanity Fair." "Gono to the wall. " Bunyan's "Pilgrim's "Pil-grim's Frogress." "Nothing doing.'? Addison's "Let terR." "Make good." Deuteronomy, which is a book in tho Bible. Puck. |