Books Of The Day.

BOOKS OF THE DAY .

Books , Music , & c . intended for review , should be addressed to the Editor of the Freemason ' s Chronicle , at Fleet Works , New Barnet . — : o . * — Tho March of the Ton Thousand . Being a translation of the Anabasis . Preceded by a life of Xenophon . By H . G . Dakyns , M . A . —Macmillan and Co ., Limited .

WE can , heartily advise our readers to add Mr . Dakyns s translation of the Ahanbasis of Xenophon to their libraries . Those who share Gibbon ' s enthusiasm for Xenophon will be glad to own so excellent a book , and those not yet acquainted with its pages should hasten to become so . The merits of Mr . Dakyns ' s translations are known to all ' Grecians ; " but he has added to the volume before

us a life of the historian and soldier which is so commendable m every respect that we hope it may come into the hands of many who still love the old , incomparable men and books , and who still delight in literature ' s " pale and shadowy , but enduring pleasures . " Of course we must bear in mind that there is diversity of gifts in literature as in all other walks in life : Xenophon is not quite

Thucydides—we need hardly turn to Gray's " Letters" to corroborate that . But the Anabasis is surely one of the best narratives ever penned , and only those who have read and re-read its paragraphs are competent to pronounce how good it is . It is as entertaining as a novel , as instructive as a good biography and , to such as read with both eyes and cultivate a philosophic spirit , more

efficacious than many sermons . The wonderful march of the Grecian army through territories then but little known is described by the pen of the chief soldier of them all , and , in reading his narrative , we are filled with that admiration for the warrior-author which is seldom elicited from readers , unless , indeed , when perusing the Commentaries of Csesar .

Tho Fig-hting- Troubadour . A Novel . By Archibald Clavering Gunter . Illustrated by Gordon Browne ( 6 s ) . —Ward , Lock and Co ., Ltd . WE commend this volume to our readers' attention when next a downpour keeps them within doors . It will assuredly amuse them . Those who know and love the romances of James Grant

may fancy the ) - have here yet another story from his pen , and Mr . Lang , who recently owned that he did not know what Grant wrote , might study " the Fighting Troubadour " to supply that desideratum . The story opens on the battle field , where a dying officer consigns his daughter to the care of a younger man . The daughter is in the keeping of somewhat doubtful hands , and the young guardian is not ,

when the story begins , by any means the pink of moral propriety . The game soon becomes , like the mirth in Burns ' s poem , "fast and furious , " but we will not recapitulate its moves . Readers will find themselves in such society as they will hardly meet save in Italy , and the doings and sayings of pert mistresses , and of waiting maids

still more pert , follow in such quick succession that one is under the spell of uninterrupted excitement from start to finish . Some of the episodes are splendidly told , and it would certainly be difficult for any writer to make the same story more interesting . We may add that the book is by the author of " Mr . Barnes of New York , " and that explains a great deal .

New Century Library ( 25 net per vol . ) . —T . Nelson and Sons . The Works of SIR WALTER SCOTT , Bart . Vol . xiii ., Tho Pirate . The " Pirate , " less universally popular than some other of the Wavcrley novels , is a great favourite with some readers who happen to have discovered the secret of its charm . The sound of the sea

is within our ears as we read , and the breezes of the storm-swept Orkneys seem very near and verv real . In none of Scott's novels , not even in " Guy Mannering , " is the spirit of wild nature more successfully wooed and won , and the whole story is fragrant of the open air . WTien we remember that the book was written in the

midst of many distractions , and m the presence of the novelist's family , we can but add one more to our many reasons for wondering at the success of the Wizard of the North . This volume is the 13 th of the series , so -readers will possess the whole after a reasonable exercise of patience , and a very handsome and inexpensive whole the series will make .

The Story of Fish Life . By P . Pycraft , F . Z . S . With eighteen illustrations ( is ) . —George Newnes , Limited . THIS is an eminently useful little volume , and one which many will welcome . There are very few really elementary and serviceable books about fish life as a whole , and Mr . Pycraft , who will be remembered as being also the author of the uniform volume on Bird

Life , has given us an admirable disquisition which goes far towards supplying that deficiency . He has evidently spared no pains to write lucidly about a subject which does not readily lend itself to such treatment , and the illustrations are so clearly drawn that they are very helpful in following Mr . Pycraft ' s descriptions closely , Such chapters as "How Fishes Feed" and " Transformation- " are

excellent examples of how the dry bones of science may be made to live . Mr . Pycraft freely acknowledges his indebtedness to other men ; but his merits are surely his own . His little book is in every way worthy to be numbered among Messrs . Newnes' "Useful Stories " and that , as everybody knows , is saying a great deal . The series will collectively form useful supplements to larger and older Works on the same subjects .

God , the King , my Brother . By Mary F . Nixon Roulet . — Ward , Lock and Co ., Ltd . MR . ANDREW PEJIBRIDGE had some exciting 1 experiences in Spam over 500 years ago , and in the volume before us those . experU

Books Of The Day.

ences are narrated by a writer who has a good eye for colour and form . Mr . Andrew was not on good terms with his cousin , and , in a squabble where cousin and brothers were alike at loggerheads , he received a buffet from his brother Anthony which landed him in the moat . The grand tour was in those days regarded as an infallible cure for such unpleasantnesses , and the brothers , after

wandering by land and sea , arrive presently in Spain , follow their diverse predilections to the top of their bent—and fall in love with an attractive young lady . The lady leads them into a very pretty scrape , in which , it is only fair to say , they conducted themselves as honourable men . We have , like most other folks , read this sort of thing before ; but much of the book is exceedingly well written ,

and we wish we could think that young readers always fared so well as they will do if they peruse these adventures . The brevity of the story is a further merit , for unless such a plot has some very original incidents to enliven its progress it is far wiser to compress than to amplify . The cover of this volume is very tastefully designed , and the type is excellent .

Messrs . Chambers are to' publish " The Nineteenth Century Series . " This work is to consist of twenty-five octavo volumes , and will treat of the progress of Religion , Science , Literature , South Africa , New Zealand , & c , & -c , during the last century . The " Alfred " literature continues to grow . Under the title " A lion of Wessex " Messrs . Partridge are shortly to publish a volume concerning the great King , from the pen of Mr . Tom Bevan .

Mr . Grant Richards is to publish " How to Study English Literature . " We have not the slightest doubt that such a volume may serve a good purpose , but there is no royal road to a comprehensive knowledge of this subject . The Clarendon Press will issue- some good books this autumn .

We notice , among their announcements , " The Plays and Poems of Robert Greene , " edited by Mr . Churton Collins ; " The Troubadours of Dante , " by Mr . H . J . Chaytor ; "The Complete Works of John Gower , " edited by S . C . Macaulay , M . A . ( vol . iv ) , and "Elizabethan Critical Essays , " edited by G . Gregory Smith , M . A .

Messrs . Nesbit and Co . are to publish shortly the " Dolly Dialogues , " by Anthony Hope . They deserve a phenomenal sale . New Century Library ( 2 s net per vol . ) . —T . Nelson and Sons . The Works of SIR WALTER SCOTT , Bart . Vol . xiv ., The Fortunes of Wigrel . Vol . xv ., Peveril of the Peak .

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