BOOKS.

THE CONSCRIPT. By MM. ErckmannChatrian. New York: Scribner and Company. Chicago: Cobb, Pritchard & Co., 81 and 83 Lake street.

This work, more a simple narrative than a novel of elaborate plot, is a wellperformed translation from the twentieth Paris edition, and appears free from those Gallicisms and obscurities which render so intelligible the Italian proverb of "Translator-traitor." It is a story of the campaign of 1813, seen from the stand-point, not of an emperor, a fieldmarshal or a newspaper correspondent, but from that of one of the pawns on Napoleon's military chess-board-a poor mechanic of Alsace. He who has been accustomed to regard only the dramatic side of war-who forgets, in looking at the sun of Austerlitz, how many cottage fires have been absorbed by those brilliant rays-will find much food for thought in this detailed account of the discomforts and sufferings of the march, the siege and the attack, as borne by a single victim of those successive conscriptions which left France drained and exhausted. The life in these quiet rural districts and provincial cities is pleasantly sketched; and the characters, though not of peculiar force or originality, are natural, and possess sufficient characteristic features to have a certain agreeable quaintness about them. As a vivid picture of the unromantic and revolting side of war, the book will have considerable value, and will have interest for those who prefer what is

suggestive and illustrative of character to what is sensational and exciting.

SIR COPP: a Poem for the Times. By Thomas Clarke.

THE TWO ANGELS; or, Love-led. By

the author of "Sir Copp." Chicago: Clarke & Bowron. Each for sale by the author.

The first of these poems has been already some time before the public, and is familiar to most readers through the commendatory notices of the Western press. It begins with the dissection of one of the class characterized during the late war as Copperheads. In this process the author takes occasion to depict in strong language the nature of such men and his estimate of the magnitude of their crime against the Union. He then sketches the uprising of the people in the recent struggle for national integrity, the cause of the war and its most memorable battle-fields-paying tribute to Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, as also to those humbler heroes whose part in the great work was not less noble and laments the death of Lincoln, under the name of Abel Misraim. He protests against the injustice of the world towards great souls such as Milton, Keats, Burns, and discusses Tennyson, whom he regards as overrated. He concludes with a dissertion, embodying some sound ideas, as to a republican form of government and the duty of its citizens with regard to it, and ends by committing the obnoxious Copperhead to those regions which the po

lite prefer to call Hades. The most spirited passage in the book is the apostrophe to Germania, beginning,

"Land of the Danube and the Rhine."

In the poem "Love-led," the author lays claim in his preface to the title of a benefactor of his race, as "one who presents new ideas in such a shape as will render them practically useful to mankind." After speaking of the creation of Eden and the limitations under which our first parents dwelt there, he represents the inhabitants of the various planets as descending, moved by curiosity, to view the primeval garden and its occupants. A young angel, Arophel, set to guard the orb Sirius, falls in love with Eve and is driven from the garden by her. Returning to his post, he meets Lucifer, and a long argument ensues, in which the latter reproaches the celestial youth with the groveling nature of his ambition. Unable, however, to convince his listener, he forces him to accompany him to the throne of Jehovah. Once there, the author seizes the opportunity to give a full description of heaven, the worship of the angels, and their occupations. Those who in their ideas of that divine abode have hitherto been confined to speculation or desire, will find here many novel suggestions upon the subject. The pause of the great archangel and his protege upon a hill overlooking the city gives the author a chance to indulge in a vein of meditation upon public and private matters as managed here below. He then returns to heaven, describes the evening meal of the angels, the contest of Lucifer and Michael, -a sort of tournament, in which the former vanquishes the great conqueror of the Dragon—and, finally, the punishment of the young offender beforementioned, which consists in being sent into exile for a million years or so. In the succeeding cantos Lucifer re-appears to Arophel, and relating his own fall from holiness, together with that of our

first parents, as the result of his arts, urges him to unite in defiance of the Almighty. To this Arophel returns an indignant refusal, when Lucifer, hurling his last defiance toward heaven, is overwhelmed by the divine thunderbolts, and, transformed into hideous shape, is forced to

"Wander without chart or shore, Till time on earth shall be no more."

The author ends with the aspiration that

"The trials which we suffer here

Shall be the stepping-stones whereby
We mount yon bright, celestial sphere,
To homes eternal in the sky."

LUKE DARRELL, THE CHICAGO NEWS

ΒΟΥ.

MABEL ROSS, THE SEWING GIRL. THE BROKEN PITCHER. Chicago: Tomlinson Brothers.

Each of these books was written by a Chicago lady and published by Messrs. Tomlinson Bros. in a neat and attractive style. The writer possesses the unusual ability of writing in such a manner as to be highly instructive to the young reader and yet entertaining to the older ones. Her conversational powers are fine, and she carries the reader from one scene to another almost imperceptibly, and with each change teaching an appropriate moral lesson. She links the different parts of her book together by the narration of the events which go to make up the life of some fictitious person or persons, and enchains the attention of her readers to the end. Her style is not particularly marked, but is free, easy, graceful and agreeable.

"Luke Darrell" is a faithful representation of the life of a newsboy in a Western city. She takes her orphan hero from the country at the early age of nine years, brings him to Chicago, introduces him to the "ring;" he is "pushed" through and becomes a part thereof. The amusing dialect, tricks and incidents peculiar to his calling are faithfully noticed; he runs a successful

career, and after an experience of nine years, finds himself back on the old farm again, with flattering prospects of becoming, at some future day, one of the "self-made" men of the age. The book has a high moral tone, and should be read by the youth throughout the West. "Mabel Ross" is a story of the strug gles, privations and temptations of a sewing-girl's life in a large city, or, as the localities sufficiently make known, in the city of Chicago. It details the adventures of a trio of young girls, sisters, thrown upon their own efforts for support, with the poor preparation of a childhood spent in a luxurious home under the sheltering care of parents. The book does not throw a flattering light upon the characters of the proprietors of large establishments where sewing-women are employed, nor upon the management of some of our benevolent institutions. The young heroines fight successfully through their trials, and, by a turn of fortune not wholly unexpected to the reader, become heiresses and escape from the thraldom of the needle. The book would perhaps have contained more encouragement to the class to which it specially relates, if it had solved the problem of their existence in a less exceptional way.

"The Broken Pitcher," by the same author, is of the order of books best known as Sunday-school stories. The course of the narrative follows the steps of two children afflicted with a drunken father, who nevertheless make persistent and successful efforts to live a moral life, and are rewarded by the acquisition of friends and the reform of the degraded parent.

The three books, though without a marked style, are written in clear and agreeable English.

[The above books, except "The Conscript," were handed in by their authors with a request that we review them. Hence their appearance at this late date.]

PERIODICALS.

We here give, each month, a brief notice of the periodicals received, which we can honestly recommend to our readers. We have no room for any others. Literary, Educational, Medical, Scientific, Religious, Musical, Artistic and Political journals of real merit will be always welcomed and receive due attention.

PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL.-Devoted to Ethnology, Phrenology, Physiology, Physiognomy, Psychology, Education, and all progressive measures. Illustrated; $3.00. S. R. Wells, 389 Broadway, New York.

PACKARD'S MONTHLY.-The Young Men's Magazine. Lively, Wide-awake, Talented; $1.00. 8. 8. Packard, 937 Broadway, N. Y.

THE MOTHER AT HOME, and Household Magazine, edited by Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher. A true mother's journal; $1.50. Address "The Mother at Home," 57 Williams street, N. Y.

HALL'S JOURNAL OF HEALTH.-A medical monthly of well-known ability, everywhere; $1.50. J. S. Redfield, 140 Fulton street, N. Y.

AMERICAN BUILDER, and Journal of Art.-Devoted to Architecture, Mechanics, Science, Civil Engineering, and Art; $3.00. Lakey & Adams, 115 Madison street, Chicago.

THE CHICAGO MEDICAL TIMES.-Devoted to the Interests of Eclectic Medicine and Surgery; $2.00. John Gunn, 163 S. Clark street, Chicago.

WORDS FOR JESUS.-A Religious Monthly Magazine; $1.00; to the Poor, free. Lamont Brothers, Rockford, Ill.

THE HERALD OF THE COMING KINGDOM, and Christian Instructor. A semi-monthly periodical; $2.00. Wilson, St. Clair & Co., 117 Madison street, Chicago.

THE SPIRITUAL ROSTRUM.-A monthly magazine devoted to the Harmonial Philosophy; $2.00. Hull & Jamieson, Drawer 5966, Chicago.

THE GRISWOLD COLLEGIAN.-Devoted to the interests of Griswold College, and a liberal Christian education; $1.00. "Griswold Collegian," Davenport, Iowa.

UNIVERSITY CHRONICLE.-A sprightly periodical published at the University of Michigan; $2.50. "University Chronicle," Ann Arbor, Mich.

THE ART JOURNAL.-An American Review of the Fine Arts, and among the best on the continent. Monthly, at the Opera House Art Gallery, Chicago. $2.00 J. F. Aitken & Co.

IOWA SCHOOL JOURNAL.-Official organ of the State Teachers Association and of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; $1.25. Mills & Co., Des Moines, Iowa.

HERALD OF PEACE.-A semi-monthly, devoted to the cause of peace and general religious improvement; $1.50. Herald Co., 131 S. Clark st., Chicago.

THE INDEX.-A monthly journal- the official organ of the M. E. Church of Wisconsin; $1.00. Rev. I. L. Hauser, Milwaukee, Wis.

THE MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR.-A monthly journal of Medicine and the Collateral Sciences; $2.50. C. S. Halsey, 147 Clark street, Chicago.

THE INDIANA STUDENT.-A semi-monthly, published under the auspices of the Senior and Junior Classes of the Indiana State University; $2.00. "Indiana Student," Bloomington, Ind.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN,
ANN ARBOR, Jan. 13, 1869. J

MESSRS. REED & TUTTLE-Dear Sirs: I have received the first number of THE WESTERN MONTHLY, and also your favor of the 8th inst. I would gladly write an article for the February number, but I am engaged in extra work just now, still I will endeavor to prepare one for the March number.

To ensure the largest success to the MONTHLY it should, from the beginning, assume an easily defined and positive character. It must not be a receptacle of the fugitive productions of Western men and women, thrown together miscellaneously. Such a periodical as you propose to publish needs soul more than body. Every article in it should be instinct with a common life. The Atlantic Monthly has such a character, and is not only an honor to American scholarship, but is actually infusing its liberal and scholarly temper into the community. It has an appropriate name. One can smell the ocean breezes, almost the peculiar northeast winds of New England, in its pages. Now the great West, so-called, the broad Mississippi valley and surrounding country, must sooner or later develop a homogeneity of character. There are certain problems that can be understood, and of course discussed, here better than anywhere else. How would the Atlantic States like to depend upon England for their literature? Almost as inconsistent is it for us to be dependent on the East. Almost invariably an Eastern writer betrays as great a want of appreciation of Western matters as an Englishman. We do not want gross flattery, as is often the case, nor total neglect, which from ignorance is more frequent.

I think it would be well for your Editor to forecast, to some extent, what kind of a number he will have, every month. Let him apply to certain writers of known ability, to furnish articles on certain specified topics of peculiar interest. Do not shrink from the profoundest problems of politics and philosophy, provided you treat them with

true Western breadth and fearlessness.

Abjure temporary partisanship, but let this not prevent a manly independent investigation of any subject. Leading Western thinkers have some ideas on Currency, Protection, Civil Service Bills, Educational enterprises, and other such subjects, which should be presented in able, condensed papers. Of course the proportion of poetry, fiction and light reading will not be wanting.

But perhaps I am extending my letter so as to weary you. My only apology is a conviction that Western authors need for their own good and the good of their country, organization. Complete centralization in this country is impossible and undesirable, but the most unreasonable of all forms is a center on one side! Western writers are an unorganized herd. Eastern writers know and sustain each other. I hope you will develop an able body of writers, who will not only awaken a mutual interest by their common relation to the WESTERN MONTHLY, but meet each other as many of the best authors in other countries do. A country of "magnificent distances" has some advantages, but not a few disadvantages. Chicago is rapidly becoming a publishing as well as a commercial center

let it also exercise the functions of a brain as well as of a heart. I hope you will have not only pecuniary but every other success.

Yours truly,

E. O. HAVEN. P. S.-Shall try to have a paper for your March number. E. O. H.

STATE OF ILLINOIS, DEP'T OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE, SPRINGFIELD, Jan. 8, 1869.

MESSRS. REED & TUTTLE, Publishers "WESTERN MONTHLY," No. 115 Madison street, Chicago, Ills.-Gentlemen: Your favor of the 6th inst. is before me. My Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature of the State is now going through the press, and is not yet wholly written. My time during the present month will be crowded with official labors to such an extent as to

ANN ARBOR, MICH., Jan. 15, 1869. MESSRS. REED & TUTTLE-Your favor of the 12th inst. is received, as well as copy of WESTERN MONTHLY, and I entirely accord with you and with Mr. N. Sheppard on the subject of a Western outlet for Western thought. You have lusty and vigorous Eastern rivals, however, to compete with, and I am afraid you are putting the subscription price too low to enable you to compete successfully without pecuniary loss. You must be able to divert to your own channels the Western talent which is now employed as far as it is employedin contributing to the success of Eastern magazines. I know there are few Western contributors to the Eastern magazines, but the idea was suggested to me by my own partial engagement with Lippincott.

journal. In the meantime, let my mite help in one way. I have only read the article upon Hawthorne; if all are equal to that, success is certain. Yours truly,

KATE N. Doggett.

KEOKUK, IOWA, Jan. 15, 1869. EDITORS WESTERN MONTHLY-Dear Sirs: As a Western writer, as well as reader, I am delighted to welcome the first number of a Western literary magazine. It is true, as you say, that there is no adequate room for the productions of Western pens in the journals of the East, and it can scarcely be wondered at that Western talent is coolly regarded and grudgingly paid, when so many gifted applicants crowd their very doors.

I hope the WESTERN MONTHLY will prove ever fresh and vigorous, sparkling and profound, even though my own offerings thus fall under condemnation. If the enclosed is not desired, may I take advantage of your kind offer and request its return?

Very truly yours,

MRS. CELESTE M. A. WINSLOW.

LOUISIANA, Mo., Jan. 23, 1869. MESSRS. REED & TUTTLE-I have seen number one of your "number one" magazine, and, while greatly fearing, I sincerely hope, it may succeed. In response to your invitation to Western writers, I send you two contributions, one, poetical, enclosed, and the other, a sketch, in wrapper. I have successfully fought the battle of a Western writer against Eastern favoritism, but I cannot forget now that I receive praises from those who once gave me only cold and often unjust criticisms; how I used to feel when my fledgelings were returned with only the top-knot (viz: the Western postmark) examined. I feel sure all Western writers, who have good memories, will wish you God speed. And I have a proposition to make. Let every Western "literateur," who has any influence, use it, in getting patronage for the WESTERN MONTHLY. And let every Western editor, who wishes his own enterprise to succeed, give it a mighty boost monthly, till, like the monthly of the Atlantic, which seems to be its prototype, it no longer needs it. Respectfully,

MRS. M. L. S. BURKE.