in accord with the divine Word and the New Church unfoldings of it
everywhere teach, is the need of an interior, true purpose in life.
The deepest ruling purpose which we cherish, what we constantly
strive for and determine to pursue as the most real and precious
thing of life, that rules us everywhere, that is our ego, our life,
is what will have its way at last. It will at last break through
all disguise; it will bring all external conduct into harmony with
itself. If it be an evil and selfish end, all external and fair
moralities will melt away, and the man will lose his common sense and
exhibit his insanities of opinion and will and answering deed on the
surface. But if that end be good and innocent, and there be humility
within, the outward disorders and evils which result from one’s
heredity or surroundings will finally disappear.--_From Rev. John
Goddard’s discourse, July 1, 1894._
Putting aside the question as to whether the scheme of the soul’s
development after death was or was not revealed to Swedenborg,
whether or not the title of seer can be added to the claims of this
learned student of science, all this need not interfere with the
moral influence of this work, although the weight of its instruction
must be greatly enforced on the minds of those who believe in a later
inspiration than the gospels.
This story begins where others end; the title of the first chapter,
“I Die,” commands attention; the process of the soul’s disenthralment
is certainly in harmony with what we sometimes read in the dim
eyes of friends we follow to the very gate of life. “By what power
does a single spark hold to life so long ... this lingering of the
divine spark of life in a body growing cold?” It is the mission
of the author to tear from Death its long-established thoughts of
horror, and upon its entrance into a new life, the soul possesses
such a power of adjustment that no shock is experienced.--_Boston
Transcript._
ROBERTS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
BOSTON, MASS.
POOR FOLK.
A Novel.
Translated from the Russian of FEDOR DOSTOIEVSKY, by LENA MILMAN,
with decorative titlepage and a critical introduction by GEORGE
MOORE. American Copyright edition.
_16mo. Cloth. $1.00._
A capable critic writes: “One of the most beautiful, touching stories
I have read. The character of the old clerk is a masterpiece, a kind
of Russian Charles Lamb. He reminds me, too, of Anatole France’s
‘Sylvestre Bonnard,’ but it is a more poignant, moving figure. How
wonderfully, too, the sad little strokes of humor are blended into
the pathos in his characterization, and how fascinating all the naive
self-revelations of his poverty become,--all his many ups and downs
and hopes and fears. His unsuccessful visit to the money-lender, his
despair at the office, unexpectedly ending in a sudden burst of good
fortune, the final despairing cry of his love for Varvara,--these hold
one breathless. One can hardly read them without tears.... But there is
no need to say all that could be said about the book. It is enough to
say that it is over powerful and beautiful.”
We are glad to welcome a good translation of the Russian Dostoievsky’s
story “Poor Folk,” Englished by Lena Milman. It is a tale of unrequited
love, conducted in the form of letters written between a poor clerk and
his girl cousin whom he devotedly loves, and who finally leaves him to
marry a man not admirable in character who, the reader feels, will not
make her happy. The pathos of the book centres in the clerk, Makar’s,
unselfish affection and his heart-break at being left lonesome by his
charming kinswoman whose epistles have been his one solace. In the
conductment of the story, realistic sketches of middle-class Russian
life are given, heightening the effect of the denoument. George Moore
writes a sparkling introduction to the book.--_Hartford Courant._
Dostoievsky is a great artist. “Poor Folk” is a great novel.--_Boston
Advertiser._
It is a most beautiful and touching story, and will linger in the mind
long after the book is closed. The pathos is blended with touching bits
of humor, that are even pathetic in themselves.--_Boston Times._
Notwithstanding that “Poor Folk” is told in that most exasperating and
entirely unreal style--by letters--it is complete in sequence, and
the interest does not flag as the various phases in the sordid life
of the two characters are developed. The theme is intensely pathetic
and truly human, while its treatment is exceedingly artistic. The
translator, Lena Milman, seems to have well preserved the spirit of the
original.--_Cambridge Tribune._
ROBERTS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON, MASS.
THE WOMAN WHO DID.
BY GRANT ALLEN.
_Keynotes Series. American Copyright Edition._
16mo. Cloth. Price, $1.00.
A very remarkable story, which in a coarser hand than its refined and
gifted author could never have been effectively told; for such a hand
could not have sustained the purity of motive, nor have portrayed the
noble, irreproachable character of Herminia Barton.--_Boston Home
Journal._
“The Woman Who Did” is a remarkable and powerful story. It increases
our respect for Mr. Allen’s ability, nor do we feel inclined to join
in throwing stones at him as a perverter of our morals and our social
institutions. However widely we may differ from Mr. Allen’s views on
many important questions, we are bound to recognize his sincerity, and
to respect him accordingly. It is powerful and painful, but it is not
convincing. Herminia Barton is a woman whose nobleness both of mind
and of life we willingly concede; but as she is presented to us by Mr.
Allen, there is unmistakably a flaw in her intellect. This in itself
does not detract from the reality of the picture.--_The Speaker._
In the work itself, every page, and in fact every line, contains
outbursts of intellectual passion that places this author among the
giants of the nineteenth century.--_American Newsman._
Interesting, and at times intense and powerful.--_Buffalo Commercial._
No one can doubt the sincerity of the author.--_Woman’s Journal._
The story is a strong one, very strong, and teaches a lesson that no
one has a right to step aside from the moral path laid out by religion,
the law, and society.--_Boston Times._
_Sold by all Booksellers. Mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by the
Publishers_,
ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON, MASS.
DISCORDS.
A Volume of Stories.
BY GEORGE EGERTON, author of “Keynotes.”
AMERICAN COPYRIGHT EDITION.
_16mo. Cloth. Price, $1.00._
George Egerton’s new volume entitled “Discords,” a collection of short
stories, is more talked about, just now, than any other fiction of
the day. The collection is really stories for story-writers. They are
precisely the quality which literary folk will wrangle over. Harold
Frederic cables from London to the “New York Times” that the book is
making a profound impression there. It is published on both sides, the
Roberts House bringing it out in Boston. George Egerton, like George
Eliot and George Sand, is a woman’s _nom de plume_. The extraordinary
frankness with which life in general is discussed in these stories not
unnaturally arrests attention.--_Lilian Whiting._
The English woman, known as yet only by the name of George Egerton,
who made something of a stir in the world by a volume of strong
stories called “Keynotes,” has brought out a new book under the rather
uncomfortable title of “Discords.” These stories show us pessimism
run wild; the gloomy things that can happen to a human being are so
dwelt upon as to leave the impression that in the author’s own world
there is no light. The relations of the sexes are treated of in bitter
irony, which develops into actual horror as the pages pass. But in all
this there is a rugged grandeur of style, a keen analysis of motive,
and a deepness of pathos that stamp George Egerton as one of the
greatest women writers of the day. “Discords” has been called a volume
of stories; it is a misnomer, for the book contains merely varying
episodes in lives of men and women, with no plot, no beginning nor
ending.--_Boston Traveller._
This is a new volume of psychological stories from the pen and brains
of George Egerton, the author of “Keynotes.” Evidently the titles of
the author’s books are selected according to musical principles. The
first story in the book is “A Psychological Moment at Three Periods.”
It is all strength rather than sentiment. The story of the child,
of the girl, and of the woman is told, and told by one to whom the
mysteries of the life of each are familiarly known. In their very
truth, as the writer has so subtly analyzed her triple characters, they
sadden one to think that such things must be; yet as they are real,
they are bound to be disclosed by somebody and in due time. The author
betrays remarkable penetrative skill and perception, and dissects the
human heart with a power from whose demonstration the sensitive nature
may instinctively shrink even while fascinated with the narration and
hypnotized by the treatment exhibited.--_Courier._
_Sold by all Booksellers. Mailed by Publishers_,
ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON, MASS.
Balzac in English.
MEMOIRS OF TWO YOUNG MARRIED WOMEN.
BY HONORÉ DE BALZAC.
Translated by KATHARINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY. 12mo. Half Russia. Price,
$1.50.
“There are,” says Henry James in one of his essays, “two writers
in Balzac,--the spontaneous one and the reflective one, the former
of which is much the more delightful, while the latter is the more
extraordinary.” It is the reflective Balzac, the Balzac with a theory,
whom we get in the “Deux Jeunes Mariées,” now translated by Miss
Wormeley under the title of “Memoirs of Two Young Married Women.”
The theory of Balzac is that the marriage of convenience, properly
regarded, is far preferable to the marriage simply from love, and he
undertakes to prove this proposition by contrasting the careers of
two young girls who have been fellow-students at a convent. One of
them, the ardent and passionate Louise de Chaulieu, has an intrigue
with a Spanish refugee, finally marries him, kills him, as she herself
confesses, by her perpetual jealousy and exaction, mourns his loss
bitterly, then marries a golden-haired youth, lives with him in a
dream of ecstasy for a year or so, and this time kills herself through
jealousy wrongfully inspired. As for her friend, Renée de Maucombe,
she dutifully makes a marriage to please her parents, calculates
coolly beforehand how many children she will have and how they shall
be trained; insists, however, that the marriage shall be merely a
civil contract till she and her husband find that their hearts are
indeed one; and sees all her brightest visions realized--her Louis an
ambitious man for her sake and her children truly adorable creatures.
The story, which is told in the form of letters, fairly scintillates
with brilliant sayings, and is filled with eloquent discourses
concerning the nature of love, conjugal and otherwise. Louise and Renée
are both extremely sophisticated young women, even in their teens; and
those who expect to find in their letters the demure innocence of the
Anglo-Saxon type will be somewhat astonished. The translation, under
the circumstances, was rather a daring attempt, but it has been most
felicitousy done.--_The Beacon._
_Sold by all booksellers. Mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price by the
Publishers_,
ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON, MASS.
GEORGE SAND IN ENGLISH.
NANON.
_Translated by ELIZABETH WORMELEY LATIMER._
It is, I think, one of the prettiest and most carefully constructed
of her later works, and the best view of the French Revolution from a
rural point of view that I know.--_Translator._
“Nanon” is a pure romance, chaste in style and with a charm of
sentiment well calculated to appeal to the most thoughtful reader.
George Sand has chosen the epoch of the French Revolution as the scene
of this last theme from her prolific pen, and she invests the time
with all the terrible significance that belongs to it. To the literary
world nothing that comes from her pen is unwelcome, the more so as in
this instance there is not the least trace of that risky freedom of
speech that too often disfigures the best work of the French school of
fiction. Nanon will be read with an appreciation of the gifted novelist
that is by no means new, and her claim to recognition is made stronger
and better by this masterly work. Her admirers--and they will be sure
not to miss Nanon--will feel a debt of gratitude to Elizabeth Wormeley
Latimer for a translation that preserves so well the clear, flowing
style and the lofty thoughts of the original; and the publishers, no
less than the reading public, ought to consider themselves fortunate in
the choice of so competent a translator.--_The American Hebrew._
This is among the finest of George Sand’s romances, and one who has
not made acquaintance with her works would do well to choose it as
the introductory volume. It belongs in the list of the best works of
that remarkable author, and contains nothing that is objectionable or
at all questionable in its moral tone. The scenes are laid among the
peasantry of France--simple-hearted, plodding, honest people, who know
little or nothing of the causes which are fomenting to bring about the
French Revolution. She portrays in clear and forcible language the
destitute condition of the rural districts, whose people were ignorant,
priest-ridden, and oppressed; and she shows the wretchedness and misery
that these poor people were compelled to endure during the progress
of the Revolution. The book is one of her masterpieces, by reason of
the exquisite delineations of character, the keen and philosophical
thought, the purity of inspiration, and the delicacy and refinement of
style. Throughout the story there is a freshness and vigor which only
one can feel who has lived at some time in close intimacy with fields
and woods, and become familiar with the forms, the colors, and the
sounds of Nature. The book has been translated by Elizabeth Wormeley
Latimer, who has performed her task admirably.--_Public Opinion._
Mrs. Latimer has achieved marked success in the translation of this
charming tale, preserving its purity, its simplicity, and its pastoral
beauty.--_Christian Union._
One volume, 12mo, half Russia, uniform with our edition of “Balzac”
and “Sand” novels. Price, $1.50.
ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON.
_A Beautiful Betrothal and Wedding Gift._
THE
LOVER’S YEAR-BOOK OF POETRY.
A Collection of Love Poems for Every Day in the Year.
BY HORACE P. CHANDLER.
FIRST SERIES. Vol. I. January to June. Bicolor, $1.25; white and gold,
$1.50. Vol. II. July to December. Bicolor, $1.25; white and gold, $1.50.
SECOND SERIES. Vol. I. January to June. Bicolor, $1.25; white and gold,
$1.50. Vol. II. July to December. Bicolor, $1.25; white and gold, $1.50.
The Poems in the First Series touch upon LOVE PRIOR TO MARRIAGE; those
in the Second Series are of MARRIED-LIFE AND CHILD-LIFE.
These two beautiful volumes, clad in the white garb which is
emblematic of the purity of married love as well as the innocence of
childhood, make up a series unique in its plan and almost perfect in
its carrying out. It would be impossible to specify any particular
poems of the collection for special praise. They have been selected
with unerring taste and judgment, and include some of the most
exquisite poems in the language. Altogether the four volumes make up
a treasure-house of Love poetry unexcelled for sweetness and purity
of expression. _Transcript, Boston._
Mr. Chandler has drawn from many and diverse wells of English poetry
of Love, as the list for any month shows. The poetry of passion is
not here, but there are many strains of Love such as faithful lovers
feel.--_Literary World, Boston._
We do not hesitate to pronounce it a collection of extraordinary
freshness and merit. It is not in hackneyed rhymes that his
lovers converse, but in fresh metres from the unfailing
fountains.--_Independent, New York._
Mr. Chandler is catholic in his tastes, and no author of repute has
been omitted who could give variety or strength to the work. The
children have never been reached in verse in a more comprehensive and
connected manner than they are in this book.--_Gazette, Boston._
A very dainty and altogether bewitching little anthology. For each
day in each month of two years (each series covering a year) a poem
is given celebrating the emotions that beset the heart of the true
lover. The editor has shown his exquisite taste in selection, and his
wide and varied knowledge of the literature of English and American
poetry. Every poem in these books is a perfect gem of sentiment;
either tender, playful, reproachful, or supplicatory in its meaning;
there is not a sonnet nor a lyric that one could wish away.--_Beacon,
Boston._
“The selections,” says Louise Chandler Moulton, “given us are
nearly all interesting, and some of them are not only charming but
unhackneyed.”--_Herald, Boston._
A collection of Love poems selected with exquisite judgment from the
best known English and American poets of the last three centuries,
with a few translations.--_Home Journal, Boston._
There are many beautiful poems gathered into this treasure-house, and
so great is the variety which has been given to the whole that the
monotony which would seem to be the necessary accompaniment of the
choice of a single theme is overcome.--_Courier, Boston._
The selections are not fragments, but are for the most part complete
poems. Nearly every one of the poems is a literary gem, and they
represent nearly all the famous names in poetry.--_Daily Advertiser,
Boston._
Selected with great taste and judgment from a wide variety
of sources, and providing a body of verse of the highest
order.--_Commercial Advertiser, Buffalo._
_Sold by all booksellers. Mailed on receipt of price, postpaid, by the
publishers_,
ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON, MASS.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sonia’s mother was a German, the daughter of Schubert the
astronomer. Marie Bashkirtseff’s grandmother was also German, and Fru
Leffler was descended from a German family who had settled in Sweden.
[2] “A Doll’s House,” by Henrik Ibsen.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized or underlined text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.