Various - The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3

V >> Various >> The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3

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The account of town and country life as they were at the beginning of
the present century, and of the growth of those social usages which we
have come almost to regard as instinctive, is very entertaining and
instructive. Barring certain blemishes and a few inaccuracies, which
ought to be excusable in a work of such character, Mr. McMaster's two
volumes form a very valuable and welcome contribution to our national
literature. It was a felicitous thought which prompted him to enter this
peculiar field, and to gather up the important facts which writers on
political history have generally avoided. So thoroughly and so admirably
has Mr. McMaster worked this field that we doubt whether any other
writer, coming after him, will be tempted to invade the same territory.
The work thus far ends with the negotiations which led to the Louisiana
purchase, and we are led to expect three more instalments before it
shall be completed.

* * * * *

Should any readers be tempted by Mrs. Gould's article in this number of
THE BAY STATE MONTHLY to visit Nantucket, they will do well to
take with them, for handy reference and trustworthy guidance, Mr.
Godfrey's _Island of Nantucket: What it was and what it is_.[8] It
is a complete index and guide to all that is interesting in the
island,--tells just how to get there and what to see there,--and
contains, moreover, several special articles, by different hands, on the
history, botany, geology, and entomology of the island. The maps
accompanying the text were made expressly for the book.

* * * * *

A fitting companion to Mr. Wallace's "Malay Archipelago," which appeared
some ten or a dozen years ago, is a new book, entitled _A Naturalist's
Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago_,[9] of which Henry O. Forbes
is the author. Mr. Forbes revisited most of the islands which Mr.
Wallace had described, but his route in each island was altogether
different. He gives us the first detailed account of the Timor-laut
Islands, with very interesting and valuable ethnological notes. The work
is divided into six parts, devoted to the Cocos-Keeling Islands, Java,
Sumatra, the Moluccas, Timor-laut, Buru, and Timor. Many illustrations
are interspersed throughout the text, and the whole work is exceedingly
vigorous, graphic, and abounding in interest.

* * * * *

_Under the Rays of the Aurora Borealis; In the Land of the Lapps and
Kvaens_[10] by Sophus Tromholt, edited by Carl Siewers, furnishes a
narrative of journeys in Lapland, Finland, and Northern Russia in
1882-83. It also contains an account of the recent circumpolar
scientific expeditions, and a popular statement of what is known of the
Aurora Borealis, which the author has studied long and carefully. A map
and nearly one hundred and fifty illustrations add greatly to the value
and attractiveness of the work.

MR. WINFRED A. STEARNS, a close student of natural history, and
one of the authors of "New England Bird Life," has prepared a work
entitled _Labrador: a sketch of its People, its Industries, and its
Natural History_.[11] Although not written in a very agreeable style,
the work is one which deserves perusal, and will certainly command some
attention. Mr. Stearns visited Labrador three times, once in 1875, once
in 1880, and again in 1882. The results of these journeys and
observations are herein set down in a compact volume of three hundred
pages. With the exception of a valuable paper on Labrador in the
"Encyclopedia Britannica," little of a modern and useful character has
been written giving anything like a fair description of the country and
its resources. Mr. Stearns book supplies the omission, and is cordially
to be commended. It ought to pave the way for a good many excursion
parties.

[Footnote 4: The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State. By Henry M.
Stanley, 2 vols. Maps and illustrations. New York; Harper & Bros. Price,
$10.00.]

[Footnote 5: How We are Governed. By Anna Laurens Dawes. Boston: D.
Lothrop & Co.]

[Footnote 6: The Hunter's Handbook, containing a description of all
articles required in camp, with hints on provisions and stores, and
receipts for camp cooking. By "An Old Hunter." Boston: Lee & Shepard.
Price, 50 cents.]

[Footnote 7: A History of the People of the United States, from the
Revolution to the Civil War. By John Bach McMaster. Vol. II. New York:
D. Appleton & Co. Price, $2.50.]

[Footnote 8: The Island of Nantucket: What it was and what it is.
Compiled by Edward K. Godfrey. Boston: Lee & Shepard. Price, paper, 50
cents.]

[Footnote 9: Wanderings of a Naturalist in the Eastern Archipelago. By
H.O. Forbes. Illustrated. New York: Harper & Bros. Price, $5.00.]

[Footnote 10: Under the Rays of the Aurora Borealis; In the Land of the
Lapps and Kvaens. By Sophus Tromholt. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.]

[Footnote 11: Labrador: a Sketch of its People, Industries, and Natural
History. By W.A. Stearns. Boston: Lee & Shepard. Price, $1.75.]

* * * * *

MEMORANDA FOR THE MONTH.

The reduction of letter postage from two cents per half-ounce to two
cents per ounce, which took effect July 1st, suggests a few words in
regard to postal matters in general. The collection of news by
post-carriers is said to have originated in the regular couriers
established by Cyrus in his Persian kingdom about 550 B.C. Charlemagne
employed couriers for similar purposes in his time. The first
post-houses in Europe were instituted by Louis XI. of France.
Post-chaises were invented in the same country. In England in the reign
of Edward IV., 1784, riders on post-horses went stages of the distance
of twenty miles from each other in order to convey to the king the
earliest intelligence of war. Post communication between London and most
towns of England, Scotland, and Ireland existed in 1935. The penny-post
was first set up in London and its suburbs in 1681 as a private
enterprise, and nine years later became a branch of the general post.
Mail coaches, for the conveyance of letters, began to run between London
and Bristol in 1784. The postal system of the American colonies was
organized in 1710. Franklin, as deputy postmaster-general for the
colonies, established mail-coaches between Philadelphia and Boston in
1760. Previous to 1855 the rates of postage were according to distance.
The uniform three-cent rate was adopted in 1863. Money-order offices
were instituted in England as early as 1792. They were established in
this country in 1864, and there is no safer way to remit small amounts.

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