This work is most aptly expressed by the title, and the author, who is one of our most learned and accomplished modern writers, has done ample justice to his subject. He pries boldly into Bluebeard’s closet, little recking whether he shall find a ghost, skeleton, or a living being; and he tells us very bluntly and explicitly what he has witnessed. Several years since he gave to the learned world his treatise on Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names, in which were disclosed the ideas underlying the old-world religions, and the nature of hieroglyphical symbols employed in the East. The present volume complements that work, elaborates more perfectly the ideas there set forth, and traces their relations to the faiths, worship, and religious dogmas of modern time. We are astonished to find resemblances where it would be supposed that none would exist, betraying either a similar origin or analogous modes of thinking and reasoning among nations and peoples widely apart in race, country, and period of history. The author is bold and often strong in his expressions, from the intensity of his convictions, but this serves to deepen the interest in his subject. Those who have read his former works with advantage will greet this volume with a cordial welcome; and all who desire to understand the original religions of mankind, the ideas which lie back of the revelations of Holy Scripture, and particularly, those who are not easily shocked when they come in contact with sentiments with which they have not been familiar, will find this book full of entertainment as well as of instruction. Dr. Inman is working up a new mine of thought, and the lover of knowledge will give his labor a welcome which few of our modern authors receive.

Wheeler’s India.

Dr. Inman’s Ancient Faiths.

“Dr. Inman’s present attempt to trace the religious belief, sacred rites, and holy emblems of certain nations, has opened up to him many hitherto unexplored fields of research, or, at least, fields that have not been over-cultivated, and the result is a most curious and miscellaneous harvest of facts. The ideas on priapism developed in a former volume receive further extension in this. Dr. Inman, as will be seen, does not fear to touch subjects usually considered sacred in an independent manner, and some of the results at which he has arrived are such as will undoubtedly startle, if not shock, the orthodox. But this is what the author expects, and for this he has thoroughly prepared himself. In illustration of his peculiar views he has ransacked a vast variety of historical storehouses, and with great trouble and at a considerable cost, he places the conclusions at which he has arrived before the world. With the arguments employed, the majority of readers will, we expect, disagree; even when the facts adduced will remain undisputed, their application is frequently inconsequent. In showing the absurdity of a narrative or an event in which he disbelieves, the Doctor is powerful. No expense has been spared on the work, which is well and fully illustrated, and contains a good index.”—Bookseller.

NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION.

Ancient Symbol Worship.

The favor with which this treatise has been received has induced the publisher to bring out a new edition. It makes a valuable addition to our knowledge, enabling us to acquire a more accurate perception of the ancient-world religions. We may now understand Phallism, not as a subject of ribaldry and leering pruriency, but as a matter of veneration and respect. The Biblical student, desirous to understand the nature and character of the idolatry of the Israelites during the Commonwealth and Monarchy, the missionary to heathen lands fitting for his work, and the classic scholar endeavoring to comprehend the ideas and principles which underlie Mythology, will find their curiosity gratified; and they will be enabled at the same time to perceive how not only many of our modern systems of religion, but our arts and architecture, are to be traced to the same archaic source. The books examined and quoted by the authors constitute a library by themselves, and their writers are among the ripest scholars of their time. Science is rending asunder the veil that conceals the adytum of every temple, and revealing to men the sanctities revered so confidingly during the world’s childhood. With these disclosures, there may be somewhat of the awe removed with which we have regarded the symbols, mysteries, and usages of that period; but the true mind will not be vulgarized by the spectacle.

The Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries.

In the Mysteries, the dramas acted at Eleusis and other sacred places, were embodied the deeper thoughts and religious sentiment of the archaic world. The men and women initiated into them were believed to be thenceforth under special care of God, for this life and the future. So holy and interior were the doctrines considered which had been learned in the Sanctuary from the two tablets of stone, that it was not lawful to utter them to another. What was seen and learned elsewhere might be admirable; but the exercises of Eleusis and Olympia had in them the something divine, and those who observed them were “the children of God,” and imaging Him in wisdom, intuitive discernment, and love.

The reader desirous of getting the kernel of the doctrines of Plato, Orpheus, Eumolpas, and their fellow-laborers, as well as of the Alexandrian Eclectics, will obtain invaluable aid from this treatise.

NOW OFFERED AT GREATLY REDUCED PRICES.

Pearson’s Reprints of the Old Dramatists.

The balance of the edition of these reprints having been recently “sold off” in London, I am now enabled to offer them at the above greatly reduced prices, for a brief period only. Several of the authors being already out of print, the time is not far distant when it will be impossible to procure complete sets, and collectors will do well to secure them while they have the opportunity.

Antiquities of Long Island.

Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism.

This book contains in a nutshell the essence of Dr. Inman’s other publications, and for the reader of limited means is just what he requires. The subject of symbolism is as deep as human thought and as broad in its scope as humanity itself. The erudite thinker finds it not only worthy of his best energies, but capable of taxing them to the utmost. Many pens have been employed upon it, and it has never grown old. Dr. Inman’s views are somewhat peculiar; he has concentrated his attention to the ideas which he believes to underlie the symbolism of the most ancient periods, and can be traced through the autonomy of the Christian Church. He finds the relation which exists, and the antiquarian likewise, between Asshur and Jehovah, the Baal of Syria and the God whom Christians worship; and the mysteries of the Sacred Grove, of which the Old Testament says so much, are unfolded and made sensible to the common intellect. Scholars will welcome this volume, and the religious reader will peruse its pages with the profoundest interest. The symbols which characterize worship constitute a study which will never lose its interest, so long as learning and art have admirers.

The Lost Beauties of the English Language.

Words change as well as men, sometimes from no longer meeting the new wants of the people, but oftener from the attraction of novelty which impels everybody to change. A dictionary of obsolete words, and terms becoming obsolete, is a valuable reminder of the treasures which we are parting with; not always wisely, for in them are comprised a wealth of expression, idiom, and even history, which the new words cannot acquire. Dr. Mackay has placed a host of such on record, with quotations to illustrate how they were read by the classical writers of the English language, not many centuries ago, and enables us to read those authors more understandingly. If he could induce us to recall some of them back to life, it would be a great boon to literature; but hard as it might have been for Cæsar to add a new word to his native Latin language, it would have been infinitely more difficult to resuscitate an obsolete one, however more expressive and desirable. Many of the terms embalmed in this treatise are not dead as yet: and others of them belong to that prolific department of our spoken language that does not get into dictionaries. But we all need to know them; and they really are more homogeneous to our people than their successors, the stilted foreign-born and alien English, that “the Best” is laboring to naturalize into our language. The old words, like old shoes and well-worn apparel, sit most comfortably.

Fu-Sang;

FRANCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

Lacroix.

The title of this new work, by the indefatigable Paul Lacroix, conveys but an indifferent idea of its contents. It is admirably gotten up, and is illustrated in a most profuse manner, equalling, if not excelling, the former works of the same author, giving us a living picture of the 18th century—the king, nobility, bourgeoisie, people, parliaments, clergy, army and navy, commerce, education, police, etc., Paris, its pleasures, promenades, fêtes, salons, cuisine, theatres, costumes, etc., etc.

A NEW WORK ON CHRISTIAN ART.

Jésus-Christ.

This elegant work is uniform in style and illustration with the works of Paul Lacroix, by the same house. The illustrations (which were prepared under the direction of M. Dumoulin), are of the most attractive character, and present a chronological view of Christian art. The exquisite series of chromos are from pictures by Giotto, Ghirlandajo, Andrea del Sarto, Raphael, Fra Bartolommeo-Angelico, Sacchi di Pavia, Flandrin, and a head of Christ from the Catacombs, Fac-similes, by Armand, Durand, from rare etchings by Marc Antonio, Dürer, etc., also a reduction from Prevost, plate of the wedding at Cana, after Paul Veronese, and nearly 200 charming engravings on wood.

UNIFORM WITH THE WORKS OF PAUL LACROIX.

Jeanne D’Arc.

Contents: An account of the arms and military dresses of the period, accompanied by descriptive figures taken from the seals of the Archives; a map of feudal France, by M. Aug. Longnon, a new work of the highest importance to the history of the 15th century; a study of the worship shown to Joan of Arc in the French and Foreign literatures (it is known that during the lifetime of Joan, her wonderful mission was represented on the stage); fac-similes of letters of Joan, etc., etc.

Dramatists of the Restoration.

Biographical Notices and brief Notes accompany the works of each author. The series has been entrusted to the joint editorial care of James Maidment and W. H. Logan. It comprises the following authors:

• Sir William Davenant’s Dramatic Works. 5 vols.
• John Crowne’s Dramatic Works. 4 vols.
• Sir Aston Cokain’s Dramatic Works. 1 vol.
• John Wilson’s Dramatic Works. 1 vol.
• John Lacy’s Dramatic Works. 1 vol.
• Shakerley Marmion’s Dramatic Works. 1 vol.

The First Edition of Shakespeare.

“A complete fac-simile of the celebrated First Folio edition of 1623 for half-a-guinea is at once a miracle of cheapness and enterprise. Being in a reduced form, the type is necessarily rather diminutive, but it is as distinct as in a genuine copy of the original, and will be found to be as useful, and far more handy to the student.”—Athenæum.

The Violin.

A SUPERB SERIES OF ETCHINGS.

The Wilson Collection.

∵ Already out of print and scarce.

This charming catalogue was gotten up at the expense of the generous owner of the collection, and the money received from its sale donated to the fund for the relief of the poor of the city. The edition consisted of 1,000 copies. It was immediately exhausted.

The Catalogue is a model of its kind. The notices are in most instances accompanied with a fac-simile of the artist’s signature to the picture; a biographical sketch of the artist; notices of the engraved examples, if any; and critical notes on each picture.

The graphic department is, however, the great feature of this Catalogue, embracing, as it does, upwards of sixty examples of the best etchers of the present day, including Greux, Chauvel, Martial, Rajon, Gaucherel, Jacquemart, Hédouin, Lemaire, Duclos, Masson, Flameng, Lalanne, Gilbert, etc., etc.

Dürer’s “Little Passion.”

The Little Passion of Albert Dürer, consisting of thirty-seven woodcuts, has long been regarded as one of the most remarkable collections of illustrations known to the world. Complete sets of the entire series are excessively rare. The editions which have been published in modern times in Europe are defective, lacking more or less of the Plates, and are of an inferior and unsatisfactory class of workmanship.

Æsop’s Fables.

Mr. Stephens has no superior in the peculiar style of illustration which is most effective in bringing out the spirit of Æsop’s Fables, and in this volume he has given us fifty-six full page cartoons, brimming with droll humor, reciting the Fables over again, and enforcing their morals just as effectively as was done by the words of Æsop himself. The illustrations are among the finest specimens of art ever produced in this country, and the volume as a whole is most creditable to American artistic skill.

Boccaccio’s Decameron;

The most complete translation, containing many passages not hitherto translated into English.

Bell’s Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression,

Tom D’Urfey’s “Pills to Purge Melancholy.”

“But what obtained Mr. D’Urfey his greatest reputation was a peculiarly happy knack he possessed in the writing of satires and irregular odes. Many of these were upon temporary occasions, and were of no little service to the party in whose cause he wrote; which, together with his natural vivacity and good humor, obtained him the favor of great numbers, of all ranks and conditions, monarchs themselves not excluded. He was strongly attached to the Tory interest, and in the latter part of Queen Anne’s reign had frequently the honor of diverting that princess with witty catches and songs of humor suited to the spirit of the times, written by himself, and which he sang in a lively and entertaining manner. And the author of the Guardian, who, in No. 67. has given a very humorous account of Mr. D’Urfey, with a view to recommend him to the public notice for a benefit play, tells us that he remembered King Charles II. leaning on Tom D’Urfey’s shoulder more than once, and humming over a song with him.

“He appears to have been a diverting companion, and a cheerful, honest, good-natured man; so that he was the delight of the most polite companies in conversations, from the beginning of Charles II.’s to the latter part of King George I.’s reign; and many an honest gentleman got a reputation in his country by pretending to have been in company with Tom D’Urfey.”—Chalmers.

UNIFORM WITH “TOM D’URFEY’S PILLS.”

Musarum Deliciæ;

∵ Of the Poets of the Restoration, there are none whose works are more rare than those of Sir John Mennis and Dr. James Smith. The small volume entitled “Musarum Deliciæ; or, The Muses’ Recreation,” which contains the production of these two friends, was not accessible to Mr. Freeman when he compiled his “Kentish Poets,” and has since become so rare that it is only found in the cabinets of the curious. A reprint of the “Musarum Deliciæ,” together with several other kindred pieces of the period, appeared in 1817, forming two volumes of Facetiæ, edited by Mr. E. Dubois, author of “The Wreath,” etc. These volumes having in turn become exceedingly scarce, the Publishers venture to put forth the present new edition, in which, while nothing has been omitted, no pains have been spared to render it more complete and elegant than any that has yet appeared. The type, plates, and woodcuts of the originals have been accurately followed; the Notes of the editor of 1817 are considerably augmented, and indexes have been added, together with a portrait of Sir John Mennis, from a painting by Vandyke in Lord Clarendon’s Collection.

The Story of the Stick

The above work condenses in a lively narrative form a most astonishing mass of curious and recondite information in regard to the subject of which it treats. From the bludgeon of Cain to the truncheon of the Marshals of France, from the budding rod of Aaron to the blazing cane of M. de Balzac, the stick, in all its relations with man since first he meddled with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, is shown here to have played a far greater part in history than is commonly imagined. It has been the instrument of justice, it has been the tool also of luxury. It has ministered to man, its maker, pleasure as well as pain, and has served for his support as well as for his subjugation. The mysteries in which it has figured are some of them revealed and others of them hinted in these most entertaining and instructive pages, for between the days of the society of Assassins in the East and those of the society of the Aphrodites in the West, the Stick has been made the pivot of many secret associations, all of them interesting to the student of human morals, but not all of them wisely to be treated of before the general public. The late Mr. Buckle especially collected on this subject some most astounding particulars of social history, which he did not live to handle in his own inimitable way, but of which an adequate inkling is here afforded to the serious and intelligent reader.

OUR EMIGRANT ANCESTORS.

Original Lists of Persons of Quality.

Blake’s (Wm.) Marriage of Heaven and Hell:

∵ A very few copies remaining.

“The most curious and significant, while it is certainly the most daring in conception and gorgeous in illustration of all Blake’s works.”—Gilchrist’s Life of Blake.

A NEW AND ATTRACTIVE BOOK ON MEXICO

A Peep at Mexico:

The English Rogue.

∵ This singularly entertaining work may be described as the first English novel, properly so-called. The same air of reality pervades it as that which gives such a charm to stories written by DeFoe half a century later. The interest never flags for a moment, from the first chapter to the last.

As a picture of the manners of the period, two hundred years ago, in England, among the various grades of society through which the hero passes in the course of his extraordinary adventures, and among gypsies, beggars, thieves, etc., the book is invaluable to students.

The Rump;

∵ A very rare and extraordinary collection of some two hundred Popular Ballads and Cavalier Songs, on all the principal incidents of the great Civil War, the Trial of Strafford, the Martyrdom of King Charles, the Commonwealth, Cromwell, Pym, the Roundheads, etc. It was from such materials that Lord Macaulay was enabled to produce his vivid pictures of England in the sixteenth century. To historical students and antiquaries, and to the general reader, these volumes will be found full of interest.

Westminster Drolleries.

∵ Only a small Edition; privately printed.

Swinburne’s William Blake;

A valuable contribution to our knowledge of a most remarkable man, whose originality and genius are now beginning to be generally recognized.

Holbein and His Times.

Memoir of the Lady Ana De Osorio,

FOUNDERS OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

Lives of the Founders, Augmenters, and other Benefactors of the British Museum.

∵ By a special arrangement with the English publishers, Messrs. Trübner & Co., the above is offered at the greatly reduced price mentioned.

Legge’s Chinese Classics.

Diary of the American Revolution.

∴ Large Paper. Only a Limited Impression. Published at $20.00 per copy.

Littré’s French Dictionary.

“No language that we have ever studied, or attempted to study, possesses a Dictionary so rich in the history of words as this great work which M. Littré has fortunately lived long enough to complete.”—Saturday Review.

UNIFORM WITH THE LARGE FOLIO SHAKSPEARE EDITED BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Halliwell’s New Place.

This is a most important work for the Shakspearian student. The great researches of the author have enabled him to bring to light many facts hitherto unknown in reference to the “great bard.” All the documents possessing any real claim to importance are inserted at full length, and many of them are now printed for the first time. With respect to the illustrations, which have been executed by J. T. Blight, Esq., F. W. Fairholt, Esq., E. W. Ashbee, Esq., and J. H. Rimbault, Esq., no endeavors have been spared to attain the strictest accuracy.

REISSUE OF CRUIKSHANK’S ETCHINGS.

Cruikshank’s Illustrations of Time.