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THE MARINE RECORD. Mh NEW PUBLICATIONS--LITERARY NOTICES. “St. Nicholas,” for February, contains two articles ap- propriate to this month, which brings the anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. One is entitled “The Birthplace of Presi- dent Lincoln,” by George H. Yenowine. The second de- scribes the boyhood of Willie and Tad Lincoln in the White House, when they were “just boys” and having a jolly time in spite of official surroundings. The “Youth’s Companion” for February 18 is made more than ever attractive outside by a brilliant cover, bear- ing a striking likeness of the father of his country. Inside it has, as usual, many stories, poems and sketches. The main article of general interest this week is one upon . the “Early Days of the American Post-Office,” con- tributed by Postmaster-General Wilson. It gives besides many curious anecdotes of old times, and many interest- ing facts and statistics about the post-office which illus- trate the nation’s growth. In Washington’s day there were 75 post-offices in the United States. Under Mr. Cleveland’s administration there are more than 70,000. In the first half year of Mr. Jefferson’s presidency the entire revenue of the post-office would not cover the amount now expended to pay the salaries of one-half of the letter-carriers in Philadelphia alone. In fact, as Mr. Wilson shows, the Post-Office Department of the United States is to-day the largest business machine that has ever existed in the world. He closes his very interesting article with the remark that the Universal Postal Congress, which meets Once in five years, and whose next session will be in Washington, in 1897, is a visible and potential realiza- tion of the poet’s “Parliament of men, the federation of the world.” “Sunshine,” a California magazine, describes the work of exploration and investigation in the Southwest, to which is given the distinction of having trained and made famous the first and only corps of scientific students of history and ethnology this country has ever had. “Of the present workers in this young school of American science, the dean—in point both of years and of absolute solidity—is Dr. Washington Matthews, U. S. A.” The first writer of English who gave anything like a true picture of the American Southwest, was, we are here told, “that unjustly neglected traveler, Mayne Reid. He was not a man of scientific (nor of literary) training, but he was a splendid observer, an honest chronicler, a man of sound common sense, and he was the first Saxon that ever loved the Southwest.” The most definite scientific work on the Southwest was done by Lewis H. Morgan. Next to him and greater, heir and disciple of him and of Humboldt, came Adolph F. Bandelier. Of other authors this writers says: “A few Government reports—like that of Lieut. Wheeler’s survey in the ’Fifties, and Simpson’s studious researches—and here and there a passage in some book of travel, have increased our knowledge. But the more pretentious books, few as they are, have multiplied dark- ness rather than light. Davis’ “History of New Mexico” was a good book, for its day, but is utterly lacking in doc- umentary knowledge. Gov. Prince’s history was made simply to sell at a territorial fair, and is absolutely worth- less. H. H. Bancroft’s works have one value—as biblio- graphic indexes of sources—but the chapters were written by a corps of cheap newspaper reporters and other incom- petent men, and to anyone but the most thorough expert his ‘histories’ are more dangerous than helpful. The works of Schoolcraft and Catlin, monumental as they are, were done before ethnology became a science, and rest largely on inadequate data.” The question is whether France is to be satisfied with a navy inferior in number and speed—to mention only those two factors in a fight—which admits of pompous promenading and platonic exhibitions, but leaves her un- able to face -her redoubtable rivals with any chance of success, such as the enormous sacrifices to which the mation has cheerfully consented, should assure her. Certainly not! France, mutilated, excepts of her army and of her navy to efficiently keep watch of her frontiers on land and sea, so as to insure a perfect integrity of the territory. Against so many foes, the enterprise is vast. Thus no chance must be neglected. Thus the govern- ment of the Republic owes to the bravery of the combat- ants on sea and land to supply them with the best imple- ments of warfare. To achieve this end, it is necessary to follow day by day the progress of science, and when the changes commanded by the progress of science are op- posed, it is indispensable that mere routine be crushed in order that the country may be saved! Against abuses and ignorance, against presumptuous inca- pacity, against farovitism, routine. and the thousand forms of folly of the administration, which twenty years ago came so near crushing us forever, the new genera- tion has the duty of struggling to the end. At least let the teachings of past defeats be of some benefit. Let the new generation turn away from the fallaciousness of offi- cial optimism, let it exact full light, make out plain truth; and, to uphold France, let it reckon no more on former so-called saviours, sadly embodied nowadays in impotent officials, but on the eager watch, on the stubobrn labor of every hour, on the will forever present to give at any time its full effect to the courage of a nation of which the> curtailed territory proves that the greatest bravery. is powerless to command victory if it is not assisted by sys- tematic preparations during time of peace——From “The French Navy,” by M. George Clemenceau,. in. ‘North American Review” for March. — SS The American Ship Windlass Co., of Providence, R. I., have demonstrated their ability to build the best capstan made anywhere in the world. Their repeated orders from™ all over Europe for the past three-or four years proving this conclusively. 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