words of praise; he records, with just regret, the dreadful doctrinal utterances of many of them, but he vindicates their heroism, their manliness, their sturdy sense and their clear grit. John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, Increase Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and a host of others are described for us in terms that can only enlarge the respect in which we have held them. In words like these the whole class of Puritan ministers is more than once referred to: "In the history of literature in New England during the colonial times, one fact stands out above all others, the intellectual leadership of the clergy, and that, too, among a laity neither ignorant nor weak. This leadership was in every sense honorable, both for the leaders and the led. It was not due alone to the high authority of the clerical office in New England; it was due still more to the personal greatness of the men who filled the office, and who themselves made the office great. They were intellectual leaders because they deserved to be; for, living among a well-educated and high-spirited people, they knew more, were wiser, were abler than all other persons in the community. Of such a leadership it was an honor to be even among the followers." (Vol. II., p. 93.)

Professor Tyler's style is admirable; there is not an obscure sentence upon these pages and not only is his rhetoric transparent, it is picturesque and glowing. It is not the bookmen alone that will find pleasure in this book; it will attract and delight all intelligent readers.

There is no risk whatever in predicting that these two volumes will live as long as American literature lives, and that the work that is here so faithfully and lovingly done will never need to be done over again.

THE last volume of the "No Name Series: is quite as difficult a puzzle as any of its predecessors. One would have said that out of so large a collection of unsigned lyrics by living poets the authorship of quite a number could be readily guessed; but we have seen as yet hardly any conjectures hazarded. It may be true, and it is, indeed, probable that much the larger share of these verses has been contributed by singers who are not famous, and whose characteristic note we have as yet failed to catch. But the assurances of the publishers have led us to suppose that our more distinguished poets are fairly represented, and we ought to be able to make out their work. A few of these pieces do clearly suggest well-known names. We should be surprised to learn that the author of "Her Word of Reproach," was not Mrs. S. M. B. Piatt; and we should not be surprised to be told that the same lady wrote "Forgiven." If "The Marshes of Glynn" and "Running the Blockade "-the first 1A Masque of Poéts: Including Guy Vernon: A Novelette in verse. Boston: Roberts Brothers.

"But as you toil, and as I pray

For happier and idler hours,
Noon follows dawn, night follows day,
I look, and lo, your locks are gray

And Winter gathers up our flowers Ere ever we have time to spare!" Mr. Aldrich may have written this; and if Mr. Longfellow did write it, he will not be offended, we are sure, to have his work attributed to a singer whose art is as graceful and whose sentiments are as pure as those of Mr. Aldrich. Guy Vernon" which takes up nearly half of the pages, is especially clever in its versification, and its mild satire is not unpleasing. Mr. Stedman might have written it, but probably did not.

66

The tone of many of these poems is pessimistic. That this is the worst possible universe, and that things are going to speedy and "universal wrack is the comfortable faith of a large number of the modern makers of verse-a faith that finds ample confession in this volume. It rests on no real conviction; it is only a sort of babyish epidemic that prevails just now, and that the verse-reading public must make up its mind to endure, as a disagreeable though not dangerous periodic distemper peculiar to poets. We shall get out of this measly period before long, please God, into a more cheerful and wholesome era.

THE first volume of Dr. Schaff's popular commentary on the New Testament gives sure promise of an elegantly printed, handsomely

illustrated and useful work. This volume contains the synoptic gospels, with the introductions, in the preparation of which Dr. Schaff has been

1 A Popular Commentary on the New Testament, by English and American Scholars of various Evangelical Denominations. With Illustrations and Maps. Edited by Philip Schaff, D. D., LL.D. In Four Volumes. Vol I. Introduction and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,

assisted by Professor Riddle of Hartford. The introductions are sufficiently full for the purposes of this commentary, and they are marked by candor and intelligence. A brief history of the canon is given, and a more elaborate account of the ancient manuscripts and versions. Accompanying these sketches are some excellent facsimiles of the text of the old manuscripts. Any person of common sense who reads this introduction will probably get into his head some notion of the reason why a new translation of the Bible is not a sacrilege and may even be a necessity. This notion will be strengthened by the abundant emendations of the text, suggested in foot notes at the bottom of every page of the commentary.

The exegetical part of the work is content with explaining the text. This it does briefly, but clearly, and sufficiently. It is intended for a popular commentary, and is well adapted for the uses of Sunday School teachers. The maps are good, and the illustrations admirable.

The second volume will contain the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles, the third the Epistles of Paul, and the fourth the Catholic Epistles and the Apocalypse. In the preparation of these volumes, the second of which is already in the press, Dr. Schaff will be assisted by a large number of British scholars, among them Professor Milligan of Aberdeen, Professor Moulton of Cambridge, Professor Plumptre of Mary's College, Dean Howson, Canon Spence, and Professor Angus.

PELOUBET'S Select Notes on the International Lessons (Boston: Henry Hoyt. Springfield: Whitney & Adams) maintains its reputation. No better "help" is furnished the Sunday School teacher than that which these well chosen extracts from all the great commentaries afford him.

IT is good to know that part of the soldier's business is to save life intead of destroying it. An admirable Report on Life Saving Apparatus, by Lieut. D. A. Lyle, has just been issued by the Ordnance Department. It contains a full account, with scientific computations and plates, of the experiments lately made under the direction of Lieut. Lyle, with a view of perfecting the guns, projectiles, etc., used at the life saving stations along the coast in rendering assistance to wrecked vessels. It is the record of a great deal of intelligent labor enthusiastically performed; and ought to give the writer a better fame than many well-fought battles.

THREE or four excellent books for children lie together on our table. The first is Mr. George M. Towle's Pizarro: His Adventures and Conquests, (Lee & Shepard) the second of his "Heroes of History" Series, and the worthy successor of "Vasco da Gama." Mr. Towle is a capital story teller, and he is making a series for

which we trust many generations of parents as well as children will rise up to praise him. We could wish, however, that he had dealt a little more sharply with this particular hero. . . . A Short History of France for Young People, by Miss E. S. Kirkland, (Chicago: Jansen McClurg & Co.) is a spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and nation,-one that will seize and hold the attention of all bright boys and girls who have a chance to read it, and one from which they will get an excellent start toward the study of the history of France. . . . Mr. George Cary Eggleston's Red Eagle and the Wars with the Creek Indians of Alabama (Dodd, Mead & Company) is another excellent piece of historical writing. An interesting passage in our national life is vividly brought before the young reader, and he is not only diverted but well instructed. Donald's School Days, by

Gen. O. O. Howard, (Lee & Shepard) exhibits this industrious and facile personage in a new character. A man who can lead a prayer meeting as well as an army corps and who is equally at home in writing novels and in fighting Indians, must be admitted to possess some versatility. General Howard's first venture in juvenile fiction is far from being a failure: some faults of construction will be noted, but it is on the whole a lively and wholesome story for boys.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life among the Lowly. By Harriet Beecher Stowe. New Edition with Illustrations. Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co. A Hand Book of Nursing for Family and General Use. Published under the direction of the Connecticut Training School for Nurses. State Hospital, New Haven, Conn. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.

John Lothrop Motley. A Memoir. By Oliver Wendell Holmes. Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co. Springfield: Whitney & Adams.

Socrates. A Translation of the Apology. Crito, and
Parts of the Phædo of Plato. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons. Springfield: Whitney & Adams.
The Bohemian. A Tragedy of Modern Life By
Charles DeKay. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons. Springfield: Whitney & Adams.
The Poet and His Master and other Poems. By Rich-
ard Watson Gilder. New York: Charles Scrib.
ner's Sons. Springfield: Whitney & Adams.
Poems of Places. Edited by H. W. Longfellow:
America New England. Vol. I.. II. Boston.
Houghton, Osgood & Co. Springfield: Whitney
& Adams.
Madeleine. A Story of French Love. Translated
from the French of Jules Sandeau, by Francis
Charlot. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg & Co.
Common Sense in Business: or Practical Answers to
Practical Questions on the True Principles and
Laws of Success in Farming. Manufactures, Spec-
ulation and Buying and Selling Merchandise;
with Some Suggestions on Making Wills and the
Causes of Failure in Business. By Edwin T.
Freedley. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen &
Haffelfinger.

Home Comforts: or, Things Worth Knowing in Every
Household; Being a Digest of Facts Established
by Science, Observation and Practical Experience
Respecting the Important Art of Living Well and
Cheaply, Preserving Health and Prolonging Life.
Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger.