most romantic fiction of Mr. Collins or Mr. Lang. And as he takes his ease at his Langham, or moves luxuriously along the beaten railway tracks of the Continent, having what he would himself call a first-class time on all occasions, and in every respect, he will read with interest, if not with profit, the experiences of the man who is seeing twice as much, and learning a great deal more, of the same lands and at the same time, for Fifty Cents a Day. A very praiseworthy desire to know and understand the strong undercurrent of life in the Old World prompted Mr. Meriwether to devote his trip to the thorough study of the people, of the men who with their own hard hands have built the palatial monuments of Europe, not of the monuments themselves, nor the patricians who live in them. Accordingly, in the garb of a working-man, he spent a year on a "Tramp Trip" from Gibraltar to the Bosporus, eating and sleeping in the huts of the peasantry, in town and country, and learning by actual observation what privations the masses suffer, and in what squalor they live and die. His adventures are pleasantly and cheerfully told. His half-dollar per diem was certainly well invested, and it has yielded not only large returns to the Tramp, but entertaining dividends to the reader, who will be quite content to see what he saw, through his eyes and at his expense. It has cost most of us at least five dollars a day to learn what Mr. Meriwether found out for ten per cent. of that sum; but what we could never have found out for ourselves at any price, we thank him for telling us. From no experience of our own could we have learned that in Italian cities the highest rent is paid for the highest rooms in the tall houses, because only the upper floors receive the sunlight in those narrow streets; and from his pages we are informed for the first time of many other curious facts which we would be apt to consider wildly improbable in a less serious authority. While his work is spiced with entertaining incidents and amusing descriptions, it is of particular value in its hints and suggestions to would-be pedestrians, as well as to those who are too weak or too indolent to travel afoot, and who are not wealthy enough or unwise enough to wish to make their journey in an extravagant or incomplete way. It is not necessary to be rich to be able to go abroad; and Fifty Cents a Day, when properly invested in travel, will go as far and buy as much as when spent at home. (Harper. $1.00.)

Villar's England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Condensed from the N. Y. Nation.

If this is merely a translation of a book written in a foreign language by a foreigner, and for the use of foreigners, it is an extraordinary pro

duction We have no means of knowing how far this English edition has been modified from the original text.

Omissions, of course, are allowed the author almost indeterminately; his is not a guidebook in name, which must needs, one would say, refer to every item, however briefly, nor a dictionary for ready reference, but a book to be read; and what is described is described at length with abundant detail and discursive wealth of allusion. It is to be observed that the book is especially differentiated from a guide-book, nc doubt by deliberate choice, in that the "sights" are not so much dwelt upon as certain other matters of interest-commercial, social, industrial, and political. Thus there is as much space given up to the London newspapers, their separate histories and biographies, "with portraits" (that is, fac-similes of one-third or one-quarter of the firs: page), and as much to the English "home" as existing in London family life and domestic service, as there is to the museums with all their prodigious attractiveness.

It may be well to name some of the errors which a very careful examination has revealed. The reader will see how sound a book it is in which only such mistakes are discoverable. On page 27 complaint is made that St. Paul's Cathedral cannot be seen, and the reader is sent to Blackfriar's Bridge for a view point; but certainly the view from Cannon Street to the southeast ought first of all to be had. Page 36, not "the sword of St. George" and "the cross of St Paul," but the other way. Page 218, the Crys tal Palace at Sydenham is not at all" on the model of the exhibition of 1851," although in the main a rebuilding of the Hyde Park structure; two immense transepts were added to that, which greatly enlarged it, and changed its plan, and it was again much modified by a fire in 1866 and subsequent reparations. Page 259, it is an error to say that Salisbury Cathedral is the only one whose history we know "from its foundation to the present time." Probably what is referred to is the exceptional way in which Salisbury was built, consecutively, from the original plans, without stoppage or important change of design. and within a space of about forty years; that is indeed, remarkable! And in a similar case there is a very muddled statement about Canterbury Cathedral, concerning which it is in no sense accurate to say, 'began in 1070, finished about 1500;" in fact, the next page tells how some of the "finishing," viz., the whole north tower of the west front, was built in 1840.

To come to matters of less tangible and verifable nature, the London markets are not explained quite fairly. Covent Garden is a deal less delightful than our author thinks, though perhaps not as bad as Punch would have it. Smithfield was so

The Standard.

Times.

very dreadful be

fore the present market was built,

only fifteen years

ago, that really its past condition ought to have been alluded to as a contrast to the present tranquillity and decency. Leadenhall and other markets are not mentioned at all. Queen Eliz

abeth was hardly (p. 104) "a zealous Protestant." The account of the English "Constitution" (so called because it is not a constituted thing at all, but "a codeless myriad of precedent") is wonderfully good to find in a few pages of a popular book; but it should be added as explanatory of what is said of the Cabinet on page 90, that anybody may belong to the Cabinet, and not certain Ministers only. The chief Secretaries must needs belong to it, but the other high officials may or may not be called upon by the

Premier to consult with him in this, informal gathering, of whose meetings no record is kept. Thus the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster sometimes is, and sometimes is not, a member, and once at least Lord John Russell (for it was before he was made a peer) was a member of the Cabinet, though holding no office. When, in an English almanac, one sees after fourteen or fifteen names of Ministers the words "the above form the Cabinet," that means that at present, for a few months or years, and until the next change, general or individual, those particular officials are in the Premier's advisory committee, chosen by himself for reasons of his own; and that is all it

means.

So we specify the faults we find, but the general excellence of the book we can only state generally. Travellers in the British Islands should take it with them, for all it is so big a book. The six hundred illustrations are nearly all useful. The views of buildings, interiors and exteriors, in town and country, near at hand and far in the landscape, are of singular accuracy in the impressions they give of the originals, and nearly all go well with text and with one another. (Routledge. $10.)

The main object of the LITERARY NEWS is to aid in the dissemination of good literature; and to further this object, the prizes are awarded in books only. They are selected by the winner, and we desire, if possible, to have them bought

at the local book-store, or from the bookseller who supplies the LITERARY NEWS. There are five prizes (amounting to $12 on each question), distributed as follows: $4, $3, $2.50, $1.50, $1, for the five winning answers.

There are two kinds of Prize Questions, viz., the regular Prize Questions on the Books of the Month, and miscellaneous Prize Questions on subjects that are attracting attention at the moment, or have been suggested by subscribers or readers.

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1. Contributions and titles must be written legibly and in ink, on one side of the paper only. (Use postal-card if possible, and answer each prize question on separate postal-cards or slips.)

2. Full name and address of competitor must be given in every instance (ladies should add Mrs. or Miss to their names). The name of the bookseller who sends the LITERARY NEWS should be written clearly on every answer submitted.

3. Every reader is requested to compete, and no restrictions are placed in the way of consultation or exchange of information. Members of the same family, however, must not present the same votes on any individual book. 4. It has also been found expedient to establish a rule to grant one prize only to the same person or to a member of the same family within a space of four months. No one, however, will be excluded from competition, and honorable mention will be made of all successful competitors.

5. Immediately on the publication of the decisions, purchase orders on their booksellers will be sent to the winners who receive the LITERARY NEWs from booksellers; and those who subscribe direct are requested to send, as soon as possible, the name of any bookseller on whom they desire an order. We prefer in such cases that the books should be taken from the local book-store. The value of the books will be reckoned at the retail price of the publishers.

6. All inquiries concerning the Prize Questions should be addressed to MRS. F. LEYPOLDT, 31 and 32 Park Row, New York.

Prize Question No. 142.

Subject: PRIZE BOOKS OF THE YEAR.

Select from the list contained in January number, which includes the books that obtained the highest number of votes month by month during the year, three in each section, and submit by February 20.

Prize Question Nos. 157 and 159. Subject: BOOKS OF THE MONTH.

Select books of our monthly list in accordance with the rules on Book Prize Questions printed in this issue. Selections from January issue due February 20; from this issue March 20.

The following rules apply to the Prize Questions on the Books of the Month:

The object of these questions is more particularly to elicit answers as to which of the new books can be safely recommended for reading or study.

New

The answers shall consist of six titles, selected from the classified list of the "SURVEY OF CURRENT LITERATURE (found in each issue of the LITERARY NEWS), given under two sections, viz.: three titles under A, restricted to Fiction, Humor and Satire, Poetry and the Drama; three under B, selected from the other departments. editions of books and books mentioned for reference only (usually indicated in list by brackets) are excluded. The titles should be arranged and numbered under each section, in the order of their estimation by the competitor. The vote on each book is determined by the number of lists which contain it. Thus if a book is found on ten lists, it counts ten. As a full account is given of all the books that receive more than one vote (that is, appear on more than one list), every one can readily estimate the standing of his list by ascertaining the number of votes each of his books received, and adding them up for the total vote.

BIOGRAPHICAL.-Century, “Edward Thompson Taylor," by C. A. Bartol; "Father Taylor and Oratory," by Walt Whitman (with portrait); 'James McCosh, President of Princeton College," by John van Cleve.-Magazine of American History, "Senator John A. Logan," by the Editor; Major-General David Hunter," by Gen. Robt. C. Schenck.—Popular Science, Sketch of Chas. C. Abbott" (with portrait). DESCRIPTIVE.-Atlantic, Experience on the Island of Capri," by Wm. Chauncy Langdon.Century, "A Midwinter Resort," by Wm. C.

"

HISTORICAL.-Atlantic,

of

"Emancipation Massachusetts." Catholic World, "TurningPoint in Irish History," by T. O'Neill Russell; "A King of Shreds and Patches," (Charles II.) by Louise Morgan Quincy.-Century, "Lee's Invasion of Pennsylvania," by Gen. James Longstreet; "The Finder of the Antietam Order of Gen. Lee," by Gen. S. Colgrove; "Bailing of Jefferson Davis," by Geo. Parsons Lathrop.Magazine of American History, "President Lincoln's Unlucky Pass," by Allan Foreman.— Scribner's, "Reminiscences of the Siege and Commune of Paris," II., by E. B. Washburne.*

LITERARY.-Atlantic, "Two Serious Books," by Harriet W. Preston; A Glance Backward," by Susan Fenimore Cooper.-Eclectic, "Character of Shelley," by Sir Wm. H. Gregory.— Forum, "Why We Have No Great Novelists," by H. H. Boyesen.-Lippincott's, "Mere Egotism," by John Burroughs.-Magazine of American History, "Notable Editors between 1776 and 1800," by Hon. S. G. W. Benjamin.-North American Review, "Literary Backbiting," by Geo. Lathrop.-Scribner's, “Russian Novels," by Thomas S. Perry.

NEW SERIALS.-Harper's, "April Hopes," I., by Wm. Dean Howells.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE.-Atlantic, "A Bird of Affairs," by Olive T. Miller.-Eclectic, "Animal Lore," by J. A. Farrer. Popular Science, "Views of Life in the Crazy Mountains," by Mrs.

E. D. W. Hatch.

44

POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL, AND SOCIOLOGICAL.Atlantic, "The Federal Convention," by John Fiske; "Lowell's Addresses."-Catholic World, 'Social Problems," by P. F. McSweeny; "How Shall We Support Our Orphans?" by P. A. Baart.-Century, "Labor Parties" (Topics of the Time). Eclectic, Financial Frauds," by Malcoln L. Meason.-Forum, "Outgrown City Government," by James Parton ; Use and Abuse of Wealth," by Lester F. Ward; "Needs of N. Y. Harbor," by H. C. Taylor; Future of the Minority," by Geo. Batchelor; "Crusade against the Saloon," by A. J. F. Behrend ; Evils of Indirect Taxation," by John Randolph Tucker.— Magazine of American History, "First Homestead Bill," by Nathan Greeley.-North American Review, Our King in Dress Coat," by Moncure D. Conway; "The New South-Financially Reviewed," by Marion J. Verdery.-Popular Science, "Materialism and Morality," by W. S. Lilly; "Science and Morals," by T. H. Huxley; "Some Points on the Land Question," by Oliver B.

46

SHORT STORIES.-Atlantic, "The Lady from Maine," I., by Lawrence Saxe.-Catholic World, "Clifford Abbey," by Mary C. Crowley.-Century, "Part of an Old Story," by Jas. Lane Allen; 'S'phiry Ann," by Mat Črim.*-Harper's, "Leonard Arundel's Recovery," by Grant Allen. Lippincotts', "A Self-Made Man," by M. G. McClelland; Rothenburg Felicity," by Mrs. A. L. Wister; "Two Ways of Telling a Story," by Robert Grant.-Outing, "A West Point Romance," by Lieut. H. R. Lemly.-Scribner's, "The Residuary Legatee," I., by J. S. of Dale; The Ducharmes of the Baskatonge," by Duncan Campbell Scott.

SPORTS AND AMUSEMENTS.--Harper's, "Moose Hunting," by Henry P. Wells.—Outing, "Yachting in Midwinter," by Charles L. Norton.*

WOMEN. Harper's, "Why Domestic Service is Distasteful to American Women" (Editor's Easy Chair).

Reading Lists.

A HUNDRED BOOKS FOR BOYS. EACH boy, or each one who has to choose for boys, would doubtless have his particular private list of a hundred best books. There is, in fact, no such thing as a hundred best books, for in these days of good reading, there are almost several hundred of best, despite the grammatical absurdity. The list below is intended to give a bright boy a good, perhaps wide, range of reading, covering some science, history, travel, etc., as well as a fair number of stories. It has not been attempted to include the popular lines of stories in series, such as Optic's, Kellogg's, etc., or the books of other well-known writers such as Kingston. If any of our readers are sure that some favorite books ought to be in this list and are not, they may send them to us for a supplementary list. A more extended catalogue will, however, be found in Books for the Young," and in similar lists.