thetic strains of a grand orchestra, as in the description of the Dies Ira' in Berlioz's Requiem, but he confines himself usually to a brief and comprehensive sketch of each of the great oratorios, accompanying his notes upon the music of every composer with a short biography and other historical matter of especial interest to the subject in hand. Beginning with the mysteries' and miracle plays of the middle ages, Mr. Upton traces the progress of sacred music, noting the three great hymns, 'Stabat Mater,' 'Te Deum,' and The Magnificat,' and giving their history and an account of some of their most famous musical settings. With Johann Sebastian Bach, of the seventeenth century, he enters upon his examination of the great oratorios, and brings the reader through the august list of composers to Arthur Sullivan, of our own day. A most entertaining chapter upon 'Sacred music in America' is added, and a very complete index, with a chronological list of the more important sacred music written during the last two centuries, adds value to a book which will be used very freely for purposes of reference."-Chicago Tribune.

HISTORY.

ADAMS, BROOKS. The emancipation of Massachusetts. Houghton. 12° $1.50.

Begins with a brief summary of the religious persecutions in the Old World which led to the colonization of Massachusetts, and gives a detailed history of that Puritan Commonwealth and of the development of the different sects which in their turn were all persecuted by the parties in power. The Antinomians, the Anabaptists, the Quakers, the Witches, etc., etc., and their special doctrines are clearly described. A full history of the founding of Harvard College and its influence on the thought of that day and of our own are given. The authorities consulted are given in foot-notes to vouch for each statement. The work shows how amidst hardship and apparent failure Massachusetts "slowly achieved her civil and religious liberty, and conceived that constitutional system which is the root of our national life." Fifteen page index.

Noticed elsewhere more fully in this issue. BIART, LUCIEN. The Aztecs; their history, manners, and customs; from the French; authorized translation by J. L. Garner. McClurg. 8° $2.

"The author of this work ranks as the best living authority on the subject of the Aztecs. He is a distinguished French scientist, who spent twenty-five years in Mexico, and to his own studies has added the testimony of all available authorities-those who saw Mexico in its splendor, as well as the more modern writers who have treated that interesting and romantic region. The book thus presents the results of all investigations to the present day. Although of great value to scholars who have specially studied the subject, the work is more especially intended for the general reader, imperfectly acquainted with the history and character of the Aztecs. To this end it is written in an easy and attractive style. A book that ought to find many readers. The book is, of course, founded on the works of early writers, of which it is in a certain sense a résumé. At the outset the author states that he has availed himself of the observations of those who saw the Mexico of the Aztecs in the days of its splendor and of the later works of Tezozomoc, Duran, Acosta, Gomara, Olmos, Herréra, Sahagun, Tor

quemada, Clavigéro, Ramirez, Orozco, and others. Using this material he has attempted, to quote his own words, 'to reclothe with life a people whose descendants, oppressed by the sons of their ancient conquerors, have themselves forgotten, not only their history, but even their name.' In this the author has succeeded, for he has given a very entertaining account of the manners and customs of the Aztecs. He has not overladen his book with notes. It is sufficiently full in the discussion of the various subjects of which it treats to satisfy the average reader, without being so exhaustive as to be wearisome. The student will find it interesting to compare M. Biart's work with Mr. Hubert H. Bancroft's account of the Aztec civilization in his Native races of the Pacific States of North America,' published about ten years ago."-N. Y. Evening Telegram. VOLCANO (The) under the city; by a volunteer special. Fords, H. & H. 16° $1. WALKER, FRANCIS A. History of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac. Scribner. 8° $3.50.

44

Gen. Walker served through the war with the famous Second Army Corps, and writes, therefore, from personal knowledge; but, aside from this qualification, he was to an unusual degree fitted for the task of preparing this historical and personal account of the corps by his gift for vivid and powerful writing. In the first pages of the volume he says: At the request of my surviving comrades I write this history of the Second Army Corps-the one of the five original corps organized by President Lincoln, in March, 1862, which maintained its existence unbroken until the conclusion of peace, in May, 1865, and whose history is thus, in an unparalleled degree, the history of the war in the East; that corps, which in fair fight with Lee's great army, had captured fortyfour Confederate flags ere first it lost a color of its own; that corps which, under the command of Sumner, Couch, Warren, Hancock, and Humphreys-illustrious roll!-left nearly forty thousand men killed and wounded upon the battlefields of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; that corps among whose generals of division were numbered Sedgwick, Richardson, Howard, French, Barlow, Birney, Miles, Mott, Gibbon, Webb, and Alexander Hays." Excellent full-page portraits of each of the corps commanders in succession are given, and portaits in groups of the brigade commanders.

LITERATURE.

CORSON, HIRAM. An introduction to the study of Robert Browning's poetry. Heath. 12 $1.50.

The introduction, which extends to about 150 pages, includes papers on the following subjects: The idea of personality as embodied in Browning's poetry; Art as an intermediate agency of personality; Browning's obscurity, and peculiarities of his diction; Browning's art-form, the dramatic of psychologic monologue; Browning's verse; Arguments of the poems. Thirty poems are included in the volume, selected as best representing the following themes of Browning's poetry: love, painting, sculpture, music, poetry, life, and religion. In addition to the arguments of the several poems, there are copious explana tory notes printed under the text. Appended is a bibliography of Browning criticism. The work has been prepared to meet the wants of Browning clubs, private students, and advanced classes in literature in colleges and high schools.

HAWTHORNE, JULIAN. Confessions and criticisms. Ticknor. 12° $1.25.

Essays and papers: "A preliminary confession" is the story of Mr. Hawthorne's literary life which he contributed to Lippincott's Magazine, considerably enlarged, and giving fuller details of his methods of work. The other papers are: Novels and agnosticism; Americanism in fiction; Literature for children; The moral aim in fiction; The maker of many books; Mr. Mallock's missing science; Theodore Winthrop's writings; Emerson as an American; Modern magic; American wild animals in art.

GOETHE, J: WOLFGANG VON. The sorrows of Werther; from the German. Cassell. 24° (Cassell's national lib.) pap., 10 C. HEAD, FRANKLIN H. Shakespeare's insomnia, and the causes thereof. Houghton, M; S. A. Maxwell. 16° pap., 75 c.

HUGO, VICTOR. William Shakespeare; tr. by Melville B. Anderson. McClurg. 12° $2. "The genius of Victor Hugo has never shone more resplendently than in his book named William Shakespeare.' It is true that the title gives no clew to the chief interest of the work, for Shakespeare cuts but little figure in it, the author losing sight of him completely for whole chapters together, and when his name comes to the surface occasionally the comments of the great Frenchman upon him but disturb and vex an English reader. The epigram, which serves so well to characterize many ambitious utterances, may be repeated, in sober earnest and with all due reverence, upon Victor Hugo's writings about Shakespeare: What he says that is new upon this subject is not true, and that which is true is not new. His book is in reality a grand panegyric pronounced upon genius and an eloquent exposition of his views as to the relation of art to human life. He repudiates with all the vigor of his matchless pen the 'art for art's sake' doctrine, although he admits that the famous saying originated with him. He insists upon the infinite power for good to humanity that inheres in poetry, and declares utility to be the test of art. As the inspired exponent and prophet of art Victor Hugo holds forth in these pages many a principle of deathless truth. In some of his characterizations of the great writers of old he seems as one upon whom has descended the very spirit of divination. And every page is irradiated with enthusiasm for humanity. Life extends its bounds and grows immeasurably under the hands of this great and strong genius, and the future seems to promise things greater and better than the past or present has yet dreamed of. The study of Eschylus is monumental in its massive strength and grandeur. The criticisms upon Voltaire, Rousseau, and Machiavelli are burning in their earnest penetration. This work was written as an introduction to Victor Hugo's son's translation of Shakespeare into French."Chicago Tribune.

LAMB, C: Some essays of Elia; with il. by C. O. Murray. Appleton. 12° $2.

The selection of these essays has been governed mainly by their suitability for artistic illustration. They comprise "The two races of men," "Mrs. Battle's opinion on whist," Dream-children," "A dissertation upon roast pig," "Detached thoughts on books and reading,' Imperfect sympathies," and other old favorites. The volume is finely gotten up, print,

paper, and binding being excellent, while the illustrations are full of character.

LAURIE, S. S. The rise and early constitution of universities with a survey of mediæval education. Appleton. 16° (International education ser.) $1.50.

This book is not addressed to historical experts, who wish to know something about medieval edthe author says, but to schoolmasters and others ucation and the rise of universities. The contents embrace 15 lectures with the following titles: The Roman-Hellenic schools and their decline; Influence of Christianity on education, and rise of Christian schools; Charlemagne and the ninth century; Inner work of Christian schools (450-1100); Tenth and eleventh centuries; Rise of universities (1100); The first universities; The university of Bologna; University of Paris; The term "studium" and "universitas," and the constitution of universities; Students, their numbers and discipline-privileges of universities-faculties; Graduation; Oxford and Cambridge; The university of Prague; University studies and the conditions of graduation. ROGET, P: M: Thesaurus of English words and phrases, classified and arranged so as to facilitate the expression of ideas and assist in literary composition. New ed., enl. and improved, partly from the author's notes, and with a full index by J: L: Roget. Crowell. 8° $2. WHEATLEY, H: B. ed. Armstrong. $1.25. "Books about books continue to multiply, and furnish additional evidence of the increasing number of persons who are buying books in considerable numbers, and who have ambitions looking to the formation of libraries. It is to aid such people that Mr. H. B. Wheatley has prepared a little volume with the title How to form a library' (A. C. Armstrong & Son), in which he gives in very attractive form a great deal of information and suggestion with regard to the selection and purchase of books. The volume is a good deal more than a practical manual for the book collector or purchaser. It is full of interesting literary material in the form of anecdotes of literary men and of famous book-collectors. contains, too, some extremely useful chapters on such subjects as general bibliographies, special bibliographies, and publishing societies. The last-named chapter will be of special interest to Americans who are constantly coming upon the names of English publishing societies in the English reviews and literary journals. The two chapters on Child's library' and One hundred books' furnish lists which will be of use to those who desire to become familiar with the best books, but who have not as yet formed their acquaintance. The volume belongs to the Book lover's library,' and is attractively and substantially printed and bound, as such a book ought to -Christian Union.

How to form a library. 2d 16° (The book-lover's lib.)

be.

It

PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL. CURTIS, G: TICKNOR. Creation or evolution? A philosophical inquiry. Appleton. 12° $2. A strong interest in the modern doctrine of animal evolution, and a careful study of the works of Darwin and Herbert Spencer, resulted in the author writing the present book. "The result," he says, "of my study of the hypothesis of revolution is, that it is an ingenious but de

lusive mode of accounting for the existence of either the body or the mind of man; and that it employs a kind of reasoning which no person of sound judgment would apply to anything that might affect his welfare, his happiness, his estate, or his conduct in the practical affairs of life." HEILPRIN, ANGELO. The geographical and geological distribution of animals. Appleton. 12° (The international sci. ser.) map, $2. In the preparation of this work the author had two objects in view: that of presenting to his readers such of the more significant facts connected with the past and present distribution of animal life as might lead to a proper conception of the relations of existing faunas; and, secondly, that of furnishing to the student a work of general reference, wherein the more salient features of the geography and geology of animal forms could be sought after and readily found. The need of such a work has been frequently felt and expressed.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL.

NEWTON, R. HEBER. Social studies. 16° $1.60.

Putnam.

Contents: A bird's-eye view of the labor question; The story of co-operative production and co-operative credit in the United States; The story of co-operative distribution in the United States; Is the State just to the workingman? Old-time guilds and modern commercial associations; The prevention of intemperance; Moral education in the public schools; The free kindergarten in church work; The religious aspect of socialism; Communism. Notes, under which are embraced a good list of books on socialism, etc.

PARKHURST, C: H. The question of the hour. Randolph. 8° pap., 15c.

Address delivered Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1886. "The relations between labor and property constitute the problem of our generation," says the author, and then proceeds to show how each member of society should consider himself personally responsible for the existing "army of the discontented," and should meet and deal with them "in the sincere spirit of personal equality and cordial fraternal interest."

THEOLOGY AND RELIGION.

COPLEY, JOSIAH. Gathered sheaves; from the writings of the late Josiah Copley; with an introduction by Rev. S. H. Kellogg, D.D. Randolph. 12° $1.50.

He

Josiah Copley was born in 1803, and was known for half a century as an editor and writer on religious subjects. He was a Presbyterian, and had joined the Church early in life, but was very liberal to all Evangelical denominations. died in November, 1884. The papers now offered to the public were originally contributed to the Presbyterian Banner and other periodicals. FELLOWSHIP: letters addressed to my sister mourners. New ed., enl. Randolph. 12 $1.50.

First published in 1868. Six letters have been added in this edition. Aims to comfort sorrowing women and to teach the right lessons and uses of adversity. Pages encircled by purple lines. Clear print, fine paper, and gilt edges.

GLADDEN, WASHINGTON. Applied Christianity: moral aspects of social questions. Houghton, M. 16° $1.25.

Discusses the following questions: Christianity and wealth; Is labor a commodity? The strength and weakness of socialism; Is it peace or war? The wage-workers and the churches; Three tianity and popular amusements; Christianity and dangers; Christianity and social science; Chrispopular education.

HARRIS, S: D.D. The self-revelation of God. Scribner. 8° $3.50.

The author is now Professor of Systematic Theology in Yale University, and he dedicates his book "To the students who in successive classes have been under my instruction in philosophy and theology in Bowdoin College and in Bangor and Yale Theological Schools." He explains his reasons for writing this work in his introduction: "While the reasons for believing in God and seeking first his kingdom are always in essence the same, the apprehension of them by men of successive generations must vary in accordance with the progress of knowledge and civilization and the changing condition, opinions, and development of man. Hence in every generation the claims of God in Christ to the faith and service of man must be examined anew." Eighteen-page index.

12° $1.25,

HAWEIS, Rev. H. R. The picture of Jesus (the
Master). Crowell.
McILVAINE, J. H.

The wisdom of the Apoca

lypse. Randolph. 8° $2. The aim of this work is "to render the Apoc alypse intelligible, interesting, and edifying,

not only to scholars, but also, and no less, to plain and simple-minded readers." Many of the author's interpretations are entirely new. He has made a life-long study of the interpretation of the symbols of the Jewish, Christian, Hindoo, Roman, Egyptian, and Scandinavian religions, and is especially fitted for his difficult work in the preparation of this volume.

MOON, G: WASHINGTON. The monograph gospel: being the four gospels arranged in one continuous narrative in the words of Scripture, without omission of fact or repetition of statement. New improved ed. Randolph. 24° Soc. Work intended rather for the devotional than the analytical student of New Testament history. Presents the words of the evangelists in one continuous narrative. Marginal references have been added in this edition, showing where every passage may be found. An index gives the subject of every verse and shows where it may be found in each gospel. The chapters are dated for daily reading, and the whole history can be read exactly four times during the year. TAYLOR, W: M., D.D. The parables of our Saviour; expounded and illustrated. strong. 8° $1.75.

Arm

The much-loved pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle of New York City has collected this series of sermons on the parables at the request of members of his congregation. He acknowledges his indebtedness to Archdeacon Trench's exhaustive work on the same subject, but has treated the parables more popularly and endeavored to fit their lessons to the known needs of his congrega tion. Dr. Taylor's wonderful gift at word-painting is shown at its best.

Literary Miscellany.

THE OLD SCHOOL-BOOKS.

R. W. McAlpine in Harper's Young Folks.

What pleasant memories cluster round these volumes old and worn,

With covers smirched and bindings creased, and thumbed and torn!

These are the books we used to con, I and poor brother Will,

When we were boys together in the school-house on the hill!

Well I recall the nights at home, when side by side we sat

Before the fire, and o'er these books indulged in whispered chat.

And how, when father chided us for idling time away, Our eyes bent to the task as though they'd never been astray.

The old-time proverbs scribbled here, the caution to be

A few are old and gray like me, but nearly all have died; And brother Will is one of these; his curly head was laid

Down by the brook, at father's side, beneath the willow's shade. These books, so quaint and queer to you, to me are living things;

Each tells a story of the past, and each a message brings. Whene'er I sit, at eventide, and turn their pages o'er, They seem to speak in tones that thrilled my heart in days of yore.

The school-boy of to-day would laugh, and throw these old books by: But, think you, neighbor, could his heart consent if he

were I ?

A LITERARY EXPLANATION.—“It happened," says the Philadelphia Telegraph, at an evening party. Mr. D. St. George Smith was reciting a poem consisting of forty-six stanzas. Mr. Brown, a guest, comes in late. What's going on?' he whispered to Briggs. 'Smith's reading a new poem. He's just finished the thirtieth stanza,' answered Briggs savagely. What is the subject -the motive? I don't know what the subject is; but I suspect his motive must be revenge. can't see any other reason for it.'"

I

A CORRESPONDENT writes to the Buffalo Express: "It may be interesting to admirers of J. F. Trowbridge and to those who have read the 'Jack Hazard' books to know that the scene of the story is located near Adamas Basin, on the Falls road, which place is The Basin' so

often referred to in the story. The well-remembered Justice's office with the outside stairs, down which Jack ran to escape arrest. is in the west part of the village, and a little further up the canal bank is the identical culvert through which the heroic Jack dove in his desperation when hard pressed by the officers. The spots are in plain view from the railroad, and scarcely a train passes but some enthusiastic young people may be seen eagerly pointing out the various scenes in the story, whtch have almost come to be matters of real history with them."

COL. T. W. KNOX, author of the Boy Traveller's series, the seventh volume of which is now issued ("Boy Travellers in Russia,' Harper, $3), is a man of commanding presence and courtly dignity, fifty-one years old. Ever since childhood he has had a fondness for travelling, and already he has been twice around the world. Next to the United States, the country of which he is fondest is Japan. It is the most picturesque region of the globe," he says, "and its people are the politest and pleasantest; I brought from it the most delightful recollections, and I would spend my life there if I could not live in America." Colonel Knox's " Boy Travellers" are so popular, being interesting alike to boys, girls, and parents, that the name of a new volume of the series is not announced until the book is ready for distribution, lest its appearance be forestalled by some similar work on the same subject.

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HENRY B. STANTON printed a few years before his death a slight volume of autobiographical notes, and circulated it among his circle of literary friends. The notes were revised, recast, and enlarged, and are now in the hands of Harper & Bros. for publication, under the title of Random Recollections," in enduring book-form. "This has been referred to as a new edition," says the N. Y. Times, "but it is to all intents and purposes a new book, its predecessor not rising above the level of an ordinary pamphlet. The recollections cover a period of seventy years, and no memoirs yet published contain so great a variety of personal sketches of the foremost public men of the present and the past generations of American history."

MR. WM. BLACK, the novelist, has not had the pleasure accorded to some American great men of reading his own obituary, but very possibly he would like to write it himself, if the Bow Bells sketch of him is to be the pattern of accuracy. biographer in that magazine, who thought fiction was the proper kind of biography for a fictionist,

A

kindly wrote down Mr. Black as a mean-spirited person, who would not even spend the two-andsixpence a week necessary to keep a dear old aunt, the staff of his early years, out of the workhouse. In a libel suit which Mr. Black felt it necessary to bring to clear the record, it appeared that this ancient relative was entirely manufactured for the occasion, Mr. Black having no aunt, and a verdict for £100-nominal damages only having been asked-dissipated the other kindly allegations. Mr. Black has many American friends, who know him as the opposite of the person his Bow Bells biographer invented and labelled with his name. It is said that the biographer, who claims to be a correspondent of several American papers, has threatened to take his revenge by circulating the story here, where he cannot be reached. Verbum sap.