assion, striking in situation, and showing a rather rare
accomplishment--that of conducting a dialogue which shall be equally
brilliant on both sides without resembling a monologue.

In praising this novel so highly we do not forget its faults. But,
though perhaps as numerous as its merits, they are by no means equal to
them in importance. Something of naturalness and simplicity has been
sacrificed to the exigences of the plot; and, while the higher truth is
adhered to in the principal scenes and characters, some of the minor
ones appear to us rather highly colored. By distributing the fatal gift
of beauty with a less lavish hand the author might, we think, have
subdued this color: a few commonplace figures would have added to the
naturalness of the scene.

Sensational the book may be pronounced from a glance through its chain
of incidents, yet neither by its tone nor its writing does it belong to
the class which we call sensational. Its tone is earnest and sincere,
grave social questions being handled with a purity and feeling which
makes the book, in spite of its apparent unconsciousness of purpose, a
distinctly moral one.

_Books Received._

Books for Bright Eyes, embracing "On the Farm," "More Happy Days,"
"Mountain-Tops," "One Day in our Long Vacation." By Mrs. M. E.
Miller. New York: American Tract Society.

Cross's Eclectic Short-hand: A New System, adapted both to general
use and to verbatim reporting. By J. George Cross, A. M. Chicago:
S. C. Griggs & Co.

The Waverley Dictionary: An Alphabetical Arrangement of all the
Characters in Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. By May Rogers.
Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co.

The French Revolution. By Hippolyte Adolphe Taine. Translated by
John Durand. (First Volume.) New York: Henry Holt & Co.

Maximum Stresses in Framed Bridges. By Professor William Cain,
A. M., C. E. (Van Nostrand's Science Series.) New York: D. Van
Nostrand.

The Ethics of Positivism: A Critical Study. By Giacomo Barzellotti,
Professor of Philosophy, Florence. New York: Charles P. Somerby.

Grammar-Land; or, Grammar in Fun for the Children of
Schoolroom-shire. By M. L. Nesbitt. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

The Family Christian Almanac for 1879. By Professor George W.
Coakley. New York: American Tract Society.

American Colleges: Their Students and Work. By Charles F.