ther
explanation nor criticism at this time. _Readings from Ruskin_ is
edited with a suitable introduction, by Prof. H.A. Beers of Yale
College, and the selections are made mostly from the great writer's
chapters pertaining to Italy. The _Readings from Macaulay_ also
pertains to Italy, including the remarkable essays on Dante, Petrarch
and Machiavelli, and the Lays of Ancient Rome, and is pleasantly
"introduced" by Donald G. Mitchell. An exceedingly timely volume is that
entitled _Art and the Formation of Taste_, by Lucy Crane, with
illustrations drawn by Thomas and Walter Crane. It is one of the most
inspiring and practical books on the subject that have been written in
our generation. Charles C. Black's _Michael Angelo_ contains within
275 pages the principal facts of the great sculptor's life and labors,
faithfully and appreciatively recounted. It is, so far as it goes,
declared to be a very valuable work. We cannot too highly commend these
publications. Every one of them is an incentive to further reading and
reflection.

[Footnote 3: THE GARNET SERIES;--Readings from Ruskin--Readings from
Macauley--Art and the Formation of Taste--Life and Works of Michel
Angelo. 5 vols. Boston; The Chautauqua Press.]

* * * * *

Dr. George H. Moore is the superintendent of the Lenox Library and a man
who is not afraid to dip into old parchments and musty records. We wish
that there were more of his kind. Students of our local annals are
indebted to him for the preparation and publication of two important and
interesting brochures, which have recently appeared. His _Notes on the
History of the old State House_,[4] formerly known as "The Town House
in Boston," "The Court House in Boston," "The Province Court House,"
"The State House," and "The City Hall" was first read before the
Bostonian Society, last May, and was listened to with the closest
attention. The second brochure, embracing 120 pages, bears the title:
_Final notes on Witchcraft in Massachusetts_[5] and is a
vindication of the laws and liberties concerning attainders with
corruptions of Blood, Escheats, forfeitures for crime and pardon of
offenders, etc. This is the fifth pamphlet which Dr. Moore has issued on
the subject of Witchcraft in Massachusetts, and it concludes the series.
We hope, at a future time, to be able to refer to them again, for they
shed much light on our colonial history, and to our historical
literature constitute ver