d of the general sessions in 1840. He was
subsequently president of a well-known railroad company, and mayor of
his native city. During the intervals of his business he was at one time
editor of _Graham's Magazine_, and acquired a literary reputation by his
articles in the _North American_, and by the well-known tragedy of
_Aylmere_, in which Mr. Forrest, the actor, has frequently appeared as
'Jack Cade.' In addition to these, Mr. Conrad published, in 1852, a
volume entitled 'Aylmere and other poems,' which was very extensively
reviewed. In it the 'Sonnets on the Lord's Prayer' first appeared.

The volume before us is very well edited in every respect, and makes its
appearance in very beautiful 'externals.' The paper, binding, and
typography are, in French phrase, as applied to such matters,
'luxurious.'

SKETCHES OF THE WAR: A Series of Letters to the North Moore Street
School of New York. By CHARLES C. NOTT, Captain in the Fifth Iowa
Cavalry. New York: Charles T. Evans, 448 Broadway. 1863.

Were this little work ten times its present length, we should have read
it to the end with the same interest which its perusal inspired, and
arrived, with the same regret that there was not more of it, at its last
page. It is simple and unpretending, but as life-like and spirited as
any collection of descriptive sketches which we can recall. We realize
in it all the vexations of mud, all the horrors of blood, and all the
joys of occasional chickens and a good night's rest, which render the
soldier's life at once so great and yet so much a matter of petty joys
and sorrows. The love of the rider for the good horse--for his pet
Gypsy--her caprices and coquetries, are set forth, for instance, very
freely, without, however, a shadow of affectation, while in all his
interviews with men and women, the characters come before us 'like
life,' and give us a singularly accurate conception of the social
effects of the war in the West. The appearance of the country is
unconsciously detailed as accurately as in a photograph, and the events
and sensations of battle are presented with great ability; in fact, we
have as yet seen no sketches from the war which in these particulars are
equal to them. They are free from 'fine writing,' and are given in
simple, intelligible language which cannot fail to make them generally
popular. The occasional flashes of humorous description are extremely
well given--so well that we only wish there