of humor with great resources of expression. Such union, for instance, was the essential part of the genius of Charles Lamb; such a union is a marked trait to-day of such a writer as Mr. Howells. To say that Mr. Fields does not possess it is simply to say that he is not a genius. A strong sense of humor he undoubtedly has; but he has not the art in all cases of provoking by his reproduction of what strikes him as humorous the same pleasure that it originally gave him. The use of italics for emphasis, though (if we remember right) this device answered a good purpose in the hands of Lamb, does not remove this difficulty. It may be said, too, that as irony is confessedly a dangerous figure, it should be used sparingly, and is somewhat wasted in essays dealing with such classes of people as house-breakers. In fine, we should recommend Mr. Fields, in all friendliness, to leave humor to the humorists, and to confine himself to work in which he is better fitted to shine, that of conveying information and amusement by means of reminiscent narrative.

13. American Addresses, with a Lecture on the Study of Biology. By THOS. H. HUXLEY. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1877. pp. 164.

THE greater part of this little volume is occupied by Professor Huxley's New York lectures on Evolution, and this most important subject is treated by its learned advocate in a masterly manner.

The announcement that Professor Huxley would lecture on Evolution while in this country was received with no little satisfaction by the cultivated portion of the community. The evolutionists were content that their belief should be promulgated and defended by one who has so long and so ably labored for their cause; the interested but impartial public felt that no one could speak more intelligently on the subject than Professor Huxley; while on all sides the opponents of the development theory prepared for battle, and on the delivery of the lectures looked eagerly for some weak timber in the superstructure of the argument, a vigorous attack upon which might bring the whole to the ground. The confidence of the believers in evolution was not misplaced. In the clearest and most forcible language the lecturer announced his views, and supported them by a series of facts which amount to incontrovertible arguments. That his lectures convinced many, can hardly be doubted; that they did not convert many more, is in a great measure to be attributed to the fact that the entire significance and bearing of the proofs brought forward can only be fully appreciated by one who has some knowledge of comparative anatomy. Notwithstanding the necessity of this knowledge for the formation of an opinion, it is certainly true that the hos

tility to evolution and its champions comes almost entirely from men without scientific training, whose knowledge of the subject is at best but superficial, and not based on the examination and comparison of specimens.

The first of the lectures on Evolution discusses the three most generally received hypotheses respecting the history of Nature, and disposes of two of them, leaving only the hypothesis of Evolution; the second treats of such evidence as is neutral or merely favorable to this hypothesis; while the third is devoted to the consideration of what the lecturer terms the demonstrative evidence. This demonstrative evidence is found in the greatest perfection in the history of the horse, the most highly specialized of our domestic animals, whose development Professor Marsh has traced, without a break in the line, from the earliest Eocene to the present day. The story, however, is not new to the reading public, and needs no comment here.

The address delivered at Baltimore on the occasion of the opening of the John Hopkins University, while abounding in valuable thoughts, is of far less general interest than the other matter in the volume. The lecture on the Study of Biology, delivered at the South Kensington Museum, in December last, vies with those on Evolution in importance and value. Extremely useful from a practical point of view is what is said about collections in museums, and the employment of a few types for study in lieu of a great number of specimens carelessly brought together. This lecture deserves careful study by instructors in biology and curators of museums, as well as by every student.

While the visit of Professor Huxley to this country was in many ways of great importance to American science, in nothing was it more beneficial than in giving to Europe and to European works in science an actual knowledge of what material we have here, and of what we are doing. To read of specimens is one thing, to see and handle them quite another. Professor Huxley came to this country prepared to lecture on European material, but upon examining one of our best collections he abandoned forthwith his original intention, and drew his proofs almost entirely from American specimens. His graceful allusions to some of our most eminent scientific men, and the high terms in which he referred to the collection of North American vertebrates at New Haven, are very pleasing; but the most satisfactory thing about his visit is that by his adoption of American material and American work, he fully established the great value of this branch of American science. He returned convinced that it is in this country rather than in Europe that the forms exist which are to aid us in solving some of the most important problems of the day.

14.- History of French Literature. III. From the End of the Reign of Louis XIV. till the End of the Reign of Louis Philippe. By HENRI VAN LAUN. New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons. 1877. 8vo.

THE present volume of Van Laun's work embraces one of the most interesting periods in French literary history. Beginning with what he calls the "transition authors," i. e. those who came between the Augustan period of Louis and the new régime headed by the revolutionary writers, he brings us down through the periods of Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, and the Encyclopedists, the orators of the Revolution, the writers of the Empire and the Restoration, to the brilliant group which made the period of Louis Philippe famous, the critics, the romantic school, with Hugo at its head, and the novelists headed by Balzac. We have no space to notice the volume in detail, nor to quote from pages of which each one is almost equally interesting. The account given of Balzac and of De Musset will be found valuable, though on the whole the philosophical portions of the book—those in which the author traces the connection between one literary period and another, between one set of literary influences and others— are more valuable than the strictly critical discussion of individual authors. His occasional comparison of French with English literature is particularly suggestive, especially that (although we do not here agree with him) in which he makes out Balzac's claim to a higher place in literature than the English novelists.

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The Works of Francis Bacon. Popular Edition, based upon the Complete Edition of Spedding. Ellis & Heath. New York: Hurd & Houghton. 12mo.

The Sanitary Condition in City and Country Dwelling-Houses. By GEORGE E. WARING, JR. New York: D. Van Nostrand. 24mo. pp.

145.

A Latin Grammar. By J. H. ALLEN and J. B. GREENOUGH. Boston: Ginn & Heath. 12mo. pp. 329.

A Dissertation on the Epistle of S. Barnabas, including a Discussion of its Date and Authorship. By the REV. WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM. London: Macmillan & Co. 12mo. pp. 170.

The Holy Roman Empire. By JAMES BRYCE, D. C. L. New York: Macmillan & Co. 12mo. pp. 479.

A Practical English Sanscrit Dictionary. By ANUNDORAM Borooah, B. A., B. C. S. Vol. I. Calcutta: Wyman & Co. 8vo. pp. 580.

American Addresses, with a Lecture on the Study of Biology. By THOMAS H. HUXLEY. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 12mo. pp. 164. On Poetic Interpretation of Nature. By J. C. SHAIRP, LL. D. New York Hurd & Houghton. 16mo. pp. 279.

A Course in Scientific German. Prepared by HARRY BLAKE HODGES. Boston: Ginn & Heath. 12mo. pp. 173.

By HON. EDWIN R. MEADE. 8vo. pp. 20.

Biology, with Preludes on Current Events. By JOSEPH COOK. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co. 12mo. pp. 325. The Chinese Question. Elements of the Laws; or, Outlines of the System of Civil and Criminal Laws in Force in the United States, and in the Several States of the Union. By THOMAS L. SMITH. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 16mo. pp. 384.

The Biography of Alfred de Musset. Translated from the French of Paul de Musset by HARRIET W. PRESTON. Boston: Roberts Brothers. 16mo. pp. 318.

Last Series of Christian Aspects of Faith and Duty. Discourses by JOHN JAMES TAYLOR. Boston: Roberts Brothers. 16mo. pp. 346. The Church of the Apostles. By the RIGHT REV. WILLIAM INGRAHAM KIP, D. D., LL. D. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 16mo. pp. 174.

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Lotos Land, and other Poems.

G. Thomson. 16mo.

pp. 96.

By G. S. LADSON.

Cincinnati: Peter

The Uniform Trade List, 1877. New York: Office of the Publishers' Weekly.

Personal Appearance and the Culture of Beauty. By T. S. SOZINSKEY, M. D., Ph. D. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane, & Scott. pp. 196.

Afterglow. Boston: Roberts Brothers. 16mo. pp. 316.

16mo.

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546;

Julien l'Apostat, et sa Philosophie du Polythéisme, par H.-ADRien NaVILLE. Paris Sandoz et Fischbacher. 8vo. pp. 202. Overland Tales. By JOSEPHINE CLIFFORD. Remsen, & Haffelfinger. 12mo. pp. 383.

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The Discipline and Drill of the Militia. By MAJ. FRANK S. ARNOLD, A. Q. M. General, Rhode Island. New York: D. Van Nostrand. 16mo. pp. 120.

Landscape Architecture, as Applied to the Wants of the West, with an Essay on Forest Planting on the Great Plains. By H. W. S. CLEVELAND, Landscape Architect. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg, & Co. 16mo. pp.

147.

Songs of the Land and Sea. By ESMERALDA Boyle. J. Hale & Son. 16mo. pp. 76.

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Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Marylanders. By ESMERALDA BOYLE. Baltimore: Kelly, Piet, & Co. 12mo. First Love is Best. By GAIL HAMILTON.

pp. 374.

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