had erected their retreats upon the top of Sinai itself, did not fail to impart a traditional interest to every locality. Thus the pilgrim was enabled to find within short distance of the monastery all points more or less holy. Again, the Arabs had invested nearly every mountain and rock with some legend of Meusa, the great prophet. The traveller is shown a rock which split to allow the prophet to pass through; the mound of the calf, which requires much faith to detect a likeness to a calf, or anything else; the spot in which the tables of the law were buried; and the rock struck by Moses, which a legend supposes to have followed the children of Israel through all their wanderings, and to have furnished them with a constant supply of water-a true water-barrel in fact, always on tap.

To sift this mass of traditionary evidence, and establish its value as a means of identification, fell, in the division of labor, to the author. This task he has performed with care and skill, and has derived therefrom much that is valuable. The accompanying incidents are related in a style of easy familiarity which makes the reader a companion of the author in his changeful experiences in the mountains and desert. His account of his first reception by the natives is characteristic both of his style and of the race among whom he had fallen:

"A noisy crowd, dressed in every variety of costume which we are accustomed to associate with dramatic pictures of Blue Beard (1d. plain, 2d. colored), awaited the arrival of the train, and a dozen sturdy Moslems at once began a contest for the possession of my baggage. As I did not interfere, they followed me to the hotel in a sort of funeral procession, with four bearers to each of my two modest portmanteaus, my umbrella, as chief mourner, bringing up the rear. For all this pomp I disbursed a sebian-not quite three pence."

An interesting specimen of this type of Arab character is Alel Salem, his faithful and devout attendant, of whom he relates the following anecdote:

"Upon the recall of one of the party, that worthy's grief was both profound and characteristic. He watched the retreating form for some minutes with an expression of incredulous amazement, and when he had sufficiently realized the painful fact, applied his dirty sleeve to his eyes, and, sobbing outright, retired to hide his sorrow behind a neighboring stone. After a few minutes, he returned with red eyes and unwiped cheeks, and thus delivered himself, 'God bless him! Four times has he been in this country, and never cursed me once.""

In the course of the explorations about Sinai, they found many remains of stone circle and beehive dwellings, and tombs of a longdeparted race. The desert, also, is rich in these remains and those of ancient cities that once flourished where now all is desolation. The

author does not attempt to give the history of these ruins, but merely records his impressions, leaving that to the antiquary and archæologist. In the Sinai district, also, he notes the existence of numerous mines of copper and turquoise, which were formerly worked on a large scale by the ancient Egyptians. In the neighborhood of these, many Egyptian inscriptions are found, showing the manner of working the mines, and under what monarchs the operations were conducted. These the author regards as of much greater antiquity and value than the "Semetic inscriptions." The remains of slag-heaps and smelting-furnaces lead to the conclusion that portions of the country, at least, must have been densely wooded, and that the forests were cut down for fuel. The destruction of the forests has resulted, of course, in an almost entire suspension of the rainfall which, added to the physical configuration of the country, explains its terribly barren state. We may ask, in passing, how many centuries will elapse before the lavish and ignorant destruction of the timber in many parts of our own country will result in reducing regions, which now "bloom like the rose," to the aridity of Sinai? In his second visit to the country, the author's experiences were of a more unpleasant and serious nature, resulting from the character of the Bedouin Arabs with whom he came in contact. He expresses himself on the "Bedouin question" in the following not very flattering terms:

"The sympathy already wasted upon the red men of North America warns me that I am treading upon delicate grounds, but I must, nevertheless, state my belief that the noble savage is a simple and unmitigated nuisance. To the Bedouin, this applies more forcibly still, for, wherever he goes, he brings ruin, violence, and neglect. To call him a 'son of the desert' is a misnomer; half the desert owes its existence to him, and many a fertile plain, from which he has driven the useful and industrious inhabitants, becomes, in his hands, a parched and barren wilder

ness.

This portion of the narrative is sufficiently seasoned with danger and difficulty to render it palatable to those readers who prefer highly flavored condiments. Many of the more important points in the route of the Israelites from Sinai to Palestine are quite conclusively identified, and made the key to the whole route. The value of these researches, as furnishing corroborative proof of the Scripture history, will be variously estimated, according as the evidence seems satisfactory, and the facts pertinent to the question. Yet this is one of the incidental features of the work, its main object being to give such information as will enable all to judge for themselves. At the same time, it throws much light upon a hitherto

neglected field, and is a a valuable contribution to the physical geology of that portion of the globe. The purely scientific results of the expedition have doubtless been communicated to the parties under whose auspices it was undertaken. But the author's account, while embodying sufficient of these results, also embraces so much that is new and interesting, expressed in a happy manner, as will render it popular with all intelligent classes.

Goethe: His Life and Works. An Essay. By GEORGE H. CAL VERT. 16mo, pp. 275. Boston: Lee & Shepard. New York: Lee, Shepard & Dillingham. 1872.

It is not within the compass of the author's purpose to discuss fully in this volume the life and writings of so great and many-sided a man as Goethe, but to describe him from a few of the many points of view in which such a man may be seen. These are indicated by the subjects of the several chapters, such as Weimar and Italy, Goethe and Schiller, The Loves of Goethe, Faust, etc. In his opening chapter, Mr Calvert remarks that to a large class of readers Goethe is an immense nebulous figure, known as the author of Faust and a few other poems. He has endeavored to clear away these clouds and throw light upon this ill-defined colossus; but it remains none the less great and imposing still. Its form and features are seen in all their grandeur and beauty, yet tinged, in this light, with a golden hue not wholly its own. Our author stands in awe before , this great figure, and can only express himself in terms of indiscriminate admiration. Thus Hermann and Dorothea is "heavenly " (p. 25), "The fire of his genius is fed with sap-ful fuel," etc. (p. 37).

He also lacks the intrepidity to call by their proper names what he is assured are faults and errors, but covers them with the broad veil of charity, "judge not." It might be well if the same spirit of charitableness were extended to others of less distinction than Goethe. In

the first chapter, "Weimar and Italy," our author shows the statesman and man of business behind the poet, and the ardent youth imbibing wisdom and inspiration from the thousand sources found in Rome and Italy. That on "Schiller and Goethe" gives an interesting rem. iniscence of the manner in which the two great poets were finally drawn together by their discussion of Goethe's pet theory on the "metamorphoses of plants" (p. 78).

Goethe was not a greater poet than he was a lover.

The history

of his loves ranging from the first pure gushings of his youthful heart toward Gretchen, to his more intellectual, if not more question able, attachment for Frau Von Stein, while his conduct toward Christiane cannot certainly be considered a model for less gifted mortals-forms one of the most instructive pages in human annals. To the completeness of Goethe's daily being, a "maiden " was essential. In one of the earlier letters of Werther he exclaims: "To the heart, what is the world without love? What a magic lantern is without its light!" (p. 153.) The author gives utterance to an oft-expressed thought when he says: "What would not one give for only half a dozen love-letters of Shakespeare?" "From Goethe we have more than a thousand to Frau Von Stein alone, covering a space of fifty years" (p. 163).

The chapter on Faust contains some fine selections from that incomparable poem. From his abundance of materials, the author has, with a keen appreciation of the Protean nature of his subject, selected such as will throw much light upon the character of this wonderful

man.

The Character and Career of Francis Asbury, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Illustrated by numerous Selections from his Journal, arranged in chronological order. 12mo, pp. 615. By Rev, EDWIN L. JAMES. Compiler of "Wesley His Own Historian." New York: Carlton & Lanahan. 1872.

FOLLOWING the same general plan as in "Wesley His Own Historian," the author has made the subject write nearly all of his own history, himself collecting and arranging the materials, which are presented without comment. For this, abundant opportunity is given in the journal of Mr. Asbury, which, begun upon his embarking for America, is continued through all his remarkable vicissitudes in a very careful manner. The entries are so arranged by the compiler as to present a continuous narrative of all the important events from that time until his death, embracing nearly all the early history of American Methodism. As his life was one of constant travel, the State is also given in which the entry is made. In opening this journal, one is struck by the quaint and simple manner of his expression, which forcibly recalls the style of Bunyan. The familiarity with which he

speaks of the Deity and of his presence whenever and wherever desired, will appear to some amusing. Thus we find him in one of his first entries :

"The people God owns in England are the Methodists. The Lord has greatly blessed these doctrines and this discipline in three kingdoms; they must, therefore be pleasing to him" (p. 25).

The "therefore" indicates a logic which, if carried out, would bring God's blessing upon Mohamedanism, Mormonism, and all other successful isms; but it seems that this was not confined to England. Upon his arrival in this country, we find him preaching in Westchester, where he makes this entry: "On the Lord's Day morning, a considerable company being gathered together, I stood up in the Lord's power; yea, I felt the Holy One was nigh." December 7, 1780, he writes the following in regard to the effect of prayer, which might be commended to the attention of those professing to adopt Tyndall's test: "About three days since, I was moved to pray for good weather, when I saw what a condition we should be in. There is a change in the weather, blessed be God." Three days later, he adds, "The devil throws his firebrands, but grace is sufficient." He seems to have given a cold reception to his Satannic majesty, judging by this entry (p. 91), "When the tempter finds that his violent assaults only draw us nearer to God, perhaps he will not be so maliciously officious."

There is quaint wit in some of his observations. Thus, after a three hours' discussion with the Baptists, he says, "No doubt but Satan is very active in promoting religious controversies" (p. 79). He thus speaks of a "Quaker meeting" in terms not very gallant, but we remember that Mr. Asbury never married: "I visited the Quaker meeting, but wondered to see so many sensible men sit to hear two or three old women talk" (p. 70). We notice the same spirit in his note on "Brother Hurtley's" marriage. He says, "I find the care of a wife begins to humble my young friend. I have thought he always carried too great sail, but he will have ballast now."

With all his idiosyncrasies, his life was one of wonderful labor. He was often in want of the necessaries of life, while his zeal may be seen in such notes as the following, with which his journal abounds :

"I have now been sick near ten months, and many days closely confined; yet I have preached about three hundred times, and rode near two thousand miles in that time, though very frequently in a high fever. Here is no ease, worldly profit or honor."

Besides interesting personal reminiscences, the book abounds