A FRIEND of the Vergennes (Vt.) Public Library has recently given $50 to the fund for the purchase of books. This is the first cash gift made since the organization of the library, although liberal gifts of books, periodicals and paper have been made. GREAT BRITAIN. BRITISH MUSEUM. We acknowledge with gratitude another boon which has been conferred by the trustees on the reading world. For some time, readers unable to attend at the Museum during the day have been permitted to leave, after four o'clock, the tickets of the book they wanted to consult, and to return on the following day with the knowledge that the volume would be ready for their use. This practice has now been legalized, and special tickets of a distinctive color have been provided for the use of gentlemen desirous of availing themselves of the treasures of the Museum in this novel fashion. The alteration will also have the effect of spreading over the whole of the day the work of the attendants engaged in fetching volumes from the interior of the building. It only remains now for the frequenters of the Museum to express, in a practical manner, their appreciation of these gratifying changes in its workings.Athenæum. MITCHELL LIBRARY (Glasgow.)—The total number of volumes issued for the four weeks ending 21st February was 39,200, the daily average being 1,633, as against 1,405 for the same period in 1879. The daily average for the previous five weeks was 1,508, the number of volumes issued to ladies during the four weeks was 86, and the total number of volumes issued from the commencement was 665,322. The salary of Mr. F. T. Barrett, the librarian, has been increased from £300 to £350, and the assistants have had their salaries increased by sums of £10 and £5 each. A silhouette portrait of the late Mr. Stephen Mitchell (the founder of the Library) has been discovered, and steps are being taken with the view of ascertaining whether a bust could be satisfactorily executed from it, to be placed in the Mitchell Library. BODLEIAN LIBRARY.-New rules at the Bodleian Library require that no manuscript shall be copied without permission of the librarian, and that, if a copy has been made, no publication of it shall take place except after a like permission. Protests against these rules have already begun. poor Bodleian," says one petitioner, "which for 300 years has been a model of liberality and generosity, is suddenly placed below the Vatican Library in illiberality and dog-in-the-manger-ness." "The MR. ANDREW CARNEGIE, of New York, has offered £5,000 for the establishment of a free library at Dunfermline, his native place. AN important addition to the reference library at Leeds, consists of a most valuable and rare collection of standard works of natural history, containing over 700 v. The total number of v. in the libraries is 94,128. FRANCE. NATIONAL LIBRARY.-The Government has agreed to a suggestion of M. Lockroy for the isolation of the Bibliothèque Nationale to avoid the risk of fire, and the Chambers will be asked for 3,700,000 francs for that purpose. The additions made yearly now amount to about 45,300 separate articles, of which about 5,100 are serials. PARIS.-The number of municipal libraries in Paris is now 18, with 32,237 v., and 57,840 readers. The issues are, Literature, 29,089; Geography and Travels, 10,647; Sciences and Arts, 10,130; History, 7,836. The second arrondissement has made the experiment of lending music for home use. Some 300 pieces were taken in 1879. GERMANY. LEIPZIG UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.-A well-known American gentleman, now pursuing some special studies at the University of Leipzig, writes as follows: The University library here is managed with a German stupidity that I never saw equaled in any small town library in America. It has no card catalog, or any other, accessible to students, so that you cannot have the least clue to what it has or what it has not. The result is that I have not yet found anything that was not "out," "not yet bound," "not yet arrived," or "does not exist" (applied to a well-known treatise). ITALY. THE Italian Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has nominated a Commission to compile a classified bibliography of all authors who were born or lived in the city of Rome from the eleventh century to the present time. L'Opinione says that the evil eye seems to have been cast over the Roman libraries. The important collection of the Alessandrina has been closed on account of the unsatisfactory state of the building. This has caused much inconvenience to the University of Rome. TURKEY. THE Sons of the late Dr. Mordtmann have presented their father's mss. to the Armenian Library of Constantinople, and the gift has been accepted by the Patriarch with a public expression of thanks. STANDARD ESSAYS. Bacon. THE WORKS OF FRANCIS BACON. Collected and edited by JAMES SPEDDing, Robert LESLIE ELLIS, and DOUGLAS DENON HEATH. Riverside Edition. Two steel portraits of Lord Bacon and a full Index. 15 vols., crown 8vo, $33.75; half calf, $60.00. THE SAME. Popular Edition. With portraits. 2 vols., crown 8vo, $5.00; half calf, $9.00. These editions of Bacon's works are far the best ever published. The scholarly and critical care devoted to them is almost without parallel in the history of literature. Lord Bacon was the greatest genius that England, or perhaps any other country, ever produced.-Pope. Brown. SPARE HOURS. By DR. JOHN BROWN. First and Second Series. With fine steel portrait. 2 vols., 12mo, $1.50 each; the set, half calf, $6.00. The charm that pervades these pages has rarely been equaled by the best things of modern or ancient writers of tale and essay. Full of truth, tenderness, humor, wisdom and wit. They delight us with their simple beauty and the depth of their pathetic passages.-New York Observer. There have been no more polished, thoughtful, and elevated essays published in this age.-The Christian Register (Boston). Carlyle. CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS OF THOMAS CARLYLE. With a fine steel portrait of the author. 4 vols., crown 8vo, $7.50; half calf, $15.00. As far as completeness goes, nothing can equal this edition.-R. S. MACKENZIE, in the Philadelphia Press. De Quincey. CRITICAL, HISTORICAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, AND COMPLETE WORKS OF THOMAS DE QUINCEY. Riverside Edition. Reedited and enlarged, with steel portrait of De Quincey. 12 vols., crown 8vo, per vol., $1.75; the set, $21.00; half calf, $42.00. A great master of English composition; a critic of uncommon delicacy; an honest and unflinching investigator of received opinions; a philosophic inquirer second only to his first and sole hero (Coleridge)-De Quincey has left no successor to his rank. The exquisite finish of style, with the scholastic vigor of his logic, forms a combination which centuries may never reproduce, but which every generation should study as one of the marvels of English literature.-Quarterly Review (London). Emerson. PROSE WORKS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON. Including all the Essays he has ever published in book form. 3 vols., crown 8vo, $7.50; half calf, $13.50; morocco or tree calf, $18.00. A collection of prose-writing informed with poetry, the fearless and serene sincerity of which, the wisdom, the sound sense, the humor, the wit, the marvelous insight of which, make it a literary treasure that may well move our gratitude.The Nation (New York). There is no man living to whom, as a writer, so many of us feel and thankfully acknowledge so great an indebtedness for ennobling impulses. We look upon him as one of the few men of genius whom our age has produced.-JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. Montaigne. WORKS OF MICHAEL DE MONTAIGNE. Comprising his Essays, Journey into Italy, and Letters; with Notes from all the Commentators, Biographical and Bibliographical Notices, etc., by W. HAZLITT. With a portrait of Montaigne. 4 vols., crown 8vo, cloth, $7.50; half calf, $15.00. There have been men with deeper insight; but, one would say, never a man with such abundance of thoughts; he is never dull, never insincere, and has the genius to make the reader care for all that he cares for.-R. W. EMERSON, in Representative Men. Montaigne and Howell's Letters are my bedside books. If I wake at sleep again. They talk about themselves forever, and don't weary me. over again.-W. M. THACKERAY. Pascal. night I have one or other of them to prattle me to I like to hear them tell their old stories over and THE THOUGHTS, LETTERS, AND OPUSCULEs of blaisE PASCAL. Translated from the French by O. W. WIGHT, A. M., with Introductory Notices, and Notes from all the Com mentators. THE PROVINCial letters of blaise pPASCAL. A new Translation, with Historical Introduction and Notes by REV. THOMAS MCCRIE, preceded by a Life of Pascal, a Critical Essay, and a Biographical Notice. 2 vols., crown 8vo, each, $2 25; half calf, $4.00. There are few names which have become more classical in modern literature than Blaise Pascal. His writings continue to be studied for the perfection of their style and the vitality of their substance.--PRINCIPAL TULLOCH. He is sublime by good sense as well as by genius.-M. VILLEMAIN. By the confession of the first French crítics, the Lettres Provinciales did more than any other composition to fix the French language, and as the Letters were the first model of French prose, so they still remain the objects of unqualified admiration.-HENRY ROGERS, in Edinburgh Review. For sale by Booksellers. Sent, post-paid, on receipt of price by the Publishers, HOUGHTON, OSGOOD & CO., BOSTON. BACK BOOKS FOR SALE. CK numbers leading magazines, reviews, etc. BACK numbers of 3000 different Periodicals for sale, cheap, at the AMERICAN AND FOREIGN MAGA ZINE DEPOT, 47 DEY STREET, New York. GLOBES, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 16, and 30 in. diameter. Send for Catalogue. H. B. NIMS & Co., Troy, N. Y. HEODOR BERENDSOHN, 17 Ann St., New York. Dealer in second-hand books in all languages. COMPLETE SET of HARPER'S MAGAZINE to A the end of 1878: 57 Vols., new half morocco, $115.00. W. A. S., Box 4295, N. Y. City. OHN BROS, Indianapolis, Ind. YOHN HARRISSE, H. Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima. Imp'l, 8vo, large paper copy in sheets (No. 56.) N. Y., Geo. P. Philes, 1866. Publ. at $40.00. $18.00. BRITISH MUSEUM. Librorum Impressorum qui in Museo Britannico Adservantur Catalogus. 16 vols., hf. parch., as follows: 7 vols. in 8, 8vo, A to Z, 1813-19; vols. 8 to 16, large 8vo. London, 1818. $40.00. QUARITCH, BERNARD. General Catal. I vol., thick 8vo, pp. 1,890. Hf. red mor. London, 1874 $14.00. RHEES, WM. J. Manual of Public Libraries, Etc., in the U. S. 8vo, cloth, pp. 687. Phil., 1859. $2.50. BODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD. Catalogus librorum impressorum Bibliothecæ Bodlianæ in Academia Oxoniensi. 4 vols., folio, cloth. Oxoniæ, 1843-57. $30.00. Send for Catalogue of Bibliography. On the Choice of Books. Specially valuable for libraries, among other features of the LITERARY NEWS, are the Three Prize Questions on the Choice of Books and other Literary Subjects, as resulting in the production of lists of select books, on the most of which a number of experienced readers agree by their vote. The object of one other prize question is to elicit answers as to which of the new books can be safely recommended (from a literary point of view, not regarding the publisher's get-up) for private purchaser or should be found in every public library. Other questions are on books on given topics or suitable for a given class of readers. The subscription to the LITERARY NEWS, is only FIFTY CENTS per year, postage paid. Five copies will be sent to five designated addresses for $2.00, provided the amount is sent in remittance. Sample copies mailed free to any address upon application. F. LEYPOLDT, 13 and 15 Park Row, New-York. Binding of Fournal. The price for binding the Journal, half leather, A. L. A. binding, as heretofore, will be hereafter The Publishers' Weekly. $1.25. Copies should be sent direct to the binders, the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Hartford, Conn. JUST READY. The Books of 1879. 8vo, paper, 75 cents. Complete record of all books published in the United States during 1879, giving full titles, descriptive notes to the more important books, classification headings, and classified summaries. Invaluable to Book-stores and Libraries. THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY, 13 & 15 PARK Row, THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY is a necessary help in every library, containing weekly the full record of all new books, entered according to the cataloguing rules of the American Library Association, and with descriptive notes directly following the title as recommended by the Association Committee. This enables the librarian, in a few minutes' reading each week, to post himself fully as to the contents and character of new publications, both as a guide in purchasing and for the benefit of readers. The other features of the PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY are also such as commend themselves for practical library use. Subscription $3.20 per year. THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY, 13 & 15 Park Row, Box 4295. NEW YORK. P. O. Box 4295. New-York City. SPECIAL NOTICE TO LIBRARIANS AND THE PUBLIC ARNOLD'S LIGHT OF ASIA. An unauthorized edition of this work compels us to reduce the price of our Library Edition to $1.00. We have also just ready a cheap Paper Edition, printed from the large type of our plates, with additional matter; price 25 cents. The foreign inventor of some subtle mechanical process by which perchance people may make fools of themselves, can legally secure the right to his property throughout the United States. A foreign author who shall tax his brain to enlighten the world with the magic of a book can have no legal protection to his property in the United States. But there is a moral side to this question of the right of authors to the product of their brains, and all honorable publishers among us are agreed upon the policy of living up to it. Will the trade unite to uphold them by refusing to keep on hand, or purchase, a book known to be already in the market in an edition arranged for with the author, and thus morally sanctioned by him? Our editions We are publishing Mr. Arnold's “Light of Asia" with his sanction. are the only editions authorized by him, and we pay him copyright on every copy of the book sold, precisely the same as though he were legally entitled to it. Will the trade throughout the United States sustain us by refusing to keep or sell any other American edition? Under date of February 16th, Mr. Arnold writes us, after acknowledging receipt of amount due him for copyright to January 1st: "Let me tell you with what pride and pleasure I have learned of the magnificent reception given to my 'Light of Asia' by the American public, not less through your own appreciative and generous enterprise than its own merits. Nothing could have given me profounder pleasure than the favor shown me thus by the Trans-Atlantic English, and I hope some day to make suitable acknowledgment of the immense distinction conferred on me by your public." MESSRS. ROBERTS BROTHERS' LATE BOOKS. I 00 reduced from $1 50 to $100 Second Series. Arnold's The Light of Asia. 16mo, cloth, gilt top, Richard Edney. A Novel. By Sylvester Judd, author of Margaret." A New Principles and Portraits. By C. A. Bartol. 16mo, Wm. Ellery Channing. A Centennial Biography. By C. T. Brooks. 16mo, ORDERS SOLICITED BY THE PUBLISHERS, ROBERTS BROTHERS, Boston. I 00 $150 I 00 2.00 1 50 2.00 D. APPLETON & CO. The Crayfish. HAVE JUST PUBLISHED: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ZOOLOGY. By Professor T. H. HUXLEY, F. R. S. With 82 Illustrations. Forming Volume 28 of "The International Scientific Series." 12mo. Cloth, $1.75. The object of Professor Huxley's new book is to afford an opportunity to students to commence the study of zoology by means of a careful verification of nearly all that is known concerning a single animal, the common Crayfish. The book is termed an "Introduction to Zoology." "For whoever will follow its pages, crayfish in hand, and will try to verify for himself the statements which it contains, will find himself brought face to face with all the great zoological questions which excite so lively an interest at the present day." Ceremonial Institutions. Being Part IV. of “ The Principles of Sociology.' (The first portion of Volume II.) By HERBERT SPENCER. 12mo, cloth, price $1.25. "In this installment of the Principles of Sociology,' Mr. Herbert Spencer gives us a monograph complete in itself, of moderate length, and on a subject which affords considerable literary opportunities. The opportunities have been well used, and it needs no historical enthusiasm for primitive humanity to find the book as entertaining as it is instructive. The leading idea which Mr. Spencer develops and illustrates all through the book is that in the early history of society and institutions form has gone before substance."Saturday Review. Roscoe's Chemistry. A TREATISE ON CHEMISTRY. By H. E. ROSCOE, F. R. S., and C. SCHORLEMMer, F. R. S., Professors of Chemistry in Owens College, Manchester, England. With numerous illustrations. Volume II., Part II.METALS. 8vo, cloth, price, $3. "We commend this volume to our readers' attention as worthily completing the first and inorganic section of a chemical treatise, which, within the limits, as to size and scope, which have been imposed upon it, has no equal in judicious selection of material, in accuracy of detail, in soundness of view, and in orderly sequence of statement."-London Acad emy. Classical Writers. Edited by JOHN RICHARD GREEN. VIRGIL. By H. NETTLESHIP. Flexible cloth. Price, 60 cents. Previously published in the series: MILTON, by STOPFORD A. BROOKE; EURIPIDES, by J. P. MAHAFFY. Cloth. Price, 60 cents each. A Treatise on Oral Deformities. AS A BRANCH OF MECHANICAL SURGERY. By NORMAN W. KINGSLEY, M. D. S., D. D. S. With over 350 Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00. PRESS OF FRANCIS HART & Co. Notes on the Parables of Our Lord. A new, By RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, D. D. cheaper edition. 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.25. Rodman the Keeper. SOUTHERN SKETCHES. By CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON. I vol., 12 mo. Cloth. Price, $1.25. The stones and sketches in the magazines by Constance Fenimore Woolson, have long attracted the attention of critical readers as something very unique and remarkable in their way. For several years past Miss Woolson has resided in the Southern States, and the experience there gathered has appeared in a series of character stories, which have commanded wide attention. These stories have been gathered in the present volume, which, in their collected form, will be certain to greatly extend the reputation of their author. Memoirs of Madame de Re |