We are reminded of these peculiar advantages by the very laborious efforts which some of our enterprising contemporaries are making just now, as the schools are opening, to please the various rival manufacturers of that important class of goods. Alas! for the poor scribes who have to puff good, bad and indifferent alike. If they were our mortal enemies, we could not wish them a harder fate.

Why not imitate our plan, and see if it would not prove the best in the long run; that is, set a price on your advertisements, which, while fair and moderate, will exclude the vulgar. If some of the latter be tempted by their avarice to patronize you still, instead of soap or paregoric, give them a little nitric acid. In other words, if a worthless book is sent to your office, inform your readers honestly that it is worthless. In time, respectable people will patronize you,-the judicious, spirited class, who, far from asking cheap goods for themselves, will not associate with those who deal in such.

The puffers will not be interfered with by us, however, in any more direct or personal manner than this, except they are uncivil to ourselves, and put on airs, which do not belong to them; in which case we might be tempted to show whom it may concern, the precise value and true character of the article in which they deal; for, though benevolent and peaceful in our disposition, we are not a "non-combatant," and have never announced ourselves as such, for any purpose what

ever.

But to return to the volume before us. This, we suppose, is the latest improvement. The title-page will give most of our readers a sufficient idea of its character. It seems that in future the rising generation must be taught phrenologically; if not, there can be no success; stupidity and ignorance must prevail. Hitherto phrenology has had to perform its wonders alone; but in future it is to be aided by the Holy Spirit! At least, those who use the work before us will have that unspeakable advan tage; and accordingly it is recommended by a large number of pious school superintendents, whose letters are published at the beginning of the volume, so that no one need doubt the miraculous character of the "Scientific Basis."

Seriously, we are surprised at the countenance given the new doctrine by Superintendent Randall and his assistant, Mr. Kiddle, both of whom we have always regarded as sensible, thoughtful men. But it seems the author has once been a colleague of theirs; and it is well known that they are of a benevolent and obliging disposition. We think we do them much more credit by taking this view of the case than we should by supposing for a moment that they really believe the Holy Spirit acts in connection with the new "science."

In every other enlightened country, phrenology is regarded as an exploded theory. At no time has it been accepted anywhere by scientific men worthy of the name; on the contrary such have invariably rejected it.

This our readers will remember we have abundantly proved in a former number of this journal.*

Then are we to palm off on the rising generation as a science what the English, French and Germans have denounced as an imposture, after a most careful and thorough examination of every thing claimed in its favor? But now the Holy Ghost is brought in as an ally of phrenology. We may expect that the next science introduced into our schools will be that of spirit-rapping; that spirit-rapping has more to do with the volume before us than the Holy Spirit, or any truthful spirit, we think we need hardly inform our readers.

Casar's Commentaries on the Gallic War, with a Vocabulary and Notes. By WILLIAM BINGHAM, A.M., Superintendent of the Bingham School. 12mo. pp. 348. Philadelphia. E. H. Butler & Co. 1868.

Ir always affords us pleasure to recommend a good text-book: and no one of a different character, bearing the imprint on the volume now before us, has ever fallen into our hands. Whether the name of Butler appears on a geography, an atlas, a grammar, a history, or an edition of some ancient classic, we are confident before we open a page of it that, at least, it is no catch-penny. Far be it from us to deny that the Harpers, Ivison, Phinney & Co. and Ticknor & Fields, publish some excellent works; and when we meet with such we most cheerfully recommend them. But we know no publisher more scrupulously or more intelligently careful in his selections of text-books, than Butler; he is the only prominent publisher in America whose publications we have never thought deserving of censure.

We know very well how ready a certain class of minds are to attribute motives both for censure and approbation. It may, therefore, be said that our preference for the publications of this house results from self-interest; but it is a false inference. Many whose books we have criticised have patronized us much more than Butler. Had self-interest been our motive, we would have praised the books of J. B. Lippincott, T. B. Peterson, A. S. Barnes, &c. These are the gentlemen who value puffs, and have as great a horror of criticism as Satan is said to have for holy water. But have we gratified them in this respect? Our readers will bear us testimony that we have always designated the sort of pabulum they furnish by its proper name; yet if they so far improved in their taste and morals as to publish good books, even at the eleventh hour, none would recommend such more cheerfully than we. As it is, we leave the eulogizing of their wares to those who have a stomach for that sort of thing.

We have but little to say of "Bingham's Cæsar;" so judiciously and carefully edited a text-book, needs no homily to recommend it. Some

Vide No. XIV. September, 1863, Art. Spuriousness and Charlatanism of Phrenology.

1

time since we examined a Latin grammar, compiled by the same gentleman; we found it more in accordance with our idea of what a grammar ought to be than any we had seen for several years, and we took the liberty of recommending it to our educational friends accordingly. For similar reasons we now invite attention to Bingham's Cæsar," feeling satisfied that it will elicit the approval of any competent educator who takes the trouble to examine it.

The notes of Prof. Bingham are not "copious," but they contain all the information that a student, supposed to have a teacher, ought to receive from his text-book. The vocabulary at the end of the volume is, in every respect, the best we have seen in any edition of Cæsar; nor have we seen a better specimen of the original text in any school-book.

College Life: its Theory and Practice. By STEPHEN OLIN, D. D., LL. D. 12mo, pp. 239. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Teachers as well as

THERE is much excellent advice in this volume. students will find it worthy of careful perusal. It consists of seven lectures on the theory and practice of scholastic life, and four baccalaureate addresses, each series being much above the average of the similar efforts of the present day.

OFFICIAL ETHICS.

Letter from the Citizens' Association to George W. McLean, Esq., Street Commissioner. New York, August, 1868.

THE Citizens' Association has undoubtedly done good: we think it has done so with this letter. Sometimes it has made charges which it could not sustain-charges which, in due time, were proved to be unjust and unfounded, This, it will be remembered, was the character of its charges against Comptroller Brennan; and they were dismissed, accordingly, by Governor Fenton. Feeling satisfied that Brennan performed his duties faithfully, we criticised the action of the Citizens' Association, believing that, however well disposed the majority of its members were, it was led into error on this occasion, by parties whose speculations had been interfered with by the comptroller; and this was the conclusion which Governor Fenton arrived at, on mature deliberation, nearly six months afterwards.

So well convinced were we of the integrity and fidelity of Matthew T. Brennan that we thought it would be difficult for any party to produce a man who would protect the public interests committed to his charge so faithfully as he. When his successor was elected we knew nothing of him; we therefore said nothing. Mr. Richard R. Connolly has now been in office nearly two years, and we have never expressed any

opinion of him in one way or other. In the meantime we have not been unmindful of the manner in which he performed his duties. We are not aware whether the Citizens' Association has made any charge against him or not; but the result of our own observation and inquiries is, that we regard him as fully equal to his predecessor in honesty and faithfulness as a public officer.

The charges against Mr. Brennan considerably lessened our faith in the Association; they did not prevent us, however, from examining those which it preferred against the late street commissioner; nor did it prevent us from declaring those charges substantially correct, and urging the removal of the delinquent.

We confess we also thought there was some foundation for its charges against Mr. Richard O'Gorman, our corporation counsel; and we have refrained from discussing the subject only because we did not wish to do so without seeing what explanation he had to offer, and because, if he has ever made one, as he promised to do, it has escaped our attention. It is in order to obviate a similar disappointment that we now take up the letter before us, lest Mr. McLean also may be too tedious in explaining his affair. It is proper to say that we cannot tell, from our own knowledge, whether Mr. O'Gorman really used the enormous number of ink-bottles, and the immense piles of letter-paper, etc., etc., for which he was alleged to have charged the tax-payers of New York. For aught we know to the contrary the bottles may have been broken, and the paper stolen! Other items in his bill against the city might perhaps be explained in a similar manner. What we thought was, that the gentleman occupied himself in giving "counsel" to the public at large, in the shape of speeches and lectures, much more than in giving it in any shape to the corporation. In short, our opinion was that he devoted so much of his time to the former, that he had little left for the latter-and would not this account for his paying those large sums for "assistant counsel?" It should, perhaps, be also taken into account, in favor of our corporation counsel, that his peculiar style of rhetoric requires considerable practice, and that it is liable to be injured by the vulgar realities of life.

But our street commissioner cannot pretend that he has any fine strings of metaphors to manufacture, either for the instruction of the corporation, or that of the public at large. All he has to do is simply to keep our streets and wharves clean and in tolerable order, and for this he is allowed plenty of money; but it is expected by those who pay it, that he will keep honest accounts, and that in making necessary purchases for it he will be somewhat guided by the market-price. The Citizens' Association alleges, however, in the communication before us, that he has forgotten this part of his duty, and it enters into details as follows:

"It appears, from the records of your department, that from the aforesaid first day of July, 1867, to the first day of July, 1868, a period of one year, there has been drawn from the City Treasury, on your requisition and certificate, the

sum of $77,883 12 for the alleged purpose of paying for repairing certain of the piers.

"Of this sum, $6,705 86 was alleged to be for lumber used in repairing the planking or sheathing of the piers, $3,181 28 for nine and ten inch iron spikes and bolts to fasten down such planking, and the balance, or $67,995 98, for workmen's labour in laying the said planking.

"The first matter of astonishment in regarding these figures is the extraordinary disproportion of material and labor.

Lumber.....

Spikes and bolts.
Workmen's wages.

$6,705 86

3,181 28

67,995 98

$77,883 12

"It thus appears that to lay one dollar's worth of planking requires eleven dollars' worth of skilled labor!"

Whether all this be true or not, we cannot take it upon us to say; but if it is, it is clear that Mr. McLean must have rather confused notions of the difference between right and wrong, however well he may understand addition, multiplication, and profit and loss. But in the document before us it is further alleged that our street commissioner employed most men when least work was to be done, and that this happened about election time.

"The records of your department show the following singular facts:

"In July, 1867, you employed fifty-four men, and they laid 30,000 feet of planking on the piers. The next month [August] you hired seventy-one men, who laid less than 11,000 feet. The month after [September] you hired 101 men, who laid less than 7,000 feet of lumber. The next month [October] you hired 154 men, who laid a little over 6,000 feet of lumber, and in November it appears you hired 213 men, who laid only 34,000 feet of planking, while in the month of July before, fifty-four men had laid 30,000 feet."

We entirely agree with the Association, that "these figures tell their own tale, and no comment on them is necessary." The only question is, Are they correct? We have no reason to think they are otherwise; although we should be very glad to see Mr. McLean prove that they are wrong, because the conduct they imply as they stand would be a disgrace, not only to the individual or individuals guilty of it, but to the city of New York. But we will extract one passage more for future refe

ence:

"This system of overcharging is found as well in the iron spikes and bolts used in repairing the piers, as in the lumber. The spikes bought by you for this purpose, to the amount of 34,279 pounds, were charged to the City and paid for on your certificate at the rate of nine (9) cents per pound, when they could be obtained at the same time for four and one half to five cents per pound.

"But it is in the contemplation of the gross overcharge that the full extent of the wrong done the City can be understood.

"The following brief statement will show it: