rise of more liberal ideas. Its author had been a preacher and pastor of intellectual distinction and of intense piety for twentyfour years at Northampton, Massachusetts, when his objection to permitting persons not full church-members to receive the communion and have their children baptized, led to his retirement, and acceptance of a missionary position at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Near the

middle of his seven years thus spent, he wrote his book 'On the Freedom of the Will, not so much with reference to the philosophical question, as with reference to the question between Calvinism of the extreme type and more liberal views. The philosophical doctrine set forth in the book, that the law of causality extends to every action; that there is in the mind no power of willing without a motive; that the will always follows the greatest seem

it was lasting; and it was translated into Greek, Hebrew, German, French, and Anglo-Saxon, at an early period. The Anglo-Saxon version was by Alfred the Great; and is the oldest monument of any importance in Anglo-Saxon literature. It has been imitated by Chaucer in the 'Testament of Love,' by James I. of Scotland in the Kinges Quhair,' and by many other distinguished writers. In some sort, it connects the period of classic literature with that of the Middle Ages, of which Boëthius was one of the favorite authors; and in classic purity of style and elevation of thought, is fully equal to the works of the philosophers of Greece and Rome, while, at the same time, it shows the influence of Christian ideals. "It is," says Gibbon, "a golden volume, not unworthy of the leisure of Plato or Tully."

mind depends upon the character of the person, or, in the religious phraseology of the book, upon the state of the person's soul; and that liberty only extends to a power of doing not of willing,- had been the Greek doctrine in Aristotle and his predecessors. The book on human freedom reflected its author, both in its doctrine and in its thoroughly benevolent and pious intent.

Co

Consolations of Philosophy, The, by Boëthius. This work called in Latin De Consolatione Philosophica› — was written in prison just before the author was put to death in 525 by Theodoric, whose favorite minister he had been before his incarceration. It is divided into five books; and has for its object to prove

from reason the existence of Providence. A woman of lofty mien appears to the prisoner, and tells him she is his guardian, Philosophy, come to console him in his misfortunes and point out their remedy. Then ensues a dialogue in which are discussed all the questions that have troubled humanity: the origin of evil, God's omniscience, man's free will, etc. The Consolations are alternately in prose and verse; a method afterwards adopted by many authors in imitation of Boëthius, who was himself influenced by a work of Marcianus Capella entitled 'De Nuptiis Philologiæ et Mercurii. Most of the verses are suggested by passages in Seneca, then the greatest moral authority in the West, outside of Christianity. The success of the work was as immense as

gends of Japan, by Edward Greey, 1883. This book is filled in part with legends of the bouzu (priest) and hanashika (professional story-teller), and in part with descriptions of the life of the modern Japanese. The legends

are

gracefully introduced by informal narration of the circumstances which invite their recital. They have been chosen to show their native charm, and to illustrate phases of national character; some of them coming down from a long obliterated past, and losing, in the journey, nothing of their native attractiveness. Colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions are allowed their place as philological forms of great significance. Mr. Greey's original descriptions are characterized by buoyancy, humor, and grace.

Faery Queen, The, a metrical romance

by Edmund Spenser, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, was published in 1590. The poet was already known by his 'Shepherd's Calendar,' but the appearance of the first three books of the 'Faery Queen' brought him fame. The last three books appeared in 1595-96, and celebrated many people of Spenser's day. For instance, Queen Elizabeth is Mercilla; Mary Stuart, Duessa; Henry IV. of France, Burbon; Charles IX. of France, Pollente; and Sir Walter Raleigh, Timias. The poem is an allegory, founded on the manners and customs of chivalry, with the aim of portraying a perfect knight. Spenser planned twelve books, treating of the twelve moral virtues; but only six are now in existence. These are: The Legend of the Red Cross

Knight, typifying holiness; The Legend of Sir Guyon, temperance; The Legend of Britomartis, chastity; The Legend of Cambel and Friamond, friendship; The Legend of Artegall, justice; and The Legend of Sir Calidore, courtesy. To these is sometimes added a fragment on Mutability.

"In the Faery Queen," Spenser says, "I mean Glory in my general intention; but, in my particular, I conceive the most excellent and glorious person of our Sovereign the Queen and her Kingdom in Faery Land." He supposes that the Faery Queen held a superb feast, lasting twelve days, on each of which a complaint was presented. To redress these twelve injuries twelve knights sally forth; and during his adventures, each knight proves himself the hero of some particular virtue. Besides these twelve knights there is one general hero, Prince Arthur, who represents magnificence. In every book he appears; and his aim is to discover and win Gloriana, or glory. The characters are numerous, being drawn from classic mythology, mediæval romance, and the poet's fancy. The scene is usually the wood where dragons are killed, where knights wander and meet with adventures of all kinds, where magicians attempt their evil spells, and where all wrongs are vanquished. Each canto is filled with incidents and short narratives; among the most beautiful of which are Una with the Lion; and Britomartis's vision of the Mask of Cupid in the enchanted castle. The 'Faery Queen' has always been admired by poets; and it was on the advice of a poet, Sir Walter Raleigh, that Spenser published the great work.

Fiction, History of the, by John Dunlop.

(1814.) This familiar work, the fruit of many years' accumulation of materials, broke ground in a new field. It was the first attempt made in England to trace the development of the novel from its earliest beginnings in Greece to the position it held early in this century. Considering the difficulties of the pioneer, the work is remarkably comprehensive and exact. Though later writers have disproved certain of the author's theories, as for instance his idea of the rise of the Greek novel, or the connection of the Gesta Romanorum with subsequent outgrowths of popular tales, his book still remains a good introduction for the student of fiction. The sections upon Oriental and modern fiction are least satisfactory,

as the best are sketches on the romances of chivalry and the Italian novelists. His facts are massed in a workmanlike manner, and presented in a clear style, devoid of ornament, but used with vigor and effectiveness.

Essays, Modern and Classical, by

F. W. H. Myers. (Two volumes, 1883.) These studies reveal a pure literary taste, refined and strengthened by sound scholarship. Every essay is enriched with resources of knowledge outside its own immediate scope. The spiritual in poetry or in art appeals strongly to the author. His essay on Virgil, full of acute observations as it is, dwells most fondly on the poet's supreme elegance, tenderness, and stateliness, and on the haunting music with which his verse is surcharged. «Much of Rossetti's art," he says, "in speech and color, spends itself in the effort to communicate the incommunicable, »—and it is his own love for, and comprehension of, the incommunicable that leads the essayist to choose many of his subjects: Marcus Aurelius, The Greek Oracles, George Sand, Victor Hugo, The Religion of Beauty, George Eliot, and Renan-"that subtlest of seekers after God." Penetrative, luminous, and fascinating, the essays of Mr. Myers show also an exquisite appreciation of beauty and the balance of a rare scholar.

Dickens, The Life of Charles, by

John Forster. (3 vols., 1872-74.) This book of many defects has the excellence of being entertaining. It follows the life of its subject from his birth in poverty and obscurity in 1812, to his death in riches and fame in 1870. It extenuates nothing, because the biographer was incapable of seeing a foible, much more a fault, in the character and conduct of the friend whom he admired even more than he loved him. The poverty and sensitiveness of the lad, his menial work and his sense of responsibility for his elders, his thirst for knowledge and for the graces of life, his training to be a reporter, his experience on a newspaper, his early sketches, his first success in 'Pickwick, his sudden reputation and prosperity, his first visit to America and his disillusionment, the history of his novels, of his readings, of his friendships, of his home life, of his second triumphant journey in the United States,-this time to read from his own books,- his whimsical and

The

fun-loving nature, his agreeableness as a father, a comrade, and a host, his generosity, his respect for his profession, the sum of the qualities that made him both by temperament and performance a great actor,-all these things are fully set forth in the elaborate tribute which the biographer pays to his friend. books are interesting because the mass of material is interesting. But it must be admitted that they give an exaggerated impression of one side of the character of Dickens,- his energetic, restless, insatiable activity,—and fail to do justice to his less self-conscious and more lovable qualities. They are, however, to be reckoned among the important literary biographies of the time.

Cesar

esar Birotteau, The Greatness and Decline of, by Honoré de Balzac. This novel pictures in a striking and accurate manner the bourgeois life of Paris at the time of the Restoration. César Birotteau, a native of the provinces, comes to the city in his youth, works his way up until he becomes the proprietor of a perfumery establishment, and amasses a considerable fortune. He is decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor, in consequence of having been an ardent Loyalist; and this mark of distinction, coupled with his financial success, causes him to become more and more ambitious. He grows extravagant, indulges in speculation, and loses everything. This stroke of misfortune brings out the strength of character which, during his prosperity, had remained concealed beneath many petty foibles. In this story the life of the French shopkeeper who values his credit as his dearest possession, and his failure as practically death, is faithfully portrayed. The other characters in the book are

lifelike portraits. Constance, the faithful and sensible wife of Birotteau, and his gentle daughter Césarine, are in pleasing contrast to many of the women Balzac has painted. Du Tillet, the unscrupulous clerk, who repays his master's kindness by hatred and dishonesty; Roquin the notary; Vauquelin the great chemist; and Pillerault, uncle of Constance, are all striking individualities. The book is free from any objectionable atmosphere, and is exceedingly realistic as to manners and customs. It has been admirably translated into English by Katharine Prescott Wormeley.

Gold

Elizabeth

old Elsie, by E. Marlitt. Faber, the Gold Elsie of the story, so called from her sunny hair, is the datighter of a forest clerk, whose ances try is at first wrapped in doubt, but who, in the course of the story, is explained to be a lineal descendant of the noble family of Von Greswits. Leaving Berlin on account of poverty, the family retire to a ruined castle called Nordeck, in the Thuringian Mountains, an inheritance left to Gold Elsie's mother by its late owner, a distant relative whose hand she had refused. Through her wonderful musical talent, Elsie becomes acquainted with the family at Castle Lindhof, the aristocracy of the neighborhood; and there is played out the usual love story, with its misunderstandings, reconciliations, and final happy ending. The hero is Rudolph von Walde, the owner of the castle, while the villain is Émile Hollfeid. The nobility of virtue and the nobility of birth are strongly contrasted in this story; while the "simple faith" which is more than "Norman blood” is given its due meed of praise.

Only

a Girl, by Wilhelmine von Hil lern. (1865.) This book is the romance of a soul; the agonies, the sickness unto death, and the recovery, of a noble mind. Ernestine von Hartwich, embittered by the fact that she is "only a girl," a shortcoming which has caused her father's hate and mother's death, determines to equal a man in achievement,-in scientific attainments and in mental usefulness,- that her sex shall no longer be made to her a reproach and even a crime. This desire is taken advantage of by an unscrupulous uncle who will profit by her death. Secluding her from the world, he attempts to undermine her health by feeding her feverish ambitions. Her mind is developed at the expense of every human feeling, every womanly instinct, and every religious emotion. She is shunned by women, envied and humiliated by men, regarded by her servants and the neighboring peasantry as a witch. It is through the door of love, opened for her by Johannes Mollner, that she finally leaves the wilderness of false aims, unnatural ambitions, and unsatisfactory results, to enjoy for the first time the charm of womanhood, human companionship, and belief in God. The story is overloaded with didacticism; its logic

fails, inasmuch as the poor girl is an involuntary martyr; and its exaggeration and sentimentality do not appeal to the English reader. But the book is a great favorite in Germany, where it has been considered a powerful argument against what is called the higher education of

women.

Friend Fritz (L'Ami Fritz'), by the

collaborating French authors Erckmann-Chatrian, was published in 1876. It is a charming Alsatian story of the middle nineteenth century, in which the hero is Fritz, a comfortable burgher with money enough to indulge his liking for good eating and drinking, and a stout defender of bachelorhood. He is a kindly, jovial, simple-natured fellow, with broad, merry face and a big laugh. His dear friend David, an old rabbi, is always urging him to marry; but the rich widows of the town set their caps for him in vain. At dinner one day Fritz wagers David his favorite vineyard that he will never take a wife. David wins, for the invulnerable bachelor succumbs to the charms of Suzel, the pretty sixteenyear-old daughter of his farm-manager. Fritz learns that "he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.» Old David deeds the vineyard he has won to Suzel for her dowry, and dances at her wedding. The tale is a sweet idyl of provincial and country life, full of pleasing folk and pleasant scenes, described with loving fidelity. Friend Fritz' was dramatized and was very successful as a play.

File No. 118, by Émile Gaboriau, a

French novel, introducing the author's favorite detective, M. Lecoq, appeared in 1867. The scene is laid in the Paris of the day; and the title indicates the case file number in the records of the detective bureau.

The story opens with the public details of a daring robbery which has been committed in the banking-house of M. Fauvel. Suspicion points to Prosper Bertomy, the head cashier. The deep mysteries of the case are fathomed by Fanferlot, a shrewd detective, and Lecoq, his superior in both skill and position. Lecoq figures as a French Sherlock Holmes, though his methods are essentially different. He is pictured as possessing surpassing insight, intelligence, and patient determination; employing the

most impenetrable disguises for the pursuit of his inquiries.

The dénouement, gradually unfolded toward the close of the story, shows Prosper to have been the innocent victim of a plot. Madame Fauvel has had, before her marriage to the banker, an illegitimate son by the Marquis de Clameran, an arrant rogue who poses throughout as the benefactor of the Fauvels. De Clameran has caused Raoul de Lagors to personate this son (who is really dead). Raoul is introduced in Fauvel's home as Madame's nephew, though she believes him to be her son.

After frightening her into revealing the secrets of the bank-safe, Raoul commits the robbery. Her lips are sealed by her fear that her early life will become known to her husband. De Clameran plays upon these fears to force Madame Fauvel to induce Madeleine, her niece, to marry him. Madeleine consents in order to save her aunt, though she is really in love with Prosper.

The plot is at last discovered; Raoul escapes, De Clameran becomes insane, Madame Fauvel is forgiven, and Prosper marries Madeleine.

French Humorists, The, by Walter

Besant. (1873.) Succeeding the author's admirable work on early French poetry, the present volume is for that reason somewhat incomplete, omitting even Clément Marot; and Voltaire, for other reasons no less valid.

After introducing the trouvère and chanson of mediæval times, the author takes up representative humorists (the designation is a broad one) from each century from the twelfth to our own. The studies present admirable pictures of the authors' life-conditions and the literary atmosphere they breathed. Accompanying these discriminating and delightfully original studies are translations of pieces to show the character and genius of the authors treated. There are in all about twenty-five writers to whom large treatment is given, prominent among them Rabelais, Montaigne, Scarron, La Fontaine, Boileau, Molière, Beaumarchais, and Béranger. There follow a number of exhaustive and learned inquiries into such famous productions as the 'Romance of the Rose' and 'La Satyre Ménippée, not to mention the historical, critical, and interpretative notices of the authors' famous books. Rich

In anecdote, historical allusion, and condensed learning, the volume becomes in some sense a history of the rise of literature in France, contributing the while to our own tongue a distinctly valuable treatise, exhaustive but not tedious; erudite, but not heavy; sparkling, but not effervescent.

Sir Richard F. Burton, Life of, by

his wife. One of the most romantic figures of the nineteenth century was Sir Richard Burton. He was of mixed Irish, Scotch, English, French, and possibly Arabian and Gipsy blood; he claimed his descent direct from Louis XIV. of France; he published upwards of eighty bulky volumes, including translations of the Arabian Nights' and the 'Lusiad' of Camoens; he began the study of Latin when he was three, and Greek when he was four, and knew twenty-nine languages; he was the pioneer discoverer of Darkest Africa, and his adventures took him into all parts of the world. Out of such lives myths are made. In 1887, Francis Hitchman, aided by Isabel, Lady Burton, of whose character and ability he speaks in the highest terms, published an account of Burton's private and public life, including his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and both North and South America. After Sir Richard's death, his wife published in 1893, also in two octavo volumes, with many portraits and other illustrations, a voluminous Life,' in which she argues with passionate insistance that she, and she alone, is fitted to give a truthful and complete account of his wonderful career and his unique personality. "There are three people in the world," she says, "who might possibly be able to write sections of his life. Most of his intimate friends are dead, but still there are a few left.» She insists that she was the one person who for more than thirty years knew him best. Daily, for all that time, she "cheered him in hunger and toil, attended to his comforts, watched his going out and coming in, had his slippers, dressing-gown, and pipe ready for him every evening, copied and worked for him, rode and walked at his side, through hunger, thirst, cold, and burning heat, with hardships and privations and danger. Why," she adds, "I was wife and mother, and comrade and secretary, and aide-de-camp and agent for him;

and I was proud, happy, and glad to do it all, and never tired, day or night, for thirty years. . . At the moment of his death, I had done all I could for the body, and then I tried to follow his soul. I am following, and I shall reach it before long." Lady Isabel belonged to a Roman Catholic family, and her relatives, like his, were opposed to the mar riage, which took place by special dispensation in 1861, At the time of his death, Lady Burton startled society by declaring that he had joined "the true Church.» She says: "One would describe him as a deist, one as an ag nostic, and one as an atheist and freethinker, but I can only describe the Richard that I knew. I, his wife, who lived with him day and night for thirty years, believed him to be half-Sufi, half Catholic, or I prefer to say, as nearer the truth, alternately Sufi and Catholic.>> A little later she aroused much indig. nant criticism by burning Sir Richard's translation of The Scented Garden, Men's Hearts to Gladden,' by the Arabic poet, the Shaykh al Nafzâwi. She justifies her action with elaborate argument, and declares that two projected volumes, to be entitled 'The Labors and Wisdom of Richard Burton,' will be a better monument to his fame than the unchaste and improper work that she destroyed.

Her alleged misrepresentations are corrected in a small volume entitled

The True Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton,' by his niece, Georgiana M. Stisted, who uses the severest terms in her portrayal of the character of the woman whom her uncle married, as she declares, in haste and secrecy, and with effects so disastrous to his happiness and advantage.

Still another contribution to the topic is found in two thick volumes called The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton,' which is the story of her life, told in part by herself and in part by W. H. Wilkins, whose special mission it is to correct the slanderous misrepresentations of the author of The True Life.' Whether as romance or reality, the story of this gifted couple, with all their faults, is a delightful contribution to the literature of biography.

Oceana; or, England and her Colo

nies, by James Anthony Froude (1886.) This is the record of a journey