natural mistakes which occur here and there in these pages in writing European names and in recording European matters, we quite agree that it was right to leave them, and that they add piquancy to the text. We should be sorry to part with Prince Linoge, Lord Choseby, and the gallant Admiral Fibbs Hurubi; and we are willing that Charlemagne should be credited with the brevet-rank of "Emperor of the whole of Firingistán"; but if quotations are introduced, they ought to be correct, and we think that the defeat of Crécy should not be referred to the time of a prince who had been for more than thirty years in his grave when it took place. At p. 147, the statement about the Núwáb Názim being a grandson of the renowned Típú Sáhib should have been omitted, or, at all events, corrected in a note; and as the word Sahib is correctly written, it was quite unnecessary to invite the English reader to pronounce it incorrectly, as Sá'eb. At p. 348, the reader ought not to be left in ignorance as to who Qastígar Khán is, but should be told that he is the Austrian officer, H. Gasteiger, who did such good service to us in putting up the telegraph under Col. Goldsmid. To put "hole" for "tunnel" once might have been endured as a small joke; but the incessant repetition of it throughout the book is, without an equivoque, a continuous bore.

But all this is unimportant compared with the real injury that has been done by not confiding the work to some one, like Sir Henry Rawlinson, really acquainted with the Sháh. Such a person would, we think, have availed himself of the opportunity to remove a false impression which we regret to observe has been made in some quarters, as to the want of seriousness of purpose in undertaking the journey, and the improbability of real advantages being derived from it. The Preface should have pointed out that for a Shah of Persia to leave his country in order to visit foreign courts, was not only an unprecedented event, but one that required great moral courage and most careful forethought. It is the strongest possible argument as to the moderation and popularity of the Shah's rule that he could quit his kingdom and be absent from it from the 12th of May to the 6th of September without one breath of sedition disturbing the political calm that reigned there. Elements of danger are never wanting in Muhammadan States, and the simple fact of their prince going to visit the courts of unbelievers and conforming, in some degree, to their customs, would in itself be most repugnant to the feelings of the orthodox professors of Islám. Then it must not be forgotten that, not to mention other royal princes, Abbas Mirza, the Shah's brother, who would probably have succeeded to the throne had his father, Muhammad Shah, lived, is residing on the south-western frontier of Persia, and that Bahman Mirza, the Shah's paternal uncle, a prince of great ability, great wealth, and at one time, perhaps, of ambitious views, is an exile, living not far from the north-western border. We may be quite sure that had there been any real disaffection in Persia, there would have been mutterings of a storm, if not an actual outbreak, before the Shah's return; and that there was nothing of the sort is the best possible refutation of the calumnies which have

been sometimes uttered against the Government of Persia, as against all governments. In the next place, it must not be supposed that the Shah's journey could be lightly undertaken, nor must the long and anxious preparation for it, which issued in complete success, be undervalued. First of all, the ways and means were to be provided, without incurring debt, for the Shah is one of the few princes who have avoided borrowing. The sum expended on the journey might appear small to those accustomed to the vast disbursements of European States, but it was no doubt a large one for Persia. We do not pretend to have any sufficient data for calculating the amount, but we think that, including presents and purchases, it probably exceeded 150,000l. Another anxious question which had to be solved was that of whom to take and whom to leave behind, and the care of the splendid jewels and the large sum of money the Sháh had with him, say 100,000 túmáns; besides, the jewels and cash brought by the princes and nobles were in themselves no slight matter; and it speaks well for the carefulness and integrity of the household that no such accident occurred as that which has just befallen an English nobleman, on a much shorter and easier journey. Again, we much shorter and easier journey. Again, we see proofs of the Shah's forethought in the way that he worked up to what has been one of the great designs of his life. He began by visiting all the important places in his own dominions, or on the frontier, Khúrásán, the Caspian provinces, and above all the Holy Places of the followers of 'Alí at Kerbela and Najaf. It could not be said that he postponed the claims of his own people, or of his own religion, to the allurements of the voluptuous capitals of European States. He had also to acquire some knowledge of French and of European history, and he neglected neither. He at all events knew French well enough to make a pointed reply in it, as when a noble statesman was making excuses for the smallness of his house, the Sháh said, "Petite maison, grande âme." The journey itself was well conceived and well carried out; the time was judiciously apportioned, and every effort was made to derive as much advantage as possible from the visits to the different countries. In four months the Sháh crossed the Caspian to Astrakhan, ascended the Volga, visited Moscow and St. Petersburg, crossed by rail to Berlin and Cologne, ascended by rail to Wiesbaden and Frankfort, Heidelberg, Carlsruhe and Baden, turned northward to Biberich, descended the Rhine to Bonn, took the rail to Spa, where His Majesty had the only illness he suffered during his tour, and that a brief one; went on to Brussels, crossed from Ostend to Dover, visited London, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Trentham, Manchester, Windsor, Woolwich and Richmond; crossed to Cherbourg, visited Paris, Geneva, Turin, Milan (which the Shah found hotter than Tehrán), and Verona; crossed the Brenner to Salzburg and Vienna, returned to Italy, crossed from Brindisi to Constantinople, and from Constantinople to Poti, took rail to Teflis and carriage to Bákú, and thence returned by steamer to Enzeli, the Persian port at which His Majesty had first embarked in May. During the whole of those four months the Sháh might truly have said of himself, Nulla dies sine line; and perhaps no one ever saw so much in so short a time, for few that have

the will have the same facilities, and still fewer that have the facilities have the will. From the game of bowls to the magnificent array of embattled hosts, nothing failed to interest the royal traveller. Dukes plied the labouring oar to please him; and even the gravest of assemblies executed one of its cumbrous movements to gratify his curio sity. And what has been the result of all this earnest inquiry and all this wealth of information? It would be a mistake to suppose that it is totalled up in these pages. A statement had to be made in the Tehran Gazette, the Court Circular had to be written up to date, and it was requisite to do it in a way to give offence to no one. There is, first of all, a bouquet of compliments for the Foreign States. The Emperor of Russia is majestic and stately, and the Heir Apparent is graceful; the Russian troopers are handsome, with choice and beautiful uniforms. "All passed off, in Russia, very pleasantly." The Emperor of Germany is perfect in health and strength; his great officers are very celebrated, and much spoken of; and his troops are well armed and beautifully clothed. France is "the most powerful of States." "Austria, in point of beauty and engagedness, is the queen of all lands." "The position and site of the city of Constantinople are without rivals in the world." The sovereign of Italy has similar tastes to those of the author of this book: "He told me that he held the town and palace in detestation; that he always wished to be in the hunting-grounds on the mountains." "It is some time since the death of the sovereign's royal consort, and he has not again married a royally contracted State-wife, having taken a privately wedded consort (an Anísu 'd daulah), in like way with myself." As to England, there is, in addition to other descriptive sentences, the following: "the demeanour of the English and everything of theirs is extremely well regulated and governed, and admirable. In respect to populousness, the wealth of the people, the commerce, the arts, business and dolce far niente, they are the chief of all nations." But, "after compliments," there is a word of consolation for Tehrán readers very subtilely administered. "The Gobelin tapestry is fine, but it has a defect, the sun causes the dyes of the tissues to fade; whereas the dyes of Persian carpets are not easily deteriorated by the sun.

The Alps are high, "but the Persian mountain of Damavand is considerably more lofty and more picturesque." The tour had been a pleasant one; but the Persians were all eager to get back to their native country, love for which peeps out in a way the European reader might not notice, but which will be quite satisfactory to the Tehrání.

Some comments have been passed on certain remarks which appear at pp. 155-157, with reference to the visit to Woolwich. It is thought that the Sháh really believes that "all the barracks of the entire cavalry and infantry of the realm of England" are at that place; that "the officers of the land and naval forces, as well as those of the artillery," all breakfast in a hall there, which would indeed be a "nice place" if it could contain the thousands which would, in that case, assemble there. The cannon exhibited to the Shah "had newly arrived from India, and were to return thither," and, consequently, it might be in

ferred that the forces of Great Britain were astonishingly few and her military equipment not very alarming.

The Shah is much too

shrewd to be under any such delusion. No one knows better than His Majesty what the military strength of England is, if for no other reason than simply because no one has more cause to be interested about it. "We have not seen the American navy, and, therefore, we can give no opinion about that, but, with that exception, England has the greatest naval force in the world. The English army is most excellent, but in point of numbers it is so immensely exceeded by the Russian, that, single-handed, it could have no chance against it in Asia." That, we believe, would be found to be the real view of the matter held by the Sháh; and if these pages seem to disclose a different opinion, there is no difficulty in finding the explanation.

But passing from these grave matters, and waiving all conjectures as to the purport of the serious discussions which, we may be quite sure, were held by the Shah with the ministers of the states whose capitals he visited, and more especially with our own, we must invite attention to the kindly spirit which shines throughout this volume, to the zeal for knowledge of all kinds which it exhibits, and the quiet way in which disapprobation of unbecoming things is evinced, without any unnecessary strictures on those who indulge in them. "It was a great piece of folly is the strongest expression used in the book, and that of a thing which must have been odious to an Oriental. The judgment of the

writer is one

Which oft rejects, but never once offends. The Shah's journey was, in every sense, we believe, a successful and a satisfactory one, but, as if to stamp vanitas vanitatum upon it, as upon all human undertakings, it ended disagreeably. He was about to disembark once more on the shore of his own beloved Irán. The anniversary of the Prince of Believers, 'Alí, was at hand, a Russian man-of-war had come to do him honour, and he and his staff | had donned their State uniforms:

"Well, we reached the anchorage, and the manof-war with great difficulty fired a few guns. The Tower of Enzeli and the people on the beach were all visible; but as large ships cannot go closer in, and enter into Enzeli itself, it was a matter of necessity for lighters and our own small steamyacht to come out and carry us in. With this storm that was not practicable, and we, therefore, despondingly left the deck of the steamer, where we could no longer stand upright, went into our cabin, took off our state clothes, and resigning ourselves to God's decree, sat down. The others, who had put on all their orders, in like manner threw off their finery in the midst of heavings and vomitings, casting themselves down in the first corner, from whence they had no power to move. It was now two hours to sunset, and heavy rain began to pour. The waves rose so that we could not bear to look at them, and the ship rolled to that degree that the yard-arms touched the water each way. The sea broke over the vessel, and she heaved over so fearfully that we thought she would capsize and shoot us all overboard. At each roll, the chairs, tables, and other furniture of the cabin were upset with frightful clatter; and the hull of the ship, with straining, groaned again. Little did it want for her to go to pieces. Thus with fierce rain from above, and a raging sea below, the ship became full of water; and it was impossible to walk about, by reason of her violent movements, and also because the planks were so wet that one's

feet slipped and could not retain their hold. Such is the end of our tour in Europe! To be

so near home-for our Tower of Enzeli to be within

The sea

sight, at a distance to be measured by feet, and for one to be in this condition! Should this go on for three days, we shall surely drag our anchor, and then there is no port except at Langaran! All these servants, and others who have come to Enzeli, what will they do?' Such were our thoughts; and so much bitterness did they engender that I cannot describe it. I also felt indisposed; I perspired from agitation and the heat; the wind struck to my chest and I coughed. Neither was there a chance of sleeping, by night or by day, by reason of the storm. The rain was unceasing. "Saturday, 6th September.-In the morning the storm and motion of the ship were as before, or even worse. The other ship, with the princes on board, had also come in after us, and anchored. So things went on the whole day-clouds, rain, storm. I slept about two hours. Suddenly a cry was raised that a boat had come alongside. I rose, and saw her with twelve men who had undertaken to come out and obtain tidings of us. also was a little less agitated, and we were somethe missive that had been addressed to him. In what calmed. The Mu'tamad wrote an answer to another hour, it being now dawn of the 7th September, a second boat came alongside, into which Mahdi-kuli Khán and Mírzá 'Abdu-'l-'lah cast themselves and went away. Morning broke, and other lighters came. Some more of our people got away in them. The weather was inclining to become fair, and the water of the lagoon had begun to flow into the sea. yacht came in sight, paddling out of the lagoon. At length our steamShe came near; but it was still difficult to get from one vessel to the other, as they kept her somewhat at a distance. They then brought our barge alongside, and somehow or other I got into her, pulled to the yacht, and then I was hauled on board by hand. Once on deck, I felt safe; and, immediately offering up my thanks to the Creator, whose name be glorified, arrived at Enzeli. Those who had come from Tehran were admitted to an audience; after which we went to our tower, out our hearts in thanks to God. At night there mounted to our apartments, and there again poured was a general illumination, and we slept in peace. Praise be unto God Most High!" Amen!

CHRISTMAS BOOKS.

Le Docteur Ox, Le Tour du Monde, and other
Stories. By Jules Verne. (French illustrated
edition, in one volume.)-Les Planteurs de la
Jamaïque. Par Mayne Reid.-Mon Premier
Voyage de Mer. Adapté de l'Anglais. Par Thoulet.
L'Histoire d'un Ane et de Deux Jeunes Filles.
Par P. J. Stahl. (Paris, Hetzel.)
Boons and Blessings. Stories and Sketches to illus-
trate the Advantages of Temperance. By Mrs.
S. C. Hall. Illustrated from Designs by Eminent
Artists. (Virtue, Spalding & Co.)
Good and Bad Managers: Three Stories.

By

Ellen Barlee. (Seeley, Jackson & Halliday.) The Little Lame Prince and his Travelling Cloak. By the Author of 'John Halifax, Gentleman.' Twenty-four Illustrations by J. M'L. Ralston. (Daldy, Isbister & Co.)

Floss Silverthorne; or, the Master's Little Handmaid. By Agnes Giberne. (Seeley, Jackson & Halliday.)

Fairy Gifts; or, a Wallet of Wonders. By Kath-
leen Knox. (Griffith & Farran.)
Life at Hartwell. By Katherine E. May. (Edin-
burgh, Nimmo.)

Max Wild, the Merchant's Son. (Same publisher.)
Stories told in a Fisherman's Cottage.-Three Wet
Sundays with the Book of Joshua. By Ellen
Palmer. (Same publisher.)
Christmas at Annesley. By Mary E. Shipley.
(Marcus Ward & Co.)

Cotton. By S. W.-Boys and Girls. By M. Bram-
ston.-A Month at Brighton, and what Came of
It. By Mary E. Shipley.-An Inherited Task; or,
Early Mission Life in South Africa. By Charles

H. Eden.-Riversdale. By C. E. Bowen.-The Slave-Dealer of the Coanza. By S. W. Sadler.Robin the Bold. By the Author of 'Life Underground.'-A Faithful Servant. By Jean Baptiste Cléry. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.)

Snowdrop, and other Tales.-Wild Rose. By Mrs.
Mackarness. (Routledge & Sons.)
May's Own Boy. By the Author of 'Little
Mother.' With Twenty-four Illustrations by
Frölich. (Seeley, Jackson & Halliday.)
Hope's Annual: the Day after the Holidays. With
Illustrations by Phiz, junior. (Edinburgh,

Nimmo.)

WE have selected four works from among a vast number sent us by the Maison Hetzel, all of the same character, and that excellent. Those who wish to give boys of their acquaintance an illustrated gift-book in French, cannot do better than select the first. For girls the fourth will be found well suited; and the second and third will do for either. The talented author of the letter-press of the History of a Donkey,' "M. P. J. Stahl," is, if we mistake not, M. Hetzel, the publisher himself.

Our own favourite among Mrs. S. C. Hall's 'Boons Foes." We do not know whether we prefer the Irish and Blessings' is the tale about "Pepper and her cook, Mary, with her queer, half-coaxing, half-scolding ways, or "Pepper," the faithful and ugly little beast, with a temper like pins and needles; but the two together are pleasant to read about, and the story is in Mrs. S. C. Hall's happiest vein. The other sketches are devoted to the Temperance cause. Most of them have already been published separately, but here they are collected

into a handsome volume.

Miss Ellen Barlee is known for her philanthropic and persevering efforts to improve the condition of a class compendiously called "distressed needlewomen," and any one who has ever had to deal with one of that class can understand what an amount of patience and long-suffering Miss Barlee must have had to exert! In these three stories of good and bad managers we are glad to see that she recognizes the fact that women who can sew well, need never be "distressed," and that those who work ill, only "distress" those who employ them. Good and Bad Managers' is a cheerful book, and contains a perfect mine of excellent counsel and helpful information for those who can profit by the same. It is a book good to read and good to lend, but it is not a child's book.

The Author of 'John Halifax' has seldom written a more excellent story than 'The Little Lame Prince.' It is touching, and yet it is free from her besetting fault of sentimentality. Boys and girls and grown-up people may all read it with plea sure, and there is just a touch of the supernatural in it which makes it a graceful wonder story.

'Floss Silverthorne' is a mournful but interesting tale. The author, Miss Agnes Giberne, always infuses a large proportion of the sorrows of life into all her works. On this occasion she has been rather merciful, and only one of her characters has to die; she contents herself with making Flossie Silverthorne, the little heroine, suffer so acutely that we confess to shedding tears for her, but she makes her tolerably happy at last. The story is well written, and the grief of Flossie at being separated from her brother is described with a truth and reality that will nearly break the hearts of tenderhearted young readers. Miss Giberne can write well, but we entreat her to make her stories a little less miserable. Children as well as grown persons must be prepared for troubles in this life, but a little brightness may be put into children's books without going against truth or probability. Miss Giberne seems to have a positive fear of making the people in her stories either happy or comfortable.

'Fairy Gifts; or, a Wallet of Wonders' are only modern fairy tales, which are not much to our taste, though they are readable, and little folks may not be critical; but they lack grace and beauty: the writer is self-conscious, and indulges in sarcasms and ironical observations, which never appear in the real old fairy tales.

'Life at Hartwell' is a nice little story about school life. Like many others that have been written and told, one incident seems inevitable in school-tales, that of some one stealing a book, or paper, or theme, to get a schoolfellow into trouble, or to hinder some one else gaining a prize. We wonder if it often happens in real school-life? —'Max Wild, the Merchant's Son,' is not nearly so good a story as the second tale in the same volume, Christopher's First Journey,' which is delightful. Both are translations from the German.-The 'Stories told in a Fisherman's Cottage' are rather amusing, and are well told.The Three Wet Sundays' is excellent Sunday reading, and the history of Joshua is told in a way that children will, we think, find interesting. All these works are cheap and "safe" gift-books for young people.

'Christmas at Annesley' is a pleasant, lively book, giving an account of how a party of cousins passed their holidays at a delightful countryhouse. The characters of the young people are well discriminated, and, although similar holidays have often been described before, yet there are always fresh families of young people who will be glad of the latest intelligence about a Merry Christmas.

The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge is becoming quite benignant in the character of its publications, and prints really interesting works of fiction for young people as well as more sedate and instructive books. 'Cotton' is a good account of that inestimable material, from the first seed to the finished manufactured piece of cloth or muslin, dyed or printed. The process of its cultivation, preparation, and manufacture is told in a pleasant style, the narrative being compiled from standard works with the assistance of a friend, whose name guarantees the correctness of the information given. There are anecdotes about cotton in early times, when our own ancestors wore their own skins painted and dyed. It is a very good little book of its kind.-Boys and Girls' is a pleasant story, with good illustrations. It is really a tale for children, and not a novel in disguise.-The author of 'Life Underground' seems to understand the thoughts and feelings of all the little creatures she writes about, and this "personal experience of Robin the bold" will gain much favour and many crumbs for all little out-of-door birds which may come near the door or window of the reader. It is a book which will give young people a humane and rational interest, not in birds alone, but in all small animals, and induce an intelligent observation of their habits and ways. Making children acquainted with the creatures round them will do much to check the thoughtless cruelty which is in the young more ignorance than desire to hurt, and will teach them to respect life in all its forms.'A Month at Brighton' is a pretty story, natural and pleasant. Young readers will be interested to know "what came of it."-Riversdale' is an entertaining little book, being the gossiping recollections of one "of the oldest inhabitants." It would be an acceptable gift-book, and it is prettily illustrated.-"An Inherited Task' is a story of early mission life in South Africa. The missionary characters are fictitious, but all that concerns Chaka, the Hottentot chief, and the manners, customs, and descriptions of the country, are drawn from authentic sources. It is an interesting book, and full of adventure.-'A Faithful Servant' is a translation of the Journal kept by Cléry of what took place in the Temple during the captivity of Louis the Sixteenth. The captivity of the royal family of France is as pitiful as any among all the "strange stories of the death of kings," and there are some that are "wondrous pitiful."-"The Slave - Dealer of the Coanza' is a good, stirring, well-written story, full of adventures and dangers and narrow escapes, such as boys delight to read about. This shilling series of the Society's books is both cheap and good, and very suitable for gifts and rewards.

Mrs. Mackarness has written a series of graceful and pleasant stories, each of which bears the name

of some flower, which is suggestive of the qualities illustrated by the tale. It is a pretty, fanciful idea, and Mrs. Mackarness, who loves both flowers and children, has succeeded well in her task. We are glad to say that they are really simple and pleasant stories for young people, full of good and sound teaching. They are free from precocious sentiment, and they show that stories may be interesting without containing

a word about love or lovers.

Both the letter-press and the illustrations of 'May's Own Boy are delightful; both little Johnny and his sister May are charming. Grownup people who may buy the book will feel tempted to keep it for themselves. The illustrations are exquisitely graceful, and the story is worthy of them.

Mr. Hope understands what boys like to talk about. This 'Day after the Holidays' is a companion to 'The Day before the Holidays,' published last year; but, on the whole, the stories in the present volume are much the best. They are full of fun and boyish spirits, and the masters as well as the boys must enjoy reading them.

OUR LIBRARY TABLE.

UNDER the title of English Men of Science, Mr. Francis Galton has compiled rather an interesting book out of some statistics he has got together. We knew before that a scientific man of eminence usually possesses a good deal of energy and independence of character; but Mr. Galton may fairly claim to have shown that these qualities have been in most cases conspicuous in one or both the parents. Why when selecting families in which talent seems to have been hereditary, did Mr. Galton omit the Hares? Mr. Galton's publishers are Messrs. Macmillan.

MR. DIXON has written a pleasant enough essay on The Jacobite Episode in Scottish History. There is nothing particularly new in it, but it is agreeable reading. The author is a strong.anti-Jacobite, and although he has striven to be fair, he has not always been just. Prince Charles Edward should hardly have been so severely blamed for insisting on the march to Derby. It was, no doubt, a hazardous movement, but it was his only chance. By the way, Mr. Dixon seems to suppose Wordsworth was the "Sunday Bard." Is "Sepulchral Grahame" wholly forgotten even in Scotland, although he sang the Sabbath? Messrs. Menzies & Co., of Edinburgh, are Mr. Dixon's publishers.

ANOTHER book on a Scotch subject is sent us by Messrs. Daldy, Isbister & Co., Lewsiana. This is a collection, with some additions, of sundry articles contributed by the author, Mr. W. Anderson Smith, to the Glasgow Herald. They are neither better nor worse than such articles usually are; but now that Mr. Black has made many people feel an interest in the Hebrides who had previously hardly heard the name of Lewes, the book may find readers.

-

-

The Young Brahmin's Story, by A. Glardon (Edinburgh, Oliphant),-Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales, translated by Mrs. H. B. Paull (Warne),-A Boy Kingdom, by the Author of Under the Lime Trees' (Seeley), Grimm's Fairy Tales, translated by Mrs. H. B. Paull (Warne),-The Doom of Mac Diarmid, by J. Widdup (Dublin, Webb),-Earl Hakon the Mighty, by Oehlenschläger, translated by F. C. Lascelles (Chapman & Hall), -The Book of Sacred Song (Seeley-Sacred Lyrics, by H Lockwood (Kerby & Endean),-Phosphoros, the Star of the Morning, by Lieut. Col. W. A Baker (Macintosh), Aids to the Study of German Theology (Edinburgh, Clark), The Nuraber Six Hundred and Sixty-Six and the Name of Antichrist (Guest), Sancta Cana; or, the Holy Supper, by Rev. A. Clissold, M.A. (Longmans), The Shadowed Home, and the Light Beyond, by E. H. Bickersteth (Low),—and Chimes of Consecration (Seeley). Among New Editions we have A French Grammar at Sight, on an entirely New Method, by A. D'Oursy and A. Feillet (Baker),—Elements of Animal Physiology, by J. Angell (Collins),-An Historical and Statis tical Account of New South Wales, by J. D. Lang, D.D., A.M., 2 vols. (Low),-The Modern House holder, compiled by Ross Murray (Warne), — What Katy Did at Home and at School, by S. Coolidge (Warne),-A Very Young Couple, by the Author of Mrs. Jerningham's Journal' (Ward)-The Billow and the Rock, by H. Martineau Pout ledge),-The Arabian Nights Entertainments, edited by the Rev. G. F. Townsend, M.A. (Warne), -Gulliver's Travels, by J. Swift, edited by P. Pindar, jun. (Routledge),-Tales of a Wayside Inn, by H. W. Longfellow (Routledge)-Poems by Edgar Allan Poe (Routledge),-and Communion between Heaven and Earth, by the Rev. J. Cumming, D.D. (Kerby & Endean). Also the following Pamphlets: A Plea for Livy, by T. H. Dyer, LL.D. (Bell & Daldy), French Accent, by A. H. Keane, B.A. (Asher), The Lay of the Lat Minstrel, Cantos I. and II. (Collins),-Comus, by J. Milton (Collins),—Commercial Shorthand, by G. H. Wills (Stock),-The Vatican Decrees and Catholic Allegiance, by a Monk of St. Augustine's, Ramsgate (Burns & Oates),- Who was the Author of the of the Pilgrim's Progress'? by W. Winters (Davis),-Idols of Society, by Mrs. W. Grey (Ridgway), and A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of Meath, by S. Butcher, D.D. (Dublin, Hodges & Foster).

LIST OF NEW BOOKS. Theology.

Clissold's (Rev. A.) Sancta Cona, cr. 8vo. 2 cl.
Christian's Penny Magazine, Vol. 1874, 12mo. 16 cl.
Christian Treasury, Vol. 1874, royal 8vo. 6,6 cl.
Dupanloup's The Child, translated by K. Anderson, 36 cl
Dyke's (J. O.) From Jerusalem to Antioch, cr. 8vo. 76 d.
Family Worship Book, 4to. 24/ cl.
Feuchtersleben's Dietetics of the Soul, edited by Col. H. A
Ouvry, 2nd edit. 12mo. 2,6 cl.

Finlayson's (T. C.) Divine Gentleness, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl.
Godet's Biblical Studies, the Old Testament, translated and
edited by W. H. and E. Lyttelton, 12mo. 6/ cl.
Golden Censer, Part 3, 18mo. 2/ cl.
Gospel Missionary Magazine, Vol. 1874, 12mo. 1/el
Gospel by John, a Metrical Rendering, by G. Y. Tickle, 26 cl.
Gould's (Rev. L. B.) Lost and Hostile Gospels, cr. Svo. 7.6 d
Lloyd's (Rev. J.) Analysis of the Book of Ecclesiastes, 76 d
Mearn's (P.) Christian Truth Viewed in Relation to Ply
mouthism, 18mo. 2/cl.

Mission Field, Vol. 1874, 8vo. 3 cl.
Pictorial Missionary News, Vol. 1874, folio, 26 swd.
Preacher's Lantern, Vol. 4, 8vo. 7,6 cl.
Reynolds's (H. R.) John the Baptist, 8vo. 12 cl
Simpson's (J.) Claims of Church of England on National
Support, 8vo. 2/ swd.
Sunday Scholar's Companion, Vol. 1874, fcap. 4to. 2 bds.

Sword and Trowel, Vol. 1874, 8vo. 5 cl.

Fine Art. Keble's Christian Year, with 40 Illuminated Miniatures, 16 Vanity Fair Album, Vol. 6, folio, 63, cl

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disquisition touching the claims of the Waldenses, or Vaudois, to antiquity, orthodoxy, &c., all of which are indubitably established in his imagination. A single extract must suffice to exhibit him as he soars in the realms of fancy, contemptuously indifferent to the fruits of modern research on the subject. Writing of the Waldenses, Dr. Wylie, then, says :-' "There is a singular concurrence of evidence in favour of their high antiquity. Their traditions invariably point to an unbroken descent from the earliest times, as regards their religious belief. The Nobla Leyçon,' which dates from the year 1100, goes to prove that the Waldenses of Piedmont did not owe their rise to Peter Waldo of Lyons, who did not appear till the latter half of that century (1160). The Nobla Leyçon,' though a poem, is in reality a confession of faith, and could have been composed only after some considerable study of the system of Christianity, in How contradistinction to the errors of Rome. could a Church have arisen with such a document in her hands? Or how could these herdsmen and vine-dressers, shut up in their mountains, have detected the errors against which they bore testimony, and found their way to the truths of which they made open confession in times of darkness like these? If we grant that their religious beliefs were the heritage of former ages, handed down from an evangelical ancestry, all is plain; but if we maintain that they were the discovery of the men of those days, we assert what approaches almost to a miracle. Their greatest enemies, Claude Seyssel of Turin (1517), and Reynerius the Jesuit (1250), have admitted their antiquity, and stigmatized them as 'the most dangerous of all heretics, because the most ancient.'

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A STRANGE "HISTORY."

Kilburn, Dec. 8, 1874.

It is no longer commonly supposed to be ex

pedient (even if it be considered necessary), in the interests of a class or a creed, to deny the plainest facts of history. To you, rather more, perhaps, than to any other representative of modern independent criticism, are we indebted for this healthy sign of the times. Exceptional cases do, however, still arise in which historical compilers boldly defy the critics, and put forth as sober truth what has been again and again exploded as pure romance or popular superstition. Pray allow me to submit such a case for the judgment of your readers.

literature, which it may be charitably concluded our author has not. In the first place, the Waldensian MSS., the very title-deeds upon which the claims of his heroes to orthodoxy as well as antiquity are founded, are proved by the late lamented Prof. Todd, of Trinity College, Dublin, Mr. Henry Bradshawe, Librarian of the University of Cambridge, and others, to be at least 300 years less ancient than the modern Vaudois pretend. The oldest Waldensian writings extant are those at Cambridge, and their dates are fixed by that of 'La Nobla Ley çon.' Dr. Wylie will be surprised to learn,-what must be familiar to every reader of the Athenæum,-that this poem, upon which he and congenial writers have erected a gigantic superstructure of romance, is proved, beyond a shadow of doubt, to have been wilfully falsified (by an erasure), with a view to substantiate, by means of forgery, what is in itself a fiction (vide Antiquarian Society's Transactions, Cambridge, May 10, 1862). Nay, more, the authorities of the University-to their honour be it told-caused the pious fraud to be photographed, for the benefit of a posterity curious in such matters, and it has since been published to the world as a very pretty frontispiece to the valuable collection of Waldensian documents compiled by the Rev. Dr. Melia, only three years ago (Toovey, Piccadilly). So much for the high antiquity and orthodoxy of Dr. Wylie's "claimants."

It

Messrs. Cassell & Co., to whom the rising gene- The reverend gentleman's surprise will scarcely ration are indebted for so many cheap as well as be diminished by learning also that Claude Seyssel useful books, are now engaged in publishing, in and Reinerius Sacchus, instead of testifying in parts, a History of Protestantism,' from the pen favour of the antiquity of the Waldenses, testified of the Rev. Dr. Wylie. It is well printed and against it, as an absurdity and a fable (vide profusely illustrated, but in every other respect Hahn, ii. p. 25, and S. R. Maitland, passim). it is at once painfully and even elaborately is almost cruel to disabuse his mind further, but defective. It would be difficult to determine as a matter of fact (which may be gleaned from the precise creed of Christendom of which Dr. any old almanack), Reinerius, who is described by Wylie might be deemed the upholder, but it is Maclaine as "a bloody inquisitor," and is no less safe to affirm, that if Part I. of his work fur- than three times dubbed "a Jesuit" by Dr. Wylie, nishes a fair specimen of his powers as the date (1250) being on every occasion carefully accurate compiler, "Historicus" himself, or some affixed to his name in parenthesis, lest there should equally great champion of "our common Christ- be any doubt about it, but who was really a Domiianity," should lose no time in obtaining an injunc-nican friar, flourished just two centuries and a half tion in Chancery to restrain further publication. before Ignatius Loyola, the first founder of the Jesuits, was even born. Is not this "popular education" with a vengeance?

an

The reverend gentleman has devoted the greater part of the first instalment of his work to a laboured

It were to be wished that Dr. Wylie's numerous misstatements, of which the foregoing constitute only the merest selection, were all equally the result of ignorance or carelessness. There is, however, unfortunately, a method and deliberation about his references, especially as regards that veracious historian Leger, of infamous memory, which almost provoke one to adopt a less charitable conclusion. What can be the object of inditing such a work in these days,—a work which, when it has been finished, may, with perfect propriety, be dedicated to Mr. Whalley? Is it written with a view to reviving the miserable enmities and hatreds which, alas! too long divided different classes of Englishmen, but are now, happily, dying out amongst us? If so, it is a Christian duty to expose its absurd pretensions as an authentic record of the past, and I appeal to the editor of the Athenæum, than whom no one has done so much to discourage literary effrontery, for the opportunity to effect such exposure, if only in the interests of historical truth. J. A. Fox.

IMPROBABILITIES.

I TRUST you will permit me, as an act of justice, to return the following replies to the questions of your reviewer in the notice of my book, 'The Autobiography of a Man-o'-War's Bell,' which, I may observe, was written six years ago. As a mere of a novel, as you designate the work. boy's story, I never claimed for it the pretensions

(1.) I can find nowhere throughout the book any description of the mode of fitting shell-rooms in frigates in 1758; indeed, so far as I am able to discover, only on p. 40 does the word "shellroom" occur. (2.) During a hot chase in old times, sails, even from royals down, have frequently been kept wetted by canvas buckets rove through "whips" rigged aloft and served by hands in the tops and cross-trees. (3.) The illustration on p. 75, or any of the others, were never seen by me until after the tale was published, so that I am guiltless of their inaccuracies. (4.) The foremast of the Melpomene went by the head, where the strain of the topmast is greatest, as has frequently happened in action, and not below the foreyard, as the reviewer takes for granted, though I did not specify the spot where it carried away. (5.) "Foremast and waist guns" is an obvious printer's error for "foremost and waist guns," and, on reference, I find it so appears in my MSS. (6.) Your "the foretop-men of the Melpomene, taking advanreviewer regards as "absurdly improbable" that tage of the foreyard of their ship becoming locked in that of the enemy, ran along the yard like cats." This, however, actually happened in the case of the capture of the United States frigate, Chesapeake, by the Shannon. In Capt. Broke's despatch of that memorable action (see Brighten's 'Life of Admiral Sir P. Broke,' p. 189) occurs the following passage :-" Mr. Smith, midshipman, who commanded in the foretop, stormed the enemy's foretop, and destroyed all the Americans remaining in it." (7.) The incident of a mate and a midshipman more than a century ago, in the days of Benbow and Boscawen, fighting a duel with swords on the forecastle of a ship, where the foresail and the darkness of night would screen them from view, is not a whit more improbable than many that appear in Marryat's novels.

C. R. Low,

**Mr. Low complains of our criticism on his 'Man-o'-War's Bell,' and yet admits the inconsistencies we pointed out. He allows that shellrooms are mentioned, of a period when shells were no part of a gunner's stores; that the illustration of a frigate with two rows of ports is in the book and is inaccurate; and that foremast is a printer's error. We do not remember that in "James," or any other historian of our naval wars, a mast shot away at the head is described as the mast shot away, and a foremast shot away takes the foreyard with it, so that it is impossible for men to pass from yard to yard. We know it has been done with the masts standing. Whether any incident in Marryat's novels is more improbable