fear or favor, and it presages anything but a dark future." "It is one of the most interesting studies that has been published in recent years," in the opinion of the Louisville Post," and is especially valuable to those who have not the time or the requisite knowledge for research into these vital matters." A second edition was quickly called for.

Four Nature Books

The four books described below are published just in time for the nature lover's use this summer, and should not be overlooked in preparing for a vacation in the fields and woods. Ralph Hoffmann's GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK is considered by the New York Globe "the most helpful bird manual that has yet been published for amateurs who live within the territory de

scribed. Mr. Hoffmann makes better use than any writer has previously done of the principle of elimination, the means of identification upon which the beginner with the field glass most often finds himself obliged to rely. A cleverly arranged list in the appendix enables one to subtract at once from his possibilities the birds that do not occur in his locality. The illustrations include full-page plates by the accomplished bird artist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and nearly one hundred cuts in the text." Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller praises Mr. Hoffmann for making a point of the appearance of the bird in the field. "I have often wished," she writes, "that the descriptions in the books pictured the bird as we see him, not as he looks in a museum skin. There are certain striking features in many birds which the amateur always sees first but which he seeks in vain in most book descriptions. I think that Mr. Hoffmann has caught the sounds of the notes and common calls of the birds better than any writer I know. Besides this, he notes many little tricks of manner which no other writer that I know has mentioned or probably

LEAST FLYCATCHER

Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller, herself, has a new book entitled WITH THE BIRDS IN MAINE, which is described by Town and Country as "charming in its sweet, fresh atmosphere of out-of-doors, and quite as delightful as one might expect from this charming naturalist." "While Mrs. Miller loves the birds," says The Christian Advocate, "she does not gush over them. While she finds in them individual traits, she does not endow them with all and more than the human qualities. Anyone who intends to visit Maine this summer should have this delightful book of introduction to the birds to be found there."

AN ISLAND GARDEN by Celia Thaxter, a pioneer garden book for several years unobtainable, has just appeared in a new inexpensive edition. From her childhood Mrs. Thaxter had a garden at her home on the Isles of Shoals whose beauty was the marvel of all who saw it. "In this volume," says

The Outlook, "Mrs. Thaxter gives an account of that lovely bit of ground which for many years yielded its best returns to her loving care. It is a sort of garden idyl, notable for its thorough knowledge of flowers and seasons and birds, and also for its very charming sentiment inspired by garden life." The Boston Herald suggests that “ women who delight in flower gardens will here derive a great many ideas as to the way in which flowers are to be grown and cared for. The book breathes the atmosphere of intense devotion and of poetic enthusiasm." "Few books," as the Boston Transcript observes, are like this one of Mrs. Thaxter's, an inspiration, a help and a guide. It deserves wide circulation in its new and popular edition."

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The increasing number of nature-lovers who are turning their attention to the ferns will be glad of Helen Eastman's guide to NEW ENGLAND FERNS, AND THEIR ALLIES, a book that will give them in compact form all that is necessary to enable them to identify their specimens. It contains brief and untechnical descriptions of all the common ferns and some of the rare ones, and points out the distinguishing features of species that are similar in appearance. The illustrations, of which there are nearly fifty, are from direct prints of specimens on photographic paper and are consequently of natural size and absolutely accurate. It is believed that they will prove more helpful to beginners than any series of fern pictures that has heretofore appeared. There are also tables listing the species fruiting in each month of the season and showing what species may be looked for in each particular kind of soil and environment. It will be ready early in June.

Essays for the Day

Dr. Theodore T. Munger's ESSAYS FOR THE DAY is described by the New York Tribune as "a collection of six papers, in which ethical ideas are blended with thoughts on literary topics. The author writes as a lover of books who reads them no less for their bearing upon life than for their purely literary qualities." "In his new volume," the Pittsburg Dispatch points out that "Dr. Munger takes a broad and liberal view of matters religious. He is not disheartened by the multiplicity of Christian denominations, but finds sectarian lines conducive to harmony." "No writer," says the Christian Work, "is better gifted with the art of making serious subjects interesting than the pastor emeritus of the United Church, New Haven. The fine literary flavor of his writings is interpenetrated with a devoutness which is at once lofty and practical."

"Some Genuine Poetry"

The New York Times says editorially: "The new volume of William Vaughn Moody called THE FIRE-BRINGER justifies the opinion of Mr. William Morton Payne that its author is one of our two foremost poets, in that its aim is commendably high and its execution of well-sustained force. Our reviewer, a good judge of poetry, finds that in blank verse Mr. Moody reaches an extraordinarily high level, and that one of his rhymed lyrics is worthy to stand with the best religious poetry of the age." The Boston Transcript finds "the power and charm of this poem are manifest in every portion of it. The daring and the hopefulness of Prometheus is the prevailing theme. Of the many Prometheus poems, this is one of the sincerest and most masterful studies, and one that shall take high rank in our litera

ture for its elevated theme and its poetic strength and beauty." "It can be fairly claimed," says the Indianapolis Journal, "that in Mr. Moody America has one of the foremost classic dramatists, one whose distinguished accomplishment in verse will assure the lasting high regard of critics of literature." The New York Mail considers that "Mr. Moody reveals himself in this poem an American poet seriously to be reckoned with; it demonstrates in its purely technical excellence his undivided allegiance to his art. It proves that poetry is not dead nor ailing." "For its elevation of thought and distinction of treatment," the Baltimore News believes that "Mr. Moody's work is one which must be given place very near the top of recent poetry." The London Academy praises it as being "work of remarkable distinction, with a classical breadth and amplitude of diction. The power of the entire poem is unfaltering. Not for a long time have we encountered a faculty so rich and authentic as that displayed in this lyric drama."

Hamlet and Others

An interesting collection of literary essays just published is THE VIEWS ABOUT HAMLET AND OTHER ESSAYS by Albert H. Tolman, assistant professor of English literature at the University of Chicago. In the opinion of the New York Times, "Mr. Tolman's contributions to the vast mass of Shakespearean commentary and criticism are marked by good sense, fine taste, insight, and a wide and intimate acquaintance with the literature of the subject. Besides essays on various problems and difficulties in Shakespeare, he has given in this volume various other literary and philological discussions that will interest the lay reader with a liking for such matters." "Mr. Tolman is an ardent investigator," says the Boston Transcript, “ and even the student who is satiated with discussions of Hamlet will find something new in this essay."

"The American Switzerland”

The history of NEW HAMPSHIRE by Frank B. Sanborn is characterized by the Manchester Union as 66 a book which should be read by every one interested in the history and future of the Granite State." The Providence Fournal points out that “Mr. Sanborn has given the reader with a sense of humor rather a treat in the narration of the Puritan period. Throughout he has told the story briskly and well. Few state historians view their subjects so broadly as has this writer." "His greatest charm," says the Boston Advertiser, "is his pungent criticism of men and customs, in which his welldemonstrated ability to find the odd and interesting fact is not infrequently apparent."

Napoleon

Of the first two volumes of Colonel Theodore A. Dodge's military history of NAPOLEON the Brooklyn Eagle says: "His histories of the various campaigns and battles are full, vivid, and intelligible professionally accurate, but never shrouded in technical obscurities. This important work will at once take a position of its own in Napoleonic literature as well as in that of military technique." "The work is splendidly arranged for the general reader," remarks the New York Mail. "Needless to say that these volumes contain a mass of valuable information of far wider than merely professional interest."

For reading on the deck of an ocean liner or on a shady piazza, on the rocks by the sea or under the trees of the country-side, not every book will do. It must be one of the rare books of enjoyment. In "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" Mrs. Wiggin has given us just such a book-laughable, lovable, in every sense delightful. Those who have not already read it will do well to put it first on their summer list. Hildegarde Hawthorne's "A Country Interlude," which tells of a summer on the Hudson; Margaret Sherwood's "Daphne," an idyllic love story of an American girl in Italy; and C. Hanford Henderson's "John Percyfield," a romance of Switzerland, all belong to the literature of delight. George S. Wasson's stories of Maine deep-sea fishermen, "Cap'n Simeon's Store," are full of the salt of the sea and have been highly praised by Mark Twain and W. D. Howells. Lafcadio Hearn's new book "Kwaidan" leaves the reader with a singular fascination for the Old Japan, which is rapidly giving way to the new. Baroness von Hutten's musical romance "Violett" has proved very popular this Spring and continues among the best selling books. Three other entertaining books on widely varying lines are "Jewel" a Christian Science story by Clara Louise Burnham, "The Log of a Cowboy" by Andy Adams, and "A Sea Turn and Other Matters" by Thomas Bailey Aldrich.

For light reading outside of fiction Samuel T. Pickard's new literary guide, "Whittier-Land," will interest all lovers of the Quaker poet who are within visiting distance of Amesbury and Haverhill. The graceful wit of Samuel M. Crothers in his essays entitled "The Gentle Reader " has led to a demand that has necessitated six printings. Bradford Torrey's latest essays, "The Clerk of the Woods," follow the life of the birds and flowers throughout the year. In "The Land of Little Rain" Mary Austin brings the nature lover to Southern California, a section never before covered in this way. Any one who has been, or hopes to go, to central Italy will be glad to read "Hill Towns of Italy" by Egerton R. Williams, Jr., with its excellent pictures from photographs.

For those who desire more serious reading along the lines of biography, history, and general literature the following titles of new and recent books may prove suggestive: "Francis Parkman" by Henry D. Sedgwick, "William H. Prescott" by Rollo Ogden, "Memoirs of Henry Villard," "Napoleon" by Theodore A. Dodge, "New Hampshire" by Frank B. Sanborn, "English and Scottish Popular Ballads" in the convenient Cambridge. Edition, "American Diplomacy in the Orient" by John W. Foster, "American History and its Geographic Conditions" by Ellen C. Semple, and "American Tariff Controversies in the 19th Century" by Edward Stanwood. [ 10 ]