Condescension in Foreigners. The remaining ten essays are chiefly literary reviews and critiques, exhaustive studies, graceful, and enriched on every page with his brilliant humor and scholarly erudition, of subjects like Carlyle, Thoreau, Swinburne's Tragedies, Chaucer, Emerson as a Lecturer, Pope, the famous one on Abraham Lincoln, and the charming paper on a Library of Old Authors, besides several others. Among My Books consists of eleven matchless papers, six in the first volume and five in the second. Besides the essays on Witchcraft and on New England Two Centuries Ago, there are the ones on Dryden, Shakespeare Once More, Lessing, Rousseau and the Sentimentalists, Dante, Spenser, Wordsworth, Milton and Keats. A study of these volumes, so keen yet sympathetic, so thorough yet delightfully entertaining, such models of literary method, spirit and style, is almost as good as a course in literature at most colleges. An acquaintance with Lowell constitutes a strong claim to literary culture.

RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS.

We have on our table three specimen volumes of Messrs. Ginn & Co.'s College Series of Greek Authors, edited by Profs. J. W. White of Harvard and Thos. D. Seymour of Yale. The volumes are an "Introduction to the Language and Verse of Homer" (12 mo. pp. 104. Price, 50 cts. by mail.); a text-edition of Euripides' Bacchantes" (12 mo. pp. 64, 22 cts. by mail.), and Plato's "Apology of Socrates and Crito,' with historical and critical Introduction, Appendix on Athenian Courts of Law, the Greek text and full notes, besides a brief account of the various MSS. and editions of Plato (12 mo. pp. 204, $1 by mail). The volumes are bound in paper, but at a slightly advanced price can also be had in cloth binding, which is always far preferable. The object of the series is to furnish editions of the Greek classics that shall embody, in text and comment, the best results of the latest philological research. The notes are judicious, paper and typography most excellent, as indeed nearly all the books of this firm are. We heartily commend the Series.

The same house have sent us also Wentworth & Reed's First Steps in Number, a Primary Arithmetic (Pupil's edition, 12 mo. pp. 158, price by mail, 85 cts; teacher's edition, 12 mo. pp. 474, by mail, $1). We have already had occasion to refer to the excellent qualities of the series to which these volumes belong. They are based on rational principles, clearly arranged, constructive in method, and very practical in application In the hands of the live teacher these First Steps in Number ought to help materially in making arithmetic less of a bugbear and more of a pleasure in our primary schools. The Grammar School Arithmetic (12 mo. pp. 372, price by mail, 85 cts.) belongs to the same series, and is based on the same general principles and plan, but designed for pupils already somewhat advanced in numbers, and capable of a moderate power of independent thought. It avoids as much as possible the learning of set rules and formulas, and gives abundant practice in the solution of examples and problems. A valuable feature are the

chapters on the Metric System and on Mensuration.

E. L. Kellogg & Co., of New York, send us their Reception Day, No. 4 (16mo. paper, pp. 156, price, 25 cts.). Its recitations and declamations are wisely selected, chiefly from the writings and speeches of standard authors and orators. Its dialogues are fresh and sprightly, and free from objectionable sentiments, expressions, or allusions. What will, however, most commend the book to our schools is its special class exercises for Christmas, Arbor Day, Thanksgiving, tree planting, Washington's birthday, and for the close of school. The book is well worth examining by our teachers. Tommy's First Speaker, published by W. H. Harrison, Jr., Chicago, is designed only "for little boys and girls," and is "Edited by Tommy Himself" (12mo. pp. 160, price, 50 cts.) It can be heartily commended to primary and even secondary schools. There is enough in it to find something suitable for any boy or girl. THE GREAT POETS AS RELIGIOUS TEACHERS. By New York:

John H. Morrison. 16mo. pp. 200.
Harper & Bros. Price $1.

This earnest and thoughtful little volume will be found helpful and invigorating by every one who will read it. The author correctly holds that "the great purpose of life in training and educating men and women, is to call out what is noblest and best in them; to inspire them with high aims; to enlarge and purify their minds by familiarity with the grandest thoughts and lives; and especially to exercise their highest faculties by the truest and largest conceptions of nature, man, and God. The great poets, seers, prophets, who have been the vanguard in the progress of the race, and who, by lifting men up to a higher consciousness of what they ought to be, have kept them moving forward towards a higher ideal, must always hold the highest place in every well-organized and healthful condition of society." This is the key-note to the eight graceful essays that make up the book. Their purpose is not to give an exhaustive exposition of the subject; but only to indicate, as it were, how the study of the great masters of imagination feeds the spirit of man with food finer, more elusive, yet fully as important as any that is furnished by the sciences and philosophy. The chapters on Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe, are exquisite fragments of the highest, truest kind of literary study We commend the little volume, so tastefully printed, proportioned, and bound, to every admirer of the true, the good, and the beautiful.We need more works conceived and executed in just the spirit and noble purpose of this one." ne.) HISTORY OF FRENCH LITERATURE, By Henri Van Laun. Three Vols. in one, complete. 8vo. Pp. 392. 342, 467. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Price $3.50.

Last month we called attention to what we consider the most satisfactory history of English literature. The handsome book before us is the best, and indeed the only complete history of French literature in our language. As the English translator of Taine's history, Prof. Van Laun is of course almost imbued with the great Frenchman's literary theories. He believes that "the history of a literature is the history of a people;" not only is a knowledge of the latter essential to a proper understanding of the former, but vice versa also. This principle is never for a moment lost sight of; hence the chief excellence of the work be

fore us. In Vol. I. French Literature is considered from its origin to the Renaissance. The origin of the nation and its language, their history and modifications during the feudal ages, the troubadours, early epics, chronicles, miracle plays, etc., are all graphically described and their influence clearly traced. Then came the Renaissance and its influence. In Vol. II. we are brought down to the age of Louis XIV. In Vol. III. through the Revolution, the Restoration, to the end of Louis Philippe's reign. It is needless to say that the work is written in a most entertaining style from beginning to end. It succeeds admirably in showing the true character, quality, and rank of every French author of any note, his relation to his times, and his influence on the future.) Abundant specimens of each author's work are given, and each one is treated not only historically but also critically. The work is worthy to rank with Taine's or Welsh's English Literature, or with Scherer's German. No public or teachers' library ought to be without a reliable history of the literature which counts among its writers such names as Corneille, D'Aubigné, Descartes, Moliere, Racine, Rousseau, Voltaire, Guizot, Hugo, Balzac, and others nearly as eminent in the world of thought and letters; and there is none better than Van Laun's.

A WONDER-BOOK FOR GIRLS AND BOYS. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Parts I and II. 16mo.

low's Dante, and others, he writes with all the ease and skill of an authority on purely literary topics. He has contributed also to geology, comparative mythology, philology and paleontology, essays of marked value to those sciences. In fact, whatever he writes on he illumines. American Political Ideas consists of three lectures, first delivered in London. No clearer exposition can be found anywhere than in them, of the fundamental ideas of American politics. Their origin and development, their strength and weakness, and their "manifest destiny," are shown in a masterly manner. They cannot but be invaluable to the student and teacher of American history. In The Unseen World, Prof. Fiske, besides the essays already mentioned, treats of the Unseen World of Realities, the To-morrow of Death, the Jesus of History, the Christ of Dogma, A Word about Miracles, and similar vital questions, all from the standpoint of Evolution-never, however, otherwise than in a reverent spirit. The volume is one of the most important and interesting of all his works, particularly as it contains the first outlines and earliest germs, as it were, of a more elaborate work on Christianity which he has promised to write, and which will be awaited with much interest and curiosity. Even where one does not agree with him, he is instructive, suggestive, edifying a writer who cannot be ignored. THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION; or The Princi

These are Nos. 17 and 18 of the Riverside Literature Series, of whose general characteristics and excellence we have several times made mention in noticing the sixteen preceding numbers. Fairy tales and wonder stories cannot be made by any one man. They must grow from the imagination and experience of generations. If they could be made, Hawthorne above all others would certainly have been the man to do it, as is shown by the exquisite stories of his Wonder-Book--the Gorgon's Head, the Golden Touch, the Paradise of Children, the Three Golden Apples, the Miraculous Pitcher, and the Chimæra. They come nearer to the charm of the genuine folklore growth than any other attempt of the kind. For the purpose in view in this Series, they are better than any mere folk-lore would be. For they are as good specimens of pure, graceful, almost perfect literary style as are to be had anywhere.) For literary classes and clubs, we know of nothing more desirable than this whole Riverside Literature Series. AMERICAN POLITICAL IDEAS, Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History. By John Fiske. 12mo., pp. 158. New York: Harper & Bros. Price $1.

THE UNSEEN WORLD AND OTHER ESSAYS. By John Fiske. 12mo., gilt top, pp. 349. Boston: Houghtou, Mifflin & Co. Price, $2.

The versatility of Prof. Fiske is not the least striking of his qualities. Acknowledged as the clearest and most thorough exponent of the philosophy of evolution in this country, he at the same time displays a degree of theological erudition that would do credit to any professor of theology. In American Political Ideas, and in the essays in The Unseen World, on Historical Difficulties, The Famine of 1770 in Bengal, Spain and the Netherlands, Athenian and American Life, he proves himself possessed not only of a marvellous familiarity with historical facts, but as well of certain gifts that would make him one of the most perfect historians, in the true sense of the word. Again, in the essays on Nathan the Wise, Longfel

an Introduction by E. E. Sheib, A. M. 12mo. PP. 331. New York: E. L. Kellogg & Co. (This is one of the best works on pedagogics of the many that are extant. It is divided into five parts: I. On Method as Applied to Education, with a sketch of the history of educational methods; II. On the Cultivation of the Intellectual and Moral Faculties, many parts of which need modification and correction in view of the progress made in psychology within the thirty years since Prof. Tate first wrote his work; III. On the Comparative Advantages of Different Methods and Systems of Instruction; IV. On the Application of Different Systems and Methods to the various Branches of Elementary Education, i. e. to History, Reading, Spelling, Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography, Drawing, Writing, etc.; and V. On School Organization and Discipline, which, though also needing considerable modification for schools under our system and in these times, is yet a most suggestive part of the work. The book deserves a place in every Teachers' Library, and will well repay earnest study.

THOSE DREADFUL MOUSE BOYS. for Young and Old. By Ariel. Illustrations by Francis Perry. 262. Boston: Ginn & Co.

A Double Story With Original Squ. 12mo. Pp.

We fail to see the humor or the purpose in this book. Yet peradventure with some study and thought we might see the latter. But we are sure that few young folks would ever "see the point" of the satire which is all that justifies the production of the volume in so tasteful a style, on such excellent paper, and in such clear, beautiful type. There is no question but that the "Mouse Boys" will amuse children; the pictures are funny enough for that. But we are much mistaken if mere amusement was what "Ariel" intended. She aimed at something more and higher than to arouse a laugh. And this, we are sorry to say, is what we fear she failed in. There is nothing in the presentment of the pranks, adventures, naughtiness and sorrows of the " Mouse Boys," that will stir the thoughts or touch the heart and conscience of the average human boy or girl.

ON

NE hears of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle in all sorts of unexpected places. What is it? Can an old hack, used to condensation, tell in twenty-five hundred words? Let us try.

1. It is based on a plan of home-reading in regular system. At this moment it consists of about one hundred thousand readers, more or less, who are reading in the system proposed. Most of these are in America, some are in Japan, and the rest are elsewhere, in Europe, Asia, Africa, the islands of the ccean, or tossed upon the sea in ships.

2. The reading is selected and arranged for men and women, not boys and girls. The average age of the readers in the Circle is probably above thirty-five years.

3. The course of reading is in the English language.

4. It is arranged for four years,--supposing at the least, say, five hours' reading a week. But it is so elastic, above this minimum, that a member of the Circle receives instructions and suggestions for a much wider range; and in fact, I think, most members read much more than five hours a week within the broad directions of the course.

5. It follows, to a certain extent, the outlines of an old-fashioned college course, omitting the mathematics entirely. Where it is followed with the supplementary reading, it gives a student much such a general knowledge of literature, physical and moral science, and mental philosophy, as in an oldfashioned college the average student re

No. 9.

ceived. But it makes no attempt to give the knowledge of ancient or foreign languages which he receives, or that of mathematics.

At this point the professors in old-fashioned colleges hold up their hands in horror, give the magazine to the poor, and go out to make original researches on the Pro-paroxytone. Let them. You and I, dear reader, will advance calmly and make some calculations.

The college student spends half his time at lectures or in the recitation room. The reader in the C. L. S. C. cannot spend any of his time so. The average college student spends half his time in study of Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Hebrew. The reader in the C. L. S. C. cannot study either of these languages, in its course. Of the remaining time of study, the average college student gives, say, onethird to mathematics. There are no mathematics in the Chautauquan course.

Now, suppose the average college student takes forty-eight hours a week for study, lectures, and recitations. One-half of this, in study, will be twenty-four hours; one-half of this, on languages, will be twelve hours. Deduct one-third of the remaining twelve hours for mathematics, and you leave him eight hours a week's reading of literature, physical and moral science, mental philosophy, and social economy. It is in these studies only that "Chautauqua" undertakes. to lead its circle of readers. Those readers

who take ten hours only a week, pass the average of study of the average college student in those lines.

The Chautauquan student reads when he can, where he can. He works without the advantages of the presence of a teacher, and without its disadvantages. He works without the advantages of studying two or three languages at once, and without its disadvantages.

He forms the habit of daily reading on system, the habit which probably does more for the happiness of the man who forms it than any other indoor habit which could be formed. Fortunately, too, he can read outdoors very often.

Of the hundred thousand readers in the "Circle," also, every one is reading because he wants to. This is much more than I could say of my average college students, regarding whom, indeed, I have now nothing more to say.

But,

It will, of course, happen that if in any neighborhood several people are reading at one time in the system of the "Circle," they will find each other out, they will meet together, in more or less form, as a local circle, for mutual help, or for the pleasure or stimulus of society. When you see in your local newspaper the announcement of a "Chautauqua meeting," it is probably that of some such local circle. But there is no need of a "local circle." There is many a "Chautauquan" who reads quite alone, with no other knowledge of other Chautauquans than he gains from the monthly journal in which he receives his instructions. undoubtedly, the spirit of the local circles helps forward the interest of the readers, and is a good feature of the plan. It is a very good thing to have the best people of the same village all interested in the same thing in some one winter, and to have that same thing something better than personal politics. To have young men and women, old men and old ladies, middle-aged men and middle-aged wives of theirs, interested at one and the same time in Browning's poems, hunting up the things alluded to, guessing the conundrums, puzzling over the suggestions, and wondering at the mysteries, -this is a great improvement on leaving them to wonder why the Simpkinses shut up their house and did not leave Mary Morgan in it, as they did last year.

It is very interesting to see, when you give the diplomas to those who have gone through the course, how they really represent "all sorts and conditions of men." Of a class of twelve or fifteen hundred, who have been

reading for four years, I gave the certificates of study to about one hundred. Twice, in this company, I came on a father and daughter who had studied together. Many of them were men and women older than I am; that is to say, born before General Grant was born. The whole class has representatives in almost every State, and would include people of almost every occupation. All that it needs to belong is the disposition, a decent preliminary common-school education, eight dollars a year for books and fees, and the command of five hours a week or more of one's time. This is to say in general, that the course is open to any one.

It is ten years since the great series of plans for public education known as the Chautauqua plans" were fairly started. Many men of many minds have contributed suggestions which have been embodied in them.

But it is always to be remembered that the founder of the Chautauqua Summer Meetings was Mr. Lewis Miller, of Akron, Ohio, a distinguished inventor, for years devoted to the cause of popular education. He saw the possibility of making use of the admirable machinery which had given dignity to the old Camp-Meeting of America, so that on the beautiful camp-meeting ground at Chautauqua a summer school for Sunday-school workers, with lectures on every variety_of useful learning, might be established. For ten years and more these summer schools, with lectures and entertainments almost innumerable, have been carried on at that charming watering-place. These have been under the charge of the Rev. Dr. John H. Vincent, who is the originator of the C. L. S. C., a man of marvellous power of organization, and, best of all, of hearty sympathy with the American people,—a people whom he understands, perhaps, as well as any living man. Neither Mr. Miller nor Dr. Vincent, nor any of the friends who worked with them, was satisfied even with the large constituency which meets once a year at Chautauqua. They saw that it was possible to use the post-office and the press, to carry to every home no small part of the advantages which young people receive who go from home to college. Out of this possibility have grown the varied plans known as the Chautauquan plans.

Of course, when they began, the difficulty of selecting books for such study at home was very great. There is a good story told of the amazement felt by Harper Brothers when they received from this unknown "Circle" its order for five hundred copies