2. Williams College-chartered 1793. This institution takes its name from Ephraim Williams, who fell in the old French war of 1755, and left his fortune for the establishment of a "free school in the township west of Fort Massachusetts, commonly called West Township; " provided it should be incorporated into a town with the name of Williamstown.

Number of professorships, 10; number of students, 182; of whom there are seniors, 47; juniors, 51; sophomores, 44; freshmen, 40; and of the whole number 47 are from Massachusetts. The necessary annual expenses of the student vary from $143 to $190. The study of Astronomy is accompanied by practical illustrations in the Observatory, and by instructions in the use of instruments, among which are a Transit Instrument, and a powerful refracting telescope, equatorily mounted and moved by clockwork. Volumes in the library, 20,000.

3. Amherst College-chartered 1821. The property of this College, above the buildings and land on which they stand, is funded as follows: For the support of professorships, $80,000; for scholarships and prizes, $25,000; charity fund, $60,000. Total $165,000. On the last-named foundation about fifty students, who are preparing for the ministry, receive tuition, room-rent, etc., nearly free. The number of professorships is 11, among which is a "Professorship of Hygiene and Physical Education," the design of which is "to teach the students, both theoretically and practically, the Laws of Health. This daily physical training is a part of the regular College course. The Professor is an educated physician, and has not only a general oversight of the health of the College, but the students have the privilege of consulting him without charge."

The number of students is 202; seniors, 30; juniors, 58; sophomores, 64; freshmen, 50; of whom nearly one-half are from other States, and only two from Boston. Necessary expenses of the student estimated at $150 to $180 annually. The aid rendered to beneficiaries and indigent young men preparing for the ministry varies from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars the year. Twenty-four prizes are awarded, varying from ten to sixty dollars, including one of $40 for the best comprehension of Butler's Analogy;" and one of $60 "to the candidate who passes the best examination for admission to the freshman class;" and one of $60 to the member or members of the senior class who, at the close

of the College course, "have made the most of their time, talents, and opportunities in. developing and improving their whole character, physically, intellectually, socially, and morally, as students and gentlemen." A sensible condition. The College library contains 20,000 volumes, and the Society collections some 6,000.

4. Tufts College-chartered 1852. The property of this flour. ishing institution in lands, buildings, etc., is valued at $160,000; productive funds, in the form of notes, mortgages, etc., $130,000. Funds, secured in various ways, not productive at present, more than $100,000. Total, $400,000. Number of professorships, 5. Whole number of students, 49,-7 seniors, 15 juniors, 9 sophomores, 15 freshmen, and 3 in the philosophical course. Of these 19 are from Massachusetts, and three only from Boston.

Of the graduates, 19 have entered the ministry. Fifty of those who have been connected with the College are or have been in the army, considerably more than one-half the entire number of graduates.

The Faculty have established a philosophical course of study, of three years, on the completion of which the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy will be conferred. It differs from the full College course, in omitting the Latin and Greek languages, and including more of mathematics as applied to civil engineering, and of chemistry as applied to agriculture and the arts.

In accordance with a requisition of the State, three scholarships have been established. The income of each-fifty dollars is awarded to meritorious students needing assistance. A fund of a thousand dollars has been donated to the College, the income of which is loaned to students who desire assistance in this manner, When repaid, these sums

in sums not exceeding thirty dollars.

will be added to the fund. These awards are made by the Board of Trustees, on the recommendation of the Faculty.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

1. Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile. By John Hanning Speke, Captain H. M. Indian Army. With Map and Portraits and numerous Illustrations. New York: Harper & Brothers. pp. 590. 8vo. $3.50.

THE publishers deserve the hearty thanks of the reading public for reproducing this interesting work in so readable a form, and at a price which will enable the thousands to place it in their home libraries. It is impossible within our narrow limits to do justice to the extent and value of the information it contains; to say nothing of its fascinating story of personal adventure, and its numerous descriptions of the character, politics, manners, and customs of the tribes of Equatorial Africa. Some of the people to whom the author introduces us are quite remarkable characters, as the king and queen of Uganda, not to mention the leading personages of their court.

But it is the solid and important information imparted by Captain Speke, after all, that constitutes the chief charm of the book. The fact that for five degrees on either side of the equator there is a magnificent plateau, at an elevation of some three thousand feet, blessed with a rich and fertile soil, abundant in productions, and favored with a temperate and delightful climate, a region which seems almost to beg for occupation, culture, and civilization, and to promise success to any well-ordered colonization, to any attempt to enlighten, Christianize, and civilize the continent,this is the fact which gives importance to the expedition of Captain Speke; and challenges for his volume the attention of every friend of Africa and of the long-neglected negro race.

In addition to all these subjects of interest, it settles the longmooted question of the source of the Nile, the problem which has exercised the world for more than two thousand years. And it is easy to see from the map that the inland sea in which it rises, when it is covered with steamboats and sailing craft, and becomes the highway of commerce and trade, must exert a very marked influence on the future of this interesting region.

2. Patriotism, and other Papers. By Thomas Starr King. With a Biographical Sketch, by Hon. Richard Frothingham. Boston: Tompkins & Co. pp. 359. $1.50.

The papers which make this volume were contributed to Universalist periodicals, during the period of Mr. King's connection

with our denomination; and they embrace some of the very best things that have ever come from his pen. It is not needful to eulogize the author, or to commend his productions. His fame as a writer and speaker are as wide as the continent; and the beauty of his Christian life and the glory of his patriotic career in California are alike the inheritance of the church and the country.

We well remember the glow of delight with which we read the paper on "Plato's Views of Immortality," when it first appeared in the "Universalist Quarterly," and the laudatory letter we wrote him, and then burned, lest it might unduly excite a self-esteem, which now we know he never cherished. The talk by certain persons, assuming the special guardianship of Mr. King's reputation, about the great wrong done to him by the publication of these "immature productions of his youth," is simply absurd. Several of them were written about the time he prepared his lecture on Goethe; of which President Walker is reported to have said, "It is not remarkable that so young a man could write such an essay, but that any man could."

3. Industrial Biography: Iron-makers and Tool-makers. By Samuel Smiles, author of "Self-Help," etc. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. pp. 410. $1.25.

This volume will prove a welcome gift to thousands of deserving mechanics, who will find their inventive ingenuity, their patient study and courage under difficulties fully appreciated, as well as the immense benefits which, as a class, they have conferred on the world. It shows especially how much iron and iron-workers have done to help on the civilization of mankind; and how much more we owe to iron than to gold the manifold comforts and blessings of the life we are living to-day. Although recently published, nearly 20,000 copies of the English edition have been sold.

4. Counsel and Comfort spoken from a City Pulpit. By the "Country Parson." Boston: Ticknor & Fields. pp. 311. $1.50.

We took up this book anticipating much pleasure from its perusal; but we have been sadly disappointed. The "Recreations of a Country Parson," the Essays in the "Atlantic," were fresh, instructive, charming; but these sermons differ in nothing from thousands of others written from the Orthodox point of view.

The volume is gotten up very neatly, the publishers having done more for it than the author.

5. The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus. Translated by George Long. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. pp. 310. $1.25.

We give this translation hearty welcome; for we confess the Greek of Antoninus beyond our reading as an enjoyment. We

have desired to be more familiar with the philosophical emperor's "Thoughts" on the grave and interesting subjects he discusses, and we gratefully acknowledge our obligations to the translator and publishers for the pleasure and information afforded by this little book. The relation of the emperor to important events in the early Christian Church gives it a peculiar interest for the student in ecclesiastical history. It was during his time that Justin Martyr's first Apology was written; and Tatian's Oration against the Greeks, or, substantially, against the popular Paganism; and it was to Marcus Antoninus that the Apology, or Defence of the Christians, by Athenagoras, was addressed; as was also that of Melito, Bishop of Sardis, and that of Apollinarius. It was in his reign that Polycarp suffered martyrdom, and the Christians were fiercely persecuted at Smyrna, Lyons, and other places. The famous legend of the "Thundering Legion" belongs also to this reign; the supposed miracle on which it is founded having happened in the campaign against the Quadi, A. D. 174.

But the chief interest of the book lies in giving us the "Thoughts" of one of the best minds of antiquity on the great moral problems which still agitate the minds of men. It is as interesting as it is curious to see how the imperial philosopher meets the questions. concerning a divine Providence, the existence of evil, death, and the future life. Having surveyed the field of his labors, the reader will be in a better condition to appreciate the revelations of the Gospel, and the debt he owes to Him who is "the Way, the Life, and the Truth."

6. Life of William Hickling Prescott. By George Ticknor. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. pp. 458, 12mo. $2.00.

This book will be eagerly read by youthful aspirants after literary honors; and they will discover from it that it is only by a judicious selection of subjects, and by much study, laborious investigation of authorities and original sources of information, carefully sifting, digesting, and arranging; by writing and rewriting, pruning, finishing, and elaborating the style; by reviewing, correcting, and patiently waiting before publishing, that an author can secure a permanent reputation. In addition to these lessons, this life of Mr. Prescott will show how possible it is for a resolute will to overcome the most formidable obstacles blocking the path to success, always a valuable lesson to those beginning life.

The book will furnish most profitable and delightful reading toall classes; and its interest and instruction will be greatly increased by the correspondence so largely distributed through the volume, embracing not only Mr. Prescott's letters, but others. from Bancroft, Everett, Irving, Humboldt, Macaulay, Lyell, Hallam, etc. It is a pleasant thing to see how such celebrities think