HE Relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the Nineteenth Century is doubtless a cumbersome title. Nevertheless, to it must be accorded the merit of expressing in the briefest possible terms the scope of one of the profoundest legal historical works that has appeared in English since Sir Henry Maine's Ancient Law. No expert in a single field could hope to deal adequately with so complicated a topic. It requires not only a broad knowledge of law during the period covered, but also of philosophy, political science, economics, and history. To all these Mr. Dicey adds a familiarity with English. literature and a simplicity of style in dealing with the most intricate topics and summarising the most extensive developments that will save his work from being relegated to the shelves of law libraries alone. In spite of the many evidences of the painstaking use of this wide equipment the author protests that his book "cannot claim to be a work of research," and insists upon calling his chapters "lectures" on the ground that they were presented in this form originally at Harvard and later at Oxford. Under the circumstances readers may perhaps be pardoned for considering these assertions two very amiable legal fictions.

To the historical portion of his work Mr. Dicey prefaces three lectures which deal with the general political theory of the relation between law and public opinion. Their suggestiveness is far wider than the field of English legislation during the nineteenth century, broad as that field unquestionably is. To this preliminary discussion all history is made to furnish tribute in the form of illustra

*Lectures on the Relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the Nineteenth Century. By A. V. Dicey. London: Macmillan and Company, Ltd. New York: The Macmillan Company.

tions, none of which are more apt or interesting than those drawn from the experience of the United States. If Mr. Dicey's contribution had consisted of nothing more than these three lectures it would still be one of the most significant that recent political science has to record. It may not be out of place here to suggest that the introductory portion of the book should be republished separately for the benefit of the larger circle of readers who might be reached in this way. Questions such as the comparative effectiveness of public opinion in France, England, and the United States; the influence of private interest upon the formation of public opinion; and the extent to which the advance of democracy explains the development of law, are obviously of too wide a scope to be employed merely as an introduction to the legal experience of a single nation during a single century. To the above should be added Mr. Dicey's admirable discussion in Lecture II. of the existence during any given time of a predominant current of legislative opinion together with the co-existence of counter and cross currents of opinion a topic taken up later (Lecture X.) and worked out in detail as regards ecclesiastical legislation and the status of married women.

Reference has been made to Mr. Dicey's peculiar ability in summarising the most extensive developments of law and opinion. An admirable instance occurs in his statement of the relations between the old Toryism of the period prior to 1830 and the new Toryism that has come up since 1865. "Ancient Toryism," he writes, "died hard. It lived long enough to leave time for the rise of a new Toryism in which democratic sentiment, deeply tinged with Socialism, blends with that faith in the paternal despotism of the State which formed part of the old Tory creed." To the latent existence of this strong counter-current of ancient Toryism must be ascribed a profound modification, manifest since

1865, of the current of Benthamite radicalism which was dominant between 1825 and 1870. Mrs. Fawcett's optimistic and oft-repeated assertion that "the Tories of this generation" [i.e., of the seventies] "are more liberal than the Liberals of 1832" is thus shown to be sadly in need of correction. Mr. Dicey characterises it as an example of "the superstition, propagated by many eminent writers, that reformers, though baffled during their lifetime by the opposition of ignorance, prejudice or selfishness, may count on their efforts being crowned with success in some subsequent age." One of John Stuart Mills's glowing phrases on a closely related topic also receives a wellmerited correction. In his essay On Liberty, Mill wrote: "The initiation of all wise or noble things comes, and must come, from individuals; generally at first from some one individual." Dicey's comment is very much to the point. "It ought surely to be added," he says, "that the origination of a new folly or of a new form of baseness comes, and must in general come, at first from individuals or from some one individual. The peculiarity of individuals, as contrasted with the crowd, lies neither in virtue nor in wickedness, but in originality." It should not be inferred from these citations that Mr. Dicey's position is that of a reactionary. On the contrary, his attitude towards the widely divergent currents of opinion with which he has to deal will be considered eminently fair by all except those who "have not arrived" or those who have arrived some centuries too soon.

Three main currents of English public opinion during the nineteenth century are distinguished by Mr. Dicey: first, the period of old Toryism or legislative qui

escence dominated by the optimism of Blackstone, Burke and Paley (1800-30); second, the period of individualism over which the genius of Bentham was supreme (1825-70); and, third, the period of collectivism, vague yet as to some of its purposes, but evidently still gaining in strength at the end of the century. To go into the details of the relation between these dominant currents of opinion and the legislation of the three periods is beyond the scope of a review article. Suffice it to say that there are very few pages which will not appeal to various classes of readers outside the legal profession. It was, of course, foreign to Mr. Dicey's purpose to discuss English literature, except as it appears either in the form of a factor or an index of the law-making opinion of a given time. Nevertheless, his casual references to Southey, Lord Shaftesbury, Dickens, Harriet Martineau and others will be found extremely interesting and illuminating. One striking but quite insignificant omission will be noted in the historical part of the book. Mr. Dicey has practically nothing to say with regard to the influence of the press in shaping public opinion. Doubtless his position is that in dealing, as he does, only with the broader changes in opinion observable through long periods of time, it is the system of the philosopher or the essays of the thinker that count for most. From this point of view, while the function of the editor may well be deemed indispensable, it may nevertheless be left without special consideration on the ground that after all it consists chiefly in giving instruction of an A-B-C sort to the great elementary class of readers.

Robert C. Brooks.

READERS' GUIDE TO BOOKS

RECEIVED

NEW YORK CITY

D. Appleton and Company:

The Reckoning. By Robert W. Chambers.

"The author's intention is to treat, in a series of four or five romances, that part of the war for independence which particularly affected the great landed families of Northern New York." This story takes up the thread of history at the point where the Long House received its first hard blow and the great Confederacy its terrible punishment. The story is said to be a wholesome, spirited love-story in which the author has taken no liberties with history. Patricia a Mother. By "Iota."

The love of a mother, and her successful struggle to win and save her boy, is the theme of this story. A romance runs through the book.

The Giants. By Mrs. Fremont Older.

The importance and value of a large newspaper in a political campaign is portrayed in this story. The plot turns on the discovery of an oil well in San Francisco and of the attempt to engulf it in "The Model Improvement Company," which attempt is frustrated by the pluck, endurance and capability of the hero. The love-story plays an important part in the novel.

Baby Bullet. By Lloyd Osbourne.

Reviewed in the Chronicle and Comment of this magazine.

The Hundred Days. By Max Pemberton.

In the Napoleonic era in the hundred days following the return from Elba the scenes of this story are laid. The principal characters are an Englishman, who has left England after having killed a young nobleman in a duel, and a French girl, who, in male attire, is acting as messenger to Napoleon, and is pursued by the hussars of the Bourbon King. The Englishman falls in love with the girl, and is kept fully employed trying to keep them both from the dangers which her fearless adventures have taken them into.

He and Hecuba. By Baroness von Hutten. Encouraged by kindly criticism by Henry James, Baroness von Hutten has lengthened a former short story. The tale is a book within a book. A rector in England, who has sinned in his youth, writes an anonymous novel and

calls it "He and Hecuba," in which he tells the story of his own downfall. The rector is obliged to renounce the book from his pulpit on account of the crusade which his bishop starts against it. His efforts to lead a good and noble life result in unhappiness for himself and family.

Time, the Comedian. By Kate Jordan.

This story is in no sense a comedy. It is a tale in which suicide and desertion form a prominent part. Just as the woman is to leave her husband and child and elope with another man, the husband is found dead, with one of the letters which his wife has written to the other man in his hand. Not wishing to marry the woman now, the other man offers to pay her a liberal annuity, which she accepts. Long years afterwards, it is the letters written to her mother which prevent the marriage between the man and the daughter, with whom he is now desperately in love.

A. S. Barnes and Company:

In the Days of Milton. By Tudor Jenks.

In this book John Milton's life "is traced upon the background of events then filling the minds of Englishmen. The greater happenings are noted as briefly as they might be borne in mind by one who, after a long life, recalls the more striking facts remaining in his memory. It is hoped that this story of Milton's personality and times will prove of use to general readers and will supplement the purely critical study of Milton's works.' The volume contains a frontispiece portrait of the poet, a brief bibliography, and a chronological table.

Uncle Sam and His Children. By Judson Wade Shaw.

An attempt "to present the advantages that our country offers its citizens, and to show that these, properly studied, place every citizen under special obligation to do what he can to secure, for his own sake no less than for the sake of others, the best interests of all concerned." The volume is well illustrated.

The Heart of a Girl. By Ruth Kimball Gardiner.

The inner story of the life of Margaret Carlin is told from her primer days to the day she graduated at the High School. It introduces the games that are known to children the world over, the circus, the theatre, dancingschool, and the little school-day ro

mances,

Brentano's:

Intentions. By Oscar Wilde.

These four essays are said to present Oscar Wilde in his gayest moods. The subjects discussed are "The Decay of Lying;" "Pen, Pencil and Poison;" "The Critic as Artist;" and "The Truth of Masks." Mr. Percival Pollard has written an introduction to the book. The frontispiece is a photogravure portrait of the author.

The Century Company:

Sabina. By Helen R. Martin.

Sabina, the heroine, comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, from among the Amish. She possesses peculiar psychical powers; a horrible face which she sees foretells family disaster. The hero is a young artist, who comes to board in Sabina's home in order to collect material for sketches. The attachment which the young people form for each other is very essential to the story. Under Rocking Skies. By L. Frank Tooker.

A sea tale, the scenes of which are laid on a vessel sailing from a northern port to the West Indies. The wife and daughter of the captain, and the village minister and a new mate, both of whom are young, are taken aboard when the ship makes her home harbour on the coast of Long Island. The two young men fall in love with the daughter, and her choice depends largely upon the courage displayed in an exciting and dangerous experience.

"In the Heights." By Richard Watson Gilder.

Nearly all the poems written by the author since 1901 are included in this volume. Music, song, anniversary festivities, etc., supply the themes of the

Queen Zixi of Ix. By L. Frank Baum. Juvenile. The author of "The Wizard of Oz" tells here about the wonderful things accomplished by the magic cloak woven by the fairies. The volume is well illustrated in colour.

G. W. Dillingham Company:

The International Spy. By Allen Upward. These memoirs of Monsieur A. V. give a thrilling story of the secret history of the Russo-Japanese War. The "spy" has the confidence of the monarchs of Europe and he turns this to good advantage. A spirit of mystery pervades the book. The author states that the tale is not authentic but that it is purely the fruit of the imagination. The illustrations are by F. X. Chamberlain.

The Abandoned Farm. By Mary J. Holmes.

Two of Mrs. Holmes's former books are here included in one volume. The title of the second story is "Connie's Mistake." A scene from "The Abandoned Farm" is the frontispiece.

Three Daughters of the Confederacy. By Cyrus Townsend Brady.

"The story of their loves and their hatreds, their joys and their sorrows, during many surprising adventures on land and sea. In his preface the author has described his characters as follows: "Two of the lovers of this trio of girls, which I have so proudly and affectionately championed in these pages, were Northern men one a sailor and the other a sort of non-combatant, but a good fellow, nevertheless. The third hero, who won the last girl, was Southern in every fibre of his being. Two of the girls loved the South with all the passionate fervour for which the Southern woman was famous; the third was but a lukewarm daughter after all." The book contains several illustrations in colour.

Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife. By Marietta Holley.

Josiah Allen's wife takes a much longer trip than usual this year. The family physician's ultimatum is that the only thing which will save the life of Thomas Josiah, Thomas J.'s boy, is that he shall take a long sea voyage, and as there is no one to take him but his grandmother, she departs from her beloved Josiah and starts on a trip around the world. Josiah goes after her, however, and just reaches the steamer in time to sail. They visit China, India, Egypt, the Holy Land, Italy, Greece, Austria, and other countries. The volume is well illustrated.

Dodd, Mead and Company:

His Version of It. By Paul Leicester Ford. A new edition in holiday attire. The marginal decorations and full-page illustrations in colour give the book a very attractive appearance.

Some Adventures of Jack and Jill. By Barbara Yechton.

Barbara Yechton, the writer of stories for children, tells the adventures of Jack and Jill in the simple and pleasant manner which characterises "We Ten," "The Story of the Roses," and her other tales. Illustrations by Anna M. Upjohn add to the interest of the book. Patty in the City. By Carolyn Wells.

The readers who became interested in "Patty at Home" may renew her acquaintance while she is "in the city." Patty and the new friends she has formed organise a club, which has as its object "to be merry and scatter merriment around the world." These girls make many sacrifices, win many battles, and have many splendid times. book contains six illustrations.

The

The Edge of Circumstance. By Edward Noble.

A sea tale in which the reader is taken on two cruises of an unfortunate ship. The story narrates the exciting adventures experienced, the trials of an inventor whose devices are to revolutionise shipping, the mutiny of the crew, and the artful designing of men. The Artist's Way of Working. By Russell Sturgis.

Mr. Sturgis addresses his "Study of the Artist's Way of Working in the Various Handicrafts and Arts of Design" to the art-loving public. It is in no sense a history of art, but is, rather, a "treatise on the ways in which the artist's conceptions are formed and take visible shape." The purpose of the work is to ask and answer the questions: "What was the artist in search of as he wrought his work of art? How did he achieve the desired result?" It describes the processes of the sculptor, the painter; the working of mechanical trades, of wrought metal, in cast metal, in glass, enamel, baked clay, textiles, with the needle; and the decoration of books, both inside and outside. There are one hundred and nineteen illustrations in the book.

Wagner and His Isolde. By Gustav Kobbé.

Wagner's romance with Mathilde Wesendonk, from whom he has drawn the character of Isolde, forms the basis of this work. The author has used only the most intimate and striking pas

sages from the large number of letters and journals, but the omissions do not seriously affect the story. The volume is well illustrated.

French Profiles. By Edmund Gosse.

A volume of critical and appreciative essays on modern French authors. The author has endeavoured in every case "to give an impression of the figure before me, which shall be in general harmony with the tradition of French criticism, but at the same time to preserve that independence which is the right of a foreign observer, and to illustrate the peculiarities of my subject by references to English poetry and prose."

Nedra.

By George Barr McCutcheon.

In "Nedra" Mr. McCutcheon has written a novel which is widely different from "Graustark" and "Beverly of Graustark." This is the story of an elopement of a young couple from Chicago, who decide to go to the Philippines by way of New York and London, travelling as brother and sister. Their difficulties commence in New York and become greatly exaggerated when they are shipwrecked in midocean. Finally the hero finds himself ⚫ stranded on the island of Nedra with another girl, whom he has rescued by mistake. The remainder of the story gives an account of their stay on the island, the finding of some of the other passengers, and the circumstances which have resulted from the strange mix-up. Cecilia's Lovers. By Amelia E. Barr.

A very good idea of the style of this story is obtained by a glance at its title. It portrays life in New York as it is seen to-day, and, as a love story, is said to possess a subtle charm.

The Resurrection of Miss Cynthia. By Florence Morse Kingsley.

Miss Cynthia's life, not her nature, is narrow, unpleasant and selfish as a result of the severity with which she had been brought up and her inflexible New England conscience. When the doctor tells her that, on account of an affection of the lungs, she has just one short year to live, she rebels against her early training and becomes deaf to the troublesome conscience, and the way she spends the year is the theme of the story. Needless to state, she lives many years instead of one.

Sunrise Acres. By Benjamin Brace.

The conditions of his uncle's will, in which he is to inherit a half-million dollars, is that the hero shall find and thrash in fair fight a man from whose hands the testator had received a thrashing years ago. The events which occur