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tion to these selcetions is that there is no unified basis of selection. Some of the essays deal with educational ideals that are remote from any practical bearing, some relate to educational reform, some to institutional organisation, and some to methods of teaching. As a matter of fact, any volume of this size is inadequate for the presentation of any one of these phases of educational literature, and consequently no good conception of any one of them can be given. The title would seem to indicate that it was an exposition of educational ideals that was to be presented through these essays; but selections from the Capitularies of Charlemagne or the Ratio Studiorum of the Jesuits do not give the conception of education held at the respective periods, though selections could have been made that would. Nevertheless, the volume gives a good survey in a brief compass, the introductory biographical sketches are helpful, and every volume that will assist in broadening the interests, clarifying the ideas and determining the ideals of teachers is to be commended.

FRENCH TEXTS

Waterloo,* par Erckmann-Chatrian, abbreviated and edited with introduction, notes, vocabulary and composition exercises, by Victor E. François, Erckmann-Chatrian's Le Conscrit de 1813 and Waterloo, hardly need any introduction to the teachers of French. Such stories are the envy of teachers of German, who have difficulty in finding easy material full of life and incident. The notes of this edition, though few in number, are to the point. An especially commendable feature of the book is the plan of the composition exercises. Grammatical points of review are suggested, followed by short illustrative sentences connected in thought to be translated into French. sentences are, on the whole, exceedingly well done, and ought to produce good results if properly used.

The

Choses de France, Leçons de Conversation,† by C. Fontaine. This is an attempt to give in brief compass sufficient material for conversation, and at the same time increase the American boy's knowledge of the country and customs. The questions that follow each lesson are meant to be suggestive. The field covered in the hundred and odd pages is an extremely comprehensive one. In the first part there are lessons dealing with the geography and commerce of France; in the second, brief sketches of its rich history and constitutions. Of course, the chapters are meant to be developed by the teacher; still the impression left upon the reader is over-emphasis of dates, figures and facts. Conversation to be successful must be based on interesting and adaptable material. A well-written account of contemporary France told in as many pages, with less cramming of facts, would seem to meet the demands of the present day better.

*Henry Holt and Company, New York. William R. Jenkins, New York.

Histoirettes et Poésis Chosies pour les Enfants, by Marie M. Robique. This is a rather attractively bound and printed book, containing in the first part bright stories and letters suitable for young children from eight to twelve The second part consists of fables and poems for committing to memory that require considerable knowledge of vocabulary and idiom for adequate understanding. The vocabulary used in the text is fairly extensive, but is only meagerly represented in a loose sort of way at the end of the book. The questions and answers on the various texts in the first part might well give way to some definite grounding in the language. The class of teacher who would select the book and could use it successfully, would not need any such help.

La Fille de Thuiskon-Teuton ideals in French prose, arranged and edited with notes and vocabulary by Kate Thecla Conley. The selections are designed for school and home use. They consist of a large number of wellknown German poems by Goethe, Bürger, Heine, Klopstock, Schiller and others done into prose by Labrunie. However good the French prose version may be, it seems strange that they should be edited here in America to replace the German originals. Surely there is no lack of French prose expressive of wholesome French ideals. The book is uncalled for here in America.

GERMAN TEXTS

Die Blinden,† Novelle von Paul Heyse, with introduction, notes, exercises and vocabulary by W. H. Carruth and E. F. Engel. Although this may be regarded as one of the best of Heyse's short stories, yet its appropriateness as a class-text is open to grave question. There is too much that is harrowing either in the story or suggested by it for a class to spend several weeks reading it. At any rate, the text is suitable for high-school classes. Is it not time to call a halt editing such stories as this and Der Letzte, by Wildenbruch? The work of editing is well done. The notes are carefully chosen, and the translations of phrases in them are happily rendered. Placed before the seemingly adequate vocabulary, there are connected passages set for translation into German. The English reads very smoothly on the whole.

Herodes und Mariamne.‡ eine Tragödie in fünf Arten, von Fr. Hebbel, edited with introduction and notes by Edward Stockton Meyer. This edition of Hebbel's first great tragedy of the second period ought to be warmly welcomed for the use of advanced students of German literature. Prof. Meyer gives in the introduction (p. XXXVI.) an exceedingly well-written brief life of Friedrich Hebbel and appreciative critical estimate of his position in German literature, with particular emphasis upon the drama in question, its source and treatment. A selected bibliography

*William R. Jenkins, New York.

The American Book Company, New York.
Henry Holt and Company, New York.

follows. The notes are very brief (too brief, perhaps, for any but advanced students) and are almost entirely restricted to the literary interpretation of the text. They are prefaced by an analysis of the structure of the plot in which Prof. Meyer thinks we have "an almost perfect example of dramatic art."

ITALY'S HISTORY.

A Short History of Italy, by Henry Dwight Sedgwick, gives in the brief compass of four hundred pages, a sketch of the period from the close of the classical period to the present time. For the reading public rather than the scholarly world, the volume combines brevity, conciseness and a grasp of essentials with accuracy of fact and a pleasing narrative style. The method of analysis of periods is dramatic, but the account is so brief as to lack the living quality that can only be gained by a fuller account of men and motives, or of motives as seen through the details of action. The author has accentuated, rather than minimised, as detailed study is most apt to do, the cataclysmic character of the renaissance period. "Italy suddenly leaped forward, as if she had drained a beaker of champagne," is not the sort of introduction to the classical revival that will commend the volume to the student. And it is to be regretted that the book, which undoubtedly will, as it should, find a ready welcome by many desiring a brief sketch of the country where history has been most in the making, should lend itself to the view so out of sympathy with the present point of view, and so destructive of the idea of unity where amidst the greatest diversity it finds some of the most dramatic evidences.

MATHEMATICAL TEXTS

First Year in Algebra,† by Frederick H. Somerville. This text presents an introductory *Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston. †The American Book Company, New York.

course in algebra adapted to the grammar grades. It is written for beginners, with full explanations at points where difficulty is usually met. The exercises are carefully graded. The chapter on factoring is particularly thorough and systematic, while that on substittution contains good applications to mensuration and physics.

From the pedagogical standpoint, the book contains nothing new. The transition from arithmetic to algebra is not good, the uses of algebra are not in general brought out, the problems are the usual mediæval ones, with little application to the life of to-day, and the arrangement of topics is the time-honoured

one.

Advanced Arithmetic,* by Elmer A. Lyman. This is a usable advanced arithmetic, intended for pupils who have completed the grammar grades. The foundation principles are emphasised, approved methods of computation are presented, including short processes, and the essentials of modern business arithmetic and practice are considered. Interesting facts from the history of mathematics, showing the development of the particular subjects under consideration, are inserted, and add interest to the work. The book is a good one and deerves an examination.

Elements of Descriptive Geometry, by Charles E. Ferris. For a number of years it has been the practice of draughtsmen to work in the third quadrant, while the texts on descriptive geometry have been almost uniformly teaching the subject in the first quadrant. The modern spirit in the teaching of mathematics demands that a subject be taught as it is used in practice. In this work Professor Ferris has successfully presented the elements of descriptive geometry in the third quadrant, and has added a large number of practical examples which will fully illustrate the principles of the subject.

*The American Book Company, New York. †The American Book Company, New York.

THE BOOK IN THE MAKING

Under this head it is proposed to consider, from time to time, the recent publications that seem to exhibit particular taste in typography and general make-up, the purpose being to increase the appreciation of good book-making by the general reader.

It is particularly encouraging to the student of typography to consider some of the recent publications from a mechanical standpoint. These are from plants that survived the private press epidemic of a few years past, a condition, however, that had its use in stimulating and increasing the interest of the reading public in the mechanical makeup of books in general. The present examples fairly represent the "survival of the fittest," and now that a reaction

has taken place and the conditions have become normal, we may expect an increasing improvement in all lines of book-making; indeed, there are decided evidences of it already.

A new organisation, which promises excellent practical results in the development of the printing craft, is "The Society of Printers," which was recently started in Boston with the definite purpose of increasing the interest of the reading public in printing and book-making

as an art. The Society now has in the press a first text book, which will be used in this new branch of instruction in the Public Schools of the State of Massachusetts. It is intended to assist the children in properly arranging, in book form, regular school work, such as essays, etc. Other immediate plans of the Society include an exhibition of printed books representing the progress of the art of printing from its discovery to the present time. This will be held in the Boston Public Library some time in the month of January.

The productions of the Merrymount Press of D. B. Updike always appeal on account of their unfailing good taste and simplicity. A good example of this is the edition of Thackeray's Letters to an American Family.*

This is a book which retails for $1.50, and yet has all the care in its design and production of a high-priced limited edition. Its makeup throughout, from the nicely balanced type page to the binding with its old-style embossed cloth sides and leather label, is simple and dignified, and thoroughly in keeping with the subject. The charm of the contents of this book, giving as it does such an unusual insight into the attractive personality of Thackeray, together with the successful make-up, combine to make a volume that is to be doubly valued.

Another good example of the work of this press is Arcady in Troy, a thin, tall 12mo, in an edition of seventy-five copies privately printed. The title-page bears a decorative arbour effect in Italian style, printed in a gray-green. The binding is modest, but appropriate, in brown paper boards with a linen back. The matter of this book consists of a description of a private garden in Troy, N. Y., which was the subject to two local newspaper articles. The book contains two photogravure insets showing different views of the garden but these we would rather not have seen used, since they tend to destroy the illusion which is so pleasantly produced by the subject matter.

A Book of Beverages is a delightful example of old-style composition. It is a thin volume of forty pages, bound in boards, covered with an old-style blue barred paper. This little book was sold for fifty cents at a church fair with good profit. It is in the production of such moderate-priced books that Mr. Updike justly takes some pride.

*The Letters of William M. Thackeray to an American Family. With an Introduction by Lucy D. Baxter. New York: The Century Company, 1904.

Brown Letters.* Aside from its curious contents and attractive typographical style, which is thoroughly in keeping with the period during which the letters were written, this book has the added attraction for the bibliophile of being limited to only twenty-five copies. It was privately printed, and for private distribution. With such material as this, Mr. Updike is manifestly in his element, and the result is a volume that is thoroughly acceptable.

By the way, Mr. Updike announces the establishment of a bindery at the Merrymount Press, under the charge of Mr. Peter Verburg, whose work is already favourably known in Chicago and New York. Mr. Verburg, who studied some time ago under Mr. Douglass Cockerell, was at one time an associate of Miss Starr in her bindery at Hull House, Chicago, and later on was employed by Mr. Ralph Randolph Adams at his bindery in New York, both as a designer and binder.

A new volume, to be valued for its particular historical interest, as well as for its typographical excellence, is Manhattan in 1628.† This is a quarto in a limited edition printed at the Marion Press of Frank Hopkins. The style is simple and in keeping with the period covered, the type being a 12-point Caslon, liberally leaded, and printed on a Van Gelder paper, with wellproportioned margins. The book contains numerous gelatin facsimiles of primitive prints of Manhattan, perfectly reproduced, and an attractive feature is the forty-six spellings of the word "Manhattan" as compiled from various early records. The binding is in old-blue paper boards, relieved by small corner tips and narrow strips of orange cloth at the joints, representing the official colours of "Old Manhattan." The book, as a whole, is representative of the workmanlike productions of Mr. Hopkins.

The limited editions which are being published periodically by Houghton, Mifflin and Company, under the supervision of Mr. Bruce Rogers, have been uniformly attractive, and the

*The Letters of Three Dutiful and Affectionate Rhode Island Children to their Honoured Parents. Boston: D. B. Updike, 1905.

+Manhattan in 1628, as described in the recently discovered autograph letter of Jonas Michaelius written from the Settlement on the 8th of August of that year, and now first published. With a review of the letter and an historical sketch of New Netherland to 1628. By Dingman Versteed. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1904.

fact that they are exhausted on publication, is an indication of their value to discriminating collectors. A recent and representative example is the Georgics of Virgil,* a small octavo volume printed on a fine quality of Dickinson hand-made paper, in a handsome italic font, with swash capitals and decorative initials. The four books into which the volume is divided are embellished with decorative headings drawn in an antique style and printed in oldred. The title and text page are decidedly attractive in composition, and the consistent typographic style throughout is noticeable. The book is bound in half Italian parchment, with paper sides, and in this last particular is to be found some criticism, the figure design being of the paper representing the one unharmonious note, since the design has nouveau feeling rather than the old Italian tendency which would have been more in keeping with the contents. The book was published in an edition of three hundred and twenty-five copies.

Purchase and Exploration of Louisiana.t This book, which has been recently published by the same house, and which includes the Jefferson-Dunbar manuscript, is an interesting example of old-style composition. A slight criticism might be made of the use of the orna

*Georgics of Virgil. Translated from the Latin into English by J. W. Mackail, Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1905.

Documents relating to the Purchase and Exploration of Louisiana. I. The Limits and Bounds of Louisiana. By Thomas Jefferson. II. The Exploration of the Red, the Black, and the Washita Rivers. By William Dunbar. Printed from the original manuscripts in the library of the American Philosophical Society, and by direction of the Society's Committee on Historical Documents. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1905.

ments, in some instances as head-bands. As units, these are interesting in design, and where one design is used uniformly, as on page 5, they are most acceptable, but in other instances, where several designs alternate in the border, the effect is decidedly unpleasant. The composition of the label is worth speaking of, and, as a whole, the book represents the uniform excellence of such editions as these publishers are regularly bringing out.

*

Another volume recently published by this house which is most satisfactory in its simple typographical make-up and desirable for its contents is a Bibliography of Nathaniel Hawthorne, bound in smooth red cloth, with a paper label, and uniform with their complete edition of Hawthorne's Works. It is a thoroughly satisfactory and bookish production. The Bibliography was compiled by Miss Nina E. Brown, and represents the thoroughness of detail characteristic of the trained librarian. The book is comprehensively arranged, and the items for the most part very completely covered, so that the volume stands as a genuine contribution to bibliographical literature, and must prove invaluable to the Hawthorne student. The difficulty of establishing a consistent and pleasing style of typography for a volume of this character must be obvious even to the lay mind, and in the present volume this has been splendidly worked out. It is good to have the publisher's promise of future volumes covering the bibliography of other American writers of this period, and Miss Brown may congratulate herself upon having set an excellent standard for the volumes to follow..

*A Bibliography of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Compiled by Nina E. Brown. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1905.

READERS' GUIDE TO BOOKS RE

CEIVED

NEW YORK CITY.

D. Appleton and Company:

The Journal of Latrobe. By Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

Irregularly kept diaries covering only a very few years are the chief sources of information concerning the life of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect of the National Capitol at Washington. These notes include descriptions of Virginia, its people and its hospitality; of George Washington in his home at Mount Vernon; of Philadelphia, where Mr. Latrobe introduced the water-works and built the Ban': of Pennsylvania; of the National Capitol; of his voyage to New Orleans; and of the city of New Orleans, its people and its customs. There are, also, chapters on Limitations of Louisiana and on Fragmentary Criticisms. The volume is well illustrated.

Outside the Law. By James Barnes.

Lorrimer, the hero, is an expert photographic etcher and engraver, who makes a livelihood by reproducing rare engravings and mezzotints so perfectly that the copy cannot be told from the original. The old German assistant, whose death has just occurred as the story opens, has been for some time forging thousand dollar bills. Robberies follow the forgery, and affairs have arrived at a crisis when the situation is saved by a woman.

The Century Company:
Zal. By Rupert Hughes.

A Polish pianist who comes, as a stranger and without money, to America is the central figure in this romance. The homesickness and sorrow of the Polish emigrants are of two kinds: when a man is homesick for the home to which he eventually intends to return, he calls it tesknota; but when he knows that he has broken all ties forever, there being neither a home to go to nor a relative to welcome him, and yet longs to go home-that is zal. The story tells how Ladislav Moniuszka wins both name and fame in New York, and how he secures Rose Hargrave for his wife, despite the fact that he has bitter odds to contend against.

Thomas Y. Crowell and Company:

King Lear. By William Shakespeare. Edited by Charlotte Porter and Helen A. Clarke.

In this "First Folio" edition of “King Lear," which reproduces the text of 1623, and gives Shakespeare's original spelling and pronunciation, the editors have included explanatory notes, an introduction, a glossary, a list of variorum readings and selected crticism.

Doubleday, Page and Company:
The Tree Book. By Julia E. Rogers.

"A popular guide to a knowledge of the trees of North America and to their uses and cultivation." From the descriptions given by Miss Rogers in this manual, the novice may become familiar with the trees of this country; and from the instructions which are given for their care, the lover of trees may find some valuable suggestions. The sixteen plates in colour and one hundred and sixty in black and white from photographs by A. Radclyffe Dugmore, are no small addition to the book. These pictures show the bark, leaf, bud, flower and fruit of almost all the trees, and are of material aid in identifying the tree.

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My Lady of the Search-Light. By Mary Hall Leonard.

The story which this verse tells is said to have been revealed to the author by the face of the Statue of Liberty during a moment's illumination by a searchlight from a vessel in New York harbour. The theme of the poem is womanhood in its relation to humanity.

Harper and Brothers:
The German Struggle for Liberty. Vol. IV.
By Poultney Bigelow.

This volume records the notable events in Germany during the epoch from 1844 to 1848. It carries the history up to the re-birth of the national spirit, to the declaration of Frederick William IV., and the German National Assembly at Frankfort.

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