Wednesday Morning. Promptly at 9:00 o'clock President Burch called the As sociation to order and proceeded to the transaction of busi ness. The following committees were announced: Finance: Duncan McGreggor, David Throne, Allen B. West. Nomination of Officers: J. H. Nattrass, W. C. Hewitt, A. C. Wiswall, P. H. Shaughnessey, Kate L. Sabin. Committee on Honorary Members: John T. Flavin, W. H. Cheever, R. B. Dudgeon. Upon motion of H. W. Rood, the president was instructed to appoint a committee of one hundred to co-operate with Stage Manager W. J. Brier in creating a sentiment in favor of the N. E. A. Professor W. H. Cheever offered the following resolutions which were adopted: First: Resolved that the Wisconsin Teachers' Association be requested to place the subject of Child Study upon its general program next year. Second: Resolved that a committee of five be appointed by the president to report at the Association next year the desirability and feasibility of establishing a state society for child study. At the close of the business session, the association was entertained by a chorus from the seventh and eighth grades of the Sixth District Primary School, directed by Principal H. D. Hesse. President Burch then delivered his annual address. In part he said: President's Address. President Burch alluded to the recent presidential election and declared that teachers have great concern in the issues of state; for, in a special manner, they declare themselves the promoters of public intelligence and good morals. Mr. Burch alluded to the fact that in Wisconsin there are nearly 13,000 public school teachers moulding and directing the lives of 400,000 pupils who, in a few brief years will become the sovereigns of state for weal or woe. CHARACTER BUILDING Neglected. Mr. Burch forcibly called attention to the lamentable fact that comparatively no attention is paid to the development of character in our schools by means of any systematic process. "Choose at random a course of study," said the speaker, "from the city or state, and you will seek in vain for more than a passing reference, if even that, to development of character as an essential of citizenship. The 'rules of the board' in cities are, in their application, legal rather than ethical, and seek to secure correct conduct only through fear of penalty. 'Be good. Do right,' they say to the pupil -why? that he may escape punishment. Not so, says the poet Kingsley. "'Be good, dear child, and let who will be clever, Do noble things, not dream them all day long. The speaker declared that only by contributing all its resources to the creation,, in every pupil, of higher standards of living can the state be made secure; and to this end all else is subordinate. RELIGION IN THE SCHOOLS. Passing on to the discussion of religion in the public schools, Mr. Burch defined his convictions thus: "I do not believe, as some profess to, that the public school is a Godless institution. 'Tis just as Godless as are the lives of those who administer the affairs-no more, no less. I exalt no creed or sect. Instead I refer to the sum of the teachers' virtues expressed in terms of right conduct. The public school is not a mechanism; in its essence and purpose, when administered by true men and women whose characters permeate the school and quicken the best impulses of life, it is to many children their only joy and becomes the place where new purposes and new ambitions for higher things are born. Though I do not forget that the public school is the peculiar child of the Pilgrim Fathers yet I would not for one moment be understood to favor sectarian instruction, or even advocate the dosing of pupils with the moral treacle of formal instruction in ethics. But I do believe that broad Christian character is not incon gruous with the public schools. "Every branch of study," said the speaker, "like the current of a river, is broadening and deepening the channels of thought. Mathematics makes a deep, clean cut; literature broadens and flushes the plain, which, anon, yields a thousand-fold in flower and fruitage. And so each branch records its mark in ethical lines, clear cut and lasting. Granting all that is claimed for the conquest of ideal work, we who teach in the grades know that school government presents problems that baffle both school and civil authority. How to 'squelch' a pupil, to lead him captive in chains at his chariot wheels, is to many a teacher the chief end of discipline. Too often this is a policy of mere conformity to bare authority of the power of a strong, unsympathetic will. This is the iron rule of the camp and prison. 'Tis not education, for the mainsprings to right action are never touched. TRUE TEACHING. "Citizenship, good or bad, is taught objectively every day in the school. The teacher who is peevish, or who nags or scolds his pupils, becomes a target for their disrespect, and authority is disregarded. The habitual idler, the impulsive babbler, the little girl who was caught whispering and the gum-chewer are held alike after school-in durance vile-while the majesty of the law is-undermined. Oh! that teachers might understand that penalties should not be retributive, but remedial instead; that a kind word, a helpful suggestion, a confidential talk, are, as a rule, a thousand times more potent than a threat or severity. My plea is for rationalism in school government; for an exercise of genuine human kindness; for naturalness. I would banish from the school the chill-spirits of authority and severity as pestilential vapors. In their place I would welcome the smile, I would encourage good humor, I would foster, as an essential factor in work, the happy play spirit. In the processes of nature there is perfect adaptation of energy to task. The work of the school should be no less happy and harmonious. As work transcends toil, so play surpasses work. Toil is servile obedience, work is unfettered action; play is exuberance of life in unconscious activity. To change the tedium and work of school into an activity having all the zest of play is a consummation which yields the maximum of effort and achievement with the minimum of waste. "Here is a practical field for child study in the realm of character building. What has heredity done or failed to do for the child? What is his home environment? Who are his associates? Does he read, and what? What are his habits? Did the teacher's manner provoke the offense? How can the teacher gain this pupil's confidence?" Mr. Burch referred in terms of praise to the leadership of Dr. Hall in child study by which the teachers have gained much profit. In closing this part of his address, President Burch said: "In spirit the teacher should be altruistic, he should be professional in a profound sense, he should be loyal to the last degree to his chosen calling; in attitude he should be a student always-in the words of Lowell: "'New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth; TO PRINT THE PROCEEDINGS, He President Burch then referred to the growth of the Wisconsin Teachers' Association from a membership of seventeen, forty-four years ago, to more than 1,000 to-day. recommended that the proceedings of the association be printed and that an appropriation be sought from the legisÎature to defray the expense. Attention was called to a medal and an award made to the Wisconsin Teachers' Association by the World's Columbian commission under an act of congress. In fini hing his address, President Burch presented to the association a gavel of Ko-ko Bo-lo wood from the wilds of Central America and a block of mahogany bearing an inlaid circular zone of silver, with this inscription: "But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is-Obey." The Mission of the Library. Hon. Melvil Dewey of Albany, N. Y., director of library work in the state of New York, addressed the Association on "The Mission of the Library." In part, he said: My plea to-day is for recognition of the library in its best sense as an essential part of any complete educational system. Education is really in two parts, which we might call the school education and the home education. The schools of the various grades provide for the education of those who can give their time to the institution. The home education is for those who give the larger part of the time to some other occupation and whose educational work must be done out of the hours of business or labor. The carrying on of the education of our great mass of boys and girls must be chiefly by means of free public libraries, the only practicable means of controlling and shaping their reading to the highest end. The speaker said that he believed that the library and the school should be distinctly separate. Miss Lutie E. Stearns of Milwaukee followed with a well prepared paper on "How can the Public Library be Made an Aid to the Schools?" The salient points of which are here given: Library and School. The free public library was publicly and formally recognized at the last session of the National Educational Association as a legitimate part of the great educational system. As a librarian has said: The teacher and the librarian come together in the new arrangement, working no longer, one in the steps of the other, one carrying forward the education which the other has begun-but hand in hand and side by side, leading children from the earliest age into the wonderful and beautiful book world of poetry, legend, story, nature knowledge or science, time knowledge or history, life knowledge or biography, making it dear and familiar to them in the impressionable years within which their tastes are formed. Schools are not to make readers for libraries, nor libraries to wait for readers to come to them out of the schools. The school and the world of books which it makes known to him are to be identified in the child's mind. There is to be no distinction in his memory between reading as an art learned, and reading as a delight discovered. The art and the use of the art are to be one to him. How best to bring this union about is the problem of the librarian and of the teacher. Every one must admit that these children have not sufficient information and mental training to develop their powers and fit them for the best work of which they are capable. And this, as Mr. Dewey has somewhere said is the final end of education; to give to the individual such training as will enable him to make the most of himself. Reason and experience have combined to convince all thoughtful educators that the highest office of the public school is to teach a child to read and implant in him a desire for knowledge. The full usefulness of the library as a factor in education has not been felt and will not be until teachers and parents realize that a liking for good books and a desire for knowledge are worth more than working arithmetical puzzles and scoring per cents. The U. S. Commissioner of Education has said: "The school is set at the task of teaching the pupil how to use the library in the best manner. That is the general object toward which our school methods have been unconsciously guided ' The librarian must be made to open her doors to the youngest child. As the child progresses, there is scarcely a study that may not be broadened and enlivened through books obtained at a public library. The results of the study of history for example, are generally unsatisfactory. The pupils neither receive very distinct impressions nor acquire a love for the study that will lead them in after years to pursue the subject further. The resources of the library must help in this matter. * * * * * * * But beside this literature of information, there is the literature of inspiration, of imagination, of high ideals. Books which children care to read but once are of but scant service to them; those that have really helped to warm their imaginations and to train their faculties are the few old friends they know so well, they have become a part of their thinking selves. A teacher who is familiar with the best books and can give counsel as to their use is an invaluable factor in educational work. A pupil's reading can be most widely guided, not by preaching at him nor craftily enticing him into good reading, but by gaining his confidence and then judiciously bringing good books to his attention. You cannot correct a taste for bad books by withdrawing and forbidding some injurious work; you must at the same time furnish something to fill its place; basing your argument for so doing on the expulsive power of a new affection. All work of this kind which is to succeed must be based upon methods which require time in their fulfillment, and which will weave themselves into the very life of the child. In conclusion, the Wisconsin free library commission, especially requests the active co operation of the teachers of the state to the end that a close alliance may be formed by which the public libraries and public schools may work unitedly in the general cause of education. The commission asks the aid of the teachers of the state in an effort to secure better popular ideals of library work, with the hope that an educated public sentiment will demand a better administration of the libraries already founded, and the creation of a system of libraries so complete that every man, woman and child in Wisconsin may have an opportunity to read the best books of the language without money and without price. Let every Wisconsin community celebrate the semi-centennial by founding or improving a free Public Library; for it is after all, not the few great libraries but the thousand small that may do most for the people. C. E. Patzer, of Manitowoc, in discussing the paper said: School teaches children to read. The power to read may be a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. A taste for profitable reading must be cultivated. Children cannot be too early introduced to those books that teach the relation of man to man. We must begin in the kindergarten to cultivate a taste for the good and the beautiful. The lost art of story telling has been found, and the children of today are being saturated with the pure stories dear to childhood. Miss May E. Schreiber, of Milwaukee, spoke of the close co-operation that should exist between the library and the school. The teacher must co-operate with the librarian to secure the best results. It is the province of the teacher to arouse and quicken interest. The teacher must be an extensive reader of children's books. She must teach the children how to read and enjoy the best books. She must not preach, but strive to arouse interest and quicken sympathy. H. B. Hubbell, principal of the Beaver Dam bigh school, said that a public library in its relation to the school is simply a chest of tools whose use, like the use of all other tools, must be learned by experience. We learn to read by reading. What to read, is a question upon which doctors disagree. That skill and use must be acquired by practice is as true of books as of business. Even Dr. J. C. Freeman, of the University of Wisconsin, in discussing the subject said, in part: Literature is books and the literature we wish to foster, good books. Socrates could not, or did not, dispense with books. People must have them. He then discussed the desire for books in connection with the University Extension courses, showing that three hundred towns of the state have asked for them. In most of these there are now public libraries. The extension system leads to a better appreciation of books. The topics being such as to stimulate research and thought. L. E Gettle, of Madison, said: It is necessary to have pupils in the normal schools instructed in the use of the list of books recommended by the state department. The county teacher's institute should teach the use of the school library. Keep school and traveling libraries sep arate. President Albert Salisbury, of Whitewater normal school, in behalf of the committee appointed to report on "Needed Library Legislation" reported as follows: Report of Committee on Needed Library Legislation. Half a century has elapsed since the constitutional convention of Wisconsin recognized the school library as a logical and legitimate accessory of the common school, by ordaining that the school fund should be applied, "I. To the support and maintenance of common schools in each school district, and the purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus therefor." How then does it happen here, on the eve of our state semi-centennial, that the Wisconsin Teachers' Association is agitating the question of "needed library legislation?" Why have not our statutes been long since perfected in this direction? What new conditions have arisen to give library legislation a place among the educational questions of to-day? The answer to these questions is found in a very important fact, which we shall venture to call the re-discovery, or the new discovery, of the library as an educational factor and appliance. The framers of the constitution of '48 had somehow become possessed of the idea that libraries were a needful and logical adjunct of even elementary schools; but a whole generation had passed by before the people, or even the teachers of the state began to show any tangible evidence that this idea had effected a lodgment among their vital convictions. But the advance in educational theory and methods in the last few years has brought, among other fruits, a new appreciation of the utility-nay, the necessity-of good and suitable books as a part of the educational environment and atmosphere of children. the same time, there seems to have been an awakening as to the woeful barrenness of most homes, as well as most schools, in this respect. To this double awakening, no doubt, is due the encouraging vitality of the library movement at the present time. At Returning to the historical aspect of the matter, let us note that the state legislature did not long ignore the constitutional intention respecting school libraries; for the Revised Statutes of 1858 contain seemingly ample provision for the establishment and maintenance of such libraries. We quote one provision only, viz., Chap. 23, sec. 76: "Each town superintendent (of schools) may in his discretion set apart a sum not exceeding ten per cent. of the gross amount of the school money apportioned to any school district, which shall be applied by such school districts to the purchase of school district libraries," etc., etc. The annual school meeting was also empowered to vote a tax on the district, not exceeding $30 in any one year, for a school library; and "such further sum as they may deem necessary for the purchase of a book-case." Other provisions are interesting but can not be recounted here. It will be readily observed that the weak point of this law, as of the law of 1887, lay in the according of discretionary power to the administrative authority. This legislation was not wholly without fruit; for the writer of this report well remembers what inspiration he got in one boyhood winter from the reading of the first four volumes of Macaulay's History of England, then uncompleted, which found their way into the district library of the country school in Rock county, where he was then a pupil. the first installment of books provided for that library was practically the last; and the books were soon scattered, worn out, or lost. The village of Middleton may be cited, however, as one of the districts which perseveringly built up a creditable school library under the old statutes. But The rennaissance of the school library in Wisconsin may be considered as dating from the session of 1887, when State Superintendent Thayer secured the enactment of a new school library law. This differed from the early law in the fact that the responsibility for setting apart library funds now rested with the town treasurer-not a school officerand the amount allowed was one-twentieth, only, of the school moneys. Again the word "may"' proved obstructive, if not destructive, to the purposes of the law; though something was accomplished through the urgent influence of the state department of public instruction. In 1889 this law was amended by making "ten cents for each person of school age" the amount which might be set apart for library purposes; but the ambiguous "may" still retained its place in the statutes. The selection of books to be purchased, from lists approved by the state superintendent, was now devolved upon the town clerk instead of the board of supervisors. In 1887, 108 towns, less than one-tenth of the whole number, made purchases of library books under the new law. The number of towns complying with the law slowly rose during the next seven years to 365 in 1894, about one-third of the whole number. The legislature of 1895 relieved the law of its ambiguity, making it clearly mandatory upon the town clerk; and good results were promptly visible. In the year 1895, 995 towns, nearly nine-tenths of all in the state, withheld the library money according to law. The amount expended for books rose from $15,000 to over $35,000; and the number of volumes purchased was about 46,000. Figures are not yet complete for the year 1896, but the number of towns delinquent will be considerably less than 100 out of a total of 1,135. Coming now to the question whether any further legislation is needful or desirable in the interest of school libraries, this committee wish to say, first of all, that there is danger of relying too much on mere statutory provisions. No law will operate or enforce itself; while a right and vital public sentiment will get good results under imperfect laws. The great thing now is to so inform and inspire all teachers and officers concerned that the existing laws shall be carried out in their full spirit and intent. Meanwhile, it is also well to perfect the statutes so far as circumstances permit and experience shows the way. To this committee, the most desirable change in the law would seem to be an increase in the funds set apart for library purposes. Ten cents a year per child seems a pitiful sum for such a use. Something less than five dollars a year is all that is thus available for the average country district. How long will it take, at this rate, to build up a respectable library? The figures for 1895, obtained through the courtesy of the state superintendent, show that 45.995 volumes were purchased. These were divided among about 5,500 schoolhouses, thus giving an average of about eight volumes to a schoolhouse, including villages as well as country schools. Surely the outlay for this purpose ought to be doubled. But "half a loaf is better than no bread," and it becomes simply a question of expediency whether the advance should be attempted now or later. One feature of the present law, that providing for the calling in and redistribution, periodically, of all the school library books in each town, has not attained the degree of success or popularity that was expected by its authors. The reasons are not far to seek; and it is clearly desirable that each school should develop the feeling and pride of proprietorship in its own library. We would therefore recommend that an amendment to Sec. 4 of the present law, striking out all that relates to redistribution of the books, be sought at once. Better provision should be made against the loss of books. To this end the state superintendent should be authorized by law to furnish proper library record books for the use of each district at state expense. 3. The question has been raised whether the provisions of the school library law should not be extended also to cities and incorporated villages. While the larger cities are doing as well for the library interests, under existing methods, as could reasonably be expected, it seems to us that the villages and smaller cities would gain greatly by coming under the law in question. We would therefore recommend that its provisions be extended to all villages, and to each city having a population of less than ten thousand, unless the municipality in question shall have established a free public library under the provisions of the free library law. It is believed that such an extension of the application of the present law would tend to make library purchases more systematic and continuous, if not more liberal, than at present. Thus far we have dealt only with the law relating to school libraries; but another line of educational effort, also of great interest to the teachers of the state, is found in the system of free public libraries maintained by municipalities and not in direct connection with the public schools. If all the larger cities of the state would follow the example set by the city of Milwaukee in the liberal support of a public library which is brought to the very doors, literally, of every public school room in the city, the library question might be considered as solved and settled. But such a consummation, however devoutly to be wished, is too remote from present fact to be debated here. The first Wisconsin law authorizing cities and villages to establish free public libraries was enacted by the legislature of 1872. The power to establish such libraries was lodged in city councils and village boards, unhampered by the necessity for submitting the proposition to popular vote. In 1876, this law was so amended as to require the sub mission to popular vote of the question of establishing a library and of raising the necessary tax. An amendment in 1893 introduced a new feature by providing that, instead of a direct library tax, a sum not to exceed ten per cent. of the money received for liquor-licenses may be set aside as a library fund, if the council or board so enact. In 1895 came other minor changes in the law, which may b considered as still in the process of evolution. The institution, in 1895, of a state library commission was a measure from which useful results have already accrued; and still greater fruits may be expected in future. A most interesting and promising feature of recent library work in Wisconsin is the inauguration in certain counties of the state, by private munificence, of a system of "traveling libraries" for the benefit of rural communities. This is a movement as yet outside of statutory recognition; but one which may well prove fraught with great blessing to the spiritual interests of the commonwealth. It may not seem clear to every one that the State Teachers' Association should concern itself about changes in the law relating to other than school libraries; but your committ feel warranted, after conference with the chairman of the state library commission, in urging the teachers of the state to lend their influence towards securing the following changes: 1. The educational forces of every city should have direct representation in the management of the public library. This cannot be too strongly insisted on. This result would best be secured, doubtless, by making the city superintendent, or supervising principal, of public schools, a member ex officio of the board of library directors. No one else is likely to know so well as the head of the local school system how to make the city library serve the interests of that most important cla ss of readers, the school children. No one else is likely to know so well what books ought to be excluded from the library and what ones should be included. And no mistakes are so vital as those made in the selection of books for purchase. 2. In municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants, the membership of the library board should be reduced in numbers. Large boards are inert. A board of six, or less, appointed members, with the city superintendent as an ex officio member, would be in every way preferable to the present board of nine members. 3. There ought to be some additional provisions in the law for the encouragement and conservation of gifts and endowments designed to extend library privileges and benefits beyond the corporate limits of the cities in which the libraries are established. Traveling libraries, for instance, can best be operated in connection with city libraries as centers of distribution and supervision. And this would be to the mutual advantage of city and country. It is therefore recommended that statutory provision be sought which shall authorize City Library Boards to accept gifts conditioned upon the extension of library privileges to the people of surrounding towns, and to contract with town, village, or county boards to loan books to residents of their respective jurisdictions. Some such provision as this would remove legal obstacles to the extension of private beneficence in the directions already inaugurated by Senator Stout and Mr. Witter in their respective counties. To all the above propositions, at least, we believe that the Wisconsin Teachers' Association should stand ready to give its active support during the coming session of the legislature. There are reasons in sight why diligent effort should be made to perfect our library laws in all their details, at this particular time. And we therefore recommend the appointment of a special committee on library legislation whose duty it shall be to act in conjunction with the state superintendent and the state library committee in the drafting of amendments to the existing library laws, and to use all available means for insuring their passage through the legislature. It is suggested that these amendments be embodied in two separate bills, one relating to public school libraries and the other to the free public libraries. Respectfully submitted, ALBERT SALISBURY, H. L. TERRY, Committee. On motion of H. W. Rood, the report of the committee was adopted. -THE BEGINNERS OF A NATION; A history of the source and rise of the earliest English settlements in America with special reference to the life and character of the people, by Edward Eggleston (377 pp.; $1.50), views the early history of this country as the result of certain persistent forces, whose nature and effects are carefully set forth. It is the truly philosophic aspect of our earliest growth. As one reads in Mr. Eggleston's clear and effective exposition, the story of the economic motives leading not only to the first planting of the English colonies in Virginia, but to all the great mutations in its early history; of the rise and development of Puritanism in England, and the religious motives impelling so many of its followers to emigrate to the new world, and sees how these religious motives persist to the shaping of institutions and the development of a commonwealth, until the same spirit leads to disruptions and dispersions as opposing forms of belief arise; and of the Catholic migration under Lord Baltimore, held in and shaped to toleration by the pressure of religious and political events bo'h in the old world and the new; he feels both how continuous the new life is with the old, and how the room for expansion in America gives opportunity for the rapid broadening and ripening of each preparatory to a fusion which shall produce a really new nation. The procession of motives in this early history is here for the first time clearly and convincingly exhibited, and this will give to the book an abiding value. Its tone is scholarly and judicial. The text of each chapter is supported by a valuable appendix of critical and explanatory notes which leave little to be desired in the field chosen. Thus in a field of history already often and ably worked the author has succeeded in making a distinct and important contribution. This is understood to be the first of a series of studies in American history for which Mr Eggleston has long been making preparation, and we can but hope that he may be able to carry forward an enterprise so full of promise. American Book Co. -THE MASTERY OF BOOKS, hinta on reading and the use of libraries, by Harry L. Koopman (214 pp: 90c.), comes from the librarian of Brown university, and has distinctly practical aims. It seeks to guide the young in the difficult art of self-formation by wise reading. Every well educated teacher has been puzzled time and again with the question from earnest young learners: "But what shall I read?'' Here is a guide which will answer that question intelligently, not by naming a short or long list of works which must be read, but by leading the inquirer to give definiteness to his own aims and then guiding him as to the way to find what will best serve him. It discusses why and how much to read, what to read and how to read in an eminently sensible and helpful manner. The chapters on reference books and catalogs, and on periodicals are especially practical to the great body of young persons who have not yet learned to think on such matters, and are either overwhelmed by inability to select or wholly repelled and driven to what will merely divert. As to the use of books that is set forth in the chapters on memory and note taking, language study, the place of the library in education, and reading courses. A brief classified list of books follows, which it would be easy to find fault with, but perhaps hard to replace by one more generally acceptable. The use of such a volume as this to all sorts of people, but especially to teachers and pupils, must be abundantly evident. -ELEMENTARY METEOROLOGY for high schools and colleges, by Frank Waldo (373 pp.; $1.50), deals with a science which is so rapidly growing that it may be said to be almost a creation of the last quarter of a century. The author's fitness for his task is indicated by his titles, "late Junior Professor in the United States Signal Service, member of the Austrian and German Meteorological Societies, author of 'Modern Meteorology,' etc." The general course of treatment follows in the main that outlined by the Committee of Ten for the study, and includes among its special subjects the movement of the winds, the visible phenomena of the clouds, the study of weather maps and reports, storms, tornadoes and cyclones. A separate chapter is devoted to the climate of the United States, in which the work of the Weather Bureau and its reports and maps are clearly explained and illustrated. It constantly keeps before the student the fact that meteorology is largely an observational study, and teaches him to observe the succession of weather conditions and to intelligently account for the changes which occur, as well as to make intelligent weather predictions himself. In addition to its use as a text-book, the book is written in such a way as to make it very interesting to the general reader who desires to be informed concerning the latest results and applications of this new and progressive science. Its mechanical execution is all that could be desired. A short course and one more extended, or for reading only, are indicated by differentiated type. The illustrations are numerous and significant and add greatly to the value and usefulness of the book. -A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NATIONS and of Their Progress in Civilization, by George Park Fisher, (613 pp.; $1.50) attracts us first by its general appearance. It is mechanically a model modern text-book, beautifully printed, richly and appropriately illustrated with pictures and maps, and substantially and attractively bound. Its organization also is excellent. The complex material is intelligently subdivided into periods, chapters and paragraphs with suitable headings. The idea of a general history," we are told in the preface, has been carried out by connecting, as far as practicable, in a single chain of narrative, contemporary events in different countries where the several countries stand in so close a mutual relation that the events are interlinked." The effort throughout is to exhibit tendencies, the development of civilization, the expansion of national and social life rather than dynastic and military history. Modern history receives more attention than is usual in such compendiums, as lying closer to our own lives and interests. The book is eminently judicial in tone, is lucid in exposition, and wise in its choice of topics. Its author is already well known by his "Outlines of General History," and it is therefore necessary to add that the present book is not a mere abridgement of that work, but a fresh and compact treatment of history in the light of the most recent discoveries. -SHORT STORIES OF OUR SHY NEIGHBORS, by Mrs. M. A. B. Kelly, (214 pp.; 50c.) tells about the birds, beasts, and insects right about us, in a style which is easy and familiar and free from technical names while telling of things not commonly known even by well educated readers. The book belongs to the 'Eclectic School Readings'' series, and is abundantly and attractively illustrated. It can hardly fail to interest old and young. -so ar -FIRST YEAR IN GERMAN, by J. Keller, (290 pp.; $1.00), is eminently simple, systematic, teachable. Everything essential for first year study is presented in a logical order —that is, the grammatical facts first needed for reading and most easily comprehended are those first presented. A passage of connected reading is first given,-necessarily, of course, a very simple one in the earlier lessons,ranged as to introduce the grammar in an orderly manner. The new words are then given separately with their meanings, followed by notes which explain and enlarge upon the inflectional and syntactical points occurring in the text. The book contains a large number of meritorious details, such as the "Additional Exercises" occurring in every fifth lesson, printed in Roman type and using only words akin in both German and English. The inflections are given in full in the Appendix, and in the case of verbs exhibit the forms of the principal auxiliaries side by side, as well as a parallel view of the Indicative and Subjunctive. -A TEXT-BOOK OF PLANE SURVEYING, by William G. Raymond, (485 pp.: $3.00), has been prepared as a manual for the study and practice of surveying. The long experience of the author as a teacher and practicing engineer is evident in the contents and method of the book. Points likely to present difficulty to the student or to the young surveyor are rendered plain. The methods are modern, the Par statements clear and concise, the directions definite. ticular attention is paid to topographical, hydrographical, and mine surveying, to land survey and earth-work computations. to field work and map-making, and to the slide rule, a little known but most useful tool of the engineer. A large number of original problems and illustrative examples is given, furnishing valuable material for practice. The tables are printed on tinted paper, to distinguish them from the remainder of the book, thus facilitating their ready reference, and in large, clear, differentiated type. Fiveplace tables are adopted, and the arrangement is for tenths of a minute instead of seconds, thus rendering the book more serviceable both for practical and theoretical use. The illustrations are numerous, and include cuts of the principal instruments used in surveying. The examples of map-drawing are especially well executed, and the colored maps, finished as in actual practice, are a feature not found in any similar work. Ginn & Co. -THE FORMS OF DISCOURSE, with an introductory chapter on style, by William B. Cairns (356 pp.; $1.25), comes from the pen of one of the younger men connected with the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, and has for us a special interest on that account. Its aim and plan are novel, and the novelty is fairly indicated by the title. Instead of the usual text in composition or rhetoric we have here chapters on narration, description, exposition, argumentation and persuasion. Each of these topics, after a general exposition, is treated by a careful study of its chief forms, and the study is made concrete and practical by a series of illustrative selections of sufficient length to exhibit well the main points of the discussion. Under narration, for example, we have a treatment of nar. ration without plot, and narration with plot, and under the latter such forms as the short story, history, biography and the drama. Of course, a great many other illustrations of the topics under discussion are referred to in the text, which will be helpful to such as read extensively. The selections here given at length are of various grades of merit, so that the author says, "Some of them are models of style and may be studied as such: others have serious faults, which the student should point out;" in other words they are to be looked upon as materials for exercises rather than as models. The book is a suggestive one, a little matter of fact in its treatment, but clear and helpful as a guide to young learners. Its best service to them will be that it puts them to the thoughtful and appreciative reading of great works of literary art, from acquaintance with which, and not from rhetorical precepts, they will derive such skill in expression as they may be able to attain. -SPENSER'S BRITOMART, edited with introduction and notes by Mary E. Litchfield (265 pp.: 70c.), gathers from the Fairy Queen all that relates to a single character, Britomart, and putting the pieces together makes the romantic tale of Spenser's most charming heroine, "the lady knight." No changes beyond omissions have been necessary in this process. The editor has modernized the spelling except where modern spelling would change the sound of the word, has added foot notes explaining all unusual words, and provided an introduction containing a life of the poet. -THE FIRST GREEK BOOK, by John Williams White, (292 +62 pages; $1.35), seeks to supply the need of a brief introductory course in Greek than that afforded by the author's well-known "Beginner's Greek Book." This volume leads as directly as possible to the reading of Xenophon's Anabasis, and gives a clear outline of Greek grammar freed from exceptional forms and usages. The paradigms and declensions are massed in the appendix, each lesson adds about ten new words to the learner's vocabulary, numerous illustrations related to Greek life and art are scattered through the text and a general vocabulary is furnished at the close of the volume. |