the book is taken up with chapters on Construction, introducing the Gothic revival, Cottage architecture, suburban homes, the economy of country life, -showing how poverty is a blessing sometimes-sites, plans, building materials, those occasionally delusive specifications, plumbers' blunders, which will strike home in many hearts, the lightning-rod-man and his attacks, steam-heating, the library, kitchen, &c., &c. The second part goes thoroughly into furniture and decoration. Everything about a house is discussed critically and effectively, and some delightful observations on plants and conservatories and woodwork and fire places, will interest persons of æsthetic tastes and feelings. Mr. Holly writes well, and his book is interlarded with amusing anecdotes, some clever sayings, and now and then a picturesque bit of description. The illustrations are well engraved, and add much to the of a appearance volume whose letterpress is so enjoyable to read, and useful in every way.

Dr. Draper is one of the most voluminous and scholarly authors of America. Of fine scientific attainments and possessing a philosophical mind, and an aptitude for research, he has already made many notable contributions to the stronger literature of the day. He writes in a free and pictorial style, and his books are distinguished for their originality and breadth of view. The learned author's latest volume is a fine series of papers on a great variety of subjects, exhibiting much experimental investigation. Scientific Memoirs'* is a noble work. It owes its origin to its author's zeal and study for the last forty years, and includes the majority of Dr. Draper's noteworthy memoirs, which relate to Radiant Energy or the effects of Radiations. These are treated in an excellent

Scientific Memoirs: Being Experimental Contributions to A Knowledge of Radiant Energy. By JOHN WILLIAM DRAIER, M. D., L L. D. New York: Harper & Bros. Toronto: Hart & Rawlinson

spirit. A full investigation is made. of the temperature at which bodiesbecome red-hot, the nature of the light which they emit at various degrees and the connection between their status as to vibration and their heat. Dr. Draper has studied this notable branch of science for many years, and he has been the first to introduce into America the use of instruments, which to-day find general acceptance with scholars and experimenters. The spectroscope at an early period claimed his attention, and he employed it in the prosecution of his labours, when few even in Europe, save the renowned Fraunhofer, gave it the attention it demanded. And so it has been with other aids to advanced science, Dr. Draper has led rather than followed others. He has developed facts for himself. He has investigated the se crets of chemistry and the wonders of modern science in all its forms. His utterances may be accepted as authoritative for the statements he advances, and students and others will find the history of many delightful experiments in the book under present consideration. Dr. Draper thus speaks of the plan and scope of his workthe occupation of many years. 'Experimental investigation, to borrow a phrase employed by Kepler, respecting the testing of hypotheses, is a very great thief of time! Sometimes it costs many days to determine a fact that can be stated in a line. things related in these memoirs have consumed much more than forty years. Such a publication therefore, assume3 the character of an autobiography, since it is essentially a daily narrative of the occupation of its author. To a reader imbued with the true spirit of philosophy, even the short-comings, easily detectable in it, are not without a charm. From the better horizon he has gained, he watches his author, who, like a pioneer,. is doubtfully finding his way, here travelling in a track that leads to

The

nothing, then retracing his footsteps, and again undeterred, making attempts until success crowns his exertions. To explore the path to truth implies many wanderings, many inquiries, many mistakes.' 'Perhaps, then,' continues the author, 'since this book is a sort of autobiography, its readers will bear with me if I try to make it more complete, by here referring to other scientific or historical works in which I have been engaged.'

Dr. Draper, in his preface, gives an account of some of his other books, and tells how he came to turn his attention to the study in which he has won such renown. This introduction adds a zest for what is in store for the reader, and no one can take up 'Scientific Memoirs' without reading it through, and referring to it again and again.

Among the important books of the day, Dr. Geikie's terse and compact History of the English Reformation* will claim a good deal of attention. The work before us displays a considerable amount of research and examination, and much conscientious study. The author discusses, in a readable way, the various causes which led to the great change which overtook the religion of England, and describes the growth of that change, which, he says, had its root long before the Eighth Harry sat upon the throne. Of course, as may be expected, Dr. Geikie attacks the Roman Catholic Church, but it will astonish some, doubtless, to find a Church of England divine boldly denouncing the left wing of his own Church, and scattering a clerical broadside at the heads of our good friends the Ritualists. Dr. Geikie thus smartly writes: 'Unfortunately, it is not Rome alone from which Protestantism, as the embodi

*The English Reformation. How it came about, and why we should uphold it. BY CUNNINGHAM GEIKIE, D.D. New York; D. Appleton & Co. Toronto Hart & Rawlinson.

ment of liberty, has to guard. The Episcopal Communion, smitten for the time by an epidemic of priestism, has latterly seen numbers of its clergy betraying its principles and seeking the favour of that Church against whose errors their own is a standing protest. This melancholy spectacle has been witnessed both in England and America, and demands the vigorous watchfulness of all to whom spiritual liberty is sacred. . .

To stop Ritualism the one sure step is to challenge this gross conception known as Apostolic Succession. No one can hold it and be, logically, a Protestant.'

Dr. Geikie writes with some power. He has apparently caught the literary trick of Macaulay, and his style is very good indeed. The book will have weight in many influential quarters, and it may supersede altogether some of its kindred in the libraries, though one would fancy that the literature of the Reformation is pretty well supplied already. Dr. Geikie is tolerably fair-minded and reasonable, and he seems to be pretty well informed about the politics and religious training of the United States and Canada. His attitude towards High Churchmen will attract attention, even if it leads to nothing more. The book is dedicated to the Archbishops and Bishops of England.

Mr. Wm. Winter is a very charming poet and a graceful writer of Eng lish prose. A beautifully printed account of his recent trip to England* has reached us. It is just the sort of book we would expect from the pen of a poet. The diction is pure and flowing, and the many delicious bits of descriptive writing and elegantly turned sentences which enrich the volume on almost every page, will attract those readers who love to be

*The Trip to England, by WILLIAM WISTER. Boston Lee & Shepard. New York: Charles T. Dillingham. Toronto: Hart & Rawlinson.

beholden,' as Emerson has it, 'to the great Metropolitan English speech, the sea which receives tributaries from every region under Heaven.' The writer has tried to reflect the poetry of England, and to preserve the language in all its purity and force, and his efforts have not in any way proved unsuccessful. The brochure is full of poetic and tender notes of a trip which must have been excessively lovely. As one knowing the tastes and habits of the author might infer, a goodly portion of the book is devoted to the home and haunts of Shakespeare, rambles in Old London, and glimpses of its odd corners and nooks, and a walk through Westminster, that splendid resting place of Britain's illustrious dead. These chapters will be sure to enlist the attention and win the admiration of the reader, but it is almost an injustice to Mr. Winter to single out these bits as specimens of his best work. Every chapter is interesting, and not a page is dull or commonplace. The voyage out, the sail across the vast depths of ocean, the marvellous beauty which England presents as the puffing steamer nears her shores, the visit to the palace of the Queen, the view of Warwick and famous Kenilworth, the word picture of the Tower, and the tender story of the Byron Memorial, and the graphic outline of the French coast, are parts of a beautiful whole, which none will skip or read carelessly. We have marked several passages for quotation, but this, from the fifth chapter, will, perhaps, give some idea of the author's ornate style.

'The American who, having been a careful and interested reader of English history, visits London for the first time, naturally expects to find the ancient city in a state of mild decay; and he is, consequently, a little startled at first, upon realizing that the Present is quite as vital as ever the Past was, and that London antiquity is, in fact, swathed in the robes of every day action, and very much alive when, for

example, you enter Westminster Hall -"the great hall of William Rufus"you are beneath one of the most glorious canopies in the world-one which was built by Richard II., whose grave, chosen by himself, is in the Abbey, just across the street from where you stand. But this old hall is now only a vestibule to the Palace of Westminster. The Lords and Commons of England, on their way to the Houses of Parliament, pass every day over the spot on which Charles I. was tried and condemned, and in which occurred. the trial of Warren Hastings. It is a mere thoroughfare, glorious though it be, alike in structure and historic renown. The Palace Yard near by was the scene of the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh; but all that now marks the spot is a rank of cabs and a shelter for cab-drivers. In. Bishopgate Streetwhere Shakespeare once lived-you may find Crosby House; the same to which, in Shakespeare's tragedy, the Duke of Gloster requests the retirement of Lady Anne. It is a restaurant now; and you may enjoy a capital chop and excellent beer in the veritable throneroom of Richard III. The house of Cardinal Wolsey, in Fleet Street, is now a shop. Milton lived once in Golden Lane; and Golden Lane was a sweet and quiet spot. It is a slum now, dingy and dismal, and the visitor is glad to get out of it. To-day makes use of yesterday, all the world It is not in London, certainly, that you find much of anything-except old churches-mouldering in solitude, silence and neglect. The Palace of Westminster is a splendid structure. It covers eight acres of ground, on the bank of the Thames; it contains eleven quadrangles and five hundred rooms; and, when its niches for statuary have all been filled, it will contain two hundred and twentysix statues. The monuments in St. Stephen's Hall-into which you pass from Westminster Hall, which has been incorporated into the Palace, and is its only ancient, and, therefore, its

over.

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most interesting feature-indicate, very eloquently, what a superb artgallery this will one day become. The statues are the images of Selden, Hampden, Falkland, Clarendon, Somers, Walpole, Chatham, Mansfield, Burke, Fox, Pitt and Grattan. Those of Mansfield and Grattan present, perhaps, the most of character and power, making you feel that they are indubitably accurate portraits, and drawing you by the charm of personality. There are statues, also, in Westminster Hall, commemorative of the Georges, William and Mary, and Anne ; but it is not of these you think, nor of any local and every day object, when you stand beneath the wonderful roof of Richard II. Nearly eight hundred years "their cloudy wings expand" above this fabric, and copiously shed upon it the fragrance of old renown. Richard II. was deposed there; Cromwell was there installed Lord Protector of England; John Fisher, Sir Thomas More and Strafford, were there condemned; and it was there that the possible, if not usual, devotion of woman's heart was so touchingly displayed by her

"Whose faith drew strength from death,
And prayed her Russell up to God."'

Mr. Winter's thoroughly enjoyable book is made up from the letters which he wrote for the New York Tribune, in commemoration of a delightful ten weeks' experience in England and France, during the summer of 1877, and is dedicated to Mr. Whitelaw Reid.

written about the rivers and streamlets, the villages and towns, and the odd nooks and corners of the States of New England. Every page reveals the fine catholic taste, the culture and scholarly attainments, and splendid judgment of the editor. But past volumes descriptive of the poetry of other and older continents have prepared the reader, in a measure, for the admirable character of the selections which find a place here. The purest gems of poesy, choice bits whose absence would indeed be missed, only, are preserved in these pretty collections. Nothing is inserted out of mere courtesy, or through the accident of locality. Mr. Longfellow is always critical and exacting, and his books contain the most exquisite only of the thousands of poems which must necessarily come under his notice. In the copies before us the editor draws liberally on Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Bryant, Montgomery, Emerson, and himself, and less copiously from Trowbridge, Cranch, Stoddard, Aldrich, Saxe, J. T. Fields, Celia Thaxter, Story, Dana, O'Reilly, Willis, McLellan, Southey, Halleck, Appleton, Rogers and others. When completed this series of poetry will be, beyond all doubt, the finest ever made.

A clever story comes to us from England. Miss Dempster, who is fa vourably known to novel-readers as the author of 'Vèra,' 'Blue Roses,' and some other tales, has brought out in London a new bit of fiction with the somewhat picturesque title of 'Within Sound of the Sea.'* The scene of the story is laid in Scotland, and though Miss Dempster is not as strong in descriptive writing as Mr. Black, nor as dramatic as Scott, nor as artistic as George Macdonald, she has still much individuality and talent as a story-teller, and a good deal of

skill in character grouping. The plot is quite simply constructed and, while there is little attempt at what may be termed fine writing, there are general passages of beauty and compass in the book. The characters get on very well, and one or two incidents, which are striking and realistic, are exceedingly well managed. Of course the progress of the tender passion is a marked feature in the narrative which Miss Dempster tells so well. There are several good situations in the story, and the conversations are for the most part bright and interesting. The heroine is a very charming young lady who, at an early period, gains the good-will of the reader, who cannot help following her varying fortunes with a more than ordinary degree of interest. She is the daughter of a close-fisted Scottish farmer, whose word in his own house at least, is law, and who adds to his accomplishment of getting drunk on 'cattle-day,' a deep-rooted hatred of femininity in boys and men. He is a man of hard and uncouth manners, and his disposition is as rough and unyielding as his dying wife's is mild and sweet-tempered. She is Highland Scotch, and the romantic element in her nature is inherited by her son Hugh, whose tastes are largely artistic. He detests farming, and having lived some years with an indulgent uncle, he receives with an ill grace the scoldings and corrections of his father. The elder Ford fancies there is nothing in his son because that young gentleman does not care to follow the plough, and dislikes the engaging occupation of the agriculturalist. The result is that whenever the couple meet, a quarrel is sure to ensue, and the powerless wrath of the son expends itself at the bedside of the wasting woman whose heart bleeds for the boy for whom she cherishes the warmest and strongest love. Hugh's troubles are shared by his sister Marion, the heroine of the tale, and he often listens to her mild reproof and accepts advice from her

when his own breast is full of angry emotions and injured pride. A truant escapade, a forbidden adventure in a boat, an angry scene at home, a blow struck by an unreasonable and infuriated parent decides the boy's future. He leaves his dying mother and sorrowing sister, and embarks on a whaling expedition, mentally resolving never to return to Netherbyres again, or to forgive the contumely of his chastisement. He meets with many adventures, and in the meantime his mother dies heart-broken at his absence. Marion, who unites the qualities of being able to love and of being loved holds the balance even between the parents, and often pours oil on the troubled waters and brings peace out of chaos. Of course such a sweet character would not remain long without admirers and lovers. Marion is beloved by two at the same time, a clergyman well advanced in years, and a dashing young physician of good family. She loves the latter, and is beloved in return, but though there is no actual troth plighted or vows exchanged, an 'understanding' is tacitly arrived at. Money matters at length call the doctor away from the Scottish coast, and in order to save his family name from threatened disgrace and pecuniary embarrassment the young physician smothers his passion for the woman he really loves, and marries his wealthy cousin at Norwood. Sad hearted, poor Marion Ford bemoans her fate, and seeks the bracing climate of the Highlands, at the advice of old Doctor Miller who notices the absence of roses from her cheek, and interprets the paleness of her face to grief for her mother's death. She comes back soon after, however, to her father's roof, in response to an urgent summons. The Reverend George Esslemont now sees his opportunity, and lays siege to the citadel of the maiden's heart. The love making between these two is most deliciously described by Miss Demuster, and the appearance on the