The Achievements of Youth. By the Rev. Robert Steel. (Nelson.)
—This is a most stimulating book to put into the hands of a pro- mising and ambitious boy. As its name indicates, it narrates what has been done in the world by young men ; it is, in fact, a series of brief biographies of young poets, young prose writers, young linguists, young men of science, young painters, young musical composers, young military commanders, young statesmen, and young divines. As a biographer, Mr. Steel is not without his faults. In the cases of some of his heroes, he condenses too much ; in other cases, he does not condense sufficiently. His sense of proportion is by no means just. Thus, on what principle does he, in his chapter on " Military Commanders," give five pages to Don Juan of Austria, and only two to Hannibal ? In some chapters, also, there is just a suggestion of sermonising. But, on the whole, Mr. Steel has done his work admirably, and has produced a book which is in its way an excellent and trustworthy dictionary of biography.
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