Pompeii : Descriptive and Picturesque. By W. B atter. (W.
Blackwood and Sons.)—Mr. Butler, who finds a text in his subject now and then on which to preach a little social or political sermon, describes in an interesting, lucid way what is to be seen at Pompeii,—describes not in the guide-book fashion, but as an intelligent observer who connects everything with the general order of the life of which it was a part. His book will therefore be found more than usually instraotive. Is it quite correct, by the way, to say that Pompeii was "a small country town ?" He himself estimates the population at from "twenty to thirty thousand." Could Mr. Butler name twenty cities of Italy at that time that had mere? Life was so centralised then that the provincial population in towns, as well as cities, was much diminished. Even Pompeii owed much of its comparative populous- ness to being a Roman resort.
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