Recollections of a Literary Life. By Mary Russell Mitford. (Bentley
and Son.)—This is a reprint from the original edition of 1851. The title, as Miss Mitford says in her preface, gives a very
imperfect idea of the contents of the book. There are charming little sketches of rural life in it, such as we find in "Our Tillage," full of tenderness and grace, and wonderfully vivid; there are fragment& of autobiography and family history ; and there is criticism, forming; indeed, the main staple of the contents. Miss Milford was a very- kindly critic, and if she erred, erred on the side of indulgence. She had especially a taste for poets whom the world has forgotten, or, perhaps, never thought of. Still, on the whole, her taste was good and her judgment sound. It is to be noted that she early expressed the appreciation of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Oliver Wendell Holmes which is now universal among all English-speaking people. How- ever, it is late in the day to write the praises of Miss Mitford. Let it suffice thus briefly to notice the appearance of this handy edition of a most interesting book.
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