Miscatasussons. — The Silver Map of the World. By Miller Christy. (H.
Stevens, Son, and Stiles. 12s. 6d. net.) —Mr Christy gives a description of a certain medallion, of which two copies are in the British Museum and another in private bands. It appears to have been struck in 1561, the year after Drake's return from his voyage round the world. It gives an excellently conceived map of the world, with the line of Drake's voyage marked upon it. Other chapters are devoted to questions in geography, especially the Zeno chart.— Leaves from a Squatter's Note-Book. By Thomas Major. (Sands and Co. 3s. 6d.)—The preface is dated 1894, but the volume appears now—for anything stated to the contrary—for the first time. In any case it will be new to most of our readers. The author, who was an " inspector of runs " in New South Wales. tells of a state of things that has, for the most part, passed away His descriptions of men and things, his stories of adventure, sketches of aboriginal life and character, are often very interest- ing.—Without the Limelight. By G. R. Sims. (Chatto and Windus. 2s. 6d.)—" Theatrical Life as it is " is Mr. Sims's sub-title. If a parent or guardian wishes to disenchant a stage- struck lad or girl here is the potent remedy. It is not that all the stories end in disaster. Mr. Sims knows his trade to well to let that happen. But we are shown a rough journey, with many pitfalls by the way, and seldom leading to any haven to be desired. Mr. Sims tells his stories in a simple and effective fashion, with no unnecessary horrors or extravagant pathos.— Houses for the Working Classes in Urban Districts. By Sidney White Cranfield and Henry Ingle Potter. (B. T. Batsford. 15s. net.)—Whatever we may think about the housing problem, there can be no doubt about the utility of well-considered plans. Arrangement goes for a good deal in the matter of economy, the same cubic space giving more " room " in one way than in another. This handsome volume is a valuable contribution to the subject, which, it should be observed, is that of urban house- building. Country cottages cannot be built at a remunerative price, so low are the rentals; in a town the financial difficulty is not hopeless. But these matters are not for these columns; on general grounds we can commend this volume of plans and particulars.—Pro Finlandia (D. Nutt and Co., 16s, net), is a reproduction in facsimile of the addresses, with signatures, presented, or that should have been presented, to the Czar, with the hope of inducing him to respect the liberties of Finland.— With this may be mentioned the Reply of the Finnish Estates to the Proposals of Nicholas II. (Eyre and Spottiswoode). The proposals concerned a new military system in Finland, a subject of great interest just now here and elsewhere.—The quarterly portion of The Oxford English Dictionary, edited by Dr. James A. Murray (Clarendon Press, 5s.), contains an instalment of Vol. VI., In-Infer. Of 1,864 main words one only—inch- is genuinely English; the others are either of purely Latin or of mixed origin, as when the particle "in" is com- pounded with some English word, as in " inborn," " inbred."— A List of English Plays Written before 1643. By Walter Wilson Greg. (Blades, East, and Blades.)—This volume, printed for the Bibliographical Society, is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of English literature. The list runs to one hundred and forty-four pages, and contains, we reckon, between seven hundred and eight hundred plays.—In Paris, by Katharine S. and Gilbert S. Macquoid (Methuen and Co., 1s.), is a guide intended for those who know nothing of Paris. Two rough but serviceable maps accompany it, one giving a sketch of the City itself, another of the Exhibition, and there are illustrations of various buildings.—With this may be mentioned, as connected with the same subject, Catalogue of the English Books and. Music (Paris Exhibition), a list, with particulars, of the books which are to form the collection made by the Publishers' Association for the Royal British Commission. Fifty-six publishers have con- tributed.
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