CURRENT LITERATURE.
The Annab of our Time. By Joseph Irving. (Macmillan.)—We cannot do better, by way of giving an account of this volume, than quote the descriptive title. It is "a diurnal of events, social and political, which have happened in, or had relation to, the Kingdom of Great Britain, front the accession of Queen Victoria to the opening of the pre- sent Parliament." It is a good idea, and, as far as we can judge, very well executed. Any reader who takes it up will find, we venture to say, an extraordinary fascination in it. Let Any one imagine what it is to have in a handy volume, itself a marvel, or what would have been a marvel a few years ago, of clear, compact printing, the essence of a more than thirty years file of newspapers,—the essence, let it be observed, for the mass, before it has been treated by a skilful epitomiser, is one of the most repulsive of things. Here we have, so to speak, a selection of photographs of passing scenes and opinions. Mr. Irving wisely keeps, as a rule, the contemporary form of narrative. Each year tells its own story; and the freshness, and with the freshness the value, of the whole is preserved. We do not know whether the book or the index is in fault, but we can find bat three notices of the Bill for legalizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister. It has certainly been more frequently before Parliament.
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