20 DECEMBER 1890

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The Unionists carried the Bassetlaw Division of Notting- hamshire on

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Monday,—the division which includes East Retford and Worksop,—by a majority of 728, Sir Frederick Milner (Conservative) polling 4,381 votes, against 3,653 polled by Mr. Mellor,...

The Town Council of Edinburgh have carried unanimously a report

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regretting that Mr. Parnell's name was put on the list of burgesses, ordering its removal, and the transmission of a copy of the resolution removing it to Mr. Parnell. That open...

The Irish feud has been going on in a very

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active fashion all the week, two rival editions of United Ireland having appeared in Dublin, Mr. O'Brien's being called at first " Suppressed " United Ireland, and afterwards...

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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E dispute with the Portuguese in regard to the delimita- tion of their and our spheres of influence in South-East Africa still continues. On Monday, the Times published a...

On Thursday, there was a stormy debate in the French

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Chamber in regard to the dismissal of the Sisters of Mercy from the Paris hospitals. Dr. Armand Despres alleged that the act was neither legal nor demanded by public opinion ;...

IV The Editors cannot undertake to return Manuscript, in any

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case.

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Mr. Chamberlain, in presiding at a meeting of the Com-

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mittee of the Birmingham Liberal Unionist Association on Wednesday night, mentioned that some of his old friends amongst the Gladstonians have quite recently reopened com-...

Sir Henry James made an admirable speech at the Union

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Club on Tuesday, in proposing the health of the guest of the- evening, Mr. J. A. Fronde. He pointed out that only a few weeks ago, an ambassador had been sent to Mr. Parnell to...

Sir Henry also insisted that Mr. Gladstone's request for Mr.

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Parnell's resignation had been made very tardily, and not till,—and this is on Sir Charles Russell's own evidence,—Mr. Gladstone had carefully noted the rising tide of feeling...

On Thursday, the Reichsanzeiger published the full text of the

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German Emperor's speech at the Education Conference. It contains some very characteristic utterances. " We find our- selves," said the Emperor, "at the turning-point of a...

Mr. Justin McCarthy claims the support of Patrick Egan, who

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disappeared from Ireland at the time of the investiga- tion of the Phoenix Park murders, and has been mentioned by the Commission as an active member of the party of violence....

How much too sanguine Mr. Chamberlain's view of the political

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sagacity of " men of sense" on the Gladstonian side is, was proved by Ur, Campbell-Bannerman's speech at Culross (one of the Stirling District of Burghs for which he sits) on...

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In Lord Tollemache, who died at Helmingham on December Vth,

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the nation loses a country gentleman of the best type. His wonderful success in providing the labourers on his estates with allotments, gardens, and cow-runs has often been...

The libel action brought by Mr. Marks, the editor and

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pro- prietor of the Financial News, against Mr. Butterfield, which has occupied the Recorder's Court for the past week, ended on Wednesday in a verdict of " Not guilty." Mr....

On Saturday last, the 8clair published an article by M.

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Labruyere, a well-known French journalist, describing how he helped Padlewski, the murderer of General Seliverstoff, to escape. M. Labruyere was breakfasting with Madame...

The trial of Michel Eyraud and Gabrielle Bompard for the

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murder of Gouffe, the process-server, which began at the Seine Assizes on Tuesday, is attracting a great deal of attention in France,—the Judge receiving as many as five...

Bank Bate, 5 per cent. New Consols (21) were on

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Friday 95; to 95.

On Wednesday, the British North Borneo Company held its sixteenth

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half-yearly meeting at the City Terminus Hotel, when the Deputy-Chairman, Admiral Mayne, M.P., was able to point to a considerable amount of progress in regard to the...

The famous Indian Chief, or rather medicine-man, " Sitting Bull,"

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was killed on Monday during an attempt made by the police to secure his arrest, a step necessitated by the news that he contemplated flight. " The police, having arrested 4...

The Bishop of Lincoln has written a short letter to

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his clergy, announcing his intention to discontinue at once all the practices of which the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his judgment, has disapproved, and expressing his...

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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A WARNING TO UNIONISTS. T HE remarks with which Sir Henry James concluded his excellent speech at the Liberal Union Club on Tuesday were most opportune. Now is the moment at...

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THE FUN OF THE FAIR.

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C HARLES LEVER was right, after all. As the lads who leaped at his books as a new revelation in humour grew into men, they doubted if their appreciation was quite justified,...

THE BASSETLAW ELECTION. T HERE is good ground for encouragement in

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the election of a Unionist for the Bassetlaw Division of Nottinghamshire, but there is no good ground for elation ; and perhaps this is fortunate for us at a moment when any...

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THE AMERICAN CURRENCY CRAZE T HE first source of the demand

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for " more money " which is now disorganising parties in the United States, and may produce some most dangerous experiments, is the new position of the freeholders. These men...

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WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

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179 first Report of the Royal Commission which was ppointed in the spring to inquire into the want of space in Westminster Abbey for further interments and monuments, is...

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HOME-RULE FOR SCOTLAND. R ECENT developments in the Irish Home-rule agitation

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have caused many of the more moderate Gladstonians to reconsider the whole political situation, and to ask themselves what is the exact nature of those Nationalist and...

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DEAN CHURCH ON MEMORIALS.

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O NE would have expected Dean Church to forbid his friends to subscribe for any memorial to his memory. The action was like the humility which in him was a true grace, though it...

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MODERN CYNICISM.

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I T is curious that cynicism, of which we hear so much now in connection with the supposed (but entirely imaginary) indifference of the Unionists to Mr. Parnell's vices, on the...

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SIR EDGAR BOEHM.

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SINCE the premature death of Frank Holl, English art has certainly sustained no loss comparable in im- portance to that which it has just suffered in the death of Sir Edgar...

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CHRISTMAS.

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A S the revolving years bring Christmas to those who begin to reckon all future anniversaries as a rapidly shrinking amount, the question must often recur,—What change has come...

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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MORALITY AND CYNICISM. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."3 Sin,—Mr. Maurice's letters, which would enforce some atten- tion were it merely from the name he bears, always seem...

IRISH NATIONALISTS AND ENGLISH RADICALS,

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "' SIR, - YOu say truly that "the first important consequence of the split in the Irish Party will be its tendency to convince the English...

DR. PUSEY AND DR. NEWMAN.

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j To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "' SIR,—In the chapter of " Lord Melbourne's Letters," from. which most of the anecdotes as to his exercise of patronage,. given in your long...

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IN A LATE SCHOLAR'S LIBRARY.

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How oft your loved society he sought, Ye bards and sages ! He the world would quit, Here at thy feet, 0 Dante, listening sit, And by thy lips, melodious lips, be taught ! ! In...

EDUCATION AND DRUDGERY.

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!To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR."' Sin,—We schoolmasters ought to feel greatly obliged to our mentors who are so willing, both from the Throne and in the Press, to " make us...

ART.

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WATER-COLOURS AND PASTELS. THERE is a good deal of water-colour on view at this moment in London. There is the Exhibition of Sketches and Studies at the Old Water-Colour...

A CORRECTION.

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rro THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR. " ] Sla, Will you have the kindness to correct in your next :issue the misprint of "John" Law, on p. 869 of your issue of December 13th ? The...

POETRY.

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AN ANTHEM OF DECEMBER. ONCE at Christmas, in a far-back midnight, To the raised imagination of a child Reached the cadences of distant music, Strange, familiar, pleading,...

LOAN STUD FOR CABMEN AND OTHERS.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] Siu,—May I beg permission to acknowledge the following kind donations towards my new loan stud, received in response to my letter of appeal...

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BOOKS.

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THE LIFE OF MR. P. H. GOSSE.' APART from the good work done by him as a naturalist, Philip Gosse's Life deserved to be written, and his son's attractive narrative will interest...

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MRS. OLIPHANT'S " ROYAL EDINBURGH."* Ennanusas is one of a

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small group of European cities—to which Venice, Florence, and Rome belong—that, owing either to the romance of their history, or the everlasting charm of their natural...

WAYFARING IN FRANCE.*

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IT seems to us that Mr. Barker has the ideal spirit of a traveller, though he would hardly call himself by such an ambitious name. In his own language he is " a tramp," and few...

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WHAT ANGLERS MAY SEE.*

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" WE can be far from the madding crowd," says the author of The Riverside Naturalist (" we" meaning the angler), "yet. in the midst of living beings. Rest for a moment on that...

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THE CONGO CANNIBALS.*

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MR. HERBERT WARD was, fortunately for himself, absent from Yambuya when the lamentable occurrences took place which have cast a dark shadow upon the history of the Emin Relief...

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CURRENT LITERATURE.

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GIFT-BOOKS. The Poetical Works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. (Macmillan and Co.)—This is quite an exquisite specimen of typography and work- manship. Though the print is...

Lloyd's Sketches of Indian Life. (Chapman and Hall.) — Here we have

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some scores of coloured pictures of life, English and native, in India. Soldiers in uniform, the incidents of travel, English amusements, bits of scenery, and other matters that...

MR. RUSKIN'S WORK.*

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WE need not hesitate to accept this volume as a text-book of Ruskin's principles and practice, not authorised, indeed, but authoritative, so far as a discipleship at once...

Two Little Boys. By Louise Marston. (Sohn F. Shaw.)—This is

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a touching little story from the " annals of the poor." It is more common, we should imagine, to find children abandoned than to hear of their being kidnapped. However, the...

Every - Day Miracles. By Bedford Pollard. (T. Fisher Unwin.) —In a

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series of chapters on natural history, the writer seeks to interest young people in the wonders of every-day life, the stars, animals, plants, and kindred subjects. It is easy...

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Mad John Burleigh. By Mrs. Charles Garnett. (S. W. Part-

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ridge and Co.)—John Burleigh, possessed by a vocation to the work of a clergyman, refuses the succession to an inheri- tance which his uncle offers him. This is his first "mad-...

Royal Portrait gallery. (Nelson and Sons.)—Here we have a series

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of pictures of English Sovereigns from William the Con- queror down to Victoria, together with some sketches of earlier times. Each portrait is accompanied by letterpress,...

One - and - Twenty Pages. By " Twym." (David Bryce and Son, Glasgow.)

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—This is a volume of sketches humorous and pathetic, sketches of life/high and low, of a wedding-breakfast, for instance, a football-match, " The People's Dinner-Hour," " The...

We have received a "new edition, revised and enlarged," of

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Mr. W. H. G. Kingston's Yacht Voyage Round England (Religious Tract Socilty). The illustrations are numerous and good. " Round England " must be understood to include the island...

Up North in a Whaler. By Edward A. Rand. (Hutchinson

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and Co.)—This is a story of adventure in the Arctic Seas. We are told something in it of what has been endured and achieved by explorers in those regions, and we also have...

The Nine Worlds. By Mary E. Litchfield. (Ginn and Co.)—

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The writer has retold the beautiful stories of the old Norse mythology in well-chosen and expressive language, and has, we think, hit the happy mean between simplicity and a...

Through Magic Glasses. By Arabella B. Buckley. (E. Stanford.) —Miss

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Buckley contrives, after her own skilful manner, to give a certain charm and liveliness to her scientific lessons. Her first subject is the moon. Descriptions, explained by...

The Percivals. By Evelyn Everett-Green. (Religious Tract Society.)—In many respects

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this is a more ambitious work than has hitherto been attempted by the author of a number of stories distinguished more by simplicity than by any other quality. Mrs. Green not...

Ada Hatherley at School. By Constance Evelyn. (Religious Tract Society.)—Ada

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Hatherley is an impulsive, somewhat head- strong girl of fifteen, whom her parents, having to make a journey to America, determine to leave for a year at a boarding-school. How...

True Stories from French History. Compiled by N. M. Paul.

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(Griffith, Ferran, and Co.)—From Vercingetorix, the ablest cham- pion of Gallic liberties against Caesar, down to the Franco- Prussian War, with its recollections of Bazaine,...

An Ocean Knight. Translated from the French of Fortune du

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Boisgobey. (Frederick Warne and Co.)—Hilarion, Chevalier de Tourville, is a name known to Englishmen chiefly as the com- mander of the French fleet at the Battle of La Hogue....

Fritz of Prussia. By Lucy Taylor. (T. Nelson and Sons.)—

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Miss Taylor tells the story of " Frederick, second Emperor of Germany," from the days of his boyhood down to his death. Of course we hear much, as we read of the immediate...

Roland Salbris. By Hector Malot. (Hutchinson and Co.)— M. Malot

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produces excellent books for young people. He has all the vivacity and delicate humour that are characteristic of the best French writers. The hero of this story is a most in-...

The Dominant Seventh. By Kate Elizabeth Clark. (Heinemann.) — The Dominant

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Seventh is a somewhat romantic story with, as its title denotes, a musical setting. The characters are musicians, and without their music they would not possess much interest...

Page 25

The Garret and the Garden, and Jeff Benson. By R.

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M. Ballantyne. (Nisbet.)—In neither of the two stories which compose this volume is Mr. Ballantyne quite up to his usual mark, although in themselves both are, in point of...

The White Lady of Hazelwood. By Emily S. Holt. (John

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F. Shaw.)—This is an attempt—and, on the whole, a very successful attempt—to reproduce, in the form of an essentially religious historical fiction, the last and miserable days...

Strange Doings in Strange Places. By divers Authors. (Cassell and

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Co.)—Two disappointed and mad lovers, one who disguises himself as a guide and assaults his mountaineering mistress on the brink of a precipice in the High Alps, another who...

The Winding Way. By J. S. Fletcher. (Kogan Paul and

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Co.) —This is a strong and ingenious story, which is saying a great deal for a variation on the often-used theme of the personation of a dead man by a temporary comrade who has...

Eventide Light. By Emma Marshall. (John F. Shaw.)—This is a

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good specimen of the historical novel, specially intended for boys and girls, and suited to their capacities. Treating of the Armada period of history, it recounts the...

Ardis Claverton. By Frank R. Stockton e .. works oft o Low

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and Sam p son Co.)—Extravagance is the life and sour ce ` ` of a kind whic p author of " Rudder Grange," but it is extrava Virgi o n;an iov C era leop . a oer fi c a h to we...

Having and Holding. By J. E. Panton. (Trischler and Co.)—

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Mrs. Panton is well known in connection with pots and pans, the concealment of corners, and the adornment of attics. She seems a little out of her element in the realms of...

Wedding. Stories of the Long Lane that has No Turning.

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By Robert Overton, and others. (Hutchinson and Co )—We cannot see the applicability of the second title of this collection of stories. Marriage, especially modern marriage, is...

Floss Silverthorne. By Agnes Giberne. (John F. Shaw.)—It is a

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pity that the very genuine piety in this book is so emphasised as almost to become—or at least to seem—unctuosity, and slightly to mar the story, which is a simple but rather a...

The Last of the Matallisters. By Amelia E. Barr. (James

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Clarke and Co.)—This is a story with the eternal Prince Charlie for sub- hero, and an athletic and violent young Highland chieftain, with no merits but athleticism and violence,...

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Rosalba : a Story of the Apennines. By F. G.

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Wallace-Good- body. (Allen and Co.)—This is a strange book. The story is confused and rather tedious, and it seems now and then to con- found the social condition of Italy...

Ki/groom : a Story of Ireland. By John A. Steuart.

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(Sampson Low and Co.)—Since Mr. Anthony Trollope wrote "The Mac- dermota of Ballycloran," no such pathetic picture of an Irish- man has been drawn as that of Ned Blake in Mr....

Nutshell Novels. By J. Ashby- Sterry. (Hutchinson and Co.)— 'This

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crowded but trivial volume affords a confirmation of the old saying, " Too much of a good thing is good for nothing." Taken separately, or even two at a time, Mr. Ashby-Sterry's...

The Vicar of Wakefield. By Oliver Goldsmith. With a Preface

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by Austin Dobson, and Illustrations by Hugh Thomson. (Mac- millan.)—Mr. Austin Dobson's preface appeared as an article in the English Illustrated Magazine. It gives a highly...

Syd By G. Manville Fenn. (Methuen and Co.)—Mr. Fenn ta/e5 , 11 for

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his sub-title, " The Boy who would not go to Sea." He works trgto this idea very well. Sydney Belton is not one of those enthA ert :c lads who are bent on a sea-life, and very...

Tales by Leigh Hunt. Now first Collected, with a Prefatory

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Memoir, by William Knight, LL.D. (Paterson and Co.)— Leigh Hunt was an accomplished essayist and poet, great in neither department but pleasant in both. Keats, whom he be-...

The Life of Robert Burns. By John Gibson Lockhart. Revised

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edition, with new Notes, Appendices, and Literary Illustrations, by John H. Ingram. (Ward, Lock, and Co.)—On the title-page of this volume, the editor has unfortunately quoted a...

Sidney. By Margaret Deland. (Longman and Co.)—The success of Mrs.

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Deland's first notable work, "John Ward, Preacher," has encouraged her in writing on similar lines,—that is to say, in depicting the peace and comfort that are derived from...

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We have received some fine specimens of various processes of

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artistic reproduction. The Autotype Company publish Zenobia's- Last Look on Palmyra, by Mr. Herbert Schmalz, a fine work, which has been secured for the National Gallery of...

The Troubles of Monsieur Bourgeois. By George Frost. (Eden, Remington,

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and Co.)—The struggles of Monsieur Bourgeois to achieve those ever-receding desiderata, economy, and a dot for his daughter, despite the extravagance, and hankerings after the...

Short Biographies for the People. By Various Writers. (Reli- gious

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Tract Society.)—This is the seventh volume of a series of which we have on several previous occasions spoken with well- deserved praise. The subjects of the twelve biographies...

The Bookworm. An Illustrated Treasury of Old-Time Litera- ture. Third

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Series. (Elliot Stock.)—Although this olla podrida of good things about books and book-collectors does not fully answer to its title, it is a capital volume to glance over in...

The Post-Office London Directory for 1891. The ninety-second annual publication.

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(Kelly and Co.)—A commendable feature in connection with the latest issue of this compact and useful business compendium is the fact that the enterprising pub- lishers have...

The Servant of the Lord in Isaiah :cl.-lxvi. By John

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Forbes, D.D. (T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh.)—Some forty years ago, Dr. Forbes, who is now Emeritus Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Edinburgh, wrote a very...

The Autocrat in the Green ; with a Play after

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" Othello." By William Spink. (Bickers and Son.)—Mr. Spink puts forth with much vigour, and occasional looseness of expression, his views on the drama of to-day. If it is to be...

Wood-Carving. By C. G. Leland, M.A. (Whittaker and Co.)— This

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is published, we are told, in furtherance of the object of prac- tical education, a subject on which the author has already written. Whatever may be its aim, it treats of...