CURRENT LITERATURE.
The Contemporary Review, September. (Strahan.)—We specially recommend to our readers Miss Florence Hill's article on "The Family System for Workhouse Children." To give a child a home—the family relations without which his life must be sadly maimed, friends whose hearts he knows that he will wound by going wrong—is a method which commends itself to one a priori. As reduced to practice, it has had con- spicuous success, and, it must be allowed, conspicuous failure. The question is not yet settled by any means, though the "family system" is doubtless advancing in popular favour, its chief hindrance being the suspicion that " boarding-out "cannot be protected against grave abuses. Meanwhile, an able advocate of the "district school " system has risen, up in Mr. Tufnell. With his arguments and statistics Miss Hill deals in this essay ; and does so, in some respects, we think, with a decided success. Wo can speak with less reserve of the very bright and encouraging picture which she draws of the working of the system which she advocates in Scotland, where it has become almost universal, and in those districts of England where it is in course of trial. Altogether it is a very interesting and valuable essay, which every guardian of the poor, to whom the care of the children among his wards ought to be very dear, should read. Another very noticeabli, essay, specially valuable as the work of a man who thoroughly knows his subject, is Dr. Reichert; paper on "The Constitution of the Die- established Church of Ireland." It is not the less valuable because it is a record of facts, rather than a statement of opinions ; and because these facts are, as Dr. Reichel says, " fraught with instruction or warning-"
The house of Anchises will not long be spared when that of 1Jealegon is on fire. It may be so ; all that we can say is that what we read here does not make the prospect more attractive. Professor Calderwood -reviews Professor Huxley's "Lay Sermons," dealing specially with the Professor's attitude with regard to metaphysical science. The number also contains articles by Mr. R. H. Hutton on " The Politics of the War ; " 43y Mr. Alfred Church on "Day Schools, their Advantages and Disad- vantages ;" and on " Dean Stanley's Essays on Church and State ;" and the usual quarterly review of contemporary literature, in which we are always sure to find some sound and just criticism on books. In this number the short criticisms on metaphysical books are remarkably able.
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