THE NOTE-BOOKS OF SAMUEL . BUTLER.. . Shrews- bury Edition. Edited by
Henry Festing Jones and A. T. Bartholomew. Vol. 20. (Jonathan Cape. £21 the set.) —Samuel Butler could not have desired a more attractive or better edited set of his, works than the limited Shrewsbury edition which is now completed by the issue of the " Note- Books." These twenty- volumes are admirably printed on fine paper and yet are not too luxurious for everyday reading. We have often thought that those who do not yet know Butler might well begin with thiS miscellany, which is always interesting, often exasperating and often, too, highly amusing. We shall not be deemed immodest if we quote Butler's admis• sion that, though reviews and advertisements did not help to sell his books, " the review of Erewhon in the Spectator did sell a few copies of Erewhon, but then it was such a strong one and the anonymousness of the book stimulated curiosity." That by the way, was in 1872.
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