Murvale Eastman : Christian Socialist. By Albion W. Tourgee. (Sampson
Low and Co.) —This is a distinctly interesting story. The matter is, indeed, much superior to the form. We think it would have been better if the story of John Underwood, and the story of the preacher who gives a title to the tale and is its real hero, had been kept distinct, In fact, the weaving of the plot which entangles their lines of life jars a little on the taste of a reader who is interested in the serious problem with which the writer seeks to deal. Murvale Eastman is a hard-headed, straight- forward, logical• minded man who, by some strange chance, has become the minister of the Church of the Golden Lilies, a place where the richest, and therefore the "best," people of a certain American city are delighted to worship. To this congregation he preaches a "gospel of wealth" that is not by any means to the liking of most of them, and least of all to the liking of Mr. Kisher, who is the " lay-pope " of the place. The situation is worked out with considerable skill. The episode of the " Belt and Cross-Cut" Tramway Company strike is excellently told, and not without some useful practical hints. A Company that should manage its affairs in such a way might make the "best of both worlds" in a good sense. It is interesting to see how the great social questions are making themselves felt in the States.
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