BOOKS.
THIS W EEK'S BOOKS.
FROM the point of view of the general reader, the most interesting of this week's books are The Dance of Life, by Havelock Ellis (Constable) ; A Life of Lord Shaftesbury, by J. L. and Barbara Hammond (Constable) ; and Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler's review of American history, entitled Building the American .Nation (Cambridge University Press). Mr. Havelock Ellis, of course, introduces into his philosophy more psychology than would be relished by the orthodox metaphysician. His pleasantly-written book covers a very wide field and shows how little in human nature is alien or even distasteful to him. Lord Shaftesbury's life is admirably written, the emphasis being thrown, naturally, on his public work ; but the private side of that sensitive, eccentric, very Victorian character is not neglected. Dr. Murray Butler gives original documents of that baffling, much-debated instrument, the American Constitution ; and Constitutional problems play a great part in his narrative, which is, however, conducted through the medium of a series of biographies of prominent American statesmen.
In The Romans in Britain (Methuen) Sir Bertram Windle has given an account of the Roman Occupation as it affected the lives of the people. It is a very readable book, not too technical, and the military aspect of the occupation is subordinated to the discussion of antiquities and internal administration.
Dr. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, republished with considerable additions by Messrs. Cassell, is a very welcome book. Photographers will find everything they need, and much beside, in Photography as a Scientific instrument, an exhaustive, highly-specialized treatise, published by Messrs. Blaekie. It is not a beginner's, and scarcely an amateur's, handbook. Very attractive is The Travels of Fa-Hsien (Cambridge University Press), an account of the Buddhistic kingdoms in India and China. Finally, we must not omit to record the appearance of a volume of short stories by Mr. A. S. M. Hutchinson, entitled The Eighth Wonder, and published by Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton. TEE LITERARY EDITOR.
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