BRITISH NORTH AMERICA.*
Miss LAMP'S volume has been written, it would seem, to supply a generally felt want of a single-volume history of Canada; it gives accordingly in some four hundred pages a vigorously out- lined sketch of this subject. So far it is a success ; but there are drawbacks. There are abrupt transitions, and, as we cannot but think, a too curt dismissal of some phase of affairs or some interesting personality. The style is throughout somewhat rough and jerky. Occasionally, as when we come to the American invasion of Canada, the narrative is not quite as lucid as could be wished. Extra care is surely needed when the names of the two contending parties are alike English. We may also remark that while the historic present lends itself to a vivid description of stirring scenes, its use requires special care if two or three threads of history have to be kept side by side and yet distinct. On the whole, however, we may say that Miss Lanes book is good reading. She gives us from time to time picturesque details, especially when she tells us about Hudson's voyage, or about the long struggle between France and England, or shows us the portraits of some of the strong men who have made the country what it is. The maps, if somewhat minute, are good, and there are some excellent reproductions of old portraits and prints.
Dr. Grenfell, while responsible for the greater part of the volume on Labrador, has availed himself of the help of experts in the chapters dealing with geology, the Hamilton River, and the native tribes. The result is that we have at once an accurate description of the country and an honest and unbiassed account of its past history and its present condition. We certainly have much to learn about Labrador. Prejudices
-• (I) Canada. By Agnes Laut. London : Ginn and Co. [7s.
ca) Labrador. By Wilfred Grenfell. London: Macmillan and Co. [Ns.] die hard, and the common conception of the country is not easily dislodged. Doubtless the summer is short and the winter long ; but is there not a country, familiar to the readers of this notice, of which the complaint is commonly made that it has no summer at all? The natural wealth of the peninsula is great, its fish harvest, in particular, making a very important item in the European supply. The Labradorians endure many hardships, but these are, to a certain extent, of their own creation. The abundance of summer does not make them thrifty; while a long succession of privations in winter fails to give them foresight. They are of European origin, hardy and vigorous, and not illiterate ; yet they are on a lower plane than the less favourably situated Eskimo. These, thanks to the unwearying persistence of the Moravian missionaries, are, man for man, better educated than their white brothers. Dr. Grenfell tells us that the fishermen are duly grateful to the companies which have embarked their capital in the coast industries of Labrador, and he himself has nothing but praise for them. Still, it may be argued that the method of payment does not make for independence. Meanwhile the sportsman, the geologist, and the traveller should read Dr. Grenfell's book ; they will find in it something of the fascination of the country.
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