Moncure D. Conway : Addresses and Reprints, 1850 - 1907. (Houghton, Mifflin,
and Co. 12s. 68. net.)—Dr. Moncure Conway spent the first thirty years of his life in the United States. In 1862 he visited England as an envoy of the Abolition Society, and became minister of South Place Chapel in the following year. The last period of his life was spent in his native country. This volume contains representative specimens of his work, beginning with an essay on schools written when he was eighteen. We are -net able to say whether the selection does him justice ; it certainly contains much unbalanced thought and many statements which may be called even reckless. Let any one read what is written about Shelley : "After him there was a Shelley in every sane man born of an English mother "; or take this: "There are many thousands of ingenious forgeries in the Bible, all now admitted by theologians." Dr. Moncure Conway had doubtless souse power of thought, and a considerable power of expression ; but lie was capable of mistakes that may be best described as stupendous. Here is an attempt at rationalising. St. Thomas, he conjectured, was called Didymus because on his day in the Calendar day and night are equal. As the day happens to be the shortest, when day and night are most unequal, this could hardly be surpassed. It is not pleasant to write thus about a
man who was disinterested and sincere ; but it is impossible to be silent when our admiration is asked for such crude utterances as are to be found in this volume.
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