Cassell's History of the United States. By Edmund Oilier. VoL
(Cassell and Co.)—This third volume carries on the history from 1826 down to the present time, touching, of course very lightly and with neces- sary caution, on quite recent events. The feature of the book is naturally the groat Civil War, to which Mr. 011ier devotes nearly half of his space. His narrative, as far as we have been able to examine it, is clearly written, and the spirit in which the question at issue and the conduct of the antagonists are considered is fair and candid. We may cite, as an instance, the estimate of General Butler's conduct at New Orleans, where a necessary duty was done with some unnecessary brutality. To go back to an earlier period, we may note what Mr. Oilier says of the Ashburton Treaty. Here he certainly is, to say the least, not unjust to the United States. We have always understood that the conduct of Daniel Webster in the matter of the Maine Boundary was not quite straightforward, that he had actually in his possession evidence which gave much more to England than was settled by the treaty. On the whole, our American relatives have no reason to complain of the way in which they have been treated. The volume is very good reading, and is copiously adorned with illustrations, among which the portraits are specially interesting. What would we not give to have Thucydides, Livy, and Tacitus illustrated with genuine portraits I
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