our countryman, Professor Hardy, has given us a picture of pure and noble friendship, "all relationships grow closer through our poverty as well as wealth,"

a true saying, which most of us have verified in our experience. I once had a dear and true friend, whose only fault as toward me was this, that she did not need me as I needed her, and so I missed the joy of giving what it was my comfort to receive.

The preciousness of a friendship which not only rejoices and soothes the heart, but strengthens the spirit and lifts us continually to the level of our best selves, -who can estimate it? It is valuable for the support of life as bread for the body's need, far more indispensable to us than truffles and champagne.

To be chosen for a friend by a nobleminded man or woman, is it not to receive a decoration of honor more significant than many a star and ribbon on a diplomate's breast?

Looking at my life, I can truly say with Shakespeare's King Richard, "I count myself in nothing else so happy, as in a soul remembering my good friends."

Whoever has been cast away in a remote Western village at some time of violent storms, when telegraphic communication with the rest of the world was suddenly suspended, knows the vexatious sign they hang out at the telegraph office, "Wires down." Similarly, there occur atmospheric disturbances between minds, having the effect of cutting off any intelligible intercourse. Sometimes, between ourselves and certain individual friends, it becomes a permanent condition of things. The wires are "down," and never get put up again. Most of us find this to be the state of affairs in relation to the whole world on some particular subjects of thought and opinion. It may be one's view regarding the sphere of women, or the real value of this and that popular author, or the true origin of certain observances:

whatever it is, it results in practical isolation to that extent.

Even when the ordinary means of communication are open, we are far enough from having free intercourse between one mind and another. We like to take a superior tone toward the other animals, and talk about our immense advantage in being endowed with articulate speech. But in point of fact human words are very inadequate appliances for their purpose. This wonderful gift of speech is only relatively so. The monkeys the old saying iscould talk well enough if they wanted to, but are afraid they would be set to work. They ought to tie up their tails and go at it, if that is all the obstacle; for they do talk. So do the dogs, and there is no bird but talks as well as sings the faun's ears are not necessary to know that. Man's speech is only a little more satisfactory. If we are content with it, it is only because we have never known anything better. Beings endowed with a really complete means of inter-communication might well (and perhaps do) look on our human efforts at speech with compassion, as we look at some intelligent dog when his speaking eye seems to blur with tears in his impossible yearning to tell us his thought. As they watch two human beings making desperate efforts to get their ideas imparted with anything like accuracy and completeness, "Ah!" they may be overheard to exclaim, "the poor intelligent creatures, how hard they try to talk! It almost appears as if some time they might attain to it." Very close friendship, or some exceptional variety of love, may occasionally seem for a time to span the chasm, but in reality there is no practicable bridge; the rare thought that crosses safely from the one brain to the other is only some momentary electric spark, whose heat and force have enabled it for once to leap the dark void between them.

If the inadequacy of language is ap

parent enough with regard to definite ideas, it is still more painfully conspicuous when it comes to the subtleties of the mind; those delicate nuances, for example, in which consists the irresistible comicality of a ludicrous incident or situation. There are such episodes in our life-experience that have a melancholy aspect in memory, from the fact that we never can by any possibility hope to make them appear as funny to anybody else as they were to ourselves. We may take the tack of telling the story with artistic simplicity, relying on the force of the naked facts, or we may give it any amount of ornate and ingenious elaboration; we may adopt the keep-perfectly-sober-yourself method of humorous narration, or the sympathetichilarity method, it is all one the listener never can see what we found to laugh at so much. It is like our own rainbow, nobody else's eyes ever can see it; and it gives a peculiar lonesomeness, for the time being, to human existence.

Such a case in the writer's experience was that of a small relative, a young lady of some three summers. Sitting down with her usual abandon in the midst of her playthings on the floor, she suddenly heard a plaintive squawk beneath her. Quickly reaching down for the cause, she pulled out her crying-doll. "Oh! is that 'oo?" said baby, surprised. "I fought it was my mouf-organ!" Now I relate this domestic anecdote only as illustrative of a whole class of little incidents whose comicality never can be adequately conveyed to another. The funniness consisted in some intangible

atmosphere, combined of many minute particulars, that cannot be trapped in clumsy speech and carried away.

Such another case is a reminiscence of a Down-East village. I was coming out of the post-office, when I met a pompous little person; the distinguished citizen of the place, extremely nearsighted, with a small face incessantly alternating between cold disdain and a very squinted-up and perplexed look. He had just emerged from the grocery store, holding under one arm a number of irregular parcels that had already begun to shift and slide; and under the other was hugged one of those great long-oval watermelons, very heavy and slippery. As the packages slid, one back and another forward, and he writhed his small frame to guard both directions at once, I saw the watermelon begin to go. One knee was brought up to catch it, and then for an instantfor me, but probably an eternity to him

too, too brief

it was a surprising study of how many simultaneous points of support can be developed out of one not specially well-constructed piece of human mechanism. His legs were thin, and attached in that free manner which sug gests the universal joint of the ancient flail. His rapid combinations, his frantic efforts to utilize chin, elbows, knees, and hip-joints all at once, made a really remarkable sight. But I never shall be able to make any fellow-being share this memory with me. which that wild dance was for the moment capable of affording to the sorrowful human spirit must forever - I feel it remain my own solitary possession.

The delirious joy

Biblical Criticism. The Pentateuch, its Origin and Structure, an Examination of Recent Theories, by E. C. Bissell. (Scribners.) Professor Bissell's preface prepares one for a conservative yet generous treatment of the subject. He is clearly desirous of getting at the bottom of the matter, and that counts for a vast deal. In form the book is an examination of Wellhausen and similar critics, but in substance it is an inquiry into the documents which form the object of the destructive criticism, and bears many marks of independent thought as well as reverent handling. There is an extensive bibliography at the close, which is defective, however, in the fullness of name. Authors

are entered sometimes with full name, sometimes only with surname. -The Blood Covenant, a Primitive Rite and its Bearings on Scripture, by H. Clay Trumbull. (Scribners.) This work is not exclusively a study in Biblical lore; it aims to include ethnic illustrations and interpretations of the Bible, but its main purport is to show how deep in human nature lies a very conspicuous element in Biblical ceremonial. Dr. Trumbull has brought together much interesting material, and if he has not opened a distinctly new subject, he has certainly let in a great deal of light from a side window which has been largely neglected by commentators and critics.

Education and Text Books. Summary of English Grammar, compiled for the use of the Notting Hill High School (Rivingtons, London): a compact little work built upon the same general principles as a Latin grammar. In the aim at condensation terms are used which, for beginners, would need explanation. - A Short Statement of the Aim and Method of the Rōmaji Kai, or Roman Alphabet Association of Japan (Tōkyō; printed at the Insetsa-Kyoku, that is, Imperial Printing Office): an interesting little pamphlet explanatory of the movement to occidentalize Japan by means of a transliteration of the alphabet into that used by Europe and America. - Elements of Universal History, for higher institutes in republics, and for self-instruction, by Professor H. M. Cottinger (Charles H. Whiting, Boston): a very compact work, which might well serve as a skeleton for a teacher's use. The division by periods is judicious, and when one considers the task which the compiler set himself one is disposed to think he has got out of it very well, with no undue eccentricity of his own, but a steady regard for the essential facts. The Science of the Mind applied to Teaching, by N. J. Hoffman. (Fowler & Wells Co.) The mental philosophy employed is that of phrenology, and whether or not as a consequence, the application is of a most vague and rule-of-thumb sort. Manual of the Botany (Phænogamia and Pteridophyta) of the Rocky Mountain Region from New Mexico to the British Boundary, by John M. Coulter. (Ivison.) This manual is designed to be complementary to Dr. Gray's well-known work, and its publication in solid, dignified form gives

one a lively sense of the scientific and educational development of the people in the western half of the country. In Harper's classical series for schools and colleges appears Professor W. A. Lamberton's edition of the Sixth and Seventh Books of Thucydides, with an introductory essay, explanatory notes, and indexes. - Elements of Inorganic Chemistry, descriptive and qualitative, by James H. Shepard. (Heath.) This elementary work embodies the experience and experiments of a teacher in a high school. Colloquial Exercises and Select German Reader for schools and colleges, by William Deutsch. (Ginn.) Mr. Deutsch accepts the popular theory of the acquisition of a foreign language, by which the colloquial use is made the foundation. He also advises the fuller use of the memory on the part of the student, and has therefore supplied a number of short stories and anecdotes for practice. Studies in General History, by Mary D. Sheldon (Heath), is a presentation in orderly form of a series of exercises which employ the materials of history. That is to say, Miss Sheldon, taking in turn distinct periods in history, gives a hint of the sources of our information and of accessible authorities, follows with a chronological summary of leading events, provides lists of names of important persons then on the stage, and gives striking extracts from contemporary writers, laws, statutes, and other sources of historical knowledge, and also from trustworthy commentators. In connection with all this she outlines, by means of questions, the study of specific points. The book ought to be very suggestive to teachers. It is provided with a number of maps, wisely relieved of much detail. Reflections and Modern Maxims, by Batchelder Greene (Putnam's Sons), is a little volume containing a great many pithy things.

Fiction. Mrs. Herndon's Income, by Helen Campbell (Roberts), is a novel which leaves on the mind a great respect for the author's earnestness of purpose in grappling with the problems of poverty and wealth, and for her power of living into her characters, but also a regret that a finer instinct for art should not enable her to present her subject not merely within briefer compass, but in a form which invites reading. To read the book as it stands is to set one's self a task, and however excellent the results may be which one reaches, the reader ought not to be made to pay so dearly for reaching them. -White Heather is one of William Black's clever novels, there is no reason why he should not go on forever with them, now he has caught the knack, and an entertaining touch is given by the introduction of the Western girl as conceived by the English novelist. (Harpers.) A Lucky Waif, a Story for Mothers of Home and School Life, by Ellen E. Kenyon. (Fowler & Wells.) There is a good deal of naturalness in this book to atone for the lack of clear conception of what constitutes a novel. The author has seemingly sketched real people, and her

desire to tell a simple story has saved her from failure. Without a Compass, by Frederick B. Van Vorst (Appleton): a novel in which the author and reader both lose their way repeatedly. Mr. Van Vorst has a confused notion of the unpleasant story he wants to tell, but he has no skill in telling it. -A Long Search, by Mary A. Roe (Dodd, Mead & Co.): a sentimentalist's story, who uses sensational scenes for the purpose of her story, and does not let them grow naturally out of the conditions of the characters. Sweet Cicely, or Josiah Allen as a Politician, by Marietta Holley (Funk & Wagnalls): a temperance story, with much inconsistent bad spelling, a good deal of irrelevant and forced humor, and a substratum of sense and good feeling. An Iron Crown (T. S. Denison, Chicago): a laborious story, apparently intended to lay bare the iniquities of railway monopolies. As fiction it is hopelessly dull. The Quiver, an Illustrative Magazine for Sunday and general reading, Vol. XX. (Cassell.) Fiction occupies a considerable part of this miscellany, and one can hardly help noting how different an evangelical miscellany is to-day from what it was two generations ago. There is a good deal of direct religious teaching in The Quiver, but it is on its stories, we should say, that it relies for popularity.

-The Story of Margaret Kent, by Henry Hayes (Ticknor): a story of unhappy married life, of heroism in woman, of temptation, and of final satisfaction to the parties most interested. The Record of a Ministering Angel, by Mrs. Mary J. Clark. (I

Or

(Belford, Clarke & Co., Chicago.) Mrs. Clark by the introduction of angels among the characters in her story does what she can do, unintentionally, to weaken one's faith in the existence of such beings; but then, by the same reasoning, her treatment of human beings might lessen one's faith in the existence of persons. rather, if her men and women are so far from correct portraitures of life, one may guess that her angelic beings are equally remote from the actual. Cleopatra, by Henry Gréville (Ticknor): a moral tale of unholy passions. There is something exquisitely absurd in the impulse of the heroine, when she finds herself loving and loved by the young hero, to rush into her old husband's arms and tell him of it. The Major's Christmas and Other Stories, by Patience Stapleton (News Printing Co., Denver, Col.) A collection of what may almost be called old-fashioned Christmas stories, in which faith, hope, and charity are given their just dues once a year, and fiction is touched with the rosy hue of the Christmas rose. Good-will to men is at the bottom of the stories, and optimism seem the natural gospel. A Strong-Minded Woman, or Two Years After, by William A. Hammond (Appleton), is a sequel to the author's Lal, and belongs in the third class of novels, as arranged by Dr. Hammond. - Recent numbers of Harper's Franklin Square Library are Cradle and Spade, by William Sime: The Golden Flood, by R. E. Francillon and William Senior; and Unfairly Won, by Nannie Power O'Donoghue. Recent numbers of Harper's Handy Series are The Dark House, by G. Manville Fenn; The Bachelor Vicar of Newforth, by Mrs. J. Harcourt-Roe; In the Middle

Watch, sea stories by W. Clark Russell; Last Days at Apswich; Cabin and Gondola, by Charlotte Dunning.

er.

Humor and Sport. The Good Things of Life, second series. (White, Stokes & Allen.) It is a dangerous thing to bring these good things togethSeen accidentally, one at a time, they have good points, but taken together they are rather depressing. They make a poor show by the side of Du Maurier, and above all by the side of Leech. Occasionally they are silly and offensive. Here may be placed, also, Wonders of Bodily Strength and Skill in all ages and countries (Scribners), since it deals especially with games and acrobatic exploits. A Handbook of Whist, and ready reference manual of the modern scientific game, by "Major Tenace" (Putnams), avoids discussion, but digests rules and principles, and presents them in a direct, dogmatic form. -The Infant Philosopher, Stray Leaves from a Baby's Journal, by Tullio S. Verdi, M. D. (Fords): a somewhat amusing little book, supposed to be a record of the way in which a baby looks upon the familiar objects about him. Dr. Verdi manages also to work in some good sense as to the treatment of babies. We must commend the author for keeping on the right side of the line in his humor, for the subject could easily be spoiled.

Poetry and the Drama. The Harpers have published Tennyson's Tiresias and Other Poems in their Handy Series. There have been some interesting changes, especially in the Charge of the Heavy Brigade and All Hands Round, since the first printing of some of the poems. The Humbler Poets, a collection of newspaper and periodical verse, 1870 to 1885, by Slason Thompson. (Jansen, McClurg & Co., Chicago.) The preface to this book contains also a brief list of the Lesser Poets, who stand just above the line. We wonder who stands below the line of the Humbler Poets. The book is in effect the Poets Corner of the newspaper, extended so as to occupy the space of the entire abbey. The collection is considerable and has its value, though we fancy a reader, even within ten years, will be puzzled to know why the editor included some writers who seem to one well up in the line of the Lesser Poets. A Bundle of Sonnets, and Other Poems, by Henry Hartshorne. (Porter & Coates.) From the date attached to some of these poems we can hardly excuse Mr. Hartshorne on the score of youth. - Songs of Sleepy Hollow, and Other Poems, by Stephen Henry Thayer. (Putnams.) Mr. Thayer's collection of his poems ranges over a number of years, and includes apparently the casual recreations of an otherwise busy man. -Joseph, a dramatic representation in seven tableaux, by Rev. Henry Iliowizi. (Tribune Printing Co., Minneapolis.) The author follows the Biblical account, and undertakes to give a series of dialogues within the range of presentation by young men's literary societies. We really think the young men might commit to memory poetry better worth the trouble. Ashes for Flame, and other poems, by Caroline Dana Howe. (Loring, Short, and Harmon, Portland, Me.) Three Score Poems, by William P. Tynan. (Hurst & Co., New York.) - Montezuma, an Epic