Greek words, with their most important meanings; with discriminations of similar words. Chic., J: C. Buckbee & Co., 1890. c. '89. 9+ 357 p. O. cl., $1.50.

Contains the cream of the lexicon; designed to aid students in acquiring a vocabulary as speedily as possible by showing them what words, and what meanings are the most important. In the arrangement of the groups of words the leading word is first given, with the chief related simple nouns, and adjectives, followed by the verbs compounded with a single preposition arranged alphabetically. The main purpose is to show at a glance the number, meaning, and use of the compounds of each verb with a single preposition.

Fitch, J. G. Notes on American schools and

training colleges; reprinted from the report of the English education department for 1888-89, with the permission of the Controller of H. M. Stationery Office. N. Y., Macmillan & Co., 1890. 133 p. D. cl., 60 c.

Mr. Fitch is one of Queen Victoria's chief inspectors of training colleges. He came to this country in the winter of 1888-89 to examine some of our leading schools and colleges. The matter in this volume represents the greater part of his official report, and is most interesting and in

structive.

*Gibson, R. J. Harvey. A text-book of elementary biology. N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1890. il. 12°, cl., $1.75.

Graham, Mary. Margaret Ellison: a story of Tuna Valley. N. Y., Ward & Drummond, 1890. 2-325 p. D. cl., $1.25.

Hamilton, W: R. Practical instructions for the national guard of the United States. Pt. 2.

N. Y., Appleton, 1890. c. 99 p. T. pap., 25 c. Contents: Military signalling; Grand guards and outpost duty: Water transportation of troops; Military customs, and things to know; The new tactics. Harte, Bret. A waif of the plains. Bost., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1890. c. 231 p. il. T. cl., $1.

Opens in the year 1852, with an emigrant train crossing the plains. A little boy and girl get down from the wagons to play, and are lost. Finally they are rescued by another train, while their own party is attacked by Indians, and all murdered. The story hereafter deals with the fortunes of the boy and girl. The boy, however, is the principal hero. His story ends with his eighteenth year, and with a promise of an account of the rest of his life in another volume.

*Irving, Washington. Sketch-book; with an introd. note by Frank Parsons. N. Y., A. L. Burt, 1890. 350 p. por. 12°, (Burt's lib. of the world's best books.) cl., $1; hf. cf., $2. Kendal, Mrs. Madge. Dramatic opinions. Bost., Little, Brown & Co., 1890. c. 3-180 p. por. S. cl., $1; pap., 50 c.

Some biographical details of Mrs. Kendal's stage life and private life, and some clever remarks on the stage, on plays, audiences, etc., etc., make up the contents of this pretty book. The papers were originally published in Murray's Magazine.

Kimball, Arthur L. The physical properties of gases. Bost., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1890. c. 8+238 p. D. (Riverside science ser., no. 2.) cl.. $1.25.

Does not claim to be an exhaustive treatise on gases, but an accurate and readable account of all that has been discovered concerning them. While strictly scientific in its statements, it is intended not for technical students, but for all intelligent readers.

La Rame, Louise de, [" Ouida," pseud.] Syrlin; or, position. Phil., J. B. Lippincott Co., 1890. 2-499 p. D. (Lippincott's ser. of select novels, no. 108.) pap., 50 c.

Syrlin" is the name of the hero, and is an addition probably to the title-page made by the American publishPosition" is the running title in the book itself.

er, as "

*Louisiana. An annotated index of the acts of the legislature, from 1870 to 1888 incl., with references to the decisions of the supreme court through the 41st Annuals; by Rob. H. Marr,` jr. New Orleans, F. F. Hansell & Bro., 1890. c. 403 p. O. shp., $5.

Lyman, E. A. Exercises in geometry, for supplementary and review work. Bost., Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1890. c. no paging, obl. T. pap., 25 c.

*McCook, H: C. American spiders, and their spinning work: a natural history of the orbweaving spiders of the United States with special reV. I. gard to their industry and habits. In 3 v. Phil., H: C. McCook, 3700 Chestnut St., 1890. 374 p. il. 8°, cl., $10.

*McIntyre, G. P. The light of Persia; or, the death of Mammon: poems of prophecy, profit, and peace. Chic., The Wage Worker Publishing Co., 1890. 221 p. 12°, cl., $1.25. *Maine wills, 1640-1760; notes by W: M. Sargent. Thurston & Co., 1890. hf. shp, $6.

comp. and ed. with Portland, Me., Brown 12+953 p. 8°, cl., $5;

*Mathews, W. S. B., ed. A hundred years of music in America. Chic., G. L. Howe, 39 Exchange Building, 1890. 720 p. por. 8°, subs., cl., $5.50; hf. mor., $6.50; full mor., $7.50. Maupassant, Guy de. Pierre and Jean; with a preface, by the author; tr. by Hugh Craig; il. by Ernest Duez and Albert Lynch. N. Y., G: Routledge & Sons. [1890.] c. 34+329 p. D. pap., $1.50; hf. leath., $2.25.

The motive is essentially French. A young man is led by circumstances to suspect the virtue of his mother, and to doubt the paternity of his brother. This cloud breaks upon a family that has lived together for nearly thirty years, loving and respecting each other. The story in itself is slight. It is in the development of his characters, in the wonderful analysis of motives and emotions, and in the gradual, but firm leading up to the one grand climax, that the author shows his power. Has an introductory paper on "The novel."

*Mississippi. Supreme ct. Reports of cases, v. 66; cont. cases decided at the Oct. term, 1888, and the April term, 1889; rep. by Brame & Alexander. Phil., T. & J. W. Johnson & Co., 1890. C. 22+860 p. O. shp., $6. *Momerie, Alfred Williams. Church and creed: sermons preached in the chapel of the Foundling Hospital. N. Y., T: Whittaker, 1890. 258 p. 12°, cl., $1.50.

Montefeltro, Padre Agostino da. Selections from the sermons of Padre Agostino da Montefeltro; ed. by Catherine Mary Phillimore. Ist ser. N. Y., Ja. Pott & Co., [1890.] 10+174 P. D. cl.. $1: bds., 50 c.

Subjects: God; The soul; The spirituality of the soul; The purpose of life; The claim of God upon our lives; Family life; Pain; Hope; The observance of Sunday; Liberty; The working classes.

*Needham, Mrs. G: C. Poetic paraphrases. N. Y. and Chic., Fleming H. Revell, 1890. 96 p. 16°, cl., 50 c.

*Nelson, Fanny N. Pleasing the king. N. Y., Rob. Carter & Bros., 1889 [1890.] 93 p. 24°, cl., 50 c.

*Nettleship, J: T. Robert Browning: essays and thoughts. New ed., rev. and enl. Scribner & Welford, 1890. 8°, cl., $2.25.

N. Y.,

Methodist pulpit; a collection of twenty-four sermons, by Bishop W. X. Ninde, and various members of the four Kansas conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, comp. by J. W.

The story of a summer in a country town; there are a diversity of characters, one being a weak woman, who is addicted to the opium habit. The book aims to throw some light on this pernicious habit, and to show how easily it is acquired.

*Pearson, Rev. R. G. Truth applied; or, Bible readings, Nashville, Tenn., Cumberland Presbyterian Pub. House, 1890. 244 p. 16°, cl., $1.25.

*Pennsylvania. Supreme ct. Reports of cases; with some select cases at nisi prius; by Hon. Jasper Yeates. 3d ed., with notes by Albert Weimer. V. 4, (1803-'08.) Phil., T. & J. W. Johnson & Co., 1890. c. 6+595 p. O. shp., $5.

*Proctor, R: A. Other worlds than ours; with an introd. note by Frank Parsons. N. Y., A.

L. Burt, 1890. the world's best books.) cl., $1; hf. cf., $2. *Rivers, J: D. The settlers' guide to the great Sioux Reservation; a valuable and popular exposition of the law, and the decisions of the land department of the general government on the rights of homesteaders, and town-site settlers. Chic., Laird & Lee, 1890. c. 12°, pap., 25 c.

328 p. por. 12, (Burt's lib. of

Salicis, A. Manual training in France; [also.] Suggestions for the teaching of color, by Hannah Johnson Carter. N. Y., N. Y. College for the Training of Teachers, 1890. 85-112 p. O. (Educational monographs, v. 3, no. 3.) pap.,

20 C.

*Salmon, D: Longmans' junior school composition: a first book. N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1890. 110 p. 12°, cl., 30 c.

*Salmon, D: Longmans' junior school grammar. N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1890. 128 p. 12°, cl.. 30 c.

*Salmon, D: Longmans' school grammar. N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1890. 272 p. 12°, cl., 75 c.

*Slingo, W., and Brooker, A. Electrical engineering for electric light artisans and students.

N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1890. 8+ 631 p. il. 8°, cl., $3.50.

Stanbrough, Rufus M. The scriptural view of divine grace: is it Universalist, Arminian, or Calvinistic? Ten propositions. N. Y. and

Chic., Fleming H. Revell, 1890. 292 p. 12°, cl., $1.25. (Corr. title.)

Sterrett, J. Macbride, D.D. Christian unity; being the appendix to "Studies in Hegel's philosophy of religion." N. Y., Appleton, [1890.] 309-348 p. D. pap., gratis.

Talmage, T. De Witt, D.D. Trumpet peals: a collection of timely and eloquent extracts from the sermons of the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, D.D.; collated and classified, by Rev. L. C. Lockwood. N. Y., Bromfield & Co., 1890. c. 10+ 485 p. por. I il. O. cl.. subs.. $2.

"Including Demosthenean Philippics against Ingersollian infidelity, Darwinian evolution, gambling, stockgambling, theatricals, corrupt literature, and other evils and perils, with special appeals to young men." Christian Terhune, E: P., D.D. The fallacy of “ science." N. Y., Albert B. King, 89 William St., 1890. 32 p. S. cl., 30 c.; pap., 15 c. *Thomas, T. Gaillard, M.D. Abortion and its treatment, from the standpoint of practical experience: a course of lectures delivered before the College of Physicians and Surgeons, N. Y., session of 1889-90; from notes by P. Brynberg Porter, M.D. N. Y., Appleton, 1890. 12°, cl., $1.

Tissot, Victor, and Améro, Constant. The exiles: a Russian story; from the French, by G: D. Cox. [New cheaper ed.] Phil., T. B. Peterson & Bros., [1890.] 10+358 p. S. pap., 25 c. Van Dyke, H: God and little children: the blessed state of all who die in childhood proved and taught as a part of the Gospel of Christ. N. Y., A. D. F. Randolph & Co., [1890.] 481 p. D. cl.. $1.

Two sermons: No children lost; All children saved. Whitney, Ja. A. A word to the orthodox, in re a current controversy. N. Y., Tibbals Book Co., 1889, [1890.] 3-18 p. D. pap., 10 c. *York deeds (Maine); Books 1-6, 1642 to 1703. Portland, Me., Brown Thurston & Co., 1890. 6 v., 8°, hf. shp., ca., $5.

THE book trade, if it be true to its calling, renders a service to the public which ought to command a remuneration according to its ability as fixed as that of any of the professions. The publisher creates a product which ought to be worth the price he asks for it, or be worth nothing at all. But so short-sighted have we become that we are daily stultifying ourselves, saying one thing and doing another, until we have become like the cheap Johns who start their wares at two dollars, expecting in the end to get but fifty cents. And all this Mr. Smalley thinks is to the advantage of the public. The underselling system breaks faith. The moment a publisher begins to sell his book below the price he himself puts on it, he throws over all the dealers who help him sell his book. He gets them into a trap as it were. The individual buyer sometimes buys his book cheaper than the retailer, and the retailer cheaper than the jobber. The machinery for selling books is thus broken down, and the local bookstore, which should increase business, can no longer live, and business cannot fail to be decreased. And this step has been the open door to all sorts of trade evils, that ruin the bookseller and do no good to the public. The appeal for reform means that the question has come directly before the publishers, whether they prefer to let the trade be ruined and depend chiefly upon the mails and the cheap Johns for selling their books, or to keep their faith with the bookseller and consult their own best interests by adhering to the prices they themselves set. We hold that the peculiar conditions of the book trade make underselling not legitimate competition, but cut-throatism; that these very conditions give the publishers power to put and keep their books at fair, living prices, and that any other course does not help the public interest, but hurts it.

KETS.

BY OLIVER B. BUNCE.

Copyright, 1890, by Lloyd Bryce. Reprinted by permission from the North American Review.

AN asssertion made in a recent magazine article that there are twenty readers of books in the United States to one in Great Britain only exaggerates a little a prevalent conviction. Declarations similar to this are continually put forth, not only here, but abroad, until almost every one has come to believe them to be true. And yet it is easy, I think, to show that they are unsupported by facts; and my present purpose is to marshal a little illuminating testimony bearing thereon.

The method of publishing and circulating books in one country may yield larger profits than the methods of other countries-as, for instance, the high-priced books for circulating libraries in this country-but a fair test of the reading activEngland compared with the low-priced books in ity of any people largely lies in the rewards they are willing to pay the authors whose books they peruse. A comparison between the profits of authors in England and authors in the United States shows a striking difference. When I remember how enormous were the gains of Sir Walter Scott, how brilliant were the profits of Charles Dickens; when I recall that Bulwer reilege of printing a cheap edition of his novels for ceived a hundred thousaud dollars* for the privten years; that George Eliot was paid thirty-five thousand dollars for Romola," and made seventy-five thousand dollars out of "Middlelication of the fourth volume of Macaulay's march;" that within three months after the pub"History" the Longmans sent him a hundred thousand dollars, I wonder in what fairy-land these things could have occurred.

66

I know not what Tennyson's arrangements are with his present publishers, but at one time he received the fixed sum of twenty-five thousand dollars a year for his copyrights, whether he published anything new or not. It would be inlow's yearly receipts. Trollope frankly tells us teresting to compare these figures with Longfeljust what he received for his novels, which in many instances was not less than fifteen thousand dollars down. Mr. Roe was the most successful of recent American novelists, and yet it is doubtful if any of his much-read novels yielded him more than halt this amount. Anthony Trollope's prices were not at all exceptional, every English novelist in the first rank obtaining as much, and a few considerable more. Some single books in this country, such as "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "The Wide, Wide World," Ben-Hur," have yielded their authors a large profit; but I know of no author publishing rapidly book after book whose average receipts are at all equal to those of English authors of corresponding rank. And if we compare exceptional books, England still pays much more liberally than we do. George Eliot, as I have already mentioned, is said to have made seventy-five thousand dollars from 'Ben-Hur," large as the re turns have been, can scarcely equal this. If a disinterested person desired to ascertain the comparative literary activity of two coun

It seems to me advisable in the frequent comparisons of prices I shall have to make, to give always the American approximate equivalent for the English monetary

term.