the ruling classes, and to write history from that standpoint. We wish Herr Bjerge all success in his enterprise, and hope he will be able to follow up this, the first issue of his year-book, with a long series of succeeding volumes. The Aarbog contains five contributions. Of these, two are of particular interest, not only for the historian, but also for the general reader-one, by H. Nutzhorn, giving an account of a long lawsuit between a peasant and the university of Kopenhagen; the other, by Poul Hansen, a description of the condition of the peasantry of Denmark during the second half of the eighteenth century. The former, although it treats of that usually dry subject a lawsuit, is full of dramatic and epic incidentfuller of interest, in fact, than many novels we read. The personal element figures prominently also in the latter paper. Both make the life of the period treated of stand out in a series of pictures before the mind's eye. Both are founded on documentary evidence of the best kind. In another paper H. F. Feilberg tells us, with a wealth of illustration, about the magician Cyprianus, a saint who, amongst the Danish peasantry, occupies a similar position to what Virgil did generally in the Middle Ages, or Dr. Faust more particularly in Germany, or Friar Bacon in England. The editor is responsible for two reports, which give a good deal of information about the state of Danish agriculture in the year 1757. The fifth contribution is of local interest only. Not one of the articles is dull or technical, and each and all can be read with entertainment by the ordinary reader. Epochs of American History: The Colonies, 1492-1750. By REUBEN GOLD THWAITES. With Four Maps. London and New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1891. Price 3s. 6d. This is the first of a series of American Epochs, uniform with the English and the Modern Epochs of the same publishers. The editor is Dr. Albert Bushnell Hart, of Cambridge, U.S. This volume, with the two that are to follow, will form a complete new history of the United States. It is written by Mr. R. G. Thwaites, the Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, and it is a very thorough and valuable piece of work. At the head of each chapter there is a full list of "references" to authorities for the period to which it relates. These lists form, in fact, a complete bibliography of American history and geography, and will be invaluable to students. One of the most important features of the work is the prominence it gives to geography in its historical relation. This forms in fact the starting-point of the whole narrative, which tells the story of early colonisation and exploration in a methodical and business-like way, and with but little of the glamour of romance or the tinsel of rhetoric. The geographical basis of the history is illustrated in one physical and three political maps-the former excellent, the latter useful, though common-place. We note with some misgiving that, though published in London, the book follows the American style of spelling in such words as "honor," "neighbor," "favor," "labor." Is this a forecast of what the new Copyright Act is to do for the English language? College History of India: Asiatic and European. By J. TALBOYS WHEELER, late Assistant-Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, etc., etc. London: Macmillan and Co., 1888. The author of The College History of India is already well known as the author of A History of India from the Earliest Times and A Short History of India. It is intended to serve as a text-book for students, and it is certainly well adapted for the purpose. It is written in a direct, unadorned style; it is full of facts, and 2 E VOL. VII. does not waste much space on descriptions; and it is suitably furnished with maps, plans, and chronological tables. The comparative chronological table, in which England and India are placed side by side from the earliest times to the fall of the Moghul Empire, is very instructive. The maps are satisfactory, but the physical conditions which have helped to mould the history of India and its peoples might have received greater prominence in the text. 1. Days Near Rome, 2 vols. Third Edition. Price 18s. 2. Cities of Northern Italy, 2 vols. New Edition. Price 21s. Price 3s. London: George Allen. We have much pleasure in drawing attention to new editions of Mr. Augustus J. C. Hare's series of handbooks to the cities of Italy. To describe them by the hackneyed name of "guidebooks" would be to mislead our readers and to do injustice to the author. Yet they are guidebooks in the truest sense, and of the most thorough kind. Regarding each and all of the great cities of the peninsula they contain a vast amount of valuable and interesting information, conveyed in the most attractive way, for in these handsome volumes the guidebook takes its place as a department of literature. There are examples in every chapter-almost in every page of the laborious and thorough manner in which Mr. Hare has done his work. He has gone over untrodden ground; he has penetrated to places difficult of access and never before visited by foreigners; he has described places never described in print before, or of which previous descriptions are inaccurate and misleading. He has also used his pencil in supplement of his pen; for most of the illustrations of buildings and scenery are taken from his own sketches made on the spot. Mr. Hare remarks in one of his volumes that only about one in five hundred of the persons who cross the Alps ever sees Italy. The mass of visitors see a little of the outside of it-not much, and they enjoy a pleasant holiday; but of the real Italy-its life and character and institutions-they are nearly as ignorant when they leave the country as they were when they entered it. The object of Mr. Hare's volumes is not so much to show these visitors Italy as to show them how Italy may be seen. The single volume on Florence is reproduced from the Central Cities, but it is not a mere reprint, for it contains a large amount of new matter. It also contains a plan of the city, which is an unspeakable advantage. It is to be regretted that Mr. Hare is not more liberal in this particular. There is not in any of the other seven volumes-not even in Days near Rome—a single map or plan. The fault is remediable, and it should be remedied. A good map is often worth pages of description, and it often illuminates the text as a lamp lights up a dark passage, so that you can go forward boldly without groping or stumbling. Southern France: from the Loire to the Spanish and Italian frontiers, including Corsica. Handbook for Travellers. By KARL BAEDEKER. With 14 Maps and 17 Plans. Leipzic: Baedeker, 1891. 9 marks. This volume appears for the first time in English, and it corresponds with the third French edition of the Midi de la France and the Centre de la France. It is divided into five independent sections: (1) South-western France, to the Pyrenees; (2) the Pyrenees; (3) South-eastern France, as far as the Rhone, and Auvergne ; (4) the French Alps; and (5) the Cévennes, valley of the Rhone, Provence, and Corsica. Based on the same principle of arrangement, and accompanied by excellent maps, the present volume compares favourably with others in Baedeker's series of guides. As far as we have tested it, the information has been found to be up to date. For example, we now have a reliable and comprehensive guide to that newlydiscovered and interesting region known as the Causses, in which the cañon of the Tarn is the most attractive spot to tourists. With the exception of Mr. Hare's recent volume on South-western France, we believe no other English guidebook, properly so called, describes the Causses. Bemrose's Guide to Paris and its Environs. By SIEVERTS DREWETT. Third Edition: Revised. Maps, Plans, etc. London: Bemrose and Sons, 1890. Pp. 116. Price 1s. and 1s. 6d. For its size and price this is an excellent guide, and may specially be recommended to those about to visit the Continent for the first time, as it contains many hints certain to prove of value to the novice, although to the more experienced traveller they may appear superfluous. The volume is produced in an attractive and handy form, the indistinct illustrations being the least meritorious feature. The map is good. A Handbook of Florida. By C. L. NORTON. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1891. 49 Maps and Plans. Pp. 380. Price 5s. In style this handbook resembles the well-known "Murray," and it will undoubtedly prove of the greatest use to all visitors to Florida. The railway routes, hotel rates, and the usual prices for saddle-horses, carriages, boats, guides, etc., are given. Indeed, the information supplied is all that could be expected in a book of this kind. A paragraph history of Florida, from 1497 to 1889, is given. The British Empire: Its Geography, Resources, Commerce, Land-Ways, and Water-Ways. By J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN, M.A., Professor of Education in the University of St. Andrews. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., Limited; St. Andrews: A. M. Holden, 1891. Pp. 336. Price 3s. Professor Meiklejohn's aim is "To present a vivid portraiture of the vast Empire of Great Britain, in such a way as to make it quickly seized by the mind and permanently held by the memory." The system of arrangement and typography is similar to that employed in the New Geography, but the present volume is in many ways a distinct advance upon its predecessor. This is in part due to the concentration of attention on the British Empire, but largely to a clearer coördination of geographical facts. A novel and most admirable arrangement consists in grouping the transitory features of each political division in pages by themselves, so that changes in organisation, population, extent and nature of trade may be readily given effect to by annotation. Professor Meiklejohn's work is of high educational value, and the facts are handled with much picturesqueness. Victorian Year-Book for 1889-90. By H. H. HAYTER, C.M.G. In two volumes. Melbourne; London: Trübner and Co., 1890. Pp. 511, 3 Tables, Vol. II. We have previously referred favourably to the first volume of the Victorian Year-Book (see p. 227), and this volume is as interesting and instructive as the former one. It contains ample statistics upon crime, exchange, production, social condition and defences, as well as Australian statistics and the tariffs of Australian Colonies. The three tables are valuable as giving a rapid view of the whole subject. La France et ses Colonies (Géographie et Statistique). Par E. LEVASSEUR. 2 vols. New Edition, entirely revised, 1890. Paris: Libraire Charles Delagrave. Pp. 551 and 685, and Indexes. Numerous Tables and Maps. The first volume of this work is devoted to the physical and political geography of France, and goes in detail into the subjects of soil, climate, history, politics, population, and administration. The second volume is on economic geography, and deals with agriculture, fisheries, industries, means of transport and commerce. It also contains a chapter dealing with Paris itself and a general résumé concerning the provinces and towns. A third volume is shortly to appear, which will conclude the work by giving an account of Algiers, Tunis, and other colonies and protectorates of France. The information in this book is thorough in the extreme, and represents an immense amount of research. It is a pity that the various maps are not of equal excellence with the letterpress. The diagrams, too, though useful, would have been much more satisfactory had they all been drawn on one scale, as it would have been so much easier to compare them. This is especially noticeable in the diagrams referring to imports and exports. Geological Features of the Transvaal, South Africa. By CHARLES J. South Africa is, on account of its mineral wealth, attracting so much attention that an authoritative geological treatise is much wanted. Unfortunately no topographical survey of the Transvaal has yet been made, so, in the useful little work under review, the author only sketches the outlines of the geology and geography of the Transvaal as they have presented themselves to his view during three years of almost continuous travelling in the districts to the north and east of the Vaal River. He gives the rocks of the Transvaal, in descending order, as follows:— 1. Alluvial deposits, sand, peat, recent clays, and drift. 2. Silicious sands and clays, with local beds of coal. 3. Sandstones passing into sandstone quartzites with interbedded quartzose conglomerates, which latter become occasionally auriferous, as in the valuable reefs of the Witwatersrand (White Water's Ridge). 4. Clay mudstones, schists, and shales, with beds of compact quartzite. These quartzites are sometimes auriferous, as in the Sheba mine near Barberton. Trappean rocks and a still older granitic group likewise occur. Mr. Alford maintains that "the port of Delagoa Bay is the natural outlet" for a large portion of the Transvaal, "instead of the steep and difficult tracks over the Drakensberg. The distance from the Murchison Range to the present terminus of the railway at the Portuguese frontier is only about 210 miles. Nothing but railway communication with the coast can ever adequately open up this country; and nothing but opening it up, with drainage and cultivation, will render it healthy and a suitable habitation for Europeans, or one in which mineral deposits, unless of the most exceptional richness, can be worked at payable cost." Several good geological maps accompany this volume. Studies in Statistics, Social, Political, and Medical. By G. B. LONGSTAFF, M.A., M.B., etc. London: Edward Stanford, 1891. Pp. 442. 30 maps and diagrams and index. We may say at once that we have nothing but praise for this really admirable and interesting book, and it will not have been published in vain, if it creates an interest in the vast amount of information which may be obtained from statistics. It is true, as Dr Longstaff remarks, that distrust of statistics is very general, and it is often said "You can prove anything by statistics." Most people forget that without statistics nothing at all can be proved, and certainly in this volume the author, at the expenditure of great labour, has collected a mass of information which will be valuable, not only to the political economist, the physician, and the statistician, but also to the geographer. We shall perhaps best interest our readers and stimulate their curiosity to study the book for themselves if we call attention to some of the contents of the volume, as it will then be seen at once that it appeals to a great number of varied interests. The first subject considered is the birth, death, and marriage rates of the past fifty years. The mean birth-rate is 33 89 per thousand; the mean death-rate 21.65; the mean marriage 16'14 per thousand persons living. In the diagram which is given it is at once seen how various epidemics, commercial depression, war, and famine, as well as good and bad harvests, and hence the price of wheat, influence vital statistics. We next find the growth of population and the migrations of people in the nineteenth century dealt with, and it is conclusively shown how the demand for labour in the large centres of population and the consequently higher wages cause a constant migration, "directed from the cottage to the village, from the village to the town, from the town to the city, from agricultural to mining or manufacturing districts." But not only is the countryman attracted to the town by the considerations above indicated, but "life," as represented by the noise and bustle of the street and the glare of the gas-lights, is strangely attractive to him. He forgets that, if there is more life, there is also more disease and death in the densely populated centres of industry. The growth of new nationsthe United States, Canada, South America, South Africa, and Australia-is next dealt with in four chapters, and is not only illustrated by an abundance of statistical matter and by maps and diagrams, but attention is called to many an interesting fact causing or retarding national growth. Thus, for instance, in dealing with Canada, Dr. Longstaff writes (p. 126) :-" The adverse circumstances in Canada are mainly three (1) the climate; (2) the geographical structure of the country; (3) the existence. of a large population speaking different languages. The climate of Canada has been much abused, but there is no doubt that its severity has also been much exaggerated. As regards health and the enjoyment of life, it has been amply proved to leave little to be desired; but the compulsory suspension of many kinds of work for several months in each year leads to serious social and economic difficulties, while in Manitoba and the North-West the agricultural season is so short as in many years to make it difficult, in spite of the magnificent weather of the North-Western summer, to get the harvests stored in good condition. I do not say these difficulties are insuperable, but that they are difficulties is undeniable. At the same time, over a large area of the northern states on the other side of the international boundary the same climate holds sway, and has not proved incompatible with a degree of progress that is the wonder of the world." We have not space to quote more on the subject. The chapters on the growth of modern cities, the population of London, and migrations are most interesting and suggestive, as also is the chapter on foodsupply. Speaking of the enormous increase in the population of London, the author says: "There is but one remedy that seems at all practicable; that is, emigration; only beware of aiding emigration from London itself to any great extent; if you do so, for every family sent to Canada from Whitechapel or Poplar two families will rush in from Norfolk or Devon, or even Ireland. Some eighty |