great Kansas struggle was the pivot on which this nation turned to a nobler development and to a higher and happier condition of all its people"; a man who believes, in regard to the agencies that brought about this state of freedom, that "Whatever ephemeral endorsement any false claims might be able to secure, the careful study of future historians would be certain to expose, while it would establish, vindicate, and fortify the truth"; a man who truly believes all this in regard to a movement in which he has been the leader, can afford to be more generous with his enemies. As a whole, however, Mr. Thayer's book is a valuable contribution, at first hand, to the literature of the Civil War. H. W. THURSTON. the men of to-day. Humor and clearness can do much. If they could do everything, apart from theological training and profound religious sympathy, Professor Allen's volume might be needless. As it is, Dr. Holmes will be readiest to recognize that he but heralded the coming of the man more thoroughly equipped for the work of giving the churches a well-balanced and just study of the great divine and metaphysician of New England. Born in 1703, the only son in a minister's family of eleven children, an affectionate, sensitive, docile, and precocious boy, Jonathan Edwards entered Yale at thirteen, and bore off the highest college honors four years later. Locke's great work fell in his way in his freshman year, and he projected a treatise on the Mind, and gathered notes for it, at an age when modern boys are absorbed in hop-scotch and leap-frog. Some of his earlier papers remain. A cultivated physician in Ohio, a few years since, demonstrated from indisputable premises through irrefragable processes, that the interstellar ether of the physicist is God. The young Edwards went one step farther. "I had as good speak plain. I have already said as much as that Space is God." He lived to insist that Will is God; and came to think in the last years of his life that Love is God, His for which, indeed, he had some Scriptural sanetion. The other two statements were evolved from his own consciousness exclusively. AN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LEADER.* No recent work has been more full of fresh interest, more suggestive in its sayings and its silences, than Professor A. V. G. Allen's Bohlen Lectures on the Continuity of Christian Thought. Its writer was plainly a man at home with the Greek and Latin Fathers, and with the last speculations of modern thinkers. He knew Origen and Aquinas, Luther and Pascal, the Cambridge Platonists, the German Rationalists, and the Oxford Tractarians. His scholarship was not of the Dryasdust pattern. It could be accurate to the letter without ceasing to be alive to the spirit of the Christian Ages. It could burrow in the dust without losing sight of open air and sunshine. It could bring its truth up from the traditional well, and clothe it in simple, manly form, where a German professor would have plunged it the deeper in abstractions and confusions. We were ready, therefore, to welcome Professor Allen's volume upon Jonathan Edwards as a leader in Religious Thought. There is no greater name among American divines than that of Jonathan Edwards. Yet his fame is mainly traditional. To most of us to-day he is an unknown quantity. His ideas, if we are New Englanders, are in our very bones; but his personality is vague and filmy. He stands for an extinct phase of Christianity, is rather a fearsome myth than our flesh-and-blood fellow. A few years ago, Dr. Holmes, in a brilliant article, undertook to revive the mighty thinker, and give him some solid footing among *JONATHAN EDWARDS. By Alexander V. G. Allen, D.D. ("American Religious Leaders"). Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. While still a youth, Edwards turned his back upon metaphysics and gave his whole soul to theology. Plato, Spinoza, Locke, yielded place to Augustine, Anselm. Calvin. They withdrew into the shadow, content with exerting their unseen influence, until the necessities of theological controversy brought them again to the front. Edwards's spiritual life for a season absorbed all his powers. With religion the very breath of his childhood, he grew into consciousness of his high estate as a son of God, until he resolved to act as if striving with all his might to be the one person of his time who should be wholly Christlike. It was a great purpose, and had its abundant reward. He entered upon his ministry, in Northampton, Mass., in February, 1727; married a devout and lovely girl who was his invaluable wife, touching with sunshine all his shadows; remained at Northampton until his dismissal from his charge in 1750; removed the next year to Stockbridge; was called to the presidency of Princeton College in 1757, and died of inoculation for small-pox the year following. His works are numerous sermons, a narrative of surprising conversions in his ministry, and other tractates on the Great Awakening, his famous treatise on the Freedom of the Will, and minor treatises on Virtue, The End of the Creation, Original Sin, Divine Grace, and the Doctrine of the Trinity. The life of an intense controversialist by a quiet critic and student of history, of a Congregational Calvinist by a Maurician churchman, is a curious experiment. Its success has fully justified it. Prof. Allen unravels the strands of controversial webs, reveals gaps in logical structures, discloses imperfections and inconsistencies of thought, and at the same time preserves his reverence for the mighty logician, his understanding of the subtle divine, his alert interest in the terrible preacher, his delight in and sympathy with the Christlike man. We see the saint perplexed in the trammels of an awful theory. We see his approximations to Augustine and Athanasius, to Anselm and Hugo de St. Victor, to Plato and the Platonic Fathers, to Pascal and the author of the " Imitation," to Hume, Berkeley, Hobbes, Collins, and John Stuart Mill, to Schleiermacher, and to Emerson. We perceive his greatness while we discern his defects. We pay him tribute, while we shudder at his teaching. We recognize the charm of his spirit, though we are horrorstricken at the God he depicts and the human nature which he postulates. The volume is of permanent value and absorbing interest. It is provided with a bibliography and an index, which add much to its usefulness. It ushers in the series of "American Religious Leadwith a sound, sober, thoughtful, and winning presentation of the first and mightiest of them all. C. A. L. RICHARDS. ers THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION.* Not often does the historic drama display a stage whereon a single actor dominates the scene so supremely as did Gustavus Vasa through the swift-moving acts of the Swedish Revolution. All the passion, all the energy, all the enthusiasm which swept Sweden from her humble satellite-like dependence upon Denmark into the greater orbit of European life and national independence, centred in this one towering and indomitable man. From the time *THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION UNDER GUSTAVUS VASA. By Paul Barron Watson, author of "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus." Boston: Little, Brown, & Co. The people, to whom the original laws of Sweden had guaranteed liberty and local selfgovernment, and the election by the provincial assemblies of their king, had fallen from the condition of freemen or free tenants to a status approaching serfdom. The magnates had enriched themselves, the cabinet had usurped the power of prince and people, and the church, pursuing a policy even more selfish than it had displayed in Germany, had risen to the position of a haughty, rich, and arrogant hierarchy, diverting into its coffers the revenues of the kingdom, and dictating through its Archbishop to people and to regent alike. By the terms of the union, Sweden had been promised a distinctively Swedish government, no foreigners were to hold her fiefs, and the monarch of the united kingdom was to reside a year alternately in each. But these conditions. were not fulfilled; the hand of Denmark lay heavily upon Sweden; Danes were introduced. into the castles and were enfeoffed of great estates; they became members of the cabinet, and, in collusion with recreant Swedish magnates, developed a Danish policy. More than all this, the church, with its powerful influence, favored the Danish cause. Never was an unfortunate country more unfortunate than this, when, in the year 1520, King Christian II. massacred in cold blood seventy of the patriotic nobles of Sweden in their capital city of Stockholm. A thrill of horror pervaded Europe; but the king joyously sailed away to his realm of Denmark, exulting in his treachery, and congratulating himself that he had crushed forever the spirit of the Swedes. But he was profoundly mistaken; the story of the Bath of Blood" was told from one end of the land to the other; the people were roused at last to a sense of their degradation; and Gustavus, with burning words and filial tears for his own father had perished in the massacre-centred in himself the hopes and the aspirations of his countrymen. It was the peasants to whom he appealed in the name of liberty, and it was to the peasants that Sweden owed her emancipation. The magnates and the church rendered little aid, and displayed either an active hostility or a silent indifference. Here, as in the days of Cæsar, the discontent of the people found its exponent and its leader in the person of a great noble. The introduction of the Reformation, and the consequent disestablishment, or, perhaps more pertinently, the disendowment of the old church, accompanied and accelerated the Revolution; and the Diet held at Vesteras in 1527, when the clerical party was finally shattered and free liberty of worship given, was a fitting prelude to the coronation of Gustavus, which followed in the next year. With this consummation to the glorious efforts of Gustavus, closes the period of "The Swedish Revolution," whose story is told with great distinctness by Mr. Paul Barron Watson in his book so entitled. The volume is of great intrinsic value, for the author has been most conscientious in his researches, and is of especial interest from the fact that the history of the Revolution has never before been written in English. We indulge the hope that Mr. Watson will continue his studies of the reign of Gustavus, and treat with like admirable lucidity the more peaceful years of his sovereignty. RECENT BOOKS ON THE STUDY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.* One of the signs of the times, that all students of English will hail with delight, is the increasing interest in the great as well as the lesser poets of our literature. One after another they are receiving the attention of *SELECTIONS FROM WORDSWORTH. With Notes. By A. J. George, M.A. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. SELECT POEMS OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. Edited, with Notes, by William J. Rolfe, Litt.D. New York: Harper & Brothers. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE. By Hiram Corson, LL.D. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. SIR THOMAS WYATT AND HIS POEMS. By Wm. Edward Simonds, Ph.D. (Strassburg). Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF NINETEENTH CENTURY AUTHORS. By Louise Manning Hodgkins. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. LITERARY LANDMARKS; A Guide to Good Reading for Young People. By Mary E. Burt. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. A CENTURY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE. By Huntington Smith. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. OUTLINES FOR STUDY CLASSES. The English Drama. English Literature of the Elizabethan Age, and of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. By Anna B. McMahan. Quincy, Illinois: Printed by the Author. SYLLABUS. English Literature and History. By A. J. George, M.A. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. scholars, and a valuable body of critical and explanatory material is gradually accumulating. The Wordsworth literature has grown wonderfully in the last quarter century. Less than fifteen years ago appeared Grosart's "Prose Works of Wordsworth"; this has been followed, in the present decade, by Knight's splendid edition of the Poems, by the books of Principal Shairp dealing so largely and so sympathetically with Wordsworth, by the "Studies of our own Professor Hudson, the Shakespearean, besides several excellent volumes of selections and many critical essays. Only last year appeared the edition of Professor Morley, with the poems arranged in chronological order; and this year brings out the "Life" by the scholarly Wordsworthian, Dr. Knight. All this seems to indicate that the words of Matthew Arnold in the prefatory essay to his " Selections,""I cannot think, then, that Wordsworth has, up to this time, at all obtained his deserts," have become untrue in the decade since they were written. 66 When Mr. George's edition of "Wordsworth's Prelude" was published, the preface announced that it would be followed by other of Wordsworth's poems." This promise has been fulfilled by the preparation of the volume before us, containing selections from the shorter poems, with notes of an historical and interpretative nature. It may be questioned whether the chronological order is the best, since the development of an author's genius cannot be fully shown by any book of selections, however arranged, and this order does not so easily lend itself to ready reference. Even in this volume the sonnets are placed by themselves, indicating the desirability of some other than chronological arrangement with a particular class of poems. It is well known that Wordsworth's own classification is faulty in the extreme; but such a one as that of Matthew Arnold has many advantages. One feels like criticizing, also, the inaptness of much of the Introduction. The opportunity to say some good things on the study of the poet most important in this century, without making comparisons with poets still living, seems partially wasted in an essay, half lecture and half preface, much of which might be prefixed to any of a dozen volumes. As to the selections themselves, they are carefully chosen, and the number is sufficient to give an adequate idea of the poet's power. We miss the "Fragment from the Recluse" usually given, and so admirably expressing the poet's high purpose in 66 in all his poems; but the size of the volume may of youthful rashness. In "Much Ado About have been one reason for not including this, Nothing," only the Benedict-Beatrice episode or any selections from "The Excursion." Mr. is taken; in Macbeth," the witch agency; George's best work has been placed upon the Antony and Cleopatra," the moral propornotes; and for these, as for those in his pre- tion; and so through the six plays. The last vious volume, he deserves great credit. He part of the book is given up to notes, critical has brought together valuable material from and interpretative, many of which, before pubmany quarters, and has given enough, without lished, have been generally accepted by Shakeadding unnecessary details. His own acquaint- speareans. Space permits only a hint of the ance with the Lake district has enabled him valuable material the book contains, but no one to verify localities and make occasional cor- who begins it will be inclined to leave a single rections; while his appreciative study of the chapter unread. poems themselves has enabled him to give, in a way helpful to students, many a sympathetic commentary. We welcome this latest book on Wordsworth, therefore, as one of especial value to students, to whom, as to the general reader, the illustrations and interpretations of Mr. George will give material aid. Another volume of selections from Wordsworth comes in the same form as the Rolfe Shakespeare, and under the editorship we have come to know so well. It is always a wonder that a Rolfe edition can include so much in so little space. As a handy edition for schools, this may easily rival any other, because of its excellent notes, its selected introduction, and its charming illustrations from the Lake region. A smaller number of selections is given than in most volumes, but these are the favorites of Wordsworth readers, and always representative. Anyone acquainted with Professor Corson's "Introduction to Browning" will have high expectations for his book on Shakespeare. It may be divided into three almost equal parts; the first dealing with the authorship, language, and verse of the poet, the second with the interpretation of six of the plays, the last made up of notes, textual and critical. Of the introductory chapters, the more striking are those on verse and diction. Professor Corson makes of prosody a new subject, by treating it wholly in its relations to the thought, pointing out also for the first time the reason for the mixture of prose and verse in the plays. Shakespeare's diction is also studied, in its Latin, its Anglo-Saxon, and its monosyllabic character. No word better characterizes Professor Corson's interpretations than suggestive. There is no attempt to develop fully a train of thought which the student can carry out for himself. A single episode is carefully treated, without attempting to elucidate every point in the drama. Romeo and Juliet" is shown to be the triumph of love, rather than the ill effect In "Sir Thomas Wyatt and his Poems we have a thesis presented at the University of Strassburg for the degree of Ph.D. The chair in English at Strassburg is occupied by Ten Brink, who, preeminently among German professors, combines literary appreciation with philological acumen. The book before us shows, in these respects, the training of the master; it displays careful research, judicious weighing of evidence, and fine literary taste. Every part of the work bears evidence of painstaking care, though this has not been allowed to detract from the clear and graceful presentation of facts and conclusions. Part First consists of a biography of the poet, with many new facts from British state papers recently published. These show that Wyatt entered public life very early, and that he was frequently entrusted with affairs of great moment by Henry VIII., while one or two cases in which Wyatt and his father have been mistaken have been cleared up by references found. The point of greatest interest in the life is the attempt to prove that Wyatt's imprisonment in 1536 was due to connection with the party of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn. The evidence leaves little doubt that, in the minds of some of his fellows at least, Wyatt was imprisoned on the Queen's account. This theory accounts well for a change in Wyatt's life, known to have taken place, and evidenced by his poems; though absolute proof is impossible, owing perhaps to mutilated or unpublished manuscripts. Part Second includes a comparison of texts and a statement of the principle of interpretation. The poems are then grouped into the earliest (written before 1522), the love poems (1522-36), occasional pieces (1536-39), and the late poems to 1542. On the supposition that the love poems were addressed to some person, and express Wyatt's own sentiments, they are grouped under the periods of entreaty, attainment, disappointment, and recovery. The writer gives some interpretation of each poem, pointing out further evidence of his theory that Anne Boleyn was the person addressed in them. The book is completed with tables of the poems chronologically and systematically arranged, an alphabetical list, and an index. That the love poems were intended for Henry's queen, gives new romance to the writings of the father of the English sonnet; and whether or not the theory be accepted, the thesis will be regarded as belonging to the best fruits of American scholarship, strengthened and trained by German methods and culture. Miss Hodgkins's "Guide to the Study of Nineteenth Century Authors" has the merit of having been tested by experience; the book being made up of leaflets prepared to accompany lectures delivered at Wellesley College, where the author is professor of English litera ture. The leaflets, which may be used separately and returned again to the cover, contain references to biographies of each author, a list of selections from his works, and a short list of critical books and magazine articles. Blank pages are added for notes. The aim is to supplement the lecture system by giving such references to the author's works and to contemporary criticism as will aid the pupil in reading and judging for himself. The list of selections is good, and the book will commend itself to every teacher. One wonders that the list of English authors does not include William Morris; and the omission of any reference to Motley and Bancroft among American writers is noticeable. A reference to the biographies of Coleridge shows that the life by Gillman is included, and that of Brandl omitted, though it is the most careful and authentic of all. An admirer of Shelley might rightly insist that the expression, vagrant life in the British Isles and continent," is unnecessarily severe; and the term "tragic death" applied to Keats must refer to the supposition, now little believed, that he died of the "Quarterly Review," and not of consumption. But notwithstanding slight peculiarities of expression, the book contains a large amount of valuable reference material, and will be an important aid in the study of the literature produced during this century. 66 Miss Burt's little book, "Literary Landmarks," is also the work of a teacher, thoroughly interested in the problem presented by the reading of young people. It contains essays on theories of Children's Reading and Reading which does not deal with Totals, a criticism on books of meager selections, followed by chapters on various kinds of literature and their adaptation to educational ends. It is throughout a plea for good reading; and by this is meant, the author rightly insists, not books written exclusively for young people, but those of standard and lasting value. How this may be done is shown by one whose experience has been considerable, and deservedly successful. Courses of reading for pupils of various stages of advancement are given, with the design in all of so linking the writers of various ages, that not only a proper knowledge of the best books will be gained, but also a proper perspective in literature. One thought of Miss Burt cannot be emphasized too much readers young and old should have something more than the scrappy portions set apart for daily use; to grasp the unity and completeness in plan of poet or prose writer is of fundamental importance, in obtaining the burden of his thought and the power of his conception. The book contains, in addition, diagrams for use in schools, and a full list, with publishers and prices, of books to which reference is made. It is full of suggestions from which both parents and teachers may obtain most important hints. If se "A Century of American Literature" is a collection of poetry and prose, from one hundred writers of the hundred years since our constitutional life began. Its completeness is shown by the fact that it begins with Franklin and ends with Stoddard, and that its size allows an average of four pages to each author. This gives ten pages each to Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Lowell, and a single contribution of one or two pages to many. lections from all American authors are desirable, perhaps this book is as nearly perfect as a single volume can be; but many will still believe that it is better to have much of the best, then fragments from any number. compiler himself appreciates this, and calls his book a "bird's-eye view "--which may account for the seeming obscuration of the greater names; also admitting "that the great majority of the writers we have thus far produced, when tested by the world's standard of excellence, fall somewhat below the level of immortal renown." But even fragments of good things are pleasant, and it must be said that the selections are well made, many of them are fresh, and all representative. The The two pamphlets containing outlines for the study of English literature, by Anna B. McMahan, aim at the direct study of master |