HATEVER may be the estimate of Alcott's philosophy W by the scholars of future generations, his life and his work cannot fail to interest Americans of to-day. A. Bronson Alcott: His Life and Philosophy is the title of the recently published Memoir by F. B. Sanborn and William T. Harris. The material for the work has been derived from copious biographical papers left by Mr. Alcott, or furnished by his daughter, Mrs. Pratt, from sources in her possession. The incidents of Mr. Alcott's life are very fully described; indeed, the record begins with the Alcott ancestry. Amos Bronson Alcott was born in Wolcott, Conn., in 1799. Even as a barefoot boy he studied and read during every spare minute, sometimes taking his books into the fields while attending to farm affairs. He did not receive a college education, for during these years he was earning his bread by peddling through the South. This he continued until he began his career as a New England school-teacher. His most famous school was the Temple School in Boston, in which Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Peabody were associated with him at different times. In this connection we make room for a passage from Mr. Alcott's diary, dated November 28th, 1836: "This morning my pupils celebrated my birthday at the schoolroom. As they made the arrangements and were deeply interested in the festival, I sought to please them. They assembled at the usual hour. At ten o'clock they crowned me with laurels, and Louisa— my little girl (afterward so well known as the author of Little Women')-being three years old."

After the failure of Mr. Alcott's school-largely in consequence of the Transcendental ideas which he held and insisted on teaching to his pupils-he removed to Concord, at Emerson's suggestion. And later -again through the influence of Emerson Mr. Alcott made a visit to England, hoping to be better appreciated there than he had been at home. The trip, however, was really a disappointment in this respect. Carlyle, to whom he bore a letter of introduction from Emerson, was barely civil to him. From a physical point of view the long voyage did him good; but it was not until Louisa Alcott had become a successful writer that the Alcotts lived in anything like comfort. It was she who saved the family from the condition into which her father's "philosophy" had plunged it. The second volume of the Memoirs deals, among other matters, with the "Concord Idyl

Out of Doors in Tsarland, by Frederick J. Whishaw, is " a record of the seeings and doings of a wanderer in Russia." The author says that he indulges the hope "that a book on Russia, in the pages of which no reference is made to Russia's Mission in the East, no allusion to Nihilists, and no mention whatever of Siberia, may possibly be esteemed a novelty by readers." Mr. Whishaw is, first of all, a sportsman, plucky and light of heart, and he writes charmingly of the many happy days spent with rod and gun on the moors and in the forests. Nevertheless he saw and has recorded much that is very interesting concerning the life of the Russian village and city. His description of a certain wolf hunt, in the chapter entitled "A Week Among the Snow-Tracks," gives a good idea of the author's manner. "The wolf family, of which mention has already been made, were still in the neighborhood, and the old paterfamilias seemed to be prowling about on his own account, leaving the mother and her brats to forage for themselves. Would I try the squeaking-pig plan? Yes, by all means I would try what the squeaking pig could do for us. Yegor had at home, he said, a young porker whose lungs could be depended upon. He would drive at once to his village and fetch him, calling for me at about nine, after I had discussed my dinner." When Yegor appeared shortly after dinner, "the pig already hard at work, loudly protesting against things in general," the author says that he and his friend got into the sledge, "lit our smokables, settled ourselves at full-length on the hay cushions, and abandoned ourselves to the full enjoyment of the brilliant night, the delightful motion, and —the music. That pig was a marvel. Most pigs, when taken out wolf-shooting, require a little pressure to keep them up to the standard of noise required; but this animal of Yegor's seemed to understand what was expected of it, and scarcely ceased for a single instant to give vent to its feelings of-I don't know what: delight, perhaps : it may have enjoyed the drive for all I know to the contrary-we did, anyhow-indeed, I don't think I shall ever forget the beautiful scene through which we glided that evening! There was not a breath of wind, but the frost was intense. The tall pines on each side of the track were by moonlight al

published a few years ago. A number of the chapters of Dr. Hale's book were originally written, at Mr. Scudder's request, for the Atlantic Monthly. The book depicts, in a wholly delightful way, the simplicity and ease of a phase of New England life which is now a thing of the past. Even in those days, according to the author, the people "in the little seaport of Boston lived and moved as if they were people of the most important city of the world." Dr. Hale begins with a brief sketch of the social and political conditions of Boston from 1630, "when Boston was founded by an important branch of Winthrop's colony," to 1826, when his reminiscences begin. It is not necessary to add that every page of these reminiscences is entertaining and interesting. He asks the reader "to recall or to imagine the conditions of a town without any railroads, and without any steam navigation beyond fifteen miles. The first steamboat in Boston Harbor went to Nahant and back again, about 1826. The first steam railway ran trains to Newton, nine miles, in 1833." Beginning thus, one reads on with unflagging interest to the last chapter, which describes the author's college life, and tells of the men--afterward famous

--who were his college-mates. The book has a number of illustrations by Dr. Hale's sons, who are now studying art in Paris. [Cassell, 12m0, $1.00.]

"A Social Departure" and " An American Girl in London," by Sara Jeanette Duncan, were such successful novels that the new volume by this writer cannot but excite considerable interest. It is entitled The Simple Adventures of a Memsahib; and, as may be surmised from the title, deals with the various aspects of life in an English settlement in India. Helen Frances Browne, formerly a Miss Peachy, became, in the course of time, a memsahib of Lower Bengal. As the author says, "one is not born a memsahib; the dignity is arrived at later, through circumstances, processes, and sometimes through foresight on the part of one's mamma. It is not so easy to obtain as it used to be." The adventures of Miss Peachy-subsequently a memsahibare recorded from the time that she set sail from England on a steamer, the deck of which was full of irresolute people like herself, who sat about on the damp benches or walked up and down under the awning, still with the look of being fresh from town,

still in gloves and stiff hats, and land-faring garments." The story records the experiences of Mrs. Helen Frances Browne during her residence in Calcutta; the point of view being that of one who is always anxious (over-anxious one is inclined to think at times) to see things on their humorous side. The book, while entertaining, gives one an excellent idea of the life of a foreign resident in Calcutta, and contains a number of illustrations by F. H. Townsend, similar in their general character to those in the author's previous volumes. [Appleton, 12mo, $1.50.]

The second volume of the richly and elaborately illustrated edition of Green's Short History of the English People includes that part of the narrative, and a most interesting part it is, from the hundred years' war to the death of Elizabeth. As in the earlier volume, nearly every one of these large, handsomely printed pages has one or more illustrations picturing the life and pursuits of the people of that time. The colored plates depict some of the costumes of the period. The notes on the illustrations are a valuable feature of the book. [Harpers, 8vo, $5.00.]

T

HE Yale Lectures on Preaching, 1893, by Robert F. Horton, have been published under the title Verbum Dei. Mr. Horton, who is an Oxford man, believes that on his side of the Atlantic, "where the established Church promises before long to thrust the sermon into a corner, and where the other churches are strongly tempted to secularize the pulpit," preaching has fallen into general contempt because of the decay of the conception of preaching

He

which he presents in these lectures. deals with his subject in nine lectures. In the first he discusses "The Theme," i. e., what he thinks is demanded of one who is to be a preacher. The second and third lectures set forth how "the word of the Lord came," to those to whom He has sent it. Lecture IV. is on "The Preacher and the Bible;" the author evidently has no sympathy with what he calls "the cult of Bibliolatry." He then discusses, in a suggestive chapter," the Word of God outside the Bible." The influence of the personal element in any one who contemplates

entering the ministry is set forth in the chapters on Receiving the Word," "The Study and Self-Appropriation of Christ," "The Logos." The last chapter of the volume, and one which will prove most helpful to students, is entitled" Methods and Modes." Mr. Horton is strongly logical, and writes with vigor and enthusiasm, but at the same time with a proper regard for opinions differing from his own. [Macmillan, 12mo, $1.50.]

The same characteristics that made George Moore's "Impressions and Opinions" so striking and entertaining mark his new volume of essays, Modern Painting. An originality in conceiving his subject, independence of judgment, the courage of his convictions, and a certain vigor and raciness of style, are the qualities belonging to all Mr. Moore's writings. These latest essays treat not only of some of the masters of modern painting-Whistler, Chavannes, Monet, Corot, and others-but, also, of general art questions

From "Raftmates."

that are of interest to the public, such as Sex in Art," "The New Art Criticism," "The Alderman in Art," the relation of patrons, picture dealers, and the camera to art, etc., etc. [Scribners, importers, 12mo, $2.00.]

Under Questions of the Day" is published a translation, by De Courcy W. Thom, of Clement Juglar's A Brief History of Panics, and their Periodical Occurrence in the United States. In his Introduction Mr. Thom condenses Juglar's theory as follows: "A Crisis or Panic may be defined as a stoppage of the rise of prices; that is to say, the period when new buyers are not to be found. It is always accompanied by a reactionary movement in prices. A panic may be broadly stated as due to overtrading, which causes general business to need more than the available capital, thus producing general lack of credit.' The author classes panics in the United States under the following heads:

Panics of Circulation,

as in 1857; Panics of Credit, as in 1866; Panics of Capital, as in 1847 Panics due to General Tariff Changes. [Putnams, 12m0, $1.00.]

Kirk Munroe, the author of "Dorymates," "Campmates," etc., has written another story entitled Raftmates, a volume belonging in Harper's Young People Series. The book is to be classed as a "juvenile," but there is enough of stirring incident-used with considerable skill in the construction of the story-to give it a certain interest for older readers who have not got beyond the possibility of enjoying this sort of tale. The raft started from a point on the upper Mississippi, and Winn, the owner's son, because of an accident, found himself in charge of the raft. He and his mates had varied and exciting adventures before their voyage ended. The interest of the text is increased by a number of illustrations. [Harpers, post 8vo, $1.25.]