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The last Congress legislated Mr. F. M. Thorn, the late superin-
tendent of the Coast Survey, out of office at the close of the fiscal
year. It provided, in an appropriation bill, that he should be ap-
pointed by the President, "by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate." The proposed change of the law was submitted to
Mr. Thorn by the Senate sub-committee on appropriations, and his
opinion was requested as to the advisability of its enactment. He
replied that he regarded as entirely unobjectionable the require-
ment that the superintendent should be appointed "by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate," and that he had no personal in-
terest in it whatever. His resignation was written on March 6,
but was withheld at the suggestion of Senator Allison until April,
when it was sent to the President. On June 22 Mr. Thorn di-
rected the attention of the President and Secretary Windom to the
law requiring the appointment of a superintendent to be made at
the beginning of the fiscal year. He has not since discharged any
of the duties of the office. Although Mr. Thorn was not a scientific
man, like all of his predecessors, yet it is believed, that, as a result
of his excellent executive ability, the forces of the office have been
so employed during the past four years as to greatly increase their
efficiency.

A MOVEMENT IS ON FOOT to celebrate the four-hundredth an-
niversary of the discovery of America by a world's exhibition to be
held in this city. The time before 1892 is considered short for the
satisfactory organization of such a vast undertaking; but, as the
suggestion meets with general approval, it is likely to be carried
forward to success. As to the location to be chosen, considerable
discussion has begun, many opposing a proposal that the buildings
should be erected in Central Park. This opposition argues, and
as it appears justly, that the use of the park for such a purpose
would interfere with its legitimate use as a pleasure-ground for at
least a year, and that the injuries inflicted on the grounds could
not be effaced in ten years. Some spot farther up on the island
is more likely to be chosen, a spot which, with the means of
rapid transit which already exist, and which could be added to
without much outlay, would be of easy access. We look forward
to a rapid and satisfactory development of the plans for the ex-
hibition; although, of course, as Americans do not seek any but a
home market for their goods, the main stimulus of such a fair is
not so strong as with Europeans.

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ON JULY 9 the President appointed Professor T. C. Menden-
hall superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Professor
Mendenhall was born in Ohio in 1841. From 1873 to 1878 he was
professor of physics at the Ohio State University at Columbus. In

MASTER AND WORKMEN.

-

THE greatest interest attaching to the Petit-Bourg Works, for
the manufacture of light railway material, twenty miles from
Paris, is to be found in the relations that exist between the master
and workmen. As described in Engineering, a system of almost
military discipline prevails everywhere. With the exception of a
small number of hands, all work is paid for by the piece, and every
thing that fails to pass a rigid inspection is condemned at the ex-
pense of the men. The hours of the work are long, — fourteen
hours a day, and Sunday is only observed as a holiday after two
o'clock. Yet the men are contented and prosperous, and are the
first to stifle and exclude the spirit of discord which too often pre-
vails in the factories of adjoining communes. Workmen are al-
ways eager to obtain service at Petit-Bourg, and, once there, are
loth to quit it. The secret lies in the fact that the men like to be
governed, and that their material welfare is always carefully
studied. Comfortably fitted up dwellings are provided for the un-
married men, in which they can rent a well-furnished bedroom for
1 pence a day, or for 24 pence if two live together. Then a clean
and attractive restaurant is close at hand, where well-cooked meals
are furnished at prices just sufficient to pay expenses. Married
men are not allowed to use this restaurant, but they can purchase
and take home with them their meals at a somewhat lower price,
so that all the expense and trouble of cooking is saved them. In
this restaurant a separate room is provided for the use of the fore-
men, the scale of charges being the same; and a general shop is
attached, where every thing can be purchased at the lowest possible
For those men who wish to save the expense and trouble of
going to the restaurant at meal-times, a range of ovens is provided
within the works, and placed under the charge of a superannuated
employee, whose duty it is to receive the food brought by the men,
and have it comfortably prepared when the breakfast or dinner
hour comes. The men are paid monthly, and are allowed to open
credits to fixed amounts with the restaurant and shop, the balance
due to them being paid at each settlement. Pay-day is celebrated

rate.

by the works being closed for three days, during which time the men have absolute license to get drunk if they feel so disposed, the fact being that about one per cent avail themselves of this privilege. Drunkenness at another time is followed by dismissal. The married workmen are provided with comfortable cottages surrounded by gardens, and with rents varying from six to twelve francs a month, according to their size and location. A bonus is secured to them on each addition to their family, in the shape of a monthly reduction in their rent; and long service also secures a further reduction. By this arrangement the cottages gradually fall into the absolute ownership of the workmen, and a most powerful inducement for steadiness and content is thus secured. The single men are also allowed to have a plot of garden if they desire it, and this is found to be a great attraction in taking and keeping service under M. Decauville. The result of this wise administration is seen in the fact that the Petit-Bourg colony possess savings to the extent of 200,000 francs, which are not invested in savings banks, but in the works themselves, where it receives a guaranteed interest at six per cent. Workmen are insured against all accidents by M. Decauville, who encourages and assists the several benefit societies, which are mainly supported by the workmen themselves. But the glory of Petit-Bourg is its theatre, — a substantial and really elegant building, 100 feet long and 39 feet wide, capable of seating about 500 persons. This theatre is nicely fitted up, and has a capacious stage, with appointments that would do credit to many a provincial town. Here about four performances are given a year, not by third-rate actors representing sensational drama, but, when it is determined that a performance shall take place, subscriptions are raised among the employers, the foremen, and the men, a committee is formed to negotiate with some good Paris company, and every thing is arranged admirably. It may be mentioned, in passing, that the "Maitre des Forges" is a never-failing favorite. But, besides theatrical performances, the theatre at PetitBourg serves other purposes: it is the gathering-place on all political occasions, at which, needless to say, M. Decauville presides in his capacity as Monsieur le Maire; it is the scene of numerous concerts given by the Petit-Bourg band, formed exclusively of Decauville workmen; the corps of Sapeurs-Pompiers, also from the works, hold their meetings and celebrations here; and in the theatre M. le Maire distributes prizes gained in the schools which he controls.

Altogether the Petit-Bourg colony leads a happy and prosperous, though a laborious life; and if M. Decauville can succeed in the future, as he has done in the past, in saving the district where he and his family have ruled for so many generations from the contagion of discontent and communism, Petit-Bourg will continue in its prosperity, and its hard-working population will remain contented.

THE TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY BY COMPRESSED

AIR.

At that

WE have not before us any data to show the actual development of the Compagnie Parisienne de l'Air Comprimé, but a statement of the number of installations in active work towards the close of last year will serve to give an idea of the number and variety of industries which have availed themselves of this means of obtaining motive power. Since then, the number of subscribers has largely increased, and one section of the great public lighting scheme of Paris has been carried out by the company. date there were, says Engineering, seven central stations fed from the installation at St. Fargeau for the distribution of electric light. They represented a total force of 750 horse-power given off by the air-motors; and of these, six were of 100 horse-power each. Four theatres, fourteen cafés and restaurants, two hotels, the same number of newspaper-offices and of clubs, and sixteen private houses were electrically lighted by the same means. Sewing-machines were driven in thirteen different establishments, ice was produced in four, and the air formed the motive power for driving machinetools in thirty-four different shops. Sixteen printing-offices availed themselves of the same means, and in thirty-five other establishments it was also employed. Among the various applications there were a number of sanitary establishments that were on the

list of subscribers; in six instances it was employed for raising wines and spirits; it was also used for working lifts, shearing metals, and cutting stuffs, for ventilation and for driving mills, and to a large extent for wood-working machinery. At the end of last year, over 1,200 horse-power was distributed daily through the mains. Of this, 478 horse-power found employment among 276 subscribers for various industrial purposes, and 803 horse-power was absorbed in supplying 6,220 incandescent lamps and 145 arc lamps. Since that date, the demands of subscribers have gone on increasing until the reserve of engine-power at St. Fargeau was of necessity absorbed to supply the existing demands, and it became necessary to extend the main station. At the end of last year the situation of the company appears to have been as follows: the subscribers who had made themselves liable for periods of from five to ten years brought in a revenue from various industries of $12,000; for lighting, of $92,000; and for the pneumatic clocks, of $19,400. Besides these, there were a number of subscribers who paid by the records of their counters. Of these, $14,600 was paid for miscellaneous industries, and $32,000 for electric lighting. At that time, also, several important installations were in progress which have since been finished. Among others was the Bourse de Commerce, who spent $20,000 on an installation; refrigerating companies paying $20,000 a year, and the Eden Theatre $24,000 a year; there were also a number of miscellaneous applications, amounting to $16,000 a year. These sums together brought the total revenues of the company to about $170,000 a year, the expenses being $152,000 for that part of the installation which was in full operation. This sum included interest on loans at 6 per cent, and interest on capital at 5 per cent. At the beginning of the year the works were not running at any thing like their full capacity, so that a large amount of capital on which interest was being paid was earning nothing. The financial condition became more favorable a short time later, when a large number of other installations were completed. It is said that this year the company will be in a position to pay regular dividends of 10 per cent upon its share capital; and, if all that is claimed for the system be substantiated, there appears to be no reason why such a rate of interest cannot be maintained or even exceeded.

Engineering does not hold itself in any way responsible for the figures given. They were furnished by the company, whose good faith is evident, because they court investigation, and are even now making arrangements for a series of trials to be conducted by wholly independent experts. Naturally the most interesting feature of the system is that by which the efficiency of the compressed air is claimed to be doubled by the application of heat and of a certain proportion of water. Apart from the inconvenience resulting on the extreme cold produced at the exhaust, for large motors at least, the permanent success or failure of the system depends upon the high degree of efficiency that can be obtained. For small motors this question is comparatively of little importance, because, even with an efficiency of 30 per cent, the balance of advantages would rest with the compressed air as compared with power produced by other mechanical means or by manual labor. The great electric-lighting installation which the company has just completed between the Rue Royale and the Opera will afford, after a few months, absolute data as to the relative economy of the system, and a means of comparison between it and the other installations of the other electric companies. Under every aspect, this great industry for the transmission of power, of which the station at St. Fargeau is the centre, is a most interesting one; and it may be predicted with certainty, that, if the reports of independent engineers confirm the statements by the company, applications on an equally large scale will soon be at work in other cities besides Paris. In a great many instances the advantage of being able to promote ventilation and to obtain a supply of pure air in the workshop is an advantage of great importance, and is one that is shared by no other medium of energy after it has done its work. Unlike the waste products from the gas-engine, or exhaust steam, or the discharged water from a hydraulic motor, the expanded air, after having done its work in the cylinder, can be turned directly into the apartment where the engine is at work. There are so many other purposes to which the system may find an application, that its field of usefulness appears to be a very wide one indeed. For

refrigerating purposes it is already in successful use in Paris, and to a modified degree it may well serve to reduce the temperature of houses in hot climates. The production of intense heat for metallurgical purposes, and the aërification of water, are also two other practical uses of which the ultimate list will probably be a long one.

HEALTH MATTERS.

The Mortality in the City of New York for 1888. A PRELIMINARY report in relation to the mortality of the city for the year 1888 has just been presented to the board of health by Dr. Roger S. Tracy, the assistant sanitary superintendent; and the deductions made in it, as we find them summed up in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, are somewhat remarkable. The sanitary police took a census of the tenement-house population during the year, which includes all the houses that are more or less constantly under the supervision of the board of health, but not the better class of apartment-houses. The entire population included in this census was 1,093,701 persons, among whom there were 24,842 deaths, while the total number of deaths in the city was 40,175. The highest death-rate, 26.60 per thousand of the population, is in the district south of 14th Street and west of Broadway; the next highest, 23.52, is in the district west of Fifth Avenue and between 14th and 59th Streets, in which are situated a large proportion of the residences of the wealthiest citizens; and the third highest in the district east of Broadway and south of 14th Street, the most densely populated part of the city, and containing almost exclusively a tenement-house population.

The general tenement death-rate was 22.71, while the general death-rate of the city in 1888 was 26.33; and this fact would seem to indicate that the population of the city has been underestimated, and the quoted death-rate too high, or that all the deaths belonging in tenement-houses had not been credited to them, or else that the death-rate is actually lower for the tenement-house population than for the rest of the city, which would certainly seem most extraordinary. It might be that deaths that should have been credited to the tenement-houses have not been so credited; but of the total number of deaths in institutions, 7,774, the former place of residence of the individuals was ascertained in 3,444, and these deaths have all been credited to the houses in which they had lived. In all the districts the death-rate of persons five years of age and over, as a rule, decreases as the number of tenants increases; while the death-rate of children under five years of age increases up to a certain point, diminishing when there are more than eighty tenants to a house. The general death-rate is highest in houses containing from sixty to eighty tenants; and this is caused by the higher death-rate among the children, which reaches in these houses 114.04 per 1,000 living.

The

The results of the investigations are summed up by Dr. Tracy as follows: "The death-rate in tenement-houses is less than the general death-rate of the city. The death-rate in the large tenementhouses is less than in the smaller ones. While diarrhoeal diseases and diphtheria show a greater death-rate in the larger houses, phthisis and pneumonia show comparatively little difference; that difference, however, being in favor of the larger houses. greatest general death-rate among persons over five years of age, the next to the highest death-rate from diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia, and markedly the highest from phthisis, are in the district south of 14th Street and west of Broadway. The excessive mortality in this part of the city is probably connected with the great number of old houses and the dampness of the soil. These results are much at variance with what was expected. It seems to be sufficiently established that people do not live under such extremely bad sanitary conditions in the tenements as they have been supposed to."

Contagious Consumption.

The following report on consumption as a contagious disease was approved July 9 by the Health Department of New York City :

Pulmonary tuberculosis (consumption) is directly communicated from one person to another. The germ of the disease exists in the expectoration of persons afflicted with it. The following extract

from the report of the pathologists of the Health Department explains the means by which the disease may be transmitted:

66 6

Tuberculosis is commonly produced in the lungs (which are the organs most frequently affected) by breathing air in which living germs are suspended as dust. The material which is coughed up, sometimes in large quantities, by persons suffering from consumption, contains these germs often in enormous numbers. . . . This material when expectorated frequently lodges in places where it dries, as on the street, floors, carpets, handkerchiefs, etc. After drying in one way or another, it is very apt to become pulverized, and float in the air as dust.'

"By observing the following rules, the danger of catching the disease will be reduced to a minimum:

"1. Do not permit persons suspected to have consumption to spit on the floor or on cloths, unless the latter be immediately burned. The spittle of persons suspected to have consumption should be caught in earthen or glass dishes containing the following solution: corrosive sublimate, one part; water, one thousand parts.

"2. Do not sleep in a room occupied by a person suspected of having consumption. The living rooms of a consumptive patient should have as little furniture as practicable. Hangings should be especially avoided. The use of carpets, rugs, etc., ought always to be avoided.

"3. Do not fail to wash thoroughly the eating utensils of a person suspected of having consumption as soon after eating as possible, using boiling water for the purpose.

"4. Do not mingle the unwashed clothing of consumptive patients with similar clothing of other persons.

"5. Do not fail to catch the bowel discharges of consumptive patients with diarrhoea in a vessel containing, corrosive sublimate, one part; water, one thousand parts.

"6. Do not fail to consult the family physician regarding the social relations of persons suffering from suspected consumption. "7. Do not permit mothers suspected of having consumption to nurse their offspring.

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8. Household pets (animals or birds) are quite susceptible to tuberculosis: therefore do not expose them to persons afflicted with consumption; also do not keep, but destroy at once, all household pets suspected of having consumption, otherwise they may give it to human beings.

"9. Do not fail to thoroughly cleanse the floors, walls, and ceilings of the living and sleeping rooms of persons suffering from consumption at least once in two weeks."

Ten thousand copies of the report were ordered to be printed for distribution.

PREVENTING TUBERCULOSIS BY MILITARY ORDERS. - The German war minister has decided, says The Medical Record, that the chest of every soldier shall be examined once a month. If the chest does not reach a certain breadth, and does not develop with drill and athletic exercises, the soldier will be disqualified, and regarded as being predisposed to phthisis, and, moreover, likely to infect his comrades.

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PROFESSORSHIPS OF HYGIENE. The University of Kiel, as we learn from The Medical News, has inaugurated a professorship of hygiene, and Dr. Bernard Fischer has been appointed to the chair. There now remain only two Prussian universities - those of Bonn and Königsburg — without such chairs. Dr. Fischer was one of Professor Robert Koch's pupils, and accompanied him on that memorable journey into Egypt and India which resulted in the discovery by Koch of the bacillus of Asiatic cholera. Another companion on that voyage was Dr. Gaffky, now professor of hygiene at Giessen. Other pupils of Koch occupy the same department of instruction in other universities, as Dr. Gärtner in Jena, Dr. Löffler in Greifswald, Dr. Hüppe in Wiesbaden, Dr.

Becker in Leipzig, Dr. Fränkel in Berlin, and Dr. Frank in Naples. These are all members of the younger generation of instructors, and are adepts in the laboratory methods of Koch. Dr. Fischer's original work has been exerted in two directions chiefly, - one in the application of bromine to disinfection, another in the study of the phosphorescence of the sea.

ELECTRICAL NEWS.

NEW FORM OF GAS-BATTERY. This battery, invented by Mr. Ludwig Mond and Dr. Carl Langer, is an improvement on the gas-battery invented by Grove fifty years ago, which produces electricity from hydrogen and oxygen gas by the intervention of platinum. The distinguishing feature of the new battery, which has been designed to obtain large currents of electricity by means of these gases, is, according to Nature, that the electrolyte is not employed as a mobile liquid, but in a quasi-solid form, and it is therefore named “dry gas battery." Each element of the battery consists of a porous diaphragm of a non-conducting material,- for instance, plaster-of-Paris, — which is impregnated with dilute sulphuric acid. Both sides of this diaphragm are covered with very fine platinum-leaf, perforated with very numerous small holes, and over this with a thin film of platinum black. Both these coatings are in contact with frameworks of lead and antimony, insulated one from the other, which conduct the electricity to the poles of each element. A number of these elements are placed side by side, or one above the other, with non-conducting frames intervening, so as to form chambers through which hydrogen-gas is passed along one side of the element, and air along the other. One element, with a total effective surface of 774 square centimetres (120 square inches), which is covered by 1 gram of platinum black and .35 of a gram of platinum-leaf, shows an electro-motive force of very nearly 1 volt when open, and produces a current of 2 ampères and .7 of a volt, or 1.4 watts, when the outer resistance is properly adjusted. This current is equal to nearly 50 per cent of the total energy obtainable from the hydrogen absorbed in the battery. The electro-motive force decreases, however, slowly, in consequence of the transport of the sulphuric acid from one side of the diaphragm to the other. In order to counteract this disturbing influence, the gases are from time to time interchanged. The battery works equally well with gases containing 30 to 40 per cent of hydrogen, such as can be obtained by the action of steam, or steam and air, on coal or coke, if the gases have been sufficiently purified from carbonic oxide and hydrocarbons. The water produced in the battery by the combination of hydrogen and oxygen is carried off by the unconsumed nitrogen, and an excess of air carried through it for this purpose.

I

BOOK-REVIEWS.

Education in the United States: its History from the Earliest Settlements. (International Education Series.) By RICHARD G. BOONE. New York, Appleton. 120. $1.50. THIS book belongs to a class that are becoming rather common in this country, books presenting a large amount of useful information in an unattractive style. The time has been when a good literary style was considered indispensable in an historical work; but in our time, and especially in this country, we are treated to volume after volume on historical themes in which style is utterly lacking. That this should be so is somewhat surprising; for a work that has no charm of style is certain to have a much smaller circle of readers than one that has that attraction, and writers usually desire as many readers as possible. In Mr. Boone's book we are sorry to find this literary defect; for the work has a good deal of merit of other kinds, conveying as it does a large amount of information for the most part well arranged. It has evidently been prepared by careful and conscientious study of the original authorities, and will be useful at least to all educators and as a work of reference to all intelligent readers. It opens with an account of the steps taken by the early colonists to establish schools and colleges, and shows how, at the very outset of our national history, the sentiments of North and South differed on this subject

of education. Massachusetts and Connecticut led the way in founding schools for the whole people, and it was not until comparatively recent times that their ideas and practice became generally prevalent. How the public-school system grew up and overspread the country, Mr. Boone relates at considerable length; and he does not fail to show how much the schools have been improved by the increase of State control. Then follows a chapter on recent progress in the colleges, showing the changes in the curriculum, the introduction of the elective system, and other matters of interest. Professional and technological schools are also treated of, and there is a chapter on the education of the deaf and dumb and other unfortunates, and of criminals. The author does not confine himself, however, to the schools alone, but gives the history of other educational agencies, such as libraries, museums, and learned societies. The founding of the Smithsonian Institution, the grants of land for educational purposes, and other acts of the general government bearing on education, are related; and the book closes with an interesting chapter on the advance that has been made in the education of women. Thus it contains a valuable mass of information, which, so far as we know, was not accessible before in a convenient form.

A Theoretical and Practical Treatise on the Strength of Beams and Girders. By ROBERT H. COUSINS. New York, Spon. 12°. $5.

SINCE the time of Galileo, the subject of which this volume treats has received much attention at the hands of the ablest mathematicians of all countries. Many attempts have been made during the present century to solve experimentally the problems involved, only to result in the adoption, by many experimenters, of empirical rules for the strength of beams and girders, rather than scientifically deduced formulas; the reason for this, as given by one authority, being that "no theory of the rupture of a simple beam has yet been proposed which fully satisfies the critical experimenter." The theory advanced in this treatise, and the formulas resulting from that theory, deduce the strength of beams and girders from the direct crushing and tensile strength of the material composing them, leaving out of the problem altogether the co-efficient known as the modulus of rupture. The theory and the formulas deduced from it are in accord with correct mechanical and mathematical principles, and the author believes that they will fully satisfy the results obtained by the experimenter. Works of this character derive special importance from the constantly increasing use of iron and steel for building and engineering purposes.

The Beginners' Book in German. By SOPHIE DORIOT. Boston, Ginn. 12°. 90 cents.

THIS little book is the result of the need felt by the author and others, in teaching German, of suitable books to put into the hands of beginners. It consists of two parts. Part I. is a series of lessons, each of which is introduced with a picture, followed by corresponding verses from the child-literature of Germany. These pictures, which illustrate the text following, were all drawn expressly for the purpose, and are brimming with the spirit of fun and humor which they have so faithfully caught from the child-lore. A conversation upon the subject, with the study of words and phrases, completes each lesson. In this way advantage is taken of the children's tastes and inclinations, and even of the mischiefloving element which enters so largely into the child-nature. The second part contains graded selections for reading.

The typography and make-up are in every way excellent. The book, as a whole, forms a very attractive volume, and we have no doubt that it will prove, as the author has intended, a great relief to teachers and a source of pleasure to pupils.

The A B C of Electricity. By WILLIAM H. MEADOWCROFT. New York, F. W. Lovell. 12°. 50 cents.

CONDENSATION of matter and simplicity of language are the points most noticeable in this little volume. A brief general outline of the rudiments of electrical science, or at least of those departments of it which have now become almost a part of every-day life, is given in language devoid of those technicalities which are

so puzzling and discouraging to the general public, though necessary to the student and the electrician. The author does not put it forward as a scientific work, of which there is no lack, intending it only as a sort of guide-book on the road to electrical science, which will probably give to many the information they may desire, without requiring too great a research into works which treat more extensively and deeply of the subject. The book bears the indorsement of Thomas A. Edison.

AMONG THE PUBLISHERS.

AMONG the timely articles in the July number of The New Review, which Longmans, Green, & Co. expect to have ready about the 12th, are "The Eiffel Tower," by M. Eiffel himself; "The Shah of Persia," by Lord Castletown; and "The Eight Hours Bill," by Mr. Charles Bradlaugh. There will also be an anonymous article on "The Talkers of London." Matthew Arnold's literary executor, Lord Coleridge, has written a paper on the lamented poet and critic, which will appear in the July number of The New Review.

The July number of Blackwood's will contain a story by Mr. Oscar Wilde on the subject of Shakspeare's sonnets. Mr. Wilde will put forward an entirely new theory as to the identity of the mysterious "Mr. W. H." of the famous preface.

- John Wiley & Sons have just ready a work on "Steam-Engine Design," for the use of mechanical engineers, students, and draughtsmen, by Professor J. M. Witham.

Ticknor & Co. announce "The Moral Idea: a Historic Study," by Julia Wedgwood, - a work which is said to be the outcome of twenty years of study, and which is described as “a history of human aspiration after a moral ideal that changes continually in the evolution of time and thought, the highest truth discovered by one age being often found by a revolt against the errors circling round the belief that was the life of a former age."

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-D. Appleton & Co. have ready "Days Out of Doors," by Charles C. Abbott, a companion volume to his "A Naturalist's Rambles about Home;" The Garden's Story," by George H. Ellwanger, relating the pleasures and trials of an amateur gardener, illustrated with head and tail pieces by Rhead; and "The History of a Slave," by H. M. Johnston, author of the "Kilimanjaro Expedition."

- In the July issues of the leading English reviews, Mr. Gladstone contributes to the Nineteenth Century an article entitled "Plain Speaking on the Irish Union." Mr. Gosse writes on "Edward FitzGerald," the translator of Omar Khayyum, in the Fortnightly; and Walter Besant describes the first society of British authors (1843) in the Contemporary Review. This last-named periodical will contain, in addition to other notable articles, a paper on "Jewels and Dress," by Mrs. Haweis; and one on "Thomas Hardy," by J. M. Barrie.

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Messrs. Belford, Clarke, & Co. send us two of their lately published novels, The Prophet's Mantle," by Fabian Bland; and "Trean, or The Mormon's Daughter," by Alva M. Kerr. The former is much better than many recent novels, being not only unexceptionable in both a moral and a literary sense, but really an entertaining story. The leading character is a Russian nihilist, but the scene is mostly laid in London. The incidents are mostly of an ordinary kind, only a few being unusually exciting; yet the interest is unflagging from beginning to end. A good deal is said by the various characters on the subjects of socialism, capitalism, tyranny, and the urgent need of social re-organization, and the author seems to be more or less in sympathy with socialistic views, but with some doubts about their practicability. The other novel is inferior to "The Prophet's Mantle," but has nevertheless an interest of its own. The hero of the tale is an eastern man, who goes on business to Utah, and there falls in love with a Mormon's daughter. A Mormon bishop, however, who already had several wives, was bent on adding that same girl to the list; and hence arose a host of trouble for the young lovers, out of which, of course, they at last emerged triumphant. The book contains a great deal about the Mormon doctrines and practices-most readers will

think too much for the interest of the story; and the author is evidently a determined hater of the whole Mormon system. Almost every novel nowadays endeavors, as these do, to deal with some moral or social question, either by showing in a vivid light some evil that requires a remedy or by rousing a public sentiment in favor of reform. This tendency, if properly directed, is certainly to be welcomed; for it makes the story not only more useful and improving, but also to men of intelligence more interesting.

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Messrs. Ginn & Co. announce for early publication Pages Choisies des Mémoires du Duc de Saint-Simon," edited for use in colleges and advanced classes, and for private readers, by Alphonse N. Van Daell, Ph.C., LL.D., recently director of modern languages in the Boston High and Latin Schools, and now professor of French in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The "Mémoires of Saint-Simon," which are of great importance for both the literary and the historical study of the seventeenth century in France, are accessible to but few students, partly on account of their bulk. The editor does not know of any American edition, although it is very desirable to have Saint-Simon's prose studied in an advanced course. The notes will be in French; and the introduction will consist of two selections, one from Taine, the other from Rambaud. The same firm also announce for publication in August, Dumas' "Les Trois Mousquetaires," edited by Professor F. C. Sumichrast of Harvard University, for use in schools and colleges and for private readers. Alexandre Dumas was one of the brightest and most entertaining of writers; but his works, with the exception of "La Tulipe Noire," have not been available for college or school work on account of their length and the frequent occurrence of objectionable passages. These two objections are removed in this edition of Dumas' masterpiece, "Les Trois Mousquetaires." The story itself is kept intact, and the brilliant description of court, camp, and city life preserved; but the "padding" has been omitted, and its place supplied by brief summaries. Every objectionable page has been carefully excised, and this with the greater readiness that the actual story is not thereby affected. The book will form a volume of about two hundred pages of readingmatter, and, being fully annotated, will prove an edition serviceable to student and teacher alike.

The Forum for July contains eleven articles on a great variety of subjects and of varying excellence. The most important is the opening one, by Bishop Henry C. Potter, on "The Scholar in American Life." The writer justly thinks that the American people are greatly in need of a much higher grade of scholarship than now prevails among them; and in this essay he endeavors to show this need, and also to point out the conditions on which alone it can be supplied. By scholarship Bishop Potter does not mean the mere possession of knowledge: on the contrary, he speaks slightingly of those who merely retail other men's ideas. It is the original thinker, the teacher of new truths, whom he designates as the scholar, and whose work he regards as so important. At present such men are rare in this country, and those of the highest class are not found here at all; and Bishop Potter doubts if we shall have them in any considerable numbers until our universities provide, either by fellowships or by lectureships, for their support. The whole paper is well considered, and ought to be read and pondered by all who have the interests of American civilization at heart. Mr. W. S. Lilly continues his series of papers on what he deems the moral looseness of the present age, treating this time of "The Ethics of Journalism." He contrasts the ideal of the journalist's profession with the reality, and it cannot be denied that the charges he brings against the common run of journalists have a solid basis of fact. Professor G. J. Romanes replies briefly to Mr. Mivart's criticism of the Darwinian theory, but without saying any thing that is new. Dr. Austin Flint has a paper on Late Theories concerning Fever," in which he considers especially the mode of treating that disease. He remarks that the increase of temperature is the really dangerous element in the case, and, while he speaks somewhat hesitatingly about the use of drugs for reducing the temperature, recommends in strong terms the application of cool baths. M. Honoré Beaugrand writes of "The Attitude of the French Canadians" on the questions of commercial union and annexation to the United States. He replies to Professor Goldwin

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