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bad a thing. He is perceptibly opinionated, and would have carried things with a high hand, whether as one of the government or one of the governed. He was not swift to adopt new ideas, but he was thoroughly honest in his opposition to them. His somewhat exaggerated estimate of his own importance in the world of letters and of politics was one of those venial errors which time readily repairs.

History and General Description of New France. By the Rev. P. F. X. DE CHARLEVOIX, S. J. Translated, with Notes, by JOHN GILMARY SHEA. New York: J. G. Shea. Vol. I.

CHARLEVOIX'S "History of New France" is very well known to all who study American history in its sources. It is a well-written, scholarlike, and readable book, treating of a subject which the author perfectly understood, and of which he may be said to have been a part. Tried by the measure of his times, his research was thorough and tolerably exact. The work, in short, has always been justly regarded as a "stand ard,” and very few later writers have thought it necessary to go beyond or behind it. Appended to it is a journal of the author's travels in America, in the form of a series of letters to the Duchesse de Lesdiguières, full of interest, and a storehouse of trustworthy information.

Charlevoix had been largely quoted and extensively read. Not to know him, indeed, was to be ignorant of some of the most memorable passages in the history of this continent; but, what is certainly remarkable, he had never found an English translator. At the time of the Old French War, when the public curiosity was strongly interested in everything relating to America, the journal appended to the history was "done into English" and eagerly read; but the history itself had remained to this time in the language in which it was originally written. This is not to be regretted, if it has been the occasion of giving us the truly admirable work which is the subject of this notice.

The spirit and the manner in which Mr. Shea has entered upon his task are above all praise. It is with him a "labor of love." In these days of literary "jobs," when bad translating and careless editing are palmed off upon the amateurs of choice books in all the finery of broad margins and faultless

typography, it is refreshing to meet with a book of which the mechanical excellence is fully equalled by the substantial value of its contents, and by the thorough, conscientious, and scholarlike character of the literary execution. The labor and the knowledge bestowed on this translation would have sufficed to produce an original history of high merit. Charlevoix rarely gives his authorities. Mr. Shea has more than supplied this deficiency. Not only has he traced out the sources of his author's statements and exhibited them in notes, but he has had recourse to sources of which Charlevoix knew nothing. He is thus enabled to substantiate, correct, or amplify the original narrative. He translates it, indeed, with literal precision, but in his copious notes he sheds such a flood of new light upon it that this translation is of far more value to the student than the original work. Since Charlevoix's time, many documents, unknown to him, though bearing on his subject, have been discovered, and Mr. Shea has diligently availed himself of them. The tastes and studies of many years have made him familiar with this field of research, and prepared him to accomplish an undertaking which would otherwise have been impracticable.

The first volume is illustrated by facsimiles of Charlevoix's maps, together with his portrait and those of Cartier and Menendez. It forms a large octavo of about three hundred pages, and as a specimen of the typographical art is scarcely to be surpassed. We learn that the second volume is about to appear.

The Comparative Geography of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula. By CARL RITTER. Translated and adapted to the use of Biblical Students by WILLIAM L GAGE. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1866. 4 vols.

AMERICAN critics have found fault with Mr. Gage, as it seems to us somewhat too strongly, for certain features of this work. He has been blamed for adapting it " to the use of Biblical students," as though thereby he must necessarily tamper with scientific accuracy of statement, - for too much condensation, and for too little, - for omitting Ritter's maps, — and for certain incongruities of figures and measurement. has also been said, that the book itself, being fifteen years old, is already antiquated,

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and that many recent works, not mentioned by Ritter, or at least not adequately used, have modified our knowledge of Palestine since his day. But, after all, these critics have ended by saying that the work is a good and useful one, and by awarding credit to Mr. Gage for his fidelity, industry, and accuracy in his part of the work. So that, perhaps, the fault-finding was thrown in only as a necessary part of the duty of the reviewer; for fault-finding is, ex officio, his expected function. A judge ought always to be seated above the criminal, and every author before his reviewer is only a culprit. The author may have given years to the study of the subject to which his reviewer has only given hours. But what of that? The position of the reviewer is to look down, and his tone must always be de haut en bas.

We do not, ourselves, profess to know as much of the geography of Palestine as Professor Ritter, probably not as much as Mr. Gage. Were it not for the sharp-eyed critics, we should have wholly missed the important verification of the surface-level of Lake Huleh. We have in past years studied our "Palästina," by Von Raumer, and followed the careful Dr. Robinson with gratitude through his laborious researches. But we must confess that we are grateful for these volumes, even though they have no maps, and cannot but think it honorable in Mr. Gage to prefer to publish the book with none, rather than with poor ones. We see no harm in adapting the work to the use of Biblical students, by abridging or omitting the topics which have no bearing on the Bible history. No one else is obliged to purchase it, and the warning is given beforehand.

These four volumes contain a vast amount of interesting and important matter concerning Sinai and Palestine. The journals of travellers of all times are laid under contribution, and you are allowed often to form your own judgments from the primitive narratives. You are like one sitting in a court and hearing a host of witnesses examined and cross-examined by able counsel, and then listening to the summing up of a learned judge. It is easy to see how much more vivid such descriptions must be than a dry résumé without these accompanying pièces justificatifs.

The first of the four volumes concerns the peninsula of Mount Sinai. It gives the history of all the travels in that region, and the chief works concerning it from the ear

liest time; the routes to Mount Sinai; the voyages of Hiram and Solomon through the Red Sea to India; an interesting discussion of the name Ophir; the different groups of mountains in this region; the Bedouin tribes of the peninsula, and of Arabia Petræa; and a full account of Petra, the monolithic city of Edom.

The second volume begins with a comparative view of Syria, and a review of the authorities on the geography of Palestine. Then follows an account of the Land of Canaan and its inhabitants before the conquest by the Israelites, and of the tribes outside of Palestine who remained hostile to the Israelites. We next have an account of the great depression of the Jordan Valley, the river and its basin. Chapters on the sources of the Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, the caravan road to Damascus, and the river to the Dead Sea, and an account of the travellers who have surveyed the region, follow, with an Appendix, in which is contained a discussion of the site of Capernaum, and Tobler's full list of works on Palestine.

-

Vol. III. contains chapters on the Mouth of the Jordan; the Dead Sea; the Division among the Ten Tribes; an account of Judæa, Samaria, and Galilee; the routes through the Land; and several scientific essays.

Vol. IV. gives a full account of Jerusalem, ancient, mediæval, and modern; a discussion of the holy places; an account of the inhabitants; the region around Jerusalem; the roads to and from the city; Samaria; and Galilee; - concluding with an index of subjects, and another of texts.

On the whole, we must express our gratitude to Mr. Gage for his labor of love, in thus giving us the results of the studies of his friend and master on this important theme. Students of the Bible and of Syrian geography can nowhere else find the matters treated so fully and conscientiously and exhaustively discussed as here.

As the principal objection made to the translation of Mr. Gage is that it omits Ritter's maps, it is proper to state that Professor Kiepert declared them to be worthless; that the publisher declined an offer to sell five hundred sets, lying on his hands, to the Clarks of Edinburgh, because he could not conscientiously recommend them. Inasmuch as good Bible maps of Palestine are to be had everywhere, and as Robinson's are sold by themselves in a little vol

ume, the student does not seem to have much reason to complain.

The past quarter of a century has not added much to our knowledge of Palestine. Stanley, Bonor, Stewart, Lynch, Tobler, Barclay, De Saulcy, Sepp, Tristam, Porter, Wetystein, the Duc de Luyner, and others, have travelled and written, but the mysteries remain mysteries still.

Memoirs and Correspondence of Madame Récamier. Translated from the French and edited by ISAPHENE M. LUYSTER. Fourth Edition. Boston: Roberts Broth

ers.

IN an article contributed a year or two since to these pages, Miss Luyster sketched the career of the beautiful and good woman whose history is minutely recounted in the volume before us. It is a fascinating history, for Madame Récamier was altogether as anomalous as any creation of French fiction. Her marriage was such only in name; she lived pure, and with unblemished repute, in the most vicious and scandalous times; she inspired friendship by coquetry; her heart was never touched, though full of womanly tenderness; a leader of society and of fashion, she never ceased to be timid and diffident; she ruled witty and intellectual circles by the charm of the most unepigrammatic sweetness, the merest good-heartedness.

The correspondence of Madame Récamier consists almost entirely of letters written to her; for this adored friend of literary men wrote seldom herself, and at her death even caused to be destroyed the greater part of the few notes she had made toward an autobiography. In the present Memoirs Madame Lenormant chiefly relies upon her own personal knowledge of Madame Recamier's life, and upon contemporary hearsay. It is a very interesting book, as we have it, though at times provokingly unsatisfactory, and at times inflated and silly in style. It is not only a history of Madame Récamier, but a sketch of French society, politics, and literature during very long and interesting periods.

Miss Luyster has faithfully performed the ever-thankless task of translation; and, in preparing Madame Lenormant's work for the American public, has somewhat restrained the author's tendency to confusion and diffusion. Here and there, as editor, she has added slight but useful

notes, and has accompanied the Memoirs with a very pleasantly written introduction, giving a skilful and independent analysis of Madame Récamier's character.

Old England: its Scenery, Art, and People. By JAMES M. HOPPIN, Professor in Vale College. New York: Hurd and Hough

ton.

"THE "Pavilion,' with its puerile domes and minarets, recalls the false and flimsy epoch of that semi-Oriental monarch, George IV. His statue by Chantrey stands upon a promenade called the Old Steine.' The house of Mrs. Thrale, where Doctor Johnson visited, is still standing. The atmosphere of Brighton is considered to be favorable for invalids in the winter-time, as well as the summer."

In this haphazard way many of the va rious objects of interest in Old England are introduced to his reader by a New England writer, who possibly mistakes the disorder of a note-book for literary case, or who possibly has little of the method of picturesqueness in him. In either case his reader returns from Old England with the impression that his travelling-companion is a sensible, honest observer, who, in forming a book out of very good material, has often builded, not better, but worse, than he knew. There is no want of graphic touches; there is enough of fine and poetic feeling; but there is no perspective, no atmosphere: much of Old England through this book affects one somewhat as a faithful Chinese drawing of the moon might.

At other times Mr. Hoppin's treatment of his subject is sufficiently artistic, and he has seen some places and persons not worn quite threadbare by travel. He did not pay the national visit to Mr. Tennyson, although he had a letter of introduction; and of those people whose hospitality he did enjoy, he writes with great discretion and good taste. His sketch of the High Church clergyman at Land's End is a case in point, and it has an interest to Americans for the light it throws upon the present conflict of religious thought in England.

Mr. Hoppin writes best of the less frequented parts of England, of Land's End, and of Cornwall and Penzance; but he writes no more particularly of them than of the suburbs of London. The chapter on London art and the London pulpit is a curious mélange of shrewd, original thoughts

and that many recent works, not mentioned by Ritter, or at least not adequately used, have modified our knowledge of Palestine since his day. But, after all, these critics have ended by saying that the work is a good and useful one, and by awarding credit to Mr. Gage for his fidelity, industry, and accuracy in his part of the work. So that, perhaps, the fault-finding was thrown in only as a necessary part of the duty of the reviewer; for fault-finding is, ex officio, his expected function. A judge ought always to be seated above the criminal, and every author before his reviewer is only a culprit. The author may have given years to the study of the subject to which his reviewer has only given hours. But what of that? The position of the reviewer is to look down, and his tone must always be de haut en bas.

We do not, ourselves, profess to know as much of the geography of Palestine as Professor Ritter, probably not as much as Mr. Gage. Were it not for the sharp-eyed critics, we should have wholly missed the important verification of the surface-level of Lake Huleh. We have in past years studied our "Palästina," by Von Raumer, and followed the careful Dr. Robinson with gratitude through his laborious researches. But we must confess that we are grateful for these volumes, even though they have no maps, and cannot but think it honorable in Mr. Gage to prefer to publish the book with none, rather than with poor ones. We see no harm in adapting the work to the use of Biblical students, by abridging or omitting the topics which have no bearing on the Bible history. No one else is obliged to purchase it, and the warning is given beforehand.

These four volumes contain a vast amount of interesting and important matter concerning Sinai and Palestine. The journals of travellers of all times are laid under contribution, and you are allowed often to form your own judgments from the primitive narratives. You are like one sitting in a court and hearing a host of witnesses examined and cross-examined by able counsel, and then listening to the summing up of a learned judge. It is easy to see how much more vivid such descriptions must be than a dry résumé without these accompanying pièces justificatifs.

The first of the four volumes concerns the peninsula of Mount Sinai. It gives the history of all the travels in that region, and the chief works concerning it from the ear

liest time; the routes to Mount Sinai; the voyages of Hiram and Solomon through the Red Sea to India; an interesting discussion of the name Ophir ; the different groups of mountains in this region; the Bedouin tribes of the peninsula, and of Arabia Petræa; and a full account of Petra, the monolithic city of Edom.

The second volume begins with a comparative view of Syria, and a review of the authorities on the geography of Palestine. Then follows an account of the Land of Canaan and its inhabitants before the conquest by the Israelites, and of the tribes outside of Palestine who remained hostile to the Israelites. We next have an account of the great depression of the Jordan Valley, the river and its basin. Chapters on the sources of the Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, the caravan road to Damascus, and the river to the Dead Sea, and an account of the travellers who have surveyed the region, follow, with an Appendix, in which is contained a discussion of the site of Capernaum, and Tobler's full list of works on Palestine.

--

Vol. III. contains chapters on the Mouth of the Jordan; the Dead Sea; the Division among the Ten Tribes; an account of Judæa, Samaria, and Galilee; the routes through the Land; and several scientific essays.

Vol. IV. gives a full account of Jerusalem, ancient, mediæval, and modern; a discussion of the holy places; an account of the inhabitants; the region around Jerusalem; the roads to and from the city; Samaria; and Galilee ;-concluding with an index of subjects, and another of texts.

On the whole, we must express our gratitude to Mr. Gage for his labor of love, in thus giving us the results of the studies of his friend and master on this important theme. Students of the Bible and of Syrian geography can nowhere else find the matters treated so fully and conscientiously and exhaustively discussed as here.

As the principal objection made to the translation of Mr. Gage is that it omits Ritter's maps, it is proper to state that Professor Kiepert declared them to be worthless; that the publisher declined an offer to sell five hundred sets, lying on his hands, to the Clarks of Edinburgh, because he could not conscientiously recommend them. Inasmuch as good Bible maps of Palestine are to be had everywhere, and as Robinson's are sold by themselves in a little vol

ume, the student does not seem to have much reason to complain.

The past quarter of a century has not added much to our knowledge of Palestine. Stanley, Bonor, Stewart, Lynch, Tobler, Barclay, De Saulcy, Sepp, Tristam, Porter, Wetystein, the Duc de Luyner, and others, have travelled and written, but the mysteries remain mysteries still.

Memoirs and Correspondence of Madame Recamier. Translated from the French and edited by ISAPHENE M. LUYSTER. Fourth Edition. Boston: Roberts Broth

ers.

IN an article contributed a year or two since to these pages, Miss Luyster sketched the career of the beautiful and good woman whose history is minutely recounted in the volume before us. It is a fascinating history, for Madame Récamier was altogether as anomalous as any creation of French fiction. Her marriage was such only in name; she lived pure, and with unblemished repute, in the most vicious and scandalous times; she inspired friendship by coquetry; her heart was never touched, though full of womanly tenderness; a leader of society and of fashion, she never ceased to be timid and diffident; she ruled witty and intellectual circles by the charm of the most unepigrammatic sweetness, the merest good-heartedness.

The correspondence of Madame Récamier consists almost entirely of letters written to her; for this adored friend of literary men wrote seldom herself, and at her death even caused to be destroyed the greater part of the few notes she had made toward an autobiography. In the present Memoirs Madame Lenormant chiefly relies upon her own personal knowledge of Madame Récamier's life, and upon contemporary hearsay. It is a very interesting book, as we have it, though at times provokingly unsatisfactory, and at times inflated and silly in style. It is not only a history of Madame Récamier, but a sketch of French society, politics, and literature during very long and interesting periods.

Miss Luyster has faithfully performed the ever-thankless task of translation; and, in preparing Madame Lenormant's work for the American public, has somewhat restrained the author's tendency to confusion and diffusion. Here and there, as editor, she has added slight but useful

notes, and has accompanied the Memoirs with a very pleasantly written introduction, giving a skilful and independent analysis of Madame Récamier's character.

Old England: its Scenery, Art, and People. By JAMES M. HOPPIN, Professor in Yale College. New York: Hurd and Hough

ton.

"THE ' Pavilion,' with its puerile domes and minarets, recalls the false and flimsy epoch of that semi-Oriental monarch, George IV. His statue by Chantrey stands upon a promenade called the 'Old Steine.' The house of Mrs. Thrale, where Doctor Johnson visited, is still standing. The atmosphere of Brighton is considered to be favorable for invalids in the winter-time, as well as the summer."

In this haphazard way many of the various objects of interest in Old England are introduced to his reader by a New England writer, who possibly mistakes the disorder of a note-book for literary ease, or who possibly has little of the method of picturesqueness in him. In either case his reader returns from Old England with the impression that his travelling-companion is a sensible, honest observer, who, in forming a book out of very good material, has often builded, not better, but worse, than he knew. There is no want of graphic touches; there is enough of fine and poetic feeling; but there is no perspective, no atmosphere: much of Old England through this book affects one somewhat as a faithful Chinese drawing of the moon might.

At other times Mr. Hoppin's treatment of his subject is sufficiently artistic, and he has seen some places and persons not worn quite threadbare by travel. He did not pay the national visit to Mr. Tennyson, although he had a letter of introduction; and of those people whose hospitality he did enjoy, he writes with great discretion and good taste. His sketch of the High Church clergyman at Land's End is a case in point, and it has an interest to Americans for the light it throws upon the present conflict of religious thought in England.

Mr. Hoppin writes best of the less frequented parts of England, of Land's End, and of Cornwall and Penzance; but he writes no more particularly of them than of the suburbs of London. The chapter on London art and the London pulpit is a curious mélange of shrewd, original thoughts

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