of the Island of Guam." Many poems make the issues of this mag-. azine indicative of the literary life and spirit of the Far West.

SUCCESS.

The February number of Success contains several articles of interest and profit. As in preceding numbers, the emphasis is placed on industry, enterprise and perseverance as the qualities which have given success. A chatty sketch of President Charles M. Schwab, of the Carnegie Steel Company, tells "the story of a man who rose without influence, from poverty to wealth, who climbed the difficult ladder of achievement by the force of his own will, and who passed within a few years from the humble position of a stakedriver in an engineer corps to the leadership of forty-five thousand men." Philip C. Hanna writes on "The Peril of Porto Rico''; Agnes Patterson Jones tells of "Office Boys Who Have Won Renown"; and Amos Cummings contributes an article on "Public Men of the Hour." Articles in the March number are "Opportunities in the New South," by Hezekiah Butterworth; "Law and Journalism," by Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and "Can Will Power Be Increased," by Professor Elmer Gates. Both numbers are full of striking incidents in the lives of men successful from the standpoint of "getting on in the world."

BIBLIA.

Biblia, a monthly journal of Oriental Research in Archæology, Ethnology, Literature, Religion, History, Epigraphy, Geography, Language, etc., has recently been placed in the library. The January and February numbers contain many articles of interest to the student of ancient life, and especially to the scientific student of the Bible. Some of the principal articles are "Ancient Jerusalem Topography," "Relics of Buddha," "New Lights on Biblical Chronology," "The Exodus According to Mereuptah," "Was the Tabernacle Oriental?" and "The Ancient Armenians." The attention of the students is called to this magazine in the hope that they may examine it more closely.

A FINE ROMANCE OF EARLY VIRGINIA.†

Some books are made to be read at odd moments, to be picked up, dipped into and then thought over until another idle time. Other books rebel against such treatment, they demand the whole attention, and these are the books which make the lasting impressions upon the mind. There are few people but will find "To Have and to Hold" a fine example of this kind of literature. Eveu those who do not like the historical novel will find here plenty of character development and study of manners and fresh style to repay them well for reading. The lover of historical romance can not help but be happy and absorbed till those last beautiful sentences are finished. American patriotism gained a new life but a short time ago and it has echoed with true music in our literature. We can hardly judge a book by its sale, but the wonderful demand for "Richard Garvel," "Janice Meredith" and "To Have and to Hold" is a sure index of something more than common in these books. Little could be gained by comparing them with each other as the scenes are so different, the style and development so distinct, but there is a certain character possessed by the new volume which demands a quieter though more intense interest.

That Miss Johnson knows of what and of whom she is writing is clear. The characters live and love, moving as though just outside our window rather than at the whim and motion of a head and hand. Only once in a while is there a hint of artificiality. In "Prisoners of Hope" were marks of growing power and, as chapter after chapter of the new romance came in the Atlantic Monthly, we could not but rejoice in the development of what were before only promises of beauty. The most vulnerable part of the work lies in the overfulness of the author's imagination. Still it is too often we find a lack of that for us to more than mention such a fault. And imagine the pirate incident omitted! Would we not miss the magnificent duel scene. and those sweet moments when they "wrote on the sand"? Perhaps we question the necessity of some predicaments, yet there is a unity in it all which makes the whole dependent on every part. We can cut out nothing. The power of treatment is versatile. With bold, clear strokes she sketches, with careful touches she paints a landscape in water colors, she talks of love in the sweet notes of the song of the spring birds. "I sat down at her feet, and for some time we said no word. The light, falling between the heavy blooms, cast bright sequins upon her dress and dark hair. The blooms were not more pink than her cheeks, the recesses of the forest behind us not deeper or darker than her eyes.

†TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. By Mary Johnson. 403 pages. Houghton, Mifflin & Company.

$1.50. Boston:

The laughter and the song came faintly to us now. The sun was low in the west, and a wonderful light slept upon the sea.' And the closing words of the book ring yet in the mind. "The singing behind us died away, but the song in our hearts kept on. All things die not; while the soul lives, love lives; the song may be now gay, now plaintive, but it is deathless."

There is real humor and there is real pathos; there is the dramatic element which was so strong and at the same time so sad in her earlier book. She has been able to strike the chord that vibrates in every heart. It is all ideal in that best sense of being truly real. We know more of the manners of early Virginia, we see more of the heart of man and woman than most of us can get out of life for ourselves. We forget the style, the history as we read, knowing only that there are no contradictions, no skips of thought to mar the effect, and then when we lay down the finished book we begin to realize the art and skill which made such an effect possible. The book is closed for a time with regret and we look for something more from her hand, we hope it may be even better.

TENNESSEE STORIES.*

This is a collection of short sketches treating of the early history and development of Tennessee with a number of stories of thrilling and heroic experiences in those frontier days when this state was in the far west. Indians and pioneers meet again on these pages and we have quite a vivid description of the privation and hardship and also the victories of those opening scenes of western progress.

A HISTORY OF THE JEWS.†

Every student of the Bible has a certain understanding of the history of the Old Testament times, but the break after the exile is almost absolute. The New Testament story of the life of Jesus inspires the reader to look up the history of the Herods and the Roman procurators but few get more than the outline. Whoever happens to read the books of the Maccabees finds himself moving amid very exciting scenes but the information is scanty. It is the history of these years which Professor Riggs has written. In a concise form is collected the story of the heroic, patriotic struggle of the Jewish nation on to succees under the lead of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and the pathetic later struggle for very existence under the misguided leaders of the dying nation.

Added to carefulness of detail is a picturesqueness of description which makes the scenes real. The characters move before us *THE BACKWARD TRAIL. By Will T. Hale. 183 Pages. $.75. Nashville: The Cumberland Press.

TA HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE DURING THE MACCABEAN AND ROMAN PERIODS (INCLUDING NEW TESTAMENT TIMES). By James Stevenson Riggs, D. D., Professor of Biblical Criticism, Auburn Theological Seminary. 320 pages. $1.25 net: New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

in such a way that we forget how long ago it was. When we realize that the Maccabees were fighting where Richard Coeur de Lion afterwards marched, we feel a new acquaintance with the Our attention is held fast by hero after hero and succeeding traitors till Jerusalem is fallen and the nation dies so terribly by its own hand.

scenes.

The style of thought of the Jews in the two centuries before the birth of Jesus is traced clearly through the literature of the period. It is a question whether the book of Daniel belongs here. The early part of the fourth century is a more natural date for it. But as the first of the long line of apocalyptic works it reflects the beginning of the later style of Jewish thought. The earlier date for this book would only show the longer period of the development of this kind of literature.

Though the first half of the volume is more sustained in interest, doubtless because it is less familiar to most of us, the whole work is pleasant to read and valuable for study. It forms the fourth volume in a series covering the Hebrew and Jewish history, the other volumes being by Professor Kent, of Brown University.

THE HOME OF THE ENGLISH LAWYER.*

This little book, though but a slight volume, holds between its covers a wonderful amount of information concerning "The Temple." There are few who are acquainted with English literature to whom that phrase is not familiar, the facts found here will be of interest.

A GREAT ENGLISH PROSE WRITER.†

No one who has studied English prose can help but enjoy Landor. There is a purity and directness of style that deserve the high place he is coming to hold. He stands by himself but he stands. high. In this title volume are all the best of his "Imaginary Conversations." The editor has added to the enjoyment of the student by his excellent notes, which are full of historical explanation, and the introduction is full of information about a life which deserves to be better known than it has been. A very adequate knowledge of Walter Savage Landor and his best work and style can be gained from this edition.

A HANDBOOK TO THE OPERA.†

The purpose of the book is to give a comprehensive treatment of the better operas. Each one is described in a very concise but

*THE HISTORY OF "THE TEMPLE," By C. Pitt-Lewis, O. C.

100 pages. 75

cents. New York City: A. Wessels Company. †SELECTION FROM THE IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS OF WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. Edited by Alphonso C. Newcomer. 106 pages. $.50. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

THE STANDARD OPERA GLASS. By Charles Annesley. 446 pages. N. Y.

Brentano's.

clear manner. No attempt is made to do more than outline the plot and the history of the opera as it has appeared. The critical element is found only in sentences and the biographical is secondary. The chief value lies in the completeness of the collection.

A MATTER-OF-FACT DISCUSSION OF MIRACLES.*

Dr. Dodd's purpose is to examine the proof that Jesus really performed the miracles. He does not touch the question of why or how they were performed; he treats them only from the historical side. He admits that for such vital deeds only the most credible evidence will suffice, and then proceeds to spread out the necessary proofs. To some people such a treatment has no value, but there are many who will enjoy and be helped by just such a treatment. After arraying the evidence he reviews the assaults upon it and the arguments of the opposition. The work is carefully developed and the conclusions clearly stated. The author has carried out his plan very successfully.

A NOVEL OF EARLY CHRISTIAN TIMES.‡

The editor enters into a discussion in his introduction of different kinds of fiction with conclusions very favorable to the Polish novelists of unpronounceable names. The trouble is that the strength of these novels lies in the realism which the introduction wisely condemns. This historical novel of the time of Julian gives a strong description of those times, and vivid pictures of the characters, but too often it shows a tendency toward the Zolaesque. One of the strongest parts is the description of bitter quarrel between the Christians called together by Julian. The picture is sad but true. The conditions of the time afford all anyone could ask for dramatic effect, and the author has not scrupled to use the most harrowing.

A PURGATORY FOR SUICIDES.S

Cer

We are ushered into a strange existence when we step into the company of those who have committed suicide and find themselves confined to a weary waiting for the time of the natural end of their lives before they can enter the real after-life to find out what it is. The setting makes possible the discussion of various theories. tain events in the world of mortals are introduced to keep clear the connection of the two states of existence. The chief impression is made by the strange imagination which could make such a story possible.

*MIRACLES. By Thomas J. Dodd. 207 pages. $1.00. Cincinnati: Curts & Jennings.

‡JULIAN THE APOSTATE. By D. S. Mereshkovski. 454 pages. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus.

THE EMPIRE OF THE INVISIBLES. By H. E. Orcutt, 80 pages. $.75. New York: The Metaphysical Publishing Co.