to the race at the beginning, he considers that form of it which, rising into view in Moses, progressed, changed, rose, and fell, affecting history and being affected by it, until it stands before the world circumscribed in influence and yet potent with an imperishable life-the Judaism of his people. The more than twenty epochs of change he describes are associated with some prominent figure in Jewish history who instrumented the epoch, or justified it after the turning-point had been passed. The book is, therefore, largely biographical of the leadership of Israel from the time of Moses, as well as historical in its scope and doctrinal in its teaching. He describes the American Israelite as a believer in God; a disbeliever in the theory of the literal restoration of the Jews to Palestine; an optimist; and that his religion is superior to Christianity, which he holds is pessimistic as to this life, and which for centuries contaminated the purer and loftier faith of his race. As a Jewish work, able, almost impartial, and certainly abundant in facts, it is cordially commended to the examination of the Christian.

The History of Nicolas Muss. An Episode of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Translated from the French of CHARLES DU BOIS-MELLY Pp. 227. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Neither the Catholic nor the Protestant will enjoy this book; the former because it is a revelation of the iniquity of that eventful massacre, and the latter because it exhibits a hostility to his faith that still exists and is unpardonable. Still, both Catholic and Protestant should read it for the reason that neither will enjoy it. Awful history sometimes should be read and remembered. This book, however, is not a history of St. Bartholomew or its festival of blood, but an episode in the life of one of the adherents of the Protestant cause. Nicolas Muss, surrounded by comrades in Geneva, narrates how he was led to Paris in 1569, where he remained during the fierce trials of the Huguenots, adventuring his own life; how he was delivered, and how he protected a young damsel who afterward became his spouse. The narration takes historic colors at every turn, reflecting the tyrannical spirit of the Roman Church three hundred years ago in France, showing the bravery of the persecuted sects, who would not yield their faith, and depicting iu aside ways the general effect of the persecution upon the country and the Church. The King of Navarre is on our right in this narrative, and the Huguenots on the left, with that unquenchable hatred of the Protestant heresy in the center. As it proceeds the reader is in doubt if Nicolas Muss, or that crystallized abomination of tyranny that would suppress innocent independence and courageous honesty in man, is the chief figure, or the core of the "episode."

Four Centuries of Silence; or. From Malachi to Christ. By Rev. R. A. Redford, M.A., LL.B., Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, New College, London: Author of The Christian's Plea Against Modern Unbelief, Studies in the Book of Jonah, etc. 12mo, pp. 258. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co. Cloth, $1 25. The cessation of the prophetic period in the Jewish Church at the close of the time of Ezra, Haggai, and Malachi was followed by the long period of

four hundred years, whose dullness was broken by a Maccabean epoch, or by those quiet preparations for the Messianic day that was heralded by John from the wilderness, whose presence brought the temporary revival of the prophetic office. A study of this period of Jewish history, the author of this book justly believes, is essential to an apprehension of the unity of the old and new dispensations; and he has, therefore, attempted to set it forth with considerable fullness, and in language chaste and even elegant. Beginning with the great synagogue, of which the last prophets probably were members, he traces the rise of the Jewish pontificate, the great influence of the Septuagint, the position of the Apocrypha in Jewish literature, the origin of Jewish sects, the jurisdiction and constitutionality of the Jewish Sanhedrin, and the foreshadowing dawn of the day of the Son of man, characterizing the period rather than writing its history. He makes clear, also, that, in the absence of prophets or teachers, tradition rather than law, and forms rather than the true spirit of worship, exercised a directing control in the almost defunct Church of the Jews; hence, when Christ appeared tradition was in vogue and religious sects

were numerous.

POETRY AND ART.

Richard Wagner's Poem, The Ring of the Nibelung. Explained and in part Translated by GEORGE THEODORE DIPPOLD, Ph.D., Author of The Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany, etc. 12mo, pp. 240. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Price, $2. Richard Wagner was a poet as well as musician. In this poem he rescues the original traditions concerning the Nibelungs, a race of supernatural beings that inhabited Nibelheim, and presents them in the form of four dramas, thus securing their preservation after most careful elimination of extraneous and associated stories that gathered about them in historic times. Of elfs and giants, of scenes and superstitions, of gods and goddesses, of mythologies and prehistoric memorials, there is an abundance; and Wagner, forgetting his revolutionary music, draws forth from this howling wilderness all that he finds of forces and beings, assigns them special parts or places, and fashions the poem in a genuine poetic spirit. Without the explanatory comments of the translator, the poem would be to the average American reader a sealed treasure, but he has opened it to public gaze, and its wealth of poetic beauty is as transparent as its conformity to the traditions is evident.

The Renaissance. Studies in Art and Poetry. By WALTER PATER, Fellow of Brasenose College. 12mo, pp. 252. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. Price, cloth, $2.

Eschewing an abstract definition of beauty, the author unites art and poetry as a proper subject of æsthetic criticism, because he finds in them the objective elements of the highest beauty. On this common basis are they congruous or related professions. Commencing with early French compositions, and concluding with an analysis of Winckelmann as a su

perb artist and teacher of the eighteenth century, he confines his elaborate work to the poets and artists of the fifteenth century, the period of the Renaissance proper. While Michael Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci are the larger figures of that art-age, it is refreshing to read of Sandro Botticelli, Luca della Robbia, Joachim du Bellay, and the school of Giorgione, since they contributed to the development of the taste of the day, and gave direction to the aspiration of the artists and poets that followed them. The book rescues from national depreciation the names of worthy co-laborers in the realm of highest art, and so is valuable to the student of that historic period.

The Bhagavad Gîtâ; or, The Lord's Lay. With Commentary and Notes, as well as References to the Christian Scriptures. Translated from the Sanskrit for the Benefit of Those in Search of Spiritual Light. By MOHINI M. CHATTERJI, M.A. 8vo, pp. 283. Boston: Tickuor & Co.

It is admitted that the ethics and religious technics of the Vedas correspond to some extent with those of the Bible; but this correspondence rather establishes the priority of the Old Testament than that of Vedic literature. The Hindoo and not a few secular writers are still debating the significance of this correspondence. Christian scholarship centers itself not so much in this question of antecedence as in the actual agreement of the spiritual truths declared in the two scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita is the oldest Vedaic, or most sacred book, of the Hindoos. It consists of seven hundred and seventy verses, chiefly devoted to a discussion of the being of God, and has been interpreted by three renowned commentators-Sankarâchârya, Râmânujâchârya, and Madhvâchârya— who differ in regard to the relation between the Spirit of God and the real nature of the spirit of man. They, however, agree in teaching that God is the only reality; a most pernicious error in theology and philosophy, for it paves the way for the final disappearance of man as a conscious being. This, of course, is not in harmony with Christian doctrine. The learned translator of the Hindoo Bible conceives an exact parallelism between the spiritual doctrines taught therein and the revelations of the New Testament; and on that alleged discovery urges harmony between Christians and Hindoos in the moral reconstruction of his native land. His preface is a plea for mutual co-operation, and is the forerunner of another new day in India. As a piece of Sanskrit literature this volume excites curiosity. The style of composition is elliptical, ambiguous, adjectival, monotonous; the grammar is treacherous on every page; the philosophy is quite out of date; the science is absurd; and the theology is the product of dim-visioned authorship.

Lays of Ancient Rome. By THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY. Edited, with Notes, by WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D., and JOHN C. ROLFE, Ph.D. With Engravings. 12mo, pp. 199. New York: Harper & Brothers. Price, 56 cents. Matthew Arnold declared against the poetry of Macaulay's "Lays," but Edmund Clarence Stedman and other seers detect in them the afflatus of a genuine poet. As, however, this little volume, one of the series of

"English Classics," is not issued as poetry, but as a companion-book in the study of Latin in high schools and academies, it serves its purpose, and the higher criticism against it is valueless. The "Notes" of the editors, father and son, are of more importance than the "Lays," as they explain the references to Roman laws and customs, without which the verse would be unintelligible.

Lamartine. Selected Poems from Premières et Nouvelles Méditations. Edited. with Biographical Sketch and Notes, by GEORGE O. CURME, A.M., Professor of German and Freuch, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. Price, cloth, $1.

16mo, pp. 179.

To readers of the French language this collection of Lamartine's poems will be welcomed as a souvenir. The biographical sketch of the poet, with critical notes of the text and the explanatory chapter on the general character of French verse, excite a studious interest in the meditations, and serve to introduce to the American scholar one of the most refined and purest of French writers. Professor Curme has performed his delicate task with critical acumen, and an appreciative sagacity of the beauties of the language as well as the rich treasures of the Christian poet.

FICTION.

The fiction-writer is always busy, because fiction readers are numerous and ever multiplying. Though Viscount Cranbrook, a member of the British Cabinet, may not read novels, Mr. Gladstone devours them, and occasionally reviews them in the magazines of the day. His commendation of John Inglesant endowed that ably written production with enduring fame and an immense sale. He has recently spoken his mind concerning Robert Elsmere, from the pen of Mrs. Humphrey Ward, an Englishwoman of rare ability, who has produced a book, republished by Macmillan & Co., of New York, which has created more interest in high circles, both in England and America, than any novel of the period. The substratum of the work is a religious inquiry; proving that the popular mind at once takes to religious themes provided they are treated with brilliancy and delicacy. What the effect of this book will be upon the reader will depend upon his religious temperament and education. If he is intrenched in the Christian faith it may stimulate him to hold fast his integrity; if inclined to religious aberration it may strengthen his independence of religious restraint, and assist him in overcoming the exactions of a creed. On the whole, the book is as dangerous as it is fascinating, illustrating the dangers of agnosticism and the insidious poison of Unitarianism.

That rapid writer, Mrs. Amelia E. Barr, in Remember the Alamo, issued by Dodd, Mead & Co., of New York, exhibits an improved skill and a most graceful style, and she will be regarded with increased favor by those who have read her other volumes.

Victor Hugo does not excel himself in Notre-Dame de Paris, but every

page breathes his spirit, and the whole is a scintillation of French beauty, mystery, and life. The book is founded on a single Greek wordAN'ATKH-he one day discovered in an obscure nook of one of the towers of the famous old Church of Notre-Dame. The translator-Isabel F. Hapgood-is an expert, and has revealed the beauty and transparency of the French and the opulence and majesty of the English language, while the publishers, Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., of New York, offer to the public a handsome specimen of book-making at a reasonable price.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Modern Cities and their Religious Problems. By SAMUEL LANE LOOMIS. With an Introduction by Rev. JOSIAH STRONG, D.D. 12mo, pp. 219. New York: The Baker & Taylor Company. Price, cloth, $1.

The subject is of surpassing interest at the present time. In the delineation of the growth and social composition of cities-in the exposition of cities as sources of corruption, and, therefore, of danger to government— in the account of Christian work in London and Paris-and in his suggestions regarding the work to be done in our cities, the author summarizes a mass of facts both startling and expressive, and evinces on every page a heart-felt interest in the welfare of the country that should be shared alike by all the citizens thereof. Every lecture is an explosion whose sound should reach the ears of the nation, and the whole is a thunder-clap from every point of the horizon that should shake the people into activity for their own preservation from decay and death.

Days Serene. Illustrated from the Original Designs of Margaret MacDonald Pullman. Engraved on Wood and Printed under the direction of George T. Andrew. Boston: Lee & Shepard. Price, $5.

The title is expressive of the contents. Each page contains a quotation from a poet suggestive of an exquisite wood-engraving that accompanies it, having reference to autumnal and winter days and scenes. In these respects it is most cheering; and, presented in the highest style of the book-maker's art, the large handsome quarto makes a fine impression and is exceptionally suited to the home during the days that are serene.

The Doctrine of Christian Baptism. An Exposition of Its Nature, Subjects, Mode, and Duty. By Rev. J. W. ETTER, D.D. 12mo, pp. 308. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House. Cloth, $1 25.

A work on a thread bare subject, but many of the threads are new, strong, and unyielding to the strain of the exclusive immersionist. The chief value of the book is the discussion of the "mode of baptism" concerning which the author says the Scriptures are explicit in that they nowhere teach that there is only one mode of baptism. Modalism he does not find in the word "baptizo," or in any scriptural example of the ordinance of baptism, or in any precept or teaching of the sacred Scriptures. Dr. Etter has made his case, and his book should be circulated as an antidote to the sometimes contagious influence of the water-pest in the Churches.