might make excellent use of it in their class- THE NAVY IN THE CIVIL WAR. The Blockade The pronounced success of the admirable series of "Campaigns of the Civil War," and the total lack of any adequate history of the naval operations of the war have induced the publishers to undertake a second series of these little monographs under the general title of "The Navy in the Civil War." Such a series forms a natural and necessary sequel to the previous series, and this opening volume promises well for the continuance of the same high excellence in matters of thoroughness, accuracy, and lively interest. Its purpose, as explained in the preface, "is to deal not only with the specific subjects mentioned in the title, but also with the general condition of the Navy at the outbreak of the war, the peculiar difficulties before it, and the way in which the difficulties were met.' The story of the Monitor and the Merrimac is retold in a vivid manner which brings back the exciting events of those days almost to the memories of yesterday. The text is illustrated by several well-drawn maps. Other volumes of the series already announced are The Atlantic Coast," by Rear-Admiral Daniel Ammen, and "The Gulf and Inland Waters," by Commander A. T. Mahan. These volumes are intended to give the whole narrative of naval operations from 1861 to 1865, thus constituting a complete history of the American Navy for this period. reader can fail to experience. They, moreover, the theologians are in doubt about the orthodoxy;" in another he describes his struggles with Browning's latest poem; and in the next he is being exceedingly entertained" with "Gates Ajar." The last volume of Stanley's 'Jewish Church," or of Froude's History, or of " Middlemarch," is equally captivating. Attending to his own great historical work in one letter, he says to his friend-"I really cannot approve of your making yourself a martyr by reading or attempting to read that history, which is generally admitted to be excessively dry and hard-worse, if possible, than a Charge." LANDMARKS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. By Henry J. Nicoll, Author of "Great Movements, etc. New York: D. Appleton & Co. It is useless to quarrel with any man about his literary tastes and judgments; for we must remember that among the twelve great authors whom Southey selected to be always near him were Jackson, South, and Fuller; and undoubtedly not a few, if they dared confess it, would agree with his Majesty George III. in saying LETTERS TO A FRIEND. By Connop Thirl- that Shakespeare wrote much "sad stuff." The wall, Late Lord Bishop of St. David's. Ed- bearing of this reflection will be easily underited by the Very Rev. Arthur Penrhyn Stanstood upon looking over Mr. Nicoll's book. ley, D.D. Boston: Roberts Brothers. His plan is "to deal solely with the very greatest names in the several departments of English literature-with those writers whose works are among the most imperishable glories of Britain, and with whom it is a disgrace for even the busiest to remain unacquainted."' Around the great names, or landmarks, are grouped the lesser (writers, without strict regard to chronological order, and a chapter is given to each epoch or group. Such a method furnishes an excellent opportunity for setting forth each great period with individual distinctness; but Mr. Nicoll has not fully improved the best feature of his poem, for his characterization of groups and periods is generally meagre and inadequate. The comprehensiveness of some of the titles selected is occasionally surprising. We find, for example, grouped with "The Wits of Queen Anne's Time," Berkeley, Gray, Collins, and Young. The ap These letters are selected from a correspondence, carried on with a young friend for ten years, from 1864 to 1874. In them there is but little of the bishop, and only traces of the historian, but very much of the broad-minded, and great-souled man. "They disclose," says Dean Stanley, "the kindly, genial heart which lay behind that massive intellect; they show the tender regard for the sufferings of those with whom he was brought into contact by the circumstances of ordinary life; they exhibit the playful affection for the tame creatures which formed almost part of his household; they are full of the keen appreciation which he felt for all the varying beauty of the natural seasons; they show the immense range of his acquaintance with lighter as well as the graver forms of literature." But their great charm is the sense of delightful companionship, which no portionment of space also is not always in keeping with the plan. One would suppose that from four hundred and fifty pages more than ten could be spared for Shakespeare, especially when Dr. Johnson gets twelve and Scott seventeen. But for those to whom it is mainly addressed, namely, "young readers and others whose time is limited," the book may be warmly commended. The author is a timid critic, but a careful compiler, and a pleasant writer. Much space is given to the literature of "Our Own Time," and the final chapter contains an account of the remarkable develop ment of periodical literature. The best chapter in the book, however, is the introduction, giving "Some Hints on the Study of English Literature," which are thoroughly enjoyable and instructive. The surprising number of books that have appeared within a twelvemonth, bearing more or less directly upon the Constitution, is an encouraging evidence of increasing interest in a much neglected department of education. One fault of republicanism seems to be a tendency to regard a thorough knowledge of its fundamental principles as a kind of mental superfluity and a restraint upon freedom of individual action. The typical school history of the United States always contains, to be sure, the text of the Constitution in an appendix with a page or two of "questions"; now and then a school committee or a board of trustees relaxes its conservatism enough to admit into the course of study some more elaborate textbook of political science or civil government. But it will be readily admitted that the study of the Constitution, as now generally presented, is flat, stale, and unprofitable." All of which is preparatory to saying that we welcome any work that seems to offer fresh inducements to become better acquainted with the fundamental laws of our political institutions. Mr. Porter's book is modestly described as "a beginning book for students, or general readers, who desire to learn something of the character and history of the Constitution," containing a brief statement of the main facts of our constitutional history," but not professing "to be a 'constitutional history' in the full meaning of the term." It is divided into three parts, the first containing an account of the pre-revolutionary government; the second, an explanation of the different sections and clauses of the Constitution seriatim ; and the third, a brief review of our political history from the adoption of the Constitution to the present time. We wish that this last part had been much more amplified, for it is only by becoming familiar with the actual working of the Constitution that this study can be vitalized and made fruitful. Mr. Porter is clear and suggestive in his explanations and liberal with his information, and his book will be serviceablei n highschool classes, but especially valuable as a ready reference book for general readers. A noteworthy feature is the introduction into the body of the work of important political documents, such as the Declaration of Rights, the Ordinance of 1787, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, Washington's Farewell Address, and many more. "A DIARY OF ROYAL Movements is the title of a work announced by Mr. Elliot Stock. It will contain a record of personal events and incidents in the life and reign of Queen Victoria. THE Académie française has awarded the "prix de poésie," recently raised to the value of 4000 frs. (£160), to M. Jean Aicard. The "Lamartine." subject prescribed was MESSRS. SAMPSON Low & Co. will shortly publish a Life of the late Sir Salar Jang, translated from the Persian. The work ought to give a curious insight into the ways of thought and mode of working of the greatest Muhammadan statesman of modern times. DR. TOMASZEWSKI, of Vienna, has brought from Ancyra a plaster cast of the celebrated inscription in Greek and Latin known as the will of Augustus. This cast, which was made for the Berlin Museum, will enable Prof. Mommsen to correct several inaccuracies in the new edition of his "Res gestae divi Augusti'' (1865). PROF. E. DOWDEN, of Dublin, is a candidate for the Clark Lectureship in English Literature lately founded at Trinity College, Cambridge. As it was by the "Cambridge Shakspere "that Mr. Clark was known to the world in general, there would be a special appropriateness in the author of "Shakspere, his Mind and Art" being the first Clark Professor. THE fourth volume of the "Correspondence of George Sand" has just been published (Calmann Lévy). It covers the period from 1854 to 1864; and it contains letters to Jules Janin, Paul de Saint-Victor, Armand Barbès, Gustave Flaubert, and (among living men) MM. Emile Augier, Alexandre Dumas fils, Auguste Vacquerie, Edmond About, Octave Feuillet, etc. A MEMBER of the School Board for Wick, Scotland, has seriously proposed that an abridged edition of Mr. George's "Progress and Poverty" be compiled for use as a class-book by the school teachers. The proposal, however, was adjourned for a month, in order to give the other members of the Board an opportunity of acquainting themselves with the character of the work. MESSRS. BELL will shortly publish a volume of Shakespearian criticism by Mr. B. G. Kinnear, entitled "Cruces Shakespearianae." Its object is to elucidate obscure and doubtful passages by comparison with other passages similar in idea or expression found in Shakespeare's own works or in those of his contemporaries. MR. HALLIWELL-PHILLIPPS is bringing out a third edition of his interesting "Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare." In it he gives for the first time two views of the only part that remains unaltered of the house in which Shakespeare was born. This is the antique cellar, measuring nine feet by ten. The entrance to it is from the family sitting-room. THE Syndics of the Cambridge Press have undertaken an edition of the Septuagint and Apocrypha with an ample apparatus criticus, intended to provide materials for the critical determination of the text. It is proposed to give the variations of all the Greek uncial MSS., of select Greek cursive MSS., of the more important versions, and of the quotations made by Philo and the earlier and more important ecclesiastical writers. DAS ECHO of Berlin copies the following story from the Dscheride-i-Hawadis: In a village not far from Malatiah a short time ago a MS. of the Gospels on parchment was discovered which, as was shown by the inscriptions, was written above nine hundred years ago, and was presented by a king of Cilicia, named Hetum, to the Armenian congregation of the village. A Protestant missionary sought to obtain this venerable book for the sum of 200 piastres (about 35s.), but the notables of the village tefused to part with it. Hereupon he borrowed the MS. for study, and since then, under all sorts of pretences, has refused to give it back to the community. THE good work Prof. Robertson Smith has done by his fearless introduction into Scotland of the methods and results of German criticism continues to bear fruit. The Rev. J. Howard Crawford, in closing the course of lectures on Biblical criticism he has been delivering in Edinburgh University on behalf of Prof. Charteris, boldly exhorted his hearers to make a thorough study of Continental theology-French, Swiss, and German [why not also Dutch?]. Like a genuine Scotsman, he did not refrain from expressing his contempt of what English scholars are doing. But he was good enough to make one exception. 'As a startingpoint, nothing could be more useful than Mr. Jowett's contribution to Essays and Reviews." DR. GROSART has just issued a prospectus of the "Puck Library," which he proposes to issue simultaneously with the "Huth Library" and the new Spenser and Daniel. "A tricksy Puck rather than Justice has presided over the destiny of many books" is the motto taken for the series. We are promised books by Henry VIII., Henry Earl of Northampton and Thomas Coryate; Lady Anne Bacon and Mary Countess of Pembroke; the singular alchemical and mystic productions of Thomas Vaughan, twin brother of the Silurist; books of jests and wit (wholly overlooked hitherto); and complete collections of Skelton, Hawes, and Constable. Under the title of "Literary Flotsam and Jetsam " there will be included an extraordinary assemblage of early and later unique tractates. Two volumes will be devoted to love and pastoral poetry selected from Barnfield, Breton, Greene, Wither, and others. 1 ucts are woven alternately with the ordinary threads. The flannel so prepared forms a dry pile. M. Drincourt, professor of physics at the Rheims Lyceum, and M. Portevin, of the Polytechnic school, have proved, independently, by very precise experiments, that Dr. Claudat's flannel liberates electricity, either by simple contact, or (better) in contact with the products of transpiration when the tissue is applied to the body. AN ANGRY TREE.-A singular species of acacia is growing at Virginia, Nevada, which shows all the characteristics of a sensitive plant. It is about eight feet high, and growing rapidly. When the sun sets its leaves fold together and the ends of the twigs coil up like a pig-tail, and if the latter are handled, there is evident uneasiness throughout the plant. Its highest state of agitation was reached when the tree was removed from the pot in which it was matured into a larger one. To use the gardener's expression, it went very mad. It had scarcely been placed in its new quarters before the leaves began to stand up in all directions, like the hair on the tail of an angry cat, and soon the whole plant was in a quiver. At the same time it gave out a most sickening and pungent odor, resembling that of rattlesnakes when teased. The smell so filled the house that it was necessary to open the doors and windows, and it was a full hour before the plant calmed down and folded its leaves in peace. PLANTS AND MOONLIGHT. Plant-movements of the nature of those called "heliotropic" may be produced by light of little intensity. M. Musset has recently tried the effect of moonlight in the following way: He sowed in pots some seeds of plants that are known to be easily affected to movement by light, such as lentil and vetch. When the plants had grown a few inches they were put in a very dark place and kept there some time, so that the stems became thin and white and the few leaves yellow. Then, on three successive nights last month, when the sky was exceptionally clear, the plants were placed in a large window looking south, where they received the direct light of the moon from 9 P.M. to 3 A.M. Almost directly the stems (the position of which was carefully noted at the outset) began to bend over toward the moon, and to follow it in its course. About 2 A.M., owing to the moon's position, the stems became nearly straight, the terminal bud always pointing to that orb. The plants being then brought to a window looking west, a new flexure occurred, and continued till the moon disappeared behind the hill. A few minutes after this the stems straightened more or less. Such movements of plants in moonlight M. Musset proposes to call selenetropic. ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND VENTILATION.While the general adoption of electric lighting as a substitute for coal gas is under consideration, the effect of the new light upon the ventilation of buildings, as compared with that of gas, must not be overlooked. The heat which arises from burning gas, although often regarded as an inconvenience, is sometimes a positive advantage, for, if the gas be burned near the ceiling of a room, the ventilation of the apartment is powerfully aided by the upward currents of air which the combustion of the gas produces, while the noxious products of such combustion in the main are carried off, if sufficient openings to the outer air exist in the upper portions of the room. Last week Dr. Morris, demonstrator of chemistry in Mason's College, read a paper before the Birmingham Philosophical Society' entitled " Experiments and Observations on the Air of the Birmingham Town Hall." He gave particulars of the results of his investigations as to the temperature and composition of the air in the hall when the building was lighted by gas and also when lighted by electricity. His conclusion was that the lighting of public buildings by the electric light did not possess such superiority in ordinary cases over lighting by gas as might have been expected. That, he thought, was due to the fact that gas assisted in the ventilation by producing upward currents, which dragged up the lower strata of polluted air, while the electric light in no respect assisted ventilation; on the other hand, he pointed out, there were the immediate products of the gas combustion, but in a building like that in which his experiments were conducted, where the gas was so near the ceiling, the impurities were to a large extent carried off far above the heads of persons assembled in the hall.-British Medical Journal. THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE UNITED STATES. The whole of this boundary, from Michigan to Alaska, has been distinctly marked by the British and American Commissioners; and some interesting details have been published of the way in which this difficult task was accomplished. The boundary is marked by stone cairns, iron pillars, wood pillars, earth mounds, and timber posts. These structures vary from 5 feet in height to 15 feet, and there are 385 of them between the Lake of the Woods and the base of the Rocky Mountains. That portion of the boundary which lies east and west of the Red River Valley is marked by cast iron pillars at even mile intervals. The British place one every two miles and the United States one between each British post. The pillars are hollow iron castings, and upon the opposite faces are cast, in letters 2 inches high, the in scription "Convention of London," and "October 20, 1818." The average weight of each pillar when completed is 85 lbs. With regard to the wooden posts, the Indians frequently cut them down for fuel, and nothing but iron will last very long. Where the line crosses lakes, mountains of stone have been built, the bases being in some places 18 feet under water, and the tops projecting some 8 feet above the surface of the lakes at high-water mark. In forests the line is marked by felling the timber a rod wide and clearing away the underbrush. As might well be imagined, the work of cutting through the timbered swamps was very great, but it has all been carefully and thoroughly done. The pillars are all set 4 feet in the ground in ordinary cases, with their inscription faces to the north and south, and the earth is well settled and stamped about them. The iron posts afford little temptation for dislodgment and conveying away by the Indians and others. HOT WATER AS A BEVERAGE.-A physician writes, in the World of Science, some very interesting things regarding what to drink. The habit of drinking strong tea, or black coffee, directly after dinner, is especially bad, and certainly interferes with digestion. At breakfast time, a healthy man has all his sleep in him, and surely it is then unscientific for him to inflict upon his system strong tea or coffee. At 'tea-time,' tea or coffee may well be indulged in moderately; the bulk of the day's work is done; the body not only wants rinsing out, but fatigue is felt which may well be counteracted by the use of a mild stimulant, such as tea; and bedtime is not yet so near that sleep is thereby interfered with. Most nations that drink coffee largely get a sallow skin; and I am inclined to think that the carbonaceous matter of the roasted coffee, when so largely and frequently taken, may perhaps have something to do with this. For hard-working people, who are not corpulent, I should suggest the thick flake-cocoa as the healthiest and most nutritious breakfast beverage. For those who do not want fattening drinks, and who often cannot digest cocoa, I should say drink hot water at breakfast. Those who dine late, and make their dinner their main meal, need a diluent drink an hour or two afterward; and, if they drink tea, it keeps them awake, or makes them irritable and nervous. I find, for myself, that dining solidly, as I am obliged to do when I have done my work (7.30 P.M.), and often needing to work from 9 to 11, a tumbler of hot water brought into my study or laboratory is the best and wholesomest drink, and, after a few evenings, it will be as much relished as the usual draught of tea. The hot water assists to complete the digestion of residual food, it acts upon the kidneys, and rinses out the effete matters, and thus will be found to wake one up sufficiently, and neither to injure the stomach nor to keep the brain awake after bedtime. In cold weather, warm water is by far the best drink at dinner-time; and, in hot weather, a draught of warm water is far wholesomer and more cooling than cold or iced water." VELOCITY OF BALLOONS.-At the meeting of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, last week, Mr. Simmons stated that it would be of great advantage if some means could be devised of measuring the pace at a high altitude. The speed of the wind was much greater above than on the earth. When he recently crossed the Channel in a balloon, part of the journey was accomplished at the rate of 130 miles an hour. The reason of the difference he attributed to the resisting power of the uneven surface of the earth. Craig read a paper which advocated the use of gas engines as a motive power for aërial voyages, to be made by flying machines worked by a screw propeller. Mr. Rodgers read a paper upon How to Sail in the Air by the Use of Wings, as Exemplified by Nature." He dealt generally with the theory of flying, and also advocated light gas-engines as a motive power. A paper was read by Mr. F. W. Brearey upon "The Action of the Pectoral Muscle in the Flight of a Bird," the study of which he commended to all investigators into the mechanical principles of flight. He argued that the power exerted by a bird in its flight had been greatly exaggerated, and that weight became a great accessory to power, an assertion he verified by the use of flying models. IMPROVED GAS-BURNERS.-A visit to the International Electric and Gas Exhibition now taking place at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, is not only very instructive, but is most interesting at a time when the rival claimants to artificial illumination are so industriously asserting their advantages. The first thing that strikes the visitor is that the Gas Section is far more complete and elaborate than that devoted to Electricity. This may be partly accounted for by the circumstance that the electricians have recently had an exhibition all to themselves in the same building. Still the fact remains, that the present exhibition of gas appliances for both lighting and heating far excels those which owe their power to electricity. Improved gas-burners enough in our streets and houses, and therefore there is little to record respecting them; but two totally new methods of burning gas which are here brought before the public for the first time, cannot be so lightly passed over. We allude to the incandescent gas-burners bearing |