Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/178

1 68 Reviews of Books ceremonies as he properly could, and to leave no doubt on any one's mind of his determination to stand by the new administration in the performance of its first great duty to maintain the Union "' ? Seward fares somewhat better at the hands of Lincoln's biographer. But the same fault is in evidence. By selecting only what suits his purpose the author often leaves an unfair impression. After the first four weeks in office, we are informed, Seward knew Lincoln to be his master. " When his inclinations and purposes conflicted with those of his chief, he gave way, — nay, more, he put forth all his powers to carry out Mr. Lincoln's wishes" (p. 150). How complete this submission was, is then illustrated by " a few well-known incidents ". But Mr. Rothschild omits to mention the Trent afifair, when Seward contended for the return of the Confederate commissioners against the President and a majority of the cabinet, and finally brought both over to his way of thinking. Scant justice is done to " the indispensable man " whom Lincoln chose as his Secretary of the Treasury. The key to the personal antagonism in this instance is found in the abiding resentment cherished by Chase at Lincoln's nomination in the Chicago convention (p. 182). Earlier Mr. Rothschild assured us that " none of his rivals for the nomination had given more loyal support" than Chase (p. 160). We doubt se- riously whether Chase is understood when he is described as the " Ches- terfield of the Cabinet" (p. 185). The hazards in the path of the anecdotal historian are well illustrated by the story of the ignorant young lawyer (p. 421). Mr. Rothschild, following Arnold — and his own literary instinct — has made Lincoln apply his " little story " to McClellan ; but as originally told by Holland {Life of Lincoln, pp. 370-371) it had no such application. We mistrust that many Lincoln stories have undergone a similar metamorphosis. Allen Johnson. MINOR NOTICES Readings in European History. A Collection of Extracts from the Sources chosen with the purpose of illustrating the Progress of Culture in Western Europe since the German Invasions. By Professor James Harvey Robinson. Abridged Edition. (Boston, Ginn and Co., 1906, pp. xxxiv, 573.) In this abridged edition of Professor Robinson's excellent source-book, the two volumes of the fuller edition have been compressed into one by the omission of many extracts or, in a few cases, of parts 'of extracts, and by the excision of the portions of the bibliographies in- tended for advanced students. The work of condensation has been care- fully and judiciously performed, apparently with special reference to the requirements of pupils of high-school grade, since many of the more difficult texts and official documents and formulae are excluded, while more readily intelligible passages are retained. The book is so ad- mirably adapted to its purpose of aiding the imagination and rendering