formulated the grievances against absolutism out of which the Parliamentary revolution grew; Chatham, Mansfield, and Burke had to do with the principles of the foundation of American independence; Mackintosh and Erskine championed the freedom of juries and of the press; Pitt expounded the policy of continuous opposition to Napoleon; Fox pleaded for peace; Canning inaugurated the English foreign policy; Macaulay cogently advocated the "Reform Bill" revolution; Cobden brought on the blessing of free trade. In our own generation, Bright denounced the foreign policy of the empire; Beaconsfield expounded the principles of the Conservatives; and Gladstone formulated, as he now conspicuously represents, the doctrines respecting home and foreign affairs of the Liberals. It is the speeches in which are clearly declared these several principles, and which "at one time or another have seemed to go forth as in some sense the authoritative messages of English history to mankind," that are here brought together.
An Elementary Treatise on Analytic Mechanics. By Edward A. Bowser, LL. D. New York: D. Van Nostrand. Pp. 511.
Professor Bowser's work is designed as a text-book for students of scientific schools and colleges who have received training in the elements of analytic geometry and the calculus. The analytic method has been chiefly employed, though geometric proofs have been introduced where such were deemed preferable. The book consists of three parts: Part I, with the exception of a preliminary chapter, is devoted to statics; Part II is occupied with kinematics; and Part III treats of the kinetics of a particle and of rigid bodies. For the attainment of that grasp of principles which it is the special aim of the book to impart, numerous examples are given at the ends of the chapters.
Elements of English Speech. By Isaac Bassett Choate. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 220. Price, 81.
Perhaps this book may be briefly described as a volume of essays on topics in the English language. The first four chapters are devoted to demonstratives, prepositions, connectives, and nouns, dealing with the functions of these parts of speech, and giving the histories of many words, with illustrative quotations from early English poems. The next four chapters deal with verbs and their conjugation. Certain causes of changes in pronunciation of the Latin and English languages are next considered, and the original meanings of some familiar words are shown.
T. Lucreti Cari de Rerum Natura (T. Lucretius Cams concerning the Nature of Things). With an Introduction and Notes. By Francis W. Kelsey. Boston: John Allyn. Pp. 385. Price, $1.75.
The entire poem of Lucretius is here published, in Latin, with explanatory notes on the first, third, and fifth books, which are chosen for comment because they contain the gist of the poet's doctrine and a greater number of fine passages than the others. An analysis of the subject-matter given in the introduction will facilitate the reading of the remaining books. Besides the notes and the analysis, the editor gives essays in the introduction on "Lucretius as a Man," "Lucretius as a Philosopher," and "Lucretius as a Poet." The second essay includes reviews of philosophy among the Romans in the poet's time, and of epicureanism up to his time, and as set forth by him.
Country Cousins: Short Studies in the Natural History of the United States. By Ernest Ingersoll. New York: Harper & Brothers. Pp. 252.
Many animal families are represented in these sketches of "Country Cousins"; the squirrel, shrew, elk, and a number of our birds are visited in their homes, and there is an account of "rattlesnakes in fact and fancy." A description is given of Professor Agassiz's sea-side laboratory on Penikese Island, which furnishes an introduction to several chapters on sea-creatures, including the life and tribulations of the oyster, and sketches of other mollusks, devil-fishes, and seals. There are also accounts of the caverns at Luray and at Pike's Peak, a chapter on the shell-money of the native Americans, and one on village naturalists' clubs. The volume is handsomely illustrated.
