and handsome dwelling-houses—in fact, merchants' offices and merchants' houses. The alpha and omega of the whole is trade." Mr. Jevons, as is well known, met an untimely death by what was called drowning while bathing in the sea at Galley Hall, near Hastings. His death is ascribed in this book to the shock of the cold water, which was no doubt too severe for his enfeebled health, and produced such an effect upon the weak action of his heart as to cause syncope and render him, after the first plunge, quite unconscious and powerless to help himself. The Rev. Robert Harley said of him, in the Royal Society, that he "was a man as remarkable for modesty of character and generous appreciation of the labors of others as for unwearied industry, devotion to work of the highest and purest kind, and thorough independence and originality of thought. The bequest which he has left to the world is not represented solely by the results of his intellectual toil, widely as these are appreciated, not only in England but also in America and on the Continent of Europe. A pure and lofty character is more precious than any achievements in the field of knowledge; and though its influences are not easy to trace, it is often more powerful in the inspiration which it breathes than the literary or scientific productions of the man." The editor of the "Spectator" said that he had other qualities than those of the philosophical thinker, "not always found in men of science, which make his character as unique as his intellect. At once shy and genial, and full of the appreciation of the humor of human life, eager as he was in his solitary studies, he enjoyed nothing so much as to find himself thawing in the lively companionship of his friends. Something of a recluse in temperament, his generous and tender nature rebelled against the seclusion into which his studies and his not unfrequent dyspepsia drove him. His hearty laugh was something unique in itself, and made every one the happier who heard it. His humble estimate of himself and his doubts of his power of inspiring affection, or even strong friendship, were singularly remarkable, when contrasted with the great courage which he had of his opinions; nevertheless, his dependence on human ties for his happiness was as complete as the love he felt for his chosen friends was strong and faithful. Moreover, there was a deep religious feeling at the bottom of his nature, which made the materialistic tone of the day as alien to him as all true science, whether on material, or on intellectual, or on spiritual themes, was unaffectedly dear to him." A bibliography of Mr. Jevons's writings, by the year and month, is given at the end of the volume.
The Origin of Republican Form of Government in the United States. By Oscar S. Straus. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1885. Pp.149. Price, $1.
This treatise is an enlargement of a lecture which attracted much favorable attention when delivered first in New York, and subsequently before the Long Island Historical Society in Brooklyn. The author's purpose is to examine into the reasons why the republican form of government was originally selected by the people of the American colonies upon their separation from the mother country, in preference to every other form of polity. He ascribes such selection "mainly to ecclesiastical causes which operated from the time the Pilgrims set foot upon our continent, and to the direct and indirect influence of the Hebrew commonwealth."
Mr. Straus makes out a much stronger case for his hypothesis than might at first be supposed. He has industriously collected a good deal of pertinent historical matter tending to exhibit the religious causes of the American Revolution, to indicate the controlling Biblical ideas which influenced in one way and another the minds of the founders of the republic, and to prove how potent those ideas really were in molding the scheme of the new government. He has also traced out and made very evident some striking analogies between the United States government as finally constituted, and the Hebrew state under the judges. He considers, indeed, that the Hebrew commonwealth was the first well-developed democratic republic. This is seen in the divisions of general governmental functions, in the preservation of the tribal governments in federation under a national administration, in the recognition of civil equality, in the elective franchise, and in the separation of church and state—which last is a fact
