If we have seemed to give undue prominence to Shylock, to have followed the progress of his revenge more carefully and traced it more in detail to the end, it is because he more justly claims our attention than does Harpagon. The latter descends almost to the common man, and while, for all his sordidness and beggarly niggardliness, Harpagon is flesh and blood, the entire absence of good in his composition makes him more an object of curiosity than a subject for sober study. Exhaust all your epithets on his head, cover his name with abuse and reproaches as you will, there is nothing in all nature for which he stands save a selfish and misshapen monster, with about as much grace as a hippopotamus. He is like a gnarled and twisted tree, unnatural, barren and leafless. We leave him, as we found him, in the ashes of selfishness rewarded by fate with the return of his missing treasure and the loss of his coveted mistress.

Shylock, we likewise leave, shorn of his power but a feeling within us bids us hope that fate will temper the winds to him. For all his wolfish cunning, in all his greed and evil purpose, we find his strong intelligence, his wit and logic playing fast and loose with our condemnation of his course. When the rights of property clash with the life of an individual, property must go to the wall each time; but, as we gently push it thither, a slight hesitancy comes to our minds, I fancy, an inexplicable regret as though we wished we might spare where we are forced to crush.

AMONG THE BOOKS.

To accommodate readers who may wish it, the Publishers of EDUCATION will send, post paid, on the receipt of price, any book reviewed in these columns.

Keen, scintillating with flashes of rare wit, incisive as a Toledo blade, pungent, solid with common sense, and full of cheerfulness and light-such are the letters of Polly Poole in SNAP SHOTS WITH AN OLD MAID'S KODAK. The author is the writer of the famous "Preston Papers" and is one of the brightest and cleverest of women. She is all the time the teacher's friend and her pen and voice are ever enlisted in their interests. Snap Shots consists of upwards of a dozen letters, written in dialect, and all about schools, teachers, institutes, committeemen, etc. Every letter is a gem. Every teacher should own and study Snap Shots. New York, Snap Shot Publishers. 37 West 10th St.

John W. Farr has with rare judgment compiled a work entitled THE FARRIAN COMPLETE PENMANSHIP, in which is treated the entire subject of penmanship with its cognate branches. The author has some well-defined and original ideas on the subject of teaching writing, and he elaborates his scheme to the fullest extent. He treats the subject scientifically and places the art of writing on a high plane. Every letter is explained, illustrated, defined, and analyzed. Everything the teacher would require, or the student need, is given and given in abundance. Besides the explanation of the system of penmanship, there is given much information on the subject of correspondence, business forms, bookkeeping, etc. Mr. Farr has made a notable book and one that is sure to have extensive use and a large sale. It will be found useful to every one, whatever his walk in life. Logan, Kansas: Kansas Book Company. Price $1.00.

The name of Abraham Lincoln is the most notable one on this side of the water during the present century. No man is held in such loving remembrance as our martyred president. There is nothing meretricious about his fame; it is solid and enduring. He possessed the rare faculty of seeing clearly to the very core of a subject and then presenting it in such plain, telling words that all others could see and understand and remember it. It is therefore with peculiar pleasure that the American people now receive from the hands of his private secretaries, John G. Nicolay and Col. John Hay, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. These two massive volumes,-1465 large pages -present a full and life-like picture of the man and his times. Stirring times they were and Lincoln rose steadily to be the central and greatest figure as the crisis approached. Volume one opens with his first political utterance, an "Address to the People of Sangamon County" when, at the age of 23, the sought to be their "Representative in the next General Assembly” of Illinois. This was March 9, 1832. It is really a remarkable document for a backwoods boy. His was a great, thoughtful nature somewhat relieved by a rare vein of humor. His private letters, stump speeches, miscellaneous addresses and later his masterly messages and proclamations and letters to the various generals show forth the man exactly as he was,—a great, honest, earnest toiling, suffering soul. No man of his time so truly carried the interests of the country on his heart. Who will not delight to read again that great series of debates with Douglas, in 1858. This debate focussed the thought of the land and prepared the North to meet the South in battle three years later with Lincoln in the presidential chair. Every thoughtful man should own these volThe Century Co., two volumes, cloth,

umes.

$10.00.

Sold only by subscription.

The fifth volume of Mr. Charles F. King's PICTURESQUE GEOGRAPHICAL READERS is the third in the series treating of the United States and is devoted to the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Slope. Mr. King has been an indefatigable searcher after interesting facts and has clothed these in the most attractive form - the narrative, making a book which will satisfy the most captious and exacting of teachers and gratify pupils of all ages. Everything that pertains to the extreme western part of our country is written about, and prodigally illustrated and the facts, the story, the illustrations all go to make a reading book in geography surpassed by none. It is a clean, wholesome, invigorating, tonical book and will give to the study of geography that zest which the ordinary text books on this subject are so careful to repress. Indeed, with a good atlas, pupils using this reader would require no other text-book to enable them to get a correct geographical knowledge of the country described. The chapters on the climate, productions, mines, scenery, and mission of the Pacific Slope are exceedingly valuable and interesting and convey an astonishing amount of information. The publishers have made it one of the handsomest reading books in the market. Boston: Lee & Shepard. Price 56 cents.

COLUMBUS THE DISCOVERER, by Walter Warren, is a drama in blank verse, in five acts. The principal actors in the events leading up to the sailing of Columbus, his voyages, and death are introduced and a graphic picture is presented of the life and times of the discoverer. The poetry is at times sublime in its expression and is entirely free from bombast and claptrap. The poem deserves a careful reading and will be enjoyed by all lovers of lofty sentiments. Boston: Arena Publishing Co.

CONTES DE BALZAC, edited with introduction and notes by G. M. Harper, and L. E. Livingood, is a substantial volume of over two hundred pages and contains six of the most famous stories of this master of story-tellers, Balzac. The introduction contains a good account of Balzac, with an analysis of his style and a comparison of his works, with other French authors. The notes are reduced to a minimum and are all on the page with the text. LE FRANCAIS PAR LA CONVERSATION by Chas. P. DuCroquet, is an endeavor to teach beginners to speak French, by a new method which seems to be satisfactory. The plan is so simple that one, with the book, scarcely needs an instructor. SHORT SELECTIONS FOR TRANSLATING ENGLISH INTO FRENCH, by Paul Bercy, gives numerous anecdotes, stories, extracts, etc., arranged progressively, with explanatory and grammatical notes. The selections have been most judiciously made, and are worthy of translation into French. These three books are admirable text-books and will unquestionably secure extensive use. Published by W. R. Jenkins, New York, and Carl Schoenhof, Boston.

Two children grow up side by side, each with a striking individuality, and each with striking propensities. Both are of good families and both educated along conventional lines. They play together, quarrel, make up, grow to manhood and womanhood, become hateful to each other, then finally fall in love, and all ends well, or rather all begins well, the end is not told. The author describes with faithful pen the scenes of childhood, and lays bare the workings of the human heart. It is a story for grown-up folks, about young folks, and it will convey a lesson which parents will do well to learn. The title of the book is THE CHILDHOOD OF AFFINITY, and it is published by the Arena Publishing Co., Boston. Price 50 cents.

The weather, like the poor, we have always with us and its study is of daily, even hourly concern. The Weather Bureau has made the study one of something more than mere guess work, it is now regarded as a science, even by the farmer, and its principles are more and more coming to be understood. The text-books on this subject have, for the most part, been too abstruse for the average mind, and Prof. Wm. M. Davis, of Harvard University, has prepared an ELEMENTARY METEOROLOGY, which is intended to be used as a textbook in high schools and colleges. The work consists of fourteen chapters and is rather elaborate for an elementary treatise. Every subject is fully discussed and statements backed by experiments, observation or unquestioned authority. We welcome this scientific yet popular treatise on meteorology and believe it will have extensive use in our schools. If from it there could be made an abridged work suitable for use in grammar schools much good would be done. Boston: Ginn & Co. Price $2.70.

CONTEMPORARY FRENCH WRITERS, by Mlle. Rosine Mellé, consists of selections from the French writers of the second part of the 19th century, with literary notices, and historical, geographical, etymological, grammatical, and explanatory notes. In these selections, so far as possible, the editor has given complete stories or anecdotes and has by the exercise of an excellent literary judgment selected the choicest bits of each author. Among the writers, from whose works selections are given, are Taine, Renan, Flaubert, Zola, Maupassant, Daudet, Bourget, Dumas, Loti, Ohnet, Lemaitre, etc. The notes are admirable and the arrangement of the selections makes the book a very satisfactory text-book for schools. Boston: Ginn & Co.

Mrs. Clara Smith Colton, of Patchogue, N. Y., whose articles in the Congregationalist on "Sunday Occupations for Children' have attracted considerable attention, sends us a copy of her BIBLE-TIME LADDER, a toy for teaching children the scriptures. It is intended to entertain the children on Sunday afternoon, and lodge in their minds, as they construct the ladder, certain facts and truths in the history of noted Bible characters. We think it a good idea well carried out.

OLMSTEAD'S RECITATIONS, Compiled by Prof. Seymour Olmstead, for public and private entertainment, is a choice compilation of selections for reading and declamation. It contains many standard pieces and quite a large number of new ones. It answers the question so often asked, "Where shall I find a good piece to speak?" Published by Seymour Olmstead, Albion, Orleans Co., N. Y.; paper, 50 cts.

For White's Course in Art Instruction is issued the MANUAL FOR FIFTH YEAR GRADE, which includes an outline of the year's work, and suggestions for teachers. The volume is profusely illustrated and contains some valuable suggestions for blackboard illustrative sketching. New York: American Book Co.

Theodore Heuckels has edited with a biography of the author, grammatical and explanatory notes, and a complete vocabulary, Molière's L'AVARE, a Comedy in Five Acts and in Prose. Great attention has been given by the editor to the setting of this comedy, and the notes are choice additions to the play. The vocabulary has been expressly prepared for this comedy, and contains much needed help. Boston: Ginn & Co.

No apology is needed for Mr. C. H. Grandgent's SHORT FRENCH GRAMMAR, although the author feels that one is due, the world being so full of French Grammars. He seeks to justify his action in giving forth his book, by calling attention to some of its striking features-to wit: brevity without undue haste; treatment of the subject from the standpoint of the American pupil; a strictly systematic arrangement; and a scientific but easily intelligible study of French pronunciation. The book is a grammar, not a book of exercises, and it is a model of its kind. Its appearance is timely and its use will be extensive. The author has prepared FRENCH LESSONS AND EXERCISES, a book of fifty pages, to be used in connection with his grammar. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co.

The critical essays of Francis Jeffrey, rank among the classics and their study cannot but prove advantageous. Lewis E. Gates, of Harvard University, has made SELECTIONS FROM THE ESSAYS OF JEFFREY, giving seventeen in number, and has edited these with an introduction, and critical and historical notes. The selections are admirably made, including among them the most admired of Jeffrey's contributions. Boston: Ginn & Co.

Prof. Albert S. Cook, of Yale University, has prepared A FIRST BOOK IN OLD ENGLISH, which contains a grammar, reader, notes, and vocabulary, and is designed as a text-book, or a book for the general reader who may desire to acquaint himself with the earlier forms of our tongue. The grammar is one of the clearest expositions of the technicalities of old English, and it clears away all troublesome snarls which beset the student. The selections for the reader are seventeen in number and make entertaining reading. With the notes and vocabulary one may use this book independent of the aid of a teacher and make commendable progress in his study. Boston: Ginn & Co.

GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF COMMON PLANTS, by Volney M. Spalding, Prof. of Botany in the University of Michigan, is designed as an introduction to botany and is prepared for classes in high schools and academies. The author encourages the use of the laboratory method of studying and every exercise is prepared with this thought in view. The pupil is lead to discover facts and from these to reason, classify and differentiate. The exercises are arranged after a logical order and proceed from the simple to the difficult. Botany taught by this method and with the use of this book must become one of the most interesting of studies and potential in developing the student's powers of observation and comparison. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co.

ALDEN'S NUTSHELL CYCLOPEDIA is a compact, meaty little volume recording the leading facts of the world's progress in all departments of knowledge. It is published in monthly parts to be completed in about 2500 pages, at the low price of $1.75 for the set. It is intended to supplement every other encyclopædia. John R. Alden, Publisher, 57 Rose St., New York City.

A revised and enlarged edition of Rev. W. W. Rand's DICTIONARY OF THE HOLY BIBLE is issued by The American Tract Society at the very low price of $2.00; Mor. $3.50; Levant, $5.00, in one convenient volume. No student of the scriptures, and happily the number of persons interested in such study is now very large, can afford to be without this ably edited and conveniently arranged book of reference. It is up to the times, embodying the latest results in biblical research. It is compact and clear and furnishes, without the necessity of wading through a lot of long and dry detail, just the salient facts which the ordinary Sunday School teacher or other student is after. We recommend it without reserve to all who wish to understand the Bible. The Presbyterian Review pronounces it "beyond all question the best Bible Dictionary that is before the public." It may be had by addressing The American Tract Society, either in New York or Boston.

Daily the demand for books on the science of Education grows stronger, and there is no healthier sign in the profession of teaching. To Heath's Pedagogical Library has been added the SCIENCE OF EDUCATION, Its General Principles Deduced from its Aim, and the Esthetic Revelation of the World, by Johann Friedrich Herbart, Professor of Philosophy in the University of Göttingen. It is translated from the German, with a biographical introduction, by Henry M. and Emmie Felkin, and a preface by Oscar Browning, of King's College, Cambridge. The Herbartian philosophy is now the one most assiduously studied by pedagogists, and this treatise by the great master of the system, will be warmly welcomed. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co.

GEOGRAPHICAL SPICE by Eliza H. Morton, is a collection and a compilation of much that is interesting, wonderful, unusual, and curious in nature. Miss Morton has gathered the choicest bits about the strange things in nature, and has dished them as spice. They make a delicious condiment, and furnish much information about any country in the world-information that the general reader will find interesting, and the teacher immediately useful in the classroom. We know of no other book of its kind, and we believe teachers will make extensive use of it, for it is primarily designed as a manual for teachers. Lebanon, O.: March Brothers. Price 75 cents.