tor, "who sacrificed a considerable portion of his profits by this eccentric plan of building up a book."

Harriet Martineau at first believed copying to be absolutely necessary. She had read Miss Edgeworth's account of her method of writing-submitting her rough sketch to her father, then copying and altering many times, till no one page of her Leonora stood at last as it did at first. But such a tedious process did not suit Miss Martineau's habits of thought, and her haste to appear in print. She found that there was no use copying if she did not alter, and that even if she did alter, she had to change back again; so she adopted Abbott's maxim, "To know first what you want to say, and then say it in the first words that come to you.

We have a very different style and a different result in Charlotte Brontë's toil in authorship. She was in the habit of writing her first drafts in a very small square book or folding of paper, from which she copied with extreme Samuel Rogers's advice was, "To write a very little and seldom-to put it by and read it from time to time, and copy it pretty often, and show it to good

care.

judges." Another contemporary authoress, Mary Russell Mitford, frankly confesses that she was always a most slow and laborious writer. The Preface to the Tragedies was written three times over throughout, and many parts of it five or six. Almost every line of Atherton' has been written three times over, and it is certainly the most cheerful and sunshiny story that was ever composed in such a state of helpless feebleness and suffering.

Every author must choose the mode of composition which suits him or her best. With some, copying may be but a needless labor; but to beginners it is almost indispensable; and the work which is not subjected to such careful consideration and revision is not likely to serve more than a temporary purpose. From this may be excepted the work of daily journalists and others whose writings are demanded as fast as they can be penned; but on the part of those who would aspire to do work that seeks a permanent place in the world of literature, much care as well as never ceasing diligence is required.-Chambers's Journal.

How I CROSSED Africa FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE INDIAN OCEAN, THROUGH UNKNOWN COUNTRIES. By Major Serpa Pinto. Translated from the Author's MSS. by Alfred Elwes. In two volumes. With maps and Illustrations. Philadelphia: 7. B. Lippincott & Co.

A

It is no fanciful paradox to say of Major Serpa Pinto that, with scarcely any of the qualities that are supposed to be indispensable to an explorer, he has achieved one of the most remarkable feats of exploration on record, and that with absolutely no literary skill he has produced one of the most readable books of African travel and adventure ever written. Portuguese cavalry officer, without experience of the hardships that are necessarily encountered in the wilderness, feeble in health, ignorant of every non-European language, unacquainted to a great extent with the experience of previous explorers, impulsive in disposition and of a violent temper, meagrely equipped with supplies, and yet so dainty in his habits that his daily morning toilet, even when on the march, involved the use of an

india-rubber bath, fine linen towels, brushes, sponges, and the finest Godfroy soaps and perfumery, it would hardly have been supposed that he had within him the qualities requisite to a feat which places him in the same rank with Livingstone, Cameron, and Stanley; yet in his case, as in so many others, a resolute will and an unconquerable persistency overcame all obstacles-the obstacles which arose from his own personal deficiencies, as well as those which nature and " niggers" (as he always calls them) placed in his path. Of his narrative, which he has constructed with little expenditure of effort from his note-books and diaries, the main element of interest is autobiographical. There is plenty of adventure in it, of stirring incidents, strange scenes, and vigorous description; but throughout the book the most interesting particulars are the piquant and often unconscious touches by which the author depicts himself. The very personification of frankness, the Major keeps back nothing. Whether he is elated or despondent, whether he is thinking of home or laboring day after day in the almost hopeless attempt to

secure carriers, whether he is throttling a scoundrel and threatening to plunge his knife into him for smuggling slaves into the camp or subsequently repenting of his violence, whether he is racked with fever and rheumatism or 66 boycotted " in the Baroze country, whether he is repelled by the brutal sensuality of the natives or his own austere resolutions are almost overcome by the seductive wiles of a young African princess, whether he is discouraged at the faithlessness of his followers or sunk in despondent reflections upon his own errors of temper and judgment—whatever, in fact, may be uppermost in his mind at the moment, down it goes in his note-book, and the publicity of print has not terrified him into omitting or even modifying it. There is prob

ably no other book in existence by means of which one can get so close to the actual thoughts, feelings, and sensations—the subjective experiences, so to call them-of the African explorer.

The actual contribution made by Major Pinto to our knowledge of the geography of Africa may be summed up very briefly. Starting from Benguella, on the west coast, he followed the usual and well-known caravan route to Bihé (the principal mistake made by the author is in assigning so much space to this portion of his journey); thence he went eastward and south-eastward to the Zambesi River, which he struck almost in the centre of the continent, a little below S. lat. 15°; descended the Zambesi to the confluence of the Cuando or Linianti River; and then marched almost due south to the Transvaal and Natal. The great western affluents of the Zambesi are his principal geographical discovery; though the very careful observations which he took with exceptionally good instruments throughout his journey will aid materially in determining the configuration of the entire interior of the continent. To ethnology his contributions are highly interesting and suggestive, though somewhat lacking, perhaps, in scientific precision.

In one respect the Major was remarkably fortunate; he succeeded in preserving and bringing home with him every item of his records and observations of every kind. As a result of this his volumes are abundantly supplied with local and general maps, charts, itineraries, etc., and the illustrations are among the most copious and useful we have had.

mending them to the public and the general fraternity of teachers. The method, as set forth in the two little books which form the subject of this notice, is essentially that of Pestalozzi, so long successfully applied in the schools of Germany; but to the main features of the original method the author has added several new features which represent his own improvements. The fundamental purpose is to teach the pupil to speak German at the same time that he is learning to read it, and the memorizing of dry grammatical details is completely subordinated to this idea. The textbook is entirely in German, and the pupil is not allowed to use a word of English in the class-room. Constant use is made of pictorial illustrations, with which the text-books are copiously supplied; the picture of some familiar object being taken as the subject of an easy conversation, such as might naturally occur in every-day life. Thus by concrete illustration the accurate use of every new word is learned, while the acquirement of the vocabulary is greatly facilitated by the natural operation of the well-known psychological law of the association of ideas. The grammatical structure of the language, though subordinated from the outset, is by no means neglected, as in many so-called natural methods now in use, which result at best in merely a superficial knowledge. Rules are given only after numerous examples have led up to and explained their use, and explanations of new constructions are introduced in the text and foot-notes as the need arises; so that the essentials of grammar are fully and systematically presented. in the first book, on the completion of which the pupil is prepared to cope with the more complicated principles of the language which are unfolded in the same easy and progressive manner in the second book.

One who has seen the working of this system of instruction as conducted by Professor Worman in his own class-room may well doubt whether another could ever accomplish anything like the same results, yet if the contents of these introductory books be thoroughly mastered by any competent teacher of modern languages it cannot fail to lead to a decided improvement over the ordinary methods. The simple fact that in the same space of time the pupil is taught both to speak and to read the language is a sufficient vindication of Professor Worman's method, this result being seldom achieved by the usual modes of instruction.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, D.C.L. Translated by John Durand. Vol. II. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

with his volume on "The Ancient Régime," has already exceeded the limits which he first marked out for it. According to his programme the second part of the series, comprising the history of the French Revolution, was to consist of two volumes; but the two volumes have now appeared, and a third will be required to record in sufficient detail the history of the Revolutionary government

was

The present volume is entitled "The Jacobin Conquest," and tells by what gradual and insidious steps the Jacobins, "born out of social decomposition like mushrooms out of compost," seized upon the government which had already been overthrown and disintegrated by the enactments of the Constituent Assembly. The period covered by it is but little more than two years, extending from about May, 1791, to June, 1793; but these years are among the most important in the history of France, as in them the Jacobins. rose from a club of insignificant agitators to be the acknowledged masters of the nation. The process by which this stupendous result achieved-the process by which a miserable minority of the French people succeeded in fastening its yoke upon a great majority in whose eyes they were odious-is what M.Taine has set himself to depict; and it must be acknowledged that the theme is one which furnishes ample opportunity for his marvellous powers of analysis and description. things that he has written can compare in intensity and vigor with his analysis of the formation and psychology of the Jacobin; and in none of the previous volumes of the series are his patient accumulation of facts and his graphic lucidity of style shown to better advantage. The defect of the book as a work of art is that it is too exacting in its demands upon the attention, and too sparing of comment, illustration, or description; but, as M. Taine says in his preface, his object is not to draw a moral or exemplify a principle, but simply to portray a period and a people.

Few

SYNNÖVE SOLBAKKEN. By Bjornstjerne Bjornson. Translated from the Norse by Professor Rasmus B. Anderson. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

This is the initial volume of a series which is designed, we believe, to include translations of all the more important of Björnson's writings. To Americans Björnson has been known hitherto only as a novelist, but in his own country he has attained at least equal fame as a dramatist, poet, journalist, and lecturer. In an interesting biographical sketch prefixed to the present volume, a list is given of his various works in these several departments; and of the poems and dramas, at least, we may expect translations, as well as of the novels.

"Synnove Solbakken" is the author's earliest story, and though it exhibits some of the crudities of a first work, it possesses much of the idyllic and romantic charm of “Arne" and "The Fisher Maiden," and is quite evidently the product of the same genius. No novel, probably, was ever constructed out of simpler materials. There is scarcely any characterdrawing, or incident, or narrative, or action, and the social life depicted is almost Arcadian in its simplicity; yet we are interested by the story in a way that eludes definition, and the whole picture which it brings before the mind is bathed in an atmosphere of poetry and romance. Professor Anderson's translation is to be commended for its facility and ease, but Mr. Forestier's renderings of the occasional lyrics are far from happy.

AMENITIES OF HOME. No. V. of Appletons' Home Books. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

Books of this kind, telling people how they ought to behave to one another, are usually insufferable for one of two reasons: either they offend the amour propre of the reader by the implication of ignorance or boorishness on his part which is involved in specific details and direct injunctions, or they soar off into those glittering generalities which furnish no help in the way of suggestion or stimulus, even when they avoid the facile glibness of platitude. To steer clear of both of these sources of danger implies a good deal of discretion and skill; and it is no slight tribute to the anonymous author of the "Amenities of Home,' to say that in reading it one forgets even that such difficulties or dangers exist. It consists wholly of just such advice and suggestions as a kindly, cultured, and gracious mother might give to her sons and daughters

precise enough to touch the personal deficiency if it exist, yet so genial in tone, so persuasive in manner, and so replete with the savoir faire which comes from knowledge of the world, that the most sensitive or consciencestricken could find no legitimate cause of offence. The worst surface fault of the American people-the neglect of those little amenities which lubricate the wheels of society and lessen the friction of domestic life-is pointed out and exemplified in a manner to compel attention; yet the book is wholly free from either satire or denunciation, and is quite charming to read.

FOREIGN LITERARY NOTES.

THE Institut de France has awarded the Prix Volney (for comparative grammar) to M. James Darmesteter, for his historical grammar of the Persian language.

PROF. HELMHOLTZ has collected his scattered scientific memoirs, which will be published in the autumn Prof. Kirchoff also intends to publish a volume of his scientific memoirs.

A FOUR-VOLUME edition of Rousseau's Confessions, preceded by an essay from the pen of Prof. Marc-Monnier, and illustrated by etchings by Hédouin, has been published by the Librairie des Bibliophiles.

IT is stated that the memoirs of Barras, which were the property of the late M. Hortensius de Saint-Albin, and which passed from his hands into the possession of his sister, Mme. Jubinal, will shortly be published in eight volumes. They may be expected to throw considerable light on the history of the Terror and the Directory.

THE Marquis of Tseng has lately thrown out a hint to his diplomatic colleagues which, if acted upon, will add a new feature to despatch-writing. In reply to the Imperial missive ordering him to proceed to St. Petersburg in connection with the Kuldja affair, he telegraphed to Peking his acknowledgment in a couplet which, being translated, ran thus:

"My knowledge is scant, and my powers are frail. At the voice of the thunder I tremble and quail." DURING the last three months, three members of the Académie Française have died— MM. Duvergier de Hauranne, Littré, and Dufaure. The duty of receiving the successors of all these three would regularly fall upon M. Renan, who has filled the post of directeur during the past quarter. But it is said that, while he expressly reserves to himself the duty of welcoming the successor of Littré, in at least one of the other cases M. Maxime Ducamp will take his place.

VISITORS FROM THE OTHER WORLD" is the title of a new work which Mr. Stuart Cumberland, who has done much to expose the chicaneries of spiritualism, has in the press. The book is intended to give a practical explanation of the means employed by the bestknown mediums in producing those manifestations called spiritual, which have deluded many intelligent minds. On the other hand, a spiritualist is going to bring out a book called The Occult World," based on his experiences in the East.

A RECENT number of the Archiv für Post und Telegraphie contained some interesting information concerning the circulation of newspapers and periodicals in Germany. The total number of papers to be obtained through the Post Office (the regular mode of distribution in Germany) is 7596, in thirty-one different languages. Of these, 5047 are German, 568

French, 469 English, 209 Austrian, and 128 American. Of the German papers, again, 388 are printed at Berlin, 230 at Leipzig, 76 at Munich, 75 at Dresden, and 70 at Stuttgart. The oldest paper in Germany is the Frankfurter Zeitung, which dates from 1615; the Leipziger Zeitung first appeared in 1660.

THE Bookseller gives an extract from a pamphlet published in 1774 which offers some par

ticulars as to the rate at which books were then bought by the British public. From this it appears that an edition of Addison, in four volumes, took thirty-three years to sell; and Shaftesbury's Characteristics" were in print for thirty years. It is gratifying to find that Bentley's wrong-headed edition of Milton remained on hand for forty-three years. Pope's edition of Shakespeare was not exhausted in less than forty-eight years. Even the popular novel of the then popular novelist, the "Sir Charles Grandison" of Richardson, took twenty years to sell. It would, of course, be more instructive in reading such a list if it were stated of what these editions numerically consisted.

THE month of December has been fixed for the sale of the celebrated Sunderland Library, which consists of the collection formed by Charles third Earl of Sunderland, in the early part of the eighteenth century. The total number of volumes is about 30,000, most of them being in fine old morocco bindings, and many printed on vellum. Among the chief rarities are first and early editions of the Greek and Latin classics and of the great Italian and French authors; a superb collection of early printed Bibles in various languages, including a copy on vellum of the first Latin Bible with a date; many extremely scarce works relating to America; a series of Spanish and Portuguese chronicles; a series of English and French works relating to the political and religious events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; etc., etc.

The

A SOCIETY has recently been formed at Rangoon, by a number of wealthy and influential natives, which has for its principal objects the establishment of a large library and the printing of the whole of the literature of For this purpose a capital of 600,000 Burma. rupees is to be raised in 100,000 shares. greater number of these have already been subscribed. A committee is to decide on the choice of the books to be issued, and to superintend the editing and printing of them. The Pitakattaya" will, as a matter of course, take the lead. This religious and literary movement is not confined to Lower Burma, and, calculated as it is to create and spread an interest in the literature of the country, will

not fail, if properly carried out, to enlist the sympathies, and possibly call forth the support and co-operation of Pali and Burmese scholars in Europe.

M. PROCHASKA, of Vienna, is publishing a series of ethnographical and culture-historical sketches of the populations of Austria-Hungary. The work is to be completed in twelve volumes. The first four will treat of the Germans—(1) in the Austrian arch-duchies of Salzburg and Inner Austria; (2) in the lands of the Bohe

It is difficult to say that we wish such an awful weapon success; but we may express a hope that, in the future, the general acceptance of the principles of arbitration, necessitated by such an invention, will prove it in reality a boon to mankind.-Chambers's Journal.

A SIMPLE SELENIUM CELL FOR THE PHOTOPHONE.-Mr. Andrew Jamieson, Principal of the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution, who has been experimenting with selenium in relation to its connection with the photophone, has recent

vania; (4) in the Tyrol. Vol. 5 will deal with the Hungarians; 6, the Roumans; 7, the "Semites"; and 12, the Gypsies. The remaining four volumes are assigned to the different Slavonic nationalities in the monarchy. Vol. 5, from the pen of the well-known

Hungarian philologist, M. Paul Hunfalvy, is before us; and vol. 6 is to appear at once. The other volumes are to be published as each is finished, without regard to the order in which they appear in the above list. Each volume is an independent work, and each author is responsible for his own volume. The Gipsies are the only nationality that do not furnish a description by one of themselves. Vol. 12 as well as vol. 3, is intrusted to Dr. Schwicker, favorably known for his historical works on South Hungary.

SCIENCE AND ART.

FLEUSS' DIVING SYSTEM. Mr. Fleuss, whose diving system has already been fully explained in these columns, has recently had the opportunity of demonstrating before the Admiralty authorities at Portsmouth the advantages of his invention both for submarine work, and for use in exploring places full of smoke or noxious gases. For half an hour, Mr. Fleuss remained in a chamber specially charged with the densest and most suffocating smoke it was possible to produce. At the end

of that time, he was requested to come out, for it was considered that the test had been

sufficient for all practical purposes. The experiment has, of course, special bearing upon the extinction of hidden fires on shipboard; and it is probable that its success may lead to the adoption of the Fleuss apparatus as part of the equipment of every vessel in commission. The same inventor is projecting the construction of a submarine boat, which will afford no mark for the fire of an enemy, and which will be able to carry on subaqueous torpedo warfare of a most terrible description. Mr. Fleuss, by his diving apparatus and his smokebreathing contrivance, has done what he can to save men's lives. He now proposes with his submarine boat to destroy them wholesale.

before the society which he represents. The form of selenium cell adopted by Professor Bell is of rather a complex nature, and certainly difficult for any one but a philosophical instrument maker to construct. Mr. Jamieson

points out how a most effective cell can be made by simple means; and the following is his manner of going to work. A glass plate

or tube one and a half inches wide, and four inches long, is tightly wound at its centre part with two separate silk or cotton covered wires. The outer envelope of these wires is afterward removed by the application of a red-hot iron, so as to expose the metal. There is thus left a series of bare copper filaments, insulated from one another by the double thickness of cotton or silk still remaining between them. The cell so formed is now heated, and a selenium bar applied, which soon melts over the metallic surface. Mr. Jamieson has conferred a boon upon experimenters by showing them a very simple way of constructing a novel instrument.

EXPLORATIONS IN THE GABOON.-Hugo von Koppenfels describes in a letter to Mr. H. Ward the result of his very recent explorations in the Gaboon. On the Eliva Comi (an inland lake) he had met with the gorilla and shot a fine male specimen. He declares he has fully satisfied himself of the existence of hybrid forms between the male gorilla and female chimpanzee, and he would thus account for the many so-called species, many of which get local names from the natives. He found the Oschebas, visited by Du Chaillu, a harmless, though somewhat suspicious people. In the country about the Gaboon the mammalian fauna is poor; there are none of the large antelopes, giraffes, gnus, zebras, quaggas, rhinoceroses, gazelles, lions., etc., which abound in the interior, but the leopard is common, and the fine black variety, though rare, is now and then seen. Great wild hogs abound; otters and porcupines are common. Besides the man-like apes, the blue-faced mandril and the long-tailed dog-faced baboon are to be found. In the rivers and lakes there are hippopotami, which sometimes, but rarely, go down to the