Then followed, after many years, his important work on Plato, a masterpiece of research, analysis, and scholarship. Here the genius of the man of business was, for the first time in the history of speculation, brought to bear on the noblest and highest of transcendental philosophers. The work was in 3 vols., and was entitled Plato and the Other Companions of Socrates.

But all scholars looked to Grote as the most competent of Englishmen to deal with Aristotle. It was understood that he was engaged, up to the time of his death, in an elaborate exposition of the works of that philosopher, whose genius had so many points of contact and sympathy with his own. Had he lived three years longer, we have no doubt that he would have completed his task, a task which would have summed up the results of his literary life, devoted for fifty years to the illustration and interpretation of the history, literature, and philosophy of Greece.

But what we specially desire to emphasize, in this tribute to Grote, is the fact that he was a business man throughout his career, competent to deal, in business matters, with the keenest banker or merchant of his time. The man who best understood Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle was the man who could compete with Rothschild in bidding for a loan, and stand up against Peel or Palmerston in the House of Com- Every Saturday (altered and abridged).

mous.

Mr. Froude is a graduate and Fellow of Oxford. His principal work, A History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth, in 12 vols., 8vo, is a monument at once of historical research and of literary culture. Besides this great work, Mr. Froude has published The Shadows of the Clouds, a Novel; The Nemesis of Faith; Short Studies on Great Studies; and Calvinism, an Address delivered at St. Andrew's University.

"The peculiar merit of Mr. Froude's work is its wealth of unpublished manuscripts; and the reign of Elizabeth is remarkably illustrated by the correspondence of the Spanish ambassadors and other agents of the Court of Simancas. The extraordinary interest of such illustrations is apparent in every page of these volumes; they give novelty to the narrative and variety to the well-known incidents of the time; and they bring in aid of historical evidence the contemporary opinions of society upon current events."— - Edinburgh Review.

Merivale.

REV. CHARLES MERIVALE, 1808 —, Fellow of Cambridge, has published an elaborate History of the Romans.

The object of this work, which is in 7 vols., 8vo, is to bridge over the interval between the point at which Arnold was interrupted, and that at which Gibbon began. Mr. Merivale has told this part of the Roman story in a way that leaves little to be desired. His work is not a compilation, but an original history, the fruit of careful and prolonged investigation. If it does not possess the splendor of Gibbon, or the vigorous grasp of Arnold, it is yet admirable as a work of art, and worthy to hold a place between these two great masters, and to form with them the continuous story of Roman affairs. Mr. Merivale has published also The Conversion of the Roman Em pire, The Conversion of the Northern Nations, and two volumes of Sermons.

HERMAN MERIVALE, 1805 —, a brother of the preceding, and Professor of Political Economy at Oxford, has written Lectures on Colonization and the Colonies, and completed the Memoirs of Sir Philip Francis, begun by Joseph Parker.

Milman.

HENRY HART MILMAN, 1791-1868; distinguished himself in various walks of authorship, but chiefly as an historian.

Milman was a native of London. He was educated at Eton and Oxford, took orders in the Church of England, and was made Dean of St. Paul's in 1849. He was also, for a while, Professor of Poetry in Oxford.

Dean Milman's works are both various and numerous; the earlier ones are almost wholly poetical; the later, historical.

His poetical productions are: Fazio, a Tragedy; Samor, an Heroic Poem; The Fall of Jerusalom, The Martyr of Antioch, Belshazzar, and Anne Boleyn, Dramatic Poems; and The Apollo Belvidere. In these works, Dean Milman unquestionably displayed poetic ability, but his style is strained and overcolored. Notwithstanding the praise that was heaped upon them at their appearance, it may be doubted whether they still enjoy any notable share of popularity, or whether even Milman himself, although poetically inclined, was really a poet. It can scarcely be said of him that he has added any new characters to the great gallery of imagination, or enriched the language with fresh turns of thought or powers of expression. The Dean's merits as a poet are completely overshadowed by his services as an historian.

His chief historical works are: The History of the Jews; the well known annotated edition of Gibbon's Rome; The History of Christianity from the Birth of Christ to the Abolition of Paganism in the Empire; and The History of Latin Christianity down to the Pontificate of Nicolas V. Besides these graver labors, Dean Milman also published the Life and Works of Horace, an elegant edition filled with the choicest woodcuts and other illustrations.

The History of Christianity and The History of Latin Christianity are justly regarded as standard works. They evince great erudition and logical grasp of mind on the part of the historian, and are written in a spirit of Christian liberality. Of course it cannot be expected of them that they will satisfy all parties or denominations. Dean Milman is too liberal for some, too orthodox for others. The subjects of which his volumes treat are the most obscure and the most controversial in history. The Dean has endeavored to pursue a just-middle course through the labyrinth, and, while maintaining his Protestantism, to render charity to all. The style, particularly of the Latin Christianity, is at times labored.

Agnes Strickland. (Latrole)

AGNES STRICKLAND, 1806, is entitled to an honored place in the gallery of distinguished historical writers.

Miss Strickland is a daughter of Thomas Strickland, Esq., and one of a family of eight children, who have all shown literary ability.

Miss Agnes Strickland began her career as an authoress by publishing several volumes of poetry, among them the Worcester Field, or the Cavalier, and Demetrius. She afterwards published some prose works, The Rival Crusoes, The Pilgrims of Walsingham, Tales and Stories from History, etc.

In 1840 appeared the first volume of her really first great work,-The Queens of England. It made the name of Miss Strickland at once famous. Since that time she has published The Queens of Scotland, and the Lives of the Bachelor Kings of England. In most of these works she received much assistance from her sister Elizabeth, who refused however to have her name put on the title-page. The materials were collected by means of careful researches in the British Museum and other great public libraries.

Miss Strickland's power of writing is far from equalling her industry in research. The style is rather poor and thin, and the statements sometimes inaccurate. She is not impartial in her treatment of the Stuarts and their adversaries, but is decidedly prejudiced. With all their defects, however, her volumes afford an agreeable reading for the lover of history, and contain many minutiae of royal domestic life not to be found in more ambitious and more philosophical works.

JANE STRICKLAND, an older sister of Agnes, has written A Family History of ROME. MAJOR SAMUEL STRICKLAND, 1809-1867, a brother of Agnes and Jane, emigrated to Canada. He wrote a popular work, Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West, or The Experience of an Early Settler.- SUSANNAH STRICKLAND, another sister of Agnes, was married to John Durban Moodie, of the North British Fusileers, and went with her husband to Canada, where she has since resided. Mrs. Moodie partakes of the general literary abilities of the family. She has written: Roughing it in the Bush, or Life in Canada; Life in the Clearings; Flora Lyndsay; Mark Huddlestone; Matrimonial Speculations; The Moncktons; Passages in an Eventful Life.-CATHARINE PARR STRICKLAND, 1805, still another sister, was married in 1832 to Lieutenant Traill, of the Royal North British Fusileers, of the same regiment with Mr. Moodie, and emigrated with her husband to Canada to reside. Besides many juvenile productions, Mrs. Traill has published The Backwoods of America; Canadian Crusoes; Ramblings in the Canadian Forest; Stories of the Canadian Forest; Lady Mary and her Nurse, or a Peep into the Canadian Forests; Female Emigrants' Guide, etc.

Rawlinson.

GEORGE RAWLINSON, 1815 —, is well known to all lovers of history and the classics by his admirable Translation of Herodotus.

Mr. Rawlinson studied at Oxford, and was for several years a Fellow of his college, and University Examiner. In the preparation of his great work on Herodotus, Rawlinson was assisted by his brother, Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, the Assyrian traveller, and by Sir John G. Wilkinson the Egyptologist.

The translation, as a specimen of English, is not so pleasing, perhaps, as some other renderings of the Greek master, but it is very accurate and close, while the notes and essays embody the great mass of information acquired by the many recent discoveries of all kinds made in Assyria, Syria, Egypt, and Phoenicia. This edition of Herodotus is undoubtedly one of the most valuable contributions made to general history during the present century.

Besides his joint labors in the translation of Herodotus, Mr. Rawlinson has also published, in 4 vols., A History of the Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, namely, Chaldæa, Assyria, Babylonia, Media, and Persia, which equals in importance, if it does not surpass, its predecessor.

In addition to these larger undertakings, Rawlinson has delivered a course of Bampton Lectures on the Historical Evidencer of the Truth of Scripture, and a University course on The Contrasts of Christianity with the Heathen and Jewish Systems.

SIR HENRY CRESWICKE RAWLINSON, 1810, entered the East India Company's service, and resided for a number of years in Persia, where he succeeded in deciphering many of the Cuneiform inscriptions. Sir Henry's chief literary labors have been associated with those of his brother George in the translation of Herodotus. He has published separately, however, an Outline of the History of Assyria, based upon a translation of the inscriptions discovered by Layard at Nineveh, and a Memorandum on the Publication of the Cuneiform Inscriptions.

Palgrave.

SIR FRANCIS PALGRAVE, 1788-1861, is well known as an historian and archæologist.

Sir Francis changed his family name of Cohen to that of Palgrave, and in 1832 he was knighted. He published many contributions to the study of early English history which are of great value. As a writer and investigator he made himself famous by his History of England in the Anglo-Saxon Period, The Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth, and The History of England and Normandy. These works place him in the first rank of English historians.

Napier.

SIR WILLIAM FRANCIS PATRICK NAPIER, 1785-1866, is distinguished both as a military commander and as a writer.

Sir William served with distinction in the Peninsular War, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1861 he was made lieutenant-general.

Napier's great work is his History of the War in the Peninsula, in 6 vols., published in 1828-1840. Although by an English officer, it does ample justice to Napoleon's genius as a military commander, and is anything but favorable to the policy of the English ministry. It was made, on the occasion of its appearance, the object of many angry attacks; the principal one was by General Sir George Murray, in the London Quarterly. It is needless to say that the history has survived its numerous assailants, and is now generally recognized as the standard work on the subject. The style is exceedingly graphic and dignified; in fact, it may be regarded, in this respect, as an English classic.

Besides his History of the Peninsular War, Sir William has written also a History of the Conquest of the Scinde by his brother, Sir Charles James Napier; A History of the Administration of Scinde; an Abridgment of the History of the Peninsular Campaign; and several other short works on military matters.

SIR CHARLES JAMES NAPIER, 1782-1853, was a brother of Sir William Napier, the historian, and a cousin of Sir Charles John Napier, the admiral. Sir Charles James was a distinguished English general, first rising to prominence in the campaign in Spain, and afterwards in India, chiefly by his conquest of Scinde. He was the anthor of seve ral works on military matters, and of an historical romance, called William the Conqueror. The best known books by him are Military Law, and Lights and Shadows of Military Life. His pamphlet on the Civil and Military Defects of the Indian Government, edited by his brother, was an able contribution to the cause of reform in India. SIR CHARLES JOHN NAPIER, 1786-1860, was the well known admiral of the English fleet in the Baltic during the Russian war. He served in the British fleet against the United States in 1813-14, and was commander of the Portuguese fleet that defeated

Don Miguel, in 1833. In addition to his naval services, he is the author of several works: The War in Portugal between Pedro and Miguel; The War in Syria; and the Past and Present of the Navy. Sir Charles John's writings resemble his actions, — bluff, hasty, and choleric.

Lord Mahon.

PHILIP HENRY, Lord Mahon, fifth Earl of Stanhope, 1805-1875, holds a high rank as an historian.

Lord Mahon was educated at Oxford, and has held various offices under the English Government. His principal works are: History of the War of the Succession in Spain; History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles (17171783); and Historical Essays, collected from the Quarterly Review. Lord Mahon was also co-editor, with Lord Cardwell, of the Memoirs of Sir Robert Peel, and edited a new edition of Lord Chesterfield's famous Letters, with explanatory notes.

Lord Mahon is a zealous investigator, and a clear and impartial writer. His History of England contains an able account, the best, perhaps, yet written by one not a native, of the American War of Independence. Unfortunately, however, it involved him in two disputes with American historians. He had charged Sparks with altering Washington's letters, and also with adding matter not contained in them. This charge was indignantly repelled and refuted, and was subsequently withdrawn by Lord Mahon himself. He had also characterized the execution of André as a "blot" upon Washington's career. This led to an exhaustive investigation of the entire subject by Major Charles Biddle of Philadelphia, who showed conclusively "that Washington had no alternative; the prisoner was regularly tried before the proper tribunal, and received the fate which he had incurred."

In 1862, Lord Mahon published, in four volumes, the Life of William Pitt, an invaluable contribution to English history. The first part of a still more recent work, The Reign of Queen Anne until the Peace of Utrecht, has appeared, and bids fair to rival, if not surpass, its predecessors. It is to form the connecting link between Macaulay's History and Mahon's previous History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles.

Vaughan - Father and Son.

ROBERT VAUGHAN, D. D., 1795-1868, a distinguished Independent pastor, for many years Professor of History in University College, London, is among the prominent historians of the present century.

Dr. Vaughan's contributions are numerous and valuable. Among them may be signalized The Life of Wycliffe (the second edition, published in 1845); The Memorial of the Stuart Family; The Protectorate of Cromwell and the State of Europe during the Early Reign of Louis XIV.; The Age of Great Cities; English Non-conformity; Ritualism in the English Church, etc. His chief work, however, is his Revolutions in English History, in which he traces with great fidelity and liberality the changes that England has undergone in its races, its religion, and its government. This is one of the most important general works on English history that has appeared of late.

Dr. Vaughan was, in addition to his other labors, the originator, and for twenty years the editor, of The British Quarterly. A selection of his contributions to this periodical was made and published by him in 1849, entitled Essays on History, Philosophy, and Theology. Dr. Vaughan's style is plain, sometimes perhaps too plain,