We decline altogether to embark upon the sen of comment and criticism which already surges round this book. There is nothing new to be written about it—the aggroyate of reviews in all languages we do not doubt, the bulk of the f—but those who decline to pin their faith lo critical journals have now an opporluuity of exercising their own judyment, which the general public could hardly be said to have enjoyed so long as the external appearance of the work was sug-festive of a small but complete library, The Laurel Bush: By Misa Metorx, The author describes this as "an old-fashioned love story," from which we gather that seduction, murder, adultery, divorce and infanticide are not to be expected in its pages, This in itself is perhaps enough to condemn it in the eyes of novel readers who have under Ouida's guidance long aban-simple tales of every day life, It is true that even those not addicted exclusively to th very sti and highly spiced meat provided tion novelists, find in Miss Mulock's later stories rather too much milk for babes, and one is tempted to account for the sale of nome of her pooka by that odd necessity which preys upon most idle people, for something to read in unoccupied moments, the merely mechanical nct of reading being ho tedium of emptily passing This tale chronicles the me what languid and Fortune Willia & tutor, the other a governess in a Scotch family. Roy in search of fortune goes to Shanghai, which Miss Mulock soma to think is it India, und having failed to receive an answer to "proposal of marriage written departure, which proposal out to have miscarried, years, Fortune accidentally Mr. Roy's child at Shanghai, whereupon she writes a letter of condolence, Meanwhile she has refused " good offer of marriage, Her letter elicits a reply from the Shanghai Roy explaining that his namesake the Roy in dispute had long yone to Australia because he objected to deal in opium, but that ao far as ho know he remained unmarried. Finally the Australian Kay r meets Fortu and has a cool business interview with her. Gradually, however, their relations thaw, mutual explanations follow, and "the blushing young couple" are happily married at theagesof 47 and 42 respectively. We do not wish to deride the simplicity of this little story, but it seems hardly worth elaborating into a From cover to cover there is not a single stirring incident or a single reflection that rises above goody-goody mediocrity.
Mediceral and Modern Sainte and Miracle, The author makes no secret of the fact that his book is intended as a direct assault on the Roman Church, Yet, the value of any book dealing with " contested subject auch aa miraces, depends upon the impartility with which itis written. We gather that the author implicitly believes the stories of miraculous events chronicled in the canonical scriptures. His quarrel is with the post Apos miracles, Without expressing avy opinion regarding the credibility of miracles, we must however point out that there is absolutely no define able line of demarcation between the miracles of the first century and those of later date. So far as we choose to be led by a strictly logical process, the two sets of events must stand or fall together. Once, however, we abandon logic and adopt eubjective canons of inspiration, we mav of course prove or disprove anything the like or dislike. Our author dislikes Catho..c. and Catholic miracles, and in a word everything that smells of Catholicism, and therefore, hip and thigh he smites medieval ints and scoffs at medieval miracles. He disclaims, it is true, any wish to abuse Catholics, but those members of the Church of Rome' who value their religion will discount this concession when they find it coupled with the statement that "Catholiis hostile to the moral and the intellectual culture, and of course to the social progress of man." The four chapters which form the body of the work contain meny absurd tales which the acepticiem of the present day may well smile over. Butit is a very serious consideration whether the rigorous application of modern methods of criticism to the outworks of religious bell the next fow years cause the entire to totter and erunble before there is anything to take its place. We cannot contemplate such an event without couster-lov, The essentials of religion are interlaced with the accidents that the demolition of must involve at least the serio!
disturbance of the former. We may in dealing this matter advan-rageously discard al theories of sary hiurtfulness of error, to heart the moral of the arabi tures and the wheat, For this reason we depreente the issue of popular works, addressed to the task of pulling down venerable superstitions, as almost as mischievous an the issue of weak apologetic works, the offspring of enthusiasm and ignorance. On the other hand, critics! labours undertaken by scholars for scholars may undermine all the foundations of belief without injury to the interests of society, for neither authors nor renders are in the least de: pendent upon dogmatically imposed doctrines for the guidance of their liv The appendix contains an interesting jo on the forged decretala, the texts of the bull Ineffabilis Dens defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, of the faras ons Encyclical and Syllabus, and of the bull Pastor cternus et episcopus which proclaimed the infallibility of the Pops. Those documents form the most intere ing part of the whole book, and to have them for reference in thie convenient form is sufficient reason for busing the volume. fifth of a series of Shake-edited by Mr. Rolfe, and designed for private study and school use, The preceding numbers of the series are The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Henry the Kighth and Julius Caesar, none of which have we seen. The little volume tastefully got up and rather trated. Its size is conv be read over the fi there are no exasperating notes at the foot of the page to divert the reader's attention from the text. The tort itself varies little from that of the Globe edition. It is prefaced by an introduction treating of the history of the play, and by a selection of criticisms from Coleridge, Ulrici and Gervious. The notes, which fill nearly 80 pages, are rich in passages drawn from the poet's other works in illustration of peculiar usages of words or constructions. Some of the explanations are rather puerile, For instance to A.i, 38 is appended Divine. Partaking of the nature of God, proceeding from God," which favours of bookmaking, But this is exceptional. Wo heartily commend this cheap and handy little volume to the lovers of Shakespeare, @utports, NEWCHWANG, Wo have heard of the death of the Tartar General whose headquarters are at Moukden. Ho was a good, honest, but jevero Governor, and many a petty mandarin has had to bite the dust for squeezing and such like native peculiar ities, Brigandago was kept down by him a minimum; and all peacefully inclined Chinamen liked him, and will regret his death.
The weather is very cold at times, The thermometer (Falirt.) has shown $7 degrees frost, but the river is not frozen over, although large quantities of ice prove the severity of the cold.
The poor natives feel it much, and we fear there is groat distress already. What will it be in three monthe? time 16th Dec.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.