LITERARY NOTICES. 



279 



influencing the vital actions of the body." 

 And, such being unquestionably the case, 

 our most practical concernment is with the 

 best means of gaining the benefit of these 

 systematic exercises. Those who have well- 

 equipped gymnasiums within reach may be 

 congratulated that the problem is solved for 

 them, but the great mass of people are with- 

 out such opportunities. The little work of 

 Dr. Hartelius, whieh has been so judiciously 

 translated, is exactly what is wanted for uni- 

 versal home use. Systematic exercises are 

 "described and illustrated, which are suited 

 to strengthen and develop all parts of the 

 muscular system, and this without the use of 

 any other apparatus than a bench or seat, 

 and even this is by no means indispensable. 

 All that is required for exercise is the body 

 itself, and as most people possess this outfit 

 they need not be put to the slightest expense 

 to secure a comprehensive system of gym- 

 nastic exercises, and which, moreover, shall 

 be just as efficient as they choose to make it- 

 Following the descriptions of movements are 

 lists adapted for specific purposes, and for 

 infants and old persons, as well as for those 

 in full vigor. 



The Alternative, a Study in Psychology. 

 New York : Macmillan & Co. Pp. 387. 

 Price, $2.75. 



This anonymous work is a vigorously 

 written polemic on metaphysics in its more 

 modern aspects. It is written with a con- 

 servative animus, and the author is of opin- 

 ion that he has helped forward psychologi- 

 cal inquiry in several important particu- 

 ars. Mr. Henry Sidgwick, certainly a very 

 competent authority, says, in an advertise- 

 ment to the volume : " I have had an unex- 

 pected interim of enforced cessation from 

 my work, which I have employed in reading 

 about half the proof-sheets you sent me. 

 Without reading any more which for the 

 present I have not time to do I feel no 

 doubt that the book deserves the atten- 

 tion of all students of philosophy from 

 the amount of vigorous, precise, and inde- 

 pendent thinking that it contains thinking 

 which appears to me generally consistent, 

 so far as it has been completely developed, 

 though, at some important points, the work 

 of definition and analysis does not seem to me 

 to have been carried far enough. I also find 



the terse, forcible individuality of the style 

 attractive on the whole, though I can not 

 but wish that the author had somewhat re- 

 strained his impulse to innovate in techni- 

 cal terminology." 



Idyls of Norway, and other Poems. By 

 IIjalmar Hjorth Boyesen. New York : 

 Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 185. Price, 

 $1.25. 



This is a collection of brief poems, 

 some forty in number, mostly on light and 

 fanciful subjects suited to sentimental treat- 

 ment. They are of excellent literary merit, 

 and show a skillful mastery of English versi- 

 fication that is certainly remarkable in an 

 author writing in a foreign tongue. The 

 pieces in this volume are considerably va- 

 ried, both in form and in the subject chosen ; 

 we have been most struck, however, with 

 those on " The Sea," " The Air," and on 

 " Evolution," the latter of which we have 

 taken the liberty of transferring to our 

 pages. The poetic treatment of the en- 

 larged views of nature, for which we are in- 

 debted to science, is an important part of 

 the "progress of thought." 



Aboriginal American Literature. 



The second volume of Dr. D. G. Brin- 

 ton's " Library of Aboriginal American Lit- 

 erature," is announced to appear in June. 

 It is the " Iroquois Book of Rites," compris- 

 ing the original text and a literal translation, 

 with introduction, notes, and glossary, and 

 is edited by Horatio Hale, Esq. This is a 

 native composition, partly in the Mohawk 

 and partly in the Onondaga language, and 

 includes the proceedings observed in the 

 council when a deceased chief is lamented 

 and his successor is installed. The forms, 

 after having been preserved and handed 

 down in memory for several generations, 

 were written down, by desire of the chiefs, 

 when the language was first reduced to 

 writing. 



Science in Short Chapters. By W. Mat- 

 tieu Williams, F. C. S. New York : 

 Funk & Wagnalls. Pp. 308. 



This volume contains a great number of 

 brief essays, popularly written, on a wide 

 variety of scientific subjects, and the name 

 of the author is a sufficient guarantee of the 

 general soundness of the information and 

 criticism presented in the book. 



