LITERARY NOTICES. 



851 



healthy men have proved that not even the 

 strongest of these can exceed in a day more 

 than two ounces that is, only four table- 

 spoonfuls without diminishing their capac- 

 ity for work. . . . Whoever does not die 

 before his time, and yet habitually drinks 

 more than two ounces of alcohol daily, will 

 very surely have to pay for it in pains far 

 harder to bear than those inflicted by pay- 

 ment in cash." The almost certainty that 

 those who indulge in even this quantity will 

 demand more, is the universal temperance 

 argument. The complaint of those who 

 apprehend that drunkenness is increasing is 

 answered by citations, century by century, 

 which show that as a whole the present is 

 decidedly the most temperate age in history. 

 As to remedies for the evils of drunken- 

 ness, the author has much faith in prohibi- 

 tion, and believes that local option is as 

 nearly sovereign as we are likely to attain. 



Ten Great Events in History. Compiled 

 and arranged by James Johonnot. New 

 York : D. Appleton & Co. 1887. Price, 

 63 cents. 



This book is intended for young read- 

 ers ; and its object is not merely to teach 

 history, but also to cultivate certain noble 

 sentiments, such as patriotism and love of 

 liberty. The author holds that "patriot- 

 ism, or love of country, is one of the tests 

 of nobility of character," and adds that 

 " from the earliest times the sentiment of 

 patriotism has been aroused in the hearts 

 of men by the narrative of heroic deeds, 

 inspired by love of country and love of 

 liberty. This truth furnishes the key to 

 the arrangement and method of the present 

 work" (preface). The historical examples 

 which the author has chosen are, in the 

 main, well adapted to his purpose. Some 

 of them, however, can hardly be called 

 struggles for liberty, however interesting 

 and important in other respects, such, for 

 instance, as the Crusades and the conquest 

 of India. The Crusades especially, though 

 having an interest of their own, and, consti- 

 tuting, in one sense, a great historical event, 

 are chiefly memorable as a stupendous ex- 

 ample of superstition and folly. 



The most interesting portions of Mr. 

 Johonnot's book are those describing 

 struggles for liberty in modern Europe and 



in our own country. Of ancient events 

 only one is treated the victorious contest 

 of the Greeks against the Persians. Com- 

 ing down to modern times, considerable 

 space is given to the struggles of the Swiss 

 with the Austriaus and with Charles of 

 Burgundy; to the defense of Scotland by 

 Bruce and his men; and to the gallant and 

 successful fight of the Dutch and the Eng- 

 lish with the mighty power of Spain. An 

 account is given of the discovery of Ameri- 

 ca, and of the settlement of the Pilgrim 

 Fathers, and the work is fitly closed by a 

 brief sketch of some of the chief battles of 

 the Revolution. 



The work is, as the author states on the 

 title-page, a compilation, and some parts of 

 it are quoted directly from other writers. 

 Some of the authors quoted from are infe- 

 rior in style to Mr. Johonnot himself, which 

 makes one wish that he had written the 

 whole work with his own pen. The book 

 will doubtless find a place for itself and fill 

 it usefully, notwithstanding the many rivals 

 with which it will have to contend. 



Indiana : Department of Geology and 

 Natural History. Fifteenth Annual 

 Report. By Maurice Thompson, State 

 Geologist. Indianapolis. Pp. 359. 



This is one of the most comprehensive 

 and compact reports of the whole series. 

 Besides presenting the record of the special 

 work done during the year by the depart- 

 ment, Mr. Thompson has sought, in a " Com- 

 pendium of Geology and Mineralogy," by 

 which this is preceded, to give an outline 

 sketch of all that has been discovered and 

 reported upon by his own corps and by his 

 predecessors in office, so that the volume 

 might, in a certain degree, place the stu- 

 dent, who can not get the earlier reports, 

 in a situation fairly to understand the geol- 

 ogy of the State. In doing this, he has 

 made a treatise that is readable throughout 

 as well as scientifically acceptable. It is 

 claimed that the work of the department, 

 as a whole, has done more than all other 

 agencies combined to advertise the coal, 

 clay, iron, and building-stone of Indiana, and 

 to direct attention to the peculiar advan- 

 tages offered by their situation and quality. 

 The reports of the former incumbents of 

 the office, though long since exhausted, are 



