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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



comprisc.^^ In commenting upon the inci- 

 dent of the budget, the biographer says, 

 " Both he and she were noble and generous, 

 but his was the soft heart, and hers the 

 stern one." The letters and extracts from 

 Carlyle's journal concern his literary work, 

 health, visitors, journeys to Scotland and 

 also on the Continent, his religious belief, 

 public policy, etc., etc. His letters to his 

 wife are warmly affectionate, and the entry 

 in his journal relating to her death is won- 

 derfully tender. The criticisms on the "First 

 Forty Years," and the " Letters and Memo- 

 rials " were apparently the occasion of the 

 introduction to this work, giving Mr. Froude's 

 view of his duty as Carlyle's chosen biogra- 

 pher, with a detailed account of the man- 

 ner in which the material was put in his 

 possession, and the directions given him in 

 regard to its publication. 



Women, Plumbers, and Doctors ; or, Hol'se- 

 HOLD Sanitation. By Mrs. II. M. Plun- 

 KETT. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 

 Pp. 248. Price, $1.25. 



The author of this book is one of those 

 who believe that woman's sphere should 

 be extended ; but the extension which she 

 herein advocates is in the line of the usu- 

 al duties performed by the mistress of the 

 home. She sees no knowledge more befit- 

 ting woman, no activity more worthy of her 

 abilities, than that which serves to protect 

 the family from disease and untimely death. 

 After a few pages on sanitation in general, 

 Mrs. Plunkett describes the dangers which 

 lurk in wet house-sites and inadequate foun- 

 dations, and then proceeds with the arrange- 

 ment of the house for securing sufficient 

 warmth, ventilation, and sunshine. The next 

 chapter deals with lighting, and contains 

 many facts in relation to dangerous burning- 

 oils that every housewife should thoroughly 

 know. Various ways in which water may 

 become unwholesome are told, with direc- 

 tions for tests and measures of protection. 

 The requirements of a good system of 

 plumbing are stated, examples of defective 

 work are given, and some explanation of 

 the nature of sewer-gas and disease-germs 

 is added. As many eminent physicians 

 have declared that cholera will certainly 

 come to America in 1885, a memorandum 

 of the New York State Board of Health re- 

 lating to the prevention of the disease has 



been introduced, together with directions 

 for home treatment, including recipes for 

 medicines. These directions are quoted 

 from Rev. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, who has treat- 

 ed hundreds of cases in the four epidemics 

 which he has seen in Constantinople, The 

 necessity of enforcing public sanitation is 

 urged, both on charitable grounds and be- 

 cause our neighbor's carelessness may often 

 make our own precautions unavailing. The 

 volume contains fifty cuts, showing unsani- 

 tary conditions in Washington and New York 

 houses, and elsewhere ; elaborate plumbing 

 in the houses of S. J. Tildcn and W. K. 

 Vanderbilt ; the filtration of water through 

 earth, sewage fungi, etc. The writer has 

 kept house both in the country and the city, 

 and writes with knowledge of the conditions 

 in both locations. The command of the 

 subject which she has gained is a sufficient 

 contradiction of any notion that preventive 

 medicine is too difficult for woman's compre- 

 hension. The book, though aiming especially 

 to interest women, is addressed to all read- 

 ers who desire a popular and practical pres- 

 entation of this important subject; quota- 

 tions from the writings of able physicians 

 and sanitarians have been freely used, and 

 evidently care has been taken to make a 

 useful and reliable book. 



The American PsTcnoLOGiCAL Jocrnal. 

 Quarterly. Volume I. Edited by Jo- 

 seph Parrish, M. D. Philadelphia : P, 

 Blakiston, Son & Co. $2 a year. 

 This magazine is issued by the National 

 Association for the Protection of the Insane 

 and Prevention of Insanity, and its scope is 

 indicated by the name of the association. 

 The first volume contained articles on both 

 the medical and legal aspects of insanity ; 

 W. W. Godding, M. D., contributed a series 

 of papers entitled " Our Insane Neighbor : 

 his Rights and Ours " ; T. D. Crothers, M. D., 

 discussed some phases of insanity as related 

 to inebriety; and many letters were pub- 

 lished describing the treatment employed in 

 various asylums, the lunacy laws of several 

 States, and the courses of siudy on mental 

 diseases provided in prominent medical col- 

 leges. A few of the other articles are 

 " The Rights of the Insane, and their En- 

 forcement " ; " Are Suicides Lunatics ? " 

 " EmplojTnent as a Remedy for Insanity " ; 

 and " The Prevention of Insanity." 



