LITERARY NOTICES. 



7U 



formulated the grievances against absolu- 

 tism out of which the Parliamentary revo- 

 lution grew ; Chatham, Mansfield, and Burke 

 had to do with the principles of the founda- 

 tion of American independence ; Mackintosh 

 and Erskine championed the freedom of 

 juries and of the press ; Pitt expounded the 

 policy of continuous opposition to Napoleon ; 

 Fox pleaded for peace ; Canning inaugurated 

 the English foreign policy; Macaulay co- 

 gently advocated the " Reform Bill " revolu- 

 tion ; Cobden brought on the blessing of free 

 trade. In our own generation. Bright de- 

 nounced the foreign policy of the empire ; 

 Beaconsfield expounded the principles of 

 the Conservatives ; and Gladstone formu- 

 lated, as he now conspicuously represents, 

 the doctrines respecting home and foreign 

 affairs of the Liberals. It is the speeches in 

 which are clearly declared these several 

 principles, and which "at one time or an- 

 other have seemed to go forth as in some 

 sense the authoritative messages of English 

 history to mankind," that are here brought 

 together. 



An Elementart Treatise on Analytic 

 Mechanics. By Edward A. Bowser, 

 LL. I). New York : D. Van Nostrand. 

 Pp. 511. 



Professor Bowser's work is designed 

 as a text-book for students of scientific 

 schools and colleges who have received 

 training in the elements of analytic geome- 

 try and the calculus. The analytic method 

 has been chiefly employed, though geometric 

 proofs have been introduced where such 

 were deemed preferable. The book con- 

 sists of three parts : Part T, with the excep- 

 tion of a preliminary chapter, is devoted to 

 statics; Part II is occupied with kinema- 

 tics ; and Part III treats of the kinetics of 

 a particle and of rigid bodies. For the at- 

 tainment of that grasp of principles which 

 it is the special aim of the book to impart, 

 numerous examples are given at the ends of 

 the chapters. 



Elements of English Speech. By Isaac 

 Bassett Choate. New York : D. Apple- 

 ton & Co. Pp. 220. Price, $1. 



Perhaps this book may be briefly de- 

 scribed as a volume of essays on topics in 

 the English language. The first four chap- 

 ters are devoted to demonstratives, prepo- 



sitions, connectives, and nouns, dealing with 

 the functions of these parts of speech, and 

 giving the histories of many words, with 

 illustrative quotations from early English 

 poems. The next four chapters deal with 

 verbs and their conjugation. Certain causes 

 of changes in pronunciation of the Latin 

 and English languages are next considered, 

 and the original meanings of some familiar 

 words are shown. 



T. LccRETi Cari de Kerum Natura (T. 

 Lucretius Cams concerning the Nature 

 of Things). With an Introduction and 

 Notes. By Francis W. Kelsey. Bos- 

 ton: John Allyn, Pp. 385. Price, 

 $1.75. 



The entire poem of Lucretius is here 

 published, in Latin, with explanatory notes 

 on the first, third, and fifth books, which are 

 chosen for comment because they contain 

 the gist of the poet's doctrine and a greater 

 number of fine passages than the others. 

 An analysis of the subject-matter given in 

 the introduction will facilitate the reading 

 of the remaining books. Besides the notes 

 and the analysis, the editor gives essays in 

 the introduction on " Lucretius as a Man," 

 " Lucretius as a Philosopher," and " Lu- 

 cretius as a Poet." The second essay in- 

 cludes reviews of philosophy among the 

 Romans in the poet's time, and of epicu- 

 reanism up to his time, and as set forth by 

 him. 



Country Cousins: Short Studies in the 

 Natural History of the United States. 

 By Ernest Ingersoll. New York: 

 Harper & Brothers. Pp. 252. 



Many animal families are represented 

 in these sketches of " Country Cousins " ; the 

 squirrel, shrew, elk, and a number of our 

 birds are visited in their homes, and there 

 is an account of "rattlesnakes in fact and 

 fancy." A description is given of Professor 

 Agassiz's sea-side laboratorv on Penikese 

 Island, which furnishes an introduction to 

 several chapters on sea-creatures, including 

 the life and tribulations of the oyster, and 

 sketches of other mollusks, devil-fishes, and 

 seals. There are also accounts of the cav- 

 erns at Luray and at Pike's Peak, a chapter 

 on the shell-money of the native Americans, 

 and one on village naturalists' clubs. The 

 volume is handsomely illustrated. 



