46 REVIEW—FAIRY-LAND OF SCIENCE. 
Acbtetvs, 
See fhe De 
The Fairy-Land of Science. By Anrapenta B. Bucxiry, Author of ‘A 
Short History of Natural Science,’ ‘ Botanical Tables for Young Students, 
etc.—London : Edward Stanford, 1878, pp. 244, illustrated. 
Tue influence of the master over the mind of the intelligent pupil is 
always manifested. Not that we have any knowledge that the accom- 
plished lady—the Mary Somerville of our day—whose name appears 
above ever studied personally under Professor Huxley, but there can be 
little doubt that the public teaching of our greatest English biologist, 
in addition to her association with the late Sir Charles Lyell as 
his Secretary, has had much to do in moulding her scientific charac- 
ter, and in developing the very interesting and beautiful work 
before us. In his admirable ‘‘ Physiography’—a book which should 
be in the hands of every scientific student—Professor Huxley proposed 
‘*not to trouble his hearers much about latitudes and longitudes, the 
heights of mountains, the depths of seas, orthe geographical distribution 
of Kangaroos and Composite,” specially as such, but he approached the 
study of nature after a fashion of his own by giving in very broad and 
accurate outlines a view of the ‘place in nature” of a particular 
district of England—the basin of the Thames, and all the phenomena 
connected therewith —in fact, a chapter of the history of the 
Universe. 
Here is a little book, a worthy companion of the ‘‘ Physiography,” 
wherein the author contemplates Nature from her own standpoint, and 
in graceful fancy attributes to the doings of the fairies in the ‘‘ Fairy- 
Land of Science,” the wonders and marvels—termed by Philosophers 
“the forces of Nature”—constantly going on around and among 
us. The result is that in this attractive guise any child of fair intelli- 
gence is held spell-bound in the subject as in the narration of a nursery 
story, and, what is better, is drawn on to more advanced studies. Hyvery 
father of a family who wishes his children to know something of 
Natural Science should buy this little book and present it to them as a 
New Year’s gift. And even ‘ the gray-haired boys” may here read and 
learn. 
In her preface the authoress, speaking of its origin, says :—‘t The 
ten lectures, of which this volume is composed, were delivered last 
spring, in St. John’s Wood, to a large audience of children and their 
friends, and at their conclusion I was asked by many of those present to 
publish them for a child’s reading book. At first I hesitated, feeling 
that written words can never produce the same effect as viva-voce 
delivery. But the majority of my juvenile readers were so deeply 
interested that I was encouraged to think that the present work may be 
a source of pleasure to a wider circle of young people, and at the same 
time awaken in them a love of nature and of the study of science.” The 
public are much indebted to Miss Buckley for acceding to the wishes of 
her friends and for the enlarged series of Lectures which she has given 
