322 
NATORE 
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[Aug. 24, 1871 

lished “a series of letters in vindication and extension of 
the principles regarding the nature of existence of the 
Right Rev. Dr. Berkeley, Lord Bishop of Cloyne.” His 
argument is that our notions of time, motion, and magni- 
tude are merely relative ; that the idea of space in the 
abstract is entirely beyond the grasp of the human mind, 
and leads to a series of absurdities and contradictions. 
But without such a conception, our notions as to matter 
are untenable, and hence we are driven to seek for other 
principles to explain the nature of existence. These Mr. 
Doubleday believes are to be found in the system of 
philosophy which Bishop Berkeley founded, or rather 
the idea of which he indicated, although he did not live 
to bring it to perfection. This, the most purely idealistic 
system ever promulgated, entirely denies the existence of 
matter, and holds that there are only spirits, thinking 
beings whose nature consists of conception and volition ; 
whose sensations are derived from one superior Spirit 27 
whom they exist. Mr. Doubleday, after endeavouring to 
show that unless we adopt this view we are Jed into in- 
numerable contradictions, asserts that materialism is the 
parent of scepticism, since a mind which finds itself in- 
volved in a hopeless struggle to reconcile inconsistencies, 
takes refuge in believing nothing. All this the author ex- 
presses clearly and concisely, so that even those who are 
rot inclined to accept his views will read his work with 
pleasure, and are sure to glean some new ideas from it. 
At the same time, when opinions almost universally held 
are attacked, it is necessary that he who assails them 
should be scrupulously accurate even in matters of little 
importance. Therefore it is a bad fault that we find in 
this work chemical formula, given at the very outset, in 
which P is taken as the symbol of Platinum, and Ch as 
shat of Chlorine. It is also astonishing to find any one 
who supports the “ emission ” theory of heat, and who does 
so chiefly by quibbling about the expressions used by those 
who have so conclusively shown that heat is a mode of 
motion. 
“The Beginning,” the other book at which we have to 
glance, is one of those volumes which seem a mere con- 
fusion of facts, which, though they may be interesting in 
themselves, lose their value from having no proper con- 
nection or arrangement. Consisting of nearly six hun- 
dred pages, this work has in it a little of everything ; but 
to find out what it all leads to, and what is the general 
drift of the whole, is next to impossible. Just at the end the 
author devotes a separate and comparatively small space to 
considering the possibility of reconciling the Hebrew re- 
cords relating to the Beginning with modern scientific dis- 
coveries. Inthis more method is found than in the body of 
the work, and the conclusion arrived at, that we must 
“exclude all other suppositions save that of regarding the 
creative epochs as periods of indefinite and immense 
duration,” is one to which few will be disposed to object. 
Yet in this also stray facts seem to lie upon the pages as 
if scattered indiscriminately from a pepper-box. The 
plates with which the work is illustrated are certainly very 
good ; but we fear that it is one of those expensive books 
that find few purchasers. 
Our Sister Republic. A Gala Trip through Tropical 
Mexico in 1869-70. Adventure and sight-seeing in the 
Land of the Aztecs, with Picturesque Descriptions of 
the Country and People, and Reminiscences of the 
Empire and its Downfall. By Colonel Albert S,Evans. 
With Numerous Engravings. (Hartford, Conn. : Colum- 
bian Book Company. London: Triibner and Co., 
1871.) 
THE author of this book accompanied the Hon. W. H. 
Seward in an apparently semi-official tour through Mexico, 
lasting from September 1869 to January 1870 The volume 
before us, in somewhat flowery and very “smart” style, 
tells what the author saw and a good deal of what he 
heard during the progress through that American battle- 
ground, of which we hear so much and know so little, 


The author writes with much enthusiasm and hopefulness 
of the people, the products, and the progress of the 
country, where he was received with such exuberant hospi- 
tality ; although, considering the short time he was in the 
country, and the conditions under which the tour was 
made, anything like a full and reliable account of the 
political, social, and commercial condition of the country 
was not to be looked for. We believe, however, most 
readers will know much more about the life: manners of 
the Mexicans after than before reading the work. The 
author has fervid Republican propensities, and we fear 
writes too often with red ink. He has nothing but little 
words for the Maximilian episode, and regards the unfor- 
tunate would-be Emperor as an unprincipled heartless ad- 
venturer. Weare glad to see the author has paid con- 
siderable attention to the state of education in the country, 
and if we can at all rely upon hisstatistics, it is ina much 
more hopeful state than Europeans are generally inclined 
to believe. There appears to be plenty of funds set apart 
chiefly by the benevolent for educational and charitable 
purposes ; indeed, according to Colonel Evans, the wealth 
and resources of Mexico are almost enormous, but, as 
might be expected in such a chronically revolutionary 
country, the management of them is wretched. The 
Colonel is evidently not a scientific man, and although he 
frequently alludes to the products of the country, it is 
generally either from a commercial or picturesque point of 
view. We commend the book as an exceedingly interest- 
ing and graphically written record of a four months’ trip 
through Mexico, and as a work which affords a very fair 
notion of the present actual condition of the country and 
of its interesting antiquities. 
Horses: their Rational Treatment and the Causes of 
their Deterioration and Premature Decay. In Two 
Parcs. By Amateur. (London: Baillitre, Tindall, and 
Co., 1871.) 
IN Part 1 of this work the author tries to explain scien- 
tifically the errors of the present routine mismanagement 
(as he calls it), and how itis opposed to the natural system 
and health of the horse; and in the second part he con- 
siders and explains the practical management of the horse 
under what he calls the Rational System. The author 
advocates a return to the natural feeding of the horse, 
such as grass and similar soft food, and an abandonment 
of the present almost universal system of forcing with an 
abundance of dry food, on the gronnd that thus the horse 
would live to a much greater age, and perform a far greater 
amount of work. The subject certainiv deserves the 
serious consideration of all who are interested in horses, 
and to all such we would recommend the peru<al of this 
little book by one who has evidently given the subject long 
and serious study. In the second part both sides of the 
question are well stated in a correspondence between the 
author and Sir James Yorke Scarlett. 


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
by his Correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous 
communications. | 
Mr. Stone and Professor Newcomb 
Mr. Newcoms has reviewed Mr. Proctor’s book on the Sun 
in your number of May 18, and Mr. Proctor has replied in the 
number for June 1. In each of these articles I find my work 
and name mentioned in a way that is scarcely satis‘actory to 
me. Mr. Proctor’s reply is, however, of course, only intended 
to defend his own work, not mine. In Mr. Newcomb’s review 
I find the following very strong passage. Mr. Newcomb says :— 
““We find ligaments, black drops, and distortions sometimes 
seen in interior contacts of the limbs of Mercury or Venus with 
that of the sun described as if they were regular phenomena of 
a transit ; without any mention of the facts and experiments 
which indicated that these phenomena are simple products of 
