580 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
vations and description of the the most interesting features of Brazilian flora and 
fauna are those of the trained naturalist, and are given with an imaginative faculty 
which selects only characteristic features, avoiding dry and wearisome details ; 
while the thin veil of fiction thrown around the pictures adds a decided charm to 
the narrative. 
No book, that we have seen lately, so well fills the role of a "traveler's 
companion " or a welcome relief to a tired brain. 
A Sylvan City, Illustrated: i2mo., pp. 508 Our Continent Publishing Co., 
Philadelphia: Fords, Howard & Hulbert, New York. For sale by M. H, 
Dickinson; $2.00. 
This is a very interesting account of the quaint and picturesque features of 
the city of Philadelphia, both ancient and modern. It is exceedingly well illus- 
trated by well known artists, and the various chapters are the productions of 
Helen Campbell, Louise Stockton, Elizabeth Robins, Edwin A. Barber, Eliza 
S. Turner and Frank Willing Leach. The first chapter is devoted, naturally, to 
William Penn, whose portrait serves as a frontispiece in the unusual garb of a soldier, 
which he actually was for a short time and which he remained so far as fighting 
the fight of faith and principle all his life. Fourteen other chapters follow, giving 
full descriptions of The City of a Dream ; Old St. Joseph's ; The Old Philadelphia 
Library; The Post- Office; The Public Schools; The Bettering House and Other 
Charities; Steven Girard, etc. 
The subjects are all well chosen, and the illustrations, numbering nearly two 
hundred, are exceptionally good. To all Philadelphians and their descendants, 
this book will be a welcome visitor, as well as to all Americans who take an inter- 
est in the peculiarities of the early settlers of the country. The work of the 
bookmakers has been handsomely done in every respect and the volume presents 
an exceedingly tasteful appearance. 
Art and Literature: Edited by Titus Munson Coan. i6mo., pp. 194. G. 
P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1883. For sale by M. H. Dickinson; paper 
25c., cloth 60c. 
This is No, VI Vol. I of the Topics of the Time series, to which we have 
referred so often, and comprises the following articles : The Philosophy of the 
Beautiful, by Prof. John Stuart Blackie; Hellenism in South Kensington, a dia- 
logue between Plato and Landor, by H. D. Traill; The Beginning of Art, by 
Stanley Lane-Pool ; The Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Stage ; The Impression- 
ists, by Frederick Wf^dmore; Wagner and Wagnerism, by Edmund Gurney : all 
typical and able articles, furnished at a mere nominal rate. 
This series can be subscribed for by the year at $6.00 in cloth, or $2.50 in 
paper. 
