370 Notices of Books. [J u ty» 



conquered nations. This theory plainly stated and supported 

 by the simple arguments that naturally arise, would no doubt 

 find a response in the mind of every thoughtful man whose 

 passions were not inflamed by preconceived notions or in- 

 terested motives. But we hardly think that the pamphlet of 

 Mr. Bannister, in which he endeavours to show that this theory 

 was the ruling principle of the ancient Britons or other in- 

 habitants of this land before the Roman conquests, and that the re- 

 verse was the guiding motive of the Romans duringthe whole period 

 of the empire, a motive which led directly to their downfall, will 

 greatly advance the end he has in view. The references to early 

 writers, without quoting their actual words and without discussing 

 the weight of authority that each deserves, will scarcely influence 

 the critical minds of the present day, and it can only be to minds 

 thoroughly imbued with an historical tone that such an argument 

 can be addressed. We would rather meet with Mr. Bannister as 

 an advocate than as an historian. 



An Introductory Text-Book of Zoology, for the use of Junior 

 Classes. By H. Alleyne Nicholson, M.D., D.Sc.,&c, &c, 

 Lecturer on Natural History in the Medical School of 

 Edinburgh, &c. Wm. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh 

 and London, 1871. 



This work is just what it professes to be. In plain and simple 

 language it describes the characteristic differences between the 

 various sub-kingdoms, classes, and orders of the animal kingdom. 

 The technical terms introduced are not only explained as they 

 occur, but their derivations are given, and a glossary at the end 

 enables the student to refer again to the meaning of the word 

 should it occur a second time. The illustrations are numerous, and 

 are chosen, where possible, from subjects of common occurrence, 

 and include both external appearance and internal structure. 

 The book is well suited to become the text-book for schools, and 

 contains nothing that an ordinary schoolboy of 13 or 14 could 

 not understand. We hail such a work as tending to the intro- 

 duction of Natural History teaching in schools, a subject which 

 has hitherto been neglected owing greatly to the want of such 

 text-books as the one before us. 



Romance of Motion, or a Mode of Motion of the Planetary Bodies 

 in Space; also a Hypothetical Analysis and Synthesis of 

 Nitrogen. By Alec Lee. London : Longmans, Green, 

 and Co., 1871. 



This work is the result of Imagination applied to the Physical 

 Sciences. Starting from the hypothesis that the ether, which 



