214 REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 



Chinese Heart Throbs. By Jennie V. Hughes. Introduction by Mary 

 Stone, m.d. New York : Fleming H. Itevell Company, pp. 188. 

 This is a book of missionary stories, written for an audience already 

 in sympathy with missions, or at least with evangelical Christianity. 

 Miss Hughes has a considerable degree of literary skill, and she has 

 told her tales in a fashion that is sure to be interesting, and even 

 captivating to the audience for which they were evidently written. It 

 is no dispraise of the book to say that a casual reader of the stories in 

 it would say without looking at the title page, that it must have been 

 written by a woman and probably by a Methodist. The writer's 

 emotions have a strong effect upon her style, and one feels that she 

 wrote as though she were speaking aloud to a listening group of 

 friends. Her convictions, and the joyful proclamation of them, 

 speak out in nearly every sentence. She is a missionary, and is 

 proud to be so ; proud, too, of the evidence she can bring that the 

 mystic element in her religious life finds so much assurance from 

 the facts of experience. Were the Bishop of Hippo to come alive 

 again, and to read this book, he would hail a kindred spirit ; one 

 of the company of those whose hearts are restless, until they find 

 themselves in God. 



After the excellent introduction by Dr. Stone, there are ten 

 stories of individual Chinese, who were known to the writer. 

 Each story would be interesting in itself, merely for the recital of 

 facts ; but the noteworthy thing about each is the reflection of the 

 writer's faith. The meaning of experience will vary with personal 

 conviction ; but there has rarely been a scoffer who made the test 

 of living in the company of one who was accustomed to see all 

 things in life sub specie acternitatis, who has not at least been 

 moved to respect, and often to wonder whether the religious ex- 

 planation of life does not fit the facts better than any other. The 

 present work may not by itself accomplish such a miracle, for it is 

 net very long ; but it may help to prepare the way. At the very 

 least, if the reader is one who counts nothing human as strange, he 

 will follow each tale with a feeling that the human interest in it is 

 quite enough to make it worth while. Finally there are a number 

 of half-tone illustrations, all well done, and all directly illustrating 

 the text. H. K. W. 



The History of Shanghai. By G. Lanning and S. Couling, m.a. 



Published for the Shanghai Municipal Council by Kelly & Waish, 



Ltd., Shanghai. 

 This long expected work has at last begun to arrive. On the fly leaf 

 it is given as Part I. We think this should be Vol. I. as this 



