SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
73 
better, have taken place in the life of the country labourer. The lives of Cobbett, 
Clare, and Wm. Huntington might, we think, have been spared. The picture of 
rural life which Mr. Heath draws is largely, though not entirely, wanting in the 
pastoral and idyllic scenes with which a residence in the country used to be asso- 
ciated ; but there is plenty of human interest, and the book is by no means dull. 
Amusing and, so far as we know, original anecdotes enliven its pages, such as 
that of the Kentish boy who wished he was “ a gentleman.” “ What would you 
do?” he was asked. “ Sit in front of the fire and eat bulls’-eyes,” was the reply. 
There is a certain amount of the odium theologicum which might be eliminated in 
a future edition, should the work reach one, and a little more exactness in detail 
would improve it. We can assure him that “ the Jesuits ” have neither orphanages 
nor “nunneries” in the Weald of Sussex, nor does any “Jesuit saint” bear the 
name “Alphegius.” 
Mr. Heath writes for the elders, but Dr. Gordon-Stables appeals to the young 
in his handsome volume Sable and White, “ the Autobiography of a Show Dog,” 
(Jarrold & Sons, 3s. 6d.) — made the more attractive by Mr. Harrison Weir’s 
excellent illustrations. Stories of this kind have long been popular with children : 
“ Bob, the Spotted Terrier,” was among the earliest of our friends, and so was 
“Puss and the Captain,” also illustrated, unless we are mistaken, by Mr. Harrison 
Weir. “ Luath,” the narrator, is certainly a collie of culture; he quotes Burns, 
Moore, Gray, and other poets, and occasionally — but only occasionally — indulges 
in improving reflections. The story, however, is full of interest, and Dr. Gordon- 
Stables does not allow it to lose in the telling. This beautifully printed book is 
just the thing for a birthday present for a boy of ten or thereabouts — and this is 
not an unsupported opinion, for it is endorsed by the youngster to whom we have 
handed our copy. 
The date of publication prevented us from recommending the first instalment 
of The Country Month by Month (paper, is.; cloth, 2s) in time for perusal during 
March — the month to which it refers ; but if the well-known Latin adage ex uno 
disce omnes is to be believed, our recommendation will apply equally to later 
volumes. Mrs. Owen — the editor of the “ Son of the Marshes” — and Professor 
Boulger have collaborated with great success, and have brought out a volume 
charming in appearance (for which we presume the publishers, Messrs. Bliss, 
Sands, & Foster, are to be thanked), literary in style, and accurate in statement. 
Many books of this kind have appeared from time to time, but we know none 
which so well deserves credit for being “up to date” as this pretty little volume. 
Our critical eye rests on only one slip, and that is open to explanation ; it is on 
p. 50, where “charlock and the wild mustard plant” — usually considered as names 
for one and the same thing — are spoken of as though they were distinct. There 
is some well-chosen poetry, but not too much of it, in honour of the daffodil. 
We should have been glad to see Miss Tynan’s “Golden Lilies” laid under 
contribution : 
“ O daffodils all aflame, 
I know from whence ye came. 
To warm March with your blaze : 
As Gabriel went a-winging 
Down pleasant country ways. 
He heard your trumpets ringing.” 
We shall await with interest the further volumes of this series. 
The Voices of the Stars, by the Rev. James E. Walker, M.A. (Elliot 
Stock), is, to quote Mr. Walker’s own words, “ a book of scientific facts and of 
mystical correspondences between the natural and supernatural.” These “mystical 
correspondences ” are beyond the scope of Nature Notes, and we confine our 
remarks to the scientific part of the book. Mr. Walker has done his work well. 
He takes in hand light, the sun, the earth, and each of the planets, and in 
concise and intelligible diction he places before his reader the most salient points 
of information on each of these subjects. It is a book for students, but somewhat 
beyond a mere beginner of astronomy. References are given to the best authors 
of the day in verification of the scientific statements, and not the least valuable 
parts of the book are the copious footnotes. We might take exception to the 
title, for the book deals not with the stars but with the solar system only. 
This, however, if a blemish, is a pardonable one. 
