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deserving only one , nor spoil his labours by efforts to compress important evtnts unduly . He is moreover master o ( f an art winch Johnsons contemporaries lacked—the art of writing trifles with dignity . Mr . Brooks sometimes displays a truly Xenophonic attention to pertinent details ; ' his care in this respect has , indeed , reminded us of the earlier chapters of the "Anabasis . " The early

life of Knox as here told is as entertaining as a fiction , and his subsequent career during the campaign in which he played so prominent a part is described in a manner worthy of all praise . As the writer proceeds he points out traits in the character of Knox which go far to explain the cause of his success—his shrewd insight , his indomitable perseverance , his staunch and cheery

friendship where friendship was deserved . Some aspects of his public career have reminded us of Robert Walpole ; while the interest which he displayed in the management of his immense estate was equal to that of Scott or Temple . We hope thjs admirable study of a truly great man will be widely read and appreciated . The illustrations are excellent and numerous .

Philip Winwood . A sketch of the domestic history of an American Captain in the war of Independence ; embracing events that occurred between and during the years 176 3 and 17 S 6 , in New York and London : written by his enemy in war , Herbert Russell , Lieutenant in the Loyalist forces . Presented anew by Robert Neilson Stephens . Illustrated by E . W . D . Hamilton ( 6 s ) . —Chatto and Windus .

MESSRS . CHATTO AND WINDVJS secured a good novel - when they undertook to publish "Philip Winwood , " almost every page of which . book bears the unmistakable impress of that quality which rfor . waht of a better name we \ vill term "distinction . " It is a quality not easily defined ; but many readers will understand us when we say that it is present in much of Fielding and . in more

of Smollet , in almost all of the greater romances of Scott , and in much of the work of our distinguished Brother Sir Walter Besant . It is more often lacking from the novels of to-day . than any other quality ; unless it be a sedulously finished style . We confess to a strong partiality for stories in which , as in the volume we have just been reading , the action is for the most part

carried on by half a dozen persons . We have here almost a paucity of performers , but they play their parts exceedingly well . The story is not short , but we wished it longer . The hero is , in our judgment , drawn with consummate skill . At once gentleman , scholar and man of action , he almost invariably acts with intuitive propriety . So obviously is this the case that we can

easily pardon the few indiscretions of his life . His almost unconscious courtship of Madge Faringfield is narrated with exquisite tact , and his subsequent estrangement from his young wife ,, entirely due to caprice and wilful impropriety on her part , is the best thing of its kind that we have recently read . Mrs . Philip Winwood is indeed a young lady of light scruples , and her character stands out in very clear relief , with an almost puritanical fathei

and a weak mother in the back-ground . Ned , the scapegrace brother , is not a new character , but Mr . Stephens , who is a good prose dramatist , has contrived to make good uae of him to the furtherence of the story . The time of the action being that of the American War we have plenty of accessory circumstance to help the plot if help were needed . As it is , we are so pleased with "Philip Winwood" that we shall look eagerly for the next book by Mr . Stephens .

New Century Library ( 2 s net per vol . ) . —T . Nelson and Sons . The Works of WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY . —Vol . vi ., the Book of Snobs , Christmas Books , and Sketches and Travels in London . WERE Thackeray to again come amongst us in the flesh we should have a bone to pick with him . What or who is a snob ?

Thackeray seems to have met with them in eyerv walk of lifej He makes us all sinners in this matter alike . The cap fits only too well ; we are altogether undone , and must own the . soft impeachment , " Non ragionam di lor , ma guarda e passa . " There is , much pleasant writing and genial humour in these Christmas booklets by " Mr . M . A . Titmarsh , " but the

Christmas books BY his great rival , Dickens , have so completely monopolised reader and critic that , although unquestionably clever , these sketches for the festive season are now seldom read . And yet the Kickleburys on the Rhine are in no way inferior to the Kilmanseggs of Hood , or other funny folks ; and we are glad to

see them in such charming new dress . We can strongly recommend Young and old to purchase this dainty little volume , particularly if they look to enjoy some leisure hours at Christmas . Thackeray is a welcome . guest , come sunshine come storih , and is in great demand since his reintroduction by Messrs . Nelson .

The Settlement after the war in South Africa . By M . J . Farrelly , LL . D . ( 10 s net ) . —Macmillan and Co . THIS work has agreeably surprised us . So many writers have their own bran-new panacea for our South African ills that we are of ten . confused by the multiplicity of their prescriptions , and have not perhaps realised that in a multitude of counsellors there is

safety . We were therefore pleased to discover , in this book that Messrs . Macmillan have sent us , a grasp of detail and a clearness of insig-ht which has done much to render it in many ways authoritative if not final . We do not believe anybody could have drawn up a more able statement of a complex subject . We fail to see that

any writer can give us a final word on this "settlement" just now . The opportunity is not yet ripe . Recent telegrams from the front show clearly that the post guerilla warfare is likely to be of longer duration than was anticipated , and it is quite impossible to draw up a scheme for a settlement until we know more fully what

Books Of The Day.

the condition of our recent annexations will be in the course of the next few months . Mr . Farrelly , who is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Cape Colony , has had exceptional facilities for the study of his subject at first hand . We need hardly say that he has used these facilities to the best advantage . He is too shrewd an observer and too acute a logician to suppose that such

a far reaching topic can be settled by half a dozen politicians in the course of an afternoon ' s chat " across the walnuts and the wine . " There are assuredly amongst us Big Englanders as well as Little Englanders , and these patriotic gentlemen would get us in very bad odour abroad were they wholly free from the salutary checks of a strong opposition . Mr . Farrelly has been very careful and his well

to show that the war was not of our seeking , we hope - weighed paragraphs will be read by many journalists and politicians on the Continent . Our cause is not so strong that -we can afford to lightly regard the arguments of so able a champion . Had the recent Boer war literature been entirely penned by writers of Mr . FarreHy ' s abilities and experience it would be contained in a verv much smaller number of volumes . As we have hinted ,

this cannot be the last word ; but it is a sound , conscientious piece of work , and is a noble contribution towards a right understanding of a large and difficult subject . Bold type and rough paper make this volume easy to read—which is no small consideration at the present juncture . The demand for this work can hardly be small : for we know of no other covering the same ground .

BOOKS RECEIVED . Marshfield the Observer and the Death-Dance . Studies of Character and Action . By Egerton Castle ( 6 s ) . —Macmillan and Co ., Limited . Modern Broods or developments unlocked for . By Charlotte Mary Yonge ( 6 s ) . —Macmillan and Co . . , Limited .

An Obstinate Parish . By M . L . Lord ( 2 s 6 d ) . —T . Fisher Unwin . Four Months Besieged , the Story of Ladysmith . Being unpublished letters from H . H . S . Pearse , the "Daily News " special correspondent . With maps and illustrations from sketches and photographs made . by the author { 6 s ) ,- ^ Macmillan and Co ., Limited .

The City of Chartres . Its Cathedral and Churches . B y H . J . L . J . Masse , M . A . With forty-seven illustrations . — George Bell and Sons .

Eton . By A . Glutton-Brbck , B . A . With forty-six illustrations from photographs by the Rev . T . Perkins , and others ( 3 s 6 d net ) . —George Bell and Sons . .

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