830 Reviews of Books self. It may be there was nothing more, as Verbeck may have been too busy to commit his impressions to paper. It may be that editorial pru- dence has suppressed matter till a more propitious time. But the selec- tions we have and the hints of what we might have had, such as notes on epidemics (p. 97), a bit of Japanese table-talk (p. 105), and views on Japanese art (p. 177), lectures on "personal reminiscences," whet our appetite for more. Then his criticism in later years of certain race characteristics and certain phases of missionary methods would have un- doubtedly aroused attention and might have been helpful. Of course it will not be seriously maintained that lack of space prevented any of Ver- beck's product from incorporation, when we see the unwarranted obtru- sion of the author over page after page, one chapter indeed being com- pactly headed " The Biographer in Tokio." Thus the volume is made up, something of Verbeck as a man, some- thing of him as a missionary, something of him as a statesman, inter- larded with a considerable something of Griffis ; a mixture of capital merits and unfortunate defects which were possibly unavoidable in part. The whole performance may be summarized as without structural purpose, unless that of mere entertainment can be called such. With this as the aim, however, it is excellently done, as Mr. Griffis blocked out his task so as to allow of a series of highly interesting essays which he has lumped together, without making apparent any systematic design to show a com- plete Verbeck. „ ,, ^ C. Meriwether. Canada under British Rule, ijdo-igoo. By Sir John G. Bourixot. [Cambridge Historical Series.] (Cambridge : University Press. 1900. Pp. xii, 346.) Sir John Bourinot's book maintains the general level of excellence of the other volumes in the series to which it belongs, and furnishes a useful, though necessarily brief, account of Canada during the last hun- dred and forty j^ears. An introductory chapter summarizes the chief events in the period of French exploration and occupation, and the political, economic and social conditions in Canada under the French regime. Then follows a review of the early years of British rule, the foundation of Nova Scotia, and the Canadian aspects of the American Revolution, an especially interesting account being given under the last head of the United Empire Loyalists, to whose subsequent political in- fluence, particularly in New Brunswick, frequent reference is later made. The remainder of the story is grouped under the successive periods of the development of representative institutions (1784-1812), the war of 1812-1815, the evolution of responsible government (1815-1839), "a new era" of colonial government (1839-1867), marked by the union of the Canadas and the establishment of responsible government, a sum- mary review of the evolution of confederation, and the history of Canada since 1S67, when federation was achieved. A final chapter reviews the relations of Canada with the United States and the influence of the Dominion in imperial councils.
