concern among multitudes of thoughtful people to acquire some clear and correct ideas upon the subject. Fierce controversies have sprung up in relation to it, which are liable so to vitiate the statements of conflicting parties, that many are at a loss to know what representations they can trust, and how to get at the unquestioned facts. To all persons in this state of mind, Dr. Nicholson's work will be especially welcome, as it is a clear, succinct, and dispassionate account of the present state of palæontological knowledge, or of its descriptive parts independent of the contested theories to which it has given rise. His book is, moreover, compendious in form, and moderate in cost, to a degree that is quite unusual in a work so profusely and elegantly illustrated. Its preparation has involved great and careful labor, and the artists have done it excellent justice in the skill and fidelity of their pictorial representations. We know of no other volume that will so well meet the wants of a large class of readers at the present time. An excellent feature of the book is its copious bibliography or literature of reference appended to the leading chapters. In the appendix there is a tabular view of the chief divisions of the animal kingdom, followed by an ample glossary of technical terms, and a very full index.
An American Girl, and her Four Years in a Boys' College. By Sola. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 269. Price, $1.50.
This book records the experiences of a young lady who got a craze to go to college, and when a certain collegiate institution took off the embargo upon feminine opportunity, and admitted girls to the regular course of study, she argued her mother into consent, and entered the establishment. She has adventures, mishaps, exploits, and a lively time generally, both in doors and out. The book is written with considerable spirit, and conveys a very good idea of college life, in its feminine aspect. The writer is somewhat critical of many things, but believes profoundly in women going to men's colleges. In the sequel, she gets married to one of the students, the circumstances of love-making, while in college, being duly presented; but what possible or conceivable bearing the course of study pursued had upon the prospective life of the woman, who passed from the valedictory platform to the hymeneal altar, appeareth not in this book of "An American Girl."
Money. By Francis A. Walker. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 550. Price, $4.
It is no disparagement to a book of this kind to state that it covers no new ground: efforts after originality in the treatment of subjects of this class are seldom successful or profitable. It is high, but in this case well-deserved, praise to be able to say that it is impartial in its statements, judicial in its conclusions, and full, clear, and exact, in its explanations—the presentation, as a whole, of the much-vexed question of money being popular and comprehensible.
The book will be a valuable one, because, among other reasons, the author has allowed himself space in which to classify his subject fully, and to elaborate details in a way to bring out likenesses and differences that the casual reader is likely to overlook.
There are three general divisions: Part I., "Metallic Money," under which head the function and distribution of money, the production of the precious metals, their coinage and circulation, are considered. Chapters XII., "The Concurrent Circulation of Two Metals," and XIII., "The Battle of the Standards," are of great present interest. They constitute a full and exceedingly fair presentation of the opposed views of the bi-metalists and the mono-metalists. The author emphasizes the fact, often lost sight of, that the question is one into which political considerations enter so largely, that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to settle it on strictly economic principles. Indeed, throughout the book the important influence of legislation, habit, sentiment, and other the like factors, upon economic affairs is more fully recognized than is usual in such treatises. Part II. is devoted to "Inconvertible Paper Money." Its theory is stated and historically illustrated. The chief danger of its use is seldom better stated than in the following paragraph: "The danger of over-issue is one which never ceases to threaten an inconvertible paper-money. The path winds even along the verge of a precipice. Vigilance must never be relaxed. The prudence and self-restraint of years count for nothing, or
