influencing the vital actions of the body." And, such being unquestionably the case, our most practical concernment is with the best means of gaining the benefit of these systematic exercises. Those who have well equipped gymnasiums within reach may be congratulated that the problem is solved for them, but the great mass of people are without such opportunities. The little work of Dr. Hartelius, which has been so judiciously translated, is exactly what is wanted for universal home use. Systematic exercises are "described and illustrated, which are suited to strengthen and develop all parts of the muscular system, and this without the use of any other apparatus than a bench or seat, and even this is by no means indispensable. All that is required for exercise is the body itself, and as most people possess this outfit they need not be put to the slightest expense to secure a comprehensive system of gymnastic exercises, and which, moreover, shall be just as efficient as they choose to make it. Following the descriptions of movements are lists adapted for specific purposes, and for infants and old persons, as well as for those in full vigor.
The Alternative, a Study in Psychology. New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 387. Price, $2.75.
This anonymous work is a vigorously written polemic on metaphysics in its more modern aspects. It is written with a conservative animus, and the author is of opinion that he has helped forward psychological inquiry in several important particuars. Mr. Henry Sidgwick, certainly a very competent authority, says, in an advertisement to the volume: "I have had an unexpected interim of enforced cessation from my work, which I have employed in reading about half the proof-sheets you sent me. Without reading any more—which for the present I have not time to do I feel no doubt that the book deserves the attention of all students of philosophy from the amount of vigorous, precise, and independent thinking that it contains thinking which appears to me generally consistent, so far as it has been completely developed, though, at some important points, the work of definition and analysis does not seem to me to have been carried far enough. I also find the terse, forcible individuality of the style attractive on the whole, though I can not but wish that the author had somewhat restrained his impulse to innovate in technical terminology."
Idyls of Norway, and other Poems. By Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 185. Price, $1.25.
This is a collection of brief poems, some forty in number, mostly on light and fanciful subjects suited to sentimental treatment. They are of excellent literary merit, and show a skillful mastery of English versification that is certainly remarkable in an author writing in a foreign tongue. The pieces in this volume are considerably varied, both in form and in the subject chosen; we have been most struck, however, with those on "The Sea," "The Air," and on "Evolution," the latter of which we have taken the liberty of transferring to our pages. The poetic treatment of the enlarged views of nature, for which we are indebted to science, is an important part of the "progress of thought."
Aboriginal American Literature.
The second volume of Dr. D. G. Brinton's "Library of Aboriginal American Literature," is announced to appear in June. It is the "Iroquois Book of Rites," comprising the original text and a literal translation, with introduction, notes, and glossary, and is edited by Horatio Hale, Esq. This is a native composition, partly in the Mohawk and partly in the Onondaga language, and includes the proceedings observed in the council when a deceased chief is lamented and his successor is installed. The forms, after having been preserved and handed down in memory for several generations, were written down, by desire of the chiefs, when the language was first reduced to writing.
Science in Short Chapters. By W. Mattieu Williams, F. C. S. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Pp. 308.
This volume contains a great number of brief essays, popularly written, on a wide variety of scientific subjects, and the name of the author is a sufficient guarantee of the general soundness of the information and criticism presented in the book.
