SOULE'S LEGAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. A VOLUME TO COMPLETE SWELL'S ESSENTIALS. % Among all the books of i this decade, published es- I pecially for the use of stu- dents, none has taken such
- extensive and permanent
i hold on popular favor as < Swell's Essentials of
- THE Law. To the student
struggling with rudiments in some remote country office, and to the law-school stu- dent "cramming" for re- views or examinations, it has been alike an efficient aid. Even lawyers, paus- ing for a moment in the in- tervals of case-hunting, have found it refreshing to go back in these books to the rudimentary principles of |, the law. I , ■ . - ^ - Of the two volumes thus far published, the Black- °- STONE has had a wider sale, and has been adopted as a text-book in more law schools : but Vol. II. (Pleading, Contracts, and Equity) has not lagged far behind. There has been great complaint, however, that the series did not cover more subjects, and so furnish a more perfect skeleton or review-book of an entire course of legal study This want is now to be supplied by the publication (in February) of Vol. III., covering the subjects of Evi- dence, Torts, and Real Property. The text-book selected to form the basis of the pan upon Evidence is Chamberlayne's edition of Best's Principles of the Law of Evidence, — a great favorite in the law schools. The part devoted to Torts is an abstract of the recent and admirable treatise by Professor Pollock. Williams on Real Property is the standard taken in the third part of the volume, — a work which has bad the approval of the English and American bar through several editions. Any volume containing the substance of these three good books is sure to be useful to lawyers as well as to students, and ought to find even a larger sale than its predecessors. Nearly every reader of this must have seen Vols. I, and II. of Ewell's Essentials ; but lest it should come into the hands of any one who does not already know about them, it may be well to say here that the Essen- tials were planned by Professor Ewell, of the Union College of Law in Chicago, — a successful lecturer and veteran legal author, — to help stu- dents in reading law, by selecting from the best text-books the princi- ples of each topic, unincumbered by citations or footnotes, or any matter not absolutely necessary for the statement of the principle. By the liberal use of black type he has emphasized the catch-words and more prominent ideas of his text, making it easier to understand it on first reading, or to run over it in review. The three volumes which will constitute the series as soon as Vol. HI. is ready will be sold together, in sheep binding, for $7.50, or in leatherette, for $6.00. Separately, they will be sold as follows : — Vol. I., sheep, $3.00; leatherette, $2.50. Vol. II., sheep. $2.50 : leatherette, $2.00. Vol. III., sheep, $2.50: leatherette. $2.00. Prices all itet. Sent, post-paid, on receipt of these prices. USEFULNESS OF JONES'S INDEX. Hon. E. p. Green, of Akron, Ohio, writes, on receiving a copy of Jones's Index to Legal Periodicals, " Before its arrival I had spent half its cost, in time, looking for an article on ' Damages, Remote and Consequential.' On its receipt, two 7;//««/^j- — instead of two days' useless or unsuccessful hunting — showed me where it was." METCALF ON CONTRACTS. NEW EDITION. One object of the issue of this number of Legal Bibliography is to announce the publication (January 15) of .a new edition of Judge Met- calf's Principles of the Law of Contracts, as applied by Courts OF Law, thoroughly revised and annotated by F. F. Heard, Esq. Of the first edition. The American Law Review, then, as now, noted for the ability and discrimination of its book notices, said : — " This excellent treatise (destined, in our judgment, to a wide reputation) is a succinct statement of the principles of the law of contracts, enunciated in a style so terse and lucid as to impress them upon the mind of the reader, not less by the perspicuity of the ideas than by the felicity and vigor of the language used for their expression. Throughout the book it would be almost impossible to de- tect a superfluous word, — quite impossible to find a redundant sentence, — while the apparently easy and natural development of the theme proves the writer's remarkable power of analysis. . . . We know of few books so likely to ground the student thoroughly in this important branch of the law, or to which the old practitioner would turn more confidently for the statement of a principle on which he could entirely rely." No elementary book ever had a more deliberate and mature develop- ment. Arising in a course of lectures delivered by Judge Metcalf to students of law in 1828 and 1829, passing through another tentative stage as a course of articles in the American Jurist in 1838-41, it was not published until 1867, when the ripe years and experience of the author, aided by the judicious criticism of friends, enabled him to present it for the first time in book-form, as the ripe product of a life devoted to learn- ing and expounding the law. In this form it has stood the test of twenty years' use without change, and has been a favorite with the profession and in law schools. In preparing another edition, Judge Metcalf's heirs were fortunate in securing the services of Franklin Fiske Heard, of Boston, who has had a long experience both as a lawyer and as a legal writer, and who brought to the task the enthusiasm of personal friendship for the author. His preface briefly and modestly describes what he has done, thus : — " Since the publication of the first edition of this Work, the Law of Contracts has been much amplified by judicial decision. " In the additional Notes there is a selection of the latest cases in illustration of the Text. " The original Text and Notes remain intact. " A few new Sections have been introduced into the Text and are enclosed in square brackets. " The original paging has been preserved for convenience of reference. "The very excellent Index which was prepared by the author has been enlarged." Although the new edition is thus enlarged and improved, the publisher has thought it wise to keep the price within the means of students. Hitherto it has been catalogued at |;4.oo ; the net price will now be $3,50. Upon the receipt of this sum, it will be sent, charges prepaid, to any address . An Appreciative Letter. — A Nebraska lawyer sent in a small order without the money, and without giving any Boston reference. As it is rather difficult to keep run of the responsibility of each of the 60,000 American lawyers, the book was sent CO. D. (as is usual in such cases), with a letter running thus: "Thinking that I may save you trouble in remitting, and also to avoid the inconvenience of opening a special account, I send 'Collect on Delivery.' Please pay the Express Company, and oblige," etc. In answer came this letter : " I am in receipt.of your favor of the 1st, and also book sent C. O. D. We are not in the habit of receiving or buying books in this manner, and my first impression was not to receive It ; but your ingenious manner of conveying to me the idea that you were afraid to tru.st me for it, and also 3'our kindness in saving me the trouble of remitting, captured me, and I paid for it as requested. I rather admire genius, even if it is sometimes insultmg to me." It is of course unnecessary to say that no insult was intended. But whoever orders books from a firm with whom he has no open account, should send money with the order, or satisfactory references easy of access to the seller. Otherwise, he should expect them to be sent C. O. D., and ought to regard even that method as a compliment ; for many firms will not send a C. O. D. package without first receiving a guarantee that it will be paid for on receipt.
