Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 05.pdf/375

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The Green Bag.

Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missis sippi, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. The annotations which are a feature of this series are as full and valuable as ever.

THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW OF EVI DENCE in their application to the trial of crim inal cases at common law, and under the crim inal codes of the several States. By FRANK S. Rice. The Lawyers' Co-operative Publishing Co., Rochester, N. Y., 1893. Law Sheep. $7.50 net. This work by Mr. Rice is arranged on much the same plan as his two volumes upon the law of evi dence in civil actions, which appeared a year ago. As we said of them, so we say of this. The work can hardly be called a treatise, but is rather a careful arrangement of decisions under appropriate heads. That it will prove a useful work to the profession there can be no doubt; for the grouping of all impor tant decisions upon a given point cannot fail to relieve the working lawyer of much time and labor. With all its merits, however, it is not an ideal work on the law of evidence. That will come, we trust, in the not far distant future. There is still room for a full and comprehensive treatise upon this subject, but a mas ter hand will be required to meet the wants of the profession.

THE LADV OF FORT ST. JOHN. By MARY HARTWELL CATHERWOOD. OLD KASKASKIA. By MARY HARTWELL GATHERWOOD. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. Cloth. $1.25 each. There is a freshness and charm about Miss Catherwood's books which is delightful in the extreme. The two volumes before us are both fascinating stories, written in the author's best vein. In the " Lady of Fort St. John " we have a stirring picture of the " times which tried men's souls," and women's too. The early settlement of Acadia was accompanied with many exciting episodes, but none more sad or heart-rending than the tragedy of Marie de la Tour, the story of which is told in this little book. "Old Kaskaskia " takes us back to the early peaceful days of the Illinois territory, while it was still under French rule; and a charming picture is drawn of the simple life and manners of the olden times. There is plot and incident enough to hold one's interest, and the description of the flood which overwhelmed the old town is wonderfully graphic. No better companions with which to wl.üe away a

summer's hour could be found than these two books by Miss Catherwood

THE PEOPLE'S MONEY. By W. L. TRENHOLM. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1893. There is probably no subject upon which the masses of the people display a greater ignorance than the question of finance; and this work of Mr. Trenholm's is especially addressed to those uninstructed in this important science. The writer gives a clear and suc cinct exposition of the principles which ought to con trol in financial legislation, and the natural laws which govern the operations of trade and exchange. Coming just at this time of financial depression, the book should be widely read. The author's views are eminently sound, and are so plainly put that no reader can fail to thoroughly comprehend them. We heartily commend the book to the attention of all thinking men. It will more than repay a careful perú sal, and cannot fail to be productive of much good.

A WASTED CRIME. By DAVID CHRISTIE MURRAY. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1893. Paper. 50 cents. This is a story of intense interest. The heroine, an ambitious woman, marries above her station, and thereby brings about the disowning of her husband by his father, Lord Audley. The old Lord is seriously injured by an accident, and the young wife conceives the idea of presenting herself as a nurse, hoping in that capacity to effect a reconciliation between father and son. Her scheme would have proved successful had she not in a moment of impulse committed the crime which gives the title to the book. The story is well written, and abounds in dramatic situations. It is just the thing for summer reading.

VESTY OF THE BASINS. By SARAH P. MCLEAN GREENE. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1893. Paper. 50 cents. In this novel Mrs. Greene has given us a fitting companion piece to her " Cape Cod Folks." The northeastern coast of Maine is the scene of the story, and the characters, quaint and original though they may appear, are not overdrawn. We have met " Cap tain Leezur " and " Cap'n Pharo Kobbe " more than once, and have laughed as heartily as will the reader of this book, over their earnest, homely talk. Mrs. Greene's portrayal of these "down-Easters " is really something wonderful. Vesty, the heroine, is a most lovable creation, and enlists the sympathy of the reader from first acquaintance. The book is a posi tive treat, and we commend it to all looking for a really good novel.