The man who has a library of his own collection is able to contemplate himself objectively, and is justified in believing in his own existence. No other man but he would have made precisely such a combination as his. Had he been in any single respect different from what he is, his library, as it exists, never would have existed. Therefore, surely he may exclaim, as in the gloaming he contemplates the backs of his loved ones, 'They are mine, and I am theirs.'

But the eternal note of sadness will find its way even through the keyhole of a library. You turn some familiar page, of Shakspeare it may be, and his 'infinite variety,' his 'multitudinous mind,' suggests some new thought, and as you are wondering over it, you think of Lycidas, your friend, and promise yourself the pleasure of having his opinion of your discovery the very next time when by the fire you two 'help waste a sullen day.' Or it is, perhaps, some quainter, tenderer fancy that engages your solitary attention, something in Sir Philip Sidney or Henry Vaughan, and then you turn to look for Phyllis, ever

the best interpreter of love, human or divine. Alas! the printed page grows hazy beneath a filmy eye as you suddenly remember that Lycidas is dead'dead ere his prime,' —and that the pale cheek of Phyllis will never again be relumined by the white light of her pure enthusiasm. And then you fall to thinking of the inev itable, and perhaps, in your present mood, not unwelcome hour, when the 'ancient peace' of your old friends will be disturbed, when rude hands will dislodge them from their accustomed nooks and break up their goodly company.

'Death bursts amongst them like a shell,
And strews them over half the town.'

They will form new combinations, lighten other men's toil, and soothe another's sorrow. Fool that I was to call anything

LITERARY, SOCIAL, HISTORICAL,

MUSICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL,

DRAMATIC, POLITICAL

Charles Scribner's Sons, Publishers

743-745 Broadway, New York

ESSAYS ON LITERATURE, ART, MUSIC, ETC., PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743-745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.fee<<<<

HENRY ADAMS.

HISTORICAL ESSAYS. (12m0, $2.00.)

CONTENTS: Primitive Rights of Women-Captaine John Smith Harvard College, 1786-1787— Napoleon I. at St. Domingo-The Bank of England Restriction-The Declaration of Paris, 1861-The Legal Tender Act-The New York Gold Conspiracy-The Session, 1869-1870.

"Mr. Adams is thorough in research, exact in statement, judicial in tone, broad of view, picturesque and impressive in description, nervous and expressive in style. His characterizations are terse, pointed, clear."-New York Tribune.

AUGUSTINE BIRRELL.

OBITER DICTA, First Series. (16m0, $1.00.) CONTENTS: Carlyle-On the Alleged Obscurity of Mr. Browning's Poetry-Truth_Hunting-Actors-A Rogue's Memoirs-The Via Media-Falstaff.

"Some admirably written essays, amusing and brilliant, The book is the book of a highly cultivated man, with a real gift of expression, a good deal of humor, a happy fancy."-Spectator. OBITER DICTA, Second Series. (16m0, $1.00.) CONTENTS: Milton-Pope-johnson-Burke-The Muse of History-Lamb-Emerson-The Office of LiteratureWorn Out Types-Cambridge and the Poets-Book-buying.

"Neat, apposite, clever, full of quaint allusions, happy thoughts, and apt, unfamiliar quotations."-Boston Advertiser.

RES JUDICATAE. Papers and Essays. (16mo, $1.00.)

Mr. Birrell's essays, which are written in the same charming vein as his "Obita Dicta," relate to Richardson, Gibbon, Cowper, Borrow, Newman, Matthew Arnold, Lamb's Letters, Saint-Beuve, "Authors in Court," Hazlitt, "Nationality" and "The Reformation."