stories, is one of the most lovable characters in American fiction; and her latest books show a distinctly stronger grasp of life and greater narrative power. _Mrs. Mary Hartwell Catherwood._--Mary Hartwell Catherwood (1847-1902) made a name for herself with some very successful historical romances of the French and Indian Wars and French Canadian and early Illinois life. “The Romance of Dollard” (1889), “The Lady of Fort St. John” (1891), “The White Islander” (1893), and “The Chase of Saint Castin, and Other Stories” (1894) are spirited narratives of battle and siege, of intrigue and jealousy, in which bold and noble characters play their parts well, and which contain vivid descriptions of scenery--in sunshine and storm. Of the early Middle West she wrote “Old Kaskaskia” (1893), “The Spirit of an Illinois Town” (1897), “Little Renault” (1897), “Spanish Peggy” (1899), “The Queen of the Swamp, and Other Plain Americans” (1899), and “Lazarre” (1901). _Rowland E. Robinson._--The dialect and manners of Vermont are reproduced with remarkable fidelity by Rowland E. Robinson (1833-1900) in “Sam Lovel’s Camps” (1889), “Danvis Folks” (1894), and “Uncle ’Lisha’s Shop” (1897). These stories are among our most valuable transcripts of the life of Northern New England. _Francis Hopkinson Smith._--F. Hopkinson Smith (born in Baltimore, 1838) had a varied career before he essayed the novel, at fifty-three. He began life as a clerk in some iron works; then, becoming an engineer and contractor, he took to building sea-walls and lighthouses, and afterwards became well known as an artist. In “Colonel Carter of Cartersville” (1891) he drew an alluring picture of the old _régime_ in the South. “A Gentleman Vagabond, and Some Others” (1895) are varied character stories. “Tom Grogan” (1896) and “Caleb West, Master Diver” (1898) draw upon Mr. Smith’s engineering experiences. He has also written “The Other Fellow” (1899), “The Fortunes of Oliver Horn” (1902), “The Under Dog” (1903), “Colonel Carter’s Christmas” (1904), “At Close Range” (1905), and “The Wood Fire in No. 3” (1905). If some of his persons are conventional and indistinct, others stand out as skilfully characterised and permanent figures in his literary gallery.