Transcriber's Note: Underscores "_" before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Equal signs "=" before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold= in the original text. The carat character "^", designates a superscript. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved. Typographical errors have been silently corrected but other variations in spelling and punctuation remain unaltered. Footnotes have been moved to the end of the article in which they occur. [Illustration: Eng^d. by J. T. Gage, New York. THE LESSON.] THE ECLECTIC MAGAZINE OF FOREIGN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. OLD SERIES COMPLETE IN LXIII. VOLS. JANUARY, 1844, TO DECEMBER, 1864. NEW SERIES, VOL. XLI. JANUARY TO JUNE, 1885. NEW YORK: E. R. PELTON, PUBLISHER, 25 BOND STREET. 1885. INDEX TO VOLUME XLI. FRONTISPIECE: THE LESSON. PAGE. AGNOSTICISM AND THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY, LAST WORDS ABOUT. By Herbert Spencer _Nineteenth Century_ 127 AMERICA, A WORD MORE ABOUT. By Matthew Arnold _Nineteenth Century_ 433 AMERICAN AUDIENCE, THE. By Henry Irving _Fortnightly Review_ 475 ANCIENT ORGANS OF PUBLIC OPINION. By Prof. R. C. Jebb. _Fortnightly Review_ 107 ARNOLD’S LAY SERMON, MR. _Spectator_ 259 ART, A FEW NOTES ON PERSIAN. _Chambers’s Journal_ 396 AUTHORS AS SUPPRESSORS OF THEIR BOOKS. By W. H. Olding, LL.B. _Gentleman’s Magazine_ 262 AUTOMATIC WRITING, OR THE RATIONALE OF PLANCHETTE. By Frederick W. H. Myers _Contemporary Review_ 547 BANK OF ENGLAND, THE. By Henry May _Fortnightly Review_ 679 BEHIND THE SCENES. By F. C. Burnand _Fortnightly Review_ 408 BIG ANIMALS _Cornhill Magazine_ 778 BISMARCK’S CHARACTER, PRINCE _Temple Bar_ 386 BLACKSTONE. By G. P. Macdonell _Macmillan’s Magazine_ 703 BYGONE CELEBRITIES AND LITERARY RECOLLECTIONS. By Charles Mackay _Gentleman’s Magazine_ 29 BYGONE CELEBRITIES AND LITERARY RECOLLECTIONS. By Charles Mackay, LL.D. _Gentleman’s Magazine_ 165 CAMORRA, THE. _Saturday Review_ 381 COLERIDGE AS A SPIRITUAL THINKER. By Principal Tulloch. _Fortnightly Review_ 305