The story which we like the most is that styled “The Lady of the Rock,” a tale of the trial and execution of the most unfortunate, though not the worst, of kings, Charles the First; who was, in truth, a martyr to principles which he undoubtedly believed to be true, and who died, rather because he would not yield prerogatives which were behind the age in which it was his unhappy fate to live, than because he grasped at powers unused by previous monarchs, or unauthorized by the then constitution. In this very able sketch the characters of the discrowned king, of the stern fanatic, Cromwell, of the serene and stately Milton, are delineated with rare truth and fidelity, and with a vigor which is equaled by few contemporary novelists. This tale, above any other in the volume, leads us to believe that the authoress might be successful were she to try her hand in a wider field of historical romance; should she do so, however, she must avoid, as in the tale called “Florence de Rohan,” wandering too far from the truth of actual history of well known personages; for it is an absolute rule of historico-romantic composition, that, although events and actions, which never really occurred, may be legitimately ascribed to real personages, provided they are in character and keeping with time, place, and person—real events, and real actions, if related at all, must be related as they occurred. In a word, that although it is allowable to add, it is forbidden to detract aught from the truth of history. This little volume, which, by the way, is dedicated to Mr. Herbert, is very elegantly got up and tastefully bound in gilt muslin by Mr. William Moore of this city. * * * * * _A Hand-Book of the English Language, for the Use of the Universities and Higher Classes of Schools. By R. G. Latham, M. D., F.R.S. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1 vol. 12mo._