In praising this novel so highly we do not forget its faults. But, though perhaps as numerous as its merits, they are by no means equal to them in importance. Something of naturalness and simplicity has been sacrificed to the exigences of the plot; and, while the higher truth is adhered to in the principal scenes and characters, some of the minor ones appear to us rather highly colored. By distributing the fatal gift of beauty with a less lavish hand the author might, we think, have subdued this color: a few commonplace figures would have added to the naturalness of the scene. Sensational the book may be pronounced from a glance through its chain of incidents, yet neither by its tone nor its writing does it belong to the class which we call sensational. Its tone is earnest and sincere, grave social questions being handled with a purity and feeling which makes the book, in spite of its apparent unconsciousness of purpose, a distinctly moral one. _Books Received._ Books for Bright Eyes, embracing "On the Farm," "More Happy Days," "Mountain-Tops," "One Day in our Long Vacation." By Mrs. M. E. Miller. New York: American Tract Society. Cross's Eclectic Short-hand: A New System, adapted both to general use and to verbatim reporting. By J. George Cross, A. M. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. The Waverley Dictionary: An Alphabetical Arrangement of all the Characters in Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. By May Rogers. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. The French Revolution. By Hippolyte Adolphe Taine. Translated by John Durand. (First Volume.) New York: Henry Holt & Co. Maximum Stresses in Framed Bridges. By Professor William Cain, A. M., C. E. (Van Nostrand's Science Series.) New York: D. Van Nostrand. The Ethics of Positivism: A Critical Study. By Giacomo Barzellotti, Professor of Philosophy, Florence. New York: Charles P. Somerby. Grammar-Land; or, Grammar in Fun for the Children of Schoolroom-shire. By M. L. Nesbitt. New York: Henry Holt & Co. The Family Christian Almanac for 1879. By Professor George W. Coakley. New York: American Tract Society. American Colleges: Their Students and Work. By Charles F. Thwing. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. A Story or Two from an Old Dutch Town. By Robert Lowell. Boston: Roberts Brothers. Life and Adventure in Japan. By E. Warren Clark. New York: American Tract Society. Cupid and the Sphinx. By Harford Flemming. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. The Old House Altered. By George C. Mason. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. The Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus. Boston: Roberts Brothers. Handsome Harry. By Sarah E. Chester. New York: American Tract Society. Thanatopsis. By William Cullen Bryant. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.