Campbell, Charles.--History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia. One volume. J.B. Lippincott and Company, Philadelphia, 1860. In his preface the author says: "Her (Virginia's) documentary history, lying, much of it, scattered and fragmentary, in part slumbering in the dusty oblivion of Trans-Atlantic archives, ought to be collected with pious care, and embalmed in the perpetuity of print." The partial accomplishment of this task, so urgently advocated by the author, has rendered his work incomplete and insufficient for the present day. Upon numerous periods of Virginia history barely touched by him, a great light has since been thrown by the unearthing of manuscripts and pamphlets. Chastellux, E.J.--Voyages dans l'Amérique Septentrionale. Chez Prault, Imprimeur du Roi, Paris, 1786. Two volumes. Chastellux was a Frenchman who visited various parts of America at the time of the Revolution. His observations upon social life in Virginia are less prejudiced than those of many of the foreign visitors to the colony at this period. The work is valuable in that it gives the impressions made by the higher class in Virginia upon one used to the refined life of France in the second half of the 18th century. Cooke, John Esten.--Virginia, a History of the People. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston, 1884. One volume. So many valuable documents and pamphlets treating of Virginia history have been made accessible since this work was published, that it is quite antiquated. In addition, the author has failed to make the best use of the material at his hands, and there are numberless errors for which there can be no excuse. One wonders, when reading the book, whether the author has ever taken the trouble to glance at Hening's Statutes, for he repeats old mistakes that were pointed out by Hening one hundred years ago. The style is entertaining and has given to the work a popularity out of proportion to its historical worth. Dinwiddie, Robert.--The Official Records of Robert Dinwiddie. Introduction and notes by R.A. Brock. Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va., 1883. Two volumes. A large number of manuscripts of various kinds relating to the administration of Dinwiddie have been printed for the first time in this work. Great light is thrown upon Braddock's disasterous expedition and other important events of the French and Indian War. Dinwiddie's account of the obstinacy and unreasonable conduct of the burgesses should be studied in conjunction with the journals of the House which have recently been published.