This is not saying that his book lacks attractive characters. Prieto is a well depicted jester, Chucho an admirably cut figure, Don Eustaquio, though somewhat melodramatic and somewhat out of place in that collection of beings of flesh and bone, is the providence which, dressed in jeans and working in clay, is brought in to give some outlet from the tangle; but, above all, the family of Ortegal is of the most delicate and tender which has been here described. Lamartine and Daudet might well have drawn the picture, if Lamartine and Daudet had dedicated themselves to painting Mexican types of the humbler class. There is no doubt that the world of Gamboa is, as that of Carlyle, a heap of fetid filth, shadowed by a leaden sky, where only groans and cries of desperation are heard; but, as in the terrible imagination of the British thinker, flashes of kindliness bringing counsel and resignation, cleave the sky of this Gehenna. In fine, _Suprema Ley_ is a great success, a success which compensates for many failures and, by it, Señor Gamboa has placed himself among the first Mexican novelists--not, indeed, first of all, because for me, Delgado and _Micros_ hold yet a higher place. IRENEO PAZ. [Illustration] Ireneo Paz was born at Guadalajara, on July 3, 1836. His father died, when Ireneo was a child, leaving the widow in poverty. When a boy of thirteen years, he began his studies at the _Seminario_, laboring for his support throughout his course. By diligence and earnestness, he made an excellent record, gaining the respect and esteem of teachers and fellow-students. Graduating from the _Seminario_ in 1851, he took his baccalaureate in philosophy at the University in 1854, and was licensed as a lawyer in 1861. In his youth he wrote verse “as a tree sprouts leaves.” Identifying himself with the liberal party, he soon became prominent in politics. He was also a Captain in the national guard. During this period he published _El Independiente_ (The Independent), _El Dia_ (The Day), and _Sancho Panza_.