In the closing sentences of the preface to this edition, Mr. Ticknor says: "Its preparation has been a pleasant task, scattered lightly over the years that have elapsed since the first edition of this work was published, and that have been passed, like the rest of my life, almost entirely among my own books. That I shall ever recur to this task again, for the purpose of further changes or additions, is not at all probable. My accumulated years forbid any such anticipation; and therefore, with whatever of regret I may part from what has entered into the happiness of so considerable a portion of my life, I feel that now I part from it for the last time. _Extremum hoc munus habeto_." This is a very natural feeling, and gracefully expressed; but whatever of sadness there may be in parting from a book which has so long been a constant resource, a daily companion, may in this case be tempered by the thought that the work, as now dismissed, is so well founded, so symmetrically proportioned, so firmly built, as to defy the sharpest criticism--that of Time itself. * * * * * RECENT AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY. The History, Civil, Political, and Military, of the Southern Rebellion, from its Incipient Stages to its Close. Comprehending, also, all Important State-Papers, Ordinances of Secession, Proclamations, Proceedings of Congress, Official Reports of Commanders, etc., etc. By Orville J. Victor. New York. James D. Torrey. Vols. I. and II. 8vo. pp. viii., 531; viii., 537. per vol. $2.50. Biographical Sketches of Illinois Officers engaged in the War against the Rebellion of 1861. By James Grant Wilson, Major commanding Fifteenth Illinois Cavalry. Enlarged Edition. Illustrated with Portraits. Chicago, James Barnet. 8vo. paper. pp. 120. 50 cts. Leaves from the Diary of an Army-Surgeon; or, Incidents of Field, Camp, and Hospital Life. By Thomas T. Ellis, M.D., late Post-Surgeon at New York, and Acting Medical Director at Whitehouse, Va. New York. John Bradburn. 12mo. pp. 312. $1.00. The Actress in High Life: An Episode in Winter Quarters. New York. John Bradburn. 12mo. pp. 416. $1.25. Americans in Rome. By Henry P. Leland. New York. Charles T. Evans. 12mo. pp. 311. $1.25. The Castle's Heir: A Novel in Real Life. By Mrs. Henry Wood. In Two Volumes. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper. pp. 144, 260. $1.00. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 1: The circumstances connected with the introduction of the British troops into Boston will be found related in the "Atlantic Monthly" for June, 1862; and the number for the following August contains a view of the relation of the question of removal to the arbitrary policy contemplated for the Colonies.]