MARY COLE BAKER writes in the Washington (D.C.) _Republic:_ "Mr. Lanman is well known both in England and America as the writer of some of the most delightful descriptive books in the English language. To the facile wielding of his pen he adds an equally adroit and skilful use of the pencil, and his admirable results in these combined pursuits won for him from his friend and brother of the quill, Washington Irving, the apt and deserved soubriquet of 'the picturesque explorer of America.' To the pleasure which Mr. Lanman derived from these pursuits he added a sportsman's love for the field and took genuine delight in the 'contemplative art' of angling. He was the first American to cast the artificial fly in the Saguenay region and to describe for the angler the charms of that since famous locality. He has followed this sport in nearly every State in the Union, never without his sketching materials, which he used unstintingly. The results of these labors are many hundreds of sketches of American scenery, invaluable now that the march of civilization has so completely changed the face of a large part of the country. It is delightful to find a man who has been able to get so much good from life as has Mr. Lanman. One would think that the writing and illustrating of more than thirty books, some of which are in two large octavo volumes, was the work of a lifetime. But this has been to Mr. Lanman his recreation. The fact that his books have been successful pecuniarily has not prevented him from following the duties of the various governmental positions in which he has been placed. No sinecures they either--librarian at different times of the House of Representatives, the War Department, of copyrights in the State Department and of the Interior Department, secretary to Daniel Webster, at the head of the returns of office of the Interior Department, and for the last ten years the American Secretary to the Japanese Legation at Washington. A lover of social intercourse, Mr. Lanman has led the typical busy life of the American, untouched by the direful and disastrous ills it is supposed to bring. He is now engaged in editing fourteen of his books for reproduction in uniform style, and a new book, _The Leading Men of Japan_, is ready for issue." 12mo, $1.50. Boston: D. Lothrop, & Co., Publishers. * * * * * COULDN'T BE BOUGHT: AND OTHER STORIES. By Faye Huntington. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price 75 cts. A delightful collection of short stories for boys and girls, adapted to the Sunday-school library. The volume takes its name from the leading story. The author has a pleasant and attractive style, and her stories have a large amount of "telling" force in them.