A happy thought was carried into successful execution in the publication of “The Hundred Greatest Men.”[N] The editor conceived the idea that a “natural history of civilization ought to be, not so much a narration of events, as a description of men and things,” and hence for many years busied himself in making a collection of portraits and antiquities as a preparation for his work. The great men of all ages have been grouped into eight classes, and treated under the following divisions of the book: Poetry, art, religion, philosophy, history, science, politics, and industry. Introductions have been written for these different departments by Matthew Arnold, Taine, Max Müller, Rénan, Noah Porter, Dean Stanley, Prof. Helmholtz, J. A. Froude, and John Fiske. The general introduction is by Emerson. Only those characters have been selected who have stood the test of time without diminution of fame. A portrait accompanies each sketch, and many of these have been obtained at great expense of time and trouble. The sketches themselves are word-paintings of the character, the life, and the times of the men, and the wonder is that in such brief space so much information can be given. The volume is a veritable art gallery. A story of much delicacy of touch, and with some strong delineation of character, is “The Hallam Succession”[O] of Amelia C. Barr. The placing of the story could hardly be more picturesque. Mrs. Barr opens with English life of the first of the present century, carries us to a plantation near New Orleans, through “Sam” Houston’s Texan struggles, and finally to the long, low, verandahed house of a Texas plantation. The varied setting gives the variety to a story of faithful love and devotion. The many pleasing touches given in the descriptions of the characters are the finest features of the book. A fair example is the paragraph quoted on another page of this impression, which in its true and delicate pathos is rarely equaled.