Palestine when he wrote “Ben Hur,” but there are points of resemblance between the landscape of New Mexico and that of the Holy Land, and these were of assistance. He procured a profile map of Palestine, and was so attentive to topographical detail that later, when he visited the scenes of his story in company with a recognized authority in ancient history, every feature of the country as described in the book was verified. An immense amount of labor is represented in this novel. Many volumes were consulted in the search for antiquarian lore, that it might lack nothing that would aid in conveying an accurate impression of the period. The book was capitally planned, striking episodes falling into place naturally, and not too abundantly. The meeting of the Wise Men, the sea fight, and the chariot race are dramatic to a degree; but the sombre picture of the crucifixion is unmarred by excess. The reverence which characterizes every mention of the Saviour is the author’s happiest achievement in the story. The subject is difficult, but it is handled with admirable taste and refinement. However, the book does not depend for continued attention on its interest as a religious novel; it is equally noteworthy for its comprehensive grasp of the politics of the period, its picture of the various peoples that flowed through the streets of Jerusalem and Antioch, and the suggestion of a romantic commerce whose exploits lay in strange seas and beyond the deserts. Nothing in the book is accomplished more skilfully than the slow extinction of the idea of the coming of a great ruler of the world, to rebuild the throne of Solomon, and the gradual acceptance of the spiritual significance of Christ’s advent; and it may be taken, in connection with the history of the novel, as a revelation of the growth in the author’s own mind of a belief in the divine Saviour. Historical novels, particularly those that look to antiquity for subjects, follow necessarily certain traditions, and these are observed carefully by General Wallace. Scott, more than any other, helped him, and “Ivanhoe,” in particular, was his model. The writing in “Ben Hur” is uniformly good, and the dialogue in archaic speech is well sustained. General Wallace wrote out of an ample vocabulary enriched by the constant reading of Oriental narrative, and in his descriptions the epithets are always apposite. The success of “Ben Hur” was not immediate. It sold slowly for several years, but it gained steadily in popularity and continues in favor with the booksellers. It has been translated into all the European languages, into Arabic and Japanese, and it is accessible to the blind in raised-letter. The sale of the copyright edition in America (1900) exceeds 1,200,000, which is probably greater than that of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Many playwrights and actors proposed to General Wallace from time to time the dramatization of “Ben Hur,” but he feared that the spirit of reverence, which he had