And indeed Purdee's possessions were wider far than even that divergent line which the county surveyor ran out might seem to warrant; for on the mountain-tops largest realms of solemn thought were open to him. He levied tribute upon the liberties of an enthused imagination. He exulted in the freedom of the expanding spaces of a spiritual perception of the spiritual things. When the snow slipped away from the tables of the Law, the man who had read strange scripture engraven thereon took his way one day, doubtful, but faltering with hope, up and up to the vast dome of the mountain, and knelt beside the rocks to see if perchance he might trace anew those mystic runes which he once had some fine instinct to decipher. And as he pondered long he found, or thought he found, here a familiar character, and there a slowly developing word, and anon--did he see it aright?--a phrase; and suddenly it was discovered to him that, whether their origin were a sacred mystery or the fantastic scroll-work of time as the rock weathered, high thoughts, evoking thrilling emotions, bear scant import to one who apprehends only in mental acceptance. And he realized that the multiform texts which he had read in the fine and curious script were but paraphrases of the simple mandate to be good to one another for the sake of that holy Child cradled in manger, and to all little children. THE END IN THE "STRANGER PEOPLE'S" COUNTRY. By CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1 50. In this strong story Miss Murfree has shown better art than in any of her other long novels. It is a romance of the Tennessee mountains, told with singular effect. The mystery and the picturesqueness of it make it notable. We have enjoyed it, and we recommend it to those who are hungry and thirsty for a genuinely entertaining story.--_Independent_, N. Y. Miss Murfree has never had a more fascinating field for a story.... She continues to be a romancist of strong imagination and sustained dramatic power.--_Literary World_, Boston. The extraordinary freshness and reality of the picture of the hill-people's life in the mountainous regions of Tennessee make this one of the most readable of the many readable American stories which abound just now.--_Saturday Review_, London. A brilliant story, full of power, remarkably picturesque and vigorous in the telling.... The author writes in the spirit of a thorough literary artist, and this book in plot, character, drawing, vividness, and interest is an advance even on the admirable stories that brought her into notice and established her reputation.--_Saturday Evening Gazette_, Boston. The author delineates the natural scenery of the region with graphic power, and the actors in her stories are drawn to the life. This book is equal to any of its predecessors in dramatic power.--_Observer_, N. Y.