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Though this last book is of the nature of the "tools" above-mentioned, it is so crammed with the material for imagination, and has in itself such a flavour of imagination, that I feel bound to put it down.

I should note that I have by no means intended to put down these books in their order of merit or importance, even in their own divisions.

Our circle of literary authorities would not have been complete without the opinion of some eminent woman of letters. Here, then, is the answer we received from one of the most learned and accomplished women of the time:—

Sir,—You ask me to send you a list of books on the lines indicated by Sir John Lubbock in his recent lecture at the Working Men's College, but allow me to say that in printing make some very excellent criticisms on the wisdom of "placing before working men, or any men whatever, such a vast and heterogeneous course of study," and with these criticisms I entirely agree. To be in a position to properly understand and appreciate the works on Sir John's list, I undertake to say that one must have spent at least thirty years in preparatory study, and have had the command of, say, something more than a thousand other volumes. And I would ask, further, is this list to be considered simply as a list of literary masterpieces, or is it to present us with a general scheme of knowledge? Any list of books constructed with a view to the realization of such an ideal as the latter would be a very complicated affair, to be rewritten, too, with each succeeding year. If, on the other hand, we are only citing masterpieces of literature and making fancy libraries which may illustrate the extent and catholicity of our own tastes, our task is easier, and on the rough lines laid down by my friend Sir John Lubbock, we may put together a very pretty one.

In order to spare your space, I will not, however, proceed to recapitulate the great names, such as Homer,