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portraits of typical natives of China, India, Hawaii, Java, etc. Four of these portraits are reproduced. The number abounds in fiction, including Dr. Mitch ell's " Dr. North and His Friends," and five short stories, two in different keys by Albert Bigelow Paine, and the other three having political bearings: "Conlon," by Arthur Colton, showing the relation ship of a " heeler" with his " boss "; " The Mouse," a story of the Washington diplomatic corps, by Lucy Nowell Clark, a new writer, and a satire by Stewart Chaplin, entitled " The Stained-Glass Polit ical Platform." SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE for June opens with an article appropriate to the season of national conven tions. It is entitled " How a President is Elected," and gives a view behind the scenes of the way in which the great machinery of a presidential election is put in motion. The author, A. Maurice Low, is a Washington correspondent who has had every facil ity to see the workings of a campaign. A brilliant series of pictures fully illustrate the narrative. An other article of national interest is '• Are the Philip pines worth having?" by George F. Becker, a United States geologist who recently spent more than a year in the islands. This article is a very clear exposition of the mineral, industrial and agri cultural possibilities of the islands, with an account of their climate and the characteristics of the peo ple. It contains more valuable condensed informa tion about the islands than has heretofore appeared, and is fully illustrated from recent photographs. Mr. Richard Harding Davis has been following General Buller's column, and his first article is pub lished in this number, describing the battle of Pieter's Hill. Mr. Davis's admirable qualities as a descriptive writer and his experience as a correspon dent in three wars enable him to present as vivid a picture as possible of the great fight between the Boers and the British just before the relief of Ladysmith.

WHAT SHALL WE READ? Under the title of " The Temple Primers," the Macmillan Company are issuing a series of small volumes of condensed information introductory to great subjects, written by leading authorities adapted at once to the need of the general public, and form ing introductions to the special studies of scholars and students. The series will include the chief de partments of literature, science and art. Among the volumes already published are An Introduction to Science by Dr. Alexander Hill and Roman History by Dr. Julius Koch. The low price, forty cents a

volume, brings the series within the means of all readers. The size is most convenient, the type good, and the illustrations excellent. The Bennett Twins just published by the Mac millan Company, is by Grace Marguerite Hurd, ton who Transcript, has for sometime of which beenpaper on theher stafffather of theis Bosthe literary editor. The Bennett Twins is a story of student life in New York and many of the char acters are likely to be recognized by artists who have worked in the studios of the more famous masters of New York, though the author disclaims actual auto biography or portraiture. The Banker and The Bear, a Slory of a " Corner" in Lard, is the title of a novel by Henry K. Web ster, which comes from the press of the Macmil lan Company. Although Chicago is not mentioned in the book as the scene of action, the Chamber of Commerce of that city is the point round which the action centers. The Bear and the Banker are chums. The Bull is financed by the Banker in the endeavor to run the " corner " in lard, and the story derives its title from the necessity found by the Bear for the ruin of his chum the Banker, in order to upset the financial schemes of the Bull. A stirring love story threads its way through the financial excitement of the book. Those who have read " The Short- Line War " will remem ber Mr. Webster's skill in plots. Though a very young man. he has cleverly seen and seized upon the possibilities of romance which lie in the hazardous financial and commercial struggles of some western millionaires. In Politics and Administration? Mr. Goodnow, from a consideration of political conditions as they now exist in the United States, demonstrates that the formal governmental system as set forth in the law is not always the same as the actual system. He also attempts to indicate what changes are nec essary to make the actual system conform more closely than it does at present to the political ideas upon which the formal system is based. The book is an able discussion of a subject in which every citizen is deeply interested. Mrs. May Alden Ward, whose "Old Colony Days" has made her name familiar to a host of readers, has just written three delightful essays on Carlyle. Ruskin and Count Tolstoi. In these she not only summarizes the ideas for which their works stand, 1 POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION. By Frank J. Goodnow, A. M. LL. I). The Macmillan Company. New York, 1900. Cloth. $1.50.