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"The Expansion of Russia : Problems of the East and Problems of the Far East," written by the great historian of Russia, M. Alfred Rambaud, whose three volume " History of Russia," published in 1883. was crowned by the French Academy. That work has remained the chief authority upon Russia and has been translated into English. The present article, "Expansion of Russia," therefore may justly be con sidered as bringing Russian history down to the present day, and is especially valuable as an exposi tion of Russian policy in the East. The article opens with a brief sketch of the history of Russia. It is timely, vigorous and authoritative. JUDGE FRANCIS LOWELL opens the September ATLANTIC with " The American Boss," his rise and sources of power. Brooks Adams follows with "Russia's Interest in China," a very present ques tion ably discussed. Mrs. Candee pictures the won ders of " Oklahoma," and Canon Rawnsley sketches "Ober-Ammergau." Mrs. Foote begins " The Prod igal," a brilliant short serial. A notable group of great general interest comprises Paul More's -An cient Feud," apropos of Tolstoi. Margarethe Miiller's " Gerhart Hauptmann," on the recent German Renaissance; Canon Everett's " James Martineau :" Ogden's " The Press and Foreign News," in praise of old methods; Trent's;- Old Southern News paper," with appetizing extracts; and Fernald's dis section of a modern kindergarten child. Reviews of " Art Education for Men," " Recent American Fiction," and '• Books on Japan : " attractive short stories : brilliant poems and a lively Contributors' Club also appear. "THE Influence of the Western World on China" is the title of a timely article in the September CEN TURY, the writer being the Rev. D. Z. Sheffield, D. D., for thirty years a missionary in the Middle Kingdom. Dr. Sheffield sailed from San Francisco on June 22, having just learned of the burning of the North China College, of which he is president. The article, written shortly before his departure, is wholly apropos of the present situation, and it con tains a powerful protest against any dismemberment of the Chinese Empire. One can learn much about the Boxers from a paper by R. Van Bergen on "The Revolution in China and Its Causes.'' A second in stalment of Jean Schopfer's notes on " Amusements at the Paris Exposition." treats particularly of thea ters, panoramas, and other spectacles. The pano ramic feature has been carried to the last point of novelty, and without leaving the Exposition grounds one may journey to Siberia by train, to the Mediter ranean by boat, and to the empyrean by balloon. Castaigne's vivid pencil supplements the text with many a full-page and smaller picture.

WHAT SHALL WE READ? LITTLE, BROWN. AND COMPANY will publish, early in October, James Martineau : A Study and a Bi ography, by Rev. A. W. Jackson. The work was nearly completed at the time of Dr. Martineau's death, and since then has been read and approved by his nearest relatives, who have rendered the au thor valuable assistance. The volume is not only a life of the great theologian, put also a study of the movement in thought of which he was the leader. LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, the publishers of Francis Parkman's histories, announce a Life of Parkman. by Charles Haight Farnham, for publica tion in the early fall. The work has been written with the sanction of the author's relatives, who have given Mr. Farnham access to Mr. Parkman's letters, vacation journals, and all other available material. MARY DEVEREUX'S historical romance of Marblehead, From Kingdom to Colony, has been steadily growing in favor, and is mentioned in the Bookman in the lists of best selling books. The publishers. Little. Brown, and Company, are preparing an. eighth edition. THERE are some striking pen pictures of Chinese life in The Attaché at Peking, by A. B. Freeman Mitford. who was at one time secretary to the Brit ish embassy to China. Mr. Freeman Mitford's book consists of a series of letters describing Taku. Tientsin, Tung-Chow, Shanghai, Peking and Can. ton, and it is full of shrewd observation and study of Chinese manners and customs. The author had a keen eye, too. for odd and amusing incidents, many of which make very lively and entertaining reading. The book has just been issued by The Macmillan Company. THE third edition of The Web of Life is on the press. While the people of Chicago have resented the use which Mr. Robert Herrick has made of them as "dramatis person»," the general impression is that he has given a close description of American ideals as exemplified by a certain class of prosperous western people. It is perhaps natural that critics on the Atlantic coast are jubilant over Mr. Hemck's story, and this may possibly be the cause of the Chicagoan's resentment. The Macmillan Company have in hand also a fourth edition of William Stearns Davis's A Friend of Cœsar. It is very seldom that a book by an entirely unknown writer achieves such a success in so short a time. It is now well on its way towards its tenth thousand, and is being dram atized by a well-known playwright.