tion (gravitation alone excepted), is proved by the determination of the motions of a series of vortices in the medium, arising from the fact that the center of the earth is not coincident with the axis of the ethereal vortex surrounding it. That the axis of the vortex is inclined to the earth's axis, and consequently these vortices follow the moon in right ascension, and describe orbits whose apogees are variously situated in longitude, and are caused to circulate over the earth's surface between the average limits of ten degrees and eighty degrees latitude in each hemisphere; thus exempting both the poles and the equator from the disastrous presence of the hurricane. The theory further contends that all storms are primarily due to the passages of these vortices, and that not a single storm has ever occurred, of which sufficient details were recorded to enable him to inter pret its aspects, that contradicted the theory." It is evident that, inasmuch as the the ory involves a series of assumptions incapable of being directly verified by observation or experiment, the only feasible method of testing its validity was by its capacity of prevision of storm phenomena. Accordingly, the committee determined that the theory should be tested by its power of predicting the weather in different latitudes, and that Mr. Bassnett be requested to prepare such particulars for Cambridge, Mass., Washington, D. C., and Charleston, S. C., to be distributed to suitable observers, who should compare the weather with the predictions, and report to the chairman of the commit tee. nett protests that the failure of his predic tions did not invalidate his theory. But it seems that this was the test which he himself desired and invited, as it was, in fact, the only one available to the committee. He contends that, subsequent to these predictions, he discovered that he made "one error of fact vitiating the numerical elements.” He "supposed that there were only six vortices, one central and five secondary." Since that time, "a seventh has been satisfactorily determined, so close to the central as to have been confounded with it; and hence discrepant values were deduced for the other elements." Nevertheless, it is certainly a significant fact that during the years that have elapsed since the discovery (or assumption) of this seventh vortex (in 1856), Mr. Bassnett has not been able to test the validity of his theory by revised tables of weather predictions in different latitudes In fact, in 1881 he was compelled to admit that "the ill-defined nature of the phenomena” rendered it "impossible to tell, in any single case, the central line of passage [of the vortex] within thirty or forty miles." In the volume before us, Mr. Bassnett extends the views elaborated in his “Mechanical Theory of Storms" to the solar spots and solar coronæ, maintaining a common ori gin of these phenomena and of the atmospheric storms and cyclones. The enlargement of the domain of his speculation involves the assumption of additional hypotheses, equally incapable of verification by any means at human command. He says (page 124): "The solar system, and by parity of reasoning all other stellar systems, are placed in the axes of so many ethereal or electrical vortices, in which, while the laws of motion are rigidly observed, there may be an endless variety of phenomena-endless in its full, literal sense-that no two suns, no two planets, no two created entities throughout the universe, are identical in a single feature, except in the state of simple primitive atoms; and the same may be predicted of stellar vortices." In the case of our solar system, each of the planets revolving about the sun As might have been expected, Mr. Bass- has an agency in developing a series of At the following annual meeting of the Association, in August, 1855, Professor Henry reported that the theory "had been tested by the committee by observing the weather and noting its correspondence, or want of correspondence, with Mr. Bassnett's predictions. The predictions of the theory were verified during the first ten days tolerably well; but were found worthless during the remaining time of observation, or for nearly two months." ethereal vortices, which, traversing the solar atmosphere, produce those prodigious movements of the same which give rise to the solar spots; the varying displacements of these ethereal vortices, due to the configuration of the planetary masses, being the cause of the periodicity of the phenomena. In view of the vast number of unverifiable assumptions which are pressed into service, we are astounded at the author's announcement that his theory "does not soar above the general level of an educated understand ing, nor out of the region of experience." For it is obvious that every new vortex which the theorist introduces to explain every new difficulty transcends the limits of experience, and imposes an additional tax on the faith of the reader. As an illustration of the facility with which Mr. Bassnett introduces new assumptions to meet physical difficulties as they arise, we may cite the fact that in order to account for the observed periodicity of the solar spots, he finds it necessary to invoke the assistance of an unknown planet exterior to Neptune; and furthermore, he does not hesitate (contrary to the analogies of the whole solar system) to assign a retrograde revolution to this hypothetical planet! Amid such an array of gratuitous, unverifiable postulates, involving the ascription of properties to an all-pervading ethereal medium, which, to say the least, are in the highest degree hypothetical, it is almost impossible for the physicist to submit the theory to a rational criticism; simply because, where everything is hypothetical, there is no opportunity to test its validity by the application of the established fundamental principles of science. There is no objection to guessing -to framing hypotheses to explain physical phenomena provided we hasten to verify them; and provided, when the verifications fail, we have the Keplerian honesty to at once abandon the hypotheses. It is the spirit of the advocate that is so pernicious, so antagonistic, to science; it is the very antithesis of the spirit of truth. It seems to us that Mr. Bassnett belongs to that class of persistent advocates who, shutting their eyes to the significance of every adverse fact, blindly commit themselves to some cherished theory, and, by means of multiplied postulates, strive to force the phenomena to accord with their preconceived notions. "Such a theory may, to a certain extent, explain the phenomena which it was at first contrived to meet; but every new class of facts requires a new supposition-an addition to the machinery; and, as observation goes on, these incoherent appendages accumulate till they overwhelm and upset the original frame-work." "There is here no unexpected success, no happy coincidence, no convergence of principles from remote quarters: the philosopher builds the machine, but its parts do not fit ; they hold together only while he presses them: this is not the character of truth." On the other hand, it is the peculiar characteristic of a true theory that all tends to unity and simplicity. "Out of its original stock of principles it educes the counterpart of all that observation shows. It accounts for, explains, simplifies, the most entangled cases; corrects known laws and facts; predicts and discloses unknown ones; and becomes the guide of its former teacher, observation." Finally, there is one important lesson to be learned from such a work as that which we have had under consideration, viz.: that in order to prevent the great multitude from being misled by the pernicious and erroneous deductions of half-knowledge, it is essential that those who undertake the very difficult task of popularizing science should possess the most thorough knowledge of the subject discussed, in all its bearings. [John Ive Conte] RECENT BIOGRAPHIES. It is curious to what an extent recent biography deals with literary people. Not to mention the two most notable biographies now or recently engaging attention that of George Eliot by her husband, and that of Nathaniel Hawthorne by his son-four out of five of the less notable yet still important ones that fall under our notice in the present review, are of literary men and women. Three of these are issues of the "American Men of Letters" series: Dr. Holmes's Ralph Waldo Emerson,1 Mr. Woodberry's Edgar Allan Poe, and Mr. Beers's Nathaniel Parker Willis. The fourth is one of the "Famous Women Series": Harriet Martineau,* by Mrs. Miller. The fifth of these biographies, the only one not of a literary person, is Mr. Arnold's Life of Abraham Lincoln. We take up the last of these first. Now that prominent men on either side of the Civil War are uniting in furnishing for the future historian the authoritative data from which its final history is to be written, this life of Lincoln by Isaac N. Arnold is timely and valuable. Mr. Arnold, for twenty-five years a trusted friend of Lincoln, a member of Congress during his administration, and for the rest of a life that has just closed, a faithful student of the acts of the late president, sympathizing with him in his larger policy and in his local attachments, meant to produce a book that should remove the necessity of further effort in this particular field. He has not succeeded, though he has done much to make easier the task of 1 Ralph Waldo Emerson. By Oliver Wendell Holmes. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1885. For sale in San Francisco by Chilion Beach. 2 Edgar Allan Poe. By George E. Woodberry. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1885. For sale in San Francisco by Chilion Beach. 8 Nathaniel Parker Willis. By Henry A. Beers. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1885. For sale in San Francisco by Chilion Beach. 4 Harriet Martineau. By Mrs. F. Fenwick Miller, Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1885. the man that shall write Abraham Lincoln's real biography. Probably the writer of such a biography, as well as the historian mentioned above, will not be found among the actors in the great drama. He must be a man whose opinions are unwarped by the fierce heat of the conflict, whose impartial mind shall form its judgments in the clear light of the event when the smoke and dust of the battle have drifted away. Not that such a man will seek to diminish the laurels that crown the great war president, but he will crown him in a less partisan spirit and on juster grounds. He will be a man of broader horizon than Mr. Arnold, and one who, while appreciating to the full the great qualities of his hero shall yet be large enough to hold himself erect in their presence. Mr. Arnold does not always do this, and the reader is pained, realizing how gravely Lincoln himself would have rebuked the man that would compare his second inaugural to the Sermon on the Mount, or his welcome by the negroes of Baltimore to the entry into Jerusalem. Such a thought is to every Christian essentially irreverent, no matter how earnestly its author may deny the intention of being so. For the rest, it is easy to speak kindly of the book. The author died, leaving the notes and such matter to be added by other hands—a fact that it is well to bear in mind when reading them. A great merit of the work is the frequency with which Mr. Arnold allows Lincoln to speak for himself, such extracts from speeches and letters being chosen with much discretion. This is the only direction in which space is generously used, the narrative, both personal and historical, being admirably compact. The final chapter of the book, in which the author endeavors to sum up the character of his subject, rises to a fine eloquence as 5 The Life of Abraham Lincoln. Fy Isaac N Ar- this friend of the martyr president pays his nold: Jansen, McClurg & Co. Chicago: 1885. tribute to the man he loved and revered-a quality. Mr. Emerson seems to have been in man who shall hold the love and reverence of the world more and more as the lapse of time shows him in true perspective. everything precisely what one would have expected him to be-unless, perhaps, in the incongruous weakness for pie, which evidently delights Dr. Holmes. It is quite the only chance he can find for a familiar smile at his subject: he quotes approvingly Mr. Lowell's expression as to that "majesty' that always seemed to hedge him round." Turning to the literary biographies, one naturally places first Dr. Holmes's biography of Emerson. This is a peculiarly interesting book, from the eminence of both author and subject and its own excellent qualities; but it is not very much of a biography. It is instead a collection of personal reminiscences from long acquaintance, and of running comments on Mr. Emerson's works and views. The comments preponderate over the reminiscences to an extent that is possibly a little disap- and companions-so far as Mr. Emerson pointing; but they are very interesting, coming from the source they do, and Emerson seems never to have afforded much material for anecdote or similar reminiscence So tranquil, reticent, devoid of eccentricities or conspicuousnesses, was this well-nigh perfect life, that it cannot be easy to get much biographical material out of it. It is quite evident from Dr. Holmes's comments that his admiration for his great contemporary has no flavor of the Concord School idolatry: Mr. Emerson is to him a flesh-and-blood man-a very wise and admirable one, but nothing supernatural; and his writings wise and beautiful, but no oracles. None the less is he appreciative—often very shrewdly so. Felicities are scattered lavishly through the papers. What could be neater than this: "Emerson is a citizen of the universe, who has taken up his residence for a few days and nights in this traveling caravansary between the two inns that hang out the signs of Venus and Mars. This little planet could not provincialize such a man." It is interesting indeed to find the general impression of a man held by his own life-long mates, so exactly coincident with the impression the really appreciative reader receives from his works, as the whole picture of Mr. Emerson in this book shows him the serenity, the wisdom, the gentleness, the entire courage and withal moderation, the optimism yet without over-enthusiasm, and the dignity and reticence, too kindly for coldness, yet not absolutely removed from that "What man was he who would lay his hand familiarly upon his shoulder and call him Waldo? . . . There may have been such irreverent persons, but if anyone had so ventured at the 'Saturday Club,' it would have produced a sensation like Brummel's 'George, ring the bell,' to the Prince Regent." And this was among his intimate friends Yet can be said to have had "intimates." little children sought his arms readily, and responded to his "angelic smile," and his farmer neighbors esteemed him as a plain, sensible, neighborly man. The author does not hesitate to interpolate a good deal of Dr. Holmes, nor to slip in any apropos good story, in a rapid parenthesis, sometimes without much bearing on his subject. If anecdotes of Emerson are scarce, however, anecdotes of his critics and admirers are not few. One of these, which pleases Dr. Holmes, is an extract from the " Alta California's" remarks upon Mr. Emerson's address in Dr. Stebbins's church: "All left the church feeling that an elegant tribute had been paid to the creative genius of the Great First Cause, and that a masterly use of the English language had contributed to that end." Professor Woodberry's "Edgar Allan Poe" is almost the reverse of Dr. Holmes's biography in character. It deals little in criticism, but contains a wonderfully exhaustive investigation of the poet's life and estimate of his character. It is undoubtedly the satisfactory and final word on both these subjects. And an unattractive enough picture it is of selfishness, vanity, and unscrupulousness. It is, after the school and military periods are over, one long succession of experiments in editorial work chiefly, and in purely literary work as a resource when the other failed. Poe had fine qualities as an editor, and he does not seem to have suffered from any lack of appreciation. On the contrary, he received, first and last, a great deal of aid and encouragement. But he was absolutely unable to work with others amiably and fairly; and his repeated quarrels deprived him of one means of support after another. Sometimes he was in the right in these quarrels, and behaved with dignity and rectitude; sometimes in the wrong, and behaved very meanly. On the whole, this biography must certainly destroy any lingering tendency to idealize him as a man whose worst faults were of impulse and generous weakness: for faults of meanness certainly played a very large part in the miseries of Poe's life. On the other hand, his dissipation has unquestionably been very greatly exaggerated: he was for many years a temperate man; his domestic life seems to have been blameless, his love for his young wife unfailingly tender, and his unamiable traits of temper kept completely out of his home circle. No one can but shudder at the more than piti ful close of this happy domestic life, the wretched, half-mad period that followed, and the final squalid ending of his existence. The love affairs that discredit Poe most be long to this final period; and it is not fair to hold the shattered man strictly responsible for them. We think Mr. Woodberry's biography, so far from discrediting the poet in the matter of his domestic life, goes far to rehabilitate him, so obviously broken in brain and will was he at the only time when he laid himself open to serious criticism. Take him for all in all, however, no one could care to see his like coming on the stage again. Nothing could be more dispassionate, clear, and just than Mr. Woodberry's presentation of his much befogged subject. It is the work of a critic in the highest sense of the word. The biographer of N. P. Willis has had a task the reverse of that of Poe's biographer, in so far as purely biographical matter is concerned for, so far from having to search out a true record of facts from myth and obscurity, he has been embarrassed only by the question how to make anything new of the already well-known incidents of Willis's life, and how to select amid the superabundant material. Yet to thus select, and to put the narrative into a clear and agreeable shape for the general reader, is quite worth while; and Willis's place in American literature is sufficient to entitle him to the attention. For however light his writings, they cut an important figure in their day; and in the first half of the century, especially before the appearance on the stage of the great Boston school now passing away, such refined and respectable work was of real value in developing our literature. Among such a group as Irving, Cooper, Bryant, Halleck, Hoffman, Morris, Woodworth, Percival, Mrs. Sigourney, the name of Willis need by no means be considered insignificant. As far as critical estimate is concerned, there has been absolutely nothing left for Professor Beers to say of his subject. There can be really but one opinion of Willis as an author, and this has been already expressed in all its possible variations-perhaps most neatly in Lowell's "Fable for Critics." Probably it is fair to say, too, that of Willis as a man there can be but one opinion. The only room for difference is in the feeling the reader has toward that sort of author and that sort of man; and here is room for as wide difference as has ever been in the estimates of any literary man. For even as Willis's poetry has had its hosts of enthusiastic admirers, and has been utterly despised, so the man Willis had been thought a most delightful fellow, and has been contemned as a fop and puppy. It is hard, even with all the light that the biographer can cast upon the subject, to understand why Willis made enemies, and why his innocent fopperies should have excited so bitter wrath that their memory has been stamped upon the minds of this generation which follows his, as his characteristic trait, to the obliteration of all the amiability and honorable work that, after all, made up the chief part of his life. It is not, however, a solitary instance of the irrationally intense resentment that little vanities, social ambitions, fastidiousnesses, will excite in very many minds. Willis was, |