In estimating these lectures of Professor Butler, we must consider his youth when they were composed, for they were written, as we are told, between his twenty-sixth and thirtieth year. They do not, therefore, contain the ripe views of a veteran in philosophy, but rather the rapid impressions of a bright and earnest mind vividly interested in a noble subject. XIII. Plain Instructions for coloring Photographs in Water Colors and India Ink, embracing full Directions for coloring by the Grecian Process. By M. P. Simons. Philadelphia. 1857. pp. 61. This work appears to furnish the valuable practical information needed by young photographers. A great change is taking place in portrait painting by the use of photographs as a base. Mr. Simons seems to understand his art well. We have seen some very fine specimens from his esta blishment. XIV. An Introduction to the Study of Philosophy. With an outline Treatise on Logic. By Rev. E. V. Gerhart, D.D., President of Franklin and Marshall College. Philadelphia. Lindsay & Blakiston. 1858. pp. 359. There appears to be a revival of the study of logic. It is not long since we noticed President Mahan's work; in the present number we have given a cordial approval to that of Professor Coppée, and we have now another by President Gerhart. The basis of the book was a translation of an outline Treatise on Logic, by Dr. Joseph Beck, originally published in Stuttgart, in 1845. This, at present, occupies about one hundred and fifty pages, while two hundred more are taken up with an Introduction to the Study of Philosophy. Our German Reformed friends, after a long and quiet slumber, are awaking to the sense of a mission both in religion and philosophy. It is perhaps not surprising that they should be a little dazzled. They are to reproduce in America, amongst the "baldness of Puritanism," the depths of churchly faith and of German transcendental philosophy. For the endeavor to do something worthy of their ancestry, we honor them. We rejoice to see their Franklin and Marshall College at Lancaster, and should be glad to see it as distinguished as any one in the fatherland. In the effort made by Dr. Gerhart to unite religion and philosophy in the person of the Redeemer we honor him. These things may be on the way to something valuable, even if much has not yet been accomplished. Our friends are obviously captivated by the idea of being deep. They are in danger of taking up old heresies as new truths, of imagining that the profundity of a cavern is in the direct proportion to its obscurity. But a closet three feet deep may be as dark as Erebus. There is good matter in Dr. Beck's Treatise, especially if accompanied by the explanations of a good teacher. It has the same fault, either of author or translator, of being amazingly profound-in expression. We open, for example, at 107, and find that "an internal union of homogeneous cognitions constitutes a system." Can we not get science a little less sesquipedalian? XV. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institute. 1857. pp. 467. We have always felt a deep interest in the character and success of the Smithsonian Institute; but, in common with many others, are scarcely satisfied with its management. We fear that the noble sum appropriated for the purposes of the Institution, is being frittered away without accomplishing as much as is desirable. The following analysis of expenditures will show the ground of our fear: Receipts for the year 1857, $40,454 16. Of this sum, besides the building, salaries, &c., the following amounts go to the purposes of the bequest: Publication of memoirs, essays, &c., $6000. Meteorological observations all over the country, $3000. Books for the library, $1000! Will the country be satisfied with this? Thousands upon thousands of money expended for essays on a hundred subjects, and for examining the state of the weather; and the formation of anything like a library, or a real gallery of art systematically discouraged. We are surprised at the apathy of the public on this subject. It is to be remembered, too, that Congress passed a law requiring that a sum, "not to exceed an average of $25,000 annually," be devoted to the gradual formation of a library. This is complied with by spending the money on everything else, and appropriating $1000 for the library, out of $40,000! XVI. Why do I live? By the Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D. pp. 206. New York City. American Tract Society: Pennsylvania Branch, 929 The first of these little books contains excellent suggestions on its subject, earnestly expressed. We must, however, protest against its treatment of Longfellow. For example Life is short, and strength is fleeting; This is atrocious. If there is anything to which a human being has a right, it is his own published writing. The second of these little books is an interesting memoir of Mrs. Bradley. It is well written, presenting common-sense views, and will be read with profit. "No Gains without Pains," is a life of "The Christian Merchant," Samuel Budgett, for boys, by Mrs. H. C. Knight. It is well written, as her books generally are. XVII. Discourses on Prophecy. By John G. Wilson, Minister of the Gospel. Philadelphia: Published for the Author. 1857. pp. 335. The views of the author are Millenarian, mingled with a peculiar form of Universalism. He believes in the personal reign of the Redeemer, and that after the wicked are severely punished, they will become "reconciled," and though never raised so high as the righteous, will be obedient subjects of the universal kingdom. Of course we dissent from these views, in both parts. The author has studied carefully, but has adopted fanciful interpretations of Scripture. CONTENTS OF NO. XXIV. Petri Abælardi Abbatis Rugensis Opera Omnia. Berington's Lives of Abeillard and Heloisa. Charles de Remusat. Abelard, sa vie, sa philosophie, Wight's Romance of Abelard and Heloise. M. et Mme. Guizot's Abailard et Héloïse, Essai His- |