THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE ADVERTISER. OF SPORTS AND PASTIMES. ESTABLISHED MARCH 1860. Price 1s. 6d. 11 EMBELLISHED EVERY MONTH WITH A STEEL PLATE ENGRAVING Among the Contributors to BAILY'S MAGAZINE are to be numbered the leading Sporting writers of the day, whose excellence of literary style has enabled the Magazine to attain its present popularity. 12 THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE ADVERTISER. SECOND EDITION. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 6s. AMERICAN HUMORISTS. Including WASHINGTON IRVING, OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, ARTEMUS WARD, MARK TWAIN, and BRET HARTE. By the Rev. H. R. HAWEIS, M.A. Mr. Haweis's book is written in a form which exactly suits the subject... Six leading humorists are treated of, in as many chapters, and Mr. Haweis has distilled the essence of their wit, and encased it in delightfully rambling, illustrative, anecdotal remarks of his own, which make a good foil for the numerous sparks of wit quoted from the American writers. A series of essays to light and so enjoyable has not appeared for a long time.'-DUNDER ADVERTISER. Last year the Rev. H. R. Haweis delivered a series of lectures at the Royal Institution, London, on "American Humorists." The lectures were very much relished, and Mr. Haweis thought that they would be welcome to many readers. We are inclined to think that he is right. There will be general satisfaction that he has published criticisms on men like Washington Irving, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Artemus Ward, Mark Twain, and Bret Harte. There can be no doubt that his criticisms are all suggestive, and that he brings out, for the benefit of those who have not read much of American literature, a good deal of that humour which runs throngh the productions of some of the American humorists, and thus adds to the general stock of human knowledge. Mr. Haweis has unquestionably taken the greatest of the American humorists. The volume is well got up, and is sure to be widely read.'-SCOTSMAN. A good deal may be learned from these lectures. He quotes well and effectively, and it is not impossible that not a few may date their first acquaintance with a suggestive and amusing field of literature from the perusal of these lectures.'-NONCONFORMIST. 'These six lectures comprise a keen but very appreciative analysis of the writings of the half-dozen Americans who have in great part revolutionised our ideas of humour... The extracts furnished by Mr. Haweis are thoroughly typical, and his criticisms are unusually clear and sometimes exhaustive.'-WORLD. 'Mr. Haweis's clever sketches will be read and enjoyed, and lead not a few to study the humorists he has introduced to them.'-BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW. 'Mr. Haweis here shows a power of appreciation which is in itself a rare gift.'-WESTMINSTER REVIEW. 3 vols. crown 8vo. At every Library. THE GOLDEN SHAFT. By CHARLES GIBBON, Author of 'Robin Gray,' &c. 'Mr. Charles Gibbon is a novelist whom the critic of novels is always glad to meet, because his books are always both readable and workmanlike. Mr. Gibbon is now a practised novelist; but it is evident that he has not got to the hack condition. In all his books there is some freshness; and freshness is certainly not wanting in "A Golden Shaft." .....A novel of interest and merit much above the average.. ...... Mr. Gibbon is to be congratulated on the character of "Fiscal" Musgrave, which is as original as it is lifelike, and as attractive as it is original. The situation which chiefly displays it is well imagined, powerfully worked out, and sufficiently striking in itself.'-ACADEMY. • Excellent in every important respect; the story is interesting, the plot is most ingeniously devised, the characters are cleverly conceived and consistently drawn, while several of them stand out picturesquely in their quaint originality......Altogether, we may certainly congratulate Mr. Gibbon on his book.'-SATURDAY REVIEW. Scottish life has rarely had a better interpreter and describer than Mr. Charles Gibbon. Everybody will remember his justly popular "Robin Gray," and he has just pui lished an equally charming novel, "The Golden Shaft"; altogether, the story is one of the best we have read for a long time.'-CHRISTIAN LEADER, Mr. Gibbon is at his best in this story. It contains some really powerful situations, and its plot is well worked out. The conscientious difficulties of the Fiscal, the father of the charming herione, are well developed by Mr. Gibbon, and the story will be read with interest throughout.'-MANCHESTER EXAMINER. 'Mr. Gibbon's last story is a powerful and well-written one. The plot is good and well worked out. All the characters, too, are cleverly described. Altogether, the "Golden Shaft" is good, and fully equals, if it does no improve upon, anything Mr. Gibbon has previously written.'-GLASGOW HERALD. When Mr. Gibbon finished his latest novel, the "Golden Shaft," he finished a work which appears to us to le distinctly the best that he has yet done. It is a well-devised story; it is simple in construction, and always natural. There are some fine studies of character in the book, and altogether in style, in plot, in incident, it stands, as we think, high above anything that Mr. Gibbon has yet produced. This is saying a great deal.' SCOTSMAN. 'It is pleasant to meet with a work by Mr. Gibbon that will remind his readers of the promise of his earliest efforts. The story of Thorburn and his family is full of power and pathos, as is the figure of the strong-natured Musgrave.' ATHENÆUM. There are few more charming living writers of fiction than Mr. Gibbon. However short or long his stories may be, however slight in texture or plot, we are at least sure to meet with some simple touches of nature which somehow get at the heart of the reader. And this is one of the highest achievements of the novelist; for one touch of nature is worth a hundred volumes of mere sensationalism. The novel before us is no exception to the author's rule. It is a Scotch story, and several of the characters are drawn with a delicate yet powerful hand. We have much confidence in recommending this novel; it is pure and healthful in tone, robust in sentiment, and it is withal excellently written.'-BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW. The Golden Shaft" is a story of true love, and is told with subdued pathos and much quiet power....The Fiscal is a powerfully drawn character, and his daughter Ellie a thoroughly sweet girl. On the whole, we have seen nothing before of Mr. Gibbon's writing so good as this novel.'-DAILY NEWS. CHATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly, W. THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE ADVERTISER. EVERY FRIDAY, Price 2d.; post free, 24d. [Issued also in Monthly Parts.] 'Let Knowledge grow from more to more.'-TENNYSON. 13 YEARLY, post free, 10s. 10d. 'KNOWLEDGE.' AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE. PLAINLY WORDED EXACTLY DESCRIBED. Edited by RICHARD A. PROCTOR. TO OUR READERS. THE first number of Volume III. commenced with the present issue, No. 62, January 5, 1883. In this volume several series of articles will be continued, among them the following: 'A NATURALIST'S YEAR.' By Mr. GRANT ALLEN. 'OUR BODIES.' By Dr. ANDREW WILSON. 'ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF MYTH.' By EDWARD CLODD. PLEASANT HOURS WITH THE MICROSCOPE,' By Mr. H. J. SLACK. "NIGHTS WITH A THREE-INCH TELESCOPE.' By F.R.A.S. "THE CHEMISTRY OF COOKERY.' By Mr. W. MATTIEU WILLIAMS. 'SOCIOLOGY.' By Mr. THOMAS FOSTER. 'SUN-VIEWS OF THE EARTH, OR THE SEASONS ILLUSTRATED;' and 'THE SOUTHERN SKIES.' By THE EDITOR. Besides these, there will be articles on Electricity,' 'Chemistry,' 'Entomology,' 'Geology,' and 'Health Resorts, Spectrum Analysis,' and Mapping, the series on How to Get Strong' will be continued, and the columns of Mathematics, Whist,' and Chess' will be continued weekly. For the present, the Easy Lessons in the Differential Calculus' will be replaced by simpler mathematical subjects; but they will ere long be resumed, until so much of the subject as can conveniently be dealt with in these pages has been completed. 'KNOWLEDGE.' Volume II. (June 2 to December 29, 1882) now ready, price 8s. 6d. 'Knowledge' Library Series. Crown 8vo. cloth, price 6s, each, post free, 6s. 6d. Cheap re-issue of Mr. PROCTOR'S works:-1. THE BORDERLAND OF SCIENCE. 2. SCIENCE BYWAYS. 3. THE POETRY OF ASTRONOMY. Just published (reprinted from KNOWLEDGE). 4. NATURE STUDIES. By GRANT ALLEN, ANDREW WILSON, THOMAS FOSTER, EDWARD CLODD, and RICHARD A. PROCTOR. 5. LEISURE READINGS. BY EDWARD CLODD, A. C. RANYARD, THOMAS FOSTER, and RICHARD A. PROCTOR. Imperial 8vo. cloth, price 5s., post free, 5s, 6d. 6. THE STARS IN THEIR SEASONS. An Easy Guide to a Knowledge of the Stars, in Twelve Maps, showing the Stars at all hours, all the year round. By RICHARD A. PROCTOR. *KNOWLEDGE,' every Friday, price 2d.; Yearly, post free 10s. 10d.; also in Monthly Parts. London: WYMAN & SONS, 74-76 Great Queen Street, W.C. WORKS BY RICHARD A. PROCTOR. FLOWERS OF THE SKY. With 55 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 4s. 6d. EASY STAR LESSONS. With Star Maps for Every Night in the Year, Drawings of the Constellations, &c. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. FAMILIAR SCIENCE STUDIES. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 7s. 6d. MYTHS AND MARVELS OF ASTRONOMY. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. PLEASANT WAYS IN SCIENCE. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH: Familiar Essays on Scientific Subjects. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 68. OUR PLACE AMONG INFINITIES: A Series of Essays Contrasting our Little Abode in Space and Time with the Infinities Around us. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. THE EXPANSE OF HEAVEN: A Series of Essays on the Wonders of the Firmament. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. SATURN AND ITS SYSTEM. New and Revised Edition, with 13 Steel Plates, demy 8vo. cloth extra, 10s. 6d. THE GREAT PYRAMID: Observatory, Tomb, and Temple. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 68. MYSTERIES OF TIME AND SPACE. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 78. 6d. [In preparation. WAGES AND WANTS OF SCIENCE WORKERS. Crown 8vo. 1s. 6d. Mr. Proctor, of all writers of our time, best conforms to Matthew Arnold's conception of a man of culture, in that he strives to humanise knowledge and divest it of whatever is barsh, crude, or technical, and so makes it a source of happiness and brightness for all.'-WESTMINSTER REVIEW. CHATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly, W. VAL STRANGE. BY DAVID CHRISTIE Mr. Christie Murray has surpassed all his former efforts, and given us a novel upon which he might be well content that his fame should rest, if it were possible that so true an artist should ever be finally satisfied with his own work. Without hyperbole, it may be averred that no finer work of fiction has appeared since the death of Charles Dickens.'-MORNING POST. The interest in the plot is well sustained, the characters are clearly drawn, and the dénouement is cleverly managed. The best feature in a work in which good features are not wanting is the dialogue, which is always pointed and bright.'-WORLD. Mr. Murray is fulfilling the promise we spoke of in these pages some time ago, and is asserting for himself an excellent position amongst the novelists of the day. This is the more gratifying because he does not seem to be building his style upon that of any other author. No one who reads the first hundred pages of this novel can for a moment doubt that their writer is a man of strong powers of observation and considerable grasp of character. There are very few novels, even by greater writers than Mr. Murray, which open so well. The character of Hiram Search is quite worthy of Dickens; indeed, while Mr. Murray has not invested him with so much humour as Dickens would probably have done, in other respects we are inclined to think that he might claim superiority. It is a pleasure when, as in this case, we are able to congratulate the author upon the production of a really clever novel.'-BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW. The reader who takes up this novel will feel that he has passed into the breczy healthiness of the sea downs. The plot is well constructed, the characters are fresh and life-like, the incidents often exciting and even startling, but never vulgarly sensational or melodramatic. The world will give a very warm and hearty welcome to these children, as the author calls them, not only for their father's sake, but because of their own inherent nobleness; for, in spite of many sins and imperfections, Val Strange and Gerard Lumby have the true strain of nobility in them, and Hiram is the bravest and gentlest of nature's gentlemen.'-STANDARD. It is no detraction from the merits of Mr. Christie Murray's former novels to say that "Val Strange' contains some of the best work that has yet come from his pen. In the first place" Val Strange" is thoroughly interesting, and in the second it is a really original novel. In all essentials " Val Strange" is a work that cannot be too highly recommended to all in search of a really new novel.'-GRAPHIC. Valentine Strange, who treads the tempting but perilous primrose way, is only the nominal hero of Mr. Christie Murray's clever and attractive novel, the real centre of interest being found in the character of Hiram Search, a conception which, among other charms, has that great and increasingly rare charm of freshness...... The story, as a story, is deftly constructed; and Mr. Christie Murray's style is just the right style for fiction-not garish, but still full of colour and movement, neither too literary nor too free and easy. Here is a sentence which might have been written by George Eliot......" Val Strange" is emphatically an able and interesting book.' THE ACADEMY. A novelist who has been making rapid advances of late years is Mr. David Christie Murray. To our thinking "Val Strange" shows Mr. Murray decidedly at his best. There is not a dull page in it. Even Mr. Murray's padding is not like the ordinary padding in novels. It is bright, well-written moralising, with a flavour that only a man acquainted with many sides of human nature could give to it........The lover of a good novel will find Mr. Christie Murray's three volumes far too few for him, and he will wish, when the last page of the book has been read, that he had another equally good ready to his hand. The story is bright, wholesome, interesting, and shows the hand of a man who really understands his fellows and the art of writing good fiction.'-SCOTSMAN. The author of "Joseph's Coat" is, without doubt, gaining every day a further hold on popular favour, and he is one of those few writers of novels who are not content to live on a single success, but make steady progress in each work that they publish......While we are occasionally reminded, and very pleasantly reminded, of Reade, Dickens, and even of Thackeray, we recognise that Mr. Murray has now a very powerful and individual style of his own...... Mr. Murray's very precious gift of humour would give savour to work of much less intrinsic interest, and he can even be epigrammatic on occasion. Altogether, we can confidently recommend "Val Strange" as a capital story by a powerful and promising writer.'-MANCHESTER EXAMINER. 'Mr. Murray's success has been exceptionally rapid, his career continuously progressive, and we do not think that he has ever done better work than this. Hiram Search is without exception the best character in the novel, and is drawn with great humour. It has a rather strong resemblance to the chief figure in Messrs. Besant and Rice's "Golden Butterfly," but mostly because they are both Yankees, both honest and both humorous. In detail, Mr. Murray's work is here, as elsewhere, all his own, and nothing could be better of the kind.'-GLASGOW HERALD. The lovers of a good novel cannot fail to enjoy "Val Strange." The plot is interesting without being too complicated; the incidents are varied and entertaining, and give rise to several highly dramatic situations, which are well treated.'-WESTMINSTER REVIEW. "Val Strange" is a novel of rare merit, showing very considerable mastery of character with unusual care of construction. Hiram Search is a strong and yet winning individuality, worthy of a great humorist; and he seldom or never opens his lips without saying something either wise or witty.'-TIMES. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 3s. 6d. each. A LIFE'S ATONEMENT. JOSEPH'S COAT. With Illustrations by Fred. Barnard. COALS OF FIRE. With Illustrations by ARTHUR HOPKINS and others. CHATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly, W. THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE ADVERTISER. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 7s. 6d. 15 SCIENCE IN SHORT CHAPTERS. By W. MATTIEU WILLIAMS, F.R.A.S. F.C.S. 'Mr. Mattieu Williams is undoubtedly able to present scientific subjects to the popular mind with much clearness and force; and these essays may be read with advantage by those, who, without having had special training, are yet sufficiently intelligent to take interest in the movement of events in the scientific world.'-ACADEMY. "The title of Mr. Mattieu Williams's "Science in Short Chapters" exactly explains its subject. Clear and simple, these brief reprints from all sorts of periodicals are just what Angelina may profitably read to Edwin while he is sorting his papers, or trimming the lamps, if (like some highly domesticated Edwins) he insists on doing that ticklish bit of house-work himself. In this case "The Social Benefits of Paraffin" would have a special fitness, and might be followed by "The Colouring of Green Tea" in the case of a young couple anxious to spare their nerves. "The Origin of Soap" has a prehistoric smack about it; while "The So-called Volcanic Bombs in Ireland" leads us to suspect that nature occasionally leagues with man in the work of agitation. "Home Gardens for Smoky Towns" is full of useful suggestions. "The Philosophy of the Radiometer shows that Mr. Williams can dive deep as well as skim the surface; and "The Oleaginous Products of Thames Mud" will be consoling to those who are compelled to use butyrine, and who yet would fain eschew the fatnodules which are coagulated from the soapsuds carried down by our London sewers.'--GRAPHIC. 'Few writers on popular science know better how to steer a middle course between the Scylla of technical abstruseness and the Charybdis of empty frivolity than Mr. Mattieu Williams. He writes for intelligent people who are not technically scientific, and he expects them to understand what he tells them when he has explained it to them in his perfectly lucid fashion without any of the embellishments, in very doubtful taste, which usually pass for popularisation. The papers are not mere réchauffés of common knowledge. Almost all of them are marked by original thought, and many of them contain demonstrations or aperçus of considerable scientific value.'-PALL MALL GAZETTE. Mr. Williams points out that there is a growing want in these busy times for short accounts of scientific matters, and he has kept this demand in mind when he was producing the book. The chapters range from such subjects as science and spiritualism to the consumption of smoke. They include a dissertation on iron filings in tea, and they discuss the action of frost on water-pipes and on building materials. The volume begins with an article on the fuel of the sun, and before Mr. it is concluded it deals with Count Rumford's cooking stoves. All these subjects, and a great many more, are treated in a pleasant, informative manner. Williams knows what he is talking about, and he says what he has to say in such a way as to prevent any possible misconception. The book will be prized by all who desire to have sound information on such subjects as those with which it deals.'-SCOTSMAN. 'An interesting mélange of general reading written in a lively and pointed style. Mr. Williams evidently does not believe that "one science only will one genius fit," for in this volume he writes in a familiar tone on subjects varying from the world of insects to the worlds in space, from the source of our coal supply to its limits and uses, including its relation to the domestic fireplace; solids, liquids, gases, facts, fictions, and theories are also handled. While, however, the little learning in those chapters cannot be a very dangerous thing, some readers may be thereby prompted to drink deeper of the Pierian spring.'-GLASGOW HERALD. The author writes pleasantly, and does not treat scientific subjects in the dry manner so commonly used in describing such matters as "The Great Ice Age," or "Meteoric Astronomy."'-MORNING POST. 'We highly recommend this most entertaining and valuable collection of papers. They combine clearness and simplicity, and are not wanting in philosophy likewise.'-TABLET. "Science in Short Chapters" is an extremely interesting volume that certainly needs no apology for its publication. Though short, the chapters are pithy, written in a clear, forcible style, and indicate both originality of thought and great versatility of mind. The subjects dealt with are astronomical, physical, chemical, and geological, but the author writes with equal ability and with equal facility on each, and with a familiarity which, in these days of specialisation, is not often to be met with.'-LEEDS MERCURY. 'There are few writers on the subjects which Mr. Williams selects whose fertility and originality are equal to his own. We read all he has to say with pleasure, and very rarely without profit.' SCIENCE GOSSIP. 'The reader will not grow weary over this work, which contains a large number oi interesting and instructive facts, chiefly relating to chemistry and geology, but which also includes matters so diverse as the fuel of the sun and spiritualism. We can commend the work as good company for a leisure hour. It is always entertaining, and never tedious or dull.' EDINBURGH MEDICAL JOURNAL. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, with Illustrations, 6s. The Great Pyramid: Observatory, Tomb, & Temple. By RICHARD A. PROCTOR. 'A courageous and ingenious attempt to solve in a single volume of modest dimensions a mystery which cannot be said to have been set at rest by the more elaborate works that have been devoted to the same theme. The book furnishes altogether very curious reading.'-DAILY NEWS. 'A book which affords evidence of most careful observation, high scientific attainments, and sound reasoning on a very interesting subject, which, though it has engaged the attention and employed the pens of many able men, seems still far from exhausted.'-GLASGOW HERALD. 'Mr. Proctor brings his usual fascinating style to bear upon a singularly fascinating subject.........When the most famous of the ancient monuments of the world are minutely explained by the latest researches of science, the picture leaves a specially striking impression.'-MANCHESTER EXAMINER. Like everything that Mr. Proctor has written this book is eminently readable, while its conclusions are sound and scientific.-MIDLAND NATURALIST. 'Both lucid and entertaining. Mr. Proctor's book is exactly that which should find a niche in a bookshelf devoted to the reception of works of handy reference as well as of information. It should also be added that it is a work worthy the attention of scholars and scientists who feel interested in one of the most perplexing problems of man's past history.'-EDINBURGH MEDICAL JOURNAL. Mr. Proctor writes with considerable clearness and force, and he has certainly thrown new light on a matter which has perplexed the minds of scientists and philosophers in all ages.'-CONGREGATIONALIST. CHATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly, W. |