incidents which go to
form his entertaining and valuable book.

_Inside: a Chronicle of Secession._ By GEORGE F. HARRINGTON.
New York: Harper and Brothers.

The author of this novel tells us that it was written in the heart of
the rebellious territory during the late war, and that his wife
habitually carried the manuscript to church with her in her pocket,
while on one occasion he was obliged to bury it in the ground to
preserve it from the insidious foe. These facts, in themselves
startling, appear yet more extraordinary on perusal of the volume, in
which there seems to be nothing of perilous value. Nevertheless, to the
ill-regulated imagination of the Rebels, this novel might have appeared
a very dangerous thing, to be kept from ever seeing the light in the
North by all the means in their power; and we are not ready to say that
Mr. Harrington's precautions, though unusual, were excessive. It is true
that we see no reason why he should not have kept the material in his
mind, and tranquilly written it out after the war was over.

Let us not, however, give too slight an idea of the book's value because
the Preface is silly. The story is sluggish, it must be confessed, and
does not in the least move us. But the author has made a very careful
study of his subject, and shows so genuine a feeling for character and
manner that we accept his work as a faithful picture of the life he
attempts to portray. Should he write another fiction, he will probably
form his style less visibly upon that of Thackeray, though it is
something in his favor that he betrays admiration for so great a master
even by palpable imitation; and we hope he will remember that a story,
however slender, must be coherent. In the present novel, we think the
characters of Colonel Juggins and his wife done with masterly touches;
and General Lamum, politician pure and simple, is also excellent.
Brother Barker, of the hard-shell type, is less original, though good;
while Captain Simmons, Colonel Ret Roberts, and other village idlers and
great men, seem admirably true to nature. Except for some absurd
melodrama, the tone of the book is quiet and pleasant, and there is here
and there in it a vein of real pathos and humor.

_Royal Truths._ By HENRY WARD BEECHER. Boston: Ticknor and
Fields.

We imagine that most readers, in turning over the pages of this volume,
will not be greatly struck by the novelty of the truths urged. Indeed,
they