be the chief theme,' is punctiliously and satisfactorily
fulfilled. He carries out his promise in a complete, vivid, and
delightful way. We should add that the literary execution of the
work is worthy of the indefatigable industry and unceasing vigilance
with which the stores of historical material have been accumulated,
weighed, and sifted. The cardinal qualities of style, lucidity,
animation, and energy, are everywhere present. Seldom indeed has a
book in which matter of substantial value has been so happily united
to attractiveness of form been offered by an American author to his
fellow-citizens."--_New York Sun._

"To recount the marvelous progress of the American people, to
describe their life, their literature, their occupations, their
amusements, is Mr. McMaster's object. His theme is an important one,
and we congratulate him on his success. It has rarely been our
province to notice a book with so many excellences and so few
defects."--_New York Herald._

"Mr. McMaster at once shows his grasp of the various themes and his
special capacity as a historian of the people. His aim is high, but
he hits the mark."--_New York Journal of Commerce._

" ... The author's pages abound, too, with illustrations of the best
kind of historical work, that of unearthing hidden sources of
information and employing them, not after the modern style of
historical writing, in a mere report, but with the true artistic
method, in a well-digested narrative.... If Mr. McMaster finishes
his work in the spirit and with the thoroughness and skill with
which it has begun, it will take its place among the classics of
American literature."--_Christian Union._

* * * * *

New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 3, & 5 Bond Street.

_ABRAHAM LINCOLN: The True Story of a Great Life_. By WILLIAM H.
HERNDON and JESSE W. WEIK. With numerous Illustrations. New and
revised edition, with an introduction by HORACE WHITE. In two volumes.
12mo. Cloth, $3.00.

This is probably the most intimate life of Lincoln ever written. The
book, by Lincoln's law-partner, William H. Herndon, and his friend
Jesse W. Weik, shows us Lincoln the man. It is a true picture of his
surroundings and influences and acts. It is not an attempt to
construct a political history, with Lincoln often in the background,
nor is it an effort to apotheosize the American who stands first in
our history n