and his “hired man,” and in the Principal of the “Apollinean Institoot,” Dr. Holmes has shown his ability to draw those typical characters that represent the higher and lower grades of average human nature; and in calling his work a Romance he quietly justifies himself for mingling other elements in the composition of Elsie and her cousin.  Apart from the merit of the book as a story, it is full of wit, and of sound thought sometimes hiding behind a mask of humor.  Admirably conceived are the two clergymen, gradually changing sides almost without knowing it, and having that persuasion of consistency which men always feel, because they must always bring their creed into some sort of agreement with their dispositions.

There is something melancholy in the fact, that, the moment Dr. Holmes showed that he felt a deep interest in the great questions which concern this world and the next, and proved not only that he believed in something, but thought his belief worth standing up for, the cry of Infidel should have been raised against him by people who believe in nothing but an authorized version of Truth, they themselves being the censors.  For our own part, we do not like the smell of Smithfield, whether it be Catholic or Protestant that is burning there; though, fortunately, one can afford to smile at the Inquisition, so long as its Acts of Faith are confined to the corners of sectarian newspapers.  But Dr. Holmes can well afford to possess his soul in patience.  The Unitarian John Milton has won and kept quite a respectable place in literature, though he was once forced to say, bitterly, that “new Presbyter was only old Priest writ large.”  One can say nowadays, E pur si muove, with more comfort than Galileo could; the world does move forward, and we see no great chance for any ingenious fellow-citizen to make his fortune by a “Yankee Heretic-Baker,” as there might have been two centuries ago.

Dr. Holmes has proved his title to be a wit in the earlier and higher sense of the word, when it meant a man of genius, a player upon thoughts rather than words.  The variety, freshness, and strength which he has lent to our pages during the last three years seem to demand of us that we should add our expression of admiration to that which his countrymen have been so eager and unanimous in rendering.

RECENT AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS

RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY.

History of the United Netherlands:  from the Death of William the Silent to the Synod of Dort.  With a Full View of the English-Dutch Struggle against Spain, and of the Origin and Destruction of the Spanish Armada.  By John Lothrop Motley, LL.D.  New York.  Harper & Brothers. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 532, 563. $4.00.

History of Latin Christianity, including that of the Popes to the Pontificate of Nicolas V. By Henry Hart Milman.  Vol.  V. New York.  Sheldon & Co. 16mo. pp. 530. $1.50.