that upon their final success rested not only the hope of the continuance of British supremacy in India, but the very lives of those dear to them,—­and, worst of all, compelled to submit to a succession of incompetent generals, whose timidity and irresolution baffled the best designs of officers and the dashing bravery of the troops;—­the pictures which Hodson gives of this little army, of its unflagging spirit and resolution, and its valorous deeds, are drawn with such truth as to bring the successive scenes vividly before the imagination.  Hodson himself was one of the best and most useful of a noble corps of officers.  His modesty does not hide the grounds of the enthusiasm which was felt for him by his men,—­of the admiration that he excited among his fellows.  The story of the capture of the King and Princes, after the fall of Delhi, is one of the most interesting stories of daring ever told.  You hold your breath as you read it.  It was a gallant deed, done in the most gallant way.

Altogether, the book is one of thoroughly manly tone and temper,—­a book to make those who read it manlier, to put to shame the cowardice of easy life, to make men more honest, more enduring, more energetic, by the example which it sets before them.  Hodson’s life was short, but its result will last.  There was no sham about it, no meanness,—­nothing but what was large, true, and generous.  As one turns the last page, it is with no regret that such a man should have died in the fight, for he was a Christian soldier.  He was the preux chevalier of our times.  The words in which Sir Ector mourns for his brother, Sir Lancelot, are fit for his epitaph. “‘Ah, Sir Lancelot,’ said hee, ’thou were head of all christen knights!  An now I dare say,’ said Sir Ector, ’that, Sir Lancelot, there thou liest, thou were never matched of none earthly knight’s hands; and thou were the curtiest knight that ever bare shield; and thou were the truest friend to thy lover that ever bestrood horse; and thou were the truest lover of a sinful man that ever loved woman; and thou were the kindest man that ever strook with sword; and thou were the goodliest person that ever came among presse of knights; and thou were the meekest man and the gentlest that ever eate in hall among ladies; and thou were the sternest knight to thy mortall foe that ever put speare in the rest.’”

Friends in Council.  A Series of Readings and Discourse thereon.  A New Series. 2 vols.  Boston:  James Munroe & Co. 1860.

The best class of readers in England and America are sure to give a cordial welcome to a new book by Mr. Helps.  Nothing better need be said of this second series of “Friends in Council” than that it is a worthy sequel of the first.  It is the work of a man of large experience and wide culture,—­of one who is at the same time a student and a man of the world, versed in history and practically acquainted with affairs.  Refined thoughtfulness and common sense combine to give value to all that Mr. Helps writes, and he is master of a style at once manly and elegant, quiet and strong.  Two famous lines, which occur in a passage quoted in these volumes, serve well to characterize their merits:—­