Mr. William Henry Bishop begins his series of papers on " An American at Home in Europe" in the April number of the Atlantic Monthly. His first chapter is on " House-Hunting and HouseKeeping in Brittany, Paris, and the Suburbs of Paris." "The Federal Taxation of Lotteries," by Hon. T. M. Cooley. late Chief-Justice of Michi gan, will fully repay a careful reading. A cleverly composed " trilogy " on naval subjects will delight the lover of things nautical, — " Admiral Farragul," by Edward Kirk Rawson; " American Sea Songs," by Alfred M. Williams; and "The Limit in Battle Ships," by John M. Ellicott. For the fic tion of the number we find some chapters of Craw ford's " Don Orsino; " and a clever, baffling story by Henry James, called "The Private Life." An interesting study of the impressionist school of painters is furnished by Cecilia Waern, under the title of "Some Notes on French Impressionism."

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care and good judgment in the preparation of the book, and has given to the profession a really valu able addition to the many treatises on the Law of Evi dence. Typographically the volume leaves nothing to be desired. The American State Reports, Vol. XXIII., containing the cases of general value and author ity, decided in the courts of last resort of the several States, selected, reported, and annotated by A. C. Freeman. Bancroft-Whitney Com pany, San Francisco, 1892. $4.00. This last volume of the State Reports is unusually rich in important decisions, which are accompanied by exhaustive and valuable notes by Mr. Freeman. The cases reported include decisions of the courts of California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas. Maine, Massa chusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire. North Carolina, 1 >regon, Pennsylvania. Texas, and Wisconsin. The following cases, with the notes thereto, are especially worthy of mention for their value : King v. Rhew, 108 N. C; Gulf, etc. Rwy. Co v. Brentford, 79 Tex. 619; and Chicago, etc Rwy. Co. v. Chapman, 133 Ill. 96.

BOOK NOTICES. A Treatise on the Law of Identification. A separate branch of the Law of Evidence. Identity of Persons and Things, Animate and Inanimate; The Living and the Dead; Things Real and Personal, in Civil and Criminal Prac tice; Mistaken -Identity; Corpus Delicti; Idem Sonans; Opinion Evidence. By Gkorge E. Harris, of the Washington, D. C. Bar. H. B. Parsons, Publisher, Albany, N. Y., 1892. Law sheep, $5.00 net. In this treatise Mr. Harris devotes himself to the discussion of one of the most important branches of the Law of Evidence, and one which is well worthy of consideration by itself. In a clear and concise manner the author treats of the identity of persons and things, living and dead, animate and inanimate; things real and personal, — in Civil and Criminal practice in England and America, as well as of the various means of identification The subject is one of absorbing interest, perhaps more so than any other one branch of Evidence; and the author, availing himself of this fact, has given us a most readable as well as instructive book. The chapters on the identification of Real Estate, Ancient Records and Documents, and Personal Property are especially valuable to the general practitioner, while the crim inal lawyer will find the work of the greatest aid and assistance. Mr. Harris has evidently exercised great

A Treatise on the Law relating to Public Officers and Sureties in Official Bonds. By Montgomery H. Throop. The J. Y. Johnston Company, New York, 1892. $7.75. In this volume Mr. Throop has collected and ar ranged in a logical and convenient form the general rules of law relating to all public offices, from the highest to the lowest, and sureties in their official bonds. Intended, as it is, for general use, the book does not consider such statutory provisions as mi nutely regulate the powers, duties, liabilities, etc., of public officers, but the author confines himself to an exposition of the law as established by the adjudica tions of the courts of this country and England. In a word, the treatise develops the whole body of the law relating to public officers, whether the principles involve constitutional or statutory construction, or are of common law origin The reformed ballot laws, the civil service law, proceedings to obtain posses sion of books and papers, common law crimes com mitted by officers, and the liability of sureties in official bonds are treated in an able and exhaustive manner. The publishers have taken unusual pains to assure an absolute freedom from error in the work, every citation having been carefully read and verified by their own editors in addition to the author's veri fications, — a precaution which might with advantage be adopted by other publishers. That there is need of such a work as this treatise there can be no doubt;