The Friendships of Women. By William Rounseville Alger. (Trebner.) — It
is a strange excuse for a volume of more than 400 pages, that it grew out of the paucity of materials existing upon its subject. But when we examine Mr. Alger's method of working we are not surprised at the extent of his book. Most of the friendships he records do not at all answer to the usual definition of the word. By friends we understand people who are not bound by either natural or legal ties. It seems absurd to talk of husband and wife, father and daughter, mother and eon, brother and sister as friends, because if any such sympathy existed between them it would necessarily merge in the affection arising out of their relationship. Yet the greater part of Mr. Alger's volume is taken up with these instances of natural affection, to which he has given the name of friendship. Perhaps if he was writing for a French audience there might be something worthy of remark in the fact that some husbands have loved their wives, and have treated them as equal beings. We cannot think that English or American readers will be unprepared for such experiences.
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