Illustrated Library of Travel, Exploration, and Adventure : Japan in
Our Day. Compiled by Bayard Taylor. (New York : Scribner.)—This book is the first of a projected series which is, in the words of the preface, to furnish "a clear, picturesque, and tolerably complete survey of our pre- sent knowledge of lands and races, as it is supplied by the narratives of travellers and explorers, especially those of our own times." The plan of the volume before us is this. Pp. 1-27 contain a brief sketch of Japanese history. For the next twenty-seven pages Mr. Bayard Taylor draws upon Sir Rutherford Alcock. On p. 56 he settles down on the work of M. Aime Humbert, Envoy Extraordinary of the Swiss Con- federation, and as far as we can see, does not leave it again. The editor does his work of compiling and arranging very well, and the result is eminently satisfactory to the reader. Might we express a hope that in another point of view it will be equally so to M. Aime Humbert ? "Volumes on Arabia, with an account of Palgrave's remarkable journey through the interior of the country, and on South Africa, with a history of Dr. Livingstone's unparalleled explorations, will follow."
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