would be stark-staring mad, and therefore non compos and reang di bishoppe d too." "By statutes of Henry the Eighth and of Charles the Second, who was com monly called the Merry Monarch, because, as Coke says, he was a sadd dogge'-real property was made devisable." The derivations, too, are often ingenious: "Parliament is a word derived from parler to talk, and mentir to lie, and in this respect Parliament proves itself fully worthy of its origin.". "For this disturbance, the patron may have a writ of quare impedit, which means, Wherefore am I impeded? or as Selden translates it, Why this impe dence?' the word impedence being a manifest corruption of impudence.” 66 Some writers think that society, in its original state, chose the tallest mal amongst them as king. Perhaps the expression in the national anthem, ‘Long to reign over us,' has given rise to this very extraordinary theory." To give an idea of the general character of the book, we copy the first page of the sixteenth chapter of the first book on Parent and Child. "We now come to the tender subject of parent and child, which Shakespeare has so tenderly touched upon in many of his tragedies. Macduff calls his children chickens,' probably because he broods' over the loss of them; and Werner, in Lord Byron's beautiful play of that name, exclaims to Gabor, ‘Are you a father?' a question which, as the Hungarian was a single man, he could not have answered in the affirmative without rendering himself amenable to the very stringent provisions of the 45th of Elizabeth. "Children are of two sorts-boys and girls; though the lawyers still further divide them into legitimate and illegitimate. "The duties of a parent are maintenance and education; or, as Coke would have expressed it, grub and grammar. That the father has a right to maintain his child is as old as Montesquieu; we mean, of course, the rule, not the child or the parent, is as old as Montesquieu, — whose exact age, by the by, we have no means of knowing." Like all professional jesters, Mr. À. Beckett says a great many flat things. There are many local jokes which can hardly be understood by any one unfamiliar with London; and the Comic Blackstone belongs to a class of literature which is fast becoming extinct, and is not likely to be ever revived: but it is the best of its kind; its satire is almost always good-natured; and it well deserves to be perpetuated for the amusement of successive generations of law students, and to show that law "may be approached playfully and without horror," and "that Blackstone, like another black individual, is not so dingy as he is painted." Poems by Alfred W. Arrington, with a Sketch of his Character, and a Memoir. Chicago: E. B. Myers. 1869. WE fear it is a highly improper derogation from the due assumption of editorial omniscience, but really we do not profess to be judges of poetry. We prefer, instead of attempting to make any criticisms of our own, to quote a passage from the prefatory remarks by Charles C. Bonney, Esq., from which our readers can gather a good idea of the contents of this little volume. "Alfred W. Arrington was also a poet; not a mere writer of verse, but a skilful and experienced master of the divine art of clothing the splendors of the imagination and the emotions of the heart in the celestial language of song. "As his legal character was adorned and softened by the glowing passion and beauty of poesy, so his poetry was dignified, strengthened, and exalted by the clearness, logic, and good sense of his legal learning. Neither confusion of metaphor nor vagueness of expression offend the taste in his harmonious verse. Like a living stream from the top of a heaven-crowned mountain, his songs flow on to the sea, with increasing beauty, purity, and power. His verse is generally as noble in sentiment as it is musical in expression, and is frequently shaded by the elevated and touching melancholy so common to superior minds. The strength of his genius and the solidity of his attainments are well indicated by the fact, that he intended to undertake so daring a legal and literary task as the composition of a work on the Poetry of the Law; and those who are familiar with the aphoristic style of his arguments, will readily perceive how admirably he could have expressed in verse the doctrines of that unsurpassed system of jurisprudence which is the crowning glory of American constitutional government." We think we may venture to say, that no one can read the verses in this volume, without feeling regret that Judge Arrington did not live to carry out the very remarkable plan of which Mr. Bonney speaks. The Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence. Edited by WILLIAM A. HAMMOND, M.D. Vol. III., No. 1. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1869. THE January number contains no articles on subjects which come properly under the head of Medical Jurisprudence. Perhaps the most interesting paper to the general reader is one on Magic and Astrology in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. At the end of the number is the following note: "The editor regrets being obliged to state, that he did not discover, till too late for rectification, that the article in this number of the Psychological Journal on Benedict de Spinoza is in great part not original. It contains uncredited verbatim passages from Mr. Froude's paper published in the Westminster Review for July, 1855, and probably plagiarisms from other authors." The sense of editorial responsibility, unfortunately too rare, which is shown by this brief note, tends to increase the reader's confidence in the conduct of this excellent periodical. The Law Magazine and Law Review, or Quarterly Journal of Jurisprudence, for February, 1869, being No. 52 of the New Series. London: Butterworths. THIS number contains rather jejune biographical sketches of Lord Kingsdown, Lord Cranworth, and Lord Curriehill, discussions on recent decisions on the Law of Jettison, of Postnuptial Settlements, and of the Equitable Doctrine of Notice; a rather sharp review of a book on Indian Criminal Law and Procedure, and an article on the "Amalgamation of the Two Branches of the Legal Profession," in which an attempt, not in our judgment very successful, is made to combat the opinion expressed by Mr. Justice Hannen, at the Solicitors' Benevolent Association, in favor of uniting the class of barristers with that of attorneys. Western Jurist for December, 1868, and February, 1869. American Law Register for November, 1868, and January and February, 1869. THE volumes of the Register have hitherto begun in November. To change this so that the volumes might begin with the year, the November number was issued as No. 13 of the Seventh Volume of the New Series, no number was published in December, and the number for January, 1869, begins the Eighth Volume of the New Series. The American Law Times and Official Journal of the Courts and Departments. Washington, D. C. THIS monthly periodical was established in January, 1868; but its regular publication seems to have been attended with delays and difficulties, and it is only within a few months that we have become aware of its existence. It now seems, however, to have made a fair start on its second year. The distinctive character of the American Law Times is its almost entirely exclusive devotion to the doings in the United States Courts and Departments: it is only incidentally that it alludes to proceedings before the State tribunals. The paper itself contains lists of official appointments, State papers, and other miscellaneous information; but the most valuable feature in the publication are three sets of sixteen pages each of smaller size. The first contains the official decisions of the Departments at Washington; the second, opinions of the Federal Courts in Bankruptcy Cases; and the third, opinions of those Courts in other cases. These three sets are prepared so that they can be bound up in separate volumes. Such a publication has long been needed, and we trust it will be established on a permanent basis. The Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal. New York. The Bankrupt Register. New York. THE character of this periodical, invaluable to all practitioners in bankruptcy, has been steadily improving, especially in the excellence of the head-notes, which were at first very inaccurate, even when they were not omitted altogether. We strongly urge greater care in the citation of cases; all the references should be verified, and much time and annoyance thus saved to the reader. The Legal Intelligencer. Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh Legal Journal. The Chicago Legal News. The Law Transcript. Baltimore. The New York Daily Transcript. The Canada Law Journal. Toronto. THE Canada Law Journal, which was published at Montreal, came to a close, with the end of its fourth volume, in October, 1868. A LIST OF LAW BOOKS PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA SINCE JANUARY 1, 1869. Abbott's Law of Merchant Ships and Seamen. Eleventh edition, by Shea. 8vo, cloth, 30s. Shaw & Sons, London. Addison's Law of Contracts. Sixth edition, by Cave. 8vo, cloth, 38s. Stevens & Sons, London. Allen's Massachusetts Reports. Vol. 14. 8vo, sheep, $5.50. Hurd & Houghton, New York. Angell's Treatise on the Limitations of Actions at Law and Suits in Equity and Admiralty. Fifth edition, revised and enlarged by John W. May. 8vo, sheep, $7.50. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. Angell's Treatise on Watercourses. Sixth edition, revised, corrected, and enlarged by Hon. J. C. Perkins. 8vo, sheep, $7.50. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. Atkinson's Sheriff Law. Fifth edition. 12mo, cloth, 12s. Sweet, London. Batchelder's Manual of the Laws of Massachusetts in Relation to Manufacturing Corporations. 12mo, cloth, $2.50; sheep, $2.75. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. California Reports. Vol. 34. (Hale.) 8vo, sheep, $17.50. Sumner Whitney, San Francisco. Clark's Digested Index to all the Reports in the House of Lords, from 1814 to the end of House of Lords Cases. 8vo, half calf, $16.00. Butterworths, London. Clifford's Reports of Cases in the United States Circuit Court, First Circuit. 8vo, sheep, $6.00. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. Code of the State of Georgia, (The) prepared by R. H Clark, T. R. R. Cobb, and D. Irwin. 8vo, sheep, $10.00. J. J. Toon, Atlanta. Common Bench Reports, New Series, by Scott. Vol. 14. American edition by Parsons. 8vo, sheep, $4.00. T. & J. W. Johnson & Co., Philadelphia. Connecticut Reports. Vol. 34. (Hooker.) 8vo, sheep, $4.75. Lockwood & Brain ard, Hartford. Cripp's Practical Treatise on the Law relating to the Church and Clergy. Fifth edition. 8vo, cloth, 31s. 6d. Sweet, London. Erle's Law relating to Trade Unions. Post 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. Macmillan & Co., London. Gerard's Titles to Real Estate in the State of New York. 8vo. Baker, Voorhis, & Co., New York. Godefroi and Shortt's Law of Railway Companies, with Notes of Cases. 8vo, clotl 32s. Stevens & Haynes, London. Grattan's Virginia Reports. Vol. 18. 8vo, sheep, $7.50. Fergusson & Rady, Ricl.. mond. Gray's Massachusetts Reports. Vol. 15. 8vo, sheep, $5.50. Little, Brown, & Co, Boston. Hurlstone and Coltman's Exchequer Reports. Vol. 3. American edition by Par sons. 8vo, sheep, $4.00. T. & J. W. Johnson, & Co., Philadelphia. Illinois Reports. (Freeman.) Vol. 41. 8vo, sheep, $6.50. E. B. Myers & Co., Chicago. Indiana Reports. Vol. 28. (Harrison.) 8vo, sheep, $5.50. Douglas & Connor, Kansas Reports. Vol. 4. (Banks.) 8vo, sheep, $6.50. John Speer, Lawrence. more. 12mo, cloth, 5s. Maxwell & Son, London. (Brewer.) 8vo, sheep, $6.00. J. G. King, Annapolis. (Stockett.) 8vo, $6.00. John Murphy & Co., Balti 'Meteor," Report of the Case of the Steamship, edited by F. V. Balch. 8vo, cloth, $2.50; sheep, $3.00. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. New Hampshire Reports. Vol. 47. (Hadley.) 8vo, sheep, $5.00. B. W. Sandborn & Co., Concord. New York Court of Appeals Reports. Vols. 38 & 39. (Keyes, Vols. 1 & 2.) $4.50 each. Weare C. Little, Albany. Parsons's Law of Shipping and Admiralty. 2 vols. 8vo, $15.00. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. Prinsep's Code of Criminal Procedure Act for British India. Second edition. Royal 8vo, cloth, 21s. W. H. Allen & Co., London. Redfield on the Law of Wills. Part I. Third edition. 8vo, sheep, $7.50. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. Reeves' History of English Law. A new edition with notes by Finlason. Vol. 1. 8vo, cloth, 14s. (To be completed in 3 vols.) Reeves & Turner, London. Savigny's Private International Law. Translated by Guthrie. 8vo, cloth, 12s. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. Smith's Elementary View of the Proceedings in an Action at Law. Tenth edition, by Prentice. 12mo, cloth, 12s. Stevens & Sons, London. Smith on Contracts. Fifth American edition. 8vo, sheep, $5.50. T. & J. W. John son & Co., Philadelphia. Starkie's Treatise on the Law of Slander and Libel. Third edition, by Folkard. 8vo, cloth, 42s. Butterworths, London. Starling's Indian Criminal Law and Procedure. Royal 8vo, cloth, 30s. W. H. Allen & Co., London. Statutes at Large of the United States of America, passed at the Second Session of the Fortieth Congress, 1867-8, and Treaties: carefully collated with the originals at Washington. Edited by G. P. Sanger. Royal 8vo, sewed, $2.50. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston. Steele's Law and Customs of Hindoo Castes, within the Deccan Provinces. Royal 8vo, cloth, 21s. W. H. Allen & Co., London. Stewart's Treatise on the Law of Scotland, relating to the Rights of Fishery. 8vo, cloth, 15s. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. Wolferstan's Law and Practice of Election Petitions. 12mo, cloth, 14s. Stevens & Sons, London. |