'"
_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:--
"Though deep, yet clear,--though gentle, yet not dull,--
Strong without rage,--without o'erflowing, full."
Such books have a special worth in these days of hasty writing. They
admit one to the companionship of thoughtful, well-mannered gentlemen.
One feels that he has been in good company, after reading them; and,
whatever he may have gained of wisdom from the friends he has met in
council, he is also improved in temper and in manners by their society.
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