Life of Albert Parsons

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like the tale of "The Ancient Mariner." The contrast between the realities which made up the destiny of Parsons, and the utopian idealities he worshiped is so palpable and romantic that his adventures fascinate the reader, like the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. The right or wrong of his opinions and his plans of change will be overshadowed by the interest attaching to the personality, the actions, the motives, the fortunes and the fate of Parsons These will give the book vitality. That Parsons was innocent of the crime for which he was condemned is not seriously disputed now. Parsons was a man of genius, gracefully eloquent in speech. In literary taste and elegance of diction his addresses were far above the average grade of popular oratory. His voice was musical and of great magnetic power. He was a picturesque specimen of that much-quoted product known as the "Typical American." Of Revolution and Mayflower stock, he was thoroughly American by blood and character. He was refined in dress and manner, well knit together, of graceful form and feature. He had great muscular activity, exuberant spirits. delicate, clear-cut features, and very brilliant eyes. There was not a sign of grossness in his form, face, or complexion, and there was a spirituality in his look that revealed a temperament of poetry and dream. His life was a conflict, and the end of it for him was rest.

The Non-Conformist concludes a flattering review of the book thus:

"Talk of your Robert Emmet, your Saul of Tarsus, the heroes of the French Revolution, our own honored John Brown; but gaze at the awfully sublime heroism of this man, who, with an instinct born only of true manhood, comes of his own free will to the bar of (in-) justice and, to satisfy the hungry yells of an infuriated aristocracy, gives himself up to be tried; he is incarcerated, listens to the perjured testimony of the paid assassins, to the pleading before the court, and then, after proving himself clear of any connection whatever, to stand tip and be condemned to death-for will it For holding opinions regarding a system of society that he believed to be an improvement over the systems that now tyrannize the people of the earth."

One of the most remarkable books of this century has just been issued from the press at Chicago. It is the "Life of Albert R. Parsons," and it is one which will attract unusual attention. Men may be divided in their opinions as to the final outcome of the great labor agitation, which in one form or another is now shaking the thrones and governments of the world, * * * but no one can comprehend the political economy of the industrial system of the nineteenth century without first understanding, the poverty, the misery, the degrading of mankind to the level of the brute. * * * * Mrs. Parsons has clone her work well. The motive that has prompted her to attempt the task appeals to every wife-heart.-Mt. Vernon Progressive Farmer.