"DOUBTLESS the gentle hand of time will sometime spread the veil of silence over this painful past; but while we are still gathering its evil aftermath, it is well enough that we do not forget the origin of so many of our evil problems." So says Charles W. Chestnutt, speaking of slavery, in his life of Frederick Douglass. The book is a stirring reminder of stirring times, and a fine portrait of one of the noblest men God ever made. It is largely an anecdote biography, graphic and picturesque, as are nearly all of the volumes of the admirable series, "The Beacon Biographies," of which it forms a part. (Boston: Small, Maynard, and Company. 75 cents.)