The Magazine of American History.

The February number of the Magazine of American History is unusually interesting, being devoted chiefly to articles on George Washington, as this is the month in which his birthday occurs.

The leading article of the number, "George Washington," by Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, is highly entertaining and instructive, as it treats of that period in Washington's life, of which the public know least, his career as president and his later life. Extracts taken from his diary reveal the simplicity and dignity of our first president, and from a vivid description of his official life in New York. There are several plates accompanying the article, among which are copies of portraits of Washington by distinguished artists of that time.

Thirty pages of the number are devoted to the "Unpublished Letters of Washington," selected and explained by William Henry Smith. Most of the letters printed were written during his service in the French and Italian War, and offers to the reader an interesting account of Colonel Washington's anxieties and dangers in his first battles, Mr. Smith improves the opportunity to criticize Mr. Sparks severely for changing the text of some of these letters in his book called "The Writings of Washington."

A short account of "Washington as an Angler," by George H. Moore, follows. It is made up of extracts from Washington's diary and relates to fishing trips taken in New York and New Hampshire.

"The Stars in our Flag," a brief paper by Schuyler Hamilton, is an attempt to dissipate idle stories and to trace the adoption of the thirteen stars to its original source.

"A Memory of the Revolution" is an interesting description of the disinterment of the remains of an officer supposed to be General Frazer of Burgoyne's army.

The next article, a selection of extracts from the correspondence of Charles John Macurdy and David Dudley Field is an instructive rather than interesting discussion of truth in legal investigation.

Some original documents of Washington and minor topics make up the number