But, most of all, it helps to reveal the mind and vivacity of the writer, who has himself been one of the institutions of Yonkers since 1849.

Hon. G. Hilton Scribner, who came to Yonkers about twenty years ago as a practicing lawyer, and who, from 1871 to 1873, was Secretary of State, has now long confined himself to the management of a New York City railroad. He is, however, another of the amateur writers of Yonkers. His most notable production is a monograph, published about two years ago, entitled " Where did Life Begin ? " It has attracted wide attention for its subject, for the way in which the subject is treated, and from the fact that several minds on both sides of the Atlantic seem almost simultaneously to have set forth its theory, which is, that all life of all varieties began at the poles. Mr. Scribner does not make writing a pursuit, but writes in a neat, self-controlled and pleasant style, which always insures respectful attention for whatever he prints.

Foremost among the writers of Yonkers is the Rev. Henry Martyn Baird, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D., an accomplished linguist, and one of the best read and mo.st scholarly of men. He has been professor of Greek in the University of the City of New York since 1859. His writings have been numerous. A list of them may easily be obtained. It is enough here to cite his last and greatest work, entitled " Rise of the Huguenots of France," published in two volumes in 1879. Dr. Baird was widely known before, but this masterly work gave him a greatly increased reputation. Its style is a model, it thrills with interest, its grasp is profound, and altogether it is a masterpiece. The notices of it by foreign as well as home journals, while independent and in many cases ably critical, have been most flattering, and some have not hesitated to rank the work with the great histories of Prescott and Motley.