MONCURE D. CONWAY, one of the most prolific and interesting American essayists of his generation, was born in Stafford County, Virginia, March 17th, 1832. He has been at various periods of his intensely active life both a Methodist and a Unitarian clergyman, but is so free from professional prejudice that after writing the most popular history of the Devil extant, he edited what has become the standard edition of the works of Thomas Paine. During his professional career in the pulpit and in literature, he has lived in Virginia, Ohio, London, and New York. Among his published works are “Idols and Ideals”; “Demonology and Devil Lore”; “The Wandering Jew”; “Carlyle”; “George Washington and Mount Vernon”; “Tracts for To-Day,” etc., in addition to several novels.