JAMES DARMESTETER, the noted French Orientalist, was born March 28th, 1849, of Jewish parentage. From 1885 until his death, October 19th, 1894, he was professor of the Iranian languages in the Collège de France. His works on Philology are numerous and highly valued. He is happy in popularizing science, as he does in the “Love Songs of the Afghans,” an essay based on a personal investigation made by Darmesteter during a visit to Afghanistan. The subject is specially interesting in view of its bearing on the development of the great Persian classics.