THE NATIONAL REVIEW.

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APTAIN MAHAN contributes to the National Review for September a twenty-page arti the Persian Gulf and international relations. He seems to believe in the antagonism between England and Russia in Persia, and therefore advocates the construction of a German railway line through Asia Minor which would have as its outlet on the Persian Gulf a British port. It may be noted that Captain Mahan in the course of his article makes the following remark: "There is certainly in America a belief, which I share, that Great Britain has been tending to lose ground in international economical matters. Should it prove permanent, and Germany at the same time gain upon her continuously, the relative positions of the two as seapowers would be seriously modified."

UNIVERSITY REFORM.

Dr. H. E. Armstrong, professor of chemistry at the Central Technical College, writes upon the need for general culture at Oxford and Cambridge. He declares that it is difficult not to believe that British educational authorities have been engaged in a silent conspiracy to undo the nation and deprive the Briton of individuality by a system of examinations and scholarships which encourage cram, and stifle both the spirit of inquiry and the development of character. Whatever elements of good may be discovered in England's educational system, it is impossible to deny that there is a total absence of organization. To secure success there must be reform at the same time both above and below. The establishment of an efficient system of technical instruction is dependent upon the upgrowth of an efficient system of general instruction. At present the control of the educational system rests almost entirely in the hands of politicians and benevolent amateurs. Half a dozen strong, sympathetic men at the Education Department, with power to act and supported by government, could solve the problem in a very few years.

ENGLISH "COMPANY DIRECTORS."

stock companies, and he insists that these directors should be obliged to give financial guarantees for their responsibility and independence.

Mr. W. R. Lawson maintains that English jointstock finance is threatened with as bad a breakdown as the British War Office sustained at the outset of the South African War. He says that nine-tenths of the company directors have had no education whatever for duties demanding the highest skill and judgment. He draws up a table showing that of 1,143 companies occupying the broad zone between banks, insurance, home railways, and mining companies, 980 at present have their stock quoted below par. These 1,100 companies have 6,000 directors, most of whom are either incompetent or inefficient. He thinks that something might be done to get practical, trained directors for industrial joint

BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE.

LACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE" for September contains a good short travel paper by Reginald Wyon, entitled "Montenegrin Sketches." "Linesman continues his interesting series of papers describing the adventures of his brigade on the heels of De Wet.

An anonymous writer, signing "L," discourses concerning the Boers in an article in which he warns Englishmen that all the living Boers are irreconcilable. They live in the past, and the past holds nothing for them but anger and distrust. "No single one of our transactions with them has been of a joyful or friendly nature, not one but has seemed to them dishonest, oppressive, or cowardly. . . . To the beaten Boer there is no future worth winning." The English tell him he will become great and famous. But all his life long he has prayed for obscurity. What is progress to a man whose earnest wish was to stand still? Or riches to one who dreads and despises them? Or imperial citizenship to an anchorite whose share even in the primitive government of his republic was oppressive to him? The writer says there is no doubt that when for the first time England governed the Boer nation she misgoverned it. She promised, and did not perform; she threatened and did not punish; she went to war and did not win. She invoked the sun and the rivers to attest her immovability, and moved; and to the Boer mind ever since she has been a nation of unjust, impotent braggarts.

There is a little dithyrambic article by Edward Hutton upon Venice after the fall of the Campanile; and a characteristic Blackwoodian article about the new ball with a core in it, which the Americans have invented, which bids fair to supersede the ball with which all golfers at present play. The feather-stuffed ball of the olden days cost $1.25, till the gutta-percha ball at 25 cents took its place. At present the new core ball costs 62% cents, and compared with the solid gutta-percha ball the new American ball covers one-third more distance. Judged, however, by the championship results, the core ball is only better than the gutta-percha by one stroke in three hundred and eight.

THE CORNHILL MAGAZINE.

N the Cornhill Magazine for September, the editor

of papers

on "Prospects in the Professions," written by carefully selected experts, who not unnaturally prefer to remain anonymous. The purpose of these papers, the first of which is on the royal navy,-is to give parents some of the many "wrinkles" which they could, perhaps, not pick up otherwise, and which might save them much expense and disappointment. The question of the advantages and disadvantages of the professions, the essential qualities for success, the deficiencies which must cause failure, the amount of outlay actually (not nominally) to be incurred, enlightenment on all these points should provoke gratitude from many a father with sons to place in the world. On the whole, the navy apparently offers very good average prospects.

Viscount St. Ayres says in an amusing literary paper on Martin Tupper:

thing best that he naturally regards all those human beings who have not the good fortune to be born in China as outer barbarians. Even now there are many districts in China where Europeans are believed to be creatures stone blind, with red hair and red faces, and of semi-amphibious nature—that is, living half their time on earth and half their time in the sea. It has often been said that the Chinaman has extraordinary command over his nerves, and can apparently compel himself to feel glad or sorry, according to his mood. At a family funeral the mourners are all very cheerful till the moment comes when they are informed that they must be sorrowful. They then fall to weeping bitterly, and exhibit every sign of intense distress. After this has gone on for some time, the chief mourner observes, "I thank you; that is enough," and, as if by magic, every tear is dried; the men seize their pipes, and begin again laughing and drinking with great good humor.

THE FRENCH NAVY IN THE ORIENT.

In the second number of the August Revue, undoubtedly the most important article is an anonymous and romewhat technical account of the new arrangements made concerning the disposition of the French fleet in the far East. At the present moment, France's possible adversaries would naturally be England and Japan, and the writer concludes that, in that case, the allies would be face to face, not only with France, but also with Russia, who always keeps a portion of her fleet in Chinese waters. The anonymous writer draws careful parallels between the naval conflicts which took place during the last twenty years of the eighteenth century and those which may occur during the next twenty years. He warns the French Admiralty that in such a far Eastern naval conflict as that foreseen by him, France would be in no sense prepared to hold her own with England.

FRANCE A COMMERCIAL NATION.

M. Bérard, who has become a great authority on all commercial questions, contributes an interesting article on the place now held by France in the commercial world. He warns his countrymen, and especially those interested either directly or indirectly in the world's markets, to beware of Anglophobia, for from a commercial point of view the United Kingdom has long been France's best friend and customer. Unlike Germany, the British empire does not seek to acquire her lively neighbor's happy hunting-grounds; she is content to trade with her fair neighbor; indeed, even at the present time the French manage to sell to England goods of twice the value of those which England each year sells to her. Further, wealthy as is the British empire in much that is lacking to France, the French often contrive to make a profit out of what should be purely British products. Thanks in a great measure to Mr. Rhodes, the colonial Briton has now a monopoly of the diamond industry, but the art of diamond-cutting has remained a Continental art, and the De Beers diamonds are all bound to make a short sojourn in Paris before they can be displayed to the retail customer. As for the enormous trade done in French eggs and butter, the fact has been pointed out numberless times in innumerable British publications, and were the United Kingdom to disappear into the sea, there are whole departments of northern France which would find themselves on the verge of bankruptcy. In addition to the egg-and-butter trade, France seems to have a practical

monopoly of certain fruits, and England buys forty million francs' worth of fresh fruit from France each year. The humble but useful sardine means a turnover of fifteen million francs. Fifty millions' worth of French butter is consumed in England, and an instructive chapter could be written concerning the popularity of French wines, notably champagne. M. Bérard speaks with touching sympathy of the energetic promoters of the National Poultry Organization Society; but he points out with considerable shrewdness that in this matter France has nothing to fear from her British rival, for the French farmer's wife devotes herself to the rearing of poultry in a way that no modern Englishwoman would consent to do, and as long as this is so France will go on supplying England with eggs, butter, and poultry to the tune of seventy million francs each year.

NOUVELLE REVUE.

ΤΗ

HE place of honor in the Nouvelle Revue for August is given to M. Fallot's shrewd analysis of the present Maltese crisis. The writer has paid two long visits to Malta, and so considers himself well equipped to deal with the difficult language question. He begins by pointing out that were it not for Great Britain a great portion of the population of Malta would have to leave the island, or else remain to die of hunger. But in spite of this fact, which is fully recognized by the Maltese, the island has never become really British in affection and sentiment, and the French writer accuses the British residents and officials of treating the Maltese native nobility and gentry with scorn. Although until comparatively lately Malta was exceptionally fortunate in her form of government, being in no wise managed from Downing Street, the unfortunate interference of Mr. Chamberlain in the difficult and delicate language question caused the smouldering embers of dislike to burst into flame. The Maltese are now on the worst of terms with their rulers, and this in spite of the fact that the home authorities have given way on the language question.

M. Lacour contributes some curious pages concerning high temperatures and the causation of great heat, especially that artificially produced. Curiously enough, it is extremely difficult to make a thermometer strong enough to register certain high temperatures; as to mercury, it begins to boil comparatively soon.

LOCUSTS IN ALGERIA.

M. de Tiallis gives a striking account of the modern plagues of locusts, so dreaded by the Algerian colonist. During the nineteenth century there were four great visitations, -in 1846, in 1866, in 1874, and in 1891. No noxious insect, and for the matter of that no animal, can do more mischief in a short time than can the humble-looking locust; a tract of land which is noted for its fertility and beautiful luxuriance will in the course of a few hours be so completely denuded of every blossoming and green thing as to recall the desert. The eloquent words of the prophet Joel are as true to-day as they were when he first delivered them. All sorts of extraordinary remedies have been proposed, of which perhaps the most absurd and the least practical was that of arming a battalion of soldiers with butterfly nets. More profitable experiments have been made by scientists, and nowadays some locusts are destroyed with the aid of insecticides, but no effective method of combating these African pests has yet been discovered.

OTHER ARTICLES.

M. Filliol contributes a highly technical and curious paper on what may be called the mysterious beginnings of rivers. Both to the poet and the engineer there is something very striking and mysterious in the thought that the great rivers of the world almost invariably start from tiny springs, and the problem of "where the water comes from" has occupied many minds both in the past and in the present.

In the second August number M. Ghuesi gives a sympathetic sketch of the childhood and youth of Mme. Juliette Adam, the brilliant French woman who founded the Nouvelle Revue some twenty years ago, and who may well claim to have played a very real and constructive part in modern French republican history.

"L

LA REVUE.

A REVUE" for August contains many articles of the highest interest, several of which are noticed separately.

Professor Vambéry calls attention to the growth of German influence in Turkey since 1870. The Turkish official language even contains the word aleman (French allemand). At Constantinople there are an increasing number of Germans in high favor with the Sultan. None of these functionaries are or have been really worth their high salaries, except Baron von der Goltz, whose instruction of the Turkish officers was certainly worth its cost. How soon Turkey will see that she is pulling the chestnuts out of the fire for Germany, Professor Vambéry leaves to others to discuss. Certainly Germany loses no opportunity of profiting by her friend. But, equally certain, German influence has left the masses of the people quite untouched; the German does not conciliate the Asiatics nearly so much as the English or French; and German advance and the Bagdad Railway (which is to regenerate Turkey) will certainly displease Russia, and sooner or later England.

LITERARY ARTICLES.

M. Montfort describes the new literary generation in France, which has arisen chiefly since 1895. France's literary vitality is amazing. Every fifteen years it produces a new generation. Most of the names of the rising literary generation of to-day are not well known yet even in England, not to speak of the United States. The best known are those of Jean Viollis, Marc Lafargue, Louis Lamarque, and André Fleury.

Fray Candil's paper on "Intellectual Spain" is devoted to an appreciation of Larra the critic, Espronceda the poet, and Rosales the painter. Madrid has just opened a Pantheon of her own.

MM. Savitch and Kniajnine's paper on the Russian home and foreign press chiefly excites amazement that such a thing as a Russian newspaper can possibly exist.

M. Klingsor has two illustrated papers on French caricaturists.

Mme. Rémusat writes of the new Danish novel. She says pessimism is the keynote of the Danish novel. Of the modern works deserving serious consideration not one celebrates the joy of life.

M. Muret has a lengthy study of "an American naturalist poet"-Thoreau; and Mary Summer's paper on the conquest of the supreme intelligence is a biographical sketch of Buddha.

OTHER PAPERS.

Dr. Rouby writes of the Nun of Grèzes, Sœur SaintFleuret, who has been perplexing France by declaring herself possessed of a devil. Dr. Rouby says the devil is hysteria.

M. Coupin has a charming paper on 'Animals which Never Pay their Rent," chiefly birds who usurp other birds' nests.

There is a long, remarkable poem by Ibsen, and the usual reviews of books and magazines.

A

GERMAN MAGAZINES.

N" independent politician " concludes his eulogistic paper in the Deutsche Revue upon Prince Hohenlohe as Chancellor. He was not a good speaker, had not the fire of a Bebel, the sarcasm of a Richter, or the pathos of Dr. Lieber, and the way in which he said things did not please people. But what he said was always important, profound, and in a classical form.

The Deutsche Rundschau contains several interesting articles. M. von Brandt writes upon "The End of the South African War." He points out that everything should be done to allay the animosity between England and Germany, and regrets that the Times, the Spectator, and the National Review seem to have made it their special business to try and make trouble not only between Germany and England, but also between other powers. Mr. Walter Gensel contributes a paper upon art at the Düsseldorf Exhibition. He regrets that the German section was by no means representative. The best art cannot be said to come from Germany, nor indeed from France or England, who have had the lead alternately for so many years. It is to be found in the paintings of Americans and Scandinavians, and the sculptures of Belgians. Von Ernst Elster discusses the question of Heine's nationality.

The Monatsschrift für Stadt und Land contains an article by C. von Zepelin upon Russia's position in the far East. He sketches the gradual building up of a Russian colony on the Pacific, and predicts a great future for it. The great trans-continental railway will increase immigration as well as assure the military position. In addition, the unwilling assistance of foreign powers will help its development, and it is sure to play a great rôle in the opening up of the East.

The Socialistische Monatshefte has an article by Eduard Fuchs upon French caricature in 1870-71. It is illustrated with several reproductions, which show that the style of French cartoon has altered very little during the intervening thirty years. All sorts of problems are being worked out in Austria just now, and in consequence Friedrich Hertz's article upon national democracy in the empire is very timely. His conclusion is that Austria can be reconstituted only from the spirit of the masses, can win power and strength only by means of political democracy and national autonomy. Adolph von Elm describes the fourth German Mining Congress.

BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY. OME of the brightest bits of autobiography that have

L. Cuyler's "Recollections of a Long Life" (New York: Baker & Taylor Company). The publication of this book serves to remind us that of all that famous group of preachers, who, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, gave a world-wide renown to Brooklyn pulpits, Dr. Cuyler alone is left. It is not this fact alone, however, that gives interest to his book; all through his life, even before he became a distinguished clergyman, his travels and associations with noted men of all professions afforded excellent material for a volume of this kind. One feature of the work which gives it a vital interest is the remarkable collection of anecdotes of great men and details of conversations held with them many years since. On Dr. Cuyler's first trip abroad, sixty years ago, when he was a young Princeton graduate, he visited such men as Wordsworth, Carlyle, and Dickens, and the talks with these literary worthies, which Dr. Cuyler's remarkable memory enables him to reproduce, are so characteristic and vivacious that the reader only wishes for more. Of even greater interest to some classes of readers, perhaps, are Dr. Cuyler's recollections of the great American reformers of his generation, the Beechers, the Finneys, the Moodys, the Goughs, and other distinguished workers and orators, some of whom are almost fading from the recollection of the men of our day. Among the writers and journalists, Dr. Cuyler's acquaintance with Washington Irving, John G. Whittier, and Horace Greeley was intimate and of long duration, and among statesmen Abraham Lincoln was proud to count the Brooklyn pastor as his warm personal friend.

The missionary of whom Robert Louis Stevenson could write "A man that took me fairly by storm as the most attractive, simple, brave, and interesting man in the whole Pacific" is surely worthy of a larger circle of acquaintances than he was able to enjoy in his lifetime. To many readers the new volume entitled: "James Chalmers: His Autobiography and Letters" (Revell) will bring the first revelation of a singularly devoted and heroic life. Chalmers was a Scotch missionary who gave his life to the redemption of the savages of New Guinea, and suffered martyrdom there only a little more than a year ago. Chalmers lived a life that was simple in its devotion to duty, and found little time for the commemoration of his services in literary efforts. The autobiography that he left was a very brief one, and in the present volume it has been supplemented by a mass of correspondence and reports, part of which was supplied by his family and a part by the archives of the missionary society under which he served. Chalmers was sixty years of age when he was killed by the natives, and his career as a missionary had covered somewhat less than forty years. There was much in it of thrilling adventure and repeated instances of personal bravery, so that the reader can hardly fail to join with Stevenson in his commendation of this heroic missionary as indeed an "attractive, simple, brave, and interesting man."

Dr. L. L. Doggett's life of Robert R. McBurney (Cleveland: F. M. Barton) is something more than a biography, since of necessity it involves an account of the rise and development of the Young Men's Christian Associations of America. For over thirty years Mr. McBurney was secretary of the New York Y. M. C. A., and, by common consent, was regarded as the leading spirit of the American Association movement. Dr. Howard Crosby once said that no Christian minister had rendered a greater service.

Unlike any published autobiography of this or any other year is Dr. Charles A. Eastman's "Indian Boyhood" (McClure, Phillips & Co.). Dr. Eastman, who is a full-blooded Sioux Indian, can remember the Minnesota massacre of 1862, when he and his people were obliged to flee for their lives to the plains of the far Northwest before the enraged settlers and soldiers of what was then our frontier. In after years Dr. Eastman embraced our civilization, was educated in our schools, and married a white wife, but never has he lost his love of some of the old tribal customs into which he was born, and which he so well describes in this book. "Indian Boyhood" stands alone in our literature as a record of much that has passed beyond the range of human experience, never to return.

BOOKS ON POLITICS, SOCIOLOGY, AND ECONOMICS. Notwithstanding the failure of the National Civic Federation to bring about an arbitration of the coal strike, there will be a very general interest in the published proceedings of the National Conference on Industrial Conciliation held under the auspices of the Federation in New York City in December last. The participants in that conference were leaders in American commerce and industry, and the labor unions were especially well represented. The present volume published by the Putnams contains a complete stenographic report of the discussions of the conference, together with the papers read at the Chicago conference of December, 1900. It will be remembered that the direct outcome of the New York conference was the organization of the industrial department of the National Civic Federation, composed of thirty-six representative citizens, and including such men as ex-President Cleveland, Archbishop Ireland, Bishop Potter, and President Eliot on the part of the public; Senator Hanna, Charles M. Schwab, and H. H. Vreeland on the part of the employers, and Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell, and Frank P. Sargent on the part of the wage earners.

In the publications of the Michigan Political Science Association (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Volume IV., No. 6, appear the papers read at the joint meeting of the Michigan Political Science Association and the Michigan Farmers' Institutes held in February, 1902, the proceedings of which were noted in the REVIEW OF REVIEWS for April last. These papers are grouped under the appropriate head of "Social Problems of the Farmer," and contain timely discussions of such themes as "The Economic Value of Industrial Education," "Higher Education and the People," "Changes Demanded in the Educational System of Rural Communi