covering the eventful period from May, 1871, to September, 1873; and the reminiscences of Comte de Mouy of that delegation which conducted the foreign relations of France from Tours and Bordeaux in 1870 and 1871, during the Siege of Paris.

TH

NOUVELLE REVUE.

HE Nouvelle Revue tends to become more general in character every month. Perhaps the two most interesting articles are those which concern the London unemployed and the housing of the poor problem. The one entitled "The Unemployed" gives a careful analysis of the various blue-books and other publications dealing with this terrible and distressing problem. The article is apparently written entirely from the point of view of proving the decadence of the British nation.

THE HOUSING PROBLEM IN EUROPE.

Far more thoughtful and worthy of respect is the article concerning the housing of the working classes. The writer begins by giving some figures concerning the number of workers in Paris. In the French capital, 256,000 families occupy only one room each. Hitherto, the state seems to have hardly made any attempt to deal with the problem of overcrowding, but many private firms have taken the matter in hand, and insist on seeing that their employees are properly lodged in salubrious and airy dwellings. Fourteen years ago was founded the "French Society of Cheap Dwellings,"-in other words, a great building society, which has exercised a very salutary effect on the housing of the French working classes, and which has even been able to influence the passing of certain laws. Yet there are at the present moment in France 200,000 houses which have no windows, because, incredible as it may seem, there is still a French window and door tax !

Following on this startling fact, the writer describes at great length, and very intelligently, all that has been done in England for the housing of the working classes during the last sixty years. He pays a high tribute to Port Sunlight, and to Mr. Cadbury's model villages. In Germany, the housing of the working classes is only now beginning to attract attention. In Berlin, hundreds of families inhabit only one room each, and too often this room is situated in a dark and damp basement; some one hundred thousand workers live underground. The Krupp works have set an excellent example, the workmen's colonies established in connection with the works being admirably built, and the rents being very moderate. The Prussian Government some few years ago attacked the problem in the mining district of Spandau. In Holland, the state has also taken up the matter, and at The Hague, the worker, whether man or woman, can hire a pleasant, healthy room for the small sum of 62% cents a week.

CHINESE REFORM PROPAGANDA.

Those interested in Chinese matters will find the account of the reformer Chang Chi Tung of value. This remarkable Chinaman is the head of what may be called the European party in China. He would like to see his country really reformed, and he spreads his views by means of little pamphlets, printed at his own expense, and distributed by the million through the Celestial Empire. One of these pamphlets, entitled "Learn," drew down on him the violent enmity of the Dowager-Empress, and he was indeed at one time con

demned to death; but now he has been restored to his former dignities, and he is governor of two large provinces. The French writer analyzes the most important of Chang Chi Tung's manifestoes; in it he has the courage to declare that his beloved country ought to imitate Japan, and it is his fervent wish to see the Chinese poor really educated; in fact, he goes so far as to say that there should be in China a hundred thousand free schools where those who are too poor to pay can hope to be educated for nothing.

IN

REVUE DE PARIS.

N the Revue de Paris for March there is a thoughtful article on the late South African war viewed from the practical soldier's point of view. The writer is in no sense inclined to minimize the difficulties which met the English commanders, but he severely criticises the lack of technical knowledge of the ordinary British officer, while paying him a great tribute as regards personal dash and courage. The French tactician believes that in future wars the personality of the actual combatant and also of the non-commissioned officer will play a far greater rôle than has hitherto been the case, and he quotes with approval von Lindenau, who declares that the individuality of the soldier is not nearly enough exploited by his chiefs.

Another article, by an anonymous writer, attempts to describe what should be France's navy in case of a conflict with England, and the present state of the French navy is regarded as deplorable.

Strannik, the Russian writer, contributes a valuable paper on Wladimir Korolenko, a writer whose work is very much thought of in his own country, though as yet he does not seem to be known elsewhere. His stories, which deal with the Russian peasantry, are profoundly sad, and, indeed, hopeless in tone, and this is perhaps one reason why they have not been received with the same favor by non-Russian readers.

Judith Gautier, continuing her recollections, gives a vivid word picture of Gustave Doré, whom she declares remained boyish to the end. "His childish-looking pink-and-white face, his thin mustache, and long fair hair brushed off his forehead concealed a witty, vivacious personality. He loved practical jokes, and enjoyed nothing more than playing the clown."

NAPOLEON AT THE COUNCIL TABLE.

Those who are never tired of reading about the great Napoleon may learn something new of his manysided personality in a curious paper dealing with his relations with the Council of State, for, as the writer truly says, it is a great mistake to think that Napoleon was never happy unless taking the field. He very much enjoyed what we should call a cabinet meeting, and those who were privileged to take part in these gatherings have put it on record that when dealing with those whom he trusted he was quite capable of taking advice, and of giving way even on a point which he had very much at heart. Some of his talk on these occasions is not without a certain native wit. As is well known, he was equally interested in the greatest as in the smallest matters, and when at one time it was suggested that every town should have a small prison, he observed: "Every inhabitant should make a point of seeing that the prison is comfortable and salubrious, for the day may come when he will be himself personally interested in the question." Concerning the word

ing of certain penal laws, he declared that "penal laws should be written in a lapidary style; they should be as concise as is the Decalogue." Napoleon took the most fervent interest in everything that concerned religion; he was anxious to play in France the part played by Henry VIII. in England; that is, he desired to found a Gallican Church, and to destroy the power of the Papacy.

"L

LA REVUE.

A REVUE" for March opens with a budget of unpublished letters of Challemel-Lacour, and proceeds, somewhat unprofitably, to discuss whether or not divorce should be possible at the wish of one party. There is great divergence between the contributors to this symposium, and, apparently, few of the writers have any particular reasons for their opinions beyond their personal sentiments. M. Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu says that the proposal to allow divorce at the demand of one party would be to destroy marriage, to the great injury of the wife, and afterward of the children. On the other hand, M. Alfred Bruneau is quite positive that "liberty should be rendered to the innocent galleyslaves of bad marriages." Mme. Alphonse Daudet retorts with "horror" at the suggestion, and M. Gossez has as his ideal "The Republic of Plato; love and union free."

THE REHABILITATION OF THE DONKEY.

M. Henri Coupin contributes an admirable article on the intelligence of domestic animals. He says that after the dog, the ass is the most intelligent of domestic animals; and the proof of this is that his confidence in the judgment of his master is very limited. The ass is superior to the horse in that he is capable of associating two ideas, comparing alternatives, and deciding which is best for himself. He is even capable of showing his appreciation of music. An ass of Chartres was in the habit of paying visits to the Chateau of Guerville whenever music was going on. The lady who owned the chateau had an excellent voice, and whenever she began to sing, the ass used to approach the windows and listen with sustained attention. One day, he even burst into the room in order to show his appreciation.

The pig is another maligned animal, inasmuch as he is, when possible, one of the cleanest of animals. The pig will deliberately make his bed, fetching straw from outside his sty when possible. Pigs have been seen shaking apple trees in order to bring down fruit. Compared with the ass and the pig, the cow is a stupid beast, though bulls have on occasion been seen simulating death. Sheep are also among the non-intelligents, but, like most stupid things, they are susceptible of vanity. However, even the sheep in some things excels his owner, for while human beings prefer to fight their quarrels rather than arbitrate, an intelligent ram often prevents fighting among the other members of the flock, assuming, in M. Coupin's words, "the efficacious rôle of arbitrator, which he fulfilled, to the great joy of the flock."

A SOCIALIST SYMPOSIUM.

The symposium in the second March number deals with socialism. Three questions were put to the contributors: 1. "Do you recognize as the economic aim of socialism the transformation of a capitalist society into a régime where property will become collective as regards means of exploitation, and will be individual only as regards objects of personal use?" Replies to this

question were received from M. Vandervelde, Eugene Debs, Mr. Hyndman, and Mr. Sidney Webb, all in the affirmative. 2. "Do you think that the end can be achieved only by violence?" To this question, most answers were in the negative. 3. "What should be the Socialist tactics in Parliament?" On this question there is dissension.

Dr. Félix Regnault writes on psychical gymnastics, and insists upon the enormous power which the will, if exerted, may oppose to physical pain. The Indian fakir who drives long needles into his body without drawing blood suffers no pain so long as he exerts the will; but if he neglects to exert his will, he suffers, and blood flows. The punishment inflicted among the Dervishes on thieves was amputation of the forearm, the stump being thrust into boiling oil in order to stop the bleeding. During this operation, the faces of the victims were entirely impassive.

THE MAKING OF A FRENCH REVIEW.

The second number of La Revue for March contains a very interesting retrospective article dealing with the twelve years which have elapsed since M. Finot took over the editorship. La Revue, then entitled Revue des Revues, was founded in 1890, and at the end of 1891 had only forty-seven subscribers. At the beginning of 1892, the number had fallen to twenty-three. It was an article on "Russians and Germans," written by M. Finot, in 1892, which first drew public attention to La Revue. In 1893, the 23 subscribers became 1,300; in 1894, 2,200; in 1895, 3,900; in 1896, 5,200; in 1897, 6,800, and so on, thus after twelve years attaining a success and a reputation which other French publications take half a century to attain.

THE

THE ITALIAN REVIEWS.

HE interest in the Abbé Loisy's book, written, it will be remembered, in refutation of Professor Harnack's "Essence of Christianity," and withdrawn from circulation in deference to the condemnation by Cardinal Richard, finds expression in the Italian reviews, both the Civiltà Cattolica and the Nuova Parola reviewing it from diametrically opposite standpoints. To the Jesuit Civiltà, Loisy's book, “L'Evangile et l'Eglise," seems scarcely less acceptable than that of Harnack; it describes it as full of "manifest errors" and of statements contrary to the faith, and the author himself as having "gone over to the enemy, at least objectively." To the Nuova Parola, on the other hand, the Abbé Loisy appears as "one of the most inspired and pious and cultivated priests in the ranks of the Church," and as worthy to rank, for genius and erudition, with St. Augustine and St. Thomas. His book, both for its erudition and its breadth of view, the writer regards as the most epoch-making volume of our time.

The interest of the Nuova Antologia for March lies in its literary and artistic articles. Professor Chiappelli discusses the pros and cons of a proposition which is exciting artistic circles in Florence,-whether, namely, a copy of Michael Angelo's great statue of David should be placed on the original site in the Piazza della Signoria.

G. Tarozzi draws out a long and elaborate contrast between the paganism of Nietzsche and the paganism of Carducci, wholly to the advantage of the latter. They hold in common their enthusiastic appreciation

of ancient pagan forms, but their consciences have developed on diametrically opposite lines.

A critical and biographical sketch is given of Alinda Brunamonti, poetess and art critic, who died in 1899. Believers in the higher education of women will be interested to learn that Signora Brunamonti's father, a professor at Perugia, was so disappointed at having no sons that he had his little daughter educated in all respects as though she were a boy. She was even dressed in boy's clothes until the age of eight. The result was to make her one of the most learned and accomplished women of her day.

The Rivista Internazionale continues to be one of the best of the Italian reviews for the serious discussion of social problems. In the February number, the first place is given to a practical summary, from the pen of L. C. di Chiusano, of the difficulties of the housing of the working classes in its moral, economic, and hygienic aspects. The author seems to favor municipal building and control.

THE DUTCH MAGAZINES.

ASSING the novel of G. van Hulzen, "In Lofty

Passions," with which De Gids opens, we come to

a remarkably readable critique of another novel; this is "Jörn Uhl," by Gustav Franssen, which has lately appeared in Germany. Franssen was a pastor, but, like some other ministers, he appears to have seen a greater field of usefulness in literature, and has produced this book. It is not a book of sensational mysteries, or a sex novel, or, in fact, a book of up-to-date theories or passions; its good qualities consist in its being devoid of all that, and in being an entrancing study of life of the ordinary kind. The book has had a tremendous success, and many writers have coupled the name of Franssen with that of Dickens. A book to be turned into English this, surely!

An article by Dr. Byvanck on P. C. Boutens is the first of a series on "Poets,"-not necessarily spring poets because it begins in a time approaching that season; on the contrary, the subject of this article is among the first of poets. The name of Dr. Byvanck is a guarantee that the article is learned and thorough.

The diary of a visit to Tripoli, in March of 1901, is a good account of this African province, and gives yet another idea of the place from the point of view of a Dutch traveler.

Onze Eeuw goes literally from grave to gay. The first article in the current issue is an essay on statistical physics, dealing with deep facts, experiments, and theories; further on is an equally learned essay of quite an opposite character, "Humor and Literature." Humor is not intended merely to amuse; it has the other and probably higher task of instructing. It serves to increase the importance of the serious observations of writers as well as to force home a truth more effectively than grave exhortations can do. Humor is to be found in the tragedies of Shakespeare, in the Psalms (where the most serious matters are touched on), in the sermons of Luther. Most great writers, however deep their subjects may be generally, go in for the humorous also.

Vragen des Tijds contains four articles, which is one above the usual number. The two which most interest foreigners are those on agricultural boards (written with the usual thoroughness of Dr. Bruinsma, an expert on agricultural matters), and on the law relating

to accidents. The new law on the subject of accidents to work-people contains certain provisions that require careful study on the part of those who have to carry it into effect, and the writer takes the opportunity to point them out.

Elsevier has an entertaining article on dolls. Generally speaking, there is not much that is new in ancient dolls, but the writer contrives to say a good deal that is not generally known about old Dutch dolls, while the illustrations are as interesting as the text. The article is based on the exhibition of dolls and toys that took place in Amsterdam in January of this year, and it must have been a treat for grown-ups as well as for the little ones, judging from the description. Old dolls and new dolls-all were represented; there was the North Holland peasant woman; the lady of 1855, with skirts rather too short and other garments too long; the imitation Red Indians; a doll that belonged to the daughter of the great Huygens; another (with a movable head) that was the property of an estimable lady who played with it nearly two centuries ago; the model of a Venetian lacemaker; another of a Russian country-house, with furniture and doll inhabitants, and other playthings too numerous to mention. Other contents of this magazine include a continuation of the sketch of Dutch social life in former days and a description of a country retreat built nearly two hundred years ago.

SCANDINAVIAN MAGAZINES.

RITTANY is suffering a severe famine owing to

papers are full of heartrending accounts of the bitter trials and privations of the unhappy victims. The Stockholm magazine, Varia, gives in its February number a charmingly poetical description of Brittany's stoical sons of the sea and their characteristics. The article is written by a Swedish lady recently returned from a sojourn among these interesting "loups de mer," and is illustrated with some extremely pretty photographs.

The nursing home in Drammen, Norway, which recently attained its twenty-fifth year, is sketched in Nylande (No. 5). The institution was founded on March 15, 1878, and was then confined to one small rented room and the care of one little baby. Its foundress was a Miss Svenda Holst, a petted child of fortune, the daughter of a factory-owner named Svend Holst. She was a lively, much-fêted, trouble-free young lady, greatly given to sporting amusements, a very unusual trait in those days. The death of an extremely dear young friend-gave, however, a more serious turn to her thoughts, and opened her eyes to the many sorrows of life and the evils that needed remedy. The nursing home appears to have been her first important philanthropic effort. A year after it was started, thirteen children had been taken charge of. The house became too small, and in the autumn of 1879 another was bought for the purpose by herself and a goldsmith (now dead) named O. Hoshre. Miss Holst then betook herself to Germany, there to study the subject of nursing homes thoroughly. Meanwhile, her family of other people's children went on increasing fast, and in 1891 the present home was bought,—a fine large, solid building, with healthy, airy rooms well adapted for their purpose. About one hundred and seventy-six children have been cared for here, leaving at about the age of eleven.

HISTORICAL NOVELS AND STORIES OF

ADVENTURE.

The spring output of fiction is little more than a third of that at Christmas, but within these narrower limits historical romances and tales of adventure still easily maintain their numerical superiority. Recent months have brought forth no single work of this nature of dominant importance or success; but, on the other hand, there is no lack of well-written interesting tales picturing humanity in other times or under unusual and romantic conditions.

Worthy of first mention in this category is "The Captain," by Churchill Williams (Lothrop), who a year ago achieved considerable success with his first book, "J. Devlin-Boss." His later novel is an attempt to present a study in fiction form of conditions in the border States at the outbreak of the Civil War and during the early years of the conflict. Of chief interest to the maturer class of readers will be the excellent picture given of Grant, the unnamed but easily recognizable hero of the book.

Two other novels treating of the same much-exploited period are "The Master of Warlock" (Lothrop), by George Cary Eggleston, and "A Virginia Girl in the Civil War" (Appleton), which purports to be the "record of the actual experiences of the wife of a Confederate officer" during the great struggle, collected and edited by Myrta Lockett Avary, to whom they were related at a later date. Mrs. Avary's book is valuable as the contribution of an eye-witness of the events described, and it bears the earmarks of first-hand knowledge.

Also written from the Southern point of view is "Before the Dawn" (Doubleday, Page & Co.), the new story by Joseph A. Altsheler, author of "In Hostile Red" and other popular romances. The scene of the novel is Richmond just previous to its surrender, and a number of the leaders of the Confederacy play important parts in the story.

Virginia is a favorite and oft-worked field of the romancers, but in the latest story, "Children of Destiny" (Bobbs-Merrill), Miss Molly Elliot Seawell shows that its ore has not yet been exhausted. It is the Virginia of eighty years ago of which she here treats, in calmer manner than customary in historical novels, and with much skill in character-drawing and description.

Likewise Southern in character, but of widely different nature from the foregoing, is George Cram Cook's novel, "Roderick Taliaferro" (Macmillan). It is the story of a young Southerner who scorned to submit to the federal Government at the close of the Civil War, and who therefore proceeded to Mexico to enlist in the service of the unhappy Maximilian. Not a moment's pause is there in the rush of adventures from the first to the last page.

The scene of Mrs. Amelia E. Barr's latest novel, "The Song of a Single Note" (Dodd, Mead & Co.), is New York during the last four years of the Revolution; but history and geography, and everything, indeed, is made secondary to the all-absorbing theme of love, which is here treated in the good old-fashioned manner of the late Charlotte M. Yonge and Miss Muloch and other writers of a former generation. The same may be said in regard to Mrs. Barr's second new story, "Thyra Varrick" (J. F. Taylor); but in the intervals of love

making the author manages to convey considerable information about Scotland at the time of the Young Pretender.

We have been treated in superabundance, of late, to romances dealing with the person of Aaron Burr, but in "The Stirrup Cup" (Appleton), J. Aubrey Tyson nevertheless has succeeded in producing a fresh, pretty tale about the much-bewritten "boy hero of Saratoga." The story, which is short, tells of Burr's successful courtship, during the later years of the Revolution, of the pretty widow, Theodosia Prevost, who had been set the task of bringing him, the young colonel, to her feet, for the purpose of extracting information from him for her English friends.

Equally American in spirit and treatment is Mr. Carter Goodloe's stirring romance, "Calvert of Strathore" (Scribners), although the scene of the story is France just previous to the Revolution. A large number of historical personages, American as well as French, are introduced to the reader.

"Under the Rose" (Bobbs-Merrill), on the other hand, the new venture of Frederic Isham, author of "The Strollers," relates the adventures of maid and knight in motley at a time when there cannot be said to have been either America or Americans,-namely, during the troublous times of the Emperor Charles V. The action plays mainly about the gay court of Francis I. of France; in its wealth of surprises and stirring adventures, it is a worthy rival of "The Helmet of Navarre."

The novels of Agnes and Egerton Castle are always frankly of the romantic, but never of the swashbuckler order. Their latest story, "The Star Dreamer" (Stokes), is an English tale of the time of George IV., and its interest lies more in the interplay of the various characters of the book on each other, and less in thrilling incidents, than is commonly the case in the writings of these authors.

In "The Triumph of Count Ostermann" (Henry Holt), Mr. Graham Hope has Woven a romantic tale about the person of the German, Heinrich Ostermann, who enlisted in the service of Russia and rose to be foreign minister under Peter the Great. The story gives a trustworthy picture of the Russia of that day.

EGERTON CASTLE.

Of late years, the chief aim of Mr. Rider Haggard seems to have been to persuade city dwellers, willynilly, to return to country life and occupations, a desideratum which he has sought to bring about by precept and example. But there still occasionally issues from his Norfolk home a thrilling romance to remind us that the author of "She" has not entirely abandoned his first love. The latest output of his facile pen is "Pearl Maiden" (Longmans), a tale of Jerusalem mainly at the time of the Emperor Domitian. A prominent part is

played in the story by the interesting Jewish sect of Essenes.

Considering the perennial interest attaching to Old Testament times, it is remarkable that so few novelists have made use of this period of history as a setting for romance. "By the Ramparts of Jezreel" (Longmans) is an entertaining and instructive story of the reign of Jehoram and Jesebel, and of their downfall at the hands of Jehu.

A NEW NOVEL FROM A. S. HARDY.

It has been many years since anything has come from the pen of Mr. Arthur Sherburne Hardy, author of those delightful stories, "Passe Rose" and "But Yet a Woman." The many readers who learned to admire him through these novels hail with immense pleasure the advent of a new story, "His Daughter First" (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.), which Mr. Hardy has found time to write in the midst of his diplomatic duties as our minister to Persia, and, more recently, minister to Spain. "His Daughter First" is a keen, fairly balanced character study of a half-dozen New Yorkers, and a delightfully readable story withal. In Mr. Hardy's quiet, high-bred, and sensitive attitude toward life and people one is reminded of Mr. Henry James, even if there is none of the baffling, though fascinating, intricacies of style that distinguish the author of "Daisy Miller." And if Mr. Hardy's book is essentially a story of gentlefolk written by a gentleman, it is also a story of very human characters, drawn by a man whose refinement costs him no strength or truth. Jack Temple, the clean-cut, successful aristocrat of Wall Street; his daughter, full of eternally feminine inconsistencies; the gentlewoman that Temple loves; Heald, the promoter, and Mrs. Fraser, the abrupt and self-sufficient cosmopolitan dowager, are live and in

ARTHUR SHERBURNE HARDY.

teresting people created by no inconsiderable artist in fiction. And what a relief, in this year of our Lord, and of adventure stories, to get one's dramatic sensations in this quiet, certain atmosphere of Mr. Hardy's genius!

has been a second cause for the widespread interest in the book. Several recondite persons early discovered that Mrs. Ward had obtained the suggestion for her story ready-made from the "Mémoires" of Mlie. de Lespinasse, whose relation to Mme. du Deffand in real life was the same as that of Julie Le Breton to Lady Henry in fiction. This appropriation has aroused much comment and some criticism, which is chiefly valuable in drawing attention to an excellent novel, for in her latest story of English high life Mrs. Ward has gained a plane of objectivity which she had hitherto failed to achieve.

Probably the last novel which we shall have from the pen of the late Emile Zola is "Truth," which recently appeared with the imprint of John Lane. No more appropriate literary testament could the defender of Dreyfus have left to the world than this book, in which he arraigns those elements in French civilization that he holds responsible for the nation's moral deterioration, and in which he makes a plea for the reorganization of society on a rationalistic basis. The story is that of Dreyfus placed in clerico-educational circles, not in the army, as it is the Roman Catholic Church which the great realist looks upon as primarily guilty in this affair, as in many others. The book is didactic, but nevertheless intensely interesting and of moment to all concerned with problems of education.

In " Ruderick Clowd" (Dodd, Mead & Co.), Josiah Flynt continues his striking studies of the criminal classes, to the delineation of which he has devoted his life. This is the life-story of a "successful" thief, and the unstated but clearly demonstrated thesis of the book is the responsibility of society for the existence of those who prey upon them.

"What Manner of Man" (Bobbs-Merrill), by a new writer, Edna Kenton, recalls in general manner,