SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
(Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as hare not been reserred for review in other fornts.1
Out of Chaos. By Prince Michael Trubetzkoi. Translated by Edith Livermore. (E. Arnold. 6s.)—This is a vivid picture of the difficulties which a young Russian, who is not content with accepting things as they are in Russia, is sure to encounter. The Prince could not pass the medical examination for the Army, and so became a student of the University. His mention of the students is not flattering. Then it occurred to him to interest himself in the estate which had descended to him from his father. Here he found obstacles which he could not or would not overcome. His account of the peasants is deplorable. They pay most of the taxes—nobility, officials, and clergy are exempt—and they are hopelessly in debt. Before long the Prince became mixed up with revolutionary associations, and allowed his chambers to be used as a' repository of their documents. He was arrested and kept in prison without trial for the best part of a year, and then banished to a small town in the province of Archangel. From this he escaped, and, assuming another name, returned to his old associations. It is difficult to see what he actually accomplished, except on one occasion to assist a strike. In fact, we are inclined to agree with what Anna Michailovna, herself a revolutionary, said to him :—" I must candidly say that it would have been far better for us had you used your means and your influence to help on the work secretly, and kept your old position." But of this the Prince himself had to judge, and he declares that for a man of his temperament it was impossible. This, doubtless, must be accepted ; but it does not improve the prospect. The. Prince allows that the great mass of Russians is untouched by the move- ment. What secret printing presses sending out revolutionary literature, which no one but revolutionists read, can accomplish it is impossible to see. " Chaos " there is, but of the " out of chaos" we do not catch a glimpse.
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