13 AUGUST 1887

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Prince Ferdinand has at last determined to accept the Bulgarian

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Throne without the previous sanction of the Powers. He reached Bulgarian soil on Thursday ; and after being greeted by the Regents, who assured him that as long as he laboured...

Lord Harlington, in returning thanks, defended stoutly the policy of

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the Irish Crimes Act. He accepted full responsibility for the tardy changes introduced into the Irish Land Act after it had gone down to the House of Commons, and admitted that...

The Rditors cannot undertake to return Manuscript, in any case.

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NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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T HE Greenwich dinner to Lord Hartington yesterday week, at which Mr. Bright presided, was limited to Liberal Unionist Members of the House of Commons; but Mr. Bright's speech...

The Government were entertained by the Lord Mayor at the

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Mansion House on Wednesday, when Lord Salisbury made a speech complimenting the Queen on tha loyalty of "the most loyal and the most powerful people on the earth ;" language...

The Irish Land Bill was read a third time in

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the House of Commons on Saturday last, after several distinct battles on the question of cancelling arrears of rent in the case of farms on which the rents are to be reduced,...

Sir Henry James and Mr. Chamberlain both spoke, and both

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spoke as identifying themselves with Lord Harlington in the crisis of the moment. "Us," said Sir Henry James, "no threats will intimidate and no bribes allure. We can only...

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On Saturday last, London was alarmed by the outbreak of

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a fire at Mr. William Whiteley's, which the officers of the Metro- politan Fire Brigade are said to describe as the most formidable they have ever had to contend with. All the...

When the fire was at last got in hand, it

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was found that a block covering an area of 200 feet by 150 feet had been totally destroyed. The damage has in some statements been put at 2500,000, of which loss very little is...

The House of Lords, as the final Court, on Monday

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last decided that lands purchased under an order of the Court of Chancery directing that they shall retain the character of personalty, are liable to pay Probate-duty. This...

A very ghastly railway disaster is reported from the United

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States. An excursion train to Niagara, containing from 600 to 200 passengers, fell through a bridge which had taken ere, the engine-driver being unable to stop the train after...

General Boulanger is determined not to let the public lose

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sight of him. Daring the past week, he has sent two letters intended to glorify himself, to the papers. In the first, addressed table seconds, he states that when insulted by M....

On Wednesday night, a Bill for transferring tolhe Secretary for

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Scotland certain duties now exercised by the Home Secre- tary, passed its second reading. The Bill was objected to by Mr. Childers and several of the Scotch Members, on the...

Mr. Goschen, in answering for the House of Commons, took

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credit for the remarkable self-restraint exhibited by a large majority of its Members, who number among them, be believer], many "muzzled Ciceros," as well as possibly a few...

There certainly seems a very strong case for the passing

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of the Scotch Conveyancing Act Amendment Bill. Under the law of Scotland, the greater part of the land is held by feud4 superiors at nominal feu-duties or peppercorn-rents. When...

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The smouldering hostility between France and Germany is constantly giving

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out puffs of flame and smoke. Thirty French officials living on the German side of the border have been given notice of expulsion from German soil ; and, on the other hand, a...

The Report of the Committee on Perpetual Pensions obtained by

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Mr. Bradlangh recommends that no more such pensions be granted, and that all sinecure offices to which salaries are attached, and all existing pensions, shall be determined. In...

Bank Rate, 3 per cent.

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Consols were on Friday 101f to 10ii.

Mr. Labouchere moved the adjournment of the House on Thursday,

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to call for explanations on our Egyptian policy, and thereby wasted a good deal of the time of the House, without even gaining the support of his own leacters,—Mr. Bryce very...

This appears to be an age of insect pests. We

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are assured that the Hessian fly has now made a firm lodgment in our wheat and barley, and that the most we can hope is to keep it clown by carefully destroying the dabble of...

Mr. Dillon, who seconded Mr. Labouchere's motion, of course took

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the side of France, and scolded the British Government for its disregard of the French views. "France," he said," was covered with insult." Those who read the despatches, unless...

General Sir John Adye, writing to Wednesday's Times, main- tains

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that the pattern cutlass-bayonet now complained of had been tried as early as 1869, and was highly approved by the Admiralty in February, 1870, whereas he himself was not...

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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LORD HARTINGTON'S DECLARATION. T ORD HARTINGTON'S speech on Friday week at the Greenwich dinner has been universally understood to mean, and no doubt does mean, that during...

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THE GOVERNMENT AND THE NATIONAL LEAGUE.

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W E shall not do such injustice to the Government as to suppose that after all the odium they have incurred, and all the manly effort they have made to bring the conflict with...

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THE STRIKE ON THE MIDLA.ND RAILWAY.

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T HE manner in which the engine-drivers and firemen have conducted their strike on the Midland Railway does them very great credit. Though between two and three thousand men...

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THE NAVAL MANCEIIVECES.

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J I:WING from the tone and substance of some current effusions, it is easy to make too much of the naval manceuvres which last week afforded such useful instruction to the...

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WHEN SHOULD EVEN RADICALS BE correct the errors and cheek

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the rash impulses of a democratic adoption of the principle of federalism in a small Kingdom House of Representatives. But, difficult as it would be to get not nearly as big as...

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A WELSH BISHOP.

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PA. A CORRESPONDENCE which was printed in the Daily Telegraph of Tuesday, presents a Welsh Bishop in what, in the present condition of the Principality, is a strangely...

PRINCE FERDINAND.

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ONTRARY to all expectation, Prince Ferdinand has gone to Bulgaria. He reached Widdin on Thursday night, and is expected to arrive at Sofia within the next day or two. In the...

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PATHOS.

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T HE correspondent of Monday's Standard describes the parting scene between the two Emperors at Gastein as "very touching." "The Emperor William, pressing the hand of his...

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THE ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL RELIEFS AT ATHENS.

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T HE unique series of ancient sepulchral reliefs which have been brought to light by excavations in the Cerameiens, the public cemetery of ancient Athens, have two interests, at...

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THE AGE OF WOMAN.

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T RI S Jubilee year of the only Queen who has, as far as we -I-- know, ever completed her half-century of reign, must have suggested to many persons the question,—What is the...

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CORRESPONDENCE.

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EXPERIENCE IN IRELAND. [rnors A CORRESPONDENT.] A PLYING visit to Ireland may not qualify a man to speak with authority op Irish affairs; but after travelling in the country...

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[ TO THE EDITOR OF THE 131PECTATOR.")

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you permit one who has read the Spectator for thirty- six years, and who has almost invariably found himself in agree- ment with it, and who has, moreover, until recently been...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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MR. GLADSTONE. [To raw Exams os TXa "Sesersres."1 6'171,-1 ask leave to recall one circumstance connected with the above election which may help to explain the divergence of...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1

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Sea,—I have read with amazement the letter of "A Member of the Oxford Committee in 1865." May I add the following to your own pertinent note ? After the speech on Mr. Dillwyn's...

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[To run Emron OP VTR ..Srccraroa."] may be in error,

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but I cannot have forgotten what I never knew. Your prediction was your warning, not Mr. Glad- stone's, and I did not see or bear of it. It does credit to your political...

TREASURE-TROVE AND DREAMLAND.

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rTo TES EDITOR OF 'RR “EIPECTATOlt." J Sra,—Some weeks ago, I brought upon myself some expressions of wrath and strong disapproval from members of a certain Society to which in...

THE IRISH LAND BILL.

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[To MI EDITOR OF TER SPEOTITOlt."] Snt,—Your article on "The Great Danger of the Situation" gives in a few words the exact facts of the case. The twenty-second clause of the...

THE CRY FOR RECONSTRUCTION.

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[To TES EDITOR OF TR% SPRCTATOR,"] Sia,—We should indeed be unreasonable if we made any com- plaint of your observations under the above heading, as far as we are concerned, in...

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RUSH-BEARING AT GRA SMERE.

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fTo Tux EDITOR or Tar "Eirserwroa."] Sm,—Tourists passing through Grasmere on Saturday last must have been surprised to see the low broad walls of the old grey church covered...

THE ATTACK ON A SCHOOLMISTRESS IN IRELA.ND. [To TIM EDITOR

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Or ran " Bracinros. " ] Srs,—As I happened to be in Westport a few weeks ago as an independent onlooker, at the time of what is now known there as "the stoning day," and as I...

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BOOKS.

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THE MOUNTAIN OF THE MONKS.* Tars most interesting book is an account of a visit paid to Mount Athos, in the summer of 1883, by Mr. Athelstan Riley and his friend, the Rev....

POETRY.

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BARMOUTH, AUGUST. ALL day these eyes with fairest things are blest,— The mystic lights upon the distant steep, The diamond sparkle of the rills that leap, The purple rocks...

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AN AGNOSTIC NOVEL" WE owe our readers an apology for

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our late notice of this very remarkable book. Our excuse is that the title of the book misled us. It seems to promise information about the rearing and management of bullocks...

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THROUGH CYPRUS.*

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Mass SMITH makes a mistake common to writers of travel-books, by relating the experiences of an ordinary journey before she reaches the places in which her readers may fairly be...

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MOORE'S CHURCH MANUALS.*

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Ix these three useful little manuals, the author of The Dead Hand in the Free Churches of Dissent, of The Etaglislonan's .Brief, and of other works on kindred topics, treats of...

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THREE NOVELS.*

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THE merit of the three novels before us is almost in inverse ratio to the size of the book and the fame of the author. Mr. Black's Sabina Zembra, which is in orthodox...

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THE NEWER REPUBLIC" Ma. HODGSON has spoilt his book by

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not having been able to determine what to make it. The author wanders between the two notions of a literary satire modelled on Mr. Mallock's well- known work, and a realistic...

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A DOCTOR-SOLDIER'S EXPERIENCES.*

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A REGIMENTLI, surgeon is a non-combatant, and therefore, from a strictly professional point of view, he is not a soldier ; but as a matter of fact, if he does his duty by his...

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The conductors of Harper's Magazine seem to be in danger

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of for- getting their Eoglish readers. There is really nothing in the August number which is specially intended for their benefit but one of Mr. Da Maurier's pictures and a...

CURRENT LITERATURE.

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None of the more recently established magazines can be said to have better justified its existence, or to have more clearly made oat a right to longevity, than the English...

We are glad to chronicle an improvement in the Westminster

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Review since it has taken a new departure as a monthly. The August number is a very good one, the articles being readable and on a variety of subjects. An article on "John...

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The August number of the Scottish Church is the best

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that has appeared for a considerable time. Prinoipal Cunningham's which has already done duty as a lecture, on the possibility of union, or, Tailing union, of federation,...

The contents of the August number of the Gentleman's Magazine

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are more than usually varied. "An Aquatic Theatre," "A Japanese Execution," and "Night-Prowlers "—a natural.hiatory study, by- the-way, not an account of our modern Mohawks—may...

The author of such lines shows at least promise.—Poems. By

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George Martin. (Dawson Brothers, Montreal.)—A volume of verse from Canada deserves at least the welcome accorded to rare visitants; but we cannot honestly award it higher praise...

Poitrav.—Lines and Interlines. By Julia Boynton. (G. P. Putnam's Sons.)—There

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is real strength in some of these poems, though they often fail in form and completeness. For instance, " isolate " for "isolated" (p. 26) is not English, nor is "stators" a...

We are glad to be able to speak very highly

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of the Journal of Education as a monthly organ of the teaching profession, which also appeals to many outside that. profession. The opinions expressed in it are decided, yet...

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The Unit of Imperial Federation. By H. Mortimer Franklyn. (Swan

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Sonnensohein and Co.)—The author thinks that the Imperial Institute is destined to produce the greatest and happiest results. "The influence of its promoter, his acknowledged...

Caterina. By the Author of "Lauterdale." 3 vols. (Hurst and

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Blackett.)—There are several threads of interest in this novel, yet somehow the whole fails to be interesting, at least in any absorbing way. There are many people in the action...

A Leader of Society. By Mrs Alexander Fraser. 3 vols.

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(F. V. White and Co.)—The title which Mrs. Fraser gives to her heroine and her novel is evidently an arriese pensee. Heine Ferrara's career as a 'leader of society" does not...

Keraban the Injlesible. By Jules Verne. (Sampson Low and Cm)

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—This story in contained in two volumes, which bear respectively the titles of "The Captain of the ' Guidara ' " and " Scarpante the Spy." Keraban, the hero of the whole tale,...

The Game of Logic. By Lewis Carroll. (Macmillan and Co.)—

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We cannot honestly say that we find this amusing, or even easy. But what would you have ? Logic does not admit of being the first, and to some minda can hardly be the second. We...