16 AUGUST 1902

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But when all is said it was not the Abbey

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packed with all that was distinguished in the Empire, nor the gorgeous dresses and uniforms, nor the blare of trumpets, nor the pealing organ, nor the " sweet singing in the...

The best proof of the King's unretarded recovery is to

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be found in the numerous and important engagements he has fulfilled during the week, not to mention the extremely satisfactory reports of his health given by the leading medical...

Needless to say, the Queen played her part in the

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splendid ceremony to perfection. Her noble bearing had in it no touch of pride or of aloofness, and the beauty of her person was well set off by the magnificence of her robes....

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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T HE King and Queen were crowned last Saturday; and the King bore the long and deeply moving ceremony without the slightest injury to his health. Not only did he show no signs...

In spite of the rainy weather, the review of the

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Indian troops on Wednesday was a magnificent and impressive pageant. The troops, who entrained at Hampton Court, and marched from Victoria headed by the massed bands of the...

*** The Editors cannot undertake to return Manuscript, in any

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case.

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The King, in a letter dated Coronation Day and addressed

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to Mr. Balfour, has intimated his decision to offer Osborne as a gift to the nation. After explaining the reasons which render him unable to make adequate use of Osborne as a...

On Tuesday the German Emperor witnessed the launching of the

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biggest ship afloat,—the new North German Lloyd steamship, Kaiser Wilhelm II.,' a vessel of twenty thousand tons and forty thousand horse-power. She will carry two thousand...

A remarkable incident has taken place in France in connec-

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tion with the campaign against the unauthorised Orders. Colonel de Saint Remy, when ordered to use his squadron of cavalry in closing a convent school, refused on the ground...

For the rest, the news from foreign countries during the

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week has not been marked by any events of special interest. The French revenue returns are, however, interesting. They are nearly £2,500,000 below the estimate, and about...

On Saturday last the changes in Mr. Balfour's Ministry were

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announced. As we have pointed out elsewhere, they are very disappointing to those who, like ourselves, hoped, not for a mere patching of Lord Salisbury's Cabinet, but for real...

Friday's newspapers contained a most interesting letter addressed to the

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Lord Mayor by the Rajahs and other distinguished representatives of India attending the Corona- tion. After expressing their gratitude for the hospitality extended to them...

General Lucas Meyer, the Boer commander and politician, who reluctantly

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declined an invitation to attend the Coronation on the score of his health, died suddenly in Brussels yesterday week. A Free Stater by birth, Lucas Meyer attained considerable...

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A powerful appeal on behalf of the Imperial Vaccination League,

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signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of London, Rochester, and Stepney, Cardinal Vaughan, the Chief Rabbi, Lord Kelvin, and many of our most eminent physicians...

The Colonial Conference has completed its sittings. Though no official

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communication has yet been made as to the results arrived at, the Daily Telegraph, the Times, and other papers have given accounts of the agreements arrived at which are no...

The Times of Thursday gives an account of a most

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interest- ing product called " uralite," which is now being produced in England by an English company. It is claimed for " twalite" that it will resist fire with complete...

Parliament rose on Friday week—i.e., August 8th—having completed Clause 7

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of the Education Bill. Nothing of importance was done on the last day, saving the announce- ment by Mr. Balfour of the names and terms of reference of the War Inquiry...

We note with great satisfaction the speech of Mr. Deakin,

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the Acting Premier of the Commonwealth, made in Mel- bourne on Tuesday, on the subject of national defence in the Colonies. The choice of the British people, he declared, must...

We fear that this means chiefly a " spilt-milk "

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inquiry which will be almost useless, and that the behaviour of the non-professional troops in the field when contrasted with that of the professional, which is a matter of...

Bank Rate, 3 per cent.

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New Consols (2i) were on Friday 95k.

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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AFTER THE CORONATION. Both the cynic and the preacher are wrong. The Coronation was, unless our national faith in the virility of our institutions is vain, more than sound, and...

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THE RECONSTRUCTION OF ' IHE GOVERNMENT.

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M R. BALFOUR, as was Lord Rosebery in 1894, is in the position of a Premier who has inherited, not made and selected, his Cabinet. Just as Lord Rosebery suc- ceeded to the...

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THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA'S DILEMMA. T HE news concerning Russia's internal

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condition still continues ominous of evil. Making all possible allow- ance for the refracting medium produced by a close censorship, it is evident that there is a great deal of...

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GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC OPINION IN THE TRANSVAAL.

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r HE special correspondent of the Times in the Trans- ./ vaal describes in an interesting telegram the proceed- ings of " the embryo Transvaal Political Association." The...

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THE PRESERVATION OF COMMONS AND FOOTPATHS.

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than to make sure of resisting such encroachments ; and the difficulties of preserving for the public what it already possesses are often greater than those of giving it some-...

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CHANGE OF AIR.. T HE completion of the excellent treatise on

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"The Climates and Baths of Great Britain" (Vol. II., Mac- millan and Co., 12s. 6d. net) which has been compiled by a Committee of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of...

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THE SECRET TRANSMISSION OF NEWS.

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T HERE have always been prophets in the world who have professed to be able to predict the course of events, and whose pretensions have been more or less successful; but there...

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THE ARTIFICIAL THAMES.

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W HEN complaints are made that salmon no longer come up to Windsor, and that the bed of the lower river is enninletelv scoured out by the rush of the ebb-tide, so that fish...

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CORRESPONDENCE.

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A SIMPLER LIFE. [To THE EDITOR or r " SPECTATOR:n Srs„—We have not disdained during the late war to take more than one hint from our Colonies. There is, indeed, no reason...

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THE EDUCATION BILL. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE “spEcraroal SIR,—Now

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that Clause 7 has passed the Committee stage it is of more importance than ever to consider what amount of discretion will be left to the four managers, representative of the...

THE ELIZABETHAN MARTYRS. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR. "]

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SIR,—I cannot sufficiently admire the courage of the Roman controversialists. One of them demands, as a mere matter of courtesy, that we should concede the whole claim;...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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THE NORTH LEEDS ELECTION. [TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE 'SPECTATOR."] Sin,—Referring in the Spectator of August 2nd to Mr. Rowland Barran's victory at Leeds, you say : " A Unionist...

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WESLEYANS AND WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF TILE "SPECTATOR."] Szn,—The establishment by the Wesleyans of the headquarters of their Church almost within the precincts of Westminster Abbey affords an...

FORTUNE-TELLERS AND THE CORONATION. [TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. "]

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Srn,—Will you allow me space to mention one cause of rejoicing in the King's Coronation ? I mean the discrediting of the fortune-tellers who have persistently prophesied that...

CANADA'S POSTAL GRIEVANCE.

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR."] Sin,—Referring to Mr. MacMurchy's letter in your issue of the 2nd inst., in which he mentions the work of the Aberdeen Association in...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "]

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Sra,—I am not a little surprised at the confusion of thought displayed in the long editorial note attached to my letter in the Spectator of August 9th. You urge that " these...

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THE YEAR OF BIRTH OF LEONARDO DA VINCL

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(TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."J SIR,--The reviewer of M. Merejkowski's romance, " The Fore- runner," in the Spectator of August 9th, corrects the author's chronology by the...

CIVILIAN GUIDES.

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lTo THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—Referring to training a number of men to act as county guides, I think the scheme might be developed most satis- factorily on the...

ARMY REFORM.

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[To THE EDTIOR OP THE .• scccrAzos."1 do not wish to begin again an old discussion to which you have already given so much of your space ; but should you at any future date...

THE "FLOWER INSCRIBED WITH WOE."

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—In an edition of Milton's "Lycidas " lately published . by Messrs. Blackie I gave what I consider to be rather strong grounds for...

OUR STRANGE LANGUAGE.

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[TO TILE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 the days of my youth we children were taught the following lines as a guide to the right pronunciation of ough :- " Though the tough cough...

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BOOKS.

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ISRAEL PUTNAM.* " THE blunt and sturdy Israel Putnam," as Parkman called him, was born, in spite of himself, to be the hero of romance. Devoid of imagination, endowed with a...

POETRY•

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CORONATION NIGHT IN THE HILLS. (AUGUST 9TH, 1902.) A BEACON from some solitary height Sent forth its message to the waiting night. Swiftly from out the quiet darkness came...

THE INCREASE OF ENGLISH GAME.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. ") Sur,—In the article on " The Increase of English Game" in the Spectator of August 9th you speak of the improvements in the game-producing...

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GERMANY FROM CLOVIS TO WILLIAM I.*

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THIS American author, who is an old historical hand, has so shaped his title as to disarm criticism of one of its familiar weapons. If we complain of his off-hand assignment of...

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MOORE'S ALPINE JOURNALS.*

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Ma. A. W. blooRE belongs to a generation of mountaineers whose ranks have been thinned by the hand of time, and in which each year as it passes leaves fresh gaps. His chief...

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THE HOUSE OF PERCY.*

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Ma. BRENAN is an interesting writer, and he has produced an interesting, though unequal, book. Yet it may be doubted if these volumes constitute quite the work which it was...

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BY his latest venture Mr. Wells maintains, if he does

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not enhance, his position as one of the most stimulating and in- genious of our romancers. Here, as so often, his method is a blend of the obvious and the unexpected. Mr. Wells,...

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The Mystery of the Bea. By Bram Stoker. (W. Heinemann.

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6s.)—Mr. Bram Stoker in his new novel omits no element to- ., Harrow up thy soul ; freeze thy young blood ; Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres; Thy...

Jair the Apostate. By A. G. Hales. (Methuen and Co.

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6s.)— This is the story of Samson, filled out with some curious modernities. Among other things, we have the Anti-Semite spirit. Jair, who is represented as the prime mover...

A Modern Monarch. By Frank C. Lewis. (T. Fisher Unwin.

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6s.)—The story seems to us to lack unity. The real subject, we take it, is meant to be the exclusion of love by ambition, and the tardy discovery that the more worthy has been...

The Branded Prince. By Weatherby Chesney. (Methuen and Co. 6s.)—The

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second chapter of this book is headed "The Dissecting-Room at Barney's," so the intelligent reader will at once perceive that this novel also is of the thrilling order. We...

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SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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[17nder this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. XIVIII. (IV. of Supplement). (A. and C....

Britain for the British. By Robert Blatchford. (Clarion Press. 3d.)—Surely

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this is not a wholly appropriate title for a manifesto of Socialism. Socialism must be cosmopolitan, not national. "Britain for the British" has a patriotic ring, and patriotism...

C URRENT LITERATURE.

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THE UNSPEAKABLE SCOT. The Unspeakable Scot. By T. W. H. Crosland. (Grant Richards. 5s.)—Mr. Crosland has not the temper of Charles Lamb or William Hazlitt, and in this book,...

Reminiscences of a Dramatic Critic. By Henry Austin Clapp. (Gay

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and Bird. 7s. 6d. net.)—Not a few of the plays and players criticised in this volume are unknown to us ; but Mr. Clapp has the art of saying what attracts and enlightens even...

WITH THE ARABS IN TENT AND TOWN.

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With the Arabs in Tent and Town. By Archibald Forder. (Marshall Brothers.)—Mr. Forder is quite right in pleading that the work of a pioneer in missionary enterprise must not...

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Quaker Pioneers in Russia. By Jane Benson. (Headley Brothers. 2s.

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(3d.)—It would be interesting to speculate on the attraction which the Quakers seem to have had for a Russian Emperor, so emphatically contrasted with all their aspirations...

" aft None fll TaIll'a KOIZEIS elatv 4 aloe "-

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and most of us are inclined to agree, although it may be said that to a believer in Revelation the doubt is whether the laws of right and wrong are divine ordinances, or...

A History of Ancient Greek Literature. By Harold N. Fowler,

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Ph.D. (Hirschfeld Brothers. 6s. net.)—This is a useful text- book, as comprehensive and complete as anything that can be found of the same size and price, and adequate in...