THE most interesting of the speculative articles in the new

Nineteenth Century is Mr. John Morley's review of Mr. Hobhouse's recently published essay on " Democracy and Reaction," with special reference to the growth of the Imperial idea.. Mr. Morley treats the subject with eloquence and candour. Thus, in endorsing Mr. Hobhouse's eloquent panegyric of the achievements of " Little England," he makes the suggestive admission that "these glorious things were done when England was under the sway either of monarch or aristocracy or both." He endorses in the main Mr. Hob- house's enumeration of the principal causes of the modern reaction against humanitarianism, and attaches chief weight to the influence of the biological argument derived from a superficial conception of the doctrine of evolution,—a point of contact with the remarkable article by Sir Edward Fry in the Contemporary, noticed later on. It is a great pity, how- ever, that Mr. Morley's paper, which only runs to ten pages, should be cut in two at this point, the second half being with- held till the next issue.—Dr. Dillon has a long paper on " The Breakdown of Russian Finances." He admits that the presumption in favour of the continuance of Russian solvency is strong, but contends that it is built up on a system of financial legerdemain. There are vast gold reserves, but they can hardly be said to belong to Russia, if only " because they were bought and paid for with money borrowed from abroad." The motive of this system of hoarding borrowed gold is to give Russia an economical and political hold over Europe, and the system is possible because Russia is the only great country the finances of which are wholly free from the hampering control of the taxpayer. But the peasants are not merely overtaxed; they are forced, in order to maintain abidance of trade in Russia's favour for the payment of interest on this endless chain of foreign loans, to export "not only cereals

which they can dispense with, but a portion of the corn which is positively necessary for themselves." How long, then, will eighty millions of Russian peasants persist in taxing and starving themselves for the benefit of foreign bondholders ? The enormous expenses of the war will involve increased demands, and the peasants can give no more. " The balance of trade is, therefore, doomed to be upset, and with it the whole financial structure will fall to pieces." Dr. Dillon's logic is cogent, but his statements as to the degeneration of the peasants are hardly borne out by the endurance they have shown in the war.-2.1r. Eltzbacher supports the renewal of the Japanese Alliance on grounds of expediency as well as gratitude. But he spares no pains to show that in such matters gratitude is a dangerous guide. " Not sentiment but self- interest should be our guiding principle in foreign politics.

A purely, deliberately, and consistently selfish policy with regard to the Anglo-Japanese Affiance should be pursued."—We may also notice Major E. Hautonville Richardson's interesting paper on " War Dogs," and record with sincere regret the fact that this number contains the last contribution to periodical literature of the late Sir Wemyss Reid, who, though he had been under sentence of death for many months, went about his work with unflinching courage and unabated industry till within a very few days of the end.

Articles on burning questions of the day from foreign statesmen have been one of the most valuable features of the National Review under Mr. Maxse's editorship, and that by M. Combes, the late French Premier, on " Republican Policy and the Roman Catholic Church," is of exceptional interest. M. Combes thinks that he has been unfairly judged in England by a considerable section of Liberal opinion, and his aim in this paper is to vindicate his action, not merely as the natural and logical consequence of the recognised Repub- lican policy of the last thirty years, but as the inevitable and constitutional assertion of "the religious rights of the State." The misconception of his policy in England he attributes to the widely different conditions prevailing in the two countries. In England the Roman Church is neither able nor willing to challenge national institutions : in France, according to M. Combes, she is, and always has been, disloyal to the State and to the terms of the Concordat. M. Combes's attitude to. the Church is one of uncompromising hostility, as may be gathered from a few typical observations:— "The entire Catholic clergy, from the Pope to the curs, are permeated by a determination to evade the restrictions

of the Concordat There is not a single article imposing an obligation on the Church which has not been transgressed at every turn either by the Pope or the

clergy.. • Clericalism is, in fact, to be found at,tithe bottom ot every agitation and every intrigue from which Republican France has suffered during the last five-and-thirty years." M. Combes, while avowing himself the faithful disciple of C-ambetta, claims to have resorted to no special or exceptional legislation. His great argument is that, as the Concordat takes no cognisance of the Orders, the Republicans are entitled' to claim that these exist outside the Concordat, and consequently outside the Catholic Church, as officially, recognistd_in France. Finally, he claims that the religious anareby,,now existing in France has rallied moderate Republicans to the support of the movement for the separation of Church and State. We cannot think that M. Combes's article will achieve its end, that of convincing English Liberal, opinion of the justice of his policy, at any rate in regard to the . Qrders.—Mr. F. St. John Morrow, writing on " Thg.Mysterous Case of Sir Antony MacDonnell," reviews the official„ attitude of the Irish Under-Secretaries since the office wag. created, and adopts the view that as the peculiar nature ,pf this post renders it impossible

to reconcile it correct theory of the duty of permanent officials, 4,,Igkuld be made a Ministerial office.— Dr. William Barry, viting on "Agnosticism and National Decay," claims that, by the express admissions of its most distinguished exponents, the creed of negation tends to materialise and debase civilisation. Dr. Barry's outlook strikes us as unduly pessimistic; but it is impossible to deny the eloquence and literary skill with which he has formulated his indictment.—We deal with "An Eton Correspondence" in another column, and must content our- selves with a brief reference to Colonel Leroy Lewis's able plea for a more considerate treatment of the Auxiliary Forces by the War Office. The gist of his argument is to be found in the enunciation of the sound principle that the citizen who gives his services to the State is in the first place a civilian, and in the next place a soldier. " Consideration for his civilian occupations should be first of all attended to, and if these are handled with any amount of intelligent comprehen- sion, there is no reason why a very considerable amount of military value should not be extracted from him."

Dr. Dillon is again to the fore in the Contemporary with a long and interesting article on " The Situation in Russia," in which he draws a striking picture between the imaginary Russia of the optimistic official communiques, and Russia as revealed by the admissions of the Press, even including the semi-official newspapers. As an instance of the extraordinary inconsistency of Czardom, he notes that while it was forbidden to collect or subscribe money for the victims of the massacre of January 22nd, the Czar and the Empress were applauded for subscribing £5,000 for precisely the same purpose. Dr. Dillon absolutely refuses to accept the view that the Czar's attitude was due to ignorance, and believes that the convoca- tion of a representative Chamber, already a foregone con- clusion, will hardly even delay the Revolution. The last chance was thrown away on January 21st, when the Czar refused to take M. Witte's advice.—Sir Edward Fry con- tributes a paper on "Science and Education," in which he offers a weighty plea against the undue exaltation of scientific training as a means to national efficiency. His con- tention is summed up in the saying that " science must take a seat below morals in the educational conclave because right morals are necessary to constitute a good man, and right science is not ; because in the hierarchy of our faculties con- science is superior to knowledge." This view is fortified by a number of striking illustrations, the antithesis between the moral sense and the indifference of science being illustrated by the proceedings at the Hague Conference in 1899. " It would seem," he adds, " as though in the future one of the chief functions of diplomacy will be to check the application to practice of the new results of science."—Mr. W. Hall Griffin continues his pleasant papers on Browning's early friends, and gives an attractive sketch of Joseph Arnould, one of the most gifted and high-minded of Browning's early intimates, a man of fine literary taste, a brilliant letter-writer, a great lawyer, and an upright Judge whose memory is still venerated by the natives of India.

Russia and her internal condition now occupy the place lately given to Japan in the magazines. There are three such articles in the Fortnightly, the most interesting of which is "The Russian Navy from Within," by "Chersonese." We are told that men are taken by the conscription to be sailors, and that they live in barracks on shore. Here they are taught musketry exercises like infantrymen. Ships when commissioned lie a long while in dock, and the men are marched on board at intervals and taught their duties. Also they are taken on to ships newly launched, where they must be greatly in the way of the workmen, one would think. The trials of a new ship are carefully carried out, so that the best results may be obtained. To ensure a calm sea for steam trials no delay is thought too long, and when the ship does get off finally, it spends much of its time in port. The education of officers does not appear to be any more practical, and their profes- sional enthusiasm is at a low ebb. "At Sevastopol there is a splendid Naval Club with an excellent library, and every comfort But only old retired admirals are ever seen there

[also] a lawn tennis club But, generally speaking, it is in the leas agreeable or healthful resorts that the time of the naval officer is passed."—Mr. William Archer writes of "Ibsen in his Letters," and gives us a very interesting study of a great literary figure. Ibsen, it seems, was fond of insisting, when writing about his own works, that he had "never written anything merely because, as the saying goes, I had hit on a good subject." He explained that everything he produced had its origin in something he had experienced and lived through. This, of course, means emotionally, not actually, a recollected mental experience being given an outward form to make it a drama. Ibsen's mind was a slow-working one. " He did not profess or attempt to apprehend a thing in all its relations. He saw one aspect of it vividly and stated it forcibly, without denying

of the views on things in general of the characters in the plays. If Ibsen had had settled ideas on all subjects, the people of his dramas would, instead of throwing out pregnant

ideas, have given solutions of those of other people.— M. Santos-Dumont writes interestingly, if dithyrambienlly,

of the future of the airship. He tells us that he has given up the idea of speed for the present, and is now working on the lines of a small ship he made, " in which day after day I hopped over the trees of the Bois, kept appointments to lunch, attended a review, and guide-roped down the Avenue des Champs Elysees to my door at the corner of the Rue Washington." Soon, we are told, a big ship is to be finished in which its maker proposes to tour with a friend aerially over Europe without touching ground for a week.

The account which Mr. W. B. Harris writes in Blackwood of the extravagances and absurdities of the Sultan of Morocco

merely adds further details to the already known tragi- comedy. The Sultan seems to have been personally agreeable to his English friend, and Mr. Harris is inclined to attribute his wanton expenditure and recklessness to the inducements and pressure of European merchants, whose agents got the weak young ruler to buy a two-thousand-pound gold photo- graphic camera, motor-cars, state-coaches, and other things in quantities. But how are we to exonerate the man who saw his soldiers ragged and starving, yet the sight merely made him feel weary of being Sultan ? Among the preposterous things sent for to Europe were a state-coach and trappings.

(There are no roads in Morocco or horses broken to harness.) The desire for this coach was produced by seeing a sham cinematograph reproduction of King Edward's coronation.

The coach was put together in the palace gardens, and as no horses could be harnessed to it, it was dragged by men :—

" 'We must ride in it,' said the Sultan, and forthwith he sum- moned two of his guests to share the honour of accompanying him in his first experience of a state-carriage. But his Majesty had vague ideas about the seating of his companions. He invited the Consul to get up behind, while he himself agilely climbed on to the box, calling me to get inside. When we were seated the

equipage started on its first and only journey the rear of the procession was taken up by a string of strange deer, cattle, zebras, emus, and cranes, which followed at a respectful distance, gazing in wonderment at this extraordinary scarlet coach."

The episode seems to come straight from the Book of Non- sense. The Sultan may be weak and foolish, but how shall we describe his English friend, who tells us of the practical

jokes he himself played on a town Moor who had business in the palace ? Among these was the putting of a garden- hose down the back of the man's neck, while the Minister of War, Menehbi, pumped, and the Sultan was amused.

The Government's last Irish imbroglio is discussed in "Musings without Method." It is suggested that the best comment on the affair, and on Ireland's wrongs in general, is not to be found in Parliament, but in Mr. Bernard Shaw's

brilliant political comedy, John Bull's Other Island. The praise of this comedy and the censure of its author seem to

us just, and the writer says how much better it would be if Mr. Shaw would be " content to say his say upon the stage without clowning it in prefaces and lecture-halls." The scene singled out for special praise in the play under discussion is the one in which a Parliamentary candidate is chosen. This scene is indeed admirable, and so is the satire throughout the play. Where the drama is at fault is that the incidents, not the characters, develop.—"Pereunt et Imputantur " is a grim story by Major MacMunn of rebel-hunting in Burmah. The descriptive part is excellent, and Ghoorka, Sikh, and Englishman are all outlined firmly and clearly. The incident at the end raises the same problem as does the story of Napoleon's poisoning the wounded at Acre. In the tale before us an English officer has to decide whether he will leave a wounded Sikh to the atrocities of the rebels, for to carry him away is impossible. The officer decides the case with his revolver, but is a changed man ever after.

By far the most striking thing in the Monthly Review is "Man," by Maxim Gorki. The work must be described as a

prose poem, in which the poet calls forth " the majestic image

of man." A figure of Michelangelesque spirit is raised up, toiling on surrounded by Hope, Faith, Hate, Lust, and In- sanity—all the creations of his mind—while near him hovers Death. Man creates by means of Thought, but is always dis- carding the past and making a future. "So marches on rebellious Man—forwards ! and higher ! ever forwards ! and ever higher ! "—The remainder of the magazine is not of any special interest, and in the usual article on the situa- tion as regards military reform we feel "the wheel has come full circle," the writer of the criticism declaring that in all points the Army was in a better state under the administration of the Duke of Cambridge than under that of Mr. Arnold-Forster.—Since Mr. Newbolt has severed his connection with this Review, we look in vain for those admirable political satires which used to illuminate controversy with their brilliance. In other places we can find political invective, but we miss that fine wit, that penetrating satirical humour, which is such a totally different thing from mere abuse of the other side. But though we miss Mr. Newbolt's gift of political satire, we are glad to note that under his successor the Monthly retains its old readableness and literary quality.

The Gladstone recollections by Mr. C. S. Roundall in the Independent Review have some characteristic and interesting things in them. The origin of the rash saying which declared that " Jefferson Davis had made the South a nation " is traced. Some one sent Gladstone a little book in which was told the story of a Southern Brigadier who, being wounded, had his leg amputated, but on the next day was in the saddle leading his brigade, and died of exhaustion. Fired by this anecdote, the speech was made without consideration. Speaking of the incident afterwards, "he quite admitted that, in his position, it was very indiscreet to speak in such a way ; and I did not gather that he was a favourer of the Southern cause." Some stories are given of Gladstone's enormous powers of conversation. There seems to have been no clear line of demarcation between a speech and a talk with a friend. Mr. Roundall says that he asked for news from some one fresh from Hawarden, where Gladstone was ill, and was answered that " he made two speeches whilst I was with him." Gladstone had, it appears, harangued his visitor on two occasions for twenty minute@ " with all the eloquence and fire of a House of Commons speech," once upon the Crimean War and once on the Parnell Commission.— Mr. Laurence Binyon writes an interesting paper on " Watts and National Art," and says truly that " Watts alone has been able to realise the dream of Reynolds, the dream of a heroic style in English painting." He was able to do this because he possessed in a large measure that imaginative temperament which exists in the English race, and which has most often manifested itself in our poetry. Watts was gifted with the faculty of expressing his poetry in painting, and of painting ideas, not objects. As regards this painting of ideas, Mr. Binyon points out the fallacy of thinking that to paint ideas is to introduce a foreign literary element into painting,

and says A harmony of greys and greens is an idea ; and from such primary ideas to complex ideas, saturated with inevitable associations, which express and enhance for us the splendour of strength and beauty is but a gradual growth and evolution, not the adding of superfluous alloy."