NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THERE is cause for manly anxiety, there is cause for stern determination; above all, there is cause for unflagging energy in military preparation; but there is no cause for despair, or even for despondency. If the effort of will is maintained by the nation, and if good sense, courage, and the calmness not of fatalism but of resolution strung to the very last point remain ours, we must win. We say this in no boasting spirit; but because time is with us and against our enemies. Those who fight with the sense that all is lost unless they can win quickly may get a certain superficial advantage from their desperation, but let us never forget that "if Tear-'em is a good dog, Holdfast is a better." If time is for us, only weakness of purpose, irresolution, and apathy can undo us. Before we summarize the military events of the week we will give our reasons for holding that the situa- tion, both on general and on special grounds, is in no sort of way one for despair, but rather for calmness, even if calmness tempered with_ the weight of anxious cares. The only men who have a right to be light-hearted are the men at the front, and they appear to be taking full advantage of their privilege.
