Prince Bismarck's statement to an interviewer, that he had brought on the war by falsifying the account of what had occurred at Ems between the King and Count Benedetti. The...

the Bill of more than two hours' duration, in which he first of all rejected the idea of an offensive war undertaken to terminate an oppressive situation. Such a war, he...

affair, more serious than M. Wilson's sale of decorations. On Monday, M. Delahaye, who votes with the Right, rose in the Chamber to demand an inquiry into the affairs of the...

at a banquet given by the Eleusis Club, at Chelsea, on Monday. He raged against the House of Lords, indicated his distrust of the House of Commons and his still deeper distrust...

case.

T HE German Emperor opened the Session of the Reichstag on Tuesday in a self-restrained speech of much dignity. He trusted that Germany would not be disturbed ; but the de-...

With the " SPECTATOR" of Saturday, December 3rd, will be issued gratis, a SPECIAL LITERARY SUPPLEMENT.

Goldwin Smith and Mr. Gladstone, on the force which was required before the Union to prevent revolt in Ireland. Mr. Gladstone had said it was about 130,400 men, Mr. Goldwin...

Eager. They want to obtain more money to spend without visibly increasing rates, which might end in their dismissal by the voters, and they want also more power to do as they...

on Thursday at the annual dinner of the United Club. He complimented the Government on having kept a certain continuity of policy in relation to Foreign and Colonial Affairs,...

to the earliest part of which we drew attention last week, and draw attention again this, proceeds on a very questionable assumption indeed. In his desire for peace, the Bishop...

Club dinner on Wednesday in reply to a speech from the Chairman, Sir Arthur Hayter, wherein it was stated that if Mr. Asquith had been but a short time in the House of Commons,...

are showing to renew their promissory notes after they are in Office, and ought to be thinking of redeeming them. They won the General Election by promises, and they appear now...

in spite of Lord ICimberley's state- ment at the Lord Mayor's banquet, that Ireland is already less law-abiding than it was under the government of Lord Zetland. Lord...

under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canter- bury, to consider how far the National Church can interfere to relieve the respectable poor, when they are past work, from the...

the Courts in settling commercial disputes and the great expense of proceedings, that the Corporation of London and the Chamber of Commerce have united to create a new Tribunal...

room, Warwick, last Wednesday, on "Palestine Exploration," the Speaker of the House of Commons called the attention of the present generation to two of the most considerable...

New Consols (21) were on Friday 971.

General Dodds, who throughout has displayed both skill and daring, is no doubt in possession of Abomey, which was entered on November 17th; but the King, his remaining troops,...

take runs, occasionally, of about five miles, as part of their regular athletic exercises. Great care, however, is taken to prevent weaklings from trying to run, and this term,...

THE PANAMA SCANDAL. I T is well for the French that there is at this moment no Pretender about who possesses the confidence of the masses, even in a limited degree. If there...

I N speaking at the Eleusis Club, at Chelsea, on Monday, Mr. Labouchere responded to the toast of "Our Radical representatives," and his speech was certainly ominous of trouble...

I T is of no use to discuss the German Military Bill any more. That subject has been threshed out, and interest now centres itself on the vote of the Reichstag, which will not...

I F we understand Mr. Asquith's speech at the City Liberal Club rightly, he holds that when a General Election displaces one Government, and replaces it by that of the opposite...

solid majority TN undertaking to do their public works for them- 1_ objection about incompetence and inexperience. The Corn- For example, Mr. Gladstone is committed to attempt...

" I F," said Mr. John Dillon, speaking at Ballybaunis, in the County Mayo, on Sunday last,—" if the repre- sentatives of the working classes of England pass a satis- factory...

p UBLIC opinion on electoral corruption is a pendulum constantly on the swing. Before the Corrupt Practices Act was passed, all decent people had been shocked by the amount of...

the best way of providing more comfortably for the last years of the aged poor, or rather, of those among them who are not only aged, but worthy of all respect, might have been...

I T is difficult for any one who is unscientific, yet possesses imagination enough to apprehend scientific results, to read a paper like that which in the Times of Tuesday de-...

A FEW days ago there appeared in the columns of the Times an article entitled "The Social Demands In- surance Company," in which a modest proposal was made for the relief of a...

W E shall not be suspected of any great sympathy with the methods and the feats of Mr. Oscar Wilde. In this journal we have always disclaimed respect for the forms of...

[To ma EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—While acknowledging the general truth of the remarks in "The Privilege of Privacy," in the Spectator of the 19th inst I feel bound, in...

cm THE EDITOR OF TEE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—It is much to be regretted that men cannot discuss a difficult question without abuse and ridicule. What is de- manded of us is,—have we...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATJE."] confirmation by an " Evangelist " from practical experience of your view in the Spectator of November 19th, may be of interest. The writer...

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. [To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—The most significant item of the American elections of November 8th, so far as enduring political lessons,...

THE NEW ENGLISH ART CLUB. THIS, like last winter's exhibition, is an excellent one. It is strong—there are three Sargents and three Steers, a new rule allowing members to hang...

LTO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR." J Sin,—Some time ago some interesting stories were told by your correspondents of the display of intelligence by animals. I doubt whether any...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.'1 SIR,—In the Spectator of November 19th a correspondent, signing himself "W. C. R.," writes :—" May I be allowed to point out that only a few...

THE RUINS OF MASHONALAND.* ASIA has never been surveyed by archwologists, and they may find ruins there much more wonderful than any yet described in any other quarter of the...

WE are glad to see that Professor Buchheim has republished his collection of German lyrics. The book appeared first in 1875, and the fact that it has now reached its seventh...

themselves to the art of the story-teller so well as the tragedians, nor do the tragedians even lend themselves so well as the epic poets. In comedy a great deal depends on the...

MR. WALTER BESANT has of late displayed a fondness for out- of-the-way narrative motives which, though perfectly legitimate artistic material, can be used much more effectively,...

service, as Mr. Holyoake calls it, is probably an inexplicable force. Be the cause whatsoever it may, its persistent advocacy is considered folly by the friends, and...

on taking up a novel, to dis- cover in it a sequel to a predecessor of which one happens to be ignorant. It argues oneself insufficiently informed as far as the author is...

and Co.) —Miss Winchester always writes well, but she writes at too great a length. Here we have more than a hundred and sixty pages before we get near the gist of the story. It...

through the whole volume ; another, Mr. G. Manville Fenn's "Nurse Elisia,," extends through half ; and Mrs. L. B. Walford's "The One Good Guest," through a third. Another...

G IFT-BO OK S. Mum Fidgets and the Two Richards. By Constance Milman. (A. D. limes and Co.)—In the first and best of these two stories, a very lively one, which will please...

' who tells this story is a lad of eleven, who relates various ex- periences which he and his sisters have met with. Jack—that is the lad's name—is of an orderly temper, and is...

place among magazines for children. It contains two serial tales, "Jim," a story of school life, told in a lively fashion, and having an attractive little person for its hero,...

Mr. Jones's " Lessons " are valuable from the readiness with which he illustrates physical laws, and the clearness with which he expounds them. There are numerous examplest and...

Miss Esme Stuart has collected here thirteen short stories, naturally of varying interest, but worth a more prolonged existence than falls to the lot of periodical fiction,—for...

Stockton. (Sampson Low, Marston and Co.)—In the first of these stories we do not recognise Mr. Stockton's peculiar humour, though the tale has merits of its own. But he is quite...

notice :— Dog Pictures (Frederick Warne), with letterpress descriptive of various kinds of dogs from the pen of Mrs. Valentine ; also, from the same publisher and by the same...

(Macmillan.)—This "Reprint from the Spectator" appears in a third edition, the "Foolscap 4to" shape being changed to "Crown 8vo." It is needless to commend again a book for...

years ago few people, it is probable, out of her own country, knew the name of Madame Ronner. Attention was attracted to her work, which for many years has consisted entirely in...

Ridgeway, M.A. (Griffith, Farran, and Co.)—This is a second series of the author's "Boys of Bible Story." The subjects are, from the Old Testa- ment, Isaac, Esau and Jacob,...

Darton, and Co.)—Miss Coleridge builds a most ingenious little story on the fact that in a blocked-up room in a country rectory a pair of shoes, apparently a hundred years old,...

Smith. (Osgood, McIlvaine, and Co.)—These nine sketches are such as only an artist could write, one ready to recognise the beauty of life in any shape, and with an eye to his...