Review of Reviews, 2013/06. 



Leading Articles, 



305 



MAXIM STORIES. 



In the Cosmopolitan, Mr. W. R. Stewart gives a 

 vivid sketch of Mr. Hudson Maxim, whom he de- 

 scribes as a fulminating philosopher. He tells how 

 when young Maxim was barefooted, hatless, tramp- 

 ing to school, rubbing his feet in the snow, he me- 

 morised Pope's " Essay on Man," 1296 lines, in 

 three days, in order to give a teacher who had 

 complained of his short recitations, a recitation that 

 was really long. Of his latest invention Mr. Stewart 

 says : — 



Maximite, named from its inventor, the adoption of 

 which by the United States government placed this country 

 in the lead of all others in high explosive projectiles, is so 

 insensitive to shock that shells charged with it may not 

 only be fired from high-power guns with entire safety, but 

 will stand the greater shock of penetrating the thickest 

 armour plate without exploding until set oB by a proper 

 fuse. 



Of all Mr. Maxim's inventions in explosives, the one which 

 is most likely to capture the imagination is the substance 

 which he has named " motorite." and the uses to which it 

 may be put in the next war in which this country may be 

 engaged. Although an explosive, the function of motorite 

 is, as its name indicates, to supply motive power, and it 

 will be employed as a fuel, producing steam, to actuate 

 turbines in torpedo boats and automobile torpedoes. It 

 consists of a compound of nitro-glycerine and guncotton, 

 and Mr. Maxim believes that ultimately a speed of a mile 

 a minute may be obtained by its use. 



This is expected to seal the doom of the battle- 

 ship. 



Titled Ladies as Shopkeepers. 



In the Young Woman in a sketch of " Some 

 Women of To-Day,'" the writer observes that not a 

 few of our leading j>eers and peeresses are engaged 

 in business, and some have actually shops of vari- 

 ous kinds. But, she observes, it is generally for 

 sorne charitable or philanthropic object that these 

 titled people act as shopkeepers: — 



Lady Wimborne is the latest member of the peerage to 

 engage in trade, and recently opened a book-shop in Dover- 

 street, Piccadilly, for the dissemination of Protestant litera- 

 ture. The profits will go for the cause on behalf of which 

 the shop exists. This novel book-store is a model of artistic 

 beauty. Among the literature that has sold well have been 

 numerous copies of pamphlets and songs by Dr. Torrey and 

 Mr. Alexander. Lady Wimborne threw herself with much 

 enthusiasm into the work of the Torrey-Alexander revival 

 in London. 



Another well-known shop managed by a peeress is that of 

 the Countess of Warwick, at 58 New Bond-street. This shop 

 is the depot of the County Schools Needlework Association. 



Another shop which is largely controlled by a titled lady 

 is to be seen at Newcastle in the Potteries. The Duchess 

 of Sutherland, assisted by Miss Twyford and other ladies 

 of the district, started an establishment to help cripples so 

 that they might find a small livelihood by their needle- 

 work, knitting, and basket-making. The scheme has been 

 so successful that a shop in Newcastle had to be opened 

 for the sale of the work, and people from all parts of 

 the country buy any basket or wicker-work they may re- 

 quire from this establishment, because it is just as cheap 

 as that obtained anywhere else, and in addition helps the 

 cause of charity. The Duchess of Sutherland takes a great 

 interest in the welfare of the cripples. 



With its January issue Nord und Sud introduces 

 an important new feature — namely, articles on poli- 

 tical subjects. The number opens with an article 

 on the Political Situation, by Ernst Kasserman, a 

 Deputy of the Reichstag; and there are political 

 surveys of the month dealing with German home 

 and foreign affairs. 



THE LIGHT-TREATMENT OF DISEASE. 



In the Quarterly Review Mr. George Pernet deals 

 with the Finsen treatment of disease and with 

 Finsens work generally. The practical application 

 of light to lupus is undoubtedly due to him, as is 

 commonly believed ; but there are difficulties in the 

 way of using the Finsen light apparatus, its great 

 expensiveness, the installation, the current required 

 to run the powerful arc-lights, each patient requir- 

 ing a separate nurse, and the great slowness of the 

 treatment, which may extend even over years. 

 - If, as a sensational daily paper prophesied, the 

 Finsen light treatment is to banish lupus from the 

 world, then, says the writer, it is prevention of 

 lupus rather than cure which must be our aim. 

 The bacillus of lupus vulgaris (lupus, as we usually 

 say simply) and of consumption are identical — 

 which is certainly not generally known. Prevent 

 tuberculosis, and you prevent lupus. 



Are American Ambassadors Inferior to European? 



This is the question raised by Francis C. Lo-well 

 in the Atlantic Monthly for January, and answered in 

 the most emphatic negative. He compares the 

 ambassadors sent to England since 1850 with the 

 ambassadors sent by England to Washington, and 

 shows that though less technically trained, the 

 ■ Americans are by far the most distinguished men. 

 The writer proceeds to argue in a style characteris- 

 ticallv .American that the ambassador is all the bet- 

 ter for not being technically trained. He has more 

 initiative, and is more able to cope with unexp>ected 

 emergencies. He goes on to suggest that, as the 

 ambassador is very largely now only a subordinate 

 agent of the Foreign Secretary or the Foreign Minis- 

 ter, a much larger and nobler role is being found 

 for him by American diplomacy — namely, that of 

 mediator of friendly relations between the peoples 

 to whom he is credentialled. The American repre- 

 sentative goes about to popular functions in a way 

 that has not been followed as yet by representatives 

 of anv other nations. 



The Effect of City Life on Physique. 



The world has resounded with applause of the 

 rapid growth of German industr}-, and the develop- 

 ment of manufactures, and the expansion of cities. 

 The cost to the national physique which this pro- 

 gress involves is suggested by one of the " Sundries " 

 which, by-the-bye, form one of the mo.st interesting 

 features of the United Service Magazine: — 



From year to year the physical capacity of the German 

 recruit has been steadily deteriorating. In 1900 it was 55.6 

 per cent.: in 1904 it had declined to 53.7 per cent. The 

 industrial districts give the worst results in this respect, 

 viz.. the Kingdom of Saxony (52.5), the Rhenish Province 

 (51.5). Silesia (46.6). Brandenhourg with Berlin (46.3); on 

 the other hand, the more particularly agricultural districts 

 furnish ;i proportion above the average, viz.. East PruBsia 

 (66.6), West Prussia (66.1), Posen (59.1), and the Province of 

 Saxony (58.3). 



General instruction, however, has continuously improved. 

 The proportion of illiterates, which in 1900 was more than 

 1.55 per cent., fell in 1903 to 0.04 per cent. It is the eastern 

 provinces of Prussia which give the largest proportion. 



