4l8 



The Review of Reviews. 



April 10, 1906. 



the iiont de Piete for safety till their return. 



Being an institution without capital, the Mont de 

 Piete has to borrow in order to be able to lend. As 

 the security is good, it has no difficult-v in procuring 

 funds at .3 per cent., but this has to be taken into 

 account when money is advanced to clients. In other 

 words, if it were an endowed institution it would be 

 able to advance money on easier terms. 



The chief and most urgent reform is concerned with 

 the appraiser of the goods, who comes in at the first 

 engagement, again at the renewal, and again at the 

 sale, and manages to get hold of an enormous part 

 of the money. In connection with the appraiser 

 many serious abuses have gradually come into fxist- 

 ence, and the result is the present bitter cry for re- 

 form, which M. Renard has been asked to voice in 

 T.a Btrrue. 



THE DUTCH REVIEWS. 



De Gids is excellent this month. Of the several 

 very readable contributions the first is one on Anti- 

 Feminism in the Middle Ages, from the able pen of 

 Professor A. G. van Hamel, whose name is a guaran- 

 tee of quality. In the twelfth and the early part of 

 the thirteenth century, women were not held in high 

 esteem ; the knights would do brave acts when put 

 to the test by a lady, and sometimes siioutaneously. 

 but on the whole women held no place. In French 

 writings of the period women were treated with scant 

 courtesy. Among the categories of books on the sub- 

 ject were those whitli dealt with Eve and other 

 women of the Sacred Book. Eve is spoken of with 

 contempt for her weakness in yielding to the temp- 

 tation of the Serpent fur the sake of some fruit, 

 and so forth. Other books were those which gave 

 the substance of works by ancient writers on the 

 absorbing topic of woman, and those were not flatter- 

 ing to her. Then there came a counterblast. 

 Christine de Pisau wrote a book, which was one of 

 her literary efforts to earn a living for herself and 

 her two children, and she began to turn the tables. 

 People saw that a woman could do something after 

 all. and opinions became divided. Phrases of the 

 kind of •' Do not insult the sex to which your mother 

 belongs " were propagated and more respect was' 

 shown to the sex. 



There is a most interesting account of the history 

 of the Red Cross in Japan. It was in 1864 that 

 Henri Dunant. the founder of the Red Cross move- 

 ment, paid a visit to the Japanese Ambassador in 

 Paris, and explained the idea. In 1867. at tlie time 

 of the Exhibition, a great meeting was held in Paris, 

 and this brought the idea home to many people, in- 

 cluding the advanced portion of the Japanese. After 

 the war of 1870 the movement commenced to make 

 greater headway in the laud of earthquakes, and in 

 1873 it was taken up in real earnest. The insurrec- 

 tion in Japan, in 1877 and the eight months' fighting 

 that ensued, gave another fillip to the cause: the 

 Emperor gave 1000 yen to the funds, and the friends 

 of the Red Cross increased within twelve months 

 from 2200 to 11,000, 



Why cannot Holland do more trade with Persia 

 and the L.vant H That is the theme of a third con- 

 tribution. The writer shows what has been done by 

 others, as instanced by the histon- of the Imperial 

 Bank of Persia and the Ottoman Bank, and savs 

 that more could be done, and should be, by the 

 Dutch. There is a Dutch station at Ahwas. on the 

 Persian Gulf; this station has not the advantages 

 of competing stations in the matter of good railways, 

 but it has excellerit caravan roads, and its importance 

 could be largely increased. 



Slsecicr keeps up a high standard of illustration. 

 Those which accompany the article on Greek and 

 Italian ceramic ware are good, and combine with the 

 text to make an enjoyable article. The continuation 

 of Mr. Jac. van Looy's description of an excursion in 

 Morocco, with illustrations from drawings by the 

 writer, is given in this issue ; it is written more like 

 a story than a record of travel, and is. therefore, 

 the more entertaining. The party seems to have had 

 a good time. 



Onzc Eeuw contains an article on the separation of 

 Norway and Sweden, in which the author traces the 

 history of the Norwegian desire for independence, 

 and ends with a warning note. It appears very 

 plejisant to the Norwegians to hare a kincr and a 

 kingdom all to themselves, but such a oonSition of 

 affairs has its disadvantages. If you prefer inde- 

 pendence, you must be prepared to bear the cost and 

 trouble of maintaining it. And how will this rise of 

 a new State affect the histoi-y of the world in the 

 course of a generation or so? 



Tlie most important contribution to Vragen des 

 Tijdn is that on the Chamberlain Tariff movement. 

 A Dutchman who reads this article will know more 

 about the question than many a Britisher. Towards 

 the close of the article, which was written in October 

 last, the author expresses the opinion that the im- 

 minent General Election will result in an overwhelm- 

 ing victory for Free Trade. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



The Heal'h of Our Children in the Colonies: A 

 Book for Mothers," by Dr. Lilian Robinson (2s. 6d. ; 

 Longmans, Green and Co.). This book deserves a large 

 circulation. It is written in language that everybody 

 can understand. It covers a wide range of subjects 

 with regard to the health of children, and treats of 

 almost everything that a child is likelv to suffer from. 

 • The Subjection of Women." bv John Stuart Mill 

 (6d. : Longmans, Green and Co^, new edition, edited, 

 with introductory analysis, by Stanton Coit. 



■' The Kingswood Cookerr iBook." bv H. F. Wicken, 

 M.C.A. (Is. 6d. : Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd.) A 

 capitally got-up volume which will appeal to every- 

 day housekeepers anxious to adequately supply every- 

 day needs. 



"Johns' Notable Australians," by Fred Johns (6s.; 

 Geo. Robertson and Co. Propy. Ltd.). A useful com- 

 pendium of information concerning prominent Aus- 

 tralians. 



The Harbinger of lAght for April contains articles on 

 Rev. Dr. Minot J. Savage, • Christian Science in the 

 Light of Modern Spiritualism." a personal note from 

 the Yen. Archdeacon CoUey to the editor, and other 

 articles on Magnetic Arrogance and Clairvoyant 

 Healers, and "What Transpires in Our Midst." being 

 an account of the parting of the spirit from the body 

 as expounded to Mr. WiUiam Shackle, of Melbourne. 



DaJgetti's Scview for March has the usual mass of 

 technical information in which the mercantile trade 

 delights. One of the chief features of interest is a 

 splendid series of photographs illustrating the search 

 of a settler for land and the various stages of his 

 venture, finishing up suitably with the interior of a 

 church decorated for a thanksgiving service. An in- 

 teresting article is contributed upon the handling of 

 the wool traffic at the Darling Harbour railway sta- 

 tion, the point where sea and land meet in thetrack 

 of the wool from the homestead to the foreign land. 



