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The Review of Reviews. 



THE SPANISH REVIEWS. 



La l.edura contains four contributions concerning 

 the Spanish poet and author, Juan Maragall, in whose 

 honour a solemn session of the Madrid Athen.xum was 

 held a short time ago. These consist of two orations by 

 men of mark, and two of Maragall's own essays. The 

 deep Catholicism and religious spirit of Maragall are 

 eulogised in one discourse ; while the purity of his life 

 and the style of his writing are praised in the other. 

 One of his essays dwells on the power of the spoken 

 word, called by him the greatest of physical and mental 

 marvels. The second essay is on the advantage derived 

 from having a mountain in close pro.ximity ; how the 

 mountain enables us to gain an insight into the won- 

 drous expanse of heaven above and the vast plains 

 below it, with a bird's-eye view of the houses lying 

 around. The articles on " The Sadness of Contem- 

 porary Literature " are concluded, with examples from 

 plays as well as novels ; but it is pleasant to note that 

 the author perceives signs of a reaction and a return 

 to wholesome optimism, both in Spain and elsewhere. 

 A long contribution on the painters and sculptors of 

 the Basque country contains some interesting details, 

 mention being made of, among others, Echena, whose 

 picture of " The Arrival of Christ at Calvary " was 

 very favourably noticed by English critics. 



In his article on " The Tragic Sentiment," in Espatia 

 Moderna, Professor Miguel de Unamuno treats of the 

 hunger for immortality, which he also calls the thirst 

 for it, and which might be termed, in unadorned lan- 

 guage, the longing to live for ever. Writers have 

 called life a dream and the shadow of a dream, as if 

 they expected that real life would commence hereafter, 

 and as if our present existence were of no special 

 importance. Many quotations are given. The whole 

 essay is of a thoughtful character. The next article, 

 " Dream Phenomena," is equally interesting, and 

 many instances are given of sleep visions that have 

 been prophetic. Mental transference may account for 

 some of the things seen in dreams, but there are many 

 which cannot thus be explained. The story is told of 

 a man who dreamt of the house at which he was to call 

 on the next day ; he saw the people, the furniture, and 

 even described one large dog and three smaller ones, 

 and a lovely young lady. On paying the visit he found 

 that every detail was accurate ; yet he knew nothing, 

 had heard nothing, of all those facts until he dreamt 

 them. Even the theory of inherited memory could not 

 explain this vision. 



The article on " The Spanish Zone of Influence " in 

 Morocco is continued in the current Nuesiro Tiempo, 

 and various details arc given concerning the^military 

 force and the administration of the country. The 

 military force consists of men of all ages and con- 

 ditions ; anyone who is able to carry a weapon is a 

 soldier; the army is without discipline, and no time- 

 limit of service is prescribed. Reckless fanaticism, 

 rather than bravery or organised methods of fighting, 

 has secured for these people the great victories, ancient 

 and modern, which stand to their credit. According 



to the writer the Spanish zone contains land that 

 should yield much profit to its proprietors. The bio- 

 graphical sketch of the old Empress of China is con- 

 tinued, and there is a lecture on Jovellanos, the great 

 Spanish agrarian reformer, the centenary of whose 

 death was solemnised at the end of last year. The soil 

 of Spain is stated to be the most fertile of any in 

 Europe. 



THE DUTCH REVIEWS. 



De Gitis opens with a translation of " Prometheus 

 Bound," and then passes to a contribution on the 

 future of what might be termed, using a literal trans- 

 lation, folk law. Many of the laws by which the people 

 of various nations have been governed were founded 

 on Roman laws ; the influence is still prominent, but 

 the times are changini,' rapidly and profoundlv. 

 Religion and morality are playing their part, forming 

 a code which is not in the statute-book, and, with other 

 factors, affecting the law which statesmen are making 

 for our government. International law is affected by 

 the growth of intercourse between nations and by the 

 desire for the abolition of war. Yet, when great nations 

 think of what is right and proper, it sometimes appears 

 to them that it is good for them to forget the rights 

 which smaller nations think they (the smaller nations) 

 possess, and absorb those minor communities. In 

 another article expression is given to the fear of the 

 consequences to Holland of a war between England 

 and Germany, and the necessity for preparing, as far 

 as possible, for such a contingency is urged upon all. 

 " Anglo-German relations must either improve or 

 grow worse." 



The review of a book on fables, legends and rules of 

 conduct, from the Sanscrit, is one of the most enter- 

 taining contributions to De Gids. It is the Hitopadeca, 

 which is taken from the Pancatantra, and this latter 

 is a descendant from a collection the original of which 

 is lost in obscurity. It is calculated that the Panca- 

 tantra was written about 300 B.C. Among the many 

 quotations and references we find, with some amuse- 

 ment, variants of such fables as " The Milkmaid." 

 " The Ass in the Lion"s Skin," and " The Tortoise and 

 the Two Ducks." \Vc may conclude that La Fontaine 

 took some of his themes from .i^isbp : but here we have 

 other forms of the same subject. Instead of the milk- 

 maid making money by the simple process of counting 

 her chickens before they are hatched, it is a Brahmia 

 who does so in a dream, and with the same disastrous 

 result. But he dreamt of things very different from 

 milk, eggs, chickens, and the like ! 



J'ragen dcs Tijds contains three articles of a financial 

 character. The first deals with the price of Government 

 securities and local loans ; the second concerns savings 

 liank deposits (in Holland a depositor cannot pay in 

 more than £25 per year, and it is necessary to increase 

 this sum) ; and the third is about the payment and 

 privileges of Members of Parliament in different coun- 

 tries. In Denmark, for instance, they receive about 



