llmew of Eevii-wi, 116106. 



J hv Reviews Reviewed. 



307 



THE OCCULT MAGAZINES. 



Ml. A. P. Sinnett must be congiatiilat<'cl upon 

 liaviiirj written one of the most amusing and sugges- 

 tive .-lioit stoiies of the year. '' A Bi'idal Pair " in 

 April liruud I ieics is a fanciful tale based upon the 

 now well-establislied fact of the possibility of two 

 alternating personalities in the same body. A bar- 

 listor tails in love with a young lady who, when she 

 promises to marry liim, is Miss Lucy Vanerby. But 

 the boily of lUiss Vanerby is tenanted by two per- 

 -■malities, known recspcctively as Lucy and L<'onora, 

 . aril with distinct characters, tastes, and memories. 

 .Vltcr the barrister Inks wooed and won the love of 

 Luc.\ . Leonora suddenly replaces Lucy as the tenant 

 (if Mi.ss X'anerby's body. As Lucy's lover knows 110- 

 iliing of the sudden change of personalities, there i.s 

 :it, first the devil to pay. Fortimatelj- Lp<mora holds 

 possession long enough to be wooed and won in her 

 turn, ami tlie lucky barrister marries two women in 

 one. What will happen after the wedding, when 

 Luc.v returns to find her lover has married Leonora, 

 is to be told in a subsequent number. 



From a paper on occultists' views in politics we 

 li'arn that the invisible world is governed by an ab- 

 .vilute monarchy, and that, therefore, occultists are 

 alisolutists. As a first step towards dethroning de- 

 mocracy Mrs. Bcsant proposes to allow no man a vote 

 until he is fifty years of age. 



An article by a clergyman of the Church of Eng- 

 land who has a mediumistic wife describes his experi- 

 ences. He finds consolation from being told that 

 although his church is half empty to the physical eve 

 it is packed to the dcHjrs with an immense congrega- 

 tion of liisembodied spirits who hang eagerly upon 

 ■'^ his words. 



Violet Tweedale, writing on Women and the Fran- 

 ' liise, maintains that the purification of the chui'ches, 



whioli is such a cr.ving necessity of the day, lies in 

 I he liaiuls of woman." "The superannuated mar- 

 riage service," for instance, must be amended. Violet 

 TufMHlale is so vehement a purifier that she rages 

 against apples because of the story of Eve's trans- 

 'j:iession 

 What incalculable damage tliat cheap and esculent fruit 



IS laused hnniaiiit.N' ! As I look on its innocent. blusVi- 

 iii;- cheek as it lies on my table I feel I owe it a deep 

 'grudge. It has prostituted tbe minds of the vast niajorit.v 

 'if m.\ sex. 



THE WORLD'S WORK AND PLAY. 



The .\pril number of the 'World's ITor/,- and I'lnj/ is 

 rhieHy notable for Mr. Talbot's description of the 

 mammoth Canarders, and the interview with Sir 

 William van Home on Canadian and British trade, 

 both of which are noticed elsewhere. It is ahso dis- 

 tinguished by its demands for many reforms. In his 

 " .March of Events," Mr. Norman expresses great re- 

 gret that the I'rinie Mini.ster has declined to intro- 

 duce tlie metiic system of weiglits and measvires 

 into Britain, and that he did not order the removal 

 of the grille from the Ladies' Galler.v. Mr. H. G. 

 Archer urges that the British army be equipped with 

 the aut<miatic rifle, which uses aii<l so diminishes the 

 force of recoil by consecutive supply, thus enabling 

 the marksman to keep liis rifle to bis shoulder for at 

 h'ast t<'n shots, instead of having to lower and reload 

 <'ach time he lir*>s. Mr. Harvey Clinton presses for 

 the n-moval of the distinction between solicitor an<l 

 barrister. Lawyers should be one class, not two. Mr. 

 Fred. T. .Jane advises the employment of marines 

 as chaulfeurs, their naval experience having made 

 them handy, trustworthy, and self-respecting. " H<mie 

 (ouiities" gives an interesting account of how a 

 small farmer siicceedtKl who taught him.self to read 

 ainl write when a boy, and at twenty married on 9s. 



a week. He worked his way up till he is reckoned 

 to be worth £200U. Mr. S. L. Bastin has a beauti- 

 fully illustrated paper on the rose, the queen of 

 flowers. The illustrations are, as usual, a notable 

 feature. The portrait of Sir William van Home 

 makes a fine frontispiece, and tlic picture of the sta- 

 dium at Athens, where the Olympic games have been 

 revived, is very interesting. 



THE ENGLISH ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE. 



Mr. Spencer lidge opens the April number of the 

 Eiifjlish Itlustinted Majazine with a sensible article 

 on the Cheap Cottage, not the cottage at' £150 or 

 £2UU, a price which does not in all cases represent 

 the real cost, and which is, therefore, not market 

 price. The country cottage, he says, must before 

 all things be warm and dry, and we must pay for a 

 fabric which will render us immune from such plagues 

 as damp and cold. He estimates tlie cost to be nearer 

 £30(1 than the figures already named, and gives a 

 charming design tor an eight-roomod cottage. 



In the" same number there is an article on Kisses, 

 by Beatrice Heron-Maxwell. It is illustrated by well- 

 known paintings, and the various kind of kisses are 

 described— tbe kiss social, the kiss platonic, the kiss 

 spontaneous, etc. 



Mr. J. Loughmore has interviewed Mr. W. Larkins, 

 the famous steeplejack who decorated the Nelson pil- 

 lar for the centenary celebration. In doing it Sir. 

 Larkins was not allowed to drive in any spikes, but 

 had to lassoo the pillar at intervals all the way up 

 by placing around it bands of rope. To these the 

 ladclers were tied, and to reach the capital from the 

 ropes it was necessaiy to go out at an angle of forty- 

 five degrees. Mr. Larkins discovered a crack in Nel- 

 son's arm which lie repaired with cement and a cop- 

 per band. 



CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL. 



There are several good articles in the April num- 

 ber of Chainbrrs's Journfil. 



First may be mentioned that by " One in the Sec- 

 ret," who explains wh.v railwa.vs do not pay better. 

 'J he first serious item of loss is caused by competing 

 lines, called "strategic railwa.vs." Their construction 

 is defended on the ground that if the A. Bailway 

 <l(>es not occupy the district, the competing company, 

 tbe B. I'ailwa.v. will do so, ami the argument is that 

 it pays the A. Railway to build a line and irmk if at 

 II loss to prevent the B. Hallway from doing so. Then 

 the whole system of promoting Bills and opposing rival 

 schemes is" extremely wasteful. The direct oompe- 

 titiou between the ra"ilways is often unnecessary. For 

 iiustance, four railways compete for the London-Man- 

 chester traflic. Tbe" sendees between London and 

 Seotlaml are another instance of acute competition. 

 There is now a through service between the North 

 and Midlands and the South of England, and we 

 are tokl that three or four passengers tor the through 

 coaches constitute a good load, and occasionally there 

 IS no through passenger at all. Many other reckless 

 <'xtra\agances are cited, such as that of the Locomo- 

 tive Departments on the diffeient lines, etc. 



Tlie article on the Holloway Friendly Society in the 

 January number has called forth wmie criticism from 

 the older societies, but in the April number the writer 

 r<'turns to his subject, and again shows how the Hol- 

 loway S(M'iet.v is superior to its pre<lecessors. In- 

 (|uirics, with sixpence enclosed, for a cop.v of the 

 rules may be addres.sed to Mr. Charles Bennett, Bene- 

 fit Society Offiws liu.ssoll-street, Stroud, Gloucester- 

 shire, or to -Mr. F. W. Daniels. Coleridge Chambers, 

 Corixn-at ion -street, Birmingham. 



