534 



The Review of Reviews. 



THE ITALIAN REVIEWS. 



Several of the re\i('\vs contain obituary notices of 

 the poet, Giovanni Pascoli, who died suddenly last 

 month. Pascoli is described as emphatically the poet 

 of pain and sorrow, and the Rassegfia Conteinporanea, 

 in a very laudatory article, declares that there was no 

 bitter sadness, no shudder of agony, no despairing sense 

 of the vanity of life that did not strike a sympathetic 

 chord in his heart. 



To the Nuova Antolngia Gina Mazza contributes an 

 instructive account of visits paid to a Swiss prison and 

 a penal colony. Discipline appears to be so admirable 

 that practically no warders are needed ; prisoners 

 who fall ill are always removed to the ordinary civil 

 hospital. Finally, every Sunday afternoon, both in 

 prison and at the penal colony, the prisoners have an 

 address on some historical or moral subject from a 

 lady lecturer. 



Mrs. W. K. Clifford's recent successful novel, " Sir 

 George's Objection," is appearing in an Italian trans- 

 lation in the Rassegna Nazionale. The Duke of Gualtieri 

 opposes the Electoral Reform Bill now before the Italian 

 Parliament by all the arguments with which Conserva- 

 tives habitually oppose every extension of the franchise. 



In an exceptionally attractive number of Emporium 

 will be found a series of illustrations of the wonderful 

 armour collected, with other art treasures, by the late 

 Mr. F. Stibbard at Florence, and now the property of 

 that city. Vittorio Pica tells the story of a brilliant 

 young Danish painter, Ivar Arosenius, who belonged to 

 the naturalistic school, but with redeeming touches of 

 Northern sentiment. 



The Rivista Internazionale pul)lishes an interesting 

 historical article showing how the Catholic Church, bv 

 perpetually emphasising the dignity of manual labour, 

 influenced the whole progress of civilisation. It is 

 this attitude which sharply differentiates Christian 

 ethics from pagan philosophy and the teachings of 

 materialistic writers. 



THE SPANISH REVIEWS. 



" The Musical Year of 1911 " is an article in Espaiia 

 Moderna that will interest all wlio find pleasure in 

 symphonic, dramatic and chamlxT music. Copious 

 details are given of recitals by Kreisler, Bauer and 

 others, of Wagnerian Festivals and so forth. " The 

 Dissolution of Rationalism " is a thoughtful essay, the 

 trend of which is that there is notliing in the doctrine. 

 The writer of the article on " Problems " deals with the 

 enormous output of books, pamphlets, periodicals and 

 newspaper articles ; everybody wishes to be in " print," 

 and a good deal of that which is printed would have 

 been better left unpuljlishcd. If all this output during 

 one century could be preserved, what kind of a library 

 would it make ? In another portion of his article the 

 writer speaks of the Andes, and cxjiresses surprise that 

 no Andine Association similar to the Alpine Club has 

 been formed in Argentina. Explorations by members 

 ' f su( h a club would lead to beneficial results. In 



Modern America " Professor Vicente Gav continues 



his excellent notes on Spanish America, and tells us 

 much about the cultivation of cotton in Argentina. 



Ciudad de Dios contains some hitherto unpublished 

 letters concerning the War of Independence, a century 

 ago, when the Spaniards were liberated from the 

 Napoleonic yoke, partly by their own exertions and 

 partly by the victories of Wellington. The Mystic 

 Doctrine of Saubreau is discussed, with its state- 

 ments of demoniacal possession and other mental 

 phenomena. 



In La Lectura there is the continuation of a journey in 

 Andalusia, the writer dealing in this instalment with 

 Seville and Cadiz. 



THE DUTCH REVIEWS. 



Vragen des Tijds has an article on social legislation 

 and the distinction between classes of society, while the 

 question of the proper care of Dutch colonial possessions 

 affords scope for a serious contribution. Holland, says 

 the writer, has an important duty to perform, and must 

 not be found wanting. Will it be wise to have colonial 

 seats in the Dutch Parliament, or should the Colonies 

 have their own Parliament ? There are advantages and 

 disadvantages in both systems, but the one salient fact 

 to be borne in mind is that the Colonies must be the 

 object of the solicitude of the Mother Country. An 

 article on the Dutch Housing Law shows that some 

 modification is required. 



" What Goethe Did Not See in Sicily " is the some- 

 what ianciful title of a contribution on certain aspects 

 of life among the poor inhabitants of that part of 

 United Italy at the present time. The household budget 

 of a Sicilian is given. It is that of a man tilling a piece 

 of land and having a small family. The income appears 

 to be less than £24 per annum, excluding (we assume) 

 what he gets from the land in vegetables, etc. His 

 expenditure is a quaint statement ; meat is not 

 frequently eaten, while fish is enjoyed " two or three 

 times a year." Tobacco is a fairly prominent item. 



De Tijdspiegel continues its interesting notes of 

 comparative mythology termed " Magic Plants," and 

 an article on the Dutch National Debt traces the ups 

 and downs of the national indebtedness from 1841 to 

 the present day, .showing the arrangement with Belgium, 

 and giving various details of more or less interest. A 

 table at the end of the .article sets forth the amount 

 of the debt at different dates. The first note of a Dutch 

 National Debt dates from 1798, when it was estimated 

 at 500,000,000 florins ; in 1X44 it was 1,241,323,521 

 florins ; in 191 1 the amount is given as 1,127,647,414 

 florins. The debt seems to have been highest in 1818, 

 when it was 1,822,548,364 florins. 



Elsevier has some reproductions of queer pictures 

 from French books and some illustrations taken from 

 children's books of similar origin. Ainong the other 

 contents are an illustration of the Artists' Palace in 

 Amsterdam, an article on a Dutch bicycle factory, 

 sketches of Messchaert. the singer, and Jules de 

 Bruycker, the ai\ist (with reproductions), and sc\eral 

 regular features. 



