98 



The Review of Reviews. 



THE SPANISH REVIEWS. 



In Espa>'ta Moderna Sr. Julio Cejador gives a philo- 

 logical study of the names of the days of the week, and 

 seeks to show that however different they appear in 

 spelling the same idea underlies the names in ancient 

 and modern languages ; therefore it may be said that 

 the names are the same, and he is inclined to say that 

 they have been the same ever since man began to 

 distinguish them. Take " Tuesday " and its French 

 equivalent, "Mardi " ; the latter comes from the 

 Latin and means " day. of Mars," while the former is of 

 Norse origin and has the same meaning. In the Latin 

 languages, Friday is the day of Venus ; according to 

 some philologists, the Norse original of Friday means 

 the day of the goddess of love. Another article deals 

 with the influence of Jewish emigration from Spain and 

 Portugal in the sixteenth century. Driven from the 

 Peninsula they went northwards, which accounts to 

 a large extent for the prosperity of many cities and 

 the decadent tendency of Spain and Portugal. To-day, 

 where the Jews are well treated, the countries flourish, 

 and vice versa. 



There is a long article in Nuestro Tieiiipn on the 

 " Zone of French Influence in the South of Morocco." 

 The writer points out that the opening of the port of 

 Agadir to general commerce would probably affect to 

 a serious extent the Spanish possessions, that of Sus 

 and Pesqueria ; he shows that the distance from the 

 Canary Islands is not great, and he gives many details 

 of population, exports and imports, as well as of 

 the area of the various districts. " The Essence of 

 Anarchism " deals with the ideas of extreme Socialists : 

 some wish to revert to the time when every man was 

 his own bootmaker, tailor, hunter, and everything else. 

 There is also an account of the Turin Exhibition in 

 celebration of the jubilee of Italian Unity. 



" A Visit to a Synagogue " is an article, in Ciudad 

 de Dios, calculated to make one meditate deeply. The 

 author describes the rush and turmoil of New York 

 life, then gives an account of the scene and the cere- 

 mony inside the sacred edifice, one of the largest in the 

 city. It makes him reflect on the freedom permitted 

 to all creeds in that part of the world, and he 

 wishes that there were less creed persecution in 

 Europe. 



A thoughtful essay on " The Study of Mechanical 

 Arts in Sjiain " appears in La Lecliira. There is an idea 

 that the Spaniards are incapable of such study, and 

 cannot undertake the application of science to indus- 

 trial and mechanical pursuits ; that is erroneous, for 

 they were easily first in mathematics centuries ago, but 

 they paid more attention to what are now termed the 

 liberal arts. The result was that they were cultured, 

 but poor. In other countries the mechanical arts were 

 much studied, so we find Louis XVI. discussing such 

 things with the inventor of the instrument called the 

 guillotine, by means of which machine he ultimately 

 met his death. The writer believes that this is all 

 changed now. 



THE DUTCH REVIEWS. 



The current issue of De Tijdspiegel gives some inte- 

 resting details concerning Sicily, which, according to 

 the writer of the article, is one of the most beautiful 

 parts of the earth inhabited by one of the most back- 

 ward peoples. The Sicilians may be included under 

 the heading of " Italians," but they have very little in 

 common with the inhabitants of the mainland, either 

 in speech or customs. They are Jhe descendants of 

 Phccnicians, Greeks, Jews, Moors, Spaniards, Albanians, 

 Frenchmen, and Normans. The country may be 

 divided into the garden zone and the (sulphur) mine 

 zone. The land attracts by its beauty ; yet the people 

 are in a state of poverty and misery. Usury is ruining 

 it by crushing the spirit of its population. The sulphur 

 industry is only a shadow of its former self. In another 

 contribution there is a review of the struggles of a 

 Javanese woman for the emancipation of her sex from 

 degrading marriage and other laws ; the writer of this 

 critique, a Dutchwoman, is very earnest in her recom- 

 mendation to every woman to read the book. An 

 analysis of R. L. Stevenson's historical romances and 

 an account of a meeting of Dutch jurists on the subject 

 of psychiatry are among the remaining contents. 



Elsevier has a very interesting character sketch of 

 Napoleon I., including portraits of his three sisters — 

 Elisa, Pauline, and Caroline ; a picture of the King of 

 Rome being carried by a soldier (1811) ; and an outline 

 of Napoleon's left hand, done bv one of the Imperial 

 Guard, which may attract students of chiromancy. We 

 are told that the nails were well kept. " The Influence 

 of Byzantine Art," as shown in various Italian churches, 

 is also worthy of mention. 



Mr. M. \V. F. Treub discusses the Kolkman Tariff 

 Law in Vragen des Tijds. 



Among the many contributions to De Gids is an 

 article on the historical romance in Holland. In this 

 first instalment the writer sketches the development 

 of the historical novel, ancient and modern ; first it 

 was founded on the classics of Greece and Rome, then 

 it became national and international. He gives the 

 premier place among modern novelists to Sir Walter 

 Scott, and shows the influence of the Wavcrley no\ els ; 

 then he speaks of Victor Hugo and others. Another 

 article deals with the next Peace Congress and the idea 

 of forming an international fleet to protect neutrals 

 and to assist in maintaining peace. The suggestion that 

 Holland should make a commencement by placing its. 

 own navy at the disposal of the Powers is not favoured, 

 as it would be better not to offer the Dutch ships as a 

 nucleus. It is doubtful whether Powers engaged in a 

 di.spute would agree to the interference of the inter- 

 national fleet or would obey the law of arbitration laid 

 down by an international assembly. Disputants may 

 agree to arbitration on their quarrel, but might 

 seriously object to have arbitration forced upon them. 

 Certain suggestions arc made for the consideration of 

 the Congress, 



