Review of Reviews, 1/20/06. 



The Reviews Reviewed. 



401 



THE CORRESPONDANT. 



The Correspondant of July 10th publishes an article 

 ou " President Castro and the Franco-Venezuelan 

 Conflict," by the Marquis de Barral-Montferrat. 



The writer gires biographical details of Oastro, and 

 recalls the previous interruptions of diplomatic rela- 

 tions between France and Venezuela. He explains the 

 causes of the present rupture, and. in conclusion, says 

 the use of force would be a mistake in the present di- 

 lemma. A war of tariffs would only injure producers, 

 merchants, and workers, who are the Fictinis, and not 

 the accomplices, of the Dictator. The French in 

 Venezuela would probably suffer more than the Vene- 

 zuelans. 



As to President Castro, the writer says that there is 

 no man in any part of America who can be compared 

 to him. He consumes daily an enormous quantity of 

 brandy, but never shows any signs of inebriety, except 

 in his sudden furies when anyone ventures to difi'er 

 from him. He Ls not afraid to undertake the most 

 perilous adventures. Nothing stops him, and nothing 

 disconcerts him. He has a blind faith in his star, and 

 he gives himself up to his fate with the calm a-ssurance 

 that he will never be betrayed by Fortune. 



THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. 



The August number is chiefly notable for papers by 

 Dr. Dillon, Canon Henson, and Colonel Maude, all of 

 which, with Miss Loane's study of the poor, claim 

 separate notice elsewhere. 



L.C.C. ARCHITECTURE. 

 A pleasinp; pa.per on form and colour is contributed 

 by Mr. L. March Pliillips. Colom- and emotion make 

 up the East, he says; intellect and form make up the 

 West. Vhe one notable feature about modern archi- 

 tecture is, according to him, its conscientiousness. 

 Among the ugly buildings of London, he goes on, the 

 " ponderous illegibility " of the new War Ofiice will 

 gain for it a high place, yet "the rigid construction 

 of every part of it is even more noteworthy than its 

 ugliness." He then remarks in passing: — 



There could scarcely be a more remarkable testimony to 

 the low ebb of art among us, or proof of how entirely we 

 have ceased to regard it as an interpretation of life, than 

 the determination lately announced of the London County 

 Council to erect on the new site in the Strand, cleared at 

 so ^reat an expense, a series of buildings in the style 

 peculiar to the French aristocracy prior to the Revolution, 

 a style, too, of which the ostentation and heartless arro- 

 gance reproduce to the life the character of the class for 

 which it was designed. That the English democracy in the 

 flush of its pride and power should turn to the ancien 

 regime for inspiration and adorn itself complacently in the 

 cast-off trappings of Versailles is certainly the mo.st ludi- 

 crous incident I can call to mind in the history of archi- 

 tecture. 



The emotional use of colour is, he declared, at its 

 greatest when it holds in entire sub.jection the intel- 

 lectual appeal of form, as in the Venetian masters 

 and in the Cathedral of St. Mark. 



GOETHE'S ORIENT.\LISM. 

 A paper with this heading, by A. Yusuf-AH. traces 

 the Oriental influence.s. beginning with the Hebrew 

 prophets, that operated on Goethe's mind, and illus- 

 trates, by parallel Eastern writing, how Oriental 

 Goethe's thought could be. His selecticm.s are. as 

 might be expected, from the poet's mystical and pan- 

 theistic sidi'. Ho concludes with the hope: — 



Shall we not justly say that this same Goethe, master 

 of the style of the East and of the West, can weave an in- 

 visible bond of enchantment, uniting in thought and in 

 their bright hopes the peoples of the East and of the West? 



"AFTER SIX MONTHS." 

 Mr. J. A. Spender, surveying the first six months' 

 work of the new Parliament, pronounces it to be 

 very good : — 



Whatever other crimes may be imputed to them by poli- 

 tical opponents, no one can suggest that the Government 

 have failed in industry. A mass of work, much ot it un- 

 sensational. but most ot it requiring industry, research 

 and practical good sense, has l»en undertaken by Ministers 

 in their various Departments or by Committees and Com- 

 missions and will bear fruit in the statute-book before 

 the end ot the year. The Liiieral Party in this Parliament 

 has proved itself to be as practical and able as those who 

 knew the quality of the candidates expected it to be. and 

 very seldom" since the first Reform Bill has a Parliament 

 assembled which rose to a higher level in debating ability 

 or administrative capacity. 



OTHER ARTICLES. 

 A somewhat novel departure froiii the traditions of 

 niagazinedom appears with the reprint, occasionally 

 condensed, of the speeches of MM. Jaures and Cle- 

 menceau in their " Parliamentary Duel " on Socialism 

 in France. The clash of arpument between Indi- 

 vidualism and Socialism is held to be of more than 

 passing interest. Monsignor Barnes contributes a 

 first paper on the evolution of the Lord's Prayer— a 

 somewhat elementary exercise in New Testament criti- 

 cism. By comparing the shorter version in Luke with 

 the long'er version of St. Matthew in the light of 

 general liturgical processes, he arrives at the conclu- 

 sion tliat the version in Luke is the more original. 



GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. 



Every page of the August number of Good Rouse- 

 kcepimi contains something of interest, and the whole 

 magazine teems with useful hints and suggestions. 

 This is the fourth number that has appeared, and 

 each one helps to prove that, as mentioned in the 

 sub-title, the magazine is conducted in the interests 

 of the higher life of the household. Although the 

 editor's chief aim is to give useful atid helpful articles 

 upon all sorts of subjects connected with the house- 

 hold, this particular number, aiipearing as it does in 

 the holiday month, contains more fiction than usual. 

 The serial story, "Treasure Cottage," gets more in- 

 teresting each 'month. Mrs. Frances Campbell con- 

 tributes a charming storv. " Phyllis's Matchmaking." 

 " Compliments of Wilson Wood " is perhaps one of the 

 bftst told of the stories Mrs. Tompkins has yet put 

 into the mouth of Mrs. Galusha. Fruit cookery, 

 bottling fruit with sugar, and the chemistry of cook- 

 ing, all deal with kitchen matters in August, and in 

 addition many splendid menus are given. The " Dis- 

 coveries '' form, as usual, perhaps the most nseful 

 section- more than fifty practical hints are given 

 this month. All have been carefully tested. Martha 

 McCulloch Williams deals with a very compbcated 

 subject- in "The Daughter's Salary," and has many 

 sensible things to say. Mr. G. W. Games contributes 

 a most cleverly-written article describing his personal 

 experience of " House-Cleaning as Physical Culture. 

 A series of pictures called "The Bride's Primer" 

 begins with this number. Splendidly drawn, the 

 illustrations contain many a kindly lesson for the 

 homemaker. Mrs. Locke give^ a remarkable expe- 

 rience of her childhood in "The Runaway.'' and the 

 editor provides an illu.strated article upon Sand Castle 

 Building. An able article upon the Garden in August 

 is contributed bv Mr. Sanders, of Amatiur Gardening. 

 A new field for Stencilling is described, and Mrs. 

 Ward's article upon Outdoor Portraits is as useful 

 and readable as its predecessors in the series. The 

 subscription to this is 8s. per year, and orders may 

 be sent through " The Review of Reviews," Equitable 

 jJuilding, Melbonme. 



