598 



The Review of Reviews. 



Upcember I, ^S06, 



THE REVUE DES DEUX MONDES. 



Jacques Siegfried oontriliutes to the first Septem- 

 ber number ot the Birite ilrs Dcti.r Mundif an article 

 on "Commercial Echication in France and the 

 Leading Countries of the World." 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF FRANCE. 

 An accomplished man in the industrial and com- 

 mercial world worthy ot the name, says the writer, is 

 one who on reading his newspaper in the morning 

 recognises instantly the influence which any item of 

 news telegraphed from any quarter of the globe 

 might exercise on affairs in general and his own in 

 particular. Commercial schools have superseded the 

 old apprenticeship system, and international con- 

 gresses have facilitated the exchange ot ideas. The 

 writer gives an outline of what has-been done in 

 other countries, and then deals with France and the 

 proposed new Technical Education Act, from which 

 he predicts excellent results. He says well-trained 

 men will never be wanting; the difficulty concerns 

 the field of action. Between 1890 and 190-5 French 

 trade has increased, but not at the same rate as the 

 trade of other countries. In the same period the ex- 

 ports of the United States have been doubled, those 

 of England have increased 26 per cent., those of 

 Italy 90 per cent,, those of Belgium 52 per cent,, and 

 those of Germany 71 per cent., whereas the exports 

 of France have increased only 27 per rent. The 

 writer suggests that the P'rench Government might 

 busy itself more with the development of the home 

 industries. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION IN EUROPE. 

 In the second September number Rene Pinon has 

 an article on the Near East, from the time of the 

 Berlin Congress (187.5-190e). The sick Turk, assisted 

 by the German doctor, he says, is disquieting to Eng- 

 land, England's rijle in 1878 has passed to Germany, 

 The policy of integrity, the policy of Pan-Tslamism. 

 has been taken up by (iermany, and it is her in- 

 fluence in the Balkans and in Asia which to-day 

 alarms the Power which has need of the routes to 

 India, Neither at Vienna nor at St. Petersburg is 

 umbrage taken at the progress of German influence 

 at Constantinople. Germany hopes to profit by this 

 influence to safeguard and to favour the interests of 

 Russia and Austria and to renew the Alliance of the 

 Three Emperors. Thus it is round Constantinople 

 and Salonica that all the combinations of European 

 policy gravitate to-day. 



THE MYSTICS IDEA OF I.OVE. 

 Georges Dumas, who writes on the Love of the 

 Christian Mystics, says that medical men, even in the 

 second half of the last century, considered mysticism 

 mostly as a manifestation of hysteria, and he en- 

 deavours to show that this is far from being the case. 

 The mind of the niystic is characterised by religious 

 feeling, the anguish of doubt, and the "desire for 

 holiness, but the mystics differ in the means, conscious 

 or unconscious, by which they seek to appease their 

 anguish and realise their desire. Mysticism is de- 

 fined as the exclusive love of God, All instincts and 

 desires not having God for their object are regarded 

 as enemies of the soxil. and hence the physical and 

 moral discipline. 



OTHER ARTICLES 

 The English Labour Party forms the subject of an 

 interesting study, by Jacques Bardoux, Also in the 

 same number Henri Bonnet has an article on the 

 Poor of Paris. He deals with the twenty arrondisse- 

 ments in turn, and shows what are the occupations 

 of the people and the general characteristics in 

 each. 



LA REVUE. 



In the first September number of La Revue Dr. 

 Lotal has an article entitled " France. Russia and 

 Switzerland, " It has reference to France's trade 

 with the two latter countries, 



FRANCE AND FOREIGN MARKETS, 



Switzerland, he says, takes the fifth place as a 

 market for French goods, coming after England, 

 Belgium, Germany and the United States, whereas 

 Russia takes the fifteenth place, coming after Tur- 

 kev. Switzerland sells much less to France than she 

 buys, with Russia it is the other way round. But 

 protection, the writer continues, has wrought great 

 mischief, especially in the matter of French exports, 

 and in France protection reigns supreme. The pro- 

 tectionists in the Government and in the Parlia- 

 ment will, he sa.vs, ruin French commerce and in- 

 dustry; they institute tariffs, make and unmake 

 treaties of commerce, and destroy the spirit of 

 initiative, 



COUNT TOLSTOY ON PASCAL. 



Count Tolstoy's views of Pascal and Pierre Khelt- 

 chitzky aijpear in another article in the same num- 

 ber. Love of glory, he says, grows with years, and 

 usually it is found united with the desire to be use- 

 ful to men, A great moral force will enable men to 

 attain glory rapidly, but this same force also shows 

 them the vanity of it. Such a man was Pascal. Like 

 Gogol, he achieved early in life the passion he de-sired 

 so ardently, but it was no sooner attained than the 

 vanity of what seemed to them the greatest and most 

 precious thing in the world was realised, and both 

 recoiled with horror from the seduction which held 

 them in its power. Both then, with all their might, 

 set about showing to men the awfniness of their 

 error by teaching that there is only one thing which 

 really matters — namely, religion. Nothing else can 

 give a man a true sense of life or of death. 



IBSEN'S ■• HILDA." 



In the second September number Martine Remusat. 

 who writes on some Letters from Ibsen to a Young 

 Girl which have recently been published, thinks that 

 Hilda in " The ifaster-Builder " was no obscure 

 symbol. She is, in reality, a girl of eighteen named 

 Emilie Bardach, whom Ibsen met in the Tyrol in the 

 summer of 1889, The twelve letters which Ibsen 

 wrote to her afterwards show how Ibsen, with all his 

 severity, knew bow to flatter feminine vanit.v. Some- 

 times the tone is paternal, often he is effusive in 

 thanking her for her letters which he reads again 

 and again. He cannot chase away the memories of 

 that summer, but constantly lives them over again 

 and again. He dreams of the enigma which Emilie 

 appeared to him. 'Whether Ibsen was already think- 

 ing of " The Master-Builder " when he enjoyed the 

 companionship of Emilie may remain a niyster.v, but 

 if Hilda cEmilie Bardach) is a mystery, a less de- 

 cipherable puzzle is Solness (Henrik Ibsen). 



PAULINE VIARDOT. 



Paid '\"iardot, in the same number, begins some 

 Reminiscences. He 4s the son of Pauline Viardot, 

 the eminent singer and friend of Turgenieff, and 

 consequently tells of the triumphs of his mother on 

 the operatic stage, especiall.v as Orfeo. She composed 

 a number of operettas for her pupils at Baden. Tur- 

 geniefl^ supplying the texts. During the Franco- 

 German War she lived in London, her house in 

 Devonshire Place being a centre for the refugees as 

 well for musicians and singers. 



