£ievieir of Reviews, 1/12} 6. 



The Reviews Reviewed. 



599 



THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. 



Several of the chief articles in the F(iihii(ihtlii Hrrirw 

 have been noticed separately; it is a good number on 

 the wliole. Mr. T. A. Cook has something to say m 

 reply to Mr. Dell's criticism of Mr. Bodley's recent 

 book on contemporaiy France, and, rather tardily, 

 Burne-Jones's Life by his wife is reviewed. Rather 

 tardily, al.so, appears the first part of an article on 

 Lafcadio Hearn, but it is none the less a very in- 

 teresting article. The writer. Dr. George Gould. 

 says Hearn's father was Irish and his mother a Greek, 

 and Lafcadio was named after the island on which he 

 was born. He cannot have known much of hs mother, 

 for the marriawe proved unsatisfactory, and his father 

 •divorced his mother when Lafcadio was very young. 

 French writers seemed to have had most influence on 

 Hearn, especially Flaubert, who was his literary 

 deity. There is" another literary article, light and 

 very brightly written, on the Italian poet Carducci, 

 IS THE PARTY SYSTEM HONEST? 



Mr, Ian Malcolm comes decidedly to the conclusion 

 that it is not. The point of his article is that in 

 England we have already the group system in prac- 

 tice, at all events to a certain extent, and that it 

 would be much better for us to adopt it honestly alto- 

 gether. We have now eight or nine groups in Par- 

 liament differing from one another fundamentally on 

 some important questions, yet keeping up the farce of 

 -■ party discipline." The admitted genius of the Bri- 

 tish people for parliamentary government will, the 

 •writer thinks, prevent British groups intriguing for 

 mean, unpatriotic ends. The two-party system is too 

 limited to admit of real honesty of opinion, and the 

 jjroup system would enormously facilitate the work of 

 committees and economise the time of the House. 

 PRESENT-DAY POLAND. 



Mr. B. C. Ba.skerville's view of the present state of 

 Poland is that it is parlous. He insists once more on 

 the limitations of that typically brilliant person the 

 Pole. Except in occasional cases of artistic or musical 

 oeniiises, it seems as if of him it bad been decreed 

 That, unstable as water, he could not excel. The 

 present Polish revolution is not Pole revolting against 

 Russian, but caste revolting against caste, the pro- 

 letariats against the " privileged classes," To the 

 latter belong the Civil servants, who are the product 

 of German method graftc<l on to the Slavonic nature, 

 which generally means stringent laws loosely ad- 

 ministered. There are from twenty to twenty-five 

 political parties, but only five have any real import- 

 ance, and of these the Realists seem the most mode- 

 rate and practical. But their very moderation, their 

 desire to bring about desired reforms by evolution 

 rather than by revolution, makes them unpopular; 

 and it is -the noisier and hastier patriots and Socialists 

 who have the upper hand. The Polish question to-day. 

 therefore, is virtually a struggle between the local 

 Russian Government, the patriot, and the Socialists, 

 v\-ho believe in terrorism, and are well organised and 

 tenacious. The writer sees no hopeful solution, es- 

 pecially as the geographical position of Poland is so 

 unfavourable. 



OTHER ARTICLES. 



In tbo paper on ■' .\r(hieology and Infallibility " Pro- 

 testant readers will find a clear statement of what 

 Catholics mean by the doctrine of infallibility, and how 

 they regard belief in miracles. Infallib lity deals with 

 divine faith alone, not with human facts, such as 

 miracles or alleged miracles. These the Catholic is 

 apparently left free to believe or not, as his reason 

 can or cannot be convinced. If the Church allows 

 what seem superstitions to continue, it is because she 



considers tihe.y do no harm, and that by rooting them 

 up too suddenly she might weaken the faith of her 

 unlearned adherents, who cannot distinguish between 

 essential matters of faith and matters of mere tradi- 

 tion. 



Writing on "Women and War." Gertrude Silver 

 suggests that all mothers should help to make the 

 nation effic'ent by asking the headmasters of their 

 bovs' schools to let their sons join at once the school 

 callet corps. She insists that training in pride of 

 country — by which she evidently means a very rational 

 kind of patriotism — should begin at home in earliest 

 Ife. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



Everybody who saw them will remember with de- 

 light Miss 'Ida Rentoul's booklets, filled with fairies 

 and queer little brownies sufficient to delight the 

 heart of the hardest to please child. In conjunc- 

 tion with Iier sister, who supplies the letterpress, 

 she has iust issued another book entitled '■ Mollie's 

 Staircase"" This will he a perfect delight to children. 

 The drawing is of the finest, and one can scarcely 

 credit that Miss Rentoul is still a very young lady, 

 for the drawings have all the finish of an artist of 

 many years. The printing is excellently done, and 

 is a credit to the printers. It is published by M. L. 

 Hutchinson. The poetry, which is supplied liy Miss 

 A. 1. Rentoul, is of quite a high order in this par- 

 ticular line, and will appeal immensely to youngsters. 



St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Dunedin, lately 

 found it necessary to build a third Sunday-school. 

 The committee in charge of ways and means con- 

 ceived the idea of soliciting from leading people in 

 the colonies of Australia their favourite quotation. 

 Tlie idea was put into execution, and a booklet was 

 the result, a booklet which is quite a .unique con- 

 tribution to colonial literature. It gives a con- 

 spectus, in brief and pleasant form, of the great 

 thouglits that have most impressed themselves on 

 men and women of light and leading in Australasia, 

 including some of the Governors, Premiers, .Judges, 

 Kditors, and leaders of thought. The booklet is got 

 up in very pleasant form, and it is most interesting 

 as giving a glimpse of the motives and ideals \fli)ch 

 inspire those who direct the thought of the lands 

 under the Southern Cross. It is one of the cheapest 

 shilling's worth (1/1 posted) that we have seen, and 

 may be obtained by sending to C. R. Smith, Alli- 

 ance Assurance Company. Dunedin. 



Tlic Hnrhinger of LUjht for November contains a 

 ■-ketch of Mr, W. T. Stead, and a very friendly criti- 

 (i'-m of George Taylor, the Australian arti.st; an 

 article on "Dreams — Their Origin and Significance," 

 ancl a large quantity of other interesting matter. 



The Young Man's Magazine (N.Z.) for October 

 contains interesting articles on '" Impressions of 

 .Japan," Dr. ^X'addell concludes his intoresting 

 treatment of "Christ and Modern Fiction," "A 

 Roa<ler " discourses on " Patriotism," and there is a 

 very beautiful appreciation of Mark Ruth<'rford by 

 Rev. H, Kelly, M..\.. of Melbourne. 'I'he number is 

 an exceedingly inter<'.sting one. An important an- 

 nouncoment is made to the effect that it has been 

 found necessary t() increase the price of the magazine 

 from 2;G to 3/6. 



We have received a book of Poems from Mr. P. 

 Stewart, of Melbourno, The booklet covers ""2 pages, 

 an<l right through is of n lofty tone. Mr, Stewart 

 has evidently set before him a high ideal, and he has 

 attained it. 



