984 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



Decemicr 1, 1913. 



prove irresistible bait. To those in modest 

 circumstances attractive cottages are offered, 

 and to the workmen cheap but not ugly 

 houses and fiats. All these are offered at 

 prices which are as tempting as the build- 

 ings themselves. 



The architecture of the entire suburb is 

 unique and appropriate. Arabesque colon- 

 nades and arches, and Moorish windows 

 being the predominating features. All the 

 houses are built of stone, for the company 

 does not intend to have its work destroyed 

 by fire. 



Few modern suburbs anywhere m the 

 world have the historic and scenic asso- 

 ciations which cluster around Heli- 

 opolis. To the west extends the Nile 

 valley, and toward the south-west the 

 twin spires of the citadel of Cairo may 

 be discerned in the distance, and still 

 farther away the dim outlines of the 

 pyramids of Ghizeh. The region boasts 

 of a venerable sycamore tree markmg the 

 spot where the Virgin Mary and the 



Child Jesus rested on their flight into 

 Egypt. There is a well named for 

 Moses, and the exact spot is shown on 

 the Nile where Pharaoh's daughter 

 pulled him out of the bullrushes ! Far 

 more authentic, however, are the tombs 

 of the Caliphs and Mamelukes, and 

 many other monuments of Egypt's past. 

 In conclusion, Mr. Clark well says 

 that the Heliopolis of to-day is " a mar- 

 \ellous exponent of what human in- 

 genuity and energy, backed by a plen- 

 teous exchequer, can accomplish. Nine 

 years ago there was nothing but a barren^ 

 sandy waste, where there is now the 

 civilisation of the city, tempered by the 

 quiet rest fulness of the suburb, and 

 guarded by those whose first aim it is to 

 make and keep their new creation a 

 model of beauty in all that the word 

 implies." 



BURGLARS. 



The " Strand " has commissioned M. 



Alphonse Bertillon to elucidate the 



question, "Does 'Raffles' Exist?" and 



the world-famous expert is moved to 



confess that the gentleman burglar is a 



myth. He says : — 



The reason is simple. When a man of 

 good birth covets his neighbour's goods, 

 his first thoughts do not fly to the use of 

 the "jimmy." He takes up shady finance, 

 which is likely to be more profitable than 

 breaking into people's houses, while the risk 

 of punishment, in case of failure, is con- 

 siderably less. To be a burglar you must 

 be a " handyman," with some technical 

 ability. 



The article is illustrated by a series of 



portraits of notorious criminals who have 



been privileged to make M. Bertillon's 



acquaintance. The writer's experience 



enables him to speak with authority, as 



the following quotation shows : — 



I have in my department — the Service of 

 Judicial Identity — at the Paris Prefecture of 

 iPolice more than half a million identification- 

 cards, both of French citizens and of 

 foreigners, which have been laboriously col- 

 lected for twenty years past. And 1 can 

 certify this : amongst them there are very 

 few gentlemen by Ibirth — so few indeed that 

 I practically have the history of each one of 

 them at my fingers' ends. And among these 

 ex-gentlemen never have I come across one 

 single professional burglar. 



Ellwood Hendrick enters " A Plea for 

 Materialism " in the "Atlantic Monthly." 

 The writer's conception of materialism 



is higher than many a saint's regard for 

 religion. We extract the following from 

 a most interesting paper : — 



The burglar who goes out to rob )-our 

 house is seeking his w-elfare in his work, 

 just as you and I do in ours. If he 

 cannot consider your welfare in his 

 business, he is like a great many of the 

 rest of us ; he finds life a little too com- 

 plicated to take in other interests than 

 his own. You are his legitimate prey, 

 just as your competitor in business is 

 your legitimate prey. Socially, you and 

 I differ from the burglar in that we play 

 the game according to different rules, 

 and we like to feel that we are of some 

 use to the world at large. The burglar 

 has a narrower view, and his social as- 

 pirations and desire for usefulness are 

 restricted to the under-world. Then, 

 too, he is probably undeveloped in sym- 

 pathy and imagination. His sensitive- 

 ness to emotions of sympathy is prob- 

 ably slight. But neither sympathy nor 

 imagination, nor sensitiveness to any- 

 thing except pain may be driven into 

 his soul by making him suffer in order 

 to satisfy your resentment against him. 

 Your resentment may drive fear into 

 him, and through fear he may cease to 

 be a burglar ; but statistics do not en- 

 courage us much in the hope for this. 



