the first person singular, he actually lives the life, as he tells it. His style is particularly terse and vigorous, perhaps too condensed in relating the Scotch adventures, but "Spanish John" McDonell, as an old man, is not likely to enlarge upon them; he merely states the facts as they occurred. It is upon his journey to Rome, as a boy of twelve, and his early battles with school boys and Austrians, that he dwells in loving memory and of which he gives the picturesque details. The McDonell coat of arms stands out bravely upon the brilliant red cover of the book and the illustrations by F. de Myrboch are beautiful-too beautiful almost. One fancies his Highlanders look too refined and well-dressed. They are more the clansmen of the comic opera stage than the wild and rugged horde who in reality followed the fortunes of Bonnie Prince Charlie. (New York: Harper and Brothers.) "The Copymaker', by William Farquhar Payson, is the intermittent diary of a singularly green young man who, having displeased his prosperous uncle by a forbidden match, secures a reporter's place on a great daily. When the uncle makes him sole heir and considerately dies, the hero cheerfully bandʊns his chosen profession and starts for a tour of the world. The chief episode of his brief journalistic experience is a detective case, which appears, promises well-and On the whole disappears in a provoking manner. how much more entertaining the printing office was when "Gallegher" was office-boy, for he loved the work for its own sake and his "scoop" was convincing and worth having. The motto of the present book, taken from its own first chapter, declares "copy" to be "inky paper about to become inky type" and journalism after all to be only copy-making. Has this come to be true of the making of books as well? (New York: New Amsterdam Book Company.) "The Secret of Hamlet,' by Mr. South G. Preston (The Editor Publishing Co., Cincinnati), is not a book for the general reading public. The truths revealed in it are too esoteric to be grasped by any but the initiated. This is not so much the fault of the author, who does his best to open the mysteries, as Some of the less of the subject he deals with. recondite lore may perhaps be mentioned here as an The name and form of this letter This is the initial revelation, from which the author proceeds to much profounder depths, whither the merely superficial reader of Shakspere will hardly care to follow him. At the risk of wearying the uninitiated I touch upon one or two of these darker secrets. "The esoteric meaning of Ophelia suggests her character in a poetic way. There is a primary and a secondary meaning hidden in the name. 'Ope' means open; 'helios' means the sun, and Ophelia would mean literally an 'open sun' or 'sunshine'. The secondary meaning refers to her mental Ophelia, or aphelia, and describes her condition when divided from herself and her fair judgment'. No word describes the character of Ophelia but 'sunshine"". This should go far to restore Ophelia (who has been rather harshly treated by some critics) to our favor. Another revelation that will startle many readers of Shakspere is that there is a sequel to 'Hamlet' by the same immortal poet-namely-The Tempest'. This presents Hamlet and his companions in the life after death. Hamlet is Prospero (but also Ferdinand), Ophelia is Miranda, Claudius is Caliban, and Gertrude is become the damn'd witch Sycorax. It is very grateful to our sense of moral justice to find the wicked king and queen in such a purgatory. Mr. Preston has also made contributions of no little value to our knowledge of the sources of the plot. Besides the Danish source, already familiar to scholars, he points to the Greek story of Orestes and to the Roman tradition of Æneas. The convincing point, in regard to the latter connection, is the identity of Polonius and Palinurus. "Palinurus, the pilot of the fleet of Aneas, and his fate, when a human guide was indispensable, suggests Polonius, the pilot of the ship of Denmark-ship of state, and his fate, when King Claudius needed him most".-Is the spelling "Aneas", which is consistently followed in the book, a mere printer's error, or is it a part of the revelation? In spite of its modest preface, Dr. Wilcox's book, "The Study of City Government,' has a most ambitious purpose. In a little volume of less than two hundred and fifty pages the author attempts to state and to discuss the intricate problems of function, of control, and of organization of the modern municipality. In his preface he explains that "the outline which forms the basis of this volume was prepared in order to show people just what there is in city government that it is worth while to study," and later he accurately describes his book as "primarily an outline of problems which also contains some discussion and many illustrations." Written on these lines, The Study of City Government' reads like a well-kept note-book of a course of university lectures on municipal administration. It will not appeal to the general reader who does not bring to its consideration an aroused interest in the problems it discusses. On the other hand, it offers little to the adBut for the vanced student of political science. growing class that have an initial interest in munici pal administration and a little knowledge of its prob lems, Dr. Wilcox's illustrated outline will do much to clarify and systemize thought. The author has read widely, and he thinks clearly. If, after further study, he gives us the comprehensive treatise which he foreshadows in his preface, it will doubtless be a most valuable contribution to the literature of municipal administration. (New York: The Macmillan Company.) Many a man strikes the wall at random with his hammer and is under the impression that he hits the nail on the head every time.--Goethe. With the Magazines. Henry Cabot Lodge is sure of many readers for his 'Story of the Revolution', the first installment of which appears in 'Scribner's'; men never tire of the deeds which made us a nation. An article by Aline Gorren tells of the literary circle over which presided Edmond de Goncourt, on the fly leaves of whose books Carrière, J. Tissot, Raffaelli, and others were wont to draw the portrait sketches reproduced in the article. The strokes are few and the pencil blunt, but the drawings are instinct with life. A story by Lloyd Osbourne, though clever and amusing, has a brutally unpleasant ending, thus sustaining a past criticism of Stephen Gwynn: "No book of Mr. Stevenson's ever left a bad taste in my mouth: no book of the collaboration" (between Stevenson and Osbourne) "ever failed to do so." In 'Harper's' Laurence Hutton writes of the group of players Booth, Barrett, Florence, and Jefferson, whom he knew and loved; the illustrations are from unpublished portraits and rare photographs. An article by A. L. Benedict in the 'Cosmopolitan', while making a little gentle fun of the present craze for genealogical study, considers that the fad has had a most happy effect in bringing the American people into close sympathy. Interesting to Philadelphians is the fully illustrated article by James M. Beck, who tells with civic pride of Stephen Girard and his college. In 'Lippincott's' George Archie Stockwell discusses, without reaching a conclusion, the question of the existence of wolf-children. "Mowgli" has evidently roused new interest in this problem of the jungle. In The comments of the English press on the recent election in New York have called forth reply. the 'Atlantic' Edward M. Shepard, accounting for the result, says that the intrusion of national issues into municipal politics had much to do with Tammany's plurality. He admits that another opportunity to reach an immediate and practical good has been lost, but thinks that our municipal politics show more plainly than ever before "a powerful and wholesome tendency." Truly Mr. Shepard is the man to take up a struggle when the enemy has neither fainted nor failed! In the 'Forum', Simon Sterne, treating the same subject contends that the increase in the tax rate under the reform government made many voters hesitate to put their property into the hands of persons, "who, even from good motives, threatened . to continue an era of vicarious philanthropy at the expense of the tax-payers." Brander Matthews pleads that a drama be judged not as literature only, but in accordance with the principles of its own art. Not fully accepting M. de Brunetière's assertion that a play is under no obligation to be literary, he still insists that the first condition which confronts the dramatist is inexorable; he must please his immediate audience. The success of a play depends upon its fitness for the play-houses and players of its own time, its survival upon its literary quality. The 'Arena' contains an admirable article on the political and commercial position of Canada by John D. Spence, who declares in opposition to Goldwin Smith that the United States can offer Canada nothing that she does not already possess. In Municipal Affairs' Frederick S. Lamb urges the civic advantages of Municipal Art. He declares that art is needed not as a charity, but as an educator; moreover, that it can be made to pay. Professor F. J. Goodnow, discussing the relations of city and state, is in favor of the establishment of "Municipal Government Boards," which shall exercise supervision over the finances of the smaller cities of the state. "City government is business, not politics"; with this motto the Merchants' Association of San Francisco organized about three years ago. J. Richard Freud shows what may be accomplished when business men take hold of municipal affairs. Dr. Frederick W. Speirs, writing of the Philadelphia Gas Lease, warns his readers that the episode is not an intelligent, deliberate verdict on the experiment of municipal control, but only one more proof of the power of aggregated capital in politics. William Draper Lewis, treating the same subject in the 'Quarterly Journal of Economics,' simply points out the facts of the case, the nature of the lease, the arguments used, and the character of the legislative body that made it. John Davidson inquires the reason why the silver agitation in the United States has not provoked a sympathetic movement in Canada, where similar conditions prevail. He finds that in that country the issue of bank notes is so regulated as to secure both stability and elasticity, which prevents the rise of discontent that leads to silver agitation. Garrett Droppers writes from Tokio on the recent adoption by Japan of the gold standard. This he views as imperiling the supremacy of Japanese commerce in the extreme Orient, which was gained while under a standard common to countries of the East. In the 'Century' Leonard Huxley draws a delightful picture of the home life of his famous father. No lover of 'Water-Babies' can afford to miss the letters exchanged between grandfather and grandson on the absorbing question of the bottled water-baby. Gustave Kobbe's stories of everyday heroism should prove a good tonic for all who are suffering from loss of faith in humanity. If George Eliot is right, and "we prepare ourselves for sudden deeds by the reiterated choice of good or evil that gradually determines character", it is cheering to think of the daily choice commonplace men are making. In this connection it may be noted that an anonymous writer in 'Blackwood's' declares that our latterday humanitarianism tends to regard death and pain as the worst of evils, which "gospel of painlessness" may destroy virtues which we cannot afford to lose. In the Gentleman's Magazine' the Rev. P. H. Ditchfield tells of books which have brought upon their writers loss of happiness, prosperity, and life. A remarkable fate befell one Theodore Reinking in the seventeenth century in Sweden. He was pardoned on condition that he eat his offending book, a feat which he actually performed, first reducing it to a sauce. A. J. Meetkerke contributes a most readable article on that exquisite yet stern spirit, Prosper Mérimée and his thirty years' correspondence with the "Unknown." The 'Pall Mall Magazine' has J. Holt Schooling's first paper on the Great Seal of England. H. W. Brewer writes and illustrates an article on Old St. Paul's viewed as to its size. If we may trust the figures of medieval writers it was eighty feet longer than St. Peter's, Rome. 'Cornhill' opens with the first of a series, 'Fights for the Flag', by the Rev. W. H. Fitchett, this one concerning Sir John Moore at Corunna. Stephen Phillips claims for Byron a place after Chaucer, Shakspere, and Milton on the ground of his range of power. He claims that Byron more read would be more esteemed. In 'Macmillan's' Charles Whibley commends the scholarship and justice of W. E. Henley and T. F. Henderson for their Centenary Edition of Burns. They have spared no pains to discover the origins of Burns, for that poet expressed in perfect verse the vague experiments of chap-books and ballads. In the more serious English magazines pan-Slavism, the Dreyfus case, and the Engineers' strike just concluded have each their share of notice. In the "Contemporary' George Washburn describes the Russian moujik as patient, obedient, brave and hardy, in tensely religious and capable of any sacrifice for what he considers his duty; to be sure he is dirty, ignorant, improvident, and fond of strong drink, but he becomes impressive when the fact is noted that there are seventy-five millions of him ready to obey a single will. An anonymous writer on the labor troubles declares that in the consumer's interest arbitration must become compulsory. The Fortnightly' has an astonishing article by Mme. Novikoff on Russia as the physician of Europe, attending assiduously all affected with the malady of Parliamentarism and called to that office because she has protected the principle of personal government and has been witness to the truth of autocracy. E. J. Dillon treats the struggle of religions and races in Russia statistically and draws the conclusion that the Russian people is not only increasing in numbers but is being kneaded into a compact homogeneous mass. Lucien Wolf considers that anti-Semitic feeling is responsible for the miscarriage of justice in the Dreyfus case. E. Austin Fairleigh, reviewing the case in the 'Westminster' refuses to believe that antiSemitism, strong as it is, could have moved the body of French officers who presided at the trial. He contrasts the procedures of English and French Courts Martial. Samuel Fothergill considering the great strike in the light of past troubles suggests as the only remedy that masters keep their works open and give notice that no unionist will be employed. The 'Nineteenth Century' opens with several papers on the condition of the British army. Of much interest are personal reminiscences of A. H. Clough by Thomas Arnold. The Princess Kropotkin relates the struggles and attainments of women in Russia in the direction of higher education. Parish life in England before the Conquest is described by Dr. Jessop. Holt T. Hallett in treating of the partition of China cries for a policy for the Far East befitting Great and Greater Britain and for a statesman who will carry it out. Sidney Webb has a capital review in the 'Revue de Paris' of the whole labor struggle. One main cause of the trouble, in his opinion, lay in the fact that the engineers' union is not abreast of modern ideas; he considers that a permanent settlement will be reached only when the conditions of work are frankly considered as a matter of mutual contract. In the 'Revue des Deux Mondes' Bouquet de la Grye urges that Paris be made a seaport by improv ing the channel of the Seine to Rouen. In 1795, Car. not of the Committee of Public Safety, appointed a commission to investigate the possibilities of the river and the arguments advanced in the subsequent report might be repeated with equal force to-day. American Society of University Extension. Harrisburg New York. Thomas W. Surette Hilaire Belloc Hilaire Belloc Thomas W. Surette Thomas W. Surette Clyde B. Furst. Henry W. Elson Henry W. Elson . Frederick H. Sykes. Edward T. Devine Edward T. Devine Thomas W. Surette Hilaire Belloc James E. Keeler. Thomas W. Surette. Thomas W. Surette, The Crusades Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb. 7, 14. Representative Novelists and Short- Feb. 21, 28, Mar, 7, 14, 21, 28. City of Paris Italian Art American Literature Jan 11, 18, 25, Feb. 1, 8, 15. Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Apr. 5. Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, Feb. 4, II. Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, Mar. 4, 11. Feb. 21, 28, Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28. Jan. 27, Feb. 3, 10, 17. Jan. 3. 17, 31, Feb. 14, 28, Mar. 14. OUT OF PHILADELPHIA. The Crusades Victorian Poets The French Revolution Victorian Poets The Crusades Great Composers: Romantic Period. Mar. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Apr. 7. French Revolution The Crusades Great Composers: Classical Period Franklin, Hamilton, Jackson, Lincoln Great Composers: Classical Period Jan. 5, 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 9. 1 Annual Report of the Treasurer of the American Society of University Extension. We present herewith the Report of the Treasurer of the American Society of University Extension for the year ending December 31, 1897. The Society is steadily growing in its influence and opportunities to extend literary and scientific learning. Its policy, more than ever, is to encourage those Centres in which work has been done previously to continue their activities, in order that the instruction given may be most thorough and systematic. At present the proportion of the old Centres in operation is larger than ever before, an even more encouraging sign than the acquisition of a great number of new centres. A list of the guarantors and subscribers for 1897 is published below. This year, owing to the continued financial depression which has cut off some of the sources of income of the Society, it has been found necessary to call for a larger percentage than usual of the Guarantee Fund. I. CENTRE ACCOUNT. The Society engages lecturers for the Centres and collects the lecturers' fees and expenses, together with a small fee for the Society. The Summer Meeting of 1897 resulted in a loss to the Society. Its expenses were provided for chiefly through income from tuition fees, and subscriptions. The Society edits and prints syllabuses for its lecture courses, and publishes a monthly magazine, The Citizen. RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT OF PRINTING $911.02 PAID ON ACCOUNT OF PRINTING Difference to be paid by Society, $2,585.57. $3,496.59 Against this item there is a considerable offset, though it is difficult to determine exactly its amount, in the increased stock on hand of syllabuses and plates from which future editions may be printed. year. IV. GUARANTEE FUND OF 1896. A portion of the Guarantee Fund for 1896 was not paid until 1897, and therefore appears on the books of this The unfavorable circumstances mentioned in the beginning of this report make it necessary for the Board of Directors to call for 90 per cent of the Guarantee Fund, to meet the obligations for the year. The current expenses for 1897 were provided for from time to time by advanced payments on account of the Guarantee Fund. |