a very remarkable letter addressed to the Czar by M. Demtchinsky, a meteoroligist of whose ability Nicholas IL has a high opinion. The letter is said to have been the cause of...

the solidity of the Triple Alliance, and Count von Billow has been at some pains to dissipate it. He recently read to the German Parliament some instructions to the German...

T HE latest news from China is unusually significant, and, in our judgment, somewhat ominous. The Chinese Court leaves Pekin in April to worship at the tombs of the Imperial...

Senate, rather to its horror, that if serious embarrassment is to be avoided recourse must be had to fresh taxation. The details of this taxation have not yet been explained,...

the relation of the Government to the Vatican, and made an important statement. He declared that the Church constantly read the Concordat as a concession from the spiritual...

case.

a rather painful picture of the change in the foreign re- lations of the Indian Empire. The "secluded land" is losing its seclusion. Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, and...

a part in a comedy which has greatly perplexed the diplomatists. He announced his resignation to the Venezuelan Congress on March 21st in a " high-falutin' " Message, m which he...

must point to one very serious discrepancy in his argument in regard to the citizen Army, which he treated with what we may call kindliness mingled with suspicion. He doubted...

of Commons on Tuesday, Sir Charles Dilke moving, as an amend- ment to the second reading of the Consolidated Fund (No. 1) Bill, that the Government before acting on any...

military defence, and showed that he has grasped thoroughly the essential principle that the defence of the kingdom should be entrusted to the population, properly trained,...

a Motion approving of the Committee of National Defence, and expressing the hope that its first efforts would be towards adjusting the expense of our armaments to our fiscal...

on the Bill are almost universally favourable. The same may be said of the American newspapers, which all greet the measure with satisfaction. The Tribune, for example, declares...

death of Sir Hector MacDonald, which took place by his own hand in Paris on Wednesday. We shall say nothing of the sad circumstances in which the gallant soldier's end came. It...

Thursday, the result being declared on Friday afternoon, resulted in the return of Mr. J. A. Fyler, the Unionist candidate, by a majority of 1,180. At the last election — i.e.,...

Purchase Bill, which for the last few months has been so strongly moving Irish opinion. We have dealt at length elsewhere with its chief provisions and guiding principles, and...

a striking unanimity of agreement. Mr. Redmond would have liked a larger bonus, but his tone was conciliatory ; Colonel Saunderson declared that the landlords would throw no...

discovery by M. Curie, perhaps the first of French physicists, which will excite universal interest. Chemists have been greatly excited by observing qualities in the new metal,...

an address from the Lord Mayor and Corporation, and delivered an important speech. He began by reiterating his conviction, confirmed by his visit to South Africa, that the war...

of the material resources of the new Colonies, where the value of land had immensely increased since the con- clusion of peace. In the Cape the assurances of both great...

of Dr. Farrar, the Dean of Canterbury. A successful Master at Harrow and at Marlborough (where he succeeded Dr. Bradley), and subsequently Canon and Archdeacon of West- minster...

Friday sot.

THE IRISH LAND PITRCHASE BILL. 'ATE most heartily congratulate Mr. George Wyndham V V - on the Bill for Irish land purchase which he pre- sented to the House of Commons on...

T HE struggle between the French Government and the Vatican is evidently becoming more and more acute, and it is nearly impossible even for French politicians to predict its...

W E wish our leading politicians would find time occasionally to educate the public in ideas which they themselves, no doubt, think truisms, but which the public has never...

AL S our readers know, we have again and again pointed out that one of the best ways of making Britain safe from invasion would be, in addition to teaching the male population...

di diaa ll y, and to most people a judicial discretion' means discretion exercised with a view to the merits of the indi- vidual case ; but still the strict law is as we have...

A S near as thou cant, guess at thy neighbour," said .As Jesus, the son of Sirach, the writer of Ecclesiasticus. It is not difficult to guess at his personality. His character...

S ILENT in the presence of his seniors and decidedly averse to putting pen to paper, the ordinary boy might be supposed to do very little in the way of talking and writing....

T O the discouragement of every one who hoped that the principles of bird preservation were becoming popularised in the country, as they certainly are in the towns, both the...

GERMANY, RUSSIA, AND THE EAST. ITO THE EDITOR OF TOE "SPECTATOR-"l SIR,—In my last letter I said that there was one Power which Germany dreaded—namely, Russia—and this letter...

A NAVAL CONTRIBUTION FROM THE COLONIES. [To THR EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.") • cordially agree with the views of the Spectator as expressed in your issue of March 21st re our...

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—When in Rotterdam in 1877 I heard another version of the story related by " H. E. B." in your issue of March 21st. At that time there...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR, — May I point out to your correspondent, Mr. T. a Minshall (Spectator, March 14th), that the number of men employed in the Fleet is...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. "' SIR, — Having had occasion to study carefully the admirable series of letters and articles which have appeared lately in the Spectator,...

on the Navy Estimates in the Spectator of March 21st, in which you allude to the contributions by the Colonies towards the expenses of the Imperial Navy, I beg to call your...

(To THE EDITOR OP THE "$PEOPATOR.1 Sin, — Your political essays always remind me of our College " ventures." Germany is your bête noire, and if your ways were adopted I fancy...

"SPECTATOR."' SIR,—Every one will gladly agree with your correspondent, Mr. Percy Ashley, that " modern Universities can and must give us wideness of view," and should be...

SOUTH AFRICA. [To THE EDITOR OP THY "SPECTATOR. " ] Sra,—I have read with interest General Elliot's letter in the Spectator of March 21st on the subject of preserving the...

[TO TER EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIR, —In the Spectator of March 21st you comment, in noticing the Report of the above, as follows :—" We may, we think, fairly claim that...

[TO THE EDITOR OP TER "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—In your comments on the result of the Rye election I see that you allude to the " swing of the pendulum " as though it were in itself a...

CONCERT-GOERS, REGULAR AND IRREGULAR. No one who, whether from choice or necessity, has haunted the concert-halls of London for a decade or more can fail . to be struck with...

[TO TUE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.1 SIR,—I was very glad to notice the letter from Mr. Frank Whiteley in the Spectator of January 24th. I can fully corroborate the statements...

TEARS. THESE are the blown spindrift that is lashed from the face of the waters That cover the Soul with Care ; These are the Children of Sorrow, these are the sons and the...

A CHIEF OF THE STAFF.* To those who love the proper study of mankind, man, formal history is but a work of reference. It shows you the drama from the front of the house only,...

largely concentrated on Macedonia, where the long-prophesied " trouble in the Balkans " threatens to draw to a. head, Mr. Abbott's delightful account of his recent tour in that...

as full of promise as any- thing that we have seen for some time; worthy to be ranked with Mr. Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon; to be put, that is, if we may use an academical...

MANY ingredients and much skill are needed for the making of pot-pourri, and Mrs. Earle is a past-mistress of the art. Indeed, the subjects are still more varied than in her...

THE TRIUMPH OF COUNT OSTERMANN.' Is laying the scene of his new novel in the Russia of Peter the Great and his immediate successors, Mr. Graham Hope is • The Triumph of Count...

and Co. 6s.)—We must confess to having found this volume more than usually unintelligible, comparing it, that is to say, with other books about sea matters. Now and then we came...

[Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] The Monroe Doctrine. By Sir F. Pollock, Bart. (Offices of the ....

3s. 6d.)—This is so far fiction that a true story is filled out with various imaginary characters; and a very curious story it is, another proof of how marvellously Japan has...

3s. 6d.)—Mr. Lynch's "Impressions" are not all of war. He has something to tell us about cities,—about New York, which he ealls the "City of Unrest," and some of the people who...

65. net.)—Mrs. Buckrose gives us in this volume thirteen delightful essays on various social and ethical questions,—on housekeeping, on training children, on girls' education,...

Steeple might quite appropriately have been given the sub- title of " Studies in Faith, and the Want of It." The principal characters are two English clergymen contrasted, and...

Harding Davis's little book of stories is very pleasant 'reading. The first story, which gives its name to the book, is, though the longest, not the best. That distinction...

is difficult, we imagine, to construct a sea-story on the lines which are familiar when the persons and things introduced are of the laud. The usual rule is that no incident...

ls. net.)—The April number of the World's Work is full of interesting matter and of photographic illustrations of a very high order of merit. The most striking feature of the...

and Co. 2s. net.)—Dr. Poore continues to insist—and he cannot do a better service to the health of the community—on the advantages of earth sanitation. The present system of...

S. W. (Swan Sonnen- schein and Co. 2s. 6d.)—Messrs. "C. J. B." and "P. S. W." para- phrase eighteen odes of Horace into golfing language, and add notes collected from the...