Benson, in The editor modestly puts at the end of
to the activity of the devil in English | the opinion of the present reviewer, has, to the book his own essay, on The Mountains
society.
to the activity of the devil in English | the opinion of the present reviewer, has, to the book his own essay, on The Mountains
society.
Athenaeum - London - 1912a
(Methuen & Co.
)
simply remainsd inside the walls and
and Hawthorne, quite equal his in that, A BOOK on the war in Tripoli by a trust- laughed and chatted whilst the ridiculous
and many even in some particular effects worthy observer is much wanted. The gunners on the destroyers were exploding
surpass them
but because their per accounts published in the newspapers,
their shells in the neighbourhood. They
fection is richer, gathers up
often derived from Italian sources, and
never budged an inch from start to finish. "
content, imports more qualities both of censored by the authorities, have seriously The “horsemen ” of the Matin were
life and letters.
of The Luck of Roaring Camp, for dicted. Mr. Montagu's statements in calmly pursuing their journey!
In the few pages conflicted, and have been flatly contra- apparently Mr. Bennett and his friends
made to live, besides the tale that is told ! have been officially denied, but are con- of the Central News at Rome have already
made to live, besides the tale that is told regard to the brutalities of the soldiery
“Correspondents like the representative
There we find no mere formal or linear firmed in this volume. In these circum- slain every Turkish soldier in Tripolitania
perfection-no masterpiece of the vivid
or the sombre, giving the impression of stances Mr. Bennett's narrative of his several times over. ”
an intense but individual and limited personal experiences in the Turkish camp
A statement largely current in the
experience - but
is of no small importance. He has seen Italian press is that there is a bad feeling
perfection which
a great deal, witnessed engagements, and, between the Arabs and the Turks, and
makes the fabric of imagination out of the in spite of the “ barefaced disregard for that the former
are being compelled
against
statistical
total setting of reality.
accuracy which characterizes their will to fight. Such a belief is wholly
both parties to the campaign, he has at variance with the known solidarity of
Nor is this an isolated case. Almost a managed to collect a great many approxi. Islam, as shown in the instant cessation
score of times could the same power of mate estimates of the forces engaged and of hostilities in the Yemen as soon as the
evocation be verified, with differences, the casualties that resulted. His defect Arabs learnt that Turkey was being
among his familiar masterpieces. Thus is his violent partisanship. He is fanatic- attacked by a Christian Power ; and Mr.
* The Idyl of Red Gulch' has an opening ally pro-Turkish in his sympathies, and Bennett entirely discredits the rumour.
stillness and a saturation with the scene his contempt for the Italians is un- He does not like the Arabs of Tripoli,
worthy of Keats. That immediacy and measured. Until an impartial history and he attributes to them such mutilations
sense of a summer day is maintained to of the war is written by a qualified of the dead as have occurred, though
the end of what, when you close the book, military critic, we must withhold our judg- this barbarous custom is unknown to
you confess to be a perfect idyll, though ment; and, meanwhile, we can only take high-class tribes in Arabia itself ; but
the figures in the foreground are but a
Mr. Bennett's opinions, as distinguished he admires their daring and their endur-
drunken miner, a New England school from his definite observation, cum grano ance, and finds that, so far from requiring
marm," and an illegitimate pupil. -the more, since his many interjected to be urged to fight, they are really having
views on the South African War and the the time of their life," feeding as they
Of course, other qualities than this Sudan campaigns indicate a slight lack of never fed before, enjoying exciting little
(though probably derivative from the balance. He, however, makes it clear that skirmishes and delightful slicing of Giaours,
same source) go to the making of Bret the Italians had accomplished exceedingly and enriching themselves with rifles and
Harte as Man of Letters. We have only little in the three months following cartridges and all sorts of Italian loot,
wished to emphasize the one which seems
to lead readily to a central conception of experiences in Tripoli ended in January. Martinis, and are even learning some
their hasty, ultimatum; for his own They are well armed with Mausers and
the man. To the general and uncritical Bevond holding a few towns, the invaders degree of fire-control. They are said to
public he is commended by the obviously had been unable to effect any permanent be coming in crowds to the front, with
sentimental aspect in his stories of women occupation of the interior. Their cruisers the full approval of the powerful Sanusi
and children introduced among a crowd and gunboats sprinkled shells along the organization, and they form the best of
of rough workers, who have little time or coast, often without doing any
more reliefs, for they go back to their villages
chance for romance, and idolize the rare damage than Messrs. Brock's pyrotechnical and look after their flocks and families
exponents of it within their reach. The displays at the Crystal Palace.
and renew their strength, whilst other
Mark Twain in The Innocents at Home ! “At Zouara and elsewhere the Italian contingents take their place in the fighting
and to-day makes the fortune of the warships have again and again shamefully line. As to their power of endurance,
violated the rule that forbids the bombard. our author says :-
cinematograph show, which in its very ment of unfortified towns. . . . It was difficult
crudity of narrative is a good guide to to discover what loss (of life), if any, had
“One Arab walked 28 miles to Azizieh from
what the public wants.
been occasioned by the shell-fire. . . . None the firing line with seven bullets in him. . . .
For the rest, apart from its debilitating slightest degree by the daily alarms. . .
of the Turks seemed to be disturbed in the and after treatment insisted on returning to
the front. "
lack of such a conception, Mr. Merwin's Everybody seemed to have an absolute
. . .
Mr. Bennett only follows general opinion
intelligence (not always equally in force, Bou-Kamesch the coast is littered with in speaking in the highest terms of the
perhaps) and an intimate knowledge of shell splinters and shrapnelbulletsonce him under his improved conditions, the
The more he sees of
the Works and the world to which they about these orieiculous bombardments, which better he realizes that he has “ few equals. "
refer. Nowhere else will the English rarely hit anything in particular and never " Never in all my campaigning experience
reader get, within reasonable limits, such hurt anybody. ”
a full and helpful account of Pioneer
have I met anything like this magnificent
days and ways. The one fault of the
The door of the room would open, and moral on the side of the little battalions. ”
Mohammed would announce Le bateau That man for man they are
“ in every
method of presentation is that it excludes
any clear view of the historic process est arrivé,” as though he were a waiter way superior” to the Italians, is a view
that was
going on through all this announcing “Monsieur est servi. ” Valu- which few, we think, will gainsay.
confusion : does not bring home to the ables would at once be carried for safety writes still more enthusiastically of the
reader the fact that extreme disorder was
into the mosque, and the troops would Turkish officers who have gone through
a phase which and passed, calmly march to the dunes and get into the Harbia College and seen service in
stayed nowhere very long, and was never
shelter-pits. At the second bombard- Thessaly, Crete, and the Yemen—"effi-
a general condition at any time.
ment of Bou-Kamesch, sixty-three shots cient soldiers, keen about their profession,
were fired without knocking an inch of and thoroughly in sympathy with their
Of the pictures in the book, some are mortar off the fort. This was reported men. . . . Kind, courteous, and consider-
interesting and relevant, while others in the Matin
of January 4th as resulting ate. " Most of them spoke French—it
appear to have wandered in for no par. in “ the flight of numbers of men, includ- was only to his dog that one officer
ticular reason.
ing some horsemen. ” There were really “talked Slav. "
He
came
## p. 359 (#273) ############################################
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
359
seems
One of the most striking impressions
he displays much unjust prejudice against
derived from Mr. Bennett's book is the
BOOKS ON CHINA.
the British-Indian troops who took part
extremely prosperous condition of the
in the relief of the Legations in 1900.
Turkish defenders. It is true they were
It is related that a Chinese statesman, in They were at least as well-conducted as
obliged, by the continual bombardments, reply to a British diplomatist, who was
any of the foreign soldiers who shared in
to retire further from the coast, and they urging upon him the necessity of moving that expedition. These are, however,
could not drag their field-guns with them with the times and introducing into slight blemishes in what is the best ac-
(for which, indeed, they had little ammu-
China railways, telegraphs, and other count of modern Peking that has come to
nition); but they are now
instruments of progress, said that China
our notice. It may be added that the
preferred her own traditional civilization, illustrations reproduced from photographs
' beyond the effective range of the naval but, if once she began to innovate, her
guns, and the successful onslaught near
are numerous, and excellent of their kind.
advance would be so rapid as to astonish
Fonduk Bengashir proves how ready they
are to meet any forces the Italian General the world. For forty years, perhaps, Mr. Colquhoun's book is a useful,
can send against them. ”
this had been regarded as a piece of though somewhat dull compilation, bring-
Chinese brag, but the recent inauguration ing the history of recent political changes
The troops are well fed—better, according of the Republic
at Jast to in China down to the latest date practic-
to one who had served in both armies, have justified the prophecy. Political able. It is a reissue, revised and enlarged,
than in the French service and well events' have, indeed, succeeded each of a work first published in 1898. Perhaps
cared for. So far from the war impoverish other with headlong velocity. Mynheer the opinions of the writer on such subjects
ing the land, Mr. Bennett, going inland Borel evidently had not realized the as the missionary question and the diplo-
to Gharian, was astonished to find busy changes since 1900, due to the complete macy of the Western Powers, especially
markets and“ jubilant vendors. ” Trade collapse of the imperial authority, to the of his own country, are less valuable than
was“ booming,” and “ the war is enriching military successes of the Japanese, and the appendixes giving the mileage of
the great mass of the Tripolitans. . . . the enormous development of a free press. railways built and under construction,
whilst inflicting a crushing, expenditure He had dreamt of the Peking of fifty the budget for 1911, and the amount
on the taxpayers of Italy”; and it is years back, and was disconcerted when he of foreign indebtedness. Owing to
costing Turkey next to nothing. If it found himself in a modern hotel crowded what looks like hasty writing and want
goes on, as it may, for years, Mr. Bennett with concession - hunters and
concession - hunters and “ globe- of care in consulting original authori-
thinks it “ will wear Italy out sooner than trotters” of all nations. Macadamized ties, he has fallen into some curious
the Turks and Arabs. ” Moreover, if roads, telephone wires, and the electric errors, such as that which gives the value
Mr. Bennett's account is sober history light, the new buildings of the foreign of the Haikwan tael at 28. 8d. (p. 84), and
for example, the description of the legations, the fortified walls which sur- later on puts it at 38. 4d. The identifica-
affair at Sansur, where he was present, round them, the glass broughams filled tion of Taoism with Japanese Shinto
and where nineteen Turkish regulars put with the families of Chinese officials, (p. 39) is indeed wide of the mark; and
to flight a reconnaissance consisting of Manchu ladies taking afternoon tea in the the account (p. 43) of the clause inter-
“the 50th Infantry Regiment and part hall of the hotel, shocked his finer sensi-polated in the Chinese version of the
of the 73rd, with four squadrons of bilities. When he escaped from these French Convention of 1860 is incorrect.
cavalry and a battery of mule guns
surroundings, and wandered through the Equally inexact is the statement in a
the Italians must have little stomach for streets, he found, nevertheless, much to foot-note as to the Toleration Clause in
the war. Even their aviation, though the satisfy his artistic longings. The pink the German Treaty of 1861, which is
aeroplanes did some service in scouting, walls of the Forbidden City; the yellow, copied from the similar article in the
appears not to have disconcerted the turquoise, and sapphire tiles of the Palace treaties of 1858. It is surprising to find
Arabs, who, throughout, have shown a buildings; the p'ai-lou, or memorial arches, the author representing (p. 148) that the
marvellous fearlessness.
which bestride the main thoroughfares, French envoy Lagrené, in 1844, proceeded
This picture of the conditions of the were an unending delight. So also was the to Peking and signed a treaty between
Tripolitan war up to January last is prospect of the city from the great drum- France and China, the facts being that it
not only extremely vivid, but also tower, looking like a park full of trees, was negotiated and signed at Whampoa,
subversive of the accounts which have amongst which the house are lost and near Canton, and that no foreign envoy
hitherto received some degree of qualified (invisible.
of that period was seen at the capital
credence.
Mynheer Borel has lived many years in before the visit of Mr. Ward, the American
We shall not draw attention to various Southern China, speaks the Fuhkien minister, in 1859. On p. 168 the marble
slips in Arabic names, because the dialect fluently, and has made a profound monument
in the form of a triple
author states that he had no opportunity study of Confucian ethics. He is some- archway, erected to the memory of
to correct his proof-sheets, but we must what of a mystic, a poet, and an artist the German minister murdered in 1900,
enter a caveat against some of his state- endowed with the ear of a musician. is described as a statue. Such mis-
ments about Islam. That Mohammed Not being a concession-hunter, a financier, statements as these ought not to appear
did not exalt the Teacher of Nazareth scope to his sympathies for an interesting revision.
reverenced Christ is true, but he certainly or a diplomatist, he is able to give full in a work that professes to have undergone
far above himself, because He was born and little-understood people. His descrip-
of the Spirit of God. ' Nor, as a matter tion of an afternoon service at the great
of grammar, is “ Christ actually known Lama temple is an admirable piece of
NEW NOVELS.
among Moslems as “Ruach -el - Allah’ | picturesque writing, while his accounts of
(Breath of Allah). ” It should be “Ruh- visits to other temples and to the Summer The Ministry of Poll Poorman. By Lieut. -
Allah"; but the usual name -Mesîh, Palace are delightful reading. The ordi-
“the Messiah. ” It is, however, refreshing nary sinologue excites his contempt, yet This book is fiction with a purpose, which,
to find a war correspondent, whilst writing his proposal for the reform of what he though the literary craftsmanship is hardly
these chapters amidst the grunting of regards as the very inadequate and badly of the first class, has force, vitality,
camels, remembering his Greek, as becomes informed diplomacy of the Western and humour sufficient to differentiate
a Fellow of Hertford :-
Powers is that each should organize a clearly from the genus tract.
" Poll
“For two hours we rode over vast plains service of sinologues to represent it at Poorman” is the Rev. Apollos Burnett,
covered with the graceful asphodel, amid Peking. Towards the end of his book
a manly, straightforward person of gentle
which the angry shade of Achilles stalked
—
Maxpày Bibaca kar á pódedov tepwa ;— The New China; a Traveller's Impressions. holy orders more through the pressure of
and to accentuate the old-time atmosphere, Henri . Translated
clumps of the arum which the Greeks cali (Fisher Unwin. )
circumstances than by reason of strict
Amaryllis formed patches of vivid green China in Transformation. By Archibald R. vocation, yet determines to live as a
against the browns and yellows of the soil. ” Colquhoun. (Harper & Brothers. ) parson uncompromisingly in accordance
## p. 360 (#274) ############################################
360
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
>
with the principles of the Gospel. Like
• The Mountaineer and the Pilgrim,' by
THIS WEEK'S BOOKS.
so many other heroes in books, he is
Mr. H. E. G. Tyndale, contains some of the
delivered at the outset from all complica- We cannot say that Mr. A. C. Benson has best writing in the volume. Mr. Tyndale
tions of kith and kin. On receiving the realized our expectations in the fantasy of does not sigh for the good old days, but
small and poor living of Dabford, he life beyond the veil which
he has entitled says that,
The Child of the Dawn (Smith & Elder).
identifies himself, not with the county Starting with the axiomatic formula of the
in spite of railways and huts, discomforts
abound. . . . and the labour of wading in soft snow
society" about him, but with the poor ; | indestructibility of earthly matter, he does not decrease with the ages. . . . Straw is
wears fustian and digs in his garden when extends it to cover the indestructibility
the order in most club huts, and the climber
off duty, and presently marries a field-girl. of spiritual matter, if we may adopt for the
must prepare his own food. So long as discom-
forts exist the pilgrim's endurance is demanded,
The surprise and hostility which he sake of brevity what many may consider
and there still remain plenty of annoyances to
encounters, both in his general plan of
a contradiction in terms. He makes, how. make the traveller nasty, brutish, and short. '”
life and in his marriage, make up the web ever, if we understand him aright, one
of the story. The writer has, we think, great distinction between earth and spirit Again, of the mountaineer he writes :-
matter. If the proposition as to earthly “ He chooses his route with as much care as he
succeeded but indifferently with the matter be granted, it is clear that considera- chooses a companion. He will sit for hours or
divers villains of the piece: they are tions as to the progress or retrogression of even days of his spare time before a heap of
somewhat wooden and unconvincing. On mankind are of primary importance.
As maps and guide-books ; for every expedition
chosen he have
the other hand, Poll himself and Sarah, a utilitarian would probably put it-Does imaginary tour by a process of elimination rather
the girl he marries, are delightful-strong, humanity or not ? In the spirit world Mr. familiar with every corner of a districted online
the balance of change tend to the benefit of than of selection. Only when he is thoroughly
dignified, and broadly human. Sarah
Benson seeks to relieve the individual and consent his . Three things
seems to have been studied under the society of any such responsibility by assuming variety in the ascent, a fine view. . . . and an easy
are necessary for the ideal expedition : a grcat
influence of Mr. Hardy; and we think that at each reincarnation the soul must
descent, preferably over snow. '
that the author, in his impassioned have progressed by the fact of its greater
prophecy of misery to them both-owing maturity. In taking this view Mr.
Benson, in The editor modestly puts at the end of
to the activity of the devil in English | the opinion of the present reviewer, has, to the book his own essay, on The Mountains
society. ”—has greatly underrated his adopt the homely phraseology of the book, of Youth, which every one who loves the
Alps will read with enjoyment.
own achievement in endowing her with knocked the spice out of the higher life.
Having said this, we are glad to assure
womanly charm and spirit.
our readers that they will not fail to find,
Beauty and Ugliness. and Other Studies
Yet so far as the main theme of the as they will expect, many beautiful thoughts, in Psychological Æsthetics. By Vernon Lee
book goes, the true position of a parson somewhat vulgarized here and there by a
and C. Anstruther-Thomson. (John Lane. )
in regard to his flock, the love-story, tendency to attribute to celestial bodies
- The cause and manner of æsthetic pleasure
mannerisms such as
attractive as it is, proves a weakness, that can only be accounted for by supposing provide a field of endless and interesting
giggling-attributes
and displeasure in different individuals
coming in as a secondary theme which that the author had a certain public in his
somewhat confuses the first. A compari- mind when writing, and unintentionally anecdotal interest will absorb one spectator
inquiry. That
a picture of which the
son between this and stories of the life wrote down to them. From the portrayal of should be equally pleasing to another who
of a village priest in French fiction may the different spheres of activity assigned to
views it merely as
ultimate welfare some
a pattern is a fact
illustrate the advantage—from a literary spirits for their
point of view-of unity of motive.
which indicates the piquancy of the dis-
readers should gain a modicum of practical coveries which the interchange of artistic
The
book at least attacks in a fresh and original wisdom. Others, however, may be troubled; views enables us to make. Both authors of
, by fear that if the of
manner, and with all the impressiveness all things working together for good be so
this book are ästheticians of, we imagine,
of conviction, a real and pressing problem. applied to individuals, it may encourage the
uncommon and even unfortunate sensibility.
When Miss Anstruther-Thomson perceives a
atrophy of moral endeavour.
certain chair she becomes conscious of her
In Cotton Wool. By W. B. Maxwell.
Oxford Mountaineering Essays. Edited
lungs. “The bilateralness of the object seems
With
(Hutchinson & Co. )
to have put both lungs into play.
by Arnold H. M. Lunn. (Edward Arnold. )
HERE is no milk-and-water romance.
The title led us to expect a book upon the perception of the top of the chair comes
a sudden sense of the head being weighed
In a brief Foreword the author plainly Alps, but the essays, which deal principally downwards. " Similarly a particular tri-
indicates his aim—to exhibit the increase with Switzerland, also include a chapter on
of egoism as one of the greatest of modern in the book. The volume is packed with
Roof-Climbing at Oxford --not the best angle causes contraction of her thorax.
Vernon Lee, on the other hand, associates
.
evils ; and he has allowed no consider good things, and our only complaint of
tunes with pictures. As thus, the object
ations of false modesty to interfere with the lively Preface by the editor is that it is Raphael's School of Athens ' :-
of contemplation being the architecture of
the delivery of his message, though the too short. Incidentally, he tells us that Raphael's School of Athens ':-
delicacy of his treatment redeems his Oxford boasts of several Alpine Clubs, and “ The Exules [a phrase in a "Salve Regina' by
work from any suggestion of grossness. says that the minutes of one Club “record Pergolesi) enables me to see the arrangement of
He is not strong in imagination, but his that a member moved to inhibit
the secretary cupolas and arches, to tako in very well the depth
of the
of the Church Union from issuing a printed makes it all joygle. ”
The Ninth Symphony
treatment of the commonplaces of every-
day existence is often whimsical and The motion was lost, it being pointed out
prayer for "faith to remove mountains. '”
The philosophical catchword of the book
never uninteresting.
that there was real value in a publication is “empathy a word coined recently
The characters are allowed gradually which might facilitate the transfer of some
to express
the attribution of our modes
to develope and reveal themselves by superfluous mountains from the Alps to the to a non-ego. ” Though Miss Anstruther-
their own words and actions. Mr. Max- Michael Sadler interests us in his careful
monotonous surroundings of Oxford. Mr. Thomson is an example of the power of art
well brings keen observation and sympa-paper entitled . An Artist of the Mountains ’; | the body, Vernon Lee's
to affect the breathing and the carriage of
personal experi-
thetic insight to bear on his subject, and, in his essay on ‘The Behaviour of a ence confirms the belief in Empathy as a
and we have little fault to find with his Chamois,' Mr. Julian Huxley supplies some purely ‘mental’ phenomenon. It is by
psychology, though we may doubt if thoughtful remarks about the continuous empathy that such an object as a Doric
egoism of so robust a nature as that wastage of the hills. "The chief moral," column awakens warm emotion by its
exhibited by the chief character is bound he writes, " is. . . . that the mountains can erectness : it acquires by empathy the
to bring him to the madhouse. His lack give the climber more than climbing, and human charm of valiancy and steadfastness.
of decision and definite purpose, and a
will do so if he but keep his eyes open.
In Prof. Lipps was the first great exponent of
certain hypochondriacal anxiety about his Young pleases us with much happy comment, independent apprehension of the idea con-
* The Mountains in Greek Poetry Mr. N. E. Einfühlung or empathy, but the merit of an
health, are meant, perhaps, to suggest a but we have room for only one quotation : veyed in these terms would seem to belong
predisposition to insanity.
“To the guide, qua guide, a mountain is not a
to the English collaborators.
For the rest, the book has some tragic form of the Idea of Beauty, but a problem in Unfortunately, their book is very diffuse
and dramatic situations, and shows both indeterminate equation in terms of glacier, rock, in style from its burden of polysyllables,
higher mathematics, each possible route and inadequately illustrated. It suffers
singleness of purpose and simplicity of ice, and snow and the great guide is he who but as an æsthetic document (partly patho-
construction. Though somewhat lugu the daily variations of these and other unknown logical) --- rather than a treatise -- it has
can solve
brious, it is a powerful piece of work.
quantities. "
much interest.
>>
6
:-
an
## p. 361 (#275) ############################################
2
361
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
-' by
E the
ndale
but
6
Peace' you
forts
Snow
w is
ember
com-
nded,
s to
1. '"
as he
sor
p of
tion
his
ther
chly
he
angs
of
Ins
the
Pens
e. )
re
als
Or
30
ct
C
f
NOTES FROM CAMBRIDGE.
fessoriate should still continue to grant the
degrees. They have in the past managed
• PEACE': A PROTEST.
I SCARCELY remember a more uneventful to create an impression that a degree in
torm than that which is just coming to an Divinity is very easy or very hard, according In your article on the 9th inst. entitled
end. But where invention is dull and life as they desire that it should or should not be
write :-
uneventful, it is profitable to turn to the conferred. There is a general feeling that “So long as there is an idle class who have a great
doings of that ingenious body the Council the degree of D. D. , at any rate, should be social and some political power, the risk of their
of the Senate, the members of which have a given on a man's published work rather than ocoupying their abundant leisure
in encouraging the
peculiar power of creating fresh interests for for a thesis written ad hoc.
spirit of suspicion and hostility against the foreigner
will still be great. "
the University. They have actually formu- At Cambridge we are continually enlarging
lated a plan to add to the picturesqueness our vocabulary. Government is encourag- In allowing this to appear in your paper
of Cambridge life. The hardest degree to ing study of solar physics and astro-physics, are you not departing from your professional
obtain, we have been informed, is that of and now an anonymous benefactor is found attitude of non-interference in politics?
Master of Surgery. For some reason, ing a Professorship in Genetics. I am told Could any one but a Socialist have written
hidden from the profane, surgeons, like by one who knows, that this includes such words? Is it right or fair to suggest
barristers, call themselves “Mr. ,” though eugenics, and some of his friends hope that that war is due to the action of the idle
they may possess the degree of Doctor. Dr. Inge may be induced to abandon the rich ? Further on the same article com-
But the Council hope to remedy this. delight of giving shocks to Londoners in ments on the inconsistency between the
If the modesty of the Master of Surgery order to devote himself to his favourite actions of Christians in connexion with war
may shun the title of Doctor, they want branch of natural science. All rumours and the teaching of Christ ; but the early
to make it impossible for him to avoid the that he intends to do this should be con- Christians, by their faithfulness to that
red gown on scarlet days. It is proposed, tradicted at present.
teaching, hastened the destruction of Roman
therefore, to give the scarlet to all Masters The lectures given by the Rev. W. Temple, civilization and paralyzed a large part of
of Surgery, if there are any, which seems Head Master of Repton, on four successive the Empire against the attacks of aggressive
doubtful. Of course, if a Master of Surgery Wednesdays were, I am told, crowded with Islam. "If the attitude of non-resistance
is not in residence, the privilege offered undergraduates. These courses of lectures had been maintained, it is probable that
him by the Council will not be of much use,
have been an unusual success. Indeed, any Christendom would be, to-day, much smaller
unless his wife or daughters insist on dragging scheme of religious instruction which is than it actually is ; but bitter experience
him unwillingly to a fancy ball.
unofficial seems to succeed in Cambridge. forced the Christians to prepare for war,
The Divinity Professors have addressed a Let it, however, once be sanctioned by and to admit that only by war could they
letter to the Vice-Chancellor, proposing that authority, and it is doomed.
preserve their liberty and life. We, with
degrees in their subject should be thrown The enterprise of Jesus College in theology our huge national debt, do not need Mr.
open to all sorts and conditions of men. has recently been recognized by the Norman Angell to prove to us the economic
At the present time, every candidate for a Athenæum. 'It is certainly a good thing that disaster of war, but we have to be prepared
Bachelor's or Doctor's Degree in Divinity the smaller colleges should show in this to defend ourselves against oppression.
has to submit a subject to the Regius Pro practical way that there are some vigorous Can you say that such aggression is impos-
fessor, and, if accepted, to write a thesis schools in them. There seems to be an idea sible ? and, if not, are you right or wise in
(an “ act,” whatever that may be, is possible abroad at present in Cambridge that a college giving greater currency to the too wide-
in the case of the B. D. degree). The thesis to be great must be large. I do not think spread opinion which seems to be shared by
is then read and reported upon by some of
this view has ever prevailed in Oxford, and such a large number of our fellow-country-
the Divinity Professors, and the degree is certainly it was not always the case in men : that the duty of military preparation
conferred, after the postulant has preached Cambridge. I am glad to observe that is one which they may, with a quiet con-
before the University, i. e. , the Vice-Chan. Jesus has further distinguished itself by science, leave to those who like it ?
cellor, the Regius Professor, an esquire electing Mr. Charles Whibley an Honorary
There are several other references in the
bedell, a proctor, and his bulldogs.
A Fellow, a distinction merited not only by
same number which appear to me to
candidate for the B. D. signs the XXXIX. much scholarly work in literature, but also by show the same political taint. In these
Articles, and a commencing D. D, takes an
a strong personal devotion to his old college. times many are glad to read a truly non-
oath to receive as gospel all the Church The completion of the Master's Lodge at political literary paper, and if you intend
believes”: quæ tenet teneo, quæ respuit, Christ's, which since Dr. Shipley's election to depart from the principles which have
respuo,' &c. It is proposed to dispense has been completely renovated, is shortly so far characterized The Athenæum, I think
with all these formalities and confer the expected, and his friends look forward to there will be others who will share the
degree simply on the thesis. Cambridge seeing him installed amid the splendours
has been of late years singularly com-
regret of
which his own taste and, I believe, liberality
AN OLD SUBSCRIBER.
prehensive as regards its theology. Laymen have inaugurated. Many interesting dis.
and Nonconformists have regularly examined coveries were made during the restoration.
We are glad to have our Old Sub-
and enjoyed the privilege of sitting as Every one in Cambridge is pleased at the scriber's views, as they give us an oppor.
members of the Special Board.
There has wise selection of Sir J. J. Thomson for tunity of explaining our position in regard
been
no restriction imposed on either the Order of Merit. There is no one of to such debatable matters as he brings
teachers or examiners, and the election of whom we are more justly proud, and he is forward.
Prof. Burkitt to the Norrisian Chair was certainly regarded as the chief glory of the The Atheneum has been in the past, and
never questioned, though it is extremely University. It was felt that a knighthood will be in the future, open to all sorts of
doubtful whether this position is open to 8
was but å poor recognition of such services opinions. It preserves, as far as possible,
layman. There is sure to be a certain to science as his, and that his acceptance an independent standpoint, but, human
,
amount of opposition, led by so redoubtable of the honour was an additional proof of his nature being what it is, a position which
a champion as Archdeacon Cunningham. modesty.
might be viewed as one of political bias
The Dean of Caius opened the matter by The Marlowe Society gave an admirable from one side or another is inevitable. Those
drawing a most ingenious red herring across performance to somewhat too scanty audi- who are competent to review books con-
the trail. He suggested that divinity does ences in the A. D. C. rooms.
Their play cerning politics, sociology, economics, reli-
not mean criticism and literature, but a A New Way to Pay Old Debts,' and gion, or even history, have, in fact, made
definite subject, namely, that which bears everybody who saw it must have appre- such study of their subject as to reach
on the practical work of a priest in dealing ciated the excellence of the acting. The opinions which they naturally reflect.
with souls. A man may know who wrote orchestra played contemporary music which,
Some bias being then practically inevitable,
the Epistle to the Hebrews, yet not deserve I believe, had been unearthed by Mr. E. J.
a D. D. degree, inasmuch as he cannot Dent. The female parts and that of Sir those writers are usually chosen to review
explain what grace de congruo is, or dis- Giles Overreach were, to my mind at least, books who are likely to understand and be in
“On ne doit jamais
sympathy with them.
tinguish it from gratia de condigno. Accord especially well played.
ingly the Dean proposes to give to all and It appears to me that Cambridge is likely écrire que de ce qu'on aime," wrote Renan,
sundry a Degree in theology--D. T. were the to make a better show at the boat race than and his sentiment, often forgotten nowa-
letters considered most appropriate for
was anticipated. The president, Mr. Arbuth. days, is well worth reviving.
learned Nonconformists and to confine not, handed the crew over to Capt. Gibbon, True, The Athenaeum is primarily a
the B. D. and D. D. degrees to those who who has taken his own line from the first. literary paper ; but as such it is bound to
understand divinity in its true sense.
How He has had poor material, there being hardly take account of the whole of literature and
many of the present D. D. s do this ?
any heavy men, and his work has been most account of that part which is most
Personally, I hope that the proposals of hampered by illness among the crew. But vital, which expresses most strongly and
the Professors may find acceptance, but I he has turned out a creditable boat which spontaneously the actual thought and life
look for opposition on side issues, especially may, at any rate, hunt Oxford home, if it of the time. If we have paid increased
on the question whether the Divinity Pro. 'cannot be expected to win.
J. attention of late to social reform, this
9
was
## p. 362 (#276) ############################################
362
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
1
1
attention is justified by the increase of
Skrine (Francis Henry), Bahaism, the Religion of
LIST OF NEW BOOKS.
Brotherhood, and its Place in the Evolution of
books and interest concerning, its various
(Notice in those columns does not preolude longer
Creeds, 1/8
Longmans
aspects. But it may be noted that, where
review. )
A lucid exposition of the mystical and pro-
the opinions expressed seem to approach
ENGLISH.
gressive religion which, originating in Persia,
special pleading or question. begging, they
Theology.
has swept over the East. The Messiab of this
are usually presented as belonging to the
creed was Baha 'Ullah of Teheran, born in the
Collyer (Robert), Thoughts for Daily Living,
reviewer rather than the paper. An absolute
early years of the nineteenth century, whose
selected and arranged by Imogen Clark, 2/6 net. son, Abdul Baha, is its present exponent.
simply remainsd inside the walls and
and Hawthorne, quite equal his in that, A BOOK on the war in Tripoli by a trust- laughed and chatted whilst the ridiculous
and many even in some particular effects worthy observer is much wanted. The gunners on the destroyers were exploding
surpass them
but because their per accounts published in the newspapers,
their shells in the neighbourhood. They
fection is richer, gathers up
often derived from Italian sources, and
never budged an inch from start to finish. "
content, imports more qualities both of censored by the authorities, have seriously The “horsemen ” of the Matin were
life and letters.
of The Luck of Roaring Camp, for dicted. Mr. Montagu's statements in calmly pursuing their journey!
In the few pages conflicted, and have been flatly contra- apparently Mr. Bennett and his friends
made to live, besides the tale that is told ! have been officially denied, but are con- of the Central News at Rome have already
made to live, besides the tale that is told regard to the brutalities of the soldiery
“Correspondents like the representative
There we find no mere formal or linear firmed in this volume. In these circum- slain every Turkish soldier in Tripolitania
perfection-no masterpiece of the vivid
or the sombre, giving the impression of stances Mr. Bennett's narrative of his several times over. ”
an intense but individual and limited personal experiences in the Turkish camp
A statement largely current in the
experience - but
is of no small importance. He has seen Italian press is that there is a bad feeling
perfection which
a great deal, witnessed engagements, and, between the Arabs and the Turks, and
makes the fabric of imagination out of the in spite of the “ barefaced disregard for that the former
are being compelled
against
statistical
total setting of reality.
accuracy which characterizes their will to fight. Such a belief is wholly
both parties to the campaign, he has at variance with the known solidarity of
Nor is this an isolated case. Almost a managed to collect a great many approxi. Islam, as shown in the instant cessation
score of times could the same power of mate estimates of the forces engaged and of hostilities in the Yemen as soon as the
evocation be verified, with differences, the casualties that resulted. His defect Arabs learnt that Turkey was being
among his familiar masterpieces. Thus is his violent partisanship. He is fanatic- attacked by a Christian Power ; and Mr.
* The Idyl of Red Gulch' has an opening ally pro-Turkish in his sympathies, and Bennett entirely discredits the rumour.
stillness and a saturation with the scene his contempt for the Italians is un- He does not like the Arabs of Tripoli,
worthy of Keats. That immediacy and measured. Until an impartial history and he attributes to them such mutilations
sense of a summer day is maintained to of the war is written by a qualified of the dead as have occurred, though
the end of what, when you close the book, military critic, we must withhold our judg- this barbarous custom is unknown to
you confess to be a perfect idyll, though ment; and, meanwhile, we can only take high-class tribes in Arabia itself ; but
the figures in the foreground are but a
Mr. Bennett's opinions, as distinguished he admires their daring and their endur-
drunken miner, a New England school from his definite observation, cum grano ance, and finds that, so far from requiring
marm," and an illegitimate pupil. -the more, since his many interjected to be urged to fight, they are really having
views on the South African War and the the time of their life," feeding as they
Of course, other qualities than this Sudan campaigns indicate a slight lack of never fed before, enjoying exciting little
(though probably derivative from the balance. He, however, makes it clear that skirmishes and delightful slicing of Giaours,
same source) go to the making of Bret the Italians had accomplished exceedingly and enriching themselves with rifles and
Harte as Man of Letters. We have only little in the three months following cartridges and all sorts of Italian loot,
wished to emphasize the one which seems
to lead readily to a central conception of experiences in Tripoli ended in January. Martinis, and are even learning some
their hasty, ultimatum; for his own They are well armed with Mausers and
the man. To the general and uncritical Bevond holding a few towns, the invaders degree of fire-control. They are said to
public he is commended by the obviously had been unable to effect any permanent be coming in crowds to the front, with
sentimental aspect in his stories of women occupation of the interior. Their cruisers the full approval of the powerful Sanusi
and children introduced among a crowd and gunboats sprinkled shells along the organization, and they form the best of
of rough workers, who have little time or coast, often without doing any
more reliefs, for they go back to their villages
chance for romance, and idolize the rare damage than Messrs. Brock's pyrotechnical and look after their flocks and families
exponents of it within their reach. The displays at the Crystal Palace.
and renew their strength, whilst other
Mark Twain in The Innocents at Home ! “At Zouara and elsewhere the Italian contingents take their place in the fighting
and to-day makes the fortune of the warships have again and again shamefully line. As to their power of endurance,
violated the rule that forbids the bombard. our author says :-
cinematograph show, which in its very ment of unfortified towns. . . . It was difficult
crudity of narrative is a good guide to to discover what loss (of life), if any, had
“One Arab walked 28 miles to Azizieh from
what the public wants.
been occasioned by the shell-fire. . . . None the firing line with seven bullets in him. . . .
For the rest, apart from its debilitating slightest degree by the daily alarms. . .
of the Turks seemed to be disturbed in the and after treatment insisted on returning to
the front. "
lack of such a conception, Mr. Merwin's Everybody seemed to have an absolute
. . .
Mr. Bennett only follows general opinion
intelligence (not always equally in force, Bou-Kamesch the coast is littered with in speaking in the highest terms of the
perhaps) and an intimate knowledge of shell splinters and shrapnelbulletsonce him under his improved conditions, the
The more he sees of
the Works and the world to which they about these orieiculous bombardments, which better he realizes that he has “ few equals. "
refer. Nowhere else will the English rarely hit anything in particular and never " Never in all my campaigning experience
reader get, within reasonable limits, such hurt anybody. ”
a full and helpful account of Pioneer
have I met anything like this magnificent
days and ways. The one fault of the
The door of the room would open, and moral on the side of the little battalions. ”
Mohammed would announce Le bateau That man for man they are
“ in every
method of presentation is that it excludes
any clear view of the historic process est arrivé,” as though he were a waiter way superior” to the Italians, is a view
that was
going on through all this announcing “Monsieur est servi. ” Valu- which few, we think, will gainsay.
confusion : does not bring home to the ables would at once be carried for safety writes still more enthusiastically of the
reader the fact that extreme disorder was
into the mosque, and the troops would Turkish officers who have gone through
a phase which and passed, calmly march to the dunes and get into the Harbia College and seen service in
stayed nowhere very long, and was never
shelter-pits. At the second bombard- Thessaly, Crete, and the Yemen—"effi-
a general condition at any time.
ment of Bou-Kamesch, sixty-three shots cient soldiers, keen about their profession,
were fired without knocking an inch of and thoroughly in sympathy with their
Of the pictures in the book, some are mortar off the fort. This was reported men. . . . Kind, courteous, and consider-
interesting and relevant, while others in the Matin
of January 4th as resulting ate. " Most of them spoke French—it
appear to have wandered in for no par. in “ the flight of numbers of men, includ- was only to his dog that one officer
ticular reason.
ing some horsemen. ” There were really “talked Slav. "
He
came
## p. 359 (#273) ############################################
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
359
seems
One of the most striking impressions
he displays much unjust prejudice against
derived from Mr. Bennett's book is the
BOOKS ON CHINA.
the British-Indian troops who took part
extremely prosperous condition of the
in the relief of the Legations in 1900.
Turkish defenders. It is true they were
It is related that a Chinese statesman, in They were at least as well-conducted as
obliged, by the continual bombardments, reply to a British diplomatist, who was
any of the foreign soldiers who shared in
to retire further from the coast, and they urging upon him the necessity of moving that expedition. These are, however,
could not drag their field-guns with them with the times and introducing into slight blemishes in what is the best ac-
(for which, indeed, they had little ammu-
China railways, telegraphs, and other count of modern Peking that has come to
nition); but they are now
instruments of progress, said that China
our notice. It may be added that the
preferred her own traditional civilization, illustrations reproduced from photographs
' beyond the effective range of the naval but, if once she began to innovate, her
guns, and the successful onslaught near
are numerous, and excellent of their kind.
advance would be so rapid as to astonish
Fonduk Bengashir proves how ready they
are to meet any forces the Italian General the world. For forty years, perhaps, Mr. Colquhoun's book is a useful,
can send against them. ”
this had been regarded as a piece of though somewhat dull compilation, bring-
Chinese brag, but the recent inauguration ing the history of recent political changes
The troops are well fed—better, according of the Republic
at Jast to in China down to the latest date practic-
to one who had served in both armies, have justified the prophecy. Political able. It is a reissue, revised and enlarged,
than in the French service and well events' have, indeed, succeeded each of a work first published in 1898. Perhaps
cared for. So far from the war impoverish other with headlong velocity. Mynheer the opinions of the writer on such subjects
ing the land, Mr. Bennett, going inland Borel evidently had not realized the as the missionary question and the diplo-
to Gharian, was astonished to find busy changes since 1900, due to the complete macy of the Western Powers, especially
markets and“ jubilant vendors. ” Trade collapse of the imperial authority, to the of his own country, are less valuable than
was“ booming,” and “ the war is enriching military successes of the Japanese, and the appendixes giving the mileage of
the great mass of the Tripolitans. . . . the enormous development of a free press. railways built and under construction,
whilst inflicting a crushing, expenditure He had dreamt of the Peking of fifty the budget for 1911, and the amount
on the taxpayers of Italy”; and it is years back, and was disconcerted when he of foreign indebtedness. Owing to
costing Turkey next to nothing. If it found himself in a modern hotel crowded what looks like hasty writing and want
goes on, as it may, for years, Mr. Bennett with concession - hunters and
concession - hunters and “ globe- of care in consulting original authori-
thinks it “ will wear Italy out sooner than trotters” of all nations. Macadamized ties, he has fallen into some curious
the Turks and Arabs. ” Moreover, if roads, telephone wires, and the electric errors, such as that which gives the value
Mr. Bennett's account is sober history light, the new buildings of the foreign of the Haikwan tael at 28. 8d. (p. 84), and
for example, the description of the legations, the fortified walls which sur- later on puts it at 38. 4d. The identifica-
affair at Sansur, where he was present, round them, the glass broughams filled tion of Taoism with Japanese Shinto
and where nineteen Turkish regulars put with the families of Chinese officials, (p. 39) is indeed wide of the mark; and
to flight a reconnaissance consisting of Manchu ladies taking afternoon tea in the the account (p. 43) of the clause inter-
“the 50th Infantry Regiment and part hall of the hotel, shocked his finer sensi-polated in the Chinese version of the
of the 73rd, with four squadrons of bilities. When he escaped from these French Convention of 1860 is incorrect.
cavalry and a battery of mule guns
surroundings, and wandered through the Equally inexact is the statement in a
the Italians must have little stomach for streets, he found, nevertheless, much to foot-note as to the Toleration Clause in
the war. Even their aviation, though the satisfy his artistic longings. The pink the German Treaty of 1861, which is
aeroplanes did some service in scouting, walls of the Forbidden City; the yellow, copied from the similar article in the
appears not to have disconcerted the turquoise, and sapphire tiles of the Palace treaties of 1858. It is surprising to find
Arabs, who, throughout, have shown a buildings; the p'ai-lou, or memorial arches, the author representing (p. 148) that the
marvellous fearlessness.
which bestride the main thoroughfares, French envoy Lagrené, in 1844, proceeded
This picture of the conditions of the were an unending delight. So also was the to Peking and signed a treaty between
Tripolitan war up to January last is prospect of the city from the great drum- France and China, the facts being that it
not only extremely vivid, but also tower, looking like a park full of trees, was negotiated and signed at Whampoa,
subversive of the accounts which have amongst which the house are lost and near Canton, and that no foreign envoy
hitherto received some degree of qualified (invisible.
of that period was seen at the capital
credence.
Mynheer Borel has lived many years in before the visit of Mr. Ward, the American
We shall not draw attention to various Southern China, speaks the Fuhkien minister, in 1859. On p. 168 the marble
slips in Arabic names, because the dialect fluently, and has made a profound monument
in the form of a triple
author states that he had no opportunity study of Confucian ethics. He is some- archway, erected to the memory of
to correct his proof-sheets, but we must what of a mystic, a poet, and an artist the German minister murdered in 1900,
enter a caveat against some of his state- endowed with the ear of a musician. is described as a statue. Such mis-
ments about Islam. That Mohammed Not being a concession-hunter, a financier, statements as these ought not to appear
did not exalt the Teacher of Nazareth scope to his sympathies for an interesting revision.
reverenced Christ is true, but he certainly or a diplomatist, he is able to give full in a work that professes to have undergone
far above himself, because He was born and little-understood people. His descrip-
of the Spirit of God. ' Nor, as a matter tion of an afternoon service at the great
of grammar, is “ Christ actually known Lama temple is an admirable piece of
NEW NOVELS.
among Moslems as “Ruach -el - Allah’ | picturesque writing, while his accounts of
(Breath of Allah). ” It should be “Ruh- visits to other temples and to the Summer The Ministry of Poll Poorman. By Lieut. -
Allah"; but the usual name -Mesîh, Palace are delightful reading. The ordi-
“the Messiah. ” It is, however, refreshing nary sinologue excites his contempt, yet This book is fiction with a purpose, which,
to find a war correspondent, whilst writing his proposal for the reform of what he though the literary craftsmanship is hardly
these chapters amidst the grunting of regards as the very inadequate and badly of the first class, has force, vitality,
camels, remembering his Greek, as becomes informed diplomacy of the Western and humour sufficient to differentiate
a Fellow of Hertford :-
Powers is that each should organize a clearly from the genus tract.
" Poll
“For two hours we rode over vast plains service of sinologues to represent it at Poorman” is the Rev. Apollos Burnett,
covered with the graceful asphodel, amid Peking. Towards the end of his book
a manly, straightforward person of gentle
which the angry shade of Achilles stalked
—
Maxpày Bibaca kar á pódedov tepwa ;— The New China; a Traveller's Impressions. holy orders more through the pressure of
and to accentuate the old-time atmosphere, Henri . Translated
clumps of the arum which the Greeks cali (Fisher Unwin. )
circumstances than by reason of strict
Amaryllis formed patches of vivid green China in Transformation. By Archibald R. vocation, yet determines to live as a
against the browns and yellows of the soil. ” Colquhoun. (Harper & Brothers. ) parson uncompromisingly in accordance
## p. 360 (#274) ############################################
360
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
>
with the principles of the Gospel. Like
• The Mountaineer and the Pilgrim,' by
THIS WEEK'S BOOKS.
so many other heroes in books, he is
Mr. H. E. G. Tyndale, contains some of the
delivered at the outset from all complica- We cannot say that Mr. A. C. Benson has best writing in the volume. Mr. Tyndale
tions of kith and kin. On receiving the realized our expectations in the fantasy of does not sigh for the good old days, but
small and poor living of Dabford, he life beyond the veil which
he has entitled says that,
The Child of the Dawn (Smith & Elder).
identifies himself, not with the county Starting with the axiomatic formula of the
in spite of railways and huts, discomforts
abound. . . . and the labour of wading in soft snow
society" about him, but with the poor ; | indestructibility of earthly matter, he does not decrease with the ages. . . . Straw is
wears fustian and digs in his garden when extends it to cover the indestructibility
the order in most club huts, and the climber
off duty, and presently marries a field-girl. of spiritual matter, if we may adopt for the
must prepare his own food. So long as discom-
forts exist the pilgrim's endurance is demanded,
The surprise and hostility which he sake of brevity what many may consider
and there still remain plenty of annoyances to
encounters, both in his general plan of
a contradiction in terms. He makes, how. make the traveller nasty, brutish, and short. '”
life and in his marriage, make up the web ever, if we understand him aright, one
of the story. The writer has, we think, great distinction between earth and spirit Again, of the mountaineer he writes :-
matter. If the proposition as to earthly “ He chooses his route with as much care as he
succeeded but indifferently with the matter be granted, it is clear that considera- chooses a companion. He will sit for hours or
divers villains of the piece: they are tions as to the progress or retrogression of even days of his spare time before a heap of
somewhat wooden and unconvincing. On mankind are of primary importance.
As maps and guide-books ; for every expedition
chosen he have
the other hand, Poll himself and Sarah, a utilitarian would probably put it-Does imaginary tour by a process of elimination rather
the girl he marries, are delightful-strong, humanity or not ? In the spirit world Mr. familiar with every corner of a districted online
the balance of change tend to the benefit of than of selection. Only when he is thoroughly
dignified, and broadly human. Sarah
Benson seeks to relieve the individual and consent his . Three things
seems to have been studied under the society of any such responsibility by assuming variety in the ascent, a fine view. . . . and an easy
are necessary for the ideal expedition : a grcat
influence of Mr. Hardy; and we think that at each reincarnation the soul must
descent, preferably over snow. '
that the author, in his impassioned have progressed by the fact of its greater
prophecy of misery to them both-owing maturity. In taking this view Mr.
Benson, in The editor modestly puts at the end of
to the activity of the devil in English | the opinion of the present reviewer, has, to the book his own essay, on The Mountains
society. ”—has greatly underrated his adopt the homely phraseology of the book, of Youth, which every one who loves the
Alps will read with enjoyment.
own achievement in endowing her with knocked the spice out of the higher life.
Having said this, we are glad to assure
womanly charm and spirit.
our readers that they will not fail to find,
Beauty and Ugliness. and Other Studies
Yet so far as the main theme of the as they will expect, many beautiful thoughts, in Psychological Æsthetics. By Vernon Lee
book goes, the true position of a parson somewhat vulgarized here and there by a
and C. Anstruther-Thomson. (John Lane. )
in regard to his flock, the love-story, tendency to attribute to celestial bodies
- The cause and manner of æsthetic pleasure
mannerisms such as
attractive as it is, proves a weakness, that can only be accounted for by supposing provide a field of endless and interesting
giggling-attributes
and displeasure in different individuals
coming in as a secondary theme which that the author had a certain public in his
somewhat confuses the first. A compari- mind when writing, and unintentionally anecdotal interest will absorb one spectator
inquiry. That
a picture of which the
son between this and stories of the life wrote down to them. From the portrayal of should be equally pleasing to another who
of a village priest in French fiction may the different spheres of activity assigned to
views it merely as
ultimate welfare some
a pattern is a fact
illustrate the advantage—from a literary spirits for their
point of view-of unity of motive.
which indicates the piquancy of the dis-
readers should gain a modicum of practical coveries which the interchange of artistic
The
book at least attacks in a fresh and original wisdom. Others, however, may be troubled; views enables us to make. Both authors of
, by fear that if the of
manner, and with all the impressiveness all things working together for good be so
this book are ästheticians of, we imagine,
of conviction, a real and pressing problem. applied to individuals, it may encourage the
uncommon and even unfortunate sensibility.
When Miss Anstruther-Thomson perceives a
atrophy of moral endeavour.
certain chair she becomes conscious of her
In Cotton Wool. By W. B. Maxwell.
Oxford Mountaineering Essays. Edited
lungs. “The bilateralness of the object seems
With
(Hutchinson & Co. )
to have put both lungs into play.
by Arnold H. M. Lunn. (Edward Arnold. )
HERE is no milk-and-water romance.
The title led us to expect a book upon the perception of the top of the chair comes
a sudden sense of the head being weighed
In a brief Foreword the author plainly Alps, but the essays, which deal principally downwards. " Similarly a particular tri-
indicates his aim—to exhibit the increase with Switzerland, also include a chapter on
of egoism as one of the greatest of modern in the book. The volume is packed with
Roof-Climbing at Oxford --not the best angle causes contraction of her thorax.
Vernon Lee, on the other hand, associates
.
evils ; and he has allowed no consider good things, and our only complaint of
tunes with pictures. As thus, the object
ations of false modesty to interfere with the lively Preface by the editor is that it is Raphael's School of Athens ' :-
of contemplation being the architecture of
the delivery of his message, though the too short. Incidentally, he tells us that Raphael's School of Athens ':-
delicacy of his treatment redeems his Oxford boasts of several Alpine Clubs, and “ The Exules [a phrase in a "Salve Regina' by
work from any suggestion of grossness. says that the minutes of one Club “record Pergolesi) enables me to see the arrangement of
He is not strong in imagination, but his that a member moved to inhibit
the secretary cupolas and arches, to tako in very well the depth
of the
of the Church Union from issuing a printed makes it all joygle. ”
The Ninth Symphony
treatment of the commonplaces of every-
day existence is often whimsical and The motion was lost, it being pointed out
prayer for "faith to remove mountains. '”
The philosophical catchword of the book
never uninteresting.
that there was real value in a publication is “empathy a word coined recently
The characters are allowed gradually which might facilitate the transfer of some
to express
the attribution of our modes
to develope and reveal themselves by superfluous mountains from the Alps to the to a non-ego. ” Though Miss Anstruther-
their own words and actions. Mr. Max- Michael Sadler interests us in his careful
monotonous surroundings of Oxford. Mr. Thomson is an example of the power of art
well brings keen observation and sympa-paper entitled . An Artist of the Mountains ’; | the body, Vernon Lee's
to affect the breathing and the carriage of
personal experi-
thetic insight to bear on his subject, and, in his essay on ‘The Behaviour of a ence confirms the belief in Empathy as a
and we have little fault to find with his Chamois,' Mr. Julian Huxley supplies some purely ‘mental’ phenomenon. It is by
psychology, though we may doubt if thoughtful remarks about the continuous empathy that such an object as a Doric
egoism of so robust a nature as that wastage of the hills. "The chief moral," column awakens warm emotion by its
exhibited by the chief character is bound he writes, " is. . . . that the mountains can erectness : it acquires by empathy the
to bring him to the madhouse. His lack give the climber more than climbing, and human charm of valiancy and steadfastness.
of decision and definite purpose, and a
will do so if he but keep his eyes open.
In Prof. Lipps was the first great exponent of
certain hypochondriacal anxiety about his Young pleases us with much happy comment, independent apprehension of the idea con-
* The Mountains in Greek Poetry Mr. N. E. Einfühlung or empathy, but the merit of an
health, are meant, perhaps, to suggest a but we have room for only one quotation : veyed in these terms would seem to belong
predisposition to insanity.
“To the guide, qua guide, a mountain is not a
to the English collaborators.
For the rest, the book has some tragic form of the Idea of Beauty, but a problem in Unfortunately, their book is very diffuse
and dramatic situations, and shows both indeterminate equation in terms of glacier, rock, in style from its burden of polysyllables,
higher mathematics, each possible route and inadequately illustrated. It suffers
singleness of purpose and simplicity of ice, and snow and the great guide is he who but as an æsthetic document (partly patho-
construction. Though somewhat lugu the daily variations of these and other unknown logical) --- rather than a treatise -- it has
can solve
brious, it is a powerful piece of work.
quantities. "
much interest.
>>
6
:-
an
## p. 361 (#275) ############################################
2
361
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
-' by
E the
ndale
but
6
Peace' you
forts
Snow
w is
ember
com-
nded,
s to
1. '"
as he
sor
p of
tion
his
ther
chly
he
angs
of
Ins
the
Pens
e. )
re
als
Or
30
ct
C
f
NOTES FROM CAMBRIDGE.
fessoriate should still continue to grant the
degrees. They have in the past managed
• PEACE': A PROTEST.
I SCARCELY remember a more uneventful to create an impression that a degree in
torm than that which is just coming to an Divinity is very easy or very hard, according In your article on the 9th inst. entitled
end. But where invention is dull and life as they desire that it should or should not be
write :-
uneventful, it is profitable to turn to the conferred. There is a general feeling that “So long as there is an idle class who have a great
doings of that ingenious body the Council the degree of D. D. , at any rate, should be social and some political power, the risk of their
of the Senate, the members of which have a given on a man's published work rather than ocoupying their abundant leisure
in encouraging the
peculiar power of creating fresh interests for for a thesis written ad hoc.
spirit of suspicion and hostility against the foreigner
will still be great. "
the University. They have actually formu- At Cambridge we are continually enlarging
lated a plan to add to the picturesqueness our vocabulary. Government is encourag- In allowing this to appear in your paper
of Cambridge life. The hardest degree to ing study of solar physics and astro-physics, are you not departing from your professional
obtain, we have been informed, is that of and now an anonymous benefactor is found attitude of non-interference in politics?
Master of Surgery. For some reason, ing a Professorship in Genetics. I am told Could any one but a Socialist have written
hidden from the profane, surgeons, like by one who knows, that this includes such words? Is it right or fair to suggest
barristers, call themselves “Mr. ,” though eugenics, and some of his friends hope that that war is due to the action of the idle
they may possess the degree of Doctor. Dr. Inge may be induced to abandon the rich ? Further on the same article com-
But the Council hope to remedy this. delight of giving shocks to Londoners in ments on the inconsistency between the
If the modesty of the Master of Surgery order to devote himself to his favourite actions of Christians in connexion with war
may shun the title of Doctor, they want branch of natural science. All rumours and the teaching of Christ ; but the early
to make it impossible for him to avoid the that he intends to do this should be con- Christians, by their faithfulness to that
red gown on scarlet days. It is proposed, tradicted at present.
teaching, hastened the destruction of Roman
therefore, to give the scarlet to all Masters The lectures given by the Rev. W. Temple, civilization and paralyzed a large part of
of Surgery, if there are any, which seems Head Master of Repton, on four successive the Empire against the attacks of aggressive
doubtful. Of course, if a Master of Surgery Wednesdays were, I am told, crowded with Islam. "If the attitude of non-resistance
is not in residence, the privilege offered undergraduates. These courses of lectures had been maintained, it is probable that
him by the Council will not be of much use,
have been an unusual success. Indeed, any Christendom would be, to-day, much smaller
unless his wife or daughters insist on dragging scheme of religious instruction which is than it actually is ; but bitter experience
him unwillingly to a fancy ball.
unofficial seems to succeed in Cambridge. forced the Christians to prepare for war,
The Divinity Professors have addressed a Let it, however, once be sanctioned by and to admit that only by war could they
letter to the Vice-Chancellor, proposing that authority, and it is doomed.
preserve their liberty and life. We, with
degrees in their subject should be thrown The enterprise of Jesus College in theology our huge national debt, do not need Mr.
open to all sorts and conditions of men. has recently been recognized by the Norman Angell to prove to us the economic
At the present time, every candidate for a Athenæum. 'It is certainly a good thing that disaster of war, but we have to be prepared
Bachelor's or Doctor's Degree in Divinity the smaller colleges should show in this to defend ourselves against oppression.
has to submit a subject to the Regius Pro practical way that there are some vigorous Can you say that such aggression is impos-
fessor, and, if accepted, to write a thesis schools in them. There seems to be an idea sible ? and, if not, are you right or wise in
(an “ act,” whatever that may be, is possible abroad at present in Cambridge that a college giving greater currency to the too wide-
in the case of the B. D. degree). The thesis to be great must be large. I do not think spread opinion which seems to be shared by
is then read and reported upon by some of
this view has ever prevailed in Oxford, and such a large number of our fellow-country-
the Divinity Professors, and the degree is certainly it was not always the case in men : that the duty of military preparation
conferred, after the postulant has preached Cambridge. I am glad to observe that is one which they may, with a quiet con-
before the University, i. e. , the Vice-Chan. Jesus has further distinguished itself by science, leave to those who like it ?
cellor, the Regius Professor, an esquire electing Mr. Charles Whibley an Honorary
There are several other references in the
bedell, a proctor, and his bulldogs.
A Fellow, a distinction merited not only by
same number which appear to me to
candidate for the B. D. signs the XXXIX. much scholarly work in literature, but also by show the same political taint. In these
Articles, and a commencing D. D, takes an
a strong personal devotion to his old college. times many are glad to read a truly non-
oath to receive as gospel all the Church The completion of the Master's Lodge at political literary paper, and if you intend
believes”: quæ tenet teneo, quæ respuit, Christ's, which since Dr. Shipley's election to depart from the principles which have
respuo,' &c. It is proposed to dispense has been completely renovated, is shortly so far characterized The Athenæum, I think
with all these formalities and confer the expected, and his friends look forward to there will be others who will share the
degree simply on the thesis. Cambridge seeing him installed amid the splendours
has been of late years singularly com-
regret of
which his own taste and, I believe, liberality
AN OLD SUBSCRIBER.
prehensive as regards its theology. Laymen have inaugurated. Many interesting dis.
and Nonconformists have regularly examined coveries were made during the restoration.
We are glad to have our Old Sub-
and enjoyed the privilege of sitting as Every one in Cambridge is pleased at the scriber's views, as they give us an oppor.
members of the Special Board.
There has wise selection of Sir J. J. Thomson for tunity of explaining our position in regard
been
no restriction imposed on either the Order of Merit. There is no one of to such debatable matters as he brings
teachers or examiners, and the election of whom we are more justly proud, and he is forward.
Prof. Burkitt to the Norrisian Chair was certainly regarded as the chief glory of the The Atheneum has been in the past, and
never questioned, though it is extremely University. It was felt that a knighthood will be in the future, open to all sorts of
doubtful whether this position is open to 8
was but å poor recognition of such services opinions. It preserves, as far as possible,
layman. There is sure to be a certain to science as his, and that his acceptance an independent standpoint, but, human
,
amount of opposition, led by so redoubtable of the honour was an additional proof of his nature being what it is, a position which
a champion as Archdeacon Cunningham. modesty.
might be viewed as one of political bias
The Dean of Caius opened the matter by The Marlowe Society gave an admirable from one side or another is inevitable. Those
drawing a most ingenious red herring across performance to somewhat too scanty audi- who are competent to review books con-
the trail. He suggested that divinity does ences in the A. D. C. rooms.
Their play cerning politics, sociology, economics, reli-
not mean criticism and literature, but a A New Way to Pay Old Debts,' and gion, or even history, have, in fact, made
definite subject, namely, that which bears everybody who saw it must have appre- such study of their subject as to reach
on the practical work of a priest in dealing ciated the excellence of the acting. The opinions which they naturally reflect.
with souls. A man may know who wrote orchestra played contemporary music which,
Some bias being then practically inevitable,
the Epistle to the Hebrews, yet not deserve I believe, had been unearthed by Mr. E. J.
a D. D. degree, inasmuch as he cannot Dent. The female parts and that of Sir those writers are usually chosen to review
explain what grace de congruo is, or dis- Giles Overreach were, to my mind at least, books who are likely to understand and be in
“On ne doit jamais
sympathy with them.
tinguish it from gratia de condigno. Accord especially well played.
ingly the Dean proposes to give to all and It appears to me that Cambridge is likely écrire que de ce qu'on aime," wrote Renan,
sundry a Degree in theology--D. T. were the to make a better show at the boat race than and his sentiment, often forgotten nowa-
letters considered most appropriate for
was anticipated. The president, Mr. Arbuth. days, is well worth reviving.
learned Nonconformists and to confine not, handed the crew over to Capt. Gibbon, True, The Athenaeum is primarily a
the B. D. and D. D. degrees to those who who has taken his own line from the first. literary paper ; but as such it is bound to
understand divinity in its true sense.
How He has had poor material, there being hardly take account of the whole of literature and
many of the present D. D. s do this ?
any heavy men, and his work has been most account of that part which is most
Personally, I hope that the proposals of hampered by illness among the crew. But vital, which expresses most strongly and
the Professors may find acceptance, but I he has turned out a creditable boat which spontaneously the actual thought and life
look for opposition on side issues, especially may, at any rate, hunt Oxford home, if it of the time. If we have paid increased
on the question whether the Divinity Pro. 'cannot be expected to win.
J. attention of late to social reform, this
9
was
## p. 362 (#276) ############################################
362
No. 4405, MARCH 30, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
1
1
attention is justified by the increase of
Skrine (Francis Henry), Bahaism, the Religion of
LIST OF NEW BOOKS.
Brotherhood, and its Place in the Evolution of
books and interest concerning, its various
(Notice in those columns does not preolude longer
Creeds, 1/8
Longmans
aspects. But it may be noted that, where
review. )
A lucid exposition of the mystical and pro-
the opinions expressed seem to approach
ENGLISH.
gressive religion which, originating in Persia,
special pleading or question. begging, they
Theology.
has swept over the East. The Messiab of this
are usually presented as belonging to the
creed was Baha 'Ullah of Teheran, born in the
Collyer (Robert), Thoughts for Daily Living,
reviewer rather than the paper. An absolute
early years of the nineteenth century, whose
selected and arranged by Imogen Clark, 2/6 net. son, Abdul Baha, is its present exponent.
