matic pain occasioned in the bones by the contact of the iron rings during the hard Siberian frosts. This pain, I am told and readily believe it, soon becomes a real torture. I hardly need add that, contrary to the statements of a recent English traveller through Siberia, the political convicts perform the journey to Kara, or to the places where they are to be settled as poselentsy, under the same conditions as, and together with, the common-law convicts. The very fact of Izbitskiy and DebagorioMokrievitch having exchanged names with two common-law convicts, and having thus escaped from hard labor, proves that the English traveller's information was false. Nicholas Lopatin, whom I have already mentioned, and who has been condemned to settlement in Siberia, performed the journey on foot, in company with a dozen, or so, of comrades. It is true that a great number of Polish exiles of 1864, and notably all noblemen and chief convicts, were transported in carriages, on posting horses. The numer ous political exiles, transported to Siberia by order of the administrative, also perform the journey in the same way - where there are posting horses. But, since 1866, the political convicts (condemned by courts to hard labor or exile) have mostly made the journey on foot, together with common-law convicts. An exception was .made in 1877-1879 for the few who were transported to eastern Siberia during those three years. They were transported in cars, but following the line of the étapes. Since 1879, however, all political convicts -men and women alike, and many exiled by order of the administrative - have made the journey precisely in the way 1 have described, very many of them chained, contrary to the law of 1827. When writing his book on "Hard Labor and Exile," M. Maximoff concluded it with the wish that the horrors of the foot journey he had described might be come as soon as possible matter of history. The transport of convicts on barges was then just inaugurated, and this measure had saved the State, during the first year, a sum of 40,000l. The ministry of justice was earnestly pressing at that time all honest men to tell what they knew about the exiles, and announced its read iness to undertake a complete reform of the whole system. There was no lack of men ready to devote their lives to ameliorating the sad fate of the exiles and to erasing forever from our life the black reminiscence of exile in Siberia. But M. Maximoff's wish has not been realized. The Liberal movement of 1861 was crushed down by the government; the attempts at reform were considered as "dangerous tendencies," and the transport of exiles to Siberia has remained what it was twenty years ago - a source of unutterable sufferings for nearly twenty thousand of people. The shameful system, branded at that time by all those who had studied it, has maintained itself in full; and, whilst the rotten buildings on the highway are falling to pieces, and the whole system disintegrates more and more, new thousands of men and women, transported for such crimes as those "the very existence of which" was doubted twenty years ago, are added annually to the thousands already transported to Siberia, and their number is increasing every year in an awful proportion. P. KRAPOTKINE. From Forestry. THE OAKS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. HAVING wandered for about three miles along a highway overhung with the fragrant lime and the deepening foliage of the elm, the first object of interest is to be seen close beside the road; and this old memorial of the dead past is often unnoticed by the visitor as he saunters leisurely along. It is the skeleton, so to speak, of an oak-tree that at one time must have been of huge dimensions, and capable of giving shade to hundreds of men. It is generally known by the name of the "Parliament Oak," tradition asserting that King John, of Magna Charta fame, who was an ardent devotee of sport, and occupied during certain seasons of the year a palace in the woods at Clipstone, for the purpose of facilitating his deer-hunting proclivities, once had occasion to call his Parliament together, and the senators of his court assembled under the gigantic oak which now stands near the highway. Whether such traditional information is correct cannot well be ascertained; but great care is taken of the "relic,” and it is chained together, so that a dissolution of the trunk cannot easily take place. For six hundred years it is supposed to have withstood the blasts of winter, and many years will yet elapse before it ceases to give that cooling, leafy shade which the pedestrian is so grateful for in the hot days of summer. Turning Oak," the photographic picture of which he will be able to purchase from the old man of the woods who constantly inhab its its vicinity. He will be lucky indeed if he can sit down on the immense roots without being interrupted in his cogitations by the presence of a party bent on enjoyment. This is the "happy huntingground" of the Nottingham lacemaker and the Sheffield grinder, and no better locale could be imagined. The venerable oak stands in the centre of an acre of beautiful turf, and can be viewed in all the glory of its proud position. The size of its trunk can be imagined from the fact that seven full-grown persons can only clasp hands around it, while its hollow interior has been known to accommodate a dozen persons. The spectator is astounded with its size, and not only is it the monarch of the forest, but its branches spread out to form a picture of grace and surpassing beauty. These are no lightning-shivered branches or ungainly growth: all the pose of the tree is exceptionally majestic, and such as many an artist has loved to delineate. Here he may rest and gaze upon the aspect of loveliness which surrounds him, and when he has sufficiently admired the thousands of birches with their shimmering leaves to the right, a very remarkable sight is reached. This is the "Shambles Oak," the remnant of an immense tree, with a trunk half hollow, and half destroyed by fire by some forest Vandal. It is stated that here Robin Hood used to conceal the venison he had procured in the chase, and from the size of the interior, it may easily be conjectured what amount of booty might be concealed. Like the first-named "relic," this ci-devant monarch of the forest is carefully chained, and sustained, like a paralytic, with crutches and sup. ports, so that the traditional monument shall be allowed to escape the fate of Lu cifer, "to fall and never to rise again." Travelling on, the division line between the estates of the Duke of Portland and the Earl of Manvers is reached; and it will be seen that the fenced line of one mile consists entirely of holly-trees of singular height and size. Between the two estates a splendid glade runs down to the confines, and a fine old oak occupies the sole position in the open space of green. Everything in this part of Sherwood is tropical in its profusion and wildness, and the silvery birch nestles under the giant oak, while the elm bends over the turfy footpath, and shelters the traveller from scorching heat. A long line of turf alone shows where the pedes- the chestnuts with their wealth of folitrian may proceed; but if he is wise, he age-the golden-crested gorse, and the will turn to the right and proceed along undulations of woodland scenery, unthe carriage-way, which is as full of peb-matched in its beauty, he will be content bles as the seashore. Bracken and gorse to seek the quietude of the village inn, almost envelope him, while millions of and ruminate on his wanderings through flies come from all parts of the forest to one of the most picturesque forests in the pay him homage. Half a mile further on kingdom. Further on he would encounhe may sit down and rest on the roots of ter an army of great oaks, and the mag. a forest king, the "Simon Forester," as it nificent mansion of Thoresby, standing in has been designated by the dwellers in a park of three thousand acres, with pretty the vicinity, and admire the immensity of Pearlthorpe Church, and historic Clumber the trunk, and the extent of the shade it affords. Such a monster is rare in the forest, or indeed in England, and it is to be hoped that no forester, whether the famed "Simon" or his descendants, will ever be allowed to lay the axe to its roots. During the interval the "sublime weed" will help to dispel the flying pests which are so demonstrative in their affection, and he will be able to proceed along the pebbled way refreshed, cooled, and invig. orated. Three furlongs further on, through a wilderness of tangled forest, presenting every variety of foliage and tint, the crowning triumph of his labor is reached, and he again sits down under the shade of one of the mightiest oaks that exist in England. This is the famous "Major the heritage of the young Duke of Newcastle-in the far distance. But premising he is content with his walk through one section of the forest, he had better strike a "bee-line" from his rest. ing-place, and in a few minutes he will be approaching the village of Edwinstowe, with its quaintly constructed church, where Maid Marian is said to have been united in the bonds of matrimony to her forest lover Robin Hood. In this oldworld village he will be able to find the needful rest and accommodation, and will not be ungrateful for the simple fare set before him, nor unthankful that he has been able to enjoy a sight of nature's beauties in their lavish loveliness. For EIGHT DOLLARS, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually forwarded for a year, free of postage. Remittances should be made by bank draft or check, or by post-office money-order, if possible. If neither of these can be procured, the money should be sent in a registered letter. All postmasters are obliged to register letters when requested to do so. Drafts, checks and money-orders should be made payable to the order of LITTELL & Co. Single Numbers of THE LIVING AGE, 18 cents. PROGRESS, OR RETROGRESSION? WHAT progress in the sum of human years? I asked of Truth, whose wan and weary eyes, Fixed on the strife of hosts contending, The strife of good and evil never-ending, Were clouded oft with tears. Sad as the strain of saddest symphonies, The sorrow of her answer filled my ears :"Daily men know me more, and love me less. Time was, I flashed upon the young world's sight, And drew all hearts with wonder and delight, In my first loveliness. Then a great promise o'er the distance hung That would make all things happy, all things young; Redeem the curse, relieve the pain, The great world's misery heal again. 66 And now?" I asked. No answer! "Now?" And all her cheek one fire of anger burned. "Listen again!" she cried; and then, hard by, The rich man's music drowned that "bitter cry," And harp and viol charmed the wintry sky. o Christ, eternal Brother," Once more this day is thine; Our stony hearts incline. Peace and good-will! And can it be Oh! rather come the shocks that nations feel! Tread into dust our gold! Respect not aught that's old! Our State renew! From The Times. A LIFE OF LORD LYNDHURST.* of a second memoir was as to whence the fresh materials were to come. Sir Theodore Martin supplies the answer in say ing that Lord Campbell had taken Lord Lyndhurst too literally. Sundry impor tant papers had passed into the hands of friends; while through some of the earlier and most interesting years of his career Mr. Copley had been corresponding with near relatives who were settled in America. No doubt, as things turned out, it might have been better for his own sake had he left more matter for the instruction of counsel for his defence. But quite sufficient has been placed at the present biographer's disposal to enable him to vindicate in great measure Lord Lyndhurst's political consistency; and, what portance to that kindly nature, to show one of the most warm-hearted of men in his real character as son and brother, as husband and friend. - AMPLE, though somewhat tardy justice has been done to the memory of Lord Lyndhurst by Sir Theodore Martin's "Life" which has just issued from the press. Hitherto no one could have had more cause to complain of biographers than that distinguished lawyer and statesman; and he would have felt the case to be so much the harder that he had ob jected to his biography being written at all. Lord Lyndhurst's sagacity was as great as his keen perception of character, and his objections had been partly founded on the fact that Lord Campbell was writ ing the "Lives of the Chancellors." Indeed, he half playfully warned Lord Brougham of the fate that was probably would perhaps have seemed of more imin store for them both. At all events, when Campbell applied to his learned brother lord for biographical materials, Lyndhurst had taken his precautions and the answer was ready: "Materials you shall have none from me; I have already burnt every letter and paper which could be useful to my biographer; therefore he is at liberty to follow his own inclinations." Lord Campbell did follow his own inclinations. He went about his work with scanty materials, and for once "plain John Campbell was imaginative rather than prosaic. We have no wish to follow an evil example and bear unfairly on the memory of an eminent man. But contributing to the support of his family. when in 1869 we reviewed the last volume of the "Lives" we took the opportunity of showing, on information from less prejudiced sources, that Lord Lyndhurst was not the brilliant Mephistopheles Lord Campbell seemed inclined to depict. And now in this book of Sir Theodore Martin's we have a refutation of many charges and insinuations. The latter remarks that Lord Campbell "could not possibly have written of Lord Lyndhurst as he did if he had not felt assured that no private papers were left to rise up in judgment against him." But, remembering Lord Lyndhurst's very decided reply, the difficulty that suggested itself when we heard A Life of Lord Lyndhurst. From letters and papers in possession of his family. By Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B. John Murray, 1883. The very creditable early struggles of Lord Campbell himself might have inspired him with greater sympathy for those of Lord Lyndhurst; and should have told him that the successful career of his brother chancellor could only have been due to conscientious application. Beyond a good education, young Copley owed lit tle to his father's purse, and when many young men of promise are still burdens on their friends, he was already freely The son of the distinguished American artist, best known as the painter of the "Death of Chatham," he was born in Boston in 1772. The memory of the veteran statesman, who died in his ninetysecond year, reached back to the scenes of the Gordon riots which he witnessed from his father's windows in Leicester Fields. He is said to have been a boy of great humor and vivacity. His niece, Mrs. Amory, writes: Friends from this side of the Atlantic carried back to Lord Lyndhurst the tales they had heard of his boyish pranks, and how his father would reprove him and exclaim, "You will be a boy, Jack, all your life!" At which the aged statesman would gently smile, as the memories of his youth rushed on his mind, and answer, "Well, I believe my father was right there." |