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FIELD-MARSHAL VISCOUNT WOLSELEY, K. P., P.C., G. C. B., G. C. M. G.

FROM A PHOTOGRAPH SPECIALLY TAKEN FOR "THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS" BY THE STEREOSCOPIC CO.

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The New

THE PROGRESS OF THE WORLD.

LONDON, Sept. 2, 1895.

The appointment of Field-Marshal Lord Commander- Wolseley to the command-in-chief of in-Chief. the British army, in place of the Duke of Cambridge, has been hailed with general satisfaction. The Duke lingers reluctant at the wings, being loath to quit the stage on which he has been so long a conspicuous figure. But although he delayed his departure, feeling, as he says, he has the spirit of a young man of twenty-five under the hair silvered by the snow of seventy-six winters, he has gone at last, and Lord Wolseley reigns in his stead. With the passing of the Duke disappears the last link which connected the army of to-day with the army that fought in the Crimea. Lord Wolseley, who fought as a youngster before Sebastopol, is a man of the new school, the worthy head of an army which regards soldiering as a profession and a science rather than as an amusement. If any one can give us twenty shillings for one pound in the shape of efficient soldiers, Lord Wolseley is that man. Let us hope that the uniform good luck which has followed him through all his career will not desert him now that he has achieved the summit of his ambition.

The Chances of War.

too soon.

as to the dangers which menace the tranquillity we have so long enjoyed. I don't think there will be war. But I do feel that it will depend upon the courage and resolution and resource of Lord Salisbury and his colleagues, whether we reach the New Year in peace. In Armenia, China, Siam, and Central Africa there are plenty of questions which may at any moment explode like a bomb, and it will need all the firmness of a Ministry with a majority of 150 at its back to prevent the local explosion firing the general powder magazine.

The Chief Hope of Peace.

The peril, the only serious peril, to peace is now as always in Paris. And our chief security, that the innumerable questions which are at issue between England and France all round the world will not be allowed to culminate in war, lies in the strength and the efficiency of the British fleet. Those French journalists who are perpetually writing as if they desired nothing so much as war with England, although they may inflame the relations between the nations, are not after all the real rulers of France. When the French Ministers and Deputies look seriously into the question of peace or war, they will find themselves confronted by a series of considerations which will almost certainly lead them to avoid pushing matters to

The change has not been made a moment extremities. I hope that the year will pass without any outbreak of war, but the barometer seems to be falling rapidly, and in the time of storm and stress Britain does well to have her most capable captain in the saddle. There is a feel of cannon thunder in the air. I am not an alarmist. I think I may fairly claim to have been always one of the optimists as to the prospects of peace. But not for many years have I felt so uneasy

A war with England would be of necessity a naval war, and in a naval war France without allies, or with an ally whose fleet could not effect a junction with her squadrons, could not keep She would either have to face battle in the open against superior numbers, in which it is almost a mathematical certainty that the victory would remain with the stronger fleet, or she would have to confine herself to furtive expeditions from

the sea.

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issue. I gave last month the numbers of the copies
printed up to date. Since then we have published-
Mrs. Barrett Browning's "Lady Geraldine's Courtship and
Selections."

Thomas Campbell's "Pleasures of Hope and Other Poems."
Milton's "Paradise Lost," Part 1. Abridged.
William Morris's "Earthly Paradise."

Mrs. Browning was the first of woman poets to be included in the series, and our selection is confined to such poems as are out of copyright. The first living poet to appear in this series has been Mr. William Morris, who has been extremely kind in permitting me to use very copious extracts from his great poem, the "Earthly Paradise," which by this means I hope will be introduced to many who have hitherto never had an opportunity of enjoying Mr. Morris's poetry. In dealing with "Paradise Lost" there was some difficulty. The poem itself was too long to be published even in two parts. The work of abridgment was difficult, and naturally provokes hostile criticism, for the abridger must perforce lay profane hauds upon a great English classic. The task, however, has been accomplished in a rough and practical fashion, and it is possible for those who have not the patience to read the long epic through, to familiarise themselves with the drift of Milton's argument and the greatest of all his passages. The contribution which Campbell made to our literature was so slight in quantity, although rare in quality, that there was no difficulty in printing the whole of his poetry which will live in a single number of the series.

The second number of "Our Poets' Corner" has been issued. It contains portraits of Burns, Longfellow, Shakespeare, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The

COPIES

ISSUED.

portrait of Shakespeare which has been selected was painted by a Russian artist from a portrait in Ben Jonson's folio. The portraits in Number 2 are even better executed than those in No. 1, and I hope that this attempt to provide a portrait gallery of the poets will not have to be abandoned for lack of support. This album, with four portraits, and the bound volume containing the masterpieces of the four poets, whose portraits appear in the album, are issued together at a shilling. With such a shillingsworth it ought not to be difficult to dispose of the full edition of twenty-five thousand per month.

As the numbers of "The Penny Poets" multiply there increases the difficulty of keeping them together. There is no necessity for binding then: They are handier to read unbound. But a place for them is essential, otherwise they will knock about the house and litter in the bookshelves, and ultimately get lost. I therefore repeat this month the notice published in the last number of the REVIEW, about the arrangements which I had made for the supply of Bookshelves and Corner Brackets for the safekeeping of the forty-eight. The prices are as follows:

Box I. Cardboard box covered with leatherette. Size 11 in. by 7 in. Price 6d., or post free, 9d.

Box II. Wood box covered with leatherette, with partition down the centre. Size 11 in. by 7 in. Price 1s. or post free, 1s. 3d.

Box III. A corner bracket in plain wood. Size 15 in. by 10 in. Price 2s. 6d., or post free, 3s.

Box IV. The same, with ornamental facings, hand-painted. Price 3s. 6d., or post free, 4s.

Box V. Ornamental stand in japanned lacquer. Size 13 in. by 15 in. Price, post free, 5s.

Box VI. Large corner bracket (made to fit any corner) in plain wood. Size 21 in. by 25 in. Price, post free, 7s. 6d. Box VII. The same, enamelled, with ornamental facings and hand-painted. Price, post free, 108.

Nearly every day I hear from friends and subscribers, that notwithstanding the extensive circulation of "The Penny Poets," they have not yet penetrated into regions

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circulars and sample copies if they would undertake to introduce them to their friends in their respective neighbourhoods.

A good deal can be done in calling attention to this matter through the press. Mr. E. O. Catford, of the Adult School at Bunhill, wrote a cordial letter to One and All, the organ of the Adult School movement, which led to the publication of an editorial in that journal in support of this attempt to bring the masterpieces of English literature within the reach of the masses. The editor says:

To them, practically, these treasures have been non-existent. Now every man can have a Poets' Corner" in his own house,

Box III. and IV. Price, 2s. 6d. and 3s. 6d.

and hold familiar converse with the greatest minds by his own fireside. The education and pleasure of such a privilege who can measure? This alone, if we owed Mr. Stead no other debt, would put him in the rank of public benefactors. We may share this privilege by helping the circulation of the penny books. We cannot speak too highly of their value. School librarians are strongly advised to introduce them into their schools. Our Adult Schools ought to circulate one hundred thousand or more of them. Shall it be done? Bunhill and other schools have taken the subject up heartily, and the men

are showing their appreciation of this unique offer by closing with it gladly. Whittier and Tennyson ought to have a large sale among our schools, and should be secured at once, as we understand that the first edition of "Macaulay's Lays" (with portrait) cannot now be had for love or money.

I have received enthusiastic letters from British Columbia, where the educational authorities seem inclined to adopt the series for use in their schools.

An esteemed correspondent in Constantinople ordered four complete sets of The Penny Poets " to be forwarded to four English Schools in the Turkish capital. Every week I get letters from working men and others who express their gratitude and delight on being introduced to reading of which they had heard but never before had had at their own disposal. All this is very encouraging, and justifies my hope that if those who know of "The Penny Poets" would help in bringing their existence before the public, we should have a weekly circulation of a quarter of a million instead of 100,000.

At the end of this month I shall publish the second part of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." I am rather curious as to the result of this experiment. I bring it out now, because the third and fourth cantos of Childe Harold describe the most popular of all European tours. Childe Harold goes from Belgium, up the Rhine, passes through Switzerland, and then makes the tour of Italy. No one who makes that tour should be without a pocket edition of the poem. It will be an increased pleasure to read on the spot the reflections which they suggested to one of the greatest of English poets. Next year I hope that Dr. Lunn may see his way to organise Childe Harold Tours, following the route of Lord Byron. "The Penny Poets" just met the need of the tourist who does not wish to lumber up his haversack or his portmanteau with bound volumes, but he would like to have "Childe Harold" in an edition which he could carry in his breast pocket without feeling the weight even when mountaineering.

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OUR CIRCULATING LIBRARY.

HE demand for the boxes of our Circulating Library last month was not so great owing to the summer season. Only eleven boxes were ordered, and have been despatched to the following destinations:CUMBERLAND.-Harrington (two boxes). MONMOUTH.-Tal-y-Coed Court.

NORFOLK.-Harleston.

SUSSEX.-Horsham.

WILTS.-Tisbury.

SCOTLAND.-Buckhaven.

ABROAD.-Hong Kong (four boxes).

Four boxes have been ordered from Hong Kong quarterly by the editor of one of the local newspapers. He reports that there is no public library in the colony. At the City Hall they have a number of books which are useful for reference, but there is nothing more recent than thirty years ago. The club has a good library for its members, but at present there is no public lending library. Applications continue to come in for boxes in the Mediterranean ports, but I have not yet been able to establish any system for the interchange of the boxes.

Last month several of the book boxes returned after having been out for the first quarter. The boxes had not suffered any damage worth mentioning, and were in good condition. The state of the books, however,

In some

varied very much in the different boxes. cases they had been rather roughly used, and were in a dirty condition. In these cases, of course, we have had to charge for damage. In other cases-notably, that of Long Sutton in Lincolnshire-the books had not only been very extensively read, but were returned in perfect condition. Centres in mining districts and villages in the neighbourhood of towns would probably find it worth their while to cover the books in paper covers. This will save a great deal of trouble in cleaning the books, and will also be a protection to them. On the whole, the books have been very well read, and will probably be more so in the winter months. I give here two typical lists, one from a small town in the mining district of the Midlands, and the other from a village in the Eastern counties. The numbers placed before the titles of the books show the number of times the volumes have been issued during the quarter:

I.

9-Beyond the Dreams of Avarice. By Walter Besant. The Privateersman. By Capt. Marryat.

7-Roland Yorke. By Mrs. Henry Wood.

Punch.

Girl's Own Paper Annual. Harper's Magazine.

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