The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-17
TRE JANUARY MAGAZINES.
"IrpPINCOTTs.,,

y Fawcett; "Our Capital" by William II. Hooper;
''Sue and l." tale, by Mrs. w. A. Thompson;
''The Singer a poem, by Lucy Hamilton
Hooper; "The Philosophy of Self-Importance ="
by Edward Spencer; beyond the Breakers "
n novel, part iii, by Hon. Robert Dale Owen;
'Internatonal Coinage" by Hon. J. Ross Snow
den; Musings Old Mansion" by G.. Mere
dith 'Going Errand" Christmas story;
''The Critic" apoem; Literary Lunatics," by
Writ Skies; "Our Monthly Gossip;" Literature
Of the Day"
From Colonel Snowden's paper on 'Inter-
national Coinage" quote the following para
graphs:-
ut is a singular fact, noticed in the United
States Mint report for 1868 that the toeight of
the coins in France, although founded upon
decimal system of value, cannot be expressed in
decmals. Her primal coin, the twenty franc
piece, is precisely 1881 grams most imPrac-
ticable and unscentifc figure. Nor would the
twenty-five franc piece, the counterpart of the
proposed half-eagle and pound sterling, make
any better show. 1t is not fit to be measured
either by grams grains And yet this is the
coin the United States and Great Britain are in
"In view Of the awkward figures required to
express the twenty-fve-franc piece, it has quite
recently been proposed to slightly increase the
weight of the piece to the standard of eightyone
corresponds with hundred and twenty-five
grains This would, of course, by increasing IFS
value, bring it a little nearer to the half-eagle
e." and pound sterling. But even if this did remove
the objection to standard based upon the franc
7 and its multiples-which in fact it does motive
do not know that France would agree to this
change Her proposition is to take her her stan stan
ested to conform to them Moreover,
we have no reason to believe that this
modification of the original proposition would
be satisfactory to Great Britain. 1t would re-
ed suire alteration the weight of the
twelfths-say, 9l65 thousandths-the present
standard, to 900 thousandhs, the standard of
France and the United States. In fact, this
suggestion rather strengthens the position taken
by Great Britain, that the nations interested are
.. not prepared TO adopt the system proposed, and
that general monetary conference, in which
the whole subject may be considered is desira-
BILE, and may lead to some practical and useIul
results.
"The foregoing considerations lead to the fol-
lowing concusions:-l. The advantages OF an
international coinage are overstated oy its adVo-
Gates. 3. There practical difficulties in
establishing and maintaining a unhcation OF
coins of different nations. y. me propositions
heretofore made are liable to serious and mani
fold objections. 4. The value OF the gold dollar
oaght not to be reduced, norany system adopted
which would mpinge upon II as the American
nations should be invited to adopt the dollar
the most suitable money unit. 6. 1t is desirable
that there should be uniformity in the ineness
Great Britain ought to adopt the standard of the
United States, France, Italy, and Belgium in
parts by weight 900 shall be Of pure gold and
thus make equal weights of equal value s.
single stnRdHrd tar f%a namely god ought to be
conference, suggested by the British
and practical results"
We make this extract from the essay on the
"Phlosophy of SelfImportance" by Edward
Spencer
'"Yanty is after ALL only an exaggerated form
respects himself. The selfish virtues not the
most popular in the eyes of the world; it is
likely, however that they among the most
serviceabe to the world. Shaftesbury has sneer-
a ingly remarked that the easy goodnature which
we admire in so many persons is apt to be no
-. .. more than pure seishness. STILL 1t is some
thipS to be good-natured. 1t is an admirably
Wholesone thing for society to possess good
natured people in its ranks no matter what has
made them So 'Certanly says old Burton,
memory; and virtue was never so behoden to
human nature it received its due at second
...a hand And If the vanity OF men had done
nothing more than preserve for us the examples
of great men, we should be behoden to it for
service than we can possibly derive injury
i'But there can be no question of the positive
utility of the sentiment of self-importance to the
welbeing of human society. Thus putting
humors it is that hath produced so many great
tones, built such famous monuments, strong
castles, and mausolean tombs, TO have their
acts etemized-"Digtto monstrari et diceri htc
est" to be pointed ETC.; to see their names in
scrbed Phyrne on the walls OF Greece,
rH Phyrne feciti this causeth so many bloody bat
ties, sEt noctes coga UigiLare SerendS"' This,
however, is a one-sided and narrow view. Emu
Iation is the of genius as well as the spur
1t was the fame of Mltiades that taught Themis-
tocles to become famous. The walls of the
Pireus the Notifications of the Acropols yet
stand to testify to the tremendous promptings of
vanity in one mans bosom. Do not let us for
get that Napoleon did something else besides
.. march into Russia and gild the dome of the In
yalides. Do not let forget that Rcheleu
produced something besides bad tragedy Do
not let us forget that Cicero wrote and spoke
other words besides his 80 fortunatam natam." !"
III How submely earnest this of self-import-
ance makes the worker Wesee Haydn solemnly
at prayer before beginning the Creation. Wesee
De Thou earnestly beseeching God, each time
.- he commenced chapter to breathe into
his labors the spirit of impartiaity and justice.
Less consequential men would not have had the
courage to assume that the Deity had personal
interest in the result of their abors; but less
consequential men would never have labored so
faithfully and SO well. All if we could only all
of us be vain enough to dedicate perform
ances to God, and feel consciousness of His
immediate interest in our work, what laborers
we should become, what tasks accomplish!
.r.-.. ''Rob men of this exalted self-opnion-take
from them the creative delight which flows in
like river along the broad, proud channel OF
self-consciousness- you deprive them at
of all nspration-yOu crush the germ o.
their excellence In the aggregate, men viii
be willing to do nothing unless their own salts
faction be involved in the issue. And this it il
which gives to vanity its energizing power, 1T