New-York tribune., 1885-09-13
NOTES FROM LONDON.
RELATING TO POLITICS. LITERATURE,
WHIST, AND AGNOSTICS


| quarrel between Lord Randolph Churchill and Tho
Standard. The Secretary of State for India OBJ
| served, when speaking the other day at Canford
Manor, that he did not caro- a rap for the Con-
servatve organ The Conservative organ re-
torted by leaving his speech nnnotced. though the
other London papers thought it important enough
to be discussed at length And now this journal,
in commenting on Lord Ripons reply to Lord RAN
doph's attack On him. hits out again at the chief
OF its own party Lord RandoIphs attack, in it's
opinion. was so extravagant to make defence
easy, yet Lord Rpon would have done we'll to avail
himself more or less sparIngy OF the loophoes of
escape which the foolish intcmperance of his ac-
cuser left open to him. He did not yindicate him.
self by answering Lord Randolph Churchill accord
ing to his folly. If you substitute for the name in
Ibis sentence the word which Solomon nsed, you
will arrive at the present judgment of the leading
journal of Conservatism the Conservative leader.
The successor to Mr.. Edward Stanhope as Vice
President of the Committee of Counsel is Sir Henry
Holland, NJ. p, late Financial Secretary to the
Treasury. He quits one of the most laborious,
and, far the public is concerned, thankless
Offices in the Government. As Minister of Educa.
ton he will, have far wider opportunity of show
ing what stuf is in him. His ability is unques-
toned. but the Education office demands some-
thing more than ability; demands courage and
innumerable; Minister who immerses him
self in them lost He is responsible for the work.
ing of a system which depends tho ultimate sue
and safety of the recent enlargement Of
the franchise. In country like America, wheN
education is all but universal it is not easy ia
conceive accurately the perils which attend sud-
den extension of the suffrage to upeducated half.
educated millions 1t is beyond all other things the
business of Minister of Education TO that
people educated to enforce and extend the
present system Of teaching.
England was fortunate enough to get this matter
looked after fifteen years ago by man whose per.
ception of essential facts and common sense. and
resolute energy. and administrative powers
amounted together almost to genius Mr. Forster.
Lord Sandon now Lord Harrow by who succeeded
him, worked the Education act in much narrower
spirit; an ecclesiastical and sectarian spirit, II
the first thing was to save to the Church OF Eng
land what control over schools il had managed to
RETAIN Then came Mr.. Mnndella, all excellent ue-
partmentai head, who sacrificed his health to his
work. sir Henry Holland may easily suIpass his
Tory predecessor in the office. IL s no longer poss-
BILE, let hope to administer the Education Office
in parochal spirit
Sir Henry Holland is the son of the eminent
physician whose services, first to Prince Albert and
then to the Queen. earned him baronctcy. lie is
wrote her fathers life Aud Lady Holland is sister
TO Mr. Trevelyan and niece TO Macaulay.
Two very dissimiar judgments on the late Hugh
Conway MR. Fargusl appear in The .4hraaas, aud
The Acadeay. The former, which must still be
called the chief literary weekly of England tells
that A Family Affair makes it possible TO esti.
mate the loss caused by the death OF ric writer
whose /" Called Back gave no just OF his
powers. lie was not merely fortunate inventor
Of happy situation he had u stIong grasp of
human character. real talent tor devisng story,
a very gift of being able to tell il without
break and without losing hold of the readers ins
terest, and an almost raier gift OF reserve. Aud
hence natural and strongly expressed regret that
Fargus not spared to give fuller freedom 10 his
natural sympathies aud produce a work. not
merely mastery like this last, but masterpiece.
The writer OF the review in Ihe Aoademy 10 less
person than Mr.. George Sainisbury. He bcstows
some praise L" A Family Affair" but will not ad.
nit that it is a novel Of the first class Ii Is not
even literature; it IS only very fair circulating
library pastne Its merits rs well as It's dcfeeta
make il evident that much every must regret
d premature DEATH Mr. Fargus ha6 nothing better
to give the world than he gave 1t. and that m all
probability lie has escaped the most mortlfyng of
all literary fatcs-yradual subsidence from wide
popularity and great expectations to merely
tolerated performance of respectable journey work"
This is severe enough but not more severe than
might bave been expected from reviewer of Mr..
Santsbury's temper l am bound to say that 10
does not 90 much beyond the general opinion far
as know it, of the London literary world respect
ing Mr. Fargus. The success Of" Called Back
never made much impression on men Of letters.
They never recognized in that enormously popalar
and much overpraised book the work OF great
writer or even of writer Of great promise They
might not sum up against lin 50 harshly as Mr.
Santsbury does bat neither would they subscribe
70 the panegyrc of the rival reviewer Mr.
Comyns Carr certainly did something for the fame
of his friend, Mr.. Fargds, by the clevorness of his
dramatic version of Cael Back We shall SEQ
presently whether he will add to it by the play
into which he has turned " Dark Days" to be pro-
duced this autumn by the management of the
Haymarket Theatre.
American whist players who are distressed by the
disapproyal Of MIR. Proctor may take comfort A
greater than Proctor has come tO their rclicf
a Cayendishr in his now treatise on Whist De-
velopmentsn devotes much space to an analysis VI
what he calls Ameriosn leads. aud approves OF them
4, oeneral and is OF opinion Englishmen have
much to learn from American players This might
give Mr. Proctor something to think or He with
all his oatronizing superioritcs il but an amateur,
vbiI, q 1Cayendish" is the recognized authority
among English writer's on whist, and leading
plaver at tho Portland. which is the leading whist
club in England. never heard Mr. Proctor named
among the best whist players OF the day.
An American friend asked me the other day what
was considered high play in London: | put ths
weston TO an English friend whose authority u
guuos.snncachable SWELL" he ans ~ered ait Is
tti S,ficut to say what woald be considered high,
IL 'dsnends so much on where You play. But the
highest have lately heard Of was az the urf Siuo
ony nonts and monkey on the rubber"
pony being s35 aud monkey sSoG S that
eacn ;Uht ~ noints the respectable sum Of f7OO or
co co so1 A rubber Of two trebles may easily be
%J T., ran minutes less, that II may be safe