The morning call., 1893-10-09

An honor never before accorded an ex-
Prime Minister of England. who may
again direct its destnies. has fallen to
Lord Salisbury. who is now president
elect of the British Association. There
are dozen men in Parliament eminent in
science. but not remarkable for their
status in politics. The Marquis of Sails
bury is eminent in politics, and he may
show distinction in some field of chemical
science when he delivers his inaugural
address TO the association, which is the
parliament of all the olOgss. The presi-
dent this year was Burden Sanderson,
doctor who is exalted among the physiol
gists and anatomists for original research
and profound range Of knowledge on
biology. His address abounded in SesQui-
pedalian terms, leading nowhere in fnality
to explain the translation from matter to
life and development. We know great
deal more about processes on the border
land OF the commencement, but We are
just as far off the solution of life in its
simplest forms as ever.
Tolstoi has stirred the turpid pool Of
life with pitiless sternness in his new
book, "The Kingdom of God Within U.s."
The Russian correspondent of the Londo on
Chronicle describes 1t as IAN eloquent
denuncietion of the tyranny of the strong
over the weak and an elaborate defense of
tho fundamental doctrines of his religious
and social creed" The work cannot be
palatabe reading to the Russians. He
must be regarded as crazy as a loon in that
bureaucratic country in the following
passage: mo revolution can be regarded
as more injurious to the great mass OF the
people than TO continue living under
the present order-or, to speak more cor
~
daily victims of unnatural toll, poverty,
drunkenness. debauchery, and with all the
horrors of threatening war, which in one
single year will claim more victims than
all the revolutions of the present century"
He urges a crusade against vice and
especially against drinking debasements,
and denUunces the blessing of battle-fags
and the parade Of the deity in war.
Eyre Crow, the artist, was private secre-
tary to Thackeray for time and visited
America with him. He has published a
volume of "reminiscences containing much
that is interesting. The novelist was in
trOduced TO James Harper, The publisher,
and also to his little girl. whom he saluted
with the remark, 80 this is the pirates
daughter"-a joke on copyright which
Harper took with grin. Thackeray
asked him the foremost name in fiction
from the booksellers point of view. The
answer was George Payne Rainsford
James, and the reason assigned was that
his rOmances (turned out every six months)
can always be safely placed on the library
table with the certainty that no page will
sully or call the blush TO the cheek of any
memb Der of the household" One would
like to know what the Harpers now think
of this Judgment and whether it holds
good The columns of some sensational
new spapers, if they fail to excite blush
must fail because the blush is no longer q
possible phase of emotion.
James w. DeFoe. the great-great-grand-
son of Daniel DeFoe, the author of
''Ro binson Crusoe." is 70 years old. and a
pauper. An effort is being made to col
lect fund for him. He strives to wear
out life on less than IS cents a week sell
ing pen nibs and paper. His son Daniel
is an apprentice sailor on the bark Prior
Hill, now on voyage to Sydney, and he
has visited San Francisco. One of his
sisters has small pension from the Eng
lish Governments evil list. James DeFne
is descended from Daniel, the n0velist's
eldest son. The second son. Ben jamin,
emigrated to tho Carolinas and settled
there. Society cannot sustain charitaby
all the descendants of great man, but if
all the lads who have read Robinson
CTuSoe" could contribute mill each for
the benefit of this descendant. he would be
a millionaire.
According to the French Bureau Veritas
or Lloyd, the number of steamers in the
world to-day is IL. sol above 100 tons. The
British have Of this total 1854. The mar.
thine nations are thus ranked in their
order-Great Britain, United States. Nor
way, Germany, Italy and Russia. This
applies to both steamers and sailing ves-
sells. In Europe the country next to Eng
land as regards steamers is Germany,
which has only 779 vessels. Then comes
France. with 5O0 and Norway, with 400
The difference is remarkable. The ship
ping trade is so dull, however, that many
owners wish there were fewer bottoms.
The Atlantic voyage is now practically
done in five days and half. When her
engines are in the smooth condition which
only comes from months of work, the
Lucania will better her performance of
i've days. thirteen hours and twenty-five
minutes. although that time is about an
hour faster than the mex. speediest voyage,
made by the City of Paris. In a few years,
certainly before the END of the century. the
time will be- reduced TO four days. Will
that he tho Ijmit9 perhans MT Thora