The times., 1899-02-19

psycnoioslcai quality arising from his sci
entific training than TO any inherent worth
in Its construction. Conan Doyle is a sue
cess in literature. but nobody knows what
sort of doctor he is. And there is this
additional difficulty in the way of a woman
VINO tries to combine two professions that
her success in either depends largely upon
certain intuitive comprehension OF her
work which can only be reached by entire
devotion to 1t for the time being.
The latest story of this bright woman is
only clever, and nothing more: though
there Is noble motive struggling through
1t here and there. IT deals with n topic
never successfully handled in literature
until the present century-the inner life OF
an ambitious and gifted girl. Wilhelmina
Galbraith, the heroine, is almost typical
| modern maid full of unframed impulses.
generous ideals, and quickening emotions,
understanding neither herself nor the
world, and finding no one TO help her.
She is gifted in two or three different di-
rections, as many modern girls are; ami
she is given no time to decide which of
| these contradictory gifts she should de-
velop. She is brought up under strict
religious regime, and her sensitive, i'm
pressionable nature absorbs all the stern
| Calvinistic teachings of her grandmother.
Later she is under the care of her father,
a man of the world: she makes the ac-
quaintance of an actress and discovers that
she has talent in that direction; she falls
| in love with the first man who seriously
| speaks to her of love, and marries him, TO
| learn by chance that he does not love her
and has only married her out of pity. Be
ing the modern girl, she leaves him and
goes to earn her own living Finally, after
| many vicissitudes OF various kinds, the two
are reunited and find that, after all, they
are fitted to make one another happy. and
that the instinct which at first drew them
| together was n true one Through the
whole book Wilheimina is conscientious
and unselfsh as girl can be; her troubles
arise from the fact that she is a mixture
of two or three different temperaments.
| and that people think one phase of her
nature to be the whole of 1t. AS study
| Of character ii is interesting, and women
who resemble the heroine either in exper-
ience or nature-as a good many women
do in these days-will enjoy it. But a
novel it is deficient in several important
ways. II lacks concentration it lacks plot.
and one cannot see any particular reason
| why it should have been written or what
| the author intended to say. tNew York:
| d. Appleton & Coz
| French Opinion of the An9Io-SaxOus
"Anglo-Saxon Superiority: To What II
Is Due is the somewhat awkward title of
| book by Edmond Demolns which has
| lately been translated from the tenth edi-
tion in which it has appeared in France.
1t is interesting just at this time, as being
the view of a Latin on the good points OF
the Anglo-Saxon NJ Demolins appears to
be somewhat prejudiced against his own
countrymen, for he abuses nearly all
French institutions in unqualified terms.
| while his praise of English education, gov
ernment. social systems and character is
almost hysterical at times. Nevertheless,
most of his arguments are sound, and stu
dents of political economy will find in his
book some rather original ideas on the
characteristic traits of the English peo-
| pie
| The work is divided into three parts:
| The first deals with the Frenchman and
the Anglo-S Saxon at school; the second with
the two races in private life, and the third
! with the public life of both. In the first
chapter the author discusses the question
| whether the French, the German or the
| English school system does most to form
men. He comes to the conclusion that the
latter is mmeasurably the best. One of
his reasons for this is that in the two
continental systems boys are taken entirely
away from home life and put through
| cramming process designed to fit them for
| examinations; and II they pass these exarni-
nations they have no higher ambition than
| to enter the civil or military service. The
English public school, he thinks. develops
| instead of suppressing individual enter
| prise, the drill is less severe, and there is
| some effort to give the boys training in
social and public life among themselves.
OF the American systems he says but lit
tie, and this is just as well, for we have
! almost many as We have States. 1t
may be said, however, that our schools. in
the main, do much, more to encourage in
dividuality than even the English school;
and there is certainly no nation in which
the power of the individual is greater than
in ours.
In the second chapter NJ. Demolins
brings arguments to prove that the
French mode of education reduces the
brth-rate, compromises the national f.
nances and fails to contribute to national
success. In this chapter he makes what
is perhaps the strongest point in the
book: that one secret of the Anglo-Sa
on's ascendancy is in love of home. A
great deal has been said and sung in a
maudiin sort of way about the home being
the bulwark of the country, and so on;
but few have ever traced the logical &C.
quence between the Englishman's love of
his home and his power in the world. This
French author seems to have hit the point
exactly. He argues that this trait makes
the Briton content TO live anywhere, out
|
necessary so long as he can be independ-
ent and undisturbed within his four walls.
He has little of the gregariousness which
| leads some other races TO flock together
In unhealthy city quarters rather than
endure the misery of a solitary life. The
difference between English and French
character was shown-though this is not
one of NJ. Demolins' illustrations-in the
settlement of this country. The French
| ,lu bnr in vii ha
Englishman was more often to be found
in solitary cabin miles from his nearest
neighbor He wanted elbow room, and the
result was that he got it. This trait. the
author goes on to say, insures personal
liberty; and he draws an illustration from
the history of England under William the
Conqueror and his immediate descendants.
The Norman left but little trace on En-
glish life. in the end, because the Saxon,
yielding for the time his political rights
clung all the more tenaciously to his civil
rights, and thus he preserved his indiyid-
| uaJity.
Finally the author discusses the differ
ence between the patriotism of the French
and English nations. the attitude of each
toward socialism, and various other prob
lens of political life which are solved
differently by the two countries. On the
whole there is considerable food fol-
, thought in this small book, and 1t should
. have Il good sale at such time as the
, present. (New York: r. +. Fenno & Co
miscellaneous Publications.
A "The Sphere of Science" by Frank Sar-
t gent Hoffman, Phi. D., Professor of Phil
osophy in Union College and author OF
| The Sphere of the State" is volume o.
l moderate size, which viii be chiefly usefu
e to teachers and students of science. As
C the name indicates the book is intended Il