New-York tribune., 1901-12-21
1900 TO 1900.
THE CENTURY FROM AN ENGLIsHMAN'S
STANDPOINT

THE LIFE OF CENTTRY 1870 soTs to lSs oetaTS, S
PIP 700 Imported by Charles scribner S SoiiS-
Mr.. Holder proposes tc supply MS readeiS
with a narrative of British and Colonial history
ir respect TO politics, religion. ethics traue anu
commerce. art science. literature and all otleI
important branches of interest from the peslh-
ming to the end of the nineteenth century pot
more information than British history IS oe-
rivabIe from the book because 1t tells OF loreIsii
relations very fully and dwells upon events
abroad in which England indirectly con-
cerned. Thus an account is rendered OF 'iie
dramatic and partly ferocious proceedings III
the Balkan Peninsula A quarter OIL d @ei'
ago when the Montenegrins, and then heI%eso-
vira and then Bosnia, rose up against 'he
''unspea ka bic Turk Soon the Northelh pe
descended upon the Sultans Commons anu
every Balkan State but Greece had drawn the
sword of battle. The most remarkable eplsooe
of that sanguinary war the siege OF Plevna.
Who does not remember 1.-The lion of PIeVna,
as the newspapers of the day called Osnah
Pacha? This martial hero held the fort 1or nan
a year against hunger and disease ana the le
gions of the Gar At some of the sorues Ihe
Russians were driven back with great loss for
there is no wickeder fighter in the world imam
your downright fanatical Turk Finally Cen
eral TodIeben-who had once defended Sebas-
around Plevna and isolatedf it completely
Whereupon: ''Fins Plevne" and the capture OF
Osman and his garrison. The ultimate sequel
to the fall of this fortress was the Congress or
Berlin al which Prince Bismarck presided ana
at which Lord Beaconsfeld with Lord Sails
bury as his lieutenant by means of diplo-
matte strategy, costing not a bullet and not
drop of blood. secured the island of Cyprus. The
pictures belonging to this chapter, which are
laI acvata dpdi
vivify the story of the Russo-Turkish War
Mr. Holders excursions into literary criti-
cism are too innocent to be taken very seriously
In speaking of Macaulay he barely acknowl-
edges the fact that he wrote any essays at ALL
ignores his poetry altogether, omits to mention
bis fame as a parliamertarian and orator. but
does say-and may Hall Caine smile upon him
for it,-that the first edition of Macaulays His
tory of England weighed ffty-six tons. and
while at the binders insured for f1Ooool
Neither does the author show great familiarity
with Froude, though he censures that great his
torian's inaccuracies. To Carlyle he ascribes "a
greater influence through literature, the
ethical, religious and even the political beliefs
of his time than any of his contemporaries.
But one must not expect criticism in the man
ner of Sainte-Beuve from a gentleman VINO
thinks il worth while to record this momentous
discovery: In one respect Dickens has differed
from most of our great writers Of fiction, mas
much as he takes his characters chiefly from the
middle and lower classes of society"
Turning back to the beginning of the volume,
we find a chapter headed THE Social State or
England in 1901" This as the pictures help to
show was the era Of sedan chairs and state
lotteries, when matches were unknown and
Arkwright's spinning machine a novelty.
There were no postage stamps and no letter
boxes no street lights but oil lamps. people
powdered their hair, frequented public cock
fights, and travelled by post chaise. Even bull
batting was still in fashion. In the language of
contemporary:
They tie a rope to the root of the horns of
the bull, and faSten the other end to an iron
ring fixed to a stake driven into the ground.
Several butchers or other gentlemen,
that desirouS to exercise their dogs STAND
round about, each holding his own by the ears,
and when the sport begins they let loose one or
the dogs. The dog runs at the bull. The bull,
imrnovable, looks down upon the dog with an
eye of scorn, and only turns horn to him. to
hinder him from coming nearer. The bull then
puts himself into position OF defence
and his chief aim is not to gore the dog with the
point of his horn, but to slide one of them un-
der the dogs belly, who creeps close to the
ground hinder it, and to throw him so high
in the air that he may break his neck in the
fall. To avoid this danger the dogs friends are
ready beneath him, with their backs to
give him soft reception, and others with long
poles which they offer him slantWayS to the
intent that, sliding down them, it may break
the force Of his fall. notwithstanding all this
care, a toss generally makes him sing to a very
scurvy tune, and draws his phiz into pitiful
grimace.