The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-03

1HE literary world Is agog over kCD twenty-five new poems by Rud- yard Klpling, which were issued simultaneously yesterday in London and in New York The American edition is from the presses of Doubleday, Page &
 Co. The new verses of England's great soldiers poet are said by critics to equal his masterpieces and are woven about the struggle of the Boers for independence. Praise is given unstintedly to the bur- ghers and tributes to Tommy Atkins are
 frequent. The style is that of the bar rack room ballads and Cockney dialect is handled with all the consummate grace that characterizes a master. "Piet' and "The Palace are generally consid- cred to be the best of the collection, all though 1ther gems can be picked out for the trouble of reading However, what Is causing most common. is the freedom with which Mir. Kipling does not hesitate to. ridicule his countrymen's mistakes dur ing the South African war. No doubt he thinks they amply deserve this treat ment in view of recent disclosures made in the war department. The new poems will take high rank in the literary world and will add to the fame of the man Judged by many to be Englands great est living poet.
 President Harper of the Chicago univer- sity, scholarly gentleman, who, by the way, furnished much material for the daily papers, announces that his insti- tuition will hereafter follow a sugges- ton made by Chancellor McCracken of the College of the City of New York in regard to making Bible study a part of university training. The doctor thinks all students should know the psalms, the sermon on the mount, and the Com mandments. It is well known that there is painful lack of knowledge among young nfen of this age as regards holy writ. The majority seem 70 think 1t a sign of prudishness to Know anything about the Bible, and as a result few of them read one of the most interesting his tories ever written All thinking men agree that a student must be versed in biblical lore in order to have a full rounded education. References to this rock are made hundreds of times daily, and the best orators are frequently those who can draw fine illustration from the Bible. As part of our college curriculum such course of study would certainly be no less interesting than mathematics or hydraulics, and would be infinitely easier for the young man who is looking for a snap Tn addition the Bible is the most perfect liter9ry production that has ever been written, a fact that few people, other than men of letters, pause to con- sider
 Czar Nicholas of Russia is now In Aus tria to confer with Francis Joseph His arrival at Vienna was marked by ex- traordinary precautions for preserving his safety, and as soon as possible both mon- archs hurried away to the shooting box at Muertzsteg. near Neuberg, in Syria, ostensibly to hunt. But 1t is rumored that affairs in the Balkans will receive much attention. It was noticeable that the Rus sian antocrat was not received with those popular demonstrations which marked the visits os King Edward ard Emperor Wil- lian This may have oesn an evidence of the different feeling with which the three rulers are regarded by the vien- nese populace. or it may have been a re- suit of elaborate precautions taken to guard the Czar from danger. The route from the passenger station to Schoen- brunn castle was lined with soldiers. Be- hind them was drawn up solid wall of police who faced the people. Under such warike array it is not to be wondered that spectators were silent, although an enormous crowd had gathered to see the monarchs pass along Important results are expected from th. conference of Fran cis Joseph and Nicholas. Both countries are in harmony as regards methods for expressing outbreaks in the Balkans,