New-York tribune., 1905-12-23
Th;rty Fruitful Years in the History
of Modern Europe.

rH HAFfoNs Rt5NS isasisoS BY J. Hofiand Rose N Il
Putnazn's Sons
IN spfte of the common belief that history cam
,o, be written until long after Its actors are
sssd and gone, there never was time so pro-
ma, as ours in works that describe the events Of
,,.stsrday, or even Of this morning, after the
..nner OF the historian. The PRESS during the last
a,,v wears has brought within everybody's reach
,bs political and diplomatic news Of the world
ssv by day and everybody is curious to know
are chain OF continuity that connects the latest
eenpenings with the immediate past The spread
- the doctrine OF evolution has, Of course. stim-
dated this curiosity and given to it scientific
hua We know that individuals and races. and
ii mankind undergo an uninterrupted process
!, unfolding: and, having learned the trick Of
t,.-ospection, we cannot keep our eyes of the
easing show. II is as If tadpoie were intelll-
s.,t enough to watch the plot OF his metamor-
.bosis into frog. The recognition that there
!. plot, coupled with the modern scientific
tnouisitiveness, would sufficiently account Tor
che increased attention given to recent history.
T, addition. the desire to hear In fun oe1a1Is
what the conspicuous personages or the UIle
.sve done or are doing stimulates the love Of
rossip which the contemporary historian be ne
rsver SO dignified. helps to appease. we well
80 therefore books like this by Mr.. Rose,
h,ct, aim at telling the history Of the last
.b,rtv years and at defining, with as much pre-
c,son as is possible the general drift OF poHIlcA
svoIution. Mr. Rose is favorably known as the
author Of the best compact life Of Napoleon III
1-nelish and Of excellent studies OF the Ma
,oIeonic era. This means that he is thoroughly
,,ersed in the origins from which contemporary
Europe has sprung. with the theories and ldeals
set IN motion in 1889, and with the course OF
events produced by them.
In an Introductory chapter he indicates briefly
h,,t with proper emphasis, the course of Euro
mean history from the fall of Napoleon until
eront 1880 At that point he takes up the story
and follows il without a break. In tracing the
causes Of the Franco-German war. he naturally
makes Louis 1Iapoleon's empire his central
topic, and shows how, through relations with it,
and at its expense, Prussia, on the one hand
and italy. on the other, came to their own Hav-
ing almost as keen an interest in military as in
POLITICAL history. Mr.. Rose devotes two chapters
10 the Franco Prussian war itself Two more
80 to the founding of the French Republic and
one 10 the German Empire. The remaining five
charters deal with the Eastern question and
with the rise of Nihilism in Russia. From this
Il appears that Mr Rose has distributed his
material with q fair sense OF proportion. AS TO
the value of his work. must wait for its
completion before expressing q final opinion In
general. the present volume seems TO be written
with less care than his NapoIeozlic studies 1t
is a compilation, rather than deliberate and
seasoned history. It has neither charm OF style
nor any of those memorable passages which
sometimes redeem books otherwise mediocre. It
IS lust plain, serviceabIe book, and it is not to
he condemned for lacking qualities which its
author had no intention OF giving it. Judged by
what it contains, and not by what some readers
might expect il to contain, 1t well deserves to
be read; and, since it covers some ground on
which there is little material accessible in Eng
Ish, it will be almost indispensable TO students
The third quarter of the nineteenth century,
which forms the subject of this volume, VIII
come more and more to be recognized as a turn
ing point IN history. For il witnessed the reaIlza-
sion of Nationality, which, appearing as a bilhu
instinct in the Napoleontc period, sohdlhed INTO
4. principle and became the dominant ideal Of
,sa generation which fiourished between 1S4o
.ns 1870. As nationality implied union, its
onsra+ton was seen in the United States Rot less
nan IN Europe and eliminated here IN the
rvII War It stirred many peoples-the 4F2sh
the Poles. the Magyars. the Czechs-to abortiVe
or onIv partially successful struggles and IN the
.,es. of the Germans and the Italians, it accom-
rI,sl,ed unifcation that had been thwarted 1or
thousand years
Along with the triumphant progress OF ma
tienslitY marched democracy LIS AOAAAiSA
fected peoples in their relations with other peo-
,Ies. +ne latter affected the internal poEticaI
cons+s+,,tion Of each. Democracy is Of many
shades. and one watches it unge and nna4Iy
sutsUse q nation. as one watches rich dye sur
fuse Jar Of water.
Not least interesting in the wonderful quarter
century is the variety of means by which na-
tonalitv attained its ends. In italy. through
Cayours rnasterful guidance, all classes except
the actual Reds and the Blacks, contr1puIeo 70
The work Of independence and union In Ger
many. on the contrary. Bismarck depended as
much as possible on despotic methods. In
France where rot nationality but liberty was
ct stake, Louis Napeolen juggled with both oeS-
potigrn and constitutionalisn. The mention OF
these names reminds US that this epoch abound
"a IN striking personalities. Besides the three
consummate men-Cavour, Lincoln and Bis
rnarck-there was a company Of men Of second
rank hardly to be matched for variety and in
terest-Nlazzini Garibaldi. Kossuth. Deak. VIC
tor Emmanuel II, Louis Napoleon, Gambetta'
Gladstone. DigraeH Gortchakof, Beust, Thiers-
the list might be trebled and yet fail to include
ell the salient characters Mr.. Rose has no con-
sp;cuous gift as a portrait painter. so that he
adds little to the accepted views Of such Of these
personagss as come within his range Excep-
ton must be made however, OF Theirs, 70 whom
he devotes many sympathetic pages- He is