The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-06-07

teacher, DR.. w. L. La
- prade, of Trinity Col
I@ lege.
In one Of his recent addresses Presi-
dent Lowell of Harvard. had some
grave fun with the Phi. DIS, the mar
ket for whom he regarded as in dan
ger of overstOcking. He PARTICULAR
H. noted, If our memory serves, the
m embarrassment that accompanies the
effort, more or less obligatory for the
bearers Of this degree, to do "orfginal
work In fields that have been dill
gently titled as deep as available sub
soil ploughing will reach. I'm
doubtedly there is basis for this sort
Of criticism. ana much Of the labor
bestowed upon the r~ehandiing of the
old stock Of sources is a WEAKNESS
40 the flesh of all concerned. No
on most of the studies published
under the direction Of the depart
ments Of history and kindred science
of Johns Hopkins University, the
latest Of which to reach Us is enc on
ENGLAND and the French Revolution,
1789-1797,' by William Thomas La
praIe, Phi. D., Instructor in History,
Trinity College, Durham. N. c.
The Of DR.. Laprade is to
examine the generally accepted no.
ton that the social and political con-
dition of England was seriously at
fected by the course of events IN
France, that agitation reached a point
where it became necessary for Pitt
80 suppress it with stern measures,
despite his general sympathy with
liberal reform, and that he was drag
ged into the coalition against the
French Republic by the disturbances
in his own country and the passion
ate and aggressive policy Of the gov
m of that republic. In the
course of his examination OF this sub
ject MIR. Laprade has to deal espe-
cially with the course of the Great
COnnmoner and with that of Edmund
Burke, both quas idols Of the English
people He deals with them. so far
as temper goes impartially and cody,
with no attribution Of motives, with
constant reference to contemporaries
Gus in ample volume and
variety, and with marked luCiGity and
logical order.
n conclusion at which he arrives
Substantially is that the uprising in
France played but a minor role in the
domestic history of England in the
years from 1885 to 1877, except SO far
as it was used by Pitt and his col
leagues for their own political pur-
poses as a pretext for reviytng the old
time struggle with France for supreIn-
a"y in the commercial and the colonial
world" We cannot claim compel
eace TO decide how far this conclu-
sion is established, but we can assure
our readers that the effort to estab-
ilSh 1t makes a monograph that is
as interesting as any story. We see
me men whose mighty names have
come down to us as in a gorgeous
cloud, moving about their daily tasks.
neallng With friends and foes in the
intimacy Of actual life, planning, plot
Hng, quarreling, conspiring, scolding
ana pralSIng each other, engaging in
ccpates the echo of which fingers in
heStminlster still, and gossipping IL
fetterS with the utmost freedom, spite
iIIHeSS ana occasional profanity. We
see great actors on a relatively small
stage, the political power Of England
pong narrowly centered in a few
&eadeTs of a small class, and are
maze conscious Of the tremendous
energy OF the movement toward {
broader representation Of popular
sentiment, and through all the shift
ingS OF the drama we follow the figure
@ fltt- Naughty. reserved, unsynl
pathetic, subtle, determined. dream.
ing Of completing am extending tht
vast projects of his father, playing {
NorA-wide game TO be won ONLY
Sfter the prime gamester had died O
eFef and chaSrin at What seemed
hopeless failure.
1t is one Of the merits Of DIR. La
Pfade that he deals with the period
he mas undertaken to examine as bu
/" ch3pter in d continuous story. Thi
HhaPter he seeks to present in til,
hSnt OF the actual occurrences as the,
unloided in constantly changing aspec
70 the eyes and TO the minds of thos,
acted by them. He does not trv t,
oul!d his fabric and max,
!. harmonic with theories forme,
,ller the event. On the other ham
ne Is entirely free from indulgence
IN that p~retentious imagination
Wh1ch forces the note Of actually
re remains the student in the TWEEN
Hcth century Of the men and affair
~ tne eighteenth, an intensely inter
'steh but dispassionate ana keel
@tooeht- AND the fruits Of his stud