The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-05
SOME NEW BOOKS.
The

eNNN'f
and clear account Of Scandinavia aud
the Scdndindrfdns. 1t is not an easy
matter to cover so broad a field In 1921
pages, for the account includes the his
tory, economic conditions, home life, art
and literature of three distinct peoples.
the Danes, the Norwegians and the
swedes. and yet there IL not a dull
or dragging page in the book. Few
books OF travel make really vital read
Ing. To be sure, Theophile Gautier
can give SO vivid u picture OF Spain
that 1t Is hard for the reader to real
lie he Is not there: John Addington
Symonds a lead one through by
ways In Greece and small Italian
towns. and Pierre Lott reproduces the
GTs o. the East: but with them IL is
q question of great literary genius.
Without the divine affiatus Mr.. Leach,
by his honesty. industry and thor
oughness, brings home TO one the at
mosphere and life. the scenery and
character Of Scandinavia.
The Scandinavians. & he sure, have
exhibited a power Of radical endurance
rarely found among European peoples.
Two thousand years before Christ the
same family OF Caucasian stock dwelt
In the valleys and mountains of Dem
mark, Norway and Sweden; a race
Of tall men with long skulls, fair hair
inc blue eyes. At various periods
their youth have gone forth to evil
talize other nations. England, Ireland,
Scotland, Normandy. Sicily. Russia
and AfnnriGn M mar, LnnNt nny-
thing of whence the original stock
came. Equally no one knows the deri-
walton of the word scandinavia" II
was applied by Pliny to the remoter
parts OF northern Europe. 1t may
have come. from SHANE the name
OF the most southern province in
Sweden. Despite modern differences in
temperament and politics the Danes,
Swedes and Norwegians were all OF
enc origin. The Swedes were the first
to establish a central government. the
Danes came next and Norway was the
last to achieve a national conscious
ness. The fjords on the western coast
Of Norway are broken by walls of
mountain and so made communication
difficult. Naturally these barriers
made an individualistic and indepen-
dent people.
Judging from runic inscriptions all
the Scandinavian peoples spoke the
same language until the viking raids
at the end OF the eighth century, a
sort OF North Germanic dialect mid
way between the East Germanic of
the Goths and the West Germanic of
the English. Dutch and Germans. As
national differences became accent
uated the dialects Of the common
tongues drifted apart. Norwegian
written bears a close resemblance to
musical %intonation of the Swedish.
According to statistics the Scandi-
navians have the fairest hair, the
bluest eyes,. the longest skulls. the
broadcast chests m the longest lives
Of any rae now living. Except the
North American Indian ana the Amer.
lean of Colonial descent they are the
tallest men in h world.
The Scandinavian holds to a high
standard of %education; he is soft
spoken and polite. he IL liberty low
ing. highly individualistic. accus-
toned TO solitude and independence.
provincial. loyal and impatient of arti-
fetal distinctions. In Norway there
is no nobility and in Denmark and
Sweden counts n barons live like
wealthy farmers. In distinguishing
among the peoples the author says:
"The Swede may best be studied in
his relation to nature, the Dane in
relation to his fellow mar and the
Norwegian in relation to his ideals"
The Swede Is conservative. courtly.
extravagant. magnanimous, a lover of
nature and of art. The Dane is ra-
tional. genial and humorous. a student
of social problems, Il gifted CONVERSE
~tionalist whose chief amusement is
his study Of his fellow man. The Nor
wegian is severely simple, vigorously
independent, luxuriating in dreams
Denmark, according to account,
seems "A highly organized. distinctly
socialistic nationality. In the last half
century the question Of national de-
fence has been a most important
issue. Extreme conservatives advo
Gated expensive Notifications by land
sea for Denmark, have been
watching with apprehension Ger
many's preparations for piracy and
fully expected that in the event of a
clash between England and Germany
the Kaiser would violate Denmark's
neutrality. II was to her own sur
prise that h was spared and Bel
eium sacrificed.
In 1909 a compromise was effected
between the Conservatives, who advo-
Gated military preparedness. and the
Socialists. who demanded disarma-
ment. BY this compromise the fleet
and coas defences OF S%jaelland were
strengthened, but the forts behind
Copenhagen were abandoned. Shortly
after hostilities broke cut in 1914 the
passages from the North Sea into the
Baltic were closed on both sides and
mines were laid, making 1t impossible
for vessels to pass through the ore
sund without a pilot. Military service
r. compulsory for at least six months
in each youths life between the ages
of is and 25.
The death of Frederick VIII. in the
streets Of Hamburg. where he was
wandering incognito, in 1912 put his
son, Christian Y, on the throne, He
carries on the democratic tradition
OF his line. lie enjoys "A large measure
of the support and affection of his
people, and deserves II. Since lS49,
when the people obtained a democratic
Constitution. the Kings hav created
no new entailed estates. The mobiles
are chiefly concerned with farming.
The executive rests with the King
and his Ministers, the latter being
N-t o.. 49, 800.