bibliography, and the whole will be edited by Dr. A. W. Ward, Master of Peterhouse, and Mr. A. R. Waller.

Madame Hyacinthe Loyson's "To Jerusalem Through the Lands of Islam" (The Open Court Publishing Company) is in part the record of a journey made by the author a few years ago, and in part an appeal for a better understanding and a closer fellowship between the three great monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In her concluding chapter, the author sums up and contrasts the salient characteristics and teachings of Islam and Christianity, mostly to the disadvantage of the latter, although she is at pains to add that she firmly believes that the Christian ideal of life is the highest ever revealed to man. It is avowedly and intentionally the sunny side of Islam which Madame Loyson depicts in this volume: but the reader who understands and makes allowance for her prepossessions will find not a few fresh and interesting things in the book. There are numerous illustrations.

"Descartes, His Life and Times," by Elizabeth S. Haldane (E. P. Dutton & Co.) is a vivid and profoundly interesting study of the life and teachings of the great philosopher. The first half of the seventeenth century was a period of great stir in Europe, intellectual, moral and political. To all these different activities Descartes was keenly alert and in all of them he had some share. Miss Haldane has prepared herself for her work of describing Descartes's career and influence by a thorough study of his environment: and her book, as its title suggests, is more than a biography of its subject. It is a graphic picture of his times, and especially of the worlds of

society, of research and of letters. Impressive and picturesque as was the figure of Descartes, and significant and enduring as was his work, this is the first adequate biography of him accessible to English readers. It is fortunate that its preparation has fallen to a writer so conscientious in research, so broad in her sympathies and possessed of so limpid and forceful a style.

In his studies of nineteen "American Literary Masters" (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) Mr. Leon H. Vincent has achieved a happy medium between the elaborate treatment of a biographer, and the scrappy notes of a compendium of literature. He has a direct and facile style, a good sense of proportion and a trained literary judgment. While he is not able to give more than twenty-five or thirty pages, on the average, to each of his "masters," Irving, Bryant, Cooper, Longfellow, Poe, Bancroft, Prescott, Hawthorne, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell and the rest, each of his essays is complete in itself and each gives a succinct but satisfactory account of the life, character and works of the subject. Mr. Vincent has the happy talent of condensing without appearing to condense. There are no superfluities or repetitions, but neither are there any signs of conscious compression. The chapter on Lowell may be taken as a fair specimen of all. It is less than thirty pages long, yet it outlines his ancestry, depicts his character, describes his career, and characterizes his varied writings in prose and verse with just and sympathetic appreciation. This or any other chapter may be read separately with pleasure; and taken together, they constitute a sort of literary history of this country during the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century.

The present condition of the Chinese Empire, and the forces now gathering strength among its people, merit the serious attention of politicians throughout the world; for it is those forces and the direction in which they are guided which will mould the future of that vast country, and determine the relations, both political and commercial, which shall exist between Europe and America on the one hand, and the 300 or 400 millions inhabiting the western littoral of the North Pacific, on the other.

The situation now and that existing ten years ago appear at first sight to present many features of resemblance. Then, as now, a great war, in which Japan had gained an unbroken series of successes, had just ended; then, as now, a heavy blow had been dealt at convictions and sentiments of mature growth, in many cases consecrated by centuries; then, as now, there was a general consensus of opinion that if China was to maintain her position among the nations, or even to remain a nation at all, she must lose no time in reforming her administration on Western lines, in reorganizing her forces, and in adopting the results of Western science. But these resemblances are superficial rather than real. The war of 1894-95 resulted in placing China at the mercy of Russia, whose grip upon her throat has been steadily tightened since; this war, avowedly undertaken by Japan in defence of her own national existence, has freed China from that grip. The leaven of progress, which ten years ago was only beginning to ferment, appears now to have leavened almost the whole lump. while much has happened in the interval, of which some account must be given if the present situation is to be rightly understood.

In the recognition of the necessity for reform the provinces were ten years ago far in advance of Peking, the seat of government and of the controlling power of the Empire. There, it was believed, or at least hoped, that the system which had proved a sufficient defence against the storms of centuries would be adequate to resist, at any rate during the lifetime of those then holding office, the comparatively small forces which Western nations could send against China; while even in the provinces, though the necessity for reform was freely admitted in the abstract, it was desired only so long as personal interests were unaffected by it. Among the younger generation, however, it was recognized that the defeats sustained in the war with Japan were due to two causes, and to two causes only-to official corruption, which sent troops into action with cartridges half-charged with charcoal, and with shells in which black beans took the place of pebble powder; and to the conservatism which refused to profit by Western science. By them a "national defence" or "reform" party was instituted, which advanced so rapidly in numbers and influence, that even before the termination of the war it claimed to be heard on the question of concluding peace with Japan. The excitement and anxiety for the future caused throughout China (i) by Germany's seizure of Kiaochow in November, 1897; (ii) by Russia's consequent demand for Port Arthur, though in conjunction with France and Germany she had forced Japan to retrocede that fortress on the ground that "its possession by a foreign Power would be a perpetual obstacle to a lasting peace"; and (iii) by the public discussion of partitioning China: these causes combined materially swelled the ranks of the re

form party, which submitted a long and very able memorial urging rejection of Russia's demands. Both this and the earlier memorial merited far more attention than they received at the time. For the frequent references made in them to international law and Western history, showed to what distances the authors had diverged from the stereotyped course of study, and the remarkable number of signatures, appended by natives of distant inland provinces, how general was the diffusion of these new studies. These documents showed also that this party represented a national movement, which aimed by reform of the administration and by the study and assimilation of Western science at making China a strong and progressive nation, which would oppose to the last dismemberment and spheres of influence; but which was favorably disposed towards the introduction of foreign enterprises, provided they were worked in conjunction with Chinese, and were so controlled that they would not prejudicially affect Chinese autonomy. The reactionary influence in Peking was, however, sufficiently strong to delay presentation of this memorial until the convention leasing Port Arthur to Russia had already been signed. His Majesty was, however, so impressed by the document that, on assuming the reins of government, he summoned to his side a number of the ablest members of the party, and, acting under their advice, launched in the summer of 1898 that remarkable series of edicts which promised to inaugurate a new era in Chinese history. Merit was to be the one touchstone for official appointment and promotion; sinecures were abolished; temples throughout the Empire were to be changed into schools of Western learning; essays on subjects drawn from that learning were substituted in the literary examinations for involved dissertations on obscure quotations from the classics; national

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colleges of agriculture, commerce, and industry were established; and a national army, with naval and military academies, was instituted. The ultraconservative bureaucracy of Peking, especially the less highly educated Manchus, alarmed at the consequences to themselves of these radical changes, pealed in September of the same year to the Empress Dowager to resume the reins of power and save the country from ruin. The Emperor, being unsupported by the most powerful of those on whom he relied, was easily disposed of; his deposition followed; the most prominent of the reform party were executed, banished, or cashiered; and all the progressive edicts were cancelled in turn. The reactionaries, who had thus gained control at Peking, resented as warmly as the reform party did, the manner in which European nations were satisfying their "earthhunger" at China's expense, and the humiliation thus inflicted on their country; while they found additional cause for anger in the constant disturbance of China's hitherto placid existence. But the moment was not opportune for action, and they bided their time. They had not long to wait. In the winter of 1899-1900 the ill-feeling caused in Shantung by the lease of Kiaochow culminated in an outbreak against the Government. Reactionary statesmanship suggested that foreign nations, being as powerful as they are, China, after her recent defeat, was too weak to resist their imperious demands; but if the people were prepared to resist them by force of arms, their arms should be directed against the aggressive foreigner, not against the Government: then, if China united in one supreme effort, the land might be freed once and for all from the hatred foreigner. The bait was swallowed, and the cry "Down with the Government" gave place to the new one of "Uphold the Dynasty; down with the foreigner."