one of the very ablest men on the side of the Government in that House, and his integrity, his moderation, his capacity to understand the significance of new facts, and his disinterestedness have won for him the respect of all parties in Parliament and outside it. We are, to all appearance, on the eve of great changes in the composition of our political parties. With the close of the war has come to an end that season of Jingoism which brought so many weak-minded Liberals into fascinated co-operation with the Tories. The reaction against Toryism must come, and it will probably bring with it a reconstitution of both parties on the principles which each may consider essential to its

character at a time when peace at home gives our legislators a chance of studying the domestic welfare of the people in these islands. It will not be enough then for a public man to proclaim himself a Imperialist in order to win the votes of a constituency, or to denounce his rival as a pro-Boer in order to secure defeat for that unlucky personage. The constituencies will begin to ask what each candidate proposes to do for the domestic prosperity of our populations at home, and to de mand an explicit answer. Under such conditions, whatever be the reconstitution of parties, I am strongly of opinion that Sir Michael Hicks-Beach will before long begin a new administrative career.

WR

E of this generation have cause for mingled gratitude and regret that our ancestors were possessed of the desire, and had the leisure, to write in minutest detail of their times. A passing thought might be given to the query as to how much posterity will be able to gather from our personal letters or telegrams--concerning the daily happenings of our lives. That there is appreciation, from some quarter, ready and waiting for all sorts of old correspondence, journals, and diaries is clear, when one notes the product of the press. Significant or trivial, worthy or foolish, witty or dull, all is translated or edited, and is turned out volume after volume, to satisfy popular demand.

France has given us many of the most delightful records of past days, and one turns with pleasant anticipations to two recent books, "The Guardian of Marie Antoinette" and the "Memoirs of a Contemporary."

The first is published in two fine volumes, and gives the substance of the letters written to the Empress Maria Thérèse by the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Austrian Ambassador to the Court of Ver

The Guardian of Marie Antoinette. Letters from the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Austrian Ambassador to the Court of Versailles, to Marie Thérèse, Empress of Austria, 1770-1780. By Lillian C. Smythe. 2 vols. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York.

Memoirs of a Contemporary. Being Reminiscences by Ida Saint Elme. Adventuress, of her Acquaintance with certain Makers of French History, and of her Opinions concerning them. From 1790 to 1815. Trans fed by Lionel Strachey Doubleday, Page & Co., New

sailles, 1770-1780, admirably edited by Lillian C. Smythe.

est.

The letters of the devoted Ambassador are well known to French and Austrian students of history, but their presentation to readers in this country will be of interFor a quarter-century Florimond. Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, kept his hand upon the springs that moved the courts of Europe. To the world, the author says, he was an acute diplomatist; to the Empress of Austria, her private appointed guardian of Marie Antoinette's manners mind, and morals; to Madame Elizabeth (the young sister of the Dauphin), who spoke her mind quite frankly, always "le vieux renard."

The author shows great skill in her use of the facts at her disposal, weaving them into a lucid and engaging narrative-not an easy task when one remembers that the period described was one of most intricate and perplexing court intrigue. Marvelous to say, the daily letters from the Ambassador to his Empress were regu larly despatched for ten years without a suspicion being raised either in the mind of the King, Louis XV., or of the spies in royal pay. One finds, therefore, a remarkable candor in the communications. Upon the marriage of the little Marie Antoinette to the Dauphin, the guardianship began.

Only fourteen, hardly knowing how to write, very childish in appearance, idle and pleasure-loving, as might be expected,

the little Princess was a lonely figure in the corrupt Court of France. It is a sad picture. Her only friend was the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, who, warning, guiding, persuading, first the child Dauphine, then the young Queen, was a powerful factor in her history, and to him was largely due whatever of success came to the unfortunate Queen of France. It is suggested that his guiding hand might perhaps have averted the most terrible of royal shipwrecks, the terror of which he foresaw, but he was called at that very time to the apparently greater danger threatening Austria after the death of Maria Thérèse, and could only warn his beloved Queen from a distance. He died after an exhausting journey to England, whither he went in 1794 with the hope of raising subsidies in London for the punishment of France.

The dainty little figure of the French Queen has always been a center of warm interest. This picture of her daily life, her fascinating manners, her uncompromising truthfulness, her careless gayety, and her willful, foolish extravagances, all unite to deepen the impression. A vivid sketch. is given of the four old aunts (of the Dauphin), the Mesdames of France, nicknamed by their unmerciful father "Loque," "Coche," "Graille," and "Chiffe," all ungraceful and even hideous women of bourgeoises tastes. These, with the intriguing brothers of the Dauphin and their wives, were to be companions and examples for the little Marie Antoinette.

Her

wits were soon on the alert, and her careful guardian had a task to restrain her use of them. She made honest efforts to improve the sluggish, almost imbecile, Dauphin, and her biographer gives many scenes disclosing the pathos of her posi tion. She improved daily in appearance and gained in influence. The old KingThe old KingLouis XV. increased his attentions and friendliness, but for years her charms produced no effect upon the half-developed Dauphin.

All these facts have passed into history, but a new light is shed upon them in this intimate chronicle, skillfully edited with vivacious comments. Before the death of Louis XV., the Comtesse du Barry tried in vain to win toleration from the future Queen, but to none of her overtures was there a response, and, as is known,

upon the succession of Louis XVI. the former royal favorite was retired to privacy. The contrast between the brilliant young Queen and her loutish husband was most painful. Daily they grew more and more opposed in thought, desires, and pursuits. desires, and pursuits. "The Queen, alive in every nerve of her body, every thought of her mind, in vivid health, untiring, brilliant, emotional, to whom the day and night are too short for all her interests, witty, sweet-natured, proud, and sovereign; the King, dull, plodding, ignorant, stolid, half-alive, imperfectly conscious, undeveloped in body and in mind, toiling at his little mechanical duties of kingship, as he does at his forge, with a great desire to do his poor best, so seldom speaking that his disused voice squeaks with the effort, with the loud, meaningless laugh and horrid grimaces' and loutish tricks of the imbecile, yet with gentle, docile nature that submits meekly to the inevitable impulses from stronger wills. He lives a life by routine; she, by caprice. He is bent by every force; she resents even the shadow of domination. He took his kingdom with Quel fardeau pour moi!' and she took hers with 'admiration of the arrangements of Providence that has chosen me for the most beautiful kingdom of Europe.'"

With these two young people on the throne France went lightly on to disasteras the author says in commenting upon public opinion in 1778, when Franklin was being fêted by the Parisians.

"The

The

French welcomed with effusion the ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity, which they hailed as seed from Heaven, and sowed in a soil rank with the weeds of centuries, sour with oppression, and darkened by incredible ignorance; and they blossomed into The Terror.'" tales told of the devotion of the fickle ladies of the court to Franklin are piquant. Madame de Créquy was an exception, and describes Franklin's way of eating eggs thus: He broke five or six eggs into a goblet, put butter, salt, pepper, and mustard upon them, and then "nourished himself with little spoonfuls of this joli ragoût philadelphique." He bit his asparagus, and took a knife to his melon. "Vous voyez que c'etait un vilain sauvage."

In 1778 a Princess was born to the King and Queen, and though a Prince

had been desired, she was no disappointment to her mother, who said, "Poor little thing, you were not wanted, but you will be my very own the more for that; a son would have belonged to the State." Everywhere joy was evident, and devotion to the Queen; but the new ideas of nature, equality, and simplicity were undermining the principles of monarchy. The author asserts that the desire of Marie Antoinette for simplicity of manners was no pose, but was classed as such by those to whom pose was nature.

was

truly superficial as those that move the emotions of the audience of the usual French play. "Ida St. Elme," self-styled and self-made adventuress, though probably innocent in childhood, became a thorough woman of the world-or the half-worldin her earliest youth. Of mixed Hungarian and Dutch parentage, born in Italy in 1778, and therefore a contemporary of Marie Antoinette, she came into contact with many of the men who were making French history during the period included between 1790 and 1815. The

Here the narrative ends, in the deep shadow of coming destruction. The letters in the possession of the present Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau, the author tells us, repeat incessantly the forebodings of the statesman. "The most unceasing efforts, the most unwearying perseverance, cannot make them see with my eyes. . . . The danger presses equally upon all thrones; all will be overthrown if they do not unite to crush the monster rising against them." But his warnings fell unheeded, and his guardianship ended with the execution of Marie Antoinette.

The two volumes are embellished by exquisite portrait prints. One of Marie Antoinette when the Dauphine is especially beautiful. Almost the entire collection is now at the Château d'Argenteau, and was presented by its Imperial and Royal owners to the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, and has never before been reproduced. The portraits are all of great historical and artistic value.

Leaving the touchingly sad story of the unfortunate Queen-pure in life, though cruelly maligned by her enemies-always a lonely figure, and finally deserted by those whose lives were shamed by hers, we turn to the merry tale of one of the beautiful actors in the drama immediately succeeding that of the wrecked monarchy, the triumphant Republic of France. The few and fleeting scruples that came to the gay writer of the "Memoirs of a Contemporary" are as beautifully expressed and as

that taken by the French Court. She was married at twelve years of age to a Dutch gentleman who sympathized with the Revolutionary party in France, and for whom she seems to have entertained a high respect, though the attraction of the young French officers into whose company she was carelessly thrown proved too powerful for her vanity and inexperience. Before she was out of her teens she was embarked upon her adventurous career and became a skillful agent in political intrigue. She relates many anecdotes of famous men and women whom she knew. Moreau, Carnot, Beaumarchais, Pichegru, and finally Bonaparte, all are actors upon her stage. Some insight may be gained into the temper of the "Contemporary " from her candid estimate of herself. She says she had always been told of her beauty, and took it as a matter of course-but she was immensely flattered when compliments were paid to her wit. "But in my vanity there was nothing offensive to other women. I was really a good sort of soul. Still, if I was not disagreeable, I knew how to defend myself against attack from one of my sex.” The reader of these vivacious reminiscences is not left in doubt as to that point, but it would be entertaining to know the feelings of that member of her sex against whom the "Contemporary" defended herself. General Moreau was a strong influence in her early life; while Marshal Ney, to whom she dedicated her mature womanhood, was the dominant power of her existence. She gives a pleasant picture of Beaumarchais, a harmless and gentle man, adored by his family, and a most engaging talker. He said, when he read the bulletins that Napoleon sent from

Egypt, that he fancied himself reading a chapter of "Arabian Nights' Entertainment." "He transcends probability; his ideas and actions are all marvel." During the first part of the Consulate it was resolved to exclude the ladies of the contractors and bankers from the society of the Tuileries, whose ranks were already meager enough. "Hence," is the comment, "the Consular Court was for some time a sort of magic-lantern show, with mixed pictures and a great many changes." It is possible that a prejudiced view is taken by the narrator of some witty encounters between herself and "Citizen Talleyrand." When she writes of him, she explains that there was not a vestige left in him of his former episcopal station except the manner of wearing his hairas she expresses it, the Bishop of Autun had nothing left of the church but his powder and his good manners. "His cleverness in speech might have been exceeded, but not that of his reticences." At one time, in playful mood, the hand that was wont to sign treaties for France condescended to use thousand-franc bank notes as curl-papers for the fair hair of the "Contemporary." She was patient enough to have many tresses curled. Very early in her career she adopted the fashion of donning men's clothes whenever the fancy seized her. Being filled with a desire to share the experiences of an active campaign, she endured great exertion and fatigue and even suffered wounds, in order to follow the fortunes of Marshal Ney. In 1807 an appointment to the court of Elisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, sister of Napoleon, was secured for the adventurous Ida, just recovered from a wound received in battle, and she entered with zest into the intricacies of current politics in Tuscany.

From this Court she went to visit that of the Queen of Naples. Of her she remarks, "The Queen had a sneering chuckle whenever she spoke, which grew both tiresome and painful. By nature awkward and dull, she did her utmost to be affable that day."

Then came the campaign of 1812, and Ida made up her mind to brave the perils of the famous Russian expedition disguised, as usual, as a man. The horrors of the retreat from Moscow are briefly described, and, as she says quaintly,

"Presently morals began to loosen," and theft, cruelty, and license reigned. Having for a companion a beautiful Lithuanian girl called "Nidia," Ida forded rivers, suffered cold and hunger, kept Cossacks at bay, and witnessed the horrible and pathetic scenes of that terrible catastrophe. Upon her return she began again to travel restlessly, and introduced herself at Gratz to Louis Bonaparte, former King of Holland, whom she characterizes as a bard grafted on a burgomaster, "but besides writing poetry he did great deal of good "!

Established once more in Paris, she renewed her intrigues, and tried to restore Ney's waning enthusiasm for Napoleon, with but small success.

In 1814 Ida had an interview with "Madame Mère," as Napoleon's mother was called. She was seated at a table strewn with small pieces of bead-work, which she bought from poor women and distributed among the ladies about her. "I can easily believe that any one would be flattered to receive a gift from Mme. Mère," said Ida.

"A gift? A gift, did you say? What can you be thinking of! I pay for them, and am paid back. I see, my dear, that you are not at all economical. As for me, I am not like my daughters; I don't play princess, as they do!"

The year 1814 opened under dark auspices. Trade was languishing, and the hostility of the middle classes and society to the Emperor was evident. On March 29, 1814, a mournful procession left the Tuileries, and the Empress-Regent and her son, the King of Rome, took their departure, never to return. The next day. the fate of Paris was to be decided.

Of less heroic mold than was the weak Louis XVI. when facing the final catastrophe, Napoleon is represented by the "Contemporary as having attempted to take his own life by poison. She was in the palace of Fontainebleau, and, roused by unwonted noises, rushed to the Emperor's apartments, where she heard the word "poisoned" twice repeated. She remarks, in a true Gallic spirit, "Reawakened to his sense of moral greatness by the failure of his attempt on his own life, Napoleon resolved to submit to his fate, since, forsaken by all, he could not even find refuge in death."

After all was over, the "Contemporary"

was instructed with a secret mission to Elba, where she had a private interview with the great exile. Upon writing to Marshal Ney her observations gathered during her journey to and from Elba, he replied, "Whoever desires a change desires the ruin of France. Our sole want is peace. What matters it who governs? All that matters is France-her welfare and her dignity. Let us think of nothing but our country." But, as is known, Ney returned to his allegiance and met Napoleon, on his return, with loyalty.

The final chapters are devoted to the calamitous history of 1815, and the book ends with an outburst of French sentiment and religion.' Ida, dressed in the garb of a Sister of Mercy (borrowed for the occasion), knelt beside Ney's bier, her "hero struck down by French bullets." Upon Upon rising she made a vow to live henceforth according to the religion which granted her the blessing of praying for the hero's

immortal soul, and addressed to him these words: "Ney, thou illustrious shade, how full of hope were the supplications I poured out in the presence of thy spirit! The promise I made in the depth of my sorrow I have faithfully kept. My vow has been observed. has been observed. And, holding it sacred, Ida, in keeping before her mind thy noble nature, dares to trust her faults will be forgiven."

The translator and editor, Lionel Strachey, has preserved to a remarkable degree the vivacity of the original, and in his editing shows a judicious appreciation of the taste of English readers. Two portraits of Ida Saint Elme represent her as still a beautiful woman, though past her youth. A third shows her with short hair, in men's clothes, as she appeared in 1806. Many illustrations from old prints and many interesting portraits of more than ordinary value are scattered through the volume.

Adventures du Dernier Abencerage. By Chateaubriand. Edited by James D. Bruner, Ph.D. The American Book Co., New York. 5x7 in. 96 pages. 20c.

Andromaque Britannicus and Athalie. By Jean Racine. Edited by F. M. Warren. Henry Holt & Co., New York. 4x6 in. 350 pages.

Art in the Nineteenth Century. By Charles Waldstein. The Macmillan Co., New York. 42X7 in. 110 pages.

Reserved for later notice.

Christ the Apocalypse. By the Rev. James

Cooke Seymour. Jennings & Pye, Cincinnati. 5x71⁄2 in. 350 pages. $1.

The thought unfolded in this book, that Christ is the revealer of God's being, character, law, and grace, is thoroughly sound, but the exposition of it is continually injured by loose and careless or extravagant statements, e.g., "If it is impossible for the Son of God to lie, then the first chapter of Genesis is true." No writer is trustworthy, however well-meaning, who regards it as "blasphemy" to say that Jesus used fermented wine at the Last Supper. Descriptive Guide to the Best Fiction, British and American (A). By Ernest A. Baker, M.A. The Macmillan Co., New York. 514 <8 in. 610 pages. $2.50.

This contains brief descriptions and sometimes critical comment on about 4,500 novels, arranged alphabetically under classifications of century and nationality. There are added

a historical appendix and elaborate indexes. The whole takes up about six hundred closely printed pages, at least nine-tenths of which relate to the century just closed. The book might have been made smaller without greatly injuring its value, by such omissions as a few out of the twelve entries under "Tytler, Sarah," or one or two of the eight under "Crane, Stephen," and in other like cases. But perhaps all-inclusiveness was thought essential. The general usefulness of the work as a reference-book is apparent. So far as we may judge, the work has been done adequately and carefully.

Down the Orinoco in a Canoe. By S. Perez Triana. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York. 5x7 in. 253 pages. $1.25.

This is no stereotyped book of travels. The first chapter reads like the beginning of an old Spanish romance. The region Señor Triana covered by muleback and canoe is one of the richest and most beautiful in the world, and has rarely been visited by civilized man since the old Spanish conquerors came that way. The Señor, son of an ex-Governor of Colombia, and a true South American, is thoroughly familiar with the history and legend of his native land, and wields a pen at once poetic, humorous, and picturesque. It is often too philosophic, giving pages of sage reflections where one would rather have descriptions of what he saw. Information as to South Ameri