We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor."

Perhaps there is not a more terrible picture in the whole range of English literature than the murder-scene in "Macbeth." The place, a gloomy corridor in a castle, shrouded in midnight darkness; save where, perhaps, the uncertain flicker of a torch shows the pale face of the treacherous host, who is creeping with murdercus intent to the couch of the generous-hearted old king. Without, a fearful storm is raging, and strange and wild lamentings are heard in the air. And now by the door of the chamber, watching like a tigress thirsty for blood, stands this terrible woman. Undaunted by the elemental warfare that is raging in the heavens, untouched by remorse or pity for the victim, she communes with herself alone, as she waits the return of her husband from his awful work :

"That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; What hath quenched them hath given me fire;

*

*

*

"I laid their daggers ready.

*

He could not miss them. Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done 't."

Just for a moment the memories of home and of filial love flash across her mind, and there is something like a touch of repentance; but it is only for a moment. The terrible business must be carried through to the end, and all the old hardness and pitiless cruelty return.

The terrible gloom of the tragedy is somewhat relieved by the devotion of the husband and wife to each other. The bond of crime that is between them only seems to draw them closer together. Never once is there any word of recrimination or reproach. He would shield her from farther knowledge of the evil he means to do, and she would cheer him and make him forget his remorseful thoughts, even when her own bosom is bursting with reflections of a like kind. It is a dark path which they are treading, but they are treading it hand-in-hand.

As the play draws near its ending, the isolation of the two central figures increases. Life to them has been a fearful failure, though in the thing they had set themselves to do, they have achieved success. Is it an accident that Shakspere makes Macbeth childless? What a boon it would have been to have had one human creature who trusted and who loved them. But the climax is reached when the woman dies, and the man stands alone. His life, too, is drawing near its close, and this is his verdict upon it"I have lived long enough: my way of life Is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf: And that which should accompany old age, As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have; but, in their stead, Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not." "Life's but a walking shadow..

It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

So ends the career of Macbeth. He stands alone, forsaken and hated by all, wailing over a lost and wasted life, and waiting for the black clouds of everlasting night to fold themselves about him, and wrap him from our sight for ever. FREDERICK ROGERS.

Reports of Societies.

[N.B.-We should be glad to obtain, for the information of our readers, particulars respecting any Scientific Societies in existence in East London. Would those who know of any such send in the name and object of them, the names and addresses of their Secretaries, and the terms of admission?] EAST LONDON ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. PROCEEDINGS.

Saturday, 14th November.-The Society visited the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield. The Rector received the party, and gave an extremely interesting account of Rahere, the founder of the priory (of which the present building was conventual church), of the subsequent history of the place from the consecration in 1124 to the Reformation, and of the discoveries made and the theories advanced at the restoration some few years ago. He also showed the members various remains of the old priory, and some highly interesting registers and parish records. It may be noted that this church is an almost unique specimen of a peculiar type of Norman work, and that the present structure is only the choir and central tower of the original church, the nave having been destroyed at the suppression of the monasteries. FIXTURES FOR DECEMBER.

Monday, 28th December.-Monthly meeting at Toynbee Hall, 8.30 p.m. The President will give some account of Early Medieval Architecture.

N.B. As the days are getting so short, there will be no more excursions till they get longer again.

New Books and New Editions.

We hope to notice, under this head, whatever important books, dealing with social and educational topics, may be published during the month. Publishers will oblige by stating the prices of any books which they may send for review.

on

66

THE "ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA." No article in the new volume (XIX.) of this book, now added to the library, is of more interest than Mr. Ingram's address on Political Economy. It was Mr. Ingram's address The Present Position and Prospects of Political Economy" to the British Association in 1878 which first made economists understand that Cliffe Leslie did not stand alone, and that a formidable revolt was really beginning against the exclusive rule of Abstract Economies; it is in itself a sign of the times that the editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica should now have entrusted the subject to one who seven years ago was a dangerous heretic. Beginning with telling us that "there prevails widespread dissatisfaction with the existing state of economic science," and that "there is reason to believe it has now entered on a transition stage," he wisely concludes that it would be unseasonable "to attempt a new dogmatic treatise." He prefers rather to trace historically the growth of speculation regarding economic phenomena, and gives us in this article, what we have long been urgently in need of in English, a good treatise on the history of Political Economy. Mr. Ingram's article is especially valuable for the sketch it gives of recent movements in Germany, and elsewhere on the Continent, and also for its criticism of recent English work. He shows how J. S. Mill, Cairnes, and Bagebot have successively limited the field of the "abstract theory," and how the "historical method" has began to be recognised as a joint possessor of the economic throne. "Thus in England, too, the dualism which exists on the Continent has been established, and there is reason to believe that here, more speedily and decisively than in France or Italy, the historical school will displace its antago nists"-in Germany it has already done so. Of Arnold Toynbee we are told that "he understood better than many even of those who have commended it the true character of the historical method," which from Mr. Ingram is high praise. Besides the conclusion that Economics will ultimately be merged in Sociology, Mr. Ingram is not clear about the

future character of the science, for "the use of ascertained truths respecting human nature as guides in the inquiry" sounds like a limited employment, at any rate, of deduction. However, the uncertainty which every one is now more or less feeliny about the subject is very much the result of the "cocksure-ness" of the old school. It may be added that the usefulness of the article is somewhat impaired by an excessive use of Positivist phraseology.

OLD WORLD QUESTIONS AND NEW WORLD ANSWERS. By D. Pidgeon. (Kegan Paul. Price 5s. 8d.)

This is a most delightful book. It records the notes of an English engineer on the industrial towns of New England. In refreshing contrast to the generality of travellers who thrust their experiences upon the public, Mr. Pidgeon has centred his attention on the really interesting facts. To the statesman, to the social reformer, and the mechanic, what he has to say is equally interesting. Nothing can be more idyllic than his picture of pure American society as it is still found in the old-fashioned parts of New England; the combination of Yankee 'cuteness and intellectual refinement which distinguishes it, together with its perfect democratic equality and simplicity, afford the material for a series of charming pictures. The graver problems suggested by the French Canadian invasion cast a shadow, but do not lessen the interest and usefulness of the book.

JOSEPH MAZZINI. A Memoir by E. A.V., with two Essays by Mazzini.

All who value great thoughts on politics and the future of society, will welcome the cheap edition of Mazzini's two bestknown essays, together with the memoir by Madame Venturi, published by Alexander and Shepheard. We believe that its publication is due to the efforts of the Rev. Mark Wilks, who wished to see Mazzini's best writings brought within the reach of all. The price is only 4 d. Copies can be obtained on application at Toynbee Hall.

Tapley. (Reeves, 185, Fleet Street. Price 3d.) When will Lamennais find an English translator? It is an incalculable loss to our public to be debarred from the pregnant thought of the "Past and Future of the People," or the Isaiah-like revelation of "The Words of a Believer." In the meantime this short sketch of Lamennais' life and opinions is welcome. It describes well his early aspirations for Catholicism, his quarrel with the Pope, his gradual rejection of dogmatic teaching, and the development of his democratic creed. As with Mazzini, who greatly admired him, it was the moral and religious side of democracy that fixed his sympathies; the institutions of a people, he held, merely reflected their moral and religious progress. "When fraternity is in our hearts," he said, "it will soon find its way into our laws," and it was in the spirit of this creed that he lived and fought in the cause of religion and democracy.

We have received from Messrs. J. S. Virtue and Co. the Christmas number of the Art Journal (price 2s. 6d.), which this year is devoted to a very attractive sketch of the life and work of Sir J. E. Millais, written by Mr. W. Armstrong, and is liberally illustrated with engravings, etchings, and photogravures from the artist's pictures. The story of Millais' share in the celebrated Pre-Raphaelite movement is interestingly told, and the subsequent development of his career is well described. Amongst numerous other illustrations, we recognise our old friends, "The Beefeater" "The Huguenot,' "The North-West Passage," and "Chill October," one of the most beautiful bits of English landscape which exist. Not the least interesting feature of the number will be found to be the concluding chapter, which, dealing with "the man himself," gives us a picture of the artist's mode of life, and a glimpse into his house and studio, close to Kensington Gardens.

Key to the Students' Library.

A Students' Library, as our readers are aware, is now open in Toynbee Hall for all bona-fide students, either at the Whitechapel or at the Poplar centre, and a full alphabetical catalogue of authors has already been compiled, and is placed in the Reading Room. A second catalogue, classifying the books, not by their authors, but by their subjects, is also in preparation; but, meanwhile, we propose to give, from time to time, what the French call"un catalogue raisonné "-a methodical and descriptive account of the more important books to be found in the library, bearing on different subjects. Occasional allusions to "libri desiderati"-books which the library badly wants-may, we hope, serve the further purpose of directing the generosity of our friends. A list of the books on the period of English History, which will be covered by Mr. Gardiner's lectures during the current session appeared in the October number of the Journal.

II.-ENGLISH POETS.

A. Collections.- Happily the Library does not abound in volumes of elegant extracts. Poetry should undoubted be cultivated in a catholic spirit; while we love one poet most, we should be thankful for all, yet it were better to sacrifice a little breadth than to skim "tit-bits" and call it broad reading.

Among the collections, however, PERCY'S "Reliques of Ancient Poetry" claims careful attention. In the "Ballad of the Chevy Chace," and the like, we have the remnants of the only true English Epic; and besides these there are many exquisite smaller pieces. "Specimens of the Early English Poetry," gives a few examples of SURREY, CAREW, COWLEY, and the less known writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

An edition of Scottish songs is recommended by the name of ROBERT BURNS. "Political Songs, etc.," are only valuable historically. WARD'S "English Poets," consists of typical selections, with introductory notices by Dowden, Gosse, Saintsbury, and other eminent critics, and should give an excellent general view of English poetic literature.

PALGRAVE'S "Golden Treasury" is the best selection of lyrics in the language, and may well become a lasting friend of every one.

PALMER'S (now Lord Selborne's) "Book of Praise," contains a very fair collection from the best hymn-writers. B. Editions. Our early period is deficient. There are excellent editions by Professor Skeat of PIERS PLOWMAN, and of one or two of the Canterbury Tales, with introductions; but a good CHAUCER is a desideratum.

In Elizabethan works, the deficiency is still more obvious. Of SPENSER we have three copies, of which "the Globe is the most recent. Of BEN JONSON, a complete edition by Gifford, the critic and satirist. Of SHAKESPERE several copies, but no large annotated edition, though we have a good mass of critical matter. Then, where are BEAUMONT and FLETCHER, MASSINGER and FORD, WEBSTER, and above all, MARLOWE? Mr. Bullen's new editions would supply a marked want. Few read now as they should the quaint and often beautiful works of HERBERT, of whom we possess an old copy.

MILTON, of course, we have, the Globe edition being the only decent copy; but the comic writers of the Restoration leave a palpable gap not wholly to be regretted. DRYDEN is represented by three " complete works," and POPE is particularly favoured, there being the old, comfortable edition of Lintot's, an illustrated edition with designs by Flaxman, and Mark Pattison's memorable editions of the " Essay on Man," and "On Criticism," with their excellent introductions. DRYDEN, again, has fallen too much out of fashion. Glorious John" deserves better treatment for his "longresounding line," and that "energy divine " which Pope cele brates. PRIOR we have not, but the absence of GOLDSMITH is a worse fault. BUTLER'S "Hudibras" is there in a fair edition, and the opening part, at least, should be known to all-a book to be dipped into, rather than read through. COWPER, again, is well represented. The latter books of

6.

"The Task," and the volume of selections will give a good idea of his real merit. CRABBE deserves to be read more, not only for his historic but his rough poetical value. The Globe BURNS is a satisfactory text but not very comfortable. Our Revolution period is fairly complete. Matthew Arnold's selection will serve as an introduction to the study of WORDSWORTH, of whom we have good store. Like LANDOR, he needs such a guide, but of LANDOR, alas! we have nothing except Colvin's excellent selection. ROGERS'S " Italy was once admired, and SOUTHEY'S bottle of hay will afford a needle of merit to a diligent seeker. SCOTT there is in abundance; besides, the old favourite, the "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" is worth more than a glance.

BYRON is fairly represented. He, too, needs judicious reading, a saying which applies still more to SHELLEY, of whom we have Mrs. Shelley's edition, but lack Mr. Rossetti's as well as Mr. Forman's. CAMPBELL's lyrics, and MOORE'S light pieces deserve some attention, especially the former.

In Victorian times, we possess MATTHEW ARNOLD in selection, and should like him in extenso. We have AYTOUN'S "Bothwell" but not his "Lays," and Mrs. BROWNING'S Works complete. Of ROBERT BROWNING we have the six volumes of Poems, but lack all the later pieces. Still those six are ample for the student to delight, perplex, and mystify himself withal. TENNYSON is almost complete and most of the works in separate volumes, a thing needful for any true appreciation. KINGSLEY'S "Andromeda" is a well-written experiment in an ancient metre. We see, too, BARRY CORNwell, EmersoN, and ELIZA COOK, but miss LONGFELLOW, the poet of simple pathos.

We have indicated many gaps; but, on the whole, most of our great masterpieces are on our shelves, and quite enough of each age to give the careful reader a comprehensive view.

In order to facilitate the use of the library as much as possible, it has been decided to allow readers to take down books from the shelves without filling up a form, provided that the books are not taken out of the room. The attendance has already improved since the rule has come into effect.

Then to side with Truth is noble when we share her wretched crust

Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just;

Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside,

Doubting in his abject spirit, till his Lord is crucified,

And the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.

For Humanity sweeps onward: where to-day the martyr stands,

On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in his hands; Far in front the cross stands ready and the crackling faggots burn,

While the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe return To glean up the scattered ashes into History's golden urn. LOWELL: The Present Crisis.

Men cannot act with effect who do not act in concert ; no man can act in concert who does not act with confidence ; no men can act with confidence who are not bound together by common opinions, common affections, and common interests. Men so bound together constitute a party. For party is a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavours the national interest upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed.-BURKE: Thoughts on Present Discontents.

A marciful Providence fashioned us holler

O' purpose that we might our principles swaller.
Ain't principle precious? Then, who's going to use it
Wen there's resk o' some chap's gettin' up to abuse it?
I can't tell the wy on't; but nothin' is so sure
Ez that principle kind o' gets spiled by exposure.
LOWELL: The Biglow Papers.

One person with a belief is a social power equal to nearly nine who have only interests.-MILL: Representative Government.

Gineral C. is a dreffle smart man:

He's been on all sides that give places or pelf;
But consistency still wuz a part of his plan-
He's been true to one party, an' that is himself.
So John P.
Robinson he

Sez he shall vote fur Gineral C.
LOWELL: The Biglow Papers.

Educate, or govern-they are one and the same word. Education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know; it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave. It is not teaching the youth of England the shapes of letters and the tricks of numbers, and then leaving them to turn their arithmetic to roguery and their literature to lust. It is, on the contrary, training them into the perfect exercise and kingly continence of their bodies and souls -by kindness, by watching, by warning, by precept, and by praise; but above all, by example.-RUSKIN: The Crown of Wild Olive.

Visible and tangible products of the past I reckon up to the extent of three: Cities, with their cabinets and arsenals; then tilled fields; to either or to both of which divisions roads with their bridges may belong; and thirdly, books, in which third truly, the last invented, lies a worth far surpassing that of the two others. Wondrous indeed is the virtue of a true book. Not like a dead city of stones, yearly crumbling, yearly needing repair; more like a tilled field, but then a spiritual field-like a spiritual tree, let me rather say it stands from year to year and from age to age.-CARLYLE: Sartor Resartus.

;

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
Fired at first sight with what the Muse imparts,
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of arts,
While from the bounded level of our mind
Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind
But more advanced, behold with strange surprise
New distant scenes of endless science rise!
So pleased at first, the towering Alps we try,
Mount o'er the vales, and seem to tread the sky!
The eternal snows appear already past,
And the first clouds and mountains seem the last;
But those attained, we tremble to survey
The growing labours of the lengthened way;
The increasing prospect tires our wandering eyes,
Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise!

POPE: Essay on Criticism.

It is particularly requested that orders for the Journal, as well as all other BUSINESS communications, may be addressed, NOT to the Editor, but to the HON. MANAGER of the TOYNBEE JOURNAL, 28, Commercial Street, E.

The Hopes of the Hosts.

BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT.

CERTAINLY a great deal of entertaining goes on in Toynbee Hall. From the half hours spent in the little room, where its Entertainment Committee meets, there issue some prominent if not exactly big results, and, perhaps, its members are not without a hope that deep consequences as well may follow. This method of helping people has not been without its criticisers, one of whom uttered the opinion," that the Toynbee Hall plan was to save the people's souls alive by pictures, pianos, and parties," and though the remark was made derisively, there may be some doubt if it was altogether without truth: only the speaker should have added that it was one of the Toynbee Hall plans, instead of using only the definite article.

If the Toynbee Hall aim is to help to make it possible that men should carry out the command given long ago of "Be ye perfect," and if, as a modern lover of righteousness has put it, "the power of social life and manners is one of the great elements in our humanization, and unless we cultivate it we are incomplete ;" then it is not an error that "pictures, pianos, and parties" should be pressed into service to fill up some of the incompleteness in the East London dweller's life, and to help him to "save his soul alive."

It is one of the saddest facts of life in this crowded, busy, tiring, and hurried part of London that it is more difficult to keep one's soul (like one's plants) alive than it is in gentler places, where folk get the aid of some of nature's beauties, and some moments of that outside quiet which help to make it possible to fancy "the peace which passeth all understanding." But because Whitechapel is Whitechapel and Toynbee Hall is in its midst, more artificial methods for gaining and keeping life must be adopted.

It is true that the Entertainment Committee prefer those gatherings which can take place out of

[PRICE ONE Penny,

doors in the country, where the guests gain all that comes from the charm of being graciously entertained under "the wider sky"; but still town parties are not to be despised, and, judging from the glad acceptance of those many who "cannot bid again," they are generally enjoyed.

The method of food entertainment is very simple, so simple that it sometimes wars against the generous instincts of the hosts; but, after careful thought, it has been decided that the object of Toynbee Hall entertainments and parties will be more surely gained if "plain living and high thinking" can be maintained—not to mention the more mundane consideration that more friends can be welcomed as guests if each is not so expensive. So the pleasure to be gained from rich or dainty food is neglected, and the guests are summoned in order to give them pleasures: to increase their interests. And among the means of doing this may be reckoned the fine thoughts of the great dumb teachers, the artists, of which those who care can learn as they turn over the portfolios, look at the photograph books, or study the gift pictures on the walls. The great, also, in the musical world are pressed into the service as the musically generous among the friends of Toynbee Hall pass on the plaintive ideas of Schumann, or the grand soul-stirring aspirations of Beethoven and Mozart.

To give pleasure is now almost universally considered to be a righteous duty, and when it is taken into consideration that the homes of most East Londoners are too narrow, their daily labour too great, and their resources too limited to permit them taking pleasure by entertaining in their own houses, it cannot but be considered as a gladdening sight when the large reception rooms are full of a happy, an amused, and an enjoying company.

To increase interests is not perhaps as yet recognised as so deep a human need, but it may be so, none the less for this; and to the young or to the much tempted, this opportunity of increasing their interests is of untold value.

Most young folk are better educated than their parents, and, with a keen sense of enjoyment, a belief in their own powers of self-guidance, and a happy

blank on their page of disappointments, they are eager for "life, fuller life," and will take its pleasure in some guise, warn their elders never so wisely. To give it them free from temptation, and in such a form that when the first novelty is worn off, it will still be true that "the best is yet to be;" to increase interests, until a self-centered and self-seeking existence shows itself in its true and despicable colours; to increase scientific interests with microscopes, magic lanterns, and experiments; literary interests with talks on books, recitations from the poets, scenes from Shakespeare; to increase musical interests with the aid of glee clubs, violin trios, and solo and chorus songs; to increase interests on all sides. At this the Entertainment Committee aims, hoping that thus for some "all earth will seem aglow where 'twas but plain mud before."

"The cultivation of social life and manners is equal to a moral impulse, for it works to the same end. . . . It brings men together, makes them feel the need of one another, be considerate of one another, understand one another." So teaches Matthew Arnold. And the introduction of the guests to each other is no neglected feature in the Toynbee Hall gatherings. It is for this reason that guests of all classes are summoned together, that the hand-worker may have sympathy with the head-labourer, that the eager reformer may gather hints from the clear-visioned thoughts of the untried lad, or that the boy living a club life far removed from women's power, may be introduced to a "ladye faire," who may (if she will) become to him a "sheltering cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night," guiding him safely through stonier wastes than ever the old Israelites weathered. It is no slight duty this to introduce one human being to another to help them to pass quickly along the dull road of acquaintanceship and out into the sweet valley of knowledge and friendship, and there gain, the comfort, refreshment, and inspiration, without which it almost seems impossible to believe in and hold on to an ideal good.

The highest and noblest thing yet revealed to man is the human creature's soul, "the very pulse of the machine," and if Toynbee Hall parties do something to reveal the depths of one creature to another; if they do a little to keep alive and weld into solidarity the floating hopes and aspirations, which idly live in every human heart, but alas ! so often die from loneliness; if they do something to help people to care for one another and to see the higher vision; and if those thus caring are stirred to take thought for the growth and development of the larger, sadder world, then, perhaps, the "pictures, pianos and parties" will not so ill have played their part in the work of Toynbee Hall. HENRIETTA O. BARNETT.

Utmost wisdom is not in self-denial, but in learning to find extreme pleasure in very little things.-RUSKIN: Fors Clavigera.

History and Politics.

BY S. R. GARDINER, LL.D.

It was once said to me by one whom all frequenters of Toynbee Hall respect-" You are a happy man, you live in the past, and do not concern yourself with the difficulties of the present." It is quite true that the student of history does not, in one sense, concern himself with the difficulties of the present. If he tries to write about parties in the thirteenth or in the seventeenth century so as to give direct instruction about the difficulties of the nineteenth, he will be certain to teach bad history, and he will probably teach bad politics.

Yet in proportion as his direct influence on politics is small, his indirect influence ought to be great. Nothing is more distasteful to me than the contempt which persons, sometimes of considerable learning, show for the struggles of the world around them. If I thought that University Teaching at the East End, or anywhere else, was to lead men to despise the workers around them, the imperfect, erring workers, as they must necessarily be, I for one would have nothing more to do with it.

There is one side of the historian's task, no doubt, which seems to condemn all that we see passing before our eyes on the political stage. He has to belong to no school, to addict himself to no party. Not merely has he to reverence high qualities when he finds them, alike in Simon de Montfort and Edward I., in Strafford and in Cromwell, but he has to acknowledge that the ultimate good achieved by the nation was only attainable when at last the ideals aimed at by the best men on both sides were in some way or another reconciled. Because he knows this, he can look with no slight scorn on all the meaner arts of party warfare, and he will do his best to encourage the belief that to understand an opponent is the first obligation of the politician.

Is he, therefore, because he feels thus, to stand aloof from all political discussion, to refuse to give his vote according to his conscience, and with complacent superciliousness to look down on those who engage in party politics, or who come to the conclusion that, although there is plenty to be said on both sides, the aims and qualifications of one party are higher than those of the other?

That an historian should take this position is as difficult for me to understand as it is for me to understand how an historian should be a ramping, raging partisan. As surely as history teaches us that good is not to be found in any party exclusively, it teaches us that it is only attainable by the efforts of party, that is to say, by the efforts of such men as will cling together to effect some good object, whether it is religious, or social, or political. We are imperfect beings, and if we wait till some very superior person has not only taken all knowledge to his province, but has actually assimilated it, we shall hardly make any progress at all.