us the Christmas, or winter, numbers of Zruth and the World, which, like their predecessors, com mainly of laboured satires upon society Phey are by no means i ding, and one must be very well up to appreciate all their p tures of well-known t picture, perhaps, being vhich da 5 Rtntthes ater, Haweis, Sir John social celebrities fi ing to th seri we find an unusually'
Spectator. A somewhat startling ssu; tion is male apropos ut the eatastr in the Soudan, The writer thinks t ut General Hicks will arouse the a of ull North Africa, tribes at once into expect a formid invasion of Tunix it is therefore possible that General Hicks, in resolving on his audacious march into Equatorial Africa, has saved Tonguin to the Chinese Empire! It appears, however, that on the 24th November, the French Government were fully hoping to receive a telegram from Admiral Courbet annet—cing the capture of Bacuinh, What grounds there could have been for any such expectation is not stated. 'Then comes a very remarkable and important article entitled 'Will the Czar yield 2" from from the pen of 'Stepniak,' the author. of 'Underground Russia.' Shortly after the Czar's return from Copenhagen, says this writer, it was announced that he had re. solved to yield to-the wishes of his people, and grant them a Constitution. There can be no question that Alexander came back fully resolved to follow the advice of his Danish relatives, and that he ordered the Minister of the Interior to prepare a project of Reform. Since then, in spite of the dismay and disgust of the old Conservative statesman, events have happened which, have confirmed. the Euperor in his intention, though his vacillating character may yet influence the state-councils unfavourably. The situation at present is thus summed up by ' Stepnial Nothing is certain, The present crisis may result in important reforms; it may equally result, after a fow weeks of indecision, in nothing more than a change of personnel and a few bureaucratic palliatives, Lu the mean+ time, rumour has it that the First Minister will shortly be dismissed; and a curious project is spoken of, for a Convocation of the Provincial Governors-General, to deliberate on the state of the Empire, and suggest measures of reform for the consideration of the Czar. This will be quite a uew sort of Parliament, duo to the Inveutive genius of his Excellency Count Tolatoi, Then comes a striking paper on the Lourdes miracles, the principal part of which voted toa story in which M. de Freycinet plays a prominent dle, 'The story in two words is this. M. de Freycinet, who is an eminent Protestant, had a friend, M. Henri Lasserre, a fervent Catholic,' who was suffering' from an affection of the eyes
Paris. M, de Freycinet said to hit wih had bated all the fiat oculits of door friend, if I were a believer like you, I should not' hesitate to try the water of Lourdes." M, Lasserre resisted the importunity of his friend, lest, vid, the trial should be successful; for if it were, ao grent would be the impression on his soul he could do nothing but give up everything and bee come a saint, in recognition of what would be the direct act of God, Atlast, however, he sent for a bottle of the water, and the cure was sudden and complete, though there was sume threat of a relapse, which AM. Henri Lasserre ascribed to a moral failure of his own. Twenty years have elapsed, and M. Lasserre has mever found his eyesight fail him Aue traordina no room, nich polities, France quoad China is summed up in the following lines far aw itis repurty, we, y guees that Chinw will be' very glad to awat if ite Lo will sul agree thi would only or the Ma with a rebellion, dispose it to accept any r promise, In 'Cup-marks' the Suturday discourses learnedly on the Diagrams of Fu Hei, and draws avery interesting comparison between those mysterious characters and certs markings described by a Mr. Rivett Ca as being observable on rocks in the Bri es, America, Franco, Palestine, and other parts of the world, The in this week's Suturday are of exceptional interest. Mr. Lewis Morris's Sonya Unsong" is criticised, and the poet taken to task for introducing into one of his poems a line which is condemned as a trochaic dimeter hypercatalectic, It strikes us that the offending line is not half so bad as its name, The Atheneum has a most interesting review of Margacet part of the Eminent This contains a very sharp epigram on Miss Fuller—who appoare tq
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.