Tux action of the French in Madagascar appears to be attracting some attention on part of European publicists. There is strongly written article on the subject in the Saturday Review, and its touer is not favourable to French policy. The policy of remaining quietly at ome and attending to their more pressing business has not yet begun to sit easily on the French. They can adopt it to avoid a big complication but a small and safe-looking opening for a civilizing mission on the south-east of Africa is apparently not to be resisted." The oticer in command of the naval station is described as having pulled down the flag of the barbarous sovereign who rules the greater part of the island, and seized upon the crazy tub which constitutes her entire navy. No excuse is offered for these proceedings on the part of the French, which, without excuse, appear exceed ingly "high-handed, and ove is curious to know what are the undoubted rights of Franco" which are now being enforced. "It is moral justification enough for the conquests of any nation," wides the Saturday, severely, "that they are necessary to protect or further its understood interests." No nation stands in less need of colonies than France, and those she has are both costly and useless.—It this is the line adopted by the English press, it is scarcely probable that the Anna expedition will be applauded; but hitherto it does not seem to have attracted very much interest at home.
'The same 1 paper has a smart article on 'A New Ago of Faith.' Itis a bright bit of banter at the expense of those who "go back upon" their previous political theories in the matter of wars and annexations, because the actual war in hand is a Gladstone war. "To do justice to some Radicals whom one meets, they take the situation with that humour which is atill to some extent characteristic of Englishmen, They say to you, with something of a chuckle and something of a blush, ' Shouldn't we have made a row if Dizzy had done this?? and they pass on, having in this way disarmed criticism." In fact what a Nonconformist writer says of Nonconformists is true of all Liberals and Radicals. The great majority of Dissenters have placed. such implicit confidence in Mr. Gladstone that they cannot believe he would enter on a wanton and wicked war." There political morality stops people from weighing his actions on their own merits, Itis the man, not the measure, that they look at Sir Stafford Northcot not renowned wit, but hardly'a wittier thing has been said in English politics for some years past than is summing up of all Radical arguments on all subjects whatever as being fault that a disaster Graham at Kassassin? The truth of greatness; but from the point of view of childlike faith, is not obvious, Farther on we have an interesting article on the formation of a new Catholic Conservative Associ Among a number of Norfolk, Lord Bute, Si George Bouyer, liven it their adhesion are the Duke of
and Sir John Pope Hennessy. Its coat-of-arms consists of a Tiara, a Crown, and a Bible, denoting respectively allegiance to the Pope, loyalty to the Queen, and the opinion that education and religious instruction must go hand in hand. The Atheneum contains a letter from Dr. Legge in reply toM. Terrion de la Couperie. The controversy cresting, of course, but fragmentary, and we are almost inclined to deprecate a discussion which, pending the publication of M. de la Couperie's book, appears little premature, One paragraph of the Doctor's letter must be reproduced. Our reaers will remember that the Doctor was charged by his opponent with rendering the word 3 tien, shaving.' Here la his repl lation of ¢hien, thus adduced, explanation of the t ty-eighth hexay saw at once that it could not usual meaning of " heal that it must hay. of another characte: that there should be instead of signifying some ment. Looking jinese comment taries, 1 found chien described as here meaning "the punishment of si the head," and in one case (Kiung Ying-14) that of cutting or piercing the forehead." I found aleo the suggestion of another character as the proper reading. I turned then to the Khaug: dicta and there, with a special reference was chien defined as of Eiueitn," and the Kaedén, having the bai stated it to be, only his make my critic charge mo with making up a jing for the occasion, and further, giving "shaving" simply as that meaning, and nob "shaving the head," Let one auch meaning be proved against me, and I retire at ones from the Geld.
There is a very good review of Mr. T. B. Jenkinson's 'Amazulu' in this week's number, containing some humorous and interesting touches with respect to Zulu life. Mr, Jenkinson spells the King's name Ketchwayo, and if this represents the true pronunciation, we do not know why it should not be adopted. We have already mentioned 'La Russia Sottorranean' by Stepniak, which is also noticed this week. The Spectator is " number to be read rather than reviewed. It is a good number, though a little prolix, The Poetry column contains the following, by a Mr. John W. Hales lift up thine ighty and a igely chequered hath th be And they have suffered And ofttine Heavy up Do wrestle, Nothing they know, ati With many a thousand bat!
The floods have bro head Yet for all this, their beauty is not marred, Nor in thei they diecoméi Still they endure, whatever whirlwiude roi gloria they endure, my 'Mr. Brereton's 'Tenth about Opium' is sensibly and carefully dissected. The writer makes a good point when he draws a distinction between selling a drug which may be abused, and forcing a Government anxious to restrict its importation to allow its admission free; but what does he mean by the last word? Surely the Spectator cannot believe that opium pays no duty. Wo conclude as usual with some items from the Literary Gossip of the Atheneum Mr. Elliot Stock associate during the last year of his life, and whose acquaintance with him extended over a longer period, For the preparation of this volume Mr, Came has had the facil {forded by a great number of letters written to him by Rossetti on purely literary subjects letters which deal with Shakepeare's sonnets, with many early writers, with Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Blake, Chatterton, and later and contemporary posts. Mr. Came has prefaced these by a rapid account of Rossetti's career, and affixed to them a number of personal reiscences.—Mr. Char! our Ancestors in Sussex.' It will be published shortly by Messrs. Farncombe and Ca., of Lewes.—an article by Dr. James Croll, F.R.S., entitled 'Evolution in Rela tion "to Force: a New Argument for Theism,' written before his recent illness, will shortly appear in one of the quarter lies.—Dr. P. J. Popoff, of New York, writing in the Critic of the 9th inst., shows to what extent American authors ate read in Russia, Longfellow is the most popular of American poets there; and Fenimore Cooper's tales are more widely read than any other novels of foreign origin. Cun sou is known and highly respected; but
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.