Tx must be admitted that the present batch of paper very dull one, containing but few articles which look at all attractive. 'The salient point about the Spectator, perhaps, is its vigorous attack upon Walt Whitman, 'That eccentric writer, us our readers doubtless know, has recently pubished an eccentric book' with the eccen title Specimen Daysand Collect. "Collect means thatsomevf the disjointed paragraphs, sentences, and chapters here published appeared befure, and are now collected "Specimen are apparently, th record of days which may serve as a spec men of Mr. Whitmau's life. The charges brought against the post by the Spectutor are pretty heavy, He is coarse, he is exmmoupluce, he is egotistical, he is verbose, he puts questions and never answers them, he is ignorant, and, worse than all, he "ungrammatical, Such sentences as 'I de not know as" and ' who they come from" can scarcely be defended on the score of the writer's freedom from conventional trammels. 'Fetching up," "scouted," detring-do," and' out of killer" require glossary. "The English language," says the writer, "even when supplemented by the most forcible slang in the world, i 1 unequal to the expression of this man's thoughts, go that he is compelled to employ a large original vocabulary,—e.g., jolted, gaggery, outcroppaye, liieratus, ostent, hhilosoph, to proniulge, and memorandise," Phe only other article of a popular nature which calls for remark is one on 'Animal Life in the Malay Peninsula,' which contains a good deal of picturesque descriptive writing. There is something very refreslying in tur jon to the grand jungle-scenes here depicted, full of giant palms, and great star-like flowers, and strange animals, and gorgeous birds, and jewellike lizards, and vegetation replete With feathery grace," Supposivg," writes the Spectator, that one possessed Prince Hassan's carpet, the tree ut inexhaustible fruit, the flask of unfailing water, and the cloak of invisibility, s0 that one might travel in any region of this planet at ehvice, and be under no sort of bondage or obligation to the human race, the Malay country would be one of the best possible fields for the exercise of such a privilege." under no other circumstances, we should uk. Even if we were in possession. of agical accoutrements of Pri rely there are other fields y explored whose claim upon us would be at Toast equal to that of Mulaya, 'The bottom of the sea must present visions of beauty and interest far stranger and more wonder-tropical jungle, h, perhaps, it bears a fanciful The Saturday has a very lo article on "Bdueation and Insanity,' in which it emphasises the havoc that is being played in the minds and bodies of children by the cruel over-study to which the school Boards are condemning them. "Not even the pious races who regard lunatics as inspired have ever set themselves tu stimulate the artificial production of lunatics. The Zulus especially, though they lovk on goff-headed with reverence, hold tat the supply of idiots is considerably in excess of the demand, and do thole best to prevent their tribesmen from becoming suff headed. If we bau accept the statistics and intel of some of the speakers in a re of Lords, we are owes in abundance by the simple and adi guato processes of popular educate Birmingham appears to be one of the in this matter, Here we i process i Giicted on us or om tte children.
We mend however tu our local autho the article on Sanitary Precaution they will do well to lay to he:
again very severely down Beatrice'
Princess should always appear in the lowest of dresses and shortest of sleeves at dinner, exposed to all the draughts which ru riot Tt was only when her d Vietin te a severe cold allowed her to put on sq) e-ct dresses with elbow sleeves. It is a notwrion fact that Her jesty always ies who attend drawing-rooms app with their aru and bosoms fully ex; used and unprotected, even when the biter March or April wind necessitates the warmest of furs and wraps. Many illnesses I me curred in consequence. ly remarkable for an amusing jewd'esprit by Mr. Perey Fitzgerald, called The Hambletts of Denmark Hill." Mra, Hamblett has married the brother of her former husband, step sorely resented by young lett, her sun. Young Hamblett, has a turn for spitituali being one De. Goest. Through him he com: iiunicates with a spirit claiming to bs the decewed Mr. Hamblett, and the consequence is that young Hamblett tal advantage of some private theatricals by his mother and stepfather Hill to emphasise his disapproval of their marriage. 'The idea is very cleverly carried out. The Athencwn has " most interesting review of George Meredith's latest book,—"Puems and Lyrics of the Joys of Earth,' The extracts given are musical and beautiful, and above all couched in a joyous vein, —a rare relief after the lovesick maunderings and charnel-house rubbish of the latest fashionable school, 'Sir John Pope Hennessy's 'Sir Walter Ralegh in Ireland' is also reviewed, but curiously cuon scarcely one word is eaid about the author, We conclude with a -solection from the literary items.—Mr. ° Shapira, who has arrived in London, has brought with him what purports' to be. text, with curtailments, of the Book of Deuteronomy, written on pieces of shee] skin in characters resembling those of the Moabite stone. The characters are indi ble until spirits of wine are applied, when they come out very clearly. If this be a xenutine relic its interest is immense; but there lias not yet been time to examine it sufficiently to ascertain whether it is to be clussed with the Mosbite stone or the Moabite pottery. Among the contents of the August number of the Fortnightly Review will be articles by M. Leon Say, on the Suez Canal and the relations between England and Fr Dr. O. Creighton, on the importation of disease; by Mr. G. Venables, Q.C.. on Byron and his biographers; by the Earl of Lytton, on the stave in relation to literature; by Dr. H. Donkin, ow miracles and medium-craft; and by a writer whose name is not give Radi gramme: 1. Mach article by Mes, Fuweett will appear August umber of the Nineteenth Century, Ca Wom Representative Govei ment.' Mea, Lynn Linton contributes article on 'Scandal' to the new number of Merry Euglaut. It in stated that the Nineleenth Century is translated into Urdu at Lucknow and widely circulated throughout the rth-west of la. The complete works of the late Me. William IL. Seward are to be published in the United States in tive octavo volumes, Four of these volumes have been issued before, says the New York Critic but have been OWL Of print for several years.
The tithe lume will be entirel ow, and will, as its title indicates, be A Diplomutic me tory of che Wa REVIEWS, The Chine Reewrder ant Minvinuere Joueuai, July Byrvae Deilica, By B, Wane windtos E stake, Tue prosont number of the Chinese Recorder differs but little from its recent predecesswra, Mr, B.C. Henry continues his Glinpaes Hainan, and Dir, th plunges deeper than ever into the intricreies of Chinese word-puzzles and cryptasrams, Many of thes yo inordinately farfetched aa scarerly tw be worth the trouble others which Mr. Smith has giv are fall of wit and Here is an ple, 'The Emperor i-lung when on one of his numerous eys put up at a temple where there was achié jeu teaching wachool, 'Lhisman proved so acreeable and intelligent that the Emperor wrote the following inscription for his wall; HA, (Two Insects.' What this meant wobudy could guess, and the compliment supposed to be comprised in it was an even greater puzzle." What he really nieaut, og the intelligent reader has alrendy divined," says Me. Smith, artfully, was a reference to the Empire, which' in his time was greater than ever before, and was two the Imperial eye boundless, like. the the wind or the eifulyence of the Lest however this very Incid ex-pla ion should be insnflicient even for the most intelligent reader, Mr. Smith is good enough to add This postulate once granted, was easy, by a common figure of spe Imperial domain by the term Wind and Moon and hen wae of the brief 5 "The Wind and the Moou—no hountar HES thi His Mojoaiy'a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.