Reviews

imposition which gives him a headache ! With all our respect for the philanthropy of the age , wo cannot help thinking that , as regards physical education , ifc has been content to destroy without building up—to push the head at tho expense of the thews and sinews ; and to make a clever , sharp lad , instead of a strong , enduring , and self reliant man . " There is a healthy ring aboufc this which it does one's

heart good to read . Fortunately , of late years , thanks to such men as the late Charles Kingsley , Muscular Christianity has renewed its influence over young Englishmen , aud the athletic training is looked upon as of almost equal moment with the mental . We regret we have not space to continue our notice . Many of the essays which follow are equally interesting , while in several

the hints and observations aro of extreme value . Under the head of " The Clerk of the Weather " is given an account of the Meteorological Department of the Board of Trade and its organization . As , doubtless , many of our readers are constant travellers by rail , we advise them to read tho paper describing " the effects of Railway Travelling npon tho health of persons , and they will be better able to

judge whether such mode of travelling suits them . The author deprecates long journeys undertaken daily , as for instance between London nnd Brighton . The reason , he says , is obvious , " the great nervous high road traversing the spine has to be protected from shock or motion as carefully as a transit instrument in an observatory ; and in order to accomplish this , the long case in whioh it is

enclosed is padded in every direction , and innumerable ligaments and muscles aro attached to it in order that it may be automatically kept in its normal position . Now , the tumbling and jolting of the carriage are constantly calling forth this automatic action of the muscles : hence the tiredness aud soreness we experience after a protracted journey . " Then , " the perpetual grating and grinding

of wheels upon rails keeps the tympanum of the ear in constant agitation , and the eye is tried by the rapid flight of objects . " This essay , as devoted to a subject with which wo hecome practically acquainted—many of us , nearly every day of our lives—is well worthy of being read . However , ifc is time we concluded our remarks . There are several other papers we shonld like to refer to , bnt we must not trespass further upon our space . Let it suffice if we add that that be

the book is one of the most entertaining and instructive can imagined . Moreover , as ifc contains a series of papers on different topics , it may be taken up at odd leisure hours , so that tho mind runs no risk of becoming fatigued , as happens to most people when they pore for any length of time over abstruse and trying subjects . It is , in fine , a work which deserves to have a place in every well appointed library , and , if handsomely bound , would do well as a prize book to boys with a taste for curious or scientific studies .

Periodical Literature

PERIODICAL LITERATURE

THE Twentieth Century is tho title of an illustrated mid-quarterly " Magazine of New Ideas for the Nineteenth , " and is edited by ono who describes himself as "A Comprehensionalisfc . " Tho mofcto is , " The Future is tho Present , and the Present is the Future . " It has been our good or evil fortune to review many periodicals in our time , but we confess we never came across so great a curiosity as this new publication . Its object ; is said to be educational , and under

these circumstances the Right of Translation is nofc reserved . As Masons , we are nofc altogether unfamiliar with the mysterious ; but the mysteries , or whatever else they may be , which are contained in this magazine , are more than enough to drive all tho Masons in the United Kingdom , including His Royal Highness tho Grand Master , into tho sublimesfc state of mystification imaginable . There is one paper , however , entitled , " Our Swiss Tour . Parfc II ., Geneva to Marfcigny , " the following passage in which we think will amuse our readers : —

_ I have paid my bill at the Hotel de something or other , which bill was uncomplainable , considering the circumstances , and cheap if you include tho conversation of the Americans you hear in the smoking-room . What a grand majesty of bewildering illumination they display in describing their affairs . The process they so aptly pro . foss of chawing up creation you really believe they could perform

without cracking a tooth . I suppose this idea arose from the extraordinary power and length of the lower jaw , so characteristic of the nation ; but their brag of the impossible is charming . There are two stories , thongh , I have heard , in which thoy were beaten by Englishmen , which , if you have nofc heard them , will bear repetition . A Yankee was magnifying the size of a fish he had caught . * I can

perfeefcly believe you , ' said the Englishman , ' because I often use much larger fish than the one you desoribo for bait . ' Tho other was an Englishman , being importuned by a Yankee as to why ho was going to New York , said 'that if tho place suited him , ho had some thoughts of buying it . ' Tho Americans are to bnild the Millennial City , but have

they not yet learned how to make constitutional bricks durable , and the splendour of their progress is transient in the premature crumblement of their foundations . They want soundness . But their patent laws are perfection—their reasoning faculties are stimulated , and tho free scope for their imaginations make their progress perpetual . "

But with the exception of this and a few of tho minor notes , we confess tho new Ideas developed in the pages of tho Twentieth Century are strictl y beyond us . For ourselves , we prefer the class of magazine we have been accustomed to , with its quiet reading , light poetry , and good , bad , or lnciifterent fiction . At all events we have some conception of what

, we are reading when we take up a periodical like Tinsleys ' , the current number of which is of more than average merit . Tho same ficiT 'I « m CTlrrent—" A Maddening Blow , " and Mr . Frank Barrett's tale ot Two Knaves and a Queen . " Two short stories are likewise included , namely , " Hands and Hearts , " and "Divorced , " both of which should please the reader , Tha story of the Ufa of " Joseph IL , "

Periodical Literature

by Fanny Power Cobbe , is exceedingly well told . Tho writer has selected the salient features in tho monarch ' s character , describing them effectively , and in order to make the paper more readable , intro * dncing some pleasing anecdotes . Tho poetio contributions include " Two Servian Love Songs , " by Dr . Maurice Davies , which are equal to any we have seen of his , and the following from the pen of G . Weatherly , entitled " Treasures : "—

" A faded note—a lock of hair—A flower within a book—A little leckefc lying there In long-forgotten nook .

" Trifles are these ? Ab , so they seem To those who do nofc know ; For me they bring a golden dream Of long , long years ago . " 0 little treasures , rarely seen , What memories you raise ! Yon whisper of what might have been ,

You sing of long past days . " Cassell ' s Family Magazine exhibits the same characteristics , the practical combined with light , wholesome , and interesting reading . As to the story of " Paul Knox , Pitman , " the troubles of poor little May Gwynn aro too much for her , ancl she quits her home for the nonce , leaving Reuben Gwynn and her lover , Percy Shafto , as may

well be imagined , in a most uneasy frame of mind . " Stone Steps and Wooden Stairs" is being worked into an admirable tale . In addition aro papers on every variety of subject . For example Mr . Arthur Arnold contributes a graphic description of the " Bgypb of to-day . " A family doctor offers his " Advice to the Consump . tive" and very sensible advice it is , too . The question " How ia

Heat Produced ? " is ahly answered , and there is an account of a "My ascent np Mount Wellington" in Tasmania , in which the writer ran a fair chance of paying dearly for his foolhardiness . Then a careful housewife gives in detail " the Requirements of a Yachting Cruise , " and our Paris Correspondent contributes her pleasant " Chit-Chat on Dress . " Guy Roslyn describes a " Trip to

the Land's End , " there is some ' Gossip on Hand Turning , " and John Crowdy tells the reader " How to listen to Mendelssohn's Elijah . " A story by Elizabeth Claxton , entitled " A Short Wooing , " a paper on "Chamber-Music , " and a poem by the Rev . M . G . Watkins , headed " A Morning Concert , " go a good way towards com . pleting a very capital number .

As to the Countries of the World , Dr . Brown still keeps ns lingering in the Western States of North America . While noting the products of Colorado , he very kindly says little of its notorious beetle , and we thank him accordingly . A little over two pages , in the course of which we have an illustration of a " Dakota , or Sioux Indian , " suffices for Dakota , and then we pass on to " The Prairies West and East of

the Rocky Mountains , " and thence to " Wyoming , the Wonderland of America . " The illustrations , which include " View of Cedar Creek Canon , Colorado , " " View of the Valley of the Upper Mississippi , " " View of Yellowstone Lake , Wyoming , " and " View of the Cliffs in theGrancl Cafion of the Yellowstone , Wyoming , " are worthy of great praise .

Correspondence

CORRESPONDENCE

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . AU Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily / or publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

ILLEGAL ELECTIONS . To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE , ^ DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am surprised to learn from your article " On tho Conduct of Lodges , " that a joining member is frequently proposed and elected on seven days' notice . The candidate for which

an emergency is provided is a candidate for initiation , and nofc a joining member . When W . M ., I refused to allow an emergency in such a case , on the ground both of illegality and inexpediency , and besides , it was unnecessary , the brother being welcome as a visitor till he should be regularly elected . I believe I was right , hut I should like to see the question decided on higher authority . Yours fraternally , P C C * 8 th September 1877 .

OUR SCHOOLS . To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Bro . Riach has written a letter on the subject of "Our Schools , " and to his signature afc foot has appended his Masonic titles . I have no Masonio title beyond thafc of Master Mason . I am very proud of it , but , afc the same time , I am fully sensible that he , with his figures and capital lottters—looking for all the world like a comet with its long luminous tail—must have many

advantages over me , who have no tail at all . S- ill , the 31 ° , & c , Seo ., have not frightened me out of my senses , and I mean to attack him for his wanton assault on the two Masonic Schools , of which most of ns are so proud , and in the efficiency of whioh the majority of Masons so implicitly believe . Three -.-viucipal reasons appear to have influenced Bvo , Biach iq