negotiate the Peace preliminaries. He was obviously the person best
fitted to do so, for he was at once the most moderate and capable
amongst Frenchmen, the least unwilling to make terms in conformity with
the exigencies of the situation, and the only man in a position to carry
his way in the Assembly.
On February 26, the preliminaries of Peace were signed and contained
even harsher conditions than had been anticipated, but the military
position of France was so absolutely hopeless that resistance to them
was impracticable. The war indemnity was reduced from six milliards to
five, but this constituted the sole success of the French negotiators,
unless the formal entry of the German troops into Paris might be taken
as a somewhat barren substitute for the restoration of Belfort; certain
matters of detail, chiefly connected with finance, were postponed for
future consideration at Frankfort.
In view of what has already been written respecting the secret
negotiations which took place during the campaign, it is impossible not
to be struck with the heroic folly displayed by the French in the latter
stages of the war. If it is true that their gallant struggle under the
stimulus of Gambetta and the Government of National Defence inspired the
admiration of the world, it is equally obvious that human life and
treasure were ruthlessly wasted in a hopeless cause. Bismarck, it is
well known, was strongly opposed to any accession of territory, beyond
what was absolutely necessary, and would have much preferred a pecuniary
compensation. If, instead of following the lead of Gambetta, the
counsels of Thiers had been adopted, peace would have been made long
before the fall of Paris became imminent; millions of money would have
been saved, thousands of lives would not have been uselessly sacrificed,
and Lorraine would have remained French instead of becoming the chief
contributory cause towards undying hatred of the German people.
Thiers returned to Bordeaux upon the accomplishment of his melancholy
mission, and a debate took place in the Assembly on the question of the
ratification of the Peace preliminaries. The discussion gave opportunity
for much recrimination and for much display of emotion, especially on
the part of Victor Hugo, but Thiers's success was a foregone conclusion
and the Peace preliminaries were accepted by 546 votes to 107.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Bordeaux, March 2, 1871.
I suppose we may say peace at last. I hear that the discoveries made
by the Committees on the Military Forces and on the Finances were so
overwhelming, as to convince every member that defence was
absolutely impossible. This reduced the debate yesterday to mere
idle vapouring on the part of the Opposition. One speech was simply
absurd--that of Victor Hugo. The rest were perhaps fair speeches,
but there was no eloquence worthy of the occasion, and there was an
evident unreality about the Opposition. The majority had determined
not to speak. Thiers's few words were very telling; no one but
Thiers could have got so many to vote; the fear was that a great
number would abstain from voting, and so the Ratification would
either not be carried at all, or be carried by too small a majority
to pledge the country.
Chaudordy did not vote, he hankered to the last after an appeal to
the Neutral Powers. Even supposing the Germans would have given time
by prolonging the Armistice, which they certainly would not, I don't
think France would have gained anything by the appeal. Either
Bismarck would have peremptorily refused to let the Neutrals have
anything to say; or, if, _par impossible_, he had made some
concessions, he would in return of course have required them to
acquiesce explicitly in his other terms; and this, I think, would
have been as bad for France, and worse for the dignity of the
Neutrals themselves, than the present state of things. At least we
are free from any sort of sign of approval of the monstrous
conditions Prussia has imposed by sheer force.
How France is to be governed, and how the milliards are to be paid,
are hard questions. The majority of the Assembly, which is decidedly
anti-republican, hardly expects to establish a Government to its
taste, without some actual fighting with the Reds in Paris and other
large towns. It therefore does not at all like the idea of moving
the Assembly to Paris. Thiers, I think, wishes to go to Paris, or at
least to move the Assembly to some place near enough to enable the
Executive Government to be carried on in Paris. The inconveniences
of the present roving system are manifold; and I cannot help
thinking that the sooner the Government settles in the Capital, and
has its fight (if fight there really must be) with the Mob over, the
better.
As to what the New Government is to be, there would, with the
present Assembly in its present mood, be, one would think, little
difficulty in getting a large majority for a Monarchy, if the fusion
between the Legitimists and the Orleanists were once decidedly and
irrevocably made, and I suppose the Moderate Republicans would not
hold aloof from such a Government, provided it was _bonâ fide_
parliamentary. Thiers, I believe, still thinks that for the present
a Moderate Republic is the best compromise between all opinions, and
the form of Government which least disunites Frenchmen. He has now
immense influence, but the claimants of the throne and their
supporters in the Assembly seem to be already impatient; and Thiers
will have nothing but painful measures to bring forward, and will be
accused of desiring to perpetuate his own power.
I am afraid our Commercial Treaty is in the greatest danger. With
Thiers as head of the Government and as Minister of Finance, and the
popular feeling hostile to free trade and not in good humour with
England, it will be strange if we hold our own about the Treaty, or
a liberal tariff in France. It was indeed very doubtful whether the
Treaty could be maintained even under the Constitutional Empire.
Grant's Message has for the moment turned the wrath of the French
from the Neutrals to the Americans. It is strange that the
Americans, who are so abominably thin skinned themselves, never show
the least consideration for the national feelings of other Peoples.
The French are, of course, peculiarly sensitive at this moment, and
prone to resent anything like a demonstration of disregard for them.
I am truly thankful that you stopped Walker's entering Paris with
the Germans.
I have not been able to speak to Thiers since he came back, but I am
going to present my letters of Credence to him this evening.
The harshness of the peace conditions shocked Lord Granville, who
thought them not only intolerable to France, but a dangerous menace to
the sacred idol of free trade.
* * * * *
_Lord Granville to Lord Lyons._
Foreign Office, March 1, 1871.
_Vae Victis_ indeed! How hard the conquerors have been, and what a
mistake in a great country like Germany to give up all direction of
its affairs to one bold unscrupulous man!
We do not believe in France being able to bear the burden which has
been put upon her.
I presume one of the results will be to put protectionist duties on
all imported articles. I do not think we should complain much. We
shall lose to a certain degree, but infinitesimally as compared with
France. You had better, in conversation with Thiers, and others, say
that you shall regret it on French account. They want money, which
is to be chiefly got in England. Here, rightly or wrongly, we
believe that protective duties are most injurious to the revenue to
which money-lenders look for their interest. If it is known that
Thiers means to go in for large armaments and for protection,
self-interest will shut up the hoards here.
Peace having now at length been assured, there arose the question of
where the new Assembly was to establish itself, and as there was an only
too well-founded suspicion that Paris was no place for a conservative
chamber with a hankering after a monarchy, Versailles was eventually
selected.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Bordeaux, March 6, 1871.
Thiers asked me yesterday whether I thought it would be advisable
for him to bring the state of affairs between France and Germany
before the Conference in London.
I did not very well see what there was to submit to the Conference,
as the preliminaries of peace were signed and could not be altered.
I thought it however better to avoid any discussion on this point,
and to say decidedly that in my opinion it would be very unadvisable
to do anything of the kind. I told him that I thought it would be a
particularly bad opportunity to take, if he wished to consult the
European Powers; that the German Plenipotentiary would say, and say
with reason, that his Government had entered into a Conference for a
specific purpose and was not to be entrapped into an extraneous
discussion, that in this view he would no doubt be strongly
supported by the Russian, and that probably none of the
Plenipotentiaries would approve of a proceeding, which would
certainly retard the business for which the Conference had met, and
might very likely break it off altogether.
I think Thiers rather asked my opinion pour 'l'acquit de sa
conscience,' than from having himself any strong desire to attempt
to bring his affairs before the Conference. At any rate he gave a
very conclusive argument against doing so himself, for he said that
it might have the effect of delaying the Prussian evacuation of the
neighbourhood of Paris.
He hopes to get the half milliard necessary to get the Prussians out
of the forts on the North side of the Seine, before the end of the
month. He speaks altogether more hopefully of the financial
prospects than any one else whom I have heard. He says Bismarck was
extremely hard about the money, and that the negociation was nearly
broken off altogether on the question of Belfort. On this question
he believes Bismarck was with him, and had a tremendous fight to
obtain leave from the Emperor and Moltke to make the concession.
Strange as it may appear Thiers seems really to have a sort of
liking for Bismarck personally, and to believe that if he had been
let have his own way by the _militaires_, he would have been much
kinder to France.
It has been generally supposed that the Assembly will adjourn to
Versailles, and St. Germain has also been mentioned; but Thiers told
me yesterday that he should himself propose Fontainebleau. He would
like himself to take it to Paris, as soon as the Prussians are out
of the forts, but the majority will not hear of putting themselves
so near the Belleville mob. I think it will be a great mistake not
to go to Paris, and I hope Thiers will pluck up a spirit, and carry
his point. He said something about being glad to have me near him at
Fontainebleau, but I do not know that it was more than a compliment.
At any rate I am myself strongly of opinion that the best thing for
me to do is to go to Paris as soon as possible, and re-establish the
Embassy there on the normal footing. If there should be (which I
doubt) any necessity for my going to Thiers or Fontainebleau or
elsewhere for more than a few hours at a time I should still propose
to have the headquarters of the Embassy in the Faubourg St. Honoré
and to treat my own occasional absence as accidental. In fact to act
as I did when invited to Compiègne in the Emperor's time. I hope to
be in Paris by the end of this week, or at latest, the beginning of
next.
The Ambassador and his staff returned to Paris on March 14, finding the
Embassy quite uninjured, no traces of the siege in the neighbourhood,
and the town merely looking a little duller than usual. They were
enchanted to be back, and little suspected that in three or four days
they would again be driven out.
Previous attempts on the part of the Red Republicans to overthrow the
Government of National Defence during the siege had met with failure,
but Favre's stipulation that the National Guards should be permitted to
retain their arms gave the Revolutionary Party its opportunity. The new
Government was obviously afraid to act, and matters came to a crisis
when an ineffectual and half-hearted attempt was made to remove some
guns which had been seized by National Guards. Regular troops brought up
against the latter refused to fight and fraternized with their
opponents; two generals were shot under circumstances of great
brutality, a Revolutionary Central Committee took possession of the
Hotel de Ville and proclaimed the Commune, and the Government withdrew
such regular troops as remained faithful to Versailles. On March 18, the
insurgents were completely masters of the right bank of the Seine, and
on the following day an emissary from the French Foreign Office appeared
at the Embassy with the information that the Government had been forced
to retire to Versailles, and that as it was no longer able to protect
the Diplomatic Body at Paris, it was hoped that the Representatives of
Foreign Powers would also repair to Versailles with the least possible
delay. Nearly all of these did so at once, but Lord Lyons with his
pronounced sedentary tastes had had quite enough of moving about and
decided to wait for instructions.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Paris, March 20, 1871.
We are in a strange state indeed. How it will end, who shall say.
The Prussians may be glad of a chance to wipe away the absurdity of
their three days' occupation by a more serious entrance, and it may
suit their rulers to put down Belleville, with a view to checking
the progress of Republicanism. I should think however it would be
wiser of them with their hatred of France, to leave the Parisians to
accomplish their own ruin.
A good many National Guards have gone out towards Versailles,
whether with the view of making a serious attack on the Government
and the Assembly remains to be seen. It seems to be doubtful whether
there are _any_ troops, except perhaps the Papal Zouaves on
whom the Government can depend.
The proclamations of the Central Committee in the _Journal
Officiel_, which I send you officially, are worth reading. They seem
to me to be in form much more calm, dignified and sensible than the
proclamations of the Government of National Defence used to be. In
substance they are not specimens of political knowledge and wisdom.
It is to be hoped that the Assembly will not make matters worse by
violent and ill-considered resolutions. I suppose it will be furious
with Thiers for having brought it to Versailles, and it is on the
cards that it may be really attacked there to-day by the Parisians.
Any way, I should not be at all surprised if the Assembly
transferred itself to some dismal French provincial town.
Instructions, however, were shortly received to proceed to Versailles,
and he betook himself there on the 21st, taking with him Wodehouse and
Sheffield, and leaving Malet, Colonel Claremont, Lascelles,[27] and
Saumarez[28] at the Embassy.
At Versailles complete ignorance appeared to prevail as to the actual
situation; Jules Favre knew nothing, and either the Government had no
plan or was not prepared to disclose it; but, as, at all events, during
the early stage of the conflict, railway communication with Versailles
was not interrupted, it was possible to come up to Paris occasionally at
the risk of being seized by the Communists as a spy, and see how matters
were progressing.
Thiers, in the early days of the Civil War affected to believe that the
revolt would speedily be brought to a satisfactory termination, and the
knowledge that he personally was largely responsible for the existing
situation doubtless prompted him to minimise the danger as much as
possible. By withdrawing the regular troops to Versailles, he had left
the well-disposed inhabitants of Paris at the mercy of an armed
revolutionary mob, and if a renewed bombardment or fresh Prussian
occupation of the town was the result, the fault would have been largely
his. The Assembly too found itself in a ridiculous position; it had been
brought to Versailles because it had been represented that the
Administration could not be carried on away from the capital, and no
sooner did it arrive at Versailles than the whole Government was driven
out of Paris.
The optimism with which Thiers viewed the progress of events in Paris
was not shared by onlookers at Versailles. They could not help seeing
that the members of the Central Committee were continually gaining
ground, and had now obtained control of the whole or very nearly the
whole of the city: that the slaughter of the 'Men of Order' in the Rue
de la Paix on March 22, had left the Red Republicans the masters of the
day, and that the communal elections on March 26, had given a semblance
of regular authority to the revolutionaries. Thiers, who had taken the
whole management of the affair into his own hands, and was still
unwilling to use force, now endeavoured to conciliate the Communists by
a proclamation conceding complete recognition of the municipal
franchise, the right to elect all officers of the National Guard,
including the Commander-in-Chief; a modification of the law on the
maturity of bills of exchange, and a prohibition to house owners and
lodging-house keepers to give their lodgers notice to quit. These
concessions to blackmail were, however, considered insufficient by the
implacable revolutionary leaders, and negotiations broke down when it
was demanded that the Communal Council should supersede the Assembly
whenever the two bodies might come into collision, and that the control
of finance should be vested in the former. It was evident that civil war
could no longer be avoided, and in view of the doubts which existed
respecting the reliability of the army at Versailles, the gravest
apprehensions were felt as to the result of the struggle. Lord Granville
was convinced that the Prussians would re-enter Paris and restore the
Empire, although the Emperor, while praising the Prussians in the course
of a conversation with the Duke of Cambridge, had recently stated that
no one could remain in France who was brought there by the enemy.
On March 28, the Commune was proclaimed with much pomp and emblematic
ceremony in which Phrygian caps were conspicuous, and a series of
decrees appeared shortly in the _Journal Officiel_, which announced the
abolition of conscription, but the compulsory enrolment of all
able-bodied men in the National Guard; a remission of lodger's rents;
the suspension of the sale of all articles deposited in pawn; and the
supersession of the Government at Versailles. A vast number of persons
quitted the city before the end of the month, and of those who remained,
there were probably many, who, apart from their political sentiments,
heartily welcomed so convenient a release from embarrassing liabilities.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Versailles, March 30, 1871.
The Commune are going ahead in Paris. The great comfort the
Government and the Assembly here have, is that the similar movements
in other great towns have failed, and that thus it is plainly Paris
against all France. Their great hope appears to be that the members
of the Commune will quarrel among themselves, and that their social
measures may be so thoroughly socialist, as to rouse resistance
among the Parisians. In the meantime however the delay seems
dangerous; the working classes are said to be going over more and
more completely to the Commune, and the effect of a completely
successful revolution in Paris on the other towns may yet be
serious. Bismarck is said to have given Thiers a limited time (a
fortnight or three weeks) to set things straight, and to have
declared that, when that time is up, the Germans must step in.
As a matter of fact, the conduct of the Germans does not seem to have
left anything to be desired. They allowed the numbers of the French
troops, which had been fixed under the armistice at 40,000, to be
indefinitely increased: they gave facilities for the return of the
prisoners in Germany, and even gave the French Government to understand
that the assistance of German troops might be counted upon if necessary.
Tact is not generally supposed to be a marked German characteristic, but
Thiers admitted to Lord Lyons that the 'offer had been made with so much
tact and delicacy, that, while of course it could not be accepted, the
Government had been able to pass it by, without appearing to understand
it.'
In the meanwhile, in spite of much dissatisfaction, Thiers was determined
not to be hurried, and both he and Jules Favre declined to believe
either that there was any danger of excesses being committed at Paris,
or that the Commune was gaining strength in consequence of the delay.
These opinions were not in the least shared by the public at large; the
general impression being that each day's delay added to the strength of
the Commune, discouraged the party of order and increased the
exasperation of that party against the Government and the National
Assembly; it was believed too that if excesses were committed they would
inspire the well-disposed citizens with terror rather than with a spirit
of resistance.
Fortunately for the cause of order, the Communists soon afforded an
opportunity for testing the temper of the Versailles troops. On April 2,
the National Guards came into collision with the regulars at Courbevoic,
were heavily worsted, and such prisoners as were taken were summarily
shot. The engagement showed that the army could be depended upon, and
that there need be no further fears with regard to a policy of resolute
repression; nevertheless there was little sign on the part of Thiers of
following up the success that had been gained, and he made the
remarkable excuse that the military ignorance of the insurgents and the
eccentricity of their movements rendered military operations against
them correspondingly difficult. Little progress had been made towards
the end of April, although righteous retribution had overtaken Thiers in
the invasion of his house in the Place St. Georges, and in the violation
by National Guards of the sanctity of the apartment of his
mother-in-law.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Versailles, April 21, 1871.
I suppose we shall get back to Paris, or to the ruins of it, some
day; and certainly the affairs of the Commune are looking more
gloomy than they did, but I must leave to Thiers the responsibility
of the perpetually renewed declaration that we shall be there in a
few days. The sooner it comes the better, for the delay is very
dangerous for Thiers himself and for the country. The great towns in
the south will hardly be kept under if Paris remains in rebellion
much longer, and Thiers will find it very difficult to hold back the
monarchical majority in the Assembly.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Versailles, April 25, 1871.
I don't hear any guns, but I suppose after what Thiers said to me
last night, that the grand attack upon Fort Issy is going on. I
shall go or send to some safe point of view, as soon as I get the
Messenger off.
It was high time to begin, for the apparent weakness of the
Government is producing lamentable effects. Colonel Playfair's
reports of the spread of a very serious insurrection in Algeria are
confirmed by recent telegrams, and there is said to be rather an
alarming movement in Savoy, not with a view to reunion with Italy,
but rather to a junction with Switzerland.
I do not trouble you with any of the programmes for the attack on
Paris which are in everybody's mouth here. The favourite notion is
that, with or without getting their half milliard, the Germans are
to give up the forts, or all of them except St. Denis, to the
French; who are then either to attack Paris on the north, or to
complete the investment of it. Military big-wigs say that Thiers has
not men enough to carry out such a plan. Financial authorities say
that he has no chance of obtaining the money till he is already
master of Paris; and Jules Favre says positively that Paris will not
be bombarded or blockaded. The value to be given to this affirmation
of Jules Favre cannot go beyond there being no _present_ intentions
to make a regular general bombardment or to reduce the place by
famine. I urge him and Thiers to give warning in time to enable
foreigners to withdraw, but I doubt the foreigners getting any
warning beyond that which Malet has given already, and I doubt the
English being persuaded to go; but I shall do all I can about it.
The bombardment, in spite of Jules Favre's assurance, took place
shortly, and did infinitely more harm than that of the Germans. Amongst
other buildings which suffered was the Embassy, but until the closing
days of the struggle in May, those members of the staff who had been
left there, appear to have suffered no inconvenience; and the relations
of Malet with the self-constituted officials of the Commune were
perfectly amicable, as far as can be judged. Malet, whose management of
a trying situation was marked by much good sense and tact, found no
difficulty in getting on with Paschal Grousset, the Délègué aux Affaires
Etrangères (also described by his adversaries as _Etranger aux
Affaires_), and his relations with this important personage were no
doubt greatly facilitated by a brother who acted as private secretary:
'a very pleasant little fellow, willing to put his brother's signature
to anything.' Paschal Grousset had good reason to congratulate himself
subsequently upon the pains which he had taken to ensure the safety of
foreigners in Paris and for the friendly disposition which he had shown.
When the Versailles troops obtained possession of the city, he was
captured and would in all probability have been shot in company with
other Communist leaders if unofficial representations in his favour had
not been made by Lord Lyons. He was transported, but subsequently
returned to Paris under an amnesty, and, years after, was the cause of a
comic incident at the house of a lady formerly connected with the
British Embassy. This lady, hearing a terrific uproar in her anteroom,
came out to see what was the matter and found Paschal Grousset engaged
in a violent altercation with her _maître d'hôtel_. It turned out that
the latter, who was an ex-gendarme, had been in charge of Paschal
Grousset when the latter was seized by the Versailles Government, and
that he now strongly resented his former prisoner appearing in the
character of an ordinary visitor.
One of the most abominable acts of the Commune had been the seizure of
the Archbishop of Paris, together with a number of priests, and the
holding of them as hostages for the good treatment of Communist
prisoners. No secret was made of the fact that under certain
circumstances they would be shot, and efforts were set on foot by
various parties--the American Minister, the British Government, and the
German authorities--to prevent so horrible a catastrophe. The
intervention of the American Minister, Mr. Washburne, only caused
irritation. 'They are very angry here with Mr. Washburne,' wrote Lord
Lyons on April 28, 'for interfering about the Archbishop, and they are
still more displeased with him for being so much in Paris. In fact,
although he has a room here he is much more in Paris than at Versailles.
Thiers observed to me last night that my American colleague had a
_conduite très singulière_. They would not stand this in a European
representative, but they allow a great latitude to the American, partly
because he and his Government have nothing to say to European politics,
and partly because they cannot well help it.' An attempt made by
direction of Lord Granville met with no better success, for the
Versailles Government firmly refused to make the exchange of the
revolutionary leader Blanqui, asked for by the Commune, and would only
go so far as to promise in private, that the latter's life should be
spared under certain circumstances.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Versailles, May 16, 1871.
The poor Archbishop has been constantly in my thoughts, both before
I received your letter of the 13th and since. The state of the case
is simply this. The Commune will not release him on any other terms
than the release of Blanqui; and the Government positively refuses
to give up Blanqui. Every one agrees that intervention with the
Commune is worse than useless; in fact does harm. You will see from
my Confidential Despatch of to-day, that I have gone as far as
possible with Thiers on the subject, but without success. I cannot
hope that I have done any good, but I have certainly done no harm.
Thiers spoke to me freely and confidentially, but absolutely refused
(or rather said positively that it was impossible) to give up
Blanqui. I perhaps went rather far in speaking to M. Thiers even in
the way I did, but I think it will be a comfort to remember that we
did all that could be done.
I understand that the Archbishop does not suffer any positive
hardship or privation beyond being kept a close prisoner, but I fear
his health is giving way in some degree under the pressure of
anxiety and confinement.
Perhaps the most painful feature in the whole matter has been the
conduct of the Vicar General, the Abbé Lagarde, who was sent to
Versailles on parole to negociate the release of the Archbishop.
Notwithstanding the entreaties of the Archbishop himself, and the
exhortations of everyone here, he declined to redeem his promise and
has thereby materially injured the Archbishop's position, and given
force to the Communist pretext that no trust can be put in priests.
I am afraid he is still out of Paris.
Jules Favre was also approached on the subject, but nothing could be got
out of him, and the only chance of success seemed to depend upon a
peremptory demand of the Germans for his release, the Commune being
completely at their mercy. This action the German authorities found
themselves unable to take, and in spite of the frequently expressed
opinions of Thiers and others that the lives of the hostages were in no
real danger, they were all massacred in cold blood during the final days
of the street fighting.
By the middle of May, most people were of opinion that there was nothing
to prevent the troops entering Paris whenever they pleased, and that the
sooner they did so, the less resistance they would encounter. Thiers,
however, still refused to run any risks, and it was not until nearly the
close of the month that the insurrection was completely suppressed,
amidst scenes almost unprecedented in modern times.
* * * * *
_Lord Lyons to Lord Granville._
Versailles, May 26, 1871.
The state of Paris is heart-breaking. The night I spent there (24th)
was calculated to give one an idea of the infernal regions. Fires in
all directions, the air oppressive with smoke and unpleasant odours,
the incessant roar of cannon and musketry and all kinds of strange
sounds. For the 48 hours before my arrival, the members of the
Embassy and all in the house were in imminent danger; a fire raging
in the next street but one, shells falling on the roof which might
set fire to the house at any moment, and shot flying so fast on both
sides that escape in case of fire would have been hardly possible.
It is a great satisfaction to me that every one in the house behaved
well. Of the members of the Embassy I was quite sure, and all the
men servants appeared to have shown pluck and alacrity in rushing to
the places where the shells fell, in order to extinguish the fire in
case of need. Malet has a first-rate head, and directed everything
with his usual coolness and self-possession.
One bit of a shell is said to have fallen in the garden yesterday
morning, but it certainly did no mischief, and there was no
appearance of danger while I was there. I cannot, however, feel
quite comfortable so long as the insurgents hold the Buttes de
Chaumont. They must, I should hope, be on the point of being driven
out at the moment I write. Little or no intelligence of what was
going on in the town could be obtained. The least inconvenience on
leaving one's own house was to be seized upon to form a chain to
hand buckets. Sentries stopped our progress in almost every
direction: arrests were frequent and summary executions the order of
the day. I hope it will really all be over by to-night. Sad as it
all is, I felt a satisfaction in finding myself in the old house
again, and am impatient to return to it for good. I hope to do so
directly I can without cutting myself off from uninterrupted
communication with you.
The fate of the hostages is what makes me the most anxious now. All
the accounts we do receive are hopeful, but we have no positive
assurance of their being safe. The Nuncio came back from his
expedition to the Crown Prince of Saxony much pleased with himself
for having undertaken it, and very grateful to me for having
suggested it. He was referred by the Crown Prince to General
Fabrice, who told him, that by order of Prince Bismarck, he was
doing all that could be done to save the Archbishop. He even hinted
that he had tried offers of money.
Thiers is trying the patience of the Assembly by keeping in office
Jules Favre, Picard and Jules Simon, who were members of the
Government of National Defence and of the violent Republican
opposition under the Empire. The contempt and disgust of the
Parisians of every shade of opinion for the Government of National
Defence appears unbounded. They consider it to have been a
Government which had neither courage nor capacity, and was equally
inefficient in defending the city against the enemy, and maintaining
order and authority inside. By the country at large, and still more,
by the monarchical representatives in the Assembly, the members of
that Government, by their conduct before and after the 4th September
are held to have been the cause of all the present horrors.
Notwithstanding all this, Thiers seems to rule the Assembly
completely, however much the members may grumble in private. His
troubles with them will begin when Paris is at last subdued.
I went to Favre with the offer of the firemen directly the telegram
was decyphered. He took it up to Thiers who immediately accepted it.
The Commune, which terminated in an orgy of blood, flame, and insensate
fury, had lasted for rather more than two months. Amongst those who
originated the movement were some who honestly believed that they were
merely advocating municipal freedom, and others who thought that the
existence of the Republic was threatened by a reactionary Assembly; but
the control eventually fell into the hands of revolutionaries whose aim
it was to destroy the foundations of society. It showed human nature at
its worst, and the ferocity of the reprisals on the part of the
Government created almost as much repulsion as the outrages which had
provoked them. Now, however, with the restoration of order, a new era
was about to dawn; the ceaseless disasters which had overwhelmed the
country since the end of July, 1870, had come to an end, and within an
almost incredibly short period, France recovered that place amongst the
great nations of the world, which seemed at one time to have been
irretrievably lost.
FOOTNOTES:
[23] Representative at Tours of the French Foreign Office.
[24] 'Memoirs of Sir Robert Morier.'
[25] Minister at Madrid; subsequently Ambassador at Constantinople.
[26] Col. the Honble. Percy Fielding.
[27] Now Sir Frank Lascelles, G.C.B.
[28] Now Lord de Saumarez.
END OF VOL. I.
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Mr. Edward Arnold's
AUTUMN ANNOUNCEMENTS, 1913.
* * * * *
LORD LYONS.
A Record of British Diplomacy.
By the Right Hon. LORD NEWTON.
_With Portraits. In Two Volumes._ =30s. net.=
The late Lord Lyons was not only the most prominent but the most trusted
English diplomatist of his day, and so great was the confidence felt in
his ability that he was paid the unique compliment of being offered the
post of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Lord Newton, who has now undertaken the task of preparing a memoir of
him, enjoys the advantage of having served under him for five years at
the Paris Embassy. The interest of this work lies, however, less in the
personality of the Ambassador than in the highly important events in
which he played so prominent a part.
Lord Lyons was the British representative at Washington during the
period of the Civil War; subsequently he was Ambassador at
Constantinople for two years; and finally he spent twenty years--from
1867 to 1887--as Ambassador at Paris. During the whole of this eventful
period his advice was constantly sought by the Home Government upon
every foreign question of importance, and his correspondence throws
fresh light upon obscure passages in diplomatic history.
In this book will be found hitherto unpublished information relating to
such matters as the critical relations between England and the United
States during the course of the Civil War; the political situation in
France during the closing years of the Second Empire; the secret attempt
made by the British Foreign Secretary to avert the Franco-German War,
and the explanation of its failure; the internal and external policy of
France during the early years of the Third Republic; the War Scare of
1875; the Congress of Berlin; the Egyptian Expedition; Anglo-French
political relations, and many other matters of interest.
The method selected by the writer has been to reproduce all important
correspondence verbatim, and it may be confidently asserted that the
student of foreign politics will find in this work a valuable record of
modern diplomatic history.
* * * * *
LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD. 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET W.
THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK, FOURTH EARL OF
CLARENDON.
By the Right Hon. Sir HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart.
_In Two Volumes, With Portraits. Demy 8vo._ =30s. net.=
Born in the year 1800 and dying in 1870, Lord Clarendon lived through a
period of social, political, and economic change more rapid probably
than had been witnessed in any similar space of time in the previous
history of mankind. It was his lot, moreover, to wield considerable
influence over the course of affairs, inasmuch as his public service,
extending over fifty years, caused him to be employed in a succession of
highly responsible, and even critical, situations. British Minister at
Madrid at the outbreak and during the course of the Carlist Civil War
from 1833 to 1839, he was admitted into Lord Melbourne's Cabinet
immediately upon returning to England in the latter year. He was Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland throughout the memorable famine years, 1847-1852.
Relieved of that arduous post, Lord Clarendon entered Lord Aberdeen's
government in 1852 as Foreign Secretary, which office he retained
through the Crimean War, and became responsible for the terms of the
Treaty of Paris in 1856. On Lord Palmerston's death in 1865, he returned
to the Foreign Office, and had to deal with the settlement of the
"Alabama" claims.
The annals of the first half of Queen Victoria's reign having been
pretty thoroughly explored and dealt with by many competent writers, the
chief interest in these pages will be found in Lord Clarendon's private
correspondence, which has been well preserved, and has been entrusted to
Sir Herbert Maxwell for the purpose of this memoir. Lord Clarendon was
a fluent and diligent correspondent; Charles Greville and others among
his contemporaries frequently expressed a hope that his letters should
some day find their way into literature. Sir Arthur Helps, for instance,
wrote as follows in _Macmillan's Magazine_: "Lord Clarendon was a man
who indulged, notwithstanding his public labours, in an immense private
correspondence. There were some persons to whom, I believe, he wrote
daily, and perhaps in after years we shall be favoured--those of us who
live to see it--with a correspondence which will enlighten us as to many
of the principal topics of our own period." It is upon this
correspondence that Sir Herbert Maxwell has chiefly relied in tracing
the motives, principles, and conduct of one of the last Whig statesmen.
Among the letters dealt with, and now published for the first time, are
those from Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lord Aberdeen, Lord Derby,
M. Thiers, M. Guizot, the Emperor Louis Napoleon, etc., and many ladies.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, DUKE OF CUMBERLAND, HIS EARLY LIFE AND TIMES, 1721-1748.
By the Hon. EVAN CHARTERIS,
AUTHOR OF "AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND, 1744-1746."
_With Plans and Illustrations._ =12s. 6d. net.= [_In preparation._
Mr. Charteris has a good subject in "Butcher" Cumberland, not only on
account of the historical and romantic interest of his background, but
also by reason of the Duke's baneful reputation.
In the present volume the author has carried the career of the Duke of
Cumberland down to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. The period includes the
Duke's campaigns in Flanders against Marshal Saxe, the Battle of
Culloden, and the measures taken for the suppression of the Jacobites in
Scotland. Mr. Charteris has had the exceptional advantage of studying
the Cumberland Papers at Windsor Castle, and it is largely by the aid of
hitherto unpublished documents that he is now able to throw fresh light
on a character which has been the subject of so much malevolent
criticism. At the same time the volume deals with the social and
political conditions among which Cumberland was called on to play so
important a part in the life of the nation. These have been treated by
the author with some fulness of detail. Cumberland, in spite of his
foreign origin, was remarkably typical of the characteristics of the
earlier Georgian period, and an endeavour has been made in the present
volume to establish the link between the Duke and the politics, the
morals, the aims, and the pursuits of the age in which he lived.
MY ART AND MY FRIENDS.
THE REMINISCENCES OF SIR F. H. COWEN.
_With Portrait. Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.=
In the course of a long and distinguished musical career, Sir Frederic
Cowen has had opportunities of visiting many parts of the world, of
meeting all the most eminent artists of the last half-century, and of
amassing material for an extremely diverting volume of personal
recollections. As a child he enjoyed the privilege of being embraced by
the great Piccolomini; as a young man he toured with Trebelli, and
became acquainted with the famous Rubinstein, with Bülow, and with
Joachim. In later life he numbered such well-known musicians as
Pachmann, Paderewski, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and the de Reszkes, among his
friends. Nor was the circle of his intimates entirely confined to the
world of music; he was on terms of the closest friendship with Corney
Grain, with George Grossmith and Arthur Cecil; he capped the puns of
Henry J. Byron and Sir Francis Burnand; he laughed at the practical
jokes of Toole, at the caricatures which Phil May drew for him of his
friends. To the public Sir Frederick Cowen is well known as the
conductor of Covent Garden Promenade and Philharmonic Concerts, as the
composer of such celebrated songs as "The Better Land" and "The Promise
of Life," of "The Corsair" and "The Butterfly's Ball." In these pages he
shows himself to be a keen but kindly student of human nature, who can
describe the various experiences of his past life with a genial but
humorous pen. The inexhaustible fund of anecdote from which he draws
tends still further to enliven an amusing and lively volume.
A CIVIL SERVANT IN BURMA.
By Sir HERBERT THIRKELL WHITE, K.C.I.E.
_With 16 Pages of Illustrations. Demy 8vo._ =12s. 6d. net.=
Sir Herbert Thirkell White, who has but recently retired from the post
of Lieutenant-Governor of Burma, which he filled with ability and
distinction, has now written what he modestly calls a "plain story" of
more than thirty years of official life in India. In this volume are
narrated the experiences of an Indian Civilian who has devoted the best
part of his existence to the service of the Empire, and is in a position
to speak with assurance of the many complicated problems with which the
white man in India is continually faced. Sir Herbert's acquaintance with
Burma began in 1878; since then he has had every opportunity of judging
the peculiar habits, customs, and characteristics of the native Burmese,
and has been able to compile a valuable record of the impressions they
have made upon his mind. It was his fate to hold official positions of
increasing importance during the Viceroyalties of Lord Ripon, Lord
Dufferin, and Lord Curzon; he was privileged to serve such distinguished
chiefs as Sir Charles Bernard and Sir Charles Crosthwaite, and witnessed
that pacification of Burma which the last-named Chief Commissioner has
described so eloquently in his well-known book on the subject. Sir
Herbert writes clearly and with knowledge of every aspect of Burmese
life and character, and this volume of his recollections should prove
extremely popular among English readers who are interested in the
government of our Indian Empire and the daily routine of the Indian
Civil Servant.
THIRTY YEARS IN KASHMIR.
By ARTHUR NEVE, F.R.C.S.E.
_With Illustrations and a Map. Demy 8vo._ =12s. 6d. net.=
The stupendous natural surroundings amidst which they dwell have
inspired sojourners in Kashmir and other Himalayan countries to produce
some of the finest books of travel to be found. Among them will have to
be included in future this book of Dr. Arthur Neve's, so effectively
does the author reveal the wonders of the land of towering peaks and
huge glaciers where he has made his home for the last thirty years.
Going out to Kashmir in 1882 under the auspices of the Church Missionary
Society, Dr. Neve took over the charge of the Kashmir Mission Hospital
at Srinagur from Dr. Edmund Downes, who was retiring, and has stayed
there ever since. In his earlier chapters he gives some account of the
Punjab and Kashmir in the eighties, and also of the work of the mission.
He then gets to the principal motif of the book--the exploring tours and
mountaineering expeditions to which he has devoted his spare time. Nanga
Parbat, Nun Kun, and many other Himalayan giants, are within hail of
Srinagur, and before he has finished with the book the reader will find
he has acquired the next best thing to a first-hand knowledge of this
magnificent country. Dr. Neve has also a great deal that is interesting
to tell about the people of various races and religions who inhabit the
valleys, and from whom his medical help gained him a warm welcome at all
times.
A series of rare photographs gives a pictorial support to the
letter-press.
SPORT AND FOLK-LORE IN THE HIMALAYA.
By Captain H. L. HAUGHTON.
(36TH SIKHS.)
_With Illustrations from the Author's Photographs. One Volume._
_Demy 8vo._ =12s. 6d. net.=
Captain Haughton has written a book which should prove a welcome
addition to the library of every sportsman, as well as being of supreme
interest to the naturalist and the student of folk-lore. On the subject
of sport the author writes with that thorough insight and sympathy which
are the fruits of many years' practical experience with rod and rifle,
in the jungle, on river-bank or mountain-side. In his agreeable society
the reader may stalk the markhor or the ibex, lightly throw his "Sir
Richard" across some Kashmiri trout-stream, or lie in wait for the
Himalayan black bear on its way to feed; and if the author's description
of his many amusing and exciting adventures and experiences is eminently
readable, the value of his work is still further enhanced by his
intimate knowledge of natural history, and by the introduction of many
of those old Indian legendary tales that he has culled from the lips of
native Shikaris round the camp-fire at night. The book is illustrated
throughout with a series of remarkably interesting photographs taken by
the author in the course of his many sporting expeditions.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A PENINSULAR VETERAN.
By the late Lieut.-Colonel JOSEPH ANDERSON, C.B., K.H.
_With Photogravure Portrait. Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.=
The late Lieut.-Colonel Joseph Anderson was born in 1790, and from the
age of fifteen, when he received a commission as Ensign in the 78th
Regiment, to within a few years of his death in 1877, his career was
almost continuously as adventurous as it was distinguished. In 1806 he
saw active service for the first time, when he took part in the
expedition to Calabria; in the following year he served in the Egyptian
Campaign of that date; and during the Peninsular War he fought at the
battles of Maida, Busaco, Fuentes d'Onoro, was wounded at Talavera, and
accompanied Wellington on the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras. A
few years later Captain Anderson, now a Captain in the York Chasseurs,
was sent with his regiment to Barbadoes, and was present at the capture
of Guadeloupe in 1815. He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Penal
Settlement at Norfolk Island in 1834, where his humane endeavours to
reform the prevailing penal system, and his efforts to quell mutinous
convicts, met with marked success. Nine years later Colonel Anderson
went to India to take part in the Mahratta Campaign, and at the Battle
of Punniar (where he commanded a Brigade) was severely wounded when
charging the enemy's guns. After retiring from the Service, Colonel
Anderson settled down in Australia, and it was at his home near
Melbourne that these memories were compiled, during the later years of a
strenuous and active life, for the edification of his family. They are
written in a simple, unaffected style, which renders them peculiarly
readable, and form a most instructive record of the manners and customs,
of the mode of warfare, and the military and social life of a past age,
and a bygone generation.
MEMORIES OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE.
By Major-General Sir H. M. BENGOUGH, K.C.B.
_With Portrait. Demy 8vo._ =8s. 6d. net.=
Major-General Sir H. M. Bengough joined the army in 1855, and retired in
1898, after more than forty years of distinguished service in all
quarters of the Empire. His first experience of active warfare dates
from the Crimea; later on he took the field in the Zulu War and the
Burma Expedition of 1885. In days of peace he held various high commands
in India, South Africa, and Jamaica, and finally commanded a brigade of
infantry at Aldershot. In this volume of personal recollections the
author narrates the many varied incidents and experiences of a long
military career and vividly describes the campaigns in which he took
part. He also gives an interesting account of his adventures in the
realm of sport--pig-sticking, tiger-shooting, and pursuing other forms
of game in India and elsewhere; subjects upon which a long experience
enables him to write with expert knowledge. It will be strange indeed if
so interesting an autobiographical volume from the pen of a deservedly
popular soldier and sportsman fails to appeal to a wide public.
ZACHARY STOYANOFF.
Pages from the Autobiography of a Bulgarian Insurgent.
Translated by M. POTTER.
_One Volume. Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.=
In this volume Zachary Stoyanoff gives us the narrative of his personal
experiences during the Bulgarian outbreaks of 1875 and 1876. Almost by
accident he became an "apostle" of rebellion, and was sent out forthwith
to range the country, stirring up the villagers and forming local
committees. It is an amazing story. With unsurpassable candour he
portrays for us the leaders, their enthusiasm, their incredible
shortsightedness, and the pitiful inadequacy of their preparations. The
bubble burst, and after a miserable attempt at flight, Stoyanoff was
taken prisoner and sent to Philippopolis for trial. There is no attempt
at heroics. With the same Boswellian simplicity he reveals his fears,
his cringing, his mendacity, and incidentally gives us a graphic
picture, not wholly black, of the conquering Turk. The narrative ends
abruptly while he is still in peril of his life. One is glad to know
that, somehow, he escaped. A very human document, and a remarkable
contrast to the startling exhibition of efficiency given to the world by
the Bulgarians in their latest struggle with the Turks.
SPLENDID FAILURES.
By HARRY GRAHAM,
AUTHOR OF "A GROUP OF SCOTTISH WOMEN," "THE MOTHER OF PARLIAMENTS," ETC.
_With Portraits. Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.=
It is perhaps unlikely that any two individuals will agree as to the
proper definition of the term "A Splendid Failure"--a phrase of which
the origin would appear to be obscure. It may, however, be roughly
stated that the "Splendid Failures" of the past divide themselves
naturally into three classes: those whom their contemporaries invested
with a fictitious or exaggerated splendour which posterity is quite
unable to comprehend or appreciate; those whom the modern world regards
with admiration--but who signally failed in impressing the men of their
own generation; and those who, gifted with genius and inspired with
lofty ideals, never justified the world's high opinion of their talents
or fulfilled the promise of their early days. In this volume of
biographical essays, the author of "A Group of Scottish Women" and other
popular works has dealt with a selection of "splendid failures" of whose
personal history the public knows but little, though well acquainted
with their names. Wolfe Tone, "the first of the Fenians"; Benjamin
Haydon, the "Cockney Raphael"; Toussaint L'Ouverture, the "Napoleon of
San Domingo"; William Betty, the "Infant Roscius"; and "Champagne"
Townshend, the politician of Pitt's day, may be included under this
category. The reader cannot fail to be interested in that account which
the author gives of the ill-fated Archduke Maximilian's attempt to found
a Mexican monarchy; in his careful review of the work and character of
Hartley Coleridge; and in his biographical study of George Smythe, that
friend of Disraeli whom the statesman-novelist took as his model for the
hero of "Coningsby." This book, which should appeal strongly to all
readers of literary essays, is illustrated with eight excellent
portraits.
THE CORINTHIAN YACHTSMAN'S HANDBOOK.
By FRANCIS B. COOKE.
_With 20 Folding Plates of Designs for Yachts, and numerous black and
white Illustrations. Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.=
This new handbook covers the sport of yachting in all its branches. The
writer, who has had many years' experience of cruising and racing in
yachts and boats of all types, has treated the subject in a thoroughly
practical manner. The book is divided into six parts.
In Part I., which deals with the selection of a yacht, the various types
and rigs suitable for Corinthian yachting are discussed. The designing
and building of new craft are also dealt with at some length, and
designs and descriptions of a number of up-to-date small cruisers are
given.
In Part II. some hints are given as to where to station the yacht. All
available headquarters within easy reach of London are described, and
the advantages and disadvantages of each pointed out.
Part III. is devoted to the equipment of yachts, and contains a wealth
of information as to the internal arrangement, rigging, and fittings of
small cruisers.
Part IV. treats of the maintenance of small cruising vessels, with notes
on the cost of upkeep, fitting out and laying up. Other matters dealt
with in this section are the preservation of sails and gear, and
insurance.
Part V., on seamanship, covers the handling of fore-and-aft vessels
under all conditions of weather, and upon every point of sailing.
Part VI. covers the racing side of the sport in a comprehensive manner.
An exhaustive exposition of the International Sailing Rules is followed
by hints on racing tactics. The appendix contains, _inter alia_, an
illustrated description of the British Buoyage System.
Mr. Cooke's well-known handbooks have come to be regarded by yachtsmen
as standard works, and a new and more ambitious work from his pen can
hardly fail to interest them.
THE FALL OF PROTECTION.
By BERNARD HOLLAND, C.B.,
AUTHOR OF "IMPERIUM ET LIBERTAS."
_One Volume. Demy 8vo._ =12s. 6d. net.=
This volume is a political-historical study of the great change which
took place in British commercial and financial policy mainly between the
years 1840 and 1850. The writer examines the state of things in these
respects which existed before this revolution, and describes the
previous protective system, navigation system, and colonial system. He
then narrates the process by which those systems were overthrown,
devoting special attention to the character, career, and changes in
opinion of Sir Robert Peel, and to the attitude and action of the Tory,
Whig, and Radical parties, and of their leading men, especially Mr.
Disraeli, Lord John Russell, and Mr. Cobden. He analyses with care the
arguments used on all sides in these controversies, especially with
regard to the Repeal of the Corn Laws, and he shows the extent to which
questions of imperial preference and the relations between the United
Kingdom and the Colonies entered into the issues. One chapter is devoted
to the Bank Act of 1844, and to the consideration of its causes and
results. The author concludes by tracing very briefly the chain of
events which connect the period in question with our own day, in respect
of commercial and fiscal policy, and expresses his own views as to
existing tendencies and future developments.
Mr. Bernard Holland is known as the author of the Life of the Duke of
Devonshire, and of "Imperium et Libertas." In a sense the present volume
is a continuation of the latter book, or rather is an attempt to deal
more expansively and in detail with certain history and questions
connected with the same theme, for the full treatment of which there was
insufficient space in that book. Mr. Holland having acted for a number
of years as Private Secretary to two successive Secretaries of State for
the Colonies, has been brought into close touch in a practical way with
colonial questions. This book, it is hoped, will be of some service both
to students of economic history and to politicians in active life.
PAINTING IN THE FAR EAST.
By LAURENCE BINYON.
_A New Edition, thoroughly Revised, with many new and additional
Illustrations. Crown 4to._ =21s. net.=
Since the first edition of this book was published in 1907, much has
happened, and a quantity of new material has been brought to light.
Interest in the subject has been immensely widened and strengthened. The
museums of Europe and America are vying with each other to procure fine
specimens of Chinese and Japanese art. The opening this autumn of a new
museum at Cologne, exclusively devoted to the arts of Eastern Asia, is a
symptom of the times. Collections, public and private, both European and
American, have been greatly enriched; and the exhibition in 1910 at
Shepherd's Bush, of treasured masterpieces lent from Japanese
collections, has provided a standard for the student.
Six years ago, again, scarcely any of the voluminous literature of art
existing in Chinese and Japanese had been translated. On this side, too,
an added store of information has been made accessible, though still in
great part scattered in the pages of learned periodicals. Above all, the
marvellous discoveries made of recent years in China and Chinese
Turkestan have substituted a mass of authentic material for groping
conjectures in the study of the art of the early periods.
In preparing a new edition of this book and bringing it up to date, Mr.
Binyon has therefore been able to utilize a variety of new sources of
information. The estimates given of the art of some of the most famous
of the older masters have been reconsidered. The sections dealing with
the early art have been in great measure rewritten; and the book has
been revised throughout. In the matter of illustrations it has been
possible to draw on a wider range and make a fuller and more
representative selection.
PAINTING IN EAST AND WEST.
By ROBERT DOUGLAS NORTON,
AUTHOR OF "THE CHOICE."
_Crown 8vo._ =5s. net.=
The art of painting, which in the days of Gothic church-building
contributed so much both to the education and the pleasure of the
community at large, has admittedly come to appeal to ever-narrowing
circles, until to-day it cannot be said to play any part in popular life
at all. This book seeks to discover the causes of its decline in
influence. A brief review of the chief contemporary movements in painting
gives point to a suggestion made by more than one thoughtful critic that
the chief need of Western painting is spirituality. Since this is a
quality which those competent to judge are at one in attributing to
Eastern art, the author, in a chapter on Far Eastern Painting, sets
forth the ideals underlying the great painting of China and Japan, and
contrasts these ideals with those which have inspired painters and
public in the West. This leads to an inquiry into the uses of
imagination and suggestion in art, and to an attempt to find a broad
enough definition for "spirituality" not to exclude many widely
divergent achievements of Western painting. Finally, the possibility of
training the sense of beauty is discussed in the light of successful
instances.
Incidentally the book touches on many questions which, though of
interest to picture-lovers, often remain unasked; such, for instance, as
what we look for in a picture; how far subject is important; why it may
happen that the interest of one picture, which pleases at first, soon
wanes, while that of another grows steadily stronger; the value of
technique, of different media of expression, of mere resemblance, etc.
Without going into the technicalities of æsthetics, the author aims at
investigating certain first principles which are overlooked at times by
possessors of even the widest knowledge of individual schools.
SHAKESPEARE'S STORIES.
By CONSTANCE MAUD and MARY MAUD.
AS YOU LIKE IT--THE TEMPEST--KING LEAR--TWELFTH NIGHT--THE MERCHANT
OF VENICE--A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM--MACBETH--HAMLET--ROMEO AND JULIET.
_With Illustrations from the famous Boydell prints. Crown 8vo._
=5s. net.=
Miss Constance Maud is the author of "Wagner's Heroes" and "Wagner's
Heroines," two books on similar lines to these tales which have had a
great vogue among young people of all ages. In the present volume she
tells the charming stories of nine of the most famous of Shakespeare's
Tragedies and Comedies in prose of delightful and unstudied simplicity.
On occasion the actual text has been used for familiar passages and
phrases. These great world-tales, regarded merely as tales, with the
elemental motives and passions displayed in them, appeal strongly to the
imagination, and when narrated by a competent pen there cannot be finer
or more absorbing reading. In addition to this, he must be a dull reader
in whom they do not awaken a desire to make a closer acquaintance with
the plays themselves.
The book forms a companion volume to Sir A. T. Quiller-Couch's
well-known "Historical Tales from Shakespeare."
THE MUSE IN MOTLEY.
By HARRY GRAHAM.
AUTHOR OF "RUTHLESS RHYMES FOR HEARTLESS HOMES," ETC., ETC.
_With 24 Illustrations by_
LEWIS BAUMER.
_Fcap. 4vo._ =3s. 6d. net.=
All lovers of humorous verse will welcome a fresh volume of lyrics by
the author of "Deportmental Ditties," "Canned Classics," and other
deservedly popular products of the Minor Muse. Readers of Captain
Graham's new collection of light verse will agree with the _Daily
Chronicle_ in describing its author as "a godsend, a treasure trove, a
messenger from Olympus; a man who really does see the ludicrous side of
life, a man who is a genuine humorist." Once again the author of these
amusing poems attempts to "shoot Folly as she flies," and genially
satirizes the foibles of the age in a fashion that will certainly add to
his reputation as a humorist; and his work is rendered still more
delightful by the drawings of Mr. Lewis Baumer, the well-known _Punch_
artist, with which it is lavishly illustrated. "It is a great and good
thing," as the _Pall Mall Gazette_ remarked with reference to another of
Captain Graham's books, "to have a man among us who is witty all the
time and lets himself go. We ought to be duly thankful. And we are!"
HANNIBAL ONCE MORE.
By DOUGLAS W. FRESHFIELD, M.A.,
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY; TREASURER OF THE
HELLENIC AND ROMAN SOCIETIES; FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF THE ALPINE CLUB.
_8vo._ =5s. net.=
In this little volume Mr. Freshfield has put into final shape the
results of his study of the famous and still-debated question: "By which
Pass did Hannibal cross the Alps?" The literature which has grown up
round this intricate subject is surprisingly extensive, and various
solutions have been propounded and upheld, with remarkable warmth and
tenacity, by a host of scholars, historians, geographers, military men,
and mountaineers. Mr. Freshfield has a solution of his own, which,
however, he puts forward in no dogmatic spirit, but in such a fashion
that his book is practically a lucid review of the whole matter in each
of its many aspects. To an extensive acquaintance with ancient and
modern geographical literature he unites a wide and varied experience as
an alpine climber and a traveller, and a minute topographical knowledge
of the regions under discussion; and these qualifications--in which many
of his predecessors in the same field of inquiry have been conspicuously
lacking--enable him to throw much new light on a perennially fascinating
problem.
THE PASTORAL TEACHING OF ST. PAUL.
By the Rev. Canon H. L. GOUDGE,
PRINCIPAL OF THE THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, ELY; AUTHOR OF "THE MIND OF ST.
PAUL," ETC.
_Crown 8vo. Cloth._ =2s. 6d. net.=
These lectures were delivered at the end of May, 1913, at the Palace,
Gloucester, to the clergy of the diocese, and are now published in
response to the request of those who heard them. They do not constitute
a detailed commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, though a good deal of
detailed exegesis necessarily finds a place in them. The writer's aim
has been to collect and arrange St. Paul's teaching as to the work of
the Christian pastor, and to point out its applicability to modern
conditions and modern difficulties. The writer has often found, through
his experience in conducting Retreats, that the Pastoral Teaching of St.
Paul is of the greatest value to the clergy to-day, but that this
teaching is often obscured by the unsystematic character of St. Paul's
writing and by the passing controversies with which he has to deal. In
these lectures the First Epistle to Timothy is used as the basis, but
continually illustrated by passages from the other Pastoral Epistles,
and from St. Paul's earlier writings. The first lecture deals with the
pastor's aim, the second with the pastor's character, the third with the
pastor's work, and the fourth with the adaptation of his message to men
and to women, to old and to young, to rich and to poor. The ground
already covered by the writer's earlier book, "The Mind of St. Paul,"
has been carefully avoided, but it is hoped that the one book may throw
light upon the other. An index of texts has been added for those who may
wish to use this second book, as far as that is possible, as a
commentary.
_NEW NOVELS_
SOMETHING AFAR.
By MAXWELL GRAY,
AUTHOR OF "THE SILENCE OF DEAN MAITLAND," "THE GREAT REFUSAL," ETC.
_Crown 8vo. Cloth._ =6s.=
The scene of Maxwell Gray's new story is laid in London and in Italy,
where the gradual unfolding of an elaborate but absorbing plot holds the
reader's attention until the very last page of the book. This is a tale
of heroism, of self-sacrifice, of romance, full of incident and
adventure, illumined by those tender and imaginative touches, that vivid
portrayal of character, which the public has learnt to expect from the
author of "The Silence of Dean Maitland." From these pages we may learn
that there is "something afar from the sphere of our sorrow," the
highest aspiration of the lover, the artist, the poet and the saint,
which, beautiful beyond all that man's heart can divine, is yet within
the reach of every one of us.
THE GENTLE LOVER.
A COMEDY OF MIDDLE AGE.
By FORREST REID,
AUTHOR OF "THE BRACKNELLS," "FOLLOWING DARKNESS," ETC.
_Crown 8vo._ =6s.=
This extremely interesting story, of which the title gives a most apt
description, is written in a lighter vein than the author's previous
work. It is a love story, and while the tale itself is enthralling, it
depends in great measure for its charm on the attractiveness of the
characters who figure in the drama and who are all very pleasant
company. The book is essentially human, the note is never forced, yet
the interest goes on increasing right up to the end. It is actual life
with its comedy and tragedy so closely intermingled that it is not
always easy to distinguish one from the other. The scene is laid abroad,
partly in Bruges, and partly in Italy, but the characters are, with one
or two exceptions, natives of that part of Ireland with which the author
is most familiar, and they lose none of their individuality by being
transplanted to those beautiful old-world cities where we follow their
varied fortunes. Mr. Reid's previous novels have already secured for his
work the warm appreciation of some of the best judges of literary
values, and the present novel may be confidently stated to exhibit his
undoubted power as a writer of fiction in an advanced and progressive
stage.
_NEW SCIENTIFIC WORKS_
INDUSTRIAL POISONING
From Fumes, Gases, and Poisons of Manufacturing Processes.
By Dr. J. RAMBOUSEK,
PROFESSOR OF FACTORY HYGIENE, AND CHIEF STATE HEALTH OFFICER, PRAGUE
Translated and Edited by Dr. T. M. LEGGE,
H.M. MEDICAL INSPECTOR OF FACTORIES.
_Fully Illustrated. Demy 8vo._ =12s. 6d. net.=
MALINGERING
And Feigned Sickness.
By Sir JOHN COLLIE, M.D., J.P.,
MEDICAL EXAMINER, LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL; CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER,
METROPOLITAN WATER BOARD; CONSULTING MEDICAL EXAMINER TO THE SHIPPING
FEDERATION; MEDICAL EXAMINER TO THE SUN INSURANCE OFFICE, CENTRAL
INSURANCE COMPANY, LONDON, LIVERPOOL, AND GLOBE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND
OTHER ACCIDENT OFFICES; LATE HOME OFFICE MED. REF. WORKMEN'S
COMPENSATION ACT.
Assisted by ARTHUR H. SPICER, M.B., B.S. (Lond.), D.P.H.
_Illustrated, xii + 340 pp. Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.=
In this work Sir John Collie, whose wide experience has eminently fitted
him for the task, has given an interesting and lucid description of the
methods and peculiarities of the malingerer. He describes fully and in
detail the methods of examination for the detection of malingering and
the diseases usually simulated, and discusses the attitude required by
the medical attendant towards unduly prolonged illness.
OLD AGE:
Its Care and Treatment in Health and Disease.
By ROBERT SAUNDBY, M.D., F.R.C.P., L.L.D., J.P.,
MEMBER GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL: EX-PRESIDENT BRITISH MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION; PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM; PHYSICIAN
TO THE BIRMINGHAM GENERAL HOSPITAL.
_320 pp._ =7s. 6d. net.=
No English writer having recently dealt with this subject, it has been
felt that there is room for a book which should bring together the
various contributions made to it in modern times, including the results
of the author's extensive experience during forty years of medical
practice. The author discusses the principles of health, by due
attention to which healthy old age may be attained. The diseases to
which the aged are especially liable are fully described, their causes
are clearly indicated, and the author shows in a practical way by what
means they may be avoided and how they may be appropriately treated.
Special attention is given to such important subjects as diet, exercise,
etc. Suggestive dietary tables are given, both for use in health and in
particular diseases, while the chapters devoted to methods of exercise
most suitable in advanced age will also prove of value.
* * * * *
LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD, 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, W.
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| Transcriber's notes: |
| |
| P.ix. 'inpressions' changed to 'impressions'. |
| P.27. 'proferred' changed to 'proffered'. |
| P.58. 'on or' changed to 'or on'. |
| P.120. 'inclned' changed to 'inclined'. |
| P.192. 'Russia' changed to 'Prussia'. |
| P.256. 'ne' changed to 'me'. |
| Various punctuation fixed. |
| Italics are displayed as _Illustrated_. |
| Small caps have been replaced with all caps. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------+