1905, Nov. 18.
Contents of the early volumes.
The Austrian Concordat.
Coronation of the Emperor Alexander.
St. Margaret's Church is strongly condemned, and Viollet le Duc—"confessedly the great master of Gothic architecture in France"—is quoted as having "expressed himself most strongly and undoubtingly against the demolition," his argument being "that the church is needed to give scale to the Abbey." In 'Heine, Poet and Humourist,' the dying poet is said to be "paralyzed, blind and bedridden in an obscure lodging of the Rue d'Amsterdam at Paris." 'The War Passages in "Maud,"' while rejecting the author as a practical adviser, renders
"full, though superfluous honours to his poetial powers. Only on the theory that a moral purpose is indispensable to poetry, can it be denied that he is one of the greatest of poets. His works are perhaps the most intellectual luxury the world ever enjoyed."
The last article is a review of a novel in one volume, a rare limit in those days. Novel-writers may welcome this hint:—
"The one-volume novel has its duties as well as its privileges. While it is allowed to be short, it ought to be very perfect."
Through the courtesy of the present editor of The Saturday Review, Mr. Harold Hodge, I have had access to the early volumes The following notes from the first two, 1855-6, are of interest. Although they contain no digest of the news of the week, the leading articles give a vivid picture of current events: the siege of Sebastpol; the fall of Kars, caused by "unpardonable negligence"; the Crimea Commission; and the Treaty of Peace, which "may be considered satisfactory," and, "like the war which procured it, carries out and records the deliberate, earnest, and clear-sighted policy of the English people." The Austrian Concordat raises the question, "Are we living in the year 1077? Has the great world reversed its axis? Is it Henry II. or Franz Joseph who wears the imperial purple?" By the Swedish Treaty "the Allies guarantee the territorial integrity of Sweden and Norway." The coronation of the Emperor Alexander II. inspires a hopeful article in regard to Russia: "Undoubtedly Russia has a great future before it. We may reasonably believe that dreams of universal empire will give way to a healthier ambition, and to the pursuit of more enduring triumphs than those which stimulated the ambition of Catherine or of Nicholas." The Report of the Census Commissioners for Ireland also affords matter for congratulation: "Wealth is visibly increasing, crime is fast abating, and disaffection has vanished." "The number of emigrants reached their maximum in 1852, since which year they have fallen from 190,000 to 90,000"; and there is a promise, in the absence of unforeseen calamities, of "an easy and rapid progress in the career of prosperity and tranquillity on which, for the first time in her history, Ireland has now fairly entered."
