Japan To-Day and To-Morrow. By Hamilton W. Mabie. The Macmillan Company, New York. $2. There is no attempt in this book (several chapters of which were first published in The Outlook) to describe the present conditions in Japan so far as its organization of industry, finance, administration, education, and its navy and army are concerned. It is not an addition to the books of information about modern . Japan; nor is it, on the other hand, confined to descriptions of old Japan. It is an attempt to interpret the Japanese spirit and genius as it is reflected in what the writer calls "the vital landscape of Japan;" its architecture, its religion, its habits of life, its ideals. This is done, in a way, indirectly, by describing various centers of life which have been significant in the history of the Empire. The writer says that what Americans need more than anything else is, not information about Japan, but an understanding of the Japanese spirit and character, of Japanese aims and ideals. It is these primary things in Japanese life behind its activities in all forms which the book endeavors to interpret. Clear Waters. By A. G. Bradley. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. $2.

As the beauties of British scenery are inexhaustible, so the books of leisurely and appreciative description by A. G. Bradley bid fair to continue. The days he has spent trout-fishing in Wales, the West Country, and the Scottish Borderland stretch back years, and began when he was an eager, active boy, seizing every chance to learn the angling art. This beautiful book will appeal to every fisherman; its graceful ease of style will please his wife and daughter; and we hope all three will sympathize with Mr. Bradley's protest against "the dreadful discords" that shatter the gentle harmonies of spring in Wordsworth's country when the defiant scorcher makes a race-course of the shores of Ullswater. The illustrations of streams, lakes, and hills bring back memories of long, quiet days in rural England..

Lucas' Annual. Edited by E. V. Lucas. The Macmillan Company, New York. 75c.

This is a composite book, made up largely of humorous selections put together by the skillful and experienced hand of Mr. Lucas, who has drawn freely on Barrie, Galsworthy, Dobson, Hugh Walpole, Maurice Hewlett, and others for good examples of British humor. The contents are not confined, however, to fiction. There are gleanings from the field of literature which to a great many readers will have more interest than the stories. A dozen new letters of Stevenson appear for the first time; and there is a letter from Browning to a pushing writer who had undertaken to write the biography of Mrs. Browning shortly after her death without consulting her husband. There is also a frank letter of

criticism of "Men and Women," sent to Browning in 1855 by John Ruskin, in which the writer goes so far as to call the poems "absolutely and literally the most amazing set of conundrums that were ever proposed to me."

son.

Cruise of the Janet Nichol among the South Sea Islands. A Diary by Mrs. Robert Louis StevenCharles Scribner's Sons, New York. $1.75. The unconventional, truly simple life of Robert Louis Stevenson and Mrs. Stevenson is reflected in the diary of the latter kept during a cruise among the South Sea Islands in 1890. The sympathetic understanding and kindly help given by these two welcome visitors to their island friends, and the affection in which all the natives held them, show just what may be accomplished when we are sufficiently broadminded to see beyond our own habits and opinions. The pleasant narrative of unusual events is fully illustrated by photographs.

Frémont and '49. By Frederick S. Dellenbaugh. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. $4.50.

Mr. Dellenbaugh's title is distinctly misleading. There is comparatively little in his bulky book regarding the year of the great California "gold rush." But one will readily overlook this in view of the excellence of his study of the events connected with the prior exploration and occupation of California, and of the personality and achievements of the California path-finder, Frémont. That a really good biography of Frémont was needed will be conceded by historians, and Mr. Dellenbaugh's book seems to meet this need. It is at once critical and appreciative, not blind to Frémont's weaknesses, but rightly insisting that his virtues and the services he rendered his country far outweigh his shortcomings.

As to the part Frémont played in the conquest of California-always a disputed point historically-Mr. Dellenbaugh takes the view that Frémont was acting in accordance with the wishes, though not the direct instructions, of his Government, and that by fostering the Bear Flag Revolt he undoubtedly made it certain that California would be an American territory, not a British possession. The story of Frémont's exploring expeditions in the central Far West as well as on the Pacific Slope is also told in copious detail, and with the aid of numerous maps and photographs, which add not a little to the value of the work.

Fairy Tales. By Hans Andersen. Harper & Brothers, New York. $1.50.

This latest of the many editions of these delightful tales for children is characterized by its excellence of physical make-up. It is a quarto, not too large, well bound, presenting a clear page, and printed from very distinct type. The illustrations by Louis Rhead are well executed and do not lack imagination-an element which should never be absent from the illustra

tion in any book for children. The volume has also the distinction of an introduction by Mr. Howells.

Psychology General and Applied. By Hugo

Münsterberg. D. Appleton & Co., New York. $1.75. Easily the outstanding feature of Professor Münsterberg's new text-book in psychology is the section devoted to what he calls "purposive psychology." Hitherto Professor Münsterberg has been characteristically impatient with those who insist that a "soulless psychology" is a futile psychology. The problem of the soul, he has dogmatically asserted, is not a psychological but a religious and philosophical problem. Now, following the example of William McDougall, he gives equally emphatic approval to the view he formerly opposed. It must be said, though, that the soul which he recognizes is a pretty thin and pale affair. "The soul is the self conceived as a system of purposes which remains identical with itself in developing its acts as real experiences in response to the acts of others and to the objects of the world." This, of course, is scarcely the soul-the animating, indwelling, governing entity-which most of us "conceive." Still it certainly marks an advance in the psychological evolution of Professor Münsterberg. For the rest, his book is chiefly noteworthy by reason of its lucid exposition of the possibilities of applied psychology, and its clear restatement of the principles of that "causal psychology" which to its author used to be the whole of psychology.

Amateur Garden (The). By George W. Cable. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. $1.50. Some of Mr. Cable's charming papers on gardening are published in a beautifully illustrated book that will delight all lovers of nature. Back of the plea for beauty lies the author's purpose, so well carried out in Northampton, of cultivating the taste of the ordinary dwellers in our small towns. Home culture and the recognition of what he calls "elastic wants is the gospel he preaches. He is good to quote, but it is better to read him in his chosen place, and our advice is to listen to the Amateur Gardener.

New Testament in the Twentieth Century (The).

By the Rev. Maurice Jones, B.D. The Macmillan
Company, New York. $3.

In this survey of recent Christological and historical criticism of the New Testament a most competent British scholar gives a full and lucid critical account of the stage it has reached, with his estimate of its net result thus far and its present tendency. Part I is mainly concerned with the various schemes, reconstructive and destructive, intent on a new Christology. This is the present 66 storm-center of criticism, promising to rival the classic controversy of the fourth century. Part II is a survey of the work of historical or "higher" criticism upon the books of the New Testament. Here the center of interest has shifted from the now generally

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settled questions of authorship, authenticity, and dates to the religious meaning of the writers. Here "it is the question of 'personality' in Jesus Christ that is of supreme significance." In this field of religion and theology the remarkable advance of psychology promises to be of unique importance. Another factor of influence in our estimate of the New Testament and of Christianity is the wealth of material gathered in the fields of comparative religion and archæology.

A very decided mark upon our conceptions of Christianity is resulting from all this; not such, however, as need disquiet anxious souls. Mr. Jones's estimate of the present situation and its outlook is conservatively progressive and hopeful. Historical criticism in digging down to reality has not impaired religious values. Evolution of Early Christianity (The). By Shirley Jackson Case. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. $2.25.

In this volume of studies of the environmental forces which during the first century of Christianity contributed to its evolution Professor Case has made an important contribution to a subject needing it. Did Christianity begin as a new religion complete and static-as Catholics and most Protestants believe-or rather as vital and developmental? That it was a vital movement from the start, disclosing its genius in its expanding life, is clear from this searching review of its record in the New Testament. Its first disciples, all of them Jews, were conscious of no departure from their hereditary faith. The hostility of its official representatives to them seems much like that of the Anglican Church to the group within it nicknamed Methodists, and, like these, the Christian group was soon forced into the antagonism reflected in the Gospels. How its rich heritage in Israel's prophets and psalmists was further enriched in the course of its appeal to the Gentile world by. appropriating, like Paul at Athens, whatever truth had been taught by Greek sages; how its original appeal to the lowly masses, as in the Synoptic Gospels, thus gained way among the educated, and first took form in the Fourth Gospel; how the many-sided movement with the spirit of the risen Christ at its heart laid hold of a wide range of vital interests in its social environment, and met them by conserving, heightening, and supplementing current religious values-all this Professor Case has admirably and fully shown.

Such a history is illuminating. The modern Church needs to learn from the experience; of the early Church to make religion an affair of life and growth commensurate with the needs of the present generation. In the last analysis, says Professor Case, the uniqueness of Christianity consists in the use which Christians make of their spiritual energy to answer the religious demands of their age.

PUBLIC LIBRARY

"The war was not discussed at all," is the statement made about the annual convention of an automobile supply company. The company's business in this country is of such magnitude that war talk was tabooed as interfering with the work of the meeting. Three hundred salesmen and sales managers attended this convention of a single company.

The record for long attendance at a college is probably held by a student at Columbia University in New York City who has spent twentyseven years in study. He has, according to the New York "Times," an income of $5,000 a year from a trust fund so long as he stays at the University, and this perhaps accounts in some measure for his devotion to learning. He has already, according to report, attained the degrees of LL.B., LL.M., A.B., and A.M., and is still seeking other scholastic honors.

Manager Gatti-Casazza, of the Metropolitan Opera Company, has succeeded in enlisting a number of German singers for the ensuing opera season in New York. He says that he had to get a special release for these artists from the Kaiser, to whom he represented the necessity of keeping German art and music alive in "this great American country" during the present troublous times.

with a good "Rider and ride a horse

The best horseman is the man temper, writes a contributor to Driver." "The principal way to and to train him is never to lose your temper." The beginner should start with a horse that is not a beginner; a good seat is acquired by learning to sit in the middle of the saddle; sit square to the front and very upright; don't use the reins to hold on by, but only to guide the horse-are some of the admonitions given.

Mr. George W. Perkins, of the Food Supply Committee of New York City, in a circular on the subject of "Fish," says that the habit of eating fish on Fridays only should be changed, so that prices may be lowered. If dealers sell fish on one day only, they will charge more to pay expenses during the idle part of the week. He also advises the purchaser to get the "trimmings "when a fish is bought, for from these an excellent soup may be made.

One does not need to go to the Far East to find choice examples of "English as she is wrote" by Oriental learners of that difficult language. Here is a specimen from an advertisement in a New York daily paper:

Japanese, young, expert cook, generally willing to be useful, as if your fingers, hands and legs. Address Useful Hands.

The use of darkness to aid the effect of tragedy is one of Shakespeare's methods, says Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch in the "North American He cites four plays in proof

Review."

WAY

"Hamlet," which opens on the dark battlements of Elsinore; "Othello," which opens with the mutter of voices in a dark street; 66 Lear," "the total impression of which is of a dark heath;" Macbeth," which is replete with night scenes and "black and midnight hags." A writer in "Yachting" describes a type of boat in use on Lake Michigan which is capsizable but at the same time non-sinkable. speedy and seaworthy little craft occasionally blows over in a sharp squall, but can easily be righted. "The whole operation, including the turnover," according to the description, "might take three minutes, but that would be extreme." One of these boats which capsized during a speed test was righted so quickly that it succeeded in winning the race.

A modern hive and the right type of bee practically do away with bee troubles, says the "Progressive Farmer" in advocating a wider use of honey. With sugar at eight cents a pound, it says, honey, which costs only the initial outlay of hive and bees, ought to be extensively made and used by farmers both for selling and for home consumption.

A bag of pennies which was offered by the "American Printer" as a prize for the queerest example of printing submitted was awarded to an exhibit from Diggins, Missouri. The Diggins masterpiece described the artist who produced it as " Photographer, Job Printer, and Cream Buyer." A picture of the department store conducted by this village genius ought to win another prize.

A religious journal gives this as an actual church bulletin posted during the summer: "No Sunday-school. No evening service. Morning service in chapel. Subject: Leave Us Alone." " Visitors would probably be inclined to take the advice literally.

Brooklyn children have provided the nucleus of a zoological collection by buying various animals for this purpose. Several lions, bears, monkeys, a hyena, a leopard, and other wild beasts that are general favorites of the small folks have been secured in this way-of course with the help of the children's parents and other lovers of children and animals.

A former resident of New Zealand, writing about the bad reputation in this country of the starling and the sparrow, says: "In New Zea'land we regard the starling as the most useful of all birds, as it eats only insects from the ground and ticks off the sheep's backs. The sparrow also, which in some places is in bad odor, we consider destructive only when there are no grubs or caterpillars. He earns his keep, for when we killed him off the caterpillars ate all our crops."

LYMAN ABBOTT, Editor-in-Chief

HAMILTON W. MABIE, Associate Editor

D

URING the week, November 18 to 25, there was no notable change reported from the battle line of the western campaign; the Germans seemed to be concentrating their efforts against Russia, and the Allies developed no strong aggressive move.

It takes a week or ten days to verify the news from the eastern campaign, so the significance of the events in Poland this week is still obscure.

The Russians by now undoubtedly have a great numerical preponderance; but with so long a front from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians-there is no possibility of manning all of it. As an offset to this advantage in, number, the Germans have great superiority in mobility. Their intricate system of strategic railways allows them to move their troops much more rapidly. Wherever the Russian line is weak-and it cannot be equally strong for so great a distance the Germans can concentrate their smaller army and break through.

After their defeat before Warsaw they chose Thorn, the point where the Vistula crosses from Poland into Prussia, as the base for their next offensive. It is an important railway junction, and troops could be gathered there from all sides. The mass of the Russian army was farther south, and there was a wide gap between this main force and the right wing, which was operating in East Prussia. There was a good chance to catch the Russian General Staff off their guard, as they were probably intent on driving home their Warsaw victory.

Once the new move became manifest, it was a race between the German army-its force has been estimated as high as 400,000

-and the Russian troops who were being rushed up to stop it. As the Czar's forces

were very much more numerous, it was evident that sooner or later the two forces must equalize each other. The farther the Germans advanced, the more strength they would lose; the farther the Russians retreated, the more reinforcements they would pick up. The serious question was whether or not the Germans could push their drive far enough to get in the rear of General Rennenkampf in East Prussia or to break the communications of the main Russian army to the south. Once under way, it became evident that their object was the latter. If they could have forced their way through to Warsaw, the Russians in southwestern Poland would have been cut off from their base. The despatches of the 24th indicated that the German advance had been halted before it caused serious trouble. The Russians, of course, made much larger claims. Petrograd reported a great victory. But the number of prisoners they took is a small matter if they have effectively stopped this German drive.

Here in Poland the campaign, although it has a greater sweep, is not unlike that in France. The battle line swings back and forth But the whole intent of the amazingly efficient organization of the Germans is to allow them to bring to bear their greatest force at once. Their first advance into Poland took them within sight of Warsaw, as their first rush into France took them to the walls of Paris. Their second drive vas halted forty miles farther back. In every one of their marvelously planned aggressive movements they have used up some of their strength. There is less chance of their reaching Paris now than there was in August, and less chance of their wintering in Warsaw than a month ago.

The distances are greater in the eastern campaign than in the western, the shifts in

position are more extensive, but the swings back and forth tend, like a pendulum, to subside into an equilibrium. And once this 'deadlock is reached, the war is reduced to a question of numerical strength and economic staying power.

A TEST OF THE ALLIES' STRENGTH IN FRANCE The next week will hold a large interest in that it will give us a chance to judge the striking power of the French and English. Since they forced the Germans back to the Aisne, all we could say was that the Allies were strong enough to hold their own. Have they the surplus force for a strong aggressive?

J

Germany, whether she wins or loses in Poland, will be using all the strength she can spare in the eastern campaign. She is not likely to be weaker on her western front for many months than she is now.. Even if she is badly. defeated in Russia, she may be able to " dig in" on defensive lines near her own frontier, and, holding the Russians with fewer men than she is now using there, spare reinforcements for Flanders or Lorraine. Germany's hope is to defeat her enemies one at a time. The object of her strategy must be to concentrate her force first on one frontier and then on the other. And it follows that the strategy of the Allies must be to present simultaneous pressure on the two frontiers. There has been no time since the beginning of the war when the pressure from Russia has been so strong as since mid-November. Now, if the Allies have the force, is the time to strike.

As long as General Joffre and Sir John French felt that the Germans were concentrating against them, it was quite enough to hold them. To have attacked in the face of an aggressive which had not yet developed its maximum strength would have presented unnecessary risks. It was better to let the enemy's offensive wear itself out.

But now,

with the eastern campaign in so critical a phase, the western Allies will be expected to do all in their power to relieve the pressure on Russia. If they can muster the necessary strength, they will attack. If they do not attempt an advance now, when so much of the German attention is occupied in the east, it will mean that it has needed, and to a certain extent exhausted, all their strength to hold the Germans in Flanders. It will show that they have no energy to spare and

that they must wait till spring before they can hope to drive the Germans out of France and Belgium. It will mean that they are content to dig in " and hold their pres

ent lines.

One of the things which has been "experimentally demonstrated" in the last few months is that the value of permanent fortifications has been overestimated. And as the prestige of steel turrets has decreased, that of improvised field trenches has grown amazingly. The phrase "digging in" has been frequent in the war despatches.

Most books on the subject base their conclusions on the lessons taught by the RussoJapanese War. It was in the Manchurian campaign that the possibility of intrenching under fire was developed. And every general staff has studied the reports brought back from that campaign.

In average conditions one man in a fourhour shift can move eighty cubic feet of earth; he can dig a hole four feet square and five feet deep, or a ten-foot trench two feet wide and four feet deep. In one hour a man can dig a pit a trifle more than three feet square and two feet deep. If he banks the twenty cubic feet of dirt he has moved in front of his hole, that makes good cover from direct fire.

The "Manual for Field Defenses " published in 1908 by the British War Office sums up the present theory: "When two forces armed with modern weapons are opposing each other in the field, the object of intrenchments . . . is to give cover from the enemy's fire, rather than to offer an obstacle to his assault. . . . The defense of modern intrenchments depends on fire; if troops can get through the fire of the defense, they are not likely to be stopped at close quarters by so slight an obstacle as an earthwork."

The first object of "digging in" is to obtain shelter from direct fire-that is, from the projectiles of rifles, machine guns, and flat trajectory shrapnel as fired from field guns.

In the illustrated section of The Outlook there is a photograph of some troops who have just begun to "dig in." The holes they have dug-probably fifteen minutes'. work-do not look very secure, but they furnish considerable cover from direct fire. They are, however, no shelter from howitzers,