this tells them rather how and when to enjoy growing things.

Christmas Cards, Holiday Novelties, Art Calendars. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York.

A surprising variety of pretty, merry, ingen

Romance of Preaching (The). By Charles Silvester Horne. The Fleming H. Revell Company, New York. $1.25.

This inspiring volume is the parting message to the churches of a great British preacher. Three days after speaking its last words in this year's Yale Lectures on Preaching he suddenly passed from earth, having in comparatively few years fulfilled many years in exhausting labors. A chivalrous and knightly soul was he in his rare combination of spiritual insight, moral passion, and fervid eloquence. In his thought of the preacher's mission as the servant of the Spirit" it is "to keep the soul of the world alive," as the motor of all progress. The romance of the preacher is "the sublime miracle of the God-intoxicated soul with vision of an eternal Will, and sense of an empire to which all continents, tongues, races belong." The preacher is the prophet of the realization of that empire not only in individual lives, but also in social organization. Like Moses, the first of the prophets, he must espouse the cause of a suffering people; he must know the inwardness of their lot in a social order "where unbridled prodigality at the top is balanced by indescribable poverty at the bottom." Only so can he become to both classes a true prophet of God.

In successive lectures Mr. Horne reviews the romance of preaching in the Apostolic age; in the royalty of the pulpit as illustrated by Athanasius and Chrysostom; in such rulers of peoples as Savonarola, Calvin, and Knox; in such founders of freedom as John Robinson and the Pilgrim Fathers; in the passion of evangelism seen in Wesley and Whitefield; finally, the romance of modern preaching. Here Mr. Horne rises to an impassioned climax. He sees that we are on the eve of new applications of Christ's, teaching, destined to call into existence a truly Christian civilization, in which poverty shall become extinct, militarism end, and the Church's early ideal of internationalism be realized. "The one demand is the consecrated spirit, the forward mind. . . . Let us have courage. Our mission is to inspire men, and in Christ is inexhaustible inspiration."

What Can I Know? By George Trumbull Ladd, LL.D. Longmans, Green & Co., New York. $1.50.

Epistemology, the philosophical theory of the grounds of knowledge, is a thicket threaded in volumes that are "caviar to the general," eschewed by the average reader. For such of these as are seeking a satisfying answer to the inquiry propounded by this volume a veteran thinker here cuts an easily traveled path through

ious, humorous, and, in a few cases, forcedly pious, gifts in card, booklet, and calendar form, comes to us from a house famous for its offerings of this kind. The prices are from twentyfive cents to five dollars.

the mazes of the subject, clearing it of entanglements, and steadily keeping in view its issues in practical value for the rational conduct of life. Sound knowledge, Professor Ladd insists, is a matter that must engage the entire man. He cannot be a knower unless he makes himself a thinker. Thinking is a process, not of forming ideas, but of reaching judgments to act upon. Intuitions are helpful in all branches of truth when they are fruits of previous thinking, but must be tested by further thinking. If there is any way to assured knowledge, it leads on from the undoubted facts of the universal experience of mankind. Building his knowledge upon these, the knower must, in common sense, be agnostic in innumerable things, but in practical interests must depend on the knowledge of the more experienced few-not only in art and science, but also in morals and religion. In Japan Professor Ladd has been consulted by "promoters" as an expert in ethics. Thus this line of thought leads up to the ultimate question, Can a man know God?" It is replied that the history of social and religious consciousness shows that the choicest personal values have sprung from reasoned faith in God as perfect ethical Spirit. The practical appropriation of this faith, a modern Hindu has said, "is not merely to have a knowledge but to experience a getting of God." And this more than any other kind of knowledge is the fruit of earnest seeking and of a will to know. "As a support and guide to practical life it is incomparably superior to any belief which the positive sciences can possibly establish."

Municipal Life and Government in Germany. By William Harbutt Dawson. Longmans, Green & Co., New York. $3.75.

Though the English readers for whom this book was primarily written are hardly likely at the present moment to receive it appreciatively, it is well worth their attention, and worth careful reading by Americans too. "Militarism" by no means sums up the whole story of German ideals and achievement, and, repugnant as militarism is to the Englishman and the American, this should not prevent recognition and adoption of whatever real benefits German accomplishment may proffer to the rest of the

with the utmost thought and care." The picture he draws of self-governing municipalities unfettered by "constitutional" limitations, aiming directly at the ideal of the greatest good of the greatest number, and achieving that ideal by organized effort under the leadership of an expert executive and professionally trained advisers, is most impressive. From the English and American standpoint, to be sure, there are certain striking drawbacks in the methods by which the splendid results noted are attained. The predominance of bureaucracy and the proportional basis of representation by no means accord with democratic principles. Nevertheless it ought to be possible, without ruthlessly sacrificing the democratic ideal, to solve civic problems as satisfactorily as the Germans seem to have done, and to this end Mr. Dawson's detailed, clear, and readable study should prove really helpful.

Century of Columbus (The). By James J. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., Litt.D. Catholic Summer School Press, New York. $3.50.

The hundred years from 1450 to 1550 were remarkably fruitful in distinguished artists, musicians, discoverers, reformers, social workers, men of learning, and authors, all well worthy of the commemoration so well given in this volume. The theme is a stirring one, and Dr. Walsh imparts some of his enthusiasm to his readers, with a juster appreciation of the glory of the past than modern men habitually cherish. As a panegyrist, however, he must be accompanied by a judicious critic, just as in the Papal Court a so-called advocatus diaboli is present when a candidate for saintship is proposed for canonization.

When one reads what Dr. Walsh records of the noble foundation work for education and social progress done under the auspices of the Church after the conquest of Mexico and Peru, contrasting it with the backwardness of our own early settlements, the general illiteracy now prevalent in those countries and the present reversal of that contrast needs an explanation that he has left to impartial critics. One can agree to his rehabilitation of the long-vilified character of Lucretia Borgia, and need not object to a good word for Machiavelli, but in the name of all saints one must protest against lenient judgment of the monstrosities of Cortez and Pizarro and a whitewashing of the sanguinary Spanish Inquisition. Apart from such defects Dr. Walsh's brilliant record of a great cultural epoch of history is commendable and valuable.

Young Woman Worker (The). By Mary A. Laselle. The Pilgrim Press, Boston. $1. Practical, sound advice upon what might be classed as the superficial essentials of a business woman's training is to be found in this small volume gotten up in the dress of a gift book. "Efficiency, fitness, ability, these are

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what make work a pleasure and bring success." True, but good manners, good health, proper dress and habits, are also necessary, as the writer points out.

Story of Dartmouth (The). By Wilder Dwight Quint. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. $2.

Romantic was Dartmouth's beginning as an American Indian school, transplanted in 1770 to a few log cabins in the northern wilds from its birthplace in Lebanon, Connecticut. Its course for the subsequent century seems like that of the upper waters of a great river, mountainborn, broken here and there by rapids and cataracts. Of the vicissitudes of the hundred years preceding "the great awakening," since which Dartmouth has risen to its primacy among the small Eastern colleges, Mr. Quint has given a vivid picture, with entertaining sketches of student life and manners, and striking pen portraits of the notable occupants of the President's often thorny seat. The celebrated "Dartmouth case," won by Daniel Webster before the Supreme Court in 1818, gave to the puny college fighting for the inviolability of its charter a National fame now growing from its spreading roots. A lively interest is sustained to the story's end.

Anne Feversham. By J. C. Snaith. D. Appleton & Co., New York $1.35.

A tale of Shakespeare's time with Shakespeare as the central figure, and two wandering, unfortunate young lovers to give the author scope for his romantic fancies. Queen Bess plays an unattractive rôle, and her "raddled old face is not veiled in mercy. While the story moves vivaciously, one is haunted by the feel. ing that it is written with deliberate effort—and effort that peeps through the worn places in the author's art.

Joyful Heart (The). By Robert Haven Schauffler. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. $1.25. This welcome "guide-book to joy" comes in charming dress. Most of us are happily acquainted with Mr. Schauffler's spirit, and turn in pleasant anticipation to his essays. Especially good are his thoughts on "The Brimming Cup" in this collection. As an illuminating interpreter of music he is unique; see the chapter on "The Joyous Mission of Mechanical Music."

Life-Story of a Russian Exile (The). By Marie Sukloff. Translated by Gregory Yarros. The Century Company, New York. $1.50.

If the facts in regard to the treatment of "politicals" in Russia were less well attested or more rare, it would be safer to ignore them. Such a chronicle of injustice, suffering, and fortitude as is written by this woman from the depths of a passionate nature is almost beyond belief; but here it stands, with others of like import. And yet Russia is only groping toward the light of freedom. It is well for Americans to read such books as these.

In all languages, says "Shipping Illustrated," it is now the fashion to describe an all-big-gun battle-ship as a dreadnought," or a superdreadnought" in the case of a 'ship having more than ten twelve-inch guns, or guns of a heavier caliber. The fashion started in 1905, when the name Dreadnought was given by the British Admiralty to a battle-ship that mounted only one type of heavy guns.

"The old popular culture of Christmas songs and celebrations," G. K. Chesterton remarks in "Life," "is not dead, though it has often been dying. Always in its hour its avenger liveth: in Steele in the coldest of centuries; in Washington Irving in the youngest of colonies; in Dickens in the dirtiest and dankest of industrial developments; and in all the great revival of Dickens to-day. .. The Waits have more future than the Futurists."

A curious anomaly connected with the war is that American exports of gunpowder and dynamite for October of this year are far less than in October, 1913. The value of the gunpowder exported in October of this year, however$24,395-is some $10,000 more than last year, the price having nearly doubled.

In a terrific gale that swept over Lake Superior recently half a hundred lives are believed to have been lost. Four steamships were reported missing and are supposed to have been wrecked or to have foundered. The navigation of the big inland seas is thus at times dangerous even to large vessels.

"The Gilded Age," Mark Twain's comedy, was a failure from the critics' standpoint, but, according to a writer of theatrical reminiscences in the "Dramatic Mirror," the fact that it contained an immortal character, Colonel Mulberry Sellers, made it one of the most popu lar of American plays, ranking in public appreciation with "The Old Homestead and "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

The Women's Freedom League of London has formed a corps of volunteer policewomen for duty in public places. Similar organizations have been formed in Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton, and Hull. The news that women are thus organizing in England for the promotion of public order is a pleasant change from the frequent ante-war despatches about militant dis

turbances.

The Suez Canal is not the first canal to join the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, according to a bulletin issued by the National Geographic Society. The Egyptians, it is stated, in 13501300 B.C., constructed such a canal; in the course of time it was choked with sand; another

canal was begun by Necho about 600 B.C., and completed a century later; Trajan restored this canal; when Napoleon visited Egypt, he planned to reopen the old canal, but was forced to abandon the project. It remained for de Lesseps to repeat the engineering triumph of the ancient Egyptians, on a vaster scale.

An amusing photo-play shown before the New York Advertising Men's League was called "Mr. Noad's Adless Day." Its theme was the trouble that beset a householder who wanted all advertising abolished. He got no morning newspaper, no breakfast cereal, found no "bargains" in the stores and couldn't tell one store from another owing to the absence of signs, had no business stationery in his office and no calendar for finding the date, and in the evening could not learn of any amusement to dispel the weariness of his "adless day."

A witty barrister, says an English paper, who did not object to a joke at his own expense, was asked, on returning from circuit, how he had got on. "Well," was the reply, "I saved the lives of two or three prisoners." "Then you defended them for murder?" "No," was the rejoinder, "I prosecuted them for it."

A significant indication of the growth of the public betterment movement in the South is furnished by the news item that "the people of a thousand North Carolina communities got together December 3 to improve and beautify their roads and church and school buildings and grounds."

In the ancestral home of the family of Sir Francis Drake the famous drum of the great English sea-fighter is still preserved. This drum beat the signals of Drake's flagship when he scattered the Spanish Armada; and tradition says that he commanded that it be sounded, after his death, whenever danger threatened Great Britain. Twice has it been thus beat, says the legend-once when the Dutch swept the English Channel, and once when Napoleon threatened invasion. Will the drum again be sounded in the present war? is a question that some of the Admiral's countrymen are asking.

Between 5:20 and 6:20 Saturday evening after the recent Yale-Harvard football game at New Haven there were carried out of the railway station of that city approximately 18,000 people, or 300 a minute. Sixty-five trains and 618 cars were used altogether in carrying the football crowd, which totaled about 37,500 people who traveled by rail. This crowd was a recordbreaking one for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford road, and there was no serious mishap to any passenger.

TWO REPORTS

Within the past few days the official reports of the Secretaries of the Army and Navy have been laid before the President and the public at large.

In recording the general impression which any careful reader will receive from a perusal of these two documents it is not necessary to discuss in detail every statement they contain to appraise them at their true worth. One report presents to the reader the picture of a Secretary who understands the function of and the necessity for the Department over which he presides. The other portrays a Secretary whose attention is fixed upon the by-products rather than the main purpose of his Department, upon the justification of his own views rather than upon the co-ordination and presentation, as part of a definite National policy, of the opinions of the experts under his command. As may have already been surmised, the latter portion of this sentence does not refer to Secretary Garrison.

Aside from its fundamental defects, Secretary Daniels's report is open to criticism on still another score, for in his general introduction the Secretary presents the opinions. of those opposed to his views in a form which they would not accept.

Two instances of this may be profitably cited. Secretary Daniels says: "The building programme recommended this year differs little from the recommendations in last year's annual report. It is a well-balanced programme.' . . The estimates were made prior to the 15th of October, as required by law. They follow the policy recommended by the General Board, but reduce the number." In another connection Secretary Daniels says: "The opinion of the General Board... is entitled to great weight. The

Department feels that it is upon safe ground in looking to the Board to prescribe the character of the ships to be constructed."

Now it happens that the policy laid down by the General Board is vitally dependent upon other factors than the type and character of the ships recommended for construction. In 1903, after a careful consideration of our National policies and interests, the General Board of the navy laid down a policy of construction based upon the authorization of two battle-ships a year, which in 1919 would have given us a navy of forty-eight capital ships and their necessary auxiliaries. Congress has so far neglected this recommendation that the construction programme is at present some ten battle-ships in arrears. In view of this consideration, the General Board has for the past two years recommended the construction of four capital ships, not as part of a normal building programme, but to make up the losses sustained from the action of previous Congresses. With present deficiencies in mind, the General Board recommended this year the construction of four battle-ships, sixteen torpedo-boat destroyers, three fleet submarines, sixteen coast submarines, four scout cruisers, four gunboats, two oil fuel ships, one destroyer tender, one submarine tender, one transport, one hospital ship, one supply ship, and the appropriation of five million dollars for the naval aeroplane service. Secretary Daniels, in cutting down. this recommendation to a minimum of two dreadnoughts, six destroyers, eight submarines, one gunboat, and one oiler, has no justification for stating that his programme in any way "follows the recommendation of the General Board." He is in the position of a city manager who, after calling upon a commission of engineering experts