REVIEWS.

The Apocalypse revealed; in which are disclosed the Mysteries there foretold. By EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. London: Swedenborg Society. It is difficult to realise the fact that this exposition was written by one who, till he had passed fifty years of age, was almost, if not altogether, devoted to physical pursuits; and yet Swedenborg does not wholly stand alone in combining such scientific attainments with a very strong belief in the supernatural. In his extensive travels through Europe, he came in contact both with Roman Catholics and Lutherans, and it is evident that the doctrines of neither the one nor the other fully satisfied him he ultimately found them both condemned in the Book of Revelation, and that there was a new and more perfect Church described in it under the name of the New Jerusalem. The expositor's name has since been commonly associated with this one. With the exception of the reference to the Papacy in certain chapters, there is little in common with other interpretations of this Book, either in the mode of dealing or in the outcome of it. When every object and expression is supposed to have some special spiritual meaning, there is of course an almost unlimited field for the play of the imagination, and the probability of the true interpretation being thus arrived at must be diminished in proportion. Its authoritativeness can therefore only rest upon the ground which Swedenborg himself claimed for it, that of a special revelation. Angelic Revelations concerning the Origin, Ultimation, and Destiny of the Human Spirit. London: W. Harrison.

THESE appear to be a further development of the system introduced by the theologian above named, mingled with a good deal of modern Spiritualism. They are given as the utterances of one who was in a state of trance, describing the experiences of a spirit in passing through various states of being up to perfection. Much of the language is so sybilline that it is difficult to follow it; and it is altogether different from even the "Memorable Relations" of Swedenborg, which, however extraordinary in their details, had almost always a distinct theological teaching. We are told in the preface that these communications will be found of great value to the Scientist, as well as to the Theologian; but we have yet to learn how physical science can possibly be advanced by vague utterances which are altogether beyond the reach of experimental test.

Life in London Alleys, with Reminiscences of Mary McCarthy and her Work. By the Rev. JAMES YEAMES. London: F. E. Longley. HERE is a practical little book. It furnishes a graphic picture of mission work in one of the most densely packed quarters of London -a labyrinth known as Chequer Alley. The writer has had the charge of the Mission Church there for the last ten years, and Mary McCarthy had laboured there for twenty-five years previously. May it encourage others in their self-denying work in the dark places of our great Metropolis.

AMONGST the pamphlets lying upon our table, we may mention the following:-the Speech on the Eastern Question, delivered in the Town Hall, Birmingham, December 4th, 1876, by the Rt. Hon. JOHN BRIGHT, M.P.* Lord Salisbury was then on his way to Constantinople; now he is on his way home; but the principles Mr. Bright sought to enforce, it is as necessary to bear in mind now as then. From America we have the Proceedings of the International Convention for the Amendment of the English Orthography, held at Philadelphia in August, 1876,† at which various systems both English and American were fully considered, and from which we judge that the necessity of a reform is more acknowledged in the United States than in this country. Mr. E. Jones, who contributed an article on the subject to the "ARGONAUT" of last November, was present at the Philadelphia convention. The Rapid Writer, and the Takigrapher,‡ are issued monthly, the former to advocate and the latter to teach a new method of shorthand, which is strongly supported by some of the leaders of the Spelling Reform Association. Select Passages in the Life and Reign of Harold, the last of the Saxon Kings, with some Account of his Burial at Waltham Holy Cross, by WM. WINTERS, F.R. Hist. Soc., is a very carefully prepared paper, as may be expected from the character of the first article in this number of the Argonaut. The same writer has also issued a tractate entitled, Who was the Author of the Pilgrim's Progress ?§ principally to refute some assertions that John Bunyan had borrowed largely from older writers, and more especially from "Le Pélerinage de l'Homme," a Roman Catholic poem !

* Hodder and Stoughton.

Spelling Reform Association. Philadelphia. The Rapid Writer Association, Chicago. § F. Davis.

The Argonaut.

THE DUTY OF YOUNG MEN IN RELATION TO LOCAL WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY.

By A. W. W. DALE.

URING the last five-and-twenty years a great change has passed over our country; a change mainly produced by scientific progress and by mechanical improvements. In almost every department of industry

old and cumbersome machinery has been superseded, while in some cases the advance has been still greater, hand-labour having given place to steam-power; and methods at one time in common use have now been abandoned as extravagant and tedious, their place being filled by all the refinements of modern ingenuity and skill. Society, too, has become more complex throughout its organisation, and there are at once new needs to satisfy and new dangers to avert; while at the same time we have set our minds on uprooting evils of old standing, held incurable by our forefathers, and looked upon by them as a necessary element in human life. But though they found consolation in this strange doctrine of fatalism, their uncomplaining spirit has not come down to us; nor are we content to sit still and watch this constant increase in the dangers that menace and impair the happiness and well-being of mankind. Where disease and death can be resisted with fair hope of success, where it is within our power to raise large classes of our fellowcountrymen from the ignorance and degradation in which they now lie, and thus to secure the coming generations from the suffering and the sin which popular ignorance and vice have brought upon our

selves, we should be mere cowards were we to shrink from the attempt without any effort to prevent the accumulated inheritance of evil descending to our successors. But we have manifested no inclination to shirk our responsibilities thus far, and it is to be hoped that we may show the same spirit in the time to come. Our field of duty this paper will endeavour briefly to point out and to describe.

Of late, scientific principles have been very widely applied to the solution of the problems constantly raised by the condition of the great mass of the nation. The experiment has in many cases met with striking success, which will without doubt be repeated in further trials, and we are now gradually effecting the legislative changes that are necessary to put the existing order of things in harmony with social and scientific laws. We have much to undo, still more to amend, and a whole class of measures has thus been called into existence, varying in character, method, importance, and success. We have had Acts of Parliament dealing with commercial and manufacturing industry; by their means vexed questions affecting labour have been settled; restrictions have been imposed on masters and men, regulating machinery, the hours of work, and the age of the labourer. No longer do we allow parents to send little children down into the mine, where their growth will be stunted and their strength prematurely exhausted. And masters are now bound, on their part, to provide for the safety and the health of those they employ, as far as may be possible in each individual case. Careless neglect and blind perversity are now held in check by the restraint of law.

The last few years have also witnessed the extension and advance, by Act after Act, of popular education; and have seen the long series of measures in which the question was directly or indirectly dealt with, crowned by the Education Bill of 1870, which professes to secure some education for every child in the country. But even this measure has already undergone some modification and some additional improvement; though, indeed, further amendments are necessary before it can possibly satisfy the urgent needs of the country districts, and years must inevitably pass before the efforts of its first promoters can be rewarded with complete and universal success; while the changing needs of the nation will entail fresh legislative action to adapt existing organisation to the altered circumstances of the people, and to satisfy the fresh wants of those for whom pro

vision has to be made. But we have not halted here. There were other fields for us to occupy-other wildernesses to be subdued. And while thus occupied, we have extended, step by step, the functions of municipal authorities, imposing new duties, and entrusting them with new powers. They have now every facility for securing the health and safety of their constituents. They can now provide every household with an abundant supply of pure water, and they can light dwellings and streets with gas manufactured by their own servants, and laid on through their own mains. A corporate body may enforce bye-laws, preventing the erection of buildings that fail to satisfy the conditions necessary to secure the health of a community, and it may clear away all those slums and rookeries which infest so many of our large towns, raising the sum requisite to meet the expenses of such a policy by a loan spread over a long term of years. All this, and more, a spirited and energetic corporation may do, saving themselves and their successors untold trouble and suffering. Much of this they may refuse to do, free to accept or to decline the powers offered to them. But there is a vast amount of work that the oldest and feeblest municipality must do if it is to exist at all. Justice must be administered, and the public protected against force and fraud. Order must be maintained, and the unruly and violent restrained and punished. Roads and highways must be kept in repair, and new thoroughfares opened from time to time to satisfy the growing needs of the population. Drainage and sewerage must also receive their due share of attention, neglect in that direction leading to fatal disasters. The poor have to be relieved and the homeless housed, besides a number of other duties which we must pass over without notice. Not a tithe of the responsibilities resting upon local authorities has space permitted us to enumerate, and our list might be indefinitely prolonged. The rough sketch we have given will serve as a general outline, and the reader must develop and fill in the details for himself, and must infer the difficulties and the dangers which beset the work of our local rulers, and exhaust all the resources of patience, courage, and skill.

How far Government is justified in following such a policy it is not our present intention to inquire, nor do we purpose to examine the arguments advanced by those who uphold this great deviation from the political principle of laissez-faire. Such investigations may safely