The Bollandists. By the Rev. G. T. Stokes England, France, and Madagascar. By the Rev. James Sibree Contemporary Life and Thought in France. By Gabriel Monod Gambetta. By A German . The Art of Rossetti. By Harry Quilter The Religious Future of the World. II. By W. S. Lilly The "Silver Streak" and the Channel Tunnel. By Professor Boyd Dawkins Ancient International Law. By Professor Brougham Leech A Russian Prison. By Henry Lansdell, D.D. County Government. By the Rt. Hon. Sir R. A. Cross, G. C. B., M.P. Miss Burney's Own Story. By Mary Elizabeth Christie The Highland Crofters. By John Rae Local Self-Government in India: The New Departure. By Sir Richard Temple, The Limits of Science. By the Rev. George Edmundson Land Tenure and Taxation in Egypt. By Henry C. Kay The Enchanted Lake: An Episode from the Mahábhárata. By Edwin Arnold, The Municipal Organization of Paris. By Yves Guyot, Member of the Municipal 325 357 373 383 411 428 439 The English Military Power, and the Egyptian Campaign of 1882. By A M. Gambetta: Positivism and Christianity. By R. W. Dale, M.A. Irish Murder-Societies. By Richard Pigott Contemporary Life and Thought: Italian Politics. By Professor Villari THE AMERICANS: A CONVERSATION AND A SPEECH, WITH AN ADDITION. BY HERBERT SPENCER. I. A CONVERSATION: October 20, 1882. [The state of Mr. Spencer's health unfortunately not permitting him to give in the form of articles the results of his observations on American society, it is thought useful to reproduce, under his own revision and with some additional remarks, what he has said on the subject; especially as the accounts of it which have appeared in this country are imperfect reports of the conversation having been abridged, and the speech being known only by telegraphic summary. The earlier paragraphs of the conversation, which refer to Mr. Spencer's persistent exclusion of reporters and his objections to the interviewing system, are omitted, as not here concerning the reader. There was no eventual yielding, as has been supposed. It was not to a newspaperreporter that the opinions which follow were expressed, but to an intimate American friend: the primary purpose being to correct the many misstatements to which the excluded interviewers had given currency; and the occasion being taken for giving utterance to impressions of American affairs.-ED.] HAS what you have seen answered your expectations? It has far exceeded them. Such books about America as I had looked into had given me no adequate idea of the immense developments of material civilization which I have everywhere found. The extent, wealth, and magnificence of your cities, and especially the splendour of New York, have altogether astonished me. Though I have not visited the wonder of the West, Chicago, yet some of your minor modern places, such as Cleveland, have sufficiently amazed me by the results of one generation's activity. Occasionally, when I have been in places of some ten thousand inhabitants where the telephone is in general use, I have felt somewhat ashamed of our own unenterprising towns, many of which, of fifty thousand inhabitants and more, make no use of it. I suppose you recognize in these results the great benefits of free institutions? VOL. XLIII. B |