tions, they possess a basis and spring of life from and by which they may rise into a great homogeneous people." (England, i. 36). It was doubtless the growth of such a phase as this that produced the picture of mankind under Turanian influences. The chief branches of this stock all radiate from a common centre, though they are not descended from one common parent (Bunsen, "Phil. of Universal Hist.," p. 18). What, then, is their condition of national progress? The obedience to chieftains who have gained their ascendancy, not by the means of patriarchal descent alone-in short, the blind worship of genius that existed then, as it does now and will always do, though the characteristics that command this worship are constantly changing with the progress of events. Thus, we view heroism in its earliest phase as an element of political sovereignty; we view it in its last, perhaps its nobler shape, as an element in intellectual progress. Heroic government did not altogether separate itself from the patriarchal at its first dawn, and this would serve to moderate the effect which a violent or sudden digression might otherwise have made upon man's mind. If the chieftain of a tribe-already obeyed in the light of a parent, and respected in the light of a priest― showed a marked superiority for government and power-wielding, he not only gathered round him his own followers more closely, but enlisted under his banner other chieftains, and consequently other tribes. Thus, the first who comes to view on eastern soil is the great Nimrod, grandson of the patriarch Cush. The series of events which prepared the way for his exaltation as a leader of men are not distinctly traced, the conceptions ascribed to him are not easily derived from the sterility of the thoughts of his age; but in him is shown the true personification of Turanian life. It was conquest, not civilisation-plunder, not agriculture-by which he rapidly spread his dominion, subduing or expelling the various tribes then occupying the country. Canon Rawlinson supplies a series of thoughts in connection with "the mighty hunter," which might well be transcribed here; and, though his identification with Gisdhubar, by Mr. George Smith, leaves the historical fame of the actual Nimrod to be shorn of many of its brightest ornaments, the historical fame itself must still appertain to some one, for, according to Sir Henry Rawlinson, "there are many traces in the inscriptions of a tradition that the first colonists came from Ethiopia under the leading of a hero who answers to the Nimrod of Scripture." But heroes and the heroic, once having made an impression on the minds of mankind, it is easy to understand that the representation of patriarchal families could not always be maintained among themselves. Some member of an obscure household would rise up to equal, and perhaps surpass, the ordinary leader of a tribe. There is no doubt, however, that he thereby set aside, or perhaps trampled upon rights that had become sacred, and notions that had become dear to the hearts of primitive men, and that to alleviate the results of such a trespass he based his new conceptions on the natural formations he found ready to his hand; and thus it is that we see the revolutionary ideas of all ages have tended to copy, more or less, the model which nature moulded at the commencoment of social life.* There is one thing we must not forget in the considerations which have been given to heroic government. While this power exercised a great influence on social ideas, it never once entirely destroyed the symmetry of the primitive family community, nor abrogated the power of a father over his own family. Though it tended to throw off less hardy or less adventurous individuals from some particular family, it at the same time produced another order of family connection, by compelling him to seek refuge under the household of some other chieftain; for primitive thought could not allow the recognition of an individual, any more than the feudal laws of historical Europe allowed a villein to wander about the country not being under the dominion of a lord,† any more than Roman law admitted even the mention of such a class as fugitives or vagabonds. On the other hand, the very fact of altering the nature of though it did not entirely sever—a tie so completely and powerfully woven as that of patria potestas-to call it by its well-known Roman name-would open the way to opposition when occasion called it forth. Professor Lazarus pertinently suggests that the curious set of customs relating to the avoidance by each other of parents-in-law and children-in-law are due to excessive reaction against patria potestas; and no doubt this is right. The admittance of foster-children within the religion-guarded barrier of the family naturally tended to produce in the minds of the born children feelings of superiority which soon manifested its spirit of quasi-opposition. Bearing in mind this one consideration, we may look upon the early migration parties not as a mere collection of discontented individuals under the banner of an indiscriminate leader, but families and tribes in their integrity, who thus became spread * Vide Grote, ii, 464. "Without the examples of houses that had grown out of families," says Niebuhr, "none would have been formed as the elements of states."-Rome, i., 264. † Vide Saxon Laws of Kent, West Saxons, Guthrum, and Athelstan, as published by the Record Commission. Vide Savigny "Priv. Int. Law," xi. p. 63-" Even the fugitive slaves (errones fugitivi) cannot be reckoned in this class, since they have, in the legal sense, a certain domicile-namely, that of their masters." over the earth, and taught so universally those customs common alike to savage and civilised society; and though the instance of the wild people of Borneo is something like evidence that mankind. have the ability to diffuse themselves widely over the globe without associating, we have ample testimony that they have not exercised this ability to an extent sufficient to entitle it to be classed among the peculiarities of the human race. WAITING. I AM waiting for my darling- Wearily passes away My beloved comes not near. I watch the chance wayfarers Blind with excess of light, As stars in the sun grow pale; The spell of her gentle voice As nought else can avail. Yet, alas! she cometh not! And the spring is sad and sere; Sure the eventide draws on,- The heaven is golden and blue, For my beautiful one is here! MAURICE DAVIES. THE ARMY MOBILISATION SCHEME, BY A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ORIENTAL ORDER. THERE are no departments of State which more accurately test the calibre of the Ministry than those entrusted with the armament of the empire. We may have weak ministers in other departments without any very serious consequences, for their errors are, to a great extent, neutralised by the force of circumstances and the current of events by which they are swept along, or away, as the case may be. But the Army and Navy are absolutely at the mercy of the War Minister and the Lords of the Admiralty, who may be fortuitously selected for their high offices without any consideration of their special aptitude, by a premier who feels embarrassed how to provide for partisans, whose claims as such may be great, but whose pretensions and ambition are sometimes out of proportion to their real ability. Lord Cardwell-more theoretical than practical, and perplexed by the counsels of those who supplied him with technical knowledge for the task-made a strenuous attempt to re-organise the army, but was exhausted by the effort; and, having reduced it almost to its primitive elements, he handed over the chaotic mass to his successor, who, inspired by that martial ardour which is so pleasingly illustrated in our recent annals, professed himself the ardent advocate of the aggrieved officers and men, and, admitting frankly that his zeal was in excess of his qualifications, the public, under the circumstances, was disposed to acquiesce in his drawing his official salary for work which he promised to learn; and, as a guarantee of his good faith, he professed to throw all his energies, as well as his affections, into the labours of that Royal Commission which had been extorted from his predecessor, for the purpose of redressing those injuries which had been done to army officers, through the unavoidable confusion arising from so momentous a change as the abolition of purchase, &c. But a year has elapsed, and we regret to find that the Minister has not yet, to use his own words, "learnt his trade "—or, in other words, qualified to discharge those duties effectually for which he has received an advance of pay. And, moreover, when we consider the helplessness of a ruler deficient of that special knowledge which alone can give real power, and practically in the hands of his own subordinates, the principal of whom were the prominent and active agents of his predecessor, it is difficult to conceive, by what means the policy of the latter could, in any appreciable degree, be altered. As regards the Ministry, it is no advantage to have in so prominent a position a prophet, who, shrinking from his obligations, falls asleep under his gourd. As regards the Reorganisation of the Army, we find little improvement. The machinery of the Cardwell system can scarcely be got into motion. The depôt centres are barely struggling for existence. The linking of regiments has been so altered from the original idea that it has become little better than a nominal change, tending to nothing more important than confusing the Army-List (at the head of which, by the way, appears an official name that might just as well be at the head of the Clergy-List. And in preparation for war, can we be said to have made any advance in the task of reorganisation? We may have abundance of ammunition and military material; but if, through overcentralisation, it be not forthcoming at the critical moment of requisition, what does it avail us? If a general commanding cannot command, at a moment's notice, the means of offence or of defence-if for even a ball cartridge he must make tedious and roundabout applications to Woolwich, where would he be supposing an invading force to be thrown between him and his official "head centre ?" But, worst of all, although what remains of the army is good and efficient, it is surely to be regretted that the principle "He wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long," should be applied to the recruiting of the army; and that, after the short period of three years-the ephemeral nature of which service precludes the sentiment of esprit de corps-(a quality superior even to animal courage). The young soldier retires from the standards, and, not only seeks idleness, but in idleness associated with the disaffection prevalent in various centres of democratic industry, his military training might, under certain circumstances, be a source of infinite mischief. This, however, is rather a question for the future, and one which we propose to deal with in detail on another occasion. In the meantime it has oozed out that the power given to the Army Purchase Commissioners has been neutralised by checks invented at the War Office, and which are not to be found in the Royal Warrant. Again, a most absurd and deceptious "Exchanges Bill "-a claptap that costs nothing-was passed-not for the benefit of the the army, for it was unnecessary-nor, as a concession to the |