Show CURRENT TOPICS IN EUROPE A new edition of the life and works of elizabeth barret browning has just been published and meets with ready sale not merely to the british public but likewise to their american cousins this edition contains a number of portraits of mrs browning at different periods of her life one of these is a copy of a painting of her at nine years of age it is a curiously interesting picture of a little girl holding a flower in her right hand while with the left she turns up her apron so as to make a receptacle for a lap full of flowers the face is one which might have forewarned her acquaintances of her coming destiny the eyes have a depth of expression a sort of look as of one who had already thought much or saw things that others did not see who might as well have had fairies as flowers for her companions no one who studies that face hyill will be surp surprised risea to hear bear that the owner of it composed a poem on Mor athon when she was only fourteen years of age by common consent there is a place in literature at which an authoress drops that title and becomes an author P I 1 lu u the same sense perhaps we ought to speak of elizabeth barrett browning as a poet bet since sappho no do woman has equaled her in poetic power and fire and pathos when elizabeth browning lug commenced to write she soon made it clear that a new chapter in glands En literary history had been opened and that a real poet had arisen her work has been long enough before the world to enable us to say with certainty that it has found its place her songs have found admirers wherever the english language is spoken they have entered into ours our feelings and become a part of our social life the fame of mrs browning is assured she will take her place as one of the great poets of the victorian vie age wo we need her poems she does not need our criticism or our praise her mortal remains now repose in the protestant cemetery of florence italy A plain yet beautiful monument has been erected over her grave with no other inscription except the words elizabeth barrett browning that is sufficient no other is needed it is just five hundred years since the first cannon were used in russia and on the of november the fifth centennial was celebrated with great pomp at st petersburg the words of the czar on that occasion have naturally attracted duchat but they can give satisfaction only to those who do not look very far ahead in the worlds polities politics it is impossible for any humane person to contemplate war between nations especially on the colossal scale and subject to the wondrous conditions under which it must now be conducted with other feelings than those of unspeakable auci antipathy pathy and repugnance there is no cure for a bloodthirsty politician so effectual as personal experience of warfare perhaps it was a beneficent arrangement that the franco prussian war of 1870 brought princes and statesmen as well as soldiers into the actualities of the carnage car Dage perhaps this is the reason why the peace of europe has been preserved as long as it has it is certainly a remarkable cir cury stance that at the very moment alexander III is petitioning heaven to save him and his people from the horrors of war hi his 3 government is more active than ever in pushing forward those armaments which indicate that a terrible war is impending everybody knows that the army of russia could be reduced to a peace footing without the russian empire incurring any danger of invasion neither germany nor austria nor italy nor even england would seek to quarrel with russia invade her soil or curtail her ber territories it is this which renders not austria alone but buc the whole world so exceedingly vigilant and sensitive in regard to russian armaments it is well known how enormous are the military levies of that vast empire what immense sums are spent in perfecting her military organization and what an I 1 imposing g number of armed men she would bring into the field even the maintenance ot of forces such as russia has kept under arms for several years past has been I 1 incompatible n with the theory that russia is a pacific and conservative state that respects either public treaties or territorial arrangements notwithstanding the professions of alexander III russia is not content with the formidable military power she now holds but is continually adding to it the russian minister of war has just issued an order for arming with heavy artillery all the forts forte in the black sea and the sea of azof with the greatest expedition large additions are being made to the garrisons of odess i and kleff kieff and the black sea fleet is continually being strengthened by fresh gunboats gun boats and torpedo vessels if russia were threatened by the fear of wanton invasion if germany or austria had bad at any time proposed to establish the ancient city of poland or restore any of the conquests of russia to their original owners this attitude and their armaments would be intelligible As aa it is 18 they cannot be reconciled with any genuine and passionate love of peace why france continues to devote such sums to the development of her military power is well known to everybody since she makes no secret of her determination to regain her lost provinces province sat at the first favorable opportunity and germany may excuse her preparations as purely defensive but russia has no lost provinces to recover no surrendered territory to no injured military prestige to reestablish establish re no national self love to console by future victories europe believes it Js is only in pursuit of fresh conquests and aad additional territory that russia contina 8 to increase her fighting force the policy of russia remains und unchanged hanged und and that policy includes the assertion of russian domination in the balkan peninsula and russian influence at constantinople to the exclusion of every other power and further russia is ia rapidly preparing to enforce these assertions with the power of her arnit however much the czar may express a pious hope for the maintenance of peace there is scarcely a schoolboy school boy who has not heard of robinson crusoe even those of riper years will remember with what rapture they read that narrative nara tive in their youthful days with a relish akin to this feeling all eurove europe is now reading the adventures of stanley the 1 great african explorer the 1 letters etters that have reached europe increase and strengthen the worldwide sympathy with which his progress and adventures have been followed his letters evince a terseness and modesty of literary style wonderful power of vivid and picturesque description strong de termination tion keen insight into character the highest attributes of a commander the skill and tack of a diplomatist these are the qualities that mr stanley has manifested one sentence from his letters is sufficient to disclose the his work when he speaks of that darkest region of the earth one great compact of remorselessly sullen forest the growth of an untold number of ages swarming mink at intervals with immense masses of vicious man eating savages 11 round the illustrious german whom stanley went out to rescue a great deal of interest and cu curiosity aiosi ty is gathered what stanley has to say of emin pasha will therefore be read with the utmost attention the conference for the suppression of the slave trade is now in session at brussels the persons composing this conference ce have already resolved to continue their sittings or to adjourn from time to time until the arrival of stanley and E emin min I 1 Pa shaAn interesting ionis an abed when cardinal lavigerie Lavi gerie representative of france emin pasha the representative of germany and stanley who in reality is representative of both england and america shall maetto meet to compare notes and discuss the question of the slave trade and the opening up of the dark continent to the forces of civilization some bonte surprise has been expressed in some quarters especially ally by british journals that emin pasha should have hesi hesitated so long before accepting Stan stanley leys s proffered aid but a moments thought will be sufficient coshow to show us that emins conduct was perfectly reasonable no doubt emin was personally very very glad for the sympathy manifested toward him but there were other considerations that caused him to vaci vacillate late for several months meanwhile while Stan stanley leys forces were rapidly diminishing and it is a praiseworthy trait in Stan stanley leys character that he waited so long until it became manifest to all even to emin pasha that he had not only lost control of the country that he had held so long but was likewise in danger of being killed hilled by his mutinous troops As is well known emin pasha was acting under the direction of the german government and patriotic motives would make him reluctant to surrender those rich african territories to the cont ol of the english As a german emin pasha would fain have carried aut Bis marcks dream of a great african colonial empire the speech of king humbert to the italian chamber of deputies on november has called attention towards italy it is scarcely thirty years sl since nee italy consisted of half a score of petty kingdoms dukedoms duke doms republics and principalities the record of the struggles of italian unity and independence between 1869 and 1870 is one of f the most interesting te of histories king humbert very tersely remarked in his late speech la ita my fathers reign italy achieved unity in mine her citizens have obtained equality it is noteworthy that italy is the only european kingdom possessing universal manhood suffrage visitors to venice will remember the tone stone abutments in some places that were used to keep some of the walls of the ancient palace of the doges boges in their position well during the past summer the italian government has been expending large sums of money to repair the foundations of this old venetian palace on november the work was finished and the scaffolding removed and now this grand old palace that mr ruskin buskin has extolled as one of the greatest triumphs in architecture stands just as it stood one thousand years ago not a carving has been changed nor form of a column been altered 1 in some cases incurably broken arches have been replaced by exact fac similes and in order to preserve the uniformity of appearance the very stains and marks of time and weather arv ar reproduced for the first time in centuries the building has been relieved from the degrading aid of props and stays stay sand and stands as it stood in the days of the crusaders the aph rest specimen of grecian architecture the best illustration of those magnificent palaces that tha tonce once adorned ancient imperial rome J H WARD dec |