Show CURRENT TOPICS IN EUROPE 0 the history of the house of wallace has just been published and is alike creditable to dr rogers the compiler aud and the patriotism of scotland wallace above all others is the hero of scotland even bruce only occue occupies i es a secondary place compared with the valiant knight who after driving the forces of edward out of the north fell under the power of england and died the death of a traitor in ID no other land unless perhaps in hungary is there an instance of equal popular fidelity to a public bublic benefactor the memory 0 of william tell or arnold von does not awaken such enthusiasm among their countrymen as does william wallace throughout the length a and nd breadth of scotland around such heroes as king arthur william tell or there seems to gather a cloud of mystery but in the memory of Scotch men william wallace is almost as much a living man as he was five hundred years ago places associated with his bis deeds are still pointed out monuments erected to his honor and volumes written in his praise balse prom from blind harry to robert burns the literature of scotland is rich in songs of which wallace and his compani companions are the ever eveir popular themes the name of wallace seems to have had its origin in wales wallis was the ancient name of the principality and it is j still so called upon the continent the place of wallace in ia attis scottish h I 1 history is well defined his conz con 1 duct aroused the patriotism which rendered any future conquest of 0 scotland impossible and in time enabled scotland to unite with england on terms equally honorable to both i ut this history of a great scottish family is only one among the many great historical works that have lately issued from the english press patient compilers are at work and in many cases the archives of ruling families have been carefully examined and the records of them given iven to the world so much its is th this I 1 the case that these family histories mark an epoch in english lite literature M ture thirty years ago scarcely one of this claw class of works had bad then been published by this means much new light has bas been thrown upon the pot past and in many oases cams will necessitate a writing rewriting re of general history in the dark and foggy days and long evenings of winter it seems to be a favorite recreation of many of the I 1 british people to sit att by their fireside and make themselves acquainted with the history of their ancestors the irish question also is being discussed as it never was before there are biow now many who seea force in the words of disraeli that they never did hitherto where to is the man that can tell me what the irish question ls abone at one time it assaid is said to be a political question at another a religious one one man declares it to be the absence of manufactures another asserts it is the influence of the pope and yet there are many reasons why ireland should be restless she possesses a teeming po population ge u which with reference to the cultivated soil is denser to the square mile than even that of china chida this population is supported entirely by agriculture there are few aa capitalists ita lists who will or can estable establish manufactures and fewer still who give enciu encouragement ra gement to the liberal arts the consequence is the aple people are compelled to subsist upon the e lowest possible diet and in case cam the harvest falls fails which sometimes happens the people have no other means of f subsistence upon which they can fall back this dense and often nearly starving people are obliged to support an established church which is not the one of their choice to add to their miseries the landow landowners nera reside mostly outside of ireland and the entire profits of the soil are spent to embellish english homes A starving coples people au an absentee al alien en elt church establishment these combined with a national prejudice of seven hundred hund d red years growth make up the irish question when the british government v consent sto give ireland Irelan rl religious eq bality and the pronto profits of tier her soil are expended among her A people there may come a change in IA irish sentiment but the darkest hour is past the spirit of the age has decreed that the system which cannot bear discussion is doomed in regard to continental Contine matters the epidemic known as the russian influenza is th the great topic of conversation professor leyden of berlin has just made the startling announcement that nearly three P hundred thousand persons in in that city are suffering with the disease news from paris declares in spite of ef all that can be said to the contrary that the influenza is still on the increase and that it becomes more dangerous as it goes on the disease may not be fatal in itself yet it often leads to pneumonia and inflammation flam mation of the lu froin which I 1 patients die it is said that a family can cannot not be found which is or has not been attacked rich ladles ladies with a Is large staff of servants are often N obliged 14 to prepare their own meals public dinners are seriously interfered with and in some cases mure more one halt of the invited guests have sent seat apologies at the last momert in others it is found impossible to find competent servants to attend upon the ceremonies among the uncounted thousands now suffering may be mentioned M carnot the president of the republic M the prime Minister and four of his associates lord Lytton the british minister and many other persons of note madame carnot had a severe attack but is now convalescent her thursday evening socials socia ls however will be postponed for the present until the malady decreases in madrid the influenza epidemic is increasing though few cases terminate fatally yet a large proportion of the people have suffered from it ti a majority of the soldiers in the madrid barracks have been reported unfit for duty news from vienna up to december state that nearly one half the population have suffered or are suffering from the epidemic the traffic on the street cars cam is seriously interfered with as an more than half the conductors and drivers are suffering from the malady it is found that the disease is of a far fae more malignant t type than at first ygo so far england has escaped but many believe that the new dew year will not far advance before the pestilence will arrive here also although london is so far free from the influenza that is sweeping over the continent yeta vast amount 4 f suffering has been caused lately by bythe the strike of the gois gis smokers stokers of south london public attention has been drawn to their condition the want of light at this holiday season is keenly felt A large part of london is in need of much more light especially at this season when dwellings must be lighted throughout the whole day on account of the terrible fog that prevails yet as the public become acquainted with the real nal facts in the case a deep sympathy is felt toy for the honest brave rh though aly h possibly misguided workmen what kird kind of men are the gasmen men they have been beaten in co manchester Man cheater were victorious at glasgow and are engaged in a bitter struggle to preserve their union in london birmingham supplies an answer among them are some truly brave men lately a large gasholder belonging to the birmingham ham corporation needed interior repairs joseph besley begley and thomas casey descended into this man made inferno to execute them casey wore a diver diverts a dress and both men stood upon a raft which floated upon the black waters inside the foul receptacle basely became nearly senseless hom the poisonous gases casey tried to save his comrade but found himself hindered by his clumsy helmet and diving dress he therefore th divested himself of them becoming thus exposed to the foul air of the gasholder what was his dismay to find that he be could not carry his helpless comrade up the ladder these were moments of awful suspense then help came from above john chew and richard smith perceived that something was wrong and descending at the risk of their lives they brought out their comm comrades des since then john job D chew and thomas casey have died they were true heroes perhaps the description of the mississippi sis sippi pilot by the poet hayes might be applied to them he no saint but at jud lodgment Kment id take my chance with jim longside of some pious gentlemen its as shook with him he seen his duty a dead sure thing and went for it there and then and christ aint going to be too hard bard on a man who died for men the proposed watkins tower is likely to bring comfort to the lon doners as well as fame to the builder paris is not enveloped ii fog as london is and when the watkin tower is completed all the fog choked londoner will have to do will be to step into the elevator and be wafted wafred right up into the clear blue above the dismal penetrating fog and the ceaseless roar of the city streets it Is proposed to have comple e hotel establishments up there where in valias may rest undisturbed and then descend to earth again like giants refreshed J H WARD europi EUROPE dec 1889 |