of his fellow-actors with no skill or experience in editing, and who did little more than to gather up old manuscripts that have been used in the theatre, and were more or less mutilated, and abridged and altered for stage purposes; the earlier quarto editions being sometimes taken for "copy" instead of the MSS., and all this matter put through the press with no proof-reading worthy the name-if we assume this to have been the history of the volume, its peculiarities and imperfections are in the main easily accounted for. But if it is to be regarded as compiled by the author, and presenting the plays in the revised form in which he desires to go to posteritythen its peculiarities are absolutely inexplicable. If it is the author's own revised edition, how can we explain the fact that it contains certain plays which are apparently earlier works by other hands slightly remodeled for reproduction on the stage? That others are pieces left unfinished and completed by another playwright? How can we explain these things if the author is himself the editor?

Are we to believe that he would go to the theatre for MSS. for the printers use? Could he have revised these MSS. or read the proofs without detecting the repeated use of actors' names instead of those of the dramatis persona? Could he have overlooked the repetition of matter, the original and revised form of a passage-as in "Love's Labour's Lost" and "Timon of Athens"? Could he have allowed other gross errors to get into the printed volume-errors, to quote the words of Craik, “so gross that it is impossible they could have been passed over in such numbers, if the proof-sheets had undergone any systematic revision by a qualified person, however rapid "?

"Timon of Athens," one of the worst printed and most corrupt plays in the folio, and one in which nearly all recent critics recognize two authors-the second wretchedly inferior to Shakespeare, and who probably finished the play after the dramatist's death-was, according to the Baconians, one of the latest plays, if not the very latest play, their philosopher wrote; and Timon is meant as a representative of himself, deserted by his parasite friends after his fall!

by this outlay is, roughly speaking, 4,800,000. The amount of the grant to Roman Catholic schools in England and Wales, last year, was £171,938, and the number of scholars in average attendance, 195,663,

Of these last, it appears by the report of the Committee of Council on Education for 1890, that nearly a third of all the children who might be at day-school actually leave when they are twelve years of age, and close upon three-fourths are gone before they reach their thirteenth year.

Turning to Roman Catholic children, we have in the elementary schools in our Diocese of Westminster a total number of 28,000 on the registers for the year 1891. It is estimated that about ten per cent. leave the schools every year, so that, in the year mentioned, 2,800 of our boys and girls, at least, left our schools. The law does not compel the attendance at school of a child which has reached the age mentioned, and the boy or girl of that age naturally thinks his or her education finished. The parents, too often pressed by poverty, often ignorant of the advantages of continuing the education of

their child, and no longer in fear of the "attendance officer," seek to turn his time and strength into money. At the age of thirteen he enters upon life's grim struggle, and begins to win his bread. Just at the age when character is developed for good or evil, when he is quick to receive lasting impressions, he is severed from the salutary influence of the school and his master, and turned into the shop or sent to run errands about the streets of a city full of temptations to evil. It does not take him long to learn the rights of a wage-earner, and as. much of his wages as he can retain is spent in a useless, if not worse, way.

The success he is to meet with at his work, whatever it may be, depends upon the life he leads in his leisure hours. He has not been many months at work before he makes the discovery that the little knowledge he acquired at school is fast ebbing away. If he realizes the nature of the struggle before him, the difficulty of the task of earning his daily bread, and at the same time of retaining some of the refining influences of life-not that he cares for or thinks of them by this name-he will strive to make up his deficiencies; but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the effort, unassisted, is a spasmodic one. "Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof" becomes his motto. The natural inclination to idleness, ignorance of the use that education and the discipline of education will be to him in after-life, are all inducements to drift on and enjoy, as far as he can, the pleasures easily to be obtained. He rather dreads than otherwise, any effort to get more of that "schooling," which he has often shirked in the past, and thinks himself well off to be freed from it in the future. His master is hard and exacting in his demands upon the boy's time and strength. The evening-class is dry and tedious, and palls upon the jaded spirits and mind of a youth suddenly and for the first time his own master, seeking entertainment both bright and light. He turns to the streets, and here he finds the subtle and malign influences which often quickly and fatally gain an ascendancy over him. He finds a power and attraction in promiscuous companionships; he is tempted by degrading pleasures and vices. The golden opportunity is lost, and the streets in a few brief weeks undo the toil and good of years passed at school.

Evening being the only time which the boy can give for holding on to and increasing what he has been taught at school, an attempt to carry on his education according to the day-school standard and method is useless. Such a method is useless to those who were lately scholars, and often unwilling Moreover, after a long day spent in labor, often severe, always tiring, neither body nor mind is capable of long and sustained application.

ones.

In regard to night-schools, we can take a profitable lesson from Manchester, the only place where they have proved, and are proving, a great success. In that city, in the elementary evening schools, the ordinary subjects of instruction are taught with drawing, short-hand, geography, and English history, in all the schools for males, and in addition dumb-bell and Indianclub exercise, elementary science, and wood-carving; while for females instruction in practical cookery, dressmaking, cutting-out, and needlework is given.

In truth, education through recreation must be the motto for our evening schools. Education must itself be recreation, and recreation itself education. It is on the pleasure side of his character that we must beguile the boy to revisit the school-benches. He is human; he needs and craves for play and distraction. Have it he will, be it good or bad. If it be bad, it is often because that which is good is out of his reach in an attractive form.

The initial step, then, must be one of a recreative nature. The parallel bars and boxing-gloves will at first be more attractive than the class and text-books. Music, vocal and instrumental, magic-lantern lectures, together with musical drill, will not fail to draw.

The Koreans always go back to the origin in telling a story, SO most of their works begin with Heaven and work down. Hanal is simply the word hana=one, with the letter / suffixed to identify its thought and distinguish it from the numeral. There are two thoughts with one which recommend it to the Korean mind as a proper equivalent of Heaven: First, it represents pure beginning, for back of it there is nothing, and beyond it you find the composite; second, it represents pure unity. So Heaven is the source and beginning of all things, containing all harmony and perfection, and is, therefore, the truest example of unity known.

2. Sun=Nal.

Literally ' "that which comes out."

3. Moon Tal.

Tal is the stem of the verb, tal hata, which means to permeate, or pervade. The moon permeates, or pervades" the darkness of the night, and redeems that portion of the day from the sway of the evil half of native dualism, and thus earns for itself the title pervader, or Tal.

4 Cloud-Kureum.

This is a derived word from kur(e)=high, elevated, and eum, the second, or inferior, principle of native dualism, which may be translated shadow, or darkness. The clouds are, to the Korean mind, high darkness, or shadows from on high. 5. Rain=Pi.

This is a decayed form of the original word which was pini, derived from pi, fat, fleshy, or plump and ni=oil. The rain fattens or enriches the soil and, consequently, the men who cultivate it.

6. Dew=I-seul.

A derivation from or ri meaning advantage, and seul or sil, that which opens or causes to fructify. The dew is of peculiar advantage to all plants, causing them to blossom and bear fruit.

7. Frost-Syö-ri.

This is a pure Korean metaphor, with a curious history. The Syō of "frost," while really meaning West, is to be taken in its mataphoric significance of Autumn. Then for the second syllable, Autumn is called ri or advantage. Therefore, syōri means literally west-advantage, metaphorically it means the Autumn season and-but the native, brave enough to attempt to link it to frost, has not yet made his public début. The secret lives possibly in one or more unsupplied tables of metaphor.

A much simpler and prettier explanation is supplied by the Hai-dong-sök Pang-ön, in the following words: "The word was originally Syor-eui from Syör, snow and eui, a thought, hint, or indication, and giving us Syor-eui (frost)=an indication or hint of snow, a forerunner of the white garment soon to cover earth."

8. Snow Nun (pronounced noon).

This word is also composite being derived from nu to heap up, accumulate; and eun-silver. The Korean idea of snow is “heaped up silver.”

9. Ice=O-reum.

reason why a Union of Authors should not be formed; but then, he added sadly, "the professional spirit is too weak." "What mournful cry is this?" asks a member of the Authors' Society in a daily newspaper, and why should that Society be daunted by the pusillanimous example of its sometime President. If Mr. Besant and the august Council of Authors are too infirm of purpose, there are plenty of members of that Society who are not, and who, recognizing that in union lies their only hope of strength, will not only build a Union for themselves, but will enforce it on all the tribe of authors, successful and unsuccessful, by the approved methods of striking and boycotting.

The member of the Authors' Society, to whom we have alluded, would not only have a Union. He would add to this Union "a philanthropic syndicate," which will publish, and pay at a higher rate than the publisher. Then there will be no more literary "sweating," for there will be no one left to "sweat. What man would write for a "sweating publisher," when a philanthropic syndicate is yearning to take his work and pay him more highly for it? The idea is delightfully simple, especially that of "a philanthropic syndicate which will still yield a small percentage to the promoters." We fancy that the percentage of profits will be very small indeed, if there is not actually a heavy percentage of loss, and that the promoters will have to be very philanthropic in order to per

severe.

Let us suppose that the Union has been established, as this gentleman suggests. Literary men," he says, 'have never tasted of the sweets-and bitters—of a literary strike. Such a thing has never been known. Some will say that it is impossible. I don't think so." Not a whit more impossible than the philanthropic syndicate-there, at least, we agree with him. If we suppose that the Union of Authors has been founded, and that with the help of a publishing syndicate it has forced some or all of the "sweating" publishers-whichever they may be to raise their rates of payment, why, the literary strike will be not only possible, but inevitable. It stands to reason. Publishers, of course, will not-with the exception, perhaps, of some very special cases-be allowed to employ non-unionist labor at all. Now, the publishing business is subject to rather violent fluctuations; also the temptation to reduce wages will be irresistible when we remember that the number of literary people searching for employment is greater than that actually employed. The publishers will attempt a reduction; literary men will strike.

Oh, that an Authors' Union were an established fact, and we might behold the revolt of literary labor with our own eyes! Some day we should see in our morning Times the significant headline, "Serious Strike in the Authors' Trade," and, turning to the column, read: The authors and writers employed by Messrs. Bungay & Co., Paternoster Row, went out yesterday on strike. The cause of the dispute seems to have been a proposed reduction in the present rates that are being paid by the firm for a three-volume novel, and the arrangement that has been made for the coming number of the Paternoster MagaAn attempt on the part of Messrs. Bacon to support their colleagues has resulted in the strike of their employés, and

zine.

it is said that no fewer than one hundred and three authors are actually thrown out of work. Great excitement prevails in Paternoster Row, and also in the vicinity of Fleet Street, and a strong body of police has been drafted there to keep order."

Day after day we should be regaled with accounts of how the strike was spreading. How the employés of several monthly and weekly publications had thrown in their lot with discontent; how subscriptions were being raised to relieve the consequent distress-most prevalent in Grub Street; how processions to Hyde Park, and mass-meetings in Trafalgar Square were being organized; and how these latter were enormously swelled by contingents from all parts of the country of unemployed authors and authoresses to the number of several thousands. How an unworthy effort, on the part of certain publishers and editors to bring over a ship-load of American "blacklegs" had been detected and foiled by the vigilance of the Dockers' Union; how several lady authoresses had made an appearance in the police-court charged with having violently assaulted a well-known author and critic-suspected of being a "blackleg "-broken his spectacles and robbed him of his umbrella; how another "blackleg" had narrowly escaped with his life, having been chased up and down Paternoster Row, and pelted with his own books for more than an hour; and how the Athenæum, Reform, and Garrick Clubs were in a state of siege.

And then some morning there would be no Times, nor any other paper, wherein to read the progress of literature; for they would have gone out upon strike also. It would be a little hard upon the proprietors of reviews and newspapers, for, to tell the truth, they are the only people, besides the authors and writers themselves, who would conceivably be damaged by such a strike. The wicked publisher, if deprived of the chance of new works, would happily go on producing fresh editions of the old, and might even rejoice that the speculative risk of encouraging living talent was put out of his reach. As for the general public,—it has enough matter for its reading to last it for years, and very possibly would not be sorry to return to its old friends.

IBSEN AS A PAINTER. HENRIK JÄGER.

Translated and Condensed for THE LITERARY DIGEST from a Paper (2 pp.) in Folkebladet, Christiania, December.

T is a psychological law that a large talent in one direction

I usually carries it a talent in another line, though less

developed than the main gift. It is not rare that the smaller power shows itself first, and very actively, at an early age. The Norwegian poet, Welhaven, is a good illustration of this law. When he was twenty he had not yet dreamed of being a poet. His hopes and expectations were to become a painter, and he worked with that idea in view. He painted some portraits, and was very unhappy when he was sent to the Christiania University instead of to the Copenhagen Art Academy. Then arose the Wergeland conflict, which developed his literary talents and made him a poet. Something like that happened to Henrik Ibsen. As a boy he got hold of Harryson's History of London." Charmed by its many pictures, his Wild sole ambition was to be able to draw as well. In the

..

Duck" he has put his impressions in the mouth of Hedvig Without any teacher, the young Ibsen began to draw and paint in water-colors, and his great affliction when young was that he was sent to the Grimstad apothecary shop to learn the trade of an apothecary, for it blasted the hopes of the young painter. Still, the drug-clerk continued to paint and draw, and excelled as a caricaturist. I possess a series of drawings of his friend and his horse, the horse looking very human and the friend very "hossy." He also drew a large picture of Skien, but I do not know what has become of it. Another picture of this period, a sailor in his boat, is still preserved in

Grimstad's drug-store. After Ibsen had graduated, one would think that he would have laid his brush aside; but he did not. Even after he had become Director of the Theatre, he continued to paint. Most of his works of those days are still extant. On a farm in Nitedalen are owned five water-colors, Norwegian landscapes, which he at the time gave his friend Schulered as a wedding-present. Two private gentlemen in Christiania own several pictures of his. While Director of the Theatre, he usually drew very careful sketches of decorations and costumes.

Ibsen was, as stated, self-taught, and never became more than an amateur in painting. His pictures, however, show decided talent. Had that talent been properly cultivated, there is every reason to believe that he would have made a name for himself as a painter.

THE DRAMA.

ELEONORA DUSE.

ENUINE dramatic artists seem almost independent of

GENUINE dramate, Finning tum plus it of

their speech is not understood. Striking examples of this fact in the United States have been Rachel and Ristori, Salvini and Rossi and Bernhardt. On the 23d instant, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York City, appeared another Italian actress, Eleonora Duse, of whose gifts and acquirements Salvini and Dumas have spoken in the highest terms.

BIOGRAPHY.

In Christoforo Colombo, New York, we are told that

"The Duse was born at Vigevano, a town twenty-four miles from Milan, but taken in her infancy to Venice, where she was brought up and now has a residence. Her father and grandfather were actors, and she appeared on the stage at an early age, playing everything from simple comedy to the dramas of Shakespeare. Now thirty-two years old, she has been highly praised in Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, and South America. In the United States she performs in Italian with an Italian company."

ITALIAN CRITICISM.

Signor Ferdinando Martini, now Minister of Public Instruction in Italy, said in Il Fantasio, Rome:

"The intonation of Eleonora Duse is always perfect, with a very sweet modulation in tender passages. Much self-restraint is manifested by her in the expression of everything which can possibly shock her audience. She is all nerves and heart. Her admirable method of recitation is combined with quiet gestures and great reserve in her movements. She speaks with her eyes. The contractions of her eyebrows and eyes translate and are a commentary on the phrases she utters."

NEW YORK CRITICISM.

Leading New York journals are not less outspoken in her praise. Examples of the general current of opinion are the observations of the Evening Post and the Sun. Says the Post:

Duse, before she had been upon the stage for five minutes, proved herself an artist of an exceedingly rare and fine quality, and long before the end of the evening demonstrated her right to be reckoned among the few living actresses of the first rank. This high estimate of her ability certainly will not be questioned by any connoisseur in dramatic art, and it is safe to add that, if she possesses the gift of versatility, which can scarcely be doubted, she need not fear, in some characters at least, comparison, and that, too, on even terms, with the great Bernhardt herself. The three points in her Camille which at once arrest attention are its originality, its naturalness, and its remarkable technical finish. In all these respects it equals, if it does not sometimes do more than equal, the very choicest work of Bernhardt or Modjeska. To the end of the play her art sustained itself upon the same high level, and the curtain fell finally upon a success as brilliant as it was, in many cases at least, unexpected. Signora Duse is a woman apparently of about thirty years, of medium height, and lithe, but vigorous, frame, with a most expressive and mobile face, and a voice that is full, melodious, and flexible, without being powerful." The predominant characteristic," says the Sun," of the woman who was playing, the actress's own personality, is the quality of being interesting. She pervaded the scenes in which she appeared to an extent that justifies the abused descriptive phrase ' personal magnetism,' in defining her quality as an individual.

"Upon this has been applied a finish and technique in her art

which enable her to realize the ideal Margherita without once distracting attention from her emotions to her methods.

"It is only after the curtain has gone down that the auditor, inclined to analysis, appreciates what study of the minutest detail the actress has given to the characters, what intelligence has directed the study of the ideal, and what schooling has made possible the expression of it.

Signora Duse is not a handsome woman, but has a face of unusual expressiveness, which can be gentle or savagely passionate; a graceful figure, and hands that are an accomplished aid to her speech,"

SALVINI'S ESTIMATE OF RACHEL.

What can I say of that incomparable French actress? She was the very quintessence of the art of Roscius. Expression, attitude, the mobile restraint of her features, grace, dignity, affection, passion, majesty—all in her was nature itself. Her eyes, like two black carbuncles, and her magnificent raven hair, added splendor to a face full of life and feeling. When she was silent she seemed almost more eloquent than when she spoke. Her voice, at once sympathetic, harmonious, and full of variety, expressed the various passions with correct intonation and exemplary measure. Her motions were always statuesque, and never seemed studied. If Rachel had been able to free herself in her delivery from the cadence traditional in the Conservatoire, where she had studied-a cadence which, it is true, cropped out but rarely-she would, in my belief, have been perfect. She was the very incarnation of Tragedy.

Was it in her nature or in her art? Both were so completely harmonized in her by genius as to form a new Melpomene. France, which most laudably pays honor to her distinguished children, should not have shared in the unjust war made upon Rachel by certain authors and journalists under the contemptible promptings of spite and ill-temper, by leaving that luminous star unheeded, to quench itself by inches in languor and melancholy. Her merit was so supreme that we can well pardon some slight defects in her characterdefects which were, perhaps, due to the malady which was secretly preying upon her; and both as a woman, and as one who was a real honor to her country, she had the right to -expect more indulgence and higher regard from the proverbial equity and courtesy of the French people. The thought that she was disliked by her compatriots exacerbated the disease which brought her to the grave.-Century, February.

SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY.

RECENT SCIENCE.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Red Hair.-Science explains the phenomenon of red hair thus: "It is caused by a superabundance of iron in the blood. This it is that imparts the vigor, the elasticity, the great vitality, the overflowing, thoroughly healthy animal life which runs. riot through the veins of the ruddy-haired, and this strong sentient animal-life is what renders them more intense in all their emotions than their more languid fellow-creatures. The excess of iron is also the cause of freckles on the peculiarly clear, white skin which always accompanies red hair. This skin is abnormally sensitive to the action of the Sun's rays, which not only bring out the little brown spots in abundance, but also burn like a mustard-plaster, producing a queer, creepy, sensation, as if the skin was wrinkling up."-American Analyst, New York, January 15.

ARCHEOLOGY.

Tools of the Pyramid-Builders.-A two-years study at Gizeh has convinced Mr. Flinders Petrie that the Egyptian stoneworkers of 4,000 years ago had a surprising acquaintance with what have been considered modern tools. Among the many tools used by the pyramid-builders were both solid and tubular drills and straight and circular saws. The drills, like those of to-day, were, says an exchange, set with jewels (probably

corundum, as the diamond was very scarce), and even lathetools had such cutting edges. So remarkable was the quality of the tubular drills and the skill of the workmen, that the cutting-marks in hard granite give no indication of wear of the tool, while a cut of a tenth of an inch was made in the hardest rock at each revolution, and a hole through both the hardest and softest material was bored perfectly smooth and uniform throughout. Of the material and method of making the tools nothing is known.-Mechanical News, New York, January 15.

ASTRONOMY.

Planet Notes for February.-Mercury will be at superior conjunction Feb. 16th, and will, therefore, not be visible this month.

Venus rises only an hour earlier than the Sun during February, and is, therefore, not in good position for observation. Mars will be visible during the early part of the evening, but his distance will be so great as to make observations of surfacemarking unsatisfactory. Mars will be in conjunction with the Moon Feb. 21st at 8h. A.M., central time. There will be an occultation of the planet as seen from the equatorial regions of the other side of the Earth.

Jupiter will also be visible in the early morning during February, the two planets, Jupiter and Mars, being in the same region of the sky toward the southwest. There will be an occultation of Jupiter by the Moon Feb. 20th about 9 A.M., central time. It will be visible in Asia.

Saturn rises at about 10 P.M. on Feb. 1st, and will be in good position for observation after midnight. The constellation Virgo at midnight Feb. 1st will be a little south of east, and about half way from the horizon to the zenith. The planet is now moving very slowly eastward in the centre of the constellation, but will soon turn westward, until June 9th, when it will again take up its journey to the east. The plane of the rings now makes an angle of about 9° with the line of sight, so that the rings may be distinctly seen. Saturn will be in conjunction with the Moon, 1° 02' north, Feb. 5th at 11h. 16m. A.M., central time.

Uranus is a little farther to the east than Saturn. It will be noticed that Uranus will be stationary Feb. 13th, and after that move westward until July 14th, when he will turn on his course and continue direct motion toward the east for the remainder of the year. There will be a conjunction of Uranus with the Moon Feb. 9th at 7h. 29m. P.M., the former being 1° 22′ north of the latter.

Neptune will be stationary in Taurus Feb. 17th at 5h. 16m. A.M., and will after that move slowly eastward.—Astronomy and Astro-Physics, January.

The Temporary Star in Auriga.-The discovery of this star, which will make 1892 famous in the annals of astronomy, was made by the Rev. Dr. Thomas D. Anderson, of Edinburgh, in the early days of the year, with such simple appliances as a small hand-telescope and a star-atlas. While examining the constellation of Auriga in the last days of January, this gentleman observed a star of the fifth magnitude. Believing that it might possibly be one of that rare class of celestial bodies, a temporary star, he communicated his discovery to the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Dr. R. Copeland. That night (Feb. 1) the stranger was easily found in Edinburgh and London, and the next day its existence was announced to the leading astronomers of the world.

A very interesting fact in connection with this discovery, is that the star was absent from photographs of this constellation taken on Dec. 8th, and which showed stars of the eleventh magnitude, but two days later it impressed its image as a star of the fifth magnitude, on a plate taken by Professor Pickering at the Harvard College Observatory. Hence it appears that in this interval of time it had risen through more than six degrees of brilliancy, thereby indicating a multiplication of its light and heat-giving powers in the proportion of one to

two hundred and fifty. So distant, too, is it, that now that the earth has completed, since its first discovery, more than two-thirds of its annual course round the sun, the observations at the Lick Observatory have not succeeded in bringing to light the slightest parallactic displacement of the object on the celestial sphere. Hence it is impossible to tell when the conflagration in the heavens took place, which was first recorded on the earth on the night of Dec, 10, 1891. It is no exaggeration to suppose that a star with a radiative power a hundred times greater than that of our Sun, commenced to send its message to us at the rate of one hundred and eightysix thousand miles a second, at least two centuries ago.

The observations taken show that from its first appearance, about December 10th, its brightness increased rapidly, the maximum being attained about December 20th. It then began to decrease slowly until about January 20th when it was somewhat below the fifth magnitude. It attained a second maximum on February 3d. By March 18th it had diminished to the ninth magnitude, and by April 26th it was a faint star of the sixteenth magnitude or fainter. Spectroscopic analysis leads us to infer that its constitution is similar to that of our Sun, and the question arises: Have we in our spectroscopes and telescopes been watching the genesis of a nebula from a prior state of matter, a nebula which will perhaps in its turn be ultimately formed into a sun with its attendant planets? The Reverend Aloysius L. Cortis, F.R.H.S., in Month, London, January.

BACTERIOLOGY.

Unclean Paper-Money a Vehicle for the Spread of Disease.A Bill has recently been presented in Congress requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the calling in of all ragged, worn, and soiled paper-money; new bills to be furnished in place of the old and unclean notes. It is surprising, when one thinks of it, that some such action has not long ago been taken; for not a little of the paper-money daily passing from hand to hand has become extremely repulsive in appearance, and is ever suggestive of disease-spreading power.

The origin of disease-germs has been the subject of elaborate investigation and experiment by the ablest biologists, and although our knowledge is still largely speculative, much is known about the way in which such germs are "borne about and deposited in soils suitable for their growth and reproduction. That they are present in the atmosphere of a sickroom; carried on particles of dust, and with them attached to the walls of the room, to carpets, to the clothing of the passers-in and passers-out, and, indeed, to every absorbent surface; that they are thereafter dispatched on fatal errands by the housemaid's broom and dusting-cloth; that they and their encrusted spores, or seed, are capable of lying in what may be termed a dormant condition, certainly for months, on any surface that catches and detains them, unaffected by extremes of temperature; that, released by a brush or a current of air, and dropped in a substance that affords them nourishment, they multiply with incalculable rapidity." These are facts that have been thoroughly demonstrated. That such germs may, and in thousands of cases doubtless do, become attached to the fibres of worn and soiled bank-notes, that they may in fact, in some instances, constitute the very matter which gives them their unclean and repulsive appearance, is a proposition which cannot be denied.-Scientific American, New York, January 28.

BIOLOGY.

The Effect of Cold on Reptiles.-The capacity of batrachians and allied types to withstand intense cold has recently been made the subject of investigation by Knauth, who conducted his experiments with affirmative results. The animals, however, showed no signs of life until a few minutes after the frost, which extended to the vitals, had been thoroughly thawed out, and they died almost immediately after awaking. This confirms the assertion made by many observers in localities in

which frogs are exceptionally plentiful, that an immense destruction of frog-life ensues whenever prematurely warm weather in March thaws out the animals, only to subject them to another spell of sharp frost.

It has long been known that frogs' eggs are protected from cold by a slimy envelope, and Bratuschek, who has been devoting his attention to this phenomenon, now tells us that this envelope permits the entrance of warm rays, but hinders the radiation of warmth. These eggs are sometimes found undigested in the excrement of birds, which have eaten female frogs in autumn, and Bratuschek has recently found them in the droppings of buzzards.-Deutsche Revue, January.

Ant Communities.—Sir John Lubbock, in a recent lecture on the habits of ants, said that the question naturally arose whether ants were moral and accountable beings. They had their desires, their passions-even their caprices. The young were absolutely helpless. Their communities were sometimes so numerous that, perhaps, London and Pekin were almost the only cities which could compare with them. Moreover, their nests were no mere collections of independent individuals, nor even temporary associations, like the flock of migratory birds,. but organized communities laboring with the utmost interest for the common good. The remarkable analogies to our human societies which they presented in so many ways, rendered them

peculiarly interesting to us, and one could not but long to know more of their character, how the world appeared to them, and to what extent they were conscious and reasonable beings. Various observers have recorded instances of attachment and affection among them. He had never, in the whole course of his observations, noticed a quarrel between two ants be longing to the same nest. Within the limits of the community all was harmony. On the other hand, ants not belonging to the same nest were always enemies, even if belonging to the same species. Sir John went on to give details of a number of interesting experiments and observations which he contended might be held to prove the possession by the ant of an almost human intelligence. One result which he deduced was, that, in the largest nests, ants always recognized their fellow-citizens. He had invariably found that, if a strange ant, even of the same species, were introduced into a nest, she was sure to be attacked and driven out. He had found, too, that ants remembered their friends after a year's separation.-Hardwicke's Science Gossip, London, January.

ELECTRICITY.

Ether and Electricity.-Physics treats of different forms of energy and their reciprocal relations. Ordinary matter is the molecular vehicle for the conveyance of kinetic and potential energy. The different forms of this energy and their transformations are made manifest to us in the phenomena of universal gravitation, in the actions of molecular forces (comprising the phenomena of acoustics) and also in the phenomena of heat, in so far as it concerns the heat of bodies, looked upon as the energy of vibratory movements of material molecules.

In the cases most accessible to study, we discover that energy is transmitted from one part of material substance to another gradually and successively; that is to say, that this transmission of energy is effected by means of an interposing medium, and requires a finite time.

But it happens that it is difficult to follow this transmission, either because it is impossible to grasp the length of time throughout which this transmission lasts, or because we do not see the substance or medium which serves as an intervening agent. We cannot deny a priori the possibility of a direct transmission of energy through space without the intervention of some medium; but we can affirm that if this direct action takes place it must be instantaneous, as, perhaps, universal gravitation.

But, if we admit that the transmission of energy requires a finite time, even very slight, we are obliged to conclude that