THE

HE great State of California, with its infinite variety of climate, from the snow-clad and glacier-crowned mountains in the North, to the lands of perpetual summer in the South, its grand and varied scenery and luxuriant vegetation, is attracting each year more and more the attention of the tourist, the pleasure-seeker, and the invalid in search of health; while the wonderful productiveness of its soil in many sections and the favorable conditions of the prevailing weather, are earning for it the appellation of "the paradise of the farmer and the fruit-grower." We present below sketches of some interesting features, digested from current Reviews.

AMONG THE GLACIERS.

Foster M. Carlin, Ph.D., in the pages of the Californian (San Francisco) for March, gives an account of his experience Among the California Glaciers":

"Two miles and a half above the level of the Pacific! Two

miles and a half aloft, with the world beneath our feet! We are standing on one of old Earth's spires. It is past midsummer, and the far-off plains below us in the San Joaquin Valley are reeking, we know, with heat, while at every step we take, we . leave our footprints on crisp snow. We are breathing pure, cold, invigorating oxygen, which exhilarates almost to intoxication; and we are surrounded by an ocean of grandeur that carries our souls on the tide of its immensity to the borderland of the infinite. We are perched on the snow-wreathed summit of Mt. Dana, 13,227 feet above sea-level, and 6,500 feet above the waters of Lake Mono.

"We were high above the cloud-line of the day, and looked down upon a vast archipelago of white, surging mist and granite isles-dark spots on a field of white. As the sun rose higher and scattered the vapors with his rays, the scene was reversed; white cloud-banks floated over the black surface of the sombre earth, and presently breaking up into numerous islets melted away, revealing the whole panorama of rugged magnificence and crumpled splendor.

"We were near the centre of the longitudinal sweep of the Sierra Nevada, where volcanic force had been most violent, and the upheaval greater than elsewhere in the range. This portion of the Sierra, geologists have distinguished by the name of High Sierra. Ages ago the primeval crust of the yeasty planet, as it hardened here, was rent and cracked and tossed about by fierce internal phlogistic action, and when the fire-fiend had worked his will, erosive ice, at a much later epoch, cut, and slashed, and plowed, and rasped, and filed the already deeply wrinkled earth as the glacier pressed onward with the resistless momentum of its ponderous weight.

Few scenes are more impressive and conducive to thought of the past than these last remnants of a physical power that has been one of the great fabricators of food-supplying valleys, and artistic adorners of earth's surface. Carried back in imagination, I seemed to see the ice-mass of the glacial period creep onward to its death in the warmer regions below; to watch its slow process of cañon-cutting and cliff-polishing."

Dr. Carlin mentions the names of other mountain peaks of the High Sierra, grouped with Mt. Dana around Lake MonoMt. Conness, Mt. McClure, Mt. Lyell, and Mt. Ritter, almost his equals in attitude. The Doctor and his companions visited Mt. Lyell and Mt. McClure, and he afterwards visited Mt. Shasta. Of the trip to Mt. Shasta he says:

"I took the train to Sisson, which lies at the foot of Mt. Shasta. Three distinct belts begird this mountain, which is truly a spectacle of imposing grandeur and domination. For scores of miles stretch wild-flower gardens around his base, pansied with their many hues, and dotted here and there with dark bunches of coniferous arborage.

"Leaving this zone of chaparral, we enter the fir belt, almost exclusively made up of silver fir. Then comes the Alpine zone, marked by its fringe of storm-beaten pines, dwarfed and stunted. We have left below us square miles of wild-rose beds, big patches gorgeous with rhododendron, larkspur, and columbine, and have reached the limit of vegetable life.

"Mt. Shasta may truly be described as glacier-crowned. Besides several smaller glaciers, there are five ice-streams which invite special attention. The Wintun glacier is estimated to have an area of about two million square yards, and is nearly two miles in length. It is interesting as having a terminal ice-wall several hundred feet high, with many water-cut channels which discharge into the gorge below. Northward is situated the Hotlum, the largest of the Mt. Shasta ice-streams. It is difficult to realize the tremendous force of glaciers when we can see no motion in them. It is only by practical con

trivance, long continued, that their motion [about an inch a day] can be detected. .. Perhaps the most beautiful feature of this glacier is the existence of pearl-blue pinnacles in the névé, rising fifty and sixty feet in height. They are caused by the flow, through the névé, of an ice-stream, which, in passing two buttresses of rock, is crushed and broken up into fantastic forms.

“Mt. Shasta is a noble pile, its summit-14,511 feet above the level of the sea-affording tourists a great variety of choice in the selection of pleasure-yielding pursuits, while the glorious

views and extensive landscapes at innumerable points as you ascend hold attention and excite enthusiasm.

As climatic resorts, their great charm consists in the almost continuous clear, sunshiny weather which they enjoy, and a mild, equable, constant temperature. The prevailing temperature is that of pleasant spring weather in the East. It is not a summer climate, as has been erroneously asserted by some hasty observers as summer clothes-such as are worn in the East or in Europe are here never worn. The days are always cool-unpleasantly cool to those not accustomed to the absence of summer weather-as the ocean breezes that blow steadily all day from the northwest, come over an expanse of much colder waters than those of the Bay or of the immediate shores.

"A careful study of the climatic conditions of these regions tends, to upset all preconceived ideas relative to the physical effects of climates; and after having visited the famous health resorts of Italy, France, Spain, and those in the southwest of England, and compared them and their advantages as all-the-year-around resorts or residences with Southern California, we have been compelled to give the latter our unbiased peference.

ences.

One notable and important element in favor of the Southern California coast is the utter absence of any and all endemic diseases of whatsoever kind. The tourist or invalid is here running no dangers from any malarious or other morbific influTo the many who have elsewhere been badly wrecked by the ravages of the late, and still present, grippe epidemic, and who as a result find themselves in the position of some stranded ship dreading that the first heavy wave or strong blow will scatter them in fragments, these climatic resorts present veritable havens of rest and safety; .. and they here enjoy the greatest number of chances for an escape from the numberless varieties of intercurrent physical accident that lie in wait for the grippe convalescent or wrecked.

Large colonies of retired eastern merchants and capitalists, as well as of retired army officers, are making these resorts their permanent homes. San Diego has one of the best-appointed opera-houses and theatres on the Pacific Coast, and many miles of the most improved system of electric roads."

The writer says there are plenty of commodious hotels and boarding-houses to furnish tourists and invalids with the best of accommodations, and that hotel rates are much lower throughout California than on the Atlantic Coast.

A PARADISE FOR YACHTSMEN.

In the March number of Outing (New York) is published an illustrated article by Charles Howard Shinn on "Yachting Around San Francisco Bay." The facilities for this sport and the variety which it offers, Mr. Shinn says are as great as those enjoyed by the New Yorker or New Englander, though quite different in kind.

"In the first place there are no rains to speak of; and though the fogs and winds in the immediate vicinity of San Francisco may seem harsh to a yachtsman accustomed to the warm summer nights on Casco Bay and off Harpswell, yet on the Californian coast, south of Santa Barbara and among the picturesque islands, such as Santa Catalina, the nights are as perfect as those of the Grecian Archipelago.

Again, the veteran of the Maine coast will be charmed with the steady sea-winds, the broad expanse of inland waters, sloughs, 'creeks,' and rivers, and the picturesque valleys and mountain ranges that are always in sight as one sails the land-locked seas

of the immense region open to the yachtsman without 'going outside.'

He will soon discover that the winds are much stronger than on the East coast, sweeping in through the Golden Gate at the rate of from twenty to forty miles an hour, and that there is a multitude of swift and perplexing currents to educate the California yachtsman. The tides run five or six miles an hour in some places, with calm spots' where one can always get out of the wind; and streaks where sudden squalls are apt to discomfit the unskilled yachtsman. The wind blows all summer up the Sacramentó and San Joaquin. The channel' that. leads from the Golden Gate is like an open sea; the whole plain and valley system of the central part of California receives its main air circulation through the Golden Gate and across San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun bays, which unite to form a chain of inland waters.

"The greatest difficulties about describing the field open to California yachtsmen are in the surprising extent of these inland waters, and the unusual variety of climate and weather that one can pick up on a short cruise. A yachtsman can sail about sixty miles from Alviso, at the southern point of San Francisco Bay, a few miles from San José, to Petaluma Creek, in the Sonoma Hills; thence he can sail back into San Pablo, throngh the Carquinez to Suisun, and up the sloughs and rivers to Sacramento, the capital of the State, ninety miles by rail from San Francisco and one hundred miles or more by the water route. He can sail up the river, past the willow and cottonwood bottoms,' as far as Marysville, about fifty miles farther north. Small yachts can sail to Red Bluffs, two hundred miles by rail from San Francisco, and leagues more.

In the course of an all-round' yachting trip one has several bay climates to begin with: it is warm and mild south of Hunter's Point and past the Coyote Hills and such old landings as San Lorenzo, Mt. Eden, Alvarado, Valpey, Warm Springs, and Alviso it is sharp and bracing in the wider parts of the harbor, and about Alcatrez, Angel Island, and the shores of Marin. San Pablo is. often the windiest gateway of the West, and the bold bluffs and great mountains are swept by the most incessant currents. Past Carquinez the coast climate is tempered amazingly by the warm interior valleys of Solana and Contra Costa; and the heat becomes. almost tropic, even in June, as one goes further inland. The damp sea-fogs are left behind as soon as the yachtsman reaches the shelter of the Marin headlands. Among the green tule islands of the inland waters there are seldom other than blue skies and warm nights, and from April to October there is never any rain.

"The surveys of California name some hundreds of 'sloughs' and as many islands-some reclaimed, some totally waste-that shooting in California. lie in the tule region,' the most popular resort for wild-fowk The fishing to be had in every creek and bay is excellent, and although the Sacramento has lost its supremacy in the matter of salmon, there are still salmon enough left for any reasonable fisherman."

AN OLIVE RANCH.

In the March number of the Overland Monthly (San Francisco) is an article by Berkeley Wallace, giving an account, in easy narrative and conversational style, of a visit to an olive ranch among the foot-hills of Northern California. We quote from his impressions upon approaching the object of his visit:

"An immense sweep of country was spread out before me. The coast range on the left shut in and made a sort of basin of the Sacramento Valley. The overflow of the Yuba, Feather, and other rivers formed a miniature lake, and in the distance looked like a crystal mirror in an emerald setting. The Sierra Nevada on my right lifted an unbroken row of silvery summits, and glimmered through the dim ether, like mountains seen in dreams.

My horse stumbled along the rocky road oblivious to the beauties around him. He suddenly halted, as entering a bridlepath that branched from the main road we reached a large gate, upon which was painted the words 'OLIVETTE Ranch.'

On entering, the writer is met by the proprietor, Mr. Robinson, and upon introducing himself is cordially welcomed. In answer to a question he is informed by Mr. Robinson that his place is the oldest in Northern California, and that it will be a pleasure to show his guest the workings of an olive ranch.

"You have come at a very favorable time,' he continued; 'for we are now picking the olives and making the oil.'

"Mr. Robinson led the way down a narrow path, and a few moments later we came upon a very pretty and animated scene. The orchard, which comprised about 2,500 trees in full bearing, was alive with bustle, a most natural result when fifty or more men and boys come together, either for pleasure or work. Large

Yes, we have the Mission also. That is a Spanish olive, and requires more heat than the Picholine. It seems better adapted to a southern soil. The berry is much larger, but does not give any greater proportion of oil, and what it does produce is of a darker and heavier quality.'

"

As we passed through the orchard, Mr. Robinson pointed out several trees of the Rubra, the Spanish Regalis, better known as the Queen olive, the Mission Cormcarbra, and the Manzanilla varieties."

Mr. Wallace found the mill a very crude affair, the berries being crushed by a heavy wheel, driven round in a stonebedded trough by one-mule-power, and the pulp taken up in manilla mats, which are then put with their contents into the press. The thick, dark liquid which exudes, is allowed to remain one day in the receiving tank.

"

The filtering is described as a slow process, the oil passing drop by drop through paper cones; or it may be hastened by filtering in tin cylinders containing cotton batting, in which case it can be bottled and sold immediately. Bottling is a delicate operation. The bottles must be clean and contain no moisture; as one drop of water would ruin the appearance of the oil. The "Virgin Picholine oil brings readily $7 a gallon. The pulp is subjected to two more crushings and pressings, each making a lower grade of oil. Cleanliness is a most important essential through all the processes of manufacture, especially for the higher grades of oil. The olives must be gathered as early as November or December if quality of oil is the object; but if quantity alone is sought, a larger amount can be extracted by waiting till February or March.

As to pickled olives, Mr. Wallace was informed by his host that he had tried all varieties, and found the Manzanilla and Mission Cormcarbra superior to all others. The author was surprised to find the Manzanillas about the size and color of a black ox-heart cherry, though very palatable. Mr. Robinson explained:

"That is because we have picked the ripe olives. The flavor is richer, and after you once become accustomed to the ripe, oily taste, the others will seem very insipid to you.'

In reply to a question as to the profits of olive-growing, Mr. Robinson said to his visitor :

'If an olive ranch is properly conducted there is money to be made from it. In the first place, the olive flourishes on soil too rocky and barren to be used for other purposes. The cost of planting is very little, and of cultivating almost nothing.. They grow to perfection in climates where not a drop of rain falls for eight or nine months. Think of the waste land that is, and can still be, utilized for this purpose, I can safely say that the poorer the soil, the better the olive."

OSTRICH-FARMING.

In the Chautauquan for March, Marcus Benjamin, Ph.D., gives some interesting information in regard to one of the novel industries of Southern California, and tells of his visit last spring to the ostrich-farm at Coronado Beach. Dr. Benjamin says that the domestication of the ostrich is by no means new, and that there are probable evidences of its practice shown upon the monuments of Egypt; that tribes in

Central Africa raised ostriches, and even used artificial incubators, as early as the beginning of the present century; and that in recent years ostrich-farming has been successfully carried on, not only in Africa, but in Australia and South America. Of the introduction of the industry into the United States he says that in 1883 Mr. E. J. Johnson imported from the Cape of Good Hope twenty-three ostriches of the best African stock.

"The expense of this undertaking was not a slight one, and, according to the attendant at Coronado Beach, the cost of each ostrich landed in California was $1,000. In Cape Colony. it is said

that, from the ages of fourteen days to five weeks, chicks may be purchased at from $10 to $15 each, while chicks seven months. old bring from $20 to $25. At one year of age they are worth about $40, and after pairing they are valued at from $200 to $800 a pair, according to the variety and quality.

The birds purchased by Mr. Johnson were landed at New Orleans, but after some investigation it was found that Louisiana was not adapted to their culture, and the ostriches were brought overland to Southern California. They thrive best in a climate where there is no excess of cold or heat. A suitable

place was finally found in the valley of San Luis Rey, about seven miles from the town of Fall Brook, where the clear, dry air, the good water, and the shelter afforded by the Santa Rosa Hills furnished the proper condition for the establishment of an ostrichfarm. Besides this farm there is a branch establishment at Coronado Beach, where a troop of the American-bred birds are kept on exhibition.

There are also six farms in Los Angeles County. The one near Anaheim is perhaps the best known, and there is also one at Santa Monica. An attempt was made to introduce ostrich-farming in Arizona, but it did not prove altogether successful.

The ostriches imported by Mr. Johnson have thriven in Southern California, and of the original troop twelve still survive, while the total number has increased to 110 birds. The old birds have apparently maintained their natural vigor, and the American-hatched birds are unusually fine, both as to size and quality of feathers. At Coronado Beach the feed usually consists

of vegetables and Indian corn."

The writer speaks at some length of the habits of the ostrich, his voraciousness, and the conditions and care required to keep him in health and vigor.

"A distinction is made between those birds selected for their feathers and those chosen for breeding. The latter never yield such ood feathers as those that are kept single, hence it is considered best to separate them. In the wild state the ostrich is polygamous, and young birds at two or three years must be allowed to select their mates.

44

When the mating-season approaches, the bill of the male bird, and the large scales on the fore part of his legs, assume a beautiful deep rose color, looking just as if they were made of the finest pink coral. For several days he follows the hen without eating or drinking, and when she yields, the pair do not leave each other again until the time comes for the chicks to take care of themselves.

"Each couple is provided with a separate inclosure, for the ostrich is extremely jealous. The hen makes a nest by scooping a hole in the sand about four feet wide and nearly a foot deep, in which she deposits ten or twelve eggs.

"The process of incubation requires about forty-five days. During this time the pair sit alternately on the eggs. The male bird always takes his place at sundown, and sits through the night. In the morning, with unfailing punctuality, the hen comes to relieve him, and takes up her place for the day."

Dr. Benjamin tells us that a good breeding pair will hatcir out four clutches, or from forty to sixty chickens, in a year, but the ordinary yield is about thirty. Artificial incubation is also practiced extensively. He also gives an account of the manner in which the feathers are plucked from the birds. In California they are driven into a corner and blindfolded, and while two men hold the powerful bird a third man divests him of his valuable plumage. Regarding the profits of the industry Dr. Benjamin says:

"The chicken feathers are of little value, perhaps $5 a bird ; but the next and following pluckings realize from $40 to $150 a bird. When a bird reaches maturity, each wing produces twentyfive white feathers (besides the black ones) that are worth at least $5 each. At Coronado Beach the average was about $100 a year for each bird."

THE

POLITICAL.

THE NICARAGUA CANAL.

HE question of the construction of the Nicaragua Canal, if only as a commercial enterprise, has at length assumed a practical aspect. The Nicaragua Canal Construction Company has completed the necessary survey and preliminary work, and is now going ahead, confident of securing the necessary funds as required. The one question that now agitates patriotic Americans in this connection is, Shall the canal be taken at once under American protection, or shall we allow the shares of the Company to be thrown on the world's markets and thus afford European Governments the opportunity of intervention for the protection of national interests? There are three papers on the subject in the magazine literature of the month: one by Lieut. Elmer W. Hubbard, U. S. A., in the United Service; a second by Hon. Warner Miller, President Canal Construction Company, in the Engineering Magazine, and a third, by Jolin R. Proctor, in the American Journal of Politics. Lieutenant Hubbard's article is headed "Ship Canals," and passes in review the whole history of navigable canals from the earliest known examples, coming thence to a history of Nicaragua's efforts to secure a canal across her territory, and to the estimates and plans of the Nicaragua Canal Construction Company, which are said to be based on a very complete topographical survey of the whole region traversed. The following table gives the principal figures:

"The company undertaking the work is not an applicant for Government aid, except to the extent of asking the United States Government to guarantee its bonds. In this way the Government secures an interest in the canal at no outlay, and the company would be enabled to raise the necessary money at a low rate of interest.

"The company is going ahead without waiting for Congressional action. While the company is patriotic, they must raise Now money wherever they can, if not here then abroad. is the time for Americans to build the canal, and once our Government is acknowledged to be in control, the matter will rest."

Speaking of the commercial advantages of the canal to this country, the writer says:

"While the average saving by use of the Suez Canal is about three thousand five hundred miles, the Nicaragua Canal saves from five thousand to eight thousand miles in voyages of most ships using it. The Suez diverted traffic from old lines; the Nicaragua will do more, for it will also create a good share of new traffic. This increase of traffic will be largely between the Atlantic and Pacific ports of our own country, and the benefit will be mutual as such traffic always is.

As President Hayes puts it, the canal will virtually be an extension of the coast line of the United States.

The increase of domestic commerce is but one of the benefits of the canal. Japan, China, and the west coast of South America are all brought nearer to New York than they are at present to European ports via the Suez Canal. We can thus compete effectually for the trade of these immense and rapidly developing regions.

Many foreign ships will use the canal, but the United States will be the principal gainer."

Warner Miller's paper is devoted exclusively to the commercial aspect of the problem, which he reviews in great detail, supporting his arguments by a powerful array of figures. He says:

"The opening of the Suez Canal has afforded facilities to com

merce the value of which is indicated by the growth of its traffic from 436,609 tons in 1870 to 8,698,777 tons in 1891, but its benefits have accrued chiefly to Great Britain and Southern Europe. Owing to our geographical position the participation of the United States in its advantages has been very small. În a direct line westward we are as near to Australia and China as Great Britain is by the Suez Canal, and we are considerably nearer to Japan and to all intervening countries, yet because of the southward projection of South America, our shortest practical route to those countries is via the Suez Canal. From them we are further removed than all Europe by the breadth of the Atlantic Ocean. Until the opening of the Suez Canal, New York was substantially as near to China and Japan as was Liverpool, but the opening of the Suez Canal made Liverpool practically 2,700 miles nearer than New York. With the opening of the Nicaraguan Canal New York will once more be as near by available routes as Liverpool to China, nearer by 1,000 miles to Australia, 2,000 miles nearer to Japan, and 2,700 miles nearer to the Pacific coast of South America. To European commerce the event of the completion of the Nicaragua Canal would be merely one of increased economies and further gains. To the United States it is of far greater importance. It will restore the equilibrium of American commercial advantages destroyed by the opening of the Suez Canal."

Mr. Proctor opens his paper in the American Journal of Politics with the statement:

"It is in the power of the incoming Administration, by a stroke of statecraft to make the United States the future mistress of the seas; to bring about conditions that will cause the manufacturers to clamor for free trade, and to inaugurate a period of prosperity rivaling that following the discovery of gold in California and Australia."

To this end he would have the Government afford all necessary aid and support to the undertaking, and in return stipulate

commerce.

"That all ships built in the United States and Nicaragua, and carrying the flags of those countries, shall pass through the canal free of toll. . This will then, he says, become the great ship-building nation, and we will carry the bulk of the world's This canal, if controlled by the United States, would double the effectiveness of our navy. The beautiful fresh-water lake of Nicaragua, with its salubrious climate, will become the most valuable military and naval station in the world, on account of its strategic importance and the ease with which it may be defended. A few ships like the Miantonomah stationed in this lake, and supported by a land force, could prevent the combined navies of the world from passing through the canal." The writer next passes on to a review of the effect which this canal would have on the commerce and industries of the country, and more especially on the three great staples, breadstuffs, cotton, and iron, and ends with an eloquent appeal to the American people to emulate, in the Western Hemisphere, the achievements of England in the Eastern, "that the two nations drawn together by the bonds of mutual commercial interests and the ties of kinship may form a confederation girdling the world."

The demand to render the Nicaragua Canal an American enterprise under the protection of the American Government appears to be in the air. The editor of Harper's in his study, dreams dreams and sees visions in which the undertaking already appears to be un fait accompli. He says:

"By the opening of the Nicaragua Canal the United States will be in the middle of the world instead of at one end of it. It is a little curious how the dreams of genius come true. For four hundred years there has been a little cloud upon the reputation of Columbus, as a visionary who blundered upon a continent, and died without knowing the extent of his blunder. He thought he was taking a new cut to the Orient. And, lo! while we are celebrating his blunder and the marvelous outcome of it, our eyes are opened to the fact that this is the way to India, China, and Japan, and that we need not force that passage by railways across the continent, as we have been trying to do, but that we shall speedily go by water, as Columbus started to do. The main traveled road between the two parts of the Old World is not to be on a line through frozen seas and wildernesses, drawn from London to Yokohama, but in latitudes agreeable to the mariner. And to this route the United States will hold the key, unlocking the gates to

the commerce of the world, and closing them to war. If we have fighting to do, it will be fighting to keep the peace. It is not fortuitous that America was upheaved where it is in the waste of waters, or that the streams of immigration began to pour upon it from both sides. It is just getting thoroughly alive to the responsibility of its position, and while it raises statues to the genius of Columbus, and is cutting out the route that he sought, it is forced to see that no hostile flag can be allowed to be planted on the Sandwich Isiands to dictate to the commerce of the world, or threaten the normal development of the republican idea on this continent. Uncle Sam is studying' about this thing, not blustering or wanting the earth, or being fooled by any star or manifest destiny, but trying to fall in with the ways of Providence in time, in order to stand self-poised in the great revolution in commerce and migration which the twentieth century will certainly bring in."

COUNT TAAFE AND AUSTRIAN POLITICS.
E. B. LANIN.

Condensed for THE LITERARY DIGEST from a Paper in

The Contemporary Review, London, February. ONCE asked an Austrian friend who complained in my

I hearing of the arbitrary measures of the present Govern

ment, Have you not a Parliament ?" A Parliament!" he returned scorr.fully; we have twenty-two Parliaments in the Monarchy. What we have not, and what we are not likely to have for many a year to come, is Parliamentary government."

In Austria, Parliamentary currents and undercurrents are so numerous and perplexing, the conflicting interests of nationalities and religions and politics cross and recross each other so bewilderingly, that most foreigners abandon in despair the task of analyzing them. Thus there is a strong and truly imperial Polish party, who demand further extension of the principle of autonomy to Galicia; there is an old Ruthenian party who seek to free their people in Galicia from the hegemony of the Poles and obtain for them self-government; there are young Ruthenians who sympathize with their own people, but vote with the Poles; there are young Czechs or Bohemians who will be satisfied with nothing less than the abolition of the Austrian Constitution, such independence for themselves as Hungary enjoys, and a strongly pronounced Russophile. foreign policy. These are again split up into two parties -the Realists and the Idealists, both of whom vote solid against the Government, and appeal for encouragement to Austria's enemies abroad. There are old Czechs who strive after the same ideals but hope to realize them little by little, by dint of bargaining with the State. There is the German Left, the most numerous party in the Reichstag, which upholds the Constitution, refuses to entertain the subject of Bohemian autonomy, and looks askance at the Roman Catholic clericals, There are Dalmatian Slavs who ask only leave to grind the Italian element of the population into powder, and to coalesce with other Provinces into a south Slavonian kingdom. There are Italians who would gladly make mince-meat of the Dalmatians; German Nationalists who, with longing eyes turned toward the Fatherland, proclaim that they do not exactly love Austria less, but that they love Germany more; anti-Semites, who conscientiously hold that Hell is not enough for the Jews, whose torments ought in strict justice to begin in this life, and be continued in the next: German clericals, who being Catholics first and patriots afterwards, clamor for the establishment of a theocracy in Austria and the restoration of the temporal power of the Pope in Italy; Christian Socialists, who burn to regenerate the Monarchy by applying a few ready-made principles which would make a clean sweep of history, traditions, treaties, and legislation; and last, though far from being the least, come the Croatians who agitate for the reëstablishment of the Zvonimirs kingdom, consisting of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. All these groups air their grievances, and plead their sacred causes in season and out of season, and endeavor to wring concessions from the Ministry in return for occasional support. To con

duct the government of a vast Empire by means of a clumsy parliamentary machine put together of such heterogeneous parts as these, that can never be made to dovetail, is almost as hopeless as to repair a chronometer with a crowbar.

Count Taaffe, or, to give him his Irish title, Viscount Edward Taaffe of Corren, and Baron of Ballymote, who, since February, 1879, has combined the two appointments of Minister-President, and Minister of the Interior, is one of those rare public personages who cannot well be brought under any one category. He stands alone in politics as Jean Paul Richter did in literature. There are more aspects to his life and work than there are sides and angles to a cube, and the impression one retains after having carefully analyzed them all is that if one could only obtain a glimpse of the man from some further point of view, say from that of a psychological fourth dimension, the conception of him might possibly be correct, but it would unquestionably be totally different. One of the most important of these aspects is his social talent-the source of that abundant oil supply, which he keeps constantly pouring upon the troubled sea of Austrian politics. Count Taaffe has only to open his mouth and his hearers are enchanted. He is past-master in all the little arts d'agrement, so prized in courtiers and diplomatists as serving to lubricate the wheels of the social machinery of a Court. He can tell a story with a gusto which Charles Lever might have envied, and can invent one with the ease of an ancient mariner. His exquisite sense of the ridiculous, his exuberant fancy and ready wit, are as decidedly Irish as his name.

His own countrymen were hopelessly divided in their estimate of Count Taaffe and his work. Many of the politicians who see him only in Parliament, where, like Mrs. Fezziwig, he is always wreathed in smiles, take him for a Hiberno-Austrian Agniben, so bland, self-possessed, and serene does he appear in the face of difficulties that would drive any other statesman to desperation. Strangers who have noted for the first time the spare form, the marvelously black hair, the elastic step, and the mercurial gait of the Prime Minister as he enters the House, can scarcely dispel the delusion that they are in the presence of a perfect embodiment of one of the chief characters of Goethe's principal drama.

No better statesman could have been chosen to inaugurate a policy of conciliation. He possessed numerous points of contact with all parties, and had definitively broken with none. But he himself regarded as a far more solid qualification for the rôle of peacemaker his conception of what government in Austria should be. Above all things, it should discard all theories. Political principles Count Taaffe condemns as a weakness, and his friends and his enemies are at one in declaring him free from any stain which the possession of them might be supposed to imply.

Count Taaffe is a clever, practical psychologist of the most pessimistic type, who takes an incredibly low view of human virtue, which he is continually tempting into crooked ways, and he seldom discovers any ground to question the correctness of his theory, or doubt the infallibility of his rules. He never poses as a censor of morals, only as an appraiser of motives. He affects, and probably feels, surprise at nothing. He could listen calmly, nay, with seeming benevolence, to the President of a Taaffe Assassination Committee, and find some plausible pretext for paying him a compliment, or making him a concession. As a public speaker he is one of the most dismal failures that ever addressed an audience; but his suasive powers when brought to bear on a limited circle of hearers are of the miraculous kind, attributed by Irishmen to Cormack McCarthy, the Lord of the Blarney Stone.

When Count Taaffe assumed the political leadership, the people was the political god and the Parliament its prophet. At present every political group, except the thirty-five young Czechs, is infinitely more solicitous about the good will of the monarch than about the approval of the populace. It would