have to suffer for the faults of the upper classes; the kitchen-maid of Belgrave Square becomes very often the cook of a less aristocratic neighborhood, and the waste and extravagance permitted in the kitchen of a rich man is ruinous in the professional man's semi-detached villa, and the cook gets blamed for what after all is only the result of improper training. In short, at the present time servants are either badly trained or not trained at all, and therefore we want a Kitchen College.

In other words, we want a thoroughly organized and recognized centre, school, college-the name is immaterial-where servants can study and pass such an examination and gain such a certificate as will be a proof of skill and competence not only in one special department, but of general capacity and respectability; that qualifications should be given according to merit; and that the institution should be so managed that a woman would feel as proud of a degree from the "College for Domestic Servants" as from any other college open to women. Cooks, housemaids, parlor-maids, and nurses have all well-defined duties, and a competitive examination is the best method of testing their skill. A nurse frequently knows less about children than any other living creature; she has the haziest ideas about draughts, the most supreme contempt for ventilation, and firmly believes a baby never cries unless it is hungry, and forthwith gives the inevitable bottle, frustrating nature's efforts to exercise and expand the lungs. A general servant who can cook tolerably and knows a little about housework is the exception; as a rule, she is deplorably ignorant of both. Up to the present a good character has been the only guarantee of efficiency, but it is clear that it is by no means an infallible test; a servant that one mistress may have thought satisfactory may prove quite the reverse to another. But a trained and certificated servant, who knows her work and does it, would be in a position to ignore fault-finding, or, still more satisfactory, not deserve it, she would be less liable to dismissal for imaginary faults, and she would be to a great extent independent of "characters." As it is, the domestic servant is a sort of shuttlecock tossed from one NEW SERIES.-VOL. XLVI., No. 3

mistress to another, leaving a different impression on the mind of each. In short, the servant has no standing, no ideal of excellence, no ambition; her life is monotonous and often sordid in its details, her mental and social condition are both uncared for. Surely this ought not to be, and the wives, mothers, and daughters of England should consider it. We live with our servants as if they were aliens, and then wonder they do not serve us with love and gratitude.

It may be objected that training, general education, and the granting of degrees, would make a class already difficult to deal with still more so, and that servants would consider themselves the equals of their employers. I think the effect would be just the reverse: a sensible and liberal education would teach women not only what is due to themselves, but what is due to others; and a feeling of independence that the thorough knowledge of his business gives to every worker in every craft would make servants much less suspicious and less resentful. Honest service without servility, cheerful politeness without undue familiarity, cleanliness, economy, and truth, are what we most desire in our domestics; and without education and training how can we reasonably hope to get them? It may be argued against this college scheme, that the effort made years ago to induce better-class women to enter servitude under the name of "lady-helps" proved a failure. A little reflection would have shown that it could not have proved anything else. The lady-help was an artificial growth, and could not possibly meet a real want. We do not want ladies to become servants, neither their habits nor instincts fit them for the occupa tion: pride and prejudice, sensitiveness, and I might add ignorance, are bad foundations; but it may not be too Utopian to hope that servants may become more like ladies, or at least that the ig norant, slip-shod, sullen "slavey'' who works without hope, and idles without enjoyment, may disappear from among us, and that the time is not far distant when a domestic servant can hear herself spoken of as such, if not with honest pride, at least without shame or discon

tent.

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Therefore we want a Kitchen College for women, not a school of cookery or a conglomeration of unorganized" classes," but a school of everything a servant ought to know; a school or college with exhibitions and scholarships and diplomas, with clever lecturers, and clear, simple text-books, and fees that will come within the means of women who have to work for their daily bread.

The starting and conducting of such a college ought to be woman's work; women suffer most from the ministrations of inefficient servants, women benefit most by the attention of good ones; and I have no doubt that there are in England women enough generous,

warm-hearted, thoughtful women — to found such an institution; women enough, from the very highest lady in the land, down to the poorest mother of a family, waited on by a nameless little maid-of-all-work from St. Luke's, to stretch out a helping hand to their sisters in service, and give them what every woman has a right to, the means of improving their social standing.

One word more : Kitchen College must be no charity. To make it a success, it must be as much a national institution as the University of Oxford; its degrees, certificates, and prizes must be worked for, fought for, and won, by the most deserving, not as an "imperfect favor, but a perfect right."—-Nineteenth Century.

WE cannot fail, if we direct our thoughts to the subject, to be struck with the analogy between our great Empire and that of ancient Rome, and at the same time, without being pessimists, to feel that there is grave cause for anxiety lest we should share the same fate and crumble away to nothingness, and become a mere name and a page, though a large and important one, in history. It seems as if we are destined, as the Romans were, on reaching the zenith of our fame and prosperity, to relapse into a state of apathy, indifference, and luxury, and to commit that most fatal error of living on the reputation we have gained and the successes we have achieved among the nations of the earth. There can be no doubt that when most obstacles have been overcome, and when the struggle for existence and for greatness has been triumphantly concluded, nations are apt to give way to a longing for rest, the accumulation of wealth, and the enjoyment of luxury. There are several great influences that rule the destiny of nations, such as politics and commerce, but there is another that has an influence, and a strong influence, and that is the social condition of a people; the fountainhead and mainspring of which in this country is London society, which rightly assumes to itself the responsible position of setting the example to the rest

of this great Empire. It is composed of the wealthiest, richest, and best born in the land, who gradually get drawn and congregate thither just as a log of wood is whirled round and round to the vortex of the maelstrom where in many cases, as in London society, it is lost. Many may cavil at the idea that society is largely responsible for the welfare of a people, but the two great examples of the Roman Empire and the French Monarchy should silence these and induce them to seriously turn their attention to the subject. Let us put politics and commerce aside for the time, and try to trace out the analogy between us and the people of ancient Rome in our social conditions, and there is but little doubt that the comparison will lead us to take warning and to feel considerable disquietude lest we should be but too surely following in their footsteps and in those of the French Monarchy, in both of which cases, the rottenness of society at the core was but the premonitory symptom of the downfall of a great empire and an ancient monarchy. The deterioration of society is but a slow and gradual process, and there are many causes that tend toward this, among which are its immense and rapid growth and the bowing down to and worshipping of mammon, while another is the great depression in agriculture which drives many to London, who would otherwise

be spending much of their time in healthy country pursuits, but who, owing to the depressed state of agriculture, are unable to live at and enjoy their country places, and being compelled to let them, are obliged to take up their headquarters in town.

That "Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do" is never more amply verified than in the case of young men thrown into a London life, either with enough to live comfortably on without work or with a sufficiency with the assistance of a certain amount of work to enjoy themselves. These young men naturally want to amuse themselves, and the tendency of a life of amusement in town is generally downward, which is neither conducive to health nor morality, and society of the present day is by no means prone to show its disapproval of such a course, should the actors in it be some of the fashionable favorites. If the delinquent, even in the more public form of a hero of a cause célèbre, be well endowed with the world's goods, his fiasco would not in any way militate against him; he would be as much as ever sought after by the mother with marriageable daughters, and great triumph would be displayed if he were successfully captured, while his former character would be disposed of by the usual generalities as to "sowing his wild oats.' Not a thought would be allowed to obtrude itself as to the risk of entrusting a daughter's happiness to one with such an unenviable reputation, if he had a sufficiency of income. There is no doubt that now society is more tolerant of youthful peccadilloes, and that, therefore, the same peccadilloes which always have been in vogue, are at the present day more openly spoken of, and the same care is not taken to hide and disguise them and relegate them to the darker corners of a man's life, as he feels that society is careless on the subject and is not likely to raise its voice against his manner of life.

Another tendency of the present day is the laxity of conversation permitted by many ladies in society in their male friends. This latter evil is one of very rapid growth, and has spread in many cases from the married women even to the girls, who think that they can make themselves as agreeable to the men as

their successful rivals, by adopting the same style and allowing the same freedom of conversation. This, to a great extent, is attributable to the rage for beautiful women which for some time now has been dominant in London society; for now a woman, if she is extremely lovely, and can get an introduction, is sure to be a star in society for a time, no matter what her position may be, and whether it entitles her to be fêted and made much of by the great ones of the land, and wishing to make her reign as successful as possible, until a brighter star arises and eclipses her, permits and encourages that loose kind of conversation that is so attractive to many men. This rage for beauty has been a great bane in London society for some time, and has rightly been a source of annoyance to the younger unmarried members of families who hold their position by right; for it is an undoubted hardship for them to feel themselves shelved and neglected by the men in favor of the fashionable beauties, and some of the sillier of them think that they can improve their position by copying the ways, manners, and conversation of these piratical craft. Society has lately advanced a stage further, and the beauties of London society whose "face is their fortune" now are finding rivals in successful showmen, whose merits as pets of the fashionable world are not properly appreciated in their own country. This same worship of a successful showman is in close analogy to the later and more rotten days of the Roman Empire, when the gladiators were the favored ones and pets of the Roman ladies. Society, again, is open to all who have the golden key; and if any aspirant who does not happen to have a beautiful face, or to be a successful showman with flowing locks and wild appearance, can judiciously get taken up, and is willing to spend unlimited money, his or her success is also ensured.

Another feature of the present day is the freedom that exists in talking about ladies in clubs and other public places, more especially among the younger men. Ladies are publicly spoken of and canvassed now in a way that is a disgrace to men, and that would in former days of necessity have entailed many an ex

change of shots; and in some ways one cannot but regret that these young men do not receive such a lesson "in corpore vili" as they would have formerly, so as to teach them the lesson of that manly chivalry that should scorn and loathe to make public property of a lady's name, whether or not by her actions she had laid herself open to the shafts of venomous tongues. A greater laxity also exists now in the payment of debts of honor, and it is by no means unusual now for men to play for such stakes that, if they have a run of bad luck and lose heavily, they are quite unable to pay, without seeming to consider it so great a dishonor as our forefathers did. Indeed, unless they get posted and turned out of their clubs, they bear with comparative complacency the disgrace of letting-in their friends. Of course, Of course, though we cannot advocate duelling, this is another result of its abolition, and there can be little doubt that when it was permissible, to a large extent it did away with the lightly taking in vain of ladies' names and the remissness in settling debts of honor. To some extent, those who sell their daughters to the highest bidders are responsible for a great deal that goes on in society, though they may do it from what they consider the highest motives-namely, the marrying and settling them well. For women, who marry men for whom they cannot pretend, even to themselves, to have the slightest affection, though from a sense of duty and honor they

may, in act and deed, be faithful to them, are very apt to show a distinct partiality for the society of other men, and the carrying on of harmless flirtations. The world, which is only too willing to put the worst construction on the conduct of the individuals that constitute it, accuses these of infidelity, and, though in act innocent, they become examples of the laxity of the present day.

As in ancient Rome, the manliness and vigor of our nation seem to be gradually giving way before the attacks of luxury and vice. Vice is more openly indulged in, luxury in our young men is on the increase, and if the force of circumstances and the advance of Radicalism should combine to do away with our field sports, then, indeed, the last prop and stay will be knocked away that keeps our young men what they have hitherto been-the hardiest, pluckiest, and most successful people in all parts of the world. And let our ladies look to the keeping up of the high standard of English society, so that they may not make their pets and heroes of those who get their introduction by being beautiful or successful showmen or actors; for once they begin to lower the standard, there will be no half-way house. Society will degenerate into absolute Bohemianism, and be unable to set the example it should to the rest of the country, and by its complete rottenness and degradation assist in the disintegration of this great Empire.-Saturday Review.

IT is a far cry from Paris to Kairwan, and the wildest fancy would scarcely imagine any link between General Boulanger, the idol of the Gallic mob, and the frantic rites of the North African Aissaouia. And yet the three names, with the varied ideas they suggest, are inalienably associated in my mind-the holy city, the second Mecca, the Delphi of Africa; the smart and calculating soldier, whose career of clever self-advertisement will yet be crowned with the success which the skilful application of

such arts in the nineteenth century seldom fails to command; and the fanatical brotherhood who keep green the memory of Mahomet Ibn Aissa by selfinflicted tortures and Corybantian orgies. How they came to be so connected, under what circumstances I visited Kairwan, in what brief and peculiar relationship I stood to General Boulanger, and what I saw in the mosque of Aissa, I shall now proceed to relate.

In the spring of 1885 I found myself in Tunis. At no time in recent history