populace, observes the London "Spectator" in commenting on this new unrest in France," is not feared, but a momentary Reign of Terror is.

"The Red Spectre," continues our contemporary, "is in fact abroad again; property as well as opinion is alarmed, and men are eagerly looking round for a 'saviour of society' who will hold all the dangerous classes, including the army, in a strong restraint. The fear is so keen that it has actually formulated itself. . . . The passions raised by the anti-Semites, by the Church, and by the 'patriots' who think France humiliated, are as bitter still as they showed themselves during the Dreyfus riots. Events such as Fashoda' have added fuel to the flame by irritating classes not by instinct revolutionary; the diatribes of the clerical and revolutionary journals, which circulate by the hundred thousand, are more incendiary than ever; and the mob of Paris is inclined to believe that the army is with it, and that the situation is once more at popular mercy.»

According to the "Spectator," there are three grand obstacles in the way of such

a

movement immediately beginning. One is the approach of the Paris Exposition, from which the bourgeoisie expect to reap enormous profits; the second is Geneneral de Gallifet, the stern and sane head of the army, whose word is pledged to the maintenance of a stable Republic; and the third is, that none of those who desire the overthrow of the Republic can settle upon the individual who must be its successor. Everyone, concludes our contemporary, hopes somewhat from an unknown man, especially as France will have as the head of the State neither an Orleanist nor a Bonaparte prince. Whoever he was, a plébiscite, in the opinion of the "Spectator," could not be refused under penalty of anarchy and possible war in the barracks themselves.

The so

ers know, has been made by the AngloEgyptian forces, chiefly under the Sirdar, Lord Kitchener, now Governor-General of the Sudan, to recover the territory and break the power of the dervishes in revolt. Much has been accomplished in recent years in destroying the fanatical influence of the Khalifa and his emirs by expeditions up the Nile, organized by the Sirdar. These expeditions utilized the railway as far as it was constructed, but they also depended upon a flotilla of gunboats on the river. The army force was composed chiefly of Egyptian soldiers, officered by the English, and strengthened by some British battalions. The Nile campaign had Omdurman as its objective point; but the Sirdar had to fight his way, it will be remembered, almost all the way from Berber and the Sixth Cataract, and had also to undertake the long desert march to the Atbara and to fight there a hotly contested battle with Mahmud and his Baggara horsemen and other desert tribesmen. Finally (on Sept. 2, 1898), the battle of Omdurman occurred, when the Khalifa met a crushing defeat, 8,000 of his dusky warriors being killed, and a broken remnant of his army was compelled to seek safety in the desert fastness of Kordofan, the Khalifa himself retiring to El Obeid. Since then the Khalifa, with Osman Digna and his emirs, have been continuing their lawless work in the slavetrading region south of Khartum and dodging the British and Sudanese soldiery who have been policing the country. At length a despatch has been received from Lord Kitchener, stating that General Wingate's force, about the 23d of November last, had come upon the Khalifa near El Gedid, and after a hot engagement had surrounded him and his body-guard. Seeing that the battle was lost and that there was no hope in flight, the Khalifa and his emirs adopted the usual dervish method of seeking death, by spreading sheepskins on the ground and awaiting the end. The Khalifa, when discovered, was found shot through the head, surrounded by a heap of slain, including his chief emirs. An interesting sequel to the story is the announcement that the railway is open to Khartum, and excursionists are invited, with eager confidence as to their safety, to visit the place. Thus civilization step by step advances, and barbarism is driven from its once regnant seat.

A

MONG the well-organized and efficient clubs of the country the Chicago Woman's Club stands foremost. Its activities are numerous, and its aims in civic and benevolent matters are as high as may be. Its literary aspirations are more commonplace, and are intentionally gauged by the necessities of the many rather than by the capacities of the few. So enterprising are its members, and so indefatigable, that its scheme of work for the year will no doubt be interesting and profitable reading to clubwomen everywhere.

For years three of the six departments of the club had been studying in separate classes, along the same lines of thought, the problems of to-day. The United Study Class was formed, therefore, uniting these three departments, and pursuing the same phase of thought until it has become identified with the study of the current problems of life. The class has chosen as its subject for this year "The Outlook for Social Unity." The task of arranging the sub-topics was left to a sub-committee of six, each representing a department.

The plan of the programme is to begin with the ideal or highest standard of life and to follow with theories for the attainment of this ideal, with practical illustrations whenever possible, assuming that, to understand the situation fully, we must be familiar with all points of view.

Some of the committee felt that for the growth of the club the list of speakers should be confined to members; others believed that much practical knowledge had been gained by listening to outside speakers who were specially informed upon their subjects. It was therefore decided to adopt both methods.

To emphasize the fact that the class is primarily a study class, the rule was made that half an hour should be devoted at each meeting to general discussion of the subject for the day, with the hope that all interested in the work of the class would help to make the discussion as interesting and profitable as possible. The class meets twice a month. The subjects are as follows:

Evolutionary Trend.. The Golden Rule

.Dr. Rachael S. Yarros

Discussion

Samuel M. Jones, of Toledo Discussion led by Philanthropic Department

It will be seen by any one acquainted with the names of the leading educators and thinkers of Chicago that the United Study Class has the services of the most distinguished. A fine list of books bearing upon the subjects pursued is printed in the manual.

The programme of literary study of the Art and Literature Department under its present leader, Martha Foote Crowe, is exceptionally fine. Mrs. Crowe is herself the author of exquisite verse, a woman of wide instructional experience in the field of English literature, and a student of the most delicate discernment and ideality. Mrs. Crowe is leading her class through its third year of the study of Elizabethan literature. It is her design to illustrate the growth of dramatic art by a series of selected plays of Shakespeare, studied in comparison with some other work or works of the period and considered as an exponent of the growth of Shakespeare's mind and art.

The course began with a lecture by Mrs. Crowe on "The Play as an Art Form » The "Opening of the Period of Shakespeare's Mature Strength" is the general caption for the programme which follows:

HAMLET.

1. Hamlet's times out of joint. The historical outlook in 1603. The Essex tragedy. Shakespeare's relations to Southampton.

2. Hamlet as an expression of Shakespeare's attitude to ward the problem of personality.

a. Hamlet as a weak and vacillating character.
b. Hamlet as a man of will.

General discussion led by Philosophy and

Science Department

Mutual Relations of Capital and Labor.

Jessie Willard Bolte Co-operative Experiments at Home. Henry D. Lloyd General discussion led by Reform Department

OTHELLO.

1. The play of Othello as an expression of artistic unity.

2. Study of character types: Edmund, Duke Frederick, Iago, Angelo, Iachimo.

3. Interlinking of theme in plot, character, and style.

KING LEAR.

1. The sources of the play of King Lear, and Shakespeare's treatment of the subject.

2. Study of character types: Cordelia, Ophelia, and Desdemona.

MACBETH.

1. Shakespeare's belief in the supernatural as illustrated in Macbeth.

2. Study of character types: Tamora, Margaret of Anjou, Goneril and Regan, Lady Macbeth.

THE SERIOUS COMEDIES.

I. All's Well; Measure for Measure; Troilus and Cressida.

2. Shakespeare's "little Latin and less Greek." 3. Moral standards in Elizabethan high life.

STUDY OF THE DARKEST TRAGEDIES.

1. Study of character types: Cleopatra, the dark lady of the Sonnets, and Cressida.

NEW THEORIES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE

SONNETS.

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, WITH TIMON OF ATHENS. 1. Shakespeare's Nadir of Unfaith.

2. Study of character types: Lear, Timon, and Coriolanus..

THE ROMANCES - CYMBELINE.

1. Stage properties of Elizabethan drama.

2. Study of character types: Julia, Helena, Juliet, Imogen.

WINTER'S TALE.

1. Study of character types: Imogen, Hermione. 2. Shakespeare and Bruno, Bacon and Montaigne.

3. Shakespeare's standing as a citizen and business man in Stratford-on-Avon and London.

THE TEMPEST.

1. Study of character types: Marina, Perdita, Miranda. 2. Music in Shakespeare's time and in his plays.

Two NOBLE KINSMEN, HENRY VIII, ETC.

1. The collaborated and doubtful plays.

2. The right of Shakespeare to the title of supreme poet.

The programme of the Music Study Classa class meeting but once a month - is given below, with the essayists and performers, many of whom bear a wide reputation for their abilities:

"The Evolution of Music During the First Half of the Nineteenth Century » is the general subject for the year, and the leader of the department is Elizabeth Foreman Bagg.

Italian Opera - Essayist, Karlton Hackett. Pianist, Lula B. Carpenter.

French Opera Bouffe-Essayist, Mrs. Burton Han

son.

Form of the Symphony - Essayist, Mrs. Theodore Thomas. Pianist, Elizabeth Ullman.

Beethoven - Essayist, Mrs. John Vance Cheney.
Schumann-Essayist, Georgiana Upton.
Schubert Essayist, Clara Cooley Becker.
Mendelssohn- Essayist, Gertrude C. Moore.

An excellent list of reference-books is given. The Philosophy and Science Department has undertaken a year of ambitious work. During the winter of 1898-99 the work of the department was devoted to a study of the various psychological processes involved in the develment of conduct. The present year is to deal with and investigate the facts and principles of moral life. The leader submits the proposition that inasmuch as moral ideals and systems

are but the expressions of the will, an examination of these subjects must involve a constant employment of psychological material. With a definite continuity in the work of these two years assured, an opportunity is offered for the immediate practical utilization of the psychological principles already examined. The past year saw an inquiry on the part of the class into the most concrete and basal facts in the evolution of conduct on the part of the indiyidual; this year will see the investigation of the more elaborate and theoretical problems which are peculiar to metaphysics. The more tangible problems concerning the structure of society will also be examined. A course of twenty lectures by Professor James B. Angell, of the University of Chicago, will serve as the basis for discussion. The outline of topics as arranged by Professor Angell is as follows:

I.

1. General purpose of the Ethical Theory.

2. Definition of Conduct, as (a) moral, (b) non-moral, and (c) immoral.

3. General relation of Moral Conduct and Ethical Theory to the Psychology of Will.

II. IMPULSE AND IDEAL.

1. Examination of Impulse. Its psychological nature and function.

2. Analysis of the Ideal. Its nature and origin as a psychological element.

3. The asserted conflict in moral experience of Ideal and Impulse. True statement of the problem.

III.

1. The psychological nature of Pleasure and Pain.

2. Their value as determinants of conduct.

3. Examination of Hedonistic doctrines.

IV.

1. The nature of Duty and Obligation.

2. Their psychological nature and function.

3. Psychological analysis of Conscience.

V.

1. Psychological problems determining the end of Conduct.

2. The criterion of the Good or the Right.

3. The functions and powers of the Individual and his relations to society, as bearing on the two immediately preceding problems.

The reference list is comprehensive.

The work of the Reform Department is singularly energetic, and has been so from the day of its organization. Every politician has been made to feel its influences; every policeman is aware of its existence. Under the leadership of Edith C. Hancock, department committees have been appointed to cover every branch of the work. One woman looks after the probation work for children in police stations; one visits county institutions and endeavors to secure reform in their management where it is needed; one member interests herself in laws affecting women and children. A woman is in charge of the jail school; another endeavors to secure municipal reform where it is practical; one member reports on the actions of the Civic Federation in regard to municipal affairs. A committee distributes

reading-matter at the county institutions; there is a committee on the Model Lodging House Association, and another committee for the School Children's Aid Society, which desires that no child shall remain from school for want of clothes or books. Mary M. Bartelme, of the department, is known as the Public Guardian of Cook County, and occupies a peculiar position, having it within her power to influence all manner of officials to deeds of consideration or humanity. The department has a representative on the Board of the Protective Agency, which secures justice for women and children where such assistance is required. The vacation schools have a committee; also the Glenwood school, which is a reformatory institution.

The Education Department, under the leadership of Clara W. Kretzinger, has a representative upon the Chicago Public School Art Association, - an organization, by the way, which grew out of the Woman's Club. It also has a representative on the School Children's Aid Society. One member reports the actions of the Board of Education to her Department. The Public School Committee has sub-committees to see to manual training, nature-study, the sanitation of the schools, and the visitation of the families where the children are not kept faithfully at their studies, or where poverty or

sickness prevents them from availing themselves of educational opportunities. One member looks after school laws; another after vacation schools and playgrounds; another promotes city history clubs; another is interested in educational extension.

The names of the societies auxiliary to the Woman's Club are the Protective Agency for Women and Children; the School Children's Aid Society; the Chicago Public School Art Society; the Chicago Political Equality League; and the Woman's Model Lodging House Association. An article might be written about the work of each of these societies. Lacking space for them, some idea of the scope, energy, and disinterestedness of the work of the Chicago Woman's Club may be gained from the outline of the year's plans as they have been shown above. Most of the other clubs in Chicagowhich is a city of many clubs—are frankly selfish in their reasons for being. They exist for the pleasure and improvement of the members. The Woman's Club exists principally for the benefit of others. It is exceedingly democratic, and has over eight hundred members, with no objection to an increased membership providing the candidates for admission are willing to minister to the needs of the city and to add to the reputation of the club for disinterested endeavor.

I

IN THE first place, put it off as long as possible. Wait until your interest in your friend's letter has evaporated, and you have mislaid the same and partially forgotten its contents. Make it very apparent that nothing but stern Duty drives you to the task.

Take any paper you may happen to have. If the envelope doesn't match, don't let a trifle like that deter you. If there is no pale ink at your disposal, a pencil will do. You are out of stamps? No matter. It is very easy to hand money to the postman, and it will teach him forbearance. Such men ought to earn their wages.

Write first horizontally and then perpendicularly, and let your pen wander to any page it may fancy. If your penmanship is poor, assist matters by writing as if Stockton's "Discourager of Hesitancy » were at your elbow. Perhaps your handwriting has been complimented; it is still possible to divide the words. It is no business of yours how much other people may dislike conundrums. Your friend ought to be glad to hear from you on any terms.

Spell a few words wrong, to show that you are no pedant; you can't be expected to be a walking dictionary. Blots may be accomplished incidentally, to indicate careless ease, and a smudge is so pretty. Ignore all punctuation marks except the dash, and use that freely.

When you are conscious of poverty of thought, underline that part. If you make a joke, an exclamation-point will prevent its being over

looked.

When you write a business letter to a stranger there is more than one way to commend yourself to his notice. Never keep to the point. Perhaps there isn't any. Indulge in lengthy digressions and explain everything fully. For all you know the person addressed may not have the average amount of intelligence. Make assurance doubly sure by a good deal of repetition.

Sign yourself by some nickname, and, whatever else you do, take it for granted that the reader is a seer who can tell by the very way you cross your is whether you are "Miss" or "Mrs." You may have had occasion to write to this man before. He of course has your address. It would be a deplorable waste of ink to give it again.

If you happen to feel, with the wily diplomatist, that language was given us for the purpose of concealing our thoughts, so much the more welcome will your epistle be to some busy man. You may lose your verb and heap up your adjectives; still, business sharpens the faculties, so that the chances are good that the unknown will contrive to make out your meaning. Then, if he has travelled, he will be

pleasantly reminded of the maze at Hampton Court. If he has never been abroad his reply will be apt to be a succinct model for your future use, so that either way there will be a distinct gain.

Now as to the matter of a friendly letter. It will be well to fill the first page or two with apologies for delay. Insinuate that you have more to do than other people, and that your correspondent's occupations are trifling in comparison.

Do not waste any time in arranging your thoughts. In fact, you need not have any thoughts. Pull at the tangled skein of life by any end that comes uppermost.

Be sure to describe your ailments in detail. Disease is so interesting. Then unload your worries. What is a friend for if not to bestow sympathy upon us? If anything cheerful presents itself to your mind, cut that short.

one.

I strongly advise that you give not one moment's thought to the desires of the absent Do not ask yourself what she wishes to hear. True, her letter to you might be some guide, but that may have been merely the reflection of a passing mood. Neither should you meditate on her character, unless it is in order to produce a happy contrast. If she likes books you can write of children. Is she always interested in dress? Then describe your house-plants. Should she not be above a little innocent gossip you might quote something about ancient Rome. In pursuing this course you will not be alone in the world, for it is rarely indeed that anyone studies the tastes of a correspondent.

Should your temperament give you the reporter's outlook upon life, be sure to report everything. If lack of space forces you to discriminate, just shake your facts together and draw one.

It is not nearly as important that your friend should know your opinion of the marked article which she sent you as that she should be made absolutely certain whether it came on Thursday or Friday. Never study variety, or think what kind of a letter you sent last in this direction. Why should you? It has sometimes been my lot to receive an epistle the contents of which could be fairly predicted before it was opened; but at least it told me that the writer was alive and likely to live to report again.

It is possible that you may be a conscientious person with views and opinions to promulgate. Then you will feel no reluctance in writing

letters. Each one is a glorious arena which may not be open to you again. Treat it as a prancing-ground for your hobby. Ride and spare not.

Pronounce authoritatively on current topics. Settle questions which make statesmen pause. To be sure, you are not a statesman; you never even pretended to be; but is it not true that outsiders see most of the game?

Have a lofty ideal and be always struggling up to it. You are of course expected to be as witty as Sydney Smith, as learned as Macaulay. and as fascinating as our own Lowell. Unless you can satisfy such an ideal, it might be well to be brief. Do not think, however, that anyone can attain to that. It is not so easy.

It may be that you have a grievance against this particular correspondent, or advice to give. Now is your opportunity. Forget, for the time being, the sensitiveness of the human soul and the enduring nature of written words. The reader is helpless. You can be as rude and ungenerous as you like. There will be no flash of the eye to warn you, no counter-thrust of speech; not even the look of surprise which sometimes brings us to our senses. What do we write letters for at all, unless it is to show how small we are?

Do not insult the other's intuitions by answering any of her questions. Indeed you might

as well leave her in doubt whether her last letter was received. Reduce the connecting links and the common interests to their smallest proportions. Or, if you prefer, manifest your interest in her affairs by repeating nearly every word she has written, in order to add a commonplace comment. It will save you from thinking up anything new for her entertainment.

If you have anything it particularly concerns your friend to know, mention it briefly at the last, and say you would write more about that if you had time. Better still, put it in some corner where she will not see it at all.

Possibly you are deeply attached to the absent one. In that case avoid hunting for some subtle expression of affection which will make her pulses bound. Rather choose the current phrases which everyone uses, and which mean little or nothing.

These directions, faithfully followed, will doubtless soon save you from the nuisance of writing letters. If otherwise, one is tempted to think that your friend deserves all you have given her.

PHILADELPHIA.

ANNA STEVENS REED.