UNIVERSITY COURIER.
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the first. special greet- conducted, Wordsin the exs and edi-
depiction of of the six United appearance, lives great literary annual.
rary pro are glad student of The edi ys, " It isudy than little in the coast."
take exer and decriticism. acting noons as the solid ar of good.
received for it, by Pro- sity. It university, ery and esal of the wide range y of the ous cosi cated to he was not low of no
life of Goethe that Americans will appreciate higher than the scholarly, brilliant and condensed work of Professor Boyesen.
JULES VERNE is one of the most eccentric of French writers. He is about to publish a new work entitled the "Tribulations of a Chinaman in China." The book is said to be very interesting, and many of the popular features of the day, such as life insurance companies, Captain Boynton and his life saving suit, the phonograph, and various other peculiarities of to-day, are woven in the narrative.
In a paper read before the U. S. Military Service Institute, Professor Albert E. Church has furnished a great deal of pleasure to the many who have graduated from that Academy, and also to those who are at all interested in the place where the heroes of the rebellion and saviors of our country were educated. Prominent among the great moral influences that are woven in the different workings of American society, are the church, the army and the school. Although persons are striving to break down these barriers of our freedom by crying out against religion and higher education, and for a reduction of the army, it is our bounden duty to maintain them as our only protection against the results of the search after material prosperity. Although the paper was prepared for the members of the Institute alone, all who are interested in military affairs should read it.
The Atlantic for November is excellent. The articles in this magazine are the productions of the most prominent writers in America. The literary features of this periodical are especially attractive and give it character and distinction. Questions of to-day, living issues, are ably discussed, not sensationally, but openly and frankly. The number opens with a paper on "Our Military Past and Future." We can not help admiring the manner in which the author deals with the militia system. He is outspoken in the extreme and pictures very graphically the defects of the militia system. In speaking of our militia in the past, the writer says, "Does the American people, a people of brave and intelligent men, like such a military history? Is it proud of producing battalions whose wretched organization and lack of discipline are sure in an open field to send them to the right about before an advance of good troops? If it wishes for a more Spartan record in future wars, it must get rid of its provincial system of defense and devise something more practicable." He hits the nail on the
head when he says, "In place of State troops who will not cross frontiers, and who owe allegiance to Governors, let us have a force of national volunteers, willing to march wherever they can see the enemies of their country, and bound by oath to obey its congress and chief magistrate." In speaking of the value of military studies, the writer remarks, "No other portion of the chronicle of humanity is in general so incompletely presented and so imperfectly comprehended as that which relates to military events. The intelligent military student really and clearly sees why this or that battle ended as it did. He concedes, of course, a difference in commanders; but he carries his investigations further; he inquires into the particulars of organization and discipline; he studies the topography of the scene of action and the handling of the opposing columns." The author concludes with four excellent recommendations.
1. To do away with State troops.
2. To substitute a National Guard, or force of volunteers, organized by the War Department and commanded by the President.
3. To maintain an efficient, permanent army, sufficiently officered to give instructors to the volunteers in time of peace and commanders of high grade in time of war.
4. To establish a system of popular instruction in the elements of art and science of war.
The November Scribner is so largely filled with interesting matter that it would be extremely difficult in our limited space to give an extended account. One of the most interesting features of the number is the first installment of "The Grandissimes," Mr. Coble's new story of Creole life. Following the above article is a paper on the Mississippi jetties, by E. L. Certhell, C. E. Besides numerous other articles there is one by Captain King of Topeka, Kan., on "Picturesque Features of Kansas Farming." It is essentially an agricultural number and is of great value to farmers. In his department of "Topics of the Time," Dr. Holland writes of Peter the Great, and discusses "The Nation's Doctors," and "Is Life Worth Living."
St. Nicholas for November opens the seventh volume of that magazine. Among the chief features are a lively home story by Mary Mapes Dodge, the editor; a story by Sarah Winter Kellogg; an indescribable story, "The Gudre's Daughter, by Frank R. Stockton, and a thrilling historical story of the Black Prince and Phillip the Bold, telling how when boys they fought