Despair sometimes calls for a desperate remedy. When men are in physical or financial distress they are apt to lose their heads, so to speak, and to be subject to the wildest delusions and hallucinations. A great many of the unfortunates now out of employment have been already reduced to misery and want; but it is a mistake to suppose that the philosophy of Socialism can afford them any relief or consolation, or that it can incite them to mad deeds of violence. There are certain demagogues in this country who, assuming to be Socialists, are ready to stir up the popular mind, even to the shedding of blood; but such men are few in numbers, and wield only a limited influence.

Now, Socialism holds that the impending reconstruction of society, which Huxley predicts, will be brought about by the logic of events, and teaches that the coming revolution, which every intelligent mind must foresee, is strictly an evolution. Socialists of this school reason from no assumed first principle, like the French, who start from "social equality," or like Herbert Spencer, who lays it down as an axiom that "every man has freedom to do all that he wills, provided he infringes not the like freedom of every other man;" but basing themselves squarely on experience,—not individual but universal experience,—they can, and do present clear-cut, definite solutions.

It is this true German Socialism which Mr. Gronlund, in the work previously alluded to, very clearly presents, and which should be more generally understood than it is.

Apropos of the subject, it will not be amiss to recall a statement made by Frederic Harrison, namely:—

"The working-class is the only class which is not a class. It is the nation. It represents, so to speak, the body as a whole, of which the other classes only represent special organs. These organs, no doubt, have great and indispensable functions, but for most purposes of government the state consists of the vast laboring majority. Its welfare depends on what their lives are like."

And this from Carlyle:—

"It is not to die, or even to die of hunger that makes a man wretched; many men have died; all men must die. But it is to live miserable, we know not why: to work sore and yet gain nothing; to be heartworn, weary, yet isolated, unrelated, girt in with a cold universal Laissez-faire."

AMONG THE BOOKS

It seems but a short time since we pored interestedly over the pages of Mr. Stanley's "Through the Dark Continent," which described the exploration of the Congo in 1876-7, from Nyongwe to the Atlantic Ocean. The final results of that first expedition, which surpasses all anticipation, are now recorded in two handsome volumes from the same pen, bearing the title: The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State.4 When Mr. Stanley, in 1878, had crossed the African continent and had reached the mouth of the Congo, he took ship for Europe. He had reached Marseilles, where, in the railway-station, he was met by two commissioners who had been sent by Leopold II., King of the Belgians, for the express purpose of interesting Mr. Stanley in the project entertained by that king of founding a State in the heart of Africa. This project was subsequently accepted, and all the powers of Europe entered into the scheme. Mr. Stanley now relates, for the first time, the story of the founding,—a story which is as entertaining as the liveliest piece of fiction, and as marvellous in its unfolding as would be the sudden discovery of a new and habitable world. From the mouth of the Congo to Stanley Falls is about fifteen hundred miles, and the basin of this immense river contains more than a million and a half square miles; that is, a territory nearly one-half as large as that of the United States. The opening of this great country to the commerce of the world is one of the greatest events of the nineteenth, indeed of any, century. By the agreement of the sovereigns of Europe, no European power is ever to be permitted to seize the sea-coasts of the continent, or to levy differential customs and high tariffs upon the commerce of the world such as our New England and Middle States now levy upon the West and South. Forever hereafter a merchant or producer dwelling in the Congo can dispose of his ivory and ebony, or any other product whatsoever, in whatever market it will yield him the most money, and buy his shovel and hoe, his gunpowder, and the like, where he can buy them the best and the cheapest. It is, perhaps, not too much to affirm that the founding of such an empire on such a basis will make in time as great a change in commercial affairs as the establishment of the American Republic has made in political affairs and in the relation of men to governments. The work of Mr. Stanley is destined to have a large influence. It is the most important book on Africa that has ever been written at any period of time or in any language. And yet no record of good deeds grandly done could savor of more modesty and unpretentiousness than does the narrative in these two noble volumes.

Miss Anna Laurens Dawes, the daughter of Senator Dawes, of Massachusetts, has undertaken "an explanation of the Constitution and government of the United States," in her book entitled How We are Governed.5 Believing, as we do, that a knowledge of politics is an essential part of education, we hail this work as one of the hopeful signs of the times, and commend it especially to young people, because the author has so accurately and comprehensively accomplished her task as to make it worthy of confidence. Simplicity in writing is the first needed qualification of one who undertakes to instruct youth. Miss Dawes exhibits this quality, and takes nothing for granted as to the previous knowledge of her readers. Her plan follows the order of the Constitution, and that document is quoted in full, and in its several parts under the division of "The Legislature," "The Executive," "The Citizen," and "The States."

It is the practical nature of the contents of The Hunter's Handbook6 which will commend it to all readers, and which stamps it as an indispensable work for all persons who "go camping out." This is just the season for such healthful recreation and resting among the hills or along shore. It is just the season, too, when, unless he knows exactly how to manage, the camper-out is subjected to a great many annoyances as well as pleasures. The little work under notice contains many valuable hints and suggestions, while its notes of all camp requisites and receipts are exceedingly valuable. Some of the author's quaint aphorisms on camp economy, camp neatness and cleanliness, and on the signs and portents of the weather, will tend to keep the reader in good humor. It would require years of experience for new beginners to acquire the information which a half hour's study of this book will easily impart. To all such, then, it is invaluable.

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