CONTENTS OF VOL. VI. BOY SOLDIERS. By Lieutenant-Colonel W. W. Knollys THE EDUCATION QUESTION IN FRANCE. By the Abbé Martin MOOSE-HUNTING IN CANADA. By the Right Hon. the Earl of Dunraven 'A SUGGESTION AS TO HOME RULE. By Sir Frederick William FOOD AND FEEDING (concluded). By Sir Henry Thompson. THE REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES. By Leonard Courtney, M.P.. GENERIC IMAGES. By Francis Galton, F.R.S. HOW NOT TO RETAIN THE COLONIES. By the Right Hon. Lord Norton THE FRENCH PLAY IN LONDON. By Matthew Arnold SOUTH AFRICAN POLICY. By the Right Hon. Lord Blachford THE HISTORY OF THE EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT. By W. E. H. Lecky 280 THE WAGES FUND.' By W. T. Thornton AN IRISH IGNIS FATUUS. By Edward D. J. Wilson. MR. WHISTLER'S THEORIES and Mr. WHISTLER'S ART. By Frederick THE BRITISH ARMY. By Lieutenant-General Sir John Adye, K.C.B. THE UNION OF THE LIBERAL PARTY. By the Rev. J. Guinness Rogers THE POLITICAL NOVELS OF LORD BEACONSFIELD. By T. E. Kebbel. 504 A CAGLIOSTRO OF THE SECOND CENTURY. By James Anthony Froude 551 571 MODERN ATHEISM AND MR. MALLOCK. By Miss L. S. Bevington 585, 999 FLOGGING IN THE ARMY. By Archibald Forbes FAMILIAR LETTERS ON MODERN ENGLAND. NO. I. By Karl Hillebrand 615 THE NEW DEPARTURE IN INDIAN FINANCE. By Henry Fawcett, M.P. THE HISTORY OF MONEY. By Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P. THE NOXIOUS GASES BILL. By the Right Hon. Viscount Midleton. W. Walter Edwards, M.A. THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA. By Herbert A. Giles THE SPOILT CHILD OF EUROPE. By R. W. Hanbury, M.P. . THE IRISH LAND AGITATION. By J. O'Connor Power, M.P. . GOVERNMENT AND THE ARTISTS. I. By Sir Frederick Leighton, P.R.A. THE LITERARY CALLING AND ITS FUTURE. By James Payn THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. By Dr. Julius Althaus THE DOMESDAY BOOK OF BENGAL. By Francis W. Rowsell, C.B. MISTRESS AND SERVANTS. By Miss Caroline E. Stephen IRISH POLITICS AND ENGLISH PARTIES. By Edward D. J. Wilson . 106 Officers ONE of the most important of the subjects into which the Committee Optimists, especially those of the official class, have been in the habit of saying, True, there are a good many boys; but the Commander-in-Chief-or General Blank-reports very highly of them, and asserts that they have the makings of fine men.' That some of them vill ever be worth their keep I doubt, but it is only fair to state that the large majority will, in all probability, turn out robust men. That is not the point; the army not being intended for a mere cadet chool, but for fighting and campaigning at any moment. It is idle, herefore, to say that on an average, in the course of three years, most all the privates enlisted within the last twelve months will be e to fight and campaign. We want men who can fight and mpaign at once. In France, Germany, and most Continental antries, a man does not join his regiment till on an average he 21, the minimum age being in theory 20. All medical authorities ay it down that a lad is not fit to undertake the hardships of active ervice till he is at least 20 years of age, and even that is too young. VOL. VI.-No. 29. B Let us see how it stands with our soldiers. They are not enlisted, save in special cases, till they are 18. We have, however, nothing to go upon but their own statement-and they do not scruple to lieand appearance, which between 16 and 19, is very deceptive. As a matter of fact, hundreds enlist every year under 18 and scores under 17. The majority, perhaps, join the army at an average age of 18 years. The desirability of getting older recruits has been repeatedly admitted by the Duke of Cambridge, but, as he has more than once stated, the case stands thus. If a man does not enlist at 18 or 19, he probably will not enlist at all, for at an older age he has settled down to a trade or occupation, and married; the lower classes marry often when mere boys. We are, therefore, obliged to put up with young recruits simply because grown men have entered on a career in life, and the attractions of military service are not sufficient to induce them to change. This is one of the drawbacks of a system of voluntary enlistment. With universal liability to compulsory service the difficulty disappears. Money would, however, get over this difficulty, and with voluntary service the question of money is always coming up. It is true that a small proportion of our recruits are grown men. These are, however, almost always those who have failed in a civil career, and merely join the army as a pis aller. Consequently they rarely turn out well as regards conduct, and not unfrequently have after a year or two to be invalided owing to their vices. As to the boy recruits their immaturity is not the only draw back. They have had a hard life of it, and have neither fed well no enjoyed the advantages of living in well ventilated rooms. Con sequently, though they may come up to the required standard height and chest measurement, and are apparently without an organic disease, they are often weakly and have in them the seeds sfuture ailments. Regular and good food, properly ventilated room uitable clothing, and moderate exercise, may even at the las moment develope the constitution and vigour of the recruit; but 1 requires a considerable period of what may be termed 'nursing' befo he becomes healthy and vigorous. In fact, during the first fo months he may be looked on as a convalescent, and in many cases takes a year or two before the evil results of an unhealthy life duri childhood and boyhood are entirely overcome. These defects ma not discover themselves under ordinary circumstances, but eve autumn manœuvres bring them out, and a campaign is a crucial te which cannot be borne. The difference between the appearance of recruit on first joining and after four months' soldiering cannot fail strike the observant officer. There is no objection to enlisting boys. On the contrary, ma advantages would accrue from the adoption of such a course. Go habits are more easily acquired by a boy than a man, and, if the co |