countrymen to withhold tax payments until they were sure that public opinion in Russia would support them. But there has been no attempt on the part of the ex-deputies to deny their responsibility for the manifesto; on the contrary, they have sustained it before the court with courageous devotion. While the former deputies still remain at large without bail, and while the comparatively light sentence of three months' imprisonment pleasantly surprises those who had feared a sentence for one or two years' incarceration, the case will be appealed to the Senate, the highest Russian tribunal. It will be interesting to note whether that body upholds the decision of the lower court in declaring the accused individually and collectively guilty of composing and signing a document which later was circulated in Russia by other participants in the agreement for the instigation of national action against the Government-in other words, what is, according to the lower court, constructive treason. the Druce Myth One of the most ex The Collapse of traordinary delusions of modern times received its death-blow last week when the grave of Thomas C. Druce was opened in England, and instead of a coffin filled with lead there was found the body of a bearded man corresponding to the description of Druce. It is true that a son of T. C. Druce declared that he saw his father die, saw him put into a coffin and saw that coffin interred, but this evidence was scouted by the tens of thousands of English people who have insisted that Druce was one and the same person with the fifth Duke of Portland and that he carried on a separate existence as Druce in a merchant's bazar conducted by him for years in Baker Street, London. The case has been in the courts lately in the form of a trial of the son of Druce, who now owns the bazar and who saw his father die, on a charge of perjury brought by a grandson of T. C. Druce who upholds the double-identity myth and claims to be an heir of the Portland estates. It might seem the only simple course that the grave should have been opened many years ago but then there would have been no Druce case! People dearly love mystery and romance in high life; and for many years servant-girls, pot-boys, and readers of shilling-shockers have been responding eagerly to the requests for subscriptions to aid in ousting the present Duke. The remarkable story has had a certain appearance of probability because in point of fact the fifth Duke of Portland was a very singular person. He disappeared from public life two or three times for considerable periods, and these periods are said to correspond with the appearance in London life of T. C. Druce, whose goings and comings were also mysterious. The Duke spent hundreds of thousands of pounds in underground excavations and passages at the great Portland estate of Welbeck Abbey. Among these excavations was an immense underground ball-room, the center of miles of passages. In this ball-room the Emperor William of Germany was quite lately entertained during his visit to England. In dress, in tastes, and in his life the fifth Duke of Portland was eccentric to a degree, and it has even been darkly intimated that he was a leper, and that he killed his brother, Lord George Bentinck, on account of a quarrel over a woman—who, it has been alleged, afterward married T. C. Druce. exist. So with portraits showing a remarkable resemblance between the two men; they have been printed here as if photographs, while really they are drawings by more or less imaginative newspaper artists. Once such a myth is started, it grows with marvelous rapidity. An American witness insisted that he knew the one man as both Druce and the Duke, that he was a confidant of the Duke's purpose in leading a double life, and that he arranged the makebelieve Druce funeral at Mr. Druce's request. But when this man appeared on the stand he was shown to be a notorious liar, known in America as the "greatest living affidavit-maker" and to be the man who tried to sell to American newspapers a sensational falsehood about the theft of A. T. Stewart's body; his testimony collapsed like a house of cards, and when he returned to New York his extradition on a charge of perjury was demanded. Then there came forward a delightful lady liar, in whom the Duke of Portland had also confided, and with whom Charles Dickens had conversed on the subject, telling her that he knew all about it—and, by the way, because the words Druce and Drood have a vague resemblance, Charles Dickens's unfinished tale, "Edwin Drood," is supposed by the myth-believers to have had something to do with the Portland case, although there is not the slightest resemblance in plot between the two stories. This woman, Mary Robinson, said she wrote the whole story out in her diary at the time; and that was to be a prime piece of evidence. But on the stand she regretfully stated that the diary had been stolen from her, and she could only produce alleged copies of what she asserted was in it. We have only indicated some of the more salient features in this extraordinary case, which has as many intricacies and doublings as have the underground passages at Welbeck Abbey. Druce died and was buried in 1864; the fifth Duke of Portland died in 1878; and ever since then one branch of the Druce family have been exploiting their claims to the enormous Portland estate. There are half a dozen sensational plots for novels to be had out of the affair, but we hope that some fair minded writer will give us a clear, careful study of the facts as a fascinating contribution to the psychology of selfdelusion. One Central American State The Outlook has already commented upon the remarkable provisions contained in the eight treaties signed week before last at Washington by the representatives of the five Central American states, assembled in a conference which may prove to be the most important event thus far affecting their history. The brief summary which we gave reveals only in part the extraordinary character of the treaties. Additional emphasis may well be laid upon them. This is desirable, first of all, for the good of the republics themselves, as the more adequate the notice the treaties receive in this country, the more certain will be their ratification by the Governments involved. Secondly, the building of the Panama Canal has put these countries, so to speak, "in the front yard" of the United States. Their conduct, now that of our near neighbor, is more than ever important to us. Stirred by last winter's strife and disorder, which existed in all but one of the Central American republics, Mr. Root, Secretary of State, and the Central American representatives in Washington were moved to follow the Portsmouth precedent, and asked that a Peace Conference be called. Such a plan found favor in Mexico also, and the invitations of Presidents Roosevelt and Diaz were accepted by the Central American Presidents, who were glad to see the countries to their north act the part of a friend and neighbor in helping them to reconcile their differences. But the work accomplished by the Conference quickly outran the bounds of mere arbitration. Hitherto the trouble with Central American efforts at peace has been that they have been general agreements and empty promises, which have been almost immediately broken. The treaties just signed, however, follow a different line. They are specific and practical. Two, in especial, are well adapted to begin the progressive growth of a common-sense Central American conduct, leading towards a real union of Central American states. Nothing less than this union was the avowed aim of the Conference," to promote the unification and harmony of interests as one of the most efficacious means to prepare for the fusion of the Central American peoples into one single nationality." As a first means to this end there must be common legislation wherever possible. Hence the Conference adopted a provision, like that of the Hague Conference, for the regular, automatic meeting of further conferences. Within a month from the final ratification of the new treaties, each of the contracting Governments agrees to name one or more commissions to occupy themselves with matters of an economic and fiscal nature which it is deemed proper to make uniform in Central America. Within six months after their appointment the commissions shall present a report, and each Government shall communicate that report to all the other Governments, naming delegates to meet at a common conference to be convened on the first day of the following January. The object of this conference is to frame common laws. Similar conferences are to be held annually thereafter in January. The first conference is to meet at Tegucigalpa, and when its sessions are over it shall designate the next place where the conference is to meet, and so on from conference to conference. Thus there will arise, we are glad to say, almost immediately an international Central American Parliament. relations, without being obliged to resort in any case to the employment of force. The delegates therefore agreed to establish a permanent tribunal, to be called the "Central American Court of Justice." To it the Governments are to bind themselves to submit all controversies of whatever nature. The delegates have even declared, in their Convention now before the Central American Governments for ratification, that the Court shall take cognizance of questions which an individual of one country may raise against any of the other contracting Governments, no matter whether his own Government supports the claim or not, if the remedies provided by the laws of the respective countries shall have been exhausted, and if a denial of justice shall be shown. It might be difficult to persuade most Governments to agree to such a provision. Each of the five Central American Governments is to name a judge for a term of five years, at an annual salary of eight thousand dollars. Final decisions are to be rendered in accordance with the agreements of at least three judges. It is a satisfaction to note the provision declaring that the office of such judge, while acting, is not compatible with the exercise of his profession and the discharge of public offices and employments-a provision doubtless one day to be ratified regarding the Hague Court of Arbitral Justice. The Central American Court is to sit at Cartago, but is authorized to transfer its residence if deemed proper. The first suggestion of these details probably came from Mr. Root. If so, he obtains within a few months a second triumph, for the Hague Conference followed almost to the letter many of his instruc tions to the American delegation. Thus has been established, first, peace and amity in Central America, and, second, definite arrangements for the legislative and executive departments of a proposed great state to be made out of five present little states. Finally, we in the North may feel justly elated because of the moral bond toward ourselves and Mexico involved in the fulfillment of these treaties. Civilization is thus justified of her children. The strong have aided the weak. Mr. Kipling to College Men Probably no recent writer is more widely read by undergraduates in American colleges than Rudyard Kipling. He has been called a materialist, but he is really the poet laureate of modern energy, daring, and achievement. His words recently spoken before the students of McGill University in Montreal will be heard with greater attention because students regard Mr. Kipling as one of themselves in their love of action. When you go into the battle of life, he said to the young men of McGill, you will be confronted by an organized conspiracy which will try to make you believe that the world is governed by the idea of wealth for wealth's sake. Sooner or later, however, you will see some man to whom this idea does not appeal, who is not interested in the methods of amassing wealth. You will be inclined to laugh at him at first and think that he is not "smart." Watch him closely, and he will presently show you that money dominates everybody except the man who does not want it. You may meet this man on a farm, in a village, in the Legislature. Whenever or wherever you meet him, and it comes to a direct issue with him, his little finger will be thicker than your loins, and you will go in fear of him; he will not go in fear of you. You will find that you have no weapon in your armory with which you can attack him. Study that man, because it does not pay to be obsessed with the desire of wealth for wealth's sake. If more wealth is necessary to you, for purposes not your own, use your left hand to acquire it, but keep your right for your proper work in life. If you employ both arms in that game, you will be in danger of stooping; in danger also of losing your soul. The chief cure for the depressions, despondencies, and doubts of youth, which have their root in the egotism of human nature, is to lose yourself in some issue not your own, in another man's trouble or another man's joy. Do not be "smart." Whenever you see any of your mates showing signs of "smartness " in his work, his talk, or his play, take him by the hand, or both hands, or by the back of the neck, if necessary, and lovingly, playfully, but firmly, lead him to a knowledge of higher and more interesting things. In these words of Mr. Kipling is presented the gospel of the real life, of common sense, and of universal experience. It cannot be preached too often by men of Mr. Kipling's position, nor can it be heard too frequently in our colleges. A City Dramatized Like In many respects the most noteworthy event of the present opera season was the production at the Manhattan OperaHouse in New York on Friday of last week of Gustave Charpentier's musical ro mance "Louise." The real subject of the opera is neither a man nor a woman, but a city-Paris. From the beginning to the end it is the city that acts, that sings, that speaks, before the audience. some divinity, it has its slaves and its votaries. These it rules by compulsion and allurement. Within its power it holds their destinies; for their struggles in rebellion it brings tragic suffering; for acquiescence it brings buoyant gayety. What fate is to the Greek drama, the Bohemia of Paris is to the people who live on the stage in "Louise." The story is a simple one. A Parisian working-girl, Louise, captures the eye and then what might be called the heart of Julien, an artist; she in turn surrenders to him. The girl's mother scolds, her father tries affectionately to dissuade. Her resistance to the artist, however, gradually weakens. The call of the city, made vocal by the cries of the street venders, reinforces his suit. At last, as she is at work with her shopmates in a sewing establishment, she hears his voice in serenade. She can no longer control her desire. Amid the jeers of the girls she flies with him. Together they live on the slopes of Montmartre. The city, their divinity, lies before them. Night falls. Bohemians and grisettes gather in masquerade. A mob of onlookers collect. With wild shouts and songs the roysterers bedeck Louise as Queen of Bohemia. Suddenly Louise's mother, broken in spirit, appears. She tells of the father's illness and pleads for her daughter's return. She promises her liberty. Louise goes with her. Then comes the tragedy. The father treats her as a child. She has tasted freedom and is unresponsive. Pathetically, näively, he sings to her the old-time lullaby. Her only response is an ecstatic call for Julien and for the city. The father, angry, bids her go, and drives her before him. Louise, frightened, makes her escape. The father, come to his senses, repents; he calls for Louise. There is no answer. Overcome with sorrow, he breaks down. Suddenly rage seizes him again; but this time it is against the alluring city. He rushes toward the open window, and with shaking fist cries out with hatred, "Oh, Paris!" The opera has been called French Art Socialistic. That is a tribute in Opera to Socialism, for it implies that a picture of the life of wage-earners is sufficient argument for social revolution. The fact is, the opera preaches no sermon, inculcates no lesson. It is an artistic picture of one great section of human life. It exhibits the French passion for delicacy in treatment, for clarity, for balance, for dramatic structure. Realism there is, too; but not the sort of realism that is really a perverted love of the ugly. The scenes, the dress, the language, the manners, are of the streets of Paris to-day. There are the chattering shop-girls, the impudent gamins, the posing artists, the coachman, old clo' man, tradesmen's clerks-all passing by as unaffectedly as ever did the denizens of Hester Street on the stage of Harrigan and Hart. But, as the whistles of the tugboats and the ferries sometimes blend in a strange and haunting harmony, so the cries of the venders become the voice of the street, the chattering of the shop-girls the voice of nervous industry, and the song of the ragpicker the voice of the submerged. One who enjoys looking at life from a French point of view will not be offended by the one episode that smacks of the theatrical. The music, like the other elements of the drama, would not have been possible without Wagner; but it has its own qualities, too. It never ceases to be an accompaniment of beautiful sound; anc it intensifies the dramatic movement. The performance was remarkable. Used as New York is to absurdly acted musicdramas, the people of the city should be grateful to Mr. Hammerstein for such a company of actors. The scenery was adequate. One scene in particular, that of the city from Montmartre, was a wonderfully artistic production. Miss Mary Garden, M. Dalmores, Mme. BresslerGianoli, and M. Gilibert were ably supported; and M. Campanini, the musical director, secured an ensemble that deserved all the enthusiastic applause it received. The one word to describe the opera as performed is " adequate." On another page will be found a sketch of the composer, Gustave Charpentier, by Mr. Alvan F. Sanborn. Music in New York It is the fashion in some parts of the country to sneer at music in New York City as a matter of fashion and not of artistic appreciation or love. Boston crowds Symphony Hall, and everybody says, "What intelligent lovers of music the Bostonians are !" New York crowds two opera-houses, and is so eager to hear a great number of concerts of the highest class that it is often very difficult to secure seats, and everybody outside says, "How those New Yorkers go in droves !" Well-known European conductors who have been here during the past few years have taken a different point of view. They have declared, almost unanimously, that New York has a great and cultivated musical public, and that in point of appreciation it ranks with the first four or five musical cities in the world. These statements are amply borne out by the facts. New York has two large opera-houses; it has eight symphony orchestras, well sustained, and rendering music of the highest order at short intervals; it has several choral organizations, which not only present the great classical oratorios, but the new works, long before they are presented elsewhere in the country. There are, in addition, innumerable chamber concerts and recitals, and artists of the highest rank, like Kreisler and Paderewski, are received with an intelligent and persistent enthusiasm year after year. There are also a number of singing societies doing excel |