every man's life-namely, the physical world, whose laws he has got to obey, and the moral world, that results from the actions of his kind-you have there the material for an analysis which can be limited or extended according to the capacity of the pupil, the time at his disposal, social conditions and so on. Keep to the main lines and you have primary education; go into detail, and you have higher education. It is not in the least necessary to know chemistry and physics as so many distinct sciences. What should be taught is the science of the general physical or chemical phenomena familiar in daily life. The same with history; it should be taught as a whole, as the history of humanity in general, not split up into a study of such and such reigns, or such and such countries.

French pedagogues as a body are not excessively devoted to change, and when this scheme was proposed to them they were very naturally scandalised. But M. de Coubertin is not the man to be stopped by criticism, or any other obstacles, and he is credited with the intention of founding a popular University on these lines, in order to prove by practice the superiority of his theory.

IV.

There are yet other stumbling-blocks in the writings of M. de Coubertin. He holds an entirely new view of French contemporary history. He has studied it—as the readers of the FORTNIGHTLY are aware-in resolute detachment from the received traditions of party spirit, his sole care being to determine the balance of truth. He has thus arrived at the following convictions: First, that the great Revolution was nothing but a clumsy exaggeration of the principles of the Reformation and American Independence; and that it has, through its excesses, retarded by eighty years the establishment of liberty in France. Second, that the Revolution of 1830 was an ineptitude that nothing can justify; that it was brought about by the ambition of Louis Philippe and the vanity of the "Liberals" of that time, Thiers, Guizot and others; that, on the other hand, the reigns of Louis XVIII. and Charles X. were in every respect beneficent and prosperous. Third, that the nation which had been reconciled or indifferent to the rule of Louis Philippe, proclaimed, by a large majority, Napoleon III. as a deliverer; so that it is absolutely untrue to say that the coup d'état of 1851 was accomplished against the will of the people. Fourth, that, finally, the Third Republic has raised France to a height nothing short of magnificent; and that it is unreasonable and unpatriotic to attempt to overthrow that Government, the only one possible both now and in the future.

This is certainly the first time that an avowed partisan of the Republic, an admirer of Gambetta and of Jules Ferry, has been heard proclaiming that the Revolution was a useless and disgraceful affair; that the Restoration was a magnificent Government; that Louis Philippe won his throne by dexterous trickery, and that Napoleon III. achieved his coup d'êtat with the entire concurrence of the people. It must be admitted that the enunciation of such opinions places M. de Coubertin in the very front rank of the Independents.

This independence appears to be part of his character. By birth this writer belongs to the aristocracy, being the descendant of a noble family that came from Italy and settled in France early in the fifteenth century. He counts among his ancestors on one side the painter Rubens, on the other the famous Cyrano de Bergerac, also independents in their own line. If the Jesuits are responsible for his education, they have not modified his instincts and aristocratic prejudices. But it is through his long visits to England, the United States and Germany, his frequent voyages and numerous friendships with foreigners of all countries, all religions, and all conditions, that M. de Coubertin has acquired that incomparable freedom of judgment which gives his writings and actions their originality and individual weight.

Interrogated as to his method of judgment, he once said that "You must put yourself inside other people's skins" if you want to understand their point of view and behaviour. That is no doubt what must be done; but it is not everybody who can do it. In his life and actions, M. de Coubertin is a proof that cosmopolitanism and patriotism can go comfortably hand in hand. Nobody could possibly be more cosmopolitan than he, thanks to numerous friendships and long sojourn in foreign countries; and yet it is hardly too much to say that in all his actions, words and thoughts, he has no other object than the well-being of France, her development, and her advancement.

MARY GIRARD.

SONG OF THE ENFIFA RIVER.

(IN MEMORY OF SEOMAR, DROWNED ON THE ROAD TO RABAT, MOROCCO.)

Ar daybreak, when the tide was low,
He came to bathe his slender feet,
And laughing sported to and fro,
Across my waters cool and sweet.

Obedient to his Faith's decree

His sable hair was shorn away.
One curl was left that floating free

I longed to deck with silver spray.

His eyes were wide and full of light,
Young eyes where dreams and fancies glow.
There was no star in heaven so bright,
And I reflect the stars and know.

He gave himself to my embrace,
Ah, Youth, unheeding and unwise!
My kisses clustered on his face,

How should I render up my prize?

Yet he withdrew; my waves were weak,
He loitered on my banks awhile,
Shook my caresses from his cheek,

And left me with a careless smile.

I let him leave; my tides were low,
But, seeking succour of the Sea,
At noon I felt the breakers flow
Across the bar, and join with me.

I waited in the heat; at length
Again he came to bathe alone.
Then, in the fulness of my strength,

I caught and held him for my own!

His strong young arms apart he flung,
His red lips cried, I had no care.
In eddies round his limbs I clung,
And rippled in and out his hair,

I bore him downwards to the Sea,
The white surf met us on the sand,
His beauty was made one with me,
Who saw and loved it on the land.

I laid him down upon the bar,

Played with his hair and kissed his eyes.
How cold these mortal lovers are!
He sleeps and makes me no replies.

My tides run low. He will not wake.
His hand drifts like an empty shell.
I stole him for his beauty's sake;
Alas, Enfifa did not well!

His young lips show no sign of breath,—
Ah, I begin to understand,
And I remember:-this is death!
The haunting terror of the land.

LAURENCE HOPE.

CANCER.

Ir a stimulus is needed to quicken scientific investigation of the cause of cancer and the remedy, we may find this stimulus in a survey of the deaths from cancer during the last forty years in England and Wales. Here are some significant facts:

The two most striking features of the above comparative statement are the very large and continuous increase in the death-rate from cancer, side by side with the large and continuous decrease in the death-rate from all causes. The yearly death-rate from cancer, per million of population in 1899, was 829, equal to 225 per 100 of the yearly death-rate during 1861-1865; an increase of 125 per cent. On the other hand, the yearly death-rate from all causes in 1899 fell to 81 per 100 of the yearly death-rate during 1861-1865; a decrease of 19 per cent.

These two salient features taken in combination produce the results shown in the last column of the foregoing tabular statement. During 1861-1865 only 16.3 per 1,000 deaths were deaths from cancer, and in 1899 no fewer than 45.2 per 1,000 deaths were caused by cancer; a nearly threefold growth in deaths from cancer relatively to deaths from all causes. See the accompanying diagram for a visual statement of the rapid growth of cancer. We observe also that in recent years the increase in the cancer death-rate has increased much more quickly than in former years. The rate for 1899 was the highest yet recorded in any

year.

So far, the facts stated ignore sex distinction. I now show the facts during the last twenty years for males and females separately.