The Times from London, Greater London, England • Page 8

8 THE TIMES, SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1901. SOME LESSONS OF. THE NAVAL MANOEUVRES. (bt nt bicul ciaroxDEfT umrvna tbz 1X137.) It Is too soon, as ct, to sttcmpt to formulate in detail tho many lesions tanght by the raanceuvres which came to in end on Monday, bat I think it may bo said that from first to last they hare been exceptionally full of Instruction. Many issnes.

Including the result of the final action of Monday, are still undecided by the umpires, many points are 111 adapted for unpro fessional discussion, whilo the profitable dis cussion of many others Is Impeded by the lack of such detailed information as at present the umpires alono possess. Still, there aro somo points already ripe for discussion which deserve, and will repay, attention. Of those tho first and most Important Is, perhaps, tho venno of tho conflict, as It was called in The Time of July 12. It Is many years slnco tho centre of strategio interest in tho naval majKr avros has been deliberately placed in tho English Channel and the adjacent Soundings." Tho Irish Channel has often witnessed many and important phases of successive conflicts, but the English Channel has generally been avoided. Tho reasons for this avoidanco aro obvious and cogent, but they cannot bo regarded as absolute and insurmountable.

Tho waters of tho English Channel are narrow, and they aro at all times crowded, not to say congested, with shipping. They are also very much beset with fogs. It was a bold conception of tho Admiralty to arrange for tho conflict In these waters of two great fleets numbering between them 20 battleships, 50 cruisers, and CO destroyers, not to mention torpedo boats and other small craft attached to tho several bases. It was not adopted wo. may bo sure without anxious consideration, and perhaps somo apprehension as to the result of the experiment.

But the result has justified Its adoption. The skill, vigilance, and seamanship of officers commanding fleets, squadrons, flotillas, and Individual vessels havo been tested in a very severe ordeal, and havo triumphantly sustained tho test. No serious mishap has occurred none, that is, that can. bo directly traced to tho adoption of tho Channel as tho sceno of operations. It may seem an easy thing to achieve this result now that it has been achieved.

Bat those who best know tho risks involved will cot bo, disposed to underrate tho achievement, nor will they be slow to appreciate the politic courage of the Admiralty in deciding to face thoso risks. YThcn the real thing comes, such risks will havo to bo encountered daily with no fear and even with very little thought of consequences. It is Just as well, therefore, to encounter them occasionally before the real thing comes. It is fortunate, perhaps, that there was little fog durinc the operations. But there was quite enough to try the mettle of tho fleets.

On one occasion Admiral Xocl, having disposed his fleet in divisions in lino ahead for the night, gave notice by signal that at midnight he intended to alter coarse, 10 points in succession without making any further signal that Is, ho proposed to reverse the course of his whole fleet, the leaders of tho two lines turning together and the rear ships turning In succession at the same point, and ho trusted to his other ships seeing and following his own motions in accordance with his previous instructions. Tho leading ships alono displayed navigation lights, the other ships showing no lights whatever. Shortly before mid night tho fleet steamed into a dense fog, and when the timo came for making tho prescribed turn the nearest ship astern was barely visible from the flagship. Yet the turn was made, and made without the slightest even with remarkable precision considering the circumstances of tho moment. Precisely at midnight the helm of tho flagship was put over, no naval signal being made, though the flagship sounded a short blast on her siren to indicate to her consorts, in accordance with tho rules of tho road at sea, that she was directing her course to starboard.

If no other ship was actually visible at tho time, this was perhaps a questionable application of tho rule, but the thickness of the fog was changing from moment to moment, and in any case the signal served its turn. Shortly afterwards the fog cleared oil for a time, and tho evolution was found to have been quite successfully carried out. It seems a small thing to describe, but it was a very striking performance to witness, and it is the sort of thing that gives naval officers a self confidence and a mutual confidence which aro invaluable. On tho other hand, the operations were marked by two very deplorable disasters the total wreck vt the Viper and tho foundering of torpedo boat No. 81 both happily unattended with loss of life and neither directly traceable to tho adoption of the Channel as the scene of operations.

The main cause was rather the nature cf the service on which the two unfortunate vessels were engaged, and not the characteristic nature of the waters in which they were engaged though this was no doubt a contributory cause. Similar disasters have occurred before In wanceuvres as when In 1S02 tho Apollo and Naiad were stranded in a dense fog on the rocks near the Skelligs on the west coast of Ireland, the Forth, another ship in their company, narrowly escaped the same fate. The waters surrounding the Channel Islands arc notoriously beset with perils. They are studded in all directions with rocks and reefs visible and submerged, and these arc washed by some of tho heaviest tides and most furious currents to bo found within tho four seas. For this reason they aro not much frequented by his Majesty's ships, and perhaps for that very reason their many and Insidious dangers which are writ largo In disasters to many a passenger steamer are imperfectly realized by naval officers in general.

It may well be a question whether they are not too treacherous for the evolutions of such very frail vessels as torpedo craft but if that question bo resolved In the negative it would seem to follow that destroyers employed in tho Channel should bo instructed to visit them frequently and make themselves thoroughly acquainted with their characteristic dangers and the best way of avoiding them. In any case It must have been anticipated that. If tho Channel Islands wcro to bo made a base for torpedo craft during the manoeuvres, considerable risks must inevitably bo run. Officers in command of torpedo craft, who in ordinary circumstances could bo trusted to navigate their vessels with the utmost caution, will inevitably be tempted to state somewhat of that caution under the stress even of manoeuvre warfare, just as they would be bound to do so. on occasion, under the stress of real warfare.

It appears that the Viper, being chased by tho enemy, was attempting to pass through tho intricate and dangerous Swinge Channel at speed of 22 knots, and that when she becamo enveloped in a fog her speed was duly reduced to some 10 knots very high speed for an ordinary vessel, but 'perhaps a safer speed than a lower one for a vessel like the VJdct. In ordinarr circumstances this would have been a very hazardous proceed ing nut, in the actual circumstances of tne case, it may have been lecitlmate and even laudable. although its consequences were disastrous. This question must be decided by professional and judicial investigation, nthout attempting to preludce it. I will venture to euote the comment of the Naval Annual on the results of the Courts martlai which were held in 1893 on the captains or tne jipouo, tie Naiad, and the Forth "Itoetf Honourable acquittal was a foregone In which they were engaged being rightly held to justify some departure the strict rules of caution under which In time of peace her Majesty's ships are very pro perly required to be navigated.

nave heard it said that an officer who runs risks in time of peace Is a an officer who will not run risks in timo of war is not worth his salt. If officers aro never to ran risks In manaravres they are little likely to bo worth their salt In war. Bat there are risks and risks, no doubt. No manaravres have ever followed more closely the course prescribed by historical teaching and precedent than those which have just come to an end. There was nothing abnormal or eccentric about them.

The struggle was for the command of the sea. Neither sido allowed any subsidiary purpose to Interfere with that paramount object. There was no theatrical attack upon coasts or seaports, and, if there was a little make believe in the guerre de count pursued by the attacking fleet, it was well within tho rules of the game which prescribed for the ultimate aim of stopping the trade in the waters affected. In a certain measure pursued this aim from tho outset, and did not wait for tho main issue to be decided before proceeding to prey upon his adversary's commerce. But this is only to say that, while seeking to gain touch with the defending fleet, his cruisers took advantago of such opportunities as offered themselves to make his adversary feel the pinch of war by intercepting his commerce.

This combined Deration of Rctrntinir and nuiimnw. destroying brought about a sharp collision of outposts at a vcrr carlv stairs of the proceedings and the fortune of war. cossiblv seconded by superior tactical dispositions though that is a question hardly ripe as yet for a final decision ravo tho attacking fleet very considerable initial advantage. The side never managed to rctricvo the heavy loss In cruisers it sustained in the first encafre mentof tho war. The effects of this loss were cumulative.

It deprived of the initiative in protecting his commerce, it impaired his capacity for rapid and efficient scouting, it may thereby havo postponed tho final collision of the main fleets, and, by giving a formidable superiority in cruiser strenctn. it rendered further losses almost inevitable as timo went on. But, takintr all these effects at their worst, their Influence on the final Issue was in reality very small. Affairs of outposts aro vexatious and often very embarrassing to the side which is worsted in them, but it is not in their nature to decide, or even very materially to affect, tho final conflict of the main forces engaged. Admiral Wilson was not deceived by successes which aroused the ecstasies of some of his chroniclers.

He knew that they could not give him tho command of tho sea for which ho was contending, and that, If ho failed to secure it, they could not avert his final discomfiture. But his dispositions were certainly well inspired and not ill favoured by fortnno, and they were rewarded with a larce measure of success. Hero I may parenthetically rcmaric mac is seems an aDsura waste oi opportunities to commission a ship for manoeuvres and to keep her unemployed for their whole duration li she happens to bo put out of action at an early stage of the proceedings. When largo fleets are employed the number of vessels put out of action will always be large In proportion. They can take no further part in the operations, of course.

But instead of keeping them at anchor In port. doing nothing, learning nothing, and costing money with nothing to show for it, they might bo dratted straightway into an independent squadron and carry out entirely Independent operations at sea outside the manoeuvre area necessary under an Admiral or senior officer told off for tho purpose. It is a reduetio ad abturdum of the instruction to be derived from manoeuvres to find no employ ment for ships put out of action and to givo them no further instruction. If they cannot be otherwise employed it would be cheaper and more sensible to put them out of commission at once. Admiral Wilson was perhaps less happily inspired in employing his destroyers so largely as he seems to have done in pretending to stop the trade.

This is purely a make believe occupation for destroyers. It is no very serious business for any class of ships in manoeuvres, but it is almost a ludicrous one for destroyers. The only way in which a destroyer can really stop the trade of an enemy in real war is by sending to the bottom. every hostile merchant ship sho comes across. This is a barbarous proceeding certain to provoke severe reprisals, and a very Impolitic one, because a prize In port may bo worth hundreds of thousands to her captors, whereas at tho bottom of the sea sho Is worth just nothing at all.

Tho destroyer has no available force to take her prlzo in charge, she has no accommodation for her crew or passengers if she resolves to sink her, and all sho can do if sho does not sink her is personally to conduct her into port. This puts the destroyer out of action until the voyago Is ended and Involves many risks of recapture. On the whole, then, the game of employing destroyers in stopping tho trade docs not seem to bo worth the candle. But in manoeuvres it is a ruse not without ingenuity. Tho real strength of a destroyer consists not so much in what she can do against larger ships, certainly not in what sho ever has dono so far, but in tho fear entertained by her adversaries of tho harm sho is held to be capable of doing.

Her menace is tremendous and really almost paralysing to some minds but her performance has so far been very far from commensurate with it. Destroyers have now been employed in manoeuvres on one side or tho other for several years past. So far as I can recollect, no destroyer has ever yet succeeded in torpedoing a battleship cr has ever even claimed to have done so. Certainly I can recall no instance in which the claim of a destroyer to have put a battleship out of action has been allowed by the umpires. Yet whenever destroyers havo been employed in manoeuvres they have very largely affected the dispositions, both strategio and tactical, of the side opposed to them.

Obviously an Admiral who kept his fleet at night within short striking distance of a known lair of destroyers would do a very foolish thing. But It does not follow that ho does a very wiso one if he takes his fleet' off into space at nightfall, with little or no regard for the strategic requirements and opportunities of the moment, lest perchance a stray destroyer or two should find their way unawares amongst his ships. Yet this is so constantly done that it almost seems to bo regarded as the only right and proper thing to do. That may be so. and it is cot for me to say that it is not.

But I do not know on what foundation of actual experience the practico rests. There is, and there can be, no such experience. A destroyer is cot even allowed to fire her torpedo In manoeuvres. She has only to burn a blue light, and if she can manage to do so before sho has been under fire for a time and at a range likely to compass her destruction the umpires are bound to decide in her favour. Any ono can burn a blue light.

Not every one can adjust and fire a torpedo with effect in the exciting circumstances of a desperate and clandestine attack. Not until the torpedoes which destroyers carry are fitted with soft noses to enable them to bo actually fired without damage to ship or torpedo shall we know even approximately what the real menace of tho destroyer is. Since this was mado the condition of torpedo boat attack tho menace of the torpedo boat has very appreciably declined. It may be that tho menace of the destroyer will decline equally in like conditions. At present the destroyer has things all its own way.

But a blue light is not a torpedo. I understand that some high authorities hold that no fleet can keep the sea at night within the range of torpedo attack it would be interesting to know what that range really is, my own impression being that for practical purposes it is much less than is generally supposed unless either it is surrounded by a cordon of destroyers cr it remains stationary and the ships lower their nets. If that is so tho days of tho battleship would seem to be numbered. A fleet of battleships should be mobile, and should command a wido radios of action. It cannot be mobile if it is to stand till every night.

It cannot command a wide radius of action if It must always be accom panied and protected by a swarm of de stroyers, which require to coal nearly every twenty four hours if they are to team continuously at high speed. I can offer no cut nd dried solution of this tremendous and. even vital problem. But I mast Insist that. If the de eooelnalon.

the a. tM nnm.rrawf v.nvf 1T. yf the extent which recent experience and practice seem to Indicate, it is hardly possible for the two to exist permanently side, by side. On the other hand, there Is, perhaps, something to be said for the policy of employing destroyers in pretending to stop the trade as a ruse for mancenvre purposes. The menace of the destroyer is equally potent even when It Is not there, so long as the enemy believes it to be there.

Admiral Wilson may possibly have calculated that Admiral Noel would give the Scillies a wide berth at night so long as he believed the Scillies to be swarming with destroyers, while, as the destroyers were for the most part not there at all. but some where else, it was not impossible that Admiral Noel might fall into their clutches In the very act of giving tho Scillies a wide berth. Ho did not fall into their clutches, and the fact may be taken for what it Is worth as affording at least some presumption that a destroyer roaming at large is Jost as likely to miss its prey as to And it. This brings mo to the all important subject of scouting In general. I have little to add on this subject to what I said last year, and I hare just as little to retract.

Admiral Noel made a signal on Sunday morning to the effect that he was disappointed at setting so little definite in formation from his cruisers. It is probable that on the previous evening he was within a good deal less than ten miles of the main body of tho enemy's fleet. This Is cot as it should be. I do not know where the fault lies unless it be, as I suspect, in the fact that our fighting fleets are so organized by the Admiralty as to have little or no opportunity of studying systematically and scientifically V. At I Ji nri ua iwuiuig my uuuer looucrn couui tlons.

Last year two fleets passed each other within three miles and neither was aware of the presence of the other. This year the same thing appears to have happened within a distance of less than 10 miles. These things recurring' year after year cannot be regarded as pure accidents. It is our our very great fault, and not the judgment of Ileaven," as Mr. Kipling says, that we shut our eyes and then find that we cannot see.

I do not mean that it is tho fault of Individuals, though I must say that we all of us seem to accept far too complacently our national habit of trusting to luck and chance and setting too little store by Knowledge, diligently sought and intelligently applied. Be this as it may. we shall never mend our ways until we condescend to learn all that can be known by sustained and systematic study of scouting at sea, what it can do and what it can not, what an Admiral is entitled to expect of it, and what it would be unreasonable to ask of It. Nor shall we even begin to learn this until the Admiralty aro prepared to equip a squadron of cruisers with as much care and sufficiency as they cow equip our fighting fleets of battleships. An immense change has been effected, an immense addition has been made to our resources in this respect by the introduction of wireless tele graphy.

It is now easier to communicate with a cruiser 60 or 70 miles away than it was a year or two ago to communicate with the same ship at a distance of ten miles in clear weather, and no thickness of weather contracts the range of communication. But the method, although now perfected to this extent.is still subject to one very serious drawback. The communication is not, and cannot be, a private or exclusive one except so far as the messages aro transmitted In cipher. Even so, every ship within range which is fitted with the necessary apparatus can take, in the message, and if an enemy ship is within range she can, by setting her own apparatus at work, break up the message and render It unintelli gible. It is perhaps more politio to take it inclan dcstlncly and work out the cipher a thing which it Is seldom very difficult to do and never altogether Impossible if sufficient cipher material be obtained and sufficient time be devoted to the task.

Thero is some reason to think that the cipher employed by apparently rather a simple one was speedily deciphered bv because although at the outset signals were frequently broken up they were seldom or never Interrupted after a certain period of the operations. The enemy apparently found it more useful, as undoubtedly it wouia do, to una out what was saying than to make it impossible for him to say anything Intelligible. It was also in his power as soon as he had discovered B's cipher to send fictitious messages and, though I havo heard of no caso In which this was actually done, it is certain that it would be done in war whenever anything was to bo gained by doing it. The moral is to employ as difficult a cipher as possiblo and to change it as soon as there is any reason to suspect the enemy has discovered it. It might even be prudent to have a different cipher for every day, taking care, of course, to furnish each ship with tho required keys beforehand.

But, even so, wireless telegraphy as at present practised Is full of limitations and pitfalls which only experience can eliminate. Its value Is already Immense, albeit not unqualified, but It will never be quite satisfactory for war purposes until the transmitting instrument can bo so adjusted as to emit vibrations of different pitch at the will of the operator and tho receiving instrument rendered sensitive only to vibrations of a civen pitch at a given moment. In that case every ship in a ncec couia nave its own pitch and be sensitive only to messages addressed to itself in that particular pitch, while, unless an enemy within range happened to be attuned to tho samo pitch at tho moment a very unlikely contingency if the pitch were changeable at will he would bo powerless to Intercept the message. This sounds like magic, but I believe It is not regarded by electricians conversant with the subject as beyond the ran Fa of possibility or even of proximate attainment. wireless telegraphy Is still in Its Infancy.

Its methods aro as yet crude and undeveloped, and its limitations are considerable but its possibilities seem to be almost infinite and even in its tender infancy it enables an admiral, say, at the Scillies, to know almost Instantaneously what his ships are doing throughout the Soundings." If we can only find out how to tell him this without telling the enemy at the same time. we shall solve many problems of naval warfare which are quite Insoluble at present, though perhaps we shall discover quite as many new ones to be solved. After all there is no short cut to victory at sea. From first to last, from the dugout to the destroyer, it Is and it must be an affair of brains and of pluck. Bat let us not forget or aespise me Drains.

RECENT L'ART NOUVEAU" AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. TO THE EDITOR OF TUB TIMES. Sir, Not very long t0 you published in your columns a letter protesting against the fact that ths authorities of the Victoria sod Albert Museum at South Kensington were exhibiting examples of things which are knows in Franc under tb term Art Noovesn," and, as one remembered the old advice that differences of tests should not be discussed, on felt tempted to talc so early opportunity of seeing the things to which that letter referred. Will you allow on who spent some part of yesterday afternoon at South Kensington sod saw these latest additions to oar national collection to record his impressions Apart from the feeling that a great collection had been degraded, one's Impression was patriotic, in th sens that It seems hardly fair to our British makers of modern urnitors that Chey should not be allowed equally good opportunities of displsyug their wares st South Kensington. On also wonders why th authorities st South Kensington should have huddled together, as If la a lumber room, our examples of old tapestries.

embroideries, sad furniture (things which' hare given plsasur to (access! re generations during th last two or three centuries), while they display, ss if in a shop window, those articles' for which we are accustomed to look la our more ephemeral exhibitions. It may, or it msy not, be a good thing that there should be In this country an exhibition (permanent or otharwis) of mbdem orsltuT but the srtistio side of th Victoria sad Albert Museum Is full of, and dedicated to, thlop which have stood th test of th only tru touchstone, th test of time, sad I venture to iota in th appeal to you to let th strength cf jour oolttznss gurd It Ta from ippttriaot of being ndtea tot tM admtlMOMst of aodara mite aiker. I iwnh your obedient Mrostt VSufOK WATOTT. OF.e.tT..4 There is little of the kailyard In Mr. Neil Monro novels they are fresh with the breath of the heather brae and the sealoch.

He follows Scott rather than Gait, and has made the feudal territory of Argyll his speciality. Naturally, he had his great opportunity in John Splendid," when he dwelt on tho horrors of the terrible inbreak of Montrose from the point of view of the Campbells. But Doom Castle (Blackwood) is no unworthy successor, for Mr. Monro paints the old life of the Highlands with tho spirit and sympathies of a Highlander. There is genius In the best of his powerful scenes, though they would lose nothing were they depicted In simpler language.

The time of the novel is an interesting period of Scottish history which lends itself to the realistic as well as tho picturesque. Tho rising of the '45 had been put down, but sparks of the blaze were still smouldering. Even loyal clansmen resented tho edicts which had swept away patriarchal Institutions and suppressed the national dress. Argyll kept his little court at Inveraray, but ho was no longer Lord Justice General, with thoso summary powers of execution which startled even Dugald Dal petty. The most striking episode in the story, contrasting the old order with the new, was when two Judges of the Court of Session came to Inveraray to hang James Stewart of the Glens.

The sentence, as Mr. Munro somewhat arbitrarily settles it, was a foregone conclusion, and with a packed jury of Campbells the authority of MacCallumMore was only nominally superseded. The descendant of Lord Kilkerran has had something to say to that, and to the very unflattering portrait of his ancestor. Castle Doom is a Wolfscraig, and Caleb Balderstone was the prototype of tin go Boyd. To that dismal fortalico comes a gay young French gallant on a quest of vengeance he loses his heart to the fair heiress of a ruined heritage, finding a rival in tho very man he came to track.

But Mr. Munro has shown no little Ingenuity in masking Ms mysteries, and though we can hardly doubt how tho romance is to end, we reach tho conclusion through a labyrinth of bypaths. On the other hand, thero is a good deal of the kailyard in the Tales that are Told, by the Misses Findlater (Methuen), or rather in the tales told' by Miss Mary Findlater. For her sister goes further afield and is more sensational and imaginative. It is a bold idea to bring the Tsar of All tho Russias tomako a morning call on an old Scottish spinster, who, cordially shaking his Majesty's hand, proceeds to poison him with villainous cake and wine.

It was bolder still to make the Tsar's dashing equerry fall in love at first sight with the spinster's elderly companion. A tale of tho wild smuggling days in Southern England is more probable and consequently more effective. My Little Hester," by Miss Mary Findlater, Is a pretty but melancholy story. With the simple sketches of homely, aristocratic life in a quiet village which we take to bo South Queensferry, with superstitious terrors judiciously suggested, we might fancy that Mrs. Oliphant was alive again.

And Miss Findlater does not attempt any explanation of the mysterious Presences, which was the fatal blot in Mrs. Oliphant's mystery of the Pentlands. "The Bed Shepherd" might have been written by Wilson or Hogg, but as to The Incident of Helen Walker which closes the volume wo confess we cannot make head or tail of it. Wo had hoped that Helen Walker was the prototype of Jeanio Deans, but she is a wandcrinsr damsel at least as mysterious as the ghost of Little Hester's haunted house. Thero is a ghost again, or the semblance of a ghost, in Mr.

Bloundelle Burton's Vanished Rival (Cassell and It is a creenr storv. and if the old castlo' in Savoy where tho rival vanishes is not haunted it ought to be. Strange crimes were committed In Its bloodstained walls. and other ladies had mysteriously disappeared in tne curie ages. There are dungeons where mouldering skeletons aro discovered there are secret passages and spiral staircases in the massiro Two young ladies havo fallen In love, with tho samo man, and tho disappointed ono Is In possession of a secret which imperils the reputation of the other.

When sho vanishes suspicion lights naturally on the chatelaine who was interested In her suppression, and the police lake up tne matter, which is skilfully managed by Mr. Bloundelle Borton. For ho persuades us that the Juge d'inttruetion has tho penetra tion of a bherlock Holmes, and yet. when we have been deluded into assenting to his deductions. wo find he has been bamboozled by a shrewder wit.

it is an elaborately and Inecniouslv devised plot, consequently and inevitably there aro sundry weak points in it, but tho sustained excitement hurries us along, and they aro likely to escape ine cursory reader. lint tho author rather gives himself away when he gives ferret eyes" to the venerable gentleman who out witted the police functionary, and who has posed as the Incarnation of benevolent respectability. Tux CBisis(Macmlllan) Is a noteworthy novel it Is the most ambitious piece of work tho! American novelist, Mr. Winston has attempted, and it Is the most successful. The fault we find is that there is far too much of it it demands a prolonged strain on the attention.

He would have done himself greater justice had he taken a hint from Count Tolstoi, whoso methods ho has adopted. and divided it into sections. For Is a tale of War and Feace," and there is an obvious break at the beginning of the War of Secession. This, too, is political, historical, social, sentimental, and romantic, and one kind of action is indefinitely in suspense, while the other Is coins forward. The method is evidently faulty In point of artistic construction, for we have rather a succession of episodes'than a compact whole; but the variety of the episodes is great, and all are handled with vigour.

Mr. Churchill takes a strong grasp of character his personages live and impress us, wnetner real or Imaginary. For he goes into minute historical detail as to the wire pulling and stump oratory that preceded the war, as he diverges Into somo of the sensational Incidents in tho campaigning of Grant and Sherman. His portraiture of the rough, self made men who forced their way to the front, undaunted by abuse, disappointment, or failure, is excellent. His sympathies are all with the North, or at least with a united America, but a St.

Louis man by birth, and so in a measure a border man, he holds the balance very evenly between the parties. Naturally, with the pardonable licence of a novelist, he paints the best of both In rose colours. On Lincoln, for whom his admiration Is boundless, he has bestowed extraordinary pains He makes him teach and preach in humorous spologue, illustrating his points in parables and laughable stories. Parables they sometimes aroor it is only when events develop themselves that the meaning of these dark sayings becomes clear. And the kindly Inner nature of the grotesque' being, whose sad lips would twitch with smiles under weary eyes and a brow furrowed with care.

Is touched off with genuine pathos. The reunion of the North and South. Is typified in the love story running through the book. Tho young Southern beauty makes heroic efforts to resist the magnctio influence of the detested young Yank co to whom she finally "surrenders at dis cretion. Tax Good Red Earth (Arrowsmith) Is not Suabia of the Holy Vchme but Devon, and Mr.

Eden Phillpotts is as cnthusiastie over Devon shire and Devon men as Charles Kingsler. Indeed, his opening almost reads like a chapter irom wesi ward no. This Is tho best story he has written. The local colour ing is strong enough, but ho is more chary than before of worrying us with the native dialect. There is tho familiar foundation of achancoof children, but it is handled in fresh and original fashion.

The Devonshire pride of historic ancestry is brought out forcibly in a feud between castle and farmhouse. Thero are two extremely clever characters a hamrhtv old baronet whoso unforgiving nature Is softened too late lor his own happiness is good, but the Scapln of the piece Is better. Half merrv mountebank, halt sanctimonious hypocrite, and all rascal though half deluding himself, he always keeps us amused as he plays up to his character with an Inexhaustible flux of 'words. Mr. Phillpotts revels In his descriptions of tee rich Devonshire scenery.

And, Urn romance brought to a brilliantly fortunate ending, when thought the heroine had lost all tor IgmU a Lsmwjist.oc an iiwmbiwms. LANCASHIRE' FUSILIBSS" COMPASSIONATE FUND. TO TTTR 11 ItHl OV TWS TTVTBt Sir, As oemtribotions to th various war funds appear to falling off ft msy of interest to your readers, especially to those connected with th Army, to know what hss been dona by th Lancashire Fusiliers to meet case of necessity orraerted with their regiment. Two years sgo they started a fund called Th Lancashire Fusilien Compassionate Fund, witk tit object of assisting, directly cr Indirectly, present or past Ltnea sfcira FWIlers. whether of th line, the Militia, or tbe Volunteers.

Tie balance sheet for ti year has just been presented, sad It shows thst a sum of no less than 2,000 has been raised by th sod its friends sine th formation of tb fund, and that th interest upon th capital has been, suadent so far to meet th oils that have been mad upon It. There are nine battalions four line, two Militia, sad three Volunteer sod their object has been for each of them to nis 100 per annum or thereabouts, and that has in effect been obtained. Th fund is under th management of sa sdministntiT body called th managers, and composed of th Major of th Iia battalion serving at the depot sad th officer commanding each of the battalions of th regiment, or his nominee in writing. Care is taken by them to prevent what Is known in the distribution of money a overlapping, and, as a rule, th contributions hav been sent to ministers of all denominations, or to other reliable persons, who are entrusted with making th necessary periodical psrxaenU, which are, so far as possible, paid until the recipient has found work or some ether assistance. As sa illustration of the cases helped I would give the following A man had been injured in the back and was bedridden, lie was receiving a pens ion of Is.

td. per day, or 10s. 6d. per week, for th support of himself sad his wife1. They had taken a small house and furnished it upon th hire system, paying Ss.

6d. per week. Tb woman, hardworking and thrifty, had been taken ill, and the weekly Ss. 6d. could no longer be paid.

The managers, there fore, paid 10s. (th balance of X10 due upon th furniture), and gave aa additional sum to be doled out weekly until the wife had recovered from her temporary Illness. The fund now appears to be established on a permanent footing, inasmuch as practical interest has been takes in it by all tb battalions, by past and by tb territorial and other friends of the regiment but ther is every probability that th calls, especially on th conclusion of the war in South Africa, will increase in number, and for this increase it is hoped that further provision will gradually be made. I would add that the rules of the fund hav been spproved by the War Office and by th lata and present Commander in Chief. As th hon.

treasurer of the fund shall hav much pleasure in forwarding copies of those rules to th officers of other regiments who may be desirous of similarly providing for their men, and thus, perhaps, of offering further inducement in th matter of recruiting for their regiments sad for th Army. I remain, yours faithfully, LEES ENOWLES, Uon. Treasurer, Lancashire Fusiliers' Compassionate Fund. House of Commons, S.W., Aug. 8.

PA Herewith I send you copies of th rules and of the balance sheet for the year ending August 1 (Miadea TEE CONDITION OF IRELAND. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir, It you would be so good ss to publish th enclosed letter, your readers and th British public may acquire some knowledge of affairs as they exist in th county Sligo. Thst loyal men should be compelled In self defence to join the United Irish League, composed of th avowed enemies of the King and th Empire, is sufficient to bring the blush of shame to the cheek of every Britisher. In th north east of Ireland, when th law is infringed by misguided, but nevertheless loyal men, strong measures are at once adopted to assure Its majesty in other parts of Ireland loyal people are wondering for hnw long it is intended to allow the law of th league to bp paramount to that of th King.

I can guarantee th genuineness of this letter, but for Faithfully yours, James m. McCalmoxt. TJoua of Commons, Aug. 8. Julr23.190L.

Sir. Ther is not so such boycottinzherenow.as nearly all the Protestants have been coerced into sub BCTiDing lu uio turn ixw xjeacae lmw wao rail remain out are boycotted, and no labourer or carter will work for them. Meetings of this branch is (tie) held every Sunday after Mass, and black list of non subscribers Is mad out. Th end of it all will be that th few loyalists still left will be obliged to become members to ssv themselves from ruin, ss the Government appear not to care wnai Becomes oi us. Your obedient servant.

DERWEUTWATER. The 2IATIOKAL TRUST for rLACIl LSTXSISTor NATURAL BEAUTY. rmxlMt TlMMAEgi lSnr DI'FTFBITsail AVA. K.P. Vke ftMident U.K.U.

MpfCrsS LOCISX tDl'CHKSS tt ARiiYLU 7.000 HKXDXD to cmra for Um Mtmuil of tka Vilina FmiMrtf An th Wntm Shar aI rMiutMbr nn tinmia uiis aceesiitile by Ucd sad nlm mnsmslj tckaevMswl. 44,171 13a U. Mix KatfcbsB 00, Mra.AtMW Aa OrlocnMriaa ISUO Hn.l4l ilea. wormn. nr.

im Hn ana lams la tWtrat sun WW Save 44tM Mm rrkrtbowecSar.arwaraiallsrt(ar tbwrkL Mi nkM. wraHa. ihaaial irrnii. eeaaiatoj maSow la the a nUalad vmAow lb. Mm.

)avar Mww. Saivbarz. KaclmtoT. Gaawra. aotf Ban! i Color.

Br. Mabwls. JUlrale rorul. ra u4 OaVmZ. SL'BSCKimoXS mr be b4 la sfMars.

rwaeatt. i. HKSKT A. BOWL Boa. Pas, urtKjr ATIOSAL ISCOEFOltATED WATTV LI AS8OCIATI0X.

OtbarwiM karra a SB. mXfiVJOL HOMES. tka ocitT xb. tarr it fornix ia ISitbMmld. i.

or axarrwua annta uua 'aisaa inula ar aj hara aJmrfybM XZSCTXD krtaallnan Um UM traiaat aa4 6a km km 2 la Canada aad tha CoianiM. aad mtn Uiaa HOOD auita aa eeaerptioa tba utaat of CWia aad Xaifaaat feaw tbao. ktX tma Caara kata bat traair alawtai Si? srabablf la twaai at adauMioa la tarns Uaw trail imt nMai aot torelhrr. waaaa. So dautaa rktld las arar beta rrfitaMl adstaiiaa.

TW ara OrtJI HOMSXaita, tKJCSLT. DT aad SIGHT, all tba yw roaat. IWaV aa Jit I aiisibla raa mr irjwtad an Uyt rroaad ausaawtkjuoal aa eceoaat at amastg CMTIIA BMAUX1T GIrT CEATXTCIAT SX. BXAS3KT. Prrrklrat.

WILLIAM FOWLKK. Traaram JWAKI WILLIAMS, thaa Bun of CaaaaS. T. J. BARXAKKW.

raor aad Director. OIOKiiK CODr, Uoo. a. Baakara 5 TWm anil SieadaU aad Co. Bead aOrer of tha A anrjalion.

UtaK WTKySaV CArsCWAY. LTT Z. AIETY THEATRE. Lee and Maesnr tiaorn Fdvudaa. TO XIOHT aad KYIKY srVKviaf Uoora oaaa I.45L Sir.

Ganrra tdnun' wm An aatira'T mrm and arirtaal aaiicaj par. Tor cart aa4rr aWk Staliava. WadaatCar xt 2 Doors anaa Lai. Cpra daily llw 10 U.I aad I tul IX GLOBE. Lessee sod Macacer, 31 r.

William Great. lO XIGUrand KVCKV "KVfcXiaaata, AKinUKCOBIJLTS In a mora! br J. r. Cm aad O. W.

Jru H.Jta lRRtfPl)MIBLS. CZ. ATT5ET: TO DAY aiaa.VAJirWKbSadDATaBa' SATOU VAUDEVILLE TI1EATRE. Lesaees, A. and 3.

GatU. aiaaarara. A. aad S. Ct3 aad Cham meatta, rVMTCSO.

at 101 MATUtXrVEXT WZDXCSDAT st a aw CoaMdt. MWKEr A.U TWUTT. ti Saali Hood." rracadad. at 2aa4 TOC A.VI SAVOY. EVEBY EYEiSG.

at 8.L5. TUZ EMXKALD ISLE, th aav aaara. miua K. IU.il Mt Edward Garama. JCAXUXS (TU( AICUYat 2C Boi oSira, to ass, I THE SORROWS OP TO.K3ITT.

at (LAST XlGHTt Mr. W. eoMEBET aad a KCLA C0HTATT4 KOYALCOlttT TUEATltX, AVENUE THEATRE. Lessee, Mr. Frank Canoa.

WErTOR08MITH'SaASOX TO.aiGHTJlX tHa SIGHT OF THE PA RTV uu. Vi THIS KKJHT Or TUK PARTY. Mauaar tfadarsdara at 111. PRUfCE OF WALES'S THEATRE. Sola Maaacr, afr.

Fraoh Carson, TO.DAT.at Xaod EVaJlY KVZSLIU. atatS. (XaatWraU Trilt AM tttOM Rf ASI fmcadaiLat 1 br A HlEYIOCs WAflE JtEXC. LAT ATI EE TO DAY (Sataraary. at Laqh.

SU rroariator. Mr. Edsar Braca. LYRIC THEATRE. Lessee.

Mr. Wm. Greet. Vadar tea MaaareawnS ef Mr. TU B.

DAVIS. 103IJ HT aad VEX LSO. at the silver uurrta, Book bj Mali. MaaiakTLaaOeStaarL For Cart tea andar aloca. I afatloaa Erarjjr adosd.j.

at IE. DALY'S THEATRE. Under ths Sol Control sod Vaoafamrat of Mr. Oaorra XJaarda. afATDTSZ TO AT and EVERT SATURDAY, atlXL EVERY EVES ISO.

at 115, The K.e Chinoa tuca! flar. SAX TOY. Mrafaloxas.StoSrInasrataUa. 10a. U.

bakjoar Is. aapar ctrda. front. Sa otorr rowa, 4. Boxaleo aya ta Ml GT.

QUEEN ST. THEATRE. Mr. WAPE5LEX. ATETBE TO AT.

at CnASLXV AUXT.br BiandoaTrMna rEErortMAXcr. thi evexixo, KATIBETER WEDNESDAY aad SATURDAY, at I PALACE. COURTICE POUXTJSJIorsca Goldla. Godnoaa Carta. fiU aa4 tfomon.

Ceorse aad kia Caaiaa Oomoaaioa. A. O. Dancaa. Cphraaa Tbomaant aad tur rrrf uraunr; Rlrpaaau, Baatrice Wibrr.

GUwart aad Braton. Mar BMfort, U. RadjnraU. Jaaaja Jroea. Ida Kan.

GraU and Gror; The Maakartaa Comdr roar, aad tbo AoMrtran Biorraoh. EYKXY KVKSUt. at 1 Manaaar. Ma Ckarlaa Morton. A LHAMBRAv INSPIRATION.

New and JrV, Ortrmal Orani IWital BalWt T1VXW HT at Ah Ttii GAY OH VanotMs or LU Uaothoma, Tha Raabian. BulT Link. Waraar aad RaaMr. MasKal Dala, Imprint Bioanooa, Robortm and Wilfrado, So, Poors 1 4a EMPIRE THEATRE, HOME OF BALLET. TO 2UOUT, at tatf will pnontol IXa rAMLLuXS.

EMPIRE THEATRE, Magnificent prwramme. LES rariLLOX a now BaMatn Two Tableaat. VsnaUas br Tb KraoM Familr. raajtaa aad Dala. ntaUiaf ani RaraH, Paaasalia.

Malot Haraiaaa. tha Boecaorloa. TarukoS IIoaMk Wal H. tas. and Mr.

Haeriltoa HUI. Door, it fTUVOLL MARIE DAINTON. FANNY FIELDS, JL Tka Elaatria BUr9wa. Chariot Momttstaalay aad Wilson. Tom Coatallo, Horaaoe Eadmla.

Tan Salaaiboa, aad othara Upas I XX Sol offlca 11 to i SATURDAY lli. 01 n. Risharda. Eas. I 01 E.

L. Vanrhao. Eai, wtoo, sso. (2nd donation) A'hrtnn Atkinaoa.EQ, Mrs. Chrutiaa Dr.

Harriron Mitchell Mrs. R. Gibbons Mrr.OUlaoa T. ILGoraata, Eaa, A. ft.

McCroa. Eaa, Mas rrretral Mr. WiU au Hospo. Eta. Jan.

Total Bromiord to data ACS1 Sabarrlrjloes er aronim thoaid ba arat tbo Sarretarr. 5 at local Trnat. 1, Groat Colif a trrt. Wtatminttar. taoua bs oouott xiauonai rronnnai nan ri Knsiaaa.

n. KAW.iBi.it. Hoa. Sacratars. MIQELBOSD.

Soentarj. Birroxio 1 1 2 1 CAIETT nrEATRt Tins KTEjrnra at sa the toreador Jaartmaar. SL wu.la Waroa. HarlMra ton. a Marian, Vioiat Uord.

(an It J. Cooper, aaq. Mlas Alice Mias Maro T. Bon. Mn.

rsler TArormijc trzatrs. teams and Manarrra, A. and A ttattl TOJIU3UT. aa a iwtit a Tn tut. rrv RlekO.

Miaa Dora Barton. Him Mara Earka. BTba Vaaa Vmml Ma llolbrook aim a. Mr. A D.

Booonlsa. Mr. rnd Twarr. Ma. floono Madia.

Jon. Master Geerre Injoroiad. at 1 VOlf AJID It SLManaUitX Miss riorrncn IJord Mi A 2 SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN and CHILDREN DISTRXfS JUSD. Tb follewiag naro boan rocetTed op to Thnradaf. tta Aaraat I AswnnU prrrioullT aekDooiedsod Oaaittal Sabmon CoUaetod at Katterlnf Mratag (par a.

s. Waika Sir Darid Dale Collect ad at Ridfo Ckaaat. DarUald (par Srr. r. Darlinr) Zdatead G.

Gardorr Dorbr Woan'i liberal Ajrociaiion (par auos Lonrdaal Thoa. roolor Mrs. Coastaae Carter Anon. 1 00 ouo 0 10 0 0 tt R. A.

R. Croasloj ara naiurj Sanraol Soteliffa Mrs Bnahbr a m. g. Rr. Canon Xareott Collect ad at Bristol Martins (par R.

A. Mdoar) A.M.8. W. H. ltd re ford MnsMothona Mn.

BindSatUh 5 Ot a 15 0 1 0 SAVOT. raaoaMra. It. A. Lftton.

W. H. Laoa. U. tVoatotoa.

Ran, rtndaa. aad Kob rt Eratt; Maoa. Acns raaar. Lonaa ronnda. Caataa aumj un ana Kounn Jtnndraas.

AVE2TUR THEATRE. THIS KIE.1L.1U. at 111 THK XU TBI TlXTTl Moron. Waadon Gronauth. a Adj.

ft. Putoo. W. Drareett, K. Draoa P.

Millar. A. KlirmL a aa. Mmdaaai MarTairrar. M.

Mirwtnn. A. Hill. A. Willard.

Maasv FRTXCR OF WALTJTS TBXATRS. TO DAT. land ti THE UAH IRllU nUXIirililiaa Boarr Kaabln, Holman Clark. K. Tarw.

Lratoa Lfin Anbra ritssmM. Lonnot Fa'a. Arthur Plarbur. Baory rord Maadaawo raaar Bronfa. M.

A. Victor. Hot' BarUrtt, LrdinFarhaal, Gorms. Oft 1 to 00 COXTWBUTIOSa aiar ba aant to I iDT VARXZE. Wkir.

halMwort. S.W. Hon. Iraanrar; or to fRED. W.

LAWR13CE.ES4.. 17. ElMa ltraoC Btraad. W.C. Bon.

fwrotarr. rarcaia of Uothiaf la Miss E. O. BKADBT. IS, Landao rardou.

Banoatrr, W. ConMotMIra Hobboaaaa RoaorL Brim or br snot eaa Ka ebtainadat ear Seosaftet or Bookstall: at theoBSeaot tho rand. ii. avaroHuooi. now.

w.u: or wnoiaaato ot ua nan rrlaunf Aasaeiation. Ltd. 28a. Todor ftnat. EC AnABDRIYERS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, U.

Soho aoaaro. Loodoa. W. Jtmaa's han. Roront ttroat.

W. on Thnndar. tha atk 13C1. Rjcflanl K. Caoatoa, taiv.

M.P.. ia tha tha Uiiaw. ins. nt oc usuuuti arra ooeiaraa our ukibi 1. John Canrra Daooa (Jack 1 J.CSJ John Wood Brother Wood 2.C6 A Edward f.

bnakoatar Drinkwstar ot Ball Moon UrattrjdHaanialaail! LtSS 4 ftaorrt Tailor Old UanrrTarlor of 1.39 a. JaaaaHareaTjI CHdJiaaairSaUa Lja um jos lru Joaaoh Allan I 1. WUliaia Jaaaai Joba Bnrrml Laokr Old Bill 1 ulal rartTot rroodrabarr 1 T. WUUara Jasaaa rovaU ta la Edward Browning Old Brown SO sroraar. Tninri inrr ni rmirr.

inntuj. aOITYof LIVERPOOL Loan The CnrrnmrJm, of tka Cor of Lnaraooiar prrparad to racotrr LUAXK. aa Mortnn ot th Rata, tor minds of threa.ra.ar a. T. kntaml at th.

rata of ri (tlJal raroraL oar aaaaa, varabta aall jaany. vowuvaDnwrma aaowaa aw aiMmaaru to tha TtlmllaT 01 Aaditot ot Aeaonata, MaairpaVbnildinsi, Uroraaot, uiwiau av riCaLMEnJL Torn Caark. Town ClarVl OSoa. Iirarpool. Aaraat 2nd.

1U county council. Tho Caontv Pawn iff anafar hMfmM a tv. Tm oard. aro nranrad to hORCOW 8 CMS at A 100 or aniltiplaa ttranf. for trrm, of IS, Z3.

tw JO raara, at option at leadon. asos tbeteoontr at noaiiaal Dbatara Bonds keoriof aatarwJtatCJta. par wniaa wr, lain ica auaatana wul ba asrwad Tinner LkO lral Laaai Art. 1175. and ba rharrad aaoa tha roaat Tand end nlltB4rerwas of tkacoaatr VonmaL Tha tataraat will ba paraUo aaaonnt bajna anas an tha 30U Smlaiatai act, tankan I nods wdl ba to nwd fey tas Coaatr CowneiLa aorora aneo with tk aanrtioni.

and tha arlnolant raraa anil ha ninal an thallrtMarrkia Ua renra 1S1L or 1BI (aa tna aaaa raaVklT an arcarntaUooot tha Banna a the OSes of ttaOawntjr TlisiMat at LloTda Bank LuaUad. Stafford. 'tJtm Utar' "oewrltiaa an which ant Trartara awanthornwdaainwaat. Iiro AaHhontaa, ara br ranro Aa 1SW. hi Cowatr Cwaaol Dabaabma.

naatat: rnuon ataarpad by tha Clark vaw aaaw awj a zraaazars 1 Canntr imainikls Vaiaa TfaraMWAraiicnboa 1 1 hnSis. iNiinns twta tbo Cwty tk tSnrk wt tan WATT. T. MArTSTOCIf tte Cnwlntj LTBIOTBEATRR, THIS EVEXIXO at 1 thk nn.lra ST irrn Winifred Barn, Coraiio Blrtha. Ssaey Girlter.

Mollia LawaO. ana Daatn. and MInCnaaia EdiastMam. W. Loaa, Bndaaid.

E. DainsU. Hanrt Leant, W. OioMmanTrranA Bolt, aad Wiilia Ednnin. DA LTS THEArRX.

TO DAT. at ID and 1 IS SAX TnV Mmra Trad Xara. CnUa Cooa. Boraeo MjUa. Sentt RaneeU, Mar Ilarkmaa.

and Ratlaai Bamnstom Maadaatoa Etnal lmnfc Lour Colin, rawoatt, rraaas, Edwardino. Coiletta, rranas. Tepsy aiadan. and Minna Baat. Mr.

Baydon Coffin OT.QCrrST. THEATRE. rropriator a i Maaarrr. Me W. a.

faolrr. 1 HIS DAY. at 1 CRilLiri arrwr. Mr. W.

Vaaarrt X. fama hiaaiamaa AdaBraosoa. ilBamhUn, Arden. I Lan TWICE DAILY, at 3 and LXi.m. Invo Cralrys Oand MlliUrT Snaetada CniX A tm Otm BaW rJ tha fanlioaala BIS Tabloaal.

Maasra. rtnswIlT Bowlanda, Eawry. Rarara, bamron. earaog. Laiaf.

Ueaawuy.Wiaalow.aa. MoadanMa Dartfom. rwhaah Ratahnrr, Dananoa. Tooaipaon. Linden, ho.

aad 1.X0 Aaiuanaa, PALACE. TBTS Ef EXIX'l at oorrtTTra! MIL SIM. Baraia Ooktia. GodwToaa Earla. Talk and nanoa.

Little Oaono and Caatna Cora aaa ion. A. O. arannaa. kphraiai Theapaon aad baft rani rjwpnaata.

Boatnro Wilier. Uuwart and nnaton. sur ort. tL KldrwalL Janaia Jaia. Ma HmJ and Um Ta Maaktrttn OoaMdy roar, sad tha AsMnrna Bufrapo.

NOTICES. TEE TIMES it on Sal for Zd.pcr cop? at all r3 tray boohiaUt in England nJ Walts. Fenont cftt cannot obiain it art pardcnlxrly si to comgmalcata vith th Pvblither. TEE TIMES can be obtained abroad in rra TIMM Ofles, 35, Ed. des Csosw cines, M.

Csarrtdms. 30, Bd. ie Italians, sni st th priocipal Mosques. HusensUia sad Vojler. RadoUMoM'sAdvrtisiricAsae Eaaihsch'sNewsEzchsssn.

MerridaVs Lihnry. Calignani's Libnry. (Captain MelviBt, Adelaide strwc. loronto. PARIS VIENNA BERLIN MAYENCE BOULOGNE NICE CANADA UNITED STATES .290, Eroadiray, New York.

The Ttmrs wiQ be forwarded to sribscrioers witlda th United Kiajdoa'ta psyiscat of 11. aad witMa ti Postal Union on jaiyfaeai of 1 na.3i,amrtnTty i sdrsoes. Afwkatkn to mad to th FnUishar, TheTimmObV. TO No isswic pa. he taken ot ccmmTtnirs lions.

VTaateTwi is intended fe inswTtfa nTOst by fe ana sad address ot th writer, sot Brrnvnrr fcr htttss rsnrsarte offood rnith. rirrrifrt nniisrtiV to retea rejtated eanjaaaatairis. AJisrllnsri are rt fait la swt to stad 'wto StMCte) SSI Oases to Me. Bwmam 1.