of their home policy to have leisure or inclination to meddle with their neighbours' business."

This was followed on the Monday by the French Emperor's congratulations to the diplomatic body on "the new proofs of the good relations which exist between my Government and foreign Powers. The year 1870, I am sure, cannot but consolidate this general agreement, and lead to the increase of concord and civilization."

The first intimation of danger was on the 6th of July, when news reached London that great sensation had been caused in Paris by the announcement that General Prim had induced Germany and the Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen to become a candidate for the vacant throne of Spain. The Times on the 9th says:

"The French people are in a state of violent excitement; the demon of national jealousy, which has never been really laid since it was called up in 1866, possesses the minds of the democracy and the army. The Emperor by moving a finger could hurl all the forces of the country upon the Spanish frontier."

Prince Leopold, with the consent of his sovereign, declined the proffered crown, and a telegram to the Times from Paris, dated the 13th, states:

"The Constitutionnel of to-day, referring to the declarations of the French Ministers, made to the Chambers, says, 'Their words have been listened to, and

Spain.

Jealousy on

the part of

France.

War declared by France.

the war.

their just demands have been satisfied. The Prince of Hohenzollern will not reign in Spain, and we ask for nothing further. We receive with pride this pacific solution and this great victory, which has been obtained without one drop of blood having been shed."

The hope that peace would be preserved was, however, soon to be dispelled, and on the 15th the following telegram from Berlin, dated July 13th, appears in the Times:

"This afternoon King William was walking with Count Lehndorff, his adjutant, in the Kurgarten at Ems, when M. Benedetti accosted him and preferred his last extravagant demand. The King turned round and ordered Count Lehndorff to tell M. Benedetti that there was no reply, and that he would not receive him again. Berlin is excited by this intelligence, and crowds are in front of the Palace crying 'To the Rhine !'”

The French Legislature assembled on the 15th, when it was announced that war had been declared against Prussia.

On the 23rd of July the Athenæum states: Excitement "The excitement caused by the war has led to caused by an increase of between 50 and 75 per cent. in the sale of the London daily papers. The Times has, we learn, despatched to Prussia two special correspondents, provided with proper credentials; and we shall be surprised if the leading journal remains satisfied with the present exclusion of its correspondents from the French lines. Nearly a dozen 'maps of the

seat of war' have already been advertised by English publishers and map-makers."

On July 30th it is mentioned that the German

of the war.

universities are closing, that in Paris the de- Some effects mand for art workmanship has almost ceased, and that in Turkey the reserves were being called out, and much of the proposed expenditure on education abandoned.

War.'

On the 13th of August 'Paris and the War ''Paris and the is the first of a series of letters continued to the end of the year. The one which appeared on October 15th commences "Imprisoned in Paris!" and bears the heading "Par Ballon Monté." The letters continued to be received at varying intervals.

The Athenæum on the 10th of December commenced a series of articles on 'The Scientific Organization of the Army.'

of the

Athenæum.

With the year 1870 many improvements were Enlargement made in the Athenæum, the paper being printed in larger type and in a larger form, the size of the journal at the price of 3d. being exactly double what it was in 1829 at the price of 8d. At the end of 1869 Mr. Dixon retired from the editorship.

The first number of 1870, published on

New Year's Day, opened with an essay on the John Francis

Literature of the People.' This essay is full of

statistics specially prepared by John Francis.

on the

Literature

of the People.

Nursery books.

The result of his investigations made to this date showed that

"The little folk are among the best patrons of popular literature. The higher class, but not the dearer sort, of nursery books have the greatest sale in the united markets of America, Canada, Australia and England. Some of these works have, from a single publishing house, an issue to the amount of half a million annually. Other works of the same class are little inferior in the numbers sold, but they go gradually less, stopping at the respectable circulation of a quarter of a million. There are books for everyday wear, tear and delight; and there are cheap serials or volumes especially for Sundays, the sale of which amounts to 100,000 in each series. ......Compulsory stamps, excise, and advertising duties long impeded the development of the Newspaper Press in England. To what that Newspapers development has already reached is to be seen in this one fact, that the yearly issue in London alone of newspapers published daily is little, if at all, under eighty millions. This is a number which is easily expressed, but which can scarcely be so grasped as to be understood. The mind. is still more embarrassed to thoroughly conceive the number of copies of London weekly papers issued in the year, namely, a hundred and twenty millions. Weekly and daily, we may

in London.

Influence of the repeal

duty on immoral

literature.

calculate them, in round numbers, at two hundred millions of copies yearly." Then, after giving anecdotes of Hetherington and his unstamped Poor Man's Guardian, it is stated as "a singular and gratifying fact, but one not easily accounted for, that, after the repeal of the paper duty, immoral literature went rapidly of the paper down in circulation. One dirty source from which five dozen unclean publications issued in 1860 was closed in less than half a dozen years. It was something different with a literature that was vulgar, but not indecent. The Highwayman literature, the Black Bess, Turpin, or SixteenString Jack books, the Jack Sheppard adventures, still had, and have, their public. The highwayman who, with the rope round his neck, swore that a gallop across a common by moonlight was delicious, is a hero now, when commons and highwaymen no longer exist as of old, but are far enough off to have a stirring poetry and rough romance in their details. These have a discerning public. The books of minor merit sell to a small extent, but 'Black Bess' was the bandit novelette par excellence, and once sold to the extent of 30,000 copies weekly. Taking the whole of this class of literature together, the average sale is about 200,000 weekly, there being twenty publications with an average circulation of 10,000 each. When we last inquired into