CURRENT TOPICS. Our Honored Dead.—Since last the MONTHLY greeted its readers, at a time when the attention of the nation and of the world was earnestly directed to the struggle for life going on at Elberon, Long Branch, the unequal contest has come to an end, and James A. Garfield has succumbed, death claiming the victory. In this we have but another painful illustration of the fact that death is no respecter of persons. To-day it may be the humblest, to-morrow the brightest shining light that graces the galaxy of honored names in the land! His death, and the manner of it, has caused a pall of sadness over all the world. The entire nation bows down beneath the stroke of the afflictive dispensation. Every heart of its fifty millions feels to-day the keenness of the smart, and all are in full unison and sympathy with the aged mother, the widowed wife, and orphan children of the illustrious dead, who but yesterday were so happy in the filial love of noble son and honored husband and father. His patience, calmness, and fortitude in suffering have been most characteristic. They exhibited the true hero, the Christian, prepared to do or suffer whatever might be the will of God. The patience, quiet trust, and unwavering faith of James A. Garfield, tested in the severest of sufferings, has given the world a new impetus of life. The potency of its influence cannot be limited by his life. It will not lie in his sepulchre. The angel of its presence has touched the nations and will aid them to learn their duty and obey the precepts of wisdom. His death has done more to unite all hearts in this country together than all other forces combined. Since the day he was so savagely stricken down, all the desires, sympathies, and prayers of a great people have borne this one burden. All divisions and enmities have been laid aside. The Geographical Congress.-The first session of the Geographical Congress in Vienna-the third annual meeting -took place September 15. Many explorers and other celebrities were present. The congress was opened by the retiring president, M. De Lesseps. The acting president was Prince Teano, president of the Italian Geographical Society. One of the American delegates, Professor Barnard, of Columbia College, proposed a general meridian for all the world with a system of standard time. The plan is to divide the globe into twenty-four meridians of fifteen degrees each, each comparing with the twenty-four hours of the day, the prime or first meridian to pass through Behring Strait, the hours of the day to be counted from one to twenty-four, the A.M. and P.M. of the present system being abolished. Irish and English. In September, the Pall Mall Gazette said, "The significance of the fact that the Irish National Convention has decided to give the Land Act a trial, or, to use Mr. Parnell's expression, to test it,' is not obscured by the passing of a dozen resolutions in favor of national self-government, or the delivery of innumerable fiery invectives against England.” Later the London Times intimated that if the Land Act could not get itself harmoniously executed, there were other and older acts that could and would be brought to bear in a forcible manner upon the Land Act and its opposers. Well, perhaps the sooner, the better. If Mr. Parnell represents but a clique and a faction of the Irish people, the rest of the world cannot find that out too soon. If, on the other hand, these agitators represent the great mass of the Irish people of Ireland, no act or force that England can bring to bear will check the onward march toward liberty. As soon as Ireland as a people is ready for self-government, and the gods think best, there will be weaker heads and hands in England than there are to-day, and, in our opinion, much stronger heads and hands than those represented by Mr. Parnell and his followers at the present time. In the life and the labors of the honored dead we have illustrated more impressively than language can record it the character and worth of the man. The example they set will—as it should-prove of lasting value to the rising generation, and will ever remain as a guiding-star upon the horizon of our national escutcheon to direct and encourage those who shall follow in his footsteps. Beginning life without fortune, without the advantages of education, without the support of influential friends, and making his way successfully against the many obstacles that surround every aspiring man, demonstrated his sterling worth and also proves the soundness of our American theory, that from the masses of the people will always arise men as competent to stand at the helm of State as those who inherit power through long lines of aristocracy, regardless of personaltered, and, with the semblance of a corporate life, are writing worth or attainments. James A. Garfield is no more! Cut down in the prime of life, he has passed down into the valley of the shadow of death, universally mourned and respected, and leaving behind him a record and a name of which the nation and his kindred may well feel proud. VOL. XVII.-30. Speculative Insurance.-There is a species of life insurance conducted in certain portions of the United States, but more especially in the State of Pennsylvania, which deserves not only the attention of the public, but of the law. It is more commonly known as the "grave-yard insurance" in the sections where it mostly prevails, and to such an extent is it being conducted that almost every legitimate business is made to suffer through the speculative greed which it has engendered. Hundreds of companies have been char policies upon the aged, the dying, and, in many instances, it is said, the dead. Many lives carry hundreds of thousands of dollars, the policies representing which are bought and sold like ordinary merchandise; prices ruling according to the prospective length or shortness of the insured's life. Fraud, forgery, and more serious crimes have been fostered by the mania which this new scheme has given rise to. The 466 poor dupes that are induced to invest their little all, only too of blood, winning his promotion in the glorious Pennsylvania Reserves, from captain to brigadier. He bears ball, and will carry to his grave the evidence of his patriotism upon his person the rough scars left by the cruel cannon and courage. He is an able man, moreover, and as worthy and we hope the gallant soldier may reap the just reward to lead his party to victory as he led his regiment to war, his bravery in the field entitles him to. We feel called upon, therefore, under such a state of affairs, to denounce the entire system of speculative insurance, and to demand that the strong arm of the law be called upon to squelch it out of existence. It is to-day the curse of Pennsylvania. It is undermining the morals of the people, and robbing the poor of their hard earnings, while it fills their minds with wild delusions of sudden wealth. It makes age, which should be honorable, the subject of gambling. It inspires the most inhuman of thoughts in the breast of son and daughter toward the aged parent. It gives the cunning speculator the power to insure the life of any old person, and then kill his victim without detection. It revives on a general scale the practices of Palmer, the English arsenic insurance poisoner, and applauds the infamy of the Udder-sleep, primarily, is intended to recuperate exhausted energies, zook case. Men have already been killed for the insurance on their lives, and murders are now committed daily for the same motive. Doctors carry policies on the lives of their patients. Are such patients safe? "Subjects" drink whisky at the bars of men who have policies on their lives. Are such "subjects" safe? Dissolute sons hold policies on the lives of old and helpless mothers. Are such mothers safe? It is not a pleasing subject for contemplation, yet many incidents are daily occurring which demonstrate the fearful character of the "grave-yard insurance" business. It has been conclusively proven that many men and women have been put to death by violent means, so that the policy sharks might realize on their unholy investments. A more insidious, infamous, or fiendish system than the grave-yard insurance business, for sapping the morals of men or communities, has certainly never been invented by the Devil himself, whose angels are angels of light compared with the minions of these corporations. We are pleased to note that some of the judges of our courts have taken cognizance of the matter, and called public attention to the nefarious character of the system; and within a short time a work entitled, "How is your Man?" has also been issued from the press of Lee & Shepard, Boston, which fully sets forth and exposes the entire system in all its hideousness. It is deserving of a careful reading. At this writing we are also enabled to announce the fact that his Excellency, Governor Hoyt, has notified the Insurance Commissioner of the State that in future he would approve of no more such charters, being fully satisfied as to the character of these corporations and the manner in which the business is being conducted by them. This step was taken none too soon; and we hope the Governor will not forget his resolution in the premises, but even go a little farther, and see that every such charter already approved be revoked and the business conducted under it ceases. General Silas M. Bailey.-The Republican State Convention of Pennsylvania, at its late session at Harrisburg, placed in nomination for the position of State Treasurer, General Silas M. Bailey, a gentleman whose record is par excellente. The general is a man who has fully attested his love of liberty and law by service on the field of glory and Dreams! Dreams!-An occurrence, to be marvelous, must not, of necessity, be unusual. There is nothing more in the present instance, generated contempt; for philosophers, universal than sleep and its concomitant, dreaming, as there assuredly is nothing more wonderful. Nor has familiarity, from Aristotle to those of our day, have labored earnestly to solve the mystery attaching thereto, but in vain. That that dreaming is unconscious mental activity, there can be no doubt. Farther than this, what can the sage confidently assert concerning them that the man of ordinary intelligence does not know? consideration, but rather to notice, cursorily, certain interestIt is not our purpose to discuss the various theories that have been propounded in reference to the subjects under ing facts connected with sleep and dreams—particularly the latter-with which every one is familiar, but to which few give any especial heed. When Byron wrote, "Our life is twofold, sleep hath its own world," he was poetical, but incorrect. There are many who believe of the preceding and the following night; that our life in the dreams of one night directly associated with the dreams sleep's "own world" is catenated as it is during our waking hours. The arguments adduced in support of such a belief seem to us far from irrefragable. If the two conditions of sleep and wakefulness are quite dissimilar,-in the former latter, inert,-it is undeniable that the quality of our sleep the senses enjoying the fullest vigor and activity; in the and the nature of our dreams are largely modified by circumstances external thereto. likely in some weird old German romance, of a poet who, We have read, where we do not recollect, but most strange man at the foot whose head was enveloped in a while descending the stairs leading from his study, saw a cloak. When the poet came near him, the stranger removed the cloak and revealed to the poet his own face, at sight of which he was so terrified he turned and fled hastily. So we meet ourselves in our dreams; not as we appear to the world, it is true. For most of us, in our intercourse with dominant impulses, especially of evil. Sleep removes all mankind, scrupulously conceal from others' knowledge our disguises and shows us ourselves as we really are. Whoever heard of a miser dreaming that he was liberal? Of a coward Of a sensationalist dreaming that he was happy in company dreaming that he would not run from impending danger? learn his propensities than by giving attention to his dreams. with the pure-minded? In no way can one more thoroughly Then the soul freely expresses its opinion concerning its possessor and his conduct, as school-children criticise their teacher when his eye is not on them. through the tiny aperture at the top; but ever, just as I reached it, I began to drop, my momentum constantly increasing. The chilliness of the air, as I rushed through it, was distinctly perceptible; and, as I struck terra firma with a dull thud, I waked." Most likely the sensations of one who dreams of falling through space are, in every respect, the same that one actually so falling would experience. Any empirical knowledge on this point is, of course, out of the question. A peculiar property of dreams is-prospectiveness; we know no other term that will so adequately express the idea we wish to convey. If we, on waking, are unable to recall the "masses and moving shapes" that appeared to us while asleep, something will eventually bring them vividly to mind. Who but has been startled at coming face to face with what seemed strangely familiar, but where or when seen or heard previously he was unable to say? We are in a locality where we never were before; the novelty of the topical accessories is conspicuous by its absence. We listen to a song which, to our certainty, we have not previously heard from mortal lips; it is so far from new to us we can almost previse the words. Perplexity is never agreeable, and perplexed one always is, endeavoring to recall the original of what is so wonderfully duplicated. Some account for such phe-recognizable law of sequence, are stopped in their career by nomena on the ground of pre-existence. We think them more sensibly referable to a long-forgotten dream. Dreaming is likewise retrospective. Persons, places, things, are reproduced for our pleasure or our pain, of which we were cognizant in days of "auld lang syne," and of which we have not thought for years. We see the faces and forms of those whose earthly tenement of clay has long since mingled with the dust; again we are engaged in the sports of childhood, with a zest that never characterizes the recreations of maturer years; we gaze upon her who was the idol of our youth, and receive a kiss like that which of yore caused extreme irregularity in the systole and diastole of our heart-though that face, those lips, have been cold in death more than a quarter century—and wake surprised that it was only "the stuff that dreams are made of." To us these facts prove conclusively that there is no such thing as absolute forgetfulness; that what appears to have passed from memory is stored in some one of memory's pigeon-holes, and waits but an occasion to disclose itself. Place a coin on a plate of polished steel and breathe upon it. Wait till the moisture has disappeared, and take away the coin. The closest inspection will reveal no trace of anything. Lay aside the plate where nothing can touch it, and to-morrow, next week, in a year breathe upon it; at once a delicate outline of the coin is developed. It has been asserted, "no shadow falls upon a wall without leaving a trace thereupon which might be made visible by resorting to the proper processes." If inorganic substances register such feeble impressions, must not all impressions made upon the mind through the sensitive ganglia of the brain be permanent? Another peculiarity of dreams is, the mind then deals with ideals of which the most imaginative person living, in his waking hours, could not conceive, and the dreamer finds himself in the strangest situations. A decidedly prosaic man in his dreams may write poetry of no mean order; and one who is, during his wakefulness, color-blind, may find himself the author of works that rival the noblest productions of Raphael or of Titian. Not long since, in considering this subject with a friend, he said, “A frequently recurrent dream with me used to be as follows: I was, in some inexplicable manner, drawn into what seemed to be a huge tunnel, whose apex was far toward the heavens. Gradually I would circle round its concave interior, up, up, up. All the time I wondered how I should be able to pass Formerly dreams were regarded as portentous, and as carefully heeded as were the oracles delivered at Delphi. To this day, the superstitious attach a deal of significance to dreams. Nor is it incomprehensible that such should be the case. If they are ruled by no known logic, conform to no no pale or limit,"'-as one author observes,-is it strange they should have been thought communications from one mind to another? Do we know what subtle means of communicating one with another spirits "minds," if you prefer-may have? And if not, are we warranted in asserting none exist? Who, fifty years ago, if told the day would come when the transmission of messages between the most widely separated portions of our continent would require less time than their writing, but would have treated the statement with contempt? In this progressive age, utter improbability and impossibility are diametrically opposed to each other. But we do not need to adopt "mental telegraphy," or any similar hypothesis, in explanation of the fact that dreams sometimes come true. A person dreams of meeting an absent friend, or of receiving a letter from a particular individual. Provided he does, shortly after, meet that friend or receive such a letter, it will be as natural that he remember the dream, and, remembering, consider it a "warning," as that if the friend does not make his appearance nor the letter arrive the dream lapse from his memory as completely as anything ever does. Again, dreams are chronoclastic, and in them the mind, acting irrespective of the will, is filled with fancies which crowd upon one another with incalculable rapidity. We sleep less than a minute, but in that time we seem to have traveled extensively, and otherwise to have accomplished what it would require months to perform. We have denominated dreaming "unconscious mental activity," rather because that is its common definition than for any better reason. If, in sleep, the cerebration is generally unconscious, it frequently is not. It is possible for one, by continued practice, to carry his consciousness with him into dreamland, so that he will all the time realize his "visions"-whether blissful or the reverse-nothing but dreams. The instances where this result has been attained are very common; and the trite, "When we dream that we dream, we are near waking," though well enough theoretically, is practically false. If ever scientific investigation shall reveal the causes of sleep, the processes of the mind in dreams, it must be, in many ways, of the greatest benefit to mankind. Should it not, better than aught else, show the relations existing between the mind and the body? Would it not also assist in comprehending the curious phenomena of idiocy and insanity, and tend to a more rational treatment of both than is now in vogue? We confess to having but the most misty Medical Criticism.—Much attention has been given to the medical treatment of the late President, and the autopsy has given rise to considerable criticism both professionally and otherwise, but we are inclined to think as does the Medical Record in its late issue: "In reviewing the case from an autopsical standpoint, it is quite easy to offer criticism. The stubborn facts of a postmortem always stand out in bold relief against decisions rendered ante mortem. But it must be recollected that there were peculiar difficulties in the case. They are best appre-¦ ciated by all who have had experience in the treatment of gunshot wounds. However greatly we may regret that, in view of the great public importance of the case, a correct opinion as to the course of the ball was not made at the beginning and was not proven at the end, it is quite difficult to see how the error could have been avoided. There were no symptoms during life to point to the locality of the ball. But, even at the worst, as proving that the surgeons never knew during the life of the patient where the ball was located, there is nothing to show that in consequence of that error the patient suffered. The ball itself, by being firmly encysted, became harmless, while the real cause of all the trouble had its origin seemingly in the comminution of the eleventh rib. It is a matter for much congratulation that the bullet was not found in a pus-cavity. Under such circumstances, even if it were impossible to remove the bullet, there would have been many who would have claimed that such an operation should have been attempted, or, at least, that the neglect to resort to such a procedure was indirectly the cause of the patient's death. But all doubts in such a direction are cleared up by the autopsy. On the supposition that the ball should have been extracted in any event, what have we not escaped? At least the wisdom of not cutting down upon the missile until the locality of the latter was clearly made out cannot be gainsaid. As nearly two hours were consumed in finding the ball at the autopsy, what might have been the chances of extracting the missile during life? LITERATURE AND ART. A Prince of Breffny. By THOMAS P. MAY, Author of "The Earl of Mayfield." Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson & Bros. But we Boston Town. By HORACE SCUDDER. Illustrated. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1881. It was supposed that most intelligent people knew pretty nearly all that was worth knowing about Boston town. Is it not the "Hub"? and has not every traveler at one time or Grandfather's Grandfather.—When Mr. Benjamin Callender came down to breakfast at his house in Mount Vernon street, Boston, at half after seven o'clock on the morning of Thursday, November 11, 1880, he found his two grandsons, Benjy and Jeffries, at work at their Latin grammars, snatch In "A Prince of Breffny" the author's powers of narration are remarkable. In the terrible scene on shipboardwhere the beautiful and noble heroine, Edith Talbot, bravely meets her doom, in fulfillment of the sibyl's prophecy-the language is pathetic and powerful, and we are wonderfully moved by the tragic denouement. An ordinary writer would have terminated his story at this point, fearing to risk the loss of so fascinating a character as Edith; but the perfect plot smoothly overcomes this danger by chaining the interest to the second heroine, Dona Rosa, who has already been introduced in a most tantalizing manner. must not give the whole plot; we will only mention the inimitable Shamus, a true specimen of a devoted Irish servant, who fully maintains his nation's reputation for humor and cheerfulness, amid tragic surroundings. Pretty Phoebe - Edith's loyal maid-is an attractive girl, who merits our sympathy and love. Jenico Preston is a noble character, to whom we cannot do justice in this briefing a few moments, while waiting for the rest of the family, review. The incidents of the riot in Madrid, where O'Reilly won his rank as a grandee of Spain, are highly wrought and exciting. Other historical personages are brought into the ever-varying action; among them the celebrated priest-earl, Gilbert Talbot, a unique character. There are exquisite descriptions of scenery in England, in Ireland, in Italy, and in Spain. Mr. May in this work materially adds to the high reputation gained for him by "The Earl of Mayfield," a work which obtained great popularity throughout the South on its first appearance, and latterly is meeting with immense sales in the North. We believe that his "Prince of Breffny" will prove equally fortunate. to freshen their recollection of the morning lesson, which they had been studying over night. They were Latin schoolboys, as their father had been before them, and their Grandfather Callender. Nay, his father and grandfather had been Latin schoolboys before him, and his father's grandfather, who died before he was born, was in the Latin school from 1680 to 1683; while his grandfather's grandfather was a inember of the very first class of the school when it was established in 1635. The boys gave him a good morning." Dry do you say? By no means. The Latin grammar is the heart of Boston. The esoteric understand this, and the initiated will read this book with pleasure. It is not a |