They propose “to give a résumé of those parts of secondary interest, and to publish in their entirety those salient passages which cannot be ignored, the works thus presented having the appearance and the interest of the originals. The reader who cannot spare the time to carefully read the original may thus in a few hours acquire a fair idea of its purpose and value. The second class will be a large number of works that are now out of print, or which can only be procured at a very high price. The third, and perhaps more popular class, will be the works of authors of all ages, of all countries, and of all schools, such as Shakespeare, Corneille, Pascal, Chateaubriand, Sophocles, Racine, Lord Byron, etc. Ten of these volumes have already been published.”
In this country, John B. Alden of New York has taken the lead in publishing valuable literature at the lowest possible prices.
PEACEFUL INDICATIONS.
Europe is now profoundly at peace as predicted by psychometry, and the dreary history of royal government assumes a more pleasing aspect to-day. Victoria is an improvement on her predecessors, for she has but drifted along with parliamentary government, and doing neither good nor harm, has behaved with decorum, and preserved the devoted loyalty of her subjects.
The old Emperor William, too, has a loyal nation, and has led a life which does not attract censure. He is fond of military parades, but seeks to avoid war.
As Austria and its rulers do not receive much attention from American journals, I thought it well to look into the royal sphere by Psychometry, and having a photograph of the emperor, I placed it under the hands of Mrs. Buchanan, who pronounces without seeing the object investigated. The following is her language:
“This is a male. There is a good deal of character and intellect, and he carries with him a good deal of power. I think he has been sometimes engaged in some great public movement. He is philanthropic. He has power to sway and carries force with the people both from his position and his ability.
“I think he is a foreigner with a very high rank. He seems a magnate of great distinction. He has about as high an office as can be given, like an emperor or czar.
“There is a good deal of forgiveness in his nature; he forgives wrongs; he has no cruelty. He is not as selfish as men of his rank generally are. He is more with the people, less aristocratic and proud. It is difficult to tell his nationality—Servia and Austria come into my mind. There is a great empire about him. There seems to be some dissatisfaction in the country, some apprehension of invasion and disturbance. There’s a good deal of trepidation. They do not want to go to war, though there is no cowardice there. They are uneasy and suspicious of other nations. He is not ambitious for war. I do not feel that there will be any war. The difficulty is about some question of territory.
“It is an agricultural country, with a loyal peasantry. They are not well educated, but naturally intelligent. It is a pleasant, temperate climate.
“He does not desire to show off kingly power. There’s a good deal of modesty. He is not aggressive. He is quite advanced in science, but is not a spiritualist. He is orthodox in religion, but liberal to science.”
If she had known the subject of these remarks, and studied European politics and travelers’ descriptions, she could not have been more correct.
The Emperor of Austria has introduced a great improvement in royal deportment. The London Times says of him:
“One or two days a week his Majesty receives all comers who have applied to be received, and he receives them alone. Every applicant takes his turn. A master of ceremonies opens a door, the visitor walks in and finds himself face to face with the Emperor, who is unattended. The door closes and the petitioner may say to the Emperor what he likes.
“There is no chamberlain or secretary to intimidate him. The Emperor stands in a plainly furnished study, in undress uniform, without a star or grand cordon, and greets everybody with an engaging smile and a good-natured gesture of the hand which seems to say: ‘There is no ceremony here. Tell me your business, and if I can help you I will.’
“There is nothing petty or evasive in him. He is a monarch who replies by ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ but always with so much courtesy that the humblest of his subjects receives from him at departing the same bow as he vouchsafes to ambassadors. A most lovable trait in him is that whenever he sees anybody nervous at his presence he makes the audience last until, by his kind endeavors, the nervousness has been completely dispelled.”