found to be bedewed with perspiration, blowing like a greyhound after a course, their hearts beating violently. They are very liable to the same form of inflammation of the heart's valves (aortic) as are the bargemen. It occurs in men given to violent effort in other occupations. Even one of these aortic valves may be actually torn down by violent effort. Overwork is, then, a common cause of grave organic disease of the heart. All men who work at occupations entailing violent effort, certainly do not perish from such disease of the heart. But that a very large proportion unfortunately do so perish is a well recognized fact in medicine.

Before the introduction of the Halftime Act the growing population of our industrial hives was notoriously deformed. Things are somewhat better now; but still the manufacturing population, along the back-bone of England, is seriously deteriorated as compared with the rural population of the English agricultural counties. In the black country and in the potteries the same degeneracy can be seen. True it is that improper food in infancy, the vices of manhood before growth is complete, are not without effect in the production of these deplorable results. Still, early toil beyond the powers has a great deal to answer for in the production of this degeneracy.

The consumption of ardent alcoholic drinks by such populations is notorious. The monotony of their labor is answerable to some extent for the craving after alcoholic stimulants; that must not be overlooked. But it is not the complete or full answer to the question-Why do these town-populations crave after spirits? Beer is the drink par excellence of rustics, of the inhabitants of small towns, and even of the Cockney who follows light pursuits. Liebig has something to say on this subject well worthy of deep consideration. The use of spirits is not the cause but an effect of poverty. It is an exception from the rule when a well-fed man becomes a spirit drinker. On the other hand, when the laborer earns by his work less than is required to provide the amount of food which is indispensable in order to restore fully his working power, an unyielding, inexorable law or necessity

compels him to have recourse to spirits. He must work; but in consequence of insufficient food, a certain portion of his working power is daily wanting. Spirits, by their action on the nerves, enable him to make up the deficient power at the expense of his body, to consume today that quantity which ought naturally to have been employed a day later. His physiological capital is clearly being exhausted; and it is no wonder that, under such circumstances, he dies comparatively early, and certainly prematurely. Not only is such a plan essentially and radically bad, but alcohol is a terribly dear form of food. Alcohol in such concentrated form is a potent aid to the already existing tendency to tissue-degeneration. When overwork calls in alcohol to its help the unholy alliance quickly works the most disastrous results, and brings the organism swiftly to general decay. Even when the evil results of the deadly combination are not so marked, general deterioration is manifest in impaired power of labor, in inferior work, in lessened hours of toil. The tendency is to saunter away working hours in the alehouse; partly because work is found so irksome that it is pleasant to do nothing-perhaps worse than nothing; partly because the capacity to labor has been undermined. Of course here again there is not uniformity; one organism yields more readily than another. Toil and alcohol, and sometimes the alcohol with very little toil, soon reduce one man to the condition of a social pariah; while in another case a hale old man will be found who works hard every day

never misses any time," his fellowworkmen say-yet who drinks daily an amount of spirits which would soon tell sorely on an average person. But such a case does not militate against the general soundness of the statement that overwork, combined with alcohol, is a sure and certain road to body-ruin.

Now, it is time to consider mental overwork, a matter manifesting a rapid growth at the present time. Already the subject of holidays and of more prolonged periods of rest has been spoken of in relation to the high-pressure existence in recent times. ent eager struggle for existence, still more in the ambitious race for pre

In the pres

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eminence, overwork is manifesting itself on all sides, and in all positions in life. Overstudy is telling upon our students in this crazy age of examinations, when every young person has to be a perambulating encyclopædia; no matter what the state of the physique when the educational course has terminated. The number of cases of self-destruction from anxiety and nervousness among young men preparing for modern examinations is appalling. Of old the young man who had overstudied was a weakminded youth, whose brain broke down before an ordinary commonplace educational course, easily surmounted by an average intellect. Now it is no uncommon thing to know young men who complain that they no longer feel an interest in their work, and that they cannot remember what they read; that their sleep is broken, and that they no longer possess the power of self-control they once enjoyed. When such loss of self-control is found along with periods of deep depression, then the temptation to suicide may become irresistible. Such breakdowns after a more or less brilliant scholastic career are unfortunately now no uncommon event. Indeed it may be laid down as a broad rule for the guidance of youthful students that so soon as the interest in their studies flags, or the memory is becoming less retentive, they are distinctly overworking. In athletics the terms used are to train on," and to train off." To train on" indicates growing power and increasing fitness for exertion; in other words, improvement." To train off" signifies waning power, or "falling off" in capacity. So long then as study carries with it waxing capacity, it is "work;" when, on the other hand, the student feels training off," then the boundary has been passed and the domain of overwork entered. Still more urgent does the case become when, along with a sense of waning power, the sleep is broken and unrefreshing, or the digestion is upset. The danger-signals have, indeed, been run through, in railway phraseology, when these things are experienced. Such are the usual phenomena of overwork, manifested along with symptoms peculiar to each case.

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Very frequently great irritability of

temper is exhibited, which is merely a form of the loss of self-control just spoken of. It is very trying to the individual who is quite aware of it. This and the consciousness of impaired brain power are commonly found together. Da Costa, the eminent physician of Philadelphia, thus describes this condition at an early stage—" Its manifestations are a slight deterioration of memory and an inability to read or write, save for a very short period, although the power of thought and judgment is by no means perverted. Nor is the power of attention more than enfeebled; the sick man is fully capable of giving heed to any subject, but he soon tires of it, and is obliged from very fatigue to desist. This is brief and succinct. The condition is one of failing power, and is often surmised to be the commencement of the condition commonly spoken of as "softening of the brain. Betwixt the symptoms of brain haustion and those of the early stages of the actual organic change there is little to discriminate; and possibly the one, if neglected, may run on into the other.

ex

Failure of the intellectual powers, when accompanied by a condition of sleeplessness, is a sufficiently serious matter to cause the sufferer therefrom to consult his medical man; and this he always certainly should do before resorting to the deadly chloral. When chloral hydrate was announced with a flourish of trumpets as a perfectly innocuous narcotic, the sleepless folk hailed its advent with eager acclamation. But a little experience soon demonstrated that the innocuous, harmless drug was far from the boon it was proclaimed ! In fact, the impression of its harmlessness was the outcome of ignorance, and not of knowledge of its properties. That it brings sleep with it, is true, especially at first. But the poisoned chalice carries with it a whole train of evil consequences. The mind is further enfeebled by its use; the condition of sleeplessness becomes more pronounced, as a part of the increased irritability; the individual feels worse and weaker, further and further emasculated by resort to the enervating drug, to which he is fast becoming a slave. Death after death among medical men themselves,

as well as non-professional persons, have already resulted from the use, or rather misuse, of this narcotic agent; which is a valuable and potent medicine when used in its appropriate place and with proper precautions. Nor are these remarks on chloral hydrate out of place here. Sleeplessness is so marked a symptom of brain exhaustion and is now so common; and resort to chloral for its relief so universal, that these words of warning are absolutely called for at the present time. Over and beyond this exhaustion of the nervous system induced by overwork, there is the failure of the digestive and assimilative organs so often found accompanying it. The effects of mental toil or anxiety upon the digestion have long been known to physiologists and physicians, especially from the writings of Prof. W. B. Car penter, F.R.S.; but there is not as yet any general familiarity therewith on the part of the public, who are liable to suffer therefrom. The consequence of this is that the mental condition is further aggravated. The brain is illfed, from impaired assimilation and a deficiency in the normal products of digestion. Beyond this, it is positively poisoned by the abnormal products formed by the deteriorated digestive organs. Between the two a condition of intense misery is established, until the patient is weary of life. The spectre of brain-softening is ever at hand

ready to present itself whenever the sense of depression is keen. The consciousness of present disablement is deepened by apprehension of coming evil. Between the two the patient is weary of life; and not rarely voluntarily puts an end to it.

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It is not merely the effect of overwork telling upon the physique which we at present have to dread. A more serious and wide-spread evil is the impairment of the mental powers induced by overwork, or worry, which is even more destructive; especially when it is associated with the loss of sleep, nature's sweet restorer," and with deterioration and perversion of the digestive organs, in consequence of which the body is at once ill-fed and poisoned. Such a complex condition is now becoming established, with every prospect of further spread, unless the public themselves can be induced to take the matter in hand in good earnest. To conceal the condition from one's self even, and to seek relief by secret resort to chloral, are the means at present largely pursued; and disasters overhang them, like vultures over a retreating army. Some acquaintance with the reality of the condition is essential to the adoption of wiser measures. The reader must know that what is written here is no alarmist or sensational picture of overwork as it actually exists among us.-Good Words.

THE

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES. Vol. XLIII. The Science of Politics. By Sheldon Amos, M.A.. Author of "The Science of Law," etc. Vol. XLIV. Animal Intelligence. By George J. Romanes, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

These two volumes form an excellent addition to the International Series, and from the nature of their contents and the method of treatment, will appeal to a wider interest than that of many of the more technical volumes of the series. The purpose of Mr. Sheldon Amos's work is to show that the methods of scientific investigation and construction can be applied to political action, and the administration of government, and with the same resulting advantages found in other fields of intellectual activity. He admits the inherent difficulties and the limitations of his subject, the complexity of the forces operative in politics, and the apparently hap-hazard character of political action, which seem to preclude the possibility of anything like system, law, or unity. he believes that certain principles and theories can be established with scientific certitude,

But

which, if recognized and acted upon, would mitigate many evils in the chaos of politics. He does not attempt so much to build up a science of politics as to induce men to view politics from a scientific standpoint. "I have done my best," he says in his preface, "to avoid the temptation of constructing an ideal polity founded on mere guesses and hopes. That there is an ideal polity for each state, if not one for all states, I steadfastly believe. But it is only to be discovered in the paths of history and observation." One is inclined occasionally to suspect that the author consciously relaxes a little his rigid purpose to avoid such a temptation, but passages that bear a constructive look should undoubtedly be taken as tentative and suggestive, rather than positive. One of the most valuable of the twelve chapters is on "Political Terms," in which is shown the necessity of attaching definite and consistent meanings to such words as "legislation," administrative," "state," "prerogative,” and “liberty.” There must always be a difficulty in the study of political sciences, since it does not, and cannot possess a separate terminology made up of technical

terms with definite and fixed meanings. These advantages are monopolized by the physical sciences. Other chapters, such as those on "The Primary Elements of Political Life and Action," "Local Government,' The Province of Government, and " Right and Wrong in Politics," are filled with careful reasoning and fruitful suggestion. Unfortunately Mr. Amos writes in a diffuse and ponderous style, which is exceedingly annoying at times. The most wary reader, we fear, while pursuing some attractive thought, will frequently find himself floundering in the amplitude of the author's Latin diction.

Mr. Romanes's work upon "Animal Intelligence' is a proof that science may sometimes be even more delightful reading than fiction or poetry. But its entertaining quality is only an accidental merit, for the purpose of the author is thoroughly scientific. It is the most systematic, comprehensive and complete presentation of the evidence relating to mind in the lower animals that has ever appeared. It is intended to serve as a kind of text-book of the facts of comparative psychology, "to which men of science, and also metaphysicians, may turn whenever they may have occasion to acquaint themselves with the level of intelligence to which this or that species of animal attains; it is also intended to be introductory and fundamental to a future treatise on Mental Evolution," which the author promises in about two years. The opening chapter is a preliminary inquiry into the nature of mind and mental operations, especially for the purpose of distinguishing between reflex-action, instinct, and reason. The distinction between instinct and reason is defined as follows: "'Instinct is reflex-action into which there is imported the element of consciousness," while reason or intelligence is the faculty which is concerned in the intentional adaptation of means to ends." Having established or indicated the fundamental principles and considerations that enter into the problem of animal intelligence, the author immediately begins to unfold his vast accumulation of evidence. The whole animal kingdom is passed under review by groups in ascending order, beginning with the lowest forms of life and ending with monkeys, apes, and baboons, and facts and incidents given to llustrate the psychology of each class, or order, and, in some cases, family, genus, or even species. There are, of course, marvellous stories, and in great number, of the reasoning power of ants, bees, fish, birds, elephants, cats, and dogs; but nothing has been admitted without first being subjected to the most rigid tests of verification. Whatever may be thought of the author's inferences, no one can lay down his book without feeling a profounder regard

RECOLLECTIONS OF ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, LATE DEAN OF WESTMINSTER. George Granville Bradley, D.D. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

These sketches or sketchy lectures are somehow disappointing; chiefly, perhaps, because they fail to satisfy the impatient desire which every one must feel to know more thoroughly the life of Dean Stanley. Nevertheless they present a charming picture of a charming character. Dean Bradley writes from the fulness of love and admiration for his great teacher and friend. He speaks of Stanley simply "as a deeply attached and grateful friend, and as one who largely sympathized with his views." He disclaims all intention of offering his imperfect sketch as in any way a substitute for the complete biography, which all must look forward to with eagerness. Awaiting that, these reminiscences will find many grateful readers. The lectures contain recollections only, little regard being given even to the form or style of composition; but they present all the more vividly some of the most beautiful and noble of Dean Stanley's characteristics. We are made to feel and understand his tender sympathy with all conditions of life, his strong friendship bestowed so liberally everywhere, his broad and tolerant spirit, his lofty faith, and the remarkable force of his convictions and the fearlessness with which he would defend them. He was never ashamed," says Dean Bradley, "of the title of liberal theologian,' not even if he were to be the last to bear the name,' and he was the first to give currency to the much used term 'Broad Church.' Liberal theology, he spoke of, in one of the very latest of his addresses, as being 'the backbone of the Church of England,' and he claimed for it an orthodoxy, a biblical, evangelical, catholic character which its opponents have never reached."

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