personal acquaintance with some of the principal actors in that astonishing drana, and sent off to his paper in Paris, the Petit Parisien. Taken as a whole they make a wonderfully vivid picture, and they help us to realise, in a way which nothing else could do, the extraordinary events of that epoch-making time. M. Anet enjoyed the benefit of frequent interviews with M. Kerensky, General Korniloff, General Goutchikoff, the Minister of War in the provisional government, and with others, and he was present at many of the meetings of the Duma and of the Soldiers' Committees at the Taurida Palace. An absurd scene is furnished by the gathering there of the soldiers' deputies, who, amidst much frothy speechifying and votes by show of hands, carried impossible and contradictory resolutions. The account of these Gilbertian proceedings would be amusing reading, were it not that they are typical of so much that is fraught with consequences so tragic for the future of Europe and for the peace of the world.

The rapid progress of the revolution, from the first outbreak on the 10th of March 1917, was as much a surprise to those who took part in it as it was to the looker-on. Like other observers, M. Anet dates the real beginning of the revolution from the shooting of the incredible scoundrel, Gregory Rasputine, who had gained so much influence over the neurotic Empress and her entourage. "L'assassinat de Raspoutine a été le choc initial qui a cristallisé les énergies endormies, et les a fait passer de la pensée à l'action. Aux cinq coups de revolver qui ont abattu Raspoutine ont répondu, dans Pétrograd, les milliers de coups de fusil qui ont renversé la dynastie de Romanof."

It was on the 15th of March that the Emperor, after consulting with his generals, and referring matters to the Duma, came to the decision that the only course left open to him was to abdicate. The manifesto in which he embodied this decision and bequeathed his heritage to his brother, the Grand Duke Michael, is quoted in full by M. Anet, and is touching in the simple dignity of its language. But the people demanded that the Grand Duke also should renounce the Regency, and in his declaration, dated only one day later than the Emperor's, the Grand Duke announced that he bowed to the popular will; and thus, as M. Anet puts it, "La dynastie de Romanof a disparu dans la tourmente. Un coup de vent s'est élevé. Elle n'a trouvé personne pour la défendre. Elle s'est écroulée, comme si toute vie s'était éteinte en elle. L'autocrate, qui régnait hier sur cent soixante millions de sujets, n'a pas vu un homme se lever pour sa cause."

The rise of Russia under the Romanoff's, in extent, in power, and in wealth, is a matter of history. And then, the revolution, which none beyond a few visionaries had thought possible, overturns in a few days the bureaucracy which had taken three centuries to build up.

"Qui a voulu cela? Personne. Dans le mécontentement général des esprits, dans l'énervement produit par deux ans et demi de guerre, dans les souffrances causées à Petrograd par un ravitaillement détestable, souffrances rendues plus vives par la rigueur d'un hiver comme, de mémoire d'homme, on n'en a vu, il a suffit de quelques usines fermées, de quelques milliers d'ouvriers sur le pavé se promenant sur la Perspective Nevski, de mesures de police maladroites et insuffisantes, de l'emploi sans raison de la troupe, troupe composée non de soldats de l'active, bien encadrés, mais de réserves innombrables et mal entraînées, des régiments de la garde, pour amener, un conflit qui, soudainement en une heure, par le passage de ces troupes au peuple, est devenu une révolution triomphante, acclamée de tous et assez forte pour renverser l'empereur et pour détruire l'empire."

We feel tempted to quote at length from M. Anet's vivid scenes of life in the Russian capital, but we must refrain. In a very interesting chapter he describes the tour of the front which he made in company with Kerensky, whose main object in this visit to the armies in the field was to reanimate the fighting instinct in the soldiers, and to persuade them to carry out the wishes of the provisional government for a renewal of the offensive. Kerensky laboured and spent his strength in speaking to the men. He was received with enthusiasm, but the effect of his addresses was not sufficient to counter the socialistic dry-rot which had set in, and the influence of enemy propaganda. M. Albert Thomas, the French Minister, went also on this mission, and laboured hard to back up Kerensky and to persuade the soldiers to do their duty to the Allies.

M. Anet greatly admires the character and personality of Kerensky. Handicapped by a physique little adapted to withstand the immense strain which he put upon himself, he strove hard to strengthen the action of the provisional government and to bring moderate counsels to bear upon the committees of soldiers and workmen whose half-baked notions and impetuous actions combined to plunge the capital and the country deeper and deeper into the cauldron of confusion and anarchy. As for Korniloff, he says that he is, first of all, a hero, and that he has worked solely for the glory and honour of Russia. In the early days of the revolution he was untiring in his attempts to influence the soldiers and officers, and he had great hopes of restoring the spirit of duty in the army. It may be that, like other members of the new government, he trusted too much to oratory.

We wish that M. Anet had found space in his book to give us his own estimate of the causes which lay at the back of the revolution, and we hope that he may find time for this in a later work. It would be outside of the domain of the present one, which serves its purpose most admirably in drawing a living picture of the early days in Petrograd, and we have no doubt that it will be widely read.

The translation of M. Claude Anet's book differs only from the French edition in having a number of photographic illustrations. The translation seems to be, on the whole, well done, and reproduces the original in terse English. We notice, however, some strange omissions or mistakes, due no doubt to haste. To take two examples. The translator says (page 199), "Our men are not going to fight for Constantinople for the English, or Alsace-Lorraine for the French, they will attack like lions." The original reads, “When our men know that they are not going to fight," etc.; and the words omitted are required to make the sense clear. Again, at page 223, the translator says, "The old army of the Tsar accomplished great deeds by which Russia was never ennobled." Original reads, "L'ancienne armée du Tsar a accompli des prouesses dont la Russie est ennoblie à jamais," which is the reverse.

Hill Views from Aberdeen. By G. GORDON JENKINS, M.Inst.C.E. Preface by Viscount BRYCE, O.M., D.C.L. Aberdeen: D. Wyllie and Son, 1917.

"The mountain and the flood" have set their mark on all good Scotsmen. There is no important centre of population even in the industrial districts that is not within easy hail of impressive mountain scenery. In his Preface Viscount Bryce makes one exception-unnamed, lest susceptibilities should be wounded! but it is difficult to fix accurately the reference. Noble panoramas unfold themselves from all the great cities or their immediate neighbourhood, but still grander scenes from strategic points like Stirling, Perth, and perhaps most wonderful of all-in the descent from Culloden into Inverness.

Aberdeen, to which this little volume is devoted, has a character all its own. On the immediate south of the Dee, the Grampians run right down into the sea by Girdleness Lighthouse. From that point they mount in successive terraces and chains to Cairnmonearn, Kerloch, Cairn o' Mount, Clochnaben, Mount Battock, Mount Keen, Morven (an outlier), Lochnagar, and then into the huge massif of the central Cairngorms-Ben Muich Dhui, Cairngorm, Braeriach, Cairntoul, with the eastern flanking range of Ben Avon and Ben a' Buird. Cairngorm itself is the eponym of the Aberdeen Mountaineering Club, the oldest in Scotland, though still in the vigour of youth.

Mr. Jenkins has rendered distinct service to Scottish mountaineers in general, and to Aberdonians in particular, by his present contribution, for the most part a series of reprints. Chief interest centres in the article on "Curvature and Refraction," reprinted from the Cairngorm Club Journal of July, 1917. Allowance has, of course, to be made for the curvature of the earth in determining whether a certain peak is by any possibility visible from any given elevation, especially when heights intervene in, or almost in, a direct line. Refraction is to a certain extent a counteractive, but varies so much with the state of the atmosphere, and even the time of day, that it is by no means a reliable factor. Mr. Jenkins works out the combined effect on the panorama from the Blue Hill, a favourite viewpoint a little south-west of the Bridge of Dee. The result is figured in an appended diagram, and a useful table is given of the actual allowances to be made for curvature and refraction combined at all distances from 1 to 90 miles. The volume also contains an account of the installation of the mountain indicator on Brimmond erected to the memory of those from the Newhills district who have fallen in the war; and a description of the view from "the Covenanters' Faulds" (close to the Bridge of Dee) and Carmaferg (near Abyne), with a few other details.

Mr. Jenkins combines the technical with the æsthetic interest, and incidentally shows that, far from antagonism, the strictest correlation may exist between science and art. He rather naïvely laments, as most of us have cause to do, that his powers of expression do not match his appreciation of the beauty of mountain scenery, or the depth of his admiration and wonder. He is a safe and wise guide, and his little book may be commended to all interested in mountain views and who is not?

EDUCATIONAL.

A Brief Introduction to the Study of Regional Geography. By H. D. SUTHERNS, B.A. Durban: T. W. Griggs and Co. Price 1s. net.

The old and conventional way of studying the geography of the world by following its divisions into political units is gradually being rejected for the more scientific method of dividing it into a number of natural regions or large divisions based on the common set of conditions throughout each unit that affect man's life and character, his occupation and his outlook. In selecting these natural regions the chief factor to be considered is natural vegetation-man's life ultimately depending upon the productions of the soil. In this little book the author summarises in a series of short chapters the climatic influences that determine plant life, and then divides the world into ten natural regions, adding short notes on each region under the heads of climate, distribution, scenery, resources, animal life, and human settlement. The concluding chapter consists of notes on the principal vegetable productions of the world. The book is no more than a collection of heads or notes of lessons, which should be of value to the busy teacher by giving him, in cheap and handy form, the skeleton framework, to be filled in and supplemented in his class lessons. The book should also be of use to the student for revision purposes. Two diagrammatic schemes and a map of the climatic regions of the world add to the usefulness of the work.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Germany, 1815-1890. By Sir ADOLPHUS WILLIAM WARD, F.B.A., Litt D., Master of Peterhouse, Hon. LL.D., Litt.D., Ph.D. Volume 11., 1852-1871. With Sections by SPENSER WILKINSON, M.A., Chichele Professor of Military History, Oxford. Crown 8vo. Pp. xvi + 588. Cambridge: at the University Press, 1917. Price 12s. net.

Around the World with the Children. An Introduction to Geography. By FRANK G. CARPENTER, Litt. D. Demy 8vo. Pp. ix+133. New York: American Book Company, 1917. Price 60 cents.

La Tunisie. By J.-L. DE LANESSAN. avec une carte en couleurs. Demy 8vo. Alcan, 1917. Price 5 fr.

Deuxième édition, revue et mise a jour
Pp. vi +308. Paris: Librairie Félix

De Québec à Valparaiso: Paysages-Peuples-Écoles. By HENRI Gor. Crown 8vo. Pp. 287. Paris: Librairie Armand Colin, 1917. Price 3 fr. 50 c.

The Story of the Salonica Army. By G. WARD PRICE, the Official Correspondent with the Allied Forces in the Balkans. Crown 8vo. Pp. xiii + 298. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1918. Price 6s. net.

Heaton's Annual: Commercial Handbook of Canada. Fourteenth Year, 1918. Toronto: Heaton's Agency, 1918. Price 5s.

La Défense Nationale de 1792 à 1795. By PIERRE CARON. Crown 8vo. Pp. vi + 105. Illustrated by 6 Engravings. Paris: Librairie Hachette et Cie, 1912. Round about the Torres Straits: a Record of Australian Church Missions. By the Right Rev. GILBERT WHITE, D.D. Crown 8vo. Pp. viii +95. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1917.

Price 2s, net.

Okeanographia. By JULES DE SCHOKALSKY. In Russian. Royal 8vo. Pp. xiv +614. With many Maps, Diagram, and Illustrations. Petrograd, 1917. Price 16 roubles. Presented by the Author.

Norsemen's Route from Greenland to Wineland. By H. P. STEENSBY. Copenhagen, 1917.

Some Results of a Survey of the Agricultural Zoology of the Aberystwyth Area. By CHAS. L. WALTON, M.Sc. (Wales).

The Liver Rot of Sheep, and Bionomics of Limnœa Truncatula in the Aberystwyth Area. By CHAS. L. WALTON, M.Sc. (Wales). Reprints from Parasitology, Vol. x., No. 2. December, 1917. Cambridge: at the University Press.

La Végétation du Paraguay. Résultats Scientifiques d'une Mission Botanique Suisse au Paraguay. Par R. CHODAT. Avec la collaboration de W. Vischer. Deuxième Fascicule. Genève, 1917.

Boletines de la Oficina Meteorologica Argentina. -Junio de 1914, No. 4: La termodinamica de la atmosfera terrestre desde la superficie hasta el plano de desvanecimiento, por FRANCISCO H. BIGELOW, A.M., L.H.D., Profesor de Meteorologica. Octubre de 1914, No. 5: Resultado de las observaciones del magnetismo terrestre (con cuatro mapas), por Luis G. SCHULTZ. Encargado de la sección magnetica. Buenos Aires, 1914.

Anales de la Oficina Meteorologica Argentina, por su director GUALTERIO G. DARIS. Observaciones de las Islas Orcadas en los Años 1905 á 1910. Parte I., tomo XVII.: Clima de las Islas Orcadas del Sud. Parte II., tomo XVII. Buenos Aires, 1912-1913.

Servico Meteorologica Argentino: Historia V.: Organizacion con un resumen de los resultados. Preparado bajo la dirección de GUALTERIO G. DARIS. Buenos Aires, 1914. Presented by R. C. Mossman, Esq. Publishers forwarding books for review will greatly oblige by marking the price in clear figures, especially in the case of foreign books.

W. & Α. Κ. JOHNSTON'S
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The Land Contours range from 500 to 20,000 feet, and the Submarine Contours from 100 to 4000 fathoms. Main Railway Lines are shown, and Principal Townsare indicated by the initial letter of the name.

Size, 50 by 42 inches. Scale, 1:9,300,000 or 147 miles to an inch. Price, on Cloth, Rollers, and Varnished, 12s. each.

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