TOPICS OF THE BAY.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 8991, 2 January 1895, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE BAY.

Ma Beunabd Shaw, the Beer and Art. humoroa* and„ Fabian essayist, baa been robbing the Germans of some of their artistic reputation. German poetry is mystical mad r~~' ' ■ ~ .. . "■

philosophical beyond expression. German mueio soars into the unintelligible infinities of sound. Bat, says Mr Shaw, the iucongroltiea of German life are such that Wagner's operas cannot be acted there without being made in some way ridiculous. In "Parsifal,"' the Holy Grail poem—a highly spiritual allegory—ono of the chief characters is Klingsor— •* the adroit spearman, the untiring intriguer, the personification of unrest." What eort of man should he appear ou the stage ? "Lean and nervous," eaya Mr Shaw, "with perhaps a dash of the serpent, the fox, the tiger in him, but certainly without a trace of the hippopotamus." Unfortunately the most famous Klingsor, who sings at the Baireuth festival, suggests the last named quadruped rather distinctly. His portrait suggests at lea3t 18 or 20 stone of too, too solid flesh. Parsifal, the hero of the story, the one knight of supremely holy life, who is rewarded by the Holy Vision, is of the same physical type. "At twenty-nine he shows symptoms of stoutness, which would set a Londoner at forty training at once." Unhappily, says Mr Shaw, "the preservation of figure and freshness up to fifty is not compatible with the main factor of German culture." That factor, we need hardly say, is Beer. You cannot find a better way to establish a reputation for eccentricity in Germany than to abstain from beer. And the boasted lightness of this beverage, says Mr Shaw, is a pernicious delusion. "If men must have a given quantity of alcohol why compel them to waterlog their tissues with gallons of fluid, when a single glass made in the English way will leave them equally happy without making them half so puffy and tub* like?" Really the military system of Germany has some excuse for its existence if this description of the modern Teuton is acourate. The training they get in the Landwehr and the rest of it, must save some lives. " You seldom m>.et a wsll-to-do German who does not carry an excess weight of a stone or two of solidified swill overlying what is real of him in the way of bone and muscle. It is not fat; there is not the making of half a pound of candles in the whole superfluity of the man. And it accumulates not on the biceps, but beneath the belt." The result of this is that the average German is too fleshy to play Borneo and Tristan gracefully, even when he ia twenty-two. Mr Shaw complaine very justly that great operatic artistes owe something to their hearers, and. that we have the right to expect the physical fitness from them which we would insist upon demanding in the caee of a professional athlete.

We believe that very Herbert Spencer few people, even of and the those few who read Land. Herbert Spencer's

works, know exaotly what he thinks about the nationalisation of the land. It is not aY all uncommon for speakers and writers who advocate State Socialism to refer to Herbert Spencer as an authority absolutely in sympathy with their plans and methods. The English Land Restoration League lately went the

length of asserting that Mr Spencer is in favour of the resumption of all land by the State, and further implied in its manifesto that he disapproved of compensation, to the land owners. This matter was brought under Mr Spencer's notice, and he made a vigorous disclaimer in reply. He points out that in "Social Statics," in which he supported the principle of Btate ownership of land, he was careful to point out that the land could nob possibly be resumed without compensation. The passage rune thus— ** Most of our present landowners are men who either mediately or immediately—either by their owu. aota or the acts of their ancestors— have g;ven for their estates equivalents of honestly earned wealth, believing that they were investing their savings in a legitimate manner. To .justly estimate and liquidate the claims of such is one of the most intricate problems society will ope day have to face." This is aurely plain enough. But Mr Spencer, in his explanatory letter commenting on the Restoration League's pamphlet, explains his present attitude in quite a different way. " I originally thought that after due compensation had been made to existing landowners, the community would benefit by taking the laud into its own hands, whereas I have since then concluded that the transaction would be a losing one for the community. If due compensation were made there would not be a balance of gain, but a balauce of loss. Hence I have argued that it would be better for the existing system to coutiuue." it is just as well for land nationalises as well as land owners to know that the one great constructive English philosopher of the century does not now in any sense approve of the scheme to throw the ownership of land into the hands of the State.

It has been said that if a

The Frenchman wants to get on Frenoh Duel, in the world he must keep

a newspaper and a sword. With the newspaper he insults everyone whom he does not, like. With his sword be offers anybody auxioue for ie satisfaction for the insult. The duel ia an absurd survival of barbarism, for the times have gone by' when the military code of honour could be of much use in protecting inoffensive civilians. Mob long ago M. Deschanei offended M. Clemenceau in the Chamber of Deputies. M. Clemenceau relieved his feelings by explaining in his paper that M. Deschanel was a lying scoundrel. Of course M. Deachauel wanted satisfaction, and got it, by aa adjou&ment to the field of honour, on which said field be had a hole drilled through bis cheek by M. Clemenceau's rapier. Then he said that he was thoroughly satisfied. Does this sort of thing go on because the French are not humourous or because they are dramatic Z There is not much danger about it; at least it is hard to be pathetic about the very email risk that the combatants run. if. de Cbaaagoac fought in countless* duels;.and it was said that if he persevered he would certainly lose his life by catching cold at these early morning encounters. There did not seem to be any other sort of danger at his duels. The age of duelling closed in a more bitterly earnest way in England. When we read of a duel we think of the terrible scenes in "Nicholas Nickleby" and in "Austin Eliot" and rejoice that a sanguinary superstition has had iv day. Bub what can the French people think of these farces so constantly and harmlessly rehearsed? Do they ever read the "Tramp Abroad?" If so, they should be grateful to the great American humourist. The " profound French calm " of the heroic statesman, the advertisement of the place and time, the array of attendants, and spectators, the rehearsal of the "last word*," in which " relevancy is of no coneeijuence—what you want is thrill," the final escape of everybody but the ill-starred second; ie ia all delightfully absurd; but eorely not more ludicrous than the scenes of which M. deOassagnaoorJil. Rochefort have so often been the heroes. If ever Frenchmen, as a race, come to understand Mark Twain they will.stop duelling.