ferior to any in the existing univerties, yet, we can hardly expect that the overnment will be pleased to grant it a marter. Should the government not rant the charter we are not to be disapointed. Indeed, it is a great drawack, but nevertheless, let us start t once one, two, or more as the funds ermit, some educational institutions urely on Hindu lines-I mean what is alled in our sacred texts acharya-kula, uru-kula, or more plainly guru-griha. t was a gurugriha or "teacher's house" n ancient India where the students were aught every branch of learning known to he people which was, in some cases, even prought from beyond the boundary of the Country. Students were admitted there only in their tender age and each of them vas bound to live the pure life of a brahmachari practising all the observances aid down for them in our Dharma Shastras. Thus living always in close couch with their acharyas or gurus and not the teachers or socalled professors of the present age, the pupils became not only मन्त्रवित but आत्मवित also,

sort of householders is now demanded and can be procured only by following the directions of those sages who knew and spoke of them. Let then the promoters of the Hindu University establish a gurugriha strictly on the brahmacharya system of education, giving the foremost place to Sanskrit and taking the Vernaculars as media of instruction. Thus will the University be worthy of retaining the word Hindu before it. Students from all parts of the country or at least from the Pandita Community will certainly and enthusiastically come there streaming out by thousands, so that there is not the least possibility of its proving a failure like the National College in Calcutta which should also become afguru-griha.

IN the midst of the tumult of the present

great European war, it is perhaps only one situated as far away from the scene of hostilities as India who can pause to ask himself, why did Austria declare war upon Servia, thus bringing an entire Continent, if not the whole world, to the brink of Armageddon?

The cause is popularly supposed to be the murder of the heir to the Austrian throne and his wife by a Servian, and the existence in Servia of a wide-spread antiAustrian party which the Servian Government showed very little inclination to sup

achievement no doubt contributed to her willingness to go to war with Austria in defence of the 9,000,000 people belonging to the Servian race, who, she declared, were suffering continual and intolerable oppression.

She has indeed probably the most wonderful army in Europe, considering her size; it is ultra-modern, and the infantry are particularly fine fighters. They are armed with Mauser rifles of 27 calibre (the British infantry use the Lee-Enfield rifle), and they use the Cruesot 3 inch quick-firers which are used by the French army. The Servian army is recruited by conscription, the term of service being 24 years including attachment to the Reserve Force.

King Peter Karageorgevitch of Servia is not unlike Lord Roberts (who is now in command of the Colonial Colonial troops in England) in appearance. Now in his sixty-ninth year, he spent his youth in soldiering, and became King of Servia in 1903 on the massacre of King Alexander and Queen Draga at Belgrade. He was educated at the famous French military academy of St. Cyr, and served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, where he was attached to the French Foreign Legion and received the Cross of the Legion of Honour. His Queen was formerly Princess Zorka, daughter of the Prince of Montenegro.

Belgrade, on the river Danube, and Nish are the two chief towns of Servia. The former, containing 80,000 people, has been stormed more often than any other town in Europe, but it is always an extremely gay little town, although Austrian guns are perpetually trained upon it from across the river.

The women are the workers in Servia, which is chiefly an agricultural country, although there are a large number of flour mills, and carpets are made to a large extent. The Servian women plough the fields, look after the cattle, dye, and make their own and their husbands' clothes-while the men smoke. These

women have very fine complexions, but they invariably ruin them by the time they are thirty, by the use of cosmetics containing white lead. A large proportion of the population belong to the Mohammedan faith, but the State religion is GreekOrthodox. In the whole of the country there are no paupers.

And this little nation, although the Balkan War cost her £32,000,000 in money and the lives of 30,000 soldiers, is now able to put nearly half-a-million men in the field, if it should prove necessary!

The population of Austria-Hungary. which is a Roman Catholic country, is approximately ten times that of Serviathat is to say, over forty millions-and the war strength of her army is 2,700,000 men. But fortunately for Servia there are other factors to be reckoned with. The Austrian army has had neither the training nor the war experience which the Servian army has had of recent years, and also a large number of her soldiers are Slavs, Slavs, whose sympathy must lie with Servia. While the infantry is the strong point of the Servian army, the cavalry the strong point of the Austrians, their horsemen being, with the exception of the Italians, the finest in the world. The army is composed of 16 army corps, each abou 40,000 strong, and possesses 2,500 thre inch quick-firers and a flying corps of airships and about 100 aeroplanes. Th men are armed with Mannlicher 3 calib rifles.

A curious fact in connection with Gerrany, who in the guise of Austria's all has rushed into war with England, Franc Russia, Belgium and probably Holland, is that some years ago the German news papers published an account of the Kaisers interview with a gypsy when he was stil "will have a young man. "Germany," she told him. a great war in 1914; and Germany will go under when she is ruled by an Emperor who mounts his horse on the wrong side. His heir will perish on the scaffold." It is well known that the Kaiser, owing to his lame arm, has to mount his horse on the off-side. Indeed the present trend of events is such that many who are not superstitious may well wonder whether the Kaiser is indeed mar ching to his Waterloo.

Moreover the phrase is a particularly apt one in view of the extraordinary simil arity between the events which have lately transpired in Belgium and those which were occurring on that same ground 99 years ago-in June of the year 1815. In fact the actual field of Waterloo is only twelve miles distant from Brussels. On that occasion the invaders were the French army, and they were opposed by a force snch as that which once again defends

independence

and

neutrality

he elgium. Today the Kaiser's army represents at of Napoleon, while the allied army epresents that of Wellington, which consised of 24,000 British, 30,000 Hanoverians nd Brunswickers of the German legion, nd 13,000 Dutch and Belgians. Besides nese there was, of course, the army of he Prussian Marshal Blucher, who was perating in unison with Wellington. These oops did not take part in the earlier part f the battle, but, marching through the wamps all day, arrived at night in time render what Wellington in his despathes described as a cordial and timely ssistance. In comparison with the 2,000, -00 men who are now engaged along a ront of 200 miles-from Liege in Belgium o Mulhausen in Alsace, on the border of Switzerland-both the numbers engaged and the losses of 1815 seem small. Welington had 67,000 men and Napoleon 72, 00. The entire loss in killed and wounded vas 50,000-a total which will certainly be far exceeded when the machine-guns, quick-firing cannon, and high explosives of modern warfare have accomplished heir work.

Both campaigns have been distinguished or rapidity of movement. Like the Kaiser, Napoleon faced a number of enemies in different directions, and so it was his object, just as it is the Kaiser's, to meet and beat them one by one before they can unite.

In 60 days of the most marvellous energy, surely, that the world has ever seen, Napoleon had inspired new life into France, and he decided to strike his irst blow against the Anglo-German forces collected in Belgium. The Allies, on the other hand, were not anxious to meet him, for Russia and Austria took even longer then to mobilise than they do now, and it would be a long time before their troops could arrive in France. Thus, while the Allies endeavoured to delay the battle, it was Napoleon's intention to inflict upon them a crushing defeat, and then, with his exhilarated troops to turn Eastward again to meet the slow advance of the Russians. Thus far the parallel is

There is, however, one notable difference. at the present time, and that is that while in 1815 there were hundreds of Napoleon's partisans in Flanders, the whole of Belgium is now united solidly against the invader.

with

Germany at the present time appears to be carrying on the war on principles which have actuated her War Office and the authorities in Berlin during the past two years. The chief of these principles was the amazing claim of "putative selfdefence" which was set up by German military tyranny to excuse obvious outrages in time of peace. The argument of the German military authorities authorities regard to the recent outrage upon Belgian neutrality and the flagrant disregard of the undertakings of the German Government, was that Germany could not afford to run the risk of an attack by France through Belgium. She claimed that her violation of Belgium and her own undertakings were carried out in "putative self-defence."

That plea was first set up to explain the Zabern atrocities. Colonel Ruetter overthrew the civil authorities because he "presumed their inability to act." Lieutenant Von Foerstner hewed down a lame man because he "presumed that he intended to attack him." The result of the success of the plea in the case of Zabern was a crop of wanton military outrages. In each case "putative self-defence" was accepted as justification for manifestly illegal actions by the military or armed police.

The same plea-which has already made Germany an outlaw in Europe-is being used now to justify the fearful atrocities which have been committed on wounded soldiers by the Germans, and their disgraceful action in Alsace recently, when the German troops forced Alsatian women and children to walk in front of the columns in order to prevent the French soldiers firing on them.

WAL

ALT Whitman's "Democratic Vistas" is a prose essay of some eighty pages by the greatest of American Doets, and far the most original and ignificant figure among American men of etters. The title of the essay indicates he subject which it discusses. What is to be the future of Democracy, especially of Democracy in America, where the experinent of Government "of the people, by the people, for the people" as Abraham Lincoln phrased it, is being tried more frankly but perhaps not more fully, than anywhere else in the world? Is the experiment to end in success or failure?

We get a measure of the mind of Walt Whitman in the importance which he attaches to this problem. He is a keen over of Democracy, a keen believer in the atent powers and possibilities of the comnon people, and he desires to see some signs of their succeeding in the task which they have set themselves, the task of evolving out of common men and women better ndividuals and a better state of society han ever was seen on the earth before! Walt Whitman is haunted by the notion of human greatness: but the characters of men and the institutions of society in the States around him enormously disappoint him, exceptional as is the satisaction he nevertheless draws out of them. There is something beyond anything hat mankind have yet achieved to be reached both in the individual life and in he social life of humanity. Democracy is in attempt to attain to this beyond, and the prophetic impulse in Walt Whitman s impatient for attainment. What are the signs and results so far? What has Democracy to show for itself which might incline our minds to confidence or misgiving?

"Democratic Vistas" contains some extraordinarily vigorous sketching of the present state of affairs in the social life, the industrial life, the political and religious life of America. The writer begins with a due acknowledgment of the visible splendour and magnificence of the United States, their far-stretching territories, their

industries and activities constantly extending and attaining a magnitude which is in itself a new thing and a sign of promise for the future. These external and material achievements of America, however, are in themselves not sufficient. Taking all these into account, Walt Whitman can declare that Democracy in America so far has been "almost a complete failure." The considerations which lead him to this conclusion are as follows:

"Never was there perhaps more hollowness at heart than at present, and here in the United States. Genuine belief seems to have left us. The underlying principles of the States are not honestly believed in... nor is humanity itself believed in ... The men believe not in the women nor the women in the men ... The aim of all the nien of letters is to find something to make fun of. A lot of churches, sects, etc., the most dismal phantasms I know, usurp the name of religion.'

Is not this an extraordinary account of "genuine belief," the belief that is required to make a nation great, that men should believe in the social ideals for the sake of which and in dependence upon which their community is established; that men should believe in women and women in men; and that the churches of the land should reflect and foster such beliefs, the real articles of faith of a politically wise people, instead of carrying men's minds away towards something remote from them? Religion involved in the institutions of society-why, here is something like India,-and India of the very best days! No passage could be quoted to show more clearly Walt Whitman's calibre as a thinker and a seer. With these con- . tentions for starting point, the poet goes on to refer to the hollowness that more readily catches the eye in America, the consuming haste to get rich, the corruption, bribery, falsehood and mal-administration in government departments, the general lowness of aim and lowness of tone and temper in all classes at least of the populations of the cities: so that in spite of the realised wealth of the States, their visible grandeur, and the superficial intellectuality and smartness the American character has achieved, the new world