heartily agree with Dean Stanley in the concluding utterances of the work before us: Not surely in vain did the architects of successive generations raise this consecrated edifice in its vast and delicate proportions, more keenly appreciated in this our day than in any other since it first was built; designed, if ever were any forms on earth, to lift the soul heavenward to things unseen. Not surely in vain has our English language grown to meet the highest ends of devotion with a force which the rude native dialect and barbaric Latin of the Confessor's age could never attain. Not surely for idle waste has a whole world of sacred music been created which no ear of Norman or Plantagenet ever heard, nor skill of Saxon harper or Celtic minstrel ever conceived. Not surely for nothing has the knowledge of the will of God almost steadily increased century by century, through the better understanding of the Bible, of history, and of nature. Not surely in vain has the heart of man kept its freshness while the world has been waxing old, and the most restless and inquiring intellects cling to the belief that "the everlasting arms are still beneath us," and that "prayer is the potent inner supplement of man's outward life.” Here, if anywhere, the Christian worship of England may labor to meet both the strength and the weakness of succeeding ages; to inspire new meaning into ancient forms, and embrace within itself each rising aspiration after all greatness, human and divine. So considered, so used, the Abbey of Westminster may become more and more a witness to that one Sovereign Good, to that one Supreme Truth-a shadow of a great rock in a weary land, a haven of rest in this tumultuous world, a breakwater for the waves upon waves of human hearts and souls which beat unceasingly around its island shores.-P. 583. ART. V.-RUSSIA AND ENGLAND IN CENTRAL ASIA. The Territorial Expansion of Russia. By D. MACKENZIE WALLACE. "The Fortnightly Review," 1876. Afghanistan. By A. G. CONSTABLE. New York: Harper & Brothers. . Account of Persia. By JAMES B. FRASER. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1884. No event is insignificant, for every event has its relations, and is a link in the extended chain of human progress. Things comparatively trivial have their bearing on the question of the world's civilization. The common interest of all men in what concerns any portion of the race is a demonstrable fact. The cannon discharged in the mountain-passes of Central Asia send their reverberations into all lands. The dominancy, in the strongholds of the East, of Saxon or Cossack, of Christian or Mussulman, is a matter which concerns us and our children, and all the coming generations of men. The submission of the tribes of Merv to Russia may not seem, at first view, to be an affair of very great importance. If Turcomania has really become a part of the great growing empire of Russia, it may not be immediately manifest how the interests of civilization will be affected. But Russia, the territorial neighbor of England-Russia, on the very borders of IndiaRussia, holding the strong mountain districts which command, in a military sense, the rich provinces of Hindustan— Russia, allying to herself the warlike tribes of Central Asia-this may mean a fierce contest of arms, involving the great powers of Europe, determining the course of future events, and helping or hindering the happiness of mankind. O'Donovan, in the narrative of his thrilling adventures, describes the Merv as including the entire country occupied by the Turcoman clans known as the Merv Tekkes. The capture of Geok Tepe by the Russians occurred while O'Donovan was experiencing his honorable captivity in Turcoman. Although created a khan, and treated with marked distinction, he was, nevertheless, held as a prisoner, and was only released in accordance with the peremptory demand of the British minister at Teheran, the Persian capital. The reason seemed to be, that the Mervs feared subjugation by the Russians, and were really anxious to secure the protection of England. "The Turcomans entertained the belief," says O'Donovan, "that British troops would speedily march, via Herat to Merv, if they were not already on the way." But, at that very time, the English were preparing to evacuate Candahar, and to leave not only the Tekkes, but also the Afghans, to such fortune as might come to them from Russian diplomacy and arms. The Merv chiefs were ready enough to fight against Ayoub Khan, if permitted to do so under the English banner, and, indeed, they formally proffered their allegiance to the British Queen; but the English embassador at the Persian court, while thanking them for their kindly sentiments, said: "It is my duty, however, to state to you, with reference to the proffer of allegiance to the British government, that the proposal that the people of Merv should become British subjects is one that, owing to various causes, The physical as well as political, cannot be entertained.” English policy left Russia at liberty to prosecute her ambitious designs unobstructed, and recent events certainly do not surprise those who have carefully observed the drift of affairs. The Russian eagles are now on the borders of Afghanistan, which country is separated from Turkistan only by the Paropamisan Mountains, and by the Hindoo-Coosh-a crest of the Himalaya range. The Jelum and the Indus Rivers formerly divided Afghanistan from India, but the acquisition of Scinde and Punjaub carried the line of British dominion westward, nearly to the base of the Solyman Mountains. It is plain, therefore, that the place to defend Calcutta, Delhi, and Bombay is not on the banks of the Indus, but in the impregnable mountain-passes of the Hindoo-Coosh. The practical extension of the Russian frontier makes the question of the political or governmental control of the powerless states of Central Asia, as well as the question of the future of the British Empire in India, a living question, demanding immediate consideration, and one which is of transcendent importance to the Old World and the New. English occupation in Hindustan has been a steady advance from the South toward this disputed border-land; in the meantime, Russia has as steadily moved down from the North. Constable said, in 1879: The Russian journals of recent date make no secret of Kaufmann's intention to occupy the oasis of Merv, if he can reach it. Once at Merv, which is within ten easy marches of Herat, the Russians are in possession of a base from which they might, with comparative security and a reasonable chance of success, operate against Afghanistan, and, in the event of a failure on the part of the English to prepare for such a contingency, even against India itself. Whether the Russian policy is really antagonistic to the English rule in India or not, it is, as I have said, impossible for the Indian government to shut its eyes to the possibilities of a Russian, Persian, Turcoman, and Usbeg force marching on Herat. Russia has control of the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and the river Oxus. She dictates the policy of the Persian court, and she has a faithful ally in the Emir of Bokhara. The victories of Kaufmann have not only secured to her important strategical positions in Turkistan, but have also opened her way to the very gates of Afghanistan. If she can secure 31-FOURTH SERIES, VOL. XXXVI. Herat or Cabul, or even a protectorate over the territory of the latter, she has reached the north-western boundary of India, and holds in her hands the keys of the East. Herat is a point of great importance. It is a frontier town between Persia and Afghanistan, and it is connected by high-roads with the capitals of all the surrounding countries. Every invasion of India has been by the way of the Bolan Pass, southward of Herat, on to the plains of the Indus. The Persian siege of Herat, in 1838, as was well understood in India, was encouraged by Russia. It is even certain that Russian officers assisted the Persians in the siege. More than a score of times have pillaging armies, seeking not only conquest, but plunder, swept down upon India through the defiles of Afghanistan. "Where then," inquires Constable, "is the strategical frontier of British India?" "I think," he answers, "the English are about to settle this by the permanent occupation of the interior of these famous passes. "If, for the last fifty years, Russian officers in Central Asia have coveted the wealth and warmth, the rich harvests and the richer cities of India, is it any marvel that in England, and especially among British residents in India, there has been a growing determination that, cost what it may, the Cossacks shall remain on the northern slopes of the Hindoo-Coosh? The Russian advancement and interference have been constant. The English general, Rob erts, in an official report, confirms the suspicion that Russian or other foreign officers assisted Ayoub Khan, when in arms against British authority. The necessity of a permanent English protectorate in Afghanistan becomes more manifest every hour. It was said, when Gen. Burrows was defeated, with the loss of two thousand European troops and a large India. contingent, and the expenditure of twenty millions sterling, that it was paying "a high price for a scientific frontier." One might answer this in the language of D. Mackenzie Wallace, in "The Fortnightly Review: " The idea of a central zone between the Russian and British frontiers in Asia is an absurdity, fit only to amuse diplomatists, and unworthy of being entertained by practical statesmen, unless, indeed, it were possible to find a broad uninhabited zone which would serve the same purpose as the great wall of China. If it be habitable, it will inevitably become an asylum for all the robbers and lawless spirits within a radius of many hundred miles, and no civilized power can reasonably be expected to accept such neighbors. If such a zone had been established, Russia might justly have spoken to England in this fashion: "I object to have at my doors this refuge for rascality. Either you must preserve the inmates or allow me to do so." order among Russia must push forward her frontier until she reaches a country possessing a government which is able and willing to keep order within its borders, and to prevent its subjects from committing depredations on their neighbors. As none of the petty states of Central Asia seems capable of permanently fulfilling this condition, it is pretty certain that the Russian and British frontiers will one day meet. Where they will meet depends upon ourselves. If we do not wish her to overstep a certain line, we must ourselves advance to that line. This reasoning is entirely conclusive, and in perfect harmony with the facts. Many persons seem to think that this question of the presence and influence of a great European power in Afghanistan is a recent question. On the contrary, it is as old as the century, and every far-seeing statesman for at least two generations, having knowledge of affairs in the East, has realized its existence and importance. In 1809 Napoleon sent Gen. Gardauné to Persia in the hope of inducing the Shah to invade India; and the Indian government, at about the same time, sent a representative to the court of Shah Soojah, in Afghanistan, to create an opposition to Persia. A mission was also sent to the Persian court, and an alliance, offensive and defensive, was actually entered into by the Persian and British governments. It is well known that Napoleon regarded India as England's vulnerable point, and that he cherished an ambition of rivaling the fame of Alexander by a triumphant march through the East. But Wellington settled that little matter on the field of Waterloo, and there was no longer any danger to India from the diplomacy or arms of France. Then arose the dark shadow of Russian aggression. "The annexation of Georgia to the empire of the Czar," as Constable says, "brought the eagles of Russia to the frontiers of Persia." Since that day, no English statesman has been indifferent to the affairs of Central Asia. They are germinant with empire, and they contain, in embryo, what must seriously affect the great future of the race. The Russian policy has been a constant quantity; her diplomacy and arms have borne |