This castle is probably the most interesting of the many to be found in Germany. It is magnificently situated on a hill overlooking the country on all sides. At its feet lies the little town of Eisenach. It was built in the twelfth century, and, with few alterations, stands now as it did six hundred years ago. There the landgraves of the thirteenth century held the old-time minnesinger contests. In the singers' hall there is a wall-picture representing the famous contest held during St. Elizabeth's life in the Wartburg. It shows her protecting Wolfram from the other knights, who are angered because he made another ruler the subject of his song. The artist painted Walter von der Vogelweide according to the story, but in Wolfram's place he put Tannhauser. Also Wagner and Liszt appear among the knights. The wall decorations are very interesting as showing the different historical and traditional events connected with the castle. At present the Duke of Weimar, with his court, make their summer home there. The Wartburg is famous for another reason, possibly of more interest to later times than all others. After the Diet of Worms, in 1521, Martin Luther's friends saw that his life was in danger, and, as masked robbers, waylaid him on his return from Worms and took him to this castle. It was generally supposed that he had been killed, so he lived there quietly for about a year, during which time he translated the Bible into German. He used to work in a little room in the castellan's house, with forest, rocks, and meadows ever stretching before him. From the Wartburg there is a charming drive through the pine forest to the Hohe Sonne. It passes the old well where St. Elizabeth's bread was so miraculously changed to roses. To see the most beautiful part of the road one must walk for some distance. The path lies along the bank of a clear, tiny brooklet, in a narrow valley, on one side of which the carriage road rises higher and higher, on the other towers a rocky hill. way narrows slowly and soon leads to a rift between moss-covered rocks, just The wide enough to allow the passage of one person. The stream here runs under the path. The air has a deathly chill, and the absolute stillness of the place is' very impressive. The passage is long and twists about between the rocks in a most unexpected manner. It is said to be a most remarkable formation. rant. At the Hohe Sonne is a garden restauIt is visited especially for a fine view of the Wartburg through a natural vista in the trees. The drive from there back to town is a most pleasant one. It was in Eisenach that Luther lived when a boy. He used to sing on the streets to earn money for his education, until a kind-hearted Eisenach lady, Frau Cotta, took him into her home. The people have raised a fine statue to him there. Eisenach was also the home of the musician Bach, of whom there is also a statue in the town. Not far from Eisenach is Friedrichroda, known particularly for its beautiful scenery and its sanitariums. The day can be most delightfully spent there in driving over the hills to Inselberg, a point on the top of a mountain which commands a splendid view of the surrounding country. On the return drive one passes the Reinhardtsbrunnen, a hunting castle on the banks of a pretty lake in the valley. Queen Victoria used to take her children there during part of the summer, and in it are exhibited some of her handiwork, especially drawings. If the tourist is good at walking he can find the most delightful climbing over the hills in the bracing pine air. In the midst of still more beautiful scenery at a day's drive from Friedrichroda lies the little town of Ilmenan. This is well known because of its connection with the poet Goethe. Over the entrance of an old hotel on its principal street is a weather-stained sign telling that Goethe spent his last birthday there, on August 28, 1831. On the Kicklehahn mountain, overlooking Ilmenan, is a roughly-built house, very small, where he wrote one of his famous verses. original house was burned some time ago, but the present one is an exact copy of it. Goethe had written the verse on the wall, so on a corresponding spot in the new house is a photograph of it as he wrote it. The English translation is well-known : The "On every mountain height is rest; The bird songs are still on each bough, Near the little Goethe house, on the very summit of the mountain, is a tower, rising higher than all the trees, which commands a magnificent view of the country. There is an old inn just below this tower, called Gabelbach. One cannot say much about the meals served there, but an hour can be very profitably and enjoyably spent in examining the old pictures which cover the walls. Some of them are most curious relics of great men who have been entertained there. On the road from Gabelbach to Ilmenan are several busts of famous Germans. The gem of all Thuringia's pretty villages lies within a five hours' drive from Ilmenan. The way thither twists about among the hills; at times through the cool forest; then over the meadows striped like many-colored banners with the ripen ing grains; or again through the narrow cobble-stoned streets of a village. When the destination is almost reached the road leads up to the top of a high hill, to the Trippstein, below which, in all its beauty, is Schwarzburg, "the pearl of Thüringen." Its few houses lie peacefully along the narrow valley through which flows the Schwarza. At the farther end rises the hill on which stands the castle, its white walls contrasting strikingly with the green hills which surround it on every side. Schwarzburg is about seven miles from the railway station, a distance which, for thorough enjoyment, must be taken on foot. On the road is the house where Froebel, known so well in the kindergarten world, used to live. These are only a few of the many places to be visited in Thüringen. Its great charm lies in the fact that there is scarcely a town or an old inn without some connection of historical interest. ALICE MAY ROBERTS. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT W E close with this number the second volume of SELF CULTURE. It is the completion of the first year of a notable experiment. With our next issue, that for April, we begin our third volume, and enter upon the second year of publication. If our readers are generous enough to think that the nearly one thousand pages which have been given them with our first year constitute a notable performance, an experiment crowned with success, we can assure them that we hope to build on the foundation of the the twelvemonth now closed with securities for still greater success. There will be at least a million copies of SELF CULTURE made in the year immediately before us; ninety-six million pages in the hands of not less than a million readers. The publication already commands recognition as far the most effective means of university extension yet undertaken; and with the advantages secured by a year's experience and a new year's plans, we are not only hopeful but confident of accomplishing in the year upon which we enter with our April number an unexampled service of instruction. We necessarily ask of our readers consideration of the fact that instruction such as we undertake has its responsibilities, not less than those of important chairs in any university in America. Not only do we wish to give real instruction of the best quality, but our hope and purpose is to pay particular attention to new knowledge, and to make our pages a source of information in regard to the latest steps of human progress. A large number of highly meritorious essays on Benjamin Franklin" are now in the hands of the faculty of THE HOME UNIVERSITY LEAGUE for examination, and will be returned to the editor of SELF CULTURE in time for the prize announcements to be made in our next issue. At least one of the prize essays on this NO. 6. subject will be printed next month. "EVERY PERSON HAS TWO EDUCATIONS; ONE WHICH HE RECEIVES FROM OTHERS, AND ONE, MORE IMPORTANT, WHICH HE GIVES TO HIMSELF."-Gibbon. EDWARD C. Towne, B. A., EDITOR MONTGOMERY B. GIBBS, BUSINESS MANAGER COPIES OF SELF CULTURE MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE NEW YORK, 5 & 7 East Sixteenth Street. DENVER, SII Times Building. LOS ANGELES. CAL., 226 South Spring Street. SAN FRANCISCO, 404 Spreckels Building. SALT LAKE CITY, 300 Atlas Block. MINNEAPOLIS, 405 Century Building. LOUISVILLE 19 Courier-Journal Building. TORONTO, ONT., CAN., N. E. cor. King and Yonge Sts. LONDON, ENG., 13a Cockspur St., Pall Mall, London, S. W. PARIS, 20 Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin. BERLIN, GERMANY, Equitable Building. ¶ Advertising Terms furnished on application. All matter for advertising pages must reach the office of publication in Chicago not later than the 15th of the month preceding the date of issue. When a change of address is desired always give former address. No duplicate magazines will be furnished to those who do not comply with this rule. THE WERNER COMPANY PUBLISHERS OF SELF-CULTURE 160-174 ADAMS STREET, CHICAGO 5 AND 7 EAST 16TH STREET, NEW YORK OUR PRIZE ESSAY ELOW will be found the Brit- THE MOORS IN SPAIN. REFERENCES TO ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRIT Copy will be received for the second. contest, "NOTABLE INVENTIONS IN HUMAN PROGRESS," for which references were given in February, up to and including March 10th. In the third and last contest (“The Moors in Spain"), aside from the Britannica references above enumerated, writers will materially enhance their chances of success by discovering for themselves other references in the Britannica relating to this subject. They will be permitted, also, to obtain further knowledge on the subject from the reading of standard works treating of the topic in general. All essays on this subject must be in the League's possession not later than April 10th. The announcement of the prize winners in the contest on essays relating to "Notable Inventions, etc.," will appear in the May number of SELF CULTURE, and on the subject of "The Moors in Spain" in the June issue. Full detailed particulars of this contest can be ascertained by referring to your January number of SELF Culture. For the benefit of those who may not have seen the original announcement, the following are the conditions upon which members of the League may participate : The competition is limited to members of The Home University League, or those who become such in time to participate. All contestants must remit with their manuscript, in a separate sealed envelope, an examiner's fee of 25 cents, with their full name and address. All manuscripts to be signed by a nom de plume only. No manuscript will be returned; do not ask it. THE HOME UNIVERSITY LEAGUE, 160-174 Adams St., Chicago, Ills. Prize Essay Dept. The attention of subscribers is directed to the announcement in the advertising columns regarding the binders for Volumes I. and II. of SELF CULTURE. Any back number may now be obtained at our regular rates. The announcement of our premium offer of a magnificent steel engraving of Niagara Falls will doubtless interest all our subscribers. Many readers cannot fail to find very satisfactory a little volume entitled "Abraham Lincoln's Speeches." It is a small volume of 370 pages, containing choice samples of speeches, letters and other utterances of Mr. Lincoln; those select words which are best representative of him, and which to a remarkable degree give a clear idea of his life. The selection of the extracts has been made by L. E. Chittenden, whose experience and studies peculiarly qualified him to make a very satisfactory book, intended, as he says, "to comprise the best expressions of a great patriot, perhaps the greatest patriot-statesman who has honored our republic since its birth." Students of composition and of speaking will find it very much to their advantage to be familiar with these choice utterances of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln's vigorous common sense is one of the best examples in our literature. His style is simple, natural, and effective. In his finest passages he is at the level of the greatest masterpieces of literature. As a study in having something to say and of saying it effectively nothing could be better than these choice pages, in which are garnered Abraham Lincoln's best words. There are passages which, for reading or for declamation, cannot be surpassed; that, for example, which forms the last three pages (pp. 68-70) of his discussion, June 26, 1857, of the Dred Scott case. The volume is published (at $1.25) by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. singularly pure and accomplished, but beautiful examples of the art of bookmaking. The $6 edition of 750 numbered copies, printed on Windsor handmade paper, by the De Vinne Press, New York, lacks nothing of delightful quality; but for luxury of the the rarest kind which the fine art of the printer and the exceptionally perfect etched frontispieces can give, there are 250 sets on Dickinson paper, at $14, and 25 sets on Japan paper, at $40. The four stories taken together are the classical example of the altogether loveliest product of the genius of George Sand, a genius which, at its best, no other writer of novels has surpassed. Powerful stories of an altogether different type were written by George Sand, stories in which she comes into comparison with the greatest masters of dramatic interest, but none of these have the enduring charm, like that of Homer or of the most beautiful parts of Shakespeare, which put upon books the clearest stamp of immortality. In the first of the four stories, which form a kind of four-fold gospel of sweetness and light, George Sand, who, like George Eliot, was of a genius profoundly womanly, turned from the literature of tragic terror to that of common humanity in its simplest and most pathetic aspects. She wrote "The Devil's Pool," first of the series, as a story of labor, and such was her success as to give the appearance of attempting a revolution in literature. She wrote with the unquestionably just theory that "Art is not the study of positive reality, but the search for ideal truth"; that "the mission of art is a mission of sentiment and love"; and that "the novel of to-day should take the place of the parable and the fable of early times." The second of the series was "Fadette," one of the most delightful stories in all literature, an almost incomparable masterpiece of tender feeling and wise teaching. The etched frontispiece to the story is a lovely reproduction of the portrait of the author. This volume is, for this reason, and for the charm of the story, the one which readers may prefer, both as a monument to George Sand and as the choicest example of her genius. "Francois the Waif" is a rustic tale, a homely idyl, of interest as a social study not less than as a tender and lovely story. "The Master Mosaic Workers" George Sand wrote to give her own little son a relief from his first reading of a romance, the unhappy ending of which gave him grief. "I have written few books with so much pleasure as this," said the author in her preface, and very many readers will confess to having read few books with so much pleasure. The story has the adThe story has the additional interest of being an historical romance, to a large extent based upon interesting facts. The etched frontispiece is a portrait of Titian. It is a delightful book, worthy to stand by the side of "Fadette." This and "Fadette" are given in a cheaper edition, $1.25 each, and the same every way as the other, except the quality of the paper. A brief notice of Professor Von Helmholtz by C. Riborg Mann, in a recent number of Scribner's Magazine, remarked as follows on his latest achievement as a physicist: "Few can as yet rightly value his great work on vortex motion. In that work may lie hidden the seeds of wonderful discoveries in the future. Lord Kelvin has already shown that it contains a theory of atoms which explains the nature of matter mathematically, but gives no physical conceptions thereof. Just as his explanations of harmonics in sound have been of infinite value to students in branches of electricity unthought of at the time of publication of his work, so this last essay of his may yet prove to be epoch-making in the solution of some of the most vital problems of the physical universe." Of the justice of this anticipation there can be no question. Lord Kelvin, better known as Sir William Thomson, ought to have taken for granted that a theory of atoms mathematically sound can be without difficulty put into terms of physical conception. The way in which knowledge pauses in the path of progress, turns its back and stands still for a generation, is one of the strangest things in the history of the human intellect. It has often happened that something long known easily serves as a suggestion for a new step of advance, the idea of which surprises everyone by its simplicity as soon as the discoverer calls attention to it. Mr. Mann says in regard to one of Helmholtz's discoveries: "When he discovered the ophthalmoscope, by means of which it was possible to look into the inside of the eye, a discovery of the greatest value and benefit, he is said to have written to his father that he had used in its construction only that knowledge which he had obtained in school, and he wondered that somebody else had not invented it before." In precisely the same way the theory of vortex atoms, as Helmholtz taught it, comes so near to giving a physical conception of the nature of atoms as to make it a wonder that neither Lord Kelvin nor Helmholtz himself took the additional step of pointing out what physically atoms must be. Lord Kelvin long since said of atoms that they are "pieces of matter, of measurable dimensions, with shape, motion, and laws of action, intelligible subjects of scientific investigation." It is on the conception thus expressed that knowledge has needlessly paused. The conception of vortex motion cannot be brought into harmony with the conception of an atom as a piece of matter of measurable dimensions with shape, motion, and laws of action. The last conception implies that an atom is a single piece of matter of a particular shape and measure and in a state of motion which we almost necessarily assume to be that of vibration or some shooting back and forth. There is no vortex motion about this, nor can we get any without conceiving the atom as a whirlpool or whirl of something like a fluid, something which must be composed itself of atoms, but atoms infinitely refined compared with the common. Helmholtz, for example, said that we are getting evidence which goes to show that electricity itself is composed of atoms; that it is material and substantial. substantial. This permits us to concede that common atoms are vortex whirls of electricity; that when two atoms unite two vortex whirls blend in one; that the double atom is the molecule, as of oxygen or of hydrogen, and that when molecules unite, as oxygen and hydrogen, to make water molecules, which are enough heavy and inactive to condense into vapor, and so into water, the water molecule is made by the oxygen atom whirling into union with two hydrogen atoms, with the effect of so checking the whirling motion and so rendering the compound substantial as to give a molecule such as the water molecule is. One of the boldest engineering schemes undertaken in India for irrigation purposes is that of the great dam designed to turn the water of the Peryar river from its westward course to flow eastward through the arid and sterile plains of the Madura district. The westward course of the river carried the stream to the well |