The war of the Rebellion in its very early days put to test many of the commanding officers of the Northern army and, as shown in the Sherman Letters, many were found wanting in the qualities of leadership and knowledge of military affairs. The one man at Washington upon whom the responsibilities of the conflict bore most heavily, and who by right of office was commander-in-chief of all the forces, was a civilian, without military training. Those who followed the war with open eyes and mind, and readers of history who look back now upon the part the President took in the direction of the armies, cannot fail to be impressed with the fact that in many important crises it was his initiative and foresight that won the day. In the July number, General Francis V. Greene, one of the foremost students of military science of our day, will write of "Lincoln as Commanderin-Chief." It is a most interesting paper from many points of view, but especially so in revealing a side of Lincoln that has received but little attention. The generals at the front were by nature of their positions and the results of their movements constantly before the public eye, but how

A recent cable to the Tribune gives a report, happily later contradicted, of the wounding at Constantinople of H. G. Dwight:

"Dwight, who is a magazine writer, was under fire for some time. He was shot while endeavoring to reach Constantinople from a village a few miles out. Finding the approaches to the city closed, he obtained a rowboat and made his way down the Bosphorus, past the Yildiz Kiosk. The water around his boat was constantly

much they owed to the wisdom and clear-sightedness of the President was known to but a few. His attitude toward the men to whom he had entrusted the destinies of the armies was generous in the extreme, but when he acted he did so with a knowledge and decision that were beyond question. General Greene says that in addition to his other titles, "great statesman, astute politician, clear thinker, classic writer, master of men, kindly, lovable man," must be added that of "military leader." He had "that faculty of intense application and clear insight, so rare that we call it genius; and he applied it as successfully to military affairs as to politics, notwithstanding the fact that he was, by instinct, a man of peace, and by training a lawyer, and that military problems never engaged his attention until he was fiftytwo years old."

splashed with spent bullets."

Mr. Dwight has been a contributor to Scribner's, and has only recently completed two articles dealing with Eastern subjects, "A Turkish Village" and "The Moon of Ramazan," the former of which appears in this number. Though not wounded, Mr. Dwight actually made the hazardous trip described, and one of the illustrations for the article shows the place where he embarked.

He has spent a number of years in the far East, and knows the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the people intimately. The following extract from a letter written by the author's father gives a vivid impression of his probable experiences.

"As soon as the sounds of battle were heard, my son must have started for the city, wishing to see every act of the momentous drama. No steamer being available, he hired one of the little rowboats which the Turks call caïques. During the first half of the course nothing could be seen. The hills on either side of the Bosphorus are about as high as those on the Hudson at Fort George, and the stream is blue as the Bay of Naples. On rounding the point, about two miles from the city, on which stands the mosque of Ortakeny, the palace of Yildiz on its greenclad hill, and the Matcka arsenal and the Tash Kiohla barracks would be plainly seen on the right wreathed in the battle smoke. Then bullets gone wild would begin to splash into the water about the boat. Nearly a mile would have to be passed before escaping from the line of fire.

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What arguments in the way of promised largess were used to persuade the boatmen to pull for a mile under that shower, can be imagined."

The third and last of the selections from "General Sherman's Letters Home" appears in this number. They have been notable in many ways, but especially in their revelation of the author's foresight and wide-reaching knowledge of the problems that a war between the North and South involved, and of his intrinsic kindness and humanity, and keen perception of the character of his associates. A recent article in the Army and Navy Journal dwells upon some especially interesting features of the letters.

"The sterling qualities of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, his unflinching loyalty to the flag he served, his devotion to duty and his clear discernment of what was before the country when the first threat of war was heard in the South in the dark days of the closing months of 1861-all are illustrated by the extracts from Sherman's letters to his family just before and during the Civil War. These letters have been edited by M. A. De Wolfe Howe and are appearing serially in Scribner's. Speaking of the Southerners in a letter dated October 29, 1859, Sherman said: 'If they design to protect themselves against negroes, or abolitionists, I will help; if they propose to leave the Union on account of a supposed fact that the Northern people are all abolitionists like Giddings and Brown, then I will stand by Ohio and the Northwest.'

"Sherman, three months in advance of the fact, said: 'Robert Anderson commands at Charleston, and there I look for the first actual collision.' He further said: 'The battle will be fought on the Mississippi. The Western States never should consent to a hostile people holding the mouth of the Mississippi.' Again: 'The Mississippi River is the hardest and most important task of the war, and I know of no one competent, unless it be McClellan. But as soon as real war begins new men, heretofore unheard of, will emerge from obscurity, equal to any occasion. Only I think it is to be a long warvery long-much longer than any politician thinks.' The weakness of the governmênt in not reinforcing Anderson was condemned and the mistake of sending reinforcements to Charleston in the Star of the West instead of in 'frigates and strong war steamers.""

To any one who has ever watched the cadets in the riding hall at West Point, the statement that American army officers are not the best

riders in the world, coming from a layman, at least, would be received with incredulity. They are fine riders, but it is a fact that the most expert riders are trained in some of the European schools. The recent riding tests for army officers attracted a great deal of attention and brought into prominence the whole question of horsemanship. Major T. Bentley Mott, U. S. A., who has visited all of the great army riding schools of Europe, will contribute a most interesting article to the July number on "The New Army School of Horsemanship," recently established at Fort Riley, Kan. Here a select group of officers are being instructed with thoroughness both with regard to the management and care of the horse, and from the school they go back to their various regiments as instructors. The illustrations from photographs include some remarkable exhibitions of rough-riding.

While the Pageant has been from time immemorial a feature of Old World court and public celebrations, it has only within recent years been looked upon with special favor in America. During the spring and early summer Percy MacKaye's Canterbury Pilgrimage will be given before a number of the leading universities, and, later, at Gloucester, Mass., there will be given his great Chaucerian Pageant for which Eric Pape, the painter, has designed the costumes and arranged the pictures. In the July number Mr. MacKaye will write of "American Pageants and their Promise," as exemplified by the Chaucerian Pageant at Gloucester, the Saint-Gaudens Masque at Corinth, N. H., and the Redwood Plays given by the famous Bohemian Club of California. The article will be illustrated from paintings by Mr. Pape, some of which will be reproduced in colors.

There will be another of Mrs. Wharton's "Tales of Men" in the July number, "The Daunt Diana," the title of which will pique curiosity. It is quite as remarkable as the two already published, and shows not only her wonderful grasp of character, but her surprising breadth of knowledge and sympathy and understanding of unusual types.

Every one who knows or cares for dogs will want to read the story of "Brother," by Louise Imogen Guiney, that will appear in July. It is charmingly told and free from the sentimentality that so often mars stories of this kind. It is the story of a real dog, and one that many will be glad to know as revealed by Miss Guiney, who, by the way, has returned to America after a long residence at Oxford, England.