his theme the hopeless contrast between the ideal and the real. A great hope awakens in the heart of some man or woman, only to be dashed against some grim reality. These inner sorrows, disappoint- of the soul, non-fulfillment of the heart's best wishes,—the things that seem so commonplace, even threadbare,—these are the incidents that Chekhov loves to narrate. His are tales of Life's Little Ironies, as Thomas Hardy calls them, and he tells them with a subtle detachment, and the height of delicate artistry. Chekhov's short stories may be thought of as a series of etchings of men and women and little children,—and such is the supreme delicacy with which the great etcher handles his needle, that he evokes for us something of the inner soul of his sitters.
Mr. McCormick's account of his experiences with the Russian army, and his observations along a wide battle-front, form a highly interesting and instructive volume. The work will be of especial value to those concerned in military affairs, for Mr. McCormick is always awake to the significance for our own country of the military devices, plans, armament, and accoutrement now being tested on the battlefields of Europe.
The book contains an account of an interview with the Emperor of Russia, and with the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolayevich; it gives us war-time descriptions of Warsaw, the Rawka battle-line, and a trip through Galicia. Much valuable information is given, always in clear narrative style, on the Russian army, the Cossacks, and modern fortifications in Russia.
The book contains two appendixes; one, History of the events leading to Great War; the other, Lessons for America from Great Britain's Shortcomings in this War.
Mr. McCormick's frankness, his fine powers of observation, and his interest in the human side of things, make his book, With the Russian Army, of more than temporary importance.
The increasing interest of Americans in the Russian language is strikingly shown in the Russian class introduced recently at the West Side Y. M. C. A., 318 West 57th Street, New York.
Here numerous professions are represented. Business men, engineers, literary men meet two evenings a week, and although Russian is ordinarily a difficult language to acquire, they are mastering it rapidly.
Their progress is due in great part to the instructor, Elias Dourmashkin. By birth and training he is exactly suited for this task. He is a native Russian, a graduate of Moscow University, Assistant Editor of the "Russkoye Slovo" a leading Russian daily published in New York, and a special correspondent of Petrograd and Moscow papers.
Not only is Mr. Dourmashkin giving his students a practical grasp of Russian, but he also will impart to them valuable information concerning Russian geography, business customs, and the life of the people. The aid this will be to Americans about to go to Russia, cannot be overestimated.
This class is an indication, a forerunner, of the widespread popularity that the Russian language is destined to attain in America.
