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death. Indeed, before and after the operation the Pontiff’scheerfulness almost rose to gaiety, expressing itself

in pleasant sallies, doubly pleasant for his consultants tohear. It may or may not be truly stated that he congratu-lated himself, as a hopeful element in the prognosis, on his"having youth on his side." But he certainly spoke andacted as if he had-as if, indeed, he fully shared Pro-fessor Mazzoni’s belief that after the operation hehad at least as many years in store as would sufficeto falsify the words whispered into his ear on coronation:I I Non videbis annos Petri." His example adds another tothe many instances of patriarchal years attained by hard-working men, professional and other, in whom "mind andsoul according well," with a physique unbroken by excessand braced by manly exercise, have resulted in that "oldage" immortalised by Wordsworth as " beautiful and free."That poet himself and his official successor, Lord Tennyson,the Duke of Wellington, and the Emperor William I. are

typical examples of that serene "sunset of life" which,succeeding its fitful fever," shed so rich an afterglow ontheir decline.

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CHILD LABOUR AND ITS HYGIENIC ASPECTS.

AT a recent meeting of the London School Board

(Feb. 16th, 1899) a report was presented dealing with theresults of inquiries relating to those unfortunate little

children in London who have to labour out of school hours

for a partial livelihood of their families. The material

collected and set forth by Mr. Macnamara reveals a state ofthings generally unknown to the public and one in need ofmedical and social reform. The report shows that 1143children work from 19 to 24 hours a week, exclusively ofschool hours; 729 work from 30 to 39 hours a week; and285 children work 40 hours or more a week. The occupa-tions include such as newspaper and milk delivery, shop andfactory work, errands, greengrocery, domestic work, andvarious other employments. At the Aldenham-street school,Marylebone, one of the boys works for from 23 to 24 hours aweek as an undertaker’s help, assisting in the gruesome taskof measuring corpses, and receiving Is. a week for his work.Several of the boys work during the afternoon break (of onehour) between school hours. One little lad in Stepney worksas a greengrocer’s help nearly eight hours every schoolday (exclusively of school hours), all Saturdays till halfan hour past midnight, and three hours on Sunday.The effect of this extra-mural labour is that thevictims reach school tired and sleepy and quite unfit fortheir work. " Probably," says the report, " some die as thedirect result of the severity of the toil inflicted upon themduring their early years, and certainly many more of themmust become a permanent and heavy charge upon the publicpurse because of the physical incapacity resulting from therigour of their early experiences." It has been suggestedthat the London County Council which in another directioncontrols the employment of child performers on the stageshould frame by-laws preventing labour of those under

14 years of age before 8 A.M. or after 8 P.M., in whichcase a distinct step in advance would be achieved.Dr. Francis Warner who has patiently studied the

physique and capacities of board school children in

London for many years stated recently that _physicalhygiene should be studied in these children as well as

mental hygiene, that the capacity for acquiring and assimi-lating knowledge was at its best when the child was freshand not suffering from fatigue, and that many schoolchildren unfortunately showed more or less brain fatigue asmanifested in their want of accuracy and ease in coordinate

voluntary movements (which were also fewer), while" un-controlled movements " were more common in these children,

1 Lecture at the Sanitary Institute on the Mental Abilities and Dis-abilities of Children (February, 1899).

such as finger-twitchings, contraction of the forehead,unequal balance of outstretched arms, with drooping fingersinstead of level when in that position, and slower and moreinaccurate response to questions, &c. There can be no

question of the importance of public attention being drawn tothe matter and the London School Board has already takensome action, having resolved to send a letter to the EducationDepartment urging their lordships to call upon the variousrural educational authorities to take steps to prevent theillegal employment of children of school age in their dis-tricts in labour of various kinds.

THE ILLNESS OF MR. RUDYARD KIPLING.

MR. RUDYARD KIPLIKG is now pronounced out of imme-diate danger. His illness was apparently of a complex typecombining the wandering form of broncho-pneumonia withthe definite crisis typical of ordinary lobar pneumonia.It has been considered that Mr. Kipling’s attack was certainlyconsecutive to influenza because of the illness of his two little

children, but his medical attendants do not seem to share this...

view. The universality of the interest which has been taken inMr. Kipling during his illness is a testimony to the wonderfulhold which he has taken upon the minds of men. The vigourof his genius, the nobility of his motives, and the dexterousaudacity of his literary methods have gained for him awonderful audience, so that we find the occupant of thethrone and the third-form schoolboy, the great poetic artistand the hard-headed merchant, the lettered and the ignorant,alike in their sincere admiration, and we may be sure thatthey are alike also in their sympathy with him and his wifein the sad death of their eldest-born.

THE NEW FOOD AND DRUGS BILL.

Two weeks ago we noted with satisfaction that Mr. Walter

Long had evidently grasped the need of repeal that waswanted in regard to the present Food and Drugs Act (1875).This at any rate was the impression which he conveyed inhis remarks, which almost amounted to promises, madebefore a deputation which had sought his assurances. But

the Bill introduced by Mr. Long into the House ofCommons this week would seem to imply that the Govern-ment do not mean to deal with the question with thatcomprehensiveness which it demands. Indeed, it suggestsvery little at all in the way of repeal of the sections

of the present Act. The only reforms which we can

pick out from the Bill, a copy of which we have beforeus, relate to increased fines, to the form of the certificate ofanalysis, and to a little extra procedure to be observedwhen a sample is purchased. These are practically allthe steps which it is proposed to take as a result of therecommendations of a Select Committee which labouredon the question for four years. There is to be noBoard of Reference, no standards are to be set up, no

requirements about preservatives are mentioned, and no

particular qualifications are to be demanded from the personfilling the office of public analyst. We cannot franklyregard the Bill as a Sale of Food and Drugs Bill at all. Ofthe 23 clauses in it no less than 11 deal with agriculturalproducts, while eight have to do with the sale of food anddrugs, and the remaining four are merely supplemental. Inthe section dealing with food and drugs there are no

definitions laid down. If this Bill passes then it seemsto us that the labours of the Select Committee may veryreasonably be counted as so much wasted time and

money. In reality the Bill is a measure dealing mainlywith agricultural products and home produce, aiming at thestopping at the ports of entry of the importation of adulte-rated articles such as butter, cream, and milk. It will

appeal, therefore, very strongly to the home producer andthus Mr. Long will probably secure the support of the