AFGHANISTAN, a country of Asia, lying to the north of India and east of Persia. Its boundaries are not accurately defined, and its area has been estimated from 215,400 square miles to about 250,000 square miles or more. It is divided into four provinces-Cabul, Herat, Turkestan, and Kandahar-having a population of 4,000,000. Cabul is the capital.

Since July, 1880, the reigning Ameer of Afghanistan has been Abdur Rahman Khan (born in 1830). He succeeded his cousin Yakub Khan, who abdicated in 1879. The government is monarchical, and the Ameer is a despotic ruler, whose word is law. Many acts of cruelty are related of him. In the internal wars by which he established his absolute despotism it is said that he wiped out whole tribes and left hardly a member of the old Afghan nobility alive. A sort of feudal system prevails, and his nobles are hard masters. The inhabitants of Afghanistan are a hardy people, fearless and vindictive. A large number of them are practically slaves or villeins, while the mass of the hired laborers are mercilessly taxed.

The

In religion they are Mohammedans. Afghan tribes can scarcely be called a nation, for they are kept united only by the iron rule of the Ameer.

Abdur Rahman is a man of unusual ability and a successful general. He is well read and familiar with the history of other lands, but is eccentric and suspicious of foreigners. His patriotism cannot be doubted, for he has always kept in view the good of his people and country. He maintains a standing army of 50,000 soldiers, well supplied with rifles and cannon. The Ameer's recently published autobiography is an interesting book, giving a fair idea of his remarkable career, although its omissions leave on the reader's mind the impression that he is a far more enlightened and progressive monarch than the facts warrant.

Situated between India and Russian Turkestan, Afghanistan has for many years been a buffer state between British India and Russia in Asia. The British evidently regard the Ameer's friendship worth having, for he receives from them a yearly subsidy of $800,000, besides gifts of arms and ammunition. The aim of this policy is not only to keep him friendly with the Indian government, but to prevent his becoming an ally of Russia. While professing loyalty to England and defying the Czar, it is well known that he receives secret embassies and secret subsidies from Russia. More than once he has manifested hostility to Western powers in the East, and has at times exchanged messages with the Sultan of Turkey, the Shah of Persia and other Mohammedan rulers as to the chances of Islam's overthrowing Christendom.

In the spring of 1900 the massing of Russian troops near the frontier of Afghanistan led to

rumors of a threatened invasion. The storm, however, blew over-Russia securing the longdesired outlet to the ocean through the Persian Gulf. Thereafter the Chinese trouble diverted attention to the Far East. The death of the Ameer would bring the Afghan question to the front again.

Afghanistan has been described as "one of the waste places of the world." Its meager products supply the inhabitants with a bare subsistence. It has a small trade with the outside world. The Ameer's policy of isolation, allowing no railways in his dominions, hinders the development of

Its chief exports are fruits, nuts, spices, and assafoetida. Of imports, sugar, tea, indigo, and cotton goods are the principal articles.

AGUINALDO, EMILIO, Filipino leader in the insurrection against Spain and afterward against the United States; born in the province of Cavite, Luzon, March 22, 1869. The story of his life reads like a romance, and many conflicting statements have appeared in print concerning him. He belongs to the tribe of Tagals. His father was a planter, who gave his son unusual advantages. He was for a while a student in the University of St. Tomas in Manila. He made slow progress with books, and was obliged to leave school at the death of his father. He is said to have been at one time a schoolmaster and afterward a clerk

in the navy yard at Manila. When a young man he came under the influence of the patriot, Dr. Rizal, who organized the Philippine League later known as the Katipunan. Aguinaldo was a member of this secret order, and became its acknowledged leader in the revolt of 1896. (For the causes of this rebellion see the article on the Philippines.) As a result of this determined insurrection it was found necessary to increase the Spanish army in the Philippines from 3,000 to 5,000 in October, 1896. In December the Spanish troops numbered 11,000 and afterward fresh forces came, yet the war dragged on more than a year. At the death of Bonifacio, the first president of the Tagal Republic (proclaimed in October, 1896), Aguinaldo was the unanimous choice of soldiers and leaders for his successor. His kindness and sympathy made 1 m a general favorite with his men.

Unable to suppress the revolt by force, the Spanish general, Primo de Rivera, made conces

EMILIO AGUINALDO.

sions to the natives and promised reforms, with the offer of money to be paid as an indemnity to the leaders of the rebellion and lesser insurgents. In return Aguinaldo and thirty-four other leaders were to lay down their arms and leave the Philippine Islands. By the terms of this treaty, the Pact of Biac-na-bato, signed Dec. 14, 1897, the representative of the Spanish government was to distribute the sum of $1,700,000 among the insurgents. Of this sum only $400,000 was ever paid to the rebel chiefs, and the promises of reforms were never fulfilled. The struggle for liberty was therefore renewed or rather continued. The $400,000 paid to the rebel leaders was kept in a bank in Hong Kong and afterward used to defray the expenses of the uprising of

1898.

The outbreak of hostilities between Spain and the United States was the opportunity of the Filipinos, and they improved it. Hoping with the help of the Americans to throw off the Span

ish yoke, they were eager to co-operate with our forces. A meeting was arranged between Aguinaldo and the American consul at Singapore, Spencer Pratt, April 24, 1898, and an agreement was drawn up to be later submitted to Commodore Dewey and the authorities at Washington. According to John Foreman, this agreement or rather "understanding" provided for Philippine independence and a Federal Republic under American protection.

A week later Dewey entered Manila Bay and destroyed the Spanish fleet. Statements vary as to the time of Aguinaldo's return in the American dispatch boat "McCulloch." Foreman says he arrived May 19, and his well-known proclamation to the Filipinos was issued at Cavite May 24. He was received by the natives with enthusiasm and soon found himself at the head of a considerable army. At this time he was on friendly terms with Admiral Dewey, who supplied the insurgents with field-pieces, rifles and ammunition. Filipinos serving in the Spanish colonial army deserted and flocked to Aguinaldo's standard. About this time he assumed the title of Dictator and acted as commander-in-chief of the large force now gathered. He attacked the Spanish posts around Manila, May 31, and drove the Spaniards into the city. It is probable that the insurgents could have captured Manila then, but by arrangement with Admiral Dewey they remained outside the city. In June they had taken some 4,000 prisoners, and in July they rendered material aid in the military operations of our land forces, which were delayed in reaching the scene of action. There was no formal alliance, but an understanding existed as to the part that each was to play, and at the capture of Manila (August 13) the natives hemmed in the city and prevented the escape of the enemy. Aguinaldo then withdrew his forces and established his headquarters at Malolos, a village twenty-five miles northwest of Manila.

In the meanwhile the relations of Aguinaldo with Generals Anderson and Merritt had become strained, and there was mutual mistrust and misunderstanding as to the object of the revolutionary government of which he was the head. In the first article of the constitution of the provisional government, proclaimed June 23, 1898, the insurgent leader declared that their purpose was "to struggle for the independence of the Philippines, until all nations, including Spain, shall expressly recognize it, and to prepare the country for the establishment of a real Republic." In September the Philippine Republic was formally organized and a Congress assembled. Aguinaldo was declared the First President (Sept. 29), and Pedro Patermo was President of the National Assembly.

Only a meager outline can be given of the events that followed. The Paris treaty of peace was signed Dec. 10, 1898, by the terms of which Spain ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States. President McKinley's proclamation (Dec. 30) made known the intention of the United States. Soon afterward (Jan. 6, 1899) Aguinaldo issued a proclamation, announcing the breaking-off of friendly relations with our governent and threatening war if the American forces intended forcible aggression. It is believed by some that war could have been avoided, although preparations for an expected conflict had been made for months on both sides. The long-lookedfor clash between the natives and the Americans

came on the evening of Feb. 4, when one of our sentries, Private W. W. Grayson (Company D., 1st Nebraska volunteers) fired the first shot "at a party of Filipino soldiers forcing their way across his beat." It has been claimed and denied that there was a concerted movement on the part of the natives. Fighting continued Feb. 5 and 6, and on Feb. 6 the Paris treaty of peace was ratified by the Senate. (For account of military operations see article on the Philippines.)

In April and May representatives of the Filipinos met the members of the Schurman commission, then in Manila, but nothing came of their consultations. The conciliatory propositions of the commissioners were not acceptable to Aguinaldo, who was reported to have declined an offer of $5,000 a year for restoring peace among the Tagals. So the war went on, in which the Filipinos suffered many losses, and the so-called capital of the Philippine Republic was frequently removed. The power and influence of Aguinaldo gradually declined and his following fell off. One by one his ministers and generals were taken prisoners and he had several narrow escapes from falling into the hands of our soldiers. There was a prospect that the chase for the wily and elusive chieftain might last several years, and the world was surprised at his capture by General Frederick Funston, March 23, 1901. Aguinaldo was taken in his camp in Isabella Province, Luzon, by an adroit ruse. Funston and four American officers posed as prisoners in the hands of natives, and by them were brought to the unsuspecting leader, who was seized and hurried off to Manila. After his capture he was kept in close custody and on April 2 he took the oath of allegiance to the United States. Later (April 19) he issued a manifesto to the Filipinos, advising submission. "I believe I am not in error," says Aguinaldo in opening his manifesto, "in presuming that the unhappy fate to which my adverse fortune has led me is not a surprise to those who have been familiar with the progress of the war.

"The lessons taught with a full meaning, and which have recently come to my knowledge, suggest with irresistible force that a complete termination of hostilities and lasting peace are not only desirable, but absolutely essential to the welfare of the Philippine Islands.

"The Filipinos have never been dismayed at their weakness nor have they faltered in following the path pointed out by their fortitude and courage. The time has come, however, in which they find their advance along this path to be impeded by an irresistible force, which, while it restrains them, yet enlightens their minds and opens to them another course, presenting them the cause of peace.

"This cause has been joyfully embraced by the majority of my fellow countrymen, who have already united around the glorious sovereign banner of the United States.

"In this banner they repose their trust and belief that under its protection the Filipino people will attain all those promised liberties which they are beginning to enjoy.

"The country has declared unmistakably in favor of peace. So be it. There has been enough blood, enough tears, and enough desolation.

"This wish cannot be ignored by the men still in arms if they are animated by a desire to serve our noble people, which has thus clearly manifested its will. So do I respect this will now that it is known to me.

ALLEN, ALEXANDER VIETS GRISWOLD, author and professor in the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass, was born at Otis, Mass., May 4, 1841. In connection with his work as a lecturer on ecclesiastical history, Professor Allen has written several volumes-"Continuity of Christian Thought" (1884), "Religious Progress" (1894), and "Christian Institutions" (1897). The latter work belongs to the International Theological Library. He also contributed a striking sketch of Jonathan Edwards to the American Religious Leaders Series. But his best contribution to literature, ranking second, perhaps, to the "Life and Letters of Huxley" among recent biographies, is his "Life and Letters of Phillips Brooks, published in two volumes, which must be considered the standard memoir of the great American preacher, whose loss is still keenly felt.

The career and personality of the late Bishop Brooks afford a noble subject, to which his reverent and admiring friend has done full justice in these ample volumes. It is the man that is portrayed, as well as the preacher. He was truly a grand leader, one who impressed himself on the men of his generation and country as have but few pulpit orators of our time. He was a veritable giant, intellectually and spiritually as well as physically. Dr. Allen has faithfully portrayed

Phillips Brooks as he was in his fruitful pastorates in Philadelphia and Boston.

ARABI AHMED PASHA, who was recently pardoned by Egyptian authority, was the son of a small peasant Sheykh who lived near Zagazig in the Eastern Delta. His father gave him a good Arabic education and as a young man he entered the Egyptian army in the time of Saïd Pasha. He gradually rose on account of merit to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and the command of a regiment. The years from 1870 to 1879 were fraught with terrible suffering for the fellahin. The Khedive, Ismaïl, after having obtained all the available wealth of the country, had contracted a foreign debt of 95,000,000 pounds sterling to European speculators, and these men, supported by their governments had extorted the last piastre from the peasant population. When Arabi arose to advocate the cause of resistance, the fellah's last possession, his land, was passing into the grasp of the usurers who held the people by the throat. Ismaïl, was gone but in his place there was a Pasha of the worst type who was possessed with absolute authority and was moreover sustained by the Anglo-French control.

Arrests and deportation without trial were the order of the day and it was the attempted arrest of Arabi which brought him into full notice as leader of the national movement. He had organized a secret society among the fellah officers of the Egyptian army, and in 1881 the movement had become powerful enough to compel the Khedive to recognize and respect their demands.

After a year of determined effort in the face of all obstacles, the fellah struggle was finally crowned with success on the 9th of February, 1882.

The Khedive signed a decree granting a constitution on European models, and Arabi and others of the fellah party were called to office as a cabinet, responsible no longer to the Khedive alone, but to the popularly elected Chamber of Delegates. Arabi was raised to the rank of a Pasha and his influence in the army was supreme. There was rejoicing in Egypt, such as had not been known for centuries, but the English and French controllers set themselves to work to prejudice European opinion against the fellah ministry, and they at last succeeded in detaching the Khedive from his allegiance to the constitution which he had granted.

They defamed the fellah ministers to the European press and finally obtained the dispatch of a fleet to Alexandria and the delivery of an ultimatum demanding the dismissal of the constitutional cabinet and the restoration of the Khedive's absolute power.

Bribes and threats proving utterly unavailing with Arabi and the other fellah leaders, 30,000 British troops were sent to Egyptian soil, and the English bombarded Alexandria on July 11, 1882.

War followed, and the British troops under Sir Garnet Wolseley finally defeated Arabi at Tel-el-Kebir on Sept. 3. Arabi was captured and sentenced to banishment for life on the island of Ceylon. He was then 41 years old and is now 61.

On May 22, 1901, the Khedive, doubtless acting upon the advice of Lord Cromer, the British diplomatic agent, pardoned Arabi Pasha and Mustapha Fehmi, his second in command, who had been with him sentenced to banishment for life. They return to Egypt.

ASTRONOMY, RECENT.—THE PLANET EROS.— The campaign of parallex measurement, in which astronomers made use of the planet Eros, has come to an end, and the results are now being published. This planet was discovered by photography at Berlin, nearly three years ago. Its rapid motion at once revealed the fact that it was no ordinary minor planet; when its orbit was computed it was found that about half of the orbit lay between those of Mars and the Earth. Here was something quite unexpected, as previously discovered asteroids had traversed paths lying between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter; only a very few had ventured a short distance inside of the orbit of Mars, when near their perihelia. But Eros had boldly attempted to get a nearer view of the Earth. It was soon discovered that in the fall of 1900 and the winter of 1900-1901 Eros would come pretty near to the earth, so that measures of its distance from us could be made advantageously. From such measures, by means of well known mathematical formulæ, the distances of all the planets from the sun could be obtained more accurately than ever before. Therefore almost all the large observatories of the world combined in such an attack upon Eros as few celestial bodies have ever experienced. Fortunately the weather was generally favorable, and a very large number of valuable measures were made. For their full discussion two years or more must be allowed.

There was a most interesting by-product of the observations, which gives to Eros a fresh claim to be considered as an extraordinary planet. Several astronomers, while making their observations, noticed that on some nights Eros looked brighter than they had expected, and on others fainter. Their suspicions being aroused, accurate measures of the planet's brightness were made. These showed that Eros varied one and a half magnitudes in 5h. 16m. Within this time the fluctuation was curiously irregular. First for 1h. 20m. the brightness decreased; then it began to increase, and after 1h. 18m. had reached a maximum, from which it descended to another minimum in 1h. 31m.; next it rose more rapidly and in 1h. 6m. had again reached a maximum. This cycle of variations was repeated time and time again.

These variations can be explained upon the hypothesis that Eros is really a double planet. the two revolving swiftly about their common center of gravity, in a plane passing approximately through the earth. According to this theory one of the bodies is a half larger than the other, and each is a very elongated ellipsoid. Instead of being quite a distance apart, as in the case of the earth-moon system, these two bodies must nearly touch each other. While this theory is to be looked at with considerable reserve, we may follow it out a little. Owing to the movements of Eros and the Earth in their respective orbits, the plane of revolution of the two components of Eros would not continually pass through the Earth, and we should view the double planet from different directions, as the months rolled on. The amount of variation in brightness ought therefore to change. In case a line from the earth to Eros became perpendicular to the plane in which the two components of Eros moved about their common center of gravity, the variation of light would temporarily cease. Just this effect has been noticed; for Professor E. C. Pickering, of the Harvard Obser