THE
CATHOLIC WORLD,
MONTHLY MAGAZINE
OF
PUBLISHED BY THE PAULIST FATHERS.
VOIy. L-XXXIX.
APRIL, 1909, TO SEPTEMBER, 1909.
NEW YORK :
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120 WEST 6oth STREET.
1909.
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CONTENTS.
Achill, The Island of.— Rosa Mulhol-
land Gilbert, . . . . .63
Angel Beautiful, The. — /. R. Meagher, 224
Arran, The South Isles of.— Ethel C.
Randall, Ph.D., . . . .654
Catholic Literature in Public Libraries.
— William Stetson Merrill, . . 500
Chesterton, G. K..— W. E. Campbell, . i
Christian Science, The Cures of. —
Francis D. Me Garry, C.S.C., . 373
Church and State in France. — M. /.
Costello, 665
Church and the Workingman, The. —
John A. Ryan, .... 776
Columbian Reading Union, The, 141, 285,
428, 574, 716, 860
Convent Life in Modern Fiction. — Vir-
ginia M. Crawford, . . . 360
Current Events, 132, 275, 418, 563, 703, 850
Dante and His Celtic Precursors. — Ed-
mund G. Gardner, . . . 289, 445
Day of Fate, In the. — Christian Reid, 332
De Smet in the Oregon Country. — Ed-
win V. O'Hara, . . . .317
Eliot, President, Among the Prophets.
—Francis P. Duffy, D.D., . . 721
Empire, A Remnant of. — P. W.
Browne, 41
End of a Long Journey, The. — /. Prtn-
dtrgast, S.f., 636
" Fioretti," The Teaching of the. — Fa-
ther Cuthbert, O.S.F.C., . . 189
Flete, Father William, Hermit.— Dar-
ley Dale, . . . . . . 232
Foreign Periodicals, 122, 264, 409, 554,
693, 840
Grafton, Bishop, Is He Fair ? — Lewis
Jerome O'Hern, C.S.P., . . 577
Haeckel and His Methods. — Richard L.
Mingan, S.f., .... 213
Her Mother's Daughter. — Katharine
Tynin. 11, 150, 302, 456, 595, 733
Holy Spirit, The, and the Christian
Life. — Thomas f. Gerrard, . . 344
Home, The Christian Ideal of the. —
fames Cardinal Gibbons, . .145
Hours of Our Lady, The. — Marian
Nesbitt, 493
Ireland : a Land of Industrial Promise.
— P. f. Lennox, . . . .177
Joan of Arc, Did the Church Burn ?— /.
H. Le Breton Girdlestone, . . 783
Layman, A Great. — Wilfrid Wilber-
force, 79
Lost Dog, A. — Mary Austin, . . 624
Lourdes, The Wonders of. — /. Bricout,
472, 615, 809
Mairteen's History. — N. F. Degidon, . 203
Modern Saint, A. — Countess de Courson, 648
Moore, Count (A Great Layman). —
Wilfrid Wilberforce, . . -79
New Books, 103, 240, 384, 538, 674, 820
Oxford, Pre-Tractarian,— Wilfrid Wil-
• perforce, 508
Oxford Thinkers, Six.— Wilfrid Wil-
berforce, 758
Pilgrim's Progress, The, and Some Pre-
Re formation Allegories. — Kathe-
rine Brtgy, . 96, 166
Religious Teaching in American Uni-
versities (The End of a Long Jour-
ney).— /.- Prendergast, S.f., . . 636
Scholastic Criticism and Apologetics. —
W. H. Kent, O.S.C. . . .748
Shakespeare, The Arts in. — A. W.
Corpe, 523
Small and Narrow House, The. — Pa-
mela Gage, 485
Social Reform by Legislation, A Pro-
gramme of. — fohn A. Ryan, D D.,
433. So8
Stranger Within Our Gates, A.—Jf. W.
G. Hyrst, .... 49
Tally-ho. — Pamela Gage, . . . 797
Tyrrell's, Father, View of Revealed
Truth. — fohn M. Salter, S.f., . 27
Vrau, Philibert (A Modern Saint). —
Countess de Courson, . . . 648
Supreme Venture,
Clifford, .
The.— Cornelius
POETRY.
There. — Pamela Gage,
94
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
^Eneid of Virgil, The, .... 258
Agnosticisme Contemporaine, Dieu et 1', 543
Aline of the Grand Woods, . . . 257
America, ...... 261
American Expansion, The Romance of, 385
Anglaise Convertie, Une, . . . 246
Auxilium Infirmorum, .... 692
Bartholomew de las Casas, . . . 108
Besoin, Le, et le Devoir Religeux, . 830
Between Friends, 260
Bosco's, Don, Early Apostolate, His-
tory of, 544
Breviarium Sacrarum Virginum Ord. SS.
Salvatoris, vulgo Sanctae Birgittas, . 690
Bridge Builders, The, . . . .822
Browning and Isaiah, .... 682
Business Correspondence in Shorthand, 692
Business English, Style Book of, . . 692
Calumny Refuted, A, .... 834
Canon Law, A Handbook of, . . 391
Carmina, 399
Catechetical Instruction, A Compen-
dium of, 390
Catholic Ceremonies and Practices,
Reasonableness of, .... 251
Catholic Church and Science, The, . 830
Catholic Churchmen in Science, . . 836
Catholic Encyclopedia, The, . . 538
Catholic Footsteps in Old New York, . 387
Catholic Revival in England, The
Dawn of the, 244
Catholics, Some Great, of Church and
State, 684
Catholic Who's Who for 1909, The, . 245
Child of Destiny, A, .... 255
Child Study and Education, . . . 252
IV
CONTENTS.
Christ, The, the Son of God, . . 241
Church and Grave, The Law of, . . 391
Churches and the Wage-Earners, The, 398
Communion, Frequent and Daily, Even
For Men, 552
Cosmographiae Introductio, The, of
Martin Waldseemuller, . . . 386
Costume of Prelates of the Catholic
Church According to Roman Eti-
quette, 836
Cousin 1-ara, 689
Crise Intime de 1'Eglise de France, La, 550
Cupa Revisited, 260
Daily Communion, The Decree of, . 552
Damen, Father, Lectures of, . . 692
Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia, 399
Denville, Claude, Artist, . . . aco
Dilettantisme, Du, d 1'Action Etudes
Contemporaines, .... 405
Divine Story, J he, . . . . 835
Dromina, 54g
Early Church, Characteristics of the, . 542
Early History of the Christian Church
From Its Foundation to the End of
, the Third Century, .... 540
Eglise, L', de France et la Separation, . 550
Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,
The New Schaff-Herzog, . . .118
England and the English from an
American Point of View, . • . 545
English Catholics in the Eighteenth
Century, Biographies of, . . . 244
Essays, Literary, Critical, and Histor-
ical, 838
Far East, Education in the, . . . 838
Forgive and Forget, .... 407
Francailles, Les, et le Mariage Disci-
pline Actuelle, 114
Friar Observant, A, .... 256
Greek and Eastern Churches, The, . lit
Harvest Within, The, .... 683
Heortology, 241
Holy Eucharist, The, and Frequent and
Daily Communion, ....
Holy Water and its Significance for
Catholics
Humble Victims,
Humility and Patience, The Little Book
of,
Hymns, Early Christian,
Immanence, L', et le Probleme Reli-
gieux,
Immortality,
Index of Forbidden Books, The Roman,
Briefly Explained for Catholic Book-
lovers and Students, .... 117
Ireland and Her People, . . . 396
Italians of To-Day, The, . . .no
Italy, The Spell of, .... 402
Just Irish, 395, 553
Kingdom of Earth, The, . . . 824
Kings and the Cats, The, . . . 688
Lab irers in God's Vineyard, . . 39^
Latin Pronounced for Altar Boys, . 692
Latin Pronounced for Church Services, 692
Law Stenographer, How to Become a, 692
Lea's, Henry Charles, Historical Writ-
ings, 115
Life's Day 404
Lincoln Conscript, A, .... 548
Little Angels, 837
Little Gods, The 255
Loisy, M., Les Theories de, . . 261
Machebeuf, D.D., Life of the Right
Rev. Joseph P., 685
Madge-Make-the-Best-of-It, . . . 260
Marriage a la Mode, ,, . . . 823
553
691
838
553
250
543
247
Making and Unmaking of a Dullard,
The, 397
Misery and Its Causes, .... 826
Modernism, ^88
Modernistes, Les, 542
Mysterious Way, In a, . . . . 689
Mystical Element of Religion, The, as
Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa
and Her Friends, .... 103
New Scholar at St. Anne's, The, . . 259
Objections Against Religion, Short An-
swers to Common, . . . 250, 691
Oriental Gentleman, An, . . . 407
Overland Route, The, to the Road of a
Thousand Wonders, .... 121
Parents and Frequent Communion of
Children, 551
Pastors of Souls, Rules for the, . . 686
People at Play, The, .... 687
Philosophies de 1'Intuition, Insuffisance
des, 827
Pluralistic Universe, A, . . . . 679
Poems, 408
Preachers' Protest, The, . . . 834
Profit and Loss in Man, . . . i2O
Pro-Romanism and the Tractarian
Movement, 824
Prussien, Le Peril, au lieu d'un Schell-
ing, des Milliards, .... 550
Psychological Phenomena of Christian-
ity, The, 106
Ramona's Country, Through, . . 545
Religions, History of, . , . 674
Religious Unrest— The Way Out, . 691
Report of the Nineteenth Eucharistic
Congress Held at Westminster, Sep-
tember, 1908 ~.gz
Right Living, Some Incentives to, . 836
Roads to Rome in America, Some, . 243
Road to Rome, A 113
Roman Church, The, Before Constan-
tine, 832
Roundabout Way, In a, . . . 407
St. Benedict, T he Via Vitae of. . . 394
Saint Janvier, Le Celebre Miracle de, a
Naples et Pouzzoles, .... 240
St. Melania, The Life of, . . . 246
St. Thomas d Becket, .... 242
Sangre y Arena, 119
Scholastic Philosophy in the Nineteenth
Century, The Revival of, . . . 678
Score, The, 820
Shelburne Essays, The, . . . 675
Simony in the Christian Church, A
History of, 384
Sing Ye to the Lord, .... 832
Socialism, Shall We Choose ? . . 833
Sociologie d'apres les Principes de la
Theologie Catholique. Traite de, . 828
Sodalist's Imitation of Christ, The, . 407
Son of Siro. The 256
Spiritism, Modern, . . . -117
Spiritual Verses as Aids to Mental
Prayer, 691
Springs of Helicon, The, . . . 252
Standard of Living, The, Among Work- .
ingmen's Families in New York City, 401
Sunday-School Director's Guide to Suc-
cess, The, 251
Swetchine, Madame, The Maxims of, . 686
Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries, The, 831
Thoughts of the Heart, .... 394
Vocation Sociale, Ma, . . . .116
Where the Fishes Go, : 839
White Sister, The, .... 690
Wiles of Sexton Maginnis, The, . . 253
Witness of the' Wilderness, The, . . 248
THE
CATHOLIC WORLD,
VOL. LXXXIX.
APRIL, 1909.
No. 529.
G. K. CHESTERTON.
BY W. E. CAMPBELL.
II.— CATHOLIC APOLOGIST.
come now to Mr. Chesterton as Catholic Apol-
ogist.* He is not singular in his defence of the
Church, but in the manner and originality of
his defence he is indeed singular. He has been
much criticised, first for his use of paradox, and
secondly for his use of humor. But in these two respects he
is well in the wake of Catholic tradition. What first strikes us
about Mr. Chesterton's method of controversy is that he at-
tacks and defends things upon entirely different grounds from
those upon which they are generally attacked and defended.
Hence he is called, and rightly so, paradoxical. But surely
this paradoxical habit of his is, after all, a purely judicial one.
The modern mind has lost its power of seeing things sub specie
aternitatis — of seeing them, that is to say, in that living rela-
tion in which it has pleased God to create and sustain them.
Before Mr. Chesterton submits his case for judgment, he must
first restore the minds of his jury to a proper state of equi-
librium; and he does this by means of paradox. In doing so
he is following, and we speak reverently, evangelical pre-
cedent. Where shall we find current fashions of thought at-
tacked with so much paradox and emphasis as in the Gospels ?
Mr. Chesterton's paradoxes are startling; but, having once stated
* In the March CATHOLIC WORLD we considered Mr. G. K. Chesterton as " Inquisitor
and Democrat."
Copyright. 1909. THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLH
IN THB STATE OF NEW YORK.
VOL. LXXXIX.— I
2 G. K. CHESTERTON [April,
them, he proceeds to enlarge and elucidate them in the home-
liest manner by parables taken from the common experiences
of everyday life. And here again he has authority for so do-
ing. He is not afraid to appeal to the eye and to the heart
and to the ear of the ordinary man — to be obvious, to be hu-
morous, at times almost to be irreverent about the things of
our holy Faith. We are suffering from the low spirits of the
Reformation. We have not faith enough to believe that good
spirits both come from and return to the spiritual world,
that there too humor is more acceptable than the solemnities
of pride; and the jokes of the humble man than the epigrams
of the cruelly clever. Humor, after all, succeeds where many
a more pretentious weapon fails; it disciplines sentiment and
is the best birch for sentimentality. As distinguished from wit,
which is purely intellectual, it comes from the heart; it is
more excellent than satire, since it is founded on charity. In
fine, it is in essence altogether spiritual, for it consists in so
laying stress on material things as to show their real value.
To put the thesis in brief, Mr. Chesterton sets out to show
that Christianity, as defined by the Apostles Creed, is the best
root of human energy and sound ethics. He assumes that
what the ordinary western man desires is an active and imag-
inative life, picturesque and full of poetical curiosity — in fact,
a romantic life. We need so to view the world as to com-
bine an idea of wonder and an idea of welcome. We need to
be happy in this wonderland without once being merely com-
fortable. Many people in this very reasonable age are afraid
of imagination, and especially of mystical imagination ; they
are afraid it is dangerous to a man's mental balance: "Imag-
ination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed in-
sanity is reason. Cowper was driven mad by the ugly and
alien logic of predestination. He was damned by John Calvin ;
he was almost saved by John Gilpin. The general fact is
simple. Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite
sea ; reason seeks to cross the infinite sea, and so to make it
finite. The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world
to stretch himself in."
The mad man is the man who has lost everything else but
his reason. His reason works perfectly within a contracted
circle of ideas; but he is indifferent to and disconnected with
everything outside this narrow circle. Now the materialist
1909.] G. K. CHESTERTON 3
scheme is just like this lucid scheme of the madman; it is
characterized by just the same note of logical completeness
combined with an utter unconsciousness of the alien energies
and the large indifference of the earth. The materialist is
confined to the clean and well-lit prison of one idea, His
truth is a very limited one and consequently his belief is un-
healthy. " The man who cannot believe his senses, and the
man who cannot believe anything else, are both insane, but
their insanity is not proved by any error in their argument,
but by the manifest mistake of their whole lives. They
have both locked themselves up in two boxes, painted inside
with the sun and the stars; they are both unable to get out,
the one into the health and happiness of heaven, the other
even into the health and happiness of the earth."*
But while reason used without root, reason in the void, is
the chief note of insanity, what is it that keeps men sane ?
Practically speaking it is mysticism. The ordinary man has al-
ways been a mystic. He has always been able to hold appar-
ent contradictions in the grip of a healthy faith. If he saw
two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take
the two truths and the contradiction along with them ; and
it is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that con-
stitutes the whole buoyancy of the healthy man. Not only in
spiritual things but also in the ordinary things of everyday
life this has always been true of him.
No, the ordinary man cannot live by reasoning alone, and
in fact never does. " The mystic allows one thing to be mys-
terious, and everything else becomes lucid. The determinist
makes the theory of causation quite clear, and then finds he
cannot say ' if you please ' to the housemaid. The Christian
permits free will to remain a sacred mystery; but because of
this his relations with the housemaid become of a sparkling
and crystal clearness. He puts the seed of dogma in a central
darkness ; but it branches forth in all directions with abounding
health. The one created thing which we cannot look at is the
one thing in the light of which we look at everything else.
. . . Detached intellectualism is (in the exact sense of the
popular phrase) all moonshine; for it is light without heat,
and it is secondary light reflected from a dead world. But the
Greeks were right when they made Apollo the god both of
imagination and sanity; for he was both the patron of poetry
•* Orthodoxy.
4 G. K. CHESTERTON [April,
and the patron of healing. Of necessary dogmas and a special
creed I shall speak later. But that transcendentalism by which
all men live has primarily much the same position as the sun
in the sky. We are conscious of it as of a kind of splendid
confusion ; it is something both shining and shapeless, at once
a blaze and a blur. But the circle of the moon is as clear
and unmistakable as recurrent and inevitable, as the circle of
Euclid on a blackboard. For the moon is utterly reasonable;
and the moon is the mother of lunatics and has given them
all her name." *
Continuing this same parable of mental disorder, our author
proceeds to show the practical outcome of that revolt from
authority which occurred at the so-called Reformation.
The Reformers who tried to destroy, and the critics who
always denounce, religious authority are like the men who
should attack the police without ever having heard of burglars.
For there is a great and possible peril to the human mind —
a peril as practical as burglary. That peril is that the human
intellect is free to destroy itself, and it is against that peril
that religious authority was reared as a barrier. One of the
consequences of the Reformation, at any rate for the non-
Catholic world, has been to destroy, by entirely unfettered in-
tellectual analysis, that authoritative, dogmatic, mystical, and
popular science which treats of the right relations of the pow-
ers of the human soul with the passions of the human body.
And furthermore, these powers and passions have been let loose
upon the world without order, relation, or restraint. "The
vices are indeed let loose; and they wander and do damage.
But the virtues are let loose also; and the virtues wander
more wildly and do more terrible damage. The modern world
is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have
gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and
are wandering alone." Many of them, indeed, have taken ref-
uge with the specialists. The scientists have pursued truth
alone, and truth has become pitiless; the humanitarians have
followed pity, and she has become untruthful. Charity was
once a mystical virtue, but now she has become rationalized
and excuses even sin. Humility has changed its place, and in-
stead of being a spur to prevent a man from stopping, has be-
come a nail in his boot to prevent him from going on. " For
the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which
* Ibid., p. 49.
1909.] G. K. CHESTERTON 5
might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a
man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop work-
ing altogether." But it is time to leave this land of mental
disorder "where the mere questioner can but knock his head
against the limits of human thought — and crack it."
In a pleasant chapter on the ethics of Elfland, Mr. Chester-
ton tells us that he learnt from the fairy tales of the nursery
a certain way of looking at life which, from that time, he has
never given up : " In our fairy tales," he says, " we keep a
sharp distinction between the science of mental 'relations, in
which there are really laws, and the science of physical facts,
in which there are no laws, but only weird repetitions. We
believe that a beanstalk climbed to heaven; but that does not
at all confuse our convictions on the philosophical question of
how many beans make five. Men of science talk as if the con-
nection of two things physically connected them philosophic-
ally." The only words which ever satisfy Mr. Chesterton when
speaking of nature are the words used in fairy tales, " charm,"
" spell," " enchantment," and the like. The world we live in does
not explain itself. It is full of magic, but its magic must have a
meaning, and some one to mean it, It is full of beauty and
horror and startling surprise: of fairy princesses and wicked
ogres; of gorgeous palaces and castles frowning with dreadful
mystery. Among all this the ordinary human being moves,
and moves conditionally. Certain delightful things are to hap-
pen to him, but only when he fulfills a certain condition and
one that so often seems merely quaint and arbitrary. But in
order to get his good he need not see the necessary connec-
tion between the high promise and the humble condition.
Reasoning will not bridge the gap, but other mysterious things
will fill it. Life is so largely a matter of mystery, but mys-
tery if properly approached is life-enhancing. The gestures of
faith, wonder, praise, and humility are as characteristically hu-
man as they are childlike — the feeling that life is so precious
because saved from some primordial ruin, and so beset with
heroic danger that obedience is dignified, being a matter of
personal loyalty ; that suffering, though so often unexplainable
in any other than a physical sense, is but the condition of some
great and joyous climax; that humility is the resting of our
puny individual effort upon the moving platform of some great
personal ability that will never fail us — these and the like feel-
ings are what give color and energy and integration to indi-
6 G. K. CHESTERTON [April,
vidual lives. " All this I felt," says Mr. Chesterton, " and the
age gave me no encouragement to feel it. All the time I had
not even thought of Christian theology."
Our attitude, then, towards life can be better expressed in
terms of a kind of military loyalty than in the one-sided view
of either optimist or pessimist. " Let us suppose that we are
confronted with a desperate case — say Pimlico. It is not enough
for a man to disapprove of Pimlico ; in that case he will mere-
ly cut his throat or move to Chelsea. Nor, certainly, is it
enough for the man to approve of Pimlico ; for then it would
remain Pimlico, which would be awful. The only way out of
it seems to be for somebody to love Pimlico, to love it with a
transcendental tie and without any earthly reason. If there
arose a man who loved Pimlico, then Pimlico would rise into
ivory towers and golden pinnacles; Pimlico would attire her-
self as a woman does when she is loved. For decoration is
not given to hide horrible things, but to decorate things already
adorable. A mother does not give her child a blue bow be-
cause she is ugly without it. A lover does not give a girl a
necklace to hide her neck. If men loved Pimlico as mothers
loved children, arbitrarily, because it is theirs, Pimlico in a year
or two might be fairer than Florence. This, as a fact, is how
cities did grow great. Go to the darkest roots of civilization
and you will find them knotted round some sacred stone or
encircling some sacred well. People first paid honor to a spot
and afterwards gained glory for it."*
Now the modern conception of life which has grown up
under the lengthening shadow of Ibsen is utterly opposed to
this attitude of loyalty towards life. Consider the question of
suicide. The Ibsenites believe that suicide is rather a fine thing,
and go so far as to hope that there will soon be penny-in-the-
slot machines, by which a man can kill himself for a penny.
But not only is suicide a sin. " It is the sin. It is the ulti-
mate and absolute evil, the refusal to take an interest in ex-
istence ; the refusal to take the oath of loyalty to life. . . .
About the same time I read a solemn flippancy by some free-
thinker. He said that a suicide was only the same as a mar-
tyr. Obviously the suicide is the opposite of a martyr. A mar-
tyr is a man who cares so much for something outside him, that
he forgets his own personal life. A suicide is a man who cares
so little for anything outside, that he wants to see the last of
* Ibid., p. 120.
1909.] G. K. CHESTERTON 7
everything. In other words, the martyr is noble because he
confesses this ultimate tie with life; he sets his heart outside
himself, he dies that something may live. The suicide is ig-
noble because he has not this link with being; he is a mere
destroyer ; spiritually he destroys the universe. And then I
remembered the stake and the cross-roads, and the queer fact
that Christianity had this weird harshness to the suicide. For
Christianity had shown a wild encouragement of the martyr.
The early Christian martyrs talked of death with a horrible
happiness. They blasphemed the beautiful duties of the body,
they smelt the grave afar off like a field of flowers. All this
has seemed to many the very poetry of pessimism. Yet there
is the stake at the cross-roads to show what Christianity thought
of the pessimist."*
"This was the first of a long train of enigmas with which
Christianity entered the discussion. And there went with it a
peculiarity of which I shall have to speak more markedly as
the note of all Christian notions, but which distinctly began in
this one. The Christian attitude to the martyr and the suicide
was not what is so often affirmed in modern morals. It was
not a matter of degree. The Christian feeling was furiously
for one and furiously against the other; these things that looked
so much alike were at opposite ends of heaven and hell. I am
not saying that fierceness was right ; but why was it so fierce ?
" Here it was that I first found that my wandering feet
were in some beaten track. Christianity had felt this opposi-
tion of the martyr to the suicide; had it perhaps felt it for the
same reason ? Had Christianity felt what I had felt ? This
need for a first loyally to things, and then for a ruinous reform
oj things ? Then I remembered that it was actually the charge
against Christianity that it combined these two things that I
was trying to combine. Christianity was accused, at one and
the same time, of being too optimistic about the universe and
of being too pessimistic about the world. The coincidence
made me suddenly stand still.
"But the important matter was this, that it entirely reversed
the reason for optimism. The Christian optimism is based on
the fact that we do not fit into the world." f That this is only
the wrong place because there is a better.
The trouble, then, with this world of ours is not that it is
an unreasonable world, or even that it is a reasonable one ;
* Ibid., p. 132. Mbid., p. 145.
S G. K. CHESTERTON [April,
but that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. There is some-
thing about it that baffles, eludes, and destroys exact expecta-
tion. A being from another star, endowed with mathematical
tastes, might argue from the general duality of the external
human body that a man had two hearts, or at least that his
one heart was in a symmetrical position with regard to the rest
of his members — but it is not ; and if he discovered that it was
not, he would be something more honorable than a mere
mathematician. Now this is exactly the claim that Mr. Ches-
terton makes for Christianity: "Not merely that it deduces
logical truths, but that when it suddenly becomes illogical, it
has found, so to speak, an illogical truth. It not only goes
right about things, but it goes wrong (if one may say so) ex-
actly where the things go wrong. It is simple about the truth ;
but it is stubborn about the subtle truth."
But to go back a little. Mr. Chesterton confesses that as a
youth he read little or no Christian apologetic literature — he
was entirely alienated from it, excepting indeed the penny
dreadfuls, which always retain a healthy and heroic tradition
of Christianity.* Agnostic writers, especially Herbert Spencer,
really succeeded in bringing him into the right way, for they
suggested doubts far deeper than they themselves could grapple
with. The more he read them the more the impression grew
upon him that Christianity must be a most extraordinary thing
— whether extraordinarily right or extraordinarily wrong, he
was not at that time in a position to say. " Not only (as he
understood) had Christianity the most flaming vices, but it had
apparently a mystical talent for combining vices which seemed
inconsistent with each other. It was attacked on all sides and
for all contradictory reasons. No sooner had one rationalist
demonstrated that it was too far to the east than another de-
monstrated with equal clearness that it was much too far to
the west. No sooner had my indignation died down at its
angular and aggressive squareness than I was called upon to
notice and condemn its enervating and sensual roundness."
To take an example or two. Some said it was a thing of in-
human gloom; others that it had comforted men with a ficti-
tious Providence and lulled them in nurseries of childish de-
light. Now it is attacked for its naked and hungry habit, and
again because of its pomp and ritualism, its shrines of porphyry
and its vestments of cloth of gold. The monks at one time
* See a delightful essay on Penny Dreadfuls in The Defendant, p. 8.
1909.] G. K. CHESTERTON 9
are meek and dumb driven cattle; at another they are raven-
ing wolves preying upon the quietness of the world. At one
time it is called the spoiler of family life, dragging away un-
willing youths and maidens to the celibacy of the cloister; at
another its greatest crime appears to be that it has forced the
family upon us. It has doomed women to the drudgery of
homes and burden of child-bearing, forbidding them the freer
life of solitude and contemplation. Or perhaps we are told that
the Church has always hated women ; and yet on the other
hand we are assured that it is only women that go to church.
" I wished to be quite fair then, and I wish to be quite fair now ;
and I did not conclude that the attack on Christianity was all
wrong. I only concluded that if Christianity was wrong it
was very wrong indeed. Such hostile errors might be com-
bined in one thing, but that thing must be very strange and
solitary. ... If this mass of mad contradictions really ex-
isted, quakerish and bloodthirsty, too gorgeous and too thread-
bare, austere yet pandering preposterously to the lust of the
eye, the enemy of women and their foolish refuge, a solemn
pessimist and a silly optimist, if this evil existed, then there
was in this evil something quite supreme and unique. . . .
Such a paradox of evil rose to the stature of the supernatural."
" And then in a quiet hour a strange thought struck me
like a thunder-bolt. There had suddenly come into my mind
another explanation. Suppose we heard an unknown man
spoken of by many men. Suppose we were puzzled to hear
that some men said he was too tall and some too short; some
objected to his fatness, some lamented his leanness; some
thought him too dark, and some too fair. One explanation (as
has already been admitted) would be that he might be an odd
shape. But there is another explanation. He might be the
right shape. Outrageously tall men might feel him to be too
short. Very short men might feel him to be tall. Old bucks
who are growing stout might consider him insufficiently filled
out; old beaus who are growing thin might feel that he had
expanded beyond the narrow lines of elegance. Perhaps (in
short) this extraordinary thing is the ordinary thing. Perhaps,
after all, it is Christianity that is sane and all its critics that
are mad — in various ways. I tested this idea by asking myself
whether there was about any of the accusers (of Christianity)
anything morbid that might explain the accusations. I was
startled to find that this key fitted the lock. For instance, it
io G. K. CHESTERTON [April,
was certainly odd that the modern world charged Christianity
at once with bodily austerity and with artistic pomp. But then
it was also odd, very odd, that the modern world itself com-
bined extreme bodily luxury with an extreme absence of artis-
tic pomp. The modern man thought Becket's robes too rich
and his meals too poor. But then the modern man was really
exceptional; no man before ever ate such elaborate dinners in
such ugly clothes. . . ." * In the same way the restraints
of Christianity would be distasteful to the critic who was more
a hedonist than a healthy man should be ; while the faith of
Christians angered another who was more of a pessimist than
a healthy man should be.
Nevertheless it could not be said with truth that Christian-
ity is merely a sort of sensible via media. There was really in
it a certain note of frenzy and emphasis to which unemotional
philosophers objected. It was neither temperate nor respectable
in the sense of the worldly wise. "Its fierce crusaders and
meek saints might balance each other; still the crusaders were
very fierce and the saints meek beyond all decency. This was
exactly one of the paradoxes in which sceptics found the creed
wrong; and in this I had found it right." Christianity had
transcended the old pagan doctrine of the balance and had spe-
cially done so in her central dogma of the Incarnation. She
insisted that Christ was not a being apart from God and man,
like an elf; nor yet half a being like a centaur; but both things
at once and both things thoroughly — very man and very God.
As in theology, so in ethics. Paganism declared that virtue
was in a balance; Christianity that it was in a conflict: the
collision of two passions apparently opposite and both at the top of
their energy ; love and wrath both burning. Everywhere the
creed made a moderation out of the still crash of two impetu-
ous passions. And such a creed alone meets the need direct
of the normal man. There are two kinds of freedom. A man
can be free of a prison or he can be free of his city. It is in
this latter sense that every man of ordinary virtue wishes to be
free of his powers and passions — able to swing them as in a
burning censer, in a holy place, without breakage or wrong,
giving glory to God and pleasure to his fellow-men. Freely
loving the world, yet only in the power and vision of a better.
Here then was the urgent individual question met by the
completeness of the Church's answer. The hour of cumulative
* Orthodoxy, p. 164.
1909.] G. K. CHESTERTON n
proof had struck. The thing had happened which has happened
to many of us. " It was as if I had been blundering about
since my birth with two huge and unmanageable machines —
the World and the Christian tradition. I had found this hole
in the world, the fact that one must somehow find a way of
loving the world without trusting it. I found this projecting
feature of Christian theology, the dogmatic insistence that God
was personal, and had made the world separate from Himself
— had 'thrown it off ' if we may reverently put it thus, as a
poet who is so separate from his poem, speaks of it as ' a lit-
tle thing he has thrown off.' The spike of dogma fitted exactly
into the hole of the world — it had evidently been meant to go
there — and then the strange thing began to happen. When
once these two parts of the two machines had come together,
one after another, all the other parts fitted and fell in, with an
eerie exactitude. I could hear bolt after bolt over all the ma-
chinery falling into its place with a kind of click of relief.
Having got one part right, all the other parts were repeating
that rectitude, as clock after clock strikes noon. Instinct after
instinct was answered by doctrine after doctrine."*
The ideal of self- reform and of world- reform has been reached
at last. We are to love self and the world and yet as heartily
to distrust them. Some satisfaction is needed even to make
things better, but it has to be accompanied by some higher
dissatisfaction. Neither self nor the world can be made better
until we have some ideal order with which to compare it. We
must be reformers in the strong and simple sense of that word
and not merely evolutionists or progressives in the modern ac-
ceptation. It has been finely said that Progress is the name
of the arch- illusionist, for it is the serpent which tempts ns to
look forever onward and beyond, instead of waking to the full*
est realization here and now. With the evolutionists, pragma-
tists, and the like, there is no perfectly definite terminus ad
quern, no absolute Good and Goal, personal and perfect, upon
which to build faith and hope and definite action. There must
not only be Law in life, but a Giver of Law at every doubtful
moment, in every momentous crisis ; some one who will gather
the fluid forces of human emotion in the grip of an intense
conviction. No significant human action, however strenuous,
can come to or stay at perfection of itself, it needs a tremen-
dous accession of graceful activity, and that at the very mo-
* Ibid. , p. 143.
12 G. K. CHESTERTON [April.
ment when the doer is most doubtful of his power. This, of
course, is the doctrine of supernatural grace, but a doctrine
quite opposed to modern thought with its freezing theories of
a scientific and impersonal determinism.
We are told, indeed, that the world tends to become gradually
better, that new and ultimate factors of permanent value have
come into life and will become increasingly antiseptic to that
ancient disease of ignorance ; but looking around we find that all
nobly acquired and finely exercised powers tend by endurance
to abuse and failure of their great first intentions; and that
thus abused they create evils as great as those they have pre-
viously cured. There is only one explanation of this and it is
to be found in the Catholic doctrine of original and actual sin.
The factors of ultimate value in human life, from the highest
gifts of the spirit to the bread of our daily Jives, can only be at-
tained through struggle and retained through perseverance.
Every human being has been created and thrown into sepa-
rate actuality by God — created by God and sustained by Him
in a free and separated existence. Loved by God as a child
of His, yet free, for his own part, to refuse to love in return.
And the same God has made the world.
It is in only the briefest manner that I have been able to
summarize Mr. Chesterton's work, and we may not follow him
further as he traces his vision of the Church " thundering in
her heavenly chariot through the ages, the dull heresies sprawl-
ing and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect." Even the
compliment of quotation must have its limit ; but our lengthy
extracts will be justified if any are induced thereby to read
Mr. Chesterton for themselves. Nowhere in modern popular
language has the mind of the Church been more clearly set
forth — and also the mind that is against the Church. His work
combines an accurate and synthetic knowledge of the old and of
the new traditions of thought. And he has contrasted and com-
pared them with an astonishing felicity of simplifying illustra-
tion. It is often said by non-Catholics that the Church, al-
though great in her day, is now a thing of the past — an ob-
stinate nut of formalism, with a shrivelled kernel. For such a
case one may recommend Mr. Chesterton, and to particularize
the recommendation, especially two of his books — Heretics and
Orthodoxy.
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.
BY KATHARINE TYNAN.
PART I.
CHAPTER I.
THE NEW HOME.
IHEN the sun was setting in splendor the windows
of Outwood Manor were visible a long way off.
It stood on a hill, with a background of
woods; below it was an exquisite valley, where
nightingales sang in May and rabbits scampered
over beds of wild thyme. There was a wood of slender silver
birches the other side of the valley ; in May the wood was
fairyland, the wild hyacinths making the glades like a stretch
of summer sky.
It was to please his wife, Nesta, that James Moore had
bought Outwood Manor, which had been long unoccupied and
had the reputation of being haunted. It had looked sinister
enough to deserve its reputation the first day James and Nesta
Moore had seen it; and that was a winter day, with a sky of
storm and the sun nowhere visible, but in the low west a broad
band of fire.
The diamond panes had caught the fire and the house flamed
from garret to basement.
" An old rat-trap ! " said James Moore contemptuously.
"What frauds those house-agents are!"
"It would be lovely, Jim," Nesta said, clinging to his arm
— she always clung to her husband when she could. If they
must be apart she would look at him across a table or a room
or a lawn as though she felt the need of his support. " It
would be lovely if only people lived in it. Look at the beau-
tiful old red brick, purple and bronze in parts with the weather
and the growth of lichens. Look at the sloping roof and the
dormer windows ! It will not be gloomy with the summer sun
14 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [April,
on it ; it will be full of light. And think of this lawn mowed
and rolled and the yew hedges clipped ! Do look at the ships
and the swans cut in the yew ! I am sure the gardens are
lovely under the stretch of prairie grass. We could be happy
here together, Jim."
"Why I could be happy anywhere with you, Nesta," the
man said ardently.
He was a big, fair giant, with dominant blue eyes and a
handsome mouth that closed tightly in repose. His hair curled
over a great brow. There was just a suggestion of the Roman
Caesar in his looks. He had a conquering air. But as he
looked down at the soft, delicate creature by his side his ex-
pression was wonderfully tender. Perhaps it was the expres-
sion with which a man looks at an adored child rather than
that with which he looks at a beloved wife.
" Then you will take the house ? "
" Have I ever refused you anything I could grant you ?
Yet — I would rather build you a palace on the side of the hill
looking towards the mills and the little town that is growing
up about them. Presently Valley will be a big town. I can
see it filling the valley, its church-towers standing up in a
golden mist. I should like to draw up my blinds every morn-
ing and look on the prosperity I myself have made — houses
and business and money-making where there were only rabbits
and birds as below there."
He indicated the valley behind him with a contemptuous
gesture.
"I want to be out of sight of it all," his wife said with a
little shudder. " I wish you did not make so much money —
that the money- making did not take you away from me quite
so much — from me and the child. You never spare yourself,
Jim. When will you have enough money and come home to
rest with us ? You do too much for any man."
" And I shall do till I die," James Moore answered. " You
have me heart and soul, no matter where my body may be.
Be content with that, Nest. And now — supposing we see the
old rat-trap inside."
He opened the hall-door with a great key he had been
carrying on his finger. It took all his strength to turn it, for
the wards of the lock had grown rusty. When at last it yielded
the door went back with what sounded like a faint scream.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 15
They stepped into a vast, echoing hall, lit high overhead
by a glass dome in the roof. The dust stirred under their feet
as they walked. Through the open door behind them came a
shaft of red light that lay on the dusty floor like blood. By
contrast the cold light overhead was almost darkness.
In the center of the hall was a ragged billiard-table. On
either side were great fire-places, the steel red with rust, the
"brass jambs black and tarnished. A gallery ran round the four
sides of the hall. Above it another gallery was visible. Suits
of armor stood stiffly in the shadow behind the gallery.
A moan of coming wind stole through the open door and
the tapestry on the wall trembled and flapped.
" You still like it, Nest ? " James Moore said, looking down
at his wife's pale face. " You still like it better than the palace
I should build you, with all the appliances for comfort and
ease ? I should spend money like water to make it beautiful
for you."
" I want to be out of sight of the mills, to forget them."
" The mills make all the good things possible for you," her
husband said with a quiet patience. " Why do you dislike
them ? If we settle down here they will open all the doors to
you of these proud, exclusive folk round about us. To be sure
you belong to them by right — and my father was a mill-hand."
" Dear Jim, you are the most wonderful person in the
world ! " his wife said, lifting her face to him to be kissed.
"Why did you marry such a stupid, silly wife? I don't want
the doors of the fine houses opened to me. I only want you
and the child."
"Ah, but I should like to see you presently taking the
place which is yours by right. You must get over these fan-
cies. Remember that there is nothing I will deny you. I can
afford to give my wife all she desires. If you wanted to be
dressed like some of those old kings and queens, in cloth of
gold, sewn with jewels, I should find it for you, Nest."
" It would weigh me down, dear. The only cloth of gold
I want is your love."
" And you have that, light of my eyes ! "
As they stood they were bathed in the stormy red light
from the sky that made the gloom beyond gloomier by com-
parison.
1 6 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [April,
CHAPTER II.
OMENS AND PORTENTS.
"We'd better see what is to be seen," the man said, moving
towards a door under the gallery, " else the darkness will soon
fall on us ; and it is a good five miles back to Valley. Ah,
this is better. This is a handsome room, Nest. With plenty
of electric light I don't know that we could better this."
They went from one room to another, and as they opened
one door after another the shadows seemed to fly before them.
The house would need a good deal of money spent on it;
but James Moore's business eyes perceived that it had great
capacities. The groined and fretted ceilings, the carved man-
tel-pieces, the beautiful old doors and window-frames, appealed
to his natural good taste. It was all solid ; nothing gimcrack,
nothing pretentious. He had never heard of the brothers
Adam, nor of Grinling Gibbons, and did not recognize their
work when he saw it, but he saw that it was beautiful ; and
it was to be had for a song by any man who would spend
the money on it to make it habitable. That fact appealed to
his business instincts, although no one could be more gener-
ous than James Moore when it was desirable to pay a big
price. There was nothing little about the man.
In the stately bedroom, where a queen had slept, he set
all the windows open.
" Because it is so old it has a deathly smell," he said.
" But when summer comes and you are here it will be differ-
ent, I know. What a view we shall have ! I believe you can
see half-a-dozen counties from here. I only wish Valley were
in the view."
"I suppose this is the haunted room," Nest said in a small,
scared voice. " There is certainly something ghostly about it.
Do you think we shall be able to banish that, dear? — for I
should like this room for my own."
"You will not be afraid with me," he said. "Wait till
the decorator has been let loose in it. I shall give it to
that mad, poet-Socialist person, who will know better about
the decoration than I. Upon my word, I believe you're right
after all, Nesta. There is something about an old house you
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 17
will not get in a new. You will not know it when you next
see it."
He had come round with a swing to her point of view.
He was going to drive the ghosts and the shadows from the
house, to wrest what was beautiful in it to his own uses.
"We will bundle the old owners out of doors," he said
smiling, as he refastened the windows, and they turned to go.
" I will make it a bower of roses for you and Stella."
As she followed him from the room she looked back with
a nervous shudder at the immense carved bed which took up
so much of the space. It was hung with a blue and silver
damask, which was riddled with moths and falling to pieces.
"I am sure it is the ghost's room," she said.
Now that things were going as she wished her thoughts
veered round, and she began to wonder if they could not have
found a place less sad and gloomy than this for the new home
they were to make. But she said nothing to her husband.
As they went round the galleries and down the stairs he was
already busy with considerations as to what should be done
here and there.
" It should be ready by June, Nest," he said. " I shall
clinch the bargain at once and put in the workmen within the
week. You shall see what I can do to please my girl."
She plucked at his arm as they went down the overgrown
carriage drive, in the timid way that was natural to her.
"Jim," she said, "when the house is finished, you will
let us have it to ourselves, to be really ours, won't you ? We
have not had a home to ourselves since we were married."
A little gloom fell on his handsome, bright face.
" I wish you did not dislike my brothers, Nest. They love
me better than my dog. You ought to love them for that,
little woman."
She rubbed her cheek against his coat sleeve and said
nothing. What could she say except that she feared and dis-
trusted the brothers who were so devoted to him? They
thought the world of Jim. He was their prince, their hero.
But they were jealous of her and little Stella, as jealous as a
dog who knows that he has been displaced ; and far less easily
propitiated.
" I want our home to ourselves," she said after a while ;
and her voice was almost a whisper.
VOL, LXXXIX. — 2
1 8 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [April,
"Very well then; it shall be so"; he returned. "I dare
say they will be better pleased to stay on in the little house
and guard my interests — and yours " — there was a reproach
in his voice — " like a pair of honest, faithful bulldogs."
" And the distance will not be too great for you ? " she
said, with a fluttering eagerness to please now that she had ob-
tained the thing she wanted. "Five miles. What are five
miles after all ? You have always such good horses. It will
be a change, too, for you to come home to me and Stella in the
evening and forget the mills. I shall play to you and we will
talk—"
"And we shall visit and be visited. You don't suppose
that I have worked as I have to hide away my pretty wife
as though she were not the thing I am proudest of? Yet I
shall miss Dick and Steve, and the long business talks over
the office fire at night."
" I think we are going to be very happy at Outwood Manor,"
she said, and crept closer to his side. He wrapped the fur
rug about her. By this time they were driving in the high
dog- cart behind the chestnut, which he allowed no one to drive
but himself.
A turn of the road brought them out once again in view
of the Outwood. The red had deepened in all the panes. The
illusion of leaping fires was complete.
" The ghosts are warming themselves, Nesta," he said with
a laugh.
"Ah, no"; she replied. "It is a good omen, a forecast of
the hearth-fires we shall light by which love shall sit, where
we shall warm ourselves, safe from the cold and the storm.
See our hearth-fires, darling ! "
Suddenly as they looked the brilliant light dimmed and
went out and the Manor House stood up cold and dark against
its background of woods.
For an instant Nesta Moore turned cold with it. She was
not a Celt for nothing. But with an effort she recovered her-
self.
" Our fires will last longer than those, Jim," she said lightly.
" Those were but phantom fires after all."
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 19
CHAPTER III.
A RUNAWAY.
James Moore drove like the wind, as he would have al-
lowed no one else to drive his wife. Indeed when she went
out without him she was obliged to sit behind the sleekest
and fattest of carriage- horses. He would have his wife run
no risks. If he drove the fastest horses money could buy,
and went at a reckless speed, he knew just what he could do.
Nesta was as safe with him as in her own drawing-room.
Once they met a great hay-wain coming round a sharp
corner and he had just time to pull back the chestnut on its
haunches to avoid a collision.
" That was rather a near thing," he said, looking down at his
wife, as they got clear of the cart, amid sulky objurgations
from the wagoner, who did not recognize Mr. Moore of Valley
in the dusk.
She looked up at him brightly.
" Not with you driving, Jim," she said.
" You always trust me, Nesta," he said. " Yet you are a
timid child."
"Not with you," she said. "I am afraid of nothing with
you. It is only when you are away from me that I am
afraid."
"Yet a little absence brings me back a more ardent lover,
outwardly at least. You said yourself the last time I went
away to London that it was worth it."
" I know. Do you remember the cottage where we went
for our honeymoon ? "
"Am I likely to forget it?"
"I often think I should have been glad to stay there al-
ways, to keep you there always. Supposing you had been
a quiet country gentleman doing a little farming, hunting in
the season, fishing, shooting, a churchwarden and a justice of
the peace, a model squire?"
" Would you have liked it ? "
" I should have loved it."
" It would kill me in six months' time, Nesta. I must be
20 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [April,
in the thick of life. I couldn't keep still and let the mosses
gather on me and all the machinery go rusty. A short life
and a merry one would be my desire."
"Not a short life," she said in protest.
"Not a long one," he replied. "I don't want to be an old
man in the chimney corner. Now — steady, my pet," to the
chestnut. They were going down Redstreak Hill, a particularly
steep descent, and he drew the reins taut. The mare lifted her
feet daintily as she went down the hill. For a few seconds
there was silence. The hill was a long as well as a steep one.
Suddenly Nesta lifted her head with an air of listening.
"There is something coming behind us," she said, "fast."
" Ah ! " he had heard it too, a sharp metallic clank and
rattle that were momentarily growing louder. They had passed
about a mile back a light cart, which stood outside the door
of a little shop, unattended. It was laden with milk cans. If
this was the same the cans were empty, judging by the clat-
terring noise they made.
" It is a runaway," James Moore said between his teeth.
"No man in his senses would drive so fast."
The clattering sound had reached the mare now. She laid
back her fine ears and drew out faster and faster. James
Moore gave her her head.
"Keep quiet," he said to his wife, "you are quite safe with
me."
She did not need to be told. If he could have seen her
face in the waning light he would have rejoiced in the pale,
quiet courage of it. It was madness to go down Redstreak
Hill at this pace — madness, but what could he do? The rat-
tling thing behind them was coming at a tremendous pace.
The mare had taken the bit between her teeth. He could do
no more than guide her. He was not a religious man, but he
muttered as though to himself — and Nesta heard him — " God
send there may be nothing coming up ! "
They had begun the steep descent of the hill now, and the
valley lay beneath them. Under them, as it seemed in the
gathering dark, something black moved, with a pair of shining
great eyes in front — a carriage and its lamps. Would it turn
up the hill ? If so, nothing could prevent a bad collision.
James Moore leant forward and peered into the gloom.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 21
Half-way down the hill there were the entrance gates to a house
of the neighborhood and a gate lodge. It was a house at which
James Moore had received a hospitable welcome in the days
before he had met Nesta Gwynne and loved and married her.
Since then he had been less persona grata. But yet the mare
knew the way. If by any fortunate chance the gates should be
standing open !
The lights of the dog cart gleamed on the dark aperture of
the gate. By one fortunate chance out of a thousand the gates
were open. He pulled the left rein sharply and the mare an-
swered and turned in at the gate. They had outdistanced the
runaway by this time. The clattering was faint in the distance.
And suddenly the mare stood still trembling and sweating.
James Moore was out of the dog-cart in an instant; had
swung his wife to the ground, lifting her back towards the
white wall of the lodge. An old man came out of the lodge
at the sound of the wheels.
" Here, Fleming, hold the mare," James Moore said. " Lead
her a little way up the avenue. She has had a fright and made
a bolt for it."
Now the runaway had turned the corner and was coming
fast. A stride or two took James Moore into the road. Be-
low him were the lights of the carriage. It was coming up
slowly. The coachman had apparently no idea of any danger ;
but if he had, what could he do ? The road was very narrow
and the carriage was apparently a heavy one.
James Moore shouted to him and he heard, for the horses
were suddenly brought to a pause. There were not twenty
yards between them and the runaway. Where he stood James
Moore could hear the panting of the horses. He could see the
breath ascending from the nostrils.
" What is the matter ? " called the coachman clambering
down from his box.
James Moore did not answer him. He had sprung at the
head of the runaway. He caught him by the head-piece.
The reins dangled and tangled about his feet. The shaft of the
cart struck him in the side, making him for the moment sick
and giddy. He was partly on his knees, but he kept his grip.
He saw his wife run to him from the open gate and cried to
her to go back ; but if she heard him, she did not heed for
22 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [April,
once. Suddenly the runaway, as though tired of his escapade,
came to a full stop of his own accord.
The coachman came running up too late to be of assistance,
and an elderly gray head was poked out of the carriage win-
dow, the owner of it calling imperiously to know what had
happened.
No one answered him, so he was obliged to alight and find
out for himself. He was Lord Mount-Eden, the Lord Lieu-
tenant of the county ; but at the moment no one had time or
inclination to satisfy him.
" Are you hurt, Jim ? " Nesta cried, trembling as though
the night were cold, instead of which it was a mild, still even-
ing foreboding rain, and with a promise of wind in the red
line that still lay low down the sky.
He reassured her, having only eyes for her for the moment.
Then he turned to Lord Mount-Eden.
" I daresay the driver of this will be here immediately,"
he said. " He must be a careless fellow. I am glad your
lordship was not put to more inconvenience."
As he spoke he was patting the neck of the runaway.
Whatever other people thought of James Moore, animals al-
ways trusted him, as he always understood them.
"Quiet, quiet!" he said, and the horse turned a grateful
eye upon him while it trembled and sweated.
CHAPTER IV.
THE BROTHERS.
Lord Mount-Eden and James Moore knew each other by
sight. Indeed it would not have been easy to have been an
inhabitant of those parts and not to have known James Moore,
for his striking personality was not easily overlooked. No one
saw him for the first time without asking who he was. He had
a way of seeming to stand head and shoulders above the other
men in any assemblage.
" It seems to me, Mr. Moore, that you have been the means
of averting a very nasty accident, a very nasty accident," said
his lordship in a gracious tone. He had forgotten that James
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 23
Moore was a nouveau riche, a man who had brought the ab-
horrent thing trade into their quiet country ; who had dese-
crated one of their fairest valleys ; who, in time, would bring
the railway, which they all detested, screaming through their
quiet woods and by their velvet lawns. As though a railway
station ten miles away, and well out of sight and hearing, un-
less the wind blew in a certain direction, were not convenient
enough for any man.
" It was very plucky of you, Mr. Moore," said a voice out
of the darkness by his lordship's elbow. It was a frank voice,
and there was a sound of admiration in it that was pleasant.
" I don't know what would have happened to us, wedged in
like this, with that thing coming down on top of us. How
shall we thank you ? "
The speaker came forward to the light, holding out an un-
gloved, white hand, which James Moore took into his own and
held for a second, thinking what a good, honest clasp it had.
The Honorable Eugenia Capel, Lord Mount- Eden's only
daughter, was a very iresh and wholesome specimen of a coun-
try lady. She walked, rode, drove, hunted, fished, played games,
danced; and kept at thirty* five the bright eyes of a girl and
a sympathetic charm which few girls are fortunate enough to
possess.
" It was nothing," James Moore protested. " The horse
stopped almost of himself. He might have stopped complete-
ly—"
"Very unlikely," said Miss Capel. "Anyhow, my father
and I are very deeply obliged to you."
She turned to Nesta with a gracious gesture.
" I hope you will let me call upon you, Mrs. Moore," she
said. " We ought to know each other; my father knows your
aunt. Miss Grantley, very well. We have been so much away
of late years, but now we have come to settle down at Mount-
Eden for a good long time, I hope we may have the privilege
of your friendship."
Before Nesta could answer, a hoarse, despairing voice came
out of the darkness. " Whoa ! " it called. " Whoa ! " There
was the sound of hobnailed boots carried by a clumsy owner,
and down upon the group came the driver of the runaway,
snorting and panting.
24 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [April,
"Is he hurt?" he asked, very much out of breath. "If
he's hurt I needn't go home to master. He'll say it were all
my fault, so he will."
" He's all right, my lad," James Moore answered kindly, see-
ing that he had to deal with a big, lubberly boy, from whose
eyes tears were not far. " He's all right, and he has hurt no
one. There might have been a bad accident. Let it be a les-
son to you not to leave your horse unattended again."
" I couldn't help it, Mr. Moore, sir," said the boy, who
recognized him.
James Moore turned away, leaving him to his slow expla-
nations. He lifted his hat to Lady Eugenia Capel.
" My wife will be very happy to see you," he said. The
lady's head was almost on a level with his own and she was
looking at him with an air of frank friendliness by the light
of the carriage-lamps. " She would say as much herself —
wouldn't you, Nesta ? — only she is scared to death."
"I shall be very glad to see you, Lady Eugenia," Nesta
said in a trembling voice.
So they shook hands and parted, the carriage ascending the
hill, the Moores going on down into the valley.
As they descended they came nearer to the sound of the
river falling over a weir in the darkness, the river which had
driven the little mill that had belonged to James Moore's father
in the latter years of his life, which now supplied the water-
power for the greater mills which he had built. In time to
come the river would do all manner of strange things it could
never have dreamt of when it ran by Andrew Moore's little
woolen mill in a country stillness.
The dog-cart turned in by a small white lodge, crossed a
wooden bridge over the river with the music of the weir roar-
ing close at hand, and went on up a dark avenue, overhung
with trees, which showed a lighted lantern at the end. The
avenue was between two deep streams which ran into the river;
and it would have been a ticklish spot with a nervous horse on
a dark night.
But now the chestnut trotted along in a chastened mood,
as though ashamed of her former terrors and determined to be
on her best behavior. The glimmer of the water in the light
of the lamps, and the noise it made as it rushed along, foaming
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 25
and swirling, might have frightened another horse; but the
chestnut was used to it.
The lantern at the end of the avenue of trees hung above
the door of a plain white house of two wings built at right
angles to each other and making two sides of a square. It was
the house, practically unaltered, in which Andrew Moore and
the former owners of the mill before him had lived and died.
Nothing could be simpler and plainer. It was indeed quite time
that it should be left to the brothers, Dick and Steve, who liked
it as it was and would not be parted from it, and that Nesta
and James Moore and the little daughter should inhabit some-
thing more imposing. Here they were out of sight of the long
ranges of lit buildings. The noise of the water kept them from
hearing the roar and rattle of machinery. There was nothing
in view but the yet untouched meadows and the long row of
alders by the water's edge.
As James Moore lifted his wife to the ground, with a ten-
derness which was in every office he rendered her, the house-
door opened and a man came out and stood at the chestnut's
head.
" Well, Dick," said James Moore, and his voice was affec-
tionate. "We've got back all right. Where's Steve?"
"Just covering up his canaries for the night. I'll take the
horse round. No one seems to have heard you."
A sweet low whistle of a bird met them on the threshold :
there was an answering whistle. There was a whole aviary of
them in a little glass-covered place at the back of the hall.
The canaries were Steve Moore's hobby. He was covering them
up for the night.
He looked round as they came in, an ungainly, low-sized
image of his handsome brother. James Moore was hanging his
coat up on the hall- rack. Nesta was stooping to caress an old
collie which had come to meet them with sidling demonstrations
of delight.
" You are late, Jim," he said, coming towards them, and
there was a curious anxiety in his tones. " Is anything the
matter? What kept you? And you are pale."
"We very nearly met with an accident," James Moore re-
sponded, " but luckily no one was hurt. You only fancy I look
pale, Steve. I am all right."
26 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Apri
" Come in and have a whisky and soda," Stephen Moore
said, passing his arm within his brother's. " You look as if you
wanted it. An accident ? What kind of an accident ? So long
as you are safe — "
He drew him within the door of the dark, comfortable, low-
browed room, with which they had found nothing amiss as a
dining-room, although Nesta Moore, being used to light and
spacious rooms, had thought it gloomy enough on her first
sight of it, and felt it still almost intolerably small and stuffy.
Whether by accident or design he drew the door to behind
them.
Nesta Moore went slowly up the stairs. As she stood in
the obscurity of the first landing the hall-door was pushed open
and the other brother, Dick Moore, came in. He was darker
than either of his brothers and he had a slight deformity that
hunched his shoulders. He also went with an air of eager haste
into the dining-room and closed the door behind him.
" They are quite happy without me," thought Nesta Moore
as she went on towards her child's nursery. " If it were not
for Jim — no woman could help loving Jim if he loved her —
it would seem a thousand pities that any one should ever have
taken him from them."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
FATHER TYRRELL'S VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH.
BY JOHN M. SALTER, SJ.
|HIS article does not purpose to give Fr. Tyrrell's
present position, however interesting such a sub-
ject would be to the student of Modernism and
its tendencies ; but it designs to analyze critically
an attitude assumed by Fr. Tyrrell while writing
as a professional apologist in defence of the Church and against
rationalistic criticism, an attitude viewed with no unfavorable
eye by some Catholic theologians. While the prompt adhesion
of Catholics to the utterances of Christ's Vicar has been most
edifying, there has been a tendency on the part of a few to
suspect the ecclesiastical authorities of over-estimating the dan-
ger of the erroneous view. A clear statement of this view, and
an analysis of the argument that supports it, will show that
the danger was not exaggerated, and will help to clear away
the confusion of ideas unavoidably caused by a discussion which
is now closed.
In the first place, then, Fr. Tyrrell's theory rests on the
principle that between the truth of revelation, and truth natu-
rally acquired, there exists a generic difference. He does not
mean a specific difference, due to the different way in which
these two kinds of truth reach our intellect ; nor a specific dif-
ference arising from the different motives of assent, i. e,, the word
of God in one case and the light of reason in the other. He
means a great deal more than this; he means that revealed
truth and fact- truth belong to two entirely different orders.
" I recognize then," he says, " two fountains of religious truth
— natural and supernatural, reason and revelation, and two cor-
responding styles of utterance, the one scientifically exact, the
other prophetic and inspired. ... To bring these two gen-
erically different orders of truth * and utterance into one system,
by a sort of 'confusion of nature/ by using prophetic utter-
ances as theological premises, by giving supernatural authority
* Italics are ours.
28 FR. TYRRELL: s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April,
to scientific terms and propositions (qua scientific) is to lose
oneself in a labyrinth of insoluble difficulties" (p. 323).*
In its object, too, he would make revelation differ generic-
ally from fact-truth. ,,The object of prophetic truth,,, Fr. Tyr-
rell tells us (p. 231), (( unlike that of science or history, is the
ideal rather than the actual ; the future or else the eternal,
rather than the past or present; what ought to be, and is in
process of becoming, rather than what is. ... Prophetic
truths misinterpreted as literal statements of fact, are often incon-
sistent with one another, and with the world of fact-truths,,
(p. 232).! I would remark here that Fr. Tyrrell uses the word
"prophetic" truth as synonymous with revealed truth. It
will be seen that in this system it is not hard to account for all
the discrepancies found in the Bible.
It is clear to all that a fact of history or science may be
enunciated and revealed or manifested to others by a statement.
But in revelation, according to Fr. Tyrrell (p. 287), God is re-
vealed, not as a fact is revealed by a statement, but only as a
cause is revealed by its effect. Hence in his view when I know
a natural truth, socne reality is represented to me, when I know
a revealed truth, the reality is not represented, but only presented
to me. This does not mean merely that our concepts of re-
vealed truth are abstract and analogous. Here are some of the
similes Fr. Tyrrell uses to explain his meaning. As statement
revelation has no more value than the curious imagery patients
use to describe their pains to the doctor (p. 285). Like the cry
or sob of the sick man, revelation manifests, but does not repre-
sent (p. 296). A savage may describe in pictorial language the
impression made on him by a thunderstorm, the blinding flashes,
the awe-inspiring peals of thunder, the torrential rains, the
wrath of his storm- god. His statement is valuable as a record
of his experience, but it has not the slightest scientific worth
(p. 287). In the same way, Fr. Tyrrell concludes, revelation,
taken as statement, is only valuable as a record of a spiritual
experience; it cannot be used, as statements can be used, from
which we may deduce other statements.
„ Revelation and prophetic utterance,,, he admits (p. 231),
„ are worth more than science, because they are simply the
* All quotations from Fr. Tyrrell are taken from Through Scylla and Charybdis. Long-
mans, Green & Co., 1907. The page is indicated in each instance.
t Quotation marks are placed on the line when the citation is not verbatim, but almost so.
1909.] FR. TYRRELL'S VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH 29
natural shadow of experience, its spontaneous utterance. Rev-
elation is superior to science, not because it is critically valua-
ble as an explanation, but because it embodies the phenomenon
to be explained. Its artless constructions of history and science
and philosophy may crumble under the touch of criticism, but
criticism will be condemned unless its reconstructions find room
for all that revelation strove to shelter.,,
From these paragraphs, which are almost the very language
of Fr. Tyrrell, we see that the principle of generic difference be-
tween revealed truth and fact-truth is more and other than
Catholics can safely admit to exist between natural and super-
natural truth. We see no difference between this principle and
the tenet of Modernism thus set forth and condemned in the
Encyclical Pascendi : "The Sacred Books being essentially reli-
gious, are consequently necessarily living. Now life has its own
truth and its own logic — quite different from rational truth and
rational logic, belonging as they do to a different order."
What position does this principle of generic difference of
truth, natural and revealed, give to theology ? In denying
that revelation is statement, Fr. Tyrrell does not merely mean
that no philosophical truth is given in or with revelation, but
he expressly denies that revealed language has any value as
premise for either theological or historical conclusion. He is
bitter in repudiating the methods of scholasticism. We have
already heard him say: "Prophetic truth cannot be used as
statements may be used, from which we may deduce other
statements " (p. 289). In another place he says : To regard
revelation " as historical or philosophical statement, and to
use such supposed statements as the basis of argument, is equally
to confound together things as generically different as experi-
ence, and reflection on experience" (p. 303). According to Fr.
Tyrrell revelation is merely an experience ; statement, a reflec-
tion on experience.
Let us see the example he uses to illustrate this. (( Christ
was revealed to St. Peter as ' the Messias, the Son of the Liv-
ing God.' To St. John He appears as the Eternal Logos ; to
St. Paul He is the Second or Spiritual Adam.,, " These con-
ceptions, as revealed, have no direct theological value, they
are but part of the experience whose character they help to
determine. It is that experience, taken as a concrete fact and
reality, which forms the subject-matter of theological explana-
30 FR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April,
tion " (p. 289). tt It is the theologian's task to study revela-
tion not as statement but as psychological experience „ (p. 303).
This, according to Fr. Tyrrell, is the attitude of true dogmatic
theology towards revelation (p. 298). He would have theology
a sort of supernatural psychology, a psychology dealing with
the supernatural phenomena in man.
Of scholasticism and its so-called misuse or abuse of revel-
ation he writes : " I will not give the name of theology or
science to a hybrid system, which, applying logical deduction
to the inspired and largely symbolic utterances of prophecy
imposes its conclusions in the name of both revelation and
reason, as binding at once on the conscience and on the under-
standing . . ." (pp. 350-351). He prefers to call scholas-
ticism a " pseudo-science," " the dogmatic fallacy," " theolo-
gism," and he declares : " I regard it as the mother and mis-
tress of all heresies from the beginning; as the sword which
has hewn Christendom into pieces; as the force which both
keeps and drives out of the Church multitudes of the most
religious-minded men of our day; as the corrupter at once of
revelation and theology, the enemy alike of faith and reason."
A severe rating truly for a system so highly recommended
and so strictly enforced on all students of theology by the di-
vinely appointed guardian of revelation and faith. Yet admit
the principle of generic difference between natural and re-
vealed truth, and scholastic theology deserves all the censure
which Fr. Tyrrell bestows on it. If there is a generic differ-
ence between the truth of a revealed major premise and the
truth of a philosophical minor, the conclusion is rightly called
a "hybrid."
If, by eviscerating revealed statement of all theological con-
tent, Fr. Tyrrell reduces scholastic theology to a pseudo-science,
he does still greater damage, when he strips revelation of all
historical worth. His view of the historical value of sacred
history sweeps away the very groundwork of apologetic theol-
ogy, and leaves us to grope in the darkness of our subcon-
sciousness for a " reason for the hope that is in us." To con-
cede the truth of his theory would be to yield to the enemy
the Church's strongest bulwark against rationalism. The his-
torical authority of certain books of the Bible is of first im-
portance for a reasonable faith in the Church's divinely given
power; this historical authority has proved an unanswerable
1909.] PR* TERRELL'S VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH 31
argument for her extensive and important claims. Against
this rock the forces ot error have ever been hurled with spe-
cial fury. And now the Church is asked to save herself by
abandoning this eminence, and allowing the enemy to erect
their batteries on it. This may sound strange, but it is just
what Fr. Tyrrell's theory means. " Please reject the historicity
of the Four Gospels and the Acts," is its modest demand.
This view is developed in the chapter entitled " Prophetic
History." Fr. Tyrrell says: "Although we have no right to
look for a precise point to point agreement between (what I
may call) the ' prophetic ' reading or construction of history,
and the scientific reading of the same; although we may not
at once use separate points of sacred tradition as so many
historical arguments ; yet the truth of Christianity requires
that in its entirety, the * dogmatic ' reading of history should
be true to the scientific, in much the same way that the
artistic idealization oi an episode, its dramatic or poetic treat-
ment, should be substantially true to fact" (p. 244). According
to this theory the writer of such revelation as is historical is
guided not by what "has been," but by " what ought to be."
Let us take Fr. Tyrrell's own illustration. „ Shakespeare in
his ' King John ' or ' Richard III.' or ' Henry VIII.' has ideal-
ized and transfused facts in the interest of drama. He nar-
rates these events not strictly as they did happen, but rather
as they ought to have happened had he been guiding history
solely in the interest of drama. This artistic interest becomes
a principle of bias, of historical falsification in the cause of
greater dramatic truth.,, In these historical plays there is a
substantial correspondence with fact, but we cannot use Shake-
speare's dramatic statements as premises for valid historical in-
ference.
Fr. Tyrrell proceeds to argue from the less to the greater: ,,But
if the poet is justified in transfusing and idealizing facts in the
cause of art, the believer may with greater justice use the same
liberty in the interest of religion. For while the dramatist
knows that history is not guided primarily in the interest of
art, the man of religious faith and hope rightly believes that
the process of events is shaped ultimately in the interests of
morality and religion, and that ' what ought to be,' so far as it
is judged rightly, is identical with what is, or has been, or will
be. His interpretation, if wrong, is saved in, and transcended
32 FR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April,
by the truth, so far as its religious value is concerned. Hence
the believer's comparative recklessness, his too easy indifference
to the rights of history,, (p. 248). Elswhere he writes: u The
bias of Faith and Hope falsifies facts to make them a truer ex-
pression of their inward meaning,, (p. 250). "This prophetic
reading of history, not merely in spite of, but because of and
through its partial infidelity to bare fact, reaches a deeper order
of truth " (p. 249). Here we see expressed, in pretty clear
words, the Modernistic principles of Transfiguration and Disfig-
urement, by which faith is assumed to elevate facts of history,
and other natural phenomena, above their own proper condi-
tions, and to attribute to them qualities which they do not pos-
sess. This twofold principle is assumed to guide the writing
of all Sacred History, and criticism must take it into account
in ascertaining the fact-value of such history. It is this view
of the historical value of Sacred Scripture that gives rise to the
current Modernistic distinction between the Christ of history
and the Christ of faith, between the sacraments of history and
the sacraments of faith.
Were all this true it would follow logically that revelational
narrative cannot be used as premise for historical deduction.
The Bible would be useless as history. And this is the very
conclusion that rationalists have labored long and unsuccessfully
to prove. The historical documents of the Old and New Testa-
ments, say the Modernists, must not be accorded the rights of
profane witnesses. What clear injustice ! Precisely because,
besides their historical character, they claim a religious char-
acter, they may not be heard in open court; they may not
stand on an equal footing with profane history before the bar
of criticism; they must be racked and tortured in the dungeon
of the Modernistic critic till, stripped and lacerated beyond rec-
ognition, they say only what he wishes them to say.
But why should the Modernist critic pass the final judgment
on everything in Sacred History ? Does not Fr. Tyrrell admit
that the Church is a divinely appointed interpreter of all that
belongs to the " deposit of faith " ? Does he not hold the in-
fallible magisterium ? Are not her infallible definitions a bridge
between these two orders of truth ? Cannot her interpretations
of revelation be understood in their literal sense ? Does she
not speak a language intelligible to her children ?
Fr. Tyrrell assures us that the Church is the divinely assisted
1909.] FR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH 33
guardian of Apostolic revelation (p. 327). He yields to no one,
he declares, in respect for the infallible magisterium (p. 330).
But when he has explained the limits of this teaching author-
ity, and the value of oecumenical definitions, we find ourselves
in "confusion worse confounded."
First he cautions us that ,,The Church is not an infallible
theologian. She has no gift of theological inerrancy. She is
inerrant as instinct is inerrant. She feels the impression made
by theological statements, and it is this impression she approves
or disapproves. What is perfectly true may create a false im-
pression; what is perfectly false may create a true impression,,
(p. 299).
The infallibility of the Church in dogmatic facts has not
yet been solemnly defined, but ecclesiastical history proves be-
yond a doubt that in practice it is the teaching of the Church.
Yet Fr. Tyrrell places such facts outside the limit of the in-
fallible magisterium.
What value then does Fr. Tyrrell give to oecumenical defini-
tions? To which order of truth do they belong? To pro-
phetic-truth or fact-truth ? To the logic of life or the logic
of reason ? We are prepared for his answer, when we see how
he has whittled down the Church's teaching authority. He tells
us: "Her mission is prophetic and her method is prophetic.
It is by the Spirit that she interprets the Spirit ; not by argu-
mentation, but by a divine instinct or tact. It is this spiritual
instinct that bids her hold out, with a certain blindness and
' unreasonable ' obstinacy, against any assertion of reason so long
as, and so far as it imperils, or seems to imperil, the sense and
the spirit of the Apostolic revelation " (p. 329). This sounds very
plausible. But Fr. Tyrrell does not mean by her prophetic mission
and prophetic method, that the Church reads revelation and then
tells us in plain, intelligible language what is revealed and what
we must believe. His own words are: "Her utterances are
prophetic and must be interpreted prophetically, and not neces-
sarily according to their surface and proper value. They are
divine oracles. As such, their sense is more or less cryptic
and enigmatic " (p. 329). . . . „ In dogma as in Scripture
the surface meaning is rarely the true meaning. The true
meaning must often wait on time for its disclosure.,, Fr. Tyr-
rell takes the first canon of Scriptural exegesis, and reversing
it, gets a principle for interpreting both Scripture and dogma.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 3
34 PR- TYRRELL'S VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April,
The words of Scripture and infallible definition are not to be
taken in their natural sense. According to his own admission:
We do not know how they are to be understood, but certainly
not necessarily in their obvious and proper sense.
But Fr. Tyrrell would reject such a statement of his canon.
He would answer we do know in what sense oecumenical defini-
tions are true. (( They are designed to protect Apostolic revela-
tion (p. 330). They are true in their protective value. They
are the husk wrapped around the kernel of Apostolic revela-
tion, and like husk and kernel, are the output of one and the
same vital principle,, (p. 334). ,,As reassertions of the revel-
ation they protect, they are binding in conscience, as explicit
theological statements, they bind the intellect like other scien-
tific conclusions so far as they are correctly demonstrated „
(p. 308).
Now we ask, if their value is only "protective " and not
interpretative, and if we do not know the meaning of the revel-
ation they are designed to protect, have we not a case where
the explanation is more obscure than the law, the commentary
more unintelligible than the text ? To call such a Church a
magisterium is to misuse language. Fr. Tyrrell is not unaware
that his way is devious. Of his distinction between " proper "
and "protective" values he says: "Let him take it who can.
I could only wish there were a straighter way out of a laby-
rinth of difficulties " (p. 308).
Here then, in a word, is the view of revealed truth, which
Fr. Tyrrell adopts to avoid Scylla and Charybdis. Revealed
truth cannot be so worded in human language that its state-
ment reads true. These statements are merely symbols of a
spiritual experience that once took place. They do not repre-
sent a divinely given truth, but present a hidden divine reality.
The prophet's " reading of past history is as little historical as
his reading of future history, whether he looks back to the
creation or forward to the Messianic consummation ; in both
cases he sees fact, indeed, but fact transfigured and rearranged
so as to bring out the underlying meaning of the whole process.
And the like is to be said of the prophet's philosophy or sci-
ence" (p. 302). ««And the diurch's teaching- office is simply
to guard this revelation ; her dogmatic definitions possess only
a protective value „ (p. 354). Their true sense is cryptic and
enigmatic.
1909.] FR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH 35
Now, since this generic difference of truths leads to conclu-
sions so utterly subversive of theology and revelation as com-
monly understood in the Church, it will prove of interest and
importance to learn how Fr. Tyrrell deduces his principle. His
argument is drawn from an analysis of what takes place in the
prophet when he receives revelation. We will first give a brief
statement of the argument and afterwards examine it point by
point.
The argument : Revelation is a spiritual experience, an ele-
vation of man's soul, an impression produced by God upon his
every faculty. The whole soul, and not the intellect alone, is
the subject of this divine shock. Revelation is not merely a
truth impressed on the mind, it is not merely an impulse given
to the will, it is a composite impression stirring the whole spir-
itual fabric. The prophet does not hear statements, he sees
images, he feels a thrill, he knows that God is near him. In
this state he may try to express in his own mind what is going
on within him. His imaginative and intellectual representation
will be only a human picture of a divine experience. More-
over, it will represent only the impression made on the mind
and imagination, and not the impulse given to the heart and
will. Hence, even this spontaneous conception can never be a
full and adequate expression of the entire revelation. Still less
adequate and more purely human are those imaginings and con-
ceptions, which are the result of cool reflection made after the
shock has passed. Hence prophetic language, whether it ex-
presses spontaneous or reflective conceptions, is not a divinely-
given, adequate statement of revealed truth, but is merely the
word of man struggling to announce a God-given impression,
a human effort to tell of a divine experience. Now the truth
of revelation cannot consist in the statement value of such lan-
guage, but only in its symbolic value. The proper sense of the
terms is not the word of God, but the word of man. The divine
truth of revelation, therefore, consists not in what it says, but
in what it fain would say ; not in the statement, but in the
experience.
Now let us examine this argument in detail.
First of all, Fr. Tyrrell tells us (p. 281), there is a transform-
ing of the receptive part of our mind, a part which we may
compare to the sense of hearing. We listen, we do not speak ;
we receive, we do not give; we are shown something, we do
36 FR. TYRRELL'S VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April,
not show. Further on (p. 286) Fr. Tyrrell openly assumes the
Modernistic principle of " Divine Immanence " and then con-
tinues: God "draws near the soul and fills her with Himself
to overflowing, flooding each spiritual faculty with His own
Spirit — and thereby working at times strange transformations
even in the very senses and bodily organism " (p. 287). Apart
from the Modernistic explanation, we can grant that this mar-
velous effect was often produced in the prophets, but such ec-
stasy is not necessary for revelation.
Fr. Tyrrell goes on: "Revelation is not a statement, but a
showing. God speaks by deeds, not by words " (p. 287). Is
this true? If God ever spoke to man it was by the mouth of
Christ His Son. Now Christ's revelation is pre-eminently a
revelation of statement ; Christ taught a doctrine ; Christ an-
nounced truth to mankind ; and those who heard Him and
acknowledged His heaven-given mission, accepted His words
as divinely revealed statements. Many of them even, under the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, have recorded for us the exact
sense of many of His statements. Christ has spoken both by
word and deed. His words teach us what we must believe,
His deeds show us how to live in accordance with this belief.
It is well to distinguish carefully two kinds of revelation :
revelation that is given from without, and revelation that springs
up within the prophet. We have instances of the first kind in
those "Divine Manifestations," when God appeared under the
guise of man and conversed with Abraham, Jacob, and Moses,
and when Christ appeared in our very nature and dwelt amongst
us. The revelations ot Isaias, Jeremias, and Ezechiel seem to
be examples of the second kind, for these prophets were rapt
out of themselves and received, at times at least, impressions
of truth, from an inward working of God's power. Now it is
clear that Fr. Tyrrell's analysis applies only to this second kind
of revelation. How, we will now try to ascertain.
According to him revelation is of the whole man. "The
same shock," he continues, " which gives fire to the heart,
and impulse to the will, fills the mind with some interpretative
image of the agency at work, much as the sound of a foot-
fall evokes the image of a pedestrian, or as any sound sug-
gests an idea of its source and meaning " (p. 287). What Fr.
Tyrrell has said shortly before will make these words clearer.
" Revelation, strictly speaking," he tells us, " is this total re-
1909.] FR. TYRRELL'S VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH 37
ligious experience, not simply the mental element of that ex-
perience " (p. 285). And elsewhere: "It is an experience
made up of feelings and impulses and imaginings, which re-
verberates in every corner of the soul, and leaves its impress
everywhere, in the mind no less than in the heart and will "
(p. 282). Let it be granted that revelation, as a spiritual fact,
consists in the total religious experience, and not merely in
the mental element; yet it is not as a spiritual fact that revel-
ation is of importance to mankind. In the revelation we are
considering, God manifests a truth to the prophet not for
himself, but for communication to others, to be believed by
them. The mental element, then, is the element of general
interest, the one chiefly intended by God. The feelings and
impulses of heart and will are personal gifts to the prophet,
the intellectual element, the revealed truth, is a public gift to
mankind. This is why the mental element, and not the whole
experience, receives the name of revelation.
But Fr. Tyrrell thinks otherwise. He tells us in substance:
,,The volitional elements are evanescent, while the mental or
imaginative element abides in the memory, and survives as the
representative of the total experience. I cannot recall the
whole experience at will, but I can recall the impression it
made on my imagination. This remembered impression arro-
gates to itself the name of Revelation,, (p. 283). And rightly
so, we say, for it is what God wishes the prophet to. proclaim
as His divine word, it is the prophet's burden, the " Thus saith
the Lord." Fr. Tyrrell continues: ,,We come to regard this
memory of the mental element as ' representative ' of the whole
experience, while it only represents the past mental element,
which was itself but a part of the experience and not repre-
sentative of the other elements,, (p. 283). Now we do not sup-
pose that the mental element represents the total experience,
but we do claim that it represents that truth, that knowledge,
which God reveals in the experience. The memory of this
truth will naturally bring back, to some extent, the past ex-
perience, as the remembrance of any fact recalls the circum-
stances under which we came to know it.
From this analysis, Fr. Tyrrell now draws his first conclu-
sion : " The theologian, therefore, looks, or should look, upon
revelation as a part of religious experience, by means of which
he can, to some extent, reconstruct the whole of that experi-
38 FR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April,
ence (as an object may be reconstructed from its shadow, or
an extinct species of animal from its vestiges) " (p. 284). In
this sense, he tells us again and again, revelation is the sub-
ject-matter of theology. Now revelation, viewed as a spiritual
phenomenon, is not the subject-matter of theology, though it
may be the subject-matter of a supernatural psychology. The-
ology finds its subject-matter in the One True God and Jesus
Christ, Whom He has sent. The theologian works with those
very truths which he believes by faith. For theodicy has told
him that God's word is infallibly true, and history teaches
(nor can criticism gainsay it) that these words are the words
of God. Their plain truth is clear to him, therefore, by the
light of natural reason alone, apart from that other super-
natural light which leads his intellect captive. And hence
these very articles of faith form the first principles of theology.
Nor can it be objected that this is an arbitrary definition.
We find this view of the science of theology luminously ex-
plained, and defended by St. Thomas. Cf. Summa Theologica.
P. /., Qu. /., Art. 1-9*
Fr. Tyrrell's next conclusion (p. 287) is that the same ex-
perience will produce a very different mental impression on
minds of different culture, and that the outward record will
vary according to this impression. He illustrates this point
by showing how differently savant and savage describe the
same natural phenomenon; for instance, the same thunder-
storm. We readily admit that the temperament and refine-
ment oi the prophet will influence his style, but it will not
change the sense or thought of the record. St. Luke wrote
better Greek than St. Paul, but God saw to it that each ex-
pressed the true sense which He deigned to reveal to man-
kind.
Since, according to Fr. Tyrrell the mental impression is only
an inadequate representation of the truth revealed, the spoken
word and the written word must likewise be but vestiges of
revelation, and vestiges highly influenced by the personality
of the prophet. He tells us (p. 303) that the record we have
is a translation of the experience into outward language and
symbolism, a translation inadequate and only suggestive, whose
* As regards the meaning of the term Sacra doctrina, used in these articles, St. Thomas
himself tells us, Art. I. ad secundum, that theology, as distinct from theodicy, is a branch of
this Sacra doctrina, and in several places he uses " Theologia " and "Sacra doctrina "as
synonymous.
1909.] PR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH 39
end is to evoke in the hearer the same spiritual phenomenon
that has stirred the prophet. He would make the language of
revelation and inspiration a mere group of symbols given us by
God to evoke a revelation that is already written in the depths
of our being. What is this if not the Modernistic doctrines of
"Symbolism" and "Divine Immanence"?
And now comes Fr. Tyrrell's main conclusion : The real truth
contained in such a record is by no means its face value as
statement. tt Revelational truth and theological truth cannot
be compared as two statements — poetic and scientific — of the
same fact. Between these two kinds of truth there exists a
generic difference,, (p. 289). Now, does his analysis warrant this
conclusion ? Recall the distinction given above. Many records
of revelation are the statements of men who wrote from their
own natural and personal experience or who gathered their facts
through patient research. Fr. Tyrrell's analysis proves nothing
against the statement-value of such records. Nor are these
records revelation only in a wide sense, in so far as they are
words inspired by God, and therefore for us sealed with His
authority. They are revelation in a stricter sense, for they are
a manifestation to us of certain facts which were accomplished
by God's free choice and immediate intervention. Instances of
such facts, we have, in the establishment of the Church and the
institution of seven sacraments by a Heaven-sent Legate. And
this Legate, not content with accomplishing these facts, left be-
hind Him His Apostles as infallible witnesses of His work.
Now, it is their testimony as His witnesses that theologians use
as revealed premises, and apologists lay down as indisputable
facts of history. And thus Fr. Tyrrell's elaborate argumentative
analysis is, for the most part, beside his conclusion. For while
claiming that revelation is not statement, yet he draws his ar-
gument from only one species of revelation, and this species,
as we have seen, is by no means typical. For he analyzes only
the spiritual experience by which the prophet is supposed to
have received revelation, and yet it is certain that the bulk of
revealed truths in question are not the ecstatic visions of a
prophet, but the sober, substantial statements, the plain-spoken
words, of One Who, by His repeated miracles, proved His God-
given mission as teacher of mankind.
And moreover in his restricted field of revelation, consisting
only of such records of revealed truth as are the utterances of
40 FR. TYRRELL' s VIEW OF REVEALED TRUTH [April.
prophetic visions, Fr. Tyrrell's analysis does not prove what it
purposes to prove. Nor does it by any means warrant the con-
clusion that even these records are but suggestive symbols,
given for the purpose of exciting in the hearers an experience
like that vouchsafed the prophet. For God has made man a
rational being, and hence we may confidently expect to find
Him ever dealing with man as with a rational being. There-
fore, when He speaks to him "through the prophets" He will
not communicate His divine message by an experience that will
thrill the heart and warm the will and enlighten the understand-
ing of the prophet alone. No ; He will enable His messenger
to fire in turn the souls of men, not by prophesying unintelli-
gible symbols and enigmas, though their language may, it is
true, abound in metaphors, but as men appealing to men, using
language that will reach the heart through the understanding.
Hence in these divine messages of the prophets we shall look
to find, and we shall find, the most admirable appeals to rea-
son, motives of reward and punishment, motives of gratitude,
imitation, and love, and all put forth with a force that has en-
ergized sacred oratory for nineteen hundred years. And the
messengers themselves will come armed with those credentials
which rational creatures naturally demand, miracles and miracu-
lous foreknowledge of human events.
A REMNANT OF EMPIRE.
BY P. W. BROWNE.
Author of " Where the Fishers g» : the Story of Labrador "
[N a recent number of the Paris [Figaro, Count
Albert le Mun bewails the " situation " created
at St. Pierre-Miquelon, by the revolt of the Pier-
rais against the despotism of an atheistic admin-
istration. He says, deprecatingly : " Us ont tort,
les pauvres gens" They have done ill, these brave colonists,
in adopting seemingly the only means whereby they might
arouse France from its apathy, and awaken it from a lethargic
dream of patriotism where religious sentiment has been out-
raged. These brave Bretons have dared to raise the symbol of
freedom — the Stars and Stripes — above the Tricolor ; and have
demanded the redress of grievous wrongs !
" Just one hundred and fifty years ago," continues this
patriotic count, "France possessed in North America 'a world'
which its prowess had opened to civilization ; Cartier won it
(from the Indian tribes) ; Champlain developed it ; and Mont-
calm shed his blood in its defence ; it was, alas ! lost to France
irrevocably in the death throes of a corrupt monarchy."
Part of this " world " is the Colony of St. Pierre which,
says another patriot, consists " of a few barren rocks, obscured
by fogs and constantly buffetted by the angry waves"; and
St. Pierre, Miquelon, Isle Verte, Grand Colombier, and Isle
aux Chiens are the last remnant of a sovereignty which still
were ours, were it not for the criminal supineness of legislators
who regarded "La Nouvelle France " as only " a few acres of
snow."
Within the borders of our little colony, which lies off the
south shore of Newfoundland, dwells a people amongst which
there still are descendants of Jean Bart, Duquesne, and Duguay-
Trouin — the representatives of the hardy Flemings, Basques, and
Bretons who in past times were the maritime guard of France.
42 A REMNANT OF EMPIRE [April,
These hardy toilers derive a precarious livelihood from the
harvest of the sea; they are ever face to face with danger, and
too often pay toll to the death-dealing fury of the storm.
No other colonial possession has known such vicissitudes
of fortune as this little French colony, lost and retaken so
often by English and French. It is the eldest- born of the
motherland ; " and," says the writer quoted above, " notwith-
standing the pretensions of these vain English explorers — the
Cabots — these islands were visited by Danish and Norwegian
explorers in the twelfth century ; the Basques fished here in
the fourteenth ; and when the intrepid Breton Mariner — Jacques
Cartier — visited these coasts, in 1535, he found numbers of
fishermen, from St. Malo, Fecamp, Paimpol, and Dieppe, ply-
ing their trade in the Archipelago and along the Banks."
Yet it was not till Champlain laid the solid foundations of
our " Empire in the West," by the establishment of Quebec, in
1608, that St. Pierre assumed importance as a fishing-center;
from that date it has ever been the nursery of our navy (pe
piniere) and the training-school of our manners.
St. Pierre, historically, is a veritable replica- in-miniature of
the motherland ; it has had its " Revolution " ; its " Reign of
Terror "; its " Liberty Tree"; and even its " Coup d'etat'1 Its
history has been a romance of empire; and the recent "diffi-
culties " are in keeping with its past records. The history of
the disaffection of the Pierrais is found in the transactions of
the Quai d'Orsay, as it is but the distant echo of Breton re-
volt against the iniquitous legislation which has menaced the
spiritual and educational existence of the " Eldest Daughter of
the Church." Discontent has been rife since the inauguration,
in France, of the secularization of Catholic schools, and it has
culminated in scenes of disorder which indicate a complete
rupture between the motherland and its oldest colonial pos-
session.
St. Pierre is a busy little town of five thousand souls, and
not unlike some of the Breton seaports; it really is a bit of
France of the ancien regime transplanted to the Western world,
though somewhat modernized by the progressive genius of its
people. Its narrow streets, its trottoirs, the creaking ox-cart,
the click of the sabot, the apple-cheeked Norman women, the
quaint and picturesque costumes of its inhabitants, are all rem-
iniscent of Breton ancestry
1909.] A REMNANT OF EMPIRE 43
It has occupied a large place in French colonial annals;
and it has been a cause de guerre many a time and oft be-
tween France and its greatest colonial rival — England.
After centuries of peaceful progress, St. Pierre witnessed, in
1702, its first assault by a British fleet; and its fort, mount-
ing six guns, was destroyed by an English squadron under com-
mand of Captain Leake : "beaucoup d'honneur pour six can-
nons" remarks a caustic Frenchman. By the Treaty oj Uttecht
(1713) England obtained possession of Acadia, Newfoundland,
and St. Pierre ; and in the stipulations of this momentous docu-
ment we read: "It shall not be lawful for the subjects of his
most Christian Majesty, the King of France, to fortify any place
in the said Island of St. Pierre."
"This treaty," says the Abbe Raynal, "wrested from the
feeble hands of Louis the portals of Canada, Acadia, and New-
foundland ; and from this dates the decline of the Monarchy
and the oncoming of the Revolution."
St. Pierre remained in the possession of the English for fifty
years, and was, by the Treaty of Paris (February 10, 1763),
restored to France "as a refuge for fishermen." This treaty
also forbade the fortification of the island, for it is herein stipu-
lated : " His most Christian Majesty, the King of France, en-
gages not to fortify these islands, nor to erect buildings upon
them, but they are to be merely for the convenience of the
fishermen; and only a guard of fifty men shall be kept upon
the islands for their protection."
The enactment of the Treaty of Paris was the occasion of
extraordinary scenes in the British House of Commons. Lord
Chatham, who rose from a sick bed to take part in the debates
upon its passage, denounced it as " an iniquitous measure."
Lord Bute, who was the supposed tool of Choiseul, was openly
charged with bribery; and the very sum (three hundred thou-
sand pounds) was named as the bribe which he had accepted
from the French.
Junius, in one of his letters, charged one of Bute's col-
leagues— the Duke of Bedford — with a similar crime. He says :
" Belle Isle, Goree, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Martinique, The
Fishery, The Havannas, are glorious monuments of your Grace's
talents for negotiation. My Lord, we are too well acquainted
with your pecuniary character to think it possible that so many
public sacrifices should have been made 'without some private
44 A REMNANT OF EMPIRE [April,
compensation. Your conduct carries with it an internal evidence,
beyond all the legal proofs of a Court of Justice."
Soon after the enactment of this Treaty several Acadian
refugees settled in St. Pierre; but they do not seem to have
taken kindly to the hazardous life of a fishing- colony. Within
a few years they abandoned it and located in Cape Breton and
the Magdalen Islands.
Between the years 1763 and 1776, St. Pierre made great
forward strides, owing to its trade with the New England
States; and then began the contraband trade (smuggling), which
has been one of the dark spots in its history.
In 1778 a British squadron, under cemmand of Rear- Admiral
Montague, again took possession of the island, without any show
of resistance on the part of the inhabitants; but by the Treaty
of Versailles (1783) it was restored to France. "This treaty,'*
says an enthusiastic French jurist, "did not impose upon the
French colonists the humiliations (les conditions humiliantes) of
the Treaty of Utrecht." But English authorities claim (seem-
ingly justly) that the Treaty of Versailles did not rescind any
of the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht. Out of this Treaty
arose the famous " French Shore Question," which for so many
years afforded emoluments to the legal fraternity of Newfound-
land, and sundry trips to the British Isles for local politicians.
The " Question " was adjusted in 1904, much to the chagrin of
the Pierrais merchants and Newfoundland jurists. England in-
demnified the French fishermen for their claims (supposed) on
the French Shore ; and ceded to France elsewhere valuable ter-
ritory in compensation for the " rights " acquired by treaty.
These "rights" actually permitted French fishermen concurrent
fishing on that part of the Newfoundland coast lying between
Cape John and Cape Ray; but French legislators construed
concurrent fishing — for la morue into exclusive rights on the
Treaty Coast.
St. Pierre, like the motherland, in Revolutionary days had
its "General Assembly," and its "Committee of Notables";
and the meetings of these organizations were sometimes held
in the parish church. In 1789 M. Allain, the saintly cur£, de-
clined to participate in these orgies, and refused to take the
oath of allegiance to Jacobinism. He subsequently left the
colony, and located with many of his flock on the Magdalen
Islands.
1909.] A REMNANT OF EMPIRE 45
During the regime of the Assembly a "Jacobin Club" ex-
isted, under the title of " Le Club des Amis de la Constitution";
and for a while there was actually a "Reign of Terror"; in
a riot caused by members of the club a woman named Gen-
evieve Larache was killed.
" The 8th of April, 1793, was a memorable day in the French
toy republic. A big spruce tree was brought from the New-
foundland shore, and it was solemnly planted, with all pomp
and ceremony, in the public square, as a * Tree ot Liberty.'
The scene is changed ! This republican farce came to an abrupt
termination. St. Pierre became again a British possession ; and
its population were deported to Halifax." — (Prowse: History
of Newfoundland.}
The "Peace of Amiens " (1802) again transferred the colony
to France; but, within a year, it again reverted to England.
At this period many Newfoundland families from the Burin
Peninsula settled in St. Pierre; and to-day there are many in
the colony bearing Irish names who speak only the language
of the Gaul.
The " Treaty of Paris" (1815) again restored St. Pierre to
France, under whose jurisdiction it has since remained. The
exiled sons returned from Halifax ; and trade immediately re-
vived. Little of a political nature transpired for many years,
until, in 1851, a little "Coup d'etat" awakened the dormant
political activities of the colonists. It was brought about by a
malcontent Capitaine au long cours, who organized the Repub-
lican faction against the exactions of Imperialism. The move-
ment was short-lived, however, and M. le Capitaine fell into
the clutches of the law; he was condemned, on some trivial
charge, to twelve months' imprisonment, and later deported
from St. Pierre. The administration of justice was seemingly
rather singular, for in the same year a rich merchant of the
town shot one of the disciplinaires (military prisoners) dead in
his hall (the unfortunate prisoner was hungry and begging for
a morsel of bread). The murderer was sentenced to one month's
imprisonment, which he spent under surveillance in his own
luxurious home. — (Prowse : Op. cit.} The greatest rivalry has
always existed between St. Pierre and the neighboring English
colony — Newfoundland; and it is as formidable to-day as in
times when Britain's mandates were enforced at the cannon's
mouth. The cause of this rivalry is — Fish (la morue).
46 A REMNANT OF EMPIRE [April,
" Fish," says a French writer, " is the very life of St. Pierre ;
and everything in the little colony is suggestive of the pisca-
torial industry. Sans la morue. Saint Pierre n 'a plus sa raison
d'etre: it is the prolific cause of blessings and curses; it de-
velops greed amongst the rich, and brings woes unnumbered
to the poor. All topics of conversation revolve around la
morue. In the early days of spring the thud of the mallet and
caulking iron is heard late and early ; the streets are thronged
with fishermen laden with bundles of oakum and canvas; and
the air is redolent of — Stockholm tar and fumes of the barking-
pot. The fleet is being put in readiness for fishing; and there
are daily arrivals of festive marin from St. Malo, Granville, and
St. Brieue. From five to six thousand of these hardy Bretons
come annually to St. Pierre to outfit for the shore (pecheseden-
taire] and bank fishery." They are a venturesome lot, these
Bretons; and they are reared amid surroundings which develop
the characteristics which fit them for their future avocation—
the French navy. " Formidable men," says the writer quoted
above, "formidable men, these Bretons; they are our greatest
glory and the source of our national pride ! "
The approximate value of these fisheries is $1,500,000; and
the French taxpayers are contributors towards the industry to
the extent of practically one-third of its value; as the fisher-
men receive a bounty of about nine francs per quintal for all
fish exported, and five francs for what is consumed on French
territory. This bounty system is the crux of the difficulties
existing between Newfoundland and St. Pierre, as the French
products are in constant competition with Newfoundland fish
in the European markets. This unfair method of business on
the part of the French has been detrimental to Newfoundland ;
and the latter retaliated some years ago by enacting the fa-
mous " Bait Bill," the enforcement of which has wrought havoc
to the French fishermen, and caused the decline of St. Pierre.
These effects are admitted by all who are competent to pass
judgment on the question ; and the Pierrais themselves admit
the fact that the decadence of St. Pierre began when New-
foundland, in self-defence, enacted the "Bait Bill."
A St. Pierre newspaper says : " Since the enforcement of
the ' Bait Bill ' French fishermen have found their industry less
productive than before." The decadence of St. Pierre is very
remarkable. Its fishing fleet has decreased nearly fifty per cent
1909.] A REMNANT OF EMPIRE 47
within the last decade ; hundreds of fishermen have left the
colony, and the outlook is gloomy indeed.
Apart from fishing the Island- Colony has practically no in-
dustries, excepting a few dory- manufacturing plants and a
foundry. It is burdened with an almost insupportable debt;
and hampered by effete officialdom. There has been a deficit
in its revenue for three years past; and dishonesty seems to
have demoralized its finances. Only a few months ago $35,000
disappeared from the colonial treasury, and the thief is abroad
in the land. Discontent is rife amongst the people ; and the
unfortunate colonists are ever clamoring for retrenchment and
reform.
" Let us have," says a recent writer, " administrators of
worth (hommes de carriers) ; these were less likely to be gov-
erned by sordid motives than the penniless politician. . . .
Give us a rigorous examination of our budget, an active sur-
veillance over the administration. . . . Greater attention is
needed in the affairs of the colony than ever before, if we wish
to save it from irrevocable ruin. It is being bled to death by
certain individuals; it is paying subsidies which are in nowise
justifiable, for which we receive inefficient services; we are
bound by contracts made by ourselves, 'tis true, but against
our own interests"
Socially, St. Pierre almost rivals the gay " Metropolis of
the Universe " in its festiveness in the winter season ; during
the summer months everybody is too busy to attend to the
social side of life; it is the time of the harvest of the sea.
The Pierrais are extremely hospitable ; and those who visit the
little colony do not soon forget the bonhomie and rare grace
of its people.
In former years St. Pierre was a recognized center of learn-
ing, and numbers of young men and women from the neigh-
boring colony of Newfoundland sought there educational ad-
vantages which, in those days, they did not possess at home.
When economy (?) necessitated the closing of the Collegiate
school, the Freres de Lammenais taught the communal schools
until the fatal Separation Legislation banished them from the
colony. Their departure, in June, 1904, was marked by an
outbreak on the part of the populace, which resulted in riots
and disorders. Then secular teachers were appointed ; but they
were not acceptable to the majority of the colonists, who de-
48 A REMNANT OF EMPIRE [April.
manded religious education for their children. Last year the
Pierrais, under the presidency of Mgr. Legasse, decided to es-
tablish free denominational schools, with Catholic lay teachers.
These teachers arrived from France in September, but up to
November 15 they were unable to secure the necessary authori-
zation to allow them to open their school.
The Catholic Bretons contended that the Administrator of
the Government was deliberately withholding the authorization,
and they decided to open the school without the requisite per-
mission from M. Moulin, the Government representative; this
they did on November 16. Thereupon the authorities instituted
proceedings against the teachers for violating the law; and this
aroused the Pierrais to a sense of the indignities heaped upon
them by minions of an infidel government. They organized a
demonstration, paraded the streets one thousand strong, and
demanded redress from the Administrator Moulin. To show
what else they might do, they carried an American flag and
visited the American Consulate, suggesting, if not actually pro-
claiming, that annexation to the United States was a possi-
bility. The Administrator became alarmed, promised to tele-
graph at once to the Colonial Minister at Paris, and counselled
patience till a reply was received. The teachers were put on
trial, fined one thousand francs, and forbidden to teach. This
prohibition was disregarded; and the colony still protested
against the iniquitous sentence of the judge. France became
alarmed ; and immediately a Governor, M. Paul Didelot, was
despatched on board the cruiser Admiral Aube, with plenipo-
tentiary powers. The conditions have as yet changed but little ;
and the brave colonists will " not bow the knee to Baal."
What will be the outcome of these difficulties ? This is not an
easy question to answer. One thing, however, seems evident.
St. Pierre as a French colony is an anomaly in this age. Its
destiny? Presumably incorporation into the Dominion ol Can-
ada; and it is not beyond the bounds of political possibilities
that the Honorable Member for Miquelon may one day be
seated side by side with the Representative of Burin in the
Dominion House of Commons.
A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES.
BY H. W. G. HYRST.
Author of " Chasma," etc,, etc.
I.
JOOK at that, now," roared my old friend Sam
Kemp as he grasped my hand " Blam' 'f I
warn't comin' up to see you this morn'n', sir."
In his time Sam has been everything from
mate of a privateer to a master trawler at North
Ham. "I s'pose you've 'eared the news?" he asked.
I let him know that, for a fortnight, I had been sojourning
in an outlandish part called London, and had heard nothing
beyond the bald fact that the brig Marie, from Bordeaux to
the Thames, had gone down off our coast, all lives but one
being lost. Whereupon Sam told a story which, reported ver-
batim and with his customary digressions, would fill a hundred
pages.
"But 'ere's the curiousest part," concluded the old man.
" Now, who should you suppose it was as see this 'ere foring
party, an' sculled out to 'er, an* brought 'er safe ashore? It
was Bill 'Ooper, sir; my — old — mate — Bill — 'Ooper/"
Astonishment held me dumb. Bill 'Ooper is a nervous little
man who has never been beyond the North Ham fishing radius,
who trembles when it blows hard, and whose spirit seemed
to have been crushed long ago by a coarse and brutal wife who
deserted him, and later drank herself to death.
Sam rubbed his hands. "Yes; there stood me an* Bill, an*
a lot more, 'bout 'alf a hour afore daylight. ' There's a woman
clingin* to that there spar,* 'oilers Bill. * Woman my grand-
mother,' I says. ' Look out 'tain't your old woman come to
life again, Bill,' sings out young Sonny Keam. An* everybody
laughs. ' Let's go out to 'er, any road,' says Bill. But 'e bein'
s'posed to be more'n 'alf silly, nobody took no notice. / ain't
a fool, nor a coward, but I'd ha' took a hoath there warn't a
soul there.
VOL. LXXXIX — 4
So A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April,
" I gets to the top o' the beach an* then squints back.
Blam* 'f there warn't Bill, scullin' for dear life, an' all the
others makin' sport o' the poor old feller; one tellin' 'im to
go this way an* another that. 'Adn't 'ardly got through my
breakfast when I 'eared enough 'ollerin* for to make a hyster
deaf. Cuts out on to the beach, an' sees Bob Waters runnin'
top speed. ' What's up, old Bob ? ' I sings out. ' Bill 'Ooper's
brought a female ashore,' 'e says, ' an* I'm off a'ter Dr. For-
rest.'
"Down I goes, an* I thought for sure the chaps'd ha'
killed old Bill wi' cheerin' of 'im. The woman, she was safe
enough, bless ye; just a hover-dose o' salt water; she'd bin
clingin' to one o' the yards all the time."
" Where is she now ? " I asked.
"That's what I was a-takin'the liberty o' comin* up to see
you about," said Sam. " Mrs. Waters is a-lookin' a'ter 'er like
a sister; but, poor soul, nobody can't understand 'er. There's
me an' a lot more knows a bit o' French, but it's mostly ' Bong
joor\ an' 'Ah votes auntie? or else sea-farin* terms an' cuss-
words. My boy Dick, as worked on the divin* boat at Havver,
'e says to 'er the other day: ' Ccmmong sar var ; sal tip ;
sakray nor de sheeong? But she shakes 'er 'ead an' 'oilers :
' May say may shong.'
"Then Buffer Barton, as often goes up the Rhind with a
barge, *e 'as a go at 'er. ' Vee gates ? Spray ken zee Dutch ? '
'e says. 'Why,' I says, 'that ain't French; that's German.'
'Well,' 'e says, 'it's all one an' the same; it's foring ain't it?'
An' it was all one to 'er, for she couldn't make 'ead nor tail
of it.
"So then Bob trots off to your friend Mosseer Do Some-
thin's ; but 'im an' 'is missis wouldn't be back till last night.
Then this mornin' I remembered you, crackin* on wi' them
French sailors."
" Let's go and interview the lady."
On the beach we met Bob Waters, painting a skiff. I
knew the handsome fisherman from his having stood to Paul
Dupont, the painter, who had bought a summer house at North
Ham. He and Sam led me into his cottage, and there, laugh-
ing at Mrs. Waters' attempts at sign language, was a comely,
middle-aged woman, dark of eye and rosy of cheek, and stamped
in every line with neatness, thrift, honesty, and gentleness. In
1909.] A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES 51
reply to one or two civil questions, she told me that she had
been bonne to an elderly couple who had died recently ; that
her savings had been swallowed in a bogus investment ; and that
she had availed herself of a free passage to London, hoping to
find work there as a cook, and to meet with sundry friends
who were settled in Soho.
The previous night I had traveled from town with the Du-
ponts ; and Madame had been lamenting that the Frenchwoman
whom she had engaged as cook had been unavoidably detained
at the last moment — for shop-lifting.
I despatched Bob to the yacht-club bungalow in search of
Dupont, and told the stranger — Hortense Vaillant — that she
might possibly find work in our town. While she was expressing
her gratitude Sam touched my arm.
" If you'll ex-cuse me, sir, there's Bill 'Ooper just gone by.
P'raps she'd like to say a word to 'im now you're 'ere."
I nodded; and shortly after Bill 'Ooper entered, grinning
and shamefaced. As soon as I told her who he was, the
Frenchwoman seized his hands and smothered them with kisses ;
and if ever I saw a man in torment that man was Bill 'Ooper.
" 'Ere, 'ere, 'old on, missis," he gasped. " That's quite
enough o' that, ex-cuse me."
" Qu'est-ce qu'il dit? " asked Hortense in blissful ignorance.
" He says he only did his duty. Acts of bravery are noth-
ing to him." The previous winter I had seen Bill 'Ooper weep
during a gale ; and Sam told a darker story about the late
Mrs. 'Ooper's actually having beaten her lord.
Mile. Vaillant let go the little man and reached out for her
fat silver watch and begged me to present it to her preserver.
I did so, but Bill 'Ooper's manner was not encouraging; it
was not even gracious.
" You tell 'er I don't warnt it," he snarled. And I trans-
lated to the effect that the gallant seaman's reward lay in the
satisfaction of having saved so charming a woman ; while Sam
and Mrs. Waters rallied the rescuer on his want of courtesy.
" I don't care," he bellowed. " I tell ye, I wunt 'ave it.
Why, she'll be warntin' for to marry me next."
" Ye can sell it, yer cuckoo, can't ye ? " shouted Sam. " I
lay if she'd offered ye money ye'd ha' took it fast enough."
The argument prevailed ; Bill took the watch and — his de-
parture, as Bob returned with Paul Dupont.
52 A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April,
I think she was happy enough in my friend's household.
Madame Dupont is a dear soul, and took endless pains to make
her understand the rudiments of English. Certainly Hortense
was an artiste in the kitchen ; and as long as she cooked for
Paul I never refused an invitation to dinner.
The Duponts are Catholics, and I generally reckon to sup-
ply them with fish on days of abstinence. One Friday morn-
ing as the Snowdrop (Sam's smack, on which Bill 'Ooper works)
had not gone off, I employed Bill to scull me out to a favorite
fishing. ground; and it was there that he opened his mind to
me on a momentous topic.
" I see that there foring party again last night. What ye
might call a ham'able party, don't ye think, sir?"
This, in plain English, meant that for nearly two months
Bill had now been casting eyes at the fair Hortense.
He continued : " I nodded to 'er, an* she to me ; an', a'ter
a bit, she fetches out what I thought was a cake o' 'bacca an*
'ands it to me. Goes to bite off a corner " — Bill pulled a pite-
ous face — " an' it were this 'ere choc'late stuff."
" Sold the watch yet ? " I asked airily.
"Well, sir, ast yourself the question. If I was to be 'ard
up at any time, p'raps I might ; though — well, 'twouldn't be
more'n middlin' civil, a'ter she'd give it to me as a keepsake."
" Sort of love token, eh ? "
" No, no, master," growled old Bill. " I've been done over
a woman once; an' I've said to Sam Kemp many's the time
since my missis's bin dead: 'Old Sam, if ever you 'ear o' me
warntin' to git married, you take an' do somethin' as'll git ye
seven year, an* then go an' swear it was me done it. / shan't
say I never.' '
" But a smart fellow like you ought to have scores of
chances. I saw you on the cliff last Sunday, a howling swell
in a starched collar and a new necktie."
Bill simpered. " Yes ; no doubt there's a many I might
'ave for the askin*. Ye see, sir, a'ter my old woman 'ooked it,
I started to save up, an* I've got a matter o' a few pound in
the post-office, through takin' o' Sam's advice. A better mate
than Sam Kemp never catched fish. But 'ow I come to wear
that collar as you talk on — one day, when I was goin* past
Mosseer Dewpong's, she hollers out to me: 'Hay! Pst ! Mos-
seer Beelupah ! ' (That's 'ow she says my name.) I stops, an*
1909.] A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES 53
then she comes out wi' that there scarf as you see me wearin'
Sunday. ' Me make it you,' she says. An* I took that to
mean she made it for me. So rememberin* what you was
pleased to say when she offered me the watch, I took it, an'
* thank ye, mum,' I says.
" Well, when I showed it to Sam, 'e says : ' Now we shall
ha' to git ye a collar, Bill.' An' so, Saturday night, 'im an*
me went down Jackson's an' bought one for sixpence Vpenny.
So Sam says, a'ter I'd fitted it on round at 'is 'ouse : 4 Now,'
'e says, ' if you take an' leave off that there old guernsey to-
morrer — if it's a warm day, mind — the scarf '11 just about show
up like the sun through a fog.' So that's 'ow you come to
see me. An' — an* — h'm — so you thought I looked middlin'
well, sir, ex-cuse me ? "
"And she saw you, did she, Bill?"
" So 'appened I was passin' the Carthlic Church just as she
was comin* out, fust thing in the mornin'."
" And you did a bit of courting, eh ? "
"Me a-coortin' ? No, sir; I'll be nobody's slave but my
own."
" But she's very fond of you, Bill. Madame Dupont told
me so."
The old man stared. "Never !" he answered ; but his tone
was not convincing.
" But, of course," I added brutally, " if you're determined
not to get spliced, you ought to give some one else a show.
There's Sam and old Tom Keam — both widowers and worth
plenty of money — and young Bert Holden, a bachelor and a
very good-looking fellow."
" Sam an' Tom ain't got much 'pinion o' married life,"
said the old man with lofty confidence. "An* Rumpy 'Olden
— 'e ain't got a brass farden', an' owes for the last new pair
o' sea boots 'e 'ad ; an* a beer score at the ' Pig's 'Ead ' as
well."
" Still, there are other men. I'll tell Madame — "
Bill spluttered, stammered, and reddened. " Well, sir, I — "
He looked so nonplussed that I was moved. Our pile of
fish was growing, and Bill was threading them on a piece
of wire as he cleaned them.
" Look here," I said. " We shan't want any more. As
soon as we get ashore, trot round and leave these with my
54 A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April,
compliments. You'll probably see Hortense, and can tell her
yourself that it's no go."
Obviously Bill was relieved. But, as we separated later, he
assumed the demeanor of profound mystery so dear to his
kind. " Over that little matter you an' me was talkin* about,"
he said in a stage whisper, " not to mention no names — it'd
be a kindness on your part, ex-cuse me, sir, not to say nah-
thin' to the lady 'bout me an' — you know who ; / sh'll be
able to make that right."
A week later I came across Bill 'Ooper tarring dredge-
meshes, and snatching furtive glances at Hortense, who was
seated on a distant breakwater. Sam Kemp had told me that
thrice lately Bill had appropriated the prawns that happened
to come up in the shrimp-net, and after carefully boiling them
had conveyed them away mysteriously; so I presumed the
love-affair was not yet quashed.
I looked from one to the other. " Why not ? " I asked
myself.
I said something in French which made Hortense color
charmingly and then follow me to Bill's side. Then I played
intermediary.
On the following Sunday the banns were published ; and
every day, for the next three weeks, Sam Kemp — backing his
remarks with many wise saws and modern instances — lectured
Bill ' Ooper on the duty of relf-assertion on a husband's part.
The great day came. I was to give away the bride, and
Sam — who openly held that some Catholics were " almost as
good as Christians" — had consented to be "best man." But
when Hortense, supported by Madame Dupont and myself,
arrived at the church, Bill ' Ooper was not forthcoming. Sam
Kemp fingered his cap uncomfortably and mumbled : " I b'lieve
old Bill's gone an' made away with 'isself; straight I do. At
bottom, 'e 'ad that 'orror o' females (these ladies '11 ex-cuse
me) that 'e'd sooner do anythin' than commit matteromony."
" Oh, go and look for him, and hurry him up, there's a
good fellow"; I said impatiently. I hadn't the heart to arouse
the Frenchwoman's anxiety ; and her mistress, putting her off
with some plausible excuse, led her into the priest's house,
while I went to help hunt up the bridegroom. By three
o'clock I had searched sheds, boats, back-yards, chicken- houses,
public-houses unavailingly, and was returning to the church
when I ran across Sam again.
1909.] A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES 55
"I got Mm," he said.
"Where?"
" Don't you go near 'im, sir ; Vs 'most tarrified to death
'E's bin up at the ' Rose' since six o'clock this mornin'." This
was a hostelry four miles inland., "Now 'e's a-waitin* for me
at the 'Queen's.'"
"What's wrong with the old fool?."
"It was this way, sir. I knowed 'e 'adn't gone off to- day,
'cause I see all the boats out. An' I knowed 'e'd slep' in 'is
bed an* gone out middlin' early, for 'is front door was open at
five o'clock. A'ter I left you at the church I see Smith, the
baker, in 'is cart, an' 'e said 'ow 'e'd seen Bill at the * Rose.'
I goes along the road, an' just 'appens of 'im comin* 'ome.
' What sort o' caper do ye call this ? ' I says. ' Why,' 'e says,
'I 'ad a dream.' 'Yes,' I. says, 'dreamt 'ow ye 'ad two
penn'orth o' sense for once, an' the hidear give ye a fright,
bein' strange to .ye.'
"Ye see, I felt middlin' mad to think 'e'd made a pair o'
fools o' you an' me, so to speak it; an' a'ter I'd put on my
gaff-tawps'l clothes an' all. No, 'e ain't drunk ; it appears 'e'd
bin dreamin' 'is old woman stood at the foot o' the bed, an*
'ollered : ' Do you warnt me to come an' 'aunt you every
night ? ' Now 'e will 'ave it as it's a warnin* not to git mar
ried. 'E says 'ow Job Foreman's mother 'ad a dream as meant
somethin'; an' she went contrairy — an' blam' 'f 'er 'usband's
boat didn't go down, an* 'im in it. An' that's true, too,
'cause — "
I nipped in the bud the digression I saw coming. " Listen
to me, old Sam " — and lowering my voice I spoke earnestly for
some minutes. Then we parted; he to look after his old mate ;
I to leave a message for Father Ross, arranging the marriage
for the following morning, and subsequently to seek out a
deus ex machina — Ern Hadlow, by name.
Ern had been in the navy, and might have got promotion
if he had not considered beer preferable. When he is at work,
it is before the mast on a Shields' collier. He can play any
instrument from an organ to a jew's-harp ; mend anything
from a typewriter to an engine-boiler; sing anything from
Italian opera to Moody and Sankey; recite anything from
Shakespeare to Bernard Shaw; imitate anything or anybody.
I found him at the " Pig's Head," and to him I opened my
56 A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April,
grief; and his pregnant wink and confident: "You may rely
on me, sir," sent me to bed with a heart free from care.
I was dressing the next morning, when I heard Sam's
voice outside my beach-shed. "Come in," I cried; and he
entered, purple with laughter.
" I consider you an' young Ern 'Adlow ought to 'ave a
medal, sir," he gurgled. "You for 'atchin* of it, an' 'im for
carr'in* of it through."
" Oho ! " I chuckled. " Let's hear."
"Ah, but I mustn't stop, 'cause Bill 'Ooper's a-waitin' in my
kitchen ; only I see ye come down the beach, an* thinks I,
' I must just 'ave 'alf a word with 'im.' Bill come round
about fower o'clock this mornin*. ' I've 'ad such a turn,' 'e
says. ' My missis 'as bin again.' ' Bill,' I says, ' you'll ha' to
take and knock off wi' the rum.' ' 'Old you 'ard,' 'e says,
'this warn't no rum, nor yet no dream. Why, I tell ye, she
come an' stood there at the foot o* the bed. Know 'ow she
used to sneeze ? It was that as woke me,' 'e says. Young
Ern, 'e remembered it; an* it appears 'e remembered some of
'er words, too ; for Bill, 'e swears 'ow she stood an' 'ollered :
* You 'alf bred monkey, you ; listen to me, afore I cut yer
liver out.' (Jest the very way she always used to begin on
the poor ole feller.) ' Why didn't ye git married to the French-
woman as I warned ye ? ' ' Well,' says Bill — all of a shake,
I'll be bound — ' I thought you never warnted me to.' ' You
poor, silly, soft sawney,' she says (that was another of 'er lov-
in' words, as young Ern 'ad remembered — she was a Tartar, I
tell ye; an' can't Ern take 'er off to a T?) 'I meant ye'
should marry 'er. This is yer last chance, mind'; an' off she
goes — 'e goes, I 'ad ought to say — an' Bill laid shiverin' till
daylight.
"An* now what do you think 'e's arg'in' the p'int with Ms-
self about ? Why, 'e will 'ave it 'ow it was a bit o' spite o'
'is old woman's. ' She's jealous o' me bein' independent,' 'e
says; 'an* warnts to see me tied up 'again.' ' Ah, but,' I says,
' you got to risk that. Better 'ave a little trouble wi' this new
un than 'ave th' old un comin' back, night a'ter night, for to
pester ye.' ' In course o' time,' 'e says, ' there mightn't be
much difference.' 'Oh, yes, there would be,' I says. 'This
'ere foring party, if ever she do take to naggin' — which I doubt,
mind— you won't understand 'er, whatever she says to ye; an'
1909.] A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES 57
you'll be able to sarce back as much as ye like, an* she can't
trip ye up.'"
This argument clinched the matter; the wedding took place
without a hitch, and I don't believe there is a happier couple
anywhere than Bill 'Ooper and his wife.
II.
Three months after her marriage, a cheap day- trip gave Hor-
tense an opportunity of going to London in search of her friends
in Soho.
Two days after the excursion I was on the beach when the
crew of the Snowdrop came ashore from shrimping ; and Sam
Kemp and Bill 'Ooper hailed me effusively. I hinted at an
adjournment to the " Pig's Head," for I was all agog to know
how the strangers had fared in Babylon; but Sam remarked:
"You'll ex-cuse me, sir; Bill don't stop for no drink now,
when 'e comes ashore, without it's late tides. 'Is missis'll 'ave
a cup o' tea ready for 'im. Why, there she is at the door."
When we entered Bill's habitation a little later we found
him washed, shaven, and changed, and smoking his pipe, on
one side of a spotless hearth, while his wife, white-capped and
brandishing her eternal knitting, sat opposite.
" So you've been to London, Hortense? " I observed, as she
placed an ash-tray at my elbow. Even I am not allowed to
throw my matches in the fender.
Up went her hands. " Ah, monsieur ! Eef I 'ave souffert ! "
" Like London, Bill ? "
And Bill 'Ooper made answer: "Well, sir, since you ast me,
it's the fust time, an', as I says to my old skipper 'ere, comin'
'ome, it'll be the last."
Sam looked out of the corners of his eyes at the little man,
as a full-rigged ship looks at a barge, and began the yarn with-
out more ado. " Ye see, sir, our missis 'ere bein* foring, an*
Bill 'Ooper — bein* Bill 'Ooper, I promist I'd go up with 'em,
me knowin' London — Cannin* Town, at any rate — middlin* well.
So far as Charin' Crost we was all right, 'cept for Bill gettin*
'isself laughed at in the carriage for sayin* we must ha' got a
fair wind, 'cause she went along, so fast. Never been in a train
afore, poor soul ; nor yet a steamboat.
" Gits out at London, an' outside the station ast a p'liceman
58 A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April,
where Berwick Street, Soho, was. Tells us to bear round by a
church till we come to a circus an' then ast again. We kep'
on, but couldn't see nahthin' like a circus or a fair ; an* last of
all Bill says : ' I are that dry ' ; an* the end of it was, we went
into a flarin' great public, twenty times as big as the ' Pig's
'Ead.' An' it turned out the landlady was a Frenchy."
"Ah, yes"; cried Hortense. "We spik French togezzair,
and—"
" Speak French ? " roared Sam. " If ever I 'eared two wo-
men's tongues go, one agin the other — an* me an* Mm starin*
at each other like any pair o' fools. Thinks I : ' Lucky for
Bill V ain't French, an* 'is new,vmissis what the old un was for
chin-music.' There was good come out of it, though, for the
landlady sent a potman to show us where the street was."
" Oh ! zees Ber-vick Strreet ? " Again Mrs. 'Ooper's hands
went up.
" Then, thinks I, we're back in Petticut Lane, where I was
robbed of a silk wrapper an* six shillin's, fowerty years ago';
an' if Petticut Lane ain't moved up there, they've built the fel-
ler one to it. Jews by the score ; foreigners by the thousand ;
an' the 'olierin', an' the stench, any the horange-peel an' green-
stuff under- foot! Both sides o' the road there was barrers, an*
women without a bit o' 'at on, turnin* the taikle over. Then
one feller 'ad a hyster-stall, an' when me an* Bill stopped to
squint, 'e 'ollered : ' Sixpence a dozen ; Ryal Natives ! ' ' Why,
yer liar, we can't sell Ryals less'n ten bob a hundred,' I says.
' They're 'Mericans ; an* I've picked 'em off the beach by the
thousand when I served on a whaler, an' nobody to stop ye.'
Never see a feller so took down in yer life."
Sam paused to cut up some tobacco, and Bill 'Ooper took
up the tale: "So when we found this 'ere 'ouse, the parties
was moved away. ' Name o' Roche ?' I says. ' Comprong par,'
they says; an' then she 'ad a go at 'em, an' — "
Sam knocked down the finger which Bill was pointing at
his wife. " Better by 'alf let me spin the yarn, old ship-mate.
An' so, by this time we wanted a bit o' dinner, an* the missis
'ere stops outside of a shop where" — I could see that Sam
only repressed a shudder with difficulty — "they 'ad — well, sich
things as foringers might like. She starts to go in, 'im foller-
in'; but I says: 'Bill; you'll ex-cuse me, but the sort o' taikle
they sell in them shops don't agree wi' my constitootion. I'm
1909.] A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES 59
a-goin' into that there public over the way, an* there you'll
find me when you an' your missis 'ave finished.'
" Over I goes ; pint o* beer an* crust o' bread an* cheese.
Publican a very civil feller, an* no great opinion o' foringers.
Looks 'ard at me. 'Shell-back, I lay/ 'e says. An* it turned
out 'e'd bin ship's carpenter, an' second mate too, in 'is time;
quite a youngish chap, too. 'E stands treat, an' then me; an*
still Bill 'Ooper never come; an' thinks I: "E's a-bustin' of
'isself wi* them there kickshaws.' But you know me; if I say
I'll be so-an'-so, sich-an'-sich a time, I'm sure to be there.
So I waited, 'ad some more goes o' beer an* rum, fust 'im pay-
in', an' then me; an' it come to fower o'clock, an' me thinkin'
'twarn't only two.
"When I come to tell the publican about Bill, 'e says,
' This 'ere's a queer neighbor'ood ; if I was you I should go
across an' 'ave a look.'
"Soon said, soon done. Goes into the shop an' there was
the dirtiest foringer ever I see — cuttin' up sandviches! I 'ol-
lered at 'im, for to make 'im sensible, an' then it turned out
'e could talk English. ' See that passage ? ' 'e says ; an* I see
there was another glass door as opened into a sort o' halley-
way. ' The lady was 'avin' 'er dinner,' 'e says, ' when she
started up an' run through there, singin* out to somebody ; an'
'er 'usband went a'ter 'er. Matter not to me,' 'e says, grinnin'
like a Choinese monkey; ''ave already paid.'
"Out I goes into the halley, into another, then into a street,
turns right, then left — an' then was as lost as if it was a fog.
Asks fower or foive people if they'd seen Bill, but they only
laughed; then thinks I: Til go back to the public.' Well, do
you think I could remember the name o' Berwick ? Though.
I've bin ashore there times out o' number. An* dark comin*
on, too ! Goes fust this way an' then that, for a couple o'
hours; an* last of all I took thought to ask a bobbie was there
a sort o' Petticut Lane round them parts. 'E laughs. 'You
mean Berwick Street,' 'e says. ' Cut through there ; take ye
straight into it.' What think o' that?
" Goes in the public 'ouse. ' Well, well,' says the chap ; ' I
are glad you've come back. 'Seems there was a Jew boy come
in the other bar, time you an' me was yarnin*. Said 'e warnted
a sailor man, an* the barman 'e 'oofed 'im out. Set down
again ; p'raps 'e'll come back.' Gits talkin' again, an presently
60 A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April,
'e says: 'I don't like the looks o' this, old brother. If that
kid, or else your mate, don't very soon show up, I'll go to
the p'lice station with you.' 'Adn't 'ardly spoke when a bar-
man puts 'is 'ead through the curtain. * 'Ere's that foring
nipper again, sir,' 'e says to 'is boss. ''Old 'im,' I sings out*
an' they brings 'im into the s'loon-bar. ' Lady from country
warnt you,' 'e says.
" My mate puts on 'is 'at an* coat — quite the genelman —
"Old 'ard,' 'e says. 'I'm a-goin' to see this through'; an*
comes along of us. Boy takes us through streets an* courts an'
halleys to a rare big 'ouse, an* up no end o* stairs, dark as
pitch. Any amount o' 'ollerin' goin' on up aloft; foringers
all talkin' one again the other. Went up the last flight, an'
come into a room where there was a dozen or more women —
one on 'em dead, or pret' near; our missis kneelin' 'longside,
with a little slip of a gal clingin* to 'er dress — an* old Bill
'Ooper lookin* like a fightin* man an' wantin' to pitch into two
Frenchmen.
" I up fist an' cut one on 'em 'ead over 'eels, an' then 'e
sheered off; but my publican collared the other one — an' 'e
turned out to be the 'usband."
Sam drained his glass, and I looked bewilderedly to Hortense
for an explanation — which she quickly gave me. It seemed she
had caught sight of an old acquaintance passing the door with
the boy who was ultimately sent in search of Sam. Rushing
in pursuit she had learned that the daughter of a mutual friend
lay near at hand, dying of consumption and want ; whereupon
Hortense had despatched the boy to Sam's public , house, and,
with her husband, had followed the woman to a garret in the
worst part of Soho. It was the old story; the girl was the
wife and victim of one of a class of scoundrel aliens with whom
the magistrates are beginning to deal smartly.
"And mon p'tit mari! " — Hortense looked proudly at Bill
'Ooper — " 'E 'ave be so brave when zees Idche — zees brute —
'ave demanded to me some money."
" Ye see," said Bill blushing, "I was out o', my bearin's in
every shape an' form ; an' when . the boy come back, an' said
Sam warn't there, I wanted to come away. She sent the boy
out for wine an' victuals for the poor gal, but it was too late;
an' some on 'em said 'ow the doctor 'ad give up comin'. It
got darker an' darker ; then all of a sudden the 'usband come
'ome — 'im an' a mate. An what was it they said, missis ? "
1909.] A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES 61
From old intimacy with the neighborhood I knew that on
seeing an unwonted display of luxuries, they had pitched a
fawning story, alternating between whines and threats.
"So she 'anded me the purse, an* sent the nipper a'ter Sam
again. Well, there was a little 'un — pretty little gal ; you'll see
'er— "
" Might ha' knowed you'd give the tale away," thundered
Sam. " An' me keepin* it as a surproise for 'im. This poor
soul, sir, 'ad a young un as she wanted sent away from 'er
father, which was a middlin' bad lot; an' the missis 'ere ast
Bill if 'e'd be willin' they should 'dopt the little un."
" Yes " ; admitted Bill. " An' I says : " 'Dopt nobody ; lets
us get away from 'ere alive ; we can't 'elp other folkses trou-
bles."
Hortense left the room, and Sam resumed: "Me an' the
publican see through it all in a jiff; bless ye, 'e knowed the
pair on 'em. But I must say I never felt so proud of a wo-
man as I did o' Bill's missis. (Jest as well not say so afore
'er, for, wi* the best of 'em, ye never know but what they'll
round on ye some time or other, an' throw yer words in yer
face.) It was like a stage-play ; all this dirt an' stink an*
'ollerin* goin' on round 'er; the room 'bout ten foot square,
an* no furniture except rags, vermin, an' a taller candle; she
'oldin' this dyin' person wi' one 'and, an* the nipper wi' the
other, an' lookin* round to ast the people not to make sich a
blazin' row — for all the women in the 'ouse 'ad come to spyt
I reckon — an' 'er as clean as a new yacht, an' not used to
rough comp'ny, an* come straight from a clean 'ouse like this
'ere, wi' the smell o' the sea an* the country — well, there, it
worked my blood up.
" ' Out o' this,' I says to them women. l Alley vous ong '/
an* off they went. But my mate — strong, powerful young chap
as ever man-handled a crew o' mutineers — 'e wouldn't let the
'usband go. Then I see the missis cross 'erself an' kiss the
poor creature, an' — an' — There was a way to die ! There was
a place — " Old Sam is tough and brutal in the rind, but very
tender at the core; and he had just outlined a picture that
was new to North Ham, sordid though some of its annals be.
He blinked his eyes and resumed :
"Then she turns upon Bill, with 'er 'and still on the kid.
' No mother now,' she says ; ' no one to keep her from — this ' —
62 A STRANGER WITHIN OUR GATES [April.
an* she p'inted at the dead gal. An' then " — Sam smacked
our host's shoulder so that the little man squirmed — "my dear
old mate 'ere says: 'Bring 'er along; lets us be father and
mother to 'er.'
"Wi' that the father, as could talk English fast enough,
sings out: 'You not take my daughter if you not give me
money for 'er ' ; an' I was 'bliged to 'oiler : ' Bash 'im, ship-
mate, do, for Gawd's sake ! ' for / couldn't 'it 'im while some
one else was 'oldin' of 'im.
"'Money?' says this 'ere publican. '/'// gi' you some
money. Ain't I see you kickin' of 'er 'cause she 'adn't got
nahthin* to give ye ? You got to deal wi' British seamen now ;
not women an' members o' Parlyment an' missionaries as you
can 'ocuss'; an', 'pon my soul, I thought 'e was a-shakin' the
life out of 'im ; ye could 'ear 'is bones rattle. ' Give 'em
nahthin',' 'e says, when missis got talkin' 'bout the burial.
' Leave me yer address, 'case there's a inquest ; I'll see the
parish authorities about the funeral. Now come on 'ome an'
'ave a bit o* supper; my missis'll rig the kid out, if you're
bent on takin' of 'er. Once on board the train, possession'll
be ten p'ints o' the law; if we stop 'ere we'll 'ave the p'lice
round, an' all manner o' foolery for puttin' honest sailors in
the wrong.' 'E was a man an' a 'alf. I'm a-goin' to send 'im
a hunderd hysters to-morrer if I live.
" ' Now, you swab,' 'e says to the Frenchman. ' This fist,
as 'as 'ammered men, can 'ammer a rat ; so you mind an' stop
'ere till we're clear o' the 'ouse.' So away we come, 'ad our
supper, an' 'e put us in the train ; an' there's the little un
asleep upstairs; an' I 'ope she'll be a blessin' to Bill.
Luckily there was HO inquest, and as the father's flight put
police proceedings out of the question, Mr. and Mrs. 'Ooper's
peace is not disturbed by threats of another visit to London.
THE ISLAND OF ACH1LL
BY ROSA MULHOLLAND GILBERT.
[HE island of Achill lies off the coast of Mayo, be-
tween Clew Bay and Blacksod Bay, its huge head-
lands breasting the rollers from Newfoundland.
A six or eight hours' journey from Dublin on
the Midland Great Western Railway will take
you there. Leaving Mallarany the train approaches the sound
through mountain gorges, purple with heather and tufted with
the vivid green of ferns, a blaze of color when the sun is shin-
ing or when the atmosphere is warm and golden, but in cloudy
weather overwhelmed by the sullen gloom of the rough black
bog that climbs the sides of the hills to their crags on top.
Great were the forests that have left these slopes as if ploughed
by Titans, the earth thrown up in black bosses, capped with
rank grass of a somber green. Travelers press to the carriage
window as the shifting mountain heads and steeps appear, fold
and unfold, and are swept apart by openings of the Atlantic,
distances of ocean crags and the ghostly outlines of islands.
Winding on, as if boring for the first time through a virgin wil-
derness of unsurpassable grandeur and beauty, the train stops
at Achill Sound, a " long car " carries you over a sturdy iron
bridge, bastioned by solid granite walls, and you cross with
ease the late dreaded ford or ferry where the Atlantic, strug-
gling in a narrow pass to maintain possession of Achill as one
of its islands, long dealt death to the natives and their infre-
quent visitors.
Achill is the largest island off the Irish Coast, in extent
fifteen miles by twelve, eighty miles in circumference, and con-
taining forty-six thousand four hundred and one statute acres.
One side is well sheltered, the other is a range of precipitous
cliffs. The greatest promontories are Achill Head in the south-
west and Saddle Head at the entrance of Blacksod Bay. The
highest mountains are Coraan, 2,254 feet above sea level, Slieve-
more, and Merral with a precipice of 700 feet. There is very
little arable land, and that is chiefly in the valleys and near the
64 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April,
shores, yet in 1891 the population was 4,677, and is said to be
increasing despite the constant stream of emigration to America.
The life of the people is one of labor under difficult condi-
tions. While the men, girls, and youths are away earning at
the harvesting and hop-picking in Scotland and England to pay
the debts that Mother Earth will not acknowledge — the rent,
the bag of meal, and other necessaries from the agent's store —
the mature women and little children work on the patches of
poor ground between the expanses of bog, gathering the wrack
from the rocks and strands, and carrying it on their backs, or
on the backs of their donkeys and horses, to manure the land
which can scarcely be coaxed to give even a small return for
their toil; also "saving" the turf, a tedious undertaking, the
failure of which would leave the fireside cold and dark in the
nights of winter. So much can be seen from the roads, supply-
ing striking " incidents " for the artist, groups of the toilers,
waywardly picturesque as to form and color, pathetic in human
interest, fit subjects for the pencil of a Millet; and charmed
by so much pastoral beauty one wishes to see an interior giv-
ing a more intimate knowledge of the life of a people.
With this desire at heart I walked above the Dugort strand,
along the green level which in winter storms must form bottom
for a high tide of the Atlantic, and paused near a long, low,
thatched dwelling, a sort of fortress cottage, thatch tied down
with stones, a tiny, high-set window evidently designed to ex-
clude the unwelcome winter wave. A figure appeared at the
door, Eastern of aspect, a large, dark woman in richly colored
garments, skirt of the island style, woolen of a resplendent hue
between cardinal and crimson, suggesting the " scarlet twice
dyed " of the vesture of Aaron the prophet, trimmed with three
rows of black braid round and above the hem, which gave it a
more picturesque value, as did also the long striped apron that
fell like a stole, almost to her feet. A square shawl drawn
round her shoulders and a kerchief looped round her black hair
helped still further to give her the air of an Eastern.
Attracted by her friendly looks and dignified movements we
drew near and got into conversation with her, observing all the
time the fine aspect of the woman, her handsome, feminine
features, pale " matte " skin, gray-blue eyes with dark settings,
and the thick dark hair parted above her low brows. Such
women might Rachel and Naomi have been, though there was
1909.] THE ISLAND OF ACHILL 65
nothing of the Jewish type about this daughter of Erin. I soon
learned that she had a large family, that two of her girls were
gone harvesting, and I had to thank her for several other bits
of information, for instance that the syllable "du" prefixed to
some names of districts in Achill, as Dugort, Duagh, Duega,
Dukanella, signifies "sand," garden of sand, ford of sand, etc.;
and I believed her, remembering the Sand Dunes, and the tales
of Hans Christian Andersen. Her manner was courteous and
composed, while she expressed herself with the force and quaint-
ness of one accustomed to think in a foreign language, and to
translate her thoughts into the language of her visitor.
As we were talking a voice called to her to invite the
stranger in, and following her into the interior of her dwelling
I was introduced to a roughly flagged floor, a three-legged pot
on the flags above red-turf embers, a dresser with delft, a bed
with a red woolen coverlet, a long spinning wheel, stools, and
benches from which some members of the family rose as we came
in. The master of the house, a hardy-featured fisherman clad
in gray frieze, bade us welcome, and directed his wife — aside,
in Irish — to offer us milk, which she did, in generous measure.
The half-dozen boys and girls of different ages were all well
dressed, like their parents, in material, manufactured by their
mother, of wool from the island sheep. One small girl ot five
wore a pink cotton frock looking fresh from the ironing table,
her little white underskirt, her curly fair hair, and bare feet
and legs, all equally neat and clean. As we sipped our milk,
our host discoursed of the facilities and impossibilities of the
girdling Atlantic for the fishermen of this coast; want of a se-
cure landing pier, lack of proper boats, practically denying them
the wealth of the bountiful ocean at their doors.
Suddenly a deep sigh of animal satisfaction caused me to
turn my head, and I became aware that a number of beasts
were comfortably tucked up in fresh green bedding at the lower
end of the house, only a stone trench separating their quarter
from the rest of the dwelling. Three cows, two calves, a don-
key, and a dog had all been made happy for the night as part
of the family, the cattle plentifully supplied with supper of the
long green weeds freshly taken from the potato drills. I learned
afterwards from one who knows the people well that this hous-
ing of the animals with care equal to that bestowed on human-
ity is a primitive custom which, if it dies hard in Achill, is to
VOL. LXXXIX. -5
66 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April,
be defended on reasonable grounds. It originated in the neces-
sity for warmth, protection, safety for the property on which
life for the humans so much depended, not to speak of the
affection and sympathy felt for the dumb creatures who are their
daily companions. One has only to cast a glance towards the
near strand with its low sandy sweep, and to imagine it invaded
by an Atlantic high tide in a winter hurricane, to realize how
easily cattle might be carried away by mountainous waves roll-
ing up the low land. The strong walls of the fortress-dwelling
from time immemorial sheltered these companions and friends
of man, which, by his care, were saved from becoming the prey
of storm-waves, wreckers, coast-robbers, and other depredating
enemies in time of petty warfare. Granting the strange condi-
tions, the beasts were more nicely disposed of as members of
this household than is imaginable by critics who have never
witnessed the like arrangements.
Invited to return the next day to receive a lesson in the
use of the long spinning wheel that spins the w«ol, I perceived
during my second visit to this house that above the beasts'
apartment strong cross beams were placed so as to form a safe
stowage quarter for halters, ropes, baskets, and many another
article for uses of daily industry ; also, that two little triangular
mangers occupied convenient corners, and that these were at-
tractive to the laying hens, in the absence of pony or ass, who
might require an indoor repast secure from the onslaughts of
rain or whirlwind. In some places, however, we found small
outhouses newly built where encouragement had been given for
a new departure, and we were assured that five years hence
the presence of the friendly brute under the roof of his master
would, in all probability, be a thing of the past.
One's first impressions in Achill are all of the marvelous
grandeur and beauty of nature in this isolated, sea-girdled,
mountainous fragment of our earth's surface. Heart- widening and
soul- invigorating is the immensity of the deeply colored ocean,
shifting and changing from gray to blue, from blue to purple,
from purple to green, with its many golden creeks and bays,
ranges of distant mountains rising above and beyond the giant
headlands; the islands, near and far, majestic, ponderous, or
faery- like, leaving void, despite their presence, the infinite
openings of the Atlantic, and suggesting, with their aerial
changes of expression, the visible nearness of spiritual regions
1909.] THE ISLAND OF Ac HILL 67
unexplored. Rapt away from the presence of humanity, one
walks through glamor, and one accepts Sir John Franklin's
statement that in no part of the world had he beheld a splen-
dor of scenery to compete with this ; remembering that another
famous traveler named it as one of the four supreme examples
of scenic sublimity to be found on our globe. Apprehension
of beauty being the first experience, the next will be a keen
s«nse of increase of bodily health and consequent exaltation of
spirit, from the magic of the bracing and balmy air so im-
pregnated with ozone, so sweet with a thousand perfumes
mingled of sea-brine and flower-breath from the low-lying
blooms along the sandy shores, that for a day or two you are
almost overwhelmed by the bountiful powers that have seized
you, soon feeling aware, however, of a succeeding buoyancy
of mind and bodily lightness which bears you through many
fatigues and carries you over difficulties.
With and above all this must be, to the lover of his kind,
the study of humanity in the native race that has abode heie
with little change of ways and customs, tending its flocks and
herds, in the days of the Druids, of Moses, of St. Patrick,
worshipping the sun, the Unknown God, or the gods that spoke
to them in the elements.
"Their ocean- God was Mananan Mac Lir,"
sings Thomas Darcy Magee, and Bride was their queen of fire
and song. The beings whom they shaped for themselves out
of the misty hauntings of the supernatural common to all
dwellers in high, remote regions, took character of their own
peculiar imagination and belonged to their traditional history.
The brilliant and magic-working Tuatha de Dannans, harp-
players, songsters, artificers, colonists from Greece, once mas-
ters of Ireland, feared by the plodding Firbolgs, whom they
found hammering their iron in the valleys, and conquered in
their turn by the soldierly Milesians, these are still admired
and respected in the rock-fortresses and recesses of the cloud-
capped mountains where, after defeat, they retired from their
enemies behind their mystical cloud-veils, rather than quit the
land of which they had proudly relinquished the visible mas-
tership. Still dreaded are the mischievous powers of the fallen
angels who, on the Archangel Michael's appeal to the outraged
68 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April,
Creator, were allowed to find a refuge in Tir-nan-oge, in the
heart of this earth, stayed from descent into infinite and eternal
depths, "remanded," as the people say, and awaiting final sen-
tence till the Day of Judgment. At all times the native race
has realized that we live and die by the breath of the great
God, whose voice is in the whirlwind, whose smile is on the
crag of the mountain flooded with sunshine, whose frown is
in the hollow overcast by portentous cloud-shadows. Their
prayers, songs, and tales, uttered in their impressive ancient
tongue, are full of the presence of an Almighty and all-per-
vading God. Even their rare cruelties are Druidic, and their
religious superstitions, if such there be, are relics of an older
form of worship, welded, in all good faith, into the practices
and beliefs of Christianity. On the subject of the supernatural
they are as reticent as they are conservative, and they are wary
of the inquisitive stranger who, having drawn forth confidence
to gratify curiosity, would go away misunderstanding, and cast
up his eyes at their benighted absurdity. A clever, keen wo-
man said, looking at me critically : " Fairies, is it ? What do
we know about them ? A lady was here, and it was all fairies,
fairies, fairies with her. Nothing would do her but fairies. An'
we had no fairies for her. She must ha* been a fairy herself, I
think, lookin' for her people. But we couldn't help her." An
intelligent man who had been out about the world, and was
quite an up-to-date character, laughed at my pronunciation of
Tir-nan-oge, and denied having ever heard of such a place.
At last he exclaimed : " Oh, you are trying to say Tyeer-nan-
ocha ! " Of course he knew the place where the fallen angels live,
thim that took no part, and are detained underground "during
his Majesty's pleasure." " Any one that has never been bap-
tized can see them," he said, "and it's dangerous for any young
people to come in their way."
It is impossible to persuade such a man of injury to Chris-
tian faith by beliefs that have come to him down through the
asons of time, with the varying voices of the winds, the scream
of the eagle, the cries of the wild seabirds, and the constant
mysterious movement in sky and on high crag, shiftings of the
sailing cloudshapes, with their shadows on the mountain's side
and face. Landscape, air-scape, sea-scape are all alive with
them. Man and his flocks and herds are not the only conscious
creatures inhabiting this radiant, tempestuous world. God is
1909.] THE ISLAND OF A CHILL 69
here easily understood to be almighty, where His presence is
forced upon the spirit and realized every hour of the day and
night. His works, innumerable and immeasurable, of kinds and
fashions varied far beyond our mortal ken, who shall put a
limit to them? This is what the cautious, prudent, if imagi-
native Achill man would tell you if he could put into your
suspicious ear an exposition of his knowledge drawn from intui-
tion. " Sure Himself is able for anything ! " must meanwhile
stand in English for the eloquent words of Irish which your
ignorance would not understand. " The best of the Irish is,"
said one who spoke both languages well, " that you can explain
your mind in it so much better than in English." It is in this
language that they explain their minds to God, orthodox Chris-
tians as they are, making such utterances of their own inspira-
tion, to the God of Moses, to the Redeemer on the Cross, to
favorite saint and guardian angel, to the tender, interceding
Mother of their love, as gives pause to priest or parson who
would rebuke or enlighten them.
Arriving in Achill on a Saturday evening, we expressed a
wish to see the islanders in their chapel on Sunday, and our
driver pulled us up *at a little white house, saying: "Here's
Father W now, and he'll tell you all about it." A young,
bright, sunburned face appeared at a window, and in half a
minute Father W was beside us. We had interrupted him
at a task of whitewashing, which he afterwards assured us was
the only use he ever made of a paint-brush in a spot offering
so many subjects for a painter. Following his instructions we
took a car next morning to the chapel of Dugort. A simple
building whitewashed within and without, the interior whiteness
was relieved by brown wood, lining the end wall behind the
altar and the arched roof with its broad beams. The sunshine
poured in with the mountain air through a wide-open window
— a luxury unknown to the pious sufferers from the rigid rules of
stained glass civilization. The people were well-dressed, the wo-
men in their brilliant crimson skirt of home-manufactured wool,
with a shawl drawn like a pladdie about their shoulders, the
elders with a kerchief wound about the head and throat, the girls
with their heavy locks tied behind with a black ribbon and
falling to the waist. The dark-set eyes of one girl gave value
to the color of her hair, which had caught the sun and was a
splendor of brown- red with dashes on top of pure gold, as if
70 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April,
laid on with a brush. Her features were fine, her countenance
beautiful, her figure was shapely and strongly built. As she
stood in the sunlight by the open window I found her more
satisfactory to look on than some aureoled saints in cathedral
jeweled panes.
Entering the building my eye was caught by a thing of
brown wood, like a box or cage, not much larger than a fash-
ionable lady's traveling trunk, flung at the white wall at the
end opposite to the sanctuary, where it had alighted and ad-
hered as if by accident. It was the choir, and in it were three
young figures clustered round a little harmonium. The narrow,
ladder-like stair leading to it was completely covered with tiny
girls in clean cotton frocks and bibs, their blue eyes and curly
locks crowding together, the effect being of a flight of angels
upward, or a multitude of small birds, breast to breast and
wing to wing, roosting on the bare, drooping branch of a lime-
tree.
At the other end of the house the smallest boys were kneel-
ing in a row at the altar rail, their shaven heads and the soles
of their clean feet turned to us. Nowhere have I seen so rev-
erent, so motionless a congregation. While they waited for the
service to begin an occasional burst of prayer in Irish was the
only sound. When Mass began the choir of three pure treble
voices tuned up, and the simplest sacred music was piped forth
from the little wooden cage on high, slowly and dreamily, like
the thoughtful song of the robin in October when the days are
beginning to shorten.
It happened that the priest who officiated was a son of Ac-
hill, who had spent fifteen years on the mission in Minnesota
and had returned for his first holiday. His sermon was fine.
Nowhere, he told his hearers, should humanity come so near
to God as in this grand and beautiful nature, the wide ocean
speaking to their souls, the great mountains always looking
towards their Maker. Great joy was the joy of the Achill man
and woman in the free and simple life allotted to them by
Providence. To each he would say, keep yourself for God ;
you are His house. If you build a house for yourself to live
in, and make it all you want it to be, will you allow another
to come in, thrust you out and take possession of it ? God
will not be pushed out to make room for evil. The preacher
spoke of his own longing, when in a more prosperous country,
1909.] THE ISLAND OF ACHILL 71
for the mountains and the ocean, the heavenly spires of the
craggy peaks, the roar of the storm that had rocked his
cradle. He begged his friends to stay at home and tend their
cows and goats and spin their wool. Such a life in Achill was
better than the struggle for money in the slums of the cities
of America. The sermon closed with the oft- told story of the
exiled St. Columba.
" Care it well," said the saint (having found a dove with a
broken wing on the shores of lona). " Who knows but it may
have come from Ireland?"
The father and mother of the preacher were among the
listeners, the bird voices in the choir were the voices of his
young sisters. There was a good deal of quiet weeping. All
were glad and proud of the preacher who had been the early
playmate of some present, and was related by ties of blood
to the greater number. It was a scene full of material for
thought and suggesting many questions. After the service
was over and the clergyman had retired the people recited
prayers among themselves in Irish, one part of the congrega-
tion answering another ; and the rising and falling of these
waves of appeal on High in the Gaelic tongue had an extra-
ordinary effect on unaccustomed listeners.
So much for Achill in the spirit. For the rest a closer
observation of their hard material life is interesting. Besides
her toil on the bit of boggy, unproductive land the Achill wo-
man does wonderful tasks of shearing, washing, carding, and
spinning the wool of the island sheep, sending her great balls
of strong woolen thread to the island weavers to be made into
the warm, durable woolen cloth which they dye as they please,
and convert into clothing; for men and boys the stout gray
frieze, for mother and daughters the resplendent crimson, ren-
dered more striking by rows of black braid on the hem of the
garment. The stockings are knitted of undyed wool. I do
not know whether the cloth shoes worn by the better dressed
are also the product of feminine industry. The women are, in-
deed, never idle, and in proportion to their good-will and ac-
tivity they are respected and appreciated by son and hus-
band.
Their marriages are arranged according to a primitive, mat-
ter-of-fact custom. Although the girls and boys are innocently
merry together in the long winter evenings, enlivened in the
72 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April,
poor cabins by dance and song, yet there is nothing of the
flirting and courting, the walking and "talking" with one in
particular preceding an engagement, which obtains in other
parts of the country. When a " boy," however, has made up
his mind that a certain girl is the wife for him, and the mo-
ment of his readiness to marry has arrived, he " sends word "
to her family that he is coming, and according to ancient cus-
tom he comes in the middle of the night accompanied by a
friend, and with a bottle of whisky for the entertainment of
those whose rest he has broken. All sit round the fire till
morning, discussing the proposals of the wooer, means are
stated on both sides, and matters arranged on much the same
lines as the marriage settlements of more exalted personages.
In a rare case, where an extremely young boy has been left
alone in possession of a holding, two of his older friends will
set sail for one of the neighboring islands in search of a help-
mate for him, perhaps bringing her back with them to meet
her husband for the first time before the priest who awaits
them at the altar ; but, as a rule, the people of Achill marry
among themselves, and nearly every one is a cousin of every-
body else. Asked if couples, linked together with so little
choice, were not dissatisfied with their lot, my infoimants as-
sured me that no such condition of things exists on the island.
They are the best husbands and wives in the world, and work
together indeiatigably for the mutual good and the welfare of
the family. The women hold a high position in the community,
and are depended on for many of the attainable boons of life.
A man will not conclude a bargain, buying or selling a cow,
without having the opinion of "herself" in the matter, and
she usually has had the casting vote when all is done.
As on one or two] occasions we were accompanied by Father
W in our excursions, we were received with confidence,
and it was pleasant to see the affection existing between the
cheery young curate and his flock. I had been prepared for
this by the sudden query of an old woman, whom I had met
on the toad soon after my arrival: "Father W ," she said,
" do you know him ? Oh isn't that the darlin' boy ? " I now
saw that the little children ran to meet him; one two-year-old
babe climbing into his arms and laying her chubby cheek on
his shoulder; as beautiful as, and not unlike, the cherub with
solemn eyes right in front of Raphael's famous Madonna of San
1909.] THE ISLAND OF ACHILL 73
Sisto. "When Wopsie comes to my house," said he, "I must
leave everything to attend to her. She takes the pen out of
my hand, and I must go down on the floor to play with her."
I discovered afterwards that he keeps toys in his house to en-
courage the children to come to him. Everywhere we went he
seized the occasion to question as to the attendance at school.
The parents were all absent at work, the children and the
grannies keeping house. One pretty old grandmother, with
delicate, wistful features framed in soft gray hair and clean
kerchief, was grieving for an emigrant daughter parted from
her forever in a lunatic asylum in America. Though resigned
to the will of God she could speak of no worldly thing beyond
this overwhelming trouble.
On our way to Keem we were overtaken by milkers from
Duagh, laden with their cans. Obliged to leave our car at
the foot of the great pass, we set out to climb a path skirting
precipices reminding one of Alpine travel, where the sublimity
of the scenery of Achill may be said to reach its climax, and
sitting to take breath on the " churn-stone," a flat slab welded
in the heather, we surveyed the magnificence of the ocean,
mountain, and island, the witcheries of blue air, blue sky,
towering golden clouds, turreted crags, bastioned rocks, the
gorges and ravines carrying their purple heather and wild sea-
flowers down into the deep ; to one side far below the Bay of
Keem, a golden creek thickly strewn with shifting and chang-
ing color. Here we were overtaken by the milkers, who told
us that the seat was called the churn- stone because in old
times milkers who, in default of pails, used to milk into the
churn, carried it home on their backs, taking a much- needed
rest on this spot, between Duagh and Keem. Glad of their
company we pressed on through the afternoon light of this
upper region, everywhere wild breezes blowing the cloud-
shadows from valley to height, and from hill to hollow ; a
keen sensation of the power and sympathy of the wind seizing
one, the ponderous tyranny of gravitation forgotten, and to go
with the gale on wings seeming the only natural kind of loco-
motion, if one could but hit on the knack of it !
Our peasant campanions crossing that pass were an elderly
woman, a young man, two or three boys, and a dark- eyed
girl with a charming, sensible countenance. On this occasion
Father M , from Minnesota, the preacher of Sunday, was
74 THE ISLAND OF Ac HILL [April,
one of our party, and the elderly woman greeted him in En-
glish as fluent as her Irish.
" Oh, Father John," she exclaimed with outstretched hands
and a burst of tears, " I'm grieved to see you come back after
all your travels with such a heart for Achill ! " She meant to
say that she was touched by his affectionate fidelity. She was
comfortably clad in the usual picturesque woolens, spotlessly
clean and neat, and though carrying two cans on her right arm
was knitting all the way. When I admired her work, a stock-
ing of alternate black and green stripes, wrought in a peculiar
and intricate stitch, she said: "Oh, yes; they're nice — for chil-
dren. I'm doing them for my grandchild in Liverpool."
She was keenly intelligent, up-to-date on politics, the move-
ments of life in the world beyond the breakers, not omitting
the Boer war, some incidents of which excited her sarcasm ;
pouring forth good-humored ridicule or gibes of contempt on
certain public characters, with a shower of witticisms which
rained on us too fast for reproduction. Once she sounded a
tragic note, breaking out into a lament for Davitt, the beloved,
the Chief of them all ! Her dark-eyed young companion, re-
ticent and modest in speech, confessed a desire to go to
America. So did others of her age whom we chanced to meet,
the greater number of the island-maidens being, however, absent,
at the harvesting.
The industrial instinct and tradition of the Achill woman
urge her to go out young to push her fortune, and give help
to those at home, so that one may say it is their spirit of
family union that drives them to separate. The reserve and
simplicity of the life between the sexes to which they are
accustomed at home enable them to pass unscathed through
the trials of their annual wanderings in the fields "abroad," and
November brings them back to their parents with a little bag
of money tied round their necks, to meet the future of the
Achill wife and mother as untainted as the little sister who
has been helping to wash the wool, weed the potatoes, and
save the turf in their absence.
With November the season sets in for more or less cessa-
tion of out-door work, for safe housing for man and beast, and
for the fireside gatherings with song and story, a fiddler in the
corner, the boys and girls dancing, light of heart and heel.
During the absence of the migratory band the women and
1909.] THE ISLAND OF Ac HILL 75
children have lived on abstemious fare, chiefly tea; chickens,
butter, or any other good thing possible, having been kept till
the return of the migrants, for consumption of the assembled
family. To be admitted to the winter evening meetings of an
ancient, long-isolated, and highly conservative race one would
need a special talisman; but in such a case those whispers of
the weirdly supernatural, which are so carefully withheld from
the ear of the stranger, might perhaps be overheard.
At Keem Bay, on the green slope above the creek, our
knitting friend pointed out a heap of stones, welded together
in circular form, called the Altar, by some said to be Druidic,
by others the remains of a ruined Christian church. On top
is a rude stone cross, close to which has been placed a hol-
lowed stone, evidently a primitive Christian font. Our friend
stated that no one would dare to remove that cross. An ir-
reverent man had once taken it and worked it into his build-
ing, but it was back the next morning in its place on the
Altar. While she knitted and talked we gazed on the distance
of ocean and cloud " back, back," as they say, " back " mean-
ing "far away," ranges of hills and mountains, ethereal, vision-
ary, or tremendous in solidity, at the will of sunshine or wind-
tossed vapors, the Connemara peaks, the Ballycroy hills, Muilrea
lifting an eagle's beak, Croagh Patrick overtopping all ; nearer,
the islands, a fascination in themselves, and the mysterious
" Bills," the fortress-like mass of dark rock, uninhabited save
by the birds that come from all parts of " foreign " to nest
and intermate. It may be mentioned that the ways and kinds
of the island birds would make a special history. A few are
the blue rock-dove, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, kestrel,
spotted eagle, chough, guillemot. The blue rock-doves haunt
the Cathedral Cliffs, the headland of Menawn (Goat) Moun-
tain, Keem, Duega, and base of Slievemore Mountain, staying
in caves in wet weather and moving in flocks to the stubble
fields near the " villages " to get their share of the scanty
grain. The other birds have their quarters in the cliffs among
the scurvy grasses and tufts of sea-pinks. For special infor-
mation on this interesting section of the population I would
refer to the interesting articles on the fauna and flora of
Achill written for Land and Water many years ago, by Mr.
Sheridan, the present proprietor of the Slievemore Hotel, who
76 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April,
is an eloquent lover of the winged haunters of the cliffs, and
of the exquisite fairy-like flowers that carpet the green and
sandy levels on the margins of creeks that receive the Atlantic
rollers and reef-riven breakers.
Looking up at the tremendous green gloom of the Crog-
haun Mountain, across whose knees the steep pass had carried
us, and down again, we saw that the water welling into Keem
Bay is purple, green, and golden, all at once or by turns, that
the verdure on the sides of the dark-crowned headlands is a
vivid tawny, a dainty green, every brilliant hue melting into
the soft, rich amethyst which seems to come out of the sea-
water to stain not only the luxuriant purple heather, but the
stones of that name found in the fissures of the gorges ; as if
the ocean literally scattered gems on the shores and a haul
dipped in the incoming wave might be drawn forth laden with
Aladdin's jewels.
While we gazed, our friend of the flying knitting needles
pointed out a flagstaff planted on the headland above us; with
shrill laughter informing us that she had nicknamed this point
of observation Spion Kop. One page of the history of Keem
Bay was sad enough as she told it. The people of Duagh had
originally made their village at Keem, where the grass is green
and good and the soil unusually fertile, but at one time a
landlord drove them out from this better land to the bog at
Duagh, leaving the slopes of Keem bare of human life. At
present the Duagh people may rent if they can the grazing of
this spot, paying five shillings for a horse, three shillings for a
cow, and fourpence a head for sheep. In the summer season,
when the cattle are out night as well as day, the Duagh milkers
come twice in twenty-four hours several miles along the cliffs,
and hence our opportunity of speaking with them.
While our knitting friend had been entertaining us, her dog,
a fine specimen of the island sheep-dog, a particularly broad-
browed and intelligent species, had dashed off in search of his
own cow, and after some time was seen driving it down the
hill-side towards its mistress. Having paid us all the atten-
tion in her power, the woman, still knitting rapidly, turned her
attention to a curl of white smoke ascending from a low fold
of the hills at a little distance.
"We rest ourselves and have a cup of tea before the
1909.] THE ISLAND OF ACHILL 77
milking," she said, and departed for the rendezvous where her
companions were awaiting her.
At Duagh, a rugged little settlement between the bog and
the stony beach, they do some fishing, and one of the amusing
sights of the village is the muster on washing day, when the
clothing of the whole population is taken to the river and the
neighbors wash together in the open. Here we found an old
man who claimed to be a lineal descendant of Grania, the
Connaught queen, whose adventures are related with pride, and
one of whose strong castles is to be seen on the island. An-
other native of Duagh assured us that he had often seen the
"merry-maids" sporting in the water under the cliffs; but,
pressed on the subject, he admitted that " sure enough the
cratures might have been seals." Here the amethysts, in the
rough, were offered for our inspection. Some were of fine
pure color and transparent water, others were only delicately
tinted with purple and clouded with gray, all of them fit ma-
terial for the charming trinkets produced by a jeweller in the
town of Westport.
Another excursion led us to a tiny monastery, where five
Franciscan monks (not priests) dwell together and follow the
(Third Order) rule of St. Francis of Assisi, reclaiming the bog,
tilling their ground, and teaching the poor children in a school
at their gate. The whitewashed house is small and bare. The
little chapel is lovingly cared for. We found Brother Francis
seated by a hay-stack twisting a rope of straw, while three
sun-burned women were raking up the remainders of the hay
from the stubble. St. Patrick, in splendid vestments, occupied
almost the entire of the tiny hall, and presented us with a
shamrock as we entered. The statue, presented by a Protestant
lady living on the island, surmounts the legend " pray for the
donor " inscribed in gold letters on the pedestal. We were
introduced to all the corners of the miniature monastery, to
the chapel, and to the garden cemetery, where Brother Francis
tends his flowers, and is specially proud of his beds of heart's-
ease. The light-hearted, laborious brothers were eager in their
welcome and gave us tea in their little refectory. Strangers
seldom come to disturb their retirement, but our visit was
evidently a pleasure to them.
With regard to projected industries in Achill the develop-
78 THE ISLAND OF ACHILL [April.
ment of the fisheries is the most urgent in demanding atten-
tion, the construction of a landing pier and providing of proper
boats being of prime necessity. Five " nobbies " are now
fishing from Darby's Point fishing station. The Congested
Districts Board is helping with loans, but ought to be more
active in assisting the most congested district in Ireland.
At the Sound the Sisters of Mercy are about to build a
Technical School, where the young girls will be taught lace-
making and domestic economy. The gentle-mannered Achill
girl ought to be good material for household service, which
she would look on as promotion in life. " Ah, but who would
take us and teach us ? " said one of them wistfully, agreeing
with me that such employment would be preferable to a wan-
dering life in the fields, harvesting and hop-picking.
Father W is laboring zealously to improve the condi-
tion of his flock in these directions, and has hope of seeing
them attain to comparative prosperity by a better road than
the path across the ocean, which too often leads to despair
and death in the slums of American cities, instead of to that
good fortune which is supposed to be the result of the sur-
vival of the fittest.
A GREAT LAYMAN.
BY WILFRID WILBERFORCE.
|T has been well said that this is the century of
the laity. It is a statement, let me hasten to
add, that contains nothing contrary to the dignity,
office, and virtue of the clergy. So far indeed
is this from being the case, that the statement it-
self depends for its truth upon the action of priests. Laymen
are, to a very large extent, what priests make them, and to
enunciate the fact that to the laity the Church will look when
confronting the problems of the twentieth century, is only
another way of saying that priests have molded an efficient
body of lay workers to carry out the task. It Js, therefore,
merely right that distinguished laymen of the last century
should not only be remembered but imitated, and I consequently
venture to bring before the readers of THE CATHOLIC WORLD
the life and actions of one whom I may describe as a good
citizen, a great patriot, a sagacious politician, an upright and
industrious social legislator, and, what is by far the best of
all, a loyal and devout son of the Catholic Church.
A man so whole-hearted in serving God and benefiting his
neighbor is rarely met with outside the ranks of the priesthood,
or a religious order. More rarely still is such a man endowed
with riches which place within his reach the enjoyments and
comforts of this world. The man of whom I am writing might
have spent his life indulging every whim that came into his
head. He might have laid out his money in surrounding him-
self with every luxury and convenience. But he chose another
course and followed it to the end. He died when he was little
more than a middle-aged man, but he has left behind him a
holy memory, and thousands outside his family and personal
acquaintances have reason to thank God for that well- spent
life and to call down blessings upon one who, endowed with
great wealth, used it in the service of Christ and the poor.
Arthur Moore was born in Liverpool on September 15,
1849. He was the youngest of five children, only one of
8o A GREAT LAYMAN [April,
whom, Blanche, a Sacred Heart Nun, now survives. Arthur
and his elder brother Charles were educated at Ushaw College
near Durham. We have interesting testimony from Canon
Wilfrid Dallow as to Arthur's school days and to his popular-
ity with his fellow-students. As the Canon writes: "He had a
certain personality about him which it is hard to describe, but
which possessed an attraction for the more thoughtful among
us." This is very much what people felt who knew him in
after life. Then Canon Dallow mentions an incident, in itself
trivial, which throws a flood of light upon his character: "In
those days gardens were all the rage [at Ushaw]; a strip of
land was laid out in small allotments, which were owned by
individual boys or by a joint stock company. These were
cultivated with not very much care, and, I am afraid, less taste.
I well remember, however, that Arthur had one of the most
satisfactory of these gardens, and it possessed a certain article
that was far more popular than flowers — viz., a good-sized,
well-built wooden bench, placed against the wall. At the back
of this, so as to give it the effect of an arbor, were grown sun-
dry little creepers, which he trained to crawl up the wall. This
bench proved so convenient for his friends, more especially as
it commanded a good view of the first cat ring ["cat" is the
popular game at Ushaw], that the rightful owner could never
find a place on it for himself. In fine weather it was occupied,
or rather usurped, by some of his boon companions, and Arthur's
good nature would never disturb them in their unlawful pos-
session."
Another event connected with Arthur's career at Ushaw, or
more strictly with that of his brother Charles, must be related
here. Their father, Mr. Charles Moore, a wealthy ship-owner
of Mooresfort, County Tipperary, was a sincere and devout
Protestant, but his children had always been taught by their
Catholic mother to pray for his conversion. In 1861 his elder
son Charles, who was then at school at Ushaw, had passed
through the annual ^Retreat which the boys have just before
Easter. He had been praying for his father's conversion, for
the meditations of the Retreat had doubtless made him realize
more than ever the supreme blessing of being a child of the
Catholic Church and the misery of being outside that blessed
Fold. These reflections not only caused him to pray, they
prompted him to make a sacrifice. In the generosity of his
1909.] A GREAT LAYMAN 8t
heart, he asked God to take away his life if, in return, He
would bring his beloved father into the true Church. When
the boy made this noble offer to God for his father's soul, he
was in perfect health. Very soon afterwards he was seized
with serious illness. His parents were sent for. Shortly before
his death he told his confessor how he had made the sacrifice
of his life that his father might be a Catholic. Before Mr.
Moore had left Ushaw, after his son's death, his mind and soul
were enlightened. Something in the great college and its
Catholic atmosphere, something in the charity and demeanor of
the masters and their happy effects upon the boys, and chiefly,
no doubt, the sight of that beautiful Catholic death- bed, showed
him that here were the true servants of God and that their
religion was the one which Christ had founded.
Very soon after his son's death Mr. Moore was received into
the Church. He lived eight years as a Catholic, dying in the
summer of 1869.
Charles' death made Arthur the heir to his father's property.
This was considerable enough to make his friends and family
anxious for his future. Wealth, even moderate wealth such as
his, is a very heavy responsibility, but Arthur Moore was pre-
cisely one of those fitted by nature and training to be mindful
of its weight, and to use it wisely. By his father's will he did
not enter into full possession till he was twenty- five. This
seems a wise provision. At twenty-one most people are still
boys, and to invest them with unfetted control of considerable
possessions is very often fair neither to themselves nor to their
heirs. His college career ended in 1871, after he had studied
Divinity for one year and had been through a course of Dogma-
tic Theology. Those ten years at Ushaw were very happy, and
Arthur used to look back to them with pleasure. He also en-
joyed meeting with his old college friends in after life. On
leaving Ushaw he went abroad for a few years. He was in
Spain during the Civil War, and spent some time at the head-
quarters of the Carlist army. While traveling on one occasion
in an eight-mule wagon, he was arrested as a spy, and had
some trouble in proving his identity and regaining his freedom.
In the early spring of 1874, Mr. Gladstone suddenly dissolved
Parliament, and Great Britain and Ireland were in all the tu-
mult of a general election. At that time such an event had
no interest for young Moore. He does not seem to have been
VOL LXXXIX.— 6
82 A GREA T LA YMAN [April,
drawn to political life. But events were too strong for him.
The electors of Clonmel chose him as their representative with-
out giving him the trouble to stand. He was in Egypt at the
time, but the telegraph soon brought him home, and from the
day that he set foot on his native shore his vocation in life
was fixed.
To a man like Arthur Moore, whose habitual thoughts were
fixed upon the Will of God, the peculiar circumstances of his
election must have convinced him that Providence intended him
to serve his country in public life. And right nobly did he
throw himself into his new career.
How came the Clonmel electors to trust their interests to a
young and unknown man, who had spent a large part of his
time since leaving college in foreign lands ? The answer to this
question is twofold. In the first-place the electors, though
they knew but little of Arthur, had been well acquainted with
his father, Mr. Charles Moore, Member of Parliament for Coun-
ty Tipperary. This gentleman had gained the love and respect
of his tenants, and had shown a brilliant example of kindness
and Christian charity at a time when some landlords in Ireland
were conspicuous instances of hard and grasping cruelty.
One act of his, in its greatness, in its splendid Christian
chivalry, has deservedly thrown a bright halo over his memory.
Were I writing for an Irish magazine, there would be no ne-
cessity to relate it, for the story has been handed down from
father to son in every hut and cottage in Tipperary and in
many other parts of Ireland. A landlord named Vincent Scully,
who owned an estate in Tipperary called Ballycohey, was shot
at and wounded while he was trying to evict some of his ten-
ants. When he had recovered from his wounds he ruthlessly
set to work to evict every man, woman, and child upon the
extensive estate. His cruel resolution filled the whole country
with horror and disgust, but no one could interfere. The law,
as it then stood, was powerless to restrain him, and the un-
happy tenants awaited their dreadful fate with what courage
they might.
Mr. Moore implored Mr. Scully to spare them, and he ended
his appeal with these words: "Say what price you put on your
Ballycohey property. I will pay it to you, and let there be
an end to this dreadful episode."
Mr. Moore was as good as his word. He paid over the
1909.] A GREAT LAYMAN 83
large sum which Scully demanded, and thus the tenants came
under the just and beneficent rule of a Christian gentleman.
Not long after making this purchase, which was nothing less
than a wholesale manumission of slaves, Mr. Moore died. The
prayers of the rescued Ballycohey tenants must have stood him
in good stead before the Judgment Seat of Him Who promised
mercy to the merciful !
It was not wonderful that the Clonmel electors felt them-
selves safe in sending the son of such a man to represent them
in the House of Commons.
But there were others who knew something of the metal of
which Arthur Moore himself was made. A curious and char-
acteristic incident is related by Canon Flynn, the parish priest
of Ballybricken, County Waterford. Those who knew the trans-
parent simplicity and straightforwardness, added to the extreme
delicacy of conscience, which characterized Arthur Moore, will
readily fill in the details of the little incident which the Canon
has outlined. He had met the family in Rome in the winter
of 1868 and 1869, but he does not seem to have recognized
Arthur when, in 1872, he came across him in the street in
Clonmel.
Arthur was attending the spring assizes, in the capacity, I
suppose, of a landowner, and some difficulty had occurred which
had disturbed his conscience. He went up to Canon Flynn and
consulted him. " I soon relieved his mind," writes the Canon,
" and then asked who he was. When he told me, we both re-
membered that we had met in Rome. I told the incident at
dinner to the P[arish] P[riest] and my fellow-curates, and we
all concluded that he was just the class of man that should
occupy public life in Ireland, and resolved to put him into
Parliament if we ever got the opportunity ; so when the time
came we returned him for Clonmel (though his constituents
had never seen him) because he was a sound, practical Cath-
olic— a fit model for his class in Irish public life."
From the very beginning of his Parliamentary career he de.
voted himself heart and soul to the interests of his native coun-
try. Everything which could tend to the spiritual and tem-
poral welfare of the Irish people found in him a warm-hearted
and self-denying champion. Neither did he limit himself to
his own countrymen, for he constantly brought before the House
of Commons the need of Catholic chaplains for Catholic sail-
84 A GREAT LAYMAN [AprL
ors, and in the closing years of his life he made this important
question his own.
Though in one sense of the word he was a politician, he
declined to be tied to any party. As a Protestant newspaper
once said of him : " He was a party in himself." This inde-
pendence of character made it impossible for him to follow the
lead of Parnell, and it eventually had the effect of temporarily
losing him his seat in Parliament. "I am not going to be dragged
across the House by Parnell," he said to me one day, when
the Irish leader was calling upon his followers to oppose the
Government.
But the main efforts of his Parliamentary life were for the
amelioration of his country. One of these was the improve-
ment in the condition of children in Irish workhouses, and in
June, 1879, he brought their case before the House of Commons
in a vivid and graphic speech.
Another subject of painful interest to Arthur Moore was the
question of emigration. It grieved him to see thousands of
strong, active young men leaving Ireland and thus impoverish-
ing the country. Moreover, he felt so deeply for their suffer-
ings, that he frequently went on board the steamers at Rotter-
dam, Liverpool, and Queenstown to see for himself how the
poor emigrants were treated. Their sad condition, as to moral-
ity, health, and comfort, filled him with sorrow, and he let slip
no opportunity of improving their lot.
In the cause of education, too, his voice was constantly heard,
at meetings and in Parliament, and he employed his very re-
markable gift of eloquence on behalf of this and similar public
needs. He never spared himself. Trouble, time, money, all were
of no account to him if he could only further some good work.
And all this he did quietly, without ostentation, and without
seeking or desiring the applause of men; for his one and only
object was to please God and benefit his neighbor.
But a few details throwing light upon his private life will
possibly be of greater interest than a recital of his many public
and Parliamentary acts. About these it may be enough to re-
mark here that whatever his hand found to do, that he did
with might and main, and that one of the chief features of his
life was his work on behalf of the poor and oppressed. It has
been well said by an intimate friend of his that " he was in many
respects a Christian knight of that mediaeval world which, stand-
1909.] A GREAT LAYMAN 85
ing halfway between ancient and modern times, has been right-
ly called 'the Age of Faith.' He was a staunch and steadfast
champion of the best interests of the Church ; and when his
earnest efforts on behalf of the rights of his fellow-Catholics,
and of the welfare of Holy Church, became known in the Eter-
nal City, where he had been Private Chamberlain for many
years, Pope Pius IX. further honored him by making him a
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and
a Count of the Holy Roman Empire."
To this I must add that even when the Recess freed Arthur
Moore from his Parliamentary work, he was by no means idle.
He made many pilgrimages to the Holy Land, venerating the
spots sanctified by our Lord's earthly presence. During these
journeys he never lost a chance of helping the needy and con-
soling the sorrowful. Indeed, with all reverence, we may say
that he imitated his Divine Master, going about doing good.*
The most important event of his private life of course was
his most happy marriage, in February, 1877, with Mary Lucy,
only daughter of Sir Charles Clifford, Bart., one of the most
distinguished members of the English Catholic laity. His do-
mestic life, though ideally happy, was not unclouded by sorrow,
for his eldest son, Arthur Joseph, died in 1900, at the age of
21, after many months of suffering. His other son, Charles
Joseph, and his daughter, Edith Mary, still survive.
I well remember hearing of a beautiful act of Arthur Moore
just before his marriage. He had made a Retreat in prepara-
tion at the Redemptorist House at Clapham, and on the eve
of the wedding he obtained leave to remain all night in the
Warwick Street Church, where the ceremony was to be per-
formed. Here he knelt through the long hours of the February
night, praying that God would bless his marriage and enable
him to be a good husband. It was like the Christian knights
of old who watched their armor before entering the fray.
Many are the testimonies to his extraordinary charity and
kindness of heart, and to the carelessness of self which was one
of his most distinguishing characteristics. An old friend of his,
Dr. Charles Ryan, of Tipperary, has supplied us with an
instance of his charity and, at the same time, of his total
want of vindictiveness. There was in the town of Tipperary a
* It was only by exercising great economy that he was able to give so largely as he did in
charity. He actually denied himself the harmless luxury of smoking, in order to give the
money to the poor.
86 A GREAT LAYMAN [April,
beggar to whom he never refused an alms, and a generous one
to boot. Sometimes he would give a shilling, sometimes a
pair of boots, at other times an order for clothes. This gener-
osity did not prevent the man from taking money from Moore's
political adversaries during the Parliamentary election of 1895,
and from working for their candidate. Dr. Ryan heard of this,
and when walking with Arthur, warned him not to give this
man anything, as he had behaved shamefully. Moore curtly
replied : " You don't know what influence may have been
brought to bear on the poor fellow; they probably plied him
with whisky." And surely enough when the man met them a
few minutes later, Moore handed him several shillings. It was
indeed an essential part of his large-hearted charity to make
allowance for the faults ot others and not to let them interfere
with their receiving alms. If some one whom he wished to
help was said to be undeserving of his bounty, " How do you
know," he would say, " but that he may stand better than we
do in the sight of God ? Supposing if he is cold and hungry
he does take a drop, would not you or I do just the same in
the same circumstances ? "
He was very careful to follow the spirit of the Third Order
of St. Francis, to which he belonged, and it was probably this
that made him heedless about his dress. In London, in the
House of Commons, he dressed like any other gentleman ; but
in the country, where every one knew who he was, he indulged
his simple tastes. For instance, Dr. Ryan used to tell him
that the old brown ulster that he wore, with its cape, looked
for all the world like a Franciscan habit. It was probably
this resemblance which attracted him to it.
On one occasion, on the eve of a pheasant shoot, he wished
to invite some officers of the Seaforth Highlanders to join the
sport. On calling at the barracks and asking for the colonel,
he was mistaken by the gate-orderly for some nondescript
wayfarer; the man therefore showed him round by the back
door and into the kitchen. Here Arthur sat down and warmed
himself by the fire. Presently one of the younger officers
looked in, and instantly realizing the mistake, rushed off to
the colonel and told him what had happened. The colonel
was profuse in his apologies.
" The most natural mistake in the world," said Arthur with
a laugh. " Look at my general appearance, and say if the
IQ09-] A GREAT LAYMAN 87
good man could have shown me into any other part of the
house." Then, seeing that the colonel was bent upon receiv-
ing him in a more suitable room, he went on : " Well, if you
won't sit down and, as we say in Ireland, 'take an air' of this
glorious fire, I suppose I must join you in the ante- room."
He would not leave, however, without extracting a promise
from the colonel that the gate-orderly should not get into any
trouble over the affair.
A very touching and beautiful insight into Count Moore's
character is given by his friend, Father Bowen, Rector of Ban-
bury, near Oxford.
" His was a soul without guile," writes the reverend gen-
tleman. "By the very light which shone from his spirit, in a
few words of conversation with him, you seemed to realize what
our Blessed Lord saw in Nathaniel at his first coming. His
business letters betokened the same characteristics: short, to
the purpose; forgetfulness of self, charity 'done in all sim-
plicity,' unthought of ever afterwards; hence no self-satisfac-
tion, no gloss of vanity. Four years ago (1901) he was de-
sirous to aid an exiled French community (Benedictines). They
were almost the first victims of the ' Loi de Separation ' and
were practically bereft of everything. He wrote to me one of
those characteristic letters : ' I will be good for ;£ioo a year
for years if that will keep their heads above water.'
"A quick insight and previous investigation into the bear-
ings of the case had made him act with great prudence and
foresight, as I afterwards learned.
" The charm of his simplicity was marked when we could
see and speak with him alone. After a long day's toil in
London, for others' welfare, Count Moore arrived in Banbury
in the twilight ot a July evening, about 9:30, to have a few
hours' talk with me about that very community.
" A modest supper in a presbytery is a short affair. Then
he would fain make a visit to the Church at n P. M. He
turned to me and whispered : ' May I make the Stations of
the Cross? Is it too late?' 'I will finish my Vespers and
Compline,' was my reply. He at once most humbly began his
Way of the Cross, and then we had only to say good- night.
"The next morning early he was at Mass and Holy Com-
munion ; then to Oxford. ' I shall cycle to Bicester from Ox-
ford,' he remarked, ' and then back to Oxford, so as to be in
88 A GREAT LAYMAN [April,
town for dinner. Good-bye.' To my surprise that evening a
poor man — honest, evidently, but in tatters — came to my pres-
bytery, presenting the card ' Mr. Arthur Moore,' with a few
words in the Count's handwriting : ' Please give the bearer
underclothing, etc., and I will repay you.' The stranger ex-
plained that he had been passed by a gentleman on a cycle,
who stopped, questioned him, learned that he was trying, foot-
sore and weary, to reach Banbury that evening. ' He took out
a card, wrote on it, told me to call here, and then rode on.'
The handwriting was a guarantee that the account was genu-
ine. He wrote, thanking me warmly for carrying out his
wishes, saying: ' I saw the poor fellow limping on the road,
when cycling to catch my train.' But again, it was one of
those brief notes — few words; clear; decisive; generous. He
concluded : ' I had a long talk with the aged prioress at
Bicester. They will have hard work. I left the good lady
rejoicing gratefully at what I had told her.' Those exiled nuns
will ever pray for him."
The above is a typical illustration of the habitual bent of
his mind — his two desires, strong and effectual — to keep up his
spiritual life and to benefit others for the sake of his Divine
Master. How few men, with their time at their own disposal
and with [ample means of gratifying every wish, would, at
great trouble to themselves, investigate personally the condition
of foreign nuns of whom they knew nothing except that they
were our Lord's servants, robbed of their home in odium
Cliristi. And how few would heed a casual man whom they
happened to pass on the road, recognizing in a single glance
that he was one of Christ's poor, and break a journey to secure
him aid.
Another feature in Count Moore's character was the un-
feigned and indeed unconscious humility which exalted and
chastened his piety. No one can read the letters written by
him to a young friend, who had been his secretary, without
being impressed with this distinguishing note of his soul. When
these letters were written, his secretary had left him to enter
a house of the Cistercian Order. It was no doubt natural in
a pious Catholic like Count Moore to feel that God had called
his young friend to a higher life, and to realize that the gain
to one whom he loved was surpassingly great, though it in-
volved loss to himself.
1909.] A GREAT LAYMAN 89
But Count Moore's interest did not stop here. He kept in
close touch with his friend, encouraging and supporting him
in the initial difficulties of the religious life, much as a good
Catholic father might do for his son. Moreover, he reveals in
these letters the lowly and childlike spirit of which I have
spoken, by declaring again and again that his friend's vocation
had worked a salutary change in his own heart; and that his
life had gained thereby a new and higher ideal. I propose to
quote a few passages which throw light upon both these fea-
tures of the correspondence.
" I don't believe very much in your trials," he writes in the
earliest of these letters, "I think you ate already beginning to
feel the great consolation I told you you would feel. There
must be no half measures. Humanly speaking, I should like
to spare you bodily suffering and pain, but now I am going
to harden my heart against you, and only wish and long to see
you a saint. It may take time, but be generous with God.
. . . Now, one word about obedience. Your whole perfec-
tion lies, and will lie for some time to come, in obedience.
You may later be called to some office of authority, or have
others under you as a priest or otherwise. But, says the Fol-
lowing of Christ : ' No one safely rules except [him] who hum-
bly submits.' So in every way obedience is the law of the
prophets for you. It will be your sheet-anchor and consola-
tion. There will be no doubt about God's will. For me and
others, doubt and difficulty; for you never a moment's hesi-
tation. The voice, the wish of the Superior, the first sound of
the bell, is the Voice of God. What a preacher I am ! It is
sickening to think of my telling you such things." And a few
days later he writes from Lourdes, where he had journeyed to
beg of God, through our Lady's prayers, for the health of his
wife and the life of his eldest son, who was then in his last
and fatal illness.
" This will, I trust, reach you on Tuesday. Your espous-
als to God. What a moment of grace ! God will refuse you
nothing you ask on that day. If it helps you in the sacrifice
you are making to know that you have my most sincere af-
fection, and that I have felt very bitterly parting with you,
then be assured that this is so, ask our Lord, for the love he
bore St. John, to purify my affection for you, for I fear it is
like most human emotions — full of self and self-love. How-
go A GREAT LAYMAN [April,
ever, I cannot accuse myself of having delayed or hindered
you in any way, and if, on the contrary, I urged you on, I can
only say I would not ask a better fate for my own son. Now,
abandon yourself into the arms of your loving Master. This
is the height of perfection, abandonment. Nothing but God.
Not even Latin or other studies, except in God and for God.
When you say the words : ' I abandon myself completely ; in-
to Thy Hands I commend my spirit,' God will do the rest.
Oh, shame ! that I should write thus to you. What will you
think of me, that know so well all my miseries, all my love of
comfort and ease, and all my self-love ? Truly and really you
are blessed ; in your charity you won't be hard on me or judge
me as I deserve."
But beautiful as these words are, and clearly as they reveal
the humility as well as the fervor of his soul, they are less re-
markable even than the passages which tell us how Arthur
Moore made use of his young friend's vocation to chasten and
elevate his own spiritual life.
" Gratitude to me, indeed ! " he writes. " No, boy ; the
debt is all on my side. Your patience with me I can never
forget. God bless you. Besides you have given me a rude
shock. You have changed my life. The grace you have re-
ceived from God has torn my heart through and through. In
co-operating generously with God's grace moving your heart
you have done an apostolic work in me and for me. . . .
I shall expect a jolly lot of pious lectures; but, joking apart,
help me. Suggest some good thought, some more fervent way
of receiving Holy Communion. Give me even the crumbs that
will fall from the abundant table you will now enjoy in the
order, at least, of spirituality. Now, I am serious, dear friend,
and for the love of our dear Lord, do as I say. I have done
one thing at least you suggested already, and great as your
humility may be, please don't say my ' obedient servant ' any
more. You have a better Master now. I shall always pray
earnestly for you to our good Mother at Lourdes — do you do
your part for me." And a similar note is struck in another
letter, also written from Lourdes : " Ever since we got here on
Friday I have prayed for you most earnestly, and done pen-
ance for you. I have much to ask you for my own self, and
perhaps God will accept my poor alms to you, just as you
would take pity on a beggar, all repulsive with sores and dirt,
1909.] A GREAT LAYMAN 91
for his very misery. Yet it seems a farce to be praying for
you, surrounded by all that is holy and blessed. But you must
excuse me, my heart is with you, and I long for your happi-
ness and the fullness of your sanctification. Please, in your
chanty, excuse me. You will laugh when I tell you that I
bathed for you, that God may harden your body to do pen-
ance. Well, have your laugh. But I assure you that not long
ago a nun proposed to come here for her cure; at the last
moment it was found impossible to move her. Another was
sent in her place, and as the sick one was at Vespers in her
convent, and at the very hour her substitute bathed, she, the
suffering nun, was cured. Well, you will say I ought to have
been a Methodist minister, I preach so much."
And later on he once more speaks of the effect upon his
life wrought by his friend's vocation. "Now, please don't be
writing thanks. My thanks are to you for the edification you
have given me, so be sure the debt lies with me. I say again
you have changed the whole course of my life. I should not
mention these little prayers and things I am doing for you
during November were it not that I am covetous of your aid.
I feel at length I have no reserve with Almighty God ; I don't
think I have anything to give up. Do help me. I think re-
ligious people might sometimes take more interest in helping
sinners than they do. Now, do help me, and in future you
shall talk and I shall listen. . . . You were kind enough
to be sorry and much concerned when I lost the Tipperary
election in 1895. What if we had won, and you had been
taken up with my secretarial business in London, and lost your
vocation ! Let us thank God particularly for our hardest trials.
Now I shall watch with great interest and affection for your
next letter. As you have now the privilege — the great privi-
lege— of being poor for the sake of Jesus Christ, please accept
in utmost charity a stamp for the next letter. I envy you this
poverty. It is the only real riches."
Be it noted that, at the time of writing, he had no re-
serve with God, and was thanking Him for the greatest trials,
saying too that he had nothing left to give up — he was on
the eve of a terrible trial on account of his wife's health, and
had just parted from his eldest son, who was on his way to
Davos as a last chance of checking the fell disease from which,
two years later, he died.
92 A GREA T LA YMAN [April,
In the year that preceded his son's death, Count Moore was
elected Member of Parliament for Derry — a great event in his
life. Not only was he eminently fitted for the House of Com-
mons, not only did he feel that his seat there provided him
with a powerful lever for doing good to his country, but the
election itself was a joy to him, inasmuch as he owed it to
the fact that the Catholics of the northern city chose him
mainly as a tribute to his high character and his personal
worth.
No man who lives habitually in the presence of God and
performs his daily actions to please Him, can expect to be
free from calumny. Above all is this true in the case of an
Irish landlord. That there have been bad landlords in Ireland
as elsewhere, is an indisputable fact, and at the Derry election
Count Moore's opponents published stories of alleged cruelty
and injustice towards his tenants. Each case was carefully in-
vestigated, and the charges against the Count triumphantly re-
futed. Moreover, during the election, he caused all his rent
books to be brought to Derry, and laid upon the platform table
in St. Colomb's Hall. " Gentlemen," he cried, in his manly
voice, " if any of you think or believe that I have been, or
am, unjust in my dealings with my tenants, I place my books,
in which I have a full record of my business transactions, at
your disposal; appoint a committee — half of my opponents and
half of '.my supporters — and if, on examination, they find that
the charges made against me are well founded, I leave Derry."
As always happens, the falsehoods of unscrupulous enemies
withered away before the straightforward courage of an honest
man. The fair and open challenge of Count Moore was de-
clined, a clear proof that his opponents knew well what the
result of an investigation must be, and the object of their
slanders "left Derry " indeed, but he left it as its duly elected
member.
I should literally fill this article, to the exclusion of every-
thing else, were I to relate even briefly, the number of works
which Count Moore undertook and carried through for the
amelioration, temporal and spiritual, of his fellow- men. Of
him may it verily be said that he left the world better than
he found it. But, as we have already seen, he achieved the
difficult task of maintaining a high standard of spiritual life
simultaneously with the multifarious and insistent duties of his
1909.] -A GREAT LAYMAN 93
public career. To put it briefly, he held his soul ready for
his Master's inspection, and took life in both hands, making
the very best of it. His motto might well have been — and
indeed it unconsciously must have been — to pray as though he
had to die in an hour, to work as though he was to live for-
ever. This surely is the true philosophy of life. This it was
that enabled him to take his part cheerfully and gaily in the
family merrymaking of his last Christmas, and, when the New
Year was but five days old, to lay down his life calmly and
with perfect resignation to God's Will. A chill, which was at
first looked upon as a trifling and passing ailment, developed
rapidly into pneumonia. He declared then that he would be
gone in three days. When dangerous symptoms appeared he
received Extreme Unction with great serenity, stretching out
his hands and feet to receive the holy anointing. "A radiant
smile lit up his face when he received holy Viaticum," writes
his biographer, the Rev. Albert Barry, C.SS.R.,* to whose
book I am deeply indebted: "During the whole of his illness
his mind was free from care, and he had no fear of death,
thus verifying the saying of St. Vincent de Paul that ' those
who love the poor have no fear when dying.' His only regret
was that he could not once more visit the Holy Land."
In the early morning of January 5, 1904, he gently breathed
his last, without a sigh or a struggle. His body, robed in the
humble habit of St. Francis, lay for three days before the altar
in his private chapel, in presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
Here, in the spot where he had so often heard Mass and
prayed, prayers innumerable were said for him by the many
hundreds of people among whom he had earned the noble title
of the " Champion of the Poor."
His death sent a thrill of sorrow through many lands. In
Ireland, in Great Britain, in Italy, and in Palestine he had
multitudes of friends who loved him. His active, well-filled
life, energized by a living faith from its beginning to its end,
bestows upon Arthur Moore the noble title of a model Catho-
lic layman.
* The Life of Count Moore. Compiled from materials supplied by his family. Dublin :
Gill & Son, 1905.
THERE.
(A CHILD'S
BY PAMELA GAGE.
There the Hawk and the Eagle will rest
In groves of the myrtle and palm
By the dove, and the dove be at rest;
And the L,ion shall lie down with the lamb.
The I^ion with eyes of deep gold
And his tawny magnificent fleece
Shall play with the lambs of the fold ;
And the lambs of the fold be at peace.
The I<ion will lie down with the lamb
In the green daisied grass by a spring,
In the shade of the myrtle and palm
Where the doves preen the throat and the wing.
And there shall that bright worm, the Snake,
His poison, his fangs cast away,
With the robin his sweet pleasure take
And sit with the rabbits at play.
The Lion will lie down with the lamb,
And the heart of the Tiger grow mild;
In that season of exquisite calm,
The Tiger shall sport with the child.
Creation shall live in such peace
No longer in hate but in love.
The striped Wasp shall not sting, nor the bees-
The Vulture shall be as the dove.
1909.] THERE 95
With the bright singing birds in the leaves
And the fish in the wave and the flowers;
God smiles as He walks there of eves,
And the dew shall be kind and the showers.
On the green daisied grass neath the boughs,
Her fleece newly washed and white,
The sheep near the shepherd shall browse
Nor shake though the wolf be in sight.
That timorous creature, the Hare,
Shall play with the dog, nor recall
The anguish, the fright, the despair,
The red dying that blotted it all.
Yea, creatures all harmless and kind —
As God made them when Kden began —
Shall be friends in the sun and sweet wind
Shall be brothers, the beast and the man.
By the lyion shall lie down the lamb ;
By the great dappled sides will he lie,
Nor bleat for his wandering dam,
Nor long that his shepherd was nigh.
THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND SOME PRE-REFORMA-
TION ALLEGORIES.
BY KATHERINE BREGY.
I.
»HEN, less than fifty years ago, M. Taine wrote
his History of English Literature^ he made bold
to assert that "After the Bible, the book most
widely read in England is the Pilgrim's Progress,
by John Bunyan." That was a judgment from
without the gates, and its accuracy is questionable; but it has
its value as an impression, none the less. For to-day, not even
a French critic would dream of repeating the statement ! The
sway of this quaint Puritan epic has quite manifestly waned at
last: it has migrated from the realm of living and influencing
books into the realm of literary curiosities. Yet once upon a
time Bunyan's masterpiece was, in all truth, a manual of pop-
ular devotion — a Protestant Imitation ever at hand for the ad-
monition of childhood and the edification of old age. It is amaz-
ing how many household words and household thoughts the
" Dream " of this great, illiterate man has furnished us. Van-
ity Fair, the Slough of Despond, Mercy's Dream, the Man with
the Muck Rake, the Valley of Humiliation, the Delectable Moun-
tains— these have passed into the common heritage of English-
speaking men and women, to remain upon the lips of thousands
who may never have opened the volume which gave them birth.
Bunyan himself, one need scarcely state, was a tinker and
later a Nonconformist preacher of Bedford, England. His great
work — The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to Thttt Which
Is to Come, Delivered Under the Similitude of a Dream, et cetera,
et cetera — was almost certainly composed during a six months'
imprisonment for Dissentient preaching, in 1675;* and not dur-
ing that earlier incarceration of twelve years (i66o-'72) for the
same cause. If we may accept Bunyan's very nai've account,
the masterpiece was achieved somewhat in spite of himself. He
had no intention of making "a little book in such a mode";
* Cf. "The Pilgrim's Progress as John Bunyan Wrote It." Introduction by John Brown.
1909.] THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 97
in fact he was engaged upon a wholly different volume : but
the Muse was importunate and would not be denied.
And thus it was: I writing of the way
And race of Saints in this our gospel day,
Fell suddenly into an allegory
About their journey and the way to glory,
In more than twenty things which I set down.
This done, I twenty more had in my crown ;
And they again began to multiply
Like sparks that from the coals of fire do fly.
At last, fearing lest this fruitful similitude should quite " eat
out " the substance of his original work, Bunyan permitted it
to creep into a separate volume — and The Pilgrim s Progress
had won its right to live ! His Puritan friends seem to have
disagreed concerning the wisdom of publishing so ingenious a
fantasy :
Some said, John, print it ; others said, Not so :
Some said, It might do good; others said, No.
In which quandary John, very sensibly, decided the case for
himself, placing his manuscript in the hands of one Nath. Pon-
der, at the Peacock, in the Poultry near Cornhill. The first edi-
tion of his work appeared in 1678, and met with overwhelming
success. A second and enlarged edition was put forth the same
year ; and the complete work as we now know it was published
in the third edition of 1679.
The story will perhaps bear a brief repetition. Bunyan,
walking through the wilderness of this world, lighted upon a
place where there was a Den (so he denominates the Town
Gaol on Bedford Bridge!) and lying down to sleep, he dreamed.
"And behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in
a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his
hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw
him open the book, and read therein ; and as he read, he wept
and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake
out with a lamentable cry, saying What shall I do ? "
It is Christian, loaded with his sins, and longing to flee away
from the City of Destruction. His wife has little but contempt
for these disquieting aspirations; and Christian is well-nigh in
despair for lack of guidance, when upon a day Evangelist ap-
pears before him, bearing a scroll with the words, Flee from the
VOL. LXXXIX -7
98 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND [April,
-wrath to come. Banyan's description of their interview is aus-
terely eloquent :
" The man therefore read it and looking upon Evangelist
very carefully said : Whither must I fly ? Then said Evangel-
ist, pointing with his ringer over a very wide field: Do you
see yonder wicket-gate ? The man said : No. Then said the
other: Do you see yonder shining light? He said: I think I
do. Then said Evangelist: Keep that light in your eye, and
go up directly thereto; so shalt thou see the gate; at which
when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do.
So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now, he
had not run far from his own door, but his wife and children,
perceiving it, began to cry after him to return ; but the man
put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying: Life 1 life!
Eternal life I So he looked not behind him, but fled towards
the middle of the plain."
We are at once in the thick of the allegory, and Bunyan's
copious marginal notes permit no doubt as to the particular moral
he would enforce. There is scarcely a paragraph, moreover,
without abundant and more or less apposite allusions to Scrip-
tural texts. No less than six of these references adorn (?) the
brief passage quoted above: indeed this literal and minute bib-
liolatry is exceedingly characteristic of Bunyan's temper, and
colors at every turn his literary work. It is in his minor char-
acters, not his heroic types, that we recognize a veritable, if
one-sided, humanity. For they, having but a single moral to
point, do this vigorously enough by simply being themselves.
And more than once they prove the Puritan preacher a keen,
practical observer of middle-class English life — no mean prophet,
in fact, of the coming realism of Defoe. Hopeful, with his lit-
tle fugitive frailties, is a more appealing figure than the central
Pilgrim. And in very spite of himself Bunyan has invested
Ignorance with a humanity not to be despised — that humanity
which reaches its climax when he flatly refuses to believe his
heart as evil as Christian declares its natural state to be ! There
is more than a touch of the old imperishable romances, too, in
the adventures of our Pilgrim — albeit he does stand from first
to last a type of Puritan righteousness. Christian faces his den
of lions in splendid ignorance of their detaining chains; he falls
into slumber in a certain pleasant arbor— and loses his passport
scroll; he is taken prisoner, only to escape at great hazard
1909.] SOME PRE-REFORMATION ALLEGORIES 99
from Doubting Castle. His battle with the fiend, Apollyon, is
almost worthy of Mallory, or the Legend of St. Margaret !
" In this combat," writes Bunyan, " no one can imagine,
unless he had seen and heard as I did, what yelling and hideous
roaring Apollyon made all the time of the fight." At one cri-
sis, breaking out into a grievous rage at Christian's defiance, he
" Straddled quite over the whole breadth of the way, and
.said: I am void of fear in this matter; prepare thyself to die;
for I swear by my infernal den that thou shalt go no further ;
here will I spill thy soul. And with that he threw a flaming
dart at his breast; but Christian had a shield in his hand with
which he caught it, and so prevented the danger of that."
More than half a day this "sore combat" endured, Apol-
lyon's darts flying as thick as hail, the pilgrim defending himself,
albeit sore spent, and wounded in head and hand and foot. At
the last he regains his sword and strikes the fiend a telling
blow. " And with that Apollyon spread forth his dragon's wings,
and sped him away, that Christian for a season saw him no
more."
It is a small wonder that generations of pious readers, nour-
ished in a bare and unlovely faith, have rejoiced in this spirited
allegory of their pilgrimage ! It is still smaller wonder that
little children — who knew not Godfrey and the Crusaders, nor
Roland nor Arthur! — have hung spellbound over the adven-
tures of this sober Christian knight. Moreover, there are friend-
ly castles and friendly greetings upon the pilgrim's way ; al-
though Christian has yet to cross the Enchanted Ground, ar;d
the Valley of the Shadow of Death, with its snares and pitfalls.
Perhaps his most httman moment occurs at the final ordeal
when, sinking in the deep waters, he cries aloud for help :
" Ah my friend, ' The sorrows of death have compassed me
about'; I shall not see the land that flows with milk and
honey ; and with that a great darkness and horror fell upon
Christian, so that he could not see before him. Also here he
in great measure lost his senses, so that he could neither re-
member nor orderly talk of any of those sweet refreshments
that he had met with in the way of his pilgrimage."
But it is quickly over; and Christian with his companion
Hopeful, are welcomed by a host of Shining Men and led to
the gate of the Celestial City. Bunyan's eyes are loath to lose
sight of his pilgrims. He sees them transfigured and clothed
ioo THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND [April,
in shining raiment, while the bells of the city ring for joy;
and then at last :
" Just as the gates were opened to let in the men, I looked
in after them, and behold, the city shone like the sun; the
streets also were paved with gold, and in them walked many
men, with crowns on their heads, palms in their hands, and
golden harps to sing praises withal. There were also of them
that had wings, and they answered one another without inter-
mission, saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!' And after
that they shut up the gates; which, when I had seen, I wished
myself among them. ... So I awoke, and behold it was
a dream."
The Second Part of the Pilgrim's Progress — Bunyan's some-
what tardy apotheosis of the spiritual life of woman — lacks both
the vigor and the inspiration of Christian's story. Like most
sequels, it is often hard put to maintain the spirit of its pre-
decessor. Sadly indeed must the narrative have halted but
for Great Heart's timely advent ; for neither in Mercy nor
Christiana (poor, amiable, and edifying wraiths of womanhood 1)
is there vitality enough to support a decent allegory. The in-
cidental verses, too — with the exception of one charming Shep-
herd's Song — are particularly infelicitous: so that one suspects
those generously interspersed sernr ns of having exhausted Bun-
yan's creative faculties — as more than once they threaten to
exhaust his readers' much-tried patience. If there be one pos-
sible gain over Part First, it is the author's gain in charity;
for he who consigned Ignorance straight to hell at the beatific
close of his earlier vision, narrates in this latter God's gracious
acceptance of Feeble Mind and Ready-to- Halt, of Mr. Despond-
ency and his daughter Much Afraid.
Manifestly there is nothing very subtle in this allegory of
life. Its types are obvious enough; and if Bunyan writes with
a sturdy eloquence, at moments not unfired by poetry nor un-
lightened by humor, his appeal is always — and essentially —
mediocre. He was doubtless a great popular preacher, and he
became a phenomenally popular writer ; but he was never at
any moment prophet or mystic. In what then lies the excel-
lence of this Pilgrim's Progress — the secret of its enduring
vitality and fascination ? No doubt a very simple fact must
explain. The book tells a great, elemental story — the story of
man's struggling and aspiring soul — in the words and scenes of
1909.] SOME PRE- REFORMATION ALLEGORIES 101
everyday life. There is the abstract, the universal type, Chris-
tian; laboring through the Slough of Despond and the Valley
of Humiliation, fighting demons, outwitting Giant Despair, rest-
ing upon the Delectable Mountains, and passing at last through
the choking waters of Death. But crossing the path of this
Pilgrim come Obstinate and Pliable, whom we all have known ;
Mr. Worldly Wiseman, and Talkative, smooth and satisfied in
his airy loquacity. It is all as colloquial as possible : and yet
at bottom it is essentially, eternally poetic. For in his Bible
Bunyan found matter of high and sublime poetry — matter upon
which his own allegory was often but a homely, running comment.
From his forced and sometimes violent introduction of texts,
may we not perceive what awesome things lay struggling in his
thought? The Ditch into which the Blind have led the Blind
in all ages — the Highway of Righteousness and the Very Nar-
row Gate — the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and not less
the River of the Water of Life ! At moments, recalling the
rich creative freedom, the mystical and flame-like soaring of our
mediaeval allegorists, we are tempted to demand whether this
close adherence to the letter of the Scriptures may not have
warped and stereotyped Bunyan's imagination. Far more truly
it created it ! For without that long and solitary and impas-
sioned meditation upon his Bible, I believe the Bedford preach-
er had never been a poet at all.
In the light of present day vagaries, the Catholic reader is
often surprised to note the orthodoxy of these seventeenth
century Dissenters — their hold upon Christ, upon the Holy
Trinity, and many cardinal points of faith. Yet the reigning
theology of The Pilgrim's Progress is, of course, a Protestant
theology. Throughout Bunyan's entire work there is no men-
tion of the sacraments : there is even the strangest and most
pervasive Hebraism. For, in truth, they were " Old Testament
Christians" — these brave-hearted and narrow-minded Puritans
for whom he wrote — far more interested in Jacob's ladder, Mo-
ses' rod, " the pitchers, trumpets, and lamps too, with which
Gideon put to flight the armies of Midian,"* than in any relic
of the New Dispensation. Bunyan quotes with enthusiasm from
Moses and David, Job and Hezekiah; his pilgrims press for-
ward to meet Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and at the gate of
*A11 of which "relics of the servants of God" were preserved in Bunyan's House
Beautiful !
102 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS [April.
the Celestial City they meet not Peter with his immemorial
keys, but Enoch, Moses, and Elijah !
Nor must it be supposed that our preacher's doctrinal sins
were confined to those of omission. He was excessively fond
of discoursing upon the " total depravity " of the natural man,
whose every imagination is evil and whose righteousness shows
but as filthy rags before God. And he was considered a prime
exponent of " justification by faith " — that theory in which
Good Will takes the place of Good Deeds, and Christ's righteous-
ness, instead of sanctifying our efforts, must be imputed to us
and wrapped round us as a garment. From this root sprang
all those strange and somewhat hysterical details of personal
"conversion," or "acceptance" of Christ — the conviction of
sin, the groaning and agony of spirit, the terror lest God should
not have predestined the soul to salvation, and finally the self-
assured revelation of sanctification and grace. These things
were every-day experiences among the Puritans, recorded as
authentically of Oliver Cromwell or of Bunyan himself as of
Hopeful or Christian. It was not a cheerful philosophy of life ;
it admitted of no " indifferent " actions, and it placed a rare
premium upon scrupulosity. Here, for instance, are some of
John Bunyan's confessions of the period just preceding his own
conversion :
" Before this I had taken much delight in ringing, but now
I thought such practice vain, yet my mind hankered ; where-
fore I would go to the steeple-house and look on, though I
durst not ring. But I began to think : How if one of the bells
should fall? Then I chose to stand under a main beam that
lay athwart the steeple, thinking here I might stand sure ; but
then I thought again, should the bell fall with a swing, it might
first hit the wall and then, rebounding, kill me. This made
me stand in the steeple door; but then it came into my mind
How if the steeple itself should fall? And this thought, as I
looked on, did so shake my mind that I durst not stand at
the steeple door any longer, but was forced to flee.
" Another thing was my dancing. I was full a year before
I could quite leave that; but all this while, when I did any-
thing that I thought was good, I had great peace with my
conscience. But, poor wretch as I was, I was ignorant of Je-
sus Christ, and going about to establish my own righteousness."
(TO BE CONCLUDED.)
Iftew Boohs.
Although the remarkable work
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION, which the Baron von Hugel has
just published,* as the fruit of
seven years' literary labor, and the outcome of a much longer
period of experience and reflection, is nominally the life of a
saint, its proper place in the library will be the department of
philosophy or apologetics. The mother-thought of the work
was, the writer tells us, to exhibit one " of those large-souled,
pre-Protestant, post- Mediaeval Catholics," whose type appeals
to him more strongly than " the specifically post-Tridentine
type of Catholicism, with its regimental Seminarism, its pre-
dominantly controversial spirit, its suspiciousness and timidity."
The most suitable personality for his purpose he believed to
be St. Catherine of Genoa. But owing to the unsatisfactory
quality of the existing biographies of this saint, he resolved
to betake himself to the sources. This decision has produced
a biography which, from the critical historian's point of view,
is a fine piece of work bearing the evidence of great study
directed by rigorous method.
But the biographical narrative is only a framework on which
is woven a wide inquiry into the psychological roots of re-
ligion itself, as they have manifested their character in the
history of mankind. Such a scheme, even on the most modest
scale practicable, would mean a very extensive study. But it
is no diminutive plan on which the Baron's work is laid down.
An adequate review of these two densely packed volumes would
be a book in itself. They swarm with minute questions of
historical criticism, sweeping surveys of philosophic thought
and human action, appreciations of rival epistemological the-
ories, analyses of the psychological factors which have shaped the
various sects in Christian times, and even those of Pagan and Jew-
ish history. Scarcely a school of philosophy or a religious body
escapes notice. The writer's sweep is not limited even to this
world ; for he passes on to discuss the nature of hell, of pur-
gatory, and of the joys which eye hath not seen nor ear
heard. His temper cannot be fairly described without a de-
tailed appreciation which our space forbids.
* The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends.
By Baron Friedrich von Hugel. 2 Vols. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
104 NEW BOOKS [April,
Perhaps the most convenient way to give a clue to his
attitude is to mention some of the authors to whom, in the
philosophic field, he acknowledges his indebtedness. Among
them are Edwin Rhode, Volkelt, Miinsterberg, Euken, and
Troeltsch ; Blondel, Janet, Boutroux, Laberthonniere, and Berg-
son ; Pringle-Patterson, James Ward, Tyrrell, Edward Caird,
and, " further back than all the living writers lies the stimula-
tion and help of him who was, later on, to become Cardinal
Newman." Of Newman he says: "It was he who first taught
me to glory in my appurtenance to the Catholic and Roman
Church, and to conceive this my inheritance in a large and his-
torical manner, as a slow growth across the centuries, with an
innate affinity to, and eventual incorporation of, all the good
and true to be found mixed up with error and with evil in this
chequered, difficult, but rich world and life in it in which this
living organism moves and expands."
To offer any abstract of the work is to risk doing injustice to
the erudition and the vital quality of the treatment. With this
warning premised, however, we may give the following bald
synopsis to acquaint our readers with the character of the
work; provided they keep in mind the fact that every view of
the writer is accompanied with extensive historical illustration.
There are three forces of the soul, each of which, together
with its corresponding object, is necessary to religion ; but it
becomes ruinous if it is allowed to develop to the exclusion
of the others. The first of these forces is the faculty by which
we remember and picture things and scenes. We need sense-
impressions and symbols to stimulate thought ar.d feeling into
action ; and symbols woven out of sense-impressions express
thought and feeling. The need we have for awakening and
regulating this experience and action calls for the assistance
of social environment and tradition. Hence this force cor-
responds to and demands the institutional and historical ele-
ment of religion. If this force and need of the soul, with the
corresponding religious element, is allowed to flourish beyond
its proper measure, to the injury of the other two powers, it
will degenerate into superstition, to the destruction of spiritual
sincerity, to the preponderance of the objective world over
personality and the liberty of the children of God.
The second soul- force is that by which we analyze and
synthesize what has been brought home to us by the senses
1909.] NEW BOOKS 105
and our social and historical environment. It calls for a logical,
systematic order in our other experience. This force corre-
sponds to the critical-historical and synthetic-philosophical ele-
ment of religion. The product of it is positive and dogmatic
theology. Its undue preponderance leads to rationalistic fanati-
cism ; to agnosticism and indifference ; to the worship of the
goddess of reason; to the fruitless endeavor to put all the
elements of religion into the categories of physical science.
The third faculty of the soul is that through which we obtain
a dim but real sense and feeling of the Infinite Spirit Who
sustains us, penetrates and works within us. This faculty gives
a definite result to all our experiences and memories. Its cor-
respondent is the operative and the mystical element in reli-
gion. Unduly developed, it, too, produces ruinous results of
emotional fanaticism, and religious movements having for their
creed tenets subversive of society and traditional morality.
All these elements and forces have, therefore, two sides ;
they have been, during the course of history, constantly in
collision and interaction ; now one, now another has had the
upper hand. In religious systems they have appeared in vary-
ing degrees, respectively, and each has sought to expel the
other. Yet, ultimately, each becomes barren or pernicious
when unaided by the other two; and all three, properly ad-
justed, are needed for a full religious life. Besides the strictly
religious activity, the soul has other forces, needs, and objects;
and without the development of these also the religious life
cannot attain its highest type.
It thus becomes evident that souls require, for the realiza-
tion of the best that is in them, a large social and historical
environment of a specifically religious kind, within which they
will be assisted by the experiences of others. "The Kingdom
of God, the Church, will thus be more and more found, and
made to be, the means of an ever more distinct articulation,
within an ever more fruitful interaction, of the various attraits,
gifts, vocations, and types of souls which constitute its society.
And these souls, in return, will, precisely by this articulation
within this ampler system, bring to this society an ever richer
content of variety in harmony, of action and warfare within an
ever deeper fruitfulness and peace."
That this consummation may be realized, two all-pervading
experiences and motives must be present. The first is the vivid,
io6 NEW BOOKS [April
continuous sense that God is within us, as the true end and
origin of the whole movement, as far as it is efficient and beau-
tiful. The other conviction is the continuous sense of the Cross
of Christ — "the great law and fact that only through self-re-
nunciation and suffering can the soul win its true self, its abid-
ing joy in union with the Source of Life, with God, Who has
left to us, human souls, the choice between two things alone:
the noble pangs of spiritual child-birth, of painful, joyous ex-
pansion and growth ; and the shameful ache of spiritual death,
of dreary contraction and decay." The efficacy of these two
convictions to permeate and regulate the religious forces of the
soul so as to produce the noblest results, has, notwithstanding
some peculiarities and drawbacks, been exemplified splendidly
in the life of Caterinetta Fiesca Adorna, the saint of Genoa.
The Baron von Hiigel's work will be numbered among the
small number of deep studies on the philosophy of religion that
have been produced originally in English by a Catholic pen.
Our aim has been not to estimate but to expose the purpose and
design of the work. The author has probed deep into many
very delicate questions; discussed them freely; and, of course,
offered many openings to the critic watchful on behalf of cur-
rent traditional views.
On leaving Baron Von Hiigel's for Dr. Cutting's study,* the
title of which would be more accurate if the definite article were
dropped, we pass to a different quality and method ; from the
first-hand student to the popularizer. This writer treats of a
number of subjects which are encountered in the former work.
But we miss any approach to the systematic analysis and classi-
fication of Von Hiigel. Here we are on the surface, not in the
depths; and we pass from one to another of a long list of
phenomena, each one of which is considered in isolation from
the others, and without any attempt to establish a psychologi-
cal or historical order among them. The author means to serve
the general reader as well as the psychological and theological
student; he has served him almost exclusively; for his gener-
alizations are frequently much wider than the inductions on
which they are built; his cases are gathered too much at hap-
hazard; he is too prone to put forward the abnormal for the
* The Psychological Phenomena of Christianity. By George Barton Cutting, Ph.D. New
York : Charles Scribner's Sons.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 107
type, to permit him to be of much service to the serious stu-
dent, who will prefer to go to the leaders upon whom Dr.
Cutting implicitly relies; such as Inge, James, Starbuck. A list
of the chief chapters will indicate the random and incomplete
manner in which the general subject is handled. The Religious
Faculty; Mysticism; Ecstasy; Glossolalia ; Visions; Dreams;
Stigmatization ; Witchcraft; Demoniacal Possession; Monasti-
cism and Asceticism ; Religious Epidemics ; Contagious Phe-
nomena; Revivals; Christian Science; Faith Cure; Miracles;
Conversion; Age; Sex; Intellect; Knowledge; Imagination;
Inspiration; Will; Emotions; Worship; Prayer; Sexuality; De-
nominationalism ; Immortality ; Preaching. The writer has al-
lowed his prepossessions to direct his selection of facts, as
well as his interpretations, when he approaches such topics as
Monasticism, Clerical Celibacy, Asceticism ; he writes about
these subjects as a foreigner might describe the character of the
American people by compiling his pages from the newspaper
reports of divorces, burglaries, swindles, and such like contents.
One instance of Dr. Cutting's method of trying things Catho
lie is worth quotation: "The traditional fasting of the Roman
Catholic Church has, by the rigidity of the rule and the changes
wrought by time, been turned into luxury. To day, in most
paits of this country at least, fish is more rare than flesh. Who
would not exchange fried tripe for boiled salmon, and willingly
suffer all the sacrifice which it entailed ? " It must be said, how-
ever, that the Doctor seldom descends to quite such silliness
as this. It is interesting to notice that, though he is profuse
n his references and quotations, in the chapters on Mysticism,
Monasticism, and Asceticism, not a single Catholic writer or
authority is quoted, nor is there any indication that the author
has even read, much less studied, any of the great mystics.
There is, indeed, a passage from Dionysius the Areopagite, who
is called the Father of Christian Mysticism, but no reference is
given ; and a line from St. John of the Cross, which is such a com-
monplace Catholic thought that the footnote giving the author-
ship recalls the old pastor who announced to his congregation :
" Brethern, St. Prosper of Aquitaine tells us that we must all
die." A hymn of St. Francis, too, is cited at second hand.
108 NEW BOOKS [April,
The keynote of this biography *
DE LAS CASAS. is sounded in the Preface, where
the author declares his object to
be "to assign to the noblest Spaniard who ever landed in the
Western world his true place among the great spirits who have
defended and advanced the cause of just liberty." By his
Letters of Cortez, Mr. McNutt has already established a repu-
tation as a well-equipped student of early Hispano-American
history, which this volume will considerably increase. It will be
welcomed by many Catholics just now as an opportune offset
to the picture given of the great "Protector of the Indians"
in the Catholic Encyclopedia, where Las Casas fares even as
badly as he did at the hands of Robertson.
As Mr. McNutt describes him, Las Casas, from first to last,
was prompted by motives of justice and humanity; he was, in-
deed, headstrong, and pursued his object with a pertinacity
that was indifferent to the blight that his revelations might
cast on the reputation of individuals, however high-placed, and
even on the nation itself. While he acknowledges Motolinia's
good qualities, Mr. McNutt holds that his opposition to Las
Casas was not equitable:
Motolinia was a devout man, whose apostolic life among
the Indians won him his dearly loved name equivalent to
" the poor man," or poverello of St. Francis, but, with all his
virtues, he belonged to the type of churchman that dreads
scandal above everything else. The methods of Las Casas
scandalized him ; it wounded his patriotism that Spaniards
should be held up to the execration of Christendom, and he
rightly apprehended that such damaging information, pub-
lished broadcast, would serve as a formidable weapon in the
hands of the adversaries of his Church and country.
But Las Casas, on the contrary, believed, and acted upon
the belief, that only by exposing the evils could sufficient at-
tention be directed to them to ensure their extirpation. The
debate between Las Casas and the Franciscan theologian, De
Sepulveda, is related at length. Las Casas' thirty propositions
are given in a condensed form ; and the respective principles
of the two men are neatly expressed : " Reduced to a formula,
* Bartholomew de las Casas. His Life, His Apostolate, and His Writings. By Francis
Augustus McNutt. New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 109
the doctrine of Las Casas may be summed up : Convert the
Indians first and they will afterwards become Spanish subjects;
as against the contention of his adversaries that they must first
be conquered, after which their conversion would follow."
The charge advanced by Robertson, and repeated by others
— that Las Casas advocated the introduction of negro slavery,
and proposed to Cardinal Ximines that a number of negroes
should be bought on the African coast, to be employed as
slaves in working the mines — Mr. McNutt examines carefully
for the purpose of refuting it. The original basis of the ac-
cusation is a passage in Herrera's history of the Indies, written
thirty-two years after the death of Las Casas. Negro slavery
did exist in Spain before the time of Las Casas in a not re-
pulsive form. " Since this system was recognized by the laws of
Christendom, no additional injury would be done to the ne-
groes by permitting Spaniards who might own them in Spain
to transport them to America." Further than this, Mr. McNutt
shows, Las Casas did not go ; and even of this step he sub-
sequently repented, when he fully perceived the injustice of
slavery. Las Casas, he claims, was far in advance of his age :
A small group of men, chiefly Dominican monks, with Las
Casas at their head, courageously championed the cause oi
ireedom and humanity in a century and amongst a people
hardened to oppression and cruelty ; they braved popular
fury, suffered calumny, detraction, and abuse; they faced
kings, high ecclesiastics, and all the rich and great ones of
their day, incessantly and courageously reprimanding their
injustice and demanding reform. Since the memorable day
when Fray Antonio de Montesinos proclaimed himself, " vox
clamantis in deserto" before the astonished and incensed col-
onists of Hispaniola, the chorus of rebuke had swelled until
it had made itself heard, sparing none amongst the offend-
ers against equity and humanity. The Spanish sovereigns,
Ferdinand and Charles, as well as Cardinal Ximipes, were
strenuously opposed to this oppression, as soon and as far as
they knew of its existence.
The highest Spanish authorities, both civil and ecclesiastical,
Mr. McNutt shows to have behaved very nobly throughout the
fierce contentions stirred up by the agitation against oppression.
He gives a brief synopsis of the fiery peroration of Las Casas
at the end of the theological disputations with his opponents,
i io NEW BOOKS [April,
which concluded with the denunciation of Spain: "For these
reasons God will punish Spain with inevitable severity, so be it."
"In no land," observes our author, "where freedom of
speech was a recognized right, could an orator have used
plainer language, and it shows both the Spanish civil and ec-
clesiastical authorities of that age in a somewhat unfamiliar
light that Las Casas not only escaped perilous censures, but
even won a moral victory over his opponents." And he per-
tinently adds : " What would have become of the champion of
such unpopular doctrines, attacking as he did the material in-
terests of thousands of the greatest men in the land, had there
been daily newspapers in those times, it is not difficult to im-
agine." The interest and utility of this able biography is en-
hanced by Appendices consisting of the " Brevissima Relacion,"
the Bull, Sublimis Deus, and the Royal Ordinances providing
for the departure of Las Casas from Spain, and his reception
in the Indies.
This excellent but somewhat be-
THE ITALIANS OF TO-DAY, lated translation * of M. Bazin's
By Bazin. pleasant and instructive account of
his journey through the Italy of
yesterday appears not inopportunely now, when the attention
of the world has been turned so tragically to Italy. There is
a strong personal quality in M. Bazin's slightest pages; and he
has the knack of unobtrusively inocculating his readers with his
own sympathies. Our clever Frenchman takes us under his
guidance, after he has passed the Alps, and with him we make
a tour of observation through the Northern Provinces, intent
principally upon learning how the people live and what are
their hopes, or, too often, their despairs. At Milan he escorts
us to a public function, where he salutes the King and Queen,
Umberto and Margherita. Occasionally he introduces a con-
versation with some Italian friend or chance acquaintance, which
permits him the opportunity of touching upon fiscal, literary,
and social topics. From the North he passes on to Rome,
which, he says, " is not a city to be visited, but to be lived
in if one would understand it and enjoy its supreme beauty."
Bestowing an occasional glance on the great historic monuments
and sights, M. Bazin shows us the modern side of the city's
* The Italians of Tt-Day. From the French [of Rend Bazin. Translated by William
Marchant. New York : Henry Holt & Co.
NEW BOOKS in
life and development, dwelling a good deal upon the results of
the building speculation of twenty- five years ago, which proved
so disastrous to many investors. One of the most interesting
accounts is that of the Roman Campagna, with its half- nomadic,
rural, or pastoral population, engaged in looking after the great
pastures belonging to aristocratic landowners, whose apology
for the wretched conditions of their serfs is that, owing to the
government regulations and the system of taxation, it is im-
possible to change anything whatever. The last stage of M.
Bazin's entertaining trip is through Southern Italy, and, as we
enjoy it with him, we talk now to an old military man or a
young dandy, now to the women of some squalid city slum,
everywhere gaining contact with life and manners as they
really are.
The student of Church history
THE GREEK AND EASTERN will thank the scholarship and in-
CHURCHES. dustry which have provided him,
in a book of six hundred odd
pages, with the story of the Eastern Churches from the time of
the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies and heresies
down to the present day. The handbook * of Dr. Adeney
covers a long period, varied fortunes, and a vast extent of ter-
ritory. It is divided into two parts. The first deals with
Eastern Christendom up to the fall of the Byzantine empire.
This is the less valuable part, not that the great events and
issues of this period are of less importance, nor that the author's
presentation of them lacks quality. But for our ecclesiastical
students, the ground is already covered in the ordinary courses
of Church history and dogmatic theology. Besides, consider-
able allowance must be [made here for the author's standpoint
regarding the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff, which he does
not admit to be of divine right. The tone of the work, how-
ever, is not controversial ; and it aims to relate facts objective-
ly rather than to apply to them doctrinal interpretation. Where
he does, occasionally, make a passing comment that Catholics
cannot accept, there is no lack of courtesy ; and his prompt
acknowledgment of Roman merit in 'tmatters where, formerly,
Protestant writers would see none, stamps him as a member
of the new and much more impartial school. For instance, he
* The Greek and Eastern Churches. By Walter F. Adeney, M.A., D.D. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons.
ii2 NEW BOOKS [April,
counsels his readers that, if they would take a broad view of
the situation they must be satisfied to regard the Crusades
either as mere freaks of fanaticism, or as only European police
manoeuvres for the protection of pilgrims. He observes, too,
that the Popes, and they alone among European statesmen, saw
the danger which, in the Turks, threatened Western civiliza-
tion.
The narration is extremely condensed ; so that for the greater
part of the work every page, almost every paragraph, is com-
pact with facts or summaries which suggest plenty of hard
work for the student who takes the book as a guide to a
more exhaustive examination of the subjects. If this is his
ambition, he will find the way marked out for him by the bibli-
ographies affixed to every chapter; one list gives the main au-
thorities or sources ; the other, some more or less recent litera-
ture. In the latter class, the latest Catholic writers, Duchesne
and Fortescue, are included.
The second part of the work deals with the separate churches
— the modern Greek, the Russian, the Syrian and Armenian,
the Coptic and Abyssinian churches. Recognizing that these
churches originally were all regarded as integral parts of the
Catholic Church and that no proper account of them can be
given without going back to their origins, Dr. Adeney, in trac-
ing the genesis of each of them, returns to the ages which
occupy the first part of his study. Then he brings their history
down to the present day, in a fairly complete, though not de-
tailed, form; and, thereby, furnishes a much desired, but not
easily attainable, body of information lucidly arranged.
One chapter there is which hardly seems to have any logical
right to its position here. That is the one entitled "Later
Eastern Christianity," dealing with the Portuguese missions and
the career of St. Francis Xavier in India, and with other
European missions, Protestant and Catholic. None of these are
Eastern in the historic sense of the word ; and the Catholic
missions are not separate churches. Against this fault of over-
inclusiveness, there is one of omission; for the bodies of Eastern
Christians that are still in communion with the Roman See are
scarcely recorded. These faults, however, weigh slightly against
the great utility of the book, which presents the best account
that we have of present-day Christianity in the lands which
once constituted the great Eastern Patriarchates.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 113
This is a reprint of a book * which
A ROAD TO ROME. caused a good deal of stir when
first published about fifty years ago.
The author was an able lawyer, and occupied the position of
Governor of California. He was born and educated in the Bap-
tist Church, and carried into manhood his full share of the ig-
norance and prejudices which prevail in many quarters regarding
the Catholic Church. Happening to assist at High Mass one
Christmas Day in Fort Vancouver, he was deeply moved by the
service. But nothing came of this initial impulse of grace.
Later on he read the Campbell-Purcell controversy and, to his
legal mind, it seemed that, on some very important points Bishop
Purcell had the better of the argument, though the Bishop had
not met or sufficiently answered several serious objections in
Burnett's mind. However, the lawyer resolved to examine for
himself the merits of the Church's claim. He studied for eigh-
teen months, in what spirit and with what result he tells him-
self:
I prayed humbly and sincerely that I might know the
truth, and then have the grace to follow it wherever it might
lead me. I examined carefully, prayerfully, and earnestly,
until I was satisfied, beyond a doubt, that the Old Church
was the true and only Church.
The highly original feature of Burnett's method is that he
takes as his starting-point some principles of jurisprudence to
decide how the Scriptures are to be construed in order to get
at the Law of Christ, and the nature and scope of the society
which He founded. It is unusual to find Blackstone, Kent, and
the constitution of the Supreme Court of the United States
appealed to in order to establish the validity of the Catholic
Church's title. Besides his forensic training, Burnett brought a
wide knowledge of religious history and controversy to bear
upon his problem. He takes up and answers the common his-
torical objections urged against Catholicism ; then passes on to
examine the chief dogmas that are disputed by Protestants. A
typical example of his very cogent reasoning occurs when he
examines the objection that the character of the lives of some
popes must have destroyed the apostolic succession of the
Roman See :
* A Road to Rome. The Path Which Led a Protestant Lawyer to the Catholic Church.
By Peter H. Burnett. Edited and abridged by Rev. J. Sullivan, SJ. St. Louis: B. Herder.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 8
114 NEW BOOKS [April,
I had supposed that the continued existence of the Church,
with all the offices created by Christ, was dependent on His
Will, and not upon the personal virtues or vices of indi-
viduals. It may be that, though our Lord did promise to
protect the Church against the gates of hell, He did not mean
to bind Himself to protect her against the gates of men. I
had thought that both the creation of the office of Pope, and
the consequent continuance of same, depended upon the Will
of the Founder of the institution, not upon the will of man.
I am aware that inferior corporations, which are but the
creatures of statutory enactments, may forfeit their charters
by non-user or mis-user ; because such is a part of the law of
their creation. The mis-user is the act of the controlling
majority of the stock-holders, and is, therefore, the act of all.
But this doctrine cannot apply to governments. Political
governments may be changed at the pleasure of their
founders; but the act of making such change is the act of
the sovereign power. If it should happen that the President
should commit treason, this would only forfeit his right to
fill the office, but the office itself would remain unimpaired.
The office was not created by him — was not his work — was
made by the Nation, and the Nation alone can unmake or
destroy. If twenty Presidents in succession were to commit
all the crimes possible, the office would remain.
Then he proceeds to show the application of this principle
to the Church.
Occasionally one meets a remark that will not pass the criti-
cism of rigorous theology; but the main ideas, statements of
doctrine, and arguments in support of them, are all sound, both
doctrinally and logically. The freshness with which they are
put, the downright sincerity of the pleader, will make them
attractive to minds less susceptible to drier and more conven-
tional forms of exposition. It was a happy thought to reprint
this valuable record of a path which it may assist other wan-
derers to find and follow.
A French commentary, which has
NEW MARRIAGE just appeared,* on the Decree Ne
LEGISLATION. Temere, is one of the most suc-
cinct yet clear expositions that
we have seen. With the assiduous labor of the large number
* Les Francailles et le Mariage Discipline Actuelle. Par Lucien Choupin. Paris : Beau-
chesne.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 115
of canonists who have published their commentaries on the new
legislation very few obscurities, or even controverted points,
still remain to be cleared up. There is one, however, on which
authorities still remain divided. It is whether a promise of
marriage, which is invalid before the external court (in foro
externo) because the prescribed forms have not been complied
with, does, nevertheless, impose an obligation of conscience (in
foro interne). The present writer affirms, without hesitation,
that it does not. His argument is : The Holy See had the
power to nullify such a promise so as to deprive it of all
binding power, in foro interno, as well as in foro externo.
Secondly, the first article of the Decree indicates that the
Pope's intention was to deprive of all value all promises of
marriage that should not comply with the conditions fixed by
this Decree. To obviate objections, however, M. Choupin ad-
mits that if, for instance, a young man, through an exchange
of promises, should deceive a young woman, he owes her a
just compensation for the injury done; and this obligation
may, in some cases, extend so far as to impose on him the
duty of marrying her.
The promise of this title* is al-
A CRITICISM OF HENRY luring; even though the small size
CHARLES LEA. of this book at once raises a doubt
whether that promise will be re-
deemed. A critical inquiry into the methods and merits of
Lea's entire set of histories — of the Spanish and the mediaeval
Inquisitions; of sacerdotal celibacy, confession and indulgences
— would demand far more labor and space than this little
book contains. It does, however, offer some general criticisms
as to Lea's shortcomings, of which the one that receives the
severest stricture is his misunderstanding of the significance of
documents and facts, owing to his very imperfect knowledge
of the Catholic mind. A few palpable hits are made against
Lea; but a good deal of time is wasted over some minor
points that will interest only the trained historian, while, judg-
ing by its general tenor, this cursory review is intended for
popular reading. The translator has omitted some details in
the original concerning various versions of Lea's work. It is
* Henry Charles Leas Historical Writings. A Critical Inquiry Into Their Method and
Merit. By Paul Maria Baumgarten. From the German. New York : Joseph F. Wagner.
n6 NEW BOOKS [April,
to be regretted that he did not also omit Mgr. Baumgarten's
disquisition on lynch law in America, which he introduces in
his conclusion for the purpose of retorting against Lea's con-
demnation of the Inquisition.
Two young aristocratic cavalry
COMTE ALBERT DE MUN. officers, with all the mettle of
their race and class, found them-
selves for a moment side by side on the field of Rezonville, at
the opening of the war of 1870.* That France could be de-
feated was a thought which never entered their minds. In a
few weeks they, with thousands of their fellow- soldiers, were
prisoners in Germany, dazed, dejected, humiliated, learning,
day after day, the news of fresh, unmerciful disasters. When
peace was restored, they returned to find their country under
the- German heel ; and to witness more terrible days inflicted
on Paris, by Frenchmen themselves, than the proud, gay capital
had sustained from the foreigner.
The two friends sought to find out the reasons, technical,
moral, and philosophical, why, in spite of French courage,
victory which was often near at hand, in the great war, had
never come ; and why the country, by successive falls, was at
length overwhelmed in unutterable catastrophe. The pursuit
of this question led them to the conviction that in a reform of
ideas and morals, by the application of Christian principles, lay
the only road to redemption for the nation. To initiate a move-
ment in this direction became the object of their ambition.
From this resolution sprang the Catholic movement for the
establishment of workmen's clubs and co-operative circles, which,
though it failed to arrest the forces ol irreligion in the past
thirty years in France, has valiantly, and not without some
local successes, resisted them. The Comte de Mun, one of the
founders, relates the genesis and history of the movement, from
1871 to 1875, when he resigned his commission in the army.
His story is replete with interest, since, besides permitting us
many glances into intimate family life, and introducing us now
and again into the centers of political struggle, it throws a
good deal of light on the currents which ultimately brought
the Church and State into violent collision.
* Ma Vocation Sociale. Souvenirs de la Fondation de I'CEuvre des Cercles Catholiques
d'Ouvritres, Par A. de Mun. Paris: Lethielleux.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 117
Is spiritism a vast tissue of deceit
MODERN SPIRITISM. and self-delusion? By no means;
it contains a series of well-attested
phenomena, objective in character, and, certainly, the work of
extraneous intelligence or intelligences. Who are these intel-
ligences ? The spirits of the departed as they profess to be ?
No; they are malevolent spirits; bent on working the moral
ruin of those who cultivate intercourse with them. Such is
the gist of this book,* whose author has become a sort of quasi-
official missionary to wage war against spiritism, which, he says,
is attracting an immense number of Catholics. This opinion
is not, we believe, shared by the greater number of our clergy,
who do not believe that any considerable number of their
flocks find any fascination in this abberation.
In his first chapter Mr. Raupert exposes the character of
the evidence that attests the reality of spiritistic phenomena;
and then proceeds to describe their varieties. He next dis-
cusses the nature of the function discharged by the sensitive,
or medium, who, " roughly speaking, serves as a link between
the world of spirit and that of matter, and supplies from his
nerve organism that substance, or ' psychic force ' (as Sir Wil-
liam Crookes terms it), which enables a spirit of intelligence
to manifest itself in the world of sense." After discussing va-
rious theories put forward to explain, or explain away, the
manifestations, he unfolds his own, which, in its main features,
was anticipated by Banquo:
"But 'tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray us
In deepest consequence."
Into very small bulk Father Bet-
FORBIDDEN BOOKS. ten has compressed, for the use of
busy Catholics, a large amount of
information on the Index of Prohibited Books. t He explains
the origin, purpose, and authority of the institution; its meth-
* Modern Spiritism. A Critical Examination of Its Phenomena, Character, and Teaching in
the Light of Known Facts. Second Edition. By J. Godfrey Raupert. St. Louis : B. Herder.
t The Roman Index of Forbidden Books Briefly Explained for Catholic Booklovers and Stu-
dents. By Francis J. Betten, S.J. St. Louis : B. Herder.
u8 NEW BOOKS [April,
od of operation ; and the obligations it imposes. He gives a
synopsis of the decrees which prohibit various classes of books
in general ; and adds a partial list of books, and of authors,
that have been specifically condemned. In these days of om-
niverous reading, Catholics stand in need of more information
than they usually possess regarding this important branch of
Church legislation.
Of late years an unusually large
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF number of biblical and theolog-
RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. [c&\ dictionaries and encyclopedias
have been put upon the market.
This fact is most significant as evidence of the keen, world-
wide interest in matters religious. It is quite impossible to
give anything like a careful, detailed review of these publica-
tions in our pages. Some of them are so drastically radical
as to be sadly deficient as sources or references for reliable
information. The craze of the present, without any respect for
the past, of a particular school or tendency seems oftentimes to
exclude the mature judgment, the painstaking consideration
that should go to the making of a dictionary or encyclopedia.
The very appearance of so many within such a short time is
an evidence that we are not working patiently or well.
It is a particular pleasure for us, therefore, to recommend
an encyclopedia* that is, as far as we have seen, sober yet
learned ; considerate of the past as well as of the present ;
conservative yet progressive ; one that, as a rule, tends to show
that the traditional interpretation of Catholic teaching on Scrip-
tural questions is the correct interpretation. In matters his-
torical, liturgical, scriptural, doctrinal, biographical, the editors
of Ihe New Schaft-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
— so far as the first volume shows us — have sought to give a
fair, considerate, and — as far as space will permit — a full pres-
entation of the subject. Exception might well be taken to an
article or to a sentence here and there. For example, Prot-
estant matters of theology and Protestant writers on theology
and Scripture receive greater attention and are allowed more
space than Catholic subjects and Catholic writers. This is ow-
ing principally, we believe, to the fact that the original Schaff-
* The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religitus Knowledge. Vol. I. New York :
Funk & Wagnall's Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 119
Herzog was a distinctly Protestant publication ; again it is
often very evident that the writers are not Catholics; "im-
maculistic " is scarcely a courteous term to use in designating
those who championed the doctrine of the Immaculate Con-
ception ; we are told that Abelard teaches like a good Protest-
ant; to describe Dr. Lyman Abbot, particularly in the light
of his latest utterances, as a Congregationalist of the Liberal
Evangelical Type, will instruct nobody, and only shows the
absurdities to which non-dogmatic theology has sunk ; nor is
it true to say that Dr. Barry's Tradition of Scripture has been
placed on the Index of Prohibited Books. The truth is that
a new edition of Dr. Barry's book has just been issued bear-
ing the imprimatur of the Archbishop of Westminster. But,
as we have said, we do not intend to present anything like
a detailed review of the book. We have sought to give an
opinion of the work in general — its spirit, its aim, and its tend-
ency; and with regard to these we feel that it merits our
good measure of praise. We are glad to see among the De-
partment Editors the names of Dr. Creagh, of the Catholic
University of Washington, and Dr. Driscoll, of St. Joseph's
Seminary, New York.
This is a novel * that carries us to Spain, so full is it of
local color and vivid pictures of Spanish life. The hero, Gal-
lardo, the son of a poor widow, passes his early years in a
squalid quarter of Seville ; neglected and wild, in common with
the boys of his acquaintance, he finds his greatest pleasure in
frequenting the bullfights for which that city is famous. But
Gallardo is ambitious and fearless. His imagination is fired by
the general enthusiasm for the actors in that bloody sport ;
and he decides to adopt their profession — for such it is regarded
in Spain. Soon he appears before the public as a full-fledged
matador.
Handsome, graceful, daring to a degree that astonishes even
the oldest habitues of the arena, he carries all before him, re-
ceives the applause of thousands of admiring followers, and soon
finds himself rich and famous. The old quarter of Seville wel-
comes him back with pride. The mother is installed in a fine
house with finer furniture, and has servants in plenty to wait ©n
*Sangrey Arena, Par Blasco Ibanez. Madrid: Sempere y ca Vallencia.
120 NEW BOOKS [April
her. The dark eyes of Carmen, a playmate of his childhood,
grow brighter as Gallardo looks upon her.
Carmen it is, indeed, who holds the reader's interest. Her
capacity for love and suffering, her personal refinement of char-
acter, springing from a gentle nature and religious feeling, place
her in pleasing contrast with her high-born rival, Dona Sol,
whose character, while drawn with considerable skill, lowers
the moral tone of the book.
It would carry us beyond our limit to follow the details of
the plot, which is slight and well-sustained. Apart from any
merit as a story, the book is of value as giving a clear idea of
the national sport of Spain, its hold on the people, and the
inevitable effect on their character. In Sangre y Arena the game
is stripped of illusion and is presented to us without any " trim-
mings," with its widespread ramifications, forming a great com-
mercial factor, entering into the daily life of the masses, train-
ing them to find enjoyment in the sight of suffering, making
heroes of the successful actors in the cruel drama, and giving
rewards larger than such men could get in any other occupation.
The yearly earnings of a matador amount at times to fifty or
sixty thousand dollars.
If a matador, however popular and brave he may have been,
should once show even a momentary loss of nerve — and this is
sometimes the case, for the constant struggle at close quarters
with death in a horrible form, tells on even iron constitutions
— he will be hissed and jeered by a pitiless audience, and
spurred on to deeds that mean certain death. Such was the
fate of Gallardo. Carried from the arena, accompanied by the
banderillero who had been the sharer of his many dangers,
he was placed in the hands of the attendant physician, while a
thin partition separated them from the great audience shouting
and applauding as a new game began. The doctor examined
the great rent in the man's body, made by the bull's horns,
shook his head, and turning to the banderillero said : " It's all
over, Sebastian, you must find another matador."
The loud picturesque style of the popular lecturer or ex-
horter pervades this sustained denunciation of the liquor traffic.*
* Profit and Loss in Man. By Alphonso A. Hopkins, Ph.D. New York: Funk & Wag-
nail's Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 121
Look and gesture are replaced by the devices of the typographer.
The speaker is terribly in earnest, though never so much so
that he cannot stop to introduce a jocular remark or anecdote.
Dissatisfied with the policy of Republicans and Democrats
alike, he strongly urges all to act logically by joining the Pro-
hibition party.
Of the many publications of travel, that are issued from
time to time by the railroads of the country, there are few, if
any, that equal in design, composition, and coloring a publica-
tion which we have recently received entitled: The Overland
Route to the Road of a Thousand Wonders, published by the
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroad. The Overland
route, as pictured in these seventy-two pages, runs over vast
plains, past the high outpost of the Rockies, across the surface
of Great Salt Lake, over the crest of the Sierra, through many
a picturesque canyon and valley to the Golden Gate. The book
gives the reader a splendid idea of the growth and possibilities
of the West and its illustrations show something of the mar-
velous beauty of Western scenery. It should open up to many
Americans something of the great wonders of their country
The publication excels in workmanship and good printing.
^foreign iperioMcals,
The Tablet (6 Feb.): The annual report of the Registrar- Gen-
eral estimates "The Population of England and Wales"
at 34,945,000. Marriages in the Established Church have
steadily decreased, so also has the birth-rate, which is
now lower than that of any European country except
France. Under "Notes" Mr. Tozer's recent article in
The Nineteenth Century, entitled " Divorce and Compul-
sory Celibacy," is reviewed. The writer's main object is
to promote the practice of divorce by making it at once
cheap and easy. "A Decision on Mixed Choirs."
According to a recent decree of the Sacred Congrega-
tion of Rites mixed choirs in English-speaking countries
are apparently not prohibited. The stipulation is, how-
ever, made that men and women must be kept separate.
Writing on " Women's Suffrage," Cardinal Moran
says : " The woman who votes only avails herself of a
rightful privilege that democracy has gained for her."
(13 Feb.): Under the heading "The Continuity Fable
at York," the claim of the newly-enthroned Anglican
Archbishop of York, Dr. Cosmo Lang, to be the eighty-
ninth successor of St. Paulinus is disputed. "Divorce
and the Church of England." The Archbishop of Can-
terbury has directed one of his clergy to admit a divorced
couple to the Holy Communion. His plea is that the
parties had been married in the Church. According
to the Constitution Sapienti Const/to, all minor officials
in the different Congregations are to be chosen, in
future, by competitive examinations. " South African
Union." The proposed federation of colonies is an ac-
complished fact. The constitution provides for a Gover-
nor-General and two Houses of Parliament. Neither race
nor color is to be a bar to the franchise, while both the
English and the Dutch languages are to be recognized as
official.)
(20 Feb.) : Gives an account of the Acta Apostolicce Sedis.
What is the Roman Curia, and how is the Church gov-
erned ? In " The King's Speech," at the reassembling
of Parliament, stress was laid upon the satisfactory re-
lations existing between England and foreign powers.
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 123
No mention was made of any action against the House
of Lords. The disestablishment of the Welsh Church is
to be proceeded with immediately. " Catholic Statis-
tics." The Archbishop of St. Paul in a letter to the
Times, says that the figures for the Catholic population,
14,235,451, are too low. They should not be under six-
teen or even seventeen millions. "The Italian Elec-
tions." The Pope has issued instructions to voters follow-
ing on the lines laid down by Pius IX. in his decree Non
Expedit. The Anglican Bishop of Carlisle, in his ad-
dress, states that the Church of England regards the
Sacraments as of much less importance than " the minis-
try of the word."
The Month (Feb.) : The Rev. S. F. Smith continues his remarks
on " Neutrality in France." The case of the teacher
Morezot is cited who, having been found guilty of an
offence against religion and morality, was removed by
the Government to another post at an increased salary.
" A Modern Christian Apologist," by H. Kean, is a
review of Mr. Benson's book At Large. It is, the re-
viewer says, but another example of the prominent part
theology plays in the modern literary world. " The
Main Problem of the Universe," by the Editor, the third
chapter of which deals with " Natural Selection and
Adaptation to Purpose," controverts the Darwinian the-
ory that such adaptations are due to force of circum-
stances in the struggle for existence. " The Beatifica-
tion of Father Gon9alo Silveera, S.J.," tells of the heroic
work of that priest in Southeastern Africa. " Omens,
Dreams, and Such-Like Fooleries," by Rev. J. Keating,
reminds us that it is not in religion, as commonly stated,
that we find superstition rife, but oftentimes among
educated worldly people. Father Thurston, "On
Torches and Torch-Bearers," shows how these have come
down to us as a development from earlier usage.
The Expository Times (Feb.) : The Editor deals with the ten-
dency shown in much modern literature to get rid of
"The Christ of the Gospels" and to treat Him as a
purely spiritual ideal. " Problems Suggested by the
Recent Discoveries of Aramaic Papyri of Syene." These
discoveries throw a light over an obscure period of Jew-
124 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [April,
ish history — 500 B. c., and show that even then among
the Jews of the Diaspora a broad conception of the
Yahweh religion was in force. " The Symbolism of
the Parables," by the Rev. R. M. Lithgow. A survey
reveals an ascending gradation of figures, the emblems
in the earlier parables are furnished by inanimate ob-
jects, the symbolism of the last is supplied by individ-
uals. Among the reviews are: "The International
Critical Commentary on ' Esther.' " The purpose of the
book, the reviewer states, is to commend the observance
of the feast of Purim, borrowed either from Babylon or
indirectly by way of Persia.
The International (Feb.): The purport of "Primitive Commun-
ism and Modern Co-operation" is to show that co-oper-
ation is by no means a modern development. America,
with its Trusts, shows very unfavorable conditions for
the working out of co-operative principles. "A New
Era of Taxation." Unearned income, Mr. Lloyd George
believes, alone possesses a true ability to pay. Such is
the latest scheme in England to avoid an addition to in-
direct taxation. Dr. Ohr believes that "The New
Liberalism in Germany " means the breaking down of
the Prussian military spirit, and the consequent recep-
tion, in the spirit of love and confidence, of Germany at
the council-boards of nations. Dr. Deutsch deplores
that, in spite of its importance as one of the pressing
problems of the day, the question of " Child-Labor," with
a view to child-protection, receives comparatively little
consideration. If the true aim of education is to en-
able the citizen to think and act for the highest moral
interests of the Community and the State, then " Secu-
lar Education in Japan " must be regarded as gravely
defective.
The Journal of Theological Studies (Jan.): "Textual Criticism
of the New Testament," deals with the contents of the
Canon of the New Testament, notably the four Gospels.
The writer, C. H. Turner, believes that the true text of
the Gospels will never be restored by the help of our
Greek MSS. alone. H. H. Howorth, in "The Canon
of the Bible Among the Later Reformers," points out
the difficulty with which the Reformers found themselves
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 125
confronted with regard to the Holy Scriptures. They
would not accept them on the authority of the Church,
hence they had to fall back upon the theory that the Holy
Spirit, speaking within them, taught them to distinguish
the false from the true. Under " Notes and Studies,"
the following are discussed : " Emphasis in the New Tes-
tament"; "St. Matthew, chapter vi. vv. 1-6"; "Notes
on Origen's Commentary on I. Corinthians"; "Notes
on the Homilies of Macarius."
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record (Feb.): Father John Curry, of
Drogheda, replies to a charge made by the Protestant
rector of Kells, who accuses Dean Cogan of defaming
the memory of a Dr. O'Beirne, a pervert to Protestant-
ism in the eighteenth century. " Socialism and Title
by Accession." The claim of the laborer to the whole
product of labor is, Father Slater, S.J., says, at the bot-
tom of the formulae of all militant socialists. He shows,
following the law of accession, that the unearned incre-
ment can in no way belong to the laborer, but to the
community who made it. Father Aloysius, O.S.F.C.,
gives a detailed account of the work and methods of the
"Father Matthew Total Abstinence Association."
"The Irish Mythological Cycle," is a review of a book
by M. d'Arbois Jubainville. The reviewer, Rev. A. M.
Skelly, O.P., claims that the whole scope of the work is
to give a Celtic version of a mythology originally the
common possession of all the Hindu-European family.
Le Correspondant (10 Feb.): "The Welfare of the Family," by
L. Cadot, demonstrates the reason why a family and
family possessions contribute not only to the good of
the individual family, but also to the welfare of society
at large. Henri Joly, in "The Social Condition of
the Swiss," gives some very interesting statistics respect-
ing their religious, social, and political life. "Tech-
nical Schools," by P. Worms de Romilly, lays stress on
the importance not merely of grammar school educa-
tion, but also of scientific education. In " The Re-
view of Sciences," by Henri de Parville, we have an
account of the late disastrous earthquake at Messina,
and an attempted explanation of the scientific reason
of this appalling calamity. Other articles are : " The
126 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [April,
Glass Industry in France," by Elphige Frimy, dealing
with the work of Colbert and the Venetians. Some
" Unpublished Letters of Voltaire," by M. Caussy.
"The Social and Political Divisions Following on the
Revolution of July," by M. de Laborie.
Etudes (5 Feb.) : " Conscience and Monism," by J. Ferchat, is
a review of M. le Dantee's recent work Science and Con-
science, which is, as it were, the keystone in the edifice
of Monistic philosophy which he has attempted to build
up. In " India As It Is," Auguste Faisandier sums
up the conditions in the word " Unrest " due to many
causes. Unwise government on the part of England,
also the spread of education, has produced a class de-
sirous and ambitious for the uplifting of the masses.
"Summary of and Observations on the Works of M.
Tourmel," is a resume of the various charges which
have appeared in the pages of Etudes against the teach-
ing of the Abbe in his recent works and the explica-
tions he offered. So far, however, the writer says, the
answers are by no means satisfactory. Other articles
are: "The First Seminaries in France in the Seven-
teenth Century," by N. Prunel. " Unedited Letters of
the Benedictine, Dom Tassin," by Eugene Griselle.
(20 Feb.): With the view of explaining away the atti-
tude of Lord Acton on many questions, Joseph de la
Serviere reviews sympathetically " Lord Acton and His
Circle." " Bede and the Eucharist." From a copious
selection of texts, Xavier L. Bachel shows that Vener-
able Bede held firmly to a belief in transubstantiation.
" Conscience and Monism." In a further review of M.
le Dantee's philosophy Joseph Ferchat asks the ques-
tion : Is conscience the resultant of a number of ele-
ments of the nervous system ? As an idea shows by
its universality that it is not material, so conscience, by
its transcendence, demonstrates that it does not proceed
from a collection of elementary consciences. Gaston
Sortais briefly recapitulates the more salient features of
the Count de Mun's recent work Ma Vocation Sociale.
Revue du Monde Catholique (15 Feb.): M. Leon Leconte, in
his continued article on "The Jews," traces the bearing
and influence which the life and death of our Lord had
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 127
upon that people. It cannot be explained unless we
accept the fact that Jesus is God. " French Apologists
in the Nineteenth Century," by R. P. At, exposes the
teaching of Maurice d'Hulst, which was to find in Aris-
totle and St. Thomas the lost key of true metaphysic
and to open with this key the treasures of modern science.
" The Restoration of Ecclesiastical Chant," by the
Abbe Barret, contends for the exclusion of the music of
the theater and concert-hall from our churches, and a
revival of the Solesmes method of plain chant which has
fallen into desuetude. Discord among the bishops,
interference in politics by the clergy, are two causes
urged by M. Savaete in " Towards the Abyss," for the
unsatisfactory conditions of church affairs in French
Canada.
Revue Pratique d* Apologetique (i Feb.): "The Foundation of
Moral Obligation " is not to be discovered in empiricism
nor in science, we must look elsewhere. To find it, says
Claudius Fiat, we must first establish a true definition
of the value of life, and ask wherein our highest good
lies. "The Preparation of the Young for Liberty,"
by A. Chauvin, is brought to a close. Christian educa-
tion alone supplies the true remedy, for it means the
education of the whole nature, thus fitting the child for
the varied duties of life. "Stories of Sacred History "
has for its subject Ezechias and the putting back of the
shadow on the dial of Achaz, which latter did not of
necessity involve any movement in the planetary world,
but consisted in a momentary deviation of the pointer
of the dial. " Comparison and Hypothesis in the His-
tory of Religions." While admitting the value of the
comparative method, we are not ready to admit the con-
clusion that all religions are equally adapted to the needs
of man.
Stimmen aus Maria Laach (8 Feb.) : S. Beissel, S.J., writing
on " Giotto's Work at Padua and Modern Painting,"
states that the modern religious painter, adapting him-
self to his age, should never sacrifice any dogma of su-
pernatural revelation. M. Meschler, S.J., in his arti-
cle on "The Beatification of Jeanne d'Arc" shows the com-
patibility of a fervent patriotism with sanctity. L.
128 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [April,
Dressel, S.J., examines the proof for the existence of
God based on the two physical laws: that the energy
of the world is constant; and that the entropy tends
towards a maximum, /. e., the intensities of energy grad-
ually equalize. The writer warns against abuse of this
proof and shows how to surmount its difficulties. O.
Zimmermann, S.J., concludes his paper on " Personality,"
in which he exposes the emptiness and folly of to-day's
individualism. E. Wasmann, S.J., discloses the insin-
cere methods which Prof. Haeckel uses in his investiga-
tions and publications.
La Revue des Sciences Ecclesiastiques et la Science Catholique
(Feb.) : A continued article by M. Camille Daux, on
" Eucharistic Traditions According to St. Augustine,"
treats of the manner in which the Eucharist was admin-
istered, some of the faithful taking it to their own homes.
The vessels — chalice, paten, tube (through which the
communicant partook of the sacred blood), and vestments
are also described. "The Relations of Church and
State," by M. 1'Abbe Verdier. The substance of this
article is found in the author's words: "A good Chris-
tian will be naturally and without effort a true patriot
and a good son of France." France and the Church
cannot live separated. " The Fallacy of Collectivism,"
by M. 1'Abbe Roupain, disproves the sophism that all
goods belong to the community. This is advanced under
the pretext that God is the sole proprietor and there-
fore no man has any right to individual possession.'
Among other articles are: "The Theology of William of
Champeaux," by M. le Chan. Hurault. "Structure of
the Psalms," by M. I'Abbe" Neveut.
Chronique Sociale de France (Feb.) : In " The Approach of His
Reign," the Abbe Thellier de Ponchville draws a picture
of the time when the Christ Who has permeated all so-
ciety shall be known and saluted by it as its God.
" Catholic Social Movement in the Province of Quebec."
To counteract the evil influences of benevolent societies
under Masonic auspices, various Catholic societies have
sprung up. Among them may be mentioned : The So-
ciety of French Canadian Artisans; The Union of St.
Joseph. "The Value of a Social Gospel," by L. Gar-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 129
riguet. In the ancient world the rights of the poor and
unfortunate were ignored, but with the advent of Chris-
tianity came the recognition of our duty to help the
brother in distress. The acts and teaching of Christ
prove this. " Reflections on the Employment of Time.'*
We are placed here to advance our own good and that
of others. Life should be a discipline; with many, how-
ever, it means nothing more than the working out of
their own sweet will, irrespective of the rights of others.
La Civilta Cattolica (6 Feb.): "The New Evolution of Italian
Masonry." Italian masonry comes forward in explicit
terms of its profession of atheism in religion and of re-
publican radicalism in politics. It has its origin in
French masonry, and from it derives its anti- Christian
traditions. " St. Anselm of Aostia and the Monastery
of Bee " is a continued article from last month.- In
"The Earthquake in Calabria and Sicily" is given
a graphic account of that stupendous disaster, coupled
with the lessons to be learnt from it. Other continued
articles are: "The Birth of Christ and Poetry."
"The International Movement Against the Duel."
"The Necessity of Esoteric Christianity according *o
Theosophy."
La Scuola Cattolica (Jan.) : "Joseph Turmel and the Evolution
of Dogma," by C. Carcano. An examination of the
directing principles in Tunnel's works and of their ap-
plication to the most vital dogmas of Christianity ; the
audacity with which this priest of Rennes distorts and
falsifies the testimony of the Councils and the Fathers
to establish his theses is made manifest. " Positivism,
Modernism, and History," by R. Paste, makes an urgent
plea for the study of the history of dogma; such a study
is necessary to combat the enemies of the Church with
their own weapons, "The Value of the Synoptic
Gospels," by G. Dodici, examines the statement of A.
Schweitzer that " Nothing is more negative than the re-
sult of the examination of Christ's life," and considers
its value. "The Calabrian- Sicilian Earthquake," by
C. Gaffuri, gives some interesting information concerning
the action of earthquakes and their accompanying phe-
nomena; the principal hypotheses which endeavor to ex-
VOL. LXXXIX. — 9
130 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [April,
plain their probable causes are discussed ; the recent
earthquake is but referred to en passant. Other arti-
cles : " Psycopathy in its Relations to Moral Theology,"
by A. Gemelli. " Myths About Hell in Homer," by
E. Pasteris.
Razon y Fe (Feb.): A long promised article on "The Holy Ste
and the Book of Isaias " is given by L. Murillo apropos
of the Biblical Commission's decision. The author treats
the peculiar character of prophecy, especially Messianic,
the historical situation in Judaea at the time, the phil-
ological reasons and others for authenticity, and the con-
clusions of Assyriology with regard to the dates of
Isaias and of the Kings. "Notes About a Great Artist,"
by Saj. E. Portillo continues an article on "Differ-
ences Between the Church and State, Regarding Royal
Patronage in the Eighteenth Century." "The London
Educational Congress," by R. Ruiz Amado, presents the
theses that religion is not necessary as a basis for moral-
ity and that education should be wholly by the State
and rejects them for the Catholic view. N. Noguer
discusses " State Intervention in Co-Operation," the
• question of Principle and of Opportunity, its limits and
conditions, and reviews the German controversy of the
middle of the last century.-^— In "A Reply to Seiior
Azcarate," P. Villada exposes the Church's doctrine as
to Papal Infallibility in politics, education, etc., and the
relation of Church to the Spanish State.
Espana y America (i Feb.): "The Opportunity for the Cate-
chism," by P. A. Blanco, is concluded with an exposition
of its usefulness and need in dispelling modern mental
depression and showing the power by apostolic example
of simplicity in teaching religious truths. P. B. Mar-
tinez, in " Godoy and His Century," treats the Minister's
reforms in bullfighting, censorship of the theater, and
establishment of schools, and illustrates the different
ways in which he has been judged. P. E. Negrete
quotes a sermon by P. Felix on " The ^Esthetic Ideas
of St. Augustine," and after enumerating, as elements
in the beautiful, unity, proportion, symmetry, resem-
blance, sums up by saying : Omnis pulchritudinis ratio
unitas. Selections from "The Collected Memoirs of
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 131
Prince von Hohenlohe" show, in the hands of G. June-
mann, the gravity and the humor, the earnest tenacity of
the author. P. M. Cil visits " The Atelier of Ignatius
Zuloaga," and explains that painter's ideals and methods.
" New York Notes," by P. M. Blanco Garcia, on
our politics and efforts in Panama, the Spanish artists
at the Metropolitan, and the recent tuberculosis conven-
tion, as well as that against divorce, are treated with
sympathy.
(15 Feb.): P. M. Velez continues the " Defence of Chris-
tian Morals," by showing the positive and reparative
value, both personally and socially, of repentance.
The conclusion of the series of articles on " The Phil-
osophy of the Verb : Its Tenses " is given by Felipe
Robles. P. Alberto de los Bueis treats the " Christian
Idea of the Origin of Civil Power," as coming directly
from God, not to one particular man, as in the eccle-
siastical order, but to the people. Authority must be
made divine and obedience sanctified. " The Objective
Development of Revelation According to Modernism "
is refuted by P. Marcelino Gonzalez, who shows the sub-
jective progress of the individual in appropriating re-
vealed truth to be the correct conception. P. G.
Martinez gives a " Bird's-Eye View of Buenos Ayres."
The deaths and funerals of the Chinese Emperor
and Empress and the new Emperor's proclamation are
described by P. Juvencio Hospital. — '• — E. Contamine de
Latour reviews two books on The Africa of the North
and Latin Inscriptions Found in Tunis.
Current Events*
France as well as this country has
France. entered upon the task of revising
the Tariff. The former revision
took place in 1892, and since that time other countries of Eu-
rope, and especially Germany, have made revisions and have
increased duties in a manner detrimental, it is said, to French
commercial interests. Accordingly a Committee has been ap-
pointed and this Committee has brought in a report recommend-
ing in many instances a large increase of duties. Even so, it
has not given satisfaction to many merchants, whose desire is
for still higher duties. The government, however, has withheld
its approval of some of the Committee's proposals and has taken
as a guiding principle the entente cordiale with Great Britain,
that is to say, no increase of duty is to be made which shall
tend to chill the affection which is felt for France by her
neighbor across the Channel.
It takes a long time to get measures through the French
Legislature. Almost two years ago the Lower House passed a
Pension Bill and ever since the Senate has had it under con-
sideration, and its committee has now decided that the whole
scheme is impracticable and that the only thing to be done is
to draw up a bill of its own. This bill is now published. The
sum which it is proposed to give as an annual pension is so
small that in this country it would scarcely be considered
worth acceptance, being less than twenty- five dollars a year.
The English pension recently granted amounts to sixty-five
dollars, and would be thought small enough. The French
Pension, if ever given, is to begin at 65 years of age, whereas
the English does not commence until 70. In France the em-
ployer will have to contribute a small part of each workman's
pension.
While the agreement with Germany has relieved France
from anxiety as to any further interposition of the former
Power in the affairs of Morocco, the reception by Mulai Hafid,
the new Sultan, of the French representative has been in the
highest degree satisfactory. Mulai Hafid expressed for France
the most friendly feelings and recognized to their full extent
her special rights. The new Sultan is said to be a man of a
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 133
very different character from that of his deposed brother. He
is strong and determined, with broad, clear ideas, and is gov-
erned by a common sense view of what it is in his power to
accomplish. Strange to say he leans to democracy, and, stranger
still, his people do not. Perhaps it is, however, a misnomer to
speak of the people of Morocco, for its inhabitants are little
better than a collection ot semi-feudal tribes, all more or less
independent of the central authority, but lorded over despotic-
ally by their own chiefs; and with the best of intentions it is
not within the power of the Sultan to make any promise which
will be recognized as binding throughout the Empire, unless
and only as long as these various chiefs are pleased to recog-
nize it. The prospect, therefore, for the future may not be
so good as it looks.
The situation in the Balkans has
Germany. for Germany, as well as for every
other European country, been the
most important matter; but other questions are not without
interest. The visit of King Edward to Berlin, and the recep-
tion which he received, gave hopes that the disagreement be-
tween the two countries, which has been more or less acute
for so many years, had been removed ; but this expectation,
in view of the news received within the last few days, seems
much too optimistic. It says little for the so often vaunted
progress of our times that two of the leading Powers should be
unable to put trust in each other, and should practically treat
each other as dishonest rogues. The rulers, indeed, express
and sincerely feel the strongest desire for the maintenance of
peace; but they have to deal with a miscellaneous assortment
of subjects, and it is always a problem which will come to the
front and obtain control. This renders uncertain the best-in-
tentioned efforts.
The King's visit was immediately preceded by the conclusion
of the agreement between Germany and France, which, if we
can accept the almost unanimous opinions which have been ex-
pressed with reference to it, has brought to an end the long
existent complications which have disturbed the mutual relations
of the two Powers. Germany and France, according to the
terms of the agreement, are now actuated by an equal desire
to facilitate the execution of the act of Algeciras, and have,
i34 CURRENT EVENTS [April,
therefore, agreed to define the significance which they attach
to its clauses, and this with a view to avoid any cause of mis-
understanding in the future. The French government thereupon
declares itself to be wholly attached to the maintenance of the
integrity and the independence of the Empire of Morocco, and
by this declaration precludes itself from the peaceful penetration
which it undoubtedly had once in view. It also declares its de-
cision to safeguard economic equality there, and not to impede
German commercial and industrial interests. On its part the
German government declares that its interests are solely eco-
nomic, that it recognizes the special political interests of France
as specially bound up with the consolidation of order and of
internal peace in Morocco, and declares its resolution not to im-
pede these interests nor to prosecute or encourage any measure
calculated to create the economic privilege of any Power what-
soever.
This agreement, if loyally acted upon, will relieve the anx-
iety felt for so long on account of the differences between the
two countries. It will not, however, meet with the approval
of ultra-patriots in both countries. The Fan-Germans are dis-
pleased because one of their dreams has been the getting pos-
session of coaling stations, naval bases, and settlements in Mo-
rocco ; and a distinguished French statesman, a former Foreign
Minister, M. Hanotaux, has published his opinion that France
has, by this agreement, renounced everything for which she has
throughout the whole controversy been contending.
Whether it will have any effect upon the other questions by
which Europe is agitated, or whether it was not made in view
of those questions, is still a matter for conjecture. How far
Germany was cognizant of Austria's annexation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and whether or no she approved of it, is one of
the secrets still kept by the Foreign Offices of each State. But
it seems certain that, if war is to take place, Russia will be
drawn into it by the voice of the Russian people, and in this
event, that is if Austria were to be attacked by Russia, the
terms of the Triple Alliance would render it necessary for Ger-
many to support Austria. Then also it would be in the high-
est degree desirable that France should be separated from Rus-
sia and not join her forces with those of Russia against Germany
it was for this object, some think, that Germany withdrew
from Morocco. All this, however, is mere speculation, but i
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 135
is a certain fact that since the conclusion of the Agreement in-
fluential circles in France have given indications of a leaning
to the Austrian side of the question, although they have of
late drawn back on account of the fuller realization of Austria's
haughtiness.
The government is meeting with very great difficulty in its
attempt to carry into effect the proposals which it has made
for securing an increase of revenue. The representatives of the
holders of property manifest, as^is their wont, the greatest unwill-
ingness to bear their share of the public burdens, and although
they have been lectured and admonished by Ministers, they
still refuse to make the sacrifices required by the proposal.
The duties to which they object are the death and estate duties,
which are to be introduced for the first time. The month
has been passed in efforts on the part of the government to find
some form of compromise, all hope of carrying the proposals
on in their integrity having been abandoned. One effect of the
negotiations has been the bringing together, to a certain extent,
of the Conservatives and the Centre Party, and to that extent a
weakening of the bloc, upon which the government rests.
Notwithstanding the protection given by the Tariff to the
country's industries, the question of unemployment exists in
Germany. The extent of it is, however, a matter of dispute.
In Berlin a recent house-to-house census made by the Social
Democrats gives the number as 101,300 men, while the munici-
pal return made in November last makes the number only 40,124.
A more recent census, taken in February, reduces the number
still further, making the unemployed only 23,670. It is strange
that in the fatherland of the exact sciences such discrepancies
should exist.
A general election has taken place
Italy. in Italy, but no change of any im-
portance is likely to result. The
Giolitti ministry remained in power throughout the greater
part of the last Parliament's existence, and while it excited
no enthusiasm, it met with tolerance. Its life has been pro-
longed as a result of the recent elections. It based its claims
for support on the acquisition of the railways by the State,
the conversion of the public debt, upon the public works ac-
complished, and the reforms in the public services. It claimed
136 CURRENT EVENTS [April,
credit for the maintenance of stability in finance and the great
economic and industrial progress achieved during the past few
years.
The elections excited little interest. It is said, in fact, that
enthusiasm for the country as a whole has died out to a large
extent ; that the Italian is far more interested in the local
affairs of his own district than in those of the nation. Some
say that the interests of the public even in this restricted
sense are largely subordinated to personal interests of profit
and gain and office.
According to the Conservative leader, Italy is passing through
a period of political depression. She is conscious of a lack of
preparation to meet any political or military emergency. The
country has lost weight and influence in the world through the
mistakes she has made in recent years. Especially is she be-
hindhand in the defence of the frontier. Italian policy is too
often merely negative, expressive only of opposition to some
ideas or people. This is the view which Baron Sonnino takes
of the situation; but it has not been endorsed by the electors;
at all events, they have allowed the power to remain in the
hands of its present holders, for the Ministerialists have been
returned in a large majority, the numbers being in the first
ballot: Ministerialists, 275; Constitutional Opposition, 42;
Radicals, 31; Republicans, 17; Socialists, 28; Catholics, 52.
Sixty-nine seats remained to be filled by the second ballot.
The establishment of real constitu-
The Near East. tional rule in Turkey received a
rude shock from the events which
led to the fall of Kiamil Pasha and have led to doubts in the
minds of some whether or no it is possible for Turks genuine-
ly to establish it. The task, of course, is one of supreme dif-
ficulty ; but it would be premature to despair of success, es-
pecially as the real causes of the late crisis are not yet known.
Both parties pay homage to the principle of constitutional rule,
and both parties have, it would seem, violated its spirit.
Kiamil himself dismissed the ministers of War and Marine as
if they were his servants and not his coadjutors, and if it is
true that his action was taken in order to please the Sultan and to
increase his power, the departure from constitutional methods
was altogether worthy of blame. The Committee of Union and
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 137
Progress trangressed even more grieviously in seeking to con-
trol the authority to which it ought to have subjected itself and
in the method which it took of exercising this control. The
Parliament itself was wanting in due regard for its rights and
powers in allowing itself to be influenced by outsiders, and
showed a lamentable want of stability in almost unanimously
condemning a minister in whom, precisely a month before, it had,
with almost equal unanimity, expressed complete confidence.
However, those who have lived for centuries almost as slaves
cannot acquire all the virtues of freemen in a month. It is too
soon to form a judgment as to what the outcome will be, but,
with a few exceptions, constitutional procedure seems so far to
have been observed. The new Grand Vizier, Hilmi Pasha,
pledged himself in his opening address to resign the power
entrusted to him on the manifestation of the least sign of dis-
trust on the part of Parliament as to his fidelity to the con-
stitution. He declared that every citizen — Turks have now be-
come citizens — must feel that he was now living under a regime
of equality and justice.
A trial which took place recently at Constantinople shows how
far the Turks have been from the enjoyment of justice. Persons
arrested on suspicion of complicity in an attempt on the Sul-
tan's life were, by his orders, mercilessly bastinadoed in order
to extort confessions. Statements were made at the trial by an
Armenian that red-hot iron bars had been applied to the feet
and arm-pits of her husband, and that he had committed sui-
cide to escape further torture. These instances, and they could
be indefinitely multiplied, indicate the point from which the
leaders of the young Turkish movement have to start, and the
depths from which they have to extricate their own race and
the other nationalities subject to Turkish rule.
The proceedings of the new Grand Vizier's ministry are being
anxiously watched to see how far the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution are being respected. Article 13 lays it down that
" Ottomans enjoy the right of public meeting." Notwithstand-
ing this provision the government issued a proclamation which
appeared to be a direct infringement of this public right, re-
quiring that public meetings should not be held without author-
ization. Hilmi Pasha, however, explained the meaning of au-
thorization to be merely a formal acknowledgment of the notifi-
cation, and that authorization could never be refused. The op-
138 CURRENT EVENTS [April,
position in the Parliament were not satisfied and moved a vote
of condemnation, but were defeated by a majority of 3 to i.
No recognition has yet been made by the Powers of either
the independence of Bulgaria or the annexation by Austria of
the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was rumored
that Russia had recognized the independence of Bulgaria by
according to Prince Ferdinand royal honors on the occasion of
his visit to St. Petersburg for the funeral of the Grand Duke
Vladimir, to which he had invited himself. The fact is that in
a very modified form royal honors were granted to the Prince,
but Russia promptly informed the Powers that no recognition
of the independence of Bulgaria was either intended or given.
This independence, however, has been recognized in principle
by Turkey in consideration of the payment of a sum of money.
The amount to be paid has, after long negotiations, been set-
tled, and also the way in which the money is to be obtained.
The war indemnity due from Turkey to Russia is to be made
use of ; but it is not necessary to trouble our readers with the
details.
A similar arrangement has also been made with Austria-
Hungary by which, for the consideration of a money payment,
the annexation of the provinces is to be recognized by Turkey.
European recognition has yet to be arranged with the Powers.
Whether for this purpose a Conference will be held is, to say
the least, doubtful.
The agreements which have been made between Turkey and
Bulgaria, and between Turkey and Austria-Hungary, having
settled the difficulties between them respectively, the outstand-
ing and still unsettled questions are those of the relations be-
tween the Dual Monarchy and the States of Servia and Mon-
tenegro. The Servian question is the more difficult, and it can-
not yet be said that it will not lead to war. For a long time
there have been repeated crises. Within a week it was said
that war would surely break out, and again, that such inter-
vention had come that would prevent war. The latest inter-
vention has been that of Russia, and the most effectual, for
it would only be in reliance upon the support of Russia that
war on Servia's part could have any hope of success. The
people of Russia are in favor of supporting their fellow-
Slavs against the aggression of Austria- Hungary, but the
government, knowing the present weakness of the country,
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 139
and almost sure that Austria-Hungary would be supported by
Germany, in the event of a conflict, is holding back and has ad-
vised Servia to relinquish her claims. These claims were that
she should receive territorial compensation for the annexation
of the provinces, and that these provinces should have com-
plete autonomy under the guarantee of Europe. Austria's re-
ply to Servia's demand is that the annexation is no concern of
Servia's, as the provinces had not belonged to Servia, but to
Turkey. She has intimated, however, a willingness to make
economic concessions to Servia, the precise nature of which
she will not reveal until Servia abandons the claims which she
has made. On Servia's acceptance of Russia's advice, Austria
increased her demands, requiring that all the negotiations should
be between the two States without any intervention, and a
promise on the part of Servia amounting almost to a manifest-
ation of conscience that her conduct towards Austria would al-
ways be correct and friendly, and that she would never endeavor
to alter the arrangement. In view of the exhibition of law-
lessness on Austria's part, which the world has just witnessed,
this is a somewhat astonishing demand. But ever since Baron
von Aehrenthal's accession to power there has been a succession
of astonishing events.
If any one will look at the map, he will see the reason for
the feeling which has been excited in Servia by the annexation
which has just taken place. By the annexation Servia is cut
off from access to the sea. "It is not much," her King says,
" that Servia asks. She asks only what every one has the right
to demand — a little air and a little place in the sun. Servia is
choking and needs an outlet. It would not be just, it would
not be right, to refuse it to her." Austria, by her action, has
shut up this outlet. Technically she is within her rights, but
the world is not ruled in the long run by technicalities.
The movement for constitutional
The Middle East. government has not yet attained
its end. For some time past the
Shah's government has been hovering on the brink of destruc-
tion, three important provinces being in armed insurrection
against his authority, and great dissatisfaction existing among
even those who recognize his rule. He has been residing ever
since the suppression of the Parliament in an armed camp out-
CURRENT EVENTS [April.
side the capital, deriving all the strength which he possesses
from armed soldiers commanded by foreign officers. The Rus-
sian and British Legations have repeatedly admonished him to
effect the much-needed reforms and to keep his often-pledged
word. But to mere words he turns a deaf ear. The question
of practical intervention has forced itself upon the two Powers,
especially as the Shah cannot persuade himself that Russia is
sincere in wishing him to become a constitutional monarch.
There are, indeed, some Englishmen, well-informed in these
matters, who doubt the sincerity of Russia, and maintain that
the late Parliament was destroyed not merely with the appro-
bation but with the co-operation of some of the Russian au-
thorities. A joint manifesto of Russia and Great Britain mak-
ing definite demands on the Shah has been expected for a
long time, but its appearance has been delayed by the Balkan
preoccupations. The Persian treasury is said to be bankrupt
ten times over; but that is not an insuperable obstacle to ex-
istence in the East. There is always property to be sold,
jewels to be pawned, courtiers to be squeezed, and various
other financial devices characteristic of autocratic rule to be
practised. But those who are able to judge say that the fail-
ure of the constitutional movement is not complete, for its
spirit is in the air and has rendered it impossible for the au-
thorities to grind down the people to the uttermost farthing
in the way in which they have been accustomed to do here-
tofore.
M
THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION
R. H. G. WELLS is to-day a very widely-read author, and in the secular
press his works have been received with much applause and cordial
welcome. Because of his power of expression, his attractiveness of style, and
perhaps also because of his startling sensationalism, he has been hailed in
certain quarters as a prophet. Where these quarters lie is evident to any one
who thinks or seriously cares. The quarters are extensive; judging simply
from the literary output their limits are constantly extending, and the num-
ber who graze therein and take nourishment therefrom is constantly increas-
ing. Mr. Wells is the champion of those who evidently have no conscience
in the use of words; who bring no ethical principles into literature ; and
never realize that the powers of their highest faculty ought to be exercised
for the welfare, spiritual or intellectual, of their fellow-men. Mr. Wells'
latest book, a novel, Tono-Bungay, has been praised almost universally as a
masterpiece by the secular press throughout the world. To those who know
the book such praise is a telling commentary on the worth of the literary
criticism that appears in most of our daily, weekly, and monthly publica-
tions. We will not give our own criticism of the book, because it might be
said that such criticism was prejudiced because we are Catholic. Instead,
we will quote the words of Dr. Robertson Nicoll, from the British Weekly —
a Nonconformist English journal — of February 18, 1909:
" Tono-Bungay is an extremely clever book, and it is a great relief to
find that it is not an autobiography, nor an expression of the author's per-
sonal conviction. In fact, the hero of the book, if hero he must be called, is
diametrically opposed to opinions which Mr. Wells has strongly championed.
It is to be taken as an experiment in drama. And from that point of view
Mr. Wells has never done anything better.
"It is not, however, from the literary standpoint that I deal with this
book. Mr. Wells has his own place among the authors of the day. Proba-
bly no one comes near him in his use of what may be called the scientific
imagination. No one describes so clearly and so livingly the advancing won-
ders of invention. . . . When all this is granted, it does not give us a
great writer, but only a man of the highest talent, who has applied that talent
in a particular direction, and written much that is startling to the present
generation and will be obsolete to the next and to those who succeed it.
What concerns me is the religious and ethical tendency of Mr. Wells' book,
or rather of George Ponderevo, for it would be the gravest injustice to identi-
fy the two.
" George Ponderevo acknowledges himself, in this book, to be a liar, a
swindler, a thief, an adulterer, and a murderer. He is not in the least
ashamed of these things. He explains them away with the utmost facility,
and we find him, at the age of forty-five, not unhappy, and successfully en-
gaged in problems of aerial navigation. . . .
142 THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION [April,
"In this book the primary fact is the hatred of the Christian religion.
I might have quoted, if there had been room, the treatment of Cowper's great
hymn by Frederick Greenwood in his wonderful book, Margaret DenziVs
History. He shows there the comfort which a sorely beset human soul found
in that hymn and in the thought that there is a Fountain filled with blood
for those who sin and suffer and die. But we may say of George Ponderero,
what John Morley says of Voltaire, that he has no ear for the finer vibrations
of the spiritual voice.
"But why is Christianity so hated? The main reason is that Chris-
tianity is the religion of chastity. When reading Tono-Bungay, we are back
in the days of Voltaire. Voltaire thought to 'crush the infamous.' "What
was 'the infamous'? The word included much, but, as John Morley has
pointed out, it specially included chastity. . . .
" Now we have tc face the truth. The truth is that Christianity is hated
and reviled by many of cur modern writers, simply because it exalts chastity.
Let us try every new doctrine by this test. Only a few have had the courage
to come out into the epen, but to those who read between the lines there is
much that is suggestive. We are told that marriage is to be put on a new
basis, that the causes for divorce are to be extended, that lives are not going
to be spoiled for one mistake, and all the rest of it. This is the exoteric
teaching. This is all that it is safe to say in the meantime in the presence of
the people, but the esoteric teaching, and sometimes the practice, is much
more advanced.
"There is a true instinct under all this. It was Christianity that
created the virtue of purity, and it is Christianity alone that can save it.
Christianity opposes the progress of Apollyon in this path. Christianity
maintains the sanctity of marriage and of the family. It is no wonder, there-
fore, that it should be viewed as an irreconcilable enemy, to be overthrown
at any cost. But it is just as well that we should understand what the battle
is about.
" It is impossible for me in these columns to reproduce or to describe
the amorous episodes in Tono-Bungay. I cannot copy and I cannot sum-
marize the loathsome tale of George Ponderevo's engagement and marriage
and divorce.
" On this it must be sufficient to quote John Morly's words : ' Is not every
incentive and every concession to vagrant appetite a force that enwraps a man
in gratification of self, and severs him from duty to others, and so a force of
dissolution and dispersion? It might be necessary to pull down the Church,
but the worst Church that ever prostituted the name and the idea of religion
cannot be so disastrous to society as a gospel that systematically relaxes
self-control as being an unmeaning curtailment of happiness.' This is, in-
deed, a very moderate way of putting the real truth, but let it stand at that.
"The careful reader of Tono-Bungay will observe that the characters are
all animals. What possible reconstruction of society can there be if men
and women are reduced to the morals and the lives of brutes? Will a
society of brutes organize itself on a basis of altruism? There are touches
of kindness in animals, and so in Tono-Bungay there are redeeming traits in
some of the characters. But the most are, to the very depths of their souls,
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 143
irredeemably saturated with corruption; and of some others it maybe said
that corrosive acids have eaten away all that is most tender and precious in
human character.
"When the end of a great quack comes, a clergyman, described as 'a
tremulous, obstinate little being, with sporadic hairs upon his face, specta-
cles, a red button nose, and aged black raiment, is found by the bedside, re-
peating over and over again: "Mr. Ponderevo, Mr. Ponderevo, is all right.
Only believe ! ' Believe on me and ye shall be saved ! "" This is told in
mockery."
* * »
We take pleasure in calling the special attention of our readers to a
short story The Coin of Sacrifice, by Christian Reid, published, at the low
price of fifteen cents, by the Ave Maria Press, of Notre Dame, Indiana.
Christian Reid has, for many years, done noble service in the cause of
Catholic literature. We wish that her name and her work were known in
every Catholic home. As a writer of real literary merit and power she
stands with the best writers\>f fiction to-day, and is far superior to many who,
in advertisement and literary note, are trumpeted as writers whom all
should read. The writing of this note leads us to say that if there ever was
a time when Catholics should arouse themselves and break from their
lethargy with regard to the support of Catholic literature, Catholic writers,
and Catholic publishers, who, like the Ave Maria Press, are trying worthily
to serve the Catholic public, it is now. We, as Catholics, have the writers
of unquestionable ability and power. There is no lack of good, reasonably-
priced, Catholic literature. The millions of Catholics in the United States,
with all their advantages of education, ought surely to cultivate a taste for what
is really worthy; to learn something of the beauties, the glories of Catholic
literature ; to support, even at the cost of a little sacrifice, the Catholic press: —
and thus enable the Church, and those who are laboring in her name, to do
a work that may justly be numbered among the first of her necessary works
to-day.
• * *
Sodality of Our Lady Under the Banner of Mary, by Fr. H. Opitz, S.J.,
is another addition to the already extensive sodality literature that has been
issued within the last two years. The aim of the present work is to give in-
formation concerning the Sodality of our Lady ; to awaken a desire to fur-
ther its high aims and to encourage and instruct those undertaking the work
of establishing Sodalities. It is published in a neat formj_by P. J. Kenedy &
Sons.
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THE
VOL. LXXXIX. MAY, 1909. No. 530.
THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF THE HOME.
BY JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS.
was only with the dawn of Christianity that the
true ideal of the home received its full and perfect
expression in the words of the Divine Teacher.
Among the Greeks and Romans it had been the
formation of the perfect citizen which was aimed
at. That the child be taught to dare all things, suffer all things,
for his country's sake — this was the goal.
With Christ it was indeed a citizenship — aye, more, a
brotherhood, which the home was to inculcate in a spirit of
mutual love and forbearance. And just as Christ taught noth-
ing else which He did not show forth by example in His
divine life, so He has given us, in His own filial love and
obedience to Mary and Joseph, the divine type of the Chris-
tian home.
It is profitable for us to-day to heed well these lessons of
the Home of Nazareth. Modern industrial conditions have
loosened the ties which should bind parent and child with hoops
of steel. And those sacred influences under which Christ grew
in age and wisdom are oftentimes neglected or rendered in-
operative through the indifference of parents and the besetting
hurry of the age.
To the mothers and fathers of families there is assigned a
mission no less honorable than that of Joseph and Mary. Their
offspring are the children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus
Christ, redeemed by His blood, and the parents are appointed
by heaven their first apostles and teachers. Whether they will
Copyright. 1909. THB MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF ST. PAUL THB APOSTLE
IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 10
146 THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF THE HOME [May,
be teachers of salvation or of destruction, angels of light or of
darkness, rests with them.
The love and solicitude of Mary and Joseph for the Child
Jesus is expressed in the words: "Behold Thy father and I
have sought Thee sorrowing." And the filial obedience of the
Son is made manifest in the short sentence : " He was subject
to them." Herein are contained the two duties of parent and
of child : the one of watchful, constant care ; the other of simple,
ready obedience, of respect for authority, of reverence for age
— lessons so needed to be learned in our day.
The home is the primeval school. It is the best, the most
hallowed, and the most potential of all the academies ; and the
parent, especially the mother, is the first, the most influential,
and the most cherished of all teachers. No human ordinance
can abrogate or annul the divine right of parents to rule their
own household, neither can any vicarious instruction given in
the day-school or Sunday-school exempt them from the obli-
gation of a personal supervision over their offspring. If Chris-
tian training is eliminated from the home and relegated to the
class-room, the child, when emancipated from his studies, may
be tempted to regard religious knowledge as a mere detail of
school work, and not, as it should be, a vital principal in his
daily life and conduct.
And yet I fear there are many parents who imagine that
they discharge their whole duty to their children by placing
them under the zealous care of our Catholic teachers. These
instructors may supplement and develop, but they were never
intended to supplant the domestic tuition.
The education of a child should begin at its mother's knee.
The mind of a child, like softened wax, receives first impres-
sions with ease, and these impressions last longest. "Train up
a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will
not depart from it." A child is susceptible of instruction much
earlier than parents commonly imagine. It has the capacity to
perceive and apprehend the truth, though unable as yet to go
through the process of reasoning and analysis. Mothers should
watch with a zealous eye the first unfolding of the infant mind,
and pour into it the seed of heavenly knowledge.
For various reasons mothers should be the first instructors
of their children.
First, as nature ordains that mothers should be the first to
1909.] THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF THE HOME 147
feed their offspring with corporal nourishment of their own
substance, so the God of nature ordains that mothers should be
the first to impart to their little ones " the rational, guileless
milk" of heavenly knowledge, "whereby they may grow unto
Salvation" (I. Peter ii. 2).
Second, the children that are fed by their own mothers
are usually more healthy and robust than those that are nur-
tured by wet-nurses. In like manner, the children who are in-
structed by their own mothers in the elements of Christian
knowledge are commonly more sturdy in faith than those who
are committed for instruction to strangers.
Third, the progress of a pupil in knowledge is in a great
measure proportioned to the confidence he has in his preceptor.
Now, in whom does a child place so much reliance as in his
mother? She is his oracle and prophet. She is his guide,
philosopher, and friend. He never doubts what his mother tells
him. The lesson he receives acquires additional force because
it proceeds from one to whom he gave his first love, and whose
image, in after life, is indelibly stamped on his heart and
memory. Mothers, do not lose the golden opportunity you
have of training your children in faith and morals while their
hearts are open to drink in your every word.
Fourth, you share the same home with your children, you
frequently occupy the same apartment. You eat at the same
table with them. They are habitually before your eyes. You
are, therefore, the best fitted to instruct them, and you can
avail yourself of every little incident that presents itself and
draw from it some appropriate moral reflection.
The fruits of the realization amongst us of the divine beau-
ties of the Home of Nazareth are not far to seek. The most
distinguished personages who have adorned the Church by their
apostolic virtues, or who have served their country by fine pa-
triotism, or who have shed a luster on the home by the integ-
rity of their private lives, have usually been men who had the
happiness of receiving from pious mothers early principles of
moral rectitude. .
Witness St. Augustine, the great Doctor of the Church in
the fifth century. In his youth he had lost his faith, and with
it purity of conscience. He was tainted with Manichaeism, the
most pernicious error of the times, and he became a prey to
the fiercest passions. Monica, his saintly mother, prayed for
148 THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF THE HOME [May,
him with a constancy which only a mother can exhibit. She
hoped against hope; and before her death she had the conso-
lation of seeing him restored to God and His Church. St. Au-
gustine attributes his conversion to her, and in his matchless
book, the Confessions, he speaks of her most tenderly.
St. Louis, King of France, is another example of what a
mother may do. As a monarch and as a saint he owes his
virtues, under God, to Queen Blanche, his mother. " I love you
tenderly," she said to her child, " but sooner would I see you a
corpse at my feet, and France bereft of an heir to the throne,
than that you should tarnish your soul by a corruptible life."
If Queen Blanche could pay so much attention to her son's
instruction, notwithstanding her engrossing administrative cares,
surely the mothers of to-day, in private walks of life, should
find leisure for a similar duty.
Nor need we look beyond our own country's first president
for the fruition of that seed which was sown by a devoted
mother. Washington was conspicuous for the natural virtues
of frugality, industry, self-restraint, and respect for authority.
Above all, he possessed a love of truth and an habitual recog-
nition of the overruling Providence of God. And he gloried in
declaring that these traits were impressed on his youthful mind
by his mother, for whom he had a profound reverence, and
whom in his letters he usually addressed as his "honored"
mother.
If in our day we find the religion of Christ firmly rooted
in the land; if the word of the Teacher of Men has quickened
and brought forth good fruit; if we see about us homes spir-
itualized and sanctified by the radiance of the Home of Naza-
reth, and lifted above the worldly and material by the memory
of the Divine Exemplar — this happy condition is largely due
to the faith and piety of Christian wives and mothers. This
noble army of apostolic women " are the glory of Jerusalem,
the joy of Israel, the honor of our people"; they are the sav-
iors of society and a blessing to the nation.
It is true, indeed, that they are not clothed with the priestly
character. They cannot offer the Holy Sacrifice or administer
the Sacraments. But may we not apply to them the words of
St. Peter : " Ye are a chosen generation, a holy nation, a royal
priesthood " ? Yes, we may in all truth. They are consecrated
priestesses of the domestic temple, where they daily offer up
1909.] THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF THE HOME 149
in the sanctuary of their homes, and on the altar of their hearts,
the sacrifice of praise and prayer, of supplication and thanks-
giving to God. They cannot preach the word of God in pub-
lic, but they are apostles by prayer, good deeds, and edifying
example. They preach most effectually to the members of their
households, and the word of God scattered from the pulpit
would often bear little fruit if it were not watered and nurtured
by the care of our pious mothers.
No more weighty obligation devolves upon Christian parents
than that of recognizing and discharging conscientiously these
fundamental duties of the home. It is a sublime task. " What
is more noble," cries St. John Chrysostom, " than to form the
minds of youth ? He who fashions the morals of children per-
forms a task in my judgment more sublime than that of any
painter or sculptor." It is, indeed, a far more exalted task
than that of sculptor or painter that is entrusted to fathers and
mothers. They are creating living portraits, destined to adorn
not only earthly temples, but also the Temple above, not fash-
ioned of man's hand
And therefore built forever.
And mark well : home education does not mean merely those
lessons in Christian Doctrine which are to be taught to children.
The home should be pervaded by a religious atmosphere. It
should be the sanctuary of domestic peace, sobriety, and parental
love. Discontent and anger should be banished from it; and
under these sweet influences the child will grow in virtue.
Above all, let it be the asylum of daily prayer, and then the
angels of God and the God of angels will be there.
It is to the mothers and fathers of to-day that we must
look for the realization amongst us of this Christian ideal of
the home — the Home of Nazareth. They are doubly bound to
seek it, if need be "sorrowing" — as did Mary and Joseph.
They are bound, on the one hand, by their Christian faith and
the example of Christ; and, on the other, they owe a duty to
the State. Thus shall they rear up for their country not scourges
of society, but loyal, law-abiding citizens. "If any one," says
the Apostle, " have not care of his own, and especially of his
own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an
infidel" (I. Tim. v. 8; Prov. xxxi. 28). Aye, more — he hath
fallen short in his duty to his country.
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.
BY KATHARINE TYNAN.
CHAPTER V.
A LOVE-MATCH.
'ESTA GWYNNE had brought her husband no
money, and though she was of good birth, that
fact so far had availed him nothing. He had
been enchanted by her delicate prettiness, meet-
ing her day after day as she drove with her
formidable old great-aunt, Miss Sophia Grantley, in her heavy,
old-fashioned barouche.
Miss Grantley had often other ladies staying with her as
haughty-looking as herself; and James Moore had noticed that
the little shrinking girl, with cheeks like the apple- blossoms
and soft brown hair, always sat in the corner of the barouche
with an air as though she were frightened. Sometimes there
was luggage following the barouche from the station and Nesta
sat built in with small parcels. Once there was a huge de-
spatch-box or jewel-case on her knees, behind which she seemed
to disappear. A very old and heavy bulldog leant his weight
against the slender child.
" Ugly brute ! " muttered James Moore to himself, although
he was a lover of animals. " Couldn't he sit upright without
her support ? "
It was perhaps a sentimental grievance he created for Miss
Grantley's pretty little grand-niece. The haughty old ladies
were often kind to Nesta, and she did not at all mind carry-
ing their boxes on her little knees, even if they were heavy,
and the bulldog, Sikes, was a particularly good friend of hers,
and Nesta reciprocated his affection thoroughly.
Still, there was no doubt that Miss Grantley did not care
very much for Nesta and that she was often selfish and incon-
siderate in her treatment of her. As a matter of fact, Nesta's
mother had run away with and married her music-master, and
that was something Miss Grantley had never forgiven. Still
she thought herself a truly Christian woman when she an-
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 151
swered the call to poor Stella's death-bed, and comforted the
dying woman with the assurance that the little child, the one
thing she had saved out of her luckless love-match, should be
taken home to the Priory and reared as Stella herself had been.
She did not love Nesta and, without regard for the girl's
apparent air of fragility, she did not mind putting upon her
now and again burdens her maid might have refused to ac-
cept. After all, even such redoubtable ladies as Miss Sophia
Grantley have been known to tremble under the anger of an
old and faithful servant, while themselves being somewhat
alarming to the rest of the world.
Indeed any of the servants, much less Grice, would have
grumbled at carrying the heavily laden basket which James
Moore on a day just before Christmas, when the woods were
all sprinkled with snow, took from Miss Gwynne's arm.
She had looked as pretty as a picture in her brown velvet
cloak trimmed with fur, and her large brown velvet hat with
a touch of scarlet in it, when he first caught sight of her.
She was indeed exactly like the young Lady Bountiful of the
old-fashioned Christmas cards and Christmas numbers; but the
weight of the basket had bent her pretty shoulders and short-
ened her breath. She had set it down and was still gasping
when he overtook her on the woodland path.
" Excuse me," he said, " the basket is too heavy for you :
I shall carry it."
At the same moment Miss Grantley was listening meekly
to Grice's remonstrances on the subject of her great- niece.
"Begging your pardon, ma'am," Grice said respectfully,
but firmly, "you didn't ought to put on Miss Nesta so. I
see the basket when Mrs. Kay 'ad packed it. Wot with jam-
jars and that there port wine you 'ad of the grocer and the
turkey, 'twas no weight for a delicate thing like Miss Nesta."
" She said it was not at all heavy, Grice," said Miss Grant-
ley humbly.
"Don't you believe her then," Grice snapped. " I shouldn't
ha' thought of carry in' it, not if it was ever so, and them
there old ladies in the almshouses was never to see a Christmas
dinner. Miss Nesta looks that delicate to me that I wouldn't
be surprised if she was to go off in a consumption."
"She is really quite strong, Grice, and has quite outgrown
her old delicacy," said Miss Grantley in a small voice; but
152 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
Grice only sniffed unbelievingly, and drawing her mistress'
white hair high over her head in the Pompadour style, which
enhanced Miss Grantley's natural stateliness, she pulled it
sharply enough to make the old lady wince.
It was well Miss Grantley could not see what was happen-
ing in the wood, where James Moore was carrying Nesta's
basket as though it had been a leather-weight and he had a
right to carry it, instead of being a stranger and a person who
could have no possible pretension to Miss Gwynne's friendship.
But apparently the attraction he had felt for Nesta had
been reciprocated. There was not a handsomer man in the
county, not one as handsome as James Moore. He showed to
advantage when riding; and few women would not have no-
ticed him as he passed by.
There had been a day when the Duchess of St. Germains,
one of Miss Grantley's visitors, who always boasted that she had
an eye for a pretty fellow, had asked Miss Grantley: "And
who is the handsome cavalier ? " Miss Grantley had replied that
it was a man who had a mill in the valley — a very enterprising
and respectable person, she believed, but not a gentleman.
Nesta had grown hot all over at the old lady's words, she
did not know why. But the Duchess had peered out after
the way his horse had taken, and had replied that if he wasn't
a gentleman he looked like one. " He puts all our fine gentle-
men to shame," she had said. And again, mysteriously, Nesta
had felt grateful to her.
She remembered the incident as she glanced shyly at James
Moore, swinging along by her side down the snow-sprinkled
arcade of the wood, between hedges where the holly-berries
and the shining leaves were bright, where the robin puffed
out his scarlet breast in the snow and sung his little song of
hope and cheer. She felt at once frightened and exhilarated.
Here she was walking by the side of a man to whom she had
never been introduced, and who belonged to that great class
outside their own little class which, in Miss Grantley's social
code, did not exist. But how splendid he looked. There had
been a light of wrath in his blue eyes as they had rested on her
basket which Nesta had thought splendid. No one had ever
been wrathful for her since Godfrey had gone away. Godfrey
was her cousin, as much beloved by Miss Grantley as Nesta
was ignored and neglected. Godfrey had always taken her
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 153
part; but these five years back he had been in India with his
regiment, and Miss Grantley had never ceased to lament the
hard necessity which parted her from her dear boy, while it
allowed Nesta to stay at home. Nesta had had time to for-
get Godfrey's intercession for her in the old days; yet, being
a grateful soul, she had not forgotten ; but, instead, had ex-
aggerated his school-boy decency towards her into something
fine and heroic.
"They should not let you carry such things," James Moore
was saying with a magnificent frown. " Where are Miss Grant-
ley's servants ? "
Nesta's heart swelled within her. He was angry and for
her ! It was a long time since any one had cared enough to
be angry for her or greatly concerned as to what she could or
could not do.
" It is not really so heavy," she said with the brightness
upon her face. " And I am stronger than you think — really,
much stronger."
" If I had my way," said James Moore bending his beauti-
ful blue eyes on her, " everything should be done for you as
long as you lived."
It was the beginning of a short and passionate wooing, a
secret wooing, for Nesta knew too well what her aunt would
think of a marriage between her and James Moore. It would
have been a secret marriage, too, if Nesta had had her way,
but James Moore would not hear of it.
He had no fear of Miss Grantley, as he would have had no
fear of much more august persons. He asked for an interview
with her, and, that being granted, he announced that he had
come to ask the hand of her niece in marriage. He had
borne quite unmoved the storm of the old lady's anger at his
presumption, standing with his handsome head inclined, his
hat in his hand — he had not been invited to sit — and the
something, not altogether a smile, upon his firm lips, which se-
cretly enraged Miss Grantley, since it said that all this was
merely the anger of an unreasonable person, something not to
be counted with, that could matter very little to James Moore.
" Your father was a respectable man, Mr. Moore," she said
at last in her exasperation. " He would never have thought of
enticing a young gentlewoman to meet him secretly. He did
not lift his eyes so high. He kept to his own equals."
i54 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
" I have no knowledge of social differences," said James
Moore calmly. " I only know that where I wish to attain I
can attain. If Nesta had been a peasant girl it would have
been the same. If she had been a Duke's daughter I would
still have striven to make her my own, and I believe I should
have succeeded."
" You are very sure of yourself, Mr. Moore."
" I am very sure. One or two things might prevent my
doing all I mean to do. There is death, of course. He has
stricken greater men than me."
His amazing opinion of himself impressed her in spite of
herself. That last proviso, now. With what an air of humil-
ity he conceded those greater men. She had an idea he did
not believe in their existence.
She shifted her ground hastily.
"Nesta has deceived me," she said, "as her mother before
her deceived me. Take care she does not deceive you."
" She is a timid soul," he replied. " I blame those who
did not win her from fear. She will never be frightened with
me."
For the rest of the time Nesta spent under Miss Grantley's
roof the lady ignored her. It was not very long. Within a
few weeks' time, early in the New Year, when the thrill of
hope began to be felt clearly in the air, Nesta Gwynne crept
out quietly one morning to the church, where she and James
Moore were made man and wife. Miss Grantley ignored it all.
Nesta's few belongings were sent after her by the servants, who
sympathized with her.
Since then Miss Grantley had spent much of her time away
and the Priory was let to strangers. When sometimes Nesta
had a desire to make overtures to her aunt for peace James
Moore discouraged her.
"You are mine, not theirs, now," he said. "If she desires
peace let her sue for it to my wife."
It used to make Nesta smile. A little sense of humor had
come alive in her since she had been fostered in the warm sun-
shine of her husband's love. Her great- aunt sue — to James
Moore's wife !
But to James Moore himself, although he had a rich sense
of humor, the idea did not commend itself as a thing to be
smiled over.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 155
CHAPTER VI.
MORE THAN KIN.
Nesta had never forgotten the chill which fell upon her mar-
ried happiness when she first came face to face with her hus-
band's brothers.
" They adore me, they will adore you " ; James Moore had
said.
She had never seen them till she came back with her hus-
band to the old Mill House after a brief honeymoon.
There will be plenty of room for us all," James Moore had
said. " Dick and Steve will squeeze themselves into a mouse-
hole to make plenty of room for us. As soon as I have time
I will build you a house.
She had had it in her mind to plead for a cottage, a lodg-
ing anywhere, where they could begin their lives together,
without others constantly with them. She had not spoken,
however. Already she knew that she was just an adored child
to James Moore, and that what she said would not weigh with
him. So she held her peace, only praying in her heart that
the time might soon come for the building of that other house.
The brothers had frightened her at their first meeting.
Her husband had not prepared her for their ugliness, their
look of malformation, and it shocked her. Her repugnance was
clear in her eyes. They had looked one at the other. Their
glances had shown that they noticed her repugnance and re-
sented it. Their resentment flashed out in contempt and dis-
like. Why the thing was worse than they had thought. She
had been rosy enough under James Moore's kisses; she was
merry enough when they were alone together; but she looked
a poor thing as she faced the tribunal of the two brothers,
who had so passionate a devotion to her husband that they
must needs be critical of his wife, even if she had not begun
by giving them mortal offence.
It was three years now since that homecoming, and every
hour spent under the roof with them had been shadowed by
their enmity. They were coldly, awkwardly polite to her al-
ways. James Moore saw nothing amiss with their manner to
her. They were an uncouth pair of fellows, but sound at heart
as his bulldog. Like his bulldog, they were kindness itself;
156 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
but if any one menaced him, they would be at that person's
throat. How could he suspect them of unfriendliness to the
one thing he held dearest on earth ?
The brothers were wise in their generation and kept their
opinions to themselves. A poor weakling thing they thought
Nesta, and quite unfitted to be the wife of their splendid
brother. They had had other hopes for him. He should have
waited a while, and married some one as near himself as a wo-
man could be. Then he could have lived with her in the fine
house he was always talking of building ; and they would have
stayed on in the old place looking after his interests, not
intruding on the fine house and the fine wife, but quite sat-
isfied to remain in the background, building up Jim's for-
tunes and the fortunes of Jim's children.
And now they were grievously disappointed in Jim's choice
of a wife. To Dick Moore, shaped like a Vulcan and darkly un-
comely under his wisps of heavy black hair, as to Steve, scarcely
less ugly though undersized and somewhat weakly, Nesta's del-
icate prettiness would not have appealed at any time. She had
done nothing to build up Jim's fortunes. She did not look as
though she would give him sons to carry on the fortune his
head was erecting and their hands were helping*to build up.
If she had but given James Moore a son, and a strong one,
they might have changed their minds about her. As it was,
she all but died in bringing Stella into the world, and had so
serious an illness afterwards that it was little likely there ever
would be a son born to James Moore.
As long as she was in danger her husband went about — do-
ing all his business, indeed, as usual — but with a drawn and
anxious face that fretted his brothers to see.
There had been a day when she all but slipped from his
anguished hold upon her. Indeed one of the doctors who had
been by her bed had said that she was practically dead, when
her husband's cry to her had brought her back.
Her extremity had not softened the resentment of the broth-
ers against her.
"If she dies," said Richard Moore, leaning his long, un-
gainly arms across the gate by which he and Stephen watched
the stormy west, with a low band of yellow in it which was
reflected in the mill stream. " If she dies, he'll break his heart
for her. And the bit of a girl like herself — a poor, puny thing
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 157
with his strength in it. What's the good of Jim toiling for the
like of her?"
" If she was to die," answered Stephen, the baleful light of
the west in his sunken eyes, " he might forget her in time and
marry a woman big and bonny like himself."
Nesta lived, and what was more, when she had finally taken
the turn towards health, she throve, to her husband's intense
delight.
While she was in danger of being lost to him he had hardly
remembered his little daughter, who had been kept out of sight
by her nurse. But when he had brought Nesta back from a
couple of months in a southern climate, rosier than he had
ever seen her, he remembered for the first time to be interested
in the child.
He had given the baby to each brother in his turn to hold,
while the nurse stood by smiling and Nesta looked on nerv-
ously afraid that the inexperienced arms might not hold baby
properly. She had been trying to argue herself out of her
fear of her brothers-in-law. If they would only love little
Stella she could forgive their jealousy of her.
But the baby, who had curled so securely into her father's
folded arm, cried with Stephen, cried more vehemently with
Dick, while James Moore laughed at them for their awkward-
ness.
" You are to be to her what you have been to me," he
said with the air of the king presenting the baby princess to
his counsellors.
It made Nesta smile with a delicate appreciation, but James
Moore saw nothing to smile at. He had never been more se-
rious in his life than when he commended his small princess
to his brothers.
" If you two fellows should outlive me," he said, " I shall
leave her in your hands. It is not as though she were a boy."
" It is not likely we should outlive you," Stephen said with
a shocked air.
" You have a better life than either of us," said the other.
" There never were such devoted fellows," James Moore said
to Nesta afterwards. " They would give their lives for me, I
believe, if I asked them. They were always like that, from
the time they were little chaps. If I'm spoilt it is their fault.
I was always the sun in their sky. They have never wanted
158 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
to make a life for themselves. They are so entirely bound up
in me. I should always feel safe about you, Nesta, if I had
to leave you to them."
"Why do you talk of leaving me?" Nesta said, irritably
for her. " You will live long after they live, long after I live.
I was always delicate."
"You needed my fosterage, my flower," James Moore said,
smiling at her. " You are delicate no longer. You are grow-
ing to be a rose, a red rose and not a white one."
" It is your love, Jim," she said smiling. " I am so hap-
py-"
She turned aside leaving something unsaid. In her own
heart she had a feeling that the brothers were a shadow upon
her joy; but she would not grieve him by saying it. And, to
be sure, they were faithful as dogs to him.
CHAPTER VII.
THE ONE WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
Lady Eugenia Capel was not long in redeeming her promise
to call on Nesta Moore.
She drove over a few days later, bearing her papa's cards.
Lord Mount-Eden was judging at the County Cattle Show.
He was a great authority on shorthorns, and the show was a
sacred function, not to be missed on any account.
Lady Eugenia was obliged to leave her horses on the other
side of the little bridge, since her coachman flatly refused to
take the responsibility of driving them across the bridge and
between the waters.
She had to stoop her head as she came in at the low door
of Nesta's little drawing-room. She was of more than common
tallness, and when she was in the room she looked too big for
it, as James Moore always did.
" I am so glad to come," she said, with flattering heartiness
to Nesta. " I have really often wished to know you." She
thought at the moment it was true. " And what a sweet house
you have, so quaint and old-fashioned. I always think big
rooms very unhomelike. I envy you this,"
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 159
She had thrown back her ermine cloak, and sat upright in
her chair, looking about her with bright, interested eyes. The
room itself was as Nesta had found it; James Moore's mother
had thought it very fine. Nesta's books and water- colors and
photographs, her piano with the music open upon it — the piano
had been a Christmas gift from her husband — the deep blue
vases filled with autumn leaves and a handful of old-fashioned
chrysanthemums, her desk, her piece of embroidery, gave it an
air of pleasant refinement it had lacked without. Yet one might
have thought it too dark and low for a young and pretty thing
like Nesta to inhabit.
The little maid whom Nesta had trained brought in the tea,
and Nesta found herself talking to Lady Eugenia freely. It
seemed to her that being cut off so long from her own class,
having led indeed a hermit's life since her marriage, she must
have grown rustic and awkward. She responded readily to
Lady Eugenia's frank overtures, and found herself talking to her
as though they had known each other for ages instead of being
acquaintances of two meetings.
Lady Eugenia would have Stella down from the nursery ;
and her ecstasies over the child won the mother's heart. Stella
was an ethereal child, with a little pale face set in wild hair,
the very color of the chestnut leaves as they fall in autumn,
neither red nor yellow, but a warm gold. She was a wise child,
given to looking at people with inscrutable eyes of gray-blue,
to saying quaint and solemn things, wonderful in the mouth of
a child. Lady Eugenia listened with interest to the mother's
stories of Stella's wonderful sayings. At first Nesta was shy
of repeating them, but seeing her visitor's real interest in them
she unpacked her little precious budget, which she had never
shared with any one before except her husband.
"She is a wonder- child !" Lady Eugenia said, with uplifted
hands. " Of course she is not like other children."
"She looks delicate," Nesta said wistfully, "but she is not
really so. She has never had any of the childish illnesses, and
she cut her teeth beautifully. I was so alarmed about her teeth.
Every one said she was such a delicate baby. She was so small
when she was born; and I was so very ill."
" For the matter of that," said Lady Eugenia, " Goethe was
so small that they could put him in a quart pot when he was
born. Yet see what he lived to become. And your Stella
160 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
does not look delicate — only ethereal. She is a tall girl. Doesn't
her father adore her ? "
" He is very fond of her. Of course I wish I could have
given him a son."
She sighed and fixed her eyes seriously on Lady Eugenia's
face. She had almost let slip her secret grief that she could
not hope to give her husband the son who ought to succeed
him in his business.
" He must talk to papa about his little daughter. Papa is
such a believer in daughters. You know I am his only one,
and the title passes to a distant cousin whom he detests. The
next Lord Mount-Eden will be a Radical peer. Think of it !
Papa says he would rather have me than seven sons. I never
give him any trouble. We are the best of good comrades.
Whereas the sons of most of his friends and acquaintances are
raining themselves on the turf or at the card- table. Billy Throg-
morton, the son of his oldest friend, married a variety actress
the other day. She has been doing cart-wheels amid colored
lights at the Neapolitan. She has a song: 'Would Yer Like
to Come Along er Oi ? ' which is the vogue on all the barrel-
organs. Stella and I are not likely to marry variety actresses,
at all events."
She looked whimsically at the spiritual- looking child, who
was playing demurely with some of the toys her nurse had
brought down with her.
"Do you know," she said, with a change of tone, "I should
love to see the mills — may I ? I have a most unusual taste in
a young woman for machinery. I am never tired of looking
at it. When papa and I were at the Paris Exhibition last sum-
mer he couldn't tear me away from the machinery. Odd, isn't
it?"
" Very. It bores me to extinction. I wish my husband had
been here to show you over the mills. He would have been
delighted. But he is away. However, one of his brothers will
explain it all to us."
She rang the bell for Stella's nurse to take her away, and
then led her guest out of the house, through the garden by
a green postern gate in the wall, and across a wide- flagged
yard to the first long mill- building, with its long range of
windows already lighted up.
Inside such were the roar and rattle of machinery that
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 161
they could hardly hear each other speaking. The building
seemed to tremble about them, and the place, to Nesta's mind,
was intolerably hot, noisy, and evil-smelling.
She found Stephen Moore in the square, glass-fronted en-
closure, which was her husband's office, and asked him, with
a timidity which Lady Eugenia noted and wondered at, if he
could show them over the mills.
His face lit up oddly as Lady Eugenia placed her delicately-
gloved hand in his. Something of animation, of interest, came
into his expression, making him unlike what he had appeared
to Nesta all those years.
He was quite ready to show Lady Eugenia the mills. At
first Nesta followed in their wake, climbing the steep, ladder-
like stairs, going from room to room, crossing the dark, wet
yards from one building to another. She never visited the
mills. The racket and oily smell made her head ache.
Presently, seeing they could do very well without her, she
asked to be excused and went back to the house.
It was quite a long time before Lady Eugenia came in, and
then she was accompanied by both brothers. She seemed to
find nothing amiss with her squires ; and it would have been
humorous if it had not been touching to see how she fascinated
the odd, uncouth pair.
She had enjoyed herself thoroughly and was very proud of
her intelligence about the machinery. She had understood per-
fectly all they had shown her ; and had not minded the noise
or the heat or the steamy vapors of the rooms where the
workers toiled, half-clad, although out of doors the frosty twigs
crackled under foot.
" Our Jim ought to have married her," said Stephen to his
brother, after they had escorted her to her landau, standing
bareheaded while the sound of her carriage-wheels died in the
distance.
" If he'd waited he might have married her," answered the
other. " What a pair they'd have made ! "
" Jim's wife can't bear the mills," said Stephen with a cur-
ious bitterness.
How surprised Lady Eugenia would have been if she could
have guessed at this vaulting ambition for the beloved brother.
VOL. LXXXTX. — II
1 62 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
CHAPTER VIII.
PROOFS STRONG AS HOLY WRIT.
No one would have recognized Outwood Manor under a
June sun — amid a profusion of June roses, the scent of the
hay in the fields about it, the birds all singing — as that omi-
nous house whose panes the stormy sky had set on fire one
evening in November.
The house, with its windows open to the shining air, had
more than fulfilled James Moore's hopes of it. It had a kind-
ly, cheerful look, hooded in creepers, the roses growing up to
its gable- eaves, the white curtains stirring softly in the sum-
mer breeze.
Nesta Moore was sitting on the lawn, behind a tea-table.
Stella was lying quietly on a rug at her feet, watching with a
contemplative eye the play of the wind and • the sun in the
leaves above her. Opposite Nesta Moore, lolling in a low
garden-chair, was a very well-groomed, close-cropped, handsome
young man, whom one could hardly mistake for anything else
but a soldier. He had just put down his tea-cup and lit a
cigar, and he was looking through the spirals of smoke at his
cousin's face with a lazy contentment.
" I never thought I could forgive you, Nesta," he said.
" Upon my word, when I got Aunt Sophia's letter I was com-
pletely bowled over. I was to have played in a tennis tourna-
ment that afternoon with one of the prettiest girls in India for
a partner; but I chucked it; I chucked all my social engage-
ments for a month. I dare say I should have chucked them
for longer if some of the fellows hadn't routed me out and
made me take part in a gymkhana. They said it was due to
the regiment that I should. I assure you, I felt no end of a
crock when I began, but — "
"You felt better afterwards," said Nesta, with two demure
little dimples in her cheeks. " It was a good thing you went
back to your enjoyments, Godfrey, for the sake of those poor
girls."
. " I felt that myself," replied the young man unabashed.
" All the same, it was quite a long time before I cared whether
a girl was ugly or pretty. Upon my word, I'm telling the
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 163
truth, Nesta. It's horribly unkind of [you to laugh. After
chucking me for a hulking brute like Jim Moore."
Nesta laughed again. Her cousin and her husband were ex-
cellent friends. James Moore was quite pleased that his wife's
good-looking cousin should be a visitor at Outwood, and in
constant attendance upon Nesta. He laughed at him for a
lazy beggar, always hanging after a woman's petticoats, and en-
joyed, with a humorous appreciation, Captain Grantley's recital
of the blow which had been inflicted on him by the news of
Nesta's marriage. Nesta and he had broken a sixpence at the
ages of fourteen and twelve respectively ; and he could show
the husband the tree in the grounds of the Priory where he
had cut a pair of hearts, with Nesta's and his initials inter-
twined and an arrow piercing them.
They had humorous contests together when Grantley, who
was a boy, and would be till he died, assured James Moore
that Nesta would never have been his if he, Godfrey Grantley,
had not been away serving his country. Then they would pull
each other about in mock fisticuffs while Nesta sat looking at
them, with peals of soft laughter.
She was a different being since she had come to Outwood
from the Mill House. The shadow seemed to have passed off
her innocent days.
She did not often see her husband's brothers now, except
at the heavy mid-day meal on Sunday, which James Moore
never could be induced to abandon. After dinner the brothers
usually went for a long country walk together, leaving Nesta
to her own devices. Since her cousin had come home on leave
he stayed to amuse her on those Sunday afternoons, and the
three would depart, leaving Nesta at the piano, and Godfrey
Grantley, with his banjo on his knee, ready to sing sentimental
songs with her.
There was no friendliness between him and James Moore's
brothers, as there was between him and James Moore. He
looked on them as a dreary pair, not to be moved to laughter
even by those songs to the banjo, which he sang with so rich
an abandon.
The two brothers would look significantly at each other as
they followed James Moore from the house. The piano and
the banjo were abominations to them on Sunday. They had
been brought up in a strict creed, and, although they did not
1 64 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [May,
trouble church or chapel by their presence, the old prejudice
yet clung to them.
The young man's presence in the house was a very pleasant
thing to Nesta Moore. It had been a little lonely with Jim
away so much of the time. Now it was like going back to the
old companionship of their childhood. Godfrey's boyish in-
consequence delighted and amused her.
A maid came and took away the tea-table. It was delicious-
ly lazy weather; the bees droning in and out the flowers, the
hum of insects in the air, the song of a little stream just out
of sight had a sleepy effect. Nesta had been laughing heartily
at Godfrey's account of how Aunt Sophia had selected a non-
alcoholic beer for his table-beverage, and of how he had the
bottles refilled with old Burton.
" The dear old soul," he said, " was so delighted at the
number of bottles I drank, so pleased to know that she had
really hit on the exact tipple that suited me ! Upon my word,
it was rather a shame. Myself and my partner in crime, old
Job Lee at the village-shop, ought really to be ashamed of
ourselves."
Nesta was flushed and smiling. Godfrey was certainly very
exhilarating, after those years without laughter at the Mill
House. He had slid from his chair on to the grass and was
lying with half-shut eyes at her feet.
" Get up, you absurd person ! " she said, dropping a rose
on his face.
He lifted a fold of her skirt languidly and put it to his
lips.
"Why didn't you wait for me," he said with closed eyes,
" as you promised, instead of taking the hulking ruffian ? To
be sure he's made of money and I shall be always poor. If
you won't run away with me, I shall have to — "
Something inimical, like a shadow on the bright day, crossed
his half-jesting mood, and stopped his finishing the speech.
He had been about to say that he would have to run away
with Stella.
He opened his eyes, and there — standing frowning at them
— was Richard Moore. He looked oddly pale and disturbed.
" Jim sent me to say that he could not be home for dinner,
and that you were not to be anxious about him."
His voice was harsh. His look of fierce condemnation
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 165
roamed from one to the other. With such a look might John
Knox have rebuked Mary Stuart and her ladies.
"You will have some tea?" Nesta said, in a suddenly small
and frightened voice.
" No, thank you ; I have to get back as quickly as* pos-
sible."
He lifted his hat awkwardly and turned away.
"I believe he thought I was making serious love to you,"
Captain Grantley said with a vexed laugh.
But the animation and sparkle had died out of Nesta's face.
" I wonder why they hate me, Godfrey ? " she said help-
lessly. " I believe he saw you kiss my skirt and heard what
you said about Jim."
"Ah, well; Jim knows it is all a joke."
" He won't say anything to Jim," Nesta said, lifting her
head proudly. " He dare not say anything to Jim against his
wife. But — they whisper of me in corners; they look at each
other with a cruel significance at times. Oh, Godfrey, they
hate me."
She suddenly burst into tears, covering her face with her
hands.
Godfrey Grantley was as much disturbed as Stella, who set
up a quiet wail at the sight of her mother's grief.
Richard Moore passing down the avenue to the gate had a
glimpse of Nesta in tears and Captain Grantley kneeling by her
trying to draw her fingers down from her face.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND SOME PRE-REFORMA-
TION ALLEGORIES.
BY KATHERINE BREGY.
II.
ME turns back with a sigh to the wholesome and
unstudied sanity of pre-Reformation standards.
Excesses of imagination there were indubitably
throughout the great Middle Age ; and excesses
of conduct, too; but the source of life was sound.
And the England of Catholic discipline, of vigil and holyday,
was the only merry England the world has ever known. There
is a little passage in The World and the Child (an interlude
printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1522) quite wonderful in its
balanced wisdom. The Child has long since grown to Manhood,
with the scars of full many sins upon his soul, when upon a
day Conscience comes to remonstrate. And Manhood cries out
in that old and heart- sick query:
What, Conscience, should I leave all game and glee?
Conscience : Nay, Manhood, so mot I thee,
All mirth in measure is good for thee:
But, sir, measure is in all thing!
That was the answer of the Catholic Church — a very great and
very simple answer.
Now, in spite of its tendency to foster hypocrisy, there is
no gainsaying the downright and terrible sincerity of the Puri-
tan ideal. Bunyan spoke as the mouthpiece of a whole class
of society — people of definite, even rigid piety, with a passion
for "profitable discourses," for finely spun if perverse meta-
physics, and a vigorous determination to tone down the rain-
bow pageantry of life to a pervasive and non-committal leaden
gray. That was Christianity as they saw it ; for they had for-
gotten the apostles and saints and martyrs, they knew not the
Fathers, and the traditions of medievalism were anathema to
1909.] THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 167
them. On the other hand, we find the literature of the Old
Faith for the most part exceedingly direct and elemental. She
knew the heart of man, as her divine Founder had known,
and needed not that any should tell her what was in man !
And so the weakness and the potential heroisms of human
nature were ever frankly in her thought. Do penance and ye
shall be saved — that was the burden of the Church : her per-
emptory yet consoling message to a world in need alike of dis-
cipline and of solace ! To quote once again from The World
and the Child :\
Though a man had do alone
The deadly sins everychone,
And he with contrition make his moan
To Christ our Heaven King,
God is all so glad of him,
As of the creature that never did sin.
There, in truth, is a simple and authoritative evangelism : and
the formula of repentance held out to Manhood (or Old Age,
as he has now become) is equally free from morbidity or vague-
ness. He must " take him to abstinence," and keep in heart
the Ten Commandments and the Twelve Articles of the Chris-
tian Creed. Verily, as Edgar Poe once said, " Truth is not al-
ways in a well. In fact, as regards the more important knowl-
edge, I do believe that she is invariably superficial."
But the interlude we have been quoting cannot fail to re-
mind the reader of a great and more familiar example — the
moral play of Everyman. The allegory of this early Pilgrim
was published some eight or ten years later than The World
and the Child, but in method and in ideals it is thoroughly
mediaeval. If (as a one-time editor has contended !) it was de-
signed " to inculcate great reverence for old Mother Church
and her Popish superstitions," it is the most vital and arresting
apologetic in existence. It contains not one word of contro-
versy, but a brief and highly dramatic allegory of man's sum-
moning to death and judgment. Long ago the " most ingenious
Dr. Percy " pointed out how " in this old simple drama the
fable is conducted upon the strictest model of the Greek trag-
edy. The action is simply one, the time of action is that of
the performance, the scene is never changed, nor the stage
1 68 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND [May,
ever empty." The characters, too, are conceived in severest
simplicity. They are abstractions as subtle as any of Bun-
yan's, and yet, almost without exception, they are of a terrible
and haunting reality. Those of us who saw the morality, as
presented some years ago by the Elizabethan Stage Society,
will need no reminder of this compelling humanity of the story ;
nor can those be unconscious of it who merely read the lines.
First is the brief yet noble address of Messenger, praying his
audience to hear with reverence this moral play, " which of
our lives and ending shows" — a matter wondrous precious, but
with intent " more gracious and sweet to bear away."
The story saith : man, in the beginning
Look well, and take good heed to the ending,
Be you never so gay:
Ye think sin in the beginning full sweet,
Which in the end causeth thy soul to weep,
When the body lieth in clay.
Here shall you see how Fellowship and Jollity,
Both Strength, Pleasure, and Beauty,
Will fade from thee as flower in May;
For ye shall hear how our Heaven King
Calleth Everyman to a general reckoning :
Give audience, and hear what he doth say.
It is not merely the dramatic form, the superior condensa-
tion of plot, which places this allegory so many leagues apart
from Bunyan's. To the average reader these might even seem
an added difficulty : and the raison d'etre of Everyman is frank-
ly to edify. But its atmosphere is at once freer, more poign-
ant, and more poetic : as different as the atmosphere of — say
mediaeval Oxford or Canterbury — from that of Nonconformist
Bedford !
Everyman himself is first seen walking blithely upon his
way, his mind " on fleshly lusts and his treasure," and full lit-
tle upon that dread messenger about to intercept him. Death's
summons strikes confusion, then terror to his heart; and so the
terse dialogue wears on :
Everyman : Full unready I am such reckoning to give :
I know thee not; what messenger art thou
1909.] SOME PRE-REFORMATION ALLEGORIES 169
Death : I am death, that no man dreadeth ;
For everyman I 'rrest, and no man spareth.
For it is God's commandment
That all to me should be obedient.
In a sudden despairing hope the worldling essays to bribe
his summoner, offering even a thousand pounds if he will defer
this matter till another day. But Death sets no store by sil-
ver or gold, and tarries not for pope, king, or emperor ; neither
do Everyman's bitter tears avail him for a respite. The im-
perious one but reiterates his call to judgment, demanding a
little scornfully :
What, weenest thou thy life is given thee,
And thy worldly goods also ?
Everyman : I had ween'd so verily.
Death : Nay, nay ; it was but lend thee :
For, as soon as thou art gone,
Another awhile shall have it, and then go therefro
Even as thou hast done.
Everyman, thou art mad, thou hast thy wits five,
And here on earth will not amend thy life;
For suddenly do I come.
Then follows Everyman's impassioned search for a com-
panion in this pilgrimage, with the refusal of Fellowship, Kin-
dred and his worldly Goodes. It is only in a last desolation
that he seeks out Good Deeds, where she lies prostrate be-
neath the burden of his own sins. But if she may not rise for
weakness, Good Deeds has a healing counsel to give ; she directs
Everyman to her sister Knowledge, who in turn leads him on
to Confession. And Shrift is not vainly sought, nor without
comfort ; he bestows upon Everyman a precious jewel, " called
penance, voider of adversity," and likewise the scourge of Morti-
fication. So in the name of the Holy Trinity, the pilgrim be-
gins his strong penance; and ere long he weeps "for very
sweetness of joy," as Good Deeds is seen arising to his aid.
Knowledge has one more gift for Everyman — a tunic soaked in
his own tears.
It is the garment of sorrow,
From pain it will you borrow;
1 70 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND [May,
Contrition it is,
That getteth forgiveness,
It pleaseth God passing well.
When these bitter-sweet remedies have been wisely used,
and Everyman passes out to receive the " Holy Sacrament and
Ointment together," there is an interesting discourse between
Knowledge and the Five Wits. It concerns the dignity and
power of the priesthood ; and while there are plain words for
a few faithless shepherds, "blinded by sin," its substance is,
briefly, that no emperor, king, duke, nor baron hath commis-
sion from God as hath the least priest in all the world —
For of the blessed sacraments pure and benign
He beareth the keys, and thereof hath cure
For man's redemption, it is ever sure.
Everyman returns, pardoned at last, and the Death March
is begun. A mortal faintness falls upon the pilgrim as he nears
the grave; one after another Strength, Beauty, and Discretion
forsake him, till only Knowledge and his Good Deeds remain.
Then, crying out for mercy and commending his soul to God,
Everyman suffers " that we shall all endure." But the angels'
song is heard " making great joy and melody " as the freed
soul is welcomed into its heavenly sphere : and the last solemn
lesson of the tragic story is summed up by the Doctor's epi-
logue.
We have been speaking with some insistence about the di-
rect and practical simplicity of Catholic literature in those very
Catholic days — about its bearing upon the fundamental facts of
human life. That is one side of a great truth: but there is
another side. Religion is not merely utilitarian. Its ultimate
aim is not simply to make men virtuous, but to bring the soul
into eternal union with its God. And so the simple merges
and is lost in the sublime — the faith of stern, immediate prac-
ticality is shown to be the mother of fair love and of mysti-
cism. The mediaeval temper, at once so fierce and so inalien-
ably poetic, understood this to a marvel. Throughout the stress
and struggle of a semi-barbaric life it retained the most inti-
mate if ingenuous familiarity with heavenly things. It seems
almost a truism to reiterate all this in the face of Dante and
1909.] SOME PRE- REFORMATION ALLEGORIES 171
the Legend of the Graal ; yet it is a fact too little appreciated
by the modern world. We may assert with reasonable certainty
that echoes of the miracle play and the old mystic and roman-
tic writings had sounded through John Bunyan's youth. His
own work was the richer for them; but it is poor, indeed, be-
side them ! It is poor first of all in ideas (though not in fancy),
and then it is poor in all the rarer gifts of vision, of insight,
and of ecstacy. The author of The Pilgrim's Progress was
preaching, for the most part, what generations of his mediaeval
precursors had been expounding — an allegory of man hovering
between two eternities. He merely, and inevitably, translated
it into the terms of his own age and his own people. It
happened — for obvious reasons — that these terms were less
beautiful and less spacious than those of the preceding time.
These changed habits of thought are noticeable not only in the
innovations and omissions of the reformers, but even in their
attitude toward universally accepted truths. Perhaps they may
be gauged most significantly at the two poles of the spiritual
life, hell and heaven.
Christian's entrance into the Celestial City has already been
described, but from the Shining Men who lead him thither
we may glean some characteristic details. It is a perfectly
orderly and conventional picture of heaven. There the pilgrims
will find Mount Sion, the tree of life, the innumerable company
of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. They will
see no more such things as they saw upon the earth, "to wit,
sorrow, sickness, affliction, and death, 'for the former things
are passed away.' " And upon the men inquiring what they
must do in this holy place, it is answered :
" You must there receive the comforts of all your toil, and
have joy for all your sorrow ; you must reap what you have
sown, even the fruit of all your prayers and tears. . . .
There you shall enjoy your friends again, that are gone thither
before you . . . [and] be clothed with glory and majesty,
and put into an equipage fit to ride out with the King of Glory.
When He shall come with sound of trumpet in the clouds, as
upon the wings of the wind, you shall come with Him ; and
when he shall sit upon the throne of judgment, you shall sit
by Him ; yea, and when He shall pass sentence upon the
workers of iniquity . . . you also shall have a voice in that
judgment."
172 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND [May,
Then a company of the heavenly host, and " several of
the King's trumpeters, clothed in white and shining raiment,"
come out to welcome the pilgrims, so that with melodious noise
they mount upward together. And "Oh," writes Bunyan in
pious delight, " by what tongue or pen can their glorious joy
be expressed ? " The vision is touching in its simple sincerity ;
but once more we are forced to observe how much of its sub-
limity was owing to the Scriptures, and how crude or puerile
the personal note tended to become.
Now we know that the Puritans thought a great deal about
future punishment (both for themselves and for others !) and
we might expect from them a certain eloquence on the subject
of hell. Milton is no representative guide in the matter, be-
cause he stood apart and aloof in his ',ideals, dreaming his
dreams as poet rather than as Puritan. So let us turn once again
to Christian's experiences. It is when passing through the Val-
ley of the Shadow of Death that Bunyan's Pilgrim comes upon
the mouth of hell. " And ever and anon the flame and smoke
would come out in such abundance, with sparks and hideous
noises (things that cared not for Christian's sword, as didjApol-
lyon before) that he was forced to put up his sword and be-
take himself to another weapon called All- Prayer. . . . Also
he heard doleful voices, and rushings to and fro, so that some-
times he thought he should be torn in pieces, or trodden down
like mire in the streets."
Beyond reproach is Bunyan's " high seriousness," but his
imagination will stretch no further. Little was he akin to that
earlier John — a thirteenth century churchman, and author of
The Soul's Ward.* In this old homily we meet perhaps the
most astounding Inferno in English literature. Fear, the lean
and pallid messenger of Death, visits the Soul's Castle for the
better admonition of its keepers: and Prudence (who ever
knoweth best how to beset her words and works !) questions
whence he cometh.
"'I come,' he saith, 'from hell.' 'From hell?' saith Pru-
dence, ' and hast thou seen hell ? ' ' Yea, truly,' saith Fear,
'often and frequently.' 'Now, then,' saith Prudence, 'upon
thy troth tell us truly what hell is like, and what thou hast
seen therein.' ' And I will, blithly,' saith Fear, ' upon my troth ;
nevertheless, not according as it really is, for no tongue can
*Cf. Old English Homilies. Early English Text Society Publications. Vol. 29-34.
I909-] SOME PRE-REFORMATION ALLEGORIES 173
tell that, but as far as I may and can I will discourse thereof.
Hell is wide without measure, and deep and bottomless; full
of incomparable fire, for no earthly fire may be compared there-
with; full of stench intolerable, for no living thing on earth
might endure it ; full of unutterable sorrow, for no mouth may,
on account of the wretchedness and of the woe thereof, give
an account of nor tell about it. Yea, the darkness therein is
so thick that one may grasp it, for the fire there gives out no
light, but blindeth the eyes of them that are there with a
smothering smoke, the worst of smokes. And nevertheless in
that same black darkness they see black things as devils, that
ever maul and afflict and harrass them with all kinds of tor-
tures. . . . There is shrieking in the flame, and chattering
of teeth in the snowy waters. Suddenly they flit from the
heat into the cold, nor ever do they know of these two which
is the worse for them, for each is intolerable. . . . And
this same wanhope (despair) is their greatest torment, that none
have never any more hope of any recovery, but are sure of
every ill, to continue in woe, world without end, ever in eter-
nity. Each chokes the other, and each hateth another and
himself as the black devil; and even as they loved them the
more in this world, so the more shall they hate them there.' "
But not Fear himself, though he had a thousand tongues
of steel, may fully recount the terrors of this abode of woe.
" ' Now, Lord God ! ' quote Prudence, ' guard and preserve us,
and direct and advise us what we ought to do, and that we
may be the more cautious and vigilant to keep ourselves safe
on each side under God's wings. If we well guard and keep
our house and God's dear treasure that He has entrusted to
us, let death come whenever she will, we need not be in dread
of her nor of hell ; for our death will be precious to God, and
entrance into heaven ! ' " There is the sweetness, the sanity
again ! The mediaeval imagination has been stretched to its
farthest bounds of terror (which carries us well into the super-
lative degree !) and the fruit thereof is a healthy recoil, an
instantaneous prayer for God's grace — no morbid introspection,
not a shade of spiritual hypochondria.
Even while speaking, Prudence beholds another messenger
draw nigh, " very glad in cheer, fair and joyful, and lovely at-
tired." It is Love of Life, the herald of mirth and everlasting
life, sent from the Blessed God lest His children be over- much
174 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS AND [May,
cast down by Fear. The soul's wards press about him right
eagerly, praying that he tell them somewhat of God and His
eternal bliss. But once again the infinite confounds human
thought and human utterance. Not as He is, declares Love of
Life, may God be seen, for beside His brightness the sunbeam
is dark and seemeth a shadow. Only for a little while and
through a mirror which shielded his eyes, might this messenger
endure to gaze upon the Holy Trinity, three and indivisible.
'"But somewhat longer I was able to behold our Lord Jesus
Christ, God's Son, that redeemed us on the cross — how He
sits blissful on the right hand of His Father, Who is almighty,
and ruleth in that eternal life without cessation. So marvel-
ous is His beauty that the angels are never satiated in, behold-
ing Him. And moreover I saw plainly the places of His
wounds, and how He showeth them to His Father, to make
known how He loved us, and how He was obedient to Him
Who sent Him thus to redeem us, and He beseecheth Him
ever for mankind's heal. After Him I saw on high, above all
heavenly hosts, the Blessed Virgin His mother, called Mary,
sitting on a throne so very bright, adorned with gems, and
her face so joyful that every earthly light is darkness in com-
parison with it. ... When I could no longer endure that
light, I looked towards the angels and archangels and to the
others that are above them, blessed spirits who are ever be-
fore God and ever serve Him, and sing ever unweariedly.' "
Of all the nine hierarchal hosts Love of Life next tells the
beatitude ; of the Apostles, " poor and low on earth," but now
exalted above king or kaiser ; of the holy martyrs and con-
fessors; and of the consecrated virgins, whose presence yields
so fair a perfume that " one might live ever by the sweetness."
And then Prudence entreats him to explain somewhat of that
bliss which is common to all alike of the emparadised.
" They live ever in a splendor that is sevenfold brighter
and clearer than the sun," answers the joyous messenger, "and
ever in a strength to perform, without any toil, all that they
wish, and evermore in a state, in all that ever is good, without
diminution, without anything that may harm or ail, in all that
is ever soft or sweet. And their life is the sight of God and
the knowledge of God, as our Lord hath said. That is eternal
life, He said, to see and know the true God and Him that He
hath sent, Jesus Christ our Lord. . . . They are so wise
1909.] SOME PRE- REFORMATION ALLEGORIES 175
that they know all God's counsels, His mysteries and His
dooms. . . . They love God without measure . . . and
each one loveth another as much as himself. So glad they
are of God that all their bliss is so great that no mouth may
make mention of it, nor any speech discourse of it. Because
that each one loveth another as himself, each one hath of an-
other's bliss as much joy as of his own. . . . Take heed
now then, if the heart of no one is ever able to contain in
herself her own special joy, so marvelously great is the one
bliss, how shall she accept so many and so great blisses ?
Therefore our Lord said to those that had pleased Him : Intra
in gaudium Domini tui — Go, quoth He, into thy Lord's bliss.
Thou must go therein altogether and be altogether possessed
therein, for in thee may it in nowise enter." The Soul's
Ward is a precious random jewel from the rich coffers of
mediaeval lore, as notable for its refinement of thought and
mystical insight as for its very colorful and vigorous imagina-
tion. Right gladly must we all comply with that pious re-
quest which brings the old homily to a close, and, " par seinte
charite, pray a pater noster for John who wrote this book."
To what shall we attribute the innate wisdom which stretched
from end to end mightily and ordered all things so sweetly
throughout this religious literature of the Middle Age ? I think
we must say, to the saints. The Church in every era teaches
truth : but these children of her heart live the truth. They
irradiate the beauty of holiness, and create a spiritual intuition
which only centuries of unbelief can quite eradicate. In spite
of much evil, a society which produces saints — or to whom
God vouchsafes these miracles of His grace — must be at bot-
tom a faithful society. And again, the people among whom
saints move (although peradventure they may stone them!)
will assuredly be unable to forget their influence. All the
Christian ideals of conduct have been clinched and verified by
the saints — those geniuses in sanctity, as Francis Thompson
has called them. Walter Pater somewhere speaks of Catherine
of Siena as transcending " not by her rectitude of soul only,
but by its fairness." That is a most significant tribute. For
Puritanism, too, had its share in rectitude of soul: it was the
ideal set before us with much earnestness and no little genius
throughout The Pilgrim's Progress. But — fairness ? The old
sweet intimacy with spiritual things, fruit alike of meditation
1 76 THE SUPREME VENTURE [May.
and the sacraments, had faded from Bunyan's horizon. The
old authoritative interpretation, and not less the old fervent
and unconscious poetry, were alike fast fading. How much
they meant — to art as well as to life — we find by opening the
pages of these old Catholic allegories. They were written for
frail people, for sinful people — that is to say, for people very
like ourselves. They had many a quaint and curious turn of
national patois. But they spoke the language of the saints.
That, like the Pentecostal tongue, is at root the language of
every nation under heaven. It is the language of high poetry,
too : and somehow, even from the beginning, it has proved it-
self the sole medium for transmuting a wistful yet reluctant
world.
THE SUPREME VENTURE.
(Dedicated to one who describes himself as " waiting for the gift of faith.*')
BY CORNELIUS CLIFFORD.
Naked he falters on the hard wet sand,
Dreading the roar and menace of the sea,
Yet lain to breast its waves defiantly,
A venturous swimmer far remote from land.
How tauntingly the foam runs up the strand !
The gulls o'erhead, how strenuous in their glee !
Shrill in their flight he hears Doubt's mockery
Screaming disaster fell on either hand.
Then, suddenly each muscle springs to play,
Eager and quick the breath; his body's hue
Gleams ivory and rose amid the spray
Of one vast wave that whirls him from men's view,
While, stroke upon stroke, he plies a perilous way
Forth to the wine dark sea, 0 Christ, to You.
Seton Hall, South Orange, N. J.
IRELAND: A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE.
BY P. J. LENNOX.
'HAT notable improvement has been made in the
social condition of the Irish people in Ireland,
during the last quarter of a century, is a tact
that is obvious to even a casual observer. To-
wards this improvement many causes have con-
spired. Foremost among these we may safely place the Land
Act of 1881 and subsequent land legislation. Owing to the in-
iquitous land system in force in Ireland before the date named
— a system that had its origin in the forcible dispossession of
the Irish occupiers of the soil, and the "planting" of alien
colonists in their stead — there was no fixity of tenure, no free-
dom of sale, no provision for a fair rent.
One result was that, at any moment, for any cause, or with-
out any cause — on the mere whisper of some covetous or envi-
ous underling, perhaps — a tenant who had no lease was liable
to be evicted from his holding without the right to sell his
interest therein, and without compensation in any shape or form.
Another result was that, if a tenant was ambitious, if he im-
proved his land and made it more productive, if he drained it
and manured it, and trimmed his hedges and caused his dwell-
ing-house and his out-offices to wear a neater look, he was
almost certain to have his rent increased. And there was
no remedy. It was a case of stand and deliver, of pay or
quit.
Everybody who knows even a little about Ireland knows
that this is not an exaggerated statement. If we take up any
standard work on political economy, we shall find that the Irish
land system of the middle of the nineteenth century is held up
to reprobation and stigmatized as the worst in Europe. But
perhaps the most cogent proof that can be adduced as to the
evils of land tenure in Ireland is to be found in the fact that
five times in thirty-three years — from 1870 to 1903 — the Im-
perial Parliament, setting aside the loudly-insisted- on sacred-
TOL. LXXXIX. — 12
178 IRELAND : 'A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE [May,
ness of (alleged) contract, felt called upon to pass legislation
on the subject.
The Land Act of 1870 was a feeble attempt to remedy some
of the most glaring defects of the system. One of its most
important provisions was compensation for improvements in the
event of eviction. But this Act was practically nugatory, and
effected little, if any, real good. The Land Act of 1881 was a
great advance on anything previously attempted. In addition to
conceding to tenants "the three F's" already mentioned, namely:
Fixity of Tenure; Freedom of Sale; and Fair Rent; it estab-
lished, in fact if not in name, the principle of dual ownership
in land. In other words, it took away from the landlord the
sole ownership, and, by conferring on the tenant or occupier
a vested interest in his holding, made him a joint owner with
the landlord. The Ashbourne Acts of 1885 and 1886 went a
step farther, and provided for single ownership once more, but
ownership this time by the tenant or occupier, and not by the
landlord.
These Acts established a public fund, out of which a suffi-
cient advance was made to the tenant to enable him to pur-
chase outright the landlord's interest in the holding. When
that portion of the transaction was completed, the tenant ceased
to pay rent. Repayment to the State of the amount of the
advance, with interest on same, was arranged for by terminable
annuities spread over a period of forty-nine years. The im-
mediate gain to an occupier of land who purchased under the
Ashbourne Acts was that the annual installment payable to
the State was far less — 20, 30, 40, 50, and, in some cases, 60
per cent less — than he had previously paid to the landlord as
rent ; the intermediate gain was that this installment was to be
decreased in amount every ten years ; and the prospective
or ultimate gain was that, at the end of the statutory term of
forty-nine years, he or his heirs or assigns were to be the
owners of the land, in fee, free of rent or installment, forever.
These were splendid Acts, and, where they were put in force,
they were productive of excellent results; but, unfortunately,
owing, it is understood, to the inadequacy oi the fund provided,
they were not nearly so widely operative as they should have
been.
Finally we have the Land Act of 1903, which — with some
differences of detail, into which it is not necessary here to en-
1909.] IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE 1 79
ter — is, in essence, an expansion of the Ashbourne Acts. The
Act of 1903 is not compulsory ; but it evidently contemplates
that, in time, ownership of land by a landlord shall be entirely
abolished in Ireland. It provides that, at the end of a statu-
tory period of sixty-nine years, the occupier of the soil shall be
the owner thereof, in fee simple, while grass grows and water
runs. There is no provision in this Act for the decadal reduc-
tions, which were so marked a feature of the Ashbourne Acts;
but, as a set-off, the interest chargeable to the occupier is
smaller, and the period of repayment of principal and interest
combined is twenty years longer. The immediate gain is, how-
ever, similar, for in every case the annuity payable to the State
is considerably less than the amount formerly paid to the land-
lord as rent; and the prospective or ultimate gain is, as will
be readily perceived, the same. At the time of writing there
is a Bill before Parliament to increase and expedite the opera-
tion of this Act.
With these improvements in the conditions of the tenants,
with the fear of eviction and of the penalization of improve-
ments removed, it is easy to understand that the old cringing
spirit, the bowing and scraping to the landlord and his repre-
sentatives, has gradually disappeared, and that there is in Ire-
land to-day a manly, upright, self-reliant rural population.
The second great cause of the change of public spirit in Ireland
is the spread of education among every class of the people. The
primary or National system of education, the secondary or In-
termediate system, and the final or University system — while
they all contain some defects which call for remedy, and some of
which are even now being reformed — may be described as, on
the whole, good. At all events, it is safe to say that since
1879, when the Intermediate Education Act came into opera-
tion, and since 1882, when the Royal University of Ireland
was established by Parliament, great and notable advances have
been made in the education of the Irish people. For children
and youths who, for any reason, were unable to take advan-
tage of either of those two advanced systems, the Board of
National Education has provided what, taken all in all, we may
class as a sound primary education. All three systems apply
to girls as well as to boys. The general result is that illiter-
acy is fast disappearing in Ireland.
Nor, among the causes of improvement, must we omit the
i8o IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL, PROMISE [May,
splendid work which has been done, and is being done, by the
new, many-sided movement, which finds perhaps its most ade-
quate expression in the Gaelic League. It is reviving — nay, it
has revived — the old Irish tongue. It has directed attention to
the legends, the folk-lore, the traditions, the history of the Irish
people. It has brought into being a National Irish Theater.
It has given a new stimulus to the intellectuality of the race —
a stimulus which is in itself a priceless advantage. It has re-
vived the old Irish indoor and outdoor pastimes, and thereby
has helped materially to banish that insufferable dulness which,
until recently, was a standing reproach to the country districts
of Ireland, and which was one factor in driving the people
away from the land into the large centers of population, or
away altogether out of Ireland. This new movement is reviv-
ing and fostering and developing Irish industrifs. In a word,
it is endeavoring — and succeeding in the endeavor — to make
Ireland truly Irish in every way, to make it a land to live in
and for, a land to be proud of.
Last, though not least, may be named, as a cause of the
improvement in the social condition of Ireland, the decided
advance which has been made in the question of temperance.
There is still room for improvement, it is true; but the general
statement holds that we are fast advancing towards a more
sober Ireland. The principal factor is a religious one. Priests
have set themselves resolutely to grapple with the drink evil.
In season and out of season they have inveighed against the
abuse of intoxicants. By administering a total abstinence pledge
to children of both sexes, generally at Confirmation, they have
succeeded, to a very large extent, in getting the rising genera-
tion to grow up uncontaminated by the drink habit. Reference
to the drink statistics of the United Kingdom will show that
the consumption of intoxicants per head of the population has
been for years, and is now, far less in Ireland than in England
or Scotland. A natural result of this spread of sobriety among
the masses of the people is that the Irish are, and are becom-
ing more and more every day, a self-respecting, prudent, thrifty,
far-seeing race.
The question now is: What is Ireland, regenerate Ireland,
Ireland with this new spirit surging in her veins and animat-
ing her whole frame, going to do ? Will she make the most
of her opportunities ? Will she rise to the occasion, and demon-
1 909. ] I RE LA ND : A LA ND OF IND US TRIA L PR OMISE 1 8 1
strata to the world that her children, who have proved them-
selves great in other lands, will also show themselves great at
home ?
The answer, it is submitted, must be in the affirmative.
Ireland is a land teeming with natural resources. Her soil,
generally speaking, is fertile; her climate temperate, with no
extremes of heat or cold ; her mineral wealth is by no means
to be despised ; her rivers and her bogs are actually of great
value and potentially of still greater; her seas are full of fish;
her people educated, quick-witted, intelligent, adaptable.
While the importance and the necessity of other industries
to a country so constituted by nature must be fully admitted,
the contention here made is that agriculture is, and must for
long, if not forever, remain the principal industry in Ireland.
As such it is deserving of the most earnest attention of the
Irish people. Is it receiving such attention ? The answer is
again in the affirmative. From the nature of the case, it is
obvious that agriculture was never wholly neglected: people
had to live, and although, from the causes already mentioned,
it was impossible in times past to expect over the country in
general a high standard of agriculture, yet a certain standard
was always maintained. Encouragement towards better agri-
cultural methods was given by the Royal Dublin Society; by
the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland ; by the Northeast
Agricultural Association; by the Northwest of Ireland Agri-
cultural Society ; by the County of Cork Agricultural Society ;
by the Flax Supply Association; by the various local Agri-
cultural Societies which were established in different parts of
the country, and of which there were forty-five in existence in
1841 ; by the teaching of farming in the Agricultural College
at Glasneven, Dublin, and by similar teaching on various farms
worked in connection with model schools here and there through-
out Ireland.
While it would be unfair to underrate in any way the ex-
ertions made by some of those bodies, and in particular by the
Royal Dublin Society, yet it is not too much to say that the
results achieved, speaking generally, were far from satisfactory.
The proof of this statement is to be found in a dwindling pop-
ulation and in a decrease of tillage. The efforts made did not
seem to reach or appeal to the bulk of the people.
The great change for the better was, however, more quickly
1 82 IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE [May,
evident when, in 1899, the Department of Agriculture and Tech-
nical Instruction for Ireland was established by Parliament.
This Department consists of a President, who is always the
Chief Secretary for the time being to the Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland ; a Vice-President, who is the real head of the Depart-
ment ; a Secretary ; two Assistant Secretaries, one for Agri-
culture and the other for Technical Instruction ; and a num-
ber of inspectors, instructors, organizers, officers, clerks, and
servants. The significance of the fact that its offices are not
in Dublin Castle will be missed by no Irishman. For the car-
rying on of its functions the new Department received a cap-
ital sum of about .£200,000 ($1,000,000), and an annual endow-
ment of £166,000 ($830,000), which has since been increased to
£180,000 ($900,000). Its machinery was provided by the form-
ation of a Council of Agriculture and two Boards, one for Ag-
riculture and the other for Technical Instruction. It is beyond
the province of this paper to treat of the work being done by
the Technical Board. It is enough to say that in that most
important matter of technical education, or the scientific teach-
ing of arts, crafts, and trades, it is rendering excellent service
to the Irish people.
But of the agricultural work of the Department something
must be said. A new era of popular government in Ireland
had been inaugurated in 1898 by the passing into law of the
Local Government Act, by which the people at large obtained
a far greater share in the management of local affairs than had
ever previously been the case. With these new conditions, the
Department was, to a considerable extent, brought into touch.
For instance, the Council of Agriculture is mainly elective. It
consists of 104 members, 68 elected by the County Councils,
and 34 nominated by the Department, with the President and
Vice-President of the Department as ex officio members. The
members of the Council are elected for three years, and are
bound by Act of Parliament to " meet at least once a year
for the purpose of discussing matters of public interest in con-
nection with any of the purposes of this Act." The Council
has not only advisory powers, but it also creates the larger
portion of the Agricultural Board.
The Agricultural Board consists of fourteen members, of
whom two, the President and the Vice-President of the De-
partment, are ex officio members, four are nominated by the
1 909. ] I RE LA ND : A LA ND OF IND US TRIA L PR OMISE 1 8 3
Department, and the remaining eight are appointed by the
Council of Agriculture through its Provincial Committees. The
Agricultural Board has " the power of the purse " to a very
considerable degree. It is provided by the Act that about £175,-
ooo of the capital sum above named, and about £107,000 of the
annual endowment are to be administered by the Department
" for the purposes of Agriculture and other rural industries or
sea fisheries," subject to the approval of the Agricultural
Board.
It must be clearly understood that it was not intended that
the Department should be merely a body for the disbursing of
a State grant in Ireland. Its function was summarized in the
famous phrase — " to help people to help themselves." Hence,
except in special cases, it cannot apply " any of its funds to
schemes in respect of which aid is not given out of money
provided by local authorities or from other local sources."
— Coyne, Ireland, Industrial and Agricultural.
Hence, again, local authorities, namely, County Councils,
Borough Councils, and Urban Councils, are entrusted with con-
siderable borrowing powers for the purposes of the Act, and
are besides authorized to levy a rate of one penny in the pound,
in addition to a rate of one penny in the pound under the
Technical Instruction Acts of 1889 and 1891. A rate of two-
pence— that is, four cents — in the pound all over Ireland would
amount to about ;£: 20,000, and "as the Department's contri-
bution to any particular scheme will in general be proportioned
to the amount of local aid forthcoming, the local Councils
throughout Ireland have the power of setting free a very con-
siderable amount of money to assist in the work of national
development." — Ib.
But the local authorities are not to be merely tax-raising
bodies. They are to be the real executive. It is to Commit-
tees of the local Councils, acting in conjunction with the De-
partment, that is entrusted the task of the preparation and ad-
ministration of all schemes for the furtherance of the objects
of the Act.
If what has so far been said is even partly clear, it is ob-
vious that this is a popular Act, and is worked to a large
extent by the people through their own elected representatives.
If it is asked what the Department has done for agriculture
in Ireland, the answer is at once forthcoming. Through the
1 84 IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL. PROMISE [May,
various local authorities it has started a great movement for
the better carrying on of every branch of farming ; e.g., it has
given an impetus to the proper cultivation of the potato; it has
directed attention to, and shown the necessity of, spraying, in
order to prevent blight; it has pointed out when and how the
crop may best be gathered and stored. In particular, it has
started, in certain favorable districts of the country, a move-
ment for early potato growing to meet the demand in British
and Irish markets; it has secured better transit facilities by
railway and steamship; it has placed the early potato growers
in communication with Scotch and English buyers. A concrete
result of this action has been that, in 1907, early potato growers
in Ireland realized from ^"30 to £40 per statute acre for their
crop.
The Department has also directed its attention to improving
the wheat, oats, barley, and rye crops, these being the cereals
that are grown in Ireland. Mangels, turnips, cabbage, rape,
and beans have not been neglected. The growing and handling
of flax on scientific lines has been encouraged, and how impor-
tant this is will be the more readily realized when we bear in
mind the reputation of Irish linen and the extent of its manu-
facture. It is interesting to note in this connection that the De-
partment has in recent years sent deputations to Belgium and
Holland to study the methods of treatment of flax in those
countries, with the view of improving, where possible, the
methods in use in Ireland. These deputations have issued ex-
haustive and valuable reports. Hay and pasture have also come
in for their proper share of notice.
The Department has, further, directed the attention of land-
holders to the cultivation of fruit, has supplied them with fruit-
trees, such as apple, pear, damson, and plum-trees, with goose-
berry bushes, currant bushes, raspberry plants, and strawberry
plants, together with expert advice, all free of charge. It has
shown how the resultant fruit-crop may be best cared for,
handled, and marketed. It has given special study to the im-
provement of the breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine.
It has focussed the attention of the people — especially cf cot-
tiers and other small landholders — on the profit to be derived
from horticulture, bee-keeping, and poultry- keeping. It has
caused instruction to be given in every section of the country
in the correct methods of butter- making and in various forms
1 909. ] I RE LA ND : A LA ND OF IND US TRIA L PR OMISE 1 8 5
of domestic economy. It has insisted on the paramount neces-
sity of proper winter dairying. It is helping tobacco-growing.
It is giving attention to agricultural co-operation. It has aided
in the establishment and working of agricultural credit socie-
ties. Of such societies 258 were in existence on the soth of
September, 1907.
The methods of operation of the Department are threefold.
It provides education in agricultural methods in fixed institu-
tions, such as the Royal College of Science, Dublin ; the Al-
bert Agricultural College, Glasneven ; the Munster Institute,
Cork; and at some forty agricultural stations, agricultural
schools for boys and girls, and dairy schools in different parts
of the country. Its second method — and perhaps its most im-
portant— is education of the people in improved agricultural
methods by means of itinerant instructors, that is, by bringing
the expert to the farmer's very door. Its third method is by
means of publication, by which is to be understood the issue of
reports, journals, and statistics, the posting of notices in con-
spicuous places and on public buildings, and the printing of
leaflets. These posters and leaflets give instruction in every
branch of agriculture and the allied industries. The leaflets
can be had free of charge and post-free, and the letter of
application for a leaflet need not bear any postage stamp.
There are some ninety-three leaflet publications in all, and they
run through the whole range of agriculture, dealing with cat-
tle, sheep, swine, poultry, fruit, weeds, cereal crops, root crops,
manures, bee-keeping, forestry, and dairying. Nor is this all.
The heads of the Department are no mere theorisers. They and
their officials come into direct personal contact with the people,
and teach them, guide them, encourage them.
While much has been already done for the improvement
of agriculture, much more remains to do. One of the greatest
problems in agricultural matters that confronts Irishmen is, how
to get back into cultivation the land that, either on set pur-
pose or through mere " drift," for want of population and
therefore of laborers, has been allowed to go into pasturage.
The problem is great, because the field of operation is so
large. It is notorious that, since the middle of the nineteenth
century, more and more of the soil of Ireland has been with-
drawn from tillage. What may not be so generally known or
remembered is that a movement in that direction was already
1 86 IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE [May,
in drastic operation as early as the first part of the eighteenth
century.
A number of Ulster Irishmen were forced to fly to Amer-
ica from the tyranny and inhumanity of landlords between 1718
and 1730. Prior to the latter date there were in the interior
of the State of Pennsylvania townships called Deny, Donega^
Tyrone, and Coleraine — names sufficiently indicative of the
nationality, and even of the province, of their founders. The
reason for their flight from Ireland to America and the West
Indies we have on the authority of Archbishop Boulter. Writ-
ing to the Duke of Newcastle on the 2$d of November, 1728,
he says that " daily in some counties many gentlemen (as their
leases fall into their hands) tie up their tenants from tillage" ;
and he adds that " so many venture into foreign service . . •
because they can get no land to till at home" Skelton gives
practically the same testimony. Reading those statements we
are reminded of the English Lord Lieutanant General and Gen-
eral Governor of Ireland, who expressed the pious wish that
Ireland might become " the fruitful mother of flocks and herds";
and of the more sinister triumphant paean of the London limes
when, in a later day, it boasted that " the Celt is going — go-
ing with a vengeance."
How great the problem mentioned is to-day may be best
judged from the consideration of a few official figures. There
are in Ireland 20,350,725 statute acres, including 117,135 acres
under water, but excluding 487,418 acres under the large riv-
ers, lakes, and tideways. Of these 20,350,725 acres, 1,294,991
acres were, in 1907, under cereal crops; 1,002,980 under root
and green crops; 59,659 under flax; 11,449 under fruit; 512,-
666 under first year's meadow; 314,188 under second and third
year's meadow ; 1,454,464 under permanent meadow, or a total
of 2,281,318 under meadow; 1,328,808 under rotation pasture
(up to five years); 8,650,388 under permanent pasture (five
years and over); 2,453,899 under grazed mountain land, or a
total of 12,433,095 under pasture; the lowest and least profit-
able form of agriculture; 306,661 under woods and plantations ;
and 2,960,572 under bog and marsh, barren mountain land,
waste, etc.
Now, no one will for a moment seek to deny the import-
ance of the cattle, sheep, and horse trade to Ireland. If any
one sought to do so, the figures would be against him. In
1909.] IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE 187
1907 there were in Ireland 4,676,493 cattle, 3,816,609 sheep,
and 596,144 horses. In the same year there were exported to
Great Britain from Ireland 841,973 cattle, 660,415 sheep, and
33,253 horses, representing, on a moderate basis of calculation,
an annual trade of some 1,2500,000 pounds sterling, or 62,500,-
ooo dollars. Now, no sane man, who had the welfare of Ire-
land at heart, would wish to do away^with so profitable a trade
as the live stock trade would, from those figures, appear to be
for Ireland. But, in suggesting that the area under permanent
pasture should be decreased, and the area under tillage corre-
spondingly increased, not even a hint is given at a diminution
in the breeding, raising, and out-putting of live stock. Rather
a substantial increase therein is contemplated. What is here
maintained is that to have, in round numbers, a total of twelve
and a half millions of acres, out of a grand 'total of twenty
and a half millions, or over sixty per cent of the whole, under
pasture is a sufficiently alarming symptom. It is heightened
by the consideration that, comparing 1907 with 1851, we find
a decrease in the acreage under cereal crops, green crops, flax,
and hay, of 1,220,003 acres, or 20.8 per cent; and, if we com-
pare such neighboring dates as 1898 and 1907, we find a de-
crease of 65,912 acres, or 1.4 per cent, under the same crops.
To stop this general decrease in tillage, to turn it into an
increase, should be the aim and object of every one interested
in Ireland. In doing so, we need not reduce the numbers of
live stock, but we can on the contrary materially add to them.
Under a really good system of intense tillage farming, such as
is carried on in Belgium, for example, we should get to house-
feeding live stock on a larger scale in winter, and to feeding
them in summer on vetches and other soiling crops, for which
the Irish climate is specially suited. Thus, in time, we should
increase, not diminish, live stock raising, and, at the same
time, largely increase the tillage-area and the population, and,
with the population, the power and the prosperity of the Irish
nation.
That the authorities in Ireland are quite alive to the require-
ments of the situation is evidenced in many ways. For instance,
on the 1 5th of February, 1908, Mr. T. P. Gill, Secretary of
the Department, delivered an address in the Town Hall of Tip-
perary to a largely attended meeting of the County Tipperary
Farmers' Association on the subject of "The Farmer and the
1 88 IRELAND : A LAND OF INDUSTRIAL PROMISE [May.
Laborer." " Labor, labor," said he, " give more labor to the
land, and you will enrich yourselves and your country." In
that last sentence Mr. Gill struck the right note. Self-interest
here, as everywhere else, comes into play. All the talk in
the world will not make a man grow turnips or wheat, as long
as he thinks that grazing bullocks will pay him better. But if
he could be once made to understand that the turnips and wheat
would give him a better return than the bullocks ; it, especially,
it could be shown that he could feed his bullocks while grow-
ing turnips and wheat, and that thus his profit would be in-
creased well-nigh two-fold, it would need no apostle of a new
evangel to convert the grazier into a tillage- farmer.
At all events, by whatever method it is to be effected, the
crying necessity of the moment in agricultural Ireland is to get
more land under cultivation. Successful agriculture is the basis
of prosperity in any country. Factories and other industries
quickly follow the successful tillage- farmer ; and with the new,
up-to-date, and scientific methods of soil-treatment in use all
over the island, we might confidently look to see Ireland not
only a great agricultural country, but also a great center of in-
dustrial development.
THE TEACHING OF THE "FIORETTI."
BY FATHER CUTHBERT, O.S.F.C.
JHAT delightful work, the Fioretti di San Francesco*
has won a world's homage by its idyllic grace
and simple sincerity, and yet one wonders at
times how far its real message has been under-
stood. Amongst the many who confess its
beauty, how many acknowledge its truth? "A delightful dream,
but too far removed from life to be of practical use," was the
verdict of one. Had Ugolino Brunforti, or whoever it was
that compiled this book, heard the verdict, one can imagine the
amazement, the pain as of an unexpected blow, with which it
would have struck his candid soul. For to him this chronicle
of his was the statement of what had truly been upon the
earth, and he had written it that future generations might re-
member that the promised kingdom of God had really been
found amongst men whose memory was as yet fresh in the
Marches of Ancona.f And to what more practical use could a
man put his pen than to encourage his fellow- mortals to take
up the yoke of the Gospel by setting before them something
of the beauty of life which it brings men even here on earth ?
The writer of the Fioretti did not set himself to write a new
* There are several English translations of the Fioretti. In 1899 Professor Arnold pub-
lished a translation in Dent's Temple Classics; in 1906 a new version by W. Heywood was
issued by Methuen, London. But the version which, in the writer's opinion, approaches most
nearly to the simplicity of the original, is that published in 1900 by the Catholic Truth Society,
London, and based upon a translation issued by the Franciscan Friars at Upton. This same
version has been published by Kegan Paul, \\ith illustrations by Paul Wocdruffe. All these
translations are entitled The Little Flowers of St. Francis, There is some controversy
as to whether the Italian word Fioretti, as used to designate a collection of stories or his-
torical pictures, is rightly translated " little flowers " ; but the term " little flowers " has come
to stay, whatever the purists in language may hold.
tit may be well to state for those who are not conversant with Franciscan literature, that the
Fieretti owes its origin to a friar of the Marches of Ancona, who wrote down the traditions
which, in his day, were still current amongst the brethren of that province. According to M.
P. Sabatier the original Latin text is incorporated in the Actvs B. Francisci, compiled early in
the fourteenth century. The incidents taken from the life of -St. Francis seem to have been
delivered orally by the saint's companions to the brethren in the Marches ; this oral tradition
explains many of the characteristic features of the Fioretti; e.g., its blending of substantial
historical accuracy with occasional inaccuracy in matters of detail.
THE TEACHING OF THE "FIORETTI" [May,
Gospel, but only to gather some of the flowers it has pastured.
The Gospel he sets forth, or rather assumes, is but the Gospel
delivered by Christ to the Apostles; to be observed by all
Christians. But he would have us know how this Gospel, fall-
ing upon good ground amongst the early Franciscans of Umbria
and the Marches, produced fruit of much excellence, and how
in the lives of these brethren the poor and the suffering, the
clean of heart and the peacemaker, found their beatitude ; in-
cidentally he tells us in what way they individually came into
the beatitude, and thus he has woven into the paean of his
praise some indication of the wayfarer's true wisdom.
But the Fioretti is an ascetical treatise by accident, and
therefore perhaps for some it is all the more convincing, cer-
tainly the more attractive. For there are those who suspect
too didactic a method in books which treat of men's souls, and
are more grateful for inspiration than for regulation in their
spiritual reading. They will not be driven ; they seek to be
drawn. Now the writer of the Fioretti has no thought of driv-
ing anybody ; he sets the brethren before us as one who would
say : " Look and see the beauty of their lives and withhold your
admiration, if you can ! " Only in his heart a sense of disap-
pointment will surely arise if, beholding and admiring, you do
not become the better Christian — the better Christian, that is
to say, in the way he understands the word, and as St. Francis
taught him to understand it, as signifying one who seeks to be
conformed in mind and heart unto the " Blessed Lord Christ."
It has been frequently remarked of the early companions of
St. Francis that in the transfiguring atmosphere of the presence
of their leader, Umbria became to them as Galilee, and in the
company of Francis they walked as by the side of Christ, for
the saint had so permeated their thought with the idea of the
Incarnate Word, that in all earthly things they beheld the
glory and the tragedy of our Lord's redemptive life on earth.
The world was to them a canvas on which was imprinted in
life- colors the story of the Incarnation and Redemption. It
was as though they had seen their Divine Master and could
see nothing save in its reference to Him. For them the joy
and the sorrow, the hope and despair of mortals had been
flooded with a new revealing light, which was Christ the Lord
of Life. The Incarnation and its earth story was the new
world, which held not only their reason, but took utterly cap-
1909.] THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" 191
tive their imagination; so utterly did it dominate their whole
personality.
At no time in the history of Christendom, at least since
the earliest age, has the story of the Gospel obtained such im-
aginative hold on the mind as it did in the Umbrian revival;
never did men so realize, without mental effort, the Incarnate
Word assuming into His own earthly life and passion the life
and passion of all creation. To them the sorrow of the broken-
hearted man was not merely a figure of the sorrow of Christ,
but part of the sorrow of Christ, Who had taken it to himself
whilst yet it remained in'the heart of the weeper; and the life
that fluttered in the birds of the air or exulted in the exuber-
ance of field and sky, even this to them was sacred, because it
ran by mysterious law into the life of man, and through man
into the life of the God made JMan. And the sin of the world,
they saw its ultimate issue in the death on Calvary ; yet in
that death they felt palpably the enduring tragedy of Divine
Love on earth and the crucifixion of all that is holy gathered
into the heart of their dying Lord. And all this they appre-
hended, and have said, not by logical effort but imaginatively
and affectively. St. Francis was their interpreter; and some-
thing more than their interpreter. His life was the needed
word which had revealed this Gospel-life unto them, but into
which they had plunged as into their native element, so re-
sponsive to it was their spiritual temperament.
Hence, as they stand revealed to us in the pages of the
Fioretti, these men are so simply human, yet so God- like; they
belong quite evidently to the earth, yet heaven seems already
about them. One thing, however, is at once clear; they are
not of the world ; they have no place in the ordinary society
of men ; they dwell in a world of their own ; and apparently
they make no compromise with the other world. This is per-
haps the chief reason why the Fioretti has been deemed an
unpractical book ; because its heroes make no compromise with
ordinary life, but are wholly engrossed in a world of their
own.
But added to this spiritual aloofness of the Fioretti from
the common world, there is also what I may term its poetical
aloofness. Those brethren of Umbria and the Marches appre-
hended the truth imaginatively as poets do, and in the direct
simplicity and sincerity of their souls they sought to live the
192 THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI"
truth as they saw it, as poets frequently do not. They were
as conservative as lovers in cherishing whatever bears witness
to their minds and senses of the object of their love ; and they
were as unreasoning as lovers in the simple trustfulness with
which they accepted the ideal as it came to them, ready to
see virtue even in apparent defect. And so they cast aside
remorselessly the prudence of the world and its forethought in
a blind trust in the providence of our Father in heaven ; they
sell their goods and distribute the proceeds to the poor, be-
cause Christ had said it ; they will not have a house they can
call their own, because the Son of Man had not where to lay
His head. They ask no further question once they have
heard the word of Christ, but proceed to act upon it with a
jealous literalness.
With men of a different temperament or soul- condition this
unreasoning literalness would be affectation; with them it is
mere loyalty; because they are in that elemental condition of
discipleship when truth and assurance come in vision, and men
look and are held captive by the glory which they see. In
this condition of soul men hold fast by the word or gesture in
which the glory is conveyed to them; they will not thirk to
analyze it lest the clearness of their vision be dimmed by the
distraction of their mind; they do not feel the need to analyze
because of the assurance they already have. All they are
solicitous for is to keep hold of the truth as it has come down
to them. Theirs is not the critical temper. They are akin to
the child, the poet, and the lover; and so they stand aloof
from the world which questions and holds in doubt, which
reasons out things and accepts tiuth only in the form of a
scientific deduction. And so it is that if we would learn from
the Fioretti, we too must come prepared not with the critical
faculty, but with that faculty of intuitive understanding and
sympathy with which the Fioretti itself scans its own life.
Further, there is the geographical coloring, which is apt to
prove a hindrance to the apprehension of the spiritual teaching
of the Fioretti to those who are not native to Umbria and the
Marches. The narratives are simply steeped in local color,
which easily delights the fancy but at the same time creates
an illusion of distance — moral as well as physical. But to
understand such men as figure in these legends, one must
move amongst them, not merely observe frcm afar; the illu-
1909.] THE TEACHING OF THE "FIORETTI" 193
sion of distance must be broken in the assertion of human
sympathy; you must look to the men rather than to the
landscape on which they move; though, if you know how
rightly to look upon it, the landscape will help you to under-
stand the men. But once you have put yourself in sympathy
with the Fioretti you discover that it is no mere idyl of the
thirteenth century or of Umbria and the Marches; it reveals
itself as a poem of Christian life in its awakening to the beauty
of Christ and its abandonment of itself to His love. Such
awakenings occur constantly in the Church in individual souls;
they are the beginnings of that conscious life in Christ which
St. Paul refers to when he said: "I live, and yet not I but
Christ liveth in me " ; for in this state the entire inspiration
and motive of the soul come from its Lord realized as the
soul's desired. Of this awakening one of the marks is an un-
doubting, nay, eager acceptance of the word of our Lord as the
ultimate wisdom; another mark is a vivid apprehension of the
person of Christ; and yet another mark is the habitual and
spontaneous reference of all experience to Him as its final ar-
biter and beatitude. In this condition of soul, worship is the
active principle, as it was with Mary when she sat at the feet
of Jesus, drinking in His every word.
It was a soul-awakening of this kind which gave character
to the Franciscans, and in the revival of religion associated
with them it attained to an elemental clearness and intensity,
so that all emotions and activities of life were absorbed into a
delight in the person of our Lord and His teaching, and into
the desire to be conformed unto Him. Almost on every page
of the Fioretti is this delight and this purpose imprinted. Quite
naively and simply the compiler lets us see that the glory of
of St. Francis and his brethren is in their conformity with
•" the Blessed Christ," that if there is beauty in their lives it is
the beauty of Christ shining in them. The opening chapter
begins : " In the first place, let us consider how the glorious
St. Francis, in all the acts of his life, was conformed to the
life of that Blessed Christ." Again and again, as though the
dominant idea will not be repressed, he interposes such phrases
as these when about to relate some incident to the praise of
St. Francis: "The glorious poor little one of Christ"; "That
most devout servant of the Crucified"; "The true servant of
Christ; ... in some sense another Christ"; " The wonder-
VOL, LXXXIX. — 13
194 THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" [May,
ful servant and follower of Christ"; "The humble servant of
Christ"; "The faithful servant of Christ"; "The true disciple
of Christ." All St. Francis' glory is to be sought in reference
to the fact that he is " in some sense as another Christ given
to the world for the salvation of the people; therefore God
the Father willed to make him in many of his actions con-
formable to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ."* And if the
saint and his brethren have any merit, it is because they went
through the world "as strangers and pilgrims, taking nothing
with them but Christ crucified ; and because they were true
branches of the true Vine they produced great and good fruit
of souls which they gained to God."f
With them the Word of Christ is the ultimate law; having
read in the Gospel our Lord's admonition to the young man
and the Apostles concerning poverty, St. Francis turns to Brother
Bernard, his first companion, and says : " Behold the advice
which Christ gives; go then and accomplish what you have
read"; whereupon Bernard at once sets about "giving every-
thing to the poor of Christ and placing himself £ naked in the
arms of the Crucified. "§ When St. Francis prays for perfect
fidelity to poverty, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul appear
to him and say: "Because thou hast asked and desired to ob-
serve that which Christ and the holy Apostles observed . . .
thy prayer is heard." || On the other hand, Brother Elias is
rebuked because he would go "beyond the Gospel " and intro-
duce laws contrary to its liberty.^ If the brethren have to suf-
fer, they fortify themselves with the thought of Christ and suffer
for love of Him Who suffered.**
In all things they will be as " other Christs"as far as they
may; as Christ received sinners and ate with them, so does St.
Francis receive and convert the robbers of Monte Cosale ;ff as
Christ had compassion on the sick, so must the brethren have
a care of them.fi And as they have become followers and liege-
men of the Blessed Christ, so do they commit the care of
themselves to Him with perfect trust. §§ All these details the
author of the Fioretti sets forth lovingly, but it is with a grate-
ful pride that he shows how the power of Christ was manifested
* Chapter VI. t Chapter IV. \ Chapter I. $ Chapter I.
|| Chapter XII. If Chapter III. •« Chapters IV., VII., XVIII.
ft Chapter XXV. ft Chapters XXIV., XVII.
$$ Chapters I., XV., XVII.
1909.] THE TEACHING OF THE "FIORETTI" 195
in the brethren; they heal the sick* and convert the sinner ;f
they read the conscience of others f and have the gift of pro-
phecy ;§ the beasts and the birds and the fish obey them;||
they converse with Christ and the saints as friends with friends.*^
But the miraculous element in the Fioretti is quite incidental ;
you feel that the author has not gone out of his way to search
out the marvelous : the whole life is to him so intensely won-
derful, whether the brethren be nursing the leper or healing
him, comforting the tempted or revealing consciences, speaking
of God or seeing God; it is all of a piece; it is the Christ-
life revealed in them. This is the great marvel; the healing of
the sick, the gift of prophecy the reading of men's consciences,
the dominion over the brute creation, do but enter in to com-
plete the miracle of this new Gospel-story. And yet here is
the marvel. Though the author is intent on making us realize
the closeness of his heroes to their Master, the Blessed Christ,
and the literal fidelity of their life to that of the Gospel, and
though, too, he impresses us with his own feeling, that in the
brethren the Gospel-life is faithfully renewed, nevertheless how
completely do they remain natives of Umbria and the Marches
and of the thirteenth century ?
Had it been otherwise the Fioretti would have missed some-
thing of its peculiar significance. For it is of the very essence
of its message to reveal to us the enduring beauty of the Gos-
pel-life in the midst of a civilization other than that in which
it was first preached, and thus by implication to proclaim the
universality of its application to all times and peoples. It is
true that St. Francis and the brethren stand apart in many
ways from the general life of their time; that between their as-
pirations and ideals on the one hand and those which were
current with the ordinary citizen on the other, there was a di-
rect opposition. All the same are the brethren bound up by
subtle ties of temperament and character with their age and
place : they are Umbrian to the core or else men of the Marches ;
their outlook on life is wholly that of the thirteenth century.
Umbria may seem to them another Galilee, yet it remains Um-
bria all the while, only transfigured by the light which trans-
* Chapter XXIV. t Chapters XXIII., XXV.
% Chapters III., X., XXII., XXVI., XXX., etc.
$ Chapter XXXVII. || Chapters XV., XX., XXXIX.
H Chapters XXIII., XXV.
196 THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" [May,
figured Galilee. Were it not so, their life would have lacked
an element of vitality and its spontaneous freedom, and the
Gospel would have been to them not a present reality but a
thing of the past. For them, however, the Gospel is not at
all a thing of the past : its light falls directly upon their own
mountains and valleys; it belongs to their own time. Their
story is like a " Nativity " of Perugino, in the background of
which we see the spacious light and soft contours of the hills
in the Umbrian land, and recognize in the figures of Mary and
Joseph the men and women whom the painter knew; and yet
all the while we are carried back in thought and feeling to the
first Christmas. And this is the true Catholic evangelicalism,
independent of time and place, a man finds himself native to.
Hence the delight of the Fioretti is that it impresses us with
the writer's own conviction that here in Umbria and the Marches,
within the memory of man, the Gospel was actually lived in
the divine simplicity with which it was given to the Apostles,
and he makes us feel something of his own triumphant satis-
faction that in the lives of the brethren the Gospel has again
vindicated itself against the doubts and prudence of the world,
and Jesus Christ is once more the Master of men's lives. Nor
does the author of the Fioretti hesitate to set the simple faith
of the brethren over the prudence of the world which militates
against that simple faith.
In fact he is throughout consciously vindicating the brethren
against the judgment of the world. His method is not aggres-
sive ; he relies upon the beauty of their life justifying itself.
He contrasts the unworldliness of St. Francis with the prudence
and ambition of the world, and challenges comparison; the
world deems that power and happiness are dependent upon
riches, social position, and the assertion of one's will against
others; St. Francis casts aside wealth and social position, yet
who more joyous than he and where in the world will you find
a man who wields such power as he over the souls of other
men and over the brute creation ? He subjects himself to the
will of others, becoming obedient; yet does he become a sign
to the times and all the world runs after him : simply because
he has emptied himself of the ambition and pride of the world
and become filled with the spirit and power of God.*
* Cj. Chapter IX.
1909.] THE TEACHING OF THE "FIORETTI" 197
Delightedly does the Fioretti recount how in Brother Mas-
seo, one of the first companions of St. Francis, the Christ-spirit
revealed in the saint overcomes the world- spirit. This Brother
Masseo was plentifully gifted with what the world calls common
sense, and in the early days of his discipleship could not re-
frain from criticising his leader's methods, so unaccountable
from the standpoint of the world's view of things; but he is
-brought to a willing admiration and submission because of the
effects of St. Francis* life. " What is this that this good man
has done ? " he asks himself, when the saint has acted in his
characteristically simple fashion, and he deems the saint has
"behaved himself indiscreetly in this." But immediately he re-
proves himself: "Thou art too proud, who dost judge the work
of God and art worthy of hell for thy indiscreet pride, for in-
deed Brother Francis did yesterday so holy a work that if an
angel of God had done it, it had not been more marvelous ;
therefore, if he bade thee throw stones thou oughtest to do so
and to obey."
Thus the effect wrought by the saint — the superhuman power
which manifests itself in him, humbles and conquers the world's
prudence in Brother Masseo, and the brother himself eventually
attains to the simplicity of the children of God.* But whilst
in Brother Masseo the prudence of the world is brought into
conflict with the simplicity of St. Francis, but is happily sub-
jugated with blessing to Masseo himself, in Brother Elias the
world's arrogance is shown in conflict with Francis* humility,
and apart from the unhappy ending of Elias, the moral beauty
of humility of soul has never been more convincingly set forth
than in the incident which declares Elias' annoyance. f More
-comprehensively is the spirit of Christ set over against the
world's spirit in the parable of perfect joy $ in which St. Fran-
cis declares that perfect joy is not to be found in giving edi-
fication nor in working miracles, nor in learning, not even in
the power to convert the infidels; but in patient suffering for
the love of Christ. The author of the Fioretti knew the heart
of man and the subtle refuges it affords to the worldly spirit
even amidst holy things.
Is there not, too, an implied rebuke of the world's methods
* Chapters IX., X., XI., XXXI.
t Chapter III. \ Chapter VII.
198 THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" [May,
in the story of the three robbers whom St. Francis converted ? *
And who, reading that story, is not convinced of the su-
perior moral beauty of the pitifulness which saves, as against
the harshness of judgment with which the world is apt to de-
nounce, the sinner ? Thus constantly is the beauty of the Gos-
pel-life made to shame the world's wisdom in these happy pages.
We have said that the Fioretti is an ascetical treatise by ac-
cident, its direct purpose being to sing the praises of St. Fran-
cis and the brethren, and the triumph of Christ in them. Yet
at the same time the main lines whereby they sought and
achieved conformity with their Divine Master are emphatically
indicated and the book thus becomes a manual of Christian
perfection.
Now it will be quickly noticed that the touchstone by which
the Fioretti tests the quality of the brethren is humility. In
the cultivation of this virtue, Brother Masseo attains perfection; f
for lack of it Brother Elias is rejected by God.f By humility
St Francis attains to perfect joy § and is constituted a witness
to God in the eyes of men. || Because he is so humble Broth-
er Bernard shows himself a true disciple of the Cross, ^f and in
"the way of humility" Brother Pellegrino becomes "one of
the most perfect friars in the world."** Even poverty is of
value, because "it guards the arms of true humility and char-
ity " ; ft and charity, as we shall see, is dependent on humility.
It may, however, be well to note the significance of the word
as used in the Fioretti. It means much more than having a
mean opinion of oneself : in fact the holding oneself as of little
worth is an effect of the virtue rather than the virtue itself.
St. Francis and the brethren are humble, inasmuch as they
emptied themselves of the pride and prudence and self-suffi-
ciency of the world.
They gave Jesus Christ the entire freedom of their souls.
Hence, at the word of the Gospel, they sell their goods and
give the proceeds to the poor, they are patient in suffering and
make themselves the servants of their neighbors.
They shun the praise of the world, because their entire
loyalty is given to their Divine Master; their joy is in their
conformity to Him. So they will have none of themselves apart
* Chapter XXV.
t Chapters X., XI., XXXI. | Chapter III. $ Chapter VII. j| Chapter IX.
IF Chapter IV. •• Chapter XXVI. ft Chapter XII.
1909.] THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" 199
from their Lord ; and such is their loyalty that the mere word
of Christ as they receive it, is their law: they will allow no
judgment of their own to come between His word and their
obedience. So jealous are they lest any will of their own should
come between them and the Divine Will that at times it leads
them into an apparent exaggeration of sentiment, as in the story
of the journey to Siena ; * but the simplicity of the action is
justified both in its motive and in its effect ; in their simplicity
they found Christ.
Their humility has its fulfillment in their charity* For the
less these followers of Christ consider themselves, the more do
they love God and all creatures. Their humility is, in fact, the
humility of love. They are humbled before God because they
love the beauty of His life as revealed in the Incarnate Word ;
they are humbled before their fellow-men because their hearts
go out to them.
It was in his embrace of the leper and in his contemplation
of the mystery of Bethlehem that St. Francis discovered his
joy in poverty ; in his thought of Calvary and of groaning hu-
manity that he found the sweetness of suffering. And this ex-
plains the wonderful liberty of spirit which breathes in each
page of the Fioretti and is the peculiar mark of the Franciscan
character. For the whole life of the brethren is woven into
the realities which lay all around them ; they renounced them-
selves only to find themselves in a larger life created by their
love of God and His creation.
As you read their story, you feel at once that these breth-
ren have entered into the heart of the world, whether for joy
or for sorrow : they are at home where lie the hidden springs
of man's virtues and vices : they have an intimate sense of kin-
ship equally with saint and sinner. The saint is themselves
faithful to the stirring of higher things which they too are con-
scious of; the sinner again is themselves led astray by tempta-
tions to which human nature is no stranger. And because they
have got so near in their sympathy to the heart of all things,
they have an intimate understanding of the Incarnate Word Who
has taken human nature into Himself to bear its burden and
redeem it. They are at home with Christ in His Kingdom on
earth. Therefore it is that these men, who are so wonderfully
spiritual, are yet so exquisitely human.
* Chapter X;
200 THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" [May,
Purged of the lower earthly motives and desires which viti-
ate a man's life, human nature in them has gained a new free-
dom. Read, for example, of the little boy- brother who saw
Christ and the Virgin Mother talking to St. Francis-; ' of St.
Clare's desire to eat with St. Francis ; f of Brother Pacificus
and Brother Humilitasjf of Brother Bentivoglio and the leper ;§
listen to the parable of perfect joy ; || or the story of the meet-
ing of Brothers Bernard and Giles when Brother Bernard was
on his death-bed ; ^ or, again, read the chapter " How St. Fran-
cis Received the Counsel of St. Clare and the Holy Brother
Sylvester " ; ** and note throughout the human feeling and ex-
perience which makes all men akin. It is evident that in this
Gospel- life of Umbria and the Marches, the human and the
divine have met and embraced : the very spirit of the Incarna-
tion has here revealed itself ; and God is once more manifest
in human lives. Surely a book which bears witness to such a
life actually lived by men can never be outgrown by any age.
And we of the present age would seem to be peculiarly in need
of the lessons this book teaches.
The spirit of liberty in this later age has exposed us pain-
fully to an inrush of what may be termed fanciful piety, in which
the emotions are stimulated by ingenious fancies of the brain
rather than by an apprehension of the realities of life and faith.
This " fanciful piety " is not the food upon which one can rear
strong Catholic souls : it is the food oi weaklings not of the
strong; and to its prevalence may be traced much of the weak-
ness of religion at the present time. The battle between reli-
gion and infidelity will not be won by intellectual argument,
but by the piety of the Catholic people ; for this is the living
force which silences argument in reverence, and compels the
assent of the intellect to the weakness of the heart.
But in all manifestations of Catholic piety which have vitally
moved the world it will be found that Catholic life and action
have been dominated by a simple apprehension of the Person
of our Lord as the direct object of love and worship, and an
equally simple acceptance of the Gospel as the rule of life :
and the simplicity with which the Person of Christ dominates
* Chapter XVI. t Chapter XLV. \ Chapter XLV.
§ Chapter XLI. || Chapter VII. H Chapter V.
** Chapter XV.
1909.] THE TEACHING OF THE "FIORETTI" 201
the imagination and the rule of the Gospel is accepted, is the
measure of Catholic strength and vitality.
How firmly this truth was held by St. Francis is witnessed
to by the Fioretti in its story of the angel who came to Brother
Elias. Other legends of the saint bear this out even more
emphatically.* Undoubtedly the Gospel has to be read in the
light of Catholic tradition, else one is liable to all manner of
vagaries of individual interpretation, and in the same way does
Catholic tradition lead us to the right spiritual apprehension of
the person of our Lord.
But the more simply the person of Christ stands before our
minds as the object of our love and reverence, the more simply
we keep within the lines of the Gospel in our conduct of life,
the nearer will our life be to the life of our Lord. Every
genuine revival of religion is, therefore, an evangelical revival;
that is to say, it is the Gospel-life, not as it appeared in any
particular phase of the world's life, whether in the first cen-
tury or the thirteenth, but as a living force in the present age.
It must combine with the world's present experience in order
to conform the world to itself; and this is where the need of
the Church comes in, to guide and rule and interpret. As we
have noticed, the Gospel-life in the Fioretti retains its Umbrian
dress and its thirteenth-century atmosphere ; it would have
been unreal had it been otherwise.
True evangelicalism is not a reversion to the world-condi-
tions of the ante-Pentecostal period of the Church, but it is a
simple, direct application of the Gospel to the world-conditions
under which we actually live, and the more immediately we
bring our present conditions of life under the governance of
the Gospel, the more evangelical we are. That is what St.
Francis and his brethren did in their own time. They recog-
nized that the arrogance of power and the luxury of wealth — the
two dominant marks of the social order of the day — were under
the ban of the Gospel ; therefore, they renounced wealth and
power and made themselves poor and the least of men ; and
they made the renouncement heroically, as befitted men who
were called by God to bear witness against a great evil.
The coarse habit and bare feet, and the wattle hut were the
natural signs of the particular renouncement demanded of them
* Fioretti, Chapter III. ; Speculum Perfections, Ed. Sab., LXVIII.
202 THE TEACHING OF THE " FIORETTI" [May.
in the special conditions of the world of that day. In like
manner their nursing of the lepers, their questing for bread
through the streets, their preaching of peace in the feud-torn
city, came to them as it were naturally when they began to
apply the Christ-life of the Gospels to themselves. It was the
direct application of the Gospel to thirteenth-century con-
ditions.
But the lesson for all time which the Fioretti teaches is that
true religion is the surrender of oneself to the love of Christ,
and that we are truly Christian in so far as the thought of
Christ dominates our lives and the Gospel is our rule. And
it also teaches us this — that in this true religion man attains
to a new freedom of human nature and of all creation: the
old man of the world is cast off only that the new man of
Christ may reign :
" Spogliato homo vecchio e fato novello."
" Never more human than when most divine " — might be
taken as a first principle for testing the perfect human life:
it is a Catholic principle drawn from the life of our Lord
Himself: and the Fioretti reasserts it.
MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY.
BY N. F. DEGIDON.
JHE boy paid his first visit to the Island in the
company of his nurse, after a hard winter in a
cold city had threatened with destruction two
small lungs born into the world with the burden
of heredity. That was when he was only a wee
mannie of three summers. During weeks of cloudless sunshine
he risked his baby neck a score of times each day scampering
over the cliffs, played hide and seek with the Island children
amongst the bracken and long grass in the sheltered valleys,
built up future fame for himself by his wonderful erections in
the way of sandhouses and wonderful excavations in the form
of fantastic pits and trenches, which he accomplished with a
small wooden spade in the white, wide stretches of beach ; and
drunk in great draughts of health and strength with every
mouthful of the life-giving ozone of the west wind.
Returning home, sorrow met him at the threshold, for the
pretty, laughing mothereen was not there to welcome him. She
had succumbed during his absence to the disease which she had
transmitted to him even before his birth. His father was a
bookworm, and became more engrossed in his studies after his
bereavement. Thus the boy was doubly orphaned, and devel-
oped a gravity of manner and a quaint, worldly wisdom which
caused erstwhile unassuming folk to make prophetic utterances
that Nurse Marie resented bitterly. To circumvent them, she
carried him off in triumph to the Island long before the com-
ing of the swallows the next year, meeting any feeble objec-
tions tendered by the bookworm with her own express con-
viction that, if the boy ever grew up to manhood and strength,
it would be under the kiss of the western breeze. Nurse Marie
hated the sea at all times of the year, and no light matter
would cause her to brave a three-hours' passage across the At-
lantic when the spring- tides were in full play; but, she loved
the boy — and, somebody else. That was her secret. By taking
Niall to the Island, she would be making three people happy.
204 MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY
The Islanders are fair to look upon, brave and manly, re-
taining to this day their ancient habits and customs; dressing
in a picturesque style peculiarly their own ; speaking the ancient
Gaelic tongue in converse with each other ; simple in their man-
ners without servility or cringing ; caring naught for the great
world outside their Island home, yet treating the stranger to
right royal hospitality without distinction of creed, or race, or
tongue. Nurse Marie — city-bred and weary of gray walls and
cheerless streets — was fascinated by the free, open, wholesome
life ; and when Ciaran — the strong, big-hearted fisherman and
uncrowned Island king — asked her to stay she did not say him
nay. Thus it came to pass that Niall spent his early years
there ; learnt to trim a boat and hoist a sail before he knew
his alphabet ; grew strong and bonny and lusty on their homely
fare; made friends with all and sundry; and almost forgot that
there was a gloomy house called home in a big city, wherein
sat a silent, solitary man delving for hidden lore in musty,
ancient books for which the generations to come would sing a
loud song of praise to his name.
But the flat came at last. Niall must bid farewell to his
numerous friends and faithful vassals and enter on his probation
for a great. worldly career in a big college in his native city.
Nurse Marie's love for the boy had never waned, even when a
clamorous atom of humanity named Ciaran Og contested the
kingdom of her heart with lusty lungs ; and this mandate was
to her more than a cloud on a sunny day. She wept over him
as she might over her own child, and the little Ciaran was al-
most lost in a big wave as she held out her arms fur a last
embrace when the canoe which bore Niall away was pushed from
the shore.
When summer and holidays made life glad once more, lov-
ing eyes were strained across the bay in quest of a small figure
on the big steamer; and, sure enough, the day always came
when an excited boy called wildly from the deck as Ciaran's
canoe bobbed up and down in the big ocean waves — for the
Island, being rather primitive and out of the way, has neither
pier, landing-stage, nor any of the modern conveniences of life,
save a belt of concrete running out into the sea where the
canoes are pushed ashore. The boy often narrowly escaped
a good ducking, if not an early grave, as he clambered down
the steamer-side into the canoe and gave Nurse Marie such a
1909.] MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY 205
hug that the frail barque exhibited symptoms of turning a
somersault.
When Ciaran's strong arms lifted him out of the canoe, the
Island was there en masse to welcome him, for he was ever
their own dear bairnie. Sometimes Marie felt a pang of jeal-
ousy mingling with her joy, and Ciaran was more than once
heard to say things under his breath ; but these fleeting shadows
were but as stray summer clouds, for unison and peace and
kindliness and charity always ruled in this Island-home of an
earlier and kindlier race, and human discord had no room there,
even could it make an inning in near proximity to Niall, who
was like a small sun, shedding peace and warmth and kindli-
ness and love all around him.
Yet, despite his gay spirits, he remained " a wee bit laddie,"
to use an Island phrase. He was a dear, brave, manly, chival-
rous little soul ; but his skin was too transparent for a healthy
laddie, and a pink rose-blush on either cheek caused many an
anxious whisper and warning head- shake amongst his Island
friends.
Now Ciaran had a younger brother, Mairteen — who lived in
their old home with his mother and sister — a man in the prime
of young manhood, with a sad face and a history. Curiosity
was not a trait in the boy's character. He essayed to find
out Mairteen's history, only because he loved him and hoped
in some way to help him. Loyalty is an Island trait — so is
silence, on occasions. Mairteen's history was sacred. He had
suffered. The tongues of his fellow-Islanders would not be the
cause of an added pang. Thus Niall's questions remained un-
answered, or were turned away harmlessly, and Mairteen re-
mained the man of mystery ; but the boy loved him all the
more. Together they roamed the Island ; found out the best
spots to snare wild rabbits, and the portions of coast most
frequented by wild fowl ; went out with bait and line on deep-
fishing expeditions, to return with happy faces and laden boat;
and did the hundred and one things which interest and en-
liven the long summer days for a city boy.
What Mairteen did not know of Island lore was not worth
knowing. When he laughed, his laugh was good to hear, and
the boy gave him frequent occasions for laughter, so that his
sadness was melting away under his sunny influence, like the
ice melted off the cliffs when the sun shone strong and warm.
2o6 MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY [May,
It was afterwards the boy met Caith. Mairteen was busy
at other things, and Niall and his boy comrades, having tired
of other games, took out their lines and went a-fishing from
the rocks. With the habit of long practice, the Island boys
cast their lines, held them carefully, and awaited events. Niall,
ever one inclined to haste, was by no means satisfied with this
playing of patience, and peeped over the edge of the rock
frequently to make certain that no fish would creep up and
nibble at his bait without his knowledge. He did this once
too often. There was a splash in the water, a simultaneous
cry from the other boys, and there would have been an end
of Niall only for Caith. She was passing along the pathway
above the rocks. To scamper over them was the work of a
few seconds and less to jump in and reach the boy who was
sinking for the last time. Afterwards she could not tell how
she got ashore with her unconscious burden. Perhaps it was
as well for her that her actions were not studied, else neither
might have come ashore, albeit she was a strong swimmer—
an unusual accomplishment with the Island women. To carry
him the few yards home was a more difficult task, but this she
also accomplished in due time, followed by his comrades.
Mairteen was sitting on a creepy- stool by the fire dandling
Ciaran Og when the procession entered. At sight of them he
nearly dropped the child and his face went very white. Caith's
color changed, too; but, after the first wild look at Mairteen,
she did not raise her lids again while she busied herself tear-
ing off the boy's sodden clothes preparatory to rubbing him
to restore consciousness. Whatever Caith's hands found to do,
she did with all her might. Ere many minutes Niall opened
his eyes and rested them wonderingly on the young face bent
over him.
" Who are you ? " he asked gently.
"Caith," she answered.
"Caith what?" he queried.
"Just Caith — nothing more." All this time she was rolling
him in a warm blanket and he was studying her face in a
grave, silent way, noting how comely it was, what a glint there
was in the pile of golden hair; yet what a pitiful droop about
the young, red lips, and a great sadness in the big gray eyes.
"I like you, Caith," he said, "but — where is my nurse;
and why am I rolled up like a mummy in this way ? "
1909.] MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY 207
"You fell into the sea, mavourneen," she answered.
"And — did Mairteen fish me out?"
"No; Caith jumped in and swam ashore with you," yelled
the other boys in chorus.
" Marie went down to the Callah Mor to meet Ciaran.
They'll be back soon," volunteered Mairteen, putting down the
child and fleeing his brother's house as if danger lurked there.
" I thought I knew everybody in the Island," the boy said
half to himself, as Caith laid him down in his little white bed
in the inner room.
" I was over in the other island for two years. It was only
yesterday I came back," she said.
"My goodness, what has happened? Where is Mairteen?
Caith ! Caith ! " ejaculated Mrs. Cairan as she came in at a
quick run. She had heard of the catastrophe from one of the
boys.
For answer Caith sat down on the nearest chair, from
whence she glided on to the floor in a dead faint.
" Fancy a little thing like Caith saving my life, Nurse.
When I am a big man I shall marry her," Niall said gravely
some days later as he sat in the sun outside the cottage door.
Although apparently well he remained very weak and listless.
" I shall tell her of your good intentions. Surely she will
be glad," she answered.
" Is Mairteen ill ? " he asked after a pause.
"No, child. Why do you ask?"
"He has not been to see me. Everybody in the Island
came except Mairteen."
" Well — you see Caith was here. Maybe he will come to-
day."
" And — why ? Caith isn't a dragon."
"Poor Caith. But — I cannot tell you, Niall, my mannie.
Mairteen will come to-day for sure."
After that a wonderful friendship grew up between Caith
and the boy, and they spent many hours together, roaming
over the cliffs, digging in the beach, or rowing in the blue sea
in one of Ciaran's canoes. Niall never caught fish or snared
the rabbits or trapped the wild fowl now. Caith did not like
it, and her will became law even while he puzzled over its ar-
bitrariness.
" I like everything to live and be happy," she explained.
208 MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY [May,
"What evil have the fish done to us that we should take them
out of the sea; or the poor wild fowl basking in the sun; or
the wee rabbits scudding like mad things from human sight?"
" But — Mairteen did not think it wrong," the boy pleaded.
" Look you, Niall, if some power much greater than we
killed me and left you, how would you feel ? " she said, ignor-
ing the remark anent Mairteen.
" But — that could not be. You are so little and good — and
pretty," the boy said a little shamefacedly.
" Some of the wee fishes are pretty, and we have no reason
to doubt their goodness."
"Ah! that is quite a different matter."
"How so? The rabbits are pretty too; and the birds —
some of them are beautiful."
"So they are, Caith. ' Tis a puzzle, surely; yet Mairteen
did not think it wrong to kill them ; and — Caith, you would
think Mairteen good if you knew him as well as I do," the
boy said with a certain conviction in his tone, as he harped
back to his favorite subject — Mairteen. What Mairteen thought
right, the boy could not think wrong; but his young mind was
sorely puzzled with the inconsistencies and perplexities of life.
Caith was like a tired wildflower and Mairteen was a great
strong man with wonderful powers and genius, yet no one
could say that the girl had not the stronger will of the two.
What she said she meant, and what she meant she insisted on.
The twain sorely tried the boy's peace-loving mind, inasmuch
as they tacitly declined to be friends — each avoiding the other
in a quiet, unobtrusive, yet determined manner. If the boy
went out with Mairteen in the morning, Caith was nowhere to
be seen ; and if the girl took him out on the cliffs to watch
the sun set, Mairteen was sure to be engaged in deep-sea fish-
ing on the other side of the Island. The boy never realized
how beautiful the sunsets on the western ocean were until Caith
called his attention to the descent of the day-god behind the
waters in a glorified ball of gold and silver and purple.
41 1 wish Mairteen would come and see it, too," he said a
little wistfully, his bright eyes softening as they gazed dream-
ily out over the fairy waters into the shadowy realms of the
future. Once, as they sat silent in the afterglow that follows
such a sunset and watched the mountains on the mainland, that
were erstwhile blue and gray and shadowy, become sharply out-
1909.] MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY 209
lined against the darkening sky, toned with the beautiful mel-
low light, and draw near as it were, until the leagues between
narrowed, seemingly, to scarce a mile, Niall said :
" See, Caith ! the mountains are drawing nearer. Would
it not be nice to steal Ciaran's boat and row across to them ?
It is such a little way."
"Like happiness! It seems so near sometimes that we have
but to put out our hands and grasp it; yet, when we do so, it
is far, far off," she answered, tears in her eyes for the first time
during the boy's acquaintance with her.
"You are crying, Caith. Shall I go and ask Mairteen to
row us out to the mountains? We shouldn't need to grasp
happiness then. We should be happy — shouldn't we, Caith ? "
Caith was looking at the mountains — now a warm golden
brown, at the glint of golden light across the waters, at the numer-
ous fishing smacks floating along like silent ghosts, with swell-
ing sails and dragging nets, at the little coracles — mere specks
on the water, in which men sat patiently the night through,
lines in hand and muscles tense with expectation. Mairteen,
she knew, was in one of these ; and, forgetting the boy's pres-
ence, she held out her arms towards the great silent hollow, as
the strait between the two islands where the little boats were
wont to shelter seemed to her in the dim, waning light, and
ejaculated :
" Mairteen ! Mairteen ! "
" He would come, Caith. I would fetch him gladly," the
boy answered, looking joyously up into her face.
"No, no, Niall; I had forgotten. You must not ask any
favors of Mairteen for me. He could not row so far as those
mountains. The distance has not decreased. It only seems so,
like the distance between us and happiness. To-morrow the
mountains will be in their usual place — afar from us — like that
will-o'-the-wisp called happiness"; and she took his hand and
walked quickly beside him over the cliffs to Ciaran's cottage.
" Caith," the boy said in a hushed voice as they neared
the door, " Mairteen has a history — so they say. Have you a
history, too ? "
"Yes, Niall, vourneen"; she answered with a tremor in her
voice.
"What is it — what is a history?"
VOL. LXXXIX —14
210 MAIRTEEN' S HISTORY [May,
" We were out on the sea one day — Mairteen and I. We
were fishing. It was a golden summer day. Happiness sat in
the boat with us — and — we lost it — that is all."
"Did you never try to find it?"
" It is like the mountains to-night — seemingly near, yet far
away," she answered sadly.
" Caith, I will seek until I find it for you," he said manful-
ly.
When his health was quite restored, and there was no longer
any excuse for tarrying in the Island, Niall's great trouble was
that he had not yet succeeded in finding the lost happiness of
Caith and Mairteen. But he was coming back again. He re-
fused to lose hope.
On the day of his departure the boy convened a special
meeting, consisting of Ciaran, Marie, Caith, Mairteen, and him-
self. All had arrived save Caith, and he waited in silence for
her coming. He had a special favor to ask of Mairteen which
he could not voice without Caith's presence. It concerned both
a good deal, and himself vitally. He had fully and finally de-
cided to marry Caith when he grew to man's estate. Mean-
while, since his absence from the Island might be prolonged in-
definitely, it was necessary to depute some person in whom he
had absolute trust to take care of her during his absence.
There was no one in whom he had more confidence than Mair-
teen ; but to proclaim this trust in Mairteen availed his purpose
little, unless Caith were there to listen. It was a time of great
moment, and all felt the tension, including Ciaran 6g, who was
playing marbles in the flagged yard outside.
Presently Caith arrived, her face flushed and her eyes
bright.
"Well, Niall boy, the steamer is in sight. Tis a sad day
for us who are to be left behind," she said with an effort at
cheerfulness; but her voice almost broke.
"I thought of all that, Caith," the boy said in his quaint,
old-fashioned way. " Last night I lay awake a long time think-
ing of you and Mairteen. I have fully decided to marry you
when I grow up, but that will be a long time yet. Meanwhile,
you will need some one to take care of you. You are such a
little thing, you know, and easily frightened, for all that you
bravely saved my life. I have, therefore, asked Mairteen if he
1909.] MAIRTEEN' s HISTORY 211
will take care of you until I come back, and he is willing. It
only remains for you to say that you are willing also, and then
I can go away without any trouble on my mind."
If a bomb had fallen on the small group, they could not have
been more amazed. The air was charged with electricity. No
one dared look at the other.
The boy looked from one to the other in amazement.
Hitherto, there had not been a doubt of the success of his plan
in his simple mind.
" Speak, Caith. We are waiting and time hurries on — so
does the steamer," he said at last, with as much dignity as he
could muster, despite two big tears which would well up into
his boyish eyes.
Mairteen was standing and looking at Caith with straining
eyes. She was looking at Niall, yet not seeing him for a thick
mist that swam before her vision, and Ciaran and Marie were gaz-
ing hard at the on-coming steamer as if nothing else mattered.
" I accept," Caith said at last, walking over to Mairteen and
putting a timid, small hand into one of his big ones. The
next moment she was swaying in his arms — her face white and
corpse-like.
" God bless you — be good to her, Mairteen. Come, Ciaran
—Nurse. The boat will not wait " ; and, without another word,
the trio went down the rugged path, leaving the twain alone.
It was three years ere Niall returned to the Island again.
By some mischance the letter announcing his coming did not
arrive in time, and Ciaran was not there to row him ashore —
neither was Mairteen. As the latter's cottage was nearest, he
decided to go there first and ask Mairteen for an account of his
stewardship. Unannounced, he walked up the pathway and into
the cottage. A woman — young and comely — sat on a creepy
stool crooning low to a flaxen-haired baby which lay on her
knees. She was strangely like Caith, yet older, more buxom,
with the beautiful light of mother-love lighting up her eyes and
the tenderness of the mother-heart welling up into her song in
a sweetness that was almost pain.
" 'Tis Mairteen I wanted — I had hoped — " began the boy.
" Niall ! Niall ! Mavourneen laddie ! " interrupted the wo-
man jumping up with the baby on one arm and giving the boy
such a hug with the other that he fairly gasped.
212 MAIRTEEN'S HISTORY [May.
" Niall, my mannie ! What a fine, strapping boy you've
grown. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me when I saw
you coming up/' said a man's voice ; and Niall found himself
almost strangled in Mairteen's embrace.
" You see, I've taken good care of Caith. This is our lit-
tle boy, our wee Mairteen," he went on ; then stopped, holding
Niall at arm's length.
"You married her — my Caith?" the boy said.
" Niall, my little mannie, we had been married two years.
We had a foolish quarrel, and it was given to a dear, quaint
little boy to lead us both back into the land of love. You
found our lost happiness the day you went away three years
ago," gasped Caith, between laughter and tears, as she hugged
and kissed the boy again and again.
" So that was Mairteen's history ? " he queried, his face
lighting up.
" And mine too, Niall vourneen," Caith said with the happy
tears still falling.
" God bless you both ! " he said in his grave, old-fashioned
way — " and wee Mairfeeen," he added as an afterthought, touch-
ing the baby's face lightly with his lips.
HAECKEL AND HIS METHODS.*
BY RICHARD L. MANGAN, SJ.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN said many wise things, but
few, surely, wiser than this: "You may fool part
of the people all the time, or all the people part
of the time, but you can't fool all the people all
the time." Murder, especially the murder of truth,
will out at last. The sad thought is that before the crime is
discovered the worst of the harm is done by the lie which has
usurped the throne of truth. In spite of our boasted swiftness
of communication, old errors and new, and things worse than
errors, still live and rear their heads. You may scotch the snake
but you cannot kill it, and many people will not even believe
that you have performed that necessary operation, especially if
they have begun to feel some dim attraction to the snake.
To drop a metaphor, which threatens to bring upon the
writer the undesirable accusation of using harsh names without
reason, you may crush error in Germany and it will continue
to live and flourish in America and England. For that is where
bad German science goes when it dies ! A particularly obnox-
ious form of it has just received in the land of its birth the
death it deserves, and it may interest English-speaking Catho-
lics, who do not read German, to hear some account of its last
hours. It is a curious and interesting fact that so many people
who would run for their lives if they suddenly met a fair-sized
ape at large are quite content, nay even eager to adopt him,
theoretically, into the family and to give him a place of honor.
That such is the fact would seem to be clear from the wide-
spread popularity of Haeckel's cheaper publications in America
and England. That his writings are doing great harm no one,
who has watched the Rationalist Press at work, can doubt.
Haeckel is a man of tremendous energy ; he has spent a life-
time in appealing to the popular ear, and possesses many of the
* The writer is indebted to Father Erich Wasmann, S.J., for permission to use the evi-
dence brought forward in his papers in the Stimmen aus Maria-Laack, February 8 and March
15. 1909.
214 HA ECKEL AND HIS METHODS [May,
gifts necessary to catch it. Here lies his power of doing harm.
His free and easy materialism, his loose handling of great phys-
ical conceptions like the conservation of energy and the con-
servation of matter, the artless dogmatism of his philosophy,
have deluded but few of the experts and philosophers. Sir
Oliver Lodge, in I9o6,f subjected the Riddle of the Universe to
some trenchant criticism. He says :
Professor Haeckel is, as it were, a surviving voice from the
middle of the nineteenth century ; he represents, in clear and
eloquent fashion, opinions that were prevalent among many
leaders of thought — opinions which they themselves in many
cases, and their successors still more, lived to outgrow ; so
that by this time Professor Haeckel' s voice is as the voice of
one crying in the wilderness, not as the pioneer or vanguard
of an advancing army, but as the despairing shout of a
standard-bearer still bold and unflinching, but abandoned by
the retreating ranks of his comrades as they march to new
orders in a fresh and more idealistic direction.
This is very mild criticism, and experts may be safely left
to look after themselves. Our objection to Haeckel is not that
his is a voice crying in the wilderness, but a voice crying in
the populous cities, calling upon men to lay the paths of the
Lord not straight but crooked, and to make His ways not plain
but rough.
He stands convicted of tampering with scientific truth in
his books which are written for the general reader.
He began in 1866 to construct what he pompously calls an
" Ancestral Series of the Human Pedigree " ; and since his lec-
ture at Cambridge, in 1898, these stages of the supposed verte-
brate ancestors of man had grown to the number of thirty.
By the use of high-sounding Greek and Latin names he tries
to conceal from the general reader the fact that these forms
are a work of pure imagination and the "connections of rela-
tionship " wholly theoretical. Another device in which he pos-
sesses no little skill is the manufacture of illustrations to prove
his theory. In his Natural History of Creation and in Anthro-
pology; or, the History of the Evolution of Man, he gives nu-
merous plates to prove the similarity in the evolution of the
* Life and Matter: A Criticism tf Professor Haeckel' s " Riddle of the Universe" By Sir
Oliver Lodge.
1909.] HAECKEL AND His METHODS 215
embryos of man and the brutes. Some of these illustrations
are pure inventions, whilst some have been borrowed from other
scientific works and altered to suit his purpose ! This is a fact
which has been proved beyond the shadow of a doubt by such
men as Rtitimeyer, His, Semper, Hensen, Bischoff, Hamann,
and strongly censured by them.
The story of the three wood cuts is notorious, but it is per-
haps as well to have the exact facts. In the first edition of
The Natural History of Creation there are three prints (p. 242)*
side by side to prove that the embryos of man, the ape, and
the dog are exactly similar. The prints are from the same en-
graving ! Again, on p. 248, he makes use of a single engraving
three times to prove that the embryos of the dog, the chicken,
and the turtle are strikingly alike. The trick was exposed
by a flaw in the block, and Riitimeyer, who was the first to
tell the story, characterized it as " an offence against scientific
truth exceedingly damaging to the public credit of the investi-
gator."
But Haeckel's point of primary importance is, of course, the
descent of man from the ape. True, he does not attempt to
point to any living specimens as direct ancestors of man, but
this origin is, in the popular publications at least, always "an
historic fact." In the Riddle of the Universe (1899, p. 97) he
writes: "The descent of man proximately from the ape, and
remotely from a long line of lower vertebrates, is a positive
fact of history, rich in serious consequences." His Pedigree of
the Primates ; or, the Master-Beasts, appears as late even as the
Berlin lectures, "The Fight for Evolution" (1905), although
it contains among the direct ancestors of man forms which are
practically all the product of his own imagination, the Archi-
pithecus (Primitive Ape), Prothylobates (Primitive Gibbon), and
the Pithecanthropus Alalus (Speechless Ape-man); in fact, of
the immediate ancestors of man, it contains only one actual link,
the Homo Stupidus !
In 1905 Haeckel delivered a course of popular lectures in
Berlin, " Last Words on Evolution," to meet the alarming re-
port that the Jesuits had begun to teach the doctrine of evo-
lution and to press for its recognition in the schools, and to
show that the Jesuit doctrine was anything but that genuine
evolutionism which makes such short work of God and ircmor-
* References throughout are to the German editions.
216 HAECKEL AND His METHODS [May,
tality. The sequel was amusing, for a report spread that
Haeckel had abandoned his doctrine and had given public sup-
port to the teaching of a Jesuit ! This report was, of course,
put down by Haeckel and by his English translator, the apos-
tate priest Joseph McCabe, to the diabolical ingenuity of the
Jesuits, who had deliberately corrupted the text of a telegram !
One hardly knows whether to laugh at the naive simplicity
or weep for the hardened prejudice of men who make such
statements. But Haeckel's relations with the Jesuits were never
happy. He had previously fallen into the error of thinking
that Father Erich Wasmann was a believer in his doctrine, and
in the course of an open correspondence invited him to leave
his religion and his order and join the Monist Society, which
is, like Haeckel's evolutionary science, in "irreconcilable oppo-
sition to the dogmas of the churches." Needless to say, the
invitation was firmly but politely declined, with the parting ad-
vice that Haeckel should look to his stewardship and consider
his last end. If any hopes of converting Father Wasmann still
remained in Haeckel's heart, they must have been rudely dis-
pelled in February, 1907, when Father Wasmann, at the invi-
tation of the Entomological Society of Berlin, delivered in that
city a course of lectures on the theory of evolution. Haeckel's
genealogical tree received some severe criticism, but the lec-
turer was content to dismiss Haeckel's scientific methods with
the curt remark that "comment was superfluous." Consider-
able interest was aroused in the lectures, which were largely
attended both by scientists and by educated people generally.
The course was closed by an open discussion on February
18, and the interest was heightened by the prospect of the ap-
pearance of Haeckel or of one of his representatives. This dis-
cussion unfortunately suffered the same fate as the majority of
such attempts to answer in a short hour or two objections
which were not only too numerous for full discussion, but often
so obscured in verbiage as to be almost unintelligible. The
meeting was prolonged to a late hour, and before many of the
answers were given a considerable number of the audience had
left the hall. There were those who thought that the lecturer
did not meet with fair play, but, however that may be, objec-
tors with " unanswerable " difficulties must have been not a lit-
tle surprised when all the objections of any importance were
fully answered in print, The Fight on the Problem of Evohition
1909.] HAECKEL AND His METHODS 217
in Berlin. Haeckel did not appear in person, but Heinrich
Schmidt, for many years his assistant and General Secretary of
the Monist Society, undertook to fight the case for his master.
Schmidt maintained that it was very unfair to say that
Haeckel's tree was put forward as a positive result of scientific
research, when in his Natural History of Creation and his Sys-
tematic Phylogeny he had expressly protested against any dog-
matic significance being attached to his genealogical trees, which
were only adduced as modest hypotheses. A crushing answer
to this specious argument was given by the lecturer, who pointed
out the contradiction which existed between this statement and
well-known passages in Haeckel's " popular " writings, in which
he asserted the descent of man from the ape as " an historic
fact." That the Pedigree of the Primates was certainly not put
forward as a modest hypothesis was shown by reading the fol-
lowing passage written by Haeckel in 1898:
The general outlines of the Genealogical Tree of the Pri-
mates, from the oldest Eocene half-apes right up to man, lie
clear to view within the Tertiary epoch : no essential " missing
link" is wanting. The phylogenetic unity of the Primates
from the oldest Lemurides to man is a fact of history.
Moreover, he maintains, with regard to the same tree, in the
Riddle of the Universe (1899):
Within the last two decades there has been found a consid-
erable number of well-preserved fossil remains of half-apes
and apes, and amongst them all the important connecting
links which go to make up a continuous ancestral chain from
the earliest half-apes to man.
On this Father Wasmann's comment is that there is cer-
tainly no link missing if Haeckel includes, as he must, the
" Primeval Primates," " Primeval Apes," " Primeval Hylobates,"
and " man- apes," which in his "Genealogical Tree of the Pri-
mates," of 1898 and 1905, form the essential links in his direct
line of the ancestors of man. But, as a matter of fact, these
direct ancestors of man have left behind them no fossil skele-
ton remains, while the real fossil representatives of the half-
apes and apes are only found in the collateral branches of his
tree and do not lead up to man !
The whole head and front of his offending is that what he
218 HAECKEL AND His METHODS [May,
puts forward as modest, imperfect hypotheses when writing for
experts, he states as historic facts when writing for the gene-
ral public, and although no man ever accused Haeckel of much
power of abstract thought, this nicely calculated difference of
attitude to his two classes of readers is not to be explained
away by his inability to think clearly.
But the case against Haeckel does not end here.
In June, 1908, he delivered at Jena a conference called
" The Problem of Man," in which he exhibited three plates,
two of which had already appeared in the Berlin lectures of
1905, designed to prove the affinity between roan and the mam-
mifers. Against these plates Dr. Arnold Brass, in The Problem
of the Ape,* brings serious objections. Without entering into
the minute details of the accusations, we may sum them up as
follows :
Plate I. shows the skeletons of man and of four man- apes
and bears the title "Skeletons of Five Man-apes" (anthropomor-
pha). Plates II. and III. represent the embryos of different
mammifers (the swine, rabbit, bat, 'gibbon, man) [at various
stages of their development, to show that at certain periods
the human embryo is scarcely different from that of the others.
According to Dr. Brass, not only has Professor Haeckel
falsely represented various evolutionary stages of man, the
monkey, and other mammifers, but he has taken from the
works of Selenka the figure of a macaco and, by shortening its
tail, made a gibbon of it, whilst adding to the original illustra-
tion, made by His, of the human embryo ! Admirers of Haeckel
naturally waited with some anxiety for the answer to these
accusations. In the Berliner Volkszeitung of December 29, 1908,
and in the Munchener Allgeweinen Zeitung of January 9, 1909,
appeared an article by Haeckel in which he carefully avoids
the points at issue and resorts to the most illiberal abuse of
his opponent. Of the condemned illustrations he can only say
that " they are pictures destined to make accessible to a wider
circle facts which have been long known." In this way he
thinks he has justified his action. Comment is superfluous.
But in the answer to an anonymous protest in the Munchener
Allgemeinen Zeitung, of December 19, 1908, Haeckel proffers
an apology which has staggered even his admirers:
* Dot Affenproblem. Professor Haeckel's latest falsification of embryo-pictures. Leip-
zic, 1908.
1909.] HAECKEL AND His METHODS 219
A small number of my numerous embryo-pictures (perhaps
six or eight per cent) are really falsified (in the sense of Dr.
Brass) — namely, all those figures for which the material pos-
sessed by us is so incomplete and insufficient that to make an
uninterrupted chain of the evolutive stages, we are forced to
fill the gaps by hypotheses, and reconstruct the missing mem-
bers by comparative syntheses.
After an undignified attempt to shift part of the blame on
to the shoulders of the engravers, as if it was not his duty to
check their errors, if any occurred, and to notify the reader,
he continues:
After this compromising confession of "falsification," I
might have to consider myself sentenced and annihilated, had
I not the consolation of seeing with me in the prisoner's dock
hundreds ot iellow-culprits, many of them most trustworthy
investigators and renowned biologists. The majority of fig-
ures, morphological, anatomical, histological, and embrio-
logical, circulated and valued in manuals, in reviews, and in
works of biology, deserve in the same degree the charge of
being falsified. These are all inexact, adapted more or less,
schematized, reconstructed.
We have heard before of splendid audacity, but this ex-
ample is of the best, for in the first place it is untrue that he
has made his arbitrary alterations only on "schematic figures";
the charge is that he has made them on figures which he has
not given out as schematic at all. Secondly, it is untrue that
the majority of biologists use only schematic figures in their
works. Haeckel is playing fast and loose with the term. A
schematic figure has always been understood to mean a figure
which expressly brings out certain features in an object and
in a form reconstructed according to the conception of the
maker. A non-schematic figure represents the object as the
author has seen it exist, not as he conceives that it might pos-
sibly exist. Serious scientists notify the reader of the fact that
a figure is schematic, unless it is obvious, whereas Haeckel
prints figures with features which he most certainly has not
seen but has imagined, in order to fill up a necessary gap in
the facts. This is what his accuser means by falsification,
and if words have any meaning, the charge stands unrefuted.
Haeckel's nai've confession has shocked many of his friends.
220 HAECKEL AND HIS METHODS [May,
Dr. Adolf Koelsch, who had previously spoken of Haeckel as
a man " who for fifty years has, in the name of science, fought
against the Christian conception of life," and a pioneer of
progress " who has won the confidence of the German people,"
now writes : " I was ashamed for Haeckel when I read this
passage." Moreover, a number of the German scientists who
were so frankly invited to take their places in the prisoner's
dock with him, have come forward with the following declara-
tion, which is signed by no less than forty-six names:
We, the undersigned Professors of Anatomy and Zoology,
Directors of Anatomical and Zoological Institutes and Nat-
ural History Museums, hereby declare that we by no means
approve ot the manner of schematizing which Haeckel in
some cases has practised, but that in the interests of science
and freedom of thought we most strongly condemn the cam-
paign against Haeckel carried on by Dr. Brass and the
Kepler Society. Moreover, we declare that the theory of
evolution, as expressed in the theory ol descent, can suffer
no damage on account of the existence of embryo-pictures
which prove nothing. *
Haeckel may well pray to be delivered from his friends.
The attempt to cast odium on the Kepler Society as a body
of obscurantists is not only beside the mark, as Riitimeyer,
His, Semper, and other investigators are not members of it,
but it has been frustrated by a dignified protest from the
President and Director sent to the public press. Whilst wel-
coming the declaration of the forty- six subscribers that they
disapprove of Haeckel's methods, the writers proceed to point
out that the insinuation of obscurantism is a deliberate attempt
to delude the public as to the aims and objects of the Kepler
Society, which not only advocates freedom of research, but
contains members who are evolutionists. As for the personal-
ities introduced into the discussion, Haeckel himself is largely
to blame, and the Kepler Society claims the right to be judged
by its official utterances.
Here we might leave the judgment to the fair-minded
reader, although the charges against Haeckel are not yet ex-
hausted. The most serious is that preferred by Father Was-
mann, who proves that Haeckel has committed an offence greater
* See the Allgcmcine Rundschau, Munich, February 27, 1909.
1909.] HAECKEL AND His METHODS 221
than the falsification of illustrations, the falsification of the
ideas of a great man.
One of Haeckel's latest works, the Problem of Human Life
and the Master-Beasts According to Linnceus (1908) is dedicated
to "Carl von Linne — the discoverer of the Master-beasts (Pri-
mates)— with the esteem of Ernst Haeckel, Professor of the
University of Jena, Dr. Med., Berlin, March 7, 1857. Dr.
Med. jubilar. Linnaeanus, Upsala, May 24, 1907."* Moreover,
he borrows the famous maxim " Man, know thyself," which
Linnaeus uses as a motto for his Systema Natures, so that the
dedication, the motto, and the contents of this work are de-
signed to delude the non-scientific reader into thinking that
Linnaeus was of the same mind as Haeckel on the subject of
the descent of man.
Now that Linnaeus, on purely morphological principles,
classified man as the species Homo with the species which, ac-
cording to the knowledge of his time, stood next in order,
the ape, the lemur (half-ape), and the bat, and called the class
Primates, is a fact which every reader of the Systema Natures well
knows. In the first edition he classified the sloth with man
and the ape and called them anthropomorpha, or, according to
Haeckel's translation, " beasts in the shape of men." But no
man would dream of asserting that Linnaeus considered the sloth,
or the bat, which he added later, to be an ancestor of man.
Haeckel maintains that he called the Primates " master-beasts "
because they were " the lords of the animal kingdom or
especially of organic creatures." That Linnaeus never even
thought of the origin of man from the higher Primates we
should naturally not expect the German professor to tell us.
He simply appeals to Linnaeus as the founder of his own view
on man as a " master-beast " and those who have not read the
Systema Natures naturally conclude that Haeckel and Linnaeus
class man amongst the Primates in the same sense. This is a
gross misrepresentation and a vilification of the memory of a
great man, who expressly states that, in his view, man is out-
side and above all three kingdoms of nature.
Homo Sapiens, of all created works the most perfect, the
last and highest point, set on earth's crust, marked as it is
* This last degree was conferred upon him by the University of Upsala on the occasion of
the Bi-Centenary of the birth of Linnaeus.
222 HAECKEL AND His METHODS [May,
with marvelous signs of the majesty of God, with power to
understand its structure, to admire its beauty, and to bow his
head in reverence for its Maker.*
There is not much indication here of that atheistic monism
professed by Haeckel and his Monist Society ! A little further
on in the same chapter Linnaeus writes :
So is the whole world full of the glory of God, whilst all the
works of God glorify Him by means of man, who, raised from
dead clay to life by His hand, sees in the end of Creation, the
majesty of its Maker : man, a guest worthy of his dwelling,
the herald of the Most High.
And two pages later :
The Creator began with the simplest elements of earth and
passed from mineral, plant, and animal to perfect His work in
man.
He goes on to show that it is man's noblest duty to know
and to glorify God, that the world is God's school where man
must learn to recognize Him, the Omniscient, Immortal, Eter-
nal Being, that he must lead a good life here if he would avoid
the penalty of God's justice hereafter. The motto thus splen-
didly explained is taken over by Haeckel without a woid to
show that its meaning differs a whole heaven from his own 1
Throughout this work the connection of man as an animal in
Haeckel's sense with his place in Linnaeus' ordinal group of the
Primates is taken for granted, and as from this purely morpho-
logical connection Haeckel concludes that man is descended
from the ape, the ordinary reader naturally takes Linnaeus' ex-
hortation to self-knowledge to mean — " Man, recognize that you
are nothing better than a highly-developed ape ! "
Once again we find hypotheses put forward as proved facts.
The origin of the mammals from the amphibia has been " proved
conclusively by the latest researches of zoological and anatomi-
cal experts at Upsala." His conclusions, he asks us to believe,
"are not the result of his own private conviction or prejudice,"
but of " repeated research carried on for the last thirty years
by competent investigators." Yet how dark is the whole
problem of the origin of the mammals, and particularly of the
* Sy sterna Natures, Ed. 10. Vol. I. Ch. I.
1909.] HAECKEL AND His METHODS 223
Amniote-vertebrates, has been shown by B. Fleischmann, who is
supported by Littel, Gegenbauer, and others. Even Haeckel
himself, in 1895, in the third volume of Systematic Phytogeny ',
only ventured to put forward an "imaginary picture" of the
hypothetical ancestral group of all the higher vertebrates, the
so-called Pro-reptilia. But before a "popular" audience our
conjurer has only to make a pass and the " imaginary picture "
lias become a " proved fact " The old assertions which he
used to shore up his theory of the ape-origin of man are re-
peated here without a word of critical comment. The skull-
formation of the Primates proves " that an unbroken chain of
evolutionary links stretches from the oldest common radical
form (the Archiprimas) up to the man-ape (Pithecanthropus)
and to man (Homo). For confirmation of this statement he re-
fers to Plate I in the Appendix, and the unwary reader naturally
supposes that the Archiprimas, Archipithecus, Prothylobates,
and the Pithecanthropus Alalus have been considerate enough
to leave us their skulls for purposes of comparison. The
fact, however, is that these chief members of the direct series
of man's ancestors are transitional forms invented by Haeckel
and never possessed a skull. This attempt, then, to base a
proof of "the unbroken chain of evolutionary links" on the
skull- formation of the Primates is the purest humbug.
That Haeckel has done good service in the past to scientific
study, particularly by his work on the sponges, we should be
the last to deny. But that cannot excuse him from the grav-
est charge which can be brought against a scientific investiga-
tor, the deliberate tampering with scientific truth, deliberate mis-
representation of the ideas of a great scientist. He is not the
first instance of a man led astray by a fanatical hatred of
Christianity; but one can only wonder silently that any man
should hope by such methods to "fool all the people all the
time."
THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL.
BY J. R. MEAGHER.
Yet ever and anon a trumpet sounds
From the hid battlements of eternity ;
Those shaken mists a space unsettle, then
Round the half- glimpsed turrets slowly wash again.
F all the angels of heaven who perform the high
behests of God on earth, none was sorrowful save
the Angel of Death. For thousands of years he
had been busy summoning men and women and
children before the judgment-seat of God; and
as, from decade to decade, from century to century, he plied
his never-ending task, he became painfully aware that his name
was loathed among mankind. And, angel though he was, he
felt this very acutely; for it is not pleasant to think that you
are held in universal execration, like the common hangman, and
that even little children fly from before your face as from a
thing accursed. He knew, indeed, that some welcomed his em-
brace with open arms; that some, during long nights of afflic-
tion, prayed fervently and earnestly for his coming. But they
were few enough, to be sure — the elect of God, who
" Saw that every morning, far withdrawn
Beyond the darkness and the cataract,
God made Himself an awful rose of dawn."
But the rest of men beheld in him the ruthless destroyer
of love and happiness; the pitiless, implacable killjoy, whose
presence could eclipse the gaiety of nations, and open wide the
bitter floodgates of unavailing tears.
So Azrael (forth at is said to be the name of the Angel of
Death) resolved to petition Almighty God that his reproach might
be taken away from among mortal men. In fear and trembling he
drew near the great white throne, and stood waiting with eyes
cast down and hands meekly folded on his breast. Then the
Almighty spoke.
1909.] THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL 225
" Azrael," He said, " My faithful angel, speak ! What is
thy trouble ? Why is thy countenance sad and thy brow
clouded?"
And Azrael made answer: " Q Almighty and Eternal Fa-
ther, Lord of the mighty universe, I grieve because I am hated
by those whom I bring into the vision of Thy glory. Thy
.children, whom Thou hast redeemed at so great a price, detest
me, as though I were an outlawed spirit. At the bare mention
of my name they turn pale and quake with fear. And the lit-
tle ones, even the little ones about whose souls still lingers the
fragrance of Thy breath, are palsied at my approach ; and this
is the hardest of all to bear. I ask, O Eternal Giver of good
things, that Thou wouldst grant me this one thing ; that I
might be allowed to show myself to men, just as I appear in
Thy All-Holy sight. And they, looking upon the marvelous,
entrancing beauty with which Thy Hands, O Father, have
clothed me, will turn cheerfully to me when their hour is run,
and sink peacefully to rest in my arms, with the love and con-
fidence of a child nestling against the bosom of its mother."
And the Angel of Death wept a tear of sorrow, which
dropped silently through the blue heaven on to earth, and
rested at last in the outstretched palm of a crippled beggar-
woman, who spent her days at the door of the Gesu in Rome,
holding back the great leather curtain for those who went in
and out; and all that day the poor creature felt such joy and
peace and consolation as she had never felt before ; and she
babbled in her broken tongue to the passing worshippers of
the mysteries of the love of God.
The Eternal Father looked tenderly on Azrael and replied :
" My child, you ask too much. Death is the punishment of
that first sin, by which man cast off the fair vesture of My
grace and clad himself with iniquity and corruption. And so
it is meet that he should not see thy face; lest, dreading no
longer the pangs of his last agony and passion, he should not
feel the smart of My avenging angel's sword. By My death
on the Gross I sweetened for him the cup which he must
drink ; but the last dregs thereof must always be bitter and re-
pulsive to his taste.
"Still, O Azrael, I will have pity on thy sore grief; I will
permit thee to show thy face to one child out of all the world.
For it is hard, indeed, that little children, whose souls bear
VOL. LXXXIX — 15
226 THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL [May,
My image unstained from sin, should flee from an angel of the
Most High."
Azrael bowed low before the great white throne and went
his way singing cheerily ; and the shining courts of heaven
rang with the melodious echoes of his song. Then he dropped
swiftly down to earth and alighted in the sanctuary of a little
country church. And the cherubim, who were watching there
in silent adoration, looked at one another and smiled, as they
saw Azrael make his reverent obeisance before the Tabernacle ;
for his face shone radiant and glorious, and they knew that
he was sad no more.
In the presbytery garden a priest and a child were walk-
ing hand in hand. The child was looking up into the priest's
face and she was telling him her trouble. She was telling him
that though she worshipped God with her whole mind and
loved Jesus and His Blessed Mother with her whole heart,
still she was unhappy.
" Father," she went on, " I have a terrible fear of death.
Death seems to me to be a dreadful, hideous monster, who
will one day spring out upon me like a wild beast and choke
the life out of me. And often at night, when this terrifying
thought comes to me, I cry out aloud in an agony of fear,
and I am not comforted, even when my mother steals into my
room to kiss my tears away."
At that moment Azrael, the Angel of Death, passed by on
his way through the world ; and he halted and listened.
" My dear Veronica," replied the priest, smiling kindly,
"don't you see how silly you are, worrying your poor little
head over these things ? You love the good God, and that is
enough. Look at that sparrow hopping to and fro under the
yew tree. Not even he falls to earth without a tender Father
to take care of him. And do you think that He, that same
tender Father, will allow you, with your white, immortal soul,
His marvelous handicraft, to be the prey of the ugly hobgob-
lin which your foolish imagination has invented for you ? Why,
I firmly believe that of all the angels of God, the Angel of
Death is the most beautiful. In heaven there are many sur-
prises in store for us. But when we have grown a little ac-
customed to the mystery of the Face of God, and have learnt
to know something of the glory of His Mother, then we shall
1909.] THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL 227
turn our wonder-stricken gaze on that Angel of Death, whom
men so dread here below.
" You are afraid, perhaps, of the darkness and the pains of
death. Yet both are short lived. It is but a step, a sudden
awakening after a feverish sleep — and then, the glory of the
Lord. If I were to promise to bring you into a room full of
jail sorts of pleasures and delights, on the condition that I
covered your eyes as I led you thither, you would not mind
very much if my fingers pressed painfully against your eye-
balls as we stepped across the threshold. And so, when you
come to die, the great angel will grip you, tightly, perhaps,
and lead you into deep shadows and through the purgatory of
pain ; and then your eyes will behold the Vision of the blest.
" But, my dear child, do not bother your head pondering
over these things. Leave all to God, and trust in Him, and
seek at every moment to do His Holy Will; and He will lead
you through the winding mazes of life, as tenderly as a shep-
herd guides his lambkins through lone desert tracts to fresh
green pastures and quiet streams; and when He calls you to
Himself with a gentle and loving whisper, you will thank Him,
and bless His Holy Name, as a soft hand is laid in yours,
and you feel drooping over you, like cool evening shadows at
the close of a hot day, the soothing wings of the Angel of
Death."
Of all the sons of God, whether in heaven or on earth,
none at that moment rejoiced and was glad like Azrael, the
Angel of Death.
- . Veronica thanked the good old priest, and ran off to make
a little visit to the Blessed Sacrament. She had scarcely
dropped on to her knees before the high altar, when she felt
a strange drowsiness come over her.
"This will never do," she told herself; "why, I shall be
fast asleep in two minutes, and our Lord will be displeased
with me for dozing, like the thoughtless girl that I am, right
before His Holy Eyes. Perhaps, if I sat down and read my
book, I could keep awake."
So she sat down and opened her little prayer-book. But it
was no use. Her head kept nodding out of all control, and the
words of the book had suddenly picked a most disgraceful quar-
rel among themselves, and were running into one another and
butting one another, and tumbling over one another, for all the
228 THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL
world like a herd of lively goats on the steep hillside. She was
just wondering what would happen to that tiny word to if it
were knocked clean off the page by its clumsy, bullying neigh-
bor vouchsafe, when the gentle sound of moving wings caused
her to raise her head, and she beheld a beautiful white bird
hovering just above her. She stood up, thinking to catch the
pretty thing and take it home with her, but the bird darted
off and disappeared into a side chapel dedicated to the holy
souls. Veronica ran in after it on tip-toe ; but the strange
bird was nowhere to be seen. Veronica was startled. She
searched all round the chapel, but in vain. She was just about
to return sadly into the church, feeling dreadfully disappointed,
when she remembered that the beautiful creature might have
taken refuge behind the altar. So she crept softly up to the
altar and peeped behind it. But there was no bird visible.
Instead, she saw a door in the wall, half-open. Needless to
say, her curiosity was aroused, and she determined to see what
was on the other side of the door, through which, after all, the
mysterious bird might have passed.
The door was heavy and creaked solemnly, as she pushed
at it with all her might. Beyond was a narrow passage, along
which she stepped hesitatingly, and not without a secret dread.
Might not there be ghosts lurking in that chill gloom ? She
was actually on the point of turning back, when she noticed
that she was almost at the end of the passage, where, to excite
again her well-nigh satisfied curiosity, stood another door. This
she attempted to open, but could not. In fact, it seemed as
though she would have to retrace her steps after all, for there
was no latch, and no bolts, nothing that might give her a clue.
Then she recalled to mind the old Arabian story and said in a
timid voice : " Open, Sesame ! " But the ejaculation, however
powerful in the mouth of AH Baba, had not the slightest effect
with her. At last a bright idea struck her. She made the
Sign of the Cross, slowly and reverently, and the door opened
noiselessly outwards, and she stood on the threshold marveling.
Beyond lay a beautiful garden, flooded in sunlight. She had
never seen such a garden in her life before; had never gazed
upon such wealth of flowers and greenery. She felt half afraid
of venturing into so lovely a paradise, but took heart as her
eyes grew accustomed to the sight, and stepped boldly forth,
holding her breath in sheer wonderment. Paths of shining
THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL 229
white gravel wound among trim lawns, or disappeared beneath
overarching boughs, losing themselves at last amid the gloom
of ilex and cypress. Fountains shot up their silver jets and
broke into sprays of lustrous diamonds, which fell back on the
bosoms of rippling pools with merry, melodious babbling. There
were yew trees and hedgerows of box and myrtle clipped into
fantastic shapes. And the whole garden was sown with a gay
profusion of flowers, roses white and red, lilies of myriad hues,
carnations, foxglove, Canterbury- bells, and countless others,
above which tall hollyhocks, erect and stately like festive flam-
beaux, swayed graciously in the breeze.
Veronica strolled aimlessly, stooping often to smell at the
loveliest blossoms, or to pluck some tiny flower that was new
to her. Then suddenly she looked up and started with a wild
surprise.
Not many yards away, seated at the foot of a marble sun-
dial, was a figure clad in gray. Its head was sunk on its
breast, and its face was shrouded by the hood of its flowing
mantle. Veronica felt that she ought to approach, in order to
explain, in case of necessity, that she had found her way into
the garden quite by accident. As she drew near, the figure,
without raising its head, beckoned to her with slow, mysterious
gesture. Veronica nerved herself with an effort, for there was
something uncommonly weird about the apparition, and then
said with a quavering voice :
" Excuse me, can you tell me to whom this garden be-
longs?"
. "It belongs to me," replied the strange figure in solemn
tones.
" And, please, who are you ? " demanded Veronica, growing
a little braver.
" Child," answered the other, raising its head slightly, " I
am— Death / "
Veronica leapt backwards with a stifled scream. A wild,
nameless horror surged around her heart. Her limbs seemed
paralyzed, her blood chilled in her veins, as, with clasped hands
and wide-staring eyes, she gazed on him who had been the
terror of her waking thoughts and the nightmare of her dreams.
"Child," continued the figure in a slow, monotonous voice,
" fear not ! I am an angel of the Most High God, and one
ot the noblest of the works of His Hands. If men fly from
230 THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL [May,
me, as Lot fled from the cities of the plain, it is because they
know me not. Sin has distorted and blinded their vision and
warped their reason, so that they see in me only a monster
like unto the demons of hell. Child, you, too, have feared me,
and trembled at the slightest thought of me, because you have
not known me. Know me now, and look upon my face, and
learn how the great servants of God are lovely beyond com-
pare."
And Azrael, the Angel of Death, straightway rose up, and
the gray robes fell off him; and Veronica saw him standing
there in all his towering majesty. His brow shone like the har-
vest moon, and his hair was as fine spun gold, and his eyes blazed
like the stars of the south. His garments sparkled with the
blended luster of diamond and ruby and amethyst and sapphire,
and gave forth a sweet fragrance. Veronica fell on her knees
and wept; for in that radiant countenance she saw and recog-
nized the deathless glow of infinite pity and infinite love.
She tried to speak, but her sobs choked her. She would
fain have kissed the hem of that dazzling vesture, but some-
thing held her back ; she longed to clasp the strong white
hand in hers, and feel the might and power of that protecting
arm ; but she feared that her touch would be sacrilegious. And
so she could only gaze mute and helpless into that lovely face,
conscious that, in the witchery of that smile and in the glow
of those starlike eyes, were a joy and consolation such as only
angels know. And slowly it came home to her that the Angel
of Death saw in her the type of the human race ; and that, in
revealing himself to her, he was receiving amends for the long
centuries of abhorrence and loathing which the sons of Adam
had meted out to him. And she understood then why the
shining countenance was softened by the tender shadows of
olden sympathies, as though he were gazing upon those ancient
sorrows which his hand had rolled away, and upon vain hopes
that had once flared tempestuously in the hearts of men, only
to be snuffed out at last, kindly, yet firmly, by the touch of
his resistless fingers.
Then the vision faded from her, and she was alone. Alone,
indeed, but no longer in the wondrous garden !
She found herself back again in church before the Blessed
Sacrament, where the lamp of the Sanctuary was burning cheer-
fully, as though nothing extraordinary had happened. But
1909.] THE ANGEL BEAUTIFUL 231
Veronica pondered long over what she had seen and heard;
she beheld again the exquisite face, so winning in its glance
of tender sympathy, so subduing in its majestic beauty; and
she listened to his words of hope and love. Then, fearing to
be unfaithful in her watch before Him who lay beyond the
Tabernacle door, under the mystic semblance of Bread, she
took up her book again to pray ; and, lo ! it was wet with
tears.
Years passed away, and Veronica lay dying. As a Sister
of Charity she had followed close in her Divine Master's foot-
steps, bearing His message of consolation to the outcast and
the enslaved. Her days had been passed amid the unhallowed
slums of a great city ; for there, where the poor die so easily,
ground down by the pitiless heel of an unshakable destiny,
she had ever stood in the presence of the Angel of Death. She
was never so peaceful and calm and happy, as when she knelt
at the bed of the dying, soothing the tortured brow, and illumin-
ing, by her sweet words of pity and hope, the darkness of the
final agony. And as suffering eyes grew rigid and sightless,
and broken hearts ceased to beat forever, Veronica smiled and
wept, and smiled again at the passing of him into whose im-
mortal eyes her own eyes had once gazed.
And now she, too, lay on her deathbed. For a whole
day she had been unconscious, and it was feared that in that
state of coma she would pass away. But towards evening, when
the last beam of departing sunlight was stealing across her
chamber wall, she suddenly sat bolt upright. Her weeping sis-
ters saw that on her face flickered the glad smile of expectancy,
and there burst from her lips the joyous cry of one who be-
holds a dear friend after long separation. " Ah, my angel ! "
she said with a gentle sob in her voice. And her pale, wasted
face was lit up with the light that never was on sea or land ;
and holding out her arms, as though to receive a beloved one,
she gave a little sigh of contentment, and sank back like a
tired child into the mighty embrace of the Angel Beautiful.
FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT.
BY BARLEY DALE.
[IENA, one of the loveliest of Italian cities, stands,
as all the world knows, on the top of a three-
capped mountain — stands there crowning it with
its white and rose-colored towers, on top of the
marvelous green hill which supports it. Beauti-
ful it now is, beautiful it was in the days when the great St.
Catherine trod its steep and narrow streets. The remembrance
of her sweet presence has shed a halo over her native city,
which thrills us of the twentieth century, as we follow in her
footsteps, with a deeper emotion than her contemporaries felt
when they passed up and down those same streets.
It was near Siena that the subject of this article, Father
William Flete, dwelt in the days when the celebrated daughter
of the Sienese dyer, was mortifying her body and spirit in her
father's house.
Father Flete was known familiarly to his contemporaries in
Italy as the " Bachelor " or the " Bachelor of the Wood," or
sometimes as " Father William." Siena, then as now, was sur-
rounded by woods or forests of oak and ilex, and it was in
one of these at Lecceto, that the "Bachelor" lived a hermit's
life. It was a most romantic spot, wild and beautiful, with
grand old oaks clothing it, interspersed with caves and grottoes,
a place eminently suited to the eremitical, contemplative life
to which Father Flete had so strong a vocation.
He was, as his name suggests, an Englishman, and was born
in the early part of the fourteenth century ; he was educated
at Cambridge, and then joined the Hermit Friars of St. Au-
gustine, commonly known as the Austin Friars. He appears
to have desired a stricter life than his community were living,
and hearing that in Italy some monasteries of his order had
returned to the primitive discipline, he set out for Tuscany to
enter one of these houses. The Augustinian Hermit Friars
had then a house at Siena, also a monastery at Lecceto, the
ruins of which are still standing. When Father Flete came to
1909.] FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT 233
Lecceto, he was so much struck with the beauty of the place,
and its suitability for the contemplative life, that he determined
to remain there, and entering the Monastery of Lecceto, with
the consent of his superiors, he took up his abode at a spot
in the forest known as the Hermitage of the Wood, or the
Hermitage of the Lake, or sometimes as the Shady Hermitage.
Lecceto was a place of pilgrimage for popes and princes
and saints : St. Dominic once visited it, and several times St.
Catherine went there; and the Augustinian Monastery had been
honored in former times by receiving no less a person than
the great St. Augustine himself who, in 391, gave the hermits
he then found living there a Rule. After St. Catherine be-
came acquainted with Father "Flete, she often went there to
see him, and sometimes confessed to him. Father Flete ap-
pears to have adapted some of the caves in the forest for him-
self. He would frequently offer Mass in one of them fitted
up for the purpose, and would always return home to the
monastery at night to sleep.
There were many hermits at this time living a similar kind
of eremitical life in Italy: Lecceto was particularly famous for
them, but there were also some near Pisa, and some at Val-
lombrosa, one of whom we shall have occasion to mention, and
some in the neighborhood of Spoleto.
Among the Sienese hermits may be named another friend
of St. Catherine, Fra Santi, a very holy man who, after living
a solitary life in the woods for thirty years, gave up his soli-
tude to some extent to travel with St. Catherine. Thomas of
Siena, known familiarly as Thomassuccio, was another holy
hermit, who, at the command of his superior, left his retreat
to go about Tuscany preaching, which he did with great suc-
cess, and was credited with the gifts of prophecy and working
miracles. Another celebrated Sienese hermit was the poet
Neri di Landuccio, who, after acting as St. Catherine's secre-
tary and traveling-companion, received a message from her at
her death, telling him that his vocation was to be a hermit;
he then retired to a cell just outside the Porta Nuova of Siena,
and lived a life of great austerity there, till he died at a much
advanced age.
Father Flete's love of solitude was so great, that it amounted
to a fault; and he even refused to leave it at St. Catherine's
bidding; she rebuked him openly for this fault in one of her
234 FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT [May,
letters, telling him that he ought to offer Mass in his monastery,
as often as his Prior wished. This Prior was a very holy man,
Father John Tantucci, a disciple of St. Catherine, and the ab-
sence of the hermit from his monastery sometimes caused
friction between the two men.
Father Flete was very learned and very prudent in counsel,
but a great lover of silence as well as of solitude, speaking
only when obliged to. He used to take his books with him
into the caves and grottoes, and study there, and perhaps wrote
some of his voluminous letters and sermons in this retreat.
He left his cell to go to Siena to attend the meetings and ser-
vices of the Company of La Scala, a very ancient and cele-
brated Confraternity, which met in the catacombs under the
Hospital of La Scala. Here the members had a chapel, and
St. Catherine herself had a little room or cell, from which she
could hear Mass on festivals. The men met there every Fri-
day, and took the discipline together in their chapel. How
often Father Flete went to La Scala we are not told, but prob-
ably frequently, for it was the center of religious life at Siena
at that time, and several belonged to it who were later canon-
ized saints.
After the first meeting between St. Catherine and Father
Flete, a great friendship sprung up between them, one of those
exquisite, spiritual friendships, which are to worldly friendships
like exotics to the flowers of the field, and require very deli-
cate handling. It was a friendship like that of St. Jerome for
St. Paula, or of St. Francis for St. Clare, or of St. Theresa for
St. John of the Cross, or of Richard Rolle, the great English
mystic and mediaeval poet, for Margaret Ainderby, the recluse,
only in St. Catherine's case, her friendship with Father Flete
was not so absorbing and special, for she had many friends.
Although Father William was sometimes her confessor, she did
not hesitate on that account to tell him of his faults and re-
buke him for them ; besides reproving him for his excessive
love of solitude, she reprimanded him for his excessive auster-
ities, and warned him against spiritual self-will.
The hermit had the greatest reverence and regard for the
saint, and after her death he wrote an unusually long panegyric
of her virtues, which is still extant in the library of Siena. In
it he describes the saint in some of her ecstasies, in which he
frequently saw her, and he says her face was transfigured seme-
1 909-] FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT 235
times into the face of our Lord, sometimes into that of an angel,
which seems to have terrified the beholders. Sometimes, from his
account, she appears to have undergone the transfiguration of
suffering also like her Divine Master, for on these occasions she
was racked with agony in every bone, so that blood flowed from
her mouth, and her attendants had to wipe away the perspiration
which broke out upon her face. In Mother Drane's History of
St. Catherine may be read long quotations from this panegyric of
Father Flete's, and also mention of another epistle which he
wrote to defend St. Catherine from what turned out to be an
imaginary calumny.
The unfortunate upon whom the good hermit poured out
the vials of his wrath, was another great friend of St. Catherine's
— and only second to Father Flete in his devotion to her — a
hermit known as Brother or Don John of the Cells. Originally
a Florentine nobleman, he joined, when still young, the Monks
of Vallombrosa, founded by St. John Gualberto, and eventually
became Prior of the Vallombrosan Monastery. While in office as
Prior he was found guilty of a serious fault, for which he was
deposed by his General, and, with the severity of the age, con-
fined in a dark dungeon for a year. His repentance was very
great, and when released from his prison, he began to lead a
most austere and holy life, in a hermitage on a lonely rock
near the monastery at Vallombrosa, and refused to be reinstated
in his office. He also belonged to the Company of La Scala,
but up to 1376 (the date of his first letter to Father Flete)
they had not met, though Don John says he had long desired
to see one of whom he had so often heard.
It appears from another letter of Don John's, that Father
Flete had been told that Don John had been censuring St.
Catherine and accusing her of folly. It is rather amusing to
find Brother John attributing the English hermit's mistake to
his scanty knowledge of the Italian language, or at least of
Don John's dialect, which, seeing that he was a Florentine,
was probably not so pure as that which the Sienese speak,
for even the peasants in Siena speak the best and purest Ital-
ian, and are said to be natural orators.
Brother John had heard a report that women were about
to join in the Crusade which St. Catherine was endeavoring to
inaugurate, and he, most wisely, strongly disapproved of this,
and expressed his disapproval very forcibly in a letter to a
236 FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT [May,
Florentine lady who had proposed going to fight the Saracens.
In this letter he mentioned St. Catherine, and said that if she
had been preaching that women would find Christ by going to
the Crusades, he emphatically denied it, and he further told
his correspondent to ask the saint if she had found Him by
gadding about or by prayer.
In his very long reply to Father Flete, Don John shows
conclusively that his devotion to St. Catherine was no less than
that of the hermit of Lecceto, who then wrote a conciliatory
epistle to the Vallombrosan hermit, and received another very
lengthy effusion in reply.
About this time, Father Flete's solitude was disturbed by
the most distracting news that could have penetrated to it.
Neither famine nor earthquakes nor war could have been so
disquieting to Catholics as the Papal schism, which now pierced
the heart of the Church, and eventually led to war, when some
of the Cardinals, who had elected Urban VI. Pope in place of
Gregory XL, now turned against him and set up an antipope
under the title of Clement VII.
This event took Catherine to Rome, where she suggested to
Urban VI. that he should call to Rome to advise him certain
holy men, among them Don John of the Cells, two other her-
mits from Spoleto, Father William Flete, and another Augus-
tianian hermit, Brother Anthony of Nizza. All these were
summoned by a papal brief, but the two hermits of Lecceto
refused to go, notwithstanding that St. Catherine wrote to urge
them to do so, wittily remarking in her letter, "that they need
not be afraid of losing their solitude, for there they would
find plenty of woods."
This first letter did not move the hermits from their be-
loved seclusion, so the saint wrote a second letter to Brother
Anthony, in which she said :
It seems from the letter which Father William sent me that
neither he nor you intend to come. I shall not answer that
letter, but I groan from my heart at his simplicity, and to see
how little he cares for God's honor or the good of his neigh-
bor. It it is out of humility and the fear of losing his peace,
he should ask permission of the Vicar ot Christ and beg him
to be so good as to leave him undisturbed in his solitude, and
then leave the decision in his hands. But your devotion can-
not be very solid or you would not lose it by a change ot
1909.] FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT 237
place. Father Andrew of I/ucca and Father Paulinus have
not acted so ; they are old and infirm but they set out at once.
They are come. They have obeyed ; and though they wish
very much to return to their cells, yet they will not cast off
the yoke of obedience ; they have come to suffer and to per-
fect themselves in the midst of prayers and tears. This is the
right way of acting.
This severe letter had the desired effect on Brother Anthony,
who obeyed and set out for Rome, where he died ; but Father
Flete only sought a still more retired spot on the other side
of the forest, called the Wood of the Lake.
We wonder at Father Flete's temerity in venturing to dis-
obey a Pontiff of such violent temper as Urban VI., who, by
his severity and overbearing conduct, alienated even the Car-
dinals who had elected him ; but he was in many other ways
a very fine character. Mother Drane thinks the Pope must
have excused the hermit from going to Rome, and says that
St. Catherine was not seriously displeased with him for his dis-
obedience, though she scolded him well for it. At any rate,
if she was angry at the time, she forgave him, since before
she died she sent a message to him, asking him to remember
her spiritual children, whom she committed to his care.
This happened in 1380, and it is said by Ambrose Landuc-
cio in Sylva Italica, that Father Flete died the same year ;
but this is disproved by the fact that his panegyric on St.
Catherine was written in 1382. It seems likely that he died
soon after St. Catherine, probably in middle life, for he evi-
dently was neither old nor infirm in 1378, when St. Catherine
compared him, to his disadvantage, with Father Paulinus and
Father Andrew.
We do not know the date when the holy hermit first went
to Lecceto; all we know is, that he had been living there
twelve years before he met St. Catherine; neither do we know
the date of this first meeting, but it was certainly before 1376.
In that year she went to Lecceto, and dictated to him in the
chapel there a treatise called " The Relation of a Doctrine,"
which he translated into Latin, so he must have lived at least
nineteen years in these hermitages.
He was not, strictly speaking, either an anchorite or a
recluse, for he was not enclosed, but moved about from cell to
cell, usually sleeping in his monastery. He wrote, like most
238 FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT [May
mediaeval writers, in Latin, but of his writings only a few re-
main, and none of these few has ever been printed or pub-
lished. A fifteenth-century MS. of one of them, called De Re-
mediis Contra Tentationes, is in the University Library at Cam-
bridge, to which it was given by King George I. It was
originally in the library of Bishop Moore, who was translated
from Norwich to Ely. There were five other MSS. in the same
collection, called the Norwich MSS. ; two of Father Flete's writ-
ings are now in the library at Siena. Four of these five MSS.
were learned epistles to various members of the Augustinian
Order in England, and the most interesting was a book of
Predictions to the English of Calamities Coming Upon England.
One of these predictions, which has, alas ! come too true, was
that England would lose the Catholic faith. Father Flete is
said to have had these revelations, concerning the future, made
to him in his contemplations.
He was considered a saint by his contemporaries, especially
by his own order, and by his Italian contemporaries, who said
of him that he lived a most holy and ascetic life, that he drank
only vinegar and water, and was also very learned. Gabellicus
mentions him among the saints of the reformed Augustinians
in Italy.
In these days of reprints of mediaeval books, it might be
worth while to translate and publish Father Flete's treatise On
Resisting Temptations, and also, if the MS. can be found, the
Predictions of the Calamities Coming Upon England. The prob-
ability is that his contemporaries were right in thinking that
the holy hermit had the gift of prophecy, for all who have
written of him speak of his great sanctity, and prophecy is one
of the signs of an heroic degree of sanctity. We know that
he forsook the world expressly to exercise himself in contem-
plative prayer, to which he had so great an attraction, and in
which he attained a very high degree of perfection. His un-
common mystical experiences testify to this. Mother Drane
tells us that he and St. Catherine met in the spirit, and knew
each other long before they met in the flesh.
It is not at all unusual for those who, like Father Flete,
have left the world expressly to give themselves up to contem-
plation, to be favored with a keen knowledge of whither the
tendencies of the age are leading mankind. St. Bridget of Swe-
den, in some of her revelations, foresaw coming events; other
1909.] FATHER WILLIAM FLETE, HERMIT 239
recluses, like Blessed Juliana of Norwich, have had revelations ;
and the poetical rhapsodies of Richard Rolle, the holy hermit
of Hampole, are sometimes so exquisitely beautiful, that we can
but think they were inspired. That William Flete, living as he
did, a hundred and fifty years before the so-called Reformation,
should have foreseen that England would lose the Catholic faith,
shows that he had some claim to be credited with the gift ot
prophecy ; though we must not forget that he was a contem-
porary of John Wiclif, and the rumor of the latter's heretical
opinions had undoubteely reached Lecceto. We feel certain of
this because another Austin Friar, Father Bakin, a celebrated
preacher, was one of the most successful of Wiclif's oppo-
nents, and reports of his sermons, then causing a great sensa-
tion in London, would no doubt have been sent to Father Flete
by some of his religious brethren. Father Bakin was consid-
ered the greatest living theologian of his day, and there can be
little doubt that Father Flete, in his cell at Lecceto, was in-
formed of the arguments he used in his controversy with the
great fourteenth- century heretic, for monks and friars were great
letter-writers in those times. People wrote much less frequently
then than we do in these days of postal facilities, but they
made up for the infrequency by the length of their effusions,
as Father Flete's own epistles testify.
We wonder if Father Flete foresaw that several of his reli-
gious brethren would suffer martyrdom under Henry VIII., as
they did and are now beatified. Torellus, in his Augustinian
Age, is of opinion that Father Flete went back to England
after the death of St. Catherine in 1381, and there introduced
the reform of Lecceto, and that same year " migrated to hea-
ven." He so judges, because there is no mention of Father
Flete's death or burial in the book of the dead at Lecceto, and
in the case of the death of a religious of such known sanctity
as Father William Flete it can hardly be supposed that his
name would be passed over.
Gandolphus, another of his biographers, puts the date of
his death, from the study of some Sienese MSS., at 1383, which
is probably as near as we shall get to it, unless more infotma-
tion about this holy man is discovered.
IRew Boohs*
The authenticity of this celebrated
THE MIRACLE OF ST. JAN- miracle * is defended in a thor-
UARIUS. oughly systematic form by a French
professor of science, who was con-
verted from infidelity by his own personal study of the miracu-
lous manifestations at Lourdes. He has closely observed the
miracle of St. Januarius for several successive years, and ap-
plied to it, in rigorous method, some scientific tests of which
it is susceptible. One of these tests was that of spectral anal-
ysis, which demonstrates that the substance contained in the
phial is true blood. This substance is not naturally liquifiable;
consequently, the liquification, which, for centuries, has taken
place on the feast of the saint, is not a natural phenomenon.
The other test is the considerable increase in weight and vol-
ume which occurs during the process of the miracle in the
hermetically sealed flask. Professor Cavene demonstrates that
there is no room for the hypotheses of trickery and fraud as an
explanation of the effect ; and he also refutes the other theories
that unbelievers have advanced; /. e., that the result is an ef-
fect of Vesuvius, or the application of heat through the hand-
ling of the phial in the course of its exposition during the days
of the annual novena. The scientific section, while the most
valuable part of M. Cavene's work, is not its only excellence.
He introduces his subject with a discussion, from the philo-
sophic point of view, of the possibility of miracles; then he
indicates their value as a divine confirmation of revelation and
of the claims of the Catholic Church. He next gives us a
brief biography of St. Januarius; and afterwards recounts the
historical data available, especially from the year 1389, to
prove the annual recurrence of the miraculous liquefaction of
the blood in the phial at the Cathedral of Naples, and of the
exudations exhibited by the stone at Pozzuoli. In passing, he
brings forward for refutation, some of the criticisms and ob-
jections advanced against the miracle by men whose names
live in literature — the Calvinist Doumoulin, Addison, Duclos,
Dumas; as well as its contemporary assailants. This fine apol-
ogia of M. Cavene is all the more effective because, though
* Le Celebre Miracle de Saint Janvier, a Naples et Pouzzoles. Par Le"on Cavene. Paris :
Gabriel Beauchesne.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 241
his piety and devout conviction are manifest, he preserves the
calm, unemotional, objective tone proper to the scientific searcher
or historian. Books such as this, or Bertrim's work on Lourdes,
are at least as likely to prove efficient arguments for Catholic
truth to the present generation as our formal defences which
were constructed for another age, when those outside the
Church still shared with us a belief in some fundamental
Christian dogmas which their descendants hold to very lightly,
if at all.
This characteristic piece of pains-
THE CHRISTIAN FESTI- taking German scholarship* has
VALS. been enjoying, for nearly ten years
past, the approval of historical crit-
ics in Germany, France, and Italy. Embodying the assured
results of modern investigation, it is a fine exposition of the
antiquity of some of the chief liturgical observances in the
Church's calendar. The book is intended chiefly for theolog-
ical students and the younger clergy; but it will also be ap-
preciated by that growing section of the laity which loves to
be well-informed on matters pertaining to the discipline and
practice of the Church. How much more instruction is im-
parted in Germany on this matter than in our schools may be
judged from the fact that this book is intended, not only for
theological students but also for lay teachers, because "the
Minister of Public Worship in Prussia has recently (i2th of
September, 1898) required from candidates for the office of
Catholic teacher in higher-grade schools, a considerable ac-
quaintance with the ecclesiastical year among their other qual-
ifications." Besides the exposition of the origin and history
of all the great festivals, the chief saints' days, the ember and
rogation days, the work contains a critical account of the
sources, i. e., the earliest Christian calendars, the various mar-
tyrologies, and the later calendars that appeared from the
eighth till the eleventh century.
We commend strongly to the no-
LIFE OF CHRIST. tice of Catholic publishers the ex-
ample of Messrs. Longmans, who
have just issued, at the price of twenty-five cents, a well-
* Heortology. A History of the Christian Festivals from their Origin to tht Present Day. By
Dr. K. A. Heinrich Kellner. Translated by a priest of the Diocese of Westminster. St.
Louis : B. Herder.
VOI.. LXXXIX. — 1 6
242 NEW BOOKS [May,
printed edition of the English version of Abbe" Fouard's great
Life of Christ.* When books of this character appear from
our Catholic booksellers, for some reason or another, they
are sold at prices which cannot be called popular; and then
we wonder how it comes that the bulk of the laity is so in-
different to Catholic literature of the higher quality. To bring
within the reach of everybody books of this type, and there
are many of them, would be a genuine exercise of the apos-
tolate of the press.
The latest number of Les Saints
THE SAINTS. series is a life of St. Thomas of
Canterbury,! by Mgr. Demimuid.
The writer has kept in view the ideal which the editors of this
now numerous collection of saints' biographies have set up : a
strict adherence to the canons of historical writing, combined
with solid edification, effected by bringing out the spiritual
greatness of the man and the significance for religion of the
great struggle in which he fought and died.
The editor of this compilation^ to
ROADS TO ROME. whom the English Roads to Rome
suggested the task of obtaining a
similar collection of the records of American converts, is to be
congratulated on the fruit of her endeavor. There can be no
doubt but that the book will be a beacon to show many
others the course to the haven of rest. These stories of how
so many men and women, Americans by descent and birth,
bred in American ways and traditions, and looking at life with
American eyes, came to see, notwithstanding their Protestant
origins, that truth is in the Catholic Church alone, cannot but
have an intimate personal message for many another American
who has yet to make the journey.
The starting-points have been various : in a few instances
it was Presbyterianism ; in more, some form of evangelical
Protestantism; frequently, Unitarianism ; but in most cases,
the Episcopal Church. The reasons for conversion, too, differ
* The Christ, the Son of God. A Life of our Lord and Savier Jesus Christ. By the Abbe"
Constant Fouard. New York : Longmans, Green & Co.
t St. Thomas d Becket. Par Mgr. Demimuid. Paris : Gabriel Beauchesne.
\ Some Roads to Rome in America. Being Personal Records of Conversions to tht Catholic
Church. By Georgina Pell Curtis. St. Louis : B. Herder.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 243
widely. Most commonly the first motive was dissatisfaction and
unrest on account of doubt, or the insufficiency of the religious
system in which the future convert was brought up. Then,
^books, the attraction of the Catholic ritual, association with
Catholics, strengthened the impulse ; and, generally speaking,
a course of reading on the claims and doctrines of Catholicism
followed. One cannot but remember that God works in a mys-
terious way His wonders to perform, when one notices some
of the untoward incidents that contributed towards the work of
grace — the recollection of an impression made in childhood by
the serenity of a Quaker meeting, a bitter sermon against the
Church, a novel of Zola, or the strange dilemma proposed by
a serious non-Catholic friend: either the Catholic Church or
the Mormon Church is the Church of God. One is less sur-
prised to learn that a word from Longfellow helped on one lit-
tle boy, who has since become a valiant soldier of truth, as ed-
itor of one of our most respected Catholic periodicals. " My
vocation to the priesthood," writes one — our readers would
not forgive us if we anticipated the pleasure they will have in
finding the name for themselves in the volume — "was encour-
aged by Longfellow. He once asked me in his kindly way what
I intended to be when I became a man. My prompt answer
was: ' A. Catholic priest and a missionary among the Indians.'
He smiled, probably at the presumptuousness of the idea, but
there was something impressive in his voice when, looking
down at me, he said: 'I am very glad you have such an in-
tention.' Of course I felt sure of being on the right path, since
Mr. Longfellow had given his approval."
Many have been generous in the fullness with which they
have entered into detail. Mr. Spearman, the novelist, and the
distinguished botanist, Dr. E. Green, furnish miniature auto-
biographies, in which there is not a word too much. The thirty
odd pages in which Miss Susie Swift tells of her evolution fiom
the character of Brigadier in the Salvation Army to that of a
Dominican nun is only too short. The palm for brevity is
borne off by Mr. John Mitchell, the labor leader, who, with
characteristic modesty, occupies scarcely half a page. This rich
record of invitations heeded may well be interpreted to sup-
port the conviction of a contributor who states that : " Cath-
olicity is latent in the average American, and awaits only the
exercise of spiritual candor to be evoked in practice."
244 NEW BOOKS [May,
The history of that most dismal
CATHOLICISM IN ENGLAND, epoch in English Catholicism, the
eighteenth century, truly called a
"time of depression, of lost hopes, and discouragement," is
the subject of two works,* which serve as a background to
heighten the significance of the great Eucharistic Congress
which London witnessed last year. The first of these consists
of the notes of Dr. John Kirk, who was well known nearly
a century ago as an indefatigable student of later Catholic
history in England. From about the year 1776 he labored
for fifty years in order to collect data for the purpose of con-
tinuing D odd's Church History down to his own day. But the
work of collection left him no time to complete his project.
His great mass of biographical notes are now published and
will be of prime value to whoever is destined to carry out the
work. Even in their present shape they assist us to form a
fair idea of the condition of English Catholics from the days
of Anne down to the close of the penal times. The names,
arranged in alphabetical order, belong to every conspicuous rank
of society, those of the^clergy and gentry predominating. Many
of the names have rich historical associations, stretching back
far beyond the bad days of the Reformation ; and the list of
secular priests and religious orders indicate that even in the
darkest times there was a goodly number of devoted men who
kept the lamp of faith burning, however low, till the coming
of the new dawn.
The history of English Catholicism during the last quarter
of the eighteenth century is amply treated in two large vol-
umes f by a writer whose family name is closely associated
with the full tide of the revival which had its beginnings in
this period. His motive for selecting this period he explains
in the preface. One of his confreres, Dr. Burton, is preparing
a life of Bishop Challoner, which will cover the later penal
times. The period from the revival of the hierarchy is already
amply recorded. The present work brings the story up to the
beginning of the last century; there still remains, therefore, a
gap of about fifty years down to the establishment of the
* Biographies of English Catholics in the Eighteenth Century. By Rev. John Kirk. Edited
by J. H. Pollen, S.J., and Edwin Burton, D.D. New York : Benziger Brothers.
t The Dawn of the Catholic Revival in England. 1781-1803, By Bernard Ward,
F.R.H ,S. New York : Longmans, Green & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 245
hierarchy, which he hopes — and every one who will appreciate
the excellence of this work must trust that the hope will be
realized — to fill later on.
The entire country is covered by the present writer; but
the story of the London district is dealt with in much greater
detail than is that of any other section. The writer traces with
grateful fidelity the great advantages that accrued to the English
Church from the coming of the French emigre clergy during
the Revolution; and follows minutely the grave and threaten-
ing divisions brought about by the controversies concerning the
oath. The disputes between the laity and their hierarchical
rulers, and among the rulers themselves, about the time of the
Relief Act, which in the Midland District were not settled till
the first years of the nineteenth century, are also set forth.
Occasionally Mgr. Ward is obliged to follow English interests
beyond the Channel, on account of the dissolution of English
foundations abroad during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic
wars. He also digresses somewhat concerning the events attend-
ing the establishment of the Concordat in France ; but he gener-
ally sticks very closely to his proper subject ; so much so, in-
deed, that he neglects many opportunities to add a touch of
the picturesque to his narratives.
If you desire some handy standard by which to compare the
position of Catholicism in England to-day, with that which it oc-
cupied a hundred years ago, you have one at hand, of a very
attractive pattern, designed and constructed by a wit who has
by no means suppressed his characteristic talent while mak-
ing the instrument. Turn from the historian of the eighteenth
century and take up The Catholic Who's Who for ipop.* In the
former we see " the Catholics in England, found in corners and
alleys and cellars and on the housetops, or in the recesses of the
country, cut off from the populous world around them, and
dimly seen, as if through a mist, or in twilight, as ghosts flit-
ting to and fro, by the high Protestants, the lords ot the earth."
The latter book is the register of a great community, members
of which are to be found in every honorable walk of life.
This roll call of British Catholics not only witnesses to an im-
mense growth already attained, but also, if we look at the pro-
* The Catholic Who's Who for 1909. Edited by Sir F. C. Burnand. New York : Benzi.
ger Brothers.
246 NEW BOOKS [May,
portion of converts which it contains, gives solid promise that
the expansion will continue to be vigorously carried on. It
cannot but be a cause of deep gratification to all who love the
Church to observe that her wonderful progress in America,
England, and the English-speaking world in general, is helping
to counterbalance the losses and adversities which she is suffer-
ing in the Latin countries. The present edition of this hand-
book contains six hundred new names, and a long list of British
subjects who have received papal titles of nobility and other
distinctions.
We may note here an interesting French biography of an
English convert of the last generation,* written by her son, a
French ecclesiastic. The lady was Miss Lechmere, born in 1829,
the daughter of Sir Edmund Lechmere, the head of an old
Worcestershire family. She was converted in France, entering
the Church in 1850, and afterwards married a French gentle-
man named d* Arras, and ended her beautifully Christian life
in 1897.
An English translation of Cardi-
ST. MELANIA. dinal Rampolla's Life of St. Mel-
aniat\ the French edition of which
received a notice in these columns, has just appeared. This
translation by no means represents the complete work of the
learned Cardinal, which is a masterpiece of the highest scholar-
ship and erudition. It has set scholars wondering how the au-
thor, while discharging the exacting duties of Secretary of State
under Leo XIII., could have found the time to compose it.
The editor of this translation has omitted the vast array of
notes (which he says would fill nearly a thousand pages) of the
original, and has reproduced only the story of the saint and
the history of her times as they are incorporated in the Cardi-
nal's work. This biography is an authentic human document,
the value of which Father Thurston emphasizes by contrasting
it with another type which he describes thus:
In no species of serious composition, as Father Delehaye,
the Bollandist, has lately instructed us, have so many differ-
* Une Anglaise Ctnvertie. Par P. H. d'Arras. Paris : Gabriel Beauchesne et Cie.
^ t The Life of St. Melania. By his Eminence, Cardinal Rampolla. Translated by E.
Leahy. Edited by Herbert Thurston, S.J. New York : Benziger Brothers.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 247
ent types of historically worthless materials — folk-lore, myth,
legend, not to speak of pure fabrications — palmed themselves
off upon the unsuspecting good faith of the pious believer.
We might almost say that the bulk of these documents, be-
longing to certain specified epochs, are devoid of any touch
of human individuality. They are like the portraits of Holy
Doctors or Virgins, painted according to the canons of Byzan-
tine art. We might shuffle all the names and almost all the
dates, and the new arrangement would be just as near the
truth, as much or as little instructive, as the old.
This life, on the contrary, belongs to the smaller class which,
besides being authentic history, is a real source of edification,
inasmuch as it describes a genuine conflict between nature
and grace, in a human soul. The story of this great patrician
woman, who gave up exalted rank and a fortune, which even
in our own day would be called colossal, is peculiarly appro-
priate in our own times.
Consistently with the purpose of
IMMORTALITY. the Oxford Library Series, of which
his volume on Immortality * is a
number, Canon Holmes addresses himself to devout laymen who
desire instruction, but are not attracted by learned theological
treatises. Although he presents some arguments in favor of
immortality, he rather assumes that his audience already believe,
and desire only confirmation of their conviction, and more in-
formation regarding the character of the future life. His pres-
entation of the argument from the aspirations of the soul is
merely to affirm that the individual nature, being incapable of
perfection as an individual, seeks the social state and the com-
munion of saints in order to find there the consummation of
its longings. A chapter entitled "Immortality and Psychology "
treats of the value claimed for spiritistic phenomena; and an-
other seeks an answer to the question : Do the dead know ?
by insisting on the fact that as ignorance or suspense concern-
ing the fate of those we love is always pain for us, the blessed
cannot but know how the loved ones whom they have left be-
hind fare.
In treating of the future life Canon Holmes sticks to the
Anglican conception that the joys of Paradise are not unalloyed
* Immortality. By E. E. Holmes. New York : Longmans, Green & Co.
248 NEW BOOKS [May,
with pain; for the life of the blessed must be one of progress,
and progress involves pain. This is the point on which the
Canon is most directly in contradiction with Catholic theology ;
though he comes near another collision on the nature of eter-
nal punishment, which he seems — his view is stated rather in-
definitely— almost to deprive of its painfulness.
He makes an eloquent defence of the doctrine of prayers
for the dead, and claims that it is quite consistent with the
condemnation of " the Roman doctrine concerning purgatory "
by Article XXII. of the Church of England. Until a compara-
tively recent date almost the entire Church of England inter-
preted, and the greater portion of it even to-day interprets, this
Article as a peremptory condemnation of the Catholic custom of
praying for the dead. The Canon endeavors to evade the diffi-
culty by treating the Article as condemning the idea that souls
are tormented in purgatory and may be released from it by
indulgences. If the Canon would examine the essentials of the
doctrine of purgatory — he has viewed it chiefly in the light of
those arithmetical calculations of sins and penalties in which
some Catholic writers indulge — he would see that, unless it too
is accepted, prayer for the dead can have no value except as an
expression of affection. Our dissent from the writer on these
and a few minor points, must not stand in the way of admiring
the strong faith which breathes in his pages, and the earnest
yet gentle persuasiveness with which he impresses it on his
readers, by appealing strongly to the heart.
Accustomed as we are to take
THE WITNESS OF THE western history as the history of
WILDERNESS. the world, it requires a mental ef-
fort to grasp the fact that there
exists to-day a people who, in all the essentials of character
and mode of life, are the same as they were before ancient
Rome was founded.* Before Rome was founded ! That was a
modern date in their history ; they were much the same as
they are to-day when the three friends came to Job to offer
him their too judicious sympathy on the occasion of his re-
verses. The offspring of Hagar, the modern Bedouin of the
desert, has been studied closely by a clergyman of the Church
* The Witness of the Wilderness. By G. Robiason Lees. New York : Longmans, Green
& Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 249
of England, long resident in Palestine, who offers a charming
little book as the fruit of his personal observations, supple-
mented by the study of the best contemporary authorities.
His main purpose is to draw attention to the resemblances be-
tween modern Arab life and the occasional glimpses which
the Old Testament, and, less profusely, the Gospels, throw upon
the character, morals, manners, and customs of these tribes.
He also discusses briefly the nature and effects of Mahomet-
anism ; and tells us how far the Bedouin accepts its tenets
and practices its code. The Arab of the desert is not, accord-
ing to Mr. Lee, a very intelligent or faithful exponent of Is-
lam :
His conception of fate springs irresistibly from his con-
sciousness of the transcending greatness of what is outside
his own feeble existence. He believes in an arbitrary and in-
exorable law proceeding from an objective Power that en-
closes and molds his own subjective activity. The vast ex-
panse of heaven with which he is so familiar and the exten-
sive landscape over which he travels is the boundless empire
of the supreme Ruler of man's destiny. He is impressed with
the awful majesty of the Being Who wills all things, and he
accepts the ills of life with a marvelous resignation as being
according to His dispensation. So overwhelming is the sense
of the power of the Almighty, that there seems to be no room
left for the will of man. The principle of " Islam " is shorn
of its grandeur by the absence of the consciousness of posses-
sion of a will to submit to the control of a superior being.
Strife and bloodshed and cattle-raiding are the features of
their daily life. Polygamy is practised as in patriarchal days;
and the woman is the household drudge. But she is also the
object of man's solicitude and care.
Whatever they may do, they never forfeit the esteem of
their sex, nor the appreciation of men generally, and never
fall into the terrible state of infamy that is reached sometimes
in the centers of civilization. There are no abandoned wo-
men, no victims of man's vicious nature, left to die in hopeless
misery, scorned by all who confess that a woman gave them
birth and nourished them with a boundless affection.
A number of neat, clear photogravures enhance the interest
and value of the book.
250 NEW BOOKS [May,
This effort of a busy lawyer to
EARLY CHRISTIAN HYMNS, spread the knowledge and love of
the Church's treasury of song,*
by providing accurate and agreeable translations of the Latin
originals, cannot be too highly commended. The Breviary was
not always and should not be to-day a closed book to the
laity ; the movement for congregational singing, dating at least
from St. Ambrose, should not stop until many of St. Ambrose's
hymns, for instance, are as familiar to the pew-holder as to
the pastor. The present volume contains one hundred and
seventy songs, ranging in time from the fourth century to the
sixteenth, containing the less known works of Prudentius, For-
tunatus, Odo of Cluny, Urban VIII., as well as the ever ad-
mired verses of St. Bernard, Thomas of Celano, St. Thomas
Aquinas, and Jacopone da Todi. Judge Donahoe assigns thirty-
two authentic hymns to St. Ambrose, omitting some of the
eighteen ascribed to him by other editors; he credits St.
Gregory with sixteen, while the Benedictines give him only
eight; he does not include the Irish Liber Hymnorum, nor
hymns by St. Felix Ennodius, St. Peter Damian, and Adam of
St. Victor. The biographical notes are interesting, though
sometimes too brief; the indexes are accurate; the appearance
of the book attractive ; the price somewhat too high for the
man in the street. One might wish that the translator had
followed Cardinal Newman in variety of meter, and in concrete
phrasing to a greater degree, especially from his success with
the Node Surgentes and the Ecce Jam A/octis, both excellently
done in the Sapphics of the original.
A neat little bookf of answers to
CONTROVERSY. a number of objections and argu-
ments frequently urged by the
opponents of the Church has just been published by Dr. Lam-
bert, of Ingersoll fame. He first treats a few of the objections
urged against all religion and Christianity in general by free-
thinkers; and then takes up those of Protestants against the
Church ; closing with some excuses pleaded by Catholics to
reconcile the opposition existing between their belief and their
* Early Christian Hymns. Translated by Daniel Joseph Donahoe. New York: The
Grafton Press.
t Short Answers to Common Objections Against Religion. By Mgr. de Segur. Edited by
Rev. L. A. Lambert, LL.D. Brooklyn: International Catholic Truth Society.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 251
practice. Mgr. de Segur is direct, brief, and persuasive, with
a tendency to infuse occasionally a little pungency into the re-
torts to the adversary.
The treatment of some historical questions might have been
greatly strengthened by the editor if he had added recent
non-Catholic historians — a resource for our controversialists
which is, happily, growing larger and larger every day.
The appearance of a third edition of Father Burke's little
vest-pocket vade mecum for non- Catholics desirous of learning
the nature of everyday Catholic ceremonies and practices in-
dicates its popularity.* Catholics are frequently asked by well-
disposed outsiders for something short to read concerning
Catholic worship. They can meet the request with Father
Burke's assistance.
One of the most perplexing and
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL most important cares of a pastor,
TRAINING. tne organization and maintenance
of his Sunday- School in a state of
vital, energetic efficiency, often rewards him with much less
fruit than the zealous labor which he lavished on it might lead
him reasonably to expect. Where lay the fault ? Probably
any one who has had this experience will find some light on
past failure and help towards future success, if he studies Father
Sloan's new book on Sunday-School work.f This one, addressed
to directors, is marked by the same thorough acquaintance
with the factors in the problem, the same sound judgment,
and the same attention to seemingly trivial but really import-
ant detail, as characterized the author's other work for the
teacher. Here teacher and pupil, methods and material equip-
ment, souls and bodies, are all considered from the point of
view of the man who is ultimately responsible for the success
or failure of this serious charge. How serious it is, and how
far from successful, commonly speaking, it is in one or two
very important respects, Father Sloan tells us very clearly.
He treats the entire subject systematically and in an eminently
practical way.
* Reastnableness of Catholic Cttemonies and Practices. By Rev. J. J. Burke. Third Edi-
tion. New York : Benziger Brothers.
\The Sunday- School Director's Guide to Success. By Rev. Patrick J. Sloan. New York :
Benziger Brothers.
252 NEW BOOKS [May,
An excellent little book for teachers, but more especially
for parents, is Mrs. Burke's Child Study and Education.* She
gathers into small compass some ripe fruit of modern scientific
pedagogy, combined with solid ancient wisdom approved of by
time, which some of the exponents of modern pedagogy are
at times disposed to pass over a little too lightly. Her topic
is chiefly the home-training of the child, and its bearing upon
concurrent or subsequent school- education. It would probably
be treated as a piece of revolutionary insolence to suggest that
a book of this sort might be studied with profit in advanced
convent schools. Yet some knowledge of how best to train
the child, religiously, morally, and intellectually, would not be
a worthless or pernicious acquisition for girls who, in most
cases, are destined to be the mothers of families. If they do
not acquire, when at school, some systematic instruction to help
them, in the future, to discharge one of the greatest duties of
their office, where will they get it ? Mrs. Burke's book will be
found to be most serviceable.
In choosing this title f for a vol-
THE SPRINGS OF HELICON, ume which contains the substance
of his two official courses of lec-
tures, delivered in 1906 and 1908, the occupant of the Chair
of Poetry at Oxford University was not merely caught by a
pretty or traditional phrase. In its original place, that phrase
conveyed, in fine concentration, the truth that all European
poetry is connected with and indebted to Greece; and that
English poetry especially is indebted to the Grecian stream,
from which it has borrowed, directly and indirectly, at three
turning points of its development. These three stages, which
Professor Mackail has selected in order to study the growth
and progress of English poetry as a phase of life, are em-
bodied in Chaucer, Spencer, and Milton. Each of these is
treated at considerable length in an essay abounding in erudite,
broad, and luminous criticism. Professor Mackail is learned
and technical without being pedantic ; he has to convey subtle
appreciations of the supra-sensuous and intangible in terms
proper to concrete expression ; but he manages to express in-
telligibly what he wants to say, and he has always something
* Child Study and Education. By Mrs. B. E. Burke. New York : Benziger Brothers,
t The Springs of Helicon : A Study in the Progress of English Poetry from Chaucer to
Milton. By I. W. Mackail. New York : Longmans, Green & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 253
to say that is worth listening to. It is too late a day to find
anything brilliantly original to say regarding these three poets;
the field has been long since reaped and gleaned. But Pro-
fessor Mackail has sifted and ground the wheat, and baked it
with skill, as he added to the Hour a sound leaven of his own.
The excellence of this work is general throughout; so that
there are few particularly striking passages that insist upon
quotation. The following one, however, may be cited as a
favorable example :
There is a natural tendency in the human mind to confuse
imagination with imagery. The difference between them is
that between creation on the one hand and invention on the
other, and it is vital. Spencer thought (so far as he did
think) in images. His inventiveness, his faculty for pouring
forth an endless stream of imagery is unsurpassed, just as is
his faculty for conveying this imagery in unfailingly fluent
and melodious language. He is a complete master of decora-
tive art, so far as this very fertility and fluency do not, as we
may think, lead him to make his decoration too intricate, to
overload his ornament. But while all art is decoration, it is
not in its merely decorative quality that art can be great art,
can fully realize its function. To do this it must rise from in-
vention to creation. Its imagery must be transmuted by im-
agination ; it must not only adorn, but interpret, and, in a
sense, make life.
TEE WILES OF SEXTON Sexton Maginnis, with his glossy
MAfTNNTS ' somewhat adulterated
brogue, his unrighteous contempt
for the unregenerate "Dago," his well-founded respect for Her-
self, and reverence suffused with salutary fear for his mother.
in-law, has already made his bow in one of our magazines to
what has proved an appreciative public. A critic suffering from
the mania for classification might place this series of amusing
sketches * alongside of My New Curate, as an American counter-
part of those inimitable scenes from Irish life, as seen through
the rectory window. Dr. Egan, however, confines himself to
the ripples on the surface, and does not touch the deeper cur-
rents. He entertains us with a rapidly- moving set of situa-
tions, illustrating widespread characteristics of clergy and laity
* The Wiles tf Sexton Maginais. By Maurice Francis Egan. New York : The Century
Company.
254 NEW BOOKS [May,
as they are to be found everywhere in our towns and cities :
the earnest, devoted, not over-cultured but theologically well-
educated Father Dudley, who knows he understands the people,
and sometimes finds his knowledge at fault ; the refined con-
vert, Father Blodgett, who, in Father Dudley's opinion, doesn't
understand the people at all, and will certainly make a mess of
his parish, yet who, somehow, manages to succeed, notwith-
standing that he smashes all Maginnis' judgments concerning
both social and spiritual values in respective application to the
Ryans, the Moldonovos, the Germans, and a black atheist whose
chief crime is that he is threatening to confer high distinction
on the upstart Ryans.
Maginnis is a very Machiavelli for plotting and design.
But his purpose is usually ad majorem Dei Gloriam; and his
methods are not by any means unfathomable. There is plenty
of kindly humor throughout the book; and its strength is sub-
dued to the capacity of the most delicate digestions. While the
Doctor nowhere sets up a solid meal of entertainment, he treats
us to an afternoon-tea variety of delicacies served, impeccably,
according to rule. Now and again one meets an epigram that
is worth quotation. For instance, a whole treatise on the
economic character of a large proportion of Southern farming is
summed up in the remark about the Virginian place of Willie Cur-
tice. " The place had been worked ' on shares,' but there never
seemed to be more than one share." And we have heard long,
ponderous sermons which labored, with more or less success, to
drive home the thought that is neatly and effectively sent into
the bull's-eye in the following remark, made by a hitherto
hopeless agnostic who has had Catholicism presented to him
in the concrete, through the medium of a genuinely Catholic
girl : " ' I say, Uncle,' he declared, as he bade good-bye to his
reverend relative at the train, ' a religion that can produce such
examples of virtue and correct living doesn't have to be ex-
amined. A man's a fool who wants to analyze that sort of
thing. You don't look at the roots of a big oak.' " Where
occasion offers, the Doctor is almost as profuse in his literary
allusions as Canon Sheehan himself; but he does not imitate
the Canon's precision and definiteness ; and judging from the
one place where he makes one of his speakers quote St. Tho-
mas textually, he is wise in refusing to commit himself in this
way.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 255
A writer who jumped into public
THE LITTLE GODS. notice some time ago by carrying
off a handsome prize with his story
of Pagan has made it the opening of a series of sketches descrip-
tive of life in the Far East, as it is lived and viewed by American
soldiers and officials.* The first story is distinctly the best of the
lot; although they all show power and imagination. They are a
Philippine counterpart of Kipling's pictures of Tommy Atkins
in India — "Put me somewhere east of Suez, where the best is
like the worst." The native, as Mr. Thomas draws him, is of
three types, the bloodthirsty, treacherous, irreconcilable, with
no tincture of civilization; the half-blood Spanish planter or
trader, equally treacherous ; and the loyal servant who worships
his white master. The soldiers are, of course, reckless roysterers,
or abnormally cool gentlemen, flippant or jocular in the face of
danger, for whom there are no ten commandments, but who
usually make a successful bid for our sympathy by showing at
a critical moment that, down deep in their hearts, there are
strong fibers of feeling and generosity. The work lacks bold-
ness, not of imagination, but of execution ; a little more indi-
viduality in the characters, a little more of that force which is
born of intimate personal experience, and The Little Gods would
approach Kipling in fact, as nearly as it approaches him in
aspiration.
To be honest, we must confess to
A CHILD OF DESTINY. have suffered a disappointment in
this story.f The genuine gift of
song, exhibited in some of the two collections of poems from
Dr. Fischer's pen, raised the expectation that this novel might
prove worthy of the very respectable dress which the publisher
has bestowed on it. But a perusal of A Child of Destiny repeated
the old story — Non omnes possumus omnia. Every one has his
limitations. The Doctor's gift is song — not story- telling, or
dramatic creation. The strongly edifying tone of the novel
but adds to the regret that an excellent lesson is not con-
veyed in a way that would deserve for it a wide circle of
hearers.
* The Little Gods : A Mosque of the Far East. By Rowland Thomas. Boston : Little,
Brown & Co.
\AChildofDestiny. By William J. Fischer. Illustrated. Toronto : William Briggs.
256 NEW BOOKS [May,
Leaving the field in which he has
THE SON OF SIRO. worked to the satisfaction of the
boys, Father Copus has entered on
a higher path in historical fiction. The Son of Siro* is founded
on the Gospel-history, and covers the earlier years of our Lord's
life, as well as those of His ministry. Siro's son is Lazarus; and
Father Copus identifies Magdalen with Mary of Bethany. The
story is a fine piece of imaginative construction, directed by
good taste, which is so indispensable to any one who ventures
to give a fictitious setting to the life of our Lord. The Master's
picture is drawn with striking individuality ; and, needless to
say, His Divinity is uncompromisingly manifested. It would
be exaggeration to say that this story is a rival to Ben
Hur, but it is not undeserving of being named with that mas-
terpiece, though it is constructed on a much less ambitious
plan, and the author was prohibited from drawing upon mate-
rials which furnish much of the motives and incidents of Wal-
lace's story. Persons unfamiliar with the Gospel-history cannot
but read it with more intelligence and interest after they will
have read this attractive story. The suggestion, we think, is
valuable for both adults and children.
Mrs. Brookfield has already shown
A FRIAR OBSERVANT. her acquaintance with the times
of the Reformation in England,
and her talent for making the dead bones of history live again,
and endowing them with the glow of life from the treasures of
imagination. She now leads us over seas to make the acquaint-
ance of a few of the prominent figures in the great upheaval.
The story f opens in England at the time when Henry VIII. is
commencing his violent campaign against the papal supremacy.
A friar, who has been expelled from his convent, hurries to the
deathbed of a nobleman, who is dying in penury and disgrace,
a victim of his own loyalty and Henry's tyranny. The Earl of
Lhanpylt, as a dying request, charges the friar to proceed to
Germany, in order to seek the Earl's young daughter, who is
at one of the German courts; and to deliver to her a packet
of letters as well as a staff cut from a spot which she loved
as a child.
* The Son of Siro. Ry Rev. J. E. Copus, S.J. New York : Benziger Brothers,
t A Friar Observant. By Frances M. Brookfield. St. Louis : B. Herder.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 257
So forth the friar goes to the storm-center of the Reforma-
tion; and before long he learns a great deal about the "new
faith/' and the new morals ; makes the acquaintance of a burly,
violent, overbearing pastor, who ought to have been a leader
of free-lances, but who is really Dr. Martin Luther. Soon, be-
tween the loss of his package and staff and the accidental
entanglements which his quest of the Lady Anne entail on him,
the friar makes the acquaintance of Philip of Hesse and bears
a part in the negotiations and wiles which that artful and reck-
less man carries on to obtain the consent of Luther to a biga-
mous marriage. The law of bigamy is expounded by Cardinal
Farnese who, along with the Emperor, appears on the stage.
The story has a strong element of romance in it; as you
may judge from the fact that the friar assists two young Eng-
lishmen to abduct two ladies from the Castle of Philip, and af-
terwards arrives at Philip's court, in the quality of commissioner
of the Emperor, to forbid the marriage of Philip and Margaret
von Saal, which he is just in time to witness without being
able to deliver his message. This picture of the Reformation
times lacks the fullness of detail and the variety of interests,
types, and characters, we shall not say of Charles Reade's novels,
but even of Father Benson's. It presents only an episode; but
the episode is well-conceived and well- related, and the char-
acters of Luther, Philip, and Margaret are boldly drawn, while
the friar himself and the Lady Anne are mere marionettes.
It is a stirring and picturesque tale of the times.
In Aline of the Grand Woods * we
ALINE OF THE GRAND Set what the sub-title promises
WOODS. us» a story of Louisiana, full of
the peculiar elements, physical and
social, which distinguishes the old Creole State so sharply
from every other portion of the country. The story is full of
incident, and introduces us to quite a little world of characters,
each one of whom, however brief and transitory may be
his or her part in the drama, possesses a distinct individual-
ity, and is true to life. Perhaps the heroine herself is rather
highly idealized to allow this to be said of her. The best drawn
character in the book is neither Aline nor her favored lover —
* Aline of the Grand Woods. By Nevil G. Henshaw. New York: The Outing Publish-
ing Company.
VOL. LXXX1X. — I7
258 NEW BOOKS [May,
for she has two, who have but little in common except their
attachment to her. Far better done are the delineations of
Numa le Blanc, the wild, revengeful, bold, and treacherous
half-Spaniard, who loves Aline ; Pere Martian, the Cure ; old
Telesse and his friend the hunchback, the devoted protectors
of the little girl, who grows up in the cabin of Telesse as his
niece, but, as the reader knows, is a girl of rank ; Monsieur
Varain, a successful old storekeeper. Around these cling the
distinctive Creole air which pervades the book. Negroes,
too, add to the color of the picture ; they are not conspicuous,
but they are true to life, as they are to be seen in their earth-
ly paradise — around the kitchen of an old palatial Southern
home. The period of the story is the present day, and the
writer spares us even the remotest reference to that overwrought
motive, political sentiment. The story makes no pretension to
solve character or moral problems. It is a good, downright
story in the old-fashioned style, moving along the paths of
real life, which it softens and colors with a tinge of romance.
" Which is the best manual of phi-
THE jENEID IN ENGLISH losophy ? " was the question once
VERSE. put to a professor who had pub-
lished one himself. Without hesi-
tation or doubt the answer came: "My own, certainly; if I
had not thought so, I would not have published it." What-
ever might have been the worth of the judgment, here at least
was an honest and sensible answer. The same sort of honesty
and good sense abounds in Mr. Williams' preface to bis versi-
fied translation of the ^Eneid.* He speaks, indeed, rather more
bluntly ; for not only does he reckon his own version the best,
but he declares, with something short of Virgilian grace and
sweetness, that he has been almost unable to find anything
worth borrowing from his predecessors, while " all the rhymed
versions seemed to have a touch of the comic." Happy are
the merciless if they obtain mercy !
For ourselves, stern justice compels us to admit that Mr.
Williams' version never, or very seldom, has a touch of the
comic; that his phrasings are so frequently happy that only a
successor of churlish originality will refuse to borrow from him ;
* The jEncid of Vitgil. Translated into English verse by Theodore C. Williams.
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 259
and that his verse is usually melodious and of a sustained dig-
nity. No one expects him to reproduce the Virgilian sweet-
ness and majesty; but he often catches something of the ease,
the smoothness, the rapidity of the Master. The measure he
uses is the pentameter blank verse ; and in searching our mem-
ory for an English poem which might convey an idea of Mr.
Williams' versification, we lit upon Keats' Hyperion. There is
here much of the same ease and flow in the rhythm, but also
the same inability to give forth those deep organ tones that
accompany the majestic march of Milton's verse ; while, on the
other hand, Mr. Williams seldom attains the splendor of phrase
or sweetness of melody that may almost be called the manner
of Keats.
Special attention is directed in the preface to the piety of
Virgil, as this is usually overlooked or neglected at the pres-
ent day. In the Middle Ages, surely, this aspect of the poet's
work received due attention : Virgil was the poet of the Ages
of Faith, and was almost counted among the prophets as an
unconscious Christian. Some of our readers remember — and
we wish Mr. Williams could have found room for a reference
to it — the delightful comparison which Newman institutes be-
tween the spirit of Virgil and the spirit of the Benedictine
Order.* St. Benedict is Virgil Christianized and turned monk
— assuredly a poetical, lovable, gentle monk, even though he
did demolish the statue of Apollo.
Reader, can we tempt you to take your Virgil to the sea-
shore or the mountains this summer ? If not the original, at
least Mr. Williams' translation ? Twelve books of the ^Eneid,
one for each day of your two weeks' vacation — and on Sun-
days you may read the Rule of St. Benedict ! Leave at home
your popular novel, which to-day is and to-morrow is cast into
the rubbish-heap. Betake yourself to a noble poet, whose
beauty is like a delightful summer eve, when the sky is filled
with a soft, effulgent glory and Mother Earth sinks to rest in
quietness and peace.
The New Scholar at St. Anne's^
JUVENILES. a sequel to The Madcap Set, is an
entertaining little story of convent
boarding-school life. It deals with the fortunes of the stu-
*See Historical Sketches, essays on The Missiom of the Benedictine Order and The Bene-
dictine Centuries.
t The New Scholar at St Anne's. By M arion Brunowe. New York : Benziger Brothers.
260 NEW BOOKS [May,
dents and teachers when a new and uncomfortably original girl
suddenly drops down into their rather quiet life. Encouraged
by a doting and indulgent mother, the new scholar succeeds
in overturning most of the rules of the school; but in the end
becomes surprisingly docile. The characters are rather indefi-
nitely drawn, but the management of the incidents shows a fa-
miliarity with the atmosphere of a convent boarding-school.
Madge-Make- the-Best-of-It * needs no further commendation
than to say that it belongs to the "St. Nicholas Series," and
is worthy of its company.
Cupa Revisited 'f introduces young folk to the Californian
Indian as he is to-day; and incidentally gives them a lesson
in history by drawing their attention to the contrast between
the Indian's condition to-day and that which he enjoyed while
the missions flourished.
If we might, in the absence of the owner, borrow a favor-
ite adjective of ex-President Roosevelt — we should like to de-
clare Between Friends\ simply "bully." It Is a story of a
group of boys in a boarding-school, where a spirit of honor
and loyalty is cultivated, together with a keen devotion to the
glory of Alma Mater in the baseball field.
The author who has delighted the juveniles with the pretty
"Ridingdale" stories now addresses to their elders a set of life-
stories,^ written with the same facile and graceful pen. These
sketches, which, to borrow a phrase found in the book, may
be called consolation stories, gather around the name of Claude
Denvilie, a French artist who, with considerable experience of
life recorded in his notebook, comes to Ridingdale, where he
finds much addition to the acquaintance which he has made
among lost and stolen sheep that were happily, through Provi-
dential interference, brought safe to fold.
* Madge-Make-the-Best-of-It. By M. E. Francis. New York : Benzige* Brothers,
t Cupa Revisited. By Mary Mannix. New York : Benziger Brothers.
\ Between Friends. By Richard Aumerle. New York : Benziger Brothers.
§ Claude Denvilie, Artist. By David J. Bearne, SJ. St. Louis : B. Herder.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 261
America, the new Catholic weekly,
THE NEW CATHOLIC issued its first number on April
WEEKLY. ijt it supersedes The Messenger,
the monthly magazine published
under the same auspices. The editorial staff of the old monthly
has been considerably increased. The new publication is under
the direction of the Reverends John J. Wynne, S.J., Francis S.
Betten, S.J., Lewis Drummond, S.J., Dominic Giacobbi, S.J.,
Michael Kenny, S.J., Michael J. O'Connor, S.J., and Edward
P. Spillane, S.J. Fathers Wynne and Spillane were formerly
of The Messenger staff.
The first number of America contains twenty-six pages of
reading-matter, under the departments of Chronicle, Ques-
tions of the Day, Correspondence, Editorial, Literature, Educa-
tional, Science, Art, and Ecclesiastical News. The feature of
the week is the space devoted to Joan of Arc, recently declared
Blessed by Pius X.
The need in our country of an able Catholic weekly is a
most pressing one. To America, which aims to fulfill that need,
THE CATHOLIC WORLD extends a cordial welcome and its
heartiest wishes for a long, prosperous, and successful life.
Here, at last, is the satisfactory
M. LOISY. discussion of the opinions of Loisy,
with a criticism of them which
shows that the man who set the world agog with A Little Book,
has found " a foeman worthy of his steel."
M. Lepin devotes by far the larger part of his volume * to
a summary of the views of M. Loisy, given according to the
chronological order in which his books appeared. This part of
the work is done clearly and succinctly, with admirable dispas-
sionateness and scholarly self-restraint. Of explicit criticism
there is very little in the first 230 pages.
But, even when he comes professedly to controvert M.
Loisy's theories, Father Lepin is equally courteous, though by
no means lacking in rigor of manner.
Perhaps the predominating feeling of any Catholic who reads
this book, will be one of amazement that M. Loisy could have
so long and so stoutly maintained his claim of being a Catho-
lic. It would be difficult to find, either among outright ration-
* Les Thtories de M. Loisy. Exposlet Critique. Par M. Lepin. Paris : Beauchesne et Cie.
262 NEW BOOKS [May,
alists or liberal Protestants of the most " liberal " tendencies,
so radical a criticism of the Christian dogmas, of the historic-
ity of the facts upon which the Christian religion is founded,
or of the documents warranting the facts.
It is well known that Loisy, in the introduction to Le
Quatrieme Evangile, expressly rejected any historical or bio-
graphical value for St. John's Gospel. And in his more recent
gigantic treatise upon the Synoptics, he systematically elimi-
nates every miracle or supernatural fact; he casts suspicion
upon the authenticity of well-nigh every text that would make
of Christ anything but an ordinary prophet in whose life and
death there was nothing thaumaturgic or supernatural. From
the manger to the Cross, and from the Cross to the Ascension,
scarcely any statement of historical or biographical fact es-
capes what M. Lepin rightly names the "pitiless rigor" of his
criticism.
The narratives of the Infancy in Matthew and Luke, accord-
ing to Loisy, have " not the slightest historical foundation."
The genealogies were " invented to prove the descent of Jesus
from David"; and were "elaborated in a circle which did not
so much as have a suspicion of the virginal conception." The
true and primitive Gospel-tradition points to Nazareth, not
Bethlehem, as the birthplace of our Savior. And so he con-
tinues, eliminating, root and branch, the historical statements
of the Gospels.
Even if we were to begin the life of Christ with the period
of His maturity, as St. Mark does, still nothing historical re-
mains undisputed. The hesitation of St. John the Baptist with
regard to the baptizing of Jesus, is only a " fiction." Christ was
not conscious of any previous existence with God, nor of any
unique association with Divinity ; all texts indicating the con-
trary are ruled out as unauthentic.
The great miracles and the small are indiscriminatingly set
aside. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves is so in-
credibly large that it must be only a " symbolic instruction " ;
the miracle of the coin of the tribute in the mouth of the fish
is so small that it is only a childish invention. The healing
the sick, the raising of the dead, the curing of demoniacs, of
the blind and the deaf, are, for the most part, legendary or
symbolic; a few extraordinary cases may actually have oc-
curred, but they could be easily numbered. And as of the
1909.] NEW BOOKS 263
miracles, so of the mysteries. The last supper was simply a
farewell repast, afterwards elaborated in the narrative by the
introduction of St. Paul's ideas about the Eucharistic meal.
The words " this is My Body, this is My Blood " were not
spoken.
The detail of the two asses in the story of the entry into
Jerusalem, the Messianic acclaim in the temple, Judas' thirty
pieces of silver, his repentance and death, the guard at the
tomb, and all such historical incidents, are "legendary inven-
tions, and very weak inventions."
The Resurrection of the Body of Christ cannot pretend to
be a fact of history; the claim of the foundation of a Church
Society by Christ is a kind of ex post facto invention.
So, we say, a Catholic wonders what can remain, not only of
dogma, but of historic fact? Loisy shows himself less ortho-
dox than Harnack or Weiss. His method, according to M.
Lepin, is a revival of that of Strauss. He makes of the Gos-
pels largely a concatenation of legends and symbolic narratives,
and is more radical in his opinions of the historicity and au-
thenticity of the sacred writings than perhaps any of his liberal
contemporaries.
All these things become evident to one who will actually
read Loisy, rather than read what the newspapers say of him ;
and if one's duty demand that he read Loisy systematically,
he cannot do better than follow M. Lepin's order. Those who
have not the melancholy necessity of following the thought of
Loisy in his own works may be confident of an honest sum-
mary, as well as a powerful refutation, in M. Lepin.
foreign periodicals.
The Tablet (13 March): Reports under "Parliamentary News";
" The Suggested Enforced Military Service " ; " Fair
Wages in Government Contracts and Prohibition of Sub-
letting." The subject of " Topics of the Day " is The
Maid of Orleans — the story of her death and how the
decision of the Holy See as to her horoic virtue is rati-
fied by the verdict of all the ages. " Dancing in
Churches." Father Thurston throws a flood of light on
this interesting subject, and shows how widely the prac-
tice once prevailed in Western Europe. Mr. Belloc's
statement that " No Moral Considerations are Involved
in Socialism," is criticised by A. P. Mooney, M.D., who
gives extracts from the works of Marx, Keir, Hardie, and
Mrs. Snowdon to prove the contrary.
(20 March) : A profound impression was created in the
House of Commons by the Prime Minister's speech on
" The Government and the Navy." If Mr. Balfour is
right, then the supremacy of the seas will pass from
Great Britain in 1911. "The Nation's Drink Bill"
shows a remarkable diminution in the volume of the
ocean of drink upon which the people still squanders its
millions. " Public Procession of the Blessed Sacra-
ment " took place in Manchester as the closing func-
tion of a great mission. Thousands of men and women
marched in line carrying candles. Apropos of Dr.
Ingram's claim to be a lineal descendant of the Catholic
pre- Reformation Bishops of London, Father Hay den,
S.J., delivered a lecture on " Rome and Winchester in
the Fourteenth Century." From authorities quoted, the
Anglican Bishop's claim does not seem to rest on a very
solid foundation.
(27 March): Records the death of "Father George An-
gus," a well-known convert from Anglicanism and a
frequent contributor to the columns of The Tablet, •
"Rome and the Press." A letter by Mr. Chesterton in
reply to a Protestant assertion that " Catholics seemed
to be capturing the Press of the country." The writer
is of opinion that the days of the bogus anti-popery
revelations have passed away. Mr. Roosevelt's edi-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 265
torial in the Outlook on " Socialism " is quoted with ap-
proval. If he cannot longer use "the big stick" he
can wield " the big pen." A correspondent, Mr. Os-
borne, gives an account of a society in existence in the
Anglican Church called " The Living Rosary of our
Lady and St. Dominic." Under " Literary Notes,"
we read that the late Francis Thompson's article on
Shelley, which appeared recently in the Dublin Review,
has been issued in book-form. It appears that so far
back as 1889 it was offered to. the Review, only to be
rejected.
The Month (March) : The place of honor is given to an article
by Father Keating, S.J., on " Rights and Wrongs of
Education." Taken all round, he says, a clever scoundrel
is something much less desirable than a pious fool. Ac-
cording to Catholic notions a child must not only know
how to spell "soul," but he must learn to keep it clean.
The object of " Senlac," by Mr. Belloc, is to
show that Freeman was mistaken in giving this un-
couth name to the Battle of Hastings. "The Main
Problem of the Universe," by the Editor, deals with
Natural Selection as a Vera Causa. Neither observa-
tion nor statistics show that we are justified in regard-
ing it as such. Father Thurston, in "Some Recent
Clerical Scandals," gives us what may be considered a
parody of the controversial methods of such writers as
Dr. H. C. Lea, who have a predilection for the shady
side of ecclesiastical history. Other articles are: "For-
eign Missions," by the Rev. H. Ahaus. "The 'Last
Supper ' by some Flemish Painters," by Veva Randolph.
The Crucible (March) : In an address on " The Business Habit
in Woman," Cecil Gradwell urges promptness and punctu-
ality in keeping appointments and paying bills. She
warns against over-sharpness in business, which verges
on the dishonest. Dom Lambert Nolle, O.S.B., dis-
cusses the " Woman Question " and her aptitude for
public life. He complains that not infrequently women
are appointed to positions, not because they are more
capable than men, but because they are cheaper.
Alice Johnson, Medical Officer of the Lambeth Poor
Law Schools, furnishes an article on "The Feeble-
266 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [May,
Minded and How to Deal With Them." As an institu-
tion where an ideal condition of things exists, she cites
Waverly School, Massachusetts, some eight miles from
Boston. In the " History of Religions," Rev. C. Mar-
tindale, S.J., while deploring the scantiness of Catholic
literature on the subject, gives what he calls an unblush-
ing recommendation to the C. T. S. lectures dealing with
this matter. They are thirty-two in number and are
now being published as penny pamphlets.
The Expository Times (March) : Among " Notes of Recent Ex-
position," we find " Can Christianity Justify Itself to the
Present Age?" It has done so in the past, it can do so
to-day. "The Use and Abuse of an Earthquake."
We are to believe it is from the hand of God, but not
that it is sent as a punishment for a sin with which it
has no connection. "The Religious-Historical Move-
ment in German Theology," by Rev. J. M. Shaw. Its
prime mover was Ritschl, who sought to recover for
faith the absolute value of the personality of the his-
toric Jesus. " The Development of the Religious Con-
sciousness," by Principal Garvie. In damonism we have
the earliest form of religion. There were many spirits;
power was their attribute, and so man tried to get on
friendly terms with them by his gifts and by his prayers.
Under the caption "The New Herzog " is given an
exposition of Professor Zirn's article on " The Trinity."
The doctrine of the Trinity is a safeguard against Deism
on the one hand and Pantheism on the other. The im-
manent Trinity and the Trinity of Revelation must go
together.
The International (March) : " Some New Tendencies in Art," is
an appeal against what the Editor calls one of the most
unfounded platitudes of the age in which we live ; name-
ly, "The burial of all artistic conceptions beneath the
ultra-realistic life of the present day." In "Sweating
and the Fair Wages Report," Percy Alden reviews the
findings of the Parliamentary Committee and suggests
some remedies to alleviate the disease. That Germany
is making a brave attempt at the reconciliation of justi-
fiable Socialism and Individualism is shown by Adolf
Damaschke in "Land and Land-Tax Reform." "So-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 267
cialism in America." The writer, Otto Salland, of New
York, admits that the late Presidential election did not
realize the hopes of the Socialists. In most cities the
Socialistic candidate lost votes ; still he believes the leaven
is working, especially among the intellectual classes.
Rosine Handlirsch, in "The Development of the Love
of Nature in Art," shows how the natural sciences have
played an important part in the development of art, es-
pecially in animal and landscape painting. Zola's phrase,
"let the sunlight in," has become the watchword.
The International Journal of Ethics (April) : " The Meaning of
Evolution in Ethics." What, the writer, Norman Wilde,
asks, has Evolution done for Ethics ? He discovers four
things, and in consequence we have come to consider
moral conduct as part of conduct in general. In
" Apologies for Political Corruption," Robt. C. Brooks
suggests four main lines of argument usually advanced
by the advocatus diaboli. Not one of them however, he
says, stands the test of analysis. " Experience for
Science and Religion," by Frank Granger, shows that
there is a likeness between the prophet of science and
the prophet of religion, inasmuch as both classes of men
declare a vision of truth. — — E. Belford Bax, in "The
Interpretation of Ethical Evolution," predicts that the
day is coming when certain courses of conduct, now re-
garded as ethically justifiable, will be condemned by the
moral law of the time. W. R. Hughes describes "An
Experiment in Social and Religious Education Without
Creed Limitations." It is called "The Alpha Union"
and it aims at spiritual catholicity.
The Hibbert Journal (April) : Opens with an anonymous article
entitled " Credo," a confession of faith in one God im-
manent and transcendent, ever reconciling the world unto
Himself. That the doctrine of the Trinity is neither
absurd nor unthinkable is the verdict of Professor Keyer
of Columbia, in his article, " The Message of Modern
Mathematics to Theology." "The Disillusions of Mere-
ly Human Democracy," by P. T. Forsyth, has as its aim
the insufficiency of social righteousness to supply effective
sympathy. All true brotherly love has as its basis the
grace of the cross. Professor Vida Scudder continues
268 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [May,
her analysis of Socialism in "Socialism and Class Feel-
ing." What it aims at is not the transfer of privilege
but the abolition of it. In " The Message of Mr. Gil-
bert K. Chesterton," Mr. John A. Hutton endeavors to
tell why Mr. Chesterton believes in God.- The trend
of thought underlying the prevailing religions among
western nations is exposed by Professor Muirhead in "Is
there a Common Christianity ? " " Christianity among
the Religions," by J. D. Buckham, D.D. While Pro-
fessor James describes " The Philosophy of Bergson " as
the breath of the morning and the song of birds.
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record (March): That the appeal which
Socialists make to the early Christian Church to find sup-
port for their theories and practices is untrue to fact is
the trend of Doctor Hogan's article " The Fathers of the
Church and Socialism. "^— — The Rev. P. Morrisroe, in
" The Quadragesimal Fast," gives a brief retrospect of
the evolution of the Lenten cycle, and shows how in the
matter of fasting we have degenerated from the rigorous
practice of the early Church. In " Roger Bacon and
Modern Studies" the Rev. T. J. Walshe claims that the
celebrated philosopher ranks to-day amongst the greatest
educators of modern times. At the same time it must
be borne in mind that he was not the high-priest of In-
duction, as is often stated; his distinction was not to orig-
inate but to develop the practical application of induc-
tion. Other articles are: "The Irish Mythological
Cycle," by Rev. A. M. Skelly, O.P., of San Francisco.
And " A Northumbrian Monastery," by Rev. G. E.
Hind, O.S.B.
Le Correspondent (10 March) : [Under the heading "A People
Who Do Not Wish to Die," M. Estienne Hennet de
Goutel gives one hundred years of Polish history, point-
ing out that the old antagonisms have practically died
out and that the extension of civil liberties in Russia
augurs well for the future of Poland. M. George Fon-
segrive gives a melange of current literary opinion on
the question of " Love, the Family, and Marriage." His
conclusion is that two ideas of the married life hold sway,
happiness and love. For the most part, he says, writers
fail to grasp the true meaning of either one or the other.
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 269
" The Catholic Renaissance on the Eve of the Prot-
estant Reformation," by Bernard de Lacombe, exposes
the commonly accepted fallacy that the Reformation found
a Church corrupt and without hope. On the contrary,
it was a Church full of life, with the power and will to
reform and renew herself. Other articles are : " Catho_
lie Congresses," by the Bishop of Langres. " The So-
cial Movement," by A. Bechaux.
Etudes (5 March): Lucien Raure reviews the chief "Agnostic
Theories." He defends the Scholastic opinion and attacks
the Modernistic. "The Religious Life of Brazil" is
described by Joseph Burnichon. Based upon evidence
obtained in 1778, Jules Grivet gives an account of " The
Last Moments of Voltaire." He refused the administra-
tions of the priests and died at enmity with God.
Favorable reviews are given to Thureau-Dangin's recent
work on The Royal Inscriptions of Sumer and of Accad.
Also to L. W. King's and H. R. Hall's Egypt and West-
ern Asia, in the light of recent discoveries. In the
" Bulletin of Patrology " reference is made to a recent
discussion between H. Harnack and E. Schwartz regard-
ing the authenticity of a document relating to the Synod
of Antioch in 324. The reviewer thinks M. Schwartz
had the better of the argument.
(20 March) : Ferdinand Cavallera traces the history of
" The Psalms and Odes of Solomon," one of the apocry-
phal books of the Old Testament. All trace of the work
had been lost sight of until the eighteenth century, when
it was discovered by D. Hoeschel, librarian at Augsburg.
" Three French Physicists," by Joseph de Joannis, a
continued article, is occupied with an account of the
discoveries of M. Gabriel Lippmann, of the Sorbonne,
who has just gained the Nobel prize in physics. Paul
Dudon reviews the first volume of M. Gustave Bord's
Beginnings of Freemasonry in France. His conclusions
are these: The Jewish origin of the Lodges is chimerical,
as is also their affiliation with Manichaeism. He gives
the middle of the seventeenth century as the date of
the introduction of the symbolism of Solomon's temple
and the founding of the three grades of apprentice, com-
panion, and master.
270 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [May,
Revue du Monde Catholiqut (i March): Abbe Mazeas discusses
" Buddhism," its origin, doctrine, and morals. Special at-
tention is given to a comparison of the teachings of the
Buddha with those of Christ. In " French Apologists
of the Nineteenth Century," Mgr. d'Hulst is considered
as a philosopher and orator; his theory regarding the
synthesis of Scholasticism and Science is explained.
Leon Leconte, in his article on "The Jews," traces the
expectation of the Messias gathered from the Jewish
sacred books ; and the relation of this expectation to the
looking forward by nations, contemporaneous with the
Jews, to the coming of a Deliverer. Abbe Chauvel
relates strange incidents in " The Devil and Table Turn-
ing," telling of one case where a boy was crushed against
the wall and of the demand of the table to be baptized.
Adapting the old adage Timeo Danaos et eos dona ferentes,
he advises strongly against such dealings with the Evil
One.
(15 March): "The Spanish Apologists of the Nineteenth
Century," by P. At, exposes the life and work of Juan
Donoso- Cortes. It was a protest against the debased
idea of liberty which had been rife in Europe since the
Reformation. In " Woman and Her Mission," M.
Secard deals with the sufferings of life and the part which
woman is called upon to play in enduring them. The
Mother of Sorrows stands forth as an example. How
are they to be borne ? The remedy is detachment from
the world, attachment to God. Abbe Barrett furnishes
the third chapter on " The Restoration of the Ecclesi-
astical Chant." "The System of Cosmogony, in Ac-
cordance with the Biblical Narrative/' by Marc Passami,
shows the two-fold meaning of the word day, and how
the Mosaic account is in accord with science and reason.
Revue Pratique d* Apologetique (i March): "The Beginnings of
Christian Apologetic," by M. J. Lebreton, deals with
the message of Christ according to the Synoptists. One
thing seems to stand out clearly — the Divinity. The
New Law, the Kingdom of God, the Heavenly Father,
are so intimately united in Christ that we are justified
in saying, with St. Irenaeus, that " the manifestation of
the Son, is the revelation of the Father." The article
I9Q9-J FOREIGN PERIODICALS 171
on "The Foundation of Moral Obligation," by M. Clodius
Fiat, is brought to a close. The ancients believed that
their laws came from the gods, the modernists, however,
believe that they are a law unto themselves, and their
rule of conduct is, get the most you can out of life.
"The Theological Notion of Person," by M. L. Labau-
che. Person, as defined by Boetius, is Natures rationalis
individua substantia, so in person we are able to distin-
guish three characteristics. In the human creature there
is a real distinction between substance and person, but
in God the same substance is common to the three per-
sons.
La Revue des Sciences Ecclesiastiques et La Science Catholique.
(March): M. Harault, in a fifth paper, concludes his re-
view of "The Theology of William of Champeaux."
The topic considered is the Holy Eucharist under its
various modes of reception, namely Dipping (Intinction);
Communicating children under one species; Communion
under two species. " Apropos of the Miracles of
Lourdes," by M. Camille Daux. The article is a con-
sideration of St. Augustine's defence (De Civitate Dei)
of the miracles of the Church. The position taken is
from the point of view of the modern scientific tests of
the miracles at Lourdes. " The End and Aim of
Scholastic Philosophy," by M. Chauvin, is a review of
a volume of conferences given by M. Janier at Notre
Dame. The first four are concerned with sin under four
aspects, as it affects our physical, moral, social, and super-
natural life. The last two are upon eternal punishment.
Other articles are: "The Structure of the Psalms,"
by 1'Abbe E. Neveut. "An Example in Exegesis,"
by M. C. Heber.
Stimmen aus Maria-Laach (15 March) : M. Meschler, S.J., writes
on " The Lay Apostolate." Our present time, in its
struggle for individuality, independence, internationalism,
has something titanic in its character. Much success
creates presumption, with all its attendant miseries. The
need of the hour is a lay-apostolate and never before
had it such opportunities for doing good. J. Bessmer,
S.J., writing on "Second Sight," does not profess to
give a conclusive judgment, but attempts only to answer
272 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [May,
some secondary questions, i.e., how much can be ex-
plained by well-known natural influences. J. Braun,
S.J., gives an account oi some newly discovered docu-
ments in the history of the building of " The Jesuit
Church in Cologne." The attack on " Haeckel's
Methods of Research," is continued by E. Wasmann,
S.J. He shows that Haeckel failed to clear himself of
the charge of falsifying evidence in order to uphold his
theories. The character and works of the Italian poet
" Silvio Pellico," are sketched by A. Baumgartner, SJ.
La Civilta Cattolica (6 March): "Joan of Arc," gives the his-
tory of her heavenly call to deliver France, the condi-
tion of the country in her day, and the false accusa-
tions which brought about her downfall. The action of
the Church in her beatification, under Leo XIII., and
what is being done at present, are commented upon.
" Catherine II. and the Catholics of Russia." P.
Pierling, S.J., reviews the action of Catherine and her
jealousy of the Catholic Church. Before the close of
her reign almost ten thousand parishes, over one hun-
dred convents, and millions of Catholics had been forci-
bly separated from the Roman See and united with the
National church. " Moral Education in Japan." Rev.
Joseph Dahlman, S.J., begins an article on this subject.
He points out that moral duty calls upon the Japanese
to dedicate himself, first to his country, then to his
family. This, in brief, makes up his idea of morality.
La Scuola Cattolica (March): "The Basis of Faith." G. Bal-
lerini considers at length the accusations of the follow-
ers of the New Apologetics, who would make faith a
blind and unreasonable act.- "The Third Chapter of
Genesis." An exposition, by A. Cellini, of the reasons
of those who would have this chapter interpreted as an
allegory. Solutions of their various difficulties are given.
Under the title "Allah," B. Ricci describes the
condition of the Arabian people at Mahomet's coming
and tells of his mission among them; Mahomet's doc-
trines, religious, moral, and social, are examined.
" In Defence of Scientific Truth," by L. Necchi. A dis-
cussion of the accusation brought against Haeckel that
he invented facts to fill up the lacunae of his investiga-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 273
tions, to support a doubtful hypothesis. A. Gemelli
writes on " The Teaching of Pastoral Medicine."
And E. Pasteris continues " The Myths About Hell in
Homer."
Razon y Fe (March) : L. Murillo continues his articles on " The
Holy See and the Book of Isaias," treating especially of
the Messianic prophecies in the light of tradition and of
modern criticism. In the life and works of " Lope de
Vega, Man and Sacred Poet," J. M. Aicardo finds, not-
withstanding human weakness, a love of honor, of pa-
triotism, a true devotion to Catholicism, and a super-
natural contrition for his failings. E. Urgarte de
Ercilla treats "The Theodicy of the Modernists," and
exposes their views as to the proofs for the existence
and nature of God. " The Human Element in His-
tory." Must it be told? Should it be exaggerated by
the Modernists or glossed over by the fearful ? Can it
be co-existent with the sanctity of the Church? E.
Portillo considers these questions.- N. Noguer finds
no intrinsic difficulty in " State Aid in Co-Operative
Associations," but only in the time, manner, and limit
of offering it. Florentino Ogara treats St. John Chrys-
ostom, "The Patron and Model of Preachers," as ex-
positor of the Bible. " Twelve Years of Radio- Activ-
ity " continued by Jaime Maria del Barrio.
Espana y America (i March): The death of D. Federico Ol-
meda calls forth a eulogy of his musical genius from
Henri Collet. The [breadth of his activity in quartets,
Masses, fugues, symphonies, lyric opera, and his emi-
nence in organ music make him one of the most inter-
esting as well as technically one of the most competent
modern composers. P. Mariano Rodriguez H. shows,
in "The Restoration of the Republic of Cuba," the joy
that succeeded the complicated party spirit and that
augurs a brilliant future. "Scientific Ethics," with
morality independent of metaphysics, of God, and of
positive religion, is examined by P. Aurelio Martinez.
— —P. E. Negrete reviews Gonzalez- Blanco's History of
the Novel from the Romantic Period to the Present Day.
The fallacies of the " Mechanical Theory of the Ori-
VOL. LXXXIX,— 1 8
274 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [May.
gin of Life " from matter, are exposed by P. I. Mar-
tinez.
(15 March): P. Santiago Garcia treats the Modernists'
conception of the relations between " Church and State,"
and shows how baneful and how opposed to Papal teach-
ing would be their separation, as witnessed by present
conditions in France. The article by P. Mariano Rod-
riguez H., having received especial marks from both
government and press of appreciation and gratitude, he
continues to show how, in "The Present Situation of the
Republic of Colombia," peace, education, and labor will
make sure its glorious future. Felipe Robles discusses
further the "Philosophy of the Verb." Musings on
"The Close of Ovid's Metamorphoses," by Guillermo
Jiinemann. P. M. Blanco Garcia does not believe that
Cuba is really free, and proves it from the words and
newspaper caricatures of " the barbarians of the North,"
whose " insidious politics " have been so well (or so
badly) exhibited in Hawaii. Further topics discussed
are the Japanese Question, the life of a Spanish- Amer-
ican patriot, de Navarro, and the exibition of the work
of Sorolla, the artist.
Current Events.
The French ministry has had many
France. causes for anxiety, and its exist-
ence has been threatened repeat-
edly, but so far it has emerged triumphant over all difficulties.
-The conflict between the Minister for Finance and the Minister
for the Navy was averted by a compromise, the latter Minis-
ter, in the end, agreeing to accept much less than he had at
first demanded. How bad the state of the Navy has become
is shown by the fact that the large sum of money (nearly forty
millions of dollars) which, after so much difficulty, has been
obtained, is not to be devoted to the building of new ships,
but merely to make the ships already built really effective
and fit for use. For this purpose guns have to be supplied,
together with ammunition ; proper docks have to be provided
in order to accommodate the ships. While the necessity of
sea-power is recognized, France does not propose to enter upon
any competitive contest with Germany or Great Britain, al-
though, in order to keep the Navy from " regrettable fluctua-
tions," an Organic Navy Law is being prepared in order to
determine the nature of the naval programme, the number and
class of fleets, their age-limits, and various other particulars.
The Chamber of Deputies voted the credits demanded by the
government, but at the same time appointed a Committee to
examine into the bad administration of the past, antecedent
to the advent to power of the present Minister, M. Picard.
The long-discussed Income Tax Bill has at last been passed
by the Lower House, and is now being subjected to the exam-
ination of a Committee appointed by the Senate. It is gen-
erally looked upon as certain that the Bill will emerge from
this examination in a very different shape from that in which
it left the Chamber; and this seems to be very likely, for al-
most all the members of the Committee elected by the Cham-
ber are known to be opposed to the Bill, while some are op-
posed to every kind of Income Tax. But in the Chamber,
Royalists and Socialists alike voted for the Bill, and the speech
of the Finance Ministers was ordered to be placarded through-
out the country. The chief opponents were a group of Liberal
2 76 CURRENT EVENTS [May,
politicians of the old school of Leon Say. These stigmatized
its proposals as reactionary, and as opposed to the traditions
and aims of the French Revolution. But the Finance Minister,
in the speech which met with such emphatic approbation of
the Chamber, declared it to be the carrying out of a vast task
for the relief of the people ; so vast a task, indeed, that no
French Parliament since 1790 had dared to undertake it. It
would lighten the burden of the small taxpayers; small land-
owners and small storekeepers would have to pay much less;
undemocratic privileges, still in existence, would be abolished —
and this at a cost to the well-to-do classes of only two or three
per cent more on their entire income. Of these classes the
Senate is the representative, and, strange to say, its members are
not willing to make this sacrifice for the benefit of their less for-
tunate fellow-citizens. It is thought that the next elections will
largely turn upon this question : Should the Senate have taken
adverse action, or no action at all ?
M. Clemenceau has been expatiating on the establishment
in France of the reign of liberty which the republic has inau-
gurated. While it cannot be denied that several beneficial
laws have recently been made — the trade union law, laws for
sick relief, a weekly day of rest, workmen's compensation, and,
he says, a host of other measures — the officials of the State,
employed in the Post Office, Telegraph and Telephone Offices,
do not seem to think that they are living in a country which
is free. At all events, they took steps which almost paralyzed
the activities of civilized life, commerce, and industry, and even
constituted a danger for the State. The strike took place at a
time when the Servian question was in its most critical stage,
and the action taken by the strikers, which included the
cutting of telegraph wires, rendered it very difficult for the
government to keep up communication with the Powers with
whom negotiations were being carried on. It was a notable
example of the power which working- people have, but also of
the bad use to which that power may at times be put. The
government stood firm and asserted its authority and the duty
of submission to it as clearly as the Tsar or the Shah could
have done. It treated the movement as an organized revolu-
tionary agitation, as blackmail by strike, as a revolt against
the nation. The Chamber declared its resolve not to tolerate
the strikes of functionaries and voted confidence in the govern-
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 277
ment's measures for restoring peace and order. Even the So-
cialist-Radicals concurred in this condemnation, and only 69
members of the Assembly were opposed to it.
The strikers had, there is reason to believe, legitimate
reasons for discontent, how legitimate it is impossible to say
without intimate technical knowledge ; and some of these griev-
ances were of ten years' standing. The Under- Secretary, who
was at the head of the Post Office Department, was, it is said,
unsympathetic and autocratic, and had at heart a thing which
is always resented by subordinates — economy. It was at his
door that all the blame was cast, and his resignation was
vehemently and repeatedly demanded, and as vehemently and
repeatedly refused.
After nearly a week, during which France was brought to
a condition bordering upon industrial and social anarchy, the
strikers returned to work upon conditions which, while they
were not detrimental to the principle of authority asserted
throughout by the government, yet gave satisfaction to the
strikers. The obnoxious head of the Post Office was not re-
moved, nor did he resign; but it was intimated that, in the
near future, a technically expert Under- Secretary would be
appointed. All the strikers were permitted to return to the
places which they had abandoned, and even those who had
been sent to prison for expressing the desire that M. Simyan
should be spit upon, were released and reinstated. The return
to work is described as having been triumphant, and the whole
movement was declared by its chief organizer as having been
a marvelous advance towards liberty, a thing which should be
highly pleasing to M. Clemenceau, although this advance is
looked upon as being due to the unconditional surrender, in
practice of principles which, he had proclaimed in the Chamber,
he would always maintain.
This, however, is too harsh a judgment. The claims of the
men were in the main just, and had been recognized as such ;
and no remedy had been applied, although often promised.
The manner in which, in the end, these claims were enforced
cannot be approved; but is injustice to be persevered in be-
cause the wrong way of seeking a remedy has been chosen ? On
the whole, out of a very difficult position a very satisfactory way
of escape has been found. While the wrongs which led to the
strike have been righted, the Chamber has maintained the prin-
CURRENT EVENTS [May,
ciple of national sovereignty and has refused to be dictated to
by a group, however powerful, of civil servants. This deter-
mination was expressed by the Chamber's declaration of its ap-
proval of M. Simyan's administration by a vote of 417 Depu-
ties to 67, These events have hastened on the preparation of
a Bill regulating the status of civil servants, which will soon
be presented to the Chamber. France has now to face the
problem of how to reconcile freedom of association for legitimate
objects with the rights of the State and of individuals.
The relations with Morocco, since Germany has withdrawn,
are fairly satisfactory. The mission to Fez has settled most of
the points in debate, although it has been judged expedient
to adjourn the discussion of some of these points. Mulai Ha-
fid still maintains his position as Sultan, although he has had
to fight with one actual Pretender, and to capture a Shereef
who was on the point of becoming another. A good opinion
is entertained of Mulai Hafid's character. He is considered to
be sensible, broad-minded, and reliable, and more anxious for
reforms than are his subjects to be reformed. Whether the
possession of power will spoil him remains to be seen. A
whole month has passed without any sign of a disagreement
with Germany, although France has co-operated with Great
Britain and Russia in their attempts to settle the Austro-
Servian question. In fact, the relations between these Three
Powers is becoming so intimate that it is beginning to be called
the Triple Entente.
Prince Biilow has met with many
Germany. difficulties in trying to secure the
approval of the plan proposed by
his government for raising the one hundred and twenty- five
millions of additional taxation, and in holding together the
Conservative -Liberal bloc which lends its support to him. The
Conservatives represent property and will not make any sac-
rifice in order to maintain its privileges; the Liberals repre-
sent the middle classes and have theories of taxation which are
diametrically opposed to those of the Conservatives. It is no
wonder, therefore, that it has proved hard to keep them to-
gether. After long discussion a compromise was arrived at by
the leaders, but on its publication it was condemned by the
Liberal Press as a defiance of every principle of sound politics
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 279
and of sound finance. The bloc was formed, as is well known,
in order to deprive the Catholic Centre of the power which it
had theretofore possessed in the Reichstag. It is said that
its members are now looking upon the situation with unveiled
mirth, in fact it has become a question whether the bloc is any
longer in existence, while the Social Democrats find in this
compromise proposals which are an endorsement of their own
principles. Taxation is a dry subject for discussion, but one
which comes very near to each individual; and upon it the
existence even of nations in the long run depends. It is im-
portant for Germany that this question should be settled; but
a settlement seems farther off than ever. Nearly every one of
the proposals made by the government has been rejected by
the Committee of the Reichstag to whose consideration they
were submitted. Strange to say, all parties agree to an in-
crease in the tax on beer. The German system of adjusting
taxation between the various States and the Empire is very
complicated : the makers of the American Constitution were
much more successful in their efforts.
The necessity for this immense addition to the already
heavy taxation is, of course, the construction of the Navy, with
a view to Germany's becoming as strong at sea as she is on
land. It is, however, being brought home to not a few Ger-
mans that the price to be paid is very high, and they are be-
ginning to ask themselves the question whether it is worth
what it will cost. The Conservative Kreuz-Zeitung, a leading
organ of the party, plainly declares that : " Germany is not in
a financial position, over and above its supremely strong mili-
tary power, to build and to maintain a fleet which could pro-
tect its foreign trade interests and its colonies in a war with
England." It proceeds to suggest that an arrangement with
England would be a proof not of weakness but ot wisdom.
The Social Democrats, the most numerous party in the Em-
pire, are known to be of the same opinion. It would be well
for the Empire if it came to be quite generally adopted, for
there is no doubt that, so far as Great Britain is concerned,
such a proposal would be welcomed by all but a few. It is
upon social reformers that the British want to spend their
money, not upon war materiel. Nor are there wanting French-
men who would be glad to draw near to Germany in order to
secure peace in the future. The well-known advocate of peace,
280 CURRENT EVENTS [May,
Baron d'Estournelles de Constant, is to gi.ve a lecture in Berlin
upon a Franco- German rapprochement as the basis of a World
Peace. How many Frenchmen share his views we do not
know; but the wonderful growth of the Arbitration move-
ment in a short time gives reason to hope for the best. The
chief cause of trouble to the world is that Germany is just
emerging from a period in which, under Bismarck, she had the
undisputed hegemony of Europe, and many Germans find it
hard to take a somewhat lower place. But Bismarck has gone ;
there is no one to do a work equal to his ; France has been
restored to her old position ; and so the change seems inevitable.
We hope that it may be brought about peacefully ; recent
events, however, seem to make it clear that the old ideas will
die hard.
The interposition of Germany in the Austro- Servian dispute
shows that the old spirit is still alive. Exactly how this inter-
position took place is not known. According to one account
the Kaiser sent an autograph letter to the Tsar giving him
twenty-four hours' notice that if he did not consent to recog-
nize the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, German troops
would march into Russian territory. He went so far as to
refuse to grant the request of Russia for time to consult with
France and Great Britain. The truth of this, however, is, de-
nied, but that such a thing should be even credible, makes one
grateful for living in a country where the peace and happiness
of millions are not dependent upon the good-will of one in-
dividual. We have many abuses and evils with which to con-
tend, but our highest interests are not at the mercy of one
man.
Whatever doubt may exist as to the manner of the inter-
vention, there is no doubt that in some way or other it took
place, and that it was effective. For up to that time Russia
had been acting with France and Great Britain, and had re-
fused to recognize the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As a consequence of Germany's action, however, without wait-
ing to consult with the two Powers, Russia intimated to Austria
her willingness to recognize the annexation. Her weakness at
the present time made it necessary to suffer this humiliation;
but great states are not saints, and there is every reason to
believe that Germany is laying up for herself wrath against
the day of wrath; that is to say, chastisement when Russia
CURRENT EVENTS 281
becomes strong. It does not seem to be at all probable that
Russia will withdraw from co-operation with France and Great
Britain, or that the two latter Powers will resent her conduct
in taking separate action. It is more likely, indeed, that the
three will be brought closer together, for the necessity for their
union has become clearer.
The British Secretary of the Admiralty has caused great
excitement by the announcement that the German rate of
naval construction had been increased and the date of the
laying down of the warship anticipated. Consequently, there
would be seventeen battleships ready in 1912 instead of the
thirteen which had been calculated upon. This has led to a
change in the British plans, and to an increase in the number
of ships which are to be built, but not to so large an increase
as would satisfy the Conservatives. It has also been the means of
bringing into closer co-operation the various parts of the British
Empire. New Zealand has offered one or two Dreadnoughts,
Australia seems likely to do the same, Canada is willing to
co-operate, but not precisely in the same way. The highest
officials in Germany have publicly denied both the anticipation
and the acceleration of rate. This has raised the question of how
far these assurances can be trusted; and instances are being
recalled to the public recollection of what must be called de-
ception which has been practised by the highest German au-
thorities.
Prince Billow's admirers have lately been boasting that he
is the first of the Chancellors who have succeeded Bismarck who
has returned to that statesman's diplomatic methods, and readers
of Busch's memoirs will not need to be told what those meth-
ods were. One instance may be given: During the Franco-
Prussian war, Russia set aside the provisions of the Treaty of
Paris, which restricted the action of her fleet in the Black Sea, and
did this without consulting the Powers who were parties to the
Treaty. Prince Bismarck assured the British Foreign Minister
that he was surprised by what Russia had done. It has now
been proved, by Prince Bismarck's own reminiscences, that he
had instigated the action in order to keep Russia neutral dur-
ing the war with France. The truth is, German officials have
learned to distinguish : when they speak of desiring peace, they
mean a peace which is to leave Germany at the head; when
282 CURRENT EVENTS [May,
they talk of laying down a ship, laying down means a much
more advanced stage in the building of a ship than is so re-
garded by other nations. Language is used as a means of
concealing thought and purpose, and so it is hard to place a
desirable confidence in the assurances given.
After nearly six months, during
Austria-Hungary. which Austria- Hungary and Ser-
via were more than once on the
verge of war, the question at issue has been settled peacefully
so far as the immediate present is concerned. What the ultimate
issue will be no one can say. Austria required from Servia an
unambiguous disavowal of all the claims which she had been ad-
vancing so vehemently and so long. Sir Edward Grey, the Brit-
ish Foreign Minister, succeeded in obtaining a slight mitigation
in favor of Servia, and thereupon all the Powers called for Ser-
via's acceptance of them. As Russia, just before, had yielded to
Germany, it was clear to the Servian government that there
was no one to give support in a conflict with Austria-Hungary.
Accordingly Servia sent in the required submission, in which
she acknowledged that none of her rights had been injured by
the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that to what-
ever action the Powers should take with reference to the Arti-
cle of the Treaty of Berlin, which had been broken by the
annexation, she would conform. She engaged herself to aban-
don all opposition and to make no further protest, to change
the course of her political action, to live as a good neighbor
of the Dual Monarchy. The troops called out would be sent
home, and the irregulars dismissed. Austria graciously ac-
cepted this submission, and so the war was averted.
The Servian people took the action of their government
quietly and acquiesced, although they had been vowing for
many months that they would never yield, and would rather
sacrifice all that men hold dear. Perhaps if the Servians had
had a better reputation they would have met with more ef-
fective support. As victims of injustice they called forth a
certain amount of sympathy, as also for being a weak power in
comparison with their opponent ; but, from top to bottom, they
are the most graceless people of Europe. Their kings have
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 283
been conspicuous for depravity, they themselves for cruelty ; the
murder of the last king and queen and the practical condonation
extended to it indicate the degree of degradation to which
the kingdom has fallen. The Crown Prince, who has just re-
nounced his right of succession, was forced to take this step,
it is said, because he had been guilty of murdering one of his
servants; and this was not the first but the last of a series of
deeds of violence. So there was nothing but a pure love of
justice to move the Powers to act in favor of Servia, and this
pure love was not sufficient to lead to active warlike measures.
What has Austria-Hungary gained by the annexation of the
Provinces ? Additional territory has been acquired and the
number of the population increased. To the already numerous
Parliaments a new one is to be added. A step towards the
/Egean Sea has been taken, and the road towards it made
easier. On the other hand, immense sums of money have been
spent, the confidence felt in Austria as a conservative and
trustworthy power, the sympathy felt for it as having suffered
loss from unscrupulous neighbors, have been destroyed. The
success she has attained is due largely to the support received
from a Power which never makes a gift without exacting some-
thing worth more in return. The Russian people have been
alienated, and are now waiting for an opportunity to revenge
themselves. Baron von Aehrenthal is being acclaimed as the
most successful statesman of his time. But the real truth, we
suspect, is that, although he nominally remains in power, the
Emperor Francis Joseph has resumed control and that it is by
his invincible love of peace that the outbreak of war was pre-
vented.
The formal recognition of the annexation of the Provinces
of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been made. It seems very
unlikely that a Conference will be called. Austria-Hungary
has addressed to the Powers who were parties to the Treaty
of Berlin a request for the abrogation of Article XXV. of
that Treaty, and a favorable response has been given. The
Powers were able to do this the more easily, and without de-
parture from principle, because Turkey had acquiesced by
separate negotiations, although the documents have not been
formally signed.
284 CURRENT EVENTS [May
Perhaps, however, it would be rash
Turkey. to anticipate that even this formal-
ity will be achieved in view of the
events which are taking place just as these lines are being
printed. These happenings have disappointed the hopes, so
long entertained, that the subjects of the Sultan would be de-
livered from his accursed yoke without the shedding of blood.
Who is to blame, it is too soon to say. It cannot, we fear, be
denied that the Committee of Union and Progress had fallen
from the high ideals to which they had at first been loyal.
They usurped power by not submitting to the parliamentary
regime, which they had called into being, and consequently had
lost the moral influence which they originally possessed. This
gave an opportunity to the enemies of the Constitution — among
whom must be included, in spite of all protestations to the con-
trary, the '.Sultan. He then made an attempt to recover the
power which he had lost ; it is to be hoped that this attempt
will lead to the end of the reign of a tyrant whose rule has
long been a disgrace to civilization.
THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION.
MR. ROBINSON NICOLL gives the following estimate of J. M. Synge,
the Irish dramatist, who died lately in Dublin, at the age of thirty-
seven :
He had been in delicate health for some years. Mr. Synge lived for
many years the life of a wandering scholar, traveling from city to city, and
from country to country. He knew Italy and Bavaria and Paris in those
wandering years, but he wrote nothing till Mr. W. B. Yeats persuaded him
to return to Ireland, and to go and live on the Aran Islands. He has done
so by fits and starts for the last ten years, and has produced the plays by
which he is known, "The Shadow of the Glen"; "Riders to the Sea" ;
" The Well of the Saints " ; " The Tinker's Wedding" ; and others. Mr.
Synge also wrote a prose work on the Aran Islands. A writer in the Man-
chester Guardian, says: " His ' Riders to the Sea' is the tragic masterpiece
of our language in our time. Wherever it has been played in Europe, from
Galway to Prague, it has made the word tragedy mean something more pro-
foundly stirring and cleansing to the spirit than it did. . . . But
though he has died at thirty-seven, his fame is as safe as Shelley's; no one
with a sense for the higher values in letters could touch his work, and not
feel that it had authentic greatness, and that its heat and light came up from
the central fires of human passion."
This is high praise, but I am inclined to think that it is deserved.
"Riders to the Sea" occupies only some twenty-three sparsely-printed
pages, but every word tells.
In an Aran cottage there are Maurya, an old woman ; Bartley, her son ;
Cathleen, her daughter; and Nora, a younger daughter. The mother is
lying down, and the daughters are speaking about Michael, a brother who
has been lost at sea. The young priest has brought them a shirt and a plain
stacking, got off a drowned man in Donegal. Bartley, the surviving son, is
determined to go to sea in spite of his mother. He goes out without bread,
and without his mother's blessing. She goes after him with the bread, say-
ing : " In the big world the old people do be leaving things after them for
their sons and children, but in this place it is the young men do be leaving
things behind for them that do be old."
When she is out the girls cut the knot of the parcel. Nora takes up a
stocking and counts the stitches, crying out: " It's Michael, Cathleen, it's
Michael; God spare his soul, and what will herself say when she hears this
story, and Bartley on the sea?"
The mother comes in very slowly with the bread still in her hand, and
says she has seen Michael riding and galloping on the gray pony behind
Bartley on the red mare. The daughters tell her that Michael is dead, and
in a little while the people come in carrying the body of Bartley and saying:
"The gray pony knocked him over into the sea, and he was washed out
where there is a great surf on the white rocks."
286 THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION [May,
Maurya (raising her head and speaking as if she did not see the people
around her) : They're all gone now, and there isn't anything more the sea
can do to me. . . . I'll have no call now to be up and crying and pray-
ing when the wind breaks from the south, and you can hear the surf is in the
east, and the surf is in the west, making a great stir with the two noises, and
they hitting one on the other. I'll have no call now to be going down and
getting Holy Water in the dark nights after Samhain, and I won't care what
way the sea is when the other women will be keening. Give me the Holy
Water, Nora, there's a small cup still on the dresser.
(Nora gives it to her.)
Maurya (drops Michael's clothes across Bartley's feet, and sprinkles the
Holy Water over him) : It isn't that I haven't prayed for you, Bartley, to the
Almighty God. It isn't that I haven't said prayers in the dark night till you
wouldn't know what Fid be saying; but it's a great rest I'll have now, and
great sleeping in the long nights after Samhain.
Then there is talk of the coffin, but Maurya says nothing of that. She
puts the empty cup downwards on the table, and lays her hands together on
Bartley's feet. " They're all together this time, and the end is come. May
the Almighty God have mercy on Bartley's soul, and on Michael's soul, and
on the souls of Sheamus and Patch and Stephen and Shawn (bending her
head) ; and may He have mercy on my soul, Nora, and on the soul of every
one left living in the world."
• * *
Apropos of the FitzGerald centenary, we think it well worth to quote
the following words en his translation of the Rubdiydt of Omar Khayyam,
which appear in the London Athenceum :
The oldest and most authentic accounts of his [Omar's] life show that his
contemporary as well as his posthumous reputation rested almost exclusively
on his scientific eminence. He was a learned astronomer and mathematician,
and was also a successful astrologer, though it was remarked that he had no
great belief in astrological predictions. Like many intellectual Moslems,
who went beyond the strict warrant of the Koran, he was accused of being a
freethinker and materialist. This charge does not amount to much, if we
consider by whom it was made. That he was no mystic at heart may be
gathered from the uncomplimentary terms applied to him by a well-known
mystical doctor. It is recorded that he wrote occasional verse of an irreli-
gious character, but in the ancient biographies cf Persian poets his name is
mentioned only fortuitously, and even at the present day his countrymen do
not esteem him as anything better than a poet of the third class. Whether
their verdict is just we are no longer in a position to decide. It has been
proved that a large number of the quatrains attributed to Omar are to be
found in the works of other poets, and were really composed by them. To
these demonstrably spurious quatrains, the total of which might be doubled
or trebled by an exhaustive investigation, we must add many more belonging
to anonymous authors, which have been swept from all sides into the original
stock ; for, as Omar gradually came to be looked upon as the prince of Per-
sian quatrain-writers, the copyists followed in his case a maxim put in the
mouth of the Prophet: "Whatever good thing has been said, I have said
1909.] BOOKS RECEIVED 287
it." Thus the collection, as it has come down to us, is the result of a process
of accumulation extending over six hundred years. It is impossible to iden-
tify the genuine minority among the mass of spurious immigrants, and,
except in one or two instances, we cannot say of any single quatrain that it
was certainly written by Omar himself. On a moderate reckoning, three-
fourths of the quatrains ascribed to him are not his.
Bearing these facts in mind, the reader may judge what is likely to be
the value of a personal system of philosophy constructed from such mate-
rials, and at the same time he will see how natural it is that Omar should be
variously depicted as an Epicurean sage, a fervent mystic, a mocking free-
thinker, a gay sybarite, or a melancholy moralist. In truth, the Rubdiydt
are a mirror of Persian life during the Middle Ages : they represent many
diverse schools of thought, many discordant shades of opinion, many con-
flicting views of the world; they express, not the changing moods of a single
person, but the rich and manifold genius of the whole Persian race. So far
as Omar was a typical Persian, we can find him in the poems with which he
is forever associated, but where, it is to be feared, his distinctive personality
is forever submerged.
If the Persian original reveals little or nothing of Omar, the English
paraphrase cannot be expected to yield more light. In making it FitzGerald
selected with fine taste only those stanzas which were best suited to his pur-
pose and most in harmony with his philosophy. It was inevitable that he
should introduce fresh currents of modern speculation; and even when he
renders the general sense accurately he often gives it a peculiar turn of his
own. What he has done, and done magnificently, is to transfuse some lead-
ing and characteristic ideas of Persian literature into English poetry.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
BENZIGER BROTHERS, New York :
A Compendium of Catechetical Instruction. Vols. I. and II. Edited by Rev. John Hogan.
Cupa Revisited. By Mary E. Mannix. Price 45 cents. Round the World. Vol. VI.
Price $i. Between Friends. By Richard Aumerle. Price 85 cents. The Law of
Church and Grave. By Charles M. Scanlan, LL.B. Price $1.35. The New Scholar
at St. Anne's. By Marion J. Brunowe. Forgive and Forget. By Ernest Lingen.
Price $1.50. The Life of St. Melania. By Cardinal Rampolla. Price $1.50. Biogra-
phies of English C»th*lics in the Eighteenth Century. By Rev. John Kirk, D.D. Price
$2.75. The Son of Sir o. By Rev. J. E. Copus, S.J. Price $1.25.
THE CENTURY COMPANY, New York :
The Wiles of Sexton Maginnis. By Maurice Francis Egan. Pages*38o. Price $1.50
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, New York:
Dtomina. By John Ayscough. Pp. 477.
JOHN LANE COMPANY, New York :
Carmina. By T. A. Daly. Pp. 193. Price $i net. Postage 10 cents. G. K. Chester-
ton. A Criticism. Pp. 266. Price $1.50 net. Postage 12 cents.
FR. PUSTET & Co., New York :
Handbook of Canon Law. By D. I. Lanslots. Pp. 280.
MOFFATT, YARD & Co., New York:
The Romance of American Expansion. By H. Addington Bruce. Pp. 246. Price $1.7^
net.
288 BOOKS RECEIVED [May, 1909.]
HENRY HOLT & Co., New York:
The Fate ef Iciodorum. By David Starr Jordan. Pp. in. Price 90 cents ne».
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, New York:
The Churches and Wage Earners. By Bertrand Thompson. Pp. lx.-229. Price $i net.
FATHERS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, New York :
Daily Communion. By Father E. Barbe, S.J. Pp. 40. Price 5 cents.
NEW YORK CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD, New York:
Fifth Annual Report of the Reverend Superintendents of Catholic Schools. Centennial Year,
1908.
CHARITIES PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, New York:
The Standard of Living Among Workingmen's Families in New York City. By Robert
Coit Chapin, Ph.D. Pp. xv.-s6o.
THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION PRESS, Washington, D. C.:
The Making- and the Unmaking of a Dullard. By Thomas Edw. Shields, Ph.D. Pp. 296.
THE CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL, Washington, D. C. :
Religion, First B»ok. By Thomas Edw. Shields, Ph.D. Pp. 96.
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, Washington, D. C. :
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. November, 1908.
H. L. KILNER & Co., Philadelphia:
The Life of St. Leonard of Port Maurice. By Rev. Antonio Isoleri. Pp. 366. Price $1.50
net.
L. C. PAGE & Co., Boston, Mass.:
The Spell of Italy. By Caroline Atwater Mason. Pp.393. Price $2.50.
D. C. HEATH & Co., Boston, Mass. :
Dante's Inferno. By C. H. Grandgent. Pp. 283.
THE GORHAM PRESS, Boston, Mass. :
Just Irish. By Charles Battell Loomis. Pp. 175.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY, Boston, Mass. :
When Lincoln Died ; and Other Poems. By Edward William Thompson. Pp. 147.
Price $1.25 net. A Lincoln Conscript. By Homer Greene. Pp.282. Price $1.50.
LITTLE, BROWN & Co., Boston, Mass.:
An Original Gentleman. By Anne Warner. Pp. 339. Price $1.50. Through Ramona's
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B. HERDER» St. Louis, Mo. :
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Pp. no.
THE
CATHOLIC WORLD.
VOL. LXXXIX. JUNE, 1909. No. 531.
DANTE AND HIS CELTIC PRECURSORS.
BY EDMUND G. GARDNER.
PART I.
SHE Divina Commedia, while summing up, idealiz-
ing, and crystallizing the culture of nine cen-
turies, and representing in mystical fashion the
spiritual experiences of one man's life, is both a
vision and an allegory. It is a vision of hell,
purgatory, and paradise, represented as seen on certain definite
days in the year 1300; a spiritual journey, in which the poet
is led by Virgil, typifying human philosophy inspired by rea-
son, through hell and purgatory to the Earthly Paradise, the
Garden of Eden won back by man through the purgatorial
pains; from which, guided by Beatrice typifying Divine Phil-
osophy as possessing revelation, he passes upwards through the
nine moving spheres into the empyrean, the true paradise of
light and love, outside of space and time. Instructed by St.
Bernard, type of the loving contemplation in which the eternal
life of the soul consists, he has a foretaste of the Beatific Vision
of the Divine Essence. It is an allegory of the conversion of
the soul, and her progress, by slow degrees, through the mys-
tical stages of purgation and illumination to that of union with
the divine.
We must, therefore, seek for Dante's material predecessors
Copyright. 1909. THB MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF ST. PAUL THB APOSTLB
IN THB STATE OF NEW YORK.
VOL. LXXXIX.— 19
290 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [June,
among the recorders or inventors of journeys through the other
world, or visions of the life beyond the grave; and for his
spiritually more significant precursors among the philosophers
and mystics who have striven to express the eternal in the
figurative language of a day, or to construct the celestial lad-
der by which the soul passes up from the knowledge of sen-
sible things to the contemplation of the supra-sensible. We shall
find that Dante was indebted, in a slight degree, to legends of
Irish origin for the details and machinery of his sacred poem;
and, more appreciably, directly or indirectly, to writers of
Celtic race for that mystical philosophy which makes the
Divina Commedia so immeasurably more than a mere vision
enshrined in immortal verse of the world beyond the grave.
ii.
There are two classes of legends, having their origin in Ire-
land, which may have influenced the external form of the
Divina Commedia; the stories of voyages over the ocean to
seek the islands of the blessed, and the visions of hell and
heaven, whether represented as revealed to the spirit separated
from the body in a trance, as in those of St. Fursa and the
knight Tundal, or seen in an actual bodily pilgrimage, as in
the traditions associated with the Purgatory of St. Patrick.
Mr. Nutt, in his learned and exhaustive essay on the
" Happy Otherworld in the Mythico-Romantic Literature of
the Irish," says of the former, the " Oversea Voyage Litera-
ture," that: "Of all classes of ancient Irish mythic fiction this
is the most famous, and the one which has most directly af-
fected the remainder of West European literature." *
It is most improbable that Dante had any direct knowledge
of any of the earlier Irish romances dealing with these over-
sea voyages, such as the Voyage of Maelduin or the Voyage
of Bran. But the later Voyage of St. Brendan, Navigatio Sancti
Brendani, was widely diffused over Europe, from the eleventh
century onwards, and Dante may well have met with it in one
form or another. The "Island of Delight," the "Land of
Promise of the Saints," to which Brendan and his companions
finally come, has a certain superficial resemblance to the poet's
Earthly Paradise. The saint is stopped by a river that flows
through the island ; and Dante, too, found a stream that " took
* Meyer and Nutt, The Voyage of Bran, Son «f Feoal, to the Land of the Living, I., p. 161.
1909.] DANTE AND HIS CELTIC PRECURSORS 291
from me further passage." * To Brendan appears " a youth of
resplendent features and beauteous aspect/' who salutes him
with the words of Psalm 83 : Beati qui habitant in domo tua,
Domine. There comes to meet Dante and Virgil a no less love-
ly lady, whose eyes shone so that " I believe not that such
light shone under the eyelids of Venus " ; and she refers them
to Psalm 91 : Delectasti me, Domine, in factura tua. Brendan's
youth explains the nature of the island, " the land that you
have sought for a long time," much as Dante's lady does the
campagna santa, of which " they who in olden times sang of
the golden age and its happy state perchance dreamed. "f But
in Brendan's Island of Delight there is no shadow, for light un-
failing shines upon it as in perpetual noon; Dante's Earthly
Paradise witnesses the daily glories of sunrise and sunset.
Brendan is bidden to return straightway to his native land;
whereas Dante, after a further revelation and a full personal
confession, is drawn through the stream to penetrate the divine
mysteries beyond and above, before he can carry back his
message, in pro del mondo eke mat vive, " to the livers of the
life which is a running unto death. "J
There is, however, another episode — one of the most strik-
ing in the Divina Commedia — which seems, probably indirectly,
to be derived from some Irish legend of this class. This is the
story of the last voyage of Ulysses, put upon the lips of the
hero himself in the twenty- sixth canto of the Infetno, where,
with Diomede, he is tortured in the flame wherein evil counsel-
lors are punished. He tells the tale of how he sailed with his
small company to the west, to find " experience of the un-
peopled world behind the Sun," and, urging his mad flight
towards the morning, at last beheld what seemed the land of
promise :
" Five times the light beneath the Moon had been rekindled
and quenched as oft, since we had entered on the arduous
passage.
" When there appeared to us a Mountain, dim with distance ;
and to me it seemed the highest I had ever seen.
"We joyed, and soon our joy was turned to grief; for a
tempest rose from the new land, and struck the forepart of our
ship.
" Three times it made her whirl round with all the waters ;
* Purg., XXVIII., 25. t Purg.t XXVIII., 64-81.
\ Purg., XXXII., 103 ; XXXIII., 53.
292 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [June,
at the fourth, made the poop rise up and prow go down, as
pleased Another, till the sea was closed above us."*
There seems no warrant for this voyage of Ulysses in the
classics, and commentators regard it as entirely the work of
Dante's own imagination, perhaps suggested by the Genoese
expeditions in search of a western continent. To me it appears
to be essentially a Celtic episode, having its ultimate source in
the Irish " Oversea Voyage " literature, but completely modi-
fied in spirit to meet the poet's allegorical purpose. For the
lofty mountain, that Ulysses dimly perceived, was indeed the
island of the blessed, crowned by the Earthly Paradise; but it
was also the Mountain of Purgation, to be painfully surmounted
before attaining to that state of blessedness; and to that not
even the noblest pagan soul could reach, unless first illumined
by a ray of divine grace.
The earliest of the Irish visions of life beyond the grave is
probably that of St. Fursa, or Furseus, who died shortly after
the middle of the seventh century. Dante may well have known
the summary of his life and revelations included by St. Bede in
the third book of his Historia Ecclesiastica ; it is less likely, but
not altogether impossible, that he may have met with the fuller
account given in the contemporary life of Fursa, to which Bede
refers, and which is published by the Bollandists.f
Fursa in a trance quits his body from evening until cock-
crow. "He merited," writes Bede, "to look upon the aspects
of the choirs of Angels, and to hear their hymns of praise.
He was wont to relate that, among other things, he clearly
heard them sing: Ibunt sancti de virtute in virtutem ; and
again : Videbitur Deus deorum in Sion." $ This may possibly
have suggested the beautiful passage where Dante hears the
hymn raised by the spirits of the warriors of the Cross in the
sphere of Mars: Risurgi e vinci: "A melody that rapt me
without understanding the hymn. Well I perceived that it was
of lofty praise, for there came to me: Rise up and conquer ;
as to one that understandeth not and heareth." §
Three days afterwards, Fursa has another vision. He is
borne up by three angels, with whom the devils dispute for his
soul. Looking down upon the world at their bidding, he sees
" as it were a darksome valley beneath him, set in the depths.
* In/., XXVI., 130-142 (Carlyle's translation). \Acta Sanctorum, January 16.
\ Psalm 83. t Par,, XIV., 122-126.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 293
He saw, too, four fires in the air not very far distant from
each other; and, asking the angels what these fires might be,
he heard that they were the fires that were going to inflame
and burn up the world ": mendacium, cupiditas, dissensio, impietas.
Here we are a little reminded of a similar thought in the In-
ferno : " Pride, envy, and avarice are the three sparks that
have set the hearts of all on fire."* Fursa looks on the saints
and angels, and speaks with " certain men of his own Irish na-
tion, whom he had known by fame to have held, not ignobly,
the priestly rank of old ; from whom he heard many things,
which would be most salutary to himself or to all who would
listen thereto"; a passage that recalls Dante's words concern-
ing the saints in paradise, in his letter to Can Grande : " To
make manifest the glory of blessedness in those souls, many
things will be asked of them (as of those who look upon all
truth) which have much profit and delight." f
Thus far Bede. The older Vita Fursei names these Irish
saints as Beanus and Meldanus, and gives their whole discourse
at length. They speak of the end of the world, and the im-
minent wrath of God upon the teachers of the Church and the
secular princes, for the negligence of the former and the bad
example of the latter. "The Lord is angry with the teachers,
because they neglect the divine books and pursue the cares of
this world with every delight." Even so, again and again,
Dante raises his protest against the neglect of theology and
the Scriptures by the clergy of his own time, in the quest of
worldly success and temporal goods : " For this the Gospel and
the great Doctors are deserted, and only the Decretals are so
studied, as may be seen on their margins." \ The two saints
conclude : " Go then, and announce the Word of God to the
princes of this land of Ireland, that, laying aside iniquity, they
may save their souls by penance. Then to the chief priests of
Holy Church announce that God is jealous against those who
love the world more than Him, and neglect the welfare of
souls to devote themselves to the gains of this world." This
is, indeed, the attitude taken up by Dante throughout his
poem, though ultimately, in both cases, derived from Jeremias
the prophet : " I will go therefore to the great men and will
speak to them." §
*/«/., VI., 74, 75. t Epist., X., 33 (transl. Wicksteed).
\Par., IX., 133-135 ; Epist., VIII., 7.
$ Cf. especially Par., XVII., 127-142 ; XXVII., 64-66.
294 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [June,
While the three angels are bringing Fursa back, the devils
throw a burning body against him, which scorches his shoulder
and jaw. He knew that it was the soul of one from whom
when dying, for charity's sake, he had accepted a legacy. All
through his life Fursa bore the sign of this burning, which he
had received in his soul, visible on his outward body. The
analogy is obvious with Boccaccio's story of how, when the
fame of Dante's Inferno had spread abroad, the women of Ve-
rona whispered that his beard was crisped and his skin dark-
ened "by the heat and smoke that are there below." As Ros-
setti has it:
" For a tale tells that on his track
As through Verona's streets he went
This saying certain women sent :
' Lo, he that strolls to Hell and back
At will ! Behold him, how Hell's reek
Has crisped his beard and singed his cheek.' "
A little later in date than Fursa was St. Adamnan, who
died in 703, but the vision that bears his name is certainly not
earlier than the ninth century. It has recently been the sub-
ject of a learned work by Mr. C. S. Boswell.* The soul of
Adamnan, "the High Scholar of the Western World," passes
from his body on the feast of St. John the Baptist, and is
guided by his Angel Guardian to behold the glory of heaven
and the pains oi hell, as also the temporal and tempered suf-
ferings of the spirits who will ultimately be saved. It is quite
impossible that Dante could have known of this vision in any
form ; but Mr. Boswell has pointed out that " the punishments
described contain many striking points of similarity to Dante,
both in their kind, and in the vivid manner in which they are
portrayed." I do not dwell upon this point, as I have always
regarded this, the details of the horrors of hell, as the least
significant part of the Divina Commedia. Rather would I agree
with him in recognizing a dim anticipation of Dante's empyreal
Rose of Paradise, where Adamnan hears the birds of heaven
and the archangels " lead the music, and the Heavenly Host
with the Saints and Virgins make response " ; while the Lord's
*C. S. Boswell, An Irish Precursor of Dante : A Study on the Vision of Heaven and
Hell Ascribed to the Eighth-Century Irish St. Adamnan, with Translation of the Irish Text.
London, 1898.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 295
messengers, going to and fro from Him, bring messages of
love to the blessed.*
The twelfth century produced an extraordinary abundance
of widely diffused visions of this kind, which could hardly have
been totally unknown to Dante. Conspicuous among them are
two Irish works written in Latin: the Vision of Tundal, which
is placed in the year 1149; and the visit of the knight Owen,
or Eogan, to the Purgatory of St. Patrick in 1153.
An eminent Irish scholar, Denis Florence MacCarthy, writ-
ing of the legend of St. Patrick's Purgatory, declares that "it
is not too much to say that without it the Divina Commedia
of Dante would never have taken the form it did." I must
confess to finding this a hard saying — unless we merely take
it as meaning that the legend suggested to Dante the idea of
representing himself as passing bodily through purgatory for
his own salvation. The traditions concerning this sanctuary
may possibly have remotely given him the conception, of which
we do not find a trace elsewhere, of purgatory being on an
island. In the earlier years of the thirteenth century, Csesarius
of Heisterbach had written : " If any one doubt concerning
purgatory, let him go to Ireland, let him enter the Purgatory
of St. Patrick, and he will doubt no more concerning the pur-
gatorial pains." In the fourteenth century, after Dante's time,
we find it referred to in the Dittamondo of Fazio degli Uberti
and in one of the Letters of St. Catherine of Siena, and read
of pilgrimages undertaken to it at a slightly later period by
various historical personages.!
But when we turn to the legend as it took literary shape
in the hands of Henry of Saltrey — the monk of Huntingdon-
shire, who told the story of Sir Owen some time between 1170
and the close of the century — we trace fewer analogies between
it and Dante's poem than in almost any other work of this
class. To be sure, Owen is still in his body when he enters
the purgatory, even as Dante is when he passes through the
gate of hell. And he mounts up from purgatory to the Earthly
Paradise, even as Dante does, though by a totally different
way. But the actual details of the purgatory, with its fiends
and horrible torments, have not the remotest resemblance to
* Op. Cit., p. 185. But Mr. Boswell is in error in identifying Adamnan's " nine classes
of Heaven " with the Dionysian arrangement of the nine angelic orders.
t See the important article by H. Delehaye, Le Pelerinage de Laurent de Pdszsthdau Pvr-
gatoirede S. Patrice, in the Analecta Bollandiana, Tom. XXVII.
296 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [June,
Dante's conception of the seven terraces, peopled by souls in
joyful expectation of the assured bliss to come, purging away
the stains of the world beneath the sun and stars, watched
over by angelic forms of surpassing beauty and radiance. Owen
does not enter the real hell (of which his purgatory is, how-
ever, a very passable imitation), but crosses over it by the
narrow and slippery bridge — a constant feature in these legends
— which grows broader when he calls on the name of Christ,
and by which he reaches the Earthly Paradise. Here, for a
moment, we are reminded of Dante in the pageant of bishops,
monks, and priests who come through the gate to meet him;
and the heavenly food which descends from heaven in the
form of flame, of which Owen partakes, is perhaps a little like
the river of light which passes down upon Dante when he en-
ters the Empyrean, and of which the poet drinks with his eyes
that he may be rendered capable of beholding spiritual things.*
Here, however, the resemblance ceases, and Owen returns to
the world without having penetrated further into the celestial
paradise.
It is quite otherwise with the far more interesting work,
the so-called Vision of Tundal or Tnuthgal. This was the most
widely diffused of all these legends, and, under the title of
Libfllus de raptu anima lundali et eius visione tractans de pcenis
inferni et gaudiis paradisi, was printed at least five times in the
fifteenth century alone, f Written originally in Latin prose by
Marcus, an Irish Bendictine from Munster, it was speedily trans-
lated into almost every European language. Latin, German,
and Middle English poems were based upon it, an Italian prose
version is extant which apparently belongs to Dante's own
epoch ; but it is curious to notice that it did not appear in
Irish until the sixteenth century. As Professor Kuno Meyer
remarks: "Of all countries Ireland, the original home of the
Vision, was the last to translate the work of brother Marcus into
the vernacular." | That Dante knew this vision in its original
Latin form, and that he was directly influenced by it, is at
least highly probable.
Tundal is a noble knight of Cashel, leading an ungodly
life and scorning all spiritual things, who has at Cork a kind
* Par., XXX., 46-60, 73, 82-90. CJ. Ward, Catalogue of Romances, II., p. 441.
1 1 quote throughout the Latin text as edited by Wagner, Vino Tnugdali, Erlanger, 1882.
\ Friedel and Meyer, La Vision de Tondale. Textes Fran^ais, Anglo-Normand, et Irian-
dais. Paris, 1907.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 297
of trance, during which he lies as it were dead for the space
of three days and three nights ; after which he returns to con-
sciousness, completely converted by a vision that he has seen.
" Receiving the body of the Lord and rendering thanks, he
gave away all he had to the poor, and ordered the sign of
Holy Cross to be put upon all the raiment that he wore. All
things that he had seen he afterwards related to us, and ex-
horted us to lead a good life ; and whereas he had formerly
ignored the word of God, he now preached it with great de-
votion, humility, and knowledge."
The whole story is manifestly a pious work of fiction, com-
posed by Brother Marcus, who professes to have heard the de-
tails of the vision from Tundal's own lips. It is based, to
some extent, upon the vision of Drythelm, a Northumbrian of
the end of the seventh century, related by Bede in the fifth
book of the Historia Ecclesiastica. It was written for a Bene-
dictine abbess, the author's patroness, at Ratisbon, and proba-
bly in 1149, the year to which, in his dedicatory letter, Marcus
assigns the vision. This was, as he tells us, the second year
of the expedition of the Emperor Conrad to the Holy Land —
that second Crusade which St. Bernard had preached with such
disastrous results, and in which, as we learn from the Paradise,
Dante's ancestor Cacciaguida had followed the Emperor to meet
a glorious death in battle.* Marcus mentions St. Bernard as
living and engaged upon the life of St. Malachy, who had died
in his arms at Clairvaux in the November of the preceding
year.
At the outset of the vision, the soul is assailed by "a
multitude of unclean spirits," like the fiends at Dante's gate
of the city of Dis; and an angel comes to the rescue, "com-
ing from afar like a most shining star," like Dante's celestial
messenger crossing the Styx.f This is Tundal's Guardian
Angel, who is to be his guide throughout, and whose relations
with the soul are rendered with much beauty and tenderness
— a clear anticipation of the scenes between Dante and Virgil.
He bade Tundal follow him in almost the same words as Virgil
does Dante. The demons cry out in protest against the divine
injustice in thus letting Tundal be saved — a first hint, perhaps,
for the wonderful scene of the redemption of Buonconte da
Montefeltro in the Purgatorio :
*Par.t XV., 139-148. \Inf.t VIII. and IX. Cf. Purg., XII., 88-90.
298 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [June,
" The Angel of God took me, and he of Hell cried : O thou
from Heaven, wherefore robbest thou me ?
" Thou bearest hence the eternal part of this man, for one
little tear that takes him from me." *
As in other visions of this kind, there are practically two
purgatories : a lower one, only differing from the upper regions
of Dante's hell in that its punishments are not eternal; and
an upper region, of a less dreadful nature, but still utterly
alien from that conception of the purgatory of divine love to
which the poetical genius of Dante and the spiritual experience
of St. Catherine of Genoa have given imperishable form. In
Tundal's vision, even the souls who are to be saved are com-
pelled for a while to experience the torments of the lost. The
angel leads him to an enormous monster called Acheron, with
eyes like burning hills and flame coming out of his mouth,
" who devoureth all souls." In his jaws, like two columns in
a gateway through which the souls have to pass to the tor-
ment within, are the two giants, Fergusius and Conallus — a
detail which, perhaps, suggested to Dante the part played by
the giants in his hell, as also the somewhat similar treatment
of the three arch- traitors in the mouth of Lucifer, f The angel
leaves him, and the demons rush upon him "like mad dogs"
— much as the Malebranche, the " Evilclaws," rush upon Virgil
"with that fury and that storm wherewith the dogs rush forth
upon the beggar." f He is compelled to enter, until, after un-
utterable torments, he realizes his own sins, and finds himself
outside the monster, with the angel again by his side. He
addresses the latter in the spirit with which we find Dante
ever turning to Virgil : " O my sole hope, O solace unde-
servedly granted me by the Lord, O light of mine eyes, and
staff in my misery and calamity, why wouldest thou desert my
wretched soul ?"
It is needless to dwell upon the details of the torments.
Many of them find obvious analogies in those of Dante's /»-
ferno, but were so much the literary property of the age that
it is unsafe to assume any direct indebtedness on the latter's
part. In one case, the punishment of those who accumulated
sin upon sin, we have an infernal smithy presided over by Vul-
can, which closely resembles Dante's way of transforming the
creations of classical mythology into torturing demons. There
* Purg.t V., 104-107. t/»/., XXXIV., 55-60 ; XXXI., 40-45. f /»/., XXI., 67-71.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 299
is little, if any, marked ethical or psychological connection be-
tween the sin and its penalty, which can almost invariably be
traced in Dante ; nor does Tundal hold any converse with the
souls of the lost as his great successor was to do. The lower
hell, wherein Lucifer (who is entirely distinct from Acheron) is
confined, is a gigantic well or pit, as in Dante, but one in which
the torments are not ice, but fire.
One solitary episode, though not precisely recalling anything
in Dante, seems to have something of his spirit. From one
mountain to another, over the infernal valley, there hangs a
bridge, " which bridge no one unless elect could pass." Tun-
dal sees many souls fall from it, and no one, save one priest,
passed over unscathed. " That priest was a pilgrim, bearing a
palm and wearing a long cloak, and before them all he crossed
it first and fearlessly." But, presently, in another region, Tun-
dal sees him again, and this time he is being led to the tor-
ments : " That, having seen the penalties, he might burn the
more ardently in the love of Him who called him to glory."
" By another way," says the angel, " must we return to our
country." They come to a lofty wall, beneath and outside which
is a multitude of men and women, like the souls detained in
Dante's ante-purgatory outside the Gate of St. Peter. These
souls, who were mali sed non valde, suffer for some years be-
fore passing into their eternal rest. The angel leads Tundal
through a gate to the Campus Latiticz, full of flowery delights,
where the sun never sets, and in which is the fountain of living
water. We are reminded at first of Dante's Earthly Paradise;
but there is this complete difference : this place is inhabited
by a multitude of exultant men and women, souls who were
boni non valde, and who, though delivered from the torments
of hell, do not yet merit to be united to the company of the
saints. Their position still corresponds, in some sort, to that
of the souls outside Dante's purgatory.
Among them Tundal recognizes the kings Conchobar and
Donnchad: "Whom when he had seen, marveling greatly, he
said : ' What is this, Lord, that I see ? In their life these two
men were right cruel, and foes to each other; and by what
merit came they hither, or how have they become friends ? ' '
Here we have probably the first hint of Dante's Valley of the
Princes, where those who had been the deadliest foes on earth,
sit together in the flowering valley in the ante-purgatory, com-
soo DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [June,
forting each other, waiting humbly for the gate of purgatory
to be opened to them.* And, a little further on, the connect-
tion of the two episodes is made clearer. They come to a
great palace where King Cormac is enthroned, he who had been
Tundal's liege lord in the other life,f waited upon by attend-
ants of whom the knight can recognize none. These, says the
angel, " are all the poor of Christ and pilgrims, to whom the
king was bounteous with temporal goods while he was there
in the body, and therefore by their hands eternal recompense
is rendered him (here without end." But, once a day, he is
still tormented for certain sins, for the space of three hours:
" The house grew dark, and all the dwellers therein became
sad ; and the king was troubled, and he arose weeping, and
went out. And when that soul followed him, he saw this mul-
titude, which he had before beheld within, with hands out-
stretched towards heaven, most devoutly praying to God, and
saying : ' Lord God Almighty, as Thou wilt and knowest, have
mercy upon Thy servant.' And, as he looked, he saw the king
in fire up to his waist, and from his waist upwards clad in
hairshirt."
Here is clearly an analogy, even if somewhat remote, with
the assault made once a day upon the Valley of the Princes by
the evil serpent ; when, as Dante tells us : "I saw that noble
army silently gaze upward, as though in expectation, pale and
humble." f
The angel 'leads the soul of Tundal up through the first
heaven, that of the married life and family state, and the sec-
ond, that of the martyrs and virgins (wherein is the mystical
tree which, as in Dante's Earthly Paradise, typifies the Church),
into the third, or true paradise, the abode of the angels and
saints in general. When he looks down, he sees, like Dante,
all the world together as it were under one ray of the sun —
but the Irish monk and the Italian poet have both borrowed
this feature of their vision from the Dialogues of St. Gregory.^
Ruadanus, his patron saint, welcomes and blesses Tundal. He
sees St. Patrick, with a great band of bishops, among whom he
recognizes four recently dead: Celestine, Archbishop of Ar-
*Purg.t VII., 91-136.
t This is, of course, not the famous Irish king of that name, but Cormac, son of Muiread-
hach, King of Munster, " the ancestor of all the septs of the MacCarthys," who was killed by
treachery in 1138. See the Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters, ed. Donovan, II., p. 1059.
\Purg., VIII., 22 etseq. § Cf. Par., XXII., 133-153 ; St. Gregory, Dialogues, II., 35.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 301
magh; St. Malachy; Christian of Lyons (likewise an Irish-
man) ; and Nehemiah of Cloyne :
"There was also near them a seat wondrously adorned, in
which no man was sitting. Then said the soul : ' Whose is
that seat ; and wherefore is it thus empty ? ' Malachy answered
him, saying: 'This seat is for a certain one of our brethren,
who hath not yet departed from the body; but, when he de-
parteth, he shall sit therein.' "
It may well be that this suggested to Dante the famous
passage where, on entering the empyrean heaven, he is shown
the empty throne prepared for his hero, Henry of Luxemburg :
" In that great seat, on which thou dost fix thine eyes, for
the crown that is already placed above it, ere thou thyself dost
sup at this wedding feast,
"Shall sit the soul that will be on earth imperial, of the
lofty Henry, who shall come to straighten Italy before she be
disposed." *
It has recently been suggested, with much probability, by
Dr. Friedel and Professor Kuno Meyer, that the vacant throne
in Tundal's vision is intended for St. Bernard, whom Malachy
had left on earth a few months before, broken in health and
tormented in spirit by the failure of the Crusade, and who was
destined to die in August, 1153, some four years later. This
is, indeed, a most significant link between the romance of the
Irish monk and the epic of the Italian poet, in the closing
scene of which Mary's faithful Bernard was to be the guiding
spirit :
" ' O holy Father, who for my sake dost bear being here
below, leaving the sweet place wherein thou sittest by eternal
lot.'
" So did I have recourse unto the teaching of him who drew
beauty from Mary, as from the sun the morning star."f
* Par., XXX,, 133-138, \Par,t XXXII., 100-108.
(TO BE CONCLUDED.)
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.
BY KATHARINE TYNAN.
CHAPTER IX.
THE INTRUDERS.
|HE fine people, who had been unconscious of
Nesta Moore's existence as long as she lived at
the Mill House, found her out at the Manor.
The Moores received, and were received by, the
smartest people in the county. To be sure Nesta
was unexceptionable ; and James Moore's personality, his size,
his beauty, his compelling character, made him a notable per-
son wherever he might be.
" The handsomest man in the county," the old Duchess of
St. Germains pronounced him to be, sitting by Nesta's side,
while a band played, and a number of finely dressed people
wandered about over the velvety lawns at one of the garden
parties of which Nesta gave several during her first summer at
Outwood.
The wife's heart leaped up with pleasure. The Duchess
was supposed to have a fine judgment where handsome men
were concerned. Had she not buried three husbands already;
fine, stately gentlemen, all of them ? And was it not rumored
that she might, perhaps, take a fourth ?
James Moore was helping his wife to do the honors. There
was a blazing sun full on the lawn, and he was standing, ex-
posed to the full rays of it, his head bent, in an attitude of
courteous listening, towards a very frumpish old lady, who was
the widow of one of the richest commoners in England. She
was a dreary old person despite her money; but none would
have gathered the fact from the air of close attention with
which James Moore listened to her as she sat under the shade
of her parasol. He was in white flannels ; he had just finished
a game of tennis and he was flushed and happy looking, while
his curls were more Jovian than ever.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 303
" Dear me ! how very polite he is to old Mrs. Greene ! " went
on the Duchess, who had a way of talking to herself, perhaps
because she stood on such a lofty social pinnacle as to be
to all intents and purposes somewhat alone. "Yet I have seen
blue-blooded gentlemen very ill-tempered, and showing it too,
when they have had to take Mrs. Greene in to dinner. There
was a man at my own table — never mind, he is not likely to
be there again. Now, I wonder where your husband gets such
fine manners, my dear ? "
She did not in the least intend to be rude, and Nesta, al-
though she colored a little, smiled too. The Duchess' indis-
cretions were something of a jest to the county.
" They seem quite natural to him," Nesta replied, with a
sparkle of humor in eyes which had lost their shadow. "But
I don't know that it is a question of good manners, conscious,
at least. He is so interested in everything and everybody that
I don't think he knows when he has lit on a bore. Probably
he and Mrs. Greene have found something in common to talk
about."
" It was a runaway match, wasn't it ? " the Duchess asked.
And then, without waiting for an answer : " Well, my dear, I
don't blame you. Most women would have done it. When
was it? Last year? The year before?"
" We have been married three years," Nesta said, again
with the delightful roguish dimpling of her face.
" Dear me, you don't say so. And where have you been
hiding yourselves, may I ask ? "
" No further away than Valley. I often saw you driving,
Duchess, during those three years."
" How very remarkable 1 But Mr. Moore cannot have been
with you or I would have noticed him. In ways he favors
Lord Tenby — my second. But he is a foot taller than Tenby.
Ah, Mrs. Greene has let him go. Call him over here, my dear,
I want to talk to him before any one else can get hold of him.
And you must look after your guests."
No matter what James Moore was doing, or to whom he
was talking, as soon as he was free his glance roved about in
search of his wife. If she was anywhere near and their eyes
met a smile would pass between them, full of meanings. Oc-
casionally one of the many unappropriated ladies of the county
would wonder what that fine, handsome Mr. Moore could have
304 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June,
seen in his pale, pretty little wife. But whatever he had seen,
he saw it still. He was never likely to emulate his brothers'
wishes for him in the direction of a brilliant marriage. If he
could have chosen out of all the world he would have chosen
Nesta.
He came at his wife's nod gaily, like a lover. She went a
little way to meet him.
"You are to sit down and talk to the Duchess, Jim," she
said, with a light touch on his arm. "She admires you."
" I would rather talk to you," he whispered, and she smiled
and blushed.
" Dear me ! " said the lynx-eyed old lady, whom nothing
escaped. " Imagine a wife of three years positively blushing
for her own husband. Pretty dear! To be sure he is an un-
commonly fine specimen."
" Come and talk to me, Mr. Moore, come and talk to me,"
she said, in her loud, imperative voice. " I'm ever so much
more amusing than Mrs. Greene; but I'm not going to amuse
you. It is you who are to amuse me."
" Mrs. Greene and I talked business, your Grace," said
James Moore, taking the seat beside the Duchess, who looked
with approval at his columnar throat and the dominant Caesar
Augustus head.
" Ah, business. If you get the soft side of Mrs. Greene in
business — "
" I'm not sure that I do. I want to buy up some fields of
hers which will be needed for my town presently. " I intend
to buy up all around Valley. It is sadly cramped for space at
present. I shall give Mrs. Greene her price. I see Valley an-
other Birmingham."
" And where am I to go to ? " her Grace asked with an air
of dissatisfaction. " The Duke would have made short work
of you if he were alive, Mr. Moore. He never could endure
the railways. It was through him the line was kept ten miles
off."
" And a pretty penny it's going to cost Valley one of these
days," James Moore said with grim humor.
Nesta, who had been listening with a smile, turned away
at this point and began her pretty progress round the lawn.
She was charming in her frock of lavender muslin and wide
white hat; and James Moore, looking after her as she moved
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 305
from one person to another, had a sudden recollection of how
she had been obscured during those years at the Mill House.
" Poor little Nesta ! " he murmured to himself. " Poor child ! "
The sharp old eyes watching him noticed the softening of his
face and wondered what had caused it.
" Your wife has been telling me that you've been married
three years, Mr. Moore," she said. " Very odd that we shouldn't
have met before, very odd, indeed."
James Moore smiled an inscrutable, fine smile. " I remem-
ber now that Sophia Grantley objected to the marriage. Very
narrow-minded of her. We all marry money nowadays — I must
tell her my opinion about it. But, of course, she has changed
her mind now that there is no doubt about the fortune?"
" I'm afraid not. The estrangement has fretted my wife.
It is nothing to me. Miss Grantley is, I believe, very deter-
mined. She said she would never forgive Nesta."
" Stuff and nonsense ! Never forgive. Why, it isn't Chris-
tian. What's more, 7've no patience with it. Sophia Grantley
will come round fast enough when I've spoken with her. Ah —
isn't that her grand-nephew I see over there? Your wife's
cousin, of course. That is your wife with him, is it not? They
are just gone out of sight."
" Yes, that is Godfrey Grantley. Nesta and he were brought
up together. They are very fond of each other. I am glad
Nest has had so much of his company this summer. I have to
be so much away."
" Ah ! not jealous," said the keen observer of men and
manners, in her heart. " Why should he be ? What woman
would look at a pretty fellow like Godfrey Grantley if this man
wanted her ? "
Aloud she said :
"There are two rather queer persons peeping through the
yew hedge behind us. They have been there for some time.
They are very ugly, wickedly ugly. One rather reminds me
of a black beetle. I hope your house is well protected at night.
There they go ! " She stood up and pointed to two figures
that moved along stealthily the other side of the hedge. In a
second they were out of sight.
" They are my brothers," James Moore said quietly.
Even the Duchess was momentarily embarrassed.
" Dear me ! " she said, " how odd ! They are so very unlike
VOL. LXXXIX.— 20
306 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June,
you ! But, after all, ugliness like that is a distinction ; it is
sort of beauty in its way."
" I am sorry they went away," James Moore said dryly
" else, perhaps, your Grace would have permitted me to intro-
duce them to you."
CHAPTER X.
NESTA HAS A GRUE.
Telling Nesta of the occurrence afterwards, James Moore
laughed a little ruefully.
" I wish they would polish themselves up a bit for my sake,
he said. " For your sake and mine, so as to be fit to come in
among our guests instead of skulking behind a hedge, to be
taken for tramps by the Duchess of St. Germains. Very odd
that they should have been there at all, at that hour ! They
are so devoted to the business of the mills. I can't imagine
them both being absent at the same time."
A shadow of fear fell over the brightness which had recently
become a fixed quantity in Nesta Moore's face.
" I wonder why they came ? " she said. Then : " You should
speak to them about it, Jim. It is not fair to you or me that
they should come creeping and spying about the house. Why
can't they be like other people ? They are always so unkempt,
too, so ill-groomed. I don't like your brothers to be wild men
of the woods."
" I'm afraid you must take them just as they are, Nest.
You'll never make dandies of my brothers."
"They ought to look clean."
" How vehement you are about it, dear ! Poor fellows, na-
ture has made them rough. I hardly know you when you are
not pitiful. They are just my rough, faithful bulldogs, who
would tear in pieces anything that threatened me. What is it,
Nest ? " She had uttered a low cry, as though his words had
frightened her. " They would guard anything dear to me as
faithfully as a pair of dogs. How nervous you are, child !
Your hands are quite cold."
There was a sough of wind in the trees outside, and an ivy-
branch tapped on the window.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 307
" I think there is thunder coming," she replied. " I feel it.
I am nervous. Was that lightning ? "
James Moore ;drew the curtains across the windows of the
room where he was dressing for dinner. It was one of the hap-
piest hours of their day. She never could be sure of having
him to herself. Sometimes he had been called away even aiter
dinner in the evening. The business, with its ever-increasing
ramifications, was perpetually needing its master. He usually
arrived home only in time to dress; it was a concession to the
ways of their fine new friends; and though James Moore had
grumbled at it at first, half in jest, he never thought of shirk-
ing it. He always found his wife dressed, and ready to sit and
talk to him while he made his toilet.
" What matter about the lightning ? " he said cheerfully.
"We shall not know anything about it shut in here together.
You would not fear it with me ? "
" You will not want to go out to-night, Jim ? "
" Not if I can help it. I've spent an uncommonly lazy day
to-day, away from the mills nearly all day. To be sure those
fellows are on guard, even if they did slip the chain for a
while this afternoon. I daresay they only glanced at us. Per-
haps they wanted to see us among our fine friends. They were
going off at a swinging trot when I saw them. They ought to
have overtaken you and Godfrey down by the river. I saw you
going that way just before."
He was fastening his tie with great care, else he must have
noticed her pallor. She began going over hurriedly in her
mind what had happened when she and Godfrey were down by
the river. Godfrey had been falling head over ears in love with
Lady Eugenia Capel during those weeks of idleness. She had
been extraordinarily kind to him in her frank way; but, what
had he to offer her ? Even if Aunt Sophia should leave all
she had to him — and he rather suspected that a good deal of
it would go to various philanthropic objects — he would still be
in no position to think of the only daughter of the Earl of
Mount- Eden as a wife. And there was a successful rival; at
least successful to all appearance. What chance could he have
against William Stanhope, the brilliant politician, the keen ama-
teur of the arts, the serious, handsome, stately person, who was
so often at Lady Eugenia's side, in whose society she seemed
to delight? Mr. Stanhope had made way once or twice for
308 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June,
Lady Eugenia's hopeless adorer; but it was because he was so
sure that he could afford to be carelessly kind.
Captain Grantley's leave was nearly up. He was wretched
at the thought of going so far away from his idol, but quite
hopeless about its being of any use to speak to her. Nesta
hardly knew her cousin in this new humility. Godfrey had
been in love, or had pretended to be in love, with twenty girls,
including Nesta herself. But this was the real thing ; there was
no doubt that he was genuinely in love at last.
He had won a new dignity from his unhappiness. At first
he had raved about Lady Eugenia to his cousin; who was al-
ways sympathetic. But as things had gone deeper he had said
less. This afternoon he had studiously avoided Lady Eugenia
after their first meeting. Mr. Stanhope was by her side, his
presence among them being a cause of great excitement to
the good people of those parts. An observant person might
have noticed that he sent queer, half-humorous, half-sympa-
thetic glances from under his young- old brows^at Grantley, who
had the air of a defeated man, although he had done his best
to carry off things with spirit.
Nesta's gentle heart had been disturbed by the sight of
Godfrey, who had played through several games of tennis, free
at last and fallen into a gloomy abstraction. She had thrust a
cousinly arm through his and carried him off down the walk
between the yew hedge and the river, her thought being to
comfort him. They had sauntered and walked till she remem-
bered that it was time to return to her guests. He had refused
to go back with her, saying that he would go round to the
stables, have a horse saddled, and ride over to see how Aunt
Sophia was. She had not been well, of late. Then he had
stooped his head and rested his eyes for a second in her hair,
calling her the kindest and sweetest little woman alive.
She remembered now after he had stalked away and left
her that she had heard something move beyond the yew hedge,
which was so thick as to be almost impenetrable. Some graz-
ing cattle perhaps or a fawn with its doe in the lawn beyond
the hedge. She had given no thought to it. Now —
"I did not see them," she said in a small voice.
" They must have gone off by the path towards the stables,"
James Moore said carelessly.
A peal of thunder rattled the sky outside with that strange
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 309
metallic sound which we associate with stage thunder. Through
the drawn curtains leaped a javelin of light.
James Moore saw it in the glass and turned about to draw
the curtains closer. The great room beyond was lit up with
the lightning. Through the archway which connected it with the
dressing-room was now an obscure darkness, again a sudden
white light which threw everything into brilliant relief, leaving
the following darkness blacker than before.
Nesta Moore felt a sudden fear of the room and the house,
such as she had experienced on that wild autumn day when
she had first laid eyes on Outwood Manor, when the fires had
flamed in the panes only to fall suddenly into ashes.
"What is the matter?" her husband asked, filled with ten-
der concern for her. " Poor little girl, you are over-tired.
Why you are quite pale."
" I've had a grue," she said, with an attempt to smile. " I
thought of all the dead who have lain in that room yonder
since this house was built."
" I thought we had exorcised the shadows and the ghosts.
You should have let me build you a new house, dear. I
thought you were happy here. Come, let us see the child be-
fore she goes asleep."
He put an arm about his wife's slender figure and led her
to the cheerful nursery upstairs, where Stella, in a white night-
gown, was dancing like a little moon- elf, her eyes shining,
her hair blown out in a wild cloud about her little head.
The nurse went away and left the parents with the child,
who clung fondly about her father's neck, sending bewitching
glances at her mother, standing by smiling, although she was
still pale. It was a charming picture of domestic happiness.
After a little while James Moore, who was passionately fond
of his little daughter, gave her up to her mother.
" Mother is afraid, Stella, because the trains up in heaven
are making such a noise," he said.
"Poor Mother," the child said, with precocious tenderness.
" Mother mustn't be frightened. Stella take care of little
Mother."
" And Daddy ? " James Moore suggested.
"And Daddy," Stella said, stroking her mother's cheek.
3io HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June,
CHAPTER XI.
RECONCILIATION.
After all, the Duchess had nothing to do with bringing
Nesta and her great-aunt once more together.
Captain Grantley came in to dinner, looking better for his
ride, and with an astounding message for Nesta.
"Aunt Sophia says: 'Tell Nesta to come to see me. I'm
too old and too hardened in my ways to make the first ad-
vances by coming to see her. I said I'd never forgive her,
but Never is a long time, and I am breaking up. Tell her I
am breaking up. I want to see the child, too — the only young
thing in the world that is any kin of mine.' "
Nesta colored with the ready flush which came to her pale
cheeks for any small or great excitement.
" Poor Aunt Sophia ! " she said : " I am so glad. Is she
really breaking up, Godfrey ? She always seemed to be made
of steel."
" At seventy-six most of us are breaking up. By the way,
I should go soon, Nest, else she may change her mind. And
don't say anything to her about the message. Perhaps she
didn't mean it to be given like that. Perhaps she only meant
me to hint to you that you might go to see her without any
fear of unfriendliness on her part."
" I shall remember, Godfrey."
The next day rose bright and beautiful after the storm of
the preceding night. The rain had drenched the roses, and
the lawn was shining in the sun when he showed his face at
last out of the wet mists. There was a silver fringe to every
leaf and grass-blade. Every little stream was singing. A fresh,
delicious odor of green things refreshed was in the air. The
flowers lifted grateful faces to the sky. The birds were sing-
ing riotously amid the wet leaves.
After lunch Nesta ordered the little pony-carriage, which
had been her husband's birthday present to her. She had
carriages now and horses in the stable, and a fat coachman of
whom she was secretly afraid. When she went out in state to
pay calls — John, the young footman, sitting with folded arms
on the box beside the coachman — Nesta, who was the simplest
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 311
creature alive, felt the drive and the occasion so much of a
function that she could take no pleasure in it.
" I want something in which Stella and I can drive about
alone/' she said.
" The two most precious things I have on earth," James
Moore had responded. " In fact, all my world. How am I
going to trust you and Stella alone ? Supposing there was a
runaway as there was that evening when we were nearly
smashed up, and Lord Mount-Eden's carriage had a narrower
escape still."
" If such a thing should happen we would be safer in the
pony carriage — it would be easier to dispose of it — than in the
barouche, with Williams and John and the pair."
" So you would be, little woman. Well, you don't want
anything very 'sporty.' There's old Mrs. Mason's pony and
phaeton in the market. The phaeton has been done up very
prettily. The pony is not more than ten years old, I think.
To be sure, it's a lazy little beast and full of tricks. But
they're safe tricks, I think."
" I should love that pony," Nesta said. " He used to
make poor Mrs. Mason walk up the hills, even the very little
ones. I remember the poor old lady saying to me that Ben
had really prolonged her life — he made her do so much walk-
ing against her will."
" Well, you shall have Ben ; only, don't let him play too
many tricks."
So Ben and the pony phaeton had come to be Nesta's own
property ; and it was one of the sweetest things in her life, to
own the little equipage, by which she and Stella could slip
away from all the rest of the world and go picnicking in
lonely country lanes and on the hillsides, for Ben was a sturdy
little steed and so long as you let him take it easy you could
depend on him to do your work.
It was a joy to Nesta to have Stella dressed in her white
silk frock, with a string of green beads about her neck and a
wide green hat on her auburn head; to let Nurse off for the
afternoon and go driving with Stella to display the wonderful
little creature to Aunt Sophia. How strange that she should
be going to see Aunt Sophia, to receive her forgiveness, after
all those years!
She wondered what Aunt Sophia would think of Stella.
312 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June,
To be sure, children had not been persona grates at the Priory
in the old days; but then Stella was different. She was not
only the one child of the old lady's blood living, but she was
Stella. There had never been any child, there never would be
any child, like Stella. Poor Godfrey 1 She remembered that
he had looked gloomy and troubled when he had told that
portion of Aunt Sophia's message, which spoke of Stella as
the only child of her blood. It was the look of a man who
feels that because he cannot have the one woman, marriage and
fatherhood are denied him. Poor Godfrey 1 To Nesta, Godfrey,
for all his golden youth, was something without an anchorage,
homeless, helpless, buffeted by winds of chance and fate.
Nesta had often seen her great-aunt since the time when
they had parted so stormily. But she had not seen her for
some months, and the change in her grieved the girl's gentle
heart.
Miss Grantley sat bolt upright in her chair, indomitable as
of old, yet with the eyes of a sick woman. She had grown very
thin, and there was a high flush on either cheek that told of
pain. She stood up to receive Nesta, despite evident weak-
ness, and imprinted on her cheek one of the chilly kisses which
Nesta remembered from of old.
" It was good of you to come so quickly," she said. " I
suppose Godfrey gave you a hint. You're looking well, Nesta.
I hope you're not going to be a fat woman in middle age.
Our family has never run to flesh. And so that is the child.
I can't say I see any likeness to us in her."
She put on her glasses to stare at Stella, who sat under
the inspection like a mouse.
"I was so glad that you would see me, Aunt Sophia,"
Nesta said. "I have felt the estrangement."
" Everything comes to an end, child, even justifiable anger.
When one is on the edge of the grave, as I am, one discovers
that. Besides, when the Duchess of St. Germains visits you
it is time for me to restore your name to my visiting-list.
Your husband has done very well for you, I hear, very well.
If worldly success can justify a rash marriage yours is justi-
fied. I hear from the Duchess that he is a positively credit-
able person. Not that I am one of those who think about
money. I have not moved with my times. Yet a man whose
fortune runs into seven figures must be a remarkable man;
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 313
one to whom the ordinary laws will not apply. I am told that
your husband's fortune may rise to that if his schemes prosper
and the Lord spares him."
" I hope not," said Nesta, with a frightened air. " It would
be terrible to be very rich."
" You were always a fool, Nesta. I hope you don't bring
up the child with those ideas."
"At present Stella knows the value of nothing except love."
" Stuff and nonsense ! I've got on very well without love.
It means a man to bother you, and children to cause you anxiety.
And that reminds me — what's come to Godfrey ? "
The abruptness of the question forced the truth to Nesta's
lips.
" He is head over ears in love with Lady Eugenia Capel,
Lord Mount-Eden's daughter."
" Love again ! " There was an indescribable contempt in
the spinster's tones. " And if he is, why doesn't he marry her ? "
" He won't even ask her."
"And pray why not?" He doesn't think she'd refuse him
— a bonny lad like Godfrey ? "
" He is too poor. You have been very good to him, Aunt
Sophia, but he has only just managed to live in an expensive
regiment."
" If the girl is worth her salt she will take him on what I
have to give him. One thing I wanted to tell you is that I
am giving everything to Godfrey, everything. You will never
need it. If I thought you would, I would remember you and
your child, and let bygones be bygones."
" Oh no, no " ; said Nesta, with a feverish anxiety to be
done with the subject. To her sensitive mind it was a painful
one. " We shall never need it, Stella and I."
CHAPTER XII.
THE GIFT.
There was a pause of a few minutes. Miss Grantley, though
she sat as upright as ever in her high-backed chair, had closed
her eyes. When she opened them again they were glazed as
though with pain.
314 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June,
"There is nothing unjust in my leaving it all to Godfrey,"
she said, " that is, all except a trifle. I am leaving you five
hundred pounds. It will buy you a jewel which you can hand
on to the child there. I say * leaving,' but in fact I have the
money here by me. I shall give it to you. If you like to
keep it by you in case any emergency should ever arise — none
of us can be sure — you may. It is in Bank of England notes.
I am going to make Godfrey an allowance at once. I wish I
could save him the legacy duties. I must talk to Cope about
it ; you remember old Cope ? He does my business still. He
was always old Cope to me, yet he looks younger now than I
do."
" Godfrey will value the love," Nesta said unsteadily. There
was something about this interview with Aunt Sophia which
made her feel as though she did not know whether to laugh or
cry. " As for me, I do not really need the money, Aunt
Sophia, my husband is very generous."
" I remember his father, a very respectful man to his bet-
ters," Miss Grantley snapped. " I'm glad he gives you good
pin-money. Still — I can offer my great-niece a present, for all
his generosity. As for Godfrey, it is indelicate to talk so much
of love, Nesta — indelicate and sentimental. Did you know that
Grice was dead ? She had a nice little fortune when she died.
Feathered her nest at my expense. However, she left it all to
me, so I needn't grumble. It is her five hundred pounds I am
giving you. She was always fond of you, Nesta, even when
you were an unattractive child. Fond of you, alter me, you
know. ' My beloved mistress,' the will said. Why I never was
mistress in my own house so long as Grice lived. She liked
you better than Godfrey — an odd creature. That is partly my
reason for giving you the money."
" I think Lady Eugenia must care for Godfrey," Nesta be-
gan. She did not quite see yet how Miss Grantley was going,
to make him speak if he would not speak. To be sure Aunt
Sophia's money would bring him appreciably nearer the daugh-
ter of the Earl of Mount-Eden ; for, while he was the obvious
heir to his aunt's moderate estate, so long as the thing was
unsettled, she might leave it all to charities for what any one
could tell.
"To be sure she cares," Miss Grantley interjected snappily.
" How could she help it ? I'll tell you what, Nesta, I'm not
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 315
going to have them waiting for a dead woman's shoes. I want
to see Godfrey married while I'm alive. I shall make over
everything to him. If there is a way of cheating the legacy
duties, for Godfrey's sake, I'll do it, although I've always been
a loyal woman and willing to pay any tax but the income tax.
I'll do it when I'm alive,"
She stopped and stared at Nesta, who murmured something
about her generosity.
"I never was generous," Miss Grantly said grimly; "and
you ought to know it. I can't take it with me where I'm go-
ing. All the gold in the Bank of England wouldn't purchase
you a light in that darkness, unless you carried it with you.
I've read my Bible regularly, and I've given to the poor — in
moderation. Perhaps I'll have a farthing rushlight to take me
along. No, I'm not generous. I'm only giving up what I
can't use any longer. And I've a fancy to see Godfrey's wife
before I die."
She got up from her chair and walked stiffly to the tall,
spindle-shanked escritoire which Nesta remembered all her
young days. She unlocked it, and stooping over it touched a
spring which made a little drawer spring out. From the drawer
she took a roll of banknotes, which she smoothed out and held
for Nesta to inspect.
" Bank of England notes for five hundred pounds/' she said.
" Take them, child. They will carry their face value anywhere
over the world. That is the best of being born English.
Everything that is English is good. It is the best country in
the world. I don't suppose the country I am going to will be
much better."
She smiled grimly at her jest. Then she handed the notes
to Nesta.
" Grice's little fortune," she said. " I always paid my ser-
vants well. I didn't mean it when I said Grice feathered her
nest. She was always faithful to me. There — put them away
somewhere safe. No, not in your pocket; in the breast of your
gown. I wouldn't like Grice's little fortune to be lost. You
can have any ornament of mine you fancy. They are rather
old-fashioned. Godfrey's wife being a woman of title, will need
to have them reset. I shall tell Godfrey — or his wife — that
you are to have anything you fancy. From the furniture, too,
you can pick a souvenir. Something of moderate value. This
316 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [June.
escritoire for example. Stay, I shall send it to you to-morrow,
with my pearl brooch, my second best one. And my necklace
of seed pearls for the child."
"Why should you strip yourself, Aunt Sophia?" Nesta
said, the tears coming into her eyes. " Please give me nothing.
I don't believe Godfrey will let you dispossess yourself either."
"You were always sentimental, Nesta. I am not stripping
myself. Something stronger than I am is doing that for me.
What do jl want with pearl brooches and escritoires ? The
doctors say I might prolong my life if I would let them oper-
ate. I don't want my life prolonged — that way. I want to go
to my Maker as I came from Him."
She placed her hand against her breast with a sudden fierce
gesture and drew herself to her full height.
" Listen, Nesta," she said. " You are not to tell Godfrey.
He would only fret me urging me to submit to the knife. I
tell you I will not do it. I am seventy-six years of age, and
I will carry back an unbacked body to my Creator."
Poor, lonely, heroic old soul ! For a second pain and suf-
fering were laid bare in her quivering face and the anguish of
her eyes. Then she was herself again.
" Even from Godfrey," she said, " I would not permit in-
terference in a matter of this kind."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY.
BY EDWIN V. O'HARA.
(N the present article the writer intends to present
a narrative of the missionary activities of Peter
John De Smet, S.J., in the Oregon Country. A
recital of the story of this modern " apostle of the
nations" can scarcely fail to be of interest at a
time like the present, when the memories of early frontier life are
growing dim and the very names of the pioneers seem to be
borne to us from a distant heroic age. The " Oregon Country "
is selected as the theater of the events we are to recount, both
because De Smet's most effective and permanent work was ac-
complished here, and because of the historical and geographical
unity of the territory lying between the Rocky Mountains and
the Pacific Ocean, bounded on the south by the Mexican Pos-
sessions and extending as far north as latitude fifty- four de-
grees and forty minutes — a territory known in De Smet's day
as the Oregon Country.
The first tidings of the Catholic faith reached the Oregon
Indians through the trappers of the various fur-trading com-
panies who had learned their religion from the pioneer mission-
aries of Quebec and Montreal. Large numbers of Canadian
voyagcurs accompanied the expeditions of Lewis and Clark in
1805 and of John Jacob Astor in 1810. This latter expedition
especially — which resulted in establishing at the mouth of the
Columbia the first white settlement in Oregon, the present
flourishing city of Astoria — was accompanied by a number of
Catholic Canadians, who became the first settlers in the Willa-
mette Valley. The piety of these voyageurs may be seen in
the rather unusual fact that the early missionaries on their ar-
rival found a church already erected. Another agency instru-
mental in bringing the faith to the Far West was the Iroquois
Indians. These Indians, among whose tribe the seeds of faith
had been sown at an early date by Father Jogues, were in the
employ of the Hudson's Bay Company at its various forts.
The trappers and Iroquois told the tribes of Oregon of the re-
318 DE S MET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
ligion of the Black-robes, taught them the simple prayers they
remembered, inculcated the observance of Sunday, and aroused
among them a great desire to receive the ministrations of the
Black-robes. An Iroquois named Ignace became a veritable
apostle to the Flatheads. Such was the effect of his teaching
and example that the Flatheads, together with their neighbors,
the Nez Perces, sent a deputation to St. Louis in 1831 to ask
for priests.
It was to St. Louis rather than to Montreal that the In-
dians turned for assistance, for since the days of the great tra-
velers, Lewis and Clark, the traders had renewed their relations
annually with that city. The deputation consisted of four In-
dians. They found Clark still living in St. Louis. Two of the
company took sick and died after receiving baptism and the
last sacraments. The return of the remaining members of the
deputation is uncertain. They had repeated the Macedonian
cry : " Come over and help us." The Catholic missionary forces
were too weak to respond at once to the appeal. But the pres-
ence of Indians in St. Louis from far distant Oregon on such
a mission was the occasion of a movement with far-reaching
results. The incident was given publicity in the Protestant re-
ligious press, and aroused wonderful enthusiasm and set on foot
perhaps the most remarkable missionary campaign in the history
of this country ; a campaign which was fraught with important
consequences for Oregon. The Presbyterians sent out Dr. Whit-
man in 1834 and the Methodists followed in 1836 under the
leadership of Jason and Daniel Lee. Within a few years the
Methodist mission in Oregon was valued at a quarter of a
million of dollars and became the dominating factor in Oregon
politics.
But to return to our Flatheads. In 1835 the Flathead chief
Insula went to the Green River rendezvous to meet those whom
he was informed were the Black-gowns. Much to his disap-
pointment he met, not the priests, but Dr. Whitman and the
Presbyterian minister, Mr. Parker. On reporting his ill- success
it was determined that the old Iroquois Ignace and his two
sons should go in search of missionaries. They met Bishop
Rosati at St. Louis, but were unsuccessful in their quest. Noth-
ing daunted, they renewed the attempt, and a deputation under
young Ignace again reached St. Louis in 1839. It was on this
occasion that De Smet comes into view for the first time.
1909.] DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 319
Young Ignace and his companions paused at Council Bluffs to
visit the priests at St. Joseph's mission, where Father De Smet
was stationed.
Meanwhile certain other events transpired that affected the
Oregon Indians. In 1833 the second Provincial Council of Bal-
timore petitioned that the Indian missions .of the United States
be confided to the care of the Society of Jesus. In July of
the following year the Holy See acceded to the request. Hence,
when the deputation of Indians visited St. Louis and obtained
from Bishop Rosati the promise of missionaries, it was to the
Jesuit Fathers that the Bishop turned for volunteers.
Father De Smet, deeply impressed by the visit of young
Ignace, offered to devote himself to the Indian missions. The
offer was gratefully accepted by his Superior and by the Bishop,
and De Smet set out on his first trip to the Oregon Country
late in March, 1840. Past Westport (now Kansas City), he
journeyed along the Platte River, through herds of antelope
and buffalo, across the country of the Pawnees and Cheyennes
to the South Pass across Continental Divide. Here, on the
25th of June, he passed from the waters tributary to the Mis-
souri to those of the Colorado. " On the 3Oth " [of June], says
Father De Smet, " I came to the rendezvous where a band of
Flatheads, who had been notified of my coming, were already
waiting for me. This happened on the Green River, a tribu-
tary of the Colorado." On the following Sunday Father De
Smet assembled the Indians and trappers for divine worship.
De Smet was now in the land of the Shoshones or Snake
Indians. Three hundred of their warriors came into camp
at full gallop. De Smet was invited to a council of thirty of
the principal chiefs. " I explained to them," he writes, " the
Christian doctrine in a compendious manner. They were all
very attentive; they then deliberated among themselves for
about half an hour and one of the chiefs, addressing me in the
name of the others, said : 'Black-gown, the words of thy mouth
have found their way to our hearts; they will never be for-
gotten.' ... I advised them to select among themselves
a wise and prudent man, who every morning and evening should
assemble them to offer to Almighty God their prayers and sup-
plications. . . . The meeting was held the very same even-
ing, and the great chief promulgated a law that for the future
the one who would be guilty of theft or of other disorderly
320 DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
act, should receive a public castigation." This was the only
occasion on which Father De Smet met the Snake Indians.
His subsequent trips to Oregon were, with one exception, by
a different route.
After spending a week at the Green River rendezvous, Fa-
ther De Smet and his Flathead guides, together with a dozen
Canadians, started northward across the mountains which sepa-
rate the headwaters of the Colorado from those of the Colum-
bia. They crossed the historic Teton's Pass and came to the
beautiful valley at the foot of the three Tetons, of which Father
De Smet has left a striking description. In this valley they
found the camp of the Flatheads and of their neighbors, the
Pend d'Oreilles, numbering about 1,600 persons. De Smet de-
scribes the affecting scene of his meeting with these children
of the wilderness and relates how astonished he was at their
fervor and regularity at religious exercises. ". . . On the
first evening I gathered all the people about my lodge. . . .
I said the evening prayers, and finally they sang together, in a
harmony which surprised me very much, several songs of their
own composition on the praise of God. This zeal for prayer
and instruction (and I preached to them regularly four times a
day) instead of declining increased up to the time of my depar-
ture."
After two months among the Flatheads, De Smet deter-
mined to return to St. Louis for assistance. He appointed a
chief to take his place, to preside over the devotions and to
baptize the children. He was accompanied by thirty warriors,
among whom was the famous chief, Insula, whose futile trip
to the rendezvous on the Green River in 1835 we have al-
ready mentioned. Father De Smet reached the St. Louis Uni-
versity on the last day of the year 1840. His first missionary
journey to the nations of the Oregon Country had been ac-
complished and, like another Paul, he returned rehearsing all
the things that God had done with him and how he had opened
a door of faith to the Nations.
On the feast of the Assumption, 1841, Father De Smet had
again penetrated the Oregon Country as far as Fort Hall on
the Snake River.
When Father De Smet met the Flatheads at Fort Hall on
this occasion he was better prepared to minister to their needs
than on his former journey. He was accompanied by two
1909.] DE S MET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 321
priests and three brothers. The priests are well known in the
early annals of Oregon. They were Fathers Nicholas Point
and Gregory Mengarini. We shall meet them again in the
course of our narrative. De Smet had been successful, too, in
securing financial aid for his missions. The Bishops and clergy
of the dioceses of Philadelphia and New Orleans had responded
very generously to his appeal. On reaching the Bitter Root
Valley, the home of the Flathead tribe, De Smet was thus en-
abled to lay the foundations of a permanent mission. He chose
a location on the banks of the Bitter Root River, about twenty-
eight miles above its mouth, between the site of old Fort Owen
and the present town of Stevensville.
While the work of establishing the mission was in progress,
Father De Smet received a delegation from the Cceur d'Alenes
nation. They had heard of his arrival among the Flatheads
and came to request his services. "Father," said one of them
to him, " we are truly deserving of your pity. We wish to
serve the Great Spirit, but we know not how. We want some
one to teach us. For this reason we make application to you."
Their wish was granted and the little tribe received the Chris-
tian religion with the same zeal and devotion that the Flat-
heads had displayed. The Pend d'Oreilles, too, a numerous
tribe who dwelt in what is now northern Idaho, welcomed the
missionaries, as also did the Nez Perces. Father De Smet had
little hope of converting the Blackfeet. "They are the only
Indians," he writes, " of whose salvation we would have reason
to despair if the ways of God were the same as those of men,
for they are murderers, thieves, traitors, and all that is wicked."
Father Point established a mission among them, but the Black-
feet are pagans even to this day.
In establishing the Rocky Mountain missions Father De
Smet and his companions had constant recourse to the experience
of the Jesuit missionaries among the Indians of Paraguay. He
expressly states that he made a Vade Mecum of the Narrative
of Muratori, the historian of the Paraguay missions. The field
west of the Rocky Mountains suggested to him many similar-
ities with that among the native races of South America. The
only obstacle to conversion in the one case as in the other
was the introduction of the vices of the whites. That alone
stood in the way of the ultimate civilization of the natives.
De Smet refers to his missions as reductions, a name bor-
VOL. LXXXIX. — 21
322 DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
rowed from the South American system where it refers to the
settlements which the missionaries induced their nomadic neo-
phites to adopt.
One of the problems that De Smet had to meet at the out-
set was that of Indian marriages. He acted on the principle
that there were no valid marriages among the savages. Con-
sequently, in the case of married parties, immediately after
Baptism, the Christian marriage ceremony was performed, the
necessary instructions having been given. The success of the
Catholic missionaries in dealing with this most difficult prob-
lem was all the more striking in view of the complete failure
which attended the efforts of the other missionaries in this regard.
During the closing months of 1841 De Smet undertook a
journey from the Bitter Root Valley to Fort Colville on the
Columbia. On All Saints' Day he met two encampments of
the Kalispel nation, who were to be a great consolation to the
missionary. The chief of the first camp was the famous Cha-
lax. Although they had never seen a priest before, they knew
all the prayers De Smet had taught the Flatheads. This is a
striking proof of the nature of the religious sentiment among
the Oregon Indians of the interior. Their knowledge of these
prayers is thus explained by De Smet : " They had deputed
an intelligent young man, who was gifted with a good memory,
to meet me. Having learned the prayers and canticles and
such points as were most essential for salvation, he repeated
to the village all that he had heard and seen. It was, as you
can easily imagine, a great consolation for me to see the sign
of the cross and hear prayers addressed to the great God, and
His praises sung in a desert of about three hundred miles ex-
tent, where a Catholic priest had never been before."
Returning to his mission in the Bitter Root Valley, in De-
cember, 1841, with the provisions and implements secured at
Fort Colville, Father De Smet spent the winter among his
Flathead neophites. In April of the following year he set out
on his first visit to Fort Vancouver and the Willamette Valley,
a journey of a thousand miles. In the course of his travels,
on this occasion, he evangelized whole villages of Kootenais,
Kalispels, Cceur d'Alenes, Spokans, and Okanigans, establish-
ing, in almost every case, the practice of morning and evening
prayers in each village. He found the Coeur d'Alene camp at
the outlet of the great lake which bears their name. The entire
1909.] DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 323
camp turned out to welcome him. An extract from one of his
letters will show how eagerly they listened to his words : " I
spoke to them for two hours on salvation and the end of
man's creation, and not one person stirred from his place dur-
ing the whole time of instruction. As it was almost sunset, I
recited the prayers I had translated into their language a few
days before. ... At their own request I then continued
instructing the chiefs and their people until the night was far
advanced. About every half hour I paused, and then the pipes
would pass round to refresh the listeners and give time for
reflection." Never did De Smet experience so much satisfac-
tion among the Indians as on this occasion, and nowhere were
his efforts crowned with greater and more permanent success.
The Coeur d'Alenes have still the reputation of being the best
and most industrious Indians in the Rocky Mountains.
The journey from Fort Colville to Fort Vancouver was
marred by an unfortunate accident. At one of the Rapids of
the Columbia the barge containing De Smet's effects capsized,
and all the crew, save three, were drowned. Providentially,
Father De Smet had gone ashore intending to walk along the
bank while the bargemen directed the boat through the rapids.
After brief visits at Forts Okanigan and Walla Walla, he has-
tened on to Vancouver, where he received a most affecting
welcome from the pioneer missionaries of the Oregon Country,
Blanchet and Demers. The latter has related how Blanchet and
De Smet ran to meet each other, both prostrating themselves,
each begging the other's blessing. It was a meeting fraught with
important consequences for the Catholic Church in Oregon.
In his Historical Sketches, Archbishop Blanchet gives us a
few details in addition to those mentioned in De Smet's Let-
ters, from which it appears that Father Demers met the Jesuit
missionary at Fort Vancouver and conducted him to the resi-
dence of the Vicar-General at St. Paul. De Smet returned to
Vancouver with Father Demers, followed a few days later by
Father Blanchet, " to deliberate on the interests of the great
mission of the Pacific Coast." At the conference it was de-
cided that Father Demers should proceed to open a mission in
New Caledonia (now British Columbia), leaving the Vicar-Gen-
eral at St. Paul, while De Smet should start for St. Louis and
Belgium in quest of more workers and of material assistance
for the missions of Oregon. Dr. McLoughlin, though not yet
324 DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
a Catholic, strongly encouraged Father De Smet to make every
effort to increase the number of Catholic missionaries. On
June 30, 1842, De Smet bade farewell to his new friends at
Fort Vancouver and set out for the East to secure recruits and
supplies for the Oregon missions.
Twenty-five months elapsed before Father De Smet returned
again to Fort Vancouver. After visiting many of the chief
cities of Europe he set sail from Antwerp on the brig In-
fatigable early in January, 1844, accompanied by four Fathers
and a lay brother of the Society, and six Sisters of Notre Dame
de Namur. The Infatigable rounded Cape Horn on the 2Oth
of March, 1844, and came in sight of the Oregon coast on the
28th of July. After a terrifying experience they crossed the
Columbia bar in safety on the 3ist of July, the feast of St.
Ignatius. Father De Smet frequently refers to the " divine
pilotage " which brought them unharmed through the shallow
passage and the treacherous breakers. From Astoria De Smet
set out for Fort Vancouver in a canoe, leaving his companions
to follow when a favorable wind would permit. He was re-
ceived with open arms by Dr. McLoughlin and by Father
Demers, who was planning to leave shortly for Canada to se-
cure sisters to open a school. From Father Demers he re-
ceived the good news that the missionaries in the Rocky
Mountains had received a strong reinforcement from St. Louis
during his absence. The Vicar-General, Father Blanchet, was
at St. Paul when informed of De Smet's arrival. He immedi-
ately set out for Vancouver, bringing a number of his parish-
ioners with him and traveling all night by canoe.
On the eve of the feast of the Assumption the newly ar-
rived recruits for the mission left Fort Vancouver for St. Paul.
"Our little squadron," says Father De Smet, "consisted of
four canoes manned by the parishioners of Mr. Blanchet, and
our own sloop. We sailed up the river and soon entered the
Willamette. As night approached we moored our vessels and
encamped upon the shore. [This must have been within the
limits of the present city of Portland.] The morning's dawn
found us on foot. It was the festival of the glorious Assump-
tion of the Mother of God. Aided by the nuns, I erected a
small altar. Mr. Blanchet offered the Holy Sacrifice, at which
all communicated. . . . Finally, the I7th, about eleven
o'clock, we came in sight of our dear mission of Willamette.
1909.] DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 325
. . . A cart was procured to conduct the nuns to their
dwelling, which is about five miles from the river. In two
hours we were all assembled in the chapel of Willamette, to
adore and thank our Divine Savior by the solemn chanting of
the Te Deum."
On arriving at St. Paul, De Smet's first care was to seek a
convenient location for what was intended to be the base of
missionary activities in Oregon. The Methodists offered to sell
him their academy, which they had decided to close. Ten
years had passed since Jason and Daniel Lee founded the
Methodist mission in the Willamette Valley; a quarter of a
million dollars had been expended in the enterprise, but as an
Indian mission it was confessedly a complete failure. Hence
it was decided, in 1844, to suppress it and sell all the property.
Father De Smet, however, secured a more advantageous loca-
tion, where he laid the foundations of the St. Francis Xavier
mission on the Willamette.
When winter came on, Father De Smet was again among
his Indians in the mountains. He revisited the Sacred Heart
mission, founded among the Cosur d'Alenes by Father Point
in 1842. Leaving the Pointed Hearts he set out for St. Mary's
mission in Bitter Root Valley, but was twice foiled in the at-
tempt by the heavy snows and swollen mountain torrents. He
was thus compelled to pass Christmas, 1844, among the Kal-
ispels. He gives us an interesting description of the manner
in which the day was passed. He writes: "The great festival
of Christmas, the day on which the little band (of 144 adults)
was to be added to the number of the true children of God,
will never be effaced from the memory of our good Indians.
. . . A grand banquet, according to the Indian custom, fol-
lowed the first Mass. The union, the contentment, the joy,
and the charity which pervaded the whole assembly might well
be compared to the agape of the primitive Christians." On the
same Christmas morning the entire tribes of Flatheads and
Cceur d'Alenes received Holy Communion in a body at their
respective missions.
The Paschal time, 1845, Father De Smet spent among the
Flatheads at St. Mary's mission in the Bitter Root. As the
snow began to disappear with the coming of spring, Father
De Smet set out for Vancouver and the mission of St. Francis
Xavier on the Willamette. He went by canoe down the im-
petuous Clark's River to Father Hoeken's mission of St. Igna-
326 DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
tius among the Kalispels. After selecting a site for a new es-
tablishment of St. Ignatius, " in the neighborhood of the cav-
ern of New Manresa and its quarries, and a fall of water more
than two hundred feet, presenting every advantage for the
erection of mills," he hastened to Walla Walla, where he em-
barked in a small boat and descended the Columbia as far as
Fort Vancouver.
At Vancouver he found Father Nobili, who ministered dur-
ing the absence of Father Demers to the Catholic employees
of the Fort and to the neighboring Indians. Of his visit to
the Willamette settlement, De Smet writes: "Father Nebili
accompanied me in a Chinook canoe up the beautiful river of
Multomah, or Willamette, a distance of about sixty miles, as
far as the village of Champoeg, three miles from our residence
of St. Francis Xavier. On our arrival all the Fathers came to
meet us, and great was our delight on being again reunited
after a long winter season. The Italian Fathers had applied
themselves chiefly to the study of languages. Father Ravalli,
being skilled in medicine, rendered considerable services to the
inhabitants of St. Paul's mission ; Father Vercruysse, at the
request of Right Reverend Bishop Blanchet, opened a mission
among the Canadians who were distant from St. Paul's. . . .
Father De Vos is the only one of our Fathers of Willamette
who speaks English. He devotes his whole attention to the
Americans, whose number already exceed 4,000. There are
several Catholic families and our dissenting brethren seem
well disposed." It was De Vos who received into the Church
a year later, at Oregon City, one of the most distinguished
of the Oregon pioneers, Chief Justice Peter Burnett, after-
wards first Governor of California.
Father De Smet went overland from St. Paul to Walla
Walla past the foot of Mt. Hood. The trail to the Dalles
was strewed with whitened bones of oxen and horses, which
appealed to our traveler as melancholy testimonies to the hard-
ships which had been faced by the American immigrants dur-
ing the three preceding years. He becomes enthusiastic about
Hood, " with its snowy crest towering majestically upward,
and losing itself in the clouds." Leaving Fort Walla Walla,
Father De Smet traversed the fertile lands of the Nez Perces
and Cayuse Indians, the richest tribes in Oregon. It was
among these Indians that Dr. Marcus Whitman had established
the Presbyterian mission, and it was here that the savage and
1909.] DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 327
brutal massacre of Dr. and Mrs. Whitman, in 1847, made the
name o/ the Cayuse Indians ever memorable in Oregon annals.
Our missionary spent the feast of St. Ignatius, 1845, a* Kettle
Falls, in the vicinity of Fort Colville on the Columbia, where
nearly a thousand savages of the Kalispel nation were engaged
in salmon fishing. He had a little chapel of boughs constructed
on an eminence in the midst of the Indian huts, and there he
gave three instructions each day. The Indians attended faith-
fully at his spiritual exercises, and he spent the 3ist of July
(St. Ignatius' Day) baptizing the savages. He recalls that it
is just a year since he crossed the Columbia bar " as if borne
on angels' wings," and reviews the work of the Catholic mis-
sions in Oregon during that period with deep appreciation of
the kindly Providence which gave the increase in the field
which he had planted.
An interesting incident early in August, 1845, brings Fa-
ther De Smet's views of public affairs to our attention. The
Oregon question was then the all-absorbing theme. While De
Smet was ascending the Clark River he had an unexpected in-
terview on this subject. As he was approaching the forest on
the shore of Lake Pend d'Oreille, several horsemen issued from
its depths, and the foremost among them saluted him by name.
On nearer approach, Father De Smet recognized Peter Skeen
Ogden, one of the leading representatives of the Hudson's Bay
Company. Ogden was accompanied by two English officers,
Warre and Vavasseur, who had been sent to Oregon to inves-
tigate the charge that Dr. McLoughlin was unfaithful to his
Company and his country. Their report had been unfavorable
to McLoughlin and was the direct cause of the rupture which
occurred between McLoughlin and the Hudson's Bay Company.
De Smet was alarmed by the information he gleaned from the
travelers regarding the Oregon question. He writes: "They
were invested with orders from their government to take pos-
session of Cape Disappointment, to hoist the English standard,
and to erect a fortress for the purpose of securing the entrance
of the river in case of war. In the Oregon question John Bull,
without much talk, attains his end and secures the most impor-
tant part of the country ; whereas Uncle Sam loses himself in
words, inveighs, and storms ! Many years have passed in
debates and useless contention without one single practical
effort to secure his real or pretended rights."
Some writers have gathered from these expressions that
328 DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
Father De Smet was hostile to the claims of our country and
would have preferred to see the Oregon Country fall under
British sovereignty. This view was given wide circulation by
the Protestant missionaries. For example, Dr. Whitman writes
from Waiilatpu, under date of November 5, 1846: " . . .
The Jesuit Papists would have been in quiet possession of this
the only spot in the Western horizon of America not before
their own. ... It would have been but a small work for
them and the friends of the English interests, which they had
also fully avowed, to have routed us, and then the country might
have slept in their hands forever " (Transactions of the Oregon
Pioneer Association for 1893, page 200). The truth is, of course,
quite the contrary to these representations. What Father De
Smet feared was that Oregon might be lost to the United
States, at least temporarily, by indecision on the part of our
government.
In a letter to Senator Benton, written in 1849, De Smet re-
counts a conversation which he had with several British officers
on the brig Modeste, before Fort Vancouver, in 1846, in which
his attitude towards the Oregon question is made clear. The
party was discussing the possibility of the English taking pos-
session, not merely of Oregon, but of California as well. Fa-
ther De Smet ventured the opinion that such a conquest
was a dream not easily realized, and went on to remark that
should the English take possession of Oregon for the moment,
it would be an easy matter for the Americans to cross the
mountains and wrest the entire country from them almost
without a blow. On hearing these sentiments, the captain
asked De Smet somewhat warmly: "'Are you a Yankee?'
' Not a born one, Captain,' was my reply, ' but I have the
good luck of being a naturalized American for these many years
past ; and in these matters all my good wishes are for the side
of my adopted country.' '
Father De Smet pushed on from Lake Pend d'Oreille,
through dense forests, to the Kootenai River, where he en-
countered a branch of the Kutenai tribe, which he calls the
Fiat-bows. He found them well-disposed and already instructed
in the principal mysteries of the Catholic faith by a Canadian
employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. On the feast of the
Assumption (1845) he celebrated Mass among them and erected
a cross, at the foot ot which the Indians renounced their prac-
tices of jugglery and superstition. The Kutenai tribe furnished
1909.] BE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 329
another illustration of the marvelous dispositions for faith which
Providence had planted in the hearts of the Oregon Indians.
They remain Catholics to this day.
In June, 1846, De Smet was back again at Fort Colville,
and was there joined by Father Nobili, who had just returned
from a missionary journey to Fort St. James, the capital of
New Caledonia, situated on Stuart Lake. The end of June
saw Father De Smet at St.. Francis Xavier's mission on the
Willamette. A few weeks later he was making his way up the
Columbia in an Indian canoe with two blankets unfurled by
way of sails. At Walla Walla he enjoyed the hospitality
of Mr. McBean, the superintendent of the Fort. This gentle-
man was a Catholic and when Bishop A. M. A. Blanchet came
to take possession of the diocese of Walla Walla, in September,
1847, he rendered the Bishop valuable assistance. Taking fare-
well of Mr. McBean, Father De Smet visited the Nez Perces,
Kalispels, and Cceur d'Alenes, among whom were stationed
Fathers Hoeken, Joset, and Point. On the feast of the As-
sumption he was again among the Flatheads in the Bitter Root
Valley. St. Mary's mission had prospered both materially and
spiritually. He found the little log church which had been
erected five ,y ears before, about to be replaced by a large and
handsome structure. Another agreeable surprise awaited him.
The mechanical skill of Father Ravalli had erected a flour mill
and a sawmill. " The flour mill," writes Father De Smet,
" grinds ten or twelve bushels a day, and the sawmill furnishes
an abundant supply of planks, posts, etc., for the public and
private building of the nation settled here."
On August 16, 1846, Father De Smet left St. Mary's mission
in the Bitter Root and reached the University of St. Louis on
December 10. His missionary work in Oregon was at an end.
His biographers, summing up this period of his career, write
as follows : " The results of his labors, from a missionary point
of view, were highly successful. The whole Columbia Valley
had been dotted with infant establishments, some of which had
taken on the promise of permanent growth. He had, indeed,
laid the foundation well for a spiritual empire throughout that
region, and but for the approach of emigration his plans would
have brought forth the full fruition that he expected. But most
important of all, from a public point of view, was the fact that
he had become a great power among the Indian tribes. All
now knew him, many personally, the re.st by reputation. He was
330 DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY [June,
the one white man in whom they had implicit faith. The Gov-
ernment was beginning to look to him for assistance. The Mor-
mon, the Forty-niner, the Oregon emigrant, came to him for
information and advice. His writings were already known on
two continents and his name was a familiar one, at least in
the religious world " (Chittenden and Richardson. Vol. I., p. 57).
Father De Smet paid two subsequent visits to the scenes of
his missionary labors in Oregon. The first of these visits was
occasioned by the Indian outbreak in 1858, known as the Ya-
kima war. The savages, viewing with alarm the encroachments
of the whites upon their lands, formed a league to repel the
invaders. Even the peaceful Flatheads and Creur d'Alenes
joined the coalition. The United States Government sent Gen-
eral Harney, who had won distinction in several Indian wars,
to take charge of the situation. At the personal request of
General Harney, Father De Smet was selected to accompany
the expedition in the capacity of chaplain. Their party reached
Vancouver late in October, 1858. The news of the cessation
of hostilities and the submission of the Indians had already
reached the Fort. But the Indians, though subdued, were still
unfriendly, and there was constant danger of a fresh outbreak.
The work of pacification was still to be effected. Upon this
mission De Smet left Vancouver, under orders of the command-
ing general, to visit the mountain tribes some 800 miles distant.
He visited the Catholic soldiers at Fort Walla Walla and
there met Father Congiato, superior of the missions, from whom
he received favorable information concerning the dispositions
of the tribes in the mountains. By the middle of April, 1859,
Father De Smet had revisited practically all the tribes among
which he had labored as a missionary. On April 16 he left
the mission of St. Ignatius among the Pend d'Oreilles to re-
turn to Fort Vancouver. He was accompanied, at his own re-
quest, by the chiefs of the different mountain tribes, with the
view of renewing the treaty of peace with the general and with
the superintendent of Indian affairs. The successful issue of
Father De Smet's mission is shown by a letter of General
Harney dated Fort Vancouver, June i, 1859. He writes: "I
have the honor to report, for the information of the general-
in-chief, the arrival at this place of a deputation of Indian
chiefs, on a visit suggested by myself through the kind offices
of the Reverend Father De Smet, who has been with these
tribes the past winter. . . . These chiefs have all declared
1909.] DE SMET IN THE OREGON COUNTRY 331
to me the friendly desires which now animate them towards
our people. . . . Two of these chiefs — one of the upper
Pend d'Oreilles and the other of the Flatheads — report that the
proudest boast of their respective tribes, is the fact that no
white man's blood has ever been shed by any one of either
nation. This statement is substantiated by Father De Smet.
... It gives me pleasure to commend to the general-in-
chief the able and efficient services the Reverend Father De
Smet has rendered." Having fulfilled his mission, De Smet
secured his release from the post of chaplain and returned to
St. Louis, visiting a score of Indian tribes on the way. It is
typical of him that he should have planned, despite his three
score years, to cover the entire distance from Vancouver to St.
Louis on horseback — a project which he was regretfully com-
pelled to abandon because of the unfitness of his horses for so
long a journey.
Once more, in 1863, De Smet traversed the Oregon Coun-
try, renewing his acquaintance with the various missions and
enjoying the hospitality of the three pioneer bishops of the
province, at Portland, Vancouver, and Victoria.
De Smet's missionary labors in Oregon had come to a close
before the arrival of Bishop A. M. A. Blanchet in the Pacific
Northwest. But Archbishop Blanchet and Bishop Demers were
co-apostles with him in this new corner of the Lord's vineyard,
and with him had borne the burden of the pioneer work. Now,
however, the pioneer days were over, and De Smet, as he set
sail from Portland on the I3th of October, 1863, could bear
witness to the altered aspect of the country. But with all the
signs of progress about him, there was one undeniable feature
of the situation which brought sadness to his heart. The Indian
tribes for whom he had labored with such apostolic zeal, the
children of the forest, whose wonderful dispositions for Christian
faith and Christian virtue had been his consolation and his glory,
were doomed. The seed of the Gospel, which he had sown,
had taken root and sprung up and was blossoming forth with
the promise of an abundant harvest when the blight came. The
white man was in the land. The Indian envied his strength,
imitated his vices, and fell before both. " May heaven pre-
serve them from the dangerous contact of the whites ! " was
De Smet's last prayer for his neophites as he bade farewell to
the Oregon Country.
IN THE DAY OF FATE.
BY CHRISTIAN REID.
E was sitting on the end of a bench in the orange-
shaded plaza, basking in the warm sunlight, his
shoulders bent with the pathetic droop of ill-
ness, his thin, long-fingered hands clasped to-
gether on his knees, and his slouched hat drawn
down low over his eyes. He might have been supposed to
be asleep, as he thus sat motionless, with every muscle re-
laxed, if he had not started perceptibly when the sound of
voices speaking English suddenly fell on his ear. It was a
very unusual sound in San Juanito, which was seldom honored
by the visits of tourists, being only an ordinary little Mexican
town, lying at the foot of the Sierra, which stretched like a
mass of carven lapis- lazuli behind it. To-day, however, there
had been a freight wreck on the railway, and the express from
the northern border was detained for several hours at the
station a mile or so distant across the sun-parched plain, from
whence the town, with its adobe houses and tropical gardens
clustering around its graceful church tower, made an idyllic
picture, which tempted the adventurous among the passengers
to explore it. But —
" We should have been satisfied with admiring it from the
train," a woman's voice declared in a high key of disapproval.
"There's nothing whatever here to repay us for that long,
dusty walk."
" Oh, I don't agree with you," a softer, better modulated
voice said — a voice which made the man at the end of the
bench start again, this time violently, and glance furtively
from under the rim of his down-drawn hat at the speaker,
who with her companions had paused almost immediately in
front of him.
" It's all adorably picturesque, I think," the tall, handsome
girl went on, sweeping the scene — the fountain-set plaza, the
old church with its Carmelite belfry, the arcaded public build-
ings, the vistas of houses painted in soft distemper colors and
1909.] IN THE DAY OF FATE 333
covered with brown tiles — with her glance. " I hope I will get
my camera in time to take some pictures before we hare to
go back to the train."
"You'll probably have time to take as many pictures as
there are points of view in the place," a man's deeper tones
assured her. " We'll be lucky if we get away in the course
of the next two or three hours. At least that is what I
gathered from the conductor's remarks."
"I wish you had asked him what there was of interest
here," the first speaker observed. " The church ? Oh, yes, of
course we can go and see the church ; but all the churches
are so much alike; and if there's anything else — Perhaps" —
hopefully — "we might find something to buy, or — er — to eat
— dulces, you know."
" Or to drink — even pulque not declined, in case of the
absence of beer," the masculine voice chimed in. "While we
are waiting for Laidlaw to bring your forgotten camera, Miss
Sylvester, we might put in the time rather agreeably with
some liquid refreshments. But the question is where to find
them ? "
The man at the end of the bench did not stir, but he was in-
tensely, horribly conscious that three pairs of eyes were fastened
on him, and that three minds were considering whether he
might not be able to answer this question. He knew what
was coming when he heard a feminine whisper:
"Perhaps he isn't asleep — perhaps he's drunk."
"Just the right party, then, to tell us what we want to
know," the jovial, masculine tones replied. " Anyhow, nobody
who goes to sleep on a bench in the plaza can mind being
waked. Hello — sefior ! — sorry to disturb you, but can you tell
us — Oh, hang it ! doesn't anybody know enough Spanish to
ask him where we can get a drink ? "
" I haven't the faintest idea what is the Spanish for a
drink," Margaret Sylvester began with a laugh ; but paused
abruptly, as the man addressed rose to his feet. For an in-
stant— barely an instant — he lifted his hat in acknowledgment of
the presence of ladies, showing a sharpened, ghastly face be-
neath, but replaced it quickly as he pointed across the plaza.
"At the cantina over there you will find what you want,"
he said ; and then, turning quickly, stumbled away, for walking
became difficult when even the bright sunshine grew black
334 IN THE DAY OF FATE [June,
around him, and he found himself hoping agonizedly that he
might not drop until he had gained a place of shelter, a refuge
from the eyes that had met his in one lightning-like glance, in
which he read amazement, incredulity, struggling recognition.
"She'll think it was only a chance resemblance — she'll be
sure she was mistaken," he muttered to himself as he concen-
trated all his will on maintaining an upright position and
walking — yes, walking away, instead of being carried, as would
certainly result if this blackness increased before he gained
the friendly shelter of the arcade, where he might halt, lean
against a pillar, and take breath.
He gained it while the group left behind looked anxiously
after him, and then glanced at each other.
" Apparently," Mr. Harkeson-Smythe remarked, " it wasn't
a sleeping but a dying man that I roused. Poor beggar ! — he
seems pretty far gone! I hardly thought he'd make it over
to the portales."
"And he spoke English, too," Mrs. Warren added in an
injured tone. "I suppose he heard me say that perhaps he
was drunk ; but how could I know ? I thought he was of course
one of the — er — peones, don't you call them ? "
" He is probably an American," Miss Sylvester said, " and
he looks very ill; so I am going after him to apologize, and
— and see if I cannot do something for him."
" Oh, Margaret ! " Mrs. Warren remonstrated, " I — I really
don't think I would."
Margaret gave her a significant glance. " I daresay you
wouldn't," she replied, "so you and Mr. Harkeson-Smythe
can get something to drink while I go."
She moved away, her graceful head lifted, her clear eyes
very bright, and followed the path of the man who had stumbled
across the plaza to the shade of the portales. Perhaps he
glanced back, as the darkness cleared away from his vision,
and saw her coming, and perhaps the sight lent him fresh
strength. At all events, when she reached the arcade he was
gone. She looked around, and meeting the eyes of a Mexican
woman seated by a pile of beans, her lips formed a stammer-
ing but sufficiently direct inquiry.
"The senor — Americano? Where has he gone?"
" A su casa, senorita" the woman replied, divining the ques-
tion, though she did not understand the words.
1909.] IN THE DAY OF FATE
" Ah, to his house," Miss Sylvester quickly translated.
" And where — endonde estd la casa ? "
The woman lifted her hand and pointed to a house distant
a few paces down a street opening from the plaza. The door
was closed. It had shut quickly behind a shaking, flying form
as Margaret Sylvester crossed the plaza to the portales. Per-
haps she divined this, but she went on, down the sunlit street
to the one-story dwelling, and knocked at the door.
There was no answer. Again she knocked, and again there
was no answer; but it seemed to her that she heard something
like the panting of a trapped animal within. This was possibly
fancy — possibly what she heard was the loud beating of her
own heart — but she knocked yet again, and again there was no
reply. Then she put her hand on the latch, If it were fastened
she could go no farther. But the latch yielded to her touch,
the door opened under her hand, and she found herself entering
a room which, after the blinding glare of sunlight outside, seemed
of an almost cave-like gloom and coolness. Drawing in her
breath sharply, she looked around the meager, poverty-stricken
interior, saw the flat, hard bed, the plain pine table with its
few books and writing materials, and the chair in which the
figure of the man she had followed sat, or rather lay, with head
thrown back, in an attitude of spent exhaustion. She moved
across the floor and stood, her hand on her heart, immediately
before him. He opened his eyes — eyes wonderfully large and
bright in the white, sunken face — and looked up at her. Then
she advanced a step.
"John! "she cried with a thrilling and exultant note in her
voice. "John Graham, it is you! You are — alive! John" —
she made another step nearer — " why have you let the world —
why have you let me think for two years that you were dead ? "
He could not resist the imperative challenge of her tone.
It forced him to rise to his feet and meet her gaze fully. But
he did not offer to touch her hand ; and they stood looking at
each other as spirit and flesh might look across the gulf which
divided them.
" Margaret," he said, " you must know why I have allowed
the world to believe that I am dead. It seemed — the shortest
way. And it was only anticipating the truth. You see that I
shall soon be dead."
" But I see that you are not dead yet," she replied, with
336 IN THE DAY OF FATE [June,
the exultant note still in her voice. " You are alive, and the
first thing I have to tell you |is- that I never for one instant
believed that you had died in the manner it was said you had."
"You— didn't believe it?"
"No; I never believed that John Graham, the John Gra-
ham whom I — knew, had been coward enough to kill himself
to escape anything."
A vivid light leaped into the eyes of the John Graham whom
she — knew. And then died out as quickly.
" Yet," he reminded her, " men have often killed themselves
to escape disgrace."
" Yes " ; she returned, " men capable of doing disgraceful
things have often proved incapable of facing the consequences
of their acts. But I am sure that if you had ever done a dis-
graceful thing, you would not have escaped the consequences
by the coward's road of suicide."
" Margaret ! " — the man grasped tightly the edge of the
table by which he stood — " you say, if I had done a disgrace-
ful thing. Surely you know — "
Her brilliant glance met and held his.
" Shall I repeat my words ? " she asked. " The whole mat-
ter is a mystery to me — no deeper mystery now, when I find
you hiding here, than when you disappeared two years ago;
but through all the mystery I have held fast to my belief that
you would never shirk the consequences of any act of yours,
and therefore it has been to me unthinkable that to escape dis-
grace you had either absconded or committed suicide."
He put his hand to his eyes for a moment, as if overcome
by the greatness of her faith — or, perhaps, by the weight of
his own unworthiness. Then, lowering it, he looked at her
again with a gaze as direct as it was clear and sad.
" But now," he urged, " now you must believe it, when you
find me here — hiding, as you have said."
She threw back her head, smiling at him superbly.
" Now that I see you again, I believe it less than ever ! "
she declared. "And by my faith in you, a faith that has
never faltered, I demand that you tell me why you have done
this thing."
He made a gesture of protest, while he sank back, as if
overcome by weakness, into the chair from which he had risen.
His head dropped on his breast, his eyelids fell.
1909.3 IN THE DAY OF FATE 337
" Surely it is plain," he said. " Would a man give up his
life, his ambitions, his friends — above all, would he give up the
privilege of sometimes at least seeing you — to go away secretly
to a country where certain offenses are not extraditable, unless
he had been guilty of one of those offenses ? "
" It would hardly seem so," she admitted ; " yet what I
have said holds good. Tell me why you have done this?"
" Have you not heard ? "
" I have heard many things," she answered. " I know it is
said that you used money which did not belong to you, and
that when you were confronted with exposure you gave up your
fortune to replace what you had taken, and then — disappeared."
He nodded gravely. "That statement seems to cover the
case," he told her, "and therefore what can you say to me,
except good-bye ? "
Her eyes suddenly blazed on him.
" I can say just this," she replied, " that I refuse to believe
one word of that statement, unless you tell me on your honor
— on your honor, John Graham !— that you truly did those
things."
"On my honor 1" he repeated as if to himself. "She asks
me to tell her — on my honor ! "
"Yes"; the inflexible voice said. "I demand it — on your
honor!"
" Oh, but this is absurd ! " he remonstrated. " A man who
has fallen into the class in which I am, is not supposed to have
any honor left."
Then Margaret Sylvester laughed, and as the clear music
rang out, the man started and let his glance pass swiftly around
the walls of the room, which since he first entered it had heard
many sighs, but never before such a laugh.
"How you betray yourself!" she cried. "And how fool-
ish— oh, John Graham, how foolish you are, to think you can
deceive me! Haven't I known you since we were children;
and haven't I always known that honor was to you an idol, a
fetich, to which you were willing to sacrifice yourself and every-
body else ? Do you think I am a fool to believe that you
could change sufficiently even to consider the doing of a dis-
honorable act ? I might believe it possible of myself, or of
anybody else that I ever knew; but never, never of you."
Again the man closed his eyes. Perhaps he would have
VOL. LXXX1X.— 22
338 IN THE DAY OP FATE [June,
been glad if death had come to him in the unlooked-for sweet-
ness of that moment. " Margaret ! " he whispered gratefully,
"Oh, Margaret!"
"And so," the thrilling voice went on, " I repeat that there
is no good in trying to deceive me. I am sure that what has
brought you here — the clue to this mystery, the key to this
riddle — is to be found in some exaggerated idea of honor, to
which you have sacrificed yourself, as I often prophesied that
you would."
John Graham regarded the speaker with a glance, in which
something like a flicker of amusement, brought from the depths
of past memories, shone. " Yes," he said, " I remember. You
have prophesied it — often."
" But although I prophesied that you would some day sac-
rifice yourself," Margaret continued, " I did not expect you to
sacrifice me."
He looked at her now with mingled amazement and appre-
hension. " How have I sacrificed you ? " he asked.
Her proud, bright gaze met his unwaveringly. "Do you
think," she said, " although you never acknowledged it in words,
that I didn't know that you loved me? And did it never oc-
cur to you that I might — love you ? "
" Margaret ! " he cried in a voice in which rapture and
agony blent. And then in a lower tone : " My God, why have
I not died?"
The passionate bitterness of the last words made the girl
fling herself on her knees beside him.
"You have not died," she said, seizing his thin, cold hand
in the warm, strong clasp of hers, " because God meant to give
me the happiness of seeing you again, and ending the anguish
of doubt and anxiety about your fate which I have endured.
Oh, how could you " — her voice rose in keen reproach — " how
could you have been so forgetful of me, so careless of my
sufferings ? For you surely knew what I felt for you, and
what I must suffer ! "
"No"; he answered quickly. "If I had known, if I had
for an instant dreamed of it, I could never have done what I
did. There was a time when I fancied that you might care
for me; but then Laidlaw came, with his boundless assurance
and his great wealth, and seemed to — absorb your attention."
" And you never guessed that he absorbed my attention
1909.] IN THE DAY OF FATE 339
because I wanted to give a lesson to another man who angered
me by his stupidity ? " she asked in a tone which seemed still
scornful of that stupidity. " It was the woman's old, foolish
device ; but if it deceived you, it did not mislead him — at least
not for long. Before you went away I had refused him."
Graham stared at her incredulously. " You refused him be-
fore I went away!" he repeated. "Are you sure of that?"
" I am sure," she replied. " I not only refused him, but I
told him the truth — told him that I had never cared for any
one but you."
The veins stood out like whipcords on the man's forehead
now as he leaned toward her. " You told him that? " he queried
again hoarsely.
" Yes " ; she answered, " for I felt that I owed him candor.
And he was very generous. I can never forget his sympathy
when you disappeared. He gave me hope at first ; and then
later— later — "
" Tried to induce you to surrender hope — yes. I see ! "
From his tone it was to be inferred that John Graham saw a
great deal. " And now he is with you, is he not ? I heard
his name mentioned by one of your companions. Are you
going to marry him ? "
The question was harsh in its abruptness, but she answered
it quietly.
" If that had been asked me an hour ago, I should have
said: 'Yes.' It did not seem to matter — then. But now every-
thing is changed. You are alive ! " She looked at him joy-
ously. " Is it not strange that my heart always told me you
were alive, even while he tried to convince me that you must
be dead ? "
" He tried to convince you of that ? "
*'He has argued often that if you were living, and if you
loved me as I believed, that nothing could keep you away from
me."
" Nothing could keep me away from you ! "
He appeared to repeat the words mechanically, while his
glance turned toward a letter lying on the table beside him.
Involuntarily he extended his hand, as if to push it out of sight ;
but Margaret's quick eye followed the motion and passed to
the letter. The next instant she was on her feet, and it was
in her hand.
340 IN THE DAY OF FATE [June,
" Laidlaw's writing ! " she exclaimed.
There was a moment's intense silence as she stood staring
at it, then her flashing gaze turned again on Graham. "What
does this mean ? " she demanded imperatively. " You will tell
me the truth now, or I will make him tell it. He writes to
you — he knows that you are alive ! "
" Yes " ; the man answered quietly. " He knows — he has al-
ways known. I would not have told you, but the matter has been
taken out of my hands. It seems that for us three this is the
day of fate."
"The day of fate for me, indeed," she echoed bitterly,
" since in it I learn that you not only tossed me out of your
life without a word, or apparently a thought, but that you left
me to be deceived by a traitor like this ! " She faced him
passionately. " What is the meaning of it ? " she cried. " If
you cared nothing for me — that is plain enough now — -had you
no care for yourself, for your own broken and ruined life ?
What power has this man to make you serve him by dishon-
orable silence — you, John Graham, whom I thought a very
paladin of honor ? What bribe has he given you ? It is at
least " — her brilliant, scornful glance swept over the bare pov-
erty around — " not money."
" No, it is not," John Graham said calmly. He rose as he
spoke, supporting his weakness by leaning against the table.
" I understand now," he went on, " why death has delayed so
long in coming to me, and why fate has brought you here to-
day. It was too much that I should go out of the world and
leave you to one whom you are right in calling a traitor — one
who has betrayed me as well as you."
She looked at the letter. " How can that be ? " she asked.
" A little while ago," he said, " you spoke of what you
have heard — what every one has heard — of me. Do you not
know that Laidlaw is president of the company whose funds
were — misappropriated ? "
"I suppose I knew it," she answered indifferently, "but
what then ? Are you going to tell me that you did — what is
the euphemism ? — misappropriate those funds ? It is possible
that I might believe it now."
" No " ; he replied again, " I am not going to tell you that.
It is time for the truth to be spoken between us. I did not
take the money, but — my brother did."
1909.] IN THE DAY OF FATE 341
"Your brother?"
" My half-brother, Lucien Kent. He is, you know, much
younger than I am, and has been more like a son than a
brother to me ever since our mother gave him into my care
on her death-bed. He was only a little chap then, but so
winning, so brilliant, always so lovable. Ah, well ! " — it was a
short, quick sigh — "those were the qualities which were his
undoing. Every one spoiled him, and I no doubt worst of all."
She nodded. "Yes, you worst of all"; she said, "for you
allowed him to be a burden on your life and a drain upon
your fortune. I have always known that. And so it was
Lucien who has ended by ruining you, who had done every-
thing for him ! "
"It was my fault," Graham said. "I should have held a
sterner hand over him. But I never imagined how far dis-
sipation and extravagance had carried him until he came, in an
agony of shame and fear, and told me that he had taken thous-
ands, many thousands, of the money of the company in which
I, as one of its officials, had given him a position of trust."
His voice fell, he moved across the floor, looked for an in-
stant out of the iron-barred window on the sunny street, and
then returned to where Margaret still stood, erect, silent, waiting.
" Surely you see how it was ! " he said in a tone of ap-
peal. " I had to save him — the boy at the beginning of his
life, whom my indulgence had allowed to go astray. Besides,
putting all feeling for him aside, I made myself responsible
for his acts when I placed him in the position which rendered
his defalcations possible."
"Ah, the ideal of honor!" she murmured. "I knew it
would demand its sacrifice."
" There could not be even a question of that," he declared
firmly. " I went at once to Laidlaw, told him of Lucien's
confession, offered all I had to replace in part what had been
taken, and assured him that the remainder would in a short
time be covered by my life insurance. All I asked was that
Lucien should not be prosecuted, nor his guilt be made pub-
lic. And then — "
"Well, then—"
" He made difficulties, talked in a high tone of morality, of
setting a bad example. ' Such a crime cannot possibly be con-
doned,' he said. ' We cannot refrain from prosecuting if the
342 IN THE DAY OF FATE [June,
embezzler remains within reach of the law. If you wish to
save your brother from the penitentiary, you must send him
to Mexico — unless you are willing to go in his place.' "
Once more the speaker paused, and once more there was
tense silence for a minute in the strange, bare chamber. Then
he went on :
" It was some time before I grasped what he meant, before
I understood that he was offering me the opportunity to save
Lucien from disgrace and degradation by taking the burden of
his misdoing on myself. When I finally understood, I had no
idea why he offered this — I was so hopeless with regard to
you that it never occurred to me that he wanted to remove a
rival from his path — but it flashed upon me that it was a step
which would cut many knots, end many difficulties."
Margaret Sylvester put her hand to her throat. " Without,"
she cried in a half-strangled voice, "a single thought of me/"
" On the contrary, with more thought of you than of any
other human being," Graham told her gently; "for it was in
thinking of you that the road of sacrifice opened as a way of
escape from intolerable pain. You see, I not only believed
that you would marry Laidlaw, but there was every reason
why I was debarred from any hope of even trying to win your
love. What had I to offer you ? I was not only a ruined
man, whom disgrace touched nearly, but, more than that, I was
a man whose death-warrant had been read. Do you under-
stand now ? I was ready to efface myself, since Laidlaw de-
manded that as the price of giving Lucien another chance in
life, because, in the first place, I did not believe that you cared
for me; and, in the second place, I had the assurance of more
than one physician that I would be dead within two years.
So I went away — "
" And pretended to be already dead ! "
" No ; that was an accident with which I had nothing to
do. A passenger on the ship on which I sailed was lost over-
board soon after we left port. No one knew him, so a rumor
went abroad that it was I. Laidlaw was accountable for the
rumor, but it mattered little to me — indeed, I was glad of the
peace and freedom which it secured to me. I have lived here
very quietly, unmolested even by curiosity — a dead man yet
alive, for whom everything has ended, except just to sit in
the sunshine and watch death coming a step nearer every day."
1909.] IN THE DAY OF FATE 343
Perfect quietness, the quietness of one for whom indeed all
effort is over, and the end of the journey in plain sight, was
in his tone, his face, his manner; but all the passion of human
love and human anger was in Margaret Sylvester's voice when
she suddenly flung herself upon him.
"John," she cried, "I cannot — I will not endure it! We
have been tricked and deceived, you and I; but if you will
take courage, we can yet have our life together. Trust me to
deal with that traitor as he deserves, if you will come back to
the world. John — for my sake — you will come ? "
He smiled exquisitely as he put his arm around her.
"Dear heart," he answered, "I had such a strange sense
of lightness when I waked this morning that I said to myself :
' Surely the end is near at hand — surely I shall die before
night comes again.' For I could not guess that what the day
was bringing me was — you. It is a wonderful happiness to be
given as a nunc dimittis, not only this glimpse of your face,
but the knowledge of your love, the assurance of your faith.
Ah, never mind the traitor — give him no further thought !
After all, what has he done for us but to help us to learn,
through pain and separation, that love is of the soul, not of
the body, and that even death — death itself — will be power-
less to separate — "
He put his handkerchief to his lips, there was a moment's
struggle, and then the red tide gushed forth, while with her
strong, young arms the girl laid him back in his chair and
knelt beside him.
A little later a persistent knocking at the door was fol-
lowed by an impatient hand pushing it open, and as a flood
of sunlight rushed into the room, a man's figure stood in the
brightness.
" Excuse me," he said, " but I wish to inquire if Miss Syl-
vester is here?"
Out of the gloom a clear voice answered him:
" Yes, Miss Sylvester is here, Mr. Laidlaw ; and so is John
Graham — dead."
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
BY THOMAS J. GERRARD.
JHE Holy Father has recently condemned the opin-
ion according to which " the dogmas oi faith are
to be held only according to their practical
sense, that is, as preceptive norms of conduct,
but not as norms of believing." And indeed it
would be hard to conceive a more soul-withering doctrine than
the one here reprobated. The slightest reflection ought to show
one that belief in an objective fact must be established before
man can enter into those serious moral relations which are im-
plications of that fact. Only crass ignorance of psychology
could hinder one from seeing that the spiritual value of a truth
depends on its fact-value, and that if the fact-value were al-
lowed to go, the spiritual value must go also. Some writers,
however, in their worthy endeavor to insist upon this principle,
have rushed to the other extreme, suggesting that there may
be some dogmas of faith which have no practical value at all.
The dogma of the Filioque — that the Holy Spirit proceeds
from both the Father and the Son, and not from the Father
alone — is triumphantly held up as an example. How, it is
asked, can the double procession of the Holy Spirit teach us
anything about our conduct here below? My distinguished
friend, Dr. Adrian Fortescue, in his fascinating book, The Or-
thodox Eastern Church, formulates this view with a boldness
and vigor which to me are amazing. " When looking back," he
says, " on this long and bitter controversy, one realizes most
of all that the question, one way or the other, has never yet
affected the piety or the practical faith of any human being.
We all adore one God in three Persons, we all worship the
Holy Ghost, the Lord and Lifegiver, Who with the Father
and Son is adored and glorified. Has any one ever, when pray-
ing to the great Spirit of God, stopped to consider and to be
influenced by so high and dark a mystery as whether he pro-
ceeds from both Persons or only from God the Father?"*
* The Orthodox Eastern Church. By Adrian Fortescue. P. 372.
1909.] THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 345
The theme of the following paper, then, will be to show first,
that the dogma was revealed with a practical end in view;
secondly, that it is eminently fitted to minister to piety ; thirdly,
that as a matter of fact it has been taught by eminent writers
in the Church with a view of influencing the practical faith of
the multitude; and fourthly, that its negation has led to bar-
renness in spiritual life.
The revelation of Jesus Christ is not a flinging open of the
gates of heaven so that we may see all Truth as it is. The
revelation which has been made to the human race in its pres-
ent condition, is a dispensation of that one great mystery which
has been hidden from eternity in God. It is an economy
analogous to that of a householder. Only a portion of possi-
ble revelation has been vouchsafed to us. And even that part
which has been given can be seen only as through a glass in
a dark manner. God willed to reveal His secrets by degrees,
a little through our first parents, a little through the patri-
archs, a little through the prophets, and finally the full measure
of all that was needful for the divine plan through Jesus Christ.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The Catholic
Church was established for this and for no other end, the sal-
vation of souls. Any action which did not minister to this
end would be outside the scope both of the Incarnation and of
the Church. The whole of Christ's revelation, therefore, was
designed to save sinners. The various mysteries of that reve-
lation were not [independent of each other, but rather so or-
ganically connected as to make up a mystical cosmos, a com-
plete spirit world. And as each part is made for the whole,
so each part must have its proper function in doing its share
of the work of the whole. St. Paul, indeed, explicitly declares
this purposiveness of the various parts of revelation when he
says: "To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace,
to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dis-
pensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity
in God, Who created all things: that the manifold wisdom of
God may be made known to the principalities and powers in
heavenly places through the Church, according to the eternal
purpose which He made, in Christ Jesus our Lord."* If, there-
fore, the whole of revealed truth was communicated with a di-
* Eph. iii. 8-n.
346 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [June,
vine purpose; if that purpose was the salvation of souls; if
that truth was revealed according to a divine economy, so much,
and no more and no less being needful ; then it must be said
that the Filioque was revealed with some practical end in view.
For the lower life man may live by bread alone; but for the
higher life he must live by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.
The special aptitude of this truth to minister to devotion
and so to forward salvation may be seen when one realizes that
the Trinity is the central truth of the Christian revelation, and
that an apprehension of the double procession of the Holy
Spirit — of the procession of the Holy Spirit from both the Fa-
ther and the Son as from one principle — is necessary for the
due apprehension of the Trinity. The direct purpose of the
revelation of the Trinity was to let man know whence he came
and wither he is wending. By the natural revelation of reason
man could have learnt about the One God. But only by the
supernatural revelation of Christ could he know of that Triune
God who was the archetype of love. The fact-value of this
revelation is that there are three Persons in one God; the
spiritual value is that we are to look upon that Triunity as the
consummate perfection of love, the source and origin of all
created love, the ideal and end of all that love between God
and His creatures, made possible through Christ, and accom-
plished through the gifts of grace and glory. Without the
double procession the apprehension of this ideal is utterly im-
possible, for without this element it is no ideal at all, but only
a ludicrous caricature.
The first precaution, however, to be taken, in order to see
the connection between this mystery and practical life, is to
place prominently before our minds the fact that we can only
appprehend the truth by means of analogies. No man hath
seen God at any time, and no man hath seen the double pro-
cession of the Holy Spirit. The analogies may be more or less
intellectual, more or less symbolical. But only through anal-
ogies of some kind can we put ourselves into intelligent rela-
tionship with the Trinity. The analogies may be what are called
"pure" ones, pertaining to God rather than to creatures, or
they may be " mixed," pertaining to creatures rather than to
God. I may conceive of the Trinity as a Divine Being con-
sisting of one nature, two processions, three persons, four re-
1909.] THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 347
lations, and five notions ; or I may conceive of the Trinity as
a picture in which God the Father is represented as an old man
in whose embrace is Christ, and between the two the Holy Spirit
in the form of a dove.* Both analogies are lawful, both are
approved by the Church. But according to my temperament,
education, and occupation will I be influenced by the more
intellectual or more symbolical representation. The peasant
must not be expected to think of God in the thought-forms of
the theological professor, and the theological professor may be
excused if, when saying his prayers, he dispenses with the
thought- forms of the peasant.
So in the matter of the procession of the Holy Spirit, it does
not follow, because a man does not use the analogies adopted by
the Ecumenical Councils of Lyons II. and of Florence, that
therefore he does not use other analogies to express the same
thing. The analogies used in definition by those great coun-
cils were but translations from the inspired and popular anal-
ogies of Holy Writ. And, indeed, it is to the inspired language
of the Scriptures that we must look, rather than to the theo-
logical language of the councils, if we are to find the analogies
through which the faithful at large put themselves into rela-
tionship with the eternal truth thereby expressed. The mys-
tery is so profound and so difficult to express that even the
doctors of the councils had need to have recourse to symbolism.
Even the term "procession," used by the Greeks, was hardly
considered strong enough by the Latin theologians, who em-
phasized it by the term " Spiration," in the sense of animal
breathing.
Having insisted on the essentially analogical character of all
representatives of this truth, whether theological or devotional,
we may now go on to see the peculiar aptitude of the revela-
tion as a means to salvation. It sets before us the archetype
of perfect love, the fount of created love, the goal of created
love. The inward mutual life of the Trinity ought not to be
to us a mere notion so difficult of explanation that we ought
to leave it severely alone. The mystery of the Trinity is one
into which we may search and never tire of searching; only
we must prepare ourselves by taking care not to displease the
* ". . . quae Deum Patrem continet in forma hominis senis, in cujus sinu sit Christus
et inter utrumque Spiritus Sanctus in forma columbae." Benedict XIV., c. Solllcitudine,
i Oct., 1745.
348 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [June,
Trinity. Our religion is the direct antithesis of the Buddhistic
religion. Our religion is life in its highest form and is intended
to lead us to that perfect life where our activity attains its
highest possible degree. Now, by grace, we participate in the
divine life to a certain extent ; then, by glory, we shall par-
ticipate in the divine life to our utmost capacity. The revel-
ation of the Trinity is a partial unveiling of the inner fecun-
dity of that Divine Life, to share in which we are now striving.
As the Buddhist seeks for annihilation in Nirvana, so we seek
for our full satiety in sharing the rich fecundity brought about
through the mutual communication of life between the Persons
of the Blessed Trinity.
As the life of God is so superabundantly rich and full, for
He is Life itself, His fruitfulness is infinitely richer than the
fruitfulness of any being outside Himself. This infinite outpour-
ing of life can only be thought of as communicating itself to
infinite Persons. And as the highest forms of life that we can
conceive are knowledge and love, that inner wealth of Divine Life
must be conceived as the perfect knowledge of absolute Truth
and intensest love of absolute Good. This perfect knowledge
and love will be brought about by the Divine Intellect and
Will. The result and term of such knowledge and love must
be those productions which faith reveals to us, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. Holy Scripture tells us plainly that the Second
Person is " the Word." He is the begotten Wisdom of the
Father. And if the production of the Second Person is that
of the Divine Intellect, the production of the Third Person must
be that of the Divine Will. Will is the faculty of love, and
all through '.Holy Scripture love is appropriated to the Holy
Ghost. The Son is the Image of the Father. The Father,
looking upon the Son, sees as in a mirror His own radiating
splendor, and, enraptured at the sight, pours forth His torren-
tial love of the supremely Fair. The Son, looking upon His
Father, is likewise enraptured at the sight, and pours forth His
torrential love of the supremely Good. The two loves being
mutual are united, and proceed as one subsistent Love, the
Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Love. When God has an adequate
object for His infinite love He must give His whole Self, the
whole infinitude of His substance and energy. And so the
product of His giving must be a divine, infinite Person.
An extraordinary surrender of self in a human being, an
1909.] THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 349
unusual . effort at communicating one's inward feelings to an-
other, is commonly represented by a sigh. A full outbreath-
ing is expressive of giving one's whole life and soul to another.
This analogy of the sigh or outbreathing is used to represent
that mutual communication of love between the Father and the
Son, which results in the Person of the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit is the infinite aspiration by which the fecundity
of Divine Love is manifested. Thus, since the Holy Spirit is
the means by which the Father and Son love Each Other, and
since He is the expression and the result of Their mutual love,
He is said to be Their bond of love. The lover gives himself
to be possessed by the loved one and at the same time pos-
sesses himself of the loved one. This is their agreement and
their pledge. It is sealed with a kiss and an embrace. There-
fore do the Fathers of the Church delight to speak of the dou-
ble procession of the Holy Spirit as showing the Holy Spirit
to be the "pledge," the "kiss," and the "embrace" of the
Father and the Son.
A human love, too, is recognized as a gift. The lovers
give themselves to each other and in token thereof exchange
presents. They may be united in spirit, but since they are
built of body and spirit, they must needs have tangible things
to foster the union of spirit. The double procession of the
Holy Spirit of God reveals to us the infinitely perfect Self-
giving. God could not satisfy His intrinsic need of giving
Himself if He had only creatures on whom He could bestow
Himself. His infinite yearning to pour forth His wealth of love
could only be satiated by the presence of an infinite Person as
the object of that love. Here, in one important respect, our
analogy of " gift " fails to represent its archetype in the God-
head. With us a gift presupposes a receiver. In God the
pouring out of Love produces both the Gift and the Receiver.
When the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son
as Their one Love and as by one principle, there is revealed
to mankind the infinite delight and happiness of the Godhead.
Man knows in his human way the meaning of a sigh, a pledge,
a kiss, an embrace, a gift; then, by the aid of these analogies,
he rises to a belief in their corresponding realities in the God-
head.
The application of human analogies to God, is, however,
only fruitful when their due limitations are acknowledged. Only
350 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [June,
by stripping them of their imperfections and accentuating their
positive value can we use them to put ourselves into effective
relationship with the eternal realities behind them. Thus the
analogy of " spiration," the outbreathing consequent upon a
violent emotion of the heart, is a most realistic figure of the
effort to communicate one's vivid feelings of love to another.
Its chief limitation lies in the fact that such an expression of
emotion, although it may foster love in another, yet does not
effect it. Now the outbreathing of Love from the Father
and the Son is actually and infinitely effective. It is produc-
tive of the personal Spirit of Love. It is not as if the Father
in loving the Son gave life to the Son, nor yet as if the Son
in loving the Father, gave life to the Father. Their out-
pouring of love proceeds from an absolute unity of life; and
if that united life must have an adequate object for its love,
it must be by the production of a third Person to receive the
love.
The defect by which the analogy of " spiration " fails to
express the personal nature of the effect produced, is made
good by the analogy of Amor. Love is essentially the act of
a person, and as a tendency or movement is distinctly marked
off from that tendency or movement known in the lower orders
of creation as appetite. As love is the bond of family life, so
is the Holy Spirit the uncreated bond of love between the
Father and the Son in the Blessed Trinity. Through the double
outpouring of the love of the Father and the Son, the Holy
Spirit constitutes with Them a substantial unity. The subsist-
ent love, therefore, since it is the means by which the Father
and the Son love Each Other, must be intelligent love, must
be the love given to and reciprocated by a person.
The analogy of Amor is further enriched by the analogy of
"dove." Jesus at His baptism "saw the Spirit of God de-
scending as a dove, and coming upon Him." Everywhere in
Holy Scripture and in the liturgy of the Church the dove is
the sign of innocence and love. So, when applied to the
Holy Spirit, it symbolizes His place as the love-bond in the
Trinity. The Divine Dove rises from the bosom of the Father
and the Son, disturbed by their sigh of mutual satisfaction.
The outbreathing from their locked embrace takes on a third
Personality. Poised on outstretched wings the Spirit of Love
overshadows Them with His presence, pervades and unites Their
1 909. ] THE HOL v SPIRIT A ND THE CHRIS TIA N LIFE 3 5 1
inward life, brings to perfection the inner fecundity of Their
vitality, lives as the eternal fruit of the happiness and the
holiness of Their love.
The devotional value of the double procession will now be
evident in many ways. First, it gives to this life of ours a
rich meaning. We understand in a general way that our end
is to serve, praise, and love God and thus to save our souls.
But when by these wonderful analogies we can learn so much
of the sight that is in store for us at the other end of this
valley of shadows, then what an interest and energy does it
give to all our Godward efforts ! When one realizes in some
faint way what must be the torrents of delight in the Blessed
Trinity wrought by that mutual love of the Father and the
Son, which issues in the Personality of the Holy Spirit, then how
flimsy and transitory must appear any unlawful creature-love
which may hinder the progress of our homeward journey !
When one comes to apprehend how the three Divine Persons
are so infinitely content and happy with Each Other's company,
and this realized only through the common action of the Father
and the Son producing the Holy Ghost by Their love, then
how one begins to realize something of the loving condescen-
sion of the Blessed Trinity ! The Blessed Trinity loves crea-
tures merely for the good of the creatures. Any love which
is returned to the Trinity adds nothing to the Trinity's happi-
ness, for that is infinitely satisfied by the double procession of
the Holy Spirit. Whatever love, then, a creature gives back to
God, is solely and entirely for the increase of the joy of the
creature. Indeed, the very analogies by which the eternal
procession is made known to us are used to express also that
procession in time — foretold by Christ in the words "Unless I
go the Paraclete will not come to you " — by which the Holy
Spirit operates in the created world. The Holy Ghost is that
feminine ruach, the life-bearing Spirit who brooded over the
face of the primeval deeps and brought forth all things out
of nothing, separating land from sea, and light from darkness,
and breathing into all things the breath of life. He symbolizes
Himself in the birth of Eve, who was taken from the side of
Adam, taken as a gift from Adam as to her body, actually
vivified by the Holy Spirit as to her soul, and thus made the
mother of all the living.
The type is reflected again in the Church. The Church is
352 THE HOL v SPIRIT A ND THE CHRIS TIA N LIFE [June,
born from the side of Christ as He hangs on the cross. The
Precious Blood is the means by which the Holy Spirit pours
His life into the Church, which is the virginal Spouse of Christ.
The eternal love, which proceeded from the Father and the
Son forming and expressing the Holy Spirit, is now illustrated
by a temporal procession in which the Holy Spirit is breathed
out from the Heart of Christ and sent to refresh the hearts of
men. The Dove swoops down from the Heart of God. It
brings every best and perfect gift. It enters the human soul
as the pledge of highest love. It is apprehended by the hu-
man mind only through dark symbols, but It is received into
the human heart by direct action. The action which we call
grace, together with the corresponding action which we call co-
operation, is the actual and most intimate "embrace" between
Creator and creature, it is the " kiss " of God and man.
The next point is to show that the dogma has not only
been revealed and is wonderfully adapted to the end of foster-
ing the spiritual life, but that it has actually been thus ex-
pounded by eminent spiritual writers. The first book I take
down is Bishop Bellord's volume of meditations. There, in the
meditation on the procession of the Holy Ghost, the bishop
shows the intrinsic connection between the eternal and the tem-
poral mission. "The Love in God," he says, " which produces
the Holy Ghost is a universal love of all that is good, so that
it includes in itself God's love for His creatures. For the
model and type of all goodness is some perfection existing in
God ; and therefore all creatures are ipresent to the mind of
God from all eternity, and are seen by Him with the internal
act of intelligence of Himself that produces the Son. Corre-
sponding to this is the act of the Divine Will, which loves all
that is in the intellect of God, and therefore all that will be
represented in creatures. This explains the infinite, the neces-
sary, and yet the unexpected love which God manifests for all
mankind in spite of their demerits. At their worst they still
bear some trace of their high origin which they cannot efface.
God not only loves all men and all things, but He loves them
therefore in the Holy Ghost. You should love the Holy Ghost
as the source of all the good gifts of God in the work of
creation." * Again : " It is the special peculiarity of the Holy
Ghost that He is the bond of union between the Father and
* Meditations on Christian Dogma. Vol. I., pp. 96-101.
1 909. ] THE HOL Y SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 353
Son, Their harmony, Their peace, Their love. This is the case
inasmuch as the Father and Son become one principle in the
production of the Holy Ghost ; They have one and the same
relation towards Him ; and He has one single relationship to-
wards Them. This peculiarity does not belong, for instance, to
the Father. He is not the bond of union between the Son and
the Holy Ghost, because He stands in different relations to-
wards Them; viz.: in the relation of generation towards the
Son, and of spiration towards the Holy Ghost. In another way
also the Holy Spirit is the bond of union, as being the per-
sonified propension, or inclination of the Father towards the
Son, and of the Son towards the Father. He is the love of
Each for the Other, and so binds the Blessed Trinity into a
special union of Persons over and above the unity of Their
essence and nature. It is the peculiarity of love to unite dif-
ferent objects ; and the Holy Ghost, as being eternal, uncreated,
infinite Love, is the accomplishment of the most wonderful of
unions. Beseech this Spirit of love to be the bond of union
between you and the Godhead, and between you and all your
brethren." Once more: "The production of the Holy Ghost is
the great glory of the Son with the Father, as the generation
of the Son is the great glory of the Father. The propension
of the will towards supreme good is the completion of our
activity as spiritual beings. So love is the accomplishment of
the law; so love covers a multitude of sins."
My second reference is to Father Faber. He did not live
to finish his treatise on the Holy Ghost, but from a posthu-
mous sketch * we may gather something of his thoughts.
Speaking of the double procession of the Holy Spirit, he says:
" We are going to dare to mount up into the eternal life of
God, to see what we may be able to see regarding the Holy
Ghost. . . . Our inquiry must itself be an act of worship,
and its end be more holiness and fresh love. . . . Are we
willing to hazard such an enterprise ? Let us see. The effects
upon the soul of investigating any portion of the mystery of
the Holy Trinity — The unworldliness which the inquiry gives,
(a) because the images and ideas are all unearthly ; (b) because
we know the intense and transcendental truth of it all ; (c) be-
cause it helps towards either self-oblivion or self-contempt.
His procession is not from the Divine essence viewed as apart
* Notes on Doctrinal and Spiritual Subjects. Vol. I., pp. 55-63.
VOL, LXXXIX. — 23
354 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [June,
from the Two Persons, but from Two Persons as subsisting.
He proceeds from the Two Persons, as one principle. He pro-
ceeds by the way of the will, as the Son by the way of the
understanding : hence the procession is not generation. To
use a human word, the method is by respiration — and therefore
is: (a) from the interior; (b) from the ardor of love; (c) per-
petually, by the, so to call it, identical reciprocity of the love
of the Father and the Son; refreshing as it were the inward
heat — the necessity in God of this refreshment, so to speak.
The love of us and of all creatures, entered into the love by
which He proceeded, not necessarily, but as a matter of fact,
He is the bond or chain or kiss of the Father and the
Son. . . . He is the term of the interior productions and
necessary acts in God. Note, then, that the fullness of God and
the repose of God are not in knowledge but in love ; the Holy
Ghost is the uncreated sabbath of the life of God. His pro-
cession is itself the endless everlasting, divinely musical, un-
imaginable jubilation of the Holy Trinity, within Itself, and
also in all creations lying in its external omnipresence. Such
is the Holy Ghost, all beautiful, all holy in His unimaginable
procession, and Who is condescending at this moment to be
wrapping us all round with His eternal love, longing to lead
us willing captives to the shores of His jubilant eternal sea."
A third example is taken from the next book at hand, St.
Francis de Sales : * " The eternal Father seeing the infinite
goodness and beauty of His own essence, so perfectly, essen-
tially, and substantially expressed in His Son, and the Son see-
ing reciprocally that His same goodness and beauty is origi-
nally in His Father as in its source and fountain, ah ! can it
possibly be that this Divine Father and His Son should not
mutually love One Another with an infinite love, since Their
will by which They love, and Their goodness for which They
love are infinite in Each of Them. . . . The Father breathes
this love and so does the Son; but because the Father only
breathes this love by means of the same will and for the same
goodness which is equally and singular in Him and His Son :
the Son again only breathes this spiration of love for this same
goodness and by this same will — therefore this spiration of love
is but one spiration, or one only spirit breathed out by two
breathers. And because the Father and the Son Who breathe,
* Treatise on the Love of God, pp. 159-161.
1909.] THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 355
have an infinite essence and will by which They breathe, and
because the goodness for which They breathe is infinite, it is
impossible Their breathing should not be infinite ; and foras-
much as it cannot be infinite without being God, therefore this
Spirit breathed from the Father and the Son is true God.
. . . But, O God ! if human friendship be so agreeably love-
ly, and spread so delicious an odor on them that contemplate
it, what shall it be, my well-beloved Theotimus, to behold the
sacred exercise of mutual love between the eternal Father
and the Son. St. Gregory Nazianzen recounts that the in-
comparable love which existed between him and St. Basil the
Great was famous all through Greece, and Tertullian testifies,
that the pagans admired the more than brotherly love which
reigned among the primitive Christians. Oh! with what cele-
bration and solemnity, with what praises and benedictions,
should be kept, with what admirations should be honored and
loved, the eternal and sovereign friendship of the Father and
the Son ! What is there to be loved and desired if friendship
is not ? And if friendship is to be loved and desired what
friendship can be so in comparison with that infinite friendship
which is between the Father and the Son, and which is one
same most sole God with Them ? Our heart, Theotimus, will
sink lost in love, through admiration of the beauty and sweet-
ness of the love, that this eternal Father and this incompre-
hensible Son practise divinely and eternally."
Now, if belief in this dogma ministers so effectually to the
life of piety and devotion, if the religion whose whole creed
stands ,or falls together with this article of faith is known to
the world by the distinguishing mark of holiness, it would seem
natural to expect that the religion which denied the dogma
and whose creed consisted chiefly in the denial should be sing-
ularly deficient in spiritual life and manifestly wanting in the
mark of holiness. And this is precisely what we find in the
case of the Orthodox Eastern Church. I call upon the one great
authority, Dr. Fortescue, to bear witness. " But the Byzantine
Calendar," he tells us, " contains some very astonishing names.
It is well known that even far into the Middle Ages there was
no regular process of canonization. Our present law, by which
canonization takes place in Rome after a formal trial, was made
by Urban VIII. in 1634. In earlier ages a sort of popular
3$6 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [June,
consent controlled by the bishop, who admitted the saint's name
to his local litany or martyrology, was enough. There are
numberless instances of a person being honored in one place
but not in another. It is, therefore, quite natural that the
Byzantine Church should have her own saints. She prayed
first of all to those who belong to all Christendom : St. John
the Baptist, the Apostles, St. Stephen, and so on ; she also ad-
mitted to her Calendar some of the greatest Roman saints: St.
Laurence, St. Gregory the Great, St. Martin, etc., just as we
pray to St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. John Damascene.
And then she had her own local saints. It is these who as-
tonish us. Never did the kingdom of heaven suffer violence
as at Constantinople. Almost every emperor who did not per-
secute the Church (and many who did), almost every patriarch
who was not a heretic (and some who were), becomes a saint.
St. Constantine (May 2ist) was in his life perhaps hardly a
model to be followed ; but then he was baptized on his death-
bed, and baptism removes all stain of sin and guilt of punish-
ment ; St. Theodosius I. (January I7th) was at any rate a
great man; St. Marcian (February I7th) had a very holy wife ;
St. Justinian (November i5th) deserves the credit of two im-
mortal works, the Codex and the Church of the Holy Wisdom ;
but what can one say for St. Theodosius II. (July 29th) ; St.
Leo I., the Emperor (January 2oth) ; St. Theodora, the public
dancing woman who became an Empress, and was always a
Monophysite [(November I5th); St. Justinian II. (July iSth);
St. Constantine IV. (September 3d )?
" An even easier road to heaven is open to patriarchs, as
long as they do not quarrel with Caesar. St. Anatolius (458,
his feast is on July 3d,) we have heard of at Chalcedon ; he
had been a Monophysite and Dioscur's legate at court, but he
was a poet who wrote some of the earliest Greek Stichera.
St. John IV., the Faster (599), deserves the gratitude of his
successors for having left them the proud, if ill-omened, title of
(Ecumenical Patriarch. But not only he, every Patriarch of
Constantinople, from Epiphanius (535) to Thomas I. (610), is a
saint, except only Antoninus I. It seems invidious to leave
him out ; but then he was a Monophysite, deposed by Pope
Agapitus in 536. From 669 to 712 again every patriarch is
canonized with five exceptions, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul, arid
1909.] THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 357
Peter, the four Monothelites condemned by the sixth general
council (680), and John VI., the accomplice of the usurper
Philip Bardesanes (711-713)."*
There have, of course, been even martyrs for the cause
of Eastern Orthodoxy, just as there have been martyrs for
the causes of Protestantism and Mohammedanism. But they
pale into insignificance compared with the illustrious mar-
tyrs for Catholic Truth. The fact that their ideal is bad to
begin with, and that their experts in sanctity make such a sad
picture, must imply that the realization of their ideal and the
average example of piety will not be such as to indicate a
divine origin. Thus then Dr. Fortescue, after telling of their
numberless sacramentals and other external signs of piety,
sums up the morals consequent upon such a faith. "Mean-
while," he says, "the great popular feasts, most of which have
come down from pagan days — the Carnival, the feast of Spring
in May, the Brumalia in November, etc. — are the occasion of
every sort of license; magic flourishes and strolling magicians
make fortunes by curing diseases, rinding riches, and making
women beautiful. The Court continually becomes a hotbed of
unnameable vice. Byzantine society during all the Middle
Ages, from Constantine (330) till the city fell (1453), was by
far the richest, most splendid, and most comfortable in Europe.
It was an old society, long established, and, at any rate con>
paratively, secure. These circumstances generally make for
luxury, and then for vice. But it was not wholly bad."f The
life of the monks is described as "quite simple, poor, and edi-
fying,"! but nothing very extraordinary. The religious life
for them means " only one thing, to flee the world. It is that
of the fathers of the desert. One would describe them as be-
ing all contemplative, except that they never contemplate.
That, too, is a Latin innovation. They say enormous quan-
tities of vocal prayers, sing endless psalms, fast incredibly;
and that is all." The great center of religious life is the Holy
Mountain, Athos. But even there " the international quarrels
that rend all the Orthodox Church flourish exceedingly. . . .
Here, too, Greek, Bulgar, Vlack, and Serv hate and perse-
cute each other. . . . And so on the Holy Mountain, too,
* The Orthodox Eastern Church, pp. 103-104.
t Ibid., p. 120. | Ibid., pp. 354 et seq.
358 THE HOL Y SPIRIT AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [June,
the traveler hears chiefly one endless wail of the Orthodox
against each other."
We must admit at once that the doctrine of the double
procession of the Holy Spirit does not find a prominent place
explicitly in the average Sunday homily of the parochial clergy
of the Catholic Church. There are ample reasons for this.
First, the Church observes a sense of proportion in keeping
the mystery in its proper place. One must not expect, there-
fore, to find it relatively so prominent in Catholic life as the
denial of it is prominent in Orthodox life. Secondly, one
must attend to the implicit but nevertheless effectual way in
which it is preached in the multitudinous sermons on the tem-
poral mission of the Holy Ghost. Thirdly, one may justly
regret that the doctrine does not find a more explicit treat-
ment in the pulpit, at least when the feasts of Pentecost and
Trinity come round. Perhaps it is that the difficulty of the
subject — it is the deepest and most sublime mystery of our
faith — inclines the preacher to the more general text : " O the
depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of
God ! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how
unsearchable His ways ! "
The Council of Trent anticipated this difficulty and made
provision for it in its famous Catechism. There it directs " that
what is handed down in the Creed concerning the Third Per-
son, that is the Holy Ghost, be also explained. In the expo-
sition of this matter, pastors will employ all study and dili-
gence; for in a Christian man, ignorance or error is not more
excusable on this, than on the preceding articles." Then, after
indicating the special fruits derived from a distinct knowledge
of this article of the faith, the Catechism goes on to insist
particularly on the double procession. " It must also be ac-
curately explained to the faithful, that the Holy Ghost is God,
so as that we must confess Him to be the "Third Person dis-
tinct in the divine nature and produced by Their will. . . .
With regard to what follows: 'Who proceedeth from the Fa-
ther and the Son/ the faithful are to be taught that the Holy
Ghost proceeds, by eternal procession, from the Father and
the Son as from one principle. . . . The pastor must also
teach that there are certain admirable effects, and certain most
ample gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are said to originate and
1909.] THE HOL Y SPIRIT A ND THE CHRIS TIA N LIFE 359
emanate from Him, as from a perennial fountain of goodness.
For, although the extrinsic works of the most holy Trinity are
common to the Three Persons, yet, many of them are attributed
especially to the Holy Ghost, to give us to understand that
they proceed from the boundless love of God towards us: for
as the Holy Ghost proceeds from the divine will, inflamed as
it were with love, we can comprehend that these effects, which
are referred particularly to the Holy Ghost, arise from the ex-
treme love of God towards us." *
If it be asked, then, where is the connection between the
dogma of the double procession of the Holy Ghost and the
practical faith of Catholic Christianity, the answer is as follows :
First, it is an essential element in the constitution of the arche-
type of love which offers to the faithful an Ideal for which they
can live and for which they can die. Secondly, that Ideal has
been the inspiration of those experts in the art of charity, who
leaven the whole mass of the faithful, and who are the perennial
witness of the divine origin of the Church. Thirdly, the dogma
appeals directly to every faithful soul, in so far as it tells of the
origin and nature of Him with Whose unction every human fac-
ulty is anointed, strengthened, and adjusted to a life which is
eternal, the one life begun here in grace and consummated
hereafter in glory.
* Catechism oftKe Council of Trent. Part I. , Chapter ix.
CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION.
BY VIRGINIA M. CRAWFORD.
fO manifestation of Catholic faith — with the excep-
tion perhaps of the Society of Jesus — has sur-
vived such persistent denunciation from Protest-
ant writers as convent life. To use a homely
simile the cloister has ever been as a red rag to
a bull to a certain class of mind. No charge against monks
and nuns has been too monstrous, no interpretation too lantas-
tic for their eager credulity. The simplest events occurring
within convent walls have been invested with a sinister intent,
while the supernatural motive has been flouted or deliberately
ignored. Books and pamphlets written from this standpoint
have been scattered over the United States and England by
hundreds of thousands, and cannot fail to have affected public
opinion. I do not, however, propose to recall here the grotesque
travesties of the religious life presented in the pages of authors
such as Mr. Joseph Hocking, whose methods of falsification
have been repeatedly exposed by Mr. J. Britten in The Month.
We are all familiar with the anti-Catholic calumnies of certain
much-read though mediocre novelists. It is a pleasanter task
to turn from these to some of our acknowledged masters of
fiction, to authors of to-day and earlier days whose literary
repute cannot be gainsaid, and see how the same theme emerges
from their hands. And if we find that their interpretation is
a very different one, their estimation a far higher one, I think
we may claim that the weight of literary testimony is on our
side, even though the honors of a widespread circulation may
possibly lie with our opponents.
Perhaps the most obvious point of contrast when we come
to compare the methods of these opposing tendencies of fiction
—the tendency to extol and the tendency to depreciate the
cloister — is to be found in the fact that while the eulogists
know their subject more or less intimately, the habitual weapon
of the calumniator is ignorance. Men attack conventual life who
know nothing not only of its first principles, but nothing even
1909.] CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION 361
of its daily rule, its most approved customs. They concoct
an elaborate caricature, filling in the details at the suggestion
of prejudice and malice, with the express object of dragging it
through the mud. The ideals of the religious life are totally
at variance with the materialistic conceptions of the " man in
the street," and he is not wholly to blame when he fails to dis-
cern the mystical significance of observances that are new and
strange to him. Even worldly-minded Catholics possess, as a
rule, an instinctive appreciation of the beauty of the religious
life to which any one brought up amid the rationalizing ten-
dencies of modern Protestantism can rarely attain. Cardinal
Manning was always anxious to bring prospective converts
in touch with some convent or other, knowing the revelation
it would be to them. " You will find there," he used to say,
" a life of which you can have no conception." Thus, while
our indignation is justifiably poured out against writers who
deliberately distort the truth and who make no effort to
understand that which they have set themselves to denounce,
we are, perhaps, at times unreasonably impatient of those who
merely reproduce with their pens the tradition of prejudice in
which they have been reared.
Such writers are not always as far from the truth as might
be supposed. In point of fact, some of the most eloquent
testimonies to the value of the contemplative life have come,
not from devout Catholics, not from authors writing with a
view to edification, but apparently have been wrung, almost
in spite of themselves, from men who, in their normal moods,
are far from subscribing to all the teachings of the Cath-
olic Church. Circumstances have brought them unexpect-
edly face to face with the spiritual fruits of a life of prayer
and renunciation; they have penetrated in imagination there
where men of duller parts would have remained unobservant,
and their artistic sense has compelled them to testify to the
truth and beauty of what has been revealed to them. The most
notable instance of this in recent years was the conversion of
J. K. Huysmans. Every reader of En Route will remember the
unwillingness of Durtal to embark on his week's visit to Notre
Dame de 1'Atre, the excuses he invented for himself, the de-
lays he ingeniously suggested. Yet when once he found him-
self within the walls of the Trappist monastery, when he had
shed from his soul its garment of scepticism and worldliness,
362 CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION [June,
how completely he was vanquished by what he saw around
him ! Bit by bit the true significance of a life of silence and
obedience and contemplation was forced upon him, and he in
his turn revealed it to his readers in some incomparable pages.
His picture of brother Simeon, the "divine swineherd," pos-
sessed of the mysterious power of exorcising evil spirits, and
dividing his silent life between his hours of prayer in the mon-
astery church and attendance on his pigs in the farmyard, has
no parallel in recent fiction. It was emphatically through being
brought in contact with monastic life, led at a very high spir-
itual level, that Huysmans, the author in earlier days of books
of inconceivable coarseness, came to be accepted before his
death as one of the most persuasive exponents of Christian
mysticism of his day.
Another witness, malgre lui, to the need of the cloister as
an outlet for religious faith, is to be found in Victor Hugo.
Revolutionary and iconoclast as he was, he felt compelled to
apologize to the readers of Les Miserable* for the deference with
which he treats therein of a religious order. He argues, briefly,
that convent life is founded on prayer, and prayer is the link be-
tween the soul and God, and it behooves therefore all believers
in the infinite to write of convents not with scorn but with
reverence.
The convent in question is introduced in sufficiently dra-
matic fashion. Jean Valjean, flying with Cosette from the pur-
suit of the implacable Javert through Jthe tortuous streets of
Paris, scales a high wall and drops down into a garden where
he comes across his old acquaintance Fauchelevent tending his
melons with a bell tied to his leg. It was the garden of the
Petit Picpus, a convent of Bernardines of the Perpetual Adora-
tion. The order was of the strictest, the hours of prayer well-
nigh interminable, and all night long a nun lay prostrate before
the Blessed Sacrament, with a rope round her neck, interceding
for sinners. None the less Valjean realizes that the sisters are
serene and happy, while the merry laughter of the convent
school children rings through the garden in the recreation
hour. For Jean Valjean the years he spends as under-gardener
at the Petit Picpus — Fauchelevent successfully passes him off
as his own younger brother on the unsuspecting Prioress — form
the one peaceful interlude in his stormy career. And in the
long silences the ex-convict is led to draw a parallel between
1909.] CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION 363
the cloister and the prison that one would like to commend to
Protestant detractors. Externally there were many resemblances,
and it seemed to him that life in the convent must be the
harder of the two, food and sleep more spare, the silence more
rigidly kept, the confinement life-long. But whereas in the
prison men expiated their own sins with curses, in the convent
women expiated with prayers the sins of others, "the most
divine of human generosities " ; the prison produced hatred,
resentment, and violence, the convent exhaled forgiveness and
love. And before the sublime abnegation of the nuns Jean
Valjean's whole nature became transformed, and he too grew
patient and humble and forgiving.
This same conception — of the unconsciously subduing in-
fluence of the cloister atmosphere on violent temperaments —
though worked out on very different lines — supplies the motif
of a novel by a French author, whose testimony is as emphatic
as it is unexpected. Pierre Loti is far from being a religious
writer, and his sense of the spiritual is restricted to certain
spheres of perception, and yet I know no single scene in fiction
that reproduces the atmosphere of a convent more convincingly
than the closing episode of his novel Ramuntcho. It is a tale
of Basque peasant folk and of the devotion of a young smug-
gler and pelota player to a companion of his childhood. The
love between Ramuntcho and Gracieuse had grown with their
years, until it seemed to form an integral part of their very
lives, although Ramuntcho was wild and adventurous and Gra-
cieuse felt an unaccountable attraction for the convent in which
she had been educated. For family reasons her mother was
irreconcilably opposed to the marriage, and when the girl's
sweetheart was summoned to do his three years' military ser-
vice her opportunity came. Long before his term was com-
pleted Gracieuse was a professed nun in a remote convent in
a Pyrenean village.
On Ramuntcho's return home his smoldering resentment
flares up into furious anger, and he and Arrochkoa, Gracieuse's
brother, resolve on her forcible abduction. All is planned out,
passages to America secured, and a swift horse is in waiting
when the two desperate men knock one May evening at the
convent gate. They are admitted at once, and the unsuspect-
ing Gracieuse hurries to meet them. The convent is quite un-
protected ; the abduction would have been ridiculously easy of
364 CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION [June,
accomplishment ; but something restrains the two Smugglers.
The whitewashed simplicity ot the place, the placid cheerful-
ness of the sisters, the sense of prayer enveloping the little
convent as in an inviolable shroud, the calm aloofness of Gra-
cieuse herself, now Sister Marie-Angelique, her altered aspect
in the straight religious habit, all falls with a chastening chilli-
ness on the passion of the visitors and paralyzes their wills.
Ramuntcho hardly dares to raise his eyes to the girl he had
planned to carry off in his arms. " He understands that all is
over, that his little playmate is lost to him forever. . . .
The words of love and temptation that he had planned, the
schemes that for months he had been hatching in his brain,
all appear to him as mad, sacrilegious, impossible, the bravado
of a child." And so the two men eat their suppers timidly,
behave with awkward propriety, and at the convent gate take
a deferential farewell of Gracieuse and her Mother Superior.
"To Ramuntcho she does not even dare to offer her cold
little hand that hangs against her habit beside her rosary
beads.
'"We will pray,' she says, 'that the Blessed Virgin may
watch over you in your long journey.' "
It is to a somewhat similar convent, to one of the many
hundred obscure little teaching communities that until a few
years ago were scattered over France, that Rene Bazin intro-
duces his readers in L* Isolce, the most poignant of all his
stories. I have written of M. Bazin so recently in the pages of
THE CATHOLIC WORLD (May, 1907) that I need scarcely do more
than recall the book here. Critics have differed as to the artistic
merits of the final tragic episodes, but all are agreed as to the
charm and the fidelity of the opening chapters describing the
Sisters of St. Hildegarde in the busy everyday life previous to
their dispersal. M. Bazin has deliberately taken convent life
in its most banal, its least romantic aspects; his nuns are all
drawn from the artisan class and their work consists mainly in
the drudgery of teaching and influencing the poor children of
the quartier. The virtue can scarcely be called heroic, the
sanctity is in no way abnormal, and yet how different is the
atmosphere oi the humble little convent from that of a chance
assemblage of " lay " workers. Here there are no petty fem-
inine jealousies, no bickerings or gossip, and above all no
tyranny of one over the other — only the firm maternal direction
1909.] CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION 365
of the older woman and the happy, willing compliance of the
four younger.
The secret lies in the reality of the vocation that unites all
their aspirations. Each of the five women has adopted the
religious life from a different but always from a worthy motive,
and each finds in it a higher and fuller expansion of all her
faculties, spiritual and intellectual, than her ordinary domestic
surroundings would have afforded. Even Pascale came, in her
own words, to save her own soul, to become more saint-like
by living among saints, and because, knowing the latent weak-
ness of her character, she felt instinctively that unless she
aimed higher than her neighbors she might, in the end, fall
lower. Such aspirations are the very mainspring of com-
munity life and no one is more fitted than M. Bazin to de-
velop their full spiritual significance.
Hugo, Huysmans, Loti, Bazin — these are a few of the French
novelists who testify to the beauty of the cloister ideal, and
here, as elsewhere,
" Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
I could wish the .'English witnesses were as numerous and
as distinguished. In the unnumbered host of our contemporary
novelists how many have drawn inspiration from the eternal
antithesis between the world and the cloister, between the doc-
trine of pleasure and the doctrine of renunciation ? The theme
clearly does not form part of the usual stock in trade of the
English novelist ; it is something extrinsic to our daily nation-
al thought, and suggests itself but rarely, save indeed to those,
whom we are not discussing here, who for controversial pur-
poses introduce into their novels melodramatic convent scenes
that have no possible relation to the realities of life. It is
true Mrs. Humphrey Ward, always painstaking and conscien-
tious, introduces nuns into Helbeck of Bannisdale, that well-
meant caricature of a Catholic layman. But her nuns are mere
pious busybodies, much addicted to gossip about other people's
affairs, whom the authoress herself has clearly not deemed
worthy of more than casual treatment. Even when we pur-
sue our search into more promising quarters we do not meet
with much success. I can recall no convent in any of Henry
Harland's witty, idealistic tales, and Katherine Tynan's charm-
366 CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION [June,
ing Irish heroines are wholly of this world. One turns in-
stinctively to Mrs, Wilfrid Ward, who is always a writer with
a purpose, even though the purpose be dexterously concealed;
and indeed in One Poor Scruple, the novel that made her re-
putation by its vivid presentment of the old Catholic family as
it survived in England up to quite recent years, there is a sub-
tle analysis" of the growth of a vocation in Mary Riversdale
who, sole heiress to her father, becomes a Sister of Charity.
But we learn nothing of Mary inside her convent, any more
than we see the hero of Out of Due Time in his Dominican
cell, but only in his somewhat theatrical reappearance before the
world in a Roman pulpit. In neither case has the authoress
ventured upon a presentment of the religious life in spirit and
in fact I can recall but three men among contemporary novel-
ists who have essayed it: Robert Hugh Benson, our Catholic
novelist, Mr. George Moore, and a new writer, the author of
Marotz, who writes under the pseudonym of John Ayscough.
No one in England to-day is so fitted as Father Benson to
interpret the mystical significance of the religious vocation, and
in two of his novels he has deliberately set himself to the task.
To get the atmosphere that he needed — the sense that the
monastic houses that he describes are a part of the normal re-
ligious life of the nation — he has had to go back to the early
sixteenth century, to the days before England was rent in two
by the controversies between those of the old and of the new
religion. It will be remembered how, at the opening of The
King's Achievement the reader is introduced to the home of the
Torridons at Overfield Court, and finds the younger son, Chris,
preparing to enter Lewes Priory, to the joy and pride of his
father, and the younger daughter, Margaret, ready to make her
novitiate in the Benedictine Convent at Rusper. Not a little
of the book is devoted to a study of Chris Torridon's mental
development, the insistent conscience that drives him from his
father's pleasant house to the stern rule at Lewes, the faults
of pride and rash judgment and self-consciousness that he has
to overcome, and his gradual growth into peace of soul and
clearness of spiritual vision, till at length he stands " a balanced
soul ... a light with a tranquil grace within and not
afraid to look at the darkness without." All this the monastic
rule, about to be roughly swept off the face of England, had
given to Chris as to others. The psychology ot Margaret is
1909.] CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION 367
far less minute, but there is an exquisite picture of the little
convent on the eve of its dissolution, bringing home to one,
with poignant intensity, the brutality of Henry's policy.
It is, in a sense, to the results of that policy, as they may
be seen in our own day, that Father Benson has wished to
draw attention in his most recent novel The Conventionalists.
His hero, Algy Banister, has, like Chris Torridon, a vocation to
the contemplative life, but his vocation comes to him, not as
the spontaneous product of a religious upbringing, but as an
extraordinary and startling inspiration from out of a veritable
slough of stolid materialism. The Banisters typify the conven-
tional British Protestant middle-class family, content with life
as they know it, self-centered, prosperous, deeply prejudiced,
and wholly without imagination. We all know dozens of Ban-
isters in daily life. Algy, "the fool of the family," revolts,
he scarcely knows why, against the futile existence he is ex-
pected to lead in the conventional groove. Circumstances, that
the world would call chance, bring him into contact with Catho-
lic priests ; he is instructed and received into the Church and
soon his new friends believe they discern in him, beneath his
somewhat ordinary exterior, all the marks of a religious voca-
tion and of a singularly sensitive spiritual nature. Everything
is against him — heredity, environment, social conventions — yet,
after acute spiritual, suffering, grace triumphs and Algy enters
the great Carthusian house of St. Hugh's, Parkminster. Father
Benson diagnoses the soul's growth of his hero with an unfail-
ing sympathy and veils his own scorn of the Banister family
under a kindly humor. Yet the book is scarcely an exhilara-
ting one; it reveals so surely all that England has lost by be-
coming Protestant, and if it reminds us that a vocation is
wholly a supernatural gift, it also makes it abundantly clear that
whoever is so endowed can only attain happiness by following
it, and that if he should be thwarted by circumstance or hu-
man perversity his life is doomed to failure and his character
to deterioration.
It is only a Catholic, and indeed only a Catholic endowed
in some measure with the mystical sense, who can arrive at so
clear and reasoned an understanding of a call to the religious
life. Outsiders may apprehend it sentimentally or aesthetically,
never in its entirety. This is the limitation from which Mr.
George Moore suffered when he set himself some years ago to
368 CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION [June,
write a story in which the heroine was to retire into a convent.
This much discussed novel, in two parts, entitled respectively
Evelyn Innis and Sister Teresa, tells of the musical triumphs
of a beautiful prima donna and of her abandonment of the
stage and its moral perils through the insistent reproaches of
her own conscience, aided by a certain Monsignor Mostyn and
a community of nuns at Wimbledon. Like Durtal and Jean
Valjean, the singer, with her emotional, nervous temperament,
finds herself soothed and strengthened by intercourse with the
nuns, by their transparent purity and selflessness, and above
all by the mysterious power of their prayers. As the story
was originally composed, Evelyn ended her life in the convent;
but Mr. Moore has practically rewritten the book, and in the
new version, which artistically shows a very great advance en
its predecessor, the convent becomes only an episode in her
career. Her vocation was never a true or even a plausible one,
either to the author himself or to his readers. As the book now
reads Evelyn enters the novitiate in an hysterical state after a
period of great stress, is practically brought back to health and
reason by the convent life, and leaves on the death of her
friend the Prioress to earn her livelihood by giving singing- les-
sons, and to devote herself to the care of little crippled boys in
a country cottage.
Frankly there are many things in the novel that Catholics
will dislike, but it is impossible to ignore so accomplished a
piece of literary workmanship in any estimate of fiction dealing
with the cloister. Mr. Moore's incursion into the religious life
stands by itself and cannot be placed in any category. It is
obvious that he cannot* be accepted as an authoritative ex-
ponent. One regrets as one reads that so accomplished a style,
so skillful a talent for characterization could not have been al-
lied to real understanding and to the instinctive sympathy of a
Catholic with the religious ideal. As it is, the book gives the
impression of a drawing that is out of perspective; it has all
been studied from a wrong point of view. It presents a series
of impressions, but there is an absence of mellowness and
harmony in the picture, and this in spite of some really ex-
quisite descriptions of nature as seen in the convent garden
with the wide stretch of Wimbledon Common beyond, and of
some charming scenes when Evelyn, for the sake of her health,
digs and weeds under the supervision of Sister Mary John.
1909.] CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION 369
For other writers it is the convent entity — far more than the
individuals who compose it — that claims attention ; they treat
of the type, not of the individual, and the first essential has
seemed to them to reproduce the religious atmosphere. Mr.
George Moore has adopted a contrary method : he has differ-
entiated so keenly that the type has eluded him. As the con-
vent scenes unroll themselves, we are less and less conscious
of what all Catholics mean by the convent atmosphere, but we
have in its place a little group of women visualized with so
much success that each one stands out, a clear-cut figure in
high relief. I can recall no nuns in fiction whose personality
is so intense as that of the aged Prioress, of Mother Hilda the
novice-mistress, and above all of Sister Mary John, musician
and gardener. We see them not only individually, but in rela-
tion to each other, and each in her relation to Evelyn, who was
bound to prove a disturbing element in any community. It
will probably be argued, with much plausibility, that no con-
vent would have admitted an opera singer under such cir-
cumstances ; but novelists, like poets, may be allowed some
license as long as their stories, in essentials, remain close to
life. And Mr. Moore's nuns are very human and sympathetic,
even though they be lacking in some of the characteristics of
Catholic sisters.
All that the reader may have missed in the convent scenes
in Sister Teresa he will find in Marotz, a novel that has ex-
cited considerable attention since its publication a few months
ago. It is the work of an unknown author, who has been
widely assumed to be a priest. Certainly internal evidence
points in that direction, although tKe book is not written with
any obviously religious intent. The convent constitutes only
an episode in a somewhat rambling, loosely-constructed story,
but it is for the sake of the one hundred pages devoted to it
that the novel will continue to be read. I know of no de-
scription of cloistered life in the English language that brings
with it so swift a sense of conviction, the sense that here, at
length, we have the real thing. There are no romantic rap-
tures ; the nuns are not portrayed as angels on earth, rather it
is just because the author understands so fully and so sanely
the mystical significance of a vocation that he is able to note
with a kindly humor the small human weaknesses of the sisters,
VOL. LXXXIX.— 24
370 CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION [June,
their pride in their own congregation, their little feminine
vanities. The institute is founded on the root principle of
reparation — the belief that the voluntary suffering of the inno-
cent will be accepted in expiation of the sins of the wicked —
and with artistic skill the author has brought this general
principle home to the average reader by connecting it fanci-
fully with a celebrated and unexplained tragedy in the Haps-
burg family. " Poor Sister," as the Mother Superior likes to
be called, gets permission to build a little chapel on the very
spot in the Palace Gardens where her husband, a prince of the
Imperial house, killed himself after having shot the friend he
had betrayed. Here she and the sinning wife pray at first in
solitude side by side, but when, years later, Marotz enters
upon the scene, she finds a little community of women, strictly
enclosed and leading a life of prayer and austerity.
Marotz herself is the daughter of an Austrian father and a
Sicilian mother, who first hears of the convent at a court ball
and the next morning visits the chapel, and seeing above the
cloister-door the inscription " Magister adest et vocat te" feels
the compelling power of the divine summons. Has she a true
vocation ? That is the question she asks herself anxiously and
sincerely during the four months she spends within the cloister,
and finally answers in the negative. She never gets beyond
being " our little postulant " to the community. Thus the au-
thor is able to write with no parti-pris ; he is under no ne-
cessity of justifying his heroine, or of inventing slightly im-
probable incidents in order to sustain the reader's interest in
what ought to be a life shorn of external events. We are
shown the daily life of the nuns partly through the wise words
that fall from Poor Sister. It is the presentment of the found-
ress that gives much of its spiritual elevation to the book.
She is, it must be confessed, a somewhat idealized superior, a
true servus servorum Dei rather than the "Reverend Mother"
as practical necessities usually mold her.
"Her only recognized appellation was that of Poor Sister;
and she sat always in the lowest place, nearest to the door in
refectory and at chapter, furthest from the altar in choir."
While the other nuns talk with some pardonable pride of "our
order" and "our holy rule," the foundress herself "never
praised her own work, nor seemed to wish that it should be
praised." On her lips it was only "our little institute" and
1909.] CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION 371
" our little rule," for " fifty years had not made her think her
own regulations of divine obligation."
Thanks to Poor Sister the convent was, in truth, what the
old nun called it: "a low porch to heaven to those whom
Gpd wills should wait here." Marotz had not been long among
them before she realized that :
"twelve more unselfish women she had never met, and
twelve happier women she could not believe that the world
contained. . . . Each of these women had a very clearly
recognizable individuality, not swamped, though merged, in the
common vocation; they were not all of one pattern, or cut
out of the same stuff. Nevertheless, something had fused
them into a peculiar union, unison, almost unity. That some-
thing Marotz, with her swift power of correct intuition, per-
ceived to be the genuine, common vocation.
" Had she got it ? "
Nothing could be further removed from the attitude that is
often attributed, even by certain Catholics, to convent superi-
ors in relation to rich postulants than that of Poor Sister
towards Marotz. She deliberately stands aside waiting for
God's will to manifest itself, even when the girl presses her
for an opinion. " Unlike numbers of good people she had not
the habit of trying to force God's hand. . . . She had
never allowed herself to desire that the girl should stay, and
had certainly loved her too well to desire that she should go."
And when Marotz confesses that she gets " no nearer feeling
certain " that God has really called her to the cloister, Poor
Sister, *ateht only on the girl's spiritual welfare, warns her not
for one moment to " let the wretched notion assail you that
you are turning away from God, in the very least degree."
One other shrewd piece of advice Marotz receives from one of
her companions in religion : not to carry too many convent
ways home with her, for " a nun in domestic life is very try-
ing to her family."
John Ayscough brings us back to what is the kernel of the
subject, the problem around which the whole controversy re-
volves : the reality of the religious vocation. To the irreligious,
and often too to the strictly Protestant mind, it has no exist-
ence— monasticism is merely a means devised by the Church
to strengthen her grasp on men's souls and fortunes. We hold
that it is a divine summons, clearly expressed, which the soul
372 CONVENT LIFE IN MODERN FICTION [June.
rejects at its peril. Magister adest et vocat te. Yet in Catholic
countries the full mystical significance of the call has some-
times been temporarily obscured by certain material advantages
that, in days of prosperity, the Church incidentally offers to
those who believe themselves drawn to the cloistered life: a
shelter for timorous souls, provision for old age, a release from
the wear and tear of crushing industrial conditions. When
considerations such as these come to prevail to any extent
over purely spiritual aspirations through the wealth of the re-
ligious congregations, a reaction sets in, persecution follows,
and from out of a period of storm and suffering the true
monastic ideal emerges once again, purified and vigorous. The
maintenance of a noble conception of the religious state seems
to me as much a function of literature as of the pulpit. Even
fiction has its part to play in this needful work. It can dis-
sipate false conceptions and correct false history and present
in concrete examples the ideals that we all cherish. Books of
literary and spiritual value cannot, however, be produced to
order, and it is only by deepening our religious life and widen-
ing our culture that we shall evolve as we need it a Catholic
literature worthy of the name, lifted above the region of mere
controversy.
THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
BY FRANCIS D. McGARRY, C.S.C.
there is any one thing which should incline a
thinking man towards realizing the necessity of
some authoritative religion, it is the recent rise
of innumerable sects that, upon purely natural
or preternatural phenomena, are striving to build
up anew the true Christianity, as they call it, In Europe es-
pecially, the materialist has been forced by evidence the most
convincing to give up his former position and to accept the
belief in an unseen and little-known world. In America we
also have our modern Christianity in the form of untold num-
bers of curative agencies, professing beliefs vastly different, but
experiencing cures from disease through means seemingly un-
proportionate or invisible. Great as may be their differences
in belief, they all agree in making Christ their founder. To
the spiritist He is the great Medium, to the hypnotist the
great Hypnotizer, and to the various forms of Faith-Curing
sects He is the great Healer. Hence, nothing more is required
in order to be a Christian than belief in Christ as the great
medium or healer. The Gospel narrative of His life, death,
resurrection, and ascension is distorted to suit their own re-
spective theories.
The importance of this subject may be the better realized
when it is known that here in the United States these sects
are increasing with great rapidity, both in numbers and mem-
bership. Christian Science is no longer a something merely to
be laughed at and ridiculed. It is no longer local but is spread-
ing itself far and near, making large inroads among the well-
to-do and even among the educated.
It must be reckoned with sooner or later. It is bound to
become a greater social factor, a receptacle, as it were, for the
masses drifting from Protestantism to unbelief, and of other
true Christian believers, who having been witnesses of the facts,
but not knowing their true nature and unable to account for
374 THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [June,
them, are deceived and led to believe that the "finger of God
is there." In this the danger lies for the faithful, and hence
the necessity of physicians and clergy to know and instruct
those thus deluded both as to the nature of the facts and the
great underlying principle which effects these cures. In other
words, to teach them that they are but natural, and not super-
natural, phenomena.
Before considering the claims of Christian Science, let us
see what is the curative agency at work which, according to its
defenders, effects these cures. The fundamental principle or
hypothesis of Christian Science is, according to Mrs. Eddy, its
founder, the denial of matter; hence we have no body, and
disease is therefore impossible. " The only realities," she says,
" are the divine mind and its ideas. . . . That erring mortal
views, misnamed mind, produced all the organic and animal
action of the mortal body." And she says elsewhere : " Dis-
ease is cured by the divine mind ; there can be no healing un-
less by this mind, however much we trust in drugs or any other
means towards which human faith or endeavor is directed."
Hence Christian Science condemns and rejects medical aid
and drugs, denies a personal God, and condemns all mind-curing
sects as hypnotists. In other words, Christian Science is noth-
ing else but a cultured pantheism.
There are some religious teachings so ridiculously absurd
that one only becomes more ridiculous in attempting a refuta-
tion of them. Happily this is not our present lot, since we
are concerned most with the phenomena of Christian Science
and their explanation. However, one can scarcely resist the
temptation which Hudson presents of subjecting Mrs. Eddy's
teaching to syllogistic reasoning. Matter does not exist. Our
bodies are matter. Therefore our bodies do not exist. Noth-
ing more would seem to be required to demonstrate the un-
soundness of this doctrine.
But what are the facts? Before considering these it might
be well to note the attitude of Christian Scientists towards men
©f simple, yet true, science. What that attitude is may be well
judged from the following: Drs. Huber, of New York, and
Goddard, of Clark University, Worcester, in the interest of sci-
ence, sought from Christian Science certain credentials for the
cures which it claims to effect and which, if true, would cer-
tainly go far to prove the truth of its teachings. If the ad-
1909.] THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 375
herents of Christian Science really believed that these cures
occurred, then they would gladly welcome and invite fair and
square investigation. If these same adherents of Christian
Science did not really believe in these cures, then the attitude
which they subsequently adopted is easily, explainable.
Dr. Huber, in the Popular Scientific Monthly for October,
1899, relates his futile attempts to obtain from Christian Sci-
entists evidence whereby he might investigate the truth of one
of the many cases of cures which they claim to have effected
and which are held by medical science as incurable. Not even in
one case could an interview be obtained with a person claim-
ing to have been cured of one of these incurable diseases.
Let me quote Dr. Huber's own account of the cases he in-
vestigated: " I examined in succession, and without exception,
the case of every Christian Science cure up to the number of
twenty. All these were of their own choosing ; no doubt, then,
they would be considered to be among their ' good ' cases; their
' failures ' I had no opportunity to examine. ... I could find
in all twenty cases, and in all these twenty cases no cures that
would have occasioned a medical man the least surprise. What
did surprise me was the vast disproportion between the results
they exhibit and the claims made by Christian Science healers.
. . . I heard during my investigation of yellow fever, phthisis,
cancer, and locomotor ataxia, which had been healed by Chris-
tian Science, but the truth compels the statement that my efforts
to examine these cases were defeated by the cheapest sort o
subterfuge and elusion." After citing a number of wonderful
cures obtained by Mrs. Eddy and other Christian Scientists, he
asks: "Who are the people that have been cured? What are
their names ? Where do they live ? How can they be found ?
Will Mrs. Eddy and her followers submit these cases for a scien-
tific examination? I and other investigators are asking, and have
for years been asking, these questions. We are still awaiting
answers."
In his work The Effects of Mind on Body as Evidenced by
Faith Cures, Goddard writes : " Christian Science has unwillingly
yielded its facts and philosophy to our work. By means of many
personal interviews with Christian Science healers, with people
who had been healed, and with those upon whom the method
had failed, and by a careful perusal of Science and Health, to-
gether with a careful study of the life of Mrs. Eddy from
376 THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [June,
childhood, a clear view of the whole system has been ob-
tained."
Christian Science claims a power which cures not only all
diseases curable by medical science, but also those called in-
curable. From Mrs. Eddy's well-known work, Science and
Health, we quote the following cures as fair illustrations of
their claims. One man is cured of asthma of twenty years'
standing, of a rupture of ten years'; his left arm, dislocated
for forty-two years, was cured during the night; his eyesight
was improved; constipation and indigestion left him entirely;
and he lost all desire for both drinking and smoking. Another
is cured of cancer ; still another of varicose veins, by reading
Science and Health. A consumptive is helped from the first
time he opened the book; the cure following. A woman testi-
fies that her husband was cured of smoking and the liquor
habit, and of Bright's disease, pronounced by physicians to be
in its worst form. Similar accounts could be multiplied ad in-
finitum. But these are fair samples of what the adherents of
Christian Science profess to effect. What evidence do they
produce in support of these cures ? For these cases and all
others mentioned, there is not a single certificate from any
doctor testifying to the existence, much less to the cure, of
these diseases. We have no better authority for these cures than
Mrs. Eddy herself, who apparently has no other voucher than
the word of the person writing.
But what of the failures ? While every remarkable cure is
solemnly announced at the religious gatherings of Christian
Scientists, and heralded to all parts of the globe, still no
mention is made of failures, no correction of cures only appar-
ent, no statement of relapses; and relapses and failures there
surely are. Does this not seem like sailing under false colors?
We have seen that one of their principal tenets is the re-
jection of all medical assistance; that is, they reject, and with-
out sufficient reason, all the advancement made in medical and
surgical science by mankind from the beginning of the world.
They denounce doctors and all medicines. Of what value,
then, is the testimony of those who, rejecting, and at the same
time ignorant of, the art of medicine, are judges of their own
and others' ills ?
In answer to this question, we may quote from the book of
Dr. J. M. Buckley, Faith Healing, Christian Science, and Other
1909.] THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 377
Superstitions : " All honest and rational persons are competent
to testify whether they feel sick and whether they seem better,
or believe themselves to have recovered after having been
prayed for and anointed. . . . But their testimony of what
disease they had, or whether they are entirely cured, is a dif-
ferent matter, and to have value must be scrutinized in every
case by competent judges. In general, diseases are internal or
external. It is clear that no individual can know positively the
nature of any internal disease that he has. The diagnosis of
the most skillful physician may be in error. Post-mortems in
celebrated cases have often shown that there has been an entire
misunderstanding of the malady. Hysteria can stimulate every
known complaint, paralysis, heart disease, and the worst forms
of fever and ague. Hypochondria, to which intelligent and
highly educated persons of sedentary habits, brooding over their
sensations, are liable, especially if they are accustomed to read
medical works of diseases and of treatments, will do the same.
" Especially in women do the troubles to which they are the
most subject give rise to hysteria, in which condition they may
firmly believe that they are afflicted with disease of the spine,
of the heart, or, indeed, of all the organs. I heard an intelli-
gent woman ' testify ' that she had ' heart disease, irritation
of the spinal chord, and Bright's disease of the kidneys, and
had suffered from them all for ten years.' She certainly had
some symptoms of them. . . . The foregoing observation
relates to internal disease, but it is by no means easy to de-
termine what an internal disease is. Tumors are often mistaken
for cancers, and cancers are of different species, some incurable
by any means known to the medical profession, others curable.
It is by these differences that quack cancer doctors thrive.
. . . There is also a difference in tumors ; some under no
circumstances cause death ; others are liable to become as fatal
as a malignant pustule. . . . Often in the account given the
cure has been exaggerated. Relapses have not been made public.
Peculiar sensations still felt and resisted have been omitted from
the description and the mode of cure has been restricted to one
act or a single moment of time when, in response to questions,
it appeared that it was weeks or months before the person could
properly be said to be well. In all such cases it is obvious
that written testimony is of little value; indeed, it is seldom
that a published account in books supporting marvels of this
378 THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [June,
kind shows any sign of being written by a person who took the
pains, if he possessed the capacity, to investigate the facts
accurately. Frequent quotations of such accounts add nothing
to their credibility or value. . . . The object of these re-
marks is not to discredit all testimony, but to show the condi-
tions upon which its value depends." In virtue of the evidence
adduced, are we not justified in classifying many of the cures
of Christian Science among those suggested by the above quo-
tations ?
Like innumerable other curative agencies Christian Science
cures diseases. The questions that naturally suggest themselves
are: ist. If the cures of Christian Science are not what they
are claimed to be, what is the nature of the cures which they
actually do effect ? 2d. What is the curative agency employed ?
Is it the Divine Mind or have these cures a natural explanation ?
In regard to this question no one can reasonably find fault if we
base our solution upon the principle that nobody is justified
in giving a supernatural interpretation to facts that admit of a
natural one.
The history of cures presents many and interesting phe-
nomena. Every age, every country, has its own remarkable
cures and its own explanation of the same. In ancient times
the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had their gods of disease,
to whom they attributed the cures of all ills. At a later period
we have the powders of Paracelsus, the King's touch, the tomb
of the deacon of Paris, and great rakes and many others who,
together with our many modern systems of mind-cure, faith-
cure, animal magnetism, and hypnotism, all have their wonder-
ful cures. A careful study of these cures brings out two re-
markable facts; namely, that men during every age have
experienced cures from disease through means seemingly un-
proportionate or invisible, and that, no matter how illogical, in-
consistent, and unreal their different . theories or beliefs may
be, they all agree in one thing, namely, that they all cure dis-
ease ; and it would seem that here at least the remarks of
Paracelsus would find its application : " Whether the object of
your faith be real or false, you may nevertheless obtain the
same results."
Another extraordinary fact is that it is always the same
diseases that are cured; and in this regard all systems of " cur-
ing " seem bound by the same limitations. This is the conclu-
1909.] THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 379
sion of H. H. Goddard, who perhaps has made the most recent
thorough investigation in the study of cures claimed to have
been wrought through the influence of Christian Science and
other mind-healing agencies. His investigation, in as far as it
was possible, was a personal one. His conclusions are the
more valuable, because they are those of the impartial scholar
having nothing to gain or to lose whatever by the finding.
"The result," says Goddard, "of this investigation, extending
over more than two years, is an absolute conviction based upon
evidence, only one or two items of which we can give here,
that the curative principle in every one of the forms is found
in the influence of the mind of the patient on his body. In
other words, however different the claims and the methods,
the explanation of all is the same. We may mention a few
of the items leading to this conclusion. They all cure diseases
and they all have failures. They all cure the same kind of
diseases and the same kind of diseases are incurable to them
all. In those classes of diseases where the cures are wrought
there are the same percentages of cures by all the methods.
Stripped of a few characteristic phrases, all the reports from
all the different forms are identical. A testimonial to a patent
medicine, for example, reads precisely like some of Bowie's
reports of divine healing cure. Again there are many records
of people going from one school to another, and in this no
one practice seems to show any advantage. Some fail after
trying all. Some fail to get cured by divine healing, but get
restored by Christian Science and vice versa. Others fail with
Christian Science and are successful with hypnotism and vice
versa."
This is the conclusion, if not of all, at least of almost all
men of science on this subject. They agree in this, that all
these. " schools " cure diseases ; that all cure the same kind of
diseases; and that all these diseases are cured by the same
principle, i. e.y the mind.
If this be true, we have a most remarkable phenomenon of
countless schools and sects professing many different theories
or beliefs and producing the same result. Needless to say, all
these different theories and schools cannot be correct ; if they
are, then man must be the most discordant mixture of being
in existence. Hence the fact that these cures are effected by the
mind, and that the same cures are produced, would naturally
380 THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [June,
lead us to expect some common explanation for them all.
This seems to be reflected, partially at least, in the conduct of
these different schools of mind-cures towards one another. The
adherents of these different curative agencies, in their endeavor
to defend their own particular school, call one another hyp-
notists. The divine healer disparagingly brands Christian Sci-
ence as hypnotism ; Christian Science, in turn, calls Mental
Science hypnotic ; and so on all along the line. But this is not
strictly correct. For while in hypnotism suggestion plays a most
important part, in fact so important a part that Bernheim, the
great French hypnotist, prefers calling it suggestion, still hyp-
notism implies more than suggestion. It implies sleep, which
is not a factor in any form of mind-cure. " In every form with
which we are acquainted the patient is in full possession of
his awaked consciousness. ... In a scientific sense, how-
ever, it is true that all mental therapeutics is hypnotism, *. e.,
it is suggestion. Suggestion is the bond of union between all
the different methods, Divine Healing, Christian Science, Men-
tal Science, etc. And the law of suggestion is the fundamental
truth underlying all of them, and that upon which each has
built its own superstructure of ignorance, superstition, and fa-
naticism." *
Such is the conclusion of Goddard, that all these cures,
which can be attributed to the influence of the mind, have their
efficacy and explanation in suggestion.
Touching on this subject George Coe says : " All the prob-
abilities are clearly in favor of the conclusion that all the
successes of Christian Science healing fall under the law of
suggestion, "f
Thus, as in suggestive therapeutics so also in mental thera-
peutics, the fundamental law is the law of suggestion. The
ideas suggested are different, but the results are the same. In
mental therapeutics the mind is, as it were, possessed by the
idea suggested, and in obedience to a psychological law tends
to work itself out into a psychological expression or "to ma-
terialize itself in the body." "This is the power of suggestion
and the essential element in hypnosis, and in all mental thera-
peutics."
To enter more deeply into a psychological explanation of
* Goddard, op. cit., p. 51. t The Spiritual Life, pp., 196-7.
1909.] THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 381
how these cures are effected through the agency of the mind
would carry us too far afield. What is of importance to know
is that the curative principle common to Christian Science, Di-
vine Healing, Mental Science, etc., is the mind. Knowing this,
it remains for us to learn, in as far 'as we can, what is the
extent of this curative power of the mind over the body.
To define the strict limits of the power of the mind in curing
disease is a task which, perhaps, no one at the present time would
dare attempt. But while we cannot fix its exact limits, yet they
can be defined sufficiently for our purpose. In the treatment
of this question, we will depend entirely on the opinions of
scientific authorities. Dr. Hack Tuke, a man whose opinion
carries with it great weight, speaking on this subject says :
" That imagination and faith can exert some influence over
disease, no one I suppose disputes. The great question is,
what is the extent of this influence — what are its limitations ?
The imagination has two important bearings: one on the prac-
tical employment of this power in medicine and the other on
the truth of alleged miraculous cures.
" I think the cures recorded in these pages prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that while the nervous affections present the
grand field for physical therapeutics, diseases beyond the neu-
rotic boundary may be amenable to the faith-healing influence,
as, for example, gout. On the other hand, I readily grant for
serious organic afflictions the range of mental influence is de-
cidedly limited. At the same time, seeing that it is indis-
putable that the frame or attitude of mind acts powerfully on
the skin, kidneys, and lungs, and seeing that the role ef the
physician is to act upon these, there is no good reason for ex-
cluding the beneficial influence of mental agents in some non-
nervous affliction. That these may act injuriously, even unto
death in organic diseases, daily experience proves ; why, then,
may they not act in the direction of health and life ? Lastly,
who shall venture to draw the line between organic and func-
tional ; and who shall pretend to assert that any tissue of the
body is beyond the range of nervous influence ? "
Touching on this subject George Coe says : " Medical men
are pretty generally agreed that suggestion reaches directly
none but functional disease, that is disease in which the organ
remains intact, but shows excessive, defective, or otherwise
irregular activity. Suggestion does not replace an arm shot
382 THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [June,
off in battle; it does not set bones broken or reduce a dislo-
cation."*
This is, in substance, the opinion of all medical men on
this subject. Many passages could be quoted to this effect, but
we will content ourselves with citing two of unusual clearness
on this point. C. Lloyd Tuckey, a man of no small authority,
in the Nineteenth Century, December, 1888, in an article en-
titled, "Faith Healing as a Medical Treatment," says: "One
is asked whether treatment by suggestion has power over
every form of disease. Over some it has none or only to a
very limited extent. It cannot remove developed cancer, or
tumor. It cannot reconstruct what disease has destroyed, nor
make a mortified limb strong, nor do the legitimate work of
the surgeon's knife. Neither can it stay the course of small-
pox, diphtheria, and other acute maladies whose name is a
terror. In the presence of these, so far as our present ex-
perience goes, it is comparatively ineffectual, or it must at least
go hand in hand with the ordinary system of medicine."
This passage reads much like the following by John B.
Huber, M.D., whom we already have had occasion to cite. In
an article touching on this topic in the New York Medical Jour-
nal for February 14, 1903, he writes: "Undoubtedly through
faith many functional diseases are cured, and so in their in-
cipiency are many organic diseases, when this factor is made
an adjuvant. We cannot definitely determine how far faith is
effectual, to what extent, indeed, it can influence the making
of a blood cell, the production of a drop of lymph, of a nerve
fiber, the beating of the heart, the digestion, and the assimu-
lation of food, secretion, respiration, etc. But we do know that
faith has a very limited application. It will not of itself cure
organic or surgical disease that has obtained a firm foothold."
Was this the opinion of but three chosen out of the goodly
number of eminent scholars who have written on this subject,
we might feel as if treading on infirm ground in concluding
with them "that there are diseases known as incurable diseases
which none of the schools seem to cure, while diseases known
as curable diseases may, and are being cured by all, cured by
the direct or indirect effects of suggestion." But this, in fine,
is the conclusion of perhaps all scientific men who have writ-
ten on this subject. In fact, mental scientists, /. e., those im-
* George Coe : Sfiriiutl Life, p. 177.
1909.] THE CURES OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 383
bued with a truly scientific spirit, do not, at the present time
at least, claim more for mental healing than what is claimed
by medical science. Thus, to quote from L. E. Whipple's
work, Practical Health : " The system " (mental healing), " as
now developed and understood, possesses the power of cure
for any case curable by any known means, except in surgical
cases and those actually requiring mechanical aid."
Hence the practical if not the unanimous conclusion of
science on this question is, first, that the cures wrought by
Christian Science and these different sects and schools have
their cause in the mind. Secondly, that these cures are limited
to functional, 'and do not extend to strictly organic and surgical
diseases. This is a conclusion based not only upon a psycho-
logical study of the mind, its power and its relation to the
body, not only upon a study of the history of cures thus ef-
fected in the past, but upon a careful and thorough investiga-
tion of the cures claimed to be wrought by these different
systems. Add to this the fact that none of these curists have
as yet disproved this conclusion, by bringing forth proofs suf-
ficient to merit the assent of competent and unbiased persons,
and we have grounds sufficiently solid to accept this conclu-
sion and to reject these extraordinary cures of Christian Science
and other faith-curing sects.
In regard to these extraordinary cures of Christian Science
there is little to merit one's consideration. For of what value
is a statement declaring the cure of cancer, of ulcer in the
stomach, when there has been absolutely no medical diagnosis ?
Of what we'ght are reports, the accuracy and completeness of
which may, with good reason, be questioned ? What esti-
mate is to be put on the conduct of that sect which flinches
from the light of a fair and open investigation of its claims?
None at all, except that which justifies us in concluding that
its claims are not true.
Hew Boofcs.
It is a high testimony to the char-
A HISTORY OF SIMONY, acter of this work* that through
its merits the initials after the au-
thor's name, signifying Licentiate in Sacred Theology, may now
be set aside and replaced by those which represent the Doctor's
degree. The book is the author's thesis for the doctorate in
theology, at the Catholic University of America. It contains
about two hundred and fifty pages, and, as the sub-title indi-
cates, covers the topic with which it deals from the beginning
of the Church down to the early years of the ninth century.
Dr. Weber opens the subject with a somewhat severe criticism
of St. Thomas' famous definition: "Simony is a deliberate de-
sign of baying or selling for a temporal price such things as are
spiritual or annexed unto spirituals." For the word spiritual,
Dr. Weber would substitute supernatural; and he objects also
to the terms buying and selling, on the ground that any con-
tract, as well as that of buying and selling, in which the above
exchange takes place is simoniacal. St. Thomas himself, how-
ever, it seems to us, sufficiently justifies the expression which
he uses. The history of simony in the Church begins, Dr.
Weber states, with the selling of our Lord by Judas; and the
next fact of the kind on record is the case of Simon Magus,
from whose name the crime has received its designation.
The first age of the Church, up to the Edict of Milan, is
covered by the first chapter, which resembles somewhat the
chapter in a famous book on Ireland, which treated of the snakes
of Ireland and consisted of one sentence : " There are no snakes
in Ireland." But with the accession of the Church to wealth
and secular dignity the evil soon becomes serious; the stream
of evidence swells into a mighty river, with confluent branches
throughout the entire Western Church. The chief sources from
which Dr. Weber draws his data, for the greater part of the
period, are the ecumenical and national councils. The vigor-
ous but unsuccessful efforts of St. Gregory in battling against
the vice in Italy and Spain during his entire pontificate are
recorded chiefly in the Pope's own letters. One of the main
*A History of Simtny in the Christian Church. From the Beginning to the Death of
Charlemagne. By Rev. N. A. Weber, S.M., S.T.L. Baltimore: J. H. Furst Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 385
causes for the spread of simony the author shows to have
been the interference of laymen in Church affairs and the close
relations existing between the Church and the secular powers.
Summing up, he points out that it could hardly be expected
that Roman paganism and German barbarism would, immedi-
ately after their conversion, grasp and live up to the precepts
of the Gospel. Patient and continuous effort was required by
the Church in order to make these peoples understand the
nature and power of the Sacraments. Men arose and became
candidates for bishoprics who did not understand the obliga-
tions even of the ordinary Christian life.
The frequent and persistent occurrence of the sin of si-
mony finds a partial explanation in these ecclesiastico-polit-
ical conditions. But, if the commission of the sin was per-
sistent, far more persistent were the vigilant efforts of the
Church to suppress it. Prohibition after prohibition was is-
sued to root out this " detestable crime, this species of her-
esy." Councils, both general and provincial, insisted upon
integrity among the sacred ministers and other officials con-
nected with the administration of church affairs. Ecclesi-
astical and civil rulers enacted laws forbidding, under the
severest penalties, every form of traffic in sacred things. Dis-
tinguished churchmen called attention to the gravity of the
offense. Not only was the sin condemned ; its very appear-
ance was to be banished from the sanctuary.
The high mark of scholarship attained in this interesting
work inspires the hope that the author, having here given the
story of the growth and prevalence of the evil, will now under-
take the pleasanter task of relating how it subsided and dis-
appeared. Unshackled by the limitations imposed on the writer
of a formal dissertation, he will be at liberty to clothe the
dry skeleton of narrative with the graces of style.
The plan adopted by Mr. Bruce
THE ROMANCE OF AMER- for relating in popular form the
ICAN EXPANSION. story of the successive stages of
the geographical and political ex-
tension of the United States* indicates that he appreciates the
* The Romance of American Expansion. By H. Addington Bruce. New York: Moffat,
Yard & Co.
VOL. LXXXTX. — 25
386 NEW BOOKS [June,
strength with which personality appeals to us. He has used
eight well-known names to mark the story of eight strides in
America's growth — Boone, Jefferson, Jackson, Houston, Benton,
Fremont, Seward, and McKinley. The events related are
the opening up of the West, the Louisiana Purchase, the ac-
quisition of Florida, the annexation of Texas, the occupa-
tion of Oregon, the conquest of California, the purchase of
Alaska, and, finally, the acquisition of Hawaii and the Philip-
pines. Obviously, in almost all these cases, the event was not
exclusively the work of the man to whom it is ascribed; nor,
on the other hand, are the man's character and historical sig-
nificance fully represented by the achievement with which Mr.
Bruce associates his name. For this double reason the book
will not be ranked among important contributions to the his-
torical library. It is excellently fitted, however, for that large
class of readers who, while disinclined to serious study, seek
not merely entertainment, but profit, from their book. The main
facts are presented clearly, 'without trifling detail; and, as a
biographer, Mr. Bruce is inclined to award the fullest praise
that can be reasonably claimed for his heroes. If some occur-
rences and measures are presented in a light more acceptable
to patriotism than to rigorous historical impartiality, this effect
is produced by passing as gently as possible over anything
that is not quite creditable in the transaction. A notable in-
stance of this is to be found in the account of the annexation
of Hawaii.
The monograph issued by the Cath-
THE NAMING OF olic Historical Society to celebrate
AMERICA. the four hundredth anniversary of
the discovery of America is very
appropriate to the occasion. It is a beautifully executed fac-
simile of what we might call the baptismal certificate of the
American continent.* It is a copy, black letter, of the 1057
edition of the Cosmographies Introductio of Martin Waldsee-
muller, preserved in the library of Strasburg University. Be-
sides the pamphlet of Waldseemiiller's, who, in it, first gave the
name of America to the new continent, the volume contains,
in black letter also, the four voyages of Vespucci; facsimiles
* The Cosmographies Introductio of Martin Waldseemuller . (In Facsimile.) Followed by
the Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, with their Translation into English. Edited by
Charles G. Herbermann, Ph.D. New York : The United States Historical Society.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 387
of Waldseemiiller's two famous maps, one of them, probably,
the oldest wall- map ever published, exhibits the world as it
was known to Columbus; a carefully prepared English trans-
lation of the texts is given ; and the whole has been produced
with the assistance of two competent specialists, Professor
Fischer, the discoverer of the Waldseemiiller map, and Pro-
fessor Von Weiser, of the University of Innsbruck. The So-
ciety is to be congratulated on their happy design of producing
a souvenir so appropriate, and on the highly artistic execution
of the work. It will be treasured both for its intrinsic value
and for the touch of sentiment that is associated with it.
The marvelous strides of the Cath-
CATHOLIC FOOTSTEPS IN olic faith in the archdiocese of
OLD NEW YORK. New York, as evidenced by the
recent centenary celebration, make
this chronicle* timely and useful. It covers a period from
1524 to 1808, with chapters on martyrs like Jogues, bishops
like Carroll, and governors like Dongan; it rambles with Fa-
ther Le Moyne up the Heere-Graft or Great Canal, now Broad
Street, and calls on Dominie Megapolensis, that courteous host
and would-be theological opponent of the early Jesuits ; it pays
a tribute to the memory of James II. ; exposes the fanatical
bigotry of Jacob Leisler against the "Papists" and gives a
full picture of his downfall ; portrays the hallucination of the
"hellish negro plot," following which "the law passed against
Catholic priests was only once enforced, and then to bring to
death a Protostant clergyman."
We can hardly learn too much of that pioneer missionary,
Father Jogues, whose canonization many Catholics fervently
desire. The author presents a vivid picture of this apostle to
the Indians; and another of Father Carroll, "sincere patriot,
zealous patron of liberty, and one of the real founders of
American independence." But the number of figures intro-
duced does not allow the author to sketch the others except in
outline ; still we have vignettes of John Barry, " founder of the
American navy"; Thomas Lloyd, "father of American short-
hand"; Thomas Fitz Simons, friend of Hamilton, Madison,
Carroll, and other famous Congressmen, who played " an im-
* Catholic Footsteps in Old \New York. By William Harper Bennett. New York;
Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss.
388 NEW BOOKS [June,
portant part in forming the economic policies of the infant
Republic"; Landais, Talleyrand, Jerome Bonaparte, and the
saintly Mother Seton.
It need not be said that the author has attempted no
critical analysis of movements or of personages ; he cares little
for sequence, and wanders in many climes, not without bring-
ing home some of their brightness; though he has consulted
very many authorities, he makes no pedantic show of learning ;
he is devout yet just to opponents ; sometimes vigorous in style,
and never dull. His book is excellently printed and bound,
with a dozen fine illustrations and a complete index. To the
growing class of educated Catholic readers it is to be cordially
commended for its intrinsic merit and for its loyal tribute to
the Church.
The flow of literature on this sub-
MODERNISM. ject, in the form of books, pam-
phlets, and magazine articles, shows
no sign of abating; but it is the attack, not the defence, that
contributes most to the stream. One volume, however, has just
appeared in English which champions modernism with un-
measured zeal and, it may be added, with unmeasured violence.
Needless to say the volume does not come from a Catholic
source. The author, however, professes to be exceptionally
qualified to speak, with the authority of him who knows, re-
garding the feelings and convictions of large numbers of Catho-
lics, lay and clerical, in Europe, concerning the issues that have
gathered round the term modernism. M. F. Sabatier publishes,
in book form, the three lectures on this subject which he de-
livered in London last year on the Jowett Foundation.* An
appendix contains an English translation of the Lamentabili
Sane, the Pascendi Grcgis, the less known Papal letter, Pieni
VAnimo addressed to the Italian episcopate; also the remon-
strance addressed to the Holy Father by a group of French
Catholics.
M. Sabatier's work may be divided into two parts, one a
eulogy of the modernists in general, with special notice of M.
Loisy, the Abbe Murri, and Father Tyrrell, and a passing nod
to M. Leroy ; the other is an arraignment of the Pope and the
Vatican, whom he makes responsible for every utterance made
* Modernism. The Jowett Lectures, 1908. By Paul Sabatier. Translated by C. A .
Miles. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 389
in newspaper and magazine, even those of various individuals
whose chief purpose was to commend themselves to attention.
He affirms that the modernists, M. Loisy in particular, destroy
no Catholic truth; retain the old creed and all the soul of
the old rites. But M. Sabatier skims the surface, without ever,
it would seem, having examined whether there is any truth in
the charge that M. Loisy retains the form of sound words but
empties them of their original content. Let us hear M. Sabatier
himself in a characteristic passage:
Once more, let me repeat, the Modernist Catholic destroys
nothing and gives up nothing ; he accepts everything and
makes it live. The Mass, the present center of worship, does
not become for him an antiquarian rite, like the Buddhist
ceremonies sometimes performed in our great capitals for the
delectation of a sceptical and blas£ public ; it remains what it
is, or rather it gains new significance and new life. The sighs
of the ages have passed into it ; the first dim struggles of
awakening religious thought have left their traces there in
the mysterious figure of Melchizedek ; the memory of the
Jewish Passover pervades it, in wondrous harmony with the
memory of the Upper Room. The Christian Passover is
born, a feast of love and communion, whose end is not only
to nourish our life from day to day, but to give us strength to
face the toil of the morrow — a least from which the disciple
rises, uttering no passive Fiat, but going forth to his work
and to his labor.
And this interpretation of the Eucharist — a typical example,
in the author's judgment, of the modernist's method — M. Sabatier
has the calm audacity to exhibit as a retention of the tradi-
tional doctrine of the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of
Christ under the appearances of bread and wine! For refusing
to permit this and similar evisceration of the main, dogmas of
the Church, Pius X. is represented as a well-meaning, but
blind, stubborn obscurantist, who has dealt a deadly blow to
the interests of the Catholic religion in his condemnation of
modernism. Scarcely any orthodox pen has presented the an-
tagonism existing between this modernism and Catholic faith
as strikingly as M. Sabatier unwittingly sets it forth. M. Sa-
batier professes to have intimate knowledge, not alone of the
secret springs and wheels of the administrative machinery of
390 NEW BOOKS [June,
Rome, but also of the views and psychological peculiarities of
the highest personages, including the Holy Father himself.
And the portrait drawn of Pius X. is nothing less than offen-
sive, though it will do little harm, because it is obviously a
caricature.
Incidentally, in his first lecture, M. Sabatier touches upon
the Separation crisis in France, to repeat views which he has
already published. It is to the Pope, here again, that all the
unfavorable consequences of the Separation movement are to
be attributed. Rome, so runs M. Sabatier's story, coerced the
French bishops and the laity, and, through obstinacy, lost the
favorable terms which the government offered concerning the
retention of all ecclesiastical property. Although the bias of
M. Sabatier is obvious, yet the plausibility with which he pre-
sents his views, and the many, not altogether beautiful, facts
which he marshals to his side, will no doubt cause this volume
to be regarded by non-Catholics as a trustworthy authority on
the subject with which it deals. Unfortunately, with all that
has been written on our side, there exists no English account
of the entire movement that might be recommended as an
antidote.
The weighty words and strong in-
CAfECHETICAL INSTRUC- junctions issued by the Holy Father
TION. in his Encyclical on the teaching of
the Catechism have borne fruit in
many publications useful not only for the class-room and Sun-
day-School, but also for the pulpit.* One of the most recent,
in two large volumes, is a synthesis of three different formu-
lations and explanations of the section of the Catechism that
embraces the Sacraments. First comes the text of a chapter
of the Catechism of the Council of Trent; next the correspond-
ing part of the Catechism of Pius X. ; and finally, a condensed
version of Raineri's instructions on the subjects. For teachers
who already possess a text of the Council's Catechism, the
most serviceable feature of the present work will be the in-
structions adapted from Raineri, whose catechetical discourses
are among the very best examples of that very difficult art.
They, of course, lose somewhat by the condensation ; but in
their compendious form they are replete with suggestion for
* A Compendium oj Catechetical Instruction. By Rev. John Hagan, Vice-Recter, Irish
College, Rome. 2 Vols. The Sacraments. New York : Benziger Brothers.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 391
amplification that each teacher may carry out along his own
lines.
The purpose of this very concise
CANON LAW compendium* of a larger com-
pendium of the Canon Law bear-
ing upon congregations, as distinct from religious orders in
the strict sense of the term, is to instruct superiors and other
members of such communities in their respective obligations.
The author states that a book of this kind ought to be at the
command of every member. The work of Dom Pierre Bastien,
from which Dom Lanslots has made this compilation, enjoys
a high reputation; still, the present synopsis would not have
suffered if the editor had consulted other standard authorities
Some of the topics are treated with less detail than the case
requires; and, as a consequence, just such points as those for
which the book might be consulted are sometimes left in ob-
scurity. However, Dom Lanslots offers a quantity of accurate
and useful information that is by no means well known to the
members of our religious communities. When crucial difficulties
actually arise, the religious who may have become familiar with
this handbook will have the good sense to consult some living
authority. We know the unfavorable estimate which the adage
passes on the client of the man who is his own lawyer.
This last reflection occurs with strengthened emphasis as
we turn to another legal compendium, bearing the enigmatic
title of The Law of Church and Grave | for the use of clergy-
men. The title would seem to suggest that the laws dealing
with interments and cemeteries would be the staple content.
Only one chapter, however, out of twenty-four, is taken up
with this and cognate matters. The scope of the work is to
expound the bearing of the civil law upon the church, or
churches, their organization and constitution, laws and regula-
tions, personnel, property, religious services, educational and
eleemosynary institutions, and a number of other miscellaneous
matters regarding which the clergyman in his official capacity
may come into relation with the civil law. To do anything
like justice to the extensive collection of subjects noted in this
* A Handbook »f Canon Law. For Congregations of Women Under Simple Vows. By
D. I. Lanslots, O.S.B. New York: Benziger Brothers.
t The Law of Church and Grave. The Clergyman's Handbook of Law. New York :
Benziger Brothers.
392 NEW BOOKS [June.
handbook would require several volumes. Here they are treated
very summarily. The author usually supports his statements by
quoting rulings, sometimes from lower courts, sometimes from
Supreme State Courts, or from the Supreme Court of the
United States itself. Many of these decisions, therefore, are
by no means final, or universally authoritative throughout the
country ; and to accept them as authoritative might easily turn
out a serious pitfall. The book contains, however, much in-
formation that clergymen engaged in parochial work will be
pleased to obtain.
The official! record of the Euchar-
THE EUCHARISTIC istic Congress, held last year in
CONGRESS. London,* will be to the future his-
torian a monument marking what
has been called, with justice, an epoch-making event. Few,
even of those who assisted at the celebration, and nobody who
depended for his impressions on the press, could compass the
length and breadth of the demonstration. Its spectacular aspects
were the most imposing features of the celebration. But they
were necessarily transient, and the last verdict on them must,
after all, be the universal Sic Transit. But the enduring ele-
ments of the display were the collection of papers — all converg-
ing from a variety of points, on the Blessed Eucharist — which
were read at the series of conferences that continued during
the course of the Congress. As, in many instances, two or
more conferences were held simultaneously, it was impossible for
any one to be present at all of them. All the conferences are
collected in the present volume. With very few exceptions,
they are of a high quality, both in scholarship and in literary
finish. Together they form a valuable addition to Eucharistic
historical theology. Many of them, notably one by Dom Gas-
quet, en "The Eucharist in England During the Times Pre-
ceding the Reformation," and another by Father Thurston on
"The Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in England," are
valuable historical monographs. Some of these papers deal
ably with the actual question of frequent Communion. One of
the most interesting on this topic is that of Canon Ryan, who
treats the practice of Communion in Ireland, and shows how
it came about that, up to comparatively recent years in Ire-
* Report of the Nineteenth Eucharistic Congress Held at Westminster, September, 1908,
London : Sands & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 393
land, fervent and exemplary men and women seldom received
Holy Communion except at Christmas and Easter. The con-
tribution which is the first in merit, from the scholar's point of
view, is P. de Puniet's original, critical account of some Coptic
fragments written on papyrus, belonging to the sixth or seventh
century, and recently discovered in Upper Egypt. The docu-
ment serves to exhibit the continuity of doctrine and discipline
regarding the Blessed Sacrament.
The record of the proceedings of the assembly is complete,
and the pages are interspersed with portraits of the chief dig-
nitaries who assisted at it.
Madame Cecilia, who has frequent*
WOMAN'S WORK. ly addressed to Catholic lay-wo-
men the exhortation to be up
and doing, and by implication, if not explicitly, taxed them
with neglecting their opportunities, not to say their duties,
again makes an eloquent appeal to the same effect. She pub-
lishes, with some amplifications, a series of lectures * which she
delivered last year to the Catholic Women's League in Lon-
don. Her general message is that, while the "feministic" move-
ment, outside Catholic direction, is liable to fall into excesses
or aberrations, yet the movement is something to be approved
of if turned in the right direction; and the needs of religion
demand that Catholic women take a larger view of their social
duty than they have hitherto done. With a firm grasp on so-
cial conditions, Madame Cecilia's judgment is sane and practi-
cal. She does not lose time in setting forth abstract principles,
indisputable and barren, nor in enunciating platitudes, or unc-
tuous exhortations without precise application. She goes into
the details of family life and its social surroundings ; points
out the shortcomings of the woman of leisure or easy circum-
stances ; indicates a large array of neglected opportunities of
practising the Gospel rule of neighborly love and service. Elo-
quent when she exhorts the apathetic, she is still more effective
when offering plain, common-sense counsel for the guidance of
the zealous, whose enthusiasm sometimes, for want of wise di-
rection, produces a larger crop of showy leaves than useful
fruit; and, finally, she recognizes that the number of those who
are willing to do their share in the Vineyard is very large, but
* Laborers in God's Vineyard. By Madame Cecilia. New York : Benziger Brothers.
394 NEW BOOKS [June,
that they are at a loss to know how to begin. It is true that,
as Madame Cecilia observes, the spirit of apostolic zeal is active
among American Catholic women to a much greater extent
than it is among their English sisters. Yet, among ourselves,
the number of those who have awoke to the call of opportunity
is pitifully small compared to the number of those who, either
heedless or inadvertent, go their unremembering way without
a thought for their genuine obligations in regard to want and
sin that call loudly upon them, in the Master's Name, for a
helping hand. There is no doubt but that this admirable lit-
tle book would prove a revelation and a stimulant to many a
woman to whom the reproach might be addressed: "Why stand
ye all the day idle ? "
All those whose vocation is the
THOUGHTS OF THE HEART, spiritual life and prayer, will be
devoutly thankful for such a book
as Thoughts of the Heart* When the well-springs of mental
prayer are in danger of running dry, many a thirsty soul will
find relief and delight in these short meditations or spiritual
readings. They are short, four or five, or at the most six-page
reflections on such topics as God, the First Cause; Grace; Eter-
nal Love ; The Incarnate Life ; The Seven Words on the Cross ;
The Holy Eucharist ; The Ten Lepers ; Mary's Fiat Mihi, and
the like. There is order in the volume, but not too much order.
Nor is there anything stately or stilted, nor anything so com-
monplace as not to be suggestive even for acute minds. Further-
more, though the meditations are primarily and invariably de-
votional, they contain a very noticeable sprinkling of serious
theology, just enough to prevent their being too light to be
of permanent use. And there are enough of them to provide
a new meditation for each day through a quarter of the year.
And then, we dare say, the reader will be glad to begin them
again.
The Via Vita of St. Benedict f has
PRAYER AND THE RULE about it the sweet savor that
OF ST. BENEDICT. characterizes the Benedictine type
of piety, if we may use such an
expression. The Rule of St. Benedict is given, one point to a
• Thoughts of the Heart. By P. M. Northcote, O.S.M. New York : Benziger Brothers.
t The Via Vita of St. Benedict. The Holy Rule Arranged for Mental Prayer. By Dom
Bernard Hayes. With Introduction by J. C. Hedley, O.S.B., Bishop of Newport. New
York : Benziger Brothers.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 395
chapter. A commentary on the Rule follows : and this in turn
is succeeded by a " prayer," or rather a series of devout ejacu-
lations. For example: Chapter LIII. is on "Receiving Guests."
The text of the rule of the holy patriarch is given (in Latin
and English). The thoughts then suggested are: first, "The
Supernatural View," in virtue of which every visitor who comes
to the monastery is to be considered as if he were the Lord
Christ, in person; second, "The Manner of Treating Guests "is
indicated ; and third the delicate question of the influence of
guests upon the discipline of the community is considered.
Then come the ejaculatory prayers: "Thou, dear Lord, dost
come to us with every guest. My God, may we ever welcome
Thee ! Thou comest as a poor man : I will serve Thee, feed
and clothe Thee. Thou comest as a stranger : I will be Thy
friend." Such is the scheme of these simple, nai've, and truly
delightful little meditations on the Rule of St. Benedict*
There are seventy-three of them.
Just why Mr. Loomis permitted
JUST IRISH. his entertaining book on Ireland*
to be disfigured by a hideous and
insulting design on the cover is not easily understood. He
does not write solely for fun; why should he take pains to
mar his circulation ? That the offensive " stage Irishman "
picture on the outside is not intended offensively one may
see from the tenor of the book, in which there is nothing but
admiration and praise for all things Irish; and in which Mr.
Loomis exhibits an abiding determination to say nothing
that could offend anybody and to drop prickly subjects as
quickly as possible. Let us, however, turn from the cover to
the contents. They are made up of a number of articles which
Mr. Loomis contributed to the American press, giving an ac-
count of his pleasant trip through Ireland. He makes no pro-
fession of serious dissertation ; he writes only to amuse. The
various scenes of Irish life which fell under his notice, the
people with whom he came in contact, the experiences which
befell him, are told in his breezy, jocular style with good
effect.
He landed at Derry and remained in that vicinity for some
time ; so Derry, Rathmullan, Elagh Mountain, Donegal Bay, the
* Just Irish. By Charles Battell Loomis. Boston : Richard Badger.
396 NEW BOOKS [June,
gray skies of Ireland, supply several chapters. Another chap-
ter describes the humors of third-class travel. Mount Melleray,
where the traveler spent a night with the monks, provided him
with a host of novel experiences that have lost nothing in the
telling. He seems to have drunk deep of the optimistic atmos-
phere which is now prevalent enough to make the old designa-
tion, " the most distressful country," a gross anachronism. On
the question of the needs of Ireland, the prospects and expedi-
ency of Home Rule, the alleged decline of the influence of the
clergy, the effect of outside sympathy on the Irish people, the
laziness or industry of the Irish laborer, Mr. Loomis, like a wise
man, has no dogmatic conclusions to propound. He confines
himself to presenting the conflicting answers which his ques-
tions on these and other burning topics drew forth from vari-
ous persons whom he casually encountered.
For the encouragement of tourists, he draws attention to
the fact that in Ireland one will be surprised to find how much
further his money will go than at home ; and he is at pains
to eradicate the opinion which, whatever may have been its
value some years ago, is quite erroneous now ; viz., that the
hotel accommodation in country places is highly unsatisfactory.
" Friends in America had told me that I'd not fare very well
in Ireland except in the large towns. I would like to ask at
what small hotel — New York or Chicago or Philadelphia — I
would get as well cooked or as well served a dinner as was
brought to me in Londonderry for three shillings and six
pence ? If one is looking for Waldorf-Astoria magnificence and
French disguises he'll not find them here, unless it is at Dub-
lin ; but if one is blessed with a good appetite, and is willing
to put up with plain cooking, I fancy he will do better here
than at home."
The contents of the book receive our commendation, but
we would earnestly recommend that the cover design be
changed.
The collection of lives of Irish
IRISH BIOGRAPHY. celebrities, in the first volume of
Ireland and Her People,* has been
gathered without any principle of selection that can be dis-
* Ireland and Her People. A Library of Irish Biography Together with a Popular His-
tory of Ancient and Modern Ireland. Prepared by Thomas W. Fitzgerald. Chicago : Fitz-
gerald Book Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 397
covered by an inspection of the list. It is extensive, but not
comprehensive ; its sweep takes in St. Patrick and the Duke
of Wellington ; it contains names of saints, soldiers, lawyers,
statesmen, authors. Many names of extremely little importance
are included, while others of much more consequence are omitted.
The sketches are readable, and, in many instances, have liter-
ary merit.
In this present volume,* as in his
THE MAKING AND UNMAK- former work on the education of
ING OF A DULLARD. girls, Dr. Shields makes use of the
dialogue form. He finds it the
most natural form, and one that permits a subject to be most
easily examined from diverse points of view. The beneficiary
this time of Dr. Shield's efforts is the dull child who is the trial
of the teacher ; and too frequently, insists Dr. Shields, the direct
result of the teacher's method or want of method. After dis-
cussing some general facts and principles, Dr. Shields enters
on a biography of a boy who in his early years, after a short
period at school, was withdrawn from it by his parents, who
concurred in the opinion of the teachers that he was a
hopeless dunce. Then he was put to work on a farm, and
became known to his world as Studevan's omadhaun. In a
short time he forgot the little he had learned at school; he
was supposed to be too stupid to be worth speaking to, while
any idea of instructing him was entirely abandoned. He was
marooned, even by his relatives, on a lonely island ©f igno-
rance. But the appellation given to him proved as inept as
was the "dull ox of Sicily " to Aquinas. This intellectual Rob-
inson Crusoe, after a long struggle, began to discover knowl-
edge for himself, and to invent his intellectual apparatus, little
by little, till one day, in a vessel of his own construction,
he sailed away from the land of perpetual night to the sunny
shores of science, where a goodly fortune was awaiting him.
One need not be interested in pedagogy to find this striking
record of pathetic struggle intensely fascinating. The author
supports strongly his contention that not a little of the dull-
ness of which teachers complain is the direct effect of vicious
methods or incompetent educators. But has he given any
* The Making and the Unmaking of a Dullard. By Thomas Edward Shields, Ph.D.,
LL.D. Washington : The Catholic Educational Press.
398 NEW BOOKS [June,
grounds for the conclusion that every dullard has it in him to
repeat the achievement of Studevan's owadhaun ? The subject
of the biography was an exceptionally gifted boy.
In The Churches and the Wage-
THE CHURCHES AND THE Earners* we have an earnest and
WAGE-EARNERS. well-informed discussion of a very
serious problem. The author pro-
poses to consider the present alienation between the churches
and the masses of the laboring people, and, after having made a
detailed and well-documented study of the facts in the case,
he indicates the causes palpably contributing to the present
condition, cites the attitudes assumed respectively by the repre-
sentatives of labor and of religion, and draws attention to the
changes and improvements that are required. Throughout the
whole essay he shows a temper and a method which are
thoroughly scientific. In consequence, he has made a book well
worthy of being pondered, and none the less serious for being
written in most simple and popular style.
The indictment against the churches is a telling one, though
the author writes with evident sympathy for the religious view-
point. There can be no gainsaying the facts he brings for-
ward to show the depth and width of the gulf that intervenes
between the interests and activities of the churches and the
workingmen.
One or two things suggest themselves by way of comment
on the book before us. Though the author brackets Catholi-
cism with the other institutions under the generic title of
" churches," and though the strictures he records do to some ex-
tent apply to all organized religion, yet it can safely be said that
the Catholic Church does not lie open to the gravest charges
brought forward in this volume. With whatever temporary ob-
scuring of principles that may occur here and there, with what-
ever human failure to work out distasteful conclusions, it yet
remains true that in those moral teachings which Catholicism
ever champions, and in the inevitable democracy of her insti-
tutions and her ministry, there is for the Catholic Church an
effectual safeguard against alienation from the living interests
of toiling humanity. It is instructive to note the author's con-
* The Churches and the Wage-Earners : A Study of the Cause and Cure of their Separa-
tion. By C. Bertrand Thompson. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 399
ception of a church as an institution wholly shaped and de-
termined by the choice of its members and its leaders. Now,
though the individual member, or the local and temporary
leader, of the Catholic body might be influenced in his policy
by personal accidents, the Catholic conception of the Church
implies the existence of a permanent, divine, and supernatural
control which, in the long run, directs the Church to move in
the way of the divinely established ideal. In a word, the
Church cannot get away from her destiny, nor change her con-
stitution, nor repudiate her principles, because these things are
from God rather than from man.
Mr. Grandgent, being the author
AN AID TO DANTE'S of the most satisfactory grammar
INFERNO. of the Italian language published
in English, seems a natural and
fitting person to append his name to the first annotated Amer-
ican edition of the Italian text of Dante's Inferno.* To say
much in little compass, to pick out distinctly the salient points,
to arrange everything in perfectly good order, and by these
and other means to save the reader much useless labor, are
among the achievements generally characteristic of Mr. Grand-
gent's work. This present edition comes near to being adapted
equally well to the beginner and to the scholar. The vast ac-
cumulations of Dante literature make a forbidding labyrinth
wherein the unlearned are loth to set foot save under the direc-
tion of a prudent guide, and Mr. Grandgent is such a one.
He seems to have discarded, and again to have retained, just
about the proper amount of erudition. His book will be really
an "aid."
The sixth or seventh edition into
CARMINA. which Canzoni, Mr. Daly's former
By T. A. Daly. volume, has run, sufficiently at-
tests the favor it has met, partic-
ularly in view of the well-known fact that many a volume by
some of our most talked-of poets never succeeds in reaching a
second edition. The present collection f of Mr. Daly's verse
* Dante Alighieri. La Divina Commedia. Edited and Annotated by C. H. Grandgent,
Professor of Romance Languages in Harvard University. Vol. I. Injerno. Boston : D. C.
Heath & Co.
t Carmina, By T. A. Daly. New York : John Lane Company.
400 NEW BOOKS [June,
deserves even a warmer welcome. It contains all the elements
of his popularity, which are easily described. He is always
sane, he is eminently human and genial, and takes a joyful at-
titude towards life. The brighter and happier qualities of the
Celtic character are revealed in his song. He writes without
obscurity and on themes of popular interest. He has some-
thing definite to say in each separate piece and knows how to
build up a poem. Over all his work, according to his subject,
presides a graceful fancy, or a true feeling, or a humor that is
always natural and agreeable. Behind it all, especially in his
Irish verse, we feel a secret charm of personality that finds ex-
pression in a genuine, spontaneous gift of song. There is here
nothing labored or strained. We may truly say of him, to
combine the words of two poets, that he sings with full-
throated ease in strains of unpremeditated art. At times, we
acknowledge, a little more premeditation might be helpful, for
the verse has an occasional lack of finish.
These various qualities should be sufficient to bring favor
to a poet — especially at a time when so many of our minor
poets aim at the lofty and attain only the hifalutin — but Mr.
Daly has had the further good fortune to strike, in his Italian
dialect verse, an entirely new vein. Despite the very slender
resources of this dialect, he has been able to produce little
gems of characterization, of humor, of pathos, or of a poetic
feeling for nature which give many Americans the charm of
surprise, by revealing treasures of human sentiment where they
are too little inclined to look for them, in the poor Italian im-
migrant.
But Mr. Daly is far more than a writer of graceful, pathetic,
or humorous verse: he is a poet, and the fact has been ob-
scured by the easy triumph he has won on a plane not highly
poetical. If any one doubt this, we ask him to read the " Song
for May" in the present volume. It is of imagination and
feeling all compact : we are at a loss where to look for a finer
expression of the joy and glory of a May morning. It is a
golden poem ; and if Mr. Daly succeeds in giving us many of
the same metal, the lovers of pure poetry everywhere will find
him out. But there is much else here of precious material.
Most of the "Songs of the Months " are excellent: let us point
only to the music and the originality of conception in " March,"
which could come only from a poet, to the rich feeling of
1909.] NEW BOOKS 401
"October" and the exquisite fancy and tenderness of "April"
(which, with " The Day of the Circus Horse," will have assured
places among children's classics). The reader will find much to
enjoy in Carmina, for there is variety in the themes, the moods,
and the treatment; and though the poet cannot hide himself
even in the Italian pieces — see " Da Sweeta Soil," or " The
Audience" — we think he more truly reveals himself elsewhere.
The volume reprints, with slight changes, ten of the best pieces
from Canzoni.
With what seems to be an ad-
THE NEW YORK WORK- mirable sense of fitness, the trus-
INGMAN. tees of the Russell Sage Founda-
tion appropriated a generous sum
to assist a scientific study of the conditions of living among
the working people of New York. And so a large and hand-
some volume,* newly published by Professor Chapin, contains
the results of a carefully conducted investigation into the rela-
tion of the New York workingman to a normal and socially
justifiable standard of living. The investigation was inaugurated
at the Seventh New York State Conference of Charities and
Correction and consumed the greater part of two years. Out
of a total of 642 families of Greater New York, selected as
objects of study, 318 families are chosen as presenting the
most significant field for observation, their annual incomes
ranging from $600 to $1,100, and their members numbering in
each case 4, 5, or 6 persons. The methods pursued in the prepar-
ation of schedules, in the canvass of families, and in the tabu-
lation of the data, seem to promise at least a very respectable
approximation to scientific accuracy in the inferences deducible
from the facts presented. A later and wider investigation,
undertaken with some such thoroughness as the Bureau of
Labor might command, would no doubt amend Professor Cha-
pin's report in various particulars, but as a provisional general
statement of conditions now prevailing in this city, the conclu-
sions of the present volume are of very considerable value.
The cost of the investigation was nearly $3,000, the whole of
the expense being borne by the Fund above named.
The central point of interest is the conclusion, based upon
* Tht Standard of Living Among Workingmeri 's Families in New York City. By Robei t
Celt Chapin, Ph.D. New York : Charities Publication Committee.
YOL. LXXX1X.— 26
402 NEW BOOKS [June,
the data here presented, that an income under $800 is not
enough to maintain a normal standard of living in the average
family of the New York workingman — the normal standard, it
may be noted, being "one which permits each individual of a
social unit to exist as a healthy human being, morally, mentally,
and physically" (p. 256). Of 391 families well investigated,
1 76 (45 per cent) had incomes below the $800 indicated as the
normal minimum. It is worth noting further that the data go
to show that an income under $900 will maintain only the
standard of living prevalent among Bohemians, Russians, Aus-
trians and Italians, but not the more expensive standards of
Americans and kindred nationalities.
Important conclusions with regard to the cost of housing
are deducible from the facts made clear in Professor Chapin's
tables — one of them being that the percentage of rent stands
in inverse ratio to income, rent increasing as the income de-
creases. This is probably a condition largely peculiar to New
York and gives point to the present agitation with regard to
congestion of population, new subways, and so forth. A recent
writer, recalling the saying of Jacob Rii's, " You can kill a man
as surely with a bad tenement as with an ax," suggests that,
"You can starve a man for lack of a street- car as surely as for
lack of bread." The Survey quotes from JMr. Martin's pam-
phlet on the need of rapid transit : " In brief, although the la-
boring man in New York is paying more for rent than he can
afford, a bigger share of his income than in any other part of
any other city known, though he is actually going without
food to get shelter, yet he is housed in such narrow, stifling
quarters as to make decency and the rearing of good citizens
well-nigh impossible."
A sprightly book is Mrs. Mason's
THE SPELL OF ITALY Spell of Italy* Seeing that en-
chanted land with admiring eyes,
she has written a bright little story of her six months of
wandering between Paestum and Milan. There are beauti-
ful illustrations in the volume, too — many of them — and a gor-
geously colored cover.
In the foreword we are told that " whatever in these
records of travel relates to Italy and to historic persons or to
* The Spell ef Italy. By Caroline Atwater Mason. Boston : L. C. Page & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 403
persons now in the public eye, is fact, in so far as the author's
sincerity of intention reaches at least." The author's sincerity
we have neither right nor inclination to dispute; but it seems
fair enough to record here some of the things she has made
bold to print and set before the public. She met a fascinating
Greek who made the history and geography easy for her;
and, naturally enough, some people suffered in his smooth
summaries and generalizations. With or without reflection, the
author also sets down other views and estimates of her own.
A good number of her pages are, for these reasons, quite
annoying.
Pius IX. was an "old despot who sat sullen and silent" in
the Vatican (p. 41). The Italian Parliament has secured to the
Pope " every permissible honor, emolument, and privilege " (p.
41). Vittorio Emanuele I. was "a brave, bluff gentleman of
not quite spotless reputation " (p. 35). Garibaldi should be
41 every woman's hero " (p. 34). " For Mazzini one has religious
reverence " (p. 29). These are the statements of the Greek,
and Mrs. Mason implies acceptance of all he says.
In her own name, the author has this to add, in comment-
ing on the Vatican : " At least there is no hypocrisy at the
Quirinal " (p. 145). The resemblance between Francis (of As-
sisi) and Martin Luther at the Papal Capital suggested itself:
" Both absolutely simple, sincere souls, brought in the fullness
of a childlike confidence into contact with the crafty, worldly
intriguing of Rome" (p. 233). "San Carlo Borromeo, Arch-
bishop of Milan, and as despotic an old prelate as ever was
canonized" (p. 321). "Carlo was qualified to judge, being
sainted himself, and acquitting himself zealously in the burning
of heretics, — Waldenses, and such, whose heads he sent in tri-
umph to Rome" (p. 321).
The author's daughter helps to bear witness, too : Curci
" was required by way of retractation to assent to three propo-
sitions. Of course this means that these propositions are what
the Papacy holds as fundamental and essential. I forgot whether
Curci retracted or was poisoned. Probably the last. They
generally were" (p. 138). The Italians "let the Jesuits plot
with the Socialists even to overthrow the Government" (p. 139).
It did, indeed, irritate us, as we read, to find our in-
telligent countrywoman thus ready to touch upon these various
difficult and delicate matters, and to publish in print sentiments
404 NEW BOOKS [June,
and opinions so little tested and sifted. But on other pages
came other flashes of self-manifestation that helped to comfort
and to explain. The author betrays a fondness for quoting
Italian, and makes at least a half dozen errors in grammar and
spelling (see pp. 58, 70, 189, 304, 384, 385). She inserts a
quotation from Wordsworth and gets it wrong, even the meter
being spoiled (p. 67). Sometimes she writes carelessly even in
English and even in prose : " That it was a misericordia, or
funeral procession, appeared, to solemnize no one, and to us it
bore the aspect of a brilliant carnival scene" (p. 75). Most
consoling of all, on page 58, she tells us that a peasant went
off " to milk his capri " — and capri, you know, are buck-goats.
Mrs. Mason may have written in haste and may not have
seen proof; but the patrons of her publishers surely pay for
careful writing and proof-reading, and editing too.
That distinguished specialist and
LIFE'S DAY. entertaining writer, Dr. William
Seaman Bainbridge, has published
a practical little volume which deserves to be widely read.
Under the title Life's Day: Guide -Posts and Danger Signals in
Health,* he conveys an amount of useful information and of
sane advice that will serve the uses of the general public bet-
ter than a whole library of medical and surgical literature, and
that may well be taken as a model by those numerous con-
freres of his who seem utterly incapable ot telling lay persons
anything intelligible or practically serviceable. The reader
may look to rise from the careful reading of Dr. Bainbridge's
pages with a clear and fairly thorough idea of what the medi-
cal world can now say with confidence as to the proper way
of caring for one's health and the reasons thereof. The author
obtrudes no pet theories, no fads, no panacea. He states clear-
ly and directly the conclusions attained by enlightened science
and sound common sense working harmoniously for the hygienic
salvation of ordinary people in this present-day world.
The careful little index in the book deserves its share of
recognition, too. We hope Dr. Brainbridge will give the lay
reader some more practical advice on the ever interesting topic
upon which he has shown himself so well fitted to discourse.
* Life's Day : Guide-Posts and Danger Signals in Health, By William Seaman Bainbridge^
A.M., M.D. New York : Fredrick A. Stokes Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 405
Serious, patriotic Frenchmen, dif-
MORALITY AND LITER- fering among themselves in their
ATURE IN FRANCE. religious and political creeds, unite
in regarding with profound ap-
prehension many symptoms of decay which show themselves
unmistakeably in the national life. The decrease of the birth-
rate, increase ©f crime, corruption in political, and demoraliza-
tion in private, life, diminution of the patriotic spirit, are the
most striking manifestations that prompt the leaders of thought
to put forth their best endeavors, in their respective spheres,
to arrest the march of degeneracy. In the literary world this
inspiration has resulted in prompting some of the most brilliant
minds, during the past twenty years, to abandon the motto,
art for art's sake, and, instead, to consider their pen as an in-
strument for the promotion of practical ideas and principles.
This movement has found its historian in Dr. Lecigne,* a lau-
reate of the Academy, who throws his study into a series of
pictures of the most conspicious figures in the movement " from
dilettanteism to action." They are Taine, Brunetiere, Bourget,
Lemaitre, Maurice Barres, and Anatole France. The portrait
of the last-named writer must have been introduced as a foil to
give strength to the others. For, while Anatole France cer-
tainly relinguished the role of the dilettante for the active pro-
pagation of ideas, the principles which he expounds, with only
too much verve and brilliancy, tend not to stop the trend towards
moral chaos, but to make confusion worse confounded.
Taine, M. Lecigne shows, found his road to Damascus in
the journey which he made, in 1870, to Germany. The deba-
cle opened his eyes to the structural weaknesses in the nation's
life; and he chose as his field of action the task of restoring
hope to his prostrate country. His first step towards his ob-
ject was the creation of the £cole Libre des Sciences Politiques,
which should train up Frenchmen who would think for them-
selves in political affairs. " It is not," he once declared, " ' ego-
ism,' as the Germans say, ' that renders us feeble ; it is the
habit of allowing ourselves to be led by somebody, and of
waiting for the signal from the voice of a leader; just as soon
as we are willing to understand, and to act, for ourselves, we
shall be strong.' " M. Lecigne traces the effect of Taine's new
purpose through his great work Histoire des Origines de la
* Du Dilettantismel& I' Action £tudcs Ctntemporainti. Par C. Lecigne. Paris: Lethielleux.
406 NEW BOOKS [June,
France Contemporaine. The character of that work is epigram-
matically summed up in Taine's own remark. As I write it,
he said, " I am sounding the cavities in the chest of a con-
sumptive."
The paper on Brunetiere is a vigorous sketch of the intel-
lectual characteristics of the great critic who, on account of
his talent, his courage, and his devotion to truth, has won M.
Lecigne's almost unqualified admiration. The one feature which
is not to his liking — and the objection sufficiently indicates one
important trait of M. Lecigne's own mentality — is that Brune-
tiere was a champion of democracy. The idea that a man may
legitimately rise from the lower classes to the heights ought to
scandalize no one, writes M. Lecigne, but Brunetiere went much
farther than this : " He accepted and willingly preached all the
dogmas of democracy, even the equality paradox. This rigor-
ous logician was in some things illogical. He loved order and
regularity in everything ; and democracy easily ends in anarchy.
He loved tradition ; and democracy will have none of it. He
abhorred individualism ; and this is the very basis of democracy.
Here in the end he lost his bearings. He honored the Church
as the harmonious society par excellence, with its admirable
hierarchy ; on the morrow he said : ' The Church is a democ-
racy.' " This weakness, as M. Lecigne estimates it, has been
the reason why Brunetiere's influence, especially over some
younger men, has not been as healthy as it has been profound
In the study on Paul Bourget, more than in either of the
two previous ones, M. Lecigne draws the materials of the por-
trait from the books of his man ; and confines himself more
to purely literary criticism from his declared point of view.
Nevertheless, he traces also the journey of Bourget's mind from
unbelief to faith ; and emphasizes the proofs to be found in the
novels, written after that event, of the sincerity and thorough-
ness of the conversion. Now, some of these novels, though
not every one of them, contain descriptions and scenes which
will not pass our American standards of propriety. It is all
very well to inculcate a sound moral idea; but the end does
not justify the means. The conclusion of a romance may ren-
der a new homage, as M. Lecigne says of Un Divorce, to the
Christian doctrine of marriage. But the lesson will be too
dearly paid for, if, to receive it, a young man or a young
woman is invited to read pages treating too frankly of sexual
1909.] NEW BOOKS 407
psychology, or describing scenes and conversations that reck
of sensuality. The moral of The Disciple, for example, is a
great truth, powerfully enforced — the teacher is responsible for
the results of his teaching. But the critical event in the story
is related with a realism and a want of reticence that are not
far outdone by Zola. To do justice to M. Lecigne, it must be
said that he does not entirely pass over this serious fault of
M. Bourget in some of the stories written since his conversion
to Catholicism.
Maurice Barres' field of action, as M. Lecigne describes it,
was to wage war, in the tribune of the Chamber of Deputies,
and with his pen through the press, against the corrupt poli-
ticians who, like a similar class nearer home, live on the people,
and for themselves. M. Lecigne salutes J. Lemaitre as the
champion of the old French ideals of self-sacrifice, generosity,
and patriotism; and he anticipates the day when M. Lemaitre
will pass over the chasm which, as yet, separates him from
Christianity.
In a Roundabout Way* by Clara Mulholland, is a double
love story of four young people of the Irish gentry class. One
of the girls is the supposed heiress (through her father's crime) ;
the other, who has been brought up as a peasant, the real
heiress to a fine estate. The plot is rather loosely woven ; the
crime is not disposed of by detective methods, but by the
opportune upsetting of a sailing boat.
Forgive and Forget\ resembles the foregoing in containing
the double love story, woven into complicated situations, of a
set of refined young German people. The atmosphere of both
stories is Catholic.
An Original Gentleman t\ is a series of humorous comedy-
stories, slight in content, well-constructed, and abounding in
amusing persiflage.
This edition of the Imitation § is meant for the members of
* In A Roundabtut Way. By Clara Mulholland. New York : Benziger Brothers,
t Ftrgive and Forget. By Ernst Lingen. New York: Benziger Brothers.
\ An Original Gentleman. By Anne Warner. Boston : Little, Brown & Co.
§ The Sodalist's Imitation » f Christ. By Thomas a Kempis. An English Translation by
Father Elder Mullen, S. J. New York : P. J. Kenedy & Sons.
408 NEW BOOKS [June.
our Lady's Sodality and for all who, with them, are likely to
seek in the famous work of a Kempis wholesome food for
mental prayer. This translation produces the rhythm of the
original, and the third and fourth books are restored to the
original order. It will be found a useful book for daily medi-
tations, and as . one of the best books of devotion we recom-
mend it to all. Father Mullen is doing great work in the ser-
vice of our Lady's Sodality, and this volume, like the others
which he has edited, is presented in neat form.
" A mother, and forget ?
Nay ! all her children's fate
Ireland remembers yet
With love insatiate 1"
The truth of Lionel Johnson's poignant stanza scarcely calls
for reiteration; yet here at hand is an added witness* to Erin's
fair loyalty. For with the forewords of three faithful friends —
Father Rickey, of Yorkshire, Seumas MacManus, and Justin
M'Carthy — comes a collected edition of the poems of "Eva"
of the Nation. The present generation little remembers the
part played by this remarkable woman (Mary Eva Kelly, later
Mrs. Kevin O'Doherty) in the Nationalist Movement of " Young
Ireland." With simple and unfailing devotion she sang and
suffered and toiled for the well-fought-for ideals of her people.
Most of her poems (as of her prose) had their first publication
in the Nation, and in them " Eva " touched upon every chord
precious to her countrymen. The Beloved Dead — the Patriot
Mother — the " Men in Jail" — the Wanderer Under °Alien Skies
— all found in her a sympathetic minstrel: these, and not less
the sunshine of " sweet Tipperary," the hills and streams of
Erin, her holy wells, and the immemorial legends of her past.
And now, when the romantic career of "Eva" is drawing to
its solitary close, the "true men" of her country are resolved
to honor it by some fitting testimonial. For this object the
present edition of her poems (extremely moderate in price) is
being issued. We wish it every success.
* Poems. By " Eva " of the Nation. Dublin : M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd.
^Foreign Iperiobicals*
The Tablet (17 April): Contains a monograph on "Joan of
Arc." The first installment tells of the career of the
Maid up to the time of the fulfillment of her mission
with the ceremony of the crowning at Rheims. Dr.
Gairdner, writing on " The Disestablishment of the Welsh
Church," claims that the endowments were given for the
support of religion and ought not to be alienated. If
the Established Church, is not doing her work, by all
means take away the endowments and give them to some
more wholesome form of religion. "A Suffragette
Meeting at Formby " was presided over by the Catholic
priest of the town, the Rev. Wilfrid Carr, who claimed
that woman has a duty in the State as well as in the
home. Votes for women, he said, meant purity in poli-
tics. Among obituary notices are those of "Marion
Crawford" and "Algernon Charles Swinburne." Of the
former it is said that he knew Italy as few strangers do,
while the latter is described as the last of the great
Victorian poets.
(24 April): "Can a Catholic be a Socialist?" Lord
Mowbray and Stourton considers the question. He in-
clines to think the answer must be in the negative.
The plan of "The Disestablishment of the Welsh Church"
is outlined. The buildings are to be left to the Dis-
established Church, and all benefactions, dating from
1662, are to be retained, those of an earlier date are to
be taken from it. "Blessed Joan of Arc"; Mgr.
Barnes tells the story of the last stages of her career:
of her capture, trial, and death by fire. Apropos of
" The New Irish University," Cardinal Moran points out
" the great failure of Cardinal Newman's life." It was
his attempt to establish a university in Ireland and his
utter inability to understand Irish character.
The Month (April): "The Free Church Council Meeting"
affords the writer, the Rev. Sydney F. Smith, an oppor-
tunity of comparing and contrasting the spirit which
dominated the three Congresses of the Anglican, Catholic,
and Nonconformist bodies. In the first two the spirit
410 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [June,
of charity was conspicuous. The same, however, cannot
be said of the last. In " Man and Monkey " the
Editor deals with the unscrupulous methods employed
by Professor Haeckel in propagating his doctrines.
In " The Dream of Gerontius and the Philosophy of St.
Thomas," Rev. T. A. Newsome states that the proofs
afforded by philosophy for the immortality of the soul
are difficult to understand. As far as poetry may be
employed to lend a warmth to the abstract speculations
of the Angelic Doctor, Newman has employed it in the
Dream of Gerontius. " Flotsam and Jetsam " treats of
the recent charge that Catholics are gaining possession of
the Press in an underhand manner, also the derivation
of the curious term Godon which Jeanne d'Arc com-
monly used in describing her English adversaries.
Expository Times (April) : Professor Jordan's new book, Biblical
Criticism and Modern Thought, is reviewed. " The New
Philosophy," by the Rev. J. G. James. Originally called
Pragmatism, it is now to be known as Humanism. It
signalizes a revolt against Intellectualism and appeals to
the whole man. Rev. J. M. Shaw, on "The Religious-
Historical Movement in German The«logy," claims that
it is an attempt to bridge over the gulf existing be-
tween the Church and the cultured classes; to cut loose
from tradition and give a "scientific" restatement of the
Gospel. Was " Yahweh Israel's Peculiar God " ? Ap-
parently not, for Professor Delitzsch speaks of finding
on three clay tablets in the British Museum the words
Yahwe is God ; and these tablets belong to the age of
Hammurabi, two thousand years before Christ.
"The Archaeology of the Book of Genesis," by Professor
Sayce. "Two New Compositions of the Epistles
of St. John."
The Church Quarterly Review (April) : " Modernism," from an
Anglican Church point of view, is the subject of an
article by Herbert H. Jefferson. He deplores the way
in which the movement has been met.——" The Origin
and Development of the Moral Ideas," is the second in-
stallment of a review of Dr. Westermarck's work. Ac-
cording to his theory, morality stands on, and must al-
ways have stood on, a basis independent of religion.
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 411
In an apologetic, "The Grounds of Belief in God," F.
R. Tennant comes to the conclusion that in the Per-
son and work of our Lord we have the best basis on
which to build up a convincing proof of the Personality
of God. " The Resurrection Body " is a study in the
history of the doctrine put forth on this subject, by the
African School in the person of Tertullian, and the Alex-
andrian School in.the person of Origen; the one material-
istic; the other, to a large extent, founded upon the
teaching of St. Paul. " A Spanish University " ; the
Oviedo Tercentenary, by Edward Armstrong. " The
Numeration of New Testament Manuscripts," by F. G.
Kenyon.
The National Review (May) : " Episodes of the Month " is a
lengthy contribution to the already extensive " war scare"
literature. Sir Edward Grey's late speech on a superior
British navy "fills one with despair, because it means
that the German navy can count on fooling our Govern-
ment to the end of the chapter." " After the Storm "
is the translation of a popular German pamphlet, Nach
dem Sturm, published for the purpose of inflaming the
German people against Great Britain. Three more
articles deal with the question of Germany's aggressive-
ness : " A Plea for a Comprehensive Policy of National
Defense " ; " Sidelights on German Preparations for
War"; "The German Army." "The evils resulting
from adulterated milk will not be checked until the price
of milk is raised," says Eustace Miles in an article en-
titled : " Is Milk Too Cheap ? " The present crisis in
the national life of France is treated by William Morton
Fullerton.
The Dublin Review (April): W. S. Lilly, in his review of Dr.
Gairdner's Lollardy and the Reformation, points to two
serious divergencies from Catholic standards : one is
when the historian asserts his belief in the Royal Su-
premacy; the other is when he uses language which
implies that the doctrine of Transubstantiation belongs
to the philosophy of the past and has no meaning for
us at present. In " Moral Fiction a Hundred Years
Ago," the writer, Wilfrid Ward, asks why Miss Edge-
worth is but little read in our day ? It is, he thinks,
412 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [June,
because the old "moral tale "is suspected of being un-
true to nature. " Some Factors in Moral Education,"
by Rev. Michael Maher, S J., exposes the fallacy, some-
what widely accepted, that the spread of education would
prove an all-powerful factor in the regeneration of hu-
manity. The name " Niccolo Machiavelli " at once
suggests a picture of cunning and political trickery.
That the life of the man hardly warrants such an un-
enviable reputation is the trend of an article by Herbert
M. Vaughan. Under the title "The Mantle of Vol-
taire," the writer, F. Y. Eccles, shows that it has un-
doubtedly fallen upon M. Anatole France, by reason of
his attack upon Christianity in his recent book, Vile
des Pingouins. In "The Needs of Humanity" Cardi-
nal Gibbons offers the Catholic Church and her teach-
ings as a solvent for the perplexing problems of our
day.
Irish Ecclesiastical Record (April) : The Rev. George Hitchcock
in his review of Dr. Rodkinson's History of the Talmud
shows the value of such a work, for the questions re-
garding Christian origins touch Jewish life at many
points. In " Historic Phases of Socialism," the edi-
tor, Rev. J. S. Hogan, D.D., shows that the root-idea
of Socialism, in one form or another, has been proposed,
tried, and rejected hundreds of times in the history of
the world. The difficulties attendant upon the ex-
planation of the miraculous are dealt with by the Rev.
Malachy Eaton, in "Apologetics of the Miracle." The
old gross materialistic theories are fast fading from
view and the thought of spirit acting on matter is no
longer repugnant to the scientific mind. In " Glimpses
of the Penal Times," by Rev. Reginald Walsh, O.P., we
have an account of the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of
several priests in Ireland in the eighteenth century.
" The Reform of the Roman Curia " gives some practi-
cal information to those who may be called upon to
have recourse to such authority.
Le Corrcspondant (10 April): " The American- Japanese Conflict
and Public Opinion in America " gives a resume of the
recent trouble. By virtue of its New Armada and
great guns the United States must remain champion of
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 413
the Pacific. Our democracy, the writer says, is slowly de-
veloping into an aristocracy of thought, manners, neces-
sities of life, and social caste. In "The Art of Stag-
ing a Play," Paul Gaultier traces the progress which has
been made from the simplicity of the Mystery plays, say
of the twelfth century, to the realism of to-day, when
the setting of the play, the mise en scene, as we should
call it, has much to do with its popularity and success.
"In the Country of the Cork-Oak," gives an account
of a journey through Algeria.
(25 April): "The Conversion of Pascal," by Henri Bre-
mond, fixes the night of the twenty- first of November
as the time when Pascal abandoned the God of philosoph-
ical demonstration, and began to believe in the living
God dwelling in the heart. Amedee Britsch, writing on
" Democracy in the East," cites the case of the Greek na-
tion. Patriotism, he says, appears to be a veritable re-
ligion with them and they possess a supreme faith in the
future of their country. " Studies in Religious History,"
by Pierre de la Gorce, treats of the Ecclesiastical Oath
of 1791. The opinion of Pius VI. that, for the greater
part, the clergy were faithful, will, he says, undoubtedly
be the verdict of history. " In Case of War " exposes
the unprotected condition of Cherbourg from the land,
and dwells upon the disastrous results likely to follow
an invasion from this quarter.
Etudes (5 April) : M. Moisant writes on " Responsibility." To
institute a comparison between the Rationalistic and
Christian notions of responsibility, he cites at length the
views of many rationalists, from Voltaire and George
Eliot to Anatole France. He seems to question whether
they considered man as a responsible being Orpheus,
a recent work on the history of religion, is criticized
by L. de Grandmaison, who claims that the author, M.
Reinach, is imbued with the spirit of Voltaire. H.
Lagier considers " Ramses II. to be the Persecutor of
the Hebrews in Egypt." He exposes the various opin-
ions generally held, but thinks that the historical facts,
both of the Bible and the history of Egypt, point to
the above-mentioned monarch. P. Schoener criticizes
some of the statements of M. Prunel regarding the first
414 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [June,
seminaries of France ; St. Nicholas was the real diocesan
seminary, he maintains, though St. Magloire bore the
name.
(20 April): Treats of "Joan of Arc" under the follow-
ing captions: " Her Beatification," by Mgr. de Cabrieres,
Bishop of Montpellier. " The Psychology of Her
Case," by M. Henri Joly. " Her Status in English
Opinion," judged from the viewpoint of Shakespeare and
Andrew Lang. " Her Position in French Art of the
Nineteenth Century," an illustrated article by M. de
Forceville. "The Joan of M. Anatole France," by
Jean-Bapt. Ayroles. " At Poitiers," a play in verse
by M. Joseph Boubee.
Revue du Monde Catholique (i April): "St. Francis of Assisi,"
a panegyric delivered at Versailles by R. P. Constant,
O.P. M. Sicard furnishes another installment of "The
French Clergy Before and Since the Concordat of 1801."
In " The Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarna-
tion," Eugene Griselle supplies some incidents in the
life of the first Superioress of the Ursulines of Quebec.
" Who Will Regenerate France ? " asks M. Romette.
If it is not condemned to perish as did the Byzantine
Empire, if it is ever destined to exercise again the in-
fluence it once exerted on Europe and the whole world,
then it must be regenerated, and regenerated by the
Church, the bishops, the clergy, the laity, each of whom
must play his part.
(15 April): Gives the "History of the Monastery of
Marmontier." The opening chapters deal with it as it
appeared in the time oi St. Martin. It was called the
monastery of the Bishop, but after the death of the
saint it became known as Majus monasterium,— — " The
Spanish Apologists of the Nineteenth Century " ex-
poses the life of Jean Don Cortes who, M. P. At says,
was distinguished from all the writers of his race by
basing his synthesis on theology. Abbe P. Barret
brings his article on " The Restoration of the Eccle-
siastical Chant " to a close. He pleads for the use of
the Latin tongue in the Liturgy as opposed to a bar-
barous volapuk or espiranto.
Revue Pratique d* Apologetique (i April): "The Apostolate of
1909. J FOREIGN PERIODICALS 415
Mercy " is, J. Guibert says, founded upon our Lord
Himself, Who went about doing good. The sick and the
poor are its chief objects, but it also extends to all our
fellowmen and means the cultivation of the social spirit.
Wherein, asks A. de Poulpiquet, O.P., in "The
Argument for the Martyrs," lay the perfection of their
virtue of endurance ? It is to be found in certain dis-
positions of the soul, and demands a special interposition
of God to explain it. "Jeanne d'Arc in History," by
Ph.-H. Dunand, is a criticism of the methods employed
by MM. Thalamas and A. France. The writer claims
that they are faithful imitators of their master, Pierre
Cauchon, and just as inaccurate and dishonest as he.
" Artificial Parthenogenisis." Notwithstanding, says
A. Briot, the recent claim advanced by M. Delage, that
he had developed sea-urchins by artificial means, man
is still as far as ever from the secret of life. The writer
points out that in many forms of lower animal life the
female alone is necessary for production.
Revue Thomiste (April): M. Farges writes upon "The Funda-
mental Error of the New Philosophy." He associates
M. Le Roy with Hegel, declaring that both deny the
basic principle of philosophy, namely, that of identity
and contradiction. This number begins a series of ar-
ticles from the pen of R. P. Gazes, O.P., upon " Mod-
ernism." He treats of the decree Latnentabili and the
encyclical Pascendi, and quotes a number of theologians
upon the question of the infallibility of these pronounce-
ments. "The Authentic Works of St. Thomas," as
furnished by the official catalogue, are presented by P.
Mandonnet, O.P. They fall into three divisions. The
first section comprises the works known as Opuscula ;
the great classic treatises form the second; while the
third contains lectures delivered by him, afterwards writ-
ten out at length by his auditors. "The Philosophy
of Being and Ontologism " is a reply by R. Garrigon-
Lagrange, O.P., to the Rivista Rosminiana, which iden-
tified St. Thomas' doctrine of Being with that of Ros.
mini. This the writer repudiates, showing how Rosmini's
error as to the nature of Being led to the condemnation
of his sixteen propositions.
4i 6 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [June,
Revue Benedictine (April): Gives an account of "Three New
Fragments of the Ancient Latin Version of the Prophets."
They are found at the end of the manuscript of Sulpice-
SeVere. They apparently belong to the first half of the
eighth century, and consist of portions of Isaias and
Jeremias. In "An Unpublished Pelagian Treatise of
the Fifth Century," D. G. Morin refers to a work en-
titled : De Induratione Cordis Pkaraonis, commonly at-
tributed to St. Jerome, and which, lost for one thousand
years, has been recovered, in substance at least, in sev-
eral manuscripts. "The Trial and Disgrace of the
Carafa," by D. R. Ancel, gives the history of the pro-
ceedings which resulted in the condemnation and execu-
tion of the Cardinal and his three companions on charges
involving murder, heresy, and political intrigue.
La Scuola Cattolica (April): G. Petazzi, S.J., explains, under
the title " Credibility and Faith," the difference between
the assent of the mind to the thing revealed because of
the " evidence of credibility " and the assent to the thing
revealed in set which, according to St. Thomas, is not
possible without the influx of the will. "Judas Isca-
riot " as he is portrayed by modern writers; as he
appears in legend, in the apocryphal Gospels, and in
tradition, is the subject of an article by D. Bergamaschi.
B. Ricci continues the discussion about " Mahomet-
anism " ; the causes of its rapid propagation and its
conquests. He shows that it had its own sects and
heresies, Spinoza, Gibbon, and the rationalists to the con-
trary notwithstanding. Dr. Surbled shows the inti-
mate connection between the " Intelligence, Memory, and
Language." "The Calabrian-Sicilian Earthquake, "and
"The Myths about Hell in Homer," are continued.
Razon y Fe (April) : R. Ruiz Amado begins a series of articles
on " Patriotism," which he defines as love for one's
fatherland. " The Human Element in History " is
continued by E. Portillo. He treats of Pope Leo's
canons of historical writing and of his opening of the
Vatican archives. L. Murillo continues "The Holy
See and the Book of Isaias." He treats of the prophet's
epoch and examines the views for the authenticity of
the work, replying to arguments agaicst the traditional
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 417
view. U. Minteguiaga answers the statement " The
State is Incompetent to Repress Ideas," by asking:
" What else did the State do when it overthrew the
Catholic orders ? " and " How far should it allow attacks
upon the family, morality, and the like?" "The
Economic Importance of the Raiffeisen's System " of
rural banks is criticized by N. Noguer. Some treat-
ises on dogmatic theology call forth A. Perez Goyena's
article on "The Grace of Christ.' '"Twelve Years of
Radio-Activity." " Sacred Music," by Jose Alfonso.
Espana y America (i April): "The Exegetical System of St.
Thomas Aquinas " has not been often discussed ; the
exegesis of his day, his own principles, and a brief ap-
plication are treated by P. C. Fernandez. P. de Velilla
treats the " Commercial Importance of China," and asks
why Spain is not getting her share of this trade.
" Christian Humility," which the Summa defines as "the
subjection of man to God," is defended from the charge
of immorality by P. M. Velez. P. E. Negrete highly
recommends Pere Sortais' book on The Esthetic Ideas of
Si. Augustine, but defends the thesis that "Beauty is
the Splendor of Order." Senor Moret's speech on
the "Secularization of Social Functions," based on the
doctrine of the unlimited authority of the State, is at-
tacked by P. A. de los Bueis.
The death of Peter Fenelon Collier has removed one who
was not only a worthy example of the progressive Irish immi-
grant, but also one who, as a Catholic, did much in his day
for the cause of good literature, and interested himself in a
quiet, yet none the less effective, way in worthy charities. His
paper, Collier's Weekly, has done and is doing heroic work in
the cause of honesty and moral cleanliness in public life, in
business, and in politics. The death of such a man must be a
cause of regret to us all.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 27
Current Events.
There is a section of workingmen
France. in France, including in their num-
ber members of the Civil Service,
clerks in the State Telegraph, Telephone, and other Departments,
who describe themselves frankly as revolutionists, and as opposed
to parliamentary government, declaring it to be a mockery,
delusion, and snare. They aim at nothing less than the
reorganization of society upon a new basis. They are not
Socialists, for they do not wish the State to have supreme
control; nor are they anarchists, for they wish the individual
to be under control. Their hoped-for unit of control is, of the
individual, the trade or professional organization to which he
belongs, and of the State as a whole the confederation of these
unions is to be the master. The means by which they hope to
effect these changes is a general strike ; the movement itself is
called the "syndicalist" movement.
Closely allied with these, and having the same object in
view, are others who differ from them as to the means by which
that object is to be secured. The new organization of society,
for which both alike are struggling, the more moderate section
of workingmen hope to secure by legitimate, parliamentary ac-
tion. On the occasion of the strike, at the beginning of April
last, the Chamber of Deputies refused by the vote of a large
majority to allow civil servants the right to strike. This they
did on the ground that the injury which a strike would do to
the country was so great, that its servants were bound, for the
good of the country, to sacrifice themselves if necessary. This
view of the subject did not commend itself to the minds of
the more extreme. In fact, this vote was in direct conflict
with the means by which they hoped to secure their ultimate
object. This was the cause of the recent troubles which have,
it is said, brought France to the verge of a change in its foim
of government; at least extreme parties have had such hopes.
This is the misfortune of France. A country that is so unsettled
that fundamental changes may be looked for almost any day,
and which ranks among its citizens those who are ready to pro-
mote such changes, has an all too precarious existence.
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 419
The failure of the efforts which were made to bring about
a general strike makes it fairly clear that the movement is not
so serious as the talk made about it would indicate. The gov-
ernment stood firm and took adequate measures for every event-
uality. The Chamber ^supported the government. In conse-
quence, the renewed attempt to paralyze the activities of the
country has failed. The fact is that not more than one-tenth
of the workingmen of France are included within the trade
organizations ; and that of this one-tenth not all are extremists.
The great bulk of the working population is outside of all the
organizations, and consists of hard-working, honest laborers,
chiefly agricultural laborers. Their voice is not heard in the
streets, nor do the newspapers record their thoughts. But they
find a way to make their wishes known and to the doing of their
will the powers that be must bend, under the penalty of
ceasing to be powers. The maintenance of the existing order
— so far as it deserves to be maintained — is rendered compar-
atively easy when its assailants have the courage or the effrontery
to give public expression to such sentiments as those of one
of the leaders of the syndicalist movement — M. Yvetot: "We
workmen will have none of these little fatherlands. Our coun-
try is the international world, and let me tell the Post Office
employes that their English comrades are prepared, if necessary,
to destroy (saboter) the incoming French mails."
This extreme movement, as it has a cause, so it also has a
use. The cause of the adhesion to it of civil servants is to be
found, in part at least, in the fact that favoritism has for many
years entered into the public service, that is to say, it has
not been the merits of a candidate for promotion which have
been considered, but the influence which he could bring to bear,
perhaps even financial influence. Members of Parliament have
been guilty of these corrupt methods to such an extent that
Parliamentary government itself is being condemned and French-
men are not wanting who are looking for a savior of society.
The use, of course, to which this agitation should be put is
to serve as a warning' to the government and to Parliament to
remove abuses. So far as the government is concerned, it
seems probable that it will learn this lesson and be both firm
and tolerant. Its enemies, as well as the enemies of the ex-
isting form of government, wish to drive it on to the measures
420 CURRENT EVENTS [June,
of repression which are characteristic of former regimes. The
problem set before the government is how, on the one hand,
to maintain due liberty of action for the workingmen, and, on
the other, to save the country from anarchy.
The position taken by the government, in view of the pres-
ent situation, is clearly indicated by the Premier in a recent
speech. All their efforts, he said, would be by means of laws
framed in the spirit of liberty to give to every French citizen
the means of accomplishing his own emancipation. The gov-
ernment would have nothing to do with those who feared to
tell the people the truth. There might be flatterers of democ-
racy as mean as those of monarchy, persons ready to hand
over the rights of the country to demagogues. With these
they would have nothing to do. Their design was that the
democracy should learn self-discipline in order to practise self-
government. They rejected the notion that the only choice was
between a policy of arbitrary reaction and the abandonment of
the primary duties of government. It was in this spirit that
the government faced the recent difficulties, and it has so far
met with an unexpected success. The apprehended disturb-
ances looked for on May Day did not take place, and the re-
newed attempt to bring about a general strike has failed.
Public opinion gives its full support to the government.
That things are not as they ought to be in France the evils
which have been brought to light in yet ^another department
of the service of the State render evident. A few months ago
an Admiral was relieved of his command for having discussed
in public some of the defects which he had found ; but now
that more money has had to be spent for naval purposes, on
the demand of the new Secretary for Marine Affairs, the
Chamber of Deputies insisted upon having a Commission ap-
pointed for ascertaining definitely the actual state of things.
This commission has brought to light the fact that things are
much worse than was imagined. Vital defects have been found
in some of the newest battleships ; there are workshops and
laboratories which are dilapidated and antiquated ; many of the
auxiliary boats are declared to be utterly useless; in some
cases the necessary ammunition for firing a gun is wanting, and
in other cases the guns themselves cannot be fired or are un-
suited to the ships in which they are placed. Nearly every
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 421
class of vessel in the navy has been found wanting in some
respect. Contractors for all kinds of supplies have been al-
lowed to defraud the State. Some of the ports are inadequate-
ly defended. Worst of all, there has been a series of acts of
insubordination among the men, which seems to indicate that
the discipline, so all-essential for success in warfare, has been
undermined.
A leading politician, a member of the Commission, M.
Doumer, sums up the situation in the assertion that the fleet
is without men, without guns, and without projectiles ; and
characterizes the present position as a debacle. These facts
have been disclosed by the evidence brought before the Com-
mission before it had made its report. There may be some
degree of exaggeration in the effect produced by a bare enu-
meration ; but it seems certain from a long series oi events,
accidents and explosions, that, although the army is with reason
believed to be in perfect order, the navy is in a very different
state.
There has been a long struggle
Germany. over the proposals of the govern-
ment for the raising of the 125
millions of additional annual taxation. This struggle has led
to friction between the group of parties banded together
against the Catholic Centre and their from time-to-time allies,
the Social Democrats. This group was formed on what is
called a national policy, that is to say, the policy to be adopted
in relation to foreign powers and in the hope that no internal
questions would become urgent. This hope, however, has been
frustrated by the necessity of finding additional ways and
means, a matter on which the allies are deeply divided. All
are agreed in the desire to throw the burden off their own
shoulders, but they all differ as to who is to bear the burden.
The result has been that Conservatives within the bloc have al-
lied themselves in certain proposals with its enemies, the Cen-
tre, endangering the very existence of the alliance, and that
rumors have been widely spread of the resignation of Prince
Biilow or of a dissolution of the Reichstag. Hopes, however,
are entertained that the Radicals and National Liberals may
yield, especially as the present generation of Radicals is quite
422 CURRENT EVENTS [June,
different In this respect from the foregoing. It is time that
an agreement was reached, for the proposals made by the gov-
ernment have been under discussion many months.
The present year has not proved an exception to what has
in recent years become the rule. Both in the Empire and in
Prussia there is a large deficit and no less a sum than 200
millions has to be raised by loan. Experts say that this does
not indicate that the state of things is as bad as it looks, for
the resources of the Empire are very great, and that, in com-
parison with many other countries, debt and taxation are not
high. Doubtless this is true, but it cannot be satisfactory to
the friends of Germany that the country cannot pay its yearly
expenses, and it makes them ask whether it would not be well
to lay aside schemes which entail such a burden. The terms on
which the new loans are issued show that the financial position
is looked upon as worse by the keen judges, who back their
judgment by subscribing to loans. About four per cent has
now to be paid, whereas in 1895 German Threes stood at only
a small fraction under par.
Vienna has been exulting in the
Austria-Hungary. only success of the Dual Monarchy
for half a century ; but it may be
doubtful whether the success is as great as it appears. The
Provinces have, indeed, been annexed, the Servians have been
thwarted, but confidence has been destroyed. Austria was
looked upon as, although unfortunate, conservative and reliable.
She now shares with her neighbor the doubtful glory which
follows upon successful aggression. She, too, is now propos-
ing to become a naval power; four Dreadnoughts are to be
constructed as the nucleus of a future fleet. But where the
money is to come from it is hard to see ; for Austria already
carries a weight of taxation which is almost overwhelming.
The wish to endow the annexed Provinces with a constitution,
the strength of which led Austria (so it was said) to take the
steps which have caused so much trouble, has so far led to no
actual results; but perhaps it is too soon to carry it out. It
is to be hoped that it will not be so long deferred as has been
the universal suffrage for which Dr. Wekerle's Coalition Cabi-
net took office three years ago. Although this was the object
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 423
for which it came into existence, it has done no more to re-
alize it than to lay before Parliament a bill so unfair and unjust
to all the races in Hungary, except the Magyar, that it seems
to have been thought unworthy even of discussion. And so,
on a mere technical question, Dr. Wekerle has resigned, moral
bankruptcy having ensued because the Cabinet retained office
without fulfilling the obligations of office. The task is thrown
upon the Emperor-King, Francis Joseph, of forming a new
Cabinet under very complicated conditions, in an atmosphere
of insincerity caused by the almost avowed duplicity of the lead-
ing politicians. The fact that the strongest party is one whose
principal object is to sever every connection of Hungary with
Austria, except that of the Emperor's personal sovereignty
over both, adds to the difficulty of the Emperor's task.
The annexation has already brought forth fruit in causing
a renewal of the bickerings which not long ago were chronic
between Austria and Hungary. Hungarian financiers have re-
ceived a concession from the administrator of the Provinces
which the Austrian government declares to be usurious exploi-
tation of the Bosnia peasants and an infringement of the rights
of the Diet which is to be, and it has had to take steps to neu-
tralize the concessions, steps which have displeased the Hunga-
rians.
This is in all likelihood only the beginning of woes; for
the question has to be settled to which of the two — Austria
or Hungary — the annexed Provinces are to be assigned, and if
they are to be divided, in what way. Then may come a clash.
Although in some respects Italy
Italy. has met with an unlooked-for
measure of prosperity, in others
there has been a retrograde movement. This is especially true
of the army and of the military defences in general. The latter
have been neglected to so great an extent as to have made
the voice of Italy powerless in the recent crisis. The experi-
ment was tried a few months ago of appointing for the first
time a civilian as Minister of War. It was hoped that he
might prove more capable of putting affairs upon a business-
like footing than military men had been able to do. The ex-
424 CURRENT EVENTS [June,
periment, however, does not seem to have succeeded ; for after
a short time Signor Casana resigned and another general was
appointed as Minister of War. The announcement has recently
been made that the new Minister has made a plan for the
much-needed reforms which has met with the approval of the
rest of the Cabinet.
The little kingdom of the Nether-
Holland, lands, where ordered liberty has
long been established, affords a
pleasing contrast to the state of things to which absolutism
has brought the Turkish Empire. The birth of an heir to the
throne was not merely hailed with delight when it took place,
but for months before elaborate preparations were made. Pres-
ents were showered from all sides upon the Queen. Women
and mothers in all parts of the country, and even Dutch women
residing abroad, gave their savings and their labor to the prep-
aration of gifts for the outfit of the royal child. So numerous
were these presents that a public exhibition of them was held.
So eager were the people for the news that on the slightest
rumor the decorations which had been prepared were displayed
prematurely. The close union which exists between the crown
and the people was shown in many striking ways. The child
of the queen was also the child of the people. Another reason
there was for the anxiety manifested for the birth of an heir.
In the event of the Queen regnant dying without offspring the
crown would pass to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and
consequently would be brought more closely within the sphere
of German influence. This would not be relished by the Dutch,
whose affection to their own nationality is as strong as that of
any people in the world.
The glorifiers of our own times
Turkey. often write and speak as if op-
pression and misrule had passed
away and had become things of the past; whereas there are
still large tracts of the earth's surface the inhabitants of which
groan under evils as great as have ever been suffered. No
little alleviation of the sadness this truth should cause is the
fact that one of the worst rulers which the world ever had
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 425
has met with some, at least, of his deserts in this life, and
has witnessed the failure of all his plans and the frustration
of all his hopes. A complete and final failure we trust that it
will prove ; but it is impossible to be certain, for a people
which has so long permitted itself to be dominated by such a
ruler may prove to be completely demoralized and incapable
of rising to better things. But this must be left for the future
to reveal.
How far Mohammedanism is compatible with a constitu-
tional form of government is a disputed point; but, even if
absolute rule is its only true expression, a legitimate way of
escape is permitted when things become intolerable, for the
ruler may be deposed by the religious authority for the time
being. This was what was done in the case of Abdul Hamid.
A hypothetical case was laid before the Sheikh-ul- Islam. He
was asked whether an Imam of the Moslems who removes and
causes to be removed from a book of the Sheriat (that is, the
Sacred Law) certain questions of the law of the Sheriat, and
prevents the circulation of the aforesaid book, and causes it to
be burned and destroyed by fire; who wrongfully expends the
public treasures; who slays and imprisons the persons of his
subjects; who perjures himself; who wilfully provokes troubles
which throw affairs into confusion ; may be forced to abdicate
or may be deposed when his subjects have effected the destruc-
tion of his despotism, and peace and concord can only be se-
cured by one or other of the two methods. To this case the
Sheikh replied: "It is permitted"; and what is called a Fetva
to that effect was at once issued, and within a few hours Ab-
dul Hamid had left the city on his way to Salonika, the head-
quarters of the Committee of Union and Progress. Many Sul-
tans have shared the same fate; in fact, his two immediate
predecessors were forced to abdicate by Abdul Hamid himself.
Our pages shall not be sullied by an attempt to particular-
ize the crimes of which the deposed Sultan was guilty. The
root and spring of them all may be mentioned. In his lust for
power he centralized every species of it in his own hands. He
gave orders, and saw to it, through the agency of some 20,000
spies, that those orders were obeyed, that nothing should be
done throughout the whole extent of his dominions except on
his initiative; he made the Sublime Forte, which has had at
426 CURRENT EVENTS [June,
least a consultative voice in the management of affairs, the
merest tool of his own unbridled will.
His successor, Mahomed V., on acceding to the throne, has
made declarations of quite a different character. While recog-
nizing the Will of the Eternal as the ultimate source of his
accession, and legitimate descent as its condition, its immediate
basis were the stipulations of the Constitution and the unani-
mous wish of the whole Ottoman people. The aim of his
government, he declares, will always be to guarantee liberty and
equality to all his subjects. It is to the Constitution, and to
the fidelity of all to its prescriptions, that he looks for success.
Disorders are to be suppressed, the administration of justice and
finance to be improved, and schools are to be opened in all the
provinces. This is an admirable programme. Whether it will
be realized depends, however, less upon the good will of the new
Sultan than upon the good will of those who are the actual pos-
sessors of power. At present it cannot be doubted that all power
is in the hands of the army. In fact, all that has been done
from the beginning has been done by means of the army;
the revolution of July last, the attempted counter-revolution of
April, and its defeat within the last few weeks. Military rule
is, of course, the least desirable of all ; is almost as bad, in
fact, as anarchy or despotism ; but it may be necessary in an
emergency; and it seems probable that this emergency may
last for some time in Turkey. In the course of the recent
occurrences, every other element of the community proved it-
self untrustworthy. The members of Parliament hid themselves
or ran away; even those members of the Committee of Union and
Progress who were in Constantinople yielded to the storm ; the
people, so far as they were represented by the inhabitants of the
capital, applauded indiscriminately those who were in the as-
cendant for the time being. The army alone stood faithful to
the Constitution. And if we look to the Asiatic provinces, the
necessity for a strong controlling power is quite evident. At
the time the Constitution was restored even in these provinces
there was every kind of demonstration of joy and satisfaction;
all the different races fraternized in a way never known before.
But when the recent attempt was made to overturn the Con-
stitution, the Turks in many places, without the slightest provo-
cation, proceeded to massacre the Christians; in one place no
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 427
less than 25,000 were slain. The necessity therefore, for mili-
tary rule seems only too plain.
The Shah has at last yielded to
Persia. the representations of Russia and
Great Britain, and has summoned
a new Parliament which is to meet in July next; he is con-
vinced, he says, that a Constitution is the only means of
bringing disorder to an end. This conviction was not the fruit
of his own thought, but was forced upon him by the fact that
Russia had sent troops to Tabriz, that Great Britain had landed
sailors at the other extremity of his dominions, while in half a
dozen places rebellion had begun. Even the advocates of a
Constitution had always declared that they would prefer to
suffer the worst of evils from the worst of governments than
be delivered by foreign intervention. The intervention, how-
ever, has taken place, and in fact was forced upon the two
Powers in defence of their own interests and to protect the
lives of their subjects. It will, we believe, be brought to an
end when the necessity for it ceases and the Persians will be
allowed to work out their own salvation.
THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION.
T^ROM June 27 to September 10, a period of eleven weeks, the Catholic
Ji Summer-School will present a varied programme of university extension
studies at Cliff Haven, on Lake Champlain, N. Y. Prominence is given to
the historical subjects relating to the Tercentenary Celebration of Samuel
Champlain's first voyage through the lake which bears his name. The re-
port of the committee on lectures, presented by the Rev. Thomas McMillan,
C.S.P., contains the following announcements:
First Week, June 28-July 2. — Illustrated lectures on Switzerland, In-
dia, Spain, and the City of Washington, by Professor C. H. French, Cleve-
land, Ohio.
Second Week, July 5-9. — Programme of Tercentenary Commission.
July 7. — Reception to the President of the United States and members
of his Cabinet. Address of introduction by Governor Hughes.
Two evening lectures, July 8-9, assigned for Rev. Matthew C. Gleeson,
Chaplain U. S. N., S. S. Connecticut, describing the voyage of the American
Fleet around the world.
Third Week, July 12-16. — Morning Round Table Talks, by Martha
Moore Avery, Boston. Subject : Christian Civilization and Its Foes.
Four evening lectures assigned to the Rev. Charles Warren Currier,
Washington, D. C. The subjects will deal with Champlain's Voyage, and
review the history of the battles fought by the French against the Indians and
England.
Fourth Week, July 19-23. — Morning lectures by the Rev. John H.
O'Rourke, S.J., New York City : Subject: The Church as a Bulwark of
the Republic.
T^o evening violin recitals by Robert Burkholder, New York City.
Two harp recitals by Loretta De Lone, New York City.
Fifth Week, July 26-30. — Morning lectures by the Rev. James J. Fox,
D.D. (Catholic University). Subject: The Immortality of the Soul as
Manifested in the Religious Convictions of the Great Nations of the Ancient
World.
Evening lectures by Professor Thomas McTiernan, New York City.
Subject: Webster and Lincoln.
Lectures by the Rev. Thomas J. Campbell, S.J. Subject: Early Mis-
sionaries of the Champlain Valley.
Sixth Week, August 2-6. — Morning lectures by the Rev. Robert
Swickerath, S.J., Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass. Subject: The
Reformation, and Its Influence on Education.
Four evening song recitals by Marie A. Zeckwer, Philadelphia.
Seventh Week, August 9-13. — Morning lectures by Professor James C.
Monaghan, Principal of the Stuyvesant Evening Trade School, New York
City. Subject: Heroic Types of Catholic Womanhood. Reading Circle
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 429
Conference, Monday, August 9, 10 : 30 A. M. Reading Circle Day, Tuesday,
August 10, 10: 30 A. M.
Evening recitals by Edward Abner Thompson, P.S., Boston.
Two lectures by the Rev. John J. Burke, C.S.P., Editor of THE CATHO-
LIC WORLD, New York City. Subject: The Need and the Opportunities of
the Catholic Press. (August 12-13.)
Eighth Week, August 16-20. — Morning lectures by Dr. James J. Walsh,
LL.D., Fordham University. Subject: Modern "Isms." i. Hypnotism;
2. Telepathy; 3. Spiritism; 4. Christian Science; 5. Psychotherapy.
Evening lectures: Catholics in the American Revolution, by the Rev.
Thomas P. Phelan, New York State Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.
Missionary Labors of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Among the Indian
Tribes of Canada, by the V. Rev. Michael F. Fallen, O.M.I., Buffalo, N. Y.
Ninth Week, August 23-27. — Morning lectures by Professor Arthur F. J.
Remy, Ph.D., Columbia University. Subject : Studies in German Literature.
Evenings: Selected readings by Sophia G. Maley, Philadelphia. Two
lectures on the Fighters in the Champlain Valley, the Heroes of Two Wars
with England, by Dr. John G. Coyle, New York City.
Tenth Week, August jo-Sept, j. — Morning lectures by the Rt. Rev.
Monsignor McMahon, D.D., President of the Catholic Summer-School, in
collaboration with the Rev. William J. White, D.D., Supervisor of Catholic
Charities, Diocese of Brooklyn. General Subject : Problems of Dependency
with Reference to Preventive and Constructive Methods of Relief in Large
Cities.
Four evening song recitals by Kathrine McGuckin Leigo, Philadelphia.
Eleventh Week, Sept. 6-10. — Four evenings assigned to Denis A. Mc-
Carthy, Associate Editor of the Sacred Heart Review, East Cambridge,
Mass. September 6, Irish Wit and Humor ; September 7, Reading of His
Own Poems; September 9, An Hour of Irish Poetry; September 10, Speci-
mens of Irish Folklore.
* * «
Apropos of the Champlain Tercentenary Celebration, we give the follow-
ing list of reference books relating to Lake Champlain and its historical
associations.
Documentary History of the Campaign upon the Niagara Frontier,
1812-1814. Cruikshank. 7 small volumes.
Field Book of the War of 1812, Pictorial. By Benson J. Lossing. Very
readable and interesting.
Naval War of 1812. By Theodore Roosevelt. From original official
documents. Considered very accurate.
Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812. A. T. Mahan.
War of 1812. By Rossiter Johnson. A good condensed story of the war.
Naval Actions of the War of 1812. By James Barnes. Well told
sketches, illustrated in color by Carlton T. Chapman.
Publications of Vermont Historical Society.
Publications of New York State Historian.
Life of Commodore Macdonough. By his grandson, Rodney Macdonough ,
No. 5 Branheld Street, Boston.
430 THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION [June,
Voyages of Champlain. Translation of C. P. Otis.
History of the Canadian People. By G. Bryce.
Pioneers of France in the New World. By F. Parkman.
Champlain, the Founder of New France. By E. A. Dix. 1903.
History of the Indian Tribes. By P. L. McKenny and J. Hall.
Missions Among the Indians. By J. Gilmary Shea.
The Jesuit Relations.
History of Lake Champlain. By Peter S. Palmer.
Life of Father Jogues. By F. Martin, SJ.
Pioneer Priests of North America. By T. J. Campbell, S.J.
The Lily of the Mohawk. By E. H. Walworth.
The Master Motive: A Tale of the days of Champlain. Translated
from the French by T. A. Gethin. 1909.
* * *
Dr. Hartmann's Oratorio, the "Seven Last Words of Christ," was pro-
duced in Carnegie Music Hall, New York City, on May 5, for the first time
in America, by the Paulist Chorister Society, of Chicago, under the direc-
tion of the Rev. William J. Finn, C.S.P. The Oratorio was cordially re-
ceived by the public. The society consists of one hundred and twenty-five
men and boys, and in rendering Dr. Hartmann's composition the choir
showed exceptional ability. Its work proved the possibilities of the trained
boy voice.
* * *
Another noteworthy musical production heard in the United States for the
first time, was " Paradise Lost," an oratorio founded on Milton's epic poem
and written by Theodore Dubois. The leading feature of this production was
Mme. Kronold and her chorus of one hundred and fifty mixed voices. This
chorus, composed of Catholic young men and women, was trained in the free
singing classes of Mme. Kronold.
* * *
In the course of a short twenty-eight years, the late F. Marion Crawford
produced at least forty novels and historical works. Since his death much
has befittingly been written in praise of his achievements. He was an ex-
cellent Catholic and exercised a wide influence among readers of the novel.
He never wrote for a Catholic audience as such — financial reasons com-
pelled him to make his work secular — but in a general way Marion Craw-
ford has done Catholicism good service. He reached a large audience, and
his occasional papers on Leo XIII. and other Catholic personages have done
much good missionary work among non-Catholics. It is prophesied that
his Italian novels, because of their faithfulness to Italian life, will become
classic. At the time of his death Mr. Crawford was at work on his monu-
mental History of Rome, but it is feared that the fragmentary notes for this
work are not sufficiently complete to allow it to be finished by another hand.
Mr. Crawford was a loyal convert to the Faith. May he rest in peace.
* * *
Preaching at Canterbury Cathedral, Canon Mason, the Vice-Dean, made
a reference to Mr. Swinburne and to the appreciation which appeared in The
Times.
1909.] IHE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 431
He said that he felt it necessary to raise a protest against the way in
which Swinburne had been spoken of, at least in some of the papers.
" Poetry," said one great paper, which he gladly acknowledged to be usually
on the side of that which was morally right, " is never a corrupting in-
fluence, and no increase in sexual immorality . . . can be laid at the
door of Swinburne's poetry. An artist of any kind suffers from his school
. . . and Swinburne is not to be blamed because feebler persons than he
have imitated his sentiments and parodied his inimitable manner." It mat-
tered comparatively little what influence Swinburne might have had upon his
school of imitators. Not many people read the works of minor poets, and
the mischief that they did soon died out ; but his influence upon the general
reading-public, who had no idea of writing poetry themselves, was a very dif-
ferent thing. It was a new doctrine, and one strenuously to be resisted, that
men of great poetical genius were not responsible for the use that they made
of their powers. Who was that article-writer who knew that poetry was
never a corrupting influence? How could he tell that no increase of sexual
immorality could be laid at the door of Swinburne's poetry ? It required but
little knowledge of souls to know that there was no more deadly poison than
the portrayal of corrupt passion in glowing and artistic language. It was
difficult to speak of those things, even for the purpose of warning, without do-
ing more harm than good ; but when they were spoken of, not only without
abhorrence, but with consent and approval and delight and with great literary
skill, there was no more corrupt influence in the word. He did not judge of
the man. Far be it from him to do so. He might have been much better
than his poetry. He trusted that he was; but certainly much lustral water
and the most precious of all precious blood were needed to do away with the
pollution which Swinburne's poetry introduced into English literature.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
P. J. KENEDY & SONS, New York:
The Sodalist's Imitation of Christ. By Father Elder Mullan, S.J. Pp. 568. Price 75
cents. In the Crucible. By Isabel Cecilia Williams. Pp. 177. Price 85 cents.
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, New York:
England and the English. By Price Collier. Pp. 434.
MCMILLAN COMPANY, New York:
The White Sister. By F. Marion Crawford. Pp. 335. Price $1.50. The Revival oj
Scholastic Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century. By Joseph Louis Perrier, Ph.D. Pp.
344. Price $1.75.
CHRISTIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION, New York:
Latin Pronounced f«r Altar Boys. By Rev. Edw. J. Murphy. Pp. 10. Price 50 cents net.
NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY, New York:
When the Bugle Called. By Edith Tatum. Pp. 132.
STATE CHARITIES AID ASSOCIATION, New York:
Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of \the State Charities Aid Association, November, 1908. Six-
teenth Annual Report of State Charities Aid Association to the State Commission in
Lunacy.
F. WAYLAND SMITH, New York:
Materialism and Christianity. By F. Wayland Smith. Pp. 36. Price 25 cents. Shall
We Choose Socialism ? By F. Wayland Smith. Pp. 86.
PETER REILLY, Philadelphia :
The Preachers' Protests. By Very Rev. D. I. McDennott. Pp. 58. Price 25 cents.
DOLPHIN PRESS, Philadelphia:
Catholic Churchmen in Science. Second Series. Pp. 228. Price $i net ; 8 cents postage.
LITTLE, BROWN & Co., Boston, Mass.:
A Royal Ward. By Percy Brebner. Pp. 343. Price $1.50. The Strain of White. By
Ada Woodruff Anderson. Pp. 300. Price $1.50. In a Mysterious Way. By Anne
Warner. Pp. 290. Price $1.50.
JOHN MURPHY COMPANY, Baltimore, Md. :
Costume of Prelates «fthe Catholic Church. By Rt. Rev. John A. Nainfa. Pp. 193.
B. HERDER, St. Louis, Mo. :
De Personis et Rebus Ecclesiasticis in Genere. In Usum Scholarum. Edited by Dom. M.
Prummer. Pp. 505. Price $2 net.
FITZGERALD BOOK COMPANY, Chicago, 111. :
Ireland and Her People. By Thomas H. Fitzgerald. Pp. 430. Vol.1.
LINCOLN TEMPERANCE PRESS, Chicago, 111. :
American Prohibition Year Book for 1909. By Alonzo E. Wilson. Pp. 189. Price 25
cents.
MAYER & MILLER COMPANY, Chicago, 111. :
Catechism of Christian Doctrine. By Rev. M. I. Boarmann, S.J. Pp. 60.
SANDS & Co., Londom, England:
Report of the Nineteenth Eucharistic Congress, zyoS. Pp. 684.
GABRIEL BEAUCHESNE ET GIB., Paris, France :
Asserta Meralia. Par. M. Mathaian, S.J. Pp. 276. Le Cantique des Cantiques. Par P.
Jouon. Pp. 334.
P. LETHIELLEUX, Paris, France :
La Route Chtisie. Par Marc Debrol. Pp. 251. Ames Juives. Par Stephen Coube".
Pp. 389. Price 3/r. 50.
LIBRAIRE CRITIQUE, Paris, France :
La Forme Idealistedu Sentiment Religieux. Par Marcel Hubert. Pp. 160. Price zjr. 50.
VOL. LXXXIX. JULY, 1909. No. 532.
A PROGRAMME OF SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION.
BY JOHN A. RYAN, D.D.
[BOUT a year ago Benjamin Kidd declared that
the leading feature of our time is " a movement
of the world, under many forms, toward a more
organic conception of society " (" Individualism
and After," being the Herbert Spencer Lecture
at Oxford University, May 29, 1908, p. 34). In the politico-
industrial order this movement, as Mr. Kidd sees it, is away
from individualism, and toward Socialism; away from voluntary
co-operative action, and toward co-operation under the direc-
tion of the State. Probably no competent observer of the
present trend of things would refuse to accept this generali-
zation. Assuming its truth, we immediately ask ourselves
whether the tendency which it describes can or ought to be
checked, and, if not, how far the tendency should be permitted
to go ? Few social students would admit that the movement
can be entirely stopped, and not many would agree that it
ought to be stopped. There remains, then, the practical ques-
tion: Shall this movement toward a wider State intervention
in matters industrial continue until it has embraced the full
programme of Socialism ? or shall it be confined within the
bounds of feasible and rational social reform? At present the
majority of Americans would adopt the latter alternative, al-
though they would probably disagree widely concerning the
precise content of such a programme. The following pages
Copyright. 1909. THH MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF ST. PAUL THK APOSTLE
IN THK STATE OF NEW YORK.
VOL. LXXXIX.— 28
434 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [July,
embody one statement of social reforms which the State here
in America may advantageously and immediately begin to
bring about.
A reasonable programme of reform must obviously fit the
conditions that are to be reformed. What are these condi-
tions ? What is the social problem for which a solution is
sought through legislation ? The Socialist answers that the
problem arises out of the private ownership of capital, and can
be solved only through the substitution of collective ownership.
We reject both statements as based upon unproved and un-
provable assumptions. That the wage system is wrong, that
the masses grow unceasingly wretched, that capital will con-
tinue to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, until collec-
tive ownership of industry becomes inevitable, that collectivism
will bring about universal justice and universal happiness — all
these assumptions are unwarranted by any concrete and ade-
quate view of the facts and tendencies of our industrial life.
We seek, therefore, some other statement of the problem.
According to John Graham Brooks, the problem is created
chiefly by these conditions: first, the average laborer of to-day
is less independent, less secure, and less favored with oppor-
tunities for improvement than his prototype in the days before
free land was all appropriated ; second, the inequalities of
wealth and economic opportunity are too great and glaring;
third, there is general discontent, owing to the decay of religion
and the indefinite expansion of the current standards of living;
fourth, the conviction has become quite general that an immense
number of corporations have obtained unfair and enormously
profitable special privileges. (The Social Unrest, Chapter III.)
Number three of these factors must be dealt with by education
and religion, rather than by legislation. In so far as the others
are fit subjects for legislative action, they present a twofold
problem, that of securing to the laboring classes a reasonable
minimum of wages and other economic goods, and that of pre-
venting the most advantageously placed capital from obtaining
excessive profits through excessive prices imposed upon the
consumer. More briefly, it is the problem of regulating the
limits, both upper and lower, of industrial opportunity.
The laborer must be protected against unjust exploitation,
and the entire community must be protected against extortion-
ate prices. Outside the field of natural monoply, the principle
1909.] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION 435
of competition should dominate industry, but the practice of it
should be neither unrestricted nor debasing. Its limits must
be narrowed and its plane raised, so that there shall be a
minimum of exploitation, whether of laborer or consumer, and
a maximum of actual opportunity for all. On this higher level
competition can still be abundantly active, but its benefits will
be determined to a much greater extent than at present by
merit, effort, and efficiency, and to a much less extent by
chance, cunning, financial power, and special privilege. With
decent wages and decent conditions of employment generally,
and the power to satisfy their wants at reasonable prices, even
the poorest classes will be enabled to live human lives, and to
struggle effectively for still greater benefits. Deprived ot the
power to amass great wealth through special privilege, the
richest classes will obtain and retain their advantages through
superiority of ability and socially useful achievement. If this
ideal seems to the Socialist inadequate and unscientific, our
reply is that we shall cling to it until he shall have demon-
strated that his proposals will be practically adequate, and that
his " science " is not a conglomeration of pure assumptions,
one-sided assertions, and beautiful dreams. Indeed, the aims
and expectations just outlined may themselves be impracticable
for a long time to come, but they at least do not imply any
excessive trust in human nature, nor contradict the laws of
economics or the lessons of history.
Since the elements of the social problem have been stated
as twofold, the legislative solutions may also be grouped under
two headings. The first will comprise those measures which
are designed to better the condition of the working classes
directly. The goods and opportunities in question here corres-
pond in a general way to what Sidney Webb has felicitously
called the "National Minimum" (Cf. Industrial Democracy ;
and The Contemporary Review, June, 1908).
i. A Legal Minimum Wage. — While the existing statistics
do not tell us even approximately how many American work-
ers are compelled to accept less than living wages, they show
quite clearly that the number is astonishingly large. Some four
years ago the writer concluded, from a careful study of all the
available sources of information, that at least 60 per cent of
the adult male wage-earners of the United States in city oc-
cupations received less than $600 a year (Cf, A Living Wage,
436 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [July,
Chapter VIII.) All subsequent statistics tend to confirm this
estimate. Perhaps the most accurate and comprehensive state-
ment of wages ever published in this country is contained in
Census Bulletin No. 93, "Earnings of Wage-Earners." A study
of its figures will justify the assertion that in 1904 (when wages
were about as high as they have ever been in our history) 58
per cent of the three and three-quarter million adult males in
our manufacturing industries were getting an annual income of
less than $600 (p. 13). The proportion is probably quite as
high in all other non-agricultural occupations. Now, $600 per
year is the minimum upon which a man can support a mod-
erately sized family in any city of the United States, and it is
insufficient in very many of the larger cities (Cf. A Living
Wage, Chapter VII, and the Standard of Living Among Work-
ingmen's Families in New York City, by R. C. Chapin, in which
occurs this conclusion : " It seems safe to conclude from all
the data we have been considering, that an income under $800
is not enough to permit the maintenance of a normal stand-
ard." P. 245). There are, consequently, between four and seven
million adult males in America who receive less than the low-
est wage required for decent family life. Owing to their
greater economic weakness, the proportion of women and chil-
dren who fail to obtain decent remuneration is probably higher
than in the case of the men. These facts contain of themselves
all the elements of an acute social problem.
The obvious objection to the proposal to fix'a minimum
wage by law is that it would not work. This assertion may
mean that our industrial resources are not adequate to a uni-
versal living wage; that, even though the resources are suffi-
cient, industry could not be successfully reorganized on the
basis of such a law; or that, in any case, the law could not be
enforced. As to the first objection, the burden of proof is
clearly upon those who take it seriously in a country as rich
as ours. The second may be urged against every effort of a
trade union to obtain the union scale of wages, and against
every law fixing a minimum number of hours of labor per day;
while the third is in some sense valid against any and every
law whatever. If a labor union can establish a minimum rate
of remuneration successfully, why may not the civil law be
equally successful, so far as the organization of industry is
concerned ? Inasmuch as no law is obeyed perfectly, the en-
1909.] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION 437
forcibility of any statute is relative. In the case of a law fix-
ing a minimum wage, the difficulties of enforcement are pecul-
iarly formidable, from the side of employer and employee, but
they are not insurmountable. They have been so satisfactorily
overcome in Australia and New Zealand that these countries
have no intention of abandoning their minimum-wage legisla-
tion. Moved by the Australasian example, the dominant party
in the present British House of Commons has introduced a
bill applying the principle to certain of the sweated trades of
England. Even if such legislation should prove enforcible and
effective in the case of only one- fourth of the American work-
ers who are now underpaid, it would be well worth adopting.
It would do more good than any other single measure of labor
legislation that is now available. The authority of economists
and legislators is, indeed, unfavorable to the plan, but it was
likewise opposed to labor organization and factory legislation
fifty or seventy- five years ago, and its arguments at that time
were tiresoraely suggestive of those now used against a legal
minimum wage (Cf. Webb, Industrial Democracy, Part III.,
Chapter I.)
Inasmuch as the cost of living is not the same in all parts of
America, the proposed legislation should proceed from the State
rather than from the national legislature. The only difficulty
here is that the minimum wage might be considerably higher
in one State than in a neighboring State, where general con-
ditions of living and of employment were practically the same.
The result would be to put the industries of the former at a
disadvantage. Nevertheless the same condition confronts many
other legal regulations of industry, such as, those affecting
railway rates, factory arrangements, and the hours of labor. In
cases of this kind, as well as in the matter of a minimum wage,
uniformity and thoroughness could best be attained through
national laws applied and modified by State boards to suit local
conditions. This would require amendments to both the State
and national constitutions, but such amendments are inevitable
as a prerequisite not only to any kind of a minimum wage-law,
but to a satisfactory solution of the general problem of indus-
trial regulation. Whether the law be State or national, the
work of applying it and of fixing the precise terms of the
minimum wage would necessarily be entrusted to commissions,
boards of experts, as is now done in the matter of regulating
438 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [July,
railroads and other public service corporations. The principle
involved and the conditions to be met are the same in both
cases.
The proposed law would, of course, apply to the wages of
women and children as well as to those of adult males. It
would thus have the special advantage of obtaining living wages
for classes that are peculiarly unable to help themselves. In
his recent excellent study of woman labor, Mr. William Hard
has shown that women cannot organize effectively because their
stay, as individuals, in industry is only temporary {Everybody's
Magazine, November, 1908- April, 1909). To remedy this con-
dition he would have their hours and other conditions of labor
so changed that they can continue as wage-earners after mar-
riage. The first recommendation is good ; the second seems to
be unqualifiedly bad. That the married woman's presence and
functions in the home, her ideals of motherhood, and her re-
lations to her children, should be revolutionized in the way
that Mr. Hard suggests, cannot be accepted by any one who
takes an adequate and healthy, albeit " old-fashioned," view of
family life. The family cannot be made over in this arbitrary
fashion without producing social and moral disaster. At pres-
ent there are more than five million women engaged in gainful
occupations in the United States, and the number is steadily
increasing, both absolutely and relatively. In 1900 the number
exceeded by one million the number that would have been at
work had the increase merely kept pace with the increase in the
total female population. The explanation of this disproportion-
ate increase in the number of women in industry is chiefly what
Mr. Hard declares it to be, namely, the fact that a large pro-
portion of woman's traditional tasks have been transferred from
the home to the factory. Woman is merely following them.
It must be admitted, too, that the process is not yet finished,
that the proportion of women wage- earners will inevitably in-
crease still further. Nevertheless we refuse to accept Mr.
Hard's solution. No matter how many of woman's tasks have
been removed from the home, the average married woman who
does her full duty well as wife and mother, and who adequate-
ly does all the work that can be better done at home than
elsewhere, will find her time fully occupied by these during the
child-bearing and child-rearing period. After that her labor
usually will not and certainly ought not to be required outside
1909.] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION 439
the home. Moreover, if Mr. Hard's plan were followed, the
number of women workers would be greatly increased, thus in-
tensifiying their competition with men, and giving a further
impetus to low wages for both. While they would then be
better able to organize than at present, their organization would
still be less efficient than those of male workers ; and the
latter have not succeeded in raising their remuneration to a de-
cent level. Hence the only remedy that seems to be at all
adequate to the many-sided evil of woman labor is a legal
minimum wage.
Concerning the morality of this measure, whether for men,
women, or children, it is sufficient to say that the State has
both the right and the duty to protect its citizens in their
right to a decent livelihood. In so doing it no more exceeds
its proper functions than when it legislates for the safety of
life and limb, or for the physical and moral health of the
community.
2. An Eight Hour Law. — This legislation would increase the
demand for labor in many industries, and improve the physical,
mental, and moral health of the workers. At the present time
the great majority of laborers work more than eight hours per
day. In fact, the only exceptions worthy of mention are the
building trades, printing and publishing, mining, and public
employments. Even in the two former occupations, the eight
hour day prevails only where labor is well organized. The
obvious economic objection to the measure is that in many in-
dustries it would be followed by a rise in prices and in the
cost of production, and consequently by a decrease in the de-
mand for goods. A further result would be either a lessened
demand for labor, or lower wages for the same number of
workers. On the other hand, if the same amount ot product
continued to be consumed, and if a large number of laborers
were needed to produce it, the price would have to remain the
same, and all the laborers would have to be satisfied with lower
wages. The total wage payment would be divided among a
larger number of persons. This is the usual way of stating the
objection, but it overlooks certain important facts. Some con-
sumers would not reduce their consumption proportionately to
the rise in price; a part of the increased cost of production
would come out of profits, through the elimination of the less
efficient employers, the introduction of better industrial methods,
440 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [July,
and the reduction of the exceptional gains of monopoly ; and,
finally, the productivity of the men themselves would be so far
increased that in a very large proportion of cases they would
turn out as much product in eight hours as they formerly did
in ten. Through the operation of these factors it might well
happen that the demand for labor would be considerably in-
creased in some industries, without any decrease in wages or
any marked reduction in the profits of the most efficient and
socially useful employers. Where the eight hour day has been
fairly tried, it does not seem to have financially injured either
the laborer or the consumer.
Probably its greatest benefits would be outside the region
of wages and employment. The laborer would have more
leisure for the development of his mental, moral, and social
nature, and more opportunity for the rest and recreation that
are so necessary in the intense strain of modern industry.
When the demand upon muscle, mind, and nerves is so great
that in many occupations a man becomes old at fifty, the re-
duction of the working day to eight hours becomes a dictate
ot elementary humanity, to say nothing of economic efficiency
and race conservation (C/. Final Report of the Industrial Com-
mission, p. 763). Here, again, the verdict of experience is all
in favor of shorter hours. John Mitchell declares that the
eight hour regulation has done more for temperance in the
mining regions than all other influences combined. In this
matter of the length of the working day, these words of a
conservative writer are well worth pondering: "When machin-
ery is replacing men and doing the heavy work of industry, it
is time to get rid of the ancient prejudice that a man must
work ten hours a day if he is to keep the world up to the
level of the comfort that it has attained. Possibly, if we clear
our minds of cant, we may see that the reason why we still
wish the laborer to work ten hours a day is the fear that we,
the comfortable classes, may not go on receiving the lion's
share of the wealth which these machines, iron and human,
are turning out " (Smart, Studies in Economics, p. 328).
3. Legislation Restricting the Labor of Women and Chil-
dren.— The effects of this measure would be very similar to
those of an eight hour law. The total number of women and of
persons under sixteen years of age engaged in gainful occupa-
tions, is approximately seven million. It is obvious that neither
1 909. ] SOCIA L REFORM BY LE GISLA TION 44 1
of these classes should be permitted to work more than eight
hours per day. In certain occupations which are exceptionally
arduous, such as operating telephones, the hours ought to be
still fewer. Night work ought to be entirely prohibited. Wo-
men and children should be kept out of certain occupations
for which they are physically or morally unfit. Married wo-
men ought not to be permitted to become wage earners ex-
cept in conditions of great poverty. The wages of women and
of young persons ought to be the same as the remuneration
of men for the same work. This would be good for the former,
but better for the latter. Children should not be permitted to
work under sixteen years, except for very special reasons, and,
during the school term, no child ought to become a wage
earner below the age of fourteen. It would be more humane
to the child and more beneficial to society to relieve poverty
through other methods. The enforcement of the legislation
considered in this paragraph would help women and children
by lessening competition, raising wages, conserving health, and
increasing opportunity, and would react upon the remuneration
of men by diminishing a very difficult and destructive form of
competition. It goes without saying that the measures recom-
mended under this and the preceding heads could not be fully
applied to agricultural labor.
4. Laws Affecting Industrial Disputes. — Legislation is needed
to legitimize peaceful picketing, persuasion, and boycotting.
The principle of the boycott is employed now and again by all
classes, and within certain limits it is entirely lawful morally.
Even the so-called secondary boycott, although peculiarly liable
to abuse, is not essentially immoral. On this account, and be-
cause it is not often likely to be employed, it ought not to be
prevented either by statute law or by "judge- made law."
Well-meaning persons who oppose any limitation of the power
of the judiciary in this matter, commonly forget that practical-
ly the only legal warrant for the exercise of such power is a
very general principle of the Common Law concerning con-
spiracy, and a body of precedent created by judges who have
attempted to apply this general principle to labor disputes. As
applied by English judges, the principle has been called by
Thorold Rogers, " the most elastic instrument of tyranny
which can be devised " ; as applied by judges in the United
States, it represents merely an attempt to enforce their own
442 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [July,
conceptions of natural equity. But these were and are the
conceptions of men who, as Theodore Roosevelt has recently
reminded us, were and are unfitted by training, association,
knowledge, or sympathy to do justice to the position and
claims of the laborer. The British Parliament wiped out the
reproach and injustice in 1906, by enacting a law which makes
peaceful persuasion and boycotting legal ; but in this, as in
most labor legislation, European action is far in advance of the
United States.
We are far behind some other countries in laws providing
for conciliation and arbitration. Most of our State boards have
accomplished substantially nothing. The first effective step, the
minimum that is worth getting, is the creation of State and
national boards empowered to endeavor to settle industrial dis-
putes even before they are invited to do so by either of the
disputants. Until the board has exercised its good offices and
failed to effect conciliation, both a strike and a lockout should
be prohibited. A second step would embody provisions for
conciliation, and also for the compulsory investigation of the
causes of the dispute, together with the publication of the find-
ings and decision of the board. In 'most cases a strike or
lockout would then be opposed by the power of public senti-
ment. This is the principle of the Industrial Disputes Act re-
cently enacted by the Dominion of Canada. If neither of these
measures proved sufficient, the law could go further and estab-
lish not only compulsory investigation and decision, but com-
pulsory acceptance of the decision, as obtains in Australia and
New Zealand. The objections to this proposal are formidable,
but the experience of these two countries seems to show that
they are not insurmountable.
5. Relief of the Unemployed. — In all but exceptionally pros-
perous times, the amount of unemployment is very large. Aver-
aging the good times with the bad, it seems to be somewhere
between eight and fifteen per cent. The first and simplest legal
relief measure would be a system of State employment bureaus,
such as that existing in Germany. State labor colonies could
be of great benefit to certain classes of the unemployed, and
would cost the community much less than any system of purely
charitable relief. In the third place, there should be a system
of State insurance against unemployment, and State subsidies
for approved private agencies which provide the same kind of
1909.] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION 443
insurance. In Belgium the government contributes a certain
proportion of the benefits paid out by the trade unions for
this purpose. The same thing could be done for those unor-
ganized laborers who have contributed to some voluntary in-
surance society. Probably none of these measures, nor all of
them together, would adequately solve this most difficult and
demoralizing problem, but they would relieve an immense amount
of suffering, and prevent much economic waste, crime, and de-
terioration of character. And there would still be plenty of
work for individual charity and private relief organizations.
6. Provision Against Accidents, Illness, and Old Age. — The
contingency of unemployment is only one part of that insecur-
ity which is, perhaps, the most discouraging feature of modern
industry, and which almost continuously haunts a very large
proportion of the laboring class. Some one has estimated the
number of persons killed and injured by their occupations in
America last year at 500,000. Not one of our States has an ade-
quate employer's liability law to meet this evil, and all of them
are far behind most of the countries of Europe. We are still
dealing with industrial accidents on the basis of the antiquated
Common Law provisions concerning "the fellow-servant rule,"
"assumption of risk," and "contributory negligence." These
should all be abolished, the employer should be compelled to
give reasonable compensation for all injuries received by his
employees while at work, and the cost should be passed on in
the form of higher prices to the consumer, where it belongs.
Each industry should bear the burden of its own risks, whether
to machinery, to animals, or to men. The problems of sick-
ness and old age are dealt with differently in different coun-
tries. In Germany there is an insurance fund created by con-
tributions from the employer, the employee, and the State.
England has a system of old-age pensions entirely drawn from
the public treasury. Each system has its own advantages, and
the two may be combined, as in Belgium. For the sake of the
nation, as well as in the interest of millions of its needy citi-
zens, either or both of these plans ought to be introduced into the
United States. To the objections formerly offered by believers
in the inhuman and discredited policy of laissez-faire serious
attention is no longer given by well-informed students.
7. Housing the Working People. — In our cities this problem
grows steadily more perplexing and more dangerous. It is at
444 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [July.
once a menace to the productivity, the health, the morals, and
the contentment of large sections of our working people. As
early as 1894, the proportion of slum-dwelling families occu-
pying three rooms or less, was: in Baltimore, 55 per cent; in
Chicago, 52 per cent; in New York, 83 per cent; and in
Philadelphia, 62 per cent (Seventh Special Report of the Com"
missioner of Labor, pp, 87-88). In the lower East Side of New
York, the population per acre was, in 1900, 382; in 1905,432.
Fifty blocks in Manhattan have more than three thousand in-
habitants each. As a natural consequence of overcrowding,
rents for all kinds of dwellings, especially the poorer houses
and tenements, are constantly rising. Among the families stud-
ied by the committee appointed by the New York Conference
of Charities, rent had increased all the way from fifty cents to
five dollars per month between 1905 and 1907. The smaller
the income of a family the larger is the proportion of its ex-
penditure for this purpose.
Since private agencies will certainly fail to meet this situa-
tion, the cities must undertake the work in the interest of self-
protection and elementary humanity. They should not only
condemn and prevent unsanitary housing and congestion, but
erect decent houses and tenements for the poorest classes.
These could be rented or sold, preferably sold, on easy condi-
tions; in some cases at less than cost. The problem of munic-
ipal housing has been earnestly attacked by many of the cities
of Great Britain, and some of the other countries of Europe.
(TO BE CONCLUDED.)
DANTE AND HIS CELTIC PRECURSORS.
BY EDMUND G. GARDNER.
PART II.
in.
IHROUGHOUT these Irish visions of the life after
death, we have noticed certain minor features
and secondary details that may have contributed
to the external form of the Divina Commedia ;
but hardly anything that anticipates, save quite
indirectly, its inner spirit. There is no trace of the ethical
basis of Dante's Inferno, so admirably expressed by Witte :
" Hell itself is neither more nor less than the protraction of
unrepented sin ; the symbolic interpretation of the sinful life." *
Neither do we find that essential feature of his Purgatorio, ac-
cording to which the souls rush into the purgatorial pains, set-
ting their wills by deliberate free choice upon them, yearning
to be allowed to partake of them, and finding an ineffable sol-
ace therein — so that the divine poet seems already to anticipate
the great saying of St. Catherine of Genoa: " It would not be
possible to find any joy comparable to that of a soul in Pur-
gatory, except the joy of the Blessed in Paradise." f
Again, there is nothing in these visions and legends com-
parable to the unitive stage in the Paradiso, that anticipation
of the Beatific Vision of the Divine Essence that crowns the
whole work. For this we must turn to the mystics.
There is a pleasant legend of how the ancestor of the Pazzi
family carried the sacred fire from Jerusalem to Florence, and
was hailed as pazzo (madman) for his pains. Such a bearer
from East to West of mystical light kindled at far-off shrines
was John the Irishman, Joannes Scotus Erigena; and, after
doubting whether to pity him as a madman, or to anathematize
him as a heretic, the estimate finally settled upon was: hcsret-
icus putatus est. Says a mediaeval writer : " In certain things he
deviated from the path of the Latins, while he fixed his eyes
intently upon the Greeks. Wherefore he was reputed a heretic."
* Essays on Dante. Translated by Lawrence and Wicksteed, p. 16.
\Cf. Purg., II., 122-133 I XXI., 61-69 ; XXIII., 72-75 ; and Baron von Hiigel, The Mys-
tical Element of Religion, Vol. I.
446 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [July,
Erigena, beyond comparison the greatest scholar and most
original thinker of the Dark Ages, came from Ireland to the
court of Charlemagne's grandson, Charles the Bald, about the
year 847, as a missionary of the Greek culture that had sur»
vived in the island of his birth while almost forgotten elsewhere
in the western world. In those days, as Dr. Sandys observes,
" the knowledge of Greek, which had almost vanished in the
West, was so widely diffused in the schools of Ireland, that,
if any one knew Greek, it was assumed that he must have come
from that country."* His most recent biographer describes
Erigena as an ardent searcher after truth, who " possessed the
energy of mind to think out a spiritual theory of the universe
in a grossly materialistic age " ; "a recipient of the influences
of the past," who in many ways anticipated the ideas of the
present time.f His chief extant work, De Divisione Natures^
has been called " the one purely philosophical argument of the
Middle Ages " ; but it is more particularly in virtue of his
translation of the mystical treatises of the Pseudo-Dionysius that
he must be regarded as one of the chief precursors of Dante.
It is worth noting, too, that, whereas those Irish visionaries
whose work we have been hitherto considering prefer to heap
up details of unutterable torments of the most repulsive and
material kind in hell, Erigena, without definitely departing from
the Catholic doctrine of eternal punishment, tends to believe in
an ultimate destruction of all malice and misery — thus antici-
pating, in a fuller sense, the splendid optimism of Juliana of
Norwich in her settled conviction that " All manner of thing
shall be well ! "
In his rendering into Latin and his interpretation of the
Dionysian work on the Celestial Hierarchy, Erigena opened
the treasure-house of angelic lore to western Christendom.
From him the philosophers of the West first learned the great
conception that is at the basis of all mysticism, and upon which
the whole mystical sense of the Divina Commedia depends :
that the soul's desire and will is made one with the " Love
that moves the sun and the other stars," f by the three ways
of purgation, illumination, and union. This is ultimately de-
rived from the Dionysian doctrine of the threefold function
of an angelic hierarchy, and the effect of the divine light which
* A History of Classical Scholarship, I., p. 451.
t Alice Gardner, Studies in John the Scot, p. 145. \ Par., XXXIII., 145.
1909.] DANTE AND HIS CELTIC PRECURSORS 447
they receive and communicate : purifying, illuminating, and ren-
dering perfect : " According to which, each one participates, so
far as is lawful and attainable to him, in the most spotless puri-
fication, the most copious light, the pre-eminent perfection."*
Here, too, we find that particular division of the Angelic Hier-
archies into nine orders of Celestial Intelligences — each imi-
tating the Divine Likeness in some special way — upon which
the whole spiritual structure of the Paradise rests.
These mystical writings of the Pseudo-Dionysius seem to
have first appeared in the early part of the sixth century, and
were generally accepted by the uncritical temper of the Middle
Ages, albeit the voice of protest was not unheard from the
outset, as the work of the Areopagite, the convert of St. Paul.
Thus, Dante sees Dionysius among the great theologians that
appear in the sphere of the sun, as " he who, in the flesh be-
low, saw deepest into the angelic nature and its ministry " ;
and, further on, he declares that this is not so wonderful, since
he was instructed in such high matters by St. Paul himself:
"If a mortal upon earth uttered so great hidden truth, I would
not have thee wonder; for he who saw it here above revealed
it to him."f
Taking the names of the nine orders of angels, which are
practically found in the Prophets and in the Pauline Epistles,
Dionysius combined them with the Neo- Platonic theory of
emanations from the Divine Being, by making these emana-
tions three hierarchies of celestial intelligences bearing those
names given in the Scriptures. According to him, the pur-
pose or meaning of a hierarchy is the utmost possible likeness
to God and union with Him, in proportion to the divine il-
luminations conceded to it; and each angel is as a mirror,
that receives the beams of the primal and sovereign light, and
reflects them upon all in accordance with the divine plan for
the government of the world — thus working to make each
created thing, in its degree, like to God and united with Him.
The name of each order — Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dom-
inations, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, Angels —
shows forth the special way in which it imitates the Divine Like-
ness by representing some special quality or characteristic in God.
Upon these doctrines of the Dionysian Celestial Hier-
* Celestial Hitratchy, ch. X. (transl. T. Parker),
t Par., X., 115-117 ; XXVIII., 136-138.
448 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [July,
archy, whether derived directly from Erigena or through the
medium of St. Thomas Aquinas (and, in either case, modified
by the simplification introduced by the Angelic Doctor, and
by a chapter in the De Consideration* of St. Bernard), Dante
based the spiritual cosmography of his Paradiso.
Each of the nine moving heavens represents an upward
grade in purification, illumination, and perfection — in detach-
ment, light, and love — towards the divine union in the tenth
heaven, the Empyrean, the true Paradise; and each is assigned
to the charge and rule of one of the nine angelic orders. The
representation of each heaven is largely colored by the special
characteristic and function of the angelic order that rules it.
In the heaven of the Moon, which is moved by the Angels
who are the guardians of individuals and bear the tidings of
God's bounty, Dante hears of the freedom of the will as "the
greatest gift that God of His bounty made in creating," * and
other matters pertaining to the salvation of individuals. The
heaven of Mercury is guided by the Archangels who preside
over the destinies of nations and bring messages of special
sanctity and importance ; here Justinian explains the working
of Divine Providence in the whole history of Rome and her
Empire, and Beatrice reveals to Dante the sovereign mystery
of the Redemption by the Incarnation. In the heaven of
Venus, which is swayed by the Principalities, the correspond-
ence is somewhat obscured by the part played by this sphere
in Dante's philosophy of love ; but, even as the Principalities
regulate earthly principality and draw princes to rule with love,
so the souls of the purified lovers discourse with Dante con-
cerning the constitution of society and the misgovernment
that was bearing sanguinary fruit in the Italy that he had left.
In the four higher heavens the souls appear who on earth co-
operated in the work of their angelic orders, and were im-
pressed by them to the imitation of the divine qualities that
they represent. The great teachers, philosophers, and theolo-
gians, in the heaven of the Sun, are associated with the powers
who imitate the divine order and intellectual authority in com-
bating the powers of darkness. In the heaven of Mars, the
souls of warriors of God form the celestial sign of the Crucifix ;
for this is the sphere of the Virtues, who are the angelic image
of the Divine Fortitude, working signs and inspiring endurance
* Par,, V., 19-22.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 449
among men. The Dominations are the likeness of the supreme
Divine Dominion; so, in the heaven of Jupiter, which they
govern, we have the sign of the imperial eagle formed by the
souls of just and righteous rulers. Of the Thrones, Dionysius
writes that their appellation " denotes their manifest exaltation
above every groveling inferiority, and their supermundane ten-
dency towards higher things . . . their invariable and firmly
fixed settlement around the veritable Highest, with the whole
force of their powers; and their receptivity of the supremely
Divine approach, in the absence of all passion and earthly
tendency ; and the ardent expansion of themselves for the
Divine receptions."* Therefore, in the heaven of Saturn, which
they rule, the contemplative saints, led by Benedict and Peter
Damian, appear, and the ladder of contemplation reaches thence
up to the very Heaven oi Heavens.
The name of the Cherubim " denotes their knowledge and
their vision of God, and their readiness to receive the highest
gift of light, and their power of contemplating the super- Divine
comeliness in its first revealed power, and their being filled
anew with the impartation that maketh wise, and their un-
grudging communication to those next to them by the stream
of the given wisdom. "f They rule the eighth heaven, that of
the Fixed Stars, and here Dante has his first revealed vision of
Christ and of Mary, sees the souls that knew most of God, and
is examined by the Apostles on the three theological virtues,
that his memory, understanding, and will may be prepared for
the vision of the Divine Essence.
In the ninth heaven, that of First Movement, Dante be-
holds all the nine angelic orders as rings of flame encircling
God, "dancing round His eternal knowledge in the most- ex-
alted, ever-moving stability," as Dionysius has it. This is the
particular sphere of the Seraphim, the angelic order that espe-
cially represents the Divine Love, named from excess of love,
and subsisting by the fire of love. Here it is shown to Dante
how creation illustrates this Divine Love, by Beatrice herself,
who had been the supreme revelation to him of love upon
earth. And when, in the Empyrean, he actually looks upon
the proper forms of the angels in their eternal aspect, the
Dionysian theory of their threefold function is translated into
the symbolism of color:
* Celestial Hierarchy, ch . V 1 1 . ( Parker' s transl. ) t Ibid.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 29
450 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [July,
"Their faces had they all of living flame, their wings of
gold, and the rest so white that no snow can reach that white-
ness."* The surpassing whiteness represents their work of
purification, their golden wings the knowledge that illumines,
the living flame of their faces the love that renders perfect.
In the most striking passage of his famous letter to Can
Grande, Dante appeals to " Richard of St. Victor in his book
De Contemplatione" as the chief modern authority for the power
of the human intellect to be so exalted in this life as to tran-
scend the measure of humanity. And in the Paradiso itself,
among the glowing souls of the great doctors who appear in
the fourth heaven, surpassing the sun itself in their brightness,
St. Thomas Aquinas bids the poet mark the ardent spirit of
"Richard, who in consideration was more than man."t
It was nearly three centuries from the days of Erigena
when Richard, Dante's last Celtic precursor, came to Paris.
The dark ages have passed away, and we are already in full
mediaeval times. Peter Abelard is vindicating the claims of
human reason, while soon to write in humbleness of spirit : " I
would not be a philosopher, if I should kick against Paul. I
would not be Aristotle, if that should sever me from Christ." \
His great opponent, St. Bernard, is about to send vast armies
of men to fight for the redemption of the Holy Sepulchre, and
then to cry in the bitterness of his heart: "The sons of the
Church and they who are called by the name of Christians lie
low in the desert, slain by the sword or consumed by famine.
Contempt is poured forth upon their princes, and the Lord hath
caused them to wander in the wilderness where there is no
way. Who knoweth not that the judgments of the Lord are
true? But this judgment is an abyss so great that I seem to
myself not wrongly to pronounce him blessed who shall not be
scandalized in it."§
Richard is thus an exact, probably younger, contemporary
of the monk Marcus, who wrote the Vision of Tundal, though
in comparison with the latter he seems almost a modern thinker.
Nothing is known of his early life. Some time before 1140 he
became an Augustinian canon in the abbey of St. Victor at
Paris, in the records of which house he is described as naticne
Scotus, one quern tellus genuit felice Scotica partu — which pro-
bably simply means that, like Erigena, he was an Irishman.
* Par., XXXI., 13-15. \Epist., X., 28 ; Par., X., 131.
\ Abelard's last letter to Heloise. § De Consideration e, II., i.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 451
The schools of Ireland were no longer what they had been
in the days of Erigena, and Richard came to St. Victor's to
learn rather than to teach. Here he found his master in the
celebrated man whom the later Middle Ages regarded as a
second Augustine, and whom Jacques de Vitry describes as
" the lutanist of the Lord, the organ of the Holy Spirit," Hugh
of St. Victor. Although a German by birth, Hugh himself was
not untouched by the Celtic spirit, and had felt the influence
of Erigena, upon whose translation of Dionysius he composed
a commentary. When Hugh died, in 1141, with the words of
mystical achievement, consecutus sum, " I have obtained it," on
his lips, Richard took up his work. For more than thirty
years he went on producing treatises and commentaries, while
his fame as a thinker and a teacher spread through Europe.
A curious witness to his influence is found in a letter from
John of Salisbury to St. Thomas of Canterbury, where the
former says that the Bishop of Hereford (Robert de Melun),
being a very vain man, might perhaps be flattered and won
over from the King's side by a letter of remonstrance from
some such scholar as the Prior of St. Victor — whom we know
in that year (1166) to have been Richard. The last years of
his life were embittered by the struggle of the better part of
the canons against the English abbot Ernisius, who was de-
stroying the old spiritual life of the abbey and wasting its
possessions. In 1172, Ernisius was compelled to resign his of-
fice ; and Richard, after presiding over the chapter that elected
the new abbot, died in the following year.
Gifted with extraordinary insight into the secret workings
of the spirit and with a fervid Celtic imagination, Richard
completed what Hugh had begun in building up the fabric of
the Church's mystical theology. Unlike St. Bernard, his writ-
ings are purely objective, and he professes to know nothing by
personal experience of the ecstatic doctrines that he sets forth.
" I tell thee," he writes to a friend, " that my mind shrinks
from saying anything concerning charity, for I feel that neither
my tongue nor heart suffices to treat it worthily. For how can
a man speak of love who does not love, who does not feel
love's power?"* It is tempting to connect this deliberate
suppression of self with the supreme importance that he at-
taches to the virtue of humility as the very foundation of the
* Tractatus de Gradibus Cariiatis, ch. I.
452 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [July,
spiritual life. He was a profound student of the Bible, which
he regarded as the chief test of religious truth, the only sure
guard against being deluded in his lofty mystical speculations.
Knowledge of self is the high mountain apart upon which Christ
is transfigured. This mountain transcends the loftiest peaks of
all mundane science, and looks down upon all the knowledge
of the world from on high. Neither Aristotle, nor Plato, ror
any of the philosophers could find it* But :
"Even if you think that you have been taken up into that
high mountain apart, even if you think that you see Christ
transfigured, do not be too ready to believe anything you see
in Him or hear from Him, unless Moses and Elias run to meet
Him. I hold all truth in suspicion which the authority of the
Scriptures does not confirm, nor do I receive Christ in His
clarification unless Moses and Elias are talking with Him."f
Richard's great work, to which Dante (as St. Thomas before
him) refers as the De Contemplatione, is more usually entitled
De Gratia Contemplationis, or Benjamin Major — Benjamin be-
ing for him the type of the highest contemplation, in accordance
with the Vulgate reading of Psalm 67 : " There is Benjamin a
youth in ecstasy of mind." The particular passage for which
Dante invokes his authority is at the opening of the Paradiso,
where he declares that he has been in the Empyrean Heaven
itself :
" In that heaven which receiveth most of His light was I,
and things I saw which whoso descends from on high hath
neither knowledge nor power to relate.
" Because, as it draweth near to its desire, our intellect
plunges in so deeply that the memory cannot follow its track. "J
"To understand these things," he says in the letter to Can
Grande, " we must know that, when the human intellect is ex-
alted in this life, because of its being co-natural and having
affinity with a separated spirit, it is so far lifted up that after
its return memory fails it, because it has transcended the
measure of humanity." §
And Richard himself writes:
"When by excess of mind we are rapt above or within
ourselves unto the contemplation of divine things, not only
* Cy. Shelley : " Their,lore 'taught them not this, tojcnow [themselves " (The Triumph oj
Life}.
^Benjamin Maitr, cap. 81. \Par., I., 4-9. § Efist., X., 28.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 453
are we straightway oblivious of things external, but also of all
that passes in us. And, therefore, when we return to ourselves
from that state of sublimity, we cannot by any means recall
to our memory those things which we have erst seen above our-
selves in that truth and clearness in which we then beheld
them. Although we keep something thereof in our memory,
and see as it were through a veil and in the midst of a cloud,
we cannot comprehend nor recall the mode of our seeing, nor
the quality of the vision. In a wondrous fashion, remembering
we do not remember, and not remembering we remember,
whilst seeing we do not behold, and gazing we do not per-
ceive, and understanding we do not penetrate."*
It could easily be shown that a number of passages and
symbolical details in the Paradiso come directly from this work
of Richard of St. Victor. But Dante's indebtedness to it goes
far beyond this, and it is not too much to say that the whole
mystical psychology of the Divina Commedia is based upon
the De Contemplatione. Richard shows how the soul passes
upward through the six steps of contemplation — in imagination,
in reason, in understanding — gradually discarding all sensible
objects of thought; until, in the sixth stage, the object of its
contemplation becomes what is above reason, and seems to be
beside reason or even against it. Irradiated by the divine light,
the soul knows and considers those mysteries at which all hu-
man reasoning cries out. These are especially the Blessed
Trinity and the Incarnation, mysteries which (according to
Richard) seem contrary to human reason, but which Dante
beholds in a flash of intuition at the consummation of the
vision. Again, Richard teaches that there are three qualities
of contemplation, according to its intensity : qualities repre-
sented by Dante in the revelations of the Earthly Paradise, in
the upward passage through the nine moving heavens, and in
the crowning vision of the Empyrean, respectively. These are
mentis dilatatio, an enlargement of the soul's vision without
exceeding the bounds of human activity; mentis sublevatio,
elevation of mind, in which the intellect, divinely illumined,
transcends the measure of humanity, and beholds the things
above itself, but does not entirely lose consciousness of self;
and, lastly, mentis alienatio, or ecstacy, in which all memory of
the present leaves the mind, and it passes into an ineffable
* Benjamin Majort IV., 23.
454 DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS [July,
state of divine transfiguration, in which the soul gazes upon
truth without any veils of creatures, not in a mirror darkly,
but in its pure simplicity.
If, in the De Contemplatione, we trace the whole mystical
psychology of the Paradiso, in other works of Richard we find
many of the great conceptions that strengthen and bind together
the framework of Dante's poem. In his commentary on the
Canticle of Canticles, Richard tells us:
"Through Mary not only is the light of grace given to
man on earth, but even the vision of God granted to souls in
heaven."*
Thus, at the beginning of the Inferno, the Blessed Virgin
sends St. Lucy, Lucia, type of illuminating grace, to Dante's
aid, when he is wandering in the dark forest, and, at the close
of the Paradiso. her intercession gains for him an anticipation
of the Beatific Vision of the Divine Essence.
Again, in his De Statu Interioris Hominis, Richard gives a
most sublime exposition of the dignity of free will, the doc-
trine that runs through the whole spiritual experience of the
Divina Commedia from the lowest hell to the highest heaven :
•' Among all the goods of creation, nothing in man is more
sublime, nothing more worthy, than free will. What can be
found in man more sublime or more worthy than that in which
he was created to the image of God ? Verily, liberty of the
will beareth the image not only of eternity, but also of the
Divine Majesty. By no sin, by no misery, can it ever be de-
stroyed, nor even diminished. God can have no superior, and
free will can endure no dominion over it ; for to put violence
upon it neither befits the Creator nor is in the power of the
creature. If all hell, all the world, even all the hosts of
heaven, were to come together and combine in this one thing,
they could not force a single consent from free will in any-
thing not willed. "f
This surely strikes the key-note of the whole Divina Com-
media, which has been aptly described as the mystical epic of
the liberty of man's will in time and in eternity.
IV.
It is noteworthy that Dante himself takes an entirely dif-
ferent attitude towards the two classes of his predecessors or
*Explicatio in Cantica, cap. 39. t Tract., I., cap. 3.
1909.] DANTE AND His CELTIC PRECURSORS 455
precursors which we have been considering : the writers of
visions and the mystics. The former he entirely ignores, de-
claring that he is to behold the celestial court per modo tutto
fuor del modern* uso, " by a fashion quite outside the modern
usage " ; * while he implies that no one had ever accomplished
such an ecstatic pilgrimage as his: save ./Eneas, when, in the
sixth book of the ^Eneid, he was led by the Sibyl through the
realm of shades, to have unfolded to him res alia terra et
caligine mersas, " things plunged in the depth of the earth and
in darkness"; and St. Paul, when "he was caught up into
Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful
for a man to utter." f The mystics, on the contrary, espe-
cially Richard of St. Victor, St. Bernard, and St. Augustine,
he openly claims as his masters, appeals to their authority,
and wishes the noblest part of his poem to be read in the
light of what they had written before him.f
The primal poetical source of the Divina Commedia is un-
doubtedly Latin rather than Celtic; the fountain* head must be
sought in the poem of Virgil rather than in the Vision of
Fursa or the Vision of Tundal. Nevertheless, for some of the
external features, the stream absorbed and is in parts still
colored by Irish elements, as it flows down into the great
ocean of mysticism. But, when we pass to the deeper, more
permanent signification of the sacred poem, where it is no
longer a debatable question of indebtedness in minor details
and particulars, we find writers of Celtic race in the front
rank of Dante's precursors; and, through Joannes Scotu/Eri-
gena and Richard of St. Victor, it may fairly be claimed for
Ireland that she provided the spiritual cosmography and the
mystical psychology of the crowning portion of the greatest
poem of the modern world.
* Purg., XVI., 40-42. t Inf., II., 13-33. \ Efist., X., 28.
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.
BY KATHARINE TYNAN.
CHAPTER XIII.
WIFE AND HUSBAND.
|HE escritoire stood in its place in the little morn-
ing-room which Nesta had chosen for herself, be-
cause it had long windows opening on a balcony
from which one surveyed a lovely stretch of
country.
It had been so dark at the Mill House during those years
that she had acquired a passionate desire for light. The three
long windows gave her plenty of light. Everything in the room
was gay and bright. There seemed to be no place there for
the ghosts of the house, especially when the child was there —
the child whom Lady Eugenia had taken to calling the Golden
Girl, who carried the sun with her where she went for her
adoring mother. The room was full of the singing of birds
and the chatter of the child; and a couple of dogs padded
softly about wherever they would. Whatever vague terror other
rooms of the house held for Nesta Moore this room had none.
She had shown her husband her great-aunt's gifts to her.
He had taken the bank-notes and turned them over between
his fingers.
" Shall I put them in the bank for you, Nest ? " he asked.
" I had a fancy to keep them just as she gave them to me,"
Nesta answered.
" You are not afraid of burglars ? "
"They would have to break the escritoire before they dis-
covered its secret."
" What about fire ? "
"That is very unlikely. I think I will keep them in the
place she took them from. Wasn't it strange that she should
have talked about my having them in case of an emergency.
What emergency could there possibly be for Stella and me ? "
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 457
"Why none, so long as you have me and the mills at your
back. And if you had not me, you would still have the mills.
Though I make money quickly, I make it cautiously, too. I
don't gamble with your future or Stella's. Even without me
that would be safe."
"Nothing would be safe for me without you, Jim. All
would be ruin and destruction. My very life hangs on yours."
He seemed to take pleasure in her protestation, and was
cruel to her for his pleasure.
" Not now, Nest," he said, pinching her fair cheek. " How
satin-skinned you are ! You have filled out. When I married
you you were too thin — such a little hand, like a bird's claw ! "
"1 was always delicate. Of course they thought I would
die of consumption. I have grown strong on happiness. But
really, really, Jim, I could not live without you."
" Then we must die together and leave Stella alone in a
cold world."
She shivered; and he was suddenly repentant.
"She would be safe enough with my brothers," he said.
" But why should we talk about such things ? I am as strong
as a bull, and you have become such a robust girl that I hardly
know you. There is no fear of consumption now. You eat
like a particularly hardy and hungry little bird."
A few days later James Moore came calling over the house
for "Nest! Nest!" as he often did when he came in. Nesta
was pouring out tea for Captain Grantley in the morning- room,
because it was an East-wind day, one of those blighting days
which sometimes come in summer when the sky is coppery and
there is a parching nip in the wind.
She ran to his call and met him as he came along the cor-
ridor to the morning- room. He had been away since early
morning, and she had not expected him home so soon.
She flung her arms about his neck and he held her clasped
closely to him for a second or two, in that way which made
them more like passionate lovers than married people of some
years' standing.
" I got back earlier than I expected," he said, " and I have
done a good stroke of business, a very good stroke of business.
Give me a cup of tea, and, afterwards, put on your hat and
drive over to Valley with me. The child, too — wrap yourselves
up. It is an unkindly day, although the sun is hot."
458 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [July,
They went into the morning-room, where, when he had taken
the cup of tea from his wife's hands, he stood on the hearth-
rug, his back to the fireless grate and talked and laughed, evi-
dently in high spirits.
He had certainly done a good bit of business. He had seen
Mrs. Greene's lawyers and had concluded with them the pur-
chase of the land upon which his mind had been set. The land
had cost him a big sum ; but he thought it was necessary that
he should have it. He had seraped up all the money he could
lay hands on so as to finish the transaction.
" If the business is pinched, Nest," he said, " I shall borrow
those bank-notes of yours."
She knew so little of his business that she was not sure
now whether he was in earnest or jesting ; how much the sum
might be which he had had to pay for those many acres of
wood and pasture; or whether the sum, whatever it was, would
strain the resources of the business. It was something he had
always kept her in ignorance of, telling her to ask of him what
money she would and not to bother her pretty head as to
where it came from.
Her husband was in such high spirits that he hardly seemed
to notice Captain Grantley's gloom, a gloom which Nesta had
been trying in vain to dispel for some time back. As he talked,
with his confident, triumphing air, which yet had no faintest
touch of braggadocio about it, the young officer glanced at him
once or twice enviously.
"You business men have the ball at your feet," he said as
Nesta stood up to get ready for the drive with her husband.
" I wish to heavens I'd been put into a shop instead of the
army. There's no chance for a soldier, especially if he has the
luck to be in a smart regiment."
" I should like to see you in a shop," James Moore an-
swered, looking down with humorous enjoyment at the sleek
parting of Captain Grantley's hair. " I wonder what you'd have
chosen to be, butcher or baker or candlestick maker? I like
to think of you in an apron cutting rashers of bacon or maybe
measuring out yards of flannel."
" You hulking ass, it isn't that sort of a shop, I mean,"
said Captain Grantley, his eye lighting to the humor of the
suggestion. "You're so beastly rich. You're no friend for a
wretched beggar like me."
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 459
Nesta smiled as she went out, closing the door behind her.
The affectionate, boyish terms on which her adored husband
was with the cousin she was fond of exhilarated her. Jim had
done more in a few minutes to win Godfrey from his gloom
than she in her two or three hours of gentle reasoning. And
now, Godfrey was off her hands for the afternoon. As she
came downstairs again, holding Stella by the hand, with a couple
of warm, light wraps over the other arm, he was just going out
— having remembered a promise to play tennis with the Vicar-
age girls.
"What's the matter with the fellow?" James Moore asked
his wife as they drove off in the dogcart, Stella cosily huddled
up at their feet. " He isn't half as jolly as he used to be. Any
one he doesn't like leaving behind when he goes back — eh ? "
"That is just it. It is Lady Eugenia."
James Moore whistled.
" I thought she was engaged to Stanhope," he said.
"It looks like it; but I hardly believe she is or is likely
to be. I have thought sometimes that she liked Godfrey: sl.e
sends him such wistful looks when he is keeping away from
her. Of course Godfrey would be a very poor match for Lady
Eugenia Capel; but I don't think she would mind that if she
cared. And she would bring her father round in time. He
adores her so and has such respect for her judgment."
"If I wanted a woman," said James Moore, "I think I
should have her, even if she were already engaged to another
man. I suppose it would depend on how much I wanted her.
If it were you, Nest, I would fight my way through all the
barriers of the world to reach you. But, then, you are my
woman — the one woman — there could never have been any other.
Of course it would be hard on the other man, but I should
do it."
Nesta did not know whether to be delighted or shocked.
In fact at the back of her mind she was delighted, as women
always are at the masterfulness of the man they love.
"It would be very wrong if I had been really engaged to
another man," she began, the ready blushes rushing over her
soft cheeks, "but of course I never could have been — "
" And equally, of course, if you had happened to be I should
have been obliged to take you away from him; so it was as
well there was no other."
460 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [July,
He leaned to draw her Indian shawl, which had come only
a few days ago with the other gifts from Miss Grantley, closer
about her throat.
" Lovers always, Nest, aren't we ? " he said.
"Yes, Jim."
Some of those who found James Moore an uncommonly
hard man in business matters would have been amazed at this
human aspect of him if they could but have looked upon it.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE RIVER.
Arrived at the mills, James Moore handed over his horse
to one of the hands to hold.
" I shall be as quick as possible, Nest," he said to his wife.
"Will you wait here, or go into the house?"
"Stella wants to see the garden," put in that young per-
son, in the plaintive, appealing voice which neither father nor
mother could find it in their hearts to resist. "Stella should
like to go see the pretty garden."
"Well Stella shall then," laughed James Moore, lifting her
out and then performing the same office for her mother. "I
shall come to you in the garden as soon as I am ready to go,
Nest. It is a good thought of Stella's."
They had to cross a couple of the wide mill-yards on their
way to the garden, which Richard Moore kept in exquisite
order, devoting to it every second of the time he could spare
from the business of the mills. James Moore was with them
as far as the second yard, where he left them, turning away to
the little office which he and his brothers still found good
enough for the transactions of their ever-increasing business.
It was a relief to Nesta to pass out from the high squares
of buildings, on to a quiet stretch of bleaching green. They
came out by a low archway, leaving the mills behind. Facing
them, beyond the bleaching ground, was the river: beyond that
were fields and woods, the very fields and woods, indeed,
which James Moore had just made his own. The sunlight lay
over the green and velvety place, lit the river where it flowed
under its alders, and sparkled in the windows of an old Manor
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 461
House, a mile away across the intervening fields, its twisted
chimney-stacks outlined against the sky. There were cattle
browsing in the fields; and the call of the wood-dove and the
songs oi many birds came sweetly to Nesta Moore's ear. She
was grieved that all this beauty must be swept into the maw
of her husband's great business. It would be different when
there were mean houses over there beyond the river, and all
the trail of ugly things that crowded humanity leaves in its
wake.
She said to herself that it was only men who defiled and
degraded, not the animals. The quiet- browsing cattle, the
sheep that were scattered over the hillside, were part of the
beauty of the scene and the hour. How sadly different it
would be when the squalid houses were over there ! Closing
her eyes she had a vision of it — hundreds of little yellow brick
houses, built with a horrid sameness. Hundreds of little back
yards, showing hideous under- garments flapping and filling in
the wind. Intolerable! The nightingale, who had made the
evening delicious in the wood and its neighborhood, must go.
The birds and the little soft, furry animals and the quiet beasts
must all go to make room for the crowded, mean streets of a
factory town. It was an outrage against nature.
She was leading Stella by the hand, the child dancing
gaily, like one of the many daisies in the grass, in the sun-
light. Beyond her ethereal looks she was a sturdy little child
and had had less than her share of baby illnesses. And Out-
wood Manor had done wonders to make her robust. The Mill
House had been too dark and stuffy for the child. As she
danced along now in the sunlight once or twice she broke from
her mother's hand.
Facing the mills, with its back to the river, stood a little
white house — three windows above, two below, with a green
door in the middle. There was a small cottage- garden in
front of it.
As Nesta and Stella went across the green an old woman
came down to the little gate, and stood, with a hand over her
eyes to keep off the sun, staring at them. As they came
nearer she recognized them, and, opening the gate, came to meet
them with lively demonstrations of pleasure.
She had a little wrinkled brown face; and her high cap
and the apron she wore over her brown stuff gown were as
462 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [July,
brilliantly white as laundering and bleaching could make them.
She was James Moore's Aunt Betsy who had come over from
the North of Ireland many years ago to be with her brother
when he got on in the world. She was still the old North of
Ireland woman, who had worked in the mill while it was yet
a small one and Andrew Moore but working manager. In
her humble way she had helped in the beginnings of her
nephew's fortune; and he saw nothing amiss with her. In
fact, he would, if he could, have had her living at Outwood,
would have presented her without a misgiving to the Duchess
of St. Germains and the rest of the county folk, which was
in part due to the curious simplicity which underlay his clever-
ness, partly too, no doubt, to his conviction that James Moore's
belongings must be good enough for all the world.
Aunt Betsy had been an alleviation of Nesta's lot during
the years at the Mill House. "Puir lassie !" she would say,
when Nesta walked across to spend an hour with her, as
though she knew the things which were never spoken of be-
tween them.
She occupied alone the house where Andrew Moore and
his wife had lived and died, a house which preserved a certain
sacredness for their children. So it was that Richard Moore
stocked the garden, sloping down to the river, with sweets of
all sorts and worked there himself by way of recreation, while
he left the garden at the back of the Mill House to go wild.
They went in by the little green door and along a passage
with boarded floor and white-washed walls shining with cleanli-
ness ; and out by another door into the garden. That day of
high summer it was a riot of color. So great an abundance
of flowers were there that it was only by degrees the orderli-
ness of it dawned on the beholder. There were sweet-peas
and gillyflowers, carnations, lilies, roses, pansies and phlox,
hollyhocks and snap-dragons, all in fragrant masses. Just
within the demure box-borders gooseberry and currant bushes
stood in a line, as they had stood when James Moore and his
brothers were children. Here and there was a gnarled apple
tree. Again there was a little hedge of sweet-briar, a clump
of lavender bushes covered with the delicious spikes, a bush of
lad's love. One side was a kitchen-garden, which provided
both the cottage and the Mill House with plenty of fresh
vegetables.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 463
It was a place Nesta loved — when her brother in- law's
shadow was not upon it. Now he was safe in the office, and
she was free to delight in it.
The child skipped along before them to the delight of the
old woman.
" She grows a strong lass," she said, " a strong lass. Time
was I thought tha' would lose her. Others thought the same.
I wouldn't wish for bonnier now."
" She grows wild, positively wild," said the proud mother.
" I shall have to get a governess to keep her in order."
As they went the old woman picked a flower here and
there, collecting them into what she called a country bunch for
Nesta.
"I know what tha' hast at Outwood," she said, "garden-
ers' flowers, very fine, but never a patch on these."
Presently her hospitable instincts asserted themselves and
she must return to the cottage to find some milk and home-
baked cake for Stella. After she had left them Nesta walked
down to the end of the garden by which the river flowed so
peacefully. Further on it fell over a weir and was captured
and caught into a mill-race to serve James Moore's purposes;
but here there was no hint of that destiny. Where it slipped
passed the garden the ground curved to either side, making a
tiny bay. In the middle of the river the current flowed
strongly towards the weir, but nearer the half-moon of water
was covered with a fleet of water-lilies.
Nesta stood looking about her holding the child by the
hand. She wondered how long James would be. Soon the sun
would be setting. But as yet it was bright and warm here in
this sheltered place, out of the nip of the unseasonable wind.
There was a step on the path, and she turned about, ex-
pecting to see the friendly face of Aunt Betsy. Instead she
was confronted by Richard Moore's darkly slouching figure
coming along the path.
She had a momentary sensation of fear, she knew not of
what. In her terror she let go the child's hand.
Stella, delighted to be free, made a few dancing steps, like
a little golden moth. There was a shriek, a splash — nothing
where the child had been.
Like a mad thing Nesta Moore sprang after the child.
Stella had sunk, just a little short of the bed of water-lilies at
464 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [July,
which she had been clutching, but her mother's hand seized
and closed upon her hair. Nesta Moore could swim fairly
well. She kept herself afloat for a second or two, trying to
swim; but she had not counted on the matted roots of the
water-lilies which were spread about. Still gripping Stella's
hair she turned over on her back, striking out desperately with
her feet, so as to free them from the entangling weeds — the
child's ringers clinging convulsively to her neck.
But, encumbered as she was with her clothes, she could do
little to free herself. Her head sank beneath the water and
the oozy slime filled her mouth and nostrils. The noise as of
a rushing river filled her ears ; then the weight was suddenly
lifted from her breast.
She rose again, panting and struggling desperately, and saw
with smarting eyes the form of her husband's brother, Richard.
In his arms he carried the child, ploughing through the muddy
shallows towards the bank. He did not look at her, and only
the broad and clumsy back was visible to her. Good heavens !
he was leaving her to drown.
The shock made her arms nerveless. She struggled no
longer. Again the stagnant water passed, bubbling horribly,
over her face. Then the present went away from her into a
vague and shadowy distance, in which there was neither pleas-
ure nor pain.
CHAPTER XV,
THE WORD UNSPOKEN.
When Nesta Moore came to herself she was on a chintz-
covered sofa in Aunt Betsy's little sitting-room. She lay a
minute without opening her eyes and heard the drip-drip of
something on the floor. She opened her eyes and looked into
her husband's face. It was from his clothing the water dripped.
He was wet as a water-dog. The slimy water dripped from
his hair and moustache. Where he stood a little pool was
forming about him on the clean boarded floor. He was still
pale with more than the shock of his immersion.
"You are all right, darling, and the child is all right," he
said. " See, she is at your feet, wrapped up in blankets, as
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 465
cou/Drtable as a mouse. Can you drink a little more of this
stuff?"
He lifted her head, keeping well away from her couch, and
held a glass to her lips. She swallowed the brandy obediently,
as she would have swallowed anything he gave her. She felt
the river-water still in her throat and nostrils, and she was
faint and ill. But, thank God ! she was safe, and the child was
safe. What would Jim have done without them ?
"Come now and change, my bairn," Aunt Betsy's coaxing
voice said. " See the mischief ye are doing. Ye're making
everything as wet as yourself, Jamie. They are all right now.
And here are some things ready to put on ye."
But still James Moore delayed, protesting cheerfully that he
would have to wait till the carriage could come from Outwood
with fresh garments, since it would be quite impossible for him
to get into those belonging to his brothers.
He hung above his wife and child in a rapture of joyful
thanksgiving because they were safe.
" Look at Stella, Nest," he said. " She looks as if she
were fresh out of her bath. Why she has a color and she is
laughing, the little rogue. It will never occur again, Nest. I
shall have the river fenced. It ought to have been done long
ago. I can hardly forgive myself. You were going for the
last time when I caught you. And Dick, old Dick, saved the
child. We must never forget it for Dick, Nest. By the way,
why doesn't he x:ome back ? He said he would when he'd
changed. Here, give me the things, Aunt Betsy, and I'll see
if I can get into some of them. A pretty sight I'll make with
trousers up to my knees and coatsleeves to my elbows ! "
He went out of the room, holding the bundle of clothes at
arms' length. But, having examined them, he decided on the
impracticability of getting them on, and stalked off just as he
was to the Mill House to borrow a dressing gown or some easy-
fitting garment.
He had never had a serious illness in his life, and very few
of the small ills flesh is heir to. He said afterwards that, as he
went through the arched passages which led from one mill-
yard to another, he felt chilled in his wet clothing. It was
quite half an hour before he came back to Nesta's side with a
dressing-gown belonging to his brother Stephen wrapped about
him. He laughed when Aunt Betsy scolded him for his im-
YOL. LXXXIX.— 30
466 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [July,
prudence in having loitered so long in his wet clothes ; and
reminded her that he had been immune from colds as long as
she remembered him.
As they drove home in the brougham which had been sent
over from Outwood, Nesta's head reposing on her husband's
shoulder, she was full of a strange gloom and horror which
she could not cast off no matter how she tried to banish them.
Her memory went back to the accident, or what had been
so nearly an accident, with the runaway milk cart. Then she
could remember being steeped in a rosy and tranquil happiness
in the hours that followed their escape. She and Jim might
have been dead or dying or badly injured. Or one might have
been injured or dead. And through the mercy of God they
were alive and together; and it was exquisite to have escaped
out of the danger, safe and unharmed.
Now, she could not be glad. Her lips stirred mechanically,
thanking God ; but there was a chill horror encompassing her,
the horror of that moment in which she had seen Richard
Moore go away and leave her to her death.
" Jim," she said, whispering to him, " Jim — what was your
brother Dick doing when you came and found me drowning ? "
" What was he doing ? What an odd question, Nest !
Why, now I come to think of it, I believe he was just doing
nothing, but standing holding the dripping child and staring.
A few minutes ago I didn't know I knew as much. But now
you recall me to it I remember. For a second I did not know
you were in the water too. Then I saw you come up. I for-
got everything. And how those accursed weeds held me. They
had the strength of cables. Nesta — my God!"
For a moment they clung together in a panic of memory.
Then James Moore sat upright and shook himself.
" I am like an hysterical woman," he said. " I didn't know
I had nerves. Let us forget it and be glad that we are all
safe and well.
He smoothed his wife's hair with his fine, capable hand.
" If you had not come, James, I should have drowned ? "
Nesta asked, in a small, shivery voice. " I should have drowned,
should I not ? The weeds would have dragged me down and
held me fast at the bottom of the river."
" Hush, Nesta. Thank God I came. I sent Dick first to
tell you I was ready. Then I thought I must see Aunt Betsy.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 467
I was crossing the bleaching- green when I heard you scream,
and my heart was in my mouth."
"I should have drowned, should I not?" she repeated, odd-
ly persistent.
" Unless Dick had come to his senses in time. I remember
now how he stood staring. It was too much for him. He was
like a man in a dream. But he had saved Stella. We must be
grateful to him forever because he saved Stella."
"Yes."
What a small, cold voice it was ! Her lips opened and
closed, opened and closed. She shared every thought with
him. Was she going to tell him that she believed his own
brother, whom he loved and trusted, had been ready to leave
her to her death ? What a monstrous accusation he would
think it ? Would he not turn away from her as from a mad-
woman, full of horrible imaginings ? And supposing that, after
all, Richard Moore had simply been spellbound, turned to
stone, frozen with horror, and so unable to save her ? Sup-
posing there was something black and evil in her own mind
that made her believe such horrible wickedness in a fellow-
creature — and that the one who had saved Stella ?
Her lips opened and shut, opened and shut — and remained
silent. It was an accusation she did not dare to make. The
secret must be between her and her husband in all the years
to come ; and it lay as chill and horrible in her soul as though
she herself had been the murderer in intention.
CHAPTER XVI.
A FORLORN HOPE.
During this afternoon, which had so nearly proved a ter-
rible one for James and Nesta, Miss Sophia Grantley had gone
paying visits.
It was a long time now since she had done such a thing.
For the last year or so she had been very home-keeping. She
seemed to have plenty to do at home, putting her house in
order, to judge by the many papers she docketed and filed and
destroyed and sent away for safe-keeping during that winter
which preceded Captain Grantley's leave. Since the summer
468 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER July,
had come in she had taken to a bath- chair, being drawn about
the quiet lanes by a trustworthy old servant, who took care
not to jar his mistress.
This afternoon, to the amazement of the coachman, he had
orders to bring round the landau, a stately vehicle which had
not been in use for a long time. Mr. Simmons rather resented
the order. He had grown so accustomed to having his time
to himself that it seemed the height of inconsideration for the
old lady to go out driving at her time of life, and with a nip
in the wind, too; and Simmons of late, perhaps because of his
easy life, had grown a bit wheezy and asthmatic, and looked
upon himself as a man entitled to his well-earned rest.
However, the carriage came round punctually, and Miss
Grantley came down the steps supporting herself with one
hand on her cane, the other on the arm of a rosy-cheeked,
good-natured woman who had succeeded Grice as her maid.
The old butler joined the woman on the steps as the landau
rolled away from the long, low front of the Priory.
"She do look fine," said Mrs. Sutton, "a-sitting up there
so straight. She doesn't look her years, not by half."
" She has great spirit," said Wilkins, the butler. " Great
spirit she has, our Missus. She'll hold her head high no
matter how she be suffering till, Mrs. Sutton, till she be car-
ried out in her coffing."
" Dear me, and she do suffer, poor soul, at times some-
think dreadful," said the sympathetic Sutton with a sniff.
But even Sutton did not know how much her mistress suf-
fered, nor guessed how near the time was when the indomi-
table old spirit should yield to the inevitable, and enter upon
the last grim fight, which could only be made lying down,
which could only end one way.
Miss Grantley had given the order — Mount-Eden. Sim-
mons received the order with a little wonder. In the old days
Lord Mount-Eden had been much abroad, and of late years
Miss Grantley had not attended to her social duties, so there
had been no visiting between them.
During the drive Miss Grantley sat bolt upright. She had
never been one for lolling. Time enough to lie down when
she must, and that time was not very far off. The carriage
went smoothly. The springs were still in excellent order; but
once or twice when there was a slight jerk, the old lady set
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 469
her lips tightly and the film upon her eyes deepened in in-
tensity.
She was fortunate in finding Lady Eugenia at home and
alone. The servant preceded her out to the garden at the
back, where the lady was sitting on a grass-plot under a copper
beech, with a newspaper on her lap.
When she heard the footsteps on the path she came to
meet her visitor, under the pergola of roses which was one of
the beauties of the place. She and Miss Grantley were slightly
acquainted. Lady Eugenia welcomed the old lady with some-
thing like effusiveness, taking her hand to lead her to where
there was a group of chairs surrounding that on which she
had been sitting.
She put Miss Grantley into the most comfortable of the
chairs, and set a footstool for her feet: then stood beside her
looking down at her, so tall and smiling and kind, like a gra-
cious young goddess. Yet she had been looking serious enough
just before Miss Grantley made her appearance and the gravity
was still in her eyes, although her lips smiled.
" It was so good of you to come," she said warmly. " Do
you know, I have often wished to call on you, Miss Grantley.
I hope papa will be in presently. He and Mr. Stanhope have
gone over to Burbridge to find out if there is any more news.
Of course you have heard — "
" My dear," said Miss Grantley, interrupting her, " you
shall tell me your news later. I want to talk to you without
fear of interruption. A dying woman doesn't pay afternoon
calls. I want to talk to you about my nephew, Godfrey."
"Your nephew, Captain Grantley?"
Lady Eugenia's brown cheeks were suddenly irradiated.
"He is very much in love with you, Lady Eugenia Capel.
No ; I'm not his ambassador. Godfrey can be his own am-
bassador. Only I happen to know that he is in love with
you — and that he does not dare show it, because he's a
poor man and no match for the Earl of Mount- Eden's only
daughter — "
" Papa has enough money," said the lady, with a grave
demeanor.
" And because he thinks he has no chance against Mr.
Stanhope," Miss Grantley said, watching Lady Eugenia's face
with eyes which had suddenly become bright and observant.
470 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [July,
" Mr. Stanhope — papa's friend and mine ? Mr. Stanhope
has no pretensions, I assure you, Miss Grantley. There is
some one else whom he worships — "
" If he has not, twenty others have. And my poor God-
frey has barely a penny to bless himself with, as they say.
Not that that is anything unusual among gentlefolk. It is not
they who have the money now, but tradespeople. And they
are received everywhere, even by those who ought to know
better. I have always taken a different view. Although my
own grand-niece married a man in trade, I wouldn't look at
her for years. The Duchess of St. Germains helped to recon-
cile me to the designs of Providence. She admires my great-
nephew- in- law so very much. They are quite friends. It was
a bit of a shock to me at first, for I have not quite dissoci-
ated Nesta's husband from his very respectable old father, who
used to stand hat in hand when we spoke to him."
" It is such an interesting family," said Lady Eugenia,
with a sparkling eye. " Old Mr. Moore's sister still lives in a
cottage at the back of the mill. She is a delightfully clean,
homely old body, with such a snowy high cap. I have gone
with your niece to take tea with her. And Mr. Moore's brothers
are so odd and interesting."
" I've always heard they were horrors," said Miss Grantley.
" But — James Moore is really a remarkable person. From what
the Duchess tells me I begin to understand my great-niece's
infatuation."
" The Duchess thinks Mr. Moore a finer figure of a man
than even the late Duke," Lady Eugenia said, with a flash of
humor, "and she ought to know. Her first husband died just
in time to prevent her divorcing him, because she discovered
when he went to court that he had no calves to his legs."
Miss Grantley looked at her with the far-away contempla-
tive gaze with which the old sometimes greet the sallies of
the young.
Just then a clock in the stable-yard struck, and Miss
Grantley's gaze became alert.
" How I am wasting my time," she said, " and at any
moment some one may come and prevent my saying what I've
come to say. A dying woman doesn't drive about the coun-
try for the pleasure of making small talk. Yes, I'm a dying
woman, my dear; and I should like to make some one happy
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 471
before I go. My great-nephew, Godfrey, is in love with you,
Lady Eugenia (Capel)."
She stared hard at the color that once more flooded the
lady's cheeks.
" And you are in love with him," she said. " They were
wrong who gave you to Mr. Stanhope."
Lady Eugenia's eyelids fluttered nervously.
" Captain Grantley avoids me," she said in a low voice.
" Because he is a high-minded, Quixotic boy. He has no
money and you have much. That is why I am not going to
wait for my death to give him all I have. It is not much as
fortunes go now-a-days, but at least he need not depend alto-
gether on your bounty. Godfrey shall speak."
Lady Eugenia blushed redly and then turned very pale.
" I should like him to speak now," she said ; " but per-
haps he never will. Perhaps, if he is as I think him, he will
think I ought to be free. There is going to be war — and
with savages; the worst kind of war. That was the news I
wanted to tell you. Gordon is dead in Khartoum. We must
talk and think of nothing else now. He will not speak. He
will not be thinking of love. Ah, here comes papa."
For the rest of the visit Miss Grantley was strangely silent,
so silent that Lord Mount-Eden, when he had returned, won-
dered why the old lady had come only to sit mum-chance
like that. And Mr. Stanhope, who prided himself on a knowl-
edge of what lay behind faces, wished she would speak; won-
dered what it was, resolution or despair, that sat on the pale
old lips so tight together.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
THE WONDERS OF LOURDES.
BY J. BRICOUT.
URING the past two years unusual attention has
been given to Lourdes — the little village of the
Pyrenees in which so many marvels have occurred
ever since that blessed eleventh of February,
1858, when the Queen of Heaven graciously ap-
peared to the humble Bernadette. Pilgrims have flocked thither
in larger crowds than usual. The happenings at the shrine,
both past and present, have become once more the object of
the most widely divergent views.
What is to be thought of Bernadette's visions and the cures
at Lourdes ? It will be worth our while to examine these
questions thoroughly and without prejudice.
But before we treat the matter directly, it may be well to
glance at the attitude of both believers and unbelievers in this
connection.
We will not dwell on the " persecutions" or trials to which
Bernadette and the first believers in Lourdes were subjected
by the civil authorities, among whom were the Mayor, the
Police Commissioner, the Prefect, and the Minister of Public
Instruction and Worship. Many of the officials who tried to
make Bernadette retract her assertions, and to check the popu-
lar enthusiasm, were sincere Catholics. Others, while not posi-
tively hostile to the Church, did not believe in the supernatu-
ral. At any rate, they did not admit that, subsequent to the
Gospel miracles, there was any need of Divine intervention in
the world.
Science and scientists naturally take a part in the debates
provoked by the happenings at Lourdes. They have a right
to do so. We have no thought of reproaching them for sub-
jecting the wonders of Lourdes to the most exhaustive investi-
gation. We blame them only because they treat the question
too summarily, and subject it to a sort of jugglery.
A few examples will bring out our thought clearly. In its
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 473
issue of June 27, 1872, U Union Medicate printed a conference
delivered by Doctor Voisin, of the Salpetriere. In it, as proof
that hallucinations very frequently led to insanity, the learned
professor asserted that Bernadette, having lost her mind, had
been "shut up in the Ursuline Convent of Nevers."
Two months later (Nevers, September 3, 1872) Dr. Robert
Saint-Cyr, President of the Nievre Medical Society, wrote as
follows to Dr. Damoiseau, President of the Orne Medical So-
ciety :
MY DEAR COLLEAGUE : You could not have applied to a
better source for information about the young girl of gourdes,
to-day Sister Marie-Bernard. As doctor to the community, I
have long given my care to this young sister, whose delicate
health at one time gave us cause for uneasiness. She is now
much better, from a patient has become my infirmarian, and
has accomplished her duties perfectly. She is slight and
frail in appearance, and is twenty-seven years old. Natural-
ly calm and gentle, she tends the invalids very intelligently,
and without omitting any of the directions given. She has
complete control of her patients, and I have entire confidence
in her.
You see, my dear colleague, that this young sister is far
from being insane. I would say further that her calm, sim-
ple, and sweet nature is not in the least compatible with any
such tendency. . . .
One month later, on October 3, the Bishop of Nevers wrote
the following letter to the Univers:
SIR : As you very well know, it was asserted some
little time ago by a professor at the Salpetriere, when devel-
oping his theory on hallucination, that Bernadette Soubirous,
in religion Sister Marie-Bernard, was detained in the Ursu-
line Convent at Nevers as a mad woman. Will you kindly
publish this letter, in which I declare :
1. That Sister Marie-Bernard has never set foot in the
Ursuline Convent at Nevers.
2. That she lives at Nevers, it is true, but in the mother-
house of the Sisters of Charity and of Christian Instruction,
where she entered and remains of her own free will, like any
other sister.
3. That, far from being mad, she is an uncommonly sensi-
ble person and of unequalled calmness of mind. Moreover,
474 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [July,
I have great pleasure in inviting the above-mentioned pro-
fessor to come in person to verify this triple statement.
If he will be good enough to let me know the date of his
arrival, I will see to it that he is put into communication with
Sister Marie- Bernard, and that he may have no doubt as to
her identity, I will ask M. le Procureur of the Republic to
present her. He will then be able to examine her and to
question her as long as it pleases him.
M. E. Artus even promised 10,000 francs to Dr. Voisin if
he would prove his assertion. The [professor remained silent.
M. Artus then wrote to him:
Allow me, Sir, to end this discussion by a reflection which
is addressed to all those who, like yourself, have the honor to
speak to the public, either by speech or in writing. In these
conditions, any man who denies or asserts facts of such im-
portance, without due consideration, or accurate verification,
commits a social crime, for he falsifies or troubles the con-
science of an innumerable class who have neither time nor
opportunity to examine the matter for themselves, and who
naturally tend to believe those whose duty it is to instruct
them.*
Dr. Balencie, now attached to the Medical Office at Lourdes,
knew and observed Bernadette from the time of the first appa-
rition. Although a Catholic, he came to the conclusion, in his
report to the Prefect, that the young girl was a victim of hal-
lucinations. His testimony, then, has weight. Surely we may
trust him when he affirms, with many others, that Bernadette left
Lourdes of her own free will, out of humility and also out of a
desire to escape the vain and tiring exhibitions which she could
not avoid while there.
How many doctors and learned men manifest the same lack
of judgment as Dr. Voisin when treating of Lourdes? They
imagine that there is nothing more to be said after they have
spoken of "the faith that heals "and the power of suggestion.
They practically assert that only nervous diseases are healed at
Lourdes, or that, at any rate, there is never any sudden resto-
ration of any wasted tissue. Cases are cited which disprove
* The text of these documents is taken from 1'Abbe" Bertrin's book, A Critical History
of Happenings at Lourdes. The abb<* is a professor at the Catholic Institute of Paris. His
book is published in English by Benziger Brothers, New York.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 475
their assertions. They answer that these cases are undoubtedly
apocryphal ; that they do not exist. They seem to think that
their denial ends the matter. It is, to be sure, one way of
escaping a difficulty, but it surely is not honest and scientific.
The facts ought to be studied at closer range. The question
is a grave one, and of supreme importance for our moral and
religious life. May we not charge those who flatly deny the
evidence of facts, who do not hesitate to contradict themselves
by "correcting" or denying their diagnosis of a case, rather
than admit a miraculous cure, with falsehood and dishonesty ?
One day a girl arrived at gourdes with a medical certifi-
cate, stating that she was consumptive. After a first bath in
the piscina she felt cured. Examined at the Medical Office,
it was found that there was no longer any lung disease. The
evil no longer existed, if it had existed at all.
The certificate which stated its existence was short, but to
the point. From motives of prudence the doctor was wired
to, to obtain a distinct and certain diagnosis. Nothing was
mentioned of the cure which had taken place. The doctor
telegraphed back : " She is consumptive."
It became known later that this was also the opinion of
other doctors who had attended the patient. Meanwhile the
girl returned joyiully home, and immediately went to the
doctor to obtain a certificate of her cure. He gave her one,
but very unwillingly. When she read it she found that he
declared her to be cured, but cured of a cold.
The phthisis, certified to in the previous certificate and in
the telegram, had developed into a cold ! The free-thinker
had overruled the doctor and made him lie.*
Those who will not admit the fact of a divine intervention
at Lourdes, unless God raises a dead man to life or restores an
amputated limb, are both thoughtless and unfair. According
to them, the cures that have been effected there thus far are
but trifles that do not merit serious consideration. -They will
believe only on more certain grounds.
How can those prodigies, with which the history of Lourdes
is filled, be treated so disdainfully ? They are of the very
highest value. And what foolish pride there is in demanding
that God work this or that miracle to order. " If they hear
• Bertrin, Lturdes, pp. 231-232.
476 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [July,
not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one
rise again from the dead."
These words are ever true. I know not if God will some
day be pleased to work at Lourdes the stupendous miracles
such critics ask, but I do know that if these miracles were
performed, these same critics would quickly conjure up some
other pretext for refusing to find the finger of God in them.
"After all," they would say, "why should it be impossible for
a dead man to come to life again naturally ? Why should
not the soul, at times, come back to resume possession of the
body it has left, and so reconstitute the living combination
called man ? " Or another difficulty would be brought for-
ward. " Is the fact itself absolutely certain ? " Might it not
have been merely an hallucination, due either to hypnotic or
auto-suggestion? For it is in this fashion that many have ex-
plained the Gospel miracles, such as the changing of water into
wine, the multiplication of loaves, the calming of the tempest,
the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and the resurrection of
Jesus. " Unbelievers are the most credulous of all men," said
Pascal. How much wiser is the man of good- will, who loyally
admits the facts that have been observed and bravely holds
fast to the conclusions that follow from them !
It is not merely scientific men who give evidence of
thoughtlessness, and even of bad faith in connection with
Lourdes. We will mention here only two names — Zola and
Jean de Bonnefon. Zola, for instance, in his book on Lourdes
gave his readers the impression that it was a true account
of what actually took place at Lourdes. The press echoed
the claim, yet the book is purely and simply a romance.
Zola never saw Bernadette. He never consulted those who
knew her and could study her at close range. What he wrote
about her childhood is, on the whole, pure fancy, though he
writes as if it were actual truth. He claims that Bernadette was
a victim of hallucinations. He also imagines the cures that
he narrates, fashioning them according to the needs of his
thesis. They are altogether at variance with fact. His hero-
ine, Marie de Guersaint, is a type of the hysterical patient
cured by suggestion. His other " miraculously cured " charac-
ters, have nothing of the supernatural in their cure. Their
cure, if it is a case of cancer, has been gradual and imperfect ;
if it is a case of bone decay, it has not been sufficiently estab-
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 477
lished; if it is a case of consumption, it has not been permanent
or real. All that is false. Dr. Boissarie and 1'Abbe Bertrin
have proved it superabundantly. But how few of Zola's readers
will open books like those of Bertrin or Boissarie? They will
take Zola's words as truth.
One example will show how Zola plays fast and loose with
facts. La Grivotte, whom he pictures with excessive realism,
is none other than Marie Lebranchu. But while Marie Le-
branchu was instantaneously cured of consumption, which
would have soon proved fatal, and has had no relapse in six-
teen years, La Grivotte, after a brief improvement which can
be explained by suggestion, dies on her return from Lourdes.
This off-hand manner of deriding truth, and daringly cheat-
ing his readers, so upset the president ol the Medical Office,
that one day, when at Paris, he called on M. Zola and said :
' ' How did you dare to make Marie I/ebrauchu die ? You
know very well that she is as well as you or I."
" What has that got to do with me ? " was the audacious
reply. " My characters are my own. I can treat them as I
like. I can make them live or die as I please. All I have to
consider is the interest of my plot."
I do not know what M. Boissarie then replied, but I know
very well ttiat he might have said :
" If you wished to take such liberties you should not have
announced to the world at large that your novel is historical.
Nor should you have said in the press you were going to ex-
pose 'the truth, the whole truth, the truth which will profit
everybody.' Once the public have received such promises,
they have a right to expect their accomplishment. The
author is bound to relate the facts faithfully, even if they are
contrary to his personal opinions. If, then, a cured woman
who maintains her cure is represented as undergoing a mortal
relapse, the case is certainly one of perjury.*
Undoubtedly some of the cures at Lourdes — apparent cures
— are not permanent. We have no thought of denying that
suggestion can afford temporary relief, even to consumptives.
What we do say against Zola is, not that he makes La Grivotte
suffer a relapse, but that he makes her case the ordinary rule
and creates the impression that nervous diseases are the only
diseases truly cured at Lourdes.
p. 347-348.
478 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [July,
Zola was embarrassed by Marie Lebranchu's existence. He
tried to get this troublesome witness out of the way by bury-
ing her in an obscure corner of Belgium. Marie Lebranchu her-
self, in March, 1908, told about the visit Zola paid her in 1906,
four years after her cure:
" He (Zola) said that M. Boissarie worried him all the time
about my case, and reproached him for having made me die.
He told me that if I wanted to leave Paris, and go to Belgium
with my husband, he would see to it that we should not want
for anything."
' ' Then he suggested that you go to Brussels ? ' '
"No; not to Brussels, nor to any other large "city. We
would have to live in a country-place which he would get lor
us himself. Then he pulled out his pocket-book, and took a
bundle of bank-notes from it. I do not know how much it
was, for he did not count them. He held them out to me,
saying : ' Here, this will do for your first needs. It will be
enough for a month. In that time I will look for what you
want and I will myself secure you a place.' "
" Did you accept the offer? "
" For a moment I was tempted to do so, for we were detii-
tute at the time. But my husband, making up his mind
quite suddenly, went up to M. Zola, took him by the arm,
and threw him out, bidding him go away. M. Zola left and I
never saw him again." *
No matter what he may say to the contrary, Zola wrote
his novel in order to destroy belief in the supernatural at
Lourdes. M. Jean de Bonnefon, in writing his newspaper arti-
cles and gathering them into a volume, t aimed at the same
end. M. de Bonnefon called himself a Catholic, but he wished
to persuade the government to stop pilgrimages to Lourdes.
M. de Bonnefon demands that they be forbidden on the
ground of public morality: Lourdes is but a shameful exploitation
of human credulity. He calls for it in the name of public health:
these sick people travel through France and are always likely
to spread contagion. He calls for it in the name of public
order : Lourdes is a hot-bed of political reaction. No doubt,
he adds, simple people will be grieved by the closing of this
"bad place," where they think they see a little corner of heaven
* Ibid., p. 577. fjean de Bonnefon, Lourdes et ses Tenanciers.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 479
dropped down on earth. But there are cases in which a sur-
geon will not shrink from performing even the most painful
operations.
M. de Bonnefon does not prove his statements. I will not
stop to show that Lourdes is not a center of political disturbance,
nor a source of infection. There is hardly any one who has
taken the editor of the Petite Republique and the Depeche (of
Toulouse) seriously in these points. I may be excused, how-
ever, for dwelling on what he continually speaks of as "the
lie of Lourdes." De Bonnefon writes :
There is no need of a scientist to refute the legend. An
historian's notes will do that.
On several occasions he speaks as an historian who has
ransacked archives, discovered unedited documents, and holds
himself as an impartial critic. The truth is that M. de Bonnefon
has done nothing, as a rule, but repeat lying rumors, long in
circulation. For example, he has repeated the story concern-
ing the source of the water-supply for the pools and pipes in
the Grotto *
On some points, however, he has furnished an unedited
document for his readers. Unfortunately all that is interesting
in this document bears strong traces of apocryphal origin.
First let us hear M. de Bonnefon :
M. Falconnet, a magistrate, worthy of a place in old-time
parliaments, was then "procureur general" at the imperial
court of Pau. On December 28, 1857, forty-five days before
the first apparition t he sent the following (unpublished) official
note to the imperial " procureur" at the Lourdes court.
OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR AT THE IMPERIAL
COURT OF PAU.
MY DEAR ASSOCIATE : I hear that certain manifestations
pretending to be supernatural and apparently miraculous are
planned for the end of the year. I beg you to see to it that a
close watch is kept on them. I must know the details so as to
judge under what articles of the Penal Code they may be prose-
cuted. I fear that you can count but little on the local au-
* This groundless and hundred-times-refuted story is to th.e effect that the water comes
from the Gave through skillfully concealed pipes.
t The italics are M. de Bonnefon's.
480 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [July,
thorities, either civil or religious. It is our duty to take the
necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of scandals like those
of La Salette,* and particularly because the religious demon-
stration conceals a political scheme.
Respectfully yours,
E. FAI.CONNET,
Procureur general.
During his New Year's receptions, M. Falconnet repeated
the suggestions he had made to the Imperial Prosecutor at
I/ourdes. He then left for Paris and reported the impending
events to his superior, the Keeper of the Seals.
Apropos of this matter we will quote 1'Abbe Bertrin, who
has devoted a few pages of his new edition to M. de Bonnefon's
unpublished document.
This document may be characterized in one word. // is
apocryphal.
We boldly challenge the man who quoted it for the first
time, in 1905, to produce the original, or at least to tell where
it can be seen, so that the public will be able to prove its ex-
istence. The unknown agent, who brought him the co^y,
played a trick on him. The document never existed.
M. Bertrin concludes his sharp, decisive discussion of the
letter as follows :
To speak seriously, it is plain that the whole story aims at
making us ridiculous. This " official note" is written in a
style that is neither known nor approved in official circles.
This extremely important official communication is never
heard of until it suddenly puts in its appearance one day after
the lapse of half a century. Then there is no telling where it
comes from. It is, moreover, astonishing that all the inter-
ested officials of the time, among them the supposed recipient
of the letter himself, show by their words and conduct that
they never even suspected the existence of this document.
These suggestions were renewed at a New Year's reception
which has been proved fictitious.! The trip to Paris was un-
dertaken by a prominent personage just to give the Keeper of
* La Salette is a village of the Alps. According to the common belief of the faithful, the
Blessed Virgin appeared in 1846 to a little boy and girl who were tending their flocks on the
mountain nearby.
t It has been proved that M. Falconnet did not hold any reception on New Year's Day,
1858, nor on the days following.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 481
the Seals information about a village rumor. . . . This
whole extravagant story is evidently a romance. It is a badly-
conceived romance, however, for it is too unreal and its im-
probability is too evident. A critical mind need not give it
another thought. There can be no doubt in the matter. The
case is settled.
Eight or ten months have already elapsed since M. Bertrin
published this complete refutation, but M, de Bonnefon has
not been heard from. Like Dr. Voisin before him, he is silent.
He has no answer ready. Once again, however, we are forced
to say that, in a certain world, honesty does not seem to be
current coin.
To put it briefly, I am of the opinion that the stand taken
by the Church and by the faithful with regard to Lourdes is
much more correct and honest than that taken by free-thinkers.
I do not mean to say that Churchmen have no reason at
all for self-reproach in this, as in other matters. One must be
very guileless and childlike to pretend to find absolute perfec-
tion here below. We know that men are always men. Even
granting that the charges or insinuations of Henri Lasserre,
Huysmans, Zola, and Jean de Bonnefon are not entirely ground-
less, we will not be thereby scandalized. The all-important fact
is that the clergy, as a body, have played a part at Lourdes
which is approved by good sense, prudence, and honesty.
L'Abbe Peyramale, the pastor of Lourdes, and Mgr. Lau-
rence, the Bishop of Tarbes, began very wisely by holding
aloof and by keeping silence. If it was God who was acting
through Bernadette, He would easily furnish His credentials.
They did not deny, a priori, the objective reality of Berna-
dette *s visions; neither did they affirm it off-hand. They waited
for incontrovertible proof.
The little girl's sincerity, however, was beyond question.
Soon cures were worked by water from the spring which she
had revealed. The people, with eager confidence, were con-
vinced that it was the Immaculate Virgin who had appeared to
her. On July 28, 1858, more than five months after the first
apparition, Mgr. Laurence decided to appoint a committee of
investigation. Almost four years more passed by before the
Bishop gave his decision, authorizing his diocese to venerate
our Lady of the Grotto of Lourdes.
VOL. LXXXIX.— 31
482 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [July,
This ordinance has not been left to stand alone, Others
have appeared, even quite recently, giving canonical judgment
to the effect that certain cures have been wrought through the
intercession of our Lady of Lourdes.
Up to the present time, it is true, the Popes have not
given any explicit, definitive judgment from which one could
conclude that the Church teaches infallibly the supernatural
character of the revelations to Bernadette or of the cures at
Lourdes. There is no doubt, however, about their private
opinion. Pius X., as well as Pius IX. and Leo XIII., believes
firmly that they are supernatural. Leo XIII. having author-
ized an Office and Mass of the Apparition, on November 13,
1907, Pius X. extended the feast to the whole Church. Hence-
forth it is of liturgical obligation on February n. M. Bertrin
remarks that this is the only happening of its kind in eight
hundred years. In all that time no other " apparition " has
found entrance into the general liturgy. Many significant in-
dications, furthermore, give ground for the belief that Rome
will not delay to "introduce the cause" of the beatification
and canonization of Bernadette.
The judgment of Catholics in general, like that of the epis-
copate, is firm and clear. The excellent works of Pere Cros,
Dr. Boissarie, and 1'Abbe Bertrin — I mention only the best-
known — have fully enlightened the faithful. They know that a
host of conscientious and well-informed physicians unhesitatingly
guarantee the proofs of miracles effected by the Virgin of
Lourdes. Two declarations in particular have been the object
of widespread public attention.
The first was made by more than a hundred physicians
who met on October 21, 1901, under the presidency of the
illustrious Dr. Duret, a professor of the surgical clinic in the
Catholic Faculty of Medicine at Lille. Dr. Le Bee, the well-
known surgeon of St. Joseph's Hospital in Paris, had explained
the cure of Pierre de Rudder with the most scrupulous exact-
ness. After an exhaustive study of the case, and with a per-
fect knowledge of the facts, the assembly voted the following
conclusions :
The members of St. Luke's Society, after an examination
of the circumstances connected with the cure of Pierre de
Rudder, who was afflicted for about eight years with a sup-
purating fracture of the leg, are of opinion
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOVRDES 483
1. That the complete restoration of the bone, revealed by
the autopsy, could not have been effected suddenly by natural
means.
2. That the testimony of many eye-witnesses, who visited
the sick man immediately before his cure, is sufficient to at-
test the continuance of the fracture, even if a medical certifi-
cate had not been issued, as happened, at that very time.
They think, consequently, that this sudden cure ought to be
considered a fact of the supernatural order, or, in other
words, a miracle.
The second declaration is even more recent. It dates from
1906-1907. At the time that violent attacks were being made
against pilgrimages to Lourdes, it was signed by 346 doctors.
In it we read :
The undersigned consider it a duty ... to admit that
unhoped-for cures are effected at lyourdes in great numbers,
by a particular energy or agency, whose secret formula science
does not know as yet, and which it cannot explain reasonably
by the sole powers of nature.
The signers of this act of faith are not obscure men.
Among them there are three members of the Academy of
Medicine, a dozen professors of Faculties, forty-two surgeons
and physicians from hospitals, fourteen heads of clinics or la-
boratories, and forty-two acting or former internes.
In the present paper we simply wish to state that, in view
of what we have said about the sentiments of ecclesiastical
authorities and competent scholars, Catholics have good reason
to believe in the Virgin of Lourdes and in the miracles which
her goodness bestows so freely.
They should not be taxed with blind credulity for betaking
themselves to Lourdes by hundreds of thousands and by mil-
lions. Their confidence rests on sure foundations.
There is, no doubt, something great and high-spirited in
the stand taken by the scholarly free-thinker who confronts
what is extraordinary with an undiminished faith in the power
of science and tells himself that there will come a day in which
science will explain and clear up what is now mysterious and
apparently superior to nature, just as it has already explained
many things that were but lately included in the realm of
mystery.
484 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [July.
There is something noble in the faith which buoys up and
animates so many scientists — a faith often crowned with suc-
cess. We also share this faith in so far as it is well-founded
and legitimate. There is nothing to hinder our belief in the
laws of nature and the indefinite victories of science. We re-
ject only the excesses and vagaries of scientific faith. Nature
and her laws are always subject to God, their sovereign Author.
When He sees fit to do so in His Infinite Wisdom, He is al-
ways free to act directly in this world and always able to
make His intervention perceptible to men of good-will.
I say to men of good-will. The reason why is because
moral and religious facts or reasonings do not impose them-
selves on men's minds with such constraining force as to take
away all possibility of resistance and with it all merit. "I
have believed because I have seen," said Dr. Doyous, a phys-
ician of Lourdes, a sceptic in religion. He had examined
Bernadette carefully and admitted that he was overcome by
the facts. Dr. Doyous believed because he had seen, I grant
it, but also because the truth did not frighten him. Dr. Ba-
lencie, of whom we have already spoken, Dr. Diday, and *nany
others were also men of good- will. They had cast doubt on
the miracle of Lourdes. They had denied it, opposed it, and
even ridiculed it ; but they ended by proclaiming it openly.
Let free-thinkers who willingly acknowledge Bernadette's
sincerity and the reality of the cures at Lourdes, have the
courage to be perfectly honest with themselves. Let them
resolve, sincerely, to accept the whole truth with all its prac-
tical consequences. This good-will, we are sure, will open their
souls to the sweet influence of the Immaculate Virgin of
Lourdes.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE.
BY PAMELA GAGE.
|HE house is the shell into which the man creeps,
that strange erection of one box upon another
which has become to him more than a shelter from
the wind and weather, which contains all his ego-
isms, and is spiritual or earthly, according to the
nature of its owner. It is something inseparable from the man.
He plants his character upon it. Then it becomes home. If
it should be only a home for a little while, the body of it be-
longing to some one who has no more to do with it than that
lifeless ownership, the soul of the house, which for the time
being is an image of the man's soul, departs from the house with
him, and it is soulless, lifeless, till a new owner comes to give
it a soul.
When I have been in a house for a time but have had to
leave it I have felt that the house was dead and I was closing
its eyes when I turned my back upon it. It has been a little
death to myself to leave a house which I have informed with
my own soul, which has shared so many things poignant and
pleasant with me. I have always felt that the house left soul-
less was like a ghost that cried to one in the still watches of
the night to come back and warm it. These square boxes be-
come as so many tabernacles of the soul: within them life is
begun and love is brought to fruition. Those walls look upon
the tragedies of the soul when one lies awake at night and is
solitary after an illness. They are acquainted with death and
birth. The spirit is yielded up in them, and they have held
the exquisiteness of children and the tenderness of parents and
the silent hours of lovers and the communion with God. They
become so sacred that it seems a thousand pities they should
ever serve for one family after another. They ought to be
Holy of Holies : and instead, with the great mass of people,
they are but shelters from the wind and rain for three years
or five years ; and then away to another house. It is no won-
der the business of house-building has become degraded, since
486 THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE [July,
what was once a temple is now a shelter for the night. It is
fitting that houses should be jerry-built and topple soon to
ruins. They are not fitted for what should be a house's high
vocation.
You have only to mark the difference between the beauti-
ful old houses that have enshrined the same family for ages
and the newer houses that are a public thing. It is not a dif-
ference of age and beauty and strong building : it is something
more subtle than that. A quite new house, though you lav-
ished on it as much as Solomon did on the building of the
Temple, would still be a dead thing : a mere empty shell await-
ing its soul. Whereas the old house has a wisdom and vener-
able charm all its own. It is like a beautiful old, wise mother
who knows much and can impart much.
On the other hand, there are houses that are always soul-
less, and these are houses that one leaves without regret. They
are those houses which are built for only temporary habitation,
only concerned with the holidays of life, such as seaside chalets
and villas. One feels no more grief at leaving them than at
leaving an empty box. One has no memories of them. Where-
as, leaving behind a many-hundred-year-old cottage, which we
had inhabited for a couple of months, my very heart bled at
forsaking it where it stood in its little cottage-garden. The
moonlit nights, the exquisite mornings, the singing of birds,
the golden summer days, seemed somehow bound up with it.
When I left it so much had I lost, by so much was I the
poorer and the older. The cottage had a soul, and the little
windows under the timbered eaves looked after us as we turned
away like the eyes of a friend who is forsaken.
I have always thought that a house which is really a dwell-
ing-place tells you its secrets as you cross the threshold. I
think I can tell if love is there and peace. In a house where
those who ought to love each other are at variance, on the
brightest days I have seen the lurking shadows in the hall and
on the staircase. In old houses about London, beautiful in
their own way, I have smelt old sins in the rooms and have
not been surprised to hear that this or that famous rake or
famous courtesan inhabited there. In old houses in the coun-
try, with the wind blowing through them and greenness and
beautiful distances beyond the windows, I have been aware of
the peaceful and simple lives that were lived there. As an old
1909.] THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE 487
garden in London smells of the churchyard, while the country
garden smells of box and roses, so the old London house, once
a country house, hidden away picturesquely in a secluded
place, is haunted by the ghosts of old sins.
What gives a Queen Anne house or a Georgian house in
a London square or street its curious, old-world dignity ? Is
it not the beaux and the belles who once inhabited there ?
When you have entered a house of this sort, insignificant,
relatively, outside, within beautiful and spacious, with an or-
dered, old-world dignity which hears no more of the roar of
London than if it were a hundred miles away, it is not the
body of the house that impresses you. It is its soul ; its soul
which has taken on the impression of those dead and gone
men and women. No mere adding together and grouping of
bricks and mortar, marble and stucco-work, no carpets and
curtains, tables and chairs, could give you that sense of a
living personality.
I -have a fancy, a conviction perhaps, that I know, cross-
ing its threshold, a house in which religion is a living force.
It is the something light and bright which meets one at the
door of a convent and makes every convent beautiful. I asso-
ciate it nearly always with rather spare and austere abodes.
There are other lightnesses and brightnesses. There is the
warmth of a home where the mother is a loving and bene-
ficent influence to her children. I have known such a one
and there was a feeling of firelight in it all the year. Now
the poor house stands empty, remembering the fire that has
gone out. The last time I passed there the gates at which I
used to turn in so certain of my welcome had flapping bills
— " To Let or to be Sold " — upon them. I came upon it
suddenly, arriving there by a road which I had not known
passed those gates which had been such a pleasant sight to
me as the end of a pilgrimage. The bills were terrible to me,
and the empty, unlit house in the midst of its fields and
gardens.
There is also a brightness and lightness of country air, es-
pecially visible when one has come from the city. It used to
hang in those cottage rooms lucent as well-water. It was an
absence of course as well as a presence : an absence of the
impurities that hang in London air, making it almost palpable ;
but a sweet, pure presence as well. The lightness and bright-
THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE [July,
ness of holiness is another matter. It is so clear that some
might find it cold. It attained its perfection doubtless in a
small house at Nazareth some nineteen hundred years ago.
I have crossed over a threshold and I have said to myself:
" Here lives a saint." I have found it in the little, damp
cabin inhabited by an Irish village-dressmaker, who was the
prototype of Mary as her sister was of Martha. Martha
cooked and washed up, and swept and dusted, and dug in the
little garden, and put wall-flowers in an old jam-jar by Mary's
bed : for Mary sat in bed, propped up with cushions, and
sewed, with the eyes of her soul in the other world, while the
eyes of her body were occupied with stitches. She put in a
prayer with every stitch, but she was never pietistic. Though
she was always sitting at Some One's feet, yet she could talk
cheerfully of gores and gathers and frills : and the long horse-
face, which ought to have been ugly, was beautiiul, ravaged
by suffering, unhealthy in color from lack of the open air and
the sunshine, yet beautiful always, as though there were a light
behind it. She was a much better craftswoman than most of
her kind ; indeed, it was her devotion to her craft that had
laid her low for life — for, sitting up late to finish a wedding
dress for a rustic bride, in her green youth she sat on the
cold stone flags of the floor, that discomfort might keep her
awake, and so contracted the chill which twisted her out of
shape. She was humbly apologetic to poor Brother Ass the
body for the things she had laid upon it unthinkingly, and
while she talked in her soft drawl I saw the lightness and
the brightness in the room.
I remember it also in a village post-office, where there was
a pretty elderly spinster, with little hectic lights in her cheeks.
There my memory of it is associated with the smell of lilies
which in Julys long ago used to fill many receptacles. The
floor was of clay, but the room had a strange dignity of its
own, given it by the few pieces of old furniture which had
survived the raids of collectors — a corner cupboard, a spinet
with a high fluted back of faded red satin, a sofa with carved
lions for feet and a high carved back, some quaint pieces of
china and old spotted engravings. There was a beautiful order-
liness about everything and the lightness and brightness hung
in the air like a curtain, and the smell of the lilies smote
sharply through it.
1909.] THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE 489
There was another house on a hill where a lady sat at a
desk of mornings writing books in which scholarship was
matched with a beautiful style. Later in the day she might
have been met with in the hospitals or refuges of the town,
consoling, helping, uplifting, with her strong, winning, human
personality. She was no longer young, but she was nobly
handsome, and she had eyes of youth, like Sweet Anne Page, un-
der her banded gray-black hair, and her old husband used to say
that her laughter was like a shower of fresh lilies. The house
was very austere, hardly any hangings or curtains or carpets,
bat white floors, a few comfortable chairs, pictures and books,
and flowers. . I know I came there of winter afternoons with
one who was very dear to her, who used to give the signal
by three little sharp, glad taps with the knuckles that it was
she who stood at the door. But I always see the rooms in
white sunshine, without a mote in its brilliance. And it is
summer, for a blackbird is singing in the sycamore outside the
open window and there is a smell of cleanliness and roses, and
I can see the old husband against a background of open win-
dow leisurely cutting the pages of a review and calling out now
and again to his wife. There is always the lightness and the
brightness. That too is fled away after her. As one goes on,
the milestones 6i one's life come to be empty houses.
There is nothing more dreadful than a house long empty,
the dead body of a house calling out for the clay to cover it.
I remember such a one in childhood, whose sinister aspect
used to terrify me. It was haunted and no one would live in
it — a dead body in which an evil spirit had taken up habita-
tion. It had been a house of importance, and it was the more
dreadful in its decay that it presented a long front of grimy
windows, broken in places, curtained by long festoons of ragged
cobwebs wherein the solitary spider had become a skeleton.
The double hall-door was blistered all over and the grass
sprouted between the flagstones of the steps. The flagged
area was the receptacle of all manner of obscene rubbish.
The long range of barred kitchen windows, coated with dirt,
hid one knew not what terror. Even in the broad sunlight
one passed it by quaking. People said that an uneaten wed-
ding-breakfast moldered in one of the rooms, that the cheated
and betrayed groom had turned the key of the door and walked
out a hundred years ago. But an uneaten wedding-breakfast
490 THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE [July,
had never given the house so sinister a look. Like the house
in Browning's poem one felt that
" It must be wicked to have borne such pain."
That house is in a city which contains many dead and dere-
lict houses, a city storied out of all proportion to its size. The
Modern Spirit has never taken possession of it to oust the
Spirit of the Past. It is a city which has slept and dreamt for
a long time ; and as one walks the wide thoroughfares one is
elbowed by ghosts at every step and turn, some beautiful, some
forbidding, some bright and heroic like stars in the firmament,
others evil and blustering, cowards and traitors. There are as
many ghosts in London Town but one is not aware of them,
the tide of life runs so fast. Whereas in this city I think of,
it is the ghosts who live and the living who are shadows.
There the old houses are heavy with secrets. There is one
gray and barred which I used to pass often — it was on the
sunless side of the square, looking north, and it had a forbid-
ding and prison-like air. It had net been occupied within my
memory or the memory of people older than myself. It was
one of the town's mysterious houses. After a long, long time
an old lady died at a great age in a lunatic asylum somewhere
down the country. When her death appeared in the news-
papers some very old gentlemen and ladies remembered a dash-
ing, handsome girl who had suddenly dropped out of the gay
life of which she was a figure some fifty or sixty years before.
It seemed that at the time she was certified a lunatic her
estate was put into the hands of trustees, since she had no
known relatives. The trustees had put caretakers into the
house, an old couple who inhabited the dark, echoing kitchen
and had no desire to pass the locked door of communication
with the rest of the house at the head of the kitchen staircase.
After the old lady's death the house and its contents were to
be sold. The auctioneer sent in his men to catalogue the
furniture which had remained undisturbed there during all those
years. When the hall-door was opened, after considerable dif-
ficulty, for the wards of the lock were rusted, they entered,
but were driven back by a suffocating odor which made the
atmosphere of the house poisonous. Some one had to go be-
fore and break a window before it was possible to proceed.
1909.] THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE 491
Some strange kind of dry rot had come upon the house; but
there must have been dampness, too, for I was told that strange
fungi were growing up through the carpets. Everything was
rotting and rotten. The house had been furnished with beau-
tiful old furniture, but something had eaten into it and the sub-
stantial-looking things crumbled at a touch.
All was extraordinarily noisome, as noisome as an evil
swamp, and I was told that the men were overcome by the
fumes at first and driven back till the air had blown the
poison away. The rooms were all in order till they came to
the principal bedroom on an upper floor. There everything
was in a disorder that suggested flight. Everything lay as it
had been flung down in some wild impulse of flight fifty or
sixty years before. The bedclothes were huddled in a heap;
the towels were flung on the floor; brushes and combs were in
disorder on the dressing-table; the water-jug lay on its side
and the water of that last ablution had apparently dried in the
basin. The wardrobe was filled with garments that crumbled
to dust between the fingers. Very little had survived the
mysterious blight upon the house.
As it happened the auctioneer was a man of taste. In the
bedroom, half-way under the bed, there was found a box cov-
ered in scarlet leather, beautifully tooled and gilt, studded with
gilt nails. It was locked and there was no trace of a key.
The auctioneer knew the very person to whom the box would
appeal, a lady who was a well-known virtuoso. They went
through the house together the day before the general public
was admitted. The lady was in ecstasies over the box. But
she must see the inside of it. Some one was sent for to open
it, since no key they could produce seemed to fit it. Within
were the crumbling bones of a new-born baby. Isn't it like a
story by Hawthorne? — one had almost said Poe, but Poe's
colors would be too flamboyant. The subtle horror of this
story of a house requires more delicate handling than his.
They took away the little bones to the Surgeons' College of
the city. And the house was pulled down so that the rich
man next door might build an addition to his palace. But
think of the house holding that secret all those years, and the
terrified flight long ago, and the years and years during wkich
the blooming young woman grew old and crazy! Only a su-
perlative genius could do justice to the unique horror and fear
492 THE SMALL AND NARROW HOUSE [July.
of it. But indeed the things that really happen quite transcend
and surpass the imaginations even of genius.
Not so far from where that house was still stands a house
and will stand for centuries more if it is but permitted. It is
a comfortable, beautiful old house, and it shelters kind and
comfortable people. There, while you sit to afternoon tea, the
little hostess will tell you of the ghost of the house, a little
child-ghost that peers above the banisters and creeps fearfully
down the stairs. Then she will whisk away a rug and show
you imprinted on the floor the bloody footprint of a little
child, just the one little print. No washing has sufficed to re-
move it. Then she will show you the bullets in the panel
above the fireplace where some one had fought at close quar-
ters. For the rest the house keeps the secret of the tragedy,
the house, and the little ghost that comes stealing down in the
gray of the morning — to kiss papa's dead face, it may be. Well
— who knows? And, not knowing, speculation is a stupidity.
Then again there is the house where the lady lived to be
very old, and though she had been beautiful died unmarried.
They said she had sent a lover to his death by her vanity and
hard folly in her hey-day. Whatever she had done she had
repented, for she was very devout and very good to the poor,
and she was generally mourned for when she died. When at last
she was dead, and the look of great suffering had passed from
her face, leaving only peace, some one took from her wrist the
broad bracelet of black velvet which she had never been with-
out night or day. Underneath it there was the imprint of a
hand which had gripped it hard and burnt into it, a livid mark
now, but not to be mistaken for anything but the scars of a burn.
But if I were to tell the stories of those old houses I should
never be done. Certainly in their outward aspect they show
the terror and the mystery which lies behind them as plainly
as ever did human face.
And indeed our houses would seem to bear to us some-
thing of the relation of the body to the spirit. We inform
them with ourselves, and if the tenant be clean and comely the
house is cheerful to look upon, like a body that houses a bright
soul. But if the tenant be wicked the house has a sinister
aspect. And like the body when the spirit has left it, when
we leave them our houses are mere cerements and cast off
garments no longer fit to cumber the earth.
THE HOURS OF OUR LADY.
BY MARIAN NESBITT.
]NE method of honoring our Lady which, in the
Middle Ages, was very general amongst the upper
classes, and indeed amongst all those who were
sufficiently educated to be able to read, was the
recitation of her Hours, commonly known as the
Horce Beatcs Virginis — or, the Little Office of the Blessed Vir-
gin ; and this pious and praiseworthy practice having fallen
greatly into disuse, even in the case of very devout persons,
a few words on the subject may not be out of place.
First it must be remarked, in passing, that the Roman Bre-
viary contains three forms of the Office of our Lady — one for
feasts, one for Saturdays, and one called the Little Office. It
was this last which, being both short and devotional, became so
general amongst the laity ; and which, written in manuscript,
and exquisitely illuminated, existed from the sixth century,
" though it was revived, as well as revised, in the eleventh, by
St. Peter Damian."
It was also, reliable authorities tell us, one of the earliest
books printed. St. Margaret of Scotland was in the habit of
reciting this Office "every day"; and, as she died in 1093, it
would seem that the movement made some years earlier in the
south of Europe, to revive the Office of our Lady, had already
extended to Scotland.
In this connection, it must not be forgotten that, until the
time of the great religious rebellion, the form of our Lady's
Office in England was usually after the ancient " Sarum Use,"
which differed slightly from the Roman form, now so familiar
to us; and, in all the Sarum primers certain subjects for con-
templation during the recitation of the Office were engraved
at the beginning of the different Hours. Though not invaria-
bly placed in exactly the same order, the general arrangement
of these subjects was as follows: the Annunciation at Matins;
the Visitation at Lauds; the Nativity of our Lord at Prime;
the Circumcision at Tierce; the Purification at Sext ; the Ado-
494 THE HOURS OF OUR LADY [July,
ration of the Three Kings at None; the Flight into Egypt at
Vespers; the Assumption at Compline.
It is interesting to note that the books, whether written or
printed with the Hours of the Blessed Virgin, were commonly
called primers, because they contained, besides other forms of
devotion, elementary instructions on Christian Doctrine, the
Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Angelic Salutation, and the Ten
Commandments. We also find the Seven Penitential Psalms,
the Litanies of the Saints, the Passion of our Lord, and other
beautiful prayers which might well replace many of those in
our modern English books of devotion ; these latter being, as
a matter of fact, far inferior to the ancient primers. Besides
the " Little Office," which was the authorized form of devo-
tion to our Lady, a glance into old books shows us another
shorter office, called " Of the Compassion of our Lady."
St. Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor, whose heart, like
that of his holy father, St. Francis, was all on fire with divine
love, composed one of these offices of the " Compassion," and
a longer one, called a Little Office of the Passion of our Lord.
As St. Bonaventure died in 1274, the fact that he composed
such offices is more than sufficient confirmation of the verdict
given by several authorities on this subject, viz.t that Little
Offices were in common use from the middle of the thirteenth
century at latest.
Another Little Office of the Compassion of our Lady is at-
tributed to Pope Clement the Fifth, A. D. 1305-1314, who
granted an indulgence of forty days to all who recited it.
Again, if we examine MS. Horce, and the early printed
prayer books and offices of our Lady, together with the Sarum
Hora and primers, we cannot fail to notice that, in the greater
number of these books, the Hours of the Little Offices of the
Holy Cross and the Holy Ghost are inserted immediately after
the corresponding Hours of the Office of our Lady, thus prov-
ing that they, as well as those of our Lady, were recited daily.
An ancient prayer book, or rather prayer roll, of the thir-
teenth century, which has been preserved in the miscellaneous
records of the Tower of London, gives us a very true idea of the
devotion of the period. It contains the first fourteen verses of
St. John's Gospel in Latin ; an exhortation in French to recite
five Paters and five Aves in honor of the Five Wounds of our
Divine Redeemer. (This was a favorite devotion in mediaeval
1909.] THE HOURS OF OUR LADY 495
times.) Then some French verses, to be used in adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament; also a beautiful method of assisting at
Holy Mass, comprising sixty-five verses in French, so arranged
as to form a sort of litany of supplication to our Lord, with
Latin prayers; this is followed by a method of reciting the
seven Canonical Hours ; some Latin prayers and selections of
the Psalms recommended for various occasions ; and lastly, a
long and most devotional prayer in Latin. What better example
could be found of a thoroughly comprehensive prayer book ?
A description of this venerable prayer roll has been given
in the following words : " It is written on both sides of a
narrow slip of vellum (or rather three pieces sewed together),
about three inches wide and three feet long, and, when rolled
up, about half an inch in diameter, so that it was well cal-
culated for carrying about the person."
The method used by the laity, of participating to some
extent in the Canonical Hours, and referred to in the above
document, consisted in saying, instead of each hour, five Our
Fathers and Hail Marys, with an appropriate prayer. It was
very widely practised during the Ages of Faith ; and the
prayers being in Anglo-Norman verse, were easily committed
to memory.
In that deeply interesting old work, the Ancren Riule,
written in semi-Saxon, in the thirteenth century, very minute
directions are given regarding the manner of reciting the Office
of our Lady ; and it would seem that it was the duty of each
nun to transcribe, or make a copy of, the Hours of the Blessed
Virgin for her own use, as we find from the following in-
structions : " Let every one say her Hours as she has written
them, say every service (i. e.t each canonical division, such as
Sext, or None) separately, as far as she can in its own time,
but rather too soon than too late. ... At the one psalm
she shall stand if she be at ease, and at the other sit, and al-
ways rise up at the Gloria Patri and bow; whosoever can stand
always in worship of our Lady, let her stand in God's Name,
and at all the seven hours say Pater Noster and Ave Maria"
Cassian tells us that the ancient monks of Egypt were per-
mitted to sing their psalms whilst they worked; and we know,
from the old rules of their Order, that the Carthusians were al-
lowed to say the Office of our Lady during their hours of labor.
The latter pious custom seems to have been followed in the
496 THE HOURS OF OUR LADY [July,
Ages of Faith in England, where it was customary to learn
the Hours of the Blessed Virgin by heart, and this from child-
hood, as we find from the instructions to Lytyl (little) John,
in the Boke of Curtesay (courtesy) printed by Caxton, about
A. D. 1477. This book, which is most interesting, consists of
a poem written by a pupil of Dan Lydgate; it contains many
admonitions and lessons in manners for a little boy; and gives
a vivid picture of what is expected from the son of a gentle-
man at that period. Lytyl John is told, that after having
"with Christ's Crosse " blest himself thrice, he must say de-
voutly the Pater Noster and " Ave Maria with the holy Crede";
" thenne all the day the better shal ye spede," says the author,
adding
While that ye be abouten honestly
To dress yourself and do on your array,
With your fellow, well and treatably,
Our Lady's matins look that ye say,
And this observance use ye every day,
With prime and hours; and withouten drede (dread)
The Blessed Lady will grant you your mede.
It is evident from this that the Little Office might be said
during one's daily avocations ; also that it was commonly re-
cited with a companion (fellow). The latter fact is again con-
firmed by a report on the state of England, made by the
Secretary to the Venetian Embassy in 1496-97, who draws
special attention to the practice.
" They " (the English), he says, " all hear Mass every day,
and say many Pater Nosters (Rosaries) in public, the women
carrying long strings of beads in their hands, and whosoever
is at all able to read, carries with him the Office of our Lady;
and they recite it in church with some companion in a low voice,
verse by verse, after the manner of religious."
Again, in the statutes of the royal college of Eton (see
chapter XXX.), it is prescribed that every morning, "as soon
as they shall have arisen," the scholars, whilst making their
beds, shall recite the Matins of our Blessed Lady after " Saturn
Use " (see Ancient Laws, etc., for King's College and Eton, p.
552).
The following is an old English Translation of the Little
Office of the Blessed Virgin, date about 1400:
1909 ] THE HOURS OF OUR LADY 497
I. " St. Mary, Maid of maidens, Mother and Daughter of
the King of kings ; solace in that we moun (may) have by
thee the mede of heavenly kingdom, and with the chosen of
God reign without end."
II. "St. Mary, most piteous of all piteous women, holiest
of all holy women : pray for us that by thee maiden He
take all our sins, that for us was born and reigneth above
heavens; that by His charity our sins be forgiven us."
III. "Holy Mother of God, that deservedst worthily to
conceive Him that all the world might not hold ; with thy
meek beseeching wash away our guilt, that we, again bought by
thee, may reach the seat of endless bliss; there thou dwellest
with thy Son without time."
Everywhere we notice in what esteem this Office of our
Lady was held. One example must suffice.
At St. Paul's, London, A. D. 1215, Eustace de Fauconbrigge,
Bishop of London, assigned Lauds for the benefit of " poor
clerks frequenting the choir, and celebrating the Holy Office of
our Lady"; and it was arranged that six clerks should be
chosen every day, with one priest of the choir, by turns, to be
at the celebration of the Mary Mass — *'. e.t the Mass of our
Lady, and also to say Matins and all other Canonical hours at
her altar. "This foundation," we are told, "was increased by
the prior and convent of Thetford, in 1299."
That holy bishop and martyr, John Fisher, in his "morning
remembrance had (preached) at the month's mind of the noble
Princess Margarete, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother
unto Kynge Henry VII.," tells us that every day " this noble
and pious lady at her uprising, which commonly was not long
after five of the clock, began certain devotions, and so after
them with one of her gentlewomen, the matynes of our Lady."
Here we again have an example of the recitation of the
Hours of the Blessed Virgin with a companion.
Bishop Fisher goes on to describe how the Countess heard
" four or five Masses upon her knees," and spent much time
" in her prayers," adding, " daily her Dirges and Commenda-
tions she would say, and her Evensong both of the day and of
our Lady"
Queen Katherine of Aragon also daily recited the Office
of our Lady upon her knees; and of Sir Thomas More, the
martyred Lord High Chancellor of England, we read that,
VOL. wcxxix. — 32
498 THE HOURS OF OUR LADY [July,
besides " diverse other pious praiers which he himself com-
posed, he used everie day to say our Ladie's Mattins."
" When the Sarum rite ceased to exist in England," says
Mr. Waterton, in his deeply interesting work Pietas Mariana
Britannica, " the Office of our Lady of the Roman use was in-
troduced. Thousands and thousands of copies were printed
abroad, principally in the Low Countries. They found their
way to England and were well used, as I can testify from
several old family ones in my possession, one of which bears
the names of four generations by whom it was used."
These handsomely bound, and often exquisitely illuminated
Horcz frequently contain the armorial bearings, and sometimes
even the portraits, of their possessors, who are portrayed on
their knees before our Lady, with their patron saints in attend-
ance. They were looked upon as heirlooms, and many be-
quests of such primers may be found infold wills.
Michael, Earl of Suffolk, leaves (A. D. 1415) his "little
prymer which belonged to John de la Pole, my brother " ; and
in her will, dated August 15, 1446, Matilda, Countess of Cam-
bridge, bequeaths " to my kinswoman, Beatrix Waterton, a
gold cross which belonged to my mother, and my green (bound)
prymer and a diamond, etc. ; to Katherine FitzWilliam a small
black (bound) prymer; and to Alesia, Countess of Salisbury, my
cousin, my large best prymer" (see Test. Ebor., Vol. II., p. 121).
A reliable authority tells us, when speaking of these inter-
esting old MSS. and printed Horce, that the so-called Bedford
Missal is, in reality, the Horce of our Lady, executed for the
Regent of France ; and, in this connection, it is worthy of note
that, up to the time of Louis the Fifteenth, it was customary
in France to include in the trousseau of a bride, a pair of
beads and a copy of the Office of the Blessed Virgin (see Egron,
Culte de la S. Vierge, Paris, 1842, p. 174).
In the Ages ot Faith it was a widely accepted tradition
that our Lady spent " every day " in the Temple from early
morning till Tierce, or nine o'clock, "in her prayers"; and
the devout men, women, and children of mediaeval times, whether
rich, noble, and highly cultured, or only sufficiently well-edu-
cated to be able to read, believed that, in reciting the Hours
of the Blessed Virgin, they did but imitate her example ; and,
later on, when troublous times came, and cruel laws forbade the
invocation of God's most holy Mother, as well as prayers,
offices, and hymns in her honor, fervent Catholics would meet
1909.] THE HOURS OF OUR LADY 499
together in some secret place, in order to recite her Hours;
though, by so doing, they well knew they were risking both
their possessions and their lives.
The histories of holy confessors and martyrs, who suffered
during the great religious rebellion, would furnish us with
numberless proofs of their devotion to our Lady's Hours. The
illustrious Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, who died in 1595,
after eleven years' imprisonment in the Tower for his faith,
when entering upon his weary term of captivity, " sent," we
are told, " for the Office of the Blessed Virgin, and a book
treating of the Rosary, to the end that he might the better
understand how to say it for the best benefit of his soul."
Again, we read, that his " most excellent wife, Anne Dacres,
Countess of Arundel, said daily our Lady's Office " / and special
mention is made of her devotion to the doctrine of the Im-
maculate Conception, "to which mystery she was so much af-
fected, that she made a vow ever to follow the pious opinion
of her (i. e., the Blessed Virgin) being conceived without sin."
In the reign of Elizabeth we find Thomas Wright, Vicar
of Seaham, confessing that he says " daily in his house, with
certain others, the Office of the Blessed Virgin" ; thus proving
that devout persons continued the practice, despite Penal Laws
and the vigilance of the so-called reformers.
An act of Parliament, which received the sanction of King
James I., in the year 1605, shows the prevailing bigotry in
respect of Hor<z, etc. These are the words of the document:
"And be it further enacted by the authority of this present
Parliament, that no person or persons shall bring from beyond
the seas, nor shall print, sell, or buy any Popish prymers, lady's
psalters, etc. . . . And that it shall be lawful for any two
justices of the peace within the limits of their jurisdiction or
authority, and to all mayors, bailiffs, and chief officers of cities
and towns corporate in their liberties, from time to time to search
the houses and lodgings of every Popish recusant convict ', or of
every person whose wife is, or shall be, a Popish recusant con-
vict, for Popish books and relics of Popery"
But enough has been said to prove how widespread was
this custom of reciting the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin
— how highly it was esteemed by all, whether young or old —
and surely, in our own day, no better means of honoring God's
holy Mother could be found.
CATHOLIC LITERATURE IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
BY WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL.
[HE public libraries of this country are adminis-
tered largely by non-Catholics, while the funds
upon which they are maintained come from taxes
paid by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. In
some cities Catholics have been appointed to
positions upon the boards of public library directors and have
been instrumental in securing Catholic books for the library.
But the number of books written by Catholic authors to be
found on the shelves of most public libraries is small, very
small, in proportion to the funds contributed by Catholics to
the support of the public library and in view of the standing
of Catholic authors in the world of letters.
Yet it would be unfair to lay the responsibility for this con-
dition of affairs entirely to non-Catholic prejudice or unwilling-
ness to yield to Catholics the full measure of their rights. The
truth is that the Catholics have not been demanding or avail-
ing themselves of their rights in regard to the public library.
Catholics have not interested themselves so much in the affairs
of the public library as have non-Catholics, and this is due partly
to the fact that Catholics have not felt so much inclined to
make use of it or to permit their children to use it. The rea-
son is, ultimately, the serious concern that Catholics feel for
preserving their faith and that of their children. They know
that there are books in any public library administered by
non-Catholics of which they, as Catholics, cannot approve, and
which they are unwilling for their children to read. The clergy,
as the guardians of the spiritual welfare of their flocks, cannot
be indifferent to the dangers of indiscriminate reading. A
Western Catholic Bishop, not long ago, even denounced public
libraries as purveyors of irreligious and immoral books. The
directors of a public library, knowing that it is supported by
the money contributed by all classes and sections of the com-
1 909. ] CA THOLIC LITER A TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRA RIES 5 o i
raunity, cannot, if they would, rule out non-Catholic books; and
they certainly should not, if they are true to their trust, rule
out Catholic books.
Shall Catholics, then, abandon the public library, as they
have abandoned the public school, and establish Catholic free-
lending libraries under their own auspices and control? Cer-
tain libraries now are controlled by Catholics, namely, those
connected with Catholic colleges and schools. But the use of
these libraries must necessarily be confined to the students
connected with the institutions. The establishment of free Cath-
olic libraries intended for the people at large is, under present
conditions, impracticable. The administration of a free public
library of any kind is an expensive affair. It calls for a suit-
able building, a librarian and assistants possessed of certain
professional qualifications that command fair compensation, and
a fund for the purchase, cataloguing, and handling of books to
be lent to a large number of borrowers. In many libraries the
cost of administration consumes from three-fourths to two-
thirds of the income, leaving but one-fourth or one-third to go
to books. Only a generous endowment or support out of the
public treasury is adequate to maintain a free public library.
If Catholics are to have free libraries, they must utilize the
libraries that are now maintained at public expense. How shall
they do this without compromising their principles ?
There are now in the United States of America over 10,000
public libraries containing more than 50,000 volumes each, and
fifty- nine of them have over 100,000 volumes each. Most of
these libraries are suitably housed, ably administered, and are
supported by taxes paid by Catholics as well as non-Catholics.
Catholics may, without either compromising their principles or
burdening themselves with expense, secure all the benefits to
which they are entitled and really all they want (i) by prepar-
ing, privately or by co-operation, lists of the Catholic books
in each local library ; (2) by drawing these books for home
reading; and (3) by recommending the purchase of others by
the library.
Librarians, when reproached with the small number of
Catholic books to be found on the shelves of their libraries,
have replied by saying that Catholic books are not called for;
and that the purchase of books for the library, being limited
5 02 CA THOLIC LITER A TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRA RIES [ J uly ,
by appropriation, must be made along lines of reading followed
by the majority of readers; and the librarians are right. If
Catholics do not use the library, or ask for works by Catholic
authors when they do frequent it, they cannot expect to find
such books there. If, on the other hand, Catholic books are
called for, the library authorities are bound to consider such
requests, and unless there are good and sufficient reasons for
not buying certain books, Catholics can force the bands of the
directors by legal action. But, as has been said, a public library
serves the needs of its constant patrons, and cannot be ex-
pected to concern itself with making propaganda for those who
do not put themselves in evidence. Moreover, the efforts of
Catholic members of the library board are sometimes not known
and appreciated as they should be. A catalogue, recently pre-
pared at Chicago, lists nearly three thousand volumes written
by Catholic authors and obtainable at the Chicago Public Li-
brary. One well-educated man said to the editor when it was
in course of compilation : " Why, are there any Catholic books
in that public library?" He seemed to think it scarcely pos-
sible that there should be any.
The whole situation was well summed up and some practi-
cal advice was given in a resolution passed by the Federation
of American Catholic Societies at a meeting held in Detroit,
August 2 to 4, 1904. That resolution reads as follows:
As immense sums are annually appropriated from State and
municipal funds for public libraries, of which Catholics con-
tribute no small share, justice requires that Catholics receive
their proportionate benefit therefrom. To this end we would
call especial attention to the following considerations :
(1) Catholic schools, higher as well as elementary, should in
fairness enjoy equal privileges in the supply of special class
or traveling libraries with non-Catholic schools.
(2) Catholics should insist that public library directors
should systematically purchase Catholic books, and wherever
librarians are unable to make a proper selection of Catholic
books, the Catholic citizen should demand the appointment
of such a person as will respect the rights of all.
(3) Catholics should be quick to appreciate the opportuni-
ties of such recognition of their rights, use the literature thus
provided, and recommend it to others, and in this way meet
the objection that Catholic books are not called lor.
1 909. ] CA TH OLIC LITER A TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRA RIES 5 03
(4) Finally, that this activity to have Catholic books placed
in public libraries be carried on in a systematic manner,
chiefly by organizations.
This resolution bore immediate fruit in the publication of
A Comprehensive Catalogue of Catholic Books in the English and
German Languages, compiled partly from lists of fiction by
Catholic authors prepared by the International Catholic Truth
Society in 1901, and partly from similar lists of books of Catho-
lic origin on history, biography, travel, and other subjects, that
had appeared in the columns of the Catholic Union and Times.
The German titles were taken from the columns of the Buffalo
Volksfreund and the whole work was edited by the Jesuits of
Canisius College, Buffalo. This admirable list covers one hun-
dred pages. The titles are classed under fiction, church history,
secular history, biography, travel, philosophy and science, educa-
tion, Bible study, controversial and devotional books, poetry and
drama, essays and Catholic periodicals. Names of publishers
and dates of publication are omitted, their place being taken
by dotted lines on which it is intended that those who wish
to use the catalogue in listing the books in a local library
may do so by affixing the call-numbers of the books. In the
following year a Catalogue of Books for Catholic Readers in the
Free Public Library of New Haven, Conn.t was compiled by T-
H. Smith, assistant librarian, and published by the San Salvador
Council No. 12 Knights of Columbus.
The first list to be based upon the Buffalo list, so far as the
writer is aware, was the Catholic Reading List : A Catalogue of
Books (in English) by Catholic Authors in the Chicago Public Li-
brary, compiled by a Committee of the Catholic Writers Guild,
published by the Chicago Chapter of the Knights of Columbus,
November, 1908. This catalogue comprises, as has been said
above, nearly three thousand volumes. In arrangement it fol-
lows closely the Buffalo list, but differs from it in giving call-
numbers. One hundred copies of this catalogue have been
presented by the Knights of Columbus to the Chicago Public
Library for use in its reading-rooms and delivery stations, and
one or more copies to each of the parish schools, Catholic
colleges, convent schools, and other Catholic institutions of
Chicago. In typography and style the Catholic finding list
504 CA THOLIC LITERA TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES [July,
is similar to the regular finding lists of the Chicago Public
Library, the idea in making it so being that non- Catholics,
seeing it lying around on the library tables along with the
other finding lists, may be led to look into it and read some
of the books mentioned in it. Aside from the missionary
work that such catalogues may incidentally accomplish, how-
ever, their main value lies in their being safe guides for Catho-
lic readers in making use of the public library. These pioneer
efforts in that direction are bound to be followed by others
and to produce good fruit. Only two months after the pub-
lication of the Chicago list the Knights of Columbus in Seattle
got out a catalogue of the Catholic books in the city library
of Seattle.
All of these enterprises were anticipated, however, by the
List of Cathtlic Books in the Pratt Free Library, Baltimore,
compiled and published in 1900 by Rev. John F. O'Donovan,
S.J. The books are classified, call-numbers are given, and
numerous useful notes and suggestions upon reading are inter-
spersed through the list by the scholarly compiler.
A few practical hints are in place here as to the best way
to go to work to catalogue the books by Catholic authors in
a public library. The task should, if possible, be intrusted to
some one with a technical knowledge of libraries and methods
of preparing lists of books. But such knowledge is not indis-
pensable. Taking the Buffalo list as a basis, the names given
in it should be looked up in the alphabetical catalogue ot the
local library; such titles as are found to be in the library
should be copied off upon cards of a uniform size. The au-
thor's name, the title of one work, its date of publication,
number of volumes (if in more than one volume), and call-
number should be written on one card. Additional names of
Catholic authors, obtained from the Chicago list or elsewhere,
may be looked up in the same way, and cards written for such
books as are in the library. When this portion of the work
is finished, the cards should be sorted or classified by .subject
after the arrangement given in the Buffalo and Chicago cata-
logues and the authors' names occurring under each subject
should be arranged alphabetically. The cards should then be
numbered consecutively and the " copy " is ready for the
printer. No copying upon sheets is necessary ; any intelligent
1 909. ] CA THOLIC LITER A TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRA RIES 505
foreman, upon being shown one of the catalogues already
made, will follow it and will direct the compositor to indent
successive titles by the same author instead of repeating the
name from successive cards. The headings for the classified
subjects may also be written upon cards and inserted in their
proper places. Proof-reading should be carefully done, es-
pecially as regards the call-numbers of the books. Nothing
will injure the prestige of the catalogue in the mind of some
borrower more than to receive the wrong book from the li-
brary because the list has a mistake in the call-number. A
few brief directions for obtaining cards and books from the
library should be printed on an introductory page of the list.
Provided with such a list, the Catholic has within his reach
a large or small collection of books by Catholic authors which
he may borrow for the asking. Doubtless there will be many
books lacking in the public library. Catholics should take
steps to remedy this shortcoming by drawing up lists of im-
portant books by Catholic authors and submitting the list to
the library authorities with a request that these books be
purchased. The chances are that this request will be not only
considered but welcomed as an indication of awakening inter-
est in the affairs of the public library on the part of the
Catholics in the community. When it comes to a question of
voting annual appropriations for the public library, Catholic
sentiment upon the subject is not without weight. If a board
of library directors should, however, turn down such a request
for Catholic books, then is the time for the Catholics to take
active steps in the matter.
What will be the effect upon Catholic literature, it may be
asked, of a widespread movement to list Catholic books in
public libraries? The effect, it is safe to say, cannot fail to
be such as to stimulate and improve it. The more Catholic
books are read, the more will they be written, and the greater
will be the success of both authors and publishers. Some
years ago the question was debated by librarians and pub-
lishers as to the effect of public libraries upon the book-
trade. The librarians claimed and the publishers came to see
that public libraries were in themselves one of the best me-
diums for the advertising of books. People who see a new
book at the public library, or take it home to read, often con-
506 CA THOLIC LITERA TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES [July,
ceive a desire to own it; or else they become interested in
other books which they are led to read through the first one.
The result js increased reading, in any case, and increased
reading is just what the publishers want.
The reading of books differs from the reading of news-
papers. Both are habits; but they call for different capabili-
ties in the reader. Newspapers are written in a style that
calls for a minimum of mental effort. Almost any one can
read a newspaper with ease ; only certain persons enjoy read-
ing books, at least literature outside of fiction. Persons who
have not as children acquired the habit of concentration neces-
sary for reading a serious book, will seldom be able to read
such books in adult life. Even the reading of a novel, which
seems so natural and so easy to those who read fiction habitu-
ally, is irksome and impossible to some persons. The appre-
ciation of Catholic literature and the demand for it depends,
therefore, very largely upon the habits of reading formed by
the children in schools and colleges; if their parents do not
care for reading books now, they will never do so, whatever
sermons upon the encouragement of Catholic literature may be
preached to them. To enlist the interest of teachers in our
Catholic schools and colleges in encouraging habits of reading
is most essential, therefore, to any widespread increase in the
production and consumption of Catholic literature, not to men-
tion any improvement in its literary quality.
Some of the finest scholars and writers in the world are
Catholics; some of the best fiction in the world, perhaps the
very best, has been written and is written by Catholics.
Catholic literature should lead the world in every department.
That it does not hold a more prominent place in the world at
large is due partly to causes beyond the power of Catholics to
influence under present conditions, and partly to the fact that
Catholic literature is not everywhere recognizable as Catholic.
Who knows which are the Cathoiic writers of the day outside
of a few prominent names ? Catholics themselves do not recog-
nize them as their own. The compilation of lists of Catholic
authors in every department of literature is the best way to
show the world what Catholics are doing in the world of let-
ters. As the facts become better known, the prestige of the
Church is enlarged by just so much dissipation of the mists of
1909.] CA THOLIC LITERA TURE IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES 507
ignorance — some of it honest enough ignorance. Non-Catholics
do not know us because we do not know ourselves, and because
we do not tell what we know and who we are.
No writer will lose in the end by permitting the fact to be
known that he is a Catholic. There is to-day in the world no
organization or institution with the prestige of the Catholic
Church. The man who is afraid to be known as a Catholic is
courting the very odium that he dreads. If a man is ashamed
of his religion, he can scarcely expect non-Catholics to respect
either it or him. The man who glories in being a Catholic
will not only be respected for his loyalty, but he may be the
means of inspiring respect where before there had been noth-
ing but contempt bred of ignorance.
Catholic literature needs to be " boomed " — if the slang
term may be pardoned ; and the best way to boom it is to
show the world what there is of it. Let every public library
in the country be searched for it and let lists be published of
what is found, be it much or little. However little there is
now will be more as a result of publishing the fact. There is
no nobler service that Catholic organizations all over the coun-
try can undertake than to make known the Catholic literature in
the public libraries of their vicinity and to take steps to increase
its extent and use among Catholics and non-Catholics in the
community.
PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD.
BY WILFRID WILBERFORCE.
'HE fascination of Oxford is so keen and so per-
ennial that every book on the subject as it ap-
pears is received with peculiar cordiality. This
is specially true when the book takes the form
of personal reminiscences. Mozley's chatty re-
membrances of Oriel are still dreamt and pondered over, though
we have had them nearly thirty years now. To read them is
still like listening to the unstudied talk of an old friend as he
sits in his easy chair and tells us of the tempus actum. Moz-
ley was old when he wrote them, but Provost Hawkins was
still older. Asked what he thought of Mozley's book, Haw-
kins replied that it was the production of an impudent young
man ! Age, after all, is comparative.
A few years ago the Rev. W. Tuckwell published some
reminiscences of Oxford, which entered a second edition in
1907, and this year he has given us an account of eight Oriel
" Noetics " as they used to be called. Pre- Tractarian Oxford
is the title of the book, a thick, well-printed and well- illus-
trated volume, dealing with a period that has been somewhat
thrown into the shade by the golden age of Newman, Keble,
Froude, and the other illustrious members of the Oriel Com-
mon Room at the time of the Tractarian Movement.
The " Noetics " sketched by Mr. Tuckwell are eight in num-
ber, and all but one — Provost Eveleigh — were personally known
to the author, a fact which lends an added interest to his
book. The list, besides Eveleigh, includes Provost Copleston,
Archbishop Whately, Thomas Arnold, Renn Dickson Hamp-
den, Provost Hawkins, Professor Baden Powell, and the unhap-
py Blanco White. Of each there is a well-executed and life-
like portrait, taken from original oil-paintings, while the fron-
tispiece of the book shows the interior of the Oriel dining- hall,
with one of the small-paned, deeply casemented windows, and
the tall portraits that hang over the High Table. The scene
looks quiet enough in the picture, but it recalls many a quaint
1909.] PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD 509
story of olden days — of the dish of "comminuted meat" which,
Mozley tells us, used to be provided for the special benefit of
Whately, to protect him " against the danger incident to those
who talk and eat at the same time." The scene also reminds
us of Newman's way of putting a stopper upon an indiscreet
guest who insisted on broaching the Hampden controversy at
dinner. "Let me offer you a hot potato," said Newman in
his most acid tones.
As is well known, Hawkins* election as Provost was the
remote cause of Newman's delivering, in the University pulpit,
the sermons which sent an electric thrill through England.
Hawkins had deprived Newman, Froude, and Robert Wilber-
force of their tutorship. It was the leisure created by the
Provost's action that enabled Newman to set on foot the great
Tractarian Movement. In this matter Hawkins may be regarded
as merely the fly in the amber, but his character and great
abilities, coupled with the very long period through which he
ruled Oriel, confer a distinction which merits for him a wider
knowledge, even among Catholics, than he actually possesses.
Edward Hawkins, son of a country clergyman, and grand-
son of a well-known surgeon, Sir Caesar Hawkins, was born in
1789. He was sent to school at Merchant Taylors, and in 1807
went up to St. John's College, Oxford, where, in 1811, he
gained the distinction of a Double First. In 1813 he was
elected a Fellow of Oriel, a position which he had held for
nine years when Newman became a member of the Common
Room. In the Apologia we see a notable tribute to Hawkins'
character and influence. Newman writes :
He was the first who taught me to weigh my words, and to
be cautious in my statements. He led me to that mode of
limiting and clearing my sense in discussion and in contro-
versy, and of distinguishing between cognate ideas, and of
obviating mistakes by anticipation, which to my surprise has
been since considered, even in quarters friendly to me, to
savor of the polemics of Rome.
And here I must enter a protest. Mr. Tuckwell has put
inside inverted commas, as though it was the full quotation,
only a part of a sentence, without any dots to show that words
have been omitted. For instance, the quotation just given from
the Apologia becomes in Mr. Tuckwell's book:
510 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD [July,
He was the first who taught me to weigh my words and to
be cautious in my statements. He led me to that mode of
limiting and clearing my sense in discussion and controversy
which, to my surprise, has since been considered to savor of
the polemics (sic.) of Rome.
Surely the mode of " distinguishing between cognate ideas
and of obviating mistakes by anticipation," might be consid-
ered to "savor of the polemics of Rome " quite as strongly as
the "mode of limiting and clearing." Another instance of Mr.
Tuckwell's way of quoting may be cited. In his beautiful,
humble way, Newman writes of Provost Hawkins :
I can say with a full heart that I love him, and have never
ceased to love him ; and I thus preface what otherwise might
sound rude, that in the course of the many years in which we
were together afterwards, he provoked me very much from
time to time, though I am perfectly certain that I have pro-
voked him a great deal more.
The latter clause becomes in Mr. Tuckwell's book, with in-
verted commas, as though he was quoting Newman's ipsissima
verla — " ' He provoked me very often,' said Newman, and, he
added with a very probable surmise, ' I daresay I as often
provoked him.'" This instance of course is not serious, but it
is slipshod and irritating. Hawkins and Keble were the can-
didates for the Provostship made vacant by the appointment
of Copleston to the bishopric of Llandaff. Newman considered
Hawkins a better man of business than Keble, and though he
could not have brought himself to vote against his dear and
honored friend, it was probably a relief to him when Keble
retired from the contest. " Let good old Hawkins walk over
the course," said Keble, and Hawkins did.
Dean Burgon, who never missed the humorous side of life,
has told us an incident that occurred when Hawkins had to be
installed as Provost. It was the custom then, and perhaps now,
for the newly elected Head of Oriel to stand outside the col-
lege and knock at the closed gate for admission. The Fellows
stood drawn up inside the quadrangle ready to receive him.
Newman, as Dean, answered Hawkins' knock by the question:
" Quis adest ? " To every one's astonishment the quavering
tones of a female voice replied: "Please, Sir, it's me," and
1909.] PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD $11
through the opened gate walked the college washerwoman laden
with her basket.
The gate was immediately closed again, and then three loud
knocks were heard, and in reply to Newman's question came
Hawkins* solemn reply : " Edwardus Hawkins^ Hujusce Collegii
Prapositus."
Many are the stories of Hawkins* rule. He was a strong,
masterly Provost, and guarded his authority with a jealous eye.
Possibly he recognized later that his high-handed act in de-
priving the three tutors led to what he considered the calamity
of the Tractarian Movement. That he did so consider it can
not be doubted, though as early as 1818, when Newman was a
boy of 17, he had preached a sermon on Tradition which ran
counter to the teachings of the so-called Noetics. Nearly half
a century later, moreover, he condemned the notorious volume
of Essays and Reviews, " not perceiving," as Mr. Tuckwell re-
marks, " that their teaching sprang lineally from that of his
own Noetic brethren." Notwithstanding these hopeful aspects
of his mind, Hawkins was distinctly opposed to Tractarianism
— at least when it developed a " Romeward tendency," as Mr.
Tuckwell calls it. Hawkins always spoke of it as "the late
unhappy movement " — warning people against it in volumes
and pamphlets, though, as Mr. Tuckwell observes, it was impar
congressus against the power of Newman, and, we may add,
against the grace and mercy of God. The forty-six years of
Hawkins* rule have gathered round them almost innumerable
memories and anecdotes.
So long a period of government must inevitably involve
drawbacks as well as advantages, and Hawkins' Provostship
was no exception. Mark Pattison, though an undergraduate
at the time that the Provost was appointed, roundly maintained
that the calibre of the men who obtained Fellowships deteri-
orated from that date, and that the same applied to the un-
dergraduates. Certainly the quality of the degrees suffered
by the removal of the three tutors, and Dean Lake charges
Hawkins, to quote Mr. Tuckwell's words, "with the dethrone-
ment of Oriel from its supremacy among the colleges."
That he was masterful and despotic has already been said,
and many are the stories told to illustrate the fact. He gained
an undisputed ascendency on the Hebdomadal Board, the pri-
mary legislative authority, and as in great matters so in small,
512 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD [July,
he made his hand felt, in one instance at least, it must be
owned, with scant regard for courtesy and good taste. At his
own table a guest, when the conversation turned on a certain
magazine, remarked that it contained articles of his own. " I
daresay," said the domineering Provost, " there is a good deal
of trash published in it."
But a most glaring example of his tyranny was shown by
his treatment of an undergraduate, though it is only fair to add
that the culprit was already in bad odor through his irregular
habits. Hawkins noticed that the ivy in his garden had been
brushed aside frequently. He called together the scouts and
inquired from them the name of any undergraduate whose
trousers had had green on them lately. In this way he dis-
covered the disturber of his ivy and sent him down. On an-
other occasion an undergraduate felt a call to preach in the
slums of Oxford. Hawkins forbade him to do so any longer.
" But, Sir, if the Lord, who commanded me to preach, came
suddenly to judgment, what should I do?" Hawkins, whose
mind was used to the burdens of government, replied that he
would take the whole responsibility of that upon himself.
One instance of a thing one would rather have left unsaid
or expressed differently, has often been told of Hawkins, but it
will bear repetition. An undergraduate asked leave of absence
to attend the funeral of an uncle. " You may go," said the
Provost, " but I wish it had been a nearer relation."
This reminds one of the answer given by the Head of an-
other college, who had made up his mind not to grant any
exeats during the Derby week. One of the undergraduates
made a wager that he would get permission from the Warden
not only to leave Oxford but to go to Epsom. " I have an
aunt who is very ill, Sir. May I visit her?" "Is she seri-
ously ill ? " inquired the Warden. " Very seriously, indeed,"
replied the shameless boy. "And is she very dear to you?"
"Very, Sir." "And where does she live?" "At Epsom,"
said the undergraduate, unabashed, though he must have
thought that the reply would be fatal to his scheme. But the
extraordinary want of knowledge on the Head's part saved the
situation. " In that case," said the Warden, " I think I may
let you go. Had your aunt been living at Derby, I could not
have given you permission."
" Sharp and shrewd and practical," is the description given
1909.] PRE-TRACTAR1AN OXFORD 513
by Mr. Tuckwell to Hawkins, and no doubt it was these quali-
ties which caused him to be chosen for the Headship of Oriel.
A man with a business head is more desirable as the ruler of a
college than a mere litterateur, and though Hawkins was a
writer he was a practical manager as well. But his skill in
detail prevented that breadth of mind that was so conspicuous
in other Oriel men of his time. And yet this much must be
said to his credit. His orthodoxy shrank from men like Jowett
and James Antony Froude. To the latter he even refused a
certificate when he stood for a Fellowship at Exeter College.
Sewell, believing Froude to be a High Churchman, got him
elected and was therefore disgusted when he published the
Nemesis of Faith.
A story used to be told in Oxford which, though of course
pure fiction, shows how men regarded Hawkins as a good
hater. Jowett had been bitten by a dog which was promptly
driven from the college. The joke went about the University
that Hawkins took in the dog and tended it.
On the other hand, he seems to have shown tenderness to
those already belonging to the college who showed signs of
deficient orthodoxy. Even when Blanco White fell into Uni-
tarianism and wrote to the Provost to announce the fact,
Hawkins refused to accept his resignation ; and when poor
Clough's faith began to waver, he dissuaded him from resign-
ing his Fellowship.
As stress has been laid upon Hawkins* masterful character,
it ought in fairness to be recorded that he not only took pains
to become personally acquainted with each individual under-
graduate, but that he tried to prepare them for Communion,
and he showed his kindness by shielding them from the wrath
of tutors when they failed in " Collections." There was one
fault, however, that he could not overlook. An undergraduate
might hope for mercy for graver offences, but to smell of smoke
was unpardonable. He looked upon tobacco with the utmost
abhorrence, a fact which probably impaired his popularity with
the younger men.
He was a man of abundant charity. As Mr. Tuckwell tells
us:
The springs of his private munificence were never dry ;
no deserving case was ever put before him unalleviated. From
the age of seventeen, when they became orphans on their
TOL. LXXXIX. — 33
514 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD [July,
father's death, he played a father's part to each brother and
sister in turn, until they were launched, self-supporting, into
Hie.
It would perhaps be difficult to find a nobler testimony to
a man's work than this.
Like Whately he loved children and they returned his love.
At the end of his forty-six years of rule he accepted the
Bishopric of Rochester. Here, as at Oxford, he made his
authority felt, and when he was eighty years old he wrote to
a friend that, owing to the age and infirmity of some of the
canons, he found it necessary to give increasing attention to
Cathedral business. When the end came he was in his ninety-
third year.
I have already mentioned that on the list of so-called
Noetics, included by Mr. Tuckwell, occurs the name of Joseph
Blanco White. In 1826 he came to live at Oxford, and as he
was born in 1775, he was then a man past middle life.
I have no intention here of dwelling upon the earlier years
of this unhappy man. If any one desires to know the facts,
he will find them detailed in one of Cardinal Newman's Lec-
tures on "The Present Position of Catholics in England."
The main features of his early life are probably familiar to
many of my readers; that he was ordained priest without a vo-
cation, and apparently against his will, with the result which
might have been anticipated ; that in the course of time he
lost his faith, and was faced with the horrible dilemma of giv-
ing up his career and his friends, or carrying on a life of
hypocrisy and sham. He choose the former alternative. He
left Spain, and in the March of 1810 he landed at Falmouth,
and traveled to London. His position was more comfortable
than might have been anticipated. He had more than once
shown kindness to English gentlemen traveling in Spain, and
these were glad of this opportunity to help the lonely stranger.
Lord and Lady Holland included him in their sumptuous
hospitality; he found an influential friend in Lord John Russell,
then a young man at the dawn of his career, while the emi-
nent man of science, Sir Humphry Davy, gave him a cordial
welcome to his house.
Nor were the civilities of these great people entirely un-
selfish, for Blanco White seems to have been a lively and
1909.] PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD 515
agreeable talker, though the effect of his conversation was im-
paired in these early years by his strangely mingled accent of
Irish and Spanish. His presence at parties was, however, made
particularly welcome by his great musical talent. His skill on
the violin was exquisite, and we can well imagine that the bril-
liant assemblies at Holland House were delighted with his fin-
ished interpretations of Beethoven and other masters. His
more serious occupations were the editorship of a Spanish
journal devoted to literature and politics, in which he wrote
articles which are said to have alarmed the dominant party in
Spain to such a degree as to beget rumors that they were
seeking his life. To these labors Blanco White added a study
of Greek. He fastened upon a remark of Addison, that a man
can, in due course, master any subject to which he will devote
half an hour a day. He tackled Greek, and, at the end of four
years, was able to read without difficulty Homer, Herodotus
and Plutarch.
At the close of the Peninsular War, the English govern-
ment gave White a substantial proof of their gratitude for his
political writings by endowing him with ^250 a year. Freed
in this way from the necessity of gaining his daily bread, he
turned his attention to a study of divinity. He examined the
claims of the Anglican Church, which for the time convinced
him, strange to say, and about 1814 he qualified as an Eng-
lish clergyman by signing the Thirty-Nine Articles. He then
betook himself to Oxford, where he had access to libraries,
only leaving it to undertake the tuition of Lord Holland's son.
In 1822 he published a volume (originally written at the sug-
gestion of the poet Campbell) on Spanish life and customs,
and another book called The Poor Man's Preservative Against
Popery. Nobody reads it now, but in case it should come to
the hand of some groper among old bookshops, such a one
should bear in mind Newman's warning, that though what
Blanco White testifies to as being facts within his own per-
sonal knowledge and eyesight may be relied upon as true, his
inferences as to places and people known to him by hearsay
are quite untrustworthy. His truthfulness is not impugned,
but his judgment is warped and distorted by prejudice.
The fate of this book, written in disparagement of the
Church by a priest who had left her fold, and given to a
reading public greedy for anything hostile to Catholics, sup-
516 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXPORD [July,
plies Newman with a pregnant text upon the insufficiency of
truth to support the Protestant view of the Church. Here
was a book relating facts detrimental not indeed to her truth
and divine origin, but to the conduct and discipline of some
of her children in one town in a foreign land, a book " pub-
lished," as Newman tells us, "under the patronage of all the
dignitaries of the Establishment, put into the hands of the
whole body of the clergy for distribution at a low price,
written in an animated style, addressed to the traditionary
hatred of the Catholic Church existing among us, which is an
introduction to any book, whatever its intrinsic value." But
cold fact was not sensational enough for the English Protestant
appetite. It did not " catch on," and the wealthy firm which
published the book did not care to incur the risk of reprint-
ing it, so that Newman, who sent for a copy for the purpose
of his lecture, was unable to get one.
On the other hand, the tissue of lies written by Maria
Monk still luxuriates like some rank vegetation in miasmic
soil, and still, to their shame, numbers its readers by the
thousand.
In 1826 Blanco White once more settled at Oxford, where
he was honored by the degree of M.A. and an Oriel Fellow-
ship. He appeared in the University pulpit, and lectured at
the Ashmolean on his favorite subject of music. He speedily
made friends with many of the leaders of the Oxford world —
with those of Oriel of course where he was a member of the
Common Room, and with lesser men of other colleges. He
and Newman seem to have been drawn to each other by their
common taste for music. Many were the duets they per-
formed together, and the trios with Reinagle and others. Spec-
tators have contrasted the demeanors of the players — the statu-
esque immobility of Newman, with his steel-cut features and
adamantine jaw, his eyes aflame with enthusiasm, and the ex-
cited gesticulations of Blanco, as his bow flew over the strings.
Newman's impassive violin playing was well illustrated on
the celebrated occasion when the messenger arrived to bring
him tidings of his election to the Oriel Fellowship. "Very
well," said Newman calmly, as he continued fiddling as though
the news had no interest for him. It was not until the ser-
vant had left the room that he flung down bow and fiddle and
rushed off to impart the good news.
1909.] PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD 517
It was during his residence at Oxford that Blanco White
wrote the famous sonnet which will probably live forever. It
has even been pronounced to be the finest in the English or,
indeed, in any other language. Its tnetif is wonderfully fitc —
the fear with which Adam first heard of Night, with its ap-
parent blotting out of "this glorious canopy of Light and Blue."
And the sonnet ends:
" Why do we, then, shun Death with anxious strife ?
If Light can thus deceive, wherefore not Life?"
Another sonnet from his pen, though very beautiful, is
scarcely of the same callibre. It is written " On hearing my-
self for the first time called an old man."
The position of a foreigner in England, and in Oxford es-
pecially, is liable to drawbacks. The life of the Common
Room is essentially English. It exists probably in no other
country in the world, and to appreciate it fully, enjoying its
benefits and accepting its disadvantages, is scarcely possible to
any foreigner.'
Several causes contributed to alloy Blanco White's happi-
ness at Oriel. To begin with, he was foreign. Then his posi-
tion as Honorary Fellew prevented his having precedence over
the newcomers who might be subsequently elected. The morti-
ficaton of this was increased by the reflection that, one by
one, the Fellows who had chosen him would pass away, giving
place to strangers who would probably have less appreciation
of him ; and who (in his case literally) " knew not Joseph."
Besides this he was a man of sensitive nature, seeing
offence sometimes where none was meant, and smarting under
it. And even at kindness he was apt to shy. At a Merton
dinner he remarked that the bread was nice. One of the Fel-
lows ordered that a loaf should be sent each morning to
White's lodgings. This was perfect torture to the sensitive
man. He was eating the bread of charity. Yet how could he
resent it without giving offence ? Then his theological posi-
tion was a further trial. He disliked Evangelicalism intensely
on account of its Calvinistic aspect, and the Low Church
party on their side regarded him as a malignant, and managed
to hinder him from being employed on the Clarendon Press.
Miss Guiney, in her monumental work on Richard Hurrell
5i8 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD [July,
Froude,* gives an interesting but provokingly transient glimpse
of Blanco White and Froude. She writes :
Froude at this time was associating a good deal with Blanco
White, the Anglicized Spaniard and ex-priest who came to
Oriel, aged fifty-one, when Tyler left it, and deeply interested
Oriel men with his knowledge of the scholastic philosophy.
For some three years he was in great repute among them ; his
mental gifts were invalidated to them, later, by his aimless-
ness and instability. To his practical acquaintance with the
Roman Breviary, often demonstrated in his own rooms, alter
dinner, to Froude, Newman, Pusey, and Wilberforce, Hurrell
owed much, especially in conjunction with the able lectures
on liturgical subjects being delivered by Dr. Lloyd (pp.
46, 47).
Oddly enough, it was Peel's candidature which seems to
have put the finishing touch to Blanco White's Oxford happi-
ness, just as it perforated the friendship, afterwards torn by
religious differences, between Newman and Whately, and when
the latter was appointed to the Archbishopric of Dublin, he
invited White to accompany him to Ireland as tutor to his
sons.
Though somewhat too impatient to be a successful teacher,
he won the hearts of all the children who came into contact
with him. One who knew him as a child records the delight
she felt in a " little toy canary organ " which he gave her,
and " the nurse in Hampden's family, where he frequently
visited, encountering him on the stairs with an infant in her
arms, told her mistress that the strange gentleman had bent
over the child, and blessed it with words so beautiful that
they could not fail to do it good."f
A man who had been educated as a Catholic, however im-
prudent his early teachers may have been, could never find
peace or happiness in any form of religion other than that of
the one truth. That Blanco White finally severed his connec-
tion with the Church of England is assuredly no matter for
surprise. The .'only wonderful thing is how he could so long
have been content with a creed so barren and illogical.
In Whately's house he wrote his Second Travels of an Irish
* Hurrell Fnude. Memoranda and Comments. By Louise Imogen Guiney. Methuen
&Co.
t Pre-Tractarian Oxford, p. 247.
1909.] PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD 519
Gentleman in Search of a Religion, in imitation of Moore's
book, and as a sequel to it. He also published a pamphlet
entitled Heresy and Orthodoxy. The working of his own mind,
and a casual remark of Whately's about the unsuitability of
writings indited in an Archbishop's palace being too radical,
caused Blanco White to quit Dublin, much to the grief of
the Whatelys. He settled in Liverpool, renounced Trinitarian
doctrine, a conclusion to which he had long been tending,
and frequented a Unitarian chapel in which Martineau often
preached.
From the Royal Bounty Fund he obtained, through the
good offices of Lord Holland, a grant of ^"300, and his per-
sonal needs were attended to by a niece who came to make
her home with him. The last few months of his life were
spent in acute pain and helplessness. He died in the house
of Mr. Rathbone, at Greenbank. To the end he kept up an
affectionate correspondence with the Whatelys, and he also ex-
changed letters with John Stuart Mill, Charming, and William
Bishop,
His last recorded words are certainly curious, though they
may also be called unintelligible : " God to me is Jesus, and
Jesus is God — of course not in the sense of divines " ; a sen-
tence which Mr. Tuckwell regards as the expression of " his
twofold ruling passion of devotion and of protest." And the
same author finds in Blanco White — as characteristics constitu-
ting "the epitome and the apologia of his long remonstrant
struggling life " — " a consuming desire to gain religious truth ;
an equal sense of sacred obligation to make known the truth
which he believed himself to have discovered ; a deep con-
sciousness of the Divine Presence ; a longing for kindred as-
piration among his fellow-men, and for social communion with
them in worship."
Of some other characters who figure in Mr. Tuckwell's
volume a few words must be said.
When Newman gained his Oriel Fellowship Copleston was
Provost. His name is enshrined in the Apologia in one of those
brief passages which, as with the skill of a practised painter,
Newman brings before us for a fleeting moment, the gait and
words of some man whom he never has occasion to mention
again. He writes :
520 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD [July,
I was very much alone and I used often to take my daily
walk by myself. I recollect once meeting Dr. Copleston, then
Provost, with one of the Fellows. He turned round, and with
the kind courteousness which sat so well on him, made me a
bow and said : " Nunquam minus solus, quam cum solus."
A very few years later Copleston was transferred from
Oriel to the Bishopric of Llandaff, to give place to Hawkins
and all that his election involved. During the twelve years of
Copleston's Provostship many notable and interesting events
occurred. Among them was the sad episode of Hartley Cole-
ridge's election to a Fellowship and subsequent deprivation.
Hartley was son of the great philosopher and poet, Sam-
uel Taylor Coleridge, the friend of Wordsworth and De Quin-
cey. He inherited his father's genius, and Copleston wel-
comed him warmly to the ranks of the Oriel Fellows. But
at the end of his probationary year his eccentric behavior
made it impossible to confirm his Fellowship, and he was re-
jected. In his dismay, Samuel Coleridge journeyed to Oxford
to protest — one of his arguments being that the degree of intoxi-
cation of which his son had been guilty, was neither injurious
nor disgraceful. He pleaded that there were four kinds of in-
toxication, and that a distinction ought further to be drawn
between intoxication and drunkenness. His ingenuity, however,
was thrown away and Oriel knew Hartley no more.
Copleston was a staunch Protestant, a friend of the Refor-
mation, and a liberal subscriber to the Martyrs' Memorial, the
graceful erection opposite Balliol. Oddly enough, the windows
of the first Catholic Fellow and Tutor at Balliol since the Re-
formation command a full view of it. The Memorial was put
up as the protest of the anti-Tractarians against the volume of
Froude's Remains* though the appeal for subscriptions was
artfully framed so as to include men of widely divergent views.
Their money has put up a very beautiful erection — more beau-
tiful than the lives which it commemorates. One of the so-
called martyrs, of course, was the infamous apostate, Cranmer,
of whom Hurrell Froude (or was it Frederic Rogers ?) said that
the best thing he ever heard of him was that he "burned well."
Copleston also showed his dislike of "Rome" by adding to
the already copious stock of anti- papal sermons which no one
* Mr. Keble called the Memoral " a public dissent from Froude."
1909.] PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD 521
now looks at, and by carrying in the House of Lords an
amendment against opening diplomatic relations with the Vati-
can; a piece of insular prejudice which Gladstone found so in-
convenient some fifty years later.
He detested " terminological inexactitudes " as fiercely as
he, no doubt, regarded the things which have in our days re-
ceived that title. He condemned the carelessness which con-
fuses "facts'*^ with "truth." "Truth" implies a report of
something that exists. " Fact " means its existence whether
reported or not. He distinguishes between " reason " and
"cause," " infallible " and "inevitable," " impossible " and " in-
conceivable." He disliked the common inaccuracies of speech
which have surely become sanctioned by custom, such as "the
sun sets," "time destroys," and the like. A little passage of
arms with Newman is worth chronicling, though neither party
could have imagined that its history would survive for over
three-quarters of a century. Newman, soon after his election
at Oriel, was serving a dish at dinner. " Mr. Newman," ex-
claimed the precise Provost, " we do not carve sweetbread with
a spoon ; Manciple, bring a blunt knife."
To exchange the secure, honorable, and comfortable posi-
tion of an Oxford Head for the hardships and isolation of a
Welsh bishopric must have required some couiage. But he
threw himself with energy into his work, riding on horseback
into every corner of his diocese and into some villages where
a bishop had never before been seen, that is to say, a Protest-
ant bishop. He died in 1849 after a few weeks' illness.
The least known of Mr. Tuckwell's celebrities is Baden
Powell, whose son has made the little South African village,
Mafeking, famous for all time, and has caused a new word for
riotous junketing to be added to the English language.
Baden Powell was the one man of science on the list of
Noetics. In private life he seems to have been possessed of
singular charm, and the detailed reminiscences written by his
daughter, written expressly for Mr. Tuckwell's book, make de-
lightful reading. He had a perfect genius for teaching children
and for captivating their minds. Astronomy, mathematics,
music, natural history — all became fascinating, even to little
children, under his potent spell.
His ready wit must have made him a delightful companion,
and his talent for drawing and caricature enabled him to il-
522 PRE-TRACTARIAN OXFORD [July.
lustrate it. "Whately used to say," says Mr. Tuckwell, "that
Powell's fine sense of humor came out in his drawings more
than in his words," and he tells us that he has seen many
sketches little valued by the artist, but treasured by Mrs.
Powell, showing "facial expression, sit of dress, significance of
posture," nearly worthy of Cruikshank. The humorous or witty
mottoes beneath these sketches are as clever as the pictures
themselves.
Enough has been said, perhaps, to convince my readers
that in Pre-Tractarian Oxford they will find an interesting and,
in some respects, satisfactory record of a little known period.
That Mr. Tuckwell views men and events from a point of view
totally opposed to that of a Catholic, goes without saying.
•leaders who sympathize with the Tractarian Movement — those
especially who owe to it the happiness of being children of the
Catholic Church, will find much to jar upon their most cherished
feelings and convictions, but even they will probably allow that
Mr. Tuckwell has in some sense filled a gap by sketching, in
an agreeable and accessible form, the lives of eight men — seven
of whom, at least, are well worthy to be numbered in the list
of Oxford leaders.
THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE.
BY A. W. CORPE.
HILE we properly rank Shakespeare, because of
his insight into human nature, his sympathetic
receptivity, and the wealth of his imagination,
the most universal of poets, we must not forget
that the creator of "tears and laughter for all
time" was necessarily influenced and limited by the circum-
stances of the age in which he lived. It will therefore assist
us, in studying his works, to take these into account. Accord-
ingly, I propose briefly to consider how he stands affected by
the arts, science, customs, and culture of his day.
Poetry, in the sense of being the expression of emotion, is
necessarily coeval with human nature : the songs of Miriam
and Deborah, the hymns of the inspired Psalmist, and other
pieces recorded in Holy Writ ; the legendary poems of the
siege of Troy, and the wanderings of Ulysses, the noble dramas
of the Athenian stage ; even the glories of the Augustan age
of Rome, seem to reach us over an abyss of time, and yet are
alive with the same passions and emotions that affect us to-
day. With the decline of the Empire, literature declined, and
the dark ages have left us almost no record. In Shakespeare's
country a few names emerge. Chief among these is Caedmon,
who lived in the seventh century, but it was not until about
the time of the Norman Conquest that the first germs of Eng-
lish, as we have it, began to make their appearance. Layamon,
who lived at the end of the eleventh century, is the most con-
spicuous name of this period. Layamon is not easy reading ;
but by degrees, the Anglo-Saxon and Norman French became
blended, and by the middle of the fourteenth century we have
from the pen of Geoffrey Chaucer a language which, with a
little study, the Englishman of to-day can read with facility,
and which, enriched from time to time from various sources,
has continued, without substantial modification, to our own times.
Here, then, we have the instrument Shakespeare was to use ;
we are to see in what way he did use it. Poetry has always
524 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July,
demanded a rhythmical language : the earliest Greek poems are
in hexameters; the Greek drama used the more severe form
of the iambic trimeter, interspersed with choruses of various
meters ; the Romans used for their epics the hexameter ; for
poems of a softer description, the elegiac form where a penta-
meter joined to a hexameter forms a couplet; Horace has
familiarized us with odes in a variety of measures. The Romans
did not use rhymes until the Post- Augustan age. In England
the verse of the Anglo-Saxon period appears to have consisted
chiefly in a kind of alliteration without any fixed number of
syllables ; the Normans seem to have introduced rhymes, at all
events rhymes were not used before the time of Edward the
Confessor ; Chaucer used for his most important work, The Can-
terbury Tales, a ten-syllabled iambic line with rhymes; on other
occasions, he used eight syllable iambic rhymed lines, and
sometimes with alternate rhymes. During the following years
a great variety of meters came into existence; it is only nec-
essary to mention two or three: the fourteen syllable ballad
verse, of which an early example occurs in " Amantium Irae,"
by Richard Edwards: "In going to my naked bed as one that
would have slept," with its refrain: "The falling out of faith-
ful friends renewing is of love." A couplet of these lines, each
line divided in the middle, as in " The Nut-Brown Maid," where
the eight syllable lines also have leonine rhymes, forms the
familiar common meter of the hymnologists ; both this and
the eight syllable line, with alternate rhymes, were common
in Shakespeare's day. Quince, in "A Midsummer-Night's
Dream/' proposes that the prologue to their play " shall be
written in eight and six." " No " ; says Bottom, " make it
two more, let it be written in eight and eight." An arrange-
ment of fourteen lines of " eights," with a somewhat intricate
system of rhymes, constituted the sonnet.
For songs and odes and similar poems, various kinds of
verses and stanzas were made use of, according to the fancy
of the poet. But by far the most important step of all was
the introduction of blank verse, of which Henry Howard, Earl
of Surrey, towards the end of Henry the Eighth's reign, appears
to have been the originator — at least the earliest known speci-
men, a translation of part of the sEneid, is by him. This in-
novation appears to have come to England from Italy, where
it was probably due to the influence of the Greek and Roman
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 525
poetry, which, as we have seen, was independent of rhyme. It
gained ground rapidly, and, among the immediate predecessors
and contemporaries of Shakespeare, was in common use.
Sackville's tragedy of " Gorboduc," the earliest regular work of
the kind, was in blank verse; Edwards' " Palamon and Arcite"
was in rhyme ; Brooke's " Tragical History of Romeus and
Juliet" was in ballad meter; but the majority of dramatists
adopted the new manner. It will suffice to mention Peele, Kyd,
Greene, Marlowe (whose mighty line Ben Jonson celebrates),
Ben Jonson himself, Beaumont, and Fletcher, among others.
Shakespeare himself, in his earlier plays, makes considerable
use of the rhymed couplet; gradually he discarded it, so that
its more or less frequency is an important indication of the
date of the play. In the later plays it is entirely absent, ex-
cept occasionally in the closing lines of a scene where it cer-
tainly gives importance and dignity. In the poems Shake-
speare makes use of the ten syllable rhymed verse in stanzas
of various forms. In the songs occurring in the plays, various
meters are used.
In connection with this subject, it is curious to note that
Dryden, influenced probably by the French style, which came
in with the Restoration, strenuously maintained the superiority
of the rhymed couplet for the drama. At the end of " Re-
ligio Laid" he defends the use of it as " fittest for discourse
and nearest prose."
In the preface to his tragedy, "All for Love" (founded
upon the same story as "Anthony and Cleopatra"), however,
he says : " In my style I have preferred to imitate the divine
Shakespeare, which that I might perform freely, I have disen-
cumbered myself trom rhyme, not that I condemn my former
way, but that this is more proper to my present purpose."
Even Byron, who said : " Prose poets like blank verse, I'm
fond of rhyme," used blank verse in his dramatic pieces. We
shall probably concur with Tennyson that: "Blank verse be-
comes the finest vehicle of thought in the language of Shake-
speare and Milton/'
Harrison has given us a picture of the state of England in
the reign of Elizabeth, interesting since it shows the transition
from the rudeness of earlier times and the contrast between
domestic life of that day and our own; but, as far as Shake-
speare's works are concerned, the manners of the times do not
526 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July,
very materially differ from those with which we are ourselves
familiar. True, we know that rushes covered the floor even in
palaces where we would expect to find carpets, and the tapestry
and painted cloths served not only to ornament, but to cover
the walls and to exclude draughts ; thus, when Glendower tells
Mortimer that his wife
"Bids you on the wanton rushes lay you down,
And rest your gentle head upon her lap,
And she will sing the song that pleaseth you,"
we understand that the rushes are no indication of want of re-
finement in Glendower's castle, and we realize how often the
convenient arras may have served to conceal eavesdroppers.
In the two or three places in Shakespeare, where the word
" carpet " is used, it is used for the covering of a table, as
in " The Taming of the Shrew," for instance, where it is said :
"The carpets are laid;" and a few lines earlier: "the rushes
are strewed."
To one thing which Harrison mentions, we should cer~
tainly have expected some allusion in Shakespeare, viz., to-
bacco, the use of which he tells us was held to be sovereign
against "rewmes and some other diseases ingendered in the
longes and inward partes." The virtues of the "weed" and
the mode of smoking it, or " drinking " it as seems to have
been the phrase, are frequently alluded to by his contempo-
raries, but we search in vain for any reference to tobacco by
Shakespeare.
It will scarcely be a matter of surprise if Shakespeare, whose
experiences were necessarily confined to the circumstances of
his own age and country, should translate the characteristics
of foreign countries and remote ages into those of which he
was himself cognizant : hence the Moor of Venice is represented
as a negro ; hence he not only provides Brutus with a clock
which strikes the hours, he makes it keep English time; possi
bly this was a condescension to the gallery ; but this can
hardly be urged in the case of the artillery at Angiers in
" King John." This peculiarity is by no means confined to
Shakespeare; a remarkable instance of a similar kind — in this
case deliberately intended — occurs in "Paradise Lost," where
Milton provides the rebel angels with cannon, with which to
assail the hosts of heaven.
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 527
Shakespeare so seldom allows any trace of his own person-
ality to appear in his dramatic characters, that we should
scarcely expect to find in his plays any conspicuous reference
to his own art as a poet. The passage in "A Midsummer-
Night's Dream," where Theseus ranks the poet with the lunatic
and the lover, seems to have a touch of satire in it; but the
latter part of the passage:
" As imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name,"
exhibiting the creative faculty of the •' maker," as the old word
was, seems to come from Shakespeare's own mind.
When in " As You Like It " Touchstone tells Audrey that
he wishes that the gods had made her poetical, she asks with a
keenness, which we should have hardly looked for : " I do not
know what 'poetical' is: is it honest in deed and word? Is it
a true thing?" And then Touchstone admits that "the truest
poetry is the most feigning " ; and quotes in illustration that
" lovers are given to poetry," which, whatever the reason, is
equally true to-day. The graceful tribute to Marlowe (quoted
from his "Hero and Leander"), which is put into the mouth
of Phebe in the same play, must not be forgotten.
In his poems Shakespeare is less reticent : in the dedica-
tion of his " Venus and Adonis " to Lord Southampton, he
speaks of it as the "first heir of his invention." That he was
by no means unconscious of his ability or indifferent to its
recognition may be gathered from Sonnet LV. :
" Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme."
A passage which seems redolent of Horace's "Exegi monumen-
tum sere perennius," or perhaps Ovid's "Jamque opus exegi."
Whether Shakespeare had any acquaintance with the classics
in the original, must remain an open question. Dr. Farmer,
in the eighteenth century, made an elaborate demonstration,
that all Shakespeare's acquaintance with classical literature
might have been derived from translations. Ben Jonson's
allowance of at least some Greek would seem to imply the pos-
528 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July,
session of sufficient Latin to read Ovid, whose works would
furnish him with all he required.
Shakespeare's references to mythological subjects, are nu-
merous and apposite. To quote a few instances: Richard II.
likens his fall to that of "glistering phaeton"; Bardolph's
complexion reminds Falstaff's page of Althaea's firebrand, which
he confounds with the burning torch which Hecuba dreamed
she had brought forth ; Althaea's brand is again referred to in
Henry VI., this time correctly, York declaring that the realms
of England, France, and Ireland bore the same relation to his
life as did the fatal brand to that of Meleager. Imogen, from
whom it appears that reading in bed was indulged in in Shake-
speare's day, though possibly not known in that of Cymbeline,
had been reading the tale of Tereus — how like her position to
that of Philomela — while Tachimo lay concealed in her chamber.
Florizel, in " The Winter's Tale," refers to the disguises the gods
assumed in the prosecution of their amours.
"The gods themselves,
Humbling their deities to love, have taken
The shapes of beasts upon them: Jupiter
Became a bull, and bellow'd ; the green Neptune
A ram, and bleated ; and the fire-robed god,
Golden Apollo, a poor humble swain,
As I seem now."
Falstaff, in " The Merry Wives of Windsor," makes a sim-
ilar reference with regard to himself. Benedick, after an en-
counter with Beatrice, who, he says, misused him "past the
endurance of a block," likens her to " the infernal Ate."
Rosalind will be called by the name of "Jove's own page,"
Ganymede, during the sojourn of Celia and herself in the forest
of Arden. One might hardly suspect that in Jaques* comment
on Touchstone's punning reference to Ovid, " Oh, knowledge
ill-inhabited! worse than Jove in a thatched house," there lay
a reference to the fable of " Philemon and Baucis." An allu-
sion to the same story is made by Don Pedro in "Much Ado,"
in a form which certainly suggests acquaintance with Golding's
translation of the metamorphosis. In "Twelfth Night" Sir
Toby calls Maria Penthesilea. In "Henry VI." Charles calls
the Maid of Orleans Astraea's daughter, probably hoping to see
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 529
the return of the Golden Age. In " Lucrece " her smile is said
to be so sweet
" That had Narcissus seen her as she stood
Self-love had never drowned him in the flood."
As was to be naturally expected, music, "the exaltation
of poetry," is frequently referred to in Shakespeare. True, the
emotional, orchestral music to which we are accustomed had
not come into being in Shakespeare's time, but the severe,
contrapuntal music of previous time had given birth to the
madrigal. Chamber music, especially for "chests of viols,"
was extensively practised, and every decently cultured person,
man or woman, was expected to be able to play on the lute,
which appears to have formed the usual accompaniment to the
voice in song. From the crabbed figures of the contrapuntal
schools pure natural melody had been evolved, and it is not
improbable that the voice, untrammeled by the exigencies of
fixed-toned instruments, adapted to be used in every key,
was produced with a purity of intonation which our dulled
ears fail to appreciate. Besides general references to drums,
trumpets, hautboys, flutes, etc., there are numerous passages
which make it clear that Shakespeare was not without some
technical knowledge of music. In "The Two Gentlemen of
Verona" Julia suggests to her maid, Lucetta, that some love
of hers has writ to her in rhyme ; she replies :
"That I might sing it, madam, to a tune.
Give me a note; your ladyship can set,"
Julia, quibbling on the word, says:
" As little by such toys as may be possible.
But sing it to the tune of 'Light o' Love.'"
Lucetta : " It is too heavy for so light a tune."
Julia: "Heavy! belike it hath some burthen then?"
Burthen being, of course, the Bourdon or drone-bass. We
learn from Margaret, in " Much Ado," that Light o* Love,
" goes without a burden."
In "The Taming of the Shrew" Hortensio gives an amusing
account of his attempt to teach music to Katharina:
" I did but tell her, she mistook her frets
And bowed her hand to teach her fingering."
VOL. LXXXIX. — 34
530 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July,
Cassio, having directed a band of musicians to play before
the castle in which Desdemona is lodged, Othello's servant asks
them if their instruments have been to Naples " that they
speak i' the nose thus ? " and presently gives them money and
informs them that the General so likes their music, that he
desires them to make no more noise with it, and he sends
them away. Shylock also speaks of the nasal tone of the
bagpipes. Sir Andrew Aguecheek who, besides his other ac-
complishments, "plays o' the viol-de-gamboys," must not be
forgotten. The affectation of unwillingness, or inability, on the
part of singers — an affectation as old as Horace's time — is well
ridiculed by Jaques.
Nor are passages wanting in which music is treated of in
a serious mood. The lines in " The Merchant of Venice,"
where Lorenzo tells Jessica that the man who is without the
love of music is not to be trusted, are almost proverbial, but
the preceding lines are even more impressive. Lorenzo has
said :
"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
Sit, Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold :
There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st
But in his motion like an angel sings,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins;
Such harmony is in immortal souls."
A passage evidently reminiscent of Job. Jessica remarks:
" I am never merry when I hear sweet music."
He replies:
"The reason is, your spirits are attentive."
A touch similar to Jessica's occurs in Sonnet VIII.:
"Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?"
It is interesting to observe that a note of Cassius' danger-
ous character is that " he hears no music." But the rule does
not always hold good. True, Shylock does not seem to hare
appreciated music, but then neither did Henry Hotspur. After
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 531
Glendower had been saying that he had set ballads to the
harp, Hotspur says:
" I had rather be a kitten and cry ' mew '
Than one of these same meter ballad-mongers;
I had rather hear a brazen canstick turn'd,
Or a dry wheel grate on the axle-tree."
Othello does not appear to have been fond of music. The
use of music to affect, excite, or soothe the mind is frequently
mentioned. When Bassanio is about to make his choice, Portia
will aid him with music and a song. Prospero, when about to
renounce his magic arts, requires "some heavenly music."
Paulina, proceeding to animate the supposed statue, exclaims:
" Music awake her, strike !
Tis time; descend; be stone no more."
In the exquisite scene of Lear's return to sanity music
plays its part and is made the moving power in his recovery.
Desdemona, in her distress, recalls how her mother
"had a maid called Barbara,
. . . She had a song of ' willow ' ;
An old thing 'twas, but it expressed her fortune,
And she died singing it; that song to-night
Will not go from my mind."
And her woman, Emilia, dying, cries :
"What did thy song bode, lady?
Hark ! canst thou hear me ? I will play the swan,
And die in music."
We might call flowers the poetry of the inanimate world's
beauty — " pure perfection " as the Ettrick Shepherd defined it
— but without emotion, Shakespeare's references to flowers are
always sympathetic. Both the poems and the plays contain
frequent allusions to them. In " Lucrece " the heroine is pic-
tured lying asleep.
"Her lily hand her rosy cheek lies under,
Cozening the pillow of a lawful kiss.
Without the bed her other fair hand was,
On the green coverlet; whose perfect white
Show'd like an April daisy on the grass,
With pearly sweat, resembling dew of night.
532 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July,
Her eyes, like marigolds, had sheathed their light,
And canopied in darkness sweetly lay,
Till they might open to adorn the day.
The masquers' song in " Love's Labour's Lost," " When
Daisies Pied," is perhaps the earliest reference in the plays.
In " The Winter's Tale " a charming scene occurs at the
sheep-shearing: Perdita, as hostess, gives to Polixenes and
Camillo "rosemary and rue," which Polixenes acknowledges in
beautiful language.
It may be noted that Greene's tale of " Pandosto," upon
which Shakespeare based "The Winter's Tale," and which he
followed to the extent of furnishing a seacoast to Bohemia,
does not contain the beautiful scene, nor does the incident of
the supposed statue occur in it. Ophelia's song of her true
love, whose white shroud was " larded all with sweet flowers " ;
her mysterious distribution of rosemary, pansies, fennel, colum-
bines, rue, daisies; how her violets withered all when her father
died ; how she hung over the glassy stream weaving coronets
of wild flowers " when down the weedy trophies and herself
fell in the weeping brook." How, notwithstanding what was
judged to be a "doubtful" death, she was allowed
" her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial."
How the Queen scattered flowers upon her coffin with "sweets
to the sweet, farewell ! " and how Laertes pictured that from
her pure and unspotted flesh violets should spring, are famil-
iar to all.
The fine passage in Henry VIII., where Wolsey solilo-
quizes :
" Farewell ! a long farewell to all my greatness !
This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope ; to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do,
is, according to the critics, by Fletcher, Shakespeare's collabora-
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 533
tor in this play. If so, it serves to show how nearly Fletcher
could, on occasion, approach his exemplar.
Akin to poetry is the presentation of it, and this leads to
Shakespeare's own craft as an actor. The references to acting
are not very numerous, but it is evident he had a high ideal
of his art. The words of advice to the players have become a
commonplace, but his recognition and cordial reception of the
actors as old friends, are significant. On Gildenstern's intro-
duction, Hamlet addresses them : " Gentlemen, you are welcome
to Elsinore. Your hands — " and further on : " You are welcome,
masters, welcome all ; I am right glad to see thee well ; welcome
good friends," and adds personal compliments to certain of
them. And later to Polonius : " Good, my lord, will you see
the players well bestowed ? do you hear ? let them be well
used, for they are the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time.
Julia, in her character as a page, in a beautiful passage in
" The Two Gentlemen of Verona," tells Sylvia how at their
pageants at Pentecost,
" Our youth got me to play the woman's part,
And I was trimmed in Madam Julia's gown."
Juliet, about to take the Friar's potion, almost distracted by
her apprehensions, reminds herself:
" My dismal scene, I must needs act alone."
The clown's play in " Midsummer-Night's Dream," of course,
furnishes material : what beards the actors should don; the bill
of properties ; the cue, etc. The Duke, in " As You Like It,"
has said :
" This wide and universal theatre
Presents more woeful pageants than the scene
Wherein we play in."
And the suggestion draws from Jaques the celebrated compari-
son of the world to a stage. Coriolanus, overcome by the en-
treaties of his wife and mother, exclaims :
" Like a dull actor now
I have forgot my part, and I am out,
Even to a full disgrace."
Macbeth, finding himself about to be besieged in his castle,
is informed of his wife's death. He cries:
534 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July*
" Out, out, brief candle !
Life's but a walking shadow ; a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more."
Two passages in the Sonnets give an almost painful impres-
sion, of the feeling with which the low estimation, actors were
held in, affected Shakespeare :
"Alas, 'tis true, I have gone here and there
And made myself a motley to the view,
Gored mine own thoughts, sold cheap what is most dear,
Made old offences of affections new." (Sonnet CX.)
" O, for my sake, do you with Fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did not better for my life provide
Than public means which public manners breeds.
Thence comes it that my name receives a brand,
And almost thence my nature is subdued
To what it works in, like the dyer's hand." (Sonnet CXI.)
Of painting and sculpture Shakespeare has little to say;
occasional mention is made of portraits and miniatures, those
of Hamlet's father and uncle at once occur to us. Of the art
of sculpture I believe the only reference is to the supposed
statue in " The Winter's Tale." No doubt authority can be
quoted for the use of paint on statuary, but it does not belong
to the best period of the art; it was obviously necessary here
and it serves, incidentally, to heighten the fervor of Leonte's
feelings.
In no direction has so great an amelioration taken place
since Shakespeare's day as in the medical art. In the direc-
tion of science and mechanics hints of progress may be found
in Shakespeare which seem almost prophetical; we learn how
Ariel "would drink the air before him"; how Puck would
"put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes"; the passage
in " King John " where Philip, rejoicing in the projected mar-
riage of his daughter, declares that "the glorious sun stays in
his course, and plays the alchemist," might, with a little change
in the application, pass for a forecast of photography ; Imogen's
rapturous wish on hearing that Posthumus was at Milford
Haven — " O, for a horse with wings. ... If one of mean
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 535
affairs may plod it in a week, why may not I glide thither in
a day ? " — has been more than realized by the motor car. But
in the case of medicine we feel ourselves carried back to the
Middle Ages : the qualities of herbs, mysterious potions, deadly
poisons, healing salves, are the materia medico, of the time.
During the Wars of the Roses there must have been numerous
opportunities for the exercise of conservative surgery, but the
surgeon appears to have little resource beyond blood-letting.
Many mentions of the power of herbs occur : Juliet's confessor,
Friar Lawrence, is introduced as collecting
" Baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers.
. . . for many virtues excellent;
None but for some and yet all different.
Within the infant rind of this weak flower
Poison hath residence and medicine power;
For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part ;
Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart."
The Abbess, in " The Comedy of Errors," will administer
" wholesome syrups and drugs," and aid them with " holy
prayers." The Physician in " Cymbeline " endeavors to dis-
suade the Queen from practising with "poisonous compounds
which are the movers of a languishing death." We have the
mysterious sleeping potions of Juliet and Imogen. Oberon
tells us of the magic juice of the
" little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound."
Jessica reminds us that it was by night, that
"Medea gathered the enchanted herbs
That did renew old ^Eson."
Romeo gives us an amusing description of his visit to the
Apothecary : he tells how
" In his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuff'd, and other skins
Of ill-shap'd fishes; and about his shelves
A beggarly account of empty boxes,
Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds,
Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses,
Were thinly scattered to make up a show."
536 THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE [July,
In "All's Well That Ends Well," the story turns upon the
success of a prescription left by Helena's father, whereby the
King is cured of a fistula (this is so in the novel in the De-
cameron, upon which the play is founded) after the patient and
his physician "are of a mind, he that they cannot help him,
they that they cannot help."
Othello had doubtless realized that " not poppy nor man-
dragora, nor all the drowsy syrups of the world," could relieve
the mind roused to jealousy. Lady Macbeth's physician is
forced to admit that he is unable to "minister to a mind dis-
eased," or " raze out the written trouble of the brain."
The art of jurisprudence as exemplified in Shakespeare is
interesting, not only on its own account, but because several
of the references made to it show such a technical knowledge
of the subject as to lead to the supposition that Shakespeare
must have passed some time in the practical pursuit of the
law. Anglo-Saxon and Norman customs had long been fused
together, and legal documents were not uncommonly written
in English, though many of the Norman-French terms sur-
vived, as indeed they do to this day. The principles of land
tenure were determined substantially as we know them; on
the other hand, the vast body of social and commercial law,
and the functions of the Courts of Equity were in their infancy.
" The Merchant of Venice," the plot of which turns mainly
upon the bond given by Antonio to Shylock, furnishes a com-
plete view of a trial in a court of law of the time.
It would be tedious to make any extended reference to
Shakespeare's use of technical law terms. We may accept the
dictum of the late Lord Campbell, who, as successively Chief
Justice and Lord Chancellor, was peculiarly able to form an
opinion, that while the technical terms used in law were of so
special a character, that a layman could hardly fail to blunder
in using them, Shakespeare has uniformly used them correctly ;
but a few illustrations may be given : Shylock was to let An-
tonio have half of his goods for Lorenzo after Shylock's death ;
this strictly technical expression has reference to a device for
avoiding forfeiture, which was the occasion of the famous act
of 2 7th Henry VIII., known as the Statute of Uses. In "Love's
Labour's Lost " a particularly technical reference to real prop-
erty law is made. Boyet asks Maria to " grant pasture " for
him, meaning to let him kiss her. " No, no, gentle beast," she
1909.] THE ARTS IN SHAKESPEARE 537
says, "my lips are no common, though several they be." That
is to say, her lips are pasture for one person only, and not for
all the world. The Countess Olivia, in " Twelfth Night," says :
"I will give out divers schedules of my beauty; it shall be
inventoried : ... as, item, two lips, indifferent red ; item,
two gray eyes, with lids to them." This term, schedule, the
use of which is almost exclusively confined to legal documents,
occurs in three or four other places. Always in a sense agree-
ing with its technical use. The seal, the most solemn form of
assent to a document deriving its origin from the time when
the art of writing was comparatively rare, has survived to the
present day. Formerly the seal was affixed to the document
by a slip of parchment called the label — a deed executed by
Shakespeare himself, with the seals affixed in this way, is pre-
served in the British Museum. Many references to the seal
occur. For instance, Shy lock says to Bassanio :
"Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to talk so loud."
" Here is your hand and seal for what I did," is Hubert's
reply to King John, touching the supposed death of Arthur.
In one remarkable passage both the seal and label are men-
tioned together: Juliet, learning from the friar that she must
inevitably be married to Paris, says:
" If, in thy wisdom, thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my resolution wise,
And with this knife I'll help it presently.
God join'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands;
And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd,
Shall be the label to another deed,
Or my true heart with treacherous revolt
Turn to another, this shall slay them both."
In a different vein, we might quote the first gravedigger's
famous reference to " Crowner's quest law" and Dogberry's
readiness to lay " five shillings on't to one with any man that
knows the statues."
In conclusion we may congratulate ourselves on possessing
in the works of Shakespeare, a living picture of a period not the
least interesting in the history of civilization.
flew Boofcs.
The rapidity with which the pro-
THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLO- duction of this great work is pro-
PEDIA. ceeding might raise a suspicion
that celerity is bought at the ex-
pense of quality. An examination of this,* as of the preced-
ing four volumes, cannot but convince even the gentle sceptic
that there is no ground for such doubt. If this one shows
any difference from that of its predecessors, it is that the sense
of proportion in the allotment of space is more conspicuous;
and that there are no titles introduced which could claim a
place only under the most liberal interpretation of the encyclo-
pedia's scope.
There are many articles which have offered the editors an
opportunity to manifest the spirit in which they have conceived
and are carrying out their task; that is, to combine uncom-
promising fidelity to authoritative doctrine and traditional
Catholic ideals with a due regard for the advance of learning.
Probably one of the topics to which many will turn as a cru-
cial instance in this regard is " Evolution." There are two di-
visions in the treatment of this question ; each paper is signed
by the name of a writer who has already won respect in the
field of biology. A general view of the theory and of the
Catholic attitude towards it is given by Father Wassman, SJ.
He draws attention to the fact that Darwinism and evolution
are not synonymous terms — a piece of information which some
well-meaning speakers and writers among ourselves will do
well to take note of. The evolution theory, he holds, may be
placed on a theistic and Christian basis ; and with regard to
man's origin he makes concessions that might, perhaps, seem
strange to ears attuned only to the note dominant in our
apologetic orchestra of thirty, or even fifteen, years ago. On
this head he sums up as follows, in answer to the question,
To what extent is the theory of evolution applicable to man ?
That God should have made use of natural evolutionary,
* The Catholic Encyclopedia. An International work of Reference on the Constitution,
Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church. Edited by Charles G. Herbermann,
Ph.D., LL.D., Ed. A. Paoe, D.D., Conde" B. Fallen, Ph.D., Thomas J. Shahan, D.D., John
J. Wynne, SJ. In Fifteen Volumes. Vol. V. Dioc-Faith. New York : The Robert Ap-
pleton Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 539
original causes in the production of man's body is per se not
improbable, and was proposed by St. Augustine. The actual
proofs of the descent of man's body from animals is, however,
inadequate, especially in respect to palaeontology, and the
human soul could not have been derived through natural evo-
lution from that of the brute, since it is of a spiritual nature ;
for which reason we must refer its origin to a creative act of
God.
The other paper, by Father Muckermann, is an excellent
sketch of the history and scientific foundations of the theory,
condensed, with some illustrations, into about fifteen pages.
With regard to the arguments offered for animal origin of man,
Father Muckermann is more peremptory than his collaborator.
There is no trace of even a merely probable argument in
favor of the animal origin of man. The earliest human fossils
and the most ancient traces of culture refer to a true Homo
sapiens as we know him to-day.
An article that, no doubt, will prove of interest and value
to non-Catholics is that on "Divorce." The subject has been
treated clearly and thoroughly by Father Lehmkuhl. There
will be no longer any excuse for a repetition of the miscon-
ceptions regarding, for example, the difference between nullity
and divorce, or the nature of the Pauline privilege, which so
frequently turn up when some opponent undertakes to discuss the
doctrine and discipline of the Church regarding matrimony.
There is a remarkably concise yet comprehensive sketch, from
the religious point of view, of the history of England before the
Reformation, by Father Thurston, S.J.; and the subsequent era
is taken up by Mr. W. S. Lilly, who tells the story with his
usual munificence in the matter of quotations, and manages to
record Catholic emancipation without mentioning the name of
" that Irish fellow, O'Connell." A group of articles on topics
connected with the Oriental Church comes from the pen of
Dr. Adrian Fortescue; while M. Boudinhon, the professor of
Canon Law in the Catholic Institute of Paris, contributes sev-
eral on canonical matters, of which the most important is " Ex-
communication."
Father Cathrein's article on " Ethics " contains an excel-
lent brief outline of Christian ethics. One regrets, however,
540 NEW BOOKS [July,
that when treating of the origin of civil authority he omitted
— or shall we say avoided ? — giving any notice of the demo-
cratic doctrine of the scholastics and his illustrious confrere,
Suarez, that power comes to the ruler from God through the
people. And it is somewhat arbitrary to lay down as Catholic
teaching a view or theory which, while favored by some repu-
table theologians, is not accepted by others. Father Cathrein
explains the lawfulness of polygamy and divorce on the ground
that God dispensed, for a time, from the obligations of the
natural law; but some eminent theologians do not admit the
possibility of any dispensation from the natural law, and solve
the difficulties of ancient matrimonial practice in another way.
The biblical subjects in this volume are comparatively few, and
none of them of the first importance. An able article on " Ex-
egesis," by Father Maas, S.J., does not mark sufficiently the light
which exegesis has been able to draw from the vast discover-
ies made in ancient archaeology during the past century.
As one turns over the pages of this volume one is tempted
to enlarge beyond the bounds of a book notice the list of sub-
jects that have been treated with conspicuous ability. . But we
must resist, and conclude with expressing the conviction that,
while microscopic criticism might find some opportunities for
stricture, this volume fulfils the promise of the encyclopedia to
be a work that will meet the reasonable standards of the
learned without neglecting the claims of the uncritical. There
are, too, some articles, as, for instance, the splendid one on
" Egypt," that even specialists may study with profit.
When the future historian comes
CHURCH HISTORY. to write the story of the revival
of Catholic historical scholarship
in the nineteenth century he will note the name of Duchesne
as the Eusebius of that movement. At length we possess an
English version of his study on the early Church,* a study
which, besides augmenting and correcting our previous knowl-
edge of the first ages of Christianity, has helped incalculably
ecclesiastical history by setting a model of exact scientific
method. The work is so well known in the original that it would
* Eatly History of the Christian Church From Its Foundation to the End of the Third
Century. By Mgr. Louis Duchesne. Rendered into English from the Fourth Edition. New
York : Longmans, Green & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 541
be superfluous here to present any synopsis of its contents or
any estimate of its verdicts.
We may, however, observe that in many places Mgr. Du-
chesne's method destroys in advance arguments urged by op-
ponents against Catholicism and the papacy, by frankly recog-
nizing just how far historic proof is available in our favor;
and then refraining from pressing the records to yield what
they do not contain. For example, one might cite the dis-
pute regarding Easter between St. Victor and the Asiatics.
When the Pope, Mgr. Duchesne shows, undertook to excommu-
nicate the Asiatic churches, St. Irenaeus and the other Asiatic
bishops resisted him: "though agreeing in the main, with the
Roman Church, they could not, for such an insignificant matter,
allow venerable churches, founded by Apostles, to be treated
as centers of heresy, and cut off from the family of Christ."
Yet here, and on every other occasion where the most vital
question of the supremacy of the Pope comes into considera-
tion, Mgr. Duchesne brings out the overwhelming evidence
that exists for the Primacy. But, at the same time, he care-
fully insists upon the fact, implicit rather than explicit recog-
nition of the Pope's supremacy is what we generally find.
Many zealous defenders of it have weakened their case by dis-
regarding this fact. His exposition of the relations of the
Roman See to the other Apostolic organizations is formulated
so as to meet the classic objections drawn from this period
against the supremacy —
[The special authority of Rome] was felt rather than defined ;
it was felt, first of all, by the Romans themselves, who, from
the time of St. Clement, never had any hesitation as to their
duty to all Christendom ; it was felt also by the rest of the
world, so long as the expression of it did not conflict with
some contrary idea, determined by circumstances. In the ex-
ercise of her moral authority, an exercise which no one could
have defined, the Roman Church was led sometimes to support
men, sometimes to cross them. As long as she did not cross
them, there was no expression sufficiently strong to express
their enthusiasm and respect, and even the obedience they
felt incumbent upon them. In the event of conflicting opin-
ion, i. e.t in the times of Popes Victor and Stephen, then men
did not consider the prerogatives of the See of Peter so self-
evident. But in the ordinary course of events, the great
Christian community of the Metropolis of the world, founded
542 NEW BOOKS [July,
at the very origin of the Church, consecrated by the pres-
ence and martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul, kept its
old place as the common center of Christianity, and, if we
may so express it, as the business center of the Gospel.
The corresponding attitude of Rome, he shows, witnesses
to the same purport:
Rome kept an eye on the doctrinal disputes which agitated
other countries ; it knew how to bring Origen to book for the
eccentricities of his exegesis, and how to recall the powerful
Primate of Egypt to orthodoxy. The situation was so clear
that even the pagans were conscious of it. Between two
candidates for the episcopal see of Antioch the Emperor
Aurelian saw at once that the right one was he who was in
communion with Rome. And yet, these relations were in-
sufficiently defined. The fast approaching day, when centri-
fugal forces come into play, will bring regret that the organi-
zation of the Universal Church was not developed so far as
that of the local churches. Unity will suffer.
That useful little book Characteristics of the Early Church*
has reached a second edition. It is a very brief conspectus
of ecclesiastical history for the first five hundred years. The
writer marks the significance of facts bearing upon apostolic
succession and the primacy of St. Peter. There would have
been a good deal of mechanical, and some labor of research,
required if the author had appended precise references to his
statements and quotations. But the labor would have greatly
increased the value of the book for non-Catholics who find
themselves drawn to examine the claims of the Church.
Among the more conspicuous of
MODERNISM. the recent refutations of Modernism
may be mentioned that of Pere
Mamus.f The author, following almost rigorously the lines
of the papal encyclical, treats successively the aim of the
modernists ; the modernists and the Church ; the modernists,
reason, and religion; the modernists and doctrinal evolution;
the modernists and dogma, scholasticism, the divinity of Christ,
* Characteristics of the Early Church. By Rev. J. J. Burke. New York : The Christian
Press Association.
t Les Modernities. Par Le P. Mamus. Paris : G. Beauchesne et Cie.
1009.] NEW BOOKS 543
and Christianity. Covering thus the two distinct fields, the
exegetical and the philosophical, this book has the advantage of
being comprehensive. But, on the other hand, neither of the
problems receives the thorough treatment which has been given
to them by writers who have confined themselves to one or
other of the divisions; as, for example, M. Lepin, whose able
work was noticed in these columns.
The philosophical errors indicated as the basis of modern-
ism by the Holy Father — agnosticism and immanence — are
discussed in two works which have a wider scope than the
refutation of modernism, though this issue necessarily falls
under review in its proper place. It is instructive to note that
while one of these works makes agnosticism its direct target,
and the other takes immanence for its subject, each one treats
both topics, and merely reverses the rank accorded to them,
respectively in the other book. In Les Deux Aspects de V Im-
manence,* M. Thamiry has a constructive purpose. Recognizing
that while absolute immanence means pantheism or monism,
there is a partial or relative immanence which St. Paul ex-
pressed when he said : '* In Him we live, move, and have our
being." M. Thamiry undertakes to reconcile with orthodox
doctrine the truth which the exaggerated theories of imma-
nence have distorted. In the doctrine of St. Augustine, which
was followed by St. Thomas, relative to the existence of sem-
inal principles (rationes seminales], M. Thamiry believes there
is a key to a luminous theory. He gives to this idea of rationes
seminales an application far beyond the field of biology. In
his hands it is used not alone to explain the origin of life,
but also the genesis of our judgments concerning necessary
truths and first principles, as well as our assents to dogmatic
and moral doctrines — in brief, not alone were rationes seminales
lodged in matter for ultimate development into life, but there
are also intellectual rationes seminales in the human mind which
play a large part in the constitution of all our knowledge.
The volume directed against agnosticism issues from the
Catholic University of Toulouse. The special feature of the
work is the unusually large measure of attention and space
* Lt* Deux Aspects dt I' Immanence ct lc Problemt Religituv. Par Ed. Thamiry. Paris:
Bloud et Cie.
544 NEW BOOKS [July,
assigned to the psychological [side of the question.* For this
reason M. Michelet will repay reading, as the subject has been
passed over so lightly by many apologists that their writings
fail to meet decisively the errors which they would destroy.
This has not escaped M. Michelet's notice : " Convinced," he
writes of himself, "that apologetics ought to turn to its profit
whatever is legitimate in present aspirations, and whatever is
scientific in contemporary effort, the author has judged that as
others labor for the divorce of the history of religions from
its materialistic interpretations, it is necessary likewise, while
rejecting firmly the doctrine of immanence, to maintain the
legitimacy and utility of this new science of religious psychol-
ogy." The character of these two able works indicates that
the defenders of orthodoxy are now employing the most efficient
tactics ; which is to demonstrate that the distorted truths which
give error whatever plausibility and strength it possesses, find
their natural environment, and can be incorporated, in their
pure form into the orthodox system.
As its title indicates, this volume f
DON BOSCO. is the history of but a part of Don
Bosco's life and works. It opens
with his entry into the priesthood and closes with the year
1866. The author, Father Bonetti, was a close companion of
Don Bosco, so that he writes as an eye-witness, and from per-
sonal information. His style of narration is charmingly simple
and realistic. Anecdotes, incidents of daily occurrence in Don
Bosco's career, and the critical trials through which he passed
during the Italian disturbances, are woven into a narrative on
the most generous scale, and presented with that simplicity
which is the perfection of art. Long dialogues and conversa-
tions are repeated with the fidelity of a Boswell. Before we
have read many chapters we seem to know intimately, not alone
Don Bosco himself, but also typical characters among his pro-
teges and most of the persons who conspicuously helped or hin-
dered his loving labors; and the house of refuge in Turin is
almost as much a reality for us as it was to the nearest neigh-
bors. Much interesting sidelight is thrown upon Italian events
and conditions during the struggle against Austria; and we
* Dieu et I' Agnosticisme Centemporaine. Par George Michelet. Paris: V. Lecoffre.
t History of Don Bosco's Early Apostolate. Translated from the work of C. Bonetti, S.C.
London : The Salesian Press.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 545
meet Cavour himself in comparatively obscure surroundings.
Seldom has the work of an apostle of charity found so inter-
esting a chronicler. Chronicle is, perhaps, the most fitting des-
ignation for the story ; it has an air of directness and na'ivete
that is seldom to be found in our latter-day biographers.
All those who have read Helen
THROUGH RAMONA'S Hunt Jackson's Ramona, and many
COUNTRY. who have not, will find Mr. James'
book* a delightful complement of
that famous novel.
The author very earnestly explains that Ramona is "a mo-
saic of fact and of fiction." Of fact, because " there is scarcely
a statement relating to the country " (Southern California) "the
Spanish home life, of description, of the treatment of the In-
dians, etc., that is not literally true." Of fiction, because "the
hero and the heroine are pure creations of the author's brain."
The present volume is largely a demonstration of the for-
mer of these two statements. It is a running commentary on
portions of the text of Ramona, a commentary which gives the
writer, who is evidently thoroughly well-informed, an oppor-
tunity to make a thorough expose of the life, the manners, and
customs of the South California Indians, and of their habitat.
The result is an extremely interesting book. It is illustrated
with many good photographs.
Not since a witty Frenchman, some
ENGLAND AND THE twenty years ago, set the world
ENGLISH. grinning at the expense of John
Bull, has any stranger recorded his
impressions of the " tight little Island " with such racy char-
acterization as this American cousin. This book,f however, is
much more serious, deeper, and fairer than Max O'Rell's flimsy
caricature. Mr. Collier takes us at once to London, after land-
ing from an American steamer, and plunges into the business
of describing and explaining the things, the methods, manners,
and types that strike the eye of an American in contrast to
his own home experiences. We are informed at once that Mr.
Collier does not propose to criticize, but to make a study.
* Through Ramona s Country. By George Wharton James. Boston: Little, Brown &
Co.
t England and the English Jrom an American Point af View. By Price Collier. New
York : Charles Scribner's Sons.
.. LXXXIX.— 35
5*6 NEW BOOKS [July,
To this plan he sticks throughout; but, without assuming the
critic's attitude, he presents facts so clearly that they speak
for themselves, and when their testimony is unfavorable to
John, John has nobody to blame but himself. The study is
taken up, for the most part, with the political and social life of
the classes, rather than of the masses, though, of course, Mr.
Collier touches upon the latter, generally to give shadow to
his picture. The Englishman's self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and
underlying selfishness are the features of the national character
which Mr. Collier brings out a hundred times in bold outline.
Speaking after thirty years' acquaintance with English society,
he knows how to interpret the meaning of things which the
casual visitor can judge but superficially; and he usually con-
veys his meaning incisively by comparing or contrasting Eng-
lish with American ways.
His report of the Englishman's attitude towards the Amer-
icans who become domiciled in England is unflattering only to
these expatriated deserters. "Americans who have become
domiciled in England, who give lavishly to charities, who en-
tertain luxuriously, would be surprised to know the attitude of
mind of the average Englishman in regard to them. He looks
upon them first, as people who have recognized his superiority,
and, therefore, prefer his society; but secondly, and always,
as renegades, as people who have shirked their duty as Amer-
icans." This, Mr. Collier says, is characteristic of the English-
man's own sense of duty; which, he shows, has been a mighty
factor in the growth and maintenance of English success at
home and abroad. After a short but thoughtful sketch of the
origin and development of the national life, Mr. Collier de-
scribes, with abundant illustration, the part played in political
and social life by the policy of compromise, " the philosophy
of subordinating high principles to practical exigencies," and
the disinclination to believe that foreigners, whosoever they
be, can do anything better than Englishmen. " Are the Eng-
lish dull ? " is answered in a very entertaining and instructive
chapter, the tenor of which may be inferred from the follow-
ing passage :
The English have made man and men, and the best method
of controlling them, their study without bothering about any
preliminary bookishness. Apparently they are not only
proud that they do not understand, but also proud that they
1909.] NEW BOOKS 547
understand that it is better not to understand. They have no
patience with, and no belief in, the restless intellectual activ-
ity of the French, for example. A profound instinct warns
them against intelligence, which they recognize as the great-
est foe to action.
Dull they are, thinks Mr. Collier, but "out of this root of
dullness has grown an overshadowing national tree." Has this
national tree entered on its decline ? Mr. Collier does not
thresh out this acute question. But in his chapter on sport,
where he shows the enormous place sport occupies in national
interest and expenditure, he suggests that John, the florid and
stout-hearted cricketer, horse-lover, and all-round sport, is
destined to fall behind in the " scientific game that Germany,
Japan, and America are now playiog."
England, Mr. Collier says, extensively and with iteration,
is a man's country, not a woman's. American women will
find many texts for gratitude to Providence that they are not
English wives or sisters. But they, or at least a certain class
of them, will find that Mr. Collier does not consider that the
prominence given to women in the ranks of wealth is a favor-
able symptom for America. " The English woman knows that
tradition, the law, and society demand of her that she shall
make a home for a man ; the American woman has been led
astray by force of circumstances into thinking that her first
duty is to make a place for herself." But this class, he con-
cedes, is " a small, very small knot of women in America, but
a company so highly-colored, so vociferous, and so advertised,
that they stamp themselves on the superficial foreigner as be-
ing typical, when, as a matter of fact, they are merely hyster-
ical." In many other places, also, we find a shrewd observa-
tion on affairs at home. For example :
The recent discussions about more money for our ambas-
sadors seem to omit the pith of the problem, which is that our
ambassadors are not in Europe to play up to a king or to an
aristocracy, but to represent the American people. When our
ambassadors need a score of flunkies to make a setting for
their diplomatic mission they no longer represent America.
Franklin, Jay, Bayard, Lowell, and Choate impressed these
sensible English people more, and be it said some of them
did far more for their country's honor, peace, and prosperity
than any millionaire ambassador could do.
548 NEW BOOKS [July,
The American, and he is legion, who fancies that England
gets no return from the immense sums which her aristocracy
absorb, will find, here, reason to revise their opinion.
The enormous amount of unpaid and voluntary service to
the State, and to one's neighbors, in England, results in the
solution of one of the most harassing problems of every
wealthy nation ; it arms the leisure classes with something
important to do, not only their willingness to accept, but their
insistence upon the duty owed to the nation by the rich and
the educated has, I believe, more than anything else, given
them the lead in national predominance that they have held
until lately.
One of the grave symptoms showing that this national pre-
dominance is threatened, and that England may be at the part-
ing of the ways, is the recent tendency towards encouraging the
individual to lean upon the State : " Not until the Saxon ceases
to be a Saxon," says Mr. Collier, echoing an idea dominant in
his entire study, "will he really take to this kindly and eagerly.
If that time ever comes, then, indeed, will the British Empire
crumble fast enough." There is a chapter on Ireland, contain-
ing a brief review on an unmitigated condemnation of British
rule in Ireland; with some intimations that "the Irishman has
become far too much imbued with the notion that his business
is agitation rather than exertion " — an opinion that would meet
with the approbation of the Sinn Fein itself. But the value of
the book lies not in the author's views on Ireland, still less in
the two or three incidental remarks through which he indi-
cates his views on religion, but in the lessons which it has for
Americans.
In 1863, as the news from Gettys-
A LINCOLN CONSCRIPT, burg reached the intensely patri-
BY HOMER GREENE. otic little village of Mount Her-
mon, in Pennsylvania, the boys of
that place voted against permitting Bob Bannister to become
a member of their local regimental company. The reason for
this disgrace was that Bob's father was an irreconcilable cop-
perhead, who hated the war and denounced Abraham Lincoln.*
Shortly after the father was held up to odium at a public
meeting, and, within a very short time, was drafted for the
* A Lincoln Conscript: By Homer Greene. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 549
Union Army. He refused to obey; Bob tried to settle matters
by volunteering in his father's place, but his scheme failed.
Under durance vile the father soon reached Washington, met
with Lincoln, who converted him ; and soon both father and son
were on the firing line away down South in Dixie; whence they
returned, in due time, to receive a heart-stirring welcome from
their townsmen. A very readable story, with a good portrait
of Lincoln as he appeared to those who met him in his shirt
sleeves.
A King of Ireland de jure, a King
DROMINA. of England de jure, a King of
France de jure ; a Gipsy King, an
Emperor of Hispaniola, and a Roman Pontiff, de Jacto, with a
suitable accompaniment of minor personages, with a stage cov-
ering Ireland, Rome, Spain, California, and Hispaniola, bespeak a
novel on a large scale,* and one that would take some liberties
with history. In truth Mr. Ayscough might easily have made
three stories out of the materials which are crowded into one,
wherein he strives to enlist the reader's interest in three gener-
ations following each other on the scene.
The story opens in Ireland, during the reign of George III.,
at Dromina Castle, the residence of the McMurrogh, the head
of a decayed Irish family, and, in his own opinion, the lawful
King of Ireland. We are soon in retrospective, and listen to
the history of McMurrogh's early life and his marriage in
Rome to an Italian lady of rank. We meet the Pope of the
day, as well as Cardinal Henry Stuart. Returning to the period
of the opening, when the McMurrogh family is grown up, there
comes to the castle grounds a band of gypsies, whose nominal
chief, Ludoire, is the son of Louis XV. of France. The young
McMurroghs become interested in the gypsies; and soon one of
them goes to Spain at the instance of Ludoire's step-mother,
the real head of the clan, to negotiate a marriage between
Ludoire and the daughter of the King of the Spanish gypsies.
The ambassador fails in his mission, but obtains a wife for him-
self, and becomes a hidalgo in California, where he brings up
his son, the future Emperor of Hispaniola, a modern Sir Gala-
had, who dies a martyr to the Blessed Sacrament. It is almost
brutal to present in crude outline the thread of the narrative —
for to do so brings out the weak point of Mr. Ayscough's work,
* Dromina, By John Ayscough. New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons.
550 NEW BOOKS [July,
which is loose construction — without a hint of the skill with
which each individual link in the preposterously long chain is
wrought and ornamented. Each separate part is well executed ;
it is only the whole that is unsatisfactory. The character of
the young enthusiast, who makes himself Emperor, his in-
fluence, on Ludoire, and on another still less exemplary in-
dividual, is a beautiful conception.
Anybody who may have felt in-
THE RELIGIOUS PERSE- dined to think that there was
CUTION IN FRANCE. any semblance of correctness in
M. Sabatier's widely circulated
views on the Separation in France, cannot do better than read
M. Barbier's compendious narrative of the government's pro-
cedure, which culminated in the law of separation.* Contrary
to M. Sabatier's contention that the French anti- Catholic party
desired only to curb overweening clericalism, M. Barbier, by
simply stating the facts of the case, proves that the aim of the
government has been to destroy the Church and Christianity.
In another brochure f this indefatigable observer and student
of the present struggle furnishes an appreciation of the actual
situation. He finds many signs that the situation is far from
being as dismal as some people have represented it to be.
The modernist extremists, he is certain, have exercised but lit-
tle influence on the clergy, no more on the educated laity,
and none at all on the great masses of the people. It is en-
couraging to listen to M. Barbier's cheerfully courageous note
amid so many depressing voices. It is true that he himself
states that his friends accuse him of too much optimism. But
optimism is often the cause of its own ultimate verification.
Those who believe that the crimes
THE PRUSSIAN PERIL, of nations bring their own punish-
ment may find confirmation of their
theory in the present political situation in Europe, where the
dominance of Germany cows France, keeps England awake o'
nights, leads Austria like a docile Dalmatian coach dog, and
has recently administered a sore snub to Austria. \ All this
* L' £glise de France et la Separation. Par Paul Barbier. Paris : Lethielleux.
t La Crist Intime de I '£glise de France. Par Paul Barbier. Paris : Lethielleux.
\Le Pfril Prussien, au lieu d'un Schelling, des Milliards. Par Dr. D'Okvietko. Paris :
Lethielleux.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 551
situation is traceable, in the opinion of men who echo the judg-
ment of the late Lord Acton, to the obliteration of the King-
dom of Poland from the map of Europe, through the machina-
tions of Prussia, Austria, and Russia, assisted by the conni-
vance of England and France. The latter two countries are
now in a position to understand the fatuity of the blunder
which has raised Prussia to be the practical dictator of Europe.
The logic of events issuing from the downfall of Poland is ably
unfolded in a short historical sketch by a Polish writer in
French, who takes for his text the expression used by Lord
Napier in his note to Prince Gortchakoff, in 1863, when inter-
vention in favor of Poland by France and England was feared
by Russia: "England will not sacrifice a shilling in favor of
Poland." This pamphlet may be read with interest in the
light of an article in the June number of one of our contem-
poraries, discussing the menace constituted by Poles to the
unity of Germany.
The Decree of Pius X., Sacra
DAILY COMMUNION. Tridentina Synodus, regarding
daily, or frequent, Communion,
has not evoked in this country one-half the attention called
forth by his pronouncement on Church music. Yet, whether
the importance of the matter, or the historical significance of
the disciplinary measures introduced by the two documents re-
spectively, be considered, the former decree is incomparably
more significant. In view of the fact that Spanish theologians
were the first to advance, and the most persistent to maintain,
the opinion which the Pope has authoritatively approved, it is
interesting to note that Spanish names are associated with the
most conspicuous efforts made, through the medium of English,
to promote obedience to the mandates of his Holiness. Father
de Zulueta, S.J., publishes two earnest little pamphlets on the
subject. One is addressed to parents,* urging them not to
thwart the explicit guidance of the Holy See by putting obsta-
cles in the way of their children's adopting the practice of
daily Communion. He draws attention to the earnestness of
the Pope's words; and begs parents to put aside the vain ap-
prehensions which they may entertain, as a result of having
been trained in more rigid ideas, concerning the dispositions
necessary for frequent Communion.
* Parents and Frequent Communion oj Children. By F. M. de Zulueta, S.J. St. Louis:
B. Herder.
552 NEW BOOKS [July,
A recent pamphlet similar in tenor is addressed to laymen.*
He takes up and answers, one by one, the reasons usually of-
fered by worthy religious persons against approaching the sacred
table with what they would consider irreverent frequency.
A more weight)' work,f perhaps the most complete treat-
ment of the subject that has appeared, comes from the pen of
a Spanish Jesuit, professor of Canon Law and Moral Theology
at Tortosa. It has been translated into English by a confrere.
The most valuable part of Father Ferreres' book consists in a
brief review of theological opinions in the Church, bearing on
the question of the dispositions necessary for frtquent Com-
munion. Though he writes as an enthusiastic advocate of the
Pope's measures, he exposes the historical controversy with
perfect impartiality; and admitting that, "in support of the
view maintaining the necessity of further dispositions for fre-
quent Communion than a right intention and absence of mortal
sin, may be cited doctors of the highest repute, eminent saints,
and the most brilliant theologians," he cites an imposing list of
men remarkable for sanctity and learning, and another cf great
theologians who maintained the same opinion. Then he recites
the roll of those who held the adverse view, beginning with the
Jesuits Salmeron and Crestobal de Madrid, who had the honor
to be, in opposition to such an impressive array of traditional
authority, the first to advocate the doctrine which has now re-
ceived the highest official sanction. In his detailed commentary,
Father Ferreres introduces much historical information, and
brings out with precision the full intention of the legislation.
He calls attention emphatically to the limitations which the
Pope's command places upon the authority of superiors in re-
ligious houses and confessors to impose restriction upon their
subjects regarding frtquent Communion. He reminds priests,
who would look with apprehension at a prospective increase of
labor in the confessional consequent upon an increase in the
frequency of Communion, that daily Communion does not re-
quire daily, or weekly, or even monthly confession. This little
manual ought to be welcomed as a much needed supplement
to our text-books of theology, which on many important points
* Frequent and Daily Communion, Even Ftr Men. By F. M. de Zulueta, S.J. St. Louis:
B. Herder.
t The Decree on Daily Communion. A Historical Sketch and Commentary. By Father
Juan B. Ferreres, S.J. Translated by H. Jimenez, S.J. St. Louis: B. Herder.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 553
regarding the discipline of Holy Communion have, as Father
Ferreres shows, been rendered obsolete by the Decree Sancta
Tridentina Synodus.
Another book whose title might convey the impression that
it dealt with the papal decree, The Holy Eucharist and Fre-
quent and Daily Communion* does not touch upon discipline.
It is a brief exposition of the dogma of the Blessed Euchaiist
and the Holy Sacrifice, accompanied with devotional reflections.
The nature, necessity, and means
THE LITTLE BOOK OF HU- of acquiring the virtues of humil-
MILITY AND PATIENCE, ity and patience are set forth in
this neat little handbook f through
the medium of a collection of judiciously chosen extracts from
the two highly esteemed works from the pen of that revered
master of the spiritual life, Archbishop Uilathorne.
MR. LOOMIS' "JUST IRISH."
LEONIA, NEW JERSEY, June 12, 1909.
Father J. J. Burke :
MY DEAR SIR: I have been told that there is a very pleas-
ant review of my new book, Just Irish, in THE CATHOLIC
WORLD, but that the reviewer says the cover is scandalous —
or words to that effect.
My dismay when I saw the cover was very real. I hurried
at once to my typewriting machine and asked my Boston pub-
lisher to put on a new cover at once; that there was nothing
in the book of the green-whiskered stage Irishman variety, and
that the cover would be a most successful bar to the sale of
the book, as it could not help arousing indignation in Irishmen
of all creeds.
My publisher at once changed to a green cover with a
golden shamrock, but the books for review had gone out bear-
ing the chip on both their shoulders.
I had too pleasant a time in Ireland to wish to wound any
one's sensibilities, and I trust you may see fit to publish this
letter. Yours sincerely,
CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS.
* The Holy Eucharist and Frequent and Daily Communion. By Very Rev. C. J. O'Connell.
New York : Benziger Brothers.
t The Little Book tf Humility and Patience. By Archbishop Uilathorne. New York :
Benziger Brothers.
foreign periobicals.
The Tablet (8 May) : " A Contrast in Disestablishment " shows
how the organs of the Established Church, which had
nothing to say in behalf of the French Church when it
was despoiled, are now loud in their denunciations of
what they describe as robbery, when it comes to be
applied nearer home. In the notice of "The Royal
Academy" special mention is made of Sargent's " Israel
and the Law." By it " America has added yet another
work of genius to its treasury of art." In the reply to
the Canterbury Canon, on " St. Anselm and the Immacu-
late Conception," W. H. K. shows that, although the
passage quoted does prove that St. Anselm held that
our Lady was "conceived with original sin," yet his
whole thought on the subject does not express any such
conclusion. At " The General Chapter of the Re-
demptorists " Father Patrick Murray, an Irish religious,
was chosen as the new General.
(15 May): It is pointed out that in "The Last Con-
sistory" no fewer than 135 new bishops were "pre-
canonized." Ten such consistories, it is said, would
give an entirely new hierarchy to the Catholic Church.
" The Discussion on the Budget " centers principally
around the beer and land taxes. The former apparently
is to come out of the pocket of the poor man, while the
latter adds four new ways to the already existing seven,
in which the man who buys or inherits land is mulcted.
The Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J., is his lecture on
" Titus Gates' Test " shows up the ignoble source of
the King's Protestant Declaration. In a correspond-
ence in The Guardian Dr. James Gairdner makes some
very awkward remarks about the " Blessed Reformation,"
and says that the Establishment was its fundamental
principle. The Despotism of the Tudors, and nothing
else, banished Papal authority in England. Accord-
ing to Italian papers his Holiness intends to found in
Rome a special "Institute for Higher Biblical Studies."
(22 May): The second reading of "The Catholic Dis-
abilities Bill" has been carried in the House of Com-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 555
mons by a majority of ten. Under the heading "An
Hereditary Giver," the Duke of Norfolk is spoken of as a
national benefactor who is being lampooned because he
has accepted $305,000 tor a Holbein which the National
Gallery refused to purchase. The offer of $150,000 to
"The University of Oxford," on the condition that
compulsory Greek be abolished, has been accepted.
Greek is now no longer required for a degree in Arts.
The Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J., writes on the much
debated " Miracle of St. Januarius." The various theories
advanced for the liquefaction of the saint's blood are ex-
amined and the writer's conclusion is that they are not
satisfactory.
The Month (May) : The celebration of the eighth centenary of
the death of "St. Anselm of Canterbury "has led the
Rev. Sydney Smith to write a brief synopsis of his life,
pointing out how by saintly persistency he secured for
the English Church a degree of liberty which the Crown
had striven to destroy. In " Intolerance, Persecution,
and Proselytism," the Rev. Joseph Keating says that
the conception which Pagan Rome formed of the early
Christians, as being unpatriotic and holding principles
subversive of civil liberty, is precisely that which the
English ultra- Protestant expresses of his Catholic fellow-
citizen to-day. To show that the old sneer, that the
conquests of the Catholic Church in England have been
chiefly among women, is without much force, consider-
ing the share which women have had in the diffusion
of Christian ideals, is the trend of " The Catholic Wo-
men's League " by P. " Blessed Joan of Arc in Eng-
lish Opinion," by Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J. Appar-
ently the earliest mention of her is in the first half of
the fifteenth century ; since then frequent references are
to be found, the majority of which are appreciative.
The International (May) : " Social Insurance," as Dr. Broda
sees it, is but a step along the road which ultimately
leads to Socialism. The Rev. J. Campbell discusses
"The Economic Aspects of the Women's Suffrage Move-
ment," under the various heads of wifehood, motherhood,
and woman workers. Give women the vote and you put
an end to many of the wrongs inflicted upon the sex.
556 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [July*
To the old traditions of the Hansa League, coupled
with motives of self-interest among the seacoast towns,
which are on the outlook for naval contracts, Germani-
cus traces "The Origin of German Naval Enthusiasm."
"The Miracles at Lourdes." Dr. Felix Regnault,
of Paris, comes to the conclusion that there are no
miracles at Lourdes in the ecclesiastical sense of the
word. Now and then, very rarely, curious cases of heal-
ing do occur. These he attributes to hypnosis.
" Progress in Photography," by Fernand Mazade, is an
account of the marvels brought to light by chronophoto-
graphy. Views of fishes have been obtained in thirty
fathoms of water, while processes such as the growth of
plants and the expansion of bodies by heat can be made
visible.
The Expository Times (May) : Did the Lord appear to Moses
in "The Burning Bush"? The writer says He did not,
as God cannot be seen by the human eye. It is but
an Oriental way of describing the call of Moses to the
prophetic office. That Johannine theology is becom-
ing more and more interwoven into the religious life
and thought of the day, is the verdict of the Rev. J.
Iverach, D.D., in his review of the Kerr lecture — "The
Tests of Life." The aim of " the Religious-Historical
Movement in German Theology," to recommend the Gos-
pel to " the modern mind," is a good one, says the Rev.
J. M. Shaw, But we cannot accept from theology any
scientific pictures whose purport is to blot out that of the
historical Christ. The misleading " Nomenclature of
the Parables" forms the subject of the Rev. R. M.
Lithgow's article. To-day, says the Rev. J. S. Cooper,
in writing on " The Virgin Birth," the doctrine is re-
garded as a proof of our Lord's Divinity. In Apostolic
days it was regarded as a proof of His humanity.
Le Correspondant (10 May): P. de la Force concludes his
" Studies in Religious History." The period he writes
on is the disastrous one following upon the Revolution.
He portrays the action of Talleyrand and the religious
struggle which ensued. " The Centenary of Essling,"
by Edouard Gachot, from some unpublished documents,
reviews the German campaign and the battles of the
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 557
twenty-first and the twenty-second of May. The evil
effects of utilitarianism and commercialism upon the
stage are exposed by Felicien Pascal in "The Theater
and Money." "The New Picture Gallery in the Vati-
can " is described by Pietro d'Achiardi. He gives an
account of the improvements and the various schools
of painting represented. That many of the ills that
flesh is heir to result from unwholesome food and poor
cooking is set forth by Francis Marre in " A Rational
Cuisine."
(25 May): Comte Charles de Moiiy writes from an ac-
ademic point of view, on the requirements necessary
for the minister who should hold the " Portfolio of For-
eign Affairs" in a government. L. Dufougeray gives
"The Unpublished Correspondence of Lamennais " with
Madame de Lacaw. Extending over thirty-six years, it
reveals the changes that swept over his soul as he passed
from religious intolerance to the depths of incredulity.
" History of Religions " is a review of a recent work
by Mgr. le Roy on Primitive Religions, in which he
takes the ground that religion, to be properly understood,
must be traced back to its original sources, in which it
finds its best interpretation. " Exposition of One Hun-
dred Portraits of French and English Women of the
Eighteenth Century in the Tuileries," by Leandre Vail-
lat, is a comparison of the methods employed by the
masters in the two schools, producing such different re-
sults.
&tude$ (5 May) : The Editor contributes a short biography of
Rev. Eugene Portalie, one of the principals in the re-
cent Portalie-Turmel controversy, who died at Amelie-
les- Bains on April 20. A sketch of the life and works
of the artist " Murillo " is given by Joseph Tustes.
Xavier Moissant, continuing his essay on " Responsi-
bility," asserts that the Rationalists have signally failed
in their explanations of man's freedom and the voice of
conscience. Treating the "Recent Postal Strike" in
France, Henri Leroy describes the attitude of the strik-
ers, parliament, and the public, one to another. Then
he exposes the causes and consequences of the trouble.
M. Jules Lebreton characterizes the recent work of
558 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [July,
Father Lagrange, O.P., Le Messianisme chez les Juifs, as
a masterpiece. In his "Bulletin of Ethics" Lucien
Roure gives a criticism of some of the views expressed
at the recent Congress of Pragmatists at Heidelberg.
(20 May) : Jules Lebreton reviews some recent biblical
literature. The views of M. Jacquier, in his History of
the Books of the New Testament are characterized as clear
and judicious but by no means original. "Heroism in
the Theater," by Alphonse Parvillez, is an inquiry as to
whether the plays of Edmond Rostand are morally up-
lifting. Apropos of the recent "Congress in Honor
of the Blessed Virgin," held at Saragossa, in Spain,
Pierre Briicker urges a similar organization in France.
J. Delattre relates the measures that were adopted at
" The Vatican Council " to preserve a holy priesthood.
The "Piusverein" of Austria, its history, and influ-
ence, especially on the press, should be an incentive for
a similar organization in France.
Annales de Philosophic Chretienne (May): Charles Danan ex-
poses " The Nativistic Philosophy of Zeno," as opposed
to Empiricism. It falls back upon the problem of the
antithesis between the one and the many, and for Zeno
the idea of any agreement between unity and multi-
plicity does not exist. For him it is all one or all the
other. " The Devil of Socrates and the Religious
Beliefs of Greece," by M. Louis, shows that our ideas of
demonology vary with each generation and its way of
looking at the subject. In order to understand the
"familiar spirit" of Socrates, we must not only study
the matter by the laws of psychology, but above all in
the light of the religious beliefs of the Greeks as ex-
pressed in their theories of inspiration and divination.
"The System of Physics and Metaphysics" is a melange
by Ed. Gasc-Desfosses of the theories advanced by dis-
tinguished representatives of these sciences. Their views
have been collected by M. Thomas of the Lyceum Ver-
sailles and published under the title The System of the
Sciences.
Revue Pratique d* Apologetique ( I May) : " Was Pascal a Mod-
ernist?" is the question answered in the negative by
Clement Besse. In his works he uttered his defiance to
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 559
naturalism in religion. No doubt Pascal believed in the
intuitions of the heart, but he believed also that God makes
the advances. "The Origin of Christian Apologetic,"
by J. Lebreton, treats of the apologetic system of St. Paul
as we find it in his epistle to'the Romans. Dealing with
Gentiles he showed that God, as revealed in nature, with
wisdom and power will judge them by Christ. "The
Place of Apologetic in Preaching." Why, asks A. Picaud,
do the sermons of to-day apparently prove so ineffective?
We need, to-day, to have the doctrine we preach trans-
lated into human life. Therein to a large extent lay
the secret of the success of Lacordaire and the Cure
d'Ars. "The Ethics of the Laity, their Source and
Results." The equivocal meaning of the word has dis-
appeared and to-day it stands for war with Catholicism
and with Christianity in general.
(15 May): There are two reasons why "Frederic Oza-
nam " should be remembered by posterity. First because
he was the founder of the St. Vincent de Paul conferences,
and secondly on account of his apologetic work, which
is the subject of Alfred Baudrillart's article. In an
illustrated article the Abbe Broussolle shows the place
occupied by " The Apostles in the Art of the Renais-
sance." By degrees throughout Italy we find the old
impersosal representations passing away and particular
events in the lives of the Apostles are depicted by the
artists. How to reconcile grace with free-will is the
subject dealt with by Ph. Ponsard in " Grace and Liberty."
"The Ascension," as a mystery of faith, justice, hope*
and joy, is treated by H. Lasetre.
Revue du Monde Catholique (i May) : Contains a number of con-
tinued articles. " Towards the Abyss " dealing with
Liberalism in Lower Canada, by Arthur Savaete. "His-
tory of Mormontier," by Dom Rabory. " The First Su-
perioress of the Ursulines of Quebec," by Eugene Gri-
selle. Alexander Harmel gives the first chapter of an
article on " How La Fontaine Presents His Animals."
The charm and success of his work lie in this, that
he loves the animals he describes.
(15 May): "The Ways and Products of the Bees," by
Maurice du Fresnel, gives a minute account of the
$6o FOREIGN PERIODICALS [July,
geometrical construction of their cells and the mar-
velous ingenuity displayed. " Henri Lassere," in a meas-
ure a founder of the Revue du Monde Catholique, is the
subject of an article by Etienne Laubarede. The man,
the writer, and his work, are in turn taken up and de-
picted. " Philosophical Meditation on Man," by Ar-
thur Savaete. " The French Clergy Since the Con-
cordat of 1801," by M. Sicard.
La Revue des Sciences Ecclesiastiques et La Science Catholique
(April) : "Itinerary of a Saint." M. 1'Abbe E. Roupain,
reviewing the life of Jeanne d'Arc, comes to the conclu-
sion that either Jeanne never existed, and her epoch is
only a myth, or we, knowing the historical facts of the
case, must admit that she was, as she herself said, the
envoy of God. Apropos of "The Miracles at Lourdes,"
M. Camille Daux considers the diabolical possession and
obsession which took place at Hippo, and shows that St.
Augustine regarded the cures as miraculous.
(May): "Philosophical Consultation." M. le Chanoine
Chauvin answers M. Lablanche, who inquires about per-
sonality. The latter claims that certain theologians re-
gard personality as the existence of the rational substance,
in so far as this existence is really distinct from sub-
stance. " Unpublished Works of Mgr. Plantier." An
account of his journey to Rome in 1858.— —Apropos of
" The Miracles at Lourdes," M. Camille Daux treats of
the Church's attitude towards miracles; also of their
evidence in canonization and the methods employed by
the Church to determine their credibility.
Stimmen aus Maria-Laach (27 April): "St. Mark at Venice"
is the subject of a study by St. Beissel, S.J., on the
value of unity of style in church architecture. 1.
Bessmer, S.J., concludes his paper on "The Second
Sight." He calls special attention, in the examination
of a case, to the necessity of ruling out all motives that
can be accounted for by other influences. C. A.
Kneller, S.J., discusses the old question of "St. Irenaeus
and the Church of Rome," apropos of the new interpre-
tation by Professor Harnack of that well-known passage
of Irenaeus on the Roman See. E. Wasmann, S.J.,
shows in his concluding article on "Old and New Re-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 561
searches of Haeckel " that in his latest book this leader
of Monism resorts again to his usual insincere methods.
Razon y Fe (May) : L. Murillo gives the internal arguments in
favor of the authenticity of the book of Isaias, namely,
its title, "The Vision of Isaias, the Son of Amos," and
the unity of matter and plan of the entire discourse, the
uniform elegance of conception and of style, and the
prophecies of the last eighteen chapters. " Evangeli-
cal and Modernistic Systems of Morals " are compared
by E. Ugarte de Ercilla. The sublimity of the former,
its immutability, and the fidelity of the Church in con-
serving and defending it, are contrasted with the attack
upon the "passive" virtues, the autonomy of reason,
the " progressive " morality, and the exaggerations of
utilitarian pragmatism upheld by the latter. N. No-
guer treats " The Social Transcendance of Raiffeisen's
System " and its relations with agricultural progress,
social pacification, social evolution, and the representa-
tion of classes and of interests. " Absolution in the
Primitive Church," by Z. Garcia, is treated under four
points ; the faith and discipline, public and private con-
fession and penance. R. Villada shows the meaning
of "The Obligation of Voting Under the New Election
Law," and urges Catholics to aid in selecting suitable
candidates and in supporting just laws.
Espana y America (i May): A South American'epic, "Tabare,"
is highly praised by P. Romulo del Campo, who would
compare it with the Odyssey were it not for the doubt-
ful insignificance of the protagonist and the apparent
absence of a supernatural force or fate. P. M. Velez
shows that " Christian Humility " as taught by the
Church, is not opposed to that of Christ nor to the
" Know Thyself " of Greek philosophy, and that it does
not imply a renunciation of personal endeavor or a love
of the beautiful in art and nature. " The Interna-
tional Politics of Germany," as viewed by P. Graciano
Martinez, reveal the quality of German patriotism, the
advantages of a European confederation, the efforts of
the Kaiser to turn his nation's artistic and metaphysical
hegemony into a gun-boat, and some reflections on the
Algeciras conference. P. C. Fernandez finds in the de-
VOL. LXXXIX. — 36
562 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [July.
fective knowledge of Palestinian geography common to
St. Thomas' time a difficulty in his construction of a
system of exegesis. "The Administration of Justice
in China," by P. Juvencio Hospital. A tale, "John
the Galley- Slave," by P. F. Balzofiore. Book reviews
include Spanish translations of Benson's Lord of the
World and of Newman's Development of Dogma.
(15 May): Admiring the unity and the progressive social
efforts of the Catholic clergy in Germany and Belgium,
P. Bruno Ibeas appeals for greater organization among
the Spanish priests, for insurance societies, for circula-
ting libraries, for mutual assistance in legal matters, for
active interest in popular improvements. P. M. Velez
refutes the charge that the Church inculcates humility
in her members in order to enslave their souls, and
shows from history her attitude toward the poor.
"The Philosophy of the Verb," by Felipe Robles, con-
tains the substitution of modes and tenses and the re-
lations in the metaphysical, logical, and grammatical
trinities of thing, idea, and word. P. Gaudencio Cas-
trillo, in " An Excursion Through the Province of Hu-
Nan," describes the rich productions of a Chinese region
where Augustinian missionaries have been zealously la-
boring. In an " Historical Bulletin " P. C. de la
Puente describes the numerous recent historical con-
gresses and laments the loss of A. Luchaire, whose
works have been of such value to the Church.
Current Events.
It cannot be denied that the French
France. government took a better course in
dealing with the second attempt of
the civil servants to destroy the whole life of the community
engaged in commerce and industry in order to obtain the re-
dress of certain grievances of their own. In the first attempt
all the words of Ministers were brave and their speeches elo-
quent— so eloquent as to be placarded over the whole of
France. Their deeds, however, did not correspond. In fact,
the result was looked upon as virtually a victory for the
strikers. It was not so on the second attempt ; every pre-
caution was taken in advance; other means of communication
were got in readiness; the latest resources of science were util-
ized: such as automobiles, and wireless telegraphy; and the ser-
vices of the military were requisitioned. When the strike broke
out, those who took part in it were summarily dismissed, no fewer
than 700 postmen being deprived of their places. The Chambers
supported the government, and the law for dealing with such
derelictions of duty was strengthened. That Ministers and mem-
bers of the legislature acted so firmly was due more to the good
sense of the country than of themselves. The voice of public
opinion was so strong as to remove all hesitation. The postmen
who began the strike openly defied the law which forbids the
employes of the State to take part in a strike, because of the spe-
cial privileges which such employes enjoy, and also of the disas-
trous effects to the whole country which a strike on their part
would involve. This notwithstanding, some of the postmen en-
rolled themselves in a syndicate and entered into association with
the General Confederation of Labor, the avowed object of
which is, either by a general strike or by more gentle methods,
to overturn the present order of things.
The Confederation was called upon to support the postmen
by ordering the so-long-threatened general strike. After some
hesitation this was done, but the order was given too late,
and, better still, was not obeyed. Scarcely any attention was
paid to the commands that were given. The strike collapsed,
and due punishment was meted out to those who had taken
part in it.
But it cannot be said that all is peaceful in the industrial
564 CURRENT EVENTS [July,
world. The prospect, in fact, is still gloomy. The seamen in
several ports of France have refused to work, and have there-
by caused grave inconvenience. The remedies which have
been adopted show the governmental character of French
methods — how authoritative they are. The mails have been
sent by torpedo boats and destroyers, while sailors from the
navy have been distributed among merchant vessels, in order
that some of them at least may be navigated and their freight
saved. Other signs, such as the cutting of telegraph wires,
show that the appeasement is superficial. In truth, the fesr of
more far-reaching disturbance is widespread ; and is due to
the fact that there is a large organization, the avowed object
of which is to revolutionize the existing organization of in-
dustry. This organization is the above-mentioned Confedera-
tion of Labor. Its numbers, indeed, are not very large, when
compared with the vast mass of workingmen. Out of a total
working-class population of some nine millions only 900,000
are organized at all. Out of this 900,000 only 300,000, or one-
third, are members of those trade unions which are affiliated
to the General Confederation of Labor. And of the 300,000
who are so affiliated, there are only 100,000 who are support-
ers of the general strike which is to bring to an end the ex-
isting state. The remaining 200,000 have the same object in
view, but wish to accomplish it by a series of gradual reforms.
Small, however, as is the minority of the extremists, it is
not to be despised. A few men often work great mischief.
And so many friends of France are greatly apprehensive of
even the immediate future, especially when there seems for the
majority of Frenchmen to be no object of veneration or respect.
Religion has been widely rejected, the bourgeoisie have now no
regard for those whom they once looked upon as worthy of
respect; and, in their turn, they are hated by the proletariat.
Whatever may be said of liberty, equality and fraternity are
still unrealized ideals. But while there are reasons for anxiety,
there is also reason for hope. The responsibility of self-gov-
ernment is being ever more and more deeply realized, and calm
consideration is being more and more given by larger numbers
of the people to the questions which arise. The recent crisis
gives proof of this. It was the good sense of the people at
large that saved the situation. This constitutes ground for
hope.
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 565
Although the French government has taken so firm a stand
in opposition to the illegal action of the civil servants, it has
not adopted a non-possumus attitude towards the whole move-
ment, and has not refused to admit that they had real griev-
ances. The well-being of the people has often been sacrificed
for the good of a monarch's favorites; but when, instead of a
single ruler's dependents, provision has to be made for those of
some three or four hundred Deputies to Parliament, the case
is worse. And in some degree this is what has taken place of
late in France. Owing to the influence of the Deputies, the
ranks of the Civil Service have been recruited, and within
those ranks promotion has been given, not according to fitness
and well-doing, but for political and personal reasons. In this
way injustice has been done for many years past. As a remedy
for these evils, the government has brought in a Bill which
allows the civil servants to combine in their professional in-
terests, and also determines the rules and regulations which
are to govern their promotion. It hopes, thereby, to reduce to
the lowest the risks of favoritism. Promotion is to be made by
the Minister of each department of the public service by means
of lists drawn up in co-operation with the servants themselves.
In drawing up the Bill the government claims to have been
actuated by the broadest and most liberal spirit. In this way
it is giving proof of the practical good sense which does not
attempt to rule the actual world on abstract principles. Per-
haps it would be more accurate to say that it was the French
people as a whole that adopted this course, for it seems
clear that it was the commonsense of the nation that, in this
instance, made its voice heard and enforced upon ministers and
deputies alike the necessity of listening to it. Self-government
has its duties as well as its privileges, and of those duties one
of the principal is that each and every one should make his
voice heard when the necessity for so doing arises.
During the recent crisis in the Near East very little was
heard of arbitration or of the Tribunal established by the
Hague Conference for settling international questions. It had,
however, we believe, some influence, for the spirit out of which
the establishment of such a Court grew made the nations less
ready to enter upon hostilities, unwilling to affront the gen-
eral sentiment in favor of peace which was known to exist.
A more distinct triumph for the strength of the peace move-
566 CURRENT EVENTS [July,
ment is to be found in the fact that Germany and France re-
ferred their differences, about the incident at Casablanca, to
the Tribunal for adjudication, and thereby avoided, as some
think, the breaking out of war. The decision of the Court was
given a few weeks ago and has been accepted by both of the
parties. On the whole it is more favorable to France than to
Germany and some think that it would have been more favor-
able still if the judges had been strictly logical in the applica-
tion of the principles which they laid down. They allowed the
desire to give something to both sides to temper the rigid ap-
plication of international law. In consideration of the satisfac-
tory outcome, all are ready to pardon this concession to ex-
pediency. There is, however, some reason to regret that a
compromise has been made, rather than an authoritative decision
given. According to the terms of the decision the German
Consulate at Casablanca acted wrongly and through a grave
and manifest error, although the Consul himself committed only
an unintentional error, while, on the other hand, the French
military authorities were wrong, not so much in what they did
as in the manner of their doing. General satisfaction has been
manifested by the Press of both countries with the settlement.
Very little progress has been made in settling the affairs of
Morocco. This is due partly to the continued state of unrest
which prevails in States under a single ruler, especially when
his possession of the throne is not firmly established. Mulai
Hafid's reign has been endangered in various ways. Yet another
brother developed aspirations for power. His movement, how-
ever, was frustrated in its earliest stage of development, and
he has since conveniently left this life. France remains in pos-
session of Ujda and of Casablanca and of the district immedi-
ately surrounding the latter place. The number of troops has
been reduced, although a fairly large force still remains. The
French mission to Fez was only partially successful ; but there
seems to be widely entertained a considerable confidence in
the good faith of the present Sultan. The mission which he
has sent to Paris has been well received by the President and
the government, and hopes are strong that a complete settle-
ment will soon be made. Then complete evacuation will take
place.
The Commission for the examination into the state of the
Navy has not yet reported; but many ugly facts are being
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 567
alleged, affecting not merely the administration, but also the
good fame of contractors of the highest standing. And if the
proposals of the Navy Council are accepted by the government
France will enter into the competitive race with Germany and
Great Britain for the biggest navy. The Navy Council propose
that 57 ships of the line shall be built by 1920 — to be built at
a cost of some 600 millions. The French Fleet would then
be about equal to the German Fleet if the arrangements now
made are not changed.
It is satisfactory to be able to record an improvement in
the vital statistics of France. In 1907 the deaths exceeded
the births by 19,892. In 1908 the opposite was the case, the
births having exceeded the deaths by 46,441. These figures
are, however, not so good as they look, for although there is
an increase of births over deaths, it only amounts to 18,067.
The balance of 48,266 is due to a decrease in the number
of deaths. The effect of the development in 1908 is to aug-
ment to 12 for every 10,000 the relative increase of the
population, and this compares with an average of 18 for
every 10,000 for the years 1901 to 1905, of 7 for the year 1906
and of 5 for 1907.
It will be remembered that the
Germany. majority which supports Prince
Biilow is made up of the Con-
servatives of the Right and the Liberals and Radicals of the
Left banded together, in despite of fundamental differences on
most points, agaiast the Catholic Centre, in order to deprive it
of the position which it so long held as the dominating party
in the Reichstag. This bloc has worked fairly well for some
time, the Radicals and Liberals having shown a wonderful
capacity for swallowing principles completely opposed to those
for the sake of which they have hitherto existed. But when
the financial proposals of the government for raising the large
additional taxation of 125 millions a year came up for dis-
cussion, it was found impossible to maintain harmony any
longer. The Conservatives are very anxious to place most of
the burdens which this taxation involves upon the shoulders of
the masses of the people, and to prevent its being placed
upon their own. We regret to say that the Centre has not
proved itself indisposed to help them. Liberals and Radicals
568 CURRENT EVENTS [July,
opposed this, and so far as the financial proposals go the
majority is no longer in agreement. It is still in doubt whether
the government can or will propound a scheme which will re-
store harmony, and, if not, whether the bloc will break up en-
tirely, thus restoring the Centre to its former position of power
and influence. Prince Biilow has often proved himself a skillful
driver of unruly teams, and people now are looking forward
with interest to see how he will manage this time.
The Navy League has not relaxed in its demands, in spite
of the heavy burden which the realization of its projects is
putting upon the country. It has been holding meetings in
which further additions to the Navy are demanded, and, not-
withstanding the courtesies, in the shape of mutual visits which
have been taking place lately between Germany and England,
the German government gives countenance to the League, and
therefore, it would seem, to its programme. The special ma-
noeuvres which took place recently at Kiel, in order to show
respect to the League, manifests the attitude taken by the
government. The election of four out of the seven socialists who
were returned to the Prussian Diet has been invalidated on a
legal technicality, nor has any sign been given by the govern-
ment that it intends to redeem its promise of a revision of the
Prussian franchise — the worst, according to Bismarck, in the
world. The question of ministerial responsibility to the Reich-
stag, which was referred to a Committee for report, is still left
in abeyance; perhaps, some think, it will not be raised again.
The Kaiser has been making a round of visits, two having
been paid to the King of Italy, and one to the Emperor Francis
Joseph. A fourth has just been made to the Tsar ; and there
seems reason to think that all of them are likely to have im-
portant results.
It is somewhat strange that while in France there is a small
improvement in the birth-rate, in Prussia, for the first time ever
recorded, the- movement is in the opposite direction. The total
number of births was less by 10,621 in 1907 than in 1906, and
was actually less by 1,058 than in the year 1901. It is, how-
ever, still much higher than that of France, and indeed of
many other countries, being at the rate of 33.23 per 1,000.
The rate stands: 34.00 in 1906; 33.77 in 1905; and 35.04 in
1904. That of England has fallen to 26.3 in 1907, the lowest
on record. Calculations have been made that for Germany
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 569
the annual excess of births over deaths will soon be 1,000,000 ;
so that in the near future the Empire will number 70, 75, 80,
or more millions. At present, however, the excess is about
900,000, and if the criminal disease elsewhere existent spreads
into Germans these expectations will fail of realization.
The annexation of Bosnia and Her-
Austria-Hungary. zegovina has, indeed, been suc-
cessfully accomplished. The price,
however, in reputation and in money, in the disturbance too
of what seemed to be the beginning of settled peace for the
much harassed Powers of Central Europe, has been very high.
And already this annexation has involved an increase of the
many anxieties of the aged monarch, with promises of still
further troubles. Dr. Krek, a distinguished Slovene prelate, de-
clared in the Reichsrath that the view taken of the Bank con-
cession which we mentioned last month, by which Bosnian
peasants are given over to the tender mercies of Hungarian
bankers, was expressed by the formula that the Emperor of
Austria had bought from the Turks the inhabitants of Bosnia-
Herzegovina and sold them to the Hungarians, and that by
this action Austria had utterly discredited herself among the
Southern Slavs. The promised constitution, which formed the
pretext for the annexation, has not yet been granted, nor, so
far, are there any signs that it is on the point of being granted.
In fact, the perennial contest between Austria and Hungary
seems to be about to break out yet once more ; and in Hun-
gary itself the Cabinet crisis has not yet been settled. Hence
there are not wanting excuses for the non-fulfillment of the
promises.
The jubilations over Austria's one success for many a long
year have been accompanied by celebrations of the one victory
over Napoleon which was gained by Austrian arms, although
this is so little of a victory in the eyes of the French that one
of Napoleon's marshals took his title of Prince from the same
battle. So small, too, were the results, that within a few days
the capital of the Empire was occupied by French troops.
There are not a few who in view of the recent action of Austria,
which was the cause of so much unrest and which almost led
to a European war, would not be very sad if the success may
prove as transitory in its effects as was the victory.
570 CURRENT EVENTS [July,
The German Emperor's visit to the Emperor- King Francis
Joseph is declared by the German Press to be a fitting cele-
bration of Austro-German solidarity and of the victory due to
German support which Austria- Hungary has recently obtained.
Every subject of Francis Joseph, so it said, knows that his
country's success was due above all to the help of Germany,
and should rejoice in promulgating the fame of Germanism
throughout the world, and in manifesting to all the unshakable
strength of the Austro-German alliance. The Austrian way of
expressing the matter is rather more pleasing, for while it
recognizes the debt which is due to the Kaiser, his support
is valued not as leading to domination, but for its having
saved the country from war. In the Emperor Francis Joseph's
words the Kaiser is welcomed as "the steadfast furtherer of
all peaceful endeavors." The love of peace and gratitude for
its preservation was also the keynote of the speech which the
German Emperor made in reply.
It is not easy to ascertain the
Italy. exact attitude of the Italian peo-
ple towards the other two coun-
tries, Germany and Austria, with which she is allied. During
the recent Near Eastern crisis it seemed for a time as if there
might be a rupture of the Alliance, so far, at all events, as
Austria and Italy were concerned, and if this had taken place,
as subsequent events proved, it would have involved a rupture
with Germany also, for Germany was Austria's backer. Italy's
Foreign Minister placed himself on Austria's side, but the
speech which he made was censured far and wide, and his
resignation was looked upon as inevitable. The feeling of the
country was entirely in favor of the Young Turks, and Aus-
tria's action was looked upon as jeopardizing the success of
their movement. Unfortunately the Alliance has had for one
of its results the placing of Italy in some degree at the mercy
of Austria, the border fortifications having been allowed to
become more or less dilapidated, while the Army has not been
kept up to the required standard and even the Navy has been
neglected. Consequently, the government has to be prudent
and was afraid to offer open opposition to the Austrian plans.
Its support, however, was so cold that it is believed the King
of Italy received some plain admonitions from the Kaiser on
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 571
the occasion of his first visit. It is to be presumed, however,
that every point of difference has been settled by the second
visit, for the two monarchs, William and Francis Joseph, united
in sending a message to King Victor Emmanuel from Vienna
to assure him of their unalterable friendship. The Italian
Foreign Minister remains in office and as the questions that
were at issue have been settled the country will doubtless ac-
quiesce. But measures are to be taken to restore efficiency to
the Army, the estimates for a considerable additional sum to
be spent upon it having been accepted by the Cabinet, while
a much larger amount is to be spent upon the Navy, if the
plans of the present government are carried out.
Notwithstanding the spoliation which the religious commu-
nities have suffered, their numbers have so much increased that
the enemies of the Church are getting alarmed, and in the
Italian Parliament a vote of censure was moved. This vote
was resisted by the government, which did not deny the facts.
It refused, however, to take any action, on the ground that all
Italians were entitled to equal treatment and to fair play and
that so long as the laws were observed no legal association
would be interfered with. Religious associations are to have
the same freedom as lay associations. All are to be equal in
the eye of the law and enjoy equal freedom and justice. This
is the government's ideal as expressed by the Minister of Jus-
tice. To share the toleration which is extended to such news-
papers as the Asino is no great honor, but it is all that the
Italian government vouchsafes.
The affairs of Russia have not ex-
Russia, cited much attention, and this is
due to the fact that there has been
some improvement. The Duma is becoming an established in-
stitution, and although the limits of its power are circumscribed,
yet it is getting the possession of a very real authority, and a
yet wider influence. The questions which arise are not ques-
tions as to its continued existence, but as to whether the min-
istry of M. Stolypin will remain in power or be superseded by
one reactionary in policy. The question of religious disabili-
ties has been discussed, but the Orthodox .Church throws all
the weight of its influence against every extension of such
liberty. Most of the members of the Duma, on the contrary,
572 CURRENT EVENTS [July,
support the extension. The Tsar now ventures to appear in
public, and he is to pay a visit to France and England in the
course of the coming month. The trial of a high police official
has brought out the criminal methods by which order (such as
it was) was maintained in Russia a few years ago.
There have been a half-dozen of
Turkey. Cabinets since the restoration of
the Constitution, the latest of which
will have been in power for nearly two months when these
lines are printed. The hope that it will be more stable than
its predecessors rests upon the fact that it has, if we may be-
lieve his public profession of faith, the hearty good-will of the
Sultan, and also that it represents the various sections of the
Committee of Union and Progress, to whose action the resti-
tution of the Constitution is due. The Committee will not,
therefore, be exposed to the temptation of endeavoring to thwart
the government or to work, as it has been accused of doing,
by unconstitutional methods in order to secure the much-
needed reforms. Unless these are made Turkey will be left in
as bad a condition under a Parliament as it was under a Sultan.
One of the measures which had to be taken as a conse-
quence of Abdul Hamid's efforts to regain his lost power — the
proclamation of a state of siege in the capital — still stands, we
believe, in the way of the full enjoyment of constitutional
rights, but this is only a temporary expedient and may be
justified by the emergency. A number of executions have taken
place of the worst of the conspirators, and as a salutary warn-
ing their bodies have been exposed in public places in a way
highly revolting to Western nations. But each nation knows
best its own business, and necessarily acts according to the
stage of advancement at which it has arrived. What that stage
is in Turkey may be judged by the way in which the Arme-
nians and other Christians were treated in Adana and other
places in Asia Minor during the recent crisis. Without the
slightest provocation or warning they were attacked by the
soldiers with the connivance of the local authorities, acting, it
is said, under orders telegraphed from Constantinople by Ab-
dul Hamid himself. The motive for this fiendish action was his
desire to discredit the reformed government, to show that it
was unable to maintain order in the provinces, at the same
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 573
time that he in the capital was carrying out his plans for its
overthrow. It must be admitted that he found willing instru-
ments of his cruelty. Towns and villages were set in flames
simultaneously throughout a wide district. Thousands of men
and women and children were shot by the soldiers. In some
cases the women and children were spared, the men being or-
dered to stand apart, and they were then shot in the presence
of their families, for some of whom a worse fate was reserved,
as the girls were taken for Turkish harems. Refugees in
churches were in one case roasted alive, while in another the
victims perished by being thrown into a river.
In one village the soldiers made some sixty men come out
one by one and killed them, the onlookers applauding by
clapping their hands, while in another the wife of a Turkish
governor looked on at the massacre and smiled her approval of
the doing of the will of Allah. For four days in many districts
the carnage went on, the victims being estimated at from 15,-
ooo to 20,000. Space does not permit us to go into further de-
tail. The awful consequences following upon an individual's
lust of power is what is exemplified by these events. That
fifteen of the leaders have been executed, and that others are
undergoing trial, is satisfactory so far as it goes. We hope it
may be taken as an indication that the era of law and order
has supplanted the arbitrary will of one man power.
The Committee appointed to pre-
Persia. pare an electoral law has taken a
long time in doing its work. The
delay has been due on this occasion not to the Shah, who has
submitted to the demands of Russia and England, but to the
unwise demands of the Nationalists. The country has suf-
fered so long from bad government, oppression, corruption,
and every kind of debasing influence, that it looks as if no
wise men were left. It is now generally admitted that the
Shah had some reasons which gave apparent justification for
his dissolution of the former Parliament. The demands of its
members were unreasonable and their proposals foolish and
wild. And, at the present time, there is a repetition of their
former mistakes. The possibility of a protectorate being es-
tablished, as the only way of saving the country from an-
archy, is forcing itself upon the attention of statesmen.
THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION.
THE following notice has been sent out by Edward Feeney, National Presi-
dent ; Anthony Matre, National Secretary :
The Eighth National Convention of the American Federation of Catholic
Societies will be held in Pittsburg, Pa., on August 8 to n.
Our information from Pittsburg is that elaborate preparations are being
made by the Catholics of that city to extend a most cordial welcome to the
delegates to the Convention. That staunch friend of Federation, Right Rev.
Regis Canevin, D.D., appeals to us to rally, and visitors may be assured of a
most hospitable reception in his diocese.
The Convention will open with Pontifical High Mass at the Cathedral.
There will be two great mass meetings at Carnegie Hall, at which ad-
dresses will be made by Most Rev. S. G. Messmer, Archbishop of Milwaukee;
Right Rev. James McFaul, Bishop of Trenton, N. J., who will speak on the
"Apostolate of the Laity"; Thomas B. Minahan, Esq., of Seattle, Wash.,
on "Federation From a Layman's Standpoint "; Professor J. C. Monaghan,
on " Socialism "; Walter George Smith, Esq., of Philadelphia, and others.
We most earnestly urge every National Catholic Organization, Diocesan,
State, and County Federation, Catholic Institution, Society and Parish, as
far as possible, to be represented in the Convention.
We especially request the bishops and priests of the country to assist in
making the coming Convention even more successful than the great gather-
ing of 1908. They can do so by urging representative Catholic laymen to at-
tend as diocesan or parish delegates, or to be with us themselves.
While Federation is essentially a layman's movement, it is primarily in-
tended to advance the interests of our Holy Church. The two great Sover-
eign Pontiffs, Leo XIII. and Pius X., have blessed the labors of Federation,
and its work has the approval of the Apostolic Delegate and the hierarchy of
the United States.
Federation is advancing. We want the co-operation of every Catholic to
extend its influence. If we hope to make an impression on the social and in-
tellectual life of the nation, Catholics must be united. We invite every Cath-
olic to become an Associate Member of Federation, and thus insure beyond
peradventure the permanency of the organization.
* * *
The Editor of the American Catholic Who's Who finds that an idea has
gained credence in some quarters that the book is to be a mere social register.
She wishes to point out that it is not to be a " roll of honor," but a reference
book, stating what Catholic men and women are doing, and what positions
they hold in Church, college, and the professions.
The proposed work, therefore, is not a social blue book. Its line of in-
clusion is drawn at what people have done for the Church, for education,
literature, science, art, and society. Its purpose is to make Catholics better
acquainted with what they are doing, and of bringing them into greater mu-
tual acquaintance and unity.
With this better understanding as to the object of the American Catholic
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 575
Who's Who, the Editor makes an earnest appeal that all who have been asked
to send her their record will do so without delay.
* * *
The Nineteenth Annual Report of the Christ Child Society, Washing-
ton, D.C., is an emphatic proof of the good and widely extended work car-
ried on by the members of the Society. The efforts of the past year show
a remarkable increase both in the number of members and the amount of
work which the Society has been able to accomplish. The report for 1909 is
not limited to the Washington branch, the mother, so to speak, of the So-
- ciety, but includes the reports of the different cities in the United States
where the Christ Child Society has been established. These reports, one
and all, are most encouraging. The purpose of the Society, as our readers
know, is to aid and instruct needy children. From year to year the Society
grovrs in scope and influence. It does not limit itself to any one particular
work, but branches out in a most praiseworthy way to meet the needs of each
particular district where centers for the work have been established.
The Settlement for Italians, undertaken at the request of Cardinal
Gibbons, is a most important part of the Society's work, and the zealous ef-
forts put forth in this branch have produced most encouraging results. The
work of visiting the hospitals promises to become one of the Society's per-
manent and fruitful activities.
This great charity is aided in its work by the co-operation of Catholic
men and women, by contributions received from contributing members and
those interested in promoting the influence of the work, and by the personal,
active service of members in the different settlement centers. May the
harvest of the coming years be abundantly fruitful.
* * •
The Seventh Annual Report of the Association of Catholic Charities
gives a fair idea of the organized charitable endeavors of Catholic women in
and about Manhattan Island.
The Reports of the Association show, year by year, an increase in statis-
tics, for a larger number of existing organizations are affiliating one with an-
other, and the work of the central body is more widely extended.
Since the preceding meeting of the Association a National Organization
of Ladies' Catholic Charitable Societies was formed.
* * *
Dr. Henry Van Dyke, in a recent letter, gives his views on French uni-
versities and university life. He finds that "the chief defect in the univer-
sity life of France is the lack of a free, healthful, democratic comradeship
among the students. They are intelligent, ambitious, hard working. Bul
they do not know haw to live together on a wholesome, manly basis. They
are not prepared for the business of life by the excellent discipline of learn-
ing to regulate themselves in the liberty of a student-republic.
"Nothing is more notable in France than the variety and the sharpness
of the political divisions. The French are an extremely logical people, and
they carry their theories through to the end. The tolerance and good
humor of the American spirit seem to them very strange. It is hard to
make them understand that precisely this spirit of 'live and let live ' has
been the secret of liberty and union in our republic."
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THE
CATHOLIC WORLD.
VOL. LXXXIX. AUGUST, 1909. No. 533.
IS BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR?
AN ANSWER TO " A REJOINDER."
BY LEWIS JEROME O'HERN, C.S.P.
fOCTOR CHARLES C. GRAFTON, Protestant-
Episcopal Bishop of Fon du Lac, has published A
Rejoinder* to our article, which appeared in the
February number of THE CATHOLIC WORLD,
entitled "Bishop Grafton and Pro-Romanism."
The discussion pertains chiefly to Papal Supremacy and In-
fallibility, and the validity of Anglican Orders, Some apology
is due those to whom this answer to Dr. Grafton's Rejoinder
is addressed for the reiteration of arguments and quotations,
which, in this self-same discussion, have been worn threadbare
by writers of books and pamphlets innumerable during the
past half- century. But such repetition is justifiable when we
recall that it is the duty of a teacher to repeat his corrections
as long as the willing student, in an earnest endeavor to learn
the truth, continues to make mistakes regarding the matter in
hand.
Doctor Grafton repeatedly and eloquently assumes the posi-
tion of an eager pupil, as, for example, in his introductory
paragraph :
" I do not write for victory over opponents, or to build up
one's own Communion, but solely for the Truth and the Truth's
sake. I humbly pray God that whatever I say erroneously
* A Rejoinder. To a pamphlet by the Rev. Lewis J. O'Hern, C.S.P. By Charles Chap-
man Graiton, S.T.D., Bishop of Fond du Lac. Milwaukee: The Young Churchman Com-
pany.
Copyright 1909. THB MISSIONARY SOCIETY or ST. PAUL THB APOSTLB
IN THB STATE OF NEW YOKK.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 37
578 Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? [Aug.,
may be shown to be an error, and that God will especially
bless those who antagonize my writings to the elucidation of
the Truth."
This is apparently not idle rhetoric. If Dr. Grafton had
ctrcalated his Rejoinder among non-Catholics only, or, to put
the supposition more strongly still, if he had followed the ex-
ample of another well-known opponent of the Church, and dis-
tributed the Rejoinder secretly, his protestations of love for the
truth, taken in conjunction with several statements in his
pamphlet to which we will have occasion presently to refer,
would have had the aspect of insincerity. On the contrary,
Dr. Grafton, it appears, has submitted his Rejoinder to almost
every Catholic priest in the United States. This is really a
stirring auto da fe in the righteousness of his cause. By the
most conservative calculation it must represent an outlay of at
least one thousand dollars. The bishop of a poor American
diocese does not incur such an expense without mature de-
liberation.
When Dr. Grafton was contemplating the gift of his pam-
phlet to the Catholic priests of America, he must have re-
membered that, naturally, they would be opposed to his con-
clusions, and that they were to be won, if won at all, only by
sound reasoning, and influenced only by unimpeachable author-
ity. And he knew that the Catholic priest is a thoroughly
trained logician, and that poor, indeed, is the priest's study
which is not equipped at least with a compendium of apolo-
getic literature sufficient to control the most frequently dis-
cussed quotations from the Fathers. The conclusion is in-
evitable that Dr. Grafton sincerely believes in his own argu-
ments, and that he honestly trusts in the authorities he cites.
He brings his understanding of the facts concerning Papal
Supremacy and Infallibility, and Anglican Orders, to the Cath-
olic clergy of his native land, and says : " I humbly pray God
that whatever I say erroneously may be shown to be an error,
and that God will especially bless those who antagonize my
writings to the elucidation of the Truth."
This makes an examination of his pamphlet full of human
interest, and no one can fail to rejoice in every effort put
forth to assist so distinguished a seeker after enlightenment.
But it is mere flippancy to pretend that human interest is
the only vital issue, preliminary to this discussion, which
1909.] is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? 579
hinges on the sincerity of Dr. Grafton's desire for " the elu-
cidation of the Truth." Sincerity alone can justify this polite
but genuine contest between professed servants of Christ, in
which questions concerning the mind and will of Christ Him-
self are disputed. Herein the debater who is not sincere in-
sults the self-respect of his opponent, violates the counsels of
prudence, provokes a wicked waste of time, and might easily be-
come guilty of irreverence towards God and the Truth of God.
If, therefore, Dr. Grafton's sincerity is not an established
fact, any attempt to win him in a discussion of this kind
would be as inexcusable as an attempt to make ropes of sand.
It is only on the hypothesis of his sincerity that his Rejoinder
can be considered at all. This makes it all the more impera-
tive that his will to be fair should be established beyond the
shadow of doubt.
Now, even a casual perusal of Dr. Grafton's Rejoinder acutely
raises the question of his fairness, and at times even of his
earnestness.
A striking instance is afforded by his paragraph entitled :
" Father O'Hern's Witnesses."
In the paper he criticizes, an attempt had been made to
conciliate Dr. Grafton by appeal to those who stand shoulder
to shoulder with him in his own Church. The writer reasoned
plausibly that correction from his own distinguished brethren
would be to Dr. Grafton not only more welcome, but also more
convincing than appeal to authorities identified with the Church
he opposes. It is greatly surprising to find that Dr. Grafton
disposes of the opinions, arguments, and citations of his co-
religionists by caustic depreciation of the men themselves,
summing up his respects to them in the sentence: "A few
belligerent flies crawling on the window pane are not going to
tear down the house." "What," he says, "do the opinions of
these unimportants " (Dr. Briggs, Spencer Jones, Father Paul
James) " amount to against the judgments of a great number
of learned and saintly Anglican divines, . . . statesmen,
jurists, and historians, . . . who have examined and rejected
the Papacy ? " It is obviously impossible to take up, one by
one, this mighty host and compare the credentials of each
with Dr. Briggs, Spencer Jones, or the editor of The Lamp.
Beyond bare mention of their names, Dr. Grafton himself prac-
tically ignores the great majority of these men in his quota-
58o is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR ? [Aug.,
tions. Contrariwise he adorns many of his pages with the
name and the words of Dr. Littledale. This is confusing to
an outsider who desires to offer congenial authorities to an
Anglican bishop. We read in the Anglican Guardian (New
York, 19 February, 1881) that the most conspicuous features
of Dr. Littledale's writings, and of men like him, are, " a pre-
tentious, prophetic oracularity; audacity of self-assertion; flip-
pancy of tone in speaking of things sacred, and the astonish-
ing complacency with which they allude to their own labor
and learning, and the immodesty with which they contemptu-
ously express themselves of all others in the Church." Bear-
ing this estimate in mind, how could a mere outsider know
that Dr. Littledale would be to Dr. Grafton a model of learn-
ing and a congenial witness to truth, whereas Dr. Briggs " has
not well imbibed the traditions of our Communion," and Father
Paul James "has hardly a recognized standing"; in fact both
of them are " belligerent flies " ?
Do these distinctions, insisted on by a bishop seeking after
" elucidation of the Truth," argue for his fairness and sincerity
and good- will ?
Scarcely more engaging is his frequent use of Anglican
clergymen " returned from Rome," as witnesses against the
Church. Even the man in the street distrusts the bias of an
apostate. Are these fairly to be opposed to the distinguished
Anglicans we quoted ?
Another authority quoted approvingly by Dr. Grafton is
" the Roman Catholic Professor Launoy." * Who is this Lau-
noy ? Let Dr. Rivington tell us :
"Launoy was a writer of most equivocal reputation. Almost
all his books were placed on the Index. He was committed to
various errors on predestination and grace, besides his op-
position to the Papacy. He is accused of altering writers in
quoting them with an 'incredible shamelessness.' What author-
ity, therefore, can a man like Launoy be?"f
Still another authority cited by Dr. Grafton is Du Pin,
whom he describes as " one of the most learned writers of the
Roman Church."}
Now it happens that Du Pin is not "a learned writer of
the Roman Church" at all, but a disciple of Launoy, and a
* Rejoinder, p. 21.
^Authority. By Luke Rivington, M.G. London: Catholic Truth Society, pp. 35-6.
\ Rejoinder, p. 21.
1909.] is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? 581
Jansenist. Surely Dr. Grafton would not have thus referred to
this writer had he read " Bossuet's Criticisms on Du Pin's
History of the Counsels of Chalcedon and Ephesus," for he
would have seen that this learned writer "makes free use of
altered documents, defective and even false translations, spu-
rious quotations, and wilful omissions of important testimony ;
that he is especially unfair and evidently so when dealing with
the authority of the Roman Pontiff."*
This bitter Gallican should have been quoted by Dr. Graf-
ton as a pious Anglican, for he was on intimate terms with
William Wake, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, and in
perfect accord with the Anglican creed, regarding the aboli-
tion of confession, religious vows, fasts, abstinences, corporal
austerities, the celibacy of the clergy, but, above all, on the
doctrine of the Lord's supper, and the rejection of papal
authority. For these teachings he was deprived of his chair
at the Royal College and his writings were condemned by the
Archbishop of Paris and the Sorbonne.
Now, since Dr. Grafton tells us he has " investigated the
Papal claims to the fullest extent of his power, and not a book
of ability has escaped him,"t we must suppose him to be ac-
quainted with the foregoing facts. But if he is cognizant of
them, how can he, with a sincere desire for the "elucidation of
the Truth," quote Du Pin as one of the "most learned writers
of the Roman Church ? "
"THE PRE-EMINENCE OF PETER," in Dr. Grafton's hands,
again raises the question of his fairness. We challenge any
one not under the spell of Swedenborgianism, to read the
topological contrast between St. Peter and St. John, and St.
Peter and St. Paul in the Rejoinder, and then say, this man is
single-minded in pursuit of the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth.
He opens the discussion on page 1 1 by saying : " It will
clear the ground if we begin by admitting the pre-eminence
given to St. Peter in the Gospels and the first portion of the
Acts." This leaves us rather unprepared for the declaration
found on page 14 : " Pre-eminent as was Peter, there is no
question of the greater pre-eminence of John." Still again we
are surprised to read, on page 16, that "St. Paul outranks
Peter in the gifts of pre-eminence bestowed upon him."
* The True Faith of Out Forefathers, p. 107. t Rejoinder, p. 7.
582 Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR f [Aug.,
Is it possible that Bishop Grafton really means to tell us
that SS. Peter, Paul, and John were each and all, individual-
ly and collectively, simultaneously and equally, pre-eminent in
the Apostolic College ?
Pre-eminent means "first in rank, or merit; to hold the
first place " ; and surely all three could not be first and hold
the first place at one and the same time.
Dr. Grafton tells us that St. Peter's true pre-eminence con-
sists in this: that "he was the representative of the old dis-
pensation within the apostolate," while St. John represents the
new.* This is proven because " St. Peter, like unto Israel,
joined in covenant with God, is the married man, while St.
John is the virgin disciple." f
The same rule, of course, would hold good to-day, and,
therefore, the married bishops and clergy of the Anglican
Church are the representatives of the old dispensation, while
the bishops and clergy of the Catholic Church, followers of the
virgin disciple, represent the new. Dr. Grafton will surely
not blame us if we push his principles to their logical con-
clusion.
In his efforts to minimize the pre-eminence of St. Peter in
the New Testament Dr. Grafton continues:
" Father O'Hern says there are four lists of the Apostles
in the New Testament, and Peter's name appears at the head
of each list. Here he falls into error. In St. Matthew's Gospel
St. Peter is mentioned as first, but after this, then the order
given, as in the second chapter of Galatians, verse xi., is ' James,
Peter, and John.'"f (Italics are ours.)
Let us see who has fallen into error. There are about five
and twenty places in the Gospels and the Acts where the name
of Peter occurs together with the other Apostles, and in every
single case the name of Peter stands first. There is only one
place in Holy Scripture where St. Peter is not mentioned first
in rank, and that is the following passage in Galatians, referred
to by Bishop Grafton :
" And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be
pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave
to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship " (Gal. ii. 9).
When describing the Transfiguration, St. Matthew says :
"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his
* Ibid,, p. 17. \lbid., p. 13. \Ibid., p. 16.
1909.] is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR ? 583
brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart "
(Matt. xvii. I. King James* Version).
Again, when describing Christ's departure for Gethsemane,
St. Matthew says : " And He took with Him Peter and the two
sons of Zebedee" (Matt. xxvi. 37. King James' Version).
What justification is there for the insinuation that after this
(his first enumeration) St. Matthew uses the order, James, Peter,
and John ?
Dr. Grafton has accused the learned Dr. Briggs of being
" very superficial in his comment on the New Testament about
St. Peter."* We are left the sad alternative either to believe
that Dr. Grafton, in the foregoing comment on St. Matthew, is
himself superficial, or else that he is unfair.
Undoubtedly there was some special reason for this unusual
order found in Galatians. Very probably St. James was the
first of the three seen by St. Paul, and St. John the last.
Anyhow, this order is so unnatural that, in commenting on
the passage, Tertullian, Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose,
and St. Augustine quote St. Paul as saying: "Peter and James
and John."f
The distinguished Protestant critic, Tischendorf, gives the
names of no less than eight of the oldest MSS. of Holy Scrip-
ture, in which Peter's name is written first in this text (in
Galatians) and he quotes the Syriac, the Coptic, the Armenian,
and the Ethiopic versions as giving the same order, f
In John, i. 44, Andrew and Peter are not named as Apos-
tles, but as citizens, and in I. Cor. the order is that of the
ascending scale, thus giving Peter the place of honor.
Another consideration to be borne in mind is this : It is
an established principle of exegesis that an isolated or obscure
text must be interpreted in the light of those that are numer-
ous or transparent. Any other system would upset the whole
theology of the Bible. Here we have a single instance which
must be interpreted in the light of five-and-twenty which are
perfectly clear.
" THE THREE TEXTS."
In his examination of the "three texts upon which Rome
builds her pretentious claims to the Supremacy " Dr. Grafton
argues as follows:
*Ibid., p. 10. t The True Faith of Our Forefathers, pp. 173-175.
| N. T. Greece, Lipsia, 1872, p. 635.
584 is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? [Aug.,
*'Now what does this rock refer to, Peter or Christ? Our
Lord says : ' Thou art Peter (or Petros) and upon this rock
(Petra) I will build My Church.' The two words are of dif-
ferent genders; therefore, as Peter or Petros is of the mascu-
line gender, and Petra, feminine, Petra cannot refer to him."*
" Now what does this rock refer to ? " Dr. Grafton asks,
" Peter or Christ ? " Not to Peter, because Peter is masculine
and Petra is feminine, he argues. Ergo, it refers to Christ.
This, he says, the Apostles would naturally infer — presumably
at the expense of saying that Christ is feminine. This may,
or may not, be logic. Just now we are chiefly concerned with
the inquiry whether it is sincere effort after "elucidation of
the Truth " ?
"Nor is the argument answered," continues Dr. Grafton,
" by saying our Lord spoke in Syriac or Aramaic, for in this
language the same distinction of gender is preserved." Dr.
Dollinger pleased the Prelate of Fond du Lac by "repudiating
the Papacy and dying excommunicate." Is he equally pleas-
ing in his statement : " The Greek translator of the Aramaic
text was obliged to use Petros and Petra; in the original,
Cephas stood in each place, without change of gender. 'Thou
art a stone, and on this stone,' etc., Cephas being both name
and title "?f
Robert Wilberforce, commenting on this text, says : " . .
in Syriac, as appears at present from the Peschito version, the
term in each member of the sentence is identical. Had St.
Augustine, for instance, known that our Lord's words were:
' Thou art Cepho, and on this Cepho I will build My Church,*
he would not have employed the argument he does in his Re-
tractions.'^
Dr. Grafton assures us that he has read the work from
which these passages are quoted. Was it insincerity or bad
eyesight which caused him to adopt the contradictory state-
ment? Dr. Thompson reminds us that insincerity has been a
temptation to others. Commenting on this passage he says:
"Protestants have betrayed unnecessary fears and have there-
fore used all the hardihood of lawless criticism in their attempts
to reason away the Catholic interpretation." §
* Rejoinder, p. 18.
t England and the Holy Set. By Spencer Jones, M.A. Longmans, p. 104.
\ Ibid. $ Monotesseron, p. 194,
1909.] Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? 585
THE APPEAL TO THE FATHERS.
Having proved that Christ could not have referred to Peter
in Matt. xvi. 18, Dr. Graf ton appeals to the Fathers to prove
that his own interpretation is the correct one.
"The majority of the Fathers," he says, "refer the rock to
Christ or Peter's confession of His Divinity. The quotation
Father O'Hern makes from St. Cyprian, that 'He who forsakes
the Chair of St. Peter, upon whom the Church is built, let him
not feel confidence that he is in the Church of Christ,' is stated
in the ante-Nicene Christian Library . . . as undoubtedly
spurious"*
Perhaps it will be news to Bishop Grafton to learn that
two of the greatest living patristic scholars regard this quota-
tion as undoubtedly genuine.
A few years ago Dom John Chapman, O.S.B., made a care-
ful examination of the earliest extant copies of St. Cyprian's
letter, and, as a result, declared that it was St. Cyprian him-
self who made the marginal notes under dispute. The treatise
by St. Cyprian on " Unity " was first written against Felicis-
simus of Carthage, and later a copy was sent to assist Pope
Cornelius to quell the Novatians in Rome, and this copy con-
tained marginal notes that were finally embodied in the text.
This opinion has been endorsed by Dr. Harnack as follows :
"In my judgment, the author (i.e., Dom Chapman) is right.
. . . The interpolation is St. Cyprian's own work . . .
the conclusion forces itself upon the critic verily as the most
probable solution. One may not only say it is unimpeachably
certain, but one is justified in maintaining that it rests on the
soundest proof. It is no longer open to any one to treat the
group of passages as a discreditable Roman forgery r." 'f
Dr. Grafton's attempt to discredit the testimony of St.
Cyprian is most unfortunate, for almost invariably where the
saint refers to St. Peter, it is in these words: "Peter, upon
whom the Church is built." Let us look at some of these
passages from St. Cyprian:
" Peter, on whom the Church had been built by the Lord
Himself." f
"There speaks Peter, upon whom the Church was to be
built." %
* Rejoinder, pp. 10 and 20.
t The Prince of the Apostles, p. 128. Garrison, N. Y. : The Lamp Publishing Company.
\ Ep. Iv. ad Cornel., p. 178. § Ep. Ixix. ad Pupian., p. 265.
586 Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? [Aug.,
" There is one baptism and one Holy Ghost, and one
Church, founded by Christ our Lord upon Peter, for an original
and principle of unity." *
" For not even did Peter, whom the Lord chose the first,
and upon whom He built His Church" etc.f
" For first to Peter, upon whom He built the Church, and
from whom He appointed and showed that unity should
spring." J
" Peter, likewise, on whom the Church was founded by the
good pleasure of the Lord." §
" Upon that one (Peter) He builds His Church, and to him
He assigns His sheep to be fed." ||
Origen is the next Father taken up by Dr. Grafton, whom
he tries to make a witness against Peter's Supremacy.
But Origen, likewise, proves a singularly refractory witness.
" Peter," he says, " was, by the Lord, called a rock, since
to him is said: 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build My Church.' " f
" Peter, upon whom is built Christ's Church, against which
the gates of hell shall not prevail, has left behind him but one
epistle that is universally acknowledged." **
"See what is said by the Lord to that great foundation of
the Church: 'O Thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?"'
(Matt. xiv. 31). ft
Dr. Grafton refers to a passage in the works of Tertullian
but neglects to tell us that it was written after Tertullian had
become a Montanist and had left the Church. We presume that
even Dr. Grafton, who has written a whole book ff to prove
that he is not only a Christian, but a Catholic, will hardly ac-
cept his doctrine from Tertullian the Montanist.
Speaking of the passage in question Dom Chapman says :
"This treatise is about his latest and most spiteful, written
when he had been some twenty years outside the Church." §§
Tertullian, when a Catholic, wrote as follows: "Was any-
thing hidden from Peter, who was called the rock whereon the
Church was to be built; who obtained the keys of the king-
* Ep. Ixx. adJanuar. et Ep. Numid., p, 270. t Ep. Ixxi. ad Quintum, p. 273.
| Ep. Ixxiii. ad Jubaian., p. 280. $ De Bono Patientiee, p. 494.
\\De Unitate, p. 397. H T. III., Comm. in Matt., n. 130, p. 927 (Alib. Tr. 35).
**T. IV., in Joan., Tom. V., p. $$(Ex.Eusel>., H. E., VI., c. 25).
ttT. II., Horn. V. in Exod., n. 4, col. 2, p. 145. \\Christian and Cathelic.
§§ Bishop Gore and the Anglican Claims. Longmans, Green & Co. P. 50.
1909.] Js BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? 587
dom of heaven, and the power of losing and binding in heaven
and on earth ? " *
" I presume him (Peter) a Monogamist, by the Church, which
built upon him, etc." f
Dr. Grafton further states that St. Hilary is "among the
Fathers who held that Christ, or the confession of His Divin-
ity, was the rock." f But St. Hilary protests in these words:
" For it was with Him so sacred a thing to suffer for the sal-
vation of the human race, as thus to designate with the re-
proachful name, Satan, Peter, the first confessor of the Son of
God, the foundation of the Church, the doorkeeper of the heavenly
kingdom, and in His judgment on earth a judge of heaven. "§
"The fear excited in the Apostles by the lowliness of the
Passion (so that even the firm rock upon which the Church
was to be built trembled), after the death and resurrection of
the Lord ceased." ||
" O happy foundation of the Church, and a rock worthy
of the building up of that which was to scatter the infernal
laws, and the gates of hell, and all the bars of death." ^[
Dr. Grafton claims St. Basil on his side, but we have the
following testimony from this Father: "When we hear the
name of Peter . . . we at once . . . think of ...
him who on account of the pre-eminence of his faith received
upon himself the building of the Church." **
" One also of these mountains was Peter, upon which rock
the Lord promised to build His Church." ft
St. Ambrose is taken up next. What could have tempted
Dr. Grafton to cite this Father, who was so staunch a " Papal-
ist," utterly escapes our comprehension. We could give pages
of quotations from St. Ambrose in favor of Peter's Supremacy,
but will have to content ourselves with the following: "It is
that same Peter to whom He said : ' Thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build My Church.' Therefore, where Peter is,
there is the Church." \\
"For how could that be agitated, over which he, Peter,
presided, in whom is the foundation of the Church ?"§§
* De Prescript. Heeret., n. 22, p. 209. \ De Mtnogamia, n. 8, p. 529.
\Rejoinder, p. 21. § Tract, in Ps. cxli., n. 4, pp. 502-3, t. I.
|| Tract, in Ps. cxli., n. 8, p. 603, t. I. If Comm. in Matt., o. xvi., n. 7, pp. 749-50.
** T. I., p. I. , i. II., Adv. Eunom., n. 4', p. 340.
ft T. I., p. II., Comm. in Esai., c. ii., n. 66, p. 604.
\\1. I., in Ps. xl., n. 30, pp. 879-80.
$§ T. L., Expos, in Luc. L. IV., n. 70, 71, 77, pp. 1353-4.
588 is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? [Aug.,
" For they have not Peter's inheritance who have not Peter's
chair."*
Dr. Grafton quotes St. Augustine as saying, in his Retrac-
tions, that " Christ was the rock"; but since his interpretation
was based, as he tells us, on a mistaken view of the Syriac
language, we must agree with Wilberforce in saying that " had
St. Augustine known that our Lord's words were 'Thou art
Cepho, and on this Cepho I will build My Church,' he would
not have employed the argument he does in his Retractions."
Here is a passage St. Augustine never retracted, and no
Catholic of to-day could express the teaching of the Church
more concisely :
"I am kept in the Catholic Church by the consent of peo-
ples and nations. By an authority begun with miracles, nour-
ished by hope, increased by charity, confirmed by antiquity.
By the succession of priests from the Chair of Peter the Apos-
tle— to whom our Lord, after His resurrection, gave His sheep
to be fed — down to the present Bishop. In fine, by that very
name of Catholic which this Church has alone held possession
of; so that though heretics would fain have called themselves
Catholics, yet to the inquiry of a stranger, ' Where is the meet-
ing of the Catholic Church held ? ' no one of them would dare
to point out his own basilica." f
St. Cyril of Alexandria is cited by Dr. Grafton as referring
the rock to " the most firm faith of the disciples." \
The distinguished scholar, Waterworth, however, says : This
passage " is not Cyril's, but by another author subsequent to
St. Cyril." $
This opinion reaches a high degree of probability from a
consideration of the following passage from St. Cyril : " He
suffers him (Peter) no longer to be called Simon, . . . but
by a title suitable to the thing ; He changed his name into
Peter, from the word Petra (rock); for on him He was after-
wards to found His Church." ||
Again we find St. Cyril addressing Pope Celestine as " Arch-
bishop of the Universe." T[
Would Dr. Grafton thus address his Holiness, Pope Pius X. ?
Dr. Grafton quotes St. Gregory the Great in a passage
* T. II., De Pan. L. V., c. vi., n. 33, p. 399. \ Con. Ep. Munich., I., 5-6.
\ Rejoinder, p. 22. § Faith of Catholics. Vol. II., p. 47.
|1 T. LV., Comm. in Joan., in loc., p. 131.
IT Horn, in Deip., p. 384, ed. Aubert.
1909.] /s BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR ?
which must be sorely strained to seem favorable to the Grafton
idea. St. Gregory, of course, is unequivocal in his teaching, as,
for example: "By the voice of the Lord the care of the whole
Church is committed to Peter, the head of the Apostles." *
Has Dr. Grafton never read the famous passage from Mil-
man in reference to the times of St. Gregory ? " It is impos-
sible to conceive what had been the confusion, the lawlessness,
the chaotic state of the Middle Ages, without the mediaeval
Papacy; and of the mediaeval Papacy the real father is Greg-
ory the Great."
Even Dr. Littledale does not lay hands on St. Jerome, as
Dr. Grafton boldly does. We commend to Dr. Grafton this
from Littledale: "The most direct and cogent passage in favor
of Papalism in the whole of the Fathers is this from St. Jerome,
in an epistle to Pope Damasus, written A. D. 376: 'I speak
with the successor of the Fisherman and the disciples of the
Cross. I, following no chief save Christ, am counted in com-
munion with your Blessedness, that is, with the chair of Peter.
On that rock I know the Church is built ; whoso eats the Lamb
outside this house is protane."f
We have now examined Dr. Grafton's chief witnesses among
the Fathers, and find that all are in perfect accord with Cath-
olic teaching. If they have at times referred to Christ as The
Rock on whom the Church is built, it is in that primary sense,
admitted by all Catholics, and which St. Paul had in mind when
he wrote: "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Christ Jesus." f
" It must be clearly understood," says Father Ryder, " that
we in nowise reject the application of The Rock to Christ, or
to faith in Christ. We maintain that such interpretation does
not at all militate against its application directly to St. Peter;
not indeed to his person, but to his office."
St. Peter is the secondary foundation, so made by Christ
Himself — the visible Head on earth, representing the chief and
invisible Head, Jesus Christ in heaven.
THE FORGED DECRETALS.
Our seeker after truth tells us that the real basis of the
Papacy is not to be found in Scripture at all, or in the Patristic
* Lib. IV., Ep. 32. f Plain Reasons Against Joining tht Church of Rome ', p. 194.
} I. Cor. iii. n.
590 is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR ? [Aug.,
interpretation of the Petrine texts, but in the "Forged Decre-
tals which Gratian worked into the Canon Law of the Church."
He continues: "We ask our readers: Do you think that Al-
mighty God, if He wanted to develop the supremacy of the
Pope, would have resorted to man's lies to do it? Does God
need man's lies to carry out His plans and do His work?"*
The Forged Decretals themselves furnish the best answer
to Dr. Grafton's question, for the Papacy was in full bloom
centuries before the Decretals were thought of, and continues
in undiminished vigor long after these forgeries have been dis-
covered and rejected. But what is the history of the Forged
Decretals ? When were they compiled, and where and by
whom, and why ?
It is admitted that they cannot have originated earlier than
the year 845, nor later than 857. From end to end they
proclaim their birthplace to have been not Rome but Western
France. It is plain, too, that these Decretals were not the
work of Rome or Rome's Bishop. Their compiler was either a
provincial bishop or one acting in his name and for his bene-
fit. Modern writers are agreed that the immediate object of
the Decretals was to win respect for Episcopal authority. If
they sometimes touch on the prerogative of the Pope it is
never in the interests of Rome, but always in those of the
bishops. The Decretals did not obtain any official footing un-
til the middle of the eleventh century, and never exercised any
serious influence on the government of the Church. So far as
we have been able to ascertain, there is no writer of to-day,
except Dr. Grafton, who holds that Papal Supremacy was built
up through the instrumentality of the Forged Decretals. Dr.
Gore, Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, though he has written
bitterly against the Catholic Church, does not agree with Dr.
Grafton in his allegation that " crimes innumerable, the greed
of worldly power, forgeries and lies, marked the rise of the
Papacy." f (Italics are ours.)
Bishop Gore decisively declares : " No one can fairly con-
template the greatness of the Papacy, or consider how vast
the position it occupies in the whole of history, without being
satisfied that it is something more than could have ever been
created by the ambition or power of individual Popes or by
the evil forces of injustice and fraud. It is one of those great
* Rejoinder, pp. 30-31. t Ibid., p. 30.
1909.] Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? 591
historic growths which indicate a divine purpose latent in the
tendencies of things and the circumstances of the world."*
This statement should really be taken as final, for Bishop
Gore would not have conceded so much unless historic truth
and the consent of the world's scholarship had compelled it.
Nevertheless, we offer it to Dr. Grafton only tentatively, hav-
ing no means at hand whereby we can know whether Dr.
Gore belongs in Dr. Grafton's mind to the corps of belliger-
ent flies.
PETER IN ROME.
Was Peter in Rome ? This question has been considered
for the last twenty-five years as thoroughly disposed of and
settled. But, " consider the evidence," cries Dr. Grafton. " Holy
Sciipture does not state that he was there. . . . And can
you suppose that Almighty God will condemn His children
. . . for not submitting to the Papacy when He does not
tell us that Peter was at Rome ? " f
"The church which is at Babylon saluteth you,"$ is one
of St. Peter's own contributions to Holy Scripture. The
Speakers' Commentary, edited by the Anglican Archbishop of
York, makes the following comment on this text:
" We have to remark . . . that all ancient authorities
are unanimous in the assertion that the later years of his
(Peter's) life were passed in the west of the Roman Empire.
We find an absolute consensus of ancient interpreters that ' Baby-
lon ' must be understood as equivalent to Rome. We adopt with-
out the least misgiving this explanation of the word as alone
according with the mind of the Apostle and also the testi-
mony of the early Church."
Again Dr. Ellicott, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and
Bristol, in his commentary on the same text, says: "Nothing
but Protestant prejudice can stand against the historical evidence
that Peter sojourned and died in Rome."$
Rev. William W. Whiston, an Anglican theologian, says :
" That St. Peter was at Rome is so clear in Christian antiquity
that it is a shame for any Protestant to have to confess that any
Protestant ever denied it." \\
In reply to Dr. Grafton's assertion that "there is slight
• Roman Catholic Claims, p. 106. \ Rejoinder, p. 28. $1. Peter v. 13.
§ The Bible Commentary, loc cit. || Memrirs, 1750.
592 Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? [Aug.,
evidence for St. Peter's being at Rome," * we submit the names
of the following non-Catholic writers who unanimously agree
that Peter was in Rome, and died Bishop of Rome: Credner,
Bleek, Wieseler, Meyer, Hilgenfield, Rebab, Mangold, Grotius,
Cave, Lardiner, Whitby, Macknight, Hales, Claudius, Mynster,
Schaff, Neander, Steiger, De Wette, and Lightfoot. But why
multiply authorities? " Nay, an* thou'lt mouth, I'll rant as well
as thou ! "
ANGLICAN ORDERS.
Dr. Grafton solemnly tells us that the new form of ordina-
tion was introduced into the Edwardine Ordinal, not because
the so-called Reformers had any idea of denying the " Catholic
doctrine of the Eucharist, but because the old one was am-
biguous"' f
This is really a remarkable statement when we pause to
consider how the change itself, because of its ambiguity, plunged
the Church of England into a state of chaotic confusion re-
garding the priesthood, from which it has never since emerged.
Few clergymen of the Anglican Church to-day agree as to just
what the powers of the priesthood are. Some, like Dr. Grafton,
are copy-cat Catholics, laying claim to everything the Catholic
priest holds, while others are ^out-and-out Protestants, denying
everything, and each claiming that his interpretation is the
true one.
" We think," Dr. Grafton continues, " we have fairly an-
swered Father O'Hern's misstatement that the Anglican Orders
had been pronounced invalid by the Greeks, Russians, and Old
Catholics."!
What answer does Dr. Grafton give ? The private opinion
of private individuals in these various churches. Now the fact
that these individuals consider Anglican Orders to be valid no
more proves that such is the official teaching of their Church
than the fact of Dr. Grafton's belief in the Real Presence proves
that such is the official teaching of the Anglican Church. It
is a matter of historical record, which Anglicans know but too
well, that these Churches have never officially recognized the
validity of Anglican Orders. Let us hear the testimony of the
one living scholar, best qualified to speak, who has examined
all the original documents in the Vatican library concerning
* Rejoinder, p. 28. t Ibid., pp. 49-50. \Ibid., p. 43.
1909.] Is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? 593
Anglican Orders, and whom Dr. Grafton will not dare to ac-
cuse of making a mis statement :
"The early English Reformers rejected the Sacrifice of the
Mass and all that the notion implied — altars, vestments, and
priesthood. They drew up a rite of ordaining ministers, in
which, by exclusion, this notion was strongly emphasized, and
which was wholly different from the ancient Catholic rite. Fur-
ther, there can be no doubt whatever that those who were re-
sponsible for drawing up the rite, and those who first used it,
would have rejected with scorn and by the use of the strongest
language, any idea of making bishops and priests in the Catho-
lic sense. Why, therefore, will their successors in religion —
the members of the English Established Church, or those bodies
which sprang from it — take it amiss if Pope Leo XIII., as the
result of his examination of the question, came to agree with
their forefathers in all this, and declared that, in his opinion,
they succeeded in their design ? He is not, be it remembered,
the first who has come to this decision; for the same judg-
ment had already been passed upon the validity of Anglican Or-
ders by the Greeks and Russians, and by the Jansenists and Old
Catholics"*
Dr. Grafton must have heard of that embarrassing little
affair in connection with the Pan- Anglican Congress of 1908.
Dr. Blyth, Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, on that occasion,
addressed a communication to the Eastern Patriarch of Jerusa-
lem regarding the " formal recognition between the two churches
of the validity of Holy Baptism and Holy Orders." Here are
some extracts from the answer of the Jerusalem Patriarch:
"We cannot give an affirmative reply to the question con-
tained in this communication about the validity of Baptism and
Orders in the Anglican Church. . . . We have belonging
to us men who have looked deeply into these questions, and
have demonstrated, both from canonical and other considera-
tions the impossibility of the complete recognition of the valid-
ity of both these Sacraments which are consummated in the
Anglican Church after a method of its own. . . . Various
reasons do not permit the Eastern Orthodox Church to accept,
without being on her guard, the validity of the Baptism of
Anglicans. . . . The same reasons hold good in relation to
*The Question of Anglican Ordinations. By Abbot Gasquet, O.S.B., D.D. Notre
Dame, Ind. : The ATC Maria Press.
VOL. LXXXIX,— 38
594 is BISHOP GRAFTON FAIR? [Aug.
the question of the Orders of Anglicans. . . . Our Church
. . . has the profounctest sentiment of rigid orthodoxy, and
that which is befitting in order to preserve this deposit uninjured"
(Italics our own.)
The general drift of this letter convinced the Pan-Anglican
Congress that Rome was not solitary and alone in its distrust
of Anglican Orders.
Though we have been able to analyze only a few of the
leading statements made in Dr. Grafton's Rejoinder, we have
ourselves begun so seriously to doubt the perfect sincerity of
Dr. Grafton's desire for " elucidation of the truth," that we
must await further assurances from him on this point before
we can proceed.
The quotation from St. Cyprian, with which our former
article * closed, was rejected by Dr. Grafton " as undoubtedly
spurious." We shall close this one with a quotation which we
know to be genuine : The writer is a Jesuit, as staunch a re-
presentative of the Catholic mind as St. Cyprian himself. In
speaking of the dishonest methods which often characterize the
adversaries of the Catholic Church, he says :
" To give their accusations some show of plausibility, they
have had to tamper with the text or grossly misrepresent the
author's meaning. Sheer ignorance would be a poor palliation
of such conduct, and the conviction is forced upon one that
writers like Dr. Littledale" (and must we insert, like Dr.
Grafton, too ?) " make playthings of the minds of men. They
trifle with human weakness and have recourse to the old de-
vice : ' Cry it loud, my masters, and cry it often ; there must
always be some who cannot, and some who will not, investi-
gate the truth of your assertions.' " f
* " Bishop Grafton and Pro- Romanism," THE CATHOLIC WORLD, February, 1909.
t Salyator M. Brandi, S.J., The Catholic Mind, November 22, 1903, p. 32.
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.
BY KATHARINE TYNAN.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE SHADOW OF FEAR.
jOME months had passed since that afternoon when
Miss Grantley had called upon Lady Eugenia
Capel, and had returned to find her nephew
putting his things together with an air of breath-
less hurry.
" I am going to offer myself for active service, Aunt Sophia,"
he said, looking up at her from the portmanteau into which
he was laying all manner of things higgledy-piggledy. " I
hope I shall be accepted. I'm tired of being a carpet-soldier.
I want to win some glory if I can."
She sat down heavily in one of the chintz-covered chairs.
He was too excited to notice how stone-gray was her face,
and how a perspiration had come out in little beads upon it.
"I am going up to town to-night, lest I should lose my
chances," he said. " I wouldn't be left at home for anything.
Fancy going back to India to play in gymkhanas and dance
at Government House when there is fighting to be done. I
have never had an opportunity before. I want to win glory
if I can."
She gazed at the handsome head bent now in the task of
getting an ill-packed, over-full portmanteau to close. By some
strange intuition she could read his heart. If he had said : " I
want to win glory for my dear " she could not have under-
stood more plainly. His face was irradiated. Of late it had
been gloomy.
" Why didn't you get a man to do that for you ? " she
asked. "You are ruining your clothes; yet you were always
so particular about them."
" In time of peace," he said ; " now it is time of war. I had
to do it myself. I couldn't stand by while a servant did it.
596 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Aug.,
I shan't need very much. I am leaving most of my things
behind."
"Yes, my dear boy. You will find them all when you
come back."
She was tolerably certain that he would not find her; but
the house was to be his. He would find it waiting for its
master. She would leave it so that the servants should stay
on — they were old and faithful servants. She almost opened
her lips to speak; then closed them again. She would not
send him away with the knowledge that he was leaving her
to die alone. Why, for the matter of that, she had lived alone.
Even to Godfrey she had been chary of manifestations of
affection. She had sheltered him in youth and paid for his
education; but she had not tried to keep him at home with
her as another lonely woman might. He had gone into the
army, and when the time came for his regiment to go to
India he had gone with it. He had chosen the life of soldier-
ing for himself, and she had not protested, nor urged, as a
softer woman might, the claim of her loneliness. Now that he
was to have his first chance of active service, she was not go-
ing to hamper and hinder him with the thought of a sick old
woman of his blood, who had been like a mother to him, dy-
ing alone.
"You will say good-bye for me to all my friends?" he
said, standing up and shaking himself. " Nesta was out driv-
ing with Moore when the news came. I couldn't wait till they
got back. I will write from town. I am very glad that you
and Nesta are reconciled. You will miss me less."
"Now you are talking nonsense, Godfrey. Nesta and I
had never much in common. I shall miss you, of course ; but
you will come back. And, now, where do you suppose I have
been ? "
" I haven't been thinking about it. But to be sure you
have been driving. You keep too much at home. It will do
you good being out this glorious weather. I wish you could
go out more."
" I went to call on Lady Eugenia Capel."
He was busy with his despatch box, fitting a key carefully
into the lock, but the color came to his cheek, and Miss Grant-
ley saw it.
" She is in love with you, Godfrey," she said.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 597
He dropped the bunch of keys with a rattle.
" You are mistaken ; she is in love with Stanhope," he
said frowning.
"She is in love with you."
" Did she tell you so ? "
"Now I come to think of it, I don't believe she did. But
we talked of you, and she was a woman in love. Godfrey, all
I have will be yours. I was going to give it to you even in
my lifetime, that you might be happy with her."
He came over to her and kissed her.
" You are too good to me Aunt Sophia ; you always were,"
he said. " But, of course, I could not let you strip yourself
of your money for me. I confess I have been presumptuous
enough to lift my eyes to Lady Eugenia Capel. If I live to
come back I shall have something to offer her — I shall be less
unworthy."
Two months had passed and Miss Grantley was dead and
buried more than a month. The Priory, with the old staff of
servants, stood waiting for the new master. She had not died
in loneliness. Nesta Moore had been often with her — would
have been with her constantly, if it were not that the dying
woman seemed to prefer Lady Eugenia Capel, with whom she
had formed a close tie of friendship, bewildering to the unin-
itiated.
She had died, as she had hoped to do, almost without lying
down; had returned to her Maker, as she had desired, un-
marked by the surgeon's knife. She had gone very quickly in
the end, the merciful end hastened by a week of bitter weather
in which she had taken a chill.
Nesta had been with her at the last. An hour or two be-
fore she died she awoke out of a doze, and her eyes were
bright.
" You have that five hundred pounds I gave you, Nesta ? >r
she asked.
" I have it quite safely."
" Keep it safely. How can we tell but you might need it ?
You are as safe as any mortal can be; at the worst, Godfrey
would take care of you. But I might have made it more. I
hope I did not do wrong in not making it more."
Nesta assured her that she had not done wrong; and Miss
598 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Aug.,
Grantley listened, looking at her with eyes in which the bright-
ness died like a sinking candle-flame.
When all was over, Lord Mount-Eden and his daughter
went away on a tour round the world which had been planned
for some time and only postponed by Lady Eugenia's determin-
ation to stay with Miss Grantley to the end. No one could
say that the young lady did not need the change. She had
looked harassed and worried out of all proportion to such a
thing as the quiet dying of an old woman who was no kin to
her and but a recent friend. Few suspected her absorption in
the news from the seat of war, where already there had been
two bloody engagements and Captain Grantley 's name had
once been mentioned in despatches.
But she was of the heroic stuff, and she would not keep
her father when he was anxious to go ; so they had been gone
some weeks before the time came when Nesta Moore was first
smitten by her great fear.
James Moore had taken a chill that summer evening, when
he had plunged into the river to save his wife and afterwards
had delayed to change his wet garments. He had taken a
chill, to his own indignant disgust ; but, while he was obliged
to admit that he was more vulnerable than he thought, noth-,
ing in the world would induce him to treat himself like any
ordinary mortal.
An unpleasant little cough settled on him, which became
worse with the approach of winter. He had never been ill in
his life; and he was as difficult to manage as such men are
apt to be. He would not take doctors' stuffs ; he would not
stay indoors and nurse his cold; he would not take any of
the ordinary precautions.
Just at that time the mills had received their first Govern-
ment contract. The hands were working overtime, and fresh
hands had to be brought in. Houses were springing up in
many directions to receive the newcomers. Shops were being
built to supply their needs. A Methodist meeting-house had
arrived, and a Baptist was in process of building. Valley was
busier than a hive. There were to be baths, recreation halls,
a laboratory, a library, for the use of the hands. James Moore
had gone for his plans to a certain garden. city built by a
Northern manufacturer for the use of his employees. He was
going to make Valley a wonder of its kind.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 599
" The hands will serve me twice as well if they're healthy
and contented," he said to his brothers, who were somewhat
alarmed at the great proposals, " and I am quite willing that
they should be the better of our prosperity."
All the time his cough increased and grew upon him.
When he had a fit of coughing in their presence, his brothers
would look at each other with such haggard faces as would
win any one's pity. They had asked him in vain to see a
doctor.
"It is the woolen stuff and fluff in the air makes me cough,"
he said. " I shall be all right in a day or two."
He was not one to be persuaded against his will. The time
came when the brothers looked in each other's faces and ac-
knowledged with bitterness in their hearts that an appeal to
the woman they detested and misjudged was the only way.
Dick Moore had avoided Nesta more markedly since the
day when, to please her husband, she had thanked him with
averted eyes for saving her child. He had muttered in reply
something about Stella being "Jim's kid," as though Nesta
might think that it had been done for her. So it was Stephen
that came on the embassage. Stephen, who could be so gen-
tle with birds and animals, who might perhaps in the begin-
ning have liked Nesta if he had not been so much influenced
by the other.
"You should make Jim see a doctor," he said, shuffling
from one foot to another. " He has a nasty cough."
" Do you think I haven't asked him ? " Nesta returned,
black fear coming down like a cloud upon her heart.
" If you want him to live," said Stephen scowling, " you'll
use women's ways to get him to listen. Might happen the
cough 'ud turn to pneumonia. Make him see a doctor."
If he had been looking at her he would have seen the fear
in her face; but her husband's brothers never looked at her
when they were in her presence.
" I shall do my best," she said, in a small, terrified voice.
"Indeed I have tried; but he wouldn't listen to me. You
think the cough is so bad as — all that ? "
" If you cared as a wife should care," Stephen Moore said,
without lifting his head, " you wouldn't ask : ' Is it so bad ? '
You'd know how bad it was."
But Nesta scarcely heard him. If she had thought of him
600 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Aug.,
at all, she would have taken the speech as a part of the ill-
conditioned attitude of the brothers towards her. But in the
terror that had come upon her there was no room for any
other thought than that her beloved was in danger.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SECRET JOURNEY.
To think that they — the two who hated and misjudged her
— should have had to plant that sword of fear in her heart.
She wrung her hands when she thought upon it. She had been
comforting herself with false comfort, because he was strong
and big and bonny and had never had an illness in his life.
And because he had given reasons for the cough, such reasons
as had not deceived his brothers, and had put her off with
promises that when spring came and the great rush of things
was over they would go away to the South, just themselves
and the child. They would have their long-postponed honey-
moon : in the clear air, under the spotless skies, he would get
rid of the dust that was in his throat. She must be patient.
In a little while he would do all she asked. Now he was too
hard-pressed. There was no time to see a doctor — no time to
be careful.
Aunt Betsy came in on Nesta when she was in the cold
grip of the fear. She had made a great expedition for her,
because she, too, was anxious about Jim's troublesome cough.
" Put your arms about his neck, dearie. Coax him. A
man can't resist the wife he loves as Jim loves you, if she but
takes him the right way. My bonny boy!" said the old
woman, and the falling note on which she concluded made
Nesta tremble like a leaf.
She pleaded with her husband at the first opportunity ;
and this time her pleading was not in vain. He confessed at
last that the cough had left him with a certain lassitude, which
was a new thing in his experience. He had heats at night
and awoke tired. Yet there was something he must do before
he could find time to rest. He was buying out a rival com-
pany ; taking over their premises ; going to run their mills
with his own. It entailed a deal which he could delegate to
no one.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 60 1
"Let it be safely accomplished, Nesta," he said, "and
Madeira will soon make me all right. But I will see a doctor
if you like. You shall take me up to town next week. Wait
till I see — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — I think I
can manage Friday."
She was glad to get so much from him, and did not press
him further; only living in terror that, after all, he might not
.go to the doctor's on the Friday.
However he did, and she went with him. It was character-
istic of his attitude towards her that he saw the doctor alone,
leaving her in the waiting-room.
It seemed a long time that he was away from her, behind
that deeply- recessed, mahogany door, in the wall covered with
a red flock paper, which was as a door to the judgment-hall
to Nesta. She sat listening with her very heart for the turn-
ing of the handle in the door which should preface her hus-
band's coming back to her. She sat at a table covered with
the Christmas numbers of papers and magazines, gaily-colored
and with an intention of jollity. There were other people in
the room. A pale child opposite to her lay against his moth-
er's arm with an air of weakness, and could not be induced
to look at the gaily-colored pictures. Every time he coughed
his mother pressed him a little closer to her side and a tremor
shook her frame.
At last the door, which had let out so many reprieved or
sentenced to death, opened and James Moore came out. He
smiled at Nesta as he came towards her; but to her terrified
fancy he was pale. Yet his whisper was reassuring.
"Nothing too bad, little one," he said. "I've got to be
careful and we must spend the spring out of England, since
we can afford to do it. Doctors are great humbugs. If you
were to believe them, the poor man would never recover, for
the poor man could not do the things they prescribe for their
patients; yet, I daresay, the poor man pulls through as often
as the rich."
" Did he say you were to rest ? "
" He gave me that impossible prescription. I shall not
rest while I am here. But after Christmas we shall get away
somewhere where I shall find it easy to laze. We will loaf
through the spring, you and I and Stella. Where shall it be,
Nest ? "
602 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Aug.,
During their lunch at a smart hotel and in the train going
home they talked of where the spring should be spent; and
at intervals the cough shook James Moore's big frame.
"It is nothing, nothing," he said. "You shall see how I
will throw it off when I get out of this murk."
But Nesta was not satisfied. At night when her husband
slept, his sleep broken now and again by the rattling cough,
she lay awake, contemplating or trying to contemplate, for
her soul shrank back in panic, the wreck and ruin of a life
without Jim.
After a day or two she could not endure the suspense, and,
since business took her husband away for the better part of
two days, she made an expedition to London on her own ac-
count and saw the lung specialist.
"Your husband," he said, looking at her kindly, "has a
splendid frame and a splendid constitution. With care he should
throw off the cough which he has unfortunately contracted. A
cough is always a serious matter if it continues."
He looked at her for a moment as though considering.
Then he asked if there was consumption in James Moore's
family.
"You are not to be frightened by the question," he added.
" We doctors have to search in all possible directions for facts
that may have a bearing on our patients' health."
"I have never heard of such a thing," Nesta said. "I
used to be very delicate myself, and it was feared that I might
be going into consumption, but I have grown very strong
since then."
" You look perfectly healthy," the doctor said slowly, " per-
fectly healthy. Let me see your husband again before he
goes. He promised me another visit. And do not delay about
getting away. It has been an open winter so far. We may
expect the bitter weather after Christmas."
" I will do my best," said Nesta, only half- comforted.
" But I cannot always make my husband do what he wills not
to."
The doctor laughed.
"No, indeed, I should think not. A very dominant man,
I should say. A most remarkable and striking personality."
When Nesta arrived in a crush of travelers at Burbridge,
the station for Outwood, she was too occupied with her own
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 603
thoughts to take much heed of the press on the platform along
which she hurried, to the little gate that led out into the wet
country road. The visit to the doctor was a secret one, to be
hidden from her husband, so she kept her veil down, and in
the mourning she was wearing for her great aunt, she might
easily have escaped observation in the ill* lit, small station.
As she hurried along, her head bent before the wind, she
did not notice Dick Moore coming towards her on the path-
way. She brushed against him in fact, and hurried on faster
than before. She was not accustomed to be out in the dark-
ness by herself and she was vaguely frightened of those who
were out with her.
After he had passed her he turned round and stared —
stared a second — and then followed her. Up the steep incline
from the railway station into the Main Street of the little
town. In front of the inn, the Three Widgeons, which had
lately put on a new red-brick front that sadly marred its
ancient beauty, she stopped and lifted her veil the better to
read the legend on one of the windows which told that post-
ing was done by the inn. Her face was full in the cheerful
light that streamed from the bar-parlor and the man lurking
in the shadow watched her with an expression which was the
incarnation of hatred.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE END OF ALL THINGS.
The small sense of comfort which Nesta derived from her
visit to the doctor did not last her long. Her husband came
back from his expedition, a little weaker, more languid ; his
cough more persistent. Rest and care were the only prescrip-
tion the doctor had given him ; they seemed impossible to him,
so long as this business of the amalgamation of the mills re-
mained unsettled.
For the next few weeks he worked with feverish activity,
as though he foresaw the night close at hand when he might
not work. It was always a little while longer, a little more to
be done, and he would let Nesta take him away to the South
and a long, long rest.
Meanwhile it became ever more and more apparent to those
about him that a term was coming to the strenuous life. His
604 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Aug.,
wife carried a heart heavy as stone in her breast. His brothers
were so haggard and piteous that they would have moved her
to tears if she had any tears to weep. She had none to weep
for them or for herself. She said to herself that when the
hour came in which Jim should be taken from her she must
surely die, and what, then, would become of the child ? Only
for the child she would have taken comfort from the atrophy
that seemed to have come upon her life, the loss of appetite
and sleep, the weakness, the weariness. If she and Jim could
only go together ! But then there was the child. What would
become of their child, hers and Jim's, if both father and
mother were taken ?
The day came, all too soon, when James Moore confessed
himself beaten.
One morning, after a restless, exhausting night, he thought
he would like to stay in bed.
" I shan't be too long dying, Nesta," he said. " I want
you to remember me big and strong and the happiest fellow in
the world having you, not as a sick and querulous invalid.
That London doctor told me I had the symptoms of consump-
tion. He talked of cures and the natural vigor of my consti-
tution and so on. He said I was the last man in the world to
be a victim to consumption, and wondered how the foe could
have slipped in "past such well-guarded gates. Well, Nesta,
we shall not dislodge him now. He has the keys of the for-
tress. But I have made things right for you and the child.
Stella will be very rich one day. I have been killing myself
securing her fortune, and I am dead-tired."
During the weeks that were left he talked much in this
strain. His wife sat in dumb despair, which took little heed
of the things he said about his money. If only she and Jim
could tramp the world together — in rags, but together — she
would be the happiest woman in the world. Without him, with-
out her darling, her hero, her king, she would be forever des-
olate.
The brothers came and went, took his instructions about
one thing and another — for his mind was yet clear and fixed
upon his business — and, standing by his sofa or his bed, had
the burning, unslaked eyes of souls in torture. They were
uglier than ever, lean and haggard and fierce ; and their efforts
to step softly in the sick room and to subdue their rough
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 605
voices, which in these days were cracked and hoarse, moved
the little brown, kind, pious nurse to the profoundest pity. It
was one of the saddest cases Sister Mary had ever met with
in all her professional experience, the great, splendid, beautiful
man galloping along the road to the grave and leaving such
broken hearts behind him.
The light burnt fiercely while it lasted. It was not far
from extinction when James Moore forced his wife to listen to
and to understand what he had to say about the disposition
of his affairs. He sent away the nurse for a little while with
orders that they were not to be disturbed. It was late after-
noon and the darkness had fallen except for a band of blood-
red light which lay in the west beyond the tree-tops, and showed
through the diamond panes of the window. There was only
firelight and the shaded lamp in the room ; and the splendor
in the sky deepened and grew more lustrous in color and was
reflected on the walls of the bedroom.
Sitting by the bedside, with her head upon her husband's
pillow, Nesta Moore remembered that evening, barely a year
ago when she had first seen Outwood Manor ; and there had
been just such a boding sky as to-night filling all the windows
with phantom fires. She remembered how in this room she
had had a foretaste of what she was now enduring. She re-
membered how James Moore had said that they would banish
the ghosts and set up their own hearthfires in the house.
Well, they were but adding another to the ghosts of the house,
a ghost of ruined happiness as terrible as any that the old
house had known in all its years of existence. Now she knew
why she had been terrified. The old ghosts they had banished
for awhile had come and sat down by their hearth, and the
fire they had lit upon it was dust and ashes, dust and ashes.
"You had better let this house, Nest," the dying man's
voice went on. " You would be lost in it without me. Stella
can live in it when she is grown up and married. I should not
like it to be sold. You must live where it will be least lonely,
dear. I shall not fetter you in any way. You always hated
Valley. You can get quite beyond sight and hearing of the
mills, if you like."
She shivered as though he had struck her. A low moan of
wind rose and shook the doors and windows and cried in the
chimney.
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Aug.,
"It will be a rough night," he sighed, "and I shall go out
with the turn of the tide. Those two poor fellows will be here
presently. You must be good to them, Nest. This will nearly
kill them. They have lived in me, never for themselves. They
have missed all that men care for, their only interest in life
being to serve me. Had ever man such devotion?"
He paused, tired out with the speech he had made, pain-
fully and with painful breaths between the words. She felt that
she ought to speak, but what could she say that would not
disturb his dying moments? She could have forgiven them
because they loved him, but they would never forgive her.
Through all the dazed misery of those last weeks she had seen
that they looked at her with hatred. What had she done —
poor woman — except to love their brother who had loved her
— that they should hate her so much ?
She kissed his hand instead of speaking; and after a little
the laboring voice began again.
" They will take care of you, Nest, of you and the child.
I have left you entirely in their hands. Poor little child, what
would you know of business matters ? They will toil for you
and the child as they have for me. And you will have no
risks, Nest, no risks at all. I have taught them to be wise
and prudent. They will not do big things as I would have
done; but they will not waste my work. They are free to act
as they will. They know all my wishes regarding you. You
will be safe in their hands."
She lifted her face from where it had lain and it was paler
than before. The scarlet from the west lay now in great gouts
and splashes on the bed and the bed-curtains.
" Do you mean, Jim," she said, " that we shall be altogether
in their hands, Stella and I ? "
For herself she would not have cared. For the child, even
in this moment of desolation, she could plead and struggle
against his indomitable will.
"That is it, Nest. I leave everything in their hands. It
will be just as though I were there and watching them. It will
be Moore Brothers still."
"Jim, Jim," she groaned, " do not leave me to them. They
hate me. As much as they love you they hate me. They
wrong me in their thoughts."
He raised a weak hand to stroke her hair.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 607
"You never understood them, Nest; you never did them
justice. They are as faithful as my dog. Because they are
ugly and misshapen, so that no woman will ever love them;
because they are set apart by their unlikeness to other men ;
those things ought to make your pitiful woman's heart gentle
to them."
" Do not leave us to them, Jim ; do not leave us to them.
They will have no mercy on me," she cried.
" I thought I was doing my best for you," he said curling
a ring of her hair weakly about his finger. " What does a ten-
der child like you know of business ? Why, they would not
dare play me false. They will do all the work for you, and
you must get as much into the sunshine as you can, as much
as you can, without me."
He closed his eyes, and there was a strange sound in his
breathing which terrified the wife. The flare of the window
had reached his pillow, turning it red as blood.
" I did not know — you would mind — so much — " he said,
with a greater feebleness than before. "If there were time to
call Lee here I would — since you wish — give you a controlling
interest. Send some one — for him. I am tired. Lie down
beside me, Nest, as we have lain during those happy years."
She nestled close to him, and his face was wet, wet and
cold. He was asleep. The brothers came too late. The solic-
itor, hastily sent for, came too late. He lingered through the
night still sleeping, and, as he had said he would, went out
with the turn of the tide.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
A PROGRAMME OF SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION.*
BY JOHN A. RYAN, D.D.
JO much for measures directly in favor of the
working classes. Let us now consider some leg-
islative projects which aim at benefiting the
whole body of consumers by limiting the power
ot exceptionally favored industries and capital
to obtain excessive prices and excessive profits.
i. Public Ownership of Public Utilities. — Under this head
are included national and State ownership of railroads, express
companies, telegraphs, and telephones, and municipal ownership
of gas and electric lighting, water-works, street railways, and
telephones. The chief benefits expected from this change are
better service, lower charges, equal treatment of all patrons,
and better conditions for employees. Better service is likely,
because a publicly owned utility is more responsive to the
people's needs, and will meet these needs more effectively than
a private corporation which is not subject to competition.
Lower fares will be possible, inasmuch as the service can be
provided at cost, and the cost itself can be lowered owing to
the cheaper rate at which capital can be borrowed. Equal
treatment of all patrons will give a larger measure of industrial
opportunity, and remove the chief agency through which mo-
nopolies have been created and competition crushed. Employees
will be better treated, as is always the case in public employ-
ments. Another very probable good effect would be the nar-
rowing of the field for private investment, and the consequent
tendency toward a general fall in the rate of interest. Compe-
tition among private capitals would be more active than it is
at present. The arguments against public ownership are, indeed,
weighty, but many of them — for example, the one drawn from
political corruption — can be urged with greater force against
private ownership. Perhaps the most decisive general answer
to these objections is the fact that the policy of public owner-
ship is gaining ground every day in every country, and that
* The first part of this article appeared in THE CATHOLIC WORLD of July, 1909.
1909.] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION €09
no country now enjoying it has any thought of reverting to the
other system. At any rate, the obstacles to the introduction
of the proposed system in this country are so numerous and
varied that it can be accomplished only gradually, so gradually
that both friends and foes will have ample time to anticipate
and counteract its dangers.
2. Public Ownership of Mines and Forests — Both the states
and the nation should retain the ownership of all mineral and
forest lands that have not yet been alienated. The mines should
be leased at a fair rental per ton of ore removed, and the same
principle should be applied to the forests. It was a great mistake
to have sold any of these lands outright, for the compensation
received by the State has been, on the whole, utterly inadequate,
and a comparatively small number of private individuals have
reaped enormous and unnecessary profits. One of the richest
and most necessary of the minerals, anthracite coal, has passed
into the control of a monopoly which exacts exorbitant prices
from the consumer ; while climatic conditions have been ad-
versely affected, and a lumber famine is threatened as a result
of the reckless and wholesale destruction of the forests.
3. Adequate Control of Monopolies. — The case of most natu-
ral monopolies has already been considered under the head of
public ownership. With regard to those which are not based
upon natural advantages — for example, the Steel Corporation
and the Standard Oil Company — three courses are open to the
State. The first is to permit them to charge whatever prices
they please, so long as they do not use illegal methods of com-
petition. This is the plan at present in use, but it is obviously
untenable and intolerable. If a corporation can employ fair
methods toward its competitors and still become a monopoly,
it must be regulated in the interest of the consumers. History
shows that human beings cannot be trusted to use such great
power justly. The second plan would prevent the evil by pre-
venting its cause, that is, it would prohibit any corporation to
control more than half of the business in which it was engaged.
This method approves itself to all those who believe that the
economies of a monopolistic combination are not an adequate
substitute for the benefits of competition. They would have
competition enforced, as it were, artificially. Yet if the saving
to be effected through mere concentration, combination, and
great masses of capital is as large as some authorities assert
VOL. LXXXIX. — 39
6 io SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [Aug.,
(che question is still an open one) the theory and the method
just described ought to be rejected. It would seem preferable
for the State to permit all monopolies that, without either nat-
ural advantages, special privileges, or unfair methods of compe-
tition, arise in obedience to the so-called " laws of industrial
evolution," but to extend to the consumer some of the bene-
fits of combination by regulating prices.
This could be done by a government commission similar to
the com missions that now regulate railway rates. In both
cases we have the same principles and substantially the same
difficulties. To those who are still under the tyranny of an
exploded laissez-faire philosophy this proposal may seem revo-
lutionary, but to those who have some acquaintance with eco-
nomic history and who try to see the facts of industrial life
as they are, it will appear quite natural and quite rational.
In an address delivered just ten years ago on "American
Trusts," Professor Ashley said: "I see nothing for it but that,
in countries where the monopolizing movement is well under
way, the Governments should assume the duty of in some way
controlling prices " (Surveys Historic and Economic, p. 388).
Even President Gary, of the United States Steel Corporation,
recently suggested this method to a committee of Congress.
To the obvious Socialist objection, that the State ought to own
these "evolutionary" monopolies as well as those natural
monopolies which are called public utilities, there is an equally
obvious answer. The former industries are more complicated
and probably much fewer than the latter, and we do not want
to multiply the industrial functions of the State unnecessarily.
When the Socialist theory of the inevitable concentration and
monopolization of all industries has been demonstrated, and the
policy of State regulation of prices has failed, it will be time
enough to consider the experiment of State ownership of arti-
ficial monopolies.
4. Income and Inheritance Taxes. — Both these forms of
taxation, especially the latter, are in vogue to some extent in
this country. They ought to be made universal. And the
rate at which the tax is levied should be progressive ; that is,
increasing with the amount of the income or bequest. For the
larger a man's income or wealth, the less important are the
uses to which he devotes all of it above a certain minimum
for necessaries and comforts, and the smaller is the sacrifice
1909] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION 611
that he will make by giving up a given per cent of it (cf. A.
Vermeersch, S.J., Qucestiones de Justitia, pp. 108-129). Ob-
viously the rate should not progress indefinitely up to a point
where it would be confiscatory or dangerous to the spirit of
enterprise. At a certain limit it should either become fixed,
or its increments should begin to decrease. The precise limit
which should mark the maximum rate is a matter of detail
that need not be discussed here, but it might, consistently with
morality and expediency, be higher than it is in any country at
present. Mr. Carnegie's proposal of fifty per cent for the
largest inheritances seems very high, indeed, although the rate
of the inheritance tax would properly be higher than in the
case of incomes. Through these forms of taxation a large
part of the burdens of government would be transferred from
classes that are overtaxed to classes that are now undertaxed,
and the State would be able to undertake necessary works of
public improvement, such as waterways and good roads, and
provide insurance for unemployment, sickness, and old age.
In a word, distributive justice, both as to public burdens and
public benefits, would be more nearly realized than at present.
5. Taxation of the Future Increase in Land Values. — This
proposal is much more important in cities, especially in the
greater cities, than in agricultural districts. Frederick C. Howe,
a high authority, estimates the increase in land values in New
York City between 1904 and 1908 at $7 86,000. .000, and during
the single year of 1908 at $284.000,000, or $120,000,000 in
excess of all the city's expenditures for that year. It seems
altogether just that a considerable portion of this increase,
which is created by the community, should be recovered by
the community. As a result taxes on production and on the
necessaries of life could be materially lowered or perhaps abol-
ished, and the city would have a fund for civic and social
improvements, especially for housing the poorer classes. In-
creased land values, which make rents high, would thus par-
tially undo their own evil effects. Nor would this tax be an
unfair discrimination against land; for other forms of property
do not, as a rule, increase in value without the expenditure of
lab Dr. Wnere they seem to do so, the increase can in most
cases be traced to the land with which they are connected.
It is proposed to tax the future increases in land values, not
those that have occurred in the past. To take the latter or
612 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [Aug.,
any part of them by this method of taxation would in the
majority of cases be to confiscate values that have been fully
paid for by their actual possessors. It has been said that the
tax should appropriate "a considerable portion" of future in-
crements in value, for there are reasons both of equity and of
expediency why it ought not to take the entire increase.
What proportion should be taken, and what exemptions and
modifications should be made, are matters of detail. In Ger-
many, where the system has been very widely adopted and is
being rapidly extended, the highest rate is thirty-three and
one-third per cent. (Some account of the plan and some dis-
cussion of its moral aspect will be found in Stimmen aus Maria-
Laack, October, 1907, by F. Rauterkus, S.J.)
6. Prohibition of Speculation on the Exchanges. — While
this proposal may at first sight seem of insufficient importance
to have a place in a programme of social reform, it points to
a change that is greatly needed on moral as well as economic
grounds. Among the moral evils attendant upon speculation
in stocks and produce are: the development of the gambling
instinct in thousands upon thousands of persons who would
never have indulged that instinct through the more ordinary
and publicly condemned practices; the cultivation of a desire
to get money through lucky deals and the manipulation of
existing wealth, instead of through new wealth produced by
personal labor, and the consequent inability to appreciate any
ethical difference between the two kinds of gain ; and the
conscious or unconscious participation in the numerous forms
of dishonest manipulation which are almost continuously prac-
ticed upon the exchanges. The chief economic evils are the
formation of " corners " or monopolies in stocks, commodities,
and the necessaries of life, and the creation of artificial and
unjust prices; the unjust depression of the prices of stocks
and produce, with the resulting hardship and injustice to the
possessors of these properties; the absorption of immense sums
of capital that are needed for productive commerce and in-
dustry ; and an unhealthy inflation of general prices which
sometimes hastens the arrival of a financial panic. The ex-
changes have legitimate and important functions as markets
for securities and produce that are sought as a permanent in-
vestment and for consumption ; but they ought not to be used
for transactions in which the purchaser of the thing ostensibly
1909.] SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION 613
bought has no intention of getting genuine possession of it,
but merely desires to make a profit from its charges in price.
Such operations are essentially wagers, are utterly unproductive,
and comprise the great majority of all the transactions on the
exchanges. In the interest of the moral and economic health
of the nation they ought to be prohibited by law.
Some of the readers of these pages will not improbably
call this programme "Socialistic." They have a right to do so
if they have the right to construct their own definition of So-
cialism, or to apply the term to every extension of the indus-
trial functions of government. But if they are reasonable and
reasoning beings they will not forthwith condemn it on this
sole ground. A proposal may be discredited, but it cannot be
refuted by the easy and indolent device of calling it a bad
name. On the other hand, if Socialism is to be understood
correctly, in the sense in which it is accepted not only by its
advocates but by all who try to think and speak precisely,
none of the measures outlined above is Socialistic, nor do ;. 11
of them together constitute Socialism. They fall far short of
collective ownership and management of all the means of pro-
duction. Another reason why they are not Socialistic is be-
cause they are not to be introduced by the Socialistic method.
Indeed, the genuine Socialist would probably treat this pro-
gramme with more contempt than the doctrinaire individualist.
For the first principle in the Socialist platform of method is
that the system can never be realized until the control of
government has passed into the hands of the working class.
Hence the contempt of the thorough-going Socialist for what
he calls the " capitalistic State Socialism" of New Zealand.
He does not recognize these State activities even as steps in
the direction of genuine Socialism. And he would pass the
same judgment upon the present programme, so long as it was
to be brought about by a government not in the control of
the working class.
Nevertheless, the programme is perhaps paternalistic, and
unduly restrictive of individual liberty. Paternalistic it may be,
but it is not opposed to sane individualism. As said above,
you cannot rightly condemn a proposal merely by hurling in-
appropriate epithets at it recklessly. The only individual liberty
worthy of the name is that which offers to the individuals of
the community a reasonable measure of opportunity. Any
614 SOCIAL REFORM BY LEGISLATION [Aug.
system of individual liberty, however specious in theory, that
in practice enables a few exceptionally favored persons to ex-
ploit and oppress large numbers of their fellow- men, is a delu-
sion and a mockery. It is neither an individual nor a social
good. Judged by these tests, our programme seems to be
sound. Its proposals do not exceed a reasonable amount of
economic opportunity. To secure this to all its citizens is as
truly a function of the State as to protect the property of
those who happen to have property. To those citizens who
have little or no property, economic opportunity is much the
more important consideration. And it is a commonplace of
politics that the State is concerned with the welfare of all.
No attempt will be made here to indicate which of these
measures is the most important, nor which ought to be adopted
first, nor how soon any of them may safely be introduced.
The aim has been merely to describe all the legislative pro-
posals that seem sound and worth striving for at the present
time. Every one of them is in force in at least one country ;
a great many of them exist together in one or more countries,
as in Australasia and Germany; and no country shows a dis-
position to abandon any of them. While the arguments offered
in favor of the different measures in these pages have been of
necessity very general and far from adequate, they constitute
at least a respectable presumption in favor of the whole pro-
gramme. If it were put into operation it would probably cause
the social problem, upon which so much precious thought,
energy, and apprehension are now expended, to assume com-
paratively insignificant proportions. In the meantime it sug-
gests a practical ideal for all who believe that the problem
cannot be solved without a considerable increase of activity
and co-operation by the State.
THE WONDERS OF LOURDES.
BY J. BRICOUT.
II.
BERNADETTE'S VISIONS.
|N our preceding article we told how the happen-
ings at Lourdes were viewed by unbelievers and
by the Church. We wish now to give a more
detailed study of Bernadette's visions and of the
marvelous cures that followed.
With reference to Bernadette's visions two questions may
be asked :
Granting that Bernadette was undeniably sincere, can we
say as much for Abbe Peyramale and the first actors in the
drama of Lourdes?
Was not Bernadette herself the dupe and victim of a sickly
imagination? Were the apparitions she spoke of anything
more than unconscious hallucinations ?
Free-thinkers themselves readily attest Bernadette's sin-
cerity. That cannot be questioned. Even if she had conceived
a desire to mystify the world, how could this simple, unedu-
cated girl have worked out her plan ? The many shrewd,
searching inquiries to which she was subjected would have
speedily exposed the lie; she would have become confused
and would have given contradictory answers. Moreover, she
was too simple, too frank, too retiring, too humble, too disin-
terested to have thought of any such deceit. She spoke of
her visions only when questioned, and then spoke of them
without the least vanity. She would never accept even a tri-
fling present for herself or her family, though they were poor.
During the twenty years that she lived after the visions, she
never for a moment manifested any hesitancy in her belief
that the apparitions were real, and she died repeating: "I
saw her; yes, I saw her."
We know well that there are knaves in the world. How
616 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Aug.,
many mediums, for example, are only clever sleight-of-hand
performers or simply common cheats ? History also reminds
us of remarkable liars. Such a one was the celebrated Mag-
dalen of the Cross, a Franciscan sister of Cordova, thrice
abbess of her convent in the beginning of the sixteenth cen-
tury. Out of pride, and a keen desire to pass as a saint, she
inflicted on herself the Stigoiatic wounds ; persuaded her com-
panions for eleven years that she never took any food, though
she was secretly procuring it all the while; and succeeded for
thirty-eight years in deceiving the court nobles, the greatest
theologians, the Bishops, and the Inquisitors of Spain.
In the long run, however, even the most skillful mediums
are caught in some flagrant act of trickery and dishonesty.
Magdalen of the Cross* herself closed her career, when seri-
ously ill, by publicly acknowledging her lie. The dissimilarity
between Bernadette and such impostors should be noted.
They were clever, fairly educated, very vain, and very self-
centered. Bernadette had none of these traits.
But why insist on her sincerity, when even Zola and Jean
de Bonnefon leave it unquestioned? It will be better to take
up at once what M. de Bonnefon, at least, denies — the honesty
of Abbe Peyramale and those ecclesiastics who were concerned
in the first events at Lourdes.
The reader remembers M. de Bonnefon's "discovery,"
which we discussed in our first article — the famous unpublished
letter which he thought sufficient to prove beyond contradic-
tion that the Virgin's appearing to Bernadette was "known
beforehand, was expected, planned, and worked out by an
organized society." The reader remembers also the judicial
arraignment of M. de Bonnefon's unpleasant air of mystery,
and the very significant silence in which he has taken obsti-
nate refuge. Since he does not answer the reasonable objections
made against his position, since he fails to tell his opponents
where he found that famous unpublished document, whose
authenticity he will not let them investigate, we have the right
to set aside his assertion.
M. Jean de Bonnefon brings forward a second piece of
evidence in support of his thesis. This testimony f is not an
* For further information about Magdalen of the Cross, see Les Graces d'Oraisoti, by
R. P. Auguste Poulain, S.J., p. 336.
t Zola also mentions Abbd Ader's presentiment, but he does not make him an accomplice
of Abbe Peyramale (Lourdes, pp. 99-101).
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 617
"unpublished" document, but it was "solicited" and "inter-
preted in a" very "original fashion." It is the Traveler's
Guide to Lourdes, by Barbet, who was a teacher at Barties
when Bernadette made a rather mysterious stay there (in 1857).
We trust a somewhat lengthy quotation from de Bonnefon will
not be thought out of place :
Bernadette did not go to school, but she faithfully followed
Able Ader's catechetical instructions. In those days of offi-
cial piety, the schoolmaster, under ecclesiastical supervision,
taught catechism when the priests were unable to do so. As
a consequence, Barbet saw Bernadette and took notice of her.
A frank and imprudent chronicler, he writes as follows :
"During Bernadette's last stay at Barties, where I was
teaching, she attended catechism classes in the Church.
" One day the pastor, Abbe" Ader, a very pious priest, being
indisposed, asked me to hear the catechism lesson for him.
When it was over, he asked me what I thought of Bernadette.
I answered :
" ' Berr adette finds it hard to remember the catechism word
for word, but she makes up for her defective memory by the
care she takes to get hold of the inner sense of the explana-
tions. She is a very pious and modest girl.'
" ' Yes '/ said the Abbe, 'you have the same opinion of her
as I. She seems to me like a flower of the fields, breathing forth
a divine fragrance. When I look at her,' he added, ' / have
often thought of the children 'of La Sale tie. Surely, if the
Blessed Virgin appeared to those children, they must have been
simple, pious, and good like Bernadette. ' *
" Some weeks later I was walking with Able" Ader along a
road outside the village. Bernadette passed by with a flock
of sheep. Abbe" Ader turned several times to look after her
and then, resuming the conversation, he said :
" ' I don't know what it is that comes over me, but every time I
meet that child, it seems to me I see the little shepherdess of La
Salette.' "
The honest, pious teacher, himself a devout worshipper at
the Grotto, concludes the revelation, the bearing of which
he does not realize, with the following words :
"A little while later Bernadette returned to gourdes and
found herself in communication with the Queen of Heaven."
Thus does the good Barbet prove that Abb6 Ader, at Bar-
ties, exercised a hypno- suggestive influence on Bernadette's
* The italics in this quotation are M. de Bonnefon's.
6i8 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Aug.,
imagination and prepared her for the apparitions. It is hard
to admit that the Abb6 had, six months in advance, an in-
tuition of events that were to take place on February n, 1858.
It is more natural to believe that the good apostle labored to
make Bernadette a new shepherdess of I^a Salette — one who
would not be self-conscious, and who would be free from the
entanglement of a shepherd accomplice. Moreover, the pro-
prietors of the Grotto were not slow to see the danger to
which they were exposed by the imprudent Barbet's Guide.
They long ago purchased the edition and it seems impossible
to find on sale a single copy which contains the above-quoted
passage.
I do not know whether M. Jean de Bonnefon is exact in
saying that the " proprietors of the Grotto " bought up the
issue of the Guide. There are many reasons to distrust his
most positive assertions. Besides it is quite hard to believe
that the shrewd "proprietors" of Lourdes committed them-
selves to the useless destruction that he mentions. I am like-
'vise unable to say whether or not he tells the truth about
Abbe Ader's movements. M. de Bonnefon continues:
It is likely that the prudent churchman (the pastor of
Lourdes) chose an intermediary for the suggestive control of
Bernadette. This agent was the innocent victim's confessor
at gourdes .
In an unpublished report of M. Dutour, the Imperial- Pro-
curator at lyourdes, under date of April 14, 1858, we find this
curious note :
" It is now known that an ecclesiastic, her confessor, has a
great influence on her conduct ; that she speaks to him out-
side of the confessional about what she does and what is done
to her, and that he advises her after this fashion : ' They can-
not keep you from going to the Grotto ; go there without
fear.' If the Virgin tells Bernade (sic) a secret, it is M.
1'Abbe Pomian who authorizes or forbids its publication. He
will say to her : ' That is a secret which ought to be kept for
the person who will undertake to build a chapel. . . .' "
Secrets, just as at I^a Salette.
And why not ? Why should the Virgin be forbidden to do
at Lourdes what she has done elsewhere ? Why suspect and
accuse Abbe Pomian on such flimsy pretext ? He hears Berna-
dette's confessions and counsels her; consequently, he has ex-
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 619
ercised and still exercises a hypno- suggestive influence en her,
just like Abbe Ader. What splendid reasoning !
M. Jean de Bonnefon belongs to the school of Anatole
France. M. France, writing about Joan of Arc, said : " It
ought to be so ; therefore it is so." M. de Bonnefon thinks
and speaks about Bernadette in exactly the same fashion.
And both of them imagine, or at any rate, try to make
their readers believe, that they are real and reliable historians.
There is nothing to be gained by following up M. Jean de
Bonnefon's story. His assertions of a personal character are
not backed up by even the slightest proof. God Himself has
undertaken to prove the reality of Bernadette's visions by the
miracles worked at Lourdes.
n.
Bernadette, as we have seen, was sincere, and was not
influenced by hypno-suggestion. But was she not the sport
of her own nerves ? Those who do not believe in the super-
natural at Lourdes unhesitatingly affirm that she suffered from
hallucinations. They say that the fact is evident.
Evident, indeed, it does seem, for those who deny, a priori,
all possibility of the supernatural. The Virgin Mary could not
have appeared to Bernadette ; THEREFORE Bernadette could not
have seen her. But it has not been proved that miracles are
really impossible.
An attempt is made to advance other arguments. There
have been many mentally deranged patients in our hospitals,
who have imagined that they saw God, Christ, the Virgin
Mary, or St. Anthony of Padua.
We know this as well as anybody, but it does not prove
Bernadette a victim of hallucinations and we will very soon
see that she is altogether different from the visionaries to whom
she is likened. Bernadette's father, it is further asserted, was a
drunkard ; she herself suffered from asthma, and the sort of
life she led at Bartres was such as to develop in her the germs
of hysteria.
What is the real truth with regard to all this ? First, as
to the statement that her father was a drunkard. M. Jean de
Bonnefon makes the assertion, but he does not prove it. As
he is the only one who says so, so far as I know, I confess I
am not convinced of it. But, even if it were the truth, the
620 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Aug.,
conclusion drawn from it would be extravagant. Do we not
all know children of intemperate parents who never suffered
the slightest hallucination ? The daughter of a drunkard is
not necessarily hysterical.
Nobody denies that Bernadette was afflicted with asthma.
We must remember, however, " that the asthmatic condition
developed much later on, in consequence of repeated attacks
of bronchitis, caught on the banks of the Gave to which
strangers continually led her."* Besides, how many asthmatic
patients there are who are not at all given to hallucinations 1
As for Bernadette's visits to Bartres, they were much briefer
than has been maintained. The facts about them, too, are
quite different from the fables that have been written on the
subject. What has been written about the telling of marvel-
ous tales in Bernadette's presence by Abbe* Ader or some
other priest; about the reading of pious or fanciful books be-
fore her; about the vigils in which she took part before the
altar of Bartres, is very far from being proved.
As a matter of fact, there is nothing to prove in all this
that Bernadette was a victim of hallucinations.
Taking the offensive, we can go further and show positively
that Bernadette saw what she thought she saw.
We know with certainty that Bernadette was well-balanced,
and of an unaffectedly gay disposition. There was nothing
extraordinary, nothing sickly about her piety. She was neither
morally nor physically predisposed to hallucinations — to mys-
tical hallucinations.
Moreover, on certain days, the apparition in white did not
manifest herself, though Bernadette waited for her and called
for her. Auto-suggestion, consequently, did not create the
image which filled her whole being with ravishing delight.
After July 16, 1858, she never saw the apparition again. The
Virgin, who cured so many other sick people, never healed
her infirmities.
Daring the vision Bernadette is fully self-possessed. She
speaks to her comrades; relights her candle; goes and comes
like one in a normal state. One who suffers from hallucina-
tions acts mechanically and as if under the exclusive control
of an idea which has possession of him. Finally, contrary to
what generally happens in the case of those who suffer from
* Boissarie, Les Grands Giterisons de Lourdes, p. 519.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 621
hallucinations, Bernadette did not become insane and God
Himself has deigned to guarantee by miracles the supernatural
reality of the apparitions.
The thousands of miraculous cures which have followed the
apparitions at Lourdes have guaranteed their divine character,
In our concluding article we will dwell on those marvelous cures
and show their supernatural origin. At present it will be
enough for us to point out the intimate connection between
them and the apparitions. It is by invoking the Virgin who
appeared to Bernadette, and by using water from the spring
which she pointed out, that these cures are effected. Is not
this a guarantee, given by God Himself, that the apparitions
were genuine?
With this question of Bernadette's visions two others are
closely connected, one as to the name under which the " Lady "
appeared to her, and the other as to the type of Madonna
which she made known to the world.
" I am the Immaculate Conception." This is the title under
which the apparition made herself known to Bernadette. M.
Bertrin writes:
Those words had never been spoken in her presence before,
and in her childlike simplicity she had no knowledge of the
profound dogma they express. It was at this time that,
through fear of forgetting the unfamiliar expression which
she wished to report faithfully to the priest at gourdes, she
kept repeating it to herself all along the road. But she pro-
nounced it wrongly as she repeated it. That afternoon she
went to M. Estrade's house and told him what had happened
in the morning. " When she had finished," said M. Estrade,
' ' my sister corrected the word ' Conception ' which she had
just treated so badly. The child started, turned to my sister,
and asked with frank embarrassment : ' But, Mademoiselle,
what do those words mean ? ' "
Besides, continues the learned author :
Bernadette had also discovered, or rather she had seen, a
new type of Madonna, and a type as beautiiul, ii not more
beautiful, than the most famous Virgins of the great Renais-
sance artists.
Neither at gourdes nor at Bartres, the only places in the
world that she knew, had the dear child ever seen any statue
which resembled what she described, either as a whole or in
622 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Aug.,
the details. It was all revealed to her. If one does not want
to believe that, one must admit that she made it all up her-
self. That would be contrary to every scientific observation
made of those under hallucinations. I say that her Madon-
na is as remarkable for beauty as for newness. It must not
be judged simply by the marble model which the sculptor
Fabisch fashioned according to her descriptions — the statue
in the Grotto in the niche above the wild-rose bush.
Whether it is due, as M. Fabisch said, to the artist's in-
ability to reproduce an ideal, even his own, or to the poor
child's inability to find in her plebeian tongue the precise
words needed for a good description, the statue was not a
faithful reproduction of the image that she had always kept
alive before her eyes. When she saw it, she exclaimed :
"It is beautiful, but it is not she. Oh.no! The differ-
ence is as of earth from heaven."
It has never been known that a victim of hallucinations dis-
covered or invented really beautiful things. At most, by com-
bining elements stored up in memory, such a one might create
some strange monster or some old novelty. Experiences gained
in hospitals and the " revelations " of mediums have proved this
repeatedly.
Just here I might call attention to one or two considera-
tions that are too commonly neglected. I had occasion to dwell
on them before in my essay on Joan of Arc, but it surely will
not be superfluous to treat them briefly again.
A vision may be real, even though it is not exterior, that
is, is not perceived by the eyes of the body; even though it
is simply imaginative* or perceived by the imaginative faculty.
A material object is really perceived but without the help of
the eyes. There are likewise imaginative words; real words,
remember, but perceived by the imaginative sense without the
help of the ear.
Suppose then — what has not been and never will be proved
— that the Immaculate Virgin was not physically present at
Missabieille ; suppose even that, in the absence of her sacred
body, her likeness was not directly imprinted on the retina of
Bsrnadette, even then Bernadette's vision would not necessarily
have been an hallucination — the creature of a disturbed brain.
* The word imaginary is not so good as imaginative in this connection, because it may be
ambiguous.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 623
la such a case it might well be that the Virgin or God acted
directly on the young girl's interior imaginative faculty to
produce in it words and sights that would be real, though
simply imaginative. Between these imaginative words and sights
and hallucinations of sight and hearing there is a great gulf.
It is enough, then, for us to prove unequivocally that when
Bsrnadette said she saw the Immaculate Virgin, she really did
see her.
It is equally important to note the fact that a vision may
have a supernatural origin and yet may contain a human ele-
ment which is, as it were, the private, personal, individual stamp
of him who has the vision. "It may happen in a vision," writes
Father Poulain, who is particularly competent in these matters,
" that the human mind will retain the power of co-operating
to a certain extent with the divine action. It would conse-
quently be a mistake to attribute the knowledge thus gained,
entirely to God. At times it is the memory which pushes for-
ward its recollections; at other times it is the inventive faculty
which acts." The same author condemns as false the principle :
" A revelation which is not diabolical is either entirely divine
or entirely human." History and psychology seem frequently
to justify his assertion.
If, then, it were shown that Bernadette, before her visions,
had heard of the Immaculate Conception or had seen an image
of the Immaculate Virgin, one would not have ground for the
conclusion that she had merely manifested what was previously
in her sub-consciousness, and that there was nothing super-
natural in the apparitions at Lourdes. Bernadette would have
co-operated to a certain extent with the divine action — only
that and nothing more. God makes Himself all things to all
men. He does not disdain to adapt Himself to the human in-
strument which He uses.
The essential point is that we have solid reasons for believ-
ing in the supernatural origin of Bernadette's visions. The
most important of these reasons is to be found in the unnum-
bered miraculous cures so intimately bound up with the appa-
ritions. To them we will devote the whole of our third and
last article.
(TO BE CONCLUDED.)
A LOST DOG.
BY MARY AUSTIN.
!. \RGARET AVERY was an artist in a very small
way. She illustrated advertisements for the
ladies' papers. Now and again, if she was extra
fortunate, she sold one of her sketches of chil-
dren. The drawings were delicately whimsical.
Only one man had discovered how charming they were. Had
he lived he would have given Margaret her chance, for he was
the editor of a magazine; but he died after a few days' illness,
during a winter in which influenza was rampant; and Margaret
lost her one influential friend.
Since then she had become innured to disappointments.
She sent in drawing after drawing to obdurate editors, only to
have them declined. She would walk with them to the office to
save postage, and she would call back a few days later for her
answer. The liveried officials who live in the mahogany, boxes
behind the guillotine-windows marked "Inquiries" grew quite
accustomed to Margaret Avery's gentle, timid face and shab-
bily-clad figure. Nearly always there was a roll of paper to
be returned to her when she called the second time.
She had her mother to look after as well as herself. Mrs.
Avery was a delicate semi-invalid who helped Margaret all she
could to eke out the starveling pittance which was all Harold
Avery had been able to leave his wife and daughter, although
he had at one time been an artist of repute. She did type-
writing when she could get it to do; she worked at an ex
quisite embroidery which would always fetch its price if only
one could do enough of it ; but it was very, very slow work
and very wearing on the eyes; and so many people were satis-
fied with the machine-made article that the money for the
embroidery was hard-earned.
Mother and daughter had a tiny flat in a mean street in
Fulham. It was not so bad if one could but get away from the
neighbors and the noises of the streets. Their sitting room
window opened on a little balcony in which it was possible
1909.] A LOST DOG 625
to grow a few flowers in pots and boxes. Unfortunately it
overhung the street, so that the flowers grew very dusty and
very parched — for they were on the southward-looking side of
the street.
There was a tiny kitchen, an infinitesimal bath-room, and
two little bedrooms side by side. The flat had been decorated
with some idea of prettiness ; and if it had not been for the
houses that pressed closer and closer to them, the jangling
pianos, the street-organs, the noisy people in the adjoining
flats who sometimes quarreled and sometimes were merry, the
screaming of the children when they were let loose from the
big Board- School at the back of the flats, they could have
been happy. It was a neighborhood that hardly slept one
hour out of the twenty-four. There was hardly that much in-
terval between the last light going out in the houses and the
arrival of the early morning milk at the big dairy around the
corner.
The noise was the one intolerable thing to mother and
daughter; but they did not talk much about it. They had
made two or three moves in search of a quieter neighborhood
since they had been compelled to settle in London, but none
of the changes had brought any improvement ; if there was not
one thing there was another; and Acacia Gardens, if it were
not for the noise, afforded them a cheerful little refuge.
Mrs. Avery used to sit nearly all day on the sofa by the
window while she worked at her embroidery. Beau, her little
King Charles, used to lie at her feet and keep her company
while Margaret was out. The little flat was wonderfully clean
and neat. Poor as it was, everything had the daintiness one
associates with ladies. They did all their work themselves.
Some time before Margaret was expected home Mrs. Avery
would put away her embroidery, covering it over with a clean
muslin cloth, and would set the table for their simple meal.
It was very simple indeed — perhaps no more than an egg and
a cup of tea, with a little fruit in the season when fruit was
cheap. But there was always a flower or two in a glass;
and always the daintiness, the purity, that made the little meal
inviting when Margaret came in, dead-tired and discouraged.
During the quiet hours when Mrs. Avery worked at her
embroidery — she was always glad when she embroidered rather
than did typewriting — she thought incessantly of Osiers, the
VOL. LXXXIX.— 40
626 A LOST DOG [Aug.,
cottage in the country, where she and Harold and the child
had lived so peacefully for twenty years. Osiers stood in six
acres of orchard and garden. It was a wonderful place, espe-
cially in the spring of the year, when the daffodils and nar-
cissus danced in myriads under the orchard trees; when the
pale primroses lay in drifts ; and later, when the ground was
blue as the sky with the wild hyacinths and the boughs were
the most wonderful rose and white; when the great trees that
ringed round the little demesne showed the exquisite pale leaf-
age and the blackbirds and thrushes sang their love-songs all
the day. She thought incessantly of Osiers; and she put into
her embroidery her thoughts of the flowers and birds, where-
fore it ceased to be formal and conventional and had some-
thing of the wild grace of life.
One day she had a great stroke of good fortune as she
counted it, for she got a new customer for the typewriting:
and this time no dreary circulars, no law folios and such
things as usually came to her share, but a novel by a writer
who was not indeed popular, but was something better.
It was almost as good as the embroidery to typewrite Mr.
Bellairs' MS. It was a difficult handwriting to start with —
all dots and dashes, and queer up-and-down lines; but after
a little study of it Mrs. Avery came to understand it, helped,
perhaps, by her interest in the story.
Considering all that she had passed through and her years of
ill-health she was really a very youthful person at heart. She
adored love-stories and would read all she could get, in all
the time she could give to them. Many times Margaret had
discovered her mother over a book with tears in her eyes;
and, because of those ready tears, she could hardly read aloud
the things that touched her, while Margaret worked.
She had been obliged to read all manner of books, for at
the Free Library one took what one could get. But she knew
what was good, and she was like a child escaped from town
and running in the fields after daisies and buttercups, over
Anthony Bellairs' Comedy of Summer. She read the manu-
script through before she typed it. While she was typing it
she read bits aloud to Margaret.
"Isn't it delicious?" she would cry in an ecstasy. "Wouldn't
any one think he knew Osiers? Just listen to this where he
describes a night of May and the nightingales."
1909.] ^ LOST DOG 627
"He is evidently a real country-lover," said Margaret. "I
wonder why he should live in Clifford's Inn ? I suppose he
goes to the country for week-ends."
" It is not the same," Mrs. Avery said. " To get the full
sweets of the country you must live there all the year round."
She sighed as a hawker cried raucously along the street;
and the Board-School children were let free with a babel of
noise that for the time put reading aloud out of the question.
It was June now, and the two women, mother and daughter,
wore the look of fatigue, the fainting, withered look of a
flower that wants water, which always came to them with the
high summer and increased until October brought the cool
weather. There was no margin of their slender resources to
enable them to go to the country or the sea. A day in the
fields near London, or in Epping Forest when no Bank Holi-
day was in sight, was as much as they could procure, and
these left them thirsting more and more for the country.
One day Margaret came home with an interesting piece of
news to tell. She had been waiting at the office of one of
the illustrated papers for the usual roll of returned drawings
when a gentleman had asked for the editor. He gave his name,
" Mr. Bellairs," and he was shown up at once with an effusive-
ness very different from the way she was accustomed to be
received. The liveried gentleman had spoken to one of the
clerks —
"That's Anthony Bellairs, the novelist," he had said. "I
was to show 'im up at once. Time was we used to keep 'im
waiting like the others ; but times is changed."
Margaret had glanced with shy curiosity at Anthony Bel-
lairs. Though she was unaware of it, her expression was a
most flattering one. Anthony Bellairs was an unspoilt, unspoil-
able person.
" Poor little thing ! " he thought to himself as he went up
the stairs to the editor's sanctum. " She has a face like a
primrose — a primrose in an east wind. I wonder why she
looked at me like that."
He was curious enough to ask as he passed out the name
of the lady who had been standing at the desk when he came
in. The official remembered with an effort.
"She's a Miss Avery," he said. "We sometimes use a
droring of 'ers, but not hoften."
628 A LOST DOG [Aug.,
" Avery." Anthony Bellairs had some association with the
name, but he was half-way home to his rooms in Clifford's Inn
before he recalled that it was the name of the typist to whom,
on the recommendation of a very good fellow, a cleric who had
been a chum of his at Oxford, he had sent his latest MS. It was
unlikely there could be any relation between them. Avery
was not an uncommon name. He wondered what sort of a
hand Mrs. Avery was making of his work. He hoped she
wouldn't botch it and give him a lot of trouble. It was a
nuisance that poor Tomlinson, who had worked for him for
seven years and understood his writing perfectly, bad broken
down just at this time and been ordered to take a complete
rest — a rest which, by the way, Mr. Bellairs had been instru-
mental in procuring for him.
Margaret gave a vivid account to her mother of Anthony
Bellairs' looks. It was wonderful how much she had contrived
to see in that one shy glance. The handsome, clean-shaven
face and bright eyes, the soft, dark hair tossed away from his
forehead — he had taken off his hat as he came in from the
glare of the streets — the brown suit he was wearing, the air as
of a chained athlete ; she could describe them all.
Mrs. Avery listened with an indifference which at last forced
itself upon Margaret's observation.
"What is it, Mumsie?" she said, pulling up short, midway
in her description of Mr. Bellairs. "What is the matter?"
" It is Beau, Madge. He has not been well — not himself
at all. He has been so uneasy, so restless. And he shivers.
He Is growing very old."
" He has a chill," said Margaret, " or he feels the hot
weather, like the rest of us. Poor little Beau, he is old — I
was eight years old when he came to us. Twelve years is
quite a great age for a dog."
That night Beau died quietly in his sleep.
At first Mrs. Avery was quite grieved. She cried for the
faithful companion of so many years, little Beau, who had been
with them at Osiers, who had never wanted to leave her skirt.
For a day or two Margaret, too, was depressed. Her
mother seemed to have lost so many things with little Beau.
His death seemed to bring back the older, greater sorrows.
At Osiers he had been a frolicsome puppy ; and Harold
Avery had been alive, and they had been happy. And now
1909.] ^ LOST DOG 629
Beau was dead ; she was old and a widow, and she and poor
Madge were living in a London slum, just keeping the wolf
from the door. What was to happen to Madge when she was
gone ?
The morning of the third day after Beau's death her tears
were dried. A thought had come to her in the midst of her
grief of the great goodness of God Who had sent her such a
loving friend for twelve long years. She looked up at Mar-
garet quite brightly as she told her of the strange, sudden
consolation that had come to her.
" I am really quite happy about the dear little fellow," she
said. " And now — I am going to finish Mr. Bellairs' MS. to-
day. I feel quite cheerful and ready for work."
Margaret was immensely relieved. She had a certain ex-
pedition in her mind. She had sold a drawing for a better price
than she had hoped for. They were going to have something
good out of it. To-day her mother might finish Mr. Bellairs'
novel. To-morrow they would put up a modest lunch, take
the train out into the country, and spend the day in the fields.
And there would be a little addition to their party of which as
yet Mrs. Avery kne\v nothing.
Mrs. Avery was a born dog- lover. She had said that she
would never have another dog after Beau ; but even as she
said it her eyes contradicted the speech. She would open her
arms, her daughter knew, to some poor homeless dog who
would find heaven in her ownership and protection. Margaret
remembered the old days at Osiers, when every halt and blind
and hungry and hurt dog found its way to her mother's care
and physicking. She remembered her mother's quixotic in-
terferences when she thought a dog was being ill-treated. She
was quite sure of the reception awaiting the dog she should
bring home.
At the Home tor Lost Dogs the obvious strays, those who
had a home somewhere and some one who grieved for their
absence, glanced at her indifferently and then returned to their
attitude of watching and listening for the face and the step
that should lift them from depths of despair to heights of
rapture. Not one of them seemed interested in Margaret.
" Many of them will be claimed," the official said. " For
the others we shall be able to get homes. These are well-bred
dogs."
630 A LOST DOG [Aug.,
They walked on. There broke out a terrific clamor, hun-
dreds of dogs climbing the sides of their enclosure, yelping
piteously to her to take them and care for them, their poor eyes
a passion of entreaty, of hope, of anticipation, of despair.
She was hurrying past quickly. It was more than she could
endure.
" A few of these poor chaps may find homes," the official
said kindly. " The majority are just homeless strays. The
kindest thing for a homeless dog is to let him die painlessly — "
Margaret hardly heard him. Her attention was attracted
by a small white dog who stood apart from the clamor and the
shrieking. While she looked at him he turned a grave somer-
sault; then, standing on his hind legs, he begged prettily,
working his little paws eagerly as though he prayed her to
have him.
" You pretty creature ! " said Margaret, her heart going out
to him. " Please may I have him ? He deserves a home be-
cause he begs so prettily."
" Oh, that one," said the official. " I was rather hoping
you'd take a fancy to that one. He's a pretty little chap, and
he has been some one's pet at some time, or he wouldn't have
these tricks. But he's a mongrel — a cross between a poodle
and a terrier."
"I don't mind a bit," said Margaret. " He's a dear. Please
let me have him."
The dog did an ecstatic cart-wheel as though he knew.
She moved on a little way, her hands to her ears, her eyes
averted from the piteous crowd of dogs. In a few seconds
the dog was brought to her, made hers for the sum of half-a-
crown.
She had to walk home, since the busses would not admit
the dog, and when she tried the experiment of putting him
down he followed at her heels as though he dreaded losing her.
She opened the door with her latchkey when she arrived,
and went in quietly. Her mother was sitting with her head
outlined against the door that led to the balcony. Some-
where over the tops of the houses the sun was setting; but it
was prematurely dusk in the noisome, wind-swept street. The
figure against the open doorway looked lonely and sad.
" See what I have brought you ! " said Margaret going up
to her mother and depositing the dog in her lap. He leaped
1909.] A LOST DOG 631
and (risked about Mrs. Avery as he had done with Margaret,
but making not a sound.
"What a dear!" said Mrs. Avery. "Do light the lamp
and let me see him. Where did you get him ? And is he
really for me ? But, oh, Margaret, do you think I ought to
have him Beau would be so jealous if he could know."
" Ah, well, he doesn't know, dear little dog ! " Margaret
said, lighting the lamp. " And you owe it, because one dog
made you happy, that you should rescue another from death,
and homelessness, that is worse than death to a dog. I got
him at the Dogs' Home. You should have seen those other
poor things. I wished I could have bought them all."
" He will be such company for me when you are away,"
Mrs. Avery said, capitulating. "I am sure little Beau would
have wished me to be happy, and forgotten about himself.
Now, what shall we call him ? "
They called him Rough, he was such a fuzzy thing, from
head to foot, more of the wire-haired terrier than the poodle
in his looks, but with the trained intelligence of the poodle.
As the days passed he proved a great acquisition to the
little household. Poor Beau had been old, and of late asleep
nearly all day, whereas Rough was young and full of pretty
tricks and a thorough gentleman in all his ways. When Mrs.
Avery took her slow walks abroad to do the marketing Rough
followed closely at her heels. When she kept the house he
was quite content to do likewise. All the time they were in-
doors, while she was busy, he lay in a chair, watching her
with bright, attentive eyes. If she was inclined to play with
him, he was quite ready to play.
This cheerful companionship seemed 'to work wonders for
Mrs. Avery. She seemed much less of an invalid than be-
fore Rough had come. One day she even got so far as to
cross the bridge and get on to the open space beyond, where
there was a fresh breeze from the river and one could sit in
the shade of trees. She had not attempted such a journey
before and it delighted Margaret while it frightened her a little.
" Of course," Mrs. Avery said by way of explaining her temer-
ity, "it was cruel to a dog to keep him shut up among houses."
They had had Rough about three weeks. Long ago Mr.
Bellairs' typescript had been completed and sent home; but
no word had come from him. Margaret was certain he was
632 A LOST DOG [Aug.,
out of town, as was every one who could afford to be. He
was at the sea or in the country, on the moors or the moun-
tains. It was late July now and hotter and dustier than ever.
There were days when even Rough seemed to feel the heat,
when he was content to lie all day and watch his new mis-
tress instead of playing his tricks for her pleasure. The sky
was molten ; the houses so many ovens that gave back at night
the heat they received all day. People prayed for a thunder-
storm ; the hapless people who must stay in town. And Mrs.
Avery, sitting languidly at her embroidery-frame, was quite
sure her work had failed to please Mr. Bellairs, since he had
not written, had not paid the starveling sum she had asked for
the work.
Margaret, who had been working at home all day, had
taken Rough for a walk as far as the Green. She had come
back along the sun-baked streets with a lagging step.
Approaching her own door she became aware that there
was some one standing at the door, waiting to be admitted, a
tall, loosely-knit figure in a brown suit, at the sight of which
her heart gave a leap of excitement. It was surely Mr. Bel-
lairs. He had come himself with the cheque. She wondered
how long he had been waiting. Mrs. Loftie, who occupied the
ground-floor flat and was supposed to open the door, was
rather deaf. She hurried forward to open it with her latch-key.
Then an extraordinary thing happened. Rough, who had
been lagging at her heels, suddenly uttered a piercing yelp of
joy and flew to Mr. Bellairs, leaping on him with the most
extravagant demonstrations of affection. Was Rough gone
mad ? But, no ; or, at least, Anthony Bellairs was quite as
mad. For he had picked up Rough and was holding him in
his arms, the dog's two paws upon his shoulders, the little
head buried in his neck. He turned a face of joyous delight
to the girl.
"Where did you get him?" he asked. "My little Trust?
I have been heart-broken since I lost him a month ago. He
must have been stolen for the sake of his silver collar. I
haven't been able to do anything because of his loss."
"I bought him at the Dogs' Home," Margaret said; and
her face fell. "We shall be very sorry to lose him. My mother
especially had grown very fond of him. She lost her old dog
recently. She has not many joys in her life."
1909.] A LOST DOG 633
" Ah ; but you ean hardly contest the fact that he is my
dog, seeing that he shows it so plainly. Don't you, Trusty ? "
The words sounded cruel.
" He seemed very fond of us," Margaret said without look-
ing at him. " If I had not bought him he would have gone
to the lethal chamber."
She was opening the door as she spoke.
"You wish to see my mother, sir?" she said, as she pushed
open the door. "She has been hoping to hear that you were
satisfied with her work. She will be greatly grieved about the
dog."
" Do not let us tell her, just yet," he said. " Trusty has
always been gracious. He won't forget his new friends even if
the old are dearer."
His eyes were very kind as they rested on Margaret's spir-
itual little tired face, as she looked back at him gratefully.
She had done him an injustice; he was kind; what a pleasant,
courteous, charming voice he had !
He put down Trust at the sitting-room door. The dog re-
paid his confidence in him, for he trotted before and jumped
up to Mrs. Avery, reclining on her sofa.
Bellairs glanced round the poor room, charming with its
suggestion of refined womanhood. It pleased his fastidious
taste. Mrs. Avery, with the little old fichu of embroidered
muslin draped round her thin shoulders, was an image of deli-
cate ladyhood.
"This is Mr. Bellairs, Mother," said Margaret. "We met
on the doorstep."
A shy color came into Mrs. .Avery's cheek and she looked
at him with the expression in her eyes which Margaret's had
held for him on the day of their chance meeting at the office
of The Upper Ten, He bowed low over her hand.
"I was so glad, so privileged," she said, her color coming
and going, " to type A Comedy of Summer. But I've been
afraid the work was ill-done."
"On the contrary," he said, "it was incredibly well- done.
If you could know what I have suffered in the past from in-
competent, unsympathetic typists and secretaries, and I have
lost the one who understood my writing. When I read your
letter, and what you said about the book, I said to myself that
at last I had found the ideal secretary."
634 A LOST DOG [Aug.,
" Oh ! " said Mrs. Avery, her pale face suffused with pleas-
ure. " I was afraid I ought not to have expressed an opinion.
It was not like a typist — "
"It was not in the least like a typist," he agreed; "but it
pleased me. Not only did you understand my hieroglyphics*
but you understood my point of view. I was coming to thank
you, only I had lost a friend. It put everything out of my
head."
" Ah, I am sorry — "
"But I have found him again," Mr. Bellairs went on, rather
to Mrs. Avery's bewilderment. She had not noticed that the
dog had deserted her and was fawning quietly about the visit-
or's feet. "And — I have an odd proposition to make to you.
I have just taken a country cottage in Hertfordshire. I want
a secretary. Would you be willing to undertake the position ?
There are a good many things I shall want looked after. A
man is very helpless with servants. I shall not overtax your
strength. A book a year — "
Her eyes looked at him longingly.
" Hertfordshire," she repeated. " We used to live in Hert-
fordshire. I should love it. But my daughter ? "
" There will be plenty of room for her at Osiers. I am
often away. You can have your own apartments. You will
look after things for me, and type my MS. when I am work-
ing ; see to my correspondence. I shall not intrude upon you
too much."
Osiers ! Did she hear aright ?
"You are very good, sir," she said, lifting herself up on
her elbow. " It sounds too good to be true. And I have noth-
ing really the matter with me. Only I have had so much
trouble. And Osiers — did you say Osiers ? Our old house was
called Osiers. It was near King's Abbey. I love it better than
any spot in the whole world."
"Ah — what a coincidence. How lucky that I should have
stumbled on the place, and in the time of daffodils, else per-
haps I should not have thought of it. It is rather in disre-
pair. You shall advise me about its restoration. How very
glad I shall be to be the means of restoring you to your old
home ! "
While he said it he looked at Margaret with a half-shy
gaze.
1909.] A LOST DOG 635
" It seems the mercy of God that I should be at Osiers
again before I die," said Mrs. Avery in tears.
He looked directly at Margaret now.
"You will put no bar in the way?" he said imploringly.
" You shall see just as little of me as you will. It will make
your mother so happy. And I am under a great debt to you."
He was caressing Rough's hard little head. " I have not been
able to do any work since I lost Trusty. I can see before me
a time of perfect peace, with a secretary who can read my
writing and will stand between me and women-servants."
His voice had a coaxing sound in it which was wonderfully
pleasing to the tired girl's ear.
" I can only say that it is too good to be true. I am sure
I shall wake up and find it a dream. Such fairy stories do
not happen in real life."
" Ah, but they do, sometimes," Bellairs replied, his eyes
fixed on Margaret's happy face. " Even more wonderful things
might come to pass." He hurried up, as though he had been
guilty of an indiscretion. " And now, when will you be ready
to come? I shall send some one to pack up for you. You
can take whatever you will with you of course. But anything
you do not particularly care for I should sell. Vou can fur-
nish your rooms as you will at Osiers."
" But you may send me packing for a more efficient secre-
tary," Mrs. Avery said, between laughing and crying.
"Ah, no "; he said, with that air which made him delightful
to women. " I know how to appreciate the gifts of the gods.
You must not leave me — and Trust. You must make us happy."
His dark eyes glowed and lightened. They sought for Mar-
garet's eyes and met their gaze. It was as though heart spoke
to heart.
THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY.
BY J. PRENDERGAST, S.J.
I.
|N the Cosmopolitan for May, 1909, there began a
series of articles dealing with the teaching in
American universities. To sum up the first arti-
cle in the words of the editor himself : "In hun-
dreds of classrooms it is being taught daily that
the decalogue is no more sacred than a syllabus ; that the
home as an institution is doomed ; that there are no absolute
evils ; that immorality is simply an act in contravention of ac-
cepted standards ; . . . that the change from one religion
to another is like getting a new hat; that moral precepts are
passing shibboleths; that conceptions of right and wrong are
as unstable as styles in dress."
This summary seems to be adequately borne out in the
spirit, and sometimes in the letter, by the statements that follow
from the professors of many colleges and universities. Pro-
fessor Blackmar, of the University of Kansas, teaches that the
" standards of right perpetually vary in social life." Professor
William G. Sumner, of Yale, asserts that ethical notions are
" mere figments of speculation/' and "unrealities that ought to
be discarded altogether." Professor William James, of Harvard,
contributes his article to the creed of destruction, that it is
possible to spoil the "merit of a teaching by mixing with it
that dogmatic temper, which by unconditional thou-shalt-nots
changes a growing, elastic, and continuous life into a system of
relics and dry bones." Professor Zueblin, of Chicago, declares
that "there can be and are holier alliances without the mar-
riage bond than within it."
It is needless to quote further in order to show the general
trend of the teaching which seems to have invaded the Ameri-
can universities from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Its note is
clearly anti-Christian and destructive. One asks: " Can these
men imagine that they are advancing civilization by tearing
1909.] THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY 637
down its morality?" Surely all advancement must be along
constructive, not destructive lines. Above all else, civilization,
as we know it, is built upon ethics, whether it be Chinese,
Graeco-Roman, or Christian civilization.
When Washington insisted upon this fact in his Farewell
Address, he simply reiterated the warning of all history. Sav-
agery, with its immorality and decadence, is the natural outcome
of such doctrines as these, as in fact it has been historically
the outcome, when the Goth and the Vandal overran the cor-
rupt Roman State. These professors are doing from the spir-
itual side what the anarchist and the bomb-thrower are attempt-
ing to do by natural force. The destructive doctrines, however,
which constitute their spiritual bombs in the warfare against
Christian civilization, are more forceful than dynamite for shat-
tering the edifice of Christian society. Bombs do but destroy
the framework ; these doctrines destroy the plan. Such men
and such doctrines made a wreck of the " grandeur that was
Greece and the glory that was Rome." Such men and such
doctrines will inevitably wreck any civilization over which they
gain sway. And they seem to be in a fair way of gaining sway,
if the article describes exactly what is taking place.
" The student takes in ethics as he absorbs Euclid and equa-
tions. Automatically the teachings of the professor sink into
the student mind. What the scholar in the chair of authority
says is gospel. He is usually a man of force and genius and
often magnetic. He has a following. Some of the classrooms
are so crowded that seating room is at a premium." If in all
this we could but act the part of disinterested spectators and
complacently wait for the catastrophe, which, if " history be
philosophy teaching by example," is philosophically certain !
But we cannot be disinterested. What should rouse us from
our apathy, if we are apathetic, is the absorbing fact that we
happen to be members of the civilization which they are striv-
ing to wreck. In shaking down the temple of Christianity on
their heads, these Samsons of destruction are going to bury
with them, in the ruins, you and me. If they are going to suc-
ceed the outlook is very black indeed for us. It might well
move us to pray like St. Augustine of old, when the Vandals
were thundering at the gates of Hippo, that God might take
us before the destruction came. But let us hope that greater
things are in store for our present America than the addition of
638 THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY [Aug.,
a chapter to the history of the Mound Builders over whose
dead civilization the savage hunted and fought.
In a sense it is to be feared that much mischief is already
done. For such doctrines as these, more often than not, come
after the fact, and seek to justify in theory what has been ac-
tually accomplished. Indeed one of these professors has ex-
plained that these were not doctrines, but simply statements of
conditions as they are. Therefore, when it is said " the notion
that there is anything fundamentally correct implies the exist-
ence of a standard outside and above usage, and no such stand-
ard exists," the professor is not to be held to mean that God
did not give the commandments, but that society at present is
acting as if He had not given them. This is but too sadly
true, in the case of divorce, for instance, or race suicide. Against
all this one barrier remains still, the same that broke the onset
of barbarianism upon the Roman State and with the remnants
of culture constructed modern Europe, the Catholic Church.
She is acting to-day as a check upon this wild onslaught di-
rected not against a Church, if they but knew it, nor a State,
but against Christian civilization.
The writer of the article in the Cosmopolitan looks upon
these American professors, apparently, as a sporadic upgrowth.
He is inclined to have no concern with the origin of their
teaching. But they are not original thinkers, far from it.
Their doctrine is the product of the German university of the
last century, where many of them in fact have studied.
Of those men quoted in the Cosmopolitan, Professor Sumner,
of Yale, had studied in Gottingen ; Professor Bogart, of Prince-
ton, in Berlin and Halle ; Professor Willet, of Chicago Uni-
versity, in Berlin ; Professor Coe, of the Northwestern Univer-
sity, in Berlin ; Professor Patten, of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, in Halle; Professor Veditz, of George Washington Uni-
versity, in Berlin and Leipzig; Professor Fetter, of Cornell, in
Halle and Wittenberg; Professor Ross, of Wisconsin, in Berlin;
Professor Mathews, of the University of Chicago, in Berlin ;
Professor Zueblin, of Chicago University, in Leipzig.
And these men form the second generation sent forth from
the German mother-home to do, or rather undo, the Christian
edifice, as in the former generation Charles A. Briggs, sometime
professor in the Union Theological Seminary of New York, and
before-time of Berlin, has undone it before them. All this
THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY 639
teaching, immoral and subversive, is nothing sudden, but the
end of a long journey. To give my readers an idea of its
length, with its grand halting-places, this article has been
written.
II.
Some fifteen years ago the writer of these lines sat in the
Aula Maxima of the Royal University of Berlin, listening to
Adolph Harnack, the foremost of non-Catholic Church histor-
ians. Harnack is worth listening to. In fact, one must listen
to him, for the magnetism of the man prevents any other out-
come if one fall within the range of his voice. Restless, now
standing and bent forward, now sitting on the edge of the
desk, but never in his chair, this lecturer, typically un- German
in manner and typically German in method, urged his facts
and his conclusions upon his hearers, who formed far and
away the most numerous of any class in the University.
Among those hearers filling up the front benches and drink-
ing in the German words of the master with open American
ears, sat a line of American students for the ministry. Con-
gregationalists were there, and Episcopalians and Lutherans
and Presbyterians; every Church had sent its disciple to be
brought abreast of the latest religious thought in the fin dn
siecle land of modern religious teaching. And they heard
things strange to Christian ears. Now and then the professor
shocked their orthodox Protestantism by a sudden dive in the
direction of Catholicity.
"My friends" (I translate from notes) "the idea that the
Papacy is a late development in the Church, is false, false !
It was there already at the beginning of the third century."
But such shocks were rare. The sentences and views that
went to undermine altogether their belief in the divinity of
Christ were far more frequent. We must not suppose that
Harnack comes out with what the Germans would call plumpe
atheistische assertions. No, for is he not himself a Lutheran
minister, a teacher moreover in the stronghold of Lutheranism,
the Royal University of Berlin ? But he gives it clearly to be
understood, and drunk in by the young Americans and others
at his feet, that the belief in the Godhead of Christ is very
crude. (He would be sadly behind the times, instead of stand-
640 THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY [Aug.,
ing well in the forefront of intellectual leaders of Germany,
did he teach anything else.) For Lutheran Germany is rotten
to the core with infidelity.
It would be well if our American apples had not been
placed in German barrels and had not come into contact with
this corruption. But there they have been placed and thence
the rottenness passes, through American professorial chairs and
pulpits, to our American life — the good tidings that there are
no good tidings, the gospel of no gospel. Such is the imme-
diate genesis of our "new thought" in America. It is neither
new nor American. It is " made in Germany." But let us
now make a backward march through the years and investi-
gate this modern phase of religious thought at its source. We
shall find that it ought rather to claim the honors due to
hoary antiquity than those of the debutante. It is older than
Christianity and though utterly defeated by Christ at His
coming, it has never ceased to fight.
Such an investigation furnishes us as well with an interest-
ing evidence of what the Protestant movement ever was and
whither it legitimately tends.
This last phase of development is no belated straggler from
the Protestant main line of march. It is but the farthest
camp beyond Luther, for his army, like John Brown's soul,
"keeps marching on."
III.
That we may discover whence Protestantism came, we must
travel back to Italy and the beginnings of the movement
which is called comprehensively "the Renaissance."
The complete reason for that awakening of humanity from
its reposeful quiet in the bosom of Catholicity, which took
place in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it is impossible
to assign. Nay more, just how much of each of the many
reasons brought forward contributed to the effect may never
be told. One would dwell on the Crusades with their impor-
tation into Europe, by the returning armies, of much Eastern
degradation. Another would look gravely upon the Avignon
exile of the Papacy and the great Schism of the West as a
mighty solvent of the reverential bonds between humanity and
the Catholic Church. But certain it is that one thing con-
1909.] THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY 641
tributed wonderfully to the awful license of thought and of
action which has come out of the Renaissance, and that was
pagan Greece. Greek art, Greek literature, in a word, Greek
civilization, passed over with the Renaissance into Italy. Too
great emphasis cannot be laid upon the literary aspect of the
Renaissance. It furnished the spirit of revolt with a philoso-
phy, a literature, and a defense. There is no doubt that this
spirit is, to use the scholastic phrase, the "form" of Protest-
antism, as the remnants of Catholic doctrines and practice
contained in it are its "matter." The paganism of the Renais-
sance strangely fed and encouraged it. For paganism is a
mixture of culture, monstrous superstition, and boisterous con-
tempt for its gods, accompanied by an inner revolt against the
dictates of conscience enshrining the moral law. (If we seek
contemporary authority for that statement, let us turn to the
first chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans.)
Paganism, therefore, provided not so much a system — for
revolt has no system — as an atmosphere in which Protestantism
found itself quite at home. The Renaissance was the revival
of paganism. Before it anything like a general interest in
what we now term classic learning, had almost died out of
Europe. A few forgotten Greek manuscripts lay covered with
dust in some monastic library, a few Latin authors were still
cursorily scanned ; but there was no thorough and intimate
knowledge of the Greek or Graeco-Roman modes of feeling
and thought. A deeper draught came to Italy under Petrarch;
with him the great humanist movement began. In its intellectual
value as a mind-training, the writer is not at present interested.
The Jesuit Order adopted it, used it through a careful selection
of classic authors as their chief instrument in forming youth-
ful minds. How far they succeeded or failed with their in-
struments, it belongs to others to say. It is with its aspect as
a moral and religious solvent of old Christian ideas that I am
now concerned. For be it known that the humanists as a
body made no careful selection, as did the Jesuits, of the
classics they perused. Martial, Tibullus, Catullus, Ovid's Ars
Amandi, Aristophanes, all were eagerly devoured. The result
was, to quote the words of Owen, that " were we to sum up
in a single word the literary and philosophic proclivities of
Italy in the fourteenth and following centuries, we could
hardly select a better word than paganism. It seemed as
VOL. LXXXIX. — 41
642 THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY [Aug.,
if the disembodied spirit of the old classical world had again
risen from its tomb, and, invigorated by the repose and oblivion
of centuries, was preparing to renew its life-and-death strug-
gle with Christianity." {Sceptics of the Italian Renaissance.}
Now there are two ways of regarding this " disembodied
spirit of the old classical world." Here is one of them from
John Addington Symonds, assuredly capable of describing it:
" Like a young man newly come from the wrestling ground,
anointed, chapleted, and very calm, the Genius of the Greeks
appears before us. Upon his soul there is no burden of the
world's pain ; the creation that groaneth and travaileth together,
has touched him with no sense of anguish ; nor has he yet felt
sin. The pride and strength of adolescence are his — audacity
and endurance, swift passions and exquisite sensibilities, the
alternations of sublime repose and boyish noise — grace, pliancy,
and stubbornness and power, love of all fair things and splendors
of the world, the frank enjoyment of the open air, free merri-
ment and melancholy well beloved " (Symonds, Studies of the
Greek Poets. Vol. II., p. 363).
Behold a sympathetic pagan's view of paganism. Against
this, place the words of St. Basil, and you see looming up
dimly through all Greek civilization the gigantic misshapen
spirits of which the Psalmist said: "The gods of the heathen
are devils." I translate St. Basil's Address to Young Men as
literally as may be : " We shall not, therefore, praise the poets,
who revile, who scoff, who picture lust and drunkenness, nor
follow them when they bound all happiness by a plentiful
board and loose songs. Least of all shall we attend when they
discourse of the gods, enumerating of them many, nor these
agreeing : for brother opposes brother ; parent, child ; and the
children again wage war against their begetters — implacable
war. As for the adulteries of the gods and their loves, and
chief of all of Zeus, as they relate, which one might well blush
in attributing to the beasts of the field, let us , leave them to
the stage."
There is another view of paganism, and, strange as it may
seem, I venture to assert that if my readers can read as well
between the lines of the first view, as along them, they will
find the second already there. This was what the Renaissance
readers did. Add to this the utter irreverence with which
the Greeks treated their gods, an irreverence manifested for
1909.] THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY 643
example in The Frogs of Aristophanes, where the drunken
Dionysus plays the arrant coward and buffoon, and you have
the ingredients that seasoned the draught prepared by pagan-
ism for the Renaissance and by it deeply quaffed. But open,
unvarnished statements of the fact, except in magazine articles
by some young enthusiast, are difficult to find. It is put
rather in a gently guarded way, as, for example, Walter Pater
puts it in his preface to The Renaissance: " The care for phys-
ical beauty, the worship of the body, the breaking down of
those limits which the religious systems of the Middle Ages
imposed on the heart and the imagination," this is the mildly
delicate method of stating that there grew up an utter loose-
ness of thought upon what had before been considered the
essentials of Christianity, and, as a concomitant and conse-
quence, a more utter looseness, if that were possible, of life.
In Boccacio, Macchiavelli, Pietro Aretino, the Italian phase
of sensuous defilement is most vividly portrayed. Of necessity
I must leave it there, for to instance examples of immorality
from Macchiavelli's Mandragola or Aretino's Cortigiana would
be of no benefit. But of the effect upon religion we may say
a few words. It is one more instance of the Scriptural warning,
" Into an evil mind wisdom enters not, nor dwells it in a body
subject to sin," that these sensuous devotees of the Renais-
sance soon corrupted their philosophic ways as well. " Cau-
tiously, but yet clearly enough," says Pastor, the historian, of
the book of Lorenzo Valla On Pleasure, "and with seductive
skill, the Epicurean doctrine was put forward as defending a
natural right against the exactions of Christianity. Nature is
the same, or almost the same, as God " (Pastor, History of the
Popes. Vol. I., p. 15). Do you recognize anything modern
here? In this same work Valla describes continence "as a
crime against kind nature." This too needs no manipulation
to modernize it. " In christening their children," says Sy-
monds, "the great families abandoned the saint of the calendar,
and chose names from mythology " (Symonds, Revival of
Learning, p. 396).
Hector, Achilles, Lucrezia, Hannibal, these became fashion-
able. Parallel with these our Violets, Luthers, Homers, and
Daisies. God became Jupiter Optimus Maximus* Our Lady of
Loreto, Dea Lauretana^ Peter and Paul, Dii tutelares Roincz,
* Jupiter Best and Greatest. tThe Lorettan Goddess.
644 THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY [Aug.,
" the guardian divinities of Rome." Cardinal Bembo recom-
mends some one not to read the Epistles of St. Paul for fear
of spoiling his Latin style. And yet it is a far cry from all
this, foolish as it is, to the doctrine with whose description I
opened this article. Let us pass on to the next halting-place
of the march toward the point where " the change from one
religion to another is like getting a new hat."
IV.
It would require a book to tell how the Renaissance passed
slowly over into France, beginning with the sixteenth century.
Its promise of fair fruit was realized in the wondrous Augustan
Age of Louis XIV. That long reign of over half a hundred
years is filled with mighty names in the drama, the pulpit,
the field of criticism. You have, too, the court overflowing
with the evidences of the Renaissance spirit, in its unbridled
license of intrigue and polished debauchery, but one thing is
yet lacking, for though there peep forth faces that are strangely
marked with unchristian lines, for example, that of Moliere,
the reign of Louis XIV. remains Christian and Catholic.
It needed a further evolution to show the full venom of the
poisoned cup this reign had been drinking. The next step
came with one born almost at the close of Louis' reign,
Franpois Marie Arouet de Voltaire. " I am tired," said he,
" of hearing it repeated that twelve men were enough to estab-
lish Christianity. I want to show them that one will be enough
to destroy it." In so far as a keen intellect, prepared thorough-
ly for the work, alas, by the full classical training that the
Jesuit could give, was able to accomplish it, he fulfilled his
promise. A thorough pagan, more willing as is evidenced in
this drama of Mahomet to glorify the Mussulman than Christ,
he threw off every mask of Christianity. For example : " The
most probable inference from the chaos of histories of Jesus
written against Him by the Jews, and in His favor by the
Christians, is that He was a well-meaning Jew, Who wished
to get influence with the people. . . . It is probable that,
like all those who choose to be the head of sects, He got
some women on his side, that several indiscreet discourses
against the magistrates escaped Him, and that He was cruelly
1909.] THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY 645
put to death. ... It is certain that His disciples were
very obscure, till they met some Platonists in Alexandria who
supported the dreams of the Galileans by the dreams of
Plato."
Here is the true ring of Goethe and the Tubingen School.
The trouble with Voltaire, however, was that he was too bit-
ter, too evidently bent on destroying. In so far he had gone
beyond his brief as a true Renaissance spirit, for the mark of
Renaissance work is a genial absence of any too evident vehe-
mence in pulling down Christianity. Its effect is rather brought
about after the manner of a beautiful stream, which trickles
along a fragrant meadow bank, undermining slightly here, until
a flower looses its roots and drops into the current, washing
away a handful there, but making no boast, nay, rather making
light of its own destructiveness. This Voltaire did not. He
was not yet the right Mephistophelian mixture of doubt. He
was too acrid, had too little of that "sweetness and light " that
belongs to the Greek genius " anointed, chapleted, and very
calm," who would usurp the place of Christ. Such an expo-
nent was yet to seek. One more march and we shall find him,
the coryphaeus of modern paganism, Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe.
V.
Born in 1745, at the time of the full influence of France
on Germany, Goethe drinks in Renaissance ideas almost with
his mother's milk. At twenty-nine he is an editor writing of
theology and reducing all dogmas to one, that of "love,"
which he most industriously exemplifies in his own person by
falling in and out of love as often as the unwholesome, but
graphically realistic, soldier of the Barrack Room Ballads.
He writes a drama for lovers, " Stella," which deifies free-love.
Here are all the elements of a true Renaissance prophet. If
he has but the culture requisite, he may stand " anointed,
chapleted, and very calm " and point the way from Christ to
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the benign heathen All- Father, with
great hopes of success. Culture he has to the full. He writes
the most beautiful of poems, and the most sceptical, " Faust."
He writes of light and of crystals and of anatomy. He is
director of the theater for the Duke of Weimar; writes the
646 THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY [Aug.,
plays and trains the actors; he is prime minister for the Duke
as well. Here is another of those many-sided geniuses that
the Italian Renaissance once brought forth, re-incarnated in
Germany to finish the work they began. He finds his father-
land Lutheran and leaves it what it is now, unbelieving, honey-
cotnbid with infidelity. A sigh goes up from hellenized
Germany for the lost divinities of Greece in that diabolically
beautiful poem of Schiller, " Die Gotter Griechenlands." How
exquisitely it opens :
Da ihr die schone Welt regieret
An der Freude leichtem Gangelband,
Selige Geschlecter noch gefiihret,
Schone Wesen aus dem Fabelland !
Ach da euer Wonnedienst noch glanzte
Wie ganz anders, anders war es da !
Da man deine Tempel noch bekranzte,
Venus Amathusia !
While the smiling earth ye governed still,
And with rapture's soft and guiding hand
Led the happy nations at your will,
Beauteous Beings from the fable-land !
Whilst your blissful worship smiled around,
Ah ! how different was it in that day
Whilst the people still thy temples crowned,
Venus Amathusia ! *
It needed but some theological school to complete, on
pseudo-scientific lines, the undermining by this Titan of
what was left of German Christianity. "The Tubingen School,"
rising up in his later days, supplied the want. With it came
the biblical criticism which has done its best to make of the
Gospels a debris of wreckage, floating together from shattered
fairy tales ; of the Epistles a lot of clever forgeries in party
interests; of the Catholic Church a colossal imposition upon
humanity, built on the distorted life and misrepresented plan
of a well-meaning mixture of imposture, fanaticism, and folly,
labelled Jesus of Nazareth. The American universities for
the last fourscore years have outvied one another in the work
* This is Browning's attempt at translation.
1909.] THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY 647
of destruction. It is at the breasts of this mother, modern
German criticism, that our professorial babes have been avidly
sucking, hundreds of them, in these late days, and thence re-
turning, for the furthering of the great cause. Where will it
end ? It ended in France on the memorable tenth of November,
1793, in the enthronement of the Goddess of Reason, represented
by a variety actress, within the once Christian Cathedral of
Notre Dame. It was saved from a like disastrous ending in
Italy only by the Council of Trent, with its drastic reforms,
and by a sainted pope, Pius V., who saw to it that they were
carried out. It needs no prophet, then, to see its outcome,
were it allowed to run its course here in America. It was
this paganism, festering and foul, that undermined the stability
of Graeco-Roman civilization and made it an easy prey for
the barbarian hordes from beyond the Danube. But as Chris-
tianity, with its life-giving doctrine, saved the remnants of
that wrecked civilization and built them up into modern Europe,
so let us hope and pray that it will take the many remnants
of good left in our Protestant doubt and decay, and build them
up into a great Christian America.
A MODERN SAINT.
BY THE COUNTESS DE COURSON.
]NLY four years ago, in 1905, there died at Lille, in
the north of France, an old man whose long life
is full of valuable lessons. It goes far to prove
that humility and prayer, more than much talk,
are the secret of real usefulness ; that the most
opposite characteristics may be united in a soul without con-
tradiction or clashing, provided they are mellowed and har-
monized by grace; that one who was essentially a mystic and
a contemplative became, by a curious and uncommon combi-
nation, an excellent man of business, and a first-rate organizer.
It, indeed, seldom happens that successful business capacities
go hand in hand with a supernatural spirit ; it was so, how-
ever, in the case of M. Philibert Vrau, the subject of the
present sketch, commonly called "the holy man of Lille." At
a time when the religious condition of the French Catholics is
fraught with anxiety, the example of M. Vrau has peculiar
meaning and value. It helps the harassed children of the
Church to realize that, in order to fight the good fight, they
have but to use the weapons that God Himself has put within
their grasp. If they cannot dispose of such large sums of
money as seemed to flow into the hands of M. Vrau merely
to be directed into the channels of charity, they possess, as
he did, other means as safe and as sure. He performed his
task and achieved success less by his princely generosity than
by a strenuous personal effort and an absolute self-effacement
that may be practiced by all.
As our readers know, Lille stands high among the manu-
facturing towns of the north of France ; it is now distinguished
no less by the activity and intelligence of its manufacturers
than by the depth and earnestness of their Catholic spirit ; and
this last development is due, in a great measure, to the silent
old man, now dead, whose day-dream was the sanctification
of his native city.
Philibert Vrau was born at Lille in 1829. His father was
1909.] A MODERN SAINT
the possessor of a factory for the manufacture of sewing-
thread, which, in spite of his efforts, was only moderately
successful. His mother, a Parisian by birth and education,
was intelligent and refined, and, like many of her country-
women of the middle class, was gifted with a remarkable capa-
city for business. She was in all things her husband's right
hand, and, though she had had no previous training, she mate-
rially helped him by her good judgment and advice. Madame
Vrau was, moreover, a devout Catholic, and trained her son
in the practices of her faith, but, although he was pious as a
child, Philibert, as a young man, seems to have been led away
by the free-thinking spirit of the day, and during several years
he ceased to fulfill the duties of a religion that, illogically,
he continued to respect.
In 1854, however, he became once more a practical Cath-
olic, and, curiously enough, his conversion was partly brought
about by practices that have since been condemned by the
Church. Together with many of his comtemporaries, Philibert
Vrau indulged in the pastime of table-turning, which, at that
moment, was all the fashion in France. In the eyes of even
devout Catholics it seemed at first a harmless amusement, but,
by degrees, the incoherent and sometimes blasphemous answers
given by the so-called "spirits" excited suspicion, and finally
the practice was condemned. What impressed Philibert was
the homage paid, almost unwillingly, by the spirits to the
truths of the Catholic faith. Other more healthy influences
helped him on his upward path; his mother's prayers, the ex-
ample of his father who, after years of neglect, returned to
the practice of his religion, and, last though not least, the
advice and sympathy of his friend, M. Camille Feron, a
young doctor, who eventually became his brother-in-law and
partner.
It was in the summer of 1854 that Philibert Vrau became
once more a practical Catholic, and almost immediately, with
the thoroughness that marked his character, he expressed his
wish to become a priest or a religious. Out of deference for
his parents he gave up the execution of this cherished desire.
His father became involved in grave financial difficulties and
Philibert, being his only son, was naturally expected to share
his cares and responsibilities.
The sacrifice of what he believed to be his vocation was a
650 A MODERN SAINT [Aug.,
sharp wrench to M. Vrau, but, having once made up his mind,
he turned his face steadily towards the object that Provi-
dence seemed to have set before him, put his shoulder bravely
to the wheel, and, with the assistance of Camille Feron, who
married his sister, he raised the " Maison Vrau " to the sum-
mit of prosperity. It seemed as though God wished to re-
ward his servant's generous self-sacrifice by pouring temporal
blessings on one whose heart was too firmly set on things
spiritual to be weighted down by earthly riches.
After the death of his father, in 1870, Philibert's responsi-
bilities increased. In accordance with her husband's wish,
Madame Vrau remained the nominal head of the firm ; her
son and son-in-law were her devoted helpers and the three
worked together in perfect harmony. A large portion of their
profits were given to the Church and to the poor.
Although he scrupulously fulfilled his duty as one of the
heads of the " Maison Vrau," Philibert's favorite interests were
of the supernatural order. All that touched the honor of God,
the welfare of his neighbor, was of paramount importance in
his eyes. The list of the great and good works, begun and
safely carried out by this extraordinary man, would fill pages,
yet — and in this lay his chief characteristic — although his
money, his influence, and his strenuous work were everywhere
felt, he seldom appeared in public. He never filled any po-
sition that was merely one of honor, and sought, above all
things, to pass unnoticed. One who knew him well has told
us how, when at the cost of untiring labor, a great under-
taking had been set on foot, its prime organizer suddenly disap-
peared ; others came forward and reaped the success and glory,
but M. Vrau, to whom the work in hand owed everything,
was nowhere to be found.
He was one of the chief benefactors of the Catholic Uni-
versity of Lille; he established Catholic clubs and schools,
built churches and hospitals, created institutions of every kind
calculated to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the
working classes, of those especially who were employed in the
"Maison Vrau"; but perhaps the work he loved best, because
it appealed to the mystical and contemplative side of his nature,
was the Nightly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which,
through his endeavors, was established at Lille, whence it
spread to all the large towns in France.
1909.] A MODERN SAINT 651
He was also one of the originators of the Eucharistic Con-
gresses, the last of which took place in London in September,
1908. These Congresses were a delight to him, but, though he
devoted himself heart and soul to their organization, he care-
fully kept out of sight when the work he had originated was
certain to succeed. Besides the enormous sums that he spent
to promote these public acts of faith and charity, M. Vrau's
private donations were magnificent, but his biographer is un-
able to give even an approximate idea of the amount ex-
pended. He was ingenious in hiding his good works; many a
struggling priest was surprised to find an anonymous gift of
thousands of francs in his letter box; other subscriptions or
donations were sent in the name of Madame Vrau, or else of
an " anonymous well-wisher," whose personality was easily
guessed at, although none of his friends ventured to approach
M. Vrau on the subject.
As years went by, his humility became deeper, his personal
habits simpler, his hours of prayer longer. During his mother's
lifetime, he shared her house, but after her death he retired
to a tiny room, resembling the cell of a monk rather than the
living-room of one of the wealthiest men in Northern France.
It was in this bare little room that he died. As time went on his
brother-in-law and his sister with their son, M. Paul Feron-Vrau,
took the responsibility of the firm off his shoulders in a great
measure. Their spirit and their methods with regard to their
subordinates were the same as his, and under their direction
the " Maison Vrau" continued to be an ideal usine, where
the rights and duties of both employers and workmen were
considered in a spirit of Christian justice and charity.
The greater liberty he now enjoyed enabled M. Vrau to
devote more time to his works of charity; they gradually ab-
sorbed his life and, in spite of his constant efforts to pass un-
noticed, this small, unassuming, poorly-dressed old man became
the best known and most respected citizen of Lille. He loved
his birthplace, as he loved his neighbor, with a love wholly
supernatural ; and the dream oi his life was that Lille should
become a city of saints. It was to forward this purpose that
he built churches and schools, established associations and con-
fraternities, and laid so much stress on the Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament.
652 A MODERN SAINT [Aug.,
He was singularly active and every minute of his busy day
was devoted to his self-imposed duties, but he believed in
prayer more than in mere human activity and all his great
works, the foundation of the Catholic University, the organi-
zation of the Eucharistic Congress, etc., were preceded and ac-
companied by long hours of silent prayer.
Although the salvation of his fellow-citizens was his dearest
wish, M. Vrau's interest extended to the whole Church ; he was
almost as well known at the Vatican as in the streets of his
native city and, in spite of his humility, the magnificence of
his gifts to Peter's pence occasionally became public. As years
went on his favorite virtue of humility wrapped round him
more closely than ever, and when, only two years after his
death, Mgr. Bannard, the eminent French author, undertook to
write his life, he found neither letters nor papers to help him
in the fulfillment of his task. The workings of M. Vrau's
mind, the outpourings of his soul, the miraculous graces which
he is supposed to have received, all these things might be
guessed at by the witnesses of his daily life; but no written
notes remained to serve as landmarks. He never wrote about
himself, and spoke still less.
It was consistent with these habits of reticence that when,
in the spring of 1905, Philibert Vrau fell dangerously ill, he
made no deathbed adieus and expressed no high-flown or edi-
fying sentiments. Those who watched by his side during long
weeks of agony, noticed the ecstatic look of happiness that il-
lumined his worn features when, every morning, he received
Holy Communion. They marked, too, his gentle thoughtfulness
for others, the absence of any word of complaint, but on the
whole he revealed little or nothing of what was passing in
his soul. He lay quite still and silent — absorbed in prayer.
The end came on May 16, 1905 ; it was a singularly peace-
ful death; he had received the last Sacraments with perfect
consciousness and breathed his last sigh while making the re-
sponses to the Rosary, which his family recited at his side.
The works of faith and charity that were originated by M.
Philibert Vrau are still carried on by his nephew, M. Paul
Feron-Vrau, whom he loved as a son and who is one of the
leading French Catholics of our day. Not only has he devoted
enormous sums of money to keep up the foundations that owe
1909.] A MODERN SAINT 653
their existence to his uncle, but he has assumed new responsi-
bilities in the service of the same cause. M. Paul Feron-Vrau
has lately bought the fine " hotel de Conde," once the property
of the princes of that name, and placed it at the disposal of
the Archbishop of Paris, whom the Government, as our readers
know, has robbed of his palace. He is also the head of a gi-
gantic undertaking, la bonne Presse, which, by promoting a
wide diffusion of healthy literature, endeavors to counteract
some of the evil influences that are undermining the faith of
the French people.
The traditions of unstinting charity and whole-hearted devo-
tion to the Church that were so dear to M. Philibert Vrau, are
cherished by his nephew and representative ; who is, moreover,
deeply imbued with his uncle's methods in carrying out his
great undertakings. A personal knowledge of la bonne Presse
has taught us that its leader, one of the wealthiest and most
influential of the French Catholics, is also one of the most un-
assuming. The spirit of the "holy man of Lille," humble, si-
lent, and prayerful, pervades the work.
THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN.
BY ETHEL C. RANDALL, PH.D.
OW few there are who know the Arran Islands in
the Bay of Galway as they are ! They have stood
for centuries upon centuries. To-day they are
the survival of the strongest portions of a shore
line that once shielded Lough Lurgan from the
ocean's fury by a barrier from Witches' Head to Travor Bay.
Now, as then, they rear their sullen crests full-fronted against
the Atlantic to sentinel the middle western coast of Ireland, a
last bit of terra firma between it and America two thousand
seven hundred miles across a turbulent Atlantic.
To-day these islands — Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer —
with Tory Island and its neighbors off the coast of Donegal,
form the last stronghold of the Irish Gaelic tongue. District
and county alike in Ireland have submitted to the inevitable
and become English-speaking. Though there are villages in
Galway, Connemara, Donegal, and the Rosses, where Gaelic is
to a limited extent the language of the cottagers, it is rare to
meet a peasant who cannot make himself at least understood
in English. The very old people profess " to have no English,"
and now that the Gaelic League has awakened a latent patriot-
ism and loyalty of regard for things that are Gaelic, the young
men and women would give much were they able to make a
like declaration. But on the islands I speak of, how different !
Cut off from Galway by a stretch of choppy sea that often
for weeks at a time defies the coracles of the islanders, they
lie sea-girt and alone, a fitting mausoleum to entomb what must
have seemed, a few years since, the relic of Celticism, a solemn
nursery wherein to foster that which a fresh hope cherishes as
the adolescence of a reborn Gaelicism.
The approach to the islands, if one should contemplate a
stay there, is a matter for consideration. If one goes to Inish-
more only, the simplest aspect of the problem presents itself,
since the large island boasts a wharf, and, in consequence, is
open to traffic except when occasionally weather-locked. If,
1909.] THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN 655
however, Inishmaan or Inisheer are the goal, then arrangements
must be made beforehand by letter or through some one con-
nected with the islands, as there is no means of entertainment
for strangers at either place. A faint idea of the primitive con-
ditions existing on the smaller islands can be gleaned when it
is understood that there is no ships' landing of any sort what-
soever, no public- house of any description upon either, no
priest, clergyman, doctor, nurse, no guardians of the law ; and
upon Inisheer, no post-office nor telegraph- station. Yet several
hundreds of human beings inhabit each rock-heap, are born
here, marry and are given in marriage, lire their austere lives
to a close, many of them without ever having set foot upon
the adjacent islands, and find a resting place in a tiny plot of
consecrated ground under the shadow of a chapel built from
the stones of St. Kenery's Oratory. Unbelievable, you say, at
a distance of only twenty-eight miles from a town the size of
Galway. Perhaps, but the truth notwithstanding.
We boarded the diminuitive steamer plying across Galway
Bay between the town of Galway and the islands one Satur-
day noon. A cold blue sky arched over us, and the typical
haze that so often and so tantalizingly obscures the view ex-
cept on days favored of fortune was absent. Once away from
the low-browed heights over which Galway rambles, the coun-
try spread itself in panorama before our eager gaze. The Bay
hedged us in a semi-circular basin of tumbling water rimmed
by Conneraara's twelve great peaks — the " Twelve Pins of Ben-
nabeola " — that dominated the view to leaward, by the wooded
prominences of the Galway hills behind us, and by the tiers
of the Burren of Clare that project into the bastion-like cliffs
of Moher at Miltown Malbay, bluff and sterile to the port
side.
As yet we could see nothing of the islands beyond a re-
mote, wavering line of gray along the horizon when the marine
glasses were trained to a certain quarter, but two-thirds of the
way out the breeze freshened till patches of clear blue reflec-
tion glazed the trough of the waves, and almost at the same
instant the islands came into view in the guise of squat, black
hummocks that even as we looked evolved into a wilderness of
crags manifesting no signs of habitation. The wild water
climbed to the very scarp of the cliffs, receding with reluc-
tant movement suggestive of the forced retreat of an animal of
656 THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN [Aug.,
prey. The chill of things forsaken enfolded them in a deso-
late grandeur as provocative of pity and dry- mouthed terror
as any human tragedy. We saw no mode of approach to the
islands and said as much. Then some one pointed out a covey
of dark flecks upon the face of the permanent way, which we
had taken to be gulls or sea-mews, with the explanation that
they were the curraghs coming to take us ashore. Yet this
did not wholly reassure us, for even such small boats as these
appeared to be could not land near those cliffs. Presently,
however, the channel which the steamer was following carried
her within the curve of an elbow of Inishmaan, and the gray
facade unbent to disclose a wedge of shelving beach.
The boat slackened speed at a distance of about half a
mile from the island, since it could not go with safety nearer
the impaling rocks. Scarcely had she begun to sway dizzily
to the swell, now that she was lying to, when like a swarm
of insects the curraghs drove under her forefoot. There were
fourteen of them, each manned by three rowers who mingled
their torrent of hails in Irish with the shouts and commands
and greetings from our ship, The Duras, as one by one the
curraghs watched their opportunity to dart alongside. Oars
and boat-hooks were brought into play to keep their canvas-
covered craft from being dashed to pulp against our hull. The
time available for work was limited to that in which a roller,
curling deck- high, would hold the curragh poised on a level
with the railing. The skill displayed was amazing : Barrels
of flour, bags of wool, sacks of dried fish were transferred
from steamer to curragh, and from curragh to steamer, with
a dexterity that excited our admiration.
A last curragh that had been riding on her oars while the
others were loading and scurrying away now came up. The
oarsman stationed amidships was voluble in some command or
explanation unintelligible to us. Before I realized it, stalwart
hands grasped me under my arms and I was swung lightly
over the rail and seated upon it, my feet dangling over the
water. I looked for the little boat, leaning as far over as the
restraining arms of the man holding me would permit. The
little craft was sinking into the furrow ploughed open beside
the steamer, down ! down ! as one sinks into space and eter-
nity in a dream, without visible motion and with incredible
rapidity.
1909.] THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN 657
I expected it to disappear wholly in some cavern of the
ocean, but in mid-flight it reversed and began its ascent on
the long, leisurely swell of the water. The men in the bow
and stern were ready with their oars braced to keep the
proper distance from the hull. As the steamer lurched I lost
my balance as I thought; but it was merely that the arms
above had swung me clear and let me go. The standing rower
straightening himself, caught me before my feet could touch the
bottom of the curragh. " Sit there," he ordered, indicating the
steamer trunk of my friend. He left me to be placed there bodily
by the boy in the stroke-seat, while he turned his attention to
the safe disposal of my companion. Then, amid the laughter
and cap-waving of our late fellow-passengers and the screech
of the whistle, we were off with a sweeping pull of six great
oars that edged the boat's nose on, leaving the Duras to
churn the water into a welter of froth as she caught her
course for Aranmore.
The men struck a northerly course, and before we realized
that we were making any considerable headway, the stretch of
shingle within the jealous frame of stone was staring down
upon us like the gaze of a great, blank face from the rim of a
bonnet. Though midsummer, the sun filtered through the air
with that appearance of long, slant rays which we associate
with autumn. The stillness that rimes with such days was em-
phasized by the barrenness of the land. So, I thought, must
have been the first glimpse of the island to the saints who
sought upon its menacing shores peace of mind and long days
of uninterrupted devotion. My longing to tread the rocks
trodden by those ancients quickened with every sweep of the
oars.
The entire population had seemingly congregated to wel-
come back the curraghs, as if some breath of the wider life
represented by the little steamer might be wafted to them.
The little group drew back to allow us the freedom of the
pathway. For a moment we stood, hesitating, uncertain what
to do, till a tiny girl in a scarlet kirtle and plaided shawl came
forward timidly to slip her hands into ours and greet us with
the beautiful salutation, Beannact leat ! " Blessings upon you !"
She " had English " she told us, and we were to stay with
her mother who had remained at home that she might give
us blessings as we crossed her threshold ; besides, Seumas would
VOL. LXXXIX.— 42
658 THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN [Aug.,
bring up our bags, and would we be pleased to come this way.
The islanders smiled and bowed their welcome, nodding ap-
proval of Ethna's action and her flow of quaint, musical English.
They fell into a parti-colored train behind, their subdued voices
and rich laughter intermingling pleasantly to our ears as we
wended our painful way up the slope. The roadway was pos-
sibly three feet wide, and was made of small chunks of stone
the size of one's fist, sharp and penitential to walk upon. Walls
of loose, flatish stones, piled one upon another without cement,
rose on both sides of us to a height of two and a half or three
feet. Nothing gave evidence of human dwelling, unless the
network of stone hedges similar to those defining the pathway
could be considered such, and to all intents and purposes the
track ran unincumbered the length of the island.
Our progress was necessarily slow. Finally the road forked
abruptly and the village came into view. It consisted of strag-
gling rows of cottages facing one another, stone-walled, slate-
thatched, lying sheltered under the backbone of the island,
where it rears a lofty forehead crowned by Fort Connor, or, as
the Irish has it, Dun Conchobhair, one of two ancient raths
which date from the dawn of Gaelic history. A step farther,
and we were well into the street. The majority of cottages are
set back a few paces from the road to allow for a patch of
stony ground or a yard of flag between the front door and
the inevitable stone-wall which is now and again dignified
by a little wooden gate. Some ten or twelve were white-
washed, all had doors painted red. Gardens are unheard-of,
since on the whole island there is not a tree to break the
monotony of the cluttering rocks. Occasionally the flanges
and platforms of stone are screened by straggling willow and
hawthorn bushes and furse of stunted growth, or overrun with
trails of ivy draped and festooned in picturesque abandon.
The grooves in the flags yield exquisite maiden-hair fern,
green the year round, rock-roses, large-eyed daisies, and an
infrequent bluebell. Along the water's edge a kind of grass,
commonly known as " bent-grass " because slanted inward by
the sea-wind and weight of salt from the spray, grows sparsely;
but of verdure, as we understand the term, the island has none.
Well on toward the end of the street we came upon a ter-
race of four houses commanding a view of the ocean. At the
third of these a stout young woman waited in the doorway
1909.] THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN 659
till Ethna had ushered us through the gate. Then she hurried
forward with a little bustle and flurry to pour out softly- spoken
welcome and greeting. At nine o'clock the man of the house
came in with several companions from the fishing and gave
us welcome to his home. As he was wet through we left him
to the luxury of a supper of potatoes and milk served in a creel
and piggin on a low stool before the fire. A backward glance
into the kitchen showed us the dresses of the woman and child
vying with the brilliant coloring of the yarn looped from peg to
peg along the walls. On the dresser opposite the fireplace
were crowded odd bits of crockery from Galway.
Mrs. Cahal was seated beside her husband on a four-legged
stool about a foot high placed directly in front of the minia-
ture pyramid of peats on the flagged hearth. Ethna was
tucked away on a bag of salt in the farther corner of the
chimney-piece, under a canopy of bream hung up by the tails
to dry in the smoke. With every fresh supply of turf the
flames whipped zig-zagging up the chimney-throat, so that the
corners of the room were startled out of their obscurity for a
moment. The place stood revealed in all its unstudied har-
mony of tints and arrangement. The shadows of the group
about the hob were elongated behind them. Now and again,
by the fantastic shifting of the flames, these shadows were
thrown upon the rafters, where the large oval fish baskets were
suspended, the creels, the drying nets, and the lines of rye-
straw ropes that serve with a wooden rack or two in lieu of
wardrobes.
As the days passed the women visited us and dances were
made in our honor. Now a true Irish ceilidh is a gather-
ing where the spirit of sociability rules supreme. On the day
of the party we would don the fanciest waists forthcoming
from our steamer trunks — this after a hint from Mrs. Cahal as
to what was expected of us — and set off at dusk in her com-
pany. Arriving at our destination we would be conducted at
once by the woman of the house to the seat of honor, usually
the square canopied bed to the left of the fireplace. When
all the bidden guests arrived they were seated according to
rank and age upon the bed, the chairs, the table (if there were
such), the stools, the up-turned baskets, and the piles of nets.
Whoever else cared to crowd in was quite as welcome, nor
was any objection made to the children who swarmed in
660 THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN [Aug.,
silent and admiring groups about the unglazed windows and
doorway. Some one who can lilt is brought forward to a
place near the hearth among the colliaghs and aged men,
when there is no musician, and the evening might be said to
have commenced. The onlookers would flatten themselves
against the walls — the ladder used in ascending to the loft,
the spinning wheel, and everything likely to obstruct the floor
having been previously removed — and the dancers take the
floor in a four or eight-hand reel, a " fairy " reel danced by
four girls and two men, the " Waves of Tory," the Rinka Fada
or " Long " dance.
As the dancing becomes more furious the fire would be
drowned out, the back door opened to admit the pungent,
clinging night air, and several additional oil lamps brought in
from next door and hung upon a hook high up in the stone wall.
These would magnify a hundredfold the homeliness and cheer
as their wavering streaks of light, intensified by the fluted tin
reflectors, fell through the open door upon the gritty drizzle
without. If for a moment or two there was a lull, some old
man or boy would take the floor in a jig, or a girlish treble
would shrill into a song startling with wild crescendos break-
ing in upon a monotone burden, or an old woman would
croon and her voice would blend with the dirge of the
waters that grieve day and night about the islands. Then the
dancing would recommence with vehement stamp and shuffling
of sandaled feet upon the earthen or flagged floor, with quick,
impetuous swirl that wreathed the crimson kirtles into sem-
blances of huge exotic blooms, and rhythmic lacing of figure
into figure— all to the exulting " Ouf ! ouf 1 " that lifts the
tune from measure to measure and rallies the mettle in the
flying feet. At half-past ten or eleven o'clock at latest, the
ceilidh would break up. In a trice after the guests had gone
the kitchen would be swept and restored to its accustomed
order, and the borrowed lamps, chairs, and what not, returned
to their owners' cottages.
The social life of the Aranites is extremely simple. Cut
off as Inishmaan is from the mainland, except for precarious
fair-going, and from all intercourse with Inisheer and Inish-
more beyond the most casual, the islanders are thus thrown
back upon their own resources in matters of work and play
alike. Their island is to them the world. Galway, Dublin,
1909.] THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN 66 1
America — I put them in the order in which the Aranite in-
variably speaks of them — are other worlds, unexplored, only
vaguely known, and hence untilled fields for romance suitable
for the evening's story- telling.
At best the islanders are mere beneficiaries upon the bounty
of a capricious ocean. The men fish morning and night, winter
and summer, at every opportunity of going to sea, because
the land, for which they pay an annual tax or rental of
between two and three thousand pounds, would not support
them. And, since the curraghs afford the only means to that
end, the wonder is that the toll of the sea is not heavier.
On the oceanward side of the islands, in calmest weather, the
spindrift plays and the water grinds and drills the friable rocks.
The cliffs have come to resemble the reaches and pilasters of
a vast cathedral. In squally weather the Puffin Holes — caverns
reinforced by apertures near the brink of the cliffs — suck the
pounding waters into their clefts to hurl them as from mighty
catapults in soaring columns mast high, that, toppling, disin-
tegrate and sheet the drop of the height with cataracts of pow-
dering, steely water. But again, there are oftentimes days and
weeks at a stretch when the men are storm-stayed. Then if
the sea should come up, one sweep of its arm is sufficient to
engulf the patches of grain, that after months of toil have
been brought to harvest. From whatever angle the physical
eye sees them the islands appear always as if lying in shadow;
but to the mental eye of those who know their people they
Ha in a shadow deeper than any cast by the gloom of a gray
day.
One murky afternoon when the fog smoked over the ocean
we landed upon the big island from Inishmaan. After a de-
tour of the pier we reached the highroad that, beginning here,
traverses the entire length of the island, and branching at some
little distance farther up in the town of Kilronan, circles the
bight which is guarded at one tip by the wharf and at the
other by the village of Killeany, a matter of approximately
two Irish miles. This road is macadamized and on the straight
line runs nine miles. Once well upon the highway we passed
the doors of cottages like those on Inishmaan, but dark and
straw-thatched and untidy. Next came the public-houses, two-
storied, rough- cast; then the constabulary barracks, beautified
by beds and window-boxes of portulaca. Farther on we passed
662 THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN . [Aug.,
the Protestant church standing isolated and barren, with its
three-quarter face turned from the road as if protecting its
handful of pitifully bare graves from the stare of the passer-by.
Then we came upon an irregular line of the familiar white-
washed cottages behind low stone walls.
One cottage, noticeable among its neighbors for a deeper
front yard with a superb fuchsia tree rioting in a wealth of
crimson blossoms, was charmingly situated. Immediately in
front of it across the road was the manse of the Protestant
minister, built in a little hollow and so smothered in trees —
almost the only trees on the island — that merely the roof could
be glimpsed from the over-looking road. On a clear day the
sea in the distance gambolled and sparkled, or shone glimmer-
ingly like the surface of a mirror when the mists enveloped
the water.
As it persisted in raining for the next few days, we were
forced to content ourselves with the aspect of life and manners
afforded by the immediate surroundings. We spent the greater
part of our first days, therefore, installed in the doorway under
the eves or in the sitting-room window, either of which com-
manded a view of the roadway. The trees in the hollow of
the minister's grounds beyond swayed their moisture- laden
branches almost on a level with the street. Women and girls,
with buckets on their heads, went down to the spring hidden
among the trees, to reappear and go their ways up or down.
Many were old, too old for work, some wore short Galway
flannel skirts, some were barefooted and barelegged; the ma-
jority, however, had long skirts of dark material, their feet
were incased in brogans, their heads and shoulders shrouded
in large black shawls.
Men in tiny Tam-o'-Shanters of Galway manufacture saun-
tered past, pipe in mouth, in twos and threes. Young boys,
unchildishly sedate, went by in charge of the two-wheeled carts
stacked high with peat or sea-weed, or driving a cow or a
handful of skinny black goats along the road, or astride the
diminutive donkeys that could scarcely walk under their loaded
panniers of water, bream, or drift-wood. Babies, clad in a
single garment, laughed and gurgled on the roadside under
the feet of the passers-by. Larger children ran across and
backward and forward in tag and races, and half-grown girls,
who had seen service in Dublin possibly, or in Galway, stepped
1909.] THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN 663
by infinitely less picturesquely clad than the fisher- girls of a
like age.
We noticed at once, and were surprised by, the change in the
physiognomy of the people of Inishmore from that of those in
Inishmaan. The former are slighter in build on the average,
and their faces are more mobile and darker. The women's,
especially, are indicative of the difference that even a few years
of modified environment can effect. The people of the middle
island gaze into the future with calmness and self-control, and
their faces mirror the reserved strength and steadfastness of
their character and outlook. The people of Inishmore, on the
contrary, having glimpsed a wider view, gaze out nervously
from their eager souls, the old solidarity of their lives shaken
by the new and untried element of civilization. We noticed,
also, that grown girls and young men were rarely to be met
with. Where are they ? we asked. We heard in reply the
answer we were ever hearing throughout Ireland, " Gone to
America."
The very young passed our door with a glance of curiosity
from under their black brows at the "ladies from America,"
whither they are resolved to go. The old would set their
water-pails down upon the stone paling, or slip the strap from
their shoulder, and with hesitating step come up the little
path to hear, possibly, a word of a son or daughter that had
been driven by the home-poverty and lack of work to put the
ocean between him or her and the family hearth. Numbers
never wrote or sent word back as to their whereabouts, and
it was difficult to know how to answer. Yet many others sent
glorified accounts of the successes they were enjoying, with many
a five and ten dollar bill, and many a promise to return soon
on a visit. And there are mothers in Ireland who daily watch
for the boat or train that they may slip the kettle on the hob
to have a fresh drop of tea against the chance of their boy or
girl coming that day, as I know one mother did day in and
day out for years.
Those whom I have been mentioning are the islanders
proper, so to speak. But there is another class of permanent
residents upon Inishmore — the constabulary and the coast-
guardsmen. These, with their wives and children, stay the
proscribed term of years, going at appointed hours upon their
rounds by road or shore as duty demands, knowing the islanders,
664 THE SOUTH ISLES OF ARRAN [Aug.
but not mingling with them or ever becoming an integral part
of their lives. They are as familiar figures here as in the larger
towns on the main seaboard. On any week-day one may meet
them cycling to and fro, while on Sunday they are conspicuous
as they wend their way to the Protestant church, past the multi-
tude of islanders going in the opposite direction to Mass in the
chapel. Since as a general rule they are English, or at least
North of Ireland, they are better situated than the majority of
Aranites and know something of the world. Over and above
all, however, the fundamental barrier is the one of difference
in temperament. From our vantage-point at the window we
saw the native with a quiet deference, real or assumed, pass
and repass the alien, physically almost touching, mentally worlds
apart, separated by all for which a difference of ages of tradi-
tion can account.
Inisheer for several reasons does not have the interest for
travelers that its sister islands possess. Being nearer the main-
land than either — cut off from Doolin in Clare by the South
Sound at a distance of only five miles — it has progressed in the
ways of civilization as taught in the Claddagh and at the
fairs, to the detriment of its former beautiful, self-absorbed,
self-sufficient life.
Such are the South Isles of Arran. Grim, severe, they lie
with ribs of rock exposed to view through their entire length
and breadth. As we look upon their cold, rocky surface, their
shores racked by the insurgent seas, we feel that they were
fitter abiding-places for the restless hordes that first came to
them than for the anchorites whose incumbency justified their
description as a place where are interred the remains of "in-
numerable saints, unknown to all save Almighty God alone,"
and won for Inishmore the title " Ara-Naoimh " or "Ara of
the Saints," and for the islands " Isles of the Saints."
CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE.
AFTER THE BATTLE.
BY M. J. COSTELLO.
the persecution against the Church, waged by
successive governments in France during recent
years, events have followed thick and fast since
Waldeck-Rousseau raised the shibboleth of the
" Ministry of Republican Defense." We wish
first to review very briefly some of those events.
Waldeck-Rousseau, when Prime Minister, brought in his
Associations Law, which was meant to control the religious
communities ; at least so said its author when he found that
in the hands of his successor, M. Combes, the religious of both
sexes were compelled to leave the country. The Prime Min-
ister, a pathetic figure as he arrived for the last time in the
Senate, uttered these useless words:
"// ne fallait pas transformer une loi de controls en loi d* ex-
clusion" It was too late. Many fair-minded men were not
opposed to certain just restrictions upon the religious com-
munities; but the power of the former Premier had departed;
a partisan was in the saddle, and he meant to ride until his
steed stopped from sheer exhaustion. Then came the visit of
President Loubet to King Victor Emanuel II. Pius X. pro-
tested against what was considered an insult to the Head of
the Church. A Protestant ruler might visit the Quirinal were
he so minded, but the Chief Magistrate of a Catholic nation
could not do so without offending the Sovereign Pontiff. It
has been stated that the protest sent to the other Powers was
worded differently from that which was sent to France. The
French Minister to the Vatican was recalled ; the Papal Nuncio
was sent away from Paris ; and for the first time the " Eldest
Daughter of the Church " had no diplomatic representative at
the Vatican. The Concordat, or agreement entered into be-
tween Napoleon on the one hand and Pius the Seventh on the
other, was abrogated. Pius the Tenth refused to accept cor-
porations (Associations Cultuelles) as proposed by the Govern-
666 CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE [Aug.,
ment for the holding of church property. Papal letters were
also issued against what is known as the law of 1881, which
classed meetings for divine service with ordinary secular meet-
ings; that is to say, assemblies that might be dismissed at
will by the police.
Next followed the expulsion of Monseignor Montagnini, who
had been secretary of the suppressed nunciature. Now the
Government is busy taking away the last vestige of property
held by the Church under the old system ; to wit, pious founda-
tions or money left for Masses for the dead.
It is obvious, and indeed the leaders boast of the fact, that
the fight is against Christ and Christianity. M. Viviani, the
Minister of Labor, used the following words in the Chamber
of Deputies on November 8, 1906:
Altogether, first our fathers, then our elders, and now our-
selves, have set to the work of anti-clericalism, or irreligion ;
we have toin from the people's soul all belief in another life,
in the deceiving and unreal visions of a heaven. To the man
who stays his steps at set oi sun, crushed beneath the labor of
the day and weeping with want and wretchedness, we have
said : ' ' Behold these clouds at which you gaze so mournfully,
these are only vain dreams of heaven." With magnificent
gesture we have quenched for him in the sky those lights
which none shall ever again rekindle. Do you think our
work is over ? It begins.
M. Viviani is the man who, with indifference to the feel-
ings of many of his compatriots, went to live in the house
from which the late Cardinal Richard, Archbishop of Paris,
had been evicted.
Here is an extract from a speech in the Chamber of Deputies
by the eloquent Jean Jaures, whose name is synonymous with
the extremest kind of socialism:
If God Himself appeared before the multitude in palpable
form, the first duty of men would be to refuse Him obedience>
to consider Him not as a Master to Whom all should sub-
mit, but as an equal with Whom men may argue.
We quote again from a well-known mouthpiece of the minis-
terial majority :
The triumph of the Galilean has lasted twenty centuries ;
it is now His turn to die. The mysterious voice which once
in the mountain of Epirus announced the death of Pan, to-
1909.] CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE 667
day announces the end of that false God Who promised an
era of justice to those who should believe in Him. The de-
ception has lasted long enough ; the lying God in His turn
disappears.
Equally emphatic against the Christian idea are the fol-
lowing words of M. Briand, Minister of Education :
The time has come to root out of the minds of French chil-
dren the ancient faith which has served its purpose. . . .
It is time to get rid of the Christian idea.
That Cardinal Merry del Val should speak of the battle as
a "War against Christ" was to be expected. And yet Prime
Minister Clemenceau declares that never as long as he is in
office will a church door be closed. France's Prime Minister
will doubtless keep his word. But since the law (Article V.)
prohibits the giving of religious instruction to children between
the ages of five and thirteen who are inscribed in the paro-
chial schools or destined to enter such, it is obvious that, if
this law be observed, the coming generation will not be Chris-
tian. The indications are, however, that this law is to be
honored more in the breach than in the observance.
The present condition of the Catholic Church in France is
not that of disestablishment. There has been no State Church
in France. Lutherans, of whom there are 65,000 ; Calvinists,
of whom there are 500,000; and Jews, of whom there are 100,-
ooo, received State aid as did the Catholics. Neither can ex-
isting conditions be fairly described as a separation of Church
and State. For, as the witty Harduin of Le Matin expresses
it, the State is separated from the Church, but the Church is
not separated from the State. Another writer sums up the
situation, saying that the law, while separating, would separate
without separating. M. de Pressense tries to express the actual
condition by the formula " A free Church in a sovereign State."
Against mere separation there is not now, and there was
not at any time, serious objection. The insuperable obstacle
is that the State will not allow the Church to go her way in
peace, but at every turn harasses her with the charge that she
refuses to form corporations (Associations Cultuelles) in which
to vest property. On the other hand, the Vatican continues
to declare urbi et orbi that such corporations, or associations
cannot be formed without violating sacred rights belonging to
668 CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE [Aug.,
the very life of the Church. These societies, says Cardinal
Merry Del Val, would be organizers and directors of Church
worship. The Cardinal's contention is that those who wish to
make an end of Christianity cannot be permitted to direct and
control its worship.
Thus it has come about that there is a deadlock between
Church and State so far as the holding of property is con-
cerned. As the law stands at present Catholics, as such, can-
not hold property in a corporate capacity. The State says
that the Church refuses to form corporations (Associations Cul-
tuelles) required by law for the holding of property. Hence,
the property of the Church becomes bona derelicta, and conse-
quently reverts to the State. The same reasoning may, of
course, be applied ^to all property acquired in the future by
the Church.
The Church contends that the corporations (Associations
Cultuelles) demanded by the State are in formal contradiction
to the principles of the Catholic religion. The official position
of the Church was enunciated by Pius X., in an Encyclical
dated January 6, 1907. It says:
To declare Church property ownerless by a certain time, if,
beiore that time, the Church has not created within herself a
new organization; to subject this creation to conditions
which are directly opposed to the divine constitution of the
Church and which the Church is, therefore, obliged to reject ;
then to assign the property to a third party, as if it had been
goods without a master; and, finally, to assert that .by such
action the Church is not despoiled, but only that property
which she has abandoned is being disposed of — all this is not
only to reason like a sophist ; it adds derision to the cruelest
spoliation.
On this line of reasoning fifteen thousand Catholic schools,
all the property of the religious communities, the churches,
seminaries, presbyteries, bishops' houses, endowments, have
been taken over by the government. The reasoning applied to
religious communities differs somewhat, however, from that by
which other Church property is being made to revert to the
State. These religious communities or associations have, it is
argued, been dissolved by the State. As they no longer exist,
they cannot hold property. Therefore, the property, being
without any legal owner, must go to the State. The Socialists
1909. J CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE 669
give the property rights another twist. They defend their vote
by saying that the State has rights over all property accumu-
lated collectively by a group of citizens.
Priests are still being evicted from their presbyteries. In
those districts where the mayor and local authorities are fa-
vorably disposed, the clergy-house is let at a reasonable rent;
where the authorities are hostile, the clergy are being forced
to seek domiciles elsewhere. The money left for Masses or
pious foundations will also be passed over to the State very
soon. M. Briand reasons in the usual way. As the Church
refuses to establish corporations (Associations Cultuelles) to
take over this money, the money is without an owner. But
Paul Constans justifies the Socialists by a process of reasoning
which frightens property-holders. He says:
This law will serve as a precedent. It is a partial appro-
priation of private property for the benefit of the whole, an
establishing of benevolence, a community of interest for the
whole nation.
All that now remains to represent the property left to the
Church by the Concordat, and of the enormous amount of
property accumulated since, is the use of the churches, and
the use is had not by right, but by toleration. The loss is so
enormous as to be almost incredible.
Let us suppose that Catholics were to buy or to build new
places of worship. These could be taken from them without any
compensation, according to the existing law. As a matter of fact
new parishes are being established. A few months ago Mon-
seigneur Amette, co-adjutor to the Archbishop of Paris, laid
the foundation stone of a new church at the important suburb
of Suresnes. Suppose King Alfonso of Spain were to make a
present of a pulpit to the parish church wherein he worships
when in Paris, as King James the Second presented the now
historic pulpit to the church in St. Germain-en-Laye. The King
of Spain's gift would not belong to the Church, because there
is no Association Cultuelle to own it legally. To a foreigner it
is incomprehensible why the French Catholics, who form by
far the majority of the population, should permit themselves
to be outside the law as far as holding church property is
concerned. And the surprise deepens when we remember that
Catholicism is still the religion of the bulk of the French peo-
ple, at least in the great events of their lives. Nearly all the
670 CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE [Aug.,
thirty- eight millions of nominal Catholics are baptized, make
their First Communion, are married and buried according to
the rites of the Catholic Church. That eminent journalist, the
late M. Cornelly, used to say that the Frenchman will defend
everything by his vote except his religion. His political lead-
ers teach him that the Catholic Church is the enemy of the
Republic. Certainly the late Leo XIII. taught differently.
He saw that the monarchy was dead in France, and to the
late M. de Blowitz, the Pontiff said :
" L? Eglise du Christ ne s* attache qu% a un seul cadavre, a celui
qui est lui-meme attache sur la croix."
If the Republic presses heavily upon a certain section of
the people the fault lies in part, and chiefly, with the voters
who do not take sufficient interest in parliamentary life, and
partly, also, with the constitution. There is no constitution as
in the United States, and there is no time-honored custom as
in England, to check the rule of the 'majority in the French
Parliament. Hence the rule of that majority is an absolute
monarchy in France. So little interest do the voters of France
take in elections that in those of 1898 and of 1902 the number
of votes for the elected were less than the combined number
of those who abstained from voting and of those who lost
their votes for one reason or another. The following sugges-
tive figures are taken from a study by M. Henri Avenel en-
titled How France Votes.
Votes obtained by Votes not
the Elected. Represented.
1 88 1 4,776,000 5,600,000
1885 3,O42,OOO 6,OOO,OOO
1889 4,526,000 5,8OO,OOO
1893 4,513,000 5,930,000
1898 4,9O6,OOO 5,633,OOO
1902 5,159,000 5,8l8,OOO
The Church has now to depend entirely upon the voluntary
contributions of the faithful. No uniform system has been
adopted for the collection of these contributions. That they
are entirely voluntary is certain, and any attempt to coerce
the people by refusing the ministrations of the clergy has
been frowned upon by Rome. To all, poor as well as rich,
however, is given an opportunity to contribute. The 50,000,000
francs which constituted the budget set aside by the State for
1909.] CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE 671
the Catholic Church before the Separation Law was only a
modicum of the expenses required to carry on the works of
the Church in France.
It was estimated that the Church in France received annu-
ally from all sources, including the National Government, local
grants, legacies, donations, the casuel, etc., 450,000,000 francs.
Now, Peter's Pence and the Foreign Missions, to which France
contributed more money annually than all other nations together,
have to suffer. And for the first time in her history we see a
Pope, instead of receiving money from France, sending a gift
of 100,000 francs to the Catholic Institute of Paris. The richer
dioceses, like those of Paris and Lyons, help the poorer ones.
Some of the clergy have taken to secular callings in order
to support themselves. Hence we find some priests breeding
poultry ; others, birds ; others, rabbits ; others, edible snails.
One finds cures who are tailors, or upholsterers, or book-
binders, or photographers, or turners, or bicycle-makers, or
manufacturers of sewing machines. Here a priest makes "in-
violable envelopes " ; there, one sees a clerical compositor, or
an ecclesiastical printer of visiting cards. Some cures are
painters and sculptors and live by the brush and by the chisel.
The working cures have formed a Union and have founded a
newspaper to protect their interests. The Abbe Louis Ballu,
cure of Parnay, Maine-et-Loire, has published a work entitled
Trades Suitable to a Priest of To-day. The Abbe Pelissier,
now a clock-maker, has voiced the spirit of the working priests
this wise:
I ignore this season of persecution. I repair clocks, sew-
ing machines, watches, locks, and toys. I bind books. The
anti- clericals respect me and patronize me. I charge them
less than others in order to prove that a priest is a good man.
The suppression of the Budget des Cultes has brought about
no reduction in taxes. The taking over of the property of the
Church has not furnished money for old age pensions. It was
the promise of these which made the people accept so quietly
the spoliation of church property. They allowed churches,
schools, convents, monasteries, presbyteries, seminaries to be
taken; they stood by with comparative calmness when Byzan-
tine reliquaries brought home by knightly crusaders, massive
gold ornaments adorned with gorgeous gems, remonstrances
which are masterpieces of the gold-workers' art, votive offer-
672 CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE [Aug.,
ings of powerful seigneurs, of wealthy bourgeois, of the hum-
ble, of the infirm, the guilty, the despairing, were all inven-
toried and handed over to the State or the Commune.
On October 14, 1900, Waldeck- Rousseau first used the ex-
pression Le Milliard des Congregations. This whetted the ap-
petite of the multitude, and the masses held out their hands
for the loaves and fishes just as the greedy nobles grasped at
the monasteries in the days of Henry VIII. But the people
have to go away empty. Not a single promise has been
kept, and the billion of which Waldeck-Rousseau spoke has
vanished into thin air. The sales of the church property have
left no money in the State exchequer and the billion has
dwindled down to a mere rhetorical flourish. The sales of this
enormous amount of property do not seem to be regulated
either by statute law or by common law. Rather does it seem
to be dominated by a desire to keep the cash. When the re-
ligious communities were broken up individuals asked that the
dowry they brought when entering be returned. The receivers
or officials invariably refused. Banks, butchers, bakers, in a
word, all creditors, since the suppression of the religious communi-
ties, are refused payment on the ground that as these communi-
ties did not legally exist they could not legally contract debts.
By request of Ex-Prime Minister Combes, a commission
has been appointed by the senate and is now investigating
what has become of the proceeds of the sales of church
property. M. Combes declares he never thought that the
law which he applied so vigorously could have resulted in
such a series of scandals and forgeries. Take the property of
the Grande Chartreuse, for example, the members of which are
now settled at Tarragona in Spain. That property was esti-
mated at 40,000,000 francs. When it was all sold and the
officials paid, the State received 7.50 francs. Some of the offi-
cials have not yet turned in their accounts, and tales are told
where the expenses of the sale exceed more than the proceeds.
The new order has resulted in notable loss for the cities
where the churches are regarded as public monuments. The
city of Paris, for instance, had to pay last year the sum of
2,745,000 francs for the upkeep of her churches. Why?
Because the law of December 9, 1905, makes the city of Paris
a present of the churches. I quote from a recent report of
M. de Selves, Prefect of the Seine:
1909.] CHURCH AND STATE IN FRANCE 673
The city of Paris is proprietor of the religious edifices, sub-
ject, however, to the reserve that she leave to the faithful the
gratuitous use ot them. She is proprietor of the churches,
temples, and synagogues, just as she is of the moon and stars.
She can look at them in passing. Her people, sentimental
and sceptical, would never forgive the city were she to allow
the old church walls which are her pages of history in stone
to fall to pieces.
Before the separation Paris paid only 250,000 francs a year
towards the repair of the churches.
French Catholics had not been accustomed to contribute
directly to the support of their own clergy. Nevertheless the
Church has never died out in any country for lack of money.
The injury inflicted upon the material side of the Church
seems to have quickened it spiritually. Last Christmas the
churches were not large enough to hold the number of wor-
shippers who would assist at midnight Mass. The renowned
Madeleine had to close its doors at half-past ten, although
divine service did not begin until midnight. During Holy
Week the churches were crowded, and again on Easter Sunday
they were too small. Parishes, formally too large for thorough
spiritual ministrations, have been divided. This was not easy
in the past, as an act of Parliament was required to create a
new parish and a decree of the Council of State to open a
chapel. The present situation further shows that Gallicanism
is dead; that schism is impossible; and that neither Bonapart-
ists nor Royalists have any reason to expect co-operation
from the Church. The Church has now much more liberty.
It is no longer necessary to get government permission for the
promulgation of Papal briefs and encyclicals. The police au-
thority over churchmen is much less, and bishops may meet in
council without going to the government for permission. They
can go to Rome to consult the Head of their Church without
first obtaining the authorization of the civil authorities, as was
required by the organic articles of the Concordat. The Church
is rid of the slavery of the Concordat and the clergy are no
longer State functionaries. The Pope can now select his own
bishops, whereas formerly he was compelled to preconize those
chosen by the State. The bishops can now choose their parish
priests, and they need not present them to the State to be
accepted.
VOL. LXXXIX.— 43
Bew
When, only a short generation
HISTORY OF RELIGIONS, ago, the study of comparative
religion was taken up scientifical-
ly, our theologians were inclined to treat it as essentially a
demonstration against supernatural revelation, and, consequent-
ly, a form of investigation in which Catholic scholars could
not, in conscience, participate. The character of the pioneers
in the science, and the frame of mind in which they conducted
their studies, excused this view. But a little reflection and
experience were sufficient to reverse the first judgment. Divine
Revelation has nothing to fear from truth, wheresoever truth
may be found; and it is quite in conformity with the tradition-
al teaching of the Church that even the most corrupt religions
contain some relic of primitive revelation, or elements which
are the true expression of the human soul naturaliter Christiana.
Let but the study of comparative religion be pursued without
prejudice, and its results fairly interpreted; then its findings
cannot but add a new testimony to the teaching of Jesus Christ.
This later view has borne fruit in the institution of chairs
of comparative religion at some of our Catholic centers of
learning ; and has caused the work to be taken up by many
of our scholars. The importance of not leaving this branch of
investigation to be monopolized by the enemy is becoming
daily more obvious. It has been said — and the assertion is
quoted by the Catholic Truth Society in the initial number of
its series of Lectures on the History of Religions,* that the
battles of the future between faith and unfaith are to be on
the fields of psychology and comparative religion.
Unfortunately as yet we possess in English an extremely
meager supply of works on this subject, written from the
Catholic standpoint; while popular works of this kind from
able scholars who ignore or deny the supernatural are increas-
ing daily. For these reasons the Catholic Truth Society of
London deserves our gratitude for having undertaken a series
of short popular pamphlets, or lectures, treating of the various
great religions of the Ancient World, and many forms of modern
religious thought. The projected series will consist of thirty-
* History of Religions. C. T. S. Lectures on the History of Religions. London: The
Catholic Truth Society.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 675
two numbers, which will doubtless be extended. The following
lectures have already been published : The Study oj Religions ;
Syria; Egypt; Greece; Athenian Philosophers ; Early Rome ;
Imperial Rome ; Methraism ; The Hebrew Bible ; The Early
Church; Thirty -Nine Articles; Modern Judaism; Unitarian-
ism. Those in the above list which have been submitted for
review in THE CATHOLIC WORLD — China; Egypt; The Study
of Religions ; Athenian Philosophers — are written by priests who
are all competent scholars in the subjects which, respectively,
they have treated. Necessarily the note of the treatment is
extreme condensation in the case of ancient religions ; for each
writer has to handle the historical changes of thousands of
years, and a perplexing variety of ideas and practices. But
careful and methodical arrangement has helped to meet this dif-
ficulty. Even apart from their apologetic value, and considered
merely as contributions to culture and general information,
these publications deserve, and will no doubt obtain, wide cir-
culation among the reading laity. They will serve as a need-
ful corrective to much exceedingly dangerous literature that,
in periodicals and in our public libraries, is being thrust into
the hands of the people. They will probably serve, too, to
stimulate in many of the clergy who have the necessary leisure
a desire to follow up, in larger works, this interesting and use-
ful study. Those who wish to do so will find ample guidance
to extensive reading in the well-selected bibliographies attached
to each lecture.
Does any priest feel inclined to question whether such an
academic subject as the comparative study of religions is really
being presented in such form as to attract popular attention,
and, thereby, become a danger that those who bear the re-
sponsibility of directing souls ought to be in a position to
cope with ? If so, let him examine The Shelburne Essays *
which, as its title-page indicates, is a study in religious dual-
ism. This is no heavy manual or tome appealing only to the
student, like a volume of Jastrow or Hopkins. The work is that
of one of the most accomplished of American literary critics and
reviewers; its pure and simple style is the vehicle of wide
learning digested into deep and serious thought; Mr. More's
range of philosophic and religious knowledge is immense; while
* The Shelburne Essays. By Paul Elmer More. New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons.
6 76 NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
his power of analysis compels admiration even when we dissent
most emphatically from the results which it reaches.
On a superficial view the essays might seem to be a col-
lection of unrelated topics. Indian Philosohy ; St. Augustine ;
Pascal ; Sir Thomas Browne ; John Bunyan ; Rousseau ; Soc-
rates ; and Plato — is not this a list which suggests immeasur-
able divergence rather than proximity in religious thought ?
Before, however, one has followed Mr. More far into the dis-
sertation on Indian philosophy (The Forest Philosophy of India;
and The Bhagavad Gita), the dominant idea on which he con-
structs his synthesis strikes the eye. Before we attempt to
extract it, we may parenthetically observe that Mr. More's
interpretation of the religious significance of the Upanishads
controverts the prevailing opinion, that this philosophy is dis-
tinctively pantheistic. On the contrary it is, he insists with
incisive argument, fundamentally dualistic. Together with minor
authorities, Mr. More holds, Deussen made the mistake of
torturing into the mold of his own hard intellectualism, the
Indian expression of what, at bottom, was a religious human
experience. Prepossessions derived from Spinoza and Kant
must not be injected into the Upanishads. They are not meta-
physical disquisitions ; the truth of the Upanishads lies in the
vivid consciousness of a dualism in our own nature.
Here is no room for pantheism, and no word is more apt to
give a false impression of the early Indian philosophy than
the term " monism " which is so glibly applied to it.
With terse accuracy Mr. More describes the genesis of pan-
theism :
For what, in the end, is pantheism or religious " monism " ?
It is either a vague and lax state of reverie, or, if pronounced,
as a consistent theory of existence, an attempt to fuse together
the metaphysical denial of one phase of consciousness with
the mythological projection of man's aspiring spirit into the
void. It is thus a barren hybrid between religion and phil-
osophy, with no correspondence in our emotional or rational
needs. To say flatly that God is all, and that there is noth-
ing but God, is simply a negation of what we know and feel.
The idee mere of Mr. More is that the consciousness of evil,
the sense of sin, the conviction which St. Paul expressed when
he spoke of the two laws fighting within him, is the funda-
1909.] NEW BOOKS 677
mental religious fact, which, innate and ineradicable in the
soul, has been the root of every form of religion that has ever
arisen on this earth — "the spiritual history of the human race
as the long writhing and posturing of the soul (I mean some-
thing more than the mere intellect — the whole essential man,
indeed) to conceal, or deny, or ridicule, or overcome, this cleft
in its nature." As he discusses the Bhagavad Gita, St. Au-
gustine, Pascal, Rousseau, Bunyan, and the other religious or
philosophic thinkers, Mr. More's preoccupation is to examine
how each has given expression to this consciousness of the
moral and spiritual conflict within the soul, "the sense of that
deep cleft within the human soul itself which springs from the
bitter consciousness of evil."
As we read Mr. More, we inevitably recall the chapter of
the Apologia in which Cardinal Newman eloquently argues that
this fact points unmistakably and unswervingly to the doctrine
of original sin. Sad to say, it leads Mr. More, not to Paul
and Christ, but to Socrates and Plato for a solution of the
problem; or, rather, to some practical rule of life; for Mr.
More leaves the great problem without attempting an answer.
One cannot but regret this conclusion as one feels the earnest-
ness of the man, and his keen spiritual hunger, which he fre-
quently voices with eloquence ; as, for instance :
When once the sting of eternity has entered the heart, and
the desire to behold things sub specie ceternitatis, when once
the thirst of stability and repose has been felt, for that soul
there is no longer content in the diversions of life ; and try as
he will to conceal from himself the truth, with every pleasure
and amid every distraction, he tastes the clinging drop of
bitterness.
Again he writes in a similar strain :
To one whose eye has opened, though it be for a moment
only, upon the vision of an indefectible peace, there is hence-
forth no compulsion that can make him rest satisfied in pass-
ing pleasures ; the end of desire has devoured its beginning,
and he is driven by a power greater than the hope of any re-
ward " to fast from this earth."
This book reflects a frame of mind not rare among men
who, like Mr. More, have found that the wells of their an-
cestral Protestant faith have dried up under the scorching winds
678 NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
of modern criticism. But their religious instincts have remained
vigorous enough to make them shun the bleak void of agnosti-
cism, or the sty of materialism, or the temporary but illusive
promises of humanitarianism, and they endeavor to dig for
themselves wells in the wilderness. How can theism be pre-
sented to them ? By metaphysics ? They smile at metaphysics
as placidly as they do at, to use one of Mr. More's phrases, " the
babble of pragmatism." By the moral argument ? But here
is an acknowledgment of the sense of responsibility as the piv-
otal fact of the life of man going hand in hand with the reduc-
tion of the belief in a personal God to " a projection of man's
soul into the void." This phase of contemporary religious un-
rest emphasizes the truth that, as far as one may judge, the
belief in a personal God — and what other conception of God is
worthy of the name ? — can be safeguarded only by the historic
proofs for the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and for the authority
of the Church which He founded.
This is a respectable and respect-
THE REVIVAL OF SCHOLAS- ful volume, bearing the impress
TIC PHILOSOPHY. of the printing press of a great
secular university, and treats of
scholastic philosophy.* One is led to think of George Henry
Lewes, the historian of philosophy, who, scarcely a generation
ago, dismissed scholasticism as a farrago of nonsense which,
he added, without losing his sense of self-respect, nor, it
would seem, the respect of the scholarly world, he had never
read. This unmistakable proof of revival tempts one to drop
into quotation from The Second Spring. The main purpose of
this work is to relate the story of the movement, brought to a
successful issue by Leo XIII., to restore scholastic philosophy.
As a necessary preamble to a proper understanding of that
story the writer first presents a synopsis of the philosophy, in
seven chapters. If he stops short of playing the part of advo-
cate, he equally declines to undertake that of adverse critic,
and he exposes the main tenets of scholastic doctrine with
lucidity, impartiality, and a thorough grasp of the matter;
not entirely without a tinge of sympathy. In several places —
notably where he draws the distinction between hedonism and
* The Revival of Scholastic Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century. By Joseph Louis
Perrier, Ph.D. New York : The Columbia University Press.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 679
Aristotelian eudremonism — he is at pains to remove erroneous
conceptions that have prevailed regarding the system; and,
conversely, he drives his scalpel deep into some of the weak
points of antagonistic theories.
The history of the movement he opens with a chapter
treating of the forerunners of the neo-scholastic movement,
beginning as early as the time of Bossuet and Fenelon, and
spreading in Germany and France throughout the eighteenth
century, only almost to die out towards the beginning of the
nineteenth. To Sanseverino he rightly assigns the honor of
having been the first man to call before the tomb " Lazarus,
come forth." Then Mr. Perrier relates, with fidelity, the action
of Leo XIII., beginning when he was Bishop of Perugia; the
resistance offered by the most distinguished Jesuits of the day
to the Pope's first measures in Rome; Leo's insistance and
final triumph. Next follows a review of the revival in the
various countries of the world, in the course of which Mr.
Perrier enumerates almost every publication worthy of note,
whether book or magazine article, that appeared anywhere, ex-
pounding or discussing scholasticism or scholastic doctrine.
The remarkable acquaintance which he shows with the litera-
ture of the subject is further manifest in an opulent bibliography
of one hundred pages. The initiated will, perhaps, indulge in
an occasional smile as they note some of the appreciations of
works and their authors; but they will admit that if Mr. Per-
rier errs at all it is always on the side of generosity.
Altogether the book is remarkable, not alone as a tribute
to the space which scholasticism occupies in the mind of the
learned world to-day, but also as a piece of scholarly research
and erudition.
We have heard it said recently, by
A PLURALISTIC UNIVERSE, one who is in a position to judge
By William James. of the comparative merits of the
various Harvard faculties, that the
one which enjoys the least prestige in the academic world is
the faculty of philosophy. The quality of Professor James*
latest work * could hardly be offered as a peremptory argu-
ment for or against this estimate. It is an attempt to answer
the question which divides philosophers into two camps: Is
the ultimate reality one or several ? Is Being a unity or a
* A Pluralistic Universe. By William James. New York : Longmans, Green & Co.
68b NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
manifold? Mr. James declares against monism; and, in the
introduction of his exposition, reviews the present position of
philosophic thought in England. There, he claims, a reaction
from the trend towards idealistic monism has set in. He in-
stitutes a contrast between the materialistic and the theistic
way of looking at the universe. His presentation of the strictly
theistic conception is drawn on scholastic lines. But, failing
to give due consideration to the reservations and qualifications
attached by scholastics to their main principle of dualism, he
holds them responsible for conclusions which we vehemently re-
pudiate. In describing the scholastic doctrine of creation he
dwells upon the principle of transcendence to the exclusion of
the other equally important doctrines of the relation of the First
Cause to secondary causes. In the light of the recent storm
raised over the statements made by Bishop McFaul, regarding
the atmosphere of non-Catholic universities, the following pas-
sage is worthy of note :
The theological machinery that spoke so livingly to our
ancestors, with its finite age of the world, its creation out of
nothing, its juridical morality and eschatology, its relish for
rewards and punishments, its treatment oi God as an external
Contriver, an "intelligent and moral governor," sounds as
odd to most of us as if it were some outlandish savage reli-
gion. The vaster vistas which scientific evolutionism has
opened, and the rising tide of social democratic ideals, have
changed the type of our imagination and the older monar-
chical theism is obsolete or obsolescent.
In fact, although defending theism against monism, the pro-
fessor puts forth such a view of the relation of God to things,
and especially to the human mind, that his theism is little bel-
ter than monism in masquerade. True, he rightly and vigor-
ously protests against the illogical character of the monistic
doctrine that the universe is one with the absolute, and that
the absolute is perfect.
The ideally perfect whole is certainly that whole of which
the parts are also perfect — if we can depend on logic for any-
thing, we can depend on it for that definition. The absolute
is defined as the ideally perfect whole, yet most of its parts,
if not all, are admittedly imperfect. Evidently the concep-
tion lacks internal consistency, and yields as a problem rather
than a solution.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 68 1
Another point which he makes, with elaboration, against
the monists is, that they are bound to concede that there ex-
ist some differences between the absolute and its various com-
ponents, and differentiations among these parts themselves;
and in making this admission the monist is inconsistent with
his first principle.
A lecture is devoted to Fechner, to emphasize the value of
this philosopher's doctrine that conscious experiences freely
compound and separate themselves ; and then the professor,
taking this as a text, in a lecture which is the most valuable
portion of the book, proceeds to show how Hegel and his in-
tellectualist followers have made the far-reaching mistake of
assuming that objects are as completely distinct and isolated
from one another as are the concepts by which the mind repre-
sents them to itself. Pursuing this principle of the inadequacy
of concepts to things, in his own fashion, beyond the just mean,
Professor James retraces the steps which led him to abandon
intellectualism in order to find in M. Bergson a leader who
conducted him into pragmatism. This theory he touches upon
only incidentally. Within the space of a page he states its
main tenets in a way that uninitiated readers will find much
more clear than the diffuse exposition which he has given of
the system in the series of lectures professedly devoted to it.
A conception of the world arises in you, somehow, no mat-
ter how. Is it true or not ? you ask.
It might be true somewhere, you say, for it is not self-
contradictory.
It may be true, you continue, even here and now.
It is/?/ to be true, it would be well if it were true, it ought to
be true, you presently feel.
It must be true, something persuasive in you whispers
next ; and then — as a final result —
It shall be held for true, you decide ; it shall be as if true,
for you.
And your acting thus may in certain special cases be a
means of making it securely true in the end.
This is pragmatism in a nutshell. The neatness of the for-
mula simplifies the task of confutation. What I may think and
desire to be true may be in flat contradiction to what you
may think and desire to be true, what then? Must we assume
682 NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
that one or the other of us is in error ? not at all, according to
Professor James ; we may both have the truth — another way
of saying that there is no such thing as truth at all.
To many lovers of Browning and
BROWNING AND ISAIAH, to many lovers of Isaiah these
By Arthur Rogers. two names would suggest a con-
trast; while more would, probably,
deny that any common ground sufficient to institute a contrast
could be found between the Seer of Israel and the greatest of
the Victorian poets. The author of the " Bohlen Lectures "
for 1908, which are here presented in book form,* undertakes
to establish a parallel between them. Or, perhaps, in order to
give him the credit of success, we might consider his aim to
have been the discovery of some striking points of contact
between these widely removed poets. In the opening lecture
Mr. Rogers maps out a field of thought and emotion common
to poetry and religion. Religion, as he conceives it, is the
going out of man to God; his coming to himself among the
husks of matter, and claiming for his own the Father's home
from which he came.
Poetry, on the other hand, is "man's highest thought about
himself — the world he lives in, the problems which he has to
face. It is inevitable that such thought should, sooner or
later, lead to God." In a rapid survey of the world's great
literature, Mr. Rogers cites some examples in confirmation of
his assertion. Then he discusses the position of Isaiah among
the Hebrew prophets ; the conditions of the times in which he
delivered his message ; what manner of man he was ; and the
success which attended his mission. Similarly, the literary ante-
cedents of Browning; the influences which formed him; his
relation to the earlier and the contemporary great English
poets are surveyed by Mr. Rogers, who pronounces some ex-
cellent criticism along the way. He takes up the charge of
grotesqueness so frequently urged against Browning, and, while
admitting that there is some basis for it, and that the gro-
tesqueness sometimes jostles elbows unpleasantly with the sub-
lime, he holds that Browning sins only venially in this respect.
Of the other charge of pedantry Mr. Rogers acquits Brown-
ing completely ; for Browning's seeming pedantry rises from
* Browning and Isaiah. By Arthur Rogers. New York: Longmans, Green & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 683
the fact that he unconsciously assumed his prospective readers
to be as well informed as himself. Likewise, his obscurity is
due, generally speaking, to his addressing a weighty message
only to those who have ears to hear it.
The main resemblances between Isaiah and Browning are
their common fight for righteousness, their sense of an overuling
Providence, and faith that the justice of God will be vindicated.
" With each of them there is the same enthusiasm of living,
the same vigorous utterance, the same appreciation of the
worth of what they have to do; with each of them is the same
wide vision, the same instinct of catholicity." The argument
of Mr. Rogers in support of resemblances between the charac-
ters, and between their respective times, are frequently some-
what strained ; but as the main gist of his brief may be con-
densed into the statement that both the Hebrew and the
Englishman were men of high moral purpose, unbending hon-
esty, and independence, he certainly makes out his case. The
value of the book is at least as much in its critical obiter dicta
as in its development of the comparison which it proposes.
The public to whom Captain
THE HARVEST WITHIN. Mahan is known only through
the brilliant list of works which
have given him a unique rank as the first of naval historians
will doubtless be surprised to find him giving to the world a
book of an entirely different character* — one touching the
deepest things of the Christian soul. Yet there ought not to
be any room for wonder on finding that a Christian gentleman,
eminent in a noble profession should have profound religious
sentiments and principles; and that, if he be gifted with the
power of literary expression, he should seek to exhort and
edify his fellows by communicating his religious reflections and
experiences. It is a severe stricture on the times if we are
surprised to find a successful and eminent man of the world
also a man of piety.
Captain Mahan informs us that the essays or papers which
he presents are merely fragmentary and occasional thoughts.
But although there is not any obvious methodic arrangement,
there is a thread of unity running through all the chapters.
* The Harvest Within. By A. T. Mahan, D.C.L., LL.D., Captain U.S. Navy. Bos-
ton : Little, Brown & Co.
684 NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
His recurrent purpose is to show that Christ, as pictured in
the Gospels, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, worthy of
our supreme love and devotion. The writer exhibits great
familiarity with the Holy Scriptures, keen spiritual insight, and
earnest piety, which express themselves fervently. He insists
sometimes on the individualistic side of religion to an extent
beyond that which Catholic teaching can approve. But he by
no means favors the doctrines of unqualified individualism.
One of his most interesting chapters inculcates the necessity of
corporate unity and worship among believers. He writes :
The life of the Christian is the Hie of a member of an organic
body, which has a life of its own distinct from, and superior to,
the aggregate lives and wills of its members. The Hie of the
body is not separate from that of the members, but it is dis-
tinct. It will continue though any one of them dies ; yet,
though thus independent, the maintenance of this life in full
vigor requires, like the other purposes of God, the active co-
operation of men who are members of the body. He who
withholds prayers due to others, injures each and in each all.
In each instance he injures also Christ. Thus St. Paul says :
If one member suffers all the members suffer with it.
Many pages might be cited containing nothing but Catho-
lic spiritual doctrine — a fact which makes one regret the more
that the writer's scheme of the Christian life does not embrace
the principle of authority. One would wish also to see a more
categoric affirmation of the Divinity of Jesus Christ, "true
God and true man." However, taking the book as it stands,
we must welcome it as an offset to the sad evidences which
abound on all sides of the widespread decay of all Christian
faith that is rapidly reducing non-Catholic Christianity in our
country to agnosticism or naturalism. A book of this kind
from the pen of a distinguished layman will exert an influence
among wide circles that would be impervious to the profes-
sional divine.
A miscellaneous gallery of worthy
SOME GREAT CATHOLICS, men and true is to be found in
this little volume.* The writer has
not indicated on what principle his selection is made; and no-
body is likely to surprise his secret. The list of sketches con-
* Some Gteat Catholics of Church and State. By Bernard W. Kelly. London : Relfe Bros.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 685
tains the names of Camoens, Sobreski, Bishop Hay, Daniel
Rock, Orestes Brownson, Cardinal Manning, Marshal McMahon,
Fenelon, Richard Crashaw, Garcia Moreno, and Lord Russell
of Killowen, among others of equally diverse origin and achieve-
ment. The sketches are so very well composed that their brev-
ity— two or three small pages is the average length — provokes
one to indulge in a little mild indignation against the author
for not having been a good deal more generous in his measure.
We are accustomed to statistics
A PIONEER OF OHIO. arrayed for the purpose of con-
veying in impressive form the rapid
growth of the Church in America during the last half century.
But more instructive for this purpose than any statistical dis-
play is the story of Bishop Machebeuf's missionary career •
from the day that he entered the West, in 1839, till his death,
in his See of Denver, in 1889. For the greater part of this
half century Father, afterwards Bishop, Machebeuf labored amid
privations and trials, with an apostolic zeal and success that
place him among the great missionary bishops of the American
Church. To indicate, in a word, the extent of his labors, it
may be said that the history of his life is at the same time a
history of the Church in Colorado and a great part of New
Mexico ; while its earlier chapters relate work done in Ohio
under missionary conditions.
Though Father Hewlett modestly disclaims any pretension
to picture the spiritual side of the bishop, he nevertheless does
justice to Machebeuf's sterling character ; and loyally vindicates
it against some misrepresentations. He speaks with the author-
ity conferred by twenty-four years' acquaintance with the man.
One of the imputations that he meets is that Bishop Mache-
beuf failed to become wealthy — not, even if it were proven, a
charge which St. Peter or St. Paul would consider an unpar-
donable crime in a bishop. Father Hewlett deserves thanks for
having placed the edifying story of Bishop Machebeuf's life
safe from the waters of oblivion, and for having put into per-
manent form a record of value for the general history of the
American Church.
* Life of the Right Rev. Joseph P. Machebeuf, D.D., Pioneer Priest of Ohio, New Mexico,
Colorado, and Pint Bishop of Denver, By Rev. W. J. Hewlett. Pueblo, Colorado : The
Franklin Press Company.
686 NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
The high position attained in the
MADAME SWETCHINE. Parisian society of her time by
Madame Swetchine was not due
to any of the qualities to which the other women whose names
have become famous in the history of the salons owed their
success. She was a foreigner, a Russian by birth ; she was
destitute of outward attractions, and had little conversational
or social brilliancy; her literary abilities were not of a high
order, if one may judge from her more sustained efforts. Her
letters, indeed, claim a more favorable judgment; yet they
cannot pretend to inscribe her name on the immortal list headed
by Madame de Sevigne. She was, withal, the valued friend ot
some of the most intellectual people of her day — De Maistre,
De Tocqueville, Montalembert, Madame Recamier, and Lacor-
daire. Miss Taylor * defines happily the secret of Madame
Swetchine's power: "Her popularity, due, in part, to the grace
and charm of a woman of the world, was probably to be laid
still more to the account of the inexhaustible patience and
kindness at the service of all who stood in need of them, and
a sympathy so great that — to use Marivaux's definition : ' votre
affaire devenait reellement la sienne.' " Miss Taylor has compiled
a selection of pithy and epigrammatic sayings, drawn chiefly
from among Madame Swetchine's stray notes, with a few from
her essays and letters. They show a vigorous, sound judg-
ment, close observation of life, and a deeply religious nature.
Miss Taylor's translation is as good, probably, as could be
made. But characteristic French thought turned into Eng-
lish is a skylark in a cage. The book is an appropriate con-
tribution to the " Science of Life Series," consequently a com-
panion volume to Health and Holiness, of Francis Thompson,
and The Science of Life, of Mrs. Craigie.
The secular priest engaged in pa-
RULES FOR PASTORS. rochial work will find a wise and
sympathetic counsellor in the anon-
ymous author of this little volume.f It first discusses the priest-
ly dignity, the rule of life proper to a pastor, the importance
* The Maxims of Madame Swetchine. Selected and Translated, with a Biographical Note,
by I. A. Taylor. St. Louis : B. Herder.
\RulesfotthePastonofSouh. From the German. By Rev. T. Slater, S.J., and Rev.
A. Rauch, S. J. New York : Benziger Brothers.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 687
of a systematic disposal of time, and the just medium to be
observed regarding the care of one's health. Then it passes
on to the behavior that the priest ought to observe towards
the various classes of persons with whom he comes in contact
relatives, the housekeeper, brother priests, the members of his
Hock, the civil authorities, and persons of a different faith. The
writer is a man of wide experience and prudent judgment;
and he speaks in a tone of earnest piety that adds weight to
his advice and warnings.
With a sympathetic and kindly eye
THE PEOPLE AT PLAY. Mr. Lynde has observed closely
the chief forms of public recrea
tions in which the working classes seek relaxation from the
strain of toil and the congestion of the tenement house.* He
invites us first to the " Home of Burlesque," the cheap theater
sordid enough it is, in its material make-up ; and its vulgar
repertoire, full of " dat quick, snappy stuff," is beneath criti-
cism. But it must be said that, as Mr. Lynde describes it,
with ample illustration, it is not vicious. Whatever may be the
character of the audience, the play usually inculcates the home-
ly virtues of honesty, loyalty, and Self-sacrifice. The thunders
of applause are ever at the call of the family affections, and
the pruriency which runs rampant in some of the fashion-
able theaters is unknown. From the theaters we pass to the
amusement parks, the dime museums, the moving pictures, the
biographs, and the innumerable varieties of nickel-catching de-
vices, whose name is Coney Island. In a chapter entitled
"Society," Mr. Lynde describes the career of a typical work-
ing girl, from the day of her emancipation from maternal con-
trol— her Declaration of Independence was her first pay envel-
ope— till she is the despot of a hardworking husband. The
path she treads is marked by many pitfalls into which some of
her sisters irretrievably fall, as our guide, with delicate reticence,
allows us to understand. There is a fund of close observation
seasoned with a fair sense of humor in Mr. Lynde's descriptions
of the life of the poorer classes; and only the misanthropist
will be able to read this book without feeling an increase of
sympathy for the hard lives of the toilers, and a more pro-
nounced disposition to look with tolerance upon their short-
comings. The book would lose nothing by the elimination of
* The People at Play. By Rollin Lynde Hart. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company.
688 NEW BOOKS [Aug.,
the last chapter, which is devoted to baseball; for the subject,
as Mr. Lynde treats it, scarcely harmonizes with the other
scenes of the " short and simple annals of the poor."
One of the standing complaints of
IRISH FOLKLORE. the champions of Ireland is that
her immense wealth of natural re-
sources has never been properly exploited. Until recently a
similar charge might be made in the world of literature. Since
the collection and study of the folklore of various peoples have
become the pursuit of grave savants seeking in that direction
for light upon prehistoric times, almost every country has been
laid under contribution. Yet the inexhaustible store preserved
orally among the Irish peasantry has scarcely been tapped.
The rapid changes which are going on in Ireland threaten to
sweep away this treasure-house, unless these quaint, eerie old
tales, so redolent of Gaelic other-worldliness are soon pre-
served in type. The recent literary movement in Ireland has
extended to this field. The latest contribution,* small in quan-
tity but of exquisite quality, comes to us by the somewhat
circuitous route of an English village. The collector writes:
When I first opened eyes on a Saxon world — a small exile
of Erin at one remove — the village was almost an Irish one-
The " neighbors " had put the saw through the cottage doors
of their quarter, and made " half-dures," over which to chat
the more conveniently of warm evenings. In colder weather
you fumbled vainly for the latch from without — that is if you
were not " wan o' the neighbors' childer." If you were, you
sagaciously pulled a thong hanging through the latch-hole.
The door opened as if by magic, and you walked in saying :
" God save all here." " God save you kindly," was the re-
sponse, and you sat down unbidden, and as of right, on the
best seat and nearest the fire.
In such surroundings did Mr. Hannon pick up this collec-
tion of stories from the lips of Yellow Dan. This personage
was "a quaint and very holy little handful of a man, who had
been half-fisherman, half-cottier, somewhere Bandon way, till
the ' bad times ' came. Then the great hunger drove him to
* The Kings and the Cats. Munster Fairy Tales for Old and Young. Written by John
Hannon. Illustrated by Louis Wain. New York : Benziger Brothers.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 689
England, and he eventually drifted into an orchard district of
the Thames valley, with many other famine exiles." The book
is tastefully bound and illustrated.
With a few glimpses of Italy to
COUSIN SARA. enliven the somber effect, the scene
By Rosa Mulholland. of Miss Mulholland's latest story *
is laid in the vicinity of unromantic,
commercial Belfast. The moral of the tale, for Miss Mulhol-
land is old-fashioned enough to hold that a novel ought to
contribute something more in return for the reader's time than
a thrill of excitement or esthetic satisfaction, is that the simple
life and the things of the mind, rather than riches, are the
way to a contented life. The heroine is the daughter of an
impecunious old military officer, who, to eke out his means,
tries his hand successfully at mechanical invention. In the
course of the story his invention is stolen by a young man,
the black sheep of the circle. This man has already wickedly
ruined the character of another young fellow, his rival in the
good graces of their patron and employer. The injured hero,
in whose veins flow the artistic blood of Italy, leaves the un-
congenial atmosphere of a Belfast counting-house to cultivate
in Italy his talent for painting. Sara, who loves the artist, is
wooed but not won by the temporarily successful rascal.
Nemesis comes through the medium of the stolen invention —
literally a case of Deus ex machina ; and, after witnessing a
repentant deathbed, we watch the curtain descend on a happy
bridal party. The story rolls along in the leisurely fashion
which may be traced back to Jane Austin, if not to Richard-
son. Before it is finished, we become so well- acquainted with
the characters that they acquire distinction, though the drawing
is not conspicuously bold.
For those who have read the Re-
IN A MYSTERIOUS WAY. juvenation of Aunt Mary there need
By Anne Warner. be no recommendation of Anne
Warner. Her latest book, In a
Mysterious Wayt\ overflows with humor; although hilarity does
not stand foremost, as in her previous work. In a vivid and
entertaining story of rural life, we get some fine delineations
* Cousin Sara. A Story of Arts and Crafts. By Rosa Mulholland. New York : Ben-
Brothers.
t In a Mysterious Way. By Anne Warner. Boston : Little, Brown & Co.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 44
690 NEW BOOKS [Aug.*
of character. The heroine, if not always pleasant, wins us to love
her and to admire her ideals, as do the minor characters in the
tale — in a mysterious way.
The latest work* of the distin-
THE WHITE SISTER. guished novelist, F. Marion Craw-
By Marion Crawford. ford, is decidedly the work of a
practised hand, though it does
not measure up to the author's full literary power. The ex-
treme simplicity of his style, his skill in handling the most
complicated situations, oftentimes save The White Sister from
being entirely melodramatic, in spite of the fact that the hero-
ine is, in turn, an heiress, an outcast, a nun, and a wife. The
hero — if we can so call a man capable of the deeds perpetrated
by Giovanni — is also, in turn, a lieutenant in the Italian army,
a bondsman in Africa, a [desperate lover, and a figure in the
explosion of a dynamite magazine. But Mr. Crawford saves
his literary reputation by refusing to become theatrical. The
characters in the book are strong and clear-cut. The story
abounds in delicate touches of feeling and serious thinking, is
powerfully presented, and gives play to Mr. Crawford's talent
for handling dramatic situations. He puts Angela, the White
Sister, through a series of most trying circumstances, and
although the probabilities are a little strained at times, and
Catholic sensibilites a little ruffled, we remember the artist's
claim of privilege. Through the whole story the strength and
dignity of Angela claim the attention and admiration of the
reader, but this admiration suffers shock in the concluding
chapter. It is difficult to realize why Mr. Crawford lessened
the strength and power of his story by bringing Angela and
Giovanni together as he does. This last chapter is, to us,
wholly disappointing. Mr. Crawford's nuns may not be just
the kind that live in real convents, but they are entertaining
creatures and will scarcely do harm to any one.
A new edition of the ancient and celebrated Bridgettine
Breviary has just been published.! Years have been spent
upon its preparation and it comes to us as an exceptionally
worthy example of press work and of binding. The work will
be of interest to priests and to religious communities. The orig-
inal manuscript from which this edition was compiled belongs
* The White Sister. By F. Marion Crawford. New York : The Macmillan Company,
t Breviarium Sacrarvm Virginum Ord. SS, Salvatoris, vulgo Satictcs Birgitta. Romas :
Desclde et Soc.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 691
to the fifteenth century; it may, indeed, date from the fourteenth.
The breviary contains all the canonical offices of the entire
year according to the Bridgettine Rite. The present publica-
tion is the fruit of the labors of the nuns at Syon Abbey,
Chudleigh, South Devon, England, and copies may be obtained
by addressing that abbey.
Poetry written for a purpose is never poetry of a high order.
When a writer uses verse as a deliberate and studied mean for
an ulterior end he is almost inevitably predestined to failure.
And the office of a reviewer in this particular instance is the
more painful because the purpose of the present volume is so
eminently worthy. The author * seeks to cultivate among his
readers a love of mental prayer, in which endeavor he will sure-
ly have the sympathy of every right-minded man. His verses
are devotional, exact, and thoroughly orthodox; and as en-
deavors to present in pleasing language the great truths of
religion they are praiseworthy. But they lack the essential
notes that go to make true poetry. For the verse that really
leads, and we might say that almost drives, one to mental
prayer, we need but go to Crashaw, or Coventry Patmore, or
Francis Thompson, not to mention other great Catholic poets.
Nevertheless we cannot but wish, with the author of this volume,
that some may find his verses helpful.
There is a scarcity of popular literature on the significance
of the sacramentals of the Church, so we welcome the publi-
cation, Holy Water and its Significance for Catholics, translated
from the German by Rev. J. F. Lang. The booklet presents
the teaching of the Church, and it is a comparatively complete
exposition of the subject. It is published by Fr. Pustet &
Co., of New York.
The latest edition of Short Answers to Common Objections
Against Religion, by Mgr. Segur, shows that over three hun-
dred thousand copies of the little book have already been sold.
The work deserves a wide circulation. The price is but fifteen
cents and it may be obtained from the International Catholic
Truth Society of Brooklyn, New York.
This same Society has issued a pamphlet of forty-eight
pages, Religious Unrest — The Way Out, a series of comments on
* Spiritual Verses as Aids to Mental Prayer. By the Rev. J. B. Johnson, M.A. New
York : Longmans, Green & Co.
692 NEW BOOKS [Aug.
the lectures of the Rev. A. G. Mortimer, D.D., Philadelphia,
by J. A Lafferty.
A new paper edition of the able and practical lectures of
Father Datnen has just been published by the Catholic Record
Publishing Company of London, Canada.
Latin Pronounced for Church Services, by Rev. E. J. Mur-
phy, is intended for those who have no knowledge of Latin*
In this publication the sounds of the Latin words are so pre-
sented to the eye, that children, who have learned to spell and
pronounce primary words, will be able to sing the Latin ser-
vices correctly and distinctly by sight or after a few readings.
The book will find a broad field of usefulness in choirs, schools,
and sodalities.
Latin Pronounced for Altar Boys, a like publication, is a
very practical handbook for boys who are learning to serve at
Holy Mass. Both books are published by the Christian Press
Association, New York.
A manual for the sick entitled, Auxilium Infirmorum, pub-
lished by the London Catholic Truth Society, comprises some
thirty-six chapters of readings for the sick. They are to give
help and encouragement to those who suffer, and we think them
admirably suited to their purpose.
How to Become a Law Stenographer, by W. L. Mason, pub-
lished by Isaac Pitman & Son, New York, is a practical aid in
securing a familiar knowledge with law work. It is compiled
in an able manner and will be of valuable service to individual
stenographers as well as to teachers preparing students for
legal work.
Style Book of Business English, by H. W. Hammond, is
another of Pitman's useful and practical commercial publications.
It is not an exhaustive treatise, but has for its purpose the
object of correcting many defects in English made by beginners
in correspondence and typewriting.
Business Correspondence in Shorthand is one of a series of
booklets containing forty business letters in model shorthand
with the usual English consulting key.
^Foreign periobicals.
The Tablet (12 June): "Mr. Carnegie's Gift to France." On
the assumption that war between the French and Anglo-
Saxon nations has become impossible, Mr. Carnegie has
set aside a sum of $1,000,000 to form a fund for the
benefit of French heroes. "Did the Church of Eng-
land Reform Herself?" For an answer the work of Dr.
Lingard on Anglican Continuity is cited, in which the
author shows that the Reformation was really the work
of the civil power. "The Island of Saints." That
England, like Ireland, was once known by this name is
proved from a speech of Pius IX.'s and also from Leo
XIII. 's Epistola Apostolica ad Anglos. Apropos of " The
Miracle of the Liquefaction," a correspondent asks what
sensible benefit, such as we find in the case of other
miracles, accrued to the human race from the miracle
under consideration ?
(19 June): "The Welsh Disestablishment Bill "has been
withdrawn, with the Government's assurance that it will
be the first measure proceeded with next year. A
victory for "The Dutch Catholics " in the General Elec-
tion is reported. A remarkable feature of the polling
has been the rout of the Socialists. Writing on "The
English Church Pageant" an Eye- Witness draws atten-
tion to some historical and liturgical inaccuracies, and
asks why St. Dunstan should have used two croziers
and walked about the country wearing a pallium ?
For incitement to resistance against the law the Clemen-
ceau Government has begun the " Prosecution of Car-
dinal Andrieu." In refutation of Mr. Birrell's state-
ment that " no Irish Protestant becomes a Roman Catho-
lic" several distinguished names are mentioned.
(26 June): "London Protests Against the Budget" in
a meeting which is said to be unparalleled in its history.
" An Incitement to Schism " is to be found in the
action of the President of the French Republic, who
signed over the Church of Sains-les^Fressin to the as-
sociation cultuelle. The head of this body is an ex-
communicated priest. Under " Correspondence frcm
694 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Aug.,
Rome " it is [reported that the professors in the new
Biblical .Institute are to be nominated by the General
of the Company of Jesus ; it is not, however, supposed
that they will be exclusively Jesuits. " Vandalism in
Rome." Attention is drawn to the action of Commenda-
tore Boni in destroying ancient Christian churches for
the sake of unearthing one scrap of antique bronze or a
little inch of paganism.
The Month (June): Dom Bede Camm, O.S.B., in "The Found-
ers of Beuron," furnishes a brief history of the life of
the Right Rev. Dom Placid Wolter, whose loss the whole
Benedictine Order is mourning.— —In " Enigmas for Dar-
winians" J. G. advances some difficult problems for the
champions of Natural Selection to solve. " A Report
on Moral Instruction " is a review of a book by Gustav
Spiller, in which he has gathered most of the Moral In-
struction Syllabuses of the various countries of the world.
The reviewer, S. F. S., while admitting the value of the
compilation, claims that its conclusions cannot be accepted
as satisfactory to Catholics. The Rev. Herbert Thurs-
ton, in " Obsolete History," objects to some of the state-
ments made by Mr. Percy Dearmer in commenting se-
verely on Innocent III.'s dealings with King John.
The effort made by a number of French publicists to
inaugurate a system of social reform by publishing a
series of tracts bearing on the subject is explained in
" L' Action Populaire."
The Expository Times (June) : That the Epistle to the Hebrews
was written by a woman or if not by a woman alone,
by a man and woman together, "Aquila and Priscilla,"
is regarded by Dr. Rendel Harris " as an entirely rea-
sonable hypothesis and capable of strong support."
Apropos of the discovery of a cemetery ot new-born
infants at Gezer, Professor Driver asks the question : Is
there evidence for the Foundation Sacrifice in Israel?
He thinks so and gives his reasons. Dr. Conybeare's
latest book, Myth, Magic, and Morals, attempts to make
a distinction between the real Jesus of the Gospels and
the " fictitious " Christ. That Abraham proposed sac-
rificing his son not on Moriah but on Sinai is sug-
gested by the Rev. Gordon Clark in "The Site of the
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 695
Sacrifice of Isaac." Professor Griitzmacher, of Heidel-
berg, gives a short biography of Synesius, " Bishop of
Cyrene," the pupil of Hypatia, and one of the most re-
markable personalities of his age.
Ike International Journal of Ethics (July): "Moral Education:
The Task of the Teacher" is a refutation, by J. S.
Mackenzie, of the statement " that virtue cannot be
taught at all." " Moral Education : The Training of
the Teacher " is a discussion, by Mrs. Millicent Macken-
zie, on the preparation necessary for the teaching of
morals. Teachers must be given the material for moral
instruction as well as be trained to use it. In "The
Nietzsche Revival" Herbert L. Stewart declares that
nothing quite so worthless has ever attracted so much
attention from serious students of the philosophy of
morals. The rhapsody of Zarathustra is the holiowest
cant of a canting age, That the countries where no
remarriage is allowed show a lower standard of marital
faithfulness than is shown in the countries that grant
absolute divorce for serious causes, is the opinion of
Mrs. Anna Spencer of New York in " Marriage and
Divorce." Mrs. Husband, in " Women as Citizens,"
appeals to her sisters to defend the family, for the home
is the center of the morality of the nation. "The
Right to Property," by Professor Hoffman. "The
Ethical Element in Wit and Humor," by Rev. B. Oilman.
The International (June): Some of the changes likely to result
from the invention of aerial machines are discussed by
Rodolphe Broda in "Aerial Navigation and Civiliza-
tion." That Mr. Lloyd George has triumphantly suc-
ceeded in his " First Budget," where he was confidently
expected to fail, is the opinion of L. G. Chiozza Money,
M.P. " Austria's Rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
If the proverb that "where there is plenty of light there
are also deep shadows" holds good anywhere, it may
certainly be applied in connection with the future of
the above provinces. Francis de Pressene, in "The
European International Situation," shows that the trans-
formation of Turkey into a Great European Power would
tend to establish a lasting and universal peace.— —That
a " Pan-American Railroad" is no mere fantastic chimera
6g6 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Aug.,
of the brain, but an idea the realization of which is
making rapid headway, is exposed by Dr. R. Hennig.
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record (June): That "English Civiliza-
tion " in the eighties was not what it is generally
vaunted to be is the purport of R. Barry O'Brien's
article. "Early Modern Socialists," by "The Editor,"
reviews the work of the French equalitarians, beginning
with Baboeuf and ending with Proudhon. The perni-
cious effects of their teaching are to be seen in the
present day as expounded by the socialist Herve and
the anarchists of Barcelona. The enormous dispro-
portion between religious and anti- Christian journals in
France is shown in " The Catholic Press in France."
One of the greatest mistakes made by the Catholics was
that they underrated the value of the press. The
subject of " Glimpses of the Penal Times," by Reginald
Walsh, O.P., is Father Randall McDowell, O.P., who
died in Newgate, Dublin, in 1707. W. H. Grattan
Flood gives a short biography of " St. Richard of Dun-
dalk," a study of whose life appeared in this journal
forty-four years ago.
Le Correspondant (10 June): In "The Rivalry of England and
Germany," Albert Touchard says that England can, by
reason of her greater power at sea, destroy her rival's
fleet and paralyze her trade. Germany's object is to
get a base of operations. Such a base she hopes to find
in the Belgian port, Anvers, and the road from Berlin
to Anvers passes through Paris. Emile Faguet re-
views a book of M. Gaston Strauss on The Principles of
Renan. Renan was an aristocrat by birth and education.
This latter being clerical and idealistic colored all his
work. Apropos of the new edition of The Memoirs of
Cardinal Richelieu, published by the Historical Society
of France, Robert Laodlee gives a sketch of the im-
pressions produced by a preliminary study of the manu-
scripts. In " Germany and Ourselves " Jean Vezere
dwells on the unpatriotic spirit which has already worked
such harm in France and contrasts the two countries in
this respect.
$tudes (5 June) : Yves de la Briere defends " The Primacy of
St. Peter in the New Testament " against Orthodox
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 697
Protestants, Rationalists, and Catholic Modernists. In
" The First Catholic Impressions of St. Augustine " M.
Louis de Mondadon shows that the saint saw in philos-
ophy not a barren exercise of a single faculty but the
first step towards perfection by a perception of the unity
of the whole. Under " Latin America " Joseph Burne-
chon treats of Brazil and its capital, Rio de Janeiro.
The panorama in the bay baffles description and out-
rivals in beauty that of either Naples or Constantinople.
If " Feminism " means the regarding of woman as an-
other man then the writer, Pierre Suan, is opposed to
it. On the other hand, the movement which has as its
object the improvement of woman's position is in ac-
cordance with the teachings of Christianity and the
practice of the Catholio Church. In " Dante Alig-
hieri " Louis Chervoillot reviews two recent works on
the poet by Frenchmen : The New Life and The Divine
Comedy.
(20 June): In "The Primacy of St. Peter" Yves de la
Briere shows that the text "Thou art Peter" is histor-
ical and not the work of a redactor, elaborated little by
little between the passion of our Lord and the writing
of the Gospel. " From Hamid to Mahomet V." is an
account of the recent emente in Constantinople. With
Hamid absolutism disappeared and Mahomet gathered
around him the most popular leaders of the State.
The interest manifested to-day in " The Religious Ques-
tion " evidenced by the number of recent works bearing
on the subject is, Lucien Roure believes, a most happy
omen. Louis Maries writes on " The Discovery of the
Odes of Solomon " which, together with the eighteen
Psalms of Solomon, form an apocryphal literature, con-
taining many allusions to the life and work of our
Lord.
Revue Thomiste (May-June): P. Mandonnet, O. P., continues his
account of " The Authentic Writings of St. Thomas," as
found in the catalogues of Ptolemais of Lucca and Ber-
nard of Guidon. Writing on " The Evidence of Credi-
bility " P. Et. Hugueny, O.P., draws attention to two
classes of belief. The one which depends for its assent
on what is known of the veracity of the witness —
698 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Aug.,
the faith of science ; the other which confines itself to
the evidence without considering its guarantee — the faith
of authority. Mgr. A. Farges, in "The Fundamental
Error of the New Philosophy," states two corollaries,
the one drawn from the nature of substantial being, the
other from the pretended cinematograph knowledge of
M. Bergson. In " Reasoning on Contingent Matter in
Modern Science " T. Richard, O.P., points out that to
many savants of to-day the interest of science rests in
the fact of its uncertainty and instability. " Human
Liberty and Divine Foreknowledge," by M. M. Morard.
" Humanism and Pragmatism," by E. Brumas.
Revue Pratique d* Apologetique (i June): "The Morals of Mod-
ernism " are exposed by A. Scalla in his critique of the
Force-Ideas of M. Fouillee, according to which ideas
are the principles of actions. The ideas which are the
highest in theory are also the most forceful in action.
The contention of the apologists of the second cen-
tury that Christian miracles were of a supernatural and
beneficent character, as opposed to those of the Gnostics,
which were useless and purely natural works of magic,
is the subject of J. Lebreton's "The Beginnings of
Christian Apologetic." Henri Lesetre writes on " The
Fete of God," known in the Church as the Feast of
Corpus Christi, as a development of the worship rendered
in the Holy Eucharist. To save the reputation of
"Charles Perraud" from the slur cast upon him by the
Abbe Houtin in his book — A Married Priest, Charles
Perraud, Honorary Canon of Autun — is the object of Al-
fred Baudrillart. " Hindooism and Christianity," by
G. Bardy.
(15 June): "The Beginnings of Independent Morals"
is traced by Joseph Dedieu to the threshold of the Re-
naissance, when the coalition recognized in the Middle
Ages between the facts of moral conscience and the pre-
cepts of the Gospel, began to be broken up. Rene
le Picard, writing on " Faith and Freedom," quotes the
words of Pascal addressed to the libertines of the seven-
teenth century: " I should soon have given up the pleas-
ures, say they, if I had the faith, but I say to you, you
would soon have had the faith, had you given up the
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 699
pleasures." "The Sacred Heart." The institution of
the feast, its object, and meaning, are exposed by H.
Lesetre. In "Brain and Thought" Ph. Ponsard an-
swers the question whether the statement that where
there is a brain we have a thinking being, and where it
is lacking, intelligence and thought are equally lacking,
supplies an argument for materialism.
Annales de Philosophic Chretienne (June) : J. Gueville points out,
in " The Philosophy of Hamelin," that the distinguish-
ing note of present-day philosophy is the return to
metaphysical speculation, and in the explanation of the
passage from the abstract to the concrete and from de-
terminism to free will Hamelin has largely demonstrated
his abilities as a dialectician. "The Social Aspects of
Catholicism " is a study, by Charles Calippe, of Ferdi-
nand Brunetiere, who recognized that the true antidote
for the individualism of to-day was to be found in the
Catholic religion. In " The Origin of Religion," J.
Reche reviews Reinach's recent work Orpheus, in which
the latter traces the beginnings of all religion to animism,
totemism, and magic. At the same time the writer ad-
mits that among Catholics the science of religion is for
the most part neglected. Louis Cons writes on the
conferring of " The Nobel Prize " on Rudolf Eucken,
professor at Jena, whose philosophy shows a certain anal-
ogy to that of pragmatism. The writer sees in the rec-
ommendation of the committee a reaction against the
teaching of Nietzsche.
La Revue Apologetique (June): " The Holy Eucharist and Social
Action," a paper read at the Eucharistic Congress, Lon-
don, by M. Arthur Verhaegen, showing the effects of
our Lord's teaching on modern society. J. Fontaine,
S.J., writes on " Modernistic Sociology " and quotes as
opposed to it the arguments of Leo XIII. and Pius X.
" Occultism " deals with the third of the conferences
delivered by Father de Munnynck, on the dangers of
the subconscience, which from being of great utility can
become, he says, when improperly handled, the occasion
of great loss, involving ruin to our character and per-
sonality. "The Christianity and Aristocracy of the
Roman Empire," by L. Antheunis, shows how the former
700 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Aug.,
differed from all other religions in that it embraced the
slave, the freedman, and the patrician.
Revue du Monde Catholique (i June): "Towards the Abyss."
In this contribution Arthur Savaete traces the source of
the evil to Gallican errors and ruses employed by the
liberals to gain the ascendancy. "The Spanish Apolo-
gists of the Nineteenth Century " continues the teaching
of Juan Donoso-Cortes, giving his definition of liberty
and the deductions to be drawn therefrom. The bio-
graphy of "The Venerable Mother Marie of the Incar-
nation," first Superior of the Ursulines in Quebec, is
brought to a close. " Fontaine and the Presentation
of His Animals " is continued.
(15 June): "Towards the Abyss" discusses the condi-
tions existing at Laval, Quebec, and Montreal, under the
archiepiscopate of Mgr. Taschereau.— ^M. P. At ex-
poses the supernatural character which dominates the
philosophy of Donoso-Cortes, making all questions,
whether political, social, or economic, depend on theology
for their solution. " The Feminist Movement " is, says
Theodore Joran, proving itself to be the real enemy of
woman. From a true viewpoint the cause of woman
cannot be separated from that of man.
Stimnten aus Maria- Laach (28 May) : Father Cathrein, in " The
Modern Doctrine of Evolution as a Working-Theory of
the World," shows to what conclusions this system
logically leads and how it inevitably destroys the high-
est ideals of mankind. That the charges frequently
brought against Catholic charities of wrong and harmful
motives are based upon a misunderstanding is exposed
by H. Pesch in " Catholic Charity and its Adversa-
ries." M. Reichmann enlarges upon a late publica-
tion of Dr. K. Weiss on " Escobar as a Moral Theolo-
gian and His Mistreatment by Pascal." In " Life "
O. Zimmermann discusses the aspects of life as viewed
by modern materialism and pantheism, and shows that
they fail to make good their claims, for they neglect the
spiritual and thus deal only with a part of human
nature.
Biblische Zeitschrift (II.): Professor Fell, of Miinster, in "The
Biblical Canon of Josephus," shows the difference be-
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 701
tween the four-fold division of the biblical books and
the triple division of the Jews. The reason for the dif-
ference may be found in the fact that Josephus wrote
simply from the viewpoint of history and suited the ar-
rangement to the minds of his Greek readers. Pro-
fessor Engelkemper, of Miinster, explains the fact that
in spite of the prohibition of Deut. xiv. i and Lev. xix.
27 — " Not to Cut Oneself nor Shear One's Hair for the
Dead " — we find the practice mentioned by the prophets
and indulged in without reproof. Professor Franz Feld-
mann, of Bonn, maintains "The Unity of the Book of
Wisdom," and refutes Weber's assumption of four dif-
ferent authors.
La Scuola Cattolica (May) : B. Enrico writes apropos of the ques-
tion "Of the Provincializing of the School." "The
Classifications of the Old Testament " considers the order
of creation as mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis.
D. Bergamaschi contributes the last chapter of the
article "Judas Iscariot" as he appears in legend, tradi-
tion, and the Bible. B. Nogara gives some information
about " The New Vatican Picture Gallery." "A Scho-
lastic of Sane Modernity," is the title of an article on
G. Rossignoli by a former pupil, R. Paste*. " Psycopa-
thy in its Relations with Moral Theology " is concluded
in this number.
Razon y Fe (June): In his second article on "Patriotism" R.
Ruiz Amado studies the application of the principles
already formulated by Jose de Pereda and Jacinto Ver-
daguer. The latter's poem, " La Atlantida," is said to
be the greatest hymn of modern times to the Spanish
fatherland. Zacarias Garcia refutes, in "The Practice
of Penance in the Early Church," the statement of Har-
nack that it did not exist during the first two centuries.
My Social Vocation, by Count A. de Mun, is re-
viewed by M. Noguer with some notes on the relation
existing between Christian Democracy and the French
Republic. E. Ugarte de Ercilla, in "The Centenary
of Darwin," shows how few of his theories are widely
accepted to-day and exposes the weakness of his argu-
ments for natural selection and the relation between in-
stinct and intelligence. "The Real Position of Molina,"
702 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Aug.
in the famous controversy over the relation of grace to
free will and of the attitude of Clement VIII. towards
him, has been made clear, says Jose M. March, by the
discovery of Molina's original manuscript, copiously an-
notated by his Holiness.
Espanct y America (i June): Romulo del Campo outlines in
detail the story of the South American epic, "Tabare."
" All for Spain " is a protest by Graciano Mar-
tinez against the title, " a moribund nation." "Order
is the same as beauty. Both the details and, more es-
pecially, the whole of the universe exhibit order. Evil,
that is the ugly, necessarily arises as contrast," says £.
Negrete, continuing " The ^Esthetic Ideas of St. Augus-
tine." C. Fernandez, in " The Exegetical System
of St. Thomas Aquinas," makes clear the two ways in
which Scripture teaches, by words and by figures, giving
rise to literal and to mystical interpretations. Historical
events in the Old Testament may have an allegorical
meaning in the New. "The Administration of Justice
in China," by Juvencio Hospital, treats of the dun-
geons and of corporal punishments, especially by flogging
and machines of torture. " Neologisms and Poetry,"
by Father de Mugica. A poem on the four great Span-
ish dramatists in dialogue form by Jesus Delgado.
(15 June): "The Origin of the Sacraments," says
Santiago Garcia, was, according to the Church, Christ
Himself; according to the Modernists, they were insti-
tuted by the Church to excite religious sentiment.
" The Legend of El Dorado," and its connection with
the religious rites at the lake of Guatavita, by M.
Rodriguez H. "The Philosophy of the Verb" con-
tinued. M. Velez distinguishes " Christian Humil-
ity" from hypocrisy and pharisaism.— — — "Capital Pun-
ishment in China " is inflicted for murder, grave-rob-
bery, and rebellion ; its form is strangling or decapita-
tion. Its use, like that of torture, is growing rarer under
the control of law.
Current Events.
The conflict which has so long
Germany. divided the various parties in the
German Reichstag has resulted in
the dissolution of the Bloc, formed some two years ago by Prince
.Billow for the purpose of depriving the Centre, that is the
Catholic Party, of the commanding position which it had held
for many years. A further result has been the resignation by
the Prince of the Chancellorship of the German Empire, which
he has held for ten years. It will be remembered that the
Prince was displeased with a vote of the Centre, allied for the
occasion with the Social Democrats, calling for economy in the
German South West Africa, that he denounced it and them as
unpatriotic, and that under the influence of the feelings there-
by excited he secured a majority, although a very hetero-
geneous one, for what he was pleased to call a National policy.
In pursuance of this policy Conservatives and Radicals banded
together in an alliance against the Centre, with the hope of
being able to work together in all matters relating to foreign
affairs and of keeping their differences on internal affairs in
abeyance.
But the national policy has involved the imposition of a
large addition to the burden of taxation, and it then became
a question upon whose shoulders this burden was to be placed.
In their plan the government strove to adjust it equitably and
delivered homilies concerning the duty of every class to make
sacrifices for the well-being of the country. But whether it
was that the government's plan was not so equitable as it was
meant to be, or whether it was that the parties were at fault
and unwilling to bear their share of the load, the government's
plan was rejected by the Committee of the Reichstag to which
it was referred. The Conservatives thought the amount which
was to be paid by landed property too great and strove to
place it upon industry and commerce, a thing by which the
Radicals were aggrieved. The Centre, whether from convic-
tion or from political motives, sided with the Conservatives,
and by so doing formed a new majority.
There are those who see in the defeat of the Radicals the
closing chapter in the history of German Liberalism. The
704 CURRENT EVENTS [Aug.,
numbers of the various parties going under this name have
been gradually diminishing, and they only held their place in
the recent bloc by yielding everything substantial to their op-
ponents. The class which they represented was more numer-
ous than that which for a time they overthrew, but just as
selfish and as indifferent to the interests of the people at large.
This is now being discovered and the political insight of Prince
Bismarck is being verified. He is said to hare justified the
introduction of universal suffrage by the plea that it would be
the ruin of the Liberals and of their leaders the Professors,
whom he hated with the sincerity of a squire and of a prac-
tical man. It is not easy to understand the action of the
Centre in supporting the Conservatives, unless it be merely a
political move, for the Centre is in the main representative of
working people, although it has a sprinkling of the nobility in
its ranks. Pure devotion to principle is perhaps as rare in
Germany as in other countries. But, as Count Posadowsky,
the former Imperial Minister of the Interior, recently declared,
the title of any party to lead a people is a higher sense of
duty and greater readiness to make sacrifices. The Conserva-
tives have been conspicuous in the recent contest in looking
for some one else to make the sacrifices supposed to be re-
quired and it is not altogether satisfactory that for any reason
soever the Centre should have helped them in their schemes.
The relations between Germany and Great Britain form an
endless theme for discussion and have been brought into
prominence by the visit which the German Emperor has re-
cently paid to the Tsar at Reval. Many misgivings were felt
on account of this visit, especially in Russia where it was
feared that the entente now existing with Great Britain might
be weakened. It has been more or less the fashion hitherto
to belittle the importance of these exchanges of communica-
tion between the titular heads of the nations, in the belief
that wars now spring from the conflict of national interests,
but it is beginning to be seen that these meetings are not
without a bearing on the course of events. At all events there
is reason to believe that the meeting which King Edward had
with the Tsar at Reval in the spring, and the belief that an
arrangement detrimental to Germany had been made at that
meeting, was one cause, at least, of Germany's warm support of
Austria-Hungary during the recent crisis and of the interven-
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 705
tion with Russia which led to the sudden change in the policy
of the Tsar. That after so great an affront the Tsar should have
invited the German Emperor to Reval seemed to some to be an
indication that the former was about to yield himself once
more to German control — a control which would involve a
change in the existing relations between Russia, France, and
Great Britain. These apprehensions, however, seem unfounded,
.nor were they shared in the best-informed circles. So far as
can be ascertained the object (and the result) of the meeting
was, without prejudice to the maintenance of the alliance with
France and the entente with Great Britain, to secure a good
understanding with the two neighboring Empires, and to avoid
a change in the broad lines of European politics.
Russia is not at present strong enough to enter upon a
conflict with either Germany or Austria. Without becoming
subservient to either or to both, she wishes to be on friendly
terms with them, but recognizes that without France and with-
out England she would be in a position of inferiority which
her legitimate pride would not long permit her to endure.
On the other hand France and Great Britain, having no wish
to break the peace, have not the least desire to interfere with
the existence of the most friendly relations possible between
Russia and the two Central Empires of Europe. Ever since,
more than a year ago, Baron von Aehrenthal inaugurated his
railway policy, but especially since the lawless annexation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, relations between Russia and Austria
have been of the coolest. No representative of the Tsar went
to congratulate the Emperor Francis Joseph on the occasion
of the celebration of his Jubilee. If the visit of the Kaiser has
diminished this tension, and there are some signs that such has
been the result, not one of the Powers will find reason to
complain. Hearty friendship, mutual trust, a pledge of peace
between the two countries, as well as of the general peace —
these are the ideals of the Tsar. So he declared in toasting
the Emperor. Cordial friendship, confidence, peaceful senti-
ments, belief in the high wisdom of the Tsar, were the assur-
ances given in reply by the Emperor. What was said in
private by the Emperor and the Tsar or by their respective
Foreign Ministers has not been disclosed, but there seems to
be no reason to think that the meeting will involve any nota-
ble change in the present state of things. Speaking at Ham-
• VOL. LXXXIX.— 45
706 CURRENT EVENTS [Aug.,
burg a few days afterwards the Emperor declared that the
Tsar and he were agreed that their meeting was to be regarded
as a powerful confirmation of peace. They felt themselves as
monarchs responsible to God for the weal and woe of their
peoples. They desired to lead them as far as possible upon
the path of peace and to raise them to prosperity. They
would always strive as far as lay in their power, and with the
help of GDd, to promote and preserve peace.
The desire, however, to promote and to preserve peace does
not bring with it any relaxation in making preparation for
war. The next act of the Emperor was to send his warmest
congratulations to the director of the Vulcan works at Stet-
tin. Those foim a notable addition to already existing works
for building warships, and are intended to accelerate the con-
flict with Great Britain which so many in both countries look
upon as all but inevitable. The Navy League is not relaxing
in its endeavors, and as it has returned to the unity which
General Keirn's assault upon Catholics had weakened, there is
reason to look for an extension of its influence. While the
English Navy League does not number 100,000, that of Ger-
many is almost a million. All these citizens of the German
Empire are banded together of their own accord to insist upon
the strict fulfillment of the terms of the Navy Law, and if
these terms are to be departed from, it is to be in the direc-
tion of further expansion. Any proposal for limitation is
scouted as an impertinence. The duty of the League is de-
clared by its manager to be "to co-operate in the construction
of a Navy strong enough to make war seem to the strongest
Sea Power a hazardous venture." Inasmuch as special marks
of the Imperial approval were given to the League on the
occasion of its last meeting, it is scarcely fair to blame this
strongest Sea Power for maintaining its strength.
Efforts are being made to counteract the tendencies that
lead to war. Visits have been paid to Germany by repre-
sentatives of the party which may be considered the most
powerful at the present time in England — the Labor Party.
Those visitors have been better received, strange to say, by
members of the Imperial Cabinet than by the organizations of
the Labor Parties. Religious influences have also been brought
to bear. Ministers of various denominations, including, we be-
lieve, some Catholics, have been engaged in making a return
/
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 707
of the visit which was paid last year to England. A warm
welcome has been given in both cases, but no one can tell
which is going to gain the upper hand — the advocates of peace
or the advocates of war. Passion and accident, not reason,
will decide. Those best informed with regard to the German
people and their views are convinced that all ranks are united
in the determination to build a great navy, and that no con-
sideration as to expense will deter them from carrying out
this determination. It is not acknowledged that in build-
ing the navy there is any offensive object; it is meant for de-
fense. But defense of what ? On this there is no general
agreement; there are those, however, who include among the
things to be defended world-wide developments and certain
political aspirations which will not be acceptable to other
powers. But whatever the object may be, there is no doubt
that it has been the occasion for a strong movement for a
closer union of the various states which make up the British
Empire. Apprehension and fear have been aroused, and all
the colonies are determined, in one way or another, to con-
tribute to the common defense, What precise shape this de-
fense will take is to be determined at the Conference of repre-
sentatives from every part which is about to assemble.
The postmen and the other officials
France. of the State having resumed work,
and having accepted the conditions
imposed upon them, French citizens were looking forward to an
uninterrupted pursuit of their ordinary avocations and enjoy-
ments, when all of a sudden the stable boys broke out into
revolt, and all was turmoil and confusion once more. On the
occasion of the race for the Steeplechase Grand Prix at Au-
teuil the horses which were going to take part in the race
were waylaid by fourteen or fifteen stable hands, who forced
their attendants to take them back to the stables. The ex-
pectant crowd on the race course were so irritated by the
disappointment that rioting took place and both the military
and the police had all they could do to restrain them from
violence. In fact, the impression produced upon the masses
was greater than in the more serious strike of the postmen.
M. Berteaux, a former Minister of War and at the present
time a Vice-President of Chamber, lent his countenance to the
;o8 CURRENT EVENTS [Aug.,
proceedings of the stable boys and became the champion of
their wrongs, and even the Minister of Labor, M. Viviani,
promised his support for their claims. On the other hand the
government has been severely criticized for allowing the an-
archy, at present existent in France, to be made manifest
before the eyes of foreigners and of the elite of the fashiona-
ble world. "Our factories are sacked, our homes are invaded,
bonfires are fed with the chattels of workmen who claim the
right to work, as at Corbeil, at Mazamet, and at Meru"; such
is the state of France as it appears to the eyes of opponents
of the government. Even its friends are not without anxiety.
They recognize that deep down beneath the surface there is
intense dissatisfaction with the existing order, of which the
recent troubles and the ever-recurring acts of sabotage are but
tokens. And they do not see their way to a remedy. Least
of all are they willing to resort to those measures of repres-
sion to which their critics urge them. The pensions bill and
the income tax bill, which are before the Legislature, do not
seem to make much progress. It looks as if the country
were on the eve of a serious trial. Perhaps the General Elec-
tion due next spring may afford a remedy.
In a sphere even higher than the stable yards of French
sportsmen evidences of wrongdoing have been disclosed. The
Parliamentary Commission appointed to investigate the state
of the Navy has issued its report, a volume of some 1,000
pages, dealing with contracts, guns, ammunition, construction,
docks, administration, and other kindred subjects. Rumors
have been current for some time that all was far from being
well, but these were treated as gross exaggerations. The Re-
port, however, confirms the worst of these rumors, and is a
formidable indictment which fully justifies the many criticisms
in Parliament and the press. In naval construction proceedings
were found to be frequent which the Commission declared to
be prejudicial to the public finances and incompatible with any
kind of rational, methodical, or rapid construction. The arse-
nals are not in a state to carry out with sufficient rapidity the
repairs that are necessary, the mechanical equipment being in-
adequate and out of date. Contractors have their own way in
the works executed for the Navy. The guns of many ships
are without their due supply of shells, and in some cases this
supply has not been even voted by Parliament. Docking ac-
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 709
commodation for the large ships is totally lacking. " The var-
ious branches of the administration are," according to the Re-
port, " wanting in unity of views and purpose, in methods and
in defined responsibility ; neglect, disorder, and confusion too
frequently prevail." In the judgment of one of the representa-
tives of the Right the Report is an evidence of the fact that
Republicanism is leading France to the abyss, and has led to
the unexpected resignation of M. Clemenceau.
In addition to all these troubles, the Budget for 1910 shows
a deficit, although not of a very large amount — some twenty
millions of dollars. The Minister of Finance, M. Caillaux,
seems to be a very careful calculator of ways and means, and
proposes to distribute the additional necessary taxation in a
way in which it will not be felt as a great burden by any par-
ticular class.
France too is afflicted with a revision of the Tariff and with
the tedious debates such a revision involves, although they are
not likely to be so long drawn out as our own have been.
The latest revision was made in 1892. The present is said to
be necessary on account of a certain system of specialization
adopted in the last Tariff of Germany, which resulted in French
goods being discriminated against as compared with the pro-
ducts of those countries with which Germany had concluded
treaties of commerce. French exports to Germany were de-
clining in value. Not the least of the bad effects of a Tariff
is that it renders it almost impossible to take an interest in
public affairs during the long periods of time occupied by the
discussion upon it.
All who are anxious to obtain exact information as to the
part which France took in Europe in the first half of the last
century will be glad to learn that the Foreign Office archives
have been made available for research up to the date of Febru-
ary 23, 1848, in the case of papers embodying political corre-
spondence, memoirs, and documents. Consular correspondence
will, for the present, be made available up to no more recent
a date than 1791, and this only in installments and from the
beginning of next year. The reason for keeping these consular
documents in reserve is thought to be the extremely unpleasant
personal observations which they record.
Some surprise was felt when it was announced that the
Emperor Francis Joseph had bestowed upon President Fallieres
7io CURRENT EVENTS [Aug.,
the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, the highest of
all the Austrian orders. Close observers, however, of the events
which took place during the recent Balkan crisis did not share
that surprise; for it had not escaped their notice that while
France co-operated with Great Britain and Russia in calling
Austria to account for her breach of the Treaty of Berlin, she
was not as zealous or earnest as the other two Powers. It
now transpires that the French Ambassador at Vienna had
learned that the chief delinquent was Prince (now, in virtue of
his delinquency, King) Ferdinand, and that Baron von Aehren-
thal was more sinned against than sinning. The declaration of
the independence of Bulgaria and of the annexation of the
provinces had indeed been arranged between the two Powers,
but it was not to be effected at the time when it actually
took place. Prince or King Ferdinand forced the hand of the
Austrian Foreign Minister, and drove him by premature action
into a position which he would not have chosen. The French
Ambassador, on account of a more intimate knowledge of the
whole circumstances, formed a more lenient judgment of Baron
von Aehrenthal's conduct than did those who were ignorant of
the facts; and this influenced the home government. Hence
the unwonted mark of esteem conferred upon the President.
Perchance the Austrian Archives, when they are opened to the
public (should this ever take place), will furnish further recti-
fications of what is supposed to be current history.
This may be the place to correct misstatements that were
made with reference to the conduct of the Russian Grand Duke
Vladimir, who died a few months ago. When the troops fired
on the people in St. Petersburg, on what is now called Bloody
Sunday, at the beginning of the recent internal struggle for a
better state of things, it was said that this was done by his
commands, and the Grand Duke, in consequence, was exposed
to the utmost odium and popular hatred. It now appears that
he was quite innocent and always condemned the deed. The
order was given by a subordinate, the Grand Duke being ill
at the time.
The Coalition Cabinet, although it
Austria-Hungary. resigned more than two months
ago, still remains in office, for it
has been found impossible to find a successor. The King is
unwilling to entrust power to a Cabinet which would consist
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 711
of members of the most numerous party in the Parliament, in-
asmuch as he disapproves of its aims. These aims are to
separate Hungary, in all but one respect, from Austria, and
the party is, therefore called the Independence Party. It
wishes to have no bond of union between Hungary and Aus-
tria except the person of the King- Emperor. His Majesty
summoned a member of the Liberal Party, now in a small
minority, and allowed him to invite a small number of the In-
dependence Party to enter into the proposed Cabinet ; but not
one of the latter would listen to the proposal. On this ac-
count the King has been obliged to suspend all efforts to form
a government which shall carry out in Hungary that establish-
ment of universal suffrage which has been so long promised.
The attempt will be renewed in the autumn, and it is expected
that a renewal of the struggle between Austria and Hungary
will then take place. The bill incurred on the occasion of the
annexation of the Provinces will have to be met; Hungarians
will not pay their share unless some of their old demands are
granted.
It is for the first time in many
Russia. years that the Tsar has been able
to leave Russia and to make a
round of visits. For some time he has been practically im-
prisoned, as he did not venture to travel even in Russia, so
great was the hatred felt for him by large numbers of his sub-
jects. And now that he is going abroad to visit the President
of the French Republic, the King of England, and perhaps
the King of Italy, it is a sign of the times that to large
numbers of the people of those countries his visit is by no
means welcome. In England especially the strongest protests
have been made against the reception of one who is called a
blood-stained tyrant. This feeling is not hard to understand,
but it is, in a large measure, unjust; for Nicholas II., powerful
though he may be, cannot all at once overcome the accumu-
lated evils of centuries and alter methods of government which
have been handed down for generations. There is reason to
think that he is sincere in his desire to make all possible
changes in the right direction; and, better still, that he has in
no small degree succeeded. While the monarch himself is to
be received on board ship, the Deputies of his Parliament have
been welcomed with open arms, have been feted and banqueted,
7i2 CURRENT EVENTS [Aug.,
and received with every possible honor. They have shown
their loyalty to their sovereign by the protest made by them
against the utterances of the English Labor Party.
Although great efforts were made during the session of the
Duma to drive M. Stolypin from office, and to place a support
of the old regime in power, these efforts have been unsuccess-
ful. The session of the Duma came to an end in the middle
of June, and it is beginning to look as if it had become an
established institution. Nor are its labors without effect, for
many reforms were made during the session just concluded,
notably an Agrarian Bill and the laws of religious freedom.
Moreover, although its control over the Budget is very lim-
ited, yet it was able to effect considerable savings.
Signer Giolitti's ministry still re-
Italy, mains in office, all efforts to dis-
place it having proved unsuccessful.
His success is due less to his own ability or to the value of
the work done by his Cabinet than to the fact that there is no
regularly constituted opposition. What opposition there is
is made up of two extremes, unable to form a government
in the event of the tall of the present one. And while dissat-
isfaction is felt that many wants of the country are not met,
yet it is admitted that Signer Giolitti is an able administrator,
although it is generally recognized that there has been great
mismanagement of the relief works following upon the recent
earthquake. Strange to say he is denounced for having entered
into an alliance with those who are called Clericals.
It is hard to form a judgment as to the character of the
relations between Austria-Hungary and Italy. During the re-
cent crisis there is no doubt that the people of Italy condemned
Austria's action, but this feeling may have passed away, espe-
cially as the Austrian and Hungarian governments have now
consented to take part officially in the jubilee exhibitions in
celebration of Italian unity, which are to be held at Turin and
Rome in 1911, a thing which they had refused to do last year.
The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Ma-
jenta, in which the French and the Sardinians defeated the
Austrians, was so natural and inevitable that the latter could
not reasonably take umbrage on that account.
For many years past the Budget has always shown a sur-
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 713
plus; this year, however, there is a deficit, although it is not
very large. Extra expenditure on the army, the navy, and for
railway construction has caused the balance to be upon the
wrong side.
The Turkish dominions have been
Turkey. enjoying an unwonted degree of
peace and rest. Some indeed of
the Albanian chiefs have been giving trouble, and it has in
consequence been necessary to make use of the services of
the military to preserve order; but the Macedonian bands no
longer roam; the Bulgar no longer murders the Greek; while
the Serbs have slain only one Bulgarian. For many years there
has not been such an uninterrupted period of repose. The
Cabinet of Hilmi Pasha still retains office, and so far as is
known the Young Turks do not seek to exercise any longer a
power which is not compatible with constitutional government.
But the problem to be solved is of unparalleled difficulty.
There has been no such thing as a nation in the regions
dominated by Turkey. The only unity has been that of geo-
graphical territory; but this has contained a multitude of races
opposed to one another in every way. The state of the Bal-
kans has made this evident to the most casual observer. But
things are worse in the Asiatic dominions. Mesopotamia, for
example, is inhabited by Arabs and Kurds, Armenians, Syrians
including Nestorians, Chaldeans, and Jacobites, a few Greeks,
Circassians, and Georgians, Jews, Gypsies, and a race of Yesidis
or Devil-Worshippers. Some of these races are still nomads,
some semi- nomads, while others are dwellers in villages or
towns. They differ in language, custom, and dress. If the
new Parliament succeeds in effecting any semblance of unity it
will indeed have worked a miracle. But it is worth the at-
tempt. Absolute government has reduced to ruins and poverty
a country which once fed and nourished the richest Empires
of the days of old. The new government has already taken
steps to reclaim the district of Mesopotamia. A commission
has been sent to make plans for its irrigation ; if fertility can
be restored, perhaps the various races will find in its cultiva-
tion a common pursuit tending to bring them closer together.
A question which is perhaps even more urgent than this one
of bringing into harmonious action so many various races, is that
of ways and means. For the last thirty years of Abdul Hamid's
rule he was engaged in plundering his people, and all the
714 CURRENT EVENTS [Aug.,
revenues had diminished except those which had been handed
over to the foreign Public Debt Commission lor the service of
that debt. The establishment of the national finances upon a
solid footing, and beyond the reach of a robber sovereign, is
an all-essential condition of future stability. The first public
budget has been introduced into the Turkish Parliament and
was so satisfactory to all its members that it passed through
the House in a very short time.
The most acute question of all, however, has been that of
Crete. This island, it will be remembered, while remaining
under the sovereignty of the Sultan, is administered by a
Commissioner appointed by the Sultan on the nomination of
the four Pdwers. These powers have maintained troops in
the island for the maintenance of order. During the first
years of the recently- entered-into arrangements the Commis-
sioner at the head of the island's affairs was Prince George
of Greece. His administration was not successful in every re-
spect, and on his resignation he was succeeded by M. Zaimis,
a private gentleman, who had once held office in Greece.
His success has been so great that about a year ago the Powers
announced their intention of removing their troops from the
island. Last year, when Bulgaria declared itself independ-
ent, Crete voted for its own annexation to Greece, and since
that time the taxes have been collected in the name of
King George. The Four Powers, however, not wishing to
have this question added to the others then requiring settle-
ment, prevailed upon both Crete and Greece to hold the an-
nexation in abeyance upon the understanding that when the
proper time should arrive they would be rewarded by their
support. The time has now come, and the settlement of it
seems to be even more difficult than before. On the one hand
the Turks have, under the new constitutional regime, the sym-
pathy which was lacking when Abdul Hamid reigned, and the
Powers do not wish to do anything to bring the new order of
things into discredit. Moreover, the Young Turks have at heart
the strengthening of the Empire and public opinion has declared
that war is preferable to any further loss of territory. In fact
they wish to diminish the privileges already bestowed on the
Cretans and have sent a Circular to the Powers to that effect.
On the other hand the promises made to Greece and to Crete,
that the desire of annexation would be considered, seemed to
necessitate action in a sense contrary to the wishes of the
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 715
Young Turks. The arrangement made seems to be in favor of
the latter. The troops are to be removed. The promise was
definitely made and it is to be kept ; but each of the four
Powers in turn is to keep a guardship to maintain order,
and the Sultan's flag is still to fly as a sign of the mainte-
nance of his sovereign rights. This settlement cannot be looked
upon as agreeable either to the Turks or the Greeks and is
evidently a mere postponement of the matter.
The deposition of the Shah was
Persia. perfectly justified, for he had proved
himself thoroughly unworthy of
trust. Three several times he had sworn to respect the Con-
stitution granted by his father ; twice he perjured himself, and
it is hardly to be expected that his third oath could be trusted.
His conduct, while it cannot be excused, may be explained by
the unjustifiable proceedings in the first Parliament, and by the
still more unjustifiable projects cherished by some at least of
its members. Among these was the deposition of the ruler,
and it is hard to find a sovereign so virtuous as to acquiesce in
his own extinction, however desirable it may be in view of
the public good. In this instance it was not quite clear that
the good of the country would be furthered in a notable de-
gree by the advent to power of some at least of the supporters
of the parliamentary regime. Not a few among them seriously
expected to be released from the payment of taxes. Whatever
the excellencies of parliamentary government may be, freedom
from taxation cannot be reckoned among them. When such
elements have to be dealt with, when the country is bankrupt,
and Russia and Great Britain and Turkey are on its borders,
not anxious to intervene indeed, but having it in their power
to do so should their interests be thought to demand it, the
youthful Shah (or rather his advisors) has an anxious time
before him. There is a very strong feeling of patriotism
manifested by resolute opposition to all intervention from out-
side; but it remains to be seen whether it will be wisely
guided. The new electoral law, after a long process of elabo-
ration, was signed by the deposed Shah, but not promulgated.
Doubtless it will soon be put into effect, and the second Par-
liament elected.
THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION.
THE CHAMPLAIN TERCENTENARY.
""PHE past month has been filled with memories of Champlain, that intrepid
J. Frenchman whose name lights up the early pages of North American
exploration and conquest.
One of the most notable celebrations of the Tercentenary of the discov-
ery of Lake Champlain was held at Plattsburg, N. Y., July 7, when Presi-
dent Taft, Governor Hughes, Cardinal Gibbons, and a host of other dis-
tinguished priests and laymen gathered at the Catholic Summer-School,
Cliff Haven, to pay honor to the memory of the French explorer.
The week of celebration was opened on July 4 with special services in
all the churches. At Cliff Haven Pontifical High Mass nvas sung in the open
air on the banks of Lake Champlain. It was an impressive sight. The
officers of the Mass were : celebrant, the Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Hickey, D.D.,
Bishop of Rochester; assistant priest, the Rev. D. J. Hickey, of Brooklyn;
deacon, the Rev. John P. Chidwick, of New York ; sub-deacon, the Rev.
John T. Driscoll, of Fonda, N. Y. ; master of ceremonies, the Rev. John F.
Byrnes, of New York. His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons delivered the
sermon. Other distinguished prelates present were: the Rt. Rev. John J.
Collins, D.D., Bishop of Jamaica, W. I.; the Rt. Rev. Charles H. Colton,
D.D., Bishop of Buffalo; the Rt. Rev. Patrick Ludden, D.D., Bishop of
Syracuse; the Rt. Rev. John Grimes, D.D., Co-Adjutor of Syracuse; the
Rt. Rev. H. MacSherry, D.D., of South Africa; the Rt. Rev. M. J. Lavelle,
V.G., of New York; and the Rt. Rev. D. J. McMahon, D.D., of New York.
Cardinal Gibbons in his sermon paid a tribute to the fire of apostolic
zeal which burned so brightly in Champlain's deeds and referred to him as
the pathfinder of that noble band who explored our lakes and forests "with
the torch of faith in one hand and the torch ot science in the other."
The coming of President Taft was the crowning event of the celebration
in Plattsburg. A reception was tendered the President, Governor Hughes,
and Cardinal Gibbons at the Champlain Summer-School and the auditorium
was crowded. In a brief address the President dwelt upon the sweeping away
of those barriers which fostered narrow prejudices and denominational bigotry,
and said that we are reaching that point where we can appreciate the great
heroes in Christian virtue and faith and profit by the examples they have set
us. Of Champlain he said that he was a man whom all nations might honor.
"He is not a man with respect to whose history you have to pass over
something in silence. All his life could bear the closest examination; and
he brings out in the strongest way those wonderful qualities shown in the
fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries by Spaniards, Englishmen,
Frenchmen, and Portuguese, who braved these dreadful terrors of the sea,
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 717
circumnavigated the globe in little cockleshells, and carried the standard of
the then civilization into the farthest forests and into the dangers of the
most distant tropics.
" I think it is well for us to go back through the history of all nations,
in order that our own heads, a little swelled with modern progress, may be
diminished a bit in the proper appreciation of what was done by nations be-
fore us, under conditions that seemed to limit the possibility of human
achievement, but limitations that were overcome by the bravery, the cour-
.age, and the religious faith of nations that preceded us in developing the
world."
At Fort Ticonderoga the Champlain celebration took on an internation-
al aspect with the presence, besides the President, of Ambassadors Bryce and
Jusserand, of Great Britain and France respectively, Vice-Admiral Uriu, of
Japan, American and Canadian troops, and a distinguished company of
visitors. Senator Root spoke glowingly of Champlain and pointed out the
influence of the discovery of the lake upon the great struggles which followed.
The keynote ot all the addresses was the peace of nations.
Samuel de Champlain was bern in 1567, at Brouage, France ; he died in
Quebec, Christmas Day, 1635. The son of a ship captain, he was early
trained in the principles of navigation. After army service in France he
made a voyage to the Spanish settlements in America and in a report of this
trip suggested for the first time the construction of an isthmian canal, which,
he said, would shorten the voyage to the "South Sea by more than 1500
leagues." In 1604 he came out for a second time to New France, and in
four voyages explored the Bay of Fundy and the New England coast as far as
Vineyard Sound. Returning to France, he came out again in 1608 as Lieu-
tenant-Governor and on July 3 began the foundations of the City of Quebec.
It was in the following year, accompanied by a band of Montagnais, Huron,
and Algonquin Indians, in an expedition against the Iroquois, that Cham-
plain discovered the lake which bears his name. From this forward he was
the central figure in those incessant Indian wars which had such important
consequences in after years and which have forever made the Champlain
country memorable in North American annals.
Parkman, in his Pioneers of France in the New World (Boston, 1865),
says of Champlain: "Of the pioneers of the North American forests, his
name stood foremost on the list. It was he who struck the deepest and
boldest strokes into the heart of their pristine barbarism. . . . The
preux chevalier, the crusader, the romance-loving explorer, the curious
knowledge-seeking traveler, the practical navigator, all found their share in
him. . . . His books mark the man — all for his theme and] purpose,
nothing for himself. Crude in style, full of the superficial errors of careless-
ness and haste, rarely diffuse, often brief to a fault, they bear on every page
the palpable impress of truth."
In an address delivered at Fort Ticonderoga on July 6, Hamilton W.
Mabie said of Champlain :
" A gentleman by birth and training, he was brave and hardy ; of great
strength, calm in danger, resourceful and swift in action ; strict in discipline,
but always just and kind; a Frenchman in his blitheness of spirit and a cer-
7i8 THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION [Aug.,
tain inextinguishable gayety which hardship could not dim, he was a man to
ba loved and honored. No more chivalrous or gallant figure appears in the
New World story. He belongs with the Founders and Builders, and rightly
biars the proud title, the 'Father of New France.'"
* * *
DR. WILSON AND HARVARD.
President Woodrow Wilson, of Princeton University, delivered the Phi-
Biita Kappa oration at Harvard last month. He devoted his attention to the
American college, and the gist of his remarks, as reported by the news-
papers, was that " . . . we have now for a long generation devoted our-
selves to promoting changes which have resulted in all but complete disor-
ganization, and it is our plain and immediate duty to form our plans for re-
organization. We must re-examine the college, reconcieve it, reorganize it.
It is the root of our intellectual life as a nation. It will be found to lie some-
where very near the heart of American social training and intellectual and
moral enlightenment."
The humor of the situation may not be at once apparent. But imagine
President Taft addressing a gathering of Cooper Union Socialists on the
bsauties of the republican form of government ; or Mr. Asquith, in Eng-
land, explaining to the suffragettes the advantages of the woman who re-
frains from the ballot, and you taste somewhat of the pleasantry of an address
to Harvard upon the old-time function of the college.
The lately retired President of Harvard University, Dr. Charles W.
Eliot, has, since 1869, been the apostle of the new learning in this country,
aad has stood for just those things which Dr. Wilson so emphatically con-
demns. Under Dr. Eliot and the "Elective System" it has become possible
for the young man of fifteen or sixteen to "elect" his future career in mathe-
matics, biology, or political science, and so to order his subjects of study
that history, languages, or belles lettres will not interfere with his progress in
triangles, nerve-cells, or the theory of values.
The lopsidedness of minds developed after such a fashion is less appar-
ent to the eye than the abnormalities that sicken us in the circus side-shows,
but it is not less real on that account. Education on any such plan is a
cheat and a misnomer and a vile servility to the money-getting spirit of the
day.
" . . . The object of the college, as we have known and used and
loved it in America," says Dr. Wilson, "is not scholarship (except for the
few, and for them only by way of introduction and first orientation), but the
intellectual and spiritual life. Its life and discipline are meant to be a pro-
cess of preparation, not a process of information."
The fine savor of these criticisms lies in the fact that they were spoken in
Harvard, to Harvard men, and at a Harvard function; their force, in that
they come from a man who is not unacquainted with Dr. Eliot's achievements
as an educator and who has had seven years of practical experience in direct-
ing a large university. No critic of Harvard or its late president has spoken
a more sweeping condemnation of the elective system than Dr. Wilson
uttered in the following paragraph. Speaking of what the college under
the old regime gave its students, Dr. Wilson said :
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 719
" Men were bred by it to no skill or craft or calling; the discipline to
which they were subjected had a more general object. It was meant to pre-
pare them for the whole of life rather than for some particular part of it.
The ideals which lay at its heart were the general ideals of conduct, of right
living, and right thinking, which made them aware of a world moralized by
principle, steadied and cleared of many an evil thing by true and catholic re-
flection and just feeling; a world, not of interests, but of ideas.
" Such impressions, such challenges to a man's spirit, such intimations
.of privilege and duty, are not to be found in the work and obligations of pro-
fessional and technical schools. They cannot be. The work to be done in
them is as exact, as definite, as exclusive as that of the office and the shop.
Their atmosphere is the atmosphere of business, and should be. It does net
beget generous comradeships or any ardor of altruistic feeling such as the
college begets. It does not contain that general air of the world of science
and of letters in which the mind seeks no special interest, but feels every in-
timate impulse of the spirit set free to think and observe and listen. The ob-
ject of the college is to liberalize and moralize; the object of the professional
school is to train the powers to a special task."
* * *
DARWIN AND LOUVAIN.
On the eve of its own seventy-fifth anniversary the University of
Louvain has sent a delegate, in the person of Professor H. de Dorlodot,
D.D., D.Sc., to Cambridge to be present at the celebration of the centenary
of Charles Darwin's birth.
In an address on behalf of the faculty of Louvain, Dr. Dorlodot ex-
presses the pleasure of the university in participating, with other scholarly
bodies throughout the world, in rendering honor to the illustrious naturalist.
Whatever may be the difference of opinion as to Darwin's theory of natural
selection, no naturalist, he thinks, would refuse to-day to accept evolution,
or fail to appreciate the necessity of explaining by these laws the actual
organic world.
A power of analysis of innumerable facts, close logic, and a scrupulous
fairness are the traits which Dr. Dorlodot attributes to Darwin ; and to
have preserved these in face of the unfair attacks made upon the theory of
evolution by unenlightened naturalists and theologians is an evidence of
that fine courage which crowned his mental powers. Darwin, says Dr.
Dorlodot, established the truth — foreseen by the mind of Augustine — that
God, in creating the world, endowed it with the powers requisite for its
development. He completed in this the labors of Newton.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
THE CENTURY COMPANY, New York:
Antonio. By Earnest Oldmeadow. Pp. 581. Price $1.30 net.
COCHRANE PUBLISHING COMPANY, New York :
Where the Fishers Go. The Story of Labrador. By Rev. P. W. Browne. Pp. 366.
CATHOLIC SUMMER-SCHOOL PRESS, New York:
The Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries. Second Edition. By James J.Walsh, M.D.,
LL.D. Pp. 453.
PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH OFFICE, Boston :
The Bible of the Sick. From the French of Frederic Ozanam. Pp. 127.
AMERICAN LEAGUE OF THE CROSS, Chicago
The Catholic Penny Booklet. Collection D. Sound Readings for Busy People. Compiled
by Rev. James M. Hayes, S.J. Price 25 cents.
ANTI-SALOON LEAGUE OF AMERICA, Columbus, Ohio :
The Anti-Saloon League Year Book. 1909. By Earnest Hurst Cherrington. Pp. 256,
Price 35 cents ; cloth bound, 60 cents.
SISTERS OF MERCY, Manchester, N. H. :
Memoir of Rev. William McDonald. By a Sister of Mercy. Pp.223.
AVE MARIA PRESS, Notre Dame, Ind. :
Father Jim. By J. G. R. Pp. 29. Price 10 cents. The Book of the Lily ; and Other
Verses. By a Sister of the Holy Cross. Pp. 123.
CATHOLIC RECORD PUBLISHING HOUSE, London, Canada:
Father Damen's Lectures. 8th edition. Pp. 118.
CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY, London, England:
The Religion of Mithra. The Religion of Imperial Rome. The Religion of Early Rome.
The Religion of Modern Judaism. The Religion of Ancient Syria. The Religion of the
Early Church. The Religion of the Hebrew Bible. The Religion of Anctent Greece.
The Religion of Egypt. Pamphlets. Price one penny each.
P. LETHIELLEUX, Paris, France :
L'Eglise de France. Apres la Persecution Religieuse. Par Paul Barbier. Pp. 125.
Price 0.60.
PLON NOURRIT ET CIE., Paris, France :
Historie Religieuse de la Revolution Franfaise. Deuxieme Edition. Par M. Pierre de la
Gorce. Pp. 515. Price -jfr. 50.
EDITION DU BEFFROI. Paris, France:
L Ecclesiaste. Par Henri Delisle. Pp. 53.
T. P.'S. BERNADINO, Siena, Italy :
La Questione Femminile in Italia e il Dovere Delia Donna Cattolica. By Elena da Persico,
Pp. 62. Santa Melania Giuniore. By Elena da Persico. Pp. 278.
DESCLEE ET SOCIETE, Tornaci, Belgium.
Breviarium Sacrarum Virfinum Sanctce Birgittce ; Horas Deipares Virginis per Feriai
Distributor Continent. Published by order of the Bishop of Plymouth. Pp. xlvi.-937.
THE
CATHOLIC WORLD.
VOL. LXXXIX. SEPTEMBER, 1909. No. 534.
PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS.
BY FRANCIS P. DUFFY, D.D.
(HE venerable President of Harvard University
doffed his academic robes only to assume the
mantle of the prophet. In an address delivered
on July 22 to the students of the Harvard Sum-
mer-School of Theology, he outlined the religion
of the future. He does not claim, however, that he possesses
any of the charismata of the Hebrew seers ; nor even, with
the Highland bard, that " the sunset of life gives mystical
lore." On the contrary, he has no confidence in any "mys-
tical" means of attaining to knowledge of the future. The
President . Emeritus of Harvard University is nothing if not
scientific in his methods of religious prognosis. Science sits
to-day in the seat of Moses. It is not fond of the formula
"Thus saith the Lord God"; though it is no less emphatic
in its pronouncements than those who enjoyed that certain
source of knowledge.
Fortunately for our peace of mind, we have all been learn-
ing of late to keep a steady head when our would-be masters
of all things terrestrial and celestial point out what way the
world is infallibly tending. The prophets, one finds, are so
uniformly certain, and so inevitably conflicting. Mr. Edward
Bellamy assumed the part of Isaias, and pictured the lions and
lambs lying down together. Mr. H. G. Wells offers " Antici-
pations " showing present conditions going on as they are until
Copyright. 1909. THB MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF ST. PAUL THB APOSTLE
IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
VOL. LXXXIX.— 46
722 PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS [Sept.,
raised to the nth power, and Mr. G. B. Shaw shows them
topsy-turvy. Mr. G. K. Chesterton, in impish mood, pictures
a return to a flamboyant mediaeval parochialism. And Father
Benson, in apocalyptic rather than scientific spirit, hears the
winding of the trump of doom.
When one has read half a dozen prophecies about the future
of the world, one has reached a condition of philosophic calm.
One begins to rank them with prophecies about sports or pol-
itics— the results of the Olympic games or a Presidential elec-
tion. It is especially easy for Catholics to be calm in the
face of the most violent and infallible seers. The Church has
seen so many changes of dynasties and governments, has kept
so incredibly young through so many Olympiads, has survived
so many foretellings of doom, that her children have learned
by experience to trust only in one prophecy. It runs : " Behold
I am with you all days even to the end of the world." For
minds fixed on so firm a basis, Dr. Eliot's vaticinations take
their place as the opinions of an able man who has had a large
share in shaping the views of one section of the community
on the present religious tendencies of his own set as he per-
ceives them. They are worthy of attention as showing what
certain influential men believe, or do not believe, at the pres-
ent moment; but whether they give a true picture of the re-
ligious attitude of the generality of men a hundred years hence
is, to say the least, matter for discussion.
But first of all let us turn to his prediction itself. The
citations are from the best report of the lecture available at
present — that in the Boston Transctipt of July 22. The text
is somewhat abbreviated, but in no wise distorted:
Religion is not fixed, but fluent, and it changes from cen-
tury to century. The progress in the nineteenth century far
outstripped that of similar periods, and it is fair to assume
that the progress of the twentieth century will bring about
what I call the new religion. The new religion will not be
based upon authority, either spiritual or temporal. As a
rule, the older Christian churches have relied on authority.
But there is now a tendency toward liberty and progress and,
among educated men, this feeling is irresistible. In the new
religion there will be no personification of natural objects ;
there will be no deification of remarkable human beings and
the faith will not be racial or tribal.
1909.] PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS 723
In primitive times sacrifice was the root of religion-; even
the Hebrews were propitiated by human sacrifices. The
Christian Church has substituted for that the burning of in.
cense. It will be of immense advantage if the religion of the
twentieth century shall get rid of these things, for they give
a wrong conception of God. A new thought of God will be
its characteristic. The twentieth century religion accepts
literally St. Paul's statement : "In Him we live and move and
have our being." This new religion will be thoroughly
monotheistic. God will be so immanent that no intermediary
will be needed. For every man God will be a multiplication
of infinities. A humane and worthy idea of God then will be
the central thought of the new religion. This religion rejects
the idea that man is an alien or a fallen being who is hope-
lessly wicked. It finds such beliefs inconsistent with a
worthy idea of God. Man has always attributed to man a
spirit associated with but independent of the body. This
spirit is the most effective part of every human being.
The new religion will take account of all righteous persons
— it will be a religion of " all saints " ; it will reverence the
teachers of liberty and righteousness, and will respect all
great and lovely human beings. It will have no place for
obscure dogmas or mystery. In past times to the sick and
downtrodden death has been held out as compensation ; will
the new religion make such promises ? I believe that in the
new religion there will be no supernatural element ; it will
place no reliance on anything but the laws of nature.
It will admit no sacraments, except natural, hallowed cus-
toms, and it will deal with natural interpretations of such
rites. Its priests will strive to improve social and industrial
conditions. The new religion will not attempt to reconcile
people to present ills by the promise of future compensation.
I believe the advent of just freedom for mankind has been de-
layed for centuries by such promises. Prevention will be the
watchword of the new religion, and. a skillful surgeon will be
one of its ministers. It cannot supply consolation as offered
by old religions, but it will reduce the need of consolation.
Pain, formerly, was considered a just punishment ; but now
human suffering will be attacked surely and quickly. Anaes-
thetics have done away with the idea that extreme pain is in
any way expiation for possible sin. The new religion will
not even imagine the "justice" of God. The new religion
will laud God's love, and will not teach condemnation for the
mass of mankind. Based on the two great commandments of
724 PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS [Sept.,
loving God and one's neighbor, the new religion will teach
that he is best who loves best and serves best, and the great-
est service will be to increase the stock of good- will.
I^ove and hope are very inspiring sentiments, and the new
religion will strengthen them. It will foster a new virtue —
the love of truth. It will not be bound by dogma or creed ;
its workings will be simple, but its field of action limitless.
Its discipline will be the training in the development ol co-
operative good-will.
There are now various fraternal bodies which to many per-
sons take the place ot a Church ; if they are working for
good, they are helpful factors. Again different bodies of
people, such as spiritualists and Christian Scientists, have set
up new cults. But the mass of people stay by the Church.
Since there will be undoubtedly more freedom in this cen-
tury, it may be argued that it will be difficult to unite various
religions under this new head ; but such unity I believe can
be accomplished on this basis ; the love of God and service to
one's fellowman. There are already many signs of extensive
co-operation ; democracy, individualism, idealism, a tendency
to welcome the new, and preventive medicine. Finally, I
believe the new religion will make Christ's revelation seem
more wonderful than ever to us.
We shall now strive to get a clear idea of all this by ar-
ranging the points under the categories in which our own more
careful theological thinkers are wont to treat the content and
scope of religion. God is retained, but in a rather vague,
Pantheistic fashion. Free will is not touched on. He asserts
the spirituality of the soul, but is very unsatisfactory on the
subject of immortality. Future punishment is denied, but future
reward is not asserted ; rather, there seems to be a definite
rejection of any hope of consolation in life beyond the grave.
There is no indication of form of worship except that there
must be " a worthy idea of God," and " love of God," and
the keeping up of " natural hallowed customs." Of course if
they are given only a natural meaning, rites such as baptism
and matrimony will be no more " hallowed " than rolling eggs
at Easter or popping corn at Hallow E'en. There is no indi-
cation of any church organization for the new religion, except
that it will "take account of all righteous persons," and will
aim at "co-operative good- will." The general ethical ideals,
so far as they go, are Christian. No very definite schedule of
1909.] PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS 725
moral behavior could be expected in so brief a space. But it
is noteworthy that holiness is not given a place among the
effects of religion. These are : advancement of progress and
liberty; improvement of social and industrial conditions; in-
crease of good-will ; and the lessening of bodily ills.
When we come to consider it on its negative side we get a
clearer conception of how far the new religion is removed from
what most men have hitherto considered religion to be. It makes
no pretence to be a divine message. It is a product of human
speculation, and may change with the years. Notwithstanding
this, Dr. Eliot announces it with a certain air of finality — a
characteristic inconsistency of the "anti-dogmatic" type of
mind. On its principles, however, the new religion is merely
tentative and temporary. There is no divine revelation (the
phrase "Christ's revelation" can hardly be taken in the theo-
logical sense) and no divinely constituted religious authority;
no solution from on high of the riddles of existence, no mys-
teries, no faith, no creeds; no priests, no sacraments, no means
of forgiveness — no sins to forgive, so far as one can see. The
doctrine of original sin is stated in terms of Calvinism. New
England thinkers of the advanced type, by the way, seem
never to have heard of any theology except that of Calvinism.
Dr. Eliot rejects the fall of man, and with a note of scorn, as
if he had some private sources of enlightenment on the mys-
tery of evil which are denied to the rest of us. No form of
worship is suggested. Dr. Eliot confesses that sacrifice has
been connected with religion in the past; but he considers it
unworthy in any form. Incidentally, his remark about incense
as the form of sacrifice in the Christian Church shows how
scandalously uninformed is this University president with re-
gard to the older religions which he sets aside in such sum-
mary fashion. Even prayer seems to have no place in the
new scheme. " I believe," he says, " that in the new religion
there will be no supernatural element; it will place no reli-
ance on anything but the laws of nature." Considering the
harsh evolutionary philosophy of survival of the fittest, which
is back of the modern view of these laws of nature, it is not
surprising to find him acknowledging that his religion "cannot
supply consolation as offered by the old religion." Nor is
there any word of salvation, whether from sin in this world or
from annihilation in the next. Dread of God's justice is de-
726 PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS [Sept.,
nounced as unworthy; but no moral sanction is offered in its
place. And, as noted above, the ideal of holiness which has
attracted the highest type of religious character among Jews,
Buddhists, and Mohammedans, as well as among Christians,
seems to be altogether beyond Dr. Eliot's religious horizon.
Before beginning our criticism of this scheme of religion,
let us undertake the pleasanter task of indicating, with proper
reservations, how far we Catholics can find ourselves in agree-
ment with it. We admit a growth in knowledge of the con-
tent of religious truth from age to age ; but we reject as
absurd the idea that progress is made by a silly process of
uprooting and planting anew to suit the fancy of changing
generations. In our concept the tree of truth planted by
Christ is still fresh and vigorous, thickened by rings of solid
growth deposited by the Christian centuries, pruned in every
age by the care of saints and doctors, and producing ever
fresh foliage and fruit for the protection and nourishment of
each generation according to its needs. Secondly, the idea of
a religion that is not tribal or racial is in the very concept of
" Catholic." So too is reverence for all teachers of liberty and
righteousness and truth, wheresoever they may be found. This
broad catholic spirit is the spirit of our greatest leaders — St.
Paul and Justin Martyr, Augustine and Aquinas, Bossuet and
Newman.
One admission also we may freely make to Dr. Eliot — that
progress along some lines has been retarded in the past by
misunderstandings of the Sacred writings or by a form of re-
liance on Providence which God never intended for free agents.
But this is only a small item in the count. A student of
European history with larger views than Dr. Eliot would be
much more impressed by the fact that orthodox Christianity
supplied the motives and created the moral conditions which
alone made progress and liberty possible. It remains to be
seen whether his system of naturalism will supply humanity
with the principles of right and the motives for unselfishness
which alone will keep alight the torch of civilization. So far
as Dr. Eliot himself is concerned, the matter is easy. He was
born an heir to the Christian tradition, so he finds it easy to
hold to the Christian ethics even while overthrowing the foun-
dations on which they have been built. His hold on them
depends, however, not on a logical nexus with his main line of
1909.] PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS 727
thought, but on the bonds of habit. He takes over the Law
of Love from Christianity, but ascribes to it neither divine
authority nor supernatural sanction. Does the history of the
race or a study of humanity as it is lead to the belief that the
altruistic element in man is strong enough to stand on its own
feet ? How long will this principle of unselfishness hold its
own in a religion whose main features are a God Who does
not care and a system of nature which makes progress by sur-
vival of the fittest? Mr. Balfour discusses this point in a fa-
miliar passage of his Foundations of Belief. His argument is
directed against those who have gone farther in their rejection
of religious beliefs than Dr. Eliot, but it will apply to all cases
of the surreptitious adoption of the ethical dogmas of Christi-
anity by systems which " place no reliance on anything but the
laws of nature."
Biologists tell us [he writes] of parasites which live, and can
only live, within the bodies of animals more highly organized
than they. For them their luckless host has to find iood, to
digest it, and to convert it into nourishment which they can
consume without exertion and assimilate without difficulty.
Their structure is of the simplest kind. Their host sees ior
them, so they need no eyes; he hears for them, so they need
no ears ; he works for them and contrives for them, so they
need but feeble muscles and an undeveloped nervous system.
But are we to conclude from this .that for the animal kingdom
eyes and ears, powerful muscles and complex nerves, are
superfluities? They are superfluities for the parasite only
because they have first been necessities for the host, and when
the host perishes the parasite, in their absence, is not un-
likely to perish also.
So it is with persons who claim to show by their example
that naturalism is practically consistent with the maintenance
of ethical ideals with which naturalism has no natural affinity.
Their spiritual life is parasitic ; it is sheltered by convictions
which belong, not to them, but to the society of which they
form a part ; it is nourished by processes in which they take no
share. And when those convictions come to an end, the alien
life which they maintained can scarce be expected to outlast
them.
But it is as an experiment in prophecy that Dr. Eliot's
pronouncement interests us most. Granted human nature and
728 PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS [Sept.,
history, is his the kind of religion which has prevailed or will
prevail? This shall be the main question for our discussion.
At the outset, our confidence in Dr. Eliot as a prophet is
somewhat diminished by the discovery that the new religion
which he announces is, in its main tenets, a fairly old relig-
ion, as Protestant sects go, and one in which his son is a min-
ister. What he offers as the religion of the future is a watered
down Unitarianism, with the addition, as one critic remarks, of
a dash of Esculapianism, /. e.% the cult of physical well-being.
The fact that the proposed scheme of religious thought resem-
bles a form of Unitarianism gives us a basis for gauging Dr.
Eliot's trustworthiness as a prophet. It would appear that the
present situation in the intellectual Protestant world is most
favorable to Unitarianism. For men who have lost belief in
positive authoritative religion, yet are striving to retain some
belief in God with reverence for Christ as a moral guide, it
would seem to offer an inviting haven. Yet it is confessed by
its friends that it has failed to grasp the situation. A number
of eminent and worthy men have found satisfaction in its sim-
ple creed ; but it shows no mark of being one of the world-
religions. It is no sufficient answer to say that Unitarianism
is contented to spread itself as a spirit, and is comparatively
indifferent to success as a religious organization. If it were
destined to be a prominent factor in the religious future of
the race it would already have developed along the lines both
of organization and of proselytism. Such has always been the
story of dominant ideas. In nature, flabby, undeveloped 01-
ganisms and lack of fecundity do not lead us to expect either
the dominance or the permanence of a species.
The fact of the matter is that Unitarianism lacks the initial
impulse of a rising faith. There is not enough leaven in it.
Most of those who come to it reach it along the path of
denial, which is ever a downhill road. Those who stay have
too little confidence in the religious truths they have retained
to be very active in propagating them. And most such men
are carried along by momentum further down into agnosticism
about religion and lack of belief in the permanence of moral
ideals. On the other hand, if the element of belief in them
retain its hold, it is likely to lead them back to a fuller re-
ligion than Unitarianism affords. In an article written a few
years ago in the New York Review, Mr. Wilfrid Ward men-
1909.] PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS 729
tions what he calls " a very curious experience " of the most
llustrious of English Unitarians, Dr. James Martineau.
His [Martineau's] deep spirituality — which has been com-
pared to that of such great mystics as Augustine and a Kempis
— was coupled with a certain readiness on the intellectual side
to follow the speculations of the biblical and historical critics
of the extreme left. Toward the end of his life he had a very
singular experience in consequence of the double influence
which he thus exercised on his disciples. He found some of
the men whom he influenced most deeply on the ethical side,
passing from their early Unitarianism to an acceptance of the
Incarnation. And he found those who were most closely in
sympathy with his destructive criticism losing more or less
completely that spiritual and mystical type which was in his
eyes by far the most important element in religion. In some
cases they appeared to lose all belief in Theism itself.
Dr. Eliot's type of religion is not stronger than Dr. Mar-
tineau's. It is weaker in every point which gives strength to
religion. We do not find in the programme of the American
thinker any insistence on the "spiritual and mystical type"
which was so important in the religion of his English brother.
On the contrary, the more recent set of views marks a step
further towards the definite abandonment of religious beliefs.
Men whose cultivation has consisted largely in the develop-
ment of the critical faculty are prone to the mistake that the
modicum of religion which they choose to retain after critical
analysis is going to persist as the religion of the future. But
they began wrong by excluding from their investigation the
very elements which constitute the religious nature in them —
awe and reverence, and humility and simplicity, and the sense
of sin and the instinct for prayer. As a result of their methods,
the residue of religion grows less and less, until it threatens
to vanish into thin air. The gold of revelation, piled in huge
ingots in the Church's treasury, has been beaten and rebeaten
under the mallets of Protestant private judgment and rational-
istic criticism until nothing is left but the glitter. No wonder
that Newman speaks of "the all-corroding, all- dissolving scep-
ticism of the intellect in religious inquiries," and announces the
need of a divinely constituted authority to repel its ravages.
The fate of religion ^depends (humanly speaking) on reli-
730 PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS [Sept.,
gious men. It is not a matter to be settled by the leisure
speculations of a retired professor. It depends on men of re-
ligious enthusiasm like St. Paul, men of simplicity of heart like
St. Francis, men of meditative piety like Newman. It matters
not how dark the clouds of unbelief may lower, or that there
be but one prophet left that has not bowed the knee to Baal.
What professor in Antioch or Athens in the first century of
our era believed that an obscure Jewish sect would in three
centuries dominate the Empire ? The incipient rationalistic
spirit of the twelfth century was met and overcome by the
religious revival of the mendicant friars who finally, in the
persons of Aquinas and Bonaventure, took possession of the
Universities. In the days of Shaftesbury and Toland it would
have seemed an easy prophecy that a form of Deism not un-
like Eliotism was destined to control the stream of. English
thought. If there were such a seer, he failed to see the depths
of the human soul, or to foresee John Wesley.
Dr. Eliot predicts a new kind of religion — what he should
be able to promise first is a new kind of man. The old genus
homo, as we meet it in history- books or on the street, is not of
a sort to worship a multiplication of infinities or look on
surgeons as sacred ministers performing holy rites. Mankind
will have a real religion, or none at all. It wants a God to
love and fear and pray to. Its religion must be a message
from on high, which will give light in dark places and strength
in temptation and consolation in the trials and losses of this
life. And it will have its dogmas too. A creedless religion is
a thoughtless religion. The only valuable religious elements in
Dr. Eliot's plan are dogmas. His Pantheistic God is a dogma,
his ideal of progress is a dogma, his law of love is a dogma.
Even his denials are dogmas ; but these are not valuable. It
is true, as Chesterton says, that " the modern world is filled
with men who hold dogmas so strongly that they do not even
know they are dogmas."
It is not the dogmas we object to. So long as he advances
positive dogmas he is, to some degree, helpful. But the bulk
of his message is too commonplace and this-worldly to de-
serve the sacred name of religion. How can it fulfill the
functions of the ancient faith ? Will it satisfy the mystic
longings of the saints for communion with God ? Would any
man be willing to die for its principles ? Is it a religion for
1909.] PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS 731
the world-weary and the disconsolate ? Does it afford any
curb for passion or help in time of temptation ? Has it any
future as a popular religion — with its devotion to abstract ideals,
and its academic regard for ancient customs ? What kind of
hymns will it produce ? How far will it fulfill the social ser-
vice rendered by older religions of holding in check the brute
passions of humanity ? We fear that the pontiff of the lecture
hall would find to his consternation that the conclusions drawn
from his careful utterances by the rough, practical logic of the
mob is that there is an end to moral sanction ; there is no
God, at least none worth troubling about, and, in the expres-
sive phrase of the day, " The lid is off."
The new religion will neither satisfy the needs of religious
natures nor hold the allegiance of those who through various
causes are forsaking the ancient faiths. It is a house built
half-way down on a steep and slippery hillside and below it
lie the quagmires of agnosticism and pessimism. Those who
would escape to solid ground must rise on the wings of faith.
Dr. Eliot attempts to speak in the role of Isaias. But his
voice is the voice of Jeremias. His blessings are dooms. He
sings of the victories over this world, but the discerning ear
detects the minor chords which sound the passing of every
hope that has sustained the noblest and best of human kind.
Like Matthew Arnold on Dover Beach one hears " the eternal
note of sadness." Is this man of books — five-foot shelf or
Harvard Library of books — is he the seer who perceives in
vision the hopes, the aspirations, the destinies of humanity ?
Or have we a return of the ancient days " when the word of
the Lord was precious, and there was no manifest vision"?
He quotes from St. Paul's speech at the Areopagus. Is
he with St. Paul or with those to whom he spoke — those who
derided his message of faith, who prided themselves in their
knowledge of philosophy and life, who saw in themselves the
teachers of the world, but whose reign was to be so short,
whose wisdom was to be overthrown by the gospel of this
Jewish zealot ?
History repeats itself. Many things change, but the mind of
God and the nature of man remain. Macaulay, in a passage too
wall known to require citation, speaks of the wonderful vitality
of the Catholic Church. Newman presents the same idea with
his usual reticence of statement.
732 PRESIDENT ELIOT AMONG THE PROPHETS [Sept.
There is only one religion in the world which tends to fulfill
the aspirations, needs, and foreshadowings of natural faith and
devotion. It alone has a definite message addressed to all
mankind. . . . Christianity is in its idea an announce-
ment, a preaching ; it is the depository of truths beyond hu-
man discovery, momentous, practical, maintained one and the
same in substance in every age from the first, and addressed to
all mankind. And it has actually been embraced and is
found in all parts of the world, in all climates, among all
races, in all ranks of society, under every degree of civiliza-
tion, from barbarism to the highest cultivation of mind.
Coming to set right and to govern the world, it has ever
been, as it ought to be, in conflict with large masses of men,
with the civil power, with physical force, with adverse phil-
osophies ; it has had successes, it has had reverses ; but it
has had a grand history, and has effected great things, and is
as vigorous in its age as in its youth. In all these respects it
has a distinction in the world and a pre-eminence of its own ;
it has upon it prima facie signs of divinity ; I do not know
what can be advanced by rival religions of prerogatives so
special.
I have stated that mankind will have a real religion, or
none at ?U. Here is a real religion, a strong religion. It
teaches, not as the ancient or modern scribes, but as having
authority. Its doctrines and ideals are based on divine reve-
lation, on the spiritual experiences of the saints, on the wisdom
acquired by its dealings with all classes and races of men for
nineteen hundred years, all formulated by men of giant intel-
lect and true religious spirit. It is a religion which answers
every need and gives room and play for all sane developments
of the religious element in man.
And if prophecy be in order, then on every basis which
men may take for the discernment of the future — divine oracles,
the lessons of history, the law of survival of the fittest, the
conclusion is always the same — the religion of the future is —
the religion of the past.
HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.
BY KATHARINE TYNAN.
CHAPTER XX.
FLIGHT.
[HE funeral was over. The brothers and the wife
were in the library at Outwood waiting for Mr.
Lee to read the will to them. Nesta sat pale
and still in her deep black; the two brothers,
who had mourned with a grief savage and in-
consolable, sat huddled up in their places, looking down as
though they would conceal their bloodshot eyes.
The solicitor seemed oddly nervous.
"My friend and client, Mr. James Moore, taken so untimely
from us, has left a curious will, a will against which, I may
say, I strongly advised him. He had unbounded confidence
in you two gentlemen, his brothers, and for some curious
reason he wished his wife to be disassociated from the busi-
ness. There is no explicit provision in the will either for you,
Mrs. Moore, or for the child, although I understood from my
client that there was an implicit trust with which his brothers
were thoroughly acquainted. I remonstrated with him over
the terms of the will, explaining to him that the absence of
his wife's name from it might be open to misunderstanding.
I may say I remonstrated very forcibly with him, explaining —
I am sure you will excuse me, gentlemen — that the law takes
no cognizance of the bona-fides of trustees, but looks to have
everything securely tied up and stated so that there can be
no loophole of escape. Your brother, gentlemen, seemed to
think that Mrs. Moore would understand, would be quite will-
ing, that she and her child should apparently be outside the
will. I do not need to tell you, gentlemen, that my late
client's personalty is very small. He had sunk everything he
could lay hands on in the various branches of his business.
He seemed to think that Mrs. Moore would be relieved at
being out of the business. At the last my client sent for me,
734 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
I understand, to make an alteration in this part of the will;
but, unfortunately, I arrived too late. I will now proceed to
read what I consider a very extraordinary will — one which I
think Mrs. Moore would be quite justified in attempting to set
aside, if it were not that she shares, I am sure, her husband's
immense confidence in his brothers — a confidence which, I
have absolutely no doubt, will be entirely justified."
Nesta listened to the long preamble with stony composure.
In the horror which had come upon her nothing very much
mattered, if it were not for Stella; and she supposed that
Stella's interests would be safe with her uncles. Yet her mind
went wandering back stupidly and aimlessly to the uncles of
legend and history: to the uncles of the Babes in the Wood;
to Crookback Richard ; she thought of Prince Arthur and his
piteous appeal to Hubert; of the Babes dead in the Wood.
She came back out of her twilight wanderings to find that
the lawyer was reading the will. There was very little of it:
no mention of her or of the child; no legacy to any one; all
went to the testator's beloved and faithful brothers, Richard
and Stephen Moore, who understood his wishes in regard to
his property, whom he trusted implicitly to carry them out.
"A very strange will, gentlemen," said the lawyer, laying
back the parchment on the table. " If you were not men of
honor and conscience, why — the habit of the law is to trust
no man implicitly. I am quite sure the widow and child of
your dead brother will be as sacred to you as they were dear
to him."
He had his misgivings, which he imparted later on to the
wife of his bosom.
"The best advice I can give you is always at your dis-
posal," he said to Nesta, holding her cold little hand in his a
little longer than formality required.
" I didn't like leaving her with that odd pair," he said to
Mrs. Lee in the coziness of their evening chat together.
"There is something of the Caliban about them, especially
about the elder one. So strange that the brother should have
been such a splendid looking fellow. I never saw anything
like their grief for him. There is something of the animal
about it, half-touching and half-repellent. Richard's eyes
burnt like coals as he listened to the will."
" I am sure they will do their best for her," the wife said
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 735
consolingly. " Of course I can't imagine a business man mak-
ing such a will. Supposing they married and had children of
their own, they might be tempted to ignore that sacred trust."
" Apparently he trusted them not to marry," said Mr. Lee.
"The law in its wisdom likes to put people beyond the reach
of a temptation such as that."
Meanwhile, after he had gone, the three who had loved
the dead man so passionately sat on in their places as the
lawyer had left them. Nesta would have got up and gone
away. She was afraid of her husband's brothers, and Richard's
gaze upon her seemed to compel her to remain where she
was.
There was not a sound in the room but the ticking of the
clock on the mantelpiece and now and again the fall of a
coal upon the hearth.
The air of the room grew tense with what was coming.
It seemed an age to the frightened woman, so helpless and
alone in this strange, desolate world, before Richard Moore
spoke.
"You heard what was in the will?" he said at last grat-
ingly.
She nodded her head.
" He left you in our hands," the harsh voice went on.
" Well, we knew what he did not. It was not right that he
should die loving you, you 1" He used a foul word, and
the color leaped to her face. His brother came and stood by
him, trying to soothe him.
"We knew what he did not," he went on, his voice rising,
"how you played him false. We let him die in peace without
that knowledge. Wasn't it enough that you should have mar-
ried him and sucked the healthy life out of him, planting your
own disease upon him, without cheating and deceiving him
too? You had a lover; we watched you with him. We saw
you at your infernal tricks. You may have had more than
one for all we know. Do you think we are going to work so
that your man may come back and marry you and enjoy the
fruits of his labor and ours while he lies in the grave ? "
She uttered a faint cry.
"How dare you?" she said, "how dare you? I knew how
wicked your hearts were towards me, but I had no idea of the
depth of their wickedness. If he were only here ! "
736 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
She had stood up and she grasped the table as though she
needed support.
" If he were here ! " repeated Richard Moore. " He is in
the grave, where you sent him. Haven't we seen you grow
fat and sleek while he wasted. You are his murderer. He is
dead and there is no one like him. The child is like you, no
health in her miserable little body."
"That is where you are wrong, Richard Moore," Nesta said
facing him. "She is sound and sweet. There is not a drop
of blood in her sweet little body that is not wholesome. You
lie when you say that I had disease ; I had no disease, only
fragility which they feared might lead to disease. If I grew
strong with Jim it was because of my happiness. I had been
the loneliest child alive. As for the rest of what you say, it
is a lie that could only have come out of hell. I have never
thought of any man but my husband."
The two pairs of eyes looked at her with a cold hatred and
disbelief.
"We saw you in another man's arms, not once but twice.
What brought you to London in his absence, when he was
dying on his feet " — for an instant Richard Moore choked —
" that you might be rich ? "
" I went to see his doctor, to hear what he had to say."
" An honest woman does not go on honest errands hidden
in a veil and creeping about alone at night."
For a second she wavered. What good was there in de-
fending herself. If an angel from heaven came to speak for
her they would not believe.
"We let him die in peace, not knowing the light woman
he had married," put in Stephen Moore.
Again she lifted her drooping head.
" If you had dared to tell him," she said, " he would have
struck you in the face. I too held my peace when you,
Richard Moore, left me to drown ; you, indeed, a murderer in
heart. I could not bear to tell him what thing it was he loved
and trusted. Nature marked you both well, and he ought
to have read the signs: he ought to have read the signs."
She looked at them unflinchingly, eye to eye. She seemed
to have lost fear of them.
"Now," she said, "go. I have borne too much. Go out
of the house, which yet is mine."
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 737
" Not till we have said our say. Stephen and I have talked
over what we should do. The power is all in our hands. I
was for turning you out ; you could go to your lover. But
Stephen is not as good a hater as I am. Stephen asked for
mercy for you, which you do not deserve. You are to go
away from here. As long as you live decently and remain un-
married we will allow you three hundred a year. It is too
much money for you that killed our Jim."
" Go ! " she said, pointing to the door with her finger.
They went towards the door. Then Richard Moore came
back. "You can pack up and go as soon as you like," he
said. " We propose to place the child at school. We shall
try to forget that you have a part in her."
" You mean to take Stella from me ? "
" She will be better without you."
All her spirit had deserted her now. She looked at the
two with a terrible pallor spreading over her face. All at once
she was mortally afraid. Panic had seized hold upon her.
She never stopped to ask herself if it was likely they could
take the child from her.
She heard the door close behind them, and for a few seconds
she sat in the chair into which she had dropped huddled up
and quaking. Why, if they had power over Stella, they might
kill her. Words hummed in her brain.
" Grief takes the room up of my absent child,
Sits in his place, lies down, and plays with me."
She reached out for one of the decanters which stood upon
the table, from which Mr. Lee had helped himself before start-
ing out on his journey. Neither Richard nor Stephen Moore
ever touched strong drink. She poured herself out something,
which happened to be brandy, and drank it; it steadied her
nerves and stopped the chattering of her teeth.
She stood up and looked about her in a stealthy way,
then opened the door of her morning room which opened off
the library and passed within.
Between the windows that overlooked the broad green ter-
race stood the escritoire which had been Miss Grantley's gift.
She locked the door of the room before she went to the escri-
toire. Her fingers felt for the spring of the secret drawer,
VOL. LXXXIX.— 47
738 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
and, having found it, she drew it towards her. A little drawer
suddenly sprang out. Within it were the folded notes.
She examined them one by one, glancing now and again at
the windows fearfully lest she should be observed. But no one
came that way.
Having counted the notes she put them in the bosom of
her gown. Then she went upstairs to the nursery where Stella
sat on the floor, playing as seriously with her toys as though
she knew the house was one of mourning.
"Has Daddie come?" she asked, looking up with a sud-
den hopefulness which told pathetically of how heavily the
hours had dragged. " And will you take me to him, Mummy?
You never come near Stella now, and she's so lonely."
Nesta Moore snatched up the child and held her to her
heart — while the nurse looked on with a respectful stolidity.
" I shall keep Miss Stella with me to-night, Baines," she
said. " You wanted a day or two off to see your mother. If
you would like to go to-day you may."
Some time during the night Nesta Moore took her child
and fled into the wide world, where they could be together.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE WICKED UNCLES.
There were probably a good many people who would have
helped Nesta Moore and defended her if she had not made
her rash flight, gentle and simple folk as well, among the
latter of whom must be counted Aunt Betsy.
She indeed took an unexpectedly strong stand in the mat-
ter of Nesta's disappearance. She did not say all she thought,
because she had her family pride as well as the best of them,
and was as averse from washing the soiled linen of the family
in public as Lord Mount-Eden himself might have been.
Still, as she would have said herself, she knew what she
knew. She had always known there was something strange and
abnormal about her two younger nephews. She had seen with
surprising clearness their jealousy and suspicion of their brother's
wife. It was something she laid before the Lord in those long
prayers of hers which had the fluency and eloquence of the old
Covenanters. " Puir lads," she would say, "puir lads, Thou
knowest, Lord, they were twisted at the birth if not before it.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 739
Lay it not to their charge, and do Thou, Prince of Light,
turn Thy lantern upon the darkness of their thoughts, that the
rank and evil weeds growing there may perish before Thy glory."
When word came to her of Nesta's disappearance she wrung
her hands in blind agony of apprehension of things she dared
not think upon. However her worst apprehension did not last
long, for Nesta's flight was traced as far as the railway station
and the early morning train to London. Further than that the
trail did not go. Nesta and the child had disappeared into
the world of London as completely as though the earth had
opened and swallowed them up.
When the terms of James Moore's will were known there
were those who found an unpleasant significance in the wife's
dispossession and flight. "There must have been a reason for
such an extraordinary will," people said. Some who had known
Nesta and liked her were indignant over the business, till they
forgot all about it. If Lord Mount-Eden and his daughter had
been at home public opinion might have been stirred to more
purpose; but by the time they came back to Mount-Eden
Nesta Moore was, so far as the county was concerned, dead
and buried.
Richard and Stephen Moore asked nothing of the county;
were unconscious of its praise and blame. The work of ex-
tending the business of Moore Brothers went on unflaggingly.
The two worked as though for the smile and praise of him
who was gone. They would never have his initiative, his bril-
liant daring. They could follow the lines he had laid down
for their direction. Outside them they could not go. In
business they were essentially safe men, reminding Aunt Betsy
of the man who had laid away his talent in a napkin.
From the time of Nesta's disappearance there was little
communication between the aunt and the nephews. Things
went on outwardly much the same, except that Richard Moore
no longer tended the garden which had been his delight, but
sent some one to do it in his stead. The brothers came to
the cottage at intervals to see that their aunt wanted for
nothing. She kept her hale well-being, her rosy cheeks, her
blue eyes, long past the three-score*and- ten ; but when she
looked at her nephews her glance, in latter years, had some-
thing oddly implacable about it.
The years passed, to all appearance, quietly, with little
eventfulness. The brothers were a little more stooped, notice-
740 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
ably grimmer, more haggard than when they had sunned them-
selves in the light of their adored brother's conquering man-
hood.
Nesta Moore had been gone half a dozen years from her
home, and so short is human memory, that people were be-
ginning to forget even her story, though here and there some
one pointed to one or other of the brothers as a man who had
never recovered the shock of his brother's death. People re-
membered James Moore far better than they did his wife. He
was not one to be easily forgotten.
Then, for the first time in] six years, Stephen Moore came
face to face with the lady who had been Lady Eugenia Capel.
She had married Godfrey Grantley the year after Nesta's flight*
the young gentleman having come home unexpectedly soon'
short of an arm but covered with glory. The rumor of her
marriage, which had taken place abroad, had reached the
Moores some time after it was an accomplished fact. It had
been a curious source of bitterness to them; as though she had
been their brother's wife and had forgotten him. "And for a
one-armed man, too ! " they said to each other. And so he
had been in love with Lady Eugenia while he carried on with
Jim's wife. Then he could not have cared for her after all.
It could only have been lightness and folly, not what they had
suspected. Was it likely that a man with Lady Eugenia in his
thoughts should trouble himself seriously about her f They did
her a grudging justice in that regard at least; they had enough
against her even when they had acquitted her of worse than
lightness.
They met by Aunt Betsy's bedside. A cold winter snap,
which had brought bronchitis with it, had at last obliged this
indomitable old soul to lie down. At last she had consented
to have the service of a maid, which she had steadily refused
for many years. There was a nurse in the room, a brown-
faced, gray-haired little woman, whose eye twinkled whenever
it fell on Aunt Betsy.
" She detests me," she explained to Lady Eugenia, "because
I'm what I am. As she says, she has always done for herself.
But she is going to like me before I am done with her. I
have never had a patient yet who didn't like me and want me
to come back."
"Some folk know how to blow their own trumpets," Aunt
Betsy said grimly between the wheezing fits.
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 741
Lady Eugenia smiled at the infectious humor of the nurse's
little face, wrinkled into fine lines of laughter as she stood
with her head, bird-like, on one side, contemplating her in-
appreciative charge.
At that moment Stephen Moore came into the room. Be-
fore she had observed his presence she was struck by the
change of expression in the sick woman's face. Grim as it
had been, there had been an underlying suggestion of shrewd
humor about it. Now it was as though a shadow had fallen;
and, looking up, Lady Eugenia saw Stephen Moore.
He was, if possible, uglier than ever ; yet there was some-
thing not wholly dislikable in his dark face — a look of suffer-
ing which made Lady Eugenia sorry for him. His shoulders
were more bowed than of old, as though they bore a burden.
His eyes, dark in their hollows, looked at her with an ex-
pression almost of fear.
Her first impulse was to bow coldly. She had her own
opinion of the brothers who had received James Moore's wealth
and enjoyed it while his wife and child wandered, heaven knew
where, on the face of the globe. She lumped them all as mad
— the man who had made the will and the men who had bene-
fitted by it. But something in Stephen Moore's expression
touched her generous heart. Impulsively she extended a hand
to him. He took it awkwardly and a dark flush came to his
haggard cheek.
Certainly Stephen Moore did not look as though he had
benefited by his brother's disposal of his property ; he did not
look as though he enjoyed it. He was shabby and dusty.
Not the least bit in the world like one of the owners of a
great and thriving business concern.
Lady Eugenia, after her fashion, swung round from de-
testing the Moores to defending them.
" Believe me, Godfrey," she said, " there is some mystery
at the root of it. Anyhow, they are getting no good from
their ill-gotten gains. This one looks quite tragical ; and I
caught sight of the other in his counting-house as we crossed
the mill- yards — there are acres of them. The other one, the
Crookback Richard one, was sitting in the gaslight. It was
full on his face. There was something macabre about it. He'll
either kill himself or some one else — or he'll end in a mad-
house."
Godfrey Grantley, who had come home with the intention,
742 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
even so late, of sifting the mystery of poor Nesta's disappear-
ance, had the bottom completely knocked out of his case.
He saw both brothers. Richard had explained things, with
a hand half-across his eyes which left his face in shadow.
The disappearance of their brother's wife had been a great
blow to them. They had done all in their power to discover
her and the child, who would of course have been heiress to
the property which James had founded, which they only held
in trust. James had known he could trust them. James would
not have his wife involved in business matters. Perhaps he
thought she might marry again and the control of the mills
pass away from them who were the rightful heirs of his ideas.
But everything was for the child. She must have known it.
They were in the most unhappy position as administrators for
a little mistress who was lost. So much they had stated by
letter to Godfrey Grantley when, after his return from India,
he had heard of his cousin's disappearance. Now it impressed
him as the formal letter-writing had not done. The two were
so obviously unhappy that it was impossible to think of them
as villians in the enjoyment of an inheritance not rightly theirs.
Talking it over with his wife they came at last to the con-
clusion that Nesta's grief at her husband's death had turned
her brain. It was quite true that the search for her had been
thorough. There had been hardly a stone left unturned when
the search at last was given up, and the mystery of Nesta
Moore's disappearance relegated to the mysteries which are
destined never to be unravelled. There was abundant evidence
of the thoroughness of the search.
Once persuaded of this fact, Captain and Lady Eugenia
Grantley were prepared to made amends for their former dis-
trust by believing nothing but good of the brothers. They
were ready to become their champions and friends. Lady
Eugenia was indignant when the Duchess of St. Germains,
who had a kindly memory of Nesta Moore and her handsome
husband, and could not be persuaded that the brothers were
not at the root of the mischief, asked her one day : " And
how are the Two Wicked Uncles?"
" I hate cynicism in an old woman," she said hotly to her
husband. " It is just because they are not good looking.
The Duchess swears by beauty, and says frankly that a really
ugly person must have a bad conscience as a really beautiful
person must have a beautiful soul."
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 743
" The Duchess is a philosopher, my dear," said her hus-
band. " To be sure there are different ideas of beauty. She
is really a wise old woman. She says that after thirty our
faces are our own to do with them what we will ; and she is
right."
" How pleased papa would be to hear you," his wife said.
"You are growing serious enough to go into Parliament, as
he wishes you to."
And then she added gravely: "As for those two Moores,
the Duchess ought to see them when they are off guard. If
they are sinners, they are repentant ones."
" Our point is that they are not sinners," her husband re-
minded her.
"And see how devoted they are to Maurice," his wife re-
marked with true feminine illogicality. " The Duchess ought
to see them with Maurice. No one who was really wicked
could be so devoted to a little child."
CHAPTER XXII.
THE HAND OF THE LORD.
A curious friendship indeed had sprung up, almost at the
first meeting, between the Grantleys* dark-haired, gray-eyed
boy and those queer misanthropes, as the county considered
them — Richard and Stephen Moore.
They were not men to fail to be pleased by Lady Eugenia's
holding out the hand of friendship to them. Few people, in-
deed, could resist Lady Eugenia when she willed to please.
Both men had been sensitive from childhood about their
own ugliness. It had made them shrink from the fellowship
of their kind. It had driven them for solace to animals and
birds and flowers. Even in children's eyes they dreaded to
see the knowledge of their ugliness. If Nesta Moore had not
shrunk from them the night her husband brought her home
this story perhaps need never have been written.
There was nothing but friendship and sympathy in Lady
Eugenia's eyes. They basked in her favor, they, who had
never known what it was for a woman to look at them as
though she found them anything but most displeasing. And
here was the handsome, spirited boy, with his mother's eyes,
looking at them with the same frank liking of hers. Yet there
was nothing in them to attract a child. Grim, ugly, shabby,
744 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
silent, most children would have turned away from them.
Little Stella had always been afraid of them, sensitive doubt-
less to her mother's feeling. But from the day the brothers
took Maurice Grantley over the mills, the young autocrat
riding in turns on the shoulders of the two, while all the fur-
nace doors were opened and all the machinery set in motion
to please him, from that time his conquest of the two brothers
was assured.
In time, and a short time, they were the slaves of the im-
perious boy. They took to visiting at Mount-Eden. Lord
Mount- Eden found them well-informed and original when he
took the trouble to explore their minds; but they did not go
there to interest Lord Mount-Eden. They went there for the
sake of the woman and the child.
The time came when the two brothers spoke to each other
the thought that was in their minds.
" There's none to succeed us here," said Richard, the mas-
ter-spirit, "and I'm not — " he paused and went off on another
tack. He had not been well of late. There was a root of un-
health beneath the abnormal personality of the twin-brothers.
He had an idea he was not going to last very long, and he
had been on the point of saying it, but pity for the one who
would be left alone stopped the words before they had passed
his lips. " Failing James* child, and I think, I think " — a curi-
ous yellowish paleness crept over his face as he spoke — " we
must look on her as dead. She" — they never named Nesta
more explicitly — "she would have drowned herself and the
child perhaps. I think if they lived we must have come on
their tracks. Failing James' child, why shouldn't the property
go to Lady Eugenia's son ? They might rear him up to busi-
ness. The young 'un has a love for the machinery. Six years
old! He won't be so long growing up. You could see to it,
Steve, that he was trained."
He stopped abruptly, conscious that the thing he did not
wish to say had slipped from him ; but his brother did not seem
to notice. He was looking before him with a well-pleased
smile.
" Tis what I've thought of, Dick," he said. " He ought to
have been Jim's son. That father of his is but a whipper-
snapper, but look at the mother! It'll be more heartsome-like
to think of him following us in the business."
"I think we must take it that Jim's wife and child are
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 745
dead," Richard Moore went on. " That being so, there is no
one we need think of but ourselves and our own wishes. But
the lad must succeed us at the business. I won't have it sold
or going to pot. It must be the condition."
" They'll agree to it fast enough," said Stephen joyfully.
" There isn't so much money going there, Dick. That old Lord
Mount-Eden, he's a bit of a mug. He drops a tidy bit, one
way or another, over his investments. Never mind for that;
a cleverer man's the richer. What are mugs made for but to
be fleeced?"
However, these fine schemes for the converting of Maurice
Grantley into a business man were checked by later happen-
ings. In a very little while afterwards it was apparent to
everybody that Richard Moore was not going to live. Indeed^
once he took to dying he did not make much delay about it.
He was going to die as he had lived, self-contained and soli-
tary ; but the one thing that grieved him was his brother's
desolation.
"Poor Steve," he said to Lady Eugenia, who was a constant
visitor to the bare, gaunt little room where the owner of great
riches lay dying. " What will the poor fellow do without me ?
I am the elder by an hour, and I've stood between Steve and
the world. What did I care about the world ? If it hated me
I hated it ; I taught Steve to adore Jim as I did. Jim was
enough for us while he lived. He'd have been living now if
he hadn't taken the consumption from his wife. She fattened
on his strength. Think of a man living with a woman who was
sucking the very life out of him, giving him her death and
taking his life. He should have married you."
The audacity of the dying man did not strike Lady Eugenia.
She was a woman of the world and she knew that wcmen of
her class often married rich humbly- born men who had not
James Moore's great qualities to recommend them. She ig-
nored the end of the sentence. What he had said about Nesta
had been a shock to her.
"Surely you are mistaken," she said. " I knew Mrs. Moore
was delicate as a girl — my husband has told me. Such a girl
might conceivably have gone into consumption ; but she had
outgrown the tendency. She was quite healthy, although she
looked fragile. So was the child."
" If Jim had married you he would not have died," the sick
man said with an air of finality. "Why should he have died ?
746 HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER [Sept.,
He was as strong as a bull. A wetting would not have killed
a man like that."
Then he spoke to her of his own and his brother's inten-
tions regarding her son. They had grown very confidential in
those hours when he lay dying.
" If Jim's daughter ever should be discovered she would
have a right to a partnership," he said. " Steve will see to
that. She wouldn't be in the business. I don't believe in women
in business. But she should have a share in the profits."
" It is too soon to talk about such things," Lady Eugenia
said. " You are very generous to Maurice, my friend, and I
appreciate your goodness. But your brother is yet a young
man. He may marry and have children of his own. If things
should come to pass as you desire, and we were ever to dis-
cover your brother's child, we should take care of her as our
own."
" Steve won't marry. We never thought of women, he and
I. Poor lad, where is the woman who would look at him for
himself ? "
"There are many who would," Lady Eugenia said eagerly.
She was not sure that she wanted her little Maurice bound by
the dead hand of the Moores, that she liked the idea of a
business career for him. " Many would. You've never given
women a chance, Mr. Moore. I doubt that the handsome man
is as well-loved as the man who is — less handsome."
"We frightened Jim's wife the first time she saw us," he
went on in a low murmur, as though the sleep of lassitude was
fast overtaking him. " It was never anything else with her as
long as she lived. We began to hate her for that and because
she wasn't good enough for him. He ought to have married
you."
He wandered off in snatches of talk. Perhaps he had an
impulse of confession, for some of the things he said might
have been pieced together by an astute listener; but Lady Eu-
genia was not particularly astute. Neither would she have felt
that the babbling of a dying man should be taken as evidence
against him. Why half of it might be dreams for all she knew.
Stephen Moore's desolation after his brother was dead and
buried drew out all her womanly pity. It set her to the natu-
ral woman's resource, match-making. There was a distant cou-
sin of her own, very poor, not young, although comely enough
in a faded way, who had known for long the bitterness of eat-
1909.] HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER 747
?ng other people's bread, and was just beginning to realize that
with the departure of youth even that would be measured out
to her less willingly. Lady Eugenia could trust Helen Savile.
There were plenty of people who might be willing to marry
Stephen Moore for his money ; but she could trust Helen's
pity, her gentleness, her compunction, her gratitude.
The marriage was made, and proved to be a most happy
one while it lasted, which was just five years, all told. Helen
had done wonders in the way of civilizing her Caliban. To be
sure he had always been more promising material than Rich-
ard ; and he adored his wife and was like clay in her soft
hands.
For five years they lived in what was an ecstacy of happi-
ness to Stephen Moore. Everything was changed for him.
They lived at Outwood Manor in a style that befitted their
wealth. It was wonderful how much of the uncouthness and
ugliness slipped away from Stephen Moore in his wife's trans-
forming hands.
Then — she left him, with only a delicate baby for all com-
fort.
When Lady Eugenia, greatly pitying, saw him for the first
time after his wife's death, she could think of nothing to say.
Helen had left such utter wreck and ruin in the place where
she had been light and comfort to one very lonely soul.
He lifted his haggard eyes and looked at her.
" It is God's punishment," he said, " for our driving out
Jim's wife. Dick only thought of Jim. The feeling that Jim
knew killed Dick. I had no right to marry her with that in
my past. And now I have lost her. God does not sleep."
This revelation Lady Eugenia did not share with her hus-
band. Shocked and distressed as she was by it, it did not ex-
clude pity for the afflicted man. It made a more terrible ele-
ment in the crushing sorrow that had overtaken him that he
recognized in it a just punishment for sin.
And there was the helpless child. For the sake of the
child, if not for his own, the father must be uplifted. Lady
Eugenia Grantley was a good woman ; and in a good woman's
way she had a tenderness for the sinner whom she had been
the first to lead towards the light.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS.
BY W. H. KENT, O.S.C.
ALTHOUGH it is now considerably more than a year
since the appearance of the Syllabus Lamentabili
and the subsequent Encyclical Pascendi Gregis,
the interest excited by these important Papal
documents has scarcely abated and their influence
may still be traced in current theological literature. As might
have been anticipated, the weighty words of the Holy Father
were welcomed by a crowd of Catholic writers and aroused a
storm of hostile criticism in other quarters. And in the books,
pamphlets, and articles, in papers and periodicals, there is al-
ready a large body of very various literature on the subject
of Modernism and its Pontifical condemnation.
In all this, it is scarcely necessary to add, there is much
that must needs give pain to the Catholic reader, for he will
find the authority of the Holy See flouted and its decisions
rejected or misrepresented, not only by outside critics but
by some of its own subjects. And, on the other hand, it must
be confessed that here again, as often happens, the Church has
not always been fortunate in its defenders and in the exuber-
ance of their loyalty or their just indignation against foes of
the faith. Some writers and preachers seem to have overlooked
the dangers of hasty judgments or reckless language.
The censure of the Holy See is a grave, judicial act, and
it is surely a pity that our wild words or that early rejoicing
should give to it the appearance of a party triumph. No doubt
there are occasions when severe censure is needed. It is only
right to rebuke the insolence of open foes or to expose the
subtle and insidious tactics of others. But, on the other hand,
it is possible to do harm by harshness as well as by undue
levity and unworthy weakness. We must all desire that those
who have been censured by the Holy See should make their
submission and accept its decisions. Yet some of us are rather
apt to forget that every hard word hurled at their heads, every
harsh interpretation put upon their acts or writings, must needs
make that sacrifice of submission more difficult, and may even
have the effect of goading them into rebellion.
1909.] SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS 749
There is a passage in Cardinal Pallavicino's History of the
Council of Trent which over-zealous hunters of heresy might
well take to heart. It is when the historian is speaking of
Luther's first opponents and expressing his fear that by calling
him a heretic before the time they may have made him to be-
come one : v. g., " questa [contradizione] forse dall' Echio sar-
ebbesi potuta far meno acerba, affinche giovasse non tan to d'armi
contro al nemico, quanto di fiaccola verso ad errante. Forse i
contraddittori col dichiararlo Eretico prima del tempo il fecero di-
ventare " (lib. I., cap. 6). The Cardinal, it may be well to add,
modestly admits that there may have been good ground for the
line taken by Eck and his fellows. But the mere possibility of
thus driving an opponent into heresy should be enough to cause
some searching of heart among militant champions of orthodoxy.
Nor is it only by violence and bitterness that harm may
be done, however indirectly and unwittingly, by those who are
endeavoring to defend the faith. The most reasonable argu-
ment may be misunderstood ; nay, the just and legitimate
judgment of ecclesiastical authorities may be misapprehended
and have a disastrous effect on those who thus misconstrue
them. Students of Church history will readily recall occasions
on which the most certain and necessary decisions have been
misapprehended in this manner. No orthodox Christian will for
a moment question the authority of the Council of Chalcedon,
one of the first four councils which St. Gregory likened to the
four Gospels. No synod assuredly has spoken with greater
authority or has left us more luminous definitions of doctrine.
Yet from the first a large body of Copts and Syrians and Ar-
menians have been led to believe that it rejected the great
doctrine laid down at Ephesus; and in like manner the mis-
guided champions of Three Chapters imagined that Constanti-
nople had condemned Chalcedon.
There need be no question as to those who at the outset
really held the doctrine which incurred condemnation, e. g.t
Eutyches or Nestorius. We are concerned rather with the
large body of men who were misled because they thought the
Church had condemned something which she had in no wise
condemned. And the question is whether what happened in
the fifth century may not in some measure repeat itself in our
own days. One may ask this question, it may be hoped, with-
out incurring any sinister suspicion. For in England, if not
elsewhere, it has been confidently asserted that the recent For-
750 SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS [Sept.,
tifical decisions condemned the doctrine of Cardinal Newman,
and many of the most stalwart champions of Catholic ortho-
doxy have hastened to vindicate his name and dispel this un-
fortunate delusion, and in this they have been supported by
the highest authority.
It is clearly possible that what has occurred in his case may
also occur in regard to other matters. And there may be de-
lusions yet more disastrous in their results than in this imag-
inary " condemnation of Newman." It is hardly necessary to
add that in this we are not thinking of a like mistake in regard
to any other individual. For though the supposed censure of
some living writer might possibly give more pain to personal
friends, we do not suppose that there can be any one man,
living or dead, whose condemnation would work so much harm
in the Church as that of John Henry Newman. The mistake
I here have in view is something wider and deeper than any
personal matter. And it may possibly appear in the sequel
that it is by no means an imaginary danger. Indeed it is
hardly too much to say that its presence may be felt in many
of the violent invectives that have been written in the past
year against the ecclesiastical authorities. From the nature of
the case this charge is something more vague and indefinable
than the alleged condemnation of a book or a person. But it
may be conveniently expressed in some such phrase as "the
condemnation of the historical method and scientific ciiticism."
There is no need to suppose that either in this case or in
that of Newman there was anything like wanton misinterpre-
tation. As we all know, the alleged condemnation of Newman
was a delusion. But it is only fair to remember that there are
some facts that may at any rate serve to explain its origin.
For though the Papal documents do not condemn the writings
of our great Cardinal, they do condemn certain doctrines
which, on the surface, bear a more or less remote resemblance
to his philosophy of faith and his theory of doctrinal develop-
ment. And, on the other hand, it cannot be denied that his
theories on these subjects have been viewed with disfavor by
some of our scholastic critics.
In the same way, it may be observed that the recent Sylla-
bus and Encyclical do, indeed, condemn many views which
have been put forward in the name of scientific criticism, and,
on the other hand, they clearly give fresh support and further
sanction to that time-honored scholasticism which is very com-
SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS 351
monly associated with a wholesome contempt for modern
methods of historical and scientific study. In these circum-
stances, it can scarcely surprise us to find that some good
people come to the conclusion that the Church has condemned
modern methods of research and scientific criticism, and that
Catholics are now constrained to shut their eyes to the light
of science and the logic of facts and must fain be content to
follow musty mediaeval methods.
Something of this kind is certainly the cry raised by many
assailants of the Encyclical. And, on the other hand, the in-
discreet and indiscriminate attacks on higher criticism from a
very different quarter must naturally help to strengthen this
strange belief in the mind of many unwary readers. In most
cases it may be hoped that it is an honest blunder and not a
wilful distortion of facts for a controversial purpose. The
primitive Protestant, whose crude interpretation of the Sacred
Text is rejected by Catholics, cries out that we are going
against the Bible itself; and in much the same way the mod-
ern critic is rather apt to identify his own conclusions with
historical criticism itself; and when the Church rejects them,
he feels that she is condemning the truth of history and the
principles of scientific criticism.
But a little further reflection might serve to remind him
that it is possible to make a false application of true princi-
ples. And if we are to be told that the condemnation of so
many conclusions of the critics is tantamount to a rejection of
modern criticism itself, it may suffice to say that, on the same
grounds, we shall have to admit a condemnation of scholasti-
cism and of casuistry, quod est absurdum. For it would be easy
to draw up a long list of propositions set forth by scholastics
and casuists which have incurred condemnation. This fact,
which must be familiar to all who are acquainted with the
classic works of Viva and d'Argentre, may serve to suggest a
further reflection. If scholastic writers adopt so many diver-
gent views, and occasionally fall into errors which incur de-
served censure, there can be no question of any wholesale ac-
ceptance of a system of teaching.
There is obviously some freedom of choice and some need
of critical discrimination, so that the prospect of a return to
scholasticism is scarcely so alarming as some of its modern as-
sailants are apt to imagine. It would, no doubt, be idle to
deny that there are some very real and deep differences
752 SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS [Sept.,
between mediaeval and modern methods. And it may be
freely allowed that some of the modern writers who reject or
condemn scholasticism have some real knowledge of the sub-
ject of their censure. Much the same may surely be said of
some of the chief champions of the older systems, and uncom-
promising opponents of modern methods and new philosophies.
None the less, I venture to think that very much in recent
controversy on these matters is the outcome of misconception
and mutual misunderstanding. And too often it will be found
that the champions, on both sides, have been fighting with
phantoms which, in reality, are the work of their own over-
wrought imagination.
The modern writer who rudely condemns scholasticism has
seldom anything like an accurate knowledge or a just appre-
ciation of the rich and varied literature left us by the mediae-
val masters, and in the same way the theologian who passes
judgment on German philosophers or Dutch higher critics has
seldom made any serious and intelligent study of their writ-
ings. I am very far from suggesting that such a study would
serve to remove all grounds of censure, or all cause of contro-
versy between the champions, of the old theology and the vo-
taries of the new criticism. But if both sides will see their
opponents as they really are, and not as they appear in a
mirage of misapprehension, their censures, we may be sure,
would be more just, their arguments more effective, and there
would, at any rate, be more reasonable hope of some satisfac-
tory solution of the great problems.
It might do something to clear the air and to remove
much of this misunderstanding and a little needless acrimony,
if we could make a calm and candid examination of recent
critical and philosophical literature. And possibly such an ex-
amination might serve to show that even those writers who
have gone wrong have sought to serve the truth, that they
have not been guilty of all the faults that hasty critics have
ascribed to them, and some of them have done good service
to science which may live when their errors are buried in
oblivion. Be this as it may, the task would be one of great
difficulty and delicacy. And I fancy that it would prove a far
more profitable enterprise to pursue the other phantom form —
not the criticism which is denounced by reactionary theolo-
gians, but the " scholasticism 'r which is the bane and the bug-
bear of critics and other lovers of science and friends of prog-
1909.] SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS 753
ress. And possibly it may prove that in the end this more
modest and orthodox inquiry will also serve the purpose of
the other and show that there is really much in modern criti-
cal science and philosophic apologetics that is in no wise con-
demned by the Church or her great scholastic theologians.
This view of the matter has been already suggested at the
outset of this article. For the title, "Scholastic Criticism and
Apologetics," is a sufficient indication of the fact that scholas-
ticism is not, as some suppose, incompatible with scientific
criticism and rational apologetics — that is to say, the criticism
which is a candid and fearless search for truth, and the apolo-
getics which seek to set forth the truth in a form and fashion
adapted to the minds that are to receive it, and make appeal
only to evidence and principles which they already acknowl-
edge. Those who know scholasticism only from modern mis-
representations, or from the necessarily imperfect sketches
given in compendious manuals or works of reference, may
imagine that it has little in keeping with this true scientific and
philosophic spirit, and may associate it with an unintelligent
and indiscriminate acceptance of tradition and an uncritical
use of conventional arguments. But this mistake is not likely
to be made by any one really familiar with the writings of the
mediaeval masters.
So much has been written in recent years in praise of St.
Thomas Aquinas, that it might seem that there can scarcely
be any one of his rare gifts and merits that has not already
received adequate attention. Yet, though the subject has of
course been touched upon by biographers and panegyrists, one
fancies that something more might be made of the service he
has rendered to critical scholarship and rational apologetics.
This notion may well seem strange to many modern readers,
for his name has long been the watchword of the party sup-
posed to advocate obscurantism. And it is certainly the fact
that he and his fellow-Schoolmen held many opinions now ac-
counted obsolete, and accepted many documents rejected by
modern criticism. But those who take this as a proof of
obscurantism betray a curious inability to distinguish between
a principle and its successful application in particular cases,
and, I may add, a want oi a sense of proportion and the prin-
ciple of relativity. A man who in an age of absolutism advo-
cates some modest measure of popular liberty may give more
VOL. LXXXIX. — 48
754 SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS [Sept.,
unmistakable proof of a liberal and progressive spirit than a
democrat of to-day who holds the opinions of the last genera-
tion. And in the same way, many soi-disant critics of the
present time, who take their criticism ready-made from popular
manuals and works of reference, cannot compare in this matter
with those who boldly made some fresh steps in earlier ages.
For, in spite of their mistakes, which were largely due to the
limitations of their time and to the character of the evidence
at their disposal, these mediaeval Schoolmen often show more
signs of the true spirit of critical scholarship than those who
now visit them with a censure which is essentially an uncritical
anachronism.
Curiously enough, it is in a matter which is too often taken
as a primary instance of scholastic ignorance and lack of dis-
criminating criticism — to wit, in his attitude to the Aristotelian
literature — that St. Thomas gives us the most striking proof
of his critical and scholarly spirit. To the Schoolmen of that
age these works of Aristotle were chiefly known by imperfect,
Latin versions made from the Arabic which, in many instances,
owed its origin to a Syriac rendering of the Greek text.
Many important works of Greek philosophers were extant only
in the original or in Arabic versions inaccessible to Western
scholars. And to add to the peculiar disadvantages of the
time, the voluminous writings of Aristotle were mixed with a
mass of spurious works of Neo-Platonic origin. In these cir-
cumstances, if St. Thomas had been the typical scholastic ob-
scurantist of modern controversialists and critics, he would
have contentedly accepted the barbarous and imperfect versions
that came before him and have taken the spurious treatises as
genuine writings of Aristotle. But instead of this, we find him
acting for all the world like a true critical scholar. The actual
task of translating from Greek or Arabic did not, it is true,
come within his province. But he urged his friend, the Flem-
ish Dominican, William of Morbeka, who was a master of both
those tongues, to make further translations. And it is possibly
to that assistance that we owe the preservation of certain
tracts of Proclus, which are only extant in Morbeka's Latin
version.
Moreover, St. Thomas clearly saw the importance of having
a direct rendering from the Greek of Aristotle instead of a
secondhand translation through the medium of Arabic. And
1909.] SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS 755
at least in the case of one of the books wrongly ascribed to
Aristotle — to wit, the celebrated treatise, De Causis — the saint
in his commentary distinctly rejects this error and assigns the
work to its true source, and shows that it is translated from an
Arabic abbreviation or adaptation of a work of Proclus the
Piatonist (Proculi Platonici). In the course of his commentary,
St. Thomas makes good use of the longer work of Proclus.
And it is significant that he also illustrates his text by citing
Pseudo-Dionysius, a write! whose Neo-Platonic doctrine and
whose close connection with Proclus have since been established
by modern scholars. The fact that one important principle has
been adopted by St. Thomas from this very book, De Causis,
in spite of its plainly recognized Platonic origin, may be fairly
cited as a sign that he was by no means a blind and servile
follower of Aristotle, while his patient and intelligent study of
a book which had already been burnt in Paris as a source of
heresy serves to separate him from the crowd of uncritical
Churchmen.
I have spoken more especially of St. Thomas because of
his pre-eminence among the mediaeval Schoolmen and the high
sanction given to his teaching by ecclesiastical authority. In
this way he is the natural representative of the scholastic
writers. But it may be well to add that he- was hardly the
most critical and scholarly man among his contemporaries. In
some branches of learning, as we have seen, he was surpassed
by his friend and brother in religion, William of Morbeka ;
while in the matter of critical principles, we must surely as-
sign a higher rank to Roger Bacon. The great Franciscan is
perhaps better known by his services to science — though, if one
may judge from the buffoonery of a recent Oxford pageant,
even these are far from being properly appreciated.
But it is to be feared that far less attention is paid to the
scholarly instinct and sound critical judgment manifested in
his writings. Assuredly those who know his works, and those
of other writers of his time, need feel no alarm at learning
that the Holy Father has sent us back to the philosophy of
the Schoolmen. For the honor paid to the mediaeval masters
may serve to show that whatever errors of critics may be con-
demned, the Church can never censure or reject the primary
principles of historical criticism.
Much the same may be safely said in regard to the anal-
756 SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS [Sept.,
ogous question of apologetics. It would seem to be a popular
impression that scholasticism is something in the nature of a
rigid, cast-iron system allowing no sympathetic adaptation to
the special needs of the age or of individual minds. It has,
one would suppose, a set of arguments as fixed as the bed of
the inexorable Procrustes. And, on the other hand, those who
would fain have a method of apologetics adapted to modern
minds are forthwith condemned as dangerous innovators. And
woe betide the rash defender of orthodoxy who ventures to
adopt principles or arguments from the writings of alien phil-
osophers.
But here again we may be permitted to ask what is the
practical example left for our learning by the prince of medi-
aeval Schoolmen ? And, curiously enough, we find an effective
answer to this question in his treatment of the aforesaid Neo-
Platonic and Psuedo-Aristotelian book De Causis. No work
of Dutch critics or German philosophers has better cause to
be regarded with suspicion. And, as we have seen, the au-
thorities of Paris, being presumably fearful of heretical "infil-
trations," took the prudent precaution of committing the vol-
ume to the flames.
St. Thomas, on the contrary, adopted a very different
course. Instead of seeking the rude ordeal of material flames
and faggots, he passed its pages through the refining fire of
his discriminating criticism, and happily some gold of truth
was separated and saved in the purifying process. For it was
in those pages of the Arab Platonist that he found that preg-
nant principle of Proclus which furnishes the key to his own
theory of knowledge, and gives us, let me add, the true basis
of rational apologetics. " Whatever is received, is received
after the manner of that which receiveth it." This principle,
which is used by St. Thomas to explain how material things
are known by the mind in an intellectual and immaterial man-
ner, admits of many applications in other fields of religion
and philosophy. We are reminded of it when St. Augustine
tells us how, in the mystery of the Divine Incarnation, the
Word which was the food of angels became milk for the little
ones ; or when St. John Chrysostom says that because we are
made of soul and body, the spiritual grace of the Sacraments
is given to us under visible symbols.
On the same principle, again, we may explain many of the
1909-] SCHOLASTIC CRITICISM AND APOLOGETICS 757
minor variations in theological thought or language in divers
places or ages or local schools and systems. The same Cath-
olic theology is found living in the simple hearts of Irish
peasants or the subtle minds of theologians, it is found alike
in literal Antioch and mystic Alexandria, amid the golden elo-
quence of the Fathers and the dialectic metaphysics of the
mediaeval Schoolmen — and everywhere recipitur ad wodum re-
cipientis. But, what is more to my present purpose, the same
principle is of primary importance to the apologist who would
offer to those outside the Church a defence of the faith that
is in him.
The reception of the argument is conditioned by the precious
knowledge, beliefs, habits of thought in those who are to re-
ceive it. And if it is to have any effect, it must be adapted
to the special needs and special limitations of those to whom
it is addressed. We may see a practical application of this
principle in the opening pages of the Summa Contra Gentiles,
where St. Thomas dwells on the different methods to be adopted
in dealing with erring Christians, with Jews, and with pagans,
or unbelievers. With the first, one may fairly adduce argu-
ments from the New Testament. With the Jew we may appeal
to the Old Testament only. But it would be idle to do this
with those who do not accept the authority of either Testa-
ment. And what he says here of particular arguments may
be illustrated by the character of his own writings regarded as
a whole. There is much in them that comes from the early
Fathers, much that is an abiding possession for Christians in
after ages. Yet it may be safely said that the Angelic Doctor
was pre-eminently a man of his own time who understood its
spirit and knew its dangers, and his teaching is, for that reason,
specially adapted to meet the needs of those whom he was
addressing.
It will be well for modern apologists if they can follow his
practice, and at the same time hold fast to his principles. It
is, at any rate, some solace to those who are wearied and be-
wildered by the wild words of unbelieving critics or uncritical
champions of orthodoxy to breathe for a while the serener air
of other days and learn the lessons left by the masters of
scholastic criticism and apologetics.
SIX OXFORD THINKERS.*
BY WILFRID WILBERFORCE.
| HE very title of this book is attractive. Oxford
is essentially the home of thought as well as of
lost causes ; and when an observant writer, what-
ever be his own views, sets out to depict the
inner lives of half a dozen Oxford men who
have made a conspicuous mark in the world, his book is cer-
tain to attract a large circle of readers.
Of the six careers here discussed, those of Newman, Church,
and Anthony Froude, are naturally the most interesting to the
ordinary reader. Walter Pater lies in a region too remote from
the generality of everyday people to gain anything beyond a
very limited audience; Lord Morley, as an observer and thinker,
has been eclipsed to all except studious and doctrinaire poli-
ticians, by his character as a contemporary statesman; while
the place of Gibbon, as an historian and man of thought, has
become either too well defined or too devoid ot interest (ac-
cording to the temper of each individual reader) to command
any enthusiastic reception.
It may reasonably be doubted whether the Decline and
Fall is now read by eight men out of any given twelve, and
it is probably quite safe to assert that still fewer readers are
familiar with Pater's Renaissance Studies, his Sebastian Storck,
his Marius the Epicurean, or with Lord Morley's book On Com-
promise.
Motley's name, indeed, will, in all probability, go down to
our children as that of the biographer of Gladstone, though it
may occur to some of them to wonder how it was that a writer
of such nebulous views in religion should have been chosen,
out of all possible biographers, to depict the career of a states-
man whose mind was of a tone so essentially ecclesiastical.
Perhaps, on the other hand, this seemingly incongruous choice
* Six Oxford Thinkers : Edward Gibbon, John Henry Newwan, R. W. Church, James
Anthony Froude, Walter Pater, Lord Morley of Blackburn. By Algernon Cecil, M.A., Oxon.,
of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law. London : John Murray, Albemarle Street.
1 909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 759
emphasizes, as much as anything could, the charge which had
passed over Gladstone when his political ideals had thrown him
into partnership with the militant Nonconformists, and had sev-
ered him forever from the associations of his early manhood.
It was difficult to recognize in the disestablisher of the Irish
Church of 1869, in the friend of Chamberlain and Schrachorst
of 1880, and in the chosen leader of Nonconformists of 1892,
the "rising hope," as Macaulay called him " of . . . stern,
unbending Tories," who made his name as the author of
Church and State.
It may well be doubted whether, at the end of his long
career, he cared to be reminded of the ideals which had en-
gaged his mind in the late thirties. That he remained to the
last hour of his life a man of conscience and integrity, I for
one have no doubt, but the radical change in his ideals and
the drastic disorientation of his political views, were at least
enough to make the choice of Morley as his biographer less
incongruous than it would otherwise have been. A curious
story is told of Gladstone's Oxford life. He had taken his
Degree, and had paid the customary farewell visit to the Head
of his College. The next visitor was talking to the Head about
him. " Gladstone is a clever man, we shall hear of him again.'*
"Yes"; replied the Head, "he's a clever man and will make
his mark. But his conscience is so subtle that the time will
come when people will say that he has no conscience at all."
That Head had far-seeing eyes.
It could scarcely be expected that the author of Six Ox-
ford Thinkers should have anything new to say about Newman.
But the fascination of his career is so great that its treatment
by each successive writer is a welcome feature in a book. And
there is one observation, not in its ultimate meaning new, which
I do not remember to have seen stated in that precise form
before. The remark is quoted from Dean Church, and its tenor
is that the touchstone ol Newman's teaching, and the remote
cause of his conversion, was the distinction which he perceived
between the ideal " gentleman," as the world accepts that word,
and the follower of Christ. "For it is," says Mr. Cecil, "as
Newman perceives, of the essence of a gentleman — one who is
that and no more — to be great in small situations and deficient
in the supreme moments of life. Pilate and Gallic and Agrippa
were gentlemen, and they missed their opportunities because
760 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.,
they were just that and nothing beyond it. Like their modern
antitypes, they hated scenes, emotion, extravagance ; they feared
ridicule and disliked responsibility; they avoided clashing opin-
ions and colliding sentiments."
There is truth in this, of course, and yet there would seem
to be something wanting too. It is easy enough to choose out
men like Pilate and the others, but, to go further afield, what
about the scores and hundreds of soldiers and sailors who, while
fulfilling the worldly definition of gentlemen, and while devoid
of any supernatural qualities, are nevertheless emphatically not
" deficient in the supreme moments of life," but display in such
moments the most exalted self-abnegation and courage? At
the time of the Crimean War, it was observed that the men
who most distinguished themselves by their cheerful endurance
of hardships amid the terrors of the Russian winter, were just
those who, in London Society, had seemed to be fit for noth-
ing but to lounge in ladies' drawing-rooms and display their
taste in neckties and gloves. And it does not seem unreason-
able to say that a man possessing nothing higher than mere
worldly and natural honor, might be willing to risk his life and
perhaps his reputation, rether than stain his ermine as a Judge,
or disgrace his country as a soldier.
To maintain as much as this, however, is by no means to
disagree with Mr. Cecil's statement that Newman " saw that
the gentleman, considered as such, worships only (if he wor-
ships at all) 'a deduction of his reason or a creation of his
fancy,' while the other [kind] is from the first in the presence
of a Person, to Whom all thoughts and actions are referred for
praise or blame"; or that this antithesis was "the key that
unlocked the lowest door of the treasure-house in his deep-
seated being." And he adds that Newman "could not find in
a society, which, in its efforts after Christianity, never lost sight
of culture and social order, anything that would remind him
of the shepherdless multitudes that went out to seek Christ on
the hills of Galilee, nor in the trimming diplcmacy of an Es-
tablished Church, which sails always a little behind the times,
an ark strong enough to protect the Kingdom of God against
the all-invading flood of liberal thought." One does not ex-
actly see what there need be in the pursuit of Christian virtue
inconsistent with an attention to " social order," but the " trim-
ming diplomacy" of the Protestant Establishment was un-
1909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 761
doubtedly one among the many proofs that showed Newman
that it was no part of God's Church.
The very fact that Oxford as a rule pursues the quiet, un-
ruffled ways of peaceful Conservatism, fits it admirably to be
the starting-place of great Movements. A man with new ideas
has no difficulty in making himself heard, however little he
may be welcomed by the powers that be. Like one who
raises his voice in the silence of a cloister, he is necessarily
listened to, and at the moment that the Oxford Movement be-
gan, young men were looking about for something new. The
genius of Newman and Hurrell Froude supplied them with as
much as they had bargained for, and more besides.
Mr. Cecil gives us an agreeable account of the well-known
tale — the story that one never tires of hearing. He gives us
also a somewhat close analysis of the Via Media, with which
I need not trouble my readers, seeing that, in Newman's own
words, it was " absolutely pulverized," by the words of St.
Augustine, " Securus judicat orbis terrarum."
The Essay on Development, also analyzed by Mr. Cecil, be-
sides its intrinsic value, displays Newman in the intensely in-
teresting light of the creator, in ecclesiastical history, of the
theory by which Darwin made his name in physiology. When
he wrote this book, Newman had for some time been on his
deathbed so far as Anglicanism was concerned. In its final
stages, his Anglican life diminished in inverse ratio with the
growth of the book, and in its unfinished state the Develop-
ment had given the coup de grace, in more than one sense of
the word, to its author. Then came the never-to-be-forgotten
9th of October, "a wild and tempestuous day, when the hea-
vens seemed broken with weeping," and Father Dominic came
to receive him into the Church. On the very same day, as
symbolists like to remember, Renan left St. Sulpice.
One of Mr. Cecil's most interesting sections in his criticism
of Newman is that which deals with his style. He is probably
right in saying that it is in the Apologia that its full beauty
and exquisite refinement appear most conspicuously. Its whole
workmanship is the purest gold, not polished and glaring, but
soothing and mellow. Upon this priceless surface appear from
time to time, without labor and simply because the subject
calls for it, those gorgeous ornaments which in the literary jar-
gon of to-day are called " purple passages." These are noth-
762 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.
ing else than the clusters of jewels, the lavish bunches of gems
that set off the golden groundwork. The indefinable grace
which he could throw upon the most ever} day topics, in sen-
tences composed of the simplest words, has never been equalled.
It gives a distinction to what he writes which rrakts any ordi-
narily good style seem banal, commonplace, and even vulgar.
Dealing as he does with serious and often very deep subjects,
Newman has a unique method of bringing his thoughts before
his readers with unsurpassed clearness and in language of abso-
lute simplicity. The unstudied music of his periods tunes one's
soul to a pitch that makes the writing of any one else harsh,
ungainly, and irritating. Even in the noiseless blade of his mor-
dant irony one can detect the pity, which he cannot altogether
hide, for its victim. In the outpouring of his soul one can
hear the sort of anguished wail which some recollecticn has
wrung from his heart. But all is simple, natural, yet restrained.
He never speaks in superlatives. One might almost add that
he never uses the conventional expressions that custom has
staled. His words are sometimes so nearly collcquial, even on
the gravest subjects, that in the case of any other writer they
would run the risk of being thought unbecoming and flippant.
With Newman they are simply convincing and redolent of dig
nity. Then there is that special characteristic of his writirg
that one may call the cumulative feature. He wishes to im-
press us with some idea, and this he does with clauses and
epithets of ever growing power, one strengthening and rein-
forcing the other, like strokes of a hammer, each one an argu-
ment in itself, until, at the end of the sentence, one pausesf
overwhelmed, in breathless acquiescence. Of what other writer
can this be said ? What other has this compelling, subduing,
conquering force ?
An instance of each of Newman's literary methods could
be culled from the Apologia alone. That book indeed is the
one that taught his fellow-countrymen more about him than
any other. It let them into the secrets of his mind. It ap-
pealed to their generosity, and the appeal was not made in
vain. The very fact that his judges were his own countrymen
gave Newman special confidence: "I consider, indeed, Eng-
lishmen," he wrote, "the most suspicious and touchy of man-
kind; I think them unreasonable and unjust in their seasons
of excitement; but I had rather be an Englishman (as in fact
1909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 763
I am), than belong to any other race under heaven. They are
as generous as they are hasty and burly, and their repentance
for their injustice is greater than their sin."
The people of England answered the appeal by listening
without prejudice to what Newman had to say, and then they
agreed to forgive him for becoming a Catholic — albeit his con-
version had dealt a blow to the Church of England "from
which," writes Disraeli, " it is still reeling."
But the Apologia accomplished something beyond this. Not
merely did it bring the heart of England to Newman's side,
but it affected the very language. Writers became uncon-
sciously colored by it. There was no willing imitation. In-
deed, of all classical writers, Newman is the least easy to imi-
tate; but just as he expressed his meaning to a hair's breadth,
colloquially and in phrases easily grasped, so in turn the dic-
tion of writers who differed toto coelo from Newman, became
chastened and refined by the pure and limpid stream of his
matchless style.
Mr. Cecil very beautifully observes: "Devoid of all show
and glitter, simplex munditiis, always very plain and neat, it
made its way because it was the vehicle of thoughts that much
needed to be spoken ; and only afterwards did men realize that
the vehicle itself was beautiful. The proof of its excellence,
if proof be required, is that it is impossible to caricature it.
Newman was so great that he was able to model it on its an-
tithesis. As in his teaching he set up the simplicity of the
primitive Church against the splendor of the Roman Empire
so in his style he chose the household words of common talk
to rebuke the classical tongue of Gibbon and Johnson. Rolling
sentences and majestic periods had to give way before the fil-
tered language of the street and the market-place. His limpid
English was the purest current in the stream of imaginative
writing which Carlyle and Ruskin had set in motion, and which,
as has lately been suggested, served in the end to confuse the
true functions of poetry and prose. Newman at least never
fell into fault, never framed turgid or tumultuous sentences.
Like Bunyan he was a conservative liberator, and freed the
language from a certain stiffness of diction, whilst preserving
for it an easy dignity. Nor is it any accident that these two
writers of the purest English were deeply religious men."
la summing up his beautiful essay, Mr. Cecil makes a re-
764 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.,
mark that, to a Catholic, is full of pathos. The only possible
comment it can evoke is a prayer that one who sees so much
may one day see more. "For those who agree with his main
contention," he writes, " — that a pursuit of the highest attain-
able life is the only guarantee of a right judgment in all mat-
ters of spiritual importance, that as he was fond of saying
' non in dialectica complacuit Deo salvum facere pofulum suum '
— and who yet cannot follow him into the Church of Rome, the
difficulty remains (and it is a very great one) that a man of
such purity, goodness, and self-devotion should have fallen into
error in the very maturity of his powers."
The transition from Cardinal Newman to Dean Church is
easy and natural. To begin with, he was one of Newman's
most intimate friends, and though the two did not meet for
nineteen years after the celebrated day when Church called at
the Observatory, " to see the last " of his great and revered
leader, the long separation was accidental and circumstantial
rather than deliberate or planned.
Richard William Church was born in the year of Waterloo,
and was therefore Newman's junior by fourteen years. In
1833 he went up to Wadham College, Oxford, where his life
was at first a very solitary one, as is so often the case with
freshmen, especially with those who have not come from a
public school. He gained the great distinction of a Double
First in 1836, in which year he also began to attend the ser-
mons which Newman was then delivering at St. Mary's. The
famous one entitled "Ventures of Faith" seems to have made a
great impression upon him. "It seemed to him, as he looked
back, to have been in some sort the turning point of his life,"
remarks his biographer, Miss Mary Church. Two years later
he stood as a candidate for an Oriel Fellowship, at that time the
greatest prize in the university. One of the unsuccessful can-
didates was Mark Pattison, afterwards rector of Lincoln College.
The pleasantest passage in that most melancholy Autobiography
of Fattison is his observation on Church's candidature.
" I presume," he writes, " that Church was Newman's can-
didate, though so accomplished a scholar as the Dean need
not have required any party push. I have always looked upon
Church as the type of the Oriel Fellow ; Richard Michell said
at the time of the election : ' There is such a moral beauty
about Church, that they could not help taking him I1"
1909.] Ssx OXFORD THINKERS 765
" Moral beauty " seems to express exactly what one feels
about Church, and it fits in so completely with the love that
Newman bore him. At the time of his election to the Fellow-
ship, the Oxford Movement was passing out of its early stage.
It was not till the following year, however, that Newman's
confidence in his ecclesiastical position began to be shaken.
As yet no " ghost " had appeared, and Church's daily com-
panionship with him laid the foundations of the friendship
which was to last unimpaired to the end. One sentence in a
letter written during the long vacation of 1840, throws light
upon the intimacy between them. "Really," he writes, "if
folks knew how pleasant Oxford is in the long vacation I
think they would spoil the quiet by coming up here. . . .
Newman, Rogers, and myself compose the residents at Oriel
now, and we have it very cczily to ourselves."
But this was only the calm that preceded the storm. Seven
months later saw the publication of the famous Tract No. 50.
The history of its conception has often been told. Its object
was to calm the minds of those who were disturbed by the
Thirty-Nine Articles — the Forty Stripes save one — that each
member of the university had still to sign as a test of ortho-
doxy. The new Tract was intended to show that the Articles
were capable of a Catholic interpretation even on those points
on which they had seemed to be most hostile to Catholic
teaching. I am, of course, using the word Catholic in the
sense in which the Tractarians understood it. It is curious to
hear that Newman was quite unprepared for the storm which
greeted the publication of the Tract, as were several of his
friends, including Henry Wilberforce and Keble. Ward, on
the other hand, anticipated trouble, and the event proved that
he was more than justified. To men who had trusted to the
Articles as a potent weapon in their warfare against the Trac-
tarians, it must have been unspeakably galling and exasperat-
ing to find this very weapon wrested from their grasp and
turned to the service of their foes.
Golightly, the great opponent of the Tractarian School, set
on foot the agitation. He began by giving himself heart and
soul to spreading the Tract both in Oxford and in the country.
The number of copies that he ordered was so great that the
publisher had difficulty in supplying the demand. Within a
few weeks the sale of this shilling pamphlet was such that
766 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.,
it enabled its anonymous author to purchase a goodly library.
Golightly's next step was to get one of the Heads on his side.
Through the Warden of Wadham, a memorial was drawn upf
signed by the four senior Tutors, Churton, Wilson, Griffiths,
and Tait, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. This letter
called upon the editor of the Tracts to disclose the name of
the author of No. 90. The said editor politely acknowledged
the receipt of the letter, and there the matter rested. But
this was a mere preliminary canter. The next step was a
meeting of the Heads. But they had other business apart from
the Tract, and this, combined with the curious fact that many
had not even read Tract 90, led to the meeting separating
without any hostile step being taken. Another meeting fol-
lowed, and this time the question was referred to a committee.
Meanwhile Newman set to work on an explanation of his
Tract, taking care to let the Heads of Colleges know that he
was doing so. Without waiting for its appearance, however,
they passed a resolution that "No. 90 suggested a mode of
interpreting the Articles which evaded rather than explained
them — which defeated the object, and was inconsistent with
the observance of the statutes." This resolution was carried
by a majority. It resulted in Newman writing to the Vice-
Chancellor, acknowledging the authorship of the Tract. Of
course there was no sort of obligation for him to do even so
much as this. The meeting of the Heads was an informal
affair, involving no official act of the university and carrying
no weight except such as was involved in the individual opin-
ion of each of its members. Newman's acknowledgment called
forth a very kind letter from his Bishop, asking him not to
discuss the Articles any more in the Tracts.
It was not long before No. 90 produced its effect upon
Church's academical position. His thorough agreement with
the principle of the Tr.^ct made him, as an honest man, ask
himself whether he could still retain his Tutorship. In a
manly, straightforward letter to Provost Hawkins, he avowed
his opinioa and offered to resign his important post. The
Provost offered him time to consider the matter, but Church
replied at once that he could not honestly accept the sugges-
tion, knowing as he did that his view on the question was un-
changeable. It is quite clear that both the Provost and Church
were acting in a way most creditable to themselves. Hawkins
1909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 767
was doing his best to retain Church in the Tutorship, even going
so far as to offer to submit the case, as a hypothetical one, to
the Vice-Chancellor, while Church, on his side saw clearly, and
acted on the knowledge, that he could not lecture to under-
graduates in a sense hostile to the view of those who had ap-
pointed him, nor could he lecture inconsistently with his cvn
view of truth. A dilemma such as this could have but one
conclusion, and Church ceased to be a Tutor.
But events more momentous were at hand. A crisis was
becoming daily more and more imminent. A sermon delivered
by Pusey from the university pulpit, was condemned, and its
author suspended from preaching for a period of two years.
This was in the summer of 1843, while in the following Sep-
tember Newman resigned St. Mary's, and retired to his hermi-
tage at Littlemore. In 1844, the Proctors were Mr. Guille-
mard, of Trinity College, and Church himself. The duties of
the Proctors were at that time even more arduous, and their
powers more extended than they are at the present day.
They are still responsible for the quiet of the streets and
places of public resort, but only so far as the undergraduates
are concerned. In 1844 they also had the control of the
police, and Church's account of his experience on first taking
office is worth quoting: "... One goes at night to a
vaulted room underground, as dreary looking and grim as a
melodrama would require — table with pen and ink, feeble
lamp, and sundry cutlasses disposed round the walls. One
sits down in great dignity at a table, and then the police are
marched in by batches of six. They enter like robbers or
conspirators in a play, all belted and great- coated, looking
fierce. 'All quiet last night?' passes your lips. All their
heads begin to bob, as if they were hung on springs, and with-
out any stopping, for three or four minutes, all their voices
commence repeating: 'All quiet, sir,' as fast as they can; and
when they have lost their breath, exeunt all bobbing. The first
time I was present I fairly lost my gravity, as I should think
most of my predecessors must have done before me" (Ex-
tract from a letter to his mother).
It was destined that Church's Proctorship should be signal-
ized by an act that has made it forever memorable. In July
1844, William George Ward had published his celebrated book
on The Ideal of a Christian Church. If Tract QO had caused a
768 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.,
storm, it was little wonder that Ward's book should create a
veritable tempest. The Tract only professed to explain that
the Articles admitted of a Catholic interpretation. The Ideal
went far beyond this, for its author boldly declared that, in
signing the Thirty-Nine Articles, he claimed the right to hold
" the whole cycle of Roman Doctrine ! " Language such as
this could scarcely be passed over, and in the following De-
cember the Hebdomadal Board determined to submit to Con-
vocation three resolutions: (i) The condemnation of Ward's
book; (2) The deprivation of his Degrees; (3) The investment
of the Vice-Chancellor with a new power, enabling him to
require any member of the university to prove his orthodoxy
by subscribing to the Articles in the sense in which they were
both first published and were now imposed. The third reso-
lution was so unpopular, that it had to be withdrawn, and in its
place was substituted a resolution condemning Newman's Tract.
Convocation met on the 13th of February, 1845. Seldom
if ever had Oxford witnessed a scene of greater excitement.
The streets were thronged with graduates who had come up
from the country to vote on one side or the other. The space
outside the Sheldonian Theater, in which Convocation was to
meet, was blocked by an anxious and curious crowd. Inside
the theater every seat and every passage was crammed with
those whose position gave them the right to be present. The
day was one of bitter cold. Sleet and snow, borne on the
wings of a north wind, poured in showers throughout the day,
but it failed to subdue the courage of the undergraduates and
others whose interest in the day's proceedings had been wrought
up to the highest pitch. This patient crowd could hear the
dull roar of groanings and cheers which came from the inter-
ior of the theater, and no doubt intensified their interest.
The scene within was exciting in the extreme. Ward had
had permission to address the assembly in English, and his
vigorous words stirred his hearers to an enthusiasm of opposi-
tion or assent. As all the world knows, he was condemned.
Then came the proposition to censure Newman's Tract. This,
too, would undoubtedly have been carried, but for the famous
intervention of the two Proctors. At the critical moment Guil-
lemard and Church rose, and the former, the Senior Proctor,
pronounced in stentorian tones the fateful words: " Nobis
Procuratoribus non placet."
1909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 769
Shouts resounded through the building of "Placet" and
"Non." "The Dean of Chichester threw himself out of his
doctor's chair and shook both Proctors violently by the hand."
"Without any formal dissolution, indeed without a word
being spoken, as if such an interposition (as the Proctors'
veto) stopped all business, the Vice-Chancellor tucked up his
gown, and hurried down the steps that led from the throne
into the arena, and hurried out of the theater; and in five
minutes the whole scene of action was cleared." *
Whether from conviction or from a love of the unusual and
a feeling that a persecuted man had been saved, the under-
graduates assembled outside the theater raised loud cheers for
the Proctors — a most uncommon event, for these functionaries
are generally regarded by undergraduates as their natural foes.
The Vice- Chancellor met with a reception correspondingly
hostile, being hissed and even snowballed by the crowd.
Ward, of course, after his courageous defence, met with a re-
gular ovation", the cheers which greeted his exit from the
theater changing, however, in a moment to loud laughter, when
he slipped and fell headlong in the snow, his books and papers
being scattered in all directions.
Church's comment upon the memorable events is found in a
letter to his mother: "The only thing to relieve the day has
been the extreme satisfaction I had in helping to veto the third
iniquitous measure against Newman. It was worth while being
Proctor to have had the unmixed pleasure of doing this."
To the last hour of his life Newman never forgot this ser-
vice, and it is probable that its memory increased the affection
that he felt for Church. More than a quarter of a century
after the event, he dedicated to his friend the new edition of
his University Sermons, in words of tenderness that must have
gone to Church's heart. " For you," he writes, " were one of
those dear friends resident in Oxford — who in those trying five
years, from 1841 to 1845, in the course of which this volume
was given to the world, did so much to comfort and uphold
me by their patient, tender kindness, and their zealous services
in my behalf. I cannot forget how, in the February of 1841,
you suffered me day after day to open to you my anxieties
and plans, as events successively elicited them; and much less
can I lose the memory of your great act of friendship, as well
* Edinburgh Review, April, 18^5, p. 394.
VOL. LXXXIX. — 49
770 Six OXFOXD THINKERS [Sept.,
as of justice and courage, in the February of 1845, your Proc-
tor's year, when you, with another now departed, shielded me
from the 'civiura ardor prava jubentium ' by the interposition
of a prerogative belonging to your academical position."
Again and again, as years went on, Newman and Church
were each other's guests. It seemed quite a natural thing for
the great Oratorian, in his occasional visits to London, to make
the deanery of St. Paul's his headquarters, where he was an
ever welcome visitor. And Church was more than once the
guest of his old friend at Edgbaston.
Mr. Cecil discusses Church in the threefold character of
scholar, statesman, and saint. His scholarship was certainly
sound and accurate. Greek and Latin of course he knew well,
as is sufficiently proved by his Double First. From his boy-
hood he had been familiar with Italian, and Mr. Cecil goes so
far as to say that he must have been in his time the leading
Dante scholar in England. Of course he was, alas ! to the end
of his life a thorough Anglican, but it is admirable to observe
how courageously and steadfastly he maintains the truth that
spiritual greatness transcends all merely human and earthly
excellence. Mr. Cecil gives three instances of this. Speaking
of Dante, Church uses this true and beautiful language:
" No one who could understand and do homage to great-
ness in man, ever drew the line so strongly between greatness
and goodness, and so unhesitatingly placed the hero of this
world only — placed him in all his magnificence, honored with
no timid or dissembling reverence — at the distance of worlds
below the place of the lowest saint."
And again, speaking of Newton, and extolling his work and
genius in the loftiest terms, he immediately warns his readers
that " St. Paul in one order of greatness — the greatness of
goodness — was immeasurably superior to Newton in another."
Statesmanship seems a somewhat strange quality to predi-
cate of a man who was first a parish clergyman and afterwards
a Dean of St. Paul's, but Mr. Cecil gives some justification for
the use of the word. As he readily admits, capacity must
here stand for performance, but he claims for Church "all the
qualities which are required of one who has to make wide and
far reaching decisions. Best c 'l«*ll he had patience, the virtue
which Pitt marked down as ffi£fts th essential for a statesman."
It was Church, too, who was one of the founders of the Guar-
1909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 771
dian newspaper, which so long represented all that was best in
Anglicanism. His high character was admitted on all hands.
Unhappily he remained what he had been at Oxford, what
Newman had made him, a Tractarian. To a Catholic, indeed,
it must ever remain a mystery, insoluble and sad, that a man
should see so much that is true, and remain blind to its logi-
cal sequence. The only explanation is that Faith is a gift,
and that God has vouchsafed it to some and not to others.
One of the earliest of Newman's sermons that Church heard
was, as we have seen, the celebrated one on- "Ventures of
Faith." The impression it made on Church was never forgot-
ten by him. " In a memorable sermon," he tells us, " the
vivid impression of which still haunts the recollection of seme
who heard it, Newman gave warning to his friends and to
those whom his influence] touched, that no child's play lay
before them; that they were making without knowing it the
'ventures of Faith.'" To him the New Testament was a very
severe, as well as a hopeful book, and nothing was to his mind
more certain than that the punishment of unforgiven sin would
be "something infinitely more awful than we had faculties to
conceive of." And as he walks through the streets of London
and observes the thousands of human beings, each with his
own individuality, he longs to know something of their history,
their good and bad qualities, and he asks himself why it is
that "of all the countless faces which he meets as he walks
down the Strand, the enormous majority are failures — deflec-
tions from the type of beauty possible to them."
That he had imbibed a great deal of Catholic spirit, is
clear. Tractarianism, indeed, as we know, was founded on
antiquity, and Church, a typical Tractarian, had more than a
touch of ancient austerity. Mr. Cecil indeed puts this down to
"a strong vein of Puritan severity," and he holds that he was
"the most English, perhaps, of all the Tractarians." I think
it can hardly be doubted that "a vein of Puritanism" was
present in all or nearly all the Tractarians, due, probably, to
the fact that their very piety was inherited from their Evan-
gelical forefathers.
Protestant as he was, he was conscious of the sense of be-
witchment which Rome casts over most men of education, cot
merely the enchantment of its beauty and the glamour of its
associations, but the intangible conviction that it was holy
772 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.,
ground. "I had," he says, "the feeling that it is the one city
in the world, besides Jerusalem, on which we know God's eye
is fixed, and that He has some purpose or other about it — one
can hardly tell whether for good or evil." The final words
rather spoil the effect of the rest.
In August, 1890, Cardinal Newman died. The news affected
Church with a peculiar sorrow. " By those near the Dean,"
writes Miss Mary Church, " it was always recognized that
Newman was a name apart, the symbol, as it were, of a debt
too great and a friendship too intimate and complex, to bear
being lightly spoken of, or subjected to the ordinary measures
of praise or blame."
The younger man survived his revered friend four months.
In December, 1890, Dean Church's beautiful life came to its
peaceful end. By his own wish he was buried at Whatley, in
Somerset, where he had labored for many years as a clergy-
man, before his appointment to the Deanery of St. Paul's.
According to his special desire, six beautiful lines from the
Dies Ir& were engraved upon his tomb :
Rex tremendaj majestatis
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me Fons pietatis.
Querens me sedisti lassus,
Redemisti crucem passus,
Tantus labor non sit cassus.
In saying a few words about James Anthony Froude, I shall
scarcely be expected to discuss the two subjects with which
his name is principally associated, namely, his History of
England and his books on Carlyle. Both subjects are too
large to be treated at the close of an article such as this.
What one chiefly feels about Froude is a wistful regret that he
should have drifted so far from his ancient moorings. As the
younger brother of Hurrell, he was thrown, in his boyhood,
into the very heart of the Tractarian Movement, but it is prob-
able that the very fact of his being Hurrell's brother, tended
to make him revolt from that brother's teaching.
It is said, too, that his early youth was soured by injudi-
cious treatment. He lived in an age when a kind of Spartan
hardness was thought to be the best method of training boys.
1909.] Six OXFORD THINKERS 773
Nowadays, perhaps, we have gone to the other extreme. Any-
how, Froude's boyhood was motherless, and seems to have
been unhappy. After spending three years at Westminster
School, he went to Oxford, his Undergraduate years being
haunted by the dread that he was destined to fall a victim to
the family scourge of consumption. Under the influence of
Newman and Hurrell, he necessarily imbibed Tractarian views,
and in due time he took Deacon's Orders in the Church of
England, and gained a Fellowship at Exeter College. This en-
viable position he owed in part to Sewell, who regarded him as
a promising High Churchman. Hawkins, with more penetra-
tion, had refused him a certificate for the Fellowship, and
when Froude published his Nemesis of Faith, Sewell was
correspondingly furious. The book raised such a commotion
at Oxford, that its author withdrew from the university. He
traveled in Ireland and there came across an Evangelical
clergyman who was a gentleman and a man of conscience.
That he combined these qualities with a hatred of Tractrian-
ism, seems to have startled Froude. It is, perhaps, scarcely
wonderful that to one whose religious belieis rested upon this
or that man, instead of being rooted in the infallible and irre-
fragable authority of a Divine Teacher, the fact of two equally
earnest and devout men holding widely divergent views should
come as a shock to his convictions. This seems to be the
meaning of those striking words that Froude puts into the
mouth of his hero in his Nemesis of Faith : " The most
perilous crisis of our lives is when we first realize that two
men may be as sincere, as earnest, as faithful, as uncompro-
mising, and yet hold opinions as far asunder as the poles."
The keystone of that remarkable sentence and the explana-
tion of the " crisis " which it indicates, are contained in that
one word " opinions." Quot homines, tot sententice. What
Froude needed was the anchorage of infallibility, without which
the ship of the soul will drift upon the sea of opinion, rudder-
less and hopeless. When he had lost faith in Newman's teach-
ing, he began to study Carlyle, and we read in Mr. Cecil's
book, that he felt " obliged to look for himself at what men
said, instead of simply accepting all because they said it."
For himself he solved the problem by becoming a free-thinking
Protestant, and a staunch defender of the Reformation. That
he retained a wistful remembrance of what had existed in the
774 Six OXFORD THINKERS [Sept.,
ages of Faith, is sufficiently shown by a passage in his History
which is worth quoting, if only to give a specimen of his
beautiful style. He is speaking of the epoch which followed
the mediaeval times. "The paths trodden by the footsteps of
ages were broken up; old things were passing away, and the
faith and the life of ten centuries were dissolving like a dream.
Chivalry was dying ; the abbey and the castle were soon to-
gether to crumble into ruins; and all the forms, desires, beliefs,
convictions of the old world were passing away, never to re-
turn. A new continent had risen up beyond the Western sea.
In the fabric of habit, which they had so laboriously built for
themselves, mankind were to remain no longer. And now it
is all gone — like an unsubstantial pageant faded ; and between
us and the old English there lies a gulf of mystery which the
prose of the historian will never adequately bridge. They
cannot come to us, and our imagination can but feebly pene-
trate to them. Only among the aisles of the cathedral, only
as we gaze upon their silent figures sleeping on their tombs,
some faint conceptions float before us of what these men were
when they were alive ; and perhaps in the sound of church
bells, that peculiar creation of mediaeval age which falls upon
the ear like the echo of a vanished world." Something of the
pathos of Froude's life was seen in his expressive face. The
strong, manly features, deeply furrowed in his old age, the
far-away look of his eyes, the sad, almost tragic expression
of his whole countenance, were enough to disarm enmity and
to soften criticism.
Death found him in his home on the rock-bound Devon
coast that he loved so well. Two death-bed sayings of his are
recorded. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
is one of these, and it seems to bear out what Mr. Cecil de-
clares was his prevailing principle : " Though He slay me, yet
will I trust in Him." And in some of his last conscious mo-
ments he repeated those words of Shakespeare:
" To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle !
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
1909.] Sfx OXFORD THINKERS 775
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more."
His mission to South Africa makes one feel that as a states-
man he might very probably have made a great name, and the
business of politics would have withdrawn his mind from the-
ology, in which he took the wrong side. As it was, he was
handicapped in his essay in politics by the fact that, as a man
of letters and not of action, he was more theoretical than prac-
tical. He will probably go down to history as one of the purest
writers of English of his time. His style, is to the last degree
captivating.
The happiest time of his life was most likely that which he
spent as Professor of History at Oxford. .While holding this
post, he occupied the agreeable house at Cherwell Edge, which,
since his death, has become the Convent of the Holy Child.
What used to be Froude's study is now the nuns' chapel, silent
and peaceful, with the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar. This
surely is one of the most striking contrasts that time has ever
brought about !
Mr. Cecil has given us a book full of interest and sugges-
tion. In many places he carries us with him, and in points
where we differ from him we can still appreciate his point of
view. He is never little or trivial, while his bent of mind is
such as to make his Catholic reader hope that the day will
yet come when he will enter a brighter light, and become one
of the Household of the Faith.
THE CHURCH AND THE WORKINGMAN.
BY JOHN A. RYAN.
" Even though it be only a dream, I like to indulge the thought that some day the
Church of the poor will lead them out of bondage, and prove to the unbelieving world
its divine mission " (From a private letter of a^well-known Catholic social reformer).
SHE viewpoint indicated in this sentence is suffi-
ciently frequent among Catholics to justify a
brief reconsideration of a somewhat hackneyed
topic. Among the Protestant churches that dis-
play any considerable amount of vitality, the
tendency is rapidly growing toward a conception that identifies
religion with humanitarianism, while the majority of non-church-
goers who admit that religion has any useful function probably
share the same conception. In such an environment it is not
a matter of surprise that many Catholics should exaggerate
the social mission of the Church.
The Church is not merely nor mainly a social reform or-
ganization, nor is it her primary mission to reorganize society,
or to realize the Kingdom of God upon earth. Her primary
sphere is the individual soul, her primary object to save souls,
that is, to fit them for the Kingdom of God in heaven. Man's
true life, the life of the soul, consists in supernatural union with
God, which has its beginning during the brief period of his
earthly life, but which is to be completed in the eternal exist-
ence to come afterward. Compared with this immortal life,
such temporary goods as wealth, liberty, education, or fame,
are utterly insignificant. To make these or any other earthly
considerations the supreme aim would be as foolish as to con-
tinue the activities and amusements of childhood after one had
reached maturity. It would be to cling to the accidental and
disregard the essential. Scoffers and sceptics may contemn this
view as "other-worldly," but they cannot deny that it is the
only logical and sane position for men who accept the Christian
teaching on life, death, and immortality. Were the Church to
treat this present life as anything more than a means to the
1909.] THE CHURCH AND THE WORKINGMAN 777
end, which is immortal life, it would be false to its mission.
It might deserve great praise as a philanthropic association,
but it would have forfeited all right to the name of Christian
Church.
Having thus reasserted the obvious truth that the Church's
function is the regeneration and improvement of the individual
soul with a view to the life -beyond, let us inquire how far this
includes social teaching or social activity. Since the soul can-
not live righteously except through right conduct, the Church
must teach and enforce the principles of right conduct. Now
a very large and very important part of conduct falls under
the heads of charity and justice. Hence we find that from the
beginning the Church propagated these virtues both by word
and by action. As regards charity, she taught the brotherhood
of man, and strove to make it real through organizations and
institutions. In the early centuries of the Christian era, the
bishops and priests maintained a parochial system of poor re-
lief to which they gave as much active direction and care as
to any of their purely religious functions. In the Middle Ages
the Church promoted and supported the monastic system with
its innumerable institutions for the relief of all forms of dis-
tress. Under her direction and active support to-day, religious
communities maintain hospitals for the sick, and homes for all
kinds of dependents. To take but one instance, the Church
in America collects money for orphan asylums as regularly as
for many of her purely religious objects. As regards justice,
the Church has always taught the doctrine of individual dig-
nity, rights, and sacredness, and proclaimed that all men are
essentially equal. Through this teaching the lot of the slave
was humanized, and the institution itself gradually disappeared ;
serfdom was made bearable, and became in time transformed
into a status in which the tiller of the soil enjoyed security of
tenure, protection against the exactions of the lord, and a rec-
ognized place in the social organism. Owing to her doctrine
that labor was honorable and was the universal condition and
law of life, the working classes gradually acquired that measure
of self-respect and of power which enabled them to set up and
maintain for centuries the industrial democracy that prevailed
in the mediaeval towns. Her uniform teaching that the earth
was given by God to all the children of men, and that the in-
dividual proprietor was only a steward of his possessions, was
778 THE CHURCH AND THE WORKINGMAN [Sept.,
preached and emphasized by the Fathers in language that has
brought upon them the charge of communism. The theological
principle that the starving man who has no other resource may
seize what is necessary from the goods of his neighbor, is
merely one particular conclusion from this general doctrine.
She also taught that every commodity, including labor, had a
certain just or fair price from which men ought not to depart,
and that the laborer, like the member of every other social
class, had a right to a decent living in accordance with the
standards of the group to which he belonged. During the cen-
turies preceding the rise of modern capitalism, when the money-
lender was the greatest oppressor of the poor, she forbade the
taking of interest. Among her works in the interest of social
justice and social welfare, two only will be mentioned here:
the achievements of her monks in promoting agriculture and
settled life in the midst of the anarchic conditions that followed
the downfall of the Roman Empire, and her encouragement of
the Guilds, those splendid organizations which secured ior their
members a greater measure of welfare relatively to the possi-
bilities of the time than any other industrial system that has
ever existed.-
To the general proposition that the Church is obliged to
inculcate the principles of charity and justice both by precept
and by action, all intelligent persons, whether Catholic or not,
will subscribe. Opinions will differ only as to the extent to
which she ought to go in this direction. Let us consider first
the problem of her function as teacher.
The Church cannot be expected to adopt or advocate any
particular programme, either partial or comprehensive, of social
reconstruction or social reform. This is as far out of her pro-
vince as is the advocacy of definite methods of political organi-
zation, agriculture, manufactures, or finance. Direct participa-
tion in matters of this nature would absorb energies that ought
to be devoted to her religious and moral work, and would
greatly lessen her influence over the minds and hearts of men.
Her attitude toward specific measures of social reform can only
be that of judge and guide. When necessity warrants it, she
pronounces upon their moral character, condemning them if
they are bad, encouraging them if they are good. They come
within her province only in so far as they involve the principles
of morality.
1909.] THE CHURCH AND THE WORKWOMAN 779
With regard to the moral aspect of existing social and in-
dustrial conditions, the Church does lay down sufficiently de-
finite principles. They are almost all contained in the Encycli-
cal, " On the Condition of Labor," issued by Pope Leo XIII.
Passing over his declarations on society, the family, Socialism,
the State, woman labor, child labor, organization, and arbitra-
tion, let us emphasize his pronouncement that the laborer has
a moral claim to a wage that will support himself and his
family in reasonable and frugal comfort. Beside this principle
let us pat the traditional Catholic teaching concerning mono-
polies, the just price of goods, and fair profits, If these doc-
trines were enforced throughout the industrial world the social
problem would soon be within measurable distance of a satis-
factory solution. If all workingmen received living- wages in
humane conditions of employment, and if .all capital obtained
only moderate and reasonable profits, the serious elements of
the problem remaining would soon solve themselves.
But the social principles here referred to are all very gen-
eral in character. They are of very little practical use unless
they are made specific and applied in detail to concrete in-
dustrial relations. Does the Church satisfactorily perform this
task ? Well, it is a task that falls upon the bishops and the
priests rather than upon the central authority at Rome. For
example, the teaching of Pope Leo about a living-wage, child
labor, woman labor, oppressive hours of work, etc., can be
properly applied to any region only by the local clergy, who
are acquainted with the precise circumstances, and whose duty
it is to convert general principles into specific regulations. In
this connection another extract from the private letter cited
above may be found interesting and suggestive : " If the same
fate is not to overcome us that has overtaken — and justly —
the Church in Europe, the Catholic Church here will have to
see that it cannot commend itself to the masses of the people
by begging Dives to be more lavish of his crumbs to Lazarus,
or by moral inculcations to employers to deal with their em-
ployees in a more Christian manner." There is some exag-
geration in both clauses of this sentence. The defection of
large numbers of the people from the Church in certain coun-
tries of Europe cannot be ascribed to any single cause. Some
of its causes antedate the beginnings of the modern social ques-
tion ; others are not social or industrial at all; and still others
780 THE CHURCH AND THE WORKWOMAN [Sept.,
would have produced a large measure of damaging results de-
spite the most intelligent and most active efforts of the clergy.
When due allowance has been made for all these factors it
must still be admitted that the losses in question would have
been very much smaller, possibly would have been compara-
tively easy to restore, had the clergy, bishops and priests,
realized the significance, extent, and vitality of modern de-
mocracy, economic and political, and if they had done their
best to permeate it with the Christian principles of social
justice. On the other hand, where, as in Germany and Bel-
gium, the clergy have made serious efforts to apply these
principles both by teaching and action the movement of anti-
clericalism has made comparatively little headway. At any
rate, the better position of the Church and the superior vital-
ity of religion among the people in these two countries, can
be traced quite clearly to the more enlightened attitude of their
clergy toward the social problem.
The second clause of the quotation given above underesti-
mates, by implication at least, the value of charity as a remedy
for industrial abuses. It cannot, indeed, be too strongly nor
too frequently insisted that charity is not a substitute for
justice; on the other hand, any solution of the social problem
based solely upon conceptions of justice, and not wrought out
and continued in the spirit of charity, would be cold, lifeless,
and in all probability of short duration. If men endeavor to
treat each other merely as equals, ignoring their relation as
brothers, they cannot long maintain pure and adequate notions
of justice, nor apply the principles of justice fully and fairly to
all individuals. The personal and the human element will be
wanting. Were employers and employees deliberately and
sincerely to attempt to base all their economic relations upon
Christian charity, upon the Golden Rule, they would necessa-
rily and automatically place these relations upon a basis of
justice. For true and adequate charity includes justice, but
justice does not include charity. However, the charity that the
writer of the letter condemns is neither true nor adequate; it
neither includes justice, nor is of any value in the present
situation.
Let it be at once admitted that the clergy of America have
done comparatively little to apply the social teachings of the
Church, or in particular of the Encyclical " On the Condition
1909.] THE CHURCH AND THE WORKINGMAN 781
of Labor," to our industrial relations. The bishops who have
made any pronouncements in the matter could probably be
counted on the fingers of one hand, while the priests who
have done so are not more numerous proportionally. But
there are good reasons for this condition of things. The
moral aspects of modern industry are extremely difficult to
evaluate correctly ; its physical aspects and relations are very
complicated and not at all easy of comprehension; and the
social problem has only in recent times begun to become
acute. Add to these circumstances the fact that the Ameri-
can clergy have for the most part been very busy organizing
parishes, building churches and schools, and providing the ma-
terial equipment of religion generally, and you have a toler-
ably sufficient explanation of their failure to study the social
problem, and expound the social teaching of the Church.
The same conditions account for the comparative inactivity
of the American clergy in the matter of social works. Up to
the present their efforts have been confined to the mainte-
nance of homes for defectives and dependents, and the encour-
agement of charitable societies. In some of the countries of
Europe, particularly Germany and Belgium, and more recently
France and Italy, bishops and priests have engaged more or
less directly in a great variety of projects for the betterment
of social conditions, such as, co-operative societies, rural banks,
workingmen's gardens, etc. Obviously activities of this kind
are not the primary duty of the clergy, but are undertaken
merely as means to the religious and moral improvement of
the people. The extent to which any priest or bishop ought
to engage in them is a matter of local expediency. So far as
general principles are concerned, a priest could with as much
propriety assist and direct building societies, co-operative asso-
ciations of all sorts, settlement houses, consumer's leagues,
child labor associations, and a great variety of other social re-
form activities, as he now assists and directs orphan asylums,
parochial schools, St. Vincent de Paul societies, or temperance
societies. None of these is a purely religious institution ; all
of them may be made effective aids to Christian life and Chris-
tian faith.
The necessity for both social teaching and social works by
our American clergy is very great and very urgent. To this
extent the sentence quoted in the body of this paper is not
782 THE CHURCH AND THE WORKINGMAN [Sept.
an exaggeration. There is a very real danger that large masses
of our workingmen will, before many years have gone by, have
accepted unchristian views concerning social and industrial in-
stitutions, and will have come to look upon the Church as in-
different to human rights and careful only about the rights of
property. Let any one who doubts this statement take the
trouble to get the confidence and the opinions of a consider-
able number of intelligent Catholic trade unionists, and to
become regular readers of one or two representative labor
journals. We are now discussing things as they are, not
things as we should like to see them, nor yet things as they
were fifteen or twenty-five years ago. Persons who are unable
to see the possibility of an estrangement, such as has occurred
in Europe, between the people and the clergy in America,
forget that modern democracy is twofold, political and eco-
nomic, and that the latter form has become much the more
important. By economic democracy is meant the movement
toward a more general and more equitable distribution of eco-
nomic power and goods and opportunities. At present this
economic democracy shows, even in our country, a strong ten-
dency to become secular if not anti-Christian. Here again we
are dealing with the actual facts of to-day. Consequently,
unless the clergy shall be able and willing to understand, ap-
preciate, and sympathetically direct the aspirations of economic
democracy, it will inevitably become more and more unchris-
tian, and pervert all too rapidly a larger and larger proportion
of our Catholic population.
DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC?
BY J. H. LE BRETON GIRDLESTONE.
WHENEVER a bishop in France invites the faithful
to his Cathedral to celebrate a festival in honor
of Joan of Arc, there is certain to be found in
some local paper a protest against the cynicism
of the Church who claims to-day as her glorious
ornament the victim whom she formerly excommunicated.
Posters may be read on the walls " against the clergy taking
possession of this glorious memory, against this shameless ex-
ploiting of her by the clerical party." In the towns in which
there is a statue of the Maid, the Masonic lodge lays at its
feet a crown, like that recently seen at Paris which bore the
inscription : " To Joan of Arc, heretic and lapsed, abandoned
by the Royal party, burnt by the Church." But the indigna-
tion of the free-thinkers attains its height when it sees the
Church claiming Joan so far even as to place her upon the
altar. " What ! " they say, " was not Joan of Arc proclaimed
by the judges at Rouen heretic, lapsed, sorceress; did she not
die in revolt, cursing the priests, her executioners ? " A free-
thinking author has even gone so far as to say, " Joan's anti-
clerical sentiments point her out as the fitting patroness of
free thought." M. Delpech, senator, formerly president of the
council of the Masonic order, in a pamphlet of which 50,000
copies were printed, tries to prove the impudence of that re-
ligion which, after having martyred the Maid, exploits her
prestige for its own purposes with the populace.
All these accusations are unjust. It is true that the judges
who condemned Joan were, for the most part, priests and that
their president was the Bishop of Beauvais, the infamous
Cauchon. But the priests do not represent the Catholic reli-
gion. When the priests are bad, in revolt against the Church,
when they act without its authority and usurp a jurisdiction
which it refuses them, they are its enemies and it is not re-
sponsible for their misdeeds. One might as well say that the
Reformation was the work of the Church and had the Church's
784 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? [Sept.,
approval, because its author was a Catholic monk ! In this
article we hope to show :
(1) That the Rouen judges represented the University of
Paris with its personal enmity against the Liberator of France;
(2) That they in no way represented the Church, but
acted indeed rather in revolt against it ;
(3) That the Church has nothing to reproach herself with
in regard to the heroine's martyrdom.
I.— IT WAS THE UNIVERSITY WHICH ORDERED JOAN'S DEATH.
Dr. Richer wrote in 1628: "The University of Paris threw
the first stone of scandal at the Maid." Now that all the
documents are better known, we understand why the Sorbonne
threw its stones with such fury. Let us see first of all the
reasons which made it so act, the causes of the furious hate
which it showed against the innocent girl.
A. Why the University Hated Joan. — For a quarter of a
century the forces of life and the resources of France had been
in the hands of England ; she it was who distributed the
bishoprics, canonries, rich prebends, benefices, and all the lucra-
tive situations. For this reason the University had turned to
the English king, flattering him with shameful servility. It
had condemned and discrowned the little King of Bourges, too
poor to satisfy the ambition and greed of its professors. It
had placed its teaching and intellectual authority, which was
considerable, at the service of England. The University was
the life and soul of the Burgundian party, which was sold to
England, and had even partly turned public opinion towards
England. Its great work had been the treaty of Troyes, which
it had prepared and inspired, seven of its doctors having drawn
it up. Henry of Lancaster, the victor of Agincourt, was rec-
ognized as King of France in that treaty, and Charles the
Dauphin was declared, with all of his lineage, ineligible for the
crown ; France became an English colony. Suddenly Joan ap-
pears. She declares that right is on the Dauphin's side, and that
consequently God is with him. She claims to have been sent
from heaven to place him on the throne of his ancestors, and
to drive away Henry Plantagenet.
Joan is in direct opposition to the University. If she finds
credit in the country, and if she supports her affirmation by
victories, the Alma Mater is stricken to the heart, convinced
1909.] DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? 785
of treachery and imposture, and the whole building of miser-
able lies falls to the ground. And, as a matter of fact, the
Maid triumphs, each of her successes, at Orleans, at Patay, at
Troyes, being a wound to the proud University which it will
not forgive. The doctors represent the English party, while
Join is the incarnation of patriotism. She ruins their prestige,
while the consecration at Rheims destroys their great work, the
treaty of Troyes. Here we have the real reason why these
wretched men hated her with a deadly hate.
Cauchon was the man who played the chief part in the
crime committed at Rouen. Now Cauchon was one of the
most illustrious sons of the University of Paris, and in addi-
tion to the reasons which his colleagues had for hating the
Maid, he had certain others peculiar to himself. First pupil,
then doctor, and finally, in 1403, rector of the University of
Paris, he joined the party of Caboche in 1412 and 1413.
Proscribed as traitor, malefactor, and murderer by the Armag-
nacs, he took refuge with the Duke of Burgundy, John the
Fearless. He returned to Paris with his party, and was one
of the instigators of the treaty of Troyes in 1420. In reward
for his services, England and the University jointly nominated
him to the bishopric of Beauvais, 4th of September, 1420.
But, lo and behold ! Joan of Arc turns the tide of fortune
against the English. Cauchon is, of course, irritated and
furious, like all his University colleagues, but soon a personal
reason envenoms his hate. Beauvais declares for the King of
France, and in 1429 drives out its unworthy bishop. This is
the result of Joan's success, consequently Cauchon attributes
his disgrace to her, and vows deadly vengeance against her.
B. The University Wreaks Vengeance upon Joan — While wait-
ing for the moment when it can take vengeance upon Joan, the
University falls savagely upon a poor little peasant girl, Pier-
ronne or Perinaik of Brittany, who, after having faithfully
served Joan of Arc, had the misfortune to fall into the hands
of the Parisian doctors. She had the audacity to declare that
the Maid had been sent by God, and for this crime was burnt
alive at Paris on the 3d of September, 1430, as her mistress*
accomplice. All honor to the poor little Breton girl, too little
known nowadays, Joan of Arc's humble servant, who bore
witness before her by shedding her blood for the truth and for
her country.
vox.. LXXXIX.— 50
786 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? [Sept.,
Bat if the University showed such savage fury towards a
girl who was but the shadow of Joan, what would it not do
when it got the prey itself into its power?
On the 24th of May, at Compiegne, Joan fell into the hands
of John of Luxembourg, lieutenant-general of the Duke of
Burgundy, ally of the English. The news arrived at Paris on
the 25th, and the University immediately organized public re-
joicings. On the next day it wrote a letter to the Duke of
Burgundy asking him to give Joan to the English. It charged
Cauchon, one of its former rectors, and at that time Bishop of
Beauvais, to write another letter to John of Luxembourg claim-
ing the captive. " Send her here to the Inquisition," it said.
It was impatient at Luxembourg's delay and urged him on. At
length he gave way, selling his prisoner to the English in
November, 1430.
But the University was not yet satisfied; it wanted to get
Joan into its clutches. On the 2ist of November it wrote to
Cauchon telling him to have Joan brought to Paris, and it
wrote to the same effect to the King of England. The re-
quest was not granted ; but still it did not let go of its
victim, it followed her to Rouen. As soon as the trial com-
menced, it sent to Rouen six of its doctors, the best qualified
to maintain and, if need be, excite the zeal of the Bishop
of Beauvais, and force the English to condemn the inno-
cent girl. Three of them had been, like Cauchon, rectors of
the University. They are the inspiring soul of the hideous
drama, stimulating the English against the accused girl, and
watching to see that she does not escape their vengeance.
That this is so is shown by the fact that Cauchon and the English
shelter themselves always, whenever they make a decision, be-
hind the authority of the Alma Mater. These doctors of the
University are, together with the Bishop of Beauvais, the per-
sons really responsible for the heroine's death, and they should
be known.
Thomas Courcelles was rector of the Sorbonne from the loth
of October to the i6th of December, 1430. He had urged Lux-
embourg to give Joan up to the English, and at Rouen he was
one of her bitterest enemies. When the tribunal discussed the
question whether she should be put to the torture or not, only
three monsters voted for the torture and he was one of them.
William Erard, also a rector of the University. He was
made rector for the first time in 1421, and had been named
1909.] DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? 787
again to that post four or five times subsequently. He was
sold to the English, body and soul. In the famous sitting held
in the Rouen cemetery, on the 24th of May, six days before
Joan's death, he dared to address her as heretic, schismatic,
sorceress, and monster in a harangue which was equally hypo-
critical and impudent.
John Beaupere was rector of the University of Paris in 1412.
He was one of those who drew up the treaty of Troyes, and
was a devoted supporter of the English against France.
Nicholas Midi. At Rouen it was he who was entrusted
with the duty of persuading Joan to own herself guilty by ex-
hortations known as caritatives. In spite of his hypocritical
eloquence, he failed, but in a final caritative he uttered the
last insult against the angelic child at the moment when she
was about to die.
Nicholas Loiseleur, doctor of the University, an ardent friend
of England, was very hostile to Joan. He died suddenly soon
afterwards.
John d'Estivet, Canon of Baauvais, appointed by Cauchon
to be Joan's accuser. He was a violent and vulgar being, and
prevented Joan from receiving Communion, and even from go-
ing into the prison chapel.
In spite of the activity of its delegates, the trial was not
sufficiently expeditious for the University, and it sought to
hasten the end. An occasion offered. The Council of Basle
was to open on the 3d of March, and the Sorbonne nominated
five delegates charged to represent it there. But in spite of
their desire to be present at the opening of the solemn as-
sembly, the delegates decided to go first to Rouen to stir the
judges out of their lethargy. They arrived on the 3d of March.
For a week they deliberated with their six colleagues on the
answers of the accused girl, these answers being so orthodox,
so wise, and so luminous that they feared she would be ac-
quitted. They decided that it would not be safe to let her
appear before the fifty judges who had presided at the sittings
until then, and finally they managed to arrange that she should
only be questioned before seven or eight carefully chosen wit-
nesses.
At the same time they drew up twelve articles, a false sum-
mary of the pretended confessions of Joan. They took this
document to Paris, and laid it before the learned Corporation
which qualified the prisoner's answers, i. e., marked against
788 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? [Sept.,
each of them an atrocious judgment describing Joan as cheat,
traitress, sorceress, heretic, monster thirsting for blood. The
five delegates returned to Rouen bringing these qualifications,
and also two letters, one tor the English king and the other
for Cauchon, adjuring these two persons to hasten the sen-
tence of death. These various documents and the urgency of
the doctors of Paris removed all the judges' scruples and de-
cided the condemnation.
It is thus abundantly clear that the murderers of Joan of
Arc were the doctors of the University of Paris. Without
them the English would never have burnt her, but merely have
kept her prisoner.
II.— THE UNIVERSITY IN NO WAY REPRESENTED THE CHURCH.
We have just seen that Joan's judges represented the Uni-
versity. From this it might be concluded that the Catholic
religion was guilty, for the Sorbonne was composed of distin-
guished priests, it was one of the most important organizations
in the Church and a center of light and learning. But to draw
such a conclusion would be most false. The celebrated Univer-
sity shows itself in a most unfavorable light from the patriotic
point of view, when it was turned against its country by the am-
bition and greed of its professors. And from the religious point
of view its position is equally bad. Its attitude towards the
Church, whether outside the trial or during the trial itself, is
such that instead of being its instrument it is rather its ad-
versary. The University of Paris acted throughout the whole
affair as the enemy both of its country and its Church.
Let us consider three proofs of this.
A. The Judges of Joan Were in Revolt Against the Church.
— They could only represent the Church if, firstly, in their or-
dinary conduct they were priests truly Catholic, orthodox, sub-
missive in heart and soul to the Holy See; in a word, in per-
fect communion with the Church in ideas and sentiments; and
if, secondly, in the trial itself, they acted in virtue of a certain
jurisdiction and according to canonical rules. But if, on the
contrary, it is proved that these priests were half in schism,
half in revolt, against the Church which they wished to upset
and revolutionize, it would be as unjust to see in them its
representatives, as it would be to regard Luther, the Catholic
monk, as its mouthpiece. We arrive at the same conclusion
if we show that, so far from having exercised a regular juris-
1909.] DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? 789
diction, they usurped their power and wished to withdraw Joan
of Arc from the Church's real tribunal.
The University of Paris had long been known for its schis-
matic tendencies. One of its most famous doctors, Peter Plaoul,
said to Charles VI., that the diocese of Rome was like the dio-
cese of Paris, and that consequently the Pope was as any other
bishop ; that his executive power was inferior to the king's
authority ; that the Pope could err, and that the Church alone,
assembled in council, was infallible. At Constance three hun-
dred doctors of the University of Paris brought about a deci-
sion to the effect that the Council was superior to the Sover-
eign Pontiff. This was more than a usurpation by the epis-
copate of the authority of the Holy See ; it was an outbreak
ot clerical democracy against the Pope's monarchical authority,
because it was twenty thousand clerics arming themselves with
the right to vote, and seeking to alter the Church's constitution.
The Rouen judges, who were Sorbonne doctors, shared
•(hese heterodox sentiments. They sought to overturn the order
;stablished by Christ by substituting their authority for that
)f the Roman Pontiff. Many of these men professed the same
errors later on at Basle, going to the Council held there that
same year.
This synod of Basle was schismatic not merely, as is some-
times said, after its transference to Ferrara in 1437, but from
its very opening, as the Pope himself declared. In its earliest
sittings its members, and among them the doctors of Paris,
decreed without any right or shadow of reason that they con-
stituted an ecumenical council, though they had present only
a dozen bishops or mitered abbots ! When they learnt that the
Pope had dissolved the assembly, they refused to separate,
declaring themselves the representatives of the Universal Church
and superior to the Pope. The revolt became more and more
acute, until at length it became grotesque. The members sum-
moned Eugenius IV. to appear before them to answer their
charges, and as he did not come they deposed him, excom-
municated him, and delivered him over to the secular arm to
be burnt like Joan of Arc. Finally they elected in his place
the antipope, Felix V.
The University of Paris was the moving spirit of this coun-
cil. It was thoroughly imbued with the schismatic spirit, and
its delegates had already brought this same spirit to Joan's
trial. Can it be said that such men represented the Church
790 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC ? [Sept.,
against which they conspired ? Many of our Rouen acquaint-
ances were among the rebels of Basle. Thomas Courcelles,
who had just brought about the Maid's condemnation, was the
oracle of the council, and the soul of the opposition to the
Holy See ; he is known as the author of the most audacious
of the decrees, Decretorum Basiliensium prcecipuus fabricator.
Quicherat calls him the father of Gallican liberty. Can it be
said that this man, the enemy of the Pope, the mainstay of
the antipope, the precursor (as he has been called) of Luther
and Calvin, was a true representative of the Church which he
betrayed and rent in pieces ? William Erard was also one of
the fathers of Basle, and one of the most violent adversaries
of the Holy See. Is he the Church ? Nicholas Midi did not
go to Basle, but he corresponded with the rebels from Paris
and encouraged them, defying Rome from Paris. Is he the
Church ? John Beaupere and Nicholas Loiseleur were among
the most obstinate supporters of Basle ; are they the Church ?
At Rouen, it is true, they had not yet openly declared them-
selves schismatics, but they were so already, not merely in
heart, but also (as we shall see) in deed and in word. They
were the enemies both of their Church and their country.
A very simple argument will show us how unjust it is to
identify them with the Church. They were Frenchmen, but
no one would say that they represented France, or that France
in their person condemned Joan of Arc. Why not ? Because
they had repudiated France, and gone over to the foreigner's
service. In like manner, although they were priests, no one
could say that they represented the Catholic and Roman
Church, for they had denied it and gone over, morally if not
officially, to schism and to serve the cause of schism.
B. In the Trial Itself the Judges Had no Jurisdiction. —
Doubtless the bishops and inquisitors were judges of the faith ;
so far as that goes Cauchon and his assessors had a right to
summon Joan to their tribunal to examine her sentiments and
her deeds, but only with the greatest justice and the greatest
kindliness. Soon, however, an event of the highest importance
took place which completely annulled this jurisdiction. It was
an uncontested principle that, in matters of faith, when an ac-
cused person made an appeal to the Pope, immediately and
ipso facto, all other jurisdiction but that of the Roman Pontiff
was abrogated, and the person who had made the appeal be-
longed to no jurisdiction but that of the Holy See, to which
1909.] DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? 791
he had the right to be taken. What took place in such cir-
cumstances was the same thing that happened when, under
the Roman Empire, a man had said: "I am a Roman citizen
and I appeal to Caesar " ; by the mere fact of his appeal he
escaped from the power of the governors and had to be taken
to Rome.
Now Joan of Arc was one day inspired to say : " I appeal
to the Pope"; and by virtue of this appeal she ceased to be
in the jurisdiction of Cauchon and the other Rouen judges.
This circumstance was brought up later at the rehabilitation
trial in 1455, and it was then declared that it made the trial
of 1431 null and void.
But even in 1431 Joan's judges were conscious of the ca-
nonical illegality and the usurpation of jurisdiction of which
they had made themselves guilty, and the answer which they
nade her, far from excusing them, shows them yet further
separated from the Church and yet more unworthy to repre-
sent her. They told her that the Pope was too far away, and
that moreover the Church was not with the Pope but " with
the clerks and people who have cognizance in this matter,"
i. e., with the gentlemen of the University of Paris. They
act upon a schismatic principle, and that knowingly, for they
allow that they are acting, not merely without the Pope's au-
thority but in spite of his authority, for they disdain it. They
are furious at Joan's appeal, which upsets all their plans; hav-
ing entered upon the way of evil they determine to continue
in it to the very end. The tribunal constituted by them is ir-
regular, incompetent, without authority, in rebellion against the
Church. Once again, on these further grounds, they are not
her representatives. It was not the Catholic religion which
condemned and burnt Joan of Arc; it was a latrocininm, an
assembly of brigands in schism from the Church.
In every age these evil priests have existed, but they have
never been regarded as representing the Church they dishon-
ored. Judas was a priest, a bishop even, since he was an
Apostle, but does he represent the Apostolic College and the
Church? The great heresiarchs were almost all monks, priests,
or bishops — Arius, Macedonius, Eutyches, Nestorius, Donatus,
Luther, Calvin — but do they represent the Church ? Well, then,
no more do Cauchon, Courcelles, Loiseleur, and d'Estivet rep-
resent the Church. These men do not belong to the Church,
for by their acts they put themselves outside it.
792 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? [Sept.,
C. The Testimony of Joan. — In this matter of the responsi-
bility for Joan's martyrdom, there is one testimony which is
not sufficiently examined, and that is the testimony of Joan
herself. She knew as well as any one who was responsible for
her death; she saw better than any one who were her real
enemies. Did she herself, then, attribute her death to the Catho-
lic Church ?
The enemies of the Church think sometimes that here they
can score a victory. Not only, say they, did Joan regard the
Church as guilty of her death, but she even cursed it, dying
in revolt against this sect of bloodthirsty bishops and priests.
Before dying she drew herself up to her full height and thus
addressed the Church in the person of its bishop: "Bishop,
it is through you that I die." But there is a confusion here
which Joan's own words easily dispel. So lar from having ac-
cused the Church, she seems to have taken trouble to exoner-
ate it before posterity. So far from dying in a state of rebel-
lion, she solemnly affirmed with her last breath her love and
respect for religion; her love and respect, I say, but not her
pardon. She never thought of pardoning the Church, for she
never imagined the Church had done her harm, and three
facts prove this.
The first fact is her appeal to the Pope. She clearly did
not regard the Rouen tribunal as representative of the Church,
since she claimed a higher jurisdiction; and she showed that
unmistakably when she said to Cauchon : "You who pretend
to be my judge." She considers the Pope to be her true judge
and her true father. Rome is in her eyes the supreme au-
thority, the sovereign justice; in a word, the Church is the
mother to whom she confidently appeals.
The second fact lies in those well known words, spoken by
her just before her death, and which clearly explain her
thought. When she cried: "Bishop, it is through you that I
die," she immediately added these words which give us her
exact meaning: "If you had put me into the prisons of the
Church," she said, "and entrusted me to ecclesiastical guar-
dians, instead of handing me over to the secular power, noth-
ing of this would have happened." Could she have expressed
her thought more clearly? "If the Church had judged me,"
she practically says, " it would not have condemned me. But
the Church has not dealt with me, for you have not allowed
my appeal. I have not been entrusted to ecclesiastical guar-
1909.] DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? 793
dians. It is you, Bishop, who have torn me from my mother
the Church and given me over to the secular power, i. e,, to
the lay power which is putting me to death." Joan, so far
from accusing the Church and cursing it, longs after it, and
complains that she has not appeared before its tribunal.
Now for the third fact: it shows us how infinitely far away
she was from the sentiments of rebellion attributed to her by
the Church's foes. When the infamous Nicholas Midi said to
her: "You are a Siracen"; Joan started with anger at the
insult to her faith and her heart, crying: "I am baptized; I
am a good Christian and I shall die a good Christian." Again
on the 1 7th of March she made this magnificent profession of
fnith : " I love the Church and desire to support it with all
s'ly power and to die for the Christian faith." Is that the cry
•f one in revolt? On the contrary, it is the testament of a
saint who dies in the faith and love of the Catholic, Apos-
tolic, and Roman Church. If Joan were with us now, and
could read those pages in which the French Freemasons con-
gratulate her on her rebellion against the Church, and propose
to take her as the patroness of free thought, she would raise
herself in indignation against them, as she formerly did against
Nicholas Midi, and say to them: "I am no more free-thinker
than Saracen; I am still the good Christian whom your pre-
cursors burnt." For the false judges of Rouen had very much
more in common with the unbelievers of to-day than with the
Church of their own time.
Artists may attempt to mislead public opinion by painting
beside the stake where Joan was burnt the purple cassock of
a French bishop and the scarlet of an English cardinal, two
men who represent nothing but the basest human passions, but
they will never be able to paint the white robe of a pope
stained with her blood, and he alone represents the spotless
honor of the Church.
III. THE CHURCH HAS NOTHING TO REPROACH HERSELF WITH IN
REGARD TO JOAN'S DEATH.
But if the Church had nothing to do with the Maid's mar-
tyrdom, can we say that it always did what it could for the
poor child ? If we examine the question with an open mind
we shall see that it could not have acted otherwise. Let us
consider its attitude towards Joan before, during, and after the
trial at Rouen.
794 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? [Sept.,
A. Before the Trial. — The Church is accused of being op-
posed to all private inspiration, which it regards as contrary to
its authority; it claims to have a monopoly of revelation from
heaven and Protestantism has disputed this claim in maintain-
ing the soul's right to hold direct intercourse with God. Joan
claimed that right, it is said, and was therefore regarded by
the Church as a rebel. As a matter of fact, the Church only
rejects private inspiration when it is the offspring of pride and
is in contradiction to the authentic revelation of God, because
God cannot contradict Himself. When the revelation comes
clearly from heaven, so far from opposing it, the Church ap-
proves of it, and teaches that the soul which has had the
honor of receiving it ought to believe in and obey it. And
this is what it did for Joan. The prelates and priests who
examined the young girl at Poitiers recognized the supernatural
character of her "voices," and told the king that he could trust
her. We possess several of their reports, and they are models
of prudence. The Church could do no more; it was with
sympathy and tenderness that it saw the child clearly sent by
heaven to France. It walked with her, blessed her, and sus-
tained her.
B. During the Trial. — We have already seen that the ban-
dits who usurped her authority did not represent the Church.
Happily not all the Rouen judges were miserable wretches like
Cauchon, Courcelles, and Loiseleur, but unfortunately the evil
ones prevailed by virtue of their audacity, while the good who
declared for the Maid were driven out, persecuted, or reduced
to silence.
Amongst the good judges, Houppeville was thrown into
prison; the canonist Lohier was obliged to fly, or he would
have suffered the same fate as Joan ; the canon Fontaine op-
posed for some time the bloodthirsty rabble, but he also had
to fly; Isambart de la Pierre, a Dominican, was threatened
with death. Others, less prominent and therefore less exposed,
were of the opinion that Joan should be sent to be tried by
the Holy See. But the most influential and most noisy of the
University professors prevailed.
Besides these good priests, Joan's powerless friends who
sought in vain to save her at Rouen, there was the Church as
represented in France by the other bishops and at Rome by
the Pope. But what could it do ? It could not interfere, for
communication was slow and distance distorted the events tak-
1909.] DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? 795
ing place. No one could know or even suspect the illegalities
and infamies committed at Rouen, and it was naturally sup-
posed that everything was happening according to the rules of
justice. When at length the designs of the judges were known,
it was too late to interfere. And moreover who could have
acted efficiently ? Nothing less than a military force could
have snatched their prey from men who felt themselves strong
in the protection of the English army, and who claimed to be
acting with authority. The Church did not save Joan of Arc
because it was absolutely powerless to do so.
C. After the Trial. — Later on, in 1455, the Church reha-
bilitated Cauchon's victim. At the request of Joan's family,
Pope Calixtus III. ordered the revision of the trial of Rouen ;
and this revision, begun in 1455 at Notre Dame in Paris, was
finished the next year at Rouen. One hundred and thirty
witnesses were heard, light was thrown upon the matter, the
verdict of Cauchon was solemnly annulled, and Joan proclaimed
innocent. Without this fresh trial and these official depositions,
sought for and collected by the Church, the calumnies of the
Rouen trial would never have been cleared up and dispelled
for us. It is the Church, then, who has made the memory
and the glory of Joan safe from the attacks of lies and in-
sults.
But why, it has been asked, did the Church wait five and
twenty years before doing justice to the Maid ?
We must bear in mind the character of those times, the
habitual slowness of the courts of law, a slowness explained
by the temperament of a generation less in a hurry than ours
and by the difficulty of communication. Allowance must be
made for political complications, for the danger of irritating
the English, for the necessity of letting tempers grow calm
and of allowing light to come out of the obscurities of a pro-
cess the issues of which had been purposely entangled and
confused. Moreover the Church could only commence the re-
vision of a trial after an appeal to annul the verdict had been
made to it; the first step had to be taken by Joan's family.
Was the mother of the Maid indifferent to her daughter's
memory ? No, the delay was due to the force of events. Even
so, it would be unjust to blame the Church which could not
go faster than the family itself.
Even at the time, moreover, when the Church undertook
the retrial of the case, she had to face difficulties for which
795 DID THE CHURCH BURN JOAN OF ARC? [Sept.
she deserves credit. In carrying it out, she gave great annoy-
ance to the English government, which had ordered all its
agents to support the justice of the condemnation; to the Duke
of Burgundy, who owed her a grudge for it; to the University
especially, as being the chief culprit. Nay more, she laid bare
the iniquities of a large number ot priests, and thus gave
her enemies a handle of which modern free thought has not
failed to avail itself in abusing the clergy. Yet she did not
hesitate to encounter these risks, because she only wished for
truth and justice. The Church merely did her duty, no doubt,
but courage was needed to fulfill it.
The Church then has nothing to reproach herself with in
regard to the Maid ; but heresy and free thought cannot say
the same. The Galilean and half-schismatic University wished
to besmirch the memory of the pious young girl by burning
her body, and the University is the chief culprit. Protestant-
ism broke the monuments and statues of the heroine in the
past; Voltaire, the father of unbelief, tried to defile her in a
filthy book; the Revolution forbade her festivals, and the Em-
pire restored them ; the Freemasons have at one time insulted
her, at another time glorified her with praises, worse than any
insults, as misrepresenting her mission and taking from her
her halo of sainthood. The Church alone has the right to be
proud of Joan.
Articles have been written which say that no one party
ought to claim Joan. "She belongs to all," in the hackneyed
phrase of the day. But Joan does not and cannot belong to
a party which blasphemes her faith, denies her God, scoffs at
the ideal which dominated her life. To the free-thinker who
would lay hands upon her, as to the soldier who tried to out-
rage her in her prison, she cries out: "Back, wretch, and re-
spect me." Joan belongs to us, Christians, because she belonged
to the great family of believers up to the very moment of her
death. She belongs to us, because we alone can explain her
mission, as she herself explained it, by voices from heaven.
She belongs to us, because we alone leave to her that super-
natural inspiration which she claimed. She belongs to us,
lastly, because the Church alone can praise her without stint
or qualification.
TALLY-HO.
BY PAMELA GAGE.
5R. THOMAS COLLIER, going down the steps of
Beechcroft House on a gray March morning, was
quite unconcerned as to whether Tally-ho had
won the Waterloo Cup or not.
The thing with which he was concerned was
that he had just succeeded in getting a dying man's signature
to a will which dispossessed his favorite nephew, and that it
reposed very snugly in his bag at that moment.
He might be excused for looking as though he had seen a
ghost when an outside car drove rapidly in sight and there lit
down from it the very youth who had just been dispossessed.
Jack Hartigan was a pleasant sight enough to most people, but
Mr. Collier would at this moment just as soon have seen the devi).
" How is he ? " asked Jack Hartigan eagerly. '•' And has he
heard about the Cup ? "
Mr. Collier turned pale and then red.
" He is unconscious," he said, " and I do not think he will
ever be conscious again. We were not thinking of dogs and
coursing. I daresay the news has reached the village. They
were carousing there last night, and I know that all the stable-
boys and kennel-men were absent. Beechcroft was empty ex-
cept for a couple of servants and the nurse and myself. I sat
with my poor old friend."
Jack Hartigan's eye fell on the black bag and he smiled.
"You've been making a new will I see, Mr. Collier," he
said suavely, " a will by which my Cousin Rody, who report
says is engaged to your daughter, succeeds to Beechcroft. Not
that I care about it. But I wanted to see the dear old man
while he could know me. Why didn't you send for me ? "
" It was no business of mine to send for you." Long lines
of rose had come out in the eastern sky. Momentarily the day
was brightening ; and the light revealed the long, sinister, mean
face of the attorney and the malignity of his gaze. " My poor
friend had no wish to see you while he was conscious. You
can force your presence upon him now he can no longer for-
bid you the house."
798 TALLY-HO [Sept.,
For a moment Jack Hartigan's usually simple and friendly
face wore such an expression that Mr. Collier stepped quickly
to one side.
" Because you filled his ears with poison against me," the
young man said with a quietness which seemed full of omen.
" Because you dared to smirch my love for Alice Fitzgerald.
I know you, you villain, and the stories you brought him. If
you had told them of Rody they might not have been so easy
to disprove."
With a hurried movement Mr. Collier put several feet be-
tween himself and Jack Hartigan. The outside car which had
brought the latter was not yet out of sight and hearing. He
whistled shrilly and started out in pursuit of it.
" Bedad, he doesn't make a bad sprinter," Jack Hartigan
said to himself with a somewhat mournful humor. " It would
be better than Lisdoonvarna, so it would, for Tommy, if he
was to meet me often and me in a bad temper!"
He turned about and glanced sadly round the velvety lawn,
off which the mists were rising as the day grew brighter. The
flower-beds were revealing their brightness of crocus and tulip
out of the mists. One or two tall elms and a magnificent cop-
per beech were thickening with buds. Beyond the park and
its many ancient, twisted May-trees, rose the mountains dark
against the eastern sky. The sun just looking over the moun-
tains suddenly sparkled in the distant river. At one side was
the walled garden, a delightful place of flowers and fruit, in
their season. Beyond a bare shrubbery were the stable-yard
and the kennels.
" Poor Uncle Tony ! " said the lad to himself with a pang
of compassion. " It's hard for him to be leaving it all on
such a morning. And never to know that Tally-ho has won
the Waterloo Cup. The poor old man, I wish they could have
kept him conscious for that."
He turned the handle of the house- door as he had turned
it familiarly for so many years, and went into the hall where
the furniture he knew like the faces of friends glimmered in
the early dimness. There was the cold, pure air of early morn-
ing and early March in the house. The doors that gave upon
the hall were closed. There was not a sound in the house,
but as his foot touched the first step of the stairs something
hurled itself down upon him in a rapture of fawning and whim-
pering.
1909.] TALLY-HO 799
"Ah, Nell, old girl," he said, fondling the spaniel's silken
head. " So you haven't forgotten me ! But it is a sad hour,
isn't it, that I come back in ? "
He went up the carpeted stairs to the wide corridor above,
the dog fawning about his feet. He glanced at the old-fash-
ioned clock, which showed the ages of the moon and the day
of the month, as he passed. The hands pointed to half past
six o'clock. While he stood there it struck the hour huskily.
Before he could knock at the door of his uncle's room it
was opened and an elderly woman came out, who displayed
a joy almost as extravagant and just as quiet as the spaniel's
at sight of him.
" Glory be to God ! Master Jack, is it you ? " she said, lift-
ing her hands. Her rosy cheeks were streaked with tears and
her vividly-blue eyes had red rims about them. " Sure he's
nearly gone, the poor master ! And none of his own near
him! If it wasn't for me and Tim Carmody 'tis left alone he'd
be while the fine lady sent for from Dublin is havin' her naps.
An' 'tis nappin* she is most o* the day now except whin the
doctor's expected. Not that she minds him. He wasn't here
yesterday at all. Wasn't it Crom Races ? ' The man's practi-
cally moribund,' says he, the night before last. There was a
way to spake o' the poor masther, him that was proud enough
to put his legs under our mahogany in the good old times."
She lifted her white apron to staunch the fast- running tears.
"And where is Master Rody, Mary? "Jack Hartigan asked
sternly.
" Och, the sorra wan o' me knows. Somewhere he oughtn't
to be, I'll take me oath o' that. The last day he kem the poor
master was just fallin' into a sleep. He was terrible wake, but
he had the stren'th to ring the bell. ' Take this man away/
he says, whin Tim answered it ; 'he has drink on him.' 'Twas
only be the inducement of the drink we got Master Rody to
go quite. He went off that evenin', glory be to God ! an' we
haven't seen him since."
"Your message only found me yesterday. I wish I had
been here sooner. I've traveled ever since to get here in time."
" Without bite or sup. I know you, Master Jack," said the
woman affectionately.
" Never mind me, Mary. I can do very well till the house
is stirring. Let me see him. Is he alone?"
" He is, Master Jack, except for his poor ould Mary. That
8oo TALLY-HO [Sept.,
hussy of a nurse is gone to her bed. She was away to it the
minute Mr. Collier, bad luck to him ! was out o' the house.
I'll call up Tim and he'll have a bit of breakfast for you in
next to no time. Sure it 'ud do him no good for you to be
starvin*. He always liked every wan to ha' their fill of mate
an* drink. He wouldn't turn a beggar from his door."
She preceded him tip-toe into the big room where the great
four-poster stood in which Anthony Glynn had been born,
from which his soul was about to wing its flight.
While Jack Hartigan stood by the side of the bed she went
softly and drew up the blind. The light came with a rush into
the darkened room. All the birds were singing now and a young
hound barked from the kennels and was answered by the throats
of the pack.
Jack Hartigan, looking down at the face on the pillow,
broke into a sudden hard sob. The face was so altered from
the old, weather-beaten, rosy face that had so often beamed
love and confidence into his own. His breast heaved. He
covered his face with his hands. It was all so bitterly wrong.
The old man had cared for him more than for any one in the
world ; and he had returned the love in full measure. Then
had come Alice Fitzgerald, the gray- eyed, dark haired, milky-
skinned daughter of a neighboring farmer. No match perhaps
for a nephew of Anthony Glynn, his favorite nephew, the heir
in all probability to Beechcrcft. The heir of Beechcroft should
marry into a family the equal of his own.
But — it was not the mesalliance that Anthony Glynn so bit-
terly resented. The mesalliance was something he had not
thought of. Proud, obstinate, prejudiced as he was, if he had
seen Alice Fitzgerald, he might have acknowledged that Jack
was right to forget the social differences. Alice's father, Michael
Fitzgerald, would have smiled at the idea of a Fitzgerald beirg
below a Glynn ; but there was no end to the folly and vanity
of some of those who claimed descent from the old families.
Anthony Glynn had heard the tale of Jack's infatuation for
the farmer's daughter from one who knowingly or unknowingly
contaminated the innocent romance.
Old Anthony had raved and sworn. The Glynns had always
walked cleanly among their humbler neighbors. He would have
no shame, no scandal, no disgrace. By heavens ! if one of his
blood should wrong any innocent girl he would kick him from the
doors of Beechcroft, which would never again open to receive him.
1909.] TALLY-HO 80 1
Hiding his working face even from the loving old servant
who stood watching him, now and again putting her apron to
her eyes, Jack Hartigan recalled his own bitter answer that
day. His uncle's view of his love-affair seemed the foulest in-
sult to the noblest and purest of women. He had said as much
to the flushed, threatening old man, and had flung himself out
of the house — to earn money so that he might ask Alice Fitz-
gerald to be his wife. He had been dealing in horses since —
the one thing he knew anything about — and he had been in
England when Mary Hogan's message had followed and tound
him.
A touch on his arm attracted his attention.
"Don't take on like that, Master Jack," Mary said in a
trembling voice. " The poor master's not gone yet. Tim says
he won't go — not yet. The dogs hasn't howled. Sure the
world knows that the bastes can tell when there's a death
comin*. Nor the banshee. The banshee always followed the
family. She was keenin' round the house the night your grand-
mother, Lord rest her ! died. Ah, here's Tim, Master Jack
Isn't it good for sore eyes to see Master Jack, Tim, even at a
sorrowful time like this ? Sure he's starvin', God help him,
and perished with the cowld."
Jack Hartigan shook hands with the old butler silently. He
could not trust himself to speak.
" There was bad work doin' last night," said the old butler
gloomily. " I wish you could ha' come before, Master Jack.
That Collier, God forgive me, he was shut in wid the
master; an' none about only her from the hospital. Was it
likely he could make a will ? " He indicated the scarcely
breathing body. " Yet he had him propped up an' guidin' the
hand of him not an hour ago, an* herself an' Larry Fagan from
the kennels writin* their names for witnesses. I'm glad I never
had any scholarship. There's great villainy in it sometime?.
As I was goin* up to bed I met Collier comin' down, an* he
grinnin' to himself. Thinks I : ' You're ugly enough, my bucko,
without that.' I'm afeared you're out o* the will, Master Jack."
" I'm afraid so, Tim. But I'm not the kind money sticks
to. What matter about it? I think more of the grief of see-
ing him lying there, and we not friends at the last."
" He was axin' for you the very last night he had his wits.
It was what made Mary write to you. She was afeard of her
VOL. LXXXIX.— 51
8o2 TALLY-HO [Sept.,
bad writin* that it 'ud never reach you ; but she daren't trust
another. You know Tally-ho has won the Cup, Master Jack?
And to think he wouldn't live to know it ! "
The two went away and left the young man alone with the
dying man. He stood looking down at the quiet face, his own
working. The old man was very nearly gone. Hardly a
breath fluttered on his lips. Leaning to listen Jack Hartigan
could not hear him breathe. And to think that he was dying
without knowing that Tally-ho had won the Waterloo Cup 1
Jack had an odd impulse. He looked half- shamefacedly
about the room before he acted upon it. The spaniel, lying
on the hearthrug, watched him with an eye of tempered rejoic-
ing. He stooped his lips to the dying man's ear. If he could
only reach him with the tidings he could not help feeling that
his soul would go the happier on its journey. Anthony Glynn
had been so proud of Tally-ho, a dog of his own breeding and
rearing. And to think that he was bringing home the Cup,
and Anthony Glynn not to know it !
" Tally ho has won the Waterloo Cup," he said, with low
distinctness, into the dying man's ear. " Can you hear me ?
Tally-ho has won the Waterloo Cup. Major Skeffington's
Surely Not second; Sir Gilbert Woburn's Water- Wagtail third."
As he bent his head he listened. He had an irrational
fancy that now, at last, he could hear his uncle's breathing, a
faint, trembling breath, as of one agitated.
He spoke again.
" Tally-ho has won the Waterloo Cup. He will be here
this evening. It was a splendid finish."
There was something in the face as he peered into it like
the trouble of the gray eastern sky before the dawn breaks.
He could not be sure how much of it was due to his imagina-
tion. For a second or two he watched the face in an anguish
of suspense. Once he almost thought an eyelid fluttered ; then
— he was not sure. Was Anthony Glynn dying ?
He rushed to the bell. Before he could reach it the door
opened and Mary Hogan came in.
" Do you see any change in him, Mary ? For God's sake
look closely at him and say if you see any change in him. He
looks to me as though consciousness were coming back to him."
"There's a change in him, sure enough," cried Mary.
" Sure Tim's right. The dogs never howled. Myself I stuck
1909.] TALLY-HO 803
to the banshee. Is it likely he'd die an' she never let a screech
out of her ? Here's the brandy, sir. I'm thinkin' 'twas the
lady herself had more of it than the poor master ever had.
An' him used to his few tumblers of punch every night."
The brandy was poured generously into Anthony Glynn's
mouth. Some of it ran out again, but some of it was swal-
lowed. In a short space of time there were hot- water bottles
packed all about the body which already had the chill of death.
Some one had gone, riding hard, for the doctor. Apparently
no one thought of the nurse, sleeping soundly after her night's
vigil.
The breath came back into the frozen body ; the heart went
on again pumping blood through the veins ; slowly, painfully,
the pulses could be discerned growing momentarily stronger.
And presently Anthony Glynn opened his eyes.
"Ah, Jack, is it you, my boy?" he asked wearily. "And
is it true that Tally-ho has won the Cup ? "
" It is quite true."
They gave him some nourishment and he sank off again to
sleep ; while from the kennels the dogs, going out for exercise
two and two, broke into joyful yelping.
Three days later Anthony Glynn was able to sit up.
When that time arrived, contrary to all custom, he had Tally-
ho brought to his bedside, where he all but wept over the
hound's silky head.
A little more time and he was ruling the world about him
from his bed, with the old dominant strength. He was talk-
ing of the chances of the Cup next year. He was driving his
nurse hither and thither and keeping Jack incessantly by his
bedside, with an affection which refused to be robbed of the
sight of him for a moment. Yet a little longer and there was
an exquisite outburst of spring; and all the crocuses were up
in the beds and the snowdrops whitened the shrubberies, and
under the bare orchard trees the daffodils were beginning to
peer. Anthony Glynn in a bath-chair was out on the lawn,
where the dogs, old and young, were brought in couples for his
inspection, and his hunter, Paladin, came to him to be caressed.
But before that time came he had sent for another lawyer
than Mr. Collier, who had been summarily dismissed, and had
made a new will.
"Sure I never meant to cut you off, Jack," he said. "I
8 04 TALLY-HO [Sept.,
didn't know what that blackguard was making me do at all, at
all. Wouldn't I have been the sorrowful man, whatever the
Lord intended for me, if you hadn't called me back to undo
what they'd made me do ? "
There was a great peace and sweetness over Beechcroft
while the master crept slowly back to life and health. Rody
had taken it into his head to enlist, so the trouble of him was
off the place; and Mr. Collier consoled himself as well as might
be for the loss of a client and a son-in-law.
It was a beautiful April day, with primroses in sheets on
all the banks and the wild hyacinths springing in the grass,
when Anthony Glynn went out driving for the first time after
his illness. The people came to the cottage- doors, and called
out to him : " God bless your Honor and keep you as well as
you are to-day ! " which pleased Anthony Glynn, who liked to
stand well with his neighbors. Now and again one called out:
" Hurroo for Tally-ho!" which delighted the old man. The
neighbDrs they met in carriages or riding or walking stopped
to say how glad they were to see Mr. Glynn about again and
how sadly lonely the country had felt during his illness.
To these latter he would say, laying a trembling hand on
Jack's knee :
" Here is the boy that called me back to life. " I'd have
been in Killpadraig now if it wasn't for Jack."
Then the faces would smile on Jack Hartigan, who had
always been well liked and was liked still even by those who
had daughters to marry and thought it a dreadful pity that
Jack should have entangled himself with a farmer's daughter
and quarreled with his uncle about her. Indeed to some of
them the very evident reconciliation between uncle and nephew
brought new hope. Surely the young man had seen the folly
of his ways and had given up thinking of a girl so much be-
neath him.
At Drumkeeran Crossroads, Nick Flynn, the coachman,
would have turned to the left towards Knockshambo, for home;
but Anthony Glynn shouted at him to take the other road,
the one that runs to Kilsheilan.
A mile down the road was a gray stone wall overhung by
elm trees, a wide open gate, a lodge, and a winding avenue
going to a long, low farmhouse. As they came near the place
Jack Hartigan turned red, for there Alice Fitzgerald lived.
1909.] TALLY-HO 805
He had not seen her for a long time, for neither of them
would meet clandestinely; and Michael Fitzgerald had taken
Anthony Glynn's attitude towards the love-affair badly, the
worse that they had always had a liking for each other.
"Turn in," said Anthony Glynn, as they reached the gates.
The astonished coachman did as he was bidden. Jack
looked an amazed question into the* old face. Anthony Glynn
gave him back a look full of love. And there was Michael
Fitzgerald himself, square and sturdy, coming through the
white lawn gates of the white house to meet them.
" I'm glad you're better, Mr. Glynn," he said, lifting his
proud gray eyes to the face of the man who had hurt him in
his tenderest point.
"Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald. I have brought this lad of
mine to see your girl. Let us talk over things. I've come to
my senses. You see, I've been near death. Give me your
hand, man."
Michael Fitzgerald's hand met his and the two closed in a
firm grasp. They looked in each other's eyes and each recog-
nized in the other a man after his own heart.
After that, to judge by the way Anthony Glynn hastened
the marriage, one would have thought that Alice Fitzgerald
had been his own choice for Jack. He was enraptured with
the calm, queenly girl, who looked at the world with such a
shining serenity in the depths of her glorious gray eyes, who
was fashioned as he held a woman ought to be fashioned, no
puny creature, but a gracious, nobly-formed woman, healthy as
she was beautiful, and fitted to be the mother of children who
should carry on his family if not his name.
He was extremely anxious for the marriage to take place,
and would hardly give the bride or the bride's family time to
make the preparations they thought needful. It was as though
he dreaded that something should happen to prevent the mar-
riage.
Nor would he hear of any honeymoon except the briefest.
A week at Killarney and then back to Beechcroft. What more
could they want? There was time enough for them to see the
world when he was dead.
They yielded to him in everything. He had never been
quite the same since his illness. He had never quite recovered
his old rosy color nor seemed to belong to life as he had of
806 TALLY-HO [Sept,
old. Looking at him they were fain to acknowledge that it
might be only a respite after all, only a respite.
So the marriage took place with a haste as though some-
thing were urging them: "Hurry! hurry!" The bridal pair
had their brief honeymoon and were back at Beechcroft before
June was out ; and Anthony Glynn, for all that he looked to
have but a brief tenure of life, went about the house and the
gardens, the kennels and the stables, with a quiet peacefulness
of aspect that impressed every one who saw him. He had
changed from a dominant, blustering personality, whose pres-
ence was like the West Wind, into a quiet, peaceful old man.
The doctor confessed that he could find nothing wrong
with Mr. Glynn, that there was no reason he should not live
to be ninety. But Anthony himself shook his head.
" I ought to be in the churchyard, by right," he said to
his nephew, whom he never liked to be far from him in these
days; "only you called me back; and the Lord let me come,
to set things right for you and so that I might die happy.
If I might only live to see a son of yours, Jack, and to know
that Tally-ho had won the Cup a second time I could die in
peace. I'd have nothing more left to wish for."
The autumn was long and golden, followed by a mild win-
ter ; and Anthony Glynn showed no sign of failure. To be
sure he was guarded with watchful love against the rough
winds and the cold and the rain; and he seemed to like to be
so watched, he, who in the old days, could never be induced
to take any care of himself. He had become greatly attached
to Jack's placid, motherly young wife. In these days, Jack
aad Jack's wife made up the sum of his human world. Beyond
them he cared for his horses and his dogs, and especially for
Tally-ho. It would be a strange day indeed when Anthony
Glynn ceased to care for his horses and dogs.
The time turned round to the Waterloo Cup day. The old
man was in a subdued state of excitement from the time the
dog and his train of attendants had departed. He had two or
three younger dogs running; but of them he hardly thought.
His whole interest was centered in Tally-ho. He stood out
on the lawn to see the dog, carefully wrapped up, depart.
"Bring home the Cup, Tally-ho," he said. "Bring home
the Cup ! There's a deal of Irish money on you, my beauty.
If you win this time you shall have a gold collar."
1909.] TALLY-HO 807
And the sleek, intelligent creature looked at his master as
though he understood.
The night before the fateful day young Mrs. Hartigan
brought a beautiful male child into the world. The old man
was wild with excitement and joy.
" Only let Tally-ho win the Cup now," he said, " and I
shall live to be ninety, as Conolly says I might. I wonder
what time the telegram will come."
He would have the child brought to his bedside in its
father's arms that he might see it.
"Call him Anthony Glynn," he said. "And let him be
Anthony Glynn and not Anthony Hartigan so that there may
be still a Glynn at Beechcroft, when I am gone."
He was too much excited to sleep during the night. The
next morning he looked so tired and frail and old that they
kept him in bed. Alice was doing well, and the child was all
that could be desired. It was as much good luck as should
come in one day, he said cheerfully; and yet he added: "God
send that Tally-ho may bring home the Cup!"
After breakfast Jack Hartigan read the papers to him with
the latest news from the course. All Ireland had gone mad
over Tally-ho. There were sensational reports of the extent
to which the dog had been backed.
The old man slept fitfully at intervals during the morning.
The day turned round slowly for everybody to evening. Dr.
Conolly had come in a friendly way to see how his patient
was bearing the strain.
"It is trying him badly," he said to Jack Hartigan. "De-
spite yesterday's happy event, which ought to have given him
a fillip, he seems to have lost strength rapidly. I hope the
dog will win."
That was a calamitous day for Ireland, for Tally-ho, having
done well in the early running and raised the hopes of his
backers to fever-heat, suddenly and ignominiously failed at
the last.
About six o'clock Jack Hartigan stood by the old man's
bedside, the fateful yellow envelope held in a hand that
trembled. '
"You'll set young Anthony against it, sir," he said.
" Tally-ho's beaten ? "
"Yes, the dog made a good fight, but — "
8o8 TALLY-HO [Sept.
" He's not out-classed, Jack," said the old man eagerly.
" He'll live to do well for Ireland another day. He's a good
dog. Jack; I never bred as good a one. Never a better one
was bred between the four seas of Ireland."
"I'm sure of it, sir. It was an accident his being defeated."
The old man turned about with his face to the wall; and,
after looking at him for a moment in sad silence, Jack Harti-
gan turned away and went on to his wife's room. He wanted
to tell her that the old man was taking it better than they
could have hoped.
The corridor was dark as he went along it, and outside the
blackbirds and thrushes were singing deliciously on the bare
boughs. It had been a mild day and all the windows stood
open to the soft wind.
With his hand on the door-handle of his wife's room he
paused a second. There arose from the kennels outside a
strange, uncanny chorus of howling that froze his heart as he
heard .it. Turning back, he met Mary Hogan, running along
the corridor to the master's room.
"Do you hear the dogs, Master Jack?" she cried. "The
master's gone."
There was no time to rebuke her superstition. She was in
the bedroom before him. Anthony Glynn had not stirred from
the position he had assumed when he turned away from his
nephew's sympathy. But there was a new rigidity in the
shape under the bedclothes.
" Don't frighten him," said Jack Hartigan hastily, coming
to her side.
The room seemed full of the uncanny howling of the dogs.
The moonlight lay on the floor. As he stepped towards the
bed the shadow of something that glided by the window lay
on the moonlit floor, appalling him.
"Is it frighten him?" said Mary Hogan, rapidly pressing
her hand down the master's face. " Is it frighten him ? God
help him ! he'll never be frightened nor sorry in this world
any more. Tally-ho brought him back to us: and Tally-ho
has took him away from us. Go to the mistress, Master Jack,
and I'll see to him."
THE WONDERS OF LOURDES.
BY J. BRICOUT.
III.
THE MIRACULOUS CURES.
is truly soul-stirring to see those who have been
miraculously cured, marching in procession during
the national pilgrimages to Lourdes. Last Au-
gust three hundred and sixty- four of them re-
turned to Lourdes to render thanks, and to bear
public witness to the reality and the permanence of their cure.
How can any one dare deny, in the face of that cloud of wit-
nesses, that numerous cures are effected, and effected through
the intercession of our Lady of Lourdes ?
The facts exist ; they are real. The contrary can be main-
tained only on the unreasonable supposition that thousands of
honorable men and women, as well as thousands of conscien-
tious and competent physicians, have been grossly deceived.
The work of the " Bureau of Medical Verification," established
in Lourdes itself on the Rosary Esplanade, would also have to
be ignored.
Formerly religious, aided by four or five physicians, gath-
ered the accounts of cures and edited the testimony. Their
collections filled the first twenty volumes of the Annals of Our
Lady of Lourdes. It was in 1882 that the "Bureau of Medical
Verification" — the miracle clinic — was established. Those in
charge of the place were not afraid of scientific light or obser-
vation. The certificates and papers brought to Lourdes by
those who are sick are verified by graduate physicians, and the
sick who desire it are themselves examined on their arrival.
If a cure is announced, the Bureau, unmoved by the enthusiasm
of the crowd, immediately subjects the patient to a rigorous
examination.
8 io THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Sept.,
Several doctors are officially connected with the Bureau,
but care has been taken to throw its doors wide open to men
of ability — particularly to doctors, whether believers or unbe-
lievers, foreigners or Frenchmen.*
It is probable [M. PAbb6 Bertrin justly writes] that there
is no other clinic in France so open to visitors or so much fre-
quented.
From 1890 to 1908 (exclusively) 3,673 doctors, 697 of them
from abroad, have visited the Bureau of Medical Verification.
The names are all registered. They make an imposing and
probably a unique collection. Since 1896 there have been
on the average between two and three hundred doctors pres-
ent every year. In 1907 they numbered 342. Some days
there were as many as sixty in the office. No matter what
their personal opinions, they were all at perfect liberty to see
and to question the sick people who came to have either their
maladies or their cures verified.
It even happens frequently, on days when there are big
crowds, that the President of the office calls out at hap-haz-
ard: "What doctors^ will take the trouble to examine this
case, either in a private room or in the hospital ? "
Whoever wishes to do so may accept the invitation.
Though it is not known whether they. believe in miracles or
not, their report is accepted by the official doctors of the
Grotto.
Some years ago an Knglish physician, Dr. Henry Head,
stayed at gourdes while the big pilgrimages lasted. He
came equipped with special appliances for examining eyes
and ears and for different analyses. He even had a photo-
graphic outfit. He was a Protestant, but he was let do ex-
actly as he pleased. He not only followed the discussions
with the utmost freedom, 'but he took copious notes and ques-
tioned the sick himself. . . . On leaving he wrote the
following note to the President of the Bureau :
" I would like above all to offer my sincere and cordial
thanks to the authorities at gourdes. They have granted to
me and to other doctors every facility for a free and inde-
pendent examination of the sick. All that we could have
* " All parts of the world send representatives to Lourdes. The English and Americans
come in great numbers. Protestants are interested in our work. A letter from Japan asked
for an account of our cures for the purpose of making them known to the most famous phy-
sician there who wishes to study and to pass judgment on what we observe here while he
waits for an opportunity to come to Lourdes." — Dr. Boissarie. Les Grands GuMsgns de
Lourdes, p. 12.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 811
asked for was freely and generously accorded us. I will take
care to acknowledge publicly the hospitable welcome I re-
ceived and the courtesy shown to me, a stranger. As regards
the medical examination of the cures, it is a pleasure to say
that I am perfectly satisfied with the way in which certifi-
cates of sickness are handled. Nothing can surpass the con-
scientious care with which the value of each certificate is
weighed."
These cures, subjected to a careful and an impartial exam-
ination, are followed up with scrupulous attention. If the sick
person who has been cured remains at Lourdes for several
days, he is examined every morning and evening by the Bu-
reau. More than that, if the case is a grave one, the Bureau
sets on foot a minute inquiry in the patient's own home dis-
trict, and has him return to Lourdes during the next few years,
so that it can be proved that the disease has not come back.
Our belief in Lourdes rests, then, on scientifically observed
facts.
The national pilgrimage alone brings a thousand sick peo-
ple to Lourdes every year. Dr. Boissarie, president of the
Bureau of Medical Verification, asserts that these sick persons
furnish an average of a hundred cures. That is at the rate of
ten per cent and in a very short time, for hardly any of the
sick stay more than two or three days at Lourdes. There cer-
tainly is no hospital with a like average of cures. " In a hos-
pital filled with our patients," adds Dr. Boissarie "a hundred
complete cures would not be secured without treatment in three
days, nor in a year. . . . Everything, then, is different,
results and methods alike." The cures reported in the Annals
of Our Lady of Lourdes and in the Records of the Bureau of
Medical Verification, have been carefully added up. From
1858 to 1907, inclusively, there were 3,803 cures, with a yearly
average of 145 during the last fifteen years. There were 198
in 1904; 141 in 1905; 115 in 1906; and 101 in 1907.
These figures call for some important observations. First it
must be remarked that the number of cures obtained at Lourdes
is at least double what we have just read. Many of those who
are cured, either for lack of time or to spare themselves the
annoyance of a public examination, never appear at the Verifi-
cation Office. Still those are real cures and the special ac-
counts of pilgrimages in which they are recorded can be trusted.
8 12 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Sept.,
In the second place, the reader has surely noticed that the
number of cures the last two years is less than that of the pre-
ceding years. That proves that the exact figures are given out
with scrupulous conscientiousness, and that no attempt is made
to deceive the public. But one should not conclude from this
that the cures are surely iewer than before and that the glory
of Lourdes is on the wane. The notable falling off in numbers
during 1906 and 1907 is chiefly to be explained, it seems, by
the fact that the Bureau of Verification is becoming — and very
wisely — much more exacting. For example, it rejects more
and more the cures of nervous ailments. On this point M.
1'Abbe Bertrin writes as follows:
During the past four years no more than 15 nervous cases
have been recorded. Fifteen out of a total of 450 different
cures ! In our preceding statistical table, covering the period
from 1858 to September i, 1904, there were 255 out of a total
°f 3,353. IQ other words, up to 1904, the cures of nervous
diseases formed a twelfth or a thirteenth of the whole ; while
in the last four years they constitute only a thirtieth.
One out of 30. One out of 13. These figures call for
notice. It is frequently thought that none or almost none but
nervous ailments are cured at Lourdes. The contrary is the
truth. Out of 3,803 sick who have been cured at Lourdes
only 270 suffered from nervous disorders.
Tuberculosis in its various forms furnishes a far higher
proportion. There have been 747 cures of such diseases, in-
cluding tuberculosis of the lungs, the bones, and intestines,
white swellings, lupus, Pott's disease, and hip-disease. In
addition there have been cures — to give only a partial list — in
583 diseases of the digestive organs and their appendages ; 96
of the circulatory system, including 55 of the heart; 161 of
the respiratory organs — bronchitis, pleurisy, etc. ; 54 of the
urinary system ; 137 of the spinal cord ; 500 of the brain ; 129
of the bones ; 191 of the joints ; 38 of the skin ; in tumors ;
481 of a general character; and sundry others, including 148
of rheumatism ; 25 of cancer ; and 45 of open sores.
We call particular attention to 51 blind people who have
recovered their sight ; 30 deaf who have regained their hear-
ing ; and 17 dumb who now have the power of speech.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 813
ii.
"The facts exist; but the explanation of them is incorrect,"
declares Bernheim, the illustrious head of the School of Nancy.
To explain them as miraculous, Bernheim and his followers
maintain, is not to explain at all. Cost what it may, that
explanation must be rejected. Miracles are not possible: his-
tory proves them simply the unexplained. History proves
nothing of the sort. Both history and philosophy teach that
there is a God, a personal God, Who retains a royal freedom
to intervene in this world whenever His infinite wisdom judges
fit. History on its side, the Gospel history especially, resists
all the assaults of destructive rationalistic criticism and bears
witness to the reality of the Savior's miracles. Now, the po-ver
and the goodness of God have not declined since the blessed
days in which Jesus Christ went about doing good. To-day,
as nineteen centuries ago, God is our Father, a compassionate,
all-powerful Father. He can hear our prayers ; He can under-
stand the cry of our misery ; He can comfort and heal us.
That one should not try to explain events as miracles un-
less the facts require it, and every other explanation proves
insufficient, is a perfectly legitimate demand. We do not cry
"Miracle" lightly, nor without grave reason. We do not be-
lieve in the miracles of Lourdes until we have weighed the
value of purely natural explanations.
Those who deny the miracles of Lourdes seek an explana-
tion for these wonderful cures either in the coldness of the water,
in auto-suggestion, or in the healing breath of the crowd.
But none of these explanations can possibly account for the
facts.
The Lourdes water does not contain any peculiar elements.
It is like the water usually found in mountains which have
abundant calcareous deposits. Its curative power, therefore,
must be in its temperature and in the sharp reaction produced
by the cold.
It may be that, if doctors dared to try the experiment, an
ice cold bath would save some sick people "in certain circum-
stances." It may be that many of the cures at Lourdes could
be explained fairly well in this way. But it is evident that
such cases would be comparatively few. No other proof is
needed than the evidently decisive one that during the last
fifteen or twenty years many of the cures wrought through the
intercession of our Lady of Lourdes have been effected with-
8 14 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Sept.,
out immersion in the bathing pools. It would surely be absurd
to give the sovereign action of a cold bath credit for the cures
effected in the processions, before the Grotto, in the chapels,
or by the mere application of a compress of Lourdes water, or
by drinking a few drops.
" The healing breath . . . which exhales from the crowd
in the acute crises of faith." What is it ? It is well styled an
" unknown force." Perhaps it does not even exist, save in the
creative fancy of an imaginative Zola. But let us be generous
and admit, for the sake of argument, that a force, comparable
to animal magnetism, transmissible from one individual to
another, really exists and is in play at Lourdes. Let us admit
that this force is doubled, increased ten- fold even, when it
emanates from a crowd, greatly over- excited by the desire for
a miracle. But how many cures there are, related in the Annals
or in the Official Records, or elsewhere, which cannot be ex-
plained in this way.
I have just read a recent work by Dr. Moutin, an ardent
practitioner of therapeutic magnetism. The book is entitled;
Human Magnetism, Hypnotism, and Modern Spiritualism. What
he says, especially in Chapter VIII., about the cures effected by
magnetism, is quite significant. It is a far cry from the few
cures, or ameliorations of certain diseases, chiefly nervous, which
have been obtained by these methods after a prolonged treat-
ment, to the thousands of cures, very few of them in nervous
cases, which have been frequently obtained at Lourdes with
startling suddenness.
We must say [writes Dr. Moutin] that in cases of solution
of continuity or anchylosis magnetism is powerless to effect a
cure. It is useless to add that certain chronic maladies are
not amenable to magnetic treatment.
There is no need of treating chronic cases several times a
day. A. half-hour's treatment daily will be enough. The
patients ought to be told that the treatment will take a long
time, for if they are to be cured at all it will be only alter
months of daily attention.
Human magnetism — the radiating and external force in
question — will not explain the greater part of the cures at
Lourdes. Most of those cures would be absolutely untouched
by such an explanation, for they have been effected under
conditions utterly at variance with those demanded by the
most ardent partisans of magnetism.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 815
With what we have thus far said most people will readily
agree, for the cures at Lourdes are usually ascribed to another
cause. In general the healing force is sought, not outside, but
within the patient himself. The word " suggestion " comes to
pur minds at once.
Suggestion, auto-suggestion, the faith that saves, the faith
that heals.* These terms are forever on the lips and the pens
of those who treat of Lourdes.
And many superficial readers, after finishing Zola's Lourdes
or a newspaper article, are fully convinced that they have
fathomed the whole matter. Nobody is cured at Lourdes, they
tell us, in a tone that brooks no reply, except those afflicted
with nerve troubles, and they are cured by auto-suggestion.
Let us examine that assertion more closely. " Nervous
diseases!" exclaims Dr. Boissarie. "Nowhere are they better
known or more carefully studied than at Lourdes." Charcot,
in his most recent work, La Foi qui Gue'rit, declares : " The
doctors charged with the verification of miracles — men of un-
questioned good faith — know well that there is nothing beyond
the reach of natural laws in the disappearance of hysterical
paralysis. Those accidents are matters of daily observation
with them and they are perfectly in accord as to their nature."
Moreover, does anybody really imagine that we have had to
wait till the end of the nineteenth century to find out the in-
fluence of the nerves? The Church has long known the exist-
ence of nervous diseases and has been carefully on her guard
against ascribing their cure to any divine or miraculous agency.
Pope Benedict XIV. in his treatise, De Servorum Dei Beatifi-
catione et Beatorum Canonisatione, lib. IV., art. I., cap. xiii., n.
14, wrote as follows more than a century ago on the cure of
hysteiical patients: "It will be very difficult to maintain that
these cures are miraculous. Promoters of causes of beatifica-
tion and canonization have sometimes tried to do so, but I
have never seen them succeed."
The physicians at Lourdes, as I have already remarked,
have always been and are now more than ever inspired by
this justly distrustful spirit of the Church. They set aside re-
lentlessly every case in which there is any doubt or even the
barest suspicion as to the influence of the nerves.
* Here in America the terms mind-cure or faith-cure are generally used to express the
ideas contained in the phrases of the text. The underlying thought of them all is that of the
influence exerted by the mind on the body.
8i6 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Sept.,
If they do record the cure of some nervous diseases it is
only because they cannot be really explained by natural forces.
It would be a mistake to imagine that all nervous disorders
can be cured by suggestion, or in a hypnotic sleep — a state in
which suggestion seems to reach its maximum of efficiency.
Bernheim himself admits that psycho-therapy is usually ineffec-
tive in dealing with hereditary, constitutional neurasthenia; in
treating neurasthenia which is caused by a defective nervous
system, and, consequently, in the treatment of innumerable re-
sultant diseases. At most some improvement is effected in
these cases, and, as a rule, it is not permanent. The same is
true in regard to epilepsy and the real St. Vitus* dance. It is
to be noted, furthermore, that suggestion never cures suddenly.
It is the common teaching of the masters of psycho-therapy,
such as Bernheim, Delboeuf, and Wetterstrand, that time is an
indispensable factor, that the hypnotic sleep should be kept up
for weeks and months. One can understand then why the
physicians at Lourdes, however sceptical they may be, have
paid attention to those cures of nervous diseases which have
been effected under conditions in which the most renowned
specialists declared a cure impossible.* " There are forms of
hysteria that kill," writes Dr. Boissarie in his strong style,
"and they are never cured instantaneously except at Lourdes."
He is right, then, in holding that such cures are miraculous.
He remarks further, and very rightly, that a nervous subject
may suffer like anybody else from an organic lesion. Take
the case of a nervous woman who breaks her leg or becomes
a consumptive and is cured of this trouble at Lourdes. Will
anybody dare to maintain that her cure comes from the nerves
and from suggestion ? A nervous person might even be a
paralytic, and yet the paralysis would not necessarily have a
nervous origin. It might be, and in some cases is, organic.
We must call attention, finally, to the fact that a disease
which is purely nervous at the start, ends, if prolonged, by
leading to real organic lesions. Rheumatism is a functional
disorder. If it disables a limb long enough, hip-disease will
set in. A secondary organic lesion will be grafted on a func-
tional trouble, and the disease, according to Bernheim, will be
incurable by suggestion.
* Here is the list of nervous diseases cured at Lourdes : neuralgia, 65 ; sciatica, 24 ; epi-
lepsy, 16 ; hysteria, 53 ; St. Vitus' dance, 15 ; neurasthenia, 82 ; exophthalmic goitre, 5 ; hallu-
cination, 2 ; obsession, 2 ; catalepsy, 6.
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 817
Now all these maladies of whatever sort, organic as well as
nervous, are cured at Lourdes, and at times they are cured
instantaneously.
Dr. Boissarie's two books and that of M. 1'Abbe Bertrin,
from which I have quoted at length, are devoted in great
measure to the narration and interpretation of the manifold
cures of organic diseases which have been obtained through
the_ intercession of the Virgin of Lourdes. Let a man of good
faith read those works without prejudice. Unless I greatly
deceive myself, he will be convinced.
There he will read these pointed declarations of Bernheim,
Wetterstrand, and the most prominent practitioners of sugges-
tive therapeutics. "Suggestion cannot reduce a dislocation.
. . It cannot reduce an inflammation; nor stop the devel
opment of a tumor; nor arrest a process of sclerosis. Sugges-
tion does not destroy microbes, nor does it close up a circular
ulcer of the stomach. . . . Suggestion cannot restore what
has been destroyed. ... I do not mean to say that this
grave disease (consumption) can be cured by suggestion. . . .
Hypnotism has no more effect on kidney troubles than other
kinds of treatment." It is just the same with epilepsy and all
"those cases that have an organic origin."
It is clear, then, that the cold water and animal magnetism
and suggestion are incapable of effecting such wonders — I was
going to say, such resurrections.
But it is argued that great bursts of emotion, of fear, of
joy, of wrath, suddenly whiten the hair, cause jaundice, con-
vey disease, and even produce death. Does faith, after all,
even a lively faith, secure at Lourdes under another form
any more incomprehensible or more extraordinary results?
Bernheim and other masters agree, as we know, that a vivid
emotion has never effected a lasting cure of neurasthenia, epi-
lepsy, or similar ailments except at Lourdes. Above all, that
such agency has never effected cures suddenly. Neither has
it cured tuberculosis, bone decay, nor any of those organic
diseases which we have seen disappear at Lourdes under truly
singular conditions. There is, then, an essential difference be-
tween the effects produced by the stress of emotion or by the
imagination, and the marvels of Lourdes.
But, it is said, "suggestion works at Lourdes under very
superior conditions, conditions immensely more favorable to
VOL. LXXXIX.— 52
8i8 THE WONDERS OF LOURDES [Sept.,
success than those that can be found anywhere else." Even if
this were true, suggestion, for the reasons already given, could
not explain the great cures at Lourdes. Is it to be maintained
then that there is no suggestion at Lourdes? I will not argue,
as some of our apologists do, that there is no suggestion at
Lourdes, or that auto-suggestion is only an exception there.
Zola has, beyond a doubt, greatly exaggerated the environment
by which an effort is made, so he says, to exercise suggestive
influence on the sick. Generally there is nothing particularly
impressive in those surroundings. That is certain. Neverthe-
less it is true that suggestion, auto-suggestion at least, can be
met with, and is met with, at Lourdes. But the conditions
there are not specially favorable for its exercise. For exam-
ple, hypnotic sleep, a peculiarly propitious condition, is not
induced at Lourdes,
We must remember also that many of the cures at Lourdes
were worked when every sort of suggestion was really lacking.
That was the case with all small children, children still at the
breast, unable to understand and consequently incapable of
being persuaded or of being influenced by suggestion. It was
the case with Lucie Faure, who did not hope to be cured of
an ulcer of many years' growth. She went into the piscina
simply to please her companions. To give only one more
instance, Franfois Macary, a carpenter of Lavaur, had a like
experience. He gently bathed his varicose ulcers with Lourdes
water, said a calm, short prayer, and was cured in his sleep.
It is further objected that no matter what Bernheim may
think, suggestion can cure and has cured sores, and that in a
very short time. Young doctors " have a suspicion that many
of these sores are of a nervous origin. . . . That would be
simply a case of a poorly nourished skin. These questions of
nutrition are still little studied. . . . And it has been
proved that faith-healing can cure sores perfectly, certain false
forms of lupus among them." Charcot found an historical ac-
count of a sore healed by faith in 1731. More recently, in
1895, a professor at the University of Moscow was cured of a
scalp disease in the same way. But it must be remembered
that even if the nervous origin of most sores was nothing more
than a fantasy, it would not follow that suggestion could cure
them suddenly. The processes of nutrition, of healing, of
restoration, and the production of cells cannot be accomplished
naturally without the help of time. The wound mentioned by
1909.] THE WONDERS OF LOURDES 8.19
Charcot took eighteen days to heal, and the sick man was not
able to go out and ride in a carriage till 48 days later. The
Moscow professor "had no visible sore. His ailment consisted
in a suppuration of hair follicles, and showed itself in pustules
which were only skin-deep." Besides, two or three days were
required for the cure. What a difference between these cures
and that at Lourdes of Joachime Dehaut. To use his own
expression, his leg was "literally rotten." The sore on it was
a foot long and there were complications of gangrene and
bone decay. On September 13, 1878, the wound was com-
pletely healed by a single bath in the piscina. Next day,
during another bath, his deformed foot and his crooked leg
straightened out; his knee resumed its normal shape; and the
dislocation of his hip was reduced.
Finally this charge is made: "You reason as if the natural
explanations that we suggest are exclusive; as if each one — to
be held good — has to account for each and every case. It is
enough to have one explain what another does not — the cold
bath, for instance, to explain what is not explained by sugges-
tion or by psychical emanations and vice versa. It may also
happen, in some instances, that these three forces act simulta-
neously and so bring about the marvelous results that we know."
We answer: It is not necessary that each one of these forces
should explain each and every case. We admit that a man
may try to explain by one what cannot be explained by the
other two. We admit further that one has a right to believe
that when these three agencies co-operate they produce results
that no one of them, taken alone, could produce. What then?
The instantaneous renewal of tissues remains no less utterly
inexplicable. It is one of those cures which neither cold
water, nor suggestion, nor the vital fluid — whether working
singly or in concert — have ever effected or ever will effect.
It does not avail to appeal to the "unknown." To be sure,
we are ignorant of many things, but we know enough to as-
sert that multitudinous generations of cells cannot be produced
in a second. As a consequence we know that a tissue cannot
be renewed, restored, or healed in the twinkling of an eye.
The Church has not acted hastily in judging that the Im-
maculate Virgin appeared to Bernadette, and that the great
cures at Lourdes are really the work of Gotf.
Books.
It may be an uncommon way of
THE SCORE. beginning the notice of an up-to-
By Lucas Malet. date novel, but we cannot help
saying that in certain instances the
ancient chorus of the Greek tragedies might still be employed
to advantage. For such a chorus, while it did not reveal, un-
folded in part what was to come, gave warning of the fearful
catastrophe about to befall, and admonished the reader to steel
himself for the shock. We repeat that, after reading Mrs.
Harrison's latest work,* we wish she had employed something
or somebody that would stand for the chorus. Anthony Ham-
mond, with his cryptic warning to Lucius Denier, certainly does
not ; and, moreover, he is one of the principal dtamatis persona.
The novel is tremendous, all-absorbing in its theme; in-
tensely powerful, direct, and brief in its action, as is tragedy
itself; baldly simple in the fewness of its characters — there are
but four — and in its great reticence ; yet artistic realism hold-
ing the reader spell-bound while sin rips the world asunder,
while the voice of Nemesis is heard through her daughter the
night, while vengeance comes, stern, unrelenting, terrible —
while the holy ones of God sing in hope : " Because with the
Lord is mercy and with Him is plentiful redemption." That
no one can, with impunity, whether he thinks he may or not,
violate the laws of God's universe; that such violation must
be paid for perhaps far off, but surely somewhere and some-
how by the offender, is the theme of Mrs. Harrison's powerful
work. It is not the moral of the book; it is the lesson of
life, as the book portrays life. The story will seem to most
readers exceptional in its construction, and perhaps altogether
too cryptic in its telling. But to us it has the bigness, the
thoughtfulness of the old Greek tragedy ; and it excells in the
very point in which the Greeks themselves excel. For impress-
ing upon us a primary truth and arousing us to something of
a sense of how far-reaching our actions are it is exquisitely
and effectively done. Like Poppy St. John the book has its
ideals and never loses sight of them, though, as in the case of
* The Score. By Lucas Malet (Mrs. Mary St. Leger Harrison). New York: E. P.
Button & Co.
1909.]* NEW BOOKS 821
Poppy St. John, they are not always realized ; like Lucius
Denier it is animal and brutal at times; like Anthony Ham-
mond it is gay, cynical, learned ; like the dying man in the
hospital, reconciling; and through him it is saved to human
and Christian (for are they not both the same?) optimism.
Few of the novelists of the present day have the soul or
the spiritual sight to handle such a theme as this book han-
dles; few have the power, and fewer still the courage, for the
universal doubt and the universal questioning of every positive
law; the universal love for the puerile, the silly, and the su-
perficial, lead the novelist to come down to the public and buy
his daily bread. Mrs. Harrison has shown immense courage,
and while her book deserves a wide circulation, we shall be sur-
prised if such a blessing comes to it. What a different place
the world would be if we really read with thoughtfulness such
novels as this and brought home to ourselves the lex ceterna —
the eternal law of God. A better and brighter world it would
surely be. And we say this although The Score ends with a
tragedy — or rather with the greatest triumph that life can know
— the triumph over self, even when self has been deceived and
tortured and maddened with injustice. Such a triumph and
only such a triumph routs Nemesis itself.
Poppy St. John of the Far Horizon comes to us again with
her free, easy ways, and yet her unalterable belief in and faith-
fulness to the ideals that Dominic Iglesias had begotten in her
soul. Two men seek the favor of her affections : Anthony
Hammond and Lucius Denier. To refuse the former is no
difficulty for Poppy St. John. But the latter is powerful, prim-
itively masculine, knows how to love, has wealth and position^
and marriage with him means rest, security, and freedom from
work and anxiety for Poppy St. John. " Yet are these the
highest things?" Poppy St. John is compelled to ask of the
night. The night answers that there are higher things yetf
and the night gives spiritual light. Poppy refuses, but not
without a great struggle, the offer of Lucius Denier. She
leaves the country hotel where she has been stopping and goes
back to London. So ends the first part of the volume : " Out
in the Open." When the reader is out in the open he feels
safe and he understands, for he sees not the hidden and the
most important laws of life. The second part of the book is
entitled : " Misere Nobis," and is occupied entirely with the
822 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
confession, to a priest, of a young man dying in a hospital in
Italy. He tells the story of his life from its infancy. As he
progresses the reader gradually begins to understand. Poppy
St. John is dead, but this man telling his sin is her son. Lu-
cius Denier pays for his sin. Sin brutal and unrepented comes
as sudden death upon him. Sin lays its harsh hand on Anthony
Hammond. Sin crushes both because they have accepted sin
as master. But with the son of Poppy St. John it is different.
She indeed has been a mother in the larger sense. He con-
quers self and the passions of self. Through the sacrament of
penance and the priest who stands between man and God he
finds reconciliation with his own humanity and with humanity's
Savior; and as one of Israel he is redeemed from his iniquities.
It is needless to say Mrs. Harrison's book is not for chil-
dren.
Miss Jessica Marguerite King West,
THE BRIDGE BUILDERS, from Lone Wolf, Arizona, may
By Anna Chapin Ray. not be directly descended from
"Daisy Miller," but one doubts
whether there are many left of the " Misses Woolly- West " who
say, when dinner is announced : " I'm so glad ; I am nearly
starved. You only need to live in a boarding house to get up
a stunning appetite. I could eat nails by this time." * One
is a little sorry for her mother, shelved by this exuberant con-
fidant of a hearty father, and regrets that it had to be a vil-
lainous French mannikin who should take her down and clear
away the dust of her expansive loneliness. Willis Asquith, the
engineer, " stamped with the indescribable seal of being Some-
body in Particular," introduces us to the Quebec bridge, after
whose collapse he is rescued by Jessica; mistaking her friend-
ship for love, he makes a futile proposal and retires, with his
life like the cantilever span of his dreams, " magnificent but
terribly pathetic." Kay Dorrance, the American novelist, who
wins her affections, seems to be a healthy, earnest fellow, with
his literary past well hidden. They form an interesting group,
even if a little conventional, with no great moral or religious
struggles, but with active life lit by beams of humor. A few
more touches of pathos to bring out some "wordless messages"
might have deepened by contrast Miss Ray's enjoyable por-
traits.
* TAe Bridge Builders. By Anna Chapin Ray. Boston : Little, Brown & Co.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 823
The latest novel of Mrs. Hum-
MARRIAGE A LA MODE, phrey Ward* will not add appre-
By Mrs. Humphrey Ward, ciably to her literary reputation ;
but it may be set down on the
credit side of her moral balance-sheet as an offset to Lady
Rose's Daughter. It is a protest against divorce. Or perhaps,
one might say more correctly, it protests against the tendency
of American women of wealth to have recourse to the divorce
court when marriage becomes merely irksome or disagreeable.
Daphne Floyd, a young American heiress, with a fad for art
and a decidedly independent spirit, falls in love, somewhat
hastily, with a young Englishman, Roger Barnes, whom she
meets in Washington. The first act is filled out with Roger's
old uncle, whose role is to bring out the contrast between
American and English ideas of social life and character. After
her marriage Daphne goes to reside in England. Soon after,
notwithstanding that her husband is a very decent sort of a
fellow, who loves her wisely if not too well, she becomes tired
of her surroundings, and chafes under the diminished independ-
ence which married life imposes on her. The arrival of a
woman to whom Roger, before going to America, had pro-
posed marriage, leads to jealousy; and Daphne, though she
has really no grounds for serious complaint, nurses her spite,
because she desires to be free once more. With the help of
a confidante she manages to scrape up enough evidence to
obtain a divorce in America. After she leaves her husband
he — still a married man according to English law, broken-
hearted by his wife's defection and the loss of his beloved lit-
tle daughter, whom the mother has carried off with her — goes
to moral perdition. Daphne settles down in her own country
as a philanthropist and a leader in the Feminist movement —
a movement which, by the way, finds no favor in the eyes of
Mrs. Ward.
The story is crude, and shows unmistakable signs of haste.
Roger, though his physical perfections are described twenty
times over, is but a lay figure, unreal and wanting in individ-
uality. Daphne, though more carefully drawn, is far below
Mrs. Ward's best work ; and when, after the divorce, the ca-
pricious, self-willed young lady, with an inheritance of passion
and fire derived from her Spanish mother and Irish father, is
* Marriage a la Mode. By Mrs. Humphrey Ward. New York : Doubleday, Page & Co.
824 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
metamorphosed into one of the strong minded, short-haired
New England type, we feel that Mrs. Ward has been more
intent to point the moral than to adorn the tale.
Since the vogue of the chronicles
THE KINGDOM OF EARTH, of Ruritania, some imaginary king-
By Anthony Partridge. dom or princedom in South East-
ern or Central Europe has been
a favorite country for our melodramatic novelists. Hither Mr.
Anthony Partridge carries us, in a story* as active as a vol-
cano, to follow the fortunes of a Crown Prince, who, with the
reputation of a debauche, is, nevertheless, a man of high ideals
and a lover of the people. Eluding the vigilance of the reign-
ing monarch and his chief of police, he is the heart and soul of
a movement which culminates in a Rebellion and the meta-
morphosis of the Crown Prince into Mr. John Peters, the hap-
py husband of a young lady of American blood, who has played
a conspicuous part throughout the drama. A book that will
hold the attention of the class of readers who are endowed
with a love of the spectacular, and do not bind their favorite
author to a strict account regarding the unities or the proba-
bilities.
In a recently published pamphlet,f
A PLEA FOR ANGLICANISM, for gratuitous distribution, advo-
cating the claims of Anglicanism,
its Right Reverend author expresses the opinion that if some
of the views which he entertains were to become known to
American Catholics some of these might thereby be won from
their allegiance to Rome. If we knew of any Catholic lay-
man who entertained any sympathy with the claims of Bishop
Grafton on behalf of Anglicanism, we should prescribe as an
antidote the Bishop's own pamphlet. It is directly addressed
to Anglicans who experience any leanings towards Rome. In
his introductory pages the Bishop defends Anglican Orders on
the ground that the Edwardine form retained the proper Epis-
copal minister, with laying on of hands. "For at the laying
on of hands the Bishop said : ' Receive the Holy Ghost,' and
using our Lord's own words, made mention of the sacerdotal
power of absolution, which belongs exclusively to the Priest-
* The Kingdom of Eattft. By Anthony Partridge. Boston : Little, Brown & Co.
t Pro- Romanism and the Tractarian Movement. By Charles Chapman Grafton, S.T.D.,
Bishop of Fond du Lac. Milwaukee : The Young Churchman Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 825
hood." But what about the essential sacrificial power of the
Priesthood? On this all-important point the Bishop is as silent
as is the Edwardine ritual. He proceeds to urge, in the old
fashion, the old objections against Catholicism — the venality of
the Papacy, the cult paid to the Mother of God, Purgatory,
the opposition of the Papacy to liberty ; and he does not dis-
dain to exhibit as official teaching some of the overstatements
and rhetorical expressions found in popular books of devotion.
Drawing, as a triumphant argument, a parallel between
Anglican and Catholic teaching, he says that the Anglican
clergyman stands on the immovable rock of Holy Scripture
and speaks with heaven-sent authority. Well, on this rock
there is scarcely standing-room at present in the home of
Anglicanism for the clergyman who, in perfect conformity with
the rulings of the head of the Anglican Church, the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, considers it lawful to celebrate a mar-
riage between a man and his deceased wife's sister, and the
other clergyman who, in harmony with the loudly and per-
sistently expressed tradition of Anglicanism, declares such
a marriage to be an abomination in the sight of God. He
extols the Anglican Church for her motherly tenderness in
following the via media — a policy which permits men who deny
the Virgin Birth to stand on the same rock with men who
hold this truth to be an essential of Christianity; as a speci-
men of the fashion in which the Bishop deals with our doc-
trines we may take the following passage on Revelation :
the Roman theory he writes, " holds that the Holy Spirit,
dwelling in the Church, may utter through it new truths
which the Fathers of the Church knew not." We cannot be-
lieve that the worthy man who undertakes to enlighten his
brethren on the teachings of Catholic faith has never read for
himself the theology in which those teachings are set forth,
yet it seems equally impossible to believe that any person
could have done so without learning that one of the first prin-
ciples of dogmatic theology is that Revelation closed defini-
tively with the Apostles, and that, consequently, the Holy
Spirit makes no new revelations in the Church. But there are
in Bishop Grafton's pamphlet, small as it is, many other evi-
dences that he does not understand our Church's claims and
teaching and that he has not read with dispassionate judgment
the history of his own.
826 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
For the benefit of some few of
MISERY AND ITS CAUSES, our readers it may be necessary
By E. T. Devine. to explain certain particular quali-
fications possessed by Professor
Devine for the undertaking of an examination into the causes
of misery and dependence among our poor.* Besides being
Professor of social economy at Columbia University, General
Secretary of the Charity Organization Society, Lecturer in the
New York School of Philanthropy, and Editor of Ihe Survey,
our author has been intimately connected with three recent
important investigations into the conditions of living and em-
ployment in New York and in Pittsburg ; and, moveover, for a
dozen years now he has had an active part in numerous in-
quiries and enterprises calculated to prepare him for the pres-
ent discussion.
He seeks to explain not the ultimate origins of unhappi-
ness, but the immediate causes of that obvious and more or
less avoidable misery which thrusts itself urgently upon public
attention in these times. With this aim he considers the im-
portant and interesting question :
whether the wretched poor who suffer in their poverty are
poor because they are shiftless ; because they are undisci-
plined ; because they steal ; because they have superfluous
children ; because of personal depravity, personal inclina-
tion, and natural preference ; or whether they are shiftless
and undisciplined and drink and steal and are unable to
care for their too numerous children because our social in-
stitutions and economic managements are at fault. I hold
that personal depravity is as foreign to any sound theory of
the hardships of our modern poor as witchcraft or demonia-
cal possession ; that these hardships are economic, social,
transitional, measurable, manageable. Misery, as we say of
tuberculosis, is communicable, curable, preventable. It lies
not in the unalterable nature of things, but in our particular
human institutions, our social arrangements, our tenements
and streets and subways, our laws and courts and jails, our
religion, our education, our philanthopy, our politics, our in-
dustry, and our business.
It may be well to say that our author does not deny that
in certain instances misery is but the penalty of indolence and
* Misery and Its Causes. By Edward T. Devine. New York : The Macmillan Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 827
wrongdoing; but he maintains the thesis that social maladjust-
ment is, in the main, responsible for the misery prevalent in
our modern commercial and industrial communities. Nor is he
revolutionary with regard to existing institutions. He desires
to point out things as they are and he hopes to awaken the
social conscience of his fellows to an earnest and practical ef-
fort to make things better.
Clearly Professor Devine's outlook is wide. Whatever he
sets down in his book as the result of observation, or the
analysis of facts, goes to show that he is clear-headed, vigor-
ous, practical, and zealous for justice. Written with eloquent
simplicity, his book is adapted to teach and to inspire all those
who care for the serious things of life. It suggests a whole
social philosophy, built upon facts, adjusted to actual conditions,
vivified by a Christian spirit of righteousness.
As indicated by the title,* this
IMMANENCE. new volume of the distinguished
professor of the Catholic Institute
of Paris, deals with the important problem of intuition, of
its place and role in our knowledge and life. Having exposed
the genesis of the new movement, which considers intuition as
the fundamental means for us to come in contact with reality,
Abbe Piat presents in three successive chapters the data of in-
tuition in our external perception, in theodicy, and in ethics •
and at each step he shows its insufficiency. Without inductions
or deductions our external observation is sterile ; without the
exercise of reasoning we cannot arrive at a true idea of God,
and what is called the intuition or the vision of God or the
experience of the divine remain without meaning and control,
exposing us to all the illusions of our imagination. The
attempt to found a morality on merely intuitive data has
led, and was bound to lead, to bankruptcy in ethics. We must
come to a belief in the beyond through metaphysics, if we
are to find a solid foundation for such belief. In a last chapter
the author shows how intuition, if it is useful for everything,
suffices however for nothing. It is necessary to have re-
course to reasoning, to the concepts ; these concepts have a
real value in relation to reality. They present this reality in-
* Insuffisance des Philosophies de V Intuition. Par Clodius Piat, Docteur des Lettres, Agre"g£
e 1' Universitd. Paris: Plon-Nourrit et Cie.
828 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
adequately indeed, because we are finite in our knowledge, as
in our being, yet they have a truly objective value.
This bare analysis shows the interest both of the question
exposed and of the criticism and solution of the author. It
is, indeed, a good defence of human reason and of the value of
reasoning. As he well says, such theories as those exposed
will not last, yet they are apt by their charm to sow trouble
in the minds of some students. Those who know the former
greater works of the author, will find in this work also origi-
nality of thought, or at least originality of presentation of old
thoughts, and at the same time originality and strength of
style. An exacting critic would perhaps demand more detailed
development in certain places, and accuracy at least in certain
expressions — as that of symbolism.
May a book dealing with sociology
ETHICS. be placed under the title of ethics ?
Probably the great majority of
teachers and students of sociology in this country, and in most
others, would reply : Certainly not. And, indeed, if one ex-
amines the vast literature of that embryo science, one will
scarcely find a single publication that would yield on analysis
any moral residuum, out of the economic and social data and
theory which make up its contents. Needless to say this kind of
sociology is alien to Catholic teaching, since that teaching holds
that the primary factors in the economic and social question,
whether in practical life or in the realm of scientific theory, are
the moral and religious principles which must be fixed as the
starting-point for any safe and permanent solution.* A timely
volume, which illustrates this truth, has just been published in
France by an eminent Sulpician, and it might be translated
into English with great advantage to Catholic students and
others privately or professionally interested in the question of
Socialism. It treats extensively the right of private ownership
from the moral point of view. The main divisions are: legi-
timacy of private ownership of land; legitimacy of private
ownership of capital ; origin of private ownership ; manner of
acquiring property ; extent of this right ; limitations to which
it is subject, and duties attached to it. There is no lack of
* Trait f de Sociologie d'aprts lei Principe* de la Thtologie Catholique. Regime de la Prt-
pritie. Par L. Garriquet. Paris : Bloud et Cie.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 829
books and other publications in which the principles of private
ownership, as fixed in moral theology and brilliantly set forth
by Leo XIII. in Rerum Novarum, is urged against Socialism.
But some popular expositions of the doctrine have been so
one-sided that they are more likely to strengthen leanings
to Socialism than to make converts from its ranks. The prin-
ciple that the right of ownership rests on the right of every
man to a living and the fruit of his labors is insisted upon as
if it alone settled the problem. No notice is taken of the fact
that unlimited private ownership, as a system, may lead to
conditions that deprive the multitude of the indefeasible prim-
ary right to a decent living. So the principle cuts both ways;
and, unless regulated by some other principles, finds itself com-
mitted to the negation of itself. One of the merits of Father
Garriquet's treatise is that it gives due consideration to the
limitations imposed on private ownership, and the duties not
merely of charity, but of strict justice, which ownership entails.
He cites not only doctrinal declarations of the highest authority
regarding these limitations, but also some of the significant prac-
tical steps taken by Popes to enforce justice in this respect.
Several Popes in the Middle Ages disregarded the fundamen-
tal idea of Roman law, that the right of ownership in land is
absolute and uncontrolled.
In 1241 Celestine IV. granted to any one whosoever the
right to enter on and cultivate the third part of any land which
its owner left untilled. Two centuries later Sixtus IV. author-
ized all and singular to appropriate a third part of any lands
left uncultivated in the Patrimony of St. Peter, even though
the proprietors were ecclesiastical corporations. Even as late
as 1783, Pius VI. renewed and enforced these ordinances of
his predecessors. Pius VII. at the beginning of the last cen-
tury, in the teeth of violent opposition from the wealthy
classes, put into execution the decrees of his predecessors, and
levied heavy fines on land owners who refused to cultivate
their lands. The truly effective way to meet the pernicious,
anti-religious forces of Socialism is to dissociate from them the
economic question which gives them strength, and then to
demonstrate that Christian principles condemn what is evil in
present conditions as vigorously as does the Marxian propa
ganda. This work of Father Garriquet is a step in the right
direction.
830 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
The moral argument for the existence of God and the prac-
tical implications of that truth are expounded with clearness
and direct application to the prevalent agnostic frame of mind
by M. Serol, whose connection with the Revue Philosophique
has ranked him among the conspicuous defenders of Catholic
truth in France.* He takes as his starting-point the enuncia-
tion of St. Thomas, that there is one fundamental precept of
the natural law known to all men, which implicitly contains
all the others : We must avoid evil, and do good. Then he pro-
ceeds to a psychological analysis of tendency and desire, point-
ing to their natural correlative good; and he shows that only
the religious solution can provide a satisfactory theory of these
elements of human nature, and the life that flows from them.
Prescinding from the respective intrinsic merits of this and the
metaphysical argument for God's existence, this one, when
adequately treated, as it is in this volume, is much more like-
ly to make an impression on the average unbeliever of to-day.
As Cardinal Newman has observed, unless we have some com-
mon ground to start upon with our antagonist, any attempt at
argument is futile. Now the most inveterate sceptic will grant
M. Serol's first principle — we ought to do good, and shun evil —
whereas, if you would essay any of the metaphysical argu-
ments, you will very likely be stopped with a request to prove
your self-evident principles.
The Catholic Truth Society pub-
THE CHURCH AND SCIENCE, lishes in a small volume f about a
dozen essays, formerly issued in
separate numbers, dealing with the relations of science to re-
ligious truth. The book deserves to be bound in cloth of gold.
Every one of the papers that compose it discusses, with com-
petent knowledge, some crucial point in the question oi the
compatibility or the opposition between science and faith. The
temper in which the discussions are carried on is in contrast
with that which, at least until recently, pervaded and nullified
a good deal of the effort made by defenders of the faith. Fa-
ther Gerard, S.J., the most extensive contributor to this volume,
describes this attitude and its consequences so precisely that
his words may be quoted as a not unnecessary warning to
* Le Besoin et le Devoir Religieux. Par Maurice Serol. Paris : Beauchesne.
t The Catholic Church and Science. London : Catholic Truth Society.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 831
some whose zeal for truth surpasses their other qualifications
for the role of its defender.
While the apostles of unbelief are loud-mouthed and con-
fident, laying down with assurance what they declare to be
the law, the defenders of orthodoxy are too often either timid
and apologetical, or strenuous in the wrong way — exhibiting
their want of acquaintance with the true nature oi the teach-
ings they undertake to refute. In either case much harm is
done. The impression is produced that we can meet our an-
tagonists only by misrepresenting them, and that if' we ven-
ture to look them fairly in the face we are inevitably forced
to make a pitiable display ot our impotence, and have to con-
tent ourselves with a feeble attempt to show that after all the
case against us is not absolutely proved, but that some loop-
hole of escape may yet be found. This is not the temper
which is likely to vindicate the ways of God to men.
These essays do not exhibit those deplorable tactics. The
writers know the locus of the topic they take up, and direct
their attack not against impregnable scientific truth but against
the misrepresentations of popuiarisers, or the unwarranted spec-
ulations of scientists who, forgetting their own first principles,
presume, if we may borrow a phrase from Sir Oliver Lodge, to
dogmatize out of bounds.
That a second edition of Dr. Walsh's fine work * to the
glory of the thirteenth century should already be called for is
proof that the reading world is willing to reopen the case for
the Middle Ages, and to listen to a fair presentation of the
evidence which hitherto Protestant and other non- Catholic in-
fluences have persistently falsified. Dr. Walsh presents his
readers with an immense array of facts that serve to show
the wonderful activity that reigned in all departments of intel-
lectual and social life during the thirteenth century. While he
occasionally advances claims that would be reduced by a severe
court, the great mass of his evidence is unassailable, and can-
not fail to work a change of opinion concerning the Middle
Ages among those who have accepted without question the tra-
ditional libels and caricatures on that age which have passed
for history.
* The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries. By James J. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., LL.D. Sec"
ond Edition. With Emendations and an Appendix. New York : Catholic Summer-School
Press.
832 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
A well-founded reproach to our
THE PSALMS. devotional literature is that it sad-
ly neglects to draw upon the in-
exhaustible stores of the purest spirituality which, according to
the universal acknowledgment of the Church's Doctors, are to
be found in the Psalms. These sublime prayers require, gener-
ally speaking, some explanation and paraphrase in order that
their beauty and depth may be understood by those unfamiliar
with the works of the commentators. And the commentaries
themselves are not written in a form to serve the needs of the
multitude. A more suitable form of exposition has been fol-
lowed by Father Eaton in a book * which cannot be too highly
commended. It contains fifty short, eloquent discourses on as
many of the Psalms. In each discourse the leading idea of the
Psalm is set forth, explained, and applied to the religious duties
and the moral needs of everyday life. For instance, Psalm cxxvi.,
" Unless the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build
it," is the basis of an instruction on conformity to the will of
God ; Psalm xxxi., " Blessed are they whose iniquities are for-
given, and whose sins are covered," without losing its charac-
teristic thought, expands into a simple, eloquent discourse on
the Sacrament of Penance. While the book is meant as an aid
to private devotion, the preacher will find it a helpful friend.
In selecting for diffusion in the
THE PRIMACY OF ROME, form of a handy little pamphlet
an English translation of Mgr.
Duchesne's synopsis of the historical evidences for the primacy
of the Roman See in the first centuries of the Church, the editor
of the Cathedral Library Association shows that he possesses a
just appreciation of one kind of reading that ought to be repre-
sented much more liberally than it is in popular Catholic
libraries. This essay of Mgr. Duchesnef was originally pub-
lished in a large work dealing with the separated churches. A
translation of it, which is now reproduced, appeared in the
Catholic University Bulletin. In a comparatively small space
Mgr. Duchesne has arranged every piece of evidence bearing
on the primacy of Rome up to the reign of Constantine; and
* Sing Ye to the Lord. Exposition of Fifty Psalms. By Robert Eaton, Priest of the
Birmingham Oratory. London : The Catholic Truth Society.
t The Roman Church Before Constantine. By Mgr. Duchesne. New York: The Cathe-
dral Library Association.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 833
interpreted convincingly every fact and testimony bearing on
the subject. The greater part of the evidence is drawn from
Eusebius; but the witness of the professed historian is supple-
mented and corroborated by arguments drawn from the writings
of St. Clement, St. Irenaeus, St. Cyprian, and Tertullian. Those
who are familiar with Church history will admire the clearness
and cogency with which the case is set forth by the master,
and those who are not can congratulate themselves on having
provided for them such a knowledge of the question as, with-
out Mgr. Duchesne's services, could be obtained only by much
persistent reading of books which seldom lighten the labor of
the student with any charms of literature.
Apart from the question of the
SOCIALISM intrinsic worth of Mr. Wayland-
By F. Wayland-Smith. Smith's latest pamphlet on Social-
ism,* it is deserving of praise be-
cause of its character and scope. It is entirely occupied with
economic facts and forces, to the exclusion of all philosophic the-
ories. The divorce of purely economic from religious, or rather
anti- religious, Socialism is a matter of paramount importance for
religion ; because no greater mistake could be made than to
identify the cause of Christian truth with the prevailing evils
against which economic Socialism protests. This compact little
pamphlet is useful and interesting reading. In his introduc-
tory chapter, "Getting the Viewpoint," Mr. Wayland-Smith
observes that great changes are impending, that the present
relations between capital and labor are inevitably destined to
undergo far-reaching modifications. Hence prudence dictates
that we should prepare for the emergency by studying what-
ever facts exist that may provide us with some guiding light
for the approaching crisis. Let us study the conditions in the
countries where, more than in any others, the Socialistic princi-
ple has been substituted for the competitive or selfish principle;
in other words, let us examine the results which the supremacy
of the labor power has wrought in Australia and New Zealand.
In the Australian Confederation the labor party is supreme; it
has enacted, and it enforces, a code of legislation which has
for its objects to shorten the hours of labor, to abolish compe-
* Shall We Choose Socialism ? By F. Wayland-Smith. Kenwood, N. Y. : F. Wayland-
Smith.
VOL. LXXX1X —53
834 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
tition, and to control the growth of large fortunes. While in
sympathy with the workingtnan's efforts for his betterment,
Mr. Wayland-Smith frankly exposes the tendency of labor to
become just as tyrannical as capital, and he describes the un-
desirable as well as the desirable, effects following from the
suppression of competition, the enforced introduction of what
the opponents consider an undue proportion of leisure in the
life of the toiler. Some of the most instructive facts gathered
here illustrate how the severe restrictions imposed to limit the
hours of work, cause much hardship to many of the class
whose interests these regulations are meant to safeguard.
The Preachers whom Doctor Mc-
RELIGION AND POLITICS. Dermott takes to task* in three
lectures are the Protestant clergy-
men who made the remarkable letter of President Roosevelt to
M. I. C. Martin, regarding the loyalty of the American Catho-
lics, the occasion for an appeal to the declining spirit of
bigotry in this country. The first lecture was directed against
the manifesto issued by the Protestant synods; the other two
are replies to a Philadelphia minister who supported the attack
in his pulpit. Dr. McDermott expresses, more diffusely, and
with an admixture of unimportant parenthetical exchanges,
such as almost always creep into a controversy of this kind,
the sentiments and principles laid down with such lucidity and
good taste by Cardinal Gibbons in the article which he con-
tributed on the same topic to one of our leading periodicals.
A few months ago M. Houtin
A CALUMNY REFUTED, published, in France, a volume
under the sensational title, Un
Pretre Marie. The book professed to offer unimpeachable doc-
umentary proof that the late Chanoine Perraud, a brother of
Cardinal Perraud, had been for many years, during which he
exercised the ministry, a married man ; and that the Cardinal,
while aware of the fact, had elevated him to the dignity of
Canon in his Cathedral and permitted him to continue the
exercise of the ministry. The Abbe Perraud had, at the time
of the Vatican Council, been a close friend of Pere Hyacinthe,
* The Preachers' Protest. By the Very Reverend D. I. McDermott. Philadelphia :
Peter Reilly.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 835
better known afterwards as M. Loyson. After the latter had
left the Church the Abbe Perraud continued to maintain
friendly relations with him. Some letters of the Abbe to his
friend were, in defiance of the opposition of the Abbe's liter-
ary executor, entrusted to M. Houtin, who made them the
basis of his calumnious charge. In the course of his book M.
Houtin endeavors, on utterly inadequate grounds, to create the
impression that Pere Gratray and the saintly Henri Perreyve
were in sympathy with M. Loyson, who threw off the Domini-
can habit in order to enter the world and take a wife. This
refutation shows that the correspondence offered in support of
M. Houtin's assertions does not bear the construction placed
upon it, and triumphantly vindicates the memory of the Car-
dinal, his brother, and his two friends. M. Houtin's charges
have been accepted and widely circulated by the press not
only in France, but also in England, and, to a less extent, in
America. Of course, however, not a line of notice will be
taken of the answer,* by the greater number of the organs
which propagated the scandalous charge.
This life of our Lord.f intended
THE DIVINE STORY for young persons, comes as near
By C. J. Holland, S.T.L. to the ideal as we can reasonably
hope for. It is the Gospel itself
presented in a current, continuous, narrative form, which ad-
heres strictly to the data of the Evangelists, unalloyed by the
introduction of any legendary matter, or imaginative amplifica-
tion. The author, wisely eschewing the example of foreigners,
has confined himself to presenting a paraphrase of the inspired
text, and to the introduction, wherever necessaiy, of such ex-
planations regarding customs, institutions, persons, and situa-
tions as are necessary or useful for the proper understanding
of the history. These explanations, and the mise en scene of
the events, though unencumbered by the introduction of any
learned disquisition, or professional treatment, are laid down
on the lines of accurate scholarship. Though the book pro-
fesses to be for the use of young persons, it may very well
aspire to serve the laity at large.
* A Calumny Refuted. Charles Perraud, Perreyve, et Ptre Gratray. Par Quelques
Te"moins de leur Vie. Paris : Bloud et Cie.
t The Divine Story. By Cornelius Joseph Holland, S.T.L. Providence: Joseph L.
Tally.
836 NEW BOOKS [Sept,,
As its title indicates,* Bishop Mc-
RIGHT LIVING. Gavick's volume is one of moral
instruction. It consists of a num-
ber of instructions on everyday duty; solid in thought, plain
in language, and adapted to the conditions of the American
life.
Against the charge that the Cath-
CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN olic Church is hostile to science,
SCIENCE. Dr. Walsh continues, in a second
By James J. Walsh, Ph.D. Volume,f to reply by presenting
biographies of staunch Catholic
ecclesiastics and laymen who hold high rank in the roll- call of
scientists. The present volume contains interesting biographies
of Albertus Magnus, John XXI., Guy de Chauliac, Regicmon-
tanus, and several other distinguished astronomers, as well as
some clerical pioneers in electrical science. The Doctor is a
veritable encyclopedia of information in this field ; and the
cogency of the facts is nowise diminished in his presentation
of them.
The newspaper reporter who, a
COSTUME OF PRELATES, few months ago, when giving an
By John A. Nainfa, S.S. account of an ecclesiastical func-
tion, informed the public that at
the end of the procession came the bishop himself wearing the
thurifer on his head, was, perhaps, an extreme type of the
innocence that prevails in secular circles concerning the nomen-
clature of ecclesiastical vesture. Yet a great many people,
well-informed on all that concerns the essentials of Catholic
faith and discipline, make mistakes but little less ludicrous than
the one just mentioned when speaking of the various pieces
of the costumes worn by Church dignitaries of different dis-
tinctive grades and by the same personages on different occa-
sions. Few, even among the clergy here, but will be surprised
at the complexity of the etiquette which prescribes how a
Prelate is to dress in order that he may appear, on all occa-
sions, in the garb suitable to his rank and the circumstances
of the moment. A proper acquaintance with these regulators
is acquiring increasing importance among ourselves. Father
* Some Incentives to Right Living. By the Right Rev. A. I. McGavick, D.D. Milwaukee
and New York: The Wiltzius Publishing Company.
\Catholic Chutchmen in Science. By James J. Walsh, Ph.D. Philadelphia: The Dol-
phin Press.
I9C9-] NEW BOOKS 837
Nainfa says: "With the exception of Italy there is no other
country in which the proportion of Prelates is larger than in
the United States. Now these Prelates would naturally desire
to have their official costume conform as far as possible to the
rules and prescriptions of the Church with regard to its color,
shape, trimmings, etc."* He claims no more than his due
when he adds that "they will find this manual at least useful
as a book of reference in matters of the costume which they
are privileged to wear." The instructions of Father Nainfa
will enable them to acquit themselves properly through every
ascending degree of the ecclesiastical ladder to the Roman
purple, and even to the throne of the Fisherman himself. A
more humble and more extensive utility of this erudite little
book will be for the benefit of the inferior clergy, whom it
informs regarding the proper form, color, trimming, etc., of
birettas, " rabbis," surplices, and other articles of ecclesiastical
dress.
Like countless poets, preachers,
LITTLE ANGELS. philosophers, Father Russell has
By Rev. M. Russell, SJ. essayed — with what success who
shall say ? — to console the weeping
which was heard in Rama, when Rachael wailed for her little
ones; in this regard all the world is Rama, and Rachel's name
is legion. The writer has thrown together, without any effort
at methodical arrangement, a miscellaneous collection of orig-
inal and borrowed reflections, in prose and verse, on the death
of little children.! A considerable portion of the contents is
of a personal nature; for some of the letters and papers which
make it up were first called forth by the death, at the age of five
years, in 1864, of the first-born child of the late Lord Russell,
the Chief Justice of England. Forty years separate the two
parts into which the book is divided ; and in the latter part
the writer avails himself of the privilege of age to indulge in
retrospection and reminiscence which dwell chiefly upon family
personages and associations. He has gathered, from widely
different — and in some instances, little known — sources, many
beautiful and consoling thoughts on the death of young children.
* Costume of Prelates of the Catholic Church According to Roman Etiquette. By the Rev.
John A. Nainfa, S.S. Baltimore : John Murphy Company.
t Little Angels : A Book of Comfort for Mourning Mothers. By Rev. Matthew Russell,
S. J. New York : Benziger Brothers.
838 NEW BOOKS [Sept.,
Four essays, which during the past
ESSAYS. few years have appeared in some
By Thomas O'Hagan. Of our Catholic periodicals, from
the pen of a Canadian writer,
whose name is otherwise not unknown here, are the principal
content of this neat little volume.* The first paper is a pleas-
ant and highly appreciative study of Tennyson's " Princess."
Mr. O'Hagan makes the poem a text to express his views on
the feminist question. Higher education for women, and in-
tellectual development on the generous liberal lines; so runs
his thesis. But "the true mission of woman is, and will al-
ways continue to be, within the domestic sphere, where she
conserves the accumulated sum of the moral education of the
race, and keeps burning through the darkest night of civiliza-
tion upon the sacred altar of humanity the vestal fires of
Truth, Beauty, and Goodness." In " Poetry and History Teach-
ing Falsehood," the author cites apt illustrations of the perver-
sions which the bias against the Catholic Church propagates
in non-Catholic literature. He has also something worth while
to say on the mistaken method of making the study of litera-
ture in the schoolroom a mere intellectual analysis instead of
training the pupil to grasp and appreciate the spirit of poetry.
In a final essay he makes a plea for the Avignon Papacy on
the ground that it contributed brilliantly to promote the Renais-
sance.
The Far East in this title f must
THE FAR EAST. be understood in a large sense ;
for Dr. Thwing's educational sur-
vey scans not alone far Cathay and its neighbors, Japan,
Korea, and the Philippines, but also India. The writer at-
tempts, in a book somewhat small for the subject, a survey of
the character of popular education in these various countries ;
and of the forces at work in them to promote or mar the in-
tellectual and moral progress of the peoples. The Doctor's
analysis of the situation is not minute; his forecasts somewhat
vague and conjectural. On the whole, he inclines to believe
that Western influences, especially Christianity, will succeed in
raising the East to a higher level of moral and intellectual
* Essays, Literary, Critical, and Historical. By Thomas O'Hagan. Toronto: William
Briggs.
t Education ip the Far East. By Charles F. Thwing, LL.D. Boston : Houghton Mifflin
Company.
1909.] NEW BOOKS 839
life. That this account of a vast subject leaves much to be
desired for thoroughness may be judged from the fact that it
scarcely makes mention of the Catholic Church, or of the
work her missionaries have done and are now doing in these
countries.
The names associated on this title
HUMBLE VICTIMS. page* are both rich with recol-
lections. The author is the nephew
of Louis Veuillot, and successor to his uncle in the editorial
chair of the Univers ; while the translator is the daughter of
Charles Gavan Duffy, the Young- Irelander who, after being
sent into penal servitude for life because of his patriotism, rose at
length to be prime minister of an English colony in the land
upon which he first stepped as a convict. The book is a col-
lection of edifying stories, artistically told, for young people.
Many of them are drawn from the time of the French Revo-
lution. All are lively vignettes of French life among the hum
bier classes; and they present vividly the play of influences
for and against religion which are at work to-day.
I
The name of Labrador suggests to
XHE STORY OF LABRADOR, most people only stormy seas, an
inhospitable coast bound in per-
petual fog and almost perpetual ice. A perusal of Mr.
Browne's interesting little book f will dispel this error, and,
not unlikely, inspire a desire to see for oneself this land of
the near- midnight sun. The book is not remarkable for de-
scriptive power nor, in fact, any conspicuous grace of style.
But it is packed full of detailed information, topographical, his-
torical, industrial, and social, concerning the people and their
surroundings, their mode of life, the products of the soil and
the sea. Every step that a tourist can take, and every detail
that might contribute to secure his comfort or satisfy his curi-
osity, is recorded with the fidelity of a Baedeker.
"Humble Victims. By Fransois Veuillot. Translated from the French by Susan Gavan
Duffy. New York : Benziger Brothers.
t Where the Fishes Go. The Story of Labrador. By the Rev. P. W. Browne. New
York : Cochrane Publishing Company.
^Foreign periodicals*
The Tablet (3 July): Consideration given the "Sunday Closing
Bill" in House of Commons. "The Oratory School
— 50 Years After " — a brief history of the famous school
founded by Cardinal Newman. Review and criticism
of an article in The Nineteenth Century on " The Fallen
Birth-Rate Among the Upper Classes." "The Reality
of Spirit Phenomena" reports a series of seances recently
held at Naples. " Educational Notes " tell of the much
fairer treatment of Catholic schools by the London Educa-
tion Committee as elected by the municipal reformers.
(10 July): Synopsis of debates on various features of the
Finance Bill in House of Commons. Account of the
last service in the Old Lincoln's Inn Fields Chapel. Vale-
diction of the Archbishop. Resume of the achievements
of the Catholic party in Belgium, under the caption "A
Catholic Government Jubilee." Review of Volume V.
of The Catholic Encyclopedia. Notes from the first
number of the Acta Pontificii Instituti Biblici. Recep-
tion of the Ambassadors of Mahomet V. at the Vatican.
Index of Tablet articles, January-June, 1909.
(17 July): A motion made in the House of Lords,
" That it is expedient that jurisdiction to a limited ex-
tent, in divorce and matrimonial cases, should be con-
ferred upon county courts in order that the poorer
classes may have their cases of that nature heard and
determined in such courts." An appreciative article
on the life of the late Lord Ripon. Anglican partici-
pation in the Calvin celebration evidences, thinks a
writer, how at the psychological moment " all the chil-
dren born of the Reformation group themselves together
and by all the instinct of their common birth, cry:
' All one family we.' " Abbe Gasquet's Sermon, " The
Benedictines in England," preached on the occasion of
the golden jubilee of Belmont Cathedral.
The Expository Times (July): The "Koine," a short article on
the question of New-Testament Greek. Consideration
of Dr. Neville Figgis' claim (The Gospel and Human
Needs) that the present-day problem for Christianity is
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 841
"anti-Christian religiousness" and not materialism or
agnosticism. " Recent Criticism of the Synoptic Gos-
pels," by Principal W. C. Allen. "Was St. Peter
ever in Rome ? " Some reflections on Monsignor Du-
chesne's answer to this question, in his Early History
of the Christian Church. Materials to help in the
study and appreciation of I. Peter, Hi., 15. Under
" Recent Biblical Archaeology " Stephen Langdon, Ox-
ford, writes of the " Letters to Cassite Kings " as pub-
lished by Dr. Hugo Radaw. "The Life of Faith," by
Rev. W. W. Holdsworth.
The Month (July): The initial article by Rev. J. H. Gollen gives
us " Some New Lights Upon St. Ignatius of Loyola."
C. C. Martindale reviews " Two Histories of Religions."
The one review is an appreciation of M. Dufancq's work :
Avenir du Christianisme, a comparative study of pagan re-
ligions and the Jewish ; the other is a consideration of M.
Reinach's Orpheus. The latter C. C. Martindale regards as
" unscientific in aim and method." B. W. Devas writes
on "Lay Work at Boys' Clubs." — -Dom Bede Camm,
O.S.B., concludes his paper, "The Founders of Beuron."
Rev. Joseph Keating writes an article entitled " Im-
pressions of Father Gerard Hopkins, S.J."
The Church Quarterly Review (July) : " The Union of South
Africa and the Native Question." A study of the prob-
lems suggested by the movement for a United South Af-
rica. "John Calvin: An Historical Estimate," by the
Rev. A. T. S. Goodrick. In his introduction Mr. Good-
rick deplores the want of candor on the part of many
of Calvin's biographers. " The Royal Commission and
Poor- Law Reform : The Majority Report," by the Rev.
W. A. Spooner, D.D. Causes of failure, conditions dur-
ing its working, consideration of the chief recommenda-
tions of the Commissioners for the reform of the existing
law are discussed. " Westminster in the Twelfth Cen-
tury: Osbert of Clare," by the Very Rev. J. Armitage
Robinson, D.D. " The Reunion Problem : A ' Scottish
Episcopal ' View," by the Very Rev, T. I. Ball, LL.D.,
makes the third of a series of articles on the question of
union of the Established Church of Scotland with the
Scottish Episcopal Church. " The Greek Contribution
842 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Sept.,
to Spiritual Progress," by Miss H. D. Oakeley. " Dar-
win and Modern Thought."
The International (July) : Dr. Rodolphe Broda in an article en-
titled " The Female Suffrage Movement " points out that
the adoption of this policy has proven satisfactory in
Australia, New Zealand, and Finland. " Turkey after
the Crisis," by Charles Roden Buxton, describes the dif-
ficulties of Turkey in her endeavor to maintain a consti-
tutional form of government. Laurence P. Byrnes,
writing on " Agricultural Co-operation in Ireland," traces
the slow but steady growth of the system of co-opera-
tion for the distribution of dairy products. "The Ger-
man Poor-Law System," by Dr. Heinrich Reicher, dis-
cusses the manner in which the different German institu-
tions care for needy persons and infants. Ferdinand
Buisson has an article on the " New Education " in
France, in which he criticizes the present system inau-
gurated by Jules Ferri. " Higher Grade Schools in
Denmark," by Holger Begtrup, describes Christian Flor's
novel scheme for educating the adult peasants in Den-
mark. Abbe Paul Naudet presents " A Liberal Catho-
lic View of Lourdes," in which he considers the various
hypothetical explanations advanced for the cures; shows
wherein they err ; and draws the logical conclusion.
Cimon T. Z. Tyan has an article entitled " Newspapers
in China."
Dublin Review (July) : The value, in the conversion of England
to the Faith, of a Catholic assimilation of the King
James' Version of the Bible; the necessity of the study
of Hebrew modes of thought and expression ; the right-
ness of literary criticism of the sacred narrative; its
popular diffusion are discussed under " The Literary As-
pects of the Old Testament," by Canon William Barry.
"Politics and Party," by Lord Hugh Cecil. The
evils in the House of Commons, namely : obstruction
and arbitrary closure of debates. The decay of interest
can be remedied by the creation of a "persuadable"
element and by renewed free debate. In a similar
strain the Editor applies the principles of Edmund Burke
on party action to the general question of the value of
party allegiance and its apparent opposition to individual
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 843
thought and sincere deliberation. " The Failure of the
Workhouse " is acknowledged. Its promiscuity breeds
immorality; its slackness, pauperism; its confused ad-
ministration, now waste, now want. Mrs. Crawford feels
that the present system should be ended, but that pro-
posed substitutes hide grave dangers, especially to poor
Catholics. W. H. Mallock, in " A Century, of Social-
istic Experiments " in America, shows that these com-
munities can continue only through the suppression of
the private family and the family affections, whether by
enforced celibacy or by the abolition of marriage and
the substitution of temporary unions. Mgr. Moyes
begins a study of " St. Anselm of Canterbury " and his
struggle for the freedom of the Church. The impor-
tance of woman has been "in balancing, criticizing, and
opposing the coercive or legal and the collective or
democratic conceptions of government." By demanding
the ballot she has surrendered her power. Mr. G. K.
Chesterton " weeps " for this modern surrender.
" Lord Curzon and Oxford Reform," by F. F. Urquhart.
" English Catholics in the Eighteenth Century " is
a eulogy and resume of Mgr. Ward's Dawn of the Catho-
lic Revival Alice Meynell says that "Swinburne's
lyrical poetry" exhibits "a poet with a perfervid fancy
rather than an imagination, a poet with puny passions
(but quick to voice those of others), a poet with no
more than the momentary and impulsive sincerity of an
infirm soul, a poet with small intellect — and thrice a
poet." His power lies in the affluence of his vocabulary
and in his enthusiasm for the landscape and the skies.
Le Correspondant (10 July): Mgr. Baudrillart continues his studies
of Catholic Universities with those at Dublin, Quebec,
Washington, Beirut in Syria, Fribourg in Switzerland,
and the recent establishment at Madrid. "The Three
Polands," submitted to Austria, Russia, and Germany;
the police terror, the massacres, the prisons, the espion-
age; the organized calumnies added by Germany to
fiendish persecution ; the social and political role of
Catholicism — these form the theme of Marius Ary-
Leblond. Political and economic crises in modern
Chile; picturesque Santiago; a war-like history and
844 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Sept.,
a splendid army are described by Prince Louis d'Orleans
et Bragance. Paul Delay exposes the uselessness o
the fortifications around Paris. • The story of "Watch-
making" from Peter Heinlein to Louis Leroy, by Leo-
pold Reverchon. " Aunt Aymee," a novel by Noel
Frances, is concluded.
(25 July): Rene Vallery-Radot describes the identifica-
tion by the Due d'Aumale of the town of Alesia with
the site of Caesar's victory over Vercingetorix.— —
" Public Spirit in Germany," by H. Moysset. Catholics,
Democrats, and Socialists unite in demanding suffrage,
universal, direct, secret, and equal for all. H. Bre-
mond contributes "The Tennyson Centenary," a literary
meditation rather than a didactic study.— ^—Prince Louis
d'Orleans et Bragance continues his articles on Chile,
treating its politics, finances, industries, religion, and the
position of its women. Marius Ary Leblond concludes
"The Three Polands," discussing the religious persecu
tion. Letters of Henri de Latouche, a journalist under
Louis Philippe, edited by Joseph Ageorges. " Son-
nets " upon four Roman statues, by Charles de Rouvre.
Etudes (5 July) : The authenticity of the Tu es Petrus text is
insisted upon by Yves de la Briere.- De Frequenti usu
Sanctissimi Eucharistia Sacramenti Libellus, a little book
published in 1555, and again in 1909, is reviewed by
Paul Dudon. Descriptions of the "Massacres at Ada-
na" are contributed by several missionaries. That
the Canticle of Canticles was written before the Exile,
and that it is an historical poem in allegory, are some
of the conclusions noted by Gabriel Havelin, in review-
ing a recent work by P. Joiion. Albert Condamin
urges upon his readers the nebulous state of our knowl-
edge of the early religion of the Chaldeans and Assyrians.
Paul Geny notes the recent works dealing with Pla-
tonism — Aristotle, the Stoics, and Plotinus. J. M.
Dario reviews the recent thought and research on St.
Thomas and Thomism ; Roscelin and Anselm; Bona-
venture, Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus.
Revue du Clerge Franpais (i JulyJ : In its bearing upon liberal
Protestants as well as upon Modernists separated from
the Church, J. Bricout considers the question: "Are
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 845
They Still Christians?" Father Godet contributes a
biography of J. A. Moehler, the great German eccle-
siastical historian of the early part of the nineteenth cen-
tury. J. M. Vidal writes of "The Religious Move-
ment in Italy," a movement inaugurated by Pope Pius X.
for the improvement of the sehiinaries. L. Wintrebert
treats briefly the relation of the Church's teaching to
the doctrine of evolution. An article entitled " Social
Movements," by Ch. Calippe, discusses the mental attitude
of the rich to the poor, the depopulation of France, and
similar questions.
(15 July): "The Personality of St. Thomas Aquinas" is
the reprint of a discourse delivered by E. Bernard Allo,
O.P., at the University religious ceremony at Fribourg.
In "The Stages of Rationalism in its Attacks upon
the Gospels and the Life of Jesus Christ," P. Fillion
considers Baur and the Tubingen School. Abbe Paul
Thone analyzes "The Principle of Autonomy" defined
by A. Sabatier. A pastoral letter of his Eminence
Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines, treats of the
"Duties of Conjugal Life."
Revue du Monde Catholique (15 July): In this issue appear the
continued articles of M. Sicard, treating of the "French
Clergy Since the Concordat of i8oi.w " La Fontaine's
Pictures of Animals," by Alexander Harmel. "The
History of Marmoutier," by Dom Rabory. "Towards
the Abyss," by Arthur Savaete, dealing with the Bull
of the Sacred College of the Propaganda relative to the
University of Laval. "The Mysteries of the Inheri-
tance of A. T. Stewart of New York," by Denans d'Ar-
tiques, relating details of the great merchant's last testa-
ment disposing of his vast possessions. Theodore
Joran's views, as continued in the "Feminist Movement,"
might well have been summarized in the saying of the
Princess of Ligne : " Let men make the laws and we
women the morals." In his article on the "Spanish
Apologists of the Nineteenth Century," Father At shows
how the conflicting testimonies of the Socialists, on the
great problem of evil, serve as effective weapons for their
own destruction in the hands of their Catholic opponents.
Revue Benedictine (July): D. G. Morin comments on a "Pris-
846 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Sept.,
cillianist Treatise on the Trinity," recently discovered
in an unpublished document, manuscript 113 of the Laon
catalogue. " An Old Gregorian Missal " is the title of
a liturgical study by D. A. Wilmart. Fragments of Codex
Casinensis 271 are shown to be from the authentic Roman
Missal of the seventh and eighth centuries which was of
Gregorian origin and the predecessor of the Sacramentary
of Pope Hadrian. " The Trial and Disgrace of the
Carafa " is concluded. The ravages wrought by Jan-
senism in the Benedictine Congregation of St. Maur
are suggested by a series of letters. D. P. de Meester
continues his papers on " Orthodox Theology." The
present one deals with the Providence of God ; its Rela-
tion to the Problem of Evil ; The Foreknowledge of
God ; Predestination.
Revue Pratique d* Apologetique (i July): "The Resurrection of
Jesus Christ," says E. Mangenot, was attested in St.
Paul's view by six apparitions (I. Cor. xv.) ; however
hard these may be to localize in time or place, they are
historical facts. Their nature was corporeal, not purely
psychical ; the efforts to prove St. Paul an epileptic, who
mistook an hallucination for a reality, are futile.
Mgr. Douais, in his letter on " Apologetics," calls this
science the " introduction to faith." " Recent Con-
verts," continued by Fr. Alexis Crosnier. This article
deals with Oliver George Destree, a fervent admirer of
pre Raphaelite art, a critic and writer of poems. His
attention was turned to the Gospels by St. Francis and
Tolstoy; he entered the Benedictine monastery at Mared
sous, to the great astonishment of Young Belgium. He
has published in allegorical verse the story of his con-
version. J. Bousquet describes " An Association of
Priests" founded in 1876 by Abbe Chaumont under the
patronage of St. Francis de Sales.
Revue des Questions Scientifiques (July) : Editorial congratula-
tions to the University of Louvain. " Albert de Lap-
parent and His Scientific Work," by Charles Barrois. This
scientist, editor of the Revue de Geologie, has recently
died, crowned with honors. Dr. L. Vervaeck treats
of " Finger prints. The scientific bases of the dactylo-
scope and its use in criminal cases." A. Vermeersch,
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 847
S.J., shows that a lowered birth-rate is fatal to social
progress. "Ports and their Economic Function."
Four writers treat at length the histories of New
York, Puteoli (which yielded to Naples after the reign
of Emperor Theodosius), Shanghai, and Zeebrugge (in
Belgium). Articles on " The Correspondence of the
Retinal Impressions Received in the Act of Sight."
" Problems in Aviation." " Canadian Dairies."
Chronique Sociale de France (July): M. Charles Calippe reviews
An Effort at Synthesis of the Catholic Social Doctrines,
by M. Lorin. Quoting M. Lorin: "Everything in Catho-
licity speaks of the idea of fraternity. . . . All de-
votions of the Church indicate that its members are of
one great family. The Pater Noster ; the application of
the name Mother to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Even
the Papacy, the living expression of the Divine Pater-
nity, is the concrete affirmation of the human fraternity."
" A New Social Law in Holland," by M. A. Van
Den Hout. A bill proposing to eliminate night work
and Sunday work in bakeries was introduced by the
Minister of Industries. Many arguments are put forth
in defense of the bill. " In the Country of Billions,
by H. Cetty, speaks of the debts of German cities.
" Gardens for Workers in the Country," by Abbe H.
Bourgeois, tells of the giving of land to those in need.
"A Proposal to Revise Custom Houses," by Max
Turmann. "Light on the Mountain Tops," by Remy,
a retreat at the old Chartreuse du Haut Don.
Stimmen aus Maria-Laach (July): "Strikes and Lockouts," by
Heinrich Pesch, S J. The author points out the eco-
nomic and social dangers of these forms of social con-
trol, which breed class-hatred; but he admits their legit-
imacy for just and weighty reasons, when peaceful means
have failed, when the result is practical of attainment,
and when violence is not employed. Julius Bessmer,
S.J., begins a discussion of "Telepathy." "The His-
tory of Prayer-Books," by Stephen Beissel, S.J., from
the psalters used by Charlemagne to those of the thir-
teenth century. Victor Cathrein, S J., discusses "Eth-
ics and Monistic Evolutionism." The logical results of
this doctrine are the destruction of the moral order, the
848 FOREIGN PERIODICALS [Sept.,
denial of purpose in life, and the placing of murder on
the same level as the killing of animals. " Giacomo
Leopardi, the Poet of Pessimism," by A. Baumgartner,
SJ.
La Civilta Cattolica (3 July): "The Masonic Religion." Fifty
years ago Freemasonry in France claimed to be toler-
ant, reverential, teaching faith in God and in the im-
mortality of the soul; to-day, as openly stated by Mr.
J. D. Buck in his " Genius of Freemasonry and the
Thirteenth Century Crusade," the Mason everywhere
" is, or ought to be, an enemy of Popery ; the indiffer-
ence and supineness of many Masons on this point must
mean either ignorance, folly, or cowardice." " St.
Clement and the Miracles of the Old Testament." A.
Harnack, in a recent paper, endeavors to depict the
mind of the Holy Pontiff as regards these miracles. He
claims that St. Clement never attributed any religious
value to them, since he was silent as to their import-
ance. Fr. Hermann Van Laak, S.J., refutes this argu-
mentation and reveals the great esteem of the Pope for
these miracles. "The Palazzo di Venezia in Rome,"
continued.
(17 July): "Adversaries of Capital Punishment." Father
A. Ferretti defends the death penalty against Rabaud
and Beccaria. "St. Anselm of Aosta and His Work
in England." A short sketch of the man, the religious,
and the master of the spiritual life. Fr. Savio, S.J.,
treats of Pope Pius X.'s "New Condemnation of Mod-
ernism." In the second part of the Encyclical Com-
munium Rerum the Holy Father calls Modernism "the
synthesis of all heresies," shows its danger to the
Church, and completely confutes its sophisms. "The
Second Century of Mabillon. A Retrospect," continued.
Razon y Fe (July) : Juan Antonio Martinez says that there
has been formed by Father Henry Watrigant, S.J., a
" Library of the Exercises of St. Ignatius." It is located
at Enghien, Belgium. "The Moral Influence of Raif-
feisen's System" of rural banks has been great and good.
Vice has decreased, mutual interest has awakened
Continuing his discussion of "The Holy See and the
Book of Isaias," L. Murilio disposes of the arguments
1909.] FOREIGN PERIODICALS 849
against the possibility of prophecy. "The Psychology
of Patriotism " shows it to be a rational form of love,
mingled with passion. E. Portillo continues " Dif-
ferences Between Church and State Regarding Royal
Patronage in the Eighteenth Century." " The Im-
morality of the Theater " is assisted, says V. Minte-
guiaga, by inefficient legislation. P. Villada, in answer
to " An Objection Against the Censorship of Newspa-
pers," shows that articles, even on religion, there printed
among those on other topics, do not fall under the Con-
stitution " Officiorum." " Twelve Years of Radio-
Activity," by J. M. del Barrio, is concluded.
Espana y America (i July): The first of a series of articles on
" Mendel and His Scientific Work," by P. Antonio
Blanco, deals with the life and personality of the illus-
trious Augustinian. The decay in agricultural re-
sources and results has led to the organization of a
"Universal Co-operatives" bank. The causes of the
decay and the statutes of the bank are described by
P. Bruno Ibeas. " The Exegetical System of St.
Thomas." P. Velilla de Tarilonte writes on the
" Commercial Importance of China."
(15 July): P. Bruno Ibeas concludes his articles on
" Co-operatives," approving the efforts of Sr. Espiel to
introduce new agricultural methods, to furnish safe and
reasonable loan establishments, and to promote federa-
tion and morality. " Christian Humility," as P. M.
Velez shows in his closing article, does not lead to the
fanaticism of inertia, loss of interest in life and in the
welfare of one's country and one's friends. Felipe
Robles continues " The Philosophy of the Verb."
"The Apostle St. James and the Basilica of Compostela,"
by P. Juan M. Lopez. P. Juvencio Hospital sends "A
Traveler's Notes from China." Encyclical on the
Centenary of St. Anselm continued.
VOL. LXXXIX — 54
Current Events.
Holders of high office in the State
France. ought to be as detached as reli-
gious. M. Clemenceau, after hav-
ing been in power for a longer time than any former premier,
had every prospect of retaining office for an indefinite period.
Only the week before he fell he had received from the Cham-
ber of Deputies an endorsement of his policy by a vote of
confidence of 345 to 90. Even on the very night on which
the adverse vote was given there was not until within some
twenty minutes any expectation of what was to follow. The
mishap was due to his own bad temper and want of self-con-
trol. M. Delcasse', it seems, has been a long-standing critic and
opponent of M. Clemenceau, and he found in the state of the
navy, which has just been revealed, an opportunity of making
an attack in no measured terms upon the head of the govern-
ment, and of laying upon him the whole responsibility. He
made a speech in which he accused the Premier of criminal
neglect of duty, a neglect which had led to a state of anarchy
in the naval department; of levity also and of weakness of
will. M. Clemenceau was so stung by these taunts, that he lost
self-control and entered upon a series of accusations, declaring
that M. Delcasse was responsible for having led France, by his
over-ambitious schemes, to the semi-capitulation involved in the
act of Algeciras. This made M. Delcasse still more angry and
he proceeded to call to the Prime Minister's remembrance, and
to that of the Chamber, a long list of M. Clemenceau's previous
misdeeds and to enumerate his own services to the country.
The latter certainly were not inconsidereble, for the high position
which France now holds in Europe is largely due to the diplo-
macy of M. Delcasse. The agreement with Spain, the agreement
with Italy, and the agreement with England were made by
him. The mediation which put an end to the war between
Spain and this country, the intervention which prevented on
the occasion of the Dogger Bank outrage, a war between Rus-
sia and Great Britain, and the preparation of the entente between
France and England were his work. The speech of M. Del-
casse, in which he recounted all these achievements, won for
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 851
him the sympathy of the Chamber, a sympathy to which effect
was given by a vote after M. Clemenceau's reply, and in con-
sequence of that reply. For he accused M. Delcasse of having
brought the country within a hair's breadth of war without
having done anything to prepare for any such eventuality by
taking military precautions, although he had been informed
by the Ministers of War and of Marine that they were not
ready for war.
By 212 votes to 176 the order of the day accepted by the
government was rejected, and the end came of M. Clemenceau's
tenure of power. His resignation, however, involved rather a
reconstruction of the ministry than an entire change of govern-
ment or of its policy. Within a few days M. Briand was able
to form a new ministry, which contains within its ranks an
equal number of old and new members, half a dozen of each.
The recently appointed civilian head of the Naval Department
has been replaced by an Admiral, and one General has followed
another in the War Department. M. Briand himself is a revo-
lutionary Socialist, and is the first Socialist of that type that
has ever been the head of a government; two of his colleagues
also are Socialists. Revolutionary Socialists though they all
are, they are not of the extremist type, for if they were they
would not be willing to accept office.
In addition to his office of Prime Minister, M. Briand is at
the head of the Departments of the Interior and of Public Wor-
ship ; as Minister of the Interior he will have control of the
preparations for the General Election which is to take place
next spring. One of the most significant results of the change
of ministry is the elimination of M. Simyan, to the dislike of
whom the recent strikes of Post- Office officials was due. His
office has been abolished, and at the head of the Department
a Socialist, M. Millerand, has been appointed. Whether this
is an indication of a change of policy towards these officials
remains to be seen. That no change in external policy is like-
ly to be made is shown by the fact that M. Pichon remains at
the head of the Foreign Office. The Church in France being
now placed on a voluntary basis, it is not easy to see what
work M. Briand has to do as Minister of Worship.
Capitalists do not grieve at the departure of M. Caillaux,
the Minister of Finance, the author of the Income Tax which
has so long been threatened, to which the wealthy are so
852 CURRENT EVENTS [Sept.,
bitterly opposed ; but they do not yet know how M. Cochery,
the new Minister, will act in this matter. The appointment of
Admiral Boue de Lapeyrere, as Minister of Marine, puts an
end to a ten years' term of Civil Heads of the Naval Depart-
ment, a period during which the navy has been declining in
efficiency. He is said to be a keen disciplinarian and has in-
augurated his regime by a wholesale removal of the chiefs of
the Naval Departments. The Chief of the General Staff, the
Director of Naval Ordinance, the Director of 'the Fleet in
Commission, the Director of Naval Construction, the Controller-
General, have all been superseded. A reorganization has been
effected in the highest department of all by the appointment of
a permanent Under Secretary of the Navy. So many changes
have never taken place before in modern French history.
They show that a new era is to be entered upon, and that
the government intends to fulfill the promises which M. Briand
made in his first ministerial declaration, that there should be a
complete reorganization of naval administration.
In all other respects it is continuity that has been promised.
The Old Age Pensions Bill, which has been for so long a time
before Parliament, is to be earnestly pushed forward. The In-
come Tax Bill also is to be carried through the Senate. The
way for a Reform Bill is to be prepared by trying at the ap-
proaching municipal election the system of proportional repre-
sentation in order to give to minorities at least some voice in
legislation. The Bill regulating the status of civil servants is
also to be proceeded with. Various other measures were an-
nounced indicating the adhesion of the New Cabinet to the
line marked out by M. Clemenceau.
After M. Briand's speech the Chamber declared itself sat-
isfied by a vote of 306 to 46. It then adjourned until October,
and left the new government in peaceful possession of power.
One of the most remarkable of M. Briand's declarations
was that he was an enemy of persecutions, a believer in liberty,
and a disbeliever in the repression of religious ideas or foims of
worship. And yet, as it will be remembered, it was he who car-
ried through the Chamber of Deputies the Separation Bill. He
went on immediately to affirm that he would not permit any
encroachment upon the work of laicization which was being
accomplished by the Third Republic; that, on the contrary,
it would be unswervingly defended. It was his intention, too,
1 909.] CURRENT EVENTS 853
to govern: the Chamber must be content with the right of
control and of legislation. It seems somewhat difficult to har-
monize into one consistent whole these various declarations.
The visit of the Tsar to Cherbourg, where he was met by
President Fallieres and M. Pichon, the Foreign Minister, has,
it is said, strengthened the alliance with Russia, if it stood in
need of strengthening — a thing which is denied. All agree in
affirming that it has removed every obstacle to the preserva-
tion of peace by making it clear to any one who might be will-
ing to make war how closely united are the enemies with whom
he would have to cope. The balance of power is now so well
established by the union of Russia, France, and Great Britain,
that no room is left for the domination of any one Power.
The attempt to attain or to retain such domination is the only
thing that would disturb Europe at the present time, and
when it is seen how difficult the accomplishment of such a
task would be it is less likely that the effort will be made.
The visits made by the Tsar to M. Fallieres and to King Ed-
ward are looked upon as having had this result.
The Courts of Law have decided that the government was
right in refusing to allow the Post-Office officials to form a
trade union and that it was illegal for them to make such an
attempt. This right is declared to belong only to private in-
dividuals, and not to civil servants. As to the right to strike,
the Court holds that it is preposterous for State employees to
arrogate this to themselves, as they are the employees of the
nation and have special privileges which are not possessed by
the working classes. This judgment shows that the course
adopted by the government of M. Clemenceau in its treatment
of the strikers was, to say the least, legal.
About a week before M. Clemen-
Germany, ceau relinquished the French
Premiership, Prince Biilow retired
from the German Chancellorship. With many differences, there
was substantially the same reason for the departure of both —
neither had succeeded in satisfying the representatives of the
people. The Bill for the reform of the Finances of the Em-
pire, and the plan adopted by the Prince for raising additional
taxation, did not meet with the approval of the Reichstag. It
854 CURRENT EVENTS [Sept.,
was so fundamentally altered, notwithstanding all the efforts of
the Prince, and altered too by the parties in the Reichstag
that are supposed to be especially deferential to the wishes of
those in authority — the Conservatives and the Centre — that the
Prince could no longer, with the self-respect which he felt was
due to himself, remain at the head of affairs. While, there-
fore, as a matter of form, a German Minister of State is ac-
countable only to the Emperor, yet as a matter of fact he
must be able to secure the confidence of the people and their
representatives in order to continue in office. At least in this
instance this is shown to be the real situation. Whether,
therefore, the Committee which is now sitting to discuss the
question of ministerial responsibility ever reports or not, or
whether a formal change is ever made or not, is not a matter
of great importance. For it will in great probability be
brought to pass, in Germany as in England, that all real
power will fall into the hands of the holders of the purse.
The Chancellor was not the only one to resign, the Minis-
ter for Finance took the same step. The plan for the perma-
nent reform of the German finances had to be abandoned ; a
more or less makeshift scheme of taxation was passed. These
new taxes have gone into effect, and have resulted, so there is
good reason to think, in a further spread of dissatisfaction.
A by-election has taken place for the Neustadt division of the
Palatinate, which has been held for forty years by the National
Liberals and has resulted in the return of a Social Democrat,
a member of the party which is almost in revolt against the
existing order. It is universally recognized that the result
reflects the hostility of increasing numbers of the people to
the new taxes, and that this hostility may lead to the increase
of the power of the party to which the government is most
opposed.
The new Chancellor, Dr. von Bethmann-Hollweg, belongs
to a different class from that which has supplied former
Chancellors. He is not exactly a plebeian, but he is not a
member of the aristocracy or of any of the more or less
privileged classes to which Prince Bismarck, Count von Caprivi,
Prince Hohenlohe, or Prince Biilow, his predecessors, owed
their origin. His grandfather was a professor, his father a
landed proprietor. If he is a Jew, as has been said, a still
farther departure from tradition has been made. The services
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 855
which he has hitherto rendered to the State were, until he
became in 1905 the Prussian Minister of the Interior, in the
ranks of the administration. He is not supposed to have any
intimate knowledge of Foreign Affairs, and there are those
who say that this was one reason for his appointment, as the
Emperor will be almost forced to act in the capacity of
Foreign Minister. The new Chancellor has the reputation of
being patient and diligent, able to make correct speeches in
defence of any government measure, to hav.e a keen eye as to
the trend of public opinion. Prince Billow's bloc has been de-
stroyed, it having been dissolved into its elements. The coali-
tion of the Conservatives with the Centre is declared by the
former to have been merely temporary. The Liberals and
Radicals are in hopeless confusion. As the Reichstag is not
sitting, no one can tell upon which of its many parties the
Chancellor will rely; but every one can see that he will have
no light task in finding parliamentary support.
No progress has been made towards
Austria-Hungary. the formation of a new government
to take the place of Dr. Wekerle's;
nor has anything been done to give to Bosnia and Herze-
govina the measure of autonomy which was promised when
they were annexed. The heir apparent, the Grand Duke Franz
Ferdinand, is said to look forward to the confederation of the
various races of which the Empire is made up, and hopes to
find in it a remedy for the many evils from which the coun-
try suffers. There are others who, seeing the success which
has attended that method in this country, hope to apply it to
the whole of Europe. A gentleman, it is said, has been
traveling through the capital cities of Europe trying to con-
vince the present holders of power to subordinate themselves
to one supreme ruler with limited powers, and to bring all the
nations into one confederation to form the United States of
Europe. This seems almost ridiculous ; but if a few years ago
the prediction had been made that Russia and Turkey would
have parliaments in any shape or form, and that members of
these parliaments would be received abroad with greater honor
than either Tsar or Sultan, such a prophet would not have
been widely believed.
856 CURRENT EVENTS [Sept.,
But this is what has taken place.
Russia. The Tsar has been paying a visit
to the King of England and was
received with all due honor by him and by the goverment.
But it is very doubtful whether he would not have been in-
sulted if he had set foot in any town of Great Britain. Many
protests were made against his being received at all. In Parlia-
ment and out of Parliament, in the public press, and at public
meetings called for the purpose, these protests were made. It
was the Labor Party, the representatives of the working people,
that was most energetic and outspoken. But remonstrance
was not confined to it. Bishops like Bishop Gore, scientific
men like Sir Oliver Lodge, members of Parliament not belong-
ing to the Labor Party, authors, editors, and a few Peers
joined in an effort to dissociate the government from ex-
tending to the Tsar any welcome. On the other hand, the
deputies from the Duma, who had come a short time be-
fore on a visit to England, were received with open arms;
the government, the universities, and the masses of the people
everywhere, vied with one another in showing them honor.
The reason for the difference was that the Tsar was looked
upon as responsible for the numerous executions which have
been taking place in Russia during the past two or three
years, for the incarceration without trial of tens of thousands
of innocent men and women, and for the horrible administra-
tion methods which are still maintained in Russia. How far the
Tsar is responsible for this cannot be decided; persons in his
position are, unless they are men of wonderful force of char-
acter, more often rather the victims than the controllers of the
systems of which they form a part. Nor can it be denied that
the Tsar is the giver of a measure of representative govern-
ment, and that he has resisted the many efforts which have
been made to suppress it.
In any case, notwithstanding all the opposition which was
offered, the Tsar was received by the King. It may have
been a choice of evils; that it was felt to be more important
to maintain the balance of power in Europe by the union of
Russia, France, and Great Britain than to act as human sym-
pathies suggested. The internal affairs of Russia were not
the concern of the King or government of Great Britain.
The visit is said to have resulted in yet another consolidation
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 857
of the forces which make for peace. It is to be followed
by visits to the King of Italy and to the new Sultan.
It seems to be certain that there
Spain. have been disturbances in Spain ;
but as the government took the
usual course of the weak, and tried to suppress the truth by
a severe censorship, imagination was given full play, and every
kind of contradictory statement made. All Catalonia was, it
was said, in open revolt, the army disaffected, the Republicans
were on the point of rising, the Carlists were assembling with
Don Jaime at their head. Don Jaime, however, was no nearer
than his home in Austria, from which he issued a manifesto
saying that he never would be guilty of such a crime as ex-
citing a civil war. He was ready indeed to be the savior of
Spain, whose King was becoming, he said, unpopular, and
whose Queen was not liked. According to several accounts in
Barcelona a large number of churches and convents had been
burned, women and children being numbered among the per-
petrators of these deeds, monks and nuns had been killed,
some even at the foot of the altar, and outrages too horrible
to mention had been committed. According to another, that
of a well-known Deputy and an eye-witness of all that had
taken place, there had been no murder, robbery, outrage, or
pillage at all. No nuns had been in any way harmed or in-
sulted. Some convents indeed had been attacked, but this
was done with the object of freeing the nuns from what the
people looked upon as a miserable life. No prisoners had
been shot. The army had behaved splendidly. There was no
separatist movement whatever. All that took place was the
result of an outburst of feeling consequent on the departure
of the reservists. Which of these is the true account it is, of
course, not within our power to decide. There is, however,
too much reason to think that the Deputy is altogether too
much of a minimizer.
It seems clear, however, that in Spain there is a very strong
feeling against war. Other countries have their peace societies,
but on the least provocation the war frenzy predominates.
Spain, so far as we know, has no peace society, but is hard to
move to arms. The present conflict seems to be due to the
opening of mines in territory which is outside of that which
8$ 8 CURRENT EVENTS Sept.,
belongs to Spain, in the neighborhood of Melilla and within
the territory of the Riffs, a warlike Moorish tribe, who object
to mines and to the railway which was being built from Melilla.
They showed their dislike by killing some workmen who were
building the railway. For this the Governor of Melilla felt
called upon to chastise them, a task which has proved more
difficult to accomplish than was expected. All parties in Spain,
however, have come to think that national honor is involved
and are determined to push forward operations to a successful
conclusion.
There has been so far very little
Turkey. change in the state of affairs in
Turkey. Hilmi Pasha's ministry
still retains the management, although there is a movement said
to be promoted by the Committee of Union and Progress to
supersede it by one more in accordance with their own ideas.
It is to be feared that the Committee is seeking to grasp all
the power of the State, and thereby to stand in the way of
real constitutional government. In fact, the expectation of the
establishment of such a government cannot be said to be
strong ; the most that can be said, so far, is that Turkey is on
the road towards its attainment. It is upon the army that the
present order rests, and although the soldiers are said to favor
a constitutional form of government, yet the military spirit is
essentially so opposed to such restraints, that doubts may be
entertained of the persistence of this feeling. In fact, the mar-
tial law which was to have lasted for only a few weeks, has
been extended until next March, and this too without any rea-
son having been given. The visit which has been paid to
England by a large number of the members of the Parliament,
and the exceedingly warm reception which was given to these
visitors, may prove to have had a counteracting influence.
The real spirit of the Young Turks has been manifested in
the effort which they have made to re-assert Turkish authority
in Crete. That authority for many years has been merely nom-
inal, and even that nominal authority was cast off by the Cre-
tans last autumn. Were it not that the Powers sympathize so
strongly with the new regime in Turkey, they would have, in
all probability, acquiesced in the action of the Cretans and have
allowed Greece to annex the island. The Powers now stand
1909.] CURRENT EVENTS 859
between Turkey and Greece, and will not allow either to have
their own way. Turkey is ready to go to war and so are the
Cretans. So strained a situation cannot last long.
The news from Persia is very mea-
Persia. ger. As a compensation for not
serving his country the ex-Shah
is to receive more than one hundred thousand dollars a year,
and is therefore about to take his departure. This has given
his former subjects some degree of relief. A greater degree
would be felt if the Russian troops would depart, for all Per-
sians deeply resent every kind of foreign intervention. No
doubts are entertained about the good faith of Russia; in fact
conspicuous good faith has been shown, for the strongest pres-
sure was put upon the representative of Russia to bring the
troops into Teheran during the recent troubles, to which he re-
fused to yield. Little anxiety is felt that in this respect all
will turn out well. But whether any degree of union can be
brought about among the jarring forces within the country
itself seems rather doubtful. The Parliament has not yet met,
seems not even to have been elected. Anarchy is spreading on
all sides. The boy of nine years cannot, of course, control
affairs. Whether a strong, honest, and able guide can be found
to bring about peace and order remains for the future to disclose.
THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION.
THE HUDSON-FULTON CELEBRATION.
ONE is apt to forget, in the midst of a great anniversary pageant, the
names of men whose deeds were not so opportunely cast as to coincide
with large colonizing movements and theoutreachings of trade to a new con-
tinent. Eighty-five years before Henry Hudson explored the river which
bears his name, Verazzano sailed into New York harbor. A year later, in
1525, Gomez, another early navigator, called the Hudson the River of St.
Anthony, and it is so charted on some early maps.
This earliest known, and in all likelihood first European, name of the
Hudson brings home to us a reminder of the temperament of that other day.
We have rivers and cities and falls and lakes of the Holy Sacrament, of the
Trinity, of the Holy Spirit, of the Sacred Heart; and hundreds of others —
some lost, as this of the Hudson, and some preserved to us — which bear the
names of saints. One cannot help contrasting the spirits of the two ages.
No one can take up, regardless of his knowledge of European history, an
early map of the Americas without discovering in its very place-names the
one great cause which sent men forth in tiny cockleshells upon unknown
seas. And one may be forgiven for doubting to-day whether the discoverer
of the North Pole will fall upon his knees, take possession for his country
Cross in hand, and dedicate the spot to Our Lady of the Snows.
There is much virtue in opportuneness. In 1609 began a twelve years'
truce between the Netherlands and Spain. The little Dutch Republic was
the manufacturing and commercial center of Europe, and Amsterdam,
whence Hudson set sail, was the greatest shipping-port of the world. The
Dutch East India Company, which figures so largely in the explorations of the
Hudson River, was composed of six branches known as the Chambers of
Amsterdam, Zeeland, Delft, Rotterdam, Hoorn, and Enkhuizen. It was in
the employ of this sixteenth-century promoting company that Hudson under-
took the voyage in his ship, De Halve Maene, a tiny craft, as we think to-day,
about 75 feet long and 17 feet wide.
After an unsuccessful attempt to find a northeast passage, Hudson
turned his prow towards the American coast in the belief that there was a
sea between Virginia and New England which would give entrance to the
Pacihc Ocean. The exploration of the great river which now bears Hudson's
name is a familiar story. It is thought that the Half Moon went up as high
as Albany. The explorations occupied a month and the identification of the
course depends much upon the recorded descriptions of the country.
The coincidence of two anniversaries such as those of Hudson and Ful-
ton is very happy. Surely no two names are more closely connected with the
Hudson River. On the ope hand we have the Englishman in the service of
a great Dutch commercial company, a skilled, fearless seaman, favored by a
season of peace and industrial expansion, who bears to the outer world tid-
ings of a new land — "a very good land to fall with and a pleasant land to
see." On the other side we have Robert Fulton, born of Irish parents in
Little Britain (now Fulton), Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a man of fine
mechanical talent, of no mean skill as an artist, and to whose inventive
genius we are indebted for the development of steamboating, and for pioneer
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 86 1
work with submarines, torpedoes, and inland canals. These are no inconsid-
erable achievements for the close of the eighteenth century.
Fulton was not the first to invent a steam-propelled boat even in Ameri-
ca. John Fitch tried an awkward vessel, propelled by rows of oars, on the
Delaware, in July, 1786. As a matter of fact, Fulton's was the fifteenth inven-
tion of a steam craft, but his great merit lies in this, that he was able to estab-
lish steamboating on a firm basis and for all time. The history of this form
of navigation begins with Fulton.
Fulton's historic voyage up the Hudson drew thousands of citizens to the
shores of the river to jeer at what they called "Fulton's Folly." No one
believed that locomotion after this fashion was possible, and an awe came
over the watchers as the Clermont, with Fulton at the helm, drew out into
midstream and moved up the river.
In these days, accustomed as we are to palatial, sea-going hotels, the
following description of the Clermont possesses considerable interest :
" The original Clermont was 150 feet long and 13 feet wide, with 7 feet
depth of hold. She drew 2 feet of water. Her hull (below the deck) had
wedge-shaped bow and stern, cut sharp to the angle of sixty degrees. In
horizontal plan her sides were parallel and she was almost wall-sided, being a
very little wider on deck than on the bottom. Her bottom was flat with no
keel and she had two steering-boards or lee-boards to prevent drifting side-
ways. She had two masts, but no bowsprit or figurehead. She had two
cabins, one forward and one aft. The tiller by which she was steered was at
the back end of the after cabin, so that it was difficult tor the helmsman to see
what lay ahead. The engine, which was made in England, was amidship
between the two cabins and was uncovered. The boiler was of copper. The
paddlewheels, 15 feet in diameter, were uncovered, which resulted in drench-
ing the passengers, and no guards protected the wheels from collision.
Later, the paddlewheels were covered. To turn around, one paddlewheel
was disconnected. The flywheels of the engine were outside of the hull for-
ward of the paddlewheels, and revolved the same way. On one occasion,
when one of the paddlewheels was disabled, it is said, paddles were attached
to the flywheel and the voyage continued." *
It is hard for us who live in a day that has lost its faculty of wonderment
— who have seen the marvels, and touched them with irreverent hands, of the
camera, the telephone, the wireless telegraph, the aeroplane — to appreciate
the importance of Fulton's achievement. And it is much to be feared that,
knowing the whole earth roundj and appropriating without effort the hard-
won secrets of nature, we have little conception of the hardihood, the un-
flinching courage, the iron determination required to put gaily out as Hud-
son did with an unknown sea before him and a cut-throat crew behind.
If the great pageant, to be held in New York from September 25 to Oc-
tober 9, under the direction of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commis-
sion, but lifts us out of ourselves and our surroundings and brings us to a
better understanding of those other days, to a keener appreciation of the
fact that we are finishers of the work begun in hardship and disappointment
by other sturdy hands — it will be well worthwhile. It is good to go back.
A self-sufficient present argues many things — but most of all ingratitude.
* Hudson and Fulton, by Edward Hagaman Hall, L.H.M., L.H.D.
862 THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION [Sept.,
CATHOLIC BOOKS IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
Possibly no article published within the last six months in THE CATHO-
LIC WORLD has caused such widespread comment as that entitled "Catholic
Books in Public Libraries," by William Stetson Merrill, in the July issue.
The article has been reprinted in full and in part a dozen or more times in
Catholic papers throughout the country, considerable discussion and com-
ment has been stirred up in their columns, and we have received a number
of letters from our readers telling of work that has been, and is now being,
carried on in different cities in the cause of Catholic reading.
All this only goes to show that oftentimes excellent work is being done
in many quarters of which we are quite in ignorance. And when we fully
realize this, the pity of it comes home to us that each one of us, more or less
isolated as we are, should be obliged to struggle with the same difficulties
and make the same mistakes without being able to profit by the experience
of other workers in the same field. One of the best results of this article of
Mr. Merrill's is that it has made many earnest and successful workers in the
library field known to each other. This is bound to produce good results.
The number of letters we have received on the ways and means of in-
creasing, and making better known, the Catholic books in public libraries is
most encouraging. It shows what a deep interest there is in this work
throughout the country. We regret that all these letters cannot be pub-
lished. The following, however, is lepresentative :
MILWAUKEE, Wis., July 21, 1909.
Editor of THE CATHOLIC WORLD :
The article of Mr. Merrill on " Catholic Literature in Public Libraries,"
published in your July number, page 500, contains important sugges-
tions. Also, it caused considerable discussion in the secular press and
interviews with public librarians. There is no doubt that all the public
libraries contain a great number of good Catholic books, some of
which have not been called for since they were placed upon the library
shelves. Therefore, the librarians of public libraries have had little encour-
agement from Catholics to buy Catholic books. This condition induced the
Milwaukee Council, No. 524, Knights of Columbus, to publish the first (ex-
cepting Father O'Donovan's) and most numerous list of Catholic books in a
public library. Since the publication of the Milwaukee K. C. catalogue,
nearly fifty other K. C. Councils in the different parts of the United States
have prepared catalogues of the books in their local public libraries. Copies
of the Milwaukee K. C. catalogue have, on requests of librarians, been sent
to nearly all parts of the world, including India, Australia, New Zealand,
and the Ladrone Islands. At a national meeting of librarians, the Mil-
waukee K. C. catalogue was mentioned, and subsequently nearly every public
librarian in the United States asked for one or more copies, which were
furnished, until the edition became exhausted. .
Dr. Peckham, the Milwaukee City librarian, has been especially atten-
tive to the Catholic demands for books, and he has put in many books that
he has seen favorably mentioned in Catholic periodicals. In the catalogue
of Catholic books in the Milwaukee Public Library there are listed about
4,000 volumes, and since it was published in 1903-4, about 400 additional
1909.] THE COLUMBIAN READING UNION 863
volumes of the latest and best Catholic books have been placed in the
library. . . .
There should be some Catholic clearing house for catalogues, which
would form a very useful department ot the Catholic University at Wash-
ington. Why should not the University take care of that work? Also, it
would be a very praiseworthy thing for the editors of newspapers and maga-
zines that review books, to send copies of their reviews to the catalogue
clearing house at the University. Finally, the University might issue an
annual catalogue of all Catholic books, either with suggestions or without
comment. C. M. SCANLAN.
In reference to Mr. Scanlan's remark about a collection of book re-
views, it may be worthwhile to call attention here to the fact that in each
bound copy of THE CATHOLIC WORLD, in addition to the index to articles,
there is a full index to the new books reviewed. The value of this will be at
once apparent when it is pointed out that over two hundred and fifty works
were reviewed in the Book Department of THE CATHOLIC WORLD during
1908-09. A complete file of THE CATHOLIC WORLD will therefore be a val-
uable aid to any one who takes up the work of cataloguing Catholic books.
The press comments on Mr. Merrill's article were all very favorable
and furnish three very practical considerations. First, that the listing of
Catholic books is a most efficient means to arousing an interest in them, both
on the part of Catholics themselves and on the part of librarians. Second,
that there are many times numbers of Catholic books on public library
shelves uncalled for and unknown. Third, that active interest manifested
by Catholic readers in their own literature will be met half-way by librarians
and lead to a larger purchase of Catholic books.
While it is quite true that in some quarters there has existed,
and still exists, a discrimination against Catholic books, and while
Catholics at times have with difficulty induced public libraries to ad-
mit a fair proportion of Catholic works, this prejudice, happily, is not
often encountered. It is the exception rather than the rule and is gradually
disappearing.
The practical, work-a-day counsel, then, is: Catalogue the books!
This is a task which Catholic young men and women can set their heads and
hands to with the sure knowledge that they are doing lasting work. One
hesitates to say where it is most needed, in the small towns or in the large
cities. What is certain is that it is badly needed everywhere. It will bring
our people to a familiarity with their own literature which it would be well-
nigh impossible to acquire in any other manner. Catalogue the books !
« » *
AMERICAN FEDERATION CONVENTION.
The Eighth annual convention of the American Federation of Catholic
Societies was held in Pittsburg on the 9th, ioth,.and nth of August. It is
regarded as the greatest gathering in the history of the organization since its
founding in Cincinnati, December u, 1901. Over five hundred delegates
attended the sessions,, fcnd a distinguished gathering of members of the
hierarchy, among whom were Bishops Canevin of Pittsburg, McFaul of
Trenton, Fitzmaurice of Erie, Hartley of Columbus, and Maes of Covington.
864 BOOKS RECEIVED [Sept., 1909.]
As a plan of campaign for the coming year resolutions were adopted re-
garding profanity and the Holy Name societies ; the indecent theater; war
against the white slave traffic; negro and Indian missions; support of Catholic
papers ; Catholic Church extension ; observance of Sunday; adhesion to the
Church in all questions concerning socialism; opposition to divorce; civic
loyalty of Catholics; offenses against public morality ; abolition of any and
every religious test in all employment; religious instruction in education;
compensation for secular education given in the Catholic public schools;
support of Catholic elementary schools, academies, colleges, and universities;
Catholic literature in libraries ; clean journalism.
Prior to the regular business sessions of the Convention a mass meeting
was held on Sunday evening, August 8, in Carnegie Hall. A large audience
was present and addresses were delivered by a number of prominent mem-
bers of the Federation. Bishop Canevin spoke of the purpose of the Federa-
tion and Mr. Walter George Smith, of Philadelphia, welcomed the delegates,
declaring that they could not go back too often to the origin of the Federa-
tion.
At a second public meeting, held on August 10, Bishop McFaul, who
has been prominently identified with the Federation ever since its inception,
spoke of the power of the press, adding a word of warning about present
conditions in this country. He said :
"Let me announce it deliberately and with all the emphasis possible
that the time has come when infidelity and immorality are stalking abroad in
our land, and that it behooves all Christian people, Protestants and Catholics
alike, to forget their petty jealousies and differences and, although holding
fast to their religious convictions, to unite, to stand shoulder to shoulder,
forming an impregnable barrier to anti-Christian doctrines and pagan
morals."
BOOKS RECEIVED.
HARPER & BROTHERS, New York:
Jason. By Justus Miles Forman. Pp. 357. Price $1.50.
BENZIGER BROTHERS, New York :
A Homily of St. Gregory the Great on the Pastoral Office. By Reverend P. Boyle. Pp. 24.
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & Co., New York :
Marriage a la Mode. By Mrs. Humphrey Ward. Pp.324. Price $1.20.
LA SALLE BUREAU OF SUPPLIES, New York :
Sixth Reader. De La Salle Series. Pp. 480.
SHERMAN, FRENCH & Co., Boston, Mass. :
Confession; and Other Poems. By May Austin Low. Pp. 47. Price 80 cents net.
Love, Faith, and Endeavor. By Harvey Carson Grumbine. Pp. 76. Price $i.
B. HERDER, St. Louis, Mo.:
7 he Roman Breviary. By Dom Jules Baudot. Pp. 260. Price $i net.
M. H. GILL & SON, Dublin, Ireland :
The Mass in the Infant Church. By Rev. Garrett Pierse. Pp. 197. Price 3*. 6d.
SANDS & Co., London, England:
The Holy Practices of a Divine Lover. By Dame Gertrude More. Pp. 216. Price 75
cents net.
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & Co., London:
The Berlin Discussion of the Problem oj Evolution. By Erich Wasmann, S. J. Pp. 266.
MANRESA PRESS, Roehampton, S. W., England :
Index to the Month. Pp. 108. Price 3-r. €>d. net.
AP The Catholic world
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