Chapter V: Electioneering (6)

If there is one article of the toilette that, more than another, appeals particularly to the imagination, it is certainly the handkerchief. The favored glove that has encased a fair hand is often treasured up by a sentimental admirer; a broidered scarf or a knot of ribbon has been worn by many a gallant knight as the colors of the lady of his choice; the collar encircling some ivory neck is envied to such a degree as to almost warrant the ambition of Winnifred Jenkins: “God he nose what havoc I shall make among the mail sects when I make my first appearance in this killing collar”; but a thousand killing collars bear no comparison to that delicate fabric of muslin and lace which plays as important a part in the flirtations of fashionable life here as the fan among the ladies of Spain. Who could imagine so small a square of cloth--if it be not profanity to apply so common a term to so wondrous a tissue--could be made to express or conceal so much in the hands of its fair owner? Such an expressive toss or whisk could only be the result of the profoundest study. And what a delicate attractive odor it gives out, suggestive of roses, and violets, and all the flora of occidental as well as oriental gallantry. And then the touching _rôle_ it plays in the pathetic--it is the recipient of some timely tear--perhaps too, vain coxcomb, a screen for many a yawn. We can never be too sure of what is confided to this bosom companion.

The sacredness imputed to the handkerchief is no modern idea. It came to us from the East, whence sprang religion, science, and romance itself. Ages ago the handkerchief was regarded in Egypt as a kind of amulet. The fair one of later days, who interweaves a thread of her own life into the handkerchief she intends for some favored knight, hopes it may prove like the magic handkerchief given by the Egyptian charmer to Othello’s mother, endued with a power to subdue him “entirely to her love.”

“There’s magic in the web of it:
A sibyl that had number’d in the world
The sun to make two hundred compasses
In her prophetic fury sew’d the work:
The worms were hallow’d that did breed the silk:
And it was dyed in mummy, which the skilful
Conserved of maidens’ hearts.”

The handkerchief is the strongest proof of love, not only among the Moors, but among all Eastern nations, says Byron, who approved of Shakespeare’s making the jealousy of Othello turn on this point. But poor Desdemona found the inherited talisman she “kissed and talked to” a fatal gift.

Perhaps the handkerchief immortalized by Drummond of Hawthornden, embroidered for him by the beautiful Lesbia to whom he was betrothed, was likewise ominous, for she died “in the fresh April of her years,” and the handkerchief she gave him was steeped in tears at her loss.

Calderon says:

“She gave me too a handkerchief--a spell--
A flattering pledge, my hopes to animate,
An astrologic favor, fatal prize
That told too true what tears must wipe these eyes.”

The significance of the handkerchief is referred to in Horace Walpole’s letters: “Lord Tavistock has flung his handkerchief to Lady Elizabeth Keppel. They all go to Woburn on Thursday, and the ceremony is to be performed as soon as her brother, the bishop, can arrive from Exeter.”

Miss Strickland tells us that when Anne Boleyn dropped her handkerchief from the balcony at the feet of Henry Norris, the latter, heated from the part he had just been taking in the jousts, took it up, presumptuously wiped his face with it, and then returned it to the queen on the point of his lance. At this, King Henry changed color, abruptly retired in a fury of jealousy, and gave orders for the arrest of the queen and of all who were suspected of being favored by her. It proved a fatal handkerchief to him also, for he was soon after executed.

The handkerchief may be regarded as one of the great indications of civilization. Though the Celestials have not yet arrived at this climax, and still carry their small sheets of delicate paper as a substitute, but which possess no moral significance whatever, so far as we know, more refined nations have made its use universal. Even the poorest may whip out of his pocket, in these days, not that red cotton flag of abomination that used to offend the sight, but one of pure white linen, betokening a higher state of cultivation.

We are quite well aware that the handkerchief is, notwithstanding, a luxury some of the laboring classes reserve for Sundays and high festivals, which alone should invest the article with a quasi sanctity, associated as it is with religious observances. With what careful deliberation such an one draws it forth from the receptacle devoted to its use! With what a tremulous awkwardness he applies it, as though he were making an unaccustomed experiment; or losing his caution, perhaps he charges with desperation, like Miss Wix, one of whose peculiarities was that she always blew her nose as if it belonged to an enemy! And how carefully it is refolded and returned to the secret depository. What heaps of “wipes” the astonished Oliver Twist saw in the Jew’s den, and all so badly marked, too, that the stitches had to be picked out!

We cannot help rejoicing over the handkerchief the Artful Dodger drew from Mr. Brownlow’s pocket which led to such a change in Oliver’s fortunes.

The handkerchief is an important article in many a romance, as well as in real life. Tears more touching than those of Mr. Mantalini have brought it into requisition. If all the handkerchiefs in the world could tell their experience, how many a sad tale they would unfold!--We cannot help regarding Adam and Eve with the deepest commiseration without a handkerchief between them, as hand in hand through Eden they took their solitary way. What bitter tears poor Eve shed!--but those that fell on the ground were turned into roses, and those that dropped into the water were changed into pearls, as ours too will be shown not wholly lost at some future day.

Many a hero’s bleeding wounds have been bound up by the handkerchief of some Sister of Charity on the battle-field, and many such handkerchiefs have been sent as sacred remembrances to dear ones at home, ensanguined like that Orlando sent his Rosalind, but, alas! not always so happy an omen.

The handkerchief has been made a signal of distress from more than one watch-tower besides that we used to linger by in our childhood with fear and trembling, waiting anxiously till Sister Ann’s fluttering kerchief brought deliverance to Bluebeard’s fearful hold.

We will not pass over the handkerchiefs, or aprons, mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, that received a virtue from the very touch of the holy Apostle Paul to heal the sick--the first intimation, perhaps, of the wonder-working scapular; nor of that other handkerchief over which have been shed the tears of the whole Christian world--the _sudarium_ of Veronica, sometimes called her veil, and again a napkin (Othello’s handkerchief is called a little napkin), which has been enshrined by tradition, and to which artists and poets have paid tribute, Dante himself mentioning it in his _Paradiso_--the handkerchief that wiped the dust and sweat from the face of the Divine Sufferer and bore away the impress of his wondrous face.

To those of our readers who think every article in a magazine of this character should have a direct moral bearing, and can see none in what has just been said, we will mention an important instance of the possible power so humble an article as the handkerchief may exert in the spiritual world. We beg leave to refer them to the noble society so solemnly recommended by the Rev. Mr. Stiggins, for providing the infant negroes in the West Indies with moral pocket-handkerchiefs.

“What’s a moral pocket-ankercher?” said Sam. “I never see one o’ them articles of furniter.”

“Those which combine amusement with instruction, my young friend,” replied Mr. Stiggins, “blending select tales with wood-cuts.”

“Oh! I know,” said Sam, “them as hangs up in the linen-drapers’ shops with the beggars’ petitions and all that ’ere upon ’em?”

Mr. Stiggins began a third round of toast, and nodded assent.

So do we. And it is not difficult to imagine the budding Othellos contending loudly for their share of the didactic “ankerchers.”

“Not fierce Othello in so loud a strain
Roared for the handkerchief that caused his pain!”

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

LECTURES AND SERMONS. By the Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke, O.P. New
York: P. M. Haverty, 5 Barclay Street. 1872. pp. 644.

Mr. Haverty has brought out this eagerly expected volume in splendid style, and, what is better still, in a style which is tasteful and appropriate. The title-page, adorned with the Dominican coat-of-arms, is especially beautiful, and the portrait of F. Burke is both an excellent engraving and a good likeness. We are also pleased to notice that there are but few typographical errors, and, in general, that the care and pains which were due from courtesy and gratitude to the immense labors which the author of these lectures and sermons has performed for our profit and pleasure, have been diligently bestowed in making his first published work worthy of his high character and reputation. The cost of the volume will not, we trust, deter any who can possibly afford it from adding this rich legacy of instructive and eloquent teaching to the Catholics of the United States to their libraries, and thus, at the same time, contributing some trifling offering to the Order with which the author is identified, and which is itself wholly identified with the good of the poor Catholic people of Ireland for seven long centuries of labor and martyrdom. It is much to be desired, however, that as soon as the first costly edition is disposed of, a cheap one should be issued for the vast body of people who cannot afford to buy an expensive book. We hope, however, for the credit of our country, that no publisher will so far forget himself as to publish any such edition without F. Burke’s permission and full sanction.

The contents of the volume, which is a large royal octavo, comprise thirty-eight lectures and sermons on a great variety of the most important and interesting topics of the Catholic religion, and Irish history in its relation to religion, although there are sometimes several lectures on the same or very similar topics. Only a few of these were written out for the press by the author, most of them being extemporaneous discourses which were taken down by reporters, and only hastily revised by the father in the short and broken intervals of his incessant labors. It is due to the reporters, however, to say that their work has been performed with the utmost diligence and accuracy, and that they have reproduced, with almost literal fidelity, everything which fell from the lips of the orator--a service to religion and literature for which we tender them our most sincere thanks. F. Burke, with characteristic modesty, apologizes for the publication of his discourses, which, he tells us, he would have prevented if possible. We are very glad that it was not possible, for we have gained in this volume a new and rich casket of real jewels of truth and beauty. It is true that it is necessary to hear F. Burke in order to appreciate and enjoy fully the power of his word, which is emphatically a spoken word, and not a mere written and readable expression of thought in language. His voice, with its baritone richness; his action; his Dominican habit, so beautiful and graceful a dress for a sacred orator in itself, and so sacredly impressive from its associations; and, above all, the magnetic power of his vivid faith and noble enthusiasm for truth and justice, together with the surrounding circumstances of the scene and audience, all enter into the correlation of causes producing the convincing, persuasive, inspiring, and captivating effect of his eloquence. The power of producing the effect which he does produce, and that generally and continually, would prove F. Burke to be an orator of a high order, even if his discourses, written out and read, like those of Massillon and Henry Clay, were incapable of producing a similar effect upon a cultivated reader. But F. Burke’s discourses will bear reading, and their publication will enhance instead of diminishing his fame. Their intrinsic merits as products of learning, intellect, and imagination, prove him to be something more than an orator: they prove him to be a theologian, a philosopher, and a poet, although he is all these in subservience to his distinctive and specific character and vocation as a popular preacher and orator. F. Burke is a master of the most profound Catholic theology, a true disciple of St. Thomas. His logical and argumentative ability in proving the Catholic doctrines, especially those relating to the constitution of the church, is equal to that of our best controversialists; he is a scholar and a historian of rich and varied acquisitions, and he has the sentiment of the beautiful in nature and art to a high degree, joined to a happy descriptive faculty which belongs to his oratorical gifts. He has also an abundance of wit and humor.

But, beyond and above all this, F. Burke is a man of faith; pure, intelligent, uncompromising, Catholic faith and loyalty to the Vicar and the Church of Christ; an apostolic preacher and champion of the truth and law and cause of God. All his gifts are placed in the censer, and made to send up the incense of praise to God; they are laid on the altar and consecrated to our Lord Jesus Christ. The great aim and effort of his sermons and lectures has been to revive and strengthen faith and virtue in the breasts of the people, to arouse their devotion to the Holy See, and enlighten them on the duty of obedience and loyalty to the teaching and the cause of the Holy Father. As an instance of the effect which he has produced on the minds of the people, we may relate an incident which came to our knowledge a few days ago. A longshoreman, who had come to a priest to take the pledge, said to him: “You see, father, that since we heard F. Burke, we have been talking among ourselves a great deal about penance and putting ourselves all right, and so I have just come up to your reverence to begin by taking the pledge.” These are the best triumphs of the Catholic priest, and of far more value to him than the applause of listening thousands. There is no one who has such an empire over the hearts of his countrymen at present in New York as F. Burke. We think there is a greater work for him here than anywhere else in the world, and we therefore conclude by expressing the hope that he may remain here to do it.

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MEMOIR OF ROGER B. TANEY, LL.D., Chief-Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States. By Samuel Tyler, LL.D., of the
Maryland Bar. Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. 1872.

This long-expected and important book has just appeared. It was known that Chief-Justice Taney had, in his lifetime, selected Mr. Tyler to write his biography, a fact well calculated to prepossess the public favorably towards the author and his work. It inspired, also, the hope that ample materials were placed within his reach, and that he would be peculiarly favored in his labors. But as the Chief-Justice, with characteristic modesty, preserved but little of his own writings, and was in the habit of destroying most of the letters he received, and of retaining no copies of those he wrote, it appears that Mr. Tyler labored under great difficulties in accomplishing his appointed duty. Towards the close of his life, when in his seventy-eighth year, the Chief-Justice was reminded, by seeing his biography in Van Santvoord’s _Lives of the Chief-Justices_, that his life would form a part of the history of his country, and he commenced then a _memoir_ of himself, ending with the account of his early life and education, which now forms the first and an extremely interesting chapter of Mr. Tyler’s _Memoir_. It seems that the author had to rely, beyond this, chiefly upon his own industry and researches. He has done his work well and faithfully, not as an allotted task, but as a labor of love, a tribute of manly friendship. He has collected a vast amount of historical matter relating to the scenes and times in which the Chief-Justice’s lot was cast, to the great lawyers and judges of the past, most of whom Judge Taney survived, to the public men and statesmen who have shaped the destiny and made the history of our country for the last fifty years, and to the great constitutional questions which, during that period, have agitated the public mind. In order to vindicate the memory of the eminent jurist, he has, from necessity, introduced into his book issues that are now dead; he does not do this in a partisan or aggressive spirit, but treats them rather historically, and with the view of showing what were Judge Taney’s sentiments and what the motives of his action. In the Appendix he gives at length the opinions of the Chief-Justice in the celebrated Dred Scott case, in the cases of Ableman _vs._ Booth and Kentucky _vs._ Ohio, both relating to the same subject, and in the noted Merryman _habeas corpus_ case, and has done well in doing so, because these remarkable papers are thus brought within the reach of many not in the habit of reading the law-books. Mr. Tyler’s style is easy and fluent, though not of a high literary order. The book must prove very interesting and instructive to all connected with the law and the administration of justice. Perhaps the subject has been treated too much from a professional standpoint, and for this reason may not prove as interesting to the general reader as such a theme might have been made.

There is one respect in which we regard this work with regret. Chief-Justice Taney was a Catholic and his biographer is a Protestant. It was, then, impossible for Mr. Tyler, even with the best intentions, to do full justice to the character of the Chief-Justice, to his interior life, to his Catholic virtues, and, consequently, to the motives which governed his public actions. We find no fault with Mr. Tyler for this, for he has shown an earnest desire to be fair and just, and has done his best in this as in every other respect. But that best does not meet the necessities of the subject. Mr. Tyler, himself a lawyer, was selected to write the life of a great lawyer and judge, and he has performed his work with ability and zeal, but he has performed it as a lawyer--he could not perform it as a Catholic. To the eyes of Catholics the faith and piety of Chief-Justice Taney were more beautiful and more precious than even his transcendent abilities and profound learning. We think they were the glory of his life and the motive power which made him superior to fear and to all human respect. We think they constituted the charm of his public and private life; and had they been handled by a Catholic, and as none but a Catholic can handle them, the work would have been far more valuable. There were points in the Chief-Justice’s life as a Catholic which remain to this day undeveloped and unelucidated, and for this reason, while Mr. Tyler’s memoir will prove invaluable to the legal profession and general reader, it will disappoint the expectations of his Catholic readers. No Protestant writer could be more free from bigotry than Mr. Tyler, and none could have written Chief-Justice Taney’s life as well. We impute no blame; on the contrary, we thank him for the admiration he expresses of the Chief-Justice’s religion and piety. But the subject was deeper and more fruitful than any Protestant eye could perceive or pen portray. Notwithstanding this, we can and do earnestly commend the work to all Catholics. It is a noble tribute to one of the purest and greatest men of our age. No one, be his faith or politics what they may, can read it without instruction and improvement. Indeed, no one can fairly read it without conceiving a greater respect for that ancient church of which its hero was so devoted a son.

Our duty obliges us, however, to add that Catholics should also take warning from his life of the fatal effects flowing from early disobedience to the precepts and counsels of the church, which subsequent penance is frequently unavailing to remove. All the children of the Chief-Justice were Protestants--a sad fact which is its own best comment.

* * * * *

HISTORICAL SKETCHES. Rise and Progress of Universities, Northmen
and Normans in England and Ireland, Mediæval Oxford,
Convocation of Canterbury. By John Henry Newman, of the
Orator, sometime Fellow of Oriel College. London: Basil
Montagu Pickering. 1872. (New York: Sold by The Catholic
Publication Society.)

Mr. Pickering, who is the very pink of elegant and aristocratic publishers, edits Dr. Newman’s works in just the style most suitable to the classic productions of that thoroughly English gentleman and scholar. We cannot give a better or more attractive description of this new volume in the series of the Newman republications, than by simply copying the table of contents:

“1. Introductory; 2. What is a University? 3. Site of a University; 4. University Life: Athens; 5. Free Trade in Knowledge: The Sophists; 6. Discipline and Influence; 7. Influence: Athenian Schools; 8. Discipline: Macedonian and Roman Schools; 9. Downfall and Refuge of Ancient Civilization: The Lombards; 10. The Tradition of Civilization: The Isles of the North; 11. A Characteristic of the Popes: St. Gregory the Great; 12. Moral of that Characteristic of the Popes: Pius the Ninth; 13. Schools of Charlemagne: Paris; 14. Supply and Demand: The Schoolmen; 15. Professors and Tutors; 16. The Strength and Weakness of Universities: Abelard; 17. The Ancient University of Dublin; 18. Colleges the Corrective of Universities: Oxford; 19. Abuses of the Colleges: Oxford; 20. Universities and Seminaries: L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes.”

Every scholar will eagerly desire to read these essays on such interesting topics, handled by the masterly pen of Newman. The subject of universities is one just now of great practical importance, and Dr. Newman’s long experience qualifies him in a special manner to write about it. We can only hope that we may not much longer confine ourselves to writing and reading about the matter, but may soon be up and doing, both in England and in the United States.

* * * * *

(1.) THE DIVINE TEACHER. With a Preface, in Reply to No. 3
of the “English Church Defence Tracts,” entitled “Papal
Infallibility.” By Wm. Humphrey, of the Oblates of St.
Charles.

(2.) ANGLICAN MISREPRESENTATIONS: A Reply to “Roman
Misquotations.” By W. E. Addis, of the Oratory. London: Burns
& Oates. 1872. (New York: Sold by The Catholic Publication
Society.)

The polemical writers of the High Church party have taken to the swamp, like the old moss-troopers, where it is vexatious to follow them. The rehashing of old, stale lies, calumnies, and misrepresentations, interspersed with a good deal of impudent abuse, has become, alas! the tactics of a party once so remarkable for calm reasoning, conscientious adhesion to truth, so far as known, and courtesy. It is a sign that their cause is nearly desperate. Meanwhile, they dupe and mislead, or at least perplex and distress, for a time, some very sincere inquirers after truth. It is necessary, therefore, although very vexatious, to chase them out of their morass. Happily, there are some Englishmen who have a talent and a liking for this work. They are cool and quiet, patient and minute, accurate, logical, and clear in their statements and arguments. They enjoy hunting such writers as the Canons Liddon and Bright out of their hiding-places, as much as Grahame of Claverhouse did beating up the quarters of the Covenanters. The two young and chivalrous knights of the faith whose names stand at the head of this notice are of this sort, and their raid has been performed gallantly and well. The essay first on the list, in particular, is an excellent little treatise on Papal Infallibility, which we commend to our readers who like something short and sweet.

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GREAT TRUTHS IN LITTLE WORDS. By the Rev. Father Rawes, O.S.C.
Third Edition. London: Burns, Oates & Co. 12mo. (New York:
Sold by The Catholic Publication Society.)

A well-printed book of modest pretensions, and not devoid of merit, containing in its two hundred and sixty pages thirty chapters on various religious topics, both of controversy and devotion, and a good deal of simple, practical instruction.

THE OLD GOD: A Narrative for the People. Translated from the
German of Conrad von Bolanden. By the Very Rev. Theodore Noethen.
Boston: Patrick Donahoe. 1872.

Some time ago, we published one of Bolanden’s longer and more elaborate novels, entitled “Angela,” in this magazine. He has written a number of these, and particularly a series of historical romances on the Thirty Years’ War, of the first order of merit; all of which we hope to see translated. We are now publishing one of his short popular novels, entitled “The Progressionists,” and the present volume is another of the same class. The subject of it is the imprisonment of Pius VII. in France. There are several more of the same series, “The New God,” “The Infallibilists,” “The Marvel of the Cross,” etc. They are very popular in Germany, where they sell at the rate of 85,000 copies of a single story. They are capital for their purpose, and we are glad to see the indefatigable Father Noethen giving them to the public in an English dress.

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THE ORDER AND CEREMONIAL OF THE MOST HOLY AND ADORABLE SACRIFICE
OF THE MASS EXPLAINED, ETC., ETC. By Frederick Oakeley,
Canon of the Metropolitan Church. New York: The Catholic
Publication Society.

We take great pleasure in announcing, in behalf of The Catholic Publication Society, a new edition of Canon Oakeley’s well-known and admirable little book on the ceremonies of Holy Mass.

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PONTIFICATE OF PIUS IX. By J. F. Maguire, M.P. London: Longmans.
1870. (From the author.)

Mr. Maguire is well known on both sides of the Atlantic as an able and upright member of the British Parliament, representing an Irish constituency, as the editor of one of the best Catholic newspapers in the English language--the _Cork Examiner_--and as the author of several interesting books. The present volume, published two years ago, has just been sent to the editor of this magazine by the author, for which courtesy he will please accept our thanks. It is a revised and enlarged edition of a work already well known and extensively read in this country, under the title “Rome and its Ruler.” The author has made many additions to it, and has brought it down to the year 1870, so that its value is, we may say, trebled, so great are the events which have crowded these later years of our glorious Pontiff now happily reigning. It is impossible to exaggerate the value and importance of a work like this. In momentous interest, the topics of which it treats are on a level with those of the Sacred History itself. The means of information for English readers are scanty. Mr. Maguire is a loyal and devout Catholic, an able, well-informed, and conscientious statesman and historian. It is therefore of the utmost consequence that his book should be circulated and read extensively. We trust the demand for it will be such as to induce American publishers to make ample provisions for supplying the American public with this most necessary and valuable work.

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TRAVELS IN EUROPE AND THE EAST. By Rev. J. Vetromile, D.D. New
York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co. 1872.

This is a volume of quite large size, handsomely printed, and ornamented with a fine portrait of the reverend author, who is an Italian priest, for many years laboring as a missionary among the Indians of the State of Maine. The style is easy, agreeable, and entertaining, and the book is very much like a cosy afternoon chat with an intelligent and travelled gentleman about the scenes and countries he has visited. Reading the description of the pleasant home and delightful circle of friends which the author has left, we can better appreciate the great sacrifice he has made in banishing himself to the Indian settlements of Maine, and we are sure he will make a friend of every reader of his book.

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MEMOIRS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND. By
Rev. James Fitton. Boston: P. Donahoe. 1872.

Father Fitton is the oldest priest in New England, having exercised his sacerdotal ministry there during forty-seven years. At the time when, in company with one other young deacon, he was ordained priest by Bishop Fenwick, there were only three other priests in that prelate’s diocese, which embraced all New England. Father Fitton is entitled to the reverence and gratitude of all the Catholics of New England, as one who has been an apostolic missionary and a laborious parish priest for almost half a century. He is also worthy of confidence and credence as a competent and truthful witness and annalist of the principal facts and events in the history of the Catholic religion in New England. He has prefaced his history of the church as existing in modern times by an interesting account of the ancient mission in Rhode Island during the residence of the Northmen at Newport, and of the early Indian missions. This is the romantic part of the history. The rest of it is prosaic and commonplace, and yet of great value, and made interesting by the great results which have come from small and humble beginnings. Every priest and layman in New England ought to have this book and read it attentively, and it is worth the perusal of all those out of New England who take an interest in the progress of the Catholic religion in the United States of America.

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HORNEHURST RECTORY. By Sister Mary Frances Clare. New York: D. &
J. Sadlier & Co. 1872.

The appearance of a novel from this distinguished writer will be an agreeable surprise to her numerous admirers in this country, who have read with so much pleasure and profit her graver historical and biographical works. _Hornehurst_ is an English tale illustrative of the movement in the ranks of the English Church towards Catholicity, inaugurated some forty years ago by Dr. Newman and the Tractarians. The characters throughout are well drawn, the writer being of course thoroughly acquainted with the expressions, modes of thought, and arguments of the class she portrays.

The book presents a handsome appearance, and we anticipate for it an extensive patronage, and a permanent place in our Catholic libraries.

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GOING HOME. By Eliza Martin. Philadelphia: Eugene Cummiskey. 1872.

We are glad to see that this novel, which has already appeared serially in a Philadelphia Catholic newspaper, has been published in a more portable and permanent form. It is a work of very considerable merit, combining amusing and exciting incidents with sound instruction; and from its latent power and partially developed dramatic strength we judge that it is not the last nor the ablest of the productions with which the authoress is likely to favor the public. We are sadly in need of books of its refined and humanizing character, for, if our young people must read fiction, they ought to be supplied with the very best attainable in temper and tendency. The plot of the tale is not complicated, the leading characters are well and clearly delineated, the moral obvious, and the scene confined to our own country, not overdrawn. As a whole, its tone is sad, sometimes even painfully so, and in our opinion the contrasts between abject poverty and unlimited affluence, virtue almost superhuman and unmitigated villany--though all drawn with great vigor--are too violent to be thoroughly artistic. A novel should be like a well-finished painting, with a middle distance softening and blending the more prominent lights and shadows of the picture. It might be objected, also, that the physical beauty of Mrs. Martin’s heroines, of whom there are three, is too highly colored, too elaborately depicted, for actual life; but as this is a fault which carries with it its own palliation, we presume it will not be considered a very great blemish by most of her readers. For the sake of the authoress, who doubtless has devoted much time and labor to her work, as well as from the respect in which we hold her publisher, we would be glad to be able to extend our praise from the literary qualities of _Going Home_ to its mechanical execution, but in common justice we find it impossible to do so. On the contrary, it must be admitted that the paper upon which it is printed, the type, ink, and presswork, are all of the most inferior sort--carelessness or want of ordinary taste, for we cannot attribute it to design, is evident on every page, lessening in no slight degree the unalloyed pleasure one might otherwise feel in reading so interesting a story.

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THE PLEBISCITE. By Erckmann-Chatrian. New York: Scribner,
Armstrong & Co. 1872.

This prettily bound and printed book is the combined effort of the authors of the _Conscript_ and other tales well known by English translations on this side of the water. Its object is to give, in the form of a tale, a picture of French peasant manners and opinions immediately before and during the late Franco-German war; and to a certain extent it may be considered a success. A vein of irony and sly humor, at which our “volatile neighbors” are such adepts, runs through every page, and, Napoleon III. having been unfortunate, of course it is directed against him and his line of policy. There is nothing, it is said, so successful as success, and, now that the mighty Empire has failed, every good Frenchman with brains enough to write a pamphlet or a song considers that he is perfectly justified in heaping obloquy on everything connected with the late order of things. The authors of the _Plebiscite_ are foremost among this army of ingrates, but they go even further than politics, and venture their ridicule on more sacred matters, a step which much greater men than Erckmann-Chatrian have attempted before now, and for which they have repented when too late.

* * * * *

A BAKER’S DOZEN. Original Humorous Dialogues. By George M.
Baker. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 1872.

The dialogues contained in this neat little volume, first appeared in _Oliver Optic’s Magazine_. They are well adapted to school exhibitions, etc., and will meet a very general and urgent demand.

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MARION HOWARD; OR, TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. By F. A. Philadelphia:
Peter F. Cunningham.

In the modest preface to this volume, we have the reason for its appearance before the public, which is most praiseworthy--‘the dearth of Catholic light literature.’ While the majority of readers will seek light reading, it is certainly to be regretted that there is so little that can be read without injury to faith or morals. The author of _Marion Howard_ has given us a pleasing story of English life, into which she has skilfully introduced conversations on various Catholic dogmas, which are well sustained, and in which the principles of the faith are given in a form that may attract the attention of numbers who would never look into a controversial work. It is doubtful if Protestants can be persuaded to any great extent to read even the light literature of Catholics, but such a work as _Marion Howard_ will bring pleasure and help to many a young Catholic, in need of a pleasing answer to the common objections of Protestants to the Catholic faith. The youth of the church in this country, surrounded by and mingled with those who have a false faith or no faith, should be prepared to meet the assaults they are sure to receive, and books like the one under notice will be a great assistance to them. We surmise that the author is a convert, from the multiplicity and variety of the conversions related in the book. We only wish this were true to life, and that friends would follow each other into the church in such rapid succession. There are carelessly written sentences scattered here and there through the story, but the narrative is interesting to the end, and we find a loving, tender devotion to our mother the church, like a golden thread woven into beautiful thoughts of our holy religion, that could only have been wrought by one who has the eye of faith.

The type is large and clear, and the volume presents an attractive exterior.

* * * * *

BY THE SEASIDE. By a Member of the Order of Mercy, authoress
of “The Life of Catherine McCauley,” “Glimpses of Pleasant
Homes,” etc. New York: P. O’Shea. 1872.

This is a prettily got up book, written by one who has heretofore shown her capacity to interest and benefit the young folk. We are glad to see attractive books of a healthful tone, suited to the rising generation, thus multiplying on our publishers’ lists, as a necessary antidote to the baneful literature with which those addressed are frequently assailed. The church is the home of beauty as it is of goodness and truth, and we should not allow those who do not possess either, except in fragments, to excel us in the artistic features of their publications, any more than in what relates to ethical proprieties.

* * * * *

CHRISTIAN COUNSELS, selected from the Devotional Works of
Fénelon. Translated by A. M. James. London: Longmans, Greene
& Co. (New York: Sold by The Catholic Publication Society.)

Our Protestant friends have, of late years, set to work very industriously in translating Catholic books and in writing original works on Catholic subjects. Besides the Edinburgh edition of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, just completed, and individual and collective lives of the saints we could once enumerate, the English versions of Continental devotional works have increased so rapidly as to alarm those High Churchmen who are averse to any further investigation. Of course we can only augur favorably of such enterprises when undertaken in the right spirit, though we may fear lest formulas be adopted without the necessary accompaniments of faith and obedience. Their “starved imaginations and suppressed devotional instincts,” as Dr. Bellows once phrased it, cannot long be satisfied with words only, one would think. The writings of the Archbishop of Cambrai have been too long before the English-speaking public to need any characterization at our hands, and we therefore simply chronicle the appearance of a new edition of the _Christian Counsels_ under Protestant auspices.

* * * * *

PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION. By Michael Müller, C.SS.R. Boston: P.
Donahoe. 1872.

This is Father Müller’s contribution to the literature of one of the great questions of the day. It will have attained its end if it awakens Catholics to the importance of the general theme and their duty in its regard; and also enables judicious Protestants to comprehend why we are so solicitous that our children should receive their religious training at the same time that they acquire secular knowledge.

* * * * *

SIR HUMPHREY’S TRIAL: A Book of Tales, Legends, and Sketches,
in Prose and Verse. By Rev. Thomas J. Potter. Boston: P.
Donahoe. 1872.

Father Potter seems equally at home in addressing the young and the mature, priests and people; as witness his works on homiletics and those of a miscellaneous character adapted to different ages. He evidently believes that variety is the spice of books as well as of life, as will be seen by the title of the present volume; and readers indisposed to take up a more serious book will find this an agreeable substitute.

_The Catholic Review_ of Brooklyn has already established its position among our best weekly papers. Its sound principles, and the tact and liveliness with which it is edited make it well worthy of support. We trust that it will soon attain a sufficient circulation to furnish the means of still further increasing its value and interest, and that it will prove to be permanently successful.

THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY will publish at an early day a new work, now in preparation, by the author of _The Comedy of Convocation_, entitled _My Clerical Friends_. It will be published with the consent and approval of the author.

* * * * *

WANTED.--Numbers 494, 501, 502, 504, 505 of the _Civilta Cattolica_, for which a fair price will be paid. Address the editor of THE CATHOLIC WORLD, 9 Warren Street, or corner of Ninth Avenue and Fifty-ninth Street.

BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED.

From KELLY, PIET & CO., Baltimore: Excelsior; or, Essays on
Politeness, Education, and the Means of Attaining Success in
Life. Part I. for Young Gentlemen, by T. E. Howard; Part II.
for Young Ladies, by A Lady (R. V. R.) 12mo, pp. 318.--The
Gold-Diggers and other Verses. By Lady Georgiana Fullerton.
12mo, pp. xi., 187.--Dramas: The Witch of Rosenburg.--The
Hidden Gem. By H. E. Cardinal Wiseman. 12mo, pp. 76,
105.--Lectures by the Most Rev. Henry Edward Manning: The
Four Great Evils of the Day; The Fourfold Sovereignty of God;
The Grounds of Faith. 18mo, pp. 133, 170, 101.--St. Helena. A
Drama for Girls. By Rev. J. A. Bergrath. Paper, 12mo, pp. 43.

From P. DONAHOE, Boston: Devotions for the Ecclesiastical Year.
By the author of “Jesus and Jerusalem,” etc.

From P. O’SHEA, New York: Meditations on the Passion of Our
Lord Jesus Christ. By Brother Philip. 12mo, pp. ix.,
483.--The Profits and Delights of Devotion to Mary. By Rev.
J. O’Reilly, D.D. 12mo, pp. 153.--The Crown of Mary. By a
Dominican Father. 24mo, pp. 101.--The Agnus Dei: Its Origin
and History. 32mo, pp. 78.--Evaline. By P. J. Cohen. 12mo,
pp. 225.--Spiritual Retreat of Eight Days: Extracted from the
Works of St. Alphonsus Liguori. 12mo, pp. viii., 160.

From SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG & CO., New York: Within and Without.
By George MacDonald, LL.D. 12mo, pp. 219.--Easy Experiments
in Practical Science. By L. R. C. Cooley, Ph.D. 12mo, pp.
85.--Natural Philosophy. By L. R. C. Cooley, Ph.D. 12mo, pp.
192.

Transcriber’s Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors have been repaired. Common alternate spellings were retained. Hyphenation is not necessarily consistent from author to author, and was retained as written.

It appears that “Sand” was used where “Shund” was meant on page 624, but the text has been left as printed. (How come you, then, to call Mr. Sand a good-for-nothing scoundrel)

“Voltarian” changed to “Voltairian” on page 17. (you will find under it a Voltairian)

Repeated word “the” removed on page 27. (the diary of the first Mrs. Williams)

“Honi” changed to “Honni” on age 32. (Honni soit qui mal y pense)

“Amecan” changed to “American” on page 35. (An American best understands the American mind.)

“felfow” changed to “fellow” on page 41. (doing good to his fellow-men)

“has” changed to “have” on page 50. (the principles which have always guided them)

“Cathoolic” changed to “Catholic” on page 51. (by which Catholic life)

“inpired” changed to “inspired” on page 71. (Felix had always inspired her)

Extra word “to” removed on page 73. (But their claims are not equal to his) “Marceliinus” changed to “Marcellinus” on page 81. (Alexander, Marcellinus, and _Peter_)

“migh” changed to “might” on page 105. (might go on indefinitely)

“Castel-Gaudolfo” changed to “Castel-Gandolfo” on page 108. (the pleasant hamlets of Castel-Gandolfo)

“á” changed to “à” on page 138. (Demander à tes champs leurs antiques ombrages)

“Engénie” changed to “Eugénie” on page 138. (Eugénie de Guérin’s library)

“orgin” changed to “origin” on page 140. (origin of the Greek people)

“ehurch” changed to “church” on page 142. (the church honors real reformer)

“glace” changed to “glance” on page 161. (cast an indignant glance on her sister)

Repeated word “to” removed on page 185. (it amounted to any reproach to be a new man)

“fel-asleep” changed to “fell asleep” on page 188. (I fell asleep and actually dreamed)

“Gallaic’s” changed to “Galliac’s” on page 206. (at Madame de Galliac’s)

Repeated word “at” removed from page 207. (They were both sound at heart)

“abandantly” changed to “abundantly” on page 234. (perhaps more abundantly accorded)

“step” changed to “stept” on page 247. (Her bosom heaved, she stept aside)

“copmanions” changed to “companions” on page 260. (Melania and her companions)

Extra word “of” removed from page 266. (the wife of King Ethelbert)

“Captains” changed to “Captain” on page 301. (Captain Cary’s way of expressing the fact)

“familar” changed to “familiar” on page 317. (a familiar swing and freedom)

“Elyseés” changed to “Elysées” on page 324. (drive home by the Champs Elysées)

“bétises” changed to “bêtises” on page 326. (Edgar _a fait des bêtises_)

“formulalation” changed to “formulation” on page 334. (its precise formulation)

“where” changed to “were” on page 367. (were shamed into less inhuman ways)

Extra word “to” remove on age 368. (she had it placed in a shrine, to which it was carried)

“Bulter” changed to “Butler” on page 376. (After her husband’s death, Adelaide, says Butler)

“illustrous” changed to “illustrious” on page 379. (the merits of its illustrious foundress)

“surrended” changed to “surrendered” on page 379. (voluntarily surrendered itself)

“seventeeth” changed to “seventeenth” on page 382. (the beginning of the seventeenth century)

“succcessful” changed to “successful” on page 384. (more successful than Lord Derby)

“ἡροων” changed to “ἡρωων” on page 385.

“οἰονοισι” changed to “οἰωνοισι” on page 385.

“ψύχας” changed to “ψυχὰς” on page 385.

“προ-ιαψσεν” changed to “προ-ιαψεν” on page 385.

“Byrant” changed to “Bryant” on page 389. (reproduced by Mr. Bryant)

“Τροων” changed to “Τρωων καιοντων” on page 389.

“εὐθρονον” changed to “ἐυθρονον” on page 390.

“Byrant” changed to “Bryant” on page 392. (Then Mr. Bryant:)

“Byrant” changed to “Bryant” on page 392. (Voss and Mr. Bryant)

“know” changed to “known” on page on page 431. (discovery known as)

“becauuse” changed to “because” on page 434. (because Streichein has lavishly greased their palms)

“dedeprive” changed to “deprive” on page 445. (combine not only to deprive the building of scale)

“picturesqe” changed to “picturesque” on page 449. (part of a picturesque whole)

“freqently” changed to “frequently” on page 450. (frequently supplied the place)

“remaing” changed to “remaining” on page 452. (the richness of our remaining material)

“cenventionality” changed to “conventionality” on 455. (An utter absence of conventionality)

“â” changed to “à” on page 459. (_A l’eau! à la lanterne!_)

“sufficent” changed to “sufficient” on page 478. (having sufficient control)

“equilibrum” changed to “equilibrium” on page 544. (poised in rational equilibrium)

“eradiate” changed to “eradicate” on page 544. (It seeks to eradicate)

“inflnences” changed to “influences” on page 576. (correct these literary influences)

“wordly” changed to “worldly” on page 598. (sagacity as of worldly ambition)

“importanc” changed to “importance” on page 612. (which gives them their importance)

“sieze” changed to “seize” on page 673. (seize some unlucky porter)

“beggers” changed to “beggars” on page 676. (all the beggars who were refused entrance)

“envv” changed to “envy” on page 729. (envy is but thinly concealed)

“unburbened” changed to “unburdened” on page 740. (the sweetness of an unburdened heart)

“Adelentado” changed to “Adelantado” on page 750. (the title of Adelantado of Florida)

Extra word “of” removed from page 754. (Many of these missions and residences)

“westtern” changed to “western” on page 757. (the power of Spain in the western world)

“Lallemant” changed to “Lalemant” on page 762. (Jogues, Brébeuf, and Lalemant)

“Christain” changed to “Christian” on page 763. (their white Christian neighbors)

Extra word “my” removed on page 772. (I prevail on myself)

“descending” changed to “descended” on page 825. (Having descended the Hollow)

“posisition” changed to “position” on page 827. (fourth or fifth occupant of the position)