New Publications.
Cradle Lands.
By Lady Herbert.
With Illustrations.
New-York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1869.
We welcome the appearance of this handsome volume with especial heartiness and interest for at least two reasons. It is the first attempt ever made by a Catholic publisher in this country to produce an illustrated work, of other than a strictly religious character, suitable as a holiday gift and valuable at the same time from its intrinsic merit; and it is one of the few good narratives in the English language of travel in the Holy Land written by a devout Catholic, and filled consequently with a genuine religious spirit. We have had Christmas books, annuals, etc., some of them excellent in their way; but their way was rather a narrow one, and we have never until now attempted to rival the Protestant publishing-houses on their own ground. Cradle Lands, however, is just the book which hundreds of our friends will be glad to buy for presents, and hundreds more will be glad to have for their own use. It is very handsomely made, is clearly printed on excellent paper, and well bound; and the illustrations, faithfully reproduced from the London edition, are everything that could be desired.
The book is well worth the pains that have been spent on it. Lady Herbert is an experienced traveller; with a quick eye for whatever is interesting, and a style sufficiently lively to make her chapters easy reading. She has not the graceful pen of a Kinglake or a Curtis; but she is rarely or never dull, and her power of description is by no means contemptible. But, as we said before, a peculiar interest belongs to her narrative on account of the spirit of Catholic piety which permeates it—not breaking out inopportunely in religious commonplaces, but coloring the scenes she paints with a graceful light of faith, and enticing us to look upon the land of our Lord not with the eyes of modern scepticism, but in the devout spirit in which a good Christian ought to look at it. She travelled with a party of friends from Egypt through Palestine, visiting the holy places, and afterward passing into Asia Minor. She describes not only the venerable relics of the past scattered through those sacred spots, and the condition of the modern native population, but the state of Christianity, the convents, schools, asylums, and other religious foundations, in which she appears to have found frequent hospitality. We need not follow her closely over ground which, in its principal features, is already familiar to most of our readers; but, as specimens of her style, we shall reproduce a few episodical passages. Here is a picture of harem life, a subject trite enough, yet always fresh:
"Before leaving Cairo, the English ladies were invited to spend an evening in the royal harem, and accordingly, at eight o'clock, found themselves in a beautiful garden, with fountains, lit by a multitude of variegated lamps, and were conducted by black eunuchs through trellis-covered walks to a large marble-paved hall, where about forty Circassian slaves met them, and escorted them to a saloon fitted up with divans, at the end of which reclined the pacha's wives. One of them was singularly beautiful, and exquisitely dressed in pink velvet and ermine, and priceless jewels. Another very fine figure was that of the mother, a venerable old princess, looking exactly like a Rembrandt just come out of its frame. Great respect was paid to her, and when she came in every one rose. The guests being seated, or rather squatted, on the divan, each was supplied with long pipes, coffee in exquisitely jewelled cups, and sweetmeats, the one succeeding the other without intermission the whole night. The Circassian slaves, with folded hands and downcast eyes, stood before their mistresses to supply their wants. Some of them were very pretty, and dressed with great richness and taste. Then began a concert of Turkish instruments, which sounded unpleasing to English ears, followed by a dance, which was graceful and pretty; but this again followed by a play, in which half the female slaves were dressed up as men, and the coarseness of which it is impossible to describe. The wife of the foreign minister kindly acted as interpreter for the English ladies, and through her means some kind of conversation was kept up. But the ignorance of the ladies in the harem is unbelievable. They can neither read nor write; their whole day is employed in dressing, bathing, eating, drinking, and smoking.
"Before the close of the evening, Princess A——, addressing herself to the mother of the party, through her interpreter, spoke very earnestly and seriously about her daughters, (then twelve and fourteen years of age,) remonstrating with her on their being still unmarried, and adding: 'Next Friday is the most auspicious of all days in the year for betrothal. I will have six of the handsomest and straightest-eyebrowed pachas here for you to choose from.' In vain the English lady refused the intended honor, pleading that in her country marriages were not contracted at so early an age, to say nothing of certain differences of race and of faith! The princess was not to be diverted from her purpose, and persisted in arranging the whole of the Friday's ceremonial. Let us hope that the young 'straight-eyebrowed pachas' found some other fair ladies, to console them for the non-appearance of their wished-for English brides on the appointed day. The soirée lasted till two o'clock in the morning, when the royalty withdrew; and the English ladies returned home, feeling the whole time as if they had been seeing a play acted from a scene in the Arabian Nights, so difficult was it to realize that such a kind of existence was possible in the present century."
The original plan of our travellers was to proceed from Cairo across the desert, but they were afterward obliged to choose an easier route on account of the sickness of one of the party. Preparations for the desert journey, however, had been made, and there is a pleasant description of their outfit:
"At last, thanks to the kindness of an English gentleman long resident in Cairo, Mr. A——, five tents were got together and pitched, on approval, in the square opposite the hotel. One was a gorgeous affair, sky-blue, with red-and-white devices all over it, looking very like the tent of a travelling wild-beast show. But as it was the only large and roomy one, and was capable of containing the four ladies and their beds and bedding, it was finally decided to keep it, and to make it the drawing-room by day, reserving the more modest ones for the gentlemen of the party, as well as for the servants and the cooking apparatus. Their numbers were so great, with the 'tent-pitchers' and the other necessary camp-followers, that our travellers decided to dispense with chairs and tables—rather to the despair of a rheumatic member of the company!—and to content themselves with squatting on their carpets for their meals in true oriental fashion, and making use of the two wicker-baskets (which were to sling on each side of the mules, and contained the one dress for Sunday allowed to each lady) for dressing and wash-hand stands. A cord fastened across the tents at night served as a hanging wardrobe, to prevent their getting wet on the (sometimes) damp ground; some tin jugs and basins, with a smarter set in brass of a beautiful shape, (called in Cairo a 'tisht' and 'ibreek,') together with a few 'nargeeleh' pipes for the use of their guests on state occasions, completed their furnishing arrangements. They had brought from their boats a 'Union Jack,' so as to place themselves under the protection of their country's flag, and also an elaborate 'Wyvern,' the fabrication of which, in gorgeous green, with a curly tail, had afforded them great amusement in their start four months before.
"This life in tents is a free and charming way of existence, and, except in wet weather, was one of unmixed enjoyment to the whole party. The time spent by the leaders of the expedition in providing these necessary articles was occupied by the younger ones in buying presents in the bazaars: now struggling through the goldsmiths' quarter, (the narrowest in all Cairo,) where you buy your gold by the carat, and then have it manufactured before your eyes into whatever form you please; now trying on bright 'kaffirs' made of the pure Mecca silk, and generally of brown and yellow shades, with the 'akgal,' a kind of cord of camel's-hair which binds them round the head; or else the graceful burnous, with their beautifully blended colors and soft camel's-hair texture; or the many bright-colored slippers; or, leaving the silk and stuff bazaar, threading their way through the stalls containing what we should call in England 'curiosities,' and selecting the beautiful little silver filagree or enamel cups called 'zarfs,' which hold the delicate, tiny Dresden ones within—meant to contain that most delicious of all drinks, the genuine Eastern coffee, made without sugar or milk, but as unlike the horrible beverage known by that name in England as can well be imagined! In the same stalls were to be found beautiful Turkish rosaries, of jasper and agate, or sweet-scented woods, with long-shaped bottles of attar of roses, enamelled 'nargeelehs' and amber-mouthed pipes, and octagonal little tables made of tortoise-shell inlaid with mother-of-pearl."
Here is a good story of Egyptian law-courts:
"A certain French gentleman entrusted an Englishman with £90 to buy a horse for him. The Englishman, accordingly, gave the money to a native, whom he considered thoroughly trustworthy, with orders to go into Arabia and there purchase the animal. The Arab, however, spent most of the money in his own devices, and returned to Cairo, after a few months, with a wretched horse, such as would appear at a Spanish bull-fight. The Englishman, immensely disgusted, returned the £90, to his French friend, simply saying that he had failed in executing his commission; but he determined to try and recover it from the Arab. So he went and told the whole matter to the governor of Cairo, who appointed his deputy as judge. While the case was being tried, dinner-time came; and the judge, the prosecutor, and the prisoner, all sat down together, and dined in a friendly way. No embarrassment was caused thereby; but after dinner, the judge, turning to the prisoner, quietly said: 'Can you pay the Frank gentleman the money you owe him?' On receiving a simple reply in the negative, the judge added, 'Then you had better go off at once to prison, and delay this gentleman no longer.' The Arab went without a word, and remained in this miserable place (for the prisons are infamous) for two months, after which his brother took his place for him. Finally the money was paid by instalments."
With the following beautiful description of a "Good-Friday service at Jerusalem," we commend Lady Herbert's book to the favor of our readers:
"It is a beautiful and solemn service, in which even Protestants are seen to join with unwonted fervor; and on this special day it was crowded to excess. When it was over, the two friends returned to the altar of St. Mary Magdalen, the words and tones of the hymn still lingering in their hearts:
'Jesu! dulce refugium,
Spes una te quaerentium.
Per Magdalenae meritum
Peccati solve debitum.'
To those who are sorrowful and desponding at the sense of their own unworthiness and continual shortcomings, there is a peculiar attraction and help in the thoughts of this saint, apart from all the rest. The perfections of the Blessed Virgin dazzle us by their very brightness, and make us, as it were, despair of following her example. But in the Magdalen we have the picture of one who, like us, was tempted and sinned and fell, and yet, by the mercy of God and the force of the mighty love he put into her heart, was forgiven and accepted for the sake of that very love he had infused.
"Presently the English stranger rose, and, approaching one of the Franciscan monks, begged for the benediction of her crucifix and other sacred objects, according to the short form in use at the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre; a privilege kindly and courteously granted to her. And now the shades of evening are darkening the aisles of the sacred building, and the pilgrims are gathered in a close and serried mass in the Chapel of Calvary, waiting for the ceremony which is to close the solemn offices of that awful day. By the kindness of the duke, who had been their companion in the Via Crucis, the two ladies were saved from the crowd, and conducted by a private staircase from the Greek chapel to the right of the altar of Calvary. The whole is soon wrapped in profound darkness, save where the light is thrown on a crucifix the size of life, erected close to the fatal spot. You might have fancied yourself alone but for the low murmur and swaying to and fro of the dense crowd kneeling on the floor of the chapel. Presently a Franciscan monk stepped forward, and, leaving his brethren prostrate at the foot of the altar, mounted on a kind of estrade at the back, and proceeded to detach the figure of our Blessed Lord from the cross. As each nail was painfully and slowly drawn out, he held it up, exclaiming, 'Ecce, dulces clavos!' exposing it at the same time to the view of the multitude, who, breathless and expectant, seemed riveted to the spot, with their upturned faces fixed on the symbol represented to them. The supernatural and majestic stillness and silence of that great mass of human beings was one of the most striking features of the whole scene. Presently a ladder was brought, and the sacred figure lifted down, as in Rubens's famous picture of the 'Deposition,' into the arms of the monks at the foot of the cross. As the last nail was detached, and the head fell forward as of a dead body, a low deep sob burst from the very souls of the kneeling crowd. Tenderly and reverently the Franciscan fathers wrapped it in fine linen, and placed it in the arms of the patriarch, who, kneeling, received it, and carried it down to the Holy Sepulchre, the procession chanting the antiphon, 'Acceperunt Joseph et Nicodemus corpus Jesu; et ligaverunt illud linteis cum aromatibus, sicut mos est Judaeis sepelire.' The crowd followed eagerly, yet reverently, the body to its last resting-place. It is a representation which might certainly be painful if not conducted throughout with exceeding care. But done as it is at Jerusalem, it can but deepen in the minds of all beholders the feelings of intense reverence, adoration, and awe with which they draw near to the scene of Christ's sufferings, and enable them more perfectly to realize the mystery of that terrible Passion which he bore for our sakes in his own body on the tree.
"And with this touching ceremony the day is over; the crowd of pilgrims disperses, to meet on the morrow in the same spot for the more consoling offices of Easter-eve.
"But in many a heart the memory of this day will never be effaced; and will, it is humbly hoped, bear its life-long fruit in increased devotion to the sacred humanity of their Lord, and in greater detestation of those sins which could only be cancelled by so tremendous an atonement."
The Bird.
By Jules Michelet.
With 210 illustrations by Giacomelli.
New York: T. Nelson & Sons. 1868.
It is not often that nature finds so charming an interpreter as Michelet. He throws around us the very perfume of the flowers; and his birds not only sing, but sing to us, speak to us, and become our dearest friends. Reading, we forget the close walls of the city, the weary noise, the heavy air of overcrowded human life; we follow the birds in their flight, drink in their spirit of liberty, joy, tenderness, and love, till, with Michelet, we almost give them a personality, a soul. It is difficult to cull from a bed of choice flowers a single specimen, for one will appeal to us through its beauty of form, another of color, another by its delicacy and fragrance; so here, where every page is charming, we know not how to choose between the grandeur and magnificence of the tropical forests, or the stern and silent melancholy of the polar regions, or the more home-like charm of scenes that we know. The last, perhaps, cannot fail to please. Here is his description of an autumnal migration:
"Bright was the morning sky, but the wind blew from La Vendée. My pines bewailed their fate, and from my afflicted cedar issued a low, deep voice of mourning. The ground was strewn with fruit, which we all set to work to gather. Gradually the weather grew cloudy, the sky assumed a dull leaden gray, the wind sank, all was death-like. It was then, at about four o'clock, that simultaneously arrived, from all points, from the wood, from the Erdre, from the city, from the Loire, from the Sèvre, infinite legions, darkening the day, which settled on the church roof, with a myriad voices, a myriad cries, debates, discussions. Though, ignorant of their language, it was not difficult for us to perceive that they differed among themselves. It may be that the youngest, beguiled by the warm breath of autumn, would fain have lingered longer. But the wiser and more experienced travellers insisted upon departure. They prevailed; the black masses, moving all at once like a huge cloud, winged their flight toward the south-east, probably toward Italy. They had scarcely accomplished three hundred leagues (four or five hours' flight) before all the cataracts of heaven were let loose to deluge the earth; for a moment we thought it was a flood. Sheltered in our house, which shook with the furious blast, we admired the wisdom of the winged soothsayers, which had so prudently anticipated the annual epoch of migration."
This book was to the author a sort of oasis; it was undertaken or rather grew up in the interval of a rest from historical labors; it was for him a refreshment, a rest; and such it could not fail to prove to any one of us in the midst of the weary cares of every-day life. Unfortunately, Michelet has not interpreted history so successfully as he has nature, and the results of his labor are far less praiseworthy than the results of his recreation.
The Bird is most beautifully illustrated by Giacomelli, Doré's collaborateur on his celebrated Bible.
Tablets.
By A. Bronson Alcott.
Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1868.
No one who has ever enjoyed the pleasure of an interview with the "Orphic Alcott," and felt the charm which his rare conversational powers throw around every subject to which they are directed, can fail to find a renewal of that pleasure while perusing the genial volume which has just emanated from his too infrequent pen. Elegant in its external garniture, it brings upon its pages the faint odor of the roses that bloom on the broad Concord lawns, the rustle of the leaves that shelter the secluded nook in which the writer finds "the leisure and the peace of age," the cool air that floats across clear Walden-water, filling both library and studio with its bracing breath; so giving to the reader, familiar with the scenes amid which these Tablets were inscribed, a double satisfaction in the thoughts which they suggest and in the memories which they revive.
The book itself consists of two series of essays: the first, "Practical;" the second, "Speculative." The former will most interest the ordinary reader. The latter will be appreciated by few who are not otherwise instructed in the peculiar views of their author. The "Practical" essays are entitled "The Garden," "Recreation," "Fellowship," "Friendship," "Culture," "Books," "Counsels," and each is subdivided into different heads. Hackneyed as several of these subjects appear to be, the reader will experience no sense of weariness while following Mr. Alcott over them. Were not his ideas original, "the method of the man" would be alone sufficient to give an interest of no common order to his well-weighed words. Many of his aphorisms are like "apples of gold in pictures of silver;" and some deserve to become household truths with all thoughtful men. Such is his verdict upon political partisanship on page 148; his strong, courageous plea for individuality on page 145; and his high view of education on pages 103 et seq. From these and various other passages, which space alone forbids us to distinguish, we may say that, if "a man's speech is the measure of his culture," there are few men into whose sphere one can be brought whose kindliness and courtesy, whose flowing spirits and sprightly wit, can more captivate and charm than the gray-haired student who sits in the arbors, groves, and gardens, and day by day treasures up on the tablets of his diary the choice things of mankind, and illustrates them with choice memories of his own.
At this period of Mr. Alcott's life, we anticipated, in reading his Tablets, which speak so charmingly of this world, finding some light shed on the world to come. It makes us sad to think we found nothing.
A New Practical Hebrew Grammar,
With Hebrew-English And English-Hebrew Exercises,
And Hebrew Chrestomathy.
By Solomon Deutsch, A.M., Ph.D.
New York: Leypoldt & Holt. 1868.
Text-books should be valued according to the perfection of the method adopted, and the precision and arrangement of details, rather than on account of abundance of matter or exhaustive explanations. Books which contain copious treatises are useful, and even necessary, for the master, but injurious to the advancement of the pupil. The author of the school-book should aim at arranging the elements in the department in which he writes so that the scholar may, with the least trouble, acquire a knowledge of the rules, principles, and leading features of the subject. Students should not be expected to learn everything in school. The professor who aims at imparting a complete knowledge, or all he may know on a subject, will confuse his students, be found too exacting, and will be finally punished by disappointment. School exercise was very appropriately called disciplina by the Romans, a term which implied rather a training in the manner in which the various branches should be studied, than the attainment of their mastery.
Mr. Deutsch's Hebrew course, according to the principles just enunciated, is beyond doubt the best schoolbook of its kind that has appeared from the American press. Rödiger's revision of Gesenius's Grammar, translated from the German by Conant, is much too extensive for beginners, and was never intended by its eminent author to fall into the hands of the uninitiated. Yet it is commonly used in the colleges and seminaries of this country as an introductory treatise. The same objection should be urged, in union with others, against Green's Grammar; while his chrestomathy is more of an exegetical than a grammatical treatise. The student is frequently terrified from the study by the vast array of particulars, and he who has courage to persevere must learn to shut his eyes to the greater portion of these works, in order to clearly discern that which is truly valuable in them.
Mr. Deutsch has succeeded, to a considerable extent, in giving a concise and lucid exposition of the elements of the Hebrew language, but has greatly diminished, if not destroyed, the usefulness of his grammar as a class-book by introducing his elaborate system of "Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew exercises." These exercises, which compose the greater portion of his work, will be found to be merely cumbersome material, which will prevent its adoption in the schools.
Living languages, or such as are partially so, might be, perhaps should be, learned by acquiring a facility of rendering the phrases of one's mother tongue into those of the language he is endeavoring to acquire; but it is not easy to understand how such a readiness can be, or need be, acquired in Hebrew, which is nowhere spoken, and living in no form if not in its degenerate offspring, the rabbinic of the Portuguese, German, or Polish Jews.
Those who are looking for a concise and lucid exposition of the elements of Hebrew will not be pleased with Mr. Deutsch's repetition of the nine declensions of nouns, as given by Gesenius. This constitutes an additional encumbrance to the work, not unlike that which would arise in a Latin grammar from an attempt to form a new declension from each of the various inflections embraced in the third.
A Hebrew course for Catholic schools has been supplied, as to the more important part, and the portion requiring the greater amount of labor, by Paul L. B. Drach, in his Catholicum Lexicon Hebraicum et Chaldaicum. Mr. Drach had been a Jewish rabbi in Paris before his conversion to the Church, and as he was an eminent oriental scholar, the last Pontiff, Gregory XVI., requested him to publish a Hebrew lexicon for the use of Catholic schools. His work resulted in a corrected and enlarged edition of Gesenius' Lexicon, from which all Jewish and rationalistic errors were excluded. It received the special approbation of Pius IX. in 1847, and was published by the greatest promoter of ecclesiastical literature in this century, Abbé Migné. This is undoubtedly the best work of its kind, and its complement, consisting of a grammar and chrestomathy, is all that is wanting to constitute a course of Hebrew for the Catholic schools of this country.
The New Adam; or, Ten Dialogues on our Redemption and the Necessity of Self-Denial.
Edited by the Very Rev. Z. Druon, V.G., and approved by the Right Rev. Bishop of Burlington.
Claremont, N. H. 1868.
This little book was first published in Paris, A.D. 1662. From a second and more complete edition, the present translation was prepared and edited. The subjects of the "Ten Dialogues" are as follows:
I. The State of Original Righteousness.
II. Adam's Fall.
III. The Penance of Adam and Eve after their Fall.
IV. The State of Penance we are in is preferable, in some respects, to the earthly Paradise.
V. The Infinite Perfection with which Jesus Christ, the new Adam, performed the penance imposed on the old Adam.
VI. Self-Denial.
VII. Obligation of Self-Denial.
VIII. Imitation of the Self-Denial of Christ.
IX. Scriptural texts concerning Self-Denial.
q X. The Self-Denial of Jesus Christ.
From this view of its contents, and the cursory glance we have been able to bestow upon its pages, we believe it to be, as its editor claims, "well grounded on the Holy Scriptures, sound in doctrine, remarkable for its clearness and depth of thought, full of pious and practical reflections, instructive, and, at the same time, interesting and pleasing."
The Life Of St. Thomas À Becket, of Canterbury.
By Mrs. Hope, author of The Early Martyrs, etc. With a Preface, by the Rev. Father Dalgairns, of the London Oratory of St. Philip Neri.
16mo, pp. xxiv., 398.
London: Burns, Gates & Co.
New York: The Catholic Publication Society.
Veneration for the memory of St. Thomas, of Canterbury, has undergone recently a remarkable revival in England, and this meritorious compilation by Mrs. Hope is one of the fruits of it. She has drawn most of her materials from the more elaborate biographies by the Rev. Dr. Giles and the Rev. John Morris, and from the Remains of the Rev. R. H. Froude, and, of course makes no pretension to the rank of an original investigator; but she has done a very serviceable work nevertheless, and, upon the whole, has done it well. Her narrative is interesting and rapid. The style possesses the merit—rare with female writers on religious subjects—of directness and simplicity; the story being unencumbered by either ambitious rhetoric or commonplace reflections. From this reason, as well as from the care with which she seems to have studied the subject, the book not only gives us an insight into the saint's personal character, but leaves on the reader's mind a very clear comprehension of the nature of that long struggle for the rights of the Church and for the independence of the spiritual order which resulted in his martyrdom, and which modern historians have done so much to obscure. Mrs. Hope is rather too fond of telling dreams, which she apparently half-believes and half does not believe to have been prophetic inspirations, although most of them were like the answers of the pagan oracles—susceptible of almost any interpretation, and only to be understood in the light of after-events; but that is a habit which she borrowed of the mediaeval chroniclers, and she shares it with a very large class of modern biographers. Of course, God may speak to man in a dream as well as in other ways; but when the dreams are clearly referable to distinct physical causes, as some of those recorded in this book are, when, in fact, they are just like ordinary nightmares, the attempt to elevate them to the dignity of supernatural visions is more pious than prudent.
The preface, by Father Dalgairns, comprises a very effective answer to some of the misrepresentations in Dean Stanley's life of the saint, contained in the Memorials of Canterbury.
Vermont Historical Gazetteer:
A Magazine embracing a digest of the History of each town, civil, educational, religious, geological, and literary.
Edited by Abby Maria Hemenway, compiler of The Poets and Poetry of Vermont.
Burlington, Vt. 1860-1868.
We have received the first eleven numbers of this magazine. The authoress has evidently endeavored to produce a first-class work of its kind, and has, to a great extent, succeeded. It is to be regretted, however, that some of the numbers are printed on inferior paper, a serious fault in a work of so much local interest and so permanent a character.
Miss Hemenway does not content herself with the historical and topographical, as is usual with the authors who produce most of our local annals. Biography and literature form a large portion of her work. Art also lends its charm, and adorns her pages with portraits of distinguished men and representations of memorable scenes. To us the work seems almost exhaustive. The Green Mountain State has reason to congratulate itself on so laborious and persevering a historian, and its sons should certainly reward her toil with the most prompt and liberal pecuniary recognition.
Gropings After Truth.
A Life Journey from New England Congregationalism to the One Catholic and Apostolic Church.
By Joshua Huntington.
New York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1868.
This little work, which has been some weeks before the public in pamphlet form and already promises to shed "light in many dark places" in the hearts of candid seekers after truth, has at last been issued in a permanent and elegant edition. It is with great pleasure that we commend it to our readers, not only for their own perusal, but for distribution among their non-Catholic acquaintances and friends. As the Reverend Father Hewit says in his preface, the impulse toward a new and more vigorous life "will be quickened and directed in many souls" by the present volume; and we believe that few whose earlier religious life was similar to that of Mr. Huntington can read the book without misgivings for themselves, and a longing to discover, by some means, that peace and light which the author deems himself to have attained. That God will make known this truth and bestow this peace to them and to all others is, as it should be, the chief object of our labors and our prayers.
An Outline Of Geography For High Schools And Families. With an Atlas.
By Theodore S. Fay.
New York: G. P. Putnam & Son. 1867.
We are inclined to regard this work as a very valuable aid to the study of its subject, which is treated more scientifically in it than in any other equally elementary book which we have seen. The plan is decidedly original, and evidently is the result of careful thought, aided apparently by experience.
Prominence is given in it to the astronomical and physical aspects of the earth. The political division, which from its artificial and mutable character is an obstacle to a clear view of geography in its unity, is kept in the background, but is by no means neglected. A map showing the changes produced by the war of 1866 may be specially mentioned in this connection.
The astronomical part is very full, and in the main correct; there are, however, a few inaccuracies, as in the time occupied by light in coming from Neptune, and in the statement that the sun could hardly be distinguished in brightness from a fixed star by an observer on that planet. But these are small matters. The explanations in this part are clear and interesting, and the reticence of the author on points beyond the scope he has proposed to himself is specially commendable. To satisfy the student without misleading or puzzling him is an admirable talent.
We doubt the propriety of the items of historical information occasionally introduced; they seem unnecessary, and spoil the unity of the work.
Considering the strength of memory generally possessed in youth, the advantage claimed by the author that his method makes no direct demand upon this faculty seems doubtful; but, as he states in the preface, the work must be used to be judged; and the lessons can be memorized if desired.
We must protest against the use of small initial letters in the national adjectives; as british, french, etc.
The maps deserve the highest praise for their conception and execution.
Asmodeus In New York.
New York: Longchamp & Co. 1868.
This work appeared last year in Paris, and is now translated and published in this country by the author. It pretends to give an inside view of American society, and to do this the author picks out all that is bad, vicious, and immoral in this country, North and South, and calls this conglomeration "American Society." He, however, should have told his readers that the first specimen of "American Society" he presented them was that of one of his own countrywomen! We need hardly say that most of the other characters in the book are as good samples of American society as those given in the first chapter.
The Holy Communion: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Practice.
By John Bernard Dalgairns,
Priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.
1 vol. 12mo, pp. 440.
New York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1868.
The Catholic Publication Society has just issued an American edition of this work, which has been for a long time much sought after in this country. We take occasion to recommend it as one of the very best works on its august theme in the English language. The most remarkable and original portion of the work is that which treats of the philosophy of transubstantiation. The author has handled this difficult and abstruse matter with masterly ability, explaining the doctrine of various philosophical schools respecting substance and accidents with clearness and precision, and has furnished most satisfactory answers to rational objections against the Catholic dogma. Both Catholics and those who are investigating Catholic doctrine will find this volume one of great interest and utility.
The Roman Martyrology.
Translated into English, with an introduction by the Archbishop of Baltimore.
Baltimore: Kelly, Piet & Co. 1868.
One of the most beautifully executed books which has been issued by the Catholic press in this country, printed in the ritualistic style, with red marginal lines and red edges. The publication of books of devotion which are standard and have the sanction of the Roman Church cannot be too much encouraged, and we cordially congratulate the enterprising publishers who have added this gem to our collection.
Sydnie Adriance; or, Trying the World.
By Amanda M. Douglas, author of In Trust, Stephen Dane, Claudia, etc.
Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp. 355. 1869.
Those who read novels, and their name is Legion, will find this—the latest production of Miss Douglas's pen—nowise inferior to its predecessors. While avoiding the sensational characters and incidents, her language is always pleasing and unaffected.
The Life And Times Of Robert Emmet.
By R. R. Madden, M.D., M.R.I. A.
With numerous Notes and Additions, and a Portrait on Steel.
Also, A Memoir Of Thomas Addis Emmet,
with a Portrait on Steel.
New York; P. M. Haverty. Pp. 328. 1868.
Few, if any, of the Irish patriots of modern days have a stronger hold on the affection of the people than Robert Emmet. Perhaps, with the exception of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, we might have written none other. His deep love of country, his abiding trust in her future, his daring but futile attempt to accomplish her liberation, his death upon the scaffold, these were his, in common with many others, who are remembered but with gratitude, not, like him, treasured in the popular heart. Like our own immortal Washington—the man is loved, the patriot revered.
This history of his life and times should find readers wherever a friend to liberty dwells; but for us, this volume has a special interest, containing, as it does, a Memoir of Thomas Addis Emmet, the last twenty-three years of whose life were spent in this city, and whose monument may be said to form one of the sights of the metropolis. The volume is very neatly got up; the steel portraits excellent, both as likenesses and works of art.
Memoirs Of The Life Of The Right Hon. Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
By Thomas Moore.
New York: W. J. Widdleton. 2 vols. pp. 307, 335.
Moore's Life of Sheridan has long since passed beyond the province of the critic. We will, therefore, merely call attention to the present edition as being very handsomely got up; containing, also, a very fine portrait of Sheridan, after the original painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. We ought, perhaps, in this connection, to award a meed of praise to the enterprising publisher for placing within reach of all, books such as this, which, as of standard excellence, should be, but were not, of easy access.
The Poetical Works Of Thomas Moore.
Brooklyn and New York: William M. Swayne. Pp. 496.
Moore's complete works for fifty cents! Truly, a marvel of cheapness. The typography—something unusual in cheap books—is very good.
Marks's First Lessons In Geometry, objectively presented and designed for the Use of Primary Classes in Grammar Schools, Academies, etc.
By Bernhard Marks, Principal of Lincoln School, San Francisco.
New York: Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co. Pp. 157. 1869.
We can unhesitatingly recommend this little work. We have often felt the need of just such a text-book as this, and have no doubt its appearance will be hailed with equal pleasure by both teachers and pupils. The style in which it is got up reflects the highest credit on the publishers.
A Thousand Miles' Walk Across South America.
By Nathaniel H. Bishop.
Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp. 310. 1869.
A journey on foot of more than a thousand miles across the South American continent, from Montevideo to Valparaiso, could not but furnish to an inquiring mind and an adventurous spirit abundant material for interesting detail and startling incidents, and of these there is certainly no scarcity in the present volume. There are some portions, however, open to objection, where allusion is made to the religion of the people, less, indeed, it must be confessed, than we almost, as a matter of course, expect from Protestant tourists in Catholic countries; and some attempted caricaturing of the Irish residents, which might be deemed insulting if they were not so very puerile. These excepted, it is a book both useful and entertaining.
The Trotting Horse Of America—
How To Train And Drive Him.
With Reminiscences Of The Trotting Turf.
By Hiram Woodruff.
Edited by Charles J. Foster, of Wilkes's Spirit of the Times.
Including an Introductory Notice by George Wilkes, and a Biographical Sketch by the Editor.
New York: J. B. Ford & Co. Pp. 412. 1868.
The papers comprising this work were originally published in Wilkes's Spirit of the Times, and are a record of the author's forty years' experience in training and driving. While especially intended for those who are interested in the breeding, training, etc., of horses, there is abundance of matter likely to prove attractive to the general reader; biographies, so to speak, of famous trotters, whose names are familiar as household words; and graphic descriptions of the various matches in which they were engaged. In fact, it is one of those rare books which, while got up for a special purpose, and seemingly suited to the few, overleaps the narrow limits apparently prescribed, and attracts to itself the favorable notice of the entire community.
It makes a very handsome volume, is neatly bound, well printed, and illustrated with a fine steel portrait of the author.
Synodus Dioecesana Baltimorensis Septima, etc.
Joannes Murphy, Baltimore. 1868.
The constitutions adopted at the above Synod of September 3d, 1868, were:
1. Of the Publication of the Decrees of the Plenary Council of Baltimore.
2. Of the Officers of the Archbishopric and the Government of Dioceses.
3. Of the Pastoral Care of Souls.
4. Of the Sacraments.
5. Of Divine Worship.
6. Of Discipline.
The Two Women.
A Ballad, written expressly for the ladies of Wisconsin.
By Delta.
Milwaukee. 1868.
A poem in five parts, celebrating the creation of Eve and the motherhood of Mary.
M. Duruy's History Of France.
Several esteemed correspondents have written to the editor of this magazine expressing regret at the commendatory notice of the above work, which appeared in our columns. Our judgment and sympathy are entirely with Mgr. Dupanloup in his contest against M. Duruy respecting religious education. This does not, however, affect the question of the value of his book as a secular classic and a manual of political and civil history. In respect to the ecclesiastical portion of the history, it is very true that the work is deficient; nevertheless, it is far superior to the English historical works which our readers, whether Protestant or Catholic, are likely to be familiar with; and we think that, in spite of the author's liberalistic bias, the general tone and effect of the work justifies our recommendation. If any of our correspondents will send us a history of France equal to this in other respects, and at the same time perfectly Catholic in its spirit, we will gladly recommend it in preference. We will add, however, that it is not for sale at the Catholic Publication House.
The Catholic Publication Society will publish The Illustrated Catholic Family Almanac on November 25th. It will be sold for 25 cents a copy. The same Society will issue, on December 1st, The New Illustrated History of Ireland.
Mr. Donahoe, Boston, has just published
Verses on Various Occasions, by John Henry Newman, D.D.