Irish Homes and Irish Hearts.
By Fanny Taylor, author of Eastern Hospitals, Tyborne, Religious Orders, etc., etc.
Boston: Patrick Donahoe. Pp. xi. 215.
The original work, of which this volume is a very neat reprint, was favorably mentioned in The Catholic World for September, 1867. Hence we need not enter into details. It is enough to say that the author, leaving the beaten track of ordinary tourists, devoted herself to the visitation and inspection of the various charitable and religious institutions of Ireland, the number and excellence of which amply vindicate "the warmth of Irish hearts and the depth of Irish faith." This volume gives the result of her examination. It unfolds not a new, but to many an unexpected, phase of Irish character, and will well repay a perusal, from which few can rise without being benefited thereby.
Choice of a State of Life.
By Father C. G. Rossignoli, S. J.
Translated from the French,
1 vol. 16mo, pp. 252.
Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. 1868.
This is a well-reasoned little treatise on vocations, or the choice of a state of life, an important matter too little thought of in our day, when material things have the upper hand, and spiritual things are made of so little account. Many, no doubt, fitted by their talents and called by an interior voice to the priesthood or the religious state, neglect the call; and others again, quite unfit, thrust themselves forward, allured by some prospect of worldly advancement. This little book clearly exposes the motives which should govern us in the choice of a state of life. If read in a calm and undisturbed state of mind, we do not doubt it will do a great deal of good, and induce many to embrace the better part which shall not be taken away from them.
Margaret: A Story of Life in a Prairie Home.
By Lyndon.
New York: Charles Scribner & Co. 1868.
A pleasantly told story of everyday life. The interest in the narrative is well sustained throughout; the incidents natural, yet effectively introduced; and the characters strongly marked and sufficiently diversified. "Life in a prairie home," however, if here faithfully described, differs materially from what it is generally supposed to be. The incidents are such as to be equally possible in any village in any one of the original thirteen states.
Elinor Johnston: Founded on Facts;
Maurice and Genevieve, or The Orphan Twins of Beauce.
Philadelphia: Peter F. Cunningham. Pp. 136.