Part 10 — NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Patron Saints. By Eliza Allen Starr. Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. New York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1871.

This is an uncommonly interesting and readable book. Lives of saints, especially of such as those who form its subject, ought, of course, always to be interesting to Catholics, and even to others; but, unfortunately, the abundance of facts which are often put in a small space, and the dry and sometimes unsystematic way in which they are presented, make them usually, perhaps, unattractive to any except those who wish to make what is called spiritual reading, and put them, if not entirely beyond the reach of children, at least much less useful to them than they might be made, and than they have been made in the present work. The aim of the author has been to bring out the lives of the servants of God in their true light, as something more wonderful than any fairy tales or fictions, as, indeed, they are; to satisfy the natural desire of the young for the marvellous with what is not only wonderful but admirable, and to supply the place of fiction—to some extent, at least—with truth. And in order that they may answer this end, they are told in an attractive and conversational way, with occasional digressions and episodes, and the style is such that, instead of searching about for the most interesting of the lives to begin with, one begins at once wherever he may happen to open, and keeps on till it is more than time to leave off. For, though these sketches seem to have been intended principally for children and young people, there can be no one who will not be pleased with them or who is too far advanced and well informed to profit by them. There are twelve illustrations. The book is well printed and elegantly bound.

Never Forgotten; or, The Home of the Lost Child. By Cecilia Mary Caddell. London: Burns, Oates & Co. 1871. For sale by The Catholic Publication Society, 9 Warren Street, New York.

Details of the self-denying lives of those who devote themselves to works of charity, under the rules of a religious order, are always interesting to the earnest Catholic. In this attractive volume, we have a touching record of the devoted lives of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, woven with the story of one who came to them dead in sin, but was brought to life, faith, and peace, by the blessing of God on their unfailing efforts. There is no charity that calls more urgently in these times for the countenance and help of pious souls living in the world than this twofold task undertaken by these good sisters—the raising of fallen women to lives of purity, and providing a place of refuge from temptation for destitute young girls. All other efforts to reform abandoned women seem to bring forth but little fruit, while the nuns of the "Good Shepherd," both in this country and abroad, have been instrumental in rescuing a vast number from lives of infamy, and bringing them to true penance. This volume is interesting and instructive, and cannot fail to impress the reader with its truthfulness. May our dear Lord, through its pages, excite in many souls asking for work in his vineyard, the desire to assist in bringing back these lost sheep to his fold!

The Catechism Illustrated by Passages from the Holy Scriptures. Compiled by the Rev. John B. Bagshawe, Missionary Rector of St. Elizabeth's, Richmond, England. Boston: Patrick Donahoe. 1871.

"This compilation is intended," says the author, in his preface, "to assist our children in acquiring a better knowledge of Holy Scripture." But it will also prove useful and suggestive to those who have to teach children, even should the latter not use it themselves. Its plan is very simple and good, the most appropriate passages of Scripture being selected in illustration of the successive questions and answers of the catechism, and appended to them, the text being in one column and the illustrations in a parallel one. Such a plan is, of course, very difficult to carry out with perfect success, and the author does not claim to have always made absolutely the most appropriate selection; but one would be very foolish not to duly appreciate what is good where perfection is evidently next to impossible. An appendix is added, with references to the principal texts quoted, which can be used independently.

The Holy Exercise of the Presence of God. In three parts. Translated from the French of T. F. Vaubert, of the Society of Jesus. St. Louis: P. Fox, Publisher, No. 14 South Fifth Street. 1871. For sale by The Catholic Publication Society, 9 Warren Street, New York.

This is a beautiful little book, and contains a great deal in a very small space. Its purpose is sufficiently explained by its title: to make Christians practically familiar with, and constantly attentive to, the presence of God, surely one of the greatest of all means of sanctification, and one specially necessary in this age and country, in which there is such a tendency to distraction and useless occupation of mind. The translation is good, and the type clear.

A Brief Historical Sketch of the Catholic Church on Long Island. By Patrick Mulrenan, Professor of Rhetoric, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. New York: P. O'Shea. 1871.

Truly this is a world of disappointments. When this book, handsomely bound and printed in bold type on delicately tinted paper, was placed before us, and upon reading the numerous titles of honor which the author, with more frankness than modesty, had appended to his name, we hastily came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church on Long Island had at last found a worthy and erudite historian. Alas for the vanity of human hopes! Ere we had perused a dozen of its hundred and thirty pages, we discovered that the brilliant and costly setting, which we fondly hoped contained a literary gem beyond price, enclosed nothing but a paltry imitation in paste. Our chagrin was the greater on account of the importance of the subject, affording, as it does, many salient points of interest that deserve to be perpetuated in something like good language and in proper method; but candor compels us to say that this book seems more like a scrap-book, made up of slip-shod newspaper paragraphs unartistically retouched and strung together. And then the reckless scattering of polyglot adjectives, the continuous recurrence of the same words and forms of expression, the forgetfulness of facts within the knowledge of most of the school children of Brooklyn, and the inexcusable ignoring of the simplest rules of grammar, which characterize this production, are, we venture to affirm, unparalleled in the history of modern book-making. The last chapter, however, surpasses all the others in verbosity. In thus coming before the public as the historian of the Catholics of Long Island, the author seems to have forgotten that the art of book-writing can only be learned by years of patient study, and that the high-sounding phrases which would do well enough for a class of young students are altogether out of place in the pages of a book intended to be placed in the libraries of our most intelligent citizens. Literary vanity is generally a harmless and sometimes an amusing weakness, but, when gratified at the expense of serious subjects, it deserves neither encouragement nor the charity of our silence.

The Historical Reader. By John J. Anderson, A.M. 1 vol. 12mo, pp. 544. New York: Clark & Maynard. 1871.

This work, compiled for the use of schools, has many merits and some grave defects. The task of culling from the best writers choice passages descriptive of striking historical incidents is one that requires much judgment and experience for its proper performance; while the difficulty of avoiding even the appearance of national prejudice or religious bias is almost insurmountable. Most of us have our favorite authors, whose merits we are apt to exaggerate, and whose peculiar views we too often accept without much investigation. Professor Anderson is not free from this weakness, though, as a rule, his selections are made with discretion and fairness. Milton's eulogy on Cromwell is one of the exceptions, for we hold it not good that our children should be taught to reverence the memory of that monstrosity whose hands were so repeatedly imbrued in innocent blood. Froude's "Coronation of Anne Boleyn" is another, for, as the readers of The Catholic World well know, very little dependence can be placed on the historical veracity of that gentleman. But the most serious mistake of the compiler lies in the fact that only American, English, Scotch, and French history, with a few passages from ancient authors, is presented; Ireland, Spain, Germany, and other European countries being completely ignored. Taking into account the vast number of children Of German and Irish descent in our public and private schools, who ought, we think, to be taught something of the history of their ancestors, we should expect that at least one-half of this book would be devoted to extracts from the historians of these races, whose writings are now as accessible to compilers of history as those of any other nationality. Of Spain, the discoverer and first colonizer of the New World, we have not a word; and Italy, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci, the cradle of modern art and poetry, is altogether overlooked. In this respect, therefore, The Historical Reader is sadly deficient in universality and completeness. The Vocabulary attached will be found useful, and the Biographical Index would be more interesting if the writer had used his adjectives less generously, and more reliable if he had not insisted on calling Burke a British statesman and Goldsmith an "English" writer.

A History of the Kingdom of Kerry. By M. F. Cusack. Boston: P. Donahoe. London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1871. 8vo, pp. 512.

This latest contribution to the historical literature of Ireland is in every respect worthy the genius and industry of the accomplished author of The Illustrated History of Ireland, and other works of an historical and biographical character. Hitherto the remote county of Kerry has been known to tourists and artists for the beautiful scenery of the Killarney Lakes, and to the general reader only as the home of the great orator and politician O'Connell; for the meagre and antiquated history of the county by Smith has long since passed into oblivion, and can scarcely be found in any of those receptacles for worn-out authors, called second-hand book stores. It remained for Miss Cusack (Sister Mary Frances Clare), who, of all contemporary Irish writers, seems most imbued with a passionate desire to produce and reproduce incidents illustrative of the past glories and sufferings of her native country, to undertake the task of writing a history of this, in many respects, the most interesting of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, and it must be confessed that, considering the unpromising and limited nature of the subject, she has performed it with wonderful accuracy and success. The large and handsome volume before us, as a local history, may be considered a complete narrative of every event connected with Kerry, from the very earliest period of the traditional epoch down to the close of the seventeenth century, with occasional glances at the affairs of adjacent counties, when necessarily connected with those of her favorite locality. Several, and not the least attractive of the chapters to a scientific student, are devoted to the geology, topography, and archæology of Kerry and other kindred topics, in the preparation of which the author has been assisted by some of the best scholars in Ireland, whose readiness in thus contributing the result of long years of study and experience not only does credit to their generosity and gallantry, but demonstrates that Miss Cusack's patriotic and charitable efforts are fully appreciated by those who know her well and are best fitted to appreciate the value of her labors. The appendix, which is very full, will be found particularly interesting to such of our readers as derive their descent from the ancient Kerry families, containing, as it does, a minute and doubtless correct pedigrees of the O'Connors, O'Donoghues, O'Connells, O'Mahonys, McCarthys, and other septs whose names are indelibly associated with the history and topography of the county.

The illustrations of local scenery are passable, we have seen better, but the letterpress is excellent, and the whole mechanical execution of the work is worthy of the subject, and very creditable to the taste and enterprise of the publishers.

Manual of Geometrical and Infinitesimal Analysis. By B. Sestini, S.J., author of Analytical Geometry, Elementary Geometry, and a Treatise on Algebra; Professor of Mathematics in Woodstock College. Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. 1871.

"We leave it to the reader," says Father Sestini in his preface, which, by the way, corresponds to the book in shortness, "to judge whether, without detriment to lucidity, our efforts to combine comprehensiveness with brevity and exactness have been successful." It seems to us that they have. It is impossible to understand analytical geometry and the calculus, the principles of which are developed in this work, without patient thought and application of mind; diffuse explanations may be written, no doubt, which will enable an ordinary student to master the actual text of his lesson, but they will not be likely to set his mind to working on its own account; and the discovery of the meaning of a sentence which seems obscure, but is only so from the student's want of mental exercise in these matters, is of more real service, and at the same time gives more pleasure, than the most copious elucidations. To use these is like taking a light into a dark place; it shows clearly what is immediately around, but does not allow the pupils of the eyes to expand. And without a similar development of the mathematical faculty, which is probably really more common than is generally supposed, needing only proper exercise to bring it out, the study of the science will be comparatively fruitless, and a mere labor instead of a pleasure.

It is, of course, possible to carry this principle too far, and make a book which will be incomprehensible without profuse oral explanations, which will equally prevent a profitable exercise of the mind. The author seems to have carried it just far enough. No one to whom the study of the higher mathematics will be profitable at all can find a better work to set him upon the track and give him a grasp of the subject than F. Sestini's manual. The expert also, as well as the student, will be pleased with the neatness of its execution, both in the mathematical and in the ordinary sense.

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. 1870.

New England is the home of American local history, for, of the works devoted to the annals of cities, counties, and towns, there are more relating to New England than to all other parts of the United States; and outside of New England limits the cultivation of local history is, in many cases, due to natives of that division.

Miss Hemenway has done good service by her gazetteer, which is really a general local history of the Green Mountain State. Known favorably already, she has succeeded in obtaining the hearty co-operation of gentlemen and ladies in all parts of the state, and she thus gives the history of each county in turn. The history of each church is given by some one connected with it, and full justice done to all. In some local histories, the prejudice of the author sometimes leads him to ignore all but his own church, or give only such notices as he cannot avoid. We have in our eye a History of Elizabeth, New Jersey, by the Rev. Mr. Hatfield, in which other denominations than his own are very slightingly treated. There are three Catholic churches, a Benedictine convent, a House of Sisters of Charity, and an orphan asylum in the place, yet the reverend author sums up their history in five lines, and quotes as his authority for their annals the City Directory.

If any institution, church, or author fails to receive due space in the Vermont Historical Gazetteer, it is not the fault of Miss Hemenway, who has labored most indefatigably to extract their history, and given them wherein to lay it before the world, impartially allowing each to give their own version of affairs. Her work is, of course, not of equal merit; but it contains many articles of far more than local interest and value. Her state owes her a debt of thanks; and in her plan and scheme of the work, as well as in her untiring industry, she sets an example that may well be imitated in other states.

History of Florida, from its Discovery by Ponce de Leon, in 1512, to the Close of the Florida War, in 1842. By George R. Fairbanks. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1871.

Mr. Fairbanks is not unknown as an author, and this little volume, handsomely issued by an eminent publishing-house, would seem to be a welcome addition, as furnishing, in a compendious form, the romantic annals of the oldest settled, though not the oldest, state in the Union. We regret to say that we regret the appearance of the work. There is such abundance of material accessible to the ordinary student, even without entering upon the vast manuscript material which the late Buckingham Smith spent his life in delving, that exactness is of the utmost necessity.

Mr. Fairbanks evidently quotes his Spanish authors at second-hand, and must be unfamiliar with the Spanish language. No one at all conversant with it would quote Cabeza de Vaca, as he repeatedly does, under the name of De Vaca. Cabeza de Vaca is the family name, meaning Head of Cow—an odd name, but with its analogy in our Whitehead, Mulford (mule-ford), Armstrong, etc. To quote him as "Of Cow" is like citing one of the English names as Head, Ford, or Strong. Quoting Garcelasso as L'Inca also betrays ignorance. The Spanish article is El, while the elevation of Menendez Marques to the Marquis de Menendez is equal to Puss in Boots, who made marquises offhand.

It is not surprising, then, to find the period from 1568 to 1722 embraced in 34 pages, and in those only four references to Barcia, and these not all correct, though in the 228 pages given by the Spanish historian of Florida to that period much interesting matter might have been found.

Nor is his acquaintance with the works that have appeared in English such as we should expect.

The later portion of the history seems more within his grasp; but without entering into too great detail, we miss any reference to Farmer's account of the siege of Pensacola.

Much of the space in the earlier portion is devoted to the French colony and its bloody extinction by Menendez, and to Gourgues's attack. In this matter he does not treat the matter as Sparks did years ago, or Parkman recently. By all these writers, moreover, some points are overlooked. The piratical character of the French cruisers, who, after the Reformation, made religion a cloak for their murders and piracy; the object in selecting Florida, which was to form a base for operations against Spanish commerce; the long-settled determination of the Spanish crown to root out any colony planted in Florida, upon the most plausible pretext the occasion would give; the overt acts of piracy of the new French colony in Florida; and, finally, the critical position of both parties, neither of whom, in case of victory, would have dared to keep any of the enemy as prisoners.

He takes the De Gourgues account as the French give it, and, with them, multiplies forts at San Mateo; but we must confess that there are discrepancies in it which have always excited our distrust, although the story is accepted generally by French Catholic writers.

Pink and White Tyranny. A Society Novel. By Mrs. Harriet B. Stowe. Boston: Roberts Brothers.

Mrs. Stowe has given us in this volume, with her usual distinctness of purpose, a true picture, not overdrawn, of fashionable life as displayed at our popular watering-places and in many of our fashionable homes. The author's "views," so pronounced on all subjects, are generally given with characteristic energy and earnestness, if not always with discrimination. So graphic are her descriptions that the reader can see the places she describes, and has a clear insight into the hearts of her characters.

It is well that one whose writings are always so extensively read should show up the corrupt condition of manners and morals that prevail in what is technically called "high life," and in this book Mrs. Stowe has given an interesting and lifelike picture of the everyday well-known scandals that are sapping the very foundation of our existence as a nation.

It is hardly just, however, to put all the folly, all the extravagance, and all the sin of our demoralized belles and beauty to the credit of France; poor France has enough of her own to bear. French morals, French manners, French novels, French literature, and even the French language are put down in this volume as the source of all in the morals of this country that is not pure and elevating. The root of the trouble lies nearer home, and spreads far back to the childhood of these vain men and women, when they were taught that to enjoy themselves was the great end for which they were made. "Have a jolly time in life, honestly if you can, but have the jolly time any way," is the chief lesson given to the children and young persons belonging to the world of to-day; and this peoples our places of public resort with the "fast" and the shameless.

A poetic picture of New England life is Mrs. Stowe's specialty, and refined, cultivated, quiet Springdale is refreshing after the flirtations and assignations of the watering-places.

We find in these pages a just and charming tribute to the Irish character as wife and mother; while the author's views of marriage are in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and it is no small merit in the book that it strongly advocates the doctrine, "one with one exclusively, and for ever."

The Life and Revelations of Saint Gertrude. By the author of "St. Francis and the Franciscans," etc. London: Burns, Oates & Co. Boston; P. Donahoe. 1871.

This is another of the "Kenmare series of books for spiritual reading." It needs no other recommendation. The profit to be derived from a devout reading of the revelations of this great saint is inestimable. They cannot fail to have a lasting influence on the mind that opens itself to their teaching. If some may object that such a book as this is too mediæval for the nineteenth century, we answer that there are plenty of chosen souls who look back to the middle ages as the millennium of the Church, when earth was nearest heaven.

St. Peter: his Name and his Office. By Thomas W. Allies, M.A., Author of "The See of St. Peter the Rock of the Church," and other Works. 1 vol. 12mo, pp. 299. London: R. Washbourne; New York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1871.

This work, partly drawn from the Commentary on the Prerogatives of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, of Passaglia, and partly the composition of the learned author, was first published in 1852, and elicited the highest encomiums from the most learned portion of the Christian world. Its republication at this time, when so much is said, and so little is actually known, by persons not Catholics, of the apostolic succession, and the divine power vested in the visible head of the church, is exceedingly well timed. The book, though small in compass, contains not only all the leading incidents of St. Peter's life, but irrefutable proofs of his holy mission and supremacy in the church. Those who have any doubts of the primacy of the See of Rome, or who wish to satisfy themselves as to the extent of the power delegated to our Holy Father, should give Mr. Allies's book a careful and serious perusal.

Golden Words; or, Maxims of the Cross. By F. H. Hamilton, M.A. 1 vol. pp. 78. London: Burns, Oates & Co.; New York: The Catholic Publication Society.

This beautifully printed little book is, as the author candidly confesses, made up mainly from selections made from the writings of the celebrated Thomas à Kempis. To say this is to pronounce the highest eulogy that can be expressed, for we believe there is no person who claims to be Christian, and who has read The Following of Christ, but admits that, of all the uninspired writers, its author is foremost in wisdom, piety, and practical illustration. Though in large, clear type, this work is so judiciously condensed that any person can carry it in his pocket, and thus have it at all times for reference and edification.

The Catholic Publication Society has just published new editions of Gahan's History of the Catholic Church and Mylius's History of England. Both works are continued down to the present time. The Society also publishes a new and improved edition of Fleury's Historical Catechism, revised, corrected, and edited by Rev. Henry Formby. This excellent work is intended as a class-book for schools, and, if ordered in quantities, the Society is prepared to furnish it at an extraordinarily low price. The Society has also in the hands of the binder Fr. Formby's Pictorial Bible and Church History Stories. This work ought to be introduced into our schools.

Mr. P. F. Cunningham, Philadelphia, has in press Cineas, a story of the time of Nero, the burning of Rome by that tyrant, and the destruction of Jerusalem. Mr. Donahoe, Boston, announces as in press a Compendium of Irish History, Ned Rusheen, and The Spouse of Christ—all by Sister Mary Francis Clare; also, The Monks of the West, by Montalembert; a Life of Pius IX., and Ballads of Irish Chivalry, etc., by R. D. Joyce. Messrs. Kelly, Piet & Co., Baltimore, announce as in press Mary Benedicta and the Pearl of Antioch. Messrs. Murphy & Co., Baltimore, have just completed their Church Registers, comprising Baptism, Matrimony, Confirmation, Interments, etc.—in all, three Latin Registers and four Church Records, uniformly bound and put up in neat boxes.

A Mistake Corrected.—Mr. Robert A. Bakewell desires us to correct a statement which was made in our last number, in the article "The Secular not Supreme," respecting the views formerly expressed by that gentleman in The Shepherd of the Valley, on the subject discussed in the aforesaid article. Mr. Bakewell has frequently contradicted a misquotation and misinterpretation of his language by secular and sectarian papers, which has made him say that Catholics, if they ever became a large majority of the people of this country, would suppress religious liberty. What he really did say was that, in the event supposed, they would, in accordance with Catholic principles, restrain by law the teaching of those errors which are subversive of natural religion and morality. Mr. Bakewell states, also, that he has never retracted the views which he expressed in his published writings on this subject, and says that they were impugned by two only of the Catholic newspapers at the time.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

From George Routledge & Sons, New York: The Coolie: His Rights and Wrongs, 1 vol. paper.

From Longmans, Green & Co., London: Ignatius Loyola and the Early Jesuits. By Stewart Rose, 1 vol. 8vo, pp. 548.

From R. Washbourne, London: The Men and Women of the English Reformation, from the Days of Wolsey to the Death of Cranmer. Papal and Anti-Papal Notables. By S. H. Burke, author of The Monastic Houses of England. Vol. 1.

From Burns, Oates & Co., London: The Life of St. Ignatius Loyola. By Father Genelli, of the Society of Jesus. Translated from the German of M. Charles Sainte-Foi, and rendered from the French by the Rev. Thomas Meyrick, S.J. 1 vol. 12mo, pp. 357.—Of Adoration in Spirit and Truth. Written in Four Books. By John Eusebius Neremberg, S.J., native of Madrid, and translated into English by R. S., S.J., in which is disclosed the pith and marrow of a spiritual life of Christ's imitation, and mystical theology; extracted out of the Holy Fathers, and greatest masters of spirit, Diadochus, Dorotheus, Climachus, Rusbrochius, Suso, Thaulerus, a Kempis, Gerson; and not a little both pious and effectual is superadded. With a preface by Rev. Peter Galloway, S.J. 1 vol. 12mo, pp. 438.

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