Lady Herbert strikes the key-note of her narrative of Spanish

travel about the middle of the book. "Catholicism in Spain," she

remarks, "is not merely the religion of the people: _it is

their life_." Precisely because she feels this life, and,

despite her English common sense, sympathizes with the Spanish

people in their strong religious sentiment, she describes them

with a rare fidelity, and gives us, if not a highly colored, a

very vivid picture. No traveller who is not a Catholic can paint

Spain as she is. Mr. Bryant looked at the people with a kindly

eye; but he did not understand them. From him, as well as from

the common run of English and American tourists, we get mere

surface sketches--pleasant enough to read, perhaps, but that is

all. Protestant travellers see no more of the popular life and

character than if they sailed over the country in a balloon. They

find the diligences marvels of antiquated discomfort; the

railways, miracles of unpunctuality and slowness; travel, a

hardship which there is little attempt to alleviate. They find

that in Spain no Spaniard is ever in a hurry, and no stranger is

allowed to be so either. If they are kept shivering at a roadside

station three or four hours in the midst of the night, waiting

for some lumbering railway train, on a seatless, unsheltered

platform, they get no commiseration from the surly officials but

an exhortation to "paciencia." If government is bad and robbers

are bold, the Spaniard goes on sipping his sugared water and

repeats, "Paciencia, paciencia!" If the country is two or three

generations behind the rest of Europe in all the appliances of

material comfort, why, "_Paciencia, paciencia!_" That is the

great panacea for all the ills of human life. These

peculiarities, the wretchedness and extravagant charges of all

the hotels, and the horrors of the Spanish _cuisine_, fill

most of the travellers' journals. But Lady Herbert found a plenty

of religious beauty underneath this dilapidated exterior. God and

the church are so near to the people's hearts that the mixture of

religion with the language and business of every day shocks a

stranger at first as something irreverent. Pious traditions are

familiar to every Spaniard from his cradle. They come up every

hour of the day. They color every man's conversation, they

affect, more or less intimately, everybody's conduct; nay, it is

difficult sometimes to separate them from the Spaniard's faith,

for he clings to a pious legend almost as stoutly as he holds to

an article of the creed. The peasant woman plants rosemary in her

garden, because there is a story that when our Lord was an infant

the Blessed Virgin hung out his clothes upon a rosemary bush to

dry. Red roses get their color from a drop of the Saviour's blood

which fell on them from the cross. A swallow tried to pluck the

thorns from the head of the crucified Christ, and therefore no

Spaniard will shoot a swallow.

{414}

The owl was present when our Lord expired, and since then has

ceased to sing, his only cry being "_Crux, crux!_" Half the

dogs in Spain are called Melampo, because that was the name of

the dog of the shepherds who came to Bethlehem. Protestants may

laugh at the credulity which listens to such legends, but to our

minds there is the simplicity of real piety in the national

belief, and we cannot think that God will be angry with the

people if they believe a little too much in his honor.

Protestants may sneer at the public reverence which is paid to

sacred things, and call it a gross mark of superstition to show

as much respect to the Blessed Sacrament as to a governor or a

general in the army; but we confess our sympathies are with Lady

Herbert when she describes the sentinels at San Sebastian

presenting arms as he passes before the chapel door, or the

shopkeeper who interrupts a bargain to rush out into the street

and kneel down before the Viatacum, exclaiming "_Sua maesta

viene!_" What a sweet flavor of real piety there is in the

popular term for alms, "_la bolsa de Dios_," "God's

purse!"--a purse, by the way, which is never empty. Beggars are

treated with a tenderness that is felt for them nowhere else but

in Ireland. The poor peasant may have little or nothing to give;

but if he refuses, he begs pardon for doing so. There is no city

without its charity hospitals, marvels of cleanliness, comfort,

and order. There is hardly a town without its asylum, where

religious mea or women tend the unfortunate, shelter the

destitute, feed the hungry, and rear the orphan and the

foundling. Convents have been depopulated and monastic orders

banished throughout the kingdom, but the more active brotherhoods

and sisterhoods are spared, and are doing magnificent work. The

deserted convents, magnificent in their decay, speak eloquently

of the zeal and piety of the people, whose greatest fault it is

as a nation that they have trusted too much to weak and unworthy

rulers. Every one of these religious monuments is the scene of

some holy legend, and most of them are hallowed by incidents in

the lives of saints, of whom Spain has been the birthplace and

home of so many hundreds. Lady Herbert tells a significant story

which shows how closely religion is bound up with the thoughts of

the people. She was visiting the ancient palace of Toledo, when a

peasant woman, sitting by the gate, asked the guide if the

strange lady was an Englishwoman, "because she walked so fast."

On being answered in the affirmative, she exclaimed, "Oh! what a

pity. I liked her face, and yet she is an infidel!" The guide

pointed to a little crucifix which hung from a rosary at Lady

Herbert's side, whereat the peasant sprang from her seat and

kissed both the cross and the visitor.

Spanish courtesy even has a religious flavor. Ask a Spaniard to

point out the road, and nothing will do but he must go with you

on your way, and pray God's blessing on your head when he leaves

you. No matter how poor he may be, you must not offer money for

such services; he will be either grieved or indignant, at what

seems to him an insult. There is piety also in the Spanish

reverence for age. If an old man passes the peasant's door at

meal-time, he is offered a place at the table, and begged to ask

a blessing on the repast.

There is, in fine, a lovable and engaging side to Spanish

character from which we cannot but expect a great and beneficial

influence upon the national destinies. Faith has its rewards even

in this life, and we cannot believe that a nation which adhered

so firmly to religion will be overthrown without some very grave

offence of its own.

{415}

The reverential tendency of Spanish character has no doubt

overpassed, in political affairs, its legitimate barriers, and

loyalty has done some mischief as well as good. Respect for

legitimate authority has not always been distinguished from a

fanatical devotion to the persons of bad or incompetent rulers.

There is a great deal of truth, albeit much falsehood likewise,

in Mr. Buckle's explanation of the causes of Spanish greatness

and Spanish decay. Give the kingdom a great sovereign, like

Charles V., and with an obedient and devoted people the nation

may be raised to the pinnacle of greatness and prosperity. But no

people which has not been taught to depend upon itself can long

keep in the van. Greatness is not inherited with titles and

possessions; weak rulers are sure to come sooner or later, and

then the country finds that it leans upon a broken reed. Spain

discovers now that she has suffered her kings to monopolize the

responsibilities which ought to have been divided among the whole

people, and their duties have not been fulfilled. The nation has

slept a sleep of centuries in the comfortable confidence that

government would take care of everything, do all the thinking,

make all the needed improvements, and educate the country as a

father educates his children. It seems to have been forgotten

that this was a task which only those mighty geniuses who appear

once in a century are strong enough to perform. An indolent,

weak, and careless ruler under the Spanish system allows his

people to lag behind in the struggle for national preëminence; a

bad ruler plunges them into misery and disgrace. Spain has

suffered terribly from both these afflictions; we do not believe,

however, that her case is desperate. While there is much in the

present condition of the kingdom to fill all thoughtful men with

alarm, there is promise in the awakened activity of national

life, and in the very spirit of revolution which is driving the

liberal party into such lamentable excesses. It is dirty work to

clean up the dust of three or four centuries. Great political

changes are almost always accompanied by disorder; but when the

uproar subsides, and new parties crystallize out of the fragments

of the present tumult, when the people feel that to be great and

prosperous they must use their own power, and cease to be fed

with a spoon, we believe that there is so much faith and piety at

the bottom of the Spanish heart, and so much real nobleness in

the national character, that a brighter destiny will be within

their reach than has beamed upon them since the days of Charles

and Philip.

We have wandered far away from the volume with which we began our

remarks, and left ourselves little room to praise Lady Herbert's

narrative as it deserves to be praised. We shall content

ourselves here with citing a description of a man who has

occupied a prominent place in the recent history of Spain. We

mean Father Claret, the queen's confessor:

"One only visit was paid, which will ever remain in the memory

of the lady who had the privilege. It was to Monsignor Claret,

the confessor of the queen and Archbishop of Cuba, a man as

remarkable for his great personal holiness and ascetic life as

for the unjust accusations of which he is continually the

object. On one occasion, these unfavorable reports having

reached his ears, and being only anxious to retire into the

obscurity which his humility makes him love so well, he went to

Rome to implore for a release from his present post; but it was

refused him.

{416}

Returning through France, he happened to travel with certain

gentlemen, residents in Madrid, but unknown to him, as he was

to them, who began to speak of all the evils, real or

imaginary, which reigned in the Spanish court, the whole of

which they unhesitatingly attributed to Monsignor Claret, very

much in the spirit of the old ballad against Sir Robert Peel:

'Who filled the butchers' shops with big blue flies?'

He listened without a word, never attempting either excuse or

justification, or betraying his identity. Struck with his

saint-like manner and appearance, and likewise very much

charmed with his conversation during the couple of days'

journey together, the strangers begged at parting to know his

name, expressing an earnest hope of an increased acquaintance

at Madrid. He gave them his card with a smile! Let us hope they

will be less hasty and more charitable in their judgments, for

the future. Monsignor Claret's room in Madrid is a fair type of

himself. Simple even to severity in its fittings, with no

furniture but his books, and some photographs of the queen and

her children, it contains one only priceless object, and that

is a wooden crucifix, of the very finest Spanish workmanship,

which attracted at once the attention of his visitor. 'Yes, it

is very beautiful,' he replied in answer to her words of

admiration; 'and I like it because it expresses so wonderfully

_victory over suffering_. Crucifixes generally represent

only the painful and human, not the triumphant and divine view

of the redemption. Here, he is truly victor over death and

hell.'

"Contrary to the generally received idea, he never meddles in

politics, and occupies himself entirely in devotional and

literary works. One of his books, _Camino recto y seguro para

llegar al Cielo_, would rank with Thomas a Kempis's

_Imitation_ in suggestive and practical devotion. He keeps

a perpetual fast; and, when compelled by his position to dine

at the palace, still keeps to his meagre fare of 'garbanzos,'

or the like. He has a great gift of preaching; and when he

accompanies the queen in any of her royal progresses, is

generally met at each town when they arrive by earnest

petitions to preach, which he does instantly, without rest or

apparent preparation, sometimes delivering four or five sermons

in one day. In truth, he is always 'prepared,' by a hidden life

of perpetual prayer and realization of the unseen."

For the rest, it is only necessary to add a word upon the

admirable manner in which the American publishers have presented

Lady Herbert's book to their patrons. It is beautifully printed

upon thick, rich paper, and illustrated with excellent wood-cuts,

and will easily bear comparison with the choice productions of

the secular press, as a book for the parlor table and for holiday

presents as well as for the library.

----------

From The German Of Baron Stolberg.

Filial Affection As Taught And Practised By The Chinese.

"Honor thy father and thy mother,

that thou mayest be long-lived in the land

which the Lord thy God will give thee."

In a remarkable work, entitled _Mémoires concernant l'histoire,

les sciences, les arts, les moeurs, les usages, etc., etc., des

Chinois_, written by two natives of China who had spent their

early years in Europe, and had there added the sciences of the

west to the learning of the east, and hallowed their knowledge

with "the love of Christ which surpasseth all knowledge," the

greater part of a quarto volume is devoted to the "Teachings of

the Chinese concerning filial affection."

{417}

What follows is taken from _Li-ki_, a very ancient Chinese

work, written long before the time of the great Confucius.

Confucius was born in the year of the world 3452, before Christ

551, in the twenty-eighth year of the lifetime of Cyrus.

"Be ever penetrated by religion and your exterior will bespeak

a man whose regard is directed inward upon his soul; and your

words will be the language of one who controls his passions."

...

"Religion alone can render indissoluble the ties that attach

the subject to his prince, the inferior to the superior, the

son to the father, the younger brother to the elder."

"A son filled with filial affection hears the voice of his

father and mother, even when they are not speaking with him,

and he sees them even when he is not in their presence."

"At the first call of a father, all should be forsaken in order

to go to him."

"Mourning for parents should continue three years."

"A son had murdered his father in the kingdom of Tochu. The

authorities reported the crime to King Ting-kong. He rose from

his mat; sighed, Alas! the fault is mine! I know not how to

govern! He issued an edict for the future. Such a murderer must

be instantly put to death; the house must be razed, and the

governor must abstain from wine during a month."

"The peace of the realm depends on the filial affection

entertained for parents and the respect shown to elder

brothers."

The following are extracts from a canonical book of the Chinese

entitled _Hiao-king_, the last work of Confucius, written

480 years before the birth of Christ, during the time of Xerxes.

"Filial affection is the root of all virtues, and the fountain

head of all teaching."

"Whosoever loves his parents can hate nobody; whosoever honors

them can despise nobody. If a ruler evinces unlimited respect

and affection to his parents, the virtue and wisdom of his

people will be increased twofold. Even barbarians will submit

to his decrees."

"If thou entertainest toward thy father the love thou hast for

thy mother, and the respect thou hast for thy ruler, thou wilt

serve thy ruler with filial affection."

"O immensity of filial affection! how wonderful thou art! What

the revolutions of the planets are for the citadel of heaven,

what fertility is for the fields of the earth, that, filial

affection is for nations. Heaven and earth never deceive. Let

nations follow their example, and the harmony of the world will

be as indefectible as the light of heaven, and as the

productions of the earth!"

"A prince who causes himself to be loved, and who improves the

morals of men, is the father and mother of nations! How perfect

must be the virtue which guides nations to that which is

greatest of all, whilst they are following the inclinations of

their hearts!"

The emperors of China have been giving examples of filial

affection from time immemorial. It is an ordinance of the

ancients that the new sovereign shall, during the first three

years, make no changes in the administration of his father. The

emperors of China, the mightiest potentates of the earth, show

the most profound reverence to their mothers before the eyes of

the whole people.

The great Emperor Kang-hi published, in 1689 of our chronology, a

large work, in one hundred volumes, on filial affection. In the

preface, written by himself, he says, amongst other things:

"In order to show how the filial affection of an emperor should

be constituted, it is here shown to what tenderness for his

people, interest in the public good, solicitude for health,

contentment, and the happiness of his parents bind him.

Everything in life is filial affection, for everything refers

to respect and love."

What a beauty and depth of meaning in these words!

Together with filial affection this comprises the corresponding

love of parents for their children, and the reciprocal duties of

both. From these are also deduced the reciprocal obligations of

rulers and subjects.

{418}

All is ultimately referred to God.

"Who is to be feared, who is to be served,

and who is to be regarded as the Father

and the Mother of all men."

China is the only empire in which public censors of the acts of

the emperor are appointed. Their number, which originally was

seven, has been increased to forty. Their office is to warn the

emperor when he has transgressed or neglected his duty, and to

admonish him. In a work composed by the Emperor Kang-hi, and

published in 1733, several instances of these admonitions and

remonstrances are mentioned:

"It is the cry of all ages, O Sovereign!

that it is the most imperative duty

of the son to revere his parents!"

After explaining how one must prove himself concerning the

fulfilment of this duty, and describing various evidences by

which to judge, the sage continues:

"Such, O Sovereign! is the nature of genuine filial affection,

of the filial affection of great souls, of the kind of filial

affection that makes the world pleasant, gains all hearts, and

secures the favor of heaven. ... Thy subject, O Sovereign! has

heard that a good ruler attributes to himself whatever disturbs

good order in the realm; that he is made sad by the smallest

misdemeanors of his subjects, and that he devotes the best days

of his life to the sole object of obviating whatever might

interfere with the public weal."

This remonstrance was presented in the year 1064, of our

chronology, to the Emperor Ing-tsong by the Censor See-ma-kuang,

one of the greatest statesmen China has ever had, who was at the

same time a historian, a philosopher, and a poet. The people

loved him so that after his death the entire realm was disposed

to go in mourning. Another censor very boldly reprimanded the

Emperor Kuang-tsong, because in a journey to his country chateau

he had passed by the villa of his mother without calling to see

her.

At a later period this censor upbraided the same emperor in terms

of the deepest sorrow for not accompanying his mother's funeral

and wearing mourning in her memory, notwithstanding that all the

magnates of the empire had been plunged into the most profound

grief by the death of that excellent woman. The censor accused

him of having feigned indisposition on that occasion, whilst it

was generally known that he was engaged in his customary

pastimes.

Another emperor was reproached with a noble intrepidity, for

having weakly permitted a favorite daughter to squander a part of

the revenues of the state in embellishing her country residence

and gardens.

The Emperor Kang-hi, one of the wisest and greatest rulers the

world has ever seen, practised filial piety in a most perfect

manner toward his grandmother and mother during their lifetime

and after their death. When appointing one of his sons heir to

the throne--a right accorded him by the constitution--he declared

that he was guided in his choice by the wisdom of the two

empresses, his mother and his grandmother.

When his grandmother was sick, this emperor wrote to one of the

grandees of the realm, Hing-pu, who was probably minister of

justice:

"My cares do not quit me, whether by day or by night. I have no

relish for food or sleep; my only consolation lies in raising

my thoughts to Tien, (Heaven, or the God of Heaven.) With

tearful eyes I have prostrated myself on the ground, and buried

myself in meditation on the manner of most surely obtaining his

holy assistance; and it appeared to me that the preservation of

men, the objects of his love, would be the surest means of

obtaining, from his infinite goodness and mercy, the

prolongation of a life that we would all be willing to purchase

with our own."

{419}

Hereupon he reprieved all criminals not excluded from the favor

by the laws of the state. He concluded with these words:

"I pray Tien that

he may be pleased to bless my wish."

He walked in solemn procession, accompanied by the nobles, and

offered sacrifices for the empress. As her condition grew more

alarming, he spent day and night at her bedside, where he slept

upon a mat, in order to be always near to attend to her wants. To

the remonstrances of his court and the requests of the invalid

herself, he replied by answering them that he could not control

his grief, and could find consolation only in nursing his beloved

grandmother, who had nursed him in youth with so much wisdom and

tenderness.

Many a reader may consider this intense and openly acknowledged

sentiment of filial devotion as exaggerated; in China, men

thought differently. And the man of whom it is related was one of

the greatest princes that ever lived, a great _savant_, a

philosopher upon a throne, an undaunted hero, and during the

whole of his long reign the father of his country, the admiration

and joy of his numerous people. When he was besought by the

princes of the royal house and by the nobles of the realm to

permit the sixtieth anniversary of his birthday to be solemnly

commemorated, he replied:

"I have never had any taste for and have never found any

pleasure in grand festivities and entertainments. Yet I feel

reluctant to refuse what the love of the princes and nobles

requests from me. But as these festivities would fall upon the

days whereon my much revered father and mother died, their

memory is too vividly present in my heart to suffer me to allow

them to be converted into days of rejoicing."

At the Chinese court it is customary for the emperor, on New

Year's day, to go in company with the princes and nobles to the

palace of his mother. A master of ceremonies called a mandarin of

Lizu, walks in front and reverently prays that it may be her

serene pleasure to ascend her throne, in order that the emperor

may throw himself at her feet. She then takes her place upon the

throne. The emperor enters the hall and remains standing with his

arms hanging down and his sleeves pulled over his hands--a mark

of reverence amongst this people. The imperial retinue remain

below in the ante-chamber. The musicians sound some thrilling

notes, whereupon the mandarin cries in a loud voice, "Upon your

knees!" The emperor and retinue fall upon their knees. "To the

floor!" The emperor bows his head to the floor, as also the

entire court. "Arise!" And all rise up together. After performing

three prostrations in this manner, the mandarin again approaches

the throne of the empress and reaches her a written request from

the emperor to be pleased to return to her apartment.

During the ceremony the sound of the bell from the great tower

announces to all the inhabitants of Pekin that the emperor of

China, "the ruler of the thousand kingdoms," as they style him,

is paying homage to humanity.

When the empress has returned to her apartment, the ringing of

the bell ceases, and then the emperor receives the felicitations

of the court in his own palace.

The idea of the relation between parents and children is, in

fact, the soul of the constitution of China, a constitution that

has continued unchanged for more than three thousand years.

Through this idea the chains of despotism, so galling in other

countries of the east, are rendered tolerable; by it a powerful

influence is exercised over the rulers of the mightiest empire of

the earth, so that most of them, even in modern times, devote

themselves to their exalted duties with the greatest care, and

look upon the empire not as their own possession, but as a trust

committed to them as vicegerents of heaven.

{420}

This idea is so deeply rooted that even the victorious Tartars

were forced to respect it and adopt it as their principle of

government, as we are shown by the example mentioned of the great

Kang-hi.

We subjoin some selections from a number of Chinese moral

proverbs relating to this subject,

"Filial affection produces the same sentiment, the same

solicitude, under every clime. The barbarian, compelled by want

to wander through wildernesses, learns more easily from his own

heart what a son owes to his father and mother than sages learn

it from their books."

"The most invincible army is that in which fathers are most

mindful of their children, sons of their parents, brothers of

their brothers."

"The filial piety of the ruler is the inheritance of the aged,

of widows, and of orphans."

"Whosoever raises the staff of his father with reverence, does

not strike the father's hand. Whosoever yawns at the old man's

oft-repeated tales, will hardly weep at his death."

"All virtues are threatened when filial affection is sinned

against."

"A good son never looks upon an enterprise as successful until

it has received the approbation of his father."

"Rocks are converted into diamonds where father and son have

but one heart; harmony between the elder and younger brothers

changes the earth into gold."

"Subjects revere their parents in the person of the emperor;

the emperor must revere his parents in the person of those of

his subjects. The love of princes for their parents guarantees

to them the love of their subjects."

"The Emperor Gin-tsong was counselled by his minister to

declare war. What, replied the emperor, am I to answer fathers

and mothers when they ask their sons of me? and to the widow

who mourns her husband? and to fatherless orphans? and to so

many disconsolate families? I would willingly sacrifice a

province to save the life of one of my own children; all my

subjects are my children."

"Whosoever cuts down the trees planted by his father, will sell

the house that was built by him."

"It is not the threats, nor the reproaches, nor the violence of

a father that are dreaded by a dutiful son. He fears his

silence. A father is silent either because he has ceased to

love or because he believes that he is no longer loved."

"The one who first shed tears was an unhappy father."

"Much to be pitied is the son who is displeasing to his

parents; but the unhappiest of all is he who does not love

them."

"A good son is a good brother, a good husband, a good father, a

good cousin, a good friend, a good neighbor, a good citizen. A

wicked son is simply--a wicked son."

"Reverence and tenderness are the wings of filial affection."

"When brothers will not come to an agreement before the

sentence of the judge, public morals have already deteriorated.

If father and son go before the mandarin that he may decide

between them, the state is in danger. If children plot against

the life of their parents, and brothers against that of each

other, all is lost."

This tender reverence for parents instils into the Chinese a

similar regard for aged persons, for authorities, and for

national customs. Their empire has been in existence for almost

four thousand years!

The contrary disposition, which denies to old age its becoming

deference, which impels youth to contemn the experience of the

past, and to wish, in its immaturity of judgment, to pass

sentence upon all subjects, destroys social relations and

undermines and ultimately ruins empires. It robs youth of its

true grace; destroys the modesty and thirst for knowledge of the

young man as well as the blushing diffidence of the maiden;

defrauds age of its dignity; renders customs and laws altogether

powerless.

{421}

_Quid leges, sine moribus

Vanae, proficiunt._

said Horace.

The young man trifles with the gaudy display of ever-changing

fashion, a pest of our country from which the more serious east

never languished. His philosophy is of the fashion as well as his

clothes; and though, at present, he considers them as the very

best, he is nevertheless ready to change them both and decry them

as unsuitable, reserving the liberty, however, of resuming them

as soon as the wand of the enchantress Fashion will have given

the sign.

The religion of Jesus Christ confers a pure dignity upon the

worthiest and most tender relations of nature. It teaches us to

revere a father in the Being of all beings, to love him tenderly

whose eternal Son did not disdain to become our brother, to

become the Spouse of his church. It sanctifies every relation of

nature, every relation of society. But in attempting to picture

to ourselves a state of the world in which the great majority

would be doing homage to the religion of Jesus Christ, not merely

in words, but in spirit and in deed, a feeling of sadness takes

possession of the soul like to that which might come upon a

prisoner, highly gifted with musical genius, while reading with

the eye the harmonies of Handel and Gluck, when his ear was

denied the rapture of hearing their enchanting melodies.

----------

New Publications.

Daily Meditations, by his Eminence, the late Cardinal Wiseman.

Vol. I.

Dublin, James Duffy, 1869.

For sale at the Catholic Publication House,

126 Nassau Street.

There is a peculiar charm about all the writings of Cardinal

Wiseman. It is the touch of genius, and of a great genius, whose

loss the world mourns. The present volume, now published for the

first time, comprises a series of meditations useful for all

classes of devout persons, but more especially designed for the

clergy and students in our ecclesiastical seminaries. They were

written, as the Most Rev. Archbishop of Westminster informs us in

a short preface, when the cardinal entered upon his first

responsible office as rector of the English college in Rome. The

subjects for the first six months of the year are taken from and

arranged under a certain number of heads, generally repeated each

week. These are,

"The End of Man,"

"Last Things,"

"Mystery of our Saviour's Life,"

"Personal Duties,"

"The Passion,"

"Sin."

"Means of Sanctification,"

"Self-Examination,"

"The Decalogue,"

"The Blessed Eucharist,"

"The Blessed Virgin."

Each meditation consists of two or three reflections, and closes

with an affective prayer. "Preparations" are given, after the

method of St. Ignatius, before the meditations upon the mysteries

of our Lord's life. As a book of meditations, or for spiritual

reading, we could earnestly commend it to the laity, who will

find the greater part of it eminently suitable for these

purposes, while to the clergy it will be especially acceptable,

furnishing, as it does, subjects sufficiently amplified to aid

them in the ready preparation of a sermon or pious conference. We

have few works in good English of this kind, and the reading of

authors whose style is remarkable for purity and vigor cannot

fail of improving the style of a speaker. The works of the great

cardinal need no praise from us on these points, and we are sure

that it is only necessary to call attention to a new work from

his master hand to ensure its rapid sale.

{422}

We cannot refrain from transcribing one of the many beautiful

affective prayers. The meditation is on the crowning with thorns.

"Jesus, King and Lord of my heart and soul, what crown shall I

give thee to acknowledge thee as such? Alas! gold and silver in

my poverty I have none: my gold hath been long since turned

into dross, and my silver been alloyed. I have no roses like

thy martyrs, who returned thee blood for blood; nor lilies,

like thy virgins, who loved thee with an unsullied heart. My

soul is barren, my heart is unfruitful, and I have placed thee

to reign, as the Jewish kings of old, over a heap of ruins.

Long since despoiled and ravaged by the enemy, every flower

hath been ploughed up, and every green plant burned with fire,

and thorns alone and brambles spring up there. Of these, then,

alone can I make thee a crown, my dear and sovereign Jesus.

Wilt thou accept it? I will pluck up my unruly affections, that

they may no more have roots, and, weaving them together into a

wreath, will lay them as a sacrifice at thy feet. I will gather

the thorns of sincere repentance which there each day arise and

prick my heart with a sharp but wholesome smart, and with these

will I make a crown for thy head, if thou wilt vouchsafe to

wear it. Or, rather, thou shalt take it from my hand, only to

place it with thine around my heart, that it may daily and

hourly be pricked with compunction. And may the thorns of thy

crown be to my soul so many goads of love, to hasten it forward

in its career toward thee."

------

False Definitions Of Faith,

And The True Definition.

By Rev. L. W. Bacon.

Reprinted from the _New Englander_

for April, 1869.

Mr. Bacon defines faith to be trusting one's self for salvation

to Jesus Christ. "The act of faith--of intrusting one's self for

salvation to the Lord Jesus Christ--includes, not as a remote

consequence, but in itself, repentance, obedience, holiness, and

_whatever things beside_ are demanded in the Scriptures as

conditions of salvation." Dropping all dispute about terminology,

we will take faith as defined by Mr. Bacon, and prove that it is

inconceivable with out the act of intellectual assent to divine

revelation, which the church requires. Jesus Christ must be

accredited as the Messiah by God the Father in such a way as to

give rational, credible evidence to the intellect, before a man

can reasonably or conscientiously trust himself to him for

salvation. When he is convinced that Christ is the Saviour, and

trusts himself to him, he must receive from him certain and

infallible instruction as to the method of repenting and

obtaining pardon, as to the nature and extent of the obedience

and holiness required, and as to _whatever things beside_

are demanded as conditions of salvation. If his Master teaches

him certain doctrines, and requires his assent, he must give it

as a part of his obedience. If he prescribes sacraments and

communion with one certain visible church as a condition of

salvation, he must obey. The question with Mr. Bacon is,

therefore, not respecting the indispensable obligation of

believing what God has revealed respecting the way of salvation,

but respecting the medium through which that revelation is

communicated, and the actual subject-matter of its contents. Mr.

Bacon very reasonably revolts at the tyranny of imposing mere

human and probable opinions derived from private judgment on the

Scriptures as necessary to be believed for salvation. He has an

independent spirit and an active mind which will not suffer him

to acquiesce tamely in the dominion which certain great names and

traditional formulas have hitherto held among the orthodox

Protestants. He thinks for himself and expresses his thoughts in

a bold and manly way. In the _brochure_ which he has

reprinted from the _New Englander_, the defects of the

old-fashioned Puritan theology respecting justification are

pointed out with distinctness, and a far better and more

reasonable view presented, which includes the moral element in

the disposition of the soul for receiving grace, thus rejecting

the most fundamental and destructive of all the errors of Luther.

------

{423}

The Relations And Reciprocal Obligations Between The Medical

Profession And The Educated And Cultivated Classes.

An Oration delivered before the Alumni Association of the

Medical Department of the University of the City of New York,

Feb. 23d, 1869.

By Henry S. Hewit, M.D.

Published by order of the Association.

This pamphlet contains a great deal of matter within a very short

compass. It shows the relation of medicine to philosophy and

intellectual culture, refutes the wretched materialism by which

the profession has been too much infected, castigates with

merciless severity that charlatanism by which some ignorant

pretenders practise on the credulity of the public, and that

criminal malpractice by which others more skilful, but equally

without conscience, prostitute their science to complicity with

licentiousness and child-murder. A higher standard of education

in medical science, a more liberal preparatory culture, and a

distinction in medical degrees are advocated. These are matters

of the deepest moment to society, in which Catholics have

especial reasons to be interested. The physician is next to the

priest, and, in his sphere, very like the priest in the

responsibilities of his office, his power of doing good or evil,

and in the necessity of resorting to him under which all men are

placed in those dangerous and painful crises of life where he

alone can give effectual help. According to Catholic theology, no

one can pretend to practise medicine or surgery, without grievous

sin, who has not received a competent education, and who does not

follow what, according to the judgment of learned and skilful

men, are truly scientific methods. Ignorance, carelessness, rash

empiricism, or violation of the laws of morality as laid down by

the church, are all grievous sins. They are followed by the most

fatal consequences to those who become their victims, causing

even the loss of life and the privation of baptism, which

involves the loss of eternal life, on a vast scale. It is of the

utmost consequence that we should have a body of Catholic

physicians whose scientific culture is the highest possible, and

whose professional code of morals is strictly in conformity with

the moral theology of the church. If we are ever so happy as to

possess a a Catholic university, it is to be hoped that Dr.

Hewit's suggestions in regard to medical education may be carried

out. The author has rendered a great service to the profession

and to the cause of morals and religion by the publication of

this able and high-toned oration, and we trust it may receive a

wide circulation, and exert an equally wide influence. Dr. Hewit

served with great distinction as chief of medical staff to

Generals C. F. Smith, Grant, and Schofield during the late war,

and contributed some valuable papers to the medical journals. We

are indebted to him for some of the best literary notices which

have appeared in our columns, and the present oration not only

shows scientific culture and sound principles, but also a

capacity for producing literary composition of many varied and

rare excellences, combining terse and close logical reasoning

with a vivid play of the imagination. The closing sentence is

remarkably beautiful, and speaks of the adventurous life which

the author led during his military career.

"The sun has crossed the meridian, and tends toward the western

horizon; the tops of the distant mountains are bathed in purple

light, and the black shadows at their base _begin to creep in

a stealthy and hound-like manner over the plain; _a rising

murmur in the branches of the forest warns us to lift up again

our burdens, and take our respective roads."

We should like to see a volume from the pen that wrote this

sentence, in which the descriptive power of the author would have

full scope, and another in which the sound principles of

philosophy and morals contained in the oration in an aphoristic

form would be fully developed.

------

Glimpses Of Pleasant Homes;

Or, Stories For The Young.

By the authoress of _Mother McAuley_.

Illustrated. 1 vol. 12mo, vellum cloth.

Catholic Publication Society,

126 Nassau Street. 1869.

No one can read a sentence of the preface to this volume without

becoming deeply interested in the book itself.

{424}

Every line tells us that the author has something important to

say, and that her whole soul is in the work of educating the

moral faculties of children simultaneously with their physical

and mental powers. Her aim is to enlist all heads of families in

the work, by making their homes pleasant refuges from the

troubles of busy life, in which their few leisure hours may be

spent in "fitting all those under their charge for the duties of

this earth, without unfitting them for heaven."

The responsibility of forming and directing the tastes of

children is often thrown upon the school-teacher; and, while the

father builds gorgeous business palaces for the benefit of his

family, their future welfare is perilled and their whole life

embittered by the system of education "which assumes the

obligations of priest and parent, and is gradually driving filial

piety from the face of the earth."

This book contains not only good examples of the practical

working of kindness and love, but points out the manner in which

the parents make many blunders in the management of young and

boisterous children. Some regard their mechanical toys as causes

of trouble, and wish their children would play outside, "and keep

their noise, dust, and confusion out of sight and hearing of

their seniors." Experience among families where such is the fact

has taught the author to depict with truth the results:

"These parents who should have aided in developing and

cultivating the tastes of their children, may possibly find,

ere long, that there are no tastes to be developed save those

acquired in the streets, where habits have been formed which it

is now all but impossible to root out. Their children have, as

the phrase is, got beyond them; not because, as is often

falsely asserted, juvenile human nature is different now from

what it was in other ages, or because its lot happens to be

cast in the United States of America, but because parents have

not done their part to multiply and strengthen the sweet and

powerful ties that could and should bind their children

indissolubly to them."

To warn parents against this evil, to cause them to be kind to

their children, and to bind the child more closely to its home,

the author has written these _Glimpses of Pleasant Homes_,

in which mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters are made to

speak and act in so natural a manner that every reader will be

forced to love them.

In those happy homes, we find boys full of life and fun, but

always eager to listen to interesting and useful instruction;

girls who are not dolls, made to act and speak by machine; and

fathers and mothers whose example will force every parent to

give a little thought to the manner in which they treat their

offspring. The story of little Frank will be long remembered by

those who read it, and all will like the manly little fellow,

who gravely says:

"'I should rather be whatever it is right to be,' returned the

boy. 'The Catholics have the Blessed Virgin, and I think they

must be right, for every one knows the Lord would not let his

own mother stay in the wrong place. I asked Mr. Griffin was she

a Calvinist or a Unitarian, and he said no, that she was a

Catholic. Now, I want to be of her church, and I don't see why

I cannot receive the sacraments as well as Tommy and Bernard.

Please, mamma, allow me, and I'll be ever so good and steady.'"

And immediately after tells us that John Griffin is a

first-rate fellow, because "he gives me lots of fruit, and

tells me pleasant stories about birds and angels."

Every story in this book will amuse the young, interest the old,

and instruct all in the secret ways of showing kindness to those

with whom they may come in contact. Kindness is the author's

watchword; every line bears witness to her love of her

fellow-beings; she fulfils her mission of kindness in a

delightfully pleasant manner, and few will finish reading _The

Glimpses_ without wishing for many more such pictures, and

hoping that the author may enjoy a little of that happiness on

this earth, which she so lavishly bestows on her readers.

------

Black Forest.

Village Stories

by Berthold Auerbach.

Translated by Charles Goepp.

New York: Leypoldt & Holt.

{425}

This volume is a collection of stories from the German, filled

with quaint illustrations of peasant life in the Black Forest.

The representations are well drawn and life-like; but the tales,

with two or three exceptions, fail to interest, except as

illustrations of strange phases of human life, and odd customs

retained from age to age by people who seldom left their own

hamlets, or heard from the outer world.

Each story carries through some of the characters introduced

before, so that there is an intimate connection between them all.

In general, they have no special moral teaching, but there are

two notable exceptions, in the story of "Ivo, the Gentleman," and

"The Lauterbacher."

The first of these, "Ivo the Gentleman", professes to give the

life of a Catholic family, and the story of a student in his

preparation for the priesthood. We cannot fail to be interested

in the home-life of the collegian, and anxiously watch the

development of doubts and difficulties in his path; but there is

a coldness and hardness in the analyzation of his perplexities

and his religious footsteps that lead one to feel that there is

little vitality in the creed of the author.

In the story of "The Lauterbacher," there are many striking

thoughts brought out with such charming familiarity as to make

one wonder why they have never before seen them on paper. The

moral of this tale is clear and good. Now and then, however, one

meets with a touch of the mystical transcendentalism with which

many of the works of this author abound; but we find in this

volume less of these fancies than in anything we have seen from

his pen.

The stories are interspersed with grotesque wood-cuts as

illustrations, with a sprinkling of fantastic rhymes, which

remind us forcibly of our childhood's first introduction to the

muses through the whimsical measures of Mother Goose's Melodies.

------

Biographical Sketches.

By Harriet Martineau.

New York: Leypoldt & Holt. 1869.

No one at all familiar with the mental characteristics and

proclivities of Harriet Martineau could expect from her pen a

more liberal view of the characters which she has here attempted

to delineate than the volume before us actually presents. The

ordinary reader, ignorant of or not fully appreciating the

standpoint from which the authoress judges the dispositions and

achievements of mankind will, however, experience a feeling of

disappointment and dissatisfaction. The tone of many of her

sketches is depreciatory. The time-honored maxim, "_Nil de

mortuis_," etc., is rigidly ignored, and the shadows in the

lives of the personages she notices are brought into striking

contrast with the sunlight of their virtues and accomplishments.

We remark this especially in regard to those whose work in the

world was of a religious or charitable nature. It grates upon our

inward reverence for men, whose toil and self-sacrifice have

resulted even in a transient benefit to mankind, to be told that

they were mere creatures of an ephemeral occasion, or the

unconscious agents of political aspirants; that the seed which

they sowed had no root, and the plant has withered away. It seems

like an aspersion on the moral capabilities of the human race

when those men who reach the highest ranks of ecclesiastical and

religious preferment are represented as untrue to their

convictions, and recreant to the principles confided to their

propagating and protecting care. Miss Martineau does good morals

and large charity no service, by showing that their outward

exercise may coexist with hypocrisy, tergiversation, and sordid

self-seeking. Nor is it absolute justice to the dead that, having

during life received from her no admonition to correct their

faults, they should at last, when such correction has become

impossible, be held up to posterity as being, after all, but

frail and failing specimens of human kind.

With this exception, we have found the work before us worthy of

the encomiums bestowed upon it by the press both of this country

and England. It is a handbook to read and remember, to take up

with interest and lay down with pleasure, and, after the first

reading, to consult, from time to time, as a gallery of

portraits painted from subjects of unusual eminence by a skilful

hand.

-------

{426}

The Free-masons.

What they are--What they do--What they are aiming at.

From the French of Mgr. Sègur,

author of _Plain Talk_.

Boston: Patrick Donahoe. 1869.

The best notice we can give of this book is to reproduce an

extract from the translator's preface:

"This short treatise, written, not by the archbishop of Paris,

as carelessly stated by some newspapers, but by Mgr. de Sègur,

the author of the work lately translated and published under

the title of _Plain Talk_, was composed to unveil and show

Free-Masonry _as it is in the old world_. Its strictures,

therefore, are not wholly applicable to Freemasonry as it is in

the United States. Yet Masons here may read it with profit to

themselves; and those who are not Masons, but might be tempted

to join some lodge, will, it is hoped, abandon the idea if they

read this book. Even here, Free-Masonry is a secret society,

and to become a member of it, one must take at least an oath,

and swear by the name of God to do so and so. Now, God's

command is, 'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God

in vain.' And surely it is taken in vain by American

Free-Masons, because they take it without any sufficient and

justifiable cause. For, apart from other ends of their society,

and especially that of affording members a chance never to want

what assistance they may need in case of a momentary difficulty

in their affairs or loss of means or health, the main object

seems to be to meet at times, in order to spend an afternoon in

a merry way, and to partake of banquets provided for the

occasion. But where is the necessity to bind one's self by an

oath, to gather now and then round a bountifully supplied

table, or even to be charitable, and, for such purposes, to be

a member of a _secret_ society? We have many benevolent

societies; there is no secret about them, no oath to be taken

by those who wish to be members of them. Their object is to

carry out the principles of Christian charity; to that they

bind themselves simply by a promise, as also to contribute so

much for the purposes of the society. There are other

objections to joining Free-Masonry, even here; but this is not

the place to discuss that subject."

------

The Dublin Review, for April, 1869.

London, Brown, Oates & Co.

Dr. Ward On American Orthodoxy.

The _Dublin Review_ for April closes a notice of F.

Weninger's late book on _Papal Infallibility_ with the

following sentence: "In the United States, no less than in these

islands, a higher and more orthodox type of Catholic doctrine

seems rapidly gaining the ascendant. To God be the praise!" This

implies that hitherto a low and unorthodox type of doctrine has

had the ascendant among us--an insinuation not very complimentary

to our hierarchy, clergy, professors of theology, and Catholic

writers. We deny the charge emphatically, and affirm positively

that no type of doctrine, whatever, is now gaining the ascendant

over any different one which has formerly had the ascendant. The

maxims of that set of court canonists, who maintain the

superiority of the episcopate in council over the pope, and deny

the superiority of the pope over a general council, have never

prevailed or been advocated in this country. The dogmatic decrees

of the holy see have always been received here as binding on the

interior assent to the full extent to which the holy see intends

to impose them; and as for filial obedience to the pontifical

authority in matters of discipline, Gregory XVI. expressed the

true state of the case when he said that he was nowhere so

completely pope as in the United States. The encyclical of Pius

IX. was received without a whimper of opposition, and our college

of bishops, in their steadfast loyalty to the holy father, amid

his struggles with the assailants of his temporal authority, have

represented the universal sentiment of their clergy and laity.

The spirit of the theology which has always been taught in our

seminaries, and prevalent among our clergy, may be seen in the

works of that great prelate, one of the glories of both Ireland

and the United States, the late Archbishop Kenrick.

{427}

A large number of our bishops and leading clergymen have been

thoroughly educated and received the doctor's cap at Rome, and we

are sure that they have never come into collision with any body

of their brethren holding contrary opinions, or found it

necessary to make any imputation on their orthodoxy. We esteem

highly the great services which Dr. Ward has rendered to

religion, and the many noble qualities of mind and heart which he

has exhibited from the beginning of his Oxford career to the

present moment. We think, however, that the impetuosity of his

zeal needs a little curbing, and that if he were somewhat more

sparing of reproofs and admonition to his brethren and fathers in

the church, which savor more of the novice-master than the

editor, his review would be much more useful, as well as more

generally acceptable. We know that our opinion on this point is

shared by some of our most distinguished prelates, who are as

thoroughly Roman in their theology as Dr. Ward can profess to be,

and we think there are few on this side the water who would

dissent from it.

------

Church Embroidery, Ancient And Modern,

Practically Illustrated.

By Anastasia Dolby,

Late Embroideress to the Queen.

Church Vestments;

Their Origin, Use, And Ornament.

By the same.

For sale by the Catholic Publication Society,

126 Nassau St., New-York.

These two elegant volumes furnish a complete and practical

description of every kind of ecclesiastical vestment, from the

Roman collar to the Fanon, which, as Miss Dolby informs us,

"appertains only to the vesture of the sovereign pontiff." The

authoress is a "Ritualist," and, as will be seen, of the highest

order of that formidable sect of the English Church, as by law

established. Her books are full of costly engravings, the volume

on church embroidery being adorned with a fine illuminated

frontispiece--an antependium and frontal for high festivals--and

the one on church vestments, with one representing a

_Pontifical High Mass_, in which the deacon is a little out

of place for such a mass, according to the rite as celebrated by

the "Roman obedience," but which, we presume, is strictly in

accordance with the "Anglican obedience." We smile at the pretty

piece of assumption, but forgive Miss Dolby from our hearts, for

we have derived the greatest pleasure and benefit from the use of

her valuable books. Although the volumes are costly, yet the

information they contain would be considered cheap at treble the

price by those who are interested in furnishing the holy

sanctuary with all things appertaining thereto, in good taste.

The authoress is a practical workwoman, and not only tells us

_what_ to do, but also, what is of the highest moment to

many of us, _how_ to do it.

------

The Ark Of The Covenant;

or, a Series of Short Discourses upon the Joys, Sorrows,

Glories, and Virtues of the Ever Blessed Mother of God.

By Rev. T. S. Preston.

New York: Robt. Coddington.

This is a new edition of a work already, we are sure, widely

known and much admired. It is prepared by the reverend author to

suit the beautiful devotion of the month of May, and we do not

hesitate to say that it is the best one for that purpose yet

written. It is truly refreshing to meet with a book like this,

when one has had a surfeit (as who has not) of the many namby

pamby _Months of Mary_, from whose pages we have been

expected to cull flowers of piety for our spiritual enjoyment of

the sweet season dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

------

The General; Or, Twelve Nights In The Hunter's Camp.

A Narrative of Real Life.

Illustrated by G. G. White.

Boston: Lee & Shepard.

This is an account of the doings of the D---- Club, on one of its

annual excursions. It is interspersed with stories told round the

camp-fire, by "the general," of his own adventures in the west,

when it was still the home of the Indian, and immigrants and

land-surveyors were slowly finding their way through the forests

and over the prairies.

{428}

The club were encamped near Swan Lake, two miles east of the

Mississippi, and for twelve days gave themselves up to all the

pleasure and excitement of hunting and fishing. They had a good

time, and one almost envies them the fresh, pure air, the

freedom, the invigorating sport, and enjoyment of nature. The

author thinks that "more tents and less hotels in vacation would

make our professional men more vigorous. Moosehead and the

Adirondacks are better recuperators than Saratoga, Cape May, and

the Rhine; and fishing-rods and fowling-pieces are among the very

best gymnastic apparatus for a college." Summer is coming, and

the advice could be tried. The adventures of the general, and of

the hunters at Swan Lake, would while away most pleasantly the

hours of a warm summer afternoon on the Adirondacks or Lake

George.

------

Reminiscences Of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

A Social and Artistic Biography.

By Elise Polko.

Translated from the German by Lady Wallace.

New York: Leypoldt & Holt. 1869.

A woman's book in every page and line, charming for its

simplicity and pleasant gossip. Madame Polko was a friend and

enthusiastic admirer of the great musician. All that he ever did,

said, or wrote she tells us with an air of pride and earnestness

only equalled by the _naïve_ recital of all baby's wonderful

pranks and precocious intelligence peculiar to young mothers.

These reminiscences will do to beguile a dreamy summer hour, when

the mind needs relaxation, and is not able to bear anything

heavier than the innocent prattle of children, and the soothing

sound of the seaside waves.

------

Ferncliffe.

1 vol. 12mo.

Philadelphia: P. F. Cunningham. 1869.

_Ferncliffe_ is an interesting tale of "English country

life." The author has been fortunate enough to give us scenes and

characters which appear in all respects very natural, and

therefore are exceedingly interesting. It is seldom we find a

book containing so many characters, each possessing some

peculiarity, and all kept in that complete subordination to the

principal one which is so necessary to the full development of

the plot.

The book is neatly printed on fine paper, and is a credit to the

enterprising publisher who, we are glad to see, is accepting the

"situation," and making his books in conformity with the

improvements of the age in style and manner of getting up. We

wish all our publishers would do the same; for it is high time

that Catholic books appeared in as good a dress as non-Catholic

books.

------

Salt-water Dick.

By May Mannering.

Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp. 230. 1869.

The Ark Of Elm Island.

By Rev. Elijah Kellogg.

Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp. 288. 1869.

In these volumes we have, in addition to the usual amount of

amusing incident and startling adventure inseparable from sea

voyages, a very full and interesting description of life at the

Chincha Islands, the great guano depot; pleasant glimpses into

Lima, Rio Janeiro, and Havana; graphic details of encounters with

sea-lions, etc.; a dreadful storm in the Gulf of Mexico, with a

wonderful escape from shipwreck by literally "pouring oil on the

troubled waters," the whole agreeably diversified with numerous

facts in natural history.

Combining amusement with instruction, books such as these have a

great fascination for boys, and may, in most cases, be safely

recommended.

------

Dotty Dimple Stories.

Dotty Dimple At School.

By Sophie May, Author of _Little Prudy Stories_.

Illustrated.

Boston: Lee & Shepard.

{429}

This story is one of a series, although quite complete in itself.

They are all admirably written; for children's stories, they are

almost perfect. They teach important lessons without making the

children feel that they are taught them, or giving them an

inclination to skip over those parts. If the little folks get

hold of these books, they will be certain to read them, and ever

afterward count Miss Dotty Dimple and dear little Prudy among

their very best friends. Such a pen only needs to be guided by

Catholic faith to make it perfect for children. We do not say

this with any want of appreciation of what it is already, for its

moral lessons are beautifully given; but what might they not be,

enlightened by the truth, the holiness, and the beauty of

Catholic faith!

------

Alice's Adventures In Wonder Land.

By Lewis Carroll.

With forty-two Illustrations by John Tenniel.

Boston: Lee & Shepard, 49 Washington Street. 1869.

These adventures are most wonderful, even for Wonderland. One

cannot help regretting that children should be entertained in

this way instead of by some probable or possible adventures. They

are well written, and the illustrations are excellent.

------

Juliette; Or, Now And Forever.

By Mrs. Madeline Leslie.

Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp.416. 1869.

A religious tale, strictly Protestant, plentifully besprinkled

with scriptural texts, allusions, etc., which will, no doubt,

prove deeply interesting to those for whose special delectation

it is intended.

------

_The Catholic Publication Society_ have purchased all the

stereotype plates and book stock of Messrs. Lucas Brothers,

Baltimore. Some of these books have been out of print for some

years, or have not been kept constantly before the public. The

society will soon issue new editions of all of them.

Messrs. Murphy & Co., Baltimore, have just issued an edition of

Milner's _End of Controversy_, in paper covers, which is

sold for seventy five cents a copy.

Mr. P. F. Cunningham, Philadelphia, will soon publish _Catholic

Doctrine, as defined by the Council of Trent_, expounded in a

series of conferences delivered in Geneva during the Jubilee of

1851, by Rev. Father Nampon, of the Society of Jesus; proposed as

a means of reuniting all Christians. It will make an octavo

volume of some 600 or 700 pages.

From Roberts Brothers, Boston:

Handy-volume Series. Realities of Irish Life.

Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.

By Louisa M. Alcott.

2 Vols. Illustrated.

------

Foreign Literary Notes.

The Abbé Sire, Superior of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, some time

since undertook to procure the translation of the bull

"_Ineffabilis_" into all the written languages of the world.

In this vast enterprise he has made great progress, and more than

a year ago his zeal received the honoring recognition of the holy

father in a letter addressed to him, beginning: "Hinc gratissimum

nobis accidit, Dilecte Fili, consilium a Te susceptum curandi, ut

Apostoliae Nostrae de dogmatica Immaculati ejusdem Dei Genitricis

Conceptus Definitione Litterae e latino idiomate in omnes

converteretur linguas."

Catholic Ireland has made a handsome contribution to M. Sire's

work in a volume published in Dublin, containing the Bull and its

translation into the French, Latin, and Irish languages. The

Irish translation is by the Rev. Patrick J. Bourke, President of

St. Jarlath's College, Tuam, where, alone in all Ireland, under

the auspices, and, we may say, the national enthusiasm of the Rt.

Rev. Dr. McHale, the language of Ireland is taught, and

endeavored to be preserved. We say endeavored; for it seems that,

excepting among the hills of Connaught, the mother tongue of the

Celtic race has died, or is rapidly dying out in the green

island. Dr. Bourke's volume, published in Dublin, is a fine

specimen of typography.

{430}

We believe, although we have never seen any announcement of it,

that Dr. Bourke is also the editor of the _Keltic Journal and

Indicator_, a semi-monthly commenced at Manchester, (England,)

in January last. Why it is called Keltic, instead of Gaelic or

Irish, we do not know, nor can we understand why it should be

published in England rather than in Ireland. Two other Gaelic

races, the Welsh, and the Bretons of France, have periodicals in

their native dialect; the latter, the Feiz he Breiz, and the

former, several.

The dying out of the Irish language on the lips of a million of

people who speak it, may be attributed mainly to two

causes--emigration, and the indifference of its own race.

There is still another difficulty. Its pronunciation no longer

accords with its received orthography, and, as written, it is

encumbered with a quantity of unpronounced letters. If the

language is to continue to exist as a written one, a radical

reform similar to that effected by the Tcheks in the Bohemian

dialect at the end of the last century is absolutely necessary.

Meantime, Dr. Bourke is entitled to great praise for his

unceasing efforts in the cause of Ireland's national literature.

------

The publishing house of Adrien Le Clerc (Paris) announces an

important work in press. It is _L'Histoire des Conciles_, in

ten volumes 8vo, (large,) of 640 pages each. The first volume

appeared on the 31st of January. It is a translation, by the

Abbés Goschler and Delarc, from the German of Dr. Ch. Jos.

Hefele, Professor of Theology at the University of Tübingen. The

Messrs. Clarke, of Edinburgh, have announced an English

translation of the same work from the German.

----

_The Femall Glory, or the Life and Death of our Blessed Lady,

the Holy Virgin Mary, God's owne immaculate Mother, etc. etc._

By Anthony Stafford, Gent. London, 1635. Reprinted in 1869. An

exact typographical reproduction of the original, in all its

quaintness of ancient characters and antiquity of English,

preceded by the apology of the author (Stafford) and an essay on

the cultus of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Edited by the Rev. Orby

Shipley.

Independently of its intrinsic merit, this work has always

attracted great attention, from the fact that it was written by a

member of the English (Episcopal) Church, and approved by

prelates of that denomination as distinguished as Laud and Juxon.

As a matter of course, such a book was found to be "egregiously

scandalous" by the Puritans, who looked upon it as nothing short

of a device of papacy. And Henry Burton, minister of Friday

street, London, in a sermon, _For God and the King_,

denounced "several extravagant and popish passages therein, and

advised the people to be aware of it." This was the beginning of

a controversial war concerning the "Femall Glory" that made it

one of the most notable works of the day. That a papist should

have written such a book might have passed without comment, but

that a noble Stafford of Northamptonshire, a graduate of Oriel

College Oxford, and a staunch Church of England man, should have

done this thing was an irremissible sin in Puritanic eyes.

Stafford was distinguished as a man of letters, and wrote various

other works, most of them with quaint titles, according to the

taste of that day; as,

_Niobe dissolved into a Nilus: or his Age drowned in her own

tears._ 1611.

_Heavenly Dogge: a Life and Death of that Great Cynick

Diogenes; whom Laertius styled Canis Caelestis, the Heavenly

Dogge_. 1615.

The attacks of Burton and others brought out _A Short Apology,

or Vindication of a book entitled Femall Glory, etc._, which

is republished in the fourth edition of 1869.

_The Femall Glory _ is a book of genuine English growth,

entirely free from imitation or adaptation of foreign words, and,

beyond mere sketches of the most meagre character, the only full

life of the Blessed Virgin.

{431}

It is valuable, in a controversial point of view, as contrasting,

the clear and distinct acknowledgment of the dignity and sanctity

of the mother of God, as recognized by English Protestants of

that, with the Episcopal Low Church views of the present day.

Citations might be made from such men as Jeremy Taylor, Bishop

Bull, Bishop Pearson, Archdeacon Frank, and Archbishop Bramhall,

to show this conclusively. Not the smallest charm about the book

is the odor of its quaint seventeenth century tone of thought and

expression. Thus, in the preface "To the Feminine Reader" she is

told, "You are here presented, by an extreme honourer of your

Sexe, with a Mirrour of Femall Perfection. ... By this, you

cannot curle your haires, fill up your wrinckles, and so alter

your Looks, that Nature, who made you, knowes you no more, but

utterly forgets her owne Workmanship. By this, you cannot lay

spots on your faces; but take them out of your Soules, you may."

Then there is "The Ghyrlond of the Blessed Virgin Marie."

"There are five letters in this blessed Name,

Which, chang'd, a five-fold Mysterie designe;

The M, the Myrtle, A, the Almonds clame,

R, Rose, I, Ivy, E, sweet Eglantine."

That such a book should not find favor in the eyes of the London

_Athenaeum_, is not surprising. The author of _Spiritual

Wives_ and the recognizer of the Pope Joan fable as veritable

history could scarcely be expected to recognize merit in such a

work as the _Femall Glory_.

------

_A Slavonian Version of the Bible_ is now in preparation at

Rome. The original Slavonian text was the work of St. Cyril and

St. Methodus, apostles to the Slavonians in the ninth century. In

the lapse of years, the original text has been seriously tampered

with by so-called emendators and incompetent copyists, so that it

is now very difficult to determine several important questions

concerning it. Was the translation made from the Latin, the

Greek, or the Hebrew? What class of manuscripts were used by

these apostles? Which of the Slavonian dialects was the vehicle

of the translation? And, finally, was the original version

written in glagolitic or cyrillic characters?

------

_The Staple of Biographical Notices_ of Pope Sixtus V., is

usually made up of a series of stories, to the effect that he was

the son of ignorant parents and himself a swineherd; that he rose

by his talents to the dignity of cardinal, and that, feigning

extreme illness to the point of appearing to be on the verge of

the grave from debility and disease, was no sooner elected to the

papacy than he threw away his crutches and declared himself

perfectly restored to health.

These stories have found such favor with compilers of historical

books that they have been carefully preserved in spite of their

want of confirmation by contemporary historians. M. A. I.

Dumesnil has lately written a life of Felix Peretti, Pope Sixtus

V., in which he shows that his origin was not low, and that he

was allied to the best families, short of nobility, of his

province. The stories of his illness, simulated feebleness, and

affected use of crutches, he pronounces to be all fabulous, and

quotes Tempesti, one of the historians of the conclave which

elected Sixtus, thus: "In electing Montalto pope, still vigorous

of years, since he had reached only sixty-four and enjoyed a

robust and vigorous constitution, it was felt certain that he

would live long enough to bury Farnese and his partisans." M.

Dumesnil does not appear to have added anything by research or

discovery to the materials already known to be in existence, but

has simply used the matter furnished by Tempesti, Guerra,

Fontana, and other Italian historians, with skill and judgment.

He bears testimony to the extraordinary talent, judgment, and

energy of the great pontiff, whose reign of less than five years

was, unfortunately, too short to complete the extensive reforms

commenced by him in the temporal government of his territory.

Sixtus V. was remarkable for his energy in the suppression of

abuses, order and economy in the public finances, and unbending

severity toward criminals, encouragement of industry, an

enlightened fondness for the arts, as shown by numerous monuments

and his patronage of the great architect, Fontana, and an

inflexible determination to raise the holy see from any

dependence upon foreign princes.

{432}

There is another _Life of Sixus_ in preparation by Baron

Hübner, formerly Austrian Ambassador to France, in which he

promises numerous documents, French, Spanish, and English, never

yet published.

[Six paragraphs have been moved, three paragraphs toward the

end, from this location according to the notice on page 711-2.]

------

_Concilium Seleuciae et Ctesiphonti_, habitum anno 410.

Textum Syriacum edidit latine vertit notisque instruxit,

T. J. Lamy. Lovanii, 1868.

From ancient Syrian literature, so rich in works relative to the

church, its history, its discipline, and its dogmas, the Abbé

Lamy, Professor at the University of Louvain, has here selected

one of its most precious monuments for translation and comment.

Not less remarkable for the charm of their antique simplicity of

language than their fulness of doctrine, these few pages alone

would almost suffice to establish the complete symbolism of the

church. "Confitemur etiam"--thus testify the fathers of the

Council of Seleucia--"Spiritum vivum et sanctum, Paracletum

vivum, QUI EX PATRE ET FILIO in una Trinitate, in una essentia,

in una voluntate, amplectentes fidem trecentorum decem et octo

Episcoporum, quae definita fuit in urbe Nicea. Haec est confessio

nostra et fides nostra, quam accepimus a Sanctis Patribus

Nostris.

[The following six paragraphs have been moved to this location

according to the notice on page 711-2.]

It will be remembered that in the fifth century the

Priscillianists, in those countries infected with the Arian

heresy, took unfair advantage of the special mention made by the

Council of Constantinople of the first person of the Trinity and

of the omitted mention of the Son, to maintain that the Son was

not consubstantial with the Father.

Then followed the express insertion of the word FILIOQUE by

decree of a general council.

The history of the Greek schism turns upon this point, and

students of church history will find high interest and solid

instruction in tracing the reasons and circumstances connected

with the fact that, although this addition of _filioque_

really made no change in the doctrine of the church, although in

the ninth century the western churches used it, and yet Pope Leo

III. insisted on the use in Rome of the form adopted by the

fathers of Constantinople, and although between the Greek and the

Latin churches there was no divergence on this doctrinal point,

nevertheless it was not until after the consummation of the

schism of Photius and of Michael Cerularius that the Greeks began

to pretend that they had never professed this dogma.

Then follows the treatment of this question by the councils of

fourth Lateran, (1215,) third Lyons, (1274,) and that of

Florence, (1439.)

Of course it will be seen that the importance of the action of

the Council of Seleucia lies in the fact that it was composed of

forty bishops, of whom one, at least, was a member of the first

ecumenical council of Constantinople, and that it was called at

the instigation and through the initiative of the Greek Church

herself.

So that, as the lawyers say, it does not lie in the mouth of the

Greek Church, at the present day, to say that it is simply

opposing a Latin innovation.

In almost immediate connection with what we here remark on the

Rev. Mr. Lamy's book, we may mention that the _Jacobi Episcopi

Edessem Epistola ad Georgium Episcopum Sarugensem de Orthographia

Syriaca_, so well known, at least by reputation, to oriental

scholars, has at last been published at Leipsic. Assemanni and

Michaelis frequently urged its printing, and Cardinal Wiseman,

who took a strong and appreciative interest in the work, speaks

of it at length in the first volume of his _Horae Syriacae_,

(Rome, 1828.)

------

Monsignor Giuliani, of Verona, has published a work on public

libraries, in which he shows that the libraries of Italy possess

a greater number of volumes than the libraries of any other

nation in the world. The Italian libraries number 6,000,000 of

volumes; France, 4,389,000; Austria, 2,400,000; Prussia,

2,040,000, Great Britain, 1,774,493; Bavaria, 1,268,000; Russia,

882,090; Belgium, 509,100. Collections of books are much

scattered in Italy. Paris has one third of all the library books

in France, and most of the European capitals are rich in almost

as great a proportion. This is not the case in Italy. Milan has

only 250,000 volumes in the Brera library, and 155,000 in the

Ambrosian.

-------

{433}

The Catholic World.

Vol. IX., No. 52.--July, 1869.

Columbus At Salamanca.

"----e di te solo

Basti ai posteri tuoi ch'alquanto accume:

Che quel poco darà lunga memoria

Di poema dignissima e d'istoria." [Footnote 121]

_Gierusalemme Liberata_, TASSO.

[Footnote 121: "Thy single name will pour diviner light O'er

history's pages; and thy fame inspire Bards, who are yet

unborn, with more celestial fire."

Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_. ]

Some three years since, a large historical painting was exhibited

at the gallery of the Artists' Fund Association in the city of

New York. Its subject, as announced, was "Columbus before the

Council of Salamanca." The picture was said to be a work of

merit, and attracted much attention. It represented the great

discoverer standing in the large hall of a convent, surrounded by

monks and ecclesiastics, foremost among whom are three Dominican

friars, who, having apparently worked themselves into a paroxysm

of anger, face Columbus with gestures of violent denunciation.

Grave, dignified, and majestic stands the great Genoese

discoverer among them, apparently the only reasonable being in

that assemblage of ignorance and bigotry, whose victim he is

evidently about to become. The pictorial lesson sought to be

conveyed was, clearly, that here was another Galileo business, a

second _e pur si muove_ sensation, a repetition of the

favorite amusement of all churchmen, which every one knows to be

the persecution of discoverers and the crushing out of knowledge.

And the warrant for all this misrepresentation was said to be

found in the pages of Washington Irving's _History of

Columbus_.

Now, a perusal of those pages shows that, although Mr. Irving

committed a grave historical blunder in describing a "council of

Salamanca" that had no existence, he nevertheless expressly

excepts from any charge of ignorance and intolerance that may be

implied from his language these very Dominican monks who, in Mr.

Kauffman's historical picture, are made the foremost and most

violent in their denunciation of Columbus.

"When Columbus," says Irving, "began to state the grounds of his

belief, the friars of St. Stephen's (Dominicans) _alone paid

attention to him_, that convent being more learned in the

sciences than the rest of the university. The others appear to

have intrenched themselves behind one dogged proposition."

{434}

In the entire range of English art and literature so firmly have

some of the most offensive forms of anti-Catholic prejudice

become rooted, that, whenever any prominent historical character

or incident comes in contact with the Catholic Church the

occasion is seized, right or wrong, with or without authority,

and often in the very teeth of history, to exemplify some phase

of what people are pleased to call popish ignorance and

persecution. Under the dark pall of bigotry that has so long

overshadowed the genius of English literature, events which, in

honest truth, should and do redound to the honor of the Catholic

Church and its hierarchy as protectors of knowledge and promoters

of noble enterprises have been, by a species of literary

legerdemain, wrested into so many evidences of their intolerance.

More than any country, England has furnished astounding and

repulsive proofs of the truth of Count De Maistre's assertion

that "History is a vast conspiracy against truth." With uplifted

hands, dripping with the blood of the innocent, she accuses other

nations of murder. With a statute-book black with intolerance and

suppression of knowledge, she talks complacently of the rights of

conscience and the blessings of education.

In a lecture on Daniel O'Connell, delivered in Brooklyn on the

fifth of March last, the distinguished orator, Wendell Phillips,

of Boston, with all his eloquence, appeared almost at a loss

fittingly to qualify, by description and illustration, the

frightful tyranny of Protestant England against Catholic Ireland,

as exemplified in the diabolical ingenuity of the means by which

she sought to "stamp out" Irish nationality and annihilate

Catholicity. And, Mr. Phillips might have added, she was as

consistently bigoted at home as in Ireland. Here, the poor hedge

schoolmaster if a Catholic, who taught a child its a b c, was,

for the first offence, subject to banishment, and for the second,

_to be hanged as a felon_. There, when the University of

Oxford was asked to confer the honorary degree of A.M. on Alban

Francis, a learned Benedictine, he was rudely thrust back, solely

for the reason that he was a Catholic. And yet the same

university had shortly before conferred the same degree on--a

Mohammedan! The old distich is very trite, but on that occasion

it was very true:

"Turk, Jew, or atheist may enter here,

But not a papist."

It is a memorable fact that Sir Isaac Newton particularly

distinguished himself by active participation in this piece of

bigotry. He actually suspended the preparation for the press of

his _Principia_, and lent all the influence of his position

and his great name in order that an Englishman, distinguished for

his virtues and his learning, might not, because he was a

Catholic, receive the cheap recognition of the honorary degree of

a Protestant university. And Newton's English biographer coolly

states that "it was this circumstance, perhaps, as much as the

personal merit of Newton, that induced the university to select

him, the following year, to serve as their representative in

parliament."

But space fails us to dwell on this subject, and we desire merely

to note the fact that, so thoroughly has a spirit of intolerant

anti-Catholicity permeated English literature, that its

expression, in some shape, is constantly found at the points of

the pens of many who are personally unconscious of any such

inspiration.

{435}

The spirit we refer to so thoroughly pervades every department of

literature--history, biography, travels, poetry, philosophy--that

from youth to old age it is unconsciously infiltrated into the

mental processes of every one who uses the English language as a

means of acquiring or communicating knowledge. Even as we write,

an instance of this presents itself. Here is a passage from the

editorial columns of a leading daily, published in Brooklyn, the

third city of the Union:

"----the church so long deemed the enemy of human freedom and

intellectual progress, which imprisoned Galileo, and _tried

to thwart Columbus_ in putting the girdle of her ancient

faith around the world!"

And yet the article from which this extract is made is evidently

written in a spirit that its author honestly supposes to be one

of entire freedom from religious prejudice. The church tried to

thwart Columbus! That is the main idea of the passage quoted, as

it was also the inspiration of the Kauffman painting. Such ideas

and such inspiration are the result of general prejudice and a

foregone conclusion.

Of course we are aware of the accommodating pliability of the

term "the church," as used by writers who have anything

disagreeable or false to say of Catholicity. "The church" is, by

turns, a council, the pope, the cardinals, the inquisition, a

bishop or two, a knot of priests, sometimes only one, a king, a

viceroy, a barefooted friar, a dying nun, or even a simple

layman. It is really difficult and discouraging to deal with

people who either cannot or will not abide by some standard of

meaning for words whose proper acceptance is well defined and

recognized.

In the case of Columbus these misrepresentations are the more

remarkable for the reason that there is no history of the

discovery of America, no biography of Columbus, how ever

imperfect, however prejudiced it may be, from whose perusal the

student can arise with any other conviction than that Columbus,

so far from being thwarted, was, on the contrary, enabled to

succeed in obtaining from Spain the means to fit out his

expedition only, wholly, and solely by reason of the

encouragement and aid he received from friars, priests, bishops,

and cardinals!

From the moment he set foot on Spanish soil until he sailed from

Palos the generous sympathy and brave advocacy of churchmen never

forsook him. Never for a moment did they waver in their

appreciation of his noble nature, his sincere piety, and the

merit of his enterprise. From the Dominicans cloistered in St.

Stephens to Luis de St. Angel, high treasurer at the royal court;

from the saintly hermit of La Rabida to the grand Cardinal

Mendoza, ("a man of sound judgment, quick intellect, eloquent and

able," says Washington Irving,) in all are found the same

generous enthusiasm and unwavering boldness in their support of

the strange sailor's enterprise.

And now, should Mr. Kauffman, or any other artist, desirous of

painting a great picture without pandering to a taste as false in

art as in history, desire to select a striking incident from the

history of Columbus, we beg leave to suggest that, without flying

in the face of truth, he may find it among the following

historical incidents:

First. Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, in appearance lofty and

venerable, of generous and gentle deportment, pleading the cause

of Columbus before the queen.

Second. The friar Diego de Deza aiding Columbus in sore necessity

from his own scant purse.

{436}

Third. Juan Perez, prior of the convent of La Rabida,

remonstrating with Columbus against abandoning his great

enterprise and quitting Spain.

Fourth. The same prior saddling a mule at midnight to confront

the dangers of mountain passes, and an enemy's country, in order

to intercede for Columbus with the queen at Santa Fé.

Fifth. The same noble monk pleading the cause of Columbus before

the queen with such chivalrous enthusiasm that "Isabella never

heard the proposition urged with such honest zeal and impassioned

eloquence."

Sixth. Another noble ecclesiastic, Luis de St. Angel, who,

rivalling Isabella's magnanimity, met the queen's noble offer to

pledge her crown jewels to raise the necessary funds for

Columbus's expedition with the assurance that she need not, for

he would advance the money.

But to return to the "council of Salamanca." The word council

presents the idea of a solemn ecclesiastical assemblage: not a

committee, not a board, not a junto; but something grand,

elevated in dignity and large in numbers. When you say "council,"

every one, instinctively, imagines a crowd of mitres and

episcopal croziers.

With that "fatal facility" which is the bane of historical

composition Irving has given us an entire chapter of nine pages

describing this famous "council," its debates, and its

proceedings, and from this chapter has gradually, although--we

must in justice to Mr. Irving say--unwarrantably, grown up a

story that, by dint of thirty years' repetition, has almost

acquired the dignity of an historical fact. That Prescott should

have followed Irving is not surprising. That Lamartine should

have disdained reference to historical sources and spoken of

Spain of the fifteenth century with that wonderful _sans

gêne_ that improvises both form and substance, that writes an

apotheosis of Robespierre and calls it a history of the

Girondins, in which there is, of course, a florid description of

"the last banquet," (which never took place,) is still less

surprising. But that a Spaniard and a serious historian, Don

Modesto Lafuente, should have written an important page in the

history of his country on the word of an entire stranger is

astounding.

The whole of chapter third and part of chapter fourth of Irving's

_Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus_ are devoted to

"the council." Irving represents Ferdinand "determined to take

the opinion of the most learned men in the kingdom, and be guided

by their decision." Ferdinand de Talavera, "one of the most

erudite men of Spain and high in the royal confidence," was

commanded to consult the most learned astronomers, etc. After

they had informed themselves fully on the subject, they were to

consult together and make a report to the sovereign of their

collective opinion. After a long disquisition on the condition of

learning and science at that time, Irving goes on to say: "Such

was the period when a council of clerical sages was convened in

the collegiate convent of St. Stephen to investigate the new

theory of Columbus. It was composed of professors of astronomy,

geography, mathematics and other branches of science, together

with various dignitaries of the church and learned friars. ...

Among the number who were convinced by the reasoning and warmed

by the eloquence of Columbus was Diego de Deza, a worthy and

learned friar of the order of St. Dominick. He obtained for

Columbus a dispassionate if not an unprejudiced hearing."

{437}

Irving speaks of the assembled body as "this learned junto," and

says that occasional conferences took place, but without

producing any decision.

"Talavera, to whom the matter was specially entrusted, had too

little esteem for it, and was too much occupied to press it to a

conclusion, and thus the inquiry experienced continual

procrastination and neglect."

So far the third chapter of Irving. It is a remarkable fact that,

for all the important statements concerning the "council," Irving

cites but one authority, Remesal, referring to book ii. chapter

27, and book xi. chapter 7. In an endeavor to verify these

citations we find that book ii. has but twenty-two chapters, and

the passage referred to in book xi. chapter 7 is not there, but

in book ii. chapter 7. But it is more than singular that Irving

should refer to Remesal at all on that subject. Remesal was a

learned Dominican monk and his work is a _History of the

Provinces of Chiapa and Guatemala_, (America.) His book was

completed in 1609, and first published in 1619. Personally, he

was separated from the events at Salamanca by a space of one

hundred and twenty years. He was not writing the history of Spain

in 1487, and what he says concerning Salamanca is merely

incidental, unquestionably correct though it be. Thus, he states

that, with the aid of the Dominicans, Columbus brought over the

most learned men of the university, and among the numerous claims

to greatness of the convent of St. Stephen was that of having

been the principal cause of the discovery of the Indies.

[Footnote 122]

[Footnote 122: "Y con el favor des los Religiosos reduxo a su

opinion los mayores Letrados de la escuela. ... Entre las

muchas grundezas ... una es aver sido la principal ocasion

del descubrimiento de las Indias."]

To return to Irving. He relates in chapter 4 that the

"consultations of the board (first it was the council, then "this

learned junto") at Salamanca were interrupted by the Spanish

campaign against Malaga, before that learned body could come to a

decision, and for a long time Columbus was kept in suspense,

vainly awaiting the report that was to decide the fate of his

application." It thus appears that the opinion of the council was

not sufficiently adverse to Columbus to report at once and

unfavorably of his project. Then followed the spring campaign of

1487, the siege of Malaga, August, 1487. "In the spring of 1489,"

says Irving, "Columbus was summoned to attend a conference of

learned men to be held at the city of Seville."

But if a fresh conference is to decide, what then was the value

of the Salamanca council by whose decision, as Mr. Irving

informed us a few pages back, King Ferdinand had resolved to be

guided?

"In 1490, Ferdinand and Isabella entered Seville in triumph.

Spring and summer wore away. At court was Fernando de Talavera,

_the procrastinating arbiter of the pretensions of

Columbus_." So then the arbiter was Talavera, not the council,

which, so far from condemning, have not yet, at the end of four

years, given any decision concerning the affair of Columbus.

The higher we remount with the authorities toward the epoch of

"the council" the less do we find concerning it and concerning

Salamanca. The chroniclers of their Catholic majesties, Hernando

del Pulgar, Galindez, Carvajal, and others, make no mention of

it, and Peter Martyr, Lucio Siculo, Gonzalez de Oviedo, Lopez de

Gomara, and Sohs are equally silent on the subject.

{438}

It must be borne in mind, with regard to Columbus, that

historical certainty begins really with the siege of Granada, in

1492. Everything preceding that epoch is traditional, often vague

and uncertain, and seldom supported by documentary evidence. A

council at Salamranca held by royal order would have been

authorized by special edict or decree. There was none. Neither

was there any regular delegation to the university, no commission

officially installed, no interrogatories, nor registers, nor

records, followed by a definitive decree. The college and convent

of St. Stephen (Dominican) was only one college of the many at

Salamanca constituting the university. If such a council as

Irving describes had ever been held there, reference to recorded

proceedings, and a final decision in its archives, or in those of

St. Stephen, could long since have been made.

The truth is that the only authority for any statements

concerning a committee of cosmographers is a passage in the life

of the grand admiral, written by his son Fernando Columbus. As

already remarked, the nearer we approach the period of the

pretended "council" the less we hear about it. Herrera, whose

sagacity, impartiality, and fidelity are universally recognized,

thus relates the matter of the cosmographers, but not once does

he mention "council" or "Salamanca." He says (1st Dec. book i,

chap. vii.) "that Columbus's suit was so home pressed (y tanto se

porfiò en ello) that their Catholic majesties, giving some

attention to the affair, referred it to father Ferdinand de

Talavera. He (Talavera) held a meeting of cosmographers who

debated about it, (qui confirieron en ello,) but there being few

then of that profession in Castile, and those none of the best in

the world, and besides Columbus would not altogether explain

himself, lest he should be served as he had been in Portugal,

[Footnote 123] they came to a resolution nothing answerable to

what he had expected."

[Footnote 123: During his negotiation at Lisbon with the king

of Portugal, Columbus was requested to furnish for the

consideration of the royal council a detailed plan of his

proposed voyage, with charts and documents according to which

he intended to shape his course. As soon as these were

obtained, a well-manned vessel, under command of an able

captain, was despatched with orders to sail west on the

Atlantic according to the instructions of Columbus. Some few

days out from the Cape Verd Islands, the crew became

discouraged, and the vessel returned. The secret of its

mission soon transpired, and Columbus, outraged at the

treachery, left Portugal in disgust.]

Herrera follows Ferdinand Columbus very closely; adopting, in

many passages, his very words. Fernando makes no mention of

Salamanca, says expressly that the cosmographers were called

altogether by Talavera, and that Columbus held back his most

important proofs lest what had happened him in Portugal might

also happen him in Spain, (nè lo ammiraglio si volea lasciar

tanto intendere che gli avenisse quel, che in Portogallo gli

avvenne et gli urbassero la beniditione.)

Fernando Columbus was a man of learning and ability, and his

history is of great value. Unfortunately, the work, as he wrote

it, is lost. It was, of course, in the Spanish language. It is

said that a son of his brother Diego took the MS. to Genoa, where

it was translated into Italian. The version now used in Spain is

retranslated from the Italian, and abounds in errors. There is a

very good copy of the Italian edition (Venice, 1685) in the Astor

library.

Munoz, the Spanish national historian who followed Herrera and

precedes Navarette, was a scholar of great merits, talents, and

liberal acquisitions. He was indefatigable in research, and being

royal historiographer had free access to all the records of

Spain. He says that Talavera was commissioned to examine the

enterprise with cosmographers, and give their opinion.

{439}

As the court happened that winter to be at Salamanca, they met

there. It is to be regretted that no record exists of the

conferences that took place in the Dominican convent of St.

Stephen, from which to form an opinion of the condition of

mathematics and astronomy in the university so famous in the

fifteenth century. _It is clear, nevertheless, that Columbus

established his propositions, produced his proofs, and met every

objection_. [Footnote 124]

[Footnote 124: Talavera á quien los reyes encargaron la

comision de juntar à los sujetis habiles in cosmografia, para

examinar la empresa, y dar su pareceo. Formose la junta en

Salamanca, quizá per el invierno estando alli la corte. Es

lastima quo no hayan quidado documentis de las disputas que

se tuvieron en el convento de los dominicanos de San Esteban

para formar juicio del estado de las matematicas y astronomia

en aquella universidad famosa en el siglo XV. Coustu que

Colon sentaban sus proposisciones, exponfa sus fundamentos, y

satisfaciá a' las dificultades.]

Munoz (_Historia del Nuevo Mundo_, pp. 57, 58, 59)

continues: "Los dominicanos poner entre sus glorias el haber

hospedado en San Esteban al descubridor de las Indias, dadole de

comer y otros auxilios para seguir sus pretensiones; y sobra todo

el haber estado por su opinion en equellas disputas, y atraido á

su partido los primeros hombres de la escuela. En lo qual

attribuyen la principal parte á Fray Diego Deza. ... cuyo

autoridad. ... contribuyó mucho para los creditos y acceptacion

de la empresa." [Footnote 125]

[Footnote 125: The Dominicans are justly proud of the

hospitality extended by them in their convents to the

discoverer of America, entertaining him, and providing him

with all things necessary to pursue his projects; and still

more of having declared for him in the argument, drawing over

to his side the first men of the university. In all which the

great merit is due to Diego de Deza, whose influence

contributed greatly to the appreciation and adoption of the

enterprise.]

Only a few years since, in 1858, Don Domingo Doncel y Ordar, of

Salamanca, published a memoir in which he refutes the statements

of Irving.

A conference of cosmographers doubtless was held, but it was not

of the nature described by Irving and those who copy him, nor was

it a "council" with which the university of Salamanca had any

official connection whatever.

The archives, documents, and registers of the university have

been searched with the most thorough diligence, and not a trace

of the council is on record. The registers in particular,

admirably kept and carefully preserved, were commenced in 1464

and record incidents almost insignificant in interest, but make

no mention of such a meeting or council as Irving speaks of. In

this connection it is matter of surprise that such writers as

Rosselly De Lorgues and Cadoret should still be chasing the

phantom of this Salamanca council. The latter says that its

decree was rendered five years after its first meeting, and De

Lorgues supposes it probable that its records may yet be found in

the archives of Simancas. If there had been any decision against

Columbus by a body at all approaching the dignity and importance

of the university of Salamanca, he would have immediately quitted

Spain, never to return. But we find him leaving Salamanca strong

in the support of its first scholars, of the entire body of

Dominicans, and of the papal nuncio.

That King Ferdinand should have directed Talavera to take the

opinion of cosmographers is perfectly natural. This temporizing

and shuffling treatment of Columbus would lead him to do anything

that would gain time and put Columbus off. Even Isabella was

evidently desirous of procrastinating until a successful

termination of the siege of Granada should enable them to act in

the matter.

Reference to a committee or a board for the sake of delay

indefinite is not an invention of the nineteenth century. It is

as old as, if not older than, the period of Columbus.

{440}

That Columbus should, as his son Fernando relates, have

hesitated to explain himself fully, was natural, and indeed

inevitable. And with that hesitation there must have been a shade

of disdain in his manner. It looks very much as though he had

reserved his best, most cogent reasons for the private ear of his

special friends the Dominicans, who were enthusiastically the

advocates of his enterprise.

We see Columbus leaving Salamanca not cast down and defeated, but

serene and with all the courage of confirmed conviction. The

noble Diego de Deza conducts him to the presence of Ferdinand and

Isabella, and we soon afterward hear the hum of preparation at

Palos.

The latest historian of Columbus, Mr. Arthur Helps, separated

from Washington Irving by a period of some forty years, is

credited with ability, and great industry and research. He

certainly has the advantage of extensive and successful

discoveries of documents concerning Columbus made in Spain within

that period. It would be but reasonable, therefore, to look for

the throwing of much additional light and interesting details on

so capital an incident as "the council of Salamanca." Here is the

account given of it by Mr. Helps in his _Life of Columbus_,

published since the commencement of the present year:

"Amid the clang of arms and the bustle of warlike preparation,

Columbus was not likely to obtain more than a slight and

superficial attention to a matter which must have seemed remote

and uncertain.

"Indeed, when it is considered that the most pressing internal

affairs of kingdoms are neglected by the wisest rulers in times

of war, it is wonderful that he succeeded in obtaining any

audience at all. However, he was fortunate enough to find at

once a friend in the treasurer of the household, Alonzo de

Quintilla, a man who, like himself, took delight in great

things, and who obtained a hearing for him from the Spanish

monarchs. Ferdinand and Isabella did not dismiss him abruptly.

On the contrary, it is said they listened kindly; and the

conference ended _by their referring the business to the

queen's confessor, Fra Hernando de Talavera_, who was

afterwards archbishop of Granada. This important functionary

summoned a junta of cosmographers (not a promising assemblage!)

to consult about the affair, and this junta was convened at

Salamanca in the summer of the year 1487.

"Here was a step gained; the cosmographers were to consider his

scheme, and not merely to consider whether it was worth taking

into consideration. But it was impossible for the jury to be

unprejudiced. All inventors, to a certain extent, insult their

contemporaries by accusing them of stupidity and ignorance. And

the cosmographical pedants, accustomed to beaten tracks,

resented the heresy by which this adventurer was attempting to

overthrow the belief of centuries. They thought that so many

persons, wise in nautical matters, as had preceded the Genoese

mariner, never could have overlooked such an idea as this which

had presented itself to his mind. Moreover, as the learning of

the middle ages resided for the most part in the cloister, the

members of the junta were principally clerical, and combined to

crush Columbus with theological objections. ... Las Casas

displays his usual acuteness when he says that the great

difficulty of Columbus was not that of teaching, but that of

unteaching; not of promulgating his own theory, but of

eradicating the erroneous convictions of the judges before whom

he had to plead his cause. In fine, the junta decided that the

project was 'vain and impossible, and that it did not belong to

the majesty of such great princes to determine anything upon

such weak grounds of information.'"

Slender material, all this, for another Kauffman painting! Here

is our council sunk to a junta--a junta of cosmographers--not an

assemblage of theologians to decide what the church thought about

the project, but a junta of men supposed to know something of

geography and the conformation of the globe! The "theological

objections" referred to by Mr. Helps were precisely the

opportunity of Columbus's greatest triumph in giving him occasion

to reveal himself to friends and enemies in a capacity never

suspected to exist in him.

{441}

Among the many traditions in Spain concerning "l'almirante"

[Footnote 126] --traditions supported by his own writings and the

testimony of such men as Las Casas--none are so well established

as those that recount the eloquent inspiration of Columbus in

citing or commenting the Scriptures. His perfect familiarity with

them was not more admirable than his majesty of manner in

declaiming their grandest passages.

[Footnote 126: Humboldt says that whenever a Spaniard

mentions _L'Almirante_, he refers to but one, namely,

Columbus. Just as the Mexicans, when they speak of El

Marchese, mean Cortes, and the Florentines, when they name

_Il Segretario_, mean Macchiavelli.]

Luther, as we learn from that remarkable book, _D'Aubigné's

History of the Reformation, discovered_, unexpectedly

discovered, to his great joy and surprise, a Bible chained to a

window in the conventual library! Could not some modern D'Aubigné

inform us how it was that an obscure Italian sailor could have

happened upon a Bible in such countries as Italy, Portugal, and

Spain, could have been permitted to read it--more than all that,

could have had the temerity to quote it to the very face of

monks, and priests, and, worse still, show them that he knew as

much about it as they did? We commend the subject to the

D'Aubigné editors.

In saying that, in our belief, the life of Columbus has yet to be

written, we express no new opinion.

In this connection it is well remarked by the Marquis De Belloy,

that the best history of Christopher Columbus would be the

collection of his own writings accompanied by commentaries.

Literary and bibliographical research and labor in Spain have

succeeded in collecting nearly everything that Columbus wrote

from the year 1492 up to the period of his death, and their

publication is needed to show this truly grand character in his

true light. Were Columbus simply a man of genius, an ordinary

history would suffice to recount his life. But his soul was as

great as his genius, and such a soul is its own best revelation.

Next to the accomplishments of his great project, the discovery

of a new world beyond the ocean, a world he distinctly saw, his

dominant thought was--with the wealth that must necessarily be

obtained from it--to reconquer and deliver from pagan hands the

sepulchre of our Saviour!

Profane history and modern impiety instinctively smile at such

simplicity. Mr. Rosselly De Lorgues is one of the very few who

have rendered justice to the religious phase of the character of

the great mariner, and he shows that in Columbus constancy,

perseverance, bravery, and honor were not more marked than

elevated Catholic piety.

To conclude with Salamanca, there is no more searching, truthful,

and eloquent commentary on its results than the language of

Columbus himself, for he has recorded it. We quote from Navarette

(Madrid edition) vol. 1. p. xcii.:

"Diego de Deza"--the Dominican monk--"was his (Columbus's)

special protector with Ferdinand and Isabella, and mainly

contributed to the success of his enterprise; referring to

this, Columbus himself said that from his coming into Castile

that prelate (Deza) had protected him, had striven for his

honor, and to him was it due that their majesties possessed the

Indies." [Footnote 127]

[Footnote 127: "Por lo cual decia el mismo Colon que

_desde_ que vino á Castilla le habia favorecido aquel

prelado y deseado su honora, y que el fue causa que SS. AA.

tuviesen las Indias."]

For this passage Navarette quotes Remesal, _Historia di Chiapa

e Guatemala_. A very characteristic performance in Navarette!

It was impossible for him to avoid referring to what Columbus had

said, and he weakens the force of it by not crediting it at once

and directly to the proper authority, Las Casas--citing Las

Casas's own words.

{442}

For Remesal expressly says that he takes it from Las Casas, (lib.

i. al medio del cap. 29:) "Y assi (dize) en carta escrita de su

mano de Christobal Colon vide que dezia al Rey: Que el suso dicho

Maestro del Principe, Arcobispo de Sevilla D.F. _Diego Deza

avia fido causa que los Reyes abrassen las Indias_."

It is one thing to be told that Remesal uses the language cited

by Navarette, and quite another thing to learn from Las Casas

that he had seen _a letter written by Columbus himself, in

which he told the king of Spain that their majesties owed their

possession of the Indies to the Dominican monk Diego de Deza_.

Nothing, however, need surprise us from a historian who undertook

the desperate task of extenuating the notorious injustice of

Ferdinand toward Columbus. In its execution Navarette has

needlessly and shamefully outraged the truth of history and the

memory of the Great Discoverer.

----------

Daybreak.