affecting Catholic interests was laid before the houses of
parliament. The influence of emancipation in a liberal direction was
felt deeply in the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832, which but for
that previous act of justice would have been impossible. The Duke
of Wellington prepared the way for Lord Grey, just as Grey and his
colleagues, by shaking the power of the aristocracy and destroying
the rotten boroughs, led in the issue to the more extended reform
bill carried by the late Lord Derby, to the extension of the suffrage
to all householders and a large proportion of lodgers, and to the
passage of the Irish Church bill. During the premierships of Lord
Melbourne and of Sir Robert Peel the questions of free-trade and
the abolition of the corn-laws absorbed public attention, and the
Catholic topic was all but set aside. The paltry grant to Maynooth
was made a yearly subject of hot debate, and a few thousands per
annum were grudgingly bestowed on an Irish college for the education
of priests, while the Protestant establishment in that island
continued to be the most richly endowed in the world in proportion to
the number of its members. The public mind, however, was attracted
and agitated by a spectacle in which parliament was not concerned,
and which in all the course of legislation in favor of Catholics
had never been contemplated. This was the extraordinary progress
of Catholic ideas, doctrines, and practices in the University of
Oxford, and among the clergy of the establishment. The excitement
which this produced had reached its height when, in February,
1847, a bill intended to supplement the emancipation of 1829 was
introduced by Mr. Watson, Lord John Manners, and Mr. Escott. At
that time Lord John Russell was premier, with Grey, Palmerston,
Macaulay, and Granville among his colleagues. They were little
inclined to favor Catholicity, though in matters of politics they
usually adopted a liberal line; and, considering that in 1829 there
had been 2521 petitions presented to the Lords against emancipation,
and only 1014 in support of it--2013 to the Commons against it,
and only 955 in its favor--considering that of 238 newspapers in
the United Kingdom in 1829, though 107 had been in its favor,
87 had been against it and 4 neutral--it was not surprising that
the relief bill of Lord John Manners did not find as many strong
supporters as it deserved. The country was alarmed at the spread
of "popery," and the bill in question seemed designed to quicken
its pace and widen its conquests. It would, if it had been carried,
have removed some remaining disabilities; but the loss of the bill
did not in reality affect in any very great degree the freedom of
Catholics or the progress of their religion. The premier, Lord John
Russell, in the same year--1847--when discussing the question of
national education, stated that, if a desire were entertained to
have schools for Catholics, and for such only, he would be in favor
of it; but he reminded his hearers that "of all the half-million
which had been already spent under the direction of the treasury,
and in accordance with the minutes of the council on education, not
one shilling was given in aid of the Roman Catholic schools;" and
in the issue Catholic children were excluded from all participation
in the grant of £100,000 a year which formed part of the government
scheme of education brought forward by the prime minister. This
is enough to prove how lukewarm Lord John Russell was in his wish
to promote education among Catholics; and it is enough, also, to
lessen our surprise at that monstrous display of intolerance and bad
statesmanship with which he signalized his ministry in 1851.
It was two months after the close of the session in 1850, that
a papal rescript establishing a regular hierarchy in England,
and parcelling out the country into dioceses, was published by
the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, and produced a commotion
altogether disproportioned to the cause. The document was simple and
ordinary in its character, and if issued in reference to any other
country but England, would probably have attracted no attention, and
certainly have excited no surprise, terror, indignation, and wrath.
Among the English it was received like the news of a French invasion.
It was denounced as a "papal aggression," and the prime minister,
instead of allaying the storm, which he might easily have done,
lashed the waves to fury by his letter to the Bishop of Durham. He
affected to be taken by surprise, whereas the holy father had himself
shown the brief to Lord Minto, Lord John Russell's father-in-law, who
had been residing in Rome in a diplomatic capacity. Lord Minto had
raised no objection to the publication of the document, nor offered
any suggestion as to the mode of procedure. It was Cardinal Wiseman,
therefore, and the Catholics of England and Ireland, who were taken
by surprise when the premier, who had spent his life in promoting
"civil and religious liberty," suddenly effaced the inscription from
his banner, and stood forward as the most prominent assailant of
Catholics in the kingdom. It was the more inconsistent and absurd
in him to act thus, because the right of the Catholic bishops to
designate themselves by the titles of their sees was recognized by
common usage, by the servants of the government, and in one act, at
least, of parliament. Lord John's inflammatory letter to the Bishop
of Durham was followed by a speech from the throne, couched in very
high-flown and pompous language about the necessity of maintaining
unimpaired the "religious liberty" which no one had sought to invade
except the premier and his friends.
The queen's speech was followed in due time by a bill for preventing
the "assumption of any title, not only from any diocese now existing,
but from any territory or place in any part of the United Kingdom,
and to restrain parties from obtaining by virtue of such titles
any control over trust property." Never was a more foolish measure
carried through parliament; firstly, because it made not the
smallest change in the existing state of things--it did not prevent
a single bishop from using on proper occasion the title of his
see, as conferred on him by papal authority; secondly, it was not
even intended to be carried into effect. Lord John Russell and his
colleagues never dreamed of summoning bishop after bishop into court,
and compelling them to pay the fine of £100 each, or go to prison.
Such a proceeding would have enlisted popular feeling immediately
on their side. All the wisest heads in parliament--men like Lord
Aberdeen, Sir James Graham, and Mr. Gladstone--warned the premier
of the folly he was committing in pandering to the wishes of an
illiberal and panic-stricken multitude.
The opposition offered to the measure by Lord Aberdeen and Mr.
Gladstone is all the more to our purpose because both these statesmen
became at a late period prime ministers. Lord Aberdeen was one of
those whose minds had undergone a great change on many important
subjects, and there can be no doubt that he had yielded his to the
plastic influence of Sir Robert Peel. Having taken part in the
ministry of the Duke of Wellington, he had, in 1829, contributed
to the success of the emancipation bill; and when Peel was driven
from office, after abolishing the corn-laws, by the resentment of
the protectionists, he had followed his master into retirement, and
declined a place in the cabinet which was offered to him by Lord
John Russell. It was not likely, therefore, that he would in 1851
betray the principles which he held sacred, and aid in swelling an
insensate cry. He saw clearly that the ecclesiastical titles bill had
the double defect of being persecutive if carried into operation, and
contemptible if passed only to lie dormant. He accordingly resisted
it with all the more dignity because he knew that resistance was, for
the time being, fruitless.
Mr. Gladstone has not been consistent in his politico-religious
career. In 1838, he appeared in print as the resolute champion of
"church and state," recommending the exclusion of all persons not
of the Established Church from participation in the advantage of
subsidies granted for religious purposes. In 1839 and 1840, he
opposed the admission of Jews into parliament, and the assistance
afforded by the state to dissenters for the education of their
children. He upheld that unjust establishment in Ireland which he has
since overthrown; and in 1845 he resigned his place in the cabinet in
order that he might be perfectly free to vote as he pleased on the
grants to Maynooth and the endowment of Peel's colleges in Ireland.
When out of office, he supported both these measures, and rendered
himself very obnoxious to many of his supporters at Oxford by the
growing affection he manifested for liberal measures. The year 1847
saw him pleading for diplomatic relations with Rome, and complaining
that the government had not communicated with the holy see before
establishing the queen's colleges in Ireland. In accordance with
these generous and enlightened views, Mr. Gladstone saw with disgust
the intemperate conduct of the premier and the parliament in the case
of the ecclesiastical titles bill. He contended that the influence
of the Protestant church in England could never be maintained
and extended by temporal enactments; that the papal rescript for
assigning sees and titles to Roman Catholic bishops did not interfere
in any way with the political rights of Englishmen; and ought not to
be made the occasion of a hostile, oppressive, and impotent act of
parliament.
"We, the opponents of the bill," he said, "are a minority,
insignificant in point of numbers. We are more insignificant,
because we have no ordinary bond of union. What is it that binds
us together against you but the conviction that we have on our
side the principle of justice--the conviction that we shall soon
have on our side the course of public opinion?"
Events have proved how completely his words were true. The
ecclesiastical titles bill is now regarded with scorn, and treated
with ridicule. Earl Russell has confessed his mistake, and Catholics,
whom it was intended to humiliate, are quite indifferent to a
prohibitory measure which was never meant to be enforced. The reform
bill carried through both houses by Disraeli and Lord Derby made the
disestablishment of the Irish Church possible; the nation, freely
represented, pronounced in its favor; and the measure was passed.
A sense of justice, if not a feeling of repentance, has come over
the public mind; and a brief space of time has sufficed to dispel
prejudices that were the growth of ages. Mr. Gladstone, as leader of
the liberal party, has been chiefly instrumental in producing this
change; but it would be unfair not to specify Mr. Bright as another
most powerful agent in bringing about the result. So long ago as
1852, the former gentleman declared his opinion that if Mr. Spooner's
annual motion against the Maynooth grant should ever succeed, and
"the endowment were withdrawn, the parliament which withdrew it must
be prepared to enter upon the whole subject of the reconstruction
of the ecclesiastical arrangements in Ireland." These words were
considered remarkable at the time, and appear even more so when
viewed by the light of recent events. They plainly foreshadowed that
sweeping measure which we have recently seen him triumphantly carry.
They pointed to a radical alteration in the existing unfair and
anomalous relations between the church of the many and the church
of the few in the sister isle. They left it, indeed, undecided
whether "levelling up" or "levelling down" should be tried; whether
the several churches, Roman, Anglican, and Presbyterian, should be
all reduced to the voluntary systems, as in the United States, or
whether the Roman Catholic clergy should be raised by the state to
equal privileges and emoluments with those enjoyed by the Protestant
pastors.
In the year 1868, it became manifest that the conservative and the
liberal parties alike were agreed as to the necessity of doing
something with the Irish Church. It also became apparent that the
leading men in each party favored respectively the two plans just
alluded to--the "levelling up" and the "levelling down" process.
Lord Derby, with his son Lord Stanley, Mr. Disraeli, and other
conservatives, were inclined to make the Catholic clergy in Ireland
stipendiaries of the state; but they did not boldly and honestly
propose any such measure for the consideration of parliament.
The difficulties which faced them were greater than they could
hope to overcome. The Catholic bishops of Ireland had distinctly
refused to close with any offer of stipend for the priests. They
asked for impartial legislation, but not for pay. This difficulty
amounted almost to an impossibility; for of what avail was it to
vote emoluments to those who would not accept them? But there was
another obstacle of almost equal magnitude, which consisted in the
unwillingness of the English people to endow "popery" in any shape.
One half of the electors under the new reform bill were persons
not in communion with the Church of England; and these, together
with many Anglicans, approved the voluntary system in preference
to national state churches of any kind. Lord Mayo, therefore,
the Secretary of State for Ireland, was studiedly ambiguous in
setting forth the intentions of the government in regard to Irish
ecclesiastical matters. They were willing to establish and endow a
Catholic university in Dublin, and to do something (no one could
discover exactly what) in the way of "levelling up." Mr. Gladstone
instantly exposed the absurdity of these crude and vague intimations.
He declared in the most emphatic manner that the Irish Church must
cease to exist as an establishment, and it soon became apparent
that the liberal party were determined to aid him to the utmost in
accomplishing his design. It was an extraordinary climax. The most
popular man in the kingdom--a Protestant representing a Protestant
constituency, and the premier-to-be of a Protestant queen and a
Protestant cabinet--was willing and eager, in the name of the people,
to disestablish and disendow that church in Ireland which had for
three centuries been the pledge of Protestant ascendency and the main
support of English and Protestant landlordism in that island.
His foremost opponents were the late Lord Derby and Disraeli, each of
them prime ministers at different periods. Their opposition was the
less formidable because they were both men of mixed politics. Lord
Derby had been by turns the friend and the foe of Catholic liberty
and equality. He defended the Irish establishment against Joseph
Hume in 1824; but he supported, under the _régime_ of Earl Grey,
the cause of emancipation in 1832. He aided in relieving the Irish
Catholics from the payment of tithes, and he helped to strike off the
chains of the negro by presenting a bill for their liberation; but,
on the other hand, he resisted with all his might the appropriation
clause in an Irish Church bill of 1834, and even quitted office
because he would not give it his countenance. To sequestrate any part
of the property of the Irish establishment and apply it to secular
purposes was, in his eyes, to commit a sacrilege and to violate a
common right. To this feeling he continued to adhere, and to the
last opposed the Irish Church bill intended to disestablish and
disendow the Protestant Church in Ireland. He intimated, however,
to the peers who were of his party, that he did not think it their
absolute duty to oppose the bill as he had done. For the sake
of consistency he voted against it, while not a few of them did
otherwise, seeing how many evils might arise from their resistance
to the will of the Commons and the majority of the electors. Yet it
was he and Mr. Disraeli who made the passing of this bill possible
and inevitable. It was the reform bill which they introduced, and
which extended the suffrage to all householders and many lodgers,
that made the liberal party stronger, and the abolition of the Irish
establishment necessary. It is strange, indeed, that Lord Derby,
who offered so dogged a resistance to free-trade and the abolition
of the corn-laws, who, with Lord George Bentinck and Mr. Disraeli,
headed the forces of the protectionists, should have been the means
of developing the democratic element in the British constitution to
a degree previously unknown and unsought, even by the liberals.
It is strange, passing strange, that he should thus have brought
about indirectly the measures he most wished to avert; and the fact
of his having so acted is sufficient to stamp him as a second-rate
statesman, and hardly worthy of a philosopher's name.
It would, we believe, be scarcely unjust to apply the same remark
to Disraeli, notwithstanding his literary fame. He is too crotchety
ever to be the great leader of a great party. What Willis said of him
was true: "In a great crisis, with the nation in a tempest, Disraeli
would flash across the darkness very finely; but he will never do
for the calm right hand of a premier." His literary reputation
preceded his political celebrity, and will outlast it. His mixed
politics--his dubious radical-toryism or tory-radicalism--like the
_plus_ and _minus_ in an equation, cancelled each other, neutralized
his influence, and confounded his arguments by mutual disagreement.
He discarded triennial parliaments and vote by ballot, defected to
the Tories after coquetting with the radicals, and thus laid himself
open to O'Connell's keenest abuse. "His life," the Liberator said,
"was a living lie. There were miscreants among the chosen people of
God, and it must certainly have been from one of these that Disraeli
descended. He possesses just the qualities of the impenitent thief
who died upon the cross, whose name, I verily believe, must have
been Disraeli." Certain it is, that even the friends and admirers of
Mr. Disraeli repose in him little confidence. They never feel sure
as to what he really is, or what he may become. He is an enigma and
a sphinx. He has often embraced principles to make himself a name,
and he has often sustained them in spite of unpopularity. "It is
quite a mistake," he said on one occasion, "to suppose I ever hated
Peel. On the contrary, he is the only man under whom I should like
to have served. But I saw very clearly he was the only man it would
'make' me to attack, and I attacked him." Here is a key to Disraeli's
character. The only premier he would like to have served under was
one whose ruling principle was expediency; yet even this premier he
was willing to oppose in order to rise in the political and social
scale. So he, at the head of "Young England," denounced free trade in
corn, and applied the system of protection to the state religion. He
was, like Lord Derby, intensely opposed to the disestablishment and
disendowment of the Protestant Church in Ireland; but he was willing
to endow Catholicity in Ireland to a certain extent, and thus make
the state to be, like himself, an assemblage of contradictions--a
builder up at the same moment of Babylon and of Zion.
All roads, it is said, lead to Rome; and in like manner it may be
affirmed that all English prime ministers since the revolution have
led Rome-ward more or less. All have been employed in raising the
valleys and levelling the hills, that a straight path might be made
for the majestic march of the restored and ancient faith. Every thing
has told in favor of the _gens lucifuga_, the despised and persecuted
Catholics, who shunned the light of day. If one and the other premier
sought to oppress them anew, as Walpole did in his day, and Lord John
Russell in our own, the unrighteous attempt recoiled sooner or later
on its promoters, and ample reparation was made in the long run by a
sense of justice being awakened in the popular mind.
The prime ministers of England, be it remembered, have been in
some sense its kings--nay, more than kings. The real king has
often been a cipher; the queen--as for example, Queen Caroline--has
been above her lord; and the premier--as, for instance, Sir Robert
Walpole--has controlled them both. And if this was the case in the
last century, much more is it so now. England is in fact a republic,
though nominally a monarchy. It is an aristocratic republic; and the
prime minister being responsible to parliament, and representing for
the time being the voice of parliament and the popular will in the
council chamber of the sovereign, is himself the chief executive
in the government, and holds in his hands more real power than
any one besides in the kingdom. The monarch before whom he bows,
and to whom he seems to defer, is in reality a puppet of which
he works the wires. King George IV. was as nothing compared to
King Wellington, and King William IV. was but a _middy_ under the
command of Earl Grey. Queen Victoria at the present moment (and
we say it with sincere respect for that excellent and sovereign
lady) is but a shadow to the substance Gladstone, and will be but
a shadow to any prime minister who may succeed him. It was not
so entirely with her grandfather. He was really a king. He ruled
himself, and often very unwisely; but times have changed. Political
and religious emancipation has conferred on Catholics an importance
in the state which is altogether new, and conversions on a large
scale during a quarter of a century have been a concurrent cause of
their occupying a high and honorable position in society. No prime
minister, therefore, can now ignore them, much less can he molest
them. In every session of parliament some obloquy cast on them in
former ages is removed. The lord chancellor of Ireland is now a
Catholic, and very soon the lord lieutenant of Ireland may be so
too. Every office of state, even the highest, will in all probability
be in a short time opened to the Catholics, and the unjust law
which excludes them from the crown, and prohibits members of the
royal family from marrying them, will be swept away. If a Catholic
were to be made premier now, it would not be more surprising than
it was that Wellington should emancipate Catholics in 1829 or that
Gladstone should demolish the Irish establishment in 1869. Providence
has wrought wonderfully in behalf of the church already in England,
and what has been done should be taken by us as a pledge of what is
yet to be. Meanwhile, it will be well to remember gratefully, where
gratitude is due, the labors of Protestant prime ministers for the
removal of Catholic disabilities; and in order to do so adequately,
we must make every allowance for the prejudices in which they were
brought up, and the obstacles which lay so thickly in their path. We
must not deny them all merit because they have yielded to the force
of circumstances, but believe that they probably would not thus
have yielded if there had not been in them some noble and virtuous
impulse, some personal attachment to truth and justice. The stronger
their original repugnance to concession, the more deeply they felt
convinced in earlier years of the importance of maintaining intact
the Protestant constitution in church and state, the more credit
assuredly is due to them for having broken the spell of their youth,
admitted that their ideas were erroneous, and faced a thousand
reproaches and unmeasured obloquy in their determination to place the
liberties of their fellow-subjects on a broader and better basis.
The day has arrived in England when the Protestant premier and the
Catholic primate shake hands, not merely as private friends, but
also as representative men; and when they were seen not long ago in
familiar intercourse at the foot of the steps of the throne in the
House of Lords, they were for the moment living signs and symbols of
that vast and happy change which has come over the relations between
the English government and its Catholic subjects.
FOOTNOTES:
[187] W. B. MacCabe, _Memoir of O'Connell_. Madden's _Penal Laws_, p.
255.
[188] MacCabe, _Memoir of O'Connell_. _Tablet_, 29th May, 1847.
[189] This anecdote was related to the writer by the Bishop of
Southwark.
FROM THE SPANISH.
LUCIFER'S EAR.
FERNAN. Come, Uncle Romance, tell me one of your stories.
UNCLE R. But, Señor Don Fernan, if they are not worth the telling?
FERNAN. Never mind; you must know that many people are pleased with
Andalusian stories, and I am told that they write them.
UNCLE R. Then what I tell your honor is going to be printed! It makes
me laugh; for you see I thought that those high-flying folks who go
to college liked nothing but Latinity. However, with the help of
God, I shall do as your worship commands, since those that give us
good-will aid us to live, and gratitude is a duty that none but the
base-born refuse to pay. I will go on telling; your worship will go
on writing it down, and leaving out mistakes, and shaving off the
roughness of my way of saying things, till it sounds like print; and
your worship can write to those _you-sirs_, "My journeyman and I made
this between us. If it is good, I did it; and my journeyman, if it is
bad." Shall it be a story of enchantment?
FERNAN. The first that occurs to you; if you invent it, all the
better.
UNCLE R. O señor! I can't invent. Those inventions are flashes of the
mind; mine is too dull, Don Fernan; but I'll tell you a story that
I've known ever since I cut my teeth. I've lost them all now; so your
worship can judge what date it must bear.
FERNAN. The older the better. Stories are like wine, age improves
their flavor.
UNCLE R. Well then, señor, there was once a rich tradesman who was
father to a very fine son. He brought him up like a king's child,
and, besides the accomplishments of a gentleman, in which the boy
came to excel, had him taught in all branches as if he had meant to
make him doctor of every thing. The son grew to be a young man with a
will of his own; bearded and dashing; and for gallantry there was not
another like him.
One day he told his father that the place had become too narrow for
him; he could not content himself in it, and he wanted to go away.
"And where do you want to go?" asked the father.
"To see the world," answered the young man.
"You are like the grasshopper that jumps he don't know where," said
the tradesman. "How are you to get along in those strange countries
without experience?"
"Father, 'He that has knowledge may go where he will,'" the son
replied; and as the old cock had allowed the young one to run so
much to wings that he couldn't hold him, the youth took his arms, his
horse of noble stirp, and set out to see the world.
When he had travelled three days through wilds and thickets, he came
up with a man who was carrying a double cart-load--that is to say, a
hundred and fifty arrobas of taramee upon his shoulders.
"Friend," said the young gentleman, "you carry more than a church
mule. What is your name?"
"I am called Carry-much Carry-more, son of The Stout Carrier,"
answered the man.
"Would you like to come with me?"
"If your worship is as much for taking me as I am for going, yes."
So they went on together.
At the end of an hour they found a man who was blowing hard enough
to burst his cheeks; sending forth more wind than the bellows of the
forge of that _Bulcan_[190] who, they say, was a giant blacksmith, of
those you hear tell about.
"What are you doing here?" asked the gentleman.
"Don't speak, your worship," said the man, "for I mustn't leave off
blowing. I have to keep forty-five mills a-going with my wind."
"And what is your name?"
"Blow-hard Blow-harder, son of The Hard Blower," answered the man.
"Will you come with me?"
"Indeed will I!" said the man; "for I'm ready to collapse with
blowing, day in and day out, as many days as God has put into the
world."
A little further on, they stumbled upon a man who was lying in wait,
listening.
"What are you doing here?" asked the gentleman.
"I am waiting to hear a swarm of mosquitoes rise out of the sea."
"Why, man! if the sea is a hundred leagues off?"
"And what of that, if I hear them?"
"What is your name?"
"Hear-all Hear-every-thing, son of The Good Hearer."
"Will you come with me?"
"With all my heart, since your worship is so kind; the mosquitoes
will announce their approach presently."
The four went along in love and fellowship till they came in sight of
a castle so musty, lonesome, and cloaked with gloom that it appeared
more like sepulchre of the dead than habitation of the living. While
they were drawing nearer, the sky was growing each moment more
threatening, and, as they reached the castle, it burst into a torrent
of rain; for size and sound, every drop might have been a cascabel.
"My master's worship needn't mind it," said Blow-hard; "we'll soon
see what'll become of the storm." And he began to blow. The clouds,
thunders, and lightnings scampered across those skies in such hurry
and confusion that the sun stood squinting after them, and the moon
staring open-mouthed with astonishment.
But this was not the worst; for when they got to the castle, they
found that it had neither gate, nor door, nor postern, nor sign of an
entrance.
"I told your worship well," said Hear-all, who had more fear than
shame, "that this ugly-faced castle was only for a nest of magpies,
and refuge of owls."
"But I am tired, and I must rest," said the gentleman.
"Give yourself no uneasiness, your worship," said Carry-much; and
he immediately brought a big boulder, which he placed against the
wall of the castle. They climbed up by this, and went in through the
window. In the hall they found tables spread with the most famous
dishes; all kinds of liquors, jugs of pure water, and bread of the
finest quality. When they had eaten till they could stuff no longer,
the gentleman wanted to explore the castle.
"Señor," said Hear-all, "if you meet somebody that asks, 'Where is
this ball rolling to?' One should not make free in another's house
unless he is well posted."
"Who's afraid?" said Carry-much. "We are not going to do any thing
wrong; and if one draws a straight furrow, nobody will follow him
with a plough."
"Let us get away from here, my master!" cried Hear-all, whose flesh
was creeping with fear. "This castle is not in the grace of God; for
I tell your worship that I hear noises under ground that sound like
lamentations."
But the gentleman paid Hear-all no attention. His servants followed
him, and they went on exploring those corridors and passages that
were more intricate than if a lawyer had built them, until they came
into a yard that was like an arena for bulls.
They had hardly set foot in it, when a serpent with seven heads,
each one more fierce than the others, seven tongues like lances, and
fourteen eyes like coals of fire, glided out to attack them.
Carry-much, Blow-hard, and Hear-all, more scared than rats found out
of the hole, ran as if they would run out of their trowsers; but the
gentleman, who was as valiant as the Cid and as strong as a Bernardo,
drew his sword, and with four strokes, and four back-strokes, cut off
the creature's seven heads in less time than you could say _tilen_!
The biggest of the seven glared at the gentleman for an instant with
its savage eyes that darted fire and blood, and then gave a bound
into the middle of the yard and disappeared through a hole which
opened in the ground to receive it.
At the gentleman's call, the three who had fled came back, and were
well astonished at their master's bravery.
"Be it known to you," said the cavalier, who was looking, without
seeing bottom, down the hole the serpent's head had gone into, "that
we are going now to the fields to get hemp and palm-leaves to make
a line that will reach to the floor of this well." They did so; and
the four spent four years making rope. At the end of that time they
felt it touch bottom. The master then told Hear-all to slide down it
and see what was below there, and come back and let him know. But
Hear-all stuck to his supports, as upright as a palm-tree in a gully
that no wind moves, and said that he'd be smashed first and go down
in pieces.
Then the master told Blow-hard to go. Blow-hard took fast hold of
the rope, and descended night and day till he got to the bottom,
where he found himself in a palace like the famous ones you read of,
and in the presence of the Princess of Naples, who was lying on a
bed with her face downward, weeping tears as big as chick-peas. She
told him that Lucifer had fallen in love with her, and would keep
her enchanted there until one willing and able to fight and vanquish
him should present himself. 'Here is one already who is going to
undertake the enterprise,' said Blow-hard, and he drew in a long
breath, which was scarcely drawn when Lucifer appeared in person. The
sight of him frightened Blow-hard so that he ran and climbed to the
top of a door. Lucifer unhinged the door with one thwack of his big
tail, and it fell to the ground with Blow-hard, and broke one of his
legs.
We will leave him with his bitter cud, and go back to the gentleman,
who, tired of waiting for Blow-hard to come up, asked Hear-all what
was going on down there in the bowels of the earth. Hear-all told him
what had passed, and that now he could hear Blow-hard complaining of
a broken leg. Then the gentleman sent Carry-much, who assured him
that he would shoulder Lucifer and bring him up, if he weighed more
than all the lead of the Sierra Almagrera. But, step by step, it
happened to Carry-much just as it had to Blow-hard, except that he
got an arm broken instead of a leg.
"I will go down myself," said the gentleman, when Hear-all related to
him what had taken place.
When he reached the palace and saw the Princess of Naples, he fell
into such love with her wonderful beauty that he prepared himself for
the encounter with a double ration of valor.
Christians! such a fight as there was then between the good cavalier
and the cursed dog of a Lucifer the world has never seen; as,
naturally, it would not see, since Lucifer never comes to fight above
here in his own form. But the gentleman crossed himself, and, as
every man must who commends his cause to God, vanquished the devil.
He did more; for he cut off one of his ears.
The state Lucifer would be in at seeing his ear in the hands of a
Christian, I leave to your consideration. His yells had such an
effect upon Hear-all that he repeated every jerk and spring. You
would have said that he was being repeatedly stung by a tarantula.
"Give me my ear!" shouted Lucifer in the voice of a trumpet.
"You will give me a good ransom if you get it," answered the
cavalier; "for I have taken it like a true knight in fair combat;
therefore, I shall make three conditions with which you must comply."
"Insolent braggart!" said Lucifer.
"Oh! you may spit out the gall; but I warn you that I am going to
pickle your ear and show it for money," replied the cavalier.
Lucifer danced with rage.
"What are your conditions, low-born, ill-bred, and worse-thriven?" he
demanded.
"The first is, that you instantly return this princess to her own
kingdom and palace," said the cavalier.
There was nothing for it but to comply; so Lucifer placed the
princess in her royal palace, and then said to the cavalier, "Give me
my ear."
"No," replied the cavalier; "you must first transport me, with my
three servants and such a kingly suite as becomes your vanquisher, to
the court of Naples, and into a suitable lodging, which you will have
prepared for me."
"It does not suit me, little bully, to have you diverting yourself,
and triumphing at my expense."
"Very well. I will publish, with the sound of a clarion, that you
have lost an ear. We shall see then if you can disguise yourself as
a notary, lawyer, agent, money-lender, or lover, without being found
out in less than no time."
"Now," whimpered Lucifer, after he had placed the cavalier in Naples,
with great riches and an immense retinue, "give me my ear."
"I have it here," said the cavalier, "and I don't want it, for it
smells of sulphur; but you have yet to fulfil the third condition."
"What is it, impudent upstart?"
"I am not quite ready to tell it. In the mean time, have patience,
which, if it will not serve you to gain heaven, will be of use to you
in getting back your ear."
Lucifer changed from poison to the essence of venom. "You are seven
times worse than I," said he to his vanquisher. "By the soul of
Napoleon! there is more knavery on earth than in hell. But you
shall remember me! By my horns and tail, I swear it!" And off he
went, pulling at his remaining ear for vexation at finding himself
outwitted by a Christian.
Well, when the princess saw the cavalier so finely gotten up,
and with such a splendid following, she recognized him, and told
her father that he was her saviour! and that she wished to marry
him. They were married; _and I was there, and saw, and came away,
and nothing was said to me; for I slipped in and out without
being seen_;[191] mindful of the saying, "Neither to wedding nor
christening go unbidden."
But, señor, you must know that, after the wedding-bread was eaten,
the princess and the cavalier led a cat-and-dog's life together; for
the woman's temper and manners had become so bad and intolerable
while she remained under the power of Lucifer that no one else could
abide them. So, when the devil appeared to beg for his ear, the
cavalier said to him,
"I am going to give it to you; but you must comply with the last
condition I impose for its ransom."
"Knave! Mountebank! You would damn me if I were not damned already!
And what is this last condition?"
"That you take my wife again," responded the cavalier; "for you are
like for like, Peter for John."
FOOTNOTES:
[190] Vulcan.
[191] Manner of ending a tale.
THE VATICAN COUNCIL.
NUMBER TWO.
We intimated in our last number our intention of presenting each
month to the readers of THE CATHOLIC WORLD an article on the
progress, and, so far as we could, on the proceedings of the Vatican
Council, now in session. We shall endeavor, in so doing, to state
facts, the accuracy of which we can guarantee. Misstatements, silly,
absurd, and not unfrequently mischievous, are sent by "our own
correspondents," to fill the columns of hostile newspapers; and they
may sometimes disturb the minds and sadden the hearts of the unwary.
We wish to give such an account as shall correct such errors and
misstatements, by an accurate and impartial statement of the truth.
Our form of a monthly publication may subject us to some delay,
and to the disadvantage of saying much which our readers will have
already seen in the daily and weekly press. But on the other hand, it
will secure for us fuller and more accurate knowledge of our subject
than could be obtained at an earlier period, and may enable us,
perhaps, to form a more mature judgment on many points. Our aim is to
give a series of articles, which our readers may preserve and refer
to hereafter. In writing them, we are guided by information derived
from the best sources.
The amount and the variety of misstatements and of mistakes about the
council and its doings, that have fallen even under our own eyes,
would seem incredible. The talent of fiction seems to have attained a
truly marvellous development. We tried to classify them. There were
fictions to blame, and fictions to praise, fictions droll, fictions
malicious, fictions stupid, fictions about persons, fictions about
things, fictions about words, fictions about the past, fictions about
the present, fictions in the shape of conjectures of the future,
fictions gay and witty, fictions solemn and dull, fictions pious, and
fictions blasphemous.
But then even this stream of incorrect statements, the result of
imagination striving to eke out a scanty knowledge of facts, or of
prejudice looking at every thing through a distorted medium, is
poured forth to satisfy, if it can, the cravings of the public, and
is an additional evidence of the intense and universal interest the
Council of the Vatican has excited. Men may misrepresent it, they may
hate it, or fear it. They cannot despise it. It seems they cannot be
silent about it.
The time has not yet come to speak of the results of the
deliberations of this venerable body. Perhaps it is well that it
is so. As yet, our minds are still dazzled and preoccupied by the
outward splendor and the striking external aspects of the council.
Everywhere in Rome, you hear men commenting on these points, and
comparing the present oecumenical council with those which the church
has celebrated in the past centuries of her existence.
But once before in her history were so many bishops gathered
together. In the second Lateran Council, assembled by Pope Innocent
III., in 1139, about one thousand bishops united. The next largest
number was at Chalcedon in 451, where six hundred and thirty bishops
assembled; and next to that came the second Council of Lyons in 1274,
under Gregory X., at which five hundred were present. Of the other
councils, one had over four hundred bishops, five over three hundred,
and the others all fell below that number.
Since the day of the opening not a few additional bishops have
arrived, and the total number now taking part in the present council
cannot fall below seven hundred and fifty. The Vatican Council
stands, therefore, by a mere count of numbers second on the list.
But, as a representation of the entire world, it far exceeds all that
have preceded it.
The remarkable punctuality with which the council was opened is a
subject of surprise and gratification, and may well be looked on as
a signal evidence of the protection of divine providence. It has not
always happened that councils could meet at the time and the place
first indicated in the bull for their convocation. Sometimes only a
comparatively small number of bishops could assemble; and weeks and
months, and perhaps a year would pass by, before such a number could
gather together as to render the opening of the council advisable.
The difficulties of journeying were great. Oftentimes political
jealousies, and the wars of nations, interfered to delay and
embarrass, if they could not altogether thwart, the meeting, as well
as the action of the council. Something of this kind was anticipated
by many in the present instance. When, in 1867, Pius IX., in his
address to the assembled bishops, stated his purpose of holding a
sacred oecumenical council of the bishops of the whole world, in
order that, with their united counsels and labors, necessary and
salutary remedies might, by God's help, be applied to the many evils
under which the church suffers, the heart of the Catholic world
thrilled with delight. But among infidels and non-Catholics, and even
lukewarm Catholics, or those of little faith, there was many a jest
and many a sneer. Many a paper assured its readers that the council
would not, could not assemble; and some, who thought themselves well
informed, declared that before the day for opening it would arrive,
Garibaldi would be in Rome, and Pius IX. a wanderer and a fugitive,
far from the Vatican. Plans were even then being laid to bring this
about; and, ere many months rolled by, a well-prepared and vigorous
attempt was made to carry them into effect. The attempt signally
failed. The battle of Mentana forbade its renewal in that shape for
some time to come; and the storm, at one moment so threatening,
passed by. The council was called, and the place and the day of
its meeting appointed. What Garibaldi and his party had failed
to effect by arms, diplomacy now attempted in another guise. The
chief minister of a so-called Catholic power professed to entertain
great apprehensions of the possible results of the council, and
sent a secret circular to the courts of the other Catholic nations
of Europe, urging the expediency of united action in such shape
as might control the decisions of the council. Had the plan been
adopted, and the spirit in which it was conceived been carried
out in the details, the result would probably have been what the
originators intended, and what indeed some of their papers announced
to the world as already determined on. The council would have been
postponed, perhaps would not have met at all. But this plan failed
too. The circular was received coldly, and the proposal fell to the
ground. Under the guiding hand of Providence, all was peaceful. The
bishops (save those under the Czar of Russia) were free to travel
in peace; and they came at the voice of the chief pastor. From the
volcanic and coral islands of the Pacific, from Hudson's Bay and
Labrador and Canada, from Brazil, La Plata, and Chili, from the
golden shores of California, from rugged New England and the fertile
valley of the Mississippi, from mysterious Egypt, and the classic
isles of Greece, from the sacred hills and cities of Palestine and
Syria, from the stricken remnants of Assyria and Media, from Persia,
India, Burmah, Siam, and China, bishops were journeying toward the
central city of the Catholic world. The antipodal Australia and New
Zealand sent still others. From every country of Europe, Hungary,
Bohemia, Illyria, Austria. Prussia, Bavaria, and Würtemberg, France,
Spain, and Portugal, England, Holland, Belgium, Scotland, and
Ireland, the Island of Saints, they came, not merely a few delegates,
but it seemed the entire episcopal body _en masse_. Distance and
difficulties of the journey were no obstacles; even old age and
infirmities seemed to have lost the power of retaining these prelates
at home. Among the arrivals in Rome over a score had passed eighty
years of age, and one, not the least vigorous among them, had reached
the mature age of ninety-five. And so it came to pass, under the
blessing of Heaven, that in this nineteenth century, in which even
that profound statesman and excellent Catholic, Count De Maistre,
once said it would be simply impossible to convene a general council
of the church, all difficulties have vanished, and without one hour's
delay or postponement, the Vatican Council, exceeding all others save
one in its number of prelates, and far surpassing that one in its
intrinsic grandeur, was opened in the majestic Basilica of St. Peter,
on the day and the hour originally appointed. We may trust that the
blessing of Heaven will continue with it, and that its results will
be commensurate with the prayers and hopes of the Catholic world, in
promoting the glory of God, in establishing the kingdom of Christ our
Lord on earth, and in leading men to Christian holiness and eternal
life.
In our former article we gave an account of the grand spectacle
presented at the opening session. In the present one, we will speak
of the general congregations, or committees of the whole, as we would
term them, in which most of the work is to be done. The curious
observer will find here many of those old rules and forms from which
the modern and civilized world has derived our existing codes of
parliamentary rules. It is interesting to observe the points of
agreement and of disagreement. For of later years, in our mundane
parliaments, the strife of party spirit, and sometimes the necessity
of settling a question by a given time, have brought in various
devices unknown in those older and quieter assemblies for the purpose
of shutting off debate, or overcoming the reluctance of a minority
for a speedy vote.
An oecumenical council is, under one point of view, a deliberative
assembly of the entire Catholic Church. The sovereign pontiff, who,
as successor of St. Peter, the head of the apostolic college in the
see of Rome, is head of the Catholic Church and the centre of unity,
presides _ex-officio_. As his right and his power were not bestowed
on him by the church, but were instituted by her Divine Founder as
an essential part of her organization, it follows that they do not
cease, or suffer suspension, on occasion of, or during the holding of
a council.
His office in reference to councils has been recognized from the
beginning. A Council of Alexandria, in their letter to Pope Felix
II., in the year 362, wrote: "We know that in the great Council of
Nice all the bishops unanimously declared that councils should not
be held save with the judgment of the Roman pontiff," and Julius
I., in his first letter to the eastern churches, appealed to the
ancient laws of the church, which forbade "the holding of councils
without the knowledge and assent of the Roman pontiff, because the
Holy Roman Church held the primacy over all the churches." In the
first place, then, an oecumenical council must be _summoned_ by the
authority of the pope. In the second place, he _presides_ in the
council _ex-officio_, either personally or by such legates as he may
send. The First Council of Nice in Bithynia was held in 325. Three
hundred and eighteen bishops were present, all of them (save half a
dozen) patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops from the east. Osius,
a bishop of Spain, and two priests from Rome, presided in the name
of Pope Sylvester. Meletius of Antioch, and afterward St. Gregory
of Nazianzum, presided in the name of Pope Damasus in the First
Council of Constantinople, in 381. St. Cyril of Alexandria presided
at the Council of Ephesus in 431, in the name of Pope St. Celestine
I. St. Leo the Great sent two bishops, Pascasinus and Lucentius,
and two priests, Boniface and Basil, who conjointly represented
him, and presided over the Fourth General Council at Chalcedon, in
the year 451. The same right has been exercised in every succeeding
oecumenical council. Nor could it be otherwise. The body cannot be
separated from the head without destroying the life of the church.
The gates of hell would then have assuredly prevailed over her.
A third right and office of the sovereign pontiff in relation to
oecumenical councils is that of _confirming_ and giving force to
their decrees. His is the supreme duty and charge of confirming
his brethren in the faith. Pope St. Damasus expressed the Catholic
doctrine and practice on this head fifteen hundred years ago, when
he wrote to the bishops of an African council, "You well know, that
to hold councils without the authority and approval of the Roman see
is not according to the Catholic spirit; nor do we meet any councils
that are held as legitimate which were not supported by its apostolic
confirmation." The words of Pope Damasus were then specially
significant and emphatic. Not a quarter of a century before, in 363,
six hundred bishops had assembled at Rimini, and, under pressure
from the Emperor Constantius, had passed decrees which Pope Liberius
reprobated. At once, and ever since, that Council of Rimini has been
held as utterly destitute of authority.
An oecumenical council, therefore, to be truly such, must be convoked
by the sovereign pontiff, or by his authority, must be presided over
by him, either in person or by his legates, and its acts must be
confirmed and sanctioned by him.
To say he has the duty of judging when the necessities or dangers of
the church render it proper to summon a general council, in order to
meet or to remedy them, implies obviously that he will propose to the
council the matters on which he calls for their judgment and their
coöperation with him. As president _ex-officio_, it is his duty to
make such arrangements in accordance with the spirit of religion, and
the usages of former councils, as will facilitate and expedite the
action of the council, and allow the bishops to return as quickly as
possible to their flocks.
In the present instance, the sovereign pontiff has done this chiefly
by the brief, _Multiplices inter_, and by the labors of the five
preparatory commissions, which have for nearly a year and a half been
studying up the subjects which are to form a portion of the matter to
be discussed and decided on by the council.
We have already spoken of this apostolic letter, _Multiplices inter_.
It was dated November 27th, and having been printed in pamphlet form,
was delivered to the bishops on December 2d, nearly a week before
the opening of the council. There are ten chapters in it, several of
which set forth the mode of procedure which will be followed in the
council in the transaction of business.
Chapter ii. is as follows:
"Although the right and duty of proposing the matters to be
treated in the Holy Oecumenical Council, and of asking the
judgments of the fathers on them, belongs only to us and this
apostolic see, yet we not only desire, but we exhort, that if
any among the fathers of the council have any thing to propose
which they believe will tend to the general benefit, they shall
freely propose it. However, as we clearly perceive that this,
unless it be done in proper time and mode, may seriously disturb
the necessary order of the business of the council, we direct
that such proposals be offered in this mode, to wit: 1. Each one
must be put in writing, and be directly delivered to a special
congregation (committee) composed of several cardinals and fathers
of the council, to be appointed by us. 2. It must regard the
general welfare of the church, not the special benefit of only
this or that diocese. 3. It must set forth the reasons for which
it is held useful and opportune. 4. It must not run counter to the
constant belief of the church, and her inviolable traditions. The
said special congregation shall diligently weigh the propositions
delivered to it, and shall report to us their recommendation as to
the admission or exclusion of them, in order that, after mature
deliberation, we may decide whether or not they shall be placed
before the council for discussion."
We may say here that this special committee has been appointed,
and is composed of twelve cardinals and fourteen prelates. Of the
cardinals five are usually resident in Rome, three are from sees in
Italy, one is French, one Spanish, one German, and one (Cardinal
Cullen) from Ireland. Of the prelates, two are patriarchs from the
East, one is French, two Spanish, four Italians, one South American,
one (Archbishop Spalding) from the United States, one Mexican, one
English, one Belgian, and one German. This committee is thus an
admirable synopsis, as it were, of the entire council. Their duties
may hereafter be delicate and responsible. So far, we believe, they
have not been called on to act.
Chapters v. and vii. of the same apostolic letter set forth that, for
the rapid furthering of business, there shall be six other standing
committees, the members of all of which shall be elected by ballot,
in the council: 1. On excuses for non-attendance, or for leave of
absence, to consist of five members. 2. On grievances and complaints,
likewise to consist of five members. 3. On matters of faith, to
consist of twenty-four members. 4. On matters of discipline, with
twenty-four members. 5. One on regular orders, with twenty-four
members; and 6. One on oriental rites and on missions, to consist of
twenty-four members. These last four committees, or _deputations_,
as they are termed, will be presided over each by a cardinal, to be
appointed by the pope.
Chapter vi. appoints the officers and attendants required in
the council. Prince John Colonna and Prince Dominic Orsini are
sergeants-at-arms. What a change from the days, seven centuries
ago, when their ancestors would meet only as rivals at court, or
antagonists in the field! The Rt. Rev. Joseph Fessler, of Germany,
is named secretary of the council, with an under secretary and
two assistants. Seven notaries are named, and eight scrutatores or
tellers, for receiving and counting the votes. Among these last is
Monsignor Nardi, well known to the foreign visitors to Rome. The
promotors, masters of ceremony, and ushers are also named in this
chapter.
Finally, the sovereign pontiff, who would preside in person only in
the solemn sessions, designated five cardinals who, in his name and
by his authority, would preside in the general congregations. They
were Cardinals De Reisach, De Luca, Bizzarri, Bilio, and Capalti.
The apostolic letter also set forth how the several committees of
theologians had prepared _schemata_, or draughts, as we would term
them, on various points belonging to the general purposes of the
council. The Holy Father declared that he had abstained from giving
to these draughts any sanction of approval. They would be placed
in the hands of the bishops for their serious study and for their
discussion, (_integra integre_,) freely, and as to every part.
These arrangements were held to be sufficient at least in the
commencement. Should it appear during the progress of the council
that additional measures are necessary, it is obvious that they can,
at any time, easily be provided by the fathers.
In our account of the grand ceremonial of opening the council, we
stated that the second decree appointed a second solemn session to be
held on the festival of the Epiphany, January 6th. The bishops were
also informed that the first general congregation would be held on
Friday, December 10th, at nine A.M.
On that morning, by half-past eight, thousands were waiting in the
grand nave of St. Peter's, to see the bishops as they arrived and
passed up its length, to reach the council hall, in the transept,
to the right of the main altar. Hundreds remained to see them come
out at the conclusion of the meeting. On each of the ten times since
then that the bishops have met in general congregation, there was
the crowd of Romans and of strangers. In truth, under some respects,
this occasion seems almost as interesting as a public session. The
bishops come, not in procession, but singly, or in groups of two,
three, or four, as they may chance to arrive at the door of St.
Peter's. They are robed not in cope and mitre, but simply in rochet
and mantelletta, and as they gravely walk up the nave, you have a
full opportunity to scan their features and study their bearing,
their size, and to read the thousand and one indications of character
by which, whether correctly or incorrectly, men will ever form some
judgment of those they look on. Most of them bear in their hands
portfolios for writing, and large quarto pamphlets which have been
distributed to them. They look as if they had been studying, and were
still preoccupied with matters of importance.
They enter the door of the council hall, and each one passes to his
numbered seat. Some open their pamphlets, some are writing, some
are conversing in whispers. At nine A.M. the main door is closed.
Whoever comes late must enter by a side door. Mass of the Holy
Ghost is celebrated by some one of the prelates, without music.
At its conclusion, the presiding cardinals take their places. All
kneel while the chief cardinal reads the prayers prescribed for
the occasion. When he concludes, all rise, are seated, and the
congregation is opened.
On December 10th, only four of the presiding cardinals were in
their places. The chief one, Cardinal De Reisach, was absent in
Switzerland, whither he had gone for his health. He has since died
there. Born in Bavaria, in 1806, of a noble family, his rank, his
talents, and his personal accomplishments, and the prospect of a
brilliant career before him, gathered around him a circle of admirers
and hopeful friends, as, at the age of twenty, he took his place in
the court of King Louis. Pure and delicate as a girl, loving piety,
and dreading the seductions of the world, he soon gave up all the
world offered, and withdrew to devote himself to the sanctuary.
He came to Rome, to pursue his theological studies in the German
College, graduated with honors, was ordained priest, and soon after,
when not thirty years of age, was appointed rector of the celebrated
College of the Propaganda. His memory is dear to all those students,
now scattered through the world, who had the happiness of being under
his paternal care. In 1836, he was consecrated Bishop of Eichstadt,
in his native land, and afterward was made Archbishop of Munich. In
both these offices he displayed that zeal, and wisdom, and firmness,
united with kindest charity, of which his earlier years had given
such promise. He was finally made cardinal, and resigning the
archbishopric of Munich, came several years ago to reside again in
Rome. For some time past his health was impaired. He was president
of one of the preparatory committees of theologians and canonists
for the council, and it is thought that his excessive labors as such
contributed not a little to break his health down. In September he
left Rome, never to return. In his death, the Vatican Council has
lost one who would have been a most able presiding cardinal.
On December 10th, Cardinal De Luca, the next in rank, took his
place, and made a brief and eloquent address to the fathers. It was
of course in Latin, the language of the council. The bishops voted
by ballot, first, for the five members of the committee on excuses,
and then, a second time, for the five members of the committee on
complaints. As the fathers voting were over seven hundred, as each
one voted for ten persons, and as the voting was very scattering, it
was obvious that the ballots could not be counted then and there.
They were therefore placed in boxes, which were publicly sealed; and
a committee, consisting of the senior patriarch, the senior primate,
the senior archbishop, the senior bishop, and the senior mitred
abbot, was appointed to superintend the counting of these votes the
next day, and to superintend the counting hereafter the votes to be
cast in the coming elections. The ushers then delivered to each of
the bishops a copy of the first draught, or _schema_, on doctrinal
matters. The concluding prayer was said, and the meeting adjourned.
The prelates elected on the committee of excuses were, Melchers,
Archbishop of Cologne; Monzon y Martins, Archbishop of Granada;
Limberti, Archbishop of Florence; Landriot, Archbishop of Rheims; and
Pedicini, Archbishop of Bari.
Those elected on the committee of complaints were, Angelini,
Archbishop of Corinth; Mermillod, Bishop of Geneva; Sannibale, Bishop
of Gubbio; Rosati, Bishop of Todi; and Canzi, Bishop of Cyrene.
On the 14th of December, a second general congregation was held.
After the celebration of mass and the opening prayers, two documents
were distributed to the bishops. The first had special reference
to the council. It was a "constitution" on the election of the
Roman pontiff, should the apostolic see become vacant during the
oecumenical council. Referring to the long-established laws of
the church as to such a case, the decrees of several sovereign
pontiffs in times past, and the clear precedents in the history
of several general councils, the Holy Father now anew decrees and
ordains "that if it please God to put an end to our mortal course
during the General Council of the Vatican, whatever may be the
position of the council and the state of the business on which it
is engaged, the election of the new sovereign pontiff must be made
by the cardinals alone, the council having no share therein." And
he further decrees and ordains that "if our death occur during the
said Vatican Council, this council, in whatever state it may be,
and whatever be the position of the works on which it is engaged,
is forthwith and immediately to be deemed suspended and adjourned.
The council must therefore at once abstain from holding any meeting,
congregation, or session; it must not make any decree or canon, nor
take any proceeding, until such time as the new pontiff, having been
canonically elected by the sacred college of cardinals, judges right,
in virtue of his supreme authority, to ordain that the council be
resumed and continued."
A cloud of sadness, we are told, seemed to fall on the assembly of
prelates as they read this rehearsal and reënactment of the law of
the church for the case contemplated--a case by no means impossible;
for Pius IX. has reached the ripe old age of fourscore, and in his
pontificate is fast approaching "the years of Peter." They thought,
doubtless, of their distant homes and their flocks, so dear to their
hearts; they thought of the council they were just entering on, and
remembered how often other councils had lasted years. Yet from many
a heart a prayer went up that not by his death should this council
cease; many a lip spoke the words, _Vivat, diu vivat Pius Nonus_.
Were it not for the sanctity of the place, and the graveness of the
assembly, the low spoken words would have been loud acclamations
ringing through St. Peter's.
The second paper did not directly refer to the council, and we would
not speak of it here had it not been made the subject of so many
remarks and so much misrepresentation in many secular papers. It was
a bull revoking and annulling many of the censures and penalties
enacted in times past by the canon law against various offences.
A little thought will make the matter clear. The church has power,
and has always exercised it, to inflict her censures and penalties
on grievous offenders. Such penalties, intended to deter from evil,
and to procure, if possible, the amendment of the offender, must be
prudently adapted to the circumstances of time and place. Many things
must be taken into consideration. Hence, it will happen that what is
beneficial at one time is hurtful at another. What in one age, or in
one condition of a country, would repress the evil, may in another
age, or under different circumstances, be found to aggravate it.
Hence, in the body of canon law, commenced as it was eleven centuries
ago, and embracing, in fact, many laws of a far more ancient date, it
is not surprising to find many laws which, however wise at the time
of their enactment, are no longer applicable with prudence, and which
the church has centuries ago let fall into desuetude and oblivion.
There are other laws concerning which this action may even now be
going on. In some countries it may be more advanced than in others.
To some minds it may be clearer than to others. Hence, for some time
past, and especially on occasion of the council, representations have
been made in Rome on the subject. The sovereign pontiff, after mature
consideration, and taking advice of his counsellors, has by this bull
withdrawn and repealed all the censures and ecclesiastical penalties
at any time in ages past enacted by his predecessors, excepting those
of which he gives a special and definite list in the bull. These he
leaves as they were; all others he abrogates.
At this second congregation a ballot was taken for the members of the
committee or deputation on matters of faith. Each prelate voted for
twenty-four persons. There were seven hundred and twenty-one votes
cast. They were sealed up as before, in the presence of the council,
and were afterward counted. The result was as follows:
1. Most Rev. Emmanuel Garcia Gil, Archbishop of Saragossa, Spain.
2. Rt. Rev. Louis Francis Pié, Bishop of Poitiers, France.
3. Most Rev. Patrick Leahy, Archbishop of Cashel, Ireland.
4. Most Rev. Réné Fr. Regnier, Archbishop of Cambrai, France.
5. Most Rev. John Simor, Archbishop of Gran, Hungary.
6. Most Rev. Ignatius Andrew Schaepman, Archbishop of Utrecht,
Holland.
7. Most Rev. Antonius Hassun, Armenian Patriarch.
8. Rt. Rev. Bartholomew D'Avanzo, Bishop of Calvi.
9. Most Rev. Miecislaus Ledochowski, Archbishop of Gnesen and
Posen.
10. Most Rev. Francis Cugini, Archbishop of Modena, Italy.
11. Rt. Rev. S. D. Larangeira, Bishop of Rio Grande, Brazil.
12. Rt. Rev. Ignatius Senestry, Bishop of Ratisbon, Bavaria.
13. Most Rev. Victor A. Dechamps, Archbishop of Malines, Belgium.
14. Most Rev. Martin J. Spalding, Archbishop of Baltimore, United
States.
15. Rt. Rev. Anthony Monescillo, Bishop of Jaen, Spain.
16. Rt. Rev. Peter J. De Preux, Bishop of Sion, Switzerland.
17. Rt. Rev. Vincent Gasser, Bishop of Brixen, Tyrol.
18. Most Rev. Raphael V. Valdivieso, Archbishop of Santiago, Chili.
19. Most Rev. Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster,
England.
20. Rt. Rev. Fred. M. Zinelli, Bishop of Treviso, Lombardy.
22. Most Rev. Walter Steins, Archbishop of Calcutta.
23. Rt. Rev. Conrad Martin, Bishop of Paderborn, Prussia.
24. Most Rev. Joseph S. Allemany, Archbishop of San Francisco,
United States.
Cardinal Bilio was appointed chairman.
This is looked on as the most important committee of the council; and
it is gratifying to us, and honorable to the Catholic Church of the
United States, that two of our archbishops should be placed on it.
A third general congregation was held on the 21st of December,
for the election in the same manner of twenty-four prelates, to
constitute the deputation or committee on discipline. The number
of votes given was larger than on the previous occasion. We give
the names of those elected, arranging them here, as we did before,
according to the number of suffrages each one received:
1. Most Rev. John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, United States.
2. Rt. Rev. William Ullathorne, Bishop of Birmingham, England.
3. Most Rev. John McHale, Archbishop of Tuam, Ireland.
4. Most Rev. Pelagius De Lavastida, Archbishop of Mexico.
5. Rt. Rev. Pantaleon Monserrat y Navarro, Bishop of Barcelona,
Spain.
6. Most Rev. Anastasius Yusto, Archbishop of Burgos, Spain.
7. Most Rev. Julius Arrigoni, Archbishop of Lucca, Italy.
8. Most Rev. Francis Baillargeon, Archbishop of Quebec, Canada.
9. Most Rev. Paul Ballerini, Patriarch of Alexandria.
10. Rt. Rev. Claudius Plantier, Bishop of Nîmes, France.
11. Rt. Rev. Theodore de Montpellier, Bishop of Liège, France.
12. Rt. Rev. Stephen Marilley, Bishop of Lausanne, Switzerland.
13. Rt. Rev. F. X. Wierzchleyski, Bishop of Lemberg, Hungary.
14. Rt. Rev. George Stahl, Bishop of Wurzburg, Germany.
15. Rt. Rev. John Ambrose Huerta, Bishop of Puno, South America.
16. Rt. Rev. Charles Fillion, Bishop of Le Mans, France.
17. Rt. Rev. John B. Zwerger, Bishop of Segovia.
18. Rt. Rev. Nicholas Sergent, Bishop of Quimper, France.
19. Rt. Rev. Michael Heiss, Bishop of La Crosse, United States.
20. Most Rev. Marianus Ricciardi, Archbishop of Reggio, Italy.
21. Rt. Rev. Leo Meurin, Bishop of Ascalon.
22. Rt. Rev. John Guttadauro di Reburdone, Bishop of Caltanisetta,
Italy.
23. Rt. Rev. Marinus Marini, Bishop of Orvieto, Italy.
24. Rt. Rev. Joseph Aggarbati, Bishop of Sinigaglia, Italy.
Cardinal Caterini was afterward appointed president of this
committee.
On December 28th, another general congregation was held, at which
the following twenty-four prelates were elected, to constitute the
committee on all questions relating to the religious orders:
1. Most Rev. Francis Felix y Solans, Archbishop of Tarragona,
Spain.
2. Rt. Rev. Andrew Raess, Bishop of Strasbourg, Alsace.
3. Most Rev. Godfrey St. Marc, Archbishop of Rennes, France.
4. Rt. Rev Ferdinand Blanco, Bishop of Avila, Spain.
5. Rt. Rev. John Derry, Bishop of Clonfert, Ireland.
6. Most Rev. Joseph B. Dusmet, Archbishop of Catania, Sicily.
7. Rt. Rev. Felix Cantimorri, Bishop of Parma, Italy.
8. Most Rev. Joseph J. Checa, Archbishop of Quito, South America.
9. Most Rev. Frederic de Fürstenberg, Archbishop of Olmütz.
10. Most Rev. Charles Pooten, Archbishop of Antivari and Scutari,
in Dalmatia.
11. Rt. Rev. Paul Micaleff, Bishop of Città di Castello, Italy.
12. Rt. Rev. Stephen V. Ryan, Bishop of Buffalo, United States.
13. Rt. Rev. Simon Spilotros, Bishop of Tricarico, Greece.
14. Most Rev. Alexander Angeloni, Archbishop of Urbino, Italy.
15. Rt. Rev. Ignatius M. Cardoso, Bishop of Faro.
16. Rt. Rev. Francis de Leonrod, Bishop of Eichstadt, Bavaria.
17. Rt. Rev. William I. Clifford, Bishop of Clifton, England.
18. Rt. Rev. Thomas M. Salzano, Bishop of Tanes.
19. Rt. Rev. John I. Fayet, Bishop of Bruges, Belgium.
20. Rt. Rev. M. Ephrem Garrelon, Bishop of Nemesi.
21. Most Rev. Aloysius Nazari di Calabiano, Archbishop of Milan.
22. Most Rev. George Ebedjesu Kayatt, Chaldean Archbishop of Amida.
23. Rt. Rev. Caspar Willi, Bishop of Antipatros, Greece.
24. Rt. Rev. John Thomas Ghilardi, Bishop of Mondovi, Italy.
Cardinal Bizzarri was appointed president of this deputation.
This fourth congregation was one of importance and special interest,
for at this meeting the discussion of the _schema_, or draught, on
certain matters regarding faith, given to the bishops on December
10th, was to commence. Originally, and to the great mortification
of the architect, the noble hall prepared for the council was found
to be unsuited for speaking. Its size, the loftiness of the roof,
and its communication aloft with the nave and the dome, seemed to
render even strong voices inaudible. When the secretaries made
announcements, they were forced to repeat the same words two or
three times from different positions, that all might hear. To hold
discussions there seemed impossible. Various halls in the Vatican
Palace were measured. Several churches were examined; and at one
time it was almost decided to try a hall in the distant Quirinal
Palace. But, before doing so, the architect tried other plans in
the council hall itself, and has finally succeeded in remedying the
evils complained of in a very simple manner, and to the satisfaction
of all. The hall itself is, as we have said, the north wing of the
transept, divided from the rest of the church by a partition wall,
rising about one third of the way to the vaulted ceiling above. Its
dimensions are about two hundred feet in length by almost one hundred
in breadth, and the ceiling is over one hundred and fifty feet high.
Its southern end, toward the church, is square. The other end is
the semi-circular apse of the transept. This apse is occupied by an
elevated platform, on which, in the middle, is the throne of the
sovereign pontiff. The cardinals are seated in lines on either side
of him, and before them are seated the patriarchs. All this occupies
nearly one third of the hall. For the other two thirds, lines of
seats stretch down on either side, from the platform to the partition
wall, giving ample room for all the bishops. In the middle, between
these rows of seats, stretches an ample space down to the broad door.
Toward the platform there are here and there in it tables and seats
for the secretaries, notaries, and other officials. Nearer the door
stands the altar, and near by the movable pulpit. The alteration
consists in this: a second partition wall, of light materials, is
thrown across the hall, about one third of the way from the door,
cutting off the altar and one half of the seats on either side. The
prelates who occupied these seats are now placed in other temporary
seats in the middle space and on the platform. As the Holy Father
does not preside in the congregations, his throne is removed, and
thus room is obtained in the apse for another altar, at which the
mass is celebrated. At its conclusion, the presiding cardinals come
forward and take their places in seats in front of the altar. The
pulpit stands opposite, against the middle of the new partition; and
the loss of voice by its passage aloft into the church is prevented
by an awning overhead, stretching entirely across the hall, and
extending from the partition some twenty-five feet forward.
In a solemn session all this change disappears. The second partition
and the awning are taken away. The prelates occupy their old places;
the second altar is removed; the pope's throne is restored; and the
services are at the original altar. All is brought back again for the
next congregation. A few hours suffice to put it up or take it away.
In the congregation of December 28th, after the voting had ended, and
the ballots had been sealed up as usual, to be afterward counted,
the presiding cardinal announced that the discussion on the first
_schema_, or draught, on matters of faith, would now commence, and
that fourteen prelates had already given notice of their intention to
speak. They would have precedence of all others, and would be heard
in their order of rank and seniority. Seven spoke that day, all of
course in Latin. First was Cardinal Rauscher, of Vienna. The second
of the number was the learned Archbishop of St. Louis. The seventh
was the eloquent Archbishop Connolly, of Halifax. The discussion was
continued on the 29th, when, in addition to the seven who remained
over from the day before, a second, list of ten additional speakers
was announced. On the 3d of January, the Bishop of Savannah spoke;
and a third list of five more speakers was given in on the 4th. On
the 8th, still nine speakers in addition sent in their names; all was
closed at the sitting of January 11th. In all, thirty-five speakers
addressed the council. Three others, who were to speak, stated that
what they intended to say had already been fully treated of by other
speakers, and in such manner as to render any repetition unnecessary.
The speakers were from North America, South America, France, Spain,
Italy, Prussia, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Armenia, and
Chaldea. The Latin was their common language, and it was wonderful
with what correctness and readiness all spoke it. Some of them--the
Italians and Hungarians especially--were as fluent as if it were
their mother-tongue--as indeed it almost is for them. The nationality
of the speaker might generally be known at once by the intonations of
his voice and the peculiarities of his pronunciation. But the widest
differences heard there did not prevent their perfectly understanding
each other. There was no one to use the "English" pronunciation of
Latin. Had _that_ been heard, the majority of the bishops would have
thought it some dialect of English. As it was, the variations seemed
like the differences of English, Irish, Scotch, and American orators,
who all speak the same language, each with a marked accent and
peculiar mode of pronunciation; yet all are perfectly intelligible to
each other.
But these peculiarities were forgotten, as the prelates bent forward
to catch the calm and earnest words, in which the successive
speakers brought their intimate knowledge of the Holy Scriptures,
of the traditions of the church, of the acute reasoning of the
scholastics, of modern philosophy, of history, ecclesiastical and
civil, and of modern sciences in their most advanced stages, to
bear on the subjects before them. The speakers seemed somewhat awed
by the majesty of the assembly, but they spoke firmly and freely;
for they were fulfilling a sacred duty in thus expressing their
matured thoughts and earnest convictions. There was no applause. It
would scarce comport with the dignity of the assembly. The prelates
listened in silence and attentively, and seemed to weigh carefully
the merits of each argument or criticism as it dropped from the lips
of the speaker.
All these discourses were carefully taken down by the stenographers
of the council, and were immediately written out. At the conclusion
of the discussion, the _Schema_ itself which had been discussed, and
all the speeches on it, were referred to the deputation or committee
on faith, who will make such alterations and amendments in it as a
careful weighing of the remarks made may show to be advisable. In
this amended form, it will come again before the congregation for
further consideration, and ultimately for approval or rejection. In
the mean time, other _schemata_ or draughts on discipline have been
placed in the hands of the prelates, to be studied, discussed, and
acted on in a similar way.
In the congregation of January 3d, the death of Cardinal Reisach,
chief of the presiding cardinals, was announced. He had not been able
to return from Switzerland to take his seat in the council. It was
also announced that the holy father had appointed Cardinal De Angelis
to fill the vacant place. Cardinal de Angelis is Bishop of Fermo, in
Italy, and is a hale old man, approaching seventy years of age. He
has suffered not a little from the government of Victor Emanuel, and
is looked on as a confessor like those of the earlier ages of the
church. He was imprisoned, maltreated, taken away from his see, and
kept for years _in domicilio coatto_, under arrest, as we would say,
and forbidden to go beyond certain restricted limits. He was set at
liberty about two years ago. He is a bishop of vast learning, full
of zeal and energy, and of unshakable firmness. His sufferings have
made him the idol of the clergy of Italy. They hold him a most worthy
successor of the lamented Reisach.
On the festival of the Epiphany of our Lord, January 6th, the
second solemn session of the Vatican Council was held. There was
no procession. The prelates, having robed in cope and mitre in the
adjoining chapels, entered the hall singly or in groups, and took
each his proper place. At nine o'clock, the cardinals and sovereign
pontiff entered. Cardinal Patrizi celebrated the high mass. The
music was by the unequalled choir of the Sistine Chapel. The crowd
of strangers and Romans gathered in St. Peter's, though not so large
as on the day of the opening, was still immense. At the conclusion
of the mass, the book of the gospels was reverently enthroned on
the altar, the pontiff chanted the usual prayers, the Litany of the
Saints was intoned, and the responses swelled and rang through the
vast church as the bishops and thousands of the assistants sang them
in unison. As on the first day, the pontiff arose toward the end of
the Litany, and thrice blessed the kneeling assembly, and prayed
the Saviour to bless, to sanctify, and to preserve and protect this
holy council; and stronger and grander than before rolled the united
answer, _Te rogamus, audi nos_. Other prayers followed the Litany. A
gospel was chanted, and the holy father intoned the _Veni Creator_.
The choir took up the strain, and the body of prelates responded in
the alternate verses. The usual prayer to the Holy Ghost followed.
The time for the special business of the session had come. It was
to make the solemn profession of faith, which, by the laws of the
church, is required in every ecclesiastical synod or council.
The promotors, approaching the holy father, knelt and asked that
this be now done. He assented, and arose, and put off his mitre. All
arose, and stood uncovered. In his own clear, ringing voice, in tones
that filled the hall, and passed out to the multitude beyond in the
church--so clear that words could be caught far off at the other
end of the transept--he read slowly and solemnly the profession of
Catholic faith, in the form of Pius IV., and seemed to lay special
stress on the declaration that in his heart he held and professed
this holy faith, and would hold it, with God's blessing, until death,
and concluded, "I, Pius, Bishop of the Catholic Church, so promise,
vow, and swear. So help me God, and these holy gospels," and kissed
the book of gospels. He was then seated. The prelates remained
standing as before, while one of their number read, in a clear
voice, the same profession in their name. When he had concluded, the
masters of ceremony placed a book of the gospels on the knees of
the pontiff, and one by one the cardinals approached, according to
their rank, and confirmed the profession, "I, Constantine, Cardinal
Patrizi, promise, vow, and swear, according to the form just read. So
help me God, and these holy gospels," and kissed the book. After the
cardinals came the patriarchs and primates, and then the archbishops
and bishops. It was, in truth, a sublime evidence of the truth and
the living force of our holy religion to behold these prelates of
the church, assembled from every quarter of the globe, gradually
passing down from their seats, as their turn came, to join the line
that was slowly passing up the centre of the hall toward the throne
of the pontiff, that, kneeling before him, each one might personally
unite in this solemn profession of a common faith. The crowd seemed
electrified, and at times almost melted to tears as they saw some
aged prelate, with tottering step, assisted up the steps of the
platform by the masters of ceremony, and again carefully and gently
aided, as he came down, or a blind bishop led on by the hand, that
he might unite with his brethren. The world was dark to him, but
his soul was illumined by the light of heaven. The prelates made
the profession each in the liturgical language of his rite. Most,
of course, in Latin, some in Greek, and Syriac, and Chaldean, and
Arabic, and Armenian, and Copt, and Slavonic. In the true church,
around the centre of unity, there may be many languages, there is but
one faith. Under the banner of error, even if the language be but
one, there are many religions.
This solemn ceremony lasted for two hours and a half. When it
was concluded, the _Te Deum_ was intoned, and chanted in the old
and venerable Gregorian style by the choir, the bishops, and the
assembled thousands, and with it closed the second public session of
the Vatican Council.
ROME, January 15, 1870.
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE POEMS OF THOMAS D'ARCY MCGEE. With Introduction and
Biographical Sketch by Mrs. J. Sadlier. 1 vol. 12mo, pp. xii. 612.
New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co. 1869.
That Mr. McGee was a man of high intellectual gifts and merit no
one can deny. His _History of Ireland_ proves this sufficiently,
to say nothing of his other writings in prose. As a statesman, he
was also above the common order. In respect to his integrity and
disinterestedness, the judgments of his countrymen are various, and
he has been at different times obnoxious to the censures of very
opposite parties, while at the same time he has always had many warm
admirers. He was certainly led astray by revolutionary tendencies
at one period of his career, and is accused of having, at a later
period, erred in a contrary direction from a desire to gain political
preferment. From what we know of him through his writings and the
sketch of his life contained in this volume, we are disposed to think
that he was truly a noble-hearted man, and always intent on serving
the best interests both of his native and adopted countries, of his
religion, and of his own Celtic race everywhere. The faults of his
youth he made good by a subsequent reparation which does him honor,
and we believe that in his later political life he was governed by
sincere convictions, and never lost sight of the great object of his
youthful devotion. At the time of his dastardly assassination, which
awoke such a lively and universal sentiment of sorrow, he was one of
the most valued contributors to this magazine, and was intending, had
his life been spared, to continue his interesting articles on topics
connected with Ireland.
Mrs. Sadlier's biographical sketch, introduction, and notes add
greatly to the worth of the volume, and to her already high
reputation as a writer. Like all her other literary productions, they
are full of the spirit of fervent enthusiasm for her religion and her
race and of the romantic love of her native island. The sentiments
and opinions which are interwoven with the sketch of Mr. McGee's
life, in relation to the welfare of Ireland and the Irish people,
make it also one of the most sensible and judicious essays on this
subject we have ever met with. It is well worthy of the frequent and
attentive perusal of every one who has the real interests of the
Irish people at heart, and increases the debt of gratitude which all
her countrymen in America owe to the accomplished authoress.
We have reserved our remarks on the poetry which fills this goodly
volume to the last. It has its chief interest and significance from
its relation to the topics of which we have been speaking. It was
one of the instruments through which Mr. McGee gave voice to his
patriotic sentiments, and sought to kindle the same in the hearts
of his countrymen. That his themes are in themselves the fittest
possible for the most stirring poetry, cannot be questioned. He was
endowed with a large share of genuine poetic gifts, and the great
number of really fine pieces which are contained in this volume,
thrown off in leisure moments, in haste, and amid all his other
labors, prove that, if he had made it his chief aim to become a poet,
he would have attained great eminence. Some of his most perfect
pieces are truly exquisite, as a specimen of which we may designate
the one called "Iona to Erin," first published in this magazine. We
think the editress might judiciously have omitted some of the more
unfinished and imperfect pieces, and others written in the earlier
part of his career, and containing too much of that unhallowed
revolutionary and vengeful fire which afterward gave place to a more
holy and Christian flame. We hope this volume of genuine Irish poetry
will become a favorite book with the millions of exiles from Erin
who have made their home in this new world, and that their children
also will learn from it to love and venerate both the national and
religious traditions of the country of their forefathers.
* * * * *
CREATION A RECENT WORK OF GOD. By the Rector of St. Mary's Church,
New York. New York: Pott & Amery, Cooper Union. 1870.
This is an attempt to show that the literal theory of creation in
six days is deducible from the observed facts of geology. The author
occasionally shows some ingenuity, but on the whole the work is
not one which will command the respect of scientific men, and its
appearance is rather to be regretted, as tending to the spread of
infidelity, by giving the impression that religion and science cannot
well be reconciled.
* * * * *
THE HOLY GRAIL, AND OTHER POEMS. By Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L.,
Poet-Laureate. Boston: Fields, Osgood & Co. 1870.
All lovers of "Tennyson's enchanted reverie" have here another true
feast. The four Idylls, the main portion of the volume, are fully
equal to the first four: as faultless, as sublime, as instructive.
We do not hesitate to say that the whole series of these "Idylls of
the King," as the author intends them to be read, forms a work which,
for all that is best of epic and didactic, is not only unsurpassed,
but unequalled, in the poetry of the world. Besides its artistic
beauty, which out-Homer's Homer, it is eminently Catholic. The
poet's genius could not fail to perceive that on Catholic ground
alone is real romance to be found; and, as the result of deep and
accurate study, his poem is a splendid proof of the Catholicity of
the ancient British church. He is also the purest of poets. None
appreciates so well, on the one hand, the dignity of love and the
sanctity of marriage; or, on the other, the glory of virginity and
the blessedness of divine espousals.
The rest of the volume bears the stamp of the same master-hand as
ever. We only regret to find so few lyrics. Of those with which he
has deigned to enrich us, that entitled "The Higher Pantheism" is
especially worthy of note--for such, at least, as are capable of
understanding it. Tennyson has the art of extrinsicating, and shaping
in "closest words," intuitions which all minds have in common, but
mostly without the power of analyzing them, or even without the
consciousness of their presence. He uses the word "pantheism" here in
the sense that "God is all," and not that "all is God." He insists on
the objectivity of truth, and therefore diametrically opposes the
subjective autotheism of the day.
The influence of the poet is the widest and most lasting of
influences; and Tennyson's influence for good, especially on the
youth of our times, is, in our judgment, inestimable. We believe that
his influence is powerful to check the follies and purify the tone of
the age, and we pray that this volume may not be his last.
* * * * *
TITANIA'S BANQUET, PICTURES OF WOMAN, AND OTHER POEMS. By George
Hill. Third Edition. Revised and Enlarged. New York: D. Appleton &
Co. 1870.
This volume contains many pieces which prove the author a true poet.
There are passages worthy of Moore, and even of Byron. We regret,
however, that the author should have done such an injustice to his
powers as to show an habitual carelessness both in diction and in
versification. "The Ruins of Athens," too, by far the best long poem
in the book, reflects too patently considerable portions of the first
two cantos of "Childe Harold," more especially of the second.
We congratulate the author on his conversion to the church. Had this
taken place in his younger days, he might have done service in the
cause of Catholicity with his talents. We hope, however, it is not
too late now.
* * * * *
LIFE OF J. A. ALEXANDER, D.D. By H. C. Alexander. New York: Chas.
Scribner & Co. 1870.
This is an extremely well-written, interesting, and, moreover, genial
and entertaining book, which any one, whether he be religious or
purely worldly, a believer or an unbeliever in Christianity, a friend
or a foe of Presbyterian doctrine, must read with pleasure. It is not
an ordinary clerical biography, but the life of a man who, though
belonging to the clerical order in his own denomination, was chiefly
devoted to study and teaching, and was one of the most eminent
scholars, as well as eloquent preachers, this country has produced.
He was also a man of the highest order of personal attractiveness,
of exquisite taste and culture in _belles-lettres_, poetry, and
music, and a humorist nearly if not quite equal to the choicest wits
of English literature. It is impossible to read his life without
admiring and loving the man, and esteeming the great scholar. He
was a disciple, friend, and compeer of the celebrated Hengstenberg,
whose masterly vindication of the Messianic doctrine of the Old
Testament against Jews and neologists is so well known. Professor
Alexander's greatest work is a _Commentary on Isaias_, written in
the same spirit. He was a powerful opponent of that neological and
rationalistic school which undermines all religion by denying the
divine authority of its inspired records, and so far did a great
service to the cause of Christianity. It is impossible not to see,
however, that these great Protestant scholars, who produce such solid
and valuable works in defence of that part of their doctrine which is
Catholic, fail altogether in completing their structure. They stop
short at a certain point, and their genius immediately deserts them.
Their exposition of the doctrine concerning the person of the
Messias is admirable; but when they come to explain the prophecies
concerning the Messianic kingdom, all vanishes into a vague ideality
or a prognostication of some church of the future equally vain with
the Jewish expectation of a coming Messias. When we consider the
lives and works of men in many respects so admirable, and who might
have been bright lights in the church of God, we grieve more deeply
over that deplorable schism which divides from us so many who adore
our Lord Jesus Christ and reverence the prophets and apostles.
Dr. Alexander was, of course, hostile to the Catholic religion,
as he must have been to be an honest Presbyterian; but there is
surprisingly little in his biography that shocks the religious
sentiment of a Catholic, and it appears very clearly how unbounded
was his admiration for the learned Cardinal Mezzofanti.
* * * * *
THE ATTRIBUTES OF CHRIST; OR, CHRIST THE WONDERFUL, THE
COUNSELLOR, GOD THE MIGHTY, THE FATHER OF THE WORLD TO COME, THE
PRINCE OF PEACE. By the Rev. Father Joseph Gasparini, Passionist.
Dublin: James Duffy.
This book is a medium between a theological treatise and a series of
meditations. There is much learning and a great deal of imagination
in it, using this last term in a good sense. Italians usually combine
the beautiful with the useful, and throw a poetic charm over grave
subjects. F. Gasparini is no exception, and we think his treatise
ought to be popular on this account.
* * * * *
LIFE OF THE VENERABLE J. B. DE LA SALLE.
PARTICULAR EXAMEN FOR BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. By
Brother Philippe. New York: P. O'Shea. 1870.
These are two very useful and edifying books, whose contents will
recommend them, although no effort has been made to give them an
attractive exterior.
* * * * *
LANGE'S COMMENTARY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Vol. V. New York: Charles
Scribner & Co.
This volume contains Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon,
commented by Dr. Otto Zöckler. The first book is translated by
Professor Aiken, of Union College; the second by Professor Wells, of
the same college, with additions and a metrical version by Professor
Tayler Lewis; the third by Professor Green, of Princeton, well known
by his excellent refutation of Colenso on the Pentateuch. It is a
monument of erudition, to which the American editors have contributed
not a little. The translations are valuable critical helps to a
study of the original text. The poetical merit of the version of
Ecclesiastes does not appear to us of the first order. The inevitable
shortcoming of all Protestant exposition of the Holy Scripture is
most patent in the commentary on the Canticles, the most difficult
and mysterious book in the sacred canon. It is the divine text-book
of mystical theology, and can be understood and expounded only by a
man deeply versed in the science of the saints, such as St. John of
the Cross, whose spiritual canticles are a most perfect imitation and
reproduction of the inspired songs of Solomon.
* * * * *
ECCE FEMINA: AN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THE WOMAN QUESTION, etc. By
Carlos White. Boston: Lee & Shepard.
This book is a novelty in one respect in our recent American
literature. It is logical. The style is clear, pointed, and direct;
the author grapples manfully with that arch sophist, John Stuart
Mill, and wresting the dagger of his logic from his hand, deals him
a deadly blow, like that which Joab gave to Abner the son of Ner. It
adds much to the value of this book that the author does not indulge
in any satire on women, but treats them with that respect which is
their due so long as they remain women, and do not become Amazons. We
are sorry to see him apply the coarse and libellous epithet "bloody"
to Queen Mary of England. The less Protestants have to say about
bloodshed in connection with English history the better; for history
is a little better known than it used to be. Mr. White believes in
the Bible--almost as great a novelty now a days as believing in
logic. It is very refreshing to find a man who writes without cant,
and yet asserts fearlessly Christian principles. Imperfect as it is,
such Christianity as Mr. White professes is far preferable to the
immoral system which has lately given such loathsome exhibitions of
itself as to evoke the bitter scorn and mockery of even the secular
press. Mr. White deserves the thanks of the sensible portion of
the community, and we hope his book will be extensively read and
carefully reflected on by men and women alike.
* * * * *
FAIR HARVARD. A Story of American College Life. New York: G. P.
Putnam & Son. 1869.
This book presents a sufficiently correct view of American college
life. It is interesting, possesses considerable literary merit, and
contains some happy sketches of Boston society.
It has, however, one fault in common with _Verdant Green_, a book
after which it is evidently modelled to a considerable extent.
It lacks a sufficiently high tone. Getting up muscle, excessive
drinking, midnight escapades, and immorality, alluded to more or
less openly, are made to play entirely too prominent a part in
both stories. In _Fair Harvard_ the brutal foot-ball game (now, we
believe, abolished) is depicted without condemnation--except from a
young lady, whose judgment the reader is of course expected, with the
hero of the story, to disregard--while the disgraceful conduct of the
students at Worcester two years ago is narrated as though it were
something very "smart." When we read such things, we involuntarily
think of what Carlyle, we believe, says somewhere in his works--that
most young men at that age when, under the present system of
things, they are at college, should be _under barrels_. A couple of
contemptuous allusions, moreover, to the Irish people, found in this
book, are, we assure the author, to say the least, in exceedingly bad
taste.
We think it our duty to add that we by no means consider Harvard, or
any other non-Catholic college, a suitable place for a Catholic young
man to pursue his studies. His morality will there be endangered;
but what is perhaps of still more importance, his faith will be put
in the greatest peril. This is true of Harvard College now more than
ever before, since under the new _régime_ lectures are delivered
before the students on all the different systems of philosophy, by
eminent professors of the same; and in this list Positivism--in
other words, rank _Atheism_--is included. This is done in order
that the young student may be enabled to choose for himself--if he
pleases, _Atheism_! We have here, however, but a logical sequence of
the doctrine of private judgment, and we see to what they finally
come who have once rejected the only infallible criterion of truth.
* * * * *
THE PRIMEVAL WORLD OF HEBREW TRADITION. By Frederick Henry Hedge.
Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1870.
The paper, type, and entire typographical and mechanical execution
of this book are so extremely good that we are disappointed and
pained to be obliged to add that this pretty shell contains a
worthless nut. The doctrine of the essay is an incoherent kind of
pantheism, together with a confused sort of semi-rationalism. The
style is dull, and the manner of treating the topics introduced
extremely commonplace. The only redeeming feature which an infidel
book can have is its smartness and charm of style. But a dull book of
infidelity is simply unbearable, and this one is almost as dull as
the _Essays and Reviews_.
* * * * *
AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN PARIS. With fifty-eight Illustrations
of historical Monuments and Familiar Scenes. New York: Hurd &
Houghton. 1869.
This book is, on the whole, written in a pleasant and interesting
manner; still, it is not fit to be put in the hands of Catholic
children. It deals not alone with the Paris of to-day, but with the
Paris of the past, and so includes not only sight-seeing but history;
and we cannot let our children get their first ideas of history from
Protestant sources. It gives the old story of the so-called massacre
of St. Bartholomew, with all its misrepresentations and errors; and
although the life of St. Genevieve is beautifully told, still it
adds "that untrue and impossible stories have been told of her, and
foolish honors paid to her, which should not be paid to any human
being." Though we cannot begin too soon to teach our children truth,
it is not necessary or well to plunge their young minds into all the
misrepresentations, discussions, and contentions of the past.
* * * * *
WILEY'S ELOCUTION AND ORATORY; GIVING A THOROUGH TREATISE ON
THE ART OF READING AND SPEAKING. Containing numerous and choice
Selections, etc. By Charles A. Wiley, Teacher of Elocution. New
York: Clark & Maynard, 5 Barclay street. Chicago: S. C. Griggs &
Co.
This seems a practical text-book of elocution, and contains useful
hints on vocal culture. A few typographical errors slightly mar the
appearance of the book, and a lack of perfect taste in the choice
of pieces for declamation, especially in the "Humorous Selections,"
detracts from but does not destroy its value.
* * * * *
LETTERS OF PEREGRINE PICKLE. By George P. Upton. Chicago: Western
News Company.
We can safely compliment the author on many features of his pleasant
book, but not on his selection of a _nom de plume_. And this little
phrase reminds us that we are grateful to him for writing it
correctly when he uses it, and for rising superior to the ordinary
newspaper French of _nomme_ de plume, esprit _du_ corps, etc. etc.
At the same time we decidedly object to his saying, (p. 104,) "Every
thing is so _blasé_," because in French the person, and not the
thing, becomes _blasé_. Of course, it was not Mr. Upton's fault that
the Chicago printer had no accented _é_ in case. _Enthused_, he will
permit us to remark, is a wretched vulgarism, and we have our doubts
about a thing that "would go a great ways."
Mr. Upton is right in praising Jefferson's Rip van Winkle. It is a
personation as deserving of praise as the wretched dramatic version
he renders is of blame. He is also right in saying, "The St. Elmos
who start off as scoundrels always remain so--Miss Evans to the
contrary notwithstanding." The chapters on the "Maiden Aunt" and
the "Tenor" are good, and fashionable weddings, the fashionable
minister, and petroleum and shoddy, are well handled. The book
has generally a sound, wholesome tone, is straightforward in its
dealing with sham and humbug, and possesses withal a dash of the
spirit of the _Potiphar Papers_ and a flavor of the _Autocrat of the
Breakfast-Table_ that make one feel as if among old friends.
* * * * *
SYBARIS AND OTHER HOMES. By Edward E. Hale. 16mo, pp. 206. Boston:
Fields, Osgood & Co.
The purpose of this little book is to show how town and city life
ought to be arranged, how far certain experiments in improved social
arrangements have succeeded, and how the poor are compelled to live
and die in the crowded tenements of our great metropolises, such as
Boston and other continental capitals. The solid chunks of wisdom
which Mr. Hale has to impart on these subjects are conveyed in the
pleasant disguise of short stories--in the telling of which he has
very few rivals among American authors. The narrative of "My Visit
to Sybaris" is a peculiarly happy specimen of his aptitude for that
_vraisemblance_ which is so important a part of a good fiction.
* * * * *
MRS. GERALD'S NIECE. A Novel, by Lady Georgiana Fullerton. New
York: Appletons.
Lady Georgiana Fullerton's novels are most of them productions of
considerable merit. Their great fault has been too much intensity of
passion, a quality which has been subdued sufficiently in the present
novel to satisfy our critical judgment, without detracting from the
vividness and warmth of conception and style so highly appreciated by
the novel-reader. Those who want an exciting story to read, which is
full of originality, and which abounds both in charming descriptions
of natural scenery, and masterly delineations of character, while
it is at the same time safe and sound enough to satisfy the most
fastidious confessor, will probably be pleased with this one. Perhaps
some of them will skip the elaborate discussion of Anglicanism and
Catholicity; but whatever mere story-readers may think, we must say
that they show, more than any thing else in the book, the great
mental power and accurate knowledge of the accomplished authoress.
* * * * *
THE WONDERS OF POMPEII. By Marc Monnier. Translated from the
original French. Illustrated.
RAMESIS THE GREAT; OR, EGYPT 3300 YEARS AGO. Translated from the
French of F. de Lanoye. Illustrated. New York: Charles Scribner &
Co. 1870.
Two very interesting volumes, beautifully illustrated with wood-cuts
of the most important places and things described in the text.
* * * * *
THE FRONTIER SERIES. PLANTING THE WILDERNESS; OR, THE PIONEER
BOYS. A Story of Frontier Life. By James D. McCabe, Jr. Boston:
Lee & Shepard. 1870.
THE CABIN ON THE PRAIRIE. By Rev. C. H. Pearson, author of "Scenes
in the West," etc. Illustrated. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 1870.
Pleasant and useful books for boys, full of the excitement they like
so well, and giving them at the same time a knowledge of the early
settlements of the country that every American boy should have.
* * * * *
THE SUNSET LAND; OR, THE GREAT PACIFIC SLOPE. By Rev. John Todd,
D.D. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 1870.
An interesting account of the climate, soil, and natural productions
of California; of its mines and mining, and of the wonders and
beauties of its natural scenery.
* * * * *
ELM ISLAND STORIES. THE BOY FARMERS OF ELM ISLAND. By Rev. Elijah
Kellogg, author of "Spartacus to the Gladiators," "Good Old
Times," etc. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 1870.
A delightful story for boys.
_The pamphlet in F. O'Flaherty's case_, which was severely censured
in our last number, is, we are rejoiced to see, denounced in a
circular signed by every priest in good standing in the diocese of
Rochester as a scandalous forgery.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
From ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & CO., 770 Broadway, New York: Evenings
with the Sacred Poets; a Series of Quiet Talks about the Singers and
their Songs. By the author of "Festival of Song," "Salad for the
Solitary," "Mosaics," etc. 1870.
From J. B. FORD & CO., 39 Park Row, New York: The Overture of Angels.
By Henry Ward Beecher, 1870. The Sermons of Henry Ward Beecher
in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn; from _verbatim_ Reports. By T. J.
Ellinwood. "Plymouth Pulpit," second series: March to September, 1869.
From D. & J. SADLIER & CO., 31 Barclay street, New York:
Conversations on Liberalism and the Church. By O. A. Brownson, LL.D.
From JAMES MILLER, 647 Broadway, New York: History of American
Socialisms. By John Humphrey Noyes.
From CHARLES SCRIBNER & CO., New York: Practical Composition; with
numerous Models and Exercises. By Mrs. Mary J. Harper, Packer
Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. 1870.
From D. APPLETON & CO., 90, 92, and 94 Grand street, New York: The
Pursuit of Holiness: a sequel to "Thoughts on Personal Religion." By
Edward Meyrick Goulburn, D.D., Dean of Norwich, and formerly one of
Her Majesty's Chaplains in Ordinary. 1870.
From J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., Philadelphia: Bible Gems; or, Manual of
Scripture Lessons. By R. E. Kremer. 1870.
Le Canada et les Zouaves Pontificaux. Memoire sur l'origine,
l'enrôlement et l'expédition du contingent Canadien á Rome, pendant
l'année 1868. Conpilé par ordre du Comité Canadien des Zouaves
Pontificaux, par E. Lef. de Bellefeuille, membre du Comité. Montreal:
Typographie du journal _Le Nouveau Monde_, No. 23 Rue St. Vincent,
1868. En vente: A l'Evêché de Montreal et chez tous les Libraires
Catholiques de la Province de Québec.
From T. W. STRONG, New York: The King's Daughters: An Allegory. By
Madeleine Vere.
Fifteenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
of the State of New York. Albany: The Argus Company, Printers. 1869.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious typographical errors have been repaired. Archaic spellings
retained.
Hyphenation variants have been standardized.
P. iv, "New Publications"; entry for "Neal's ..." was immediately
after "Kickham's ..." in the original; retained.
P. 69, "uplifted to bless;" original read "unlifted."
P. 377, "Another glory is in reserve for Saints Processus and
Martinian" and "Returning from the altar of Saints Processus and
Martinian"; original showed "Maximian" in place of "Martinian."
P. 466, acrostic; original list displayed the initial letters laying
on their right sides, to spell "VANSLEBIO" sideways.