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and a company established and incorporated in New York to bring out the work. The personnel of its board of editors is sufficient earnest of the high character and value of the work. We shall refer more fully to the publication hereafter.

The following from the recent splendid Pastoral Letter of The Right Reverend James A. McFaul, D. D., Bishop of Trenton, deserves to be read and deeply pondered by Catholics :

"What shall I say of the efficacy of good books upon family life and thought! When I speak of books I do not mean to restrict them to religious and devotional works. No, I include all healthy literature. In our day everybody reads. Periodicals, pamphlets, and newspapers are the literature of the millions. It is the daily newspaper, however, that enjoys the largest patronage. We must have the news warm, at our breakfast table every morning. No doubt, a newspaper is a potent factor for good or evil; and America publishes some excellent, secular newspapers, which may safely be introduced into the family. Our religious weeklies are performing a very beneficial work, and should receive a more generous support. Every Catholic family should subscribe for a Catholic newspaper and a Catholic magazine, possess a small library of religious books and such other works as will instruct and interest.

"But, what about those purveyors of uncleanness, the vulgar sheets reeking with nastiness so largely read by all classes? Reprove them for their vileness, and the reply is: 'We print the news.' Yes, they do, and such news; and such advertisements! Let us recall the words of the Apostle to the Gentiles: 'But all uncleanness, it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints: or obscenity, or foolish talking, or scurrility, which is to no purpose.'

* * *

let

"Every one will admit that some of our newspapers are a disgrace. It is shocking to witness the harm which these disreputable journals do by pandering to the lower passions of the multitude. They educate in crime, destroy purity, in a word, sow immorality. They are so many foul demons entering the family for its defilement and ruin. Perhaps the most terrible indictment that can be brought against America is that the public demand for the filth supplied by the 'Yellow Journals' is so great as to render rich and prosperous the unscrupulous editors, writers and publishers, who cater to debased appetites.

"We desire to employ all the power of our holy office to stem this flood of corruption,

and we, therefore, must earnestly beseech parents to banish all such newspapers and books from their firesides. O fathers and mothers, never permit them to contaminate your homes!"

If correctly reported, Governor Hanley of Indiana has established a praiseworthy precedent in the matter of qualification for public office in that state, and one which will doubtless cause no end of uneasiness among bibulous officeseekers and incumbents there. Replying to a friend who had asked a political favor, the Governor said:

"I should like to appoint your friend, and I have no doubt as to the merits of his service to the party, or his ability to do the work if he did his best. But railroads and other large business enterprises have of late years ruled against drinking men in their employ. That is a good policy, and as long as I am Governor of the State the same policy shall be pursued in its business. I am sorry to disappoint you, but that will have to be my decision."

Railroads and other corporations and great commercial concerns are insisting more strongly upon total abstinence among their employees, because the use of alcoholic beverages impairs their efficiency and renders them unreliable. and unworthy of the highest trust. No man can habitually "apply hot and rebellious liquors" to his blood with impunity. Tippling never benefited any one, but has injured countless numbers.

President Roosevelt has won the admiration and applause of all rightminded persons by his fearless denunciation of "easy" divorce, with its lamentable train of consequences. There are numberless abuses, domestic, political and otherwise, crying loudly for correction; and the President is wisely and generously making use of his large powers and opportunities to bring about the needed relief. We regret, however, that he does not view the question of marriage and divorce from the vantage ground of truth, the viewpoint of the Church.

BOOKS

THE LIGHT OF FAITH: A DEFENCE, IN BRIEF, OF FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIAN TRUTHS. By Frank McGloin. St. Louis: B. Herder. 1905. 12mo, pp. 285. $1.25 net.

Judge McGloin was asked by many of his acquaintances to explain and to defend the principal truths of Christianity; he did so and has embodied the result of his labor in the present volume. They They were first given in the form of lectures and embrace such truths as the existence of God, the mystery of life, belief and unbelief, evolution and the future life. The author has contributed nothing new, nothing that will throw a clearer light on any of these questions but he has succeeded in presenting them in an attractive, popular style and has not employed the phraseology of theology in his explanations. The chapters, "The Mystery of Life," and "Man and the Ape" are especially worthy of commendation because of their clear presentation of facts and their forceful repudiation of many conjectures which Mr. McGloin shows to be at variance with truth. Mr. McGloin's book is a healthful sign of the times showing as it does that intelligent Catholics have an important part to play in the dissemination of Truth, and that there is a growing number alive to the responsibility.

THE FEASTS OF MOTHER CHURCH, WITH HINTS AND HELPS FOR THE HOLIER KEEPING OF THEM. By Mother Mary Salome. New York: Benziger Bros., 1904. $1.25 net.

The present volume is made up of chatty narratives, written with a view "to revive a taste for those too often neglected aids to practical and joyous religion. 'The Feasts of Mother Church.' The author gives us glimpses of the lives and character of many of the saints; but good judgment and discrimination did.

not enter conspicuously into her selections. She takes no notice, for instance, of St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Teresa, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Agnes, St. Francis and a host of other stars of the first magnitude in God's saintly firmament, while many of the lesser lights are given undue prominence. The work was apparently written for the young, but the narratives are too concise and the style too colloquial to be of great value to either young or old.

ST. PETER FOURIER. By L. Pingaud; Translated by C. W. W. New York: Benziger Bros., 1905. 12mo, pp. 194. $1.00 net.

Few saints have met with more contradiction than Peter Fourier. Good and religious men totally misunderstood his efforts for the strengthening and rehabilitating of the faith through Christian education. The religious Order from which, owing to a sort of mystic alliance, he had drawn the spiritual ethos of his sisterhood, misinterpreted his rules. alienated his followers and opposed countless difficulties to the perfect and autonomous development of his institute. The Canons of St. Augustine, to whom he belonged by profession, stood apart from the reform he undertook at the bidding of his Bishop. That his ideas of reform were not Utopian is seen in the fact that the noble congregation of St. Maur adopted his methods. Exiled from his country, and ever deceived by Charles IV, that bundle of contrarieties, Fourier, nevertheless, retained a large confidence in man and an unalterable sweetness of temperament. His passion for anagrams and enigmas reminds us of the literary artificiality of St. Aldhelm, and his drawling sentences recall the mitigated humanism of Blessed More. The most interesting part of his career deals with his reforms at Mattin

court. There is something medieval in his miracle plays, and his appearance as civil judge; something almost patristic in the Agapés held after funerals and on feast days. In the establishment of mutual loan associations he is distinctly modern. His pedagogical ideas were simple and very imperfectly developed. If most of his works have not survived him it is because he undertook too much. In this he is a twin brother to St. Gilbert of England.

The translation is well done. Since this is almost the only life of the saint in English it is to be regretted that the original is marred by some blemishes. Lacordaire, for instance, was no reformer of his Order, but only re-established it in France. The comparison of these two great men is far-fetched, for their similarities are apparent only. Insufficient historical background in which Fourier figures, leaves the way open to misconceptions. So, too, the tone in which the author speaks of the saint's literary accommodation to the dignity of his correspondents makes the saint appear little better than a sycophant.

lack a vocation for the priesthood, and "Rita, the Street Singer," with its pathos and misery will furnish delightful reading. All the stories are bright and interesting but these seem to be more like Dr. Sheehan.

THE DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. By H. Noldin, S. J. Revised by Rev. W. H. Kent, O. S. C. New York: Benziger Bros. 1905. 12mo, pp. 272. $1.25.

"Devotion to the Sacred Heart," says Father Noldin, "is indispensable to the priest who wishes to acquire the true sacerdotal spirit and the virtues proper to his state." He then goes on to show the intrinsic excellence of the devotion. It is a thorough, practical and eminently devotional treatise on the great devotion to the Sacred Heart. While much that is contained in the book is meant for priests and seminarians only still there is so clear and concise explanation of the origin, the scope, the object, and general excellence of the devotion that every devout Catholic would find it helpful. mere Father Noldin also explains the purpose of the Apostleship of Prayer, and in an appendix offers many beautiful prayers to foster devotion to the Sacred Heart.

A SPOILED PRIEST AND OTHER
STORIES. By P. A. Sheehan, D. D. New
York: Benziger Bros. 1905. Illus., 12mo,
pp. 212.

Those who have become readers of Dr. Sheehan's "New Curate," "Luke Delmege," "The Triumph of Failure," etc., are undoubtedly eager to read everything that Dr. Sheehan has written; he seems to identify himself with the product of his brain and we want to know him: To cater to this popular demand was probably the purpose or intent of the publishers in issuing this volume. It contains several stories written by the author in his younger days. Fr. Sheehan is there but without the finesse that characterizes his later work. "The Spoiled Priest," narrating the life of one who was judged to

THE RIDINGDALE BOYS. By David
Bearne, S. J. New York: Benziger Bros.
Illus., 12mo., pp. 356. $1.85.

Here is a story for boys that bids fair to equal any of Father Finn's successes. The boys are real, live boys, talk as boys, act as boys. The hero is Lance Ridingdale. He possesses a talent for singing and a voice of rare excellence. It makes him very popular with the fair sex, but this is very disagreeable to him, and this latter trait serves to make him beloved by his companions. He is mischievous but never bad. His pranks and mishaps, as well as his good actions, will delight and entertain every juvenile. reader.

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The Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

By Rev. J. Puiseux,

Honorary Canon and Former Student of the Carmelite School
Translated from the French

By Rev. Roderick A. McEachen

This splendid Life of the World's Redeemer follows the chronological order as far as possible in using the Abbe Fouard's beautiful work as a model. Each paragraph comprises one important fact. Controversial questions are treated without entering into the various discussions, but the reader is referred to discourses and special works on these subjects. The author has availed himself of the results of modern Biblical research and of recent discoveries in the land sanctified by the footsteps of Our Lord, Valuable references are given to the scholarly and monumental works of such writers as Veuillot, Fouard, Le Camus, Frette, Didon, Dr. Lepp and Ollivier.

It is a simple and plain compendium of the main facts in the great story of our Blessed Lord's life on earth. We recommend this book for its simplicity and clearness.-The Sacred Heart Review. Had I the power, I would place this book in the hands of every Catholic and Protestant layman and woman on the face of the earth, and I know that as they read the beautiful story, their hearts would warm and burn within them, as was the case with the two travellers on their way to Emmaus nineteen hundred years ago. There is no better company in this world than the companionship of Jesus.-The Globe Review.

* Your brief and eloquent compendium of the Four Gospels, with its clear explanatory notes and descriptions of places, comes as if in answer to the question: "How shall I begin to follow out the Pope's advice?" No better answer can be given than this: "Read Father McEachen's Life of Christ."-Dr. McSweeney, Professor of St. Mary's Seminary, Price Hill, Cincinnati, O.

* Of all the "Lives" we have seen this is the best adapted for general use. It is the most useful and most to be recommended to our Catholic families.-New York Freeman's Journal.

the classics.

I think with the critics, that it bids fair to be ranked among
* * *-Bishop Challoner.

Map and 10 Full-page Illustrations. 208 pages. Vellum. Price, 75c Published and for Sale by THE ROSARY PRESS, Somerset, Ohio

To every regular subscriber of the Rosary Magazine who sends us ONE NEW paid-up subscription, we will send, post-paid, a FREE copy of this beautiful volume.

THE ROSARY MAGAZINE, Somerset, Ohio.

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