the perfidy, the scheming, and the employment of unjustifiable means to compass great ends, was on the side of the Court or of the Catholics, and that the Duc d'Aumale himself has no very profound Catholic sympathies. Both these suspicions, we trust, would be equally erroneous. But we seem to see an inability to look at European history from a thoroughly Catholic point of view in the defence which the author makes for the aggressive plans of Henri Quatre against the House of Austria. No doubt the Princes of that House had at one time threatened to overshadow the whole of Europe, and the predominance of their power was dangerous in a certain sense to France. No doubt also the confusion and internal miseries of France were looked on from time to time by the Court of Spain rather as means which might possibly serve for the furtherance of its own ambitious designs than as calamities to the great Christian commonwealth. So far, there was reason in the desire to check any further accumulation of power in the hands of the House of Austria, and there was provocation given on the part of the Spanish Court, at least, to the aggressive plans of Henri. But the Duc d'Aumale treats of the question exactly in the manner in which any modern politician would treat it, and he ignores the great religious and Christian considerations which ought to have been present to the mind of the French King. It was, in reality, treason to Christendom to pull down the. power which was the great check on the disorganising and debasing influences of Protestantism. It was treason to Christendom to forget the great danger to which Europe was still exposed from the power of the Turks, to attempt to weaken her best bulwark against their invasions, and even to contemplate an unholy alliance with the enemies of the Cross themselves. The policy shadowed forth by Henri's plans, as the Duc d'Aumale will surely admit, was the policy of Richelieu and of Louis XIV. To say that, is to say enough. It was the policy which sought the aggrandisement of France at the expense of the good of Christendom, the policy which supported Gustavus Adolphus in his designs on Germany, which attacked the Low Countries when the Turks were at the gates of Vienna, and which was punished by the calamities of the later years of the Grande Monarque, and may have had much to do in preparing the Revolution, and the repeated misfortunes and exiles of the Princes of the House of Bourbon.

2. So many hereditary titles have been claimed of late years, that the description of their origin and manner of descent is a very interesting subject. A dissertation, then, on the History of Hereditary Dignities, with special Reference to the Case of the Earldom of Wiltes, by W. J. Finlason, Barrister-at-law (Butterworths), seems well timed. The subjects chiefly treated by Mr. Finlason are the origin of Earldoms and other dignities, their course of descent, and their forfeiture by attainder. Earldoms were originally titles of actual dominion, and involved functions of military command. On this account, though

hereditary, they did not descend to female heirs. As there was not the same difficulty in the descent of estates to female possession these were not confined to male descendants. Indeed female heirs in the direct line were preferred to male heirs in a collateral branch. In the case of the descent of dignities, however, heirs male, though collateral, were preferred to female heirs, even lineal, unless indeed heirs female were excluded altogether. In the elevation of William Le Scrope to be Earl of Wiltes, the patent made the earldom descendible to heirs male generally, collateral as well as lineal. The title, after having been at the first granted with the full assent of the principal peers of Parliament, was repeatedly recognised in Parliament by entries on the rolls, and even in the statute-book. Mr. Finlason, passing on to the next question, maintains that an earldom so granted would naturally descend to his male heirs until legally lost or forfeited by the attainder of some possessor of it for treason, either by legal judgment from his peers during his lifetime, or by Act of Parliament attainting him after death. If an earl had been executed by legal trial, he could only be affected by an act of attainder for treason, in which case an act of indemnity was necessary even for the security of those who had executed him, so that indemnity implied illegality, and was distinctly different from an act of attainder. The mere "confirmation" of a past sentence to death, without any recital of a judgment or sentence for treason, would not amount to an attainder, and therefore would involve no forfeiture. These principles Mr. Finlason applies to the Earldom of Wiltes, and argues in favour of its restoration. The illegal execution of the Earl of Wiltes is thus related by Walsingham: "The Duke of York hearing that the Duke of Lancaster (afterwards Henry IV.) had set sail, and was prepared to invade the kingdom, having called to council the Chancellor, and William Le Scrope, Earl of Wiltes, the treasurer of the realm, and the Knights of the King's Council, John Busby, William Bagot, Henry Grene, and John Russell, asked them what was to be done in this matter. They advised him to quit London . . . but the aforesaid wicked councillors, and the treasurer, William Le Scrope, fled in haste to the Castle of Bristol. And the Duke of Lancaster having landed, these came to meet him, &c.; and they came with speed to Bristol, and laid siege to the castle, where, at length, the treasurer, William Le Scrope, John Busby, and Henry Grene, were taken prisoners, and they were forthwith, on the morrow, beheaded, at the outcry of the populace."

Thus the execution of the Earl was very clearly illegal. There was the absence of all real trial. If done in revenge, his execution was an act of murder; if in furtherance of a treasonable design, it was an act of treason, and it was perpetrated on the loyal and faithful minister of the rightful sovereign, King Richard. "It is impossible," says Mr. Finlason, "that a crime could either confer or take away a legal right-that it should confer upon the perpetrator a right of forfeiture, or inflict upon the victim the penalty of forfeiture."

3. We are glad to have read No. VII. of the Sunday Library published by Macmillans, and containing, in three parts, "The Apostles of Mediæval Europe." By the Rev. G. F. Maclear, B.D. In these slight sketches of the great Catholic Apostles of the Church in Europe the writer has done very fair justice to the Apostolic zeal and labours of such Saints as St. Patrick, St. Columba, St. Augustine of Canterbury, St. Boniface, St. Anskar, and many others. We thank him for bringing the narrative of their heroic lives before the general Protestant reader. And there are one or two points on which we feel especially indebted to him, where others might not have been either so candid or so honest. We refer to his allowing each life to tell its own tale, and under this head we would draw marked attention to his unintentional confession with regard to the last on his list, Raymund Lull, as few might have brought out so strongly the imprudence and frequent disappointments of a zeal which insisted so often upon going its own way without the full sanction of that highest authority, by which the others were always guided. We highly commend Mr. Maclear for pointing out repeatedly the singular esteem and care of all those great men for the preservation and dissemination of Holy Scripture, their bold stand against all the prevailing vices of the day, their hatred against domestic slavery, the noble self-sacrifice and singleness of purpose with which they spent themselves for the spread of the faith. He has not thought it necessary to interrupt his narrative in order to dwell on the hollowness of their claims, or the sinful weakness and error of their motives, or the absurdity of the miracles which they are reported to have worked. He even allows, towards the end, that several of them sought the authority and blessing of Rome upon their missionary work. We confess we are surprised to notice how carefully he has eliminated this very marked feature from the lives of St. Patrick and others who came more immediately after him.

Owing to his carefulness not to treat of the faith or practices of these early Saints, Mr. Maclear's account of them is necessarily very sketchy-a mere outline of what they were and what they did. We have an instance of the constant inclination amongst Protestants to draw comparisons between Judaism and Christianity, on which to found an argument against the history or teaching of the Catholic Church. Thus the first struggles of the Church for bare existence are likened to the Patriarchal period of Jewish history, and the Mediæval Church to the Mosaic Dispensation, in order to conclude that, like that Dispensation, the Mediæval Church was destined to vanish away after having done some real service for the truth. It is sad to see the unity and consistency of God's government in His Church thus sacrificed to the selfishness of Protestant prejudice against the Church's doctrines and practice. At all events our writer's treatment of his subject implies a confession that closer scrutiny would only bring out more strongly how decidedly the Saxon Church was at the same time Roman-Roman in her teaching, Roman in her religious doctrines

and spiritual life, Roman on all really essential points in her discipline. We will only add in conclusion, that Mr. Maclear's book is written in a very nice spirit, that it forms an interesting sketch of Apostolic labours, to which Protestantism can present no parallel, and that there is little if anything in it really objectionable to the Catholic reader.

4. While cases are daily on the increase in which the question is discussed as to whether or not a Patient should be sent to some foreign watering-place, and then as to which watering-place should be selected, a little book lately published comes in well for consultation and guidance. The Baths and Wells of Europe, by John Macpherson, M.D. (Macmillans), is at once a treatise on the use of water as a medicinal agent, a guide to help in the selection of some one particular watering-place, and a book of general information as to the habits of foreign bath life, and advice on a great many very useful and practical points. We might suggest indeed that the book is of rather too mixed a character, and might well pave the way for two separate works by the same hand-a simple guide-book to the selection and use of Wells and Baths for those who frequent them; and again a medical work on the whole question for the Profession. The usefulness of Dr. Macpherson's book as a popular guide may be shown by quoting a few of his more general recommendations. Thus, he warns against two mistakes the English patient often falls into, one of which we must call bluntly over-feeding, as well as eating too richly and in too great variety; the other is over-bathing, staying in the water too long, or taking more than one bath in the day. The expense at a foreign watering-place varies of course according to its popularity, but many are very cheap places of residence; and we are told, that altogether living, even at the best hotels, is considerably cheaper than in second-rate ones in England. In determining the point of going to a distant bathing-place at all, it is important to remember that a foreign Spa is of more especial use in chronic diseases that seem little affected by ordinary medical treatment. While real care should be taken in selection, as "many of the waters are very powerful medicinal agents, and may prove most injurious if carelessly employed." This fact alone would prove the call for such a trustworthy guide-book as Dr. Macpherson's. And that there is a large number of persons to whom it would be useful, is evident when we learn that "the principal baths alone, some twenty-five out of the three or four hundred considerable baths in Europe, have a resort of at least 300,000 individuals."

5. Mr. Ffoulkes' late pamphlet-which is now, we hope, rapidly sinking into oblivion-has received the honour of another very learned confutation. Father Bottalla succeeds to Father Ryder in Strictures on Mr. Ffoulkes' Letter to Archbishop Manning, under the title, The Papacy and Schism (Burns and Oates). This new pamphlet is marked by the same characteristics which distinguished

that written by the same author on the question of Honorius, in answer to Mr. Rénouf; there is the same sound theology, the same historical knowledge, the same controversial keenness. Fr. Bottalla devotes himself more especially to the historical questions raised by Mr. Ffoulkes. A great deal has lately been said on the subject of the False Decretals, the influence of which in forming the present discipline of the Church has been so enormously exaggerated; but there is still room for the clear and accurate statement contained in these pages. The same may be said as to Mr. Ffoulkes' "favourite aversion" the Crusades. Here, indeed, Father Bottalla has an easy task, as the statements on this subject made by his adversary in two different works-Christendom's Divisions and the Letter to Archbishop Manning—are by no means in harmony with each other. We are glad to see that the present writer attributes the "mistakes" made by Mr. Ffoulkes to a "really remarkable absence of critical spirit" (p. 2); to "a want of proper theological training" (p. 6); and a "want of elementary theological principles to guide him amidst his historical studies" (p. 127). This is the real account of the matter, as far as it fairly belongs to the sphere of public discussion. We have nothing to do with motives, or with the measure of mental power which Providence may have allotted to this or that particular person. But it is of the highest practical importance, in these days when everybody talks controversy, to point out firmly and plainly that the history of the Church cannot be understood and interpreted unless those who undertake to study or to write about it are furnished with the key of sound theological learning, and that such learning cannot be acquired by mere reading without guidance. Mr. Ffoulkes is probably as industrious a man, and, for all we know, he may be naturally as able a man as many who write on theology, but he has hardly made a single step in his "historical investigations" which has not been more than half a blunder. We can only trust that the example of his misfortunes may do more good in warning others from taking the same course, than his pamphlet has done harm by the specific errors with which it is fraught. It is an advantage that a writer so well qualified to judge as Father Bottalla should be found putting his finger on that one principal cause of Mr. Ffoulkes' mistakes, to which for many reasons it is so important to draw attention.

6. To those who take an interest in the songs and legends of the Irish peasantry, and in the scenes of their peasant life, Evenings in the Duffrey, by Patrick Kennedy (M‘Glashan and Gill, Sackville Street, Dublin, and Burns, Oates, and Co., London), will come as a pleasing sequel to The Banks of the Boro. The style of this book in some degree reminds us of those entertainments in which songs and anecdotes are strung together on a thread of light and sketchy narrative. Mr. Kennedy has framed his selections from song and story in rather too disconnected a setting of incident, and we do not see why they could not have been woven together in a more carefully worked-out

VOL. XI.

E E