of the Revolution; the distant mutterings of the great storm add a new interest to this entertaining story, which is appropriately dedicated to Hilaire Belloc.

4. Three little books of a devotional character, prettily produced by Messrs. Washbourne at one shilling net, each, and of a convenient size for carrying in hand or pocket, are Half Hours with God, by the Rev. Joseph M'Donnell, S.J., composed of his two admirable booklets on Daily Mass and Frequent Communion, both of which, in their more popular form, have attained a circulation of in or about a hundred thousand, and which many will prefer to have in this more permanent form; Sweet Sacrament Divine, by the Very Rev. Charles Cox, O.M.I., now Administrator Apostolic of the Transvaal, which is not a treatise on the Blessed Eucharist like the preceding, but a collection of devout prayers for use before and after Holy Communion; and Saturdays with Mary, compiled by a Client of Mary. To remedy the anonymity of this third volume, we are provided with a Foreword by the Lord Bishop of Clifton. The book contains a selection of readings, one for each Saturday in the year, and describing as a rule some act of devotion performed by servants of Our Lady; a happy thought, for example is the best preacher. The readings are short, well and simply told and well selected; they will not impose too severe a tax on the devotion of any of Mary's clients.

5. How many thousands of readers have found comfort in the works of Father Faber, have learned from him to understand better the wonders of God's love for us and the happiness and sweetness of serving Him faithfully! Many of these readers will be glad to learn something of the man and his career, and they will find a concise account of his life in Father Faber, by W. Hall-Patch, brought out by Messrs. Burns & Oates for one shilling net. It is a slender cloth-bound book with several illustrations and printed in large, readable type. Most readers will wish for more details of his life, and perhaps we may be favoured with a fuller account of his interesting history, so full of good works. It would be a fitting work to appear in this his centenary year-he was born on the 28th of June, 1814. The following of his books were written in the space of five years: All for Jesus, Growth in Holiness, The Blessed Sacrament, The Creator and the Creature, The Foot of the Cross, Bethlehem, Spiritual Conferences, Poems and Hymns, with a part of The Precious Blood, and a volume of Spiritual Exercises; and all this was accomplished amidst a multitude of other occupations.

6. The Inglethorpe Chronicles. By Theodora Kendal. London R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd. (Price 2s. 6d.)

These tales are related by youthful members of the Inglethorpe family. With charming naïveté, they recount various escapades, involving no small share of childish troubles, out of which they were helped by the loving solicitude of a wise uncle. His manner of dealing with his nephews and nieces reveal the care with which he has studied their temperaments and development of character. And his methods will recommend themselves to all concerned with the education of Catholic youth. The author seems to be gifted with the faculty of seeing things from a child's standpoint. Instead of directly inculcating the moral, as is sometimes done, Miss Kendal artistically conveys it through a story which carries the reader's interest along with it. We heartily endorse Philip's sentiment when he exclaims: “I wish everyone had such an uncle." We have no hesitation in recommending this book as suitable for school libraries and prizes. A deep Catholic spirit pervades it throughout. Boys as well as girls will read it with interest and profit. 7. Richard of Wyche, Labourer, Scholar, Bishop, and Saint (1197-1253). By Sister Mary Reginald Capes, O.S.D. London : Sands & Co. (Price 5s. net.)

In the story of St. Richard, Bishop of Chichester, which is little known to the present generation, Sister Mary Reginald has presented to us the picture of one of the most lovable of old English saints and scholars. The ordinary reader will find it both interesting and edifying, and students of history will find in the introductory chapter an interesting sketch of the state of the Church in Medieval England. We follow the saint from his birthplace in Worcester, to Oxford, where he rose from being a needy, but enthusiastic student, to be Chancellor of that University. St. Edmund summoned him, then, to Canterbury, and made him his own Chancellor. There is a charming description of the friendship between the two saints. St. Edmund, seeing his prudence, left many things in his Chancellor's hands. The latter had often to treat with the King, as his master's representative, and showed such courage and boldness in upholding his cause that he became in consequence, no favourite at Court. Henry III. bitterly opposed his election to the bishopric of Chichester. We are given an idea of the difficulties of pre-Reformation Bishops, many of whom had to do battle with royalty for the liberties of the Church and the protection of their flocks. The author has made

the most of the material for his early life; there are few authentic facts, but she has supplied the deficiencies by a vivid description of English domestic and student life in the Middle Ages. For his later life, there is more ample detail, drawn from the account written by Friar Bocking, his confessor. St. Richard worked striking miracles, both before and after death; and his tomb was one of the famous places of pilgrimages in England until 1538, when it was ruthlessly destroyed by the Reformers.

8. A Broken Rosary and Other Stories. Finn. London: R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd.

By Mary Agnes (Price 2s. 6d.)

This book of short stories has about it an atmosphere of gentle piety. The plots are various, but all tell of the triumphs -through much suffering-of faith and holiness over the forces of the world. Also the gentle authoress sees to it that even her most worldly characters receive the grace of repentance before it is too late. It is surely an amiable weakness with her to make all her heroines very beautiful young ladies. The scene of many of the stories is laid in Australia, and the atmosphere seems true to life. Of others the scene is in Ireland. The book is simply but prettily bound, and would make a suitable gift for a school-girl.

9. Ideals and Realities. Essays. By Edith Pearson. London R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd. (Price 2s. 6d. net.)

There are twenty different items in the contents of this very readable volume, including essays imaginative, literary, and biographical, three poems, and one unexpected little story. Some of the essays we have classed as imaginative; it is not so easy else to describe them. They treat of high and beautiful things, divine and human-Ideals, Compensation, Loyalty, Sacrifice are some of the subjects that might come under this heading. They are written with a directness of appeal and sympathy and freshness not too often met with. Among the literary subjects treated are Father Ryan's poems, Adelaide Anne Procter, Alfred Noyes. Miss Pearson is plainly a cultured Catholic of wide reading, and her appreciations are not only kindly, but sane and discriminating. All her essays are illustrated by quotations happily chosen from the great ones of modern literature. It seems as if her mind were fully tuned to these great singers, for their words seem to come to her without effort in illustration of her own excellent thoughts. There is a little life, in four chapters, of Caroline Chisholm, a wonderful woman, whose life-work was the providing of homes or employment for the poor emigrants to Australia.

We may allow ourselves a word of criticism in regard to the three poems. The thoughts are certainly poetic, but the manner of expression leaves something to be desired; and we cannot help wishing they had taken the same form as the essays.

10. It is gratifying to note in Catholic Missions for May that the Irish Branch of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith doubled its contributions to the funds during the past year. This issue of the magazine is Volume I. No. 1, of a new series, and is published at 19 Henrietta Street, Strand, W.C., price twopence, or, post free, three shillings per annum. shall let the number give an account of itself :—

"Catholic Missions, which appears this month in an entirely new form, is by no means a new and untried venture; the paper has already a long and fruitful record. Founded at Lyons in 1868 as a weekly missionary gazette, to supplement the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, Les Missions Catholiques soon began to exercise influence in other countries by means of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith. At the present moment there is a weekly Italian edition, published at Milan; a superb monthly edition, edited by the Jesuit Fathers, is published by Messrs. Herder at Freiburg, and has attained a circulation of 18,000; an equally fine edition is published in New York by Mgr. Freri, the Delegate for the United States.

"The English edition owes its inception to the zeal of the greatest of our Apostles of the Missions, Herbert Cardinal Vaughan. In 1886, as Bishop of Salford, he undertook the task of launching Illustrated Catholic Missions."

Of late, thanks to the zeal of his successor, His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop, the Association for the Propagation of the Faith has been reorganised, and has begun again more successfully than ever before to direct the attention of English Catholics to the noblest of all works, the extension of the Catholic Faith throughout the world. It has, therefore, seemed a good opportunity to revive this organ of the apostolate which has done such excellent service in the past. . . . The British Branch has accordingly undertaken the responsibility of editing and publishing a new edition of Catholic Missions."

II. The Conversion of Caesare Putti, also published by Messrs. Burns and Oates, Ltd., is a slim, cloth-bound booklet, in which Mr. W. Hall-Patch links together, somewhat after the fashion of a short story, a few instances of the zeal and the miracleworking powers of the well loved St. Philip Neri. The print is well spaced and easy to read, and the book costs a shilling net.

THE IRISH MONTHLY

SEPTEMBER, 1914

F

THE PROSE WRITINGS OF THE VEN.
ROBERT SOUTHWELL

By REV. GEORGE O'NEILL, S.J.

EW more pathetic and winning records meet us in history than the tale of the brief life and slow martyrdom of Robert Southwell. A spirit simple and upright, a character gentle yet strong, single-minded and unswerving in devotion to the service of his Divine Master-in such outlines does he stand before us. And his story-a few years of apostolic preparation and labour, then long-drawn outrage and torture at the hands of the wicked agents of a wicked queen, fidelity under every stress and trial to the duty he owed his Creator and his human friends, the lingering death of the prison, followed by the heroic consummation on the scaffold-is a tale which even unfriendly partisans have been unable to tell without a stirring of pity and admiration.*

It is not, however, on the incidents of his brief career and final victory that we have to dwell in this paper. Nor is it on his work and position as a poet-a capacity in which he won a considerable degree of popularity during his life-time, and has received a fair measure of justice from recent critics. Our business is with another aspect of his genius-for genius he

*For the life of the Ven. Robert Southwell, a little volume published at id. by the "C.T.S.," may be recommended. The Dictionary of National Biography provides a scholarly account of his career and writings. An excellent historical romance, The Wonderful Flower of Woxindon, by J. Spillmann, S. J. (published by Herder), deals with his family and times; he himself is the central personage in The Man's Hands, an attractive story by Father Garrold, S. J.

VOL. XLII.-No. 495

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