community of chaplains at San Girolamo. His life deserves to be written, and Lady Amabel Kerr has put us in her debt by this biography. Buonsignore's zeal for apostolic works marks him as a true precursor of St. Philip, and a model of sacerdotal activity for all time. His chief endeavor was to encourage devotion to the Real Presence and to promote the practice of frequent Communion. His labors were speedily crowned with success, and, to use his own words, "sinners were transformed to angels" by the Holy Eucharist. But like most men whose zeal has been greater than their regard for respectable routine, he was suspected, he was persecuted, he was ridiculed, and finally was denounced as a man of no theological attainments, an innovator, and a heretic. He was not officially condemned, however, and his work, while obstructed, was not destroyed. His last years were spent in the heroic endurance of dreadful physical torture, and his end was the end of a saint. St. Philip called him a man man of wonderful sanctity; a verdict which every reader of this interesting volume will cordially approve. POEMS. By E. B. O'Reilly. In the poems of Miss Eliza Boyle O'Reilly † there is one outstanding quality which would have brought joy to the heart of her gifted father. In all these verses there is not a feeble theme, not an artificial sentiment. They are strong and they are true. There is enough suggestion of deep thought in them, also, to give warrant that the profounder subjects of poetic expression will be not unsuccessfully attempted in our author's more mature compositions. Her present task must be to work incessantly for perfection in metre and for absolute purity of diction. It will be a long labor; it will mean the ruthless destruction of much that has cost great pains; but it will end with a reward which we venture to predict will be above the ordinary recognition of even genuine poetic talent. Certainly Miss O'Reilly possesses the fundamental requisite to success, an exalted view of the function of poetry. And that is a great deal in these times when our verse as well as our fiction is diseased with unreality, unvirility, and sham; and when the sacred office of vates is usurped by verse-makers incompetent * A Precursor of St. Philip. By Lady Amabel Kerr. St. Louis: B. Herder. to discern the least glimpse of the eternal sanctities, or to feel any diviner agitations of the spirit than sickly doubts or degenerate sentimentality. THE HEART OF ROME. A novel from the pen of such a writer as Marion Crawford could not fail to be entertaining and instructive. This latest production of the eminent novelist is a story of the "lost water" which flows mysteriously under certain parts of the city of Rome. Malipieri, a famous archæologist, is making excavations in the cellars of the palazzo of the ruined family of the Conti, and discovers a priceless treasure hidden therein; this he determines to secure to the young Donna Sabina Conti, for whom he has formed a great attachment. He invites her to the palazzo to inspect his excavations and discovery, and in accepting his invitation she, though innocently, compromises her reputation. Malipieri cannot marry her, because in youth he had generously given his name to another whom a dear friend had betrayed. As usual, however, difficulties are finally overcome, and the story closes with the happy marriage of Malipieri and Donna Sabina. The characters of the story are peculiarly unsatisfactory; there is hardly a striking one in the book, certainly none comparable to the noble Giovanni and Corona D'Astradente of his Saracinesca. Moreover, we are surprised to find a too graphic description of a very suggestive situation coming from the pen of Mr. Crawford. The book suffers greatly in comparison with some of his other productions. INSECT FOLK. This book is apparently intended for young children, although the proper divisions of the subject, in their technical names such as Odonata, Ephemerida, Piecoptera, Thysanura, on the page before the first lesson, astonish the eye.† We think it does not dignify science to bring it down to the level of immature minds. Children who can grasp Entomology at all do not like to think they are learning a "baby *The Heart of Rome. By Marion Crawford. New York: The Macmillan Compan book," and the short sentences, childish language, and efforts at humor in these pages give that impression. The best language, and clearest explanations, are not too good in books of instruction for the young. Those who have experience in the education of children know that it is better for the language of a book to be a little ahead than a little behind the mind of a pupil. There is much useful and interesting matter in The Insect Folk; and the author proves she is quite at home with her subject. If she would leave out the interjections, and "made-up" speeches of "Mollie" and "May" and "Master Ned," and impart her excellent information in pithy paragraphs, the book would increase in dignity and value. THE SHIP OF STATE. The Ship of State* is a compendium of interesting and timely articles, dealing with the various offices of our government. The papers are written by able men, some of whom have held the offices of which they treat, and others who write and judge equally well of the dignity and responsibility of these positions. The first paper is "The Presidency," by Theodore Roosevelt, and was written long before he was called to be the head of the nation. Twelve papers make up the volume, and all are enriched with excellent illustrations. The book has a decidedly instructive value, and is the best lesson on civics that could be put into such a small compass. MEMORIES OF A RED- By Eleanor Childs Meehan. This charming diary of travel,† with its refined finish and illustrations, is one of the pleasantest companions we have had for some time. Its descriptions are graphic, its historical allusions correct, its information true, and we judge it both an admirable addition to the supplementary reading of classes, and an ornament to the library table. Mrs. Meehan has conferred a favor on the young by publishing this admirable account of her travels abroad, and we cordially recommend it to all our readers, for old as well as young will be interested in its pages. * The Ship of State. By Those at the Helm. Boston: Ginn & Co. + Memories of a Red-Letter Summer. By Eleanor Childs Meehan. Cincinnati: Robert IRISH AGRICULTURAL Now that the question of land ownership in Ireland is settled by the recent act of Parliament, it is necessary that farmers be encouraged to develop the resources of their holdings to the utmost extent. By improving the methods of production, and by obtaining better markets for their produce, the new peasant proprietors will soon enjoy increased prosperity. The competition from other countries will force the adoption of co-operative principles. To provide the assistance needed in this direction is the special scope of the Irish Agricultural Society,* which has a branch already established in New York City represented by the Hon. John D. Crimmins and many other devoted friends of Ireland. One of the most effective workers in this industrial movement is the Rev. Thomas A. Finlay, S.J., of University College, Dublin, who came to the United States a short time ago as a member of the Mosely Commission, to study various phases of educational progress in relation to commercial advancement. In one of his lectures in New York on the subject, Father Finlay related how Sir Horace Plunkett went about endeavoring to persuade Irishmen, independently of their political proclivities and of creed, to combine together for industrial selfimprovement. The great wave of emigration had well-nigh drained Ireland of all that was best and most representative in her manhood and womanhood, and while good men here and there endeavored to stem that awful drain, nothing was really accomplished, as the cause which lay at the source of the difficulty had never been met. When men could not earn a decent living at home it was not to be expected that patriotism would deter them from going abroad. Sir Horace Plunkett seemed to realize this, but he endeavered to convince the farmers to whom he had access that in combination lay a new source of power. He met at first with the usual apathy and inertia which such a reform is sure to encounter, for Irishmen, in spite of the bad name they enjoy in certain quarters, are the most conservative of conservative men. But the movement spread, and the figures show that, whereas but a decade of years ago some five-and-thirty book," and the short sentences, childish language, and efforts at humor in these pages give that impression. The best language, and clearest explanations, are not too good in books of instruction for the young. Those who have experience in the education of children know that it is better for the language of a book to be a little ahead than a little behind the mind of a pupil. There is much useful and interesting matter in The Insect Folk; and the author proves she is quite at home with her subject. If she would leave out the interjections, and "made-up" speeches of "Mollie" and May" and "Master Ned," and impart her excellent information in pithy paragraphs, the book would increase in dignity and value. THE SHIP OF STATE. The Ship of State* is a compendium of interesting and timely articles, dealing with the various offices of our government. The papers are written by able men, some of whom have held the offices of which they treat, and others who write and judge equally well of the dignity and responsibility of these positions. The first paper is "The Presidency," by Theodore Roosevelt, and was written long before he was called to be the head of the nation. Twelve papers make up the volume, and all are enriched with excellent illustrations. The book has a decidedly instructive value, and is the best lesson on civics that could be put into such a small compass. MEMORIES OF A RED- By Eleanor Childs Meehan. This charming diary of travel,† with its refined finish and illustrations, is one of the pleasantest companions we have had for some time. Its descriptions are graphic, its historical allusions correct, its information true, and we judge it both an admirable addition to the supplementary reading of classes, and an ornament to the library table. Mrs. Meehan has conferred a favor on the young by publishing this admirable account of her travels abroad, and we cordially recommend it to all our readers, for old as well as young will be interested in its pages. *The Ship of State. By Those at the Helm. Boston: Ginn & Co. + Memories of a Red-Letter Summer. By Eleanor Childs Meehan. Cincinnati: Robert |