motive to action, of a simple loyal love of truth and zeal for souls, then it may not have been so serious a miscalculation, which discerned from the first the prognostics of most subtle mischief to the Church in this party, so keenly as perhaps to induce a momentary oversight of the essential good which was mixed up with it.*

And here, at length, we close our chequered task, in which the contemplation of so much that is sorrowful is suggested by the memory of so much that is joyous. And we close it with two different but conspiring prayers; the first, that the mournful vaticinations at which we have arrived, may be utterly discredited and disappointed in the sequel, through the agency of that blessed and all-powerful Spirit of God, which can yet give to our longing desires, now one and then another, of those that at present withstand us. The other prayer is for him, the theme of many tongues, the "cynosure" of many a loving and many a malignant eye, to whose untiring zeal, unflinching firmness, and unbounded generosity of feeling, the Church in England is so largely indebted, and none of her children more than those who in later times have been drawn from heresy to her embrace, sheltered in her bosom, and nerved to action in her service. It was the panegyric of one who wore in Pagan Rome the imperial purple which has descended upon him; not now as the note of worldly sovereignty, but as the ensign of ecclesiastical sway; that he "found the Eternal City of brick and left it of marble." Assuredly we might wish, perhaps we might argue, a like eulogy, in the page of the future historian, for one who has made the Church in England the chief object of his care, throughout the whole course of his eventful life. It may have to be said of him, too, that he found, indeed, the ground-works of the city secure, its walls solid, its ramparts impregnable, but that he left it far more glorious than he found it-invested with new beauty, enriched by new resources, invigorated in its power, and amplified in its boundaries. This may, this will, have to be said by those who behold the further advances of that work, of which we are privileged to observe but the beginnings and the actual progress. "Laudabunt alii ;"-be ours the humbler, (and we are well sure that to the subject of our interest it will be the more grateful,) theme, to say, at once

* See Essays, vol. ii. "Position of the High Church Theory." + Lateritiam invenit, marmoream reliquit,

for him and with him, "DEUS DOCUISTI ME A JUVENTUTE MEA, ET USQUE NUNC PRONUNTIABO MIRABILIA TUA: ET USQUE IN SENECTAM ET SENIUM: DEUS NE DERELINQUAS ME, DONEC ANNUNTIEM BRACHIUM TUUM GENERATIONI OMNI QUÆ VENTURA EST, FOTENTIAM TUAM, ET JUSTITIAM TUAM, DEUS USQUE IN ALTISSIMA, QUÆ FECISTI MAGNALIA."*

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I.-Memorandums made in Ireland in the Autumn of 1852. By JOHN FORBES, M.D. F.R.S.; Hon. D. C. L. OxON.; Physician to Her Majesty's Household; Author of " A Physician's Holiday." With a map and illustrations. London Smith and Co., Cornhill.

THE HE great thing to be desired from a traveller in Ireland is impartiality, and we consider that we have it in this author, palpably not only to Catholics from their previous knowledge of his subjects, but also to Protestants, to whom in this respect he presents no assailable point. Dr. Forbes' character and position are guarantees, not only for his ability, but for his sound Protestantism. The mildness of his temper and judgment are apparent in every line of his book, and he has taken the best means of keeping to truth, by writing down on the spot his impressions, with the occasion of them, upon general subjects; and referring to the best authorities, where accurate statistics were required as the basis of an opinion. It is then really something more than a coincidence that we should have this calm, gentlemanly, kindly-tempered work, to offer as an antidote to the bitter party spirit, reckless assertion, and unscrupulous malice of Sir Francis Head; let us hope that our adversaries will give at least equal weight to the one as to the other; or rather, (having but little hope in their justice,) let us leave their decisions to be, as heretofore, overruled by Divine Providence, and consider for a moment these Memorandums" with a view to our own satisfaction. Upon all the topics mis

*Ps. lxx. 17-19.

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represented by our adversaries, with the view of wounding us in our Catholic sympathies, Dr. Forbes' truthful statement gives us full satisfaction, confirming to the utmost our previous convictions: upon the character of the Priesthood-of the faithful Irish people-upon the substantial failure of all the late attempts to shake their faith-and the halo of glory with which the abundance, excellence, and variety of charitable institutions have crowned this nation, so poor in this world's goods, so highly favoured in another sense. Of the Priesthood Dr. Forbes speaks always highly; cautiously he measures his praise, but it is genuine and full; he remarks that all I have yet heard of the Roman Catholic Priests, in the districts through which I have passed, is extremely creditable to their character and conduct. They seem to be most zealous in the discharge of their sacred duties, and most blameless in their lives."-vol. i. p. 88. Further on he tells us, "I heard but one report of the Priests, and that was that their character and conduct were uniformly excellent and exemplary."-vol. ii. p. 74. He praises their "kindness," their "laborious and ascetic lives," their " moderation;" exonerates them from most of the charges made against them; and points out the lawful excuses, or superhuman temptations which may be alleged for occasional political violence. Dr. Forbes, a man of education himself, does full justice to the noble College of Maynooth, to the numerous, wellconducted, well-attended schools which so distinguish Ireland; and to the Religious Orders who devote themselves to education. These latter he even thinks might, without derogation, be adopted into the Protestant system! But the testimony rendered by Dr. Forbes to the Irish people is most full and genial; he visited them in their cottages, attended at their chapels, chatted with all who came in his way; he praises their kindly qualities. "The Irish,' the English settlers said, "were friendlier and kindlier to each other, went more to the houses of one another, and so had more pleasure than their countrymen in England." -vol. i. p. 39. He bears this testimony (amongst many others) to their temperance. "In Galway, as in every other place visited by me in Ireland, I did not meet a single person in a state of intoxication, nor could I discover any signs of this vice being prevalent, or even at all in existence."-vol. i. p. 244. He adds, "I never met with

one among them who was not a sincere believer, and with very few indeed who might not fairly claim to be both religious and pious. In speaking of their individual misfortunes and distresses, they almost invariably comforted themselves with the expression that such was God's will; and with the prayer that they might, by His grace, be enabled to bear what had befallen them. Even in the ordinary proceedings of life, along with a remarkable freedom from swearing and all other sorts of bad language, they generally exhibited, at least elderly persons did, a degree of reverence towards the name of God which is rarely witnessed in Protestant countries, the women curtseying, and the men raising their hats from their heads, whenever they had occasion to name that name."-vol. i. p. 286. We do not wonder at the sound doctrinal explanations elicited from them by Dr. Forbes upon several points, (with a view to seeing whether they understood what they professed,) still less are we surprised at their generous charity, shown even by those who had to beg themselves; at the purity of the women, at their strong natural affection, faithful, and pure; (to which, alas! we could find so many unfavourable contrasts in England ;) at the gaiety of hearts at peace with God, the overflowing Churches, the fervent Sabbaths, innocent, although concluded by a dance, in which, if the Priest should hear a hint of anything wrong or unbecoming, he will surely be down upon them directly." And are these people to become Protestants? Is the hope of Ireland to depart from her at the bidding of Irish Mission Societies of endless denominations? Let not the good people of Exeter Hall delude themselves with such an idea. We could almost laugh at the cautious timidity with which the conscientious Protestant doctor touches upon this point. "Although well aware (he says, of Aughterard and Clifden) of the great conversion movement in this part of Ireland, and consequently not disposed to overlook a matter so interesting and important, it is nevertheless true, that its existence would hardly have been revealed to me by anything that fell under my own immediate observation as I passed through the country. Everything that I saw and heard indicated the presence of the same Catholic people, and the same Catholic institutions, which I had hitherto seen in every district, town, and village visited by me in Ireland. I saw and heard very little more of Protestants or Protestantism than elsewhere, except I made spe

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cial enquiries of those specially interested in the question." -vol. i. p. 245. And by shrewd remarks, and statistical calculations, the Doctor proceeds to confirm his own impressions, and quite to satisfy us, that, although we can hardly grieve too much for the loss of even a single soul, (and these missionaries of Mammon have certainly caused the loss of many,) yet, speaking of this religious change as a national movement, Ireland has nothing to fear, and may defy the devotional "stir-about" and stirring up with which she has been visited. But we must not follow Dr. Forbes any further; we have no space to point out how even his guarded admissions afford corroboration to the truth of our country's grievances; nor can we dwell upon the solid grounds he adduces for hope for the future. We can but recommend the book for general perusal. Catholics should read it for their own sakes. Protestants should read it in justice to those against whom they are so fearfully ready to utter the bitterest words and the most cruel judgments.

II.-Life of Mrs. Eliza A. Seton, Foundress and first Superioress of the Sisters or Daughters of Charity, in the United States of America, with copious extracts from her writings, and an historical sketch of the Sisterhood, from its foundation to the present time. By CHARLES J. WHITE, D.D. New York: Dunigan and Brothers, 1853.

The biography of this admirable woman is in every respect edifying. She was a great saint; and Divine Providence was pleased to work great things by her, of which the Church in America is now reaping, and may, we trust, for ages enjoy the fruits; but she possessed one attribute in a peculiar degree,-she was the saint of domestic life. Admirable as a wife, daughter, and sister, her expansive affections won the love of a large circle of friends, which she returned with a warmth of which many hearts are not capable; and more than this, she was early left a widow, with five children dependent upon her for everything; their Protestant friends would have taken them, upon what terms we need not specify;-no one would help the estranged convert to rear her children in the faith she had embraced, and would have died for. In every relation of life she did her duty as devotedly, and with as much tenderness, as if that had been the sole claim upon her love or