Current Topics AT HOME AND ABROAD.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXII, Issue 7, 14 June 1895, Page 1

Current Topics AT HOME AND ABROAD.

ODDS AND ENDB.

Her Majesty the Queen, in returuicg at the eni of April from ber visit to the Continent, had chosen for ber landing-place a harbour on the coast of Kent out of the ordinary ran. It had formerly been called Port of Grain, but is now known as Port Victoria. Her Majesty had recommended herself to the poor of Cimiez, her place of fojoarn on the Biviera. by leaving at her departure £100 for distribution among them. She had previously given £10 as a subscription to a society for the protection of animals, and made several presents to officials and attendants.

We learn from a society paper, whose metier is to be well-posted on snch ma ttera, that there is in society a marked at d con inuous falling off iD the drinking of champagne. In New York — that is_ cf course, among the Four Hundred — which was ona of the chief centres of consumption, claret, we are told, is now prefened. Tnere is no satisfaction to be derived from t.ie (\ecieaae by prohibitionists for people who are not in society, we are also told, have taken up the taste that has been dropped by their superiors, and aie keeping up the demand. Meantime, we may conclude that gooseberry growing remains a profitable industry.

If a story told of the young Czar be true his Majeßty, posbihly without knowing it and, we may venture to say, certainly without meriting it, has assumed to himself a favour granted to the la c Dom Bosco. The founder of the Salesnn Fataers, as is wel'.-kniwn, was shadowed by a dog which now and then defended him from danger —coming no one knew whence and going no one kaew whither. The Czxr, we are told, has recently dismissed Gome new servants because a Danish dog — of excessive size — which ib owned by him growled at them — taking the growl an au augury of their evil disposition. Itimay, however, be hoped thatthestory lsunfounded and the ruler cf so many millions of mankind has a little more common sense.

A London paper — non-Oathohc or rather anti-Cathnlic — his a word or two to say about Protestant missions to the heathen. Oar contemporary alludes to a geuerou3 donation am >untiug to many hundred pounds given recently by an anonymous donor to the London Missionary Society. The wnter thinks the donor might po°sibly do as much good with his money by helping the wbius instead it the blacks. " And yet," hejadds, " perhaps ha id doing this without knowing it, for, in one way or another, moat of tho money subscribed for missionaiy purples fiodb its way into missionary pocke s." Our contemporary goes on to quote from a correspondent at Shanghai. This correspondent who has lived in China for some years gives the remits of inquiries made by him, as one greatly interested in mission work. " I would advise all poor men," he wri.ts, ''who have an ambition to become gentlemen to come to China bs missionaries. I think it ib a cruel shame that there are thousands of children in a state of semi-starvation wbo, when they go to Sunday school, have to squeeze out their penco for the missionary box, which helps to support these people in idleness and luxury. I strongly condemu the practice of eeoding young giils out here on mission woik. The resuit of Buch has lately developed in Shanghai. Tue defeodant was tried and acquitted ; he objected to marry her un the ground that thu poor girl was a loose character.''

W " Primrose Day (wri'es a Dublin correspondent) is naw suorn of much of its former glory in Dublin. The big dance wi'h us preliminary meeting wedged in like the powder in a t-poonful of jim, has now given place to a meeting and concert, ar d they evidently did not fear a crowd to that, for the tickets, including refreshments, were only a shilling. Wtio would not rub shoulders with Dames and Knights Harbinger at such a price ?"

Time was when the stage Irishman was wont to be exhibited as, at least, a would-bd wit. There are signs that th^y have changed all

that and are now repieaenting him as a dullard — "Woomera" for example, who is accountable for " Talk on Change" in the Australasian, appears to take this new departure. We borrow from him the following note, in which also we find what seems to be a sample of the brogue as they manufacture it in Melbourne. The like, we need hardly say, was never heard in Ireland.

" I was coming out from the Davitt reception on Saturday when to inspector of pavement whose clotbeß at any rate, had seen better dayi remarked, 'It was a glorious demonstration wasn't it?' I told him that it was all an Irishman and a patiot conld desire. Then the national spirit of obstinacy ' Ruz widin 'ma.' ' Twas nothin* to what it s^ud o' been,' he declared energetically. ' Share we shad o' bad bands o' musicianers playin' trou the Bthreets, an* ladia' citizens carryin' banners. I'd o' made wan wid ye z mesilf. 1 "

Is " Woomera 'a " Scotch also of an antipodean character? That is a question we must leave to be Bolved by those who are more familiar than we are with the dialect. Here, however, " Woomera '• otherwise hbiJea by tradi.ion and gives us the Sot who cannot perceive a. joke. He is wiser, perhaps, to remain in the time-honoured furrow.

" Amongst the spectators at the football match between Esaendon and Melbourne on Saturday were two portly citizens who as the game progressed became more wildly excited. ' Mon !' said one, ' It'& a grawn game ; it's a braw battl . The awfu' excitement o' it Jamie. Wby, it fair stirs me bluid 1' ' Aye ! Wallie,' said the other with enthusiasm, 'the rush o' it and the ding o' it I Mon, for real doonrrcht exerciee and excitement there's cseihin' beats it but oor aia bonnie game o' bowls I "

Lord Valentia's majority at Oxford has sirred up the hopes of the Uoioniet party. It amounted to 602 — five time greater, they cry than that of Sir George Chesney the late Member. And what is more Dr Little, the Gladstonian candidate, obtained a sncmller amount of support than that accorded to tha Gladstonian ii 1892. la Mid Norfolk, again, Mr GurJon the Unionist beat his RidicU opponent Mr Wiiacn by a majority cf 208, whereas the late Member, Mr Hipgine, a Radical also, had b^en returns 1 by a majority of 470, There had been, in short, since 1892, a tiansfer from Radical to Unionist of G7B votes For our own part we do not car* to piay the al irmiat. Neither do we care to c mcoal fiom our readers wnit may pobßibly portend an approaching defeit.

Tho Saturday Review recalls an i-.clienti -.client in the election for Argyleahire of Sir Donald Macfarlane — tne o.ily Citholic it says wh'j iver6at for a Scotch cous'itueacy in tho Inperial Parliament' ' FeGling ran high against him ; no believer could vote for a Catholic it was thought, however good a Liberal tha c indidate might be. And at a great meeting it was anticipated that Sir Donald would be heckled out of the couoty. But a heck'er aioie, whether with Sir Donald's connivance or oot, who put a fresh complexion on the matter. Was it possible, he aeked Sir Donald, in 6tentorian tones for a Papist to be a patriotic Scotchman? With feigned hesitation and much meekness of manner, Sir Donald replied that he had alway s considered R >bert Bruce aad William Wallace to be patriotic Scotchmen, and that both these partiss held ttio same religion aa he did."

Something must be Bacrifijeii, i k «vouM aopear, eren by the heal that wears a crown. AL) idon woekiy alludos to the visit recently paid to Englani jy the Q ieen of Holland— a girl of 15—accompanied by hei nuthpr, th^ Qieen K^gen'. Of ttio latter laiy who was a priuco'-s of \V..ldeck t'yrmjnt, an 1 is a siatsr of H.R.H. the Duchesa of Albany, our contemporary speaks aa follows :—": — " When in 1879, the King of Holland took his young bride to tha Hague, she was as simple as a child, looked upou the pilace as something too magnificent for words, and danced and sung for very joy, seemingly unconscious of the fact that her courtiera were criticising her every pca 1 ure. An 1 those present told me," says our informant, " that the King, then sixty -two, led his young wife up to the portrait of his

mother, the proud Anna Paulowna, and whispered, 'She never danced I A queen should never laugh in public 1 ' There is not now in all Europe a more dignified Queea than her Majesty Emma of the Netherlands."

Mr Gully's experimental Speakership (^ays the London corr spondent of the Australasian) will lend novel interest to tl -j lif j of the House of Commons for a while, and console the paragraphists for the loss^ of Gladstone who ia so much uai^ed. There is »ome disappointment at finding that the Speaker is not a grand °oa of J. hn Gully, tha Unitarian pugilist, publican, and owaer of racshoses, und country gentleman. That very interesting and remarkable man left a sod, who, like the Speaker, has been a barrister on the Northern circuit. The new Speaker's fa ! her was Dr Gully, founder of the •'Water Cure" establishment at Malvern, an energetic man, and a bit of a [quack. He afterwards figured in the Bravo poisoning case. . . , However he had nothing to do with the poisoning business and hie s>n still lees. The new Speaker is much esteemed in the county of Cumberland because he is cot a teetotaller.

Th» Pope's letter to the English people (says the Saturday Review of April 27) was sent to the Times for publication instead of to one of the recognised news agencies. The letter has consequently been boycotted by the Daily Nen-s, the Standard, and the Daily Telegraph, thus losing half a million readers. A good many Catholics are inveigning against Cardinal Vaughan for this display of favouritism. It is not by such methods, they tell us, that the Catholic Church has won popularity in the United Sta'es.

Professor Edward S. Holden give 3in the North American Review for May the latest news of Mars. It is not encouraging to those who pint to establish communication with that world. " The atmosphere of Mars," he writes, " if indeed it has any at a 11, must be at leist as thin as, probably very much thinner than, that of the highest peaks of the Himalayas." " Perhaps," he adds, " I may be forgiven if I go a step further and point out that the lakes, oceans, canals (of water), the snowstorms, inundations, inhabitants (like ourselves), and the signals they were making us, etc, etc, etc, have all vanished with the aqeous vapour." Professor Holden concludes by declaring that it is very unsatisfactory not to be able to answer all the questions put by eager mnids regarding tbe plauets — but that, at least, it is moat satisfactory that this year the w>y has been cleared for such solutions by (1 sweeping out of sight the fabiic of assumptions and ungrounded assertions which haa lately barred the path."

Angelina (thinking of the hat) Isn't it a dream I— Edwin (thinking of the price) Oh, c-rtainly—a nigrtoiare.

Lady Grego T y, who has r cently written to the Spectator some particulars of a belief in tbo iairies, wuich, she sajf. cxi Q ts in her neighbouiboo ', f .li the following etory — not very flattering, perhaps, n 'is i^anng on the character of the deceased fox-hunter • -" A i'< * years ago, within a month uf tie death of a member o». the G .lway Hunt, a fox twice ran to earth within sight < f hia \v <i c o. Tne country people riccl'.rrd it was his spiiit which had 'aken that form, aud for the itst of the season rt,fu ul to aVo-v tho earths in the n'M^hbourh'io 1 to be stopped." Rut, whatever may be in; conclusion 11 to be drawn from the form ascribed to the depaitei soul, it wa 1 , at Ic.i9 f , chiutable in the people — perhaps suggestive as well, though there may bo n >thing in a name - to insist that it should have a chance against the fangs of tbe "Blazers."

A great deal has recently been written about tho reli^i n in which the poet Moore died. He was always a Roman Catnolic testifies the Ad ghcan rector of the parish in which h.s death occurred, and where be bad long reside!. But he attended the Anglican church of the pariah three times a year, — if we recollect aright, on Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Bjme of our contemporaries have adduced his wjik " Travels in Search of Religion," aa a proof that his Catholicity must have been true and firm. What, nevertheless, does his critic, F.ith:r Prout, ell us? " This very same identical Tommy," sajs he, " who, in that wo -k, quotes the ' Fathtra ' so accurately, and, I may add, so felicitously anJ triumphantly, hns written the most abusive, scurrilous, and profane aiticle that ev».r sulliei the pages of the Edinburgh Review — the. whoa- scope of which is to cry down the Fi'heiß, and turn the highest and most cSensled ornaments of the piimi ivc Church into ridicule. . . . If there is one plain truth that ocz^s forth from the feculent heap of tra h which the reviewer accumalatea on the in riis of the Fatherp, it is the conviction in every observant mind drawn from the simple perusal of his article, that he never read three consecutive pages of their works in his life." Ihc whole paseage in which Father Frout deals with the ecapegrace ia well worthy of reproduction, but it is too long for our quotation. As a rollicking piece of satire— at the came time powerful, profound and pointed — it is hardly to be equalled. Joe fact seems to be that Moore, where religion was concerned, was

more than weak — and, if not unbelieving, at least, inconsistent or insincere. Let us hope that there was meaning in the words that we are told were his last, " Bessie have trust in God."

The writer of this note has, in former years, been acquainted wiih mere thin one pereon who had known, more or less, of Moore personal 'y. He bag no recohpetion that any ot them ever spoke of his religion. One gentleman we recflkct telling of his conversation at a dinner in Londoo, wher« he also had been among the guests. He argued on that occasion tbat an Irishman could be genuinely modest — no f , ho paid, a "shy fellow " in an ordinary sense of the words. The same evening be narrated a mishap he had once met with at tho theatre. Ho had gone too near the stage, it w uld seem, and been kicked in the eye by a lady of the ballet — no extraordinary feat perhaps considtring the et»ture of the intruder.

Liberty, the orgin of tbe National Association, ia hard on Sir George Gi y. It compares our venerable tiibune ia his London retirement —among the second-hand bookshops of the Btrand — to Nero fi idling while Horns was burning Let us hope there is as little likeness between the condition of the Colony and that of the burning city as theie is between the characters of Sir George and tho fiddling tyrant. Our contemporary points out how Sir George has broken his plighted word that he would abide with his Auckland constituents to the end of his days. He, nevertheless, has gone and sent no message, and bis constituents seem reconciled. Our contemporary suggests, aa an explanation of their unconcern, the possibility that their eyes have been opened to the nature of Sir George Grey's services by the results obtained — " tho distrust, claBS prejudice, and confusion now prevailing." Decidedly Liberty is hard, very hard, on Sir George.

A meeting of delegates from varions political and labour societies has been held at Christchurch, by which it was resolved to form an anti-Chinese League. Tae measures proposed are very drasticincluding a poll-tax of at least £100, and an absolute boycott of all Asiatic producers and of European retailers attempting to supply their products.

Decidedly a judgment delivered the other day at Invercargill by Messrs J. Turnbull pnd R. F. Cuthbertßon J.P.s must commend itstilf tj every fair-minded man. The case was one of sly grogselling in which a conviction was obtained, but in which also the magistrates inflicted only the small fine of £1. The reason given by them for thtir leniency waa the means by wh'ch detection had been brought about. Informers had bean employed by the police on the understanding tbat they were if possible to induce others to commit a breach of Ihe " Licensh£ .Act." The BcDch doubted the legality of this course but in any case condemned such a method of procedure as "not only utterly demoralising to those immediately concerned but also d< grading to the moral sense of the whole community." The Bench further disclaimed all sympathy with " a section of the community whose moral 3erse has bfcome so degraded by the intens'ty of itq pr'judie^s th it those who belong to it fail to perceive the enormity of aucb conduct, and aro ready to approve of any means whatever beirg sdoptel in the endeavour to secure a convict. on ir.da the Licenp.rg Ad." Who the cap fits we do not sny, but the sound eenaj of the j'idgnunt is apparent.

Continental Socialist «re still manifesting their principles. An Italian stiteaman mimed Ferrare, Under-secictary for For»ign Affairs in a former Ministry has now been mortally wounded by them. Su< h dpedi, however, are matters of course, a necessary keeping in of the sect's hand for what the future may bring with it.

Heie ia an instance in which, if such a wish were ever lawful , we may wish that the o ld saying should prove true — Quern Deus vult pcrilerc ]>rim denientat. The Sultan has refused the proposals made by the Powers for reforms in Armenia. " The Sultan declares (hat reforms are unnecessary, and denies the right of the Powers to interftre, as nothing unusual has occurred." But it is becauaa nothing unusual has occurred that the Powers are all the more bound to interfere. What is r,ot unusual under Turkish rule is a disgrace to civilisation. England especially is under obligation to ccc that in end i 9 once for all put to every possibility of the kind, since on her rests the responsibility — with which moreover she has been charged by Armenians in America — of having, in her own interests, propped up the Turkish empire. Ths madness of the Sultan wmb sincerely hope will lead to the des'ruction of his power. ™

The opening of a soup kitchen in Dunedin, which has taken place, miy b^ regarded with rnued fpe'ings. It is deplorable that there sh' uld be need of such a r i institution, but since there is need of it, it is v v ell that chanty is at hand to fulfil the required task. A relief is also to ba found in tho announcement made on the occasion of tha opening by the Mayor, to the tfLct that some of our haling citizens w.re about to subscribe funds for beautifying the city, by means of which employment would be given ; and we see

that the subscription, to which somr of our merchants have generously contributed, already amountu a considerable sum.

"' Several settlers at Stadholme Junction have stated to the Canterbury Land Board, sitting at Timaru, what appears to be a very bard case. The settlers are Braall holders who took up land when the prices of produce were good, and who huve done much in improving their ho'dinps. Tbey described themselves as industrious, hardworking people, willing to pay, and resolved to do so, if betrer tinv'B Bet in. They only asked a concession until they could recover ibeooselves. The reply of the Board did not seem very reasfuring. It was to the effect that Government could not allow them to occupy the land owing four or five instalments of rent, The bad times would be taken into consideration, but something must be paid,

A denial made of the miraculous nature of the cures worked at St Winifred's Well, baa led to an inquiry into, at least, one case, that must seem, to an ordinary mind, to set the matter, once for all, at rest. The case is that of a girl who had an internal tumour, It caused her great physical suffering, and, in addition, disfigured her and made ber subject to unkind remarks. She had gone to an hospital, where a day was fixed for an operation. Finding, however, that this must endanger her 1 life, she refused to have it performed. In a day or two afterwards she was taken by her friends to Holy well. There she bathed three times in the water of St Winifred's well, with the result that the tumour immediately subsided, she wag restored to her proper shape, and became once more healthy and active. In consequence of Dr O'Connor's denial she has been subjected to examination by a gynse Jologist — a noa-Catholic — who, tbongh be finds that traces of the tumour still remain, pronounces that no doctor would now think of recommending an operation, the girl being practically in good health. Tne caso he admits to be most extraordinary.

We cannot, for our part, Bee what advantage has been gained by the inquiry— begnn by Dr Ambrose — into the religion in which Moore died. If be retained the Catholic faith, he sinned with his eyes

open. He allowed his children to be baptised as Protestants, and bo to live and die. He himself made no practice of Catholicism, but atteuded an Anglican church three times a year While, therefore, to apologise for him and declare him a Catholic cannot profit the dead— who, nevertheless, may be trussed to the nn j rcy of God — it is to hold up a bad example to the living, and to excuse them in following it. Christian charity is an admirable thing, and it may be duly exercised in praying for a departed soul. Tne dispoeitioo. to excuse, if not to canonise, the dead is a falsa sentiment, and one that seems altogether at variance with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

An anecdote now related of Moore we recognise as the foundation of a report published in Dublin a little after the date in question. It is, in effect, that having gone to some social gathering with the narrator, he broke down in one of bis songs. " fi&y memory is failing," he said, " I shall never again sing in company." The year was 1850, and, lo that year or the next, it was published in one of the Dublin papers that Moore had heard cne of the " Melodies " sung at a party, and had remaiked, asking its name at the aama time, that it was a very pretty song. We remember the incident being taken Badly, as a sign that the end was not far off — nor, in fact, was it.

But whatever Moore may have been as a Catholic, or as a man, or whatever may be his standing as a poet, and on thia poiot also there are differences of opinion, he did service to Ireland and promoted the success of Catholic Emancipation. Forty years ago, for example, we personally met elderly ladies in England who still 11 gushed " over his verses — which, they declared, had been the delight of their girlhood. Moore created socially an interest in Ireland that told favourably on the political struggle.

A movement is on foot in Englani to form a society, — for their mutual encouragement and consolation,— of converts to the Catholic Church. The Catholic Times rather discountenances the proposil, suggesting that the loneliness complained of arises not from any coldneßs of the Catholic aborigines towards the immigrants, but from a Bparsity of the Catholic population. It is, nevertheless, a fact that

the. cordiality of the aborigines towards their new brethren' ia very often a doubtful quantity. Where Irish Catholics are concerned we can understand this, and make allowances for it. The history of their c inntry, aa well aa, in maay instances, their personal experience, had shown them that a caange of religion mean*, as a general rule, insincere profession made for purposes of gain. Consequently, without their staying toweigb the differences, the name of " turn-coat " generally becama of suopicioua significance to them, Bat, more commonly, bo welcome, as such, a man who has changed his religion impließ a degree ot zeal and devotion that the great body of Oatholics are not always ready to profess. We have ourselves seen very excellent Catholics quite put out,— in fact, to use an expressive phrase, almost •' shut up," or, to lapße into complete vulgarity, "flabbergasted" — by the acknowledgement that a person in their company was of the tribe ia question. The confession was evidently taken as, at least, an instance of mauvais gout. Our opinion is, nevertheless, that among Oatholics, as well as among Protestants, the " vert " is bound by honesty always to declare himself and not to pass current under false pretences. We, therefore, differ with our contemporary the Catholic Ti?nes. The proposed association has our hearty good wishes.

Presessional addresses are thick npoa as. Take, for example, Mr James Allen, who has baen talking at Milton. Mr Allen was great upon panaceas. That, in fact, seems to have baen the golden thread that ran throughout his fabric. Bat taking panaceas at their worst are they not better than ao cure at all ?- Mr Allen accuses the Government of dealing largely ia panaceas, The party Mr Allen represents would not be good for even bo much as that. The Government, he adtnit°, attempts to cure but fails, He does not mention the fact that the evil the Government wants to cure bat, as he says, cannot, is in great part an evil caused by the lengthy course of bungling and mismanagement pursued by his own particular friends. And, what is more, the evil caused in great part by them they would hardly have the virtue of desiring to care. Panaceas may be bad, but tbey are at any rate better than poison. Mr Allen, necessarily, taros the surplus into a deficit, but that's the usual child's play. As

for the rest of his speech — well, it also iB just what we miofbt expect, and that is the worst as well as the bast— strange meeting of extremes —we can say of it.

Our contemporary the Oanaru Mail quotes a dialogue on the commonplace but important subject of meat — the principal speaker being a prominent salesman at Smithfield. The roast beef of old England, we find, is somewhat varied in its sources, and it may, perhaps, flatter the pride of our Scotch friends to learn that they furnish the dinner of May Fair — that is leaving out the plumpudding. Bat sweets and Sandie are not necessarily associated. Scotch meat is the beat and feeds the West-Enders. Live cattle imported from Australia, notwithstanding the expense of transportation, so far pay the exporter by some thirty-three per cent. Obilled meat from America is preferred to frozen meat from these colonies. The new process of defrosting, however, is preferable to freezing. The ordinary public, meantime^ do not find it easy to detect the difference between the various kinds of meat. Our Oamarn contemporary draws the conclusion :—": — " All this," he says, " pom's to the fact that until the colonial article is sold on its merits for what it really is, it will continue to fetch much below its true value, and the genuine producer will, in consequence, be defrauded of his just gains."

It has been thought necessary in certain quarters to apologise for the respect shown by her Majesty the Queen, during her late sojourn at Nic°, towards a religious procession. The procession was one of religious confraternities gMng to visit the churches on Holy Thursa day, and her Majesty stopped her carriage while they passed by. This, however, it is explained by seme good people who take it upon them to speak for her, does not prove that she has any " leanings towards Borne." Possibly not ; but, in any case, her Majesty has the feelings of a gentlewoman, and by euch a sincerity in religious worship will always be respected. The Queen, moreover, in her early days often manifested Catholic sympathies. As the Princess Victoria of Kent she frequently sided Catholic charities. Since then the anti-Catholic influences of theilate Prince Consort have been at work

But old age often brirjgs with it a kindly looking back to the associations of the long-ago. We, for our part, accredit the Qacen with something better than a mere tourist's curiosity.

Professor : " What's the difference between idealism and realism ? " Girton Girl : " The marriage ceremony."

The article on the " Bankruplcy of Science," recently published by M. Ferdinand Brune'icre and from which, some few wetki ag r > we cave quotations, has caused a great sensition. M. Bruae'uere sets Lis assulants at defnnce and declares that the outcry exTnultfics 8083U u t's words, " Meu'a hatred of truth." H», however, g<c, porhapq, a step too far in claiming that physical science has a'so, in somfi st-ri^, b:en a failnre. The world, he says, w»h much happier and better under the former state of things. Yet possibly he ii riphc Are we, in fact, any the more prosperous or happy among the rattle and clatter of these Kter times? Telegraph, telephone, Bteam engine and machine, how have they added to our contentment or givtn us a more peaceful or a better frame of mind ? We ara not mc ined absolutely to condemn M. Brunet 6-e's conclusions.

The record of the Qaeentb.'rry family, now once more rather doubtfully, or perhaps more doubtful y than before, in evidenc pofs back a generation or two. The fa. her of the present Marquis proved his obstinacy by making a bet — from which he was strongly dis' suaded— of £12,500 against £500— or, ia technical slang, of twenty five monkeys to one — on a race-horse. Ha lo3t, as he had beea warned he would. Shortly afterwards he accidentally shot him, elf dead,

The recent horrible occurrence in Tipperary has led to the expression, somewhere or another, of the wish that the belief in the existence of fairies might come altogether to an end. The wish is, perhaps, one with which duty demands sympathy, yet its fulfilment involves a complete stamping out of the ideal and a fionl victory for the commonplace and material. The occurrence in Ireland ip, beeidesi unique in the country, and, although we must not comment on a case tub judice, the suggestion seems to be that of insanity in the criminals, " It is a very curious fact," writes Mr Lecky (History of England, vol 11., page 392), "that the Irish people, though certainly not less superstitious than the inhabitants of other parts of the kingdom, appear never to have been subject to that ferocious witch mania which in England, in Scotland, and in most Catholic countries on the Continent has caused the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent women." The England and Scotland spoken of by the historian were those of the Reformation, and in no Catholic, country were the excesses there arrived at eqialied. Superstition of any kind, however, even that relating to the " good people," time-honoured and poetic though it may be, is to be condemned.

But science can produce real results almutt as bad aa sny tba have been falsely attributed to witchcraft. There is, for example, a case which has just occurred in Ameiicp, in wbich a man under hypnotic influence shot dead a man against whom he had no grudge or enmity whatever. The caße occurred at a place called Wir, field, Thomas McDonald, without apparent provocation, shot and killed Thomas Patton. His defence was that he was under the irfluence of a man named Anderson Gray, and be was acquitted. " Then Gray was put under arrest and tried for murder. He was found guil yof murder in the first degree, notwithstanding the fact that he was not present when the crime was committed, the evidence of the State only going to show that he caused McDonald to do tha deed through hypnotic influence. An appeal was taken to the Supreme Court, and the ruling of the lower court was sustained."

A slight mistake seems to us to occur in the sketch given, in one of his books, by Sir Charles Gavaa Duffy, of Lady Wildo. It was Miss Elgee's grandfather, not her fitber, who was the archdeacon. He was rector, besides, of the Anglican parish of St Patrick, County Wexford, in which the town of Wexford aud a considerable portion of the surrounding country were situated. His son, the late Rev Rich?rd Elgee, Lidy Wilde's uncle, was afterwards rector of this parish, Aichduacjn Elgea remained throughout the troubles of '98 in his reetjry house, and was there almost within a sto&e'a throw, when the slough er at the bridge touk, pl ace — thus practically proving that it w,ib :iot merely as Protestants that the unfortunate people were murdered. For the snughtcr, however, no excure can be off. red. The Archdeacon waa nev:r molested. When Lady Wilde wrote for the Nation, she reside 1 with her mother, a widow lady, in Dublin. On her mother's death, she was about to share the fate common to the wriiers for the Nation, of quitting her native land. She was on the point of setting out to take up her residence on the Continent when Doctor, af;erwardg Sir William, WiLlc proposed that she (should remain at home as his wife. Of this lady's present position distressing rumours have been published. Sne is said to be bed-nddea and very poor. The Elgtea were a family of Italian origin, They were generally and mosi deservedly esteeme<j

and ießpected. The Protestant congregation of the parish of St Patrick, Wexfori, of which Archdeacon Elgee and his son were, successively, rectors, was, i j social standing, ooe of the highest in Ire'and.

The Presidential contest of next year in the United States is to torn on the question of bimetallism. Benj >mm Harrison ib to be the bimetallic candidate. A Republican of national prominence answers for him :—": — " He will be nominated by the Republican Convention as a compromise candidate. That is the plan of bis fri^ndg. I do not know that General Harrison will ac'ivdy seek the nomination. He can get it without uttering a word. Ttn silver people of the West know his sentiments, and they are satisfied bathe stands for all they can hope to get in 1896." President Cleveland, on the other hand, is estimated thus :— " Cleveland and his Cabinet would like well to make such a clamour for gold as to make the people forget the bluuders of his party in the late Congress. Throwing gold dust in the people's eyes ia not likely to bliod them to questions pertaining to protection of American labour. The country is not in a mood to ran this country in the interests and at the dictation of English bankers."

Admirers of Cavour and Mszzini — and it has been the custom in cer'ain quarters to couple them as brother patriots — have received a shock. The one brother, it now appears, had held the other brother in horror. Some letteri, in a wor 1 , have been found and recently published in which Cuvour paints Mazzini in his truecoloorß, "It is really incomprehensible,'' he wiicts, '* bow this demon (Ma*zini) always knows hjw to escape the police of the whole of Europe. Well, it is to be hoped that he will sooner or later fall into oor hands, and we can then once and for all put a stop to his trade, which is so fatal for everybody, but especially for his unhappy fatherland." " I expect a thoroughly efficient detective from the French Government to arrest Mazzini," he writes again. "If the agent succeeds in this he is certain to receive a high reward, for we urgently wish to frej Piedmont, Italy, and the whole of Europe from this infamous conspirator, who has become the regular head of a band of murderers. If we seiza him, he will, I hopo, be sentenced to death, and hanged on the Piazza Aquasola."

At a debate on Socialism versus Single Tax, recently held in New York, Mr Henry George, who wag present among the auditnce, received rather an indefinite sort of invitation from one of the singl« tax advocates. " Come to us, Henry George," he said, " and lead ua to victory before the politicians crash us. Let us organise against the classes and rule the Government for the people, or we will become contemptible slave*, Come, Mr George, put aside your theories, and for the good of the people write out a platform, become our standard bearer, and lead us to a glorious victory." Mr George replied as follows :—" I want to say it is not a matter of leadership until men know what they want and how to get it. The suffering mas3es are m the majirity. There is no hope fcr them until they learn thdr wants aud how to supply them. We must appeal to common intelligence in enlightening thß people."

Monsignot Johnson, secretary to the Cardinal Archbishop of Wes'minster. in an interview the other day with a representative of the Daily Chronicle, relative to a certain correspondence that had been published, absolutely denied that there was any desire whatever on the part of the Catholic clergy for a relaxation of the discipline of celibacy. He expressed an opinion besides, that the concession of a married clergy would not greatly affect the proposal for reunion in England — many of the Anglican clergy of advanced views remaining celibate of their own choice. With regard to Ritualism the Monsignor gave an opinion that confirms what we ourselves had more than once expressed. "It (Ritualism) helps us in some ways and hinderß us in others," he said. "On the one band, it familiarises the people with Catholic doctrines and practices ; but on the other, it prevents many conversions by persuading its followers that they already possess everything that the Catholic Church has tr bestow."

Among the tourists wno have made their way to Ireland this year are some G^nria-.s of high dia'.ii-ction. Tae chief of these is Prn cc Albrecht of Prussia, There are also Count Ravenburg, Baron Von Mayer, Baron Von der Ester, and Baron Von Krosetz. Prince Albrucht and his suite travellei from Killarney to the sea coast, and declared themselves delighted with the country.

It chimes in well with the peculiar enlightenment of the day that superstition among the upholders of t"he Italian monarchy bids fair to give Signor Crispi a permanent lease of the Premiership. It has been predicted thai the statesman in question is to be the laßt Minister of the Sovereignty, and the friends of that institution are in consequence temti'M at the thought of his ljsing his position. All tLeir efforts, therefore, are employed to kesp him in office.

Nationality in the British, and religion in the Italian army are odious, it would appear to the respective authorities, Mr W, K.

Redmond has been inquiring in the House of Commons, why Irish soldiers — as lately at Malta — are forbidden to wear the shamrock on St Patrick's Day. Mr Redmond, we may add, did not get much satisfaction, and the matter seems to be left to the tender mercies of the military officers, Italian soldiers have a still worse embargo laid upon them— though in a manner more cunning and not so open to protest. It is reported from Rome that the Blessed Sacrament must no longer be borne to the houses of the sick in procession — the reason being understood to be that recently the soldiers stationed at one of the barracks of the city presented arms as such a procession passed by and otherwise took part in the adoration. In neither of the cases in question, it would appear, is a soldier permitted to be a " man."

A horrible orgy took place in Paris on Good Friday — to which it would be impossible to refer, were it not necessary to show what the irreligion of the day really tends to, A loathsome travesty of the Christian mysteries was made, in which a pig was given the place of the Saviour. But, after all, it is only a return to the brutality of ancient heathenism. In old Borne Christ was represented by a crucified ass. Less advanced free thinkers, to do them justice, have indignantly protested, but M. Ernest Roche, a Member of the Chamber of Deputies, who tock a prominent part in the ruffianism, replies that what he calls the " Grotesque superstitions of Catholicism " must be killed in the traditional French way— that is by ridicule. Ridicule, fortunately, is not identical with disgust. Meantime, cannot sane non-Catholics see the rational conclusion to be derived. Is it not the same worship that was mocked by the ass of old that to-day is mocked by the pig — the worship of the Catholic Church ?

Dr Farrar, now Dean of Canterbury, declares that Savonarola was no Catholic. St Philip Neri, a contemporary of Savonarola's declared him to be a true Catholic — almost a Catholic saint, Which of the two are we to believe ? To us the choice appears not very difficult.

The next Pope is now occupying general attention. We recently published a report from Washington, in which preference was given, first to Cardinal Persico, and then to Cardinal Mazella, as both favouring American institutions. From a French source we now learn — not exactly to which Cardinal France inclines — though Cardinal Farocchi is accredited wi h always speaking of that country in a significant sort of manner as " the eldest daughter of the Church " — which, by the way, was Regan or Gonneril the eldest daughter of King Lear 1 Of the Oard'nal, however, of whom France will liot hear a word, we are very plainly told — that is Cardinal Hohenlohe. Is he not, for example, a brother of the new Germa n Chancellor, and was it not with regard to this that the Empero r William made the appointment in question? But such speculations as these are usual and inevitable, and we shall hear them now continually until the next conclave has been held, and, in all possibility) a Cardinal elected Pope to whom no one has given a thought.

The French writer in question— quotations from whose articl9 we find in the Bom 9 correspondence of the Pilot, speaks also of the English-speaking Cardinals :— " Oaidinal Moran, hb writes, " sixtyseven (1) years of age, born at Leighlinbridge, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, and a member of the Sacred College for ten years, has done more to solve the grave problem of the social question than all the socialists put together. He is adored in Ireland and in Australia, and respected everywhere and by all. Liberal in his opinions, he would vote twice over for a Frenchman."

The Archbishop of Dublin during his recent visit to Rome had a conversation with Mr P. L. Connellan, of the Boston Pilot, respecting the situation in Ireland. His Grace said that he expected an unfavourable result from the next elections, as a consequence of the existing division. Those therefore, he added, who sbonld be responsible for keepiDg up the division would be responsible for the defeat of Home Rule on the occasion in question. The Archbishop, never, theless, expressed himself hopeful as to the possibility of re-union before the elections took place. A prominent member of the Parnellita section, he explained, had made a suggestion that might lead to something practical. It was, in effect, that it might be found possible to work out a settlement on the basis of tbe Parliamentary Pledge, if an agreement were first come to, as to how long the present policy of the Parliamentary party, that is to say, the policy of keep, ing the present Ministry in office, was to go on. His Grace did not think this should be for very much longer. His recommendation was that a committee should be formed — say, of five men in whose joint decision all Irishmen at home and abroad would have confidence — a kcommittee which he thought could be very easily formed. He himself would not act as a number of it, but he would be prepared, if the Parliamentary difficulties were got over, to offer suggestions as to its constitution. "We must only hope for the best," Baid the Arch, bishop in conclusion. " For my part, lam not ac all inclined to deepair in the matter, or even to bo despondent. On the contrary, lam rather hopeful."

The arrival of a diocesan chair at St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin, has evidently fired the Right Rev Dr Nevill with a renewal of zeal.

In dedicating the chair on Sunday — a ceremony consisting, so far as we can judge from the newspaper reports, in the Biehop's giving an address to- his congregation— his Lordship recalled the fact that the chair of St Augustine Btood at Canterbury. He bad, perhaps, forgotten thai the chair of Sfc Peter stands at Home, and that he and bis Church had just as much, legitimately, to do with one as they had to do with the other. It was still, apparently, in the strength of the new chair, that, on Monday night, the Bishop delivered a lectnre on the Armenian atrocities. His Lordship wa& still brimming over with Anglican Catholicity, The mission of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Armenia, he explained in effect, was that of building up a sister Church, bearing a very remarkable resemblance to his own—particularly, the Bißhop did not oay, in the matter of Bcbism, But as for the Presbyterians they, he said, were mere proseiytisera; And Borne, of course, represented a "Papal aggression." Meantime, there is that letter that we quoted last week from the Irish Times, the letter of another Anglican Catholic, Dr Marrable.— Dr Marrable recommends Bishop Nevill to take off his apron and go op to So Joseph's— where, we may point out, he will find a true episcopal chair— the counterpart of that, now desecrated, at Canterbury, and whera generally he will find the reality of all chat which he now, rather amusingly, apes. Armenia is a long way, we may add, for Bishop Nevill to go ;for marks of Anglican Catholicity, while Ireland is in sieht. As for the new chair — it may have been turned out by an upholsterer in the town of Canterbury, for aught we can tell— but, if so, that's the nearest it ever came, or ever will come, to the See of St Augustine.

" And what is your age, madam ?" was the attorney's question. "My own," Bhe answered promptly. " I understand that, madam but how old are you?" «" lam not old, sir," with indignation. " I beg your pardon, madam ; I mean how many years have you passed." " * T one ; the years have passed me." " How many of them have passed you?" "All; I never heard of them stopping," "Madam, you muat answer my question, I want to know your age." " I don't know that the acquaintance is desired on the other side." " I don't see why you insist upon refusing to answer my queaion," said the attorney coaxingly. " I'm sure I would tell how old I was, if I were asked." " But nobidy would ask you, for everybody knows you are old enough to know better than to ba asking a, woman her age, so there." And the attorney passed on to the next question, says tha Detroit Free Press.