PUBLICATIONS

New Zealand Tablet, 20 July 1916, Page 41

PUBLICATIONS

Notwithstanding the conditions arising out of the war, the Catholic. Truth Society of England continues its good work of publishing cheap and instructive Catholic literature. Among its latest penny publications are: Pope Joan, by Rev. Herbert Thurston,, S. J.; With Jesus at Poly Mass,; Maxims of St. Thomas Aquinas; Christ the Healer; Four Conferences, by the Very Rev. Mgr. Benson; With Mary at Communion; With Jesus at Communion; Chocolate Cigarettes, and Other Stories by Agnes Henderson. . From the Catholic Truth Society, Melbourne, we have received Australia’s Part in the Catholic Foreign Missions. In this little publication, the Rev. John Norris makes a strong appeal for more generous , support of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, and exhorts the Catholics of Australia to take a more active part in the missionary work of the Church. Another booklet published by the Society is entitled The Church and Democracy , by Hr. G. R. Baldwin. The purpose of this little publication is to show the sympathy of the Catholic Church with labor, and the work she has ’ done to make the laborer’s condition more tolerable. Who Goes There 1 By the author of Aunt Sarah and the War. London; Burns and Oates. Price, Is net. This little bookletfull of interest and pathos is made up of fragments of diaries of hospital nurses and others, with which are incorporated some bright touches of wit and humor. The Irish at the Front. By Michael -MacDonagh. Loudon: Hodder and Stoughton. From time to time, since the commencement of the war, we have given in the columns of the Tablet accounts of the bravery and sacrifices of the Irish troops, both in France and Gallipoli, as recorded by the representatives of English newspapers at the scene of hostilities. Although there were many distinctly Irish regiments in the firing line, yet it was only, when individual members of English and Scottish regiments came to be singled out for distinction that the British public began to realise Ireland’s contribution to the armed forces of the Empire. Mr. MacHonagh in The Irish at the Front has given us a necessarily brief but graphic story of the stirring deeds of the Irish regiments from the retreat at Mons, when the Munsters saved the guns, to the landing at, and evacuation of, Gallipoli. Mr. John Redmond in a preface to the book says; —‘It is these, soldiers of ours, with their astonishing courage and their beautiful faith, with their natural military genius, with their tenderness as well as strength ; carrying with them their green flags and their Irish warpipes; advancing to the charge, their fearless officers * at their head, and followed by their beloved chaplains as great-hearted as themselves; bringing with them a quality all their own to the sordid modern battlefield ; exhibiting the character of the Irishman at its noblest and greatestit is these soldiers of ours to whose keeping the Cause of Ireland has passed to-day. It was never in worthier, holier keeping than that of these boys, offering up their supreme sacrifice of life with a smile on their lips because it was given for Ireland.’ The Side of the Angels. By Basil King. London : Methuen and Co., Ltd. This is a well written book, and keeps the reader’s interest to the last chapter. The story deals with' the varying fortunes of some New England families, and the complications arising from the attentions paid by one of the characters to a young woman, who is not his equal from a social standpoint, as measured by worldly possessions, although his equal by birth and antecedents. It is a strong story, the characters are well drawn, and the unravelling of the plot is skilfully done. We have received two new coftipositions for the piano, entitled * The nun’s prayer ’• (dedicated to the Sisters of Mercy), and ‘ Wild roses,’ both composed by Mr. Harry Hiscocks, of Auckland.- The solos are brilliantly arranged, and the harmonies rich and appropriate. In ‘The nun’s prayer’ an excellent bell effect

is introduced. The pieces are not too difficult, and are well within the scope of the average pianist’s ability. Mr. Hiscocks is to be .congratulated upon his two latest compositions. " ■