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New Zealand Tablet, 11 October 1917, Page 26

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Over the Garden Wall _ The London Tablet recently told us of the extraordinary statement made by a parson to the effect that in America it was quite a common thing to see a whole congregation, even the priest too, walking over to Protestantism! And as usual the liar tried to brazen it out in the face of the clearest testimony from American clergymen, including Cardinal Gibbons. Hear what a convert has to say on the probability of such conversions: "When a Catholic leaves the Church he doesn't go to the Church of England, he goes to the devil. We did come across one 'convert' from Romanism. The Methodists kept her in tea, the Baptists in groceries, the Anglicans in coal; she managed to humbug them all, but on her death-bed, where these commodities are somewhat superfluous, we had the happiness of attending her, for she said ' they can do me no good now.' Was it Sydney Smith who described "converts" of this class as the "weeds which the Pope throws over his garden-wall" ? Prayers for the Dead "God could not be so cruel," said an old Pro. testant woman, "I know, I feel that Willie can hear me and that my prayers can do him good." Here and there a few wild . parsons shriek from their pulpits against the Romish superstition of the Communion of the Saints, but the heart of mankind, always sound and always yearning blindly for comfort and truth, tells their flocks how wrong they are. God is not cruel, for God is Love : it is man who is cruel when he would rob his fellow-men of the greatest consolation God gives him in the night of sorrow. Here and there we note that some Protestant ministers have refused to prolong the rapine which would steal, and no doubt in many cases did steal, from the hearts of suffering and sorrowing mothers the only thing that could bring them relief at all. In the gloom of the Roman Catacombs, after eighteen hundred years, the voices of the dead call out to the pilgrim or the tourist for prayers for the soul that once animated the body long ago crumbled into dust. And in the gloom of her stricken heart many a mother to-day hears the voice of her son, whose bones are in the soil of Flanders, calling out to her for the blessing of a mother's prayer—the only real chain that binds them now. About Music Many great saints and great Churchmen were distinguished for their love of music. St. Ambrose wrote beautifully about it ; so did Cardinal Newman centuries after. The true love of music and song is a gift, by no means a prerogative of man. Just as we have often had reason to suspect the sincerity of people who raved about certain poets whom we were quite certain they did not at all understand we have always thought that a great many people tell white lies also about their rapture when they are lulled by the* concord of sweet sounds. One boy was honest anyhow. Listen to him : "St. ■■ 's College, "Dear Mother, —I hope you are well. I am quite well. Please send me some money soon. And may I give up music and have sausages instead?" Names of Nations In Isaac Taylor's interesting book Words and Places a simple explanation is found for, the fact that most nations have two or more names. "Among kindred tribes, in a rude state of civilisation, the conception of national unity is of late growth. But it would be natural for all who were : able to make themselves mutually understood to call themselves .collectively 'The Speakers/ or 'The .People,' while they would call those neighboring races whose language they would not-understand;-by some word meaning in their own

language; The Jabberers,' or 'The Strangers.' Thus the Sclavouians call themselves Slow jane, meaning ' the intelligible men,' while the Germans call them Wends, which means wanderers. The earliest name by which the Germans called themselves was Tunyri, ' those who have tongues.' This name was succeeded by Deutsche, ' the people.' The French call them Allemcmds, which comes from Alemanni, ' the other men ' or ' Foreigners,' which was the name of the old frontier tribe between Germany and Gaul. The English name, Germans, is evidently from Germania, a word of doubtful etymology. It is suggested that it comes from gairmean, to cry out, in allusion to their fierce battle-cries. Similarly the people of England called themselves English, while the Welsh and the Gaels called them Sassanach or Saxons." Llan and Kit The prefixes llan and led are interesting as indications of places early dedicated to religious worship. Han, which occurs commonly in Wales and Cornwall, is analogous to the Gaelic word kil, which originally denoted a hermit's cell, and afterwards came to mean a church. In Ireland over a thousand names have the prefix kil. Where it is found in Wales it may be taken as a trace of the Irish missionaries who came there. Owing to the same good Irish apostles many of the Danes were converted to the faith, and thus it. is common lo find wherever there was a Danish settlement, the prefix kirk instead of kil. The custom of adding the name of the saint to the word kil often gives us interesting information about the travels of the old monks. Thus Kilbar, in the Isle of Barra, is attributed to St. Bar, Llangattock to St. Cadoc, Perranzabuloe to St. Piran, a bishop consecrated by St. Patrick. The prefixes temple and chapel, as in Templetown and Chapelizod, are of much later date. Puritanism America still retains in certain strange Yankee oaths and in a foolish prudery of speech vestiges of the spirit of the old Puritans who at one time intended to make Salem the New Jerusalem. Here stark and stern Calvinism was to reform human nature completely, and a race of saints was to spring up. Calvinism never did as much as it aimed at, but as an indication of how hard it did try —for a while at least—the laws of the town of Newhaven, near Salem, may be quoted. Among other things it was decreed that "No man shall become a freeman unless he be converted. "No one shall run on the Sabbath, or walk in his garden. "No one shall make the beds, cut hair, or shave, , and no woman shall kiss her children on the Sabbath. ' "No one shall make mince-pies, or play any instruments except the trumpet, drum, or jews'-harp. "No food or lodging shall be given to any Quaker or other heretic." It seems incredible nowadays. But we are coming to that in New Zealand, where people will shut their eyes to the awful state of immorality consequent on godless schools, -while they exercise tyrannous legislation in other respects. Given a number of wild wowsers and a weak Government anything is possible. We are thinking of the threat that the time will come when we shall not be allowed altar wine. Catholics ought not to forget that.