this work slowly, one who is sympathetic with very much of its teaching, as the reviewer is, would get real stimulation out of it. But when the vivid and intense manner of the author hurries the reader, in spite of himself, from revolution in city government to revolution in taxation, from diminution of the State to exaltation of the city, from the record of indescribable corruption to the light and charm of boundless hope, the reader who reflects will find that by the time his sympathies are awakened and enlisted for one proposition, they may be ready to revolt at a second. As a picture of a condition in city life to which, let us hope, we may come; as a revelation of the hope and enthusiasm which the cause of reform attracts and reinforces; and as an earnest appeal to the nobler instincts of men, Dr. Howe's volume merits a cordial welcome. The public mind is in a condition of interest and sympathy toward municipal reform. This volume should influence many and win them over to the hope of which the author is representative, if not to all his measures. An army needs flags, but also charts; patriotism, but also tactics. Reform needs inspiration, but also guidance; prophets, but also business men. The cause of municipal owner ship would be furthered magnificently if some one could devise a safe, practicable method to enable Mayor Dunne to effect the change in Chicago. He and his council and the city stand confused long after an overwhelming popular vote committed the City of Chicago to the municipal ownership of street railways. The prophet stage was passed successfully, but the community stands puzzled over the business difficulties which confront "immediate "'city ownership. Within its definite rôle, Dr. Howe's work adds much strength to the literature of reform; possibly more to inspiration than to tactics; more to suggestion than to guidance. In the present temper of the public, the reviewer does not doubt that the book may accomplish much in winning over many to some, if not all, of its proposed measures. Few will be won to singletax; many may be led to look with more fairness on municipal ownership. Few may agree with the proposed change in city administration, but many will feel the impulse to demand reform of some kind. If the book but helps to stimulate the attention of the public to city reforms, it will justify itself. That service it will undoubtedly render. The fellow-citizens, and especially COUDERT'S ADDRESSES. the co-religionists, of the late Frederic René Coudert will welcome this volume as the monument of a noble man. It is a witness, as far as it goes, to the culture, the broad, human sympathies, the kindly, sunny disposition, the high moral tone, the loyalty to country and to religion possessed by the man who was known, throughout America, and in Europe too, as one of the most successful lawyers of his day. These addresses, which might be called essays-for they were carefully prepared and are not marked by any pronounced rhetorical characterare of a quality to indicate that, had he given himself up to letters, he might have attained a high place in literature. The addresses are divided into four classes: Arbitration and International Law; History and Biography; Moral and Social Problems; Social Organization. It is from among those of the third division that we would choose some that have a permanent value. One on One on "Morals and Manners" is a delightfully free, yet sound, disquisition on the progress made in the moral standards. Another, "Lying as a Fine Art," ostensibly patterned after De Quincy's classic jeu-de-esprit, is a clever stricture on the mendacity of history; and, in his selection of fallacies to illustrate his argument, he instances some that have been pertinaciously employed against Catholicism. A long letter on the divorce question, written to Dumas when he had published his book in defense of the Loi Naquet, attracts notice, both by the strength of its argument and by its correct, idiomatic French, a language which was as familiar to Mr. Coudert as was English. It might be added that his English shows a lightness of touch, and a subtle, subdued wit, which are strongly suggestive of his Gallic origin. A perusal of the book cannot fail to give rise to the reflection that by the death of its author the Church in America lost a conspicuous member of a class in which she is all too poor, that of educated, conscientious, loyal laymen, whose talents, success, and probity reflect credit upon their mother. The words which he once applied to Charles O'Connor may fitly be referred to himself: "Can you wonder that I cherish and venerate the memory of such a man, to whom the Almighty had given the brightest intellect, the tenderest heart, and the most fearless spirit?" *Addresses: Historical, Political, Sociological. By Frederic R. Coudert. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. It is not uncommon to hear from SKETCHES FOR SERMONS. the lips of a faithful church-goer By Fr. Wakeham. some such remark as: "Why do not priests vary their sermons? Once you hear They always travel around in the same circle. the Gospel read, you can tell what is coming. I have been listening to that same old sermon on the Prodigal Son, or on 'Render to Cæsar,' etc., since I was in the Sunday-School." One chief factor in the maintenance of the monotony complained of is that preachers, for the most part, take the Gospel of the day as the basis of their instruction; and the composers of volumes of sermons follow the same system. The epistles are almost completely neglected. Yet if it were only to secure the advantages to be gained by the introduction of variety, the routine might be profitably broken occasionally by an explanation of the epistle. Besides, in many cases, the epistle provides ground for certain lessons and instructions, more appositely than does the corresponding Gospel. For this reason, we believe that Father Wakeham has provided in the present volume, a very useful book for busy priests. The sermons are not fully developed discourses, but skeletons, or outlines, which are to be filled out by the preacher. Such sketches, when well made, orderly, and composed of pregnant, suggestive thoughts, are incomparably more profitable helps than is a complete, ready-made sermon. In most instances, the priest who makes use of such a such a sermon will neglect the amplifications and developments, and appropriate only the essential features. Or, if he commits the entire address to memory, forgetting that cor ad cor loquitur, he will probably have reason to wonder why he fails to make much impression on his audience. There is, however, no mystery for his hearers. They would tell him, as they frequently tell another, that they would rather have a few plain, earnest words, spoken with heartiness and conviction, than an elegant oration falling upon their ears with the impersonality of a phonograph, or striking them merely as an exercise in elocution. By taking a short schema, such as Father Wakeham provides, and maturing it in his own mind, the preacher will have a sermon that will be his own, and will make its way to head and heart. *Sketches for Sermons for the Sundays and Holydays of the Year. By the Rev. R. K. Wakeham, St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, New York. Second Series. Chiefly on the Epistles. New York: Joseph F. Wagner. In the selection of his materials Father Wakeham has drawn from the approved sources, the Fathers, the great spiritual writers and theologians, avoiding anything approaching to novelty, emptiness, or irrelevance. We wish the book the gratifying success which attended the author's previous volume. THE INDIAN PROBLEM. This is a narrative, carefully prepared by one acquainted with the official and non-official records, of the dealings of the United States. government with the Reservation Indians. With much sympathy, which frequently swells into indignation against wrong and cruelty, Mr. Humphrey relates the successive treaties made only to be broken, the successive removals of the Indians from one location to some other less desirable, at the promptings of private greed, while the nation of high ideals looked on apathetically. As Mr. Humphrey tells it, this is a sorry story of greed, perfidy, and oppression. While arraigning the system which made these doings possible, Mr. Humphrey acquits the American people of any intentional connivance. "Can this business," he writes, "be charged to the American people? Certainly not; public opinion, whenever it has been sufficiently aroused to take notice of Indian affairs, has invariably been with the Indians. But it can be charged to the extremely popular system of government which holds every national official with his ear to the ground, listening to popular clamor. Rule by 'the voice of the people' is well enough when all the people are interested, but a disinterested, contented people will not take the trouble to rule anything; this relegates local matters to the control of a very few-the interested few." Unfortunately, in the history of the Umatillas, the Nez Perces, the Poncas, the Mission Indians, and other tribes, the author has abundance of facts to sustain his charge, and to illustrate the appalling extent to which the system of jobbery shapes our legislation. The practical lesson which Mr. Humphrey draws is the one which is heard, just now, from so many quarters, that the people must awake and put a stop to the prevailing system in which the representatives of the nation, who do not really represent, sacrifice the interests of the many to the greed of the few: "There is no quick remedy in an • The Indian Dispossessed. By Seth K. Humphrey. Illustrated. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. It is not uncommon to hear from SKETCHES FOR SERMONS. the lips of a faithful church-goer By Fr. Wakeham. some such remark as: "Why do not priests vary their sermons? They always travel around in the same circle. Once you hear the Gospel read, you can tell what is coming. I have been listening to that same old sermon on the Prodigal Son, or on 'Render to Cæsar,' etc., since I was in the Sunday-School." One chief factor in the maintenance of the monotony complained of is that preachers, for the most part, take the Gospel of the day as the basis of their instruction; and the composers of volumes of sermons follow the same system. The epistles are almost completely neglected. Yet if it were only to secure the advantages to be gained by the introduction of variety, the routine might be profitably broken occasionally by an explanation of the epistle. Besides, in many cases, the epistle provides ground for certain lessons and instructions, more appositely than does the corresponding Gospel. For this reason, we believe that Father Wakeham has provided in the present volume, a very useful book for busy priests. The sermons are not fully developed discourses, but skeletons, or outlines, which are to be filled out by the preacher. Such sketches, when well made, orderly, and composed of pregnant, suggestive thoughts, are incomparably more profitable helps than is a complete, ready-made sermon. In most instances, the priest who makes use of such a sermon will neglect the amplifications and developments, and appropriate only the essential features. Or, if he commits the entire address to memory, forgetting that cor ad cor loquitur, he will probably have reason to wonder why he fails to make much impression on his audience. There is, however, no mystery for his hearers. They would tell him, as they frequently tell one another, that they would rather have a few plain, earnest words, spoken with heartiness and conviction, than an elegant oration falling upon their ears with the impersonality of a phonograph, or striking them merely as an exercise in elocution. By taking a short schema, such as Father Wakeham provides, and maturing it in his own mind, the preacher will have a sermon that will be his own, and will make its way to head and heart. * Sketches for Sermons for the Sundays and Holydays of the Year. By the Rev. R. K. Wakeham, St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, New York. Second Series. Chiefly on the Epistles. New York: Joseph F. Wagner. |