literature had not yet come; and that the few publications of the original Truth Society were but as the drops which come before the copious and refreshing rain. It may be noticed in passing that the Society restricted itself to "the cheapest publications, to be sold at a farthing, a halfpenny, or a penny each "-some, however, were published at twopence. The present organization, while rightly making cheap publications its special care, has never committed itself to any such restriction, and, indeed, will no doubt develop in the direction of undertaking larger and more important works than it has yet issued. What may be the future of the Catholic Truth Society, none can tell. With the blessing of God, it may be a great one. The Society certainly has in it many elements of success. It is probably the most representative body which we at present possess: clergy of all ranks, religious of almost every order and congregation, laymen of position and education, and working men who have neither, but who yield to none in their desire for the spread of truth, are among its most active workers. The laity as well as the clergy are adequately represented on its committees; and this is an advantage, not only to the Society in particular, but to the Catholic cause in general—an advantage the strength of which is sometimes overlooked. Men of all shades of politics are associated in the Society, and this again is well. We are sometimes told that it would be impossible to form a "Catholic Party." As to this, I am not capable of expressing an opinion; but the earnestness with which men of different position and views have worked together in the interests of the Truth Society would lead me to think the experiment not altogether hopeless. The objects of the Society were thus stated in its prospectus, drawn up early in 1885 : 1st. To disseminate among Catholics small and cheap devotional works. There is always a demand for such publications in every congregation if they can be had cheaply, and are ready to hand. At the time of a Retreat or Mission, hundreds or even thousands of them might be taken by the people. 2nd.—To assist the uneducated poor to a better knowledge of their religion. Most Catholics are attacked from time to time by the sneers or objections of Protestants, and too often have no answer ready. If their own faith is not weakened, their inability to state or defend the Church's doctrine does harm to others. It is also desirable to furnish Catholic artisans in the great centres of industry with answers to the rationalistic and infidel theories which are constantly the subject of conversation among men employed in factories and workshops. For the benefit of these classes, we propose to issue a number of pamphlets and eaflets to help them to withstand attack, and to give them a better knowledge of their religion. 3rd. To spread among Protestants information about Catholic truth. Prejudice and error are still universal among the English poor, but there are many who would readily accept the teaching of the Church, were they not so utterly misinformed respecting it. While the Religious Tract Society and other similar bodies spread their misleading publications with untiring energy, Catholics do little in this way to make known the claims of the Church of God, and to destroy the absurd notions respecting her that Protestant tradition has handed down. Short papers or leaflets with striking titles, containing a summary of doctrine or concise replies to popular objections, would be eagerly read by Protestants if distributed among them or given away at the doors before or after anti-Catholic lectures, &c. 4th. To promote the circulation of the good, cheap, and popular Catholic works which already exist, many of them being at present almost unknown, and to take notice of similar books as they appear. To some extent, all these objects have been carried out, and the work has been taken up with much energy by various bodies especially suited to furthering Catholic enterprise. Such are some of our Colleges, the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, and certain local associations formed for the special purpose of diffusing the leaflets and other publications. The scope of the Society has been enlarged since this scheme was put forward. A series of Biographies, and another of Tales and Poems, has been undertaken; and these, collected into shilling volumes, have already had a large sale in that form. Of a penny and halfpenny Prayer-book, an edition of 20,000 was exhausted in less than six months. The pamphlets and leaflets on the Anglican question have been largely employed in combating the attempts of Anglicans to establish the continuity of the present Establishment with the pre-Reformation Church. Of a pamphlet on the education question, more than 40,000 have been sold; and the leaflets on the same subject have had a large sale. The more usual Protestant misconceptions have been once more refuted; while pamphlets and leaflets dealing with Socialism and Positivism have been issued. These are only some of the matters which have been taken up by the Truth Society; but even from this summary it will be seen that the plan of operation is much more extended than has been the case with any of its predecessors. Its last work of importance has been the issue, at a very low cost, of short biographies of all the English Martyrs recently beatified. This is an encouraging record of little more than two years' work; but it is felt by all who are engaged in it that it is but the beginning of what may be, with God's blessing, a permanent undertaking equal, in its way, in importance and influence, to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and the Religious Tract Society. Already the interest shown at home in the work has been echoed from abroad. To every quarter of the globe the publications of the Society have found their way, and wherever they have gone they have also found a welcome. But it is more seemly that others should speak on this point; and the recent Lenten pastoral of the venerable Bishop of Birmingham showed in what light the Society is regarded by one who is perhaps more intimately associated than any other with the recent history of the Church in England. If any exception can be taken to this statement, it will be with regard to another name, not less honoured and venerated-that of the illustrious Cardinal whose home is also in Birmingham; and it is with the greatest satisfaction that we are able to record Cardinal Newman's warm and practical interest in our work, manifested as it has been in many different ways. The English Hierarchy has approved the scheme; and, among the other eminent ecclesiastics who have expressed their interest in its promotion, may be named the Archbishops of Dublin and Cashel, the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archbishop of Bombay, and the Archbishop of San Francisco. What, then, is wanted to ensure the success of the Catholic Truth Society? and what will be the result of that success? For the first, the active co-operation of the laity is necessary. True, the support and countenance of the clergy is an essential condition of our very existence; but this has already been secured in far greater proportion than that of the laity. It is the latter more especially that the Bishop of Salford is addressing when he says: : We are in the age of the Apostolate of the Press. It can penetrate where no Catholic can enter. It can do its work as surely for God as for the devil. It is an instrument in our hands. All should take part in this apostolate; here at least there is work for every one. For ten who can write, ten thousand can subscribe, and a hundred thousand can scatter the seed. For this purpose, under the patronage of the Hierarchy, and richly indulgenced by the Holy See, the Catholic Truth Society has been founded by a number of priests and laymen. It is already doing good work; but the good work ought to be multiplied through every town and mission, not in England only, but throughout the British Empire. It instructs, edifies, and amuses, it educates and evangelizes Catholics and non-Catholics. It will become an engine of gigantic power in the service of God, if our men and women have in them only the hearts and wills to become apostles. Say not that to scatter books, pamphlets, tracts, and leaflets is waste and loss, if you have but a grain of faith in the Gospel parable of the sower. God Himself, with bountiful hand, is always sowing his grace over the world of men, and what is the history of his sowing? Is greater fruit to spring up under the hand of the servant than of the Master? But for every effort we make, there is an eternal reward. We need writers, a multitude of subscribers, and a numberless body of men and women sowing and scattering the truth wherever English is read and spoken. This means zeal, time, labour, and, we may add, humility, for the work has not the apparent dignity of debates on public questions and passing resolutions, though it will be at least as certain of its spiritual results. And for the answer to the second question-what will be the result of the success of the Society?—I would say the result will be twofold. One part of it will be the permanent establishment of a publishing body, not aiming at gain, but at edification; not spending its income in lavish salaries and sounding speeches, but a body to which every Catholic-from the priest who needs weapons of defence wherewith to arm his people against the wiles of heresy, or weapons of attack to employ upon the evils of all kinds which surround him, to the working man in the factory who is assailed by blasphemies and taunts against his holy religion, and needs the means for strengthening himself and for repelling the attack-may turn for counsel and support. Every kind of literature that a Catholic can require will be provided by the Society devotion and practice, biography and history, tales and poetry, social and religious publications-all will be forthcoming. In a word, whatever is done for Protestants on a magnificent scale by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge will be undertaken-in a proportionately smaller but not less efficacious manner-by the Catholic Truth Society. And the other result, which we may fairly expect, will be the edification of Catholics and the instruction of Protestants. The calumnies and falsehoods which are accepted in all good faith by many outside the Church, and which are disseminated by others in whose sincerity we should be glad to believe, though we find it difficult to do so, will receive prompt and plain refutationwhether they spring from the newest and most insidious form of Protestantism known as Ritualism, or whether they take the grosser form of the filthy fictions of the class of " Maria Monk" and the like. Not neglecting our own people and their many needs, we shall aim at the instruction and conversion of those outside the church; and our efforts can hardly fail to be blest. Blest, indeed, they have been already, by the approval of the Vicar of God upon earth, and by the visible success which has attended them; and it is therefore with every confidence that we call upon all to come forward, and share in the work which is now ready to their hands. JAMES BRITTEN. Notes of Trabel and Exploration. Persian Life and Manners.-Mr. Benjamin* has turned to good account his diplomatic sojourn as United States Minister in Teheran, by giving the public the benefit of the intimate knowledge of the country thus acquired in a book which combines in a rare degree entertainment with instruction. Instead of the personal narrative affected by the ordinary writer of travels, he has divided his book into chapters, each treating of a separate branch of the subject, and forming a valuable and delightful essay thereupon. Thus one chapter contains a fascinating description of Persian country villas; a second gives a thrilling picture of the performance of the great Shiah Mystery Play on the death of Hussein and Hassan, witnessed by the author in the royal amphitheatre at Teheran ; a third is devoted to Persian art; a fourth to mountaineering in Persia, and especially to the perils and beauties of the great Aftcha Pass, 13,000 feet high. Among interesting facts to be gleaned from his pages is the Persian origin of the manufacture of the so-called Russia leather, with the strange legend that its peculiar properties are due to the hides being exposed on a very high mountain to be struck by lightning. The inviolability of a stable as a sanctuary for criminals, who, while sheltered there, must be fed by the owner, and are safe from the wrath of the Shah himself, is a singular trait of Persian manners, whose origin the author says is lost in obscurity. With Commercial Resources of Persia.-Despite the great salt deserts which occupy so large a portion of its area, Mr. Benjamin believes Persia to be capable of great future development. the most primitive agricultural appliances, wheat is already grown in sufficient quantity for exportation, and rice, the staple food of the people, is supplied in abundance from the alluvial lands on the Caspian shore. The grape of Kasvin is proverbial for its excellence, and with improved methods wine of a high quality might be produced. The Persian opium is the best in the world, and 2,000 chests are annually exported to England alone from Bushire. The silk trade of Persia has always been eagerly competed for among foreign nations, and Mr. Benjamin estimates the annual production of raw silk at 608,000 lbs., of which about 15 per cent. is retained for domestic consumption. The far-famed Persian rugs and carpets depend for their beauty on the individual taste of the makers, and it is to be hoped that the attempt of European merchants to introduce wholesale methods of manufacture will not rob them of their "Persia and the Persians." By S. G. W. Benjamin. Murray. 1877. London John : |