The Irish standard., 1896-06-20

history which the novelist sketches sNiftly
III the opening chapter OF s Rome. 4 The
church begins as an ..exp pertinent in CONF
mun.sma st he religion Of the poor and
humble, form Of democracy, Of socialism
| struggling against Roman society. Old
Rome rotted by money, toppled over. The
church rose on the ruins, but to insure
itself comp lete victory It was forced to ally
itself with, the rich. and powerful. Hence
its triumph and It's failure. 4
| The second part Of the history deals with
the present. Injustice and poverty had
wrecked the faith OF the people. The
church must become again the champion Of
| the poor. Catholic socialism was legiti-
mate--ipqeed, essential. The crisis was at
hand, and, already in the countries Of the
propaganda leaders of religious thought
had entered the arena-Mgr. Ketteler in
Germany Mgr. Mermillad in Switzerland,
Cardinal Manning in England. 1T was
particularly III the United States that Cath
olic socialism proved triumphant, in a
sphere of democracy where the bishops,
like Mgr. ireland, were forced to set them
selves at the head of the working class agi-
tation. And there across the Atlantic a
new church seems to be terminating, still
in confusion but overhowing with sap and
upheld by intense hope, as at the aurora Of
the rejuvenated Christianity of tomorrow"
The book was threatened with Introduction
by the congregation of the Index, and the
Able Froment went to Rome to make his
defense.
The details Of the history are unimport-
ant in the development Of the plot Of the
story. They might have been omitted
without harm. They are at best but a pre-
Jude, an<excase for sending the French
priest to Rome, flourish to introduce the
coarse and too often malicious picture Of
the court of Leo XIII. The sketch bears
every evidence of hasty execution; nothing
is more likely than that lola should have
gone to modern church literature for the
skeleton of the prologue. This would have
been no; worse than scores have, done be-
fore, But that he, essentially discreet
man, should have seized upon a contempt
rary authorsas his victim, and that ne
should. have translated not alone the
scheme but the very language Of a we'll
known book is almost incredibie-to prove
his impatient haste and recklessnesss and to
trice him up for the ridicule of his enemies.
He was the last man to be suspected OF
the crime, and the last to require such
gross exped:ent. In composition ne has
the hardy swiftness of a machine and the
fecundity of the fields. Although but Sc,
he has written twenty-seven novels and
uncounted brief articles for contemporary
publications. Why should the author of
"L'Assomoir," s'Le Faute de Fable Mou-
ret'' and 'La Debacle" have condescended
to cheap pilfering in very ordinary book
shop? What fate led him to it? There
could be no escape from detection. He had
written 'tRome" as an appeal to the skep-
tical side of the Academy, as he wrote
LA REEVE" to conc:liate the uitramontan-
lists. His squalid picture Of Leo, actuated
Pbs taasopopeis refusal to receive him, was
bound to arouse storm of adverse criti-
cism. Sitting in the Academy were ed!-
tors of the very works from Which he
ilched. He laid the snare for his own feet
and then walked into it.