The herald., 1898-10-23

has been largely quoted by the press Of the
country. 1t IL entitled WAR"
when speak the centuried towers Of old
cities melt In smoke,
And the fortressed ports sink reeling at
| my far-aimed thunder stroke;
And an inmemorial empire filings 1t last
/ flag to the breeze,
Sinking with its splintered navies down In
the IMPLYING seas.
But the blind Of sight awaken to an unim-
agined day,
And the mean Of soul grow conscious there
is greatness in their clay;
| Where my bugle voice goes pealing slaves
grow heroes at It's breath,
And the trembling coward rushes to the
welcome arms Of DEATH"
| Aside from the excellence of the poems,
| the book can be commended for its fine
makeup, being one Of the volumes of the
year that can be accounted fit for a holiday
gift, though inexpensive.
o o O
DOCTOR PASCAL. BY Emile Zola, author
Of 'The DOWNFALL" translated by Mary
j. Serrano. The Macmillan company.
This new volume Of perhaps the greatest
OF Zola's earlier works is uniform with
Rome" ETC., which all our readers know
Is handsome edition. OF the matter of
the volume we need not speak, as our
readers know the quality Of Zola's most
worthy and enduring work. While It can
not be denied that much that Zola has
written is open to criticism, the main body
OF his work has now come to be considered
worthy place among the influential books
OF the time for at the bottom is a large
love OF liberty and Justice. 4.
O o O
THE LOVES OF LADY ARABELLA.
BY Molly Elliott Seawall, author Of
"The Sprightly Romance of Marsac,"
THE History Of the Lady Betty STAIR"
ETC.; with illustrations by George
Gibbs. The Macmillan company.
A very sprightly story is this, and one
that does not give excuse for loss of inter-
est for a single moment, so swiftly do ex-
citing events follow each other There are
stern parents who also quarrel between
themselves. there are young people who
nave their own way, there are runaway
matches, with no end Of adventure, and
right In the midst of the story tremen-
dous sea fight In the Bay of Biscay, where
huge war vessels wa1low in the terrible
waves and fall foul of each other In the
old-time furious way. 1t is not often that
more versatile and loveable youth Is met,
even in fiction, than wayward and witty
Giles Vernon, nor finer type of the old
sea-dog than Sir Peter Hawkshaw. It Is
not study, or even a novel, with pur-
pose; but 1t is better than most OF these,
for 1t is downright good story that en-
tertains us and leaves us in better mood
for the reading.
THE GOSPEL FOR AN AGE OF
DOUBT. BY Henry Van Dyke. Sixth
edition; with new preface. The Mac
milan company. |
Thare IL 0na nauy thing 70 ho ~ oho,,<
this book. now in its sixth edition, and one
which the modern inquirer after truth Is
pretty well acquainted with, and that is |
concerning the authors definition Of the |
Age of Doubt" Many have supposed
that the title of the book implied that this
Is an irreligious. even an atheistic
age. but DR.. Van Dyke puts It
differently. He says: "In calling
the present an age of doubt do not mean |
that 1t is the only age in which doubt has |
been prevalent, nor that doubt Is the only |
characteristic Of the age. I mean simply
that It is one Of those periods Of human
history in which the sudden expansion of
knowledge and the breaking up Of ancient
moulds OF thought have produced a pro-
found and widespread feeling of uncer-
tainty in regard to the subject Of religion.
The remarkable achievements Of the criti-
cal method as applied to philosophy, his
tory and literature have led men to ask
whether 1t may not be applied in the same
way to theology, and to take IL for granted
that the result must be destructive. The
difficulty of adjusting the new discoveries
Of science to the established forms of the
illogical doctrince has produced in some
reluctant and irritable minds a disposition
to resent all scientific research, and to de-
nounce II as atheistic But in a far greater
number of minds 1t has begotten misgiv-
ing that If religion needs to defend itself
by denying facts, 1t must stand on a very
Insecure foundation. Men want re- |
ligion They are attracted by it's spiritual |
ideals. by its moral inspirat ations. But they |
hesitate to accept 1t, at least in the Chris !
tian form. for fear that It may not be |
reasonable. The questioning temper holds |
possession of their minds. They are trou-
bled by want Of faith, but they accept in
decision as the only rational attitude, and |