The San Francisco call., 1905-03-19
Briefer Mention


Saints and Festivals OF the Chris
tian Church." by H. Pomeroy Brew
ster. the author Of Christian SYM
bols." Is a well arranged book OF 55S
pages. telling OF the saints and festi-
walls in the regular order Of the dates
throughout the year. and with an al
phabetical list OF the canonized saints
and good index. AS the number OF
Christian saints are too many to be
told OF in one book. the author only
mentions the most prominent. and as
the popular legends are often the only
records OF them, he had TO give these
as he found them, and he makes no
attempt to either prove or deny the
authenticity or error Of any Of the
legends. The work is profusely illus
trated with quaint old pictures Of the
saints and with Christian emblems.
The work Is conmendable as a good
piece OF condensation. Each article
he. handles. be It an explanation OF
Holy Saturday, page on symbols, or
an account OF some great saint, Is
done with interesting brevity. Take,
for an example, how he swiftly gives
us a glance at that great woman,
Saint Catherine Of Siena: When in
1875 the people Of Florence. Perugia. a
great part of Tuscany and even the
ecclesiastical state, entered into a
league against the Holy See and were
communicated. Catherine was Sc
lected as mediator. Her keen wisdom
and rare Judgment not only brought
about a reconciliation. but more, since
she not only saw but dared to show
where some of the moving causes lay
and secured their correction Her life
is full Of stirring incident and without
Verging a hairs breadth from strict
truth, it became almost a romance in
some OF the situations in which we find
her as a nurse at the bedside OF those
afflicted by the most loathsome dis
eases. then as the adviser of mobiles.
and later the intermediary between
thousands and the high authority OF
the church. Worn out. not rusted out
after an. easy life, this wonderful
woman died when but thirty-three
years Of age
(Frederick A. Stokes Company, New
York; SD
Under the title OF Americas Aid to
Germany in 1S70-71," a German named
Adolph Hepner has published book.
written in English and German on al
ternate pages, giving an abstract from
the official correspondence Of L. B.
Washburne. United States Embassa-
dor to Paris at the time Of the Franco
German war. washburne had the very
Ill aIr of nrNf
ing the 10000 Germans who were living
in the French capital at that troub-
lous time. and he performed 1t so well
as TO gain the appreciation OF the Ger
mans who knew Of the details OF his
work. The purpose of the book is TO
make known TO the public that which
has hitherto not been recognized out
side of the highest official circles. and
Hepner hopes that it will serve as an
additional impulse to his countrymen
TO cultivate a sincere friendship for
the United States The author also
hopes that the story told by the cor
respondence viii warn those who are
anxious to fight not to recklessly enter
into a war with a country In whose
capital tens OF thousands OF their kins-
men have made their homes
An extract, culled at random. from
the letters OF Count Bismarck TO Mr.
washburne, adds something to our
knowledge OF the necessity OF being
suspicious Of respectable human ma
ture: @Sir-Recent and repeated exDe
rience has shown that even resDect-
able persons. In spite OF the warning
addressed to them before leaving Paris.
and relying upon our confidence. do not
hesitate TO carry letters clandestinely
through our lines Nay, in several let
ters captured by our men Indications
are given to address the information
they are desired TO give in the interest
of the enemy to certain persons IN
Paris bearing diplomatic character"
(Adolf Hepner. ~ Nicholas place. St