The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-19

stead of, as wrote it, 1456. Or he nigh have referred to the error of 1000 years when I wrote that it required the ligh of the Pieiades TOO years to reach th' earth. But this broad-minded Christian gentleman knew that I could not be guilty Of so gross a sin against figures.
 Now, as to the head and front of my offending" The authority from which quoted reads thus: Pope Caixtus Il. therefore, ordered extra Ave Marias to bt repeated by everybody, and also the church bells to be rung daily at noon whence originated the custom now SC universal. A prayer was added as fol lows: Lord. save us from the devil, the l Turk and the comet
 d.d not employ the entire paragraph for the simple reason that}I personally did not believe it. l am familiar With the statements made in History of Phy- sical Astronomy; Lapiace's "Expositione due Systeine du Monde and with others quoted by my friend, Father Coyle. But I considered all such stories as the Pope $ accommodating the comet and anathe- matizing it as unworthy the eredenee of intelligent people. I know, from the eaIumnies asserted against the historic church at whose altars I serve thai raany things charged never occurred or which being local, cannot be affirmed of the whole body Hence my effort not to as- cribe to the Pope that which l thought might have been local and, therefore, not Catholic.
 of ity, I wrote, When the comet Of l4oe appeared, the Pope recommended that the faithful offer prayers against the pos sible disasters of the comet" Instead however, of saying as my authority did a prayer was added as follows; Lord save us from the devil, the Turk and the comet, I omitted the word added" because it connected the Pope with the change in the Litany office; and, beginning a new sentence, sald' "One of the prayers of that time was, Lord, save us from the devil, the Turk and the comet spurposely disassoclated the Pope. from tue Litany, thinking that some such change in that office was made locally I find that I was right and my authority for this conviction is my rever- end friends, Father Coyle, who says in lis letter, Perhaps, some local priest may have added to the Litany, From the Turk and the comet, good Lord, deliver usn'
 Here is a clear case of the "argumen- tum ad hominem"
 Father Coyle, if he will do me the honor to read my essay again, will notice that 1 did not say the Pope ordered the change in the I4itany, nor did l, per saltun, leap from the prayers commended by. the Pope to the changed Litany. l began a new sentence in order to perfect the hiatus, which was most certainly in my mind.
 That the Pope, however, should conn mend to the faithful some churchly form of prayer to be offered against the pos sible disasters of the comet struck me as not at all improbable. Who, in those days. knew how near the comet might approach the earth? and who knew the composition of the comets tail, through which the earth was likely to pass. and what disasters were "possible?' Indeed, under the conditions then existing. 1t would have been fatherly and pious, so 1t seems to me, had special prayers been recommended.
 I beg to say that there was 10 parti- san spirit behind the hand that penned the essay on Night Has a Thousand Eyes" Ever since I first read the lines of Cicero I have stoutly believed,- and to this very hour practice their inten- ton: "Qui alls nocent ut in alois liber- ales sint, in eadem sunt injustitia, ut si ,n s,an, renas aliena convertant" Sincere ly, w. IL. hsA4So' : 1,a..a eln m Anril IA 1a1n