The San Francisco call., 1910-02-06

time there every summer The car
dinal said in part:
Leopold II has been really great
sovereign. It is no use to speak here
of his private life, but as a ruler it is
certain that hardly any other monarch
in Europe possessed his intelligence
and his ability in conceiving great de-
signs and bringing them to fruition.
II was he that first planned, then exc
cuted and has now assured the colossal
task of the coloniza tion of the Congo,
which has been a source of prosperity
for him. as il is destined to be for his
country
of course | am aware of all that has
been said against his work in the
Congo but it must be remembered that
the charges and insinuations have come
from those who have had an interest
in seeing it decried. Certainly there
must have been abuses, but we all
know how difficult ii is to eliminate all
these in the administration of a great
state, and it is equally certain that they
have been grossly exaggerated, espe-
cially in England
Another name to be placed. in con-
junction with those of Pasteur and
Lapparent, in the long list of men who
have been both eminent scientists and
practical Catholics is Bouquet de la
Grye. This venerable member of the
French academy, whose death occurred
very recently. was a famous hydrog
rapher and astronomer and the presi-
dent of a number of scientific societies
and he enriched the literature of
science with many valuable studies and
reports.
Graduated from the polytechnic
school at a time when Christianity was
hardly the vogue of university circles
NJ. de Ia Grye was nevertheless gem
uine Catholic. who practiced his re-
ligion without ostentation. but also
without any concession to human re-
spect. He died as he lived fortified
by the sacraments of the church,
whose dogmas in no way interfered
with his scientific research or attain
ment.
Father Y. Schel the learned Do
minican AssyrioIogist, who was elected
a member of the Academy OF Inscrip
tions and Bellies Lettres, devoted HIM
self to the study of AssyrioIogy under
Professors Oppert and Amiau.
In 1889 he published a monograph
on the inscriptions of Sanssi Ram
man $500 b. O.. De Morgan chose
him as companion when he undertook
his excavations in Persia. Five of the
soven volumes published by the French
legation are by Father Schell.
In 1885 he was chosen professor of
Assyriology at the Ecole des Hautes
Etudes and in 1906, after the death of
NJ. Oppert, the professors of the College
de France unanimously recommended
| him for the chair OF Assyriology, but
the government would not appoint a
Dominican.
His discovery and translation of the
code of Hammurabn have given him
world wide reputation.
a wedding of interest to Catholics,
especially in this country, is that Of
Mile. Helga Smith-Hasd to Colonel
Gouraud l. s. A, in Paris
Miss Smith Hald is the daughter of
the late Norwegian painter. Frithjof
Smith Hald. Former Premier Nicholson
of Norway, one of the foremost advo-
Gates of the separation of that king
dom from Sweden: is her uncle, while
still another uncle is the painter. Hans
Dahl.
Miss smith Hald is herself talented
musician and composer and fervent
convert. She was also instrumental in
bringing her brothers and sisters to
share her religious belief.