The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-26
ThEBO0KS SHELF
By THE BIBLIoPHILE

energy in visitation, preaching, establish ing missions, etc, the face of the earth was renewed. It was while Bishop of Richmond. his next promotion, that he conceived the idea of writing his first and greatest work, work that has been translated into F languages, and that has had a sale of close on a million copies The Faith of Our Fathers. He saw that the effect produced by his ser mops In places only rarely visited, in course of time weakened, so the thought occurred to him that it would be good thing to supplement these by written l treatise. He suggested this one day to Father Gross, in the spring of 1876, and asked him to write it. Father Gross said: | Bishop, why don't you write 1t your | self?' Seized with an inspiration, the bishop said: While the spirit is in me, give me paper and ink and I will jot | down the first chapter
 | It is difficult to refrain from copious , extracts from the life, so interesting Is the work, but lack of space forbids. The author most interestingly tells of the fur | ther advancement of this man of des- tiny' from the bishopric of Richmond to the archbishopric of Baltimore, the prima- tial see of the United States, and finally his elevation by Leo XIII in 1886 to the | crowning honor of all, the highest honor outside of the holy see itself that may be obtained by man, a seat in the sacred college of cardinals of the Catholic church. Dr. Will then tells how all during the succeeding years James Cardinal Gib- bons has worthily and well worn the scarlet. He treats in detail his great pub lie accomplishments, such as his victories in regard to the knights of labor, Cahens- leyism and many other public questions i He shows him ever and always on the side of the people, and how sterling pa triotism and love of his country and her free institutions actuated all his deeds. He dwells on the fact that to him. in large measure, is due the sympathetic under standing. the toleration and good vii and cordiality in many cases, that exist, today in the United States between the old historic church of which the cardina is such a distinguished son and the many other forms of Christian belief Finally the book is all that could be desired 1T
 the matter of letter press, and is em
 bellished with some portraits and othel
 pictures. It may be considered a perma nent contribution to American literature : "VICTOR OLNEES DISCIPLINE" By Hamlin. Garland. Harper Brothers New York
 To those who delve into the occul s and have to do with "spiritualism ant
 the like, Mir. Hamlin Garland's move : entitled Victor olnee's Discipline" vii
 appeal
 It Is written in MT Garland's bes
 style-which is artistic and skillful
 but one is ra ther sorry to see the cleve
 novelist turned propag gandist.
 The endeavor to direct the uncon
 verted towards "Spiritualistic" belief il
 rather lost after all in the story, fo
 1t cannot make a universal appeal
 clever as is MT. Garland, since it's prom
 ise is based upon whole hearted ac
 ceptance by the reader of the pEe
 nomena of communication with tho
 'dead and quite apart from any con ltroversy on this score it is obvio,i that there will be a lack of publi disposition to regard the work on it ! literary merits.
 The "disciplined' in the story is th
 son of a trance medium--a widow
 The boy has been kept away fror
 home since his early childhood an -yre'. ,ii- story oyaas Lo is st 'eol , lese' and reads in a paper sch } sational "exposure" of his mother
 methods of gaining livelihood
 This is Sunday morning and the de