The Irish standard., 1915-01-09

merly resident of the Twin Cities,
will be of interest to the readers of
the Irish Standard:
b College, England,
Dec. IA, 1914.
Ny Dear Friends:
Thanks for your last interesting let
ter, which I have just been reading
over again, but don't see anything in
it especially to be answered. We are,
here, just about concluding a fairly
quiet and prosperous term of school
work, which, on the whole, I have
much enjoyed. 1 had rather expected
that's the disturbed state of the COM
merJaal world would have affected our
numbers, but it has not done so, or
very little. The only novelty here is
the presence of quite a number of
Belgian boys-nice, well-behaved lads,
intelligent, well-taught, good Cath
olics, and decidedly more peppery
than our own boys. think there isn't
village in the United Kingdom with
out number of these refugees, peo-
pie of all ranks, most of them good
pious people, but Of course a certain
number liberal" BY the way am
very sorry you have not visited Europe
before this; however, hope you will
before long, and have good look at
Belgium. The dear old cities won't
be there, but something else instead
fairly worth seeing will.
One thing that the war has taught
me (though may have said this be-
fore) is that the English poet of war
is, of all people, Wordsworth. None
concerned with the present events
could read over his Sonnet on Lib
erty" and his Happy Warrior" and
not feel that. We have had in the
last few months a great deal of stir
ring verse manufactured by men who
know their business thoroughly, but
it all looks very pale beside the splen-
dor of that century-old work. The
difference is, of course, largely a
moral one, and that brings home to
one how the shifting, drifting modern
views on great moral questions make
so much modern thought slight and
thin and trivial. examined your re.
marks on peace and war with an in.
quisitorial eye to see If could detect
in her any of heresy of "pacifism'
,(hideous and impossible word, only
less repulsive than the thing it stands
for), but I give the case as not proven.
I think agreed with the substance
of her view. Pacifism is senseless and
wicked because it would guarantee
every kind of tyranny and injustice.
It is therefore naturally anti Christian
Its obvious outward trick is to insist
on the material side of war-the
wounds, the deaths, the destruction OF
property, and to slur the unseen spir'
itual side, which may be good or bad
but in either case is always the prin'
cipal thing. have just been reading
the touching letter of a mother whose
handsome, brave, good Catholic son
Gan old b boy) died retreatine
from Mons, but though it was full Of
sorrow, I could see behind it proud
happiness for q life really lived, a
deed done, something nobler than
prosperity, . consummated sacrifice
How many of our "old boys are now
/ In the army I can't guess; an i'm
mense number. Two of my nephews
4 are in 1t; two others are abroad In
ambulance work. That isn't bad FOL
people brought up under the upas tree
of pacifism! The shakespeare-Bacon
theory Il dead and buried. Nearly all
people in this country have developed
the most delicate respect for Catholic
consciences-I might mention many
evidences of this. There is no poll
x tics. There is no democracy. We have
committed things to the best men OBJ
tainable, and have left the matter 90
In general, there is an atmosphere Of