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rules to save themselves and each other, but Douglas Hyde, who was never in his life afraid to be charmed, surrendered unconditionally and got as good a reward from his captor that he became for many the em- bodiment of the charm and practical idealism of his cause." This is literally true, not only of Hyde, but of the Gaels generally-their uncon- querable and incorruptible draoidheacht impresses all who really know them. Douglas Hyde occupies a foremost position among the Gaelic leaders, and this little volume tells his story well, with characteristic reasonableness and restraint. Of a family of Norman origin, he was brought up in an Irish-speaking community, and became the leader of the movement for the revival of Gaelic culture. In 1893, having returned from Canada, where he taught English literature in the State University of New Brunswick, he, with others, founded the Gaelic League, of which he held the presidency until 1916. It would be impossible, in a mere note like this, to trace the history of his labours, but his guiding principle may be indicated in his own words :­ When we speak of the necessity of de-Anglicising the Irish Nation we mean it. not as a protest against imitating what is best in the English people, for that would be absurd, but rather to show the folly of neglecting what is Irish and hastening to adopt pell mell and indiscriminately everything that is English simply because it is English." Wales, at least, should be able fully to appreciate this point of view. For the attainment of his object, Hyde has worked with super-human energy, and with marvellous success. Whereas Gaelic culture was rapidly disappearing when he started, it is now reconquering Ireland. It has revolutionised rural life, saved and re-established industries, founded schools and colleges, and produced a new generation of writers, who assert its claims in Gaelic and English. The Gaelic material (of which only I am competent to speak) is, at best, as fine as anything written in any European language. Gradually, Gaelic is being restored to its proper place in the education of Ireland, and the national University, by the voice of the people, as against powerful though singularly un- enlightened opposition, has made it obligatory. As an orator, organiser and author, Hyde played a leading part in this activity. He collected and published tales and poems preserved among the peasantry, wrote original verse and plays, wrote the literary history of Ireland, and above all, perhaps, infected thousands with his own enthusiasm. Always reasonable and conciliatory, always on the side of human development and progress, for years he bound together the manifold forces making up the national movement. The reading of this eminently sane study of his life leaves one with a sense of the wonderful charm and transparent honesty of the man, and with an appreciation of the devotion of the young Gaelic Leaguer who said of him Ba dhoigh liom gurbh e an fear ba bhreaghtha ar dhruim an domhan agus ba eadh, leis. Thanaig se anuas in aice liom agus e ag dul amach -agus taisbeanfaidh se seo dibh chomh 6g agus beag a bhios-ba leor dhom mo lamh do chur amach ar imeall a chôta-ba leor san "-(" He seemed to me the finest man on the ridge of the world-and he was too. He came down near me while he was going out-and this will show you how young and little I was-it was enough for me to put my hand on the edge of his coat-it was indeed." Men who enable us still to believe in humanity are rare, but Gaelic Ireland is blest with many such, and Douglas Hyde is certainly one of them. Priest of the I deal," by Stephen Graham. London Macmillan & Co., Ltd. Pp. viii., 405. 7s. 6d. net. Judging by his writings Mr. Stephen Graham is one of the few writers who have understood what Jesus stood for and taught. His Priest of the Ideal is really the Christ of the twentieth century and like the Christ of the first century he dies a martyr. Hampden died. He Participated in three great movements, but in the first great rush he was killed. He killed no German, and like many another marshalled into the ranks against his will, he never intended to kill. His personal mission was to give life, not death. We forced him to go and he went. He was killed on these fields, and men raced over his dead body after his spirit had flown to the stars. He had not been rebellious, he dissuaded no man from the fight. The world for whom for a while he had been a joy and a shining light sacrificed him, but he had borne it no ill-will." This remarkable book is full of help to understand the Man of Nazareth and the unconquerable Spirit of Love which he has left to the world. Here we discover an atmosphere in which the spirit discerns T.G.J. clearly what a colossal farce the devil has written with the blood of the Cross. Here is brought out the real significance of the Miraculous Life. When life ceases to be miraculous it practically ceases to be and some- times one shudders at the thought of trying to live where everyone is dead. And yet the priest of the ideal walks abroad, a light to those who dwell in darkness, for he opens the eyes of the blind, and makes the deaf hear. This volume is one of the most delightful things we have read for a long time: in it the sun bursts through the wintry clouds of these dark days and floods the earth with its light and generous warmth. R.S.R. Minutes and Proceedings of an Old Tract Society of Bangor Diocese, 1804-1812," by the Rev. A. Owen Evans, B.A. Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1918. Pp. 110. In this pamphlet the Rev. A. Owen Evans reproduces the minutes of the Bangor Tract Society, which he discovered in 1906. The Society consisted of a number of clergymen and had the support of the Bishop of the Diocese. During its short career it published eight tracts in the Welsh language at prices varying from l £ d. to Is. 6d. The tracts them- selves are not of much importance, but the minutes prove that the clergy of the Diocese were alive to the importance of using the Welsh language as a means of getting into close touch with their parishioners. Of the clergy on the committee who took an active interest in the work one delivered the Bampton Lectures in 1821, another was Senior Wrangler, and two others, Nicholas Owen and Dr. Peter Williams, made important contributions to the literature of Wales. Mr. Evans has added a most exhaustive study of the lives of all the members of the Society and has been able to clear up many biographical details. The bibliographical work is painstaking and thorough. The book is a good instance of the value of doing a small piece of work thoroughly, as against the common practice of covering a wide field without adequate resources. We hope that Mr. Evans will proceed with his researches, and give us in course of i a T!V.h needed history of the Diocese of Bangor. "The Church in the Furnace." Edited by F. B. Macnutt. London Macmillan, Ltd. 5s. Pp. 454. This volume of striking essays is strikingly dedicated to the Church of England in proud and thankful memory of 21 chaplains who were killed in action, of seven who died of wounds, and of eight who died on active service. The contributors are 17 Anglican Chaplains, and all save one have been with the troops on foreign service in France and Flanders. The purpose of the writers is to clear the ground, and they write with a courage and a sincerity which befit such a purpose. It is not possible here to discuss in detail any part of the book, but its scope may be indicated by saying that the seventeen chapters are ranged under the following heads — Faith, Fellowship, Worship, Education, and General. It opens with a challenging essay on The Moral Equivalent of War and closes with another on The Great Adventure. Though the book is primarily addressed to the Church of England, it deserves to be read by the more thoughtful people in all churches who are sensible of the need of reform, and courageous enough to promote it. The section on worship deals with the forms in use in the Church of England, but members of other communions might well study it in order to realize what changes they too are called upon to make, if they are to meet the urgent needs of the future. The book is a notable expression of the tremendous heart-searching that has been going on in the Church of England both before and after the National Mission. One is apt to think of that Church as an eminently respectable and conventional institution, and the writers themselves evidently think that in the main that impression is a true one, but on the other hand one may doubt whether other churches indulge in such bursts of candour and self-criticism as are to be found in this book, and in an earlier one entitled Faith or Fear. The impression left on one's mind is that the Free Churches may have more liberty (if they would only use it), but that the Church of England (as represented by this group of writers) has more initiative. This book may render great service as a ringing challenge to all churches. H.M.