author a man of deep study and of wide acquaintance with Apostolic and Patristic literature. The style of the book is particularly attractive.

It seems intended for earnest and honest inquirers for the truth; all the chief objections against Catholic teaching are exhaustively dealt with in a way that cannot fail to satisfy a mind fairly open to conviction. We would recommend the work also to those who are already blessed with the gift of faith. It will certainly supply them with reasons for the faith that is in them.

A ROYAL SON AND MOTHER. By the Baroness Pauline Von Hügel. Notre Dame, Ind.: The Ave Maria Loretto Press. Price 75 c.

TRULY noble, religious souls were this royal son and mother. The simple, unadorned narrative of their lives appeals to all that is high and holy in the Christian heart. We only regret that the present work is not a great deal longer; gladly would we learn more of that high-spirited princess who, even when she knew not God, turned in disgust from the brilliant, empty society life, where she was so universally admired and highly appreciated, to devote herself to the less ambitious rôle of domestic duties and the education of her children. Similarly we feel disappointed at not being told more of the generous prince, who freely gave up all earthly possessions and ties to give himself as an humble missionary to the ignorant, uncultured adventurers of the backwoods of America. But it is a good sign to find exception taken to a book for being too short, and in truth the little volume before us, as far as it goes, brings out all that is elevating in the Catholic religion, so we have no hesitation in recommending it to all classes of readers.

J. C. K. DORIS. A Story of Lourdes. By M. M. London: Art and Book Company.

If we abstract from the fictional names and the few romantic incidents that adorn the story, we shall find Doris a simple account of a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Nothing is forgotten-tho pilgrim train, with its strange freight of invalids, all so afflicted yet so confident, the piety and mutual charity of the pilgrims, the attention and respect paid to God's sick' throughout the

journey, are described with singular clearness. Similarly we realise some of the religious enthusiasm manifested during the three days at Lourdes, the unwavering faith with which the pilgrims pray for health for even the most hopeless of their number, and the whole-hearted fervour of their thanksgiving when their petition has been answered. And finally the return of the pilgrim train is no less interesting and soul-stirring. Many have been bodily cured, and know not how best to show their gratitude, while even those who have not been so favoured experience a profound peace, and feel that now they can bear their affliction with cheerfulness. A pilgrimage to Lourdes should be an experience dear to the heart of every Catholic, and as we cannot all enjoy such a privilege, we should be particularly grateful to M. M.' for giving us so detailed and graphic a description of it, thus enabling us to realize to some extent the manifold miracles wrought in that retreat of grace.

J. C. K. COMFORT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED. Blosius. Translated from the Latin by Rev. B. A. Wilberforce, O.P. London: Art and Book Co., 22, Paternoster Row. Price, 2s. 6d. net.

THIS book will be a useful guide to spiritual directors, whose special duty it is to encourage the timid, fearful, and scrupulous, because, as the preface has it, What ninety-nine out of every hundred-perhaps not excluding the hundredth want above everything else is encouragement.' It will be a boon to calm the troubled soul in times of doubt, difficulty, or temptation, accomplishing this desirable end by clearing away the cobwebs of misapprehension and ignorance, and building anew on the solid foundations of reason, natural and theological, and common-sense. Its brief, pithy sentences will pierce to the heart and mind with greater effect than a large amount of elegant but obscure writing. As there is scarce a remedy which can‘minister to a mind diseased' that is not found in its pages, we are sure that it will enjoy an immense popularity. The translation is all that could be desired.

D. J. O'D.

SOME AFRICAN LANGUAGES AND RELIGIONS N the course of a lucid article in the Catholic World, January, 1897, by the eminent Orientalist, Mgr. Charles de Harlez, on 'The Necessity of studying Languages and their Monuments,' after an exhortation to our young students to pursue with ardour studies in philo. sophy, history, and the natural sciences, we read the following passage:

But there is a fourth branch of the sciences whose bearing, from a religious point of view, is unhappily not suitably appreciated, nor its action in the world sufficiently recognised. I refer to the science of languages and their monuments, a science too much neglected, and yet one whose importance may not be slighted since these monuments contain that religious history of humanity which is to-day chiefly employed in judging the dogmas and achievements of Christianity.

The learned author is evidently referring not only to studies in Egyptology, Assyriology, Chinese, Coptic, and Syriac-of which he is himself so great a master-but also to other less well-known branches of the same subject, as farther on he says:

The ancient inhabitants of America, Oceanica, and Africa are summoned, like those of Europe and Asia, to play parts tha are never unimportant. Theories concerning the origin of man the nature of his intelligence, his soul, and the original unity of the human species, are everywhere receiving light from philological monuments.

FOURTH SERIES, VOL. XIV.-SEPTEMBER, 1903.

N

Hence it may not be inopportune to place before your readers a brief summary, as far as our knowledge at present goes, of the languages and dialects spoken in the countries round the north-western, northern, and north-eastern shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza, and extending inland for a radius of about three hundred miles. Besides being of some interest to the philologist, it may serve as a basis or guide for future investigation in the same field by those who have time and opportunity at their disposal.

The region known as the Uganda Protectorate has attracted no little attention during the last twenty years. First, after its 'discovery' by Europeans in the reign of King Mutesa (1862), came a series of cruel persecutions of the Christians by his successor King Mwanga; then civil war broke out, followed by the hoisting of the British flag ; the flight and capture of King Mwanga and King Kararega ; the despatch from England of special commissioners sent out to investigate and arrange matters; the Sudanese mutiny and finally the appointment of the present child-king Daudi Chua. The construction of the Mombasa-Lake Victoria Railway—an immense undertaking not yet quite finished -attracted hundreds of Europeans and others to the soil of British East Africa. American engineers also came over in the service of the American Bridge Company, who by their energy and skill added a good deal to the success of the new railway. It may be allowed me to say, that personally, the present writer feels most grateful to the American bridge-makers and to all those Europeans who helped to construct the railway, because no longer shall we, Missionaries, have to tramp on foot the dreary 800 miles between Mombasa and Uganda's capital, as we had to do in 1895. Whereas it occupied us the four months to travel from London to Kampala, the same journey can now be easily accomplished in less than a month. And as the bazurgu (or white men) have already found their way to these inland countries in considerable numbers in the past, it is quite certain that they will come in much larger numbers in the future.

They will come, it may be, in the interest of science, or in the service of our King, or to seek their fortunes in ivory,

rubber, or the gold mines that have yet to be discovered, or God grant, to work for the salvation of souls as foreign missionaries. But in whatever capacity they may come, and if they wish to work in contact with the natives, a knowledge of one or more of the various dialects spoken in the Uganda Protectorate will, undoubtedly, be of the utmost importance for their success. It is therefore, as has been said, in the hope that a brief sketch of what I may call our local dialects may be interesting, and at the same time useful to such future immigrants that the present paper has been compiled.

Every European who lands on the East coast of Africa, between, say, Cape Guardafui and Delagoa Bay, becomes acquainted, more or less, with the language known as Kiswahili,' the lingua franca of East-Central Africa, Zanzibar, and Pemba. In the interior, however, while Kiswahili is most useful for carrying on intercourse with Arab and Swahili traders, it is but little understood and seldom spoken by the natives who have their own tribal dialects. In many instances these dialects differ from one another almost as much as Gaelic does from German or English from Italian; hence it is no slight task to master even one of them, especially those of the Masai-Nandi groups, with their deep guttural and nasal sounds.

In the following synoptic table an attempt has been made to arrange in groups the principal dialects spoken in the Lake Region, and along the banks of the Upper Nile. The region referred to lies between the fifth degree north latitude and the first degree south latitude; the Laikipia Escarpment on the east (near Kikuyu) and the Congo Free State in the West. The total area thus included is reckoned at about 150,000 square miles, according to the boundaries of 1901, with a population of 3,800,000. In addition to this tentative classification of the dialects under different heads, a comparative vocabulary of some well-known words in thirty-five dialects is given, and also the geographical position of the tribes speaking these dialects is stated as correctly as the exigencies of space permit.