“The Mormons Unmasked.”—This powerful exposure, by Mr. C. Sheridan Jones, referred to in an opening article, may be had from Messrs. Jarrold & Sons, Warwick Lane, London, E.C., for 1/- net, postage 2½d. extra. Mr. Jones writes in a very fair style—perhaps complimentary at times to an unnecessary degree, for all he can praise is only courage in delusion and prosperity in wickedness—but his condemnation of Mormonism is none the less straight and telling. The book is decidedly worth the money and is fitted to be a most useful beacon light in regard to a horrible evil.
The Pope’s Blessing.—A writer in the English Churchman, some time since, quotes the following incidents to show that the Pope’s blessing is “dear at any price”:—”The Pope sent his special blessing to King Bomba of Naples. In less than twelve months that king lost his crown and kingdom. The Pope sent his blessing to Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria. Within a year the Emperor was defeated at Sadowa and lost his Venetian dominions. The Pope blessed Queen Isabella of Spain, and soon afterwards she was deprived of her crown. The Pope blessed Louis Napoleon, or rather the Empress Eugenie. In less than a year France was defeated by Protestant Germany and its Emperor fled into exile. The Pope sent his special blessing to Boulanger. Within a fortnight Boulanger fled for his life and died a violent death. The Pope blessed Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico. Shortly afterwards Maximilian was killed. His wife became insane after receiving the Papal benediction at Rome. The Pope blessed an English steamer bound for South America with Sisters of Charity in 1870. Every soul on board perished. In August, 1895, the Archbishop of Damascus, addressing the Spanish troops at Vittoria before they started for Cuba, said: ‘The Pope, like another Moses, had raised his hands towards heaven and was praying that the Angel of Victory might accompany the Spanish Army.’ Despite the Pope’s blessing and prayers, the Spanish troops were ignominiously defeated. On 4th May, 1897, the Papal Nuncio pronounced a solemn blessing upon the Grand Bazaar de Charite in Paris. Five minutes later the building was in flames and some 150 lives were lost.”
Origin of Life.—The Annual Meeting of the British Association for the study of scientific subjects was held this year at Dundee. The opening address was delivered on the 4th September by the President, Dr. Schafer, Professor of Physiology in the Edinburgh University. His subject was “The Origin of Life,” and he declared in plain terms his adherence to the theory of evolution. The advocates of this unbelieving scheme have been rather shy and silent of late years, but Dr. Schafer is determined to give the business a new impulse. At the same time we believe he has been quite unsuccessful in doing so, for his argument lacked logical coherence and may be shown to contain its own confutation. He denies the supernatural origin of life, and holds that men may yet be able to produce “life” by a chemical process. Professor Schafer expects the impossible. We may return to this subject.