A Canadian May Queen and Her Court By the Countess of Aberdeen THE MAY QUEEN TO HER COURT AND COUNSELLORS, GREETING. Whereas there be many who do desire to know by what Tokens our Subjects may be known, we would wish that all who appertain to our Court should shew both by Act and Precept that they are striving towards the Ideal Woman, whose shadowy Presence hovers ever about Maidens whose thoughts are pure and lofty. We would have you remember that no Woman can be really strong, gentle, pure, and good without somebody being helped and comforted by the very Existence of that Goodness." Therefore, let these be the Aims of our Court: To store our Minds with the best Thoughts of the best Minds of all Ages. "Until the Habits of the Slave, the Sins of Emptiness, Gossip and Spite and Slander, die." To say nothing but what is kind of the Absent. To enlarge our Sympathies by Intercourse with those whose Lots are harder than our own. To encourage, according to our Opportunities, Movements which may tend to elevate, or to alleviate the Sufferings of Mankind. S OUCH is the form of greeting with which every new member of the Court of the May Queen of Ottawa is received into the royal circle. And true has each successive sovereign and her followers been to the ideals thus adopted as a constitution by the first of the dynasty. Well do I remember the occasion of that fair sovereign's coronation by her self-elected subjects. All nature combined to make that May-day a haunting memory of perfection. The bright Canadian sun shone down on the gardens and woods bedecking themselves with a prodigal profusion of the sweet spring flowers; the bluebirds and robins made melody such as only a North American spring calls forth; and the grounds of Government House were never more richly adorned than when they received within their gates that company of maidens who responded to the herald's summons to assemble around the May-pole and elect one from among themselves to rule over them. The old story of ancient pagan May. day observances and more recent Mayday sports in the days of Good Queen Bess was told again in their hearing, and the origin of the May-pole as the symbol of kingly justice recalled to their minds. The modern revival of May-day ceremonies under Mr. Ruskin's inspiration and idealization was described, and then the royal insignia were brought forth. There were the royal crown made of Nova Scotia's badge of mayflower, the scepter of lovely white trillium and mayflower, the coronation mantle for which the woods around Ottawa had yielded up their sweetest blooms, and the flower wands of office prepared for the Coun selors whom the Queen should presently choose for her chief advisers. Then came the nominations for the queenly office, followed by an election by democratic ballot, and the counting of the votes by regularly appointed returning officers. In due form the result of the ballot was announced, and it was proclaimed that the choice of the maidens of Ottawa had fallen on Ethel Hamilton, daughter of the Bishop of Ottawa. Amidst joyous acclamation the new sovereign was crowned and robed, and, having received the homage of her subjects, was led forth by them to the gardens where were assembled a crowd of Ottawa's citizens eager to know to whom they were to own allegiance. A prettier procession could scarcely be imagined than that which trooped out through the doors of Government House after the flower-laden Queen, surrounded by her body-guard of Counselors bearing their tall flower wands, through the lines of fathers and mothers and brothers and uncles and aunts, who respectfully stood aside until the Queen had been installed on her Coronation Chair and her Court had gathered around her. Then Canada's leading men, her statesmen and her judges, did willing obeisance before the accredited representative of that rising generation whose sway over us we must all sooner or later acknowledge. By command of the Queen, the day was then given up to sports and pastimes. Jack-in-the-Green with his attendant Clown frolicked around, flowergarlanded cows attended by trim dairymaids dispensed syllabub, while around the May-pole gay dancers threaded intricate measures in a maze of colored ribbons. And so the day waned amid laughter and gayeties, and the glories of the day passed into the beauty of the moonlight, leaving ineffacable memories in the hearts of those who cherished high aspirations for the Canada of the future. But that May-day was productive of far more than memories. Six years have passed since that May-day; successive Queens have occupied the May Court throne, and have proved no mere rulers of a day. The flower of Ottawa's girlhood, gathered around that throne, have made its beneficent sway an acknowledged power in the capital of the fair Dominion. Queen after Queen has added to the institutions of the kingdom, and it would be difficult in the space of a short article even to name them all. As of right, the May Queen has her own secluded bower for herself and the hundred young maids and more who form her following, and here week by week she assembles her Court for many and manifold purposes. There are the Club mornings, when members of the May Court Club discuss the events of the day and read short papers on various topics. Here, for instance, was the fortnightly programme for the last season: 'Jane Austen," by Miss Kingsford. "Mme. Mohl," by Miss Norah Shaw. "Lady Palmerston, Lady Beaconsfield, Lady Holland," by Miss Borden. Princess de Lieven," by Lady Eileen Elliot. "Mrs. Oliphant," by Miss B. Lindsay. "George Eliot," by Miss Dawson. "Baroness Cecile de Courtot," by Miss E. Cotton. "E. B. Browning," by Miss J. White. Then there is the Sewing Committee who work for the hospitals, and for poor families which are recommended for help by the Victorian Order of Nurses in their district work. There is a committee which arranges concerts and entertainments for the inmates of the Incurables Hospital and other institutions, and there is a band of girls who hold a song service at the same hospital every Sunday. Books and flowers are also collected and taken to the patients at the hospitals, and Christmas trees are provided and dressed for the sick children. Then, again, the May Court members work in co-operation with a Benefit Club of the girls employed at the Government Printing Bureau, visiting and taking an interest in girls who are disabled by illness. Besides the Club mornings the May Court promotes the intellectual and artistic sides of life by courses of lectures kindly given by distinguished pro fessors every winter, and by exhibitions of the handiwork of its members. On both these occasions the Court throws open its doors to the outside public, and thereby is enabled to replenish its treasury for its various activities and charities by the proceeds of tickets for the lectures, and by the sale of the really charming bits of painting, carving, embroidery, etc., produced by May Queen maidens. Each of the three Queens who have been elected has been re-elected with acclamation for a second term of sovereignty, and Queen Ethel I., Queen Ethel II., and Queen Millie have each provided new openings for the development of the talents of their subjects, and one very fruitful departure has been made in the inauguration of a Junior Club for girls still at school. These younger girls take no part in the management of the Club, nor can they serve on its committees, but they can attend the lectures, and they take great interest in meetings of their own, when they make dolls, scrapbooks, and children's clothes for the hospitals. The social duties of the Court are not neglected, and from time to time we hear of dainty tea-parties, and once a year the Queen and her Court repair to Government House to pay their respects T to the King's representative, by special invitation of her Excellency the Countess of Minto, who has ever manifested a close personal interest in all the doings of the May Queen's Court and Club. Who will set a bound to the influences of such a sovereignty? It offers the opportunity for the closest of relationships in work and play, in helpful thought for others, and in self-culture, all combined in a common striving after the ideal, under the guidance of a leader elected by her fellows as one worthy to lead, as one most worthy of their love and loyalty. Thus it unites the ideal and the practical, and fills up the often difficult years of girlhood with wholesome stimulus to self-training and to co-operation with others in works of charity and usefulness. We can only wish that the girls going out in society in every capital of the world would follow the example of the girls of Ottawa, and find their Queen, and lay their hands in hers, and swear to reverence her as if she were their conscience, and follow her in all beautiful and noble words and deeds. This world would be the better for many more such courts presided over by queens realizing in modern life the dreams of King Arthur and his Order of the Round Table. The Beginnings of Christianity' HIS work by one of the more distinguished of the younger European theologians appeared some years since, and is now first presented in an English dress. It embodies radical criticism of the New Testament writings together with a sublime conception of the spiritual greatness of Jesus. A large legendary element is attributed to the Gospels, including with many miracles the story of the virgin birth and the resurrection appearances. As to the latter, it is conceded that there was a "real projection of Jesus into this The Beginnings of Christianity. By Paul Wernle, Professor Extraordinary of Modern Church History at the University of Basel. Translated by the Rev. G. A. Bienemann, M.A., and edited with an Introduction by the Rev. W. D. Morrison, LL.D. Vol. I., The Rise of the Religion. (Theological Translation Library, Vol. XV.) G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. world of sense by means of a vision.” Yet the faith of the disciples was by no means founded on a mere vision. The vision derived its effectiveness in producing faith in the risen Jesus from the deep impression that the living Jesus. had made. Of this the lofty self-consciousness of Jesus is a chief factor. Taking what appears of this in the Synoptics only, Professor Wernle pronounces it "more than merely human.” This, he says, is "the mystery of the origin of Christianity," a fact to be accepted as incontrovertible. But the deification of Jesus by the Church is held to be invalidated by Jesus' clear and constant recognition of his limitations in a humble subjection to God. His ultimate aim was "so to unite God and man as he was united to God." And precisely in this was the redemption which he brought to his disciples, transforming men of the world into men of God. The summary of this redemption, and the bond between Jesus and his disciples, is the Lord's Prayer. "He that can really pray it—not as a mere formula-has reached that stage beyond which nothing higher is to be looked for under the present conditions of existence." With true spiritual insight Professor Wernle has thus recognized the Godconsciousness of Jesus as the most significant and most influential trait of his personality. But such insight does not always appear in Professor Wernle's judgment. It is surprising to find him citing the opening sentences of the Fourth Gospel as exhibiting a defective monotheism," which places 'a' God, the Logos, by the side of 'the' God." The subtle philosophers who chose the term "Logos" to represent the Eternal Reason whereby God made all things, the Divine Thought which found utterance in creation as a Divine Word, could never have dreamed of such a misconception. But philosophy is not Professor Wernle's strong point. Else how could he speak of the late Jewish belief in angels as indicating a defective and impure monotheism? The grand reforming element in Jesus' teachings is, in Professor Wernle's view, his demand for the sanctification of all life and work in the world. He transferred the service of God from occasional ceremonies to daily duties. He eliminated what was narrowly Jewish in ethics, and substituted what was broadly human. He" discovered the eternal in man," and laid down everlasting principles of conduct. All this Professor Wernle strongly emphasizes. Here also he again surprises us by the remark that an "incomplete knowledge of the law was . . . the cause of an entire deception on the part of Jesus." In what, pray, did this" self-deception" consist? Apparently in this, that Jesus did not know what he was doing when "he separated the human or non-Jewish element from the rest of the law, gave Jewish maxims an entirely contrary meaning, deepened and combined all that was limited and transitory." He "overlooked," he "concealed from himself," the fact that the Mosaic law was more on the side of his opponents than on his side. The charge of self-deception has been made by other critics, but never in greater inconsistency with their own admissions than here. In this connection a piece of the most arbitrary criticism stands forth, denying the genuineness. of Jesus' saying, "I came not to destroy but to fulfill the law," because "its form betrays a theologian," while Jesus" was a layman, but moderately acquainted with the law-had perchance never studied it at all.” The keynote of Jesus' teaching the author finds in his frequent phrase, "The Kingdom of God." To promote it, to realize it in this world, is the effort and hope of Christian philanthropists and reformers. There are parables of Jesus (the mustard-seed, the leaven, the secretly growing seed) which appear to hold forth that hope. But Professor Wernle has satisfied himself that "that which is great and new in Jesus is not to be found in the thought of a present and immanent kingdom of God-thoughts which Jesus himself soon abandoned, and which have never been a motive-power in history." How far Jesus was from abandoning that conception of the kingdom appears in his combining with his prediction of the catastrophe of Judaism a prediction of the Gentile church: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." How much of a motive-power in history the thought of the kingdom is, appears late, but appears clearly in the modern missions of Christianity. These betoken a power already effective for much, and certain to be effective for more. In general, Professor Wernle's account of the eschatological feature of Jesus' teachings is marked by an excessive literalism. He makes no allowance for metaphor, or for the picturesque imagery of Oriental language in the style of the Hebrew prophets. It certainly is hasty and superficial to attribute to Jesus a belief that "the end of the world was near," with the issues of final judgment in "everlasting bliss or everlasting torment." A sounder criticism holds that the Evangelists' report of Jesus' predictions of the impending catastrophe of Judaism were colored by their prepossessions derived from current apocalyptic writings. The marginal readings of our Revised Version, not to mention the Greek text presumably familiar to Professor Wernle, dispose of the fallacy about the "end of the world." The foregoing comments indicate what seem to be the merits and the defects of Professor Wernle's work, of which only the more important part comes within our present limits. The remainder, rather more than half of the volume, is devoted to St. Paul and his transformation of Christianity from a Palestinian sect into a world-religion. Here Professor Wernle's views can only be summarily indicated. Paul maintains the demand of Jesus in its sublimity, but not uniformly so. In Jesus' work salvation was simply a matter of experience. His disciples were just the children of God confiding in God as their Father. Paul first constructed a theory of salvation based on this experience. He "united the Gospel of Jesus with a cosmology and a theology which, in spite of many Jewish conceptions, was bound to be welcomed by the decaying ancient world on account of its pessimism, its new myths, its ideal, its doctrine of hope." Professor Wernle's general attitude toward St. Paul's theology may be estimated by his remark that "Jesus is our Saviour from the theologians." But the strong dissent which he frequently provokes must be balanced by grateful recognition of his chief meritthe primacy he everywhere gives to ethical interests, his indication of the spiritual grandeur and uniqueness of Jesus, his insistence on Jesus' gift to the world as a new spirit and life in sonship to God. Books of the Week This report of current literature is supplemented by fuller reviews of such books as in the judgment of the editors are of special importance to our readers. Any of these books will be sent by the publishers of The Outlook, postpaid, to any address on receipt of the published price, with postage added when the price is marked “net.” American Pauperism and the Abolition of Poverty. By Isador Ladoff. With a Supplement, "Jesus or Mammon." By J. Felix. Charles H. Kerr & Co., Chicago. 4×7 in. 230 pages. 50c. Australia, Our Colonies, and Other Islands of the Sea. (Geographical Reader.) By Frank G. Carpenter. Illustrated. The American Book Co., New York. 5x7 in. 388 pages. Coughs, Colds, and Catarrh, How to Avoid. By Albert Rufus Baker, M.D. (Revised Edition.) The Arthur H. Clarke Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 5x8 in. 24 pages. 50c. Dialogue (A). By A. H. Gilkes. Long mans, Green & Co., New York. 4x6 in. 86 pages. 50c. This indifferent title introduces an entertaining passage-at-arms between a modern Socrates and three bishops of the Church of England. Mr. Gilkes tells us that his object is "partly to exemplify the position of Socrates at Athens, and to account for his unpopularity." What he has further in mind seems to be to "take down" the bishops. The subject matter of the dialogue consists of ecclesiastical and theological questions at present attracting much attention. "Mr. Smith," a layman, acts the part of Socrates by putting questions in a way that leads the bishops to discomfiture, and loses thereby a position for which he had been recommended. Die Chemie im täglichen Leben. By Professor Dr. Lassar-Cohn. Edited by Neil C. Brooks, Ph.D. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. 44×6 in. 130 pages. Early Story of Israel (The). By Evelyn L. Thomas. Illustrated. Longmans, Green & Co., New York. 5×634 in. 151 pages. 90c., net. The story as given in the Bible is judiciously condensed, with occasional practical comments on its lessons. Notices of the Chaldean legends parallel with the early narratives of Genesis, and a brief account of the religion of Egypt, are interwoven with the Hebrew history in a way worth imitating in similar books. Horace. By Pierre Corneille. Edited by John E. Matzke, Ph.D. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. 44X621⁄2 in. 144 pages. How to Get the Best Out of Books. By Richard Le Gallienne. The Baker & Taylor Co., New York. 5x8 in. 167 pages. $1.25, net. The papers collected under this title, with one exception, have appeared in print and doubtless have accomplished their aim, to a large extent. They are addressed to the ordinary man, the business man, and are quite free from any sign of condescension. Many sentences invite quotation, and many bits of advice are most friendly. Mr. Le Gallienne thinks a good way to begin a |