AMPHORA

Blue Cloth, Gold Design, 80 pp. price 2s. 6d.

Published by BURNS & OATES, 28 Orchard St., W.

This wonderful collection of Hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary
is the work (so it is said) of a Leading London Actress.

Father Kent writes in "The Tablet": "Among the many books which benevolent publishers are preparing as appropriate Christmas presents we notice many new editions of favourite poetic classics. But few, we fancy, can be more appropriate for the purpose than a little volume of original verses, entitled 'Amphora,' which Messrs. Burns and Oates are on the point of publishing. The following stanzas from a poem on the Nativity will surely be a better recommendation of the book than any words of critical appreciation.

"The Virgin lies at Bethlehem.
(Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!)
The root of David shoots a stem.
(O Holy Spirit, shadow her!)

She lies alone amid the kine.
(Bring gold and frankincense and Myrrh!)
The straw is fragrant as with wine.
(O Holy Spirit shadow her!)"

Lieut.-Col. Gormley writes: "The hymns ordinarily used in churches for devotional purposes are 'no doubt excellent in their way, but it can scarcely be said, in the case of many of them, that they are of much literary merit, and some of them indeed are little above the familiar nursery rhymes of our childhood; it is therefore somewhat of a relief and a pleasure to read the volume of hymns to the Virgin Mary which has just been published by Messrs. Burns and Oats. These hymns to the Virgin Mary are in the best style, they are devotional in the highest degree, and to Roman Catholics, for whom devotion to the Virgin Mary forms so important part of their religious belief, these poems should indeed be welcome; personally I have found them just what I desired, and I have no doubt other Catholics will be equally pleased with them."

"Vanity Fair" says: "To the ordinary mind passion has no relation to penitence, and carnal desire is the very antithesis of spiritual fervour. But close observers of human nature are accustomed to discover an intimate connection between the forces of the body and the soul; and the student of psychology is continually being reminded of the kinship between saint and sinner. Now and then we find the extremes of self and selflessness in the same soul. Dante tells us how the lover kissed the trembling mouth, and with the same thrill describes his own passionate abandonment before the mystic Rose. In our own day, the greatest of French lyric poets, Verlaine, has given us volumes of the most passionate love songs, and side by side with them a book of religious poetry more sublimely credulous and ecstatic than anything that has come down to us from the Ages of Faith. We are all, as Sainte-Beuve said, 'children of a sensual literature,' and perhaps for that reason we should expect from our singers fervent religious hymns.

"There is one of London's favourites almost unrivalled to express by her art the delights of the body with a pagan simplicity and directness. Now she sends us a book, 'Amphora,' a volume of religious verse: it contains song after song in praise of Mary," etc. etc. etc.

The "Scotsman" says: "Outside the Latin Church conflicting views are held about the worship of the Virgin, but there can be no doubt that this motive of religion has given birth to many beautiful pieces of literature, and the poets have never tired of singing variations on the theme of 'Hail, Mary.' This little book is best described here as a collection of such variations. They are written with an engaging simplicity and fervour of feeling, and with a graceful, refined literary art that cannot but interest and attract many readers beyond the circles of such as must feel it religiously impossible not to admire them."

The "Daily Telegraph" says: "In this slight volume we have the utterances of a devout anonymous Roman Catholic singer, in a number of songs or hymns addressed to the Virgin Mary. The author, who has evidently a decided gift for sacred verse and has mastered varied metres suitable to her high themes, divides her poems into four series of thirteen each --- thus providing a song for each week of the year. The songs are all of praise or prayer addressed to the Virgin, and, through many have a touch of mysticism, most have a simplicity of expression and earnestness of devotion that will commend them to the author's co-religionists."

To be obtained of the
WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO. Ltd.
PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. And through all Booksellers

Crown 8vo, Scarlet Buckram, pp. 64.

This Edition strictly limited to 500 Copies.

PRICE 10s

A ∴ A ∴

PUBLICATION IN CLASS B.

BOOK

777

THIS book contains in concise tabulated form a comparative view of all the symbols of the great religions of the world; the perfect attributions of the Taro, so long kept secret by the Rosicrucians, are now for the first time published; also the complete secret magical correspondences of the G.'. D.'. and R. R. et A. C. It forms, in short, a complete magical and philosophical dictionary; a key to all religions and to all practical occult working. For the first time Western and Qabalistic symbols have been harmonized with those of Hinduism, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, Taoism, &ampc. By a glance at Tables, anybody conversant with any one system can understand perfectly all others.

The Occult Review says:

"Despite its cumbrous sub-title and high price per page, this work has only to come under the notice of the right people to be sure of a ready sale. In its author's words, it represents 'an attempt to systematise alike the data of mysticism and the results of comparative religion,' and so far as any book can succeed in such an attempt, this book does succeed; that is to say, it condenses in some sixty pages as much information as many an intelligent reader at the Museum has been able to collect in years. The book proper consists of a Table of 'Correspondences,' and is, in fact, an attempt to reduce to a common denominator the symbolism of as many religious and magical systems as the author is acquainted with. The denominator chosen is necessarily a large one, as the author's object is to reconcile systems which divide all things into 3, 7, 10, 12, as the case may be. Since our expression 'common denominator' is used in a figurative and not in a strictly mathematical sense, the task is less complex than appears at first sight, and the 32 Paths of the Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Formation of the Qabalah, provide a convenient scale. These 32 Paths are attributed by the Qabalists to the 10 Sephiroth, or Emanations of Deity, and to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which are again subdivided into 3 mother letters, 7 double letters, and 12 simple letters. On this basis, that of the Qabalistic 'Tree of Life,' as a certain arrangement of the Sephiroth and 22 remaining Paths connecting them is termed, the author has constructed no less than 183 tables.

"The Qabalistic information is very full, and there are tables of Egyptian and Hindu deities, as well as of colours, perfumes, plants, stones, and animals. The information concerning the tarot and geomancy exceeds that to be found in some treatises devoted exclusively to those subjects. The author appears to be acquainted with Chinese, Arabic, and other classic texts. Here your reviewer is unable to follow him, but his
Hebrew does credit alike to him and to his printer. Among several hundred words, mostly proper names, we found and marked a few misprints, but subsequently discovered each one of them in a printed table of errata, which we had overlooked. When one remembers the misprints in 'Agrippa' and the fact that the ordinary Hebrew compositor and reader is no more fitted for this task than a boy cognisant of no more than the shapes of the Hebrew letters, one wonders how many proofs there were and what the printer's bill was. A knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet and the Qabalistic Tree of Life is all that is needed to lay open to the reader the enormous mass of information contained in this book. The 'Alphabet of Mysticism,' as the author says --- several alphabets we should prefer to say --- is here. Much that has been jealously and foolishly kept secret in the past is here, but though our author has secured for his work the "imprimatur" of some body with the mysterious title of the A ∴ A ∴, and though he remains himself anonymous, he appears to be no mystery-monger. Obviously he is widely read, but he makes no pretence that he has secrets to reveal. On the contrary, he says, 'an indicible arcanum is an arcanum which "cannot" be revealed.' The writer of that sentence has learned at least one fact not to be learned from books.

"G.C.J."

15 & 16 FARRINGDON STREET, LONDON, E.C.
2C

"The Bomb"

By FRANK HARRIS
(Jonn Long. 6/=.)

This sensational novel, by the Well-known Editor of "Vanity Fair, has evoked a chorus of praise from the reviewers, and has been one of the talked-of books of the season. We append a few criticisms: ---

MR. ALEISTER CROWLEY:
"This book is, in truth, a masterpiece; so intense is the impression that one almost asks, 'Is this a novel or a confession? Did not Frank Harris perhaps throw the bomb?' At least he has thrown one now ... This is the best novel I have ever read."

The Times:
"'The Bomb' is highly charged with an explosive bent of Socialistic and Anarchistic matter, wrapped in a gruesome coating of 'exciting' fiction ... Mr. Harris has a real power of realistic narrative. He is at his best in mid-stream. The tense directness of his style, never deviating into verbiage, undoubtedly keeps the reader at grips with the story and the characters."

Morning Post:
"Mr. Frank Harris's first long novel is an extremely interesting and able piece of work. Mr. Harris has certainly one supreme literary gift, that of vision. He sees clearly and definitely everything he describes, and consequently ... is absolutely convincing. Never for a moment do we feel as we read the book that the story is not one of absolute fact, and so convincing in its simplicity and matter-of-factness is Mr. Harris's style that we often accept his psychology before we realize ... on how few grounds it is based. Some of the aspects of modern democracy are treated with astonishing insight and ability, and 'The Bomb' is distinctly not a book to be overlooked."

JACOB TONSON in the New Age:
"The illusion of reality is more than staggering; it is haunting ... Many passages are on the very highest level of realistic art ... Lingg's suicide and death are Titanic ... In pure realism nothing better has been done, and I do not forget Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Illytch!' It is a book very courageous, impulsively generous, and of a shining distinction ..."

Saturday Review:
"He (Mr. Harris) is a born writer of fiction. ... Those two books of his, 'Elder Conklin' and 'Montes, the Matador,' contained the best short stories that have been written. ... Mr. Harris touches a high level of tragic intensity. And the scene of the actual throwing, and then the description of Schnaubelt's flight to New York in a state of mental and physical collapse, are marvels of tense narration. Altogether, the book is a thoroughly fine piece of work, worthy of the creator of Conklin. We hope it is the precursor of many other books from Mr. Harris."

The Nation:
"Mr. Harris has a born writer's eloquence, he has knowledge of his subject, and he often expresses himself with a distinction of phrasing and a precision of thought which give real value to his work."

Daily Telegraph:
"A good book ... this story reads like a page of real life written down by a man who actually did take part in the scenes described so vividly. ... We follow their fortunes breathlessly. ... Descriptions as vivid as any Mr. Upton Sinclair ever painted, and they are never tedious nor overdone. ... We must not leave the tale without mentioning the wonderful love story of Rudoplh and Elsie, a fine piece of psychology, as true as it is moving, and of a quality rarely to be found in fiction."

Stop Press