IN A FEW WORDS

Flout, Jeer or Mock
THE Editor of the Church Timee atill intersperses his bland, soothing, mollifying and polite (the dictionary's synonyms for suave) comments en the way of the world with a dirty flout, jeer, or mock (the dictionary's synonyms for gibe) at the Holy See. Last week, for example, he wrote: " The scathing denunciation of Russian and German brutality in Poland by the Vatican radio has considerable significance, since it is almost certain that it would not have been made without Signor Mussolini's approval." Apart from the insulting supposition that the Holy See would obtain the Duce's approval before speaking out on a religious and moral question, Mr Dark betrays his ignorance about the Vatican radio, which is wholly unofficial and in no sense a mouthpiece of the Holy See, unless explicitly stated to be so for a special occasion. We note here with some amusement that this paper has never been referred to in the columns of the Church Times ever since we printed Fr. Woodlocir's scathing denunciation of Sidney Dark's so-called War Against God.
Left-Wing Party
A FRIEND tells me that he went late week to a large party to which anyone who was anyone in the LeftWing was invited by Mr Gollancz. The party was not such a success because the guests divided themselves into two hostile groups — those who backed Russia against Finland and those who backed Penland against Russia_ Mr e'rollancz himself, / am happy to report, sided with the latter half.
A Weather Story
THE Ministry of Information, I see, has taken my advice and released the report that the weather has been cooler of late. It has not, however, reported the story I heard from a country district. A man filled his glass with beer, and, being called away, left it standing on the kitchen table. When he came back he found the glass cracked into two pieces and the beer standing solid ot the table
Irish Blood
I RECOMMEND as a solution to these 1 Irish controversies the suggestion of the Editor of the Month, speaking recently at the Servite Hall, Chelsea, on Catholics and peace. He playfully suggested that a possible cure for the extreme docility of the German people to their leaders might be to infuse some Irish blood into them!
Personality Publicity
I REPRODUCE the latest thing in 1 Foreign Missionary propaganda. It pictures Dr. Joan Lamplugh bringing progress to Central Africa. Dr. Lamplugh, as I have explained before, is
trying to collect essential Medical equipment to take with her to Chilubl, in Northern Rhodesia, for the leper colony to which she will devote herself.
She writes on the back of the postcard carrying this Illustration: " This— which is a fairly good likeness—is a first concession to the 'personality publicity, which I can see is more effective than the impersonal."
I agree and think that the importation of a sense of fun into the appeal work of the Missions would help a lot.
The Name of Mary
DONALD ATTWATER, in Nantes and 2f ante-Days, says that Metre is the normal Irish form of Mary, as a woman's name, and that Muire "is used
in Ireland exclusively for the Blessed Virgin Mary."
This statement, our Irish correspondent tells me, needs a small amendment. Moire is used in writing Wherever Mary is a Biblical name. However, it is true that in Irish speech Muire is reserved to Our Lady, and it often has been noted ae a mark pf Irish reverence for the Mother of God that a different form is used for women named after her.
How Miles Arose
H0W the differentiation arose is explained by Dr. Gerard Murphy, editor, In the recently-founded Journal of Irish Studies entitled Riese.
Dr. Murphy tells how the names of the Biblical Marys were taken into the Irish language in the " Old period (down to the 9th century) from Latin sources. Maria, with a short a, yielded Muire, by phonetic laws—pronounced Mwirra, with slender r. In the Gospel, this form is used for all the Biblical Maryz.
Before the Anglo-Normans invaded Ireland saints' names were not given to Irish children, except with the•reverential prefix Mczol, meaning devotee or client, so that we find Mtual-Muire, Client of Mary, used as a man's name—the name commonly anglicised as Myles in later days.
And Malone
WITH the Anglo-Norman invaders came the custom of baptising children with saints' names and no prefix. It now became usual for girls to be named after Our Lady, and the Norman-French form of the name, Marie, was adopted, yielding, in Gaelic phonetics, 1Viaire, with a long a.
The same process, Dr. Murphy points out, is seen in the bifurcation of Eoin and Seen or Shaun, for John. The ancient Irish took Eoin from Johannes, but used it only for the Biblical Johns. If a boy child was to be named after St. John as his patron, be would be called Maol-Eoin, which we know nowadays as Malone. When the AngloNorman custom came in, the AngloNorman form, Jehan, was adopted, becoming in Gaelic spelling Senile!" or Seen, pronounced Shaun,
Miss Unity Milford
AN evening paper the other night justified the Paramount news-reel burlesque of Miss Unity Mitford's return to England as a revival of the spirit of eighteenth century satire. I suppose that's one way of looking at it. I doubt whether Pope, Swift, or Dryden would have seen a sick girl who had championed an unpopular cause and suffered grievously for it as a target worthy of their bravest shafts. / have a suspicion their ironic fancy would have been more tickled by the high civic indignation of the popular Press at the publicity Miss Mitford's return excited; a publicity, needless to say, stimulated and kept up by the same papers over a considerable period. Miss Mitford, as these writers properly but belatedly observe. is a figure of no importance in world or home politics.
" I Am Alive" OUIl Correepondent at The Hague, Mr Herbert Antcliffe, has sent us a letter pointing out that as far as he can ascertain at the moment he is not, as Borne periodicals have reported, dead.
In fact, he Is still busy writing for a number of periodicals and newspapers published in four different continents.
Three " Hail Mary's"
MGR. J. F. McNTULTY'S easy and pleasant style in after dinner speaking is recalled by two stories I heard recently attributed to such a postprandial effort. He was illustrating the necessity of making oneself clear, especially to children, adepts in logical
misunderstanding. Having heard the Confession of a small child, said the Bishop, a priest of his acquaintance said, "Now, for your penance, child, say three 'Hall Mary's '." "Please, Father, I can't," replied the child, "I only know one!"
Time for Confession
THE second story related to a big Manchester parish which has over 10,000 Catholics. Here the rule was that children should make their confessions on Saturday mornings. When the senior curate found a little boy in the confessional one Saturday evening he scolded him, saying, "You've no business to be here now, ray boy. Don't you know yOu should have come this morning?" "Please, Father, I hadn't any sin to confess till half-past five!" piped up a little voice, JOTTER • 91" pen.