have as to its merits." Now the gentleman so addressed being a retired merchant, who has made a conscience of including a stated time for reading, in the round of amusements in which his life has past for the last six years, and who is just beginning to pique himself upon the acquisition of considerable taste and judgment in literature, is hooked at the instant. He acknowledges the vicar's civility with much warmth, and so thoroughly does he relish it, that he forthwith adjourns to his easy chair, mounts his spectacles, and, without attending to the remaining contents of the parcel, falls to business upon the recommended volume with his paperknife.

To the eldest son of this family, who having come off in the last examination third boy of his form, has just arrived from school in all the pomp and dignity of a black tail-coat and a white neckcloth, the vicar hands" Hymni Ecclesiæ," the Oxford edition, with Mr. Newman's glozing preface.

To the lady of the house, whose mental faculties a course of sermons the vicar is now preaching upon the nature of the Presence in the Eucharist has already thrown into a most desirable. state of mystification, he offers "Johnson's Unbloody Sacrifice," remarking, at the same time, with an air of affectionate and almost tender solicitude, that he thought on her when the bookseller proposed putting that book also into the parcel.

With the young ladies of the party," The Cherwell Waterlily," the nouvellettes of Paget, Gresley, and Sewell, and the just published translations of the wild romances of the clever, but offensively papistical, La Motte Fouqué, find rapturous acceptance; while the little ones absolutely scream with delight when the packet of gaudily-illustrated children's books, which the vicar has selected for their edification, is displayed before them. He succeeds, in short, in everything. The gentleman requests that the rest of the volumes of the Anglo-Catholic Library may be sent to him, and gives his name as a subscriber to the series. The lady puts into the vicar's hands carte blanche for whatever works he may see fit to order the bookseller to send up for herself and her children, and the young gentleman translates the "Inter flores luditis" for his sisters, and bores his entire acquaintance with the beauties of "Stabat Mater dolorosa."

By this dextrous manœuvre the purveyance of the entire pabulum animi of the victimized family is in the hands of the vicar. Matters are now brought to the position that a confederate may be introduced with advantage, to assist in the working of the scheme. The vicar introduces to the lady one of his curates; a delicate fragile young gentleman, whose dress conforms in every

point to the utmost rigidity of clerical punctilio, and having that peculiar, transparent pallor of complexion, which the ladies at once accept as a proof that he fasts often, but which rather suggests to a medical eye the frequent use of the lancet.1 This gentleman is from henceforth a morning, noon, and night visitant; but it must needs be acknowledged, that, though a rather interesting, he is a particularly insipid, person with the ladies. In the vicar's presence he never opens his lips. In the vicar's absence he never speaks but upon one theme, and that is the praises of the vicar: some eloquent passage in a sermon, some choice expression that lately fell from his lips, are the staple of his conversation in female society. He also makes himself disagreeable by occasionally reminding the lady of " the Hour," and offering to accompany her to the oratory. He moreover so very frequently, in the course of his calls, drops the remark, "To-morrow is Litany-day, and the vicar hopes to see you all at church; "To-morrow is Saint So-and-So's day, and you know that the eve of a festival is a fast; " that the young ladies soon guess at the fact, that the making of this communication is the true object of his visit.

or,

On this point a very obvious disunion has already taken place between the heads of the family. The temper of the lady has undergone a change at least as remarkable as that of her religious opinions. From an amiable affectionate wife, a kind tender mother, and a pleasant hospitable hostess, she has become morose, obstinate, self-willed, and irascible in all the relations of life. She scolds her husband, thwarts and irritates her children, tyrannizes over her servants, and insults her friends. Should a single syllable of dissent from any one of the sayings or doings of our beloved vicar" be heard by her, no matter by whom uttered, her fury is perfectly ungovernable. The authority of the vicar is one from which she brooks no appeal from any one-from her husband least of all. Upon the subject of fasting she is absolutely resolved that the whole house shall fast, and that the provision for fastdays shall be strictly canonical. The husband resists, and hence arises a series of bickerings and heart-burnings, which are the first blossoms of the system of direction we are endeavouring to describe.

1 The practice of bleeding is carried to a fearful extent in the convents. It is repeatedly hinted at in the works before us. The young priests in France, who profess to be devóts, make no secret of the practice. It has been hinted, that it is not altogether unknown in the Church of England. We can only say, that there is a wonderful coincidence between the saintly paleness of certain reverend young gentlemen of decided Tractarian views, and that of their French brethren; and that this complexion is not produced by fasting, as any man may convince himself of by comparing it with that of a starving beggar.

The same evil flower however appears in other parts of the tree. The well-bled piece of wax-work we have just described, though insipid and tame enough to the ladies, and though his mincing effeminacy is utterly loathsome to the father, is nevertheless boundless in his attentions to our young friend in the tail-coat. He is never weary of repeating Latin hymns and of initiating him into the mysteries of the Leonine measure. He lends him a copy of the Breviary, shows him how to use it, invites him to his lodgings to examine an illuminated missal of which he is the fortunate possessor, and proposes that they shall meet daily to study plain song and ecclesiology.

In a very few days the young gentleman discovers that the clergyman with whom he has been studying is a mere "low churchman!" He frequently repeats this discovery to his mother and sisters, and descants upon the Bible expositions, family prayers, missionary meetings, and other abominations to which he is subjected at school, with a horror, the vehemence of which is only to be rivalled by the recency of its appearance. Mamma at least does not discourage this style of remark, and is evidently not displeased at the growing discontent of her son with his preceptor, who is an old and intimate friend of her husband's. At length the neverfailing counsellor, the vicar, is consulted by her upon this point, as one upon which she begins to feel considerable uneasiness. The vicar receives her communication with an air of unusually sympathizing interest; then with the candour that belongs to his nature, praises the scholarship, the aptitude to teach, and other good qualities in his reverend brother; but concludes with a lamentation over certain peculiarities in his religious opinions. The subject is now dropped, and for several days forgotten: in fact, the vicar is from home. On his return, he of course calls again, is very full of many things he has heard and seen in his absence, and amongst the rest he casually mentions a scholastic institution, of which a particular friend of his is at the head; one of the Bishop of Exeter's "sound churchmen and ripe scholars." There was much that interested in him it; though he cannot say that he entirely approves of every thing that he saw there. He proceeds to describe minutely the rules and proceedings of this happy party, as he cannot help acknowledging them to be-the young gentleman being present of course. The delicately conscientious principal has excluded the classics altogether from his course of instruction, and his pupils acquire the learned languages from the Christian fathers. They likewise attend morning and evening service at the church, which is close by the school. Those of the pupils who are designed for the priesthood wear surplices at church.

The clergyman, his family, and some of the neighbouring gentry, receive the sacrament daily, and those of the pupils that wish it, enjoy the inestimable privilege of being permitted to remain in church, and witness the ceremony. On all saint-days and Sundays full cathedral services are performed, in which the pupils take part as choristers. On the greater festivals, the pupils and the Sunday-school children walk in procession round the garden, before entering the church, the former arrayed in garments of black and white serge, and singing the Latin hymns proper to the

service.

At Christmas and Easter they have a midnight procession with pictures and images; and each child holds a long wax taper lighted. The vicar is particular eloquent and graphic in describing the fine effects produced in the all but dark church as the long line of wax lights passes the richly-storied windows; and afterwards as they slowly file into the church and gradually dissipate the deep gloom that broods in the pillared side-aisles and groined roof until the whole is in a blaze of light, when suddenly a burst of harmony from the organ announces the commencement of the service, and the fine tenor voice of the chapel-master intones the solo of Pergolesi's laudate pueri dominum-the choral accompaniment being taken up by the children with admirable precision. He enters into many other particulars, every one of which a looker-on can perceive to be addressed either to the mother or the son, and, without introducing any other subject, rises and takes his leave.

Well played, this is a sure card. Both mother and son are utterly unsettled as to the present arrangement. If the father be in a practicable condition, the attack is commenced forthwith, and the boy is at once removed from his school and added to the happy party we have described. If considerable difficulty is anticipated in this quarter, by the express order of the vicar, the subject is never once mentioned to him, but the boy returns to his former teacher. A change, however, of a very extraordinary character has come over him. He can talk of nothing but "our devoted vicar” and his proceedings. His bowings, prostrations, and genuflexions at church afford considerably more amusement than edification to his fellow-students. He is singularly pugnacious, boisterous, and obstinate in defence of what he calls church principles. When however requested to define what he means by this oft-repeated phrase, the account he is able to give amounts to very little more than that he is ready to die for them. He receives a letter weekly from his new friend, full of exhortations to boldness in the profession of catholic truth in the den of heresy in which he re

sides. In a word, he conducts himself in such a manner, that at the end of the quarter, the father is surprised by a letter from his friend complaining of the extraordinary change which has taken place in his son, and suggesting his removal, as on the whole desirable under the circumstances. The father is surprised and grieved, but there is no remedy. He remits his friend the half year's salary in a letter full of misgivings as to the issue of this new doctrine, the young gentleman of course goes to the happy party, and from thence to Oriel, where for a moment we will leave him.

The disunion in this unhappy family is now increasing every day. The father's doubts and the lady's obstinacy advance continually. The former discovers that by an agency he cannot very well comprehend, he is no longer at home in his own house. Some previous arrangement, in which directly or indirectly the vicar is sure to be a party, render the accomplishment of any proposal of his own invariably impossible. He cannot go from home when he wishes, for he is wanted for some public meeting in favour of one of the vicar's schemes; he can neither see his own friends nor visit them, for his house is never free of engagements of one kind or other connected with the vicar. Much against his will his youngest daughter accompanies a lady of rank, to whom the vica has introduced her, and who takes a fancy to her, on a tour to Italy. He protests against it; he forbids it; but he is wheedled by the girl and overborne by his wife and the vicar. A few months elapse in this uncomfortable way, and then the same post brings him two letters,-the one from his son, informing him that the day on which he writes he has professed the holy Roman faith, and been received into full communion with the one church by Dr. Wiseman at Oscott. The other is from the lady to which his youngest daughter was entrusted. She writes in the utmost consternation to inform him of the sudden and unaccountable disappearance of his daughter. Another day or two of uncertainty and agony, and the mystery is cleared by the daughter's farewell letter to her parents, informing them that she has entered upon the noviciate, and has resolved to take the veil immediately. She gives no address nor any other particulars, for her letter was posted at Marseilles, and had evidently been conveyed thither by some private hand. All inquiries have hitherto been totally unavailing, though some years have elapsed since the transaction.

We had noted many passages in the books both of Michelet and Quinet, some for approval, some for disapproval. We were also prepared with a brief resumé of the history of the Ultra-montane and Gallican parties in the Church of France; of the latter of