the State be prepared to enter into those relations in which other countries, being Roman Catholic, stand towards the Holy See. On the other side, let the Pope, at the head of a Council, be animated with the same desire; let language, that wondrous engine that can excite and calm the various emotions of the human breast, and by nicely tempered shades of meaning has healed a thousand feuds,-let language be consecrated to the cause of peace; then, if the Holy Spirit do not descend upon the assembled fathers, and bind hands and hearts together in firm and lasting amity-then I may begin to doubt whether reconciliation be possible, but not till then.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CEREMONIES.

THERE are frequent complaints—indeed, among us Protestants there are nothing but complaints-of the elaborate character of the Roman Catholic ritual, of the multitude of minute and apparently unmeaning ceremonies used in their Services; and upon this subject we are accustomed to express ourselves in an off-hand manner, in terms not very courteous, nor altogether charitable. Now, it is far from my wish to stand forward the apologist of any thing which I know to be wrong; nevertheless, I think that before things are condemned they ought to be understood; and I am by no means fully persuaded that the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church are properly understood by us. The Roman Catholics, and not they only, but the body of Christians, Protestants excepted, believe the great central point of religious worship to be the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ. They

found this opinion on the solemn institution of this great commemorative rite on the evening of our Lord's betrayal, in His almost dying words, "Do this in remembrance of me ;" and on the declaration of the Apostle," As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lord's death till He come." They believe the rite to be an action, a representation, a "shewing," as the Apostle calls it, "the Lord's death till he come;" words accompanying the action, but subordinate to it. I do not intend to go into the question whether this view be right or wrong; I speak of it as I find it—a fact; and, being so, just as in an eloquent discourse it would seem rather hypercritical to complain of the studied, artistical arrangement of the words and sentences which compose it; so in an action, the purpose of which, like that of the discourse, is to produce the deepest impression, we are scarcely at liberty to find fault with attention and finish in the lesser parts, which combine to produce the effect intended.

As there are many of us who оссаsionally visit Roman Catholic chapels in this country, and a great many more who frequent the churches on the Continent; and as some of us not unfrequently walk and talk during the Services, or gaze round with a wandering and distracted air, and go away in virtuous

horror with a word of summary condemnation on our lips, impressing those who see and hear us with the notion-I am happy to write most unfounded-that we who shew so little respect for the religion of other countries have none of our own, I will gladly avail myself of a little pamphlet in explanation of the Service of the Roman Catholics, printed at Prior Park, and drawn up by the Bishop of the district. I shall take the Roman Catholic Service to the end of what in old time was called the Mass of the Catechumens, ending with the Nicene Creed, and corresponding to our Communion Service. The first ceremony is sprinkling the holy water. "This ceremony is to remind us of the necessity of entering with purity of heart, having washed away the iniquities and distractions of the world. In the court before the entrance of many of the ancient churches there was a fountain, in which the persons about to enter washed their hands or feet, to denote the purity of heart they should possess. It is an emblematic ceremony, calculated to excite our devotion and fix our attention; the water is blessed, as, according to St. Paul, every creature may be sanctified, by the word of God and by prayer." The priest then comes to the foot of the altar, expressive of his desire to approach it; he makes the sign of the cross, by which, “from the very origin of Christianity, the true believers

brought to their recollection the fact of Christ having died upon a cross, and from which death they expected every blessing. Tertullian, in the year 250, mentions it as their usual practice upon every occasion." He bows down, as a posture of humility; he then goes up to the altar, to express his confidence in God. Formerly the chasuble was closed, on account of which" the deacon and subdeacon lifted up the sides, so as to leave the priest's hands free; at present, though the chasuble be open, they retain the old custom, and hold it at each side." The priest next blesses the incense, and perfumes the altar; "so that by this perfume ascending in clouds of smoke to heaven, the faithful might be taught, that if they attended with proper dispositions, their prayers and sacrifices would ascend to God with an odour of sweetness pleasing in His sight." After which he goes to the book and reads the introit; he then leaves the book and comes to the middle of the altar, and, with the deacon or sub-deacon, repeats "thrice kyrie eleison in honour of the Father, thrice kyrie eleison in honour of the Son, and thrice kyrie eleison in honour of the Holy Ghost. This ancient custom has subsisted at all times in the Church." The angelic hymn, or Gloria in excelsis, is the next part of the Mass. The celebrant says the first words, and is then joined by the choir; "the mystic