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inscribed on their outer margin. Along the north and south sides of the nave, are hung paintings of the Cross and some others. In the nave on the north side of the chancel is a small altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on the south, one of S. Ansgarius. These were fancifully arranged as side tables, the crucifix standing in its place in the middle, but candles and flower vases being arranged in a semicircle in front of it, so that, unless mass were celebrated at the north or south "corners" or "ends," the whole, except the crucifix, had to be removed. But the number of protestant novelties is far greater than the number of Roman novelties. The pews are high and furnished with doors, having locks and keys, so that strangers cannot intrude on the proprietors. The organ and singers are in a gallery at the west end. Every altar has a nice pillow (colours various) at the north and south ends, according to "Anglican use." Instead of the Introits, Gloria in excelsis, Credo, Sanctus, &c., of the Church, metrical hymns and paraphrases in Danish are sung, which according to the untruthful phraseology of Lutheranism are called not hymns, but psalms. There is mass at least three times every morning. During the third mass on S. John the Baptist's day, at which I was present, the priest read in a low voice, but during the whole time the organ was played, and during most of it, these Danish hymns were sung; besides the two lights on the high altar at which the mass was said, two were also lit during this mass, on the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but none on the altar of S. Ansgarius; indeed his seemed quite neglected, for one or two ladies themselves laid or offered bouquets of flowers on the altar of the Blessed Virgin, and many knelt a minute before it, (although there was no tabernacle there) as they left the church, but none recognised the altar of S. Ansgarius, who, it will be remembered, is the Apostle of Scandinavia. The part of the building east of the church is the clergy house and school; all are under the same roof and not distinguishable from one another, except by the size of the windows of the chapel. The head of the mission is called the "prefect," and like the Lutheran "superintendent" is a sort of substitute for a bishop and has permission to administer confirmation, though only a priest, because Lutheran priests administer what they call "confirmation." The clergy seem to work hard, but whether the Church makes progress or not I cannot tell, for it is a very small building for a town of nearly 200,000 inhabitants. Each of the clergy has his own elegantly furnished apartments. I do not know if any of them are natives, for they spoke German as fluently as Danish, and I observed a large number of German books in their collections.

SAMUEL WILBERFORCE.

WE should be unworthy of our position as one of the Church's literary advocates, if we allowed an event of such great moment to her, as the death of the Bishop of Winchester, to pass by unnoticed.

The position which Bishop Wilberforce had made for himself was undoubtedly quite unique, presenting a combination such as could nowhere else be found. In his public capacity one may certainly say that since the days of Archbishop Laud, no one has ever done so much for the Church, as he whose loss we are now lamenting; and history will record it as one of the worst blots in Mr. Disraeli's administration that he missed the opportunity of translating the Bishop to Canterbury, when he was manifestly above all others the fittest man. The influence of the Bishop was not only felt in the two dioceses over which he successively presided, nor in the new life which he imparted to the episcopal office generally, but in Congresses and Religious Associations, and in all other centres of Church life, and specially in the House of Lords, where he occupied the very highest place as a debater.

On these grounds we rejoice very much, even though the offer was not accepted,1 that Government suggested that his remains should be laid in Westminster Abbey-an honour which, we believe we are right in saying, has never been offered to any previous Bishop. We hope also that a Church may be built as a memorial of him in Lambeth, or some part of South London, which may serve as the cathedra for a division of the huge diocese of Winchester.

But what, we conceive, constitutes the special characteristic of Bishop Wilberforce, is the union with these high powers of intellect and energy of a singularly affectionate disposition. We doubt if as many tears have been shed over any one individual in our day, as over this great Bishop and Statesman. We have been told on good authority that scarcely any one who knew the Bishop was seen to speak of his death without a tear gathering in the eye-and all this in spite of the fact that there could not but be many with whom he had come in angry collision in time past, and in spite also of his singular urbanity of manner having laid him open to the suspicion of insincerity. A truer friend, how

1 His family, we now know, had reason to believe that it would be more in accordance with his wish that he should be buried at Lavington.

ever, we believe, never existed, and a man of more consistent conduct. But his friends were chosen from a very wide circle; and his views could scarcely be said to symbolise with those of any one party in Church or State.

It would be vain to hope that any one can be raised up to supply the place which he has vacated. Such men only appear at very distant intervals. Rather we must try to persuade ourselves that in GOD'S sight his work was done, and that the spirit of Samuel Wilberforce will yet hover round many an episcopal throne, in many a Church Council, and in many a Provincial Parsonage.

Reviews and Notices.

The Parting of Elijah and Elisha, and The Present State of the Faithful Departed. By the Rev. G. Body, M.A. Masters.

These are the titles of two sermons preached at All Saints' in connection with the departure of the beloved incumbent to whom we offered our tribute of respect last month. Now we are once more speaking in words of sorrowful love of one yet more highly placed in the Church, and in many ways more necessary to her, whom a call sudden as that of Elijah has caught away from us to meet the reward of his earnest toil; and the hearts of those who mourn for both those true servants of the LORD will find deep consolation in the thoughtful and striking pages in which Mr. Body treats of the most fascinating of all subjects.

We quote the concluding passages after he has argued eloquently for the certainty that personality, consciousness, memory, and mutual recognition, are all characteristics of the Intermediate State.

"But the great feature in the life of the departed is that they are with CHRIST. 'Absent from the body, present with the LORD.' Not that they are locally where JESUS is in the verity of His Humanity. JESUS is in the Presence Chamber of GOD, that Heaven which is far above all Heavens; the faithful are in Paradise. 'That presence of JESUS,' it has been well said, 'consists in distinct, conscious vision, and in direct open communication. It has no reference to local nearness. If two men were able to speak familiarly and immediately one to another, and to see each other distinctly, they would have no sense of distance, although one were standing in a distant star, and the other on this earth. In this sense the faithful dead are with CHRIST-even though between Paradise and the Mercy Seat there are the innumerable heavens.' They are with JESUS, that is, they rejoice in the Vision of JESUS, they hear the Voice of JESUS, and without Sacramental media by immediate contact with His Humanity they draw forth from JESUs the living water of His grace. Great are the blessings of His Church militant on earth, greater the blessings of the Church at rest in Paradise. To depart and be with CHRIST is far better.' Their life is one unending Eucharist, the centre of which is, not His

Veiled Presence as in the Blessed Sacrament, but His Unveiled Presence in the glory of Heaven. They see Him as S. Stephen saw Him when the Heavens were opened, as S. John saw Him when he was in the spirit.

"Beneath the power of this Vision their spirits attain to a perfect development. 'The spirits of just men made perfect.' Here this development is but partial, there it is perfect. The spirit is conformed to CHRIST'S Image by the power of His Vision. Marvellous is the effect on the soul of the Vision of JESUS in His glory as it bursts on it when the soul leaves the body. It is transfigured, as in a moment. Just as the Vision of JESUS is revealed on earth to the soul seeking the SAVIOUR, and changes its prayer into praise, and lights up the face with the joy of acceptance until it'shines as the sun,' so is it with the Vision of JESUS as it bursts on the disembodied spirit. It burns up as with fire all that is impure, and it developes and perfects all that is lovely and good. True it is that the full meaning of this transfiguration is only drawn out in the progressive development of the spirit's powers in Paradise. But the great change itself takes place as in a moment, with the first glimpse of the Glorified LORD. As the life of justification gives expression to the revolution wrought in the being by the vision of faith, so the life of the perfected soul in Paradise reveals the deep meaning of the revolution wrought in it by the Vision of the Glorified JESUS as it bursts on the spirit."

1. Literature and Dogma. An Essay towards a better apprehension of the Bible. By Matthew Arnold.

2. Brief Notes on the above. By Henry Dunn. Simpkin and Co.

Here is a little duel, on which, were the reputation of the combatants alone at stake, all who hold the Catholic Faith might well smile. Unhappily it is quite otherwise. It is the sense and integrity of Holy Scripture about which these gentlemen wrangle.

For Mr. Matthew Arnold we cannot but feel some compassion. He is simply following out the irreverent and destructive criticism of his father, the late Head-master of Rugby, and seems only just to be realising whither it must lead him. Like every man of sense and learning he could not but revolt from the treatment given to Holy Scripture by the ordinary Puritan interpreter. So much was visible in his previous essay entitled "S. Paul and Protestantism," which we noticed in these pages at its first appearance. His knowledge of Greek was sufficient to show him that S. Paul from the days of Luther and Calvin had had a false gloss forced upon him. But as we then observed, it was plain that Mr. Arnold had not ballast enough to navigate his vessel amid the storm of controversy. Because Luther and Calvin were wrong, he jumped to the conclusion that S. Paul and the consensus of Catholic Commentators upon the Apostle's writings must also be wrong. From the point just named he has now advanced so as to affirm this horrible proposition, "The people will not receive our" (query, whose) "current Theology. So if they are to receive the Bible we must find for the Bible some other basis than that which the Churches assign to it. This new religion of the Bible the people may receive: the version now current of the religion of the Bible they In other words, Matthew the Evangelist must give way never will receive."

to Matthew Arnold.

And now for Mr. Dunn, who we believe is or was a secretary or agent of the Bible Society. He comes forward to do battle for the Bible. But he in "It was," he says, reality, like Mr. Arnold, must have a Bible of his own. "when men ceased to think of CHRIST as revealed only in a given relation to man, as having a kingdom and a throne of His own, distinct from that of the FATHER; as at present at the right hand of GoD awaiting His exaltation that they began to regard Him as a sort of second Deity; to speculate on the various Persons of the Trinity; and to adopt language regarding Him so illjudged and presumptuous as that of the Creeds."

;

In a short supplement Mr. Dunn undertakes to defend the Bible from certain writers in the Contemporary Review. But in both cases, in our judgment, the defence is at least as damaging as the attack-the only difference being that Mr. Arnold is clever and Mr. Dunn is a dunce.

Correspondence.

[The Editor is not responsible for the opinions of the Correspondents.] To the Editor of the Churchman's Companion.

Answers.

CHIMNEY MONEY.

In answer to IGNORAMUS' inquiry as to the meaning of chimney-money, LUCIA begs to state that Pepys' Diary records under date March, 1662, that Parliament had voted 28. per annum for every chimney in England, as a constant revenue for ever to the crown. It was so peculiarly odious to the poor during the reigns of Charles II. and James II. that it was abolished soon after the Revolution. It was not only considered as a great oppression to the poorer classes, but a badge of slavery upon the whole people, exposing every man's house to be entered and searched at pleasure by persons unknown to him.

"JESU, AT THE VESPER HOUR." E. K. M. begs to inform ARMELLE that the lines he quotes belong to the Vesper portion of a hymn for the Hours, published in the Daily Service Hymnal. The words are as follows:

"JESU, at the Vesper hour,

All Thy pains and sorrows past,

Thy pure limbs are laid once more
In Thy Mother's arms at last.

"JESU, in my hour of rest,

After life's long weary day,
In Thine Arms and on Thy Breast,
Let me breathe my life away.
"JESU, Bleeding, Dying Love,

Let me daily die with Thee,
That in Thy sweet arms above

I may rest eternally."

Should ARMELLE be willing to forward his address through the editor, E. K. M. will willingly copy all the words of the hymn, as well as the music for him; as E. K. M. believes they are not to be obtained from any publisher, the hymnbook being out of print.

Queries.

OMISSIONS IN CHURCH SERVICES.

SIR,-Will you or any of your correspondents tell me if a priest can on his own authority commence at the Communion Service, leaving out the Psalms, Lessons, &c., at Morning Service on Sunday? Also, can a priest omit the Athanasian Creed in his church on the

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