Scripture, and we see that there is, I repeat, there is more than enough
to believe the Church. The evidence is not in fault; all it requires is
to be brought home or applied to the mind; if belief does not then
follow, the fault lies with the will."
"Well," said Charles, "I think there is a general feeling among educated
Anglicans, that the claims of the Roman Church do not rest on a
sufficiently intellectual basis; that the evidences, or notes, were well
enough for a rude age, not for this. This is what makes me despair of
the growth of Catholicism."
His companion looked round curiously at him, and then said, quietly,
"Depend upon it, there is quite evidence enough for a _moral conviction_
that the Catholic or Roman Church, and none other, is the voice of God."
"Do you mean," said Charles, with a beating heart, "that before
conversion one can attain to a present abiding actual conviction of this
truth?"
"I do not know," answered the other; "but, at least, he may have
habitual _moral certainty_; I mean, a conviction, and one only, steady,
without rival conviction, or even reasonable doubt, present to him when
he is most composed and in his hours of solitude, and flashing on him
from time to time, as through clouds, when he is in the world;--a
conviction to this effect, 'The Roman Catholic Church is the one only
voice of God, the one only way of salvation.'"
"Then you mean to say," said Charles, while his heart beat faster, "that
such a person is under no duty to wait for clearer light."
"He will not have, he cannot expect, clearer light before conversion.
Certainty, in its highest sense, is the reward of those who, by an act
of the will, and at the dictate of reason and prudence, embrace the
truth, when nature, like a coward, shrinks. You must make a venture;
faith is a venture before a man is a Catholic; it is a gift after it.
You approach the Church in the way of reason, you enter into it in the
light of the Spirit."
Charles said that he feared there was a great temptation operating on
many well-informed and excellent men, to find fault with the evidence
for Catholicity, and to give over the search, on the excuse that there
were arguments on both sides.
"It is not one set of men," answered his companion; "it is the grievous
deficiency in Englishmen altogether. Englishmen have many gifts, faith
they have not. Other nations, inferior to them in many things, still
have faith. Nothing will stand in place of it; not a sense of the beauty
of Catholicism, or of its awfulness, or of its antiquity; not an
appreciation of the sympathy which it shows towards sinners: not an
admiration of the Martyrs and early Fathers, and a delight in their
writings. Individuals may display a touching gentleness, or a
conscientiousness which demands our reverence; still, till they have
faith, they have not the foundation, and their superstructure will fall.
They will not be blessed, they will effect nothing in religious matters,
till they begin by an act of unreserved faith in the word of God,
whatever it be; till they go out of themselves; till they cease to make
something within them their standard, till they oblige their will to
perfect what reason leaves sufficient, indeed, but incomplete. And when
they shall recognize this defect in themselves, and try to remedy it,
then they will recognize much more;--they will be on the road very
shortly to be Catholics."
There was nothing in all this exactly new to Reding; but it was pleasant
to hear it from the voice of another, and him a priest. Thus he had
sympathy and authority, and felt he was restored to himself. The
conversation stopped. After a while he disclosed to his new friend the
place for which he was bound, which, after what Charles had already been
saying, could be no great surprise to him. The latter knew the Superior
of San Michaele, and, taking out a card, wrote upon it a few words of
introduction for him. By this time they had reached Paddington; and
scarcely had the train stopped, when the priest took his small
carpet-bag from under his seat, wrapped his cloak around him, stepped
out of the carriage, and was walking out of sight at a brisk pace.
CHAPTER VII.
Reding naturally wished to take the important step he was meditating as
quietly as he could; and had adopted what he considered satisfactory
measures for this purpose. But such arrangements often turn out very
differently from their promise; and so it was in his case.
The Passionist House was in the eastern part of London; so far
well;--and as he knew in the neighbourhood a respectable publisher in
the religious line, with whom his father had dealt, he had written to
him to bespeak a room in his house for the few days which he trusted
would suffice for the process of his reception. What was to happen to
him after it, he left for the advice he might get from those in whose
hands he found himself. It was now Wednesday; he hoped to have two days
to prepare himself for his confession, and then he proposed to present
himself before those who were to receive it. His better plan would have
been to have gone to the Religious House at once, where doubtless the
good fathers would have lodged him, secured him from intrusion, and
given him the best advice how to proceed. But we must indulge him, if,
doing so great a work, he likes to do it in his own way; nor must we be
hard on him, though it be not the best way.
On arriving at his destination, he saw in the deportment of his host
grounds for concluding that his coming was not only expected, but
understood. Doubtless, then, the paragraph of the _Oxford Gazette_ had
been copied into the London papers; nor did it relieve his unpleasant
surprise to find, as he passed to his room, that the worthy bibliopolist
had a reading-room attached to his shop, which was far more perilous to
his privacy than a coffee-room would have been. He was not obliged,
however, to mix with the various parties who seemed to frequent it; and
he determined as far as possible to confine himself to his apartment.
The rest of the day he employed in writing letters to friends: his
conversation of the morning had tranquillized him; he went to bed
peaceful and happy, slept soundly, rose late, and, refreshed in mind and
body, turned his thoughts to the serious duties of the day.
Breakfast over, he gave a considerable time to devotional exercises, and
then, opening his writing-desk, addressed himself to his work. Hardly
had he got into it when his landlord made his appearance; and, with many
apologies for his intrusion, and a hope that he was not going to be
impertinent, proceeded to inquire if Mr. Reding was a Catholic. "The
question had been put to him, and he thought he might venture to solicit
an answer from the person who could give the most authentic
information." Here was an interruption, vexatious in itself, and
perplexing in the form in which it came upon him; it would be absurd to
reply that he was on the point of _becoming_ a Catholic, so he shortly
answered in the negative. Mr. Mumford then informed him that there were
two friends of Mr. Reding's below, who wished very much to have a few
minutes' conversation with him. Charles could make no intelligible
objection to the request; and in the course of a few minutes their knock
was heard at the room-door.
On his answering it, two persons presented themselves, apparently both
strangers to him. This, however, at the moment was a relief; for vague
fears and surmises had begun to flit across his mind as to the faces
which were to make their appearance. The younger of the two, who had
round full cheeks, with a boyish air, and a shrill voice, advanced
confidently, and seemed to expect a recognition. It broke upon Charles
that he had seen him before, but he could not tell where. "I ought to
know your face," he said.
"Yes, Mr. Reding," answered the person addressed, "you may recollect me
at College."
"Ah, I remember perfectly," said Reding; "Jack the kitchen-boy at St.
Saviour's."
"Yes," said Jack; "I came when young Tom was promoted into Dennis's
place."
Then he added, with a solemn shake of the head, "_I_ have got promotion
now."
"So it seems, Jack," answered Reding; "but what are you? Speak."
"Ah, sir," said Jack, "we must converse in a tone of befitting
seriousness;" and he added, in a deep inarticulate voice, his lips not
being suffered to meet together, "Sir, I stand next to an Angel now."
"A what? Angel? Oh, I know," cried Charles, "it's some sect; the
Sandemanians."
"Sandemanians!" interrupted Jack; "we hold them in abhorrence; they are
levellers; they bring in disorder and every evil work."
"I beg pardon, but I know it is some sect, though I don't recollect
what. I've heard about it. Well, tell me, Jack, what are you?"
"I am," answered Jack, as if he were confessing at the tribunal of a
Proprætor, "I am a member of the Holy Catholic Church."
"That's right, Jack," said Reding; "but it's not distinctive enough; so
are we all; every one will say as much."
"Hear me out, Mr. Reding, sir," answered Jack, waving his hand; "hear
me, but strike; I repeat, I am a member of the Holy Catholic Church,
assembling in Huggermugger Lane."
"Ah," said Charles, "I see; that's what the 'gods' call you; now, what
do men?"
"Men," said Jack, not understanding, however, the allusion--"men call us
Christians, professing the opinions of the late Rev. Edward Irving,
B.D."
"I understand perfectly now," said Reding; "Irvingites--I recollect."
"No, sir," he said, "not Irvingites; we do not follow man; we follow
wherever the Spirit leads us; we have given up Tongue. But I ought to
introduce you to my friend, who is more than an Angel," he proceeded
modestly, "who has more than the tongue of men and angels, being nothing
short of an Apostle, sir. Mr. Reding, here's the Rev. Alexander
Highfly. Mr. Highfly, this is Mr. Reding."
Mr. Highfly was a man of gentlemanlike appearance and manner; his
language was refined, and his conduct was delicate; so much so that
Charles at once changed his tone in speaking to him. He came to Mr.
Reding, he said, from a sense of duty; and there was nothing in his
conversation to clash with that profession. He explained that he had
heard of Mr. Reding's being unsettled in his religious views, and he
would not lose the opportunity of attempting so valuable an accession to
the cause to which he had dedicated himself.
"I see," said Charles, smiling, "I am in the market."
"It is the bargain of Glaucus with Diomede," answered Mr. Highfly, "for
which I am asking your co-operation. I am giving you the fellowship of
Apostles."
"It is, I recollect, one of the characteristics of your body," said
Charles, "to have an order of Apostles, in addition to Bishops, Priests,
and Deacons."
"Rather," said his visitor, "it is the special characteristic; for we
acknowledge the orders of the Church of England. We are but completing
the Church system by restoring the Apostolic College."
"What I should complain of," said Charles, "were I at all inclined to
listen to your claims, would be the very different views which different
members of your body put forward."
"You must recollect, sir," answered Mr. Highfly, "that we are under
Divine teaching, and that truth is but gradually communicated to the
Church. We do not pledge ourselves what we shall believe to-morrow by
anything we say to-day."
"Certainly," answered Reding, "things have been said to me by your
teachers which I must suppose were only private opinions, though they
seemed to be more."
"But I was saying," said Mr. Highfly, "that at present we are restoring
the Gentile Apostolate. The Church of England has Bishops, Priests, and
Deacons, but a Scriptural Church has more; it is plain it ought to have
Apostles. In Scripture Apostles had the supreme authority, and the three
Anglican orders were but subordinate to them."
"I am disposed to agree with you there," said Charles. Mr. Highfly
looked surprised and pleased. "We are restoring," he said, "the Church
to a more Scriptural state; perhaps, then, we may reckon on your
co-operation in doing so? We do not ask you to secede from the
Establishment, but to acknowledge the Apostolic authority to which all
ought to submit."
"But does it not strike you, Mr. Highfly," answered Reding, "that there
_is_ a body of Christians, and not an inconsiderable one, which
maintains with you, and, what is more, has always preserved, that true
and higher Apostolic succession in the Church; a body, I mean, which, in
addition to Episcopacy, believes that there is a standing ordinance
above Episcopacy, and gives it the name of the Apostolate?"
"On the contrary," answered Mr. Highfly, "I consider that we are
restoring what has lain dormant ever since the time of St. Paul; nay, I
will say it is an ordinance which never has been carried into effect at
all, though it was in the Divine design from the first. You will observe
that the Apostles were Jews; but there never has been a Gentile
Apostolate. St. Paul indeed was Apostle of the Gentiles, but the design
begun in him has hitherto been frustrated. He went up to Jerusalem
against the solemn warning of the Spirit; now we are raised up to
complete that work of the Spirit, which was stopped by the inadvertence
of the first Apostle."
Jack interposed: he should be very glad, he said, to know what religious
persuasion it was, besides his own, which Mr. Reding considered to have
preserved the succession of Apostles as something distinct from Bishops.
"It is quite plain whom I mean--The Catholics," answered Charles. "The
Popedom is the true Apostolate, the Pope is the successor of the
Apostles, particularly of St. Peter."
"We are very well inclined to the Roman Catholics," answered Mr.
Highfly, with some hesitation; "we have adopted a great part of their
ritual; but we are not accustomed to consider that we resemble them in
what is our characteristic and cardinal tenet."
"Allow me to say it, Mr. Highfly," said Reding, "it is a reason why
every Irvingite--I mean every member of your denomination--should become
a Catholic. Your own religious sense has taught you that there ought to
be an Apostolate in the Church. You consider that the authority of the
Apostles was not temporary, but essential and fundamental. What that
authority was, we see in St. Paul's conduct towards St. Timothy. He
placed him in the see of Ephesus, he sent him a charge, and, in fact, he
was his overseer or Bishop. He had the care of all the Churches. Now,
this is precisely the power which the Pope claims, and has ever claimed;
and, moreover, he has claimed it, as being the _successor_, and the sole
proper successor of the Apostles, though Bishops may be improperly such
also.[2] And hence Catholics call him Vicar of Christ, Bishop of
Bishops, and the like; and, I believe, consider that he, in a
pre-eminent sense, is the one pastor or ruler of the Church, the source
of jurisdiction, the judge of controversies, and the centre of unity, as
having the powers of the Apostles, and specially of St. Peter."
[2] "Successores sunt, sed ita ut potius Vicarii dicendi sint
Apostolorum, quam successores; contra, Romanus Pontifex, quia verus
Petri successor est, nonnisi per quendam abusum ejus vicarius
diceretur."--Zaccar. _Antifebr._, p. 130.
Mr. Highfly kept silence.
"Don't you think, then, it would be well," continued Charles, "that,
before coming to convert me, you should first join the Catholic Church?
at least, you would urge your doctrine upon me with more authority if
you came as a member of it. And I will tell you frankly, that you would
find it easier to convert me to Catholicism than to your present
persuasion."
Jack looked at Mr. Highfly, as if hoping for some decisive reply to what
was a new view to him; but Mr. Highfly took a different line. "Well,
sir," he said, "I do not see that any good will come by our continuing
the interview; but your last remark leads me to observe that
_proselytism_ was not our object in coming here. We did not propose more
than to _inform_ you that a great work was going on, to direct your
attention to it, and to invite your co-operation. We do not controvert;
we only wish to deliver our testimony, and there to leave the matter. I
believe, then, we need not take up your valuable time longer." With that
he got up, and Jack with him, and, with many courteous bows and smiles,
which were duly responded to by Reding, the two visitors took their
departure.
"Well, I might have been worse off," thought Reding; "really they are
gentle, well-mannered creatures, after all. I might have been attacked
by some of your furious Exeter-Hall beasts; but now to business....
What's that?" he added. Alas, it was a soft, distinct tap at the door;
there was no mistake. "Who's there? come in!" he cried; upon which the
door gently opened, and a young lady, not without attractions of person
and dress, presented herself. Charles started up with vexation; but
there was no help for it, and he was obliged to hand her a chair, and
then to wait, all expectation, or rather all impatience, to be informed
of her mission. For a while she did not speak, but sat, with her head on
one side, looking at her parasol, the point of which she fixed on the
carpet, while she slowly described a circumference with the handle. At
length she asked, without raising her eyes, whether it was true--and she
spoke slowly and in what is called a spiritual tone--whether it was
true, the information had been given her, that Mr. Reding, the
gentleman she had the honour of addressing--whether it was true, that he
was in search of a religion more congenial to his feelings than that of
the Church of England? "Mr. Reding could not give her any satisfaction
on the subject of her inquiry;"--he answered shortly, and had some
difficulty in keeping from rudeness in his tone. The interrogation, she
went on to say, perhaps might seem impertinent; but she had a motive.
Some dear sisters of hers were engaged in organizing a new religious
body, and Mr. Reding's accession, counsel, assistance, would be
particularly valuable; the more so, because as yet they had not any
gentleman of University education among them.
"May I ask," said Charles, "the name of the intended persuasion?"
"The name," she answered, "is not fixed; indeed, this is one of the
points on which we should covet the privilege of the advice of a
gentleman so well qualified as Mr. Reding to assist us in our
deliberations."
"And your tenets, ma'am?"
"Here, too," she replied, "there is much still to be done; the tenets
are not fixed either, that is, they are but sketched; and we shall prize
your suggestions much. Nay, you will of course have the opportunity, as
you would have the right, to nominate any doctrine to which you may be
especially inclined."
Charles did not know how to answer to so liberal an offer.
She continued: "Perhaps it is right, Mr. Reding, that I should tell you
something more about myself personally. I was born in the communion of
the Church of England; for a while I was a member of the New Connexion;
and after that," she added, still with drooping head and languid
sing-song voice, "after that, I was a Plymouth brother." It got too
absurd; and Charles, who had for an instant been amused, now became full
of the one thought, how to get her out of the room.
It was obviously left to her to keep up the conversation: so she said
presently, "We are all for a pure religion."
"From what you tell me," said Charles, "I gather that every member of
your new community is allowed to name one or two doctrines of his own."
"We are all scriptural," she made answer, "and therefore are all one; we
may differ, but we agree. Still it is so, as you say, Mr. Reding. I'm
for election and assurance; our dearest friend is for perfection; and
another sweet sister is for the second advent. But we desire to include
among us all souls who are thirsting after the river of life, whatever
their personal views. I believe you are partial to sacraments and
ceremonies?"
Charles tried to cut short the interview by denying that he had any
religion to seek after, or any decision to make; but it was easier to
end the conversation than the visit. He threw himself back in his chair
in despair, and half closed his eyes. "Oh, those good Irvingites," he
thought, "blameless men, who came only to protest, and vanished at the
first word of opposition; but now thrice has the church-clock struck the
quarters since her entrance, and I don't see why she's not to stop here
as long as it goes on striking, since she has stopped so long. She has
not in her the elements of progress and decay. She'll never die; what is
to become of me?"
Nor was she doomed to find a natural death; for, when the case seemed
hopeless, a noise was heard on the staircase, and, with scarcely the
apology for a knock, a wild gawky man made his appearance, and at once
cried out, "I hope, sir, it's not a bargain yet; I hope it's not too
late; discharge this young woman, Mr. Reding, and let me teach you the
old truth, which never has been repealed."
There was no need of discharging her; for as kindly as she had unfolded
her leaves and flourished in the sun of Reding's forbearance, so did she
at once shrink and vanish--one could hardly tell how--before the rough
accents of the intruder; and Charles suddenly found himself in the hands
of a new tormentor. "This is intolerable," he said to himself; and,
jumping up, he cried, "Sir, excuse me, I am particularly engaged this
morning, and I must beg to decline the favour of your visit."
"What did you say, sir?" said the stranger; and, taking a note-book and
a pencil from his pocket, he began to look up in Charles's face and
write down his words, saying half aloud, as he wrote, "Declines the
favour of my visit." Then he looked up again, keeping his pencil upon
his paper, and said, "Now, sir."
Reding moved towards him, and, spreading his arms as one drives sheep
and poultry in one direction, he repeated, looking towards the door,
"Really, sir, I feel the honour of your call; but another day, sir,
another day. It is too much, too much."
"Too much?" said the intruder; "and I waiting below so long! That dainty
lady has been good part of an hour here, and now you can't give me five
minutes, sir."
"Why, sir," answered Charles, "I am sure you are come on an errand as
fruitless as hers; and I am sick of these religious discussions, and
want to be to myself, and to save you trouble."
"Sick of religions discussions," said the stranger to himself, as he
wrote down the words in his note-book. Charles did not deign to notice
his act or to explain his own expression; he stood prepared to renew his
action of motioning him to the door. His tormentor then said, "You may
like to know my name; it is Zerubbabel."
Vexed as Reding was, he felt that he had no right to visit the
tediousness of his former visitor upon his present; so he forced himself
to reply, "Zerubbabel; indeed; and is Zerubbabel your Christian name,
sir, or your surname?"
"It is both at once, Mr. Reding," answered Zerubbabel, "or rather, I
have no Christian name, and Zerubbabel is my one Jewish designation."
"You are come, then, to inquire whether I am likely to become a Jew."
"Stranger things have happened," answered his visitor; "for instance, I
myself was once a deacon in the Church of England."
"Then you are not a Jew?" said Charles.
"I am a Jew by choice," he said; "after much prayer and study of
Scripture, I have come to the conclusion that, as Judaism was the first
religion, so it's to be the last. Christianity I consider an episode in
the history of revelation."
"You are not likely to have many followers in such a belief," said
Charles; "we are all for progress now, not for retrograding."
"I differ from you, Mr. Reding," said Zerubbabel; "see what the
Establishment is doing; it has sent a Bishop to Jerusalem."
"That is rather with the view of making the Jews Christians than the
Christians Jews," said Reding.
Zerubbabel wrote down: "Thinks Bishop of Jerusalem is to convert the
Jews;" then, "I differ from you, sir; on the contrary, I fancy the
excellent Bishop has in view to revive the distinction between Jew and
Gentile, which is one step towards the supremacy of the former; for if
the Jews have a place at all in Christianity, as Jews, it must be the
first place."
Charles thought he had better let him have his talk out; so Zerubbabel
proceeded: "The good Bishop in question knows well that the Jew is the
elder brother of the Gentile, and it is his special mission to restore a
Jewish episcopate to the See of Jerusalem. The Jewish succession has
been suspended since the time of the Apostles. And now you see the
reason of my calling on you, Mr. Reding. It is reported that you lean
towards the Catholic Church; but I wish to suggest to you that you have
mistaken the centre of unity. The See of James at Jerusalem is the true
centre, not the See of Peter at Rome. Peter's power is a usurpation on
James's. I consider the present Bishop of Jerusalem the true Pope. The
Gentiles have been in power too long; it is now the Jews' turn."
"You seem to allow," said Charles, "that there ought to be a centre of
unity and a Pope."
"Certainly," said Zerubbabel, "and a ritual too, but it should be the
Jewish. I am collecting subscriptions for the rebuilding of the Temple
on Mount Moriah; I hope too to negotiate a loan, and we shall have
Temple stock, yielding, I calculate, at least four per cent."
"It has hitherto been thought a sin," said Reding, "to attempt
rebuilding the Temple. According to you, Julian the Apostate went the
better way to work."
"His motive was wrong, sir," answered the other; "but his act was good.
The way to convert the Jews is, first to accept their rites. This is one
of the greatest discoveries of this age. _We_ must make the first step
towards _them_. For myself, I have adopted all which the present state
of their religion renders possible. And I don't despair to see the day
when bloody sacrifices will be offered on the Temple Mount as of old."
Here he came to a pause; and Charles making no reply, he said, in a
brisk, off-hand manner, "May I not hope you will give your name to this
religious object, and adopt the old ritual? The Catholic is quite of
yesterday compared with it." Charles answering in the negative,
Zerubbabel wrote down in his book: "Refuses to take part in our scheme;"
and disappeared from the room as suddenly as he entered it.
CHAPTER VIII.
Charles's trials were not at an end; and we suspect the reader will give
a shudder at the news, as having a very material share in the
infliction. Yet the reader's case has this great alleviation, that he
takes up this narrative in an idle hour, and Charles encountered the
reality in a very busy and anxious one. So, however, it was: not any
great time elapsed after the retreat of Zerubbabel, when his landlord
again appeared at the door. He assured Mr. Reding that it was no fault
of his that the last two persons had called on him; that the lady had
slipped by him, and the gentleman had forced his way; but that he now
really did wish to solicit an interview for a personage of great
literary pretensions, who sometimes dealt with him, and who had come
from the West End for the honour of an interview with Mr. Reding.
Charles groaned, but only one reply was possible; the day was already
wasted, and with a sort of dull resignation he gave permission for the
introduction of the stranger.
It was a pale-faced man of about thirty-five, who, when he spoke, arched
his eyebrows, and had a peculiar smile. He began by expressing his
apprehension that Mr. Reding must have been wearied by impertinent and
unnecessary visitors--visitors without intellect, who knew no better
than to obtrude their fanaticism on persons who did but despise it. "I
know more about the Universities," he continued, "than to suppose that
any congeniality can exist between their members and the mass of
religious sectarians. You have had very distinguished men among you,
sir, at Oxford, of very various schools, yet all able men, and
distinguished in the pursuit of Truth, though they have arrived at
contradictory opinions."
Not knowing what he was driving at, Reding remained in an attitude of
expectation.
"I belong," he continued, "to a Society which is devoted to the
extension among all classes of the pursuit of Truth. Any philosophical
mind, Mr. Reding, must have felt deep interest in your own party in the
University. Our Society, in fact, considers you to be distinguished
Confessors in that all-momentous occupation; and I have thought I could
not pay yourself individually, whose name has lately honourably appeared
in the papers, a better compliment than to get you elected a member of
our Truth Society. And here is your diploma," he added, handing a sheet
of paper to him. Charles glanced his eye over it; it was a paper, part
engraving, part print, part manuscript. An emblem of truth was in the
centre, represented, not by a radiating sun or star, as might be
expected, but as the moon under total eclipse, surrounded, as by cherub
faces, by the heads of Socrates, Cicero, Julian, Abelard, Luther,
Benjamin Franklin, and Lord Brougham. Then followed some sentences to
the effect that the London Branch Association of the British and Foreign
Truth Society, having evidence of the zeal in the pursuit of Truth of
Charles Reding, Esq., member of Oxford University, had unanimously
elected him into their number, and had assigned him the dignified and
responsible office of associate and corresponding member.
"I thank the Truth Society very much," said Charles, when he got to the
end of the paper, "for this mark of their good will; yet I regret to
have scruples about accepting it till some of the patrons are changed,
whose heads are prefixed to the diploma. For instance, I do not like to
be under the shadow of the Emperor Julian."
"You would respect his love of Truth, I presume," said Mr. Batts.
"Not much, I fear," said Charles, "seeing it did not hinder him from
deliberately embracing error."
"No, not so," answered Mr. Batts; "_he_ thought it Truth; and Julian, I
conceive, cannot be said to have deserted the Truth, because, in fact,
he always was in pursuit of it."
"I fear," said Reding, "there is a very serious difference between your
principles and my own on this point."
"Ah, my dear sir, a little attention to our principles will remove it,"
said Mr. Batts: "let me beg your acceptance of this little pamphlet, in
which you will find some fundamental truths stated, almost in the way of
aphorisms. I wish to direct your attention to page 8, where they are
drawn out."
Charles turned to the page, and read as follows:--
"_On the pursuit of Truth._
1. It is uncertain whether Truth exists.
2. It is certain that it cannot be found.
3. It is a folly to boast of possessing it.
4. Man's work and duty, as man, consist, not in possessing, but in
seeking it.
5. His happiness and true dignity consist in the pursuit.
6. The pursuit of Truth is an end to be engaged in for its own
sake.
7. As philosophy is the love, not the possession of wisdom, so
religion is the love, not the possession of Truth.
8. As Catholicism begins with faith, so Protestantism ends with
inquiry.
9. As there is disinterestedness in seeking, so is there
selfishness in claiming to possess.
10. The martyr of Truth is he who dies professing that it is a
shadow.
11. A life-long martyrdom is this, to be ever changing.
12. The fear of error is the bane of inquiry."
Charles did not get further than these, but others followed of a similar
character. He returned the pamphlet to Mr. Batts. "I see enough," he
said, "of the opinions of the Truth Society to admire their ingenuity
and originality, but, excuse me, not their good sense. It is impossible
I should subscribe to what is so plainly opposed to Christianity."
Mr. Batts looked annoyed. "We have no wish to oppose Christianity," he
said; "we only wish Christianity not to oppose us. It is very hard that
we may not go our own way, when we are quite willing that others should
go theirs. It seems imprudent, I conceive, in this age, to represent
Christianity as hostile to the progress of the mind, and to turn into
enemies of revelation those who do sincerely wish to 'live and let
live.'"
"But contradictions cannot be true," said Charles: "if Christianity says
that Truth can be found, it must be an error to state that it cannot be
found."
"I conceive it to be intolerant," persisted Mr. Batts: "you will grant,
I suppose, that Christianity has nothing to do with astronomy or
geology: why, then, should it be allowed to interfere with philosophy?"
It was useless proceeding in the discussion; Charles repressed the
answer which rose on his tongue of the essential connexion of philosophy
with religion; a silence ensued of several minutes, and Mr. Batts at
length took the hint, for he rose with a disappointed air, and wished
him good morning.
It mattered little now whether he was left to himself or not, except
that conversation harassed and fretted him; for, as to turning his mind
to the subjects which were to have been his occupation that morning, it
was by this time far too much wearied and dissipated to undertake them.
On Mr. Batts' departure, then, he did not make the attempt, but sat
before the fire, dull and depressed, and in danger of relapsing into the
troubled thoughts from which his railroad companion had extricated him.
When, then, at the end of half an hour, a new knock was heard at the
door, he admitted the postulant with a calm indifference, as if fortune
had now done her worst, and he had nothing to fear. A middle-aged man
made his appearance, sleek and plump, who seemed to be in good
circumstances, and to have profited by them. His glossy black dress, in
contrast with the crimson colour of his face and throat, for he wore no
collars, and his staid and pompous bearing, added to his rapid delivery
when he spoke, gave him much the look of a farm-yard turkey-cock in the
eyes of any one who was less disgusted with seeing new faces than Reding
was at that moment. The new comer looked sharply at him as he entered.
"Your most obedient," he said abruptly; "you seem in low spirits, my
dear sir; but sit down, Mr. Reding, and give me the opportunity of
offering to you a little good advice. You may guess what I am by my
appearance: I speak for myself; I will say no more; I can be of use to
you. Mr. Reding," he continued, pulling his chair towards him, and
putting out his hand as if he was going to paw him, "have not you made a
mistake in thinking it necessary to go to the Romish Church for a relief
of your religious difficulties?"
"You have not yet heard from me, sir," answered Charles gravely, "that I
have any difficulties at all. Excuse me if I am abrupt; I have had many
persons calling on me with your errand. It is very kind of you, but I
don't want advice; I was a fool to come here."
"Well, my dear Mr. Reding, but listen to me," answered his persecutor,
spreading out the fingers of his right hand, and opening his eyes wide:
"I am right, I believe, in apprehending that your reason for leaving the
Establishment is, that you cannot carry out the surplice in the pulpit
and the candlesticks on the table. Now, don't you do more than you need.
Pardon me, but you are like a person who should turn the Thames in upon
his house, when he merely wanted his door-steps scrubbed. Why become a
convert to Popery, when you can obtain your object in a cheaper and
better way? Set up for yourself, my dear sir--set up for yourself; form
a new denomination, sixpence will do it; and then you may have your
surplice and candlesticks to your heart's content, without denying the
gospel, or running into the horrible abominations of the Scarlet Woman."
And he sat upright in his chair, with his hands flat on his extended
knees, watching with a self-satisfied air the effect of his words upon
Reding.
"I have had enough of this," said poor Charles; "you, indeed, are but
one of a number, sir, and would say you had nothing to do with the rest;
but I cannot help regarding you as the fifth, or sixth, or seventh
person--I can't count them--who has been with me this morning, giving
me, though with the best intentions, advice which has not been asked
for. I don't know you, sir; you have no introduction to me; you have not
even told me your name. It is not usual to discourse on such personal
matters with strangers. Let me, then, thank you first for your kindness
in coming, and next for the additional kindness of going." And Charles
rose up.
His visitor did not seem inclined to move, or to notice what he had
said. He stopped awhile, opened his handkerchief with much deliberation,
and blew his nose; then he continued: "Kitchens is my name, sir; Dr.
Kitchens; your state of mind, Mr. Reding, is not unknown to me; you are
at present under the influence of the old Adam, and indeed in a
melancholy way. I was not unprepared for it; and I have put into my
pocket a little tract which I shall press upon you with all the
Christian solicitude which brother can show towards brother. Here it is;
I have the greatest confidence in it; perhaps you have heard the name;
it is known as Kitchens's Spiritual Elixir. The Elixir has enlightened
millions; and, I will take on me to say, will convert you in twenty-four
hours. Its operation is mild and pleasurable, and its effects are
marvellous, prodigious, though it does not consist of more than eight
duodecimo pages. Here's a list of testimonies to some of the most
remarkable cases. I have known one hundred and two cases myself in which
it effected a saving change in six hours; seventy-nine in which its
operations took place in as few as three; and twenty-seven where
conversion followed instantaneously after the perusal. At once, poor
sinners, who five minutes before had been like the demoniac in the
gospel, were seen sitting 'clothed, and in their right mind.' Thus I
speak within the mark, Mr. Reding, when I say I will warrant a change in
you in twenty-four hours. I have never known but one instance in which
it seemed to fail, and that was the case of a wretched old man who held
it in his hand a whole day in dead silence, without any apparent
effect; but here _exceptio probat regulam_, for on further inquiry we
found he could not read. So the tract was slowly administered to him by
another person; and before it was finished, I protest to you, Mr.
Reding, he fell into a deep and healthy slumber, perspired profusely,
and woke up at the end of twelve hours a new creature, perfectly new,
bran new, and fit for heaven--whither he went in the course of the week.
We are now making farther experiments on its operation, and we find that
even separate leaves of the tract have a proportionate effect. And, what
is more to your own purpose, it is quite a specific in the case of
Popery. It directly attacks the peccant matter, and all the trash about
sacraments, saints, penance, purgatory, and good works is dislodged from
the soul at once."
Charles remained silent and grave, as one who was likely suddenly to
break out into some strong act, rather than condescend to any farther
parleying.
Dr. Kitchens proceeded: "Have you attended any of the lectures delivered
against the Mystic Babylon, or any of the public disputes which have
been carried on in so many places? My dear friend, Mr. Macanoise,
contested ten points with thirty Jesuits--a good half of the Jesuits in
London--and beat them upon all. Or have you heard any of the luminaries
of Exeter Hall? There is Mr. Gabb; he is a Boanerges, a perfect Niagara,
for his torrent of words; such momentum in his delivery; it is as rapid
as it's strong; it's enough to knock a man down. He can speak seven
hours running without fatigue; and last year he went through England,
delivering through the length and breadth of the land, one, and one
only, awful protest against the apocalyptic witch of Endor. He began at
Devonport and ended at Berwick, and surpassed himself on every delivery.
At Berwick, his last exhibition, the effect was perfectly tremendous; a
friend of mine heard it; he assures me, incredible as it may appear,
that it shattered some glass in a neighbouring house; and two priests of
Baal, who were with their day-school within a quarter of a mile of Mr.
Gabb, were so damaged by the mere echo, that one forthwith took to his
bed and the other has walked on crutches ever since." He stopped awhile;
then he continued: "And what was it, do you think, Mr. Reding, which had
this effect on them? Why, it was Mr. Gabb's notion about the sign of the
beast in the Revelation: he proved, Mr. Reding--it was the most original
hit in his speech--he proved that it was the sign of the cross, the
material cross."
The time at length was come; Reding could not bear more; and, as it
happened, his visitor's offence gave him the means, as well as a cause,
for punishing him. "Oh," he said suddenly, "then I suppose, Dr.
Kitchens, you can't tolerate the cross?"
"Oh no; tolerate it!" answered Dr. Kitchens; "it is Antichrist."
"You can't bear the sight of it, I suspect, Dr. Kitchens?"
"I can't endure it, sir; what true Protestant can?"
"Then look here," said Charles, taking a small crucifix out of his
writing-desk; and he held it before Dr. Kitchens' face.
Dr. Kitchens at once started on his feet, and retreated. "What's that?"
he said, and his face flushed up and then turned pale; "what's that?
it's the thing itself!" and he made a snatch at it. "Take it away, Mr.
Reding; it's an idol; I cannot endure it; take away the thing!"
"I declare," said Reding to himself, "it really has power over him;" and
he still confronted Dr. Kitchens with it, while he kept it out of Dr.
Kitchens' reach.
"Take it away, Mr. Reding, I beseech you," cried Kitchens, still
retreating, while Charles still pressed on him; "take it away, it's too
much. Oh, oh! Spare me, spare me, Mr. Reding!--nehushtan--an idol!--oh,
you young antichrist, you devil!--'tis He, 'tis He--torment!--spare me,
Mr. Reding." And the miserable man began to dance about, still eyeing
the sacred sign, and motioning it from him.
Charles now had victory in his hands: there was, indeed, some difficulty
in steering Kitchens to the door from the place where he had been
sitting, but, that once effected, he opened it with violence, and,
throwing himself on the staircase, he began to jump down two or three
steps at a time, with such forgetfulness of everything but his own
terror, that he came plump upon two persons who, in rivalry of each
other, were in the act of rushing up: and, while he drove one against
the rail, he fairly rolled the other to the bottom.
CHAPTER IX.
Charles threw himself on his chair, burying the Crucifix in his bosom,
quite worn out with his long trial and the sudden exertion in which it
had just now been issuing. When a noise was heard at his door, and
knocks succeeded, he took no farther notice than to plant his feet on
the fender and bury his face in his hands. The summons at first was
apparently from one person only, but his delay in answering it gave time
for the arrival of another; and there was a brisk succession of
alternate knocks from the two, which Charles let take its course. At
length one of the rival candidates for admission, bolder than the other,
slowly opened the door; when the other, who had impetuously scrambled
upstairs after his fall, rushed in before him, crying out, "One word for
the New Jerusalem!" "In charity," said Reding, without changing his
attitude, "in charity, leave me alone. You mean it well, but I don't
want you, sir; I don't indeed. I've had Old Jerusalem here already, and
Jewish Apostles, and Gentile Apostles, and free inquiry, and fancy
religion, and Exeter Hall. What _have_ I done? why can't I die out in
peace? My dear sir, do go! I can't see you; I'm worn out." And he rose
up and advanced towards him. "Call again, dear sir, if you are bent on
talking with me; but, excuse me, I really have had enough of it for one
day. No fault of yours, my dear sir, that you have come the sixth or
seventh." And he opened the door for him.
"A madman nearly threw me down as I was coming up," said the person
addressed, in some agitation.
"Ten thousand pardons for his rudeness, my dear sir--ten thousand
pardons, but allow me;" and he bowed him out of the room. He then turned
round to the other stranger, who had stood by in silence: "And you too,
sir ... is it possible!" His countenance changed to extreme surprise; it
was Mr. Malcolm. Charles's thoughts flowed in a new current, and his
tormentors were suddenly forgotten.
The history of Mr. Malcolm's calling was simple. He had always been a
collector of old books, and had often taken advantage of the stores of
Charles's landlord in adding to his library. Passing through London to
the Eastern Counties Rail, he happened to call in; and, as his friend
the bookseller was not behind his own reading-room in the diffusion of
gossip, he learned that Mr. Reding, who was on the point of seceding
from the Establishment, was at that moment above stairs. He waited with
impatience through Dr. Kitchens' visit, and even then found himself, to
his no small annoyance, in danger of being outstripped by the good
Swedenborgian.
"How d'ye do, Charles?" he said, at length, with not a little stiffness
in his manner, while Charles had no less awkwardness in receiving him;
"you have been holding a levee this morning; I thought I should never
get to see you. Sit you down; let us both sit down, and let me at last
have a word or two with you."
In spite of the diversified trial Charles had sustained from strangers
that morning, there was no one perhaps whom he would have less desired
to see than Mr. Malcolm. He could not help associating him with his
father, yet he felt no opening of heart towards him, nor respect for his
judgment. His feeling was a mixture of prescriptive fear and
friendliness, attachment from old associations, and desire of standing
well with him, but neither confidence nor real love. He coloured up and
felt guilty, yet without a clear understanding why.
"Well, Charles Reding," he said, "I think we know each other well enough
for you to have given me a hint of what was going on as regards you."
Charles said he had written to him only the evening before.
"Ah, when there was not time to answer your letter," said Mr. Malcolm.
Charles said he wished to spare so kind a friend ... he bungled, and
could not finish his sentence.
"A friend, who, of course, could give no advice," said Mr. Malcolm
drily. Presently he said, "Were those people some of your new friends
who were calling on you? they have kept me in the shop this
three-quarters of an hour; and the fellow who has just come down nearly
threw me over the baluster."
"Oh no, sir, I know nothing of them; they were the most unwelcome of
intruders."
"As some one else seems to be," said Mr. Malcolm.
Charles was very much hurt; the more so, because he had nothing to say;
he kept silence.
"Well, Charles," said Mr. Malcolm, not looking at him, "I have known you
from this high; more, from a child in arms. A frank, open boy you were;
I don't know what has spoiled you. These Jesuits, perhaps.... It was not
so in your father's lifetime."
"My dear sir," said Charles, "it pierces me to the heart to hear you
talk so. You have indeed always been most kind to me. If I have erred,
it has been an error of judgment; and I am very sorry for it, and hope
you will forgive it. I acted for the best; but I have been, as you must
feel, in a most trying situation. My mother has known what I was
contemplating this year past."
"Trying situation! fudge! What have you to do with situations? I could
have told you a great deal about these Catholics; I know all about them.
Error of judgment! don't tell me. I know how these things happen quite
well. I have seen such things before; only I thought you a more sensible
fellow. There was young Dalton of St. Cross; he goes abroad, and falls
in with a smooth priest, who persuades the silly fellow that the
Catholic Church is the ancient and true Church of England, the only
religion for a gentleman; he is introduced to a Count this, and a
Marchioness that, and returns a Catholic. There was another; what was
his name? I forget it, of a Berkshire family. He is smitten with a
pretty face; nothing will serve but he must marry her; but she's a
Catholic, and can't marry a heretic; so he, forsooth, gives up the
favour of his uncle and his prospects in the county, for his fair
Juliet. There was another,--but it's useless going on. And, now I wonder
what has taken you."
All this was the best justification for Charles's not having spoken to
Mr. Malcolm on the subject. That gentleman had had his own experience of
thirty or forty years, and, like some great philosophers, he made that
personal experience of his the decisive test of the possible and the
true. "I know them," he continued--"I know them; a set of hypocrites and
sharpers. I could tell you such stories of what I fell in with abroad.
Those priests are not to be trusted. Did you ever know a priest?"
"No," answered Charles.
"Did you ever see a Popish chapel?"
"No."
"Do you know anything of Catholic books, Catholic doctrine, Catholic
morality? I warrant it, not much."
Charles looked very uncomfortable.
"Then what makes you go to them?"
Charles did not know what to say.
"Silly boy," he went on, "you have not a word to say for yourself; it's
all idle fancy. You are going as a bird to the fowler."
Reding began to rouse himself; he felt he ought to say something; he
felt that silence would tell against him. "Dear sir," he answered,
"there's nothing but may be turned against one if a person is so minded.
Now, do think; had I known this or that priest, you would have said at
once, 'Ah, he came over you.' If I had been familiar with Catholic
chapels, 'I was allured by the singing or the incense.' What can I have
done better than keep myself to myself, go by my best reason, consult
the friends whom I happened to find around me, as I have done, and wait
in patience till I was sure of my convictions?"
"Ah, that's the way with you youngsters," said Mr. Malcolm; "you all
think you are so right; you do think so admirably that older heads are
worth nothing to the like of you. Well," he went on, putting on his
gloves, "I see I am not in the way to persuade you. Poor dear Charlie, I
grieve for you; what would your poor father have said, had he lived to
see it? Poor Reding, he has been spared this. But perhaps it would not
have happened. I know what the upshot will be; you will come back--come
back you will, to a dead certainty. We shall see you back, foolish boy,
after you have had your gallop over your ploughed field. Well, well;
better than running wild. You must have your hobby; it might have been a
worse; you might have run through your money. But perhaps you'll be
giving it away, as it is, to some artful priest. It's grievous,
grievous; your education thrown away, your prospects ruined, your poor
mother and sisters left to take care of themselves. And you don't say a
word to me." And he began musing. "A troublesome world: good-bye,
Charles; you are high and mighty now, and are in full sail: you may come
to your father's friend some day in a different temper. Good-bye."
There was no help for it; Charles's heart was full, but his head was
wearied and confused, and his spirit sank; for all these reasons he had
not a word to say, and seemed to Mr. Malcolm either stupid or close. He
could but wring warmly Mr. Malcolm's reluctant hand, and accompany him
down to the street-door.
CHAPTER X.
"This will never do," said Charles, as he closed the door, and ran
upstairs; "here is a day wasted, worse than wasted, wasted partly on
strangers, partly on friends; and it's hard to say in which case a more
thorough waste. I ought to have gone to the Convent at once." The
thought flashed into his mind, and he stood over the fire dwelling on
it. "Yes," he said, "I will delay no longer. How does time go? I declare
it's past four o'clock." He then thought again: "I'll get over my
dinner, and then at once betake myself to my good Passionists."
To the coffee-house then he went, and, as it was some way off, it is not
wonderful that it was near six before he arrived at the Convent. It was
a plain brick building; money had not been so abundant as to overflow
upon the exterior, after the expense of the interior had been provided
for. And it was incomplete; a large church had been enclosed, but it was
scarcely more than a shell,--altars, indeed, had been set up, but, for
the rest, it had little more than good proportions, a broad sanctuary, a
serviceable organ, and an effective choir. There was a range of
buildings adjacent, capable of holding about half-a-dozen fathers; but
the size of the church required a larger establishment. By this time,
doubtless, things are different, but we are looking back at the first
efforts of the English Congregation, when it had scarcely ceased to
struggle for life, and when friends and members were but beginning to
flow in.
It was indeed but ten years, at that time, since the severest of modern
rules had been introduced into England. Two centuries after the
memorable era when St. Philip and St. Ignatius, making light of those
bodily austerities of which they were personally so great masters,
preached mortification of will and reason as more necessary for a
civilized age,--in the lukewarm and self-indulgent eighteenth century,
Father Paul of the Cross was divinely moved to found a Congregation in
some respects more ascetic than the primitive hermits and the orders of
the middle age. It was not fast, or silence, or poverty which
distinguished it, though here too it is not wanting in strictness; but
in the cell of its venerable founder, on the Celian Hill, hangs an iron
discipline or scourge, studded with nails, which is a memorial, not only
of his own self-inflicted sufferings, but of those of his Italian
family. The object of those sufferings was as remarkable as their
intensity; penance, indeed, is in one respect the end of all
self-chastisement, but in the instance of the Passionists the use of the
scourge was specially directed to the benefit of their neighbour. They
applied the pain to the benefit of the holy souls in Purgatory, or they
underwent it to rouse a careless audience. On their missions, when their
words seemed uttered in vain, they have been known suddenly to undo
their habit, and to scourge themselves with sharp knives or razors,
crying out to the horrified people, that they would not show mercy to
their flesh till they whom they were addressing took pity on their own
perishing souls. Nor was it to their own countrymen alone that this
self-consuming charity extended; how it so happened does not appear;
perhaps a certain memento close to their house was the earthly cause;
but so it was, that for many years the heart of Father Paul was expanded
towards a northern nation, with which, humanly speaking, he had nothing
to do. Over against St. John and St. Paul, the home of the Passionists
on the Celian, rises the old church and monastery of San Gregorio, the
womb, as it may be called, of English Christianity. There had lived that
great Saint, who is named our Apostle, who was afterwards called to the
chair of St. Peter; and thence went forth, in and after his pontificate,
Augustine, Paulinus, Justus, and the other Saints by whom our barbarous
ancestors were converted. Their names, which are now written up upon the
pillars of the portico, would almost seem to have issued forth, and
crossed over, and confronted the venerable Paul; for, strange to say,
the thought of England came into his ordinary prayers; and in his last
years, after a vision during Mass, as if he had been Augustine or
Mellitus, he talked of his "sons" in England.
It was strange enough that even one Italian in the heart of Rome should
at that time have ambitious thoughts of making novices or converts in
this country; but, after the venerable Founder's death, his special
interest in our distant isle showed itself in another member of his
institute. On the Apennines, near Viterbo, there dwelt a shepherd-boy,
in the first years of this century, whose mind had early been drawn
heavenward; and, one day, as he prayed before an image of the Madonna,
he felt a vivid intimation that he was destined to preach the Gospel
under the northern sky. There appeared no means by which a Roman peasant
should be turned into a missionary; nor did the prospect open, when this
youth found himself, first a lay-brother, then a Father, in the
Congregation of the Passion. Yet, though no external means appeared, the
inward impression did not fade; on the contrary, it became more
definite, and, in process of time, instead of the dim north, England was
engraven on his heart. And, strange to say, as years went on, without
his seeking, for he was simply under obedience, our peasant found
himself at length upon the very shore of the stormy northern sea, whence
Cæsar of old looked out for a new world to conquer; yet that he should
cross the strait was still as little likely as before. However, it was
as likely as that he should ever have got so near it; and he used to eye
the restless, godless waves, and wonder with himself whether the day
would ever come when he should be carried over them. And come it did,
not however by any determination of his own, but by the same Providence
which thirty years before had given him the anticipation of it.
At the time of our narrative, Father Domenico de Matre Dei had become
familiar with England; he had had many anxieties here, first from want
of funds, then still more from want of men. Year passed after year, and,
whether fear of the severity of the rule--though that was groundless,
for it had been mitigated for England--or the claim of other religious
bodies was the cause, his community did not increase, and he was tempted
to despond. But every work has its season; and now for some time past
that difficulty had been gradually lessening; various zealous men, some
of noble birth, others of extensive acquirements, had entered the
Congregation; and our friend Willis, who at this time had received the
priesthood, was not the last of these accessions, though domiciled at a
distance from London. And now the reader knows much more about the
Passionists than did Reding at the time that he made his way to their
monastery.
The church door came first, and, as it was open, he entered it. It
apparently was filling for service. When he got inside, the person who
immediately preceded him dipped his finger into a vessel of water which
stood at the entrance, and offered it to Charles. Charles, ignorant what
it meant, and awkward from his consciousness of it, did nothing but
slink aside, and look for some place of refuge; but the whole space was
open, and there seemed no corner to retreat into. Every one, however,
seemed about his own business; no one minded him, and so far he felt at
his ease. He stood near the door, and began to look about him. A
profusion of candles was lighting at the High Altar, which stood in the
centre of a semicircular apse. There were side-altars--perhaps
half-a-dozen; most of them without lights, but, even here, solitary
worshippers might be seen. Over one was a large old Crucifix with a
lamp, and this had a succession of visitors. They came each for five
minutes, said some prayers which were attached in a glazed frame to the
rail, and passed away. At another, which was in a chapel at the farther
end of one of the aisles, six long candles were burning, and over it was
an image. On looking attentively, Charles made out at last that it was
an image of Our Lady, and the Child held out a rosary. Here a
congregation had already assembled, or rather was in the middle of some
service, to him unknown. It was rapid, alternate, and monotonous; and,
as it seemed interminable, Reding turned his eyes elsewhere. They fell
first on one, then on another confessional, round each of which was a
little crowd, kneeling, waiting every one his own turn for presenting
himself for the sacrament--the men on the one side, the women on the
other. At the lower end of the church were about three ranges of
moveable benches with backs and kneelers; the rest of the large space
was open, and filled with chairs. The growing object of attention at
present was the High Altar; and each person, as he entered, took a
chair, and, kneeling down behind it, began his prayers. At length the
church got very full; rich and poor were mixed together--artisans,
well-dressed youths, Irish labourers, mothers with two or three
children--the only division being that of men from women. A set of boys
and children, mixed with some old crones, had got possession of the
altar-rail, and were hugging it with restless motions, as if in
expectation.
Though Reding had continued standing, no one would have noticed him; but
he saw the time was come for him to kneel, and accordingly he moved into
a corner seat on the bench nearest him. He had hardly done so, when a
procession with lights passed from the sacristy to the altar; something
went on which he did not understand, and then suddenly began what, by
the _Miserere_ and _Ora pro nobis_, he perceived to be a litany; a hymn
followed. Reding thought he never had been present at worship before, so
absorbed was the attention, so intense was the devotion of the
congregation. What particularly struck him was, that whereas in the
Church of England the clergyman or the organ was everything and the
people nothing, except so far as the clerk is their representative, here
it was just reversed. The priest hardly spoke, or at least audibly; but
the whole congregation was as though one vast instrument or
Panharmonicon, moving all together, and, what was most remarkable, as if
self-moved. They did not seem to require any one to prompt or direct
them, though in the Litany the choir took the alternate parts. The words
were Latin, but every one seemed to understand them thoroughly, and to
be offering up his prayers to the Blessed Trinity, and the Incarnate
Saviour, and the great Mother of God, and the glorified Saints, with
hearts full in proportion to the energy of the sounds they uttered.
There was a little boy near him, and a poor woman, singing at the pitch
of their voices. There was no mistaking it; Reding said to himself,
"This _is_ a popular religion." He looked round at the building; it was,
as we have said, very plain, and bore the marks of being unfinished;
but the Living Temple which was manifested in it needed no curious
carving or rich marble to complete it, "for the glory of God had
enlightened it, and the Lamb was the lamp thereof." "How wonderful,"
said Charles to himself, "that people call this worship formal and
external; it seems to possess all classes, young and old, polished and
vulgar, men and women indiscriminately; it is the working of one Spirit
in all, making many one."
While he was thus thinking, a change came over the worship. A priest, or
at least an assistant, had mounted for a moment above the altar, and
removed a chalice or vessel which stood there; he could not see
distinctly. A cloud of incense was rising on high; the people suddenly
all bowed low; what could it mean? the truth flashed on him, fearfully
yet sweetly; it was the Blessed Sacrament--it was the Lord Incarnate who
was on the altar, who had come to visit and to bless His people. It was
the Great Presence, which makes a Catholic Church different from every
other place in the world; which makes it, as no other place can be,
holy. The Breviary offices were by this time not unknown to Reding; and
as he threw himself on the pavement, in sudden self-abasement and joy,
some words of those great Antiphons came into his mouth, from which
Willis had formerly quoted: "O Adonai, et Dux domûs Israel, qui Moysi in
rubo apparuisti; O Emmanuel, Exspectatio Gentium et Salvator earum, veni
ad salvandum nos, Domine Deus noster."
The function did not last very long after this; Reding, on looking up,
found the congregation rapidly diminishing, and the lights in course of
extinction. He saw he must be quick in his motions. He made his way to a
lay-brother who was waiting till the doors could be closed, and begged
to be conducted to the Superior. The lay-brother feared he might be busy
at the moment, but conducted him through the sacristy to a small neat
room, where, being left to himself, he had time to collect his thoughts.
At length the Superior appeared; he was a man past the middle age, and
had a grave yet familiar manner. Charles's feelings were indescribable,
but all pleasurable. His heart beat, not with fear or anxiety, but with
the thrill of delight with which he realized that he was beneath the
shadow of a Catholic community, and face to face with one of its
priests. His trouble went in a moment, and he could have laughed for
joy. He could hardly keep his countenance, and almost feared to be taken
for a fool. He presented the card of his railroad companion. The good
Father smiled when he saw the name, nor did the few words which were
written with pencil on the card diminish his satisfaction. Charles and
he soon came to an understanding; he found himself already known in the
community by means of Willis; and it was arranged that he should take up
his lodging with his new friends forthwith, and remain there as long as
it suited him. He was to prepare for confession at once; and it was
hoped that on the following Sunday he might be received into Catholic
communion. After that, he was, at a convenient interval, to present
himself to the Bishop, from whom he would seek the sacrament of
confirmation. Not much time was necessary for removing his luggage from
his lodgings; and in the course of an hour from the time of his
interview with the Father Superior, he was sitting by himself, with pen
and paper and his books, and with a cheerful fire, in a small cell of
his new home.
CHAPTER XI.
A very few words will conduct us to the end of our history. It was
Sunday morning about seven o'clock, and Charles had been admitted into
the communion of the Catholic Church about an hour since. He was still
kneeling in the church of the Passionists before the Tabernacle, in the
possession of a deep peace and serenity of mind, which he had not
thought possible on earth. It was more like the stillness which almost
sensibly affects the ears when a bell that has long been tolling stops,
or when a vessel, after much tossing at sea, finds itself in harbour. It
was such as to throw him back in memory on his earliest years, as if he
were really beginning life again. But there was more than the happiness
of childhood in his heart; he seemed to feel a rock under his feet; it
was the _soliditas Cathedræ Petri_. He went on kneeling, as if he were
already in heaven, with the throne of God before him, and angels around;
and as if to move were to lose his privilege.
At length he felt a light hand on his shoulder, and a voice said,
"Reding, I am going; let me just say farewell to you before I go." He
looked around; it was Willis, or rather Father Aloysius, in his dark
Passionist habit, with the white heart sewed in at his left breast.
Willis carried him from the church into the sacristy. "What a joy,
Reding!" he whispered, when the door closed upon them; "what a day of
joy! St. Edward's day, a doubly blessed day henceforth. My Superior let
me be present; but now I must go. You did not see me, but I was present
through the whole."
"Oh," said Charles, "what shall I say?--the face of God! As I knelt I
seemed to wish to say this, and this only, with the Patriarch, 'Now let
me die, since I have seen Thy Face.'"
"You, dear Reding," said Father Aloysius, "have keen fresh feelings;
mine are blunted by familiarity."
"No, Willis," he made answer, "you have taken the better part betimes,
while I have loitered. Too late have I known Thee, O Thou ancient Truth;
too late have I found Thee, First and only Fair."
"All is well, except as sin makes it ill," said Father Aloysius; "if you
have to lament loss of time before conversion, I have to lament it
after. If you speak of delay, must not I of rashness? A good God
overrules all things. But I must away. Do you recollect my last words
when we parted in Devonshire? I have thought of them often since; they
were too true then. I said, 'Our ways divide.' They are different still,
yet they are the same. Whether we shall meet again here below, who
knows? but there will be a meeting ere long before the Throne of God,
and under the shadow of His Blessed Mother and all Saints. 'Deus
manifeste veniet, Deus noster, et non silebit.'"
Reding took Father Aloysius's hand and kissed it; as he sank on his
knees the young priest made the sign of blessing over him. Then he
vanished through the door of the sacristy; and the new convert sought
his temporary cell, so happy in the Present, that he had no thoughts
either for the Past or the Future.
THE END.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
_CARDINAL NEWMAN'S WORKS._
1. SERMONS.
1-8. PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS. (_Rivingtons._)
9. SERMONS ON SUBJECTS OF THE DAY. (_Rivingtons._)
10. UNIVERSITY SERMONS. (_Rivingtons._)
11. SERMONS TO MIXED CONGREGATIONS. (_Burns & Oates._)
12. OCCASIONAL SERMONS. (_Burns & Oates._)
2. TREATISES.
13. ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION. (_Rivingtons._)
14. ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. (_Pickering._)
15. ON THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSITY. (_Pickering._)
16. ON THE DOCTRINE OF ASSENT. (_Burns & Oates._)
3. ESSAYS.
17. TWO ESSAYS ON MIRACLES. 1. Of Scripture. 2. Of Ecclesiastical
History. (_Pickering._)
18. DISCUSSIONS AND ARGUMENTS. 1. How to accomplish it. 2. The
Antichrist of the Fathers. 3. Scripture and the Creed. 4. Tamworth
Reading-Room. 5. Who's to blame? 6. An Argument for Christianity.
(_Pickering._)
19, 20. ESSAYS, CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL. TWO VOLUMES, WITH NOTES. 1.
Poetry. 2. Rationalism. 3. Apostolical Tradition. 4. De la Mennais. 5.
Palmer on Faith and Unity. 6. St. Ignatius. 7. Prospects of the Anglican
Church. 8. The Anglo-American Church. 9. Countess of Huntingdon. 10.
Catholicity of the Anglican Church. 11. The Antichrist of Protestants.
12. Milman's Christianity. 13. Reformation of the Eleventh Century. 14.
Private Judgment. 15. Davison. 16. Keble. (_Pickering._)
4. HISTORICAL.
21-23. THREE VOLUMES. 1. The Turks. 2. Cicero. 3. Apollonius. 4.
Primitive Christianity. 5. Church of the Fathers. 6. St. Chrysostom. 7.
Theodoret. 8. St. Benedict. 9. Benedictine Schools. 10. Universities.
11. Northmen and Normans. 12. Medieval Oxford. 13. Convocation of
Canterbury. (_Pickering._)
5. THEOLOGICAL.
24. THE ARIANS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY. (_Pickering._)
25, 26. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF ATHANASIUS. TWO VOLUMES. (_Pickering._)
27. TRACTS. 1. Dissertatiunculæ. 2. On the Text of the Seven Epistles of
St. Ignatius. 3. Doctrinal Causes of Arianism. 4. Apollinarianism. 5.
St. Cyril's Formula. 6. Ordo de Tempore. 7. Douay Version of Scripture.
(_Pickering._)
6. POLEMICAL.
28, 29. VIA MEDIA. TWO VOLUMES, WITH NOTES. 1st Vol. Prophetical Office
of the Church. 2d Vol. Occasional Letters and Tracts. (_Pickering._)
30, 31. DIFFICULTIES OF ANGLICANS. TWO VOLUMES. 1st Vol. Twelve
Lectures. 2d Vol. Letters to Dr. Pusey concerning the Bl. Virgin, and to
the Duke of Norfolk in Defence of the Pope and Council. (_Burns & Oates,
and Pickering._)
32. PRESENT POSITION OF CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND. (_Burns & Oates._)
33. APOLOGIA PRO VITÂ SUÂ. (_Longmans._)
7. LITERARY.
34. VERSES ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS. (_Burns & Oates._)
35. LOSS AND GAIN. (_Burns & Oates, and Pickering._)
36. CALLISTA. (_Burns & Oates._)
It is scarcely necessary to say that the Author submits all that he has
written to the judgment of the Church, whose gift and prerogative it is
to determine what is true and what is false in religious teaching.