than they now experience. But as long as they regard their present church as ideally perfect, on account of the beauty of its Liturgy and the Scriptural character of its Articles, and continue to shut their eyes to its gigantic practical abuses, and the toleration of every false doctrine in its midst, so long must they remain, as they are, "cribbed, cabined, and confined." Truth, immortal truth, would win the day, if men would energise for truth and the gospel alone, and not for the mere scaffolding of Churchmanship.

A danger is ahead for the Evangelical party, one which even now they ought to beware of. It is that of having additional manacles placed on them. The Royal Commissioners, in their first two reports, have pronounced against the Ritualistic innovations, either unanimously, as in the first instance, or by a large majority, as in the second. So far, so good. But who expected otherwise, even from an assembly of moderate High Churchmen? But what will be contained in the next part of the Commissioners' report, which has to deal with the rubrics and the tables of proper lessons? Is it unlikely that while certain rubrics and lessons may be altered, the whole may be made more binding on the clergy than formerly, and that some additional power may be recommended to be given into the hands of the bishops?

There is no doubt that Evangelical men have from time to time taken liberties with the rubrics and canons, liberties which custom permits them now to avail themselves of without let or hindrance. Who now gives out notice of the holy-days or fasting days to be observed in each week? Who is there but considers himself free to give notice of missionary meetings, Bible meetings, Bible classes, and prayer meetings, without troubling himself to consult his bishop on the subject? How many clergymen administer the Lord's Supper by repeating the formulas to railsful of communicants, instead of each individual?* How few trouble themselves with the inquiry whether all their communicants are confirmed, or if not, are willing to be so? How many, on the contrary, rejoice to see members of other denominations partakers at the Lord's table? But each and all of these practices are unrubrical. Nay, the canon goes further, and instructs the minister not to admit strangers to the communion, but to "remit such home to their own parish churches

This may appear a matter of slight moment whichever way it may be settled, but to some minds it is not so. When a clergyman has to administer the Lord's Supper to the moderate number say of 50 communicants, it is very difficult for many to repeat the same formularies over 200 times, in the space of 30 or 45 minutes, without feeling not only fatigue, but actually pronouncing solemn words in a careless and heartless manner.

Divergences from the Rubrics and Canons.

499

and ministers, there to receive the communion with the rest of their neighbours"-(Canon 28).

Other points can be easily mentioned-such as the reading of the offertory, and the use of the prayer for the Church Militant on every occasion, and the consequent lengthening of the service and shortening of the time for the more important duty of the minister, namely, the exposition of God's word. Many earnest ministers of the Church are in the habit of having prayer meetings, which are sometimes partly conducted by laymen, or by members of other churches. It is very questionable whether all such meetings do not come under the head of "conventicles," and whether they might not be condemned by a rigorous exposition of Church law.

Many of the clergy never read the whole of the marriage service, the wording of which, indeed, is too plain and unfastidious for modern taste in general. But in this they unquestionably violate both the rubric and the Act of Uniformity, though custom may now, perhaps, secure them from all penalties. Instead of curtailing this liberty, we would prefer to see the same liberty taken with both the Baptismal and Burial Services.

Some, also, of the Evangelical clergy are wont occasionally to use extempore prayer before their sermons-a very laudable custom, indeed, as we think, and one the principle of which is approved of in the 55th canon. But there are many inclined even to forbid this small liberty; and, as practised, there is little doubt that it is unrubrical, though the using of a collect as a prayer before the sermon is equally so.

Nay, more, private meetings of ministers to consult together as to the course to be taken by them in any emergency are forbidden by Canon 73, and it may be questioned whether that Canon could not be applied to forbid many committee meetings. held for divers purposes.

We do not care to refer to several Canons which are obsolete and absurd, as those respecting the exorcism of devils, the cut of ecclesiastical coats, or the "night caps" " ecclesiastical persons are permitted to wear. Our object is only to indicate some points in which clergymen of the Church of England have set at nought the regulations of their Church, and, laudably, as we think, have broken through her ordinances. One point only we shall in conclusion refer to, and that is the reading of the Apocryphal Lessons in the Church. We know not what the Royal Commissioners may recommend on this head, but meanwhile we have to consider matters as they are, not as they may be.

Evangelical men, as a rule, have passed over these lessons, and substituted in their room others from Canonical Scripture.

The "admonition to all ministers ecclesiastical" prefixed to the second volume of the "Homilies" may be pleaded in defence of their conduct; whether legally or not, we do not now inquire.

But what we do ask is this, Whether the successors of Newton, Romaine, and Simeon, will see with complacency these liberties which we have recounted curtailed? whether, in order to oblige Ritualists to dress a little less like Roman priests while they still are permitted to preach Popish doctrine, men who love the gospel and desire liberty to set forth Christ and his salvation, and to work freely for the conversion of souls, will allow themselves to be restricted in their liberties? whether, in order to drive the stag from the pasture, they will permit bishops and convocation to bridle, saddle, and ride them.

It has not, indeed, come to this in England, but it is not unlikely it will soon. World-loving men may be indignant if Evangelicals will not submit to a compromise, which may put an end to the outward extravagances of Ritualism, while it deprives preachers of the gospel of their liberty. Moderate men, as they are called, may admire mutual concession, and may be willing to leave us the liberty of preaching, if we only resign the liberty of practising. But if any unworthy compromise be suggested and carried into effect, we hope to see a noble secession of Evangelical men from the ranks of the Church, a secession large in numbers, and as earnest, we trust, in feeling, as was that of the brave Puritans of old. Regardless of any fears of disestablishment, or any dread of secession, we trust the cry of the Evangelicals will be, We will compromise none of our liberties, and we will abate none of our freedom of action, while we strive earnestly to drive from the Church the men who desire peace with Rome, and wish to lead us back to the darkness of the middle ages.

THER

ART. IV.-The Great St Bernard Hospice.

HERE is no episode in continental travel more interesting at the time, and more suggestive of pleasing memories afterwards, than a visit to the Great St Bernard Hospice. It does one moral as well as physical good. The imagination is stimulated by the associations of the place; and the heart filled with the feverish unrest and love of excitement, so characteristic of the present age, is rebuked and calmed by the loneliness and monotony of the life led there. Every one has heard of its dogs and monks, and its travellers rescued from

the snow storms. Pictures of it used to excite our wonder in the days of childhood; descriptions of it in almost every Swiss tourist's book have interested us in maturer years; while not a few of us have made a pilgrimage to the spot, and thus given to the romantic dreams and fancies of early life a local habitation and a name. Still, trite and worn-out as the subject may appear, it is impossible by any amount of familiarity to divest it of its undying charm; and those who have visited the scene, so far from their interest in it being exhausted, have only been made more enthusiastic in its favour, and more anxious to compare or contrast their own experience with that of every new traveller who writes upon it. For these reasons we offer no apology for laying the following sketch of the monastery before the readers of the Evangelical Review, at a time when the annual migratory instinct is impelling multitudes away from the smoke and roar of cities to the green haunts and the primitive life of nature, and stirring up in the hearts of lonely students, weary of mental labour, longings for the blue lakes of the Highlands, or the gleaming snows of the Alps, to restore the balance between mind and body. Subjects of this kind will now excite an amount of attention which they would not have received amid the pressing cares and duties of the busy season, and will be felt to be in harmony with the mood of men's minds, and with the pursuits in which they are engaged. Especially is such a subject at such a time suitable for the pages of this journal, inasmuch as it rests upon an ecclesiastical basis, and combines in a felicitous manner the studies of the theologian with the adventures and enjoyments of the tourist.

Before proceeding to describe the Hospice itself, with its scenery and historical associations, it is proper to explain the circumstances of its origin. There are three monks of the name of Bernard whose names occupy a high place in the Roman calendar of saints. All of them were celebrated men, and left their mark upon the age in which they lived. St Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, on the Lake of Geneva, was, during the first half of the twelfth century, the oracle of all Christian Europe. His austere mode of life, inspiring eloquence, boldness of language, and supposed prophetical powers, raised him to a nobler rank than that of any pope or cardinal, and made him by far the most influential ecclesiastic of the middle ages. He was the umpire of princes and bishops, and his voice in the councils of the church was regarded as almost divine. By historians he is regarded with interest as the great apostle of the second crusade; but a sweeter charm invests his memory as the author of works in which an enthusiastic mysticism blends with an eminently practical aim. Luther says of him, 'If there has ever been a pious monk who feared God, it was

St Bernard, whom also I hold in much higher esteem than all other monks and priests throughout the globe." The monk whose name is imperishably associated with the Alpine Pass and Hospice, must not be confounded with this remarkable man, nor yet with St Bernard of Cluny, the pious author of that exquisite hymn, so common now in our modern collections, "Jerusalem the Golden." Bernard de Menthon had his own claims to the gratitude and admiration of mankind, though they were not so great as those of his more distinguished namesakes. His history displays more romance than is usually found in the calm, uneventful life of a Roman ecclesiastic, and deserves a brief notice in passing. Ibertis in his admirable "Essai Historique" informs us, that he was born in the Chateau de Menthon on the Lake of Annecy, about the year 923. His parents were of noble extraction, and possessed extensive estates in Savoy. Being their only child, they were naturally anxious that he should perpetuate the hereditary honours of the family, and for this purpose they planned a match between him and a rich and accomplished heiress who lived in the neighbourhood. Bernard, however, was of a studious and religious temperament, and encouraged by his tutor, had resolved to give himself up to a monastic life. He was therefore for a long time deaf to the entreaties of his parents. In the hope that his resolution would melt away if brought for a while under the immediate spell of Marguerite's beauty, he was induced to pay a visit to the Chateau de Miolans, where she resided; his tutor in the mean time having been dismissed. This ruse seemed at first to be successful; none could come within the influence of the lovely person and accomplished mind of the sweet "Pearl of Savoy" without being fascinated. To see her was to love her; and even Bernerd himself began to think that possibly life might be happier as well as nobler spent with her than in the solitude of the cloister. When at intervals he had recourse to his religious studies, he could no longer peruse calmly the ancient books which had formerly been to him a passion. Instead of carrying with him the most abstract meanings of his author, his mind wandered to a thousand indefinite remembrances-the last smile on Marguerite's lip, the last pressure of her hand, the last soft word she uttered. So matters progressed to the satisfaction of all parties, until at last the day was fixed for uniting the fortunes of the two families by the marriage of the young couple. The night before the wedding, Bernard retired to his chamber, not in the blissful state in which most lovers are supposed to spend their last night of single blessedness, but greatly agitated by contending feelings. Doubts of the propriety of the course he was pursuing troubled his mind; and though