betrayal of friends by
Popish converts, and the encouragement they receive from the priest. No
sooner is a person converted to Popery than his principal thought is how
he can bring the hands and feet of his brethren, however harmless they
may be, and different from the giants, to the "holy priests," who, if he
manages to do so, never fail to praise him, saying to the miserable
wretch, as the abbot said to Morgante:--

"Tu sarai or perfetto e vero amico
A Cristo, quanto tu gli eri nemico."

Can the English public deny the justice of Pulci's illustration, after
something which it has lately witnessed? {311} Has it not seen
equivalents for the hands and feet of brothers carried by Popish perverts
to the "holy priests," and has it not seen the manner in which the
offering has been received? Let those who are in quest of bigotry seek
for it amongst the perverts to Rome, and not amongst those who, born in
the pale of the Church of England, have always continued in it.

CHAPTER III. ON FOREIGN NONSENSE.

With respect to the third point, various lessons which the book reads to
the nation at large, and which it would be well for the nation to ponder
and profit by.

There are many species of nonsense to which the nation is much addicted,
and of which the perusal of Lavengro ought to give them a wholesome
shame. First of all, with respect to the foreign nonsense so prevalent
now in England. The hero is a scholar; but, though possessed of a great
many tongues, he affects to be neither Frenchman nor German, nor this or
that foreigner; he is one who loves his country, and the language and
literature of his country, and speaks up for each and all when there is
occasion to do so. Now what is the case with nine out of ten amongst
those of the English who study foreign languages? No sooner have they
picked up a smattering of this or that speech than they begin to abuse
their own country and everything connected with it, more especially its
language. This is particularly the case with those who call themselves
German students. It is said, and the writer believes with truth, that
when a woman falls in love with a particularly ugly fellow, she squeezes
him with ten times more zest than she would a handsome one if captivated
by him. So it is with these German students; no sooner have they taken
German in hand than there is nothing like German. Oh, the dear,
delightful German! How proud am I that it is now my own