, to me, very
impressively affecting. The altar-piece represented Christ's rising
from the tomb, and this was the subject-matter of the priest's
sermon. In the midst of it he turned and pointed to the painting,
with a few touching words. All eyes followed his, which made his
remarks doubly affecting. How inspiring it must be to the priest,
when he is preaching, to see around him the Saviour, and the goodly
company of martyrs, saints, and fathers! There may be objections to
having paintings and sculptures in churches, but I confess that I
never enter a place where there is either but I feel an awe, an
invisible influence, which strikes me mute. I would sit in silence,
covering my head. A sanctified atmosphere seems to fill the place and
to penetrate my soul when I enter, as if I were in a holy temple.
'Thou standest in a holy place,' I would say. A loud word, a heavy
footstep, makes me shudder, as if an infidel were desecrating the
place. I stand speechless, in a magical atmosphere that wraps my
whole being, scarcely daring to lift my eyes. A perfect stillness
comes over my soul; it seems to be soaring on the bosom of clouds."

"Tuesday, April 18.--I confess that either the Church is not
sufficient for my wants or I have not seen it in its glory. I hope it
may be the latter. I do not want to say it, but I must own that it
fills me no more. I contemplate it, I look at it, I comprehend it. It
does not lead me to aspire. I feel that either it has nothing to
give, or that what it has is not that for which my soul is aching. I
know it can be said in reply that I cannot know what the Church has
until I am in communion with it; that it satisfies natures greater
than mine; that it is the true life of the world; that there is no
true spirituality outside of it, and that before I can judge it
rightly my life must be equal to it in purity and elevation. Much
more might be said. But, after all, what is it? The Catholic shows up
the Anglican; the Anglican retorts with an accusation of corruption,
and even a want of purity; the Protestant, the Presbyterian, claim
their own mission at the expense of consistency and good logic. . . .

"The whole fact, I suppose, is that if there is anything in
Succession, Tradition, Infallibility, Church organism and form, it is
in the Catholic Church, and our business will be to stop this
controversy and call an Ecumenical Council which shall settle these
matters according to the Bible, Tradition, an