the whole question. Before we can have efficient | National Education of peculiar interest and importance schools, it will be necessary to have a sufficiency of at the present time. Our social condition is about to efficient schoolmasters; and before we can secure the be subjected to the scrutiny of a larger number of services of an adequate number of educated men, civilized strangers than the arts of peace have ever properly qualified for the instruction of the young, it before attracted to our shores. Our habits and instiwill be requisite to concede to them the social position tutions will be exposed to criticism, not always of the to which their acquirements and important functions most friendly character, and comparisons will be made fairly entitle them. We do not wish to be misunder- between the circumstances of our own and other stood. During the last few years, we are well aware countries, which, in many instances, even to the most that much attention has been paid to the training of impartial mind, may not be altogether in favour of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, and many well- Great Britain. Our wealth and industrial energy informed men and women have been prepared for the will excite wonder and admiration; we may appear due discharge of their important office, through the full even to fatness of all the material attributes of instrumentality of training schools, for the establish- greatness: but there is a darker side to the glowing ment of which society has every reason to be grate- picture which will not escape the eye of the unfaful. Parish schoolmasters, as a class, are unques-vourable critic. We may expect him to point with tionably improved, and instances of gross ignorance reproving exultation to the signs of popular ignoand inefficiency are of much rarer occurrence than rance which abound amongst us, and admit of no they were ten years ago. But whilst great efforts excuse. In what way can we palliate the scandalous have been recently made for the improvement of the neglect of duty in high places which the intellectual schoolmaster, and though gross examples of incom-condition of our people seems to imply? Our gaols petence are not so common as they were, the position of those engaged in the work of instruction appears to us by no means satisfactory. With the establishment of a proper scheme of popular education, we should expect to see greater consideration shown to the profession of the instructor. We should expect to see a proper rank assigned him; and, the dignity and importance of the calling being fairly recognised, we have not the slightest doubt, that many accomplished men of quiet habits and studious tastes would be soon found engaged in the important duty of forming the minds and characters of a rising generation. For very many the task would have a peculiar attraction, if the prejudice against it were removed. The noblest minds would find in the district school a congenial sphere of usefulness. It has been said by Wordsworth, that, "Strongest minds Are often those of whom the noisy world and to such minds a carcer of unobtrusive usefulness Before we conclude these desultory remarks, there is one consideration which forces itself on our attention, and appears to us to render the question of (1) We have accidentally taken up an old newspaper, whilst pre paring this article, and in a speech delivered in the House of Lords on the 15th July, 1839, by Lord Brougham, we find the following instances of the ignorance of schoolmasters. "The great majority of the schools in Manchester," said his lordship, "were also taught without order or system, and a great number of teachers were incompetent to their task. On questioning one of the teachers, he always answered in the affirmative. He was asked whether he knew Greek, and Latin, and Mathematics, to all of which questions he gave an affirmative reply, upon which one of the gentlemen are filled with the illiterate-the neglected and untaught; and whatever connexion there may be between ignorance and crime,-(a question on which we cannot enter here,)-one thing is clear, that the state which is prompt to punish is not equally prompt to enlighten and instruct. Wherever there is abject poverty, ignorance will be found its invariable concomitant, and generally its cause. Debasing habits and debasing vices flourish, because no intellectual tastes have been implanted or encouraged. When all this is noticed, and contrasted with our vast opportunities; when our great resources, our internal prosperity, our freedom from civil discord, and our professions of religious zeal are called to mind, will not the existence of so much heathen ignorance at our own doors, be a continual subject of reproach which will sound harshly and sorrowfully in our ears? Where so much wealth is ostentatiously displayed, who would have thought that its producers could have been so little cared for? We are not indulging in mere vague declamation. If the testimony of intelligent observers is to be relied on, the intellectual condition of the English people is far below that of many countries over which we have been accustomed to vaunt our superiority. Other states have not left the education of the people to mere chance, and the adoption of an enlightened scheme of instruction has been, in most instances, followed by a corresponding improvement in physical and moral condition. A writer, in every way qualified to form a correct judgment on the subject, has, in a recent work, emphatically stated, that "the moral, intellectual, and physical condition of the peasants and operatives of Prussia, Saxony, and other parts of Germany, of Holland, and of the Protestant cantons of Switzerland, and the social condition of the peasants in the greater part of France, is very much higher and 2 (2) "The Social Condition and Education of the People of England and Europe." By Joseph Kay... late Travelling Fellow of the University of Cambridge. happier, and very much more satisfactory, than that of the peasants and operatives of England." And he goes on to give the reasons for this, which appear to us, under present circumstances, of sufficient import-drilled into frequenting schools, or compelled, as our ance to be inserted in this paper: the circumstances and institutions of our own country, JESUS. The walk to Emmaus.-Appearance of Jesus to his disciples in the room where they met.-His reappearance on the shore of the Lake Gennesareth." "The disciples of Jesus wander about the scene of his sufferings. A LONG and sunny tranquil afternoon "The great superiority of the preparation for life which a poor man," he observes, "receives in those countries I have mentioned, to that which a peasant or operative receives in England, and the difference of the social position of a poor man in those countries to that of a peasant or operative in England, seem sufficient to explain the difference which exists between the moral and social condition of the poor of our own country and of the other countries I have named. In Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, a child begins its life in the society of parents who have been educated and brought up for years in the company of learned and gentlemanly professors, and in the society and under the direction of a father who has been exercised in military arts, and who has acquired the bearing, the clean and orderly habits, and the taste for respectable attire, which characterise the soldier. The children of these countries spend the first six years of their lives in homes which are well regulated. They are during this time accustomed to orderly habits, to neat ana ciean clothes, and to ideas of the value of instruction, of the respect due to the teachers, and of the excellence of the schools, by parents who have, by their training in carly life, acquired such tastes and ideas themselves. Each child at the age of six begins to attend a school, which is perfectly clean, well ventilated, directed by an able and welleducated gentleman, and superintended by the religious ministers and by the inspectors of the Govern ment. Until the completion of its fourteenth year, each child continues regular daily attendance at one of these schools, daily strengthening its habits of cleanliness and order, learning the rudiments of useful knowledge, receiving the principles of religion and morality, and gaining confirmed health and physical energy by the exercise and drill of the school playground. No children are left idle in the streets of the towns; no children are allowed to grovel in the gutters; no children are allowed to make their appearance at the schools dirty, or in ragged clothes; and the local authorities are obliged to clothe all whose parents cannot afford to clothe them. The children of the poor of Germany, Holland and Switzerland acquire stronger habits of cleanliness, neatness, and industry at the primary schools, than the children of the small shopkeeping classes of England do at the private schools of England; and they leave the As thus they thought, primary schools of these countries much better in- And to each other told their fears, a voice structed than those who leave our middle class private Of kindly greeting sounded by their side. schools. After having learnt reading, writing, arith-It was the voice of one whose look and garb, metic, singing, geography, history and the Scriptures, Of the bright evening, seem'd of nobler kind Seen through the meshes of the golden veil the children leave the schools, carrying with them Than wont to meet the eyes of such as loved into life habits of cleanliness, neatness, order and Lone country walks. But with familiar tones industry, and awakened intellect, capable of collecting He follow'd in the train of their discourse; truths and reasoning upon them." It is not our wish-far from it-unduly to disparage The mightiest of the sons of men abode. And ever and anon a stream of light Thought to its higher consciousness. But soon, Flow'd round about Him; but they saw no more; As men who sit and talk of one whose step That every hour hath in itself a life, A spirit, which in passing us but speaks Of its own journey to another sphere, Where it will meet with us again, and be Each heart was now Fill'd with its own best hopes; unquiet dreams A readiness to wait and trust, proclaim'd The action of some wondrous power at work And when thus A traveller who had journey'd through the grave, Another moon Was on the wane, and softly fell its light Of the grey morning rose upon the waves, Their hearts and minds was changed. Another life, Such visions fill'd Their souls: but' now their bark had reach'd the shore, A stranger hail'd them. By his words he seem'd Perils escaped, and hardships well endured. And they who loved Him most still seem'd to trace From "Jesus," a recent poem, by the Rev. H. Stebbing. ITALY. LA SANTA CASA, OR THE VIRGIN'S HOUSE, AT LORETO. BY S. LEY WOLMER. THE traveller who passes through that part of Italy called the March, or Marquisate of Ancona, in the early spring time, when the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin is celebrated, or in the autumn, when the Roman Calendar fixes the time of her birthday, will observe an unusual bustle in every part,-groups of travellers are all tending to one destination; bands of pilgrims, peasants, women, and children, are hastening to Loreto! to visit the Holy House of the Blessed Virgin. Now this town of Loreto is, in itself, but a small place, situate on a hill, at a short distance from the Adriatic Sea, and a few miles from Ancona, the principal city of the district; but Loreto has become famous all over the world, from circumstances as extraordinary (if true) as ever happened to any city whatever. Who has not heard of the Image that fell down from Jupiter, of which the town clerk made mention at Ephesus after the messengers of the Apostle Paul had exclaimed against the superstitions of the inhabitants of that place?1-but at Loreto there is a house of stone-a real chamber-said to have been built more than eighteen centuries ago in (1) Acts xix. 35, foundation yet remaining, they found it wholy agre able, and in a wall thereby ingraven, that it had stood there, and had left the place; which donne, they presently returning back, published the premisses to be true, and from that time forwards it hath byn certainly knowne that this church was the Chamber of the Blessed Virgin, to which Christians begun then and have ever since had great devotion, for that in it daily she hath donne, and doth many and many miracles. One friar Pavi di Silva, an ermit of great sanctity, who lived in a cottage nigh unto this Church, whither daily he went to matins, said that for ten years space, on the viii of September, two houres before day, he saw the Holy Land, and once inhabited by the most blessed of earth's daughters, and by her more blessed Son, but which was subsequenty brought, "upborne by angels' wings," to Italy, and there deposited, and now, A.D. 1851, is there to be seen; such facts as these deserve a record, and demand scrutiny. They are not the shadowy and dim records of the times we are pleased to call dark ages-they appeal to the credence of the day. I shall embody much of the history of this strange prodigy, as well as offer the best authentication of the statements offered by the Romanists themselves in relation to it, by transcribing the Loreto edition of 1839, of the reprint of an old translation, most probably made especially for the benefit of Eug-a light descend from heaven, upon it, which he said lish travellers and pilgrims, and certified thus: was the Blessed Virgin, who there showed herself on the feast of her nativity; in confirmation of all which, two vertuous men of the said citty of Recanati divers times declared unto me, prefect of Terreman and governor of the forenamed Church, as followeth :-the one, cald Paul Renalduci, avouced, that his grand-¦ father's grandfather sawe when the angels brought it over sca, and placed it in the forementioned wood, and had often visited there; the other, called Francis Prior, in like sort affirmed that his grandfather, being same place; and for a further proof that it had byn there, he reported, that his grandfather's grandfather had a house nigh unto it, wherein he dwelt, and that in his time it was carryed by the angels from thence to the mountaine of the two brothers, where they placed it as above said." By order of the Right Reverend Monsignor "The most reverend Cardinal Moroni, "I, Robert Corbington, Priest of the Society of Jesus, in the year 1634, have faithfully translated the Premises. Out of the Latin, hung up in the said Church." As the Jesuit, by his statement, appears himself to have a talent for translating premises, we may with greater satisfaction listen, (without altering his style, or correcting his orthography,) to his account of " the Miraculous Origin and Translation of the Church of our Blessed Lady of Loreto;" which is as follows:-c.xx. yeares ould, had also much frequented it in the "The Church of Loreto was a Chamber of the Blessed Virgin, nigh Hierusalem, in the Citty of Nazareth, in which she was born, and bred, and saluted by the Angel, and therein conceaved, and brought up her Sonne Jesus to the age of twelve yeares. This Chamber, after the ascension of our Saviour, was by the Apostles consecrated into a Church, in honore of our Blessed Lady. And Saint Luke made a picture to her likeness, extant therein, to be seene at this very day; it was frequented with great devotion, by the people of the country where it stood, whilst they were Catholicks, but when, leaving the faith of Christ, they followed the Sect of Mahomet, the Angels tooke it, and carrying it into Sclavonia, placed it by a towne called Flumen, where not being had in due reverence, they againe transported it over sca, to a wood in the territory of Recanati belonging to a noble woman, called Loreto, from whom it first tooke the name of our Blessed Lady of Loreto; and thence againe they carried it, by reason of the many robberies committed, to a mountain of two brothers, in the said territory; and from thence, finally, in respect of their disagreement about the gifts and offerings, to the common highway not far distant, where it now remains without foundation, famous for many signes, graces, and miracles, where the inhabitants of Recanati, who often came to see it, much wondering, environed it with a strong and thick wall, yet could noe man tel whence it came oricanally til in the yeare M.CC.XC.VI. the Blessed Virgin appeared in sleep, to a holy devout man, to whom she revealed it, and he divulged it to others of authority in this provence, who determining fordwith to try the truth of the vision, resolved to choose xvi men of credit, who, to that effect, should go all togeather to the citty of Nazareth, as they did, carrying with them the measure of the Church, and comparing it there with the It was on a fine day in Autumn, with the sun shining as it delights to do in Italy, and a glorious firmament without a cloud above me, when I entered the town of Loreto. I felt at once I was in no ordinary city-at the hotel, instead of serving my dinner, the pretty daughters of the host assailed me with trays and boxes full of the most tempting things in the shape of rosaries, necklaces, crosses, strings of beads, books, medals, all blessed in the House of Loretoconsecrated tapers, pictures of saints and saintesses, and other things forming a selection large enough for a bazaar, to which my attention was invited as being the most appropriate occupation for myself in the City of the Virgin, and possibly not less lucrative to the hotel than supplying the ordinary accommodations for the body. I made a selection of pretty toys, and afterwards visited the principal strect of the town, of which it would be difficult to give a just idea. The business of Loreto was at its height there; the street, it is true, was full of shops, but shops, and materials in them, unlike those of any other commercial city, I should suppose, in Christendom. I was obliged again to remind myself of the Ephesian craftsmen, to whom "the making small shrines for Diana brought no church bells are merrily ringing. Entered within, and approaching the sacred precincts, again the devotees cast themselves on the ground, heartily saluting the Virgin, and this some do with so much ardour as to move many who witness them (so says a traveller of former days) even to tears. small gain." Every shop was a mart for variations | saints, and carrying large crucifixes and representaof the rosaries, necklaces, crosses, strings of beads, tions of the crucifixion; priests accompany them books, medals, consecrated tapers, and the pictures of who chant and sing in unison, with loud and not dis saints and saintesses; and outside every shop stood cordant voices. Then follow other votaries, bearing one or more of the damsels of Loreto to entice the in their hands their intended offerings, varying in value worshipper within! according to the quality of the person, and their feelThere was no lukewarmness in the worship here; ings of devotion: these too are singing as they pass no one, at least no stranger newly arrived, could pass forward, and waving their coloured ensigns. A large these relic-marts in peace,-Signore! entrate. Oh, crowd presses on all sides, and as the pilgrim groups che cosa da vedere!" Do come in, Sir! see my come nearer and nearer to the object of their pilgrimpretty things." Neither silence, nor assurances that age, some fall on their knees and call on the Virgin I had already laid in a stock of Loreto ware, proved of Mother, and some in joy, and others in grief, perform any avail. Non importa, non avete veduto la mia, strange actions, divesting themselves occasionally of non avete veduto la mia.-" Never mind, you have their own garments to put on sackcloth for their sins, seen nothing until you have seen mine." I passed and beating their breasts or their shoulders, perform on, with determination for awhile, running a com- voluntary penance. The priests within the church plete gauntlet through the street; but human for- then meet the coming visitors, receiving them with bearance has its limits human nature is weak-instrumental music and vocal melody, whilst the I yielded at last to the temptation; a pair of large black Loretan eyes, and a flattering tongue, seduced me inside the bottega or shop, and I then found I was not half provided for a visit to Loreto. I showed my already-bought stock, and found of course, what had not occurred to me before, that I had been charged "hotel prices," being about six times the current value. I solaced myself by thinking that the more select assortment of the hotel-keeper might have been blessed in a more orthodox way than the religious ware in such masses before me! I soon discovered that to be considered as a respectable visitor to Loreto I must add to my purchases: -I had no guide-book to the church, no account of the relics, no picture of the Madonna herself, no account of the wonderful cures performed, no box specially made to bring away some of the precious dust of the walls of the house, of which, by a little understanding with the keepers of the chapel, a small portion might be obtained; and then there was a better form of a rosary, and a little crucifix to open by a secret spring and show a little figure of the Virgin within. The result of course was that an exchange was made between the contents of my pockets, for the oddest assortment of things which had ever visited them. A valuable addition to the collection was afterwards made in the shape of a little bell, which, when blessed, I was informed, would be very useful, if properly applied, in frightening away the devil. Thus armed, I at last reached the principal church of the town. It is a handsome edifice; a statue in bronze of the Pope Sixtus V. in pontifical robes, with the right arm raised in the act of benediction, stands before the front. Thus we enter the Loretan temple, and, instead of giving an account of the feelings of the solitary English traveller, who looked on with a cold and unimpassioned attention, let us suppose that the groups of travellers and pilgrims whom we observed on our way before reaching Loreto, are now assembling in the square before the church, and crowding round the doors on one of the great festive days. All is adorned to receive them-companies of visitors and pilgrims are arriving, with their banners bearing the blazonry of different VOL. XIII.! At last the shrine is reached, the chamber itself, all resplendently illuminated, and there, as the aforesaid traveller observes, tae visitors contemplate the effigy of the Madonna with such piety and such tears, with such sighs and such humility, as was quite wonderful to behold, and many become so fixed in contemplation of the place, and the actions which the Virgin has performed, that if they were not literally pushed out by others who are waiting behind, they would never leave at all. Many of the devotees present some gift at the altar, and those who bear precious things consign them to proper deputies, who duly record the gift and the name of the giver in the books of the treasury. By these means untold treasures had accumulated at Loreto, the image of the Madonna itself was literally a blaze of gems; these treasures, however, were very differently appropriated during the French possession of Italy, and the year 1797 is a deplorable remembrance for the temple at Loreto; in that year, our Lady" being taken on a visit to Paris. The image was, however, restored to the Pope, in 1801, and shortly afterwards, readorned with jewels and encircled with a royal crown, after a triumphant entry into Loreto, it resumed its place in the sanctuary. Since that period new treasures have been pouring in to such an extent, that upwards of seventy cases full of various offerings are at present in the treasury. The image of the Madonna is again radiant with jewelsa robe of crimson velvet worked and fringed with gold, the gift of a convent of Ursuline nuns, forms a garment handsome enough for any lady's ordinary use. The care of the late beloved Ferdinand of Spain, as is well known, provided the Madonna with an embroidered robe, worked, as report says, by his own royal hands. Let us enter the sanctuary. Behold some of the titles by which Roman Catholic devotion has eulogized it ;Domus Aurea-Domus Sapientiæ-Vas insigne devo M |