I.

When Jesus came on Christmas Eve,
A lowly inn he made His home;
And now 'tis in a lowly heart,

And only there that He will come.
2.

If you would have Him for your guest,
Drive out each angry thought of wrong;
So will your heart receive its Lord,

Your ears will hear the Angels' song. Jenny does not believe that about the Angels' song, but I do, grandfather, because the carol says it, and the hymn too, and I mean to keep awake, and listen tonight.

Grandfather said nothing, perhaps he was thinking of something else, for his pipe was out again and his eyes were fixed on the pictures in the fire. Letty seeing he was not heeding her slipped quietly down from his knee to wash up the tea-things, and look for a bowl large enough to mix the pudding in. She saw a very large one of old fashioned china, and one of common delf quite a small size. She wished to use the first for so grand an occasion; she had never seen it used in her life, but for Christmas. She took it in her hands and went to the fire for warm water to wash it out. As she did so, Robert's eye was caught by her movements. "Not that bowl, child, not that," he said in a hoarse voice, which sounded so strange she almost let it fall from her hands. But he did not see that he had startled her, his eyes were filled with tears once more, and rising up that no human being might witness the final breaking up of the soul's long hard frost, he went out to the door. What little things they are that sometimes touch us most deeply. The bowl his wife had been acenstomed to use-"Mother's china bowl," as his children used to call it, always set apart for Christmas puddings only, for Mr. Fairleigh kept up the old fashion still usual in some parts of the country, of throwing a handful of every week's provision aside for the Christmas pudding at the end of the year; that bowl was the one link wanting, the little bit of real life that brought home to him all the teachings of the evening. But he would not yield yet. He repeated again the old arguments with which he had kept his anger warm so many years. "They say I'm an hard man, and a hard man I will be," he said, half aloud, giving himself a blow on the chest,

"After all it was only the sight of that bowl upset me." At that moment a worn and poorly-dressed woman passed his house. Without seeing him where he stood in the shadow of the doorway, and pausing at the window, she put her face close to the glass and looked in. Leaning towards her, he heard her sob and murmur the words 'My darling my darling," and then Letty, unconscious of that earnest living gaze, broke out with a merry carol again, and, as if it was more than she could bear, the unhappy woman turned and walked hastily away. But Robert knew it could only be Alice who thus watched over the child she had parted with, and without pausing to think or even to wonder at her appearance in that town, he followed her till she entered a wretched dwelling in an adjoining alley. In his turn he looked through the window, and into the miserable room where his once blooming Alice dwelt, and saw her too by the half empty fireplace with a baby at her breast; how like, yet how unlike the holy memories recalled that night. He had watched a long time, long enough to see Alice's tears roll one by one down her cheeks, while her thin pale lips moved as if in prayer, when a footstep drew near, and, fearful of being known, he stepped back hastily into the shadow, and when it had passed returned to his own door. Letty was standing there with her bonnet on, and a large basket large enough to hold materials for half a dozen Christmas puddings on her

arm.

When he saw it a happy thought came into the old man's mind. He would buy enough to provide Alice's dinner also. He could send it secretly. Alice need not know, and the neighbours need not know. After all it would make his Christmas far sweeter, and it was no more than he would do for any other poor woman. Out they went together, the Grandfather and the child, Letty running in to ask one more question of Jenny's mother, for her mind misgave her as to the number of eggs, and feeling not a little proud of the errand she was going on. Robert waited for hersopatiently, for he was mostly in such a hurry when they went out together, that Letty quite wondered at him but made up her mind that anxiety about the pudding had produced this happy result. It was not very easy to carry the basket when all had been bought, but Letty would not have owned to it on

any account, had it even been twice as heavy. She felt almost grown up as she walked through the bright streets, and only wished she could meet all her teachers and all her schoolfellows. "I mean to make the pudding to-night, Grandfather," she said, Jenny's mother says it is best made over night, and put to boil the first thing in the morning. I must be up early, musn't I ?" No answer-Grandfather is not in a talking humour to-night.

66

When they reached the house Letty went in alone, Robert turned again up the the alley and went to look in at Alice's window. The child had fallen asleep now and the husband had come home. He sat by his wretched fire, a broken down dissatisfied looking inan, and his wife glanced at him from time to time as if she longed to comfort him but knew not how to do it.

At last he looked up and said, "It will be a sorrowful Christmas for you, Ally." "Never mind, Willie," she said, going up to him and laying her hand on his shoulder, "I've seen her to-night, and she looks bright and happy, and I've heard her singing an old carol I used to sing. If I fret a little now and then it is not what I have to bear now; its the recollection of the old Christmas times, when -Her voice failed her; broke down in sobs; and her husband drew her down on his knee, laid her poor head to rest on his shoulder, and kissed, and soothed her as freely as if she were still the fair young wife, who had risked so much for his sake. Did old Robert, straining his eyes through the window, feel in his heart that Will could not have been so bad a fellow after all; that the man who could keep love warm in his heart amid so much want and sorrow, was better than the harsh father who had banished it so many years?

The

Be that as it may, with a half choked sob, he turned homewards, scarcely knowing what he did, and as he entered he saw Letty, her pinafore thrown over her head, having what she called "agood cry." truth was, poor Letty did not know Grandfather had bought enough for two puddings, and thinking it her duty to use it all, was quite bewildered by the large quantity she had on her hands, and the fact that it would not do with the small basin. She tried and tried, but it was quite clear that it could not be done; there was no one by to advise her, and in

her lonely childish misery she exclaimed, "Ah if I only had a mother to teach me!" The words reached Robert's ear, as he came in at the door.

Letty heard his footsteps and sprang up to meet him; "Grandfather, what shall I do? It wont mix in the little basin, must I leave out the plums ?"

He

Robert Fairleigh made no answer, for the third time on that Christmas eve. looked at Letty, at the pudding, at the green Christmas boughs, then he laughed a low strange laugh and walked out again. Letty more bewildered than before set her wits at once to work, seeing it was quite clear grandfather would not help her, and having arrived at the wise conclusion that to leave out the plums would not be the way to make a plum pudding, began dividing her materials as equally as she could, and was soon as busy and happy as before.

Soon Grandfather came back once more. As he entered she looked up, and was | amazed, it was Grandfather, and yet it wasn't. "The large bowl, Letty child, the large bowl," he said, and rubbed his hands with delight as he spoke. "What's the use of that little thing for so many of us; we'll eat it all I'll be bound. Look, Letty, see who's come to spend Christmas with us!" Oh yes, Letty looked. A pale thin woman, a sad worn man, a nice crowing baby. She knew who it was in a moment, and with a cry of joy sprang into the outstretched mother's arms.

From that moment no one called Robert Farleigh a hard man.

Letty dreamt that night, that out in the green fields she heard the angels singing their song of peace, and she believes and always will believe that she could not have heard it, had not she and Grandfather gone to bed friends with all the world. Some people laugh at her for saying so, but who knows whether to the heart that has in it "good will towards men" the echoes of the old sweet song, do not sound as clearly as when they broke the midnight hush of that holy night when" unto us a Child was born."

Froome Printed and Published for the Editor by W. C. & J. PENNY. London: WHITTAKER and Co. and CLEAVER, Vere Street.

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THE CHURCH'S BROKEN UNITY.

ROMANISM.

FACTS OF HISTORY.

(Continued from page 5.)

HE Council of Pisa had been called together to heal the schism of the rival Popes, Benedict XIII, and Gregory XII; but instead of allaying, it increased the divisions of the Church by adding a third claimant of the Papacy in the person of John XXIII. Resort was therefore to be had to a new Council, which should take more vigorous steps in distinguishing between the authority of the Church, represented in Council, and that of the Pope elected by the Cardinals. Rival parties among the Cardinals had elected two different Popes, a Council had elected a third. There was no advantage to be gained in merely contending for the rival claimants; a deeper principle had now to be decided, namely, in whom, and where was contained the seat of power in the election. Who was to be the judge of the validity of the election when the election was thus divided? Were the Popes themselves, each in their own division to be judges of themselves? That would seem absurd, for each, according to the Roman system, being invested with the infallible power of discerning truth, and armed with supremacy in defending it, would decide for his own authority, and his decision would be binding. Consequently in this case there would be before the world, three opposite truths, which though contradicting each other would be equally valid; and either there would be no necessity for a Pope at all, or the Church must no longer be considered

[PRICE 3d.

one, but threefold. Indeed the destruction of the whole faith of JESUS CHRIST seemed impending, and in the disputes of the Headship the members were well nigh cut off and scattered. Bossuet says

"To such a pitch was discipline neglected, that heresies began to spread, and the Church was shaken to pieces by the wickedness of Huss, Wickliffe and others. The faith was endangered. The Apostolic See which should have been the cherisher of Unity, was now the nurse of Schism, and was held in contempt. The severe letters of the University of Paris, written to Clement VII, when at Avignon, testify to this, while they declare, that to such a height had things now come, on account of the schism, that many men both publicly and in every place were no longer afraid to say that it was no matter whether there were two,

three, or ten, or even twelve Popes."*

arose.

And thus the Council of Constance Here the great battle was to be fought; here it was to be decided, not so much whether either of the three claimants were the true Pope, but whether the Universal Church represented in Council were not the sole legitimate authority, by which such disgraceful scenes as were now disturbing the Church, should be termi

nated.

were

But as the Council proceeded, a fresh difficulty arose, for accusations brought against John XXIII, which implicated him, not only in being the head of one of the threefold schisms, but as guilty of sins, and vices of the gravest immorality. These charges were pressed against him with such undoubted evidence, that he was induced after some delay to make a promise that he would resign hist for a clearer judgment in regard of the share of the Papacy, and so open the way other claimants. But this promise was no sooner made than broken; he escaped from the Council disguised in the dress of

*Bossuet. Defen. Cler. Gall. Lib. V. cap. 7.

B

a postilion, and took refuge in the castle Schaffhausen. From thence, secure as to his person, he defied and denied the authority of the assembled fathers, and maintained his rights. This flight of John XXIII, who was hitherto supposed to be in favor of the Council, brought things to a crisis. It was now to be determined who should be head, the Pope or the Council, whether schism should still be suffered to divide the faithful at the instance of self-willed and ambitious individuals; or whether there really were any inherent vitality in the Church, as CHRIST's Body, over and above the personal power claimed by those individuals. In the fourth session of the

Council, the Emperor Sigismund being present in person; among other things it was decreed, that the Pope was bound to renounce the Pontificate in all cases wherein his renunciation might bring peace to the Church, and that in such cases he was bound to agree to the declaration and definition of the Council; and that if the Pope being required by the Council to renounce the pontificate for the peace of the Church, would not; or should delay to do it; he ought to be looked upon as one that had fallen from the Pontifical dignity, and to whom no further obedience was due. It was also clearly defined and determined as a general principle of the Church, that "the Council having been lawfully assembled in the name of the HOLY SPIRIT, and forming an Ecumenical Council of the whole Church militant, hath received authority immediately, from our LORD JESUS CHRIST, a power which every person whatsoever, of whatsoever state or dignity he may be, the Pope himself not being excepted, must obey in all matters relating to faith, the extirpation of schism, and the reformation of the Church."* These principles being decided, the Council proceeded to apply them to the case before them. In the tenth session, the commissioners appointed for the purpose delivered in their report, in which they agreed that the charges against John had been proved. He was cited to appear before the Council, and failing to do so he was publicly pronounced unworthy of the Papacy. It was

*Such is the substance of the decrees of the fifth session. Labbe et Cossart. Tom viii, p. 254., 5.

decided that he had brought scandal upon the Church by his corrupt life, by simony, "by destroying and wasting the property of the Church, and by his dissolute and immoral habits,"*; consequently he was deposed from the exercise of his spiritual offices as Pope, and the faithful of the whole Church were absolved from all allegiance to him. The justice of this sentence he did not deny, but recognizing the Council as superior to himself, delivered up the seal and ring of the Papacy, together with the insignia of his office to their custody, merely entreating them to take measures for his subsistence as a private individual.

Meanwhile by a happy coincidence, Gregory XII, moved by a better spirit than that of John, had sent to the Council a voluntary resignation of his claim, so that John XXIII and Gregory XII being thus removed, there now remained but one claimant still outstanding, namely Benedict XIII. But it was no easy task to deal with Benedict. He was obstinate to the last degree. The Emperor Sigismund in person visited him at Narbonne. Kings, princes, bishops and people all equally entreated him for the peace of the Church, to resign his claim; but to all be turned a deaf ear, to the last he obstinately maintained his supposed rights. There

was no resource therefore for the Council but to proceed against him as in the case of John. Accordingly in the twentythird session proceedings of deposition

were instituted with the accustomed forms and citations, and these were carried on without interruption until the thirtyseventh, when, at length, the Emperor Sigismund being present, sentence was pronounced. He was declared contumacious, condemned as a perjured person who had given scandal to the Universal Church,

schismatic, and a heretic-and therefore unworthy of all title, honour and dignity in the Church; deprived of all right to the Pontificate and separated from the communion of the faithful. Moreover all

persons, of whatsoever quality or condition were forbidden to obey him, under penalty of being dealt with as abettors of schism and heresy. †

Thus then, through much trouble and never-ceasing bitterness and contention, at length the ground was cleared, and the Church being delivered from the opposition of three rival Popes, it only remained to name and consecrate some one to succeed.

In the forty first-session the Council proceeded to do this, and their choice fell upon Otho de Colonna. Having been duly elected and consecrated, he presided during the remaining session of the Council, under the name of Martin V. And this business being happily completed, there was at last an end of the great Council of Constance.

But the objects of the Council were not altogether achieved. The Papacy indeed was settled, but there still remained the great question of the Reformation of the Church. It had been now for many years the general demand of Christendom, that the whole Church "both the head and the members" needed an entire purification, and it was promised in the last session of the Council of Constance that this should be done. Martin V. specially took upon himself to convene another Council within five years with this view. But time passsed on. The usual unwillingness of persons in authority to rectify abuses prevailed even with Martin V.; and he who had so long witnessed the evils of the former schism, and had, in his own person, been chosen to remedy them, was reluctant to use the means which were so evidently demanded, and to fulfil the promise which he had so solemnly made. The period of

five

years had extended to thirteen, and then at length the zeal and determination of the reformers prevailed over the indolence or the excuses by which the Pope desired to postpone the promised meeting. It was at first summoned at Pavia, thence transferred to Sienna, and again ultimately to Basileia or Basle. But it was not permitted that Martin V., though he had convoked the Council, should be present at it, for he died on the twentyfirst of February, 1431, while the Council was summoned to meet on the twentythird of July.

Eugenius IV. being quietly and canonically elected, succeeded Martin, and at first he appeared to coincide with the views of those who desired a reform in the Church, and took part in the assembling of the Council. Activity and zeal pervaded

all parties, and great hopes were entertained of a speedy termination of the Church's troubles. The real character however of Eugenius had yet to be discovered, and it was soon perceived that at heart he was as bitter an opposer of the authority of Councils as any of his predecessors had been in the fullness of their power. A struggle similar to that which had taken place at Constance now commenced at Basle, and Eugenius declared either for the dissolution of the Council, or at least its transfer to another place. But nothing was conceded. The old dispute burst out in all its vehemence. The question was-Where lay the seat of authority, Was it in the Pope or was it in a Council? The fourth and fifth sessions were appealed to, recited and enforced. Eugenius was informed through his legates that he had no power as Pope to dissolve the Council, being himself subject to their authority and not they to his; that the Church in her aggregate capacity, and she alone enjoyed the privilege of infallibility, therefore she alone could make rules which should be binding on the faithful; 2. That (Ecumenical Councils as representatives of the Church, " deriving their power immediately from our Lord Jesus Christ," are therefore infallible, because they are the Church; 3. That the Pope, although the chief minister of the Church, is not above the Church-but the reverse; for while the Church cannot err in matters of faith, experience shews that the Pope albeit the head of the body can, and does very often err; and moreover as a matter of fact, the Church as the mystical body of CHRIST, has frequently deposed Popes when convicted of errors in faith, while no Pope ever pretended to condemn the Church; which fact at once demonstrates the superiority of the one over the other. this spirit of opposition session after session passed on, the Pope neither revoking his Bull for the dissolution of the Council, nor appearing in person nor by deputy; until in the 12th Session, patience being exhausted, he was required to submit to the Council within sixty days, or be prononnced contumacious. The sixty days having passed, and all the forms of citation being exhausted, he was then openly deposed. Thirty-nine prelates and about three hundred ecclesias

In