What though the elements from vision veil Him?
Faith may embrace what Reason cannot see.
Let not the Christian dream his hope can fail him ;
Thy real in-dwelling, Lord, is pledged by Thee.

Come then with glad and reverent behaviour,
Only repent; He wipes away sin's taint;
Man, claim the loving promise of thy Saviour,
Rest for the weary, freshness for the faint.

Weld thyself with Him in this mystic union,
Cling to Him closely and His Name confess,
Pray that with Him thou may'st have full communion,
Try Him and trust Him; He will surely bless.

R. B. A.

DE PROFUNDIS EXCLAMANTES.

A SEQUENCE FOR ALL SOULS' DAY.

Our of the deep, O Christ, we call to Thee,
Lord, hear our voice in heaven Thy dwelling-place:
For those departed in Thy faith and fear

Thy suppliant Church entreats: O Lord, give ear,
Let shine on them the brightness of Thy Face
And grant them rest. All sinners though we be,
And may not stand if Thou should'st be extreme
To notice aught amiss, yet let to-day

The salutary Sacrifice avail

For those whom Thou didst by Thy Blood redeem.
That which Thou offer'dst to the Father, may

We offer it, for them effectual,

That Thou mayst in Thy pity set them free.
For by the law of their condition, they

Now can abide before Thee; therefore turn
O Lord, their bondage. Now they hope in Thee,
Then draw them forth up to Thy palace gate.
In Thee they hope and trust; for Thee they yearn,
Morning and evening yearn they, day and night,
And in the deep Thy saving health await.

Then let them, Lord, Thy bounteous pity learn;
Be Thou to them full confidence and might,
And purge them as we pray from every stain.
Lo now Thy Mother, lo Thy Saints entreat,
Let not their fervent prayers be spent in vain,
But hear their intercessions, as is meet.
Kind Jesu, glorious King, Who on the Cross
Once lifted, showed for sinners such great love,
Hear now our congregation's earnest prayers
In Thy great mercy. Save them from all loss,
Break through the gates of death, foil Satan's snares,
And let the souls attain eternal joys above.

M.

LITERARY NOTICES.

66

On

Sketches of the Rites and Customs of the Greco-Russian Church, (Rivingtons), by an English lady married to a Russian officer, and who has long been a resident in her adopted country, did not need the introduction of the authoress of the "Heir of Redcliffe" to commend it to the favourable notice of English readers. But Miss Yonge has done well nevertheless to call attention to the peculiar interest of such a work at this time, when the contemptuous ignorance or ignoring of Eastern Christianity so long prevalent among us is passing away, and our revived prayers for unity seem at last to be so far answered that there is a certain heaving and moving in the dissevered fragments, and a few absolute efforts which, under God's grace, may lead to something more definite and authoritative." what authority she volunteers the perplexing statement that "after six centuries of oneness, Rome finally severed herself and those Churches which had learnt to look to her as their guide" from the East, is not so obvious. Whether we date the great Schism from the disputes about Photius in the ninth century, or from the formal anathemas exchanged between Leo IX. and Michael Cerularius in the eleventh, her chronology is equally and widely incorrect. Madame Romanoff writes with hearty sympathy of the rites and customs of the Church in which, we presume, she has herself become a communicant, and naturally presents to us the bright side of the picture. Her account, for instance, of the condition and habits of the parochial clergy is very different from what would be gathered from common reports on the subject, and one is inclined to think she must have met with favourable specimens of the class. At the same time it is well to be able to check the sweeping charges so often brought against them by the testimony of an eye-witness, nor is there any appearance of a desire to suppress or colour facts. On one point in particular-the education of the Russian clergy from boyhood-we should much like to have some further information. The little that may be gathered from the biography (if it is to be regarded as a biography) of "Roman the Reader" does not give one a very favourable impression, though it certainly shews that some at least of the candidates for the priesthood are youths of cultivation and of high refinement of thought and feeling. By-the-by

we hope Madame Romanoff will explain in a future edition the meaning of "malingering," which is apparently the Russian term for some schoolboy peccadillo, but which she has forgotten is not English.

The story of Roman includes a description of Baptism and the Unction-or in Western language, Confirmation-which is administered at the same time with it. The remaining five Sacraments and several other ceremonies of the Church are described in later chapters of the book. As regards Baptism it is startling to learn that the trine immersion which is enjoined (except in cases of extreme sickness, when sprinkling or affusion is allowed) requires so much skill on the part of the officiating priest, that babies are sometimes "drowned at the very moment they are made Christians." It would surely not be difficult to provide against so deplorable a contingency. But the characteristic feature which strikes an external observer about all the peculiar arrangements of the Eastern Church is a want of flexibility. Every minutest detail has been left unchanged for centuries. Thus, for instance, the "Great Fast" (of Lent) is observed with a strictness which the feebler constitutions or less energetic dovotion of the West would find practically impossible, and with none of the relaxations which the annual Indulgences of the Holy See have made the general rule of the Roman Obedience. One custom of the Russian Church is certainly not primitive. Annual confession and Communion is the usual practice of the laity, and is, indeed, in many cases, almost enforced by law; none of the laity, if we understand our authoress aright, go oftener than twice a year. Children before the age of seven, when they make their first confession, are communicated twice a year, with the chalice only. Madame Romanoff can hardly be mistaken in the form of absolution quoted, as she tells us the book has been revised by some of the Russian clergy, but we are surprised to find it couched in the same absolute terms as our own; "I, unworthy Priest that I am, by the power given to me, do forgive and absolve thee from all thy sins," &c. The "absolvo te" was first introduced into the Roman ritual, whence the Anglican has borrowed it, in the thirteenth century, mainly through the influence of S. Thomas, who wrote a short treatise on the subject; and we had always imagined that the indirect form survived in the East in the administration of this Sacrament, as of Baptism. There seems to be absolutely no ground for the distinction sometimes drawn between the method of administering Extreme Unction (so it is here designated) in the Greek and Roman Churches. Madame Romanoff tells us that it is only allowed to those dangerously sick. The same rule holds good, as in the West, against administering it to those who are in danger of death from any other cause, as e.g. soldiers going into battle.

In cases of consumption it is sometimes solemnised in church. The account of Ordination in the Russian Church here given is, unfortunately, very meagre. On the other hand, the marriage and funeral ceremonies are most elaborately described; it is curious to find that an ordained Reader is married in his alb! Priests, Deacons, and Readers are of course buried in their canonicals. In the case of mixed marriages both parties must have confessed and communicated during the previous year, and a stipulation is required that the children shall be brought up in the Greek faith. Such at least is the letter of the law, but we suppose that, like several other regulations mentioned in this volume, it is frequently ignored. If the former condition were invariably complied with, marriages between orthodox Russians and Protestants would be impossible, and we may presume that the latter will not be carried out in the intended marriage between the King of Bavaria and the daughter of the Czar. One of the most interesting chapters in the volume is that on "Adoption," a beautiful and touching observance quite peculiar to the Russian Church, and we regret that we cannot find room for any extracts from it, or indeed for any extracts at all. But all who are interested in the condition of the Eastern Church will do well to consult Madame Romanoff's vivid "sketches" of it for themselves. The general impression left on one's mind is of a substantial identity both in faith and worship between East and West, extending even to many minor details of ceremonial. The profession of faith for a convert, quoted from the form used in the reception of the Princess Dagmar, differs very little, except of course in one point, from the Creed of Pius IV. Madame Romanoff is an enthusiastic admirer of the present Czar, who appears from her account to be idolized by his people. We should be very glad to hear more from her bearing on the subject of her present useful and attractive volume.

When the first Prayer Book of Edward VI. was substituted for the ancient Service Books of the Church of England, the old usages, traditions, and practices were practically known by everybody. There was no need, therefore, for more explicit directions than were contained in the new Service Book. Now, however, the case is wholly altered. Our Church has passed through the miseries of the Commonwealth, when vulgar fanaticism and unholy rebellion wiped out almost everything that was good, and true, and Catholic. After this came Dutch William and the unprincipled Revolution of 1688, with the Scotch Burnet's revolting Erastianism, so that ninety-nine persons out of every hundred have forgotten much which ought to be known to all. Hence Mr. Charles Walker, an earnest student of pure Church-of-England ritual, has provided us with a very practical and valuable manual just issued by