among the gems and crystals of mines, or in the untrodden solitudes of the Alps, there appear, search where we will, marks of the mighty Artificer, who has left there, in grace and colour and beauty and fragrance, the signs of that glorious Presence which fills all creation, and evermore works its beneficence.

How blind is the philosophy, and unworthy of the name, which uses the discoveries of science and the limited results of human observation, to found on these the argument for a material nature, regulated forsooth by laws of its own, undirected by the Great Creator! Men think that they make advances in knowledge when they can grasp a few isolated facts, and group them under a general cause. They do well; but what shall we say of those who pervert this reasoning of induction to the false conclusion that the Deity leaves the world to the operation of second causes. We prefer the view of John Wesley, which brought on him scorn and attack, that the Christian may see, in every incident of every day, the signs of a peculiar care; and may read, in the sheltering cloud or the suspended storm, the traces of that gracious interposition which is ever present, and is felt by all who seek for it. Let men scoff; this is wisdom. The new theory is an old folly. The peasant, who finds in his cottage life the marks of a Father's hand, is wiser than these reasoners; and the Savoyard, who feels that in the fall of a rock which he has narrowly escaped, and in the avalanche which has spared his châlet, he ought to see the love of the Good God, has learnt a truer lesson than is taught in bulky volumes by the lips of the scorner.

But we owe Mr. King an apology. We have run into discursive remarks away from his interesting volume. We promise him and our readers a reparation; and as we have left him at Mont Blanc, we hope to return to him as he reaches Monte Rosa, and to offer some fuller notice of the features and facts of the land of wonders which he explored.

But we are unwilling to leave these Italian valleys of the Alps without presenting our readers with some faint impression of their peculiar beauty, occasioned in some measure by the richness of vegetation in that pure atmosphere, and by the tints of that glorious sky, presenting contrast, in the rounded forms of trees and the rich abundance of fruits, with the sharper features of Swiss pines and rocks, the jagged crags, and the dazzling snow. If any one has turned, in the Exhibition of the Academy of this year, to the room on his entrance on the right, where Brett's picture of the Val d'Aosta hangs, he has gained a juster idea of the landscape which words fail to describe. Those rocks in the foreground, with Italian figures in their bright picturesque dresses -the silvery poplars-the fields striped with patches of cropsa mosaic of many colours; in the distance, the river softly flowing with its line of light; and as the eye rises from this lower scene, the châlet on the hills, the dark pines, and the purple colour

of rocks and flowers, guide you through a vista which seems interminable, to the higher hills, and to the flanks of the mountain, the summits of which are lost in the mingled mystery of snow and clouds.

But, better still, we shall give our readers the scene in Mr. Ruskin's eloquent words :

"If any simple minded, quietly living person, indisposed towards railroad stations and crowded inns, cares to know, in an untroublous and 'uncostly way,' what a Piedmontese valley is like in July, there it is for him. Rocks overlaid with velvet and fir to stand on in the first place. If you look close into the velvet, you will find it is jewelled and set with stars, in a stately way. White poplars by the roadside, shaking silvery in the wind. Beyond the poplars you may see the slopes of arable and vineyard ground, such as give the wealth and life to Italy which she idly trusts in. Ground, laid ages ago in wreaths like new cut hay by the mountain streams, is now terraced and trimmed into all gentle service. If you want to know what vines look like under Italian training (far from the best), that is the look of them: the dark spots and the irregular cavities, seen through the broken green of their square-set ranks, distinguish them at any distance from the continuous pale fields of low-set staff and leaf, divided by no gaps of gloom, which clothe a true vine country. There, down in the mid valley, you see what pasture and meadow land we have, we Piedmontese, with our hamlet and cottage life, and groups of glorious woods. Just beyond the rock are two splendid sweet-chesnut trees, with forming fruit, good for making bread of, no less than maize. Lower down, far to the left, a furlong or two of the main stream, with its white shore and alders; not beautiful, for it has come down into all this fair country from the Cormayeur glaciers, and is yet untamed, cold, and furious, incapable of rest. But above there is rest-where the sunshine streams into irridescence through branches of pine, and turns the pastures into strange golden clouds, half grass, half dew, for the shadows of the great hills have kept the dew there since morning. Rest also, calm enough, among the ridges of rock and forest that heap themselves into that purple pyramid high on the right. Look well into the making of it. It is indeed so that a great mountain is built, and bears itself, and its forest fringes and village jewels. For those white spots, far up the ravine, are villages, and peasant dynasties are hidden amid the film of blue. And, above all, are other more desolate dynasties, the crowns that cannot shake, of jagged rock. So it is that the snow lies on those dark diadems for ever.'

With these remarks we leave for the present the subjects of Mr. King's narrative, though we hope hereafter to return to them.

THE LAVINGTON CASE.

1. A Statement submitted to the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Chichester, respecting the Romish Doctrines and Practices of the Rev. W. R. Randall, M.A., Rector of Lavington, Sussex. Hatchard, 187, Piccadilly. 1858.

2. Teaching and Practices in the Parish of Lavington. A Correspondence between the Rector and the Lord Bishop of Chichester. Oxford and London: J. H. & J. Parker. 1859.

3. Correspondence with the Bishop of Chichester on the Lavington Case. Published by the Church Protestant Defence Society. 1859.

4. Affidavits put in upon the Trial before the Court of Queen's Bench.

WITHIN a few days of the Bishop of Oxford's appointment of his three archdeacons to institute the inquiry into the state of Cuddesdon College, adverted to in a former Number, the curate of the parish of Lavington in Sussex, of which the bishop calls himself the squire, (he is also patron of the living,) went into the parish school to catechise the children. "What other name," he asked them, "is there for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper?" They answered, "THE MASS." "The Mass !" he replied; "that is the name the pope calls it by. Who told you to call it so?" 'The rector, Mr. Richard Randall." He then asked them how many sacraments there were? They answered, "SEVEN.”

The curate, who is of the same name as the rector, though no relation, and who had been already scandalized by the rector's assuming the garb of a Romish priest, crossing himself in public worship, mixing water with the wine at the Eucharist, &c., became seriously alarmed, and the day following called upon the rector for an explanation. "Rector," he remarked, "the schoolchildren say there are seven sacraments." To which the rector replied, "I hope you did not correct them, for I taught them that." Curate: "I certainly did say that those five commonly called sacraments-that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction-are not to be counted for sacraments of the gospel." Rector: "Then I shall go to the school tomorrow and unteach what you have taught." The next day the rector asked: "And pray what more did you teach the children?" Curate: "Oh, I don't know; I did say that the mass was the Romish name for the sacrament." Upon which the rector "beat his head like a man distracted;" and declared that he should go into the school and unteach that also.

Not long after this conversation, the choirmaster of the parish, Mr. Harding, called upon the curate, and produced a paper in the rector's handwriting, of which the following is a copy, which had

been given by the rector to the schoolmaster to be taught in the school :

"Baptism. A sacrament, instituted by Christ for the spiritual regeneration of men, which is performed by the washing of water, with the expressed invocation of the Holy Trinity. 2 John iii.

"Confirmation. A sacrament, in which, by the laying on of hands, according to the prescribed form, fresh strength is given to the baptized that they may believe firmly, and more constantly and bravely contend for the faith. Acts viii., xix.; Heb. vi. 1. 2.

"Eucharist. A sacrament of the New Law, instituted by Christ our Lord for the heavenly nourishment of our souls, in which the body and blood of Christ are really present under the form of bread and wine. Matt. xxvi.; John vi.; 1 Cor. 11.

"Penance. A sacrament instituted for the forgiveness of sins after baptism, by the absolution of the priest. John xx.

"Extreme Unction. A sacrament of the New Law, consisting of unction with oil, and the prayer of the priest, by which salvation of soul is conferred on a Christian grievously sick, and even health of body, if that be good for the soul. James v. 14, 15.

Holy Orders. A sacrament of the New Law, in which spiritual power is given to the ordained. Acts vi. 6; 1 Tim. v. 22.

Matrimony. A sacrament of the New Law, in which a baptized man and woman mutually give themselves each to the other, to live together continually. Eph. v. 22.

"Sacraments. Outward ceremonies instituted to give grace. "Confirmation. A sacrament given by a bishop to strengthen and confirm our faith.

"Penance. A sacrament by which the sins we fall into after baptism are forgiven.

"Extreme Unction. A sacrament for comfort and peace of sick, and of persons in health, where expedient.

"Holy Orders. A sacrament by which persons are made bishops, priests, and deacons.

"Holy Matrimony. A sacrament by which grace is given to husband and wife to live happily together, and to bring up their children in the fear and love of God."

Shocked at the discovery of this document, containing not only the Romish doctrine of the sacraments, but the formal definitions of that doctrine extracted from Romish authorities, the curate, after ascertaining from the schoolmaster (Mr. Marigold) the correctness of the choirmaster's statement, made three copies of the paper, one of which he dispatched to his diocesan, the Bishop of

Chichester, and the two others, without waiting for his Lordship's reply, to the "Times" and to Lord Shaftesbury. This last was not a wise step, and gave great offence to the bishop. But surely great allowance should be made for the feelings of a young man, excited to the highest pitch by the discovery of so shameful an attempt, on the part of a professedly Protestant clergyman, to pervert the lambs of his flock.

To his letter to the bishop he received the following reply :

"43, Queen Anne Street, W.; 6th February, 1858. "REV. AND DEAR SIR,-Your letter of yesterday's date has reached me here this evening, forwarded from Chichester by the early day post.

"I cannot express the astonishment and pain with which I have read the paper which accompanied it. I feel persuaded, however, on consideration and reflection, that there must be some mistake somewhere, or some misapprehension about it. I expect time will confirm the persuasion I have thus expressed.

"Meanwhile, in reply to your letter, you must allow me to say, that I trust that nothing, not even my sanction as your bishop, would ever induce you to concur in the teaching put down upon that paper; and secondly, that you will always have such confidence in me as to be assured I never could give such sanction.

"The schoolmaster must now first be desired to give that paper up, that it may be transmitted to me with his and your initials upon it; and secondly, he must be asked for a further explanation about the way in which it came into his hands, and for what purpose.

"These things must be done without delay; and have the goodness to send me the rector's present direction. Am I right, that though of the same name, you are not related ?—Your faithful brother, "A. T. CICESTER.

"The Rev. Edward Randall, Curate "of Lavington and Graffham."

We now come to a very painful part of this strange story. The paper was forwarded to the bishop according to his desire, accompanied by a letter from the curate, who stated that, subsequently to the paper having been put into his (the curate's) hands, the rector had justified it as containing the teaching of Bishop Overal, and as having been taught by him (the rector) in the presence of the Bishop of Oxford, who had expressed himself satisfied. In a subsequent letter, the curate brought forward other charges against his rector, viz., that he had assumed the garb of a Romish priest, (vide suprà), was in the habit of crossing himself in public worship, and of elevating the cup at the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Meanwhile the rector had forwarded to the bishop a heap of old catechetical papers which had been used in the school, the latest of which had been put into the hands of the schoolmaster nearly a twelvemonth before, and begged that the paper containing the Romish doctrine of the sacraments might be interpreted in accordance with these, denying that he held such doctrine. The bishop