"It is even so," said the Priest, shaking his gray head. "So many heresies, so many new modes. Yet these are mostly external matters. Whatever the form may be, the worship of all Christians is offered up to the same one and indivisible God!"

"The same! one and indivisible!" almost shouted the Centurion. “Tell me, and as thou art a religious man and a Christian Priest, answer me truly: Is it the same universal God that the parish pauper must only address from a wooden bench, and the proud noble can only praise from an embroidered velvet cushion? Is it the same Providential Being that the lowly peasant thanks for his scanty, hardly-earned daily bread, and the rich man asks to bless his riotous luxury and wasteful superabundance? Is the merciful Father, of whom the weeping child on bended knees begs the life of its sick and declining parent, the same, the very same, as the God of Battles invoked by the ambitious conqueror, on the eve of slaughtering thousands of his fellow-men? Is the Divine Spirit, who gave his only Son in atonement for the sins of the whole world, the same God of the Gospel, whose name is paraded as the especial Patron of exclusive pious factions,of uncharitable bigots and political partisans? Is there anything in common between the fierce, vindictive Creator wrathfully consigning the creatures he has made to everlasting and unutterable torments, as depicted by the gloomiest of fanatical sects, and the beneficent Jehovah, silently adored by the Quaker, as the God of peace and good-will towards men? Is it the same Divine Author "Enough, enough," interposed the Priest, with a deprecating wave of the hand. "Nay, but answer me," said the Centurion. "Have I described one God, or many? In the list I have only partly sketched out, can you find nothing answerable to our plurality, - to Plutus, to Mars, to Mercury, and Jupiter Tonans? Is the Christian Deity indeed one and indivisible, or made multiform, like Jove of old, by the separate impersonation and worship of his various attributes?

"You have at least broached a curious theory," answered the Catholic Priest, with great placidity, for his own particular withers were as yet unwrung. "But where," he asked, 66 would you find your great hosts of inferior deities, your Dii Minores, your demi-gods and demi-goddesses and the like?"

"Where!" cried the Centurion, "where else but close at hand? They are only disguised under other names. For instance, we had our Vertumnus and our Pomona, the patron of orchards; our Bona Dea; Hygeia, the goddess of health; Fornax, the goddess of corn and of bakers; Occator, the god of harrowing; Runcina, the goddess of weeding; Hippona, the goddess of stables and horses; and Bubona, the goddess of oxen. Now, we need only go into the Eifel

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"Sancta Maria!" exclaimed the Priest, reddening to his very tonsure; "do you mean to adduce our blessed saints!" Exactly so," replied the calm Centurion. "They are your Dii Minores, your demi-gods and demi-goddesses, and so forth, answerable to our own, and appointed to much the same petty and temporal offices. Have you not St. Apollonica for curing the toothache, St. Blaize for sore-throats, and St. Lambert for fits? Is not St. Wendelin retained to take care of the cows and calves, and St. Gertrude to drive away rats?

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The indignant Priest could bear no more: it was like being compelled to swallow the beads of a rosary, one by one. "Anathema Maranatha! he exclaimed, in a paroxysm of anger. Accursed pagan! libellous heathen! Begone! You shall no longer profane my dwelling! Hence, I say!" and extending his arm to give force to the mandate, the venerable Pastor thrust his attenuated fingers into the flame of the candle, and started up broad awake!

DEAR BECKY, —

TO REBECCA PAGE.

Thenk hevin the storm I tould you of has blowed over; but I believe I may thank master for it, who was so kind as say I mite turn a Turk or a Hottenpot, if so be it agreed with my conshense. As for missus, she looks grumpy enuff at my new devotions but let her look, I may n't always be her servent to be tride xperiments on, as was the case this blessed morning. Complaining, as usual, of her weak state of nerves, she was advized by Mrs. Markhum to try the Rine Baths, as

being verry braceing; and missus was so considderrit as to let poor me make the fust trial. The Baths are kep in a floting house, witch is made fast to the Rine Bridge, of boats; and a pretty rushin and rampagin the river makes between them, like a mill race. But there was no help for it, as bathe I must; and was all crudling, and shakin, and shiverin in the tearing could water; when before one could say lawk deliver us, a nasty grate barge come spinning down the river, and by sum mismanigement the towin rope hung too low down, and jist ketching the Bath House, wipt off the hole roof in a jiffy! There was a hawful crash, you may suppose; and at that very minit I had duckt my head under, and wen I come up agin, lo, and behold! there was nothin at all up abuv, xcept the bare sky. In course it was skreek upon skreek from the other rooms; and thinks I, if tops comes off, so may bottoms, and in that case, down sinks the floting bath, and were all drownded creturs as sure as rats. So out I run on to the bridge of boats, jist as I was, with nothin on but my newdity; but decency's won thing, and death's another. The rest of the bathing ladies did the same; and some of them, pore things, fainted ded away on the boards. Luckly, none of the mail sects was passing by, for xcept won Waterloo blue bonnit, we were all in a naturalized state, like so menny Eves. Most fortunately, it was a hot sunny day, or we mite have kitcht our deths; howsumever, I was gitting more composed, wen hearing a tramp, tramp, tramp, I turned round my hed, and wat should I see but a hole rigment of Prushian sogers a marchin over the bridge. In such an undelicate case, staying was out of the question, so I giv a skreech, and roof or no roof, it was won generil skuttle back into the littel house. Then sich a skramble and hudling on of our close, there was n't a lady but looked as if her things had been put on, as the saying is, with a pitchfork! As for the ones in fits, the bath pepel carrid them back; and as the best and shortest way of bringin them to, popped them into the water agin, witch had the effect. Thenk gudness, there was no wus harm done; but Catshins says, wen the roof was took off, I ought to have crost meself; and to be sure, so I ought, as well as Sanctus Marius, instead of O Criminy!

So much for bathin afore missus. For my part, I don't admire boat bridges. Give me good iron or stone wons,

like Southwurk, or Rochistir. Ony the other day, a grate misguidid raft of wood driv agin the pinted end of an iland called Over Work, witch split the raft in two; so one half came down by the rite side of the iland, and the other by the left; and betwixt them, they broke and carried away both ends of the Rine Bridge; and there was a pore old woman and her cow, witch mite have been me, a dancing about, well ni crazy with frite, on the bit of bridge as was left in the middle of the river! Yesterday, Catchins took me to visit at her old place; being twelve o'clock, the fammily was jist going to dinner, and so I saw the hole preparation. First there was soop, and Catshins said, the cook said somebody said as how the English soop was so pore, it was obleeged to be disgized and flavioured up with pepper and spice; but I tould her, Lord help her, I never see any soop in England, but wat, wen could, was a perfect jelly, as might be chuckt over the house. Howsumever, I tasted the Germin soop, and thinks I, there 'd be jist as much taste of the meat, if a cow had tumbled into the Rine. Then came the beef, with iled butter and sowr sarce; and tell cook at home if she wants a new ornimentle dish, I'll be bound she never thort of a bullock's nose in jelly. For wegetables, small fried taters, and something green, as looked like masht duck weed, besides a hole truss of sallet; and instead of a fruit-pie, a flat cherry-tart, almost as big as a tebord. As for the servents, the best part of their dinner was ould cowcumbers, as had crawled on the ground till they was as yeller underneath as a load's belly, sliced up in winiger and shocking bad ile, along with monstrashious big inguns. To be sure, they do feed very queerly. Catshins says, her missis was ill laterly, with the morbus; and the fust thing she begged for in the eating way, was a veal cutlit, and a lot of bullises stewcd in sour wine! As for desert, they eat plums by the bushell, and pounds upon pounds of cherris; and wat's more, swallow the stones!

Talkin of dinners, please God if I ever settle in Germiny, there's three things I'll have out from England, a warmin pan, a plate-warmer, and a knife-board; for the knives here are never sharpt, and as we say of dill-water, are so innocent, you may give them to a new-born babby without the least danger. But lawk, if you was to send them out things, they

don't know the rite use of them, and most likely they would fry pan-cakes in the warmin pan, and make a pantry of the plate-warmer, jist as they fetch water for drinkin in a tin pail, as is painted red on the inside, and green on the out. Nothing 's used in its proper way. When we cum to the lodgins, I found in the drawing-room a square painted tin basket, exactly like an English bread-basket, and ever sinse I've put the rolls in it, but wen Catshins come, she said it's to hold sand, and to be spit into, - wat a forrin idear!

All together I should n't like to be a Germin servent; but I'm sadly afeard I shan't stop long where I am. Missus gets very cross, and seems to think I never do enuff; but if she was in my shoes she would find I have more work than I can do, what with my new religion, and gitting all the he and she saints by heart; and to be taught nitting; and practise waltzing and singing, and learn Germin besides, witch is very puzzling, for they say ve for we, and wisy wersy.

The grate Sham Fites is begun, and I've been to the Larger, as it's called, witch is full of shows and booths, and partikly wooden taverns and publick howsis, three to one.