order that the dean and canons went foremost, the chaplains next, and the Boy Bishop with his priests, in the last and highest place. He then took his seat, and the rest of the children disposed themselves on each side of the choir, upon the uppermost ascent. Afterwards he proceeded to the altar of the Holy Trinity, and All Saints, which he first censed, and next the image of the Holy Trinity, his priests all the while singing. Then they all chanted a service with prayers and responses, the Boy Bishop repeating salutations, prayers, and versicles, and in conclusion giving his benediction to the people. Especial care was taken that no interruption should prevent the children performing their offices, and any person wilfully offending, was excommunicated. We also further learn, that the Boy Bishop, in some, districts, held a kind of visitation, and maintained a corresponding state and prerogative; and that if he chanced to die within the month, he was buried like other bishops, in his episcopal ornaments, his obsequies were solemnized with great pomp, and a monument was erected to his memory.

MARIA. But what was the particular intent of this ceremony? It appears to me like a mockery of the Catholic parade, as practised by the elder priests and others.

MR. CONSTANCE. It certainly has that appearance ; but we are told that it originated in the desire of the early Christians to substitute religious rites in accordance with their own mode of worship, in lieu of the heathenish superstitions of paganism.

MARIA. And so one superstition gave place to another equally absurd.

MR. CONSTANCE. Such, it is to be lamented, was too often the case; and, as in the instance of the Boy Bishop many processions and ceremonies were perpetuated, which were originally intended as harmless satire on more idolatrous modes of worship.

CHARLES. Is it certain that the Eton Montem is a corruption of the festival of the Boy Bishop?

WILLIAM. It is not certain, though I think it probable that it may be so. In papal times, it was customary with the Eton scholars to elect a Boy Bishop, and go through the usual ceremonies; but, by an edict of Henry the Eighth in 1542, (F) the show of Child Bishop was abrogated, and the scholars being no longer allowed to mimic their religious superiors, gave the present military character to their feast; and instead of electing a bishop, nominated a captain.

MR. CONSTANCE. And a further confirmation of this alteration, is in the fact, that the Montem was formerly kept in the winter time, when the scholars were accustomed to cut a passage through the snow from Eton to Salt Hill: the name of which place, and of the money they collect (salt), strengthen the supposition.

ANGELINA. But you have still to inform us, William, why St. Nicholas is considered the patron of seamen.

WILLIAM. From the miraculous power displayed by him when at sea, on the occasion of a storm: we are told that he was voyaging to the Holy Land, when a dreadful storm arose, which abated immediately at his bidding. Also from his personal appearance to some mariners, who had invoked his aid in the hour of distress, although, at the time of his appearance, he was known to have been in a distant part of the world.

MR. CONSTANCE. Notwithstanding it may be difficult for us to ascertain why the name of St. Nicholas is associated with that of mariner, it is not so hard a matter to satisfy ourselves of the truth of its being so, since there is scarcely a place of any note round our own coast, but has some sacred edifice dedicated to him. In foreign countries also_the" same honour is paid to his memory by seafaring men; and Russia has in particular distinguished herself by

adopting him as her great patron, as well as in the building of various places of worship, expressly to afford mariners an opportunity of soliciting the aid of their guardian for a prosperous voyage. But as we also have paid more than usual respect to this saint, in our consideration of the day devoted to his memory, we may, I think, without being charged with irreverence, immediately pass to the next on the calendar.

ARTHUR. Which is on the 8th, and runs thus-Con. B.V.M.: pray what do those letters imply?

WILLIAM. Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; an event occasionally celebrated by the Romish church with much pomp. It is said that Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, first instituted this feast in the year 1070, because William the Conqueror's fleet, being in a storm, afterwards came safe to shore; but what connexion this circumstance can have with the conception of Mary, I am at a loss to know.

MR. CONSTANCE. And so also am I; and as it has since been stated that Anselm was not archbishop of Canterbury until twenty years after William's landing, I should much doubt the truth of its being by him ordained. However, the festival of the Conception has given rise to more controversy than any other remarkable day in the calendar, and is still, as it must for ever remain, a matter of divided opinion. Loretto, about one hundred and fifty miles from Rome, is the place honoured with this important event; and the pilgrimages made to the holy house where the Virgin is said to have resided, with the votive presents made to the " Lady of Loretto," rendered it one of the richest places in the world.

WILLIAM. This mystery has, of course, never been celebrated by the Reformed church of our country; and it has ever been a subject of dispute among the Catholics. In the year 1222, we find that the council at Oxford left

the people at liberty either to observe the day or not; but that afterwards, in 1476, it was ordered to be generally held in commemoration; when it was again annulled, in the time of pope Alexander the Fifth, in consequence of its intricacy. We may therefore be excused passing on to the next day of note, since, whatever consideration we may give the subject, we shall no doubt come to the same conclusion as our predecessors that it is a mystery.

MRS. CONSTANCE. The next day is simply styled, Lucy. Has she any other name?

WILLIAM. None that I know of; and her history differs but little from that of the other youthful virgins, who suffered in the cause of Christianity. She was a native of Syracuse in Sicily, and educated under the eare of a mother, who affianced her to a person of rank. Lucy, however, had previously entered into a vow of celibacy, and devotion to her God: and, as in the instances already mentioned, she was proof against every art used by parent and lover, to induce her to renounce her faith. Her admirer, therefore, exasperated by her scornful treatment, accused her of being a Christian, a crime sufficient in the eyes of a heathen judge to warrant her execution by the most barbarous means. She was therefore condemned to die, but, according to the legend, "God rendered her immoveable," and instead of suffering by the hands of the executioner, she expired in prison, about the year 305."O Sapientia," on the 16th, are the opening words of a Latin anthem in honour of Christ's advent; which, as it used to be sung from that day until Christmas, our Reformers thought proper to leave it in the calendar, as an intimation to future Christians, that it was a period of prayer and preparation.

MR. CONSTANCE. The retention of the words "O Sapientia" was the occasion of much controversy, whether some female martyr was not thereby signified, rather than

its being the opening of a sacred song. Indeed, for some time it was understood to mean one of the eleven hundred martyrs who suffered with St. Ursula. But, we shall now be relieved from the consideration of these days of dubious and superstitious character, by attending to the biography of St. Thomas the Apostle, noted on the 21st of this month, and which is also styled the Shortest Day

WILLIAM. Although we attach the greatest interest to those days in our calendar, which bear the name of some chosen saint, and of whose life evidence is to be found in the gospel, still, the obscure and humble stations from which those holy men were selected, afford few, if any, particulars of biographical interest. Thus the lives of the apostles, apart from their sacred characters, appear to be barren of incident, and frequently prove unsatisfactory. Of St. Thomas less is known than of the other apostles. The place of his birth and his parentage, as also that of his occupation, are doubtful points. It is however supposed that he was a Galilean and a Jew; and from the fact of his joining Peter after our Saviour's resurrection, in the business of fishing, it is presumed that he had before followed that mode of life. The first mention made of him in the gospel, is by St. John, when a circumstance is related highly to the credit of St. Thomas, and which alone displays his character in an amiable light. When Jesus was about to return to Judæa, all the apostles excepting Thomas, would have dissuaded him from it. They urged that he was in danger of being stoned by the Jews,-that in going to raise his friend Lazarus from the grave, he might meet with his death. St. Thomas, however, exhorted them to abandon such unworthy fears, and, with a firmness of soul worthy of the cause, nobly exclaimed: "Let us go also, that we may die with him."

MARIA. How then are we to account for the same apostle's want of faith and belief on another occasion, and