Reformation; they will uniformly begin withthe Word of God. Yet, somehow, taking the facilities of our age into account, it is a question whether if by the phrase "Word of God" is meant the Book of God,-that that word was not in as much use in the olden time as it is now. But I think, by that phrase, they imply preaching the Word.

Things will not continue in this state in Sweden. There is a double movement going on-a forward, impulsive one, in which both the political-liberal party and the evangelically-religious one may bear a share-it is true that in all, of what are termed onward movements, they become combined. There is also a retrograde tendency, less strong and less visible, but very sure. Were liberty of dissent allowed, we should soon see the results of both. The issue would probably be fatal to the Swedish Church; and in the present enforced submission to its doctrines, laws and practices, there is at least that good which results from the repression of outward infidelity, and absence of the distracting, life-wasting squabbles which bear the name of Controversies.

One of those practices "which owns a Catholic origin," and still remains in the Swedish Church,

is that of the reception, or restoration of penitents to the Church. It is rather the vestige of a godly discipline once exercised over its erring children, the highest and mightiest, the poorest and lowliest; now dwindled down, and limited to the convicts and prisoners whose term of punishment has expired.

These, when about to be liberated, are brought to their parish churches, wherever they may be. There is a particular place appointed for them, near the entrance of the church; there, during the time of service, and of the sermon, in which allusion is usually made to them-a miserable, wasted man, young in years, old in suffering, may often be seen, with a keeper, burly and strong standing at each side; there he sits, with his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands, his long wild hair helping them to hide it. The keepers touch him, rouse him up a Priest, in white, and crimson, and gold, comes down the aisle with a book in his hand, and stands close before him: a crowd of men, women, and children stare, and look with wonder, pity, or scorn at the penitent. The priest reads; asks him if he is sorry for his sin, makes him promise to do so no more, and gives him the blessing.

The first person I saw go through this ceremony -for, I fear, performed as it is merely as a part of the judicial punishment, it is a ceremony merelywas an elderly and large woman; there was nothing very touching in her appearance, but I burst into tears. "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord!" were the words that rose to my lips. Could every heart in that assembly be seen, could every life be made known, were there not many who might take the place of the penitents, and let them, in comparison, go free?

Most persons desire the abolition of this practice, even among the clergy as well as laity: we want to have Church discipline restored, however, not annihilated. Yet it is a pity to see this branch of it confined to one class of delinquents, who are often less guilty than many who enter, with unblushing brow, the walls of the same church.

But the intention of this discipline appears in Sweden to be mistaken; it is considered as a penance, and regarded as such both by the law and the people; whereas, in its original use, it was evidently the act of restoration, after penance and excommunication, and on contrition. Its only

practical use now could be in bringing the poor wanderers under the notice and guardianship of

their Pastors. It is to be hoped that in some instances, at least, it does so.

The parochial system of Sweden obliges the clergy to be acquainted with the state of their people; the government makes them, in fact, its moral police. All persons must by law possess a certain amount of religious knowledge and education. They must be confirmed, and for that end read and write, and undergo six months' religious instruction from the Priest. Should any person be brought to trial and found in a state of total ignorance, the officers of government write to the Priest of his parish, to inquire how that person came to be so neglected; and he is obliged to make out the cause.

The churches of Stockholm are more remarkable in general for size than for beauty. In their original state, the older ones must have presented an imposing interior; but now, lumbered up as they are with large gloomy pews and galleries, a striking contrast is presented to their general plainness by the ornamented altars and pulpits, which stand in too vivid relief to the bare, whitewashed walls and dreary, lifeless aspect of the rest of the building. And it is impossible to enter them, especially when the Priest is facing the

Altar, in his gorgeous robes and splendid cross, and the people are sitting, not kneeling, in the pews,—without being forcibly struck by that mixture of the Roman and Presbyterian worship, the existence of which the Swedes are in general indisposed to acknowledge in their Church.

We know that Gustavus Vasa was obliged to temporise and dissemble in order to bring about his reformation; assuring the people, as Geijer informs us, "that he by no means intended the introduction of a new faith, but only the correction of abuses." Writing himself to the people of Helsingborg, he says of the Priests, "When they perceive that we look to the interest of the Crown, they straightway declare that we wish to bring in a new faith and Luther's doctrine; whereas the matter is no otherwise than as ye have now heard."

The people cling as tenaciously to their Psalmbook now as they did to their Mass-books then. Perhaps for much the same reason-they are theirs; they are Swedish.

The common phrase, "that was of the old time," when alluding to any vestiges of the Catholic period, or to any burlesqued representations of it, implies that such things being no longer