These I render to Thee, these I desire to render to Thee throughout all the days and moments of time, and with prayers and supplications I invite and entreat all the spirits of heaven and all Thy faithful, to join with me in rendering thanks and praise to Thee.'

5. Let all nations praise Thee, all tribes and tongues, and let them magnify Thy holy blessed Name with greatest praise and ardent devotion ! 2

And those who reverently and devoutly celebrate Thy chief Sacrament, and with firm faith receive it, may they be able to find mercy and grace with Thee, and with supplication may they pray for me a sinner!

And since they have enjoyed the devotion they desired and the union to be wished for, and have retired from the sacred heavenly table well consoled and wonderfully refreshed, may they deign to remember me a poor miserable man!

Ps. cl. 6. "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord." 2 Dan. vii. 14.

CHAPTER XVIII.

MAN MUST NOT BE A CURIOUS EXAMINER OF THE SACRAMENT, BUT AN HUMBLE IMITATOR OF CHRIST, SUBDUING HIS SENSES TO SACRED FAITH.

CURIOUS and useless investigation of this most profound Sacrament must be avoided by thee, if thou art anxious to avoid being submerged in the depths of doubt. For men to

6

search their own glory is not glory.' 1 "God is able to work more than man can comprehend. "A pious and humble examination of truth is not wrong; such an examination as is prepared to learn, and anxious to walk by the sound opinions of the fathers.

2. "Blessed simplicity, which leaveth the difficult paths of questions, and goeth along the plain firm roads of God's commandments! 2 Many have lost their devotion whilst striving to investigate lofty subjects.

"Faith is required of thee and a pure life, not depth of intellect and profound knowledge of God's mysteries.

"If thou dost not understand or grapple things which are below, how wilt thou comprehend those which are

1 Prov. xxv. 27.

2 Ps. cxix. 35. "Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight."

above? Submit thyself to God, humble thy senses by faith, and the light of science shall be given to Thee, so far as shall be useful and necessary.

3. "Some men are heavily tried in their faith and in the Sacrament; but this is not to be assigned to them, but rather to the enemy.

"Give no heed to thy speculations, nor discuss them; give no reply to the doubts the devil hath suggested, but trust thou God's words, trust His saints and prophets, then shall the enemy, baffled, fly from thee.1

"Much it profiteth oftentimes that the servant of God suffereth such temptations; for the devil trieth not the unbelievers and sinners-these he already holdeth fast: but he trieth and vexeth devout believers in various ways.

4. "Go then to the Sacrament with simple unhesitating faith, and approach it with suppliant reverence.

"Commit too, with confidence, to God the Omnipotent, whatever thou art not able to understand. God doth not deceive thee; he is deceived who trusteth too much in himself.

"God walketh with the simple, revealeth Himself to the humble, giveth understanding to the weak, unfoldeth His meaning to the in heart, and taketh His grace away from those who are inquisitive and proud.

pure

"Human reason is weak and fallible, but true faith is infallible.

1 James iv. 7. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 2 Ps. cxix. 130. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." S. Luke xxiv. 45. "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures."

5. "All reasoning and human investigation ought to follow faith, not to precede or infringe upon it; for faith and love shine forth most abundantly in the Sacrament, and work by hidden methods in this most holy and excellent Sacrament.

"God the Eternal, the Infinite, the Almighty, doth great and inscrutable things in heaven and on earth, nor is there any investigation of His wonderful works.1 Were God's works such that they could be easily comprehended by the human mind, they could not be called wonderful or ineffable."

1 Isaiah xl. 28. "There is no searching of His understanding."

CHISWICK PRESS:-PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKINS,

TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

HISTORY OF LACE, from the Earliest period;
with upwards of One Hundred Illustrations and Coloured
Designs. By Mrs. Bury Palliser. In one thick volume, large
square 8vo. choicely bound in cloth.
[In the press.

Pictures of English Life; illustrated by Ten folio page Illustrations on wood, by J. D. Cooper, after Drawings by R. Barnes and E. M. Whimperis, with appropriate descriptive Poems, printed in floreated borders. Imperial folio, cloth extra, 12s. [Nearly ready.

Schiller's Lay of the Bell.

Sir E. Bulwer Lytton's translation; beautifully illustrated by forty-two wood Engravings, drawn by Thomas Scott, and engraved by J. D. Cooper, after the Etchings by Retszch. Oblong 4to. cloth extra, 12s.

Normandy, its Gothic Architecture and History; as illustrated by Twenty-five Photographs from Buildings in Rouen, Caen, Mantes, Bayeux, and Falaise. A Sketch, by F. G. Stephens. 8vo. cloth extra, 16s. The Pleasures of Memory. By Samuel Rogers. Illustrated by Twenty original Designs. Square 8vo. cloth. [Nearly ready. Comprising a

Favourite English Poems. Complete Edition.

Collection of the most celebrated Poems in the English Language, with but one or two exceptions unabridged, from Chaucer to Tennyson. With 300 Illustrations by the first Artists. Two vols. royal 8vo. half bound, top gilt, Roxburgh style, 17. 18s.; antique calf, 31. 3s.

Either Volume sold separately as distinct works. 1. "Early English Poems, Chaucer to Dyer." 2. "Favourite English Poems, Thomson to Tennyson." Each handsomely bound in cloth, 17. 1s.; or morocco extra, 17. 15s.

"One of the choicest gift-books of the year. The selections are wisely and fairly made, whilst more than 300 drawings by Messrs. Cope, Creswick, Redgrave, Taylor, Birket Foster, and other artists, feed the eye and elucidate the text. The paper is of a creamy tint, the type good, the binding solid, and the whole appearance handsome and solid. "Favourite English Poems" is not a toy book, to be laid for a week on the Christmas table and then thrown aside with the sparkling trifles of the Christmas tree, but an honest book, to be admired in the season of pleasant remembrances for its artistic beauty; and, when the holydays are over, to be placed for frequent and affectionate consultation on a favourite shelf."-Athenæum.

A Christmas Carol. 8vo. Illustrated. 12s.

Life Portraits of Shakspeare; with an Examination of the Authenticity, and a History of the various Representations of the Poet. By J. H. Friswell, Member of the National Shakspeare Committee. Illustrated by Photographs of authentic and received Portraits. Square 8vo. 21s.; or with Photograph of the Will, 25s.