ANGLER. So it is. I speak not now of the dignity that is wrought in holy persons by the permitted communion with God, according to the last prayer of our Saviour, that they might be one with Himself, (as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us,)-nor of the fulfilment of His rich promise, that His Father and Himself would love them, and come unto them, and make their abode with them,†—nor of the inestimable gift of the Comforter, which should abide with them for ever, (for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you:)-neither will I now further insist on the blessed assurance in Scripture of the spiritual communion of saints on earth with God's angels, who are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation, yea, and rejoice over them, yea, and wait for their souls, to carry them triumphantly into Abraham's bosom.-But, blessed be God! besides all this, we have assurance of the love of that innumerable company who wait in hope of the bright morning of the resurrection, who whilst on earth were renewed in the image of our God, and endued with the spirit of Christ,even those successive generations that have departed this life in faith, and now made perfect, and inhabiters of the supernal City. Blessed be God! they are secret witnesses to our desires, our penitential tears, our fastings, our inward struggles, our outward crosses,-are

John xvii. 21.
Ibid. xiv. 17.

+ Ibid. xiv. 23.
Heb. i. 14.

present with us in the Holy Church, joining in those very sacraments and prayers which were their own comfort and support in their day of probation. Nay, death itself hath no power to accomplish the separation of those we have most dearly loved :--the grave hath closed over their mortality, they have escaped from their outward perishable frame, and have winged their way to unimaginable joys; but it may be they are with us in unseen communion.-What if their spirits mingle with our's in a wonderful order? and although we presume not to fathom the mystery beyond what is revealed in Scripture, may we not join with them and with the ten thousand times ten thousand hosts of heaven in praise of the eternal unity of the Godhead, that hath given us this earnest of a glorious immortality?

PAINTER.-Oh! the unsearchable riches that are even now within our grasp, if we knew to put forth our hand and reach them!

ANGLER. But alas! because of the natural averseness of our souls from heavenly contemplations, and our too intense fixedness on the unreal pleasures of the world, we cannot be warmed and affected with the kindlings of holy desires.

for a

PAINTER.-'Tis true, yet strange, religious spirit is the highest gift of God; it is an incense that rises perfumed to His lofty throne, from whence it flows, and gives peace. of soul which setteth at nought all the chances of fortune.

ANGLER.-True, for to be spiritually minded

is

peace, and by the bond of peace we are kept in the unity of the Spirit.

PAINTER.-And that peace is nowhere else to be found but only in the Church, as witness those choice verses of Mr. George Herbert, who dedicated his muse to the Divine Majesty, and his life to a christian holiness.

Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? I humbly crave,
Let me once know.

I sought thee in a secret cave,
And ask'd if Peace were there.

A hollow wind did seem to answer, No:
Go seek elsewhere.

I did; and going did a rainbow note;

Surely, thought I,

This is the Lace of Peace's Coat:
I will search out the matter.

But while I lookt, the clouds immediately
Did break and scatter.

Then went I to a garden, and did spie
A gallant flower,

The crown Imperial: Sure, said I,
Peace at the root must dwell.

But when I digg'd, I saw a worm devour
What show'd so well.

At length I met a rev'rend good old man ;
Whom when for Peace

I did demand, he thus began :
There was a Prince of old

At Salem dwelt, who lived with good encrease
Of Flock and Fold.

He sweetly liv'd; yet sweetness did not save
His life from foes.

But after death out of his grave
There sprang twelve stalks of wheat;
Which many wondering at, got some of those

To plant and set.

It prosper'd strangely, and did soon disperse

Through all the earth:

For they that taste it do rehearse
That vertue lies therein;

A secret vertue, bringing peace and mirth

By flight of sin.

Take of this grain, which in my garden grows,
And grows for you;

Make bread of it, and that repose
And peace, which every where

With so much earnestness you do pursue,

Is only there.*

:

ANGLER.-Yon are in the right the meaning of Mr. George Herbert was, that peace may only be found in the unity of the Holy Church, which is built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone; and St. Chrysostom hath said the name of CHURCH is a name of harmony ;—and truly, for he declares it to be a place of angels and of archangels, a palace of God, heaven itself; and her anointed ministers are the bearers of God's faithful message ;-baptizing all people into her one communion, dispensing to all the eucharistic body and blood of Christ their Redeemer, and catechizing all, young and old, in the holy mysteries of the Scriptures, which display the glory of God in the government and redemption of the world.

6

PAINTER. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth Peace.'

ANGLER. And when the prophet would

Herbert's Poems, THE CHURCH, p. 117.

6

6

raise up the heart of the afflicted Church, tossed with tempest and not comforted,' he saith, Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sap'phires, and I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and 'great shall be the PEACE of thy people.'But we grow too serious-let us be forward, or we shall scarce reach the end of our walk.

6

PAINTER. I am with you: and what big mountains are they, so dark in the distance? they must be ten miles off. I hope we shall have nothing to say to them.

ANGLER.-Trust me, brother,—and something beyond them too, if you would see Dove Head to-day; but they are not so far as you think, and when you come to them, you'll like them none the worse for their steepness. But now we are arrived at Pilsbury, you may see Broad Meadow--that is a handsome mansionhouse on the other side of the stream; and this is Wheeldon Hill

PAINTER. Well, to be sure, he is not so difficult and tedious as he looked to be from Ludwell.

ANGLER. I declare no man living can trudge better than you do And now you may find Crowdey Cote Bridge in the bottom, and a spring that contributes all its clearness to the Dove; and thus I have brought you to Sterndale; and so let us pass to the right.

PAINTER.-Stay a while, brother; methinks