No wonder the BCCL FLA of the parad a for cared for, and then event and wri tious backen fings, when under the care of these dol men, would rarely escape detection... ma N doctoed of even all these safeguards were effeccions for all the purposes of human weakness and hawan infirmity. At least we are not given to understand

that such was the case.

The Reformation saw all these swept away, and with them their wealth, their possessions, and their dignified and imposing ceremonies all fell. It i hardly conceivable what the immediate effect must

and Maître Rabelais has handed him down to European fame, for his great skill “in arte supputandi," the title of a book written by the Bishop.

He was greatly, at one period of his life, opposed to the Reformation, and when Ambassador in Holland, he bought up all the copies of the Scriptures then recently translated into English, and had them committed to the flames. This was said to have been a trap laid for the astute Priest, for by it the translator raised money to pay his debts, and he put himself in a situation to send forth fresh copies.

He bore three combs upon his shield, and was said to have been descended, subject to a bend sinister, from the Barber of William the Conqueror.

Near the Palace were the Prebendal Residences, now being demolished. They had stood nearly four centuries, and from the difficulty experienced in tearing them to pieces, they might probably have stood four more. They resembled some of our older colleges, and presented a pleasing and characteristic sight, leading the contemplative mind agreeably back to the manners and days of a far distant date.

The Bishop of Ripon and his lessee the Rev. J. D. Jefferson, are removing these very interesting remains to a distance from the town, and converting the materials into barns and stables. No one can witness this needless act of destruction without pain. It is now too late to call upon any of the numerous Architectural Societies, established through the length and breadth of England for the special preservation of such structures, to ward the blow,

This most interesting monument of the olden time has ceased to exist. The Lord of the Manor has pronounced its doom, and the spirit of that good Bishop who did so much for posterity, may possibly look down in sorrow now, on what he once eyed with pleasure and delight.

How wide the difference between the Howden of that day and the present. In the fifteenth century the quiet Market Town had residing within its narrow bounds a Bishop of Durham, almost equally potent in spiritual and temporal power. Around him might be assembled the six Prebendaries of the Church, each of whom supported a Vicar for the performance of those parochial and spiritual duties which come within our notion of having the cure of souls. Again, there were the five Chantry Priests, with a herd of inferior dependents, as Chaplains, Clerks, Choristers, Vergers, and so on, to the lowest grade of this imposing Hierarchy.

No wonder the spiritual welfare of the parish was fully cared for, and their mental and conscientious backslidings, when under the care of these holy men, would rarely escape detection. Yet it may be doubted if even all these safeguards were efficacious for all the purposes of human weakness and human infirmity. At least we are not given to understand that such was the case.

The Reformation saw all these swept away, and with them their wealth, their possessions, and their dignified and imposing ceremonies-all fell. It is hardly conceivable what the immediate effect must

have been, till necessity had quietly and silently made other provision for the wants and weaknesses of a people as ignorant as superstitious; and who had hitherto blindly and implicitly left their consciences and their eternal interests in the keeping of the Roman Catholic Priesthood. They were now for the first time to walk by themselves, and we may feel sure that their steps would betray all the tottering and uncertain weakness of infancy. And so it proved, till that which had been so suddenly swept away was supplied from other sources and by other

means.

What now has the Church of Howden in the place of this grand array of dignity and wealth? It has one Vicar or Perpetual Curate, subsisting upon a stipend utterly insufficient for the maintenance and support of himself and family, in a state becoming a Christian Pastor.

This Pastor has no residence, no house, and so complete has been the subversion and the change, that he has been almost compelled to leave the Town of Howden, and to take up his abode in the Village of Barmby, where he has lived during the last few years. It was hoped that some arrangement would have been made a short time ago, to annex the Palace and the adjoining Grounds to the Vicarage of Howden, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners are said to have been in treaty for the purchase of this property for that desirable object. This treaty unfortunately fell to the ground, and very much it is to be regretted, for such an opportunity may never again occur.

Howden.

This Township including Howden-dyke, contains two thousand three hundred and thirty two inhabitants, and two thousand eight hundred acres of land, for the most part of good quality, and in fair cultivation, but capable of great improvement. The town is of considerable antiquity, it is well built, paved, flagged, and lighted with gas. Indeed its neatness, cleanliness, and general appearance are highly creditable to the inhabitants, and it forms a pleasing contrast to the Howden of forty years ago.

This improvement is not confined to appearances only, for the district is certainly inore healthy than formerly, and yet much remains to be done on the score of sanitary measures. It was visited by cholera in 1849, but the ravages of the disease were principally confined to the Union Workhouse.

It has no particular trade or manufacture, and the inhabitants are dependent on the surrounding neighbourhood which makes it its ordinary market, but which has been considerably damaged by the opening of the Hull and Selby Railway.

Another source of profit to the town, is the annual horse-fair, perhaps the largest in England. So early as the year 1200, King John granted a licence to Philip de Poictou, Bishop of Durham, to hold an annual fair at Howden, on the second and

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