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Mr. Brief, perceiving that his voice
indicated fear and distress, went out to
Ids assistance. I looked through the
veranda and saw the horse, now some
what quieted, standing in the street. He
was an elegant animal and handsomely
caparisoned to anew style of buggy.
The stranger held the reins in his hand,
while he conversed in a low tone of voice;
the discourse was brief, for soon I saw
him bow respectfully, jump into his vehi
cle, and disappear.
‘‘Who is that ?” I enquired of Mr.
Brief, when he returned to the parlor.
“It is the man whose nom de Guerre
is “Iron Hand,” alias, “Paul Lister,” and
how many more names I cannot tell.”
“What! the man suspected of robbery
and murder ?”
“The same’'—he laconically replied.
“But is it justifiable that such a charac
ter should go at large V*
“Not if proof could be obtained veri
fying the accusations against him; were
he arrested without sufficient evidence, he
would bring an action for heavy damages
upon those who molested him, and the
terror of paying a large sum, I assure
you, is greater to many, than the glitter
of his stiletto, while the busy-bodies and
vindictive are rendered very charitable
and tender-hearted from the same cause.”
We were just on the edge of a moral
discussion, when our ethics were suddenly
dlencedby plums and black-berries. An
old woman had just entered the verauda,
and sent in a hurry for me to purchase
fruit. It was measured and paid for, and
she had tied on her bonnet, and bade me
good evening, when she suddenly turned
around and enquired :
“Haint Lister been here ?”
“Yes, madam.”
“I thought so. Ah me !” she exclaimed,
with a heavy sigh ; he married my poor
daughter, and it was the worst day of her
life, it was. She is as afraid as death of
him, and he will yet be found out to be
tiie worst man alive. The other night he
came rushing in, so poor Caty says, and
two men following him; it was midnight,
it was; lie struck a light; it woke Caty,
who was trembling, for they were all
covered witli blood. Lister bars the door,
lie did, and tells Caty to get up and wash
the blood off of the clothes, and dry them
—that he had been hunting for wild hogs ;
Caty knew better.” She raised her thin,
yellow hand, shook it in the air, and ut
tered a dreadful malediction. The words
appeared almostj to flash and smoke as
they burst from her lips. Before I could
sny one word, the gate slammed, and she
was gone.
Soon after this, we removed from the
village to the city of L , and for
several years heard nothing of these in
dividuals.
It was on a beautiful day in the month
of May, that we called the children around
us to take a walk in Greer Park. We
had not progressed more than three
squares, when one of the children called
our attention to a shop window in which
there was exhibited a very pretty painted
engraving, representing children at play
with their pets. Finding the establish
ment an apothecary’s, wc went in to make
a few purchases. The clerk was very
polite, and soon covered the counter with
pretty articles, some of them curiosities
of real interest and value.
We were examining them at our leis
ure, when happening to turn around to
look at the opposite shelves, a human
skull arrested my attention. It produced
a mysterious mesmeric impression upon
me ; I felt as if I was familiar with the
skull. “How is it possible?” reasoned I
with myself. Horrible thought, that I
should possibly be sssociated with that
mouldering inmate of the grave, of
death, and of eternity.
In a nervous tone of voice, that caused
the young clerk to start, I enquired:
‘‘Who’s head is that
Lister’s madam. He was executed
here three years ago for a capital offence,”
Yes, there projected the high cheek
bones, there the peculiar expression of
the teeth, and there the retreating chin.
The contour was a faithful identity" The
incident now recurred to me of the parlor;
the man, his money, his health-breathing,
but vindictive countenance, animated with
the active business of this world. But,
now, how cold, how still, and deaf, and
silent, in the midst of these very incidents
which, formerly, absorbed his whole mind,
heart, and soul. Yes, gold, for which he
sold himself for time and for eternity,
now glittered, unheeded, before those
deep hollow sockets, and from that tongue
less mouth there was poured forth an elo
quence which Socrates failed to teach or
Plato, from his portico, to enforce. Such
was the impression made upon me by
Lister from the grave.
Some hoys who lingered in a woodland
after his removal from the gibbet to the
place of interment, visited the spot an
hour afterwerds. All was silence and
solitude, except the gliding figure of a
clergyman, whose black robe sometimes
appeared and sometimes disappeared
among the thick foliage of midsummer.
The good Priest had made upon the grave
a representation of the cross in three
places.
All that was Lister has perished ; all
but that ghastly head; it remains still
upon the shelf of the apothecary to tell
the story of a life of sin and of crime.
Someone, deeply impressed by the un
ceasing sermon preached from the mould
ering skull, wrote beneath it :
“The way of the transgressor is hard.”
Proverbs, c. 13. v. 15.
SPIRI T OF THE RELIGIOUS PRESS-
A NEW RITUALISTIC SENSATION.
The “Ritualists,” it would seem, have
gotten up a fresh sensation-—and one, too,
of a character to thoroughly arouse the
Low-Churchmen, and to set them asking,
what next * We quote :
[From N. Y. Cor. Episcopalian.]
THE NEWEST STEP ROMEWARD.
St. Alban’s Chapel, in Forty-seventh
street, lias ceased to be the pioneer of Rit
ualism in this city, and the public now look
to Trinity Church for the newest authori
tative “ developments.” The former, it is
generally understood, was established as a
mere experimental institution, with a view
of ascertaining through its agency just how
much of Popery the Protestant Episcopa
lians here would put up with. The ex
periment having now proved in some
sense a success, that is to say, in the
estimation of its projectors,) Trinity her
self comes forward, throws off the mask,
and takes the lead, as if the small out-of
the way chapel of St. Alban's was not
with her ideas of progress. Hence the
reader will not be surprised to learn that
the Romish Feast of Corpus Christiis now
come to be regularly recognized by her
clergy: in witness whereof we append a
true copy of a circular which v r as widely
distributed (by authority,) in the earlier
part of the past w r eek :
THE CONFRATERNITY
OF
THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.
Hie Feast ot Corpus Christi is the annual
day ot the Confraternity, and this year
concurs with the Feast of St. Barnabas.
The associates are invited to be present
at the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist, at
Trinity Chapel, at 9 o’clock, A. M., when
a Priest Associate will be the Celebrant.
“ All Priests-Associate” are expected to
“celebrate the Holy Eucharist” within
the Octave “ for the Objects and intentions
of the Confraternity!”
Alter Service, there will be a meeting
in the Parish School Rooms.
New \ork, Saturday, Ember-day,)
Whitsun Week, 1868. ' f
IFrancis Hakison, Priest-Associate.
The Episcopalian, the week previous,
had an account of
“ The celebration of a (so-called) “ Low
Mass ’ at St. Alban’s—and to that per
formance, it says, this celebration of Corpus
Christi , at Trinity Chapel, may be accepted
as a fittiug pendant. If things keep on at
this pace, the writer asks, “how long will
it be possible to distinguish between the
professed Episcopal Churches and the regu
lar Popish Mass houses ?”
The Bishop is also called upon to show
his hand, thus:
“ Surely there must be some members of
that congregation” (that is, the congrega
tion of Trinity Church) “ loyal to the faith
in which they have been brought up. We
call upon these to demand of their Bishop,
as they have a right to do, and as it is
their solemn duty to do, why this ‘strange
and erroneous doctrine’ is not ‘chased
away I —why this Protestant Episcopal
chapel, over which he lias oiiicial super
vision, is thus permitted to bring scandal
upon the whole Church, and grieve all
who are loyal to her doctrines, as set forth
in her formularies. The chief Pastor, we
must be permitted to say, with all due re
spect, cannot expect that the great body of
the people, to whom he has been called to
minister in spiritual things, will be content
with his silence with reference to these
exhibitions much longer. A point has now
been reached when forbearance, as well as
patience, is ceasing to be a virtue.”
THE OTIIEIi SIDE.
The Protestant Churchman (in the in
terest of Rev. Dr. Tyngand the Evangeli
cal party,) this week sounds another alarm
over the bold demonstrations of High
Churchmen. It says:
“ The intention to un-Protestantize the
Church is openly avowed. The utmost
alarm is felt by calm, enlightened men, lest
this nefarious object should be accom
plished. We see one evangelical Diocese,
like those under the charge of the Apostolic
Griswold, passing step, by step, under
the control of the sacerdotal party. We
see ecclesiastical discipline cruelly visited
upon those who preach Christ, or frater
nize with those who preach Christ, in
some way not exactly in accordance with
some doubtful point of canonical law;
while those who deride the Reformation,
exalt the. dark ages, propose inter-com
munion with Rome, establish the Confes
sional, teach the propriety of prayers for
the dead, and deny the doctrine of faith
°nly, are accepted as the true exponents of
our Church.”
The editor then asks;
“How is this peril to be met, and in
" ult att -itude are these leaders hereafter
to be found ?”
The answer is:
“ The assumption of an attitude more
distinctive than any we have ever occu
pied.”
In other words:
“ The uniting together as clergymen and
as parishes, not to interfere with the liber
ties of others, but to protect our own, and
to embody in a quasi-ecclesiastical organi
tion w hat we believe to be the true princi
ples of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
M e should thus constitute an Evangelical
Brotherhood or Order, for the maintenance
of that evangelical freedom which it is im
possible for us to surrender.”
[From theKirehen Z«itung.]
THE PETER’S PENCE,
From the earliest ages it has been an
object of ambition throughout the Chris
tian world, that Rome, the Metropolitan
See of the Church, with its numerous
Convents, Colleges, and Priests, should
occupy a position in keeping with its
rank among the other cities of the world.
Thus, we find, that even as far back as the
beginning of the fourth century, Pope
Damasus I. found himself enabled by the
numerous and costly presents, that poured
in upon him from all parts of the world,
to surround the Church with much of her
external glory, and to endow it with ex
tensive possessions, both in and outside
the city. Gregory the Great, at the time
of his accession to the Holy See, found it
already enriched by many and large pa
trimonies all over the Christian world,
and these enabled him very materially in
carrying out all those pious and successful
plans for the universal advancement of
the Church, with which his whole life
was occupied from beginning to end.
The English Kings, who, together with
their people, had received the gift of
Faith from Rome direct, occupy one of the
first places among those many Christian
Princes, who proved their devotion and
gratitude to the Roman See, by the lay
ing of pious offerings at the feet of the
Pope; for, besides other universal offer
ings, these Kings introduced among their
people the annual contribution of the so
called Peter’s Pence to the Holy See.
There exists some uncertainty regarding
the time when this contribution was first
made, and, also concerning the originator
of the movement, but this much is cer
tain, that the custom of levying this con
tribution already prevailed in the eighth
century. Long before the Norman con
quest a silver penny was annually con
tributed towards this object by every
family that was iu possession either of
landed property or of cattle to the amount
of 30 pence annual income, and the sum
total of these contributions was always
transmitted to the Pope with the most
scrupulous exactness.
According to some traditions, the pecu
liar train of circumstances by which a
collection of Peter’s Pence was first
brought about, can be explained in tho
following manner : The sons of Albion
have at all times manifested an extraor
dinary love for travel, which peculiarity
caused the Anglo-Saxon Kings to estab
lish hostelries in many places for all such
pilgrims, The most extensive of these
was the “Schola Saxonica ” in Rome, the
same that was afterwards transformed into
the “Hospitale di S. Spiritu in viu de
Sassa.” Some writer attributes the foun
dation of this house to King Ivi of Wes
sex, who made a pilgrimage to Rome in
725, and died there in a monastery in
828. This “Schola Saxonica ’’ comprised,
besides other houses, a Church of the
Blessed Virgin, and a cemetery for En
glishmen who chanced tu die at Rome,
and the object of the Institute was not
only to offer a home to indigent Welsh
men, and other natievs of England, in the
Eternal City, but also to provide a means
of religious education to young Anglo-
Saxons, who, at home, exposed to the
dangers of many and formidable heresies.
To support this house, it is said that Ivi
exacted a penny from every house in his
realm, and this money was known as
Bome/eroh , Eomescot or Roman tax.
There is, however, an air of greater
probability about the following tradition :
Offa, King of Mercia, who died in 796,
made a vow to St. Peter, to whose inter
cession he attributed his victories, that he
would pay for himself and his descend
ants, an annual tax of 300 marks to the
Holy See, and this promise he confirmed
by oath in the presence of a Papal Nun
cio. As for Ofi’a, he scrupulously ob
served the conditions of his promise, but
his descendants seem to have generally
neglected to comply with its require
ments. If, on the other hand, we are
informed that Ofia, during his visit to
Rome, in 790, endowed the already ex
isting institutions of the Saxons at that
place with magnificent gifts, and that by
so doing, he introduced definitely, for all
time to come, the payment of the so
called Peter’s-Penee, it becomes evident
that his endowments must have had some
connection with the Schola Sax§nica even
though that house may not have been
founded by Ivi, King of Mercia. The
tribute of 300 marks paid by Offa was !
a specifically royal donation, and was j
made, as such, tor a purpose somewhat l
different from that of the Peter’s-Pence,
properly so-called. This is evident from
the fact that when King Ethelwolf visited
Rome in 858, and while there reestab
lished the payment of this sum, he direct
ed that one portion of the amount should
he given to the Church of St. Peter,
another to the Church of St. Paul, and a
third to he Papal treasury. The same King
Ethel wo f also rebuilt once more the
Schola axonica which had twice been de
stroyed i-y fire, once in 8 Iff, arid a second
time dung the days of Leo IV ; he also
made va 1 able presents of gold, jewels, and
silk vestments to St. Peter’s, nor did he
forget, in his donations, the Bishops and
the inferior clergy, who resided at Rome.
Alfred the Great, the son of Ethelwolf,
after his victory over the Danes arid Nor
mans, continued to send the annual tri
bute which had been re-established by his
father, and thus we find that, under the
reign of Edward, from 901 to 924, the
annual payment of the Peter’s-Pence is
mentioned as a fixed custom. It appears
from a list that was made out from the
registers of the Lateran by order of
Gregory VII, that the collection of this
tribute was left to the Bishop of each Dio
cese, and that the entire annual sum col
lected at the time amounted to somewhat
over and above £2OO, Saxon currency
It is a fact, well known in history, that
Gregory VII demanded the payment of
the Peter’s Pence of William the Con
queror, and that that monarch readily
complied with the request. Thus, the
sending of the Peter’s Pence from Eng
land did not cease until the days of
Henry VIII, from 1509—1547. Pope
Gregory VII demanded, also, of France,
that every family within the realm should
annually pay a denarium, a piece of coin,
worth about ten cents of our present cur
rency, towards the suppoit of the Holy
See; on this account he wrote, in 1081, to
two of his Legates, then in France : “In
a manuscript letter of Charlemagne,
which is being preserved in the archives
at Rome, I find it recorded that the said
Emperor annually collected 1,200 pounds
of silver for the use and support of the
Apostolic See, and that there were three
places particularly appointed for the col
lection of this amount, viz. Aix-la-cha
pelle,Ruy Notradame, (in Anjou,) and St.
Giles, (in Languedoc).” Charlemagne
bound himself by oath, before his corona
tion, to undertake the annual payment of
a tribute resembling and equivalent to the
yearly Peter’s Pence coniine: from Eng
land.
Although we cannot with precision fix
the year in which this Roman tribute was
first introduced in Poland, it is neverthe
less certain that a sum of money, known
at Petes’s Pence, was sent from there to
Pope Benedict IX, during the first half of
the 11th century, in order to aid him in
completing the building of St. Peter’s.
About the same time, and perhaps earlier,
the collecting of Peter’s Pence was an
established custom in Denmark, since
Paschal 11, as early as 1140, reproves the
Archbishop of Lund for omitting, for
several consecutive years, to send him the
customary tribute. In Sweden, it was
not until 1152 that the Papal Legate,
Nicholas of Brakespear, Cardinal of St.
Albano, caused a decree to be issued at
the Diet of Lynkacping, that the inhabi
tants of this country should, in future,
pay a certain sum annually to Rome, as
a mark of their veneration for the Holy
See ; and that every Bishop shall collect
his quota of the amount within the limits
of his diocese.
By degrees the payment of the Peter’s
Pence was introduced, and became cus
tomary, in all the Catholic States of Eu
rope. But, since the Pope, by a special
dispensation of Providence, found himself
in possession of a sure and permanent
means of support from his temporal pos
sessions, which furnished him with all
that was necessary to relieve his wants,
and to carry on the Government of the
Church, the customary payment of the
Peter’s Pence gradually came into disuse.
At last the Revolution of 1848 de
prived the Holy Father of his posses
sions, and sought to destroy the laborious
work of many centuries. But this im
pious movement only served to give a
new proof of that love of the faithful
for the Chair of ISt. Peter, which had
never grown cold, but had only been dor
mant for a time because there was no
occasion for its external manifestation.
From this time forward the Peter's Pence
again began to take the place of those
revenues of which the Holy Father had
been deprived when his temporal posses
sions were taken from him. And hence
forth the association for collecting the
Peter’s-Pence spread not only all over
Europe, but even as far as America,
China, and, in fact, to every part of the
world. Every true and good Catholic
seemed anxious to contribute his mite
towards the independence of the Holy
Father. Nay, even Protestants wished to
share in this manifestation of attachment
to the Holy See. From all parts of the
world letters poured in upon the Pope,
filled with condolence for his embarrassed
situation, and accompanied by charitable
donations, that were all the more pre
cious since they proved at once the pov
erty of the giver and his desire to con
i ri J! te mo ™ 11 it only lay in his power.
! es ,p, eter 8 Pence have a significa-
I tl0 i n f , lhe,r contribution is not onlv an
act of love and true devotion to the Holy
: bee, but also, a solemn protest of the
| entire Catholic world against the spolia-
I °.n th * e £° pe ’ aud a manifestation of
!^ e Tr 1 f°? mdlionsof Catholics that
the Head of the Church shall and must
I be perfectly independent of any earthly
power. While the Revolutionists were
! reproducing, in the Eternal City, the ex
amples of Nero and Caligula, the faithful
l throughout the world were illustrating
over again the examples of the early
Christians. And generous and noble as
I were gifts which they contributed
I towards the independence of the Holy
j athor, thus was also the use to which
l these gifts were put by the Supreme Pon
tiff. Pius IX, after his re-establishment
at Rome, made use of these contributions
to advance the interests of education and
charity.
The present spirit of the times is but a
new phase of the Revolution of ’4B. It
only differs from that in form and by the
fact that it has placed itself under the
protection of the rulers of the day. Its
main object is still the annihilation both
of the temporal and spiritual sovereignty
of the 1 ope. This fact appears more
plainly each successive day.
Now, the more stubborn and dangerous
the contest, that much more openly and
decidedly must also be the faith and love
of Catholics manifest themselves. And
this faith and love should not he one that
confines itself exclusively to empty words.
True Christianity demands something
more; it requires deeds to attest the value
of protestations. Hence, if we cannot
take up arms for the defence of the Holy
Father, in liis present need, we should at
least have recourse to those other means
of rendering him all the assistance in our
power, namely—prayer and pecuniary
contributions according to the means with
which God has blessed us.
FATE OF THE APOSTLES.
Matthew is supposed to have suffered
martyrdom, or was slain, in the city of
Ethiopia.
Mark was dragged through the streets
of Alexandria, in Egypt, till he expired.
Luke was hanged to an olive tree in
Greece.
John was put into a boiling cauldron
at Rome, but escaped death. lie died
a natural death at Ephesus, in Asia.
James the Great was beheaded at
Jerusalem.
James the Less was thrown from a pin
nacle and beaten to death.
Philip was beheaded.
Bartholomew was skinned alive.
Andrew was crucified.
Thomas was run through with a lance.
Jude was shot through with arrows.
Simon was crucified.
Matthias was stoned.
Barnabas was stoned to death.
Peter, after his release, journeyed to
Rome where he held at bay all the secret
artifices of the people, and even confound
ed the magical qualities of Simon, the
entertainer and pleasure-maker of Nero,
the Emperor. He also converted one of
that monarch’s concubines to Christiani
ty, which so fearfully enraged that tyrant
that he ordered both Peter and Paul to
be arrested. Peter was taken out of
prison for eqecution, which was carried
into effect by being fearfully scourged and
crucified with his head downwards.
Paul was afterwards beheaded by
Nero’s successors.
Forgot to Look Up.—We have some
where seen the story of a man who went
to steal corn from his neighbor’s field.
He took his little boy with him to sit on
the fence and keep a look out, so as to
give warning in case any one should
come along. The man jumped over the
fence with a large bag on his arm, and
before commencing to take the corn, he
looked all around, first one way and then
the other, and not seeing any person, he
was just about to fill his bag. Then the
little fellow, his son, a good little fellow
he was, too, cried out:
“Father, there’s one way you haven’t
looked yet!”
The father was startled, and supposed
that someone was coming. He asked his
son which way he meant.
“Why,” said the little boy, “you forgot
to look up.”
The father was conscience stricken ;
he came back over the fence, took his
little boy by the hand, and hurried quietly
home without tho corn which he had de
signed to take. The little boy had re
minded him that the eye of God was upon
him.
5