& PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Walsh, Walter, 1847-1912. 
 The secret history of the 
 
 Oxford movement 
 
 Shelf . 
 
THE SECRET HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 
 
THE SECRET HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 
 
 WALTER WALSH 
 
 THIRD EDITION. TWELFTH THOUSAND 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., Ltd. 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE, E.C. 
 
 1S98 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I HAVE written this book at the request of an eminent 
 Dignitary of the Church of England, noted for the 
 liberality and breadth of his views of religion. He repre- 
 sented to me the need of a work which might be the means, 
 in God's hands, of opening the eyes of loyal Churchmen to 
 what is going on underneath the surface ; and, as I have 
 had exceptional opportunities for studying this aspect of the 
 Ritualistic question, I have, though with not a little anxiety, 
 complied with his request. I have written in no narrow- 
 minded or party spirit. There is not, I believe, a single 
 expression of my own opinion in the volume which will give 
 offence either to Evangelical Churchmen, Broad Church- 
 men, or old-fashioned High Churchmen of the school of the 
 late Bishop Samuel Wilberforce and Dean Burgon. I have 
 little doubt that men of all these parties will agree with 
 what I have written. Ritualists and Romanizers will, of 
 course, not agree with me at all. Those who work in the 
 dark do not love the man who seeks to drag them forth into 
 the light of day. 
 
 I have taken every pains to be fair towards those whose 
 conduct and teaching I criticize. I would not willingly 
 misrepresent them in any way whatever. It was my anxiety 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 to be fair and accurate, which induced me to adopt the plan 
 of allowing these secret workers to tell their story in their 
 own words. And, therefore, I have given full references 
 and proofs for everything, taken from the writings of the 
 Ritualists themselves. All my authorities are Ritualistic, 
 with the exception of, perhaps, a score, whose testimonies 
 were necessary for my purpose. The italics in the quotations 
 are, with a very few exceptions, my own, not those of the 
 persons quoted. 
 
 It is a significant fact that secrecy has largely character- 
 ized the Ritualistic Movement, even from the first year 
 of its existence, when it was known by another name. 
 Abundant proofs of this fact will be found in the following 
 pages. Secret Ritualistic Societies have now come into 
 existence, and they are increasing in number every year. 
 At present the Church of England is literally honeycombed 
 with Secret Societies, all working in the interests of the 
 scheme for the Corporate Reunion of the Church of England 
 with the Church of Rome. These secret plotters are the 
 real wire-pullers of the Ritualistic Movement. 
 
 A great deal of that which was strictly secret in the early 
 days of the Oxford Movement has now been made public 
 by means of the Biographies and Letters of some of the 
 principal actors. I have endeavoured to utilize the revela- 
 tions made in those publications in the following pages. 
 They are scattered here and there through many volumes, 
 and no attempt has hitherto been made to bring them 
 together in one book. But my principal authorities have 
 been the secret and privately printed documents of the 
 Ritualists themselves. From these I have been able to 
 give reports of speeches delivered in the secret meetings of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 vii 
 
 Secret Societies, and of Semi-Secret Societies, several of 
 them by men who have since risen to positions of eminence 
 within the Church of England. In these secret gatherings 
 they expressed themselves with a freedom which they have 
 never adopted in their public utterances. 
 
 The Secret History of the Priest in Absolution is here 
 given for the first time. Lord Redesdale's exposure in the 
 House of Lords, in 1877, of that very indecent Confessional 
 book for the use of Ritualistic Father Confessors, raised 
 a great storm of indignation throughout the country. His 
 lordship was not an Evangelical, but — as the present Bishop 
 of Winchester informs us in his Life of Archbishop Tait — 
 " a sober and trusted High Churchman of the earlier sort/' 
 Of course, the exposure produced a terrible commotion in 
 the ranks of the Secret Society of the Holy Cross, which 
 was held responsible for the book. The Brethren of that 
 Society held many occult meetings to consider what they 
 should do under such adverse circumstances. I have given 
 full reports of these secret gatherings, as printed for the use 
 of the Brethren only. I think most sober-minded Church- 
 men will admit, after reading the speeches delivered by 
 prominent Ritualistic clergymen on those occasions, that the 
 proceedings of the Society were by no means characterized 
 by straightforward dealing, but that, on the contrary, they 
 were decidedly cunning and Jesuitical. In this connection I 
 have necessarily had to comment largely on the Ritualistic 
 Confessional ; but I have carefully abstained from writing 
 anything which would offend the modesty of any Christian 
 man or woman. 
 
 Of necessity much has been left out of this volume which 
 I should have been glad to insert. There are intervals in 
 
viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 the Secret History of the Oxford Movement which have 
 yet to be filled up, when the documents necessary for the 
 purpose are forthcoming. 
 
 It is hoped that this volume may be the means of proving 
 to many Churchmen, who have hitherto taken no interest 
 in the Ritualistic question, that the contest now going on 
 within the Church of England, and which, unhappily, 
 threatens to rend her asunder, is not one about trifles. 
 There are many men and women who love to hear the best 
 music sung in our Churches, and wish to have the services 
 conducted with the utmost possible reverence, who do not 
 wish to surrender the priceless privileges of the Reformation, 
 including freedom from Papal tyranny, in order that their 
 Church, and the Church of their forefathers, shall, instead 
 of going forward, return to the corruptions of the Dark 
 Ages. It is hoped that this volume may enable many to 
 see that behind the Ritual, and the outward pomp and 
 grandeur of Ritualistic services, are the unscriptural doctrines 
 which that Ritual is designed to teach, and which our 
 forefathers found unendurable. All loyal Churchmen, by 
 whatever name they call themselves, should unite in ejecting 
 the lawless from their ranks, after an effort has been made 
 to secure their obedience. Things are rapidly drifting 
 towards a state of Ecclesiastical Anarchy. Indeed, in 
 thousands of parishes, Anarchy already prevails, where 
 Ritualistic priests persist in making their own whims and 
 fancies their supreme law, and in doing only that which is 
 right in their own eyes. I think it was Sydney Smith who 
 said, of the Tractarian clergyman of his own time, that 
 " He is only for the Bishop, when the Bishop is for him." 
 It is so still ; but with this unfortunate difference, — as a 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ix 
 
 rule, the Bishop "is for him." Episcopal smiles and favours 
 are heaped on the secret plotters whose work is described 
 in this volume ; and the leaders of the State vie with the 
 Bishops in promoting those who are systematically law- 
 breakers. 
 
 The influence of public opinion needs to be brought to 
 bear upon this question. Compromise is out of the 
 question. Either our Rulers in Church and State must 
 unite together in maintaining law and order, or the Church 
 of England will cease to be the Established Church of the 
 nation. I am not pleading in any way for the narrowing of 
 the existing boundaries of the Church of England, as defined 
 in her formularies and laws. No considerable body, at 
 present, wishes for anything of the kind. But I do maintain 
 that law and order ought to be supreme in the Church, as 
 much as in the State, and at present this, unfortunately, is 
 not the case. At present the extreme Ritualists are a law 
 unto themselves. There is not in existence a tribunal to 
 whose Judgments they will yield obedience, when they 
 come into collision with their own superior judgments. 
 Reasonable men would say that it is better to have even 
 imperfect tribunals than no tribunal at all ; and that it 
 is wise to obey those which exist until efforts for their 
 reformation are successful. But this does not appear to be 
 the opinion of the Ritualists. Better that all English 
 Church law and order shall go down than they should 
 cease to do as they like. Bearing in mind their whole- 
 hearted efforts for Corporate Reunion with Rome, as 
 described in the two last chapters of this volume, when a 
 state of loyalty and obedience to the Pope would again 
 come into existence in the Church of England, does it not 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 look very much as though the Romanizers were bent on 
 upsetting all law and order within the Church of England, 
 and producing a state of Anarchy, solely in order that on 
 the ruins may be erected the law and order of the Pope 
 of Rome ? 
 
 W. W. 
 
 London, September $th, 1897. 
 
 PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 In sending a third and cheaper edition of this book 
 to the Press, I desire to express my thankfulness to 
 God for the large circulation to which it has already 
 attained. It has, of course, been severely censured by 
 the friends of those whose misconduct and disloyalty it 
 exposes, but, so far as I am aware, no one has even 
 attempted to prove that it is in any way inaccurate as 
 to its statement of facts. 
 
 w. w. 
 
 London, July 18th, 1898. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. — The Secret History of the Oxford Move- 
 ment - . -> - - - -i 
 
 Birth of the Movement — Its Secret Teaching— Promoters 
 dislike their names being known to the Public — Tract " On 
 Reserve" — Newman writes against Popery — "Eats his dirty 
 words " — Ward on Equivocation— Newman Establishes a Monas- 
 tery — Pusey gives his approval — Newman's double dealing about 
 it — Lockhart's experience in this Monastery — Mark Pattison's 
 experience — " Stealing to Mass at the Catholic Church " — Faber's 
 visit to Rome — Faber kisses the Pope's foot— Desanctis on Jesuits 
 in Disguise — Midnight secret Meetings at Elton — Dr. Pusey 
 privately orders a "Discipline with five knots" — Dr. Pusey 
 secretly wears hair shirts — Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy to take 
 the " Discipline "—A Ritualistic Sister whipped most cruelly — 
 Romanists sell articles of " Discipline " to Ritualists — Maskell's 
 Testimony as to Tractarian evasions and trickery. 
 
 Chapter II. — The Society of the Holy Cross - - 46' 
 
 Its secret birth in 1855 — Brethren forbidden to mention its 
 existence — Its secret Statutes — Its secret signs — Its mysterious 
 "Committee of Clergy" — The Roll of sworn Celibates — Their 
 Oath — Its secret Synods and Chapters — Brethren must push the 
 Confessional amongst young and old — Its Confessional Book for 
 little children — Its secret Confessional Committee— Issues the 
 Priest in Absolution — Secret birth of the Retreat Movement — First 
 secret Retreat in Dr. Pusey's rooms — Starts the " St. George's 
 Mission " at St. Peter's, London Docks — Dr. Pusey a member of 
 the Mission — The Bishop of Lebombo a member of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross — Sensational letter from him— Ritualistic Holy 
 Water — Brethren alarmed at publicity — The Society establish an 
 Oratory at Carlisle — Its secret history— Organizes a Petition for 
 Licensed Confessors — Reports of speeches at its secret Synods — 
 Their dark plottings exposed. 
 
xii 
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 Chapter III. — The Secrecy of the Ritualistic Con- 
 fessional - - - - - 80 
 
 The Confessional always a secret thing — Abuse of the Ritual- 
 istic Confessional at Leeds — Dr. Pusey on the Seal of the Con- 
 fessional — Ritualistic Sisters teach girls how to confess to priests — 
 Secret Confessional books for penitents — Dr. Pusey revives the 
 Confessional — Four years later writes against it — He hears Con- 
 fessions in private houses — " His penitent's burning sense of shame - 
 and deceitfulness " — Bishop Wilberforce's opinion of Dr. Pusey — 
 A Ritualistic priest's extraordinary letter to a young lady — How 
 Archdeacon Manning hears Confessions on the sly, "a hole and 
 corner affair." 
 
 Chapter IV. — The Secret History of "The Priest in 
 
 Absolution" - - - - - - 93 
 
 Part I. of the Priest in Absolution — Praised by the Ritualistic 
 Press — Part II. secretly circulated amongst "Catholic" priests 
 only — Lord Redesdale's exposure of the book in the House of 
 Lords — Archbishop Tait says it is "a disgrace to the community " 
 —Secret letter from the Master of the Society of the Holy Cross — 
 Statement of the S. S. C— Special secret Chapter of the Society to 
 consider the Priest in Absolution — Full report of its proceedings, with 
 speeches of the Brethren — Refuse to condemn the book — Discus- 
 sion in Canterbury Convocation — Severe Episcopal Censures — 
 Immoral Ritualistic Confessors ruin women ; Testimony of Arch- 
 deacon Allen — Dr. Pusey's acknowledgments of the dangers of the 
 Confessional ; It is the road by which a number of Christians go 
 down to hell— Another secret meeting of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross — Reports of the speeches and resolutions — Some Bishops 
 secretly friendly to the Society — Canon Knox-Little's connection 
 with the Society of the Holy Cross — Strange and Jesuitical 
 Proceedings at the Society's Synod. 
 
 Chapter V. — The Order of Corporate Reunion- - 147 
 
 Origin of Order of Corporate Reunion shrouded in mystery — 
 Its first " Pastoral" — It professes " loyalty " to the Pope — Prays 
 for the Pope in its secret Synod — Its Bishops secretly consecrated 
 by foreign Bishops — Who were they ? " Bishop " Lee and 
 " Bishop " Mossman — " Bishop " Mossman professes belief in the 
 Pope's Infallibility — Birth of the Order rejoices the Romanists — 
 Its proceedings discussed by the Society of the Holy Cross — Some 
 secret documents — Eight hundred Church of England clergy 
 secretly ordained by a bishop of the Order. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xiii 
 
 Chapter VI. — Ritualistic Sisterhoods - 162 
 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods formed on Roman models — Dr. Pusey 
 visits Romish Convents in Ireland— Borrows Rules from English 
 and Continental Nunneries — Hislop on the Pagan origin of Con- 
 vents — Dr. Pusey's first Sister visits Foreign Convents — Miss 
 Goodman's experience of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Rule of Obedi- 
 ence—Shameful tyranny over the Sisters— The Sister must obey 
 the Superior " yielding herself as wax to be moulded unresistingly" 
 — The mercenary Rule of Holy Poverty — Are Ritualistic Convents 
 Jails ? — The Vow of Poverty at St. Margaret's, East Grinstead — A 
 secret Convent Book quoted — Life Vows — Is it easy to embezzle 
 the Sister's money ? — The secret Statutes of All Saints' Sisterhood, 
 Margaret Street ; and the Clewer Sisterhood — Sisters and their 
 Wills — Evidence before the Select Committee — Bishop Samuel 
 Wilberforce on Conventual Vows — Archbishop Tait on Conventual 
 Vows — Ritualistic Nuns Enclosed for Life — " Father Ignatius' " 
 Nuns — Whipping Ritualistic Nuns — Miss Cusack's experience of 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, " a Hell upon earth " — Cases of Cruelty in 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Hungry Sisters Tempted — Private Burial 
 Grounds in Ritualistic Convents — Secret Popish Service in a 
 Ritualistic Convent Chapel; a Mass " in Latin from the Roman 
 Missal" — Superstitious Convent Services — Extracts from a secret 
 book for Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Sisterhoods and Education : A 
 Warning to Protestant Parents. 
 
 Chapter VII. — The Confraternity of the Blessed 
 
 Sacrament 202 
 
 Protestant Martyrs and the Mass — Latimer's testimony — 
 Restoration of the Mass by the Ritualists — Birth of the Confra- 
 ternity of the blessed Sacrament — Its objects and work — Its secret 
 Intercession Paper, ordered to be " destroyed " when done with — - 
 Its " medal " may be buried with deceased members — First expo- 
 sure of an Intercession Paper at Plymouth — Great excitement — How 
 the Rock found an Intercession Paper — Secret proceedings at New 
 York — The secret "Roll of Priests- Associate " — Dread lest it 
 should fall into Protestant hands — Curious letter from a Priest- 
 Associate — Extracts from the papers of the C. B. S. — Requiem 
 Masses for Souls in Purgatory — Advocates Fasting Communion — ■ 
 Bishop Samuel Wilberforce on Fasting Communion : " detestable 
 materialism" — Opposes Evening Communion — Proofs that it is 
 sanctioned by the Primitive Church — C. B. S. term it " spiritually 
 and morally dangerous" — Eucharistic Adoration of C. B. S. 
 Identical with that of Rome — Its Idolatrous character — The 
 C.B.S. on the Real Presence — The "Eucharistic Sacrifice" — ■ 
 — Bishop* Beveridge on Sacrifice — Transubstantiation advocated 
 by name — Bishop Wilberforce Censures the Confraternity of the 
 Blessed Sacrament. 
 
xiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter VIII. — Some Other Ritualistic Societies - 227 
 A Purgatorial Society in the Church of England — The Guild 
 of All Souls — Extracts from its Publications — Masses for the Dead 
 in the Church of England — Festival on "All Souls' Day" — The 
 Fire of Purgatory the same as that of Hell— Bishop of London 
 (Dr. Temple) gives its President a Living — The Secret Order of 
 the Holy Redeemer — An Inner Circle ; The Brotherhood of the 
 Holy Cross; its secret rules quoted — The " Declaration " of the 
 Order of the Holy Redeemer — The Pope the " Pastor and Teacher - 
 of the Church" — Why its members stay within the Church of 
 England — Extraordinary and Jesuitical letter of "John O. H. R." 
 — Its mysterious Superior said to be a " Bishop," though not in 
 the Clergy List. Who ordained and consecrated him ? — The 
 secret Order of St. John the Divine — Extract from its secret rules 
 — Society of St. Osmund — Its rules and objects — Prays for the 
 Pope — Its silly superstitions — Driving the Devil out of Incense 
 and Flowers — The Adoration of the Cross — A degrading spectacle 
 ■ — Its Mary worship — Holy Relics — Advocates Paying for Masses 
 for the Dead — The Society merged in the Alcuin Club — The Club 
 joined by several Bishops — Laymen's Ritual Institute of Norwich 
 — Its Secret Oath — Secret Guild Books of St. Alphege, South wark 
 — Guild of St. John the Evangelist, at St. Alban's, Holborn — 
 Confraternity of All Saints', Margaret Street — The Railway Guild 
 of the Holy Cross. 
 
 Chapter IX. — The Romeward Movement - 260 
 Corporate Reunion with Rome desired — Not individual Seces- 
 sion — The reason for this policy — How to "Catholicise" the 
 Church of England — Protestantism a hindrance to Reunion — 
 Reunion with Rome the ultimate object of the Ritualistic Move- 
 ment — Newman and Froude visit Wiseman at Rome — They 
 inquire for terms of admission to the Church of Rome — Secret 
 Receptions into the Church of Rome— Growth of Newman's love 
 for Rome — Newman wants " more Vestments and decorations in 
 worship" — William George Ward: "The Jesuits were his 
 favourite reading" — Publication of Tract XC. — Mr. Dalgairn's 
 letter to the Univers — Secret negotiations with Dr. Wiseman — 
 " Only through the English Church can you (Rome) act on the 
 English nation " — Keble hopes that yearning after Rome " will be 
 allowed to gain strength " — Mr. Gladstone on the Romeward 
 Movement — He hopes those " excellent persons " who love all 
 Roman doctrine will "abide in the Church " — "The Ideal of a 
 Christian Church" — Dr. Pusey's eulogy of the Jesuits censured 
 by Dr. Hook — Mr. Gladstone's article in the Quarterly Review — 
 Pusey hopes " Rome and England will be united in one " — Pusey 
 asks for " more love for Rome " — He praises the "superiority" 
 of Roman teaching— Pusey believes in Purgatory and Invocation 
 of Saints — He yet " forbids " his penitents to invoke the Saints — 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 Manning's remarkable letter to Pusey — Manning's visit to Rome 
 in 1S48 — Kneels in the street before the Pope— His double dealing 
 in the Church of England— The Roman Catholic Rambler on the 
 Oxford Movement. 
 
 Chapter X. — The Romeward Movement - 307 
 
 The Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom 
 — Sermons and Escays on Reunion — Denunciation of Protestantism 
 — Treasonable letter in the Union Review — The A. P. U. C. de- 
 nounced by the Inquisition — Degrading Reply of 19S Church ot 
 England Dignitaries and Clergy — Archbishop Manning's opinion 
 of the Romeward Movement — The Society of the Holy Cross 
 Petition for Reunion with Rome — Signed by 121 2 clergymen — 
 The English Church Union — Its work for Union with Rome — 
 Approves Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon — Pusey writes that there is 
 nothing in the Pope's " Supremacy" in itself to which he would 
 object — The Catholic Union for Prayer — A Colonial Priest on 
 Reunion with Rome — The "levelling up" process — The real 
 Objects of the English Church Union — The Lord's Day and the 
 Holy Eucharist — Lord Halifax wants Benediction of the Blessed 
 Sacrament — E. C. U. members find fault with the Book of 
 Common Prayer — E. C. U. Petitions the Lambeth Conference for 
 Reunion — Reunion asked for under " The Bishop of Old Rome " 
 — Lord Halifax prefers Leo XIII. to the Privy Council — Dean 
 Hook in favour of the Privy Council — Mr. Mackonochie's Evidence 
 before the Ecclesiastical Courts' Commission— Asserts there has 
 been no "Ecclesiastical Court" since the Reformation— A 
 Ritualistic Curate supplies the " Kernel" to Roman Ritual — He 
 preaches the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary— Lord 
 Halifax and "Explanations" of the Pope's Infallibility — The 
 Homilies on the Church of Rome — Rome has already reaped an 
 harvest from Ritualistic labours — Secession as well as union a 
 Scriptural duty — Objections to Reunion with Rome. 
 
 Appendix. — What the Ritualists Teach - - - 3/3 
 
 The Bible— The Book of Common Prayer— The Thirty-nine 
 Articles— Reunion with Rome — The Pope's Infallibility, Primacy 
 and Supremacy — The Reformers and the Reformation — Some 
 Ritualistic "Ornaments of the Church "—The Real Presence — 
 The Power and Dignity of Sacrificing Priests — The Sacrifice of 
 the Mass — The Ceremonies of Low Mass — Some Cautions for 
 Mass Priests — Purgatory — Auricular Confession and Priestly 
 Absolution — Invocation of Saints — The Virtues of Holy Salt, 
 Holy Water, and Holy Oil — Monastic Institutions— Protestantism 
 —The Importance of Ritual— Dissent. 
 
 Index 
 
 - 411 
 
THE SECRET HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD 
 MOVEMENT. 
 
 Birth of the Movement — Its Secret Teaching — Promoters dislike their names 
 being known to the Public — Tract "On Reserve" — Newman writes 
 against Popery — " Eats his dirty words " — Ward on Equivocation — 
 Newman Establishes a Monastery— Pusey gives his approval — Newman's 
 double dealing about it — Lockhart's experience in this Monastery — Mark 
 Pattison's experience — " Stealing to Mass at the Catholic Church " — 
 Faber's visit to Rome — Faber kisses the Pope's foot — Desanctis on 
 Jesuits in Disguise — Midnight secret Meetings at Elton — Dr. Pusey 
 privately orders a " Discipline with five knots " — Dr. Pusey secretly wears 
 hair shirts — Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy to take the "Discipline" — A. 
 Ritualistic Sister whipped most cruelly — Romanists sell articles of 
 " Discipline " to Ritualists — Maskell's Testimony as to Tractarian evasions 
 and trickery. 
 
 THE late Cardinal Newman, the first leader of the 
 Tractarians, has stated in his Apologia that he ever 
 considered and kept July 14th, 1833, as the start of 
 the Tractarian Movement. Within three months from that 
 date he published his work on the Avians of the Fourth 
 Century, in which the " Disciplina Arcani," or the " secret 
 teaching," which found such favour with a few of the early 
 Fathers, was held up to the admiration of English church- 
 men of the nineteenth century. It was most appropriate 
 that a religious movement in which secrecy has played so 
 important a part should be inaugurated by the publication 
 of such a work. It has served as a seed from which many 
 a noxious weed has grown. Closely connected with the 
 " Disciplina Arcani " is what is termed the " Economical ' " 
 mode of teaching and arguing. The difference between the 
 \ 1 
 
2 
 
 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 two is thus defined by Newman himself. " If," he writes, 
 "it is necessary to contrast the two with each other, the 
 one may be considered as withholding the truth, and the 
 other as setting it out to advantage." 1 As an illustration 
 of this " Economy " he quotes with approval the very 
 objectionable advice of Clement, of Alexandria: — 
 
 " The Alexandrian Father," he affirms, " who has already been 
 quoted, accurately describes the rules which should guide the Christian 
 in speaking and writing economically. * Being fully persuaded of the 
 omnipresence of God,' says Clement, ' and ashamed to come short of 
 the truth, he is satisfied with the approval of God, and of his own 
 conscience. Whatever is in his mind, is also on his tongue ; towards 
 those who are fit recipients, both in speaking and living, he harmon- 
 izes his profession with his thoughts. He both thinks and speaks 
 the truth ; except when careful treatment is necessary, and then, as a 
 physician for the good of his patients, he will lie, or rather utter a 
 lie, as the Sophists say. . . . Nothing, however, but his neighbour's 
 good will lead him to do this. He gives himself up for the Church."" 2 
 
 As to the " Disciplina Arcani," Newman justifies it on 
 •several grounds, and affirms that in the Church of Alexandria 
 the Catechumens were not taught all the doctrines of the 
 Christian Faith. Many of these were treated by their 
 teachers as secret doctrines to be held in reserve. " Even 
 to the last," he asserts, " they were granted nothing beyond 
 a formal and general account of the articles of the Christian 
 Faith ; the exact and fully developed doctrines of the 
 Trinity and the Incarnation, and still more, the doctrine 
 of the Atonement, as once made upon the Cross, and 
 commemorated and appropriated in the Eucharist, being 
 the exclusive possession of the serious and practised 
 Christian." 3 It is worthy of note that Newman affirmed 
 that these secret doctrines were not learnt from the 
 Scriptures. " Now first," he writes, " it may be asked, 
 How was any secrecy practicable, seeing that the Scrip- 
 tures were open to everyone who chose to consult them ? 
 It may startle those who are but acquainted with the 
 1 Newman's Avians, p. 65. Seventh edition. 2 Ibid., pp. 73, 74. 3 Ibid., p. 45. 
 
SECRET TEACHINGS. 
 
 3 
 
 popular writings of this day, yet, I believe, the most 
 accurate consideration of the subject will lead us to 
 acquiesce in the statement, as a general truth, that the 
 doctrines in question [i.e., the secret doctrines of the early 
 Church] have never been learnt merely from Scripture." And 
 then he adds : — " Surely the Sacred Volume was never 
 intended, and is not adapted, to teach us our Creed." 4 
 Thus early in the Tractarian Movement were its disciples 
 taught not to look to the Bible only for what they should 
 believe. The traditions of men were set up as of equal 
 value with the Written Word. ; No wonder that such a 
 Movement led to many and grievous departures from 
 Christian truth. Teaching like this was eagerly imbibed 
 by the disciples of Newman, who very naturally, though 
 •without sufficient reason, inferred that, if the Alexandrian 
 Fathers were justified in hiding certain doctrines of 
 •Christianity from the popular gaze, as secrets to be made 
 known only to the initiated whom they could trust, the 
 Tractarians of the nineteenth century might lawfully 
 imitate their example. Accordingly, they, at first, from their 
 pulpits preached the ordinary doctrines of the Church of 
 England, as they had been taught for nearly three hundred 
 years ; while secretly, and to those only who could be trusted, 
 they taught those Romish doctrines and practices which 
 they dared not then expose to the light of publicity. 
 
 There was a measure of secrecy observed even in the 
 -formation of the Tractarian Movement. As early as 
 September 3rd, 1833, one of the party — the late Professor 
 Mozley — writing to his sister, after announcing that with his 
 letter she would " receive a considerable number of Tracts, 
 the first production of the Society established for the 
 dissemination of High Church principles," proceeds to give 
 particulars of the plans of the party ; but finds it necessary, 
 before closing his letter, to add this caution for her 
 guidance : — " But for the present you must remember all 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 50. 
 
 I * 
 
4 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 these details I have been going through are secret"* Here, it 
 will be observed, the real object of the Movement is frankly 
 revealed. It is to be a Society for "the dissemination of 
 High Church principles." But when the prospectus of the 
 Society was made public, there was not one word in it 
 which might lead the public to suppose that " The Associa- 
 tion of the Friends of the Church " — as it was termed — had 
 the slightest desire to promote High Church views. That, 
 the real object, was kept back in reserve, to be imparted 
 only to the elect of the party. In a letter to a friend one of 
 the members of the new Association actually went so far as 
 to assert : — " We want to unite all the Church, orthodox 
 and Evangelical, clergy, nobility, and people, in maintenance 
 of our doctrine and polity." 6 
 
 " There was, indeed," writes one of the leaders of the 
 Tractarians, the Rev. William Palmer, " much misappre- 
 hension abroad as to our motives, and we had no means of 
 explaining those motives, without the danger of giving publicity 
 to our proceedings, which, in the then state of the public mind 
 on Church matters, might have led to dangerous results.'" 7 
 
 This dread of the light of day was fully shared by 
 Newman, who, writing from Oriel College, Oxford, to his- 
 friend Mr. J. W. Bowden, on August 31st, 1833, remarks : — 
 " We are just setting up here Societies for the Defence of 
 the Church. We do not like our names known, but we hope 
 the plan will succeed." 8 The very same day Newman wrote 
 to another intimate friend, Mr. F. Rogers — subsequently 
 known as Lord Blachford — as follows : — 
 
 " Entre nous, we have set up Societies over the kingdom in defence 
 of the Church. Certainly this is, you will say, a singular confidential 
 communication, being shared by so many ; but the entre nous relates- 
 to we. We do not like our names known."'* 
 
 This dread of having their names " known " to the public 
 
 5 Mozley's Letters, p. 33. 
 
 s Palmer's Narrative of Events Connected with Tracts for the Times, p. 212.. 
 Edition, 1883. 7 Ibid., p. 108. 
 
 8 Newman's Letters and Correspondence, Vol. I., p. 448. 9 Ibid., p. 450. 
 
DREAD OF PUBLICITY. 5 
 
 is still felt by the members of several Ritualistic societies of 
 the present generation. It is a noteworthy fact that for 
 fifteen years — from 1880 to 1896 — no list of the Brethren of 
 the secret Society of the Holy Cross — though a fresh list is 
 printed and circulated every year — came into Protestant 
 hands. When the " Suggestions " for the formation of 
 " The Association of the Friends of the Church " were printed 
 and circulated, care was even taken that no outsider, into 
 whose hands a stray copy might chance to fall, should be able 
 to discover from it whence it came, or who were responsible 
 for it. This was a matter for astonishment on the part of 
 Mr. J. W. Bowden, who, writing from London to Newman, 
 on November 4th, 1833, mentions that : — 
 
 " Those to whom I have shown the ' Suggestions ' say, ' But where 
 are the names ? Who are they ? Where are they ? ' For even the 
 word Oxford does not appear thereon. For aught the ' Suggestions' 
 say, the founders of the scheme might belong to the operative classes 
 of Society, and their head-quarters might be in some alley in London. 
 The year, too, should be put ; a reader might, if he found a dirty 
 copy, suppose the whole scheme ten years old." 10 
 
 Amongst the prominent laymen who supported the 
 Tractarian Movement was Mr. Joshua Watson. He drew up 
 the first Lay Declaration organized by the Tractarians at the 
 close of 1833. His brother wanted to know too much about 
 the objects of the Declaration and was refused the information 
 by Mr. Joshua Watson in the following terms : — 
 
 " As to the query, whence it comes and whither it goes, the only 
 answer is, what does that signify ? Never mind, if it dropped from 
 the clouds. If you like it, sign it ; if you do not, let it alone. As to 
 its ulterior destination, I reply that, without the gift of second sight, 
 I pretend not to answer." 11 
 
 Dr. Pusey, at this time, had not publicly joined what 
 Newman termed "the grand scheme." 12 But on November 
 7th, 1833, the latter was able to announce to the Rev. Hurrell 
 Froude, then the most advanced Romanizer of the new 
 
 10 Ibid., p. 472. 
 
 11 Memoir of Joshua Watson, by Archdeacon Churton, p. 209. Second edition. 
 
 12 Newman's Letters, Vol. I., p. 478. 
 
6 
 
 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 party, that Pusey was circulating the recently issued Tracts 
 for the Times. 1 * Six days later Newman privately informed 
 Mr. Bowden that Pusey had joined the new party, but he adds 
 the caution that his name "must not be mentioned as of 
 our party." 14 It is interesting to note that Newman, at the 
 same time, mentioned that Mr. Gladstone " has joined us. " 
 At this period Newman was writing a series of anonymous 
 articles in the Evangelical Record, over the signature of 
 "Churchman." 15 It is certain that if he had made known 
 his High Church views to the then editor of that 'paper, his 
 articles would have been refused. 
 
 Already Newman was himself practising his doctrine of 
 Reserve. He had departed, in his own mind, from several 
 of the Protestant doctrines of his forefathers, but the world 
 knew nothing at all about the change in his views. What 
 he kept secret from the public, he made known to his trusted 
 friends. Thus, for example, he wrote, on November 22nd 7 
 1833, to the Rev. S. Rickards : — 
 
 " I must just touch upon the notice of the Lord's Supper. In 
 confidence to a friend, I can only admit it was imprudent, for I do 
 think that we have most of us dreadfully low notions of the Blessed 
 Sacrament. / expect to le called a Papist when my opinions are 
 known. But (please God) I shall lead persons on a little way, while 
 'they fancy they are only taking the mean, and denounce me as the 
 extreme." 16 
 
 Here a truly Jesuitical spirit manifests itself. HurreK 
 Froude acted in a similarly underhanded manner. In one of 
 his letters to a friend, written only one month after the 
 commencement of the Movement, he remarked : — " Since I 
 have been at home, I have been doing what I can to proselytise 
 in an underhand way." 11 Is there not reason to fear that 
 many of the clergy, who do not call themselves Ritualists, 
 are in our own day imitating the bad examples shown by 
 Newman and Froude, more than sixty years ago ? The danger 
 
 13 Newman's Letters, Vol. I., p. 476. 14 Ibid., p. 482. 
 
 lfc Ibid., p. 483. 16 Ibid., p. 490. 
 
 V Froude's Remains, Vol. I., p. 322. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF RESERVE. 7 
 
 is to be looked for in nominally Evangelical parishes, as well as 
 in those under avowedly High Church management. In 
 looking through the privately printed Annual Report of the 
 Merton College (Oxford) Church Society, for 1892, which 
 supports several Ritualistic causes, and advocates reunion with 
 the corrupt Eastern Church, I was surprised to read, in the 
 list of members, the names of several clergymen who at the 
 present time hold Evangelical incumbencies or curacies. 
 These gentlemen would, no doubt, be considerably annoyed, 
 were thei: connection with this private Society made known 
 to their present congregations. It may, however, be fairly 
 asked, why should they in secret be members of a High Church 
 Society, while in public they profess to be Evangelicals ? 
 Let them be consistent, and if they do not hold High 
 Church views, withdraw from such an organization. I do 
 not assert that these gentlemen are insincere, for we 
 cannot read the secret thoughts of others, but, until they 
 cease to be members, I cannot help wondering whether 
 they are acting on the Ritualistic principle of " Reserve 
 in Communicating Religious Knowledge ? " 
 
 Newman's views on Reserve and Economy when first 
 published in 1833, created a great deal of interest ; but this 
 was as nothing when compared with the effect produced, , 
 in 1838, by the publication- of Isaac Williams's pamphlet 
 " On Reserve in Communicating Religious Knowledge." 
 It formed No. So of Tracts for the Times, and this 
 he subsequently supplemented by another and larger 
 pamphlet on the same subject, being No. 87 of Tracts 
 for the Times. The doctrine taught by Williams set the 
 whole of the Church of England in an uproar. His 
 Tracts were condemned by almost every Bishop on the 
 Bench. In Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops upon Trac- 
 tarian Theology, pp. 424-472, there are printed extensive 
 extracts from Episcopal Charges in which the doctrine of 
 Reserve is condemned in the strongest terms. Tract 80 
 commences with a clear exposition of its purport. 
 
8 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 "The object of the present inquiry," writes Isaac Williams, " is to 
 ascertain, whether there is not in God's dealings with mankind, a very- 
 remarkable holding back of sacred and important truths, as if the 
 knowledge of them were injurious to persons unworthy of them " (p. 3) 
 
 Amongst the doctrines which Williams mentions as those 
 which are to be held back in Reserve from the uninitiated, as 
 great secrets of Christianity, are those of the Atonement, 
 Faith and Works, the free Grace of God, the Sacraments, 
 and Priestly Absolution. 
 
 " Not only," he writes, " is the exclusive and naked exposure of so 
 very sacred a truth [as the ' Doctrine of the Atonement'] unscriptural 
 and dangerous, but, as Bishop Wilson says, the comforts of Religion 
 ought to be applied with great caution. And moreover to require, 
 as is sometimes done, from both grown persons and children, an 
 explicit declaration of a belief in the Atonement, and the full 
 assurance of its power, appears equally untenable." (Tract 80, p. 78.) 
 
 " These riches " [i.e., certain ' sacred truths '] are all secret, 
 given to certain dispositions — not cast loosely on the world. . . The 
 great doctrines which of late years have divided Christians, are again 
 of this [' secret '] kind very peculiarly, such as the subjects of Faith 
 and Works, of the free Grace of God, and obedience on the part of 
 man. . . They appear to be great secrets, notwithstanding whatever 
 may be said of them, only revealed to the faithfuW (Ibid., pp. 48,49.) 
 
 "With respect to the Holy Sacraments," Williams remarks, in 
 his second pamphlet on Reserve, " it is in these, and by these chiefly, 
 that the Church of all ages has held the Doctrine of the Atonement 
 after a certain manner of Reserve. . . . Now here it is very evident 
 at once that the great difference between these two systems [i.e., what 
 Williams terms the true Catholic, and the modern Protestant system] 
 consists in this, that one holds the doctrine secretly as it were, and in 
 Reserve ; the other in a public and popular manner." (Tract 87, 
 pp. 88, 89.) 
 
 " The same may be shown with respect to the powers of Priestly 
 Absolution, and the gifts conferred thereby. Jt is not required for our 
 purpose to show the reality of that power, and the magnitude of those 
 gifts which are thus dispensed. Rut a little consideration will show 
 that if the Church of all ages is right in exercising these privileges, 
 the subject is one entirely of this reserved and mystical character. Its 
 blessings are received in secret, according to faith : they are such as 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF RESERVE. 9 
 
 the world cannot behold, and cannot receive. The subject is one 
 so profound and mysterious, that it hardly admits of being put forward 
 in a popular way, and doubtless more injury than benefit would be 
 done to religion by doing so inconsiderately." {Ibid., p. 90.) 
 
 No wonder that the Bishops condemned such doctrines 
 as these. " Far from us," wrote Dr. Musgrave, Bishop of 
 Hereford, " therefore, be it to withhold from our Christian 
 people any doctrine revealed in God's Word as needful for 
 salvation, or to impose upon them for such, anything not 
 there revealed." 18 Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London, 
 indignantly rejected the secret teaching of Isaac Williams. 
 "Anything," he declared, " of the nature of a ' Disciplina 
 Arcani,' I as promptly reject." 19 It is worthy of note here 
 that in his Autobiography — which was not published until 
 1892 — Williams admits that the Evangelical party, when his 
 Tract on Reserve was published, took a right view as to its 
 real meaning. "With regard to the great obloquy," he 
 writes, " it [Tract on Reserve] occasioned from the Low 
 Church Party, this was to be expected — it was against their 
 hollow mode of proceeding ; it was understood as it was meant, 
 and of this I do not complain." 20 It is certain that 
 Evangelical Churchmen understood it as meaning that the 
 Tractarian clergy felt themselves justified in imparting to 
 those only whom they could trust their real and Romish 
 doctrines concerning the Atonement, Faith and W T orks, 
 Grace, the Sacraments, Priestly Absolution, and other doc- 
 trines; and to Protestants this naturally looked like double- 
 dealing and Jesuitism. No wonder they were indignant. 
 
 It is admitted by one who for many years held a promi- 
 nent position amongst the advanced Ritualistic clergy (the 
 Rev. Orby Shipley) that this "Doctrine of Reserve" was 
 "both taught and acted upon" to "a wide extent" by the 
 Tractarians. 21 And the Master of the secret Society of the 
 
 w Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops, p. 434. 19 Ibid., p. 436. 
 
 20 Autobiography of Isaac Williams, p. 91. 
 
 21 Orby Shipley's Invocation of Saints and Angels, p. xi. London, 1869. 
 
10 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Holy Cross, addressing the May, 1873, Synod of that 
 Society, said : — - 
 
 " We look back to a time when Catholic truth and worship were 
 in a condition almost resembling that of the Church of the Catacombs, 
 when the utmost reserve was thought necessary, even in speaking of 
 simple facts of the Creed. The Gorham case, and the intrusion of 
 the Schismatical Hierarchy of Rome, with the anti-Catholic animus to 
 which they gave force, were still hanging over us, and what was done 
 for the truth was mostly done in a corner, ," 22 
 
 The subtlety of a Jesuit could not have invented a more 
 ingenious scheme. 
 
 Early in 1836, both the Standard and the Edinburgh 
 Review censured the Tractarian Party in strong terms. 
 These attacks greatly annoyed Newman, who, writing to- 
 Keble on January 16th of that year, remarks : — " Now 7 
 since many of these notices are made under the impression 
 that we are Cry^/o- Papists, here is an additional reason for 
 tracts on the Popish question." 23 Dr. Pusey readily fell in 
 with this subtle scheme for writing against Popery. He 
 evidently thought it a clever dodge for throwing dust in 
 the eyes of the public, and leading many Protestants y 
 thus blinded, to adopt High Church principles, before they 
 were aware of it. On this subject Pusey wrote to a friend : — 
 
 " I know not that the Popish controversy may not just be the 
 very best way of handling Ultra-Protestantism, i.e., neglecting it, 
 not advancing against, but setting Catholic views against Roman 
 Catholicism and so disposing of Ultra- Protestantism by a side wind 7 
 and teaching people Catholicism, without their suspecting, while they 
 are only bent on demolishing Romanism. I suspect we might thus 
 have people with us, instead of against us, and that they might find 
 themselves Catholics before they were aware." 24 
 
 The impression that the leaders of the Tractarians were 
 secretly Papists was a very natural one. Those who doubted 
 could not produce legal evidence in proof of what they 
 
 22 S.S.C. Master's Address, May Synod, 1873, p. 3. 
 
 23 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 153. 
 
 24 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. I., p. 332. 
 
NEWMAN WRITES AGAINST POPERY. IT 
 
 feared : but the knowledge of the suspicions which existed 
 led Newman to adopt a course to ward off suspicion, which, 
 had it been understood by his opponents, would have greatly 
 increased their impressions as to Crypto-Papists being at 
 that time in the Church of England. He determined, as 
 we have seen, to write against Popery. How could anyone, 
 then, suppose that the man who said such strong things- 
 against the Church of Rome was in any sense a disguised 
 Romanist ? It was not the first time he had written against 
 portions of the Roman system. No Protestant could have 
 said fiercer things than he had said in the past, and 
 continued to say, so long as it answered his purpose. Here 
 are a few extracts from his utterances, beginning with the 
 year 1833, and ending with 1839. I take the extracts as 
 cited by Newman himself, in his famous letter to the Oxford 
 Conservative Journal, January, 1843. In the Lyra Apostolica, 
 published in 1833, he declared that the Church of Rome 
 was a " lost Church." At page 421 of the first edition of 
 his work on the Arians of the Fourth Century, he wrote of 
 " the Papal Apostacy." In No. 15 of Tracts for the Times, 
 in 1833, he wrote : — 
 
 " True, Rome is heretical now. . . If she has apostatized, it was at 
 the time of the Council of Trent. Then, indeed, it is to be feared the 
 whole Roman Communion bound itself, by a perpetual bond and 
 covenant to the cause of Anti-christ." 
 
 Again, in the same year he wrote, in Tract 20. " Their 
 [Papists'] communion is infected with heresy ; we are bound 
 to flee it as a pestilence. They have established a lie in the 
 place of God's truth, and by their claim of immutability in 
 doctrine, cannot undo the sin they have committed." 
 
 In 1834 Newman affirmed that : — 
 
 " In the corrupt Papal system we have the very cruelty, the craft, 
 and the ambition of the republic ; its cruelty in its unsparing sacrifice 
 of the happiness and virtue of individuals to a phantom of public 
 expediency, in its forced celibacy within, and its persecutions without; 
 its craft in its falsehoods, its deceitful deeds and lying wonders ; and 
 its grasping ambition in the very structure of its policy, in an.' 
 
12 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 assumption of universal dominion ; old Rome is still alive ; nowhere 
 have its eagles lighted, but it still claims the sovereignty under another 
 pretence. The Roman Church I will not blame, but pity — she is, as 
 I have said, spell-bound, as if by an evil spirit ; she is in thraldom." 
 
 In the same year, in No. 38 of Tracts for the Times, 
 Newman termed the Church of Rome " unscriptural," 
 " profane," " impious," " blasphemous," "gross," and 
 " monstrous." In the year 1838, in his lectures on 
 Romanism and Popular Protestantism , he said of the 
 Church of Rome : — 
 
 " In truth she is a Church beside herself, abounding in noble gifts 
 and rightful titles, but unable to use them religiously ; crafty, obstinate, 
 wilful, malicious, cruel, unnatural, as madmen are. Or, rather, she 
 may be said to resemble a demoniac, possessed with principles, 
 thoughts, and tendencies not her own. . . Thus she is her real self 
 only in name, and till God vouchsafe to restore her, we' must treat her 
 as if she were that evil one which governs her." 
 
 What Protestant could utter abuse of Popery more 
 fierce than is contained in the above extracts from Newman's 
 own words ? But there is this marked difference between 
 the two. The Protestant means what he says when he 
 denounces Rome ; while Newman did nothing of the kind. 
 He meant his denunciation of Popery to be dust with which 
 to blind the eyes of his opponents, and prevent them 
 discovering his real aims ; and there can be no doubt it, 
 for a time, in a large measure served its purpose. When the 
 denunciations had done their work, however, they were 
 unreservedly withdrawn, and that by the author himself. In 
 the letter to the Oxford Conservative Journal mentioned 
 already, Newman cited all the extracts given above from his 
 writings, together with other similar statements, and then he 
 adds this remarkable confession of his guilt : — 
 
 " If you ask me how an individual could venture, not simply to 
 hold, but to publish such views of a Communion [i.e., the Church of 
 Rome] so ancient, so wide-spreading, so fruitful in saints, I answer, 
 "that I said to myself, 'I AM NOT SPEAKING MY OWN 
 WORDS, I am but following almost a consensus of the divines of my 
 
Newman's double dealing. 
 
 13 
 
 Church. They have ever used the strongest language against Rome, 
 even the most learned and able of them. I wish to throw myself into 
 their system. While I say what they say I am safe. SUCH VIEWS, 
 TOO, ARE NECESSARY FOR OUR POSITION.' Yet I have 
 reason to fear still, that such language is to be ascribed, in no small 
 measure, to an impetuous temper, a hope of approving myself to 
 person s respect, and a wish to repel the charge of Romanism." 
 
 Accordingly he withdrew all the charges made against the 
 Church of Rome in the above quotations from his writings. 
 In those writings his denunciations of Rome are put forth, 
 not as those of a "consensus of divines" of the Church of 
 England, but as his own. And yet, all the while, he tells us, 
 he was " not speaking his own words ! " It was " necessary 
 for oar position " to write thus. There was no other 
 effectual way to gain " person's respect " for his consistency, 
 and to "repel the charge of Romanism." In short his 
 conduct was a practical illustration of the doctrine of the 
 " Economy " advocated in his book on the Arians, in which, 
 as we have seen, he cites with approval the doctrine of 
 Clement of Alexandria, that a Christian " Both thinks 
 and speaks the truth ; except when careful treatment is 
 necessary ; and then, as a physician for the good of his 
 patients, he will lie, or rather utter a lie, as the Sophists 
 say." Can we wonder that the men and women of that 
 generation doubted the word of Newman ? He did not tell 
 the world at that time — so far as I can ascertain — that he 
 had ever believed in his own denunciations of Romanism 
 when he wrote them. It was nearly a quarter of a century 
 after, that, in his Apologia, he let the public know that he 
 " fully believed " all his accusations against Rome at the time 
 he made them ; but in the same book he admitted that his letter 
 to the Oxford Conservative Journal was, after all, but "a lame 
 apology." 25 There can be no question as to its lameness, and 
 not all the subtlety displayed in the Apologia is able to deprive 
 it of its crippled character. A few days before the retractation 
 
 Apologia Pro Vita Sua, pp. 201, 204. Edition, 1SS9. 
 
?4 
 
 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 was published at Oxford, Newman wrote to his friend, 
 James R. Hope-Scott, to announce the coming event. 
 "My conscience," he told his correspondent, "goaded me 
 some two months since to an act which comes into effect, 
 I believe, in the Conservative Journal next Saturday, viz., to eat 
 a few dirty words of mine." 26 A few days later Mr. Hope- 
 Scott acquainted Newman with the effect his retractation 
 had produced on his acquaintances. " People whom I have 
 heard speak of it," he wrote, " (few, perhaps, but fair 
 samples) are rather puzzled than anything else." 27 Newman's 
 conduct for several years before this date had fairly 
 "puzzled" everybody, both friends and foes. They could 
 not make him out ; he was a mystery they could not 
 penetrate. The suspicion that he was acting in an under- 
 hand way was not confined to Protestants, as the rejoinder 
 he wrote to the last quoted letter of Mr. J. R. Hope-Scott, 
 clearly shows. Writing to him, on February 3rd, 1843, 
 Newman gives the following additional explanation of his 
 retractation : — 
 
 " My reason for the thing was my long-continued feeling of the 
 great inconsistency I was in of letting things stand in print against 
 me which I did not hold, and which I could not but be contradicting 
 by my acting every day of my life. And more especially (i.e., it 
 came home to me most vividly in that particular way) I felt that I 
 was taking people in; that they thought me what I was not, and were 
 trusting me when they should not, and this has been at times a very 
 painful feeling indeed. I don't want to be trusted (perhaps you may 
 think my fear, even before this affair, somewhat amusing) ; but so it 
 was and is ; people wont believe I go as far as I do — they will cling to 
 their hopes. And then, again, intimate friends have almost reproached 
 vie with ' paltering with them in a double sense, keeping the word oj 
 promise to their ear, to break it to their hope.' They have said that my 
 words against Rome often, when narrowly examined, were only what I 
 meant, but that the effect of them was what others meant. I am not 
 aware that I have any great motive for this paper beyond this — 
 setting myself right, and wishing to be seen in my proper colours, 
 
 * Memoirs cjj. R. Hop-Scott, Vol. II., p. 19. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 20. 
 
WARD'S JESUITICAL CONDUCT. 
 
 *5 
 
 and not unwilling to do such penance for wrong words as lies in the 
 necessary criticism which such a retractation will involve on the part 
 of friends and enemies." 28 
 
 Turning back to August gth, 1836, we note that, on this 
 date, one of Newman's friends, the Rev. R. F. Wilson, wrote 
 to complain of his " unnecessary " Economy, and mentioned 
 a case in which he had so acted. " By-the-bye," he asked 
 Newman, " why will you economise so unnecessarily at 
 times? as if to keep your hand in. You sent Major B. 
 away with a conviction that you looked on D. as a very fine, 
 noble character. As he had this information fresh from you, 
 I did not venture to say anything subversive of your 
 judgment ; so now he will probably publish the high 
 admiration and respect with which D. is looked up to by his 
 late comrades — more especially by Mr. Newman." 29 There 
 is something truly Jesuitical in the way Newman acted 
 towards " Major B." on this occasion. Unfortunately there 
 is reason to fear that it was by no means an exceptional 
 case either with himself or his disciples. There is an 
 absence of English straightforwardness and plain dealing in 
 the whole business which is far from satisfactory. 
 
 The conduct, I may here remark, of Newman's successor 
 as leader of the advanced Tractarians, viz., the Rev. 
 William George Ward (author of the Ideal of a Christian 
 Church) was even more Jesuitical. Writing of the period 
 when Mr. Ward was still a clergyman in the Church of 
 England, his son informs us that — 
 
 " He had long held that the Roman Church was the one true 
 Church. He had gradually come to believe that the English Church 
 was not strictly a part of the Church at all. He had felt bound to 
 retain his external communion with her members, because he believed 
 that he was l;ri?igi?ig many of them towards Rome; and to unite him- 
 self to the Church which he loved and trusted, to enjoy the blessings 
 
 38 Ibid., pp. 20, 21. This remarkable letter is not reprinted in Newman's 
 Letters and Correspondence. Why was it suppressed ? 
 29 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 207. 
 
l6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 of external communion for himself, if by so doing he thwarted this 
 larger and fuller victory of truth, had seemed a course both indefensible 
 and selfish." 30 
 
 No man could have acted like this, unless his views of 
 truthfulness had been strangely perverted. And this was 
 markedly the case with Mr. Ward in his Tractarian days. 
 His son relates of his father, that — 
 
 " In discussing the doctrine of equivocation, as to how far it is 
 lawful on occasion, he maintained, as against those who admit the 
 lawfulness of words literally true but misleading, that the more straight- 
 forward principle is that occasionally when duties conflict, another 
 duty may le wore imperative than the duty of truthfulness. Bat he 
 expressed it thus : ' Make yourself clear that you are justified in 
 deception, and then lie like a trooper.' " 31 
 
 The establishment by Newman of a Monastery at Little- 
 more, near Oxford, affords another specimen of the secrecv 
 and crookedness which characterized the Tractarian Move- 
 ment. His plans for such a Monastery, which was first 
 started in Oxford, and subsequently removed to Littlemore, 
 appear to have been in a partly developed condition earlv 
 in 1838 ; but at that time were shrouded in secrecy. On 
 January 17th of that year he wrote to his friend Mr. J. W. 
 Bowden : — 
 
 "Your offering towards the young monhs was just like yourself, and 
 I cannot pay you a better compliment. It will be most welcome. 
 As you may suppose, we have nothing settled, but are feeling our 
 way. We should begin next term ; but since, however secret one mai} 
 irish to heep it, things get out, we do not yet wish to commit young- 
 men to anything which may hurt their chance of success at any 
 college in standing for a Fellowship." 32 
 
 The scheme for a Monastery was, for some unknown 
 reason, postponed for a time, but not abandoned. It was 
 evidently in Newman's thoughts very much during the 
 following year. " You see," he wrote to Mr. F. Rogers, 
 
 30 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 356. First edition. 
 
 31 Ibid., p. 30. 32 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 249. 
 
NEWMAN ESTABLISHES A MONASTERY. 
 
 17 
 
 September 15th, 1839, things came to the worst, I 
 should turn Brother of Charity in London — an object which, 
 quite independent of any such perplexities, is growing on 
 me, and, peradventure, will some day be accomplished, if 
 other things do not impede me." 33 The secrecy so much 
 desired by Newman, as mentioned in his letter cited above, 
 seems to have been successful, at least in one instance. One 
 of the body of young men who were Newman's disciples, 
 succeeded, in 1S40, in gaining a Fellowship at Lincoln 
 College, Oxford, which certainly would not have been the 
 case had the authorities been aware that he was at the time 
 a " monk." The success of his policy of secrecy, in this 
 instance, appears to have given Newman intense satisfaction. 
 He wrote, on January loth, 1840, in great glee to his friend 
 Bowden, announcing the joyful news : — 
 
 " To return to Lincoln ; after rejecting James Mozley for a 
 Fellowship two years since for his opinions, they have been taken by 
 Pattison, this last term, an inmate of the Coenohitium. He happened to 
 stand very suddenly, and they had no time to inquire. They now stare 
 in amazement at their feat." 34 
 
 This letter implies that the " Coenobitium," or Monastic 
 Establishment, was already in existence. It was possibly 
 the same Institution as that mentioned in the late Professor 
 Mozley's Letters as a "Hall" (p. 79). Professor Mozley 
 was one of the first inmates of this " Hall." He was, as 
 is well known, one of the most enthusiastic supporters of 
 Tractarianism in its early days ; but he failed to keep up 
 with the pace at which its leaders were marching Romeward, 
 and drew back. His subsequent work on the Baptismal 
 Controversy, in which he justified the Gorham Judgment, 
 gave great offence to his former friends. But at this period 
 he enjoyed the fullest confidence of Newman. There are 
 several allusions in Mozley's Letters to the mysterious 
 4t Coenobitium," though it is not mentioned by that name. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 285. 
 
 84 Ibid., p. 297, 
 
 2 
 
l8 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Writing on April 6th, 1838, to his brother, the Rev. Thomas 
 Mozley, the future Regius Professor of Divinity, announces- 
 that " Newman intends putting some plan or other of a 
 Society into execution next term, and I am to be a leading 
 member — though whether principal or vice-principal I 
 cannot tell you. But if there are only two of us, which 
 seems likely at present, I must either be one or the other- 
 Johnson, of Magdalen Hall, will join ; he is the only one we 
 are certain of. But after the Oriel contest is over, others 
 ma)' be willing." 35 Three weeks later Newman's plans were- 
 in a more developed condition, for Mozley writes to his 
 sister : — " I must inform you that Newman has taken a 
 house, to be formed into a reading and collating establish- 
 ment, to help in editing the Fathers. We have no prospect 
 of any number joining us at present. Men are willing, but 
 they have Fellowships in prospect, as R. And P., who stood 
 at Oriel, and passed a very good examination — the best, as- 
 some have thought — has a Fellowship at University in 
 prospect, which would be interfered with by joining us, for 
 we shall of course be marked men." 36 Though the house- 
 was taken in April, it was late in Autumn before it was 
 occupied. To Mozley was entrusted the task of furnishing 
 it, and getting it ready as a place of residence for the embryo 
 " Monks." It was to be a comfortable place after all, and 
 it is somewhat amusing to read Mozley's description of his. 
 preparatory labours, as sent by him to his sister on October 
 18th 
 
 " I have been busily engaged ever since coming up with making 
 arrangements for the Hall — bustling about, calling at the upholsterers, 
 giving orders for coal. The place is at present airing and warming, 
 (t will look decent enough when everything is in it. There are quite 
 gay carpets in both sitting-rooms ; as is natural in fitting up, one 
 forgets the commonest things at first, till they come upon one one by 
 one. I shall expect to find numerous deficiencies after all, when I come 
 to the actual habitation of the place, and just at this moment, the 
 
 Mozley's Letters, p. 75. 
 
 36 Ibid., p. 78. 
 
PUSEY APPROVES THE SCHEME. 
 
 19 
 
 thought of coal-scuttles has flitted by me, and I have booked it in 
 my memoranda." 3 ? 
 
 In March, 1840, Newman seems to have been considering 
 the advisability of moving his Monastic Establishment to 
 Littlemore, about three miles from Oxford, and making it 
 a Hall attached to, and recognized by, the University of 
 Oxford. On the 21st of that month he wrote to his friend 
 Rogers, asking for his advice on this subject : — 
 
 " Supposing I took theological pupils at Littlemore, might not my 
 house be looked upon as a sort of Hall depending on Oriel, as 
 St. Mary's Hall was ? And if this were commonly done, would it not 
 strengthen the Colleges instead of weakening them ? Are these not 
 precedents r And, further, supposing a feeling arose in favour oj 
 Monastic Establishments, and my house at Littlemore was obliged to 
 follow the fashion, and conform to a rule of discipline, would it not 
 be desirable that such institutions should flow from the Colleges of 
 our two Universities, and be under their influence ? I do not wish 
 this mentioned by Hope to anyone else. I may ask one or two 
 persons besides." 3S 
 
 Four days before this letter was written Newman wrote, 
 from Littlemore (March 17th), to his more intimate friend, 
 Dr. Pusey, putting his plans before him in a more unreserved 
 fashion. "Since I have been up here," he wrote, "an idea 
 has revived in my mind, of which we have before now talked, 
 viz., of building a Monastic House in the place, and coming- 
 up to live in it myself." 39 Dr. Pusey appears to have 
 heartily approved of his friend's monastic scheme. Pusey's 
 biographer informs us that " the plan of life contemplated 
 [by Newman] was substantially his [Pusey's] own." 40. 
 On March 19th, Pusey replied to Newman's letter : " Cer- 
 tainly it would be a great relief to have a fiovrj in our Church, 
 many ways, and you seem just the person to form one. . . . 
 I hardly look to be able to avail myself of the fiovij, since I 
 must be so busy when here on account of my necessary 
 
 37 Ibid., p. 83. * Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 303, 
 
 89 Lift of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 135. « Ibid., p. 136. 
 
 2 * 
 
20 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 absences to see my children, unless indeed I should live long 
 enough to be ejected from my Canonry, as, of course, one 
 must contemplate as likely if one does live, and then it 
 would be a happy retreat." 41 
 
 The subtle scheme of attaching his Monastery to a Protes- 
 tant University under the guise of "a sort of Hall," fortunately 
 did not succeed. But the scheme for erecting a Monastery 
 at Littlemore was at once acted on. On May 28th, 1840, 
 Newman informed Mrs. J. Mozley : — " We have bought 
 nine or ten acres of ground at Littlemore, the field between 
 the Chapel and Barnes's, and, so be it, in due time shall erect 
 a Monastic House upon *Y." 43 It was not, however, until 
 February, 1842, that Newman actually removed to Little- 
 more, and started there his new Monastery. We gain some 
 idea of the kind of building it was from a passage in 
 the Rev. Thomas Mozley's Reminiscences of the Oxford 
 Movement : — 
 
 " The building," writes Mr. Mozley, " in which Newman had now 
 made up his mind to resume the broken thread of these noble [Monastic] 
 traditions was a disused range of stabling at the corner of two village 
 roads. Nothing could be more unpromising, not to say depressing. 
 But Newman had ascertained what he really wanted, and he would 
 have no more. He sent me a list of his requirements, and the only 
 one of a sentimental or superfluous character was that he wished to 
 be able to see from his window the ruins of the Mynchery [an 
 ancient Convent] and the village of Garsington. There must be a 
 library, some * cells,' that is, studies, and a cloister, in which one or 
 two might turn out and walk up and down — of course, all upon the 
 ground floor. The Oratory or chapel was to be a matter altogether 
 for future consideration." 43 
 
 The Rev. Frederick Oakeley, one of Newman's early 
 friends, and subsequently a pervert to the Church of Rome, 
 tells us that this new building was known as the "Littlemore 
 
 41 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 137. 
 
 42 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 305. 
 
 43 Mozley's Reminiscences, Vol. II., p 213. 
 
VISITORS TO LITTLEMORE MONASTERY. 
 
 21 
 
 Monastery"; 44 and that "the fact is generally known, that 
 the life at Littlemore was founded upon the rule of the 
 strictest Religious Orders" 45 — that is, in the Church of 
 Rome. 
 
 Of course Newman's removal from Oxford to Littlemore, 
 and the erection in the latter place of a new Monastic- 
 looking building, excited the greatest curiosity in the 
 University. Visitors came to Littlemore in abundance, 
 anxious to fathom the mystery, and to discover Newman's 
 great secret ; very much to his annoyance, since for many 
 reasons he did not wish his privacy to be disturbed. In his 
 Apologia he reveals to the world what his indignant feelings 
 were like at the prying curiosity of his visitors : — " I cannot 
 walk into or out of my house," he exclaimed, " but curious 
 eyes are upon me. Why will you not let me die in peace ? 
 Wounded brutes creep into some hole to die in, and no one 
 grudges it them. Let me alone, I shall not trouble you 
 long." 46 
 
 It was not the common members of the University only 
 who took a natural interest in his new Monaster}'. " Heads 
 of Houses," he tells us, " as mounted patrols, walked their 
 horses round those poor cottages. Doctors of Divinity dived 
 into the hidden recesses of that private tenement uninvited, 
 and drew domestic conclusions from what they saw there. 
 I had thought that an Englishman's house was his castle ; 
 but the newspapers thought otherwise, and at last the matter 
 came before my good Bishop." 47 
 
 The interference of the Bishop of Oxford annoyed Newman 
 more than anything else. The Bishop wanted to know the 
 whole of the facts of the case, and this was exactly what 
 Newman did not wish to let him know. His lordship, 
 in a gentlemanly and straightforward manner, sent him a 
 letter, asking for full information ; and Newman replied in 
 accordance with his " Economical " policy, in which by 
 
 44 Oakeley's Historical Notes on the Tractarian Movement, p. 93. 45 Ibid., p. 94. 
 46 Newman's Apologia, p. 172. Edition, 1SS9. 47 Ibid., p. 172. 
 
22 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 this time he had become quite an adept. The reader is 
 already in possession of proofs, Which cannot be refuted, 
 that Newman had set up a Monastery at Littlemore, and 
 that its rules were of the strictest kind. Bearing this in 
 mind, the future Cardinal's Jesuitical dealing with his 
 Diocesan can best be shown by reprinting here in full 
 the Bishop's letter of inquiry, and Newman's evasive 
 •answer, as published by the latter himself, in his Apologia. 
 The Bishop wrote on April 12th, 1842 : — 
 
 (< So many charges against yourself and your friends which I have 
 seen in the public journals have been, within my own knowledge, 
 false and calumnious, that I am not apt to pay much attention to what 
 is asserted with respect to you in the newspapers. 
 
 "In (a newspaper), however, of April 9th, there appears a 
 paragraph in which it is asserted, as a matter of notoriety, that a 
 so-called Anglo-Catholic Monastery is in process of erection at Little- 
 more, and that the cells of dormitories, the chapel, the refectory, the 
 cloisters of all may be seen advancing to perfection, under the eye of a 
 parish priest of the Diocese of Oxford. 
 
 " Now, as I have understood that you really are possessed of some 
 tenements at Littlemore, as it is generally believed that they are 
 destined for the purposes of study and devotion, and as much suspicion 
 and jealousy are felt about the matter, I am anxious to afford you an 
 opportunity of making me an explanation on the subject. I know 
 you too well not to be aware that you are the last man living to 
 attempt in my Diocese a revival of the Monastic Orders (in anything 
 approaching to the Romanist sense of the term) without previous 
 •communication with me, or indeed that you should take upon your- 
 self to originate any measure of importance without authority from 
 the heads of the Church, and therefore I at once exonerate you from 
 the accusation brought against you by the newspaper I have quoted ; 
 but I feel it, nevertheless, a duty to my Diocese and myself, as well 
 as to you, to ask you to put it in my power to contradict what, if 
 uncontradicted, would appear to imply a glaring invasion of all 
 ecclesiastical discipline on your part, or of inexcusable neglect and 
 indifference to my duties on mine.'" 
 
 On April 14th, Newman sent his reply to the Bishop of 
 Oxford (Dr. Bagot). It was as follows : — 
 
 " I am very much obliged by your lordship's kindness in allowing 
 
Newman's letter to his bishop. 
 
 23 
 
 •me to write to you on the subject of my house at Littlemore ; at the 
 same time, I feel it hard both on your lordship and myself that the 
 restlessness of the public mind should oblige you to require an 
 explanation of me. 
 
 " It is now a whole year that I have been the subject of incessant 
 misrepresentation. A year since I submitted entirely to your lordship's 
 authority ; and, with the intention of following out the particular act 
 enjoined upon me, I not only stopped the series of Tracts on which I 
 was engaged, but withdrew from all public discussion of Church 
 matters of the day, or what may be called ecclesiastical politics. I 
 turned myself at once to the preparation for the press of the translation 
 of St. Athanasius, to which I had long wished to devote myself, and 
 I intended, and intend, to employ myself in the like theological 
 studies, and in the concerns of my own parish and in practical 
 works. 
 
 " With the same view of personal improvement, I was led more 
 seriously to a design which had been long on my mind. For many 
 years, at least thirteen, I have wished to give myself to a life of 
 greater religious regularity than I have hitherto led ; but it is very 
 unpleasant to confess such a wish even to my Bishop, because it 
 seems arrogant, and because it is committing me to a profession 
 which may come to nothing. For what have I done that I am to be 
 called to account by the world for my private actions, in a way in 
 which no one else is called r Why may I not have that liberty which 
 all others are allowed ? I am often accused of being underhand and 
 uncandid in respect to the intentions to which I have been alluding ; 
 but no one likes his own good resolutions noised about, both from 
 mere common delicacy, and from fear lest he should not be able to 
 fulfil them. I feel it very cruel, though the parties in fault do not 
 know what they are doing, that very sacred matters between me and 
 my conscience are made a matter of public talk. May I take a case 
 parallel, though different ? suppose a person in prospect of marriage : 
 would he like the subject discussed in newspapers, and parties, 
 circumstances, &c, &c, publicly demanded of him at the penalty of 
 being accused of craft and duplicity ? 
 
 " The resolution I speak of has been taken with reference to myself 
 alone, and has been contemplated quite independent of the co-operation 
 of any other human being, and without reference to success or failure 
 other than personal, and without regard to the blame or approbation 
 of man. And being a resolution of years, and one to which I feel 
 God has called me, and in which I am violating no rule of the Church 
 any more than if I married, I should have to answer for it, if I 
 
24 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 did not pursue it, as a good Providence made openings for it. In 
 pursuing it, then, I am thinking of myself alone, not aiming at any- 
 ecclesiastical or external effects. At the same time, of course, it 
 would be a great comfort for me to know that God had put it into the 
 hearts of others to pursue their personal edification in the same way, 
 and unnatural not to wish to have the benefit of their presence and 
 encouragement, or not to think it a great infringement on the rights 
 of conscience if such personal and private resolutions were interfered 
 with. Your lordship will allow me to add my firm conviction that 
 such religious resolutions are most necessary for keeping a certain 
 class of minds firm in their allegiance to our Church ; but still I can 
 as truly say that my own reason for anything I have done has been 
 a personal one, without which I should not have entered upon it, and 
 which I hope to pursue whether with or without the sympathies of 
 others pursuing a similar course. 
 
 " As to my intentions, I purpose to live there myself a good deal, 
 as I have a resident Curate in Oxford. In doing this I believe I am 
 consulting for the good of my parish, as my population in Littlemore 
 is at least equal to that of St. Mary's in Oxford, and the whole of 
 Littlemore is double of it. It has been very much neglected ; and in 
 providing a parsonage-house at Littlemore, as this will he, and will be 
 called, I conceive I am doing a very great benefit to my people. At 
 the same time it has appeared to me that a partial or temporary 
 retirement from St. Mary's Church might be expedient during the 
 prevailing excitement. 
 
 "As to your quotation from the (newspaper) which I have not 
 seen, your lordship will perceive from what I have said that no 
 
 * Monastery is in process of erection,* there is no ' chapel,' no 
 
 * refectory/ hardly a dining-room or parlour. The 1 cloisters ' are my 
 shed connecting the cottages. I do not understand what ' cells of 
 dormitories ' means. Of course I can repeat your lordship's words, 
 that ' I am not attempting a revival of the Monastic Orders, in anything 
 approaching to the Romanist sense of the term," or 'taking on myself 
 to originate any measure of importance without authority from the 
 Heads of the Church.' I am attempting nothing ecclesiastical, but 
 something personal and private, and which can only be made public, 
 not private, by newspapers and letter writers, in which sense the 
 most sacred and conscientious resolves and acts may certainly be 
 made the objects of an unmannerly and unfeeling curiosity." 48 
 
 48 Newman's Apologia, pp. 172-176. 
 
WAS IT A "PARSONAGE HOUSE"? 
 
 25 
 
 So it was only a "Parsonage House," and not a Monastery 
 at all that NewmaiTwas setting' up at Littlemore ! Twenty- 
 two years later, in his Apologia, he wrote that: — "There 
 is some kind or other of verbal misleading, which is not 
 sin." i9 This was no doubt a case of the kind. His 
 previous statements, however, and the after history of the 
 building, flatly contradict his assertions made in his truly 
 " Economical " letter to his Bishop. As we have seen 
 above, when Newman bought the land on which to build,, 
 he wrote to Mrs. Mozley that "in due time" he would 
 " erect a Monastic House upon it " ; and there is nothing to 
 show that he ever altered his mind. His brother-in-law, 
 the Rev. Thomas Mozley, refers to the building also, in his 
 Reminiscences, as a Monastic establishment ; and Newman's 
 friend Oakeley, as we have seen, admits that it was known, 
 as the " Littlemore Monastery." Only three months before 
 his reply to the Bishop, Newman wrote (January 3rd, 1842) 
 to his friend, Mr. James Hope-Scott, in a way which clearly 
 shows what were his real objects at the time : — " I am," he 
 declared, " almost in despair of keeping men together. The 
 only possible way is a Monastery. Men want an outlet for their 
 devotional and penitential feelings, and if we do not grant it, 
 to a dead certainty they will go where they can find it." r ° {) 
 I do not assert that in thus wilfully deceiving his Diocesan, 
 Newman thought he was doing anything wrong. There is 
 such a thing as a " conscience seared with a hot iron " 
 (1 Tim. iv. 2) ; and his certainly appears to have been at this 
 period in that condition. Men may come to that lamentable 
 state that they think it a duty to deceive others. And 
 what sort of place was this " Parsonage House," which 
 Newman falsely declared to his Bishop was not a Monastery? 
 Let Father Lockhart answer. He and Mr. Dalgairns were 
 the first inmates, and were actually in the Monastery at the 
 very moment when the Bishop of Oxford wrote his anxious 
 
 49 Ibid., p. 348. 
 
 5° Memoirs of J. Hope-Scott, Vol. II., p. 6. 
 
26 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. , 
 
 letter of inquiry. The following is Lockhart's own descrip- 
 tion of the life they were then leading : — 
 
 "We had now arrived at the year 1842, when we took up residence 
 with Newman at Littlemore. Father Dalgairns and myself were 
 the first inmates. It was a kind of Monastic life of retirement, 
 prayer and study. We had a sincere desire to remain in the Church 
 of England, if we could be satisfied that in doing so we were members 
 of the world-wide visible communion of Christianity which was of 
 Apostolic origin. We spent our time at Littlemore in study, prayer, 
 and fasting. We rose at midnight to recite the Breviary Office, 
 consoling ourselves with the thought that we were united in prayer 
 with united Christendom, and were using the very words used by the 
 Saints of all ages. We fasted according to the practice recommended 
 in Holy Scripture, and practised in the most austere Religious Orders 
 •of Eastern and Western Christendom. We never broke our fast, 
 •except on Sundays and the Great Festivals, before 12 o'clock, and not 
 until 5 o'clock in the Advent and Lenten seasons." 51 
 
 One day when the Evangelical Warden of Wadham 
 College, Oxford, knocked at the door of the Littlemore 
 " Monastery," alias " Parsonage House," Newman himself 
 •opened it. " May I see the Monastery ? " asked the visitor. 
 " We have no Monasteries here" replied Newman, who, there- 
 upon, angrily and uncivilly slammed the door in the Warden's 
 face ! 51 The Roman Catholic author to whom I am indebted 
 for this story gives us further evidence tending to prove that 
 it was a " Monastery " notwithstanding Newman's denial. 
 
 " The story of the life at Littlemore," he writes, "has never yet 
 been told ; and it would be impossible to glean from Newman's 
 scanty allusions in the Apologia, or even from his letter to the 
 Bishop, any idea of its primitive austerities and observances. I tell 
 these as nearly as possible as they are told by Littlemore men to me. 
 Lent was a season of real penance for the inmates. They had 
 nothing to eat each day till 5, and then the solitary meal was of 
 salt-fish. No wonder Dr. Wootten, the Tractarian doctor, told them 
 they must all die in a few years if things went on so ; and no wonder 
 Dalgairns had a serious illness, at which some relaxations w^re 
 
 51 Biography of Father Lockhart, p. 35. Leicester : Ratcliffe College. 
 
 52 Cardinal Newman: A Monograph, by John Oldcastle, p. 23. The author 
 of this work is editor of the Weekly Register. 
 
LIFE IN LITTLEMORE MONASTERY. 
 
 2 7 
 
 made — a breakfast, of bread and butter and tea, at noon ; taken 
 standing up at a board — a real board, erected in the improvised refectory, 
 and called in undertones by some naturally fastidious ones a 'trough.' 
 The ' chapel ' was hardly more pretentious than the dining-room. 
 At one end stood a large Crucifix, bought at Lima by Mr. Crawley, a 
 Spanish merchant living in Littlemore. It was what was called 
 'very pronounced' — with the all but barbaric realism of Spanish 
 religious art. A table supported the base; and on the table were two 
 candles (always lit at prayer-time by Newman), the light of which 
 was requisite ; for Xewman had veiled the window and walls with 
 his favourite red hangings. Of an altar there was no pretence j the 
 village church at Littlemore being Newman's own during the first 
 years of his residence there. A board ran up the centre of the chapel, 
 and in a row on either side stood the disciples for the recitation of 
 Divine Office, the ' Vicar ' standing by himself a little apart. The 
 days and hours of the Catholic Church were duly kept j and the only 
 alteration made in the Office was that Saints were invoked with a 
 modification of Newman's making — the * Ora pro nobis ' being 
 changed in recitation to ' Orel.' " 53 
 
 Amongst the inmates of Littlemore Monastery were 
 Frederick S. Bowles, subsequently a Roman Catholic priest; 
 and, as I have already stated, John B. Dalgairns, afterwards 
 a priest at Brompton Oratory ; Ambrose St. John, who 
 became a priest at the Birmingham Oratory; Richard 
 Stanton, subsequently an Oratorian priest ; Lockhart (from 
 whom I have quoted), who died, in 1892, as a Roman priest ; 
 and Albany Christie, who joined the Jesuit Order. Mark 
 Pattison, afterwards the well-known Rector of Lincoln 
 College, Oxford, paid a fortnight's visit to the Monastery, 
 commencing at the close of September, 1843. He kept a 
 diary while he was there, from which I take the following 
 extract as exhibiting the kind of life which was led in the 
 establishment : — 
 
 " Sunday, October 1st. — St. John called me at 5.30, and at 6 went 
 to Matins, which with Lauds and Prime take about an hour and 
 a. half ; afterwards returned to my room and prayed, with some 
 effect, I think. Tierce at 9, and at n to Church-Communion. 
 
 53 Ibid., p. 25, 
 
28 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 More attentive and devout than I have -been for some time ; hope 
 I am coming into a better frame ; thirty-seven communicants. 
 Returned and had breakfast. Had some discomfort at waiting 
 for food so long, which I have not done since I have been unwell 
 this summer, but struggled against it, and in some degree threw 
 it off. Walked up and down with St. John in the garden ■ 
 Newman afterwards joined us. . . At 3 to Church ; then Nones 
 . . . Vespers at 8, Compline at 9 ; the clocks here very backward. 
 Very sleepy, and went to bed at 10." 54 
 
 When Newman seceded to the Church of Rome in 
 1845, the Littlemore Monastery was broken up, and 
 most of its members followed their leader to Rome, and 
 thus closed a noteworthy chapter in the secret history of 
 the Tractarian Movement. 
 
 This may, perhaps, be an appropriate place to mention 
 that some sort of a "religious community" was established 
 at about this period, by the Rev. Frederick W. Faber 
 (subsequently known as Father Faber of the Brompton 
 Oratory), in the Parish of Elton, of which he became 
 Rector in 1842, though he did not enter into residence 
 until the following year. Meanwhile, between his accept- 
 ance of the living, and commencing work as Rector, 
 Faber travelled abroad, and became desperately enamoured 
 of the Roman Catholic system and religion. " He saw 
 then," writes his biographer, " that he must within three 
 years either be a Catholic, or lose his mind." 55 Faber went 
 abroad with letters of introduction from Dr. Wiseman, 
 subsequently Cardinal Wiseman, addressed to Cardinal 
 Acton, and to the Rev. Dr. Grant, a Roman Catholic priest, 
 both then resident at Rome. It was by no means uncommon 
 at that time for young Tractarians to visit the continent, 
 where, unknown and unobserved by prying eyes at home, 
 they could indulge their taste for Popery to their hearts' 
 content. " The disciples of the Oxford School," writes 
 
 64 Mark Pattison's Memoirs, pp. 190, 191. 
 
 65 Bowden's Life of Father Faber, p. 168. Second edition. 
 
TRACTARIANS ON THE CONTINENT. 
 
 2Q 
 
 Father Oakeley, from personal experience, " had a general 
 sympathy with all foreign churches." 
 
 " We endeavoured," Father Oakeley relates, " especially the younger 
 and less occupied members of our Society, to improve our relations 
 with foreign Catholics by occasional visits to the continent. For this 
 purpose Belgium was preferred to France, because of the greater 
 external manifestation of religion in that country. Whatever our 
 Tractarian friends may have been on this side of the channel, there 
 could be no doubt of their perfect Catholicity on the other. It was, 
 in fact, of so enthusiastic and demonstrative a character as to astonish 
 the natives themselves, and sometimes, even, perhaps, to shame them. 
 Our friends used to distinguish themselves by making extraordinarily 
 low bows to priests, and genuflecting, even in public places, to every- 
 one who looked the least like a Bishop. In the churches they were 
 always in a state of prostration, or of ecstasy. Everything, and 
 everybody, was charming 5 and such a contrast to England ! Catholics 
 might have their faults like other people, but even their faults were 
 better than Protestant virtues. There was always a redeeming point 
 •even in their greatest misdemeanours ; their acts of insobriety were 
 far less offensive than those of Englishmen, and evidences of their 
 Catholicity might be traced in their very oaths." 56 
 
 Of course, when these young gentlemen came back to 
 England from their continental trips, they were careful not 
 to let the English public know where they had been, what 
 they had said, and what they had done, when abroad. At 
 home they passed as faithful sons of the Reformed Church 
 of England ; on the continent they were seen in their true 
 colours. Yet, even when at home, in Oxford, some of the 
 3-oung Tractarians indulged their passion for real Popery, in 
 a daring though secret manner. The Rev. E. G. K. Browne, 
 who, before his secession to Rome, was for some years a 
 Tractarian clergyman in the Church of England, writing of 
 events which transpired in the early period of the Move- 
 ment, informs us that then men of the Tractarian party 
 might "be found studying S.Thomas Aquinas, Bellarmine, 
 and Perrone, and using the Garden of the Soul and the 
 
 Oakeley' s Historical Notes, pp. 73, 74. 
 
30 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Paradisus Animce as books of private devotion, but secretly , for 
 fear of their fellow men — some might be seen stealing to M ass at the 
 Catholic chapel — humble and mean as it was — but disguised, 
 and pouring out their hearts to their God, concealed from the 
 view of man by some pillar, beseeching Him to guide them 
 into the truth, for none dared trust another, or confer with 
 the friend of his bosom, or the companion of his earlier 
 days, on so sacred, so awfully sacred a subject as the 
 salvation of the soul." 57 When Faber arrived at Rome, in 
 1843, he was "not scandalized" even by the " relic worship " 
 he beheld there. 58 He wrote home, under date May 20th, 
 1843, to state that Dr. Wiseman's letters had engaged for 
 him " the cheerful kindness of several of the Roman clergy, 
 and a portion of almost every day is spent with them, either 
 visiting the holier Churches, and Convents famous for 
 miracles and the residence of Saints, or in amicable 
 discussion of our position in England." 59 Paradoxical it 
 must seem to my readers to know that in the same letter 
 Faber declares : — " I find my attachment to the Church of 
 England growing in Rome, the more I bewail our position." 
 He rejoiced that " Protestantism is perishing," and that 
 "what is good in it is by God's mercy being gathered" — 
 not into the Church of England, but — " into the garners 
 of Rome " ; and he assured his correspondent that his 
 whole life, " God willing, shall be one crusade against the 
 detestable and diabolical heresy of Protestantism." On 
 Holy Thursday he went to the Church of St. John Lateran. 
 The Pope was present, and Faber was in an ecstasy. " I 
 got," he says, "close to the altar, inside the Swiss Guards, 
 and when Pope Gregory descended from his throne, 
 and knelt at the foot of the altar, and we all knelt with 
 him, it was a scene more touching than I had ever 
 seen before. . , In the midst that old man in white, 
 
 57 Browne's Annals of the Tractarian More nent, p. 41. Third edition. 
 £H Bowden's Life of Faber, p. 156. 59 Ibid., p. 156. 
 
FABER'S VISIT TO ROME. 31 
 
 prostrate before the uplifted Body of the Lord, and the dead, 
 dead silence — Oh what a sight it was ! . . I bared my head 
 and knelt with the people, and received with joy the Holy 
 Father's blessing, till he fell back on his throne and was 
 borne away. 60 On June 17th Faber had a private audience 
 with the Pope. He appeared in "full dress" at the Vatican, 
 and was told that "as Protestants did not like kissing the 
 Pope's foot," he would "not be expected to do it." But 
 this clergyman of the Reformed Church of England — Rome's 
 greatest enemy — scorned to avail himself of the proffered 
 dispensation ! On entering the audience chamber — to quote 
 Faber 's own report of the interview — " I knelt down, and 
 again, when a few yards from him, and lastly, before him ; 
 he held out his hand, but I kissed his foot; there seemed to me 
 a mean puerility in refusing the customary homage. . . I 
 left him almost in tears, affected as much by the earnest, 
 affectionate demeanour of the old man, as by his blessing 
 and his prayer. I shall remember St. Alban's Day, in 1843, 
 to my life's end." Faber prayed at the shrine of " St." 
 Aloysius, the Jesuit, on the feast of that "Saint;" and his 
 biographer, Father Bowden, says that "he left the Church 
 as if speechless, and not knowing where he was going." 
 Twice he took up his hat to go to the English College at 
 Rome, for the purpose of abjuring the Church of England ; 
 but on each occasion some unrecorded event prevented him 
 from carrying out his impulse. The longer he stayed in 
 Rome the more he loved both it and its Church. On July 
 5th, he declared: — "The nearest approach I can make to 
 an imagination of heaven is that it is like Rome." He went 
 to a Pontifical Mass, and the sight filled him with 
 rapturous joy. " When the Pontiff, his eyes streaming 
 with tears, slowly elevated the Lord's Body, suddenly 
 from the roof some ten or twelve trumpets, as from 
 heaven, pealed out with a long, wailing, timorous jubilee. 
 
 60 Ibid., p. 162. 
 
32 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 and I fell forward completely overcome." 61 From Rome 
 Faber went to Florence, and while there he had gone 
 so far away from the sound judgment of an English 
 Churchman, that he was actually " persuaded to wear a 
 miraculous medal " ; and " on his return home he brought 
 with him two rosaries blessed by the Pope/' 62 After all this 
 he actually began once more to act as a Church of England 
 clergyman, by taking up his residence at Elton as its new 
 Rector. How he could do so with an easy conscience 
 is a mystery to any truth-loving Englishman. It certainly 
 was not honest on his part ; and the whole transaction has 
 a very ugly look about it. I do not say that Faber was at 
 this time a Papist in disguise, for I cannot prove it. But if 
 anyone came forward now and proved it I should not feel 
 the least surprise. 
 
 I am not one of those who suffer from " Jesuitism on the 
 brain," and I do not, so to speak, see a Jesuit round every 
 •street corner. But I certainly am inclined to attach a good 
 deal of importance to the revelations made by the late 
 Rev. Dr. Desanctis, formerly parish priest of the Madallena, 
 Rome, Professor of Theology, Official Theological Censor of 
 the Inquisition, and subsequently Minister of the Reformed 
 Italian Church at Geneva. Desanctis was a man of high 
 personal character, and from the offices he held while at 
 Rome was enabled to obtain an intimate acquaintance with 
 the inner working of Romanism and Jesuitism. In his 
 work on Popery and Jesuitism in Rome in the Nineteenth 
 ■Century, a translation of which was published in London, in 
 1852, he gives a great deal of valuable information concerning 
 the secret and inner working of Tractarianism, which, at 
 that period, was popularly known in England and abroad as 
 Puseyism. 
 
 " My Jesuit Confessor," says Dr. Desanctis, "was Secretary to the 
 "French Father Assistant [of the Jesuit Order], and as he esteemed me 
 
 61 Bowden's Life of Faber, p. 170. K Ibid., pp. 175, 177. 
 
DESANCTIS ON JESUITS IN DISGUISE. 
 
 33 
 
 much, and accounted me an affiliated member of the Society, he 
 made many disclosures to me." 
 
 Amongst these disclosures were the following : — 
 
 " Despite all the persecution they [the Jesuits] have met with, 
 they have not abandoned England, whore there are a greater number 
 of Jesuits than in Italy; that there are Jesuits in all classes of society ; 
 in Parliament; among the English clergy ; among the Protestant laity, 
 even in the higher stations. I could not comprehend how a Jesuit 
 could be a Protestant priest, or how a Protestant priest could be a 
 Jesuit; but my Confessor silenced my scruples by telling me, omnia 
 munda mundis, and that St. Paul became as a Jew that he might save 
 the Jews ; it was no wonder, therefore, if a Jesuit should feign 
 himself a Protestant, for the conversion of Protestants. But pay 
 attention, I entreat you, to my discoveries concerning the nature of 
 the religious movement in England termed Puseyism. 
 
 "The English clergy were formerly too much attached to their 
 Articles of Faith to be shaken from them. You might have employed 
 in vain all the machines set in motion by Bossuet and the Jansenists 
 of France to reunite them to the Romish Church ; and so the Jesuits 
 of England tried another plan. This was to demonstrate from history 
 and ecclesiastical antiquity the legitimacy of the usages of the English 
 Church, whence, through the exertions of the Jesuits concealed 
 among its clergy, might arise a studious attention to Christian 
 antiquity. This was designed to occupy the clergy in long, laborious, 
 and abstruse investigation, and to alienate them from their Bibles." 03 
 
 On another occasion a Roman priest was asked by 
 Desanctis : — " But do you not think it would be for the 
 greater glory of God, that all the Puseyites should become 
 Catholics ? ; ' The reply to this question was : — 
 
 " No, my son, the Puseyite movement must be let alone that it may 
 bring forth fruit. If all the Puseyites were to declare themselves 
 Catholics, the Movement would be at an end. Protestants would be 
 alarmed, and the whole gain of the Catholic Church would be reduced 
 to some million of individuals and no more. From time to time it is 
 as well that one of the Puseyite leaders should become a Catholic, in 
 order that, under our instructions, the Movement may be better 
 conducted ; but it would not be desirable fcr many of them to come 
 over to Catholicism. Puseyism is a living testimony to the necessity 
 
 63 Desanctis, Popery and Jesuitism in Rome, pp. 12S, 134. 
 
 3 
 
34 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 of Catholicism in the midst of our enemies ; it is a worm at the root 
 which, skilfully nourished by our exertions, will waste Protestantism 
 till it is destroyed." G4 
 
 I know very well that Ritualists will pooh pooh and laugh 
 at these statements of Desanctis. But, for my part, I cannot 
 see that I should reject his testimony merely because he was 
 a convert from Rome. Why should I not trust the word of 
 a Protestant, against whose character — so far as I can 
 ascertain — nothing can be said, and who had exceptional 
 opportunities of getting at the real facts of the case ? If we 
 reject the evidence of reliable persons, how can history be 
 properly written ? In dealing with the Secret History of the 
 Oxford Movement it would be highly improper not to quote 
 what Dr. Desanctis has written on this important subject. 
 And those who have most closely studied the Secret History 
 of Tractarianism, Puseyism, and Ritualism, will be more 
 disposed than others to give credence to his statements. 
 
 To return to Faber. When he commenced his work at 
 Elton, as Rector, he determined, says his biographer, " to 
 model his pastoral operations on the system pursued by the 
 [Roman] Catholic Church, and to work his parish, as he 
 expressed it, 'in the spirit of St. Philip and St. Alphonso.' " 65 
 No doubt these two "Saints" were "St." Philip Neri, 
 founder of the Oratorian Order, of which Faber subsequently 
 became a member ; and " St." Alphonsus Liguori, author 
 of the Glories of Mary. Faber circulated amongst his 
 parishioners a History of the Sacred Heart, 65 in which he 
 advocated the adoration of the material heart of our Lord — ■ 
 a modern custom invented by the Jesuits. His biographer 
 has to admit of this practice that it cannot "be said that it 
 belongs to the genuine spirit of the Established Church." 
 After he had been at Elton about six months, Faber found 
 that it was not so easy as he expected to pervert his 
 parishioners to his Romanizing views. On March 2Mb, 
 
 w Desanctis, ropery and Jesuitism in Rome, p. 17. 
 
 66 Bowden's Life of Faber, p. 179. 00 Ibid., p. 180. 
 
SECRET MEETINGS AT ELTON. 
 
 35 
 
 1844, ne wrote to a friend : — " I feel impatient, thinking I 
 could do all things in my parish as if I were a Roman." After 
 a time, a measure of success attended his efforts, and he was 
 able to start in his parish the Religious Community to 
 which I have already alluded. The mystery and secrecy 
 with which Faber shrouded this Community cannot be 
 better described than in the words of Father Bowden : — 
 
 " A number of persons, chiefly young men, began," writes Faber's 
 biographer, " to go to confession to him, and to receive Communion. 
 Out of the most promising of these penitents he formed a sort of 
 Community. They were accustomed to meet in the Rectory every night 
 at twelve o'clock, and to spend about an hour in prayer, chiefly in reciting 
 portions of the Psalter. On the eves of great feasts, the devotions 
 were prolonged for three or four hours. The use of the Discipline 
 was also introduced on Fridays, eves of festivals, and every night in 
 Lent, each taking his turn to receive it from the others." 67 
 
 It may be well to explain here, for the benefit of the 
 Protestant reader, who may be pardoned for want of 
 information on the subject, that the " Discipline " secretly 
 used by the fanatics at Elton, is a kind of cat-o'-nine tails, 
 knotted, and made with either cord or steel, with which 
 each penitent is whipped on the bare back, either by himself 
 or another, as a penance for his sins. Very early in his 
 career the late Dr. Pusey seems to have fallen in love with 
 this form of Romish superstition ; but his early regard for it 
 remained concealed from the public gaze, until the publica- 
 tion of the Memoirs of James Robert Hope-Scott, in 1884, 
 when a letter from Dr. Pusey to Mr. Hope-Scott, dated 
 September 9th, 1844, first saw the light of day. The latter was 
 travelling abroad at the time he received this letter, which 
 contained two or three commissions for him to execute 
 while on the continent. One of these was to purchase a 
 number of Roman Catholic books, for Dr. Pusey's use ; the 
 second, to collect information concerning " the system as to 
 Retreats " amongst Roman Catholics ; and the third was, to 
 
 •7 Ibid., p. 183. 
 
 3 * 
 
36 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 purchase a specimen " Discipline." The latter commission 
 was put into the postscript of his letter, and was as follows : — 
 
 " There is yet a subject on which I should like to know more, if 
 you fall in with persons who have the guidance of consciences, — what 
 penances they employ for persons whose temptations are almost 
 entirely spiritual, of delicate frames often, and who wish to be led on 
 to perfection. I see in a spiritual writer that even for such, corporal 
 severities are not to be neglected, but so many of them are unsafe. 
 / suspect the ' Discipline ' to be one of the safest, and with internal 
 humiliation the best. Could you procure and send me one by B. ? 
 What was described to me was of a very sacred character 5 5 cords, 
 each with 5 knots, in memory of the 5 wounds of our Lord. I should 
 be glad also to know whether there were any cases in which it is 
 unsafe, e.g., in a nervous person." 68 
 
 One cannot help wondering, if a cat-o'-nine tails, or rather 
 of five, with five cords, was not thought too severe for persons 
 of " delicate frames," what would be the penance inflicted 
 on those who possessed strong constitutions ? 
 
 About two years after his letter to Mr. James Hope-Scott, 
 Dr. Pusey appears to have commenced the use of " Hair 
 Cloth" and " Disciplines." On the " Feast of St. Simon and 
 St. Jude," 1846, he wrote to the Rev. J. Keble, who at about 
 that period became his Father Confessor, — " Will you give 
 me some penitential rules for myself? I hardly know what 
 I can do, just now, in a bodily way, for nourishment I am 
 ordered; sleep I must take when it comes; cold is bad for me; 
 and I know not whether / am strong enough to resume the Hair 
 Cloth. However, I hope to try." 69 The word "resume" in 
 this letter proves that Pusey had used " Hair Cloth " before 
 the date of his letter; but for how long I cannot tell. Later 
 on in the same year he wrote again to Keble : — 
 
 tl I am a great coward about inflicting pain on myself, partly, I 
 hope, from a derangement of my nervous system. Hair Cloth I know 
 not how to make pain : it is only symbolical, except when worn to 
 an extent which seemed to wear me out. / have it on again, by Gcd's 
 
 6S Memoirs of J. Hope-Scott, Vol. II., pp. 52, 53. 
 w Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 99. 
 
DR. PUSEY WEARS HAIR CLOTH. 
 
 37 
 
 mercy. I would try to get some sharper sort. Lying hard I like best, 
 unless it is such as to take away sleep, and that seems to unfit me for 
 duties. Real fasting, i.e., going without food, was very little discomfort, 
 except in the head, when the hour of the meal was over, and 
 Dr. Wootten said and says, ' It was shortening my life.' Praying with 
 my arms in the form of a cross, seemed to distract me, and act upon 
 my head, from this same miserable nervousness. / think I should 
 like to he bid [i.e., by Keble as his Father Confessor] to use the 
 Discipline. I cannot even smite upon my breast much because the 
 pressure on my lungs seemed bad. In short, you see, I am a mass of 
 infirmities." 70 
 
 This is, indeed, a most pitiful letter, and one to be wondered 
 at. Instead of saying that he was wearing Hair Cloth again, 
 " by God's mercy," it would have been more accurate to have 
 said that he was wearing it through his own folly and super- 
 stition. He certainly could not plead either Scriptural or 
 Church of England authority for the practice. One might 
 make some excuse for Dr. Pusey on the score of his then 
 enfeebled state of health, were it not that when he regained 
 his ordinary health there is no evidence to show that he gave 
 up the use of either Hair Cloth, or the Discipline. On the 
 contrary, in his Manual for Confessors, published in 1878, 
 he recommends both as penances for sinners. His biographer 
 informs us that "with Keble's sanction " Pusey made it a 
 rule " to wear Hair Cloth always by day, unless ill " ; and 
 that " he was very anxious to use ' the Discipline ' every night 
 with Psalm li. Keble did not advise it. Pusey entreated. 
 * I still scruple,' wrote Keble, ' about the Discipline. I 
 could but allow, not enjoin it to anyone.' " 71 
 
 The use of the " Discipline," and of other penitential 
 "articles of piety," as they are sometimes termed, is, almost 
 of necessity, kept secret by those who adopt them. Some 
 idea, however, of the extent to which these articles of torture 
 are used at the present time within the Church of England 
 may be gained from the following article, which appeared 
 
 <° Ibid., p. 100. 
 
 71 Ibid., pp. 104, 108. 
 
38 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 in the Westminster Gazette, of September gth, 1896— a paper 
 which cannot be accused of any undue partiality for 
 Protestantism : — 
 
 " John Kensit, 'the Protestant Bookseller,' has given Paternoster 
 Row a new sensation this week. For some days past a large part of 
 his window has been used for the exhibition of a large sheet displaying 
 half a dozen ' instruments of torture,' said to be used and recommended 
 by ' members of the Church of England.' 
 
 " Whoever they are used by — and it is pretty certain they are not 
 mere ornaments or playthings — these ' instruments of torture ' by no 
 means belie the name Mr. Kensit has bestowed upon them. Take 
 that broad stomacher of horse-hair, for example, and place it next to 
 the skin ; imagine the discomfort of the first five minutes as each 
 bristly hair presses against the body, and picture the torture of each 
 succeeding five minutes it is worn. Then turn from this mild 
 ' Discipline ' to the severer penance of the Barbed Heart. This is a 
 maze of wire, the size of the palm of one's hand, upon one side of 
 which barbs project, finer than the ends of the barbed fences of our 
 fields. How many of these are pressing to-day against lacerated 
 breasts ! Of similar construction, and equally fiendish in purpose, 
 are the Wristlets and Anklets and the broad band of netted barbs 
 which the penitent fastens around his or her leg. All of these may 
 possibly be worn under conditions which will mitigate the severity of 
 the torture ; but there would seem to be no way of softening the 
 lash when applied to the bare skin, so what can be said of the two 
 Scourges exhibited by Mr. Kensit ? One is of hard knotted ropes, 
 half a dozen ends attached to a pliant handle $ the other is of well- 
 hardened and polished steel, each end of the five chains neatly 
 finished with a steel rowel. Every blow from this, when the penitent 
 swings it over his shoulder upon his bare back, must produce five 
 wounds, bruises, or sores. No wonder the crowd gazes incredulously 
 until ordered to ' move on.' 
 
 " Since this queer little exhibition opened, the bookseller has stood 
 a running fire of question and expostulation. The instruments had 
 not been on view an hour before a gentleman entered the shop and 
 delivered himself after this fashion : — 
 
 " ' Look here, sir, whoever you are, if you're the proprietor of this 
 place take those things out of your window. It's a lie. It never 
 could be done. I believe it's just one of your advertising dodges. I 
 won't believe that those things were ever made to be used in this 
 day.' 
 
THE DISCIPLINE FOR RITUALISTIC SISTERS. 39 
 
 " Mr. Kensit is accustomed to that sort of salutation, so lie 
 waited till his visitor had ended a long tirade, and then quietly 
 remarked : — 
 
 " 'Will you take the trouble to go into the shop next door and ask 
 the shopman to show you a selection of these things. Ask him 
 [a Roman Catholic publisher] to name his price, and let him tell 
 you who buys them. Then you can come back and apologise to me.' 
 
 " ' The gentleman,' said Mr. Kensit, when he told a representative 
 the story on Monday, ' went into the shop next door. In five 
 minutes he was back again with a bundle under his arm.' ' Mr. 
 Kensit,' he said, ' you're right. They sell them, and I've bought a 
 few to take home and show to my family. They'll never believe it 
 unless I do.' 
 
 " ' Well,' said Mr. Kensit, 1 did you ask who purchases them ? ' 
 
 " ' I did,' said the gentleman, ' and if you'll believe me, the shopman 
 said that for every one he sold to a Catholic he sold three to Church oj 
 England people V 
 
 " ' I not only believe it,' said Mr. Kensit, ' but I know it.' " 
 
 There is certainly, as I have already said, no Scriptural 
 authority for the use of the " Discipline." We do read that 
 "By His stripes we are healed" (Isa. liii. 5); but never that 
 we are spiritually healed by the stripes and bruises inflicted 
 by ourselves. How far the use of the " Discipline " has 
 spread amongst Ritualists at the present day is one of those 
 secrets which have not been fully revealed. Yet there is reason 
 to fear that it is on the increase, and is much more widespread 
 than is generally supposed. There is cause to believe that in 
 some Ritualistic Convents the "Discipline" is not unknown. 
 Dr. Pusey, as is well known, in conjunction with the late 
 Miss Sellon, founded several Convents, and retained spiritual 
 authority over them until his death. In his Advice on 
 Hearing Confession, for the use of Ritualistic Father 
 Confessors, directions are given as to the penances to be 
 imposed by the Confessor on Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy. 
 One of these, if " the Superior of the Convent approves," 
 is as follows : — For mortifications ; the Discipline for about 
 a quarter of an hour a day." 72 It may here be asked, if a 
 
 72 Pusey's Manual for Confessors, p. 243. 
 
40 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Sister refused to undergo this severe and cruel penance, 
 would she be considered as having broken her Vow of 
 Obedience ? The answer to this question is given by 
 Dr. Pusey himself. His advice to Sisters of Mercy is : — 
 " Study to be perfectly obedient to your spiritual father. . . . 
 Now perfect obedience implies prompt, punctual, willing, 
 unquestioning obedience, unless the thing commanded be 
 evident sin." 73 There can be no doubt, therefore, that the 
 Sister would feel it a bounden duty to take the " Discipline 
 for about a quarter of an hour a day," if ordered to do so by 
 her " Spiritual father," the Confessor. The subject is not 
 a pleasant one to those who hate cruelty ; but it is of 
 so secret a character that it seems almost impossible to 
 discover the priestly culprits who order English ladies 
 to be thus whipped on their bare backs, as they may 
 think right and proper. One of these cases has fortunately 
 come to light, in which the Discipline was used most 
 cruelly and shamefully in a Ritualistic Convent, inflicted 
 on the Sister, not by command of her Confessor, but 
 by a " Mother " of the Convent. The story is related 
 by Miss Povey, who, as " Sister Mary Agnes, O.S.B.," 
 was for seventeen years a Nun in Convents controlled 
 by the notorious " Father Ignatius." She writes : — ■ 
 
 "One day I was coming from Nones at 2.45 p.m. This 1 
 * Mother ' [' Mary Wereburgh of the Blessed Sacrament '] com- 
 manded me to stay where I was, and not to return to work, and 
 then said : — 1 You have got the Devil in you, and I am going to 
 beat him out.' All left the sacristy but myself, the Mother 
 Superior, and one Nun, who was ordered to be present at the 
 casting out of the devil. I was commanded first to strip. I saw 
 ' the Discipline? with its seven lashes of knotted whipcord in her 
 hand, and 1 knew that one lash given (or taken by oneself) was 
 iu reality seven. I should mention that at certain times it was 
 the rule to Discipline oneself. . . Then I began to undress j but 
 when T came to my vest, shame again overcame me. 'Take that 
 thing off,' said the Mother Superior. I replied, ' I cannot, reverend 
 
 ? 3 Pusey 's Manual for Confessors, p. 245. 
 
RITUALISTIC NUN CRUELLY WHIPPED. 
 
 41 
 
 Mother ; it's too tight.' The Nun who was present was told to 
 help me to get it off. A deep feeling of shame came over me 
 at being half-nude. The Mother then ordered the Xun to say the 
 'Miserere,' and while it was recited she lashed me several times with 
 all her strength. I was determined not to utter a sound, but at 
 last I could not restrain a smothered groan, whereat she gave 
 me one last and cruel lash, and then ceased. Even three weeks 
 after she had ' Disciplined ' me, I had a very sore back, and it hurt me 
 greatly to lie on it (our beds were straw put into sacks). There was 
 a looking-glass in the room I now occupied (Nuns do not usually 
 have them), and I looked to see if my back was marked, as it was so 
 sore. Never shall I forget the shock it gave me. I turned quickly 
 away, for my hack was Hack, Hue, and green all over." 7i 
 
 Many of my readers, on reading this horrible yet true 
 story, will naturally ask themselves, are there any other 
 Mothers Superior who act in a similar manner? If the 
 secrets of Convents were revealed, how many more tales of 
 " Discipline " cruelty should we hear ? We need not make 
 rash and wholesale assertions, but is there not cause for 
 inquiry and anxiety ? 
 
 Faber, to whom we once more return, not only used the 
 " Discipline" himself; he also, as a penance, wore " a thick 
 horse-hair cord tied in knots round his waist." 75 He still, 
 however, continued to act as Rector of Elton. On August 
 12th, 1S44, he informed Newman : — " I seem to grow more 
 Roman daily, and almost to write from out the bosom of the 
 Roman Church, instead of from where I am." 76 By December 
 he made the discovery — which he ought to have made long 
 before — that his position in the Church of England was a 
 dishonest one. " I feel as if I was living a dishonest life," 77 
 he wrote to Newman. And yet, strange as it may seem to 
 some, with this conviction upon him he continued for nearly 
 another year to officiate in the Church of England. At this 
 time he published a Life of St. Wilfrid, of which Father 
 
 " 4 Xunncry Life in the Church cf England, by Sister Mary Agnes, O S. B., 
 pp. 97-93. 
 
 Life of Faber, p. 187. ' 6 Ibid., p. 1S7. 77 Ibid., p. 189. 
 
42 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Bowden says: — "It is difficult to conceive how" certain 
 passages in it " could have been written by a member of the 
 Church of England" 78 — so thoroughly Roman were they. 
 Bowden quotes several passages from this " Life," from 
 which I take the following specimens : — 
 
 " He (Wilfrid) saw that the one thing to do was to go to Rome, 
 and learn under the shadow of St. Peter's Chair the more perfect way. 
 To look Romeward is a Catholic instinct, seemingly implanted in us 
 for the safety of the faith " (p. 4). 
 
 " Certainly, it is true that he materially aided the blessed work of 
 rivetting more tightly the happy chains which held England to 
 St. Peter's Chair— chains never snapped, as sad experience tells 
 us, without the loss of many precious Christian things " (p. 84). 
 
 At last the time came when Faber publicly renounced his 
 connection with the Church of England. On Sunday, 
 November 16th, 1845, he addressed his congregation in Elton 
 Church for the last time. He told them that " the doctrines 
 he had taught them, though true, were not those of the 
 Church of England ; that, as far as the Church of England 
 had a voice, she had disavowed them, and that consequently 
 he could not remain in her communion." 79 The next day he 
 left the parish, accompanied by his two servants, and by 
 seven members of his " Religious Community," all of whom 
 were admitted the same evening at Northampton, by Bishop 
 Wareing, into the Church of Rome. 
 
 It would have been well for the Church of England had 
 the case of Faber been the last of its kind. But I think that 
 anyone who, during the past twenty years, has carefully read 
 the Ritualistic newspapers, must be of the opinion that 
 Faber's example is more or less followed at the present time 
 by many hundreds, not to say thousands, of Ritualistic 
 clergy, who have no greater moral right to remain in the 
 Church of England than Faber had during the last two 
 years of his ministry as Rector of Elton. The gates which 
 admit to the ministry, be it remembered, are kept by the 
 
 78 Life of Faber, p. 190. 79 Ibid., p. 201. 
 
THE BISHOPS AND RITUALISM. 
 
 43 
 
 Bishops, who have admitted to the ranks of the clergy of 
 the Church, by ordination, every one of these traitors and 
 conspirators, and therefore on the Episcopal Bench the 
 responsibility of the mischief caused by them primarily rests. 
 It is certain, therefore, that greater care is needed now than 
 ever before, on the part of the Bishops, to prevent the 
 ordination of men who hold Roman doctrines. And the 
 laity have a right to complain, and they do complain justly 
 and bitterly, that in many instances these Romanizing con- 
 spirators are preferred by the Bishops to influential dignities 
 and valuable livings in their gift, while hard-working and 
 law-abiding clergymen are coldly passed by, as quite 
 unworthy of Episcopal notice or favour. These things are 
 alienating the hearts of multitudes of the laity from the 
 Church of England ; and it is the truest wisdom of our rulers 
 in Church and State to reflect that widespread discontent 
 is not a thing to trifle with. The results of Archbishop 
 Laud's efforts to Romanize the Church in the seventeenth 
 century ought to serve as a salutary warning to Statesmen 
 and Bishops of the nineteenth century. The dangers 
 arising from the labours of the Ritualists are far greater than 
 from those of their predecessors two hundred and fifty years 
 ago. Laud and his party would never have dared to make 
 such strides Romewards as have been made by our modern 
 Ritualists. May God grant that the civil wars which were 
 largely the result of Laud's foolish and disloyal operations, 
 may not be repeated in England ere the close of the forth- 
 coming century ! We make no rash prophecy : no one can tell 
 what the future may bring forth. But are there not already 
 clouds in the ecclesiastical and political sky, which may 
 suddenly grow larger and larger, until they burst forth in 
 civil and religious convulsions which every lover of his 
 country must dread ? 
 
 I do not think that I could more appropriately close this 
 chapter than by citing a very accurate description of the 
 secret policy of the early Tractarians, given by one of the 
 
44 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 party, the Rev. William Maskell, Vicar of St. Mary's 
 Church, in a letter which he published, in 1850, shortly 
 before his secession to Rome. 
 
 " As a fact," wrote Mr. Maskell, " the Evangelical party, plainly, 
 openly, and fully, declare their opinions upon the doctrines which 
 they contend the Church of England holds : they tell their people 
 continually, what they ought, as a matter of duty towards God and 
 towards themselves, both to believe and practise. Can it be pretended 
 that we [Tractarians], as a party, anxious to teach the truth, are 
 equally open, plain, and unreserved ? If we are not so, is prudence, 
 or economy, or the desire to lead people gently and without rashly 
 disturbing them, or any other like reason, a sufficient ground for our 
 withholding large portions of Catholic truth ? Can any one chief 
 doctrine be reserved by us, without blame or suspicion of dishonesty ? 
 And it is not to be alleged, that only the less important duties and 
 doctrines are so reserved : as if it would be an easy thing to distinguish 
 and draw a line of division between them. Besides, that which we 
 are disputing about cannot be trivial and unimportant; if it were so, 
 we rather ought, in Christian charity, to acknowledge our agreement 
 in essentials, and consent to give up the rest. 
 
 " But we do reserve vital and essential truths; we often hesitate 
 and fear to teach our people many duties, not all necessary in every 
 case or to every person, but eminently practical, and sure to increase 
 the growth of the inner spiritual life ; we differ, in short, as widely 
 from the Evangelical party in the manner and openness, as in the 
 matter and details of our doctrine. Take, for example, the doctrine 
 of Invocation of Saints ; or, of Prayers for the Dead ; or, of Justification 
 by Faith only ; or, of the merit of good works ; or, of the necessity of 
 regular and obedient Fasting; or, of the reverence due to the blessed 
 Virgin Mary; or, of the Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Blessed Eucharist; 
 or, of the almost necessity of Auricular Confession and Absolution, 
 in order to the remission of mortal sin; — and more might be mentioned 
 than these. Now, let me ask you ; do we speak of these doctrines 
 from our pulpits in the same manner, or to the same allowed extent, 
 as we speak of them one to another, or think of them in our closets ? 
 Far from it; rather, when we do speak of them at all, in the way of 
 public, ministerial, teaching, we use certain symbols and a shibboleth 
 of phrases, well enough understood hy the initiated few, but dark and 
 meaningless to the many. All this seems to me to be, day by day 
 and hour by hour, more and more hard to be reconciled with the 
 real spirit, mind, and purpose of the English Reformation, and of 
 
MASKELL ON TRACTARIAN TRICKERY. 
 
 45 
 
 the modern English Church, shewn by the experience of 300 
 years. It does seem to be, daily, more and more opposed to 
 that single-mindedness of purpose, that simplicity and truthfulness and 
 openness of speech and action, which the Gospel of our Blessed Lord 
 requires. We are, indeed, to be ' wise as serpents '; but has our 
 wisdom of the last few years been justly within the exceptions of 
 that law? Let me not be understood as if supposing that any motive, 
 except prudence and caution, has caused this reserve; but there are 
 limits beyond which Christian caution degenerates into deceit, and an 
 enemy might think that we could forget that there are more texts 
 than one of Holy Scripture which speak of persecution to be undergone, 
 for His sake, and for the Faith. 
 
 "And if reserve in teaching carried to such an extent be, as I 
 conceive it to be, unjustifiable, it is equally wrong, and to be 
 condemned, in the practice of those who listen to, and endeavour to 
 obey such teaching. What can we think — when honestly we bring 
 our minds to its consideration — what can we think, I say, of the 
 moral evils which must attend upon and follow conduct and rule of 
 religious life, full of shifts and compromises and evasions? a rule of 
 life based upon the acceptance of half one doctrine, all the next, and 
 none of the third; upon the belief entirely of another, but not daring 
 to say so; upon the constant practice, if possible, of this or that 
 particular duty, but secretly, and fearful oj being 1 found out doing 
 it as if under the pretence of not doing it ; if questioned, explaining 
 it away, or answering with some dubious answer ; creeping out of 
 difficulties; anything, in a word, but sincere, straightforward, 
 and true. It would really seem as if, instead of being Catholics — 
 as we say we are — in a Christian land, we were living in the city of 
 heathen Rome, and forced to worship in the Catacombs and dark 
 places of the earth." 80 
 
 80 A Second Letter on the Present Position of the High Church Party in the Church 
 of England, by the Rev. William Maskell, pp. 65-CS. Third edition. 
 London: Pickering, 1850. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF THE HOLY CROSS. 
 
 Its secret birth in 1855 — Brethren forbidden to mention its existence — Its 
 secret Statutes — Its secret signs — Its mysterious "Committee of Clergy " 
 — The Roll of sworn Celibates — Their Oath — Its secret Synods and 
 Chapters — Brethren must push the Confessional amongst young and old 
 — Its Confessional Book for little children — Its secret Confessional Com- 
 mittee — Issues the Priest in Absolution — Secret birth of the Retreat 
 Movement — First secret Retreat in Dr. Pusey's rooms — Starts the 
 " St. George's Mission " at St. Peter's, London Docks — Dr. Pusey a 
 member of the Mission — The Bishop of Lebombo a member of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross — Sensational letter from him — Ritualistic Holy 
 Water — Brethren alarmed at publicity — The Society establish an Oratory 
 at Carlisle — Its secret history — Organises a Petition for Licensed Con- 
 fessors — Reports of speeches at its secret Synods — Their dark plottings 
 exposed. 
 
 FTER Tractarianism had become known as Puseyism, 
 
 £~\ and both had developed into what is now termed 
 Ritualism, it was felt by many members of the party 
 that the time had come when the secret workers in what 
 Hurrell Froude had so truthfully termed, in 1834, "the 
 Conspiracy," 1 should combine together in secret societies, 
 the more effectually to carry out their objects. One 
 of the most dangerous of these organizations is the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, which was founded on 
 February 28th, 1855. It began in a very small way, and 
 gradually extended its borders, until it became the most 
 powerful of all the secret organizations connected with the 
 Ritualistic Movement. It began with only six members, 
 of whom three subsequently joined the Church of Rome; 2 ' 
 
 1 Froude's Remains, Vol. I., p. 377. 
 
 2 S. S. C. Master's Address, to May Synod, 1875, p. 3. 
 
BIRTH OF THE S. S. C. 47 
 
 and its founder was the Rev. Joseph Newton Smith/ 5 who 
 still survives. The only other surviving member of the 
 original six is the Rev. A. Poole, Rector of Laindon Hills, 
 Essex. A few others joined the Society during the year 
 1855, °f whom the following are still living: viz., the 
 Rev. John Sidney Boucher, now Rector of Gedding, Bury 
 St. Edmunds (who withdrew in 1877) ; the Rev. Canon 
 Francis H. Murray, Rector of Chislehurst (who withdrew 
 in 1877) ; and the Rev. G. Cosby White, now Vicar of 
 Newland, Malvern Link. It so happens that several of the 
 secret documents of the Society of the Holy Cross have 
 come into my possession, in an honourable and straight- 
 forward manner, and on these my description of the Society 
 is mainly built. I have no more hesitation in making use of 
 these documents than Her Majesty's Government would 
 have in using the secret documents connected with a 
 conspiracy against the State, should they come into their 
 possession. For the early history of its movements I 
 am much indebted to the Master's [the late Rev. A. H. 
 Mackonochie's] Address Delivered to the Society in Synod, 
 on the Festival of the Invention of the Holy Cross, 1870, and 
 privately printed for the use of the brethren only. For 
 the first twelve years of its existence, that is, until 1867, 
 " caution was," said the Master, " enjoined upon the 
 brethren in the matter of mentioning it" (p. 3). This one 
 official statement is alone sufficient to show its secrecy, and 
 how much it dreaded publicity. It has not lost its secret 
 character yet. It so happened that I was at Folkestone 
 during Church Congress week, in October, 1892, and while 
 there I met a clergyman whom I knew to be still a member 
 of the Society. I ventured to ask him — he knew who I was 
 at the time — whether the Society of the Holy Cross had 
 increased in numbers during the past fifteen years ? 
 " Don't you know, sir," was his very emphatic reply, " that 
 
 3 Twenty-one Years in St. George's Mission, p. 18. 
 
48 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the Society of the Holy Cross is a secret Society, and that 
 its members are pledged to secrecy?" "Oh, yes," I rejoined, 
 "I know it very well; but I never before heard it so candidly 
 acknowledged by one of its own members " ! He declined 
 to give me the information asked for, though I should have 
 thought that such a very harmless question might easily 
 have been answered. 
 
 The information which I am now about to give my readers 
 concerning the Constitution of the S. S. C. — as it is commonly 
 called — is taken from its official book, entitled Socictatis 
 Saiictcz Cruris Statuta, which is printed in English, the 
 title alone being in Latin. So fearful is this Society of the 
 Holy Cross lest anyone outside its ranks should see these 
 Statutes, that it is expressly provided (chapter ii., sec. 10, 
 page 4) that when a brother resigns his membership of the 
 Society, he " shall return to the Master his Cross, and the 
 Books of Statutes and Offices." The Cross is one of a 
 peculiar pattern, made expressly for the Society, and is usually 
 worn suspended on the breast, or from the watchchain, so 
 that, as they walk along the streets, the brethren of the 
 S. S. C. may be able to recognise one another as belonging 
 to this secret Society, even though they may not know each 
 other personally. The Books of Statutes and Offices are 
 three in number, viz., the Statuta, already mentioned ; 
 the Preparation for and Thanksgiving after Mass, printed in 
 English ; and the Societatis Sanctce Cruris Officia, which 
 is entirely in Latin, and contains the " Officium Proprium"; 
 the " Ordo ad Synodum " ; the " Formula ad Cruces Bene- 
 dicendas " ; the " Ordo ad Recipiendum Candidatum Electum 
 in Societatem"; the "Ordo ad Fratrem Admittendum," 
 the " Ordo ad Admittendum Fratrem in Kegulam Rubram"; 
 a somewhat similar office for admitting to the " White Rule " ; 
 and an order for admittance into the Roll of Celibates. 
 
 The Society consists (Statuta, chapter i., sec. 1) "of Bishops, 
 Priests, Deacons, and candidates for Holy Orders." "The 
 Objects of the Society" arc, as stated (in chapter i., sec. 2) "to 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS " COMMITTEE OF CLERGY. 49 
 
 maintain and extend the Catholic Faith and Discipline, and 
 to form a special Bond of Union between Catholic Priests : 
 (i) By promoting Holiness of life among the Clergy ; (2) By 
 carrying on and aiding Mission work at Home and Abroad ; 
 
 (3) By issuing and circulating Tracts and other Publications; 
 
 (4) By the exercise of Temporal and Spiritual Charity among 
 the Brethren ; (5) By holding Synods and Chapters for 
 Prayer and Conference ; (6) By common action in matters 
 affecting the interests of the Church ; (7) By correspondence 
 between the Brethren ; (8) By the affiliation of Guilds of 
 Laymen." 
 
 A prominent official of the S. S.C., with whom I had an 
 interview about two years since, informed me that no action 
 whatever has been as yet taken with reference to the last of 
 these objects. With reference to the third of these objects a 
 " Tract Committee " has been formed in the Society, whose 
 work is (chapter vii., sec. 4) " to prepare, procure, revise, 
 adapt, and publish Books and Tracts useful for furthering 
 the objects of the Society." Now it is one of the proofs of 
 the Jesuitical tactics adopted by the S. S. C. that although 
 this Tract Committee has published a considerable number 
 of books and tracts they never make known to the public 
 the fact that they really emanate from the S. S. C. The 
 most advanced Ritualistic doctrines are taught in these 
 publications, which — I am happy to inform my readers — 
 may henceforth be known to them by the statement on the 
 title-page of each — " Edited by a Committee of Clergy." 
 Whenever this is read on the title-page of any book or tract, 
 it may be safely translated into " Society of the Holy Cross 
 Tract Committee." 
 
 The identity of the Society with the " Committee of 
 Clergy " seems to have been kept a profound secret, for 
 some of the brethren appear to have known nothing at all 
 about it. At the September, 1877, Synod, the Rev. Charles 
 Edward Hammond expressed "the surprise he felt on dis- 
 covering that the Tract Committee [of S.S.C.] and the 
 
 4 
 
50 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Committee of Clergy were the same bod}'." 4 At the same 
 Synod the Rev. Robert James Wilson " said that until then 
 he had no idea of the identity of the Tract Committee and 
 the Committee of Clergy." 5 The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie 
 informed the brethren that " the Tract Committee came 
 into existence soon after he became Master. Its work was 
 to bring out Tracts, and it adopted some already in exist- 
 ence. He stated that the Tract called Pardon through the 
 Precious Blood, and the Altar Manual, had been considered 
 clause by clause by the Society." 6 
 
 There are two classes of members, viz., " Brethren " and 
 " Probationers." Both are required to " wear openly the 
 Society's Cross," when " practicable " (chapter ii., sec. 5). 
 This, of course, may be done with safety, since the outside 
 public are not able to identify it. When two brethren meet 
 " the one shall salute the other with the words, ' Pax tibi,' 
 to which the reply shall be, 'Per Crucem; 1 " but it is 
 cautiously provided that these salutations shall not take 
 place " in the company of strangers " (chapter ii., sec. 6). 
 One brother writing to another must begin his letter thus : 
 — " P. T. My Dear Brother"; and end with " ' In 
 D. N.J.C.,' or some corresponding form of subscription" 
 {Ibid., sec. 7). It is provided by chapter ii., sec. 9, that: — 
 " Upon the death of a brother notice thereof shall be given 
 to the Secretary, as soon as possible, by any brother 
 cognizant of it, and the Secretary shall, forthwith, inform 
 the brethren, that they may say Mass for the soul of their 
 brother, either on the day of the funeral, or as soon after as 
 practicable." In this Statute the reader will perceive one 
 proof of the Romanizing character of the Society. 
 
 "Every brother," says chapter ii., sec. 3, "shall be 
 required to attend all the Synods and chapters he can, and 
 positively the two Synods on May 3rd and September 14th 
 
 4 S. S.C. Analysis of Proceedings, September Synod, 1877, p. 23. 
 * Ibid., p. 24. 6 Ibid., p. 24. 
 
SECRET SYNODS AND CHAPTERS. 
 
 51 
 
 (Feasts of the Holy Cross), unless unavoidably prevented, in 
 which case he shall state the reason to the Master, and 
 ask for a Dispensation." These "two Synods/' I may here 
 remark, are held in the Church of St. Peter's, London 
 Docks, with locked doors ; and this has been the case for 
 many years past. Is it not time that the Bishop of London 
 prevented a church in his diocese from being used for secret 
 meetings, where plots are continually being hatched for the 
 destruction of Protestantism ? The brethren are required 
 to maintain strict secrecy as to what takes place in these 
 Synods and Chapters. By chapter vi., sec. 24, it is provided 
 that : — " The Brethren shall be strictly forbidden to divulge 
 the proceedings of the Synods and Chapters, except so far as 
 the publication is authorized by the Society." It is further 
 ordered (Ibid., sec. 8), that : — " The Brethren and Pro- 
 bationers in Synod shall sit vested in Cassock, Surplice, and 
 Biretta, and in Chapter in Cassock and Biretta" These 
 "Chapters" are meetings of the members, held on the 
 second Tuesday of every month, except May and September. 
 They have been held in various places during the history of 
 the Society, including the House of Charity (1855-56) ; the 
 Clergy House, 10, Great Tichfield Street (1856-57) ; the 
 Mission House, Wellclose Square (1857-58) ; and the Clergy 
 House, Crown Street, Soho. Next it shared a room with 
 the Guild of St. Alban's, in Langham Street, from which 
 they moved together to 3, New Boswell Court, Clare Market; 
 and, again, in 1863, to the Clergy House, St. Alban's, 
 Holborn. It was also located for some years in a house in 
 a back street near St. Alban's Church, viz., 5, Greville Street, 
 Brook Street, Holborn, now the head-quarters of the "Guild 
 of St. Martin " for postmen. Its present meeting place I 
 have been unable to discover. In addition to these Synods 
 and Chapters, special District Meetings of the brethren, 
 living in various parts of the country, are held in the 
 provinces from time to time. 
 
 It is ordered that "Before the holding of any Synod, Mass 
 
 4 * 
 
52 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 shall be Celebrated solemnly, with a short Sermon from a 
 Brother, and the Officium Proprium shall be said" (chapter vi., 
 sec. 4). " When the Synod shall extend over two days, a 
 Mass shall be said for Departed Brethren on the second day, 
 in a Church selected by the Master" (sec. 5). Those of the 
 Brethren unable to attend the Synod, are expected, " if 
 practicable, to say Mass for the Intention of the Society" 
 (sec. 6), whenever an opportunity may be given them. It is 
 also directed that " An Analysis of the Proceedings at 
 Synod and Chapter shall be sent by the Secretary to all 
 Officers, and to such Brethren who may desire it " (sec. 21). 
 The Analysis is headed " S. S. C." The greatest care is 
 taken to prevent copies falling into the hands of outsiders. 
 
 " There are," says chapter x., sec. 1, "four progressive 
 degrees of obligation in the Society, termed respectively, the 
 Ordinary, the Green, the Red, and the White Rule." The 
 Ordinary Rule is " binding upon all the Brethren and Proba- 
 tioners. The other three (are) entirely voluntary, but 
 recommended for adoption ; the White Rule being restricted 
 to Celibates." These Celibates are, apparently, considered 
 as the very cream of the Society of the Holy Cross. Their 
 names are kept on a separate list, which is known as the 
 " Celibate Roll." A full list of the Brethren and Probationers 
 of the Society is privately printed every year, for confidential 
 use ; but the " Celibate Roll," so far as I can ascertain, has 
 never been trusted to print. There is a " Vicar " of this 
 Roll. At the May Synod, 1881, the Rev. H. D. Nihill, then 
 Vicar of St. Michael's, Shoreditch, was nominated as 
 " Vicar of the Celibate Roll." In 1895 the Vicar was the 
 Rev. E. G. Wood, Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge. By 
 chapter xviii., sec. 5, "It is recommended that some external 
 Symbol, and by preference a ring, be worn by Brethren of 
 the Celibate Roll." A gentleman with whom I am acquainted, 
 some years since came into the possession of one of these 
 " rings," made of iron — I understand that others are made 
 of silver, and some of gold — and he could not for some time 
 
THE SECRET OATH OF CELIBATES. 53 
 
 make out its use. On looking more closely into it he 
 discovered a very tiny indentation ; but that was all. 
 Wondering very much what it meant, he secured the assis- 
 tance of a powerful magnifying glass, and then discovered 
 within the indentation, the magic words " S. S. C." It was 
 the Celibate Ring of the Society of the Holy Cross ! Each 
 member of this " Roll " takes a vow, or, rather, an oath of 
 celibacy, "for a limited period, or for life" (chapter xviii., 
 sec. i). It is made in Latin, of which the following is a 
 translation : — 
 
 " I, N , profess and promise to Almighty God, Father, Son, 
 
 and Holy Ghost, and to all the Saints, that 1 will lead a life of 
 Celibacy for [so many years, or the rest of his life]. So help me 
 God!" 7 
 
 The regulations for the guidance of the daily life of 
 those attached to the various " Rules " are very minute. 
 Those attached to the "White Rule"— that is, the Celibates 
 ■ — must " say Mass daily " (chapter xvi., sec. 4) ; " frequent 
 the Sacrament of Penance at least monthly " (sec. 7) ; " say 
 daily an office for each of the Hours, Prime, Terce, Sext, 
 None, or Vespers, and Compline " (sec. 8) ; and " make a 
 Retreat each year " (sec. 14). Those attached to the " Red 
 Rule" must "say Mass on all Sundays and other Holy 
 Days" (chapter xiv., sec. 4); "frequent the Sacrament of 
 Penance at least three times a year " (sec. 7) ; observe the 
 " Hours " of Prime, Compline, Sext, and None (sec. 8) ; and 
 "make a Retreat each year" (sec. 15). Those attached to 
 the " Green Rule," must also " say Mass (if practicable) on 
 all Sundays and other Holy Days " (chapter xii., sec. 4) ; 
 "frequent the Sacrament of Penance at least once a year" 
 (sec. 7) ; make a yearly Retreat (sec. 12) ; and daily say 
 a Mid-Day Office and Compline or Family Prayer (sec. 8). 
 Those attached to the " Ordinary Rule," have a lighter set 
 of directions than their brethren. The following "Rules and 
 Usages of the Church " (sic !) are said to be binding on all 
 
 7 S. S. C. Officio,, p. 31. 
 
54 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 who belong to the Society of the Holy Cross, which professes 
 to be unable to grant any " dispensation therefrom " : — 
 
 " I. To Celebrate, or at least to hear i.Iass (if practicable), on all 
 Sundays and other Holy-days. 
 
 "2. To say Mass or Communicate fasting since the midnight 
 preceding. 
 
 "3. To use Sacramental Confession as the conscience requires 
 it." 8 
 
 It will thus be seen that this secret Society of the Holy 
 Cross is officially pledged to maintain much which ordinary 
 loyal Churchmen consider as nothing less than Popery. The 
 Confessional has always been a strong point with the Society. 
 The importance attached to it is further seen in the Chapter 
 of its Statutes devoted to "The Spirit and Discipline of 
 the Society." Section 5 of that Chapter orders that : — 
 
 " The Brethren shall devote themselves diligently to the Science of 
 the Care of Souls, and shall labour in bringing young and old who are 
 under their influence to value duly the Sacrament of Penance." 
 
 We here discover that wherever members of the S. S. C. 
 are found they are expected to act as missionaries of the 
 Confessional, and that not only for the old, but also for the 
 young. It is now many years since the Society, under 
 its Jesuitical disguise of " A Committee of Clergy," issued a 
 series of little " Books for the Young." No. I. of this series (a 
 copy of the fourth thousand of which lies before me) was 
 written for very little children, " six and a half or seven years 
 old." 9 The following extracts from this book will show to 
 my readers the fearful character of the Confessional teach- 
 ing, imparted by the Society of the Holy Cross to very 
 young children : — 
 
 " It is to the priest, and to the priest only, that a child must 
 acknowledge his sins, if he desires that God should foro-ive him. Do 
 you know why ? It is because God, when on earth, gave to His 
 
 8 5. 5. C. Statuta, p. 34. 
 
 9 " Books for the Young." No. I., Confession. Edited by a Committee of 
 Clergy. Fourth thousand, p. 15. 
 
CONFESSIONAL BOOK FOR CHILDREN. 
 
 55 
 
 priests, and to them alone, the Divine power of forgiving men their 
 sins." 10 
 
 " Go to the priest, who is the doctor of your soul, and who cures 
 it in the name of God." 11 
 
 " I have known poor children who concealed their sins in Con- 
 fession for years. They were very unhappy, were tormented with 
 remorse, and if they had died in that state, they would certainly have 
 gone to the everlasting fires of hell " ! ! ! 12 
 
 "This acknowledgement, made in secret, once for all, this acknow- 
 ledgement which the Confessor himself forgets the next minute." 13 
 
 " Whilst the priest is pronouncing the words of Absolution, Jesus 
 Christ pours the torrents of His grace into the soul of the penitent 
 Christian. . . During this time the happy penitent ought to keep 
 himself very humble, very little, at the feet of Jesus, hidden in the 
 priest." 14 
 
 "A little sinner of six and a half or seven years old, if he has sinned 
 seriously, and if he repents and confesses seriously, has as much 
 right to absolution as if he was twenty." 15 
 
 " However painful it is to acknowledge a fault of this kind, it must 
 be bravely confessed, without lessening it 5 it is almost always sins of 
 impurity that weak penitents dare not tell in Confession." 16 
 
 To help on its Confessional work the Society of the Holy 
 Cross possesses a "Penitentiary Committee," whose work is 
 "to advise, when referred to, on Cases of Conscience, and 
 other matters connected with the Sacrament of Penance." 17 
 This Committee forms a consultative body to which Father 
 Confessors throughout the country may apply for advice and 
 help in their work. The latest privately printed list of 
 Members of this Committee which I have seen, is that of 
 1895-96, issued with the official " Roll of the' Brethren and 
 Probationers of the Society of the Holy Cross," in that year. 
 The members of the Committee were then : the Rev. E. G. 
 Wood, Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge ; the Rev. S. G. 
 Beal, Rector of Ronaldkirk, Darlington; the Rev. A. Poole, 
 Rector of Laindon Hills, Romford; the Rev. A. J. Mickle- 
 
 11 Ibid, p. 4. 12 Ibid., p. 4. 
 
 14 Ibid., p. 13. 15 Ibid., p. 15. 
 
 17 S. S. C. Statuta, chapter viii., sec. 4, p. 22. 
 
 10 Ibid., p. 3. 
 13 Ibid., p. 7. 
 16 Ibid., p. 24. 
 
56 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 thwaite, Vicar of St. Luke's, Chesterton, Cambridge 
 (Secretary) ; the Rev. R. A. J. Suckling, Vicar of St. 
 Alban's, Holborn ; and the Rev. T. A. Lacey, Vicar of 
 Madingley, Cambridge. 
 
 It was the Society of the Holy Cross that made itself 
 responsible for that abominable book, written for the 
 guidance of Ritualistic Father Confessors, and known as 
 the Priest in Absolution. This work was issued in two 
 parts, the first of which was published ; and the second 
 issued for private circulation amongst those Father Con- 
 fessors who could be trusted by the S. S. C. The price 
 of Part II. was, to the brethren, 5s 4a 1 , post free. I possess 
 a copy of both parts, which I purchased a few years since, 
 after the work had been exposed in the House of Lords, in 
 1877, by the late Lord Redesdale. My copy contains a 
 cutting, pasted on the inside, from the catalogue of Henry 
 Sotheran & Co., the well-known London second-hand 
 booksellers. After mentioning that the price of this copy 
 was no less than £6. 6s, it is added : — 
 
 " So zealously guarded from public observation (for obvious 
 reasons) is the Priest in Absolution that it is most unlikely that 
 another copy will ever be offered for sale." 
 
 The second part was issued without even the printer's 
 name attached. On the title-page it is stated that the book 
 is " Privately Printed for the Use of the Clergy " ; and it is 
 dedicated : — 
 
 " To the Masters, Vicars, and Brethren, of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross. This volume, begun at their request, and continued amongst 
 many labours and infirmities, with the hope that it may serve to 
 increase piety and devotion, is humbly and affectionately dedicated 
 by an Unworthy Brother Priest." 
 
 The " Unworthy Brother Priest" carefully abstained 
 from putting his name to his book, which was a translation 
 with adaptations, from a filthy French Roman Catholic 
 book, being A Manual for Confessors, by the Abbe Gaume. 
 It so happened that this priest was dead when his translation 
 
THE RETREAT COMMITTEE. 
 
 57 
 
 was exposed in the House of Lords, but it was then made 
 known to the public, for the first time, that his name was the 
 Rev. J. C. Chambers. We shall return to this important 
 event in the Society's history later on. 
 
 The "Retreat Committee" of the S. S. C. has increased 
 its operations very much during recent years. In fact, the 
 Society claims to have been the first to introduce Retreats 
 into the Church of England. The Master of the Society, 
 addressing the Synod of 1870, boasted that " the Retreat 
 Movement" was "begun and fostered by the Society." 18 
 The first Retreat for the Clergy was held during the month 
 of July, 1856, in Dr. Pusey's house at Oxford. It was 
 marked by the secrecy which has ever characterized the 
 movements of the Society of the Holy Cross. The outside 
 public knew nothing at all about it ; and so anxious were its 
 promoters to prevent Churchmen generally from obtaining 
 information, that the late Rev. Charles Lowder, who was 
 present, and who was then a member of the S. S. C, and 
 in charge of its East London Mission, found it necessary, 
 in writing about it confidentially to his mother, to add this 
 caution : — si This account that I have given you is meant to 
 be private, so do not let it go out of the house."™ About seventeen 
 or eighteen clergymen were present at this secret Retreat, 
 which lasted a whole week. " Dr. Pusey has entered," 
 wrote Mr. Lowder to his mother, "very kindly into it, and 
 given us the greatest assistance, besides lodging and boarding 
 us all." 20 The Romish offices of Prime, Terce, and Sext, were 
 used at this Retreat, and several conferences were held by 
 the members, at which various subjects of interest were 
 discussed, including the Confessional. By the Statutes of 
 the S. S. C. it is provided that the Retreat Committee shall 
 " Prepare and publish, as near as practicable to the Least 
 of Epiphany in each year, a list of Retreats, stating the 
 
 18 The Master's Address, 1870, p. 7. 
 
 19 Charles Lowder : A Biography, p. 96. First edition. 30 Ibid., p. 96. 
 
58 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 place where each will be held ; the persons to whom 
 communications may be addressed ; the times at which 
 each will begin and end ; the expense ot living during 
 the Retreat, and the name of the conductor" (chapter 
 vii., p. 21). Now, here it seems as though all secrecy 
 were cast aside, and the utmost publicity required. The 
 Committee shall not only " prepare," but also "publish" the 
 List of Retreats. And yet, notwithstanding this rule, a 
 measure of secrecy is thrown around this List. It is 
 periodically advertised in the Church Times, but no intimation 
 is given that the Retreats have been organized by the 
 Society of the Holy Cross. It would never do to make 
 such a public display of its work, moderate High Churchmen 
 might be thus frightened from taking part in Retreats 
 organized by such a very advanced Society ! Accordingly, 
 a much needed " Economy " and " Reserve " is practised 
 by the authorities. The Confessional is a special feature 
 of these Retreats. The ordinary printer for the S. S. C, 
 Mr. Knott, Brooke Street, Holborn, has published a four- 
 paged tract, entitled Instruction for Retreats, which in all 
 probability is the production of one of the brethren. 
 Those who enter the Retreat are here directed that, before 
 it commences, they should "go to Confession," and "join 
 in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice " ; and they are told : — - 
 " If you have made a Confession in Retreat, go back to 
 your own Director as soon as possible." At these gatherings, 
 whether for the clergy or the laity, for men or for women, 
 the full Romanizing doctrines held by the Ritualists may 
 be — and, I understand, really are — taught with safety, 
 and with a frankness which could not be practised from 
 the pulpit. Loyal Churchmen would do well to avoid 
 Retreats, if they wish to retain their allegiance to the 
 principles of the Protestant Reformation. 
 
 The year following the formation of the Society of the 
 Holy Cross witnessed the starting, by that Society, of " The 
 St. George's Mission," in the East End of London. The 
 
st. George's mission 
 
 59 
 
 Rector of St. George's, at that time, was the late Rev. Bryan 
 King, and he approved heartily, not only of the general 
 principles on which it was proposed to carry on the Mission, 
 but also of that necessary secrecy as to certain parts of 
 the scheme which it was desirable to keep from the 
 knowledge of the public. The first clergyman placed by the 
 Society of the Holy Cross in charge of the Mission was the 
 late Rev. Charles Lowder, and to him, on May 31st, 1856, 
 the Rev. Bryan King wrote as follows : — " Upon the 
 principles of your scheme for the Mission, of course, I quite 
 agree ; as to the time for carrying some of them out, and 
 the Christian Economy and Reserve to be observed {respecting 
 some of them), of course that must be left to the members of 
 the Mission." 21 This Reserve and Economy was particularly 
 shown in the earliest Reports of the " St. George's Mission," 
 in which its Ritualistic character was studiously kept out 
 of sight, and thus, no doubt, many were induced to aid it 
 who would otherwise have withheld their subscriptions and 
 donations on conscientious grounds. It is only fair to add 
 here that this Economy and Reserve is no longer observed 
 in the annual Report of the Mission. It is no longer 
 necessary. The Mission was largely indebted to the 
 assistance and advice of the late Rev. Dr. Pusey. There 
 are several allusions to his help in the Life of Charles Lowder, 
 and it would appear from one of these that Dr. Pusey was 
 at one time himself a member of the Mission. Writing to 
 his father, with reference to the Mission, on May 6th, 1S56, 
 Mr. Lowder said : — " I pray that it may be a good work for 
 the Church ; my desire is to make it a thoroughly Catholic 
 one, a life of poverty, and self-denial, and dedication to 
 God's service, and, if it may be, the revival of a really 
 Religious Order for missionary work — men trained in holy 
 living for the work of winning souls. Dr. Pusey and the other 
 members of the Mission wish me to go, and we have had 
 
 Charles Loader : A Biography, p. 93. Fir^t edition. 
 
60 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 already sufficient promise of support to justify our com- 
 mencement. . . Dr. Pusey has about £150 or £160 at his 
 disposal, which he will give it." 22 On May 16th, 1856, the 
 Rev. Bryan King wrote to Mr. Lowder : — 
 
 " As we are beginning a very eventful experiment in the 
 Church of England, it is most important that we should 
 begin it upon a sound and safe basis. Both you and I may 
 be deceived or biassed : you may regard the Mission too 
 exclusively from your point of view, as of course I may from 
 mine. Send then your letter and this to Dr. Pusey for his 
 counsel; he, in Oxford, has the advantage of consulting far 
 better and wiser heads than yours or mine, learned Canonists 
 and earnest and experienced parish priests. Beg him to draw 
 up an experimental scheme or Constitution for the Mission"** 
 There was a difficulty in securing a licence from the Bishop 
 of London for Mr. Lowder to work in the Mission, and 
 Dr. Pusey was consulted about the difficulty. 2i The late 
 Dean Stanley, and the Archbishop of Dublin (Dr. French) 
 gave help to the Mission from time to time. Even the late 
 Bishop of Oxford (Dr. S. Wilberforce), in less than a year 
 after its foundation, became quite infatuated with the 
 Mission. On May 10th, 1857, he wrote to the Rev. W. J. 
 Butler concerning it : — " 1 quite long to go and cast myself 
 into that Mission." 25 Those dignitaries of the Church 
 would never have given their aid had they been made fully 
 acquainted with the objects of those who controlled the 
 work. How the S. S. C. must have "laughed in their 
 sleeves " at the success of their Jesuitical manoeuvres ! 
 But what will straightforward Englishmen think of them ? 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Lowder wrote a volume entitled Twenty-One 
 Years in S.George's Mission, in which he describes at length 
 the work carried on there. He tells us, amongst other 
 interesting information, that in the Mission work : — 
 
 22 Charles Lowder: A Biography, p. 86. First edition. 
 
 23 Ibid., p. 90. 21 Ibid., p. 99, 
 25 Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. II., p. 341. 
 
THE BISHOP OF LEBOMBO. 
 
 6l 
 
 "When the soul is touched with contrition, and anxious to make 
 her peace with God, we recommend Sacramental Confession, and 
 have reason to be most thankful that this has been our practice from 
 the beginning.'''' 26 
 
 " It is very gratifying to witness the reverence of our worshippers, 
 and to know how many devoutly appreciate the blessings they 
 enjoy in the constant Celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. ... Is it a 
 time of sorrow, the anniversary of a death or funeral ? They fly to 
 the Altar, and ask the Priest who Celebrates, and some of their friends 
 also, to remember before God the soul of their departed one." 27 
 
 The work of the Mission grew more and more Romanizing 
 as the years went on, until at the present time the services 
 are as advanced, if not more advanced, in a Romeward 
 direction, than in any other church in London. The 
 " Thirty-seventh Annual Report," issued in 1893, mentions 
 that during the year 1892 no fewer than 3500 Confessions 
 were heard in the church ; and it is recorded that one of the 
 former clergy of the Mission, " Father W. Edmund Smythe," 
 had been appointed Bishop of Lebombo. In the St. Peter's 
 (London Docks) Parish Magazine , 28 there is published a 
 letter from this gentleman, who is a member of the Society 
 of the Holy Cross (then only Bishop-Designate), dated 
 Isandhlwana, Zululand, November 4th, 1892, in which he 
 describes the opening of a new chapel in South Africa 
 (towards which the S. P. C. K. gave £25), which clearly 
 shows the Romeward tendencies fostered in its past and 
 present workers in East London by the Mission of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross. 
 
 "We can't," writes the Bishop- Designate, "do very much in the 
 way of ceremonial out here of course, but the College students are 
 getting to understand how to do things properly, and so we do our 
 best. We vested in the Chapel and then went round the outside of 
 the building in procession, the Bishop in Cope and Mitre, with two 
 boys to support him, Mr. Gallagher, as Subdeacon, carrying the Cross 
 in front. We had Incense, but not Holy Water ! " 29 
 
 £fi Twenty-one Years in St. George's Mission, p. 48. 2r Ibid., p. 54. 
 
 - 3 The "St. George's Mission" is now popularly known by the name of 
 " St. Peter's, London Docks." 
 
 ^ St. Peter's Parish Magazine, January, 1893, P- 3- 
 
62 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 It is evident from the whole tone of this letter that this 
 S. S. C. Episcopal Brother very much regretted the absence 
 of the " Holy Water" ; but he comforts himself by adding : — 
 " By degrees we shall get more things." At the opening of 
 the chapel he tells us that " High Mass " was celebrated by 
 the Bishop, and then he describes a number of Romish 
 ornaments already in use in the chapel : — 
 
 " It will interest you," he writes, " to know that the Altar Cross 
 is one of the large Crucifixes which Fr. Massiah (another S. S. C. 
 Brother) sent out for me. I have just received an anonymous present 
 from England of some Cruets, one pair of which will go there. We 
 have one Altar Frontal, which the Bishop has given us, and have 
 managed to spare a linen Altar Cloth and some Purificators, &c, from 
 our store at Isandhlwana. There is also a large picture of Our Lady ; 
 so the Chapel is not altogether unfurnished. By degrees we shall get 
 more things." 30 
 
 It may be useful to mention here that the use of Holy 
 Water is spreading considerably amongst the Ritualists. As 
 far back as 1870 it was recommended, in a popular Manual 
 of Devotion, which has had a large circulation amongst 
 members of that party. The title of the book is the 
 Golden Gate, and its author is the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, 
 the well-known writer of novels, and now Rector of Lew 
 Trenchard, Devon. In the service termed the " Last 
 Agony," for a dying person, the author gives the following 
 superstitious directions as to what should be done in the 
 room immediately after death : — 
 
 " The body is then decently laid out, and a light placed before it. 
 A small Crucifix is put in the hands of the deceased upon his breast, 
 while the body is sprinkled with Holy Water." 31 
 
 The Priest's Prayer Book, a large volume which has 
 passed through seven or eight editions, was edited by two 
 members of the Society of the Holy Cross, viz., the late 
 well-known Rev. Dr. Littledale, and the Rev. J. E. Vaux. 
 
 30 St. Peter's Parish Magazine, January, 1893, p. 4. 
 
 31 The Golden Gate, by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Part III., p. 128. Edition, 
 1875. 
 
RITUALISTIC HOLY WATER. 
 
 63 
 
 It provides for the use of the clergy in the Church of 
 England a special form for blessing Holy Water, to which it 
 actually attributes the power of curing bodily diseases, and 
 driving the devil out of people ! Here is the rubric and 
 prayer for this purpose : — 
 
 " He [the priest] shall then bless the water on this wise : — 
 " O God, Who, in ordaining divers mysteries for the salvation of 
 mankind, hast been pleased to employ the element of water in the 
 chiefest of Thy Sacraments : give ear to our prayers, and pour upon 
 this water the might of Thy blessing, that as it serves Thee in those 
 holy mysteries, so by Thy Divine Grace it may here avail for the 
 casting out of devils, and the driving away of diseases ; that whatsoever 
 in the houses or places of the faithful is sprinkled therewith, may be 
 freed from all uncleanness, and delivered from hurt." 32 
 
 In the Master's Address to the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 in 1870, he said : — " The policy of the Society, up to the 
 September Synod of 1867, was that of privacy. Caution 
 was enjoined upon the Brethren in the matter of mentioning 
 it. It was thought, and no doubt wisely, that the first thing 
 to be done was to deepen the inner life of the Brethren 
 before launching out into greater publicity. In view, 
 however, of the Church Congress at Wolverhampton, in 
 the above year, it was determined to reverse this policy, 
 and to distribute broadcast a new paper of the Nature and 
 Objects of the Society, specially drawn up for the occasion. 
 Together with this, was issued a short Address to Catholics 
 and both obtained great publicity." 33 Three years later, 
 the then Master of the S.S.C. in his "Address," said that 
 the Society had " developed from secrecy to the most 
 open publicity, so far as its existence and objects are 
 concerned." 34 It is well for his veracity that the Master 
 
 32 The Priest's Prayer Book, p. 221, seventh edition, issued in 1890. The same 
 form appears in all the subsequent editions, including that still on sale. A 
 similar form for blessing Holy Water is printed in the Day Office of the 
 Church, p. xiii., together with another form for driving the devil out of the 
 water before it is blessed. 
 
 33 The Master's Address, S. S. C, 1870, p. 3. 
 
 34 Ibid., 1S73, p. 4. 
 
64 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 added the saving clause, " so far as its existence and objects 
 are concerned"; because its essential secrecy has continued 
 ever since, and at the present time is even more marked 
 than ever. The Society gives to the public occasionally — 
 very rarely, it should rather be said — a certain amount of 
 information concerning its work, but as recently as its May, 
 1881, Synod, Brother the Rev. William Crouch said that 
 " he thought the secrecy of the Society's doings a mistake/' 35 
 and, as we have already seen, the Statutes of the Society 
 continue to enjoin secrecy on the Brethren. 
 
 The Master of the S. S. C, addressing the May, 1876, 
 Synod, said that the Society "started with its secrecy"-,™ 
 and that "during the first eight years of the Society's life, 
 its Statutes and Rules existed only in Manuscript." 37 He 
 also said that from the formation of the Society, " The bond 
 of union between the Brethren was to be as strict as possible. 
 None but themselves were to know their names, or of the 
 existence of the Society, except those to whom it might 
 be named to induce them to join : but this only with leave of 
 the Society." 38 Care was also enjoined on the Brethren to 
 keep secret even the old documents of the Society, and, if 
 necessary, to destroy them, lest any outsiders should know 
 what was going on in their dark apartments. The Master, 
 addressing the May, 1875, Synod, expressed his feelings of 
 alarm on this point, in the following terms : — "The question 
 has again arisen of the use of Post Cards in writing on 
 Society business. I earnestly hope that the Society will let 
 me press upon each Brother most strongly the undesirability 
 of this practice. In these days there is great strength in a 
 Society like ours being able to keep its private character. 
 At present outsiders know only of our existence ; but each 
 little liberty, such as the use of these Post Cards, opens one 
 more aperture for the entrance of inquisitive eyes. This 
 
 35 5. S. C. Analysis of May Syncd, i88r, p. 24. 
 
 36 The Master's Address, May, 1876, p. 6. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 3. 38 Ibid., p. 3. 
 
THE MASTER ALARMED BY PUBLICITY. 
 
 65 
 
 same principle applies to taking the greatest possible care, 
 either to destroy, or to keep in some safe place, the old Rolls, 
 and other printed matter, such as Acta, Agenda, and Notice 
 Papers." 39 At the September, 1876, Synod, the Master 
 found it necessary to refer again to the subject. " Let me," 
 he said, " urge upon you care with regard to the Statutes, 
 Roll, Acta, and other documents of the Society. A descrip- 
 tion of it from a ' London Correspondent ' appeared a few 
 weeks ago in an Aberdeen newspaper. It was accurate 
 enough to be correct in the names of the Saints to whom 
 two of the local branches are dedicated. If we are to 
 maintain the privacy which has hitherto been our rule, it 
 can only be done by caution/' i0 
 
 At the May Synod, 1870, of the Society, a paper on 
 "The Establishment of an Oratory in London by the 
 Society of the Holy Cross," was read by Brother the 
 Rev. Orby Shipley, who some years later seceded to the 
 Church of Rome. Mr. Shipley was well known as the 
 writer of advanced Romanizing works on various theo- 
 logical subjects, and was a very active supporter of the 
 S. S. C. His paper was during the summer of 1870 
 " Privately Printed for the Society," at its expense, and in the 
 following year was published by him, as an appendix to a 
 book entitled, The Four Cardinal Virtues. The Oratory which 
 he proposed was to be a centre for all the advanced 
 Ritualists of the country, at which they could meet from 
 time to time, and in which the Ritual should be of the 
 most extreme character. 
 
 "Thus we should desiderate," for the Oratory, said Mr. Shipley, 
 " these elements at the least : — The Asperges 5 the 1 Censing of 
 persons and things' or the use of Incense in a Ritual manner ; 
 the correct Introits, Graduals, Offertories, Communions; Gospel 
 Lights ; Consecration Lights on the Altar and Consecration Candles 
 in front of the Altar, in addition to the Six Altar Candles and 
 
 39 [hid., May Synod, 1875, p. 10. 
 
 * The Muster's Address, September Synod, 1876, p. 8. 
 
 5 
 
66 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 two Sacramental Lights ; the use of the Altar Bell ; the Lavabo ; 
 and, of course, the Eucharistic Vestments, for Celebrant, Ministers, 
 Servers, and Acolytes." 41 
 
 In short, the founders of the Oratory, Mr. Shipley said, 
 "would not feel satisfied until they had restored to the 
 Church of England a rendering of the sacred Mass which 
 was fully Mediaeval in the richness, costliness, taste,, and 
 perfection of its details." The Synod decided, after hearing 
 Brother Shipley's paper, that the establishment of such 
 an Oratory was deserving of further consideration. The 
 idea of having such an Oratory in London appears to 
 have been abandoned for a time, but not forgotten. Two 
 years later it was determined to erect such an Oratory, 
 not, however, in the Metropolis, but in the far North, 
 in the city of Carlisle. For this purpose funds were 
 necessary, but it was decided not to make a public appeal, 
 but to set all the Brethren to work privately collecting 
 amongst their friends the necessary pecuniary assistance. 
 Accordingly the late Rev. A. H. Mackonochie wrote 
 letters on the subject to the Brethren, but very much 
 to the annoyance of the secret wire-pullers a copy of 
 one of these letters came into the hands of the editor of 
 the Rock, who published it in his columns, and thus 
 removed the mystery which served as a protection to a 
 dangerous movement, and made known to the public its 
 real objects. Mr. Mackonochie's letter was as follows : — 
 
 " s. s. c. 
 
 "St. Alban's Clergy House, Holborn. 
 
 "May nth, 1872. 
 
 "P. ufr T. 
 
 " My Dear Brother, — The Vicar of the Carlisle Branch has 
 asked me to commend to your notice the following resolution passed 
 at the Synod last week : — 
 
 41 On the Establishment of an Oratory by the S. S. C. Privately printed edition, 
 p. 17. Mr. Shipley stated that the Society as such "is in no way responsible 
 for the opinions" which he expressed in his paper ; but it was certainly read 
 by request of the authorities of the S. S. C, who paid £5. us for printing 
 it, and who did not censure Brother Shipley's opinions. 
 
AN ORATORY AT CARLISLE. 
 
 " ' That the S. S. C. approves of the scheme for the proposed Oratory 
 in Carlisle, and, subject to the necessary funds being raised by 
 private subscription among the Brethren, undertakes to treat for the 
 securing of a site for the purpose.' 
 
 " The Carlisle Oratory is a work which the Synod considered to 
 deserve the utmost attention of the Society — 1. The Carlisle clergy 
 are completely overridden ly an Ullra-Protestant clique, the strength 
 of which lies in the Dean, 43 and a powerful tradition left by the two 
 late Bishops. ... 4. The Bishop is quite willing to encourage work 
 (especially an increase of celebrations), and he has consented to 
 license a Chaplain to the proposed Religious House. 5. There is an 
 earnest demand for the privileges which such a House would afford. 
 A site may be had in the parish of Holy Trinity (the poorest in 
 Carlisle), of which the priest has given his consent to the scheme, 
 but it is of the utmost importance the site should be secured at 
 once. If you will kindly exert yourself among your friends, and send 
 any money you can get at once to Brother the Rev. C. H. V. Pixell, 
 Ski r with Vicarage, Penrith, he will account for it to the Society, in 
 Chapter, and send you a receipt. 
 
 " Believe me, Dear Brother, 
 
 " Yours most truly in our Blessed Lord, 
 
 <f A. H. Mackonochie." 43 
 
 At that time the Rev. T. S. Barrett (now Rector of 
 Teversall, Mansfield), was Rector of St. George's, Barrow- 
 in-Furness, and, being one of the Brethren of the S. S. C, 
 and living in the district, he naturally took a deep interest 
 in the Oratory scheme. In November, 1872, he also made 
 an appeal for furniture for the Oratory, mentioning that, 
 amongst other things, it would require an Altar Cross, 
 Altar Lights, Vesper Lights, Cottas, Cassocks and Stoles, a 
 Sacring Bell, Frontals and Super Frontals, Banners, Flower 
 Vases, &C. 44 These, Ornaments were not then as common as 
 they are now, and that they should be required for the new 
 Oratory was a clear proof that its promoters intended to 
 work on advanced Romanizing lines. But, unfortunately, 
 the public knew nothing about Mr. Mackonochie's letter or 
 
 42 That is, Dr. Close, who was then Dean of Carlisle. 
 
 43 The Rock, July 4th, 1873, p. 448. 
 
 44 Ibid. 
 
 5 * 
 
6S SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Brother Barrett's appeal, until a full six months 'after the 
 Oratory was actually opened, and the mischief done. 
 
 About a month before Mr. Mackonochie's letter was 
 written, anonymous letters were sent to the Protestant Dean 
 of Carlisle (Dr. Close), and these contained intelligence -of 
 such an alarming character that he at once wrote to the 
 Bishop of Carlisle on the subject. The Bishop replied that 
 an application had been made to him to grant a licence for 
 certain clergymen to work in a Carlisle parish, under the 
 " Private Chapels Act." He had taken a legal opinion 
 on the question of his powers to do this, and had been 
 " informed that it would be within the law." " This being 
 so," continued the Bishop, " I said that in the event of an 
 Institution being established upon the scheme described 
 I would give a licence on certain conditions. The chief of 
 these was that I should require to be satisfied that there 
 would be no Ritual developments, contrary to what had 
 been decided to be lawful." 45 Meanwhile, the clergy of 
 Carlisle and neighbourhood had taken alarm, and towards 
 the end of April, 1872, they presented an Address on the 
 subject to the Bishop of Carlisle, signed by no fewer than 
 120 of their number, earnestly asking his lordship to give no 
 encouragement to those who asked his licence for Brethren 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross to officiate in the proposed 
 Oratory. " Should such a step be taken," they said, "the 
 consequences would be most disastrous to the best interests 
 of the Church in this diocese. Schism and division would 
 be multiplied and aggravated, and a permanent feud 
 established in the heart of the Cathedral city." The Bishop 
 was rather in favour of the scheme of the S. S. C, than 
 otherwise, yet he could not ignore the opinions of such a 
 large number of his clergy. So in his reply to their Address 
 he tried to allay their fears, but would make no definite 
 promise either way. And thus the matter rested until the 
 
 45 The correspondence is published in full in the Church Association Monthly 
 Intelligencer, June, 1872, pp. 146-148. 
 
THE DREAD Of A " ROW. 1 * 
 
 6 9 
 
 new Oratory was actually opened in the January of the 
 following year, when another storm of public indignation 
 arose. On January 17th, the Dean once more wrote to the 
 Bishop calling his attention to the reports of the opening 
 ceremony which had appeared in the Carlisle papers, and 
 at which " the high Ritual" was witnessed which " usually 
 characterised " the proceedings of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross ; and he asked the Bishop, " whether the building 
 in question, or the officiating clergyman were licensed " 
 by him, " or whether they have obtruded themselves on the 
 citizens of Carlisle without your Lordship's permission"? 
 To these questions the Bishop replied: — "The services to 
 which you refer have had no sanction from me — unless it be 
 regarded as a sanction that I have taken no active steps in 
 opposition to them." 46 Thus the Society of the Holy 
 Cross triumphed in Carlisle, mainly through a want of 
 firmness on the part of the Bishop, who could easily have 
 inhibited all the brethren, but did not. And so it has been 
 ever since on the part of only too many of the Episcopal Bench, 
 who, rather than permit a "row," have been willing to allow 
 the Romanizing party to have their own way. These Bishops 
 have reversed the Apostolic order which declares that " the 
 wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable " 
 (James iii. 17). The fault has not been confined to our 
 prelates, it has been shared also by both clergy and laity. 
 It would be well if all these timid ones, who love peace more 
 than the purity of the Faith, were to lay to heart the words 
 and act in accordance with the spirit which moved Martin 
 Luther when, at the Diet of Worms, he said : — " It is for me 
 a great joy to see that the Gospel is now, as in ancient days, 
 a cause of trouble and discord. That is the character and 
 destiny of the Word of God. Jesus Christ hath said, 1 1 came 
 not to send peace on earth, but a sword.' God is wonderful 
 and terrible in His counsels ; let us dread lest, in thinking to 
 
 46 Carlisle Journal, January 31st, 1873, from which this correspondence was 
 rcprinteJ in the Church Association Monthly Intelligencer, March, 1873, pp. 20, 21. 
 
70 
 
 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 stop discords, we persecute God's Holy Word, and bring 
 down on our heads a fearful deluge of insurmountable 
 dangers, of present disasters and eternal desolations." 47 
 
 Early in 1S73 a petition was presented to Convocation, 
 signed by 4S3 Ritualistic priests, asking for Licensed 
 Confessors in the Church of England. This petition 
 naturally created a great sensation at the time, and led 
 to many large anti-confessional meetings being held in 
 London and the Provinces ; to an important declaration 
 on the subject by a Committee of the Upper House of 
 Convocation for the Province of Canterbury ; and a 
 discussion in the House of Lords, on July 14th, in the 
 course of which the Marquis of Salisbury denounced 
 habitual confession. " We know," said his lordship, 
 " that besides its being unfavourable to what we believe to 
 be Christian truth, in its result it has been injurious to the 
 moral independence and virility of the nation to an extent 
 to which probably it has been given to no other Institution 
 to affect the character of mankind." Everybody was talking 
 about this daring petition, but not one of the public knew 
 who its real organizers were. The real wire-pullers preferred 
 to remain in the dark, and they were the authorities 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross. On March 14th, 1873, 
 the Rev. A. H. Mackonochie, who was then Master of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, sent out to all the brethren a 
 printed circular letter, enclosing copies of the petition for 
 signature, in the course of which he informed them that 
 " The memorial was presented to the Society in Chapter 
 last month, and again, after a further revision by the 
 Committee, on Tuesday last. It was then adopted, con- 
 sidered clause by clause, a few verbal alterations being left 
 to the final decision of the Committee, and finally agreed 
 to." In the confidence of its secret May, 1873, Synod, the 
 
 47 D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, Book VII., chapter ix., p. 206. 
 Edition, Edinburgh, 1846. 
 
PETITION FOR LICENSED CONFESSORS. 
 
 7 1 
 
 Master of the Society talked freely on the subject. " You 
 are aware," he said, " that it [the petition] was not 
 presented in the name of the Society, and the public papers 
 have shown you that the blame of it is principally laid on 
 me personally. It seems to have done for the Truth much 
 more than the most sanguine expectations of its promoters 
 anticipated, and, if I were entitled to it, I should gladly 
 accept that blame as praise. I am, however, bound to say 
 that it belongs to brethren senior to me, and far more able." 4S 
 It had been organized by a special Committee of the 
 S. S.C., who had collected the signatures. There was 
 certainly something Jesuitical in the way it was managed. 
 The petition asked for many things besides Licensed 
 Confessors, and clearly proves that the Society of the Holy 
 Cross, and large numbers of other Ritualists, are far from 
 satisfied with the existing formularies of the Church of 
 England. The Book of Common Prayer, says this petition, 
 is " manifestly incomplete, through the absence in many 
 particulars of such Services and Rubrics as would give 
 adequate expression to this claim of the Church of England 
 to be Catholic in her doctrine, usage, and ceremonial." This 
 "want of completeness " is considered by the petitioners as 
 a " distinct grievance." They object to any scheme which 
 would " alter the Book of Common Prayer " in what they 
 term " an un-Catholic direction " ; but they are most anxious 
 for a revision of that Book on Romish lines, for they 
 suggest that Convocation should " promote " the " addi- 
 tion " to the Prayer Book of the following matters : — 
 " The doctrines, that is to say, of — 
 
 " I. The Real Presence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the 
 Holy Communion, ' under the form of Bread and Wine/ 
 
 " II. The adoration due to Him there present. 
 
 " III. The Sacrifice which He there offers by the hands of His 
 Priest to the Divine Majesty." 
 
 The petitioners further pray that any " alterations " 
 
 48 The Master's Address, S. S. C, 1873, p. io, note. 
 
72 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 which may be made in the Book of Common Prayer shall 
 include : — 
 
 ''The full provision of the ancient and proper Introits and 
 Graduals, together with the Secreta, Communions, and Post-Com- 
 munions, for Festivals, Sundays, and Ferial Days." 
 
 " That provision may be made for the decent and reverent Reserva- 
 tion of the Blessed Eucharist, and that an Office be prepared for the 
 Communion of the Sick therewith." 
 
 " That the use of Unction may be restored in Holy Baptism and 
 Confirmation, as well as in the Visitation of the Sick, together with 
 the proper Services for the Consecration by the Bishops of the Oils 
 for the said purposes." 
 
 The clause which gave its name to this petition of 
 dissatisfied Ritualists was as follows : — 
 
 " That in view of the wide-spread and increasing use of Sacra- 
 mental Confession, your Venerable House may consider the advisa- 
 bility of providing for the education, selection, and Licensing of duly 
 qualified Confessors, in accordance with the provisions of Canon 
 Law." 
 
 There is one other feature of this petition worthy of 
 special note. It mentions certain usages which, " while 
 they are extensively promoted by or used under Episcopal 
 countenance and sanction, are nevertheless neither expressly 
 nor by necessary implication enjoyned by the Book of 
 Common Prayer" — such as, "The use of solemn and other 
 processions as well in Cathedral and Parish Churches as 
 elsewhere. The formal presentation to Archbishops and 
 Bishops of Croziers and Pastoral Staves, and the ceremonial 
 use thereof. The use of Processional Crosses and Banners, 
 Credence Tables, Chalice Veils, coloured Altar Cloths, and 
 the like." It is indeed noteworthy that the Society of the 
 Holy Cross should thus frankly admit that none of these 
 things have the sanction of the Book of Common Prayer. 
 But, it may well be asked, if not by that authority, by what 
 other authority are they introduced ? 
 
 49 The full text of the petition was published in the Rock, June 6th, 1873, 
 
AN ENCOUNTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. 
 
 7J 
 
 Of course Convocation declined to grant the impudent 
 request of the petitioners. It had neither the power 
 nor the will to do anything of the kind. Whatever official 
 statements on the subject of Confession may have been 
 issued by the Convocations of the Church of England, from 
 time to time, they have never been favourable to the claims 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross. The wish expressed for 
 additions, of a Romanizing character, of services for special 
 occasions, was really an attempt to alter the Constitution 
 of the Church of England, and in such a manner that, 
 if granted, every true lover of the Reformation would 
 have been compelled, by the dictates of his conscience, to 
 leave at once a Church which sanctioned ceremonies of 
 such a Popish and superstitious character. Nothing less 
 than Revision of the Book of Common Prayer on Romaniz- 
 ing lines will ever satisfy the aspirations of the Ritualists. 
 It is sometimes said that we " shall soon have to fight the 
 battle of the Reformation over again." But those who 
 carefully study what is now going on in the Church of 
 England do not look forward to the commencement of 
 such a warfare. They know that the great battle has 
 already commenced. It is an encounter of life and death. 
 Bishops and Statesmen may wilfully shut their eyes to 
 the dangers that surround the Reformed Church, and 
 cry "Peace, peace, when there is no peace," and vainly 
 strive to reconcile the opposing sections. But the attempt 
 is in vain. It is impossible to reconcile Protestantism 
 and Priestcraft, or Sacerdotalism ; nor is such a peace on 
 Christian principles desirable. The end of the struggle 
 must be that either Protestant Churchmen — old-fashioned 
 High Churchmen were not ashamed to call themselves 
 Protestants — must retain their position, and recover the 
 lost property which honestly belongs to them ; or else the 
 Sacerdotalists will oust them out of their rights and out 
 of the Church of England, which will then once more 
 place on itself that fatal chain of Papal bondage which 
 
74 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 has been the curse of every country that has submitted 
 to it. 
 
 It may now be serviceable to take, as it were, a glimpse 
 into a few of the Synods and Chapters of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross, with a view to finding out the kind of 
 business usually transacted at these secret gatherings. For 
 this purpose we shall consult some of the official reports 
 privately printed for the use of the brethren only. We 
 commence with the " Analysis of Proceedings of May 
 Synod, 1874," which, as the document itself records, 
 "was held in St. Peter's Church, London Docks." At 
 10 a.m. on the first day of the Synod, there was a 
 " Solemn Mass " offered. The special subject for discus- 
 sion was "The Sacrament of Penance, its present position, 
 and future prospects in the Church of England." It was 
 opened by a speech from Brother the Rev. H. D. Nihill, 
 who " contended that the great need of the present day 
 was, to set forth the power and dignity of the Sacrament 
 of Penance itself, as apart from all questions of the benefit 
 of Direction, or the comfort of consultation with a 
 clergyman." 
 
 Brother Canon Carter, of Clewer, maintained that before 
 Penance can be regarded " as established on its true 
 grounds, two points must be enforced, neither of which are 
 as yet countenanced by authority — (1) Its Sacramental 
 character, as really conveying grace ; and (2) Its habitual 
 use, as a means of growth of the spiritual life." 
 
 Brother Macfarlane, Vicar of Dorchester, Oxon, spoke 
 of his experience in an agricultural parish. He found that 
 the poor " when in earnest gladly receive the means of 
 reconciliation for sins after Baptism " ; but they " do not 
 come habitually to confession, except in few cases." It is 
 " not so generally welcomed by the tradesmen or farmers." 
 As to the future prospects of the Confessional, that "seems 
 to depend upon the degree of toleration which the Catholic 
 Movement obtains at the hands of our rulers in Church and 
 
SPEECHES AT A SECRET SYNOD. 
 
 75 
 
 State. If the Catholicity of the Church of England is 
 preserved, the Sacrament of Penance must daily gain 
 ground." He recommended the establishment of a " Chair 
 of Moral Theology." 
 
 Brother the Rev. Charles Lowder thought they " must 
 be prepared to show that Confession is neither unmanly 
 nor un-English " — which was, I should think, a somewhat 
 formidable task to undertake. 
 
 Brother the Rev. Rhodes Bristow, now Canon Mis- 
 sioner of the Diocese of Rochester, and Rector of St. Olave, 
 Southwark, said that he valued the freedom accorded by the 
 Church of England. We must, he said, " strive to raise the 
 Sacrament of Penance to its due position, but we must be 
 careful to do so as English Churchmen." 
 
 Brother the Rev. James Dunn, now Vicar of St. John the 
 Baptist, Bathwick, Bath, " spoke of the difficulty felt by 
 old people in going to confession to young priests. He 
 suggested that more experienced priests should visit country 
 parishes from time to time for the purpose of hearing 
 Confessions." 
 
 Brother the Rev. H. P. Denison, now Vicar of St. 
 Michael and All Angels', Notting Hill, "distinguished 
 between voluntary and compulsory Confession. He 
 maintained that the Church of England puts a man upon 
 his honour to confess his mortal sins before Communion." 
 
 Brother the Rev. C. Bodington, now Canon of 
 Lichfield, and Diocesan Missioner, lamented that " Our 
 people do not realize what the Sacramental system of the 
 Church is. If we get them to understand this, they 
 will quickly see that, without Confession, there is a link 
 missing." 
 
 Brother the Rev. R. C. Kirkpatrick, Vicar of St. 
 Augustine's, Kilburn, " expressed a wish that country 
 brethren would make it known that they were ready to hear 
 Confessions." 
 
 The Synod next proceeded to consider a pamphlet by 
 
j6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Brother the Rev. E. G. Wood, now Vicar of St. Clement's, 
 Cambridge, on " Jurisdiction in the Confessional," in the 
 course of which he maintained that every Rector, Vicar, or 
 Perpetual Curate of a parish " can, without license of the 
 Bishop, give to another priest jurisdiction to hear the 
 Confessions of all who may come to him at the church or 
 other place, within the parish, appointed for the hearing of 
 Confessions." 50 
 
 Brother F. W. Puller, now Head of the " Cowley 
 Fathers," " maintained that we should be careful to find out 
 when our Absolutions are valid ;" but it does not appear 
 that he told his brethren how this difficult question was to 
 be solved. 
 
 A discussion next took place as to the alteration of the 
 fourth of the Society's Statutes, in which Brother W. M, 
 Richardson (now Bishop of Zanzibar) ; Brother T. Outram 
 Marshall (now Organizing Secretary of the English Church 
 Union) ; Brother Bagshawe; Brother F. H. Murray (Rector 
 of Chislehurst) ; and Brother G. A. Jones (Vicar of St. Mary's, 
 Cardiff)? took part. This closed the first day's proceedings 
 of the Synod, at which one hundred and thirty-six brethren 
 were present. 
 
 On the second day of the Synod, a "Mortuary Mass" was 
 offered for the dead brethren at 9 a.m. I need not summarize 
 the discussions on this occasion, further than to state that 
 the subjects considered included the revision of the Statutes 
 of the Society, the results of the London Mission, the 
 position of the Ritualistic clergy in view of ecclesiastical 
 proceedings against them, and the Public Worship Regula- 
 tion Bill, then before the country. It is important, however, 
 to record that Brother N. Dawes (now Bishop of Rock- 
 hampton, Queensland), who had become a Probationer of 
 the Society of the Holy Cross in 1872, was at this Synod 
 promoted to the ranks of the Brethren. 
 
 50 Jurisdiction in the Confessional, by the Rev. Edmund G. Wood, m.a., 
 p. 15. Printed for the Society. 
 
SPEECHES AT A SECRET SYNOD. 77 
 
 The September, 1874, Synod met as usual in St. Peter's, 
 London Docks. On the first day, after the " Solemn Mass" 
 and the preliminary business had been transacted, a number 
 of letters from absent brethren were read. Brother 
 Hutchings (now Archdeacon of Cleveland) wrote, " expres- 
 sing a hope that in Ritual, S. S. C. would move in the 
 direction of the Roman rather than the Sarum Use." 
 Brother J. E. Stocks (now Vicar of St. Saviour's, Leicester) 
 also wrote with reference to a motion by Brother Bodington. 
 After this the Synod discussed the following subject : — ■ 
 "That the action of the Society in 1868-9, committing itself 
 to the principle of the Roman Ritual, be reconsidered." 
 
 Brother Linklater (now Vicar of Holy Trinity, Stroud 
 Green) urged that " the Society should leave the brethren 
 free in the matter of Ritual." He personally preferred the 
 Sarum Use. 
 
 Brother Bristow, Canon Missioner of St. Saviour, South- 
 wark, " hoped that the Roman Use would still prevail." 
 
 Brother C. Parnell (Curate of St. Bartholomew, Brighton) 
 declared that he " would follow the Roman Ritual at the 
 services of the Society, while individual brethren might 
 follow their own bent." 
 
 Brother E. M. Chaplin " advocated the use of the Roman 
 Rite, both for accuracy and uniformity." 
 
 Brother J. B. Powell (now Curate of St. Paul's, Knights- 
 bridge, London) "was strongly in favour of the Sarum 
 Use, but hoped that liberty would be granted by the 
 Society to use either form." 
 
 Brother N. Green- Army tage (now Perpetual Curate of the 
 Chapel-of-Ease, Boston), Brother Grieve (now dead), and 
 Brother C. E. Hammond (now Vicar of Menheniot, 
 Cornwall), would all "leave the brethren free." 
 
 Eventually it was decided to appoint a special Committee 
 to consider the question more fully. Brother Bishop 
 Jenner, it should be added, moved the following amend- 
 ment, which was lost : — " That in the regulations hitherto 
 
78 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 laid down, the Society does not intend to bind the brethren 
 to the adoption of the principle of any particular Rite." 
 
 The next subject considered by the Synod was " The 
 Present Constitution and Reform of Convocation." 
 
 Brother Rhodes Bristow " reminded the brethren that 
 Convocation might step in to-morrow, and take away our 
 locus standi altogether." 
 
 Brother Charles Lowder said that " while Convocation 
 needs much reform, it is the Assembly which, by God's 
 providence, is the representative of the Church. We should 
 welcome the co-operation of the faithful laity, as in Diocesan 
 Conferences, while refusing to give them equal power to 
 that of the clergy." 
 
 Brother Orby Shipley gave as "his opinion that 
 Convocation is not the sacred Synod of the Church." 
 
 Eventually it was decided that "The Master be requested 
 to communicate to the President of the English Church 
 Union the opinion of the Society," which was that the 
 Union should issue special Tracts on the subject of 
 Convocation. 
 
 On the second day of the Synod (September 16th) after 
 the " Mortuary Mass " had been offered, it was proposed 
 by Brother Bagshawe (now dead), seconded by Brother 
 Rhodes Bristow, and carried unanimously : — " That the 
 Roll of the Brethren be referred to the Master's Council 
 before it is republished." This motion led to a speech by 
 Brother Bagshawe, which shows in a very marked manner, 
 how much the Society of the Holy Cross dreads the light 
 of day. He said that "we should be most careful to preserve 
 the strictly private and confidential character of the Roll, but 
 in the event of a copy falling into hostile hands it is most 
 important that all the Brethren, whose names are therein 
 printed, should be staunch and true to S. S. C." At that 
 time the names of the members were quite unknown to the 
 public, and it was not until 1877 that a copy of the Roll fell 
 into the hands of the Editor of the Rock, who at once 
 
THE "ROLL" OF THE S. S. C. 
 
 79 
 
 published it in his paper. The publication caused the 
 utmost consternation in the ranks of the S. S. C, and, 
 coming as it did immediately after the exposure of its 
 Confessional book, the Priest in Absolution, in the House of 
 Lords by the late Lord Redesdale, it led to the secession of 
 nearly one-half of its members, who suddenly left the 
 Society in a fright as soon as their identity was discovered. 
 The Roll of the S. S. C. for 1895-96 has printed on its 
 outer cover, and again on its title-page, the following 
 significant directions, which clearly show how anxious 
 the Society still is that the names of its brethren shall be 
 kept secret : — 
 
 " Private and Confidential. To l-e returned to the Secretary ly 
 any brother leaving the Society ; or ly the representatives of a deceased 
 Brother." 
 
 The Society of the Holy Cross still continues to exist, and 
 its energies are as great as ever. But its secrecy is greater 
 than ever. Amongst its members are the Bishops of 
 Zanzibar and Lebombo, and many of the most prominent 
 of the Ritualistic clergy. So carefully are its papers — 
 generally headed with the letters " S. S. C." — kept, that I 
 have been unable to get any reports of its Synods and 
 Chapters dated later than i88t, with the important 
 exception of a recent Roll of Brethren. If any of my readers 
 are in a position to supply me with any of the more recent 
 papers of the Society I shall be thankful, in order that I may 
 use them in any later edition of this book which may be 
 called for. . I have, however, some reason for believing that 
 a few years since a serious schism took place in its ranks, 
 and that the seceders have formed themselves into another 
 Society, whose name I have been unable to discover. 
 Nearly all the old members, whose names appeared in the 
 Roll for 1880, have disappeared in the more recent Roll 
 which I possess. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE SECRECY OF THE RITUALISTIC 
 
 CONFESSIONAL. 
 
 The Confessional always a secret thing — Confessional Scandal at Leeds — 
 Dr. Pusey on the Seal of the Confessional — Ritualistic Sisters teach girls 
 how to confess to priests — Secret Confessional books for penitents — 
 Dr. Pusey revives the Confessional — Four years later writes against it 
 — He hears Confessions in private houses — His penitent's "burning 
 sense of shame and deceitfulness " — Bishop Wilberforce's opinion 
 of Dr. Pusey — A Ritualistic priest's extraordinary letter to a young 
 lady — How Archdeacon Manning heard Confessions on the sly — "A 
 hole and corner affair." 
 
 URICULAR Confession is always a secret thing. 
 
 Both penitent and Father Confessor are expected 
 to respect the secrecy of the Confessional. Were 
 it a public transaction it would lose its attraction to a 
 certain class of minds, and the power of the priest would 
 cease to exist. It gives to the priest a power over the 
 penitent which nothing can destroy but the grace of God. 
 " I could never bear to meet him in the street," was the 
 exclamation of a poor woman who had gone to Confession 
 to her Vicar for more than a dozen years, but who, when I 
 knew her, had learnt to be content with confessing her sins 
 to Jesus Christ, and receiving direct from Him His all- 
 sufficient absolution. She told me that whenever she saw 
 her Father Confessor coming down the street towards her, 
 she always went down a side street to avoid meeting him. 
 The obligation of silence on the part of the penitent is thus 
 
CONFESSIONAL SCANDAL AT LEEDS. 
 
 81 
 
 taught in a widely circulated little book, edited by the Tract 
 Committee of the secret Society of the Holy Cross : — 
 
 " There is a mutual obligation between the Confessor and the 
 person making Confession, to keep secret what is said. He is 
 solemnly bound to secrecy, and you also are bound to observe a 
 reverent and religious silence upon what has been said. Be very 
 careful yourself on this point. If you talk about what has passed in 
 Confession, the priest may get the blame of its being known." 1 
 
 The Confessional frequently interferes with the confidence 
 which should exist between husband and wife. The wife 
 will tell her Father Confessor things which she would not 
 dare to mention to her husband ; nor would she be expected 
 ever to repeat to him the secret conversations between herself 
 and her Confessor. An illustration of this took place in a 
 Puseyite Church at Leeds, as far back as 1850. The Bishop 
 of Ripon (Dr. Charles T. Longley, afterwards Archbishop of 
 Canterbury) held an official and public inquiry as to a 
 Confessional scandal connected with the Church of St. 
 Saviour's, Leeds. After the inquiry he wrote, and published, 
 a letter to the Vicar, the Rev. H. F. Beckett, from which I 
 take the following extract : — 
 
 " It appeared in evidence," wrote the Bishop, "which you did not 
 contradict, and could not shake by any cross-examination, that 
 Mr. Rooke, who was then a Deacon, having required a married 
 woman who was a candidate for Confirmation to go for Confession 
 to you as a priest, you received that female to Confession under these 
 circumstances, and that you put to her questions which she says made 
 her feel very much ashamed, and greatly distressed her, and which 
 were of such an indelicate nature that she would never tell her 
 husband of them." 2 
 
 Instead of trying to place the matter before Dr. Longley 
 in a more favourable light, Mr. Beckett's reply to the 
 
 1 Pardon Thyough the Precious Blood, edited by a Committee of Clergy, 
 p. 31. Fifty-fourth thousand, 1883. 
 
 2 A Letter to the Parishioners of St. Saviour's, Leeds, by the Bishop of Ripon, 
 p. 37. London, 1851. 
 
 6 
 
82 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Bishop seemed to make the case even darker against himself, 
 for he declared : — 
 
 " Your lordship cannot but see that Mrs. 's not mentioning 
 
 what had passed between her and myself to her husband is nothing 
 at all to the purpose, since no woman would, I suppose, ever tell 
 
 HER HUSBAND WHAT PASSED IN HER CONFESSION." 3 
 
 On the part of the Ritualistic Father Confessor, secrecy 
 must be observed, no matter what the consequences may 
 be. Rather than divulge the secrets entrusted to him the 
 Confessor is recommended by the Rev. Dr. Pusey to resort 
 to that which common-sense people would call lying and 
 perjury. 
 
 " No Confessor," writes Dr. Pusey, u should ever give the slightest 
 suspicion that he is alluding to what he has heard in the tribunal ; 
 but he should remember the canonical warning : * What I know 
 through Confession, I know less than what I do not know.' Pope 
 Eugenius says that what a Confessor knows in this way, he knows it 
 * ut Deus ' 5 while out of Confession he is only speaking * ut homo ' : 
 so that, ' as man,' he can say that he does not know that which he 
 has learned as God's representative. I go further still: "As man he 
 may swear with a clear conscience that he knows not, what he knows 
 only as God.' " 4 
 
 This is fearful teaching. Imagine the Confessor in an 
 English Court of Justice. He is sworn to " tell the truth, 
 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth " concerning the 
 charge against the prisoner at the bar. He is asked, " Did 
 the prisoner ever tell you that he stole those boots ?" The 
 Confessor has heard from the prisoner, in the Confessional, 
 a full acknowledgment of his guilt, yet when asked this 
 question, he may, according to Dr. Pusey, " swear with a 
 clear conscience that he knows not, what he knows only as 
 God." There is another alternative which Dr. Pusey does 
 not advise the Confessor to adopt. He might respectfully 
 
 8 A Lcticv to the Parishioners of St. Saviour's, Leeds, by the Bishop of Ripon, 
 p. 38. London, 1851. 
 
 4 Vusey's Manual for Confessors, "Adapted to the Use of the English Cliurch," 
 p. 402. 
 
RITUALISTIC SISTERS AND THE CONFESSIONAL. S3 
 
 but firmly decline to answer concerning what he had heard 
 in the Confessional, and then take the consequence like a 
 courageous and honest man. But, instead of this, he is 
 recommended to " swear," calling God's holy name to 
 witness to the truth of a statement which he knows is a lie, 
 and an abominable perjury! Is this the kind of teaching 
 which ought to be given to the clergy of the Reformed 
 Church of England ? The book which contains it is a 
 standard authority with Ritualistic Father Confessors. 
 
 Every effort is made by Ritualistic Confessors to bring 
 young children, as well as adults, to the Confessional, even 
 at a very tender age. Dr. Pusey teaches that it is " the 
 ordinary and right custom among the faithful to bring 
 young children to Confession from the time they are seven 
 years old ; and it is a great negligence of parents to omit 
 doing so." 5 Sisters of Mercy sometimes help to bring the 
 children to Confession. The " Sisters of the Church," other- 
 wise known as the " Kilburn Sisterhood," and sometimes as 
 the " Church Extension Association," have published several 
 little books to teach little ones how to Confess to Priests. 6 
 The Sisters of St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, are expected 
 to urge the girls under their care to make a full and complete 
 Confession of their sins. Here are their instructions on this 
 point, being the advice to them of their Founder and Father 
 Confessor, the late Rev. Dr. Neale, as contained in their 
 privately printed book, entitled, the Spirit of the Founder. 
 Dicit Fundator. 
 
 " And this I say not so much about you, as about the confirmed 
 girls. ^Whoever of you prepare these for their Communions, this 
 above all things teach them, the great danger of a sacrilegious Con- 
 fession : the utter uselessness as well as wickedness of each succeeding 
 one, while that first sin remains unwiped out. And this more 
 especially, that if any one of them leaves us in that state, in all 
 
 6 Ibid., p. 159. 
 
 6 Such as their Manual for the Children of the Church, which has passed through 
 several editions, but was suppressed when publicly exposed. It is also taught 
 in several of their " Catechisms.'' 
 
 6 * 
 
84 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 human probability she will never come out of it. Because, even 
 granted that she is pressed about Confession, after she has gone out 
 into the world, the sin will grow more and more terrible to look at : 
 and if she kept it back from her first priest, small chance is there 
 that she will have courage to make it known to a second." 7 
 
 It is not uncommon for Ritualistic Father Confessors to 
 circulate privately printed Manuals of Confession, for the use 
 of children as well as adults. I have come across several of 
 these. One is entitled A Manual of Confession for Children. 
 "Translated and Adapted from the French. By a priest of 
 the English Church. Privately printed." Even the printer's 
 name is not given. As a specimen of the awful teaching 
 thus imparted to our little ones, I quote the following from 
 this Manual : — ■ 
 
 " A good Confession ought not only to be humble and sincere, but 
 also full. You must tell your Confessor all the sins you can 
 remember. For if you hide one sin on purpose, you lie to God ; you 
 would be guilty of a great crime ; and you would not even receive the 
 pardon of those sins which you have confessed." 8 
 
 When the practice of Auricular Confession was revived, 
 about five years after the birth cf the Tractarian Movement, 
 great care was taken in keeping secret the numerous little 
 books of devotion and manuals for Confession circulated 
 amongst the Tractarians. The author of Five Years in a 
 Protestant Sisterhood, and Ten Years in a Catholic Convent, 
 published in 1869, relates her own experience in this matter, 
 some fifteen years after Auricular Confession had been re- 
 introduced. After mentioning some particulars concerning 
 one of her lady friends, she proceeds : — ■ 
 
 " We drove out together frequently, and from her I learned much 
 of the habits and customs of the High Church party. She had all the 
 little books of doctrine, which at that time had been 'adapted ' from 
 ' foreign sources 5 ' all the little wonderful compilations about ' How 
 to Prepare for a First Confession,' ' Prayers for the Penitential 
 
 7 The Spirit of the Founder, p. 24. Privately printed for the use of the Sisters 
 of St. Margaret's, East Grinstead. 
 
 8 A Manual of Confession for Children, p. 12. Privately printed. 
 
DR. PUSEY REVIVES THE CONFESSIONAL. 85 
 
 Seasons,' 1 Devotions for the Holy Eucharist,' 1 Hours for the Use of 
 Members of the English Church,' which were ' privately printed,' 
 and handed about with a thousand injunctions to secrecy, from one to 
 another of the initiated." 9 
 
 To the late Dr. Pusey is due the blame of reviving Auricular 
 Confession in the Church of England. He commenced 
 hearing Confessions in 1838. In 1850 Dr. Pusey wrote : — ■ 
 " It is now some twelve years, I suppose, since I was first 
 called upon to exercise this office" — of Father Confessor, 10 
 that is, in 1838. Again, in 1851 he wrote to the Bishop of 
 Oxford: — "What I say of Confession, I say upon the 
 experience of thirteen years." 11 In a letter which he wrote 
 to the Times, November 29th, 1866, Pusey remarked : — ■ 
 " During the twenty -eight years in which I have received Con- 
 fessions, I never had once to refuse Absolution." Twenty- 
 eight years from 1866 brings us back again to 1838. It 
 seems almost incredible that four years after that date 
 Dr. Pusey wrote a learned and thoroughly Protestant treatise 
 to prove that in the early Church not a single trace can be 
 found of private Confession to priests, with a view to thus 
 obtaining God's pardon for sins ! This appeared in 1842, 
 in the form of lengthy " Notes " to the works of Tertullian, 
 in the Library of the Fathers, extending from page 376 to 
 page 408. In these notes Dr. Pusey quotes with decided 
 approval the opinions of St. Chrysostom on the subject of 
 Confession : — 
 
 "There could," wrote Dr. Pusey, "if Romanists would fairly 
 consider this, be no way in which Confession to God alone, exclusive 
 of man, could bs expressed, if not here. S. Chrysostom says, ' to 
 God alone,' 4 apart in private,' 'to Him Who knoweth beforehand,' 
 ' no one knowing,' 1 no one present save Him Who knoweth,' ' God 
 alone seeing,' ' unwitnessed,' * not to man,' ' not to a fellow-servant,' 
 1 within,' 'in the conscience,' 'in the memory,' 'Judging thyself (in 
 lieu of the Priest being the Judge), 'proving ourselves, each himself, 
 
 9 Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood, and Ten Years in a Catholic Convent, 
 p. 15. London : Longmans, 1SC9. 
 
 10 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 269. U Hid., p. 335. 
 
86 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 not the one to the other,' ' in Church, to God ' (i.e., in the General 
 Confession). Accordingly, one Romanist writer boldly pronounces 
 all these passages spurious ; and (since they are unquestionable) 
 another of great name, Petavius, condemns them as ' being uttered 
 in a declamatory way to the ignorant multitude for the sake of 
 impressiveness.' But certainly, poor as such an excuse would be for 
 what, according to Romanists, is false teaching, the passages are too 
 numerous and too uniform to admit of it ; they manifestly contain 
 S. Chrysostom's settled teaching,' and Petavius condemns them as 
 f devoid of sound meaning, if fitted to the rule of the exact truth.' " 12 
 
 Dr. Pusey thus summarized the whole question from an 
 historical point of view : — 
 
 " The instances, then, being in each case very numerous, the 
 absence of any mention of Confession in the early Church under the 
 following circumstances, does, when contrasted with the uniform 
 mention of it in the later, put beyond question that at the earlier 
 period it was not the received practice." 13 
 
 Who would have thought that the man who thus held up 
 to the admiration of English Churchmen the teaching of 
 St. Chrysostom, of " Confession to God alone, exclusive of 
 man," was at the very moment hearing Confessions himself, 
 and had been hearing them for four years previously ! The 
 utmost caution was exercised by Dr. Pusey in his Con- 
 fessional work, and his very great dread of publicity led to 
 practices which were anything but straightforward. His 
 underhand proceedings disgusted some of even his warmest 
 friends. As early as 1850, the Rev. W. Maskell, one of his 
 disciples who subsequently seceded to Rome, published 
 a Letter to Dr. Pusey, in which he exposed his secret 
 Confessional tactics : — 
 
 " What, then," wrote Mr. Maskell, " let me ask, do you conceive 
 that the Bishop of Exeter would say, of persons secretly received [to 
 Auricular Confession] against the known wish of their parents, of 
 Confessions heard in the houses of common friends, or of clandestine 
 correspondence to arrange meetings, under initials, or in envelopes 
 
 12 " Library of the Fathers." Tertullian, p. 401. Oxford : J. H. Parker, 1842. 
 
 13 Ibid., p. 405. 
 
penitents' burning sense of degeitfulness. 87 
 
 addressed to other persons? — and more than this, when such 
 Confessions are recommended and urged as a part of the spiritual 
 life, and among religious duties ; not in order to quiet the conscience 
 before receiving the Communion. Think not that I write all this to 
 give yon unnecessary pain ; think not that I write it without a feeling 
 of deep pain and sorrow in my own heart. But there is something 
 which tells me, that, on behalf of thousands, this matter should now 
 be brought before the world plainly, honestly, and fully. I know 
 how heavily the enforced mystery and secret correspondence regarding 
 Confessions, in your Communion, has weighed down the minds of 
 many to whom you and others have 'Ministered.' I know how 
 bitterly it has eaten, even as a canker, into their very souls : I know 
 how utterly the specious arguments which you have urged, have failed 
 to remove their burning sense of shame and deceitfulness " (p. 21). 
 
 We get a further peep into Dr. Pusey's cautious mode of 
 hearing Confessions, in Miss Cusack's (" The Nun of 
 Kenmare ") Story of My Life. This lady, in her early life, 
 before her secession to Rome, was an inmate for some years 
 of one of Dr. Pusey's sisterhoods. 
 
 "It was," writes Miss Cusack, " notable that no matter what the 
 Doctor [Pusey] thought or said about the necessity of availing oneself 
 of the ' Sacrament ', he was very careful to whom he administered it. 
 Further, it was well known that he administered the Sacrament of 
 Confession, for the most part, in open defiance of the Bishop of the 
 Diocese, where lie met his penitents, literally, 'on the sly.' I believe 
 that the secrecy, and concealment, and devices which had to be used 
 to get an audience with the Doctor, for the purpose of Confessing, 
 had a little, if it had not a good deal, to do with his success. The 
 lady (few men went to Confession) who availed herself of the 
 privilege, or who could obtain it, was looked upon with more or less 
 holy envy, and felt correspondingly elated." 14. 
 
 It was at about this time that Dr. Pusey compiled, and 
 secretly circulated, his Hints for a First Confession. Since 
 his death they have been given to the world in the ordinary 
 way, but for a period of upwards of thirty years after these 
 Hints were first printed, I cannot find the slightest reference 
 
 14 The Story of My Life, by M. F. Cusack, "The Nun of Kenmare," 
 p. 63. London, 1891. 
 
88 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 to them in any newspaper, biography, or any published 
 book whatever. The world for that long period knew 
 absolutely nothing about this little book, which all the while 
 was working untold spiritual mischief in the Church of 
 England. The teaching contained in these Hints was of a 
 thoroughly Romanizing character. Here is an extract from 
 the book, in proof of what I have said : — 
 
 " A Confession [i.e., to a priest] avails which contains all you can 
 recall. If other sins come back to your mind afterwards, which you 
 would have confessed had you remembered them, they should be 
 confessed afterwards, because the forgiveness is conditional upon the 
 completeness of the Confession. Completeness implies that there 
 should be care and faithfulness in discovering sins, and that nothing 
 so discovered should be kept back.*' 16 
 
 The High Church Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Samuel Wilber- 
 force) was justly indignant with Dr. Pusey, when he fully 
 realized the thoroughly Romanizing character of his 
 Confessional work. For this, and for issuing " adapted" 
 editions of Roman Catholic books, Bishop Wilberforce 
 inhibited him, in November, 1850, from officiating in the 
 diocese of Oxford, and did not remove the inhibition until 
 nearly two years had passed by. On November 30th, 1850, 
 the Bishop wrote to Dr. Pusey : — 
 
 " You seem to me to be habitually assuming the place and doing 
 the work of a Roman Confessor, and not that of an English clergy- 
 man. Now, I so firmly believe that of all the curses of Popery this 
 is the crowning curse, that I cannot allow voluntarily within my 
 charge the continuance of any ministry which is infected by it." 1(5 
 
 If the Bishops of the present day would only act as Bishop 
 Wilberforce did, they would, unfortunately, find their hands 
 full of this kind of work. The Confessional is now taught 
 (in quite as Romish a form as that which was condemned by 
 him) by thousands of nominally Church of England clergy- 
 men, who glory in what Dr. S. Wilberforce so truly termed 
 
 15 Hints for a First Confession, by Dr. Pusey, p. 14. Edition, 1884. 
 lc Life of Bishop S. Wilberforce, Vol. II., p. 90. 
 
"the very secret stealthy way." 
 
 89 
 
 " the crowning curse " of Popery. Had the Bishops done 
 their duty this " curse" would have been stamped out long 
 ago. 
 
 A few other typical illustrations of the secrecy of the Con- 
 fessional may here be added, out of many more which could 
 easily be brought forward ; the first from the year 1847 ; 
 the second from the year 1853 ; and the third from 1872. 
 The author of that well-known book, From Oxford to Rome, 
 published in 1847, an( ^ written by one who was in full 
 sympathy with the Tractarian Movement, informs us : — 
 
 " Confession the young Anglican has been accustomed to regard as 
 one of his secret privileges. Scarcely ever spoken of, even in the most 
 confidential intercourse, it is yet practised very extensively, and, as we 
 believe, most beneficially, in the English Church." 17 
 
 This is an important testimony, as coming from one who 
 believed in the Confessional, and was not ashamed to acknow- 
 ledge the mystery which surrounded its practice in his time. 
 
 The second instance is connected with the experience of 
 the Rev. Lord Charles Thynne, who was for several years a 
 clergyman in the Church of England, but seceded to Rome 
 in 1853. After taking this decisive step his lordship addressed 
 a lengthy letter to his late parishioners, giving his reasons 
 for leaving the Church of England. The secrecy practised 
 by the Tractarians with regard to Auricular Confession was 
 one of those reasons. 
 
 " I believe," wrote Lord Charles Thynne, u that in order to obtain 
 the remission of our sins by Absolution, it was necessary to confess 
 them to some one possessed of authority to receive Confessions, and 
 to give Absolution. I believe this to be necessary for all who have 
 fallen into sin after Baptism. But when I had recourse to the only 
 means within my reach, when I was a member of the Church of 
 England, I was pained by the very secret stealthy way in which alone 
 ?ny necessities could be met, showing that so far as the Church of 
 England was concerned there was something unreal and unauthorized 
 in the act." 18 
 
 17 From Oxford to Rome : and how it fared with some who lately took the Journey, 
 p. 205. London: Longmans, 1847. 
 13 Browne's Annals of the Tractarian Movement, p. 296. Third edition. 
 
go SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 The next illustration contains the unwilling testimony of a 
 Ritualistic Father Confessor himself. At a meeting for the 
 election of Proctors to Convocation, held at Durham, 
 February igth, 1874, the late Rev. G. T. Fox, a clergyman 
 of high personal character, read to the audience a letter 
 written by the Rev. Charles Jupp, a Ritualistic Father 
 Confessor, to a young lady, making an appointment with her 
 to receive her confession. The following was the letter 
 read : — 
 
 " Houghton-le-Spring. May 26th, 1872. 
 
 " My Dear Miss , — As usual, important letters are always 
 
 delayed, and I fear my reply to yours of last week's date will not reach 
 London till after you have left. I will, therefore, only say that I was 
 very glad indeed to hear from you, and particularly on the subject you 
 mentioned. I shall be quite ready and willing (in virtue of my office) 
 
 to see you as you desire. Mrs. has left, and we have the house 
 
 to ourselves. Parishioners are so constantly coming on business of 
 one kind or another, that your visits would not be noticed. Please do 
 not hint anything to Mrs. Jupp, as I think all parochial affairs, of 
 whatever kind, ought to be known to the priest only, and his lips 
 sealed to every enquirer. We should be so glad to see you back after 
 your long absence. 
 
 " In great haste, 
 
 " Yours faithfully in Christ, 
 
 " Charles Jupp." 19 
 
 The late Cardinal Manning, in his Anglican days, while 
 Archdeacon of Chichester, heard Confessions in the same 
 stealthy manner. Mr. Purcell, his Roman Catholic 
 biographer, relates that : — 
 
 "In his Diary, 1844-47, and in his letters to Laprimaudaye and 
 Robert Wilberforce, Manning constantly makes use of the somewhat 
 mysterious terms — Under the Seal, and In Sacro. To the initiated 
 amongst High Church Anglicans these symbolic terms signified the 
 Sacrament of Penance or Confession, and the Eucharistic Sacrifice ; 
 outside the Anglican community commonly called the Mass. These 
 holy and wholesome Catholic doctrines Manning, as an Anglican, 
 held and taught, if not in public, in private. In his sermons and 
 
 19 Church Association Monthly Intelligencer, March, 1874, p. 98. 
 
HUSBANDS OPPOSED TO THEIR WIVES. 
 
 Charges he practised oiKoro/xia; or spoke under reserve, or in mere 
 outline, of Confession and the Eucharistic Sacrifice. But in his 
 private exhortations he inculcated these Catholic doctrines in all their 
 fulness. The Archdeacon of Chichester practised what he preached. 
 He offered up, as I have shown, the Eucharistic Sacrifice for the 
 quick and the dead. He received penitents in Confession ; and 
 exercising the power of the Keys, he loosed them from their sins j 
 pronouncing in due form, whilst making over them the sign of the 
 Cross, the words of Absolution. 
 
 " Protestant prejudice, popular ignorance, and the hostility of the 
 authorities of their own Church, compelled the unhappy High Church 
 Anglicans to cast a veil of mystery or secrecy over the practice oj 
 Confession. Instead of being an ordinary and common-place act of 
 duty practised coram ecclesia, Confession amongst the Anglicans was, 
 if I may so speak, a hole-and-corner affair, spoken of with lated 
 breath, and carried on under lock and key." 20 
 
 There were other difficulties which Father Confessors had 
 to contend with. The Rev. William J. Butler, Vicar of 
 Wantage, and subsequently Dean of Lincoln, writing to 
 Archdeacon Manning, August 29th, 1840, remarked : — " The 
 difficulty with which, as Vicar of Wantage, I am confronted 
 in the practice of hearing Confessions is the opposition to be 
 feared on the part of the husband to the wife's ' opening her 
 grief to another man." 21 It is hardly to be wondered 
 at that husbands should object to their wives going to 
 Confession, more especially to bachelor priests, since, 
 according to the opinion of one of those Father Confessors 
 quoted above (p. 82), " no woman would, I suppose, ever 
 tell her husband what passed in her Confession." A married 
 woman will tell her Father Confessor things which she would 
 never dare to talk about to her own husband. Mr. Purcell 
 throws some light on the secret way in which Archdeacon 
 Manning heard the Confessions of his penitents: — 
 
 " It was a common practice for Manning, even in the days when 
 in his Charges or sermons he was denouncing 4 Romanism ' and the 
 Popes, to hear Confessions at Lavington and Oxford, as well as at 
 
 20 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 4S9. 
 
 21 Ibid., p. 490. 
 
92 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Wantage and elsewhere. It must be admitted that f the halo of 
 romance ' thrown round the practice of Confession — of which the 
 Vicar of Wantage so feelingly complained, was in no small measure 
 due to the mystery or secrecy attached to the performance of the act, 
 even by Manning himself. At Lavington, for instance, it was his 
 practice to walk from the Rectory to the Church at a time when no 
 service was going on, and no congregation present j in a few minutes, 
 by appointment, his penitent would follow. On one occasion, when a 
 near relative of the Archdeacon's was staying with her family at the 
 Rectory, the children, playing of an afternoon in the grounds, were 
 surprised to see 'Uncle Henry' walking towards the church. No bell 
 had rung for service ; the church was closed. Presently their mother 
 passed along the gravel walk in the same direction. In their eager 
 curiosity to discover the meaning of this novel proceeding, the 
 children scampered across the lawn to the church door, when their 
 wondering eyes discovered ' Uncle Henry ' seated on a big arm-chair 
 with his back to the altar, and their mother kneeling on the altar 
 step." 22 
 
 The facts I have already mentioned tend to show that 
 our Ritualistic Confessors resemble the Roman Catholic 
 Confessors, as described by one of themselves : — 
 
 " The most responsible office of the priest of God," writes Father 
 Augustine Wirth, O.S.B., " is the hearing of Confessions ... in the 
 pulpit he can touch certain sins only with kid gloves, in the Confes- 
 sional he probes the sores to the very bottom. In the pulpit he must 
 be a lion, in the Confessional a /or." 23 
 
 22 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., pp. 492,493. 
 
 23 The Confessional, adapted by the Rev. Augustus Wirth, O.S.B., p. v. 
 Fourth edition. Published at Elizabeth, New Jersey, 1882. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SECRET HISTORY OF "THE PRIEST IN 
 
 Part I. of the Priest in Absolution — Praised by the Ritualistic Press — 
 Part II. secretly circulated amongst "Catholic" priests only — Lord 
 Redesdale's exposure of the book in the House of Lords — Archbishop 
 Tait says it is "a disgrace to the community" — Secret letter from the 
 Master of the Society of the Holy Cross — Statement of the S. S. C. — 
 Special secret Chapter of the Society to consider the Priest in Absolution — 
 Full report of its proceedings, with speeches of the Brethren — Refuses to 
 condemn the book — Discussion in Canterbury Convocation — Severe 
 Episcopal Censures— Immoral Ritualistic Confessors ruin women ; 
 Testimony of Archdeacon Allen — Dr. Pusey's acknowledgments of the 
 dangers of the Confessional ; " It is the road by which a number of 
 Christians go down to hell" — Another secret meeting of the Society of the 
 Holy Cross — Reports of the speeches and resolutions — Some Bishops 
 secretly friendly to the Society — Canon Knox-Little's connection with the 
 Society of the Holy Cross — Strange and Jesuitical Proceedings at the 
 Society's Synod. 
 
 OR many years the Ritualistic Father Confessors 
 
 JL possessed no book of their own to guide them in their 
 work, and were therefore entirely dependent upon 
 Roman Catholic books written in Latin, or French, and as 
 many of these Confessors were by no means Latin scholars, 
 and numbers of them knew nothing of French, it was at 
 length found necessary to make an effort towards supplying 
 this long-felt want. The work was undertaken by the 
 Rev. J. C. Chambers, a well-known clergyman, who, in 1863, 
 was Master of the secret Society of the Holy Cross. 
 Instead, however, of writing an independent treatise on 
 the Confessional, he contented himself with translating 
 
 ABSOLUTION." 
 
94 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 and adapting a Roman Catholic work, written by the 
 Abbe Gaume, which he issued under the now well-known 
 title of the Priest in Absolution. It was divided into two 
 parts. Part I. was published in 1866, and sold to the 
 public ; and a second edition was issued in 1869, but this 
 was soon after withdrawn from public sale. When the first 
 edition appeared it received a warm welcome from the 
 Ritualistic press. The Union Review declared that it was 
 " a golden treatise," " full of wisdom, sound teaching, and 
 very valuable suggestions with regard to the Sacrament of 
 Penance." But the reviewer evidently perceived a danger 
 which was not realized by Mr. Chambers, for he wisely 
 added that " It would have been far better to have issued 
 the book in Latin." 1 No doubt it would have been " far 
 better" for the Ritualistic Father Confessors had this 
 warning been issued in time. It was clearly not wise to 
 reveal to the English public in all its hideous deformity the 
 moral filth of the Confessional. Had it been printed in 
 Latin very few would have discovered its indecent character. 
 The Church Review affirmed that the book could " be spoken 
 of with the highest praise. It is a book which demands 
 prayerful study, and our clerical readers will find it the 
 greatest boon." 2 
 
 The publication of the first half of the Priest in A bsolution 
 did not create any public excitement. It's unhappy birth 
 appears to have been unnoticed by Protestant Churchmen. 
 The second part was issued in 1872. It is dedicated " To the 
 Masters, Vicars, and Brethren, of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross," and the dedication states that it was " begun at 
 their request." A note to the " Advertisement to the 
 Reader " states that : — 
 
 " To prevent scandal arising from the curious or prurient misuse 
 of a book which treats of spiritual diseases, it has been thought best 
 that the sale should be confined to the clergy who desire to have at 
 
 1 Union Review, Volume for 1867, p. 215. 
 
 2 Church Review, March 23rd, 18G7, p. 278. 
 
THE BOOK FOR CONFESSORS ONLY. 
 
 95 
 
 hand a sort of vade-mecum for easy reference in the discharge of 
 their duties as Confessors." 
 
 In this way the laity of the Church of England were kept 
 in the dark as to what was going on. But not only was 
 every effort made to keep the book out of their hands ; but 
 even ordinary Church of England clergymen were not 
 allowed to purchase it, unless they were Father Confessors, 
 or could give a reference to some well-known Ritualistic 
 priest. One Church of England clergyman ventured to 
 send Mr. Chambers himself stamps for a copy, and was not 
 a little surprised on receiving the following reply : — 
 
 "18, Soho Square. 
 
 M Dear Sir, — The book is only delivered to such priests of the 
 English Church as are in the habit of hearing Confessions, or are 
 known to me personally, or through friends. As your name is 
 entirely unknown to me, I must require a reference to some well- 
 known High Church priest, or I must return the stamps. 
 
 "J. C. Chambers." 3 
 
 When Mr. Chambers died there was a great danger lest 
 the unsold copies of the Priest in A bsolution — which was his 
 private property — should be sold to some second-hand or 
 other bookseller, and thus one of the great secrets of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross should become widely known to 
 the Protestants of England. There was no time to be lost. 
 At the Monthly Chapter of the Society, held June gth, 1874, 
 a letter was read from the Rev. Joseph James Elkington, 
 then Curate of St. Mary's, Soho, asking the Society to buy 
 the copyright from the executors of Mr. Chambers. After 
 some discussion, it was moved by the Treasurer, the Rev. 
 John Andrews Foote, seconded by the Rev. E. M. Chaplain, 
 and carried unanimously : — " That the copyright of the 
 Priest in Absolution having been offered to the Society, the 
 brethren be requested to subscribe towards the purchase, 
 such subscriptions to be returned out of the proceeds of 
 sale." 4 In the official report of the Chapter at which this 
 resolution was passed, a special notice was issued, stating 
 
 8 The Rock, June Gth, 1873, p. 391. * 5. & C. June Chapter, 1874, p. 2, 
 
g6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 that " the probable value of the copyright, together with the 
 copies of the book on hand, is £100," and asking the 
 brethren to lend £5 each towards the cost, the book when 
 paid for to "remain the property of S. S. C." The subject 
 was mentioned again at the next Monthly Chapter, but, as 
 only one £5 had been promised, nothing definite was done, 
 though a letter was read from Mr. Elkington, asking for a 
 higher price. Matters, however, made rapid progress during 
 the next month, for, at the August Chapter, the Master of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross announced to the brethren that 
 the "Copyright was now the property of the Society; the 
 difficulties relating to the purchase having been satisfactorily 
 settled." 5 However that may have been, on the following 
 month the money had not all been paid, for the Treasurer of 
 the Society had to issue, in that month, a special circular, 
 announcing that £25 was still due to the executors of 
 Mr. Chambers. From the " Balance Sheet " of the Society, 
 presented to its September Synod, 1874, it appears that the 
 copyright and stock of the Priest in Absolution had been 
 bought for £75, or £25 less than was first asked for it. By 
 a resolution passed at the May, 1875, Synod of the Society, 
 it was decided that the money "lent by brethren for the 
 purchase of the Priest in Absolution, be repaid out of the 
 balance in hand of the general fund of the Society." 6 Part I. 
 of the Priest in Absolution was sold to the public for 2s 6d; 
 Part II. was sold to the brethren at 5s \d, post free. How 
 many copies were sold before the Society acquired the copy- 
 right I have no means of ascertaining ; but after that date 
 there must have been a considerable sale, to judge by the 
 balance sheets of the Society of the Holy Cross. That for 
 May, 1875, reported the sale of copies to the value of 
 £20. ys 6d ; for May, 1876, £38. 17s ^d ; September, 1876, 
 £4. us \&\ and in September, 1877, £9. 16s nd — making a 
 total of £73. 13s id. 
 
 6 5. 5. C. August Chapter, 1874, p. 1. 
 
 6 S. S. C. Analysis of Proceedings of May Synod, 1875, p. 6. 
 
LORD REDESDALE'S EXPOSURE. 97 
 
 On June 14th, 1877, the late Lord Redesdale exposed 
 the Priest in Absolution in the House of Lords. 
 His lordship was not a fanatic, nor could anyone fairly 
 describe him as an Evangelical Churchman. On the 
 contrary he was, says Dr. Davidson, the present Bishop 
 of Winchester, " a sober and trusted High Churchman, 
 of the earlier sort." 7 Lord Redesdale quoted from 
 the book itself, which he held in his hand. After this 
 exposure it was commonly reported by the Ritualists 
 that his lordship's copy had been stolen for his use 
 from the library of a Ritualistic priest. No one, how- 
 ever, ventured to name the clergyman who had lost 
 his copy, and as a matter of fact there was not a word 
 of truth in the rumour. The copy was obtained in a 
 perfectly honourable and straightforward manner by the 
 late Mr. Robert Fleming. This false rumour was repeated 
 again at Brighton, during the summer of 1890, by the 
 Rev. C. Hardy Little, Vicar of St. Martin's, Brighton ; 
 but at a great public meeting held in the Dome, Brighton, 
 on June 20th of that year, Mr. Fleming himself appeared 
 on the platform, and told to the vast audience, which 
 included a considerable number of Ritualists, the true story 
 of how he came into possession of the Priest in Absolution, 
 and his version of the case has never since been challenged 
 by the Ritualists. Mr. Fleming, who held the original 
 copy of the book in his hand, from which Lord Redesdale 
 had quoted in the House of Lords, said that a gentleman 
 occupying a prominent position in the Church of England 
 had given it to him, at his request, for some little service 
 which he had been enabled to render to him. As he 
 presented him with the book that gentleman said smilingly 
 to him, " you won't make a bad use of it ? " To which he 
 replied, "All right." The statement that the book was 
 stolen, he emphatically declared, was an absolute falsehood.* 
 
 7 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. II., p. 171. First edition. 
 • English Churchman, June 26th, 1890, p. 415. 
 
 7 
 
98 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Lord Redesdale, in the course of his speech in the House 
 of Lords, quoted largely from the Priest in Absolution, to 
 prove that it was a grossly indecent and abominable book. 
 Some of the portions read were so vile that, as the Right 
 Rev. Biographer of Archbishop Tait informs us, " many of 
 the quotations were necessarily withheld from publication 
 either in the newspapers or in Hansard Lord Redesdale 
 concluded his speech by saying : — 
 
 " I must say, my Lords, that I think it high time the laity should 
 move in this matter. Hitherto it has been treated too much as 
 one exclusively for the clergy. In calling your lordship's atten- 
 tion to the subject, I am actuated simply by a sense of duty, for I feel 
 that the time has arrived when there should be a decided condemna- 
 tion of such practices." 10 
 
 The Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Tait) addressed the 
 House, after Lord Redesdale sat down. He said : — 
 
 " The fact that such a book should be printed and circulated is to 
 my mind a matter of very great concern. The Noble Earl spared us 
 from many details ; but, at the same time, he read quite enough to 
 show that no modest person could read the look without regret, and that 
 it is a disgrace to the community that such a book should be 
 circulated under the authority of clergymen of the Established Church. 
 ... I cannot imagine that any right-minded man could wish to have 
 such questions [as those suggested in the Priest in Absolution] 
 addressed to any member of his family 5 and if he had any reason to 
 suppose that any member of his family had been exposed to such an 
 examination, I am sure it would be the duty of any father of a family 
 to remonstrate with the clergyman who had put the questions, and 
 warn him never to approach his house again." 11 
 
 As a result of this exposure great excitement was created 
 in the minds of all loyal Churchmen, who were righteously 
 indignant at learning the filthy character of the Ritualistic 
 Confessional, as revealed in the Priest in Absolution. That 
 indignation was greatly strengthened w T hen, a few weeks 
 
 9 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. II., p. 172. 
 
 10 Ibid., p. 172. 
 
 11 Church Association Monthly Intelligencer, August, 1877, PP- 3 T 4-3 l6 « 
 
PROTEST FROM THE PEERS. 99 
 
 later, the late Rev. A. H. Mackono'chie, of St. Alban's, 
 Holborn (who was for many years Master of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross) published a correspondence which he had 
 with another clergyman, in which he declared concerning 
 the Priest in Absolution, that " Its principles are those which 
 govern, I believe, all Confessors among ourselves." 12 The 
 daily papers of the United Kingdom, almost without 
 exception, gave expression to the feelings of the country, in 
 leading articles condemning the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 and its Confessional book, in the severest terms. About 
 two months after the exposure Lord Abergavenny forwarded 
 to the Archbishop of Canterbury an address on the subject 
 signed by peers and noblemen of England, Ireland, and 
 Scotland, in which they expressed their " sorrow and deep 
 indignation at the extreme indelicacy and impropriety of 
 the questions therein [in the Priest in Absolution] put to 
 married and unmarried women and children." This address 
 was signed by the Duke of Westminster, the Duke of 
 Wellington, the Duke of St. Albans, the Duke of Manchester, 
 the Duke of Grafton, the Duke of Leinster, the Marquises 
 of Abergavenny, Bristol, Ailesbury, Conyngham, and 
 Hertford ; the Earls of Redesdale, Jersey, Harrowby, 
 Fortescue, Cork, Morley, Fitzwilliam, Clancarty, Sydney, 
 Bessborough, Seafield, Cadogan, Ilchester, Mansfield, 
 Normanton, Harewood, Spencer, Bantry, Desart, Camper- 
 •down, Manvers, Lucan, Arran, Bradford, Shaftesbury, 
 Roden, Haddington, Cowper, Darnley, Donoughmore, 
 •Chichester, Dunmore, Elphinstone, and Longford ; by 
 Viscounts Hardinge, Midleton, Hawarden, Lifford, Strath- 
 allen, Powerscourt, Sidmouth, and Torrington ; and also by 
 Lords Sondes, Henniker, Leconsfield, Wynford, Hampton, 
 Ebury, Rivers, Sandys, Churchill, Bolton, Cottesloe, 
 Oranmore, Talbot de Malahide, Clonbrock, Dynevor, 
 Forester, Walsingham, Digbv, Dorchester, Foley, Denman, 
 
 52 The Priest in Absolution and the Society of the Holy Cross : a Correspondence 
 .between a London Priest and A. H. Mackonochie, p. 17. 
 
 7 * 
 
100 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Abinger, Crofton, Zouche, Ruthven, Penrhyn, Chelmsford, 
 Huntingfield, Inchiquin, Colchester, Enfield, Eversley, 
 Waveney, Airey, Ellenborough, Delamere, Ventry, Bateman, 
 and Dudley. 
 
 I now proceed to relate the attitude adopted by the 
 Society of the Holy Cross towards the exposure of the 
 Priest in Absolution. My authorities for what I shall 
 record are mainly the secret documents of the Society 
 in my possession. Two days before Lord Redesdale's 
 exposure, viz., on June 12th, at the Monthly Chapter of the 
 Society, the Rev. Robert James Wilson, who subsequently 
 became Warden of Keble College, Oxford, called the 
 attention of the brethren to the notice which Lord 
 Redesdale had given of his intention to bring the Priest 
 in Absolution to the attention of the House of Lords. 
 " After some conversation," says the official report of the 
 proceedings, " it was decided that the Master should be 
 left to use his own discretion in dealing with the matter." 13 
 The " Master " at that time was the Rev. F. LI. Bagshawe, 
 Vicar of St. Barnabas', Pimlico. On June 25th this 
 gentleman sent out to the brethren the following printed 
 letter :— 
 
 "St. Barnabas, Pimlico. 
 
 "June 25th, 1877. 
 
 " P. *fr T. 
 
 " Dear Brother, — I think it will be satisfactory to you to know 
 that I have not remained inactive during the present attack upon our 
 Society in connection with the Priest in Absolution. The Bishops 
 have referred the book to a Committee, consisting of the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and the Bishops of London, Winchester, Gloucester and 
 Bristol, and Ely. This Committee has asked us to meet them on 
 Thursday, the 28th. I have reason to think that the Bishops are 
 disposed to be friendly. The whole question was discussed at a 
 Meeting of the Council, including the Assessors, on Saturday. You 
 shall have immediate information when anything further is done. 
 
 is S. S. C. June Chapter, 1-877, p. 6. 
 
LETTER FROM THE MASTER OF S. S. C. 
 
 IOI 
 
 I have decided also not to accept the resignation of any brethren for 
 the present, not to print the Roll of members, nor to permit the 
 distribution of the Priest in Absolution until after the September 
 Synod. 
 
 " You would perhaps like to know the true relation of S. S. C. to 
 the Priest in Absolution. Some years ago, the Society requested 
 Br. Chambers to prepare a book on the subject ; when he had done 
 so, he published the first part of the Priest in Absolution, but 
 retained the second part for private circulation. It was entirely his 
 own work, and executed on his own responsibility : its sheets were 
 never submitted to the Society. When he died, the whole remaining 
 stock would have been sold by his executors, and have been exposed 
 tor public sale. 
 
 " In order to prevent an action so contrary to the compiler's wish, 
 and hurtful to the Society, to whom it was dedicated, we bought the 
 book, and have been responsible for a limited and cautious supply to 
 priests of known character. 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Yours Faithfully, 
 
 " In D.N. J.C., 
 " Francis Ll. Bagsiiawe." 
 
 There was need for Mr. Bagshawe's action in refusing to 
 accept the resignations of the brethren for the time being. 
 The more timid of the brethren were thoroughly frightened 
 by the exposure which had taken place, more especially 
 after the Rock had published a complete list of their names 
 and addresses, which made them most anxious to leave an 
 organization that had brought them into trouble with their 
 parishioners. The Master acknowledges that the Society was 
 "responsible for a limited and cautions supply to priests of 
 known character " of the now notorious Confessional book ; 
 and it is quite evident from the whole of his letter how 
 greatly the Society dreaded the light of publicity being 
 thrown on its dark underground proceedings. There is 
 reason to believe that most of the brethren who at this 
 period left the Society did so, not because they disapproved 
 of the Society or the Priest in Absolution, but simply through 
 fear. The fact that scarcely any of them publicly repudiated 
 
102 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 either the one or the other is a proof of this. There were, 
 however, a few exceptions, of which the most remarkable 
 was that of the Rev. Frank N. Oxenham — he joined the 
 S. S. C. in 1872 — who, as early as June 19th, wrote to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury : — 
 
 " When, in consequence of your Grace's observations, I looked into 
 the book, I felt that no words could be too strong to condemn the 
 principles advocated, and the advice given in that book as to the 
 questioning of persons who came to Confession. If the practice of 
 Confession involved, which it certainly does not, any such questioning, 
 I should regard it with abhorrence. [ am sure, my Lord, that a very 
 large number of the members of the Society of the Holy Cross are as 
 ignorant as I was of the contents of this unhappy book, and would 
 repudiate its principles in the matter to which I have alluded as 
 sincerely and utterly as I do. In justice to those persons, as well as 
 to myself, lam venturing to trouble your Grace with this communica- 
 tion. I very deeply regret that the Society of the Holy Cross ever 
 came into possession of this book, and I shall take the earliest 
 opportunity open to a private member, to move that all remaining 
 copies of the second part of the Priest in Absolution be forthwith 
 destroyed." u 
 
 This condemnation of the Priest in A bsolution, I may here 
 remark, came from one who was for many years an advanced 
 Ritualist, and is therefore all the more valuable on that 
 account, as showing its mischievous and dangerous character. 
 Unfortunately for Mr. Oxenham's opinion, a " very large 
 number of the members " of the Society of the Holy Cross 
 did not " repudiate its principles." The proposal that the 
 Society should burn the remaining copies in its possession 
 was brought forward, though not by Mr. Oxenham, at the 
 May Synod, 1878, when the following resolution was carried 
 by thirty-four to eight : — " That this Synod is not in favour 
 of the destruction of the remaining copies of the Priest in 
 Absolution at the present time." 15 The Society would not 
 even allow that there was any possibility of the advice on 
 
 14 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. II., p. 174. 
 
 15 5. 5. C. Analysis of the May Synod, 1878, p. 16. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH ARCHBISHOP TAIT. I03 
 
 questioning, contained in the book, being misused, for when 
 Mr. Oxenham, at the Special Chapter, held July 5th, 1877, 
 moved that " the advice given in this book as to questioning 
 penitents is at least liable to injurious misuse," his motion 
 was lost. The report of the proceedings does not state 
 how many voted for or against it. 16 
 
 On the day before Lord Redesdale's speech the Master of 
 the Society of the Holy Cross wrote to the Bishop of 
 London on the subject, and informed him that the Priest in 
 Absolution could " only be obtained by those who are known 
 clergymen of the Church of England," and that " very few 
 copies " had in consequence been distributed ; and stating that 
 " the Society bought the work up at considerable pecuniary 
 loss." These statements can scarcely be described as 
 accurate. The official statements of receipts for the sales 
 before the Master wrote this letter, quoted above, clearly 
 prove that there had been what may be fairly termed a 
 considerable sale for such a work. As we have seen, £75 was 
 paid for the copyright, and £73. 13s id had already been 
 received from the sales. Where, then, was the " considerable 
 pecuniary loss " ? In addition to these sales, it is well to 
 remember that Mr. Chambers himself must have sold a 
 considerable number of copies before the Society purchased 
 the book. Was it, therefore, truthful for Mr. Bagshawe to 
 inform the Bishop that only a " very few copies" had been 
 distributed ? I think not. And was there not something 
 like equivocation in the Master's further statement to the 
 Bishop : — " I venture to assert that the great body of these 
 clergy are not acquainted with the contents of this book, 
 and some scarcely know of its existence " ? The Master, in 
 this letter, also informed the Bishop that the Rev. J. C. 
 Chambers had compiled the book. This was startling 
 news for the Bishop, who, in his reply to the Master's letter, 
 wrote : — 
 
 " Few things have ever given me more pain than the very unex- 
 16 Minutes 0/ the Special Chapter, p. it. 
 
104 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 pected information that the late Mr. Chambers was the compiler of 
 that volume which I have seen, and that you were Master of the 
 Society which owns and circulates it. I am, of course, aware of 
 the line of defence indicated by the term professional character ; but 
 I must say that, in my judgment, a system of Confession which 
 makes such a book necessary or even useful to the Confessor, carries 
 with it its own condemnation." 
 
 The Bishop's letter shows how carefully the leading 
 authorities of the S. S. C. had kept their proceedings from 
 the knowledge of their own Diocesan. Mr. Bagshawe's 
 next letter to the Bishop was written on the day after the 
 exposure in the House of Lords, and contained the following 
 paragraph : — 
 
 " As you have written to me in such a kind way, I am quite entitled 
 to tell you, as my Bishop, that I have never thought the book a useful 
 one, or recommended it to others. It is a matter of sorrow that 
 some of us differ with our Bishops at all, but I cannot help feeling, 
 after listening to a debate such as that on Thursday night, that our 
 practice with regard to Confession is very widely misapprehended. 
 One of my objections to the Priest in Absolution is that its language 
 is not calculated to remove that misapprehension." 
 
 It would be interesting to know what other objections the 
 Master had to the book, which he in no way condemns as 
 bad in itself. Yet the unsold copies of the book were, as 
 he subsequently acknowledged, kept in his own care, and 
 therefore no copies could have been circulated without his 
 knowledge and sanction. In his Address to the May Synod, 
 1878, he said : — " Hitherto the book has been in my care — 
 now it will cease to be so." 17 It is evident, therefore, that 
 his letters to the Bishop of London were written for a 
 purpose, viz., that of making his lordship think more highly 
 of the Master than he really deserved. Actions speak more 
 strongly than words, and Mr. Bagshawe's words seem to 
 contradict his actions. 
 
 The interview of the representatives of the Society of the 
 Holy Cross with the Bishops took place at Lambeth Palace, 
 
 W 3.S. C. Master's Address, delivered at the May Synod, 1S78, p. 6. 
 
STATEMENT OF S. S. C. 
 
 on Thursday, June 2Sth. The representatives were the 
 Master of the Society, together with the following members 
 of his secret Council: — The Rev. C. F. Lowder, Vicar of 
 St. Peter's, London Docks ; the Rev. Joseph Newton Smith, 
 founder of the Society of the Holy Cross; the Rev. F. H. 
 Murray, Rector of Chislehurst ; the Rev. H. D. Nihil] the 
 Rev. R.J. Wilson, subsequently Warden of Keble College; the 
 Rev. John William Kempe ; and the Rev. G. Noel Freeling, 
 the latter of whom, however, was not on the " Council." To 
 the surprise of these gentlemen, instead of meeting the 
 Bishops they expected, they found waiting for them the 
 Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishop of 
 London only. The Master had brought with him a carefully- 
 prepared Statement to the Bishops; but he was only allowed to 
 read about one-half of it, the remainder was sent to the 
 Bishops on the following Saturday. This Statement, which, 
 with the correspondence already alluded to, was subsequently 
 printed for private circulation amongst the brethren, com- 
 menced with an account of the nature and objects of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, and then proceeded to give the 
 history of its connection with the Priest in Absolution, which 
 has, I think, already been sufficiently related above. But I 
 may quote the following extract from the Statement, as 
 having an important bearing on the revival of Auricular 
 Confession in the Church of England : — 
 
 " All, or nearly so," said Mr. Bagsbawe, " of our members had, as 
 a matter of fact, found the blessing of Confession ; and very many of 
 them were constantly applied to by those who desired to share in 
 that blessing. Perpetually, at oar meetings, questions of difficulty 
 were asked, as our members began to learn the existence of sin and 
 its power in their parishes. They felt the need of guidance in the 
 ministry to which they believed themselves to be called. Under 
 these circumstances, the Rev. J. C. Chambers was asked, I believe 
 informally, and before I joined the Society in 1868, to undertake a 
 work for their assistance, adapted to the needs of the Church of 
 England and the state of modern society. It was felt that they could 
 not have made a better choice. He possessed, more than any of their 
 
106 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 number, the confidence of the Bishops for prudence, learning, moral 
 integrity, and purity of purpose. His experience was vast. Members 
 of both Houses of Parliament, Clergy, Barristers, Merchants, Trades- 
 men, and Costermongers were amongst his penitents. In 1869 the 
 first part of the work was published. It was entirely on Mr. Chambers's 
 own responsibility. The Society was responsible for the request, but 
 not for the manner of execution. In 1872 or 1873, the second part 
 was brought out." 
 
 Mr. Bagshawe made a singular error in stating that the 
 first part was published in 1869. ^ was, as I have already 
 mentioned, published in 1866, and the second edition was 
 published in 1869. The Bishops referred to as having 
 " confidence " in Mr. Chambers could hardly have been 
 aware of his advanced Romanizing views, or that he was 
 Father Confessor to so many influential people. The 
 second half of that gentleman's official Statement to the 
 Bishops consisted of an apology for the Priest in Absolution? 
 concerning which he had, as we have seen, written but a 
 few days before, that " he had never thought the book 
 a useful one" ; but of which he now affirmed that it was 
 work upon an important subject from which good might 
 be gained by those who read it with a right motive." " li 
 consider," he continued, " very many propositions in the 
 Priest in Absolution doubtful, and from some I completely 
 disagree. Yet I should be very far from saying that the 
 discussion of such questions is not productive of good."' 
 The Master next proceeded to call attention to the " various- 
 cautions with which the book abounds"; but goes on very 
 candidly to acknowledge that : — 
 
 " We believe that in certain cases questions must be ashed of the- 
 penitent, partly to clear what has been ambiguous in his statement,, 
 and partly to help him to confess what he really wishes to say, but 
 is hindered in saying from shyness. In no case should any new 
 matter be imported, unless there is very strong reason to believe that 
 something has been suppressed, and then it should be approached 
 with the utmost care." 
 
 It was evidently the desire of the Master to move as much- 
 
SPECIAL CHAPTER OF S. S. C. 10? 
 
 of the blame as possible from the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 but he utterly failed in impressing the Bishops with his view 
 of the case. Instead of repudiating the book altogether, he 
 asserted that " no harm has been done by the kind of 
 circulation which the Society has permitted." One result 
 of this interview, as recorded in the official and privately 
 circulated report of the proceedings, was " the surrender of 
 a copy of the Priest in A bsolution to the Archbishop, and the 
 promise of a surrender of the Statutes. The Master took 
 the Statutes and the Office Book to the Archbishop on 
 the following day." On June 30th, the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury wrote to Mr. Bagshawe : — " I understand from 
 you that a meeting of your Society will be held on Thursday 
 of next week. Let me, through you, urge upon the Society 
 the duty of at once repudiating the book which has caused 
 so much alarm. This is due both to yourselves and to the 
 Church. It is absolutely necessary that I should be in 
 possession, not later than Thursday evening, of any 
 resolutions you pass." The reason for the Archbishop's 
 haste was that on the following day, July 6th, the subject 
 was to be discussed by the Bishops in the Upper House 
 of Canterbury Convocation, and they had postponed the 
 consideration of the subject for a day, to suit the convenience 
 of the Society. 
 
 On Thursday, July 5th, a " Special Chapter " of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, to consider the action of the 
 Society, was held at 5, Greville Street, Brooke Street, 
 Holborn. Seventy-five brethren were present. Fortunately, 
 I have come into possession of the official and secret report 
 of this very secret meeting, held in a private house. From 
 this I learn that the Master informed his brethren that it 
 was "his opinion that unless the Society yielded to some 
 extent to the wishes of the Bishops, we were in danger of 
 a synodical statement by the Upper House against the 
 Sacraments of the Catholic Church. To avert this, which 
 would cause the gravest anxiety to many of the clergy and 
 
108 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the laity, he advised the Chapter to pass a resolution to stop 
 the further circulation of the Priest in Absolution" Canon 
 T. T. Carter, of Clewer, who was the next speaker, moved a 
 resolution, thanking the Master for the statement laid before 
 the Bishops, and expressing " general approval of the same." 
 This was seconded by the Rev. George Davenport Nicholas, 
 Vicar of St. Stephen's, Clewer, and carried unanimously. 
 Before it was passed, however, there was some grumbling 
 on the part of a few of the brethren. The Rev. C. D. 
 Goldie " thought that the Society had been betrayed into 
 too hasty action"; while the Rev. A. H. Stanton, Curate 
 of St. Alban's, Holborn, revealed the fact that " the Council 
 was not unanimous" in its action, and that he and the 
 Rev. Henry Aston Walker, now Vicar of Chattisham, Ipswich, 
 " had strongly opposed the idea of a deputation." The 
 well-known Rev. A. H. Mackonochie said that he "was one 
 of the Master's Council who had been averse to any 
 deputation to the Bishops at all." He believed that the 
 Bishops " had got up this attack " upon the Society, and 
 desired to fix upon it the stigma of " indecent publications." 
 " He warned the brethren that if they gave up the book, they 
 would not escape the stigma." 
 
 The Chapter next proceeded to read letters from absent 
 , brethren, including one from the Rev. Dr. Littledale, and 
 also a resolution passed by the Edinburgh Local Chapter 
 of the Society, to the effect that "the Society's further 
 connection with the book was undesirable." On the other 
 hand, the Cheltenham Local Chapter had sent up a 
 resolution to the effect that it " was opposed to any repudia- 
 tion of the book." The Rev. C. F. Lowder next addressed 
 the meeting, and for politic reasons recommended "the 
 Chapter to withdraw the book from circulation." He 
 concluded by reading a further Statement which had been 
 drawn up, he said, with the assistance of the Rev. T. W. 
 Perry and Dr. Walter Phillimore (now Sir Walter Philli- 
 more, Bart., Q.c). This statement was discussed by the 
 
SPEECHES IN THE SECRET CHAPTER. IOQ 
 
 Chapter, and after several amendments had been adopted, 
 was carried unanimously. Thereupon Canon T. T. Carter 
 moved that, — 
 
 " The Society presents this Statement to the Right Reverend the 
 Bishops and the Reverend the Clergy in Convocation assembled, in 
 deference to the expressed desire of the Archbishops of Canterbury 
 and York, and the Bishop of London, whom the delegates of the 
 Society met at Lambeth. In deference to the expression of the 
 desire on their part, the Society has determined that no further copies 
 of the book shall be supplied." 
 
 In moving this resolution Canon Carter said that he, 
 " while revising the proof sheets of the work, had recom- 
 mended the author to publish it in Latin." He was in 
 favour of withdrawing the book " because we cannot heartily 
 endorse it as a whole " ; and " because the Bishops ask us 
 to give the book up." The Rev. Charles Bodington (now 
 Diocesan Missioner for Lichfield) supported the motion. 
 He said that he did so " because it kept clear of any condemna- 
 tion of the book. While he should consider it injudicious to 
 endorse the book as it stands, he thought that withdrawing 
 it in deference to the Bishops' wishes need not make the 
 slightest difference in our teaching and practice with regard 
 to Confession." The Rev. William Crouch, now Vicar 
 of Gamlingay, however, " believed our position would be 
 weakened by giving up the book. No doubt the book was 
 imperfect, but as much might be said of all books, save 
 one." The Rev. F. N. Oxenham " considered that the 
 charges had been fairly brought against the book, though 
 parts of it are exceedingly valuable, yet the general tone of 
 the work, though guarded, he held to be deeply injurious if 
 generally used. He felt that the Society ought to condemn 
 the book." This courageous statement of Brother Oxenham 
 appears to have received no encouragement from the 
 brethren present, for, when he proposed an amendment 
 embodying his views, it was lost. After a good deal of 
 further discussion, with the consent of Canon Carter, the 
 
110 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 following resolution was passed, by twenty-eight against 
 twenty, instead of that proposed by Brother Oxenham : — 
 
 " That, under these considerations, the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 while distinctly repudiating the unfair criticisms which have been 
 passed on the book called the Priest in Absolution, and without 
 intending to imply any condemnation of it, yet, in deference to the 
 desire expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the represen- 
 tatives of the Society, resolves that no further copies of it be supplied." 
 
 This was a most important resolution. By it the Society 
 declined to censure the book either in whole or in part. 
 Mr. Oxenham proposed to insert the words " as a whole " 
 after " condemnation of it " ; but his proposal was rejected 
 by twenty-one to eighteen. The promise to withdraw the 
 Priest in A bsohttion from circulation served its purpose very 
 well with the Bishops in Convocation the next day ; but 
 it was a promise which was valueless, for it was subsequently 
 repudiated by the Society as a whole, very much to the 
 annoyance of the Master of the Society, who considered, 
 as we shall see presently, that by repudiating the resolution 
 of the Special Chapter the Society had broken faith with 
 the Bishops, and in such a way as to compel him, as an 
 honourable man, to resign his position as Master of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross. Before this Special Chapter 
 closed the Rev. James Benjamin Parker said " he was 
 prepared to move that a copy of the Society's Roll " of the 
 Brethren should be given to the Bishops. But the Master 
 very soon put a stop to Brother Parker's injudicious 
 proposals. He informed the Chapter that he had already 
 refused to give a copy to the Archbishop. Mr. Bagshawe 
 was evidently too wide awake to do anything of the kind. 
 There is nothing, I am certain, that the Society of the 
 Holy Cross dreads more than that the names of its 
 members shall be known to the general public. They 
 could not even trust the secret to one Archbishop ! 
 
 On Friday, July 6th, the Upper House of Canterbury met 
 to consider the Priest in Absolution. There were present, in 
 
DISCUSSION IN CANTERBURY CONVOCATION. Ill 
 
 addition to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, of course, 
 presided, the Bishops of London, Llandaff, Gloucester and 
 Bristol, Norwich, Hereford, St. Albans, Lichfield, Bath and 
 Wells, Chichester, Salisbury, Oxford, and St. Asaph. Not 
 one of these Prelates, whether High Churchmen or 
 Evangelicals, had one word to say in favour of either the 
 Priest in Absolution, or the Society of the Holy Cross, which 
 they held responsible for the book. They unanimously 
 condemned both the one and the other, though some of 
 them bore testimony to the personal character of some of 
 the members of the Society. My readers may find a 
 verbatim report of the speeches of these Prelates, on this 
 remarkable occasion, in the Chronicle of Convocation, Sessions 
 July 3-6, 1877, pages 310-336. My quotations from the 
 speeches are taken from this official report. 
 
 The Archbishop of Canterbury, who, in the course of his 
 speech, presented to the Bishops the resolutions of the 
 Special Chapter of the S. S. C. passed the previous day, 
 said: — " The persons with whom we have now to deal, it 
 appears to me, have adopted a system altogether alien from 
 the system of the Church of England, which yet might 
 not find its natural home, under existing circumstances, in 
 the exaggerated Ultramontane form of the present Roman 
 Catholic Church. This system must seek a home some- 
 where else than in the Reformed Protestant Church of 
 England. . . I am sure your lordships will agree with me 
 that it will be most dangerous to allow them in this Church 
 powers to propagate doctrines, to introduce and carry into 
 effect practices which are entirely alien from the spirit and 
 teaching of the whole body of the Divines of the Church of 
 England from first to last." The Archbishop then called 
 attention to a little confessional book for children, " Edited 
 by a Committee of Clergy," and entitled " Books for the 
 Young," No. L, Confession. It must have had, he said, a 
 very wide circulation, for the copy from which he quoted 
 was one of the " Eighth Thousand." He said that he did 
 
112 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 not know who the " Committee" were who were responsible 
 for that book. He trusted that they were few in number, 
 and not more than two or three. What would he have said, 
 if he had known that this little book, which he so sternly 
 condemned, was, in reality, issued by the Society of the 
 Holy Cross, but without its name being attached to it ? 
 Of course the Society was too wise to enlighten Dr. Tait 
 on this important subject. The little book taught that 
 little children from six and a-half years old should go to 
 Confession ; and these little ones were instructed that, " It 
 is to the priest, and to the priest only, that the child must 
 acknowledge his sins, if he desires that God should forgive 
 him." In conclusion his Grace said, " I have now given 
 your lordships all the information that I have on this 
 subject ; I do it with the greatest pain. I do it with a full 
 appreciation of the goodness of the men with whom we 
 have to deal : but no admiration of any points in their 
 character ought, I think, to make us hesitate as to whatever 
 may appear to be our duty in the endeavour to counteract 
 what I feel obliged to call a conspiracy within our own body 
 against the doctrine, the discipline, and the practice of our 
 Reformed Church." 
 
 The Bishop of London said that in the First Part of the 
 Priest in Absolution there are some pages which contain 
 things as bad as are to be found in the Second Part. He 
 noticed that, by the resolution of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross which had been sent to them, the remaining copies of 
 the Priest in Absolution were not to be destroyed, but none 
 others are to be supplied. " There, consequently," said the 
 Bishop, who evidently suspected trickery, " they are to 
 remain, and at some future opportunity, when the opinion 
 of the Society undergoes a change, I presume they will 
 again be available as they have hitherto been." " I shall," 
 he continued, "ask your lordships to permit me to move, 
 in the first place, that this House holds the Society of the 
 Holy Cross responsible for the preparation and dissemination 
 
OPINIONS OF THE BISHOPS. 
 
 113 
 
 of the book called the Priest in Absolution. The question is, 
 how far they have by their resolutions withdrawn that 
 responsibility; and I am afraid I must say that they have 
 not withdrawn it at all. They have not repudiated the 
 book, nor expressed their regret that it has been published. 
 They have given no opinion in condemnation of it ; on the 
 contrary, they say they do not intend to imply any con- 
 demnation of it, though, in deference to the desire expressed 
 by the Archbishop, no further copies of it will be supplied. I 
 shall, therefore, ask your lordships to agree to a resolution 
 to this effect : — ■ 
 
 " ' That this House, having considered the first resolution appended 
 to die " Statement of the Society of the Holy Cross, presented to this 
 House on Friday, July 6th, 1877," is of opinion that the Society has 
 neither repudiated nor effectually withdrawn from circulation the 
 aforesaid work.' " 
 
 The Bishop of London then proceeded with his speech, 
 and termed the little book on Confession, quoted by the 
 Archbishop, " a wretched little book," after which he moved 
 this further resolution : — 
 
 " That this House hereby expresses its strong condemnation of any 
 doctrine or practice of Confession which can be thought to render 
 such a book necessary or expedient." 
 
 The Bishop of Llandaff seconded the resolutions. He 
 •said : — "It appears to me, after reading a good deal of this 
 book, that it and its papers are books and papers which 
 ought to appear within the pale of the Roman Catholic 
 •Church, and not within the pale of the Church of England." 
 In conclusion, the Bishop expressed his belief that dispensed 
 Jesuits had in the past worked mischief within the Protes- 
 1 tant Churches. "I am very unwilling," he said, " to suppose 
 that anything of the kind is done at the present day, but 
 this is an important fact in history which at any rate may 
 -well be borne in mind." 
 
 The Bishop of St. Albans, who was a High Churchman, 
 said : — " I think it is high time that some restraint should 
 
 8 
 
114 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 be placed on the doctrine and practice of Confession that 
 has become prevalent among us lately. I was, of course, well 
 aware that this practice was beginning to prevail to a great 
 extent ; but I do not think it ever impressed itself on my 
 mind so fully as it did when, on Good Friday last, I took 
 part in the service, for the first time in many years, in a 
 church which has acquired a very unenviable notoriety — 
 I mean the Church of St. James's, Hatcham. In looking over 
 that church after the service had concluded I saw in a 
 transept or side chapel — I saw with my own eyes — a 
 Confessional of the Church of Rome, with its seat for the 
 Confessor, a place for the penitent to kneel upon, curtains, 
 and the usual paraphernalia of such places. Now, I do not 
 wish to say one unkind word concerning the Incumbent of 
 that church, although I must say his conduct has cost me 
 the most miserable weeks of the whole of my Episcopate. 
 I repeat that I do not wish to say anything unkind of him ; 
 but I cannot forget on the present occasion that he is an 
 office-bearer in this Society of the Holy Cross." The Bishop 
 concluded by supporting the resolution. I may here note 
 that Confessional Boxes, which so astonished the late Bishop 
 of St. Albans, have now become very common in Ritualistic 
 churches. The Bishops have the power to remove them, but y 
 with a very few exceptions, they refuse to use their powers. 
 Many of them can talk against Popery in the Church of 
 England, but the laity are asking, Why do they not act ? 
 We need deeds more than words in these dangerous days. 
 
 The next speaker was the High Church Bishop of 
 Lichfield (Dr. Selwyn). He said : — " I must say, from the 
 observation which I have made of the documents placed 
 before us, that they, do contain the very gravest elements 
 of suspicion, and tnat they would make me — although I do- 
 not pledge myself as to my future course either as regards an 
 Incumbent or a Curate — entertain doubts as to whether 
 I could appoint one of these clergymen to one of those offices 
 or the other. . . We, as Bishops of the Church of England, 
 
OPINIONS OF THE BISHOPS. 
 
 cannot sanction their doctrines or practices, and therefore 
 we call upon them in terms of earnest but affectionate 
 expostulation to retreat from a position which we feel to be 
 so utterly wrong." 
 
 The High Church Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Mackarness) 
 declared that he cordially concurred in the resolution, but 
 he added : — " I feel bound to say with respect to some of the 
 persons who are said to be members of this Society, that 
 I do not believe they have the slightest idea of any conspiracy 
 against the doctrine and discipline of our Reformed Church." 
 At the same time his lordship declared that he " disapproved" 
 of the Priest in Absolution. 
 
 The Bishop of St. Asaph said : — " The system of 
 Confession which we have been discussing, followed by 
 priestly absolution, has no sanction from Scripture or from 
 the formularies of the Church of England. I believe that 
 it is most injurious to those who come to confess, and 
 most detrimental to the Minister who receives Confession. 
 . . . What was the result of the system in Ireland, when 
 assassination was frequent in that country ? Did not the 
 assassin go to Confession the previous day and obtain 
 relief to his conscience ? And what was the effect on the 
 priest's own mind ? Was it likely that he could come in 
 contact with so much sin and contract no defilement ? 
 Alas ! let the moral aspect of many countries on the 
 continent supply the answer." 
 
 The Right Rev. Dr. Moberly, Bishop of Salisbury, who 
 next addressed the House, avowed that he believed 
 Confession to be right, and yet even he condemned in very 
 severe language the Priest in Absolution, and the teaching 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross, as contained in its " Books 
 for the Young," No. L, Confession. He said : — " I entirely 
 agree with the resolution ; but I think that this matter is a 
 much more difficult one than on the surface it appears. I 
 cannot doubt that Confession and Absolution were enjoined 
 by our Lord Himself, and that they form a real part of the 
 
 8 * 
 
Il6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 system of the Church, and under certain circumstances are 
 capable of being blessed in the highest possible degree for 
 good to those who partake of them. At the same time, by 
 carrying them to the excess taught and practised by the 
 persons whose conduct is before us to-day they cannot but 
 be productive of great and serious evil. ... I believe the 
 practice of habitual Confession to be mischievous in the 
 highest degree, and I have a particular object in referring to 
 it, for the greater part of my life, as that of others of your 
 lordships, has been spent as a schoolmaster, and I confess 
 that there is not one thing in all the world which is deeper^ 
 in my heart and conscience than the corrupting mischief of. 
 any such system as this getting into our schools." 
 
 The Bishop of Bath and Wells said : — " We have seen 
 how the authors of this book, by the doctrine and practice 
 they have set forth, have scandalized the public mind, and 
 I am sure that if we, the Bishops of the Church of England, 
 were to aid and abet such doctrine and practice, we should 
 lose the respect and confidence of the country. For these 
 reasons, I think it most important that we should 
 unanimously agree to the resolutions before us." 
 
 The last speech from which I shall quote was that of the 
 High Church Bishop of Chichester. "I think," he said, 
 " this is a very serious matter, and that it is the duty of this 
 House to protest in the strongest manner against the 
 teaching of these Romanizing doctrines, and the adoption 
 of these Romanizing practices. There is not a single 
 syllable in the Statutes [of the Society of the Holy Cross] 
 about Confession to Almighty God, and seeking forgiveness 
 through Jesus Christ. There is no intimation that the 
 means of forgiveness are open to all who come to God 
 through Christ. Nothing of the sort is said, and this is a 
 case in which omission appears to me to be fatal. It leads 
 the people to lean on the priest. You cannot find that in 
 the Scriptures, and no one would say that it is inculcated 
 in the formularies of our Church." 
 
IMMORAL RITUALISTIC CONFESSORS. 1IJ 
 
 The resolutions were then put, and carried unanimously. 
 
 I have devoted a considerable amount of space to the 
 speeches of the Bishops on this occasion, partly because of 
 their intrinsic value, and also because the book in which 
 alone they are recorded verbatim is exceedingly scarce, and 
 is, therefore, quite out of the reach of ordinary Churchmen, 
 who may be glad to have the chief points of the speeches 
 within reach in these pages. It will be observed that the 
 Priest in Absolution was thus unanimously condemned by all 
 the Bishops of Canterbury Convocation present on this 
 occasion, and since then not one Bishop of the Church of 
 England has ever publicly said, or written, one word in its 
 favour. Perhaps one of the most damaging exposures of the 
 evil results of the Ritualistic Confessional ever made in public, 
 was that made in the Lower House of Canterbury Convoca- 
 tion, on July 4th, 1877, two days only before the debate in 
 the Upper House. The subject of Confession had been sent 
 down to t*he Lower House, by the Bishops, for discussion, in 
 consequence of the exposure of the Priest in Absolution in 
 the House of Lords. In the course of the debate in the 
 Lower House, Archdeacon Allen rose and said : — 
 
 " I find it printed that it is a shame to suspect any of these 
 Clergymen of misusing this mode of treatment of spiritual disease. 
 A shame to suspect them ! If that is said, I must say something on 
 the other side. I was talking to an elderly clergyman — a Rural 
 Dean, older than myself — a man who has daily prayer in his church, 
 and whom all his friends and neighbours respect — a venerable and 
 wise High Churchman, and he told me that in his own experience 
 he had known three clergymen who had practised this teaching of 
 habitual Confession as a duty, who had fallen into lialits of immorality 
 with women who had come to them for guidance. That was the 
 testimony of an old-fashioned High Churchman ; and I will give his 
 name to any one who asks me for it. You know it is said a discreet 
 Confessor will make a proper use of this book [the Priest in 
 At: solution]. A discreet Confessor ! Is it possible that discretion 
 can be a quality of every young clergyman who is a member of this 
 Society, which is said to have a property in this book ? " 18 
 
 18 Chronicle of Convocation. Sessions, July 3-6, 1877, p. 231. 
 
Il8 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 The truth of Archdeacon Allen's charge against these 
 three Ritualistic clergymen does not appear to have been 
 ever challenged, much less refuted. It raises the very 
 serious question, How far is the Ritualistic Confessional used 
 for immoral purposes by wicked and evil-disposed clergy- 
 men ? No one wishes to make sweeping and general charges 
 on such a subject. But is there not just cause for anxiety ? 
 Is not human nature the same in all ages ? That the Con- 
 fessional has been grossly used for immoral purposes, by 
 evil-disposed priests, and that to a gigantic extent in the 
 Church of Rome, is amply proved, beyond the possibility of 
 refutation, by the Bulls of the Popes themselves against 
 solicitant priests. Anyone who wishes for clear and ample 
 evidence on this point, based exclusively upon Roman 
 Catholic authorities, should certainly read An Historical 
 Sketch of Sacerdotal Celibacy, by Mr. Henry C. Lea, of Phila- 
 delphia. Mr. Lea's book is not sufficiently known in 
 Europe, and I only wonder that an edition of such a learned 
 work has never yet been published in England. He proves 
 conclusively that the Confessional has been used, by wicked 
 priests, for the vilest purposes in the past, and that the 
 offence is not unknown to the nineteenth century. It 
 appears that the Abbe Helsen, who for twenty-five years had 
 been and still was a Roman Catholic preacher in Brussels, 
 addressed an indignant remonstrance to the Archbishop of 
 Mechlin, in 1832, in which he exposed to the light of day the 
 awful immorality existing at that time amongst the Romish 
 priesthood. 
 
 "Helsen," writes Mr. Lea, "alludes to the scandals of the Con- 
 fessional as a cause of its avoidance by the faithful and as contributing 
 powerfully to the growth of religious indifference, and that these 
 scandals exist is not a mere matter of conjecture or inference. If it 
 were so, there would be no need for reiterating the prohibitions against 
 the absolution by Confessors of their fair partners in guilt, which is 
 still occasionally found to be necessary by modern Councils ; nor 
 would Pius IX., in 1866, have felt himself obliged to declare that the 
 power granted to Bishops to absolve in cases reserved to the Pope 
 
CLERICAL CELIBACY. 
 
 II 9 
 
 shall not in future extend to offences reserved for Papal absolution by 
 Benedict XIV. 's Bull ' Sacr amentum Pcenitentioe' In fact, the crime 
 of 1 solicitation ' must have lecome notoriously frequent before the Con- 
 gregation of the Inquisition at Rome could have felt impelled, in 1867, 
 to put forth an Instruction addressed to all Archbishops, Bishops, and 
 Ordinaries, complaining that the Constitutions on the subject did not 
 receive proper attention, and that in some places abuses had crept in, 
 both as to requiring penitents to denounce guilty Confessors, and as 
 to the punishing of Confessors guilty of solicitation [i.e., soliciting 
 women, while in the Confessional, to immorality]. It therefore 
 urged the officials everywhere to greater vigour in investigating such 
 offences, and gave a summary of the practice of the Inquisition in 
 regard to these matters." 19 
 
 Bearing these and other similar facts in mind, I am 
 not at all surprised to learn, on the reliable authority of 
 Archdeacon Allen, that within the experience of even one 
 clergyman "three " instances were made known in which the 
 Ritualistic Confessional has been used by Father Confessors 
 for the vilest purposes. Are we to suppose that those three 
 were the only guilty persons in England ? If the experience 
 of others could only be made public, is there not reason to 
 fear that the instances would be considerably multiplied ? 
 Has not, at least, one clergyman, since 1877, been deprived 
 of his living for the crime of seducing a young lady through 
 the Confessional ? Clerical celibacy is rapidly spreading 
 amongst the Ritualists, and it is not at all a pleasant 
 thought that our wives, daughters, and sisters may be 
 going to Confession to some young bachelor priest, and 
 talking with him on subjects which should never be alluded 
 to. This sort of thing is bad enough w r hen the Confessor 
 happens to be a married man, but when he is a celibate 
 the dangers are greatly increased. Let it not be said that 
 I am bringing reckless and wholesale charges against the 
 Ritualistic clergy. I am doing nothing of the kind. I am 
 simply dealing with facts, and with possibilities, which we 
 
 19 Lea's History of Sacerdotal Celibacy, p. 633. Second edition. Boston : 
 Houghton, Miffen & Co., 1884. 
 
120 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 cannot afford to ignore. That the Confessional may be 
 used for the vilest purposes is acknowledged even by the 
 author of the Priest in Absolution, who, as a Ritualistic 
 Confessor of many years' experience, speaks with some 
 authority on this point. While writing on the care which 
 the Confessor should exercise in hearing the Confessions of 
 females, he remarks : — 
 
 " Nothing more shows the fearfulness of Satanic devices than that 
 it is possible that a Sacrament which was instituted to drive forth 
 from souls sin and the devil, and make them living temples of the 
 Holy Ghost, may be profaned by abusers of its ministrations to the 
 grossest iniquity." 20 
 
 This testimony of the Editor of the Priest in Absolution 
 is corroborated by that of Dr. Pusey, given after he had 
 himself been hearing Confessions for forty years. He tells 
 us of one waj- in which the Confessional is still abused by 
 Confessors : — 
 
 " It is a sad sight," writes Dr. Pusey, " to see Confessors giving 
 their whole morning to young women dovotees, while they dismiss 
 men or married women, who have, perhaps, left their household 
 affairs with difficulty to rind themselves rejected with, ' I am busy, 
 go to someone else ! ' so that, perhaps, such people will go on for 
 months or years without the Sacraments. This is not hearing 
 Confessions for God's sake, but for one's own." 21 
 
 Again, Dr. Pusey warns the Confessor, when in the 
 Confessional, — 
 
 " You may pervert this Sacrament [of. Penance] from its legitimate 
 end, which is to kindle an exceeding horror of sin in the minds of 
 others, into a subtle means of feeding evil passions and sin in your 
 own mind." 22 
 
 He also warns the Confessor, who hears Confessions 
 while " in a state of mortal sin," which does not necessarily 
 imply what the world would term a wickedness : — ■ 
 
 " If the ministry of a Confessor is beset with dangers, even for a 
 
 20 The Priest in Absolution, Part II., p. 77. 
 81 Pusey's Manual for Confessors, p. 108. 
 
 Ibid., p. 102. 
 
DANGERS OF THE RITUALISTIC CONFESSIONAL. 121 
 
 good man, how can one in your condition hope to escape ? There is 
 but too great danger, that you will add fresh crimes to your account 
 by an undue indulgence to faults in others which you have not 
 overcome in yourself ; or, worst of all, being the cause of temptation 
 to others, thereby proving yourself no spiritual father, but rather a 
 raven in fr wo lf : no Minister of God, but of the devil; no physician, 
 but the murderer of souls." 23 
 
 And yet one more quotation from Dr. Pusey which, with 
 all my heart and soul, I believe to be the solemn truth : — 
 
 " Be assured," he writes, " that this is one of the gravest faults of 
 our day in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, that it is 
 the road by which a number of Christians go down to hell." u 
 
 When the Editor of the Priest in Absolution, and the Rev. 
 Dr. Pusey, both experienced Father Confessors themselves, 
 make such startling acknowledgments as those I have just 
 quoted, is it surprising or unreasonable that Protestant 
 Churchmen also should raise a loud note of warning, and 
 urge people on no account to enter on that road, by which 
 " a number of Christians go down to hell " ? It cannot be 
 Christ's road, for he who walks on that road, cannot possibly 
 go astray. Such dire possibilities as those so frankly 
 acknowledged by these two noted Ritualistic leaders, can 
 never result from that Confession to the Great High Priest, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, practised by all devout Protestant 
 Christians. The Father Confessor, as Dr. Pusey admits, is 
 often, while in the Confessional, the "murderer of souls." 
 
 And now let us return once more to the Society of the 
 Holy Cross and its proceedings, in relation to the Priest in 
 Absolution. The ordinary Monthly Chapter of the Society 
 was held on July ioth, 1877, when an address of sympathy 
 with the Society was read from the so-called " Church of 
 England Working Men's Society." The Rev. G. D. 
 Nicholas rose and complained that the caution given to the 
 brethren by the Master at the Special Chapter, as to the 
 
 23 Ibid., p. 99. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 315. 
 
122 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 "strictly confidential" nature of its proceedings, had been 
 ignored. A lady had actually " told him, on the following 
 morning, that she knew that the vote of the Society was not 
 unanimous." Next a letter was read from Brother Oxenham, 
 who was evidently anxious to keep his promise to the Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. That gentleman enclosed a motion 
 which he wished to bring before the September Synod, if 
 approved by the Chapter. The motion was as follows : — 
 
 "That inasmuch as certain parts of the Priest in Absolution, 
 relating to the questioning of penitents, are, in the opinion of this 
 Synod, at least very liable to injurious misuse, this Synod resolves 
 that all copies of the said book now in the possession of the Society 
 shall be destroyed."- 5 
 
 To tolerate the discussion of such a very proper motion 
 as this was what the brethren could never assent to. The 
 very thought was treason. So, in pious horror, the Rev. 
 Robert James Wilson exclaimed that " he hoped that the 
 Chapter would not allow Brother Oxenham's motion to be 
 placed on the Agenda " of the September Synod. So to 
 make quite sure that the hated and dreaded discussion 
 should not take place, Brother Wilson proposed, and the 
 Rev. Edgar Hoskins (now Rector of St, Martin's, Ludgate, 
 London) seconded the following resolution : — " That 
 the Society thinks it undesirable to enter at the Synod 
 into a reconsideration of its relations to the Priest in 
 Absolution There was no difference of opinion in the 
 Chapter as to the desirability of stifling discussion on 
 Brother Oxenham's motion, and accordingly Brother 
 Wilson's resolution was "carried unanimously." And yet, 
 notwithstanding this decision of the July Chapter, when 
 the September Synod was held the relations of the Society 
 to the Priest in Absolution were very fully considered, as 
 the official report of the proceedings fully shows, though, 
 of course, Brother Oxenham's motion was rigorously 
 boycotted. 
 
 25 S.S. C. July Chapter, 1877, p. 2. 26 Ibid., p. 10. 
 
S. S. C. AND THE BISHOPS. I23 
 
 One of the special subjects discussed at the July Chapter 
 was " Our Action Towards the Bishops." It was introduced 
 by the Rev. C. F. Lowder, who, after mentioning that the 
 Upper House of Convocation had appointed a Committee 
 to consider the Statutes of the Society of the Holy Cross 
 and the Priest in Absolution, proceeded to congratulate the 
 Society on having so far escaped Episcopal censure. That, 
 it seems, was largely due to the Bishop of Oxford, who, 
 while denouncing the Society and its Confessional Book in 
 public, was at the same time secretly plotting for the purpose 
 of shielding them from the expected censure of the Episcopal 
 Bench. In the course of his speech Brother Lowder said 
 that V Putting aside the rhodomontade and ad captandum 
 words of the Archbishop about a ' conspiracy,' he saw 
 grounds for hope in the line taken by the Bishop of Oxford, 
 who, he believed, was friendly to us, and had moved for a 
 Committee in order to save the censure which was hanging over 
 tis. That censure would be most serious to the Society at 
 large, and especially to the younger brethren, and those 
 holding positions under Government. He advised that a 
 deputation of the Society should go before the Committee 
 [of Bishops] with the object of explaining and defending 
 the Statutes." Brother Lowder concluded his speech by 
 moving a resolution to the effect that the Master in Council 
 take such steps as might seem best to explain the work of 
 the Society to the Committee of the Upper House of Con- 
 vocation. This resolution was severely criticised by several 
 of the brethren. In particular, Brother A. H. Mackonochie 
 declared that he differed entirely from the course proposed. 
 il The leading mind among the Bishops was," he said, 
 ''simply hatred to the Society as far as they knew it. . . 
 At the meeting at Lambeth the Archbishop had surrep- 
 titiously got the Statutes out of the Master, and having 
 obtained them the Archbishop of York announced that he 
 should not feel himself bound to respect the confidence of 
 the Society. The Bishops' object was to put down the 
 
124 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Society, which they hate and fear. They have already a 
 great idea of its power." 
 
 Canon T. T. Carter said he " must agree with Brother 
 Mackonochie as to the evident animus of the Bishops. 
 They would destroy us if they could, and the principles 
 we uphold. . . There were Bishops, he knew, who hated 
 the way in which they were kept under by the Archbishop, 
 and only wanted to be backed up ; and our power against 
 the Archbishop lay in those men being able to show our 
 position. . . Now that we have gone so far, we must not 
 withdraw from the course we have taken." 
 
 The Rev. T. Outram Marshall (Organizing Secretary o 
 the English Church Union) said he could support Brothei 
 Lowder's motion, if the powers of the deputation were 
 limited. " He looked upon it as an opportunity to teach 
 the Gospel to those who seldom hear us." This will no 
 doubt be news to many. It was certainly impertinent on 
 Mr. Marshall's part thus to imply that the Bishops seldom 
 heard the Gospel, and that it was the duty of a secret 
 Society of Father Confessors to " teach " it to them ! 
 
 The Rev. Robert Eyton (now Canon of Westminster) 
 declared that " He was glad of unburdening his mind, and 
 stating what might have to be his course of action. There 
 was a great tide of feeling in the country setting in towards 
 Catholicism as the only safe ground. He hoped the Society- 
 would not by its policy at this great crisis check that tide. 
 If it ever came to his having to choose between remaining 
 in the Society, and ceasing to minister in the Church of 
 England, he felt no doubt what he should do, deeply as he 
 should regret his severance from S. S. C." It may help 
 towards explaining Mr. Eyton's position if I mention that he 
 at that time held a curate's license under the Bishop of 
 London, and therefore what he meant was that rather than 
 lose that license he would, though with deep "regret," leave 
 the Society of the Holy Cross. As a matter of fact, he has 
 since withdrawn from the Society, though whether his heart 
 
JESUITICAL TACTICS. 125 
 
 is still with it or not, now that he is a Residentiary Canon of 
 Westminster, is more than I can say. Certainly, so far as I 
 can ascertain, Canon Eyton has never publicly denounced 
 the Society of the Holy Cross, and he must at one time have 
 been anxious that his connection with it during seven years 
 should be unknown to the general public. 
 
 The Rev. Nathaniel Dawes (now Bishop of Rockhampton, 
 Australia) supported the motion. He said : — " Our weak- 
 ness hitherto had been our ' secrecy.' He deprecated a spirit 
 of uncourteous defiance towards the Bishops. . . . There 
 is no need to go to the Bishops as penitents, but we must 
 not forget our obligations to them." From this I gather 
 that, in the opinion of Brother Dawes the Society of the 
 Holy Cross had done nothing for which they needed to 
 express sorrow. 
 
 One of the speakers, the Rev. Edmund Gough de Wood, 
 Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge, is evidently of a subtle 
 turn of mind. After declaring that if the Society went to 
 the Bishops, without being first invited, it would be like 
 "rushing into the lion's mouth," he recommended the 
 Society to revise its Statutes. " Our Statutes," he said, 
 "were not drawn up for the public. The Society used to 
 be a secret Society. If now it becomes a public one it might 
 be wise to alter them ; perhaps to have certain Constitutions 
 for outsiders to see, and an ' Interior Rule ' for ourselves." 
 Some persons would term a proposition, such as this, 
 thoroughly Jesuitical. Eventually the Chapter passed 
 Brother Lowder's motion, but with the proviso that the 
 Master should not go before the Committee of the Upper 
 House, unless "summoned by them." 
 
 A short discussion followed on the " Resignations of 
 Brethren." The Rev. Joseph Newton Smith (Founder of 
 the Society of the Holy Cross) made a speech, in the course 
 of which he displayed considerable hatred of publicity. He 
 " thought we ought to cultivate ' the wisdom of the serpent.' 
 He did not share the admiration some : brothers had 
 
126 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 expressed for English honesty and straightforwardness. He 
 thought our secrecy had been a protection to us, and he 
 therefore was opposed to surrendering the Roll to the 
 Bishops." 
 
 Before the Chapter closed protests were made by two of 
 the brethren. The Rev. E. G. de Salis Wood said that he 
 " wished to protest against the statement in the Address [of 
 the Society of the Holy Cross] to Convocation, that ' the 
 Church of England teaches that Confession is not a matter 
 of compulsory obligation.' " The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie 
 declared that " he agreed with Brother Wood in this sense, 
 that for those who are in mortal sin there is no way 
 generally of obtaining pardon, save in the Sacrament of 
 Penance." 
 
 Two days before this Chapter was held the Rev. W. J. 
 Knox-Little (now Canon Knox-Little) preached (on 
 July 8th) a sermon on the subject of the Priest in Absolu- 
 tion to his own congregation at St. Alban's Church, 
 Manchester, and subsequently he published it in pamphlet 
 form. I refer to it here as illustrating the tactics of some 
 leading Ritualists. The preacher had not the courage to 
 tell his people plainly that he was himself a member of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, yet to save his conscience he thus 
 referred to the matter : — 
 
 " My connection, indeed, with the Society of the Holy Cross is of 
 the slightest, but my knowledge of the good and holy men who are 
 leading members of it is intimate, and I believe, from all I have 
 heard of it, that the Society of the Holy Cross is a nolle Society, no 
 matter what calumny may be heaped upon it." 27 
 
 Was this a strictly accurate way for Canon Knox-Little 
 to describe his connection with the Society of the Holy 
 Cross ? W T as it right to say that his " connection " with it 
 was " of the slightest," when he was a full member at the 
 
 * The Priest in Absolution, by Rev. W. J. Knox-Little, M.A., p. 26. London : 
 Rivingtons. 
 
CANON KNOX LITTLE AND S. S. C. 
 
 127 
 
 very moment he was speaking ? And notice the expression, 
 " from all that I have heard of it"; as though he had no 
 personal knowledge of its dark history and Popish Statutes ! 
 It may reasonably be asked here, If the S. S. C. " is a noble 
 Society," why did Canon Knox-Little sever his connection 
 with it the next year ? 
 
 At the August, 1877, Chapter of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross, a letter was read from the Master of the Society " to 
 the effect that, as some of the brethren had expressed their 
 disapproval of his action in surrendering the Statutes to the 
 Archbishop, he thought it would be well to give an oppor- 
 tunity at the [September] Synod for an expression of 
 opinion on the part of the Society as to his conduct." On 
 the motion of the Rev. Anthony Bathe, now Vicar of Friday - 
 thorpe, York, a resolution assuring the Master that he 
 possessed "the full confidence of the Society " was carried 
 unanimously. The Rev. Charles Stebbing Wallace (now 
 Vicar of the Church of the Ascension, Lavender Hill, S.W.) 
 brought before the Chapter the difficult circumstances in 
 which he was placed. He said, " that the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury had refused to license him to the Curacy of 
 St. Barnabas', Beckenham, because he would not leave 
 S. S. C." On the motion of the Rev. H. D. Nihill, seconded 
 by the Rev. Anthony Bathe, a resolution was passed by the 
 Chapter unanimously thanking Brother Wallace for his 
 courageous conduct. At this Chapter, it may interest some 
 to know, the late Archdeacon Denison was admitted into the 
 Order of Probationers. The Archdeacon made no secret of 
 his connection with the Society of the Holy Cross. In his 
 Notes of My Life, he glories in the fact that he joined it 
 because of the attack on it in 1877. 
 
 The September, 1877, Synod of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross was looked forward to by the brethren with more 
 than ordinary interest and anxiety. It was the first Synod 
 of the whole Society held since Lord Redesdale's exposure 
 of the Priest in Absolution. I am sorry to state that the 
 
128 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Sermon to the brethren, and the Master's Address to the 
 Synod on this important occasion have not come into my 
 possession. But I do possess the official and secret report 
 of the Synod itself, which was held in St. Peter's Church, 
 London Docks, on September 13th and 14th. The proceed- 
 ings began each day at the early hour of 9 a.m. and lasted 
 until 7 p.m. 28 At this Synod an effort was made by several 
 of the brethren to nominally break up the Society, but to 
 continue it under another name, so as to avoid the official 
 censure of Convocation. The truly Jesuitical scheme seems 
 to have been suddenly sprung on the Society, for Brother 
 Mackonochie denied that the Synod had the power to 
 discuss the question " after twenty-four hours' notice." It 
 was said that " very many " of the brethren had received no 
 notice of what was coming on. A series of resolutions 
 bearing on the subject had been prepared. It was, however, 
 soon evident that there would be a strong opposition to the 
 proposals for disbanding the. Society, and a protest was 
 entered against the discussion of the question at that Synod. 
 After an excited debate, it was decided that the Resolutions 
 should be brought forward as an amendment to the first 
 motion on the agenda paper. That motion was the result of 
 the recent discussion in public of the Priest in Absolution. 
 A desire was expressed at the Synod that the Statutes 
 might be revised, with a view to toning down some of 
 the expressions in the Statutes of the Society, not that 
 anyone objected to the doctrine contained in those Statutes, 
 but to the use of terms, such as " The Mass," and " Sacra- 
 ment of Penance," &c, which had given offence to the 
 Bishops. Accordingly, the Rev. William Henry Hutchings 
 (now Archdeacon of Cleveland) proposed, and the Rev. Edgar 
 Hoskins seconded, the following motion : — 
 
 " That in the opinion of this Synod it is advisable that a Committee 
 be appointed to consider the form of the Society's Statutes, with a 
 view to modification or otherwise." 
 
 28 Charles Lowder : a Biography, p. 311. First edition. 
 
SPEECHES IN SECRET SYNOD. I2Q 
 
 In proposing this motion, Brother Hutchings said that : — 
 u It was the opinion of a well-known Oxford Professor :9 that 
 to dissolve would be to create confusion in certain minds, 
 and would involve some loss of self-respect ; if we dissolved 
 we acknowledged ourselves to be in the wrong, and destroyed 
 the great instrument we had for promoting the Catholic 
 Revival in this country. . . . To appoint a Committee to 
 consider the form of the Statutes would be to withdraw the 
 Statutes as they now stand, and so prevent the Bishops from 
 considering them." This was a clever scheme, and proves 
 to my mind that the motion of Brother Hutchings was 
 mainly intended to " draw a red herring " across the trail of 
 the Bishops. 
 
 The Rev. Edgar Hoskins, now Rector of St. Martin's, 
 Ludgate Hill, London, in seconding the motion, <: thought 
 it would be very disastrous for the Society to disband. 
 What we have to stand up for is Eucharistic Truth, and 
 freedom of Confession in the Church of England." 
 
 The Rev. William Purton declared that, in his opinion, 
 S. S. C. " was one of the outposts which we were bound to 
 defend ; he thought it would be cowardly to disband.'' 
 
 The Rev. W. J. Knox-Little (now Canon Knox-Little) 
 " maintained that we must do what was right, and leave the 
 result to God. Losing self-respect ! A dread of what would 
 be said ! Fear of the laity ! All this must be put out of the 
 question. He was opposed to the mere withdrawal of terms; 30 
 that, he believed, would be inadequate to meet the difficulty. 
 Did the Synod (he asked) believe in the certainty of a 
 Synodical condemnation ? Did we realize the force of such 
 condemnation ? It would be impossible to remain in the 
 Society after such a condemnation. What was S. S. C. 
 that Catholic work should be given up for it ? To revise 
 
 29 Who was this " well-known Oxford Professor " ? I am inclined to think 
 he was Dr. Pusey, who had evidently been consulted by the Society, for at 
 this Synod a letter was read from him on the question of revising the 
 Statutes. 
 
 w That is, to such " terms " as the " Mass," &C, in the Statutes. 
 
 9 
 
130 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the Statutes by the withdrawal of terms w r ould not be to 
 avert a Synodical condemnation. He w r ould support the 
 resolutions in favour of disbanding." 
 
 These were brave words, coming from one who soon after 
 withdrew from the Society, without waiting for any 
 " Synodical condemnation." I have altered the wording of 
 his speech, in accordance with his own corrections, as given 
 in the October Chapter, p. i. 
 
 At this point, Brother E. G. de Salis Wood obtained 
 permission to bring forward his resolutions, as an amend- 
 ment to the motion of Brother Hutchings. They are 
 somewhat lengthy, but I think it may be useful to quote them 
 here in full, omitting only the last two clauses, as not of any 
 importance. They reveal a plan for disbanding the Society, 
 so far as the public knowledge of their proceedings went, 
 while at the same time providing for its continuance under 
 another name, by which scheme the general public would be 
 led to suppose that it had ceased to exist altogether. The 
 following were the resolutions (the italics are mine) : — 
 
 " I. That on and after the 15th day of September, 1877, the Societv 
 ■of the Holy Cross be disbanded, and that all its members be and they 
 are hereby freed from all obligations imposed by the Society in respect 
 to its Statutes, Laws, or Rules of Life {save and except the olligation of 
 ■confidence as regards past proceedings of Synods and Chapters and of 
 this Synod), as well as from any formal bond of union or mutual 
 obligations at present subsisting in virtue of Membership in the 
 Society." 
 
 " II. (a.) That the Master, the Secretaries, the Treasurer, and two 
 other Brethren chosen by them, shall be and are hereby constituted 
 Trustees of the funds, papers, and other property of the Societv, 
 without power of disposition except as hereinafter provided. 
 
 "(7\) That it be and is suggested to the said Trustees, that from 
 time to time, at their discretion, they should invite to informal conference 
 all whose names shall have been upon the Roll of the Society on the 14th 
 September, 1877, as well as such other priests as they may choose.' 61 
 
 al This was a plan for continuing the S. S. C. in existence under another 
 name, together with power to add to 1;heir number. There was a great deal 
 of subtlety in such a plan, which is more clearly developed in the next section. 
 
SPEECHES IN SECRET SYNOD. 
 
 u (c.) That the Trustees shall have power to transfer the property 
 of the Society to any other Society with similar objects and like consti- 
 tution^ which at any future time may he formed, if they shall receive 
 the sanction expressed by a vote of the majority of those present and 
 voting at such a Conference as is provided for in the foregoing section ; 
 at least one month's notice having been given to all whose names 
 were on the said 14th day of September on the Roll of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross." 
 
 In moving this resolution as an amendment the Rev. 
 E. G. Wood said that "the Society had been rushed down 
 hill into the midst of its foes, and was now surrounded, and 
 in danger of being cut to pieces. There was nothing for it 
 but to i take open order,' to skirmish as it were for a time, to 
 pass through our enemies and re-form in a stronger position. In 
 ■other words, he counselled disbanding the Society, with the view 
 ■of thereby escaping an Episcopal censure, and of reconstructing 
 the Society under the same or a similar title, at as early a 
 date as possible. This it was well known was the opinion 
 ■of at least one Bishop who was friendly towards us. 33 .... 
 The course he (Mr. Wood) advocated derived great support 
 from consideration of the policy of the Apostolic See, when 
 ■the Jesuit Order was suppressed by Clement XIV. — not 
 because it had done wrong, but simply, as the Pope 
 emphatically asserted, for the sake of the peace of the 
 Church. And that was the ground on which he (the 
 -speaker) urged the disbanding of the S. S. C. . . . The 
 .Society, as appeared from the list of resignations the Master 
 bad read out, was rapidly bleeding to death." 
 
 In thus comparing the Jesuits with the Society of the 
 Holy Cross, Mr. Wood certainly used a most appropriate 
 illustration. It is, however, a great pity that the authorities 
 -of the Church of England did not suppress the S. S. C, 
 as Pope Clement XIV. did the Jesuit Order. Mr. Wood's 
 amendment did not find favour with a section of the 
 
 32 It would be interesting to know who the Bishop was, who thus played a 
 double part, censuring the Society in public, and helping it on with a friendly 
 lift in secret ! 
 
 9 * 
 
132 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 brethren in Synod, for no sooner had he concluded his 
 speech than several of them raised the question, was the 
 amendment in order ? The Master of the Society definitely 
 ruled that it was ; but that did not satisfy the discontented 
 brethren, who actually had the daring to challenge the 
 Master's ruling. The Rev. H. D. Nihill moved, and the 
 Rev. T. Outram Marshall seconded the following motion : — • 
 " That the ruling given by the Master was not correct." 
 Of course, this was equivalent to a vote of censure, and an 
 excited debate followed, in which Bishop Jenner took part. 
 Eventually the Master triumphed, for only thirty-six voted 
 for the resolution, while fifty-three voted against it. Mr. 
 Wood's amendment was thereupon once more declared in 
 order, and the general debate was continued. 
 
 Canon George Body (now Canon Missioner of Durham) 
 u spoke strongly in favour of disbanding. He gave his 
 reasons for having remained in S. S. C. under its altered 
 circumstances. The Rule was a help to him. He desired 
 to fight shoulder to shoulder with those who were fighting 
 the same battle ; but now he thought that the work of the 
 Society could not be continued without great injury to the 
 Church/' 
 
 The Rev. C. D. Goldie moved another amendment to the 
 effect that the Society should assure the Bishops that the 
 Council would "be anxious" to " consider any recommenda- 
 tion which may be made by their lordships, and to coincide 
 with any amendments which are in accordance with the 
 teaching of the early Church, and the Formularies of our 
 Church." 
 
 The Rev. Frederick William Puller (now head of the 
 Cowley Fathers) supported Brother Goldie's amendment. 
 He said that he was against disbanding, but " he admitted 
 that it was possible that the wording of the Statutes might 
 be improved, and he allowed the force of the arguments that 
 they had been drafted under the idea that they would be 
 seen only by those who would understand them." 
 
SPEECHES IN SECRET SYNOD. 
 
 133 
 
 The Rev. William H. Colbeck Luke affirmed that he 
 " would shelve the question of disbanding for the present." 
 
 The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie declared that " for his own 
 part (and many had expressed their agreement with him) he 
 did not mean to be disbanded, but would hold on, with any 
 who chose to join him, as the S. S. C, in spite of any vote 
 for disbanding." 
 
 The Rev. T. Outram Marshall, spoke against disbanding, 
 and then went on to make a very startling announcement. 
 He declared that, " There were five or six Bishops who wished 
 us well, and who would be glad to do all in their power to prevent 
 the Upper House of Convocation from condemning the Society." 2 '* 
 Mr. Marshall proceeded, with an astuteness which would 
 have done credit to the General of the Jesuits, to point out 
 that, " They would be able to lay great stress on the fact 
 that the Statutes were under consideration ; they [the ' five or 
 six Bishops '] wanted to stand by us, and we should thus enable 
 them to do so. f the Archbishop of Canterbury found that 
 the Bishops were divided, he would probably shrink from 
 pressing the matter ; and so this storm, like many others, 
 would pass away." 
 
 In this Mr. Marshall was a true prophet. The Statutes 
 were revised ; but rejected by the Society afterwards ; the 
 Archbishop did not press the matter ; the storm passed 
 away, and the Society went on its way rejoicing, mainly, 
 I have no doubt, through the treachery of these five or six 
 Bishops. 
 
 The Rev. Arthur Hawkins Ward, Vicar of St. Raphael, 
 Bristol, informed the Synod that " he had come most 
 reluctantly to the conclusion that we must, for a time, 
 disband. Unless we did so the censure of the entire 
 Episcopate would come upon us." 
 
 Archdeacon Denison spoke next. He asked, " What 
 
 33 What hypocrites these " five or six Bishops " must have been ! They 
 succeeded in their underhand proceedings, for the dreaded censure of the 
 Upper House did not take place. 
 
134 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 advantage could there be in disbanding ? We should part 
 with some of the most precious things we possessed, and 
 should gain nothing. He had turned towards that Society, 
 believing that the brethren, at any rate, would stand firm. 
 As to a Synodical condemnation, he laughed at it ! On the 
 vote of this Synod, he believed, hung the hope of the Catholic 
 Church of England. We had heard very much about Episcopal 
 condemnation, but such a condemnation would be based 
 upon Protestant principles. Our attitude should be, 'You 
 shall kill me, if you choose, but you shall not stop me.' " 
 
 After some further discussion, Brother Goldie withdrew 
 his amendment. Brother Wood's amendment for disbanding 
 was then put, and was lost by a great majority, only nine 
 voting for it, and sixty-seven against it. At last Brother 
 Hutchings's original motion, in favour of a Committee to revise 
 the Statutes, was put to the Synod, and was carried, forty-one 
 voting for it, and twenty against it. 
 
 On the second day of the Synod an important debate took 
 place on the Priest in Absolution. The Rev. Orby Shipley 
 (who is now a Roman Catholic) opened the discussion by 
 moving the following very startling resolution : — 
 
 " That, in consequence of the evil effects which have ensued 
 from the private circulation of the Priest in Absolution, the bad use 
 made of its contents, and the false charges founded upon garbled 
 quotations, it is due both to the memory of its compiler, and to the 
 character of its owners, that the work be published in the ordinary 
 course of trade, and this Synod hereby authorises the same." 
 
 Of course this resolution was equivalent to flinging defiance 
 at the Bishops, and at all the opponents of that filthy 
 book. Brother Shipley " declared, emphatically, that 
 the book was pure and holy. Publicity, he held, was now 
 the only safeguard for our personal character against the 
 evil which had been done by its private circulation. . . 
 He protested against the action of those brethren who had 
 publicly condemned the book, which they admitted they had 
 never read." 
 
SPEECHES IN SECRET SYNOD. I35 
 
 The Rev. H. D. Nihill seconded the resolution, and said that 
 "the most miserable circumstance about the question was the 
 condemnation of the book by those who had not read it." 
 
 The Rev. W. C. Macfarlane moved and Brother Goldie 
 seconded as an amendment — " That all the words after 
 * That ' be omitted, in order to insert the following ' inasmuch 
 as the book called the Priest in Absolution has been 
 withdrawn from circulation, the copies in possession of the 
 Society be at the disposal of the Master.' " 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Newton Smith "opposed the publication 
 of the book ; he could not see how we should mend matters 
 by increasing the opportunities of unprincipled people to sin 
 by sowing the book broadcast." 
 
 What an acknowledgment this was, to be made by no less 
 a person than the Founder of the Society of the Hoi)' Cross ! 
 A more severe, though, apparently, unintentional, condemna- 
 tion of the Priest in A bsolntion, could not have been passed by 
 any Protestant Churchman. To circulate the book publicly 
 would, in his estimation, " increase the opportunities " of 
 committing sin in the world, and thus do the work of Satan 
 more effectually. Those whose painful duty it has been to 
 read its dirty pages, as I have, will quite agree with Brother 
 Newton Smith, who does not, however, appear to have 
 condemned the book itself. If the book would have had 
 such an evil effect on the general public, is there not reason 
 to fear that it may have already had an evil effect on some 
 of the young bachelor Father Confessors who have already 
 studied it, and who are made of the same flesh and blood as 
 other mortals ? 
 
 The Rev. W. J. Knox-Little delivered a speech on the 
 subject, which I report as corrected by himself later on in 
 the report of the October, 1877, Chapter of the Society. 
 He said that "circumstances had compelled him to speak of 
 the book in public. He had not seen the book, and therefore 
 he acted upon the descriptions of it which he had seen and 
 heard, by those able to speak accurately on the subject. He 
 
I36 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 defended the general principle of the book, but deprecated 
 the extracts, of which an unwarrantable use had been made. 
 At the same time he acknowledged his disapproval of it as 
 a work on moral theology, and he by no means repented of 
 what he had said. With regard to the motion he argued 
 that it would be hardly honourable to publish the book in 
 the face of Convocation." 
 
 The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie "thought the book a most 
 useful one for young priests, and expressed a hope that it 
 might be circulated again at some future time." He 
 supported the motion. 
 
 The Rev. Charles Parnell, Curate of St. Bartholomew, 
 Brighton, "opposed the publication of the book " ; and the 
 Rev. Charles Stebbing Wallace " urged that, as men of 
 honour, we had no right to publish the book." 
 
 The Master, in reply to a question, explained that "the 
 amendment meant that the book should be destroyed 
 privately, without casting any stigma upon the author. He 
 maintained that, as honourable men, we could never put the 
 book out again." 
 
 The Rev. T. Outram Marshall " opposed both the destruc- 
 tion and the publication of the book." 
 
 The Rev. R. Rhodes Bristow supported the amendment. 
 " If the book were published, it would be prosecuted, he said, as 
 an obscene book. We did not want the book. Dr. Pusey 
 was bringing out a work on Moral Theology. He would 
 therefore instruct the Master to deal with the book as with 
 waste paper." 
 
 The book of Dr. Pusey, referred to by Mr. Bristow, was 
 in reality only another adapted translation of the same book 
 from which the Priest in Absolution was translated, namely," 
 the Abbe Gaume's Manual for Confessors. Dr. Pusey's 
 translation was published early in 1878. 
 
 At last the debate ended. The question was then put, 
 " That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the 
 question." This was carried by thirty-four to eight. The 
 
SYMPATHY WITH S. S. C. 137 
 
 amendment was therefore lost. The original motion was 
 then put. Twelve voted for it, and thirty-one against ; and 
 therefore it was lost. 
 
 The Society would neither publish nor destroy the book. 
 I learn from the official report of this Synod that the 
 Society received several messages of sympathy with the 
 brethren for what they had suffered under the attack 
 upon them for their connection with the Priest in Absolu- 
 tion. One message was from the " Church of England 
 Working Men's Society " ; another from the Bristol Branch 
 of the English Church Union; and a similar one from 
 the Penrith Branch of the Union ; and two other resolu- 
 tions of sympathy were received from the London Province 
 of the Guild of St. Alban's and the Wolverhampton Branch 
 of the same Guild. Several other branches of the English 
 Church Union sent, later on, similar resolutions. At the 
 October Chapter, a letter was read from the Rev. Richard 
 Whitehead Hoare, Vicar of St. Michael's, Croydon, 
 " enclosing a letter expressing the sympathy and goodwill 
 which the Bishop of Grahamstown felt towards S. S. C." 3i 
 
 The action of this Synod led, eventually, to the resignation 
 of the Master of the Society (the Rev. F. L. Bagshaw r e). 
 At the October Chapter a long letter was read from him, in 
 which he complained bitterly of the way in which he had 
 been treated by the Society. His first thought had been, he 
 said, to resign at once, immediately after the Synod, on the 
 ground that his policy had been " distinctly negatived " by 
 the Synod. " I asked leave," he wrote, " to destroy privately 
 the copies of the Priest in A bsolution, on the ground that we 
 were bound in honour never to circulate that book again " ; 
 but the Synod refused to grant his request. He would not, 
 however, resign at that time, lest it should hinder the success 
 of the efforts being made to revise the Statutes " Negotia- 
 tions of a private kind," he added, " have been already 
 opened with several Bishops ; but if these fail, either on 
 
 84 S.S. C. October Chapter, 1S77, p. 2. 
 
I38 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 your part or on theirs, and the work of the Committee is 
 rendered fruitless, I have but one course open to me " — that 
 is to ask them " to elect another Master who can cany 
 out the policy of resistance " to the Bishops. 
 
 A letter such as this must indeed have been a bombshell 
 in the Society, and have added greatly to the difficulties of 
 its position. Before the Chapter concluded its sittings it 
 passed unanimously a resolution expressing their "continued 
 and complete confidence " in the Master, and a hope that he- 
 would not resign. 
 
 Several months passed by without anything being definitely 
 done by the Society of the Holy Cross with regard to their 
 Confessional book. But meanwhile the Committee appointed 1 
 to revise the Statutes of the Society were hard at work,. 
 The Committee consisted of the following seventeen 
 members, all of whom signed its report, presented to the- 
 May, 1878, Synod : — The Revs. F. LI. Bagshawe (the 
 Master), C. F. Lowder, John Andrews Foote, Edgar 
 Hoskins, T. T. Carter (of Clewer), G. R. Prynne (Vicar of 
 St. Peter's, Plymouth), Henry Edward Willington, William 
 Henry Hutchings, L. Alison, R. Rhodes Bristow, J. W. 
 Chadwick, Charles Bodington (now Canon of Lichfield), 
 R. J. Wilson, Charles D. Goldie, Frederick William Puller, 
 R. H. Parry, and George Body. At the April, 1878, 
 Chapter of the Society, it was announced that the Com- 
 mittee of Revision had " communicated the Report {without 
 any signature of Members attached)** to the following Bishops — 
 London, Winchester, Oxford, Ely, Lichfield, Peterborough, 
 Exeter, and Chichester, but that no copies of the Report have been 
 supplied to the two Archbishops" 36 This significant omission 
 of the Archbishops, shows that the Committee were either 
 afraid of their knowing too much of their proceedings, or was- 
 an intentional insult to their Graces. Perhaps it was both. 
 
 35 This shows how afraid they were to be known to the Bishops. Their 
 Report, as presented to the May, 1878, Synod, does contain all the names 
 of the Members of the Committee mentioned above. 
 
 30 5. S. C. April Chapter, 1878, p. 3. For a complete list of the Members of 
 this secret Society up to the year 1897, see Church Association Tract, No. 244, 
 price one penny. 
 
ARCHDEACON DENISON JOINS S. S. C. 
 
 139 
 
 And why, it may be asked, was not the Report sent to all 
 the Bishops of the southern and northern provinces ? 
 Those in the north were left out altogether, while only eight 
 Bishops in the southern province, out of twenty-two, received 
 a copy of the document. I can only account for the 
 omission by the dread of publicity and the light of day, 
 which has ever characterised the owl-like proceedings of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross. 
 
 When the May, 1878, Synod of the S. S. C. met, the 
 Master's address was entirely taken up with the recent 
 attack on the Society, and the revision of its Statutes. 
 He mentioned that in 1877, the Society numbered exactly 
 three hundred members, but that during the past year 
 their had been no fewer than 122 resignations. He found., 
 however, one consolation in the fact that the Society 
 had " been honoured by the addition to its ranks of one 
 of the most distinguished members of the Church of 
 England, the Ven. Archdeacon Denison." 37 It is evident 
 that the Master had a higher personal sense of honourable 
 conduct than the Society as a whole possessed. He said,, 
 in the course of his address : — 
 
 " I pass on to another question that will be brought before you, 
 simply because it involves what is personal to me. At a Special 
 Chapter of the Society last year a printed letter was drawn up and. 
 sent to the Bishops, in which it was promised that the Priest in 
 Absolution should not be circulated. The language was somewhat 
 ambiguous. I thought I understood it, and assured the Archbishop 
 and others that the book was absolutely and for ever withdrawn. 
 Last September Synod I discovered that some brethren looked 
 forward to its re-circulation at some future time. Hitherto the book 
 has been in my care — now it will cease to be so. If the Society 
 resolves to preserve the book it must be with a motive, and how that 
 motive can be reconciled with my personal representation to the 
 Bishops will be a difficult question for my own after-consideration." ;iS 
 
 The sermon to the brethren at this Synod was preached 
 
 * 5. 5. C. Master's Address, May Synod, 1S78, p. 7. 
 38 Ibid., pp. 5, 6. 
 
I40 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 by the Rev. Canon Carter, of Clewer, but as I do not 
 possess a copy I am unable to quote it here. The Report 
 of Committee appointed to consider the form of the Society's 
 Statutes, I fortunately possess. The suggested alterations 
 were twenty-six in number, and mainly consisted of the 
 omission of the words " Mass," " Sacrament of Penance," 
 and " Sacramental Confession " from the Statutes and 
 Office Books of the Society. The report shows that four 
 members of the Committee, not included in the list given 
 above, refused to sign the report. The Rev. John Comber, 
 Rector of St. Margaret's, Aberdeen, it is stated, was 
 " opposed to such suggested alterations as would involve 
 the removal of the terms i Mass ' and ' Sacrament of 
 Penance ' from the Statutes and Rules of the Society.' 
 The Revs. A. H. Mackonochie, H. D. Nihill, and J. W. 
 Biscoe, were "opposed to all the alterations suggested." 39 
 
 Now, although this Committee were quite willing to delete 
 the terms " Mass" and " Sacrament of Penance " from the 
 documents of the Society, it is quite clear from their report 
 that they saw no harm in them, and therefore they retained 
 the things represented by these terms, while rejecting the 
 names for politic reasons. As to the term " Mass," they 
 declared that it " can be most legitimately used by English 
 Churchmen at the present day, so only that scandal to the 
 ignorant be avoided." 40 They also justified the use of the 
 term "Sacramental Confession"; 41 and, as to the other 
 expression they affirm that " the members of S. S. C. were 
 in no way going beyond what the Church of England 
 permits, when they spoke in their Statutes of the ' Sacra- 
 ment of Penance,' that sacred rite which seals and completes 
 the work of penitence for post-baptismal deadly sin." 42 It is, 
 therefore, quite certain that this precious Report in reality 
 withdrew nothing but empty names, and was primarily 
 intended for the purpose of throwing more dust in the eyes 
 
 30 Report of Committee, p. 16. 40 Ibid., p. 5. 
 
 41 Ibid., p. 11. *- Ibid., p. 11. 
 
REVISING THE STATUTES OF S. S. C. I4I 
 
 of the Bishops. It was worthy of a conclave of Jesuits 
 rather than of a committee of clergymen within the 
 Reformed Church of England. 
 
 At the commencement of the Synod letters were read 
 from Archdeacon Denison, and the Revs. Robert Herbert 
 Godwin (of St. Cyprian's Theological College, Bloemfontein), 
 G. P. Grantham, and William Webster (subsequently Dean 
 of Aberdeen) " deprecating the suggested changes in the 
 Statutes," and from the Revs. George Croke Robinson and 
 Arthur Gordon Stallard (" suggesting amendments to certain 
 of the proposed changes "); and from Charles John Corfe (now 
 Bishop of Corea), who " advocated the suggested changes." 
 
 The Master rose to propose the following motion : — 
 " That the Report of the Committee appointed to consider 
 the Society's Statutes be received and adopted " ; and was 
 about to speak to it, when the Rev. T. Outram Marshall 
 rose and declared that, in his opinion the motion was out of 
 order. Of course this raised a discussion at once. The 
 Master ruled that his own motion was " strictly in order " ; 
 but this did not satisfy the rebellious Organizing Secretary 
 of the English Church Union (Mr. Marshall), who at once 
 moved "That the ruling given by the Master is not correct." 
 He found a seconder in the Rev. Lyndhurst Burton 
 Towne, but the Master refused to put the rebel motion to 
 the Synod, whereupon the discontented brethren had to 
 " eat humble pie," and sit down. 
 
 The Master then delivered the speech he had prepared in 
 support of his own motion. 
 
 The Rev. R. Rhodes Bristow seconded the Master's 
 motion, and announced that " The Committee, while con- 
 vinced that the Statutes contained nothing but sound 
 doctrine, had sought the peace and unity of the Society by 
 suggesting the changes in our terminology. . . Some might 
 say that we were drawing back, but it was in order that we 
 might strike a harder blow." 
 
 The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie complained of one of the 
 
I42 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 brethren, whose name does not appear to have been men- 
 tioned. " He asserted that the Society had been betrayed 
 by one brother, who left the Society as soon as he got 
 it into difficulties." 
 
 The Rev. John Edwards (now the Rev. J. Baghot De La 
 Bere, Vicar of St. Mary, Buxted) " advocated the use of the 
 terminology in the Statutes. The term ' Sacrament of 
 Penance/ he maintained, was not only theologically correct, 
 but expressed the intercourse which existed between a priest 
 and a penitent." 
 
 The Rev. John William Kempe said that "to speak only of 
 the one word ' Mass,' eternity alone will tell how grievously 
 sacramental and supernatural life in England has suffered 
 from the disuse of this venerable term." He moved as an 
 amendment that the Synod, while thanking the Committee 
 for their labours, " declines to admit any of their recom- 
 mendations." 
 
 The Rev. Charles Bodington pointed out that " neither 
 our teaching nor our practice would be altered by the 
 adoption of the suggested changes of terminology." 
 
 Bishop Jenner, " as the only Episcopal brother present, 
 appealed to the Synod for conciliation." 
 
 When the voting took place, fifty-one voted for the 
 Master's motion, and fifty-eight against it. The motion 
 was therefore declared lost. The Society refused to adopt 
 the revised Statutes, and consequently reverted to the old 
 Statutes. The amendment of Brother J. W. Kempe was 
 then put, and was carried, fifty-seven voting for it, and 
 fifty-one against. It is evident from the voting that the 
 Society of the Holy Cross was very closely divided on the 
 subject of revision. 
 
 On the second day of the Synod a very important protest 
 was read by Brother Mackonochie. It was as follows: — 
 
 " We, the undersigned Brethren and Probationers of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross, being, as members of that Society, part proprietors 
 of a certain property consisting of a number of copies of the Priest 
 
PROTEST FROM BRETHREN OF S. S. C. I43 
 
 in Absolution, do hereby refuse and withhold our consent to the 
 destruction of that property ; and we do hereby protest against any 
 discussion upon the question of destroying that property in this 
 Synod, on the ground that such destruction, without the consent 
 of us as part proprietors, would be an illegal act." 
 
 This protest was signed by Archdeacon Denison, the 
 Revs. John Edwards (now Baghot De La Bere), A. H. 
 Mackonochie, Arthur Henry Stanton, H. D. Nihill, Charles 
 Parnell, John Comper, Thomas Isaac Ball, William Moore 
 Richardson (now Bishop of Zanzibar), John Barnes Johnson 
 (Vicar of St. Mary, Edmonton), James Hipwell, Edward 
 Heath, George Musgrave Ctistance (Rector of Colwall, 
 Malvern), — Collins, Cecil Wray, and William Crouch 
 (Vicar of Gamlingay). 
 
 The friends of the Priest in Absolution were determined, 
 if possible, to stop discussion. They objected to the 
 following motion being put to the Synod, but which had 
 appeared on the Agenda paper : — ■ 
 
 "That, inasmuch as the book called the Priest in Absolution had 
 been withdrawn from circulation, the copies remaining in the Master's 
 hands be destroyed." 
 
 So, before this resolution was brought forward, Brother 
 Mackonochie moved " That the resolution on the Agenda 
 paper is not in order." 
 
 This last motion was immediately put to the vote, and 
 lost, sixteen voting for it, and twenty-three against. 
 
 Brother Macfarlane then moved the motion which had 
 been placed on the Agenda paper ; but he was careful to 
 explain that "the book itself needed no commendation; 
 the motion was quite irrespective of the merits of the book. 
 A pledge had been given to the Bishops, and we were bound 
 to redeem it." 
 
 The Rev. William Crouch, however, was of a different 
 mind. He boldly declared that " to redeem the pledge to 
 the Bishops would be to break the Eighth Commandment." 
 
 The Rev. Frederick William Puller " thought that this 
 
144 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 was hardly the occasion for destroying it, but he thought 
 at some future time we might destroy it as lumber." 
 
 The Rev. C. D. Goldie said that "we needed such a book 
 as the Priest in Absolution. 
 
 The Rev. William John Frere (Principal of Hockering 
 Training College, Bishops Stortford) "quoted Brother 
 Bodington's opinion as to the value of the book. Ke 
 thought that we might put forth another book on Con- 
 fession, and remarked that Dr. Pusey's work does not 
 touch upon the Seventh Commandment." 
 
 The Rev. Robert Eyton (now Canon of Westminster) 
 u said that we were not called upon to give up our private 
 copies of the book." He would support the motion. 
 
 The Rev. H. D. Nihill informed the Synod that "he 
 burnt all bad literature ; he was not ashamed of the 
 Priest in Absolution." 
 
 Brother Macfarlane's motion was put to the Synod, and 
 lost by a very large majority, forty-nine voting against it, 
 and only eleven for it. After a great deal of discussion the 
 following amendment was passed as a substantive motion, 
 by thirty-four to eight : — 
 
 " That this Synod is not in favour of the destruction of 
 the remaining copies of the Priest in Absolution at the 
 present time." 
 
 What the Society of the Holy Cross has done, in its 
 corporate capacity, with reference to the Priest in Absolution, 
 since the Synod whose secret proceedings I have just 
 described, is more than I can say, but I have reason to believe 
 that it still retains possession of the book. So careful 
 have the members of the S. S. C. been to keep their under- 
 ground proceedings from the knowledge of the general 
 *-* public, that it was not until eighteen years had passed by,- 
 after the celebrated exposure of 1877, that any Protestant 
 Churchman was able to see a single secret document of the 
 Society connected with that important event in its history. 
 I have reported the Society's secret proceedings, and the 
 
REASONS FOR EXPOSING S. S. C. I45 
 
 speeches delivered at its meetings, at considerable length, for 
 what I believe to be sufficient reasons. There is no other 
 way in which the general public can be made acquainted with 
 what is going on underneath the surface. Secrecy cannot 
 be defeated except by publicity. And it is important that 
 the public shall know that many of the men whose secret 
 utterances I have here reported, have since been promoted 
 to high positions in the Church, possibly because their real 
 sentiments were unknown to those in whose hands the higher 
 patronage of the Church has been placed. I have no doubt 
 they will be very much annoyed at being thus shown in their 
 true colours, nor is there any doubt that they will bitterly 
 denounce me for dragging their secret speeches out into 
 the light of day. But it cannot be helped. Certainly the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, as a Society — whatever may be 
 said in favour of individuals — does not come out with much 
 credit to itself. Its underhand dodgery and Jesuitical tactics 
 -deserve the contempt of all men who love straightforward 
 dealing. Its filthy Confessional book has never been con- 
 demned by the Society as a whole, though a few of its 
 members have written and spoken against it. On the 
 contrary, the Society seems to glory in what many will 
 consider its shame. Individual members of the Society 
 found themselves, in the latter part of 1877, m many 
 instances subject to a great deal of unpleasant criticism from 
 their Protestant parishioners. Some of them put a bold face 
 on the matter, while others published apologies for their 
 conduct. As a rule, these were so worded as to commend 
 the Society of the Holy Cross, instead of condemning it, and 
 at the same time to represent themselves as the victims of 
 unmerited censure. One of the most remarkable of these 
 apologies was that issued by the Rev. John Erskine Binney, 
 at that time Vicar of Summerstown, near Oxford. His 
 parish was, immediately after Lord Redesdale's exposure, 
 placarded with an address to the people, in which it was 
 .mentioned that the Vicar was a member of the Society 
 
 10 
 
I46 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 of the Holy Cross. Mr. Binney did not, in his reply to the 
 placard, deny the charge, nor did he in any way censure the 
 'Priest in Absolution; but he declared that he had "too much 
 confidence " in the " good sense " of his people to suppose 
 that the placard would " in any way affect " their " mutual 
 relations as Pastor and Flock." 
 
 "The chief intent of the placard," he continued, "seems to be to 
 reflect on a certain book called the Priest in Absolution, and it 
 chooses to assume that this work is the text-book of the Clergy 
 whose names are mentioned, in some of their most important 
 ministerial relations with their parishioners. Now it may be well for 
 me to say most distinctly that, though I glory in being a member of the- 
 Society of the Holy Cross, because I know that in its twenty- five- 
 [sic] years of existence it has done more, under God, to raise the- 
 personal tone of the parochial Clergy than any other institution, yet 
 that I do not know the work in question, nor do I wish to know it." 
 
 This document was dated June 22nd, 1877, an ^ although 
 -at that time Mr. Binney gloried in being a member of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, yet when the next secret list of 
 its members appeared his name was withdrawn. 
 
 I believe that all loyal members of the Church of England, 
 will endorse the opinion of the late Dr. Harvey Goodwin, 
 Bishop of Carlisle, who, writing to a member of the Society 
 of the Holy Cross, on December 29th, 1877, emphatically 
 declared that, " It [S. S. C] has created a scandal in the 
 Church of almost unparalled magnitude, and it seems to me 
 that the only right course for wise and loyal Churchmen is 
 to wash their hands of it." 43 
 
 43 S. S. C. Copy of Correspondence, p. 2. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ORDER OF CORPORATE REUNION. 
 
 Origin of Order of Corporate Reunion shrouded in mystery — Its first 
 " Pastoral " — It professes " loyalty " to the Pope — Prays for the Pope in 
 its secret Synod — Its Bishops secretly consecrated by foreign Bishops — 
 Who were they ? — " Bishop " Lee and "Bishop " Mossman — " Bishop " 
 Mossman professes belief in the Pope's Infallibility — Birth of the Order 
 rejoices the Romanists — Its proceedings discussed by the Society of the 
 Holy Cross — Some secret documents— Eight hundred Church of England 
 clergy secretly ordained by a Bishop of the Order. 
 
 r I ^ HE Order of Corporate Reunion is even more secret 
 
 and mysterious than the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 
 and what is more serious, it is more unblushingly 
 Popish, going to the length of acknowledging the Pope as 
 the lawful Head of the whole visible Church on earth. It 
 does not, however, advocate individual secession to Rome, 
 but acts on the lines which the late Rev. Dr. Littledale laid 
 down for the Ritualists many years since. That gentleman, 
 in a lecture on " Secession to Rome," which he delivered 
 at Ipswich and Norwich, referring to those who had 
 already seceded to Rome, remarked : — 
 
 " They go (over to Rome) to get something which they cannot get, 
 do not get, or what often comes to the same thing, think they cannot 
 get, in the English Church. When once they have got this notion 
 fairly into their heads, all the No-Popery tracts and lectures in 
 England will not keep them back. The real cure is to give them here 
 what they are going to look for; and if they get all they want from 
 us, you may be very sure few of them will take the trouble to go 
 farther. Now, this is what the Tractarians, as they are called, 
 are trying to do, and it is for this that they are so heartily abused 
 
 10 * 
 
I48 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 every day of their lives by persons who do not understand what they 
 want." 1 
 
 Dr. Littledale contented himself with supplying the rank 
 and file of the Ritualists, in the Church of England, with 
 the Romish doctrines and ritual for which they craved. It 
 is true that he wrote a well-known book, entitled Plain 
 Reasons Against Joining the Church of Rome, but in that work 
 he did not bring forward what he evidently considered the 
 strongest argument to prevent people going over to Rome. 
 He supplied that argument in the lecture just cited, and acted 
 upon it in his Priest's Prayer Book, of which he was joint 
 editor with the Rev. J. E. Vaux. In that book will be found a 
 large collection of the most superstitious of Romish practices, 
 together with most of the peculiar doctrines of the Church 
 of Rome. But the Order of Corporate Reunion goes 
 further than Dr. Littledale. It professes to supply not only 
 Popish doctrines, but also Orders and Sacraments such as 
 even the Church of Rome must admit to be valid, though 
 she refuses to acknowledge those of the Church of England. 
 It has Bishops secretly consecrated, and these are prepared 
 to give conditional re-ordination to such of the clergy of 
 the Church of England as may choose to submit to the 
 process. It admits the laity of both sexes to its ranks, 
 and these are, as a general rule — with possibly a few 
 exceptions — conditionally re-baptized when they join the 
 Order. These laymen and women being in the secret, no 
 doubt know where to go to in order to receive valid Sacra- 
 ments. It is stated that no one is admitted to the Order 
 but bond-fide members of the Church of England. As a 
 matter of fact several of its officials have seceded to Rome. 
 
 The actual origin of the Order of Corporate Reunion 
 is shrouded in mystery. Its rulers made known to the 
 public the existence of the Order during the summer of 
 1877, but it appears to have been organized, more or less 
 
 1 Defence of Church Principles, " Secessions to Rome," by the Rev. Dr. R. F. 
 Littledale, p. 4. 
 
FIRST PASTORAL OF O. C. R. 
 
 I 4 9 
 
 imperfectly, about a year before that date, and even at 
 that early period to have been known to a trusted few on 
 the Continent, as well as at home. 2 It held a secret 
 Synod, in London, on July 2nd, 1877, at which a " Pastoral " 
 of the Rulers was approved, which had been previously 
 drawn up. A copy of this document was subsequently 
 written out, and taken abroad, where it was attested by 
 a foreign Roman Catholic Notary, named " Adrian De 
 Helte," to be a true copy, and as such signed by him on 
 August 15th. The Pastoral was formally promulgated by 
 being read on September 8th, in the presence of witnesses 
 whose names have not been made public, on the steps at 
 the west end of St. Paul's Cathedral, and in other places — - 
 throughout the land. 3 This Pastoral was also printed in 
 the Reunion Magazine, an official periodical issued by the 
 Order, but which was withdrawn from circulation about 
 a year after its commencement. It is too lengthy a 
 document to reprint here in full, and therefore I must 
 confine myself to a few extracts. It commences thus : — 
 
 ** In the Sacred Name of the Most Holy Undivided and Adorable 
 Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 " Thomas, by the favour of God, Rector of the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion, and Pro- Provincial of Canterbury ; Joseph, by the favour of 
 God, Provincial of York, in the Kingdom of England ; and Laurence, 
 by the favour of God, Provincial of Caerleon, in the Principality of 
 Wales, with the Provosts and Members of the Synod of the Order, 
 to the Faithful in Christ Jesus, whom these Presents may concern j 
 Health and Benediction in the Lord God everlasting." 
 
 The Pastoral proceeds to deplore " the evil state into 
 which the National Church of England has been brought by 
 departure from ancient principles and by recent events"; 
 and it positively asserts, as ''certain" that "all semblance 
 of independent existence and corporate action has departed 
 from the Established Church." A brief history of the 
 Church of England to the present day is then given, in the 
 
 Reunion Magazine, p. II. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 11. 
 
150 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 course of which it is affirmed that the Act of Submission of 
 the Clergy, in the reign of Henry VIII., " is the root of all 
 our existing evils and miseries." The reign of Edward VI., 
 the Protestant King, is described as " a period of wild 
 confusion," while that of the Romanist, Queen Mary, is 
 referred to as one " of Catholic reaction." The glorious 
 Revolution of 1688 comes in for a measure of abuse, and it 
 as declared that after "the riot, blasphemy, and general 
 wickedness of the Great Rebellion, the Revolution of 1688 
 was the beginning of yet more serious trouble for the 
 Established Church." Coming down to our own day, it 
 affirmed that "every vestige of distinct corporate entity has 
 utterly disappeared from the Church." Against these and a 
 host of other real or imaginary evils the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion raises its protesting voice. It protests, in particular, 
 *' against the disuse of Chrism in Confirmation, and the 
 inadequate form for the administration of that Sacrament 
 now in use within the Church of England ; as well as against 
 the total abolition of the Apostolic practice of Anointing the 
 Sick with Oil — by which every baptized person is curtailed 
 in his spiritual privileges, and robbed at the hour of death of 
 an important part of his rightful heritage. Many persons," 
 continues the Pastoral, " have lamented the loss of this 
 last-named Sacrament : We, by the favour of God, are now 
 enabled to restore it." 
 
 Next, the Pastoral grumbles at the School Boards, and the 
 existing relations of Church and State; and at last announces 
 the remedy which the Order has provided for all the " evils " 
 which trouble their minds. "We affirm," they triumphantly 
 declare, "that in the Providence of God, the evil itself has 
 opened the door to a remedy. For the Bishops of the 
 Church of England, having yielded up all canonical authority 
 and jurisdiction in the spiritual order, can neither interfere 
 with, nor restrain, Us in Our work of recovering from 
 elsewhere that which has been forfeited or lost — securing 
 three distinct and independent lines of a new Episcopal Succession, 
 
FIRST PASTORAL OF O. C. R. 
 
 so as to labour corporately, and on no sandy foundation, 
 for the healing of the breach which has been made." 
 
 Here is their grand remedy for everything. The Orders 
 and Sacraments conferred in the Church of England are, 
 in their opinion, open to grave and serious doubt : but now, 
 ** three distinct lines of a new Episcopal succession,'' have 
 been secured by the Bishops of the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion — though they carefully abstain from mentioning 
 their source, or by whom they were conferred — who are 
 thus able to remedy all defects in the Church of England, 
 in the hope of eventually securing that Corporate Reunion 
 with the rest of Christendom, which it is their " chief aim " 
 to secure. Of course they think it necessary to make known 
 the doctrinal basis on which the new Order is built. 
 
 " In thus associating ourselves together," says the Pastoral, " we 
 •solemnly take as the basis of this Our Order the Catholic Faith as 
 <lelined by the Seven General Councils, acknowledged as such by the 
 whole Church of the East and the West before the great and deplor- 
 able schism, and as commonly received in the Aposties' Creed, and 
 the Creed of Xicaea, and the Creed of St. Athanasius. To all the 
 sublime doctrines so laid down, We declare our unreserved adhesion, 
 as well as to the principles of Church constitution and discipline, set 
 forth and approved by the said Seven General Councils. Further- 
 more, until the whole Church shall speak on the subject, We accept 
 nil those dogmatic statements set forth in common by the Council of 
 Trent and the Synod of Bethlehem respectively, with regard to 
 the doctrine of the Sacraments. . . 
 
 " Thanking Almighty God most humbly for the restoration of 
 Brotherhoods, Sisterhoods, and Guilds, We solemnly affirm that the 
 Monastic Life, duly regulated according to the laws of the Catholic 
 ( hurch, is a most salutary institution, in perfect harmony with the 
 spirit of the Gospel 5 and is full of profit to those who, being care- 
 fully tried and examined, make full proof of their calling thereto. 
 Our services will always be at the disposal of such — upon whom We 
 invoke the Divine blessing." 4 
 
 The thought which naturally suggests itself to a loyal 
 .Churchman on reading this Pastoral for the first time, is 
 
 4 Reunion Magazine, pp. 88-98. 
 
152 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 one of astonishment, that men who thus doubt the validity 
 of the Orders and Sacraments of the Church of England, 
 should, notwithstanding, continue to act as her Ministers, 
 or in any way remain within her communion as members 
 of such a Church. How they reconcile their conduct with 
 their Ordination vows is a puzzle hard, indeed, to unravel, 
 except on a theory very little to their credit. When it 
 becomes lawful to do evil that good may come, then, and 
 not till then, can their conduct be justified. The real 
 object of such a policy is, of course, to bring not only 
 themselves, but the whole Church of England with them, 
 back to the Pope — and this is what they mean by "Corporate 
 Reunion," as distinguished from individual secession. The 
 same policy was set forth as far back as 1867, in the columns 
 of the Union Review, by a Ritualist, in the form of a letter 
 to a foreign Roman Catholic. 
 
 "With such a position," wrote the Ritualist, "it is surely, I say, 
 much better for us to remain working where we are — for what would 
 become of England if we were to leave her Church ? She would be 
 simply lost to Catholicism, and won to Rationalism. . . . Depend 
 upon it, it is only through the English Church itself that England can 
 be Catholicised j . . . and so long as the Church of England remains 
 what she is, to join you [Rome] in any but a corporate capacity would 
 be, in our view, to sin against the truth." 5 
 
 The utter disloyalty of this secret Order of Corporate 
 Reunion to the Church of England, and its real loyalty to 
 the Pope of Rome, is more clearly revealed to us by a 
 glimpse at its first Synod, afforded to us by no less a person 
 than a high official in the Order itself, viz., " Laurentius, 
 O.C.R., Provincial of Caerleon." This official states 
 that 
 
 " It is quite true that we [O. C. R.] do not assume an attitude of 
 independence towards the Holy See. We frankly acknowledge that, 
 in the Providence of God, the Roman Pontiff is the first Bishop in the 
 Church, and, therefore, its visible head on earth. We do not 
 
 ' Union Review, Volume for 1867, p. 410. 
 
LOYAL TO THE POPE. I53 
 
 believe that either the Emperor of Russia or the Queen of England is 
 the head of the Church. As the Church must have some executive 
 head, and as there is no other competitor, we believe the Pope to be 
 that head. But he is more to us than this, for he is our Patriarch as 
 well. So that ire admit his claim to the veneration and LOYALTY of 
 all baptized men, and in a special degree of all Western Christians, 
 and in these capacities we prayed for him in our Constituent 
 Synod." 6 
 
 Probably the authorities of the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion think they can best show their " loyalty " to the 
 Pope by acting a double part. Ordinary people, however, 
 will think that they are traitors in the camp, and that the 
 sooner they are drummed out of it the better. 
 
 There has been a good deal of conjecture as to the 
 identity of the men whose names appear at the head of the 
 Pastoral. Who are " Thomas," Pro- Provincial of Canter- 
 bury ; "Joseph," Provincial of York; and "Laurence," 
 Provincial of Caerleon ? We can only answer this question 
 from indirect sources of information. The first guess at their 
 identity appears to have been made by the Rev. W. Allen 
 Whitworth, a Ritualistic clergyman opposed to the Order, 
 who, in a long letter to the Church Review, December 28th, 
 1878, affirmed that the Rev. F. G. Lee, Vicar of All Saints', 
 Lambeth, was one of the three Bishops of the Order of 
 Corporate Reunion ; and he distinctly terms him " Bishop 
 F. G. Lee"; and he refers to "the Roman, Greek, and 
 Armenian Bishops who joined together, secretly to con- 
 secrate Dr. F. G. Lee and his colleagues." 7 A lay official of 
 the Order of Corporate Reunion, a Mr. William Grant, who 
 is referred to in the Reunion Magazine as " Registrar " of the 
 Order, published in pamphlet form a reply to Mr. Whit- 
 worth's attack. 8 Mr. Grant denies many of Mr. Whitworth's 
 assertions, but he does not deny that Dr. Lee was a Bishop 
 
 6 Reunion Magazine, p. 242. 
 
 7 Church Review, December 2Sth, 1878, p. 623. 
 
 8 7s (he Order of Corporate Reunion Schismat/cal ? by William Grant. London : 
 D. Mutt 
 
154 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 of the O. C. R., or that he and his colleagues were secretly 
 •consecrated Bishops by three " Roman, Greek, and Armenian 
 Bishops." There can be no doubt that he would have 
 denied these statements also had they been false, and as 
 " Registrar " of the Order he must have been fully acquainted 
 with the facts of the case. The next attempt to identify the 
 three mysterious Bishops of the O. C. R. was made by the 
 Whitehall Review, early in 1879. That paper published the 
 following paragraph : — 
 
 " The three Anglican clerics who have obtained Episcopal consecra- 
 tion from the Dutch Jansenists, for the purpose of * revalidating ' the 
 •Orders of clergymen having doubts about their priesthood, are 
 singularly modest in their signatures. The ' Rector Provincial, 
 Canterbury' is 1 >J< Thomas,' the 'Provincial of Caerleon ' is 
 >J< Laurence,' the 'Provincial of York' is ' >{< Joseph.' Might I 
 suggest that ' Thomas ' sign for the future, ' >J< Frederick George 
 Lee'; Bishop 'Laurence,' ' *J< Joseph Leycester Lyne'; and Bishop 
 ' Joseph,' ' >J< Thomas W. Mossman ' ! Perhaps Bishop ' Laurence ' 
 might prefer to call himself ' >J< Ignatius ' ; if so, one would not 
 • object, as it would give a better idea of his real name." 9 
 
 It is not a little remarkable that the Whitehall Review was 
 •certainly correct in at least two out of the three names 
 which it identified, and, for anything I know to the 
 ■contrary, may have been right as to the whole three of 
 them. Dr. Lee, and the Rev. Thomas W. Mossman (now 
 dead), for many years Rector of West Torrington, Lincoln- 
 shire, were certainly Bishops of the O. C. R., and I have 
 never heard that the Rev. Joseph L. Lyne, alias " Father 
 Ignatius," has denied the accusation of the Whitehall 
 Review, though I have serious doubts as to his identity. 
 
 Seven years after the foundation of the Order, the 
 Birmingham Daily Gazette, in a leading article, remarked : — 
 " Strange as it may seem, Dr. Lee and certain other clergy 
 •of the ' Establishment ' are said to have been consecrated as 
 Bishops by some mysterious triumvirate of an Eastern, a 
 
 > Quoted in Church Times, March 14th, 1879, p. 163. 
 
ITS BISHOPS SECRETLY CONSECRATED. 
 
 155 
 
 Latin, and an Anglican prelate, no one knows when, where, 
 or by whom. It is certain that Dr. Lee has been challenged 
 over and over again to say explicitly what is the fact, and 
 has never done so. It is said that there is no doubt that he 
 does exercise Episcopal functions, and has been seen in 
 Episcopal vestures, of course of a more mediaeval pattern 
 than the * Magpie' attire familiar to the House of Lords. 
 It is said also to be beyond doubt that individuals have been 
 re-baptized, re-confirmed, if not ordained by him or his 
 supposed colleagues." 10 
 
 The Rev. A. Jerome Matthews, a Roman Catholic priest, 
 wrote to the Trowbridge Chronicle, of October 16th, 1886, a 
 letter, in which he asserted that Dr. Lee was reputed to be 
 " one of three Anglican clergymen who went in a vessel for 
 a sea voyage in- company with three foreign schismatical but 
 real Bishops. That when in mid-ocean, the three clergymen 
 were conditionally baptized, ordained Deacons and Priests, 
 and then consecrated Bishops. That they went to mid- 
 ^ ocean to be in nobody's diocese, and that Dr. Lee does not 
 deny the allegation." 11 In the same paper, in its issue for 
 November 29th, 1886, another Roman Catholic priest, the 
 Rev. \Y. F. Trailies, wrote that "the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion is under Dr. Lee, who is undoubtedly a Bishop, 
 which is more than can be said by anybody of his neighbour 
 at Lambeth Palace." 13 
 
 So much for Dr. Lee. As to the Rev. Thomas W. 
 Mossman, that gentleman publicly acknowledged that her 
 possessed Episcopal Orders, in a letter to the English 
 Churchman : — 
 
 " 1 believe," he wrote, " that the Bishops of England ought to be 
 elected by the Christian people of England, and that the election 
 ought to be approved and confirmed by the Pope, as the visible head 
 •of God's Catholic Church here on earth. . . . All I have ever claimed 
 
 10 Quoted in the English Churchman, January ist, 1SS5, p. 10. 
 
 11 Quoted in Brinckman's Controversial Methods of Romanism, p. xvi. 
 B Ibid., p. xvi. 
 
T56 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 for myself is to be in what are termed Episcopal Orders, and even that 
 not publicly." 13 
 
 The advanced views held by these two " Bishops " con- 
 cerning the Pope and Papal Infallibility, will no doubt surprise 
 many of my readers. Dr. Lee has published a little volume 
 of sermons, entitled Order Out of Chaos, from which I quote 
 the following passage : — 
 
 " The government of the Catholic Church by Bishops, Primates, 
 Metropolitans, and Patriarchs, with One Visible Head, is so exactly of 
 that practical nature, that no wholly independent and isolated religious 
 body can possibly partake either in its government or in the blessing 
 of being rightly governed, so long as it remains independent. . . . The 
 Visible Head of that One Christian Family, as Christendom has 
 universally allowed, is the Bishop of the See of St. Peter. Unlike all 
 other Bishops, he has no superior either in rank or jurisdiction. Now, 
 when any part of a family, by misunderstanding and perverseness, 
 becomes disobedient to, or out of harmony with, its Visible Head, 
 weakness and confusion, as regards its oneness, are certain to 
 supervene." 14 
 
 In this book " Bishop " Lee reprints a letter, which he 
 had addressed to the Guardian, in which he declares : — 
 
 "As I am personally challenged on this point, I hold, and have 
 always held (mere rough contradictions have no effect on me) that 
 the Pope is the Archbishop's [of Canterbury] direct spiritual superior 
 both in rank and authority." 15 
 
 He even expresses approval of the modern doctrine of the 
 Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, which was not made 
 an article of faith in the Church of Rome until December 
 8th, 1854. " It seems to many," Dr. Lee writes, " that the 
 doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Lady 
 is but the due and reasonable complement of the Theotokos 
 of Ephesus. 16 
 
 Since he wrote these last words, Dr. Lee has written a 
 
 13 English Churchman, March 5th, 1885, p. no. 
 
 14 Order Out of Chaos, by Frederick George Lee, d.d., pp. 60-62. London, 
 i88r. 
 
 lb Ibid., p. 50. 16 Ibid., p. 6. 
 
"BISHOP " MOSSMAN ACCEPTS PAPAL INFALLIBILITY. I57 
 
 large volume to prove that the Immaculate Conception, as 
 denned by Pius IX., ought to be believed by all Christians. 
 
 " Bishop " Mossman professed faith in the Pope's personal 
 Infallibility, as denned by the Vatican Council of 1870, and 
 yet remained nominally in communion with the Church of 
 England until his death, in 1885, when he was received into 
 the Church of Rome by Cardinal Manning. Writing to the 
 Church Review, in 188 1, Mr. Mossman remarked : — 
 
 " I used to be as opposed to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility as it was 
 possible for anyone to be. Deeper reflection has, howev r er, convinced 
 me that there is really nothing in it to which exception need be taken. 
 Granting an administrative Head of the whole Catholic Church, 
 granting a Primate of Christendom, by the same right even that the 
 Archbishops of Canterbury profess to be Primates of the English 
 Church — namely, 'by Divine Providence,' it is surely only reasonable 
 to believe that, if this Head of the Universal Church were to teach 
 ex-cathedra, or authoritatively, anything pertaining to faith or morals, 
 to the whole flock of God, of which he is the Chief Shepherd upon 
 earth, he would most surely be guided by the Holy Ghost in such a 
 way as not to teach Satan's lie instead of the truth of God. This is 
 the way in which I should feel disposed to understand the Vatican 
 Decree. And so far from seeing anything inconsistent with reason, 
 or history, or Holy Scripture, or the Catholic Faith, in that Decree, 
 thus understood, it appears to me that natural piety itself, and a belief 
 in God's providential guidance of His Church, would lead us to 
 accept it." 17 
 
 The birth of the Order of Corporate Reunion was hailed 
 with delight by the Romanists of England and the continent. 
 This, of course, was quite natural. They knew very well 
 who would get the benefit of the labours of the O. C. R., 
 and they were quite willing to encourage its growth, and to 
 wait patiently for the harvest time to come. About two 
 years after its birth a correspondent of the Church Times 
 declared that Roman Catholics at home and abroad only 
 ridiculed the Order of Corporate Reunion. Thereupon 
 Mr. William Grant, who signed himself as " Registrar, 
 O. C. R.," wrote to that paper : — 
 
 17 Church Review, November 3rd, 1SS2, p. 531. 
 
158 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 " In reply to one paragraph in the letter printed in your last issue 
 from ' H. A. B.,' will you permit me to say that my own experience 
 is diametrically opposed to that of your correspondent. In the place 
 of ' ridicule ' I have found respectful interest and good wishes. 
 Personally, I have received, at the very least, over fifty letters of 
 inquiry and ' Godspeed ' from eminent Roman Catholic priests and 
 members of Religious Orders, and well-known Roman Catholic 
 laymen. I was lately shown a letter addressed by his Eminence 
 Cardinal Manning to an Anglican layman, who had requested the 
 Cardinal's opinion of the O. C.R., in which his Eminence, whilst 
 insisting on the fact that individual secession was the rule of his 
 Church in England, utterly refused to condemn the aims and objects 
 of the O. C. R., stating that every organization which tended to a 
 restoration of unity was to be respected." 18 
 
 The Civilita Cattolica, the organ of the Jesuits, and 
 published at Rome, in its issue for April 20th, 1878, printed 
 a letter from its English correspondent on the O. C. R. 
 
 " The Order of Corporate Reunion," he writes, " actively pursues 
 its labours, and its officers have sent forth a Pastoral Letter containing 
 an exposition of its views and ends. It is known that several Anglican 
 ministers in connection with this Society have induced a Greek 
 Bishop — whose name, however, it has not as yet been possible to 
 ascertain— to ordain them under certain conditions, in order that the 
 doubt to which Anglican Orders are subject may not be alleged as a 
 reason for taking exception to the validity of their operations. The 
 three leading officers of the Order have received Episcopal consecra- 
 tion from the same quarter — a quarter which, according to what is 
 said, is of such a character as to completely exclude any question as 
 to the validity of the Orders so conferred, when once the time shall 
 come for submitting the matter for examination to the Holy See. 
 So soon as a sufficient number of the Anglican clergy shall have in 
 this way removed the difficulty which arises from their ordination, 
 the Order hopes to be able to present its petition for Corporate 
 Reunion with the Catholic Church, signed by a number of members 
 so imposing as to render it impossible for the Holy See not to 
 recognise the gravity and importance of the movement." 19 
 
 The schemes of the Order of Corporate Reunion did not 
 
 18 Church Times, August 22nd, 1879, p. 528. 
 
 10 Quoted in Church Association Monthly Intelligencer, Volume for 1878, p. 238. 
 
S. S. C. REPORT ON O. C. R. 159 
 
 receive the approval of the great majority of the Ritualistic 
 party. It is ever the fate of the pioneers of ecclesiastical 
 movements to receive a good deal of censure from the rank 
 and file far away behind them. Yet it is generally found 
 that where the pioneers of a religious movement stand at 
 any particular year, the rank and file will be found standing 
 a quarter of a century later on. Such has been the rule 
 with the Ritualistic Movement since its birth in 1833. The 
 Order of Corporate Reunion is at present the pioneer of 
 the Ritualistic Movement, being much nearer to Rome than 
 any of its predecessors. It has consequently come in for 
 a great deal of criticism from the rank and file of the 
 Ritualistic party. Even the secret Society of the Holy Cross 
 has taken up arms against the Order of Corporate Reunion. 
 At the monthly Chapters of the former of these Societies 
 during the close of 1878, and in the early portion of 1879, 
 and also at its September Synod, 1878, the action of the 
 O. C. R. was again and again discussed by the brethren in 
 their secret gatherings. The S. S. C. even appointed a 
 Special Committee to examine the whole question, " Bishop " 
 Thomas W. Mossman was at that time a member of the 
 S. S. C, and in its secret conclaves fought valiantly for the 
 Order of which he was a " Bishop." The " Bishop" even 
 presented a " Report" of his own on the subject to the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, some time during the year 1878, 
 the most remarkable passage in which is the following : — 
 
 "The O. C. R. admits none but those who accept the whole 
 Catholic Faith ; and its work is to gather them together, and form 
 them into one great spiritual Order : and then, when the time appointed 
 comes, as most surely in God's Providence it will come, whoever 
 lives to see it, we shall go with our thousands of faithful clergy and 
 laity, and we shall say to the Patriarchs of the East and West, ' We 
 all hold the Catholic Faith in its fulness and integrity, can you refuse 
 to admit us to intercommunion? ' / have the best possible ground for 
 believing that, whatever might be the action of the other Patriarchs, 
 the Pat riarch oj the IPest [the Pope] would not look coldly on our plea, 
 
t6o secret history of the oxford movement. 
 
 and would not only grant it, but would give besides every concession 
 that could in reason be demanded." 20 
 
 At the November, 1878, Chapter of the Society of the 
 Holy Cross the " Report " of Brother Mossman was read to 
 the brethren, but did not receive any approbation from them, 
 for they passed the following motion unanimously : — " That 
 although Br. Mossman's Report is printed and circulated 
 amongst the brethren, the Society distinctly repudiates the 
 opinions expressed in it." 21 At this Chapter the preliminary 
 Report on the O. C. R. of the special Committee of the 
 S. S. C. was read. There was attached to it, as an Appendix, 
 several extracts from letters which the Committee had 
 received from " Bishop" Mossman. In one of these letters 
 he wrote : — 
 
 " I can only speak profitably of what I am able to testify of my 
 own personal knowledge. The most important part of this is that a 
 Consecration has undoubtedly taken place. I have been frequently 
 asked what is meant by 'three distinct and independent lines of 
 Episcopal Succession ' in the First Pastoral of the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion. Let me distinguish carefully between what I have been 
 told and what I know. What I have been told is, that three Anglican 
 clergymen have been consecrated Bishops from three distinct sources. 
 That may be true, or it may be the reverse. What I know is, that 
 one Anglican clergyman 22 has been consecrated a Bishop by a 
 Catholic Bishop ; and by a Catholic Bishop I mean one who is now 
 at this present time, and who was when he performed the act of 
 consecration, in full communion with either the See of Rome, the 
 Patriarch of Constantinople, or the Archbishop of Canterbury. It 
 will thus be seen that the Bishops of all so-called heretical or 
 schismatical bodies are excluded vi ter minor um. More than this I 
 am pledged not to reveal at present. I know it will appear very 
 strange to many that such a thing could have taken place. I am not 
 sure that I should have been able to believe it myself, had not 
 the documents which attest the consecration, signed and sealed 
 by the consecrating Prelate himself, attested by witnesses, and other 
 
 20 Br. Mossman's Report on the Order of Corporate Reunion. Presented to S.S. C, 
 p. 10. 
 
 21 S.S.C. November Chapter, 1878. Acta, p. 4. 
 
 22 There can be no doubt that " Bishop " Mossman here referred to himself 
 
EIGHT HUNDRED CLERGY SECRETLY ORDAINED. iGl 
 
 corroborative evidence, been placed in my hands for examination in 
 the most frank and unreserved manner possible." 23 
 
 It will thus be seen that the mystery which surrounds the 
 identity of the Consecrating Bishops was not altogether re- 
 moved by " Bishop " Mossman. He was evidently " pledged " 
 not to make their names public. A great many guesses have, 
 from time to time, been made as to who the Consecrating; 
 Bishops really were, but nothing certain has been made known 
 to the public from that day to this. Since its foundation the 
 Order of Corporate Reunion appears to have influenced for 
 evil a considerable number of the Ritualistic clergy. In the 
 November, 1881, issue of the Nineteenth Century, Dr. Lee 
 wrote an article on "The Order of Corporate Reunion," in 
 the course of which he asserted that " Already there are 
 representatives of the O. C. R. in almost every English 
 diocese" (p. 755). The Roman Catholic Standard and 
 Ransomer, edited by a priest who was formerly an advanced 
 Ritualistic clergyman, in its issue for November 22nd, 1894, 
 p. 323, says : — " We have heard just lately that there are 
 now eight hundred clergymen of the Church of England who 
 have been validly ordained by Dr. Lee and his co-Bishops 
 of the Order of Corporate Reunion. If so, Dr. Lee's dream 
 of providing a body with which the Pope could deal seems 
 likely to be realized." 
 
 23 S. S. C. Report of Committee on the Order of Corporate Reunion, pp. 9, 10. 
 
 II 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RITUALISTIC SISTERHOODS. 
 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods formed on Roman models — Dr. Pusey visits Romish 
 Convents in Ireland — Borrows Rules from English and Continental 
 Nunneries — Hislop on the Pagan origin of Convents — Dr. Pusey's first 
 Sister visits Foreign Convents — Miss Goodman's experience of Dr. Pusey's 
 -Sisterhood — Rule of Obedience — Shameful tyranny over the Sisters — The 
 Sister must obey the Superior, "yielding herself as wax to be moulded 
 unresistingly " — The mercenary Rule of Holy Poverty— Are Ritualistic 
 ^Convents Jails ? — The Vow of Poverty at St. Margaret's, East Grinstead 
 — A secret Convent Book quoted — Life Vows — Is it easy to embezzle the 
 Sister s money ? — The secret Statutes of All Saints' Sisterhood, Margaret 
 Street ; and Clewer Sisterhood — Sisters and their Wills — Evidence 
 before the Select Committee — Bishop Samuel Wilberforce on Conventual 
 Vows — Archbishop Tait on Conventual Vows — Ritualistic Nuns Enclosed 
 for Life — "Father Ignatius's" Nuns — Whipping Ritualistic Nuns — Miss 
 Cusack's experience of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — "A Hell upon earth " — 
 Cases of Cruelty in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Hungry Sisters Tempted — 
 Private Burial Grounds in Ritualistic Convents — Secret Popish Service 
 in a Ritualistic Convent Chapel— A Mass "in Latin from the Roman 
 Missal" — Superstitious Convent Services — Extracts from a secret book 
 of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood— Sisterhoods and Education: A Warning to 
 Protestant Parents. 
 
 I HAVE nothing whatever to say against any good work 
 which Ritualistic Sisterhoods may undertake, nor 
 would I treat the Sisters themselves otherwise than 
 -with personal respect. But in writing about Ritualistic 
 Sisterhoods I remember that I have to deal with a system 
 •which at the Reformation was entirely ejected, root and 
 branch, out of the Reformed Church of England, and, as 
 most loyal Churchmen believe, for very good reasons. The 
 so-called " Religious Life " in Ritualistic Sisterhoods is an 
 exact reproduction of that system which the Church of 
 
SISTERHOODS FORMED ON ROMAN MODELS. 
 
 163 
 
 England abolished in the sixteenth century. The spread 
 of this Conventual system in the Church of England is 
 witnessed with serious and reasonable alarm by many of the 
 wisest of Churchmen and Churchwomen. There are at the 
 present time, within the Church of England, a greater 
 number of Sisters of Mercy than were in this country 
 before the suppression of Monasteries and Convents by 
 Henry VIII. The wealth possessed by Ritualistic Convents 
 is, I have no doubt, far greater than that possessed by the 
 Roman Catholic Convents of England in the early part of 
 the sixteenth century. These institutions are not legally 
 recognized by the Church of England, but efforts are 
 constantly being put forth to obtain for them that legal 
 sanction which they possessed in this country before the 
 Reformation. In view of these efforts I have thought it 
 desirable to devote a chapter of this book to Ritualistic 
 Sisterhoods. It is most appropriate that this should be so, 
 since every Ritualistic Sisterhood is as truly a secret Society 
 as is the Society of the Holy Cross, or the Order of 
 •Corporate Reunion. What passes within Convent walls 
 is a secret known only to the initiated, or to outsiders by 
 means of revelations made by Sisters who have forsaken 
 the so-called " Religious Life." The secret Statutes, 
 tregulating not only the lives of the inmates, but also the 
 disposal of their property, are quite unknown to the general 
 public. 
 
 The rules of the first of these Tractarian Sisterhoods 
 were copied from Roman models. The thought of estab- 
 lishing such institutions came into the minds of the 
 Tractarian leaders several years before the first was founded. 
 As early as February 21st, 1840, Dr. Newman wrote to 
 his friend Bowden : — " Pusey is at present eager about 
 setting up Sisters of Mercy." 1 
 
 At this period Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, was anxious 
 io establish a Sisterhood in that town, but on the sly. 
 
 1 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 155. 
 
 II * 
 
164 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Writing to Dr. Pusey from the Vicarage, Leeds, June 9th, 
 1840, he remarked : — 
 
 " I perfectly agree with you in thinking it to be most important to 
 have a class of persons acting under us, and answering to the Sisters of 
 Charity 'in some foreign Churches. But there will be great difficulties 
 in the way. Although we shall obtain the co-operation of the really 
 pious of all classes ultimately, there will be much opposition from those 
 ' Evangelical ' ladies who at present control the visiting societies. . . . 
 What I should like to have done is this : for you to train an 
 elderly matron, full of zeal and discretion, and thoroughly imbued 
 with right principles, and for her to come here and take lodgings with 
 two or three other females. Let their object he known to none hut 
 myself, and I would speak of them merely as well-disposed persons 
 willing to assist my Curates and myself as other persons do, in 
 visiting the sick." 2 
 
 In the following year Dr. Pusey spent two months in 
 Ireland for the special purpose of studying the Roman 
 Catholic Sisterhoods. 3 The Irish Romanists very naturally 
 gave him a hearty welcome. Writing to Newman, August 
 9th, 1841, Pusey remarked : — " The Roman Catholics have 
 been so civil I have not known what to make of it. I have 
 had to fight off being introduced to the one and the other, 
 and they shake hands so cordially, and are so glad to see 
 one ! e.g., a Roman Catholic Bishop of British Guiana." * 
 He saw also the Roman Catholic Archbishop Murray, of 
 Dublin. Some of Pusey's friends were greatly distressed at 
 the rumours which were flying about as to the object of this 
 mysterious journey to Ireland, and one of them, the Rev. 
 E. Churton, wrote to him about it, in evident alarm. Three 
 years after the commencement of the first Sisterhood, Dr. 
 Pusey wrote to his friend Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope, describ- 
 ing the plan upon which it was founded. " We naturally," 
 he wrote, " went by experience. Lord John Manners procured 
 us the rules of the Sisters of Charity at Birmingham. I had 
 
 2 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 7. 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 246. 
 
 3 Ibid., Vol. II., p. 243. 
 
VISITS TO FRENCH CONVENTS. 165 
 
 some rules by me, used by different bodies in England 
 and on the Continent." 5 
 
 The system which Dr. Pusey thus imported into the 
 English Church was not only Popish, but also Pagan in its 
 origin. Nuns and Monks existed long before Christianity, 
 and they still exist to-day amongst those who do not worship 
 the true God. Mr. Hislop, in his learned work entitled 
 the Two Babylons, tells us that, in connection with the 
 ancient Babylonish religion — 
 
 "There were Monks and Nuns in abundance. In Thibet and 
 Japan, where the Chaldean system was early introduced, Monasteries 
 are still to be found, and with the same disastrous results to morals 
 as in Papal Europe. In Scandinavia, the priestesses of Freya . . who 
 were bound to perpetual virginity, were just an order of Nuns. In 
 Athens there were Virgins maintained at the public expense, who 
 were strictly bound to single life. In Pagan Rome, the Vestal 
 Virgins . . occupied a similar position. Even in Peru, during the 
 reign of the Incas, the same system prevailed, and showed so 
 remarkable an analogy, as to indicate that the Vestals of Rome, the 
 Xuns of the Papacy, and the Holy Virgins of Peru, must have sprung 
 from a common origin." 6 
 
 It seems that as early as June 5th, 1841, a young lady, 
 named Miss Marian Hughes, who subsequently became the 
 Mother Superior of one of Dr. Pusey's Convents at Oxford, 
 took " a vow of celibacy," under the guidance of Dr. Pusey 
 himself. 7 Newman celebrated the Holy Communion on 
 this occasion, in St. Mary's Church, Oxford. Shortly after 
 this event Miss Hughes went abroad. The biographer of 
 Dr. Pusey informs us that she went in company with the 
 Rev. C. and Mrs. Seager — 
 
 " In order to study, as far as might be possible, the 1 Religious ' Life 
 among women in France. At Bayeux they made the acquaintance of 
 the Bishop, and of the Abbe Thomine, Canon of the Cathedral and 
 Archdeacon of Caen. M. Thomine was the Director of fifteen 
 Convents, and he allowed Miss Hughes to go as a visitor to the Hotel 
 
 5 Ibid., Vol. III., p. 22. 
 
 6 Hislop's Two Babylons, p. 223. Seventh edition. 
 
 7 Life 0/ Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 10. 
 
l66 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Dieu in Bayeux, which was served by a community of White 
 Augustines or Ursulines. She was received with great cordiality, and 
 was allowed to ask as many questions as she liked. She found the 
 Nuns as fervent and simple-hearted as could be wished : perfect 
 harmony reigned between the different grades of Sisters, and the 
 hospital and schools under their management were admirably con- 
 ducted. The Rule of this House had not been published; but 
 Miss Hughes was allowed by M. Thomine to learn much of it. She 
 afterwards visited the Convent of the Visitation at Caen, which was, 
 of course, under the published Rule of St. Francis de Sales. Pusey 
 was much interested in these details, and in such information as 
 Mr. Seager could collect about the conditions under which temporary 
 vows were allowed in the French Church. In the regulations of the 
 first English Community of Sisters, it is not difficult to trace the 
 influence of the information thus conveyed. Indeed, the Rule first 
 adopted was largely taken from that of St. Francis de Sales, though it 
 was modified after a few years of practical experience." 8 
 
 Of course, visits to Popish Convents such as that made 
 by Miss Hughes and her Puseyite companions, were kept 
 as secret as possible. It would never have done to have 
 taken the public into the confidence of men and women 
 about to revive that Conventual system which Englishmen 
 everywhere hated and dreaded. Already, it will be 
 observed, the taking of Conventual Vows was contemplated 
 by the leaders of the new Movement, and Miss Hughes 
 had actually taken one of those Vows, that of celibacy. 
 From that day to this the authorities of the Convents 
 founded by Dr. Pusey have never given to the public any 
 idea of the actual terms of the Vows taken by their Sisters. 
 They form a part of the secret work of the Ritualists, 
 which sadly needs Government Inspection, as much in the 
 interests of the Sisters themselves, as of that of their 
 relatives and friends. Fortunately, however, a lady of high 
 personal character, who was for several years one of 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisters in a Convent, of which the late 
 Miss Sellon was the Mother Superior, in the year 1863 
 gave the public the benefit of her painful experience, in a 
 8 Life of Lr. Pusey, Vol. III., pp. 10, n. 
 
THE VOW OF OBEDIENCE. 
 
 167 
 
 volume entitled Sisterhoods in the Church of England, and 
 with it the rules which regulate two out of the three Vows 
 taken by these Sisters. The following is an extract from 
 the " Rule of Holy Obedience " : — 
 
 " Ye shall ever address the Spiritual Mother with honour and 
 respect ; avoid speaking of her among yourselves j cherish and obey 
 her with holy love, without any murmur or sign of hesitation or 
 repugnance, but simply, cordially, and promptly obey with cheer- 
 fulness, and banish from your mind any question as to the wisdom of 
 the command given you. If ye fail in this, ye have failed to resist a 
 temptation of the Evil One." 9 
 
 There is nothing in the " Blind Obedience " of a Jesuit 
 worse than this " Rule of Holy Obedience." In the hands 
 of a wicked Mother Superior it might at any time lead to 
 the commission by a Sister of the foulest crimes. If the 
 Mother Superior gives a command to commit a crime, the 
 Sister must obey, banishing from her mind " any question 
 as to the wisdom of the command given " her ! In later 
 years Dr. Pusey required a similar blind obedience to be 
 given by the Sisters of Mercy to their Father Confessors. 
 In his Manual for Confessors, published in 1878, he gives 
 the following directions to Sisters of Mercy : — 
 
 " I would have great respect paid in Confession to your Confessor, 
 for — (to say nothing of the honour due to the priesthood) — we ought 
 to look upon them as Angels sent by God to reconcile us to His 
 Divine goodness; and also as His lieutenants upon earth, and therefore 
 we owe them all reverence, even though they may at times betray 
 that they are human, and have human infirmities, and perhaps ask 
 curious questions which are not part of the Confession, such as your 
 name, what penances or virtues you practise, what are your tempta- 
 tions, &c. I would have you answer, although you are not obliged 
 to do so." 10 
 
 We may indeed pity the unfortunate Sister who has to 
 
 9 Sisterhoods in the Church of England, by Margaret Goodman, pp. 79, 80. 
 London : Smith Elder, 18C3. It were much to be desired that a new edition 
 of this valuable book should be published. It is now out of print. 
 
 10 Pusey's Manual for Confessors, p. 190. 
 
■I 68 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 submit to priestly rule of this infamous kind. If that priest 
 is a bad man, what terrible moral evils he may be guilty of ! 
 As we have learnt already (see page 117) three Ritualistic 
 Confessors were mentioned by the late Archdeacon Allen 
 who had fallen into acts of immorality with women who 
 came to them in Confession. Who can wonder at it that 
 reads Dr. Pusey's Manual for Confessors, or the Priest in 
 A bsolution ? It will be observed that the Sister is forbidden 
 to show any " hesitation or repugnance" in carrying out 
 the orders of the Mother Superior. Here is an instance of 
 an indignity offered to one of Dr. Pusey's Sisters, by Miss 
 Sellon, the Mother Superior. It is recorded by the late 
 Rev. W. G. Cookesley:— 
 
 "One of the Sisters was one dny employed in the menial office of 
 lacing Miss Sellon's boots. Whilst she was thus employed with one 
 of the Lady Superior's feet, that dignitary thought fit to bestow her 
 other foot on the head of the stooping Sister. Some little disposition 
 to objection and resistance to this disgusting insult being manifested, 
 was immediately checked by the Lady Superior, who remarked that 
 such humiliation was good for the Sister." 11 
 
 The orders of a Father Confessor are, it appears, 
 sometimes equally disgusting. Of one of the inmates of 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, Mr. Cookesley records that — 
 
 " A Sister who had been hasty with her tongue, and had thrown 
 out some unguarded expression, was commanded by the Rev. Mr. 
 Prynne, one of the Confessors to the Institution, to lie down Jlat on 
 the Jloor, and with her tongue to describe the figure of a Cross in the 
 dirt." 12 
 
 The Rev. R. M. Benson, who for many years was 
 Superior of the " Cowley Fathers," and Chaplain of several 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods, wrote an introduction to a little 
 book for the guidance of Sisters of Mercy, entitled : — The 
 Religious Life Portrayed for the Use of Sisters of Mercy, and 
 this is what he says to them about their Vow of Obedience : — 
 
 11 A Letter to the Archbishop of Dublin, by the Rev. W. G. Cookesley, p. 76. 
 London: Ridgway, 1853. 12 Ibid., p. 11. 
 
THE VOW OF POVERTY. 
 
 169 
 
 "A Religious [i.e., a Sister] has made the sacrifice of her will in 
 taking the Vow of Obedience : she is no more her own, but God's ; 
 and she must obey her Superiors for God's sake,, yielding herself as 
 wax, to he moulded unresistingly" (p. 13). 
 
 Anyone who submits to a Vow of Obedience like this, 
 " yielding herself as wax to be moulded unresistingly," is 
 more truly a slave to her Superiors than any negro slave is 
 to his master, since slavery of the mind and soul is in her 
 case added to that of the body. Moral slavery is the 
 greatest of all tyrants. Is it right that any free born 
 Englishwoman should be permitted to take a Vow of 
 Obedience of this horrible character ? The victims are 
 truly objects of pity. Another lady, who was for a time one 
 of Dr. Pusey's Sisters, commenting on the Rule of Obedience 
 quoted above, very truly remarks : — 
 
 " Plainly, this whole Rule of Obedience is simply the counterfeit of 
 that entire self-consecration which the Christian, whose soul has been 
 redeemed, owes to his Redeemer. To Him, indeed, and to His holy 
 will revealed in the Scriptures, the Christian owes an unhesitating, 
 unquestioning obedience. If His providential dealings appear 
 mysterious, child-like trust and entire confidence and submission are 
 due from those who know that the Judge of all the earth ' must 
 needs do right,' though His ways are past finding out. . . But this 
 Rule of Holy Obedience is, in fact, a part of that corrupt and perverted 
 Christianity which, since its first manifestation in the Church, has 
 heguiled ignorantly devout souls — a system which, indeed, * admits 
 the whole canon of truth, and yet contrives that it should teach only 
 error.' It is part of a carefully devised system for depriving the soul of 
 obedience to God." 13 
 
 We now come to the consideration of the " Rule of Holy 
 Poverty" in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood. It is as follows: — 
 
 " It is not permitted to any Sister to appropriate anything, however 
 small, or under whatever pretext, to herself ; since each shall, on the 
 day of her entrance, renounce in favour of the Community, not only 
 the possession, but the use and disposition of everything which is 
 hers, or shall be given to her. All this being under the entire regula- 
 tion of the Superior. Ye shall neither ask for, nor receive anything 
 
 13 The Anglican Sister of Mercy, pp. 02, 63. London : Elliot Stock, 1S95. 
 
170 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 without permission; and when ye shall have received it, ye shall 
 place it in the hands of the Mother Assistant for the use of the 
 Society." u 
 
 There is certainly in this " Rule of Holy (?) Poverty " 
 something which looks very much like what City men term 
 " sharp practice." It is a grand scheme for relieving 
 English ladies of their money. " A lady," writes the Rev. 
 W. G. Cookesley, " who joined Dr. Pusey's establishment, 
 as a Sister, carried into the common stock a capital pro- 
 ducing, I believe, so large a sum as £1200 per annum ; when 
 she subsequently left the Society, which she did to join the 
 Church of Rome, she did not possess a penny ! " 15 Here we 
 are face to face with another very serious evil, which sadly 
 needs a remedy at the hands of Parliament. A Sisterhood 
 which retains the property of a Sister who desires to leave 
 its walls, ought to be compelled by law to return her fortune, 
 after deducting a reasonable amount for her support 
 while in the Convent. This "Rule of Holy Poverty" is 
 manifestly unjust on the face of it. A provision should be 
 made, in every case, which shall secure the pecuniary rights 
 of each Sister, and not leave her dependent — should she 
 decide upon leaving the Sisterhood — on the doubtful charity 
 of the authorities. But even if such a provision were made, 
 something more should be done to remove the difficulties 
 which surround a Sister desirous of leaving a Sisterhood. 
 Miss Goodman, writing from the standpoint of one who had 
 practical experience, informs us that — 
 
 " The fact that these Conventual establishments are closed against 
 all unwelcome visitation, and that any of the inmates may be secluded 
 from all intercourse and communication with their family and friends, 
 at the will of the Superior, is, if not a breach of the law of England, at 
 least an alarming and dangerous innovation, and in direct opposition to 
 the spirit of civil and religious liberty in this country. Since it is 
 
 u Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, pp 82, 83. 
 15 Cookesley's Letter to the Archbishop of Dublin, p. 12. London: Ridgway, 
 1853- 
 
ARE RITUALISTIC CONVENTS JAILS ? 171 
 
 possible for a young girl to be kept secretly, in strict seclusion, in 
 Convent professedly connected with the Church of England, not only 
 against her own inclinations, but against the wishes of her parents and 
 friends, and even in despite of their efforts to remove or communicate 
 with her, it is superfluous to add that this fact is one of grave import- 
 ance, and demands the consideration of the Legislature. The 
 unfortunate inmates of lunatic asylums, private as well as public, are 
 shielded by the law from ill usage and unjustifiable restraint ; surely 
 the inmates of Religious Houses, who devote themselves to the good 
 offices of nursing and comforting the sick and afflicted, teaching- 
 ignorant adults and training children — -or even if solely engaged in 
 prayer and worship — ought not to be left entirely to the tender 
 mercies of high-handed and uncontrolled power, exercised by 
 irresponsible Superiors, whose authority is absolute." 16 
 
 If what Miss Goodman here states be true — and I have 
 discovered no reason for doubting it — it follows that Ritual- 
 istic Convents are, in some instances, nothing better than 
 jails for innocent young ladies, and consequently that, like- 
 jails, they ought to be under Government Inspection. 
 Nominally, in most if not all of these Convents, the Sisters 
 may be free to leave when they please ; but even here moral 
 bolts and bars are used which more effectually prevent their 
 escape than any material ones could. 
 
 "A Sister," writes Miss Goodman, "under some circumstances 
 would find it very difficult to leave. Those who enter Sisterhoods 
 abandon family ties ; they acquire peculiar habits ; are ignorant of the 
 state of things without their Nunnery gates. ... I have known 
 several Sisters who have spent every penny of their capital ; and 
 Dr. Pusey also knows them much better than I do. Without money ;. 
 without friends 5 without clothes (Sisters who persist in leaving 
 Miss Sellon's are sent forth in Sisters' garb, and they are instructed 
 to send everything back as soon as they can clothe themselves) ; 
 without an idea which way to look for occupation j what is a Sister to- 
 do who leaves a Nunnery ? . . . The foregoing is no overdrawn 
 picture of the difficulties : I am speaking from certain facts which, 
 came under my own observation." 17 
 
 The Vow or Rule as to Poverty varies in different Con- 
 vents. The Sisterhood of St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, is 
 
 16 Goodman's Sisterhoods, pp. vii., viii. *7 Ibid., p. 113. 
 
172 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 a very large one, devote'd mainly to nursing, but also paying 
 a great deal of attention to the publication of books, and 
 the production of ecclesiastical embroidery. It so happens 
 that I possess a secret book written for the use of this 
 Sisterhood, entitled The Spirit of the Founder. It consists of 
 extracts from addresses privately delivered to the Sisters by 
 the Founder of the Sisterhood, the late Rev. Dr. Neale. 
 From this book I take the following extracts relating to the 
 Vows taken by the Sisters : — 
 
 " Of the three Vows," said Dr. Neale, " that every Sister implicitly 
 or explicitly takes — Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience — the two last 
 are perfectly easy to understand. They hind you to a Sister s life, not 
 certainly here, but certainly somewhere, as lo?ig as you live''' (pp. 5, 6). 
 
 We thus learn that at East Grinstead the Vows are taken 
 for life, making it morally impossible for a Sister to with- 
 draw from her profession, so long as she retains a belief in 
 Ritualistic principles as to the so-called " Religious Life." 
 Dr. Neale seems to have insisted very much upon the 
 alleged wickedness of a Sister ever withdrawing from a 
 Sister's life. " Let me repeat to you," he said to them on 
 one occasion, " once more, that, henceforth, ever to draw 
 back from a Sister's life is sacrilege : sacrilege in the highest 
 degree : inasmuch as the Doctors of the Church have always 
 taught that sacrilege of person is worse than sacrilege of 
 place" (Ibid., p. 89). It seems that in this Sisterhood the 
 Sisters are not required to part with the whole of their 
 property to the Convent on joining it. 
 
 " A Sister coming to us," says Dr. Neale, " and not able to pay any, 
 or all, of the dowry of this House, is then bound to mention in Con- 
 fession why not, and to tell the priest how she disposes of her income " 
 (Hid., p. 11). 
 
 I am afraid that there is in the Confessional a great deal 
 too much interference with the disposal of the property of 
 Sisters. It is open to grave objection that an excitable and 
 enthusiastic young lady should be expected to tell her Father 
 Confessor what she has done with her money. It is no busi- 
 
ARE CONVENT ACCOUNTS AUDITED ? 
 
 173 
 
 ness of his, and if he is a bad man he can easily use his 
 opportunities to enrich the Convent at the expense of justice. 
 
 "Let us imagine," said Dr. Neale, on another occasion, to his 
 Sisters, "a Sister wishing to join us with a certain income belonging 
 unrestrictedly to herself ; when she makes the Vow of Poverty, what 
 does she promise, and what does she not promise ? She promises, 
 in the first place, to give up what is called the usufruct of it; that is, 
 neither directly nor indirectly to lay out a farthing of it on herself. 
 She promises to keep nothing in band, to have, as the usual expression 
 goes, no pocket money, to buy nothing for herself with her own 
 money, either necessary or unnecessary. She does not promise — 
 God forbid — to devote all her income to this House. When I say God 
 forbid, I mean what I say. There have been some griping, grasping 
 Religious Houses which have been satisfied with nothing less, but 
 they have always been regarded the plague spots of Religious 
 Communities " (R id., pp. 7, 8). 
 
 I wonder whether Dr. Neale had Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood 
 in his mind, when he thus denounced those " griping, 
 grasping Religious Houses " which — as was the case with 
 Dr. Pusey's — requires the Sister to devote all her income to 
 the Convent ? Dr. Neale understood what he was talking 
 about, and when he terms such Convents " plague spots," 
 it leads us to express a hope that such places may speedily 
 be removed from the Church of England, and thus prevent 
 the spreading of the "plague." At St. Margaret's, East 
 Grinstead, the Sisters may not spend their own money. The 
 Mother Superior kindly spends it for them ! I wonder 
 whether Convent authorities ever give a really satis- 
 factory and business-like account to the Sisters of the 
 way their money is spent ? Immense sums of money flow 
 into some Convent coffers. Is there ever any auditing of 
 accounts by a public auditor ? There ought to be, and 
 Parliament should insist upon it. History proves that there 
 have been very wicked Mother Superiors, and very wicked 
 Father Confessors of Convents. The present Ritualistic 
 system makes it very easy for the authorities to embezzle the 
 Sisters' money, with but little or no risk of discovery, 
 
174 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 should they feel tempted at any time to do so. To plead 
 'that all these people are pious and quite above acting 
 dishonestly, is not sufficient to allay doubt and suspicion. 
 It is a plea which is never used with regard to our public 
 religious Societies, as a reason why their accounts should 
 not be publicly audited ; and therefore it ought not to be 
 used to shield those secret Societies which exist within 
 Convent walls. The Vow of Poverty is quite unnecessary. 
 Why cannot a private Sister attain to holiness while 
 retaining control over her fortune, and spend her own 
 money as she likes ? This Vow keeps her in cruel bondage. 
 And then, after she has thus parted with her whole fortune 
 - — in some cases amounting to many thousands of pounds — 
 :she is, perhaps, coolly insulted by such advice as the 
 following, given in " Father Benson's " Religious Life 
 .Portrayed for the Use of Sisters of M ercy : — 
 
 " Accept the food set before you, as though given out of mere 
 -charity 5 and however coarse and uninviting it may be, reflect that 
 you do not deserve even that " (p. 33). 
 
 A considerable amount of useful information about 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods may be read in a Government Blue 
 Book, published in 1870, and containing the Report 
 from the Select Committee on Conventual and Monastic 
 Institutions. As an appendix to this Report, there are 
 printed the, till then, strictly secret Statutes of two 
 Sisterhoods, viz., that of All Saints', Margaret Street, and 
 the Clewer Sisterhood. This Report is, unfortunately, 
 but very seldom seen, and, like many other Blue Books, is 
 quite unknown to the general public. From it I learn that 
 in the Clewer Sisterhood the Statutes declare that — 
 
 " The Sisterhood is formed without Vows, for the observance of 
 -the Rules of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, in which state of life 
 the Sisters offer themselves perpetually to God, to live alone for His 
 glory, in the love of Jesus, and to serve Him in the persons of His 
 poor and suffering ones." 18 
 
 18 Report, p. 224. 
 
CLEWER SISTERHOOD. 
 
 175 
 
 But, surely, if they promise and offer themselves to God 
 " perpetually " to observe the Rules of Poverty, Chastity, 
 and Obedience, such an offer is, practically, the same thing 
 as a Vow ? It would be hard to define the difference. 
 Canon T. T. Carter, who has been Warden of the Clewer 
 Sisterhood from its commencement, has written a treatise 
 to prove, amongst other things, that " the dedication " of 
 a woman to a life of celibacy in a Sisterhood, "whether 
 expressed or implied, or however expressed, was regarded 
 as tantamount to a vow." 19 The Rev. Dr. Neale, Warden 
 of the East Grinstead Sisterhood, said that '' a Vow is 
 tantamount to an Oath." 20 The Rules which regulate the 
 property of the Clewer Sisters, though open to abuse, are 
 not so bad as those which obtain in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood. 
 They are as follows : — 
 
 "15. Sisters who are able, are expected to contribute each £$0 
 annually to the Community Fund, but this sum may be increased at 
 the desire of any Sister. 
 
 " 16. The sum to be contributed by each Sister, shall be settled 
 between herself and the Warden and Superior; the arrangement 
 being strictly confidential. 
 
 17. In the event of any Sister desiring to give or bequeath anv 
 property to the Community, or any of its Houses, she shall satisfy the 
 Visitor that she has informed the next-of-kin, or the next in degree, if 
 more than one (or give to the Visitor a sufficient reason for her not 
 having done so) of her intention, that any objections on their part may 
 be duly considered, and that they may have the opportunity of laying 
 such objections before the Visitor."- 1 
 
 According to these Rules the amount of a Sister's 
 contribution to the Community Fund is kept a profound 
 secret, known only to the priest who acts as Warden, the 
 Mother Superior, and herself. Even the Council of the 
 Sisterhood are to know nothing at all about it. Those two 
 " old hands " working on a susceptible young ladv, could 
 
 19 Vows and the Religious State, by the Rev. T. T. Carter, p. 73. London : 
 Masters, 1881. 
 
 ■ Sprit of the Founder, p. 71. ■ Report, p. 226. 
 
i;6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 easily, if they pleased — I do not say that they would 
 so act — work the arrangement very much to the advan- 
 tage of the Community Fund. And then, supposing the 
 Sister subsequently desires to " give " ; or, when dying, 
 "bequeath" a part, or the whole, of her property to the 
 Sisterhood, it can be very easily managed under Rule 17, 
 even though that Rule seems at first sight so fair to the 
 next-of-kin. It is very right that she should inform her 
 nearest relations as to what she proposes to do with her 
 property, but, it will be observed, there is an important 
 exception made to this salutary provision. She may "give 
 to the Visitor a sufficient reason for her not having done so," 
 and then, calling in the aid of her Father Confessor, the 
 Warden, and the Mother Superior, the result of their 
 conference will, no doubt, be quite satisfactory to the 
 Convent. But what will her next-of-kin think about it ? 
 Even if they are permitted, according to Rule 17, to lay their 
 objections to losing the money (which they might reasonably 
 expect from their relative) before the Visitor, it does not 
 necessarily follow that their protests will be successful. In 
 either case the Convent has an unfair advantage. We 
 know from the history of Romish countries what the threats 
 of a priest can accomplish at a dying bed. 
 
 An illustration, I do not say of undue influence, but 
 of the way in which Ritualistic Convents benefit largely by 
 the wills of dying Sisters, is thus given by Miss Goodman, 
 in her Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 16 : — 
 
 " The father of H [one of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood] was a 
 
 Scotch baronet, and when he died, his property went to his eldest 
 
 son ; but Lady , the mother of H , was an heiress, and a 
 
 considerable part of her own Large property was settled on herself for 
 life, to be divided equally afterwards among her daughters and 
 
 younger sons. When H was dying at Bradford [Convent], her 
 
 mother and sister were sent for ; but they were allowed to stay only 
 
 two days, of which one was Sunday. On the Monday H made 
 
 a will leaving her share of her mother's property absolutely to 
 Miss Sellon [the Mother Superior], or to the Sisterhood, which is 
 
STATUTES OF ALL SAINTS' SISTERHOOD. 
 
 177 
 
 much the same thing. The mother expressed a wish that her daughter 
 
 should do otherwise, hut in vain ; so Lady went away with the 
 
 pleasant reflection that Miss Sellon, through whom she was sent 
 away from her daughter's death bed, will inherit as a daughter from 
 her." 
 
 In the Sisterhood of All Saints', Margaret Street, it is 
 provided by the Statutes, that no Sister leaving the 
 Sisterhood, even if " dismissed," shall have any right to any 
 portion of the money or property which she has given to it, 
 whether as a dowry or otherwise. The rule, which is very 
 stringent, is as follows : — ■ 
 
 " iS. No Sister, whether dismissed or not, or whether remaining or 
 not, or her heirs, executors, or administrators, shall have or be entitled, 
 either in her lifetime or after her decease, to, or shall have power to 
 claim, either at law or in equity, any estate, right, title, interest, property, 
 or share whatsoever in or to the real estate or chattels real, houses, 
 leasehold or copyhold estates, stocks, funds, and monies, or in or to the 
 household furniture, books, linen, china, and other chattels personal, and 
 effects belonging to or held in trust for or used for the purposes of the 
 said Society, or any of them, or any part or parts thereof, anything 
 herein contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding." 22 
 
 It is evidently quite possible that a Sister ma}', whether 
 intentionally or otherwise, be "dismissed " contrary to strict 
 justice, yet, according to this rule she is, even in such a case, 
 barred from any claim for compensation on the property of 
 the Sisterhood, which, of course, includes what she has 
 given to it. Such a rule is open to grave abuse. By 
 Rule 22 the first Mother Superior, Miss H. B. Byron, is 
 excepted from the operations of Rule 18, to this extent, that, 
 should the Sisterhood be dissolved in her lifetime "the 
 houses and property of the said Society in Margaret Street, 
 Cavendish Square, shall be reconveyed to and vested in the 
 said Harriet Brownlow Byron, her executors, administrators, 
 and assigns." It is evident that Miss Byron looked after 
 her own interest very well. It would have been well had the 
 authorities shown an equal regard for the interests of the 
 
 22 Refcif. p. 215. 
 
 12 
 
I78 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 other Sisters. By this same Rule 22, it is provided that the 
 "whole of the property and effects" of the Sisterhood shall r 
 in the event of its being dissolved, " be disposed of to such 
 charitable purposes in connection with the Church of 
 England " as the trustees may select, the unfortunate Sisters 
 being in no way provided for by the Statutes, though they 
 have probably contributed the greater portion of the Sister- 
 hood property out of their own private fortunes. On July 
 21st, 1870, Mr. W. Ford, the Honorary Solicitor of this 
 Sisterhood, was examined before the Select Committee of 
 the House of Commons on Conventual and Monastic 
 Institutions. He was questioned by the Committee on this- 
 subject, as follows : — ■ 
 
 " 3768. They [the Sisters] have not precluded themselves by these- 
 Statutes or regulations from taking property by trustees ? — No ; they 
 may receive property in their own names or in the names of trustees - r 
 when the Sisters go away or die they or their representatives shall not 
 be considered to have any right to a share of the property of the- 
 Community. 
 
 "3769- Though they may contribute some, they are not to take any 
 away ? — It is not put so in express words, but that is the legitimate- 
 inference I think." 23 
 
 In the course of his evidence Mr. Ford stated that at 
 All Saints', Margaret Street, the Sisters take no Vow of 
 Poverty, and may continue to hold any personal property 
 of their own, which they may not have handed over to the 
 Sisterhood. The Statutes are signed by all the Sisters, 
 who promise to observe them " God being our helper."' 
 Mr. Ford was asked by the Committee, if this was not 
 equivalent to an oath : but he denied that it was, though he 
 admitted that "a great many persons of tender conscience 
 might feel " that, in thus invoking the name of God as' a 
 witness to their promise, " they were entering into a solemn 
 obligation, and that if they failed in it, they would feel it 
 some sort of a burden on their conscience." 24 Mr. E. 
 
 23 Report, p. 173. 
 
 24 Ibid., p. 17 . 
 
THE PROPERTY OF CLEWER SISTERS. 
 
 179 
 
 Freeman, Solicitor of the Clewer Sisterhood, also gave 
 evidence before the Select Committee, and stated that in 
 that institution a similar, but verbal declaration of consent 
 to the Statutes was made by each Sister, ending with the 
 words, "God being our helper." 25 From this gentleman's 
 evidence we further learn that the rules as to the possession 
 of private property are more severe at Clewer than at 
 All Saints', Margaret Street, as the following questions and 
 answers show : — 
 
 "4097. Do I rightly understand that they [Clewer Sisters] give 
 up nothing on entering the Community ? — They give up nothing on 
 entering ; they make arrangements for the disposing of their property, 
 and they do not deal with their money after entering the Institution." 
 
 "4100. But is it the arrangement, or one of the rules, that they 
 shall not hold any property for their own benefit ? — Yes." 
 
 "4103. But it is understood that they shall not employ any 
 monevs or properties that they may receive for their own purposes, 
 after they have joined? — Yes." 26 
 
 What the rules are as to the Vows of Poverty, Chastity, 
 and Obedience, which obtain in the numerous other Sister- 
 hoods within the Church of England I have been unable to 
 ascertain. 27 They are kept as great secrets, known only to 
 the initiated. Could not the Charity Commissioners make 
 inquiries on this subject ? The Rules of the Sisterhoods 
 which I have come across, may, of course, have been altered 
 since those were issued which I have quoted, but I have no 
 reason to hope that, if altered, they have been altered for 
 the better. 
 
 This subject of Conventual Vows demands the serious 
 attention of loyal Churchmen everywhere, and especially of 
 our Bishops, whose influence is, in some instances at least, 
 
 25 Ibid., p. 193. 26 Rid , p. 190. 
 
 27 From a letter published in the Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. I., p. 456, 
 I learn that in the " Sisterhood of the Holy Cross," which works in connection 
 with the St. George's Mission at St. Peter's, London Docks, "Perpetual Vows' 
 are taken by the Sisters. By the way, is there any connection between this 
 " Sisterhood of the Holy Cross," and the secret " Society of the Holy Cross," 
 both of which work in the same parish ? 
 
 12 * 
 
l80 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 considerable over the Sisterhoods in their dioceses. In the 
 opinion of many of the most learned Divines of the Church 
 of England these Vows are most dangerous, and wholly 
 without Scriptural authority. A case is mentioned in the 
 Life of Archbishop Tait, in which a clergyman of the Church 
 of England administered a Vow of perpetual Celibacy to a 
 young lady who was only eighteen years of age ! No wonder 
 that the Archbishop termed the taking of such a vow " a 
 sinful act." 28 It is very common nowadays to see very young 
 Sisters of Mercy walking in our streets. How many of them 
 have taken Perpetual Vows ? It would be easy to fill 
 several pages with extracts from the writings of English 
 Divines in proof of their opposition to Conventual Vows, 
 and certainly it is quite reasonable to ask the question, 
 Why cannot we have Sisterhoods without any Vows, direct 
 or indirect ? Is it not possible to be kind to the sick and 
 poor, and to educate the young without them ? The 
 history of many Deaconesses' Homes, conducted on 
 Protestant principles, is an ample answer to the question. 
 No sensible person objects to Christian women banding 
 themselves together for Christian work ; on the contrary, 
 they ought to be encouraged in their good resolutions to 
 the utmost. But, surely, he is not to be considered an 
 enemy of Christian charity who faithfully points out the 
 dangers and evils which invariably follow the taking of 
 Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience ? The late 
 Bishop Samuel Wilberforce was ever a great friend to 
 women's work in the Church, yet he, old-fashioned High 
 Churchman though he was, felt bound to raise a warning 
 cry on this grave subject. Writing on April 14th, 1850, to 
 a clergyman who had submitted to him the rules of a 
 proposed Sisterhood, he remarked : — 
 
 " I object, then, absolutely, as un-Christian and savouring of the 
 worst evils of Rome, to the Vows involved in such a context in the 
 statement as, 1 She is for ever consecrated to the service of her 
 
 ^ Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. I., p. 466. 
 
BISHOP WILBERFORCE OX VOWS. 
 
 i8r 
 
 heavenly Spouse.' I object to the expression itself as uniuarr anted 
 -by God's Word and savouring of one of the most carnal perversions of 
 the Church of Rome. ... I add my solemn warning that such 
 tampering with the language, acts, and temper of the Church of Rome 
 in young women of our communion must tend to betray them into 
 infidelity to their mother Church, and to perversion to the Papal 
 schismatics! and corrupt communion." 29 
 
 At the Oxford Church Congress, in 1862, Bishop S. 
 Wilberforce delivered a stirring speech on the subject of 
 Vows, strongly condemning them, whether taken for life, 
 or for a shorter period, and this although he was quite 
 in favour of Sisterhoods, when free from this and other 
 Romanizing peculiarities. He said : — ■ 
 
 " I think so far we are agreed — but if it were to be imagined from 
 the silence of any that those who were silent went on to approve, in 
 the first place, of Vows of Celibacy being made for life ; or, second!}-, 
 of the taking Vows of Celibacy for a f eed time by those who give 
 themselves to that life, I believe it would be an entire mistake of the 
 meeting. I am bound to say this, in order that there may be no 
 mistake of one holding the office God has given me, that I should 
 not have felt at liberty to take any part in the engagements of any 
 Sisterhood of which such Vows formed a part 30 — because, firstly, 
 I see no warrant for them in the Word of God — and it would seem to 
 me that to encourage persons to make Vows, for which there is no 
 distinct promise given that they should be able to keep them, would 
 be entangling them in a yoke of danger; secondly, because it seems 
 to me that our Church has certainly discouraged such Vows. . . . 
 I feel, therefore, that I may venture to say that, instead of the 
 Perpetual Vows representing the higher, it is the admission of a 
 lower standard. . . I believe that the abuses of that life have come, 
 first from the promises of perpetuity ; and, secondly, from the abuse 
 connected with the admission of persons having property, and being 
 led to give that property up, in a moment of excitement, to this purpose. 
 . . . One single word on the use of the term 1 Religious.' I confess 
 
 29 Life of Bishop Wilberforct, Vol. III., pp. 330, 331. 
 
 30 In his diary for November 30th, i860, the Bishop records that during a 
 visit he had that day made to the Clewer Sisterhood, he " would not consent 
 to altering rule about no Vows." (Life of Bishop Wilbcrforce, Vol. III., 
 p. 332.) It is evident from this that the authorities wished to introduce Vows. 
 Have they been introduced since then ? 
 
l82 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 that I have the very deepest objection in any way whatever to 
 applying the word * Religious ' to such a life. I think it was adopted 
 at a time when the standard of lay piety was very low, and at all 
 events, as no good seems to me to be got by the use of a word 
 ambiguous at least in its meaning, and which seems to imply that 
 God can be better served in the unmarried Sisterhood than in the 
 blessed and holy state of matrimony, I think it is a pity that it should 
 foe used." 31 
 
 Archbishop Tait, a Broad Churchman who, like Bishop 
 Wilberforce, had no objection to Sisterhoods, if they could 
 he kept free from Romish corruptions and abuses, was 
 equally stern in his denunciation of Vows. Writing to a 
 gentleman, on December 27th, 1865, who had asked for his 
 opinion on the subject, Dr. Tait, who was then Bishop of 
 London, replied : — 
 
 " There is no warrant for supposing that I in any way approve 
 of Sisterhoods in which Perpetual Vows are administered. I 
 have on more than one occasion stated publicly my belief that all 
 Vows or oaths administered under the circumstances you describe, 
 not being sanctioned by the Legislature, and being taken by persons 
 not authorized to receive them, are of the nature of illegal oaths. It 
 is a grave question whether a clergyman of the Church of England, 
 administering such an oath, does not make himself amenable to 
 prosecution before the magistrates." 32 
 
 A London Sisterhood, whose name is not given, applied 
 to Dr. Tait to licence a certain clergyman as their Chaplain. 
 His lordship replied, expressing his willingness to do so, 
 provided only " that habitual Confession shall not be urged 
 upon the Sisters or any inmates of the House " ; and, 
 secondly, " that no Vows whatsoever shall be administered 
 or sanctioned by the Chaplain." These very reasonable 
 and moderate conditions were, however, rejected by the 
 Chaplain. He would subject himself to no such conditions, 
 and consequently the Bishop very properly refused to licence 
 
 ri1 Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., pp. 332, 333. 
 b2 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. I., p. 457. 
 
ENCLOSED RITUALISTIC NUNS. 
 
 183 
 
 him. The Bishop wrote to the Mother Superior of the 
 Sisterhood, giving his reasons for his refusal to license the 
 Chaplain : — 
 
 "It is felt, 1 ' he wrote, "that such Vows are not warranted by 
 anything in the teaching of our Church, and are rash, as binding the 
 conscience not to follow the leadings of God's providence in case of a 
 change of circumstances. If, notwithstanding this, any ladies choose 
 to bind themselves by Vows, I do not see what can be done to 
 prevent their acting in a way unwarranted by the Church, and rash, 
 from a mistaken notion that real devotion of life to Christ's service is 
 strengthened by this attempt to forecast the events of our changeful 
 life which God retains in His own keeping. The Church of Rome, 
 in sanctioning such Vows, sanctions also a power of dispensing with 
 them ; but the claim to such dispensing power is rightly repudiated 
 by us — so that a Vow for life may be an entanglement of the 
 conscience, when God plainly, in our changing relations, prescribes 
 for us a change of duty. The only Vows which the Church of 
 England sanctions are such as the Formularies recognize as based on 
 the teaching of God's Word ; and for these the law of the land 
 provides by giving its additional sanction to the Formularies." 33 
 
 The Bishop's exhortations were in vain. The Mother 
 Superior wrote to him, in the name of all her Sisters, to 
 say that they would rather go without a licensed Chaplain 
 than have one on the condition laid down by his 
 lordship. 34 
 
 There is another subject connected with Ritualistic 
 Sisterhoods, which needs to be mentioned here. There are 
 now, scattered throughout the country, several Ritualistic 
 Convents of Enclosed Nuns, who are supposed to never leave 
 the Convent walls. Miss Goodman mentions that, in her 
 time, there was an order of Enclosed Nuns in Dr. Pusey's 
 Sisterhoods. "The Sisters at Plymouth," she states, "do 
 not speak of themselves under the title of ' Nuns ' ; they are 
 Sisters of Mercy ; but those of the community belonging to 
 the Order of the ' Sacred Heart' are termed 'Nuns' by 
 the Sisters of Mercy, and the place of their habitation a 
 ' Nunnery.' As I have before observed, the ' Order of the 
 
 83 Ibid., p. 461. 34 See the Mother Superior's Letter, ibid., p. 462. 
 
184 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Sacred Heart,' or, as it is often termed, the ? Order of the 
 Love of Jesus,' is strictly 'Enclosed/ and their time is 
 supposed to be spent in almost perpetual prayer, for the 
 living or the dead, 'according as their prayers are 
 solicited." 35 
 
 Miss Goodman further mentions that the rules of this 
 Enclosed Order of the Sacred Heart are modelled after 
 those of the Poor Clares in the Church of Rome, but that 
 in the former Order the discipline is, in some respects, more 
 cruel than in the Church of Rome. 
 
 " The relatives of a Poor Clare," writes Miss Goodman, " can speak 
 with her through a ' grille ' ; the relatives of an Anglican are to think 
 of the Sister as in the grave, and it is esteemed a falling away from 
 the rule for a recluse to desire even to see one so near and dear to her 
 as a mother. An aged lady has for years been trying every means to 
 obtain, as she says, 'only one word' from a beloved daughter at 
 Miss Sellon's, but without success: she has written most imploringly 
 to Miss Sellon, and has begged the interference of the Bishop of 
 Exeter, who declares himself powerless in the matter ; yet there is 
 nothing to forbid the meeting except the rule of the Order to which 
 the daughter has devoted herself." 36 
 
 Another Order of Enclosed Nuns existed for several years 
 at Feltham, Middlesex, from whence it was removed to 
 Twickenham ; and, later on, to West Mailing, Kent. Its 
 Home is known as the " Convent of S. Mary and S. Schol- 
 astica." I have no idea how many Nuns reside within its 
 walls. Originally this Nunnery was under the control of the 
 Rev. J. L. Lyne, who calls himself "Father Ignatius," after 
 Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit Order. A schism 
 took place in its ranks, and the Feltham Nuns seceded from 
 the control of " Father Ignatius." That gentleman, how- 
 ever, keeps on another Nunnery of his own at Llanthony, 
 where he has also a Monastery. In 1879 this Convent was 
 in Slapton, Devonshire, where, in company with two others, 
 I had an interview with " Ignatius " himself, who told me 
 that his Nuns " never see the face of man " — his own face, 
 
 36 Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 125. 36 Ibid., p. 213. 
 
THE DISCIPLINE IN RITUALISTIC CONVENTS. 185 
 
 I presume, excepted. " Sister Mary Agnes, O.S.B.," who 
 was for seventeen years one of the Nuns under " Father 
 Ignatius," states that the " Discipline," or cat o' nine tails, 
 was used by the Nuns in the Convent, 37 and this is confirmed 
 by the Monastic Times, June 24th, 1884, a periodical issued 
 by " Ignatius " himself. Sometimes this " Discipline " was 
 inflicted by the " Mother Superior" against the will of the 
 unfortunate Nun, an instance of which is given above (p. 40). 
 
 That horrible, but perfectly true story, the accuracy of 
 which has not been publicly denied by " Ignatius," reads 
 like a chapter of Convent life taken from the Dark Ages. I 
 wish I could think it were an isolated case ; but when 
 I remember that one in the position of the late Dr. Pusey, 
 as recently as 1878, recommended, as I have already 
 stated, this self-same " Discipline," as a penance for Sisters 
 of Mercy, I cannot help feeling anxious about the fate of the 
 unhappy creatures subject to it. In his well-known Manual 
 for Confessors, Dr. Pusey recommends Ritualistic Father 
 Confessors to prescribe for Sisters of Mercy, as a penance, 
 and " For mortifications, the Discipline for about a quarter of 
 an hour a day " (p. 243). There is something truly horrible 
 in such a penance. A " quarter of an hour a day " of 
 whipping on the bare back, amounts to ninety-one hours of 
 whipping every year ! What an outcry there would be raised 
 all over England if it were discovered that the humblest 
 woman in East London were subject to such torture as this, 
 even though it were inflicted by herself! Is it not evident 
 that the inherent evils of Convent life are growing up rapidly 
 in what used at one time to be termed the Reformed Church 
 of England ? This " Discipline " — which is sometimes 
 made of spiked steel instead of whipcord — is in itself quite 
 enough to make a Convent an abode of misery and woe, 
 rather than a paradise on earth which some of the friends of 
 the so-called " Religious Life" assert it to be. Would to 
 
 87 Nunnery Life in the Church of England, by Sister Mary Agnes, O.S.B., 
 p. 97- 
 
l86 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 God that the history of the inmates of Ritualistic Convents 
 could be written for the benefit of the public ! A cry of 
 horror would, I have no doubt, then be heard throughout 
 the length and breadth of the land. A few ladies only of 
 those who have left Ritualistic Sisterhoods have published 
 their bitter experiences for the good of the public. The 
 principal of these are Miss Cusack, who, after leaving 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, became a Roman Catholic, and 
 was known as "The Nun of Kenmare," and who has now 
 become a Protestant ; Miss Margaret Goodman, who has 
 written two books on the subject, viz., her Experiences of an 
 English Sister of Mercy, and Sisterhoods in the Church of 
 England; Miss Wale, who wrote the Anglican Sister of 
 Mercy, giving her experience of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhoods; 
 and " Sister Mary Agnes," who wrote Nunnery Life in the 
 ■Church of England, being her experience of life in Father 
 Ignatius's Nunnery. All these writers agree as to the misery 
 •of the so-called " Religious Life " in Anglican Convents. 
 
 Miss Cusack was one of the earliest of those who joined 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, of which she remained a member 
 for about five years. She joined the branch of the Sisterhood 
 which then existed at Osnaburgh Street, London, and of 
 which a Miss Langston was at that time Superior. One of 
 the ladies in this Convent was known as Sister Jane. This 
 lady, Miss Cusack states — 
 
 " Let drop many little hints as to the state of affairs [in the Sister- 
 hood], with which she was far from being satisfied, but above all 
 she warned me against Miss Sellon, and not without cause. Her 
 description of the Plymouth Sisterhood was that it was ' a hell upon 
 earth,' and later, I knew, from personal experience, that she was not 
 far astray." 38 
 
 A very curious story is told by Miss Cusack as to the way 
 in which Dr. Pusey heard the Confessions of the Sisters. It 
 implies that he systematically broke the " Seal of Confession." 
 Miss Sellon, she states — 
 
 38 Story of My Life, by N. F. Cusack, p. 65. 
 
HOW DR. PUSEY HEARD CONFESSIONS. 
 
 187 
 
 u Made one strict rule for her own protection, which was never 
 broken. No Sister was allowed to go to Confession unless she 
 was in the house, and she always remained in the room next 
 to the one which Dr. Pusey occupied when he heard the Sisters' 
 Confessions. When he had heard one Sister he always went into her 
 room before he heard the Confession of another Sister ; hence I think 
 we were not unreasonable in concluding that he told Miss Sellon — if 
 not in words, at least by implication — what had passed. And this 
 was religion ! " 39 
 
 It may be well to remark here, that Miss Cusack is not 
 the only person who has brought such a charge as this 
 against Dr. Pusey. The late well-known and highly esteemed 
 Rev. Mark Pattison, Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, 
 wrote as follows : — 
 
 " I once, and only once, got so low by fostering a morbid state of 
 conscience as to go to Confession to Dr. Pusey. Years after it came 
 to my knowledge that Pusey had told a fact about myself, which he 
 had got from me on that occasion, to a friend of his, who employed 
 it to annoy me." 40 
 
 The Confessional, when in the hand of a bad-tempered 
 Confessor, must be often the means of making the life of 
 the poor Sisters burthensome. Certainty what Miss Cusack 
 relates about Dr. Pusey has a very suspicious appearance, 
 indirectly corroborated as it is by Mr. Mark Pattison's 
 revelation. 
 
 Miss Cusack mentions the case of a clergyman and his 
 wife who were foolish enough " to give up their baby girl to 
 Miss Sellon to train her for a Convent life." 
 
 "Alas," she writes, "for their utter ignorance of the person to 
 whom they had given their treasure. I pitied the poor babe from my 
 heart. It was treated shamefully; and I believe some years later the 
 parents found out their mistake, and reclaimed their child. But the 
 poor little thing was for years at the mercy of a woman who knew no 
 mercy, and at the caprice of one who never considered the feelings or 
 the welfare of anyone except herself." 41 
 
 It is possibly to the case here mentioned that Miss 
 Margaret Goodman refers, in her Sisterhoods in the Church 
 
 39 Ibid., p. 71. *° Mark Pattison's Memoirs, p. 189. 
 
 41 Cusack's Story of My Life, p. 77. 
 
l83 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 of England. Miss Goodman wrote from a bitter experience 
 of Miss Sellon's Sisterhood, of which for several years she 
 was a member. This child, if she were the one referred to 
 by Miss Cusack, was named Lucy, and it appears that there 
 were several other " child novices " in the branch Convent 
 at Bradford, Wilts :— 
 
 "One day," writes Miss Goodman, "the little novices, attended by 
 the lady who had charge of them, were spending their hour of 
 silence in the grounds at Bradford. During this time the children 
 were not only required to refrain from speaking or crowing, but they 
 were expected to remain perfectly still. Little Lucy had a great fear 
 of wasps : indeed, she was altogether rather a timid little one ; so, as 
 one of these insects wheeled nearer and nearer, the child shrank back. 
 ' Sit still. Lucy,' was the admonition she received. Poor Lucy obeyed, 
 but watched the wasp in agony; at length it almost touched her face, 
 and then she pleaded, ' Please, may I move just a very little bit j I am 
 so frightened.' " 43 
 
 No wonder that poor little Lucy's mother, when she was 
 only eight years old, came and took her away from the 
 Convent. " It was found," Miss Goodman informs us, 
 " that her mind had been overwrought, and, at the direction 
 of the medical attendant, who feared a disease of the brain, 
 all tasks were suspended for more than a year" (p. 132). 
 I think my readers will consider that, under such treatment 
 as is described above, the wonder is that Convent training 
 did not drive the poor sensitive little child mad. Miss 
 Cusack's estimate of Miss Sellon is shared by Miss Goodman, 
 though the latter, by way of apology, pleads that it was her 
 office which spoiled the woman in Miss Sellon. Both these 
 ladies were Sisters at the same time. Miss Goodman quotes 
 a letter which she once received, which she states confirms 
 her own opinion of the Mother Superior. 
 
 " Those under Miss Sellon suffered from want of the commonest 
 care. Anything that affected her own comfort or that of — ; — was 
 ordered immediately — other things were forgotten. It was a fault 
 even to do anything for a sick person without the * Mother's ' orders ; 
 
 42 Goodman'3 Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 135. 
 
CRUELTY IN A RITUALISTIC CONVENT. 189 
 
 and she, late at night, late in the morning, unpunctual at all times, 
 would forget to give any. At the same time, it was always thought 
 right to do anything for her, with or without orders ; and so, sharing 
 none of the hardships of others, she was unaware what they were." 43 
 
 Miss Goodman boldly brings charges of "cruelty" against 
 the authorities of this Sisterhood, and supports her charges 
 by evidence which has never been refuted. She mentions, 
 amongst other cases, that of a Sister, whose sufferings at the 
 hands of Miss Sellon appear to have facilitated her death. 
 
 " The Sister of whom I am now writing took a cold which, being 
 neglected, proved fatal, from being constantly obliged to remain many 
 hours with damp feet. She had asked for new boots some months 
 previously, but her request had been overlooked, I suppose ; while, to 
 add to her necessity, she was Portress at the House in Osnaburg 
 Street, and in taking her messages to the Superior, she had to cross an 
 exposed courtyard, during a wet and cold season. If the poor Sister's 
 death had been occasioned by a cold caught while in the execution of 
 some act of mercy, we might not so much have deplored it, but it seems 
 extremely sad that a valuable life should have been sacrificed to an 
 absurd rule. Her work as Portress must have taken her frequently 
 into the presence of her Superiors, therefore it is strange that the 
 need of shoes was not observed. . . I must distinctly affirm, that her 
 death ought not to have been unexpected, and could only have been 
 so to those who were wholly absorbed in other matters — that is, in 
 administering to the slightest wish and whim of the Lady Superior. 
 The contrast is more evident in this case, because the Sister was one 
 of those who came and went to the several Houses in the train of the 
 "Mother'; and thus, while all was confusion in the anxiety and 
 confusion of so great an arrival, SHE CRAWLED ABOUT 
 UNNOTICED AND UNPITIED." « 
 
 A story like this is enough to make a Briton's blood 
 boil with righteous indignation. Where was the womanly 
 kindness of the women who ruled this Convent, to allow a 
 poor creature thus to die " unnoticed and unpitied," and all 
 for the want of a pair of shoes ! And does not the thought 
 that there may be scores of other tenderly-reared ladies 
 at present in these Ritualistic Convents, suffering similar 
 
 < 8 Ibid., p. iS. 
 
 44 Ibid., pp. 19, 20. 
 
igo SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 cruelties, and " crawling about unnoticed and unpitied," 
 make us justly anxious that these Convents, as well as 
 those of the Church of Rome, should be open to Govern- 
 ment inspection ? The objections commonly brought against 
 such inspection are of the feeblest kind, and might just as 
 reasonably be brought against the existing Government 
 inspection of factories. The sensible way to argue is that, 
 if factories need inspection, how much more do Ritualistic 
 Convents ? And if the Government inspection of factories 
 in recent years has — as everybody admits — remedied many 
 and grave abuses, why should not a similar reformation of 
 abuses be expected as the natural result of Government 
 inspection of Convents ? 
 
 Honour and attention were paid to this young lady when 
 too late to do her any good. " If a splendid funeral," 
 remarks Miss Goodman, " could atone for any want of care 
 in her lifetime, poor Sister Fridswida's would certainly 
 have gone a long way. The coffin was very beautiful, and 
 the pall was a gorgeous mass of white and gold " (p. 23). 
 
 While the comfort of poor Sister Fridswida was thus 
 shamelessly neglected, that of Miss Sellon (the Lady 
 Superior) and Dr. Pusey (the Father Confessor of the 
 Convent), were very carefully attended to. 
 
 " Most elaborate was the care bestowed in preparing the suite 
 of rooms [in the Convent] in which Miss Sellon and Dr. Pusey lived. 
 I may mention that some hundreds of pounds were spent in making 
 ready their apartments, which formed a suite of rooms in the tower of 
 the Abbey. I do not mean in furniture only, but in carrying hot- water 
 pipes into every room and passage, in addition to the open grates ; in 
 opening walls for extra doors, &c. A long spiral flight of stone steps 
 was covered with wood, on which was nailed rich carpeting; and 
 whenever the Lady Superior ascended or descended, these pieces of 
 carpeted wood were fitted on to each step, and taken up again when 
 she had ceased to walk upon them." 45 
 
 Certain ladies held office in the Convent, who were known 
 as " Eldresses." These, like Miss Sellon, appear to have 
 
 45 Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 37. 
 
HUNGRY SISTERS OF MERCY. 
 
 I 9 I 
 
 had their share of the good things of this life, not enjoyed 
 by the ordinary Sisters : — 
 
 u Two young Novices having occasion to go into the kitchen late 
 one evening, saw on the dresser a large dish of cold soup prepared 
 for next day's dinner. One said, ' How good it looks ' ! and drawing 
 near, they observed suet dumplings floating in it. They declared 
 they must taste the dumplings : but they took a morsel more, and 
 a morsel more, until they had made most alarming inroads, and 
 went to bed trembling, lest a searching inquiry should be made the 
 next morning. Will there be ' an hour ' for stealing the dumpling ? 
 It was at the time, just before we went to bed, that ice were apt tojeet 
 ynost ravenously hungry; and, in winter, terribly cold also, and altogether 
 woe- be gone. 
 
 " Though opposed to the rules, the Chapel was at one time often 
 without a tire, and we left it for bed after two hours of almost inces- 
 sant repeating aloud of Psalms and other prayers, nearly all of which 
 were said standing. On leaving one night, myself and the Xovices 
 were met, as we passed down the corridor to our respective cells, by a 
 droll girl, a kind of servant in the house, and who from having lived 
 amongst the Irish, before being taken by the Sisters, had acquired 
 many of their expressions. She invited us to ' Come and see true 
 " Holy Poverty ' as practised ly the governing powers in the Alley : 
 Eldresses as they were termed. ' Sure,' said Martha, 4 if its cold and 
 hungry ye are, come here, and its Holy Poverty I'll show ye.' She 
 tripped on before, and threw open the door of an Eldress's cell, 
 saying, ' Sure, and arn't this Holy Poverty ? ' We stood peering over 
 each other's shoulders round the open door, perfectly fascinated. After 
 an interval of years, every object in that little cell is clearly before me ; 
 so strong was the impression which, from contrast with our own state , 
 it made upon me. The cell of the Eldress contained a blazing fire, a 
 heaped-up feather bed, instead of a healthy hard mattress, and on her 
 table stood a bountiful plate of cold meat, and a small horn of wine." 40 
 
 The existence of Nunneries in the Church of England, the 
 inmates of which are supposed never to leave their walls, 
 makes it all the more important that I should call public 
 attention to the fact that private burial grounds now exist 
 within some Ritualistic Convents. I have heard of several 
 such places, the existence of which is, as far as possible, 
 
 46 Ibid., pp. 105-107, 
 
ig2 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 kept a profound secret from the outside world. One such 
 private burial ground certainly exists within Ascot Priory, 
 one of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhoods, within the premises of 
 which Dr. Pusey died. Miss Goodman says that Ascot 
 Priory is the head-quarters of the " Order of the Sacred 
 Heart," which I have already mentioned. Several of the 
 Nuns are buried within those walls, though whether their 
 deaths were properly registered or not is more than I can 
 say. Certain it is that the existence of such places is 
 naturally calculated to arouse suspicion. They ought not to 
 be tolerated by the Government, and those already existing 
 ought to be at once closed by authority. It would be well 
 if some Member of Parliament were to question the Govern- 
 ment on this subject, and make an effort to secure a return 
 of all such secret burial places, whether connected with 
 Ritualistic or Roman Catholic Sisterhoods. 
 
 The very existence of such burial grounds within Convent 
 walls would, at any time, facilitate the commission of crime. 
 In Roman Catholic Convents, it is well known, illegitimate 
 infants, and even the Sisters themselves, have been murdered, 
 and secretly buried. Human nature is the same all the 
 world over, temptation and opportunity are all that are 
 needed to rouse certain natures to deeds of evil, and though 
 we have heard of no such foul deed as murder in Ritualistic 
 Convents, it is just as well that nothing shall be tolerated 
 which is calculated to arouse suspicion and help on iniquity. 
 Depend upon it, once the people of England realize that 
 such secret burial-places do exist, their just indignation will 
 not be removed until they are closed for ever. It is better 
 and wiser far to prevent evil and crime, than to cure them 
 after they have been committed. 
 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods mainly exist for the propagation 
 of what ordinary and loyal churchmen term advanced 
 Romanizing practices and doctrines. In the chapels 
 attached to several of these institutions advanced Ritualism 
 is secretly practised which the world at large knows nothing 
 
ROMISH SERVICE IN A CONVENT CHAPEL. 
 
 193 
 
 about. It is nothing uncommon now for the Reserved 
 Sacrament to be kept in the chapels, and even " Benediction 
 of the Blessed Sacrament " is not unknown. The Rev. 
 Owen C. H. King, a Ritualistic clergyman was, before 
 his ordination, frequently present at the services of the 
 St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, Sisterhood, in the chapel 
 attached to their Convent in Queen Square, London, and at 
 which the Rev. Dr. Littledale officiated. When Mr. King 
 became a Roman Catholic he published a pamphlet, entitled, 
 The Character of Dr. Littledale as a Controversialist, in which 
 he described the secret services at which he was present. 
 The pamphlet was published during Dr. Littledale's lifetime, 
 and I have never heard that he publicly, or otherwise, denied 
 the facts mentioned by Mr. King in the following statement, 
 nor yet have the Sisters themselves done so : — 
 
 " Not many years ago, while preparing for the ministry of the 
 Church of England, I was engaged in voluntary lay work in connec- 
 tion with St. Alban's, Holborn. During this time . . . I was on man if 
 occasions present at certain services performed in the chapel connected 
 with the branch of the East Grinstead Anglican Sisters, established 
 in Queen Square, London. Dr. Littledale is the Chaplain of this 
 institution, and Dr. Littledale (the author of Plain Reasons against 
 Joining the Church of Rome ') several times was the officiant. Now 
 as an ' Anti-Roman ' controversialist, he has written against the 
 following : — 
 
 11 1. The doctrine of 'Concomitance,' i.e., that Christ is present 
 whole and entire under either species in the Blessed Sacrament — from 
 which it follows that the Blessed Sacrament cannot be reserved in one 
 kind only. 
 
 "2. The 'modern Roman Rite ' of Benediction of the Blessed 
 Sacrament. 
 
 " 3. The use of the Latin tongue in Church Services. 
 
 " 4. The use of images of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints. 
 
 " But as Chaplain to the East Grinstead Sisters, Dr. Littledale 
 adopts all these customs. Everyone of these things is practised by 
 him, and I am prepared, if called upon, to prove my assertion by the 
 production of such evidence as it will be impossible to resist. Once 
 I attended a ' Mass ' at Queen Square, which, to my utter astonishment, 
 was said in Latin from the Roman Missal, and although Dr. Littledale 
 
 13 
 
"T94 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 was not the officiating minister on that occasion, still the demeanour 
 of the assembled Sisters showed that they were witnessing a service 
 to which they were quite accustomed. On the altar, at which this 
 ' Mass ' was said, is a Tabernacle, and in this Tabernacle is kept a 
 vessel called a Ciborium, which contains consecrated altar breads—^ 
 that is to say, the Anglican Sacrament is Reserved in one kind by 
 Dr. Littledale for the purposes of Communion, and for another 
 purpose also, which I will explain presently. People outside the 
 circle no doubt will think this an extraordinary performance for a 
 Church of England clergyman to go through who has penned his 
 name to the Thirty- nine Articles. What, then, is to be thought of 
 one who has been engaged by the S. P. C. K. to write against all these 
 things ? But more than this. On Sunday afternoon the * modern 
 Roman Rite of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament ' is performed 
 at this singular Anglican altar, and Dr. Littledale exposes on the altar 
 a ' consecrated ' wafer, in a Monstrance, for the worship of the Sisters, 
 and the chosen few who are permitted to be present. ^The hymns which ^ 
 are used on this occasion are sung in Latin, and in fact the whole 
 performance is an exact imitation of the well-known service of the 
 Roman Catholic Church. After this, one would scarcely be surprised 
 to hear that the chapel is not without a sacred image, surrounded 
 with flowers and candles. I challenge Dr. Littledale to deny these 
 things 5 as I said before, I am prepared to prove them all." 47 
 
 The services provided for the clothing of a Novice, and the 
 Installation of a Mother Superior of a Ritualistic Sisterhood, 
 a.s provided in the Ritualistic Priesfs Prayer Book, have ^ 
 much of superstition connected with them. This book has 
 had an immense circulation amongst the Romanizing clergy 
 •during the past thirty years, and I regret to state that it has 
 been recommended to town curates by the Bishop of Truro 
 {Dr. Gott) as one of those books which he has " found 
 -exceptionally valuable " to himself. 48 The service for 
 
 Clothing of a Novice in a Sisterhood " in this Priest's 
 Prayer Book, assumes that a " Bishop, or some one in his 
 stead, vested in Albe, Stole, and Cope," shall perform the 
 
 V The Character of Dr. Littledale as a Controversialist, by Owen C. H. King, 
 
 pp. 5-7. London : Burns and Oates. 
 
 4H The Parish Priest of the Town, by John Gott, d.d., pp. 214, 216. First 
 
 edition. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 18S7. 
 
SUPERSTITIOUS CEREMONIES. IQ5 
 
 ceremony. At one point in the service " the Benediction 
 of the Candle" takes place; after which "the Officiant 
 shall light the Candle, and place it in the hands of the 
 Postulant." Later on it is ordered that " the Novice's 
 Habit shall be blessed," and it is asserted that this dress will 
 be to the Postulant " a sure protection, a token of her 
 profession, a beginning of holiness, and a strong defence against 
 .all the darts of the enemy." There is certainly no Scriptural 
 or Church of England authority for supposing that the dress 
 of a Sister of Mercy will protect her from the devil, or be to 
 her in any way a " beginning of holiness." The marvel 
 is how Church of England clergymen, in this enlightened 
 nineteenth century, can believe in such superstitions. Yet, 
 after all, it must be admitted that there is no limit to the 
 superstitions and follies which men will believe, when once 
 they have forsaken the Bible as their only Rule of Faith. 
 And what are we to think of the following portion of this 
 service, published in all seriousness ? 
 
 u The Bishop shall then deliver the Habit to the Postulant, saying — 
 '* Receive this Habit that thou mayest wear it unspotted before the 
 Judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ." 49 
 
 Surely, this is an impossible task to give to the poor 
 Postulant ? The said " Habit " will, no doubt, be worn 
 out long before she appears "before the Judgment seat." 
 How, then, can she wear it, and in an '* unspotted " 
 condition too, on that great occasion ? Besides, one may 
 reasonably ask, what authority is there, in earth or heaven, 
 for assuming that anybody will be dressed in the " Habit " 
 of a Ritualistic Sister of Mercy on the great Day of 
 Judgment ? 
 
 When the time comes for the Postulant to become a fully 
 professed Sister, another religious service is provided for the 
 occasion, termed a " Form for the Profession of a Sister." 
 In this it is directed that the Bishop shall bless the Habit 
 
 43 The Priest's Prayer Bcok, pp. 302-306. Seventh edition. Eighteenth 
 ■ thousand. London, 1890. 
 
 13 * 
 
I96 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 if it be a new one, in the same words as in the case of a 
 Postulant, and, in addition, he " shall bless the Veil and 
 Ring " to be worn by the Sister on the occasion, and also 
 a " garland of flowers." 50 The Priest's Prayer Book also 
 contains a form of religious service for the " Installation of 
 a Mother Superior." The Mother Superior, like a Lord 
 Bishop, must needs have a " Pastoral Staff" of her own, and 
 it is ordered at a certain point in the service — "Then shall 
 the Bishop proceed to bless the Pastoral Staff ; " and, 
 accordingly he has the daring to pray to God thus : — 
 "Almighty and Merciful God, Who of Thine unspeakable 
 goodness hearkenest to our supplication, and of Thine 
 abundant loving kindness givest to us the desire to pray, 
 plenteously pour the might of Thy bless 4* ing upon this Staff.'" 
 The Bishop must then " bless the Ring of office " to be 
 worn by the Mother Superior, and say : — "Bl4< ess, O Lord, 
 and hal -i* low this Ring, and send upon it Thy sevenfold Holy 
 Spirit"* 1 Is there not something very much like blas- 
 phemous irreverence in asking that God the Holy Ghost 
 shall be poured out on a gold ring ? Things like these are 
 what have made men Infidels in France and elsewhere. 
 Certainly if holiness consists in the possession of material 
 objects blessed by a Bishop, Sisters of Mercy possess 
 holiness to an extraordinary degree. They possess, as we 
 have seen, Holy Candles, Holy Habits, Holy Veils, Holy 
 Rings, Holy Flowers, and even a Holy Pastoral Staff for 
 each Convent. Poor, deluded victims, of a superstitious 
 system ! Is there any valid reason why Christian women, 
 should not band themselves together — as is the case in many 
 Deaconesses' Homes — without adopting the superstitious, 
 customs of Popery and Paganism ? 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that superstition follows the 
 Sisters within the Convent walls. In the secret Manual of 
 
 50 The Priest's Prayer Booh, pp. 306-311. Seventh edition. Eighteenth, 
 thousand. London, 1890. 
 
 51 Ibid., pp. 311-314. 
 
A SECRET CONVENT MANUAL. 197 
 
 Prayers According to the Use of Devonport, which is also known 
 to the Sisters as the Devonport Manual, many superstitious 
 services are provided for. I should explain that this secret 
 book is for the use of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, and is printed 
 at their own private press. In the " Office of the Choir of 
 the Holy Sepulchre " is a hymn in honour of the winding 
 sheet which wrapped our Lord's dead body. The first verse 
 is as follows : — 
 
 " The glories of that sacred Winding Sheet 
 Let every tongue record ; 
 Which from the Cross received with honour meet 
 The Body of the Lord." 52 
 In the " Office of the Choir of the Pierced Heart " is a 
 hymn in praise of the spear which pierced our Lord's side, 
 and of the nails which fastened Him to the Cross ! 
 
 " What tongue, illustrious Spear ! can duly sound 
 Thy praise, in heaven or earth ? 
 Thou who didst open that life-giving Wound, 
 From whence the Church had birth. 
 
 " And equal thanks to you, blest Nails ! whereby 
 Fast to the Sacred Rood, 
 Was clench'd the sentence dooming us to die, 
 All blotted out in Blood." 53 
 
 On reading this one cannot but feel that it w r ould be just 
 as reasonable to have a hymn in praise of the man who thrust 
 the spear in our Saviour's side ; and another in honour of 
 the man who drove the nails into His Body; for they were 
 but instruments for carrying out their master's orders. 
 
 I possess also a copy of the first part of the secret 
 Devonport Manual, "printed at the Printing Press of the 
 Devonport Society, a.d. 1S61." From it I learn that the 
 Sisters wear useless and superstitious Scapulars. 
 
 u On putting on the Scapula : — 
 
 " Lord, protect me under the shadow of Thy Wings." 54 
 
 52 Devonport Manual, Part III., p. 33S. There is no date to the edition of 
 this book which I possess. 
 
 K Ibid., p. 332. bi Devonport Manual, Part I., p. 4. 
 
iq8 secret history of the oxford movement. 
 
 What, in the opinion of this Sisterhood, are the virtues 
 of their Scapulars, we are not told, but we can hardly be 
 thought uncharitable if we assume that, in their opinion, 
 they are the same as those derived from the Scapulars 
 worn by Roman Catholics. Scapulars were the product 
 of the Dark Ages, and are, in the Church of Rome, 
 generally supposed to be a protection against fire and 
 drowning, and enable the wearer to pass into heaven 
 soon after they have entered Purgatory. I cannot find in 
 either of the two parts of the Devonport Manual in my 
 possession, that the Sisters are ever required to specially 
 pray for their own relatives and friends outside of the 
 Convent. At page 4 of Part I. the Sister is directed to 
 pray thus : — " Bless my dear Mother and my Community,' 7 
 but the Mother is the Mother Superior, and not the 
 Superior Mother at home. It would appear that the 
 Sisters are expected to act as though they had no mothers, 
 relatives or friends outside the Convent ; or, as if they 
 were all dead and buried. 
 
 "Of what use," asks the Devonport Manual of the Sister, "will it 
 be having left the world, if you still dwell on its news, or to hour 
 given up your relations if you are taken up or entangled with the wish 
 to receive letters or visits from them ? " 5(5 
 
 In many of the Ritualistic Sisterhoods much of the time 
 of the Sisters is devoted to the care of the sick, and not a 
 few of them act as nurses for the sick and dying. Dr. Pusey 
 said, at the Oxford Church Congress, that " the Sister is the 
 Pioneer of the priest," which amounts to this : wherever 
 the Sister goes, she prepares and makes ready the way, 
 as a pioneer, for the priest to follow her. We may be 
 quite sure that the priest whom the Sister may recommend 
 is, whenever possible, one of the Father Confessor class. 
 In only too many instances the Nursing Sisters act as 
 zealous missionaries of the Ritualistic cause, and use 
 their influence to persuade young ladies — more especially 
 those with large fortunes — to enter Ritualistic Convents. 
 
 56 Devonport Manual, Part I., p. 32. 
 
SISTERHOODS AND EDUCATION. 199 
 
 In the secret book for the use of St. Margaret's, East 
 Grinstead, Sisterhood, the Spirit of the Founder, Dr. Neale, 
 their Warden, is reported as having said to them : " You 
 stand, if not in the place of priests, yet in the place of God's 
 ambassadors, to those to whom you are sent." 57 Nor is 
 their influence in the matter of will-making to be despised. 
 It would be interesting to know how many legacies to 
 Convents, and bequests for the erection of new Romanizing 
 Churches, are the result of the influence of Nursing Sisters 
 of Mercy. Protestant families are never theologically safe 
 with Ritualistic Nursing Sisters in their houses. 
 
 The influence of Ritualistic Sisterhoods in destroying a 
 love for Protestantism, and planting a love for more or less 
 of Roman Catholic doctrine in its place, is most of all seen 
 in their educational work, whether it be carried on by- 
 means of schools or books. Convent Schools for the upper 
 and middle classes are now very numerous, and constitute 
 a serious danger to the Protestantism of the Church of 
 England. The specially sad thing is that many parents 
 who dislike Ritualism exceedingly, send their daughters to 
 these schools to be educated, merely because they are cheap- 
 The policy is a selfish one, and cannot be justified by those 
 who believe that the welfare of the souls of their children 
 should be, to Christian parents, a first consideration. In 
 elementary schools for the poor also these Sisters are 
 frequently seen as teachers. The " Sisters of the Church," 
 who are known by various aliases, such as " The Kilburn 
 Sisterhood," " Church Extension Association," &c, devote 
 themselves largely to the work of education, and are 
 publishers of many works, in which Auricular Confession 
 for young and old is taught, as also the Real Presence, and 
 the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Sisterhood of St. Margaret's, 
 East Grinstead, publishes the most extremely Romanizing 
 books of any Sisterhood I am acquainted with. One of the 
 worst of these is the Night Hours of the Church, in three 
 
 57 The Spirit of the Founder, p. 94. 
 
200. SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 volumes. In the " Editor's Note " to the second volume it is 
 stated that these Night Honrs are translated from the 
 " Roman Breviary," and. that the work has "been carefully 
 brought into accordance with the Latin original." In this 
 work services are provided for " All Souls' Day," and for 
 the festival of " Corpus Christi," two Roman Catholic 
 holidays which are not found in the Kalendar of the Book 
 of Common Prayer ; the first of these being held in support 
 of the doctrine of Purgatory, and the second in honour I 
 of Transubstantiation. Throughout these volumes the 
 Intercession of Departed Saints is asked for, and they 
 are invoked by name, especially the Virgin Mary. The 
 following extracts prove the Invocation of the Virgin : — 
 
 " Blessed art thou, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, that believedst 
 the Lord : for there hath been a performance of those things which 
 were told thee : behold thou art exalted above the choirs of Angels. 
 Intercede for us to the Lord our God." 58 
 
 " Lloly Mary, Virgin Mother of God, intercede for us." 59 
 
 In a " privately printed " volume of Offices from the 
 Breviary, dated 1885, for use in St. Saviour's Hospital, 
 Osnaburgh Street, London, N.W., which is under the 
 control of another Sisterhood, is contained a Hymn to the 
 Virgin, the first verse of which is as follows : — 
 
 " Those five wounds of Jesus smitten, 
 Mother! in my heart be written, 
 
 Deep as in thine own they be ! 
 Thou, my Saviour's Cross who bearest, 
 Thou, thy Son's rebuke who sharest, 
 
 Let me share them both with thee." 00 
 
 On the question of the general work of Ritualistic 
 Sisterhoods, and their objects, I cannot do better than quote 
 here the following wise remarks from Cautions for the 
 Times, edited by the late Archbishop Whately : — 
 
 " The principal method of decoy, at present, is not so much 
 argument as other kinds of persuasion. Among these, none seem 
 
 58 Night Hours of the Church, Vol. II., p. 175. 59 Ibid., p. 128. 
 
 60 Offices from the Breviary, p. 95. 
 
A CAUTION FOR THE TIMES. 
 
 201 
 
 more popular just now than what are called ' Brotherhoods * and 
 ' Sisterhoods of Mercy'; the real grand object of which appears to 
 be, not so much almsgiving itself, as, under pretence of that, imbuing 
 with Tractite" [now called Ritualistic] "principles those who receive, 
 and those who administer ' the charity.' And it is part of the system 
 not only to make a great parade of their works of charity, but also to 
 represent themselves as the only persons who pay any regard to the 
 wants of the poor in those localities where such associations have 
 been at work. Bold and persevering assertions often gain credence 
 with the thoughtless ; and thus it has come to be believed by many, , 
 in some cases which have lately made much noise in the world, that 
 in such and such districts the poor were left wholly unthought of till 
 these Sisterhoods arose; the truth being the very reverse: twenty 
 times as much was being done for the poor, and in a more judicious 
 and efficient way, by persons who were content to go about their 
 labour of love quietly, without blowing a trumpet before therm or 
 wearing any fantastic uniform." 61 
 
 Cautions for the Times, p. 344. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE BLESSED 
 SACRAMENT. 
 
 Protestant Martyrs and the Mass — Latimer's testimony — Restoration of the 
 Mass by the Ritualists— Birth of the Confraternity of the Blessed 
 Sacrament — Its objects and work — Its secret Intercession Paper — Ordered 
 to be "destroyed" when done with — Its "medal" may be buried with 
 deceased members — First exposure of an Intercession Paper at Plymouth — 
 Great excitement — How the Rock found an Intercession Paper — Secret 
 proceedings at New York — The secret " Roll of Priests-Associate " — Dread 
 lest it should fall into Protestant hands — Curious letter from a Priest- 
 Associate — Extracts from the papers of the C. B. S. — Requiem Masses- 
 for Souls in Purgatory — Advocates Fasting Communion — Bishop Samuel 
 Wilberforce on Fasting Communion ; " detestable materialism " — Opposes- 
 Evening Communion — Proofs that it is sanctioned by the Primitive Church 
 — C. B. S. term it " spiritually and morally dangerous " — Eucharistic 
 Adoration of C. B. S. Identical with that of Rome — Its Idolatrous character 
 — The C. B. S. on the Real Presence — The "Eucharistic Sacrifice" — 
 Bishop Beveridge on Sacrifice — Transubstantiation advocated by name — 
 Bishop Wilberforce Censures the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 HOSE who have read the History of the Reformation 
 
 are aware that in the estimation of the Church of 
 
 Rome, the principal offence of the Protestant Martyrs 
 of that period was their opposition to the Sacrifice of the 
 Mass, and to the doctrine of Transubstantiation on which it 
 is founded. Those holy Martyrs would rather die than 
 express one word of approval of the Mass. In the course 
 of a Disputation which Bishop Latimer held at Oxford, on 
 April 18th, 1554, he said : — " These famous men, viz., 
 Mr. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Mr. Ridley, 
 Bishop of London ; that holy man, Mr. Bradford ; and I, 
 old Hugh Latimer, were imprisoned in the Tower of 
 London for Christ's Gospel preaching, and for because we 
 
PROTESTANT MARTYRS AND THE MASS. 
 
 would not go a Massing." 1 No one who has read the writings 
 of the Reformers can fail to see how much they hated and 
 loathed the Sacrifice of the Mass. They always used the 
 strongest possible language in denouncing it ; and yet not 
 stronger than the Church of England still uses in her 
 Article XXXI.: "The Sacrifices of Masses, in the which it 
 was commonly said that the priest did offer Christ for the 
 quick and the dead, to have remission of pain and guilt, 
 were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits." Probably 
 there was not one of the men who were God's instruments 
 for delivering England from Papal bondage, who would not 
 have subscribed to Latimer's opinion of the Mass and Mass 
 priests. "Another denying of Christ," he said, "is this 
 Mass-monging. For all those that be Mass-mongers be 
 deniers of Christ ; which believe or trust in the Sacrifice of 
 the Mass, and seek remission of their sins therein. For 
 this opinion hath done very much harm, and brought 
 innumerable souls to the pit of hell ; for they believed the- 
 Mass to be a Sacrifice for the dead and living." 2 
 
 That which the Protestant Martyrs protested against with 
 their dying breath : those " blasphemous/' " dangerous," 
 and "deceitful" things — as the Church of England still 
 terms them — have, unhappily, been restored by our modern 
 Ritualists within the Church of England. The only 
 difference between them is that the one is said in Latin, 
 and the other in English. Even this difference has, in some 
 instances, been removed. The Rev. Owen C. H. King, now 
 a Roman priest, but formerly a Ritualist, states that he was 
 present at a " Mass " offered up in the Chapel of the East 
 Grinstead Sisters in Queen Square, London, which "was said 
 in Latin from the Roman Missal; " 3 and Mr. King's statement, 
 though made in a published pamphlet, has never, so far as 
 
 1 Latimer's Remains, p. 258. Parker Society edition. 
 
 2 Latimer's Sermons, p. 521. Parker Society edition. 
 
 :< The Character of Dr. Littled.de as a Controversialist, by Owen C. H. King, 
 p.* 
 
204 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 I am aware, been refuted. And that there may be no 
 mistake as to the identity of the Roman Mass and the 
 Ritualistic Mass we read in the St. Margaret's, Leytonstone, 
 Parish Magazine, for April, 1894, the following statement : — 
 " The Mass of the Church of England is identical with the Mass 
 of the Church of Rome." 
 
 The early Tractarians, when they commenced their work, 
 taught the doctrines of the Real Presence and the " Eucha- 
 ristic Sacrifice," but they were very guarded in their language, 
 and carefully abstained from extreme statements. In this 
 direction they practised the doctrine of " Reserve in 
 Communicating Religious Knowledge." It was soon realized 
 that the propagation of these doctrines was essential for the 
 success of the ultimate object of the Movement — Corporate 
 Reunion with Rome. It was not, however, until 1862 that 
 a society was founded for the special purpose of teaching 
 the Real Presence and the " Eucharistic Sacrifice." The 
 name which the new society assumed was that of the 
 " Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament." I look upon 
 this Confraternity as a semi-secret Society, which shrinks as 
 much as possible from the light of publicity. I am not 
 aware that its members are under any vows of secrecy as to 
 its proceedings, but there is a manifest dread lest its privately 
 printed documents should fall into Protestant hands. As 
 an instance of this I may mention that the Confraternity 
 issues every month, to all its members, an "Intercession 
 Paper" containing the subjects for which the members are 
 to pray each day, and also subjects for their "thanksgiving." 
 Every care is taken to prevent a copy of this Paper falling 
 into Protestant hands. There are about 15,000 printed 
 every month, yet, large as the number is, it is but rarely 
 that anyone sees a copy who is not a member of the Con- 
 fraternity. The reason of this is explained, I have no doubt, 
 by the advice given to the members by the Superior General 
 of the C. B. S. (Canon T. T. Carter, of Clewer), at its annual 
 secret meeting, on June 20th, 1878. 
 
THE SECRET INTERCESSION PAPERS. 
 
 205 
 
 " Let me add, however," said Canon Carter, " that it is a matter of 
 importance to be careful not to leave about the Intercession Papers, to 
 be misused by ill-disposed persons [as I am using them in this 
 Chapter ?], and that they should be destroyed when no longer in use. 
 We are taught to be ' wise as serpents,' as well as ' harmless as 
 doves ' ; and we shall do well not to encourage the modern tendency to 
 attack all that savours of Catholic truth or Catholic use. I would 
 add, that it is most desirable that Associates should not fail to notify 
 changes of address, as far as may be possible, so as to avoid the 
 miscarriage of the Intercession Papers. In consequence of the want 
 of such care a considerable number of such papers wander about the 
 country unclaimed, liable to all kinds of misuse" 4 
 
 At the annual meetings of the C. B. S., none are admitted 
 unless they can produce the medal which proves that they 
 are members, so that these gatherings are of a private 
 character. The rulers of the Confraternity are naturally 
 nervous lest anyone should gain an entrance into the annual 
 meeting with a member's medal to which he, or she, may 
 j not be entitled. It was thought necessary, at the annual 
 meeting on June 1st, 1893, to give the Associates a word of 
 warning on this subject, and also to repeat the warning of 
 1878 concerning the Intercession Papers. In the course 
 of his annual address, on the former date, the Superior 
 General said : — ■ 
 
 " I have also to remind Associates that care be always taken as to- 
 notices of changes of addresses, that our Papers may not wander 
 broadcast through the Post Office : and also that notice be given in 
 case of death. The Secretary tells me that he has only just been able 
 to stop Papers that had been sent every month to an Associate who 
 had been dead fourteen years. Moreover, for the medals special care 
 is needed. They might be buried with deceased persons, 5 if so desired, 
 or they should be at once returned. Otherwise, our medals run a great 
 risk of being used by unfit persons, who may thus pass themselves 
 1 orVas members of the Confraternity." 6 
 
 4 Address of the Superior General at the Conference, June 20th, 1878, pp. 4, 5. 
 
 5 What good would that do for the dead ? The suggestion tends towards 
 superstition. 
 
 6 C.B.S. Annual Report, 1893, p. ix. 
 
206 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 So far as I have been able to ascertain, no copy of the 
 Intercession Paper of the C. B. S. came into the possession of 
 an Editor of either of our daily papers until thirteen years 
 after the founding of the Society. 7 On July 15th, 1875, the 
 Western Daily Mercury, of Plymouth, published an analysis 
 of the contents of the Intercession Paper for the July of that 
 year, together with a list of the officers of its various 
 Branches, and a leading article on the subject, in the course 
 •of which it remarked : — " Not a few people, we fancy, will 
 be surprised at seeing [in the C. B. S. list] men, whom they 
 believed to be honest, straightforward clergymen of the 
 Established Church, allied with this dangerous Guild ; and 
 some clergymen, who have been one thing to members of 
 the Confraternity, and another to the rest of the community, 
 will hardly thank our correspondent for making apparent 
 their double dealing. . . We name these gentlemen because 
 they deserve notoriety, and it will be well if their friends 
 and neighbours fittingly recognize their connection with 
 the Confraternity. If they all, or any of them, have hitherto 
 found it convenient to keep their connection with their 
 ■Guild a secret, shared only by a few congenial spirits, they 
 -can do so no longer, for they now stand before the world in 
 their true colours. They stand officially connected with an 
 organization which is deliberately setting itself to undo the 
 work of the Reformation, which desires to substitute for the 
 Protestantism for which our fathers bled an Anglican 
 counterpart of Romish sacerdotalism." 
 
 The exposure by the Western Daily Mercury was reprinted 
 in several London papers, and produced a great deal of 
 excitement and dismay in the Ritualistic camp. Indeed, a 
 reward was offered, by advertisement, of Three Pounds to 
 -anyone who would give to a local solicitor, information as 
 to who " stole " the Intercession Paper which had caused such 
 a commotion. Although the Western Daily Mercury was, 
 .as I have said, the first daily paper to call attention to the 
 
 7 The Ruch, a Protestant Church paper, published an exposure in 1873. 
 
KEEPING OUT OF PUBLIC NOTICE. 
 
 207 
 
 C. B. S., the honour of being actually the first of all the 
 papers to expose its Intercession Paper is claimed by the 
 Rock, which, in its issue for May 23rd, 1873, tells its readers 
 the very interesting story of how it came into possession of 
 the secret document. 
 
 " Even Ritualists," said the Rock, " are not exempted from human 
 frailties. One of the number seems to have let his copy [of the 
 C. B. S. Intercession Paper] drop in the public street, where the word 
 * Confidential ' placed at the top did not prevent its being picked up, 
 and eagerly scanned by the first youngster who passed that way. In 
 this case it luckily happened that the lad to whose lot the treasure 
 fell, not knowing what to make of it, took it to his father, a worthy 
 shoemaker in the district of St. Alphege, Southwark, who . . was as 
 much puzzled as his boy had been, and left the Paper lying on the 
 parlour table. Presently, in walks a Sister of Mercy (they swarm in 
 those parts), whose quick eye instantly recognized the strayed Paper, 
 which, with the remark (true enough we don't doubt) that 4 it 
 belonged to her master,' she immediately clutched. Mr. Crispin, 
 however, not relishing this summary mode of doing business, insisted 
 on having the Paper back 5 but, as the Sister positively refused to part 
 with it, a tussle ensued, which ended in her discomfiture and the 
 recovery of the prey. Our friend, who had now become quite alive to 
 its importance, took an early opportunity of showing it to the Scripture 
 Reader of his district, and he, we may readily imagine, saw at once 
 what an important evidence of the stealthy manner in which the 
 Ritualistic moles and bats are working had thus providentially been 
 thrown in his way, for although the C. B. S. had been many years at 
 work, it had hitherto contrived to keep its proceedings pretty secret." 8 
 
 Probably it was the action taken by the Rock which led 
 the Superior General of the C. B. S., at its next anniversary, 
 to say to the members : — " We must endeavour to make our 
 position accord with our constitution, in keeping, as far as 
 \possiblc, out of public notice"* How forcibly this statement 
 reminds us of the words of our Saviour: — " For every one 
 that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, 
 lest his deeds should be reproved " {margin, " discovered," 
 
 * The Rock, May 23rd, 1873, p. 335. 
 
 9 Report of the Twelfth Anniversary of the C.B.S., p. 3. 
 
208 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 John iii. 20). The Rock's exposure led to a considerable 
 amount of local controversy in the provinces, where the 
 Priests-Associate were very angry at having their names 
 made known to their own congregations, as connected with 
 such a Romanizing society. One of them wrote a long 
 letter to the Banbury Guardian on the subject, in the course 
 of which he asked two questions, to which, at the same 
 time, he gave his own very candid answers. " But it may 
 be said," wrote the Rev. James Hodgson, who described 
 himself as " Superior of the Bloxham Ward C. B. S.," " why 
 are they [Intercession Papers'] marked ' confidential ' ? Does 
 not this imply secrecy ? Undoubtedly. But anyone can 
 see in a moment why it is. We are members of a Church 
 that has two great sections in it, and we live among a people 
 a large portion of whom ' care for none of these things.' " 1(> 
 Later on in this same year the Confraternity of the 
 Blessed Sacrament held its local anniversary in New York. 
 Reports of its proceedings were kept from all the Church 
 papers of that city, whether High Church or Evangelical. 
 But what was undoubtedly an official report was sent to the 
 Ritualistic Church Times, of England, where in due course 
 it appeared. When the news of what had occurred came 
 to the ears of the loyal members of.the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church of America, they were naturally very indignant. 
 The Church Journal of New York, which was by no means 
 unfriendly towards moderate High Churchmen, commenting 
 on what had occurred, remarked : — 
 
 " By way of London comes to us an account, carefully withheld 
 from the American Church papers, of a meeting in June last in this 
 city, of what appears to be a secret association of American clergymen. 
 If there is wrong done to anyone in the account given, we shall be 
 ready and glad to give room for the righting of the wrong. But if a 
 secret and confidential Confraternity exists among us, whose purposes and 
 meetings are carefully concealed from publicity in the American Church, 
 
 10 Mr. Hodgson's letter is reprinted in the Ritualistic Church Review, 
 July 5th, 1873, p. 400. 
 
 I 
 
THE SECRET ROLL OF PRIESTS-ASSOCIATE. 209 
 
 it is time we all knew it. The thing, like murder, ' will out,' and 
 the mass of the clergy, bound by their ordination vows, and doing 
 their work openly and honestly in the light, feel it unfair that there 
 should be an inner motive circle where the profane are not admitted ; a 
 Brotherhood of secret purposes and secret ties." 11 
 
 The secrecy of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament 
 is also seen in another direction. It never prints, even for 
 private circulation, a list of its lay Associates. But it does 
 print yearly a Roll of Priests- Associate. Every possible care 
 is taken to keep this Roll strictly secret. Scarcely any one 
 outside of its ranks can procure a copy for love or money. 
 Yet even this secretly circulated Roll does not contain 
 the names of all the Priests-Associate. The Confraternity 
 possesses in its ranks a body ot priests who are so afraid 
 that their connection with it shall be known, that they 
 refuse permission to the authorities to print their names 
 even in this secret and confidential Roll. So, every year, 
 as the new Roll comes out, there are found printed 
 therein the two following official notices : — 12 
 
 m Xotice — Priests who do not wish their names to appear in the 
 printed list should give notice to the Secretary to that effect." 13 
 
 " X. B. There are in addition [to those whose names are printed | 
 certain Priests-Associate who do not wish their names to appear in 
 print." u 
 
 Another notice proves how much afraid the rulers of the 
 C. B. S. are lest some Protestant should get hold of a copy 
 of the Roll : 
 
 " The Secretary General would be most grateful if Priests- Associate 
 would kindly inform him of their changes of addresses from time to 
 time. So many of the Rolls are returned through the G. P. O., and 
 very many copies jail into the hands of those who had l etter not have 
 them." 13 
 
 An amusing incident in the history of the C. B. S. took 
 
 11 The Rock, October 24th, 1873, p. 717. 
 
 13 I copy from the Rc 11 of Priests-Associate for 1894, the last which I have 
 seen. 
 
 " Ibid., p. 88, note. 14 Ibid., p. 23. Ibid., p . 77 . 
 
 14 
 
210 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 place in 1877. * n tna ^ y ear the Editor of the Rock published 
 a pamphlet entitled the Ritualistic Conspiracy, containing 
 a list of clergymen who had supported the Ritualistic cause 
 by joining Ritualistic societies, or signing Petitions in 
 support of Ritualism. One of the clergymen whose name 
 appeared in this pamphlet was the Rev. H. P. Denison, a 
 nephew of the well-known Archdeacon Denison. This 
 gentleman sent fourpence to the Editor of the Rock for a 
 copy. On this, the Editor wrote to Mr. Denison, asking 
 him, as a member of the C. B. S., to send him a copy of the 
 last Roll of Priests-Associate. To this Mr. Denison sent the 
 following reply : — 
 
 " Sir, — I am sorry to have forgotten to answer your letter sooner. 
 Personally, I should be delighted to send you the C. B. S. Rolf, for 
 you to correct your list, but I could not do so without the consent of the 
 Superior-General. If he gives his consent I shall be very happy to- 
 forward it. — Yours truly, " Henry Phtpps Denison. 
 
 "East Brent, Highbridge, November 8/A." 16 
 
 I need hardly add that the Superior-General never gave 
 his consent. 
 
 And now I come to the task of describing more fully what 
 is the real work of the Confraternity of the Blessed 
 Sacrament. It is a Society composed of bishops, priests r 
 laymen, and women. It was founded in the year 1862 ; and 
 in 1867 was united to the " Society of the Blessed 
 Sacrament." In the year 1S94, no less than 1682 clergymen 
 in the Church of England, and 13,444 laymen and women,, 
 were members of this Confraternity. 17 The Rev. Orby 
 Shipley informs us that the C. B. S. — as it is usually termed 
 — is the " daughter " 18 of the notorious Society of the Holy 
 Cross, which was responsible for that very indecent Con- 
 fessional Book, the Priest in Absolution. 
 
 We learn from the official Manual of the Confraternity of 
 
 '« The Rock, November 16th, 1877, p. 961. 
 '« Annual Report of C. B. S. for 1894, p. iv. 
 1 * Shipley's Four Cardinal Virtues, p. 249. London, 1871. 
 
OBJECTS OF THE CONFRATERNITY. 211 
 
 the Blessed Sacrament — a book which is on public sale — that 
 its M Objects " are : — 
 
 " i. The Honour due to the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ in 
 the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood. 
 
 u 2. Mutual and special Intercession at the time of and in anion 
 with the Eucharistic Sacrifice. 
 
 " 3. To promote the observance of the Catholic and primitive 
 practice of receiving the Holy Communion fasting." 19 
 
 We here discover what the work of the Confraternity of 
 the Blessed Sacrament really is. It is nothing less than the 
 propagation, in the Church of England, of the blasphemous 
 Sacrifice of the Mass, under the name of "The Eucharistic 
 Sacrifice ! " As to " Fasting Communion," it is sufficient to 
 say that the first and best Communion administered by our 
 Saviour Himself, was received immediately after a meal. 
 Even a Roman Catholic Sub-Dean of Maynooth College has 
 admitted that — 
 
 "The Blessed Eucharist was instituted by our Lord after supper, 
 and for a short time was celebrated and administered onlv after 
 supper. Martene shows that for the first three centuries, and even 
 much later, it was still in many places celebrated after supper." 20 
 
 Among the " Recommendations " printed in the Manual is 
 the following : — 
 
 "To make Offerings for the due and reverent celebration of the 
 Holy Eucharist." - 1 
 
 This looks very much like a revival of that sacrilegious 
 custom of the Church of Rome, paying for Masses! St. Peter 
 forewarns us — " There shall be false teachers among you " : 
 and of these teachers he says — " And through covetousness 
 shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you " 
 (2 Peter ii. i, 3). The way in which the priests of the 
 Church of Rome, at the Reformation, made " merchandise " 
 of men's souls, by their Masses, was that which, as much as 
 
 10 Manual of C. B. 5., p. 5. Ninth edition. 
 
 ■ Ni tis on tit Ronton Ritual, p. 261, by the Rev. James Kane. Dublin, 1S67. 
 :1 MannaJ, p. 6. 
 
 14 * 
 
212 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 anything, made Englishmen first detest and hate the Mass. 
 The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is now apparently 
 trying hard to revive this scandalous custom in our Reformed 
 Church of England, under the name of " Offerings for the 
 due and reverent Celebration of the Holy Eucharist ! " 
 
 Another of these " Recommendations " is, to offer up at 
 the Holy Communion, " Prayers for the Visible Unity of 
 Christendom." At page 70 we read the prayers for this 
 object recommended by the Confraternity. The following 
 is an extract from the first of these : — ■ 
 
 " We earnestly pray Thee for the restoration of visible unity of 
 worship and communion between the divided members of the 
 Catholic Church, both East and West." 
 
 Here we find the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament 
 praying that the Church of England, and the Eastern 
 Churches, may again be in " visible unity," not only with 
 the Eastern Church, but also with the Church of Rome. 
 On this subject, and the many objections which may be 
 brought against Corporate Reunion with Rome, I shall have 
 a great deal to write in a later chapter. 
 
 In the " Laws of the Confraternity" it is provided that — 
 
 " Grants of Altar Vessels, Vestments, or Altar Linen shall be made 
 by the Council-General, according to the means placed at their disposal, 
 to such poor Parishes and Missions as may need assistance."- 2 
 
 The " Vestments " here referred to are, mainly, such as 
 the Popish Chasuble, Alb, Tunicle, Stole, &c., all of which 
 have been declared illegal by the Courts of Law. 
 
 Every member of the Confraternity is expected to offer 
 prayers for the dead. A service used by the C. B. S. is 
 entitled " Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament." It concludes 
 with this prayer : — 
 
 " May the souls of the Faithful, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. Amen." 23 
 
 K Manual of C. B. S., p. 15. Ninth edition. 
 
 53 Ibid., p. 34. 
 
REQUIEM MASSES FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 213 
 
 The Church of England, on the contrary, exhorts her 
 children, saying : — 
 
 " Neither let us dream any more, that the souls of the dead are 
 anything at all holpen by our prayers." ~ 4 
 
 But the Confraternity rests by no means satisfied with 
 Prayers for the Dead. She now holds an annual Mass for 
 the Dead, under the name of a " Solemn Requiem." This 
 service is announced every year in the October number of 
 the Intercession Paper. The Confraternity believes, in common 
 with the Church of Rome, that the faithful departed are 
 benefited spiritually by the offering up by a sacrificing priest 
 of consecrated bread and wine. It has held this view for 
 many years. At its secret Annual Conference, May 27th, 
 1880, the Hon. C. L. Wood (now Lord Halifax) read a 
 paper, which was afterwards privately printed by the Con- 
 fraternity, in which he asserted that : — 
 
 ts As the Cross sums up in one single act the atoning efficacy of the 
 offering which Christ made throughout His whole life, and by his 
 death upon the Cross, so the Eucharist, which perpetuates ami applies 
 that offering, enables us to offer up our whole souls and bodies in life 
 and in death as an acceptable sacrifice to the Father of all. . . . Are 
 we troubled about those who in the shadow of death are awaiting the 
 Judgment ? The blood of the Sacrifice reaches down to the prisoners 
 of hope, and the dead as they are made to possess their old sins in the 
 darkness of the grave, thank us as we offer for them the Sacrifice which 
 restores to light and immortality." 25 
 
 Here we have, in reality, though the words are not used, 
 Masses for the Dead to get them out of Purgatory, taught 
 by the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 In Suggestions for the Due and Reverent Celebration of the 
 Holy Eucharist, privately printed for the Confraternity of the 
 Blessed Sacrament, the priest is directed, at page 9, to offer 
 the following prayer : — ■ 
 
 " Receive, O Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God, this pure 
 
 24 Homily Concerning Prayer. Part third. 
 ■ Eighteenth Annual Report of C.B. S., p. xii. 
 
214 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Oblation, which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, the Living 
 and true God, for my numberless sins, offences and negligences ; for 
 all who are here present, as also for all faithful Christians, living and 
 departed, that it may avail to our salvation unto life eternal. Amen." 
 
 Who can doubt that here we have a Mass for the Dead ? 
 At the " Solemn Requiem " of the Society, on November 
 10th, 1890, the preacher, the Rev. E. de S. Wood, used the 
 ■word Purgatory without a blush of shame. He said " The 
 souls in Paradise are offering the homage of their spiritual 
 :sufferings in the realms of Purgatory, and are helped by our 
 prayers and Eucharistic offerings on their behalf." 26 How 
 ■different all this is from the teaching of the Church of 
 England, which, in her Homily Concerning Prayer, instructs 
 us that " These words [Luke xvi. 19-26], as they confound 
 the opinion of helping the dead by prayer, so do they clean 
 confute and take away the vain error of Purgatory " 
 
 We learn more about the work and objects of the 
 Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament from the secret 
 Intercession Papers which it issues every month. To com- 
 mence with the latest of these which has come to my hands, 
 that for May, 1897, I find amongst the subjects for prayer: 
 " That obstacles may be removed ... to the celebration 
 of the Holy Eucharist with the traditional and ancient 
 ceremonial sanctioned by the Church." 27 Anyone who 
 reads the Suggestions for the Due and Reverent Celebration of 
 the Holy Eucharist, issued by the C. B. S., cannot doubt that 
 by " the traditional and ancient ceremonial " is meant that 
 of pre-Reformation times. The officiating clergyman is, in 
 this pamphlet, required to have, for use at Holy Communion, 
 amongst other things, " a clean Purificator," " Burse," 
 " Corporals," " Cruets for wine and water," " a Perforated 
 Spoon ... for the removal of flies and other impurities 
 from the Chalice." He is also required to say a number of 
 secret and Popish prayers taken from Popish Missals, those 
 
 2fi Church Times, November 14th, 1890. 
 Intercession Paper, May, 1897, p. 8. 
 
fasti:;g and evening communions. 215 
 
 provided bv the Book of Common Prayer being evidently 
 not adequate for his purpose. 
 
 The Associates of the Confraternity were required, on 
 May 7th, 1897, to pray " That the Primitive and Catholic 
 practice of Fasting Communion by priests and people may 
 be generally recognized, and that obstacles to Fasting Com- 
 munion may be removed." ~ 8 The late Bishop Samuel 
 'Wilberforce, though an old-fashioned High Churchman, had 
 very decided opinions on this subject of Fasting Communion. 
 
 " It is not," he said, " in a light sense that I say this new doctrine 
 of Fasting Communion is dangerous. The practice is not advocated 
 because a man comes in a clearer spirit and less disturbed body and 
 mind, able to give himself entirely to prayer and communion with 
 his God ; l-ut on a miserable degraded notion that the consecrated 
 elements will meet with other food in the stomach. It is a detestable 
 materialism. Philosophically it is a contradiction ; because, when the 
 celebration is over, you may hurry away to a meal, and the process 
 about which you were so scrupulous immediately follows. The whole 
 notion is simply disgusting. The Patristic quotations by which the 
 custom is supported are mis-quotations." 29 
 
 On May 27th, 1S97, the Associates of the C. B. S. were 
 required to pray ''That Evening Communions may cease." 30 
 We have already learnt, on the authority of the Roman 
 Catholic Professor Kane, that in the Primitive Church 
 Evening Communion was the* rule. Singularly enough this 
 testimony is confirmed by that of the Rev. "Father" 
 Puller, head of the " Cowley Fathers," who, in the course 
 of a paper which he read at the annual conference of the 
 C.B. S., on May 2Sth, 1S91, said : — 
 
 M We have, I hope, got beyond the notion that the early Church 
 objected to Afternoon and Evening Celebrations. The early Church 
 in no sort of way objected to Evening Celebrations per se. She 
 celebrated continually in the afternoon or evening. She had an 
 Evening Celebration every day in Lent. In some Churches all 
 through the year there were ordinarily three Celebrations in the week, 
 
 • Ibid., p. 9. 
 
 ■ Dean Burgon's Lives of Twelve Good Men, Vol. II., p. 56. First edition. 
 3,1 Intercession Paper, May, 1897, p. 24. 
 
2l6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 namely, on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday; and two of these 
 Celebrations were Afternoon Celebrations, and only one of them was 
 early. It is a complete mistake to suppose that the early Church had 
 any objection to Afternoon or Evening Celebrations." 31 
 
 Ritualists are never tired of exhorting us to take the 
 Primitive Church as our model. Why, then, should the 
 C. B. S. every month in the year pray to God that the truly 
 Primitive custom of Evening Communion " may cease " ? 
 Surely it cannot be wrong to follow a custom sanctioned by 
 the practice of our Lord Himself at the first Lord's Supper ? 
 Possibly the authorities of the C. B. S. were not altogether 
 satisfied with " Father " Puller's candid acknowledgment 
 on this important subject, for at their annual conference on 
 June ist, 1893, a paper specially devoted to the question of 
 " Evening Communion," was read by the Rev. T. I. Ball, 
 Provost of Cumbrae College. This gentleman tried to get 
 out of the Scriptural difficulty in a very daring, not to say 
 wicked, manner. While he admitted that "our Lord Jesus 
 Christ instituted the Eucharist on the Paschal evening" 32 he 
 boldly declared that — 
 
 "As Holy Scripture does not help us [Ritualists] much in this 
 matter, we may boldly say, that it was not intended to help us in this; 
 but that we were meant to learn all that we need to learn from the 
 practice and precept of the faithful companion of the Bible — the 
 Catholic Church." 33 
 
 Is not this a case of " Down with the Bible, and up with 
 the Church " ? Or, rather, does it not remind us of the 
 conduct of those Pharisees — the Ritualists of their day — 
 of whom our Saviour said : — " Full well ye reject the 
 commandment of God, that ye may keep your own 
 tradition " ? (Mark vii. 9.) Mr. Ball proceeded to heap up 
 insult and abuse on a custom which certainly had the 
 Saviour's Holy sanction. " Evening Communion," he said, 
 "is an act of schism, in the gravest sense of the term." 31, 
 " They are spiritually and morally dangerous." 35 " It is 
 
 31 Twenty-Ninth Annual Report of C.B.S., p. xxiii. 
 
 33 Thirty-First Annual Report of C. B. S., p. xv. 
 
 ' M Ibid., p. xv. 31 Ibid., p. xvii. 35 Ibid., p. xxi. 
 
THE RESERVED SACRAMENT. 
 
 217 
 
 profane to invite men by Evening Communion to undertake 
 a religious duty." 36 
 
 The members of the C. B. S. are required to pray " That 
 obstacles to the due and reverent Reservation of the Blessed 
 Sacrament for the Sick may be removed, and that the use 
 of the Sacrament of Holy Unction may be restored through- 
 out the Anglican Church." 37 
 
 As to the first of these I shall have some comments to 
 make further on. It may, therefore, suffice if I here simply 
 quote the words of Article XXVIII. : — " The Sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, 
 carried about, lifted up or worshipped." And there is 
 certainly no trace in the New Testament of either of these 
 customs being observed by the Apostles. As to the 
 worshipping of the Sacrament, this is a practice which is 
 much encouraged by the C. B. S. It would be easy to 
 multiply proofs of this, but I will here content myself with 
 quoting the Altar Book for Young Persons, issued by the 
 Confraternity itself : — 
 
 " I worship Thee, Lord Jesu, 
 Who on Thine Altar laid, 
 In this most awful service, 
 
 Our Food and Drink art made. 
 
 u I worship Thee, Lord Jesu, 
 Who, in Thy love divine, 
 Art hiding here Thy Godhead 
 In forms of Bread and Wine." 33 
 
 On this important point of adoration of the consecrated 
 Sacrament the teaching of the Confraternity is indentical 
 with that of the Church of Rome. This was acknowledged 
 by its Superior General at the annual conference on 
 May 31st, 1877. I may here be permitted to mention that 
 the anniversaries of the Confraternity are always held on 
 
 36 Ibid., p. xxii. 
 
 37 Intercession Paper, May, 1897, p. 15. 
 
 38 Altar Book for Young Persons, p. 69. Twenty-sixth thousand, 1SS4. The 
 number printed shows how widely the spiritual poison has been spread. 
 
2l8 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 *' Corpus Christi Day," a Popish festival not to be found in 
 the Kalendar in our Prayer Books. It was instituted by 
 the Popes in the Dark Ages in honour of the doctrine of 
 Transubstantiation. The Superior General said : — ■ 
 
 " Whatever other differences, therefore, there may be between us 
 and the Church of Rome (and I do not wish to question the fact that 
 there are important differences) yet no such difference as is commonly 
 supposed exists between us on this great doctrine of Eucharistic 
 Adoration. We adore the same mysterious presence of our 
 Blessed Lord, veiled from mortal eyes, through the grace of a like 
 consecration." 39 
 
 As to the " Sacrament of Extreme Unction w it may be 
 sufficient to remark that the Church of England knows no 
 such Sacrament. At the Reformation she ejected it from 
 her system, for wise and sufficient reasons. I am not aware 
 that the C. B. S. has published any form of service for the 
 administration of Extreme Unction. Probably its Priests- 
 Associate use that provided in the Priest's Prayer Book. 
 In this form the priest is required to anoint the five senses 
 •of the sick person with oil "on his right thumb." When 
 the time comes for anointing the sick person's nose, the 
 following directions are given : — 
 
 " Then upon the nostrils, saying, 
 
 " Through this anointing, and His most loving mercy, the Lord 
 pardon thee whatever thou hast sinned by smelling." 40 
 
 Another subject for the intercessions of the Associates was 
 " That there may be true repentance and due use of 
 Sacramental Confession on the part of those needing it." 41 
 The Confraternity is very fond of Auricular Confession, 
 even though the Church of England, in her Homily of 
 Repentance, Part Second, teaches : — " It is most evident 
 and plain, that this Auricular Confession hath not the 
 warrant of God's Word." In its Altar Book for Young 
 
 39 Fifteenth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. x. 
 
 40 Priest's Prayer Book, pp. gi, 92. Seventh edition, 1890. 
 
 41 Intercession Paper, May, 1897, P- 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 2IQ 
 
 Persons the Confraternity prints a form of Confession in the 
 presence of a priest (p. 29). 
 
 The Associates are also required to pray: — "That there 
 may be a more widespread belief in the Catholic doctrine of 
 the Real Presence and of the Eucharistic Sacrifice." 42 It 
 would be easy to fill many pages with extracts from the 
 documents of the Confraternity showing what its teaching 
 is on these subjects. To commence with a sermon preached 
 before the Confraternity by the Rev. A. H. Ward, in 1871. 
 That gentleman then declared — 
 
 " That the Holy Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ under 
 the forms of Bread and Wine, that therein is Christ Himself, His 
 Body, Soul and Divinity, as truly as at Bethlehem, or Nazareth, or 
 Calvary, or at the right hand of God, we take as certain." 43 
 
 On the following year the annual sermon on behalf of the 
 Confraternity was preached by the Rev. George Body, now 
 Canon of Durham. We find that gentleman declaring 
 that— 
 
 " The Eucharistic Sacrifice is a necessary consequence of the Real 
 Presence. If the Bread and Wine become, by the action of the Holy 
 Ghost in consecration, the Body and Blood of Christ, it follows that 
 when we offer the Sacrament we offer the Body and Blood of Christ, 
 i.e., Christ Himself under the forms of Bread and Wine." 44 
 
 A remarkable sermon was preached before the C. B. S. at 
 its anniversary, June 20th, 1SS9, by one who has since made 
 a name for himself in the world, viz., the Rev. Charles Gore, 
 now Canon Residentiary of Westminster, and Examining 
 Chaplain to the Bishop of Lincoln. Canon Gore said : — 
 
 " Christ is present in the Eucharist indeed externally to us, 
 objectively and really ; He is present as the Bread of Life, the 
 Sacrifice for sins, the Object of worship. He is present wherever the 
 consecrated elements are." 45 
 
 42 Ibid., p. i2. 
 
 43 The Holy Eucharist and Common Life, by Rev. A. H. Ward, p. 8. London : 
 Hodges. 
 
 41 Jewish Sacrifices and Christian Sacraments, p. 27. London: Rivingtons, 1872. 
 45 The Eucharistic Sacrifice, by Charles Gore, p. 13. Privately printed for 
 the Confraternity. 
 
220 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 This teaching is undoubtedly strong, and quite without 
 warrant from the formularies of the Church of England. 
 Many hundreds of volumes have been written on the Real 
 Presence, and it is manifestly impossible for me to give 
 space to an exhaustive treatise on the subject in this book. 
 But I may point out that a localized presence of Christ 
 " wherever the consecrated elements are " is contrary to 
 the teaching of the great English Divine, Richard Hooker, 
 who wrote : " The Real Presence of Christ's most blessed 
 body and blood is not therefore to be sought for in the 
 Sacrament, but in the worthy receiver of the Sacraments." 46 
 The Church of England teaches that there may — in her 
 sense of the words — be a real eating and drinking of the 
 Body and Blood of Christ, without the aid of a consecrating 
 priest — a theory which is certainly .inconsistent with the 
 Ritualistic idea that the Presence is only the result of 
 priestly consecration. In one of the Rubrics attached to 
 " The Communion of the Sick " the Church orders that — 
 
 " If a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or 
 for want of warning in due time to the Curate, or for lack 
 of company to receive with him, or by any other just 
 impediment, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body 
 and Blood, the Curate shall instruct him, that if he do truly 
 repent him of his sins, and steadfastly believe that Jesus 
 Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and shed 
 His Blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the 
 benefits he hath thereby, and giving Him hearty thanks 
 therefore, he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood 
 of Our Saviour Christ, profitably to his soul's health, 
 although he do not receive the Sacrament with his 
 
 MOUTH." 
 
 In this case the Body and Blood of Christ is certainly not 
 eaten with the sick man's mouth. It is an act of faith, not 
 of the body. And is not this the same way in which ordinary 
 communicants are said by the Church of England to eat the 
 
 46 Hooker's Works, Vol. II., Book V., lxvii., 6, p. 84. Oxford edition, 1865. 
 
THE "EUCHARISTIC SACRIFICE." 
 
 221 
 
 Body of Christ :— " Take and eat this/' saith the Minister, 
 "and feed on Him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving." 
 And again, in her Twenty-eighth Article she instructs us 
 that " The mean whereby the Body of Christ is received 
 and eaten in the Supper is faith " — not a man's mouth, as 
 the Ritualists teach. Our Saviour has never had more than 
 one Body. Of that Body, in its glorified condition as it now 
 exists in heaven only, the Black Rubric at the end of the 
 Communion Service says: — " The natural Body and Blood 
 of our Saviour Christ are in heaven, and not here ; it being 
 against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at one time 
 in more places than one." If that Body, the only one our 
 Saviour possesses, is "not here," how can it be in the 
 consecrated bread and wine, as the C. B. S. and the Ritualists 
 teach ? I once went into a Ritualistic Church on an Easter 
 Sunday morning, and saw behind the Communion Table, 
 in large letters, the text of Scripture : — " He is risen ; He is 
 not here" (Mark xvi. 6). What an undesigned sermon that 
 was against a localized Real Presence on the so-called 
 "Altar"! Let us take heed to the warning words of our 
 Saviour : — " Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is 
 Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false 
 Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and 
 wonders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall 
 deceive the very elect" (Matt. xxiv. 23, 24). 
 
 And as to the so-called " Eucharistic Sacrifice," which 
 our modern Ritualists admire so much, and which they 
 consider as a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice, and 
 not a mere commemoration of the Sacrifice once for all 
 offered upon the Cross by our Saviour, I cannot do better 
 than quote the convincing argument of the High Church 
 Bishop Beveridge, as contained in his book on the Thirty 
 Nine Articles. These, then, are his words, while explaining 
 Article XXXI. They ought to be sufficient to convince any 
 earnest seeker after truth : — 
 
 " And as this doctrine is contrary to Scripture, so is it repugnant to 
 
222 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 reason too, there being so vast a difference betwixt a Sacrament and 
 a Sacrifice : for in a Sacrament God offereth something to man, but in 
 a Sacrifice man offers something to God. What is offered in a 
 Sacrifice is wholly or in part destroyed, but what is offered in 
 a Sacrament still remaineth. And there being so great a difference 
 betwixt the one and the other, if it be a Sacrament it is not a Sacrifice, 
 and if it be a Sacrifice it is not a Sacrament, it being impossible that 
 it should be both a Sacrament and a Sacrifice too. To which we 
 might also add, that, according to this opinion, Christ offered up 
 Himself before He offered up Himself. I mean He offered up 
 Himself in the Sacrament before He offered up Himself on the Cross ; 
 which offering up Himself in the Sacrament was either a perfect or an 
 imperfect Sacrifice or oblation. To say that Christ should offer up 
 an imperfect Sacrifice to God is the next door to blasphemy; but yet 
 a perfect one that Sacrifice could not be, for then it need not have 
 been repeated again upon the Cross. But I need not heap up more 
 arguments to pluck down that fabric, the foundation whereof is 
 already destroyed. It is Transubstantiation that is the ground of this 
 fond opinion, therefore do they say the Body of Christ is really 
 offered up to God, because the bread is first really turned into the 
 Body of Christ ; but now it being proved before that the bread is 
 still bread after, as well as before consecration, and not the very Body 
 of Christ ; though the bread be consecrated by man, the very Body of 
 Christ cannot be offered to God in the Sacrament ; and therefore, if 
 they will still call it a Sacrifice, they must acknowledge it is such a 
 Sacrifice wherein there is nothing but bread and wine offered to God, 
 and by consequence no propitiatory Sacrifice : for, as we have seen, 
 1 without shedding of blood there is no remission,' and in the breaking 
 and pouring forth of bread and wine there is no shedding of blood, 
 and not, therefore, any remission of sins." 
 
 In many of the papers printed by the C. B. S. the term 
 " Mass " is applied to the Lord's Supper. The Hon. C. L. 
 Wood used it in his paper read at its eighteenth anniversary, 
 in which he spoke of the custom of "getting up in the 
 morning to go to "Mass." 47 In 1882, the Rev. J. B. 
 Wilkinson said that " Children should be instructed, not 
 only by oral teaching, but by bringing them to Celebrations 
 
 47 Eighteenth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. xv. 
 
TRANSUBSTANTIATION TAUGHT BY C. B. S. 
 
 223 
 
 of the Blessed Sacrament for Children, or to put it more 
 simply, to Children's Masses"* 8 
 
 The teaching given in meetings of the C. B. S. sometimes 
 amounts to the full modern Roman Catholic doctrine of 
 Transubstantiation. At a meeting of the St. Mary's, 
 Prestbury, Ward of the Confraternity, in 1871, the 
 Rev. A. L. Lewington, now Chaplain of Ardingly College, 
 Havward's Heath, read a paper, which was subsequently 
 published, in the course of which he said : — 
 
 " When we say that the Presence of Christ is objective, we under- 
 stand that It is there without communion as with communion, abiding 
 under the outward and Visible Form in the consecrated Elements, so 
 long as the consecrated Elements are unconsumed. Again, we say 
 that the Presence of Christ is Whole. Whole Christ comes to us, and 
 is incorporated with us, in His Sacrament. His Body, His Blood, 
 His Soul, His Divinity, are present. And not only that, but He is 
 wholly present in every particle, just as much as in all that is 
 conse< •rated." 
 
 " When we separate from the notion of substance everything gross 
 and material, we mny regard the term TRANSUBSTANTIATION 
 as a convenient definition of the results of consecration which the 
 Articles do not exclude. . . . But those who rightly maintain 
 the term Transubstantiation understand it to signify that what is in 
 outward accidents — in sight, taste, and touch — Bread and Wine, by 
 consecration becomes, not in accidents but in substance, the Body and 
 Blood of Christ.'* 49 
 
 Even more bold were the Romanizing utterances of the 
 Rev. E. W. Urquhart, at a " Synod " of the C. B. S. held at 
 Salisbury on April 30th, 18S9. I attach more importance to 
 what Mr. Urquhart said than to the paper of Mr. Lewington, 
 because it was read at a much larger gathering of the 
 Confraternity, and because it was subsequently published 
 "by request of members present." Mr. Urquhart advocated, 
 without reserve, the modern teaching of the Church of 
 Rome, and frequently admitted that he believed in the 
 
 4 * Twentieth Annual Report of C. D. S., p. ix. 
 
 4) The Doctrine of the Real Presence, by Rev. A. L. Lewington, pp. 6, 9. 
 Oxford: Mowbray, 1S71. 
 
224 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 doctrine of Transubstantiation, both name and thing. Here 
 are some extracts from his address, which has never been 
 repudiated by the authorities of the C. B. S. : — 
 
 " Those teachers who profess to accept a real Objective Presence, 
 while repudiating Transubstantiation, are placed in a hopeless 
 dilemma ; as was plainly seen by Zuinglius, when he maintained that 
 there was no alternative between Transubstantiation and the figurative 
 view which he himself upheld. But the great Church of the West 
 [that is, the Church of Rome] does not stand alone in its clear 
 dsfinite enunciation of the Divine truth in Eucharistic doctrine. 50 
 
 "On this great subject, therefore [i.e., the Real Presence], there is, 
 hnppily, no room for difference between these two great Branches of 
 the Church Catholic [i.e., the Eastern Church and the Church of 
 Rome]. And if the unity of Cliristendom is ever to he restored, it can 
 only be by the Church of England frankly accepting the full statement 
 of Eucharistic truth as expressed in the authorized formularies of West 
 and East alike. 51 
 
 "We are bold to maintain that the Eucharistic teaching of the 
 Church of England is essentially one with that of the whole of the rest 
 of Catholic Christendom, East as well as West. It is, indeed, that 
 which, if she would make good her claim to be an integral part of the 
 Catholic Church, she is bound to maintain. 52 
 
 " But if it be asked why I lay such stress on a term which has 
 given rise to so much odium and has been so misunderstood as 
 Transubstantiation, I would answer, first, because I would remove all 
 needless barriers between ourselves and the rest of Catholic Christendom, 
 and, secondly, because experience shows that no other expression 
 defines what we mean so unmistakably . 53 
 
 " If ours be indeed, as we maintain it to be, the same Church of 
 England which was planted by S. Augustine on the Mission of 
 S. Gregory the Great, ours is the Church, and ours the faith of Wilfrid 
 and Anselm, of Edmund Rich and Thomas More, quite as truly as it 
 is of later worthies ; and we may look forward to a time, though we 
 all may be gathered to our rest, when such open repudiation of 
 Eucharistic Truth, even by our Ordained Ministry, as we now deplore, 
 may be as impossible as it is now in the Priesthood of the Latin and 
 Eastern Commujiions. But the consciousness of our own grievous 
 
 50 The Doctrine of the Real Presence, by Rev. E. W. Urquhart, p. 9. Oxford ; 
 Mowbray. 
 
 61 Ibid., p. 10. 52 Ibid., p. 11. » Ibid., p. 13. 
 
"OUR BRETHREN OF THE ROMAN COMMUNION.'' 225 
 
 shortcomings should prevent us from being high-minded, and check 
 that bitter and spiteful attitude towards our brethren of the Roman 
 Com m un ion , which is so painful a feature in too much of the con- 
 troversy of the day. Remember that, whatever be their short- 
 comings, they, throughout the ages, have been faithful guardians of 
 the central verity of the Incarnation, and along with it, of the precious 
 deposit of Eucharistic truth, which we have in years past insulted, 
 neglected, and profaned. And in conclusion, to avoid misunder- 
 standing, whilst / hold that the time has come when we must ourselves 
 recognize the identity of our own teaching with that which is expressed 
 in the Tridentine canons by Transubstantiation, and with the authorized 
 formularies of the Eastern Church ; it is only gradually, as they are 
 able to learn, that we should expect to bring this conviction home 
 to the minds of our weaker brethren, whom we are striving to bring- 
 over to the faith" 54 
 
 With such a love for Popery as that which is exhibited 
 by this Confraternity we need hardly wonder that during the 
 year 1892, it requested all its members to pray "That the 
 Ecclesiastical authorities in foreign countries, both East and 
 West, may become willing to give Communion to English 
 Catholics, on conditions which the latter may lawfully 
 accept." 55 
 
 It is a sad thing to see a Confraternity, engaged in teaching- 
 some of the worst doctrines of Popery, so widely supported 
 by clergy of the Church of England. And even sadder is it 
 to find that many of them have been promoted to high 
 offices in the Church, and to livings in the gift of the Crown 
 and the Bishops. In 1894 amongst its members were the 
 Bishops of Zululand, Zanzibar, Nassau, Lebombo, and 
 Corea, Bishops Hornby and Jenner, and the Deans of 
 Rochester and Chichester. 
 
 One High Church Bishop, early in the history of the 
 Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, had his eyes open 
 to its dangerous and Popish character. Bishop Samuel 
 Wilberforce wrote as follows to its Superior General, Canon 
 
 IT. T. Carter : — ■ 
 "It is," wrote Bishop Wilberforce, "sure to stir up a vast amount 
 M Ibid., pp. 14, 15. 55 Intercession Paper of C.B.S , June iSq2, p. iS. 
 
 1 5 
 
-226 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 of prejudice from its singularly un-English and Popish tone. . . . 
 I view with the utmost jealousy any tendency to ally that reviving 
 earnestness to the unrealities and morbid development of modern 
 Romanism. You may do much one way or the other. I entreat you 
 to consider the matter for yourself, and as Bishop I exhort you to use 
 no attempts to spread this Confraternity [of the Blessed Sacrament] 
 amongst the clergy and religious people of my diocese." 
 
 In closing this chapter, let me once more quote Bishop 
 Latimer. His words are as necessary now, within the 
 Church of England, as when they were first spoken : — 
 
 " Wherefore stand from the altar, you sacrileging (I should have 
 said, you sacrificing) priests; for you have no authority in God's 
 Book to offer up our Redeemer : neither will He come any more into 
 the hands of sacrificing priests. . . . And I say, you lay people, as you 
 are called, come away from forged sacrifices, which the Papists [and 
 now Ritualists] do feign only to be lords over you." 56 
 
 66 Latimer's Remains, p. 259. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SOME OTHER RITUALISTIC SOCIETIES. 
 
 A Purgatorial Society in the Church of England — The Guild of All Souls — 
 Extracts from its Publications — Masses for the Dead in the Church of 
 England — Festival on "All Souls' Day" — The Fire of Purgatory the 
 same as that of Hell— Bishop of London (Dr. Temple) gives its President 
 a Living— The Secret Order of the Holy Redeemer — An Inner Circle; 
 The Brotherhood of the Holy Cross; its secret rules quoted — The 
 "Declaration" of the Order of the Holy Redeemer — The Pope the 
 " Pastor and Teacher of the Church " — Why its members stay within 
 the Church of England — Extraordinary and Jesuitical letter of "John 
 O. H. R." — Its mysterious Superior said to be a " Bishop," though not in 
 the Clergy List ? Who ordained and consecrated him ? — The secret 
 Order of St. John the Divine — Extract from its secret rules— Society of 
 St. Osmund— Its rules and objects — Prays for the Pope — Its silly 
 superstitions — Driving the Devil out of Incense and Flowers — The 
 Adoration of the Cross — A degrading spectacle — Its Mary worship — Holy 
 Relics — Advocates Paying for Masses for the Dead — The Society merged 
 in the Alcuin Club — The Club joined by several Bishops — Laymen's 
 Ritual Institute of Norwich — Its Secret Oath — Secret Guild Books of 
 St. Alphege, Southwark — Guild of St. John the Evangelist, at St. Alban's, 
 Holborn— Confraternity of All Saints', Margaret Street — The Railway 
 Guild of the Holy Cross. 
 
 PROBABLY the majority of my readers will be 
 surprised to learn that there exists a Purgatorial 
 Society nominally within the Church of England. 
 Yet, strange and almost incredible as this may seem, it is a 
 fact. This Society bears the title of " The Guild of All 
 Souls," and was founded in the year 1S73, for the special 
 purpose of propagating within the Church of England a 
 belief in Purgatory, and as a result of this, the offering 
 of Prayers for the Dead, and of Masses to get them out of 
 Purgatorial flames. It is a widespread organization, with 
 branches all over England, and also in Scotland, the United 
 States, Madras, Montreal, Prince Edward Island, Port 
 
228 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Elizabeth, Barbados, and New South Wales. According to 
 the annual report for 1897 — as recorded in the Church 
 Times, May 28th, 1897 — the Guild possesses seventy-one 
 Branches. It includes amongst its members 646 clergymen, 
 which is certainly a large number for such an extremely 
 Romish society. The semi-secrecy of the Guild is shown 
 in the fact that the public are never permitted to know who 
 these clergymen are, with the exception of those who form 
 its Council. The Guild issues a quarterly Intercession Paper, 
 which is a strictly secret document. It always contains a 
 list of churches in which Masses for the Dead are said 
 every month, together with the names of deceased persons 
 for whom prayer is asked. The latest copy of the Annual 
 Report which I have been able to secure is that for 1895. It 
 states that " During November, in addition to those on All 
 Souls' Day, there were 991 Special Requiem Masses [offered] 
 in connection with the Guild, and the regular Requiem 
 Masses maintained throughout the year are now, at least, 
 480 each month." 1 
 
 For the use of its members the Guild of All Souls has 
 issued a book entitled the Office of the Dead According to the 
 Roman and Sarum Uses — certainly not according to the use 
 of the Book of Common Prayer, which is altogether too 
 Protestant a compilation to suit the purposes of the Guild 
 of All Souls. It has also published a book, entitled the 
 <( Treatise o/S. Catherine of Genoa on Purgatory, edited with 
 an Introductory Essay by a Priest-Associate of the Guild of 
 All Souls." The title-page states that it is published by 
 "John Hodges"; but it has on several occasions been 
 officially advertised in the Church Times as one of the 
 " Publications " of the Guild, and therefore I hold it 
 responsible for its contents. In the portion which contains 
 the translation of what Catherine of Genoa wrote, we read 
 (in the chapter entitled " Of the Necessity of Purgatory? 
 
 1 Guild of All Souls, Report, 1895, p. 3. 
 
THE GUILD OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 22g 
 
 What a terrible Thing it is ") that the pains of Purgatory 
 are " as sensible as the pains of hell." 2 The Priest- 
 Associate of the Guild of All Souls who writes the 
 Introductory Essay is evidently enraptured with what he 
 actually terms "the extreme moderation of the Roman Church 
 upon the doctrine of Purgatory." 3 This gentleman's Popish 
 sympathies are further manifested by his unblushing avowal 
 that he believes in Transubstantiation ! 
 
 " It is only," he writes, " within the last eight or nine years, since 
 the publication of Mr. Cobb's Kiss of Peace, that Anglicans have 
 begun to realize that there is no essential difference between the 
 doctrine of the Real Presence, as they hold it, and the doctrine of 
 Transubstantiation, as defined by the Council of Trent* 1 * 
 
 In the official Manual of the Guild of All Souls several 
 " Litanies for the Faithful Departed " are printed. From 
 these I take the following extracts :— 
 
 " That it may please Thee to give rest to the e ^ 
 
 souls of the faithful departed, Co 
 
 That it may please Thee to cause light 
 
 perpetual to shine upon them, Q ^ 
 
 That it may please Thee to wash them in | ?T 
 
 Thy Precious Blood and to clothe them - g- 
 
 in white robes." 5 a* 
 
 o 
 
 " From the shades of death, where they sit desiring 
 
 the light of Thy Countenance, 
 From Thine Anger, which they grieve to have " 
 
 provoked by their negligence and ingratitude, 5" 
 From the bonds of sin, wherein they have been "-fL 
 
 entangled by the disorder of their affections, ^ 
 From the pains, which are the just penalty 
 
 of their sins." 6 3 
 
 w Give Thy noly dead, O Lord, 
 Portion in the Sacrifice, 
 And prayers offered in Thy Church, 
 Hear us, Holy Jesu. 
 
 - S. Catherine of Genoa on Purgatory, p. 40. 
 
 ■ Ibid., p. 11. < Hid., p. 12. 
 
 1 Manual of G.A.S., pp. 16, 17. 6 Ibid., p. 20. 
 
230 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 " Make them share, O Jesu Blest, 
 In the intercession 
 Of the Saints before Thy Throne, 
 Hear us, Holy Jesu. 
 
 " Make all prayers and pious deeds, 
 Holy rites and services, 
 To increase their happiness, 
 Hear us, Holy Jesu." 7 
 
 In a sermon preached for the Guild of All Souls, on "All 
 Souls' Day, 1883 " — a Popish festival not found in the 
 Prayer Book Kalendar — by the Rev. H. Lloyd Russell, 
 Vicar of the Annunciation, Chislehurst, that gentleman 
 affirmed that — 
 
 "We believe that the mercy and justice of God in His dealings 
 with their [faithful departed] souls, are reconciled by their being 
 detained for a certain time in a middle place, there to he punished, and 
 purified, and dealt with, according to His good pleasure, until He sees 
 fit to admit them to the enjoyment of the Beatific Vision." 8 
 
 Six years later, in 1889, the annual sermon before the 
 Guild of All Souls was preached in St. Alban's, Holborn, 
 by the Rev. John Barnes Johnson. The preacher told his 
 deluded hearers that — 
 
 " Blessed are they whom the Divine Fire thus changes now in the 
 time of this mortal life. Blessed are they who know this Fire here on 
 earth as the Fire of Love. But those who know it not, those who 
 flee from it, yet cannot escape the Fire. If they remain in the world, 
 St. Peter tells us the world is reserved for Fire. If they die, and go 
 hence, the Fire awaits them in Purgatory ; or, more terrible, in Hell. 
 And everywhere the Fire that awaits them is the same Fire." 9 
 
 " God, even in the Fire, shall be known [by the faithful dead] to 
 be their Father, burning out all the falsehood and revealing the truth. 
 Therefore let us join together now in ofjering the Sacrifice of the Mass 
 for all departed souls." 10 
 
 7 Manual of G.J . S., p. 26. 
 
 8 The Intermediate State, by the Rev. H. L. Russell, p. 9. Published by the 
 Guild of All Souls. 
 
 9 Things Present and Things to Come, by J. B. Johnson, p. 17. London. 
 Kegan Paul, 1890. 
 
 10 Ibid., p. 22. 
 
"the souls in purgatory." 
 
 231 
 
 For the year 1894 the annual sermon for the Guild of All 
 Souls was preached by the Rev. E. G. de Salis Wood, 
 Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge. Mr. Wood said that — 
 
 " Amongst all the consoling truths of our holy religion there was 
 none more consoling than what Christian doctrine taught concerning 
 Furgatory ; and the consideration of the state of the holy souls 
 detained there, though at all times most salutary, was especially 
 salutary at the present. . . . The merits of Christ reigned every- 
 where, in Purgatory as well as on earth ; the glorious, merciful work 
 which was done for Christian souls in Purgatory was done by the 
 merits of Christ alone. Never let the objection weigh with them for 
 a single moment that the Christian doctrine of Purgatory evacuated 
 the merits of Christ. It did nothing of the kind ; on the contrary, it 
 extended them to the other world as well as to this ; and so we did 
 well to intercede for the souls in Purgatory. Theirs was a blessed 
 state, though one of pain." 11 
 
 Now, of course, for all this, as every well-informed and 
 loyal Churchman knows, there is not to be found, either in 
 Scripture or in the formularies of the Church of England, 
 the slightest approach to an appearance of any authority 
 whatsoever. You may search your Bible and Prayer Book 
 from cover to cover, and you will not find one word in either 
 of them which sanctions the teaching of the Guild of All 
 Souls. The only proper place for such teaching is within 
 the Church of Rome, and it would be a great blessing to the 
 Church of England if every one of its members went there 
 at once, without waiting for Corporate Reunion ; though, of 
 course, they would not be spiritually improved by their 
 secession. But is it not an extraordinary thing that when 
 the important living of St. Matthias', Earl's Court, London, 
 fell vacant in 1892, the Bishop of London (now Archbishop 
 of Canterbury), Dr. Temple, as patron, gave it to the 
 Rev. Jonas Pascal Fitzwilliam Davidson, President of this 
 very Guild of All Souls ! This is the way in which many 
 of our Bishops too frequently act. Not having the fear of 
 loyal Churchmen before their eyes, they become indifferent 
 
 11 Church Times, November 9th, 1894, p. 1195. 
 
232 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 to their opinions, and not seldom treat an earnest remon- 
 strance with contempt. But a day of reckoning will surely 
 come, when the Bishops will be required to put their house 
 in order. Just now, in connection with various Bills in 
 Parliament, they are seeking to increase the powers they 
 already possess. But how can we trust them with more 
 power, so long as we behold them using that which they 
 already possess in shielding — through the Episcopal Veto — 
 law-breakers from the punishment of their misdeeds ; and 
 even in promoting these very law-breakers to positions of 
 honour and trust ? The powers the Bishops at present 
 possess are too often used to the injury of the truth, and in 
 the propagation of error. 
 
 I have, in the chapter on the Confraternity of the Blessed 
 Sacrament, given quotations from the Homilies of the 
 Church of England condemning both Prayers for the 
 Dead and Purgatory. It is very well known that Purgatory 
 is no part of Christianity ; it is purely heathen in its origin. 
 It is a doctrine well calculated to make the dying beds of 
 Christians miserable. Who could have "a desire to depart" 
 from this life with the prospect of Purgatorial pains before 
 him ? The religion of Purgatory, as it exists in the Church 
 of Rome, is a very hard one for poor people, who cannot 
 afford to pay their priests liberally for Masses for the Dead. 
 And there are signs that the payment for Masses is about to 
 be restored within the Church of England. Bishop Latimer 
 spoke very truly of " Purgatory Pick Purse." Is there any 
 limit to the toleration of the Church of England ? Is the 
 time coming when she will tolerate anything and everything 
 i — except decided Protestantism ? At present she is torn 
 with dissensions. The present state of things cannot go 
 on very much longer. We have infallible authority for 
 saying : — " If a house be divided against itself, that house 
 cannot stand" (Mark iii. 25). 
 
 There is another mysterious and very secret Society 
 nominally within the Church of England, whose special 
 
ORDER OF THE HOLY REDEEMER. 
 
 233 
 
 delight it is to work in and " level up " Protestant parishes. 
 It is known as the " Order of the Holy Redeemer." From 
 what I have been able to ascertain concerning its mischievous 
 operations, I should not be surprised to hear that it is 
 secretly affiliated to the " Order of Corporate Reunion." No 
 owl ever loved the darkness more than does the " Order of 
 the Holy Redeemer." It possesses an inner circle known as 
 the " Brotherhood of the Holy Cross." I possess a copy of 
 its secret "Manual for Brethren of the B. H. C." It states 
 that "this Brotherhood was started by a few friends who 
 were studying for Holy Orders." The third of its Rules is 
 as follows : — 
 
 "That, as the work of the B. H. C. can be best accomplished 
 without opposition, its very existence he kept in strict secrecy." 
 
 The fourth Rule is "That Brethren shall be faithful 
 members of the Anglican Church " — though how that can be 
 is hard indeed to understand. They may be nominally 
 members of the Church of England, but that they are 
 " faithful " members I will never admit. The Brethren are 
 required " To endeavour to get others to join this Brother- 
 hood " ; but it is cautiously added that " Before speaking to 
 anyone about it you should obtain advice and instruction 
 how to proceed from your Superior." In a secret Inter- 
 cession Paper of the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross for 
 August, 1889, the members are requested to pray " For help 
 for band of Catholics, working with success in Islington " — 
 a thoroughly Protestant neighbourhood. A list of " Recom- 
 mended books" is added, which includes the Glories of 
 Mary, a most idolatrous book in honour of the Virgin Mary, 
 written by " St." Alphonsus Liguori. It is so superstitious 
 as well as idolatrous that even some Roman Catholics are 
 found who are ashamed of its utterances. 
 
 As to the larger Order of the Holy Redeemer I learn from 
 its secretly circulated Monthly Leaflet for April, 1891, edited 
 by " the Secretary General," that those who join the Order 
 as M Postulants," must make and sign a " Declaration " of 
 
234 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 their faith, which is printed in this same issue of the Monthly 
 Leaflet. It is as follows : — 
 
 " The Declaration Required of Postulants for Admission 
 to the Order of the Holy Redeemer. 
 
 " I having signed the Nomination Form of the above 
 
 Order, desire to profess my faith. 
 " I believe : — 
 
 " I. The Catholic Faith, as denned by the Seven General Councils- 
 accepted by the Undivided Church, and as commonly received in the 
 Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of St. Athanasius. 
 
 <C II. The common Sacramental statements of the Western Council 
 of Trent and the Oriental Synod of Bethlehem. The following is a 
 digest of these propositions : — 
 
 " That there are Seven Sacraments instituted by our Lord r 
 viz. : — 
 
 i. Baptism which, necessary to all men for Salvation, remits- 
 original and actual sin, and is the instrumental cause of 
 justification. 
 
 ii. Confirmation. 
 
 iii. The Holy Eucharist in which, after Consecration, our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, true God and Man, is truly, really and 
 substantially present under the species of Bread and Wine r 
 and a whole and perfect Christ is contained in each kind, 
 and in every part thereof. Furthermore, that in the Holy 
 Eucharist a true and propitiatory Sacrifice is offered for the 
 faithful, both living and dead. 
 
 iv. Orders. v. Matrimony. vi. Penance. vii. Extreme 
 Unction. 
 
 " III. The position of the Bishop of Rome is that of ' Archbishop 
 of all the Churches,' i.e., Chief Bishop (and consequently Pastor and 
 Teacher) of the Church.'" 
 
 This is certainly a very sensational document, but the 
 whole history of the Order of the Holy Redeemer, so far as 
 I have been able to unravel it, is quite in accordance with 
 its teaching. In the Bamct Times of May 6th, 1892, appeared 
 a very noteworthy letter, in reply to a correspondent, from 
 one who, as I happen to know from other sources, held high 
 office in the Order of the Holy Redeemer. He signed 
 
OUR HOLY FATHER, THE POPE. 
 
 235' 
 
 himself as "John, O. H. R.," and gave some important 
 information as to the real objects of the Order. 
 
 " In 1887," he wrote, " I joined the Order of the Holy Redeemer, 
 a body working within the English Church under Episcopal approval. 
 On behalf of the Order in particular, I have written when my 
 multifarious duties have permitted me. I daily receive orders from 
 the ecclesiastical Superior of the Order, and I hope faithfully execute- 
 them, but the reception of Holy Orders opens another question, which 
 I leave him [his opponent in the correspondence] to propound, and 
 to which I will happily give an equally candid answer. Finally, I do 
 utterly and entirely love, with my whole heart and soul, all Christian 
 bodies, more especially the Church of Rome, which, I believe, despite 
 accidents and not inherent faults of discipline, to be the purest and 
 most apostolic body that has ever existed, impeccable and infallible. 
 Likewise, I believe that the Pope is not by honorary Primacy, but by 
 Divine appointment and by the mercy of God, Supreme Head of the 
 whole Church of Christ throughout the world, and that those who- 
 refuse his rule forfeit all title to the name of Catholicity. . . . 
 
 " Moreover, I believe that in discipline, doctrine, and in morality, the- 
 Church of England has been utterly corrupt, as the need of the Oxford 
 Revival and the malignant opposition to it from the children of this 
 world has fully attested, and- I believe that no man is justified in staying 
 within that Church, save when he feels the vocation of God to 
 
 ASSIST IN RESTORING HER TO HER LOST PLACE, IN HUMBLE, IMPLICIT,. 
 AND UNQUESTIONING SUBMISSION TO THE SEE OF PeTER, AND TO THE 
 
 authority of our holy father, the pope, which is the object 
 of the Order of the Holy Redeemer." 
 
 Here we have, indeed, the very essence of what is 
 commonly termed Jesuitism, and in its most virulent form. 
 Where was the conscience of the man who wrote like this ? 
 And yet it can scarcely be considered worse than the 
 statement of the Rev. Dr. Ward's biographer, that he 
 (Dr. Ward) stayed for years'in the Church of England for 
 the sole purpose of bringing over a greater number to- 
 Rome. 12 
 
 A " Notice " which appears in the Intercession Paper of the 
 Order of the Holy Redeemer, for February, 1890, shows how 
 
 12 See above, p. 15. 
 
236 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 terribly afraid the Order was lest its secret documents should 
 be lost : — " It may be interesting to the Brethren to learn 
 that the legal proceedings recently taken by the Order have 
 been perfectly successful. The documents unlawfully detained 
 were yielded, and further steps rendered unnecessary." In 
 the following April the Order was in a most joyful condition, 
 for it expected to receive the approval of the Bishop of 
 London (Dr. Temple). In its Intercession Paper — or Leaflet, 
 as it is sometimes called — for that month, appears the 
 following announcement : — " It may interest the Brethren 
 to hear that the approval of the work of the, O. H. R. was 
 asked of the Bishop of London. His decision is yet 
 pending." Later on a High Church Vicar wrote to the 
 Bishop on the subject, and received as an answer that he 
 had never given any approbation to the Order. This 
 gentleman, the Rev. V. H. Moyle, Vicar of Ashampstead, 
 sent the Bishop's letter to the English Churchman, in which 
 it appeared on June 2nd, 1892. Mr. Moyle, in sending this 
 letter, added this further information concerning the 
 O. H. R. : — " They have recently taken and opened a Convent 
 at Stamford Hill, London. . . . Their object being the 
 ultimate subjection of England and England's Church to 
 Popery, I would warn all your readers against them." The 
 March, 1890, Intercession Paper had a mysterious request for 
 prayer " For several men, wishing to work for God, who are 
 labouring at present under a false banner." Does that mean 
 that they were labouring for Ritualism under the " false 
 banner " of Protestantism ? It looks very much like it. A 
 pamphlet circulated by the Order affirms that its " Superior 
 General " " was ordained priest " ; 13 but it does not say by 
 whom he was ordained. In a correspondence which has 
 since appeared in the Roman Catholic Tablet, this gentleman 
 asserted that he was also in Episcopal orders. I have since 
 found out his real name, and it does not appear in the Clergy 
 List, or Crockford's Clerical Directory. Was he ordained and 
 
 13 0. II. R. Tracts, No. I., p. 12. 
 
" FATHER SQUARE'S " ADDRESS. 
 
 237 
 
 consecrated secretly by " Bishop " F. G. Lee, of the " Order 
 of Corporate Reunion " ? This is another Jesuitical mystery 
 which needs unravelling. I once had a letter from the 
 " Brother John " who wrote the letter to the Barnet Times, 
 quoted above, in which occurs the following paragraph : — ■ 
 " Shall I have the pleasure of seeing you personally at All 
 Saints', Lambeth, next Wednesday night, or shall I send 
 tickets ? I can get you a seat in the choir of Lady Chapel 
 with the Order" that is, the Order of the Holy Redeemer. 
 I did not accept the invitation, for I did not wish anyone to 
 suppose that I had anything to do with such a society. But 
 Brother John's letter was that which first led me to suspect- 
 that there was a connection of some sort between the 
 O. H. R. and the O. C. R., for All Saints', Lambeth, is the 
 Church of which " Bishop " F. G. Lee was and still is the 
 Vicar. In 1891 the O. H. R. issued to its members a 
 monthly paper entitled the Catholic, which described itself 
 as " The Official Publication of the Order of the Holy 
 Redeemer." In the October issue amongst the intercessions 
 asked for was this: — "That devotion to Our Lady may 
 spread in England ; " it also contained a Hymn to the Virgin 
 of a most idolatrous character, and an article in favour of 
 " Invocation of Saints and Angels." This was followed, in 
 the January, 1892, number by the following interesting item 
 of news : — 
 
 "On S. Thomas Day, 1891, the Chapter of S. Thomas, of Canter- 
 bury met at the Home of the Good Shepherd. The Superior presided, 
 and after Evensong had been sung, proceeded to the admission of a 
 Postulant. The chapel was well filled, and included among the 
 congregation were many who are not members of the Order. The 
 Rev. Fr. Square delivered a short address upon our work, and upon 
 the conclusion of the office all adjourned to enjoy the unfailing 
 hospitality of the Rev. Br. Philip, the Provincial of S. W. London." 
 
 It will be observed that mention is here made of two 
 clergymen, the " Rev. Fr. Square," and the " Rev. Br. 
 Philip," but who they are I cannot tell. In a leaflet issued 
 
.238 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 by the Order, which I had lent to me in 1893, the names 
 :and addresses were printed of those to whom application 
 might be made — by those wishing to join — for further par- 
 ticulars concerning the Order. Only one of these was a 
 ■clergyman, and he was simply styled " Father George." 
 By the aid of the address given I was able to find this 
 person out, in the far East of London. What was my 
 astonishment when I discovered that he was, and had been 
 for the previous two years, acting as curate to the only 
 Protestant incumbent in that part of London ! I felt it 
 my duty to see the incumbent, who, there and then, sent 
 "for this " Father George," and asked him, in my presence, 
 if he was the person mentioned in the leaflet of the 
 •O. H. R., which I had brought with me ? " Father George " 
 was very much astounded at being found out, and very 
 much frightened, too ; but he was compelled to acknow- 
 ledge that he was " Father George." The old Protestant 
 Vicar sternly, and yet with a kindly voice, asked him if 
 be thought it right or honourable to come to him — an 
 Evangelical and Protestant clergyman — as curate, while he 
 held office in an Order which was engaged in bringing the 
 •Church of England back to the Pope ? The result of our 
 interview was that the curate had to leave his curacy. 
 He was " run to earth." On looking through the Clergy 
 List for 1897, I was pleased to find that " Father George " 
 bad had no curacy since 1893, when he left East London. 
 The old Vicar pleaded so hard with me to spare him the 
 'worry of publicity that I have, out of, it maybe, mistaken 
 kindness to him, abstained from mentioning the case in 
 print, with one exception, until now. I am prepared to 
 give names and addresses to those who prove to me that 
 they have a right to question me on the subject. 
 
 I am not going to say that the Order of the Holy 
 Redeemer is a large body. I do not think it is. But it 
 claims to have a great many Branches, and to have even 
 extended its borders into several of our Colonies. There is 
 
ORDER OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. 
 
 239 
 
 evidently money at the disposal of the ostensible leaders, 
 while the real leaders keep themselves within their native 
 darkness. A few men of this class can do a great deal 
 of mischief, probably where it is least expected. A young 
 man who joined the Order told me that he was introduced 
 to it by the teacher of his Bible-class in an Evangelical 
 Sunday-school in Islington. The case I unearthed at East 
 London shows further the wish of the Order to play a 
 subtle part in Protestant parishes. Moral obligations sit 
 loosely on a certain class of minds. Many persons are not 
 particular as to the weapons they use, so that what they 
 term " The Church " gains the benefit of their operations. 
 
 I wish that I could think the Order of the Holy 
 Redeemer the only secret Ritualistic Society which, like the 
 owl, loves most to work in the dark. I have heard — and 
 on what I consider reliable authority — that there exist 
 Ritualistic Societies, the members of which are required 
 never to part with their rules to anyone outside their ranks. 
 There lies before me, as I write, the Rules and Constitution 
 of a Society which terms itself the "Order of St. John the 
 Divine," and which is being pushed just now by Ritualists 
 in East London. It contains the following "Notice": — 
 
 " The Objects, Rules, and Constitution of the Order are submitted 
 for your perusal and consideration in strict confidence. In accepting 
 this sheet for perusal you pledge yourself that you will neither show it, 
 nor impart its contents in any way, to any other person." 
 
 The Order, says the document, requires that " none shall 
 be admitted who are not Communicants of the Church 
 Catholic in England." The real objects of these secret 
 organizations are never, I believe, fully committed to print 
 or to writing, but are given verbally only. 
 
 There is a small section of the advanced Ritualistic party 
 who have become so bold that they flaunt their Romeward 
 leanings in the face of the public in the most unblushing 
 manner. Some members of this section formed themselves 
 into a society which termed itself the "Society of St. Osmund." 
 
2.{0 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 It was founded in 1889, and several men of note joined its 
 ranks. In 1885 it printed, in its Annual Report, the names 
 of the Bishop of Bloemfontein, the Bishop of Pretoria, the 
 Bishop of Cairo, United States, the Dean of Argyll and the 
 Isles, and the Dean of Bloemfontein in its list of Vice- 
 Presidents. It was permitted to hold its annual meetings 
 for 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, and 1895 in the Church House, 
 Westminster. In 1892 the chair was taken by Sir Theodore 
 C. Hope, k.c.s.i., who is also a member of the Council of 
 the English Church Union ; and in 1893 by Mr. Athelstan 
 Riley, also a member of the Council of the E. C. U., and 
 one who has made himself very prominent as a member of 
 the London School Board. In the handbill of the anniver- 
 sary for 1892 it was announced : — " The Bishop-elect of 
 Bloemfontein, South Africa (a Vice-President of the Society 
 of St. Osmund) will be presented with a Set of Low Mass 
 Vestments at this meeting." At its anniversary in 1894, as 
 announced in the Annual Report printed beforehand, " The 
 Holy Eucharist " was " offered up " in St. Margaret Pattens, 
 Rood Lane, London, " by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop 
 of Cairo (Illinois)." During the London School Board 
 Election, in 1894, the Society of St. Osmund was exposed 
 in the English Churchman, and as the exposure was reprinted 
 in a large number of daily papers it created a great deal of 
 excitement. Down to that period the Society had been in 
 the habit of printing with its Annual Report a list of those 
 churches in London, the Provinces, and the Colonies in 
 which Holy Communion would be celebrated " for the 
 intention of the Society " ; but after the exposure a fit of 
 dread seems to have seized the Council, for in the Report 
 for 1895 the list was suppressed, for obvious reasons. In an 
 official paper of the Society it is stated that its " Objects " 
 are : — 
 
 " i. — The Restoration and Use of English Ceremonial in the 
 English Church, the rubrical directions of the Sarum Liturgical Books 
 being taken as the basis. 
 
SOCIETY OF ST. OSMUND. 
 
 24I 
 
 *' 2. — The publication of such books, pamphlets, or leaflets as, in 
 the judgment of the Council, are likely to promote the objects of the 
 Society. 
 
 "3. — The encouragement of Liturgical study among the Members 
 of the Society. 
 
 " 4. — The assisting by advice, and in other ways, those who are 
 desirous of following English customs in their Churches." 
 
 All this looks comparatively innocent. The Society was 
 not going to promote the advance of " Roman " Ritual. It 
 only wanted to restore "English Ceremonial." What could 
 be more commendable from a loyal Churchman's point of 
 view ? But it also wished to restore — and here lay the real 
 cause of its existence — the use of " the Rubrical directions 
 of the Sarum Liturgical Books," and this meant a great 
 deal ; more, in fact, than the general public were aware of. 
 It meant the restoration of the Ritual which was in use in 
 England before the Reformation, a Ritual which had as great 
 an authority and sanction from the Pope as that which is 
 technically termed " Roman Ritual." The chief difference 
 between the two is that Sarum Ritual is far more elaborate, 
 superstitious, and puerile than that termed " Roman." 
 Anyone who needs proof of the thoroughly Popish char- 
 acter of the Ritual advocated by the Society of St. 
 •Osmund cannot do better than consult a book which it 
 published, entitled Ceremonial of the Altar, compiled by 
 a clergyman on its Council, who subsequently seceded to 
 the Church of Rome. This book has been frequently 
 advertised amongst its " Publications," though the title- 
 page states that it is published by a London firm. The 
 work is remarkable also for its very advanced Romish 
 doctrine, implied in its prayers and directions. It tells 
 the Ritualistic priest how to use his eyes, how to use his 
 hands, and when he is to turn his little finger in certain 
 •directions, and how to place his thumbs. With regard 
 to his hands, there is a whole section devoted to telling 
 the priest how to manage them ; when they are to be 
 
 16 
 
242 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 "joined," when "extended," and when "laid on the 
 altar." He is to bless the people with "fingers out- 
 stretched, little finger towards persons blessed." He is 
 warned not to " fidget at the altar," told that he must 
 " stand evenly on both feet " ; and on no account must 
 he forget to " keep the elbows to the sides when praying 
 with hands extended." He is even told when to " kiss " 
 the table and the Gospel book, and other things ; and 
 how "with the right thumb (to) make a small sign of 
 the Cross." On no account must the priest omit " at the 
 name of Mary to bow slightly," and also " at the name of 
 the Saint of the day " ; and he must not forget to say the 
 words of consecration "with his elbows resting on the edge- 
 of the altar." The directions are so numerous and minute 
 that it is no wonder if they give a fit of the " fidgets " to 
 any nervous priest who has to observe them. 
 
 The Ceremonial of the Altar, in its "Ordinary of the 
 Mass," directs the priest to say : — 
 
 " I confess to God, to Blessed Mary, to all the Saints, and to you r 
 that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, by my 
 fault : I beg Holy Mary, all the Saints of God, and you to pray for 
 me." 14 
 
 The most startling prayer of all is that which is printed 
 on the portion entitled the " Canon of the Mass." The- 
 priest is directed to pray — ■ 
 
 "That Thou [God] wouldst be pleased to keep it [the Church] 
 in peace, to preserve, unite, and govern it throughout the world 
 and also for Thy servant our Pope N., our Bishop N., our 
 Sovereign N." 15 
 
 Some excuse might be made for praying for the Pope. 
 We should pray for all men. But to pray for the Pope as- 
 "our Pope" is quite a different matter. He is not the 
 Pope of English Churchmen, and a Society which 
 recognizes him in that position cannot be said to be loyal. 
 
 14 Ceremonial of the Altar : a Guide to Low Mass, compiled by a Priest, p. 22<- 
 Second edition. 15 Ibid., p. 45. 
 
ADORATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 243 
 
 to the Church of England. It has been said by friends 
 of the Society of St. Osmund that this book was issued for 
 the purposes of Liturgical study, and not for the actual use 
 of the clergy of the present day. But this theory is refuted 
 by the statement of the editor in his Preface, who declares 
 that "The directions have been drawn up for the use of 
 loyal [?] sons of the Church of England." 16 I ought to have 
 mentioned above that one of the directions, which, I think, 
 may reasonably be termed disgusting, is that which tells 
 a clergyman, just after he has given the Communion to 
 a sick person — 
 
 " "Wash your fingers, and let the sick man drink the ablation." 17 
 The Society of St. Osmund has shown itself a warm 
 friend to Mariolatry. Mr. Athlestan Riley translated for it 
 the Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary, According to the Sarum 
 Breviary, and also the Mirror of Our Lady. When we 
 remember that there is not to be found in the Bible a single 
 petition from a saint on earth to a saint in heaven, and that 
 no such petition or invocation can be found within the 
 Book of Common Prayer, it is easy to see that those who 
 bring in such Popish practices are thoroughly dissatisfied 
 with what they must consider the meagre provision for 
 their devotional life placed at their disposal by either the 
 Word of God or the Church of England. In this Mirror of 
 Our Lady we read the following statements : — 
 
 " Our merciful Lady is that Star that succoureth mankind in the 
 troublesome sea of this world, and bringeth her lovers to the haven of 
 health, therefore it is worthy that she be served and praised at 
 Mattins time." 18 
 
 " When all other succour faileth our Lady's grace helpetk. 
 Compline is the end of the day ; and in the end of our life we have 
 most need of our Lady's help, and therefore in all these hours we 
 ought to do her worship, and praising." 19 
 
 "It is reasonable that seven t'unes each day she [Mary] be 
 worshipped and praised." 20 
 
 16 Ibid., p. iii. V Ibid., p. 118. 
 
 k Minor of Our Lady, p. 7. 19 Ibid., p. 8. 20 Ibid., p. g. 
 
 16 * 
 
244 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 "After ye have then called yourself and others to the praising of 
 God and of His glorious mother, our Lady, ye sing an hymn in 
 worship and praising of her." 21 
 
 " Here ye incline, both in token and in reverence of our Lord's 
 meek coming down for to be man, and also in icorsliip of that most 
 clean and holy Virgins womb."- 2 
 
 There is nothing, I think, in the whole range of Roman 
 Catholic literature more awfully idolatrous in the way of 
 Mary worship, than this. So long as God's Word stands : — 
 " Thou shalt \vorship the Lord thy God and Him only 
 shalt thou serve," so long must this worship, whether it be 
 termed Latvia, Doulia, or Hyperdoulia, be condemned by all 
 true friends of Christianity. 
 
 Idolatry and superstition are closely related. It is so in 
 the Society of St. Osmund. It has published another book 
 full of superstition as well as idolatry, entitled the Services 
 of the Holy Week. The friends of the Society have pleaded 
 that it, like the Ceremonial of the Altar, was issued for the 
 purposes of Liturgical study, and not for actual use by 
 English Churchmen of the nineteenth century. But in 
 this case also the documents of the Society itself refute 
 the plea put forward. In the annual report for 1895 the 
 Council state that " a second edition of the Services of Holy 
 Week has been published," and it adds that " a considerable 
 demand for this publication points to the fact that there is 
 an increasing desire to become acquainted with the special 
 offices of this holy season, ruthlessly swept away at the 
 Reformation, but now being happily revived among us." 23 
 This proves that the book is designed or use, and not for 
 study only. On turning to the services for " Good Friday," 
 as provided in this work, we find that of the Adoration 
 of the Cross set forth in full. This very idolatrous per- 
 formance is now actually to be seen in several Ritualistic 
 Churches each Good Friday. At St. Cuthbert's, Philbeach 
 Gardens, London, for several years past, the Vicar has 
 
 21 Mirror 0/ Our Lady, p. 20. 22 Ibid., p. 34. 
 
 21 Annual Report 0/ Society of St. Osmund, for 1895, p. 4. 
 
ADORATION OF THE CROSS. 
 
 245 
 
 issued a printed notice of services to be held in his 
 Church in Passion Week. It has always included the 
 announcement that the " Adoration of the Cross " — as it is 
 therein termed — would take place at 9.30 a.m. on Good 
 Friday. I have a copy of the notice for 1896 by me as I 
 write. In that year I was present at the service, and 
 beheld the clergy, choir, and about two hundred men, 
 women, and children, adore the Cross — which lay at the 
 foot of the steps on the floor — by throwing themselves flat 
 on the floor, and kissing the foot of the Cross while in this 
 literally " sprawling " attitude, the choir meanwhile singing, 
 from Hymns Ancient and Modem, No. 97, the hymn addressed 
 to the Cross : — 
 
 " Faithful Cross, above all other 
 
 One and only noble Tree, 
 None in foliage, none in blossom, 
 
 None in fruit thy peer may be ; 
 ' Sweetest wood and sweetest iron; 
 
 Sweetest weight is hung on thee." 
 
 This was sung in accordance with the directions given in 
 the Services of Holy Week. The following extract from the 
 service for the Adoration of the Cross still further reveals its 
 thoroughly idolatrous character : — ■ 
 
 M Then the Priests, uncovering the Cross by the right side of the 
 Altar, shall sing this Antiphon : — 
 
 " Behold the Holy Cross, on which the Saviour of the world did 
 hang for us. O come and let us worship. 
 
 " The choir, genuflecting, reply : — 
 
 " Antiphon. We venerate Thy Cross, O Lord." 
 
 " Then the clerks shall proceed to venerate the Cross, with feet 
 unshod, beginning with the Senior." 
 
 " When this is done, the Cross shall be solemnly carried through 
 the midst of the choir by the two aforesaid priests, the Candle- 
 bearers preceding them, and shall be set down before some Altar, 
 where it shall be venerated by the people." 24 
 
 For " Easter Eve " a service is provided for " Blessing 
 the Fire," in which it is stated that "Holy Water is sprinkled 
 24 Services of Holy Week, pp. 30-32. 
 
246 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 over the fire." 25 Incense is to be used, and a form is given 
 for driving the devil out of it, as follows : — 
 
 "I exorcise thee, most unclean spirit, and every illusion of the 
 enemy, in the Name of God the Father Almighty, and in the Name 
 of Jesus Christ His Son, and in the might of the Holy Ghost, that 
 thou may est go fortli and depart from this creature of Frankincense with 
 all thy fraud and malice : that this creature may be sanctified in the 
 Name of our Lord Jesus Christ ; that all who taste, or touch, or smell 
 the same may receive the strength and aid of the Holy Ghost." 26 
 
 A collect is then offered up, in which God is asked to send 
 •down His blessing "upon this incense," that "by the smoke 
 thereof every illusion whereby the enemy doth assault soul 
 or body may be put to flight." 27 Soon after follows "The 
 Blessing of the Paschal Candle." 28 A Deacon is ordered 
 to "put Incense into the candle in the form of across"; 
 and God is asked to accept " this solemn oblation of wax, 
 the work of bees." 29 The officiating priest is ordered to 
 put on a red Cope, and " stand before the Altar," while the 
 Litany of the Saints is sung. The Litany is too long to 
 print here entire. I therefore select from it the following 
 items : — 
 
 " Holy Mary, Pray for us. 
 Holy Mother of God, Pray. 
 Holy Michael, Pray. 
 St. Peter, Pray. 
 
 All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists, Pray. 
 St. Gregory, Pray. 
 St. Sixtus, Pray. 
 
 St. Denys with his companions, Pray. 
 St. Augustine, Pray. 
 St. Agnes, Pray. 
 All Saints, Pray." 30 
 
 Later on in the service the priest is required to " drop 
 wax from the candle into the font in the form of a cross " ; 
 and to " dip the candle into the font, making the sign of 
 
 25 Services of Holy Week, p. 40. 26 Ibid., p. 38. 27 Ibid., p. 39. 
 
 28 Ibid., p. 40. 29 Ibid., p. 42. 30 Ibid., pp. 47, 4 3. 
 
DRIVING THE DEVIL OUT OF FLOWERS. 247 
 
 the cross with it." 31 All this to every loyal and soberminded 
 Churchman must seem childish and puerile to a degree, 
 and those persons may be pardoned who doubt whether 
 anyone in a state of sanity could, with a solemn face, 
 publicly perform such an outrageous farce. But it is no 
 laughing matter. Unless this sort of thing is put down by 
 authority it will increase as the years go on, and the evil 
 will grow worse with time. Some, as they read this, will 
 naturally ask, Have the Bishops gone asleep? They have 
 taken an oath to " banish and drive away " all false doctrine 
 contrary to God's Word, and the ritual which I have 
 described is designed to teach false doctrine. Why, then, 
 do not their lordships act ? When an unfortunate Pro- 
 testant Minister does anything extreme the Bishops become 
 wide awake at once, and soon show that they possess power 
 to put down what they dislike. Suppose they were to 
 publicly declare that they would not license a curate to 
 any Vicar who tolerates these idolatrous and superstitious 
 practices in his Church ? That would soon bring many of 
 them to their senses, and compel these lawless rebels to 
 submit to authority. We want a Bench of Bishops who 
 will fearlessly do their duty. As Episcopal Sees fall vacant, 
 pressure must be brought to bear on the Prime Minister to 
 recommend for the vacant Sees men who will insist on the 
 supremacy of law and order in their dioceses, and sternly 
 put down these Ritualistic Anarchists, whose own will is 
 their only supreme law, and who persist in doing that which 
 is right only in their own eyes. 
 
 To return to the Services of Holy Week. It provides a 
 service for " Palm Sunday," which commences with a 
 " Sprinkling of Holy Water," 32 and is followed by the 
 priest driving the devil out of " the flowers and leaves " to 
 be used in the service : — " I exorcise thee," he exclaims, 
 " Creature of flowers or branches . . . and henceforth let 
 all the strength of the adversary, all the host of the devil, 
 31 Ibid., p. 52. 32 Ibid., p. 3. 
 
248 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 every power of the enemy, every assault of fiends, be 
 expelled and utterly driven away from this creature of flowers 
 or branches." 33 I did not know, until I had read this Service, 
 that the devil ever resided within flowers. Ritualistic young 
 ladies especially will now need to be careful. Would it not 
 be wise for them, before going with a bouquet of flowers to 
 the theatre, to take it to some priestly " Father/' in order 
 that he may, in this way, drive the devil out of the flowers ? 
 If he could drive the devil out of the people who carry the 
 flowers, it would be much more profitable. The priest next 
 sprinkles " the flowers and leaves " ' ' with Holy Water " ; 34 and 
 he is required to carefully observe the following Rubric : — 
 
 "When the Palms are being distributed, a Shrine with relics 
 [that is, with the holy bones of some supposed Saint] shall be made 
 ready, in which shall hang in a Pyx the Host j and two clerks, not 
 joining the procession to the first station, shall come to meet it at the 
 place of the first station ; a lantern shall precede it, with an unveiled 
 cross and two banners." 35 
 
 Where they are to get the " Relics " from I do not know. 
 Can they purchase them at Rome for money ? These 
 " Relics " are mentioned in several other portions of the 
 service. Another service is here provided, by the Society of 
 St. Osmund, for " Maundy Thursday. " It is ordered that 
 the sub-deacon shall "prepare three Hosts to be conse- 
 crated," one of which, after consecration shall " be placed 
 with the cross in the sepulchre.'" 36 On this day, it appears, 
 " the oilstock of the Holy Chrism is kissed in place of the 
 Pax." After this the " altar " is to be washed by the priest 
 with wine and water, who is to finish up the business by 
 kissing it. 37 Before closing my remarks on this book I 
 must mention that on Good Friday the Pope is ordered to 
 be prayed for in terms which can only be used by those 
 Ritualists who are thoroughly disloyal to the independence of 
 
 33 Services of Holy Week, p. 3. 
 80 Ibid., p. 17. 
 
 34 Ibid., p. 5. ss Jhid t p . 6 , 
 
 ^ Ibid., pp. 19, 20. 
 
PRAYING FOR THE POPE. 249 
 
 the Church of England o,f all Papal control. The following 
 extracts prove this : — 
 
 "Let us pray also for our most llessed Pontiff X., that our God 
 and Lord, who hath chosen him from the Order of the Episcopate, 
 would preserve him in health and safety to His Holy Church, for the 
 governance of God's holy people." 
 
 "Almighty and everlasting God . . . regard our prayers: and 
 with Thy mercy preserve our chosen prelate ; that all Christian 
 people governed by such authority, and obeying so great a Pontiff, may 
 ever increase in faith and works." 33 
 
 The wonder is that the people who teach this sort of 
 thing, do not consistently "obey so great a Pontiff," by at 
 once going over openly to his communion. If the Pope is 
 appointed by God, as is here asserted, " for the governance 
 of God's holy people " without exception, then the conduct 
 of those Ritualists who believe this is undoubtedly that 
 which is usually termed " double dealing." ^Ye cannot afford 
 to laugh at or despise this sort of thing. It has a tendency 
 to grow and multiply, like weeds in a garden. The sooner 
 these Popish weeds are pulled up out of the garden of the 
 Church of England the better it will be for those healthy 
 plants whose proper place is in her soil. It is nearly thirty 
 years since the Ritualists first published a translation into 
 English of the Liturgy of the Church of Sarum. Canon 
 T. T. Carter, of Ciewer, Superior General of the Confrater- 
 nity of the Blessed Sacrament, wrote an Introduction to it 
 in which he affirmed that the translation was " a boon of the 
 greatest value " ; and expressed his own personal " sense 
 of its great value." 39 In the "Canon of the Mass" this 
 translation also contains a prayer for " our Pope "; 40 and 
 as a specimen of superstition I may mention that one of the 
 rubrics in it directs: — " Let the Priest rinse his hands, lest 
 any remnants of the Body or Blood should have remained on 
 
 83 JMf., p. 26. 
 
 39 The Liturgy of the Church of Sarum, with Introduction by Rev. T. T. 
 Carter, pp. vi., vii. Second edition. London: Hayes. 
 
 40 Ibid., p. 63. 
 
250 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 his fingers or in the chalice." 41 The following prayer is 
 •very disloyal and Popish : — 
 
 " For (he Pope. 
 
 " Let us pray also for the Blessed N. our Pope ; that our God and 
 Lord, who elected him to the Order of the Episcopate, may preserve 
 him safe to His Holy Church that he may govern the holy people 
 
 of God."« 
 
 There is not one word of warning in the book which 
 contains this prayer, reminding the reader that God never 
 ■did appoint the Pope to "govern the holy people of God." 
 
 There is one other publication of the Society of St. Osmund 
 which I must notice, because it proves how anxious some 
 of the Ritualists are to revive the evil custom of paying for 
 Masses for the Dead, and at the same time to restore many of 
 the most degrading death-bed customs of the Papacy, which 
 obtained in England during the Dark Ages. It is entitled 
 ■Ceremonial and Offices Connected with the Burial of the Dead. 
 
 "It will be seen," writes the author, " that Chauntry priests were 
 not overpaid : but as half a loaf is said to be better than none, surely 
 it would be worth the while of some aged or infirm priest to accept a 
 moderate stipend or voluntary offering of £60 or £70 a year to act in 
 that capacity. 43 One of the most distressing things I know of in the 
 Anglican Church is the difficulty of getting a priest to say Mass for 
 some departed friend or relation, because when asked he will tell you 
 he does not like being paid for Sacraments, &c. ; but surely this is a 
 prudish line to take — the ' labourer is worthy of his hire ' — and as 
 St. Paul said, ' They which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar.' 
 
 " Let priests then awaken to a greater sense of duty in this respect, 
 and the great work of charity they have the power of bestowing, and 
 remember that in accepting an Honorarium for a Mass they are not 
 receiving a fee, but an offering." 44 
 
 All this means, of course, however covered over with 
 
 41 The Liturgy of the Church of Sarum, with Introduction by Rev. T. T. 
 Carter, p. 78. Second edition. London : Hayes. 
 
 42 Ibid., p. 114. 
 
 43 That is, to act as a " Chauntry Priest," whose sole work would be that of 
 offering Masses for the Dead to get them out of Purgatory. 
 
 44 Transactions of the Society of St. Osmund, Part III., "Ceremonial and 
 Offices Connected with the Burial of the Dead," pp. 73, 74. 
 
" BEAUTIFUL RITES " FOR THE SICK. 251 
 
 words, a revival of what Bishop Latimer justly denounced 
 as " Purgatory Pick Purse." The "honorarium for a Mass " 
 is not, says the writer of this pamphlet, "a fee, but an 
 offering." But when the priest refuses to say the Mass 
 without his " honorarium," would not that refusal be 
 equivalent to a demand for a " fee "? It would be the same 
 as saying : — " I cannot sell the Lord's Body in this Mass, 
 like Judas sold it of old for thirty pieces of silver. That 
 would be very wicked ; but for all that, if you cannot give 
 me a money ' offering,' you cannot have the Mass." What 
 is the essential difference, in a case like this, between the 
 conduct of Judas and that of the Ritualistic priests ? Judas 
 might have said to the chief priests, " I cannot sell the 
 Lord Jesus to you ; but it is quite open to you to make me 
 an ' honorarium,' or free-will ' offering ' of thirty pieces of 
 silver for my services in handing Him over to you." 
 
 The writer of this pamphlet, towards its close, tells us 
 that he has in it sketched those " beautiful rites of our 
 Holy Mother the Church with which, in the plenitude of 
 her glory, peer and peasant alike were fortified and honoured, 
 and through the wickedness of man alone w r ere lost to long 
 generations that followed. It becomes nothing less than a 
 solemn duty devolving upon us, in this so-called enlightened 
 age, to restore and resuscitate all that our forefathers so dearly 
 cherished"** Amongst the " beautiful rites" which, in the 
 opinion of this Society of St. Osmund, it is our " solemn 
 duty " to " restore," are the following, as described in the 
 pamphlet which I am considering : — 
 
 " Richard Marsh, Bishop of Durham, in 1220 enjoins as follows : — 
 * When the Eucharist is taken to the Sick, let the priest have a clean 
 and decent Pyx, so that one always remains in the Church, and in the 
 other he carries the Lord's Body to the Sick, the Eucharist itself being 
 enclosed in a very clean purse. The Pyx will be covered with a clean 
 linen cloth, and a light will be carried before it, and a cross also, 
 unless the cross has already been carried to another sick man. A 
 
 45 Ibid., p. 71. 
 
252 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 little bell will also be rung before the priest to excite the devotion of 
 the faithful. The priest will always have with him a stole when he 
 carries the Eucharist to the Sick, and when the sick man is not very 
 far off the priest will go to him in a surplice. He will have a vessel 
 of silver or tin, kept especially for the purpose, that he may give 
 to him [the sick man] the ablutions of his fingers after Com- 
 munion.' " 46 
 
 " Arriving at the sick man's house, the priest sprinkled it with Holy 
 Water, saying, * Peace be to this house,' and having heard his Confes- 
 sion, absolved him and given him the kiss of peace, he administered 
 the Viaticum and Extreme Unction." 47 
 
 " This service [for deceased Guildsmen in the Dark Ages] was 
 followed . . by three solemn Masses, at each of which every brother 
 present went up at offertory time to the altar and put his Mass 
 Penny for the good of the departed soul into the hands of the sacri- 
 ficing priest." 48 
 
 I have no doubt that the " sacrificing priest " thought that 
 the custom of each brother paying a " Mass Penny " into his 
 hands was a very " beautiful rite " indeed, as it appears the 
 Society of St. Osmund also does at the present time ; but I 
 should imagine that the overwhelming majority of English- 
 men are now of a very different opinion. We think the other 
 "rites " described above to be far from "beautiful," especi- 
 ally that one in which the sick man is to drink the dirty 
 water in which the priest has washed his hands ! 
 
 On February :8th, 1897, the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer 
 of the Society of St. Osmund sent out a circular-letter to 
 the members announcing that a "'general meeting" would 
 be held on February 25th " for the purpose of dissolving the 
 Society of St. Osmund." This would indeed have been 
 good news for English Churchmen, had it been strictly in 
 accordance with the facts. What was actually " dissolved " 
 was, not the Society, but its name, as is clear from the 
 Secretary's letter which appeared in full in the English 
 Churchman of February 25th, 1897, page 126. 
 
 46 Transactions of the Society of St. Osmund, Part III., " Ceremonial and 
 Offices Connected with the Burial of the Dead," p. 55. 
 4 - Ibid., p. 56. 48 Ibid., p. 62. 
 
THE ALCUIN CLUB. 253 
 
 u Enclosed," wrote the Secretary to the members of the Society of 
 St. Osmund, " are particulars of the Alcuin Club, whose work will 
 cover more ground than our Society has been able to touch, and / 
 consequently presume that you will continue your support of English 
 Ceremonial by joining the Club, at least as an Associate, at the annual 
 subscription of five shillings. Unless I hear from you to the contrary, 
 on the dissolution of the Society of St. Osmund, / shall therefore 
 assume that you wish to become an Associate of the Club, and will 
 accordingly propose you for election. ,> 
 
 The Secretary of the new " Alcuin Club " is the gentleman 
 who had hitherto acted as Secretary of the Society of 
 St. Osmund ; and several of the Committee of the " Club " 
 are the same gentlemen who served on the Council of the 
 Society of St. Osmund. There is, therefore, but little, if 
 any, room for doubt that the " Club " and " Society " are to 
 all intents and purposes the same. An article on the new 
 " Club " appeared in the Church Times of March 19th, 1S97, 
 from which I learn that it will be a larger and more influen- 
 tial organization than the Society was. " Both members and 
 associates," it states, " must be in communion with the 
 Church of England"; and it announces that "The Club 
 has already been joined by the Bishops of Oxford, Salisbury, 
 and Edinburgh/' and by Professor W. E. Collins, of King's 
 College, London; Canon J. N. Dalton, of Windsor ; Canon 
 A. J. Mason, of Canterbury ; the Rev. Hugh P. Currie, 
 Principal of Wells Theological College ; and Canon W. E. 
 Xewbolt, of St. Paul's Cathedral. The names of the Com- 
 mittee are given by the Church Times. The clergy are all 
 extreme Ritualists. 
 
 "The work of the Alcuin Club," says the Church Times, " will be 
 chieflv in books and tracts, illustrated by exact reproductions of 
 miniatures and photographs of Church furniture, ornaments, vest- 
 ments . . . the ornaments of the altar and the liturgical colours will 
 be taken next ; then the occasional services will be dealt with, the 
 Divine service, the Litany or Procession, and the Celebration cf the 
 Eucharist." 
 
 I fear that there is nothing to be expected from the new 
 
254 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Alcuin Club likely in any way to benefit the cause of 
 Protestantism. It is an organization which will need 
 careful watching, nor is it at all pleasant to find that the 
 Bishops of Oxford, Salisbury, and Edinburgh, the Principal 
 of one of our Theological Colleges, and the Professor in 
 another Theological College, have joined it. English 
 Churchmen will be glad to hear the good news of their 
 having withdrawn from its ranks. 
 
 There are many extremely Ritualistic Societies or Guilds 
 of a merely local character scattered throughout the 
 country, whose objects and operations are well worthy of 
 consideration. It would, however, require a volume to deal 
 with them thoroughly, and I fear that when produced it 
 would not be very interesting. All I can do, therefore, 
 with regard to these local Societies is to call attention 
 to a few of them. The " Laymen's Ritual Institute for 
 Norwich," which existed for several years, and, for anything 
 I know to the contrary, may be still in existence, required 
 its members to take an "oath" of fidelity, which probably 
 included the shielding of its secrets. I have two secret 
 " Reports " of this Institute before me, viz., those for 1873 
 and 1875. In the former it is announced that — 
 
 " There has been an accession of members ; and the test of 
 membership has been remodelled, by the requirement of an oath from 
 each candidate, as a bond of fidelity and adherence." 
 
 " The Institute, in conjunction with other Catholic societies, has- 
 no other work than steady perseverance in its course, against every 
 obstacle opposing the spread of Catholicism and its Ritual, until sucb 
 time as it and they shall have succeeded in banishing for ever from the 
 Church of England the Bastard Faith of Protestantism.' 1 49 
 
 The Report further added that the Institute had 
 circulated papers entitled, Devout Acts in Honour of Our 
 Blessed Lady/ 00 In the following year an effort was made 
 by some of the members to substitute a " Declaration " for 
 the "Oath" hitherto taken by new members, but on a 
 
 49 Report of Norwich Laymen's Institute for 1873, pp. 4, 7. 60 Ibid., p. 5. 
 
THE REFORMATION A "DAMNABLE SPOT." 255. 
 
 division the proposition was "lost by a large majority." 51 
 The Institute had a very great hatred for the Reformation, 
 and, in its Report for 1S75, expressed its hatred in very 
 vigorous language : — 
 
 " Perhaps," it says, " not intentionally, but in fact, the so-called 
 Reformation is a dark and, in some sense, damnable spot in our 
 Church's history." 52 
 
 It may be said that the work of an Institute like .this 
 is a very small affair, not worthy of notice here. But it 
 is a good old proverb which exhorts us never to " despise 
 the day of small things," whether for good or evil. That 
 this teaching was given a quarter of a century ago only 
 proves how widely the evil had spread even so far back 
 as then. At the present time the evil has grown immensely. 
 
 To come closer to our own day. What are we to think 
 of the parochial Guilds connected with the Church of 
 St. Alphege, Southwark ? Somehow or other, I know not 
 how, the Roman Catholic priest who edited the St. George's 
 Magazine — that is, for St. George's Roman Catholic- 
 Cathedral, Southwark, which is close to St. Alphege — got 
 hold of a few books belonging to them, and exposed them in 
 its columns. 
 
 "A little book," wrote the Editor, "has lately come into our 
 possession, which we think deserves a few words of notice in our 
 local Magazine. It is issued, in connection with one of the many 
 Protestant 53 places of worship with which we are surrounded, by 
 a clergyman of the Established Church. 
 
 " It is called the ' Manual of Tertiaries of the Order of Reparatio?i 
 to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.' It contains the Rules of the 
 ' Order,' a 1 Litany of Reparation,' the Office of Benediction, a Litany 
 of the Blessed Sacrament, the Litany of Our Lady, a Litany of the 
 Incarnation (mainly addressed to the Blessed Virgin), and fourteen 
 hymns — half of them addressed to Our Lady, and half to the Blessed 
 Sacrament. The Seven Sacraments are accepted ; life vows (for 
 ' Sisters ' — perhaps the ' Founder and Father Superior ' has some- 
 
 61 Report for 1S75, p. 5. 5 - Ibid., p. 7. 
 
 5i Roman Catholics always call the Ritualists and their Churches " Pro- 
 testant," though it is very well known that the Ritualists repudiate the term. 
 
256 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 special reason for saying * the Brothers cannot take solemn vows ') 
 are recognized ; ' Sacramental Confession ' is enjoined, as well as 
 fasting, ' unless dispensation be obtained from the Superior' 5 'medals 
 and crosses are blessed and sprinkled with Holy Water 1 ; the ' Hail 
 Mary' is prescribed 5 certain prayers are given to be 'said at Mass 
 after the Canon.' . . . Mr. Goulden's Tertiaries sing : — 
 " ' Queen of Heaven, Queen of earth, 
 Mistress of the Church of Christ, 
 Mother of our second birth — 
 
 Pray for us, O Mother dear,' 
 or invoke her in words more familiar and dear to us, as 1 Virgin 
 most powerful,' 'Virgin most merciful,' 'Cause of our Joy,' and 
 ' Gate of Heaven.' " 54 
 
 I possess two other Guild books used at St. Alphege, 
 Southwark. One of them is the Manual of the Church 
 Confraternity. When I was last in that Church I saw a 
 notice posted up, in very large letters, inside the building, 
 .announcing that no person would be considered as a mem- 
 ber of the congregation, who had not joined the " Church 
 Confraternity." Of course in this way a kind of moral 
 •compulsion is put upon the parishioners to join the Con- 
 fraternity. On opening the Manual I find that all members 
 " must observe the rule of the Church [what Church ?] and 
 •Communicate every Sunday fasting." 55 Before being ad- 
 mitted into the Confraternity it is required that " every 
 member shall make an open profession of belief in the 
 Catholic and Apostolic Religion" 56 in the presence of the 
 Vicar of the parish. He must profess that he believes 
 "that there are truly and properly Seven Sacraments insti- 
 tuted by Christ"* 7 , though Article XXV. declares that five 
 of these seven " are not to be counted for Sacraments of the 
 Gospel." The members must also profess that in " the 
 Great Eucharistic Sacrifice" we "obtain His Grace for 
 ourselves and the whole world, pardon for all our sins, and 
 that the faithful departed may rest in peace safe in the 
 
 54 St. George's Magazine, June, 1890, pp. 145, 146. 
 
 55 Church Confraternity, p. 5. 
 
 50 Ibid., p. 5. ■? ihu^ p . 5. 
 
ST. ALPHEGE, SOUTHWARK. 257 
 
 arms of Jesus " ; 58 and they also declare that " in that most 
 Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there is verily and indeed 
 the true Body and Blood of Christ, and that under either 
 kind alone Jesus is received whole and entire." 59 I wonder 
 does the Bishop of Rochester know all that is going on 
 in St. Alphege, Southwark ? He went down recently to 
 consecrate the church, and spoke in the highest terms of 
 the work being carried on there. I wonder did he look into 
 the special hymn book, copies of which are placed in even- 
 seat in the church ? He would have found a large number 
 of them addressed to the Virgin and the Saints. Ought 
 not this Popish book to have been swept out of the Church 
 for ever, as an essential condition of consecration ? Are the 
 Bishops to be the last persons in their dioceses to find out 
 what their clergy are doing ? 
 
 Another Guild in the parish of St. Alphege, Southwark, is 
 "The Guild of the Sacred Heart of Jesus." Its annual 
 commemoration is kept "on the Sunday after the Feast of 
 the Sacred Heart of Jesus." 60 This is, as is well known, a 
 Feast in honour of a practice introduced by the Jesuits, for 
 the purpose of worshipping the material heart of our Lord. 
 This Guild is for 1 1 boys of good character under twenty years 
 of age," who are expected "To receive the most Holy Sacra- 
 ment (fasting) every Sunday, and to go to Confession once a 
 month"* 1 They have given to them a "List of Things to 
 be Remembered," which is as follows: — 
 
 " The sign of the Cross should be made before and after prayers, at 
 absolutions and blessings. 
 
 " In passing an Altar a bow should be made. 
 
 " Boys, when they communicate, must genuflect before going up to 
 the Altar to communicate. 
 
 " At the Consecration, immediately the Sanctus Bell rings, every- 
 body should bow down and worship Jesus, Who is then present ort 
 the Altar, under the Form of Bread and Wine." 62 
 
 58 Ibid., p. 7. 59 Ibid., p. 7 . 
 
 60 5. Alphege, Southivarh, the Guild of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, p. 4. 
 
 61 Ibid., p. 5. 62 Ibid., p. 9. 
 
 17 
 
-258 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 In the " Form of Reception " used for the " Guild of St. 
 John the Evangelist," in the parish of St. Alban's, Holborn, 
 and " Privately Printed for the Guild/' it is ordered that, 
 after certain prayers have been offered : — 
 
 " The Priest then sprinkles the Collars, Crosses, and Candles with 
 Holy Water, and incenses them. Those who are about to be admitted 
 then come up to the Altar." 63 
 
 Another Guild at St. Alban's, Holborn, is known simply 
 as " The Perseverance." One of the Rules is " To be 
 present at the Holy Sacrifice every Sunday." 61 As a 
 temptation to join the Guild it is stated that — 
 
 " At the death of any Member a special Funeral Mass will be said 
 for the repose of his soul." 65 
 
 The members of " The Confraternity of All Saints," 
 Margaret Street, London, are "girls and young women 
 only." In their Manual they are instructed that " Special 
 Confession of our sins is also a very blessed help and 
 privilege to many Christians really trying to lead a holy 
 life." 66 One of the privileges which the members enjoy is 
 thus described : — " In case of the marriage {if approved by 
 the Sister Superior), to help her in her settlement." 67 I am 
 afraid the Sister Superior would not give her approval if one 
 of the members wished to marry a Protestant Churchman. 
 A Guild like this must necessarily have a powerful influence 
 over the girls who belong to it. 
 
 "The Railway Guild of the Holy Cross" is for men 
 •employed on Railways. It has a body of " Clerical Associ- 
 ates " attached to it, mostly extreme Ritualists. It has also 
 "Women Associates ; but it is a rule that their " names are 
 not for publication." 68 There is a slight leaven of Popery in 
 this Guild, for I find in its Manual that "The Crosses, with 
 
 fi3 Guild of St. John the Evangelist, p. 18. Across the top of the title page, in 
 ordinary type, is printed the words, "Not to be taken away." 
 
 04 Manual of the Perseverance, p. 9. "Privately Printed." 65 Ibid., p. 10. 
 f,c Manual of the Confraternity of All Saints, p. 10. 6 ? Ibid., p. 4. 
 
 68 Manual of the Railway Guild of the Holy Cross, p. 24. 
 
A WARNING TO PARENTS. 259 
 
 their Cords, being placed upon the Altar, or held by one 
 of the Brethren, shall be blessed by the Priest " m though what 
 good that will do the Crosses and Cords the Manual does 
 not reveal. The priest is to bless them by saying : — " Ble4-ss, 
 O Lord, we beseech Thee, and sancHify these Crosses, 
 which we bless in love and honour of Thy Glorious 
 Cro*ss." 70 
 
 These are but a few specimens out of an innumerable 
 body of Guilds scattered all over the country, where the 
 parish is in Ritualistic hands. All these are not equally 
 advanced in a Romeward direction ; but what I have 
 quoted may serve to show my readers one of the most 
 powerful means by which the country is being leavened with 
 Ritualism. All Guilds are not secret ; but in all cases they 
 enable the local clergy to impart privately to the members, in 
 •confidence and safety, High Church notions of the Church, 
 her Sacraments, Orders, and Doctrine. Church of England 
 parents should keep a watchful eye over their young sons 
 and daughters, lest they should join any Guild which does 
 not work on lines that are loyal to the Church of England. 
 The Guild Movement of the present day helps greatly the 
 so-called ''Catholicising" of the Church of England, which 
 is essential as a preliminary work, in preparing the way for 
 Corporate Reunion with Rome. 
 
 69 Ibid., p. 15. «°JW3.,p. 15. 
 
 17 * 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE ROMEWARD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Corporate Reunion with Rome desired — Not individual Secession — The 
 reason for this policy — How to " Catholicise" the Church of England — 
 Protestantism a hindrance to Reunion — Reunion with Rome the ultimate 
 object of the Oxford Movement — Newman and Froude visit Wiseman 
 at Rome — They inquire for terms of admission to the Church of Rome — 
 Secret Receptions into the Church of Rome — Growth of Newman's love 
 for Rome — Newman wants " more Vestments and decorations in worship" 
 — William George Ward: "The Jesuits were his favourite reading"— 
 Publication of Tract XC. — Mr. Dalgairns' letter to the Univers — Secret 
 negotiations with Dr. Wiseman — " Only through the English Church 
 can you (Rome) act on the English nation " — Keble hopes that yearning 
 after Rome "will be allowed to gain strength" — Mr. Gladstone on the 
 Romeward Movement — He hopes those "excellent persons" who love 
 all Roman doctrine will "abide in the Church" — "The Ideal of 
 a Christian Church" — Dr. Pusey's eulogy of the Jesuits censured by 
 Dr. Hook— Mr. Gladstone's article in the Quarterly Review — Pusey hopes 
 " Rome and England will be united in one" — Pusey asks for " more love 
 for Rome " — He praises the "superiority" of Roman teaching — Pusey 
 believes in Purgatory and Invocation of Saints — He "forbids" his 
 penitents to invoke the Saints — Manning's remarkable letter to Pusey — 
 Manning's visit to Rome in 1848 — Kneels in the street before the Pope — 
 His double dealing in the Church of England — The Roman Catholic 
 Rambler on the Oxford Movement. 
 
 THE great object of the Ritualistic Movement from its 
 very birth, in 1833, was that of Corporate Reunion 
 with the Church of Rome. The wirepullers have 
 always been opposed to individual secession, not so much on 
 the ground that it was a thing evil in itself, but because its 
 tendency was to prevent the realization of their larger 
 schemes. As far back as 1867 a leading quarterly of the 
 advanced Ritualists declared that, instead of seceding to 
 Rome, " it would be much better for us to remain working 
 where we are — for what would become of England if we 
 
HOW ENGLAND CAN BE CATHOLICISED. 
 
 26l 
 
 [Ritualists] were to leave her Church ? She would be 
 simply lost to Catholicism. . . Depend upon it, it is only 
 through the English Church itself that England can be 
 Catholicised." 1 The same article, referring to this 
 corporate and visible unity with the Church of Rome, 
 declared : — 
 
 " Here you have the real heart and soul of the present Movement ; 
 this is the centre from which its pulsations vibrate, and from which its 
 iife-blood flows." 2 
 
 As far back as June 13th, 1882, at the annual meeting 
 of the English Church Union, Lord Halifax, its President, 
 declared that corporate reunion " is the crown and com- 
 pletion of that great Movement which has transformed the 
 Church of England " ; 3 and he has repeated the assertion 
 many times since. But in order to the realization of such a 
 reunion it is first of all necessary to make the Church of 
 England look as much like the Church of Rome as possible. 
 " A Colonial Priest" of the Ritualistic party, writing to the 
 Church Review, of September 21st, 1888, remarked : — 
 
 " It seems to me utterly premature to consider reunion, especially 
 with the great Patriarchal See of the West [Rome] as within even 
 distant probability, until the Anglican Communion as a whole is 
 Catholicised. There lies our work . . . Therefore, let every one, 
 while praying daily for reunion, remember that the surest way to 
 accomplish it is by working towards the purification of our own 
 branch of the Catholic Church" 
 
 According to the opinion of some of these gentlemen the 
 Reformed Church of England is not sufficiently respectable, 
 at present, for the Pope to have her, even as a present. 
 She first needs " purification " from Protestantism. In a 
 volume, with an Introductory Essay by Dr. Pusey, one of 
 the writers very frankly declared that — 
 
 " The first great hindrance that is before us arises from the 
 Protestantism of England. Till this is removed, the Reunion of our 
 
 1 Union Review, Volume for 1S67, P- 4 IG - : Ibid., p. 398. 
 
 3 See official report of this speech, published by the E. C. U., p. 13. 
 
262 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Church, as the Church of England, with either the Greek, or Latin 
 Churches, is absolutely hopeless." 4 
 
 May God grant that this " great hindrance " may ever 
 remain to repel the machinations of the traitors to our 
 spiritual liberties ! 
 
 The reunion schemes of the Tractarians were at first kept 
 a profound secret from all but the initiated. In this, as in 
 so many other matters, the leaders cleverly practised their 
 doctrine of " Reserve." So well was the secret kept that 
 for several years their proceedings were a great puzzle even 
 to many Roman priests. The Hon. and Rev. George 
 Spencer, a prominent priest, and son of an English peer, 
 was one of these puzzled ones for a time ; but at last he 
 became enlightened. In a letter to the Roman Catholic 
 Univers, of Paris, in 1841, he wrote : — ■ 
 
 " Indeed, quite lately I still held to the idea, that, in a short time, 
 we should see them [the Tractarians] prepared to quit their Church 
 in considerable numbers, and unite with us in labouring to effect the 
 conversion of their brethren ; but the nearer the approaches they 
 make to Catholic sentiments, the more resolved they appear to be to 
 rectify their position — not by quitting the vessel [the Church of 
 England], as if they despaired of its safety, but by guiding it together 
 with themselves into the harbour of safety " [that is, into the Church 
 of Rome]. 5 
 
 This leavening of the Church of England with so-called 
 " Catholic " principles and practices — in other words, the 
 infusion into her system of more or less of Popery — ■ 
 commenced with the Tractarian Movement, in 1833, and has 
 been going on ever since. Yet, even now, it appears that we 
 are not, as a Church, decent enough for the Pope to accept 
 us as a present. At the Norwich Church Congress, October, 
 1895, a Ritualistic clergyman said : — "The Church of England 
 is not fit for communion with either the Eastern Church or 
 the Church of Rome. We are not good enough for them." 6 In 
 
 4 Essay on Reunion, p. 89. 
 
 5 Quoted in Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops upon Tractarian Theology, 
 p. 681. 
 
 6 English Churchman, October 17th, 1895, p. 706. 
 
NEWMAN AND FROUDE VISIT ROME. 263 
 
 this leavening process, as well as in the carrying out of the 
 ultimate object of the Movement, great " Reserve in com- 
 municating Religious Knowledge " was observed. 
 
 Much of that which in the early history of Tractarianism 
 was kept a profound secret, has since been made public 
 through the biographies of some of the principal actors. In 
 the " Lives " of these men are now to be read their most 
 confidential communications one with the other, in which 
 their love of Popish doctrines, and their desire for Corporate 
 Reunion with Rome, appear in the clearest possible light. 
 By the aid of this light it may be useful to trace the gradual 
 progress of this Romeward Movement. 
 
 The late Cardinal Newman stated that he ever considered 
 the 14th of July " as the start of the religious Movement of 
 1833." A few months before that date, Newman, in 
 company with his friend, Richard Hurrell Froude, while 
 travelling on the Continent, had visited Monsignor (sub- 
 sequently Cardinal) Wiseman at Rome. " We got 
 introduced to him," wrote Froude, " to find out whether 
 they would take us in [i.e., to the Church of Rome] on any 
 terms to which we could twist our consciences, and we 
 found to our dismay that not one step could be gained 
 without swallowing the Council of Trent as a whole." 7 
 While on this journey Newman fell seriously ill with a fever* 
 On his recovery he decided to return at once to England. 
 While in a weak condition, and before starting, he tells us : 
 " I sat down on my bed, and began to sob violently. My 
 servant, who had acted as my nurse, asked what ailed me. 
 I could only answer him : — ' I have a work to do in 
 England.'' " 8 What that work was we now know full well. 
 It was that of Romanizing the Church of England. 
 
 With reference to this remarkable visit to Rome, the Rev. 
 William Palmer, who for ten years was one of the foremost 
 leaders of the Tractarian Movement (but subsequently 
 
 7 Fronde's Remains, Vol. I., p. 306. 
 
 8 Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 35. Edition, 1889. 
 
264 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 retired from it on account of its Romanizing tendencies), 
 and who was the intimate friend of Newman and Hurrell 
 Froude, tells us that " Froude had with Newman been 
 anxious to ascertain the terms upon which they could be 
 admitted to Communion by the Roman Church, supposing 
 that some dispensation might be granted which would enable them 
 to communicate with Rome without violation of conscience.''' 9 
 Mr. Palmer adds that this visit to Rome was unknown to the 
 friends of Newman, and that if he (Mr. Palmer) had known 
 about these circumstances, it is a question " whether he should 
 have been able to co-operate cordially with him." " Nay," 
 writes Mr. Palmer, " if I had supposed him willing to forsake 
 the Church of England, I should have said that I could in 
 that case have held no communion with him." 10 It must be 
 admitted that there was something very suspicious in thus 
 keeping secret from even their most intimate friends such a 
 very important visit. 
 
 Mr. Palmer further states that " Newman and Froude had 
 consulted at Rome (with Dr. Wiseman) upon the feasibility 
 of being received as English Churchmen into the Papal 
 Communion, retaining their doctrines." 11 This statement, 
 however, was denied by Cardinal Newman, in a note dated 
 October nth, 1883, attached to his Via Media, Vol. II., 
 p. 433. Edition 1891. Newman therein says that : — " If this 
 means that Hurrell Froude and I thought of being received 
 into the Catholic Church while we still remained outwardly 
 professing the doctrine and the communion of the Church of 
 England, I utterly deny and protest against so calumnious a 
 statement. Such an idea never entered into our heads. I 
 can speak for myself, and, as far as one man can speak for 
 another, I can answer for my dear friend also." Now this 
 statement of Newman's in the case of any ordinary man of 
 position would be considered as conclusive, but in his case 
 it is not so, and for this reason : — In his note on " Lying 
 
 9 Palmer's Narrative of Events Connected with the Tracts for the Times, p. 40. 
 Edition, 1803. 10 Ibid., p. 40. 11 Ibid., p. 73. 
 
NEWMAN ON LYING. 
 
 265 
 
 and Equivocation/' attached to his Apologia Pro Vita 
 Sua, Newman writes: — " For myself, I can fancy myself 
 thinking it was allowable in extreme cases for me to lie, but 
 never to equivocate." 12 And again he writes in the 
 same note : — " A secret is a more difficult case. Sup- 
 posing something has been confided to me in the strictest 
 secrecy, which could not be revealed without great dis- 
 advantage to another, what am I to do ? If I am a lawyer, 
 I am protected by my profession. I have a right to treat 
 with extreme indignation any question which trenches on the 
 inviolability of my position ; but, supposing I was driven tip into 
 a comer [as Newman certainly was by Palmer's statement], 
 I think I should have a right to say an untruth''' 13 If such a 
 thing happened as that which Mr. Palmer relates, then it 
 would certainly be " a great disadvantage " to the memory 
 of Hurrell Froude, as well as to himself, if Newman 
 " revealed " the truth about such an underhand proceeding ; 
 and therefore, in such a case (assuming it only to exist), 
 Newman would feel that he had " a right to say an 
 untruth " when " driven into a corner." It is evident, 
 therefore, that Newman's denial does not settle this impor- 
 tant question. 
 
 Lord Teignmouth, in his Reminiscences, mentions a 
 remarkable case of a dispensation, given with Episcopal 
 sanction, to a pervert to Popery. He says : — 
 
 " I saw the conditions on which a lady, nearly related to an intimate 
 friend of mine, a Scotch Baronet, had been received into the Romish 
 allegiance by a priest of Amiens, whom she had consulted, as sanctioned 
 by the Bishop of the Diocese. They were as follows: — that she 
 should not be required to censure the Church of England, to forego 
 the use of the authorized version of the Holy Scriptures, to abstain 
 from the domestic worship of Protestants, or to acquiesce in any form 
 of Mariolatry." 14 
 
 Fa Di Bruno's Catholic Belief has had a very large circu- 
 
 12 Afologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 360. Edition, 1889. 13 Ibid., p. 361. 
 
 u Reminiscences of Many Years, by Lord Teignmouth, Vol. II., p. 291. Edin- 
 burgh : David Douglas, 1878. 
 
266 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 lation in England. In a published letter to the author, 
 dated May 2nd, 1884, Cardinal Manning terms it "one of 
 the most complete and useful Manuals of Doctrine, Devotion, 
 and Elementary information for the instruction of those 
 who are seeking the truth." In this book is contained 
 the following question and answer, which seem to me to 
 have a very direct bearing on the possibility of a secret 
 reception of Dr. Newman into the Church of Rome, in 
 1833 :- 
 
 " Question. — Nicodemus was a disciple of Christ, though secretly - r 
 cannot I in like manner be a Catholic in heart and in secret ? " 
 
 "Answer. — Nicodemus was a disciple of Jesus Christ in secret;, 
 but he presented himself to our Lord. Begin therefore by presenting- 
 yourself to the Catholic priest, to be instructed and received into the 
 Church. After being received into the Church privately, if weighty 
 reasons in the judgment of your spiritual director justify it, such as- 
 loss of home, or property, or employment, and so long as those 
 weighty reasons last, you need not wake your Catholicity public, but 
 may attend to your Catholic duties privately." 15 
 
 The Tractarian Movement had only been in existence a 
 very short time when people began to suspect it as being in 
 reality a Romeward Movement. Within a month or two- 
 after its birth some were calling Newman a " Papist " to his 
 face. On December 22nd, 1833, he wrote to Miss Giberne : — 
 " Mr. Terrington called on me yesterday. He was very 
 kind, and said he intended to sign the Address to the 
 Archbishop, and did not call me a Papist to my face, as some 
 oilier persons have. " 16 As early as May, 1834, Keble asserted 
 privately that " Protestantism, though allowable three 
 centuries since, is dangerous now." 17 As is well known, the 
 publication of Tracts for the Times was one of the earliest 
 works undertaken by the party. Directly after their birth 
 they were denounced as containing Popish doctrines. On 
 December 7th, 1833, a clergyman wrote lamenting the 
 
 15 Catholic Belief, by the Very Rev. Joseph Faa Di Bruno, d.d., p. 230V 
 Fifth edition. 
 
 16 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 10. 17 Ibid., p. 41. 
 
NEWMAN REPUDIATES PROTESTANTISM. 
 
 267' 
 
 insertion in one of the Tracts of such expressions as " con- 
 veying the sacrifice to the people," " intrusted with the keys' 
 of heaven and hell," and " intrusted with the awful and 
 mysterious gift of making the bread and wine Christ's body 
 and blood " ; and, in view of such expressions, he closed his 
 letter with the wise and much-needed, but sadly neglected 
 warning: — "We must take care how we aid the cause of 
 Popery." 18 On June 5th, 1834, Newman complained to his 
 friend Froude : — " My Tracts were abused as Popish, as 
 for other things, so especially for expressions about the 
 Eucharist." 19 The Tracts, as they continued to appear,, 
 from time to time, until the last, in 1841, grew more and 
 more Romish in their character ; and they were supple- 
 mented by a flood of other publications written by various- 
 members of the party, of even a more Romanizing character. 
 The work of " Catholicising " the Church of England was,, 
 by these means, pushed rapidly forward. In July, 1834, 
 Newman repudiated the word " Protestant " ; 20 and even 
 six months before that time Hurrell Froude had the audacity 
 to declare : — " I am every day becoming a less and less loyal 
 son of the Reformation. It appears to me plain that in all 
 matters that seem to us indifferent or even doubtful, we 
 should conform our practices to those of the Church which 
 has preserved its traditionary practices unbroken. We 
 cannot know about any seemingly indifferent practice of the 
 Church of Rome that it is not a development of the Apostolic 
 ethos.'" 21 Already Rome was the model for the Tractarians 
 to follow. On November 5th of this year Newman did a. 
 kind act for Popery, which he has recorded in his Journal : — 
 " November 5th. — Did not read the special Gunpowder Plot 
 service." The celebrated M. Bunsen, 1835, declared that, in his- 
 opinion, the Tractarians were " introducing Popery without 
 authority." 22 In 1836 people asserted that the Tractarians- 
 
 Palmer's Narrative, p. 226. 
 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 47. 
 Froude's Remains, Vol. I., p. 336. 
 
 20 Ibid., p. 59. 
 
 22 Newman s Letters, Vol. II., p. 143. 
 
268 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 were secretly Romanists. Newman wrote on this subject to 
 Keble,and told him that people were under " the impression 
 that we are Crypto-Papists." 23 
 
 In this year Newman began to use the " Breviary " of the 
 Church of Rome. Of course the Thirty-nine Articles were 
 in the way of the success of the conspirator's plans. " I 
 am no great friend of them," wrote Newman to Perceval, 
 January nth, 1836, " and should rejoice to be able to substi- 
 tute the Creeds for them." 24 It is, indeed, something to be 
 thankful for that even down to the present time the Ritualists 
 have laboured in vain to remove these " forty stripes save 
 one " — as they have been termed — from off their backs. 
 
 It was at about this time that Newman discovered, very 
 much to his astonishment, that the early Fathers of the 
 Church looked upon the Bible as the only Rule of Faith, as 
 all good Protestants do in this nineteenth century. There 
 are several allusions to this unwelcome discovery in 
 Newman's Letters. On August gth, 1835, he w r rote to 
 Froude : — " By the bye, I am surprised more and more to 
 see how the Fathers insist on the Scriptures as the Rule of 
 Faith, even in proving the most subtle parts of the doctrine 
 of the Incarnation." 25 Again, on August 23rd, 1835, he- 
 wrote : — "The more I read of Athanasius, Theodoret, &c, 
 the more I see that the ancients did make the Scriptures 
 the basis of their belief. ... I believe it would be 
 extremely difficult to show that Tradition is ever considered 
 by them (in matters of faith) more than interpretative of 
 Scripture. . . . Again, when they met together in Council 
 they brought the witness of Tradition as a matter of fact, 
 but when they discussed the matter in Council, cleared their 
 views, &c, proved their power, they always went to Scripture 
 alone.'" 26 Two years later Newman wrote to Mr. Rogers : — 
 " The Fathers do appeal in all their controversies to Scrip- 
 tures as a final authority. When this occurs once only it 
 
 23 Newman's Letters, p. 153. 24 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. I., p. 301. 
 
 % Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 124. 20 Ibid., p. 126. 
 
NEWMAN USES IRONY. 269 
 
 may be an accident. When it occurs again and again 
 uniformly, it does invest Scripture with the character of an 
 exclusive Rule of Faith." It is, indeed, a pity that Newman 
 and his followers did not imitate the excellent example of 
 the Fathers. We have to thank him, however, for his very 
 candid acknowledgments on this gravely important subject. 
 They prove that the Fathers were thorough Protestants on 
 the question of the Rule of Faith. 
 
 Dr. Pusey's biographer states that in September, 1836, 
 Newman informed Pusey that he believed in the Sacrifice of 
 the Mass, as taught by the Council of Trent. " As to the 
 sacrificial view of the Eucharist," he wrote, " I do not see 
 that you can find fault with the formal wording of the 
 Tridentine Decree," 37 which, as every student knows, 
 teaches the Sacrifice of the Mass. At this time, says his. 
 biographer, " Pusey also acquiesced in the formal wording of 
 the Council of Trent on the subject, except so far as its 
 words were modified by the doctrines of Transubstantiation 
 and Purgatory." 23 
 
 For three years Newman and the band of followers who 
 had gathered round him, including Dr. Pusey and the Rev. 
 J. Keble, had been diligently sowing Popish tares in the 
 Church of England, and the harvest was about to commence. 
 By this time Newman had "learned to have tender feel- 
 ings " towards the Church of Rome, as he tells us ; but 
 his "Judgment was against her." It "went against my 
 feelings," he says, " to protest against the Church of 
 Rome." ~ 9 He had become an adept in the art of mystifying 
 people. "I used irony in conversation," he wrote, "when 
 matter-of-fact men would not see what I meant. This kind 
 of behaviour was a sort of habit with me" 30 "Irony" is- 
 defined in our dictionaries as "a mode of speech in which' 
 the meaning is contrary to the words," and as " dissimula- 
 
 27 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 33. » Ibid. 
 
 89 Apologia Pro Vita Sua, pp. 127, 128. First edition. ■ Ibid., p. 115. 
 
270 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 -tion" for the purposes of ridicule. But surely, when those 
 to whom this irony was addressed, as in this instance, did 
 "not see" the irony, but took the falsehood for truth, they 
 were nothing better than wilfully and shamefully deceived by 
 Newman ! Of course, for a few years, the ultimate object 
 • of the Movement was not much talked about. Its chief 
 promoter had, as he tells us, come back from Rome, early 
 in 1833, fully convinced that Protestant " Reformation 
 principles were powerless to rescue " the Church of England 
 from her existing condition; and that "there was need of 
 ; a second Reformation." 31 Three years of that "second 
 Reformation " had now passed by, and its results were highly 
 satisfactory to Newman. 
 
 " It was," he wrote, " through friends, younger, for the most part, 
 than myself, that my principles were spreading. They heard what I 
 said in conversation, and told it to others. Undergraduates in' due 
 time took their degree, and became private tutors themselves. In this 
 new status, in turn, they preached the opinions which they had already 
 learned themselves. Others went down to the country, and became 
 curates of parishes. Then they had down from London parcels of 
 the Tracts, and other publications. They placed them in the shops 
 •of local booksellers, got them into newspapers, introduced them to 
 clerical meetings, and converted more or less their Rectors and their 
 brother curates." 82 
 
 From 1836 the Tractarian march to Rome was much 
 ^nore rapid than before, and that under cover of an attack 
 upon Popery. In 1839 was proposed to erect the 
 Protestant Martyrs' Memorial at Oxford. Pusey did not 
 like it at all. He spoke strongly against it, " as unkind to 
 the Church of Rome," towards which his sympathies were 
 already being drawn out. The erection of a Monastery was 
 contemplated, and plans were being laid for the establishment 
 of Sisterhoods. The Rev. John Keble, another of the leaders, 
 had begun to hate the reformers. " Anything," he wrote 
 to Pusey, January 18th, 1839, "which separates the present 
 
 31 Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 95. First edition. 
 
 S2 ibid., p. 133. 
 
REJOICING AT ROME. 2J1 
 
 Church from the Reformers I should hail as a great good." 33 
 In Keble's opinion, at this time, the Reformers "were not 
 as a party to be trusted on ecclesiastical and theological 
 questions." 34 Long before this period the news of the 
 work going on at Oxford had reached Rome, and had 
 greatly rejoiced the heart of the Pope. The then 
 Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Bagot) heard about these Papal 
 rejoicings, and became greatly alarmed. He wrote to Pusey 
 about it : — 
 
 "There are now," he said, "friends of mine staying at Rome — 
 sensible men, too, and without gossip — and I am assured that the 
 language of the Pope (as I am informed in one instance), and that of 
 all the English Roman Catholics of rank residing there, is that of joy 
 and congratulation at the advances which are being made in Oxford 
 towards a return to the doctrines of the ' true Church.' " 35 
 
 Newman became Editor of the British Critic, and soon 
 after regretted that he had allowed in its pages "an article 
 against the Jesuits," of which he " did not like the tone " ; 36 
 which is certainly not to be wondered at, for a fellow feeling 
 makes us wondrous kind towards those whose tactics we 
 may adopt. The Rev. Isaac Williams, author of two of the 
 Tracts for the Times, in his Autobiography writes: — " I have 
 lately heard it stated from one of Newman's oldest friends, 
 Dr. Jelf, that his mind was always essentially Jesuitical." 2,1 
 
 In 1S39 ^e "second Reformation" had proceeded so far 
 that one of its disciples, the Rev. J. B. Morris, preaching 
 before Oxford University, had the audacity to teach the full 
 doctrine of the Sacrifice of the Mass, and to declare that 
 every one was an unbeliever and carnal who did not 
 believe it. 38 
 
 Early in 1840 Newman became afraid of the mischief he 
 
 33 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 71. 
 
 34 John Keble, by Walter Lock, m.a., p. 96. London, 1893. 
 
 * Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 73. 36 Apologia, p. 135. First edition 
 
 37 Autobiography of Isaac Williams, p. 54. 
 
 35 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 291. 
 
272 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 was working in the Church, though he had no repentance 
 for his wrongdoing. On January ioth he wrote to his 
 friend Bowden : — " Things are progressing steadily ; but 
 breakers ahead ! The danger of a lapse into Romanism, 
 I think, gets greater daily. I expect to hear of victims. 
 Again, I fear I see more clearly that we are working up 
 to a schism in our Church." 39 The whole tendency of the 
 Movement has been in the direction of schism. It has 
 already effectually broken up the peace of the Church of 
 England, divided her into parties, and may lead to a great 
 schism at any time. Its tendency has also been in the 
 direction of individual secession to Rome on the part of 
 those who have been too impatient to wait for Corporate 
 Reunion. Some of the Ritualistic leaders occasionally 
 boast that they keep men from going over to Rome. It 
 may be that they do keep a few here and there, for a short 
 time, but the general tendency of their work is the other 
 way. Cardinal Manning knew more about secessions to 
 Rome, and their cause, than any man in England, and this 
 is what he said about them in 1867 : — 
 
 " Every Parish Priest happily knows how empty and foolish is the 
 boast they [Ritualists] make of keeping souls from conversion. The 
 public facts of every day refute it. . . . Such teachers are, as Fuller 
 quaintly and truly says, like unskilful horsemen. They so open gates 
 as to shut themselves out, but let others through." 40 
 
 Several months later Newman saw clearly enough that 
 the work of the Tractarians was driving men to Rome, and 
 yet neither he nor they ceased their operations on that 
 account. On September 1st, 1839, ne wrote to Mr. Mann- 
 ing, the future Cardinal : "I am conscious that we are 
 raising longings and tastes which we are not allowed to 
 supply ; and till our Bishops and others give scope to the 
 development of Catholicism externally and wisely, we do 
 
 39 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 299. 
 
 49 Essays on Religion, Second Series, edited by Archbishop Manning, 
 PP- 14. r 5« 
 
NEWMAN WANTS MORE VESTMENTS. 
 
 273 
 
 tend to make impatient minds seek it where it has ever been, in 
 Rome." 41 And what remedy, it may be asked, did Newman 
 propose to Manning for the longings for more Popery which 
 they had created in the minds of their disciples ? It was 
 simply that of giving them, in the Church of England, the 
 Popery which they would otherwise go to Rome for, instead 
 of teaching them that they were under a delusion in suppos- 
 ing that Popish poison is the pure "milk of the Word.'' 
 Ritualists supply Popery in the Church of England as some 
 Irishmen supply whisky — without a license. 
 
 So Newman, in the letter just quoted, wrote to Manning: 
 — " I think that, whenever the time comes that secession to 
 Rome takes place, for which we must not be unprepared, we 
 must boldly say to the Protestant section of our Church — 
 ' You are the cause of this ; you must concede ; you must 
 conciliate, you must meet the age ; you must make the 
 Church. . . more equal to the external. Give us more 
 •services, more vestments and decorations in worship ; give us 
 Monasteries. . . Till then you will have continual seces- 
 sions to Rome." 42 Did it never, I wonder, occur to Newman 
 that Protestant Churchmen had conscientious objections to 
 •granting the Popery which he coveted for himself and his 
 followers ? Loyal Churchmen w T ill have nothing to do with 
 Popery, either within or without the Church of England. 
 
 But, as we have seen on the authority of Cardinal 
 Manning, the Ritualistic cure for longings for Popery, is, in 
 practice, an utter failure. A few months later Newman's 
 faith in the Church of Rome had greatly increased, for he 
 nad come to fear that she was the only body capable of 
 resisting the devil. " I begin," he wrote, " to have serious 
 apprehensions lest any religious body is strong enough to 
 ■withstand the league of evil but the Roman Church. At the 
 end of the first millenary it withstood the fury of Satan, and 
 now the end of the second is drawing on. - " 43 By the end of 
 
 41 TurceH's Life of Manning, Vol. I., p. 233. 42 Ibid. 
 
 43 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 300. 
 
 18 I 
 
274 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the year he thought " Rome the centre of unity " ; 44 and yet 
 for another five years he kept away from that centre. At 
 this period he not only "wished for union between the 
 Anglican Church and Rome," but he also went so far as to- 
 do what he could "to gain weekly prayers for that object " ; 
 and drew up forms of prayer for union to be used by his 
 disciples. 15 At this time a Roman priest, the Hon. and 
 Rev. George Spencer, was also urging the offering of prayers 
 with the same aim. With this object in view, Mr. Spencer 
 paid a visit to Newman, in 1S40. With reference to this 
 visit Newman writes :— "So glad in my heart was I to see 
 him [Spencer] when he came to my rooms, whither Mr. 
 Palmer, of Magdalen, brought him, that I could have laughed 
 for joy ; I think I did." Newman, however, thought it best 
 to disguise the joy he felt, and therefore, when Mr. Spencer 
 came he was "very rude to him," and "would not meet 
 him at dinner." 40 The Oxford Tractarians frequently 
 visited the Continent, on holiday tours, and while there- 
 cultivated the good opinion of foreign Roman Catholics,, 
 and in this they were encouraged by their leaders. In the- 
 autumn of 1S40 Mr. James R. Hope-Scott was travelling 
 thus abroad, when he received a letter from Dr. Pusey.. 
 containing the following paragraph : — " I am very glad that 
 you are seeing so much of the Rfoman] C[atholics]. One 
 wishes that they knew more of our Church, and we more of 
 y e better among them." 47 At home the Rev. William George 
 Ward, who subsequently succeeded Newman as the leader 
 of the advanced Tractarians, was diligently engaged in the 
 studv of Roman Catholic books of theology. He preferred 
 them to the early Fathers. "Both in ascetics and in 
 dogmatics," writes Mr. Ward's son, "the Jesuits were his 
 favourite reading" 48 at this period. We need not wonder 
 
 « Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 319. 
 
 ** Apologia, pp. 222, 224. First edition. 46 Ibid., p. 224. 
 
 « Memoirs of James R. Hope-Scott, Vol I., p. 239. 
 
 « William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 146. First edition. 
 
TRACT XC. 275 
 
 at this now, though at the time it was kept strictly secret. 
 What an excitement it would have caused in 1840, had it 
 been publicly known that the favourite study of one of the 
 leaders of the Tractarians was the writings of the Jesuits ! 
 That kind of study is far more common now amongst 
 modern Ritualists than it was fifty-six years since, and the 
 Romeward Movement is now far more under Jesuitical 
 influence than ever it has been hitherto. Mr. James R. 
 Hope-Scott, during the visit to the Continent just mentioned, 
 frequently visited the Jesuits at Rome, and in his now 
 published letters shows how any feeling which he may have 
 entertained against them gradually wore itself away. On March 
 27th, 1841, he wrote to his brother: — "The General of the 
 Jesuits I continue to visit, and am grown very fond of him." 4<J 
 The most memorable event of the year 1841 was the 
 publication of Newman's celebrated "Tract XC." A large 
 volume might now be written about its contents and its 
 history. It was a plea for the lawfulness of teaching in the 
 Church of England many Roman Catholic doctrines, as 
 taught authoritatively in that Church, on the ground that 
 they were not opposed by the Thirty-nine Articles, and it was 
 at the same time a very daring attempt to " Catholicise " 
 the Church of England in the interests of the great scheme 
 for Corporate Reunion with Rome. The best description of 
 the objects of Tract XC. seems to me to be that given by the 
 four Oxford Tutors, directly after it was published. One of 
 the Tutors was the Rev. A. C. Tait, afterwards Archbishop 
 of Canterbury. 
 
 " The Tract has," wrote the Tutors, " in our apprehension, a highly 
 dangerous tendency, from its suggesting that certain very important 
 errors of the Church of Rome are not condemned by the Articles of the 
 Church of England — for instance, that those Articles do not contain 
 any condemnation of the doctrines — 
 
 " r. Of Purgatory. 
 
 " 2. Of Pardons. 
 
 « Memoirs of J. R. Hope-Scott, Vol. I., p. 266. 
 
 18 * 
 
276 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 "3. Of the Worshipping and Adoration of Images and relics. 
 
 " 4. Of the Invocation of Saints. 
 
 " 5. Of the Mass. 
 " as they are taught authoritatively by the Church of Rome, but only 
 of certain absurd practices and opinions which intelligent Romanists 
 repudiate as much as we do. It is intimated, moreover, that the 
 Declaration prefixed to the Articles, as far as it has any weight at all, 
 sanctions this mode of interpreting them, as it is one which takes 
 them in their ' literal and grammatical sense,' and does not 1 affix any 
 new sense to them.' The Tract would thus appear to us to have a 
 tendency to mitigate beyond what charity requires, and to the prejudice 
 of the pure truth of the Gospel, the very serious differences which 
 separate the Church of Rome from our own, and to shake the confidence 
 of the less learned members of the Church of England in the Scrip- 
 tural character of her formularies and her teaching." 50 
 
 Four days after this Protest had been made by the four 
 Tutors, the Hebdomadal Board of Oxford University con- 
 demned the Tract, on the ground that " modes of interpreta- 
 tion, such as are suggested in the said Tract, evading rather 
 than explaining the sense of the Thirty-nine Articles, and 
 reconciling subscription to them with the adoption of errors 
 which they were designed to counteract, defeat the object, 
 and are inconsistent with the due observance of the above 
 mentioned Statutes." 51 
 
 Archbishop Tait never regretted the part he took in con- 
 demning Tract XC. In 1880, he said : — " Were it all to 
 happen again I think I should, in the same position, do 
 exactly as I did then." 52 Newman's friend, the Rev. Isaac 
 Williams, says : — " Many have naturally supposed that it 
 was the condemnation of the Tract No. XC, by the Heads 
 of Houses, which gave his [Newman's] sensitive mind the 
 decided turn to the Church of Rome. But I remember 
 circumstances which indicated that it was not so. He talked 
 to me of writing a Tract on the Thirty-nine Articles, and at 
 the same time said things in favour of the Church of Rome 
 
 50 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. I., pp. 81, 82. First edition. 
 « Ibid., p. 84. 52 Ibid., p. 87. 
 
"WE OUGHT TO JOIN" ROME. 
 
 277 
 
 which quite startled and alarmed me." 53 Two pages later on 
 Mr. Williams writes : — "Nothing had as yet impaired our 
 intimacy and friendship, until one evening, 31 when alone in 
 his rooms, he told me he thought the Church of Rome was 
 right, and we were wrong, so much so, that we ought to join 
 it. To this I said that if our own Church improved, as we 
 hoped, and the Church of Rome also would reform itself, it 
 seemed to hold out the prospect of reunion. And then 
 everything seemed favourably progressing beyond what we 
 could have dared to hope in the awakening of religion, and 
 reformation among ourselvas. That mutual repentance 
 must, by God's blessing, tend to mutual restoration and 
 union. ' No/ he said, ' St. Augustine would not allow of 
 this argument, as regarded the Donatists. You must come 
 cut and be separate. ' " 55 This argument from the conduct 
 of the Donatists was not then for the first time adopted by 
 Newman. In connection with it the essentially Jesuitical 
 and double-dealing tactics of Newman are again clearly 
 revealed. In a "private" letter to the Rev. J. B. Mozley, 
 November 24th, 1843, he wrote : — 
 
 " Last summer four years (1S39) came strongly upon me, from 
 reading first the Monophysite controversy, and then turning to the 
 
 63 Autobiography of Isaac Williams, p. 108. 
 
 w The editor of the A utobiography says that "this conversation took place 
 after the publication of Tract No. XC." ; but I venture to assert that, but for 
 this note, no reader of the Autobiography would think otherwise than that the 
 speech was made before the publication of Tract XC. The editor, writing long 
 after the death of Williams, makes an assertion, but emits to give any proof of 
 it. On the other hand there is clear evidence that Williams's interview with 
 Newman must have taken place somewhere about this date. Tract XC. was 
 published February 27th, 1S41 ; and Newman withdrew to Littlemore in 
 February, 1842. Now Williams states : — " When he[Xewman] shut himself up 
 in his Monastery at Littlemore, and previously during the latter part of his stay 
 at Oxford, I was able to withdraw myself from him." The interview referred 
 to must have therefore taken place some time before Newman left Oxford, and 
 therefore in the year 184 1. In either case it makes little, or no difference 
 in Newman's essentially dishonest and dishonourable position at that time. 
 An honest man, holding the opinions Newman then expressed to Williams, 
 would at once have seceded to Rome, and not wait till 1S45. 
 
 83 Ibid., pp. 110, in. 
 
278 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Donatist, that we were external to the Catholic Church. I have never 
 got over this. I did not, however, yield to it at all, but wrote an article 
 in the British Critic on the Catholicity of the English Church, which 
 had the effect of quieting me for two years. Since this time two 
 years the feeling has revived and gradually strengthened. I have all 
 along gone against it, and think I ought to do so still. I am now 
 publishing sermons, which speak more confidently about our position 
 than I inwardly feel; but I think it right, and do not care for seeming 
 inconsistent." 5G 
 
 This " inconsistency," or double-dealing, or Jesuitism, or 
 whatever it may be called, was only a part and parcel of 
 his ordinary conduct at this time. His friend Isaac Williams 
 says that " the feelings and thoughts he [Newman] would 
 express to one person or at one time, differed very much in 
 consequence from what he might express to another or on 
 another occasion " ; and he adds that it " was long before 
 it was publicly known what Newman's thoughts really were, 
 And he was for some time accused by some of dishonesty 
 and duplicity." 57 He was working in the dark, yet actively 
 carrying on the secret underground conspiracy to bring back 
 the Church of England to Rome. In his pamphlet entitled 
 a Letter to the Bishop of Oxford on Occasion of Tract XC, 
 dated March 29th, 1841, Newman wrote of: — "The ines- 
 timable privileges I feel in being a member of that Church 
 over which your lordship, with others, presides " (p. 33) ; 
 " the Church which your lordship rules is a Divinely 
 ordained channel of supernatural grace to the souls of her 
 members " (p. 34) ; and " I consider the Church over which 
 your lordship presides to be the Catholic Church in this 
 country" (p. 34). And yet, for two years before writing 
 this he had come, as we have just seen, to hold the opinion 
 that those who were inside the Church of England " were 
 external to the Catholic Church " ! In this same Letter to 
 the Bishop of Oxford, Newman further asserted that " it is 
 very plain that the English Church is at present on God's 
 
 56 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 430. 
 W Williams's Autobiography, pp. 112, 113. 
 
WARD'S ROMANIZING DOCTRINES. 279 
 
 side" (p. 39); and that, "Did God visit us with large 
 measures of His grace, and the Roman Catholics also, they 
 would be drawn to us, and would acknowledge our Church 
 as the Catholic Church in this country " (p. 44). It is hard, 
 yea, impossible, I venture to submit, to reconcile such 
 statements as these, with those Newman had already made 
 in writing to his confidential friends. Soon after the 
 publication of the pamphlet just cited, the Rev. W. G. Ward 
 wrote to Dr. Pusey as follows : — " I have heard Newman 
 say that it is, to say the least, doubtful whether there can 
 be said to be a valid Sacrament administered unless the 
 priest adds mentally what our Eucharistic Service omits." 58 
 On reading this, I cannot help asking myself whether we 
 have in it a key to the fact that in almost all our advanced 
 Ritualistic Churches private prayers are said, by the 
 officiating clergyman, during the Communion Service, 
 which are not required by the Book of Common Prayer. 
 Are they intended to make a doubtful consecration certainly 
 valid, by adding "mentally what our Eucharistic Service 
 omits" ? 
 
 Very advanced Romanizing doctrines were at this time 
 secretly held by many of the Tractarians, who, it may be 
 remarked in passing, were then becoming known as 
 Puseyites. Even as early as July, 1841, Mr. Ward, writing 
 to Dr. Pusey, stated that : — 
 
 "There are many persons who, on the one hand, do not accuse 
 the Reformers of disingenuousness, and yet, on the other, consider 
 the following doctrines and practices allowed by the Articles : — 
 (1) Invocation of Saints ; (2) Veneration of Images and Relics ; (3) An 
 intermediate state of purification with pain; 59 (4) The Reservation 
 of the Host ; (5) The Elevation of the Host ; (6) The Infallibility of 
 some General Councils ; (7) The doctrine of desert by congruity, in 
 the received Roman sense ; (8) The doctrine that the Church ought 
 io enforce Celibacy on the clergy." 60 
 
 58 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 177. 
 
 59 That is, a Purgatory. 
 
 co William George Ward and the Oxford Movemet, p. 176. 
 
280 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 If only the majority of the Church of England could 
 have been induced to accept the views of these advanced 
 Romanizers, she would soon have been sufficiently 
 " Catholicised " for reunion with the Papacy. Nothing 
 would have delighted Ward more than such a result. 
 " Restoration of active communion with the Roman Church 
 is," he wrote to a friend, in 1841, "the most enchanting 
 earthly prospect on which my imagination can dwell." 01 
 The Romanizers evidently thought they were, even then, 
 within a measurable distance of the realization of their 
 hopes. So full of expectation were they that they could 
 not keep the good news to themselves. Their Roman 
 Catholic brethren on the continent must be let into the 
 secret. So an anonymous letter was sent soon after 
 Tract XC. appeared, for publication to the Roman Catholic 
 Univers of Paris. The author's name was suppressed for 
 obvious reasons, but it is now known that the author was 
 the Rev. W. G. Ward, and that it was translated for him 
 into French by Mr. J. D. Dalgairns, of Exeter College, 
 Oxford. From this very remarkable and thoroughly 
 Jesuitical letter, I give the following extracts : — 
 
 " You see, then, sir, that humility, the first condition of every sound 
 reform, is not wanting in us. We are little satisfied with our position. 
 We groan at the sins committed by our ancestors in separating from 
 the Catholic world. We experience a burning desire to be reunited 
 to our brethren. We love with unfeigned affection the Apostolic See, 
 which we acknowledge to be the head of Christendom ; and the more 
 so because the Church of Rome is our mother, which sent from her 
 bosom the blessed St. Augustine, to bring us her immovable faith. 
 We admit also, that it is not our formularies, nor even the Council of 
 Trent, which prevent our union. After all these concessions, you 
 may ask me, why, then, do you not rejoin us ? What is it that 
 prevents you ? . . . 
 
 "There are at this moment, in the Anglican Church, a crowd of 
 persons who balance between Protestantism and Catholicism, and 
 who, nevertheless, would reject with horror the very idea of a union 
 with Rome. The Protestant prejudices, which, for three hundred 
 
 w William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 142. 
 
"THE NAME OF ROME PRONOUNCED WITH REVERENCE." 281 
 
 years, have infected our Church, are unhappily too deeply rooted 
 there to be extirpated without a great deal of address. [Did he not 
 really mean sly cunning ?] We must, then, offer in sacrifice to God 
 this ardent desire which devours us of seeing once more the perfect 
 unity of the Church of Christ. We must still bear the terrible void 
 which the isolation of our Church creates in our hearts, and remain 
 still till it pleases God to convert the hearts of our Anglican confreres, 
 especially of our holy fathers, the bishops. We are destined, I am 
 persuaded, to bring lack many wandering sheep to the knowledge of 
 the truth. In fact, the progress of Catholic opinions in England, for 
 the last seven years, is so inconceivable that no hope should appear 
 extravagant. Let us, then, remain quiet for some years, till, by 
 God's blessing, the ears of Englishmen are become 
 accustomed to hear the name of rome pronounced with 
 reverence. At the end of this term you will soon see the fruits of 
 our patience." 62 
 
 The publication of this traitorous letter very naturally 
 created a great deal of public excitement. It was trans- 
 lated into German and Italian, and widely circulated on 
 the continent, where it produced great joy in the Roman 
 camp. A Mr. Hamilton Gray of Magdalene College, 
 Oxford, wrote to the Univers to say that the letter was not 
 written by any member of the Tractarian party, but by 
 either a Low Churchman or a Romanist. Its authorship is 
 now, however, placed beyond question by the publication 
 of Mr. Ward's life by his son, who tells us that " the 
 fact remained that its sentiments were not disclaimed by 
 the representatives of the ' extreme ' party, and a pro- 
 gramme far more bold and outspoken than anything in 
 Tract XC. was thus practically known to be in contemplation 
 for moving the Anglican Church in a Romeward direction. 63 
 
 Secret negotiations were entered into with Dr. Wiseman, 
 and the conditions of Corporate Reunion with Rome were 
 discussed with him, at Oscott College. One of the plans 
 then discussed was a secret affiliation of the advanced 
 Tractarians with the Roman Catholic Fathers of Charity, 
 
 K Catholic Magazine, March, 1841, as quoted in Bricknell's Judgment of the 
 Bishops, pp. 67S-S0. 63 IV. G. Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 190. 
 
^82 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the Tractarians, apparently, to remain all the while in 
 .communion with the Church of England Mr. Wilfrid 
 Ward tells us that " Mr. Phillipps [a prominent Roman 
 •Catholic] had urged that the Fathers of Charity, the Order 
 of the great Italian Reformer Antonio Rosmini, then 
 represented in England by the excellent and pious Father 
 <jentili, should open their Order at once to the Oxford 
 .school, and adapt its rules to their position and ante- 
 cedents." 64 The scheme came to nothing, so far as the 
 public are aware, and it is asserted by Mr. Wilfrid Ward 
 that it " met with no encouragement from Newman or 
 from any responsible members of the party." But that 
 it should be seriously discussed at all is in itself sufficiently 
 startling, and proves how far gone in deception those were 
 who desired such a secret affiliation with a Roman Catholic 
 •Order. 
 
 Dr. Pusey's Romeward tendencies were rapidly developing. 
 In this year he visited several Roman Catholic Convents in 
 Ireland, with a view to starting Anglican Convents in 
 England. One of his disciples, the Rev. E. Churton, sent 
 .him an indignant letter of protest on his attitude towards the 
 .advanced Romanizers. " Instead of controlling the ebulli- 
 tions of the young wrong-heads, you have suffered yourselves 
 to be inoculated with their frenzies. . . . You have let them 
 get ahead of you and drag you after them. Hence your 
 proposal of reviving Monastic Life, and your very unfortunate 
 appearance at Dublin [to visit Romish Convents], which has 
 so deeply perplexed our best allies there. ... As for 
 yourselves, that which has compelled me, most unwillingly, 
 to forsake that entire union with you in which I found so 
 much comfort, has been that you have seemed to treat these 
 excesses as if they were providential indications for your 
 guidance, and thought it a kind of 'quenching the Spirit' 
 to keep them within rule and order." 65 In reply to this 
 
 64 W. G. Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 190. 
 63 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 269. 
 
"A SECRET LONGING LOVE OF ROME." 283 
 
 very outspoken communication, Dr. Pusey sent a letter 
 to Mr. Churton which must now be considered as far 
 from satisfactory. He mentioned what he termed " the 
 unnaturalness of our present insulated state, separated 
 from the rest of the East and West"; but he declared 
 that " there is no wish for a premature union ; it is only 
 wished and longed and prayed for that we may both become 
 •such, that we may safely be united." "As to Monasticism," 
 he continued, " I have long [how "long" I wonder] strongly 
 thought that we needed something of this sort ; it is not 
 Romanish but primitive. ... I think it would be a great 
 folessing to our Church to have some such institutions." 66 
 Dr. Pusey's judgment was directly opposed to that of the 
 Church of England as to Monastic Orders, as anyone can 
 •see for himself who reads her " Homily On Good Works," 
 Part Third, in w r hich she terms them, in no complimentary 
 language, "superstitious and pharisaical sects, by Antichrist 
 invented." Early in 1842, the Bishop of Salisbury (Dr. E. 
 Denison), High Churchman though he was, became alarmed 
 at the spread of Romanizing principles in the Church of 
 England, and indignant at the conduct of Dr. Pusey, to 
 whom he wrote on March 9th, 1842 : — " Will you also allow 
 one to say how much I regret that you either have not felt 
 disposed or not at liberty to express any strong disapproval 
 of the language about our own Church and that of Rome 
 which has been used in various publications, and has 
 (naturally excited a very strong and general sensation." 67 
 While labouring for Corporate Reunion with Rome, Pusey 
 bitterly opposed any union between the Church of England 
 and the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Newman's love for Popery was also growing rapidly. He 
 tells us that : — " In spite of my ingrained fears of Rome, and 
 the decision of my reason and conscience against her usages 
 [he does not say her doctrines], in spite of my affection for 
 Oxford and Oriel, yet I had a secret longing love of Rome, the 
 66 Ibid., p. 271. « ibid., p. 2S1. 
 
284 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Mother of English Christianity, and I had a true devotion 
 to the Virgin Mary." 08 He considered that the Anglican 
 Church " must have a ceremonial, a ritual, and a fulness of 
 doctrine and devotion, which it had not at present, if it were 
 to compete with the Roman Church with any prospect of 
 success. . . . Such, for instance, would be Confraternities, 
 particular devotions, reverence for the Blessed Virgin, 
 prayers for the dead, beautiful churches, munificent offerings 
 to them and in them, Monastic Houses, and many other 
 observances and Institutions, which I used to say belonged 
 to us as much as to Rome." 69 This was a very extensive 
 Ritualistic " Plan of Campaign" ; but I fear that I cannot — 
 judging by the evidence which I have already produced — give 
 Newman credit for any very warm desire that the Church 
 of England should " compete with the Roman Church with 
 any prospect of success." He wanted, not competition, but 
 peace and union between the Churches. It is true that he 
 made some efforts to keep people from going over to Rome ; 
 but what was his object in doing so ? To a Roman Catholic 
 correspondent he wrote, on April 8th, 1841 : — " It is my 
 trust, though I must not be too sanguine, that we shall not 
 have individual members of our communion going over to 
 yours." 70 A month later he explained the reason for this 
 opposition to individual secession, in another letter to a 
 Roman Catholic : — " We are keeping people from you," he 
 wrote, " by supplying their wants in our own Church. We are 
 keeping persons from you : do you wish us to keep them from 
 you for a time or for ever ? It rests with you to determine. I 
 do not fear that you will succeed among us ; you will not 
 supplant our Church in the affections of the English nation ; 
 
 ONLY THROUGH THE > ENGLISH CHURCH CAN YOU ACT 
 
 upon the English nation. I wish, of course, our Church 
 should be consolidated, with and through and in your com- 
 munion, for its sake, and your sake, and for the sake of unity." 7i 
 
 68 Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 165. Edition, 1889. 
 
 69 Ibid., p. 166 70 Ibid., p. 188. n Ibid., p. iqt. 
 
ROMANIZING DOCTRINES. 
 
 285 
 
 So that, after all, Newman did not wish to keep the 
 English people from Rome " for ever," but only " for a 
 time," during which Rome should have a chance to " act 
 upon the English nation" in her own interests! Are not 
 these the sly tactics carried on by the majority of the 
 Ritualists in our own day? In 1843, Newman, as we 
 have already stated, publicly withdrew the denunciations 
 of Rome which during the previous ten years he had 
 uttered, as so many " dirty w r ords." In the same year 
 many of the early friends of the Tractarian Movement began 
 to be alarmed at the rapid progress which their followers 
 were making towards Rome, and some of them withdrew 
 from the party on that account : of these, the most prominent 
 was the Rev. William Palmer, who had worked for the 
 Movement since its commencement in 1833. He published 
 the reasons for his withdrawal in a pamphlet entitled, A 
 Narrative of Events connected with the Publication of the Tracts 
 for the Times, with Reflections on the Existing Tendencies to 
 Romanism. This pamphlet, with additions, was re-issued by 
 its author, in 1883. In the course of it Mr. Palmer gives 
 ample proof of the Romish tendency of the Movement, as 
 it then existed, by a series of extracts from the writings of 
 its leaders, whose principles, he affirmed, " tend to the 
 restoration of Romanism in its fullest extent, and the total 
 subversion of the Reformation." 72 From these extracts I 
 select the following : — 
 
 " We talk of the blessings of 1 emancipation from the Papal yoke,' 
 and use other phrases of a like bold and undutiful tenour. We trust, 
 of course, that active and visible union with the See of Rome is not 
 of the essence of the Church ; at the same time we are deeply con- 
 scious that in lacking it, far from asserting a right, we forego a great 
 privilege." ' 3 
 
 " [The Pope is] the earthly representative of her [the Church's] 
 Divine Head." 
 
 72 Palmer's Narrative, p. 165. Edition, 18S3. 
 
 K Ibid., p. 161. 
 
286 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 "The Holy See [is] the proper medium of communion with the 
 Catholic Church." 74 
 
 This tendency to Romanism does not appear to have- 
 given any alarm to such well-known members of the party as- 
 the Rev. John Keble and Mr. Gladstone. The former, on 
 May 14th, 1843, wrote to Newman : — " Certainly there is a 
 great yearning even after Rome in many parts of the Church, 
 which seems to be accompanied with so much good that one 
 hopes, if it be right, it will be allowed to gain strength ." 75 If 
 Keble were at that time a truly loyal son of the Reformed 
 Church of England, would he have rejoiced at this " great 
 yearning even after Rome," and have hoped that it would 
 gain strength " ? Of course this was written in confidence,, 
 and Keble never could have anticipated that it would ever 
 have been made public, or there can be no doubt he would 
 have written with greater caution. In the Foreign and 
 Colonial Quarterly Review for October, 1843, Mr. Gladstone 
 wrote an article on " The Present State of the Church," in 
 which he admitted that there were at that period, within the 
 Church of England — 
 
 "Propagators of Catholic tenets and usages, who do not scrup'le to* 
 denounce Protestantism as a principle of unmixed evil ; in whom the 
 attraction of the Church's essential Catholicity is sufficient, but only 
 just sufficient, to overcome the repulsive force of the Protestant 
 elements admitted into her institutions ; and who do not dissemble 
 that, in their view, Rome, if not a true normal pattern of Christianity, 
 is yet the best existing standard, and one to which we ought to seek 
 to conform. Rome, who is always at our gates as a foe, though in her 
 legitimate sphere she be also an elder sister. With this foe they 
 parley, and in the hearing of the people on the wall. At the same 
 time they relentlessly pursue, with rebuke and invective, the Protestant 
 name." 76 
 
 One would have supposed that Mr. Gladstone would have 
 recommended that such a set of traitors should at once have 
 been turned out of the Church in disgrace. That is what 
 
 7 4 Palmer's Narrative, p. 163. 75 Lock's John Keble, p. 120. 
 
 " 6 Gladstone's Gleanings of Past Years, Vol. V., p. 66. 
 
"the holy example" of the romanizers. 287- 
 
 thev richly deserved. But, unfortunately, he heaped up praise 
 on the traitors, and hoped they would not go over to Rome, 
 but remain in the Church of England, and "enlighten it"' 
 by their " holy example." 
 
 "Although," wrote Mr. Gladstone, "we carefully distinguish this 
 section from the legitimate Catholic development, of which we believe 
 it to be an exaggeration, we rejoice that ihese excellent persons abide in 
 the Church, to enlighten it by the holy example of their lives. We- 
 re jo ice that they feel the awful responsibility of that condemnation,- 
 which they would undertake to pronounce against her, by the act of 
 quitting her communion." " 
 
 And what was " the holy example " which these men were 
 showing to the Church ? A few weeks after Mr. Gladstone 
 thus held them up for admiration, they were described by 
 Mr. Newman, who knew them better than any man living,, 
 as men "who feel they can with a safe conscience- 
 remain with us [i.e., in the Church of England], while they 
 are allowed to testify in behalf of Catholicism, and to pro- 
 mote its interests, i.e., as if by such acts they were putting 
 our Church, or at least a portion of it, in which they are 
 included, in the position of Catechumens. They think they 
 may stay, while they arc moving themselves, others, nay, say the 
 whole Church, towards Rome."' 3 
 
 The publication of Mr. Palmer's pamphlet led to the 
 Rev. William George Ward writing his notorious and ; 
 Romanizing work entitled, the Ideal of a Christian Church, 
 which was avowedly a reply to Mr. Palmer. Mr. Ward, 
 shortly before the time when he wrote the Ideal, having 
 heard that the Rev. R. \Y. Sibthorp had left the Church 
 of Rome, and returned to the Church of England, of which 
 he had at one time been an ordained Minister, was greatly 
 annoyed, and vented his indignation in a letter to Mr. 
 Phillipps, a Roman Catholic, in these terms: — "By this 
 time you have doubtless heard of Mr. Sibthorp's step.. 
 
 ~ ibid., p. 70. 
 
 - s Memoirs of James R. Hcpc-Scoit, Vol. II., p. 25. 
 
288 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 How unspeakably dreadful : it makes one sick to think of 
 it. . . . His reception among us [Tractarians] will be, I 
 fully expect, of the most repulsive character ; I for one shall 
 decline any intercourse with him whatever." 79 
 
 That Romanizing tendencies existed in the Church of 
 England Mr. Ward candidly acknowledged, and even 
 expressed his joy at the fact. In his Ideal he quotes, as 
 accurate, the statement of the Christian Remembrancer, for 
 November, 1843 (the quarterly organ of the Tractarians), 
 which affirmed that the "tendencies to Rome" were 
 " deeply seated and widely spreading" ; and that members 
 of the party were "by hundreds straggling towards Rome." 80 
 In this same Ideal Mr. Ward, referring to the Twelfth of 
 the Thirty-nine Articles, declared : — " I subscribe it myself 
 in a non-natural sense." At page 565 he wrote : — " We 
 find, oh most joyful, most wonderful, most unexpected 
 sight ! we find the whole cycle of Roman doctrine gradually 
 possessing numbers of English Churchmen." At page 567 
 lie wrote : — " Three years have passed, since I said plainly, 
 that in subscribing the Articles, I renounce no one Roman 
 doctrine" 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that disloyal utterances 
 such as these raised a hurricane of indignant opposition in 
 the Church. It would have been a lasting disgrace to her 
 had such statements been allowed to pass unchallenged. 
 On November 10th, 1844, Mr. Ward was summoned to 
 appear before the Vice-Chancellor of the University of 
 Oxford. When he appeared he was asked whether he 
 denied the authorship of the Ideal of a Christian Church; 
 and whether he disavowed certain passages in the book? 
 Mr. Ward replied, asking for more time before he answered 
 these questions. This was granted to him. He again 
 .appeared before the Vice-Chancellor on December 3rd, 
 when, acting under legal advice, he refused to answer the 
 
 ? 9 W. G. Ward and the Oxford Movement, pp. 201, 202. 
 
 80 Ward's Ideal of a Christian Church, p. 566. Second edition. 
 
PUSEY'S EULOkY OF TltE JESUITS. 
 
 289 
 
 questions. On December 13th, notice was given that at a 
 Convocation to be held on February 13th, 1845, certain 
 propositions would be placed before Convocation, two of 
 which were as follows : — 
 
 (1) "That the passages now read from a book entitled the Ideal of 
 a Clir'istian Church Co?isidercd, are utterly inconsistent with the 
 Articles of Religion of the Church of England, and with the declara- 
 tion in respect of those Articles made and subscribed by William 
 George Ward previously and in order to his being admitted to the 
 degrees of B.A. and M.A. respectively, and with the good faith of 
 him, the said William George Ward, in respect of such declaration 
 and subscription." 
 
 (2) " That the said William George Ward has disentitled himself 
 to the rights and privileges conveyed by the said degrees, and is 
 hereby degraded from the said degrees of B.A. and M.A. respectively." 
 
 The announcement of this proposed action in Convocation 
 created intense excitement throughout the Church of 
 England, and raised the anger of the advanced Tractarians 
 — including Dr. Pusey and Mr. Gladstone — to a boiling 
 state. The attitude of Dr. Hook towards the book was 
 very remarkable. First of all, he declared that Ward had 
 " maligned the English Church for the purpose of eulogizing 
 that of Rome." 81 Dr. Pusey informed him that although he 
 " did not agree with the book," yet that — ■ 
 
 " Ward is really very greatly benefiting the Church by his practical 
 suggestions and opening people's eyes to amend things. It is 
 shocking to think of ' degrading ' one by whom we are benefiting." 8:3 
 
 At first Hook decided not to vote at all on the question 
 to be brought before Convocation. Dr. Pusey's publications, 
 more especially his praise of Ignatius Loyola, the founder 
 of the Jesuits, had greatly displeased him. 
 
 " I do honestly confess," he wrote to Pusey, "that the publication 
 of Romish Methodism by yourself, and your eulogy of the founder 
 of the Jesuits, had some influence upon my mind, and makes me 
 pause as a strong, deeided, vehement Anti-Romanist. These 
 publieations and the legendary Lives of the Saints will have the 
 
 81 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vcl. II., p. 415. 82 R)id ^ p 42I _ 
 
 19 
 
2Q0 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 same effect in England as the fanatical movement in France 5 they 
 will make men decided Infidels." 83 
 
 On February 13th Ward appeared before the Convocation, 
 and made a defence of his book, after which it was 
 condemned by a majority of 391 votes ; his degradation 
 was affirmed by a majority of 58 only. At the same 
 meeting of the Convocation a proposal was made to 
 censure Tract XC, and there can be no doubt that it 
 would have been carried were it not that the Proctors rose 
 and vetoed the motion, which consequently had to be 
 abandoned. One of the Proctors afterwards was promoted 
 to the Deanery of St. Paul's (Dr. Church), and even 
 received the offer of the Archbishopric of Canterbury on the 
 death of Dr. Tait. 
 
 Dr. Hook and Mr. Gladstone both voted against 
 the condemnation of Mr. Ward's book, and against his 
 degradation. Mr. Gladstone's vote was given after a careful 
 study of the Ideal of a Christian Church. In the December, 
 1844, issue of the Quarterly Review he had written a lengthy 
 review of the book, in which, while he criticised many of 
 Mr. Ward's statements, and expressed his dissent from them, 
 he at the same time gave expression to his own views of 
 Mr. Ward's attitude towards Rome in terms which gave 
 great offence to loyal Churchmen. 
 
 "We are prepared to contend," wrote Mr. Gladstone, "that 
 even those who may be influenced more or less by the sympathies 
 which Mr. Ward has avowed for Romish opinions, and by his 
 antipathy to the proceedings taken at the Reformation, are in 
 no degree thereby released from their obligation to continue in 
 the communion of the Church. If their private judgment prefers 
 the religious system of the Church of Rome to their own, and 
 even holds the union of the English Church with Rome to be 
 necessary to her perfection as a Church, yet, so long as they 
 cannot deny that she is their spiritual parent and guide ordained 
 of God. they owe to her not merely adhesion, but allegiance. . . . 
 The doctrine that such persons ought to quit the pale of the Church, 
 
 83 Life of Dr. Puscy, Vol. II., p. 431. 
 
DR. HOOK ON SECESSION TO ROME. 2gl 
 
 in our view both drives them upon sin, and likewise constitutes 
 an unwarrantable invasion of the liberty which the Church herself 
 has intended for them." 84 
 
 I venture to submit that Mr. Gladstone's argument would 
 not be accepted in the Army. If, in a time of warfare, it 
 were discovered that some of the officers in a citadel pre- 
 ferred the rule of the enemy to that of their own sovereign, 
 and at the same time were actively at work for the purpose 
 of handing over the whole citadel to the enemy, the 
 authorities would soon deal with the traitors in a very 
 different manner from that suggested by Mr. Gladstone for 
 the traitor officers of the Church Militant. It would not be 
 thought " an unwarrantable invasion of the liberty " of those 
 officers to treat them as they deserved ; indeed, it would be 
 considered a bounden duty to deprive them at once of their 
 commissions in the army, and turn them out of it in 
 disgrace. 
 
 It must not be supposed that Dr. Hook's vote in defence 
 of Ward was the result of any wish on his part to aid 
 in the reunion of the Church of England with the Papacy. 
 Individual or corporate reunion with Rome was ever an 
 abomination to Hook, who, in his later years, fought most 
 vigorously against the more advanced Romanizers. At the 
 close of the year 1844 he viewed with horror the thought 
 that Newman might secede, and rejoiced when he heard a 
 rumour that he would not go over. In this cheerful frame 
 of mind he wrote to Dr. Pusey : — 
 
 " I am so glad and thankful that Newman has been saved from 
 this downfall: may he be still preserved from the fangs of Satan. 
 Although I am quite convinced that the number of Romanizers is very 
 small, yet there are several persons who would follow Newman, and I 
 should myself fear that any person going from light to darkness would 
 endanger his salvation. I should fear that it would be scarcely 
 possible for anyone who should apostatize from the only true Church 
 of God in this country to the Popish sect, to escape perdition j having 
 
 84 Gladstone's Gleanings, Vol. V., pp. 152, 153. 
 
 ig * 
 
292 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 yielded to Satan in one temptation he will go on sinking deeper and 
 deeper into the bottomless pit." 85 
 
 In this letter Dr. Hook further asserted that Rome is 
 identical with Antichrist, and that " Romanism is preparing 
 the way for infidelity." Dr. Pusey was not at all pleased 
 with this letter. It annoyed him very much to hear from 
 his friend such plain denunciations of the Papal Communion ; 
 and therefore he wrote back a letter of protest against Hook's 
 strong language : — 
 
 " I am," wrote Pusey, "frightened at your calling Rome Antichrist, 
 or a forerunner of it. I believe Antichrist will be infidel, and arise 
 out of what calls itself Protestantism, and then Rome and England 
 will he united in one to oppose it. Protestantism is infidel, or 
 verging towards it, as a whole." 86 
 
 Pusey's hatred of Protestantism here comes out in the 
 strongest light ; and his hatred of it was shared by the other 
 leaders of his party. But he could not bear to hear any of 
 his disciples or friends say anything against Rome. Soon 
 after he had written the above letter to Dr. Hook, he was 
 very disappointed with the new Charge of Archdeacon 
 Manning, because of its severe criticism of the Papacy. So 
 he wrote to Manning : — 
 
 " Thank you for your Charge. While it is in a cheering tone, is 
 there 'quite love enough for the Roman Church? . . . I only desiderate 
 more love for Rome." 87 
 
 In the light of Manning's subsequent history it does 
 indeed seem strange to find him thus censured at this 
 period for not loving Rome enough. Manning did not 
 agree with Pusey on this subject. There was more 
 manliness in his reply than could be found in the letter of 
 his leader : — 
 
 " One powerful obstruction," he wrote to Pusey, " to the very work 
 in which you are spending yourself arises, I believe, out of the tone 
 you have adopted towards the Church of Rome. Will you forgive 
 me if I say that it seems to me to breathe, not charity, but want of 
 
 85 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 446. 86 Ibid., p. 447. 87 Ibid., p. 454. 
 
PUSEY CEASES TO PROTEST AGAINST ROME. 
 
 293 
 
 decision ? . . . Now what are the facts but these ? The Church of 
 Rome for three hundred years has desired our extinction. It is now 
 undermining us. Suppose your own brother to believe that he was 
 divinely inspired to destroy you. The highest duties would bind you 
 to decisive, firm, and circumspect precaution. Now a tone of love 
 such as you speak of seems to me to bind you also to speak plainly of 
 the broad and glaring evils of the Roman system. Are you prepared 
 to do this ? If not, it seems to me that the most powerful warnings 
 of charity forbid you to use a tone which cannot but lay asleep the 
 consciences of many for whom, by writing and publishing, you make 
 yourself responsible." 88 
 
 Dr. Pusey's biographer acknowledges that his " attitude 
 at this juncture created perplexity in still higher quarters." 89 
 It seems to have perplexed the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 whose Chaplain, the Rev. B. Harrison, wrote to Pusey a 
 letter on the subject. Pusey's biographer does not print 
 this letter, but he does print the reply to it, in which 
 Pusey's dislike for unity with Protestants, and his love for 
 much that is Roman, is candidly acknowledged. 
 
 "I cannot," wrote Pusey, "any more take the negative ground 
 against Rome ; I can only remain neutral. I have indeed for some 
 time left off alleging grounds against Rome, and whether you think 
 it right or wrong, I am sure it is of no use to persons who are really 
 in any risk of leaving us. . . From much reading of Roman books, 
 I am so much impressed with the superiority of their teaching; and 
 again, in some respects, I see things in Antiquity which I did not 
 (especially I cannot deny some purifying system in the Intermediate 
 State, nor the lawfulness of some Invocation of Saints) that I dare 
 not speak against things." 90 
 
 Dr. Hook's hopefulness as to the state of Newman was 
 without solid foundation. No one can read Newman's 
 Letters, or the Life of Dr. Pusey, without finding abundant 
 evidence to prove that Newman's heart had been for many 
 years in Rome, and that, to be consistent, he ought to have 
 seceded several years before he actually did leave the 
 Church of England. Some evidence of Newman's love for 
 Rome has already been given above. This may now be 
 
 ■ Ibid., p. 455- 89 Tbid. t p. 455- 90 Ibid., pp. 456, 457. 
 
294 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 supplemented by the following extracts from his letters to 
 friends. On September ist, 1843, he wrote to the Rev. 
 J. B. Mozley: — "The truth then is, I am not a good son 
 enough of the Church of England to feel I can in conscience 
 hold preferment under her. I love the Church of Rome too 
 well." 91 On the 22nd of the same month he wrote to 
 Mrs. J. Mozley : — " You cannot estimate what so many, 
 alas ! feel at present, the strange effect produced on the 
 mind when the conviction flashes, or rather pours, in upon it 
 that Rome is the true Church."* 2 He was here evidently 
 speaking for himself, and of his own " convictions." The 
 claims of Rome seem to have occupied his mind very much 
 at this time. Seven days later he again referred to the 
 subject in a letter to Mrs. Thomas Mozley : — 
 
 " I do so despair of the Church of England," wrote Newman, 
 M and am so evidently cast off by her, and, on the other hand, I am 
 so drawn to the Church of Rome, that I think it safer f as a matter 
 of honesty, not to keep my living. This is a very different thing 
 from having any intention of joining the Church of Rome. However, 
 to avow generally as much as I have said, would he wrong for ten 
 thousand reasons." 93 
 
 So he kept his longings for Rome as a secret within his 
 own breast, and those of a few relatives and near friends 
 whom he could trust. The consequence of this was that 
 he appeared to the public in a character different from that 
 which was really his. A month later he had come to the 
 opinion that the Church of England was " not part of the 
 Catholic Church." He wrote to Dr. Manning, on October 
 25th, 1843: — 
 
 " I must tell you then frankly (but I combat arguments which to 
 me, alas, are shadows) that it is not from disappointment, irritation, 
 or impatience, that I have, whether rightly or wrongly, resigned 
 St. Mary's ; but because / think the Church of Rome the Catholic 
 Church, and ours no part of the Catholic Church, because not in com- 
 
 91 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 423. 
 
 02 Ibid., p. 424. 93 Ibid., p. 425. 
 
"MY SALVATION DEPENDS ON JOINING ROME." 295 
 
 munion with Rome ; and because I feel that I could not honestly be a 
 teacher in it any longer." M 
 
 The arguments which thus induced Newman to resign 
 the living of St. Mary's, ought to have induced him at 
 once to resign his membership in the Church 'of England. 
 He had no moral right to remain in a Communion which 
 he was convinced formed " no part of the Catholic Church." 
 Indeed he ought, on his own showing, to have resigned his 
 living several years before he resigned St. Mary's, since, in 
 his letter to Mrs. J. Mozley, on November 24th, 1S44, he 
 wrote: — "A clear conviction of the substantial identity of 
 Christianity and the Roman system has now been on my 
 mind for a full three years " 95 — that is, from 1S41. He did 
 not, however, secede to Rome for another year after writing 
 this letter, so that at least for full four years he had acted a 
 double part — outwardly a member of the Church of England ; 
 inwardly a member of the Church of Rome. 96 On Novem- 
 ber 16th, 1S44, Newman wrote to Dr. Manning : — " As far 
 as I know myself, my one paramount reason for contemplating 
 a change is my deep, unvarying conviction that our Church 
 is in schism, and my salvation depends on my joining the 
 Church of Rome." 97 
 
 From his resignation of St. Mary's until his reception 
 into the Church of Rome, Newman made Pusey his con- 
 fidant. The correspondence which passed between them is 
 painfully interesting, and shows that Pusey wished for more 
 or less of Popery, but would not submit to the Pope until 
 the Church of England had done so in her corporate 
 
 94 Newman's Apologia, p. 221. Edition, 1S89. 
 
 95 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 445. 
 
 9(3 From a letter to Dr. Pusey, dated February 19th, 1S44, we learn that the 
 date of the birth of Newman's conviction that the Church of England was 
 no part of the Catholic Church was the year 1S39. " I must say," Newman 
 then wrote, " that for four years and a half [that is, from the year 1S39] I have 
 had a conviction, weaker or stronger, but on the whole constantly growing, 
 and at present very strong, that we are not part of the Catholic Church." 
 (Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 3S1.) 
 
 97 Purcell's Life o( Cardinal Manning^ Vol. L, p. 258. 
 
2g6 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 capacity ; while Newman had become impatient to depart, 
 and was willing to accept both Pope and Popery, without 
 waiting for the Church of England to set him the example. 
 Pusey wrote that he looked to " a Reunion of the Church 
 as the end " of the Tractarian Movement ; and, meanwhile, 
 his anxiety was to ascertain " on what terms and in what 
 way " the Church of England could "be reunited with the 
 rest of the Western Church." 98 Many persons will be 
 surprised to learn that although, on August 28th, 1844, 
 Newman had written to Pusey boldly declaring his con- 
 viction that the Church of England was " not part of 
 the Church," yet on the 14th of the following November 
 Pusey thus wrote to the Rev. Prebendary Henderson : — 
 "You are quite right in thinking that Newman has no 
 feelings drawing him away from us : all his feelings and 
 sympathies have been for our Church." 99 It is difficult 
 to acquit Dr. Pusey of a charge of wilful deception, or at 
 least of equivocation, in writing like this. On October 8th, 
 1845, Newman was received into the Church of Rome at 
 Littlemore ; and on October 16th a letter from Pusey, on 
 his secession, appeared in the English. Churchman, in which 
 he remarked : — " He [Newman] seems then to me not so 
 much gone from us, as transplanted into another part of the 
 Vineyard." 100 
 
 Many since then have mourned over the loss of Newman 
 to the Church of England. For my part I conceive it to be 
 a blessing that he went. His heart's affection was with 
 the great enemy of the Church of England ; his place was 
 therefore no longer within her fold. Already he had infected 
 many of his disciples with a love for Romanism. 
 
 The month which witnessed the secession of Newman 
 beheld also the appointment of the Rev. Samuel Wilberforce 
 as Bishop of Oxford. The new Bishop, even before his 
 arrival in his Diocese, had fears as to his approaching 
 
 98 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p 404. 
 
 99 Ibid., pp. 406, 445. 100 Ibid., p. 461. 
 
BISHOP WILBERFORCE ON PUSEY'S WORK. 297 
 
 relations to the Regius Professor of Hebrew, which he made 
 known in a letter to Miss L. Noel. To her Dr. Wilberforce 
 expressed the opinion that Pusey was " a very holy man " ; 
 but he added : — 
 
 " He [Dr. Pusey] has greatly helped, and is helping, to make a party 
 of semi-Romanizers in the Church, to lead some to Rome. . . . He 
 says, for instance, that he does not think himself as an English 
 Churchman at liberty to hold all Roman doctrine ; but he does ' not 
 censure any Roman doctrine,' whilst lie holds his Canonry at Christ 
 Church, and his position amongst us, on condition of signing Articles, 
 one half of which are taken up in declaring different figments of 
 Rome to be dangerous deceits and blasphemous fables." 101 
 
 Pusey wrote to Dr. Wilberforce on the day of his election 
 to the Oxford Bishopric, and received a reply which seems 
 to have surprised him very much. It was a somewhat 
 severe criticism of his teaching. In his rejoinder to the 
 Bishop-Elect, Pusey once more revealed his love for much 
 that was distinctly Roman : — ■ 
 
 te I did not mean," wrote Pusey, "to state anything definitely as to 
 myself, but only to maintain, in the abstract, the tenability of a certain 
 position, in which very many are, of not holding themselves obliged 
 to renounce any doctrine formally decreed by the Roman Church." 
 
 Pusey proceeded to inform his future Diocesan that he 
 could no longer refuse his " belief to an intermediate state of 
 cleansing, in some cases through pain " ; or, in other words, 
 of his belief in the existence of Purgatory. The effect of his 
 acceptance of this belief was, he said, that ever since he had 
 " been wholly silent about Purgatory." He had also come 
 to believe in Invocation of Saints. On this latter point he 
 acted most inconsistently. He told the Bishop-Elect : — 
 " Practically then I dissuade or forbid (where I have authority) 
 Invocation of Saints ; abstractedly, I see no reason why our 
 Church might not eventually allow it, in the sense of asking 
 for their prayers " ; and towards the conclusion of his letter 
 
 101 Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. I., p. 311. 
 
298 secret history of the oxford movement. 
 
 he added : — " I cannot but think that Rome and we are not 
 irreconcilably at variance." 103 
 
 It is here seen how rapidly Pusey was marching on the 
 road to Rome, though he seems to have never expected to 
 arrive at the end of the journey. It added much to the 
 difficulties of his position that he had now, in Dr. Wilberforce, 
 a bishop carefully watching his movements, and ready to 
 censure him when necessary. Time went on, and the 
 Romeward Movement with it. By the year 1847, even 
 Archdeacon Manning had discovered its tendency towards 
 Rome, and its illogical position in the Church of England. 
 He wrote to Pusey, on January 23rd of that year : — 
 
 " You know how long I have to you openly expressed my conviction 
 that a false position has been taken up in the Church of England. 
 The direct and certain tendency, I believe, of what remains of the 
 original Movement is to the Roman Church. You know the minds 
 of men about us better than I do, and will, therefore, know how strong 
 an impression the claims of Rome have made on them ; and how 
 feeble and fragmentary are the reasons on which they have made a 
 sudden stand or halt in the line on which they have been, perhaps 
 insensibly, moving for years. It is also clear that they are 4 revising 
 the Reformation ' — that the doctrine, ritual, and practice of the Church 
 of England, taken at its best, does not suffice them." 103 
 
 At about the same time Dr. Hook, Tractarian though he 
 was, grew more and more alarmed at the conduct of the 
 Romanizing party. In great trouble he wrote to Manning 
 from his Leeds Vicarage : — 
 
 " Those whom I took for Church of England men, and who as such 
 hated Popery, who once, as in the Tracts for the Times, openly assailed 
 Popery, I rind now to be enamoured of her. I find young men 
 thinking it orthodox to read and study Popish books of devotion, and 
 to imitate Popish priests in their attire ; I find Justification by Faith, 
 the doctrine of our Articles, the test of a standing or falling Church, 
 repudiated, and consequently a set of works of supererogation and a 
 feeling in favour of the intercession of those who are supposed to have 
 been more than profitable servants." 104 
 
 102 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., pp. 43-45. 103 Ibid., p. 135. 
 
 104 Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 328. 
 
ARCHD. MANNING KNEELS BEFORE THE POPE'S CARRIAGE. 299 
 
 At this very period the views of Dr.' Manning were in a 
 state of transition — his face was turned Romeward. During 
 the summer of 1847, he travelled abroad on the Continent. 
 At Liege he fell in love with the Sacrifice of the Mass, and 
 wrote in his diary: — " I cannot but feel that the practise of 
 Elevation, Exposition, Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist 
 has a powerful effect in sustaining and realizing the doctrine 
 of the Incarnation." 105 In 1848 Archdeacon Manning visited 
 Rome. While there strange things happened, of which the 
 world knew nothing until after his death. One day, while 
 in the Piazza di Spagna, he saw the Papal carriage ap- 
 proaching towards him. As it passed he knelt down in the 
 street before the Pope — and he all the time an Archdeacon 
 in the Reformed Church of England ! 10G Mr. Purcell, the 
 future Cardinal's biographer, tells us in the chapter which he 
 devotes to this visit to Rome that — ■ 
 
 " In his Diary Archdeacon Manning nowhere says in so many 
 words, that he took a personal part in the veneration of relics which 
 he so often witnessed and described with touching fidelity. Yet from 
 the tone and spirit of his testimony I have no doubt that at St. Philip 
 Neri's Oratory at Florence, for instance, the relics of the Saint were 
 laid on the forehead and pressed to the lips of the Archdeacon of 
 Chichester." 107 
 
 The history of Manning's change of views in favour of the 
 Church of Rome, as related by Mr. Purcell, greatly surprised 
 the English public, when it was first published. It revealed 
 an absence of straightforward conduct on Manning's part 
 for which no really valid excuse has yet been offered. His 
 double dealing is frankly admitted by his Roman Catholic 
 biographer, who writes : — 
 
 " What, I grant, is a curious difficulty, almost startling at first, is to 
 find Manning speaking concurrently for years with a double voice. 
 One voice proclaims in public, in sermons, charges, and tracts, and, in 
 a tone still more absolute, to those who sought his advice in Confes- 
 sion, his profound and unwavering belief in the Church of England as 
 
 105 Ibid., p. 352. 10C Ibid., Vol. II., p. 456. 10 " Ibid., Vol. I., p. 407, note. 
 
300 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the Divine witness to the Truth, appointed by Christ and guided by 
 the Holy Spirit. The other voice, as the following confessions and docu- 
 ments under his own handwriting bear ample witness, speaks in almost 
 heartbroken accents of despair at being no longer able in conscience 
 to defend the teaching and position of the Church of England ; whilst 
 acknowledging at the same time, if not in his confession to Laprimau- 
 daye, at any rate in his letters to Robert Wilberforce, the drawing he 
 felt towards the infallible teaching of the Church of Rome." 108 
 
 It was while in this transition state that Manning published 
 several volumes of his Anglican sermons. In 1865, J ust 
 before he was consecrated titular " Archbishop of West- 
 minster," Manning consulted a friend as to the wisdom of 
 having them republished. The friend gave as his opinion, 
 that, as a Roman Catholic, Dr. Manning could not con- 
 scientiously republish them. Yet in the letter conveying 
 this opinion, his friend (Dr. Bernard Smith) bore testimony 
 to the services rendered to the Church of Rome by these 
 Anglican sermons. 
 
 " I confess," wrote Dr. B. Smith, " I was greatly surprised to see 
 how close [that is, in these sermons] you bring the Anglican Confes- 
 sion to the Church of Rome., But what I admired most in the perusal 
 of these volumes was not the many strong Catholic truths I met with, 
 but that almost Catholic unction of a St. Francis of Sales, or of a 
 St. Teresa, that breathes through them all. That the reading of these 
 works must have great influence over the Protestant mind I have no 
 doubt. I also believe that no sincere Protestant can read over these 
 volumes, who sooner or later will not take refuge in the ark" 109 [by 
 which, of course, Dr. Smith meant the Church of Rome]. 
 
 What is here said of Manning's Anglican Sermons may, 
 with equal truth, be said of many scores of volumes written 
 by Ritualistic clergymen. These works teach principles 
 which must logically lead to the Church of Rome, even when, 
 as is sometimes the case, they are accompanied with criticisms 
 on some portions of the Roman system. Doubts as to the 
 Church of England entered Manning's mind as early as 1846. 
 
 108 Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 463. 
 
 109 Ibid., Vol. II., p. 722, note. 
 
ARCHDEACON MANNING'S DOUBLE DEALING. 30I 
 
 In his Diary for the August of that year he wrote that, in his 
 opinion, the Church of England was " diseased organically " 
 by its " separation from Church toto orbe diffusa and from 
 Cathedra Petri''') by its "abolition of penance," and by its 
 "extinction of daily sacrifice." 110 On July 5th, 1846, he 
 wrote in his Diary : — " Something keeps rising and saying, 
 1 you will end in the Roman Church.' " " If the Church of 
 England were away there is nothing in Rome that would 
 repel me with sufficient repulsion to keep me separate, and 
 there is nothing in Protestantism that would attract me. . . 
 I am conscious that I am further from the English Church 
 and nearer Rome than I ever was. . . Yet I have no positive 
 doubts about the Church of England. I have difficulties — ■ 
 but the chief thing is the drawing of Rome. It satisfies the 
 whole of my intellect, sympathy, sentiment, and nature, in a 
 way proper, and solely belonging to itself." 111 Mr. Purcell 
 adds to the above extracts from Manning's Diary the follow- 
 ing significant comments : — ■ 
 
 "It is curious to note from these entries that the breakdown of 
 Manning's belief in the English Church took place so early as 1846, 
 two years before Hampden's appointment, and four years before the 
 Gorham Judgment. In his sermons and charges there are not the 
 slightest indications of such a misgiving. In his correspondence with 
 Mr. Gladstone at this period, not a hint or suggestion was conveyed — ■ 
 not that the Church of England was organically and functionally 
 diseased— but that it had fallen from the high ideal of perfection, 
 which Manning had so fervently and eloquently attributed to it in his 
 public utterances. From the evidence of his own Diary, from his 
 letters to Laprimaudaye and Robert Wilberforce, it seems as clear as 
 daylight that, intellectually Manning had, years before the Gorham 
 Judgment, lost faith in the Church of England." 113 
 
 Notwithstanding his "loss of faith in the Church of 
 England," Manning continued to outwardly profess what 
 in his heart he had ceased to believe in. On February 12th, 
 1S48 — three years before he left the Church of England — he 
 wrote from Rome to his intimate friend, Robert Wilberforce: 
 
 110 Hid., Vol. I , p 483. 111 Ibid., pp. 485, 486. m Jbid. t pp. 487, 488. 
 
302 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 — " I cannot rest the Church of England and its living 
 witness on anything higher than an intellectual basis. I 
 trust it, because I think it to be right, not because I believe 
 it to be right. It is a subject of my reason, and not an 
 object of my faith." 113 The following year he wrote, 
 " under the seal," more strongly : — ■ 
 
 "Protestantism is not so much a rival system, which I reject, but 
 no system, a chaos, a wreck of fragments, without idea, principle, 
 or life. It is to me flesh, blood, unbelief, and the will of man. 
 Anglicanism seems to me to be in essence the same, only elevated, 
 constructed, and adorned by intellect, social and political order, and 
 the fascinations of a national and domestic history. As a theology, 
 still more as the Church or the faith, it has so faded out of my mind 
 that I cannot say I reject it, but I know it no more. I simply do not 
 believe it. I can form no basis, outline, or defence for it." 114 
 
 And yet he continued to receive the emoluments of a 
 Church in which he had ceased to have any real faith ! Was 
 this honest ? Was it not, rather, double dealing, such as 
 looked very much like a case of receiving money under false 
 pretences ? In any case it reminds us of those of whom it is 
 recorded that they possessed " a conscience seared with a 
 hot iron " — past any conscientious feeling. For more than 
 a year after this Manning wrote letters to his penitents, 
 having for their object the strengthening of their faith in the 
 Church of England. One such letter, dated May 6th, 1850, 
 is printed by his biographer, in which occurs the following 
 assertion : — "Judging by the evidence of the Primitive Church 
 there are many, and they very grave and vital, points on 
 which the Church of England seems more in harmony with 
 Holy Scripture than the Church of Rome." 115 One wonders 
 whether Manning at the time really believed what he thus 
 wrote. I very much doubt it. It seems that this letter was 
 the means of preventing Manning's penitent from going over 
 to Rome. Manning's real views at this time were known 
 only to four or five other persons, his intimate friends, 
 
 U* Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 509. 114 Ibid., p. 515. 115 Ibid., p. 473. 
 
MR. GLADSTONE ON MANNING'S CONDUCT. 
 
 303 
 
 all of whom, like himself, eventually joined the Church of 
 Rome. They were Robert Wilberforce, James Hope, William 
 Dodsworth, Henry Wilberforce, and, perhaps, Laprimaudaye. 
 Mr. Gladstone was an intimate friend, but the secret of his 
 (Manning's) views was carefully kept from that statesman. 
 
 "On learning in January last [1895]," writes Mr. Purcell, "the 
 substance of Manning's letters to Robert Wilberforce, Mr. Gladstone 
 was surprised beyond measure. Speaking with evident pain, he said, 
 — * To me this is most startling information, for which I am quite 
 unprepared. In all our correspondence and conversations, during an 
 intimacy which extended over many years, Manning never led me to 
 believe that he had doubts as to the position or Divine authority of the 
 English Church, far less that he had lost faith altogether in Anglicanism. 
 That is to say, up to the Gorham Judgment [in 1850]. The Gorham 
 Judgment, I knew, shook his faith in the Church of England. It 
 was then that Manning expressed to me — and for the first time — his 
 doubts and misgivings.' After a few moments' reflection, Mr. 
 Gladstone added : — 'I won't say Manning was insincere, God forbid ! 
 But he was not simple and straightforward' " 116 
 
 I venture to submit that the majority of Englishmen will 
 see, in such conduct, clear evidence of insincerity, as well 
 as of a want of ' ' straightforward " conduct. The clearest 
 proof of Manning's ecclesiastical dishonesty — I cannot here 
 use a milder term — is obtained by a comparison of a letter 
 which he wrote to Robert W T ilberforce, on June 25th, 1850, 
 with a published letter, which he addressed to the Bishop of 
 Chichester, dated July 2nd, 1850 — only a week later. The 
 two letters afford a striking instance of that " double voice " 
 in which he then frequently spoke. In the first of these 
 letters, which was strictly private, Manning wrote : — 
 
 " I have not seen Churton's Charge 5 but the course he and others 
 have taken has helped more than most things to convince vie that the 
 Church of England has no real basis. . . . Logically, I am convinced 
 that the One, Holy, Visible, Infallible Church is that which has its 
 circuit in all the world, and its centre accidentally at Rome. But I 
 mistrust my conclusion. ... I have made a first draft on the Oath of 
 Supremac y, in a letter to my Bishop. But I have written myself fairly 
 over the border — or Tiber rather." 117 
 
 " G Ibid., p. 560. »7 Ibid . p, 558. 
 
304 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 In the other letter, to his Bishop, Manning does not write 
 anything which would lead his Diocesan, or the public, to 
 suppose that he had written himself over " the Tiber," or 
 into the Church of Rome. On the contrary, while criticising 
 sharply the relations to the State of the Church of England, 
 and her connection with the Court of Law which had just 
 acquitted Mr. Gorham, he informed his lordship that he 
 had still left a strong faith in the Church of England — 
 though, as a matter of fact, as we have already seen, he had 
 long since ceased to have any faith in her at all. 
 
 "We believe," wrote Archdeacon Manning, " the Church in 
 England, as a member or province of this Divine Kingdom 
 [the Church], possesses, * in solidum, % by inheritance and participation 
 in the whole Church, the inheritance of the Divine Tradition of Faith, 
 with a share in this full and supreme custody of doctrine and power 
 of discipline, partaking for support and perpetuity, in its measure and 
 sphere, the same guidance as the whole Church at large, of which, by 
 our Baptism, we have been made members. 
 
 " The Church in England, then, being thus an integral whole, 
 possesses within itself the fountain of doctrine and discipline, and has 
 no need to go beyond itself for succession, orders, mission, jurisdiction. 
 . . . But we trust that as, in the period of the great Western schism, 
 the Churches of Spain, France, Germany, and many others, were 
 compelled to fall back within their own limits and to rest upon the full 
 and integral power which, by succession, they possessed for their own 
 internal government, so the Church in England has continued to be a 
 perfect member of this Divine Kingdom, endowed with alt that is of 
 necessity to the valid ministry oj the Faith and Sacraments of Christ." 119 
 
 Who, at that time, would have thought that the writer 
 of this strong eulogy of the Church of England actually 
 considered that in writing it he was " fairly writing himself 
 over the border — or Tiber " ? If the Church of England 
 was all that Manning asserted, possessed of valid Orders 
 and Sacraments, without going " beyond itself " to outside 
 communions, why had he made up his mind to leave a 
 
 ii8 Appellate Jurisdiction of the Crown in Matters Spiritual: A Letter to the- 
 Bishop of Chichester, by Henry Edward Manning, Archdeacon of Chichester,. 
 PP- 4.5- 
 
THE " RAMBLER ON THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 305 
 
 Church, which he declared was " a perfect member of 
 this Divine Kingdom " ? In the history of the Romevvard 
 Movement in the Church of England there are but few, 
 if any, incidents more deplorable than the double dealing 
 of Dr. Manning during his last years in that Church. 
 
 Down to the year 1851, the Romeward Movement in the 
 Church of England had led to the secession to Rome of a 
 large number of prominent clergymen and laymen. The 
 list of distinguished seceders given in Browne's Annals of 
 the Tractarian Movement affords ample proof of the services 
 rendered to the Church of Rome by the Oxford Movement. 
 No wonder that Cardinal Wiseman rejoiced at what he saw 
 going on around him, and looked forward with an almost 
 boyish glee to the good time coming, when, as he hoped, 
 England would once more accept Papal supremacy. But 
 the services rendered to Rome by the Movement were by no 
 means confined to supplying her with some of the ablest 
 of her children. A prominent Roman Catholic magazine, 
 the Rambler, during the year 185 1, devoted several articles 
 to the subject of " The Rise, Progress, and Results of 
 Puseyism," as it was then commonly termed. The tone 
 of these articles was, throughout, one of deep thankfulness 
 for what had been already accomplished. 
 
 " From the moment that the Oxford Tracts commenced," said the 
 Rambler, "the Catholic Church assumed a position in the country 
 which she had never before attained since the schism of the sixteenth 
 century. With what a depth of indescribable horror of Catholicism 
 the whole mind of England was formerly saturated, few can compre- 
 hend who have not personally experienced it. . . . The sons and 
 daughters of Anglicanism were brought up to regard the Catholic 
 Church as the devil's masterpiece. . . . No one read Catholic books, 
 no one entered Catholic churches ■ no one ever saw Catholic priests j 
 few people even knew that there were any Catholic bishops resident 
 in England. Except in connection with Ireland, the Catholic Church 
 was forgotten. 
 
 " See now the change which has come over the English people as a 
 nation. Violently Protestant still, its attitude towards the Catholic 
 
 20 
 
306 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Church is extraordinarily changed. It dislikes her, but it no longer 
 despises her. . . . Crowds attend the services of Catholic and of 
 Puseyite churches ; but while in the latter there is hissing and groan- 
 ing, in the former a stillness the most profound pays strange homage 
 to the elevation of the most Holy Sacrament. None but fools and 
 fanatics deny some merits to the Church of Rome and her clergy. 
 Every where the change appears. . . . And whatever other causes may 
 have combined to work this wonderful result, to the Movement of 
 1833 it surely must chiefly he attributed." 119 
 
 119 The Rambler, March 1851, pp. 246, 247. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ROMEWARD MOVEMENT. 
 
 The Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom — Sermons and 
 Essays on Reunion — Denunciation of Protestantism — Treasonable letter 
 in the Union Review — The A. P. U. C. denounced by the Inquisition — 
 Degrading Reply of 198 Church of England Dignitaries and Clergy — 
 Archbishop Manning's opinion of the Romeward Movement — The Society 
 of the Holy Cross Petition for Reunion with Rome — Signed by 1212 
 clergymen — The English Church Union — Its work for Union with Rome 
 — Approves Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon — Pusey writes that there is nothing 
 in the Pope's "Supremacy" in itself to which he would object — 
 The Catholic Union for Prayer — A Colonial Priest on Reunion with 
 Rome — The "levelling up" process — The real Objects of the English 
 Church Union — The Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist — Lord Halifax 
 wants Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament — E. C.U. members find 
 fault with the Book of Common Prayer— E. C. U. Petitions the Lambeth 
 Conference for Reunion — Reunion asked for under "The Bishop of Old 
 Rome " — Lord Halifax prefers Leo XIII. to the Privy Council — Dean 
 Hook in favour of the Privy Council — Mr. Mackonochie's Evidence 
 before the Ecclesiastical Courts' Commission — Asserts there has been no 
 "Ecclesiastical Court" since the Reformation — A Ritualistic Curate 
 supplies the "Kernel" to Roman Ritual — He preaches the Immaculate 
 Conception of the Virgin Mary — Lord Halifax and " Explanations " of 
 the Pope's Infallibility — The Homilies on the Church of Rome — Rome 
 has already reaped a harvest from Ritualistic labours — Secession as well 
 as Union a Scriptural duty — Objections to Reunion with Rome. 
 
 HE time at length arrived when it was thought 
 
 J_ desirable by those who longed for the Corporate 
 Reunion of the Church of England with the Eastern 
 Church and the Church of Rome, to band themselves into 
 societies to promote the object they had at heart. Some 
 of these societies made the Reunion question a part onlv 
 of their programme ; but from the commencement of its 
 existence the Association for the Promotion of the Unity 
 of Christendom laboured for this one object alone. This 
 
 5?o * 
 
308 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Association was founded at a private meeting held in 
 the parish of St. Clement Danes, Strand, London, on 
 September 8th, 1857, on the motion of a Roman Catholic 
 layman, seconded by a Church of England clergyman, and 
 supported by members of the Greek Church. At that 
 meeting thirty-four persons joined the infant Association. 1 
 In a statement issued by one of its chief officers (the 
 Rev. F. G. Lee) in 1864, it was mentioned that in that year 
 it had grown into a membership of 7099, of whom "nearly 
 a thousand " were Roman Catholics, and about three 
 hundred were " members of the Eastern Church." Mr. Lee 
 also affirmed that, "The Association has been approved in 
 the highest ecclesiastical quarters, both amongst Latins, 
 Anglicans, and Greeks. The Holy Father gave his blessing 
 to the scheme when first started, and repeated that blessing 
 with a direct and kindly commendation to one of the 
 English secretaries, who was more recently granted the 
 honour of a special interview." 3 In an appendix to the 
 volume of sermons from which I have just quoted, and 
 which was " Printed for certain members of the Association 
 for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom," an official 
 prospectus of the Association is printed, in which it is 
 mentioned that "the names of members will be kept strictly 
 private,'" 3 On the occasion of its seventh anniversary 
 Masses were said for the success of its work not merely 
 by ordinary clergymen, but even by Archbishops, Bishops, 
 and Monks, and these were offered in England, Scotland, 
 Ireland, France, Austria, Prussia, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, 
 Switzerland, Malta, North America, South America, and 
 South Africa. 4 
 
 The Association still exists, and at the present time 
 numbers upwards of ten thousand members, but from its 
 birth until now it has never, so far as I can ascertain, 
 
 1 Sermons on the Reunion of Christendom, Vol. I., pp. x., xi. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. xii. 3 Ibid., p. 329 
 4 The Church and the World, Vol. I., p. 201. 
 
DISLOYAL UTTERANCES BY TRAITORS. 309 
 
 printed a list of its members, not even for its own private 
 use, so afraid are they lest their names should be found 
 out. In the prospectus just referred to there is printed 
 a short list of Diocesan Secretaries, and of persons to whom 
 applications for information could be made, but as to the 
 rank and file of the Association nobody knows who they are, 
 excepting the head officials. In January, 1863, tne Union 
 Review was founded by members of the Association, and 
 was subsequently conducted by them, though the Associa- 
 tion as such was not held responsible for its contents. 
 But inasmuch as it expressed the views held by those 
 who guided the Association, it may not be considered as 
 inappropriate if I give here a few extracts from it, which 
 show its thoroughly Romanizing character. 
 
 " It is a shocking scandal that one of the Homilies of the Estab- 
 lished Church should even contain heretical reasoning against the 
 belief in a state of connection [Sic. Probably correction is meant] 
 hereafter, and the benefit of prayers for the departed." 5 
 
 " The English Church is in a state of penance ; her daily Sacrifice 
 taken away, and the perpetual Presence on her Altars withdrawn, 
 except in a few favoured places where both have lately been 
 restored." 6 * 
 
 "The hair shirt, and the spiked cross or belt, sacrificing bodily 
 ease altogether, with the sharper but less wearing means by which 
 the various Acts of the Passion may be followed and sympathized 
 with step by step, are all valuable in their several degrees, but require 
 adaptation to particular cases." 7 
 
 " We venture to say, heresy has been practically triumphant for 
 three hundred years together, through the Prayer Book." 8 
 
 "We will not tamely accept the illogical and incomplete system 
 which the Reformers have left us in the Prayer Book as it is." 9 
 
 Perhaps the most remarkable document ever printed in 
 the Union Review was a lengthy letter written by a member 
 of the Association to a Roman Catholic priest in Germany. 
 The thoroughly Jesuitical and traitorous character of the 
 Ritualistic Movement is therein very candidly revealed by 
 
 6 Union Review, Vol. III., p. 147. Ibid., p. 395. 1 Ibid., p. 397, note. 
 8 Ibid., p. 621. Ibid., p. 626. 
 
310 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 one of its warmest friends. He announced that for the 
 previous twenty-five years — i.e., from 1842 — the leaders of 
 the party had been preaching " the Catholic faith," and 
 that their doctrines had "secretly yet surely been working, 
 like the leaven," during that period. 10 From this note- 
 worthy letter I give the subjoined additional extracts : — 
 
 " Our belief is that the Church of which we are members is 
 Catholic in her Faith, and Catholic in her usages, and that 
 Protestantism in any shape and form has no legal place within her" 11 
 
 " Day and night — in the Church, and in the closets — there ascend 
 in England from thousands of mourning hearts, smitten with a sense of 
 their bereavement, the fervent expressions of an intense longing of a 
 burning desire for the restoration to our unhappy country of this 
 most glorious privilege of Visible Unity [with the Church of Rome]. 
 Here you have the real heart and soul of the present Movement ; this is 
 the centre from which its pulsations vibrate, and from which its life 
 Hood flows." 12 
 
 " At the outset of this Union Movement our eyes turned Eastward, 
 rather than rest on the spot on which now they so love to dwell. For 
 now, at last, is God mercifully removing the scales from our eyes. 
 Every year we begin to understand you [the Church of Rome] better, 
 and, therefore, to love you more." 13 
 
 " Here, in a sense of the danger of the common foe, and of the 
 identity of that Faith which is to overcome him, we hope to find one 
 strong force of attraction to draw not only the Protestant to us, but 
 both together to you [Rome]. But when? ah! when? The time 
 cannot be so very far off. The strides which have been made during 
 the last ten years are enormous ; and, as I say, we are all, however 
 opposed, moving on together." 14 
 
 " I hope I have now said enough to justify any convictions that 
 there is no reason for discouragement, on either of these two heads, 
 but that it is reasonable to hope that at the end of this third period, 
 say twenty years hence, Catholicism will have so leavened our Church, 
 that she herself in her corporal capacity, and not a mere small section 
 of her, like ourselves, will be able to come to you [the Church of 
 Rome] and say: — * Let the hands which political force, not spiritual 
 choice, have parted these three hundred years, be once more joined. 
 We are one with you in Faith, and we have a common foe to fight. 
 
 Union Review, Vol. V., p. 379. 11 Ibid., p. 380. 12 Ibid., p. 39S. 
 
 Ibid., p. 400. M Ibid., p. 408. 
 
THE POPE " WILL DEAL TENDERLY WITH US." 3II 
 
 There may be a few divergencies of practice on our side. We seek to 
 make no terms ; we come only in the spirit of love and of humility ; but 
 at the same time we feel sure that the Chief Shepherd of the Flock of 
 Christ [the Pope] will deal tenderly with us, and place no yoke upon 
 us which we are not able to bear.' " 15 
 
 " With such hopes, then, and with such a position, it is surely, I 
 say, much better for us to remain working where we are, for what 
 would become of England, if we were to leave her Church ? She 
 would be simply lost to Catholicism, and won to Rationalism. . . . 
 Depend upon it, it is only through the English Church itself that 
 England can be Catholicised.''' 16 
 
 " The work now going on in England is an earnest and carefully 
 organized attempt, on the part of a rapidly increasing body of priests 
 and laymen, to bring our Church and country up to the full standard 
 of Catholic Faith and practice, and eventually to plead for her union 
 with you [the Church of Rome]." 17 
 
 The object of the Oxford Movement is very truthfully 
 revealed in the last of these extracts from the Union Review. 
 Corporate Reunion with the Church of Rome has ever 
 been the great aim of the wire-pullers of the Oxford 
 Movement. This necessarily involves the death of the 
 Reformation Movement of the sixteenth century, at least 
 within the Church of England, and implies that the 
 Reformation was a sin, if not a crime. Here and there some 
 uninfluential Ritualist is now heard to declare that he wants 
 nothing of the kind, but it is well to remember, when we 
 hear such statements, that the movements of an army are 
 not guided by the views of the rank and file, but by the wills 
 of the commanding officers. The language of this article in 
 the Union Review is clearly that of a traitor, w r ho remains 
 within the camp of the Church of England for the sole 
 purpose of doing his best to deprive her of her independence 
 and liberty, and hand her over to the tyranny of her greatest 
 enemy. And the strange thing is that this writer's 
 traitorous article was never repudiated by the leaders of 
 the Ritualistic party. There is reason to believe that it only 
 
 15 Ibid., pp. 408, 409. 16 Ibid., p. 410. 
 
 17 Ibid., p. 412. 
 
312 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 too accurately represented their views of the situation. 
 Before parting with the Union Review I may be permitted 
 to give two more quotations from subsequent volumes : — 
 
 " We have grown wiser than some of our forefathers ; on 
 questions of doctrine, of ritual, and of religious practice, such for 
 instance as the Confessional, we are separated but a hairs hreadtk 
 from Rome ; we no longer consider ourselves involved in the guilt and 
 peril of idolatry, if, when we are abroad, we frequent the service of 
 the Mass ; we prefer Notre Dame to the Little Bethels of French 
 Protestantism, and claim affinity with Rome or the Orientals rather 
 than with Luther or Calvin." 18 
 
 " By way of suggesting something practical ourselves, we will in 
 this paper recommend, as a first and essential preliminary towards 
 the Reunion of Christendom, the total abolition of the Thirty-nine 
 Articles." 19 
 
 The members of the Association for the Promotion of the 
 Unity of Christendom were very zealous in furthering the 
 work they had on hand. The papers of the Association 
 were translated into several Continental languages, and the 
 members, while travelling abroad, scattered these papers 
 broadcast throughout Europe. In England its work was 
 brought before the public chiefly in connection with special 
 services in churches, on which occasions the Ritual adopted 
 was of the most advanced type. The cause of the 
 Association was also advocated through the press by means 
 of letters in Ritualistic and other newspapers, warmly 
 advocating Reunion with Rome and the East. Nor was 
 their zeal confined to the periodical press. Two volumes of 
 Sermons on the Reunion of Christendom were issued by the 
 members, several of them from the pens of Roman Catholic 
 and Greek clergymen. These were followed, in 1867, by a 
 remarkable volume of Essays on the Reunion of Christendom, 
 which, at the time of its publication, attracted a great deal 
 of public attention. The Association, as such, disclaimed 
 any official responsibility for the opinions expressed either 
 in the Essays or in the Sermons, each member of the 
 
 18 Union Review, Volume for 1869, p. 373. 19 Ibid., Volume for 1S70, p. 289. 
 
THE PRIMACY AND MONARCHY OF ROME. 
 
 313 
 
 Association who contributed to the volumes being held 
 responsible only for his own utterances. Probably the 
 Essays would not have been so widely read were it not that 
 the " Introductory Essay " was written by the Rev. Dr. 
 Pusey, who, as my readers are already aware, had for many 
 years been labouring zealously to promote Corporate 
 Reunion with Rome, and had written two or three volumes 
 on the subject. In his " Introductory Essay " Dr. Pusey 
 wrote : — 
 
 " The idea itself, that the Council of Trent might be legitimately 
 explained, so that it could be received by Anglo-Catholics, and that 
 our Articles contain nothing which is, in its grammatical sense, 
 adverse to the Council of Trent, remains untouched and unrepudiated. 
 And this is the intellectual basis of a future union, when God shall 
 have disposed men's hearts on both sides to look the difficulties in 
 the face, and the presence of the common foe, unbelief, shall have 
 driven them together." 20 
 
 There are other articles in this collection of Essays on 
 Reunion which call for attention here. The writers are 
 more outspoken than Dr. Pusey, on some points, though 
 on all important matters they seem to agree. Canon 
 Humble, a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, who 
 wrote on "The Exigency of Truth," evidently believed in 
 the doctrine of " Reserve in Communicating Religious 
 Knowledge," for, in a spirit which I must term Jesuitical, 
 he declared that — 
 
 " There are many who are quite willing to admit the Primacy, or 
 even more, of the Bishop of Rome, who do not therefore see that they 
 are in anywise bound to proclaim their belief to all the world by 
 immediately joining the Roman Communion." 21 
 
 " Had men listened to the voice of God, in place of giving reins to 
 their violent tempers, we can scarcely doubt that Rome would have 
 become a Monarchy by assent of the whole Church." 22 
 
 " The Primacy of Rome was given to her, certainly not by the 
 Church, but by the great Head Himself. . . . Rome was allowed to 
 have the first place under the Patriarchal system, but she had that 
 which no General Council could either give or take away. She was 
 
 20 Essays on Reunion, p. xxviii. 21 Ibid., p. 9. n Ibid., p. 26. 
 
314 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 constituted to be the strength and support of all other Churches — the 
 centre round which all others should gather." 23 
 
 The marvel is how a man who could write like this did 
 not consistently act upon his principles, and go over to 
 Rome at once. Only on principles which are commonly 
 termed Jesuitical could he remain as a Minister of a Church 
 which refuses to acknowledge either the Primacy or 
 Supremacy of the Pope. What he terms "the Exigency 
 of Truth" alone compelled him to remain where he was, 
 with a view to Corporate Reunion with Rome. The Rev. 
 George Nugee, then Vicar of Wymering, wrote, in these 
 Essays on Reunion, an article on "A Conference of 
 Theologians," in which he, as a clergyman of the Church 
 of England, affirmed that " the Supremacy need not be an 
 abiding hindrance to Reunion." 24 If this be so, it follows 
 that the Protestant Reformation was nothing less than a 
 grave error, and the sooner it is undone the better. Loyal 
 Churchmen, however, are of a different opinion. They 
 believe that the Reformation was one of the greatest 
 blessings God has given to England, and that it would be 
 a sin and a disgrace to undo its glorious work. Papal 
 Supremacy, in any shape or form, is an insuperable barrier 
 to Reunion with Rome. There is nothing good to be 
 obtained by it ; but it is certain that we should obtain much 
 that is evil, and lose our civil and religious liberties. The 
 Protestantism of England is also, on the other hand, as 
 long as it remains, an insuperable barrier to the Reunion 
 schemes of these Romanizers. They realize this fact to the 
 full, and consequently they do everything in their power to 
 give Protestantism a bad name, as a preliminary to its final 
 removal. This was very candidly admitted by the Rev. 
 W. Percival Ward, Rector of Compton Valence, in his 
 paper on " The Difficulties of Reunion," which I have 
 already quoted (see p. 261), but which will bear repetition 
 here : — 
 
 23 Essays on Reunion, pp. 27, 28. 34 Ibid., p. 83 
 
THE PROTESTANTISM OF ENGLAND. 
 
 315 
 
 " The first great hindrance," he wrote, " that is before us arises 
 from the Protestantism of England. Till this is removed, the Reunion 
 of our Church, as the Church of England, with either the Greek, or 
 Latin Churches, is absolutely hopeless." 25 
 
 Here we find a strong reason for maintaining, and even 
 increasing, the Protestantism of the Established Church. 
 So long as it exists Reunion with Rome is "hopeless." It 
 is Protestantism which, by God's help, has been the cause 
 of England's prosperity, and of that of all other Protestant 
 countries. While Roman Catholic countries, which acknow- 
 ledge Papal Supremacy, are everywhere going down in the 
 scale of nations, Protestant countries are everywhere 
 growing in prosperity, and extending their borders on every 
 hand. The Protestant nations are at the head of the world, 
 in everything which make nations truly great and glorious. 
 We have therefore no reason to be ashamed of the word 
 Protestantism, though we have just cause for being ashamed 
 of the men in the Church of England who are trying to 
 destroy that religion which gives them their daily bread. 
 The man who bites the hand which feeds him is justly held 
 in contempt. 
 
 Another of the articles in the Essays on Reunion, which 
 was written anonymously, very candidly, and in the most 
 brazen-faced fashion, unblushingly boasted that the Ritual- 
 ists were doing the work of the Church of Rome within the 
 Church of England. Any honest man of business would say 
 that if they were doing Rome's work they ought to receive 
 Rome's pay, and not that of the Church of England. But 
 it is to be feared that large numbers of Ritualists possess 
 what the Apostle terms a "conscience seared with a hot 
 iron " (1 Tim. iv. 2) — hardened, and past feeling. What I 
 have just said may, at first sight, seem to some of my 
 readers, almost incredible, and therefore I give below the 
 actual words of this Ritualistic writer — 
 
 M The marvel is, that Roman Catholics whatever their views may 
 
 35 Ibid., p. 89. 
 
316 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 be, do not see the wisdom of aiding us to the utmost. Admitting 
 that we are but a lay body with no pretensions to the name of a 
 Church, we yet, in our belief (however mistaken) that we are one, are 
 doing for England that which they cannot do. We are teaching men 
 to believe that God is to be worshipped under the fcrm of Bread, and 
 they are learning the lesson from us which they have refused to learn 
 from the Roman teachers, who have been among us for the last three 
 hundred years. We are teaching men to endure willingly the pain of 
 Confession, which is an intense trial to the reserved Anglo-Saxon 
 nature, and to believe that a man's *I absolve thee' is the voice of 
 God. How many English Protestants have Roman priests brought 
 to Confession, compared with the Anglican clergy ? Could they have 
 overcome the English dislike to 1 mummery 1 as we are overcoming it ? 
 On any hypothesis, we are doing their work." 26 
 
 These traitors within the camp knew very well that the 
 Church of Rome would not care to have the Church of 
 England even as a present, unless she had first of all 
 repented of her Protestantism, and adopted Romish doctrines 
 and practices. Consequently their great efforts, for the 
 time being, centred round the " Catholicising " work 
 described in the above statement. 
 
 " Let us be assured," wrote the Rev. T. W. Mossman, Rector of 
 West Torrington, " that the Roman and Greek Churches cannot, if 
 they w^ould, hold out the right hand of fellowship to us, so long as we 
 are uncatholic in our practice. . . . We see then most clearly, as the 
 conclusion of the wmole matter, that by adopting and promoting 
 really Catholic Ritual observances, we are, as far as in us lies, pro- 
 moting in the most effectual way possible the accomplishment of 
 Visible Unity and intercommunion amongst all parts of the Church; 
 and that by neglecting or opposing Catholic Ritual we are doing our 
 best, or our worst, to hinder the glorious consummation of the visible, 
 corporate Reunion of the whole Christian family." 27 
 
 For several years after the formation of the Association 
 for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom, Roman 
 Catholics were permitted to join it. As we have already 
 seen, large numbers of them became members, and Masses 
 for its object were offered in several Romish countries. 
 
 K Essays on Reunion, p. 180. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 288, 289. 
 
THE INQUISITION CONDEMNS THE A.P.U.C. 317 
 
 But in April, 1S64, the Roman Catholic Bishops in England 
 seem to have become alarmed as to possible dangers to 
 their people, through being joined together with non- 
 Romanists in religious work. They, accordingly, addressed 
 a letter to the Inquisition on the subject, asking for an 
 authoritative decision on the question. On September 16th, 
 1S64, the Inquisition sent its official reply, signed by Cardinal 
 Patrizi, to the Bishops, condemning the A.P.U.C, and 
 ordering all Roman Catholics to withdraw from it. From 
 this document I give the subjoined extracts : — 
 
 " It has been notified to the Apostolic See that some Catholics and 
 even ecclesiastics, have given their names to a Society established in 
 London in the year 1857, < ^ or promoting ' (as it is called) 'the Unity 
 of Christendom ' j and that several articles have been published in the 
 public papers signed with the names of Catholics, in approval of this 
 Society, or supposed to have been written by ecclesiastics in its favour. 
 Now, the real character and aim of the Society are plain, not only from 
 the articles in the Journal called the Union Review, but from the very 
 prospectus in which persons are invited to join it, and are enrolled as 
 members. Organized and conducted by Protestants, 23 it has resulted 
 from a view, put forth by it in express terms, that the three Christian 
 Communions, the Roman Catholic, the schismatic Greek, and the 
 Anglican, though separated and divided one from another, have yet an 
 equal claim to the title of Catholic. Hence its doors are open to all 
 men whencesoever — Catholics, schismatic Greeks, or Anglicans — but 
 so that none shall moot the question of the several points of doctrine 
 in which they differ, and each may follow undisturbed the opinions of 
 his own religious profession. . . . 
 
 " The Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office, to whose scrutiny 
 the matter has been referred as usual, has judged, after mature con- 
 sideration, that the faithful should be warned with all care against 
 being led by heretics to join with them and with schismatics in 
 entering this Association. The most Eminent Fathers the Cardinals, 
 placed with myself over the Sacred Inquisition, entertain, indeed, no 
 doubt that the Bishops of those parts address themselves already with 
 diligence, according to the charity and learning which distinguish 
 
 23 Roman Catholic controversialists persist in calling Ritualists '* Pro- 
 testants," though they repudiate the name. I need hardly add that no true 
 Protestant would ever join a Society to pray for Reunion with Rome. 
 
318 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 them, to point out the evils which that Association diffuses, and to 
 repel the dangers it is bringing on. Yet they would seem wanting 
 to their office, did they not, in a matter of such moment, further 
 enkindle the said Bishops' pastoral zeal: this novelty being all the 
 more perilous as it bears a semblance of religion, and of being much 
 concerned for the unity of the Christian society. 
 
 " The principle on which it rests is one that overthrows the Divine 
 constitution of the Church. For it is pervaded by the idea that the 
 true Church of Jesus Christ consists partly of the Roman Church 
 spread abroad and propagated throughout the world, partly of the 
 Photian schism and the Anglican heresy, as having equally with the 
 Roman Church, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. . . . The 
 Catholic Church offers prayers to Almighty God, and urges the 
 faithful in Christ to pray, that all who have left the Holy Roman 
 Church, out of which is no salvation, may abjure their errors and be 
 brought to the true faith, and the peace of that Church, nay, that all 
 men may, by God's merciful aid, attain to a knowledge of the truth. 
 But that the faithful in Christ, and that ecclesiastics, should pray for 
 Christian unity under the direction of heretics, and, worse still, 
 according to an intention stained and infected by heresy in a high 
 degree, can no way be tolerated. . . . 
 
 " Hence, no proof is needed that Catholics who join this Society are 
 giving both to Catholics and non-Catholics an occasion of spiritual 
 ruin : more especially, because the Society, by holding out a vain 
 expectation of those three communions, each in its integrity, and 
 keeping each to its own persuasion, coalescing in one, lead the minds 
 of non-Catholics away from conversion to the faith, and, by the 
 Journals it publishes, endeavours to prevent it. 
 
 " The most anxious care, then, is to be exercised, that no Catholics 
 maybe deluded, either by appearance of piety or by unsound opinions, 
 to join or in any way favour the Society in question, or any similar 
 one ; that they may not be carried away by a delusive yearning for such 
 new-fangled Christian unity, into a fall from that perfect unity which 
 by a wonderful gift of Divine Grace stands on the firm foundation of 
 Peter. 
 
 " C. Card. Patrizi." 
 
 " Rome, this 16th day of September, 1864." 29 
 
 The issuing of this document was, indeed, a terrible blow 
 to the promoters of the A. P. U. C. It not merely proclaimed 
 
 80 I quote from tho official Roman Catholic translation, in Synodi Dio(cesf9$ 
 SuthW0rmti4 t Uondini, i8G3, pp, 186^90. 
 
TRAITOROUS ADDRESS FROM ENGLISH CLERGY. 319 
 
 war against the Association, but treated it with unmitigated 
 contempt. Its members are termed "heretics"; and the 
 Association is declared to be engaged in the task of 
 " diffusing evils," and producing "dangers" in the Church. 
 Its chief " principle " is even said to " overthrow the Divine 
 constitution of the Church"; and its "intention" is declared 
 to be " stained and infected with heresy in a high degree." 
 But some of the Ritualists seem to take a special delight in 
 humbly kissing the Papal toe which has just kicked them. 
 No fewer than 198 clergymen of the Church of England, 
 members of the A. P. U. C, answered the document issued 
 by the Inquisition of cruel and evil memory, with an address 
 of contemptible humiliation and explanation. The one 
 thing they seemed to dread was to offend the Pope. Not 
 a thought of the effect of their traitorous conduct on the 
 Protestants of England ever seems to have entered their 
 heads. They put their names to their address, but, no 
 doubt, with the knowledge that none of the public would 
 ever know who they were. The secret has been kept ever 
 since. What a storm of indignation would have swept over 
 them, had their identity been known at the time to the 
 people amongst whom they ministered ! It will be observed 
 that some of them held high office in the Church of 
 England, describing themselves as " Deans " and "Canons." 
 Their address to what they termed "the Sacred Office" of 
 the Inquisition is not generally known, and therefore I print 
 it in full 
 
 " To the Most Eminent and Most Reverend Father in Christ and 
 Lord C. Cardinal Patrizi, Prefect of the Sacred Office. 
 
 "We, the undersigned Deans, Canons, Parish Priests, and other 
 Priests of the Anglo- Catholic Church, earnestly desiring the visible 
 reunion, according to the will of our Lord, of the several parts of the 
 Christian family, have read with great regret your Eminence's letter 
 1 to all the English Bishops.' 
 
 " In that letter, our Society, instituted to promote the Reunion of all 
 Christendom, i§ charged with affirming in its prospectus that 'the 
 
320 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 three Communions, the Roman Catholic, the Eastern, and the 
 Anglican, have an equal claim to call themselves Catholic.' 
 
 " On that question our prospectus gave no opinion whatever. What 
 we said, treated of the question of fact, not of right. We merely 
 affirmed that the Anglican Church claimed the name of Catholic; as 
 is abundantly plain to all, both from the Liturgy and the Articles of 
 Religion. 
 
 " Moreover, as to the intention of our Society, that letter asserts our 
 especial aim to be, ' that the three Communions named, each in its 
 integrity and each maintaining still its own opinions, may coalesce 
 into one.' 
 
 "Far from us and from our Society be such an aim as this; 
 from which must be anticipated, not ecclesiastical unity, but merely a 
 discord of brethren in personal conflict under one roof. What we 
 beseech Almighty God to grant, and desire with all our hearts, is 
 simply that oecumenical intercommunion which existed before the 
 separation of East and West, founded and consolidated on the 
 profession of one and the same Catholic faith. 
 
 " Moreover, the Society aforesaid should all the less excite your 
 jealousy that it abstains from action, and simply prays, in the words 
 of Christ our Lord, ' May there be one Fold and one Shepherd.' 
 This alone finds place in our hearts' desire, and this is the principle 
 and the yearning we express to your Eminence with the utmost 
 earnestness, with sincere heart and voice unfeigned. 
 
 " As to the Journal entitled the Union Review, the connection 
 between it and the Society is purely accidental, and we are, therefore, 
 in no way pledged to its dicta. In that little work, various writers 
 put forth indeed their own opinions, but only to the further elucida- 
 tion of the truth of the Catholic faith by developing them. That 
 such a mode of contributing papers should not be in use in Rome, 
 where the controversies of the day are seldom under discussion, is 
 hardly to be wondered at ; but in England, where almost every 
 question becomes public property, none results in successful con- 
 viction without free discussion. 
 
 " To hasten this event, we have now laboured during many years. 
 We have effected improvements beyond what could be hoped for, 
 where the faith of the flock, or Divine worship, or clerical discipline, 
 may have been imperfect ; and, not to be forgetful of others, 
 
 WE HAVE CULTIVATED A FEELING OF GOODWILL TOWARDS THE 
 
 venerable Church of Rome, that has for a long time caused some 
 to mistrust us. 
 
DR. MANNING ON THE REUNION MOVEMENT. 32 1 
 
 " We humbly profess ourselves your Eminence's servants, devoted 
 to Catholic unity." 30 
 
 On this document, and the reply given to it by the 
 Inquisition, Cardinal Manning addressed a pastoral letter 
 to the clergy, entitled the Reunion of Christendom. In this 
 document, while firmly upholding the decision of the 
 Inquisition forbidding Roman Catholics to join the 
 A. P. U.C., Dr. Manning showed how much he rejoiced in 
 his heart at the work of that Society. Of the address 
 to the Inquisition, by 198 Church of England clergymen, 
 he wrote : — 
 
 " We do not regard this as a merely intellectual or natural event. 
 We gladly recognize in it an influence and an impulse of supernatural 
 grace. It is a wonderful reaction from the days within living 
 memory when fidelity to the Church of England was measured by 
 repulsion from the Church of Rome. It is as wonderful an evidence 
 of the flow in the stream which has carried the minds of men 
 onwards for these thirty years nearer and nearer to the frontiers of 
 the Catholic faith. It is a movement against the wind and tide of 
 English tradition and of English prejudice ; a supernatural movement 
 like the attraction which drew those who were once farthest from the 
 Kingdom of Heaven to the side of our Lord. A change has visibly 
 passed over England. Thirty years ago its attitude towards the 
 Catholic Church was either intense hostility or stagnant ignorance. 
 It is not so now." 31 
 
 At this period Dr. Manning seems to have devoted a great 
 deal of his attention to the Romeward Movement in the 
 Church of England. He thankfully acknowledged the 
 services rendered by the Ritualists to the Church of Rome, 
 and simply laughed to scorn their boast that they kept their 
 followers from joining the Church of Rome by giving to them 
 Popery within the Church of England, in order that it might 
 be unnecessary for them to go to Rome for it. In the course 
 of his inaugural address to the Roman Catholic Academia, 
 in 1866, Archbishop Manning entered at considerable length 
 
 30 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. II., pp. 279, 2S0. 
 W Ibid., p. 286. 
 
 21 
 
322 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 into the effects of Ritualism on the prosperity of the Church 
 of Rome in England. He said : — 
 
 " In the last thirty years there has sprung up in the Anglican 
 Establishment an extensive rejection of Protestantism, and a sincere 
 desire and claim to be Catholic. Ever since the Reformation, indeed, 
 the writers of the Anglican Church have claimed to be Catholic ; but 
 none that I know disclaimed to be Protestant. They assumed that a 
 Protesting Christian was ipso facto a primitive Catholic. Not so now. 
 Protestantism is recognized as a thing intrinsically untenable and 
 irreconcilable with the Catholic faith. The school of which I speak 
 claim to be Catholic because they reject Protestantism with all its 
 heterodoxies. In this school are to be found many Catholic doctrines, 
 not exactly or fully expressed or believed — for such are not to be 
 found either full or exact outside of the Catholic Church — but more or 
 less near to truth. For instance, the Church of England forbids the 
 use of the term Transubstantiation, by declaring the doctrine to be 
 an error. The doctrine of the Real Presence, less Transubstantiation, 
 is like the doctrine of one God in three Persons, less the doctrine of 
 the Trinity. Not only is the term rejected, but the conception is 
 correspondingly inaccurate. This runs through all the Catholic 
 doctrines which are professed out of the unity of the Church, and 
 apart from the traditions of its sacred terminology. It is under this 
 limitation that I go on to say that at this time the doctrine of the 
 Sacraments, their nature, number, and grace ; the intercession and 
 invocation of saints, the power of the priesthood in sacrifice and 
 absolution, the excellence and obligations of the religious life, are all 
 held and taught by clergymen of the Church of England. Add to 
 this, the practice of Confession, and of works of temporal and spiritual 
 mercy in form and by rule borrowed from' the Catholic Church, 
 are all to be found among those who are still within the Anglican 
 communion. I must also add the latest and strangest phenomenon 
 of this movement, the adoption of an elaborate ritual with its 
 vestments borrowed from the Catholic Church. 
 
 "On all these things I trust a blessing may descend. I see in 
 them many things : First, they are a testimony in favour of the 
 Catholic Church, which has always unchangeably taught and practised 
 these things ; secondly, a testimony against the Anglican Reformation, 
 which has always rejected and cast them out." 33 
 
 "Every parish priest happily knows how empty and foolish is the 
 
 32 Essays on Religion and Literature, pp. 12, 13. Second series. 
 
DR. MANNING ON THE WORK OF RITUALISTS. 323 
 
 boast they [Ritualists] make of keeping souls from conversion [to 
 the Church of Rome]. The public facts of every day refute it. 
 They may keep back the handful who surround them, and hide the 
 truth from their own hearts, but the steady current of return to the 
 Catholic and Roman Church throughout the whole of England is no 
 more to be affected by them than the rising of the tide by the palms 
 of their hands. Against their will, certainly, and perhaps without 
 their knowledge, they are sending on numberless souls into the truth 
 which they probably will never enter. But the number of those 
 [Ritualists] whose good faith is doubtful is not great. The multitude 
 of those who are drawn by a simple and natural reverence to clothe 
 what they sincerely believe with a becoming ritual, and who worship 
 piously and humbly in Churches which might almost be mistaken for 
 ours ... is very great, and is perhaps continually increasing. They 
 are coming up to the very threshold of the Church. They have learned 
 to look upon it as the centre of Christendom, from which they sprang, 
 and upon which their own Church is supposed to rest. They use our 
 devotions, our books, our pictures of piety ; they are taught to believe 
 the whole Catholic doctrine, and to receive the whole Council of 
 Trent, not indeed in its own true meaning, but in a meaning invented 
 by their teachers. This cannot last long. Such teachers are, as 
 Fuller quaintly and truly says, like unskilful horsemen. They so open 
 gates as to shut themselves out, but let others through." 33 
 
 Since the year 1867 the Association for the Promotion of 
 the Unity of Christendom has not come very prominently 
 before the public. But it has worked in private ever since, 
 in ways with which the outer world is not generally 
 acquainted. It is advertised in several of the Ritualistic 
 annuals, and twice a year " Celebrations " for the 
 " intention " of the Society are offered in English, Scottish, 
 and Colonial Churches. The Church of Rome no longer 
 gives the Association any help ; she only reaps the fruit of its 
 labours. 
 
 Amongst the Ritualistic societies which, as a portion only 
 of their operations, advocate and labour for the Corporate 
 Reunion of the Church of England with the Church of 
 Rome, is the secret Society of the Holy Cross. In the year 
 1867, at tne Wolverhampton Church Congress, this Society 
 
 33 ibid., p. 14. 
 
 21 * 
 
324 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 issued an Address to Catholics, in which its deep, heartfelt 
 longings for Reunion with Rome found expression. 
 
 " It may well be," says this Address, " nay, it is, a very grievous 
 drawback to the Church of England that she is not now in visible 
 communion with the Western Patriarchate." 34 
 
 By the " Western Patriarchate " is, of course, meant that 
 of the Church of Rome. I venture to assert that the 
 majority of loyal Churchmen are quite certain that the 
 absence, during the past three centuries, of " visible 
 communion " with Rome, instead of being " a very grievous 
 drawback to the Church of England/' is, in reality, a great 
 blessing for which England cannot be too thankful to 
 Almighty God. It is no " drawback " to either individuals, 
 nations, or Churches, to be spiritually free from Papal 
 bondage. Should the S. S. C. gain its objects, then farewell 
 for ever to our religious liberty ! 
 
 During the few months immediately preceding the 
 Wolverhampton Church Congress, of 1867, the authorities 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross were busily engaged in 
 securing signatures, from both clergy and laity, to an 
 Address to the Bishops assembled that year, at the first 
 Lambeth Conference. The Romeward leanings of the 
 Society, which was described at that time, by a Ritualistic 
 newspaper, as " a shy and retiring organization," 35 are still 
 more clearly seen in this Address, which was publicly 
 advertised at the time as emanating from the S. S. C. The 
 following extract from this document will be read with 
 disapprobation by all who love the freedom of the Church of 
 England, and believe that it would be a sin to join the 
 Roman communion, whether individually or corporately : — 
 
 "We are mindful of efforts made in former time by English and 
 foreign Bishops and theologians to effect, by mutual explanations on 
 either side, a reconciliation between the Roman and Anglican Communions. 
 And, considering the intimate and visible union which existed between 
 
 84 S. S. C. Address to Catholics, p. 13. 
 
 85 Church News, August 21, 1867, p. 372. 
 
REMOVING THE BARRIERS. 
 
 325 
 
 the Church of England and the rest of Western Christendom, we 
 earnestly entreat your lordships seriously to consider the best means 
 of renewing like endeavours ; and to adopt such measures as may, 
 under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, be effectual in removing 
 the barriers which now divide the Western Branch of the Catholic 
 Church." 36 
 
 I do not know any expression which more clearly and 
 accurately describes the work of the Ritualists than 
 that of " removing the barriers" between the Church of 
 England and the Church of Rome. Those " barriers " 
 were set up by our Reformers, nearly 350 years ago, and 
 for good and sufficient reasorfs. They are as much needed 
 now as ever, for Rome has not improved, but has rather 
 grown worse, since the Reformation. It is, therefore, the 
 bounden duty of all who love the Reformation, whatever 
 may be their ecclesiastical or social position, however exalted, 
 or however humble, to resist all attempts at removing them, 
 whether those attempts are made by the secret Society of 
 the Holy Cross, or by any other Ritualistic society or indi- 
 vidual. This S. S. C. Address to the Lambeth Conference 
 was signed by no fewer than 12 12 clergymen in the Church 
 of England, and by 4453 of the laity, of whom 1995 were 
 women. 37 It will no doubt surprise many of my readers to 
 learn that so far back as the year 1867 such a large number 
 of clergymen were found anxious for " a reconciliation between 
 the Roman and Anglican Communions." If so many could 
 be found then, is there not good reason for fearing that the 
 number has multiplied since, and that the dangers to our 
 Church from this Romeward Movement have multiplied also ? 
 A few names only of those who signed this Address were 
 published in the papers — the great majority of them are 
 unknown until this day. Amongst others, it was signed by 
 the Rev. Dr. Pusey; the late Canon H. P. Liddon ; Canon 
 T. T. Carter, of Clewer; the Rev. W. Butler, late Dean of 
 Lincoln ; the Rev. F. H. Murray, then and now Rector of 
 
 Ibid., September nth, 1867, p. 426. 37 Ibid., September 25th, 1867, p. 455. 
 
326 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Chislehurst ; the Rev. R. M. Benson, then head of the 
 Cowley Fathers ; the Hon. and Rev. H. Douglas, now Vicar 
 of St. Paul's, Worcester; the Rev. A. Wagner, Vicar of 
 St. Paul's, Brighton; Rev. P. G. Medd, now Rector of 
 North Cerney, Cirencester ; the Rev. G. R. Prynne, Vicar 
 of St. Peter's, Plymouth ; the Hon. Colin Lindsay, then 
 President of the English Church Union, and subsequently a 
 seceder to Rome ; and the Hon. C. L.Wood, now Lord Halifax, 
 and the present President of the English Church Union. 
 
 The secrecy which surrounds the work of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross has prevented me from learning much as to 
 its operations in furtherance of Reunion with Rome since 
 1867, but I have heard nothing which would lead me to 
 suppose that it has withdrawn from the position which it 
 then adopted. There can be no doubt that during that 
 period it has laboured zealously in Romanizing the services 
 of the Church of England, and it even went so far as to make 
 the adoption of " Roman Ritual " the rule for the Brethren 
 to follow. And it has certainly laboured hard ever since 
 1867 in teaching Romish doctrine. The Master of the 
 Society, in his Address to the September, 1876, Synod, 
 went so far as to declare that " no Brother [of the S. S. C] 
 should be considered disloyal to the Society who agrees in 
 opinion with the rest of Western Christendom, except in one 
 article, or its immediate consequences, which denies that the 
 Brother himself is a Catholic." 38 The " one article " here 
 referred to, there can be no question, was that of Papal Infalli- 
 bility. A man can therefore agree with every other doctrine 
 of " the rest of Western Christendom," that is, with the 
 Church of Rome, without being in any way " disloyal " to 
 the Society of the Holy Cross. That, no doubt, is the case; 
 but here the important question comes in, Is not such a man 
 " disloyal " to the Church of England ? At the September, 
 1878, Synod of the S. S. C. the following resolution proposed 
 
 38 The Master's Address. Festival of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 
 1876, p. 5- 
 
THE S. S. C. ON REUNION. 
 
 327 
 
 by Brother Lowder, and seconded by Brother Goldie, was 
 carried nem. con. : — " That this Synod regards with much 
 interest the attempts to revive the life and action of the 
 A. P. U. C. [Association for Promoting the Unity of Christen- 
 dom] , and holds that the time is now come for its adopting 
 some more practical measures for the promotion of the 
 Unity of Christendom, and in particular that the S. S. C. 
 would desire to co-operate with the A. P. U. C. in obtaining 
 the sanction of the Catholic Patriarchs of Western and 
 Eastern Christendom for freedom to English Catholics to 
 communicate at Catholic altars in foreign countries." 39 In 
 the course of the discussion which took place on this resolu- 
 tion, Brother Mossman informed the Brethren that the 
 Order of Corporate Reunion "had arisen out of the yearning 
 of many hearts for visible unity and communion with the See 
 of Peter. He gave an account of an interview he had had 
 with Cardinal Manning, to whom he had mentioned four 
 points which, he believed, would be urged by the Catholic 
 party in any negotiations with the Holy See. (1) The 
 recognition of Anglican Orders; (2) the marriage of priests; 
 (3) the giving of the chalice to the laity ; (4) the Liturgy in 
 the vernacular. The answers of his Eminence had been 
 satisfactory, though he would not commit himself to speak 
 authoritatively on the matter." 40 At this same Synod the 
 Society of the Holy Cross considered its attitude towards 
 the Order of Corporate Reunion, and a Committee was 
 appointed to consider the subject. Subsequently the Society 
 adopted and published the Report of this Committee. It 
 was decidedly against the O. C. R. The conclusion arrived 
 at is contained in the following paragraph : — " We therefore 
 hold that the assumed jurisdiction of the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion is without any lawful foundation, that its claims 
 cannot be substantiated, and that Catholics should therefore 
 be warned against joining the Association, as involving 
 
 39 S.S.C. Analysis of Proceedings, September Synod, 1S78, pp. 9-11. 
 
 40 Ibid., p. 10. 
 
328 SECRET HISTORY. OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 themselves thereby in the guilt of schism, and probably of 
 sacrilege." 41 
 
 One of the members of the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 the Rev. N. Y. Birkmyre, Vicar of St. Simon's, Bristol, 
 gave expression, in 1888, to his wishes for Reunion in a very 
 candid manner indeed. He was preaching for the Church 
 of England Working Men's Society on that occasion, and, 
 speaking for himself and the Society, he declared : — 
 
 "We must never be content to settle down till the Church of 
 England can say boldly, not by the mouth of two or three individuals, 
 but by the mouths of the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church, 
 to the Sister Churches: — 'See, here we have cast out from ourselves 
 Protestantism, we now every one of us believe and use the Sacraments, 
 and now we say, receive us again into inter-communion, let us all be 
 one again.' . . . And the second great danger is the idea of building 
 up a modified, but still practically a National religion. People say 
 that the Church of Greece and the Church of Rome teach one thing, 
 and the Church of England something else, but if the Church of 
 England teaches anything about the Blessed Sacrament different from 
 the others she teaches a lie. No, we must understand that the teaching 
 is one." 42 
 
 Another Ritualistic Society, which has make Corporate 
 Reunion with Rome one of the planks in its platform, is the 
 English Church Union. In its earlier years this subject 
 was kept somewhat in the background, and when mentioned 
 in public was generally referred to as "the Corporate 
 Reunion of Christendom," a convenient expression which 
 may mean more or less according to the intention of the 
 person who uses it. The attitude of the Union was to a 
 large extent that which it adopted, in its earlier years 
 towards Ritual. Its rules did not fully reveal their plans to 
 the public. One of the most prominent members of the 
 Union, the Rei . T. W. Perry, at an ordinary meeting of 
 that Society on February 16th, 1869, very candidly explained 
 
 41 Statement of the Society of the Holy Cross Concerning the Order of Corporate 
 Reunion, p. 10. Revised edition. 
 
 42 Chtirdi Times, August 14th, 1885, p. 623. 
 
TACTICS OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH UNION. 329 
 
 the tactics of the Union in the following terms : — " It is 
 quite clear," he said, " it would never do for the President 
 and Council, any more than it would do for a general and 
 his officers, to explain all their tactics. They must be as 
 candid as they can, but they must observe such reticence 
 as is necessary." 43 The English Church Union had been 
 many years in existence before it became officially pledged 
 to Corporate Reunion with Rome. Previous to that period 
 its work consisted largely in educating its followers as to 
 the alleged duty and necessity of such a union. The 
 subject was frequently discussed at meetings of its branches 
 throughout the country, and these branches occasionally 
 passed resolutions on the question, which, while they were 
 not binding on the Central Council, yet served to show the 
 direction in which the tide was flowing Romeward. To 
 sooth the minds of the more timid of their followers the 
 Unionists were heard, from time to time, talking against 
 some of the practical abuses of the Church of Rome, and 
 finding fault with a few of the doctrines taught in Continental 
 books of devotion. What Bishop Robert Abbot said of 
 Laud and his followers, might with equal justice be said 
 of those wily Ritualists who, while denouncing Rome, are 
 labouring zealously for Reunion with her. 
 
 "If they do at any time," said Dr. Abbot, "speak against the 
 Papists, they do but beat a little about the bush, and that but softly 
 too, for fear of waking and disquieting the birds that are in it j they 
 speak nothing but that wherein one Papist will speak against another, 
 as against equivocation, and the Pope's temporal authority, and the like ; 
 and perhaps some of their blasphemous speeches. But in the points 
 of Free Will, Justification, Concupiscence being a sin after Baptism, 
 Inherent Righteousness, and certainty of Salvation ; the Papists beyond 
 the seas can say they are wholly theirs 5 and the Recusants [Roman- 
 ists] at home make their brags of them. And in all things they keep 
 themselves so near the brink, that upon any occasion they may step 
 over to them." 44 
 
 43 English Church Union Monthly Circular, Volume for 1SC9, p. 99. 
 <4 Heyiin's Life of Laud, p. 42. Dublin, 1719. 
 
330 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting of the English Church Union, 
 June 12th, 1861, the President of the Union, the Hon. Colin 
 Lindsay (who subsequently seceded to Rome) congratulated 
 the members that on that morning they had offered up to 
 the Throne of Heaven their " united prayers for the 
 Reunion of Christendom." Though he does not appear to 
 have mentioned it by name, there can be no doubt that 
 he included Reunion with Rome in that expression. 
 
 In 1865 Dr. Pusey startled the ecclesiastical world by 
 the publication of the first volume of his Eirenicon, the 
 object of which, as the title-page states, was to prove that 
 the Church of England, as " a portion of Christ's one 
 Holy Catholic Church," might become " a means of 
 restoring visible unity " to the whole of the Church 
 throughout the world. A more detailed, and also an 
 accurate summary of its object was that given by the 
 Union Review, which remarked that : — " The object of the 
 book is to prove that in all essentials for Unity, the 
 Churches of England and Rome are one, and that, as a 
 Catholic interpretation can most readily and truly be given 
 both to the Decrees of Trent and the Thirty-nine Articles, 
 nothing need hinder their mutual acceptance. He holds it 
 to be a mistake to suppose that any of the Articles were 
 levelled against the doctrines of the Roman Communion 
 as set forth by the Council of Trent, or that the Decrees of 
 Trent were levelled against anything upheld by the English 
 Church, or that they really maintain anything which the 
 English Church has condemned. 45 Dr. Pusey considers that 
 those parts of the Roman system which are popularly spoken 
 of as Romanism are but excrescences like the many heresies 
 among ourselves." 46 In other words, his attitude towards 
 Rome was very much like that of Laud and his followers, as 
 
 45 Those who wish to read an able and conclusive refutation of the position 
 adopted by Dr. Pusey, should read Dean Goode's Tract XC. Historically 
 Refuted. Second edition, 1866. London : Hatchards. 
 
 46 Union Review, Volume for 1866, p. 2. 
 
DR. PUSEY ON PAPAL SUPREMACY. 
 
 331 
 
 described by Bishop Robert Abbot, in the sermon quoted 
 above. The only differences between the two are that Dr. 
 Pusey went much further in a Romeward direction than 
 Laud ever dreamt of, and that he wrote far more gently of 
 Papal error than Laud would ever have sanctioned. The 
 Roman Catholic newspaper, the Weekly Register, reviewed 
 the Eirenicon at considerable length, and this drew from 
 Dr. Pusey himself a letter, dated November 22nd, 1865, 
 addressed to the Editor of that paper, in the course of 
 which he made the following remarkable statements : — 
 
 " I have long been convinced that there is nothing in the Council 
 of Trent which could not be explained satisfactorily to us, if it were 
 explained authoritatively, i.e., by the Roman Church itself, not by 
 individual theologians only. This involves the conviction on my side, 
 that there is nothing in our Articles which cannot be explained 
 rightly, as not contradicting anything held to be de fide in the Roman 
 Church. . . . As it is of moment, that I should not be misunderstood 
 by my own people, let me add, that I have not intended to express 
 any opinion about a visible head of the Church. We readily recognize 
 the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome ; the bearings of that Primacy 
 upon other local Churches, we believe to be matter of ecclesiastical, 
 not of Divine law ; but neither is there anything in the Supremacy 
 in itself to which we should object." 
 
 No doubt Dr. Pusey would wish the "Supremacy " of the 
 Pope to be exercised over the Church of England — in case 
 of Reunion — in the gentlest possible manner, but to be 
 willing to accept it in any shape or form, with the lessons of 
 the past for our guidance, is an act which must be abhorred 
 by every liberty loving Englishman. This country knows, 
 from bitter experience, what Papal supremacy means. The 
 lessons of the Martyr fires lit in Mary's reign are not yet 
 forgotten in England. 
 
 Dr. Pusey's book speedily attracted the attention of the 
 English Church Union. At its next annual meeting a 
 resolution was unanimously carried, expressing the rejoicing 
 of the Union at its publication, together with an earnest 
 hope for the Reunion of Christendom. The resolution was 
 
332 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 proposed by the Rev. W. Gresley, Vice-President of the 
 Union, in the following terms : — 
 
 " That this Union rejoices in the publication of Dr. Pusey's letter 
 (the Eirenicon) to the author of the Christian Year, and earnestly 
 hopes and prays that God, in His own time and in His own way, will 
 so dispose the hearts and minds of His people, that the sad divisions 
 which now rend the seamless robe of Christ maybe healed ; and 
 that the whole of Christendom may be re-united into one holy 
 communion and fellowship, to the glory of our Lord God, and the 
 salvation of the human race." 47 
 
 Mr. Gresley, in moving this resolution, informed the 
 members of the Union that he had brought the subject 
 forward at the request of the Council. He said that their 
 scheme for Reunion included not only the Roman and 
 Greek Churches, but the Dissenters also. " It would not," 
 he declared, " be a truly Christian scheme which did not 
 embrace them also " ; but he did not stop to explain that 
 the only condition on which Dissenters will ever be admitted 
 into the Church of England — by Ritualists — is that of abso- 
 lute surrender, and that is a condition which they can never 
 be expected to accept. So that Reunion with Dissenters, 
 on Ritualistic principles, is quite " out of the range of 
 practical politics." Individual Dissenters may come over 
 to the Church of England on this condition, but to expect 
 that any Nonconformist Church will do so, as a body, is 
 simply the dream of sacerdotal fanatics. The discussion on 
 Mr. Gresley's resolution was enlivened by the appearance of 
 the Rev. Archer Gurney — a member of the Union — who 
 stood up to propose an amendment. His remarks were 
 received, however, with hisses and uproar, and constant 
 interruption, and he could only find three persons to vote 
 for him. Yet he told the Union some plain and wholesome 
 truths, which it would have done well to lay to heart. He 
 declared that there were members of the Union (though, as 
 it turned out, there were only three in the meeting) "who are 
 
 4 ? English Church Union Monthly Circular, Volume for 1866, p. igi. 
 
" A GALLICAN ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE WATER." 333 
 
 not prepared to assent to Reunion with Rome on any basis 
 whatsoever, constituted as Rome now is, and maintaining 
 the claims she now maintains." While Mr. Gurney was 
 speaking Dr. Pusey was present at the meeting, which 
 had just elected him a Vice-President of the English 
 Church Union. When, therefore, Mr. Gurney attacked 
 him by name, he at once roused the anger of the 
 Romanizers. Yet, nothing daunted, Mr. Gurney went on 
 with his indictment. " I am," he continued, " heartily 
 persuaded that the Eirenicon — recognizing, as I do, the 
 purity of motive of the writer — is, nevertheless, most 
 dangerous in its effects, and, in addition, calculated to 
 deprive us of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. . . . These are 
 the principles which I come before you to uphold this day 
 — the independence of the Catholic Episcopate of any Pope, 
 of any single Bishop claiming to exercise Universal Primacy 
 and Supremacy. And he [Dr. Pusey] whom you so much 
 delight to honour has expressed his conviction that there is 
 nothing objectionable in such a Supremacy. I hold his own 
 words in my hand, and he has distinctly said, not only that 
 ' we readily recognize the supremacy 48 of the Bishop of 
 Rome,' but that ' there is nothing in that Supremacy in 
 itself to which we should object.' I say, as a Catholic, 
 he is not Catholic who uses such language as this ; . . . 
 and mark this, one of the chief Bishops of the American 
 Church has told us, that the man whom you delight to 
 honour is a Gallican on the wrong side of the water." At 
 this point there was great confusion in the meeting, and 
 angry shouts from the Romanizers were heard all over the 
 room. When Mr. Gurney sat down, Dr. Pusey rose to 
 reply to him, and was received with long-continued cheering. 
 As to the question of Papal Supremacy, he said that he 
 did " not know where it is defined in what Supremacy 
 consists." " It matters not," he continued, " under whom 
 
 ♦ 8 The word actually used by Dr. Pusey was " Primacy " not " Supremacy." 
 
334 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 we live, 49 so that by living under that authority it does not 
 touch our conscience." 
 
 At the next annual meeting of the English Church Union, 
 June 19th, 1867, the President announced the formation of a 
 new Society ("The Catholic Union for Prayer") which had 
 been promoted by the Union, for the purpose of praying for 
 the whole Church, and more especially for the restoration of 
 its unity. 
 
 " There is," said the President, u one powerful weapon we can all 
 use j that is, Prayer. The Council, feeling this so strongly, have 
 promoted the establishment of a new Union, called the ' Catholic 
 Union for Prayer.' The object of this Union is to combine all who 
 love God and His Church in an Holy Confraternity to pray for the 
 Holy Catholic Church, and for our portion of it in particular. If we 
 all unite in saying the Lord's Prayer once every day for this great 
 object, we may, relying upon the Divine promise to grant all petitions 
 offered in Christ's name, look forward with confidence to the speedy 
 deliverance of the Church of England, and her Reunion with East and 
 West. Let us labour hard for this glorious end." 50 
 
 A prospectus of this " Catholic Union for Prayer," which 
 I possess, states that its Warden was Dr. Pusey, the Hon. 
 Colin Lindsay its secretary, and that fourteen well-known 
 members of the Ritualistic party — seven clerical and seven 
 lay — constituted its Council. " All Churchmen," it states, 
 " being communicants of the Catholic Church, are earnestly 
 nvited to join this bond of prayer, this Holy Confederation, 
 for the Reunion of Christendom" ; and, no doubt with a view 
 to promote secrecy, it is added that " the names of the 
 Associates shall not be published." The " Catholic Union 
 for Prayer " is mentioned in every volume of the monthly 
 magazine of the English Church Union for several years 
 after its formation, after which I can find no record of its 
 
 49 Most Churchmen believe that it does matter very much "under whom 
 they live"; but it is evident that with Dr. Pusey to live under Papal 
 Supremacy, "would not touch our [his?] conscience." With loyal Churchmen 
 it would be otherwise. 
 
 50 The Liberties 0/ the Church, an Address by the Hon. Colin Lindsay, p. 22, 
 English Church Union Office. 
 
THE E. C. U. AND REUNION. 
 
 335 
 
 existence. Probably we shall know more about it when the 
 last volume of the Life of Dr. Pusey is published. 
 
 The subject of the Reunion of Christendom was kept 
 prominently before the public by the English Church Union, 
 after the publication of Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon. It was 
 discussed at the meetings of many of its branches, and 
 occasionally resolutions on the subject were passed. When the 
 Lambeth Conference met, in 1878, at the annual meeting of 
 the Union that year, a resolution was carried unanimously, 
 affirming that the Union viewed the Conference with the 
 deepest interest, "in the hope that their united counsels may 
 tend to the peace and well-being of the Church, the reunion 
 of those separated from her fold at home, and the restoration 
 of visible communion between the various Apostolic Churches 
 of Eastern and Western Christendom." 51 In the annual 
 report of the President and Council adopted at the same 
 meeting, a paragraph appeared which was almost word for 
 word the same as the resolution I have just quoted. 52 
 
 No one can doubt, who has studied the operations of the 
 English Church Union, that the prime mover in all its 
 Corporate Reunion work has been its President, Lord 
 Halifax. He was elected to that office, April 21st, 1868, on 
 the resignation of the first President, the Hon. Colin 
 Lindsay. That gentleman, in his letter of resignation, 
 assigned reasons for ceasing to be President which were only 
 ostensible. He pleaded his state of health. 53 No doubt he 
 was in ill-health at the time, but that which brought on the 
 crisis was his determination to secede to the Church of 
 Rome, an event which took place not long after his resigna- 
 tion. At that time the new President had not been called 
 to the House of Lords, and was known as the Hon. 
 Charles L. Wood. Since he became President of the English 
 Church Union his whole heart and soul have been thrown 
 into the work of healing the breach that took place between 
 
 51 Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1878, p. 179. 52 Ibid., p. 154. 
 53 History of the English Church Union, p. 99. 
 
336 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 England and Rome in the sixteenth century, and he has 
 done all that in him lay to assist that " levelling up " process 
 within the Church of England which seems to have been 
 thought necessary, as a preparation for the expected recon- 
 ciliation. It seems to have been generally accepted as a 
 principle by the advanced section of the Ritualists that the 
 Church of England is not in a sufficiently Catholic condition 
 — at least in practice — to make her respectable enough to 
 keep company with the truly holy and Catholic Church of 
 Rome ! Hence the necessity for " levelling up." This idea 
 of the relative position and purity of the Churches of England 
 and Rome found expression in a letter written by " a Colonial 
 Priest," which appeared in the Church Review of September 
 21st, 1888. A brief extract from this letter I have already given, 
 but it may be well to give its statements at greater length. 
 
 "It seems to me," wrote this Ritualistic priest, " utterly premature 
 to consider Reunion, especially with the great Patriarchal See of the 
 West [i.e., with Rome], as within even distant probability, until the 
 Anglican Communion, as a whole, is Catholicised. There lies our 
 work ; for every priest and every faithful lay person to live, each in his 
 or her little sphere, the Catholic life. When as yet the Holy Sacrifice 
 of the Mass is offered daily in only two hundred churches ; while the 
 Holy Sacrament of Unction is ignored by every member (so far as I 
 know : I shall be delighted to find that I am wrong) of the Anglican 
 Episcopate; while multitudes of laity never dream of purging their 
 souls of deadly sin by Sacramental Confession, and multitudes of priests 
 never teach them that such is their bounden duty ; while fasting 
 reception of the Body and Blood of our Lord is still the exception ; 
 while almost every kind of heresy can be taught unchecked from our 
 pulpits; while Bishops can still deny the very existence of sacrifice 
 or priesthood in the Christian Church ; while it is still possible for a 
 Bishop to be threatened with legal penalties for celebrating the Divine 
 Mysteries with bare decency, and for the head of the Anglican 
 Communion, the successor of St. Augustine and St. Thomas of 
 Canterbury, to decline taking proceedings on merely legal grounds ; 
 while these scandals, and a thousand like them, still daily take place, is 
 it not premature to think of asking the Apostolic See [Rome] to 
 reconsider its position towards us, for which it has had only too much 
 justification ? And yet English Catholics, knowing the fearful 
 
"cleanse our own house of heresy." 337 
 
 corruption yet disgracing the English Church™ can find it in their 
 hearts to accuse the Latin communion of Mariolatry, and such like. 
 We, to accuse Continental Catholics of excess of devotion to blessed 
 Mary, when with us the most holy Mother of God has, at the best, 
 but a mere grudging honour paiQ to her, as if every offering of love at 
 the feet of Mary could be anything but a most real worship of her 
 Incarnate Son ! Let us cleanse our own house of heresy. Let us get 
 rid of that Pharisaic self-righteousness which imagines all perfection 
 to be contained within the four corners of the Prayer Book, and 
 despises everything ' un-English.' 
 
 " Before any communication with either East or West can be even 
 thought of, the following reforms [?] must be accomplished : — 
 
 " i. A daily celebration of Mass by every priest to become the 
 rule, according to the long-standing Western custom. 
 
 " 2. The restoration to our Altars generally of the sweet perpetual 
 presence of Jesu in the most Holy Sacrament. 
 
 " 3. The full recognition and use of Extreme Unction. 
 
 " 4. Sacramental Confession of mortal sins to be recognized as 
 the Church's rule. 
 
 " 5. Restoration to our formularies of definite and distinct Prayers 
 for the Faithful Departed, and of Invocations of our Lady and the 
 Sain 
 
 "6. Universal belief throughout our communion in (a) the Real 
 and Substantial Presence of our Lord, under the form of bread and 
 wine, in the Sacrament of the Altar; (b) that in the Mass a true, 
 real, and propitiatory Sacrifice, as well for the living as the departed, is 
 offered to God the Father, even the Immaculate Lamb ■ (c) that there 
 are seven Sacraments of the New Law, though the two ' Sacraments 
 of the Gospel ' are of pre-eminent dignity and necessity. . . . 
 
 " I firmly believe that the day will come when such a Riformation [?] 
 will have penetrated throughout the length and breadth of the English 
 Communion, from the Primate of All England to the peasant at the 
 plough. God has wrought such great things for us during the last 
 fifty years, that it would be faithless to doubt that, in His own time, 
 every vestige of Protestant heresy will be purged out from us. But 
 the time is not yet. Therefore let everyone, while praying daily for 
 Reunion, remember that the surest way to accomplish it is by working 
 towards the purification of our own branch of the Catholic Church." 
 
 I do not in any way hold the English Church Union 
 
 54 Not a word does this Ritualistic writer say about the "fearful corrup- 
 tion " which actually does exist in the Roman Communion. 
 
 22 
 
33B SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 responsible for this letter of " A Colonial Priest " ; but I do 
 assert that the principles which he lays down are those 
 which have guided the Union. I am not aware that it has, 
 like this correspondent of the Church Review, advocated the 
 Invocation of Saints, but it has certainly, by means of the 
 literature on sale at its central office, advocated the Mass 
 for the living and the dead. It now holds a " Requiem 
 Service " for its deceased members every year. It has, 
 as we have seen, advocated the Confessional, and many of 
 its branches even defended the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 when attacked for its indecent confessional book, the Priest 
 in Absolution. This policy of "levelling up," which has 
 made the English Church Union such a thoroughly 
 " Preparatory School for Rome," was boldly advocated by 
 the Rev. V. S. S. Coles, now the head of the Pusey House, 
 Oxford, in a sermon which he preached on " The Place of 
 E. C. U. Objects in a Churchman's Life." The sermon 
 was printed verbatim in the Church Union Gazette, for 
 September, 1891. 
 
 "We must," said Mr. Coles, speaking for himself and his brethren 
 of the E. C. U., " pray that we may all recognize the true unity of the 
 great portions of the Church, Roman, Greek, Anglican, now, through 
 our sins and those of our fathers, outwardly divided, and that these 
 outward divisions may pass away in a day of blessed Reunion. 
 Meanwhile, that the . . . unspeakable mystery of the Altar may be 
 recognized as a Divine Communion, a true Sacrifice, a Real Presence 
 demanding a special adoration; that Holy Communion may be 
 rightly prepared for, and to this end that there may be wider oppor- 
 tunities, and more frequent use of Private Confession ; that the 
 ancient Catholic rule of Fasting Communion may be better observed; 
 . . . that the Anointing of the Sick may be rightly and dutifully 
 restored 5 that all rites and ceremonies which witness to our union 
 with the rest of the Catholic Church, and to the doctrines which we 
 hold in common, may be protected and restored. . . These are the 
 objects with which our Society is chiefly concerned.'' 
 
 It must be admitted that this is going a long way towards 
 carrying out the Plan of Campaign laid down by " A 
 Colonial Priest" three years before, while it is entirely 
 
RITUALISTIC REVISION OF THE PRAYER BOOR. 33c) 
 
 founded on the principles which guided his very- 
 discreditable letter. The English Church Union is clearly 
 responsible for what Mr. Coles said, since they published 
 his sermon, without finding any fault with it, in their 
 official organ. And what made Mr. Coles' statement of 
 E. C. U. policy so gravely important was, that it repre- 
 sented the policy of a Society which at that time numbered 
 nearly four thousand clergymen, and twenty-four bishops, in 
 its ranks. 
 
 All through this modern agitation for Corporate Reunion 
 there has but little been said against the corruptions of the 
 Church of Rome. Some of the practical abuses found in her 
 fold have been censured, but it has been in the gentlest 
 possible manner, and with many apologies to Rome for taking 
 such a liberty ; and it has been carefully explained that fault 
 has not been found so much with the authorized religion of 
 Rome, as with that " unauthorized" teaching given by some 
 of her children, especially on such a subject as the 
 extravagant devotion to the Virgin Mary. To quote 
 again the words of Bishop Abbot, " If they do at any time 
 speak against the Papists, they do but beat a little about 
 the bush, and that but softly too, for fear of waking and 
 disturbing the birds that are in it." The " levelling up " 
 process, the work of preparing the way for Reunion with 
 Rome has not yet, in the estimation of Lord Halifax, and 
 some of his brethren on the Council of the English Church 
 Union, been fully accomplished, even in the most advanced 
 of Ritualistic Churches. The Ritualistic party no longer 
 declare that they are satisfied with the Book of Common 
 Prayer. They wish to add largely to it from Roman sources. 
 For many years they resisted Revision of the Book of 
 Common Prayer, on Protestant lines : now, influential 
 members of the party are now advocating it on Romanizing 
 lines. A remarkable volume of Essays was published in 
 1892, entitled the Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist. Of 
 the eight gentlemen who contributed to it, seven were 
 
340 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT* 
 
 members of the English Church Union, and of these four 
 were members of its Council, including Lord Halifax, 
 President of the Union. I look upon this volume as, 
 indirectly, a manifesto of the English Church Union, or at 
 least as an indicator of what its policy is likely to be, though 
 officially the Union has not given it its approval. But we 
 can best judge of what the future policy of a Society will be 
 by ascertaining the views of those who rule it. The first 
 essay in this volume was from the pen of Lord Halifax 
 himself. His lordship affirms that some of the " changes 
 in the Liturgy " made by the Reformers in the sixteenth 
 century were " mistaken," and that we should not decline 
 to do our " very best to get them remedied." 55 In other 
 words, we should pull down a part of the work of the Refor- 
 mation. He goes on to affirm that there are " shortcomings " 
 in the English Church; and that the " arrangements of our 
 present Liturgy, with the dislocation of the Canon which 
 those arrangements involve, is a most serious blot on the 
 Eucharistic Service of the English Church," which " urgently 
 calls for reform." 56 In other words, Lord Halifax is 
 thoroughly dissatisfied with the Prayer Book, and is 
 determined to go in for its Revision, but, to save appearances, 
 he will not use that word, but expresses what he wants by 
 the term "reform." The result of seeing services conducted 
 on strictly Church of England lines, even under High 
 Church auspices, seems to fill him with disgust. He sighs 
 for what he has seen on the Continent. 
 
 "In this connection," writes the President of the English Church 
 Union, p. 38, " let me say it, though I say it with shame, that of all the 
 sad and discouraging sights which it is possible to see, none appears 
 to me so sad and so discouraging as the sight of an English Cathedral, 
 even the best, after being any time on the Continent. Contrast 
 Westminster Abbey with the Cathedral at Cologne, or any French 
 Cathedral, and you will almost wish never to enter it again till a 
 radical change has been effected in all its arrangements." 
 
 Lord Halifax evidently wishes English Cathedrals to be 
 
 55 The Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, p. 27. 66 Ibid., p. 28. 
 
PROPOSAL TO OMIT THE COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 341 
 
 modelled after the Roman Catholic Cathedrals of the 
 Continent. There are, it is well known, several English 
 Cathedrals where the services are conducted on High 
 Church lines, but even of these, Lord Halifax is ashamed : 
 the sight of them makes his heart sad, and discourages the 
 Romanizing hopes that fill his breast. We may well ask, 
 had the Reformers of the sixteenth century been men of the 
 views of Lord Halifax, would England ever have escaped 
 from the degrading slavery and cruel intolerance of Papal 
 bondage ? We cannot doubt that if those who guide the 
 policy of the English Church Union could have their own 
 way, the iron heel of the Papacy would once more crush 
 the independence and liberty of the Reformed Church of 
 England. In his essay Lord Halifax asks, " Why should 
 not the recitation of the Commandments be omitted at the 
 choral celebration of Holy Communion on Sundays, just 
 as is now often done at early celebrations of Holy 
 Communion " ? 57 W r e may well answer this question by 
 asking him another — What do you want them left out for ? 
 Are the Commandments of God "grievous" (1 John v. 3) 
 unto you ? Or is the reason of your wish to omit them 
 to be found in the manifest fact that the Second of them 
 forbids the use of pictures and images in Divine worship ? 
 It is, no doubt, most inconvenient for a Ritualistic priest 
 to read aloud that Second Commandment before the 
 congregation, when they can see the skirts of his dress 
 touching one of the forbidden things ? Every lover of the 
 Word of God will — Lord Halifax notwithstanding — plead 
 that the Commandments of God may remain, whatever else 
 it maybe necessary to remove from the Communion Service. 
 
 The fact that the President of the English Church Union 
 pleads so earnestly for additions to the Communion Service 
 is a clear proof that he, and his followers, are longing for 
 many things which the Church of England, in her wisdom, 
 has thought it best not to provide for her children. He 
 
 *7 Ibid., p. 29. 
 
342 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 wants additional Gospels, Epistles, and Collects to be pro- 
 vided for the Black Letter Days, and for " Services for the 
 Dead." 58 He also " pleads " for the " restoration where it is 
 possible of the practice of Reserving the Blessed Sacrament 
 in our Churches." 59 The ostensible reason for restoring the 
 Reserved Sacrament is that it is then always ready to be 
 given to the sick in cases of emergency ; but the real reason 
 is for purposes of adoration. The Ritualists do not plead for 
 the Reservation of the wine ; but only for half a Sacrament— 
 the consecrated wafer. Why not both ? Loyal Churchmen 
 are aware that there is no provision in the Book of Common 
 Prayer for giving the sick the Communion in one kind, 
 according to the modern Roman Catholic fashion, first made 
 obligatory in the fifteenth century. The English Communion 
 for the Sick requires the clergyman to consecrate both wine 
 and bread in the sick room. Suppose, then, the Church were 
 to give permission to Reserve the bread, how much time 
 would the Minister gain by such a permission, were he still 
 to be required to consecrate the wine in the sick room ? 
 None whatever. The real reason then why the Reserved 
 Sacrament is so earnestly longed for is adoration, and this is 
 shown in Lord Halifax's essay, in which he makes it plain 
 that he is most anxious for the restoration of the service 
 known as the " Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament," 
 which cannot be performed unless a Reserved wafer is kept 
 until evening for this service. 
 
 " It will be said," writes Lord Halifax, " by some that it [the 
 Reserved Sacrament] will be a step to Benediction and other practices 
 which are of comparatively modern origin j by others, that in the 
 imperfectly instructed condition of our people it might lead to 
 irreverence. Now, in regard to loth these objections may not this 
 be asked — and it is a remark which, I think, applies to many other 
 matters of a not dissimilar nature — why should we object to certain 
 practices which have grown up round the Blessed Sacrament, and 
 which experience has proved to le useful for encouraging the devotion of 
 the Faithful?" 60 
 
 58 The Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, p. 29. 69 Ibid., p. 35. 60 Ibid., p. 35. 
 
RITUALISTIC REVISION OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 343 
 
 The answer to all this is that the service of the Benediction 
 of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Reservation of the 
 Sacrament, would both certainty lead to that which the 
 Black Rubric terms " idolatry to be abhorred of all faithful 
 Christians." 
 
 Another contributor to this volume of essays, who is also 
 a member of the English Church Union, the Rev. E. W. 
 Sergeant, seems anxious for the entire omission of the Ten 
 Commandments from the Communion Service. " It is," he 
 writes, " no part of the priest's office in the ritual of the 
 Eucharist, like another Moses from Mount Sinai, to convey 
 God's laws to the people." 61 Another supposed defect in 
 the Book of Common Prayer, which is nothing less than gall 
 and wormwood to the whole Romanizing party, is termed by 
 Mr. Sergeant "one of the most mischievous innovations in 
 our Eucharistic Office." It is that, "whereas in the rubrics 
 alone of the Ordinary and Canon of the Mass in the Sarum 
 Missal the word altar occurs thirty times, it does not occur once 
 in any part of our Prayer Book" G2 This gentleman is also 
 sorely grieved because " such marked prominence " is given 
 in the Prayer Book to the title, " The Lord's Supper " ; and 
 he asks with burning indignation, "Why change the title? 
 Why reject the old and certainly inoffensive term 'the 
 Mass'?" 03 
 
 It is, therefore, quite clear that these gentlemen are not 
 satisfied with the Prayer Book as it is. They are not 
 content, however, with introducing all these Romanizing 
 novelties on their own responsibility, and without any 
 sanction from the law. What they now want is that they 
 shall be incorporated into the Book of Common Prayer, and 
 thus made part and parcel of the law of the Reformed 
 Church of England. If it is asked, why do Prayer Book 
 Churchmen object to these changes and additions, the 
 answer is that the result of adopting them would be a 
 gigantic schism in the Church of England. The Church 
 
 61 Ibid., p. 125. 62 Ibid., p. 124. 63 Ibid., p. 121. 
 
344 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 which for nearly four centuries, excepting during the brief 
 interval of the Commonwealth, has stood firmly against all 
 the storms and oppositions through which it has passed, 
 would at once fall to the ground, rent asunder by traitors 
 within her fold. Can statesmen view such a possibility with 
 pleasure ? A Prayer Book Romanized on the lines of the 
 English Church Union could not be accepted by any honest 
 Protestant Churchman, and the whole Protestant power of 
 Protestant England would be behind those who would then 
 once more fight again, for dear life, the battle of the 
 Reformation. Yet nothing less than this will satisfy the 
 wire-pullers of the Ritualistic party. It is useless to talk of 
 a possible compromise between the Lord's supper and the 
 Sacrifice of the Mass. They are as opposed to each other 
 as light and darkness, as the Word of God and the corrupt 
 Traditions of men. This preparatory work for Corporate 
 Reunion with Rome must be resisted by all in whose hearts 
 the memory of the Protestant Martyrs is not dead ; by all 
 who love civil freedom and religious liberty. 
 
 As time went on the English Church Union became more 
 and more energetic in labouring for Reunion. As I have 
 said, the volume of essays on The Lord's Day and the 
 Holy Eucharist, which appeared in 1892, was not issued by 
 the Union, though it certainly does clearly indicate what its 
 policy is. Going back four years from that date, we find the 
 Council of the E. C. U. bringing the Reunion Question once 
 more before the Lambeth Conference, which again met in 
 that year. At the annual meeting of the Union, June 14th, 
 1888, an Address to the Conference was unanimously adopted, 
 which concluded with the following paragraph : — 
 
 "We would conclude with our most earnest prayers that the 
 counsels of this great gathering of the Episcopate round the chair of 
 St. Augustine may be so guided and inspired by God the Holy Ghost, 
 as to quicken the life of the Church of England throughout all its 
 branches, to win back those who have separated themselves from its 
 fold, and, above all, to prepare the way for the restoration of visible 
 unity between the Anglican Communion and the rest of the Western 
 
"THE BISHOP OF OLD ROME." 
 
 345 
 
 Church, and the Reunion of East and West, and to hasten the dawn 
 of that blessed day of restored peace and goodwill among all Christian 
 people, when there shall be One Flock and One Shepherd." 64 
 
 In moving the adoption of this Address, Lord Halifax 
 said that Corporate Reunion was "that hope which is 
 nearest and dearest " to the hearts of the members of the 
 Union, and that they longed for the time " when the schisms 
 and divisions which divide the West shall have been healed, 
 when East and West shall be again one, and all shall be 
 again united in the bonds of a visible unity as in the days of 
 old." The views of the Council of the E. C. U. were echoed 
 by its branches. At a meeting of the Cheltenham Branch, 
 December 17th, 1889, the Chairman, the Rev. G. Bayfield 
 Roberts, who was subsequently selected to write the official 
 History of the English Church Union, said that — 
 
 " Unhappily, as a Protestant, Canon Bell looked to Reunion with 
 Dissenters, and to an utter and irremediable breach with the Churches 
 of the East and West. They, as Catholics, looked to Reunion with 
 those Churches of the East and West which, in their fine ancient 
 Patriarchates, possessed the historical Episcopate, to Reunion under the 
 Primacy of him to whom the Fathers gave the Primacy . . . the 
 Bishop of ' old Rome.' Was this a rash statement ? At any rate, it 
 was historically true, and was substantially the same as that to which 
 Lord Halifax gave utterance at the Annual Meeting [of the E. C. U.] 
 in London, in 1885: — 'Peace among yourselves, peace with our 
 separated brethren at home, the restoration of visible unity with the 
 members of the Church abroad, East and West alike, hut, above all, 
 with the great Apostolic See of the IVest, which has done so much to 
 guard the true faith in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ and 
 the reality of His life-giving Sacraments. These things surely should 
 be our object — the object nearest our hearts.'' " 65 
 
 Lord Halifax's speech, in 1885, in favour of Reunion with 
 Rome, quoted by Mr. Roberts, led to a correspondence 
 between his lordship and Canon Hole, now Dean of 
 Rochester, in which the President of the English Church 
 Union declared that although he did " most earnestly desire 
 
 64 Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1888, pp. 1G8, 216-220. 
 
 65 Ibid., Volume for 1890, p. 45. 
 
346 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 the restoration of visible communion between ourselves and 
 the members of the Roman Church," yet he did not wish for 
 such a union " by a sacrifice of the truth, but through the 
 truth." 06 But hereof course comes in the question, What is 
 " the truth " which his lordship is unable to sacrifice ? I 
 have no doubt that he would be willing to " sacrifice " a great 
 deal of that which Protestant Churchmen consider as 
 Scriptural truth. The really practical question is, how 
 much of that which the Pope considers as the " truth" would 
 Lord Halifax require him to surrender as the price of 
 Reunion ? Would he require him to give up either his 
 Primacy or Supremacy, or any one of the doctrines of the 
 Council of Trent ? I very much doubt it. Lord Halifax 
 would be very glad to " sacrifice n Protestantism, but there 
 is very little, if anything at all, in the official doctrines of 
 Rome which he would wish a re-united Church to lose. The 
 speech which Mr. Roberts quoted was referred to by Lord 
 Halifax himself the year after it was delivered. At the 
 annual meeting of the E. C. U. in 1886, Lord Halifax said : — 
 " I ventured to say something on this subject at our last annual 
 meeting, and though fault has been found in some quarters with what 
 I then said, I have nothing to retract. On the contrary, I desire to 
 emphasize what I said last year. The crown and completion of the 
 Catholic Revival which has transformed the Church of England 
 within the last fifty years is the Reunion of Christendom. We desire 
 union with those from whom we are separate, not by a sacrifice of 
 truth, but through the truth, and among our brethren with whom we 
 long to be at one, none come before those who are in communion with 
 the Roman See. . . Our own instincts — nay our own experience as 
 Anglicans — point out the practical need of a central authority. What 
 has been the history of the South African Church ? Has it not been 
 on one side a willingness to recognize in the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 the authority of an Anglican Patriarch ; on the other an attempt to 
 claim the fulness of Papal authority for the Privy Council ? After all, 
 if a central authority is good for the Anglican Communion, a central 
 authority must be good for the Church at large. . . . Certainly those 
 who are willing to recognize an appeal from the Archbishop of 
 
 Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1890, p. 50. 
 
DEAN HOOK ON THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE. 347 
 
 Canterbury to the Judicial Committee need not scruple to an appeal to 
 a Christian Bishop. Is there a single instructed Christian who 
 
 WOULD NOT FREFER LEO XIII. TO THE PRIVY COUNCIL ?" C7 
 
 The answer to Lord Halifax's question is that there is a 
 very large number of very well " instructed Christians " who 
 would prefer the Privy Council to the Pope. There is a 
 great deal of misconception as to what the functions of 
 the Judicial Committee really are. I suppose that most 
 High Churchmen will admit that the late High Church and 
 learned Dean Hook was an " instructed Christian." Yet 
 this is what he wrote on the subject : — 
 
 " I see no objection to the Committee of Privy Council being 
 our Final Court of Appeal : they do not form a Synod, and here is 
 the mistake so often made. In an ancient Synod the members were 
 legislators as well as judges. If they decided that such or such a 
 thing was contrary to law, they might say, ' The law is a bad one, 
 therefore we will make a new law.' The Committee of Privy 
 Council does nothing of the kind. I wish to obey the law. You say 
 that the law says one thing, I say it means another — and who shall 
 decide ? It is a question, not of opinion, but of fact ; and who can 
 deal with such a subject so well as lawyers ? Who could le worse 
 judges than ecclesiastics, who would endeavour to bend the law to 
 their opinions ? 
 
 " The old High Churchman was wont to say, ' I will do what the 
 Church orders me to do.' 'I like,' he might say, 'lights upon the 
 altar ; but if you dislike it, let us ask what the law says. To 
 ascertain that fact I go, not to parsons but to lawyers, who are not to 
 make the law, but to discuss what it was made by ecclesiastics." 08 
 
 It is here most important to point out that Lord Halifax 
 and the English Church Union are manifestly bent on 
 pulling down the authority of Her Majesty's Judicial 
 Committee of Privy Council, for the sole purpose of setting 
 up that of the Pope of Rome in its room. " Who would 
 not," asks Lord Halifax, "prefer Leo XIII. to the Privy 
 Council " ? There is, he says, " a practical need for a 
 central authority " ; and such an authority would, he thinks, 
 
 6 ? Ibid., Volume for 1SS6, p. 242. 
 
 68 Life and Letters of Dean Hook, p. 588. Sixth edition. 
 
34S SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 " be good for the Church at large " — the authority, of 
 course, being that of the Pope. It may be well to remind 
 my readers that the Reformers of the sixteenth century were 
 of a different opinion. It was their glory and their boast 
 that they cut themselves off from all communication with 
 such a " central authority " as the Pope, and inserted in the 
 Reformed Prayer Book the petition : — " From the Bishop of 
 Rome, and all his detestable enormities, Good Lord, deliver 
 us." The fact is that there is no existing authority within 
 the Church of England to which the Ritualists will give 
 their full obedience, when its decisions come into conflict 
 with what they, in their superior wisdom, assert to be the 
 law of the Church. Reasonable men would say that it 
 is better to have some authority within the Church of 
 England, however imperfect it may or may not be, than to 
 have no binding authority at all. It is better to have 
 unsatisfactory Ecclesiastical Courts than to have no 
 Ecclesiastical Courts at all. It is better to have the Privy 
 Council as the Final Court of Appeal than to have no Court 
 of Appeal at all. One result of the labours of the English 
 Church Union is the spread of Anarchy in the Church. 
 That well-known Ritualist, the late Rev. A. H. Mackonochie, 
 Vicar of St. Alban's, Holborn, who was for many years 
 supported by the English Church Union — of which he was 
 a leading member — in his rebellion against the decisions of 
 the Courts of Law, gave evidence, on March 2nd, 1882, 
 before the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts. 
 From the official Report of that Commission I take the 
 following extracts of Mr. Mackonochie's evidence bearing 
 on the subject before us : — 
 
 " 6089. Then is there no Ecclesiastical Court ? — Not as far as I 
 can see. 
 
 " 6090. So that every man can do what is right in his own eyes ? — 
 That is not our fault. 
 
 " 6091. Of course not. That is the state of things ? — Yes. 
 
 " 6092. Has there never been an Ecclesiastical Court ? — Not since 
 the Reformation" 
 
ANARCHY IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 
 
 349 
 
 c< 6 1 7 r . Then why do you think that the Bishops have no authority 
 now ? — Because they have got bound up in the State Courts." 
 
 "6178. But does it not strike you that that is fatal to the idea 
 of any society existing, that he must judge entirely for himself? — 
 Yes; then I cannot help it." 
 
 Anarchy and lawlessness in the Church, a state of things 
 in which every clergyman does that which is right in his 
 own eyes, and in which he will submit to no authority which 
 opposes his own opinions, is certainly one calculated to create 
 alarm. I do not assert that it exists amongst the whole of 
 the clergy of the Church of England. Far from it. We may 
 be thankful that there are yet thousands of clergymen who 
 love law and order; but, on the other hand, it cannot be 
 denied that the lawless spirit is very widespread indeed 
 amongst the Romanizing clergy. Nor should it be forgotten 
 that the spirit of lawlessness and anarchy is a contagious 
 disease. It will not stop within the Church. The people of 
 England will argue that what is good for the clergy is good 
 also for them. If the Ministers of the Gospel will not obey 
 the laws of the Church, why should they obey the laws of 
 the State ? This is an aspect of the Ritualistic question 
 which is deserving of the serious attention of statesmen. 
 But the unfortunate thing is that those in authority in the 
 State, in only too many instances, smile upon rebellion, give 
 the rebels words of encouragement, and present them to 
 many of the high places in the Church which are in their 
 patronage, while those who show respect to law and order 
 are frequently frowned upon, and left out in the cold. The 
 time has come when the people of England should, through 
 Parliament, bring both the Government for the time being — ■ 
 both Conservative and Liberal Governments are equally guilty 
 1 — to account. No law-breaker should ever receive promotion 
 at the hands of the Crown through its accredited advisers. 
 
 I might easily multiply quotations from the utterances of 
 members of the English Church Union advocating Corpor- 
 ate Reunion with the Church of Rome, but I should only 
 
350 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 weary my readers by doing so. As illustrating the kind of 
 Romish teaching frequently given to the branches of the 
 Union, I may, however, be permitted to add here the 
 following extract from a speech delivered at the annual 
 meeting of the Devon Branch, on July 30th, 1889. On that 
 occasion the Rev. Ernest Square, then Vicar of St. Mary 
 Steps, Exeter, but now Rector of Wheatacre, Suffolk, said : — 
 
 " He did not know where they were to go for their Ritual if it was 
 not to die Church of Rome, which seemed to be the living Church, 
 and in whose Ritual he could see nothing harmful. She was the 
 greatest Church in Christendom — there could be no doubt about it — 
 and he did not think they could go to a better pattern than the Church 
 of Rome for their Ritual. She had kept up her Ritual, which the 
 Church of England had not done, through all the ages. We had been 
 most slovenly, and with us it had been a kind of domestic Ritual, no 
 more than they would have in their own homes or at their own tables 
 ■ — and not so good. The Church of Rome had always kept her own 
 Ritual, and, therefore, he did not see why the English Church should 
 not go to her for help in this matter." 09 
 
 The adoption of the full Roman Ritual has now become 
 very common in Ritualistic churches ; but some of the 
 party go even further than Mr. Square, for they teach all the 
 doctrines of Rome which the Ritual is intended to symbolize. 
 Three years before Mr. Square's Exeter speech, the Rev. 
 William Stathers, Curate of St. Matthias', Earl's Court, and 
 now Curate of St. Benet and All Saints', Kentish Town, was 
 dismissed from his curacy by his Vicar, on the charge of 
 Romanizing. The charge seemed an extraordinary one, 
 coming from a Vicar who himself adopted, in the services of 
 his Church, the full Ritual of the Church of Rome. In self- 
 defence Mr. Stathers, who was then, and still is, a member 
 of the English Church Union, published a Letter of 
 Explanation to the members of the congregation, in the 
 form of a pamphlet of sixteen pages. He pleaded that while 
 Mr. Luke, his Vicar, had given his congregation the shell, 
 he (Mr. Stathers) had given them the kernel, and he evidently 
 
 69 Western Times, July 31st, 1889. 
 
THE SHELL AND THE KERNEL. 
 
 351 
 
 thought the kernel a much better thing than the shell. The 
 shell was Roman Ritual ; the kernel was Roman doctrine. 
 
 "The teaching," wrote Mr. Stathers, " which I have regularly given 
 from the pulpit of S. Matthias's is in perfect harmony with the Ritual 
 of that Church. There are only three kinds of Ritual possible in our 
 churches : — The Ritual of self-pleasing, invented out of the Incum- 
 bent's own head ; the old English Ritual, very elaborate and now 
 lost, but which some are fruitlessly trying to bring back ; and the 
 Modern Roman, very simple, regulated by the Sacred Congregation of 
 Rites at Rome, and possessing present authority. It is the. latter 
 Ritual, I am happy to say, which is followed at S. Matthias's, and I 
 am bound to say that while the accuracy of it would be a lesson to 
 many Roman congregations, they could never hope to approach its 
 dignity. To many it will not seem surprising that finding St. 
 Matthias's possessed of a particular kind of shell, I did my best to 
 provide the corresponding kernel, or that rinding myself face to face 
 with a skeleton, I did my best to clothe it with flesh and make it 
 instinct with life. 
 
 " Some persons may perhaps be of opinion that in preaching the 
 doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady I have gone beyond 
 Tridentine limits, and have thus far been inconsistent. I have never, 
 however, insisted on the doctrine as of necessity for faith, but have 
 simply given the reasons for it, and have left objectors free to hold the 
 Immaculate Birth instead. Moreover, the doctrine, though outside the 
 Tridentine definitions, can hardly be said to be outside Prayer Book 
 limits." 70 
 
 I am not aware that Mr. Stathers has ever publicly 
 repudiated his teaching, as expressed in this pamphlet, 
 though he still holds a curacy in the same Diocese of London. 
 In his Protest he further informed his readers that — ■ 
 
 Mr. Luke having desired to be informed more precisely as to the 
 exact meaning which I attached to the phrase * general teaching 
 Tridentine ' [contained in Mr. Stathers' advertisement for a curacy in 
 the Church Times],' 1 I explained to him at a private interview, and, if 
 
 70 A Protest and Explanation, by the Rev. William Stathers, p. 12. 
 
 71 Mr. Stathers' advertisement, which he truly described as " most unmis- 
 takable," was as follows: — "Town Curacy or Sole Charge (in the South) 
 desired at once, by a priest of considerable experience ; 35, musical, unmarried, 
 fond of children. Extempore and written sermons. Ritual (not necessarily 
 advanced) on Roman lines preferred. General teaching Tridentine. — W. S., 85, Mar- 
 ton Road, Middlesbro." — Church Times, December 21st, 18S3, p. 959. 
 
352 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 I remember rightly, by letter, that I meant the general teaching of the 
 Western Church, the most satisfactory summary of which teaching, 
 and at the same time an authoritative summary, is to he found in the 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, points having reference to the Papal 
 Supremacy being excluded by the necessity of the case." ( 72 ) 
 
 I must now hasten on to the time when, on February 14th, 
 1895, Lord Halifax delivered at Bristol his now notorious 
 speech on Reunion with Rome. It was, I may here remark, 
 delivered at a meeting of the Bristol branch of the E. C. U., 
 and was subsequently printed and circulated by the Council, 
 thus giving to it an official sanction and approval. It was a 
 very long speech, and its delivery created a great deal of 
 excitement and controversy in Church of England circles. 
 Its influence went further and extended to Rome, where the 
 Pope himself greatly rejoiced at the welcome news which it 
 contained. In this speech the President of the E. C. U. 
 went further towards Rome than ever he went before. Even 
 some of his own friends were surprised, though they did not 
 repudiate his utterances. His lordship laid down what he 
 considered as reasonable conditions on which Reunion 
 between England and Rome could take place ; but it was 
 noticed that he did not require the Church of Rome to give 
 up any one of her peculiar doctrines, not even the doctrine 
 of the Pope's personal Infallibility, as taught by the Vatican 
 Council of 1870 ! As to the latter truly monstrous doctrine 
 all that he seemed to require, to enable English Churchmen 
 to accept it, was that it should be sugar-coated to suit the 
 English palate ! 
 
 " Even in regard to the Vatican Council," said Lord Halifax, " it 
 appears not impossible that mistakes and exaggerations as to its scope 
 and consequences may have been made, and that as time goes on 
 explanations will emerge which may make the difficulties [ought lie 
 not to have said falsehoods ?] it seems to involve less than they have 
 sometimes appeared ? . . . If by Papal Infallibility it is only meant 
 that the Pope is Infallible when acting as the Head of the whole 
 Church, and expressing the mind of the Church, and after taking all the 
 
 « 2 A Protest and Explanation, p. 3. 
 
" PEACE WITH ROME WITH ALL OUR HEARTS." 353 
 
 legitimate and usual means for ascertaining :ha L . mind, in determining 
 which the authority and witness of the Bishops, as representing their 
 respective Churches, must be paramount, and then only in regard to 
 the substance of the deposit handed down from Christ and His 
 Apostles, it would seem, that the difficulty of a possible agreement is 
 not so insuperable as it has been sometimes represented. Certainly, it 
 is not such as to preclude all endeavours to find possible terms of 
 peace on other matters. In any case, till it is proved to the contrary, 
 let us nourish the hope that such explanations are possible." 73 
 
 But here it may well be asked, would not the acceptance 
 of the Pope's Infallibility, in any shape or form, or with any 
 "explanation," be in a reality a " sacrifice of the truth "? 
 How could a Union based on such a falsehood be a Union 
 "through the truth"? "Do not let us be afraid," said 
 Lord Halifax, in his Bristol speech, " to speak plainly of 
 the possibility, of the desirability of a union with Rome. 
 Let us say boldly we desire peace with Rome with all our 
 hearts." 14. Language like this is very different from that of 
 the old-fashioned High Churchman, the Rev. John Moultrie, 
 of Rugby : — 
 
 " Your Pope may be a learned priest, and a prince of high degree, 
 But God and Jesus Christ are more Infallible than he ; 
 And I in God, through Jesus Christ, rest all my faith and hope, 
 And indeed I cannot part with these for Prelate or for Pope. 
 I still must keep my simple creed, and tread the path I've trod 
 By the help of my Redeemer — by the guidance of my God." 75 
 
 " No peace, but deadly warfare still, between those twain must be, 
 While the one would bind both heart and mind, and the other 
 set them free ; 
 
 No peace for Rome and England, but a stern, relentless strife ; 
 Till Light shall vanquish Darkness, Death be swallowed up of 
 Life." 76 
 
 If there is one man of the sixteenth century who, more 
 than any other, is honoured by Protestants all over the 
 
 73 Reunion of Christendom. Speech by Lord Halifax, p. 24. (English Church 
 Union Office.) 
 '* Ibid., p. 35. 
 
 75 Moultrie's Altars, Hearths, and Graves, p. 79. Edition, 1854. 
 
 7 6 Ibid., p. 63. 
 
 23 
 
354 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 world, it is Martin Luther. But he was God's instrument 
 for freeing the nations from Papal bondage, and for this 
 amongst other reasons, he is hated and reviled by modern 
 Ritualists, who are not worthy to unloose his shoe strings. 
 In his Bristol speech Lord Halifax went out of his way to 
 insult his honoured memory by declaring that although he 
 began his career as " a harmless and necessary Reformer," 
 he eventually became " a needless and noxious rebel." 77 
 Luther certainly was, very much to his credit be it recorded, 
 a " rebel " against the usurped Supremacy of the Pope ; but 
 in the opinion of the majority of the ablest men who have 
 lived since his times, his rebellion was a very necessary 
 one, and by no means " needless." It was the only way in 
 which the world could get rid of an intolerable spiritual 
 slavery. Luther's rebellion against the Pope was obedience 
 to Almighty God, and therefore it makes us justly indignant 
 to find such a brave and holy deed stigmatized as a 
 "noxious" crime. It will, I trust, never come to pass that 
 the children of this great " rebel " against tyranny and 
 corruption will come to terms of peace with that system 
 against which he waged an unrelenting warfare, not even 
 at the invitation of Lord Halifax. " Who," asked his 
 lordship, " can endure the sense of being separated from 
 those [Roman Catholics] with whom in all essentials of 
 belief and sentiment we are one?" 78 The answer to such 
 a question is that there is no need whatever for the 
 Ritualists to " endure " such a melancholy state of things 
 for even one day longer. Why need they be " separated " 
 any more ? The Papal door is wide open to receive them, 
 and the sooner they go over the better it will be for the 
 Reformed Church of England. When traitors are discovered 
 within the citadel zealously pleading with its rulers to 
 surrender to an enemy whose yoke is too heavy to bear, 
 the best thing to do is to turn them out of the citadel at 
 
 " Reunion of Christendom. Speech by Lord Halifax, p. 8. 
 73 Ibid., p. 18. 
 
THE HOMILIES ON THE CHURCH OF ROME. 355 
 
 once, if they refuse to go voluntarily. There is no safety 
 for the citadel while traitors are within its walls. It cannot, 
 I think, be seriously pleaded that there are any doctrines 
 officially taught by the Church of Rome to which gentlemen 
 of Lord Halifax's stamp can have any conscientious 
 objections. "We are convinced," he says, "on the one 
 hand that there is nothing whatever in the authoritative 
 documents of the English Church which, apart from the 
 traditional glosses of a practical Protestantism, contains 
 anything essentially irreconcilable with the doctrines of the 
 •Church of Rome." 79 Certainly, the majority of loyal 
 Churchmen think otherwise. They still retain the opinion 
 that the Thirty-nine Articles contain a great deal which is 
 "irreconcilable with the doctrines of the Church of Rome," 
 .and that is also the opinion of Roman Catholic divines who 
 may be allowed to know what the real doctrines of their 
 •Church are much better than any member of the English 
 •Church Union. One of the " documents of the English 
 Church " is the Book of Homilies. Every clergyman ot 
 the Church of England has solemnly subscribed to the 
 Thirty-nine Articles. Every curate must subscribe them, 
 .•and every new incumbent of a living is bound to read them 
 through to his new congregation. In one of those Articles 
 — the 35th — it is declared that the Homilies " contain a 
 godly and wholesome Doctrine, and necessary for these times," 
 that is, for this year of our Lord, 1897. We know very 
 well that the clergy are not bound to accept every historical 
 .statement in the Homilies, but they are bound to the 
 4t doctrine " taught in them. I would therefore ask Lord 
 Halifax whether he can reconcile the following extract from 
 the "document" known as the Homily of the Peril of 
 Idolatry, Part Third, "with the doctrines of the Church of 
 Rome " ? The language is somewhat rough, but, as it is 
 " appointed to be read in Churches,'" there can be nothing 
 "wrong in reading it in this book of mine. 
 
 - 9 Rid., p. 30. 
 
 23 * 
 
356 secret history of the oxford movement. 
 
 "Which the idolatrous Church [of Rome] understandeth well enough. 
 For she being indeed not only an harlot (as the Scripture calleth her) 7 
 but also a foul, filthy, old withered harlot (for she is indeed of ancient 
 years) and understanding her lack of natural and true beauty, and 
 great loathsomeness which of herself she hath, doth (after the custom 
 of such harlots) paint herself, and deck and tire herself with gold, 
 pearl, stone, and all kind of precious jewels, 80 that she, shining with 
 the outward beauty and glory of them, may please the foolish 
 phantasy of fond lovers, and so entice them to spiritual fornication 
 with her ; who, if they saw her (I will not say naked) but in simple 
 apparel, would abhor her, as the foulest and filthiest harlot that ever 
 was seen: according as appeareth by the description of the garnishing 
 of the great strumpet of all strumpets, 'the mother of whoredom,' 
 set forth by St. John in his Revelation." 
 
 Soon after his Bristol speech, Lord Halifax went to Rome, 
 where he had several interviews with the Pope, with a view 
 to the success of his Reunion schemes. In his speech at 
 Bristol he had not, as I have said, asked Rome to give up one 
 of her doctrines as a condition of her Reunion with England, 
 not even the Papal Infallibility. But he did insist on the 
 Pope's recognition of the validity of Anglican Orders. There 
 went with Lord Halifax to Rome two members of the English 
 Church Union, whose travelling expenses were paid for by 
 the Union. A verbatim report of their interviews with the 
 Pope would be interesting reading. One of the party, the 
 Rev. T. A. Lacey, a member of its Council, and also a 
 member of the secret Society of the Holy Cross, wrote a 
 document for the private use of the Roman Cardinals, to 
 whom the question of the validity of Anglican Orders had 
 been remitted for consideration. Probably Mr. Lacey never 
 dreamt that such a document would ever see the light of 
 day in England ; but, somehow or other, the Tablet got hold 
 of a copy, and published it in full — translated from the 
 original Latin — in its issue for November 7th, 1896. In this 
 document Mr. Lacey made some very candid admissions, 
 and some inaccurate assertions, such as the following : — 
 
 80 Just like our modern Ritualistic priests, who "deck and tire " themselves 
 and their Churches in a similar fashion. 
 
A DOCUMENT FOR ROMAN CARDINALS. 
 
 357 
 
 " The Reformation," wrote Mr. Lacey, "begun under Henry VIII., 
 effected nothing contrary to Catholic faith. There took place, I 
 admit, certain things which were criminal, and certain things which 
 are still to be deplored; the withdrawal from the Communion of the 
 Roman Church, the extirpation of the Religious Life." 
 
 "The English Church, delivered from so many dangers, has differed 
 in nothing from the other national Churches included in the Catholic 
 unity, save that she has lacked communion in Sacris with the Holy 
 See." 
 
 " Many have turned their eyes with great desire to the Holy 
 Roman Church as to the Mother from whom the light of the Gospel 
 was first shed upon us." 
 
 "In the year 1865, he [Dr. Pusey] published his Eirenicon, in 
 which he dealt with the question of visible unity to be brought about 
 by means of the Anglican Church. He added much concerning the 
 differences of worship and doctrine ; that such things did not relate to 
 faith ; the discord between the Anglican and Roman formularies to 
 be more apparent than real ; the power of the Roman Pontiff to be 
 a not insuperable obstacle ; and the like. This letter of so celebrated 
 a man created incredible enthusiasm." 
 
 The hopes of Lord Halifax and his followers were doomed 
 to disappointment. Instead of recognizing the validity of 
 Anglican Orders the Pope issued his now famous Bull 
 declaring them to be, in his estimation, invalid. This Bull 
 came as an unexpected thunderstorm in the Ritualistic camp. 
 The Romanizers had flattered, cringed to, and prostrated 
 themselves before the Church of Rome in a state of abject 
 humiliation, in the hope that the Pope would do them the 
 honour of recognizing them as real sacrificing priests. 
 Instead, however, of being honoured by him, they were 
 treated with the most unmitigated and well-deserved 
 contempt. Instead of receiving a Papal blessing, they were 
 spurned from the throne of the Vatican with a Papal kick. 
 For a time, in bitter rage and dissatisfaction, the Ritualists 
 turned their faces towards the Eastern Church, and declared 
 that they would go in for Union with that corrupt com- 
 munion, and leave Rome to her fate. A few Churchmen were 
 deceived by these professions, and declared that the English 
 
358 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 Church Union would now cease to labour for Reunion with 
 Rome. But they little realized the depths of spiritual 
 degradation of which the Ritualists are capable. The tide 
 has already turned, and once more we see the Ritualists 
 crawling along to kiss the Papal toe that kicked them only 
 the other day. In his speech at the annual meeting of the 
 English Church Union, June 1st, 1897, Lord Halifax bitterly 
 complained that the present dominant authority in the 
 Church of Rome in England threw " every obstacle in the 
 way of any step that may be taken towards bringing about 
 a better understanding, and the eventual Corporate Reunion 
 of the Anglican Communion with the Roman Church." 
 " We have indeed," said his lordship, " honestly desired — 
 we desire still — to see the relations which existed between 
 St. Cyprian and the Church of Carthage on the one side, 
 and St. Stephen and the Roman Church on the other, as 
 insisted on in the Encyclical Satis Cognititm, restored between 
 Canterbury and Rome." 81 
 
 It is a noteworthy fact that while the leaders of the 
 Ritualistic party have advocated Corporate Reunion with 
 Rome, and have opposed individual secession, yet the over- 
 whelming majority of individual perversions to Rome in this 
 country have been from the ranks of the Tractarians, Puseyites, 
 and Ritualists. The Tractarians prepared the ground, the 
 Puseyites planted, the Ritualists watered, and the Pope has 
 reaped the harvest. As far back as 1850 Bishop Samuel 
 Wilberforce wrote to Dr. Pusey : — " I firmly believe that 
 the influence of your personal ministry does more than the 
 labours of an open enemy to wean from the pure faith and 
 simple Ritual of our Church the affections of many of those 
 amongst her children." 83 To the Rev. C. Marriott, the 
 Bishop wrote, November 23rd, 1850: — "He (Dr. Pusey) 
 tries to retain these souls to the Church of England, but in 
 vain. He has given the impetus, and he cannot stop 
 
 81 Church Times, June 4th, 1897, P- 668. 
 
 82 Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. II., p. 80. 
 
THE " PREPARATORY SCHOOL " FOR ROME. 
 
 359 
 
 them. He has no deep horror of the Popish system ; none 
 has been infused into the early beginnings of their awakened 
 spiritual consciousness ; they have practically been set by him 
 on a Romish course" 83 Even Dr. Pusey's Father Confessor, 
 the Rev. J. Keble, acknowledged that " a larger number, 
 possibly, has seceded to Rome from under his (Dr. Pusey's) 
 special teaching than from that of any other individual now 
 among us." 8i It has been more or less the same with all 
 the Ritualistic teachers. A correspondent of the Roman 
 Catholic paper called the Ransomcv, who was in an excellent 
 position for obtaining accurate information on the subject, 
 wrote as follows : — 
 
 " But has this development of Ritualism in the Establishment 
 satisfied souls, won the working classes, or last, but not least, stayed 
 the stream of secessions to Rome'? JXot one whit. I have never met 
 a high Anglican who was contented with the condition of his Church. 
 The vast multitudes of the poor, and the labouring men and women 
 are more conspicuous than ever by their absence from the functions of 
 Ritualism. As to conversions [to Rome] it is well known that nine out 
 of every dozen are the direct result of Ritualistic training." 85 """" 
 
 In the year after this testimony was written, the Rev. Mr. 
 Whelan, a Roman Catholic priest, preaching at St. Wilfrid's, 
 York, said : — 
 
 " I am bold enough to say here that Ritualism is one of our consola- 
 tions, for I think it to be the Preparatory School for the training of 
 English Catholics. By Ritualism our great dogmas are taught to 
 thousands who would not listen to us. In Ritualism we have a 
 powerful solvent for melting the frost-bound traditions of three 
 centuries. Many, perhaps, may be hindered from finding the real 
 home of truth, but a larger number are helped by this approximation 
 in externals, and become obedient children of the faith." 86 
 
 The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, the official organ of the 
 Roman Catholic priesthood of Ireland, in its issue for July, 
 iSqi, published a remarkable article on "The Conversion of 
 
 83 JKa.,p.85. « ibid., p. 95. 
 
 85 Ransomer, July 22nd, 1S93. 
 
 86 Catholic Standard, June 23rd, 1S94. 
 
360 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 England,'" written by a priest residing in Manchester. It 
 
 says : — 
 
 "There are two forces at work regarding the Catholicism of the 
 country. . . One is inside the Church, and the other outside it 5 
 one Catholic, the other Protestant, though Catholicising. The 
 Ritualists, and the Ritualists alone, are doing all that is being done 
 among Protestants. How many parsons from Newman to Rivington 
 have been converted by priests ? True, all have been received by 
 priests. But how many have confessed their obligations to our 
 sermons or our writings that we Catholic priests were in any degree 
 answerable for their conversion ? The Catholicising movement in 
 the Establishment has not been the result of the missionary activity of 
 the Catholic Church in England. It is true to say that convert priests 
 receive more converts than others, but that is mainly on account of 
 personal influence in certain non-Catholic quarters where we have no 
 access, as well as having a keener grasp of difficulties which we never 
 feel. Men who pass through the fire themselves are good guides. 
 This external movement is of vast importance. At this hour Jive 
 thousand Church of England clergymen are preaching from as many 
 Protestant pulpits the Catholic faith (not, indeed, as faith) to 
 Catholicising congregations, much more effectively, with less suspicion 
 and more acceptance than we can ever hope to do. Protestant sister- 
 hoods are doing, we feel sure, the best they can under the circum- 
 stances to familiarize the Philistine with Nuns — and that is much. 
 Protestant societies, like St. Margaret's, Westminster, furnish poor 
 country missions (there are poor country Protestant missions, and city 
 ones too) with Black Vestments for Requiems on All Souls'. This is, 
 indeed, a matter for devout thankfulness. We could desire no letter 
 preparation for joining the Catholic Church than the Ritualists* 
 Preparatory School; and the fact that from them we have secured the 
 majority of our converts, strengthens us in our view of it." 87 
 
 The Month, the organ of the English Jesuits, in its issue 
 for November, 1890, published an article on " The Newest 
 Fashions in Ritualism," in which it declared that — 
 
 " At any rate the Ritualists are doing a good work, which in the 
 present state of the country, Catholics cannot do in the same propor- 
 tion ; they are preparing the soil and sowing the seed for a rich 
 harvest, which the Catholic Church will reap sooner or later"® 
 
 u ~ Irish Ecclesiastical Record, July, 1891, p. 644. 
 M The Month, November, 1890, p. 333. 
 
THE DUTY OF SEPARATION. 
 
 There remains one great question to be considered. Many 
 will ask, Why should there not be a movement for the 
 Corporate Reunion of the Church of England with the 
 Church of Rome? What harm can it do? Is not Christian 
 unity a Christian duty ? To this I answer, that Protestants, 
 in objecting to Reunion with Rome, do not forget that 
 Christian unity is a Christian duty, but it is to be feared that 
 modern Ritualists do forget that separation is just as much a 
 Christian duty as unity. It was by God's command that, in 
 Old Testament times, the Jews were separated from the 
 Gentile nations. This separation was considered by Moses 
 as a special result of God's favour, when he addressed the 
 Lord in these words : — " For wherein shall it be known here 
 that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight ? Is 
 it not in that Thou goest with us ? so shall w T e be separated, 
 I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face 
 of the earth " (Exodus xxxiii. 16). It would have been a 
 grievous offence against Almighty God, had the Israelites 
 sought unity with the Gentiles, though it was always open to 
 the latter to seek unity with the former. And in the Christian 
 Church this duty of separation is clearly set forth in the New 
 Testament. How else are we to explain such texts as 
 " Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, 
 saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will 
 receive you " (2 Cor. vi. 17) ; and, " I heard another voice 
 from heaven saying, Come out of her my people, that ye be 
 not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
 plagues" (Rev. xviii. 4) ? It is wisdom for Churches, as 
 well as individuals to keep out of bad company. We must 
 be united only with that which is good, and separate from 
 all that is evil. The written Word of God, and the 
 traditions of man can never unite together. Protestantism 
 and Popery must evermore remain separated. 
 
 There are many other grave and weighty reasons against 
 Reunion with Rome, but it would require a volume to exhaust 
 the subject. I may, however, point out, that from a merely 
 
362 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 worldly point of view there are strong and sufficient reasons- 
 for trying to defeat the schemes of the English Church 
 Union and kindred societies. Popery is an enemy to National 
 Prosperity. Looking abroad throughout the whole world, we 
 find that Popery degrades the nations, instead of raising 
 them to a higher level. The Ritualists cannot point to a 
 single Roman Catholic country which is even on a level with, 
 much less superior to, Protestant countries. On the con- 
 trary, Popery has dragged down Spain from her proud 
 eminence, to be the most degraded and poverty-stricken 
 nation in Europe, excepting Turkey. It has kept the South 
 American republics and nations in a state of degradation,, 
 immorality, and ignorance deplorable to behold. Would any 
 Englishman wish this Protestant country to become what 
 the Papal States were under the temporal rule of Pope 
 Pius IX. ? Would English working men wish to exchange 
 wages with their brethren in any Roman Catholic country m 
 the world? Every part of Ireland is under the same govern- 
 ment. Why, then, is it that the Roman Catholic portions- 
 of that unhappy land are those in which more poverty, 
 dirt, disloyalty, and ignorance are to be found, than in the 
 Protestant portions ? The answer to this question must be 
 that the religion of Popery is at the bottom of this marked 
 difference. Before we listen with pleasure to the Reunion 
 with Rome plans of the Ritualists, let us calmly consider the 
 facts, not only of history, but of the everyday life around us. 
 When we contrast Popish countries with Protestant lands, 
 can we doubt any longer which religion • most promotes 
 National Prosperity ? Is there any valid reason for supposing 
 that England will become more prosperous if she forsakes 
 her civil and religious liberties, and goes back to Papal 
 bondage, at the request of Lord Halifax and the English 
 Church Union ? Common sense can answer these questions 
 in only one way. Protestantism and National Prosperity go 
 together, like Siamese twins. They cannot be separated. 
 And let it not be said that this is an argument which 
 
OBJECTIONS TO REUNION WITH ROME. 363. 
 
 Christians should ignore, for has not the Word of God. 
 taught us that true " Godliness is profitable unto all things, 
 having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is 
 to come " (1 Timothy iv. 8) ? 
 
 We also object to Reunion with Rome because we have 
 nothing good to gain by it. As Protestants we already 
 possess the whole of the Christian religion, in that we 
 possess the Bible. What more do we need ? Ours is the 
 religion of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John, St. 
 Peter, St. Paul, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. They taught 
 nothing but Protestantism, and never taught even one of the- 
 peculiar doctrines of Rome. Open the New Testament, and 
 if you consult either the Authorized Version or the Roman 
 Catholic version in English, the result will be the same. 
 You will not discover one word in either version about 
 the Supremacy of the Pope, or of Papal Infallibility, of 
 Purgatory, Auricular Confession, the Sacrifice of the Mass, 
 the Invocation of Saints, Prayers for the Dead, Indulgences, 
 Holy Water, Holy Scapulars, Holy Wells, Holy Breads, 
 Holy Beads, or any one of the false doctrines and superstitions 
 of Romanism, which have now become dear to the hearts of 
 our modern Romanisers. What will England gain if she takes 
 all these things back again ? She will gain what we should 
 gain were we to throw away the good gold sovereigns- 
 supplied to us from Her Majesty's Mint, and instead apply 
 to the makers of bad money for a supply of sovereigns, 
 made from a slight quantity of real gold, and a large 
 quantity of base metal. To act like this in worldly matters 
 would be accounted folly ; but is it not even greater folly to 
 act so in spiritual things? Yet this is what the Ritualists are 
 anxious for us to do. And our answer to their solicitations 
 must be a stern resolve to allow of no adulteration of the 
 Christian religion which, thank God, we possess. Popery 
 is the great adulterator of the Christian religion. She has 
 nothing to give us that is good for the souls of men. What 
 she is anxious to do in Protestant England is well described 
 
364 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 in the Bible as " making the Word of God of none effect 
 through your tradition " (Mark vii. 13) ; and " teaching for 
 doctrines the commandments of men " (Matt. xv. 9). The 
 question before us is, Shall Protestant England submit to 
 be fed with the chaff which comes from the Pope's table, 
 when she is already fed with the good grain of the Gospel, 
 as contained in the Bible? Our answer is, that, by God's 
 grace, this thing shall never be. Shame, double shame, 
 on the Ritualistic traitors who are trying to bring us back 
 to Papal bondage ! 
 
 We object further, to the Reunion schemes of the 
 Ritualists because they are opposed to our National Indepen- 
 dence, and to our civil and religions liberties. Should the 
 Ritualists succeed, we should have again a Roman Catholic 
 King of England, and the unhappy days of James II. would 
 be repeated. By means of his spiritual weapons, the Pope 
 of Rome, through the Confessors of the King and his 
 Statesmen, would rule the British Empire in temporals as 
 well as spirituals. Rome has, during the past half century, 
 put forth her claims to temporal power with a haughtiness 
 which was never exceeded by a Hildebrand or an Innocent 
 III. The throne itself would be at the mercy of the Pope. 
 I know some of my readers will smile at this, as the 
 utterance of a visionary and an alarmist. Yet, for all this, 
 Mr. Gladstone's statement is literally true : — " Rome has 
 refurbished, and paraded anew, every rusty tool she was 
 fondly thought to have disused." 89 The late Rev. Thomas 
 Francis Knox, of the Brompton Oratory, tells us, in a book 
 published as recently as 1882, and compiled at the request 
 of Cardinal Manning, that the following decree, passed at 
 the Fourth Council of Lateran, is still a "part of the 
 ordinary statute law of the Church " : — 
 
 " If a temporal lord, after having been required and admonished 
 by the Church, shall neglect to cleanse his land from heretical 
 
 89 Rome and the Newest Fashions in Religion, by the Right Hon. \V. E. 
 
 Gladstone, p. xxvii. 
 
OUR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN PERIL. 
 
 365 
 
 defilement, let him be excommunicated by the metropolitan and the 
 other Bishops of the province. And if he shall through contempt fail 
 to give satisfaction within a year, let this be signified to the Sovereign 
 Pontiff] that he may thereupon declare his vassals absolved from 
 allegiance to him, and offer his land for seizure by Catholics that they 
 may, after expelling the heretics, possess it by an incontestable title and 
 keep it in the purity of the faith." 90 
 
 Is it wise to bring about a state of things in which this law 
 may stand a chance of being enforced ? Is a system which 
 still retains such a law to be trusted by liberty-loving English- 
 men ? In a volume of essays, edited by Cardinal Manning, 
 a similar claim is put forward, in which we read that — 
 
 "To depose Kings and Emperors is as much a right as to excom- 
 municate individuals and to lay Kingdoms under an interdict. These 
 are no derived or delegated rights ; but are of the essence of that Royal 
 authority of Christ with which His Vicegerents on earth are vested." 91 
 
 How can National Independence exist when such a law as 
 this is enforced ? The real ruler would be, not the nominal 
 sovereign, but a foreign potentate called the Pope. Mr. 
 Gladstone's assertion on this point, supported as it was by 
 abundant proofs, should not be forgotten. " No one," he 
 wrote, " can now become her [Rome's] convert without 
 renouncing his moral and mental freedom, and placing his 
 civil loyalty and duty at the mercy of another," 9:3 that is, the 
 Pope. Mr. Gladstone made this statement in 1874, and has 
 never withdrawn it. But has Rome improved since Mr. 
 Gladstone wrote? On the contrary, these disloyal utterances 
 have been re-asserted again and again by her theologians. 
 In the fourth edition of the Catholic Dictionary, published 
 in 1S93, with the Imprimatur of Cardinal Vaughan, we are 
 told what is the opinion on the subject of the Deposing 
 Power now held by Roman theologians. It is stated that 
 this power is at present fallen "into abeyance." But that 
 
 90 Records of English Catholics, by Thomas Francis Knox, d.d. Vol. II., 
 p. xxvii. 
 
 91 Essays on Religion and Literature, edited by Archbishop Manning, p. 417. 
 Second series. 
 
 93 Rome and the Newest Fashions in Religion, p. xxiv. 
 
366 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 is not the fault of the Pope and his party. It is the result 
 of the strong arm of Protestantism. Anyhow the statement 
 of the Catholic Dictionary affords a strong confirmation of 
 Mr. Gladstone's assertion that " Rome has refurbished and 
 paraded anew every rusty tool she was fondly thought to 
 "have disused." 
 
 " The ordinary opinion of Roman theologians may be seen stated in 
 full in the pages of Ferraris. * The common opinion teaches that the 
 Pope holds the power of both swords, the spiritual and the temporal, 
 which jurisdiction Christ Himself committed to Peter and his 
 successors. . . . The contrary opinion is held to savour of the 
 .heretical belief condemned by Boniface VIII. in the Constitution 
 Unam Sanctam.' * Accordingly, unbelieving kings and princes can 
 le deprived by the sentence of the Pope, in certain cases, of the 
 dominion which they have over believers; for instance, if they have 
 forcibly seized upon Christian countries, or are endeavouring to turn 
 their believing subjects from the faith, and the like.' Barbosa and other 
 Canonists hold that ' a King who has become a heretic can be removed 
 from his Kingdom by the Pope, to whom the right of electing a 
 ■successor passes, if his sons and kindred are also heretics.' 'There is 
 nothing strange in attributing to the Roman Pontiff, as the Vicar of 
 Him Whose is the earth and the fulness thereof, the world and all that 
 dwell therein, the fullest authority and power to lay bare, a just cause 
 moving him, not only the spiritual but also the material sword, and so 
 to transfer sovereignties, break sceptres, and remove crowns.' The 
 Canonists produce numerous instances where this has been actually 
 done, as when Gregory II. deposed the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. ; 
 Gregory VII. deposed the Emperor Henry IV. ; Innocent IV., in the 
 Council of Lyons, deposed the Emperor Frederick II , &c. 
 
 "The celebrated Constitution Unam Sanctam (1303) teaches that 
 ' both swords, the spiritual and the material, are in the power of the 
 Church, but the latter is to be wielded for the Church, the former by 
 the Church ; one by the hand of the priest, the other by the hand of 
 Kings and magistrates, but at the pleasure and sufferance of the priest 
 One sword must be under the other, and the temporal authority must 
 be subject to the spiritual power.'" 93 
 
 The political aspect of the question of Corporate Reunion, 
 set before us in the above extracts, is one which seems to be 
 
 93 Catholic Dictionary, p. 280. Fourth edition. 
 
OUR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 367 
 
 almost entirely ignored ; yet it is one which every patriotic 
 Englishman would do well to consider. The Church of 
 Rome is not only a religious body, she is also a political 
 power as well ; and, therefore, her twofold character must 
 be taken into view. A proposal, which should involve the 
 bestowal on the Emperor of Russia of the right to depose 
 our Queen from her throne, would at once be reprobated by 
 all loyal Englishmen. Why should a proposal, such as that 
 of the Ritualists, which involves the right of the Pope to 
 depose the Queen, be thought of more highly ? All true 
 friends of our National Independence will, therefore, oppose 
 the Ritualistic plans for Corporate Reunion with Rome. 
 
 We are also opposed to Corporate Reunion with Rome 
 because it would certainly lead to the death of our Religions 
 Liberty. The " woman drunken with the blood of the 
 saints " (Rev. xvii. 6) has not lost her cruel nature. She 
 has slain the saints of God with the sword and fire, and has 
 never repented of her crimes and wickedness. Has she 
 ever expressed sorrow for burning to death our Protestant 
 Martyrs ? The history of many centuries is red with the 
 blood she has shed. Is there no feeling of shame left in 
 those Ritualists who plead for Corporate Reunion with her ? 
 If Rome had ceased to be what she once was, we would not 
 bring her past crimes and murders to her remembrance. 
 But in this point, alas ! more than in any other, she is 
 indeed semper eadem. Her persecuting laws are still the 
 same as when in the Dark Ages her infernal Inquisition 
 performed, unhindered, its bloodthirsty work. The modern 
 authorities of the Church of Rome still glory in the 
 intolerant work of their Church in those days. The leading 
 quarterly journal of that Communion in this country, as 
 recently as 1877, said : — 
 
 " It would have been a kind of ingratitude and treachery to Jesus 
 Christ Himself— we may almost say it would have exhibited the 
 implicit spirit of apostasy — had the hideousness of sectarianism been 
 permitted [in the Dark Ages] to sully the fair form of Catholic unity, 
 
368 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 had heresy been permitted to poison the pure air of Catholic truth. 
 . . . So far is any apology from ieing needed for the then existent 
 intolerance of heretics that, on the contrary, an apology would be now 
 needed for the Mediceval Church — and would indeed not very easily be 
 forthcoming — had she tolerated the neglect of such intolerance. . . „ 
 And we need hardly add — though we will not dwell on this — that 
 the same principle, which applied to Mediceval Europe, applies in 
 its measure to any contemporary country, such as Spain, in which 
 Catholicity has still entire possession of the national mind." 94 
 
 This is a fair warning, which might well set Ritualistic 
 Reunionists thinking. It is confirmed by the testimony of 
 a modern Jesuit Professor, whom Cardinal Newman termed 
 " a great authority" and " one of the first theologians of the 
 day," the late Rev. Edmund J. O'Reilly, S.J., who had been 
 a Professor at Maynooth College, and at St. Bruno's 
 College, North Wales. Professor O'Reilly declared that — 
 
 "The principle [of " liberty of conscience"] is one which is not, 
 and never has been, and never will he, approved by the Church of 
 Christ." 95 
 
 Another late Professor of Maynooth College, the Rev. 
 T. Gilmartin, is equally strong in his denunciations of 
 liberty of conscience. 
 
 "The State," he writes, "can punish heresy as an evil in itself 
 and as an offence against the Church, and the Church can require 
 the assistance of the State in suppressing heresy, if its interference 
 be deemed necessary for the good of society." 96 
 
 Another contemporary priest, who has been made a 
 Monsignor by the present Pope (Leo XIII.), argues strongly 
 against allowing "political Liberty of Conscience" in Roman 
 Catholic countries. " How," he asks, " could the Catholic 
 State allow this so-called Liberty of Conscience ? As well 
 might you ask a person to allow poison to be introduced in 
 
 94 Dublin Review, January, 1877, p. 39. 
 
 95 The Relations of the Church to Society, by Edmund J. Reilly, s.j., pp. iii. r 
 273. London, 1892. 
 
 93 Manual of Church History, by the Rev. T. Gilmartin. Vol. II., p. 228. 
 Dublin, 1892. 
 
CANON MELVILLE'S WARNING WORDS. 369 
 
 his body. Do you say, what a cruel and bigoted thing for 
 the Catholic Church and State to put down heresy ? We 
 only ask you to allow the Catholic State the right no man 
 will deny himself or his neighbour, to reject poison from his 
 system." 97 I need hardly add here that the State can only 
 "put down heresy" by physical force. Again, this Mon- 
 signor remarks: "If to-morrow the Spanish Government, 
 as advised by the Catholic Church, were to see that a greater 
 evil would ensue from granting religious liberty than from 
 refusing it, then it would have a perfect right to refuse it. Of 
 course the Protestant Press would teem with charges 
 of intolerance; and we should reply: TOLERATION 
 TO PROTESTANTS IS INTOLERANCE TO 
 CATHOLICS." 98 
 
 Now, the Ritualists know all this very well, just as much 
 as you or I do ; yet, strange to relate, their dearest ambition 
 is to place English Churchmen under the rule of this cruel 
 and intolerant Church. Are they not, in this, real foes of 
 our religious liberties ? The faithful and eloquent warning 
 of the late Canon Melville may well be quoted here : — 
 
 " Make peace, if you will, with Popery ; receive it into your Senate ; 
 shrine it in your churches ; plant it in your hearts. But be ye certain, 
 as certain as that there is a heaven above you, and a God over you, 
 that the Popery thus honoured and embraced is the very Popery that 
 was loathed and degraded by the holiest of your fathers : the same in 
 haughtiness, the same in intolerance, which lorded it over Kings, 
 assumed the prerogative of Deity, crushed human liberty, and slew the 
 Saints of God." 
 
 And now, in bringing this volume to a close, I w r ould 
 name one last and crowning reason against adopting the 
 Reunion Plan of Campaign of the Ritualists. They wish 
 our Church and nation to be joined once more, in a 
 Corporate capacity, with the Church of Rome. They do 
 
 9 ? Liberty of Conscience, by the Rev. Walter Croke Robinson, p. 22, 
 London : The Catholic Truth Society. 
 93 Ibid., p. 24. 
 
 24 
 
370 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 not, as a preliminary condition, require the Church of Rome 
 to purge herself of a single one of her false doctrines. They 
 do not seek — though that would be a vain task — to raise her 
 to the higher level of the Reformed Church of England 
 but they seek to drag down the Church of England to the 
 level of the Church of Rome. It is an unholy task which 
 they have undertaken, on which the smile and blessing of 
 Almighty God cannot be expected to rest. In common with 
 most of the learned Divines of the Church of England since 
 the Reformation and — as we have seen — in accordance with 
 the teaching of her Homilies, we object to Reunion with the 
 Papacy because the Church of Rome is the Babylon of the 
 Revelation. This has been most clearly and conclusively 
 proved in that brief, able, unanswered, and unanswerable 
 treatise of the late Bishop Christopher Wordsworth, of 
 Lincoln, entitled : — Union with Rome : Is not the Church of 
 Rome the Babylon of the Apocalypse ? " I cannot too urgently 
 press upon my readers the great advantage of reading this 
 shilling book. It was not written by an Evangelical 
 Churchman, but by one of the old-fashioned High Church 
 School, one whose great learning is acknowledged by all 
 scholars. He proves that to expect the Reformation of the 
 Church of Rome is to go contrary to the spirit of the 
 Revelation. Her hopeless doom is to be " burnt with fire." 
 She will be Babylon even unto the end. 
 
 "Nearly eighteen centuries," writes Bishop Wordsworth, "have 
 passed away since the Holy Spirit prophesied, by the mouth of St. 
 John, that this Mystery would be revealed in that city which was then 
 the Queen of the Earth, the City on Seven Hills — the City of Rome. 
 
 " The Mystery was then dark, dark as midnight. Man's eye could 
 not pierce the gloom. The fulfilment of the prophecy seemed 
 improbable — almost impossible. Age after age rolled away. By 
 degrees the mists which hung over it became less thick. The clouds 
 began to break. Some features of the dark Mystery began to appear,, 
 dimly at first, then more clearly, like Mountains at daybreak. Then 
 the form of the Mystery became more and more distinct. The Seven 
 Hills, and the Woman sitting upon them, become more and more- 
 
" COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE." 
 
 371 
 
 visible. Her voice was heard. Strange sounds of blasphemy were 
 muttered by her. Then they became louder and louder. And the 
 golden chalice in her hand, her scarlet attire, her pearls and jewels 
 were seen glittering in the sun. Kings and Nations were displayed 
 prostrate at her feet, and drinking her cup. Saints were slain by her 
 sword, and she exulted over them. And now the prophecy became 
 clear, clear as noon-day, and we tremble at the sight, while we read 
 the inscription, emblazoned in large letters, 4 Mystery, Babylon the 
 Great,' written by the hand of St. John, guided by the Holy Spirit of 
 God, on the forehead of the Church of Rome." 99 
 
 And now we know, in a nutshell, what the Ritualistic 
 Conspiracy really means. What the future may bring forth 
 God only knows. But what the duty of all loyal Churchmen 
 is, is clear and evident. We must raise once more the good 
 old war cry, " No Peace with Rome." While Lord 
 Halifax and his followers would lead us astray from the 
 good old ways of our forefathers, into open rebellion against 
 the revealed will of God, let us hearken to God rather than 
 to man. And His cry to one and all is not to join the 
 Church of Rome, but to separate ourselves as far as possible 
 from her. The command of God the Holy Ghost is, 
 "COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, THAT YE BE 
 NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, AND THAT YE 
 RECEIVE NOT OF HER PLAGUES. FOR HER 
 SINS HAVE REACHED UNTO HEAVEN, AND 
 GOD HATH REMEMBERED HER INIQUITIES" 
 (Rev. xviii. 4, 5). 
 
 For the Church of England let our prayer be : — 
 
 " God send her swift deliverance from the plagues which vex her now, 
 God heal the discord in her heart, and chase the trouble from her 
 brow ! 
 
 And when her penal hour hath past, and purged her from her sin, 
 Restore her prosperous state without, and her peace and joy within. 
 
 99 Wordsworth's Union with Rome, p. 62. Eleventh edition. London: 
 Longmans, 1893. 
 
 24 * 
 
372 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 
 
 " God give her wavering clergy back that honest heart and true, 
 Which once was theirs, ere Popish fraud its spells around them 
 threw ; 
 
 Nor let them barter wife and child, bright hearth and happy home, 
 For the drunken bliss of the strumpet kiss of the Jezebel of Rome. 
 
 " And God console all holy hearts, now yearning for the day, 
 
 When this black cloud shall pass at length from England's skies 
 away ! 
 
 God help us all to struggle still, with patience and with might, 
 Against darkness, lies, and bondage, for Freedom, Truth, and 
 Light ! 
 
 " And God forgive the fallen ones — by their own weak hearts 
 betrayed, 
 
 And convert the misbeliever, and reclaim the renegade 
 And God unite the good and true, the faithful and the wise, 
 Till the Dayspring come on the night of Rome, and the Sun of 
 Truth arise " ! 100 
 
 100 Moultrie's Altars, Hearths, and Graves, p. 65. Edition, 1854. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 I HAVE been requested to give, as an appendix, a series 
 of classified quotations showing " What the Ritualists 
 Teach " in their published writings. For this purpose 
 I have taken nothing at second hand. I have examined the 
 original of every authority cited, and have carefully examined 
 the context of each quotation. Unlike the quotations in the 
 body of this book, those given in this appendix are free from 
 any italics inserted by myself. Where italics occur they 
 are those of the author cited. It is hoped that this 
 collection of quotations may be useful for reference, and 
 for this purpose it has been made intentionally lengthy. 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 '* The recollection of these events should suffice to prove the 
 mistake of supposing that the Sacred Scriptures, without note or 
 comment, in the hands of all, are a sufficient guide to truth ; the 
 Bible thus used is not useless only, but dangerous to morality and 
 truth." — Golden Gote, by the Rev. S. Baring- Gould, Rector of Lew 
 Trenchard, Part I., p. 177. Edition, 1875. 
 
 "Whether a dogmatic creed or belief in the infallibility of a book 
 [the Bible], furnish the best grounds of religion may be doubted, but 
 what is certain is, that the former is the toughest, if only because 
 least easily proved false. A may man believe in God, because he 
 feels that the world is-an enigma without that key, and it is impossible 
 to demonstrate the non-existence of a God. But if a man's faith is 
 
374 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 pinned to a document, and that document be proved to have flaws in 
 it, away goes his faith." — Germany Past and Present, by Rev. S. 
 Baring-Gould, Vol. I., p. 193. Edition 1879. 
 
 " The Crucifix should be the first lesson book for their [English 
 Home Missionaries] disciples, and the Holy Scriptures must never 
 be put into the hands of unbelievers." — Union Review for 1867, 
 p. 13. 
 
 " Gradually it had come to be taken for granted that the Hcly 
 Scriptures were sufficient for our guidance without the Church's 
 teaching, and that Christian men were justified in drawing their 
 religious faith directly if not exclusively from that source. Hence an 
 endless variety of sects." — Union Review for 1865, p. 148. 
 
 " The Church is not the ambassador only, but the plenipotentiary 
 of God in the world : the credentials of a plenipotentiary may serve 
 to identify him, and even to map out for him his policy, but his name 
 implies an authority unlimited by any instruction or credentials ; and 
 it must be borne in mind that the credentials of an ambassador serve 
 for his introduction only, not for future use ; and his instructions, if 
 he has any, are for his own private and secret perusal, not for the 
 inspection of those with whom he treats. Whether the advocates of 
 Biblical supremacy as against Church authority are willing to accept 
 a metaphor which so inadequately suits their purpose is a matter 
 about which there cannot be much doubt." — Union Review for 1870, 
 p. 298. 
 
 " To hear the Church was to hear the Bible in its truest and only 
 true sense. Was it not an abuse of the Bible to send shiploads of 
 copies across the seas to convert the nations? " — Speech of the Rev. 
 R. Rhodes Bristow, Vicar oj St. Stephen s, Lewis ham 9 at a meeting of 
 the English Church Union, January 22nd, 1890. Reported in the 
 Church Union Gazette, March, 1890, p. 99. 
 
 "The Bible is not the sole and only Rule of Faith." — Paper read 
 ly Mr. H. W. Hill, at a meeting of the Chiswick Branch of the 
 English Church Union, February 3rd, 1890. Reported in Church 
 Union Gazette, May, 1890, p. 153. 
 
 " Noi is it any infringement of the reverence due to the Bible, as 
 God's Word, to declare openly and distinctly that ' Bible Christianity ' 
 is an invention of the Devil, having for its object to obstruct and 
 defeat God's Word under the hypocritical pretence of love and zeal 
 for Flis Word." — Church Review, July 12th, 1862, p. 427. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 375 
 
 "The Catholic Church is always in time (as well as in degree) 
 before the Bible." — Church Review, October 8th, 1864, p. 989. 
 
 "A faith appealing to the Bible only can rind no firm resting 
 place." — On the Use and Abuse of the Bible, by the Rev. Thomas 
 Robinson, m.a., p. 27. London: Church Printing Co. 
 
 . " The Church did not give us the Bible that we might each take his 
 own religion from it. We take our religion from the Church, which 
 is living ; then we prove it, if we will, from the Holy Bible." — 
 St. Andrew, Wor thing. Parish Magazine, December, 1893, p. 3. 
 
 " Our Blessed Lord did not intend any written document to be the 
 basis of the Faith He founded." — Christ Church, Doncaster, Parish 
 Magazine, March, 1895. 
 
 THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 
 
 " I would only urge that we should not on this account ignore the 
 serious character of the actual changes made [in the Liturgy by the 
 Reformers in the sixteenth century], or decline to do our very best to 
 get them remedied. The more really secure we feel as to the position 
 of the English Church, the more willing we should be to acknowledge 
 its shortcomings." — Lord Halifax, in the Lord's Day and the Holy 
 Eucharist, p. 27. London, 1892. 
 
 " How has it been possible that Catholics — not ultra-Catholics, but 
 Catholics teaching the doctrines and observing the ritual of the 
 Universal Church — have been, and to some extent still are, subject to 
 suspicion and ill-treatment in a National Church professing to 
 be Catholic, and acknowledging the authority of ' the Church,' and 
 referring, as to a standard, to the usages of the Primitive Church ? 
 The answer, it is feared, to these questions must be, that these 
 troubles have their origin in the defects of the English Service Book ; 
 in the fact that our Reformers, with a clear duty marked out, went 
 beyond the line which the ringer of duty marked out, and thus 
 entailed upon the Reformed Church a heritage of weakness and 
 indecision." — The Rev. E. IV. Sergeant, in the Lord's Day and the 
 Holy Eucharist, p. 120. 
 
 " Why bring into such marked prominence [in the Communion 
 Service] the title f The Lord's Supper,' a name for the Eucharist of 
 comparatively infrequent use and of doubtful applicability to the 
 
376 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 actual rite ? . . . Laudable as the motive may have been, the effect 
 has been disastrous, more disastrous perhaps than any of the other 
 Liturgical changes, since it has given occasion to ignorant and heretical 
 writers to represent our ' Communion Service ' as something 
 generically different from the ' Mass,' whereas it is nothing less than 
 the same thing in another form." — Ibid., pp. 121, 122. 
 
 " What a contrast between the careful instructions and the beautiful 
 preparatory office for the priest provided in all the old English Service 
 Books, in the Roman and most of the Greek, and the utter absence 
 of any such provision in the Book of Common Prayer ! Not a word 
 about vesting, or about the reverent and careful preparation of the 
 elements : not a syllable to correspond to the minute and exhaustive 
 Cautelce Missce of the old books." — Hid., p. 122. 
 
 " Besides these numerous admissions, our [Communion] Office 
 has, it must be said, other faults. The chief and most obvious is, that 
 it sadly obscures the oblation." — Hid., p. 127. 
 
 " Is it possible, with every allowance for their difficult position, to 
 acquit our Reformers of causing needless offence (to say the very least) 
 when, not contenting themselves with a liberty which they exercised 
 to the very verge of license in the way of expurgation and modification, 
 they cut up and reset with not too skilful hands the splendid mosaic 
 of the ancient service, so that the very outlines of the old pattern are 
 barely rocognisable ? " — Rid., p. 131. 
 
 " Good men cannot understand that w r e should not be perfectly 
 satisfied with things as they are, ' apostolic order and evangelic truth,' 
 according to the favourite formulary, and be willing to fight a 
 tremendous fight for the retention of all the Rubrics, totidem verbis. 
 We are not to be scandalized, it seems, by such extraordinary directions 
 as we are almost ashamed to quote, but where is the use of closing cur 
 eyes wilfully to facts ? 4 And there shall be no celebration of the 
 Lord's Supper, except there be a sufficient number to communicate 
 with the Priest, according to his discretion. And if there be not above 
 twenty persons in the Parish of discretion to receive the Communion, 
 there shall be no Communion, except four, or three at the least, 
 communicate with the Priest.' There can be no mistaking the 
 meaning of that — the intention. It was to take away, to extirpate as 
 as far as might be, the notion of the Sacrifice ! And this setting at 
 nought by authority of the primary act of Catholic worship from the 
 days of the Apostles downwards, is to be mildly acquiesced in, or even 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 377 
 
 bravely battled for. No, that is asking rather too much. How can 
 Catholics be supposed to support this ? How can they hide their 
 light under a bushel, for the sake of conciliating sound Anglicans who 
 do not believe in the Presence and the Sacrifice ? Are they not obliged 
 to protest against a rule which is not a dead letter, but still takes away 
 the Daily Sacrifice from almost all our altars, which renders the 
 offering at least uncertain in most of our churches, which strips the 
 country priest of his right to communicate in his village church, with 
 the whole Church throughout the world, unless three Protestant 
 clodhoppers happen to be of his way of thinking ! . . . Yet the rule 
 in question is simply odious in itself, and we cannot fight for its 
 retention in order to gratify moderates. We believe the Blessed 
 Sacrament to be the daily Food of the priest of God, and by this 
 obnoxious Rubric he is stripped of his heritage." — Union Review for 
 1865, pp. 619, 620. 
 
 "We venture to say, heresy has been practically triumphant for 
 three hundred years together, through the Prayer Book. It was 
 designed to be so, and it has been so." — Hid., p. 621. 
 
 " We cannot allow it to be thought that we are satisfied with the 
 Prayer Book as it is. It would not be honest not to say that we aim 
 at nothing short of Catholic Restoration, and as one step to this, at 
 the excision of these grievous Rubrics, and, a little later, at the 
 modification of these ambiguous Articles, if they are to be retained at 
 all." — Ibid.y p. 622. 
 
 " We cannot and we will not tamely accept the illogical and 
 incomplete system which the Reformers have left us in the Prayer 
 Book as it is. It has been tried for three hundred years and found 
 wanting." — Ibid., p. 626. 
 
 " And when we remember that this essential service [Sacrifice of 
 Mass] was taken away by the unhappy, the presumptuous Rubrics 
 we have cited, we lack words to express our sense of moral 
 indignation at the daring of the men who framed them. But peace 
 be with them ! They knew no better. May God be merciful to 
 their souls ! " — Ibid., p. 630. 
 
378 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. 
 
 " The half-abrogated Articles ' cracked and strained by three 
 -centuries of evasive ingenuity,' are rather a trashy foundation for 
 anything." — Rev. H. H. Henson, Vicar of Barking, in Guardian, 
 August 24th, 1892, p. 1 25 1. 
 
 " Of course, there has been a large party who swear by them [the 
 Thirty-nine Articles], and the existence of whose forms of belief in 
 the Church of England is guaranteed by their being retained ; but it 
 is impossible to deny that they contain statements, or implications 
 that are verbally false, and others that are very difficult to reconcile 
 with truth. In the times that are coming over the Church of England, 
 the question will arise, What service have the Articles of the Church 
 of England ever done t . . . Before union with Rome can be effected, 
 the Thirty-nine Articles must be wholly withdrawn." — Christian 
 Remembrancer, No. 131, p. 188. 
 
 " By way of suggesting something practical ourselves, we will in 
 -this paper recommend, as a first and essential preliminary towards 
 the Reunion of Christendom, the total abolition of the Thirty-nine 
 Articles." — Union Review, for 1870, p. 289. 
 
 " Some [of the Thirty-nine Articles] contain statements which are 
 unintelligible; in the case of others, one is tempted to wish that the 
 statements were unintelligible or nonsensical in order to escape the 
 disagreeable impression of their being — well, truly Protestant ; others 
 •contain contradictions, or qualifications which eviscerate or destroy 
 what has gone before : there are statements of facts which are not 
 wholly indisputable ; there are trivial points of Christian discipline or 
 •of every-day life, which derogate from the importance and value of a 
 confession of faith. Meanwhile, with all these defects and blemishes, 
 the Thirty-nine Articles continue to be paraded as the authoritative 
 standard of Anglican doctrine, and they are imposed as a heavy yoke 
 upon the consciences of all who would serve in the ministry of the 
 Church. And we venture to assert that one of the most imperative 
 reforms in the Church of England is the total abolition of these 
 Thirty-nine Articles." — Hid., p. 294. 
 
 " We maintain that so long as this Article [Article VI.] remains 
 .among the formularies of the Church of England, so long will there 
 be an insuperable bar to any union or fusion of the Church of England 
 with the rest of the Catholic family. The Article distinctly ignores 
 Tradition, and it positively affirms private judgment." — Hid., p. 295. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 379 
 
 "Of all the obstacles and hindrances to reunion with Rome, 
 probably the greatest is that rather unwieldy compilation known as 
 the Thirty-nine Articles, somewhat facetiously called the 'Forty 
 Stripes save one.' " — Church Review, November 12th, 1864, p. 11 27. 
 
 " How strange it seems that in our Prayer Book we should pray 
 that all Christians ' may agree in the truth of God's Holy Word, and 
 live in unity and godly love,' when in the very same book — in the 
 Articles — the Roman Church is charged with ' superstitions ' and 
 * vain inventions contrary to the Word of God' (see Articles XXII., 
 XXVIII., &c). We need not wonder at such incongruity in 1572 — 
 but how long ? " — Olive Leaf, by Rev. W. Wyndham Malet, Vicar of 
 Ardeley, p. 50. 
 
 " Doubtless they [Thirty-nine Articles] are Articles of Peace, and 
 have always been intended to be construed largely and charitably, so 
 as to square with ' The Faith once delivered to the Saints ' 5 but the 
 prima facie aspect of more than one of them is nothing less than 
 most erroneous. To turn at once to perhaps the most obnoxious, the 
 Twenty-fifth. We are there told, to the horror of that valuable 
 periodical, the Union Chretiennes, that the five great Sacramental 
 Ordinances — Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme 
 Unction — have grown 'partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles.' 
 What a singular assertion, only to be understood in any sense of one 
 out of the five {Extreme Unction), and in that case surely a very bold 
 and uncalled-for denunciation of a foreign practice. Then there is 
 the Thirty-first, which seems to come very near denying the 
 Eucharistic Sacrifice. . . The fact is, then, I must conclude that the 
 sooner we are rid of the Thirty-nine Articles the better. We can, 
 and we must, and do put a Catholic interpretation on them as they 
 are, but this is only making the best of a bad matter." — Letter of the 
 Rev. Archer Gurney, Curate in Charge of Rhayader, in Church 
 Review, January 3rd, 1863, pp. 9, 10. 
 
 " Almost all sincere Reunionists would allow that whatever 
 temporary advantages accrued from the setting forth of the Thirty- 
 nine Articles three centuries ago, very great permanent disadvantages 
 have followed from their continued retention in the English Church 
 since. They have done little good at home and untold mischief 
 abroad. For there are some Articles which, unless their language is 
 duly weighed and carefully explained, sound very startling in the 
 ears of foreign Catholics, whether Greeks or Latins : and do more to 
 
38o 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 render the idea of corporate Reunion impracticable than anything 
 else. Of late years, however, so many contradictory explanations of 
 them have been given — Sharpe, and Tomline, Hey, Newman, and 
 Harold Browne, have so greatly shattered people's belief in them — that 
 at the present time, as the Christian Remembrancer has more than 
 once declared, they might be quietly set aside, to the great advantage 
 of religion and morality in the Church of England." — Church News, 
 August 21st, 1867, p. 367. 
 
 REUNION WITH ROME. 
 
 " We have no wish to revile the faith of Roman Catholics, for it is 
 the same faith as our own ; we have no wish to insult their worship, 
 for we worship God in the same Eucharist ; and as for those practical 
 evils which disfigure their faith and worship, we believe that intelligent 
 Roman Catholics, in their inmost hearts, think much the same about 
 these things as we do ourselves. The real difference in matters of 
 faith between a sincere and intelligent Roman Catholic and a Catholic- 
 minded member of the Church of England is the merest shadow of a 
 shade. Each refers to Holy Scripture, each refers to the history of 
 the Church through its eighteen centuries of existence, as the real test 
 of the truth of its doctrines, and the difference between them cannot 
 therefore be great. The spirit of schism would lead each to magnify 
 difference to the greatest possible extent, but the spirit of Christian 
 faith and love will lead to a different conclusion. Two things we 
 know for certain, viz., first, that Catholic Unity is a plain Christian 
 duty j and, secondly, that there can be no such thing as Catholic Unity 
 without the Bishop of Rome as the lawful Primate and President of 
 Christendom. Let us maintain and declare these truths frankly and 
 fearlessly." — Catholic Unity, by the Rev. Edward Stuart, Perpetual 
 Curate of St. Mary Magdalene, Munster Square, London, p. 79. 
 London, 1867. 
 
 " Of course to those whose cry is 1 No peace with Rome,' and whose 
 glory is in the shame of divided Christendom, it [i.e., Corporate Re- 
 union] is a thing as incredible as hateful, the wish that it may ever be 
 so is father to the thought ; but to others I would say, do remember 
 that even now there is union, although unhappily not visible and 
 corporate. . . . What we have to strive and pray for, is the restora- 
 tion of the outward, visible, corporate manifestation of that unity. Do, 
 brethren, consider seriously these things, and be not led away by blind 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 381 
 
 prejudice, and by that insensate outcry against Rome and Popery." — 
 Disunion and Reunion, p. 14. A Sermon by the Rev. C. J. Le Geyt, 
 Incumbent of St. Mathias', Stoke Newington. 
 
 " The Council of Trent is not an insurmountable obstacle to Reunion 
 [with the Church of Rome], but that it may be so explained that we 
 could receive it." — Dr. Pusey in his Letter addressed to the Editor of 
 John Bull, and dated December 7th, 1865. 
 
 " But they [Anglicans] should know well, and never forget, that for 
 the English Church Corporate Reunion without Reunion with Rome 
 is, if not an impossibility, a step not to be desired." — Reunion Magazine, 
 No. 1, p. 5. 
 
 " I still feel, that as matter of doctrine, that is of belief, the difference 
 between what is held by English Churchmen and what is held by 
 Roman Catholics, is infinitesimal." — Reminiscences of the Oxford 
 Movement, by Rev. T. Mozley, formerly Rector of Plymtree, Vol. II., 
 p. 386. Second edition. 
 
 " It is most refreshing to find that the doctrinal differences which 
 separate the Roman and Anglican Communions disappear when 
 viewed in the light of unimpassioned inquiry." — Union Review, for 
 1868, p. 363. 
 
 THE POPE'S INFALLIBILITY, PRIMACY AND 
 SUPREMACY. 
 
 " I used to be as opposed to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility as it 
 was possible for anyone to be. Deeper reflection has, however, con- 
 vinced me that there is really nothing in it to which exception need be 
 taken. Granting an administrative head of the whole Catholic Church, 
 granting a Primate of Christendom, by the same right even that the 
 Archbishops of Canterbury profess to be Primates of the English 
 Church — namely, 'by Divine Providence,' it is surely only reasonable 
 to believe that, if this head of the Universal Church were to teach 
 ex cathedra, or authoritatively, anything pertaining to faith or morals, to 
 the whole flock of God, of which he is the chief shepherd upon earth, 
 he would most surely be guided by the Holy Ghost in such a way as 
 not to teach Satan's lie instead of the truth of God. This is the way 
 in which I should feel disposed to understand the Vatican decree. 
 And so far from seeing anything inconsistent with reason, or history, 
 
382 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 or Holy Scripture, or the Catholic Faith, in that decree, thus under- 
 stood, it appears to me that natural piety itself, and a belief in God's 
 providential guidance of His Church, would lead us to accept it." — ■ 
 Rev. Thomas TV. Mossman, Rector of Torrington, in Church Review, 
 November 3rd, 1882, p. 531. 
 
 " It is quite true that we do not assume an attitude of independence 
 towards the Holy See. We frankly acknowledge that, in the 
 Providence of God, the Roman Pontiff is the first Bishop in the 
 Church, and, therefore, its visible head on earth. We do not believe 
 that either the Emperor of Russia or the Queen of England is the head 
 of the Church. As the Church must have some executive head, and as 
 there is no other competitor, we believe the Pope to be that head. But 
 he is more to us than this, for he is our Patriarch as well. So that we 
 admit his claim to the veneration and loyalty of all baptized men, and 
 in a special degree of all Western Christians." — Letter of a Bishop of 
 the Order of Corporate Reunion, in Reunion Magazine, No. 2, p. 242. 
 
 " We in England look upon the Patriarch of Rome as the First/ 
 Bishop, the President of the General Council of the Church of Christ.'/ 
 — Olive Leaf, by Rev. William Wyndham Malet, Rector of 
 Ardeley, p. 12. 
 
 "England has her holy orders and ordinances of worship from, 
 Rome. She recognizes His Holiness as the chief bishop of all." — / 
 Ibid., p. 38. ' 
 
 " In the Church of England, likewise, the Bishop of Rome has no 
 authority. But in the Church of God, a universal spiritual body, all, 
 of course, belongs to St. Peter's successor, which was originally given 
 to St. Peter by our Lord. Whatever the Divine donation was origin- 
 ally, man did not bestow it, and man cannot take it away. Moreover;, 
 the government of the Catholic Church by Bishops, Primates, Metro- 
 politans, and Patriarchs, with One Visible Head, is so exactly of that 
 practical nature, that no wholly independent and isolated religious 
 body can possibly participate either in its government or in the blessing, 
 of being rightly governed, so long as it remains independent. . . . 
 The Visible Head of that One Christian Family, as Christendom has- 
 universally allowed, is the Bishop of the See of St. Peter. Unlike all 
 other Bishops, he has no superior either in rank or jurisdiction. Now, 
 when any part of a family, by misunderstanding and perverseness, 
 becomes disobedient to, or out of harmony with, its Visible Head, 
 weakness and confusion as regards its oneness is certain to supervene." 
 Order out of Chaos, by Rev. F. G. Lee, Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth, 
 pp. 60-62. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 383 
 
 THE REFORMERS AND THE REFORMATION. 
 
 " I have to own that, in spite of the telling illustrations of Mrs. 
 Trimmer's History of England, I never yet succeeded in getting up an 
 atom of affection or respect for the three gentlemen canonized in the- 
 ' Martyrs' Memorial ' at Oxford. As Lord Blachford once observed 
 to me, ' Cranmer burnt well,' and that is all the good I know about 
 him." — Reminiscences of the Oxford Movement, by Rev. T. Mozleyv 
 Rector of Plymtree, Vol. II., p. 230. 
 
 " To protest altogether against the wickedness of the Reformation 
 by entirely ignoring its pretended claims upon English Christians,, 
 the Monks of Llanthony have set up 'the Shrine of the Perpetual 
 Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament.' " — Little Manual of Devotions,. 
 by Rev. J. L. Lyne, alias " Father Ignatius," p. 4. 
 
 " Don't beat about the bush to try and deceive, to try and make 
 people believe you [Ritualists] are what you are not. You know you 
 have no respect for the Reformation ; you know you believe it has 
 wronged our dear old Church of England ; you know you believe that 
 it was a cruel, cowardly piece of tyranny of a wicked, murderous 
 despot; and although after centuries have painted over and gilded 
 over the diabolical acts of Henry VIII., yet you cannot point to one 
 single Scriptural or ecclesiastical authority that can be quoted for the 
 manner in which the work was carried out, or the work itself." — The 
 Present Position of the Ritualists, by "Father Ignatius," p. 25. 
 
 ' 4 For ourselves we do not scruple to say that we regard the death of 
 Edward and the accession of Mary as the most fortunate circumstance 
 for the Church of England." — Union Review for 1871, p. 358. 
 
 " In Germany the Church was utterly rooted out, and a new 
 religion, called Protestantism, invented by Luther and Calvin and 
 other malcontents, was substituted in its place. But in England this- 
 was not the case. The Church remained, but remained in fetters. 
 In character it was identical with the Church of old, holding the same 
 essential truths, sacraments, and orders 5 but it was infected with 
 Protestantism, which poisoned its blood, and diseased the whole body, 
 yet without destroying its vitality. Thank God, the Church of 
 England is rapidly recovering her health, and though heresy may still 
 linger on in her members, she has sufficient strength in time to expel 
 every trace of the disease and recover her ancient vigour. In England 
 the Church was corrupted by Protestantism." — Golden Gate, by Rev. 
 S. Baring-Gould, Rector of Lew Trenchard, Part I., p. 146. Edition,, 
 
384 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " The English Reformation, as carried out, was, from every sound 
 Churchman's standing-point, an unjustifiable and wicked act — heartily 
 reprobated and condemned by many." — Reunion Magazine, No. 1, 
 p. 6. 
 
 SOME RITUALISTIC "ORNAMENTS OF THE 
 CHURCH."* 
 
 An Altar with Super Altar. 
 An Altar Cross or Crucifix. 
 A Super-Frontal. 
 Corporal. 
 Burse. 
 
 Chalice Veil. 
 
 A Canister for Wafers. 
 
 A Spoon. 
 
 A Perforated Spoon. 
 
 A Chalice Cover and Lace for 
 
 Veiling the Blessed Sacrament. 
 Ciborium. 
 Maniples. 
 Ampulla. 
 An Aumbrye. 
 A Triptych. 
 Pede Cloth. 
 Houselling Cloth. 
 Corona. 
 Rood Screen. 
 A Scallop Shell. 
 A Baptismal Shell. 
 A Water Bucket. 
 A Baptismal Cruet. 
 Paintingsand Images of Our Lord, 
 
 Our Lady, and Saints. 
 A Portable Altar. 
 Altar Bread Cutters. 
 Altar Bread Irons. 
 Altar Canister. 
 
 Two Standard Candlesticks. 
 
 Flower Vases. 
 
 Processional Candlesticks. 
 
 Torches. 
 
 Lanthorns. 
 
 Cantoral Staves. 
 
 Amice (for an Archbishop or 
 
 Bishop). 
 Alb. 
 
 Maniple. 
 
 Stole. 
 
 Dalmatic. 
 
 Girdle. 
 
 Tunicle. 
 
 Zucchetto. 
 
 Biretta. 
 
 Chasuble. 
 
 Cope. 
 
 Grey Amyss. 
 
 Buskins. 
 
 Sandals. 
 
 Subcingulum. 
 
 Pectoral Cross. 
 
 Tunic. 
 
 Mitre. 
 
 Crozier. 
 
 Gremial. 
 
 The Cappa Magna. 
 The Pall. 
 
 From the Dirtctorium Anglicanum, pp. 336-341. Fourth edition. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 3S5 
 
 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 w Thou, God and Man, art in our midst, 
 The Altar is Thy Throne ; 
 We bow before Thy Mercy Seat, ^ 
 And Thee, our Maker, own. 
 
 My soul, fall prostrate to adore, \ 
 
 In lowliest worship bent ; 
 Each day I live I love Thee more, 
 
 Sweet Sacrament ! Sweet Sacrament ! " 
 — St. Agatha 's, Landport, Sunday Scholars Book, Appendix, Hymn 474. 
 
 " You will go [to the Altar] with this one solemn thought ever 
 present to your mind, namely, that your body is about to become a 
 tabernacle for the most sacred Flesh and Blood of Jesus, God 
 Incarnate ! " — The Parish Tracts, by Rev. J. H. Buchanan, First 
 Series, No. X., <f Confirmation." 
 
 " Let every one who hears you speak, or sees you worship, feel 
 quite sure that the object of your devotion is not an idea or a senti- 
 ment, or a theory, or a make-believe, but a real personal King and 
 Master and Lord : present at all times everywhere in the omnipresence 
 of His Divine Nature, present by His own promise, and His own 
 supernatural power in His Human Nature too upon His Altar-Throne, 
 there to be worshipped in the Blessed Sacrament as really, and literally, 
 and actually, as you will necessarily worship Him when you see Him 
 in His beauty in Heaven." — St. Jolin the Baptist. A Sermon by the 
 Rev. H. D. Nihill, Vicar of St. Michael's, Shoreditcb, p. 8. 
 
 " Yes, in that piece of consecrated Bread he knew our Lord had 
 come — had changed that very Bread into His own Body, and that wine 
 in the chalice into His most precious Blood. Little child as he was, 
 the Holy Spirit had taught him all the great mystery of that Sacram nt, 
 and when he saw his father kneel to receive what appeared to his 
 eyes but a piece of bread, he knew his father had really eaten the 
 Body of His Saviour." — Stories Told to the Choir, No. 2, p. 19. 
 Oxford : Mowbray, 1874. 
 
 " Kenneth understood now, and he would understand more some 
 day, how that Jesus comes at the bidding of His priest upon the Altar, 
 and passes Himself into the little Pieces of Bread and into the Wine 
 
 25 
 
386 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the Chalice, and so is { verily and indeed taken and received by the 
 faithful in the Lord's Supper.' " — Ibid., p. 22. 
 
 " And then to think that Jesus comes His Own very Self to offer 
 Himself in Sacrifice to God, and to listen to all our prayers. That's 
 the sign He's come, when the big bell tolls three, just as the priest 
 says the words of consecration ' This is my Body — This is my Blood.' " 
 — Ibid., No. 5, p. 20. 
 
 "Think of Jesus on the Cross dying for you. Think of His 
 coming down upon our Altars under the forms of Bread and Wine ! 
 Every crumb on the paten, every drop in the chalice has now become 
 the whole Body, Blood, Soul, Spirit, and Divinity of Jesus ! Now is 
 the time for you to worship Him !" — The Server's Mass Book, by the 
 Rev. G. P. Grantham, p. 21. London : Masters. 
 
 " The following is a beautiful method of manifesting devotion to 
 the Most Holy Sacrament : — When the Hymn, ' Hail, Jesus, Hail ! ' 
 is sung, let the Ceremoniarius, or his Assistant, carry a hand-bell, and 
 •as often as the words, " Sweet Sacrament we Thee adore,' occur, let 
 Uiim sound it. The procession will pause, and all, excepting the 
 sacred Ministers, turning round, will sink humbly on their knees, and 
 tatlore the Blessed Sacrament." — Oratory Worship, p. 32. London: 
 Church Press Company, 1869. 
 
 " Far worse than any kind of idolatry is the Christian religion, if 
 the Host on the Altar is not Very God." — The Sacrament of the Holy 
 Eucharist. A Lecture by Rev. J. L. Lyne, alias " Father Ignatius,'* 
 p. 16. 
 
 <f Other Sacraments contain the Grace of God, but the Holy 
 Eucharist is God Himself." — Practical Thoughts for Sisters of 
 Charity, p. 137. London: Hodges, 1871. 
 
 " As surely as the Boy Carpenter was the great Eternal God, so 
 also surely the Bread and Wine which you have seen and handled, and 
 received into yourself this day is the great and Eternal God too : the 
 God who hideth Himself. Adore in silence and in trembling awe." — 
 Ibid., p. 300. 
 
 " Hidden God and Saviour, Have mercy upon us. Most High and 
 adorable Sacrament, Have mercy upon us. Tremendous and 
 life-giving Sacrament, Have mercy upon us." — The English Catholic s 
 Fade Mecum, pp. 71, 72. Third edition. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 387 
 
 " As you walk to Church, say : — 
 
 " I rise from dreams of time 
 And an Angel guides my feet, 
 To the Sacred Altar Throne 
 Where Jesus' Heart doth beat." 
 
 — Private Prayers, edited by the Rev. W. H. Hutchings (now Arch- 
 deacon of Cleveland), p. 43. Windsor: privately printed. 
 
 " Lord Jesus, I have this day received on my tongue, Thy most 
 holy Flesh and Blood." — Ibid., p. 52. 
 
 " Again, as to our conversation. How jealous should Commun- 
 icants be over the words that pass through the door of those lips, 
 wetted with the Holy Blood, spoken by the tongue that has tasted 
 the Sacred Body of the Lord." — Instructions on the Holy Eucharist, 
 edited by Canon T. T. Carter, p. 124. Second edition. London: 
 Parker. 
 
 THE POWER AND DIGNITY OF SACRIFICING 
 
 PRIESTS. 
 
 " They [priests] are peacemakers under Him who carry on this 
 work for Him, applying the precious Blood to the souls of men by 
 the Sacraments for the remission of sin." — The Evangelist Library : 
 Exposition of the Beatitudes, edited by the Cowley Fathers, p. 31. 
 
 " The priest is permitted to share certain sorrows of Christ in 
 which the layman has no part." — Ibid., p. 32. 
 
 " But those priests who worthily fulfil their office shall be more 
 specially called the sons of God, because they shall have an especial 
 likeness to Him, having been made partakers in a chosen way of the 
 priesthood of His only begotton Son." — Ibid., p. 33. 
 
 " You are not, then, to look upon him [the Confessor- Priest J as a 
 friend only, or a constant sympathizer, but as one who is over you in 
 the Lord — one who should sometimes reprove, and you to accept it 
 without feeling as though the rebuke was given by an equal, who 
 may sometimes encourage you, but rather as a guide than a friend ; 
 one with whom you are to be on terms of intimacy different to your 
 relation to all other persons on earth ; with whom you are not to talk 
 as you would to others, as on an equal footing, but as speaking to 
 one to whom respect and obedience is due. He is neither to be spoken 
 
 25 * 
 
388 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 to nor of, in any manner approaching to familiarity." — Hints to 
 Penitents, p. 128. Third edition. 
 
 "The priest, as far as his priesthood is concerned, is Christ 
 Himself the Sovereign and Eternal Priest." — A Brief Answer to 
 Objections Brought Against Confession, Translated by the Feltham 
 Nuns, p. 23. 
 
 " The priest perpetuates Jesus Christ in our midst to endless ages, 
 that is why we should go to him as Jesus Christ, and to Christ by 
 him." — Ibid,, p. 21. 
 
 " Learn to perceive Almighty God concealed for you in His 
 priests." — Ibid., p. 23. 
 
 " A penitent, prostrate at the feet of the priest, is a man raised, and 
 elevated, and supremely honourable." — Ibid., p. 24. 
 
 " Fear the eye and the voice of the priest." — Ibid., p. 24. 
 
 " The priests are, on earth, the spiritual police of Almighty God ; 
 they must hunt out, track, pursue, and arraign sinners, as the police 
 pursue and apprehend thieves and rascals." — Ibid., p. 26. 
 
 " The lay element already too greatly preponderated [in the Church 
 of England], and no more of it was needed. It was not that he 
 undervalued the office of the laity, whose high and noble prerogative 
 it was to listen and obey, but it was for the Ministers of the Church 
 with all their responsibilities to magnify their office, if so be that 
 others would intrude upon it." — Extract from a Speech by the Rev. 
 Luke Rivington, at an Ordinary Meeting of the English Church Union, 
 January j 4th, 1868. English Church Union Monthly Circular, for 
 1868, p. 65. 
 
 "They may call me a Papist, and laugh at my Creed, 
 'Tis the Faith that will save in the hour of need ; 
 Let them talk, let them laugh, but when death is at hand 
 The priest is the only true friend in the land." 
 
 Hensal-cum-Heck Churcti Monthly, November, 1895. 
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 
 
 " Q. Have we not already named another way in which we are to 
 be mindful of the Departed ? 
 
 " A. Yes 5 we offer the Holy Sacrifice for them. 
 " Q. Why so ? 
 
 u A. As being propitiatory. The Sacrifice of the Cross was 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 389 
 
 propitiatory for all, for the Living and the Faithful departed. The 
 Sacrifice of the Eucharist, which is one with the Sacrifice of the Cross, 
 is alike propitiatory for all." — A Catechism on the Church, by Rev. C. S. 
 Grueber, Vicar of St. James's, Hambridge, p. 158. Edition 1874. 
 
 " If you speak about the Mass, do not beat about for some one or 
 other of the names which mean the same thing, but under cover of 
 which men are accustomed to allow that is in their idea not the same 
 thing. Men hate the little word, because they think it means the 
 same thing that they see done abroad in other portions of the same 
 One Holy Catholic Church : and is not that, if we belive in One Holy 
 Catholic Church, precisely the truth that we ought to be labouring in 
 every way to teach them r " — St. John the Baptist. A Sermon by 
 the Rev. H. D. Nihill, p. 2. 
 
 " An attempt to approach nearer to the Roman Catholics in the 
 manner of celebrating High Mass would be of immense service to 
 our Church ; and if we could introduce such a little office as is often 
 seen at the Brompton Oratory and other places, where the people 
 seem to have everything their own way. except that a young priest 
 gives out the hymns, and recites a few Aves and Paternosters, the 
 whole being followed by a good extempore sermon, and the Bene- 
 diction of the Blessed Sacrament, we should have little cause to 
 complain of the inroads of the Methodists." — Union Review, for 1868, 
 p. 22. 
 
 " The Sacrifices of the Golden Altar and the Earthly Altar are as 
 much Sacrifices of Praise, of Thanksgiving, of Prayer, and of 
 Propitiation for Sin, as was the Sacrifice of the Cross." — Union 
 Review, for 1S66, p. 260. 
 
 w Teach men to deny the Sacrifice of the Mass, and they are on 
 the high road to the denial of all Sacrifice whatever." — Church News, 
 February 17th, 1869, p. 99. 
 
 " It is the glory of the Eucharist that, through the instrumentality 
 of that Body and Blood which He gave for the life of the world upon 
 the Cross, and which He still gives to us under the veils of bread and 
 wine in the Sacrament of the Altar, Jesus Christ perpetuates on our 
 behalf, here below in the visible sanctuaries of His Church, the 
 functions of His Eternal Priesthood : it is our dignity, and the glory 
 of our consecration as a royal priesthood, that He has entrusted the 
 offering of the Sacrifice made on Calvary to human agencies, and 
 
390 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 that He permits it to depend upon us whether He, the great High 
 Priest of our profession, shall be allowed to exercise His priestly 
 functions at our altars or no. By His gracious condescension, the 
 free will of the Blessed Virgin was permitted to co-operate with God 
 in determining the time of the Incarnation : by a condescension no 
 less gracious He leaves Himself in our power in the Eucharist, which 
 is the extension of the Incarnation." — Eighteenth Annual Report of 
 ike C. B. S., paper by Hon. C. L. Wood, now Lord Halifax, p. x. 
 
 'The Sacrifice of the Altar is one and the same Sacrifice with that 
 offeied on Calvary. It is not a different Sacrifice, nor a repetition : 
 it is the same." — Go/den Gate, by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Rector 
 of Lew Trenchard, Part III., p. 163. Edition, 1875. 
 
 * By virtue of this life-giving Sacrament, have mercy, O most kind 
 Lord Jesus Christ, on the holy universal Church. . . . Give, by this 
 holy Sacrament, true charity to our enemies and to ourselves, and 
 to all Thy faithful people succour, help, and consolation ; bestowing 
 Thy grace upon those still in the flesh, and granting eternal rest to all 
 the faithful departed." — The Coj/nnunicant's Manual, by the Bishop of 
 Lincoln (Dr. King), pp. 55, 57. Sixth edition. London : Mozley 
 and Smith, 1877. 
 
 " The mode in which High Mass should be sung in the Oratory of 
 the Society of the Holy Cross on Festivals, should be of the highest 
 type known to Catholic Christendom, by which the Holy Sacrifice 
 may be offered according to the use of the Church of England. It 
 should possess every element in ritual, and music, and other 
 accessories, which the tradition of the Church sanctions. . . . But 
 the founders of the Oratory would not feel satisfied until they restored 
 to the Church of England a rendering of the sacred Mass which was 
 fully Mediaeval in the correctness of its use, and more than Mediaeval 
 in the richness, costliness, taste, and perfection of its details. Thus 
 we should desiderate these elements at the least : — The Asperges ; 
 the ' Censing of persons and things,' or the use of incense in a ritual 
 manner ; the correct Introits, Graduals, Offertories, Communions j 
 Gospel Lights ; Consecration Lights on the Altar and Consecration 
 Candles in front of the Altar, in addition to the Six Altar Candles 
 and two Sacramental Lights ; the use of the Altar Bell ; the LavaBo - 7 
 and, of course, the Eucharistic Vestments, for Celebrant, Ministers, 
 Servers, and Acolytes." — The Four Cardinal Virtues, by the Rev. 
 Orby Shipley, pp. 246, 247. London : Longmans, 1871. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 391 
 
 " And under the Christian covenant of grace, and in the Church 
 which is the Body of Christ, the Christian Priest may daily stand 
 before the altar offering up the great commemorative Sacrifice of 
 Christ, for his own sins, and for the sins of the people. . . . Daily, 
 therefore, in the ■ Church's Prayer Meeting ' held when the Celebrant, 
 representing the congregation, and assisted by, and in union with 
 them, makes effectual intercession for the people, pleading the 
 tremendous Sacrifice for sin before God, and standing, like Aaron, 
 between the living and the dead, to make atonement for them." — St. 
 Philip's, Sydenham, Church Magazine, March, 1896, p. 1. 
 
 " So then, be sure, whatever else you do, that you go to Mass on 
 this great day. A Christian child who is able to go to Mass on 
 Christmas Day, and who does not go is not good. He does not 
 deserve to have any Christmas treats, and he ought not to enjoy 
 them if he has them." — Hosanna: A Mass Booh for Children, with 
 Preface by the Rev. R. A. J. Suckling, Vicar of St. Alban's, Holborn, 
 p. 44. London: W. Knott, 1891. 
 
 * And Thurifer first, with his censer bright, 
 And then Sub-deacon the cross who bears, 
 
 Lifted on high 
 
 That all may descry ; 
 And on either side is an Acolyte, 
 With other Clerics together in pairs, 
 Walking to West and back to East, 
 With vested Deacon and vested Priest, 
 All of them bearing the taper Light. 
 
 " Then to the Altar returned, they say 
 The Holy Mass ; and the people all 
 Hold up their lighted tapers high, 
 While Gospel and blessed Canon are sung, 
 And Gloria shouted by every tongue, 
 
 — God grant that all 
 
 Who on Jesus call 
 May one day mingle that throng among, 
 Who ever shall keep in the yonder sky, 
 With happy rapture and bliss for aye, 
 The gladness and joy of a Candlemas day !" 
 
 — The Mysteries of Holy Church, by the Rev. G. P. Grantham, p. 99. 
 London : Masters. 
 
392 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Father, gentle, full of love, 
 
 Hear us while we humbly pray ! 
 Look Thou from Thy throne above 
 On the Sacrifice to-day. 
 
 " Which at Christ, our Lord's command 
 We, redeemed from sin's control, 
 Offer for our Church and land, 
 And for every faithful soul. 
 
 " Mindful of Our Lady dear, 
 
 Saints and all the ransomed quire, 
 Who in rest for ever blest 
 
 Serve Thee with love's fond desire. 
 
 " Hear this prayer ; and by the power 
 Of this holy Sacrifice 
 Grant us grace to see Thy face 
 In the halls of Paradise ! " 
 
 Rid., pp. xviii, xix. 
 
 ' ,r pHE CATHOLIC FAITH IN DONCASTER, AT LAST. 
 
 Oh dear ! We want such a lot of things for our poor District Church 
 (St. John's) : Vestments, Cope, Processional Crucifix, Tabernacle (for use), 
 Sanctus Bells. Pictures, and Everything. The thorough cleaning of the 
 Church (first time for thirty years) is exhausting our means. Do send some- 
 thing, Please. — Address, Priest-in-charge, 2, Pavilion-street, Doncaster." 
 
 ""I LITTLE MARYS WANTED.— Is your name Mary? 
 
 -i-^S^S Then do send me a shilling, there's a dear child, towards a 
 shrine for Our Lady in our poor Church of St. John. Tell me your little 
 troubles and I will remember you at Mass. — Address, Priest-in-Charge, 
 2, Pavilion-street, Doncaster." — Advertisements in the Church Review, June 14th, 
 1894. 
 
 " The Mass is not one Sacrifice and Calvary another. It is the 
 same Sacrifice." — A Book for the Children of God! p. 1 10. London: 
 W. Knott, 1 89 1. 
 
 " The one Sacrifice for sin for ever, the same at the altar and at 
 the Cross, the ' Eucharistic Sacrifice,' or ' Sacrifice of the Mass.' " — 
 The Rights of the English Churchmen, a Sermon preached before the 
 " Church of England Working Men's Society," by Rev. H. D. 
 Nihill, p. 21. Published by the Society. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 393 
 
 THE CEREMONIES OF LOW MASS. 
 
 "In celebrating Mass some portions have to be said secretly, so 
 that the Celebrant hears himself, but is not heard by others." — 
 Ceremonial Guide to Low Mass* by two Clergymen of the Church of 
 England, p. 5. 
 
 " There are three occasions only when the elbows are placed on the 
 Altar — (1) At the consecration of the Host. (2) At the consecration 
 of the Chalice. (3) While receiving the Host." — Ibid., p. 7. 
 
 "The head is bowed towards the Book whenever the names occur 
 of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or of the Saint of whom the Mass is 
 said." — Rid., p. 18. 
 
 " The Hands [of the Consecrating priest] are to be joined palm to 
 palm 5 and before the Consecration the fingers are to be extended one 
 opposite the other, and the right thumb placed over the left in the 
 form of a cross." — Ibid., p. 27. 
 
 "As is remarked by St. Liguori, it is a mistake, on making a 
 genuflection, to raise the tips of the fingers upwards." — Ibid., p. 30. 
 
 "On saying 'The holy Gospel is written,' the Celebrant separates 
 his hands, and placing the left upon the Book, he makes a small Sign 
 of the Cross with the tip of the thumb of the right hand on the Book, 
 in the place of the opening words of the Gospel that is to be read. 
 Then, placing his left hand on the lower part of his breast, he makes 
 similar Signs of the Cross with the right thumb on his forehead, and 
 breast." — Ibid., p. 36. 
 
 " When the Wine has been consecrated and the inclination made, 
 the Chalice is raised in a straight line, in order that it may be seen 
 and adored by the people ; but the foot must not be lifted higher than 
 the eyes of the Celebrant." — Ibid., p. 41. 
 
 " When the priest is to bless any person or any thing he turns the 
 little finger of the right hand towards the object which he is to bless." 
 —Ibid., p. 43. 
 
 * In the Preface of this disloyal book, occurs the following significant 
 passage : — " The original of this book is Lotv Mass (London : Burns and Oates), 
 which is an English translation of the fourth book of Cesari's Ceremonie delta 
 Messa. . . . The thanks of the Editors are offered to the courteous translator 
 and editor of the English edition, a clergyman of the Society of Jesus, who 
 kindly gave them leave to adapt the book to the use of the English Church " 
 (p. vi.). 
 
394 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " The breast is struck with the right hand ten times. — During the 
 Co-nfiteor, at the words ' my fault,' the breast is struck with the 
 fingers of the right hand united and slightly curved." — Ibid., p. 46. 
 
 " If, on his way to the Altar, he [the priest] passes the place where 
 the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, or where a relic of the Holy Cross 
 is exposed, he genuflects on one knee." — Ibid., p. 60. 
 
 " The priest then says the Confiteor. . . . ' I confess to God, to 
 Blessed Mary, to all Saints, and to you ; that I have sinned exceed- 
 ingly in thought, word, and deed, by my fault. I beseech holy Mary, 
 all Saints of God, and you, to pray for me." — Ib'uL, p. 64. 
 
 " He [the priest] must bow his head to the Cross w T hen passing the 
 middle of the Altar." — Ibid., p. 78. 
 
 " On saying [at the Creed] ' in one God,' the priest joins his hands 
 and bows his head to the Cross. ... At ' Jesus Christ ' he bows his 
 head to the Cross. ... At ' together is worshipped ' he bows his 
 head to the Cross." — Ibid., p. 82. 
 
 " He [the priest] raises his eyes to God and immediately lowers 
 them, saying meanwhile secretly: — 'Receive, O Holy Trinity, this 
 oblation which I, a miserable and unworthy sinner, offer in honour of 
 Thee and of Blessed Mary and of all Thy Saints for my sins and 
 offences ; for the salvation of the living and the repose of all the 
 faithful departed. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost. Amen." — Ibid., p. 86. 
 
 " The priest holds the newly consecrated Host over the Altar in his 
 thumbs and forefingers, the other fingers being held together and 
 extended : he raises his body, withdrawing his elbows from the Altar r 
 but leaving on it his hands as far as the wrists, and at once inclines 
 and adores the Host. Then raising himself, he elevates the Host as 
 far as he conveniently can, that It may be seen and adored by the 
 people." — Ibid., p. 103. 
 
 " After the Consecration he replaces the Chalice upon the Corporal, 
 and inclining reverently, adores the Sacred Blood." — Ibid., p. 106. 
 
 " Having signed himself, he brings the Chalice to his mouth, 
 holding the Paten under it, and raising it to about the level of his 
 chin. Then, standing upright, he reverently receives the Precious 
 Blood." — Ibid., p. 121. 
 
 " He [the priest] makes a profound Reverence to the principal 
 Image in the Sacristy." — Ibid., p. 132. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 395 
 
 " If any Particle [of the Consecrated Wine] fall on any of the Altar 
 Linen, or on the ground, the priest is to place a clean cloth on the 
 spot, choosing a more convenient time for doing what is requisite. 
 He must afterwards wash the linen or the ground, scraping it somewhat 
 on the place where the Particle fell : the water and whatever may have 
 been scraped off are to be thrown into the Sacrarium." — Ibid., p. 177. 
 
 " Palls having the upper side of silk, are prohibited by the Sacred 
 Congregation of Rites." — Ibid., p. 187. 
 
 "When once employed in the Sacrifice of the Mass, it [the 
 " Purificator "] should not be used for other purposes, nor be handled 
 by Laics (not having the required permission), until after having been 
 washed by a Clerk in Holy Orders." — Ibid., p. 187. 
 
 " The Sacred Vessels are the Chalice, Paten, Ciborium, and Pyx, 
 none of which may be handled by those not in Holy Orders, unless- 
 with special permission." — Ibid., p. jSq. 
 
 "By a decree of the Council of Bishops (October 25th, ijj/5) y 
 the exterior of the Tabernacle is to be gilt, and the interior lined 
 throughout with white silk. . . . The Tabernacle is exclusively 
 reserved for the preservation of the most Holy Sacrament. . . . The 
 Sacred Congregation of Rites [the Pope's own Congregation at 
 Rome] forbids Relics of the Passion, or of the Saints, or the Holy 
 Oils, to be placed within the Tabernacle." — Ibid., p. 195. 
 
 "According to the Constitution of Benedict XIV., July i6th y 
 1746, the Cross is to be placed between the Candlesticks." — Ibid., 
 p. 196. 
 
 " Statuettes of the Saints, in gold or silver, are, in Rome, often 
 placed upon the Altars during the great festivals." — Ibid., p. 198. 
 
 SOME CAUTIONS FOR MASS PRIESTS. 
 
 " The seventh Cautel [Caution] is : that before Mass the priest do 
 not wash his mouth or teeth, but only his lips from without with his 
 mouth closed as he has need, lest perchance he should intermingle 
 the taste of water with his saliva. After Mass also he should beware 
 of expectorations as much as possible, until he shall have eaten and 
 drunken, lest by chance anything shall have remained between his 
 teeth or in his fauces ; which by expectorating he might eject." — The 
 Directorium Anglicanum, by the Rev. F. G. Lee, p. no. Fourth 
 edition. 
 
396 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " The question arises, if after having communicated of the Body- 
 he [the priest] shall have the water already in his mouth, and shall 
 then for the first time perceive that it is water — whether he ought to 
 « swallow it or to eject it. . . . Jt is, however, safer to swallow than to 
 eject it ; and for this reason, that no particle of the Body [of Christ] 
 may be ejected with the water." — Ibid., p. 113. 
 
 " If a fly or spider or any such thing should fall into the Chalice 
 before consecration, or even if he [the priest] shall apprehend that 
 poison hath been put in, the wine which is in the chalice ought to be 
 poured out, and the chalice ought to be washed, and other wine and 
 water put therein to be consecrated. But, if any of these contin- 
 gencies befall after the consecration, the fly or spider or such-like 
 thing should be warily taken, oftentimes diligently washed between 
 the fingers, and should then be burnt, and the ablution together with 
 the burnt ashes must be put in the piscina. But the poison ought, 
 by no means, to be taken, but such Blood, with which poison has 
 been mingled, should be reserved in a comely vessel, together with 
 the relics." — Ibid., pp. 113, 114. 
 
 " If the Eucharist hath fallen to the ground, the place where it lay 
 must be scraped, and fire kindled thereon, and the ashes reserved 
 beside the Altar. Also, if by negligence any of the Blood be spilled, 
 upon a table fixed to the floor, the priest must take up the drop with 
 his tongue, and the place of the table must be scraped, and the 
 shavings burnt with fire, and the ashes reserved with the relics beside 
 the altar, and he to whom this has befallen must do penance forty 
 days." — Ibid., pp. 115, 116. 
 
 " If anyone by any accident of the throat vomit up the Eucharist, 
 the vomit ought to be burned, and the ashes ought to be reserved near 
 the altar. And if it shall be a cleric, monk, or presbyter, or deacon, 
 he must do penance for forty days." — Ibid., p. 116. 
 
 PURGATORY. 
 
 " The preacher then enlarged upon the thought of the penal aspect 
 of Death, and drew a distinction between the temporal and the eternal 
 punishment of sin, pointing out that, while to venial sin there is a 
 temporal punishment annexed, mortal sin involves both an eternal and 
 a temporal punishment : and next proceeded to insist that upon this 
 doctrine is really based the solemnities of the dead, in which that 
 congregation were then engaged. The Church had not given us them 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 397 
 
 to gratify our feelings. They were assembled there to do a great act 
 of charity towards the dead, to fulfil a great duty towards them and 
 not merely for the sake of keeping their memory green, as the world 
 does. We had much more to do than that : we had an intercession 
 to make for the dead, and that was founded upon this distinction 
 which he had tried to draw between the temporal and eternal 
 punishment for sin. For while God remitted the eternal punishment 
 for repented sin, He did not necessarily remit the temporal punish- 
 ment, part of which is the penalty of death. For the vast majority 
 of Christians the temporal punishment must be paid in the world 
 to come, and the souls in Paradise, because they had not taken up 
 their cross here, and not been mindful of the example of our Lord, 
 are offering the homage of their spiritual sufferings in the realms of 
 Purgatory, and were helped by our prayers and Eucharists, offered in 
 their behalf." — Sermon ly the Rev. E. G. Wood, Vicar of St. 
 Clement's, Cambridge, preached at the Solemn Requiem of the 
 Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, November ioth, 1890, and 
 reported in the Church Times, November 14th, 1890, p. 1117. 
 
 "From the power of evil spirits, good Lord, deliver them [the 
 faithful dead]. From the gnawing worm of conscience, good Lord, 
 deliver them. From cruel flames, good Lord, deliver them. From 
 intolerable cold, good Lord, deliver them." — The Priest's Prayer 
 Book,]). 188. Fourth edition. 
 
 " From the shades of death, -where they sit desiring the light of Thy 
 countenance, good Lord, deliver them ['the faithful departed']." 
 '* From the pains, which are the just penalty of their sins, good 
 Lord, deliver them [' the faithful departed ']." — Manual of the Guild 
 of all Souls, p. 20. Fourth edition. London, 1S80. 
 
 "Were it not for the prevailing looseness and inaccuracy of thought 
 and expression upon theological questions, which is one of the 
 characteristics of the present age, it would be a matter for surprise 
 that the extreme moderation of the Roman Church upon the doctrine 
 of Purgatory should be so little known and recognized." — St. Catherine 
 of Genoa on Purgatory, with Introductory Essay by a Priest 
 Associate of the Guild of All Souls, p. 11. London, 1878. 
 
 " How great a thing is Purgatory ! For myself, I can neither say 
 nor conceive anything that approaches to it. I have a glimpse only, 
 that those pains, being as sensible as the pains of hell, the soul 7 
 nevertheless, which has in it the least stain, or the least imperfection 
 
398 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 •receives them as a particular witness of God's goodness to her." — 
 Ibid., p. 40. 
 
 " At the death of any Member a special Funeral Mass will be said 
 for the repose of his soul, when all members are, if possible, to 
 attend." — Manual of the Perseverance, St. Alban's, Holborn, p. 10. 
 
 " Q. Is there a Purgatory of any sort ? 
 
 "A. Purgatory means a condition or state of purgation. All who 
 are perfected can only be * made perfect through suffering,' either in 
 this world, or that which is to come, or in both. We may, therefore, 
 rightly speak of this process as Purgatorial, and of the sphere of its 
 •operations as Purgatory." — A Catechism on Some Great Truths, by 
 the Rev. J. B. Johnson, m.a., p. 36. Second Edition. London: 
 Masters, 1893. 
 
 " And when the altar is decked with care, 
 The Clergy to celebrate Mass prepare. 
 They enter the Chancel-gate within, 
 As the Choir solemn Introit begin : 
 ' Grant them, O Lord, Thy rest divine, 
 * And light perpetual o'er them shine ' ! 
 
 " The Deacon the corpse hath censed ; the Priest 
 Hath sung the Collects ; and humbly prayed 
 That she who now on her bier is laid, 
 Partake maybe in the heavenly Feast. 
 
 " And when Epistle and Tract are o'er, 
 Again is the smoking censer swung 
 About the body which lies before, 
 Ere is the Holy Gospel sung. 
 
 " The Priest hath finished ; the Mass is said ; 
 
 The living in holy brotherhood, 
 In blest commune with the saintly dead, 
 Have feasted on the all-precious Food. 
 And while his cope doth the Priest resume 
 
 And rigid biretta, the Choir alone 
 The Dies Ires, the Day of Doom, 
 
 Solemnly chanteth in mournful tone." 
 . — The Mysteries of Holy Church, by the Rev. G. P. Grantham, p. 12 r. 
 London : Masters. 
 
 " The Church in the Middle state is called the Suffering Church. 
 It is Purgatory, the place where holy souls are made perfect." — 
 A Book for the Children of God, p. 83. London: W. Knott, 1891. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 399 
 
 AURICULAR CONFESSION AND PRIESTLY 
 ABSOLUTION. 
 
 " Be assured that this is one of the gravest faults of our day in the 
 administration of the Sacrament of Penance, that it is the road by 
 which a number of Christians go down to hell." — Dr. Pusey's Manual 
 for Confessors, p. 315. 
 
 " Telling his penitents that they must explain the motives which 
 led to their faults, and that they must not confess carelessly, but lay 
 bare all the sources and movements of their sins to their Confessor, 
 as, without so doing, they could not be purified." — Hid., p. 26. 
 
 " It is a sad sight to see Confessors giving their whole morning to 
 young women-devotees, while they dismiss men and married women 
 . . . with ' I am busy, go to some one else.' " — Ibid., p. 108. 
 
 " Be sure you [Confessor] impress upon those who have hidden 
 their sins [from the priest in Confession] the enormity of the crime 
 they have committed in trampling underfoot their Saviour's blood." — 
 Ibid., p. 128. 
 
 " Those [scrupulous persons] who do not live under a Rule must 
 voluntarily submit themselves to a learned and wise Confessor, 
 obeying him as God Himself, laying all their concerns freely and 
 simply before him, and never coming to any determination without 
 his advice. Such an one, S. Philip said, need not fear being called to 
 account by God." — Ibid., p. 180. 
 
 '* No Confessor should ever give the slightest suspicion that he is 
 alluding to what he has heard in the tribunal, but he should remember 
 the Canonical warning : * What I know through Confession, I know 
 less than what I do not know.' Pope Eugenius says that whatever a 
 Confessor knows in this way, he knows it ' ut Deus ' 5 while out of 
 Confession he is only speaking * ut homo ' : so that, 'as man,' he can 
 say that he does not know that which he has learned as God's repre- 
 sentative. I go further still : As man, he may swear with a clear 
 conscience that he knows not, what he knows only as God ! ! ! " — ■ 
 Ibid., p. 402. 
 
 " That Confession is ordinarily — i.e., where it may be had, and 
 where the soul is capable of grasping the fact that it is so — necessary 
 in case of mortal, i.e., conscious, wilful, deliberate sin, which destroys 
 the grace of Baptism and the union of the soul with God ; and that it 
 is not necessary in any other case." — The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie in 
 the Priest in Absolution and the Society of the Holy Cross: A Corre- 
 spondence, p. 23. 
 
400 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Since it [the Priest in Absolution'] has been so prominently before 
 the public, I have been trying to make acquaintance with it, and find 
 that its principles are those which govern, I believe, all Confessors 
 among ourselves." — Ibid., p. 16. 
 
 " Jesus the sinless One bore all their sins this day [Good Friday] j 
 even Judas went to the priests this day, and said, ' I have sinned.' " — 
 Mission Tract: Good Friday, p. 4. London: Church Printing Co. 
 
 " Yes, I am going to God's priest, 
 To tell him all my sin, 
 And from this very hour I'll strive 
 A new life to begin. 
 
 " When I confess with contrite heart 
 My sins unto the priest, 
 I do believe from all their guilt 
 That moment I'm released. 
 
 " I go then with a humble heart, 
 To have my sins forgiven ! 
 And angels, while I kneel, will sing 
 A hymn of joy in heaven." 
 — Manual of the Children of the Church, p. 40. Third edition. 
 London : Church Sunday-school Union, which is a Branch of the 
 Kilburn Sisterhood. 
 
 " If you are tempted to hide a sin in Confession, say, i O God, help 
 me to tell my sins, because the devil is tempting me not to tell 
 them." — Ibid., p. 41. 
 
 " The labourer is worthy of his hire, and those who minister to 
 us in spiritual things should reap the benefit of our carnal things, 
 i.e., our worldly substance, our money. As there is no fee for hearing 
 Confessions, gratitude requires that we should at least contribute 
 either to the Offertory or to the Alms-box whenever we make use of 
 the Sacrament of Penance ; especially we should make a point of this 
 when we Confess at a Church which is not our own Parish Church." 
 — How to Make a Good Confession, p. 14. Seventh thousand. 
 London : W. Knott. 
 
 " Nor should you [in Confession] make any mention of feelings 
 of any kind, unless they are wilfully indulged feelings of hatred or 
 lust." — Ibid., p. 9. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 401 
 
 " I must again repeat that Confession and Absolution form God's 
 regular channel for conveying His forgiveness, and that if we will not 
 take pardon in His way, we are not likely to get it in our own." — 
 IVhy Dont You Go to Confession? p. 7. Thirteenth thousand. 
 London : C.J. Palmer. 
 
 Ask pardon for your impious defiance of His love. Turn and 
 throw yourself at His feet, like the Prodigal Son. He waits for you 
 in the Confessional, hidden in His priest." — Brief Answers to Objec- 
 tions Brought Against Confession, p. 40. London : E. Longhurst. 
 
 " Confession is the toilet of the conscience. The priest washes and 
 cleanses the soul, soiled with sin ; he restores it to health, pure and 
 white. Those children who will not be attended to by their mothers, 
 remain all day dirty and disgusting. The souls who will purposely 
 neglect the cleansing of Confession are unclean souls, vile and base 
 souls." — Ibid., p. 29. 
 
 "God alone is the giver of all spiritual life and grace and favour, 
 and yet we are not bid to go direct to God for these gifts (for that 
 right we forfeited at the fall) ; but we are to go to the Church which 
 stands between us and God in its appointed sphere." — The Mediation 
 of the Church, by the Rev. Edward Stuart, m.a., p. 9. Second edition. 
 London: C. J. Palmer. 
 
 " When a penitent, perfectly contrite, cannot Confess, either through 
 physical inability, or impossibility of obtaining a Confessor, mortal 
 sin is remitted by the mercy of God, anticipatorily. . . . Imperfect 
 contrition or attrition is sorrow arising from mingled or lower 
 motives, and requires the application of the Sacrament. . . . Mortal 
 sin cannot ordinarily be forgiven, without absolution. But the priest 
 cannot loose what he has no knowledge of. Therefore, mortal sin 
 must be enumerated. Confession must be entire, true, simple. Entire : 
 No mortal sin consciously omitted. Mention modifying circum- 
 stances. . . . Name the number or the duration of each kind of sin — 
 sins of thought as well as deed. Nothing hidden which may show 
 the state of the soul. Nothing hidden through proud shame." — 
 Catechetical Notes, by the Rev. Dr. Neale, of East Grinstead, 
 pp. 138, 139. 
 
 "Cases of Sacrilege: 1. A false confession consciously made: it 
 invalidates every succeeding confession until this sin be acknowledged." 
 — Ibid, p. 140. 
 
 " Our Church puts no kind of restriction either upon the disclosures 
 
 26 
 
402 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 of the penitent, or the inquiries of the Confessor ; and this throws 
 open a door to all that minuteness of detail which is sometimes- 
 thought to constitute the especial evil of the Roman Confessional." — 
 British Critic. Volume for 1843, p. 326. 
 
 " We know that he [the Confessor] is bound by every tie, moral,, 
 divine, and ecclesiastical, to keep our secrets. For these and other 
 reasons, we ought to put away shame, and readily confess all our 
 sins to him without reserve." — The Destruction of Sin, by the Rev, 
 J. C. Chambers, Editor of the Priest in Absolution, p. ij. 
 
 "The power of the remission of sins is ordained in the hands of the 
 priesthood, and no other channel whatsoever is appointed for our 
 assured forgiveness." — The Ministry of Consolation, p. 26. Edition 
 1854- 
 
 "Our Church, moreover, howsoever men may mistake her meaning,, 
 does indeed enjoin the absolute completeness and unreservedness of 
 our confession." — Ibid., p. 36. 
 
 " The obedience which alone befits the human soul in spiritual 
 relations must be free and unquestioning, preventing with a settled 
 purpose of submission, every command which the judgment of the 
 priest may see fit to lay upon us." — Ibid., p. 76. 
 
 " There are, therefore, generally more sins to be found under this 
 commandment [seventh] than under any other — and remember, we 
 pray thee, that it were a false shame utterly misplaced at the tribunal 
 of Penitence, even as of necessity, if thou wert to shrink from 
 confessing, openly and honestly, all sins against purity and modesty."' 
 —Ibid., p. 154. 
 
 Perfect absolution is only promised to those who make special 
 confession of their sins. I mean a confession of all the sins on their 
 conscience, confessed to Almighty God in the hearing of His priest, 
 mentioning every sin." — Simple Lessons, edited by the Rev. T. T. 
 Carter, Part III., p. 106. Edition 1876. 
 
 " Those who have never heard of Confession to God through his 
 priest, or having heard of it, are really and honestly unable to believe 
 that it is of any use, we are bound charitably to hope and pray that it. 
 [Confession to God] may be enough. Those who have died without 
 confessing, and there are millions such, must be left to the- 
 * uncovenanted mercies of God.' . . But, just as God has appointed 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 403 
 
 Holy Baptism for our regeneration, and the forgiveness (in the case of 
 adults) of all sins committed up to that time j just as He has ordained 
 the Holy Communion for 1 the strengthening and refreshing of our 
 souls, by the Body and Blood of Christ ' ; so has He most mercifully 
 appointed a way — one way and only one — for the certain forgiveness 
 of sins committed after Baptism, by applying to our souls, for this 
 special purpose, 'the Precious Blood of Christ,' once shed for us upon 
 the Cross of suffering. That way, and I repeat that there is no 
 other, is Sacramental Confession. Confession to a Priest." — Plain 
 Speaking on Confession, p. 6. London, 1869. 
 
 " Thy garments, spotless, white and pure, 
 From the baptismal sea, 
 Need daily cleansing to restore 
 The first ' Absolvo Te.' 
 
 " Take not a conscience to thy God 
 Stained with impurity ; 
 The fountain flows for thee to wash, 
 Its name 1 Absolvo Te.' 
 
 " There is no other cleansing now, 
 Our Saviour left the Key 
 Which opens rivers of His Blood, 
 In the ' Absolvo Te.'" 
 —Stories Told to the Choir, No. VIII., " Sprinkled with Blood," p. 12. 
 London : Mowbray. 
 
 " And then my eyes were opened, and there knelt in the distance 
 little Gerald Deane ; and I thought I saw, yet very indistinctly, one 
 self-denying and wearied priest sitting near Gerald's side. And above 
 them I saw the Form of One Crucified, from whose hands, which 
 were raised in benediction fell, drop by drop, the Precious Blood. 
 And as each drop fell on the burden, it dissolved away, and the priest 
 heard the whisper, ' Loose him, and let him go,' and then I heard 
 one priest's voice, in solemn, measured tones, ' By His Authority 
 committed unto me, I absolve thee ; ' and as Gerald returned and 
 knelt by Philip's side I knew he was at peace, that the heavy burden 
 of sin was laid at the foot of the Cross, that he was marked with the 
 Precious Blood which had fallen so lovingly on his soul. And the 
 priest was ever at his duty, the delegate of the Invisible Presence, and 
 the Form was ever by his side, and ever and ever dropped from the 
 
 26 * 
 
4 o 4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Hands and Feet and Side the 'Blood which cleanseth from all Sin.' " 
 — Ibid., pp. ii, 12. 
 
 " The words on the lips of a Christian priest in such days are of 
 this nature : ' You are ill of a disease that almost must, to a certainty, 
 kill you eventually. There is no known remedy but this which we 
 hold in our power. This cannot fail, if properly applied. I do not say 
 that your case is hopeless ; I do not say that you cannot be otherwise 
 healed ; but, honestly, I know no other way of curing you ! Will you 
 try it ? ' As has been well and truly said by one not long ago gone 
 to his rest : The man who confesses to God may be forgiven ; he 
 who confesses to a priest must be forgiven." — Six Plain Sermons, by 
 Richard Wilkins, Priest, pp. 28, 29. London : E. Longhurst. 
 
 INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 
 
 " Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in conflict : that we perish 
 not in the dreadful day of Judgment." — The Grail, by Rev. G. A. 
 Jones, Vicar of St. Mary's, Cardiff, p. 21. 
 
 " Star of Ocean fairest 
 Mother, God who barest, 
 Virgin thou immortal, 
 Heaven's blissful portal. 
 
 " Loose the bonds of terror, 
 Lighten blinded error, 
 All our ills repressing, 
 Pray for every blessing. 
 
 " Virgin, all excelling, 
 Gentle past our telling, 
 Pardoned sinners render, 
 Gentle, chaste, and tender." 
 
 Day Office of the Church, p. xxiii. 
 
 " Mother of the King Eternal, 
 Virgin, loved by choirs supernal, 
 Save us from our foes infernal, 
 With thy gentle prayers above." 
 
 Union Review for 1863, p. 503. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 405 
 
 " Dear Spouse of sweet Mary, we ask for thine aid, 
 Thy patronage crave, and thy prayers ; 
 Saint Joseph, blest guardian of Jesus our Lord, 
 Oh ! soothe all our griefs and our cares." 
 
 Oratory Worship, p. 90. 
 
 " Next to Mary, what thy power, 
 Tutor of the God-man ! 
 Oh ! shield us in temptation's hour; 
 Save us from sin's hateful ban. 
 
 " Alleluia ! glory, Joseph ! 
 
 Glory, dearest Saint, to thee f 
 Alleluia ! glory, Joseph ! 
 
 Thankful praise we give to thee." 
 
 Hid., p. 93. 
 
 " When the soul is about to depart from the body, then more than 
 ever ought they who are by to pray earnestly upon their knees around, 
 the sick man's bed; and if the dying man be unable to speak, the name 
 of Jesus should be constantly invoked, and such words as the following 
 again and again repeated in his ear: — 
 
 " Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. O Lord Jesus 
 Christ, receive my spirit. 
 
 " Holy Mary, pray for me. 
 
 "Holy Mary, mother of grace, mother of mercy, do thou defend 
 me from the enemy, and receive me at the hour of death." — The 
 Golden Gate, Part III., p. 127, by Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Rector of 
 Lew Trenchard. 
 
 " Some very extravagant expressions of St. Alphonsus Liguori, 
 respecting the blessed Virgin Mary, can be easily explained, and 
 placed in a light that the most Protestant Christian must receive 
 if he believes what our Lord says of the power of prayer, e.g., such 
 expressions as ' O Mary save me ; When Jesus will have no mercy, 
 I turn to thee ; give me thy help ; guide me ; save me, for in thee do 
 I put my trust.' " — Popery, a sermon by " Father Ignatius," p. 3. 
 
 " O ye holy Virgins of God, pray for us, that we may obtain pardon 
 of our sins through your prayers." — Lesser Hours of the Sarum 
 Breviary, p. 120. London, 1889. 
 
 " Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known 
 that any who rled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy 
 
406 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 intercession, was left unaided. Encouraged with this assurance, I fly 
 unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother, to thee I come, before thee 
 I stand sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Incarnate Word, 
 despise not my petitions, but mercifully vouchsafe to hear them." — 
 Catholic Prayers for Church of England People, by the Rev. A. H. 
 Staunton, Curate of St. Alban's, Holborn, p. 136. Second edition. 
 London: W. Knott, 1893. 
 
 " O Thomas [a Becket] Martyr most constant, and invincible 
 Confessor, splendour of the priesthood, the glory of France, the glory 
 of England ! Reign, O blessed father, over the Church for which thou 
 didst shed thy blood, and pour forth thy prayers to God for the 
 salvation of us all." — Devotions in Honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury, 
 by the Rev. H. G. Worth, late Curate of St. John the Divine, 
 Kennington, p. 138. Second edition. London: W.Knott, 1895. 
 
 THE VIRTUES OF HOLY SALT, HOLY WATER, 
 AND HOLY OIL! 
 
 " The Priest shall bless the Salt on this wise. 
 "We humbly implore Thee, Almighty and Everlasting God, that 
 of Thy bountiful goodness thou wouldst be pleased to bl-i-ess and 
 sanci-tify this creature of Salt, which Thou hast created for the 
 service of men, that it may profit for the health both of soul and body 
 of them that take it, and that whatsoever is touched or sprinkled 
 therewith may be freed from all uncleanness, and from all attacks of 
 spiritual wickedness ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." — 
 The Priest's Prayer Book, p. 221. Seventh edition. 
 
 " He shall then Mess the Water on this wise. 
 " O God, Who in ordaining divers mysteries for the salvation of 
 mankind, hast been pleased to employ the element of Water in the 
 chiefest of Thy Sacraments : give ear to our prayers, and pour upon 
 this water the might of Thy bless^ing, that as it serves Thee in those 
 holy mysteries, so by Thy divine grace it may here avail for the 
 casting out of devils, and the driving away of diseases; that whatsoever 
 in the houses or places of the faithful is sprinkled therewith, may be 
 freed from all uncleanness, and delivered from hurt." — Rid. 
 
 "The [dead] body is then decently laid out, and a light placed 
 before it. A small Crucifix is put in the hands of the deceased, upon 
 his breast, or the hands are themselves placed crosswise, while the 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 407 
 
 body is sprinkled with Holy Water." — The Golden Gate, Part III., 
 p. 128. 
 
 " The Exorcism of the Salt. 
 u I exorcise thee, creature of salt, by the living God, ►f. by the true 
 God, *h by the holy God, >%* by the God Who, by the Prophet Eliseus, 
 commanded thee Hr* to be cast into the water that the barrenness of 
 the water might be healed, that thou mightest be salt exorcised tor the 
 spiritual health of believers, and be to all who take thee health of soul 
 and body." — The Directorium Anglican urn. Edited by the Rev. F. G. 
 Lee, Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth, p. 306. Fourth edition. 
 
 " Exorcism of the Water. 
 " I exorcise thee, creature of water, in the name of God the Father 
 Almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son our Lord, and in 
 the virtue of the Holy Ghost, to become water exorcised to chase 
 away all power of the enemy, and to be able to uproot and overthrow 
 the enemy himself and his apostate angels ; by the virtue of the same 
 Lord Jesus Christ." — Ibid., p. 307. 
 
 " The priest then sprinkles the Collars, Crosses, and Candles, with 
 Holy Water, and Incenses them. Those who are to be admitted 
 [into the Guild] then come up to the Altar." — Guild of St. John the 
 Evangelist, St. Allans, Hollar n, London, Form of Reception, p. 18. 
 Privately printed. 
 
 " In the death chamber let a small table be placed at the foot of the 
 bed to serve as a stand for a Cross and two Candles, these latter to be 
 kept burning night and day till the hour of interment arrives, as a 
 sign of the light into which the departed soul has passed." — The 
 Parish Tracts, by Rev. J. Harry Buchanan. First Series. No. IV., 
 " The Dying and the Dead." 
 
 " The Exorcism [0/ Oil], 
 
 " I adjure thee, O creature of Oil, by God the Father Almighty, 
 Who hath made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is. 
 Let all the power of the adversary, all the host of the devil, and all 
 haunting and vain imaginations of Satan be cast out, and flee away 
 from this creature of Oil, that it may be to all them that shall use the 
 same health of mind and body in the Name of God the Father *t* 
 Almighty, and of Jesus "t 1 Christ His Son our Lord, and of the 
 Holy Ghost the Comforter, and foi the love of the same Jesus 
 
4o8 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Christ cur Lord, Who is ready to judge both the quick and the dead, 
 and the world by fire. R. Amen." — Day Office of the Church, 
 p. lxix. 
 
 MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 " We long to hear the Divine Office ever going up to God from 
 thousands of Religious Houses, and to see Fountains and Tintern and 
 Kirkstall, and other noble foundations blossoming up again all over the 
 land." — St. John the Baptist. A Sermon by the Rev. H. D. Nihill, 
 Vicar of St. Michael's, Shoreditch, p. 14. 
 
 " It is a pious custom of devout Christians on seeing a Monk, to 
 kneel and kiss the hem of the Sacred Habit ; if done from love to 
 Jesus, and reverence to the Habit of the Consecrated Life, a great 
 blessing will be received." — Little Manual of Devotions, by Rev. J. L. 
 Lyne, alias " Father Ignatius," p. 6. 
 
 "Parents such as these [i.e., those parents who refuse to permit 
 their children to become Monks or Nuns], lose all claim to such 
 privileges as the fourth Commandment of the Decalogue gives to 
 them ; they are the enemies of God and their children's souls. 
 Blessed are those children who hearken to God rather than to them." 
 — Llanthony Monastery Tracts, No. I.: " Why are you a Monk?" 
 
 p. 12. 
 
 " Some of our Protestant friends tell us that Monkery, as they call 
 it, is, not of Christian origin, but of Pagan origin. My Protestant 
 brethren, I quite agree with you that it is. You are perfectly correct, 
 Monasticism is of Pagan origin. The best illustration of the 
 Monastic school among the Philosophic Pagans was Plato." — An 
 Answer to the Question, Why are you a Monk? by Father Ignatius, 
 p. 11. 
 
 " Brethren, the five hundred million Buddhists, the largest and most 
 influential religion in the world, possess Monasteries to a vast extent. 
 In Banghok, the capital of Siam, in that capital alone, there are over 
 ten thousand monks." — Ibid. p. 15. 
 
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH. 
 
 409 
 
 PROTESTANTISM. 
 
 " He forgets what has been humourously pointed out, that the first 
 
 Protestant of all was the Devil Just as the first Non-Catholic 
 
 and Anti-Ritualist was Judas." — The Congregation in Church, p. 78. 
 New edition. London : Mowbray. 
 
 " Heretic means a choice, and it is not always perceived that heretic 
 and a Protestant are much the same thing." — Ibid., p. 187. 
 
 " Protestants can be shown to detest Jesus Christ and His teaching, 
 and to prefer immorality, polemics, and cant thereto." — Brainless, 
 Broadcast Benevolence, p. 17. Brighton: H. and C. Treacher. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF RITUAL. 
 
 " The Protestant is quite right in recognizing the simplest attempt 
 at Ritual as the 'thin end of the wedge.' It is so. . . . It is only 
 the child who is not terrified when the first creeping driblet of water 
 and the few light bubbles announce the advance of the tide, and the 
 Protestant is but a child who does not recognize the danger of the 
 trifling symptoms which are slowly and surely contracting the space 
 of ground upon which he stands." — Church Review, June 24th, 1865, 
 
 p- 537- 
 
 "The Ritual question is one which, you will agree with me, is of 
 great importance. To abolish Scriptural and Catholic Ritual, and at 
 the same time to hope to maintain unimpaired the Catholic Faith, is, 
 in my humble opinion, a great delusion. They both go together ; and 
 if one falls, both will fall. . . . With the abolition of the symbolic 
 ornamenta of the Church, doctrinal loss will be the result 3 and the 
 great Movement now going on will become stationary, and will 
 gradually cease." — The President of the English Church Union — Church 
 Review, April 25th, 1868, p. 402. 
 
 " Nor, again, are we merely contending for the revival among 
 ourselves of certain ceremonies because they are practised by the rest 
 of the Catholic Church ; but we contend for our Ritual for the precise 
 reason which is urged for its suppression — because it is the means, the 
 importance of which becomes clearer every day, which the Church 
 has seen fit to employ to express the truth of Christ's Sacramental 
 Presence amongst His people."— The President of the English Church 
 Union — Church Revieir, June 20th, 1868, p. 583. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 " Now there are, of course, many Catholic practices that necessarily 
 result from a belief in the Real Presence of our dear Lord upon the 
 Altar. Among the minor ones are bowing and genuflecting. Bowing 
 to the Altar at all times, not because it is so much wood or stone put 
 together in a certain shape, covered with handsome cloths, decked 
 with flowers and lights ; not for this, were it all ten times as gorgeous- 
 Not for this, but because the Altar is the Throne of God Incarnate, 
 where daily now, thank God, in many a Church in the land He 
 deigns to rest. . . . And genuflecting, not to the Altar, but to the 
 * Gift that is upon it;' to the God-Man, Christ Jesus, when He is 
 there." — Six Plain Sermons, by Richard Wilkins, Priest, p. 57. 
 London : E. Longhurst. 
 
 DISSENT. 
 
 " Nevertheless, although not actually schism, it is schismatical to 
 attend Dissenting Meeting Houses, or to subscribe to, or assist the 
 sectarian objects of Dissenters in any way. The same cannot be said 
 ■of Roman Catholic Churches, and their objects, because the Roman 
 Catholics are a branch of the true Church." — The Congregation in 
 Church, p. 202. New Edition. London : Mowbray. 
 
 " The Catholic Church is the home of the Holy Ghost. It is His 
 only earthly home. He does not make His home in any Dissenting 
 sect. Sometimes people quarrel with the Church, and break away 
 from her, and make little sham churches of their own. We call these 
 people Dissenters, and their sham churches sects. The Holy Ghost 
 <does not abide — does not dwell — with them. He goes and visits them 
 perhaps, but only as a stranger." — A Book for the Children of God, 
 p. 77. London: W. Knott, 1891. 
 
 "The Bible is the Book which God has given to His Church, and 
 it belongs to the Church alone, and not to any Dissenting sect. No 
 one but a Catholic can safely read the Bible, and no Catholic can read 
 it safely who does not read it in the Church's way." — It id., p. 100. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbot (Bishop Robert) on timid speak- I 
 ing against the Papists, 329, 339 
 
 Aberdeen (Dean of) [Very Rev. 
 William Webster] objects to 
 changes in Statutes of S.S.C., 141 
 
 Address to Catholics by the Society of 
 the Holy Cross, 63 
 
 Alcuin Club, 253, 254 
 
 — its work, 253 
 
 — its Episcopal members, 253 
 Alison (Rev. L.), 138 
 
 Allen (Archdeacon 1 on Immoral Ritua- 
 listic Confessors, 117, 119 
 
 All Saints', Margaret Street, Sister- I 
 hood, Vows in, 174 
 
 — how its inmates dispose of their i 
 
 property, 177, 178 
 All Souls' Day, a Popish Festival I 
 
 observed by the Guild of All j 
 
 Souls, 230 
 Altar Book for Young Persons, 217 
 Anglican Sister of Mercy, 169 
 Anarchy (Ecclesiastical) , viii. , 348, 349 j 
 Archdeacon of Cleveland (Ven. W. H. 
 
 Hutchings) hopes the S. S. C. 
 
 will favour Roman Ritual, 77 
 
 — Proposes Revision of S. S. C. 
 • Statutes, 128 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of the S. S.C., 138 
 Ascot Priory, Private Burial Ground 
 at, 192 
 
 Association for the Promotion of the 
 
 Unity of Christendom, 307-323 
 • — its birth and membership, 30S, 309 
 
 — its Letter to the Inquisition, 317 
 
 — Reply of the Inquisition, 317-319 
 
 — and the Society of the Holy 
 
 Cross, 327 
 Association of the Friends of the 
 
 Church, 5 
 ■ — Mysterious " Suggestions " for, 5 
 Auricular Confession and Priestly 
 
 Absolution, What the Ritualists 
 
 teach about, 399-404 
 .Autobiography of Isaac Williams, 9, 
 
 271, 277, 278 
 
 Bagot De La Bere (Rev. J.) [formerly 
 Edwards] defends the term 
 *' Sacrament of Penance," 142 
 
 Bagshawe (Rev. Francis LI.) on the 
 Roll of Brethren of S. S. C, 78 
 
 — Secret Letter on the Priest in Abso- 
 
 lution, 100, ior 
 
 — Letter to the Bishop of London, 104 
 
 — the Priest in Absolution in his care, 
 
 104, 139 
 
 — Resigns the office of Master of the 
 
 S. S. C, 137 
 
 — Remarkable Speech to Brethren of 
 
 S. S. C, 139 
 Banbury Guardian, 20S 
 Baring-Gould (Rev. Sabine) recom- 
 mends Holy Water, 62 
 Barnet Times, Jesuitical Letter to, 235 
 Barrett (Rev. T. S ) appeals for 
 
 S. S. C. Oratory at Carlisle, 67 
 Bath and Wells (Bishop of) [Lord 
 
 A. C. Harvey)] Speech on the 
 
 Priest in Absolution, 116 
 Bathe (Rev. Anthony) on the Master 
 
 of S. S. C, 127 
 Beckett ( Rev. H. F. ) on Wives, 
 
 Husbands, and the Confessional, 
 
 81, 82 
 
 Benediction of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment in a Ritualistic Convent 
 Chapel, 193, 194 
 
 — Lord Halifax on, 342 
 
 Benson (Rev. R. M.) on a Nun's Vow 
 of Obedience, 169 
 
 Beveridge (Bishop) on the Real 
 Presence and Eucharist ic Sacri- 
 fice, 222 
 
 Bible (The) What the Ritualists teach 
 
 about, 373-375 
 Binney (Rev. John Erskine) glories 
 
 in being a Member of S. S. C., 146 
 Biography of Father Lochhart, 26 
 Birkmyre (Rev. N. Y.) on Reunion 
 
 with Rome. 32 S 
 Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Bagot) writes 
 
 to Newman about Littlemore 
 
 Monastery, 22 
 
412 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bishops (The) smile on and favour law 
 breakers, ix. 
 
 — their neglect of duty, 42 
 
 — their opinion of the Priest in Abso- 
 
 lution, and Society of the Holy 
 Cross, 110-117 
 
 — on the Confessional, 111-116 
 
 — five or six wish well to S. S.C., 
 
 133 
 
 — and Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy, 
 
 194-196 
 
 Blachford (Lord) — see Rogers (Mr. F.) 
 Blessing the Paschal Candle, 246 
 Bloemfontein (Bishop of) [Dr. J. W. 
 Hicks] presented with a set of 
 Low Mass Vestments, 240 
 
 — a Vice-President of the Society of 
 
 St. Osmund, 240 
 Bodington (Canon Charles) on Con- 
 fession, 75 
 
 — on the circulation of the Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 109 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of the S. S. C, 138 
 
 — Speech in Secret Synod of S. S. C, 
 
 142 
 
 Body (Canon George), his reasons 
 for remaining in the S. S. C, 
 
 132 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of the S. S. C, 138 
 
 — on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, 219 
 Book of Common Prayer, not com- 
 plete, 71 
 
 — Proposed additions to, 71, 72 
 
 — Revision of, on Ritualistic lines, 
 
 339-344 
 
 — What the Ritualists teach about 
 
 the, 375-377 
 Books for the Young. No. I., Confession, 
 54, 56, in, 112, 115 
 
 — termed "A wretched little book," 
 
 113 
 
 Bowden (Mr. J. W.) 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, 
 
 42, 172 
 
 Bowden's Life of Father Faber, 28, 30, 
 
 31. 32, 34- 35. 4i. 42 
 Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops, 7, 
 
 9, 262, 281 
 Brinckman's Controversial Methods of 
 
 Romanism, 155 
 British Critic, 271 
 
 Bristol Branch of English Church 
 Union sympathises with S.S.C., 
 
 137 
 
 Bristow (Canon Rhodes) on the 
 " Sacrament of Penance," 75 
 
 — hopes " the Roman Use would still 
 
 prevail," 77 
 
 — on Convocation, 78 
 
 — on the Priest in Absolution, 136 
 
 Bristow (Rev. Canon Rhodes) Mem- 
 ber of Committee for Revising 
 Statutes of the S. S. C, 138 
 
 — Speech on Revision of Statutes 
 
 of S. S. C, 141 
 Brotherhood of the Holy Cross, 233 
 
 — the inner circle of the O. H. R., 2 33 
 
 — its " very existence to be kept in 
 
 strict secrecy," 233 
 
 — its secret Intercession Paper, 233 
 Browne (Rev. E. G. K.) on Tractarians 
 
 going secretly to Mass, 29 
 
 — Annals of the Tractarian Move- 
 
 ment, 30. 8g 
 Bruno's Catholic Belief, 265 
 Bunsen (M.) on the Work of the 
 
 Tractarians, 267 
 Burgon (Dean), v. 
 
 — Lives of Twelve Good Men, 215 
 Butler (Dean William J.) on Husbands, 
 
 Wives, and the Confessional, 91 
 Byron (Miss H. B.) Mother Superior 
 
 of All Saints', Margaret Street, 
 
 Sisterhood, 177 
 Cairo (Bishop of) a Vice-President of 
 
 the Society of St. Osmund, 240 
 Cardinal Newman: a Monograph, 26, 
 
 27 
 
 Carlisle (Bishop of) [Dr. Harvey 
 
 Goodwin] severely censures 
 
 S. S. C, 146 
 Carlisle, Oratory of the Society of the 
 
 Holy Cross at, 66-69 
 Carter (Canon T. T.) on "The 
 
 Sacrament of Penance," 74 
 
 — and the Statement of S. S. C, to8 
 
 — revises the Proof Sheets of the 
 
 Priest in Absolution, 109 
 
 — and the circulation of the Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 109, no 
 
 — Speech on the "animus" of the 
 
 Bishops, 124 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of the S. S. C, 138 
 
 — Vows and the Religious State, 175 
 
 — Advice about Intercession Paper of 
 
 C. B. S., 205 
 
 — on Eucharistic Adoration, 218 
 Catholic Dictionary, 366 
 
 Catholic Standard on the work of the 
 Order of Corporate Reunion, 161 
 
 Catholic Union of Prayer, 334 
 
 Cautions for the Times, 200 
 
 Celibates of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross, 52, 53 
 
 — their secret Oath, 53 
 
 Celibacy (Vow of) taken by a girl of 
 
 eighteen for life, 180 
 Ceremonies of Low Mass, What the 
 Ritualists teach about the, 393-395 
 Ceremonial of the Altar, 241-244 
 
INDEX. 
 
 413 
 
 Chadwick (Rev. J. W.] Member of 
 
 Committee for Revising Statutes 
 
 of the S. S. C, 13S 
 Chambers (Rev. J. C.) translates 
 
 and Edits the Priest in Absolution, 
 
 93-95, 104, 105 
 Chaplin (Rev. E. M.) advocates 
 
 Roman Ritual, 77 
 Character of Dr. Littledale as a Contro- 
 versialist, 193, 194, 203 
 CJiailcs Louder, 57, 59, 6o, 128 
 Chauntry Priests, 250 
 Cheltenham Chapter of the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 10S 
 Chichester (Bishop of) [Dr. Durnford] 
 
 severely censures the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 116 
 Ch ron icU 0 f Con vocation , 1 1 1 - 1 1 7 
 Church of England Working Men's 
 
 Society present an address of 
 
 sympathy with the Society of the 
 
 Holy Cross, 121, 137 
 Church Review, 91, 153, 157, 208, 261, 
 
 336, 337 
 
 Church Times, 154, 158, 208, 214, 22S, 
 
 231. 253. 328. 358 
 Church Union Gazette, 335, 345, 346, 
 
 347 
 
 Churton (Rev. E.) protests against 
 Dr. Pusey's conduct, 282 
 
 Civilita Cattolica, 158 
 
 Clerical Celibacy, 11S, 119 
 
 Clewer Sisterhood, its Rules of 
 Poverty, Chastity, and Obedi- 
 ence, 174 
 
 — how its inmates dispose of their 
 
 property, 175 
 Close ( Dean 1 opposes Carlisle Oratorv 
 
 of S. S.C., 67, 68 
 Cobb's Kiss of Peace, 229 
 Coles (Rev. V. S. S.) on the " levelling 
 
 up " policy of the English Church 
 
 Union, 338 
 " Committee of Clergy," The, 49 
 Confession, Lord Salisbury on 
 
 habitual, 70 
 
 — Secret discussion on, 74, 75 
 
 — Dr. Pusey on the Seal of, 82 
 Confessions, The secret stealthy way 
 
 Tractarians heard, 89 
 
 — How Archdeacon Manning heard, 
 
 90, 91, 92 
 
 — How Dr. Pusey heard Ritualistic 
 
 Sisters', 187 
 Confessional, Jurisdiction in the, 76 
 
 — The Secrecy of the Ritualistic, 80-92 
 
 — Indelicate Questions to a Married 
 
 Woman in the, Si 
 
 — Wives, Husbands, and the, 81, 
 
 82, 91 
 
 — Ritualistic Sisters and the, S3 
 
 Confessional, The age Children should 
 be brought to the, 83 
 
 — The priest is "in the Confessional 
 
 a Fox," 92 
 
 — The Bishops on the, 111-116 
 
 — Ritualistic Priests ruin Women 
 
 through the. 117 
 
 — often the road " down to hell," 121 
 
 — and the property of Ritualistic 
 
 Sisters of Mercy, 172 
 Confessor, Extraordinary Letter to a 
 
 Young Lady from a, 70-72 
 Confessors, Petition for Licensed, 
 
 70-72 
 
 — Immoral and Wicked, 11 7-1 21 
 
 — How Ritualistic Sisters should 
 
 treat their, 167 
 Confraternity of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, 202-226 
 
 — its birth, 204, 210 
 
 — its secret Intercession Paper, 204, 205 
 
 — its medals may be buried with 
 
 members, 205 
 
 — exposed by the Rock and Western 
 
 Daily Mercury, 206, 207 
 
 — keeps as far as possible out of 
 
 public notice, 207 
 
 — its secret doings in America, 208 
 
 — its secret Roll of Priests-Associate, 
 
 209, 210 
 
 — the " daughter" of the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 210 
 ' — its Manual, 211 
 
 — its objects, 211 
 
 — advocates Masses and Prayers for 
 
 the Dead, 211, 213 
 
 — and Fasting Communion, 211, 215, 
 
 216 
 
 j — prays for Corporate Reunion with 
 Rome and the East, 212 
 
 — its secret Annual Conference, 213 
 j — and Purgatory, 214 
 
 I — its Altar Book for Young Persons, 217 
 
 — prays for the Restoration of the 
 
 Reserved Sacrament, 217 
 
 — agrees with Rome on Eucharistic 
 
 Adoration, 218 
 
 — prays for Restoration of Extreme 
 
 Unction, 218 
 
 — observes Corpus Christi Day, 218 
 
 — advocates Sacramental Confession, 
 
 218 
 
 — advocates the Real Presence and 
 
 Eucharistic Sacrifice, 219 
 
 — advocates the Mass, 222, 223 
 
 — teaches Transubstantiation, 223-225 
 
 — its Episcopal Members, 225 
 
 — Bishop Wilberforce on its Popish 
 
 character, 225 
 Convent of S. Mary and S. Scholas- 
 tica, West Mailing, 184 
 
414 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Convents, Shocking Crueltyin Ritual- 
 istic, 40, 189 
 
 — Private Burial Grounds in, 191,192 
 Convocation, Society of the Holy 
 
 Cross debate on, 78 
 Convocation (Canterbury House of) 
 Discussion on the Priest in Abso- 
 lution and the Society of the Holy 
 Cross, in, 110-117 
 
 — Resolution of Upper House, cen- 
 
 suring both Society and book, 
 
 113, 117 
 Cookesley (Rev. W. G.), 168 
 Corea (Bishop of) [Dr. C.J. Corfe] on 
 
 the Revision of Statutes of 
 
 S. S. C, 141 
 
 — a Member of the Confraternity of 
 
 the Blessed Sacrament, 225 
 
 Council of Trent, 263, 269, 330 
 
 Cross, Adoration of, at St. Cuthbert's, 
 Philbeach Gardens, 245 
 
 Crouch (Rev. William), 64 
 
 i — opposes giving up the Priest in 
 Absolution, 109 
 
 Cusack (Miss) her experience in Dr. 
 Pusey's Sisterhoods, 186, 187 
 
 Dalgairns (Mr. J. D.), 280 
 
 D'Aubigne's History of the Reforma- 
 tion, 70 
 
 Davidson (Rev. J. P. F.) President of 
 the Guild of All Souls, 231 
 
 Dawes (Rev. N.) [now Bishop of 
 Rockhampton] becomes a Mem- 
 ber of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross, 76 
 
 Denison (Archdeacon) joins the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, 127, 139 
 
 ■ — Laughs at Synodical condemna- 
 tion of S. S. C, 134 
 
 — opposes the disbanding of 
 
 S. S.C., 134 
 
 — objects to changes in Statutes 
 
 of S.S. C, 141 
 Denison (Rev. H. P.) on compulsory 
 Confession, 75 
 
 — Letter about the C. B. S. Roll of 
 
 Priests-Associate, 210 
 Desanctis (Rev. Dr.) on Jesuits dis- 
 guised as Puseyites, 32 
 
 — Popery and Jesuitism, 33, 34 
 Devonport Manual, a secret book of 
 
 Dr. Pusey's Sisters, 197, 198 
 " Disciplina Arcani," 1, 2, 3 
 " Discipline" (The) at Elton, 35 
 
 — Dr. Pusey sends for a, 36 
 
 — as used by Ritualists described, 38 
 
 — Cruelties of, 38 
 
 — prescribed for Ritualistic Sisters 
 
 of Mercy, 39, 185 
 
 — used most cruelly on a Ritualistic 
 
 Nun, 40 
 
 Dissent, What the Ritualists teach 
 about, 410 
 
 Dunn (Rev. James) on Confession to 
 Young Priests, 75 
 
 " Economical " mode of speaking and 
 writing, 2 
 
 "Economy" and St. George's Mis- 
 sion, 59 
 
 Edinburgh Chapter of the Society of 
 the Holy Cross, 108 
 
 Enclosed Nuns in Ritualistic Con- 
 vents, 183 
 
 — in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, 183, 184 
 
 — at Feltham, 184 
 
 — at West Mailing, 184 
 
 — at Llanthony, 184 
 
 — at Slapton, 184 
 
 English Churchman, 97, 155, 156, 236, 
 
 240, 252, 262, 296 
 English Church Union (Bristol and 
 
 Penrith Branches of) sympathises 
 
 with S. S. C, 137 
 
 — its Council do not "explain all 
 
 their tactics," 329 
 
 — offers prayers for the Reunion of 
 
 Christendom, 330 
 
 — approves of Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon, 
 
 33i. 332 
 
 — its first President secedes to 
 Rome, 335 
 
 — its " levelling up " policy, 33S 
 
 — Address to Lambeth Conference in 
 
 favour of Reunion of Christen- 
 dom, 344 
 
 — Speech before the Exeter Branch 
 
 of, 350 
 Equivocation, 16 
 Essays on Reunion, 261, 313-316 
 Eucharistic Adoration, 218 
 Eucharistic Sacrifice, 219, 221, 222 
 Evangelical Party (The) described 
 
 by Mr. Maskell, 44 
 Evening Communion, 213, 214 
 Extreme Unction, 218 
 
 — Superstitious service of, 218 
 Eyton (Canon Robert) Speech on the 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross, 124 
 
 — on the circulation of the Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 144 
 Faber (Rev. Frederick William) visits 
 the Continent, 28 
 
 — not scandalised by Relic Wor- 
 
 ship, 30 
 
 — declares Protestantism a diabolical 
 
 heresy, 30 
 
 — kisses the Pope's foot, 31 
 
 — prays at the Shrine of Aloysius 
 
 the Jesuit, 31 
 
 — thinks Heaven " is like Rome," 31 
 
 — returns with Rosaries blessed by 
 
 the Pope, 32 
 
INDEX. 
 
 4*5 
 
 Faber (Rev. Frederick William) his | 
 work at Eltcn, 34 
 
 — his Secret Society at Elton, 35 
 
 — discovers he is " living a dishonest 
 
 life," 41 
 
 — his Life of St. Wilfrid, 42 
 
 — received into the Church of 
 
 Rome, 42 
 Fasting Communion, 211, 215 
 
 — Bishop S. Wilberforce on, 215 
 "Father George" of the O. H.R., 
 
 his Jesuitical conduct in a 
 
 Protestant parish, 23S 
 Fathers (The) and the Rule of 
 
 Faith. 26S 
 Fathers of Charity, 281, 2S2 
 Feltham Ritualistic Nuns, 184 
 Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood, 85 j 
 Fleming (Mr. Robert) how he dis- ! 
 
 covered the Priest in Absolution, 97 I 
 Foote (Rev. John Andrewes) and the 
 
 Priest in Absolution, 95 
 
 — Member of Committee for 
 
 Revising Statutes of S. S. C, 138 
 Frere (Rev. William John) Speech on i 
 
 the Priest in Absolution, 144 
 From Oxford to Rome, Sg 
 Froude (Rev. Hurrelii proselytises in 
 
 an " underhand way," 6 
 
 — Remains, 6, 46, 267 
 Gilmartin's Manual of Church History, 
 
 368 
 
 Gladstone (Mr.) on the Romeward 
 Movement, 2S6, 2S7, 290 
 
 — Gleanings of Past Years, 286, 287, 290 I 
 
 — on Archdeacon Manning's want of j 
 
 Straightforwardness, 303 
 
 — Rome and the Newest Fashions in \ 
 
 Religion, 364, 365 
 Godwin (Rev. Robert Herbert) objects 
 
 to changes in Statutes of the 
 
 S. S.C., 141 
 Goldie (Rev. C. D.) on the action of 
 
 S. S. C, 108, 132 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising | 
 
 Statutes of S. S. C, 13S 
 
 — says the Priest in Absolution is 
 
 " needed," 144 
 Goodman iMiss Margaret) on the 
 serious evils in Ricualistic Sister- 
 hoods, 170, 171 
 
 — Sisterhoods in the Church of England, 
 
 167, 171, 184, 188-191 
 
 — Her sad story of a dying Sister of 
 
 Mercy, 176 
 
 Gore (Rev. Canon Charles) on the 
 Real Presence and the Consecra- 
 ted Elements, 219 
 
 Grahamstown (Bishop of) [in 1S77], 
 expresses his " goodwill " to the 
 S. S.C., 137 
 
 Grant (Mr. William) Letter on the 
 Order of Corporate Reunion, 158 
 
 Green- Armytage (Rev. N.) on the 
 Church of Rome, 77 
 
 Guild of St. Albans, London and 
 Wolverhampton Provinces of, 
 sympathise with the S. S. C, 137 
 
 Guild of All Souls, 227-232 
 
 — its Objects, 227 
 
 — its secret Intercession Paper, 228 
 
 — its Ofncc for the Dead According to 
 
 the Roman and Sarum Uses, 22S 
 
 — its semi-secrecy, 22S 
 
 — teaches Transubstantiation, 229 
 
 — its Manual, 229, 230 
 
 — observes " All Souls' Day," 230 
 
 — its President promoted by Bishop 
 
 Temple, 231 
 Guild of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 257 
 Guilds, their work, 259 
 Gurney (Rev. Archer), his courageous 
 
 attack on Dr. Pusey, 332, 333 
 Halifax (Lord) on the use of the Ten 
 
 Commandments. 341 
 
 — on Benediction of the Blessed 
 
 Sacrament, 342 
 
 — most earnestly desire visible 
 
 communion with Rome, 346 
 
 — prefers Leo XIII. to the Judicial 
 
 Committee of the Privy Council, 
 
 347 . t 
 
 — his Speech at Bristol, 352, 353 
 
 — on Papal Infallibility, 352, 353 
 
 — terms Luther "a needless and 
 
 noxious Rebel," 354 
 Hammond (Rev. Canon C. E.), 77 
 Heylin's Life of Laud, 329 
 Hislop's Two Babylons, 165 
 Hoare (Rev. R. Whitehead*, 137 
 Hodgson (Rev. James) Letter on the 
 
 C.B. S., 20S 
 Holy Water used by Ritualists, 62, 247 
 
 — dead bodies to be sprinkled with, 
 
 62 
 
 — its supposed virtues, 63 
 Homily Concerning Prayer, 213 
 Homily on Repentance, 218 
 Homily on Good Works, 283 
 Homily on Peril of Idolatry, 356 
 Honorarium for a Mass, 250, 251 
 Hook (Rev. Dr.) anxious to establish 
 
 a Sisterhood at Leeds, 163 
 
 — his remarkable letter to Dr. Pusey 
 
 on Sisters of Charity, 164 
 
 — on Pusey's eulogy of the Jesuits, 2S9 
 
 — on Secession to Rome, 291 
 
 — on the Judicial Committee of 
 
 Privy Council, 347 
 Hooker's Works, 220 
 Hope-Scott (Mr. James R.), 14, 25 
 
 — Visits the Jesuits at Rome, 275 
 
416 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hornby (Bishop) a member of the 
 Confraternity of the Blessed 
 Sacrament, 225 
 
 Hoskins (Rev. Edgar) and the Priest 
 in Absolution, 122 
 
 — favours revision of the Statutes of 
 
 S. S.C., 128 
 
 — opposes disbanding S. S. C, 129. 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of S. S. C, 138 
 
 Hughes (Miss Marian) takes a Vow of 
 Celibacy, 165 
 
 ■ — visits Roman Catholic Convents on 
 the Continent, 165, 166 
 
 Hutchings (Rev. W. H.) — see Arch- 
 deacon of Cleveland 
 
 Hymns, Ancient and Modern, 245 
 
 Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, 
 
 Incense, Driving the Devil out of, 246 
 Inquisition (The) Letter to, from the 
 A. P. U.C., 317 
 
 — Reply of the, 317-319 
 
 — Memorial to, from English clergy, 
 
 319-322 
 
 Instructions for Retreats, 58 
 
 Intercession Paper of the Confraternity 
 of the Blessed Sacrament, 204, 
 205, 206, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218 
 
 — ordered to be destroyed when 
 
 used, 205 
 ■ — exposed in the Rock 
 
 — exposed in the Western Daily 
 
 Mercury, 206 
 
 — how the first copy was found by a 
 
 Protestant, 207 
 
 — its secret character admitted, 208 
 Intercession Paper of the Guild of All 
 
 Souls, 228 
 Intercession Paper of the B. H. C, 233, 
 235. 236 
 
 — recommends Liguori's Glories of 
 
 Mary, 233 
 Invocation of Saints, Dr. Pusey 
 believes in, 297 
 
 — what the Ritualists teach about, 
 
 404-406 
 Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 359 
 Jenner (Bishop), on the Ritual of the 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross, 77 
 
 — 132, 142 
 
 Jesuits in Disguise, 32 
 Jesuit Order, 131 
 
 Jesuits (The), Newman dislikes an 
 article against, 271 
 
 — their works the " favourite read- 
 
 ing" of Rev. W. G. Ward, 274 
 
 — Mr. J. R. Hope-Scott's visits to, 
 
 275 
 
 — Dr. Pusey eulogises the Founder 
 
 of, 289 
 
 Johnson (Rev. John Barnes) on the 
 
 Fire of Purgatory, 230 
 Judicial Committee of Privy Council, 
 
 347 
 
 — Lord Halifax and Dean Hook on 
 
 the, 347 
 
 Jurisdiction in the Confessional, 76 
 Kane's Notes on the Roman Ritual, 211 
 Keble (Rev. John) on " Yearning after 
 Rome," 286 
 
 — would allow, but not enjoin the 
 
 " Discipline," 37 
 
 — on Protestantism, 266 
 
 — on the Reformers, 270 
 
 Kempe (Rev. John William) praises 
 
 the term "Mass," 142 
 Kensit (Mr. John) exhibits Ritualistic 
 
 Instruments of Torture, 38 
 Kilburn Sisterhood, 83 
 King (Rev. Bryan), 59, 60 
 King (Rev. Owen C. H.), what he 
 
 saw in a Ritualistic Convent 
 
 Chapel, 193, 194, 203 
 Kirkpatrick (Rev. R. C.) on hearing 
 
 Confessions, 75 
 Lacey (Rev. T. A.) his secret Mission 
 
 to Rome, 356 
 
 — his Paper for the private use of 
 
 Roman Cardinals, 357 
 Latimer (Bishop) Sermons, 203 
 
 — Remains, 203, 226 
 
 — on forged Sacrifices, 226 
 
 — on " Purgatory Pick Purse," 251 
 Laymen's Ritual Institute for Nor- 
 wich, 254, 255 
 
 — its secret Oath, 254 
 
 Lea's History of Sacerdotal Celibacy, 
 118 
 
 Lebombo (Bishop of) [Dr. W. E. 
 Smy the] a Member of the Society 
 of the Holy Cross, 61 
 
 — His work in Zululand, 61, 62 
 
 — a Member of the Confraternity of 
 
 the Blessed Sacrament, 225 
 Lee (Rev. F. G.) and the Order of 
 Corporate Reunion, 153-155 
 
 — on the "rank and authority" of 
 
 the Pope, 156 
 Lewington (Rev. A. L.) Teaches 
 
 Transubstantiation, 223 
 "Levelling Up," how it is done, 
 
 336, 338 
 
 Liberty of Conscience denounced, 
 368, 369 
 
 Licensed Confessors (Petition for), its 
 
 secret history, 70-72 
 Lichfield (Bishop of) [Dr. Selwyn] 
 
 Speech on the Society of the 
 
 Holy Cross, 114 
 Life of Archbishop Tait, 97, 98, 102, 
 
 180, 181, 276 
 
INDEX. 
 
 417 
 
 Life of Bishofi WUberfbrce, 60, 1S1, 1 
 
 1S2, 297, 35S 
 Life of Dr. Puscy, 10, 19, 20, 36, 37, | 
 
 S5, 163-166, 271, 2S2, 283, 2S9, j 
 
 290, 292, 293, 296, 298 
 Linklater (Rev.) on the Ritual of the 
 
 S.S.C., 77 
 Litany of Our Lady, 255 
 Litany of the Saints, 246 
 Little (Canon Knox) his sermon on 
 
 the Priest in Absolution, 126 
 
 — his connection with the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 126 
 
 — on revision of the Statutes of the 
 
 S. S. C, 129 
 Little (Rev. C. Hardy) and the Priest 
 
 in Absolution, 97 
 Littledale (Rev. Dr.), 108 
 
 — on how to prevent secessions to 
 
 Rome, 147 
 
 — Defence of Church Principles, 148 
 
 — Chaplain of a Ritualistic Sister- 
 
 hood, 193 
 
 — officiates at Benediction of the 
 
 Blessed Sacrament, 194 
 Littlemore Monastery, 16-28 
 Liturgy of the Church of Sarum, 249, 
 
 250 
 
 Llandaff (Bishop of) [Dr. Ollivant] 
 
 Speech on the Society of the 
 
 Holy Cross, 113 
 (Llanthony, Enclosed Nuns at, 1S4 
 London (Bishop of) [Dr. Jackson] 
 
 censures the Priest in Absolution, 
 
 104, 112, 113 
 Longley (Archbishop Charles T.) 
 
 Letter on Confessing a Married 
 
 Woman, Si 
 Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, 
 
 339-344 
 
 Lowder (Rev. Charles) describes the 
 first Ritualistic Retreat, 57, 5S 
 
 — and St. George's Mission, 59-61 
 
 — on Auricular Confession, 75 
 ■ — on Convocation, 7S 
 
 — recommends withdrawal of Priest 
 in Absolution from circulation, 10S 
 
 — Speech on the action of Bishop 
 
 Mackarness, 123 
 
 .Luke (Rev. W. H. Colbeck) on dis- 
 banding the S. S. C, 133 
 
 Luther (Martin) Speech at Diet of 
 Worms, 69 
 
 Macfarlane (Rev. Brother) on the 
 " Sacrament of Penance," 74 
 
 Mackonochie (Rev. A. H.) on the 
 " caution " of the S. S. C., 47 
 
 — Letter on Carlisle Oratory of 
 
 S.S.C., 66 
 
 — 0:1 the principles of the Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 99 I 
 
 Mackonochie (Rev. A. H.) opposes 
 S. S. C. deputation to the Bishops, 
 10S 
 
 — Speech on the action of the 
 
 Bishops, 123 
 
 — on compulsory Confession, 126 
 
 — opposes disbanding S. S. C, 133 
 
 — thinks the Priest in Absolution 
 
 "a most useful book for young 
 priests," 136 
 
 — his evidence before the Royal 
 
 Commission on Ecclesiastical 
 
 Courts, 348 
 Manners (Lord John) [now Duke of 
 
 Rutland] secures Rules of Romish 
 
 Sisterhoods, 164 
 Manning (Archdeacon), hew he heard 
 
 Confessions, 90, 91, 92 
 
 — his double-dealing, 299-305 
 
 — kneels before the Pope's carriage, 
 
 299 
 
 — Mr. Gladstone on his want of 
 
 straightforwardness, 303 
 Manning (Cardinal) on Secessions to 
 Rome, 272, 321-323 
 
 — Essays on Religion, 272, 321-323, 365 
 Manual of Confession for Children, 84 
 Marshall (Rev. T. Outram) secret 
 
 Speeches on the Bishops. 124, 133 
 
 — opposes destruction or publication 
 
 of the Priest in Absolution, 136 
 Maskell (Rev. William) describes the 
 crooked ways of Tractarians, 44 
 
 — Second Letter, 44, 45 
 
 — Letter to Dr. Pusey, S6, S7 
 Mass, The, Bishop Latimer on, 202 
 
 — preached before the University of 
 
 Oxford, 271 
 
 — Rev. E. W. Sergeant on, 343 
 " Mass Penny," 252 
 
 Melville (Canon) his warning against 
 Popery, 369, 371, 372 
 
 Memoirs of J. R. Hope-Scott, 14, 25, 
 36, 274, 275, 2S7 
 
 Monastic Institutions, What the Rit- 
 ualists teach about, 408 
 
 Monastic Orders, 283, 284 
 
 Monastic Times, 185 
 
 Monks and Nuns Pagan origin of, 165 
 
 Morris (Rev. J. B.) preaches the Sac- 
 rifice of the Mass before Oxford 
 University, 271 
 
 Mossman (Rev. T. W.) and the Order 
 of Corporate Reunion, 154, 155, 
 159-161 
 
 — professes faith in the Pope's Infal- 
 
 libility, 157 
 
 — his secret Letter on the Order of 
 
 Corporate Reunion, 160 
 
 — his Report on the O.C.R. to the 
 
 S S C, 159 
 
 27 
 
418 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mozley (Rev. Professor James B.), 3, 
 17. i8, 277, 294 
 
 Mozley (Rev. Thomas), his description 
 of Littlemore Monastery, 20, 25 
 
 Nassau (Bishop of) [Dr. E. T. 
 Churton] a Member of the Con- 
 fraternity of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, 225 
 
 Neale (Rev. Dr.) advice to Ritualistic 
 Sisters, 83, 172, 173 
 
 Newman (Rev. J. H.) on secrect 
 doctrines, 1-3 
 
 — on truthfulness, 2 
 
 — does not wish the names of his 
 
 party known, 4 
 
 — expects to be called a Papist, 6 
 
 — writes strongly against Popery, 
 
 10-13 
 
 — eats his " dirty words," 14, 285 
 ■ — establishes a Monastery, 17, 21 
 
 — Bishop of Oxford's Letter to, 22-24 
 
 — life in Newman's Monastery, 26-28 
 
 — his interview with Wiseman at 
 
 Rome, 263, 264 
 
 — has " a work to do in England,' 
 
 263 
 
 — on uttering an untruth, 265 
 
 — called a Papist to his face, 266 
 
 — begins to use the Breviary, 268 
 
 - — believes in the Sacrifice of the 
 Mass, 268 
 
 — his use of " irony," 269 
 
 — his mind " essentially Jesuitical," 
 
 271 
 
 — dislikes an article against the 
 
 Jesuits, 271 
 
 — thinks " Rome the centre of unity," 
 
 274 
 
 — " thought the Church of Rome was 
 
 right," 277 
 
 — has " a secret longing love of 
 
 Rome," 283 
 
 — writes: — "I love the Church of 
 
 Rome too well," 294 
 
 — his secession to Rome. 296 
 
 — Letters, 4, 5, 6, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19, 
 
 20, 266, 267, 268, 271, 272, 273, 
 274. 294, 295 
 
 — Via Media, 264 
 
 — Apologia Pro Vita Sua, 13,21, 22-24, 
 
 25, 263, 265, 270, 271, 274, 284, 
 295 
 
 — Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, 278 
 Nicholas (Rev. G. Davenport) and 
 
 the Statement of S. S. C, 108 
 
 — on the secret nature of S. S. C, 122 
 Night Hours of the Church, 200 
 Nihill (Rev. H. D.) on the " Sacra- 
 ment of Penance," 74 
 
 — is " not ashamed of the Priett in 
 
 Absolution," 144 
 
 Nineteenth Century, article on ther 
 Order of Corporate Reunion in 
 the, 161 
 
 Nunnery Life in the Church of England, 
 
 40, 41, 185 
 Oakeley (Rev. Frederick) on life in 
 
 Littlemore Monastery, 21 
 
 — describes Tractarian conduct on. 
 
 the Continent, 29 
 Offices from the Breviary, 200 
 " One of our Consolations," 359 
 Order of Corporate Reunion, 147-16K 
 
 — its Objects, 148 
 
 — its Birth, 14S 
 
 — First Pastoral of the, 149-151 
 
 — " Thomas, Rector " of the, 149 
 
 — ■ "Joseph, Provincial of York," 149..' 
 
 — " Laurence, Provincial of Caer- 
 
 leon," 149 
 
 — opposes School Boards, 150 
 
 — doubts the validity of the Orders- 
 
 of the Church of England, 151 
 
 — professes "loyalty" to the Pope, 
 
 152 
 
 — acknowledges the Pope as "visible- 
 
 head " of the whole Church, 152 
 
 — Who are the secretly consecrated 1 
 
 Bishops of the, 153-155 
 
 — Mr. William Grant's letter on,. 
 
 158 
 
 — The Civilita Cattolica on the, 158 
 
 — The Society of the Holy Cross and 
 
 the, 159-161, 327, 328 
 
 — said to have reordained eight hun- 
 
 dred clergy of the Church of 
 England, 161 
 
 — accepts the dogmas of the Council 
 
 of Trent, 251 
 Order of the Holy Redeemer, 233-239- 
 
 — its mysterious inner circle, 233 
 
 — its Monthly Leaflet, 233 
 
 — its Popish profession of Faith, 
 234 
 
 — acknowledges the Pope as > 
 
 " Teacher " of the whole Church, 
 
 234 
 
 — treasonable Letter of "John 
 
 O.H.R." 235 
 
 — afraid of the light, 235 
 
 — opens a Convent at Stamford Hill, . 
 
 236 
 
 — its object the subjection of Eng- 
 
 land to Rome, 236 
 
 — "Rev. Father Square's" address- 
 
 to, 237 
 
 Order of St. John the Divine, a secret 
 Society in East London, 239 
 
 Oscott College, Reunion with Rome 
 discussed at, 281 
 
 Our National Independence in peril,.. 
 365. 3 66 
 
INDEX. 
 
 4*9 
 
 Oxenham (Rev. Frank N.) censures [ 
 the Priest in Absolution 102, 109, 
 no, 122 
 
 Oxford (Bishop of) [Dr. S. Wilber- | 
 force] on Dr. Pusey as a Roman j 
 Confessor, 88 
 
 — [Dr. Mackarness] Speech on the 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross, 115 
 
 — [Dr. Mackarness] tries to save trie 
 
 S. S. C. from censure, 123 
 Oxford Martyrs' Memorial, Pusey 
 
 dislikes it as "unkind to the 
 
 Church of Rome," 270 
 Parker (Rev. James Benjamin) and 
 
 the Roll of the S. S. C, no 
 Palmer's Narrative .of Events, 4, 264, 
 
 267, 285, 286 
 Papal Infallibility, 157, 352 
 
 — What the Ritualists teach about, 
 
 381, 382 
 
 Parnell (Rev. Charles) on the Roman 
 Ritual, 77 
 
 — opposes publication of Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 136 
 Pattison (Rev. Mark), his experience 
 in Littlemore Monastery, 27 
 
 — goes once to Dr. Pusey to Con- 
 
 fession, 187 
 " Peace with Rome with all our 1 
 
 hearts," 353 
 Penitentiary Committee of the Society 
 
 of the Holy Cross, 55 
 Penrith Branch of English Church 
 
 Union svmpathises with the 
 
 S. S. C, 137 
 Perjury and Lying, 82, 83 
 Perry (Rev. T.W.) and the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 108 
 Phillimore (Sir Walter) and the 
 
 Society of the Holv Cross, 108 
 Pixell (Rev. C. H. V.), 67 
 Plymouth Ritualistic Sisterhood, "a 
 
 hell upon earth," 186 
 Pope (The) (The Order of Corporate 
 
 Reunion recognises) as "Visible 
 
 Head " of the Church, 152 
 
 — Prayed for as "our Pope," 242 ' 
 
 — recognised as Governor of the 
 
 Church, 248, 250 
 
 — rejoices at the work of the Tract- 
 
 arians, 271 
 
 — the " Representative " of the 
 
 Divine Head of the Church, 285 
 
 — Dr. Pusey on the Supremacy and 
 
 Primacy of, 331 
 
 — Rev. G. B. Roberts on the Pri- 
 
 macy of, 345 
 Protestantism a "Bastard Faith," 
 254 
 
 — "a dark and damnable spot in the 
 
 Church's History," 255 
 
 Protestantism, the great hindrance to 
 Union with Rome, 261 
 
 — " is dangerous now," 266 
 
 — Dr. Pusey's opinion of, 292 
 
 — What the Ritualists teach about, 
 
 409 
 
 Popery, an enemy to National 
 
 Prosperitv, 362 
 Powell (Rev. J. B.) on the Ritual of 
 
 the Society of the Holy Cross, 77 
 Priest in Absolution, vii. 
 
 — its original price, 56 
 
 — Secret History of, 93-147 
 
 — translated and edited by Rev. 
 
 J. C. Chambers, 93-95 
 
 — said to be a " golden treatise," 94 
 
 — praised by the Church Review, 94 
 
 — curious letter about the, 95 
 
 — supplied only to High Church 
 
 priests, 95 
 
 — its copyright purchased by the 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross, 95, 96 
 
 — secret documents concerning, 
 
 quoted, 95, 96, 100-110, 121-144 
 
 — its sale, 90, 103 
 
 — how Mr. Robert Fieming discovered 
 
 the, 97 
 
 — exposed in the House of Lords, 97, 
 
 9 S 
 
 — Lord Redesdale on the, 9S 
 
 — Archbishop Tait terms it "a dis- 
 
 grace to the community," 9S 
 
 — peers protest against the, 99 
 
 — its "principles" said to guide all 
 
 Ritualistic Confessors, 99 
 
 — secret Letter on, from Rev. Francis 
 
 LI. Bagshav.e, 100, 101 
 
 — debate on, in secret Synod of 
 
 S. S. C., i34- I 36 
 
 — another debate on, in secret Synod. 
 
 of S. S. C, 142-144 
 Priest's Prayer Book on Holy Water,. 
 63 
 
 — its services for Sisters of Mercy,. 
 
 194-196 
 
 Private Burial Grounds in Ritualistic- 
 Convents, 191, 192 
 
 Prynne (Rev. G. R.) Member of Com- 
 mittee for Revising statutes of" 
 S. S.C., 138 
 
 Puller (Rev. F. W.) on valid Absolu- 
 tions, 76 
 
 — on Revising the statutes of S. S. C. r 
 
 132 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of S. S. C, 13S 
 
 — on Evening Communion, 215 
 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, gi r 
 
 92, 273, 295, 298-303, 321 
 Purgatorial Society, A, 227-232 
 Purgatory and the C. B. S., 214 
 
420 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Purgatory and the Guild of All Souls, 
 228-231 
 
 — What the Ritualists teach about, 
 
 396-398 
 
 " Purgatory Pick Purse," 251 
 Purton (Rev. William) defends the 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross, 129 
 Pusey (Rev. Dr.) joins the Tractarian 
 
 Movement, 6 
 
 — his subtle scheme for writing 
 
 against Popery, 10 
 
 — approves of Newman's proposed 
 
 Monastery, 19 
 
 — sends for a " Discipline," 36 
 
 — wears hair-cloth, 36 
 
 — would like to be ordered the " Dis- 
 
 cipline," 37 
 
 — Manual for Confessors, 39, 40, 82, 
 
 83, 120, I2i, 136, 167, 185 
 
 — first Retreat held in his rooms, 57, 
 
 58 
 
 — and St. George's Mission, 59, 60 
 
 — on the Seal of Confession, 82, 187 
 
 — on bringing children to Confession, 
 
 83 
 
 — begins to hear Confessions in 1838, 
 . 8 5 
 
 — in 1842 writes against Confession, 
 
 85, 86 f 
 
 — how Confessions were heard in his 
 
 Sisterhood, 87 
 
 — " doing the work of a Roman Con- 
 
 fessor," 88 
 
 — Hints for a First Confession, 87, 88 
 
 — on the fearful evils of the Confes- 
 
 sional, 120, 121 
 
 — eager to set up Sisters of Mercy, 
 
 163 
 
 — visits Romish Convents in Ire- 
 
 land, 164 
 
 — procures the Rules of Romish 
 
 Convents, 164 
 
 — Enclosed Nuns of "The Sacred 
 
 Heart " in his Sisterhood, 183, 184 
 
 — recommends the " Discipline " for 
 
 Sisters of Mercy, 185 
 
 — charged with breaking the Seal of 
 
 Confession, 187 
 
 — hears Confessions " on the sly," 87 
 
 — his Introductory Essay to Essays 
 
 on Reunion, 261 
 
 — dislikes the Oxford Martyrs' 
 Memorial, 270 
 
 — his eulogy of the Founder of the 
 
 Jesuits, 289 
 
 — his opinion of Protestantism, 292 
 
 — desires "more love for Rome," 292 
 
 — his conduct censured by Dr. 
 
 Manning, 292 
 
 — praises the "superiority" of 
 
 Roman books, 293 
 
 Pusey (Rev. Dr.) Bishop Wilberforce 
 censures his Romanizing work, 
 
 297. 358 
 
 — acknowledges his belief in Pur- 
 
 gatory and the Invocation of 
 Saints, 297 
 
 — Eirenicon, 330-332, 357 
 
 — on the Primacy and Supremacy of 
 
 the Pope, 331, 333 
 
 — said to have been " a Gallican on 
 
 the wrong side of the water," 
 333 
 
 Railway Guild of the Holy Cross, 258 
 Real Presence, What the Ritualists 
 
 teach about the, 385-387 
 Records of English Catholics, 365 
 Reformers and the Reformation, 
 
 What the Ritualists teach about 
 
 the, 383, 384 
 Reilly's Relations of the Church to 
 
 Society, 368 
 Relics (Shrine with) recommended 
 
 by the Society of St. Osmund, 248 
 "Removing the Barriers" between 
 
 England and Rome, 325 
 Requiem Masses, 212, 213, 228 
 Reserve in Communicating Religious 
 
 Knoa ledge, 7-9 
 "Reserve" observed in the St. 
 
 George's Mission, 59 
 " Retreat Committee " of the Society 
 
 of the Holy Cross, 57 
 Retreats, Instructions for, 58 
 
 — the first in Dr. Pusey's rooms, 60 
 Reunion Magazine, 149, 150, 151, 153 
 Revision of the Prayer Book on 
 
 Ritualistic lines, 339-344 
 Riley (Mr. Athelstan) his Connection 
 with the Society of St. Osmund, 240 
 
 — translates the Mirror of Our Lady, 
 
 and the Hours of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary, 243 
 Ritualism, its Object from its 
 birth, 260 / 
 
 — "the Preparatory School for 
 
 Rome," 359, 360 ^ 
 
 — one of the *' consolations " of 
 
 Rome, 359 / 
 Ritualists (The), their Objects and 
 work, 261 ^ 
 
 — doing Rome's work, 316 
 
 — the results of their teaching, 
 
 359. 360 \~y 
 
 — preparing a harvest for Rome, 360 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods, 162-201 
 Reunion with Rome, 261 
 
 — Rev. W. G. Ward on, 280 
 
 — Union Review on, 311, 312 
 
 ■ — Essays on Reunion on, 313, 315, 316 
 
 — Protestantism the " great hinder- 
 
 ance " to, 315 
 
INDEX. 
 
 421 
 
 Reunion with Rome, Work of the 
 Society of the Holy Cross for, 
 323-327 
 
 — Rev. N. Y. Birkmyre on, 328 
 
 — Jfow to promote, 336-338 
 
 — E. C. U. Address to Lambeth 
 
 Conference on, 344 
 
 — Lord Halifax most earnestly 
 
 desires, 346 
 
 — Objections to, 362-372 
 
 — What the Ritualists teach about, 
 
 380, 381 
 
 Roberts (Rev. G. Bayfield) History 
 of the English ChurchUnion, 335, 345 
 
 — on the Primacy of the " Bishop of 
 
 Old Rome," 345 
 Robinson (Rev. George Croke) on 
 
 the Revision of the Statutes of 
 
 S. S. C, 141 
 Rock, 67, 72, 78, 95, 206, 207, 209 
 
 — publishes the Roll of Brethren of 
 
 S. S. C, 101 
 Rockhampton (Bishop of) becomes a 
 Member of the Society of the 
 Holy Cross, 76 
 
 — on the Secrecy of the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 125 
 Rogers (Mr. F.) 4, 16, 19 
 Roman Ritual (Discussion on) in 
 
 S. S. C. Synod, 77 
 Rome (Church of) Reunion with, 261 
 
 — we are "Not good enough for" 
 
 the, 262 
 
 — Secret Receptions into the, 265, 266 
 
 — Rev. W. G. Ward on Reunion 
 
 with the, 280 
 
 — How Reunion with, is to be 
 
 accomplished, 280 
 
 — Conditions of union with, dis- 
 
 cussed at Oscott College, 281 
 
 — " Yearning after " the, 286 
 
 — Work of the A.P. U.C. for Re- 
 
 union with the, 307-323 
 
 — "A friendly feeling towards " the, 
 
 320 
 
 — Speech in favour of the Ritual of 
 
 the, 350 
 
 — What the Church of England says 
 
 about the, 356 
 
 — The duty of separation from, 361 
 
 — Objections to Reunion with, 362- 
 
 372 
 
 — the Babylon of the Book of the 
 
 Revelation, 370, 371 
 
 Rome (The name of) "pronounced 
 with reverence," 281 
 
 Romeward Movement (The), 260-372 
 
 Russell (Rev. H. Lloyd) on Punish- 
 ment in Purgatory, 230 
 
 " Sacrament of Penance," Secret dis- 
 cussion on the, 74, 75 
 
 Sacrifice of the Mass, What the 
 Ritualists teach about the, 388-392 
 
 Salisbury (Bishop of) [Dr. Moberly] 
 on Habitual Confession, 116 
 
 Salisbury (Bishop of) [Dr. E. Denison] 
 alarmed at the Romeward Move- 
 ment, 283 
 
 Salisbury (Lord) denounces Habitual 
 Confession. 70 
 
 Secessions to Rome, How Ritualists 
 try to prevent, 147 
 
 — Cardinal Manning on, 272 
 
 — Newman's plan for preventing, 284 
 
 — Dr. Hook on, 291 
 
 — the Rambler on, 305 
 
 — mainly from the ranks of the 
 
 Ritualists, 359 
 Secret teaching of the Tractarians, 1-3 
 Secret doctrines not learnt from Scrip- 
 ture, 1-3 
 
 Secret Societies, Church of England 
 
 honeycombed with, vi. 
 Sellon (Miss), Mother Superior of 
 
 Dr. Pusey's Convent, 166 
 
 — her " disgusting insult" to a Sister 
 
 of Mercy, 168 
 
 — a warning against, 186 
 
 — and the Confessions of her Sisters 
 
 of Mercy, 187 
 
 — Miss Margaret Goodman's estimate 
 
 of, 188-190 
 Sergeant (Rev. E. W.), his suggested 
 
 Revision of the Book of Common 
 
 Prayer, 343 
 Separation, The Duty of, 361 
 Shipley (Rev. Orby) on the Doctrine 
 
 of Reserve, 9 
 
 — proposes an Oratory of the S. S. C, 
 
 65 
 
 — on Convocation, 78 
 Sibthorp (Rev. R. W.), 287 
 Sisterhood of the Holy Cross, 179 note 
 Sisterhoods, Ritualistic, 162-201 
 
 — formed on Roman models, 163-166 
 
 — are really secret societies, 163 
 
 — the " Vow of Obedience " in 
 
 Dr. Pusey's, 167 
 
 — the " Vow of Poverty " in 
 
 Dr. Pusey's, 169 
 
 — evils of the Vow of Obedience in, 
 
 169 
 
 — Miss Goodman on the serious 
 
 evils in, 170, 171 
 
 — it is difficult to leave, 171 
 
 — are their accounts audited ? 173 
 
 — Miss Cusack's experience in Dr. 
 
 Pusey's, 186, 187 
 
 — and Romanizing doctrines and 
 
 practices, 192-201 
 
 — service for Clothing Novices in, 
 
 194, 195 
 
422 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sisterhood at Llanthony, 40, 185 
 — ■ at Kilburn, 83, 199 
 
 — at St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, 
 
 83, 172, 173, 193, 194 
 - — at Clewer, 174, 175 
 
 — at All Saints', Margaret Street, 174, 
 
 178, 192 
 
 — at Slapton, 184 
 
 'Sister Mary Agnes most cruelly 
 whipped, 40 
 
 — O. S.B., 185 
 
 Sisters of Mercy, Dr. Pusey on 
 obedience to their Spiritual 
 Father, 40 
 
 - — Dr. Pusey's advice to, 167 
 
 — in the Confessional, 167 
 
 — one ordered to lick the floor with 
 
 her tongue, 168 
 
 — Benson's book for their guidance, 
 
 169, 174 
 
 — sad story of a dying, 176 
 
 — ordered the " Discipline," 185 
 
 — shocking cruelty to, 189 
 
 — hungry, 191 
 
 Slapton, enclosed Nuns at, 184 
 Smith (Rev. Joseph Newton), Founder 
 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 
 47 
 
 — on the "wisdom of the serpent," 
 
 125 
 
 Smythe (Rev. W. Edmund), 61-62, 
 see also Lebombo, Bishop of 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross (The Master 
 of) on " Reserve," 9, 10 
 
 — its first members, 47 
 
 — its caution and secrecy, 47, 48, 63, 
 
 64, 65, 121, 125, 127 
 
 — its Statutes, 48, 128 
 
 — its Officia, 48 
 
 — its Cross, 48 
 
 — founded, 48 
 
 — its mysterious " Committee of 
 
 Clergy," 49, 50 
 
 — its secret Synods and Chapters, 
 
 50, 51 
 
 - — its secret Roll of sworn Celibates, 
 52, 53 
 
 — the Celibate Oath, 53 
 
 — the Brethren pledged to bring 
 
 young and old to Confession, 54 
 
 — its Books for the Young, 54, 55 
 
 — its " Penitentiary Committee " : 
 
 their names, 55, 56 
 
 — its " Retreat Committee," 57 
 
 — starts the Retreat Movement, 57 
 
 — starts the St. George's Mission at 
 
 St. Peter's, London Docks, 58, 59 
 
 — the Master's Address, 1870, 63 
 
 — the Master's Address, May, 1876, 64 
 
 — the Master's Address, May, 1875, 64 
 
 — afraid of Post Cards, 64 
 
 Society of the Holy Cross, the Master's 
 Address, Sept., 1876, 65 
 
 — organizes the Petition for Licensed 
 
 Confessors, 70-72 
 
 — its Secret Roll of Brethren, 78, 79, 
 
 101, 110, 126 
 
 — purchases the copyright of the 
 
 Priest in Absolution, 95, 96 
 
 — the Rock publishes its Roll of 
 
 Brethren, 101 
 
 — its interview with the Bishops, 
 
 105 
 
 — its Statement to the Bishops, 105, 106 
 
 — Special Chapter of July 5th, 1877, 
 
 107-1 10 
 
 — Canterbury Houses of Convocation 
 
 discuss the, 110-117 
 
 — termed " a Conspiracy " by Arch- 
 
 bishop Tait, 112 
 
 — its secret. Chapter, July 10th, 1877, 
 
 121-126 
 
 — its action towards the Bishops, 
 
 123-125 
 
 — its secret Chapter, August, 1877, 127 
 
 — its secret Synod, September, 1877, 
 
 127-137 
 
 — proposal to disband it, 130-134 
 
 — its secret debate on the Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 134-136 
 
 — Committee for Revising Statutes 
 
 of; Names of its members, 138 
 
 — great secession from its ranks, 139 
 
 — its secret Synod, May, 1878, 139-144 
 their Report, 140-142 
 
 — refuses to destroy the Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 144 
 • — it condemns the Order of Corpo- 
 rate Reunion, 159-161 
 
 — its Address to Catholics, 324 
 
 — its Address to the Lambeth Con- 
 
 ference, 324, 325 
 
 — by whom it was signed, 325, 326 
 
 — approves of the A. P. U. C, 327 
 
 — its secret discussion on the Order 
 
 of Corporate Reunion, 327, 328 
 Society of St. Osmund, 240-254 
 
 — its Episcopal Vice-Presidents, 240 
 
 — and London School Board 
 
 Election, 240 
 
 — its Objects, 240, 241 
 
 — works for the restoration of the 
 
 Sarum Ritual, 241 
 
 — its puerile ceremonial, 241, 242, 243 
 
 — prays for " our Pope," 242 
 
 — its Confessions to the Virgin and 
 
 Saints, 242 
 
 — its "worship" of the Virgin, 
 
 243, 244 
 
 — its Services for Holy Week, 244-249 
 
 — its Adoration of the Cross, 245 
 
 — its Litany of the Saints, 246 
 
INDEX. 
 
 423 
 
 Society of St. Osmund drives the 
 Devil out of Incense and Flowers, 
 246, 247, 248 
 
 — its Service for Palm Sunday, 247 
 
 — recommends a " Shrine with 
 
 Relics," 248 
 ■ — Recognises the Pope, as Governor 
 
 of the Church, 249 
 - — its Ceremonial and Offices of the 
 
 Dead, 250-252 
 - — dissolved, and merged into the 
 
 Alcuin Club, 253, 254 
 •Some Cautions for Mass Priests, 
 
 395. 396 
 
 ■Some other Ritualistic Societies, 
 227-259 
 
 Some Ritualistic " Ornaments of the 
 
 Church," 384 
 ■Spencer (Rev. George) Letter on the 
 
 tactics of the Tractarians, 262 
 - — his visit to Newman, 274 
 .Spirit of the Founder, a secret book for 
 
 Ritualistic Sisters, 83, 84, 172, 
 
 173. 175. 199 
 •Square (Rev. "Father") address to 
 
 the secret Order of the Holy 
 
 Redeemer, 237 
 'Square (Rev. Ernest) Speech in favour 
 
 of Roman Ritual, 350 
 •St. Albans (Bishop of) [Dr. Claughton] 
 
 Speech on the Confessional, 114 
 St. Alban's, Hoiborn, 258 
 •St. Alphege, Southwark, 255-257 
 
 — its Manual of Tcrtiaries, 255 
 
 - — its Manual of the Church Confra- 
 ternity, 256 
 
 — its " Guild of the Sacred Heart," 257 
 ■St. Asaph (Bishop of) [Dr. Hughes] 
 
 Speech on Confession by the, 115 
 
 St.Cuthbert's.Philbeach Gardens, 245 
 
 St. George's Mission. 58-61 
 
 :5t. Margaret's, East Grinst^ra, 
 Sisterhood, 172, 173 
 
 - — Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and 
 Obedience taken for life, 172 
 
 - — how the Sisters dispose of their 
 income, 172, 173 
 
 . — Popish service in one of its Con- 
 vent Chapels, 193, 194 
 
 — its Night Hours of the Church, 200 
 •St. Matthias', Earl's Court, 231, 350, 
 
 35i ' 
 St. Peter's Parish Magazine, 61, 62 
 St. Saviour's Hospital, Osnaburgh I 
 
 Street, N.W., 200 
 Stallard (Rev. Arthur Gordon) on Re- 
 vision of Statutesof S. S. C, 141 
 Stanton (Rev. A. H.), 108 
 :Stathers (Rev. William), his remark- 
 able Protest and Explanation, 350, 
 35 1 
 
 Stocks (Rev. J. E.), 77 
 Synodi Diceceseos Suthwarcensis , 317 ■, 318 
 Tait (Archbishop) on the Priest in 
 Absolution, 98 
 
 — on the S. S. C, 102-107 
 
 — Speech in Convocation, in, 112 
 
 — Terms the S. S. C. " a Con- 
 
 spiracy," 112 
 
 — Opposed to Perpetual Vows in 
 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods, 182, 183 
 
 — on Tract XC., 275, 276 
 Teignmouth iXord), his Reminiscences, 
 
 265 
 
 The Importance of Ritual, What the 
 
 Ritualists teach about, 409, 410 
 The Power and Dignity of Sacrificing 
 
 Priests, What the Ritualists teach 
 
 about, 387, 388 
 The " Preparatory School for Rome," 
 
 359. 360 
 
 The Romeward Movement, 260-372 
 The Ten Commandments and the 
 
 Ritualists, 341, 343 
 The Thirty-Nine Articles, What the 
 
 Ritualists teach about, 378-380 
 
 — Newman "no great friend" of, 
 
 268, 330 
 
 — the Rev. W. G. Ward on, 279 
 Thynne (Lord Charles) on the Tract- 
 
 arian Confessional, 89 
 " Toleration to Protestants is Intoler- 
 ance to Catholics," 369 
 Towne (Rev. Lyndhurst B.), 141 
 Tracts for the Times "abused as 
 Popish," 267 
 
 — 298 
 
 Tract On Reserve in Communicating 
 Religious Knowledge, 7-9 
 
 — Condemned by the Bishops, 7, 9 
 
 — rightly understood by Evangeli- 
 
 cals, 9 
 Tract XC, 275, 276, 290 
 Tractarian Movement, Birth of the, 
 
 1, 263 
 
 — its promoters fear publicity, 4 
 
 — Joshua Watson on its ulterior 
 
 destination, 5 
 
 — " Suggestions " for its formation, 5 
 
 — Dr. Pusey joins the, 6 
 
 — Mr. Gladstone joins the, 6 
 
 — attacked by the Standard and 
 
 Edinburgh Review, 10 
 Tractarians go secretly to Mass in 
 disguise, 30 
 
 — described by Mr. Maskell, 44 
 
 — their real object a profound secret, 
 
 263 
 
 — " Introducing Popery without 
 
 authority," 267 
 
 — said to be " Crypto-Papists," 268 
 
 — greatly rejoice the Pope, 271 
 
424 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tractarians on the Continent, 274,290 
 
 — their Jesuitical tactics described, 
 
 280, 281 
 
 — their negotiations with Dr. Wise- 
 
 man, 281, 282 
 
 — Moving towards Rome, 287 
 Transubstantiation taught by the 
 
 C. B. S., 223-225 
 
 — taught by the Guild of All Souls, 229 
 Treatise of S. Catherine of Genoa on 
 
 Purgatory, 228, 229 
 
 Truro (Bishop of) [Dr. Gott] recom- 
 mends the Priest's' Prayer Book, 194 
 
 Urquhart (Rev. E. W.) teaches Tran- 
 substantiation, 223-225 
 
 Union Review, 94, 152, 261, 309-312, 330 
 
 Vaux (Rev. J. E.), 148 
 
 Virtues of Holy Salt, Holy Water, 
 and Holy Oil, What the Ritualists 
 teach about the, 406-408 
 
 Vow of Obedience by Ritualistic 
 Sisters, 167, 168, 169 
 
 — of Poverty by Ritualistic Sis- 
 
 ters, 169-179 
 
 — of Celibacy taken by a girl of 
 
 eighteen for life, 180 
 
 — censured by Bishop S. Wilberforce, 
 
 181 
 
 Vows in St. Margaret's Sisterhood, 
 East Grinstead, taken for life, 172 
 
 — of Ritualistic Sisters censured 
 by Bishop S. Wilberforce, 180 
 
 Vows (Perpetual) by Ritualistic Sis- 
 ters censured by Archbishop 
 Tait, 182, 183 
 
 Ward (Rev. A. H.) favours disbanding 
 the Society of the Holy Cross, 133 
 
 Ward (Rev. William George), his 
 Jesuitical conduct, 15 
 
 — on Equivocation, 16 
 
 — the Jesuits his " favourite reading," 
 
 274 
 
 — on Union with Rome, 280 
 
 — Ideal of a Christian Church, 287, 
 
 288-290 
 
 — holds all Roman doctrine, 288 
 Walker (Rev. Henry Aston) opposes 
 
 S. S. C. deputation to the Bishops, 
 108 
 
 Wallace (Rev. C. S.), and the Society 
 of the Holy Cross, 127 
 
 — thanked by S. S. C. for his con- 
 
 duct, 127 
 
 — opposes publication of Priest in 
 
 Absolution, 136 
 Watson (Mr. Joshua) on the ulterior 
 destination of Tractarianism, 5 
 
 West Mailing, enclosed Ritualistic 
 
 Nuns at, 184 
 What the Ritualists Teach, 373-410 
 Wilberforce (Bishop Samuel), v. 
 
 — on theVows of Ritualistic Sisters, 1 80 
 
 — Censures Vows of Celibacy in 
 
 Ritualistic Sisterhoods, 181 
 
 — on Fasting Communion, 215 
 Williams (Rev. Isaac), 7, 8,9 
 William G. Ward and the Oxford Move- 
 ment, 16, 274, 279-282, 288 
 
 Willington (Rev. Henry Edward) 
 Member of Committee for Re- 
 vising Statutes of S. S. C, 138 
 
 Wilson (Rev. Robert James) and the 
 Priest in Absolution, 100, 122 
 
 — Member of Committee for Revising 
 
 Statutes of S. S.C., 138 
 Wiseman (Cardinal), 28, 29, 30 
 
 — interview with Newman and 
 Froude, 263, 294 
 
 — discusses Reunion with Rome with 
 
 Tractarians, 281 
 Wolverhampton Province of the 
 
 Guild of St. Alban's sympathises 
 
 with the S. S. C, 137 
 Women and the Confessional, 81, 82, 
 
 83, 87, 90, 91, 120 
 
 — ruined by Ritualistic Confessors, 117 
 Wood (Hon. C. L.) (see also under 
 
 Halifax) advocates Masses for 
 the Dead, 213 
 
 — Elected President of the English 
 
 Church Union, 335 
 Wood (Rev. E. G.) his resolutions for 
 disbanding S. S. C, 130 
 
 — on the Jesuit Order, 131 
 
 — on Purgatory, 214, 231 
 
 — on Jurisdiction in the Confessional, 
 
 7 6 
 
 — his subtle advice to the Society of 
 
 the Holy Cross, 125 
 
 — on compulsory Confession, 126 
 Wordsworth (Bishop Christopher) on 
 
 Rome as the Babylon of the 
 Revelation, 370 
 
 — Union with Rome, 370, 371 
 Zanzibar (Bishop of) [Dr. Richard- 
 son], 76 
 
 — a Member of the Society of the 
 
 Holy Cross, 79 
 
 — a Member of the Confraternity of 
 
 the Blessed Sacrament, 225 
 Zululand (Bishop of) [Dr. W. M. 
 Carter] a Member of the Con- 
 fraternity of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, 225 
 
 Q. NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, FLORAL STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON. 
 
The Secret History 
 
 of the 
 
 Oxford Movement. 
 
 By WALTER WALSH. 
 
 Third Edition. 3s 6d net. Post free, 4s. 
 
 This is a most startling exposure, and is likely to create a 
 sensation in the public mind. 
 
 It is the duty of every Protestant to obtain a copy, read it, and 
 lend it to others. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE PRESS, $c. 
 
 " I have no difficulty in saying that I think it the most valuable book on the 
 anti-sacerdotal side that has been published." — Lord Grimthorpe. 
 
 " Contains one of the most startling revelations ever made to the people of 
 any country." — Canon McCormick, C haplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen. 
 
 " Nothing is over-stated or aught set down in malice. The work is soberly and 
 temperately written. We advise all who wish to have full and accurate know- 
 ledge on this sadly important subject to read the book. . . . It is a magazine 
 of information on this important subject. We can cordially recommend it to tlie 
 serious perusal of sober-minded Churchmen." — Liverpool Courier. 
 
 " Mr. Walsh has written with studied moderation and fairness, and there is. 
 nothing in all the four hundred pages of this book that can offend any 
 independent mind. The work is an important contribution to the literature of 
 the Ritual controversy, which everyone desiring to become acquainted with the 
 inner workings of the Movement should most certainly consult." — Record. 
 
 " This is a remarkable book, which ought to be read, examined, and pondered 
 by every Englishman who wishes to see his country free and enlightened. . . . 
 We cannot too strongly recommend the purchase and study of this History." — 
 English Churchman. 
 
 " The volume is one which Churchmen would do well to consult for themselves. 
 Its revelations are extraordinary, its proofs indisputable. . . . The author has 
 done his work well, and deserves the gratitude of Churchmen." — Western Times. 
 
 " The gravest indictment that has yet been made against the High Church 
 party. . . . It is a book with a purpose. It demanded courage to write it, and 
 is full of information that ought to be circulated broadcast."— Baptist. 
 
THE CHURCH ASSOCIATION. 
 
 THE Council invite all those who have been convinced by the 
 reading of this book that a serious attempt is being made to 
 Romanize the Church of England, to support the Church Association, 
 the only Church Society that has stood in the forefront of the 
 Anti-Ritualistic Movement for thirty-three years. 
 
 A perusal of the following will give some idea of the work in 
 which the Church Association is engaged : — 
 
 A correspondent, writing with regard to the Council, refers to 
 them as " Those who have on every occasion exhibited an amount 
 of judgment, discretion and resolution, which it would be hard to 
 match in the transactions of any other deliberative and administrative 
 body." 
 
 The Rev. Canon Christopher writes: 
 
 " I measure the value of the Church Association not so much by 
 its success as by its Scriptural objects, and the faith and courage of 
 its members in seeking to obtain them. 
 
 " The success of Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley in preserving the 
 Reformation they had so well begun, did not seem to be very great 
 when they were being burnt alive within a quarter of a mile of this 
 rectory. Yet we know what great results God ultimately gave to 
 their noble self-sacrifice for the cause of His Truth." 
 
 The Rt. Rev. the Lord Bp. of Liverpool {when the Rev. Canon Ryle) 
 spoke of the Church Association as follows: — 
 
 " I know no way of meeting the evil around us except by such a 
 -combination as that presented by the Church Association — a com- 
 bination like the Volunteer movement, whose motto should be 
 ' Defence not Defiance.' The Bishops will not act : they have 
 charged and charged and charged for twenty years, and their Charges 
 have been so much brutum fulmen, and have wrought no deliverance. 
 ■ — Convocation can do nothing. — It can growl, and whine, and bark ; 
 but it has no teeth, and cannot bite : it is chained, and cannot move. — 
 The House of Commons will do nothing at present. They dislike 
 religious questions in St. Stephen's, unless positively forced to handle 
 them ; and they will not handle Ritualism, except under the pressure 
 of public opinion. — There is nothing left but the voluntary union of 
 all Protestant Churchmen in such a Society as the Church Association. 
 By uniting to spread information, awaken sleeping zeal, and enlighten 
 public opinion, — by rallying and getting together the sound members 
 of our Church, and organizing their strength, — by combining to 
 employ every legal and constitutional means to maintain the Pro- 
 
testant character of our Church, — by such work much good may be 
 done, for union is strength. Such work the Church Association has 
 done, is doing, and I trust will continue to do for many a day." 
 
 " Your Association is at least standing in the gap before the Lord 
 in the land, that He should not destroy it. (Ezekiel xxii. 30.) You 
 are doing your best to ' make up the hedge ' against the adversaries 
 of our Zion, and it is better to try, and fail, than not to try at all." — 
 Another Correspondent. 
 
 The Church Association was instituted in 1865 to Uphold the 
 Doctrines, Principles, and Order of the United Church of England 
 and Ireland, and to counteract the efforts now being made to pervert 
 her teaching on essential points of the Christian faith, or assimilate 
 her Services to those of the Church of Rome, and further to 
 encourage concerted action for the advancement and progress of 
 Spiritual Religion. 
 
 It seeks to resist all innovations in the order of the Service as 
 prescribed by the joint authority of Church and State — whether in vest- 
 ments, ornaments, gestures, or practices borrowed from the Church of 
 Rome, and symbolical of her errors — and especially to prevent the 
 idolatrous adoration of the elements in the Lord's Supper, contrary 
 to the order of our Communion Service and the terms both of the 
 Liturgy and Articles. 
 
 It seeks to resist all attempts to restore the use of the Confessional, 
 and every exercise of that Priestly authority which was put down at 
 the Reformation, and also to oppose the introduction of doctrines 
 contrary to the teaching of the Church, as set forth in her Liturgy 
 and Articles. 
 
 It seeks to effect these objects by publicity through Lectures, 
 Meetings, and the use of the Press, by the employment of Colporteurs, 
 Lay Evangelists, and Protestant Vans, by Protestant Lay Missions, 
 and by Appeals to Parliament to pass such measures as may be 
 needed to restrain clergymen from violating the order of their Church, 
 and obtruding on their parishioners practices and doctrines repugnant 
 to the Formularies and Articles of our Reformed Church. 
 
 The Church Association has at considerable cost obtained the 
 condemnation by the Ecclesiastical Courts of more than sixty 
 ceremonies and practices symbolical of Popish Doctries illegally 
 introduced by the Ritualists into the Services of our Reformed 
 Church. 
 
 It has circulated literature " wholesome and necessary " for these 
 times — millions of Pamphlets and Tracts against Ritualism — and by 
 these means the country has been awakened to the dangers of the 
 Ritualistic " Conspiracy." The Association is really a Ch. of England 
 Protestant Tract Society. 
 
 It has no sympathy with imprisonment of clergymen. It intro- 
 duced into Parliament a Bill which, if passed, would have substituted 
 Deprivation for Imprisonment. 
 
 It introduced a Bill into Parliament to abolish the Bishops' Veto, 
 which at present bars the Laity from their right of appealing to the 
 Ecclesiastical Courts in cases where the Romish Mass is thrust upon 
 them in their Parish Churches. 
 
It has to cope with lawlessness in high places, and to defend the 
 interests of Law, Order, and Truth. 
 
 It has to satisfy appeals for advice and help from distressed and 
 oppressed congregations. 
 
 ]t has to aid Protestant Home Mission-work, to assist those 
 involved in controversy, to furnish papers on matters that arise 
 affecting Evangelical religion, and to provide suitable Lectures. 
 
 It has to devise how to meet the schemes of Sacerdotalism in the 
 widening arena of Politics. 
 
 It has to guard the interests of the Laity in all Church matters, 
 especially in the matter of " Church Reform," as it has done in the 
 matter of the " Benefices " Bill. 
 
 It has to check the attempted revival of sacerdotal caste privileges, 
 and " benefit of clergy." 
 
 It has to contest the ground inch by inch in fighting the battle of 
 the Reformation and defending the Constitutional Settlement of 
 Church and State. 
 
 It has established the National Protestant League, which is not a 
 new Society, but a further development of the Church Association to 
 enable the masses to take a part in opposing the present great 
 conspiracy to Romanize our Church and Nation. 
 
 It has appointed Colporteurs and Lay Evangelists for certain 
 counties and it hopes to increase the number. These men are doing 
 splendid work amongst the much neglected rural populations, dis- 
 tributing Protestant literature, explaining the inroads of Ritualism,, 
 preaching the simple Gospel, and urging Electors to vote for the most 
 Protestant candidate at the Parliamentary elections. 
 
 It has sent forth into the Provinces eleven Travelling Vans, with a 
 Colporteur Evangelist in each. They each carry with them a large 
 stock of Bibles, Prayer Books, and Protestant literature, for sale and 
 free circulation. These Vans travel on each day to a fresh town or 
 village, Protestant Gospel addresses are given each evening and large 
 quantities of literature distributed. Great good to the Protestant 
 Cause has already resulted from this latest development of the work 
 of the Association. 
 
 It has established at the head Office regular meetings for Prayer and 
 the study of God's Word. 
 
 It has gathered together the finest Protestant library in the King- 
 dom, consisting of some ten thousand books and pamphlets. The 
 Library is open to Members on Wednesday in each week. 
 
 It has induced the Government to publish a facsimile of the 
 " annexed " book which is the statutable authority for our present 
 Prayer Book, and is endeavouring to compel the Queen's Printers to 
 issue printed Prayer Books in conformity with it, and without 
 unauthorized alterations j and in this it has already been partly 
 successful. 
 
 PROTESTANT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 The Church Association publishes in its monthly organ, the 
 Church Intelligencer, exact information as to controverted points in 
 the meaning and structure of the Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty- 
 
nine Articles, and the Formularies ; calls attention to attacks upon the 
 Protestant principles of the Reformed Church of England, whether 
 in Parliament, in Convocation, or in the Press : analyzes the drift of 
 the movement for increasing sacerdotal privileges and assumptions, 
 and especially the tendency to vest irresponsible power in the hands 
 of the Bishops, and is a channel for the exchange of thought between 
 Churchmen who value these objects. The Church Intelligencer costs 
 id per month, and may be ordered of any bookseller. 
 
 It issues four volumes which deal with nearly every point of the 
 Ritualistic Controversy, and shows the practices which have been 
 condemned as unlawful in the Church of England. They form a 
 complete Library on the Ritualistic Controversy, and should be in the 
 hands of every Protestant Churchman throughout the country. Sent 
 free by post, is 4^ each vol., or handsomely bound in cloth at 15 lod 
 each volume. 
 
 It publishes an Almanack and Diary for the pocket, price one 
 penny, which is full of interesting matter. Statistics as to the 
 Ritualistic Conspiracy. Dates of principal events in Reformation. 
 Lists of Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Chancellors. Table of Lessons 
 for every day in the year. Sunday Notes for Clergy, &c, &c, &c. 
 Price, post free, 
 
 It publishes a Guide to Ecclesiastical Law for the use of Church- 
 wardens and Parishioners, full of hints and suggestions for opposing 
 Ritualism. Price, post free, is 2\d. 
 
 It has published the Rev. Dyson Hague's invaluable book, The 
 Protestantism of the Prayer Book, the most readable book on this 
 subject. Price, is 6d ; post free, is lod. 
 
 It has published a work by Mr. J. T. Tomlinson entitled, The 
 Prayer Book, Articles and Homilies: some forgotten facts in their 
 History which may decide their interpretation. Price $s net, post 
 free. 
 
 It has published a work by Mr. Walter Walsh entitled, The Secret 
 Histoj-y of the Oxford Movement, the first two editions of which were 
 sold at 10s 6d, but which is now issued at 3s 6d. 
 
 It has published " An Indictment of the Bishops, shewing how the 
 Church of England is being corrupted and betrayed ly them. Post 
 free, is 2d. 
 
 PROTESTANT VAN MISSION WORK IN THE 
 
 VILLAGES OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The State of the Villages where the Vans go. 
 
 The Rock puts the case of the Villagers somewhat in this way — ■ 
 Picture to yourself Churchman in a Country Village in which the 
 Church is in the hands of a Sacerdotalist. Try and realise the 
 deadening effect on their spiritual life week by week, not only 
 never hearing a sermon which does not irritate rather than help them, 
 but unable to attend a service in which they can heartily join, 
 debarred the Lord's Table because the ritual adopted symbolises a 
 
doctrine they hold to be false, and commits them to a worship which they 
 regard as idolatrous. Picture to yourselves their children being 
 slowly won by sensuous services and the persevering blandishments 
 of priestlings, so that a wall is growing up between them and those 
 they love most dearly — and then let us ask, Who will come to our 
 help to enable us to continue to carry the blessed Gospel to 
 these dark spots in rural England ? 
 
 Van Work during 1897. 
 
 Number of Protestant Publications distributed free . 
 Number of Protestant Publications sold . 
 Number of Villages and Towns visited . 
 Number of Gospel and Protestant Addresses given . 
 
 The Church Association appeals for support — 
 
 1. — Because it is necessary to oppose Ritualism, as helping to thrust 
 upon the unwary the Popery which was cast out at the Reformation, 
 and which made England cringe to a foreign potentate, kept back the 
 Bible from our people, deluged our land with superstition and 
 ignorance, and burned our Protestant Reformers. 
 
 2. — Because a powerful organisation is needed to oppose the 
 thoroughly organised efforts of those who are trying to undo the work 
 of the Reformation ; and it is the only organisation with the special 
 object of opposing the numerous agencies of Ritualism. 
 
 3. — Because the "English Church Union," the "Society of the 
 Holy Cross," the " Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament," the 
 "Association for the promotion of the Unity of Christendom," and 
 numerous Guilds, Brotherhoods, and Sisterhoods are actively pro- 
 moting the avowed object of " un-Protestantising " our Church. 
 
 4. — Because a large number of the clergy and laity have joined the 
 Church of Rome, and a much larger number have adopted thoroughly 
 Romish doctrines and practices while still continuing in the Church 
 of England ; therefore all Protestant clergy and laity should support a 
 Society exclusively devoted to the work of defending the Protestantism 
 of our Church. 
 
 5. — Because good Churchmanship, as well as good citizenship, 
 demands that the law now clearly decided should be obeyed. 
 
 6. — Because the Ritualists are endeavouring to bring English men, 
 women, and even children within the unhealthy and unhallowed 
 influences of the Confessional, to which the Association is most 
 resolutely opposed. 
 
 7. — Because though God alone can defend our Church and country 
 from all dangers, religious or national — and to Him must be all the 
 glory of giving us the victory — He expects His servants as His 
 instruments, to be "workers together with Him," to "earnestly 
 contend for the faith," and when His truth and honour are concerned, 
 to be careful that as a Church we are "jirst pure, then peaceable." 
 
 The Church Association enrols Associates at 55 ; Lay Members 
 at 10s ; Clerical Members at $s. 
 
 The work is greatly crippled for want of adequate funds. Urgent 
 appeals for help from aggrieved Parishioners are unwillingly rejected 
 
 1 16,003 
 40,721 
 
 2,322 
 
on this account. Increased support means increased work. The- 
 Council would say with Bishop Barrington "If the Reformation was 
 worth establishing it is worth maintaining, but it can only be main- 
 tained by a constant vigilance in support of those principles which 
 effected it in the sixteenth century." 
 
 All Special Donations and Subscriptions to carry on the work 
 indicated above should be sent to the Secretary, Mr. Henry Miller, 
 14, Buckingham Street, Strand, London ; or may be paid to the 
 account of the Association at the Bank of Messrs. Barclay & Co., 
 Limited, 1, Pall Mall East, S.W., and 54, Lombard Street, E.C., 
 London. 
 
 Post-Office Orders should be made payable to Henry Miller, and 
 drawn upon Charing Cross. 
 
 A PROTESTANT ELECTORAL ROLL. 
 
 The Council of the National Protestant League is anxious to obtain 
 in every constituency a Roll of 100 Voters who undertake not to- 
 pledge themselves to vote for any Candidate at the next Election until 
 after thev have been called together to consider, in conjunction with 
 the London Council of the National Protestant League, how their 
 united votes may be best used in the Protestant interest. 
 
 Persons willing to undertake the collection of One Hundred 
 Signatures should write to the Registrar, National Protestant 
 League, 
 
 Mr. HENRY MILLER, 
 
 14, Buckingham Street, 
 
 Strand, London. 
 
 For some of the Protestant Books, Pamphlets, and Tracts published 
 by the Church Association for present day reading, see next page. 
 
♦ 
 
 SOME FORGOTTEN FACTS IN THEIR HISTORY WHICH MAY 
 DECIDE THEIR INTERPRETATION. 
 
 By J. T. TOMLLrSTSQN. 
 
 Price 5s net, post free, 320 pp., with Photozincographic Illustrations 
 taken from the " Durham Book." 
 
 "A learned and lucid exposition of the Liturgy of the Church of England, its history and 
 
 meaning."— Western Times, June 6th, 1S97. 
 
 • ' Mr. Tomlinson is a scholarly and accurate student, who has in all cases carefully collated the 
 documents with the originals at Lambeth, Cambridge, Durham, and the British Museum, and 
 states clearly the grounds of the conclusions at which he has arrived." — Manchester Guardian, 
 June 29th, 1897. 
 
 "On such still vexed and important points as the Ornaments Rubric, the Injunctions and 
 Advertisements of Elizabeth, the Thirty-first Article, the ' Black Rubric,' and other heads, 
 ]\lr. Tomlinson has been at pains to collate carefully his documents with the originals in the 
 great public libraries, besides producing here photozincographs of the famous 'Durham Book.'" 
 —Bookseller, July 7th, 1S97. 
 
 " Ought, to become a text- book in every bishop's examination for Orders."— Rod:, July 9th, 1897. 
 
 " Mr. Tomlinson writes with learning, candour, good temper, and moderation, and it is hoped 
 that both sides will make themselves masters of his laborious investigations." — Churchman, 
 August, 1897. 
 
 " Mr. J - T. Tomlinson is well known as an acute and learned controversialist, and his latest 
 volume The Prayer Book, Articles, and Homilies (Elliot Stock) is not unworthy of him." — 
 T.'.e National Church, August 14th, 1S97. 
 
 A S3t of the Tracts (1 to 199) bound in 4 volumes, at Is per vol., 
 
 or post free 4s Id ; in cloth at Is Gd per vol.. or post free 6 8 
 
 These form a complete Library on t lie Ritualistic Controversy, and should 
 be in the hands of every Protestant Churchman. 
 Collected Tracts on Ritual. Edited or written by J. T. Tomlinson 
 
 2s, or post free 2 4 
 
 The Protestantism of the Prayer Book. By the Rev. Dyson 
 
 Hague, m.a. Cloth reduced to Is Qd, or post free 1 10 
 
 I'or popular reading the best book of its kind. 
 
 A Guide to Ecclesiastical Law, for Churchwardens and 
 
 Parishioners. Compiled by Henry Millbr. With Plates illustrating the 
 
 Vestments, &c. Pifth edition ] s, or post free 1 2£ 
 
 The Church Intelligencer, the Organ of the Church Association, 
 
 published monthly, price Id : Annual Subscription . . . free by post 1 6 
 
 Historical Grounds of the Lambeth Judgment. By J. T. 
 
 Tomlinson ... 6c?, or post free 0 7 
 
 The " Legal History " of Canon Stubbs. By J. T. Tomlinson 
 
 6d, or post free 0 8 
 
 The Great Parliamentary Debate in 1548 on the Lord's 
 
 Supper. By J. T. Tomlinson c>d, or post free 0 7 
 
 The Secret Work of the Ritualists. A Startling Exposure 
 
 2d, or post free 0 2£ 
 
 Prayers for the Dead. By the Rev. Dr. Wright 2d, or post free 0 2£ 
 The Greek Church. Her Doctrines and Principles con- 
 trasted with those of the Church of England. Is Union desirable or .possible? 
 A Lecture by the Rev. Joseph Bardsley, d.d. . . . 2d, or post free 0 2\ 
 "The Liturgy and the Eastward Position." Illustrated by 
 
 fifteen of the oldest known representations of the Lord's Supper. By J. T. 
 Tomlinson 2d, or post free 0 2 1 
 
 Union with Oriental Churches. By the Rev. H. E. Fox, m.a. 
 
 post free 0 1 
 
 The Reunion Question as it regards Protestant Churches. 
 
 By tbe Rev. Talbot A. L. Greaves post free 0 1 
 
 The Use of the term "Priest" in the Prayer Book 
 
 2d per doz., post free 0 2£ 
 
 The Modern Confessional. (Illustrated.) 2d per doz., post free o 2\ 
 Modern '* Mass " in the Church of England. (Illustrated) 
 
 2d per doz., post free 0 2\ 
 " Making Plain for all Time," a Pamphlet of 48 pp. post free 0 7 
 Society of the Holy Cross, with List of Members up 
 
 to 1897 lOrf per doz., or post free 1 0 
 
 CHURCH ASSOCIATION, 14, BUCKINGHAM STREET, STRAND, LONDON, 
 
/ 
 
I— 
 
 ■■nr 
 
 9F