To the process of inward suffering, of secret mortification of soul, through which the heart of man must pass before the storm of its sinful passions is succeeded by the great calm of the peace of God, the author of these poems is no stranger. Many of the most touching and deeply devotional pieces in the collection, have their origin in the chastening sorrows which constitute the discipline of the Christian life. Among the poems of this class we note particularly the one entitled, "Hearts which have no Echoes," which contains passages of great beauty. detached stanzas is all we can make room for :

"Some hearts lie wither'd in their transient spring
Long ere the yellow leaf of change began ;
Seldom to them does human summer bring
A beaming welcome from the soul of man.

"Cinctured as by a preternat'ral spell,

Languid their pulse of low dejection beats;

Yet, none who mark their smile-clad face, could tell ·
How dark the mood that back from man retreats!

"And thus, there is a loneliness of heart,

In all deep souls a never-enter'd shrine,
Where neither love, nor friendship takes a part,
And no eyes witness, but, Jehovah! Thine.
"But shall we mourn, that each is circled round
With veiling myst'ry from the ken of man?
That waters deep within the soul abound

No word has fathom'd, and no wisdom can.

No, rather let such merciful disguise

Move the just thinker into grateful prayer ;
For who could live beneath terrestrial eyes,
If such could witness all secreted there !

A few

A poet who like Mr. Montgomery enters deeply into the hidden life of the inner man, and into the spirit of that love which binds together in Christ all the members of His body mystical, is not likely to confine his sympathies to the existence of the Church visible on earth. His thoughts and musings follow the Church invisible into the mysterious mansions of the spirit-world. On this subject there is a passage of exceeding beauty and originality of conception, in the poem entitled "The first Soul in Heaven :

"In hush'd eternity alone,

Before all creatures were,

Jehovah held His awful throne
Unworshipp'd by a prayer.

"There was no space, nor scene, nor time,
Nor aught by names we call;

But, center'd in Himself sublime
Was God, the All in All!

"But through eternity there ran
A thrill of coming change,
And lustrous Shapes of life began
Around His Throne to range.

"Radiant with rapture, pure as bright
Angelic myriads rise,

And glow and glisten in the light
Of God's approving eyes.

"In volumed waves of golden sound
Roll from celestial lyres

Those swelling chants, that peal around
From new-created choirs.

"But, hark! amid the shining throng
Of Shapes who arch their wings,
A single Voice another song
With mortal cadence sings:

"Alone he seems, and chants apart
In unexpected notes

A music, where the grateful heart
In strains of feeling floats:

"A beauteous Soul! whose seraph brow

Is bright with glory's hue,

Lo! angels pause to hear him now
Their harping praise outdo.

"Their choral rapture swell'd as deep
As purity could pour;

But they, who have not learn'd to weep,
Could never God adore

"With such a burst of whelming love
As earth's first martyr sang,-
When, glory to the Lord above!
The voice of Abel rang.

"Angelic harps their key-note found
In God, as great and good;

But Abel's heart did beat and bound
As only sinner's could!

"Worthy the Lamb! who shall be slain;
Redemption crowns my song,

Ye seraphim! your notes retain,
But these to me belong.""

With this extract we must bring our anthology from this interesting and attractive volume to a close. We had noted much more that we would gladly have transferred to our pages; -and many are the topics on which the rich materials before us might have tempted us to dilate. But we felt that we must curb the current of our thoughts, and that in justice both to our readers and to the author himself, we ought rather to furnish the former with illustrations of the tone and character of the present collection of poems, than occupy our space with dissertations of our own. In conclusion, we desire to tender to Mr. Montgomery our sincere thanks for the enjoyment and edification which the rich stores of spiritual truth and poetic beauty contained in his volume have afforded us, and to express our fervent hope, not only that the holy thoughts and devout meditations so eloquently breathed forth by him, may prove instinct with life to others as they have been to us; but that the benevolent object aimed at by the author in devoting one-half of the emoluments arising from the sale of these poems to the funds of that admirable institution, the Consumption Hospital, may meet at the hands of the public with all the support which its intrinsic excellence, no less than the constant and powerful advocacy of its interests by Mr. Montgomery, both as a preacher and as a poet, so abundantly deserves.

ART. V.-I. The First Annual Report of the Catholic Poor School Committee, established in the year of Grace 1847, by the Right Reverend the Vicars Apostolic in England and Wales. London: Printed for the Catholic Poor-School Committee; sold by Burns, Dolman, &c. &c., and by all Catholic Booksellers. 1848.

2. The Catholic School. London Published by the Catholic Poor-School Committee; sold by Burns, Dolman, &c. &c., and by all Catholic Booksellers. Nos. I.-VI. August, October, November, 1848. January, April, May, 1849.

THE Government scheme for supporting popish education in England, by aid from the parliamentary education grant, was briefly noticed, as far as it appeared on the face of the Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education, in the review which we gave in our last number of the history and proceedings of that body. Since then evidence of the most authentic kind has reached our hands, respecting the plans of the Roman Catholics, and the use which they propose to make of the concessions obtained by them at the hands of a secular education board, alike insensible to the claims of truth and careless of the advances of error. A digest of that evidence we now proceed to lay before our readers, in the hope that the further development of a scheme fraught with mischief and danger to the cause of truth and to the best interests of the country, may yet be arrested by the veto of the legislature, under the influence of such a decided expression of public opinion as the exposure of the movements and designs of the popish party cannot fail to provoke.

"The First Annual Report of the Catholic Poor-School Committee," just published, enlightens us upon three essential points : the internal arrangements of the Roman Catholic body for promoting and directing popular education; the character intended to be given to the schools established under those arrangements; and, lastly, the facilities given to the Roman Catholic body by the Government, through the Committee of Council on Education.

As regards the first point, the internal arrangements of the Roman Catholic body for promoting and directing popular education, it is impossible to peruse that Report, and the different papers in the periodical devoted to the subject, to which we have referred at the head of this article, without being forcibly struck

by the entire and absolute control exercised over the whole movement by the popish hierarchy in this country. The "Catholic Poor-School Committee" owes its very existence entirely to their mandate; its members are the nominees of the Bishops acting in concert with each other.

The eight Vicars Apostolic, in a document addressed on the 27th of September, 1847, (three months, be it observed, before the date of the Minute of the Committee of Council on the subject of Roman Catholic Schools), to the Chairman and the Acting Committee of the Catholic Institution, announce to them the formation of this new body, and "respectfully recommend" to them that they will," without any unnecessary delay, cause to be passed over to the credit of the gentlemen of the subjoined List whatever sum of money may be standing in their books exclusively for the purpose of education; it being the unanimous intention of the bishops to carry on henceforward the great work of the Religious Education of the Children of the Poor by the assistance, and through the instrumentality, of this new subjoined Committee'." The List in question contains twenty-four names, subdivided into eight sub-committees, one for each district. Each sub-committee consists of an ecclesiastic, and two laymen, who are designated in the same document as "the gentlemen, lay and clerical, who, from each of our respective districts, have kindly consented to assist us in this great work of education." In a letter of the bishops to the chairman of the "Catholic Poor-School Committee," it is said that " they have at our (the bishops') request engaged" in the work. Dr. Wiseman, in his Pastoral, exhorts thefaithful of the London district," to contribute towards the funds of "that committee to which all the Vicars Apostolic of England have agreed to entrust the interests of our Poor Schools," and expatiates on the merits of "this excellent institution, composed of distinguished ecclesiastics and lay gentlemen, selected from each district"." The Pastoral of the Vicar Apostolic of the central district, in speaking of the Committee, says, "At the head of the society stand the whole of the episcopal body in these two realms." The Address of the Committee itself in March, 1848, in accounting for its origin, asserts that "the interest of the bishops in Catholic' education led to the appointment of the Catholic Poor-School Committee." Lastly, the Circular of the Committee 'to the "Catholic Clergy" of England and Wales describes it totidem verbis as "The Catholic Poor-School Committee, NOMINATED BY THE VICARS APOSTOLIC of England and Wales "."

1 Report, pp. 29, 30.

3 Report, p. 34.

5 Report, p. 55.

Report, p. 33.

Report, p. 36.

Report, p. 56.