Then came a cousin, and at length his consent was gained. tedious deliberation as to the means of conveying the young lady northwards. The marquis fixed on our old acquaintance Davidson for her protector on the journey, and Blackhal twice went a considerable distance to see him on the subject; but there was no moving him to so honourable an action; "his thoughts were all about his marriage with the widow of Artrachye-a woman passed threescore, and he some more." At last Blackhal got leave (which had before been refused) to go himself to Edinburgh; and, after overcoming all manner of difficulties and hindrances, he succeeded in bringing the noble orpheline safely to "the Bog of Gicht"-such was then the euphonious title of Gordon Castle. Our autobiographer's life was in great danger during this last visit to Scotland. The country, he tells us, was searched for him; and one foolish cub of lairdhood went about bragging of having killed him. He reached Aberdeen in safety, however, with his charge, and they embarked just in time to escape the execution of a warrant for the detention of their vessel. "We went to the ship in the road, and passed that night very jovially; and I, overjoyed to have her that much advanced in her voyage, did sing with a loud voice many songs-amongst others, Ulysses and the Siren "."-p. 185. The voyage was prosperous, although they had a narrow escape from some parliamentary ships off Scarborough. Louis XIII. was dead, according to our sagacious friend's expectation; his widow, now regent, received the young lady very favourably. "Since she will be governed by me," said her majesty, "I think it best that she go to a monasterye for some time, until she can speak French; for if I tak her now to the court, the maids (of honour, to wit) will gyre [tease] her for her want of language, and she appears to be one who will not suffer it patiently. In a monasterye she will learn piety as well as language; and piety will be very necessary to her at the court, where she will learn none at all. Ask once again, if she will be content to go to a monasterye for some time, until she learn both language and piety. We did so; and her answer was, that she would be content to go to a monasterye for some time, but that she would not be religieuse. The queen and all they who were in the cercle did laugh heartily, when we told her answer. Her majesty said, I love her the better that she tell her mind freely; and if she had said that she would be religieuse, I would not believe her. For how can 7 Probably the beautiful dialogue by Daniel, which is to be found in Percy's Reliques, series i. book 3. We have often wondered that no edition of Daniel's excellent poems has appeared among our late reprints. she have a mind to be religieuse who hath never yet seen any religieuses?"-p. 193. We, on the contrary, very much suspect (and that not without some experience) that there are young ladies who would wish for the life of "religieuses" precisely because they have had no opportunity of knowing what it is. The "living relict of two glorious martyrs," as, our author informs us, "her majesty called her," (thanks to his own version of the burning of Frendraught,) is put into a convent, and he returns to his tutorship in Normandy. Mademoiselle, however, was no sooner able to speak French than she rebelled against the conventual authorities. She was then placed with the Countess de Brienne, "maistresse of the court novices," where she proved equally intractable; and, as it was but too evident that her temper and manners were not yet suitable for a court, the queen goodnaturedly devised a plan for allowing her an opportunity of improvement. A canonry of Remiremont was procured for her, easily enough, as the benefice was little less imaginary than a bishopric in partibus, the wars having suppressed the religious foundations of Lorraine, and dispersed the members. "The benefice being procured, it was necessary that the ladye should learn to sing the canonical hours, which she could not learn so commodiously otherwhere as in a monasterye of regular chanoinesses. Whereupon Madame de Brienne, in the name of the queen, did carry her to Charon, an abbay of chanoinesses regulieres Lorrains for the most part, where she lived one year with no little mortification. For as the French proverb saith, à meschant, meschant et demy, if she was proud and wilful, the mother Magdalene, superieure of that monasterye, was yet more than she, and keeped her very low.”—p. 197. Hearing that she is ill, Father Blackhal goes to visit her at Charon in the beginning of Lent. The portress tells him that she cannot be seen until after Easter; whereupon he appeals in a higher quarter from "the pride of Mother Magdalene," and gains admittance, receiving, at the same time, an explanation of the reasons why Mademoiselle was thus sequestered. "The mother superieure made a statut that the pensionnaires should not speak in the parloir in Lent, and made read it at denner publicly. The rest of the pensionnaires did not oppose it, but she stud up and said, Madame, content yourself in making rules for your religieuses, and mak non for us who are not subject to you, for we will receive non of them; and then the rest, by her example, refused to accept it, and the mother, to punish her boldness, said, Because you were the first that was so bold as to oppose me, if any call for you, they shall not see you in Lent."-p. 198. The young lady is restored to health, our good Father having taken a journey all the way to Provins and back, in order to procure for her some medicinal roses, as an honest apothecary told him that the genuine article was not to be had in Paris. Then follow negotiations for getting her out of the convent, and placing her elsewhere; in which he is as zealous and indefatigable as if he had worthier object to benefit by his exertions; and it is more than hinted, that the grim old "superieure" had embezzled some of the money which had been put into her hands on account of her boarder. We do not care to bestow much space on the further fortunes of the ungracious damsel. Years pass on; she grows little wiser or better; she suffers in the troubles of the time; the queen has no room for her among the maids of honour; she is placed with various ladies in succession; each of these takes the first opportunity to get rid of her, as the morality of those days allowed people to get rid of a bad shilling; on one occasion, she is put into a carriage, and driven from one door to another, all of them closed against her-" being balloted to and fro, pour ladye," says the compassionate Blackhal, "like a tinniscourt-ball, near four houres." p. 208. At last, however, she got a place in the household of "Madame," and from that hour abandoned her stedfast old friend and protector,-listening to the tattle of servants, who misunderstood and misreported him, refusing to see him, neglecting him in a very dangerous sickness, and holding it sufficient excuse for all this, when taxed by a French gentleman with the ingratitude of her conduct, to say, "Monsieur, nous sommes mal ensemble." We have somewhat huddled up the conclusion of our abstract, which is perhaps already too long; and there is no need of any further comment. Let us content ourselves with thanking Mr. Stuart, for evoking from the MS. the memory of the "three noble ladies," and their ill-requited servant ;-and with expressing a hope that, among their more imposing and documentary publications, the Spalding Club may be able from time to time to send forth such lifelike and readable volumes, as this of the "Brieffe Narration." 8 We forget who the good man was, of whom his biographer relates it as something singularly virtuous, that he was not in the habit of passing off false coin which had come into his hands. ART. II.-1. Copy of the Correspondence between the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and the Irish Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in reference to the Application of a portion of the Perpetuity Fund to the building and repairing of Churches and Chapels. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, August 5, 1845. 2. A History of the Ancient Church in Ireland. By WILLIAM G. TODD, A.B., of Trinity College, Dublin; Curate of Kilkeedy, Diocese of Limerick. London: Burns. 3. Ireland and her Church: In three parts. By the Very Rev. RICHARD MURRAY, D.D., Dean of Ardagh. Second Edition. London: Seeley. If we are to infer the intentions of the present ministry in reference to the Irish branch of the established Church from the tone of their "conservative" supporters in Parliament—and such an inference does not seem very unreasonable-there can be little doubt that the most sanguine anticipations of Romanists will ere long be fully realized, and we need not despair of seeing the redoubtable" John of Tuam" as loud in praise as he now is in execration of Sir Robert Peel's policy. We can certainly conceive a state of things in which the Romish priesthood might be converted for a time into allies of the British Government. If it were distinctly understood that the claims of Romanism were to be fully and unreservedly conceded in all cases,-if this were the principle of Sir Robert Peel's party, and of every succeeding administration, and if this principle were steadily and uniformly carried out, we do not say indeed that Ireland would be pacified; but a Priesthood which found Government implicitly obedient to its behests might, for a time at least, extend its protection and patronage in return. And undoubtedly there are inducements to such a course. The state of Ireland has from the moment of the union of the two kingdoms been one of the most perplexing problems which has been placed before successive ministries; and it has gradually assumed a magnitude and an increased difficulty which seems to set at defiance all attempts at remedy or alleviation. And hence it is, that political parties apparently are anxious to set at rest this wearying and ever recurring question by some sweeping measure or measures which shall give satisfac tion to the most troublesome party in Ireland; and they are perfectly willing to sacrifice almost any thing for the sake of attaining peace and appeasing agitation; and feeling either unable or indisposed to compel obedience to the laws, they are of opinion that it would be advisable to abrogate those laws and institutions which are the objects of popular enmity and agitation. This is avowedly and openly the policy of the Radicals and of the Whigs. It has been very plainly put forward by many of the so-called "conservative" adherents of the ministry, and without any expression of dissent from the leaders of their party as far indeed as the intentions of the Ministry, which have been studiously involved in obscurity, can be collected, they seem to be in the same direction: and in fine, "Young England" adds the weight of its authority, such as it is, to this very liberal and conciliatory course. There are thus at least four sections of the political world which concur in the expediency or the justice of conceding all the demands of the Irish Romanists; and it is supposed that this system of concession will have the effect of putting an end to the dangerous political agitation and organization which now prevail. "Justice to Ireland," which is one of the fashionable phrases of the day, means "Concession to Romanism;" "equality of rights," a still more fashionable phrase, means "spoliation of the Church." Let these be the principles of our State policy, and we doubt not that the Romish priesthood will, on such terms, employ their influence in aid of the Government, as far as they can safely venture to do so-until they have attained their objects. But we are not about to enter here on the broad question of Irish policy, or to calculate the results which may follow in the long run from such a course as that which we have been alluding to. We are not about to weigh the comparative influence of Priests and Demagogues, or to offer a conjecture as to which will finally prevail, and absorb the other, supposing them to be for a time disunited. We are not about to examine whether a "Saxon" government, and a "Protestant" dynasty, can successfully compete in the popular influences which appeal most forcibly to the Irish heart, with demagogues whose watchwords are "Ireland" and "Catholicism." We are of opinion that as agitation in Ireland did not spring from the material wants of the lower classes, but from deep-rooted national antipathies, both religious and political, and from a thirst for aggrandizement, so it will not be quelled or repressed by any improvements which may take place in reference to mere material interests; and the whole course of experience goes to demonstrate this truth, that the demands of |