That a broad clown's back turned broadly to the glory of the stars. From "Lady Geraldine's Courtship," by Mrs. Browning.-See "Books of the Month" in this number of Hours at Home. within the past three centuries,"* and as A holy manifest of faith and liberty."† cathedral of Notre Dame, the élite of the And now, Father Hyacinthe is our guest. Hardly had the ink dried wherewith he wrote his protest when he embarked on the steamship Pereire, and, after a remarkably short passage, landed on our shores, to enjoy a period of rest, and to see for himself something of the working of our free institutions. Father Hyacinthe is in the full vigor of physical and intellectual life. He is forty-two years of age; about five feet six inches in height; of a square, wellknit, erect person; inclining neither to leanness nor to obesity; a splendidly proportioned head, which, when at rest, slightly inclines on one side; a massive and serene, yet thoughtful, brow; wellarched eyebrows, delicately pencilled; an aquiline nose; an exquisitely chiselled mouth and chin, in which firmness and spirituality are well indicated, with a dash of humour; his eyes, partially closed, -and the left eye rather more so than the right, for he is very near-sighted, have a steady, penetrating gaze, tempered by gentleness, which varies in character as the conversation itself varies; now lighted by the fire of an earnest eloquence, and now toned down to the tenderness of Christian pity: such is the personal outline of the eloquent ex-monk. Of his position, as regards his faith, we can give no more correct, no more satisfactory view, than by placing before our readers a free yet correct translation of his letter to Rome, already alluded to; and, although the daily papers have given a version of this letter, we feel that its production in these pages calls for no apology. For, in the first place, we think it deserves to be preserved as a historical monument, and as a specimen of true Christian boldness and eloquence; and in the next, it is a necessary prologue to the remarks which are to follow. It is characterized by Rev. E. de Pressensé as "one of the greatest religious acts accomplished To the R. F. General of the Barefooted MY VERY REVEREND FATHER :-During the five years through which my ministry at Notre-Dame of Paris has lasted, and despite the open attacks and secret denunciations to which I have been exposed, your esteem and confidence have not for a single instant failed me. Of this I preserve numerous proofs written by your own hand, and which are addressed to my preaching as much as to my person. Whatever may happen, I shall ever retain a grateful recollection of these. Now, however, by a sudden change, the cause of which I will not seek for in your heart, but in the machinations of a party all-powerful at Rome, you accuss what you encouraged, you blame what you were wont to approve, and you insist upon my uttering language or preserving a silence which would no longer be the full and loyal expression of my conscience. I hesitate not for a moment. With utterances biassed by command, or mutilated by reticence, I can no more occupy the pulpit of Notre-Dame. For this I express iny regret to the intelligent and courageous Bishop who threw it open to me and who kept me there, notwithstanding the ill-will of the men of whom I have already spoken. I likewise express my regret to the imposing congregation who there surrounded me with their attention, their sympathies, I had almost said with their friendship. I should be unworthy of the audience, of the Bishop, of my conscience, and of God, if I consented to play before them so unworthy a part. At the same time I withdraw from the convent where I dwell, and which, under the novel conditions imposed upon me, is converted into a prison of the soul. In so doing, I am not unfaithful to my * "L'un des plus grands actes religieux qui aient été accomplis depuis trois siècles.” “Sainte parole de foi et de liberté.” vows; I promised monastic obedience, but within the limits of uprightness of conscience, of personal dignity, and of respect for my ministry. I promised it under the sanction of that superior law of justice and of Royal liberty which is, according to the apostle St. James, the Christian's true law. It was the more perfect practice of this holy liberty that I sought for in the cloister, more than ten years ago, in the fervor of an enthusiasm free from all human calculation,—I dare not add, devoid of all youthful illusion. If, in exchange for my sacrifices, I am now offered nothing but fetters, to reject them becomes not only a right, but a duty. The present hour is a solemn one. The Church is passing through one of the most violent, the most obscure, and the most decisive crises of her existence here below. For the first time in three centuries, an œcumenical council is not only convoked but declared necessary; these are the very words of the Holy Father. In such a time, it becomes not a preacher of the Gospel, even should he be the least, to consent to be silent, like unto those "dumb dogs" of Israel, unfaithful guardians, of whom the Prophet reproachfully says that they cannot bark: canes muti, non valentes latrare." 66 The saints were never silent. I am not one of them, yet do I know myself to be one of their race-filii sanctorum sumus-and it has ever been my ambition to follow in their footsteps, and to shed my tears, and, if need be, my blood where theirs have been shed. I raise, therefore, in the presence of the Holy Father, and of the Council, my protest as a Christian and as a priest against those doctrines and those prac tices which are called Roman, but which are not Christian, and which, in their encroachments, ever increasingly bold and destructive, tend to change the constitution of the Church, the substance as well as the form of her teaching, and even the very spirit of her piety. I protest against the impious, no less than insensate, divorce which is sought to be ob tained between the Church, which is our mother as to eternity, and society in the nineteenth century, whose sons we are as to time, and to which we likewise owe duties and affections. I protest against that still more radical and fearful opposition to human nature, which, in its most indestructible and its holiest aspirations, is attacked and driven to rebellion by these false doctors. Above all, I protest against the sacrilegious perversion of the Gospel of the Son of God himself, of which the spirit as well as the letter is trodden under foot by the pharisaism of the new law. My most profound conviction is, that if France in particular, and the Latin races in general, are given up to social, moral, and religious anarchy, it is chiefly attributable, not indeed to Catholicism, but to the manner in which Catholicism has long been understood and practised. I appeal to the Council which is about to assemble, to seek remedies for our crying evils, and to apply them with no less firmness than gentleness. But, should certain apprehensions, which I will not entertain, be realized—should the august assembly have no more freedom in its deliberations than it has had in the preliminaries-should it, in a word, be deprived of those attributes which are essential to an oecumenical council, then would I cry to God and to man, to demand another, convened, not in the spirit of parties, but in the Holy Spirit, faithfully representing the Church universal, not the silence of some and the oppression of others. "For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am overcast; astonishment hath taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" (Jer. viii. 21, 22.) And lastly, I appeal to Thy tribunal, O Lord Jesus! Ad tuum, Domine Jesu, tribunal appello. It is in Thy presence that I write these lines; it is at Thy feet, after much prayer, much reflection, much suffering, much waiting-it is at Thy feet that I sign them. I have this conviction, that howsoever man may condemn them on earth, Thou wilt approve them in heaven. FR. HYACINTHE, Superior of the Barefooted Carmelites of Paris, second definer of the Order in the province of Avignon. Paris-Passy, September 20, 1869. This noble protest soars high above denominational preoccupations. It is the voice of an earnest Catholic Christian, not anxious to break loose from the ties that bind him to his Church, but painfully conscious of the canker that is gnawing its vitals. It is the voice of a Christian orator who declines to prevaricate, or to be silenced. It is the voice of a Christian philosopher, who has witnessed the working of the Spirit of Truth in individuals and countries of the Protestant faith, and refuses to deny them a place in the Christian Church. To be able to appreciate, even faintly, the strength of conviction and the depth of conscientiousness that are evidenced by the foregoing protest, we must bear in mind the early influences of the seminary, the twenty years and upwards of conventual life, the wonderful attractions of a successful pulpit oratory, which have placed at father Hyacinthe's feet, for the past five years, throngs of the worthiest and most enlightened of the sons and daughters of France. We must remember the ties of admiration, affection, and respect, that have bound to him the purest and best among the clergy of France-ties that are rudely snapped, in the great majority of cases, for few in the Romish Church are able to take so bold a flight, and to give conscience precedence over priestly rule. This is evidently the work of God in the soul. What He has begun He will finish. To man we would say-Hands off! Whatever errors, of a secondary importance, may still cluster about that soul, they will, without human interference, be swept away by the besom of progressive light. The Sun is there hidden, it may be, by a few clouds; but these the breezes of heaven will disperse, and, in warmth and brightness unob scured, it must emerge from its temporary screen. We have described the person of this great and good man. We will add a few words descriptive of his mental and moral characteristics, as they have presented themselves to us since his arrival in this country. He has the simplicity (we use the word in its noblest sense) of a child. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." Of the spirit of the world and its money-making habits he knows and wants to know nothing. "For over twenty years I have been connected with monastic life, and our rule is to own nothing individually. I know nothing of money matters, and desire to have as little as possible to do with the sub-. ject." Such is his language, when any approach is made to financial details. He has received brilliant offers that would have tempted most men to break through the reserve that has marked his course since his landing on these shores. They have been respectfully declined. "I came here to rest, to wait, and to observe. I voluntarily withdrew from the pulpit of Notre Dame, where I might have preached Advent. I have determined to await the issue of the Council. There is no reason for my departing from this rule of silence which I have imposed upon myself." In no individual have we ever seen combined so much modesty, simplicity, genius, kindliness, and firmness of purpose. He reminds us of the spire of the cathedral of Strasburg-lofty, delicate, graceful, bold, and firm. Nothing seems to surprise him more. than the manner in which private documents find their way into the public prints. He presents a letter of introduction to Fernando Wood, and the next day he reads its principal contents in the World. He receives a telegram, reads and pockets it: the following day it is. published, verbatim, in another paper; he hands H. W. Beecher a line of introduction, and, before another sun has set, it is blazoned to the world in print. "Il |