Margaret had no opportunity of carrying out this counsel in England, but when she died there were twenty-two English nuns at S. Ursula's. At S. Monica's, where, as we shall see, most of them migrated, there were many nuns whose family names will always occupy the first place in the lists of English sufferers for religion. The earliest mentioned are the two nieces, Helen and Mary, of Cardinal Allen; Bridget Wiseman, Margaret Garnet [sister of Father Garnet], and Dorothy Rookwood. Then come the names of Eleanor Garnet, Anne Cletherow [or Clitheroe ?, daughter of the martyr at York, and Elizabeth Shirley, who wrote Mother Margaret's life. Mrs. Clement, her mother, is well known as having fed the Charterhouse monks [Carthusians] imprisoned by Henry VIII. She had come disguisel as a milkmaid with her pail filled with food, and afterwards had removed the tiling and fed the prisoners from the roof; but when the gaoler had been afraid, and refused her all means of admittance, these Fathers had slowly starved to death, bound hand and foot to posts or wooden pillars in the wretched prison. In the reign of Edward VI. the Clements migrated to the Low Countries, being the first to leave England to secure the practice of religion after its fall into schism. A beautiful custom is mentioned incidentally at Mechlin [Malines], where the Clements had removed from Bruges, of singing the anthem of Corpus Christi every Thursday in the cathedral, at which Mrs. Clement never failed to be present with her children. Just before her death she called her husband and told him that the martyred Charterhouse monks had come about her bed and had called her to come away with them; and the next day being Thursday, she bade her son make ready her apparel to go to the anthem in the cathedral. He soothed her, trying to put the idea out of her mind, but she still persisted that by God's grace she would be present at the anthem, which came to pass.

"And so it fell out, that she from that moment, drawing more and more to her end, as soon as the bell of S. Rumold's began to toll to the anthem of Corpus Christi, she gave up her happy soul into the hands of God, thereby showing to have foretold the hour of her death, and that she departed with that blessed company to Heaven, who had so long expected her, to be partaker of their glory, as no doubt but she is. Her body was buried in the Cathedral Church of S. Rumold, behind the high altar, before the memory of our Blessed Saviour lying in His grave, where also her husband was laid by her within two years after."

The minority in the community at S. Ursula's appealed against Mother Margaret's election to Rome, because she and Elizabeth Woodford were the only English nuns in the house; but the commissioners who were sent to inquire into the facts confirmed the election, and thus the youngest and least considered of Thomas Clement's eleven children became the superior of eighty persons. [In 1566.]

The first thing the new prioress did was to reform the house, which perhaps the minority had foreseen, for inclosure seems to have been very imperfectly kept. Mother Margaret's strictness was carried out to the letter of the rule, and to all; for she refused leave to Mrs. Allen to see her daughter when sick, even when the archbishop had given her a written permission or "licence." She assigned as her reason that the community was mixed of Flemish and English,

and as the Flemings had often been refused, it was not fair to break the inclosure now for an English nun. In spite of or rather because of-her strictness, Mother Margaret was much beloved by her nuns, though they were of many nations and different classes in life, and certainly lived very hardly.

"The bread was of coarse rye, their beer exceeding small. Their ordinary fare was a mess of porridge made of herbs called warremus [?] sodden together with water only, and therewith they added at dinner a little piece of black beef about the greatness of two fingers, and at night for supper they had only a dish of some three or four little pieces of mutton sodden with broth, which was to pass a table of ten nuns, and to this was added bread and butter, and nothing else."

This tempting fare was exchanged in Lent for porridge and half a herring each nun, and peas dressed with lamp-oil. Once a week the mayor's wife gave them in charity a mess of salt fish with some salad oil," which was accounted great cheer." Their collation was a piece of black [rye] bread, small beer, and once a week a piece of gingerbread. The Flemish nuns suffered in cheerful silence seeing their English sisters better fed with white bread and oatmeal porridge, for, with that characteristic weakness of digestion which seems allotted to our race through many ages, they could not eat the Flemish food, and would simply have starved upon it. The English ladies, however, were not a whit behind the rest in industry and cheerful obedience. They shared in the general wash, including the foreign mode of beating the linsey-woolsey habits, &c., till all their bones ached, steeped the linen in lye which took the skin off their hands, made up the heavy batches of rye bread, mended and kept the paved courts in order, and swept the convent. They also wove the coarse linen in clumsy looms, which even the nun historian says was 66 a man's work, and very hard for tender women." The English nuns also, being young, helped the old Dutch religions in their cells to go to bed, and swept their cells with joy and humility for God's sake, such as might in the world have been their chamber-maids."

This insight into convent life of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries shows us how far harder and more painful it was, and what heroic courage the multitude of English women showed who were not only driven away from their beloved country, their own surroundings, and the very use of their language, but had also to suffer the additional hardships of new customs, habits, climate, food, and occupations. They had not even daily recreation, which is so great an outlet and assistance to heavily-tasked nature; but were allowed to talk two afternoons only in the week, and during the whole of Advent and Lent had no recreation at all. They had then also a much longer and more cumbrous office than the Roman rite, and got up at midnight for matins.

Although the English nuns were saved from religious persecution, they suffered many things in the Low Countries. During Mother Margaret's prioress ship the town was several times assaulted, once by the Prince of Orange, and filled with soldiers. Their convent was once flooded to the altar, when the Blessed Sacrament had to be carried up into a garret, and they endured successively both pestilence and famine. In this last affliction the community was saved by English alms. The account of Mother Margaret's

jubilee, or 50th year of profession, is very curious, and is most quaintly and simply told. It was in the year 1606, and a general contribution was made, to be able to show as grand a function as possible; part of which—" a whole set of viols" played at mass-would have greatly disturbed the equanimity of some of the Bishops of our own day. The choir and church were all "hanged" with costly stuffs, green cords, and pretty devices. "After mass the crown was set upon the head of the nun of fifty years, and she was led into the choir by two of the 'ancients.'" The rejoicings were kept up all the week in various religious ways, and the townspeople were invited to the convent to pay "the old Mother" their respects. The Sub-prioress gave leave for all these preparations, which if Mother Margaret had known she would have "letted." The various religious houses of Mechlin played their part by sending their choristers in turn each day to sing, "and so the whole week was brought about with great jubilation.”

The foundation of S. Monica's, the offshoot of S. Ursula's, seems to have sprung entirely from the presence of the English nuns ; and although Mother Margaret had then been blind for six years, she willingly offered herself for "the naked house, which had nothing but the bare walls." First, there was a chapter, and the nuns about to leave humbly acknowledged their faults in the usual manner, "the old mother" leading the way, "and with such fervour desired pardon for whatever might in the time of her government have given them cause of offence, that she made them almost all to weep." Then the Dutch mother followed, and asked pardon for whatever might have disgusted the English nuns. After this there was a Messa cantata and Communion, and a general leave-taking. They went through the streets two and two, in hukes (cloaks), and "the people ran out of their houses to look at them, and said, 'Oh! they knew the old mother of S. Ursula's,' who came last, led by the Reverend Father Fen on the one side, and Mr. Worthington on the other." Mr. Worthington carried them in triumph to his own house, where he had prepared, unknown to them, a great dinner for these simple, good women ; and the Jesuit Father Talbot, Rector of the English College, met them there, and brought with him "two great tarts, the one of minced meat made costly, the other of fruit very good." Mr. Allen had these "tarts" sent on to the convent, where they served the sisters for a whole week. After they had gone on to the new convent and dressed the altar, and Father Fen had blessed some holy water, the nuns arranged their beds and furniture, and the rooms for Father Fen and the male servant Roger. They had laid in a barrel of beer and a batch of bread, but when the supper-time came, and each nun sat down to her one egg and bread and butter, they found that there was not even salt in the house, to eat with the eggs.

The eighth nun was Frances Herbert, the daughter of Sir Edward Herbert, the ancestor of the Powys family, and later on the Bishop sent eight more from S. Ursula's, after which the convent was established in its usages, and began to flourish. "The old mother," after welcoming her two great-nieces— Copleys of Gatton in Surrey-to the convent [1610], was taken ill one day in choir, when, carrying out her courageous endurance to the last, she would not move till the office was ended, and died four days afterwards in great peace.

Those among our readers-and they are many-in whose ears the name of "Mother Margaret" is a pleasant household word, will be deeply interested in every detail of this former "valiant woman," whose sound English Catholic stock was also, like hers of our own time, fed and strengthened by examples of Flemish virtue and self-denial.

Father Morris has further done us excellent service by his clear summaries, introducing each paper.

It is not possible to give even the slightest account of the remaining contents of Father Morris's volume, though the chronicle of S. Monica's convent alone would well occupy many pages, and the short extracts from Sir Henry Tichborne's manuscript writings will be read with the deepest interest by all.

Looking back to the splendid achievements of the English Catholic families, so filled with heroic virtue, chivalrous daring, and storied names, a certain sadness creeps upon us as we hesitatingly ask ourselves whether our present and future prospects are likely to equal the annals of the past? Whether this faith, loyalty, and self-denial, or powers of "enduring hardness" in our growing members are as conspicuous as in their forefathers? It is well at times to measure our progress and growth by some high standard, and Father Morris has performed a singularly opportune work by bringing the English Catholic body face to face with the splendid deeds of their forefathers of a troubled generation.

Sequel to the Conversion of the Teutonic Race. S. Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. By Mrs. HOPE, author of "Early Martyrs," &c. With a Preface by the Rev. JOHN BERNARD DALGAIRNS, &c. Washbourne.

IN

1872.

N our April notice of the first portion of this work, "The Conversion of the Franks and the English," we adverted to its special value as showing the Divine vitality and abidance of the Church as put forth in her history, and her identity-though manifold in circumstance with herself in all ages. In his admirable Preface to the "Sequel," Father Dalgairns touches upon the same point, and goes on to urge that history must be told as a whole, and not with a view to "edification." We rejoice that such a voice has been raised against a certain one-sidedness of narration, which has before now done some mischief. If history had always been studied and written in full, whether "edifying" or not, what we may now call Döllingerism could never have triumphantly pointed to its "discoveries" of historical truth.

"The origin of this book," Father Dalgairns says, "lay in a deep conviction on the part of both author and editor that the great proof of the Divine origin of the Church is its history. I believe that the more the grand story of the Catholic Church is known, the more it will be certain that the Christian revelation lies historically in the Church in communion with Rome; that

that has ever been the centre of its life, and that all bodies out of it are visibly sects in a state of dissolution and death..... History is often written as if its end were edification. It must be remembered, however, that in the long run truth is always edifying, though isolated facts may often be scandalous and startling. . . . . To slur over scandals is to omit the enemy in the story of a fight. On the whole, the career of the Church has been one of most marvellous victory, and it only requires to be told courageously as a whole in order to make this clear."

The story of the gain and loss of the Church, again, which it is so marvellous to follow in its ebb and flow of grace, is touched upon in this preface in one or two masterly pages, which we much wish had been prolonged. Of the "Sequel" itself we shall not now speak at length, as we intend to refer to it more at large in connection with the preceding volume. It opens with the first English missions of the Northumbrian converts, who spread over Ireland, and were there received most generously and supplied with "food, books, and teachers, free of all cost." One of these pilgrims was the famous Bishop of Lichfield, S. Chad. Another, Egbert, who had intended going to convert the Frisians, but was ordered in a vision to give it up, went to Iona [716], and persuaded the Celtic monks to give up their obstinate adherence to their way of keeping Easter, and observing the peculiar tonsure which was called the "tonsure of Simon Magus." S. Willibrord took up Egbert's work with the Frisians, but went afterwards to the Court of France, where Pepin Heristal was then Mayor of the Palace. S. Willibrord was eventually a bishop, and died in 744, leaving his work to Winfred, a Devonshire man [Crediton], who is better known as S. Boniface, and who had been given to the Benedictine Abbey of Exminster, near Exeter, when he was six years old. This extraordinary man combined the chief best qualities of an Englishman. Brave and fearless as a lion, exceedingly modest and unpretentious, silent until called upon to preach or instruct, and then urging Christian truths with a power of nervous eloquence and a force of illustration which brought crowds to his teahing. Winfred was soon known as the most famous expounder of the Scriptures in England. A train of monks and abbesses eagerly sought his expositions of the Divine teaching, and to the common people he explained the parables of our Lord with singular force and practical application. In this way Winfred lived as a simple monk not in holy orders till he was two-and-thirty, when his superiors besought him to be ordained priest. Consenting with reluctant humility, he reverently confined himself to one mass daily, though many priests were accustomed, till the eleventh century, to say three or more. In 716 Winfred embarked on his missionary work in Friesland and in Germany, where the account of his labours is beautifully told by Mrs. Hope. Throughout his three years' travels and labours in Friesland, Winfred seems to have looked upon it as a merely temporary resting-place, and to have been continually urged and guided by Divine suggestions, as a true Apostle, to extend his labours to the whole German people, and especially to the "Old Saxons," in whom our English race has its source. The tone of Winfred's mind may be best discerned by a letter written to a young man called Nidhard, to inspire him with a great love and reverence for studying the Holy Scriptures.