for a previous period of spiritual life; but in the coun sels of God the words had been addressed to her, not in

word but in power, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." The earlier part of this period, up to 1830, was to the church a time of unexampled temporal prosperity; scriptural schools were established, churches and glebehouses built by liberal grants, or with liberal assistance, from the government, and she was enabled to obey the command, "Lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes." And when the spiritual awakening began, the very apathy of the ruling powers was made to work together for good. Amidst much ridicule, disapprobation, and dislike, the work of God was suffered to proceed; the government, and even the prelates, with one or two remarkable exceptions, suffering preferment to flow in the ordinary channels without regard to the religious character of the aspirants, the most opposite characters being ordained side by side, and promoted with equal steps, and for the same reasons, connection and family influence; and thus some of the brightest lights of the Irish church were placed in situations of importance, by those who opposed their principles and ridiculed their devotedness.

"With the increased religious feeling of the nation, a sense of decency seems to have influenced the government. It had been customary to promote distinguished members of the University with regard to their literary merits; an edition of the classics, or a treatise on science, being appropriately rewarded with the oversight of the church; and apparently in pursuance of this course, though for a very different kind of merit, Dr. Magee, author of the great work on the Atonement, was appointed to the see of Raphoe; but there can be little

It

doubt, that his zealous and Christian superintendence of that diocese, led to his promotion to the archdiocese of Dublin, and the Protestants of Ireland hailed with surprise and delight what they hoped would be the commencement of a better era. Even had the ministry that appointed his grace continued, there was not much to encourage these hopes, but before long, the Irish Protestants found themselves, as a body, placed under the ban of the government, education taken out of the hands of their clergy, the church robbed and insulted, and the door of preferment closed against all who would not, by countenancing the bill in favour of national education, act in opposition to their vows, and betray the charge it was given them to keep. is a remarkable combination of facts, that from the accession of Elizabeth to the year 1831, with the exception of the times of the great rebellion, and the reign of James II., the Church of Ireland, as an establishment, had always received (though, as we have seen in general, with little zeal or efficiency) the avowed countenance and support of the English government. We have seen, too, that during the long period of which Bishop Mant treats, she had assumed a secular rather than a religious aspect; and though, at the commencement of this century a better spirit awoke among her inferior clergy, it was not till about the last ten years preceding 1831, that the church, as a body, could be regarded as standing forward in her really spiritual capacity, or with a missionary spirit, and it was just then, and not till then, that the long-afforded countenance was withdrawn, ten of the bishoprics suppressed, and her clergy impoverished and insulted. England supported the church establishment of Ireland in all its full privileges as long as it was not a religious body; the moment it became so,

she set her face against it. A short and remarkable respite was granted us. The Earl De Grey came over, bound not to discountenance the policy with regard to education, which showed that England despised the church and her ministers, and despised the word on which that church was founded; yet he not only refused to persecute, but exercised his patronage with a single eye to the glory of God, and the well-being of the land he was sent to govern. The blessing of God in a remarkable manner rested on his administration, but his was not the policy approved by England; he was recalled, or teazed into resignation, and a sacrifice of the first principles of Christian truth again demanded as the condition of preferment within the Christian church.'

THE IRISH PEARL.

No. VII.

THERE was a long silence; when Father Eustace had concluded his narrative, he buried his face within his hands in deep and solemn self-communion, which, had I even been inclined, I could not have dared to interrupt; but far, far otherwise: wrapt in thought myself, this world and its fleeting interests had passed away; and, following that bright spirit in its upward flight, I seemed to realize the things that are unseen. I was at length recalled from this abstraction by the low tones of that impressive voice, as thus again he spoke ;'When we reach the threshold of eternity, our spirits often take a forward spring, even though still encumbered with their house of clay; we are gifted with a clearer insight into futurity; and, casting aside all outward influences, all personal feelings, we behold the motives and consequences of human actions without disguise thus, whether it was in a spirit of prescience, or of experience, that your dying mother had spoken, her apprehensions with regard to your spiritual welfare, were equally verified: perhaps she had watched the dawning of the troubles that were gathering on the land; perhaps she might have vainly tried on the one all-important subject, to influence the noble heart that sought to gratify her in every lesser thing; or, as we are often made to feel the effect of our errors long after we have

abjured them, so perhaps the irresolute habits of her spirit's thraldom were never sufficiently conquered, to enable her resolutely to cast aside the veil with him she would have dreaded most to grieve-who may tell from whence she derived this sad foreboding-enough that it was too truly realized from that moment until now.

During the first weeks of agony, your father would hold no communication, would receive no comfort; and when, at length, he joined in social intercourse again, he had set his face as steel against one retrospective word. The traces of his heart's anguish were indeed legibly engraved upon his countenance, but it found no audible voice, and none dared to intrude within the barrier he had raised.

'His world was for ever changed-domestic life had lost its charm, and his energetic nature soon sought a field of occupation in the political struggle, the actual strife that soon rent this unhappy land; with eagerness he espoused the side to which his religion and his sense of loyalty naturally inclined him, and became at once a foremost man in their councils, and their deeds. None dwelling in the land, from the highest to the lowest, could escape involvement in the struggle; and even I, though not drawn into the vortex, felt its influence by being impelled in another direction: when the star of King James gained its temporary ascendant, as I could not coalesce with his party, I was compelled to withdraw; information had reached the royal ear, that even in papal Rome his antagonist had found partizans, and that for the sake of maintaining the balance of Europe against the exorbitant power of France, the Pope himself, Leo XI., had availed himself of Protestant resources, had relied upon Protestant impulses, and had actually entered into alliance with that Prince of Orange, who