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(\ • • ^> THE DKEAM OF A CHURCH MOUSE. *' Then you won't confess ?" *' To you certainly not." *' Then I'll excommunicato you," i^cc page 8. ft ST. JOHN, N. B. : rillNTEl) 15Y GEO. W. 1>AY, CIIAllLOTTE ST. 1874. v^-/V^j THE DREAM OF A CHURCH MOUSE. I had a dream, a wondrous dream, 'Twas sad as sad could be ; Methought they tried to bring me back To chains of slaverie. Yes, I dreamed tliat I, a church mouse, compelled by the force of circumstances, had been obliged to make a roti'eat behind one of the stones built into the old church wall, a stone very much hid in a corner, and bearing this inscription — "Article number six." I chose this situa- tion because it is a stone so frequently overlooked by peo- ple in the church, and apparently utterly unknown to those without* Methought that I whs musing on the sundry and manifold chances and changes of this mortal life, when suddenly I was startled by a number of churcli cats wildly running to and fro, with tails in a state of great perpendicularity, and dilated to the dimensions of the largesi Roman Candle. They were making the mos^t hideous and discordant noises, as far removed as possible from sacred music, and their caterwauling resounded throughout the whole church. Their object was to frighten me out of my refuge, but in vain, for I had been forewarned by my ancestral great gi'and fathers, and, therefore. I only smiled a placid small smile at their antics, and went on with my musings. Finding they could not succeed in their feline attempts, they departed, *The Sixth Article of Religion of the Church of England reads thus: "Holy Scripture containeth all thiagd necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein nor uiay be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the 2<'aith. or be thought requisite or necessary to salvatioa." ami in some secret nook of the biiililin^* iieltl a ciinfereni^e, the subjiTtanil objeet of their di-liborations belnp; myself. The results of theeongress will isppear as we ^^o on. Some little time had passed awMV, when one evcMiin;;- T heard a whisper at the entrance of my narrow "retrcit."' It was the voice of a cat clad in the most irorgeous vest- ments, and on his head a '* birctta." *' Monsov, dear," said lie. " Well,''* said I, " what do you want ? " '• Won't yon come ont and have a little talk with us ? W(> Icel extremely anxious about your welfare ; we think it is not good for you to dwell alone in that close, conlined j)lace yon have chosen. Come ont into the ' bro((d' tuul free air which vc enjoy ; come with us and we will do you good." ••Uh. ves, no doul)t vou will, vou are thirstini>: fur mv blood. III be bound." " Oh, don't say so, Mousey, dear, that's an unkind re- mark, and shows a great want of charity on your part "' *' Pussy, dear," said I. " you are very kind ; your benevolent and feline intentions are really quite touch- ing, and the afl'ection you display towards a poor little mouse like me is beyond all praise; but how can I come with you? I have i.o garments of my own to wear. I am poor and humble, and not lit to mix in sucli ' hiijh ' comi)any." '* Oh, we will find yot^ vestments ; all these things will we give thee if thou wilt come with us ! See, Iktc is a 'c;issock,' and a 'tunicle,' and a 'chasuble.' and a 'sm'i)lice.'" '•Yes: but may I not have a 'dalmatic,' and an ' alb '. as well ? " " , " Oh, yes, of course I " " And a • cotta,' and • biretta ? ' " •' Certainly." " And a tippet,' and a * cope?' " " Yes, yes." " And a muff ? " / " Muff! well, we liaven't any muffs, yon know." " Faven't you? oh, I thouglit you had plcntu ! " " Oh, dear, no, tliat's quite a mistake! " lie innocently replied. " Well, but after all, on consideration, is it absolutely necessary to have all these vestments ? " " Of coarse it is. ' Catholic^ jninciples could not pos- silily bo propau-.vtoil wUliout. thoni, nellhor could wc per- I'ctnn our nmnifolil functions,'''' "Oh, Avoll, I want :i blaek jrownl '' "lilack LTownl" ho sc-ivauied out, horriruMl at tho idoa ; " blaok u sadly nof this inc(jnso, about which I have heard so much." With that he began to swing his censer about till tlio whole church w\as filled with smoke ; hut someliow or other, I supix)se because I was so " /ow," it would not come aigh unto me, it seemed as if it had a tendency to go upwards, so that the people in the " high " seats got all the benefit of it, whatever that might be ; so I said to this functionary : '*Is it absolutely necessary to salvation, this incense?" 6 " Well, I think so; the ' church' teaches th.at all * Calho- lie'' usajres are imlispensihlo." " If so, then how is it that I can't pret a sniff of it? " '* Wh}^ because you will persist in keepinpf to these oM Protestant hiding-places of yours. Fancy your choosing such a place for a nest as that old ' Article number six* ' Now, if you will take my advice, you will come out of that ; it must be very coid for your feet and very hard to lie down upon; we should like to remove a part of that stone by chiselling it away, and substituting some ' wood, hay and stubble,' but of course as long as j'ou stick there you frustrate our intentions." *• Thank you very much," T said, " but you know ' wood, hay, and stubble,' are all things that lie on the surface, and almost anybody can get them; but stone, precious stone, is not to be so easily got at You have to seek and labor very diligently for that kind of material, and I rather like to feel mj' feet on the ' rock ; ' and if the church should one day be set on fire, you know my precious stone would abide, but your work would be burned, and you would suffer loss, and though very likely 'you might escape the fire, you would be horribly singed." "Ami, then, to consider that yon don't want kind offices in the church?" " Exactly so. ' Incense is an abomin- ation unto me.' I detest 3'^our unauthorized weapons of warfare, and I've d'»ne without you and your incense for more than three hundred years, so the sooner you go the better." And he too disai)pearud from my sight as his pre- decessor had done. But I was not long to enjoy repose, for after awhile 1 was roused by a clanking noise. Whatever could it be. ^ I looked, and, behold, another cat ! — a black, sinister- looking fellow he was, though his voice was strangely soft and captivating. I car't very well remember liow he was dressed, but he had a rope round his waist, to which was attached a huge bunch of keys and also a large crucifix. I suppose the clanking ofthe keys was the noise that awakened me from my dozing. I found out after- wards that they called this one the " Doctor," though why he should be considered a doctor I don't know, unless his office was to " minister to minds diseased." '• You little mouse," he said, " listen to me." " I am all attention," said I ; " but who are you?'* 7 . " I am a priest of the most High God/' " Oh, imleed! Is your mime Mclchisedek? Called for the * tithes,' I presume?" *' Not so, I am a Father Confessor." " Oh, indeed! well, what are you goinji; to confess? I don't remember that you've wrong:ed mc in any way." "Child, you don't understand^ I receive confessions; I want you to confess all your sins to »>ic." " Hut the Bible says, 'if we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forjj;iveus our sins ; ' doesn't the word He mean the Lord Jesus?" " Doubtless, but I am in the i>lace of Jesus to you, and you know wo are commanded to confess our sins." "Yes, we are, I know, but I should'nt have thought by the look of you, that you are ju^t and faithful ; by the by(!, I think I remember a text something like this — * Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye also unto them." "Well— ah — yes, perhaps there is; but doesn't St. James tell us to confess?" " Yes, he does ; he says, ' Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed.' Now then, in the first place, I'm not sick, and secondly, I I didn't sewd for yoti, remember; but if you'll confess your sins to me first, I'll pray for you, and* then I'll con- fess to you and yon shall pray for we." " Absurd, ' Low,' un-CathoHc idea! Don't you know I possess the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and that I have power to condemn vou and power to release you?" " Well, I think I have heard those words, or some^very much like them, before. Didn't Pontius Pilate say them to Jesus in the judgment hall, and you tremember the answer, don't you ? * Thou couldest have no power at all. except it were given thee from above.' Are you quite sure you have the power?" " How dare you doubtit? the ' Catholie Church ' teaches it, and that is suflBcient, is it not?" "jSuflicientfor you, perhaps, but not for mc, and consi- dering that, I've done without you for so long a time, and further considering that I find no record of [systematic and methodical confession (such as you would introduce) in the earliest history of the church, and believing as I do that your impertiment questions and abominable sugges- tions tend to pollute instead of purifying the heart, I think wc^^can very well dispense with "your services.*^ wow." 8 "Then 5'on won't confess?" " To you, certainly not." " Then I'll cxcoimmmicate you." " Thpt you are quite at liberty to do if yon like, but yon can't ( "minatc rne, you know, so take my ^advice . :ind 'go . j\i mery, to a nunnery go!' " A 1 1 tnv pose he did go to a nunnery, for he quickly V u.. I om my gaze, to ray inexpressible relief." vicer him came another, and ho carried a bag. *• If you please," said he, "I am collecting the offertory , bo so good as to put your alms into this bay," "Not if I know it," said I. "Why not, pray?" " Because I prefer a * decent hason.'' " " But this is so much better, you know. No one knowai what you put in, and besides it is in accordance with ' Catltolic' usage." " And Apostolic too, isn't it!'' I remarked. " Well, I don't know." "Oh, indeed! permit me to refresh your memory: was there not an apostle named Judas Iscariot?" " Well, there might have been, perhaps, but I don't remember reading of him in the lives of the saints." " No, he was one of the sinners, aud you will find the record of this thief in the New Testament: he carried the bag ; he sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver ; he was covetotis, and he went to hell ! So you see yQur bag i» calculated to call up unpleasant recollections. Good day to you." And off he went, speechless. •f* •P 1* *i^ "P f ' ' After his departure came another, ringing a bell. " What's all that noise about?" said I. '* We are about to celebrate the mass in this church,'* he replied. " Do you mean the Lord's Supper, commonly called Holy Communion ?" " If you choose to call it so, yes." " Well, but I have not had even my breakfast yet." "Oh, you must receive the sacred elements/as^mfir/" " What's that for?" " It's the teaching of the ' Catholic^ Church." " Is it necessary to salvation ?" Of course it is ; the Church cannot err." " But I thought it was after supper Jesus took the ■ !> broad and the cup, and ffave to His disciples, sayins;, 'do this:'' " Yes, but tliat was before breakfast, and tliat would bo an early celebration, you know." •' I beo^ your pardon, it would be a very Zrtic celebration nt midnisbt. Surely yon must remember what trans- spired between that time and daylio^ht; the washinp;of the disciples" feet, the lonii.t\s palace. AVhy were torclios used if it were daylijrlit ? [No answer.] " But waivnj^ that,'' I said, "let me see how you celebrate." " Well, we burn a jrreat many candles on the altar.'' • "Didyousay a^rtr?" 1 interposed. "Yes,"' herepL.'d. "Well, I know the Jewish priests burnt the/ai on the altar, but I don't remember that they ever made it into candles first, and 1 was not aware that in a Christian Church there was such a thino: as an altar, or a sacri- ficing priest; our High Priest, Jesus, left us an example that we should follow in His steps, and I certainly don't remember that he ever offered any sacrifice but Ilimsclf, and that not on an altar, but on the Cross. But pardon my interruption," I said, " and proceed with your de- scription of the ceremony." "Well, then, allow me to oAct you this • consecrated waifer,' I have 'reserved' it for you." "Thank you, no, I don't like reservations ; perhaps you have lifted it tip,' too," I said. " Well, only as high as niy head." " And worshipped it?" "Oh, yes, I have adored it, and teach others to do so too." " And why do you do this?'' " Because of the real presence of our Lord Jesus in the l)read of the altar." " Do you mean to say, that Jesus is in this waifer, and if I eat this waifer I oat Jesus Christ?" " Yes, certainly." " Then the way to the heart is through the stomach, ia it not?" " Pshaw! you are irreverent and un-Catholic in speak- ing thus of holy and sacred things." " No, I am liol : God has told us, • The just shall livo by faith ;' ' Hoar, and your soul whall live.' " ^•J^Iti--.' -■..-"■— >■ 10 " Yes, yes ; but what did Jesns liimself cay? — ' Except ye ejit the' llesh of the Son of Man and drink His l)lood, ye liave no life in yon/ And did he not say, ' This is My body,' when He jjave the bread to them?'' "I know He said so, but he incant it as a symbol; but now, since you believe this waifer is Jesus Christ, avIio is now in lieaven, what do you think of this? You liave heard of a mountain beinjr in labor, and bringing forth a mouse, do you believe that?" "Pshaw! that's "fable." " True, but what would you say if I told you Mount Sinai, in Arabia, once conceived and brought forth a son, and called his name Ishmael?" "Ridiculous! Why Ishmael was the son of Hagar, Sarah's maid, everybody knows that. " " Well, I can assure you that this Hagar is Mount Sinai, it is writieii, and the "Scriptures cannot be broken." " Ah, well, I am not going to argue, but to celebrate! You refuse the water, then, I suppose?'' " I do, certainly ; it is not ordinary bread in common use.*' " Well, permit me to offer you some wine." " But is it the best wine, and unadulterated?" *' Of coarse there is a portion of water mixed with it, as the Catholic Church teaches there should be." " And Avhy should there be water mixed with it?" "Oh — why — well, tho body of our Saviour was pierced, as you ik^9w, and there came out blood and water." "Yes, that's all very true, of caurse I know timt; but what has that to do with it?" "To do with it? You horrify me by your profane re- marks: why everything: this cup contains the blood of Christ, as He said, • This is My blood of the New Testa- ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.' " " I know as well as you do that He saidthose words, and, again, I say it was only symbol, as the vei*y next verse clearly joroves, where He goes on to say, 'I will not drink henceforth of this fruit oi the vine,* <&c., &c. ; and more than that, the words were spoken by the Saviour before His death, before the soldiers pierced His side; and what is of grejit importance to remember is this, that no man over dreamed of drinking that blood and water, as I th:- k even you yourself will freely admit; and, therefore, I say you have no right to say the wafer is the body of Christ, or the wine is the blood of Christ. The whole thing is a * blasphemous fable and a dangerous li 11 deceit,' for Jesus said.- 'I am the living bread,' ami on your own showinj^ tlie wafer bread is only a dead body which you have created and you have put to death, be- cause, remember, no sacrifice was (iver eaten alive. Oli, ye blind guides, when will you understand that th(5 food for the soul comes not in at the nose, or mouth, but by the ears? 'The flesh profiteth nothinjr, the \voui>s that 1 Spp:ak unto you they are spirit, and tliey are life,' " "AVell, certainly, you ai-e one of the most 'unmiti- jyated Protestants 1 ever came nipjh; but do you mean to say, then, there is no benefit at all in this ordinance of the Church?' "I mean to say that it is the duty of every Christian to do as his Lord and INIaster commands him, and I believe that a blessing nlways follows loving obedience, for wherever two or tlireo are gathered together in His name there is Jesus in the midst of them to give them peace and joy, and to cause tliem to abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost, and I also be- lieve that it is our bounden duty to do this in remem- brance of His death, and never to give it up till He comes again." The only answer to this was a violent ringing of tho bell, which was perhaps the best w\iy he could d(ivise to escape out of the dililculty and conceal his chagrin, and so he went ringing away. Scarcely had the sound of the bell died away in the distance, when it came to pass that I was startled by the sound of many feet marching. I looked through my aperture, and, lo! I beheld — a procession! The parties composiug it were dressed in every variety of colored gar- ments ; some carrying censers, some bouquets of flowers, some with crosses, brazen and wooden, some with ban- ners. Thus they paraded themselves belore the admiring eyes of a largonumber of " silly women" and "unstable" men, singing as they went, "to please themselves and those who listened. One might have thought, to see aiut hear them, that they were a company of faithful and valiant soldiers, (clad as they were in such splendid uni- fornifi,) who were valiant for" the truth ; but, no, they had come forth without the one thing needful, that trusty weai)on, "the sword of the Spirit." " Surely, after all," the thought occurred to me, " Zam the foe whom they seek to destroy." And so indeed it i 12 proved to bo; for luilting; before my retreat, tlioy bt^f^tin to udflress themselves one after another to me thus : — I " Are yon still there, mousey!" they be<2:an. •' Iltu-e am I," I re])lie(l ; "but -vvhat in the name of com- mon sense doew all this 'pomp and circumstance of war' mean ?" "Mean? why wo want j'on to join ns, of course, so come out at onc'e, and enlist nnd(T our banners." " But why don't you come in to me, andoivo up all th:it sort of thino-?" " Why, you dear little insi^rnificant mouse, it is simply impossible wih all these l);mners, vestnuMits, and other ])araphernalia; yours is such a strait gate and wan'o//; way, so inchidic, and' besides it is so loiv we couldn't possibly stoop down to it; and if we did, what should we j2fain by it? We are 'ricli and increased with goods, and liave need of nothing;' but you, why you are poor and miser- able!" " Well, but now stop a bit, there seems a very great company of you, to judge by the noise j^ou make in the church.', "Oh! that'v«i no proof of numbwrs; we cats, you know, are noted for discordant and loud voices ; why two of us at any time could make more noise than two hundred of your family !" " Yes, so it seems, and some members of my family are very much annoyed by your dreadful discord, and some- what rt/rtrmc(Z too, for they, seem to think you want the (fhurch all to yourselves, and that your family are bent on cxtcrmiuaiing my family." " Well, well, never mind that now, we'll evade that (piestion if you please, but come out and have a little ])leasure; what do you say to a trip down the river?" "Oh! I so dearly love the w.ater! ' There is .1 river whose streams make glad the city of our God; but what I'iver do you propose to row or sail upon." "Oh, the Tiber, of course!" " But that is a long way off — in Italy, isn't it?" " Yes, it's in Italy, but it is here too. Do you not know that we have cut a canal from tlie ancient stream, and that it reaches even to Oxford? So, if you'll only come to Oxford, yon know, you maj^ step aboard at once and it's all plain sailing," " You are well supplied with boats, then, I presume?" "Boats, oh, yes, I should think wo are, an - quantity of them ; there Is the K.C.U., the C.B.S., the i> '^.U.C, .and l 13 / - somo othors; these two all the larger cr:ift: ami then wo liavG a quantity of smallor ones, classiiied under the names of Gnilils, Sisterhoods, Institutes, Orphtma'^es, and so on, they'll any one of them car)y you safely to " T o wnere 0" saui. I mean down the dressed like En«i'lish- C3 "Well — ahem!— why, to the — Tiber, of eourse!" "And who's fi;oino; to steer P" '• 0\\, we've lots of Italian pilot men !" "DisjTuised, are tlu-y?" ''Well, very thinly; some of them are hej^inninp; to throw off their disguises now, and show themselvcis in their true* colors." '• Well, that is preferable, I think ; it is certainly mueh the 1)(;st way to 'i)rovide thinjjs honest in i\w si^ht of all men.' IJut now, if I 0:0 with you, you'll liiul ro'>m in tlic ])o:i,t for the ,u'n;at ohl Ciiritoii liir.LK. for, of eourse, 1 shall want somethin