Elizabeth Callegr.

I.

TOWERS of Athene, gazing o'er the sea,
Are ye not well-beloved? O long ago

It seems, since boyhood, in its healthy glee,
Was mine, beneath your shadow: and the snow
Of the chill world has cooled the merry glow
Of life, which then I felt. The shouts I hear
From that green turf-the flying feet that go
Chasing the football in its wild career-

Bring strangely back to me a dream of boyhood's cheer.

II.

A dream of those wide corridors and halls,
And the long hill of learning, which to climb
Seemed endless; pleasantly the echo falls
Of voices dreaded then; the clanging chime
Of the great bell that told the flight of time
Has its own music. As they swiftly fly on

The years bring troubles worse than Virgil's rhyme, Worse than Greek myths of Hylas and Arion, Heavier than wisdom's wheel, turned by a boy-Ixion.

III.

O to recall the boyish heart of old—

Again on Guernsey's granite-paven sea

To stretch the lateen sail-where flowers of gold
Hide the green hills, again to wander free,
While the fresh wind shakes every leafy tree
And bids the waters murmur-but once more
To bound athletic o'er the tented lea

In cricket's summer strife! They all are o'er,
Those happy moments snatched from weary classic lore.

IV.

Old towers, how many changes have ye seen!

How many races of the young and gay

Have shouted wildly o'er that turfen green,

Have cast all care of learned toil away
Beneath the cloudless canopy of day!
So, kites shall float upon the sunny air,

So, songs shall rise upon the winds of May,

Long hence, when those who now are clamouring there, Shall feel upon their brows the furrowing hand of care.

V.

Then, STET FORTUNA DOMUS! may her sons
Do their work nobly, for her fairer fame:
May Time, as on his endless course he runs,
Still bring fresh honor to her ancient name :
May all who leave her lofty portals, aim

To do some deeds that may survive their death,
And from the lips of coming ages claim

Guerdon of praise! And thus may History's breath Dower with renown the halls of royal Elizabeth !

An Autumn Scrap.

I.

RUDDY as gold is the chesnut-tree,
When autumn passes by:

No bleak wind crisps the silent sea,
Which is blue as a maiden's eye.

II.

The yellow sun through the forest leaves
Drops a thread of dancing light :
Young children sing 'mid the barley sheaves,
And shout at the swallows' flight.

Lines

SUGGESTED BY A STATUE OF FAITH BY BERTOLINI.

"Come dicesse a Dio-altro non calme."-DANTE.

"As if it looked to GoD and said, none-none but Thee."

RAPT in blest thoughts of GOD Faith fervent stands,
And, heavenward gazing, lifts her upraised hands
Towards that World where seraph-music rings,-
The Glorious Palace of the King of kings,-
Where, midst the sapphire blaze, triumphant stand,
In GOD's bright presence, Faith's all-conquering band.
O'er her calm form celestial love has shed
Its Grace benign, by hope immortal fed;
Her eye serene, and still erect her form,
Though all around presage the coming storm,
With Soul composed, smiling, she seems to say-
Though earthly joys may fade and pass away
Like morning dreams,-though every lovely thing
From my lone Soul away its flight should wing-
Friendship's soft balm, and love's diviner ray-
And leave me cheerless in life's closing day,
I'll calmly see the idols all depart

That chained to earth my too enfettered heart.
The bonds are broke. I freely bid farewell
To dreams too long indulged and loved too well;
My hopes now rest above earth's passing range,-
And seek in GOD a love that will not change.

Florence.

S. LEY WOLMER.

VARIETIES.

JOHN DE WYCLIFFE-HIS HISTORY AND NOBLE

EXAMPLE.

(Continued from page 142.)

THE influence of the Duke of Lancaster diminished considerably on the accession of Richard II., but the Parliament still resisted the Papal claims, and, as the Reformer had spoken so boldly on the subject before, his opinion was now requested whether he did not consider it to be lawful for the kingdom to detain its treasure, though in opposition to the Pope's decree to the contrary. Wycliffe, in his reply to this question, discarded all human authorities, and stated he considered the proper reference to be to the principles of the law of Christ, quoting many passages of Scripture to prove that his arguments were correct. Of course, after giving such a reply, in which he maintained that the Pope's temporal supremacy was a gross usurpation, the anger of the Papal See was thoroughly aroused, and Pope Gregory thought he had better at once see what he could do to put down the Doctor of Divinity, who was creating so great a stir in England. Accordingly we find that several Bulls were issued from Rome, dated about May or June, 1377; one, addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, ordering Wycliffe's citation; another to the King, requesting his favour and assistance in the business; and a third being dispatched to the University of Oxford, desiring them to withdraw their countenance from a man accused of heresy. Several delays having occurred in the execution of the Bulls, it was not until the close of December in the same year, 1377, that Wycliffe was commanded to appear before a Synod at Lambeth, on the thirtieth Court-day after the date of the Citation, but on the occasion of his attendance, in pursuance of this mandate, Sir Lewis Clifford, in the name of the Queenmother, forbade the bishops from proceeding to a definitive sentence, and the alleged heretic was simply admonished to abstain for the future from the publication of his opinions. His antagonists were, therefore, a second time disappointed. Pope Gregory, whose Bulls had been treated so unceremo

niously, shortly afterwards died, and, fortunately for Wycliffe, a schism occurred in the Church of Rome in regard to the appointment of a successor, for, while the rival Popes, in their struggle for the chair of St. Peter, were fighting and cursing each other, they had not time to busy themselves with the doctrines taught by an Oxford Doctor, and so he was allowed to go on for years preaching and writing with little, if any, interruption. During this interval he was very active in his parochial duties, being fully alive to the responsibilities of his office, and striving faithfully to discharge them, never neglecting or undervaluing the ministrations of the pulpit. Nearly three hundred of his sermons have been preserved; they consist chiefly of simple expositions of Scripture, written in a way suitable to the understanding of the people, and, though there is no opportunity lost in these sermons of rebuking the vices of the age, and of exposing the corruptions of the Church, great prominence is given to the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel, especially to the atonement of Christ and the work of the Spirit. Visiting his parishioners constituted, in Wycliffe's idea, an important part of parochial duty, and he did not omit so excellent a means of doing good, for he was a man of deep sympathies, familiar to the house of poverty or mourning; and the same truths that he proclaimed aloud in the hearing of the living congregation he whispered into the ear of the dying sinner. He had but one doctrine, whether it was for the pulpit or for the closet, for the cottage or for the mansion, for the peasant or the prince.

On one occasion, about this time, he was confined by serious illness to his chambers at Oxford, and was there visited by a deputation from the several orders of Mendicant Friars, who begged him to retract before he died what he had said against them. Summoning all his remaining strength, the sick man caused himself to be raised in bed, and proclaimed loudly, to the great discomfort of the friars, who shortly afterwards found the prediction fulfilled, "I shall not die but live, and shall again declare the evil deeds of the friars."

(To be continued.)