PRAYER MEETINGS. SIR,-I should be glad if you or some of your correspondents would tell me if it be according to the teaching of the Bible and our Church for women to go about preaching the Scriptures and holding public prayer meetings afterwards.-Yours, &c., A CONSTANT SUBSCRIBER. THAT WHICH BEFALLETH THE QUEEN MAB wishes to know through the medium of the Churchman's Companion, where the verse of the hymn written below is to be found, and who the author is: "Why that look of sadness? All His grace to prove." She also wishes to know what may be inferred from Eccles. iii. 19-21, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other All go unto one place and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" Does it signify that beasts have immortal souls, and live again? FREE PASSAGE TO AUSTRALIA. SIR,-Can you or any of your correspondents kindly afford me any information as to how a free -or partially free-passage can be obtained to Australia, for a girl of about twenty, who is rather wild and unsteady? I fear the Victoria Free Emigration Society would not pass her, as the papers required to be filled in for candidates could not be satisfactorily filled up in the present case.Yours, &c., T. Y. L. TRINITY SUNDAY. SIR,-Will you or any of your readers kindly inform me why Trinity Sunday-the one Festival in the whole year, set apart for the contemplation of the Three Sacred Persons of the Blessed Trinity-is not considered as great a Festival as Easter or Whitsun Day-Yours, &c., LYONA. Notices to Correspondents. H. J. Y's second letter is inadmissible, because it treats of the opinions and practices of private_individuals.—The discussion on this subject will now be closed. T. Y. L. is informed that the three hymn tunes asked for are Nos. 156, 321, and 268 in the "S. Alban's Tune Book." The tunes are not published separately, but in a volume, price 3s. 6d. Accepted: "Legend of the Palm and Infant JESUS ;” “ Questiones et Responsa" "The Song of Moses and the Lamb;" "And he restrained them not." 66 Received on behalf of the S. Stephen's Mission, Clewer Fields: Rita, 5s.; A. W., 2s. ANGELO Stewart turned his steps from Lewton Street towards Old Broad Street, and here passing through these streets where every one knew him, where every dwelling, however poor and filthy, had known his presence, it was touching to witness the love and respect which was testified to him on all sides. Rough men passing by touched their caps to him with bright smiles and often words of greeting; some lounging at their doors took their pipes out of their mouths to salute "the minister," as he was lovingly termed par excellence, and others sneaked away ashamed to be seen idling at that time of day by him; the women curtseyed, and many an Irish face lighted up, and many an Irish voice wished him "The top of the morning-God bless yer riverence" as he passed. The children, too, would leave off quarrelling when they saw him, and stand silent and abashed, and many ran up to him to receive the smile and word of encouragement, and gentle touch which could influence the roughest and most unruly. As the priest entered Broad Street a hand was laid on his shoulder and a voice exclaimed-" Whither away, Mr. Stewart? when do you ever rest ?" "As others do, Seymour, when I can," replied the young man, pausing to shake hands with the speaker, one of the curates from that very church which Mr. Merryweather had blamed Angelo Stewart for preaching in. "I might retort, what brings you so far east ?" VOL. VI. (N. S.) P "I came to see one of our poor people who is in the London Hospital. You must be very strong, Mr. Stewart, to stand the work here; you have typhus fever about, and these neighbourhoods are dreadful; such distress would dishearten most men." "It does it must make us suffer, Seymour; but it would not help the poor to allow ourselves to be disheartened; the fever has left several places now, and there are many of us to do the work. Poor Reynolds is so unwell that I shall send him off into the country to recruit in a day or two." "Unwell! I am very sorry to hear it! but he has impaired his health in a good cause, and a little country air does wonders; what dreadful poverty there is here. I passed one of your Sisters a few minutes ago and stopped and spoke to her; she was hurrying to see a family who occupied a corner of a room, and the father and two children died of fever last night. How brave these women are. Miss Lidell is a perfect lady." 66 Yes, and brought up in wealth. I must say goodbye now, Seymour, remember me to Mr. the "Good-bye, Mr. Stewart; I am glad I met you, for to speak to you is to put heart into one." And with that they parted and each went his different way, curate of to the wide streets of the West End, and the incumbent of S. Michael's to plunge again into a labyrinth of filthy courts and alleys. From Broad Street Angelo Stewart turned down a narrow street of which the prevailing characteristics were rag-shops and beer-shops, and here there were many who knew him, and those who did not stared at him as if he had been a strange animal. He passed on unerringly through streets and alleys, which got narrower and more wretched and foul the further he proceeded; in many of these streets he was obliged to walk in the road, for they had no pavement, and it was frequently necessary to part groups of fighting or playing children who filled up the passage in order to pass on at all. A gentleman, even though a priest, was an object of wonder in such places; but he had been here before or he never could have correctly threaded the maze of confusing streets, and several times he paused to speak to some poor creatures, men, women or children, whose wan, care-worn faces lighted up with unwonted pleasure as they saw him. "'Allo, Mary!" called a dirty woman, who lolled out of a bed-room window, "look at that 'ere parson, what's he a-doin' here ?" "Lor!" responded Mary, from across the street, "that's the chap as belongs to that fly-by-night place up in London Wall; it's one o' them fellers that made Sukey Simpson go there; 'twa'nt this one though." "Let's chuck somethin' at him." "If you do I'll smash yer winders," said a lad of about fifteen, who was passing with a pot of beer from a neighbouring beer-shop; "that's the gen'leman as sent one o' them ladies to nurse my mother when she was laid up, and spoke kind to me, so you let him alone." At the end of the street Angelo Stewart paused; to his left was a court, to his right a narrow turning; he turned to the right and then stopped before a door where a man was lounging and smoking "Can you tell me," said the priest, "if I am going right for Old Pigeon Court ?" The man stared "Yes, sir, but I'd advise such a swell cove as you to keep out of that 'ere place." "I know that it has a bad character, but I must risk it." "Best take a bobby along with you then." "Thank you, but I dare say they will not harm me." A few hundred yards brought him to the entrance of Old Pigeon Court; it did not look attractive, and a tall, brawny man coming out of a house near stared hard at the priest, and then said abruptly, "Best keep out o' there, mawster, 'tain't no sort o' use preaching to them folk; they're a awful lot there." And "I am not come to preach," replied the priest, not for a moment turned back in his design by these warnings; "I wish to see a person living here on business." with that the priest passed on and entered the filthy den which had once been the Picciola's "home." It seemed as if the warnings he had received were by no means without significance; sallow, evil faces glowered upon him, and he heard mutters and open curses to the effect-“ Parson! we'll let him know if he comes cantin' into our court!" "What's that flash cove after ? let him mind his eye; chuck a stone at him," &c. But no one actually offered to molest him, and a dirty child whom he asked to direct him to the dwelling of Mary Anne Jenkins, even ran before him to show him, and arrived at the door (which stood open) she yelled out-" Liza—a!” A slatternly girl of about fifteen made her appearance from some depths of gloom, and said sharply, "Well, what now ?" staring meanwhile with all her might at the stranger. "Mary Anne at 'ome ?" said the priest's little guide. "Yes for a wonder; she's sober now, I think; does this gen'leman want her ?" "Yes," said the priest's gentle voice. "I should like to see her." "Wait a minute, please, sir," said the girl, almost respectfully; "she ain't too fond of parsons; I'll go and see." Angelo thanked her, dismissed his guide with a guerdon and a kind word, and the girl went up stairs, returning in a few moments "You can go up, sir," she said, "only (in a low tone) you'd best not be talkin' good to her, 'cause she said she'd smash any one's face in as tried preachin' to her; I think she only lets yer go 'cause she thinks yer'll give her somethin'; hold on, sir, I'll light yer up.' She went away and fetched a piece of lighted paper, with which she went before him up the dangerous stairway. A man new to such places would inevitably have been sick and giddy with the terrible smell of this house, but Angelo Stewart was too accustomed to such dens to experience this; he was seasoned and so used to staircases full of pitfalls that he was prepared for any dangers that might beset his path. Mary Anne's door stood open, and simply knocking and receiving a gruff "Come in," the priest entered that miserable apartment which Miss Jenkins was in the habit of denominating 'ome." "That lady was now seated upon a tub near the fire-place, reading a tattered old London Journal. 66 |