Church News. THE School Feast at Christ Church, Hoxton, was held on Thursday, January 23rd, 1851. Shortly after two o'clock the children, (to the number of about three hundred,) began to assemble in the boys' room, when the incumbent, the Rev. William Scott, addressed them on the duty of obeying those that are set over them, and of being thankful to the kind friends, who were endeavouring to make them happy on the occasion. After which, grace having being sung by the children, they all partook of an excellent tea, provided by the friends and supporters of the schools. It had a most pleasing effect to see so large a number of happy looking faces, and so many ladies and gentlemen listening to, and supplying the children's wants. Tea being over, they all adjourned to the girls' schoolroom, which was decorated in excellent taste with festoons, flags, and scrolls, on which were inscribed mottos and sentiments, such as all true-hearted English Churchmen love and delight in. A large Christmas tree was prettily decorated by some friends, and covered with sweetmeats and little books, which were distributed to the children at the close of the evening. The decorations of the west end of the school struck us as being particularly ornamental and appropriate in the centre was a Cross made of flowers, over which was suspended a flag inscribed with the words 66 Bishops, Priests, and Deacons ;" above the Cross and flag was a scroll painted in red and blue, with the words "Fear the LORD and depart from evil;" on the left side was a flag with a well executed view of the west front of Christ Church, drawn by one of the friends of the schools; and on the right was a large gilt Cross on red ground, with a glory, and the following legend on it, "The Word was made Flesh." At six o'clock, dissolving views of abbeys, churches, &c., were exhibited, during which time several little pieces of music were sung by the children, as "Yon Abbey Bells," "The Call to Prayer," and "Harvest Home;" and when the portraits of Her Majesty and her royal Consort appeared at the close, the children and visitors sung "GOD save the Queen" with a heartiness that cannot be described. In the course of the evening the children were regaled with plum cake and oranges. Before going home three hearty cheers were given for the Rev. William Scott, and several friends and patrons of the schools. Thus ended a day gratifying to many persons, and long to be remembered by the children of Christ Church, Hoxton. 191 Notices to Correspondents. OUR readers, we are sure, will be glad indeed to read the following letter from S. M. For "one ready to faint." DEAR FRIEND, Is it indeed then thus you sign your letter, and have you then forgotten our Master's words, "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world," and again, "Ye have need of patience." May I be permitted, with the blessing of GOD, to speak then to you of the thoughts that cheer me in these dark and troublous days? Why then are we ready to faint? truly it must be our want of faith, living, earnest faith. Not only do we need to put up every hour of the day that petition to our blessed Master, "Abide with me, O LORD," in our secret conflicts with the unseen foes of our souls: but we also need to bear in constant remembrance His promises to be with His Church to the end of time. "Ah yes!" I hear you say, "and so I could feel, if I felt sure I was a member of His Church." In some sense, a member of His Church you must be, because of your baptism. It may be we may feel we have not all the privileges of His children; but if we are where He has placed us, born into this branch of His Church, we shall have enough doubtless for the salvation of our souls; while we only strive to find out what He would have us to do, what He would have us to be, Who is yet our LORD, "though Abraham be ignorant of us, and though Israel acknowledge us not." Think of this; we cannot be in a worse condition than would have been a faithful Israelite, in the time after the separation of the ten tribes from the two. Take, for instance, one who was too young to have joined in that rebellion, from the house of David, from the tribe of Judah, to whom was made the promise that the SAVIOUR should come of that stock, of that tribe. Think, their king had lent himself to idolatry, cutting himself and his people off from the worship of the GOD of Israel; yet to them, to these very ten tribes, were the prophets Elijah and Elisha sent. And that very split was according to God's foreordained purpose, as you will find in 1 Kings chapter xi. If you will open your Bible also, and look how many messages of warning and words of comfort were addressed to Israel, as well as to Judah; and how it was at last only their continuance in known evil, their choosing as a nation the evil, and rejecting the good, that made them be cut off from the privileges of His people. If He was then so merciful to those who were only His people, how much more may we expect who are His children? Our LORD has said, "He that is not against Me is for Me." Are we then on the LORD's side? Let us try ourselves by this one test, "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of GOD." Let us then not suffer our minds to dwell on the thought that in the Roman Church we should have security, we should have the full privileges of GoD's children. May be you would not, for we know this, that spiritual gifts are of no real use to a mind not fitted to receive them. The seed may be good, but if the ground is not prepared for its reception, how will it bring forth fruit to perfection? If we seek the fulness of our privileges as God's children, let us strive to make the most of what we have. Our LORD met S. Paul on his very road to Damascus, "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the LORD," because, as he says, "I verily thought within myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of JESUS." He was following out what he believed to be right, and so the LORD showed him a more perfect way. I was reading last Sunday evening a homily of S. Chrysostom on the Gospel of the day,-our SAVIOUR asleep in the ship,-and one passage struck me much :-" Where miracles were to be shown, (as feeding the five thousand just before,) He suffers the people to be present. Where temptations and fears were to be stilled, there He takes with Him only the victors of the world, whom He would prepare for strife." O, had we but faith in Him, which the blessed ones of old attained to; that faith which seems even stronger than sight, - which forms, indeed, the main difference between a saint and an ordinary Christian,-that faith which lives on our unseen LORD, and in His presence every hour of the day, refers all to Him, takes all as from Him, meets all in Him,-surely then we should have heaven in our breasts, and be fit to meet the cold and chilling blasts of the world without. All that our souls most crave for of spiritual advantages, would be of no avail, unless they brought us to Him; and if He has seen fit, in His wise Providence, to ordain that we should have little of outward help, and should be alone in our many cravings among our fellow men, He can supply the lack of it, of His fulness, Who is Almighty. Let us, then, remember He is, according to His promise, with His Church now. And what is His Church? not a cold and formal thing of a past age, but a living voice speaking in His people now. There is but one way of hearing and distinguishing that voice-being willing to do God's will. We cannot, it may be, reform the age in which we live, but this one thing we can do-reform each one himself, or herself; strive after individual perfection. Holy men of old retired from the world for years, to fight first with themselves, -to conquer themselves; and then, when they returned among men, they had power over them, and left their impress on their age and gene. ration. Let us hear the prophet's advice of old, as spoken unto us, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indig. nation be overpast." Whatever lesson we may learn from the beautiful legends of the saints of olden days, this one is very manifest, - that they realised the great truth, that he that would subdue others, and bring them to the SAVIOUR, must have first gained a great mastery over himself; that it is character that tells on our fellow men, and not words. How few, comparatively, of our Master's discourses have been recorded for our instruction; and even His words often raised hatred and distaste in the minds of others, while His deeds of love insensibly drew them, even against themselves, within the veil, H. H. M., (Oxford,) who inquires touching the use of the cope, is informed that it has never yet been abandoned by the English Church, and that he is quite wrong in supposing it to be a dress that belongs exclusively to one branch of the Catholic Church. The Bishop of Exeter, in his decision on the Helston case, declared that the minister must wear it, if provided by the Churchwardens. We beg to refer him to the following passage in Wheatley on the Common Prayer, page 104:-" Over this alb the Priest that shall execute the holy ministry (i.e., consecrate the elements) is to wear a vestment or cope, which the Bishop also is to have upon him when he executes any public ministration. Thus the twenty-fourth Canon of our Church only orders, that the principal minister (when the Holy Communion is administered in all cathedral and collegiate churches) use a decent cope, and be assisted with an epistler and gospeller agreeably, according to the advertisements published anno 7 Elizabethæ, which advertisements order that at all other prayers no copes be used, but surplices." E. S. P. is referred to the recent letter of Dr. Pusey to the Bishop of London, on the points upon which he seems to be in doubt. We should also recommend him to read, carefully, "Skandret's Christian Sacrifice, as well as a harder and more learned book, we mean "Johnson's Unbloody Sacrifice." D. M. will find much valuable information in the "Companion to the Prayer-Book," (Masters); and we recommend most strongly a careful perusal of Mr. Marriott's last two sermons, "GOD, and not System," and "The true cause of dishonour to the Church of England." M. P. We are obliged by the little poem, which, however, we must decline. The "Notes of the Month" for March are unavoidably postponed. "But we are women when boys are but boys; TAYLOR. It certainly was quite involuntary on Agnes Wortley's part, but when the time came for returning to Oakworthy, Marian was conscious of more kindly and affectionate feelings towards it and its inhabitants than she had ever expected to entertain for them. She did not love Fern Torr or the Wortleys less; she had quite fallen into confidence and sympathy with Agnes again, and felt the value of Mrs. Wortley more than ever; and it quite made her heart ache to think how long it would be before she saw another purple hill or dancing streamlet, and that she should not be there to see her dear old myrtles' full pride of blossom. But, on the other hand, her room at Oakworthy, with its treasures, was a sort of home; and she looked forward to it gladly when once she was out of sight of the moors. The train had stopped and gone on again from the last station before that where they were to leave it for Oakworthy, when Gerald, coming across to the seat by her side, said, “Marian, I say, can you lend me a couple of pounds?" 66 Why, Gerald, what can you want with them ?" "Never mind; only be a good girl, and let me have them." "You had plenty of money when you came to Fern Torr. How could you have got rid of it all?" "Come, come, Marian, don't be tiresome. Haven't I had to give to all the old women in the place?" "But do you really mean that you have no money?" "O yes, I have some, but not what I want. Come, I know you keep California in your pocket. What harm can it do you?" After all Marian's presents at Fern Torr, it was not quite as convenient as Gerald fancied to part with two pounds; but that was not the best motive to put forward, nor was it her reason for hesitating. "I don't know whether it is right; that is the thing, Gerald.” Right! why where is the right or wrong in it?" "I am afraid it may do you harm," said she, in a trembling, doubtful voice. "Stuff! I'll take care of that." "If you would only tell me what you want it for!" "I tell you, Marian, I can't do without it; I don't know what I shall do if you won't give it to me." "Debts! O, Gerald, you have not got into debt?" "Well, and what do you look so scared about? Do you think they will kill me?" 66 O, Gerald, Gerald, this proves it all." 66 It? what?" said Gerald. "Come, don't be so like a girl! I have not been doing anything wrong, I tell you, and it is all your fault if I can't get clear." “With such an allowance as you have, O, Gerald, how could you! And how could you throw about money at home, when you knew you were in debt?" "You talk as if I had been ruining my wife and ten small children," cried Gerald, impatiently. "A fine fuss about making a few pounds stand over till next half. But you women go headlong at it; never see the rights of a thing. So, you won't? Well, it is your doing now!" "I can't see any end to it," said Marian, reflectingly. “If I thought you would make a resolution-but you will be without money at all, and how are you to get through this half? O, Gerald! better write to Mr. Lyddell at once, and he will set you straight, and you can begin fresh." Gerald made a face of utter contempt. The steam whistle was heard; they were stopping. "There is an end of it, then," said he, angrily. "I did not think you had been so ill-natured; it is all your fault, I tell you. I thought you cared for me." This was dreadful; Marian's purse was in her hand, and she began, "O, Gerald, dear, anything but that!"-when they found themselves close in front of the station, and Lionel pulling at the door of their carriage, and calling fiercely to the porter to unlock them. Caroline was standing on the platform, and there was a tumult of greetings and inquiries for luggage to be taken out and put in. Gerald ran to see that his goods were separated from his sister's; Lionel shook hands with Marian, and scolded her for staying away all the holidays; roared to the porter that his |