the nasty sometimes-more shame to me, and disagreeable with the disagreeable. But I am innocent with the innocent,' he said with some earnestness; and that is what you are, unless my eyes deceive me. You need not be afraid of me.' 'I am not afraid,' said Frances, looking at him. Then she added, after a pause: Not of you, nor of any one. I have never met any bad people. I don't believe any one would do me harm.' 'Nor I,' he said with a little fervour, patting her hand with his own. All the same,' he added, after a moment, it is perhaps wise not to give them the chance. So I've come to fetch you home.' Frances, as she became accustomed to this remarkable new member of her family, began immediately, after her fashion, to think of the material necessities of the case. She could not start with him at once on the journey; and in the meantime where should she put him? The most natural thing seemed to be to withdraw again from the blue room, and take the little one behind, which looked out on the court. That would do, and no one need be any the wiser. She said with a little hesitation: I must go now and see about your room.' 'Room!' he cried. "O no; there's no occasion for a room. I wouldn't trouble you for the world. I have got rooms at the hotel. I'll not stay even, since daddy's out, to meet him. You can tell him I'm here, and what I came for. If he wants to see me, he can look me up. am very glad I have seen you. I'll write to the mother to-night to say you're quite satisfactory, and a credit to all your belongings; and I'll come to-morrow to see Con; and in the meantime, Fan, you must settle when you are to come; for it is an awkward time for a man to be loafing about here.' I He got up as he spoke, and stooping, gave her a serious brotherly kiss upon her forehead. 'I hope you and I will be very great friends,' he said. INSIDE A CATHOLIC COLLEGE. ST CUTHBERT'S, USHAW. EVERY one knows the stories of the wanderings of the bones of Joseph and of St Cuthbert-how the former found rest at last by Shechem, where a Mohammedan mosque marks the place; and how the many troublous journeyings of the dead body of the latter saint ended on the lovely banks of the Wear, and how over his tomb arose the sombre aisles of Durham Cathedral. This is perhaps the most finely situated of all our great churches; the river, with its richly wooded banks, bending in a graceful curve round the acclivity on which stand the cathedral, the castle, and the university, reminding the traveller who is fortunate to see it with a background of moonlit clouds, of a Heidelberg made more massive and more mightily towering into the heavens. When the Abbey Church of St Cuthbert and its attached monasteries were lost to the Roman Church at the Reformation, a general proscription being levelled against all such institutions, two difficulties faced the adherents of the traditional creed-how to find priests to administer the consolations of religion, and how to educate their children in their own faith. When things grew desperate under Elizabeth, they were driven to the expedient of establishing an English ecclesiastical seminary at Douay, on the borders of French Flanders, whither English Catholic nobles sent their sons, and whence missionary priests were brought, with many risks, and often courting danger, throughout the turmoils of the next two hundred years. Once they had to move the college to Rheims, owing to troubles in the near Netherlands; and frequent scares disturbed their platonic peace. But it was not till England, after the French Revolution, interfered by proclaiming war against the young Republic, that in the chaos of affairs they were dispersed at the potent bidding of Robespierre, their property confiscated, their rooms pillaged by a fa ira roaring mob, their buildings turned into barracks, their professors and students outrageously insulted, and as many of them as could not contrive to escape, imprisoned for two years, and subjected to perpetual ill-treatment at the hands of the myrmidons of the tricolor. When deliverance came, the survivors returned to English shores, resolved to rear within their happier native land a training-college for their ministers; and after many a futile project, St Cuthbert's College was founded, forming the nucleus of the present pile at Ushaw, and dedicated to the saint whose name it bears. And this college is to-day the sole lineal descendant of the AngloFrench Institution which gave to the world the Douay Bible. The present extensive series of buildings stands on a bleak high moor, exposed to every wind that blows across Weardale and from the pineclad hillsides of the Browney valley. Wolves once ravened there, and Wolf's Bank-'Ulf-shaw'-has come down to modern ears as 'Ushaw.' By a severer metamorphosis, Philistine lips have converted the monastic Beau-re-père' that lies in the valley below into 'Bear Park.' Fifteen hundred acres, mostly of pasturage, surround the central suite of halls and chapels. This large estate has slowly grown by the accretion of bequests and purchases. The principal chapel is being enlarged just now; but despite its temporary disuse, there is no lack of opportunity for ritual exercise, for before each of the eight altars within the precincts mass is celebrated substitute for the church; and four times daily, every morning. The Museum is the present between six A.M. and ten P.M., the whole of the inmates assemble for public worship, which is impressively rendered by their ample array of priests actual and priests potential, and their posse of choristers and clerical assistants. Under the care of twenty Father-professors, there are three hundred students, about half of whom are destined to become priests. It is interesting to contrast the course of study which pertains at Ushaw with that pursued at our Protestant theological colleges. For the most part, the future priest is captured while still young and all unaware of the high calling which is being provided for him by his seniors and betters. At the age of eight or ten years he is entered in Ushaw or in Stonyhurst, and the course of fourteen years is begun. The main pabulum of his days and nights for some time to come is Latin; and it is the exaggerated attention that is paid to that language which gave humorous point to the slips of the Tichborne claimant. He was alleged to have endured the thorough curriculum of Stonyhurst, and was hopelessly floored by the initial legend that appears on all documents of English Catholic collegesA.M.D.G. (Ad majorem Dei gloriam'). high honours, especially in classics. They labour under severe penalties in science, for, despite their possession of an almost perfect scientific museum and chemical laboratory, the subjects are very inefficiently worked, and the students have no chance of distinguishing themselves. In mental and moral science, too, they are severely handicapped by being obliged to take a course of the orthodox Roman text-book of Sanseverino, an Italian prelate, at the same time that Mill and Bain demand their attention. The result is a mental fog, which is little conducive to success in the stiff metaphysical examinations of Burlington House. The passage from Sanseverino to Bain requires such a somersault, that intellectual dislocation is the likeliest thing to ensue. The games that engage whatever daylight is left over after subtracting eight hours of study, together with meal-times and the protracted chapels,' are very strange to English eyes, and quite unique to the institution, being archaisms handed down from ante-Revolution days. They are almost all played with a kind of battledore, which is specially made on the premises-a cross between a hockey-stick and a tennis-bat; and these clubs are in requisition throughout the whole 'Cat'-so named because fourteen (quatorze) players are necessary-hand-ball, trap-in-the-ring, and rackets, are all played with this singular instrument; and the balls that are used are compounded by the boys themselves of wet worsted, hemp, and pitch covered with sheepskin. Their football is governed by a table of rules so recondite that the mysteries of Rugby and Association are comparatively lucid beside them. The halfholiday arrangement is for Tuesdays and Thursdays, by which system the week is more evenly split than when the Sunday rest succeeds immediately to the half-holiday of Saturday. Bishops and popes can, and do, win an easy popularity by granting additional holiday indulgences from time to time; and on all these holidays, the students may wander at will over the countryside in companies of three; and the 'black-coated dragoons,' with the inevitable walking-sticks, may be seen on a fine day scouring every wood and exploring every colliery village within walking distance. By a happy arrangement, long expeditions are rendered possible by the possession by the college of three country-houses, which serve as rendezvous and refreshment stations. As a matter of daily fact, the dead Latin language has been made alive again in the cloisters of Ushaw; and the sooner a boy can learn to think in Roman fashion, to revert and introvert his thought-material as did his ecclesiastical fore-calendar of the playground, winter and summer. fathers of the Catacombs, the speedier will be his rise through the strangely named grades whose christening took place at old Douay. He will begin as a 'rudiment'-such is the official name for the homunculous possibility of a 'divine' just fresh to hand; then, fortune blowing out his sails, he will pass through the second embryonic stage of low figures,' and after shine as a high figure.' The 'grammarians' will welcome him next, and the 'syntaxians' receive him into their Lindley-Murray-ish midst. All this time, young Excelsior has been taking off his hat at intervals to stand uncovered whenever he addressed his seniors; but in the next grade he himself will come to some shadow of authority, and inherit a responsibility towards his juniors. The 'poets,' 'rhetoricians,' and 'philosophers' are the three sonorous graduations that tower in increasing majesty in the upper school, so that it may be a second visitor's fate, as it was mine, to hear one youth, calm with transparent modesty, proclaim his poet-hood; while another, equally guiltless of a beard-or the sacerdotal beard-privative-remarks to your astonished ears, 'I am a philosopher.' But above and beyond even these, there towers a higher Alp, where the divines' roam all wrapt For indoor diversion, chief must be reckoned in super-philosophic garb, and intent on gaining billiards and music. There are several billiardthat keen insight into human nature which rooms; and the two bands, string and brass, give is held to characterise the Roman priesthood. entertainments on high-days. Dramatic repre'Beyond the divines, there is and can be no sentations take place in the theatre, and the stuhigher class,' said a 'high figure' to me, him- dents enter with great zest into these periodical self awed into tremulousness of expression in festivities. The only drawback is that the celibate describing their august doings. The 'divines' authorities absolutely forbid the impersonation of have a theological course of three years, exclu- female characters, a rule which sometimes lands sively devoted to divinity; but some dioceses the actors in strange straits. Portia ceases to demand still another year of special practical pre-assume the robes of masculinity, and becomes a paration. They preach in the college chapel on Sundays; and I regret to say that their popularity with their fellow-students is inversely proportionate to the length of their prelections, the studential endurance lasting generally a bare quarter of an hour. The name of Ushaw is well known on the lists of the London University, its alumni often taking veritable young doctor of the law yclept Portio; Lady Macbeth figures as the swaggering brother of her husband; and poor Shakspeare is bowdlerised to fit that! Patience is played without Patience, and the Cloches de Corneville without the belles. To my query, whether Romeo and Juliet had yet been attempted on the same plan, I received the serious answer, 'Not yet,' delivered Journal with the utmost sang-froid. Blue Beard is a great favourite, the playbills describing it as a melodrama by the Rev. Francis Wilkinson, D.D.;' and Speculation is a farce by Cardinal Wiseman. The most ambitious flight of the last-named prelate, however, is reserved for The Hidden Gem, which was played at a college jubilee a few years ago; but its theological nuances and polemical tone will probably limit its success to the circles wherein Catholic mystery plays without plot or passion can command attention. (vide playbills), in the large back drawing-room of Hop Villa on Christmas Eve. The originator and chief promoter of the intended Thespian revels, which were being pushed forward with an extraordinary amount of zeal and energy, was Mr Samuel Dobson, Junior-popularly and curtly known amongst his intimate acquaintances as 'Sam'-the eldest son and hope of 'old Dobson,' as the wealthy proprietor of Hop Villa was invariably and irreverently styled behind his back. The young gentleman possessed very strong dramatic proclivities, and was looked upon by his many an almost infallible authority on associates as even There is a prefect of discipline, whose unenviable office compels him to execute the Draconian decrees of the professors; but it is reassuring to hear that, although the régime is very strict, 'maiden' sessions are to him of frequent occurrence. Some Protestant visitors once innocently any matter pertaining to the stage and its surinquired for the dungeons, and were intensely roundings. It was an undisputed fact that he chagrined at not realising what they had anti- was on the most intimate terms with several cipated as the great sight of the place. But 'pros'-as he familiarly dubbed the holders of many strangers are attracted by the pictures the mirror up to nature'-and it was of Domenichino, Rembrandt, and Canaletti, as darkly hinted that on more than one occasion well as by the exquisite statuary and the multi- Master Sam had 'assisted' at cosy tripe suppers tude of sacred relics. The library is very fine, provided by the jovial host of a tavern much with a catalogue 'in preparation'-as are most collegiate catalogues-of thirty thousand volumes; affected by certain of the histrionic lights of and it delights the Protestant heart to see that the day. It was, therefore, no great matter of there is not the strict cordon sanitaire which surprise for Samuel's friends to learn that the we have been led to believe encircled Catholic young dramatic enthusiast was 'going in for' libraries so as effectually to exclude the litera- a regular theatrical outburst at Christmasture of Protestantism. The books of the great tide. heresiarchs lie side by side with the most ultramontane of treatises that was ever permitted by the papal censor; and if the books wrangle, at least their discussions are inaudible. To those who have spent a night at the Hospice of St Bernard, there is something of reminiscence suggested by the moor-surrounded college of St Cuthbert. The sense of loneliness that comes to one among so many gowned ecclesiastics, with the perpetual ringing of the church-going bell;' the endless images of Virgin and saint, always saluted, the sacred pictures, and the odour of incense, are all the same; while the famous hospitality of the votaries of St Bernard cannot be more heartily rendered than are the good offices of entertainment by the genial authorities of St Cuthbert's. A CHANGE IN THE CAST. CHAPTER I. Sam had experienced some difficulty in obtaining the guv'nor's' consent to the wished-for project. On several previous anniversaries of old Father Christmas, Dobson père had flatly withheld his coveted acquiescence in any such nonsense, as he uncompromisingly termed his son's desire. Yet, although the old gentleman had, until the period of our story, always put his veto on the private-theatrical scheme being carried out in his house, it was not because he was in any way prejudiced against the stage. In his youth Decidedly, such was not the case. and earlier manhood, Mr Dobson had been a regular frequenter at the particular temple of the drama which he usually affected, and like the Danish Prince, believed the play' to be 'the thing'in its proper place,' as he added. His real ground of objection-and not an unreasonable one-was, 'to having the house turned upside down and inside out, in order that a number of stage-struck young people might be enabled to make themselves ridiculous.' 'No, Samuel,' Mr Dobson had always emphatitheatrical idea; but I don't mind sanctioning cally said, 'I will not give my consent to the a milder form of amusement-say singing and recitations.' WITHIN the walls of the substantial and convenient, but withal elegant residence called Hop Villa, situated in the pleasant county of Surrey, within one hour of London Bridge terminus, the advent of Christmas-tide was being looked This proffered concession on his father's part forward to with more than the usual joyful had always been 'declined with thanks by anticipation. It may be as well to state at Samuel, who expressed no little contempt for once that the cause of the enhanced interest what he called those milk-and-watery affairs. taken in the approach of the season fatal to turkeys, and beneficial to doctors, by the family of Samuel Dobson, Esq., the eminent brewer, was the drama-nothing less. Yes; there was And now at last Sam's fondest desires were to be given an amateur theatrical performance on about to be realised. 'The guv'nor had caved a 'scale of completeness never before attempted' in,' as he informed his associates in idiomatic It was thus, therefore, how matters with regard to the amateur drama had stood at Hop English, with a gleeful chuckle; but at the same time he did not think it worth while to mention the little fact that he had recently found a strong ally in the annual warfare against his father's prejudice. Such, however, was the actual truth, and Mr Frederick Delancy, Sam's recently acquired colleague, had indeed rendered signal service to the young aspirant to managerial honours and responsibilities. His father had indeed found it very difficult to withstand the insinuating address and skilful sharpshooting of this Mr Delancy, supported as he was by the heavy artillery of his son's pleading; so eventually the old gentleman beat a retreat, and gave the long-coveted permission for an amateur theatrical entertainment a real theatrical entertainmentto be given at Hop Villa. Mr Delancy, some few weeks before the date of the opening of our tale, had been introduced to the family at Hop Villa by Mr Dobson himself. The opulent brewer had formed his acquaintance at one or other of the numerous resorts in the City devoted to the recuperation of exhausted nature. Who Mr Delancy was, or where he came from, or what were his antecedents, no one seemed to have inquired into; nor apparently did they ever give the subject the slightest consideration. He was gentlemanly in appearance, possessed of good looks, and extremely engaging in his manners. He met his business responsibilities punctually, and had, more than once, proved himself far from being a tyro in matters commercial-a sure passport to the good opinion of the majority of City men. It is true that the office which he occupied was not so very much larger than a good-sized packing-case, and the furniture contained in it was meagrely represented by the proverbial stool, and desk on which reposed the regulation blotting-pad. But the absence of elaborate fittings rather added to than diminished Mr Delancy's reputation: colossal fortunes had undoubtedly been made in counting-houses with no greater pretensions. And so it came about that a chance acquaintanceship struck up between Mr Dobson and Mr Frederick Delancy gradually ripened into a closer intimacy, and almost every Saturday to Monday saw the good-looking man, who was 'something in the City,' a welcome guest at the hospitable country abode of the substantial brewer and maltster. The family at Hop Villa-by the way, so called to commemorate a lucky 'hit' in the bitter, but useful, plant fostered by Mr Dobson-consisted of -besides the father, who was a widower, and son, already introduced-a middle-aged sister of the former, who was one of the vinegary' sort, and who, strange to say, was the only one who did not take readily to Mr Delancy. There were also the two Misses Dobson-Aurelia, an interesting brunette, and Blanche, a pretty blonde, aged twenty-two and eighteen respectively. The young ladies were, as may be easily understood, by no means displeased to have so distingué looking a parti as their papa's new friend added to their Saturday afternoons' lawn-tennis tournaments, when the weather permitted-to say nothing of the satisfaction they enjoyed when they 'trotted out'-as Sam slangily put it-their visitor to church on the Sunday mornings of his very frequent visits. Permission to get up the dramatic performance once obtained, the next important piece of business was the selection of the play. This was by no means an easy task, and provoked a good deal of discussion, and occasionally was the means of the stirring up of no little feeling amongst the various aspirants to 'good parts.' Eventually, however, that whilom favourite piece of amateurs, the comedy of Still Waters Run Deep, was decided upon, as being the most likely to come within the range of the various resources of those who were to interpret it; the scenery, &c., being of a simple nature. Also, another good reason for fixing upon this particular play was that Mr Delancy had previously appeared more than once in the important rôle of Captain Hawksley, and was therefore well up in the entire business of the play. Then came the distribution, amongst the embryo Irvings and Ellen Terrys, of the various parts or characters in the play. To Sam was assigned the delineation of the hero, the cool John Mildmay; and his elder sister was intrusted with the very great responsibility of representing Mrs Sternhold, the leading female character. The youthful Blanche was to impersonate the rather limp and insipid Mrs Mildmay; and old Potter fell to the share of an aspiring youthful acquaintance of Sam's, named Newgrange, who felt sure the simulation of the manner of doddering old idiots was his forte. As for the remaining minor personages of the play, Sam undertook to find adequate representatives, who, however, would not be required until the final rehearsals. After a few days' studying of the words, or what the professionals term cackle,' preliminary rehearsals of the principal characters were called by the unanimously elected stage-manager, Mr Delancy; and this gentleman now found it neces sary to run down' to the villa at more frequent intervals than the regulation Saturday to Monday. As the chief of the dramatic corps, he was extremely painstaking with the members comprising it, and ruled the histrionic aspirants under his charge with a quiet and courteous, yet firm authority which gained him much esteem. It need scarcely be said that to the ladies he devoted the closest attention. To Aurelia, who had to depict the troubles and embarrassment of Mr Potter's sister, but who had never had the opportunity of seeing the character portrayed by either professional or amateur, his coaching' was invaluable and much appreciated. In fact, it was becoming quite en evidence to those who went about with their eyes unclosed, that the fair Aurelia was surely developing a feeling towards the fascinating delineator of the scheming Hawksley which threatened to be something more than a girl's admiration for the gentleman's versatile talent, or a mere liking for his pleasant society. 'Depend upon it, me boy,' whispered the youth-in his own estimation a knowing onewho was labouring under the weighty part of Dunbilk, to his companion Newgrange, whose mission, as already stated, was to be the deline ator of the imbecile old Potter, as they watched the effective scene-known professionally as the lamp scene'-between Captain Hawksley and Mrs Sternhold-depend upon it, the little Dobson is hit; it won't be her fault if she isn't hit hard too.' The sharp eyes also of the young ladies' aunt had not failed to observe that her elder niece was unmistakably much impressed and attracted by her brother's handsome and gentlemanly new acquaintance; and being naturally of a suspicious turn of mind, she immediately sniffed' designs, on the part of the agreeable visitor, upon her niece's expectations,' which were considerable. The good old lady, however, thought fit to keep her ideas on the subject within her maiden breast; for, as she said—and not without good cause-to herself, it would be quite useless mentioning my impressions to Samuel-at present at any rate; he is as much infatuated with his new "catch" as all the rest of them. However, we shall see. It is not often I am wrong; and I do not think the unfavourable impression, which I cannot help entertaining, of this Mr Delancy will be dispelled by any future action on his part.' The concluding full rehearsals now became more frequent as the night fixed for the actual performance of the comedy drew nearer; and they undoubtedly proved to be a great source of enjoyment both to the persons immediately concerned, and those select few who were privileged to be present on the important occasions. And there exists but little doubt that a vast amount of innocent amusement, not to mention a goodly number of hearty laughs, may be got out of the many mistakes made by a party of amateurs-probably finding themselves all together for the first time-doing their honest utmost to follow successfully in the practised footsteps of the professional actor. 'Mr Potter,' for instance, was a continual cause of anxiety to the stagemanager by his pertinacity in trying practically to convince his confrères that his proper position on the stage was immediately in front of the fireplace, he with his back to it, and hands behind him playing with his coat-tails; and at the same time, every now and then giving forth a nervous, sharp little cough, as though he had got a small fishbone stuck in his throat, and was using his best endeavours to dislodge the irritating substance. The young aspirant, too, who had been 'cast' for the small part of Dunbilk would persist in indulging in the most outrageous Irish brogue, notwithstanding the earnest remonstrance of Mr Delancy, and indeed of all concerned. 'My dear young friend,' said Captain Hawksley, you don't suppose I should be such an ass as to elevate a "hod-carrying" Paddy to the proud position of assisting me to float grand schemes for the benefit of the investing public? Scarcely likely, eh? Well, then, do, for goodness' sake, tone down the "shure ;" and I really fail to discern the word "bedad" in the author's text; so kindly forget to use it.' And in this easy, bantering manner the tactical Delancy succeeded in e 219 keeping well in hand those of his little company who needed to be set right in their ideas of the characters allotted to them. The ladies framed admirably, and after two or three rehearsals, went through the business of the scenes, and moved about the miniature stage with such easy grace and freedom that would have led one to suppose they had been very much in the habit of playing at actresses, instead of the present occasion being really their first essay. As for Master Sam, he bade fair to become a formidable rival to the best professional representative of the character of John Mildmay known on the modern stage. And so matters proceeded pretty smoothly on the whole, and the theatrical undertaking at Hop Villa promised to be a great success. In the meanwhile, as hinted at previously, Mr Delancy had not allowed his chances of winning the smiles of the fair Aurelia to go by without turning them to the utmost account. Endless opportunities for indulging in the dangerous pastime of flirtation present themselves during the getting up of an amateur theatrical performance; and any fond couple desirous of enacting the leading parts in the 'old, old story,' need not despair of finding full scope for following their inclination. And so it happened with Aurelia Dobson and Frederick Delancy. Constantly thrown together, as they perforce were, whilst conning over their parts, there was little wonder that an inexperienced and withal somewhat romantically inclined girl, as Aurelia was, should become seriously taken with so clever and accomplished a man of the world as the gentleman who was so painstaking and patient with his interesting pupil. Yes, Mr Newgrange was not far out in his judgment when he expressed an opinion to his friend, in his own peculiar phraseology, that the elder Miss Dobson was in a fair way to lose her heart to the insinuating impersonator of Captain Hawksley. On one occasion, Delancy had been more tender in his manner than usual towards the susceptible young lady, and the conversation indulged in by the pair of as yet undeclared lovers was straying dangerously beyond the pale of conventionality. 'It must be nice to have wealth,' observed Mr Delancy. 'Oh, but to know that one possesses the true affection of a noble heart,' sighed his fair companion, 'must be a far worthier gratification.' 'Ah,' rejoined Delancy, modulating his really musical voice as he so well knew how, 'for want of that wealth which you speak so lightly of, Miss Dobson-Aurelia-how many a noble heart has been prevented from pouring out its impassioned prayer to the shrine it worships at. a poor man.' I am But I am rich-that is, I shall be, Fred-Mr Delancy,' impulsively exclaimed Aurelia, looking up at the object of her adoration with ill-concealed fervour; and then, it probably dawning upon her that she had exceeded the proprieties just a little, the now confused girl turned her head in the direction in which her aunt was seen approaching, and started off to obey an imaginary summons from that (on this occasion) opportune old lady. When Mr Delancy found himself that evening in the privacy of his own room, he repeated |