BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Hettrg W. Sage X891 3081 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029445925 BX , Cornell University Library BX5135.L85 H8 H ° W »lllPllliniM!nSn a Sa ' Pt 0r i The P r OCeSS Of olin 3 1924 029 445 925 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. HOW TO MAKE A SAINT THE PROCESS OF CANONIZATION IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. THE PRIGj-^, AUTHOR OF "THE LIFE OF A PRIG," " PRIG'S BEDE," ETC. VWc^s- C-ffWAu-euif/e. ^r^y LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO. I PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 1887. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. THE INITIAL IMPULSE II. THE PROCESS BEGINS III. VOX POPULI . IV. A BISHOP MOVES V. COUNSEL'S OPINION VI. EQUIPOLLENCE VII. MUGGINS V. MANIPLE VIII. THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH PAGE 9 16 3i 44 57 66 89 107 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. CHAPTER I. THE INITIAL IMPULSE. The grand idea of making a batch of new saints for the special use of the Church of England, as by law established, was conceived in the mind of the Rev. Kentigern Maniple, at a meat-tea in his own clergy- house. The Reverend Mother of St. Betsy's Home had just been say- ing that there was a telegram in the papers announcing the Beatification of the English martyrs, when Mr. io HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Maniple spoke these never-to-be-for- gotten words — " Why shouldn't we do it too ? " " Do what, Alexander ? " asked his sister, fearing that her brother was going to propose some scheme which would increase the already long bill at Messrs. Banneretti's great warehouse for " articles of piety." "The Romanists have just Beati- fied a number of English martyrs," answered Mr. Maniple, " and I repeat ' why shouldn't we do it too ? ' ' Then spoke Miss Scruger — a thing she seldom did, but the few words she ever uttered were supposed to be "always to the point " (whatever that may mean), and were listened to, in her own set, with respect and even awe. This was what she said upon the occasion in question : THE INITIAL IMPULSE. n " Mr. Maniple, those words of yours ' why shouldn't we do it too ? ' or other words to the same effect, may be said to have been the initial im- pulse of every movement, in a Catholic direction, taken by the Church of England from the days of early Trac- tarianism down to the present mo- ment. Let me add that I fully agree with you. We have already done everything else ; so I also say of this ' why shouldn't we do it too ? ' " " Very, very true, dear Miss Scruger," said the Rev. Mother. " But you know I like to be practical, so I will add my say to Mr. Maniple's, and it is this — ' Why shouldn't we do it at once i "And who is to do it?" asked Miss Smith, the Associate. " I am sure that Mr. Maniple would 12 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. be most welcome to the use of our chapel for the purpose, if he should think it well to do it this very night," said the Rev. Mother. " I cannot imagine a better manner of proving our belief in the Communion of Saints, than that the Father should come down this evening and proclaim some new blessed ones from our altar. It could be beautifully decorated in half an hour, and after the function we would sing a solemn Te Deum." " Saints are not made in an evening, Rev. Mother," said the curate, who was very Roman. " I never said Saints, Mr. Smiles. I said Blessed Ones." " You mean Beati ! Well, dear Rev. Mother, by a law of the Church, ten years must elapse between the presentation of the Process for the THE INITIAL IMPULSE. 13 Beatification of a holy person, and the Introduction of the Cause before the Congregation of Rites," said Mr. Smiles, who had been reading The Month. " That rule would only apply to the Roman and not to the Anglican Communion," said the Rev. Mother. " And the present times are so peculiar," put in Miss Smith. " I think this is a matter which will require very serious and mature consideration," said Mr. Maniple. " Then we are not to do it to-night, after all," murmured Miss Smith. " The Father knows best," said the Rev. Mother. " I see no objec- tion to doing it after Compline, this evening ; but you remember our rule of obedience. However, I suppose there would be nothing to prevent a 14 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Superior, in her own convent, pro- claiming from the altar step of her own oratory that one of her own community is to be invoked as Blessed by her own spiritual children. It has just occurred to me that I might do something of that kind this evening with regard to dear Sister Jane, who died last year. What do you say, Mr. Maniple?" " I really hardly know. I will look what the Catholic Dictionary says about it." And now Miss Scruger spoke again — - " Let your sisters canonize Sister Jane by acclamation. That will solve all difficulties." "Whether there ever was such a thing as Canonization by acclamation is somewhat doubtful, but it certainly THE INITIAL IMPULSE. 15 was not practised later than the tenth century," interposed Mr. Smiles. " The tenth century, indeed ! Why, we are not nearly so modern as that. Don't you know that we stopped at the sixth General Council, in the seventh century, and in a spiritual sense are not a day older ? " "Well, dear Rev. Mother," said Mr. Maniple, " I greatly admire your zeal, which is most edifying ; but we had better move in this matter with caution and deliberation. I will give the whole question my most earnest consideration, and I will call a few brother priests into council before taking further action." CHAPTER II. THE PROCESS BEGINS. " It is a most singular thing, Maniple, that this idea of yours has never occurred to any one before," said Mr. Vellum, at a private meeting of clergy convened to talk over the question of some Anglican Beatifications. " We literally have not had a single new Saint since our church has been on its present footing. Of course, all the old Anglican Saints, such as St. Alban, St. Augustine, and St. Aidan, are Church of England Saints in the strictest sense of the word ; but considering how many holy men THE PROCESS BEGINS. 17 we have had during the last three hundred years, it is wonderful that none of them should be publicly acknowledged amongst the Saints." " You put it admirably, Vellum ! We have not got a single Saint who ever used the Book of Common Prayer." " Nor assented to the Thirty- Nine Articles." "I don't think any the worse of the Saints for that." " No. But one would like to feel that there were Saints who tolerated them in the qualified way that we do." " It seems such an anomaly that every Saint in the Calendar of our Prayer - Book should have been a Roman Catholic." " Yes. And that there should be 18 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. no single Saint who represents the great principle that Papists in this country are schismatics." " It is curious again, that while the Roman Church has gone on en- riching her Calendar with Saints who lived in modern times, the English Church has never canonized a Saint since the Reformation." " Quite true. What we want are Post-Reformation Saints. Otherwise it would seem as if we did not admit that there had been any Saints in our own Church since the Reforma- tion." " What should we do with our new Saints when we got them ? " said a clergyman who had hitherto been silent. "Well! What we do with the old ones, of course." THE PROCESS BEGINS. 19 "And what do we do with the old ones ? " " Oh ! Why, honour them." " Invoke them," added a curate. " Some may," said his incumbent. " I know that you do. But there is some latitude in the Church of England about the invocation of Saints. For instance, my curate here says the Ora pro nobis, and I don't. It is one of those non-essentials about which we agree to differ." " I think the pictures and stained windows, containing representations of our new Saints, would lose much by the absence of the ancient in- scription, ' Saint So-and-so, pray for us.' " " Oh ! There would be no diffi- culty about that. The inscription might be put thus — ' Saint So-and- 20 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. so, (don't) pray for us.' Then in a case like that of our friends here, both the incumbent and the curate might say the prayer, the former saying the whole of it, and the latter omitting the ' don't.' The use of the , ' don't ' would be optional." " My idea," said another speaker "is that we shall all be allowed to put our Saints to such uses as we may think best. In the Church of England they are most commonly used for decorative purposes." " I am not so aesthetic as you. I have always understood that they were intended as an example of godly living." "That sounds well, but it is a doctrine not without its dangers, for if we look at the Calendar authorised by our Church at the beginning of THE PROCESS BEGINS. 21 the Book of Common Prayer, we shall find, among the first Saints for January, a Pope. Are Popes to be examples held up for imitation to members of the Church of England ? In March we have another Pope, and, a few days later, St. Benedict, one of the most celebrated monks in history. Is monasticism a thing which our Church wishes to en- courage ? In April we have St. Richard, who appealed to the Pope of Rome against his King, in the thirteenth century. Is this an ex- ample which a Church that makes the Sovereign its head, and declares that ' The Bishop of Rome has no juris- diction in this Realm of England,' wishes its children to follow ? " " In May, again," said another cleric, " we have St. Dunstan, a 22 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Papal Legate, who actually took the crown off one of our kings' heads for seven years ; and in June, St. Boni- face, another Papal Legate, who, not content with his oath to the Pope, must needs lay it on the tomb of Peter. In July we have St. Swithin, at whose advice King Ethelwolf pro- pagated the practice of collecting Peter's Pence throughout his king- dom, and sent an annual tribute to Rome." " But think of August ! Then we are obliged to honour St. Augustine of Hippo, who, in one of his sermons, addresses the Virgin Mary in these terms — ' O Blessed Mary, who is able enough to thank and to praise thee ? ' ' Thou receivest our prayers. By thy prayers obtain pardon for our sins. Let our supplications come THE PROCESS BEGINS. 23 into thy hallowed presence, and give us in return the medicine for our healing. If we ask through thee, make our request forgiven ; what we ask honestly, make obtainable. What we offer do thou receive ; what we pray for, do thou grant ; what we fear, do thou get remitted — for thou art the sinner's only hope.' I forget the rest." " I think I can go on for you," said Mr. Maniple, taking down Lord Bute's translation of the Breviary. 'Through thee we hope for the re- mission of our sins; in thee, O thou most blessed ! we look for our reward. Oh Holy Mary, be thou an help to the helpless, a strength to the fearful, a comfort to the sorrowful ; pray for the people, plead for the clergy, make intercession for 24 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. all women vowed to God ; may all that keep thine holy birthday feel the might of thine assistance.' " " It does seem inconsistent that we should hold up a man who could write like that as an example, and that we should then talk about Mariolatry ! " " Come, come ! There can be no doubt whatever that St. Augustine in- tended the whole of that passage to be taken figuratively." " Oh, of course ; but I should advise you not to use figures of speech of that kind when you are preaching before your Bishop, all the same." " What have we in September ? Where is the Prayer-Book? St. Jerome. Well, St. Jerome was not much sounder about the Virgin THE PROCESS BEGINS. 25 according to the commonly received Anglican view, than St. Augustine. Maniple, just hand me Lord Bute's translation of the Breviary again. St. Jerome says, 'The fact that the Virgin Mother of God had at the moment of her conception triumphed over the foul enemy of man, hath ever been borne out by the Holy Scripture, by the venerable tradition of the Church, and by her unceasing belief, as well as by the common conviction of all Bishops and faithful Catholics, and by marked acts and constitutions of the Holy See.' This is said to be spurious, but there is some doubt about it, and it may be genuine. Even if it is by one of his disciples, it looks very fishy." " Let us turn to October. On the very first day there is St. Remigius 26 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. — a Saint renowned for his miracles. Now Post-Apostolic miracles are not recognised by the Church of England. How about November? All Saints. By the way, who does that not include? H'm ! Here we have St. Clement. Another Pope ! And now we come to December. Why, I declare ! Our Calendar actually ends with a Pope — St. Sylvester, on the last day of the year." " It seems to me," said a staid old clergyman, of very moderate views, " that, as it is, we have too many Saints, rather than too few of them." " But don't you think," said another of much the same school of thought, " that it might perhaps be well to counteract the examples of some of those we have just been talking THE PROCESS BEGINS. 27 about, by appointing a few sounder ones ? " "Well, I must admit that there does appear to be a want of some kind, although I am not prepared to say exactly what it is, or how it should be met. I think my own inclination would be to get our authorities to repudiate all the Saints we have already got, with the excep- tion of Apostles and Evangelists." " Oh, that would never, never do," said Mr. Maniple. " Heaven forbid !" said Mr. Smiles. " I see ! You think the Head of our Church should not do away with the Saints en masse any more than with the Lords, but create a fresh batch when desirable." " It is the only way in which we can successfully cope with Rome. 28 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. The question is, how we are to set about it ? " "The first thing, according to Canon Law, is to get a Bishop to move in the matter." "That is awkward. I fear that if one of our Bishops were to move at all, it would be in the wrong direction." " There are two or three Colonial Bishops who, I think, might do what we wish.'' " Or the Primus of Scotland." " Or Dr. Reinkens." " None of these have jurisdiction in England." "Why not one of the Order-of- Corporate Reunion Bishops ? They invoke the Saints." " Yes. They would do very well. But then they are so terribly afraid of being found out, that they would THE PROCESS BEGINS. 29 not dare to proclaim the canoniza- tion publicly. They might perhaps canonize a few Saints for private use among members of the O.C.R., but they would not let any one else know whom they had canonized." "I am disposed to think that the best plan will be to take the bull by the horns and apply to the Arch- bishop of Mercia. Our party in the room is a fairly representative one, and we might form ourselves into a deputation. As a first step, I should propose that we write a letter to the Archbishop, signed by all of us." Everybody present agreed to this proposition. Some one then asked whom it was proposed to beatify, but it was suggested that this was a mere matter of detail, which could easily be decided at a later period. 30 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Mr. Smiles inquired whether any- thing would be done about relics. It was the opinion of the meeting that, although in the present state of religious opinion in this country no veneration of relics would be tolerated in our churches, it would be quite practicable to expose the relics of the new Saints in the Loan Collection at the South Kensington Museum. The letter to the Archbishop was then indited, and the clergy present having formed themselves into a com- mittee, the party separated. CHAPTER III. VOX POPULI. The reply of the Archbishop to the letter mentioned at the end of the preceding chapter was very courteous ; but his Grace refused to commit him- self further than to express a desire to ascertain what public opinion might be upon the subject. The committee upon reassembling to consider the Archbishop's letter, agreed that it was more encouraging than they had expected. The next step would evidently be to test and to educate the feeling of the people upon the question. As a preliminary, 32 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. the committee formed itself into a society, to be called the " Society for the Propagation of Anglican Saints." "The next thing to be done will be to call a public meeting," said Mr. Maniple. " In Exeter Hall ? " " No. I don't think that would do. Suppose we say Willis's Rooms." " The (so-called) ' Catholic Union ' meets there. St. James's Hall would be better." "Very well. And now we must really begin to consider whom we are to canonize ! " " Pray, pray remember," said Mr. Smiles, " that we must first get our candidates declared Venerable Ser- vants of God, then Blessed, and finally Saints. It is always a very long process." VOX POPULI. 33 "And is likely to be so in this instance ! " " Well, at any rate, we must have some candidates. The Archbishop wishes to ascertain public opinion on the whole matter. That will include public opinion on the question ' Who is to be canonized ? ' To find that I think we had better advertise. We might put it in this form, 'Wanted. The names of eligible members of the Church of England, who have died since the Reformation, for immediate canonization. Apply, &c.' " " I fear no one would take the trouble to answer an advertisement of that sort. I should be for putting it, 'A prize of £5 will be given for the best list of the illustrious dead of the Church of England, since the Secession of the Church of Rome.' c 34 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. That would bring us in hundreds of ' opinions ' for the Archbishop, and we should only have to give the prize to one." "And I think it would be well to have a Ladies' Committee. It could consider the claims of female candi- dates and submit them for our approval." "A capital idea. And of course we shall want a Devil's Advocate. Who is to be Devil's Advocate ? " " Don't trouble yourself on that score. We are likely to have too many Devil's Advocates. I expect we shall find the whole body of Evangelical clergy assuming that office." " That will only prove how similar the Church of England is to that of Rome," said Mr. Smiles. VOX POPULI. 35 "I am neither Roman nor Evan- gelical," said an old clergyman, " but I do feel this, that it behoves us either to repudiate Saints altogether, or else to be in a position to make new ones, if required. Mind, I am not ready to agree with all of you, that the present moment is opportune for the declaration of new Saints." " Why here is an ' inopportunist ' ! It quite reminds me of the Vatican Council. I like this. It is quite Roman," said Mr. Smiles. "Well, well, Smiles. Let me finish what I was going to say. My notion is that it is of no great conse- quence when new Saints are added to our Calendar, but that it is of vital importance to our Church to be able to show that she has the power of canonization, or else to deny that 36 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. there is such a thing as canoniza- tion." Arrangements were then made for summoning the public meeting. It would be impossible in this concise narrative to describe that great meet- ing at any length ; nevertheless, our little history would be incomplete without some notice of it. As soon as the worthy old Baronet, who was to preside, had taken his seat in the chair, he leant over towards Mr. Maniple, and whispered, " Do you think I ought to call upon some one to open the proceedings with prayer ? " " Oh," replied Mr. Maniple, whose head was full of nothing but new Saints, " that would be very prema- ture ; we have not yet determined whether prayer is to be allowed. So VOX POPULI. 37 far we have only agreed upon venera- tion." Much as we should like to give full reports of the eloquent speeches made by Mr. Maniple and Mr. Smiles — panegyrics of the Saints, the latter called them — we are obliged to refrain from doing so, through want of space. Nor can we give full details of the discussion which followed. All we can do is to give a few specimens of the many interesting suggestions and observations made by those who from time to time got upon their legs, either on the platform or in the body of the meeting. A Tory M.P. — "Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, — It gives me very great pleasure to be present here to-day at this interesting meeting, and I have listened with rapt attention to 38 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. the excellent speeches of Mr. Maniple and Mr. Smiles. Anything which can tend to the welfare of Church and State will always receive my eager support. I only venture to make one suggestion, which is that the illus- trious dead whom our worthy Bishops may think it desirable to honour, may be selected from among those who during life belonged to the Con- servative party." (Hear, hear.) A Voice. — " And that they should have been University men ! " Another Voice. — "And that they should have been gentlemen ! " A clergyman in the body of the hall now got up and begged to pro- pose a resolution that all the sufferers described in Fox's Book of Martyrs should be canonized. Another clergyman moved as an VOX POPULI. 39 amendment that a more modern book called Some Martyrs not mentioned by Fox should be substituted. A gentleman on the platform sug- gested, as a rider, that all those clergy who suffered persecution in the law courts at the instigation of the Church Association should be regarded as martyrs and considered eligible for canonization. Curates who had been suspended by their Bishops for ritu- alistic practices might perhaps be added, but he wished to leave this point to the feeling of the meeting. A clergyman, with long hair and a sweet expression, then rose to suggest that as a tribute to those great foun- ders of hymnology, Tate and Brady, their names should be added to St. Cecilia's on the 22d of November. " Oh, SS. Cecilia and Tate and Brady, 40 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. pray for us," whispered Mr. Smiles devoutly. "And I," said an ecclesiastic with a large white tie, " propose that Arch- bishop Cranmer be honoured as a Saint with Gregory the Great on the 1 2th of March." To this it was ob- jected that the collects of double Saints' days usually ran to this effect, " Grant us — that, following the steps of thy holy Saint and Saint ," or " Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine," and that since the steps of Pope Gregory the Great and Arch- bishop Cranmer would lead in directly opposite directions, and their doctrines to anything rather than union, com- plications might ensue. This diffi- culty, however, was quickly overcome, for it was pointed out that comprehen- VOX POP U LI. 41 siveness, moderation, and toleration were the chief characteristics of the Church of England, so that nothing would be easier than to frame some such collect as this — " Grant us so to join together thy holy servants St. Gregory and St. Thomas Cranmer, that by devoutly following two nega- tives we may reach unto a righteous affirmative, through, &c." A gentleman at the end of the hall rose to propose that the Very Rev. Dean Swift be raised to the altars of the Church. He hoped that the anti- phon, " O Doctor optime," from the Roman Breviary, might be used on his festival. Canon Broadman thought that the Early Puseyites and the Late Evan- gelicals might be venerated on the same day. Archdeacon Green said 42 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. that it might be well to celebrate the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Public Worship Act on Primrose Day. Dean Snarler recommended that, as there would be but few days to spare among so many new Saints, the Com- memoration of the Perversion of Cardinal Newman should be kept on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. A speaker on the platform advised that all these details should be referred to a sub-committee. With a Church so rich in illustrious dead as ours, there could be no difficulty in finding names for canonization. The chief point was to determine on the means and the method of canonization. It was then decided that meetings should be held in the provinces 1 with a view to ascertaining the general VOX POP U LI. 43 feeling of the country on the subject, in accordance with the wishes of the Archbishop. After considerable dis- cussion, it was finally resolved that "This meeting is of opinion that the Church of England should either claim its power to canonize saints, or repudiate canonization and saints altogether." CHAPTER IV. A BISHOP MOVES. After a series of meetings had been held in provincial towns, a deputation from the General Committee waited upon His Grace the Archbishop of Mercia. Mr. Maniples, as President of the S.P.A.S., in introducing the deputa- tion, began an address to the Arch- bishop, upon the desirability of adding to the present list of Anglican Saints and Martyrs, and, in short, of supply- ing a want — namely, that of any Saints since the compilation of our beautiful Book of Common Prayer. A BISHOP MOVES. 45 "Yes, my dear sir," said the Archbishop. " That is all very well ; but I am not desirous of con- sulting your deputation upon the question of the right or the wrong, the theological aspects, or the ex- pediency of canonizing some new Saints. What I want to learn from it is the general feeling of the country upon the subject. " Entirely favourable," said Mr. Maniple. " But I should like some details," said the Archbishop. Mr. Maniple then placed a pile of manuscript petitions and reports upon the table, for his Grace's subsequent and leisurely perusal, and said, " We have held enthusiastic meetings in twelve different towns." " Did you hold a meeting at Oxford, 46 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. and if so, was there any expression of adverse opinion ? " " Well, your Grace. It is rather unfortunate — but the fact was, some undergraduates created a slight dis- turbance." "We had a most sympathetic meeting at Birmingham," put in Mr. Smiles. "What is the feeling in the Potteries ? " asked the Archbishop. "There was no very special ex- pression of feeling at our meeting in that district, but we have reason for supposing that it is favourable." " How many people were present at that meeting ? " "The room was not a — very full." " Was it very empty ? " « Well — rather." " There is an outcry for new Saints A BISHOP MOVES. 47 at Kensington," said Mr. Smiles ; " the people of Hereford are praying for them, and at Gloucester they say they will have them." "What class and description of people, throughout the country, is most anxious for them ? " inquired his Grace. " I should say the maiden ladies < who attend the daily services in pro- vincial cathedrals. The most ad- vanced among the High Church clergy, too, feel very strongly upon the subject, so much so indeed, that I may perhaps be permitted to say, with all respect to your Grace, that should you fail to move in the matter, it is their intention to obtain some new Anglican Saints by another method." " Now," said the Archbishop, 48 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. " that I have heard what you gentle- men have to say, I will ask you to listen to me. As to new Saints, I should have thought that we had enough and to spare already. Indeed, I see no object to be gained by adding to their number." " Pardon me, your Grace," said Mr. Maniple ; " it is not so much that. The point is that Romanists have some apparent pretext for taunt- ing us with availing ourselves of their Saints, and having no power to canonize any for ourselves." "That is exactly what I was coming to," said his Grace. " Our power of canonization being called in question, I am prepared to inquire into the matter. May I ask whether your committee has any views as to the method by which the Church of A BISHOP MOVES. 49 England should proceed to canonize Saints ? " " The first thing," said Mr. Smiles, "would be that a Bishop should in- quire into the reputation of the persons to be canonized ; the second to prove a Non Cultus." " To prove a what ? " asked the Archbishop. " A Non Cultus. That is to say, to show that the holy persons, for whom canonization is to be asked, have not been honoured as Saints without proper ecclesiastical authority.'' " Dear me," replied his Grace. "There would not be very much difficulty about that, I should imagine." " Oh, none whatever. The third thing would be that the acts and minutes relating to these two inquiries should be sent to Convocation (which So HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. I take to be the equivalent of the Roman Congregation of Rites). The fourth would be to open the process before Convocation at the request of the postulators. The fifth would be to appoint a promoter of the faith, com- monly known as the ' devil's advocate.' The sixth step would be for Convo- cation to examine all the writings, if any, of the candidates for canoniza- tion. The seventh would be the formal Introduction of the Apostolic Process. The eighth the appointment of a delegation, consisting usually of three Bishops or other high ecclesi- astical functionaries, to hold a court to try the case, when witnesses as to the reputed virtues and miracles ascribed to the candidates would be examined. The report of this delega- tion would be printed and sent to the A BISHOP MOVES. 51 members of Convocation. The ninth proceeding would be for Convocation to study and discuss this report, and the tenth for it to appoint another' delegation to institute a still more searching inquiry into the whole matter. The eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth stages, would be three separate and solemn assemblies of Convocation to consider every par- ticular in connection with the case, and at the last of these assemblies, the Po , I mean the Head of the Church, that is to say the Queen, or her Representative, probably your Grace, would be present and give final judgment in the matter. The fourteenth process would be a general meeting of Convocation, to decide whether the beatification should be proceeded with at once, or whether, 52 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. for some reason or other, it would be better delayed for a time. The fifteenth would be the solemn cere- mony of beatification in one of our principal churches, perhaps St. Paul's Cathedral, or Westminster Abbey. By the way, two miracles would be necessary for each Saint." " Oh, come ! We will dispense with miracles," said the Archbishop. " I am glad to see your Grace ex- ercising your right of dispensation. There you are using the Power of the Keys. But to proceed. Such is a short summary of the method of beatification, without mentioning the minor details. We now approach the long process of canonization." " Stop, stop. I don't think you will find your ' processes ' adopted here. They are positively endless ! " A BISHOP MOVES. 53 " The process of ' equipollent beati- fication/ my Lord Archbishop, is rather shorter " " Oh, spare us that, Mr. Smiles. Allow me to ask you one question. You alluded just now to the Head of the Church, the Queen, or her Repre- sentative. Are you aware who is her Representative ? " " As I observed before, probably your Grace.'' " No. The Privy Council." " God forbid ! " said Mr. Smiles. "You will find that it is so. It is a body highly qualified to deal with your Saints. Let us look at the list of The Most Honourable Privy Council in Whitaker. The Master „ of the Horse, and several Ex-Masters of the Horse — all able men. I see three Roman Catholics at a glance. 54 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. What will they say to your Church of England Saints ? Your cause is likely to meet with much valuable support, again, from a celebrated Quaker, whose name stares me in the face, as well as from Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, Mr. Anthony John Mun- della, Mr. John Morley, Mr. George Osborne Morgan, and other eminent members of Her Majesty's Privy Council. The appearance of these gentlemen on the scene was to be the thirteenth step, was it not, Mr. Smiles ? " " But surely, your Grace, it is im- possible that the Privy Council could canonize a Saint. Why that would be no canonization ! " "The Privy Council represents the Crown, and acts for the Crown. I am afraid we cannot escape from A BISHOP MOVES. 55 that. But for your consolation I may observe that your case would pro- bably come before the Judicial Com- mittee only, and not before the whole Council. However, I am inclined to think we had better let the matter drop. By the way, do you know at all what the feeling on the question among churchwardens may be ? " "Among these petitions, your Grace will find one signed by a hundred churchwardens." " Ah ! I did not know that before. If the churchwardens have taken the thing up, I think we ought to go on with it. I'll tell you what I will do. It seems to me entirely a legal question: I'll take Counsel's opinion about it." "Let us implore your Grace to approach so sacred a matter through 56 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. some more suitable channel. If, for instance, your Grace would have re- course to prayer " " No. I will have Counsel's opinion ! " CHAPTER V. COUNSEL'S OPINION. "Well, gentlemen," said the Arch- bishop, when a deputation from the committee of the S.P.A.S. had re- turned at his summons, about three months later, " Well, gentlemen, I have at last obtained Counsel's opinion, and I am prepared to communicate its contents to you." " We are deeply conscious of your Grace's kindness," said Mr. Maniple. "We feel that you are to us a real Father in God," said Mr. Smiles. " I need not read the whole opinion to you," continued the Archbishop, 58 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. "but I will endeavour to give you the pith of it by reading from a sum- mary drawn up by my own solicitor. Let me see. The case lays before Counsel the suggestion of your com- mittee that an act of Convocation would canonize a Saint, provided that the Crown, or its representative, confirmed that act. Counsel is of opinion that Letters Patent would be required in addition." " They would be equivalent to a Papal Brief," said Mr. Smiles. " The case next asks the advice of Counsel as to any other methods by which he considers that Canonization would become Law. Counsel is of opinion that Canonization would be- come Law, first, by an Act of Parlia- ment in the case of any particular Saint or Saints ; secondly, by an Act COUNSEL'S OPINION. 59 of Parliament empowering a certain person or certain persons to canonize Saints, when that person or those persons exercised that power or those powers; thirdly, by Act of Parlia- ment attaching the power of canoniza- tion to a certain office or offices, when the person or persons who held that office or those offices exercised his or their powers." The Archbishop gave a dry cough, and added, " It occurred to me that a danger presented itself here. For if an Act of Parliament were to be passed attaching the right of canonization to certain offices, a House of Commons such as that at present sitting might attach that right to some lay office. Canonizations, for instance, might be in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, the Prime Minister, or the Home Secretary. 60 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. A fresh case, therefore, was submitted to Counsel — you see, gentlemen, we have not been idle — asking the ques- tion whether the attachment of the power of canonization to a lay office by Act of Parliament would be pos- sible. Counsel was of opinion that the attachment of the power of cano- nization to a lay office by Act of Parliament would be very possible." " But such a canonization would not be worth the paper it was written on, in the eyes of the Church ! " ex- claimed Mr. Smiles. "Yes, it would," said the Arch- bishop. " You must recollect that the Head of the Church is the Crown, and that an Act of Parliament is an Act of the Crown, and consequently an Act of the Head of the Church." " May we ask how your Grace pro- COUNSEL'S OPINION. 61 poses to get over the difficulty of a possibility of canonization by lay officials ? " " We submitted a third case to Counsel, stating our dilemma, and asking his advice as to the course we had best follow. Counsel was of opinion Mr. Maniple groaned, and whis- pered to Mr. Smiles, " To think that an object so holy should be reduced to this eternal ' Counsel is of opinion/ " to which Mr. Smiles replied, "After all, the Devil's Advocate himself is a sort of lawyer." "That there could be no certain means of providing against all possi- bility of the power in question being placed in the hands of laymen, if, as a method for rendering that power legal, an Act of Parliament should 62 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. be selected. If it were an object of any importance that such a power should not be placed in the hands of laymen " " If it were an object of any impor- tance," murmured Mr. Maniple. " As if any object could possibly be of greater importance." " It might be safer to proceed in some other manner. With regard to another alternative proposed in the case, Counsel is of opinion that some rector or incumbent should place in his church a stained glass window, or statue or statues, representing the person or persons whom it is pro- posed to canonize, with an inscription underneath such representation or representations, describing such per- son or persons, as ' Saint John Doe,' or ' Saint Richard Roe,' as the case COUNSEL'S OPINION. 63 might be, and further, that the said rector or incumbent should cause a hymn to be sung, or some prayers to be said, in honour of such reputed Saint or Saints." ' Such a proceeding would violate the rule of Non Cultus," said Mr. Smiles. " The Non Cultus has already been proved," said Mr. Maniple. " Counsel is further of opinion that three parishioners of the said rector or incumbent should, pro forma, take action against their rector or in- cumbent, with the consent of their Bishop. The proceedings would then assume the form of a friendly law- suit. The case would probably come before the Arches Court. Whatever the decision given in that Court, Counsel would advise that an appeal 64 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. be made to the Privy Council, and it is his opinion that if the Privy Council should uphold the judgment of the Court of Arches, if that judg- ment were favourable, or reverse the judgment of the Court of Arches, if that judgment were adverse, the canonization of the Saint or Saints would become law." " So it can really be done ! " ex- claimed Mr. Maniple, triumphantly. " But the canonization would be the act of a lay tribunal," said Mr. Smiles. " Not entirely," said the Arch- bishop, " for I should sit on it, and so, probably, would the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. You must remember that, in the opinion of Counsel, your only alternative is an Act of Parliament, which would ex- COUNSEL'S OPINION. 65 pose you to the danger of having your canonizations placed exclusively in the hands of some lay official, possibly a Nonconformist." "Good Heavens!" said Mr. Maniple. " And so, gentlemen," continued the Archbishop, "you must perceive that I have done everything for you that lies in my power. It is now time that I left the matter entirely in your hands, especially as I may have to sit as a judge upon the case in the Privy Council. This much, however, I promise you, that if you like to get up your typical case in my own diocese, I will give leave to the parishioners to prosecute." CHAPTER VI. EQUIPOLLENCE. A committee of the S.P.A.S. met to consider the report of the deputa- tion to the Archbishop. "The worst of it is," said Mr. Maniple, " that even if the Privy Council decides in favour of the canonization, the highly important and necessary processes of Venera- tion and Beatification will have been entirely omitted." " I think we may take it," said Mr. Smiles, "that such a canoniza- tion would be equivalent to a Papal Indult, which, to use an ecclesiastical EQUIPOLLENCE. 67 term, grants de facto ' Equipollent Veneration ' and ' Equipollent Beatifi- cation.' " " Oh, that will be all right, then ! " " But there is another very serious matter to be considered, and that is the tremendous expense that would be incurred in the process. You see we should have to pay the costs of both sides in this ' friendly lawsuit.' " " I have an idea," exclaimed Mr. Maniple. Now had it not been from an idea of Mr. Maniple's that the whole proceeding of the canoniza- tion of the Church of England Saints had taken its origin ? Mr. Maniple's ideas were precious above rubies and fine gold, and were listened to with eager ears. " My idea is," continued he, " that by a little judicious manoeuvring we 68 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. might contrive that the Church Asso- ciation should prosecute us. Then, if we were defeated, it would cost us no more ; whereas, if we were victo- rious, the Church Association would have the honour of bearing the whole, and very tremendous expense, of the process of canonization of the Church of England Saints." "And would it not be possible to get the English Church Union to pay the costs, if we should be defeated ? Then one or other of these great societies would certainly have the privilege of bearing the whole ex- pense." " Admirable. Our only expense would be to provide the stained window or statue, to provoke the action." " I should suggest a bazaar for EQUIPOLLENCB. 69 that. And it will be worth bearing in mind that the congregations and the offertory in the church, which gives rise to such a cause celebre, will be enormous." "And its priest will himself earn the crown of a saint and a martyr, through the persecution to which he will be exposed." "Well. Is it to be a stained glass window, or a statue ? I vote for a statue ! " " So do I." "And how many holy people shall we endeavour to canonize ? " " I should propose one for every century during any part of which the Church of England has existed on its present footing — the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th. It may be better not to put too many into our test case, for our 70 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Counsel ma}' have to fight for hours over every one of them." Some discussion followed upon this question, but it was at last agreed upon that four would be sufficient. One of the committee asked whether it would not be possible to reserve a " power to add to their number," but Mr. Smiles said that this would be uncanonical. It was finally decided that the names selected should be Richard Hooker for the 16th century, William Laud for the 17th century, Samuel Johnson for the 18th century, and Hannah More for the 19th cen- tury — the choice for the last-named century had been left to the Ladies' Committee. Mr. Maniple's church was selected for the scene of the conflict. Old engravings and copies of EQUIPOLLBNCE. 71 pictures were sent to a celebrated firm in Bavaria, and in course of time large and heavy cases arrived con- taining images of the new Saints. They were each more than four feet high and beautifully coloured. Saint Richard Hooker was dressed in a simple, but gracefully flowing black gown, and white Geneva bands, edged with gold. Over his right shoulder appeared the mask of an angry female face (his wife's) as an emblem of his martyrdom. A plain gold aureole surrounded his head, and at the base of the statue was the inscription " Saint Richard Hooker, Conf. Doct." Saint William Laud was dressed in his rochet and lawn sleeves. He carried his head under his left arm. Mr. Smiles insisted upon this to show that he had been beheaded for the 72 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. faith. Beneath him was inscribed "Saint William Laud, Bp. and Mart." Saint Samuel Johnson was por- trayed in his usual and well-known costume. He was represented in the act of performing his celebrated pen- ance, the raindrops being typified by crystals here and there upon his clothes. He stood with both feet upon a large copy of his own Dic- tionary, to show the vanity of all earthly learning. His inscription was " Saint Samuel Johnson, Conf. Doct." In Saint Hannah More's statue, the female costume of the early part of this century was faithfully followed. Her large black bonnet was sur- mounted by an aureole of unusual magnificence. In her right hand she BQUIPOLLENCB. 73 held a rod, as an emblem of her use- fulness as a schoolmistress. Under her left arm she carried a volume on which was written the name of her famous book — " Practical Piety," and under her right foot was a torn volume, with " stage plays " upon its cover, in illustration of the legend that she even relinquished the practice of writing sacred dramas, in order to lead a life of retirement and holiness. Her inscription was simply " Saint Hannah More, Virg." A fifth case contained small replicas of these statues, but a few inches high (coloured 6s., uncoloured 2s. 6d.), for sale among the faithful. Besides these, a large parcel arrived full of small pictures of the four Saints, with lace-edged borders, for insertion in prayer-books. Cheap editions of 74 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. their lives, with selections from their writings, were supplied by an English firm of booksellers. There was an immense sensation in Mr. Maniple's rather small congrega- tion, when it was announced that on the following Sunday, after Evensong, the statues of four new Church of England Saints would be exposed in the side chapel for Veneration ; that they would be solemnly blessed ; that a special service would be held in their honour ; that they would be car- ried round the church in solemn pro- cession, accompanied by the Sisters of St. Betsy's Home, and all the parish guilds and confraternities wearing their medals and insignia ; that the choir would consist of picked voices from some half-dozen churches noted for their fine singing, with full orchestral EQUIPOLLENCE. 75 accompaniment ; and that the pane- gyric of the new Saints would be preached by the Rev. Tonans Bawler, Provincial Secretary to the S.P.A.S. Handbills were scattered far and wide, especially among members of the Church Association and the Eng- lish Church Union, and the neigh- bourhood of the church was placarded with huge and brilliant posters. Before the end of the intervening week, letters had appeared in several of the newspapers calling attention to this unusual and " illegal " proceeding, and demanding that the Archbishop should put a stop to it. Two hours before the service, every inch of standing-room in the church was occupied. The side chapel was hung with crimson drapery, trimmed with gold lace — the work of Mr. 76 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Smiles ; the four statues stood upon portable stands, and were surrounded with quantities of the richest exotic flowers and large tropical plants. Chandeliers suspended from the ceil- ing held hundreds of candles. Evensong was got through as quickly, and with as little singing, as possible, and then Mr. Bawler preached his panegyric. He was eloquent about the virtues of Saint William Laud — his zeal against the Puritans and the Papists, and his fortitude in enduring martyrdom on Tower Hill. He expa- tiated on the merits of the all but inspired writings of Saint Richard Hooker, and he dwelt upon the sufferings, which he bore with so much patience, from his shrew-like wife. When he came to Saint Samuel EQUIPOLLENCE. 77 Johnson, he began by pointing out the miracle that attended his early life, when he was taken by his pious mother to be "touched for the evil" by Queen Anne. Then he described, at considerable length, his celebrated penance. In the next place, he quoted the Saint as one of the best known authorities of the eighteenth century in favour of prayers for the dead. Lastly, he dwelt upon his bold cham- pionship of the Church of England, his truthfulness, honesty, and inde- pendence of mind. And now, said the preacher, it was a pleasure to turn to one of those virgin Saints whom the Church always delighted to honour, a Saint who might be called the St. Scholastica of modern times. In the second half of the eighteenth century, her wonderful 78 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. school was the most flourishing in the kingdom, and became the nursery of future Christian wives and mothers. If she could be compared to St. Scho- lastica in the early part of her life, she still more deserved comparison with St. Teresa in the later part of it. The writings of that great mystic were approached if not sur- passed by St. Hannah's Christian Morals, her Practical Piety, her Shep- herd of Salisbury Plain, and her Essay on the Character and Writings of St. Paul. Henceforward the Church would honour Saint Hannah More, with St. Teresa, St. Catharine of Sienna, St. Catharine of Genoa, Blessed Margaret Mary, Blessed Juliana, and Blessed Angela of Foligno, as hand- maidens who have filled the resplendent office of edifying the whole Christian EQUIPOLLENCB. 79 world. It was a singularly happy coincidence that almost at the same moment that the Church of Rome had Beatified Sir Thomas More, the Church of England had Canonized his name- sake, Saint Hannah More. But, while we rejoiced at the eleva- tion to our altars of these particular Saints, it behoved us to rejoice yet more at the resuscitation of the power of canonization in our beloved Church of England. He hoped and believed that those four great Saints, whose effigies now stood before his hearers amidst flowers and candles, were but the precursors of an army of Church of England saints and martyrs, whose representations would ere long fill the niches and windows of our churches, throughout the length and breadth of the land, while their names filled all 80 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. the, at present, blank days in the Cal- endar of the English Prayer-Book. He was not at liberty to enter then into the details of the method of canonization that had been adopted by the authorities of the Church of Eng- land ; but he implored his hearers, as faithful children of the Church, to trust implicitly to the wisdom of their ecclesiastical superiors, and to rest assured that by honouring the new Saints in every manner that lay in their power, they would insure the integrity of the process, should any part of it be still incomplete. The hardest heart in the congregation was touched by the eloquence of the preacher, whose style was carefully copied from that of a priest renowned for his sermons in a certain French Cathedral. EQUIPOLLENCE. 81 The candles were now lighted about the statues of the Saints, and Mr. Maniple, attired in a rich cope, came out of the vestry, accompanied by numerous acolytes. The magnificent choir then burst forth into melodious song, and the "function" began. Mr. Maniple prostrated himself before each of the statues in turn, blessed them, censed them, and sprinkled them with holy water. The statues were then carried round the church amidst clouds of incense, while the choir sang hymns and litanies. A solemn Te Deum followed. Mr. Smiles then entered the sanc- tuary accompanied by a server carry- ing a large basket, containing medals of the new Saints, which he distri- buted to the congregation from the communion rails. Then Mr. Maniple 82 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. came forward and invited all, who felt so disposed, to join the Confraternity of Saint Hannah More, or the Guild of Saint William Laud, to become members of the Order of Hookerites, or Oblates of Saint Samuel Johnson. Clergy would receive members in the church for the first, in the vestry for the second, in the side chapel for the third, and in the private oratory of St. Betsy's Home for the fourth. Many hundreds stayed for this pur- pose, and the reception of Oblates, Hookerites, and members of the Guild and the Confraternity, continued until a late hour of the night. The excitement was immense — so was the offertory, and, to his eternal honour be it spoken, not one penny of it would Mr. Maniple take for his own private use. The whole of it was dis- EQUIPOLLENCB. 83 tributed among the various hospitals of London ! During the following week, indeed weeks, the church was crowded with a stream of sightseers and pilgrims. The bookseller who kept a shop hard by did an enormous trade in statuettes, medals, lives and copies of the writings of the new Saints, Mr. Bawler's pane- gyric was soon "sold out," and even copies of Saint Samuel's Dictionary were purchased at a premium. An octave of services was held in the church, every service being so crowded that it was difficult to find standing room. All the illustrated journals contained pictures of the four statues, and most of them had also portraits of Mr. Maniple and Mr. Smiles. So great was the rush of people, that a special line of omnibuses was 84 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. put on to take pilgrims to the church. Enterprising vendors erected booths near its door, for the sale of oranges, gingerbread, nuts and peppermints. A speculative printer stole an unfair march upon the orthodox bookseller, by publishing and causing to be sold outside the door of the church, penny books of prayers to the new Saints. His success was extraordinary, and it was even hinted that he enjoyed the secret connivance of Mr. Smiles. Nor was the opposite theological faction idle. Sermons were preached against " the new apostasy." Tracts were issued denouncing those who had bowed the knee to Baal. Street orators lifted up their voices against the worship of graven images, before the very doors of Mr. Maniple's church, and they spoke of that gentle- EQUIPOLLENCE. 85 man himself as the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. The Low Church papers had furious articles, while the literary weeklies treated the whole affair with ridicule. A lower grade of mockers sold profane caricatures of the four sacred statues, both in the form of prints and ridiculous dolls. Sandwich men, dressed after the effigies of the new Saints, paraded the streets with ad- vertisements of theatres and soaps. A question was asked in the House of Commons about the proceedings at Mr. Maniple's church. " Hooker Hair Wash," "Laudian Scarves," " Johnsonian Braces," and " Hannah More Handkerchiefs," were sold in the shops. The most curious feature of the movement was the hostile attitude as- 86 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. sumed by some of the High Church journals. They pointed out, with much show of reason, that not one of the four so-called Saints, about whom there was such a fuss, had yet been canonized. Only one of the religious journals, and that the most advanced, expressed confidence in the proceedings of Mr. Maniple and his friends ; but the editor of that journal had been allowed to see a little behind the scenes by the committee of the S.P.A.S. That committee had not very long to wait for the institution of thewished- for legal proceedings. For a few days the functions at the church were so successful, and brought about so little apparent opposition, that the S.P.A.S. began to be a little nervous as to the success of the great scheme, and Mr. Maniple did not at all relish EQUIPOLLENCE. 87 the prospect of being left stranded with the four uncanonized Saints which had been fathered upon him. But before long the great case of Muggins v. Maniple was fairly under way, or rather we should say that it was set down for hearing. The public excitement now became more intense than ever, while Mr. Maniple's church was generally full whenever open. A Defence Fund was started, and eager subscribers crowded round a little table at the door of the church, begging to have their names put down in support of the good work. After every service there was a crush, at the clergy-house door, of sympathisers anxious to condole with Mr. Maniple under his persecution, and to shake — and even kiss — the 88 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. martyr's hand, while large numbers of the more devout knelt to receive his blessing. Twelve mature spinsters took a vow that if he were sent to prison, they would go with him. Great inquiries were made as to the identity of the miscreant, Muggins. Some disappointment was felt when it became known that he was a very quiet, and unostentatious, retired tradesman, living in the parish, who had allowed his name to be used in the suit, but took little, if any personal interest in the matter. CHAPTER VII. MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. It would be useless to weary our readers with an account of the tedious preliminaries which precede an ecclesi- astical suit in the Court of Arches. That so sacred a matter as the canonization of Saints should be taken out of priestly hands and intrusted to a Court of Law, was a source of great grief and sorrow to the members of the committee of the S.P.A.S., but a sense of duty enabled them to bear up. Mr. Maniple was anxious to find a Counsel imbued with a " Catholic 90 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. spirit ; " but against this Mr. Spinks, his legal adviser, protested most strongly. " The man for you," he said, " is Sinister. If you don't get Sinister you will do no good at all. I implore you to allow me to retain Sinister at once ! " Mr. Maniple demurred, but eventually gave way. Now Mr. Sinister was not exactly a man distinguished for his devotion to Saints and Angels. It might even be said that his devotion to the Creator of Saints and Angels was far from pronounced. Possibly he may have spent his nights in prayer and austeri- ties, but if so he scrupulously obeyed the precept against letting the left hand know what the right hand doeth. A remarkable article, of more than doubt- ful orthodoxy, which had appeared in MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 91 one of the Monthlies, was attributed to his pen, but with what truth we are not in a position to state. He was considered a very fine judge of racing and female beauty, and he was an excellent diner-out. Mr. Maniple and his friends were recommended by Mr. Spinks to place their case unreservedly in Mr. Sinister's hands, and on no account to hamper him with any expressions of opinion as to the manner in which they wished it to be conducted. In a court of law it would become a purely legal question, and personal feelings would have to be entirely subordinated to the technical exigencies of the trial. Mr. Smiles persisted in speaking of Mr. Sinister as their Postulator, and of Mr. Frumps, the leader on the other side, as the Promoter (Devil's 92 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Advocate). "After all," said he, when they found themselves in the somewhat secular precincts of the law court, " we have only to fancy our- selves in the court delegated by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. I de- clare, I rather like it." The greater part of the first day of the trial was occupied by wranglings between Messrs. Frumps and Sinister over technical objections, and, to the horror of Mr. Maniple, it seemed at one time not unlikely that, on the ground of some legal quibble, his counsel would succeed in preventing the trial from coming off at all. At last Mr. Frumps got fairly under way. We will not trouble our readers with his long speech in open- ing his case. For a day and a half he prosed away. He contended that MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 93 there was no authority whatever for the addition of new Saints to those already named in the Calendar at the beginning of the Book of Common Prayer. This took about two hours. Then he proceeded to show that even if such a thing were permissible, a rector or incumbent could not do it without higher authority. After that he tried to prove that the four charac- ters which had been selected were not saintly, quoting largely from histories and other books, as well as from their own writings, in proof of this con- tention. Last of all, he argued, at great length, that even if new Saints could be nominated, and an ordinary rector or incumbent had the power of so nominating them, and if the four characters chosen by the defendant were worthy of being honoured as 94 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Saints, the defendant had no right to erect the statues in his church with- out a special faculty. He then called a number of wit- nesses to prove the offence. Most of these described the nature of the special services at Mr. Maniple's church, the statues, their position, and so on. Few of them escaped cross-examination by Mr. Sinister. Here is a specimen of it. Mr. S. "Are the statues attached to the pedestals ? " Witness. " I don't know." Mr. S. " Are the pedestals, on which the statues stand, attached to the fabric of the church ? " Witness. " I can't say." Mr. S. "Are the inscriptions be- neath the statues on the upper parts of the pedestals, or on the MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 95 lower parts of the statues them- selves ? " Witness. " On the lower parts of the statues." Mr. S. "Will you swear that they are not on the pedestals ? " The witness would not like to swear that they were not on the pedestals, but he thought . Mr. Sinister did not wish to know what he thought. Did the witness know whether the statues always remained in the church, both by day and by night ? He did not. And yet, said Mr. Sinister, he had sworn that the statues were erected in the church. Did he understand the legal significa- tion of the term " erected ? " He did not. Then how could he venture to swear, upon his solemn oath, that they were erected ? 96 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Then a witness described the first great function on the Sunday evening, and the blessing of the statues. He had said that Mr. Maniple had sprinkled them with holy water. Would he. swear that the water was holy ? Could he de- fine holy water ? Was he prepared to say, on his oath, that he saw any water at all ? How far was he stand- ing from Mr. Maniple ? Could he point to Mr. Maniple in court ? Was there a crowd in the church ? Were any of the congregation standing at the time ? What was the witness's height ? And how was it that he, a man only 5 feet 4 inches high, could see everything that Mr. Maniple did, when a number of people, many of whom, taking the average height, would be taller than himself, in- MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 97 tervened between himself and Mr. Maniple? Did he, or did he not, possess the faculty of seeing through opaque objects ? After a week of this kind of thing, Mr. Sinister rose to reply. He main- tained that it had not been proved that either Hooker, Laud, Johnson, or Hannah More had been venerated as Saints at all in Mr. Maniple's church. Not a single witness had been able to swear what words had been used in the so-called Blessing of the Statues, so there was no evidence that they had been blessed. No hymns had been used except those to be found in the hymn-book of the church, which he should produce. It was positively miraculous " Why, I do believe he is going to bring forward evidence of miracles in 98 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. support of the Saints' canonization," whispered Mr. Smiles. — that so trivial a case should have been brought into court. As to the statues, they could not be said to be " erected " in the church: He should call witnesses to prove, not only that they were not attached to the pedes- tals, but that even the pedestals themselves were not fastened to the floor of the church. With regard to the inscriptions, the only word objected to was that of " Saint." Now he would read the definition of the word in a standard- dictionary. It was true that one of the meanings given was " one canon- ized by the Roman Catholic Church," but nothing could be clearer than that the defendant never pretended either of the four characters to have been MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 99 canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Not one of them had even been a Roman Catholic, and was he to be asked to believe that the Roman Catholic Church would canonize a per- son who had belonged to a Protestant Church ? Some other meaning had, therefore, to be looked for. Here was one, " a sanctified or holy person." Here was another, "one eminent for piety.'' Here was a third, " one of the blessed in heaven." So out of the four meanings given, only one signified a canonized person, and even that one was limited to canonization by the Roman Catholic Church. Now there was not a grain or a tittle of evidence to show that the defendant had intended to use the word "Saint" in the sense of canonization Mr. Maniple groaned. loo HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. — much less in the sense of Roman Catholic canonization. There was already a statue of Dr. Samuel Johnson in St. Paul's Cathedral, with an inscription far stronger than that used by the defendant. The learned Counsel then proceeded to read copies of a number of inscrip- tions on monuments in Westminster Abbey and other churches, which he argued were much more extravagant than the simple " Saint So-and-So " beneath the statues in the defendant's church. He even produced six, from different parts of England, in which the subject of the inscription was spoken of as having been " a true saint," and " a true saint " was a much stronger expression than "a saint." Even if the Court should decide MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 101 that the defendant had honoured Hooker, Laud, Johnson, and Hannah More as Saints, the onus of proof would lie with the plaintiff, who would have to show that they were not Saints. He would willingly concede to his learned friend all that he had brought forward against their char- acters ; but Christian theologians of all schools of thought — he read quota- tions from the works of Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Irvingite, and Lutheran divines, in proof of his assertion — -were of opinion that per- fect repentance at the last moment of life insured eternal happiness in heaven, and those who were in heaven were Saints. He challenged his learned friend to prove that either Hooker, Laud, Johnson, or Hannah More had failed to make an act of 102 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. perfect contrition immediately before the soul left the body. He then called his witnesses. Several of them had constantly at- tended the services in the defendant's church, including the function of the (alleged) Benediction of the Statues, and they swore that they had never heard any devotions used there, except such as were to be found in The Book of Common Prayer, and The Hymnal Noted. One of his witnesses declared on his oath that he had stood in the front row, within three yards of the defendant, during the so-called Blessing of the Statues, and that he had neither heard any blessing, nor seen any holy or other water used; that the defendant had not genuflected, nor, to his know- ledge, kissed the feet of the statues Mr. Spinks had to hold Mr. Maniple MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 103 down by the coat-tails when this piece of evidence came out. Another witness, who usually at- tended St. Albans, Holborn, said that he had lately, on several occasions, been to the services at the defendant's church. He swore that they were not of a very advanced type. They were not even what he should call ritualistic. He should say they were rather behind the times Mr. Maniple and Mr. Smiles writhed They were some- what of the " high and dry " type. " That is infamous," exclaimed Mr. Maniple. " If any person gives vent to an expression of opinion like that again, I shall order that person to be removed from the court," said the judge. Mr. Sinister put in as evidence a little book called Romish Fallacies, by 104 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. the defendant. Now this book was a very sore subject with Mr. Maniple. He had written it — it was but a two- penny pamphlet — before he had been ordained. The fact was that he had begun his clerical career as an Evan- gelical, like his father before him. During the last fifteen years he had developed into a High Churchman of a very pronounced type, and nothing galled him more than to be reminded that he had been at one time at the other end of the ecclesiastical ladder. When, therefore, Mr. Sinister pro- duced Romish Fallacies, and began deliberately to read extracts from it, it was all that Mr. Spinks could do to keep his client quiet. After reading several passages, Mr. Sinister said, " I think I have read enough to prove the innocence of the MUGGINS v. MANIPLE. 105 defendant with regard to any undue reverence to the dead, but I wish to call special attention to the last few words of the chapter from which I have selected my extracts. ' In short/ says he, ' the doctrine of Saint-worship is one of the most unscriptural and revolting of the many errors with which the Roman Church is blackened. Nay, more. I would most thankfully and gladly see every Saint's name blotted out of the Calendar of the Church of England.' " There was a considerable number of High Church clergy in court. Most of them had come to show respect to the Confessor of the Faith under persecution, and it may be readily imagined that this revelation of his former opinions was a shock to their feelings. io6 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. No less shocked was Mr. Maniple himself, and for a moment he almost wished, for a second time, that every Saint's name had been blotted out of the Calendar of the Church of England. After a delay of many weeks, the judge delivered his judgment. It was very long, and the report covered a whole page of The Times. The pith of it was a full verdict for the defen- dant, costs to follow the suit. Mr. Muggins immediately gave notice of appeal. CHAPTER VIII. THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. Mr. Maniple was greatly averse to employing Mr. Sinister a second time, but the other members of the committee of the S.P.A.S. outvoted him. He had obtained victory for them thus far, and , if he could be equally successful before the Privy Council, their end would be attained and canonization would become part of the Law of the Church of England. Between the trials of Muggins v. Maniple in the Court of Arches and the Privy Council, the celebrated ritual case of Smith v. Pigeon came 108 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. before the former court. In this case, Mr. Sinister held a brief for the plaintiff. Mr. Maniple and Mr. Smiles were aghast at the manner in which their " Postulator " declaimed against the candles, incense, holy water, elevations, prostrations, and genuflections of the unfortunate " Father " Pigeon. His sarcasms and sneers at everything that was ritualistic and holy made them deeply regret that such a blasphemer was, or had ever been, in their employ. Yet everybody congratulated them upon being represented by so able an advocate. If the trial in the Court of Arches was long and tedious, that before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was even more so. To give any account of the brilliant pleadings THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. 109 of Messrs. Sinister and Frumps, in this small volume, would be impos- sible. Public opinion on the trial ran very high. It was generally con- sidered extremely doubtful which way judgment would go, and Mr. Maniple was both scandalised and disgusted at hearing a story — we hope untrue — that in a certain club smoking-room his Counsel had offered to take 55 to 50 about his case. At last the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council gave judgment. It was a very long one, and we can but notice a few points in it. Their Lordships said that it had been contended on the one side that the word " Saint " was a title con- veying honours to the dead, just as a peerage or baronetage conveyed honours to the living ; on the other, no HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. that it was a mere adjective, like " good," " holy," or " pious." The Counsel for the defence had argued with very great ability that his client had shown, by all his proceed- ings in the matter, that he attached no superstitious meaning to the word Saint " Really, Mr. Maniple," whispered Mr. Spinks, " if you cannot control your feelings, we shall be turned out of court." But he had placed the statues, bearing the inscriptions, in a public church under the rule of the Church of England ; and although it appeared by the evidence that he had not put them in a prominent position, he had called attention to them by singing hymns, reading prayers, and lighting candles before them. He had, there- THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH, in fore, used the word Saint, by means of the inscriptions, in a public manner, during divine service. Their Lordships were of opinion that the word Saint was a distinctive, but posthumous title. From the re- tention of the names of many Saints in the Calendar of the Prayer-Book, it was evident that the Church of England recognised the fact that for- merly such titles were legally conferred; but it appeared to them equally evident from the Church's silence with regard to any formula or authority for con- ferring such titles in the future, that it was her intention they should fall into disuse. If she had not desired the title of Saint to become obsolete, she would probably have conferred it upon Henry VIII., Queen Elizabeth, and other distinguished personages U2 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. who helped to establish the Church on its present footing. The very fact of her having appointed a special service for King Charles as a Martyr, but not a Saint, showed that she con- sidered the latter title to have fallen into disuse. Mr. Sinister had quoted extracts from the writings of Bishops of the Church of England, in which they alluded to Saint Francois de Sales, who had lived since the present Establishment of the Church of Eng- land, as a proof that the authorities of that Church recognised the title of Saint, even when conferred after the Reformation ; but this merely showed that the title, although ob- solete in England^ was still in use abroad. It had not been pretended that Hooker, Laud, Johnson, or Hannah THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. 113 More had had the title of Saint con- ferred upon them by any foreign Church, and even if they had, being British subjects, they could not enjoy the use of a foreign title in this country. It had been contended on behalf of the defendant, that as living people were permitted to assume the title of Mr. and Esquire, without let or hin- drance, it would be very unfair that an honorary title should not be allowed to the dead. A number of cases in which the prefix of Saint had been used, had been put in as evidence. Much evidence had also been brought forward to prove that many of those honoured with the title of Saint had lived lives which had been far from spotless. Their Lordships were prepared to H ii4 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. admit the argument for the defence so far as it demanded the right to apply to the dead as well as to the living some honorary title equivalent to Mr. or Esquire ; but, while giving its full value to all the evidence ad- duced in support of the use of the word Saint, they could not but regard it as a distinctive and exclusive title, only conferred under certain circum- stances and by special authority, a title, moreover, which the silence of the rubrics implied was intended by the Church of England to fall into disuse. The only remaining question was what honorary title the Church of England allowed to be applied to the dead. Counsel for the defendant had proved that in common parlance the word " poor " had by general consent THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. 115 been prefixed to the names of the dead in this country. This their Lord- ships were prepared to admit, but they denied Counsel's contention that the word Saint stood on exactly the same footing. Members of the Church of England had been in the habit of speaking of their departed friends as " poor So-and-so " with impunity from time immemorial, but not of speaking of them as " Saint So-and-so." All things being duly considered, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council reversed the decision of the court below on all counts, with the exception that it ordered the statues to remain in the church, and the in- scriptions beneath them to be changed from " Saint Richard Hooker, Saint William Laud, Saint Samuel Johnson," and " Saint Hannah More," to " Poor n6 HOW TO MAKE A SAINT. Richard Hooker, Poor William Laud, Poor Samuel Johnson," and " Poor Hannah More. The Aureoles were to be removed, but the armorial bearings of the deceased were to be emblazoned upon the pedestals." " Well, Mr. Smiles," said the Arch- bishop, when a deputation from the S.P.A.S. called upon him to ask whether there was anything left to be done, " I can only see one course left open to you. You must consider the word ' Poor ' equipollent to the word ' Saint' " PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON. By the Same Author. THE LIFE OF A PRIG. By One. * "We strongly recommend this little book. . . . It is really extremely clever." — Pall Mall Gazette. "An amusing sketch. . . . The quality of satire is not strained, and is consistently presented." — Saturday Review. "Perfect of its kind. . . . Full of the legitimate caricature which modern realism has generally lost the knack of." — Weekly Register. ' ' The satire is clever and keen ; all but the par- ticular class of prig transfixed will admit that it is not ill-tempered." — Scotswan. "This amusing little squib is in reality a veritable sermon in a laugh." — Dublin Review. "It is a trifle, but a trifle with an important moral." — British Quarterly Review. London : Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. By the Same Author. THE VENERABLE BEDE, EXPURGATED, EXPOUNDED, AND EXPOSED. By The Prig. "'The Prig's' Bede is a triumphant and exceedingly- amusing refutation of an impossible and absurd position. . . . Apart from the genuine fun of the book, it is interesting." — The Guardian. "A smartly written and amusing book. . . . There is throughout the work a vein of satire which never exceeds its proper bounds, and the reader cannot help smiling at some of the author's notes." — Morning Post. " The Prig is a welcome author. . . . His drolleries and audacities are endless. . . . Prig's humour is perfect, and the laughter he creates wholesome. Men who know the taste of good literature will relish the book." — Western Morning News. " These notes from first to last are full of satire and humour, delicately expressed ; and the most sober theologian will find it hard to re^d even a couple of pages without stopping for a hearty laugh, while those who read the book simply as an intellectual pastime will enjoy it thoroughly." — Belfast Northern Whig. "The author is a fervent admirer of the Church Estab- lishment." — Melbourne Argus. "Ne quali sono descritti con abilita straordinaria e con ironia squisita le prodezze et le stravaganze degli Anglicani che pretendono di far da cattolici." — Civilta Cattolica. London : Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.