the 'man of sin,' and of 'a falling away,'--he speaks not of the Church; and the very expression 'a falling away' shows that it is not the Church, but sects, to which he alludes--for the Church never fell away from any previous Church,--this is matter of {189} history; but all the sects, all schismatics, all heretics, fell away from the Catholic Church of Christ,--this is equally matter of history. No. St. Paul, the ever-glorious apostle and doctor of the Gentiles, spoke of Arius, Luther, Calvin, Knox, and Henry VIII., and all other heresiarchs, all of whom did apostatize and 'fall away,' and have by their schisms and endless divisions, and the spirit of infidelity resulting from them, paved the way for the Man of Sin, the great Antichrist, who may perhaps shortly appear, the last development of Heresy and Liberalism. But how shall sectaries take refuge in the mysterious predictions of the Apocalypse? As well might that atrocious assassin who killed Henry IV. find some excuse in the hidden words of that volume. But I might pursue the question still further. What right have sects to the Bible? Jesus Christ gave it to us, and these men have stolen our book. If they say He did not give it to us, I reply, then they ought to cease to believe that Jesus Christ ever existed, for that is no more a matter of history, nor a more certain fact, than His commission to His Church to teach all nations all truth. "But I must conclude. I have not written all this without some fear; but, my dear Mr. Spencer, I know it is a subject which is deeply interesting to you, and, therefore, however ill I may have said it, I have said it with the less hesitation. Will you write me a line to say if you can come here? I do hope you will. My father says he had the pleasure once of meeting you at Mr. Thornton's. "Believe me, my dear Mr. Spencer, "Most sincerely yours, "Ambrose Lisle Phillipps. "Clarendon Park, Loughbro', _"Dec._ 30." The letter in which Father Ignatius signified his acceptance of this invitation is still extant, and was lent by Mr. Phillipps to the Passionists for this "Life." It is interesting, as the last vibration of the needle to the pole of Catholic truth, as well as for the idea it gives of his state of mind at that time. We give it, therefore, in full. He wrote it from {190} Althorp, where the family were assembled, as usual, for the Christmas holidays. "Althorp, _Jan_. 4, 1830.