gives us of the heavenly Food—He Himself Priest and Victim both? This is the great, the glorious, the soul-thrilling truth which “high ritual” is intended to picture to the eye, and so to bring home to the mind and heart; nor only nor chiefly this, but rather to express it in worship,—in intelligent, open, adoring, thanksgiving, splendid worship, to the Lamb that was slain, that sitteth upon the Throne! If, my brethren, we believe this to be the rationale of such “high-ritual” as our Church by rubric or service sanctions, then how can we be patient under its non-observance, unless we feel ourselves to be hampered, like our ancestors, by surrounding prejudices and perversities? Now of course there are prejudices and perversities still existing and many of them. There are men who for the love of opposition resist and cry down ritualists. There are others, who in their inmost soul are smitten with a great fear, lest they should be beguiled of their reward in Christ, and turned into formalists and idolaters! It was to be expected that each of these classes would strenuously oppose itself to the ritual movement and even that, though they really have little in common, they would readily make common cause against ritualists. And were it not so, did neither of them show any outward sign of resistance, misconception, dislike, distrust or contempt; yet the righteous dread of causing weak brethren to offend, of shaking their confidence in those who should be their spiritual guides, of alienating their affections from their Church and their Prayer Book and of driving them into schism, would make all wise and loving reformers very cautious and slow to introduce even the most desirable changes and to revive the most important practices, very painstaking in removing prejudices and enlightening ignorance, very patient to wait long, if need be, for what they themselves so much appreciated and so eagerly desired. Nevertheless it is easy to see that there has never been a time since the Reformation when men have been so able as they are now to discriminate between what is Catholic and what is Roman, when they could venture to confess that they had made the discrimination, yes and to act upon it without inevitably leading themselves or others back into the bondage from which we have been delivered. Wherever the experiment has been fairly tried it has thoroughly succeeded: it is only those who have not tried it who doubt of, or deny the hope of its success.