for circumstantial evidence. Now the character of these two women, can be summed up in one word, which it is not polite to utter.

It is true Mr. Finlason seemed smitten with both of them, and such traces of their antient charms do they retain, that, platonically speaking, they made at least one conquest in England; and we should not be surprised if in the posthumous diary of a learned gentleman, we find noted down for some days in June, 1852 :

"How happy could I be with either,

Were the other dear charmer away."

The Times had observed of Sophy Principe, that "she is a middle-aged woman, belonging, like Elena Valente, to the humbler classes, and gave her evidence in a quick manner, with a good deal of gesticulation." We do not know whether Mr. Finlason did the Times' reports, at any rate he weaves the above observation into a note, without marks of quotation, and runs on to the following conclusion-" and with every appearance of sincerity and veracity." But his feelings on behalf of Elena, the sausage lady, seem to get the better of his judgment, for he says, in a note of admiration on her,-"This witness had a most modest and disingenuous countenance, and gave her evidence in a very artless and apparently truthful manner, which made a great impression"—of course he means upon himself.

She was artless enough, though her countenance was not very ingenuous, but as he says disingenuous, when with a modest face, she declared, that every one knows a little affection springs out of such an affair; and complained that etiquette confined assignations to the lords of creation. These certainly (however our friend may be imposed upon by that blind god cupid, who abuses other people's eyes, because his own are out,) are not the people to whom Englishmen would go for certificates of character; they are not qualified to keep a register office for servants: and whatever some men may say about trial by jury, being endangered and disgraced, because unblushing prostitutes could not blast the reputation of a man whom the Romanists taught us to honour, it is plain, that if such evidence be admitted as valid, no trial by jury or other method will be any security for honest men: for though in England we are not so much in danger, since few women, after marriage, will poison their life by such an exposure of themselves and indignity on their husbands, as to publish their earlier shame, in order to injure those in whose guilt they once professedly shared; and though it is even said, that they whose life is one of degradation, keep the secret of their confessional better than the priests, and except in cases of the most hardened, would screen rather than expose a fellow sinner, with some traces of a nobleness not yet wholly lost, and that is the possibility of their recovery to virtue; still no man would be safe, against whom a loose woman could be suborned by others, or, induced by necessity, be led of themselves to extort money on a threat of an odious accusation, not the best man in the world could be safe, if such evidence as the jury in this case disregarded, should have any weight without the most complete corroboration.

Instead of justice being polluted, and our institutions being endangered by this example, they receive from it additional security.

It was observed by the Times, and repeated by Mr. Finlason, that "Principe like Valente belonged to the humbler classes.' Without boasting on the one hand, or flattery on the other, we may assert, that none have had reason to suspect us of slighting "the humbler classes;" these terms, together with such as "lower orders," we should be as much disposed to apply to some outwardly respectable, as to those who are poor; with us, none are low, but those who are bad; and there are "lower classes" amongst all orders of society. Nor do we think it untrue to say, that the lower classes in Italy, are not the lower classes in England.

It has been asserted strenuously, that the witnesses had no interest in their assertions, but Achilli had every interest in his denials: the first part of this statement is not necessarily true.

It is somewhat remarkable, that a priest, passing in society the most respectable, having unreserved access to women of all classes, and living the supposed life of Achilli, should have had no temptations amongst the more refined and fascinating, but invariably have found his conquests amongst servant girls; that is neither a compliment to Achilli, nor to the "humbler classes.'

Whereas it is certain, that women in the condition of Valente and Principe, were open first to the inducements of gain; their poverty might be a snare; whilst their vanity would be tickled, in being taken abroad, and having priests to take care of them, and made the admired of all beholders, as the honour of Holy Mother Church, rested on their delicate shoulders.

To these motives of gain, from their poverty, and vanity, from the position they were introduced to, we may add, that their ignorance made them the readier tools of others; whilst their religion or superstition made them the slaves of the priests, who told them they ought to come, and adduced the most binding motives to a Catholic: the same superstition would stifle all scruples of conscience, because the priest is the Church, and the Church is infallible; it can bind and loose; and all things are lawful, if the end be lawful, and this was the highest end,-the glory of God and the honour of the Church: and, finally, the confessed and obvious character of the witnesses, who had willingly and perseveringly defiled their characters, rendered them callous and prepared to prostitute their conscience, as they jested at their infamy, proclaimed and gloried in their shame.

Put then, all these motives, together, the warping influences to which they were liable, avarice, vanity, ignorance, superstition, slavery to priests, and to the honour of the Church, and crown the qualifications with a shameless character-declared as the priests directed, "without fear and without shame," and say whether this does not render the whole evidence weak and suspicious. Add to the motives of the witnesses, the power and motives of the priests, who moved heaven and earth and the Inquisition (which is the other place) to carry their point, determined to bury the Protestant Sampson, even if under the ruins of their idol temple, and then say, whether ever a case was brought forward, that carried a more sinister aspect, or demanded a more scrupulous jealousy.

Add to the whole, the contradictions, the absurdities, and improbabili

ties in the evidence adduced for the two cases, and the cases they dare not bring, to all of which the plaintiff was pledged to find a proof, and then say, if in this Italian part of the business, during Achilli's Roman career, there was ever a more deserved, palpable, and ridiculous failure.

The other charges against Achilli, as attempted to be sustained by evidence, relate to his life as a Protestant; and this may be divided into his life abroad and in England: as to the outrageous charge of the English Magdalens, we shall not enter particularly into them on this occasion, simply premising, that even a hostile paper gives those English women up as not worthy of much credit, and we have certainly found no reason to extend more consideration to the Italians. There are then three cases left for enquiry, respecting the wife of Garimoni, at Corfu, Madame Corribone, at Zante, and the college at Malta; this last affair is rather a question of discretion or misunderstanding, than of morality, since both the resolution of the committee, and the positive evidence of the Earl of Shaftesbury, disavow any charge of an immoral nature. So that the two Italian cases, already disposed of, and the two women of Corfu and Zante, are the only tangible charges attempted to be sustained. cases of alleged immorality in thirty years; one in each town, and the immoral women being the evidence, except in the case of Mrs. Garimoni, the tailor's wife at Corfu, who distinctly denied it, whilst her husband ran away, and left a man, who was not sure how many times he had been in gaol, to conduct the case.

Four

And all this evidence, if true, amounts to no more than finding Achilli at Mrs. Garimoni's door, which was sworn to by the man who forgot his gaol education, and who confessed, that he never saw Achilli either before or after, yet swore it was he; and for ought he knew, it might have been the man in the moon. The whole affair amounted only to the fact of Achilli's speaking to his next door neighbour, which was pounced upon, not by a jealous husband, but by a stingy one; who had left his wife, and wanted an excuse to evade paying to her support.

That case we may very safely dismiss, though Mr. Finlason says, that this lying witness, who is very conversant with prisons for crime, not for heresy (which is an honour) is a very honest looking fellow; he himself would be astonished, and would thank his stars for his looks.

We are more anxious to examine carefully the only remaining foreign case, in which alone a respectable person appeared as witness, though he made a simpleton of himself, or else displayed a degree of malice, below the Italian women who may easily be forgiven, as not independent agents. We cannot say so much for Mr. Reynolds: who, being remonstrated with by Achilli for getting drunk, says, he only got jolly occasionally at a dinner, and finds ample amends in a little scandal, which he invited a friend to join in, on the promise that the lawyers would be liberal and pay well; he himself saying, that he expected a pound a day, from the commencement of the enquiry, which would be a good lift for a half-pay government officer.

This gentleman declared, that seeing a certain woman servant at Achilli's, he remonstrated on his keeping her, though married, and her husband living with her: this remonstrance was founded on her previous bad character; and was administered in the presence of Mr. Reynolds' daugh

ter of fifteen, and his servant girl: though Mr. Finlason, in his Catholic report, garbles this indecency, and makes Reynolds assert, that his wife and daughter, and servant, were living with him at that time-of course they were; but he asserted in evidence, that he took his daughter and servant girl to be with him, while he gravely rebuked Achilli for harbouring a bad character. But afterwards, when he professedly renews his remonstrance, he says, that he requested his wife to retire while, though on the former occasion, he took his daughter and servant girl to hear the discourse. He says, that they could see this lady in the laundry across the street, and Achilli familiar with her, and that to prevent the scandal his blinds were put down: he said, that his daughter never saw it; the servant girl said, the daughter often saw it. He said, there was but one window from which this familiarity could be seen, and this was his own bed-room. That when Mrs. Reynolds was ill, the servant girl in an adjoining room to be within call, often saw this familiarity from that room; for Achilli's servant seems to have been always ironing, and Achilli always laughing and talking with her; and always just so to be seen, when they had been warned of Peeping Tom of Coventry.

But Mrs. Reynolds being ill would, we suppose, be in Mr. Reynolds' room, the only one, as he says, from which Achilli could be seen; and yet the girl, sitting in an adjoining room, from which they could not be seen, saw there very plainly through a brick wall.

He says, the blinds were drawn from modesty, that they might not see Achilli; the girl says, they were drawn because Mrs. Reynolds was ill, and to keep out the sun. He said, they could not see when the blinds were down, and they were drawn to hide Achilli: the girl says, they could see well with them down, as they only served to hide themselves.

Mr. Reynolds crowned these obvious contradictions by inferring that Achilli was criminal towards this womam in question, especially because after he had accused Achilli for the crime, and told him of the miraculous window-blind, Achilli shewed Mr. Reynolds over his house; pointing out bed-room, dining-room, &c., on which occasion Mr. Reynolds saw two pillows on the bed, and from this decided that two people inhabited it, viz., Achilli and his married servant; though the inference was rendered demonstrative by seeing two covers on the table; therefore, because of this contradictory blind tale, two pillows and two dish covers, Mr. Reynolds set up as witness and earned a sovereign a day.

We can understand a new housekeeper, if a lady, shewing a lady friend her furniture; but that Achilli should have taken Reynolds to his bedroom, and examine the household stuff, especially under such circumstances, just to exhibit the pillows, is a conclusion on which we cannot rest our head for a moment; but rather regard this as the weakest case of all; and marked by an inconsistency and contradiction, that shewed the sovereign fairly earned.

It would be utterly impossible to bolster up a charge on a slighter foundation, and it would become those who managed it, to get behind such a pair of blinds as were in Mr. Reynolds' house, which, being put down from modesty, allow people to see and not be seen, for by this means alone will they consult their own honour, and that of Holy Mother Church.

III.

UNDERSTANDING AND MEMORY, AN ESSAY ON SABBATH SCHOOL INSTRUCTION.

"UNDERSTANDEST THOU WHAT THOU READEST?"-Acts viii. 30.

THE work of a Sabbath-school teacher, or the religious education of the young, under any circumstances, may appear to many as a very easy task; since those who are older are supposed to know more, and, therefore, to be able readily to teach. Yet this work requires the nicest skill and management;-an acquaintance with human nature, how to repress its evil propensities, and gently to instil the wisdom which cometh down from above. We may be rough with a sturdy oak, but the sapling requires more delicate care. In the same way, we need the wisdom of the sage, and the simplicity of a child, to deal with children.

The accumulated experience of veteran teachers, and the consolidated aid of large societies, cannot well be dispensed with, by the trainers of the young. To be successful in this honourable and unobtrusive "labour of love," we must understand something of the nature of those minds we have to train, and know the way in which certain methods will affect them that we may not lose our labour by misapplying it.

According to the oft used, but never useless aphorism of Bacon, "knowledge is power;" since it teaches us so to husband our strength, as to make the best use of our means. So the knowledge of human nature, and of the best ways of influencing it, to the greatest degree; would give additional power to teachers. Or, in the words of a greater man, and from whom possibly Bacon borrowed his axiom, "If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then he must put the more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct:"-(Eccles. x. 10,)—that is, knowledge or understanding, shews how best to effect our purpose; it teaches us to save our hands, by employing our heads; to exercise more ingenuity, instead of laying to more strength. The application is easy to gain an entrance into the mind of youth, do not forcibly cram the memory, but sharpen the edge of truth, by explaining it, that it may pierce the understanding and so reach the heart. Words are the shell of thought; but if they are not understood, then the shell is not broken, and so the kernel is not obtained.

These introductory remarks will shew the leaning of the writer, on the proposed question: but this question does not quite admit of an unmixed

answer.

The plan of teaching lessons which are beyond the present apprehension of children, may be thus defended:-these lessons may lie in the mind, until the reason expand, and then they may exert a beneficial influence, morally and spiritually. Especially (it might be added,) would