which is brought to light year after year from
access to State papers and documents tells on the side of the Church, as
we say in England, of "the old religion," and not against it. Books by
non-Catholics are more convincing than others in this matter, since they
are free from the suspicion of partisanship; for instance, Gairdner's
"Lollardy and the Reformation" which disposes of many mythical monsters
of Protestant history.

2. That even if the facts were still more authentic to justify personal
attacks on some of the popes, even if the abuses in the Church had not
been grossly exaggerated, even putting facts at their worst, granting
all that is assumed, it tends to strengthen faith rather than to
undermine it, for the existence of the Church and the Papacy as they are
to-day is a wonder only enhanced by every proof that it ought to have
perished long ago according to all human probability. With that
confidence and assurance even our little girls may hold their heads
high, with their faith and trust in the Church quite unabashed, and wait
for an answer if they cannot give it to others or to themselves at the
moment. "We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this matter,"
said the three holy children to Nabuchodonosor, and so may our own
children say if they are hard pressed, "your charges do but confirm our
faith, we have no occasion to answer."

It is impossible to leave so great a subject as history without saying a
word on the manner of teaching it (for in this a manner is needed rather
than a method), when it is emancipated from the fetters of prescribed
periods and programmes which attach it entirely to text-books.
Text-books are not useless but they are very hard to find, and many
Catholic text-books, much to be desired, are still unwritten, especially
in England. America has made more effort in this direction than we. But
the strength of historical teaching for children and girls at school
lies in oral lessons, and of these it would seem that the most effective
form is not the conversational lesson which is so valuable in other
subjects, nor the formal lesson with "steps," but the form of a story
for little ones; for older children the narrative leading up to a point
of view, with conversational intervals, and encouragement for thoughtful
questions, especially at the end of the lesson; and in the last years an
informal kind of lecture, a transition from school-room methods to the
style of formal lectures w