eaking to a Catholic priest?" said Charles: when
his question was answered in the affirmative, he went on hesitatingly to
ask if what they had been speaking of did not illustrate the importance
of faith? "One did not see at first sight," he said, "how it was
rational to maintain that so much depended on holding this or that
doctrine, or a little more or a little less, but it might be a test of
the heart."

His companion looked pleased; however, he observed, that "there was no
'more or less' in faith; that either we believed the whole revealed
message, or really we believed no part of it; that we ought to believe
what the Church proposed to us on the _word_ of the Church."

"Yet surely the so-called Evangelical believes more than the Unitarian,
and the High-Churchman than the Evangelical," objected Charles.

"The question," said his fellow-traveller, "is, whether they submit
their reason implicitly to that which they have received as God's word."

Charles assented.

"Would you say, then," he continued, "that the Unitarian really believes
as God's word that which he professes to receive, when he passes over
and gets rid of so much that is in that word?"

"Certainly not," said Charles.

"And why?"

"Because it is plain," said Charles, "that his ultimate standard of
truth is not the Scripture, but, unconsciously to himself, some view of
things in his mind which is to him the measure of Scripture."

"Then he believes himself, if we may so speak," said the priest, "and
not the external word of God."

"Certainly."

"Well, in like manner," he continued, "do you think a person can have
real faith in that which he admits to be the word of God, who passes by,
without attempting to understand, such passages as 'the Church the
pillar and ground of the truth;' or, 'whosesoever sins ye forgive, they
are forgiven;' or, 'if any man is sick, let him call for the priests of
the Church, and let them anoint him with oil'?"

"No," said Charles; "but, in fact, _we_ do not profess to have faith in
the mere text of Scripture. You know, sir," he added hesitatingly, "that
the Anglican doctrine is to interpret Scripture by the Church; therefore
we have faith, like Catholics, not in Scripture simply, but in the whole
word committed to the Church, of which Scripture is a part."

His companion smiled: "How many," he asked, "so profess? But, waiving
this question, I understand what a Catholic means by saying that he goes
by the voice o