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 on by the Provst. The curate was a very young man of six-and-twenty, and he had only a few days ago been solemnly ordained by the Bishop to the cure of souls. It was evident that he was still somewhat oppressed by his new dignity. He coloured up every time the Provst addressed him as "Herr Pastor," and looked down shyly.

The Provst began his discourse in a quiet instructive tone, dwelling somewhat on the words, as if he secretly enjoyed the unusual pleasantness of his voice, and the polish of his phrases. It did not often fall to his lot to have such an intelligent listener, and he could not resist the temptation to allow his fluency a somewhat wide range. As he came to a closer discussion of the church to-day, and when he touched upon the many controversial elements within the church his voice lost its calmness, and his language was less controlled. Finally he bent forward and said with a strong emphasis and looking straight into the curate's eyes:

"What I particularly want to impress upon you Mr Hansted is—that it is not only the priest's right, but his sacred and inalienable duty to his Master whose Kingdom on earth he administers, I say it is the undeniable duty of the priest, on every occasion to maintain the undoubted authority of the church. The beautiful old patriarchal feeling which formerly existed between the shepherd of souls and his flock