father, kind father Raffré, she said, order me the severest penance, let me live on bread and water for a year to come, but do not take away my book-my lovely little book-do not take my poor little book.

Dear child, I replied, dear child, wipe away your tears; to-morrow I will meet you in the church, you shall confess all to me about your little book; and do not fear, you shall have justice done to you. And thus I dismissed the whole party, though I felt that I had not given satisfaction to either side by the manner in which I had answered the appeal. Neither was I mistaken in this my opinion, for Mademoiselle returned in a very ill humour to the house; and though Aimée and the affair of the book were spoken of no more that evening, yet the young ladies began to quarrel with each other upon these grounds, -namely, that Mademoiselle Victoire had promised to one a prince and a coach and six, a duke to another, a barouche and four and a marquis to another, a simple baron to another, a rich burgher to another, and to a less favoured one a mere roturier. As I had.

suspected, and I afterwards learned, Mademoiselle had been telling her pupils their fortunes, or rather had taken this way of giving them some idea of their several pretensions, and by this means had excited in their minds every sort of idea which ought to have been held back from them; and indeed so high did the rancour of the several parties rise on this occasion, that Madame Bulé was obliged to exert her authority, and very severe was the reproof she gave when she understood the cause of this uproar which had disturbed her peace. Do you not know, said she, that the day after to-morrow is Easter, and that to-morrow you are to meet Father Raffré for confession; and in what spirit or temper will you be for this sacrament if you retire to rest in the indulgence of such angry passions? For shame, young ladies; do not thus convert an innocent jest into a subject of discontent and rancour.

It is needless surely here to remark, that in this reproof of Madame Bulé, which was faithfully reported to me, there were two important errors; in the first instance,

confession is no sacrament, neither a part of a sacrament, there being but two sacraments appointed by our blessed Saviour, namely, baptism and the supper of the Lord*; and the jest of Mademoiselle Victoire was every thing but innocent, therefore Madame should not have so designated it.

Early the next morning, it was signified to me that Madame Bulé desired to speak with me; and when I had obeyed her summons, the amiable woman opened her mind to me to the following effect: My dear Father Raffré, she said, my mind has lately been much troubled respecting my pupils; the time was, as you well know, when we enjoyed a degree of peace which is now utterly foreign to our household. I was then, she added, and the tear was in her eye when she spoke, more alert and active than I now am, and better able to endure the fatigues of my situation. It was then, she continued, that every

*The church of Rome considers that there are seven sacraments; adding to the two mentioned in the New Testament five others, namely, penance, confession, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction.

hour brought its pleasures, and every change its delights; my children came with cheerfulness to their lessons, and left them with glee to enjoy their sports; if one did amiss, all were humbled; if one was praised, all were pleased; if one received a present, all were to have a share in it; if one was unwell, all partook in her pain. Now the case is entirely altered, I hear of nothing but of rivalries and of ill will; if I praise one individual I offend twenty, and if I find fault with one offender I give cause of triumph to twenty more. not now a question who can do best, but who is most accomplished or most genteel; and instead of joy and peace, my household is one continued scene of dissatisfaction.

It is

And cannot you account, Madame, I said, for this change in the character of your household? are you sure that the person whom you employ to assist you is exactly suited to your purpose?

Mademoiselle Victoire, she replied, is diligent and accomplished; I might not get a better were I to dismiss her: but you, my good father, shall confess my children, and I

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am sure that they will find in you a faithful and pious counsellor.

After this conversation I took the earliest opportunity of calling the young people to confession. The church was set aside for that duty; and Madame Bulé made a point of being in the church with us, although she did not remain within hearing.

As a confessor, I have, through the course of a long ministry, heard many awful secrets, and though I am now no longer of the Romish church, I still would make it a point of honour not to betray any confidence which was placed in me under the character which I formerly held of a father confessor. The confessions, however, which were made to me by the pupils of Madame Bulé were not of such a nature as to render it of the smallest consequence whether they are or are not divulged; neither, even if they were more important, can they possibly now affect the penitents in the smallest point. I shall therefore venture to inform my readers of what passed that morning in the church between me and those of the young ladies of the