Saint Magdalene [pp. 83-84]

1882.] SAJArT MACDALEArE. 83
his blood." Some Protestant writers question the above relation.
Be it, however, coincidence or the verification of prophecy, the
fact stands and needs no further reference from me.
The Rev. Mr. Dixon, whom I have just quoted, describes
Somerset's government as that of a usurper, and the period one
of the most disastrous in English history. "The doings of unbridled fanatics and unscrupulous self-seekers made the late
tyranny seem in comparison a time of law and order; and men
who groaned beneath the Seymours and the Dudleys were pre
sently crying out for the church and the laws of Henry VIlI.
The magnificent architectural decorations were destroyed, the
frescoes white-washed, and in the rood-loft the royal arms took the
place of the cruafi~." The above passage is the honest ~tatement of a learned and painstaking historian, whose object is to
discover facts. The Rev. Canon Dixon's History of the Church
of England from the Period of the Parliamentary Abolition of the
Roman Jurisdiction to the Death of Henry VIlL is a most valuable
work for every student of history to consult.
SAINT MAGDALENE.
LIFE'S choicest blessings would I freely give,
Fair Magdalene, fair Magdalene,
If so thy gift of tears I might receive
And weep alone, of men unseen.
For to the feet of Him who spoke to thee
Sweet words that e'en to me give hope,
Through blinding tears alone my way I see
From out the darkness where I grope.
O tears that spring from Hope's eternal fount
And from the bruis~d heart of love!
These pearls do silver o'er the souls that mount
On wings of light to God above.