MORTIFICATION OF THE FLESH.

Observer, Volume 5, Issue 120, 30 December 1882, Page 243

MORTIFICATION OF THE FLESH.

Bishop Luck seems to be a perfect Simeon the Stylite in the severity of bis asceticism. He commenced the compaign by a jeremiad against short frocks, and actually compelled one young lady — the daughter of an influential citizen -who aspires to be considered a perfect Eetronius of good taste — to take a back seat at a recent school examination, because her frock was too short to conceal a "pair of neat anklesf ' He has, we hear issued a kind of* 1 pastoral enjoining all Catholic children to wear dresses of a regulation length. JLikeJßyron, Bishop Luck — " Powers ..eternal' such namesX 'mingled " — denounces the waltz which " wakes to wantonness the willing limbs," and has tabooed it from the faithful daughters-pf Mother Church. If the Bishop were. a layman, he might exclaim with Moore — " What I the girl I adore by another embraced ! What I the balm of her lips shall another man taste ! What ! touched in the twirl by another maii's knee ! What pant and recline on another than me ! Sir ! she's yours 1 From the grape you have press' d the soft blue ! Prom the rose you have shaken the tremulous dew ! Whjit you've touch'd you may take ! Pretty waltzer, -adieu."

CONVERTING THE HEATHEN. ] It was in Graf ton-road, and three grown larrikins ! were moving in the -direction of the Symondsatreet G-ully, one'bf the party meanwhile remark- j ing— f ' It's the rummest, bluest sort of story you ever seen ! hall about a hold cove called Judar and his darter-in-law ; wait till we get into the Simmintery jind I'll read it yer ! " The speaker, with a leer,nndieated a few closely-printed leaves he held in his hand, and then the facts of the case dawned upon the gentleman who had overheard the conversation. 3?he youths had been to the. Hospital service of song, and there had been the objects of special evangelistic effort on the part of some zealous individuals, whose discretion is, however, conspicuous for its absence, ijt is customary for these persons to tear up copies of the Bible, and enclosing a few leaves at random in an envelope to hand this to people who attend the Hospital services. As no attempt at discrimination i$ made in the choice of particular portions to certain classes of people, it is perhaps taken for granjted that the Spirit will direct events so that the appropriate portion of the inspired record shall fall into the proper hands, and the good seed will take root in the heart. Without giving in our entire approval of the system, it would seem that ift the case referred to no mistake had been made, for the " larrikins " had got the 38th chapter of Genesis complete, and not caring, perhaps not even knowing that it was a portion of the Bible, were preparing to enjoy a treaVin the shape of " spicy " literature.®

Our informant states that he arrived at the conclusion as to where the larrikins got the „"rummest story out" by a process of "putting two and two together," for he had previously been presented with one of these sealed paekets,and on opening it he found it to be the 33rd Chapter of Numbers. From this he got the cheering information that the children of Israel " removed from Benejaakan and encamped at Horhagidgad," and. so on for about 50 verses in the same vein A male friend on the same occasion got several, genealogical chapters from the Book of Chjl&nicles, and a young lady on opening her -pfacket'-jwas in- 'j stantly arrested by the first verse of the 23rd j [of Deuteronomy! Of course the miscreants who inoaltfpeople by this'sdrt of thing will t>e ready tft plead that "they meant well ;" but it is high., time they understood that well-meaning is no excuse for ill-doing. Time was when for their mutilation 5f the Holy Book they would have been liable to prosecution for Sacrilege ; but we do not at;all objecfr to their indulging their passion for Bible-tearing. What we ask is, that for the sake of decency, they will cease to insult respectable people by their shocking attempts to regenerate the world. The Bible is not a book to be studied piece-meal, or if it is, the result is pretty sure to be a feeling of disgust on the one hand, or the ungodly jubilation of the larrikin on the other. J