The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-07-11 00:00:00

110 W "CONVERSIoNS" ARE MADE.

Hut at the moment a more interesting question than
who shall sit for Leitrim or Mid-Cheshire is the question
bow Lord Nelson's son was admitted into the Roman
Catholic Church. The perversion was announced a fort-
night ago. Lord Nelson now writai tothe Times to explain
how his son was seduced from the Anglican Church. The
explanation opens a new view of Roman Catholic tactics.
" Three years ago a lady who had left the Church of
England awl become a nun obtained an introduction to
my son. She lent him books, appointed to meet him at
Roman Catholic services, and carried on a correspondence
with him behind my back, until, having succeeded in
i making him unhappy n the belief thet be had never been
properly baptised, his apparent sadness, for which I sought
a mum, brought the whole thing to my knowledge. I
induced him to consult a clergyman of the Church, who
set his doubts at rest, and for three years he has been happy
in the Church of England, and was preparing for
Cambridge with a desire to enter Holy Orders." But
Lord Nelson, having to leave town one Saturday till
Wednesday, found on his return that his son had been
baptised in hot haste by one of the Fathers of the
Brorupton Oratory. The Earl, on discovering what had
been done, wrote to the Oratory to remonstrate on this
"indecent haste." Ile was simply told in reply that the
law of the land allows • child to change his religion at 14,
and therefore there was no necessity to ask the parent at
all, that the boy was found to he a real Roman catholic at
heart, and that, although to tell his father first would have
belm the "olivine. and atraightforwanl course," the
priests at the Oratory decided after eonsideration that it
would be safer to allow the eon to deceive hi. fattier,
instead of running the risk of the greater sin of denying
his convictions from fear. Of course it was of no use to
argue about propriety and paternal authority with priests
who held views like these, end Lord Nelsen sent the
correspondence to the Tenes. This brought out Father
Bowden with an explanation of the whole case
or Nelson," "tin Tuesday, June says the Father,
" a young gentleman called on me, and asked to be
admitted to the Roman Conuimuion. I found on
questioning him that he held every point of Roman
doctrine : that be had studied the "Threshold of the
Catholic Church,' a book written expreseely for the
f1:0( IrZ7ytinai.Liti.M°:en'h'ifiliialicooo'n.:‘,...serreht4,inisligianhpiliy:utecii-nlie:ktil:foorldusedt.theendol.astuglhtlilß:three.,:anirengor
London in • hurry. f 'ansidering the ease fully, the Father
came to the conclusion that for Mr. Nelson to remain
any longer a Protestant would be to persevere in
• course of simple hypocrisy, and, as a fear of his
father's displeasure appeared the only intelligible motive
for his past inconsistency, Mr. Bowden agreed to receive
hiss at once without his father's knowledge, although
stipulating that he should tell his father on the day of
his reception, Anil the Father sent his justifi-
cation to the Timee in the form of four reasons—tirst, he
denies that he advised Mr. Nelson to deceive his father,
although AS a matter of fact Lord Nelson was deceived
the second is • denial that • father's command in the
matters of religious belief is ultimate or supreme. The
third is an answer to Lord Nelson's description of his son
as a happy member of the Englishlehunl. "I would
ask whether attending Roman Catholic services and
using essentially Roman devotions for the space of
three years is consistent with such a state of
tenni !" But the fourth is the gem of the selection.
That rails for all explanation o,llw one else.
" Mr. Nelson informs rue_ —thi. is how ilMr. Bowden
Pet it- that the elergyman to whom he was in the habit
ortiveh confessingrym with him, test, ndlesoth,!l...tht.,creeonnetr.ryvy:arar
ennatiroediluraglini, Lochoirld
in the practice of his favourite human devotions, a
IY of d' ti which I cannot undertake to explain."
.ritem rec n
q.4.l.iteei°eii^ direction under which Lord Nelson
placed his we Mr. Bowden thinks, may have presented
his knowing his son's true state of mind, and the Father
adds, with • mealier candour which will startle "
Romanista," "As long as certain members of the Church
of England are in the habit of n114113=4 the Roman
devotion of celebrating Man, invoking the saints, oral
ceefeeriee, reciting tee Peary, and the like, conversions
will follow which, sudden as they may appear, are but
the necessary consequences of such a line of conduct"
That is • hdose thrust—a little brutal perhaps, but candid
and endordlim

-
THE PROFESSIONAL l'ltAlklP.
" What's the good o' preachin' Von gft, yer livis'
one way, an' I get. mine another,- that s all the diff'rence, far as I we. Very like rao don't work
no more than I do ; not but what I'd woi k, if I could
git proper pay. Rut who'll gite it t• taint
my fault if I'm lazy. Well, if you du work hard,
more fool you, says I, it poi cool,l yer ane
other way, but most like poi hain t 2,4 the wit My
imperenoe, indeed ! I shall stop it jest when r,. a
mind to, not afore, talk as you like. Ilain't I
much right to talk to you as you to inc A eat
look at a King, and you ails t much like a Kin': I
never said nufEnk to you till you come a.interferiti
wi' me. I worn 't agoin to prig anvtliink out
peed°. Kording,--ilon't look AR if there was non .h
prig. No, nor 1 worn't a-begj,in' neither I cc.,.
wish a bobby 'd come along, an' you'd wire me
charge for begirin',-you'd soon see what he d sae. if
you told him the truth. I s'pose there ain't
agin a poor man axin' his way, an' if the gal
&groin' to tell her 'nimbi there was a por man at the door, what's the harm in that' You don't, think rd
go for to steal that umbereller o' yours? An' there ain't fluffing else. Why. You d., call me a her,„-ar, 14
be ashamed to be seen Wl' sich a thing, -might AS WO carry sold sieve over your head to keep off the r+in.
" Ali, thank you ones, my dear (n, M, r<reont
who has brought on: a pl,a,fat of troken tarsals, 044,
he pup, i „ a hay host,MpArbov,i.(e,,,a Air row pall). You and your missis is better Christains than yon,
master. The ladies, I 1/1,1. &IVA, is better natne,l than us men. It's ollus best to call when magters out.
You needn't tell me to be gout, , sir. I.Voeisy
I'm a-goin' o' my own accord, not hecos you told
Though (yrioMoa) I'm very much ohleegel t,,,
sir, for what you. give me, - an' that's nittlink.
right: I'm a-guin , Air. Don't put yerself out 'no
bobby won't be back for half•an-hour yet, an' stn.,s
gen.iman like you wouldn't be so mean as to tee
away from a poor than what Inc gisool him
of her own accord,- though it was :iglu your will, -
even if I was inclined to /et yer. You war o.rt.nii. tut
jest now why I didn't put them strong buil.. O. !nip,
to some good, bless ye, for the 'ealth, rin
cough. I can see there ain't nuilink more toe zs
here, while you're at home.
(Tornio!, mow yar44 Pr. it,
' "%Void,' ye be so good as to tell me alisre rd
better try nest' These little 'owes their,ch.e,,
nice tins to call at. d‘llll 1 say, ill% ISIT -rood./ 75,
cl,leege
perti:C.elCWir, -third (1, f4af:e. Irtoirriety" "
Nt',:,."4:' I

A Still' BURNT AT
On Satunlay moraine, the barque Airline,
Evans, arrived in Cork harlootr, havin; low-a
Captain Stediford, the crew, and ',amen:, r. of the
Bntish ship Zemindar, which had been
tire. Captain Stediford reports that his te.,,ei
1,097 tons; she left Demerara on the ith -4 dune
with a cargo of rum, sugar, and cotton, bond f,,
LiverpooL On the 22tth of that month, hump w
the second officer, Mr. Rockwell, reported am .th'
ship was on fire, awl that env he was onnin from the
foredustch. The hatch was immediately...taken
off
and a copious amply of water loured down, het it UN
no effect. While efforts were still lain; teak to
overcome the fire the captain had the but. launched,
and into one of them placed the followin; penons
who were passengers: Mrs. Adair, Miss A. %holy' Master Eethell John Jones, &MI th aptAitC, wife'
and child This boat was made fast to the „tern
and they remained in her all night, Moe lights an
rockets being constantly used In the meantime every
exertion was made to get the fire moiler, lad without
avail The eignalling fortunately lino edeff,tual. fee
on the morning at four o'clock the Annie ho, e in dght,
Captain Stedfonl at once sent the host contain,ng
the passengers to her. Captain EValla returned in the
boat and went on board the burning ship %Midi the
captain, officers, and crew were still using eery
endeavour to save. It now transpired that i'lie of the
seamen, named Robert Faulkiner, oonfessed h, the
second mate that he had set tire to the ship while
broaching a cask if rum. Faulkiner was at ,aoss
called on deck and repeated the confession in the pre-
sence of Captain Evans and .dhers. Ile said that the
tire originated in the mainhold; that he hail a match
with hun, which he lighted after broaching a conk, and
in endeavouring to put a spill into the gimlet lode,
the cask the spirit, winch was flowing out, wan
ignited It went beyond his power to extinguish it,
and his anns awl neck were ery much burnt Acting
upon that information, Captaiu Stediford hada hole
cut in the deck. It was then fund that the hold
between the decks WA. ill a blaze awl a ...Teat
vol d water was injected. hut the flames al
thoroughly caught the cotton and sugar, as well as the
rum, that they became perfectly uneoutndlahle. At
eleven a.m. the fire was still gaining rapidly, where.
: upon Captain Stediford had the host 4 stocked with
provisions, preparatory to abiumloniug the ship, he
remaining on her till the following day at noon, and
just after he left she warn ablaze from Ito p to fore.
castle. All hands then pnaxeded on board the Annie,
which was lying a planer of a mile off. Before they
parted from the Zemindar the masts ha ,l fallen'vet the
side, MI she was me gigantic flame, and couhl c. 4 have
floated many hours. She belonged to Mesars. Sa thatch,
Tinne, and Co., Liverpool. At the time of the disco* ery
of the fire the man Faulkiner was at the wheel, len
he never gave any information id what he knew until
it was to late to save the ship. On arrival Isere he
was handed over to the police, awl was brought up at
the petty sessions ye4tenlay (Monday). Captain
St.edifonl, the passengers, and crew of the Zennielar
speak in the highest terms of the kindness they
received on loan! the Annie,