The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-23 00:00:00

the rewards and promises of their faith to tangible
advantages, and the character of the people seems
to have been perplexing to them. " They were
offended," says Dr. Hook, " even more by the
independence than by the rudeness of the people
with whom they had to deal." Because they were
Romans they expected kings and nobles to bow
before them, and were affronted with the sturdy'
self dependence which even then distinguished
the insular character. But as the author reminds
us " we are to give them credit for self sacrifice,
when, refined and civilised Italians, they took
up their abode among a semi-barbarous race."
To one of St. Augustine's successors, Theodorus,
we are indebted, according to Dr. Hook, for the
foundation of English scholarship. He took pos-
session of St. Augustine's monastery, and made
it a school of learning. Hadrian, an African monk
who accompanied him, was also instrumental in
this great work.
" The indignant Wilfrid embarked for the Continent,
and appealed to Rome, whither he repaired. This was a
direct violation of the Church principles of the age ; for
the patriarch of Rome had jurisdiction only where both
parties agreed to refer the cause to him. To appeal from
a national English synod;—from an English king and an
English metropolitan,—was not to be tolerated by the free
spirit which pervaded the land. And consequently, when
Wilfrid returned with the papal decision in his favour, and,
on the strength of it, demanded to be restored to his
diocese, the king convened a council of the nobility and
clergy of his kingdom, and by the clergy and the laity then
assembled it was unanimously determined that the appeal
was a public offence, and the papal letters an insult to the
crown and nation. Wilfrid was condemned to nine months'
imprisonment, and became for many years a wandering
, outcast."

It is remarked that in the schools founded by Theo-
dorus, and carried on by his disciples, the grand
principle of education laid down is still the char-
acteristic of English schools and universities ; " not
to impart knowledge but to exercise the mind, not
to sow the land but to plough the soil, not to bur-
den the memory but to give vigour to the intellect."
The rule of Theodorus is also remarkable for an in-
stance ofthe national jealousy of foreign intervention.
Wilfred, Bishop of York, had opposed the Primate
on some point of ecclesiastical reformation, and was
consequently deposed from his see.
"In Hadrian Theodorus found an able coadjutor. He
is described by William of Malmesbury as a fountain of
letters and a river of arts.' Both these great men under-
stood the importance of creating a learned clergy; they re-
garded civilisation as the handmaid of Christianity, and of
civilisation they knew that learning is the parent. They
found the English people eager to be instructed and appe-
tent of knowledge. They gathered around them a crowd of
disciples, and, as Bede says, there daily flowed from them
streams of knowledge to water the hearts of their hearers.
Through their influence all the larger and better monas-
teries were converted into schools of learning, in which
the laity as well es the clergy imbibed a respect for litera-
ture, and in many instances a love of it. Even the monas-
teries belonging to the fair sex were converted into esmi-
naries of learning, and the Abbets Hildelidis and her nuns
were, in the next generation, able to understand the
Grtecisms of Aldhelm in his Latin treatise, De Laudibus
Virginitatis,' written for their especial edification. In the
time of Bede, as the historian himself informs us, there
were scholars of Theodorus and Hadrian who were as
well versed in the Greek and Latin languages as in their
own. When literature was almost extinguished in France,
Alcuin could boast of the learned men and the noble
libraries of England. So indefatigable were the transcribers
of ancient manuscripts in these English schools, that from
them Charlemagne himself solicited assistance, when he
laboured for the revival of letters in Gaul."
The stormy days when the country was overrun by
the Danish hordes were at hand, to be happily
succeeded by the wise and enlightened rule of the
greatest of our kings. Religion and knowledge,
which had suffered during the days of oppression,
nourished again under the sway of Alfred, whose
rigour in only preferring men of learning left
many sees vacant at his death. Further on we
come to the life of Odo, the Danish archbishop,
whose association with the miserable story of Edwy
and Eigiva proves his barbarian ancestry. Dunstan,
his successor, has been elevated to the dignity of a
saint, although more eminent for his administrative
capacity than for his Christian humility. Dr Hook
ranks him with Becket, Wolsey, and Laud, in the
first class of ecclesiastical statesmen. His labours
at least resulted in practical benefit to the country,
as the following passage testifies :
" The result of Dunstan's vigorous administration was
such as must have afforded him that satisfaction which is
enjoyed by men, who are permitted to see that, though
they have laboured sometimes amidst doubts and difficul-
ties, yet they have not laboured in vain. Under the
reign of Edgar the Pacific, Northumbria was divided into
earldoms instead of kingdoms ; the Danes were either
subdued or conciliated ; the sovereignty of the Anglo-
Saxon king over the Scots was established ; the navy was
placed in such a state of efficiency, that no enemy
ventured to attack the coast ; English pirates who had
infested our ports, were restrained and punished; while at
home, trade was encouraged, family feuds were suppressed,
and men were compelled, instead of taking the law into
their own hands, to submit the decision of their quarrels
to the magistrate. Regular circuits were established for
the administration of justice, forming a court of appeal
from the inferior judges. As Athelstan had reformed the
coinage, so now standard measures were made and depo-
sited at Winchester. Steps were taken in behalf of the
herdsmen, to annihilate the wolves which still abounded
in the country. Even to trivial matters could the mind
of Dunstan descend ; finding that quarrels arose very fre-
quently in taverns, from disputes among the topers, as to
their share of liquor, respectively, when they drank out of
The same cup; he advised Edgar to order gold or silver
pegs to be fastened in the pots, that whilst every man
knew his just measure, shame should compel each to con-
. fine himself to his proper share."
' Stigand, the last archbishop of the Anglo-Saxon
epoch, assisted at the consecration of Westminster
Abbey, and the poem on that event, translated from
• Norman French, which is given here, will interest
the antiquary. Stigand died a prisoner in the hands
of the Conqueror, in chains, and as some say in want
of the common necessaries of life. With his death
. terminates the first volume of Dr. Hook's history,
a work which, if it should be fully and fairly car-
, ried out, willrank among the most valuable historical
[ undertakings of the present day. A few:years ago
. its compilation would have been difficult, owing to
I the obstacles which then attended any access to the
I original authorities. These difficulties have DOW
I been removed by the publication of the " Monu-
. menta Historia Britannica," which has placed the
f' ancient writers within the reach of the modern
student. Of these authorities Dr. Hook has largely
. availed himself, and though dealing with one of
, the least interesting portions of his subject, he has
F succeeded, by the aid of antiquarian research and
I literary ability, in worthily inaugurating a great
, ecclesiastical history.

The Prince of Wales in Canada. By N. A.
Woods, the Times' Special Correspondent.
Author of " The Past Campaign." Bradbury
and Evans.
Among the events of the past year which the
historian of our country will have to chronicle,
few will surpass in interest the visit of the Heir-
apparent to the Anglo-Saxon race beyond the
broad Atlantic. In this book we meet with a graphic
account of the whole affair, which is written for the
most part impartially, and with spirit and viva-
city. Short as the time wes that elapsed during
the visit of the Prince, it is probable that he re-
ceived more striking impressions and beheld more
instructive and interesting scenes than during all
his previous life. Almost every variety of scene was
outspread before him, from the gay ball-room to
the lonely prairie, from the brilliant reception, a$
he passed down the Broadway at New York, to the
majestic sublimity of Niagara Falls. Among the
amusing episodes here mentioned is the ball at
Quebec. In consequence of the crowd, there was
hardly more space for dancing than on an ordinary
tablecloth, and it is said, " during one of these
terpsichorean struggles the Prince caught his
spurs in a lady's dress, tripped and fell, he was up
again in an instant laughing heartily, and dancing
away more vigorously than ever." This was far
too wonderful an event to be passed over by the
news-mongers, and so we learn that five minutes
after its occurrence it was telegraphed to the jour-
nals, in one of which appeared the subjoined series
of headings :—" The Canadian Commotion—Splen-
did Splurge of the Quebeckers—The Prince at the
grand ball given by the city—he danced twenty-
two times—tripped and fell, his beautiful partner
rolling over him—' Honi, soit qui mal y pense'--•
the Prince immediately picked himself up, and;
continued the dance—terrible flutter of crinoline.
It is a relief, after all this show and glitter, to
peruse the account of the visit to Niagara, where
there was a lull "in the whirlwind of addresses, re'
views, processions, state balls, and noisy Orangemen.
There is great truth in this remark : "It was, on the
whole, quite as well that royalty was incog. before
Niagara ; the shout of a mob or the tinsel of a pro-
cession would have showed :poorly by the side of
that great Altar of Nature, where a misty incense is
always rising to heaven and the eternity of water
speaks only of One. Amid that scene, princes,
powers, and denominations are all forgotten as you
stand before the Falls of Niagara, which pour down
with such a majesty of power that you can only
gaze with solemn awe upon the grandest and most
terrible of all God's works in nature." An ani-
cffacttb,eraParriincecde'sbryescuepchtioann
oimnvaaNtteiedownd
yete
ss
oc
rr
haskip. t
seldom
vgai
been
offered to any monarch
in ancient and modern times; it was not a reception?
it was the grand impressive welcome of a mighty
people, it was one vast concourse of citizens such as
few people have ever seen assembled together, such
as is not likely to be seen again in our time. When
the Prince entered this great avenue of human
beings a long, deep
cheer went up, such as could
only be given by hundreds of thousands of enthu-
siastic
people, it seemed less a cheer than a pro-
longed outbreak of welcome—the welcome an"
greeting of
g
an empire." An interesting fact
related regarding the attendance of the Prince and
suite at Trinity Church, New York. During the
serrce prayers were offered up for her Majesty!,
the Prince Consort, and Albert Edward Prince o!
Wales, which was the first time such a prayer had
been made for the Royalty of England since Dr'