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This was biting, and of course did er were not foolish enough to allow it to actuate them in any way He had thrown his bread upon the waters, assisting St Fabricius with one hand and the Protestant curates with the other, and must leave the results to take care of themselves If the Protestants chose to believe that he was hyper-protestant, and the Catholics that he was tending towards papacy, soto enjoy such convictions would not allow thenity of Mr Alf's newspaper

It may be doubted whether the donation to the Curates' Aid Society did have much effect It o to the poll whose ion and torpid as to politics But the donation to St Fabricius certainly had results It was taken up and enerally, till a report got itself spread abroad and al to join the Church of Ro, or evil ood On the second afternoon after the question had been asked in the 'Evening Pulpit,' an answer to it appeared, 'For Priest and not for Parson' Therein various assertions ans and repeated in Roether, so as to show that Mr Melmotte really had at last made up his mind on this important question All the world kne, said Mr Alf's writer, that with that keen sense of honesty which was the Great Financier's peculiar characteristic,--the Great Financier was the name which Mr Alf had specially invented for Mr Melmotte,--he had doubted, till the truth was absolutely borne in upon him, whether he could serve the nation best as a Liberal or as a Conservative He had solved that doubt isdoh the crucible, and by the aid of fire a golden certainty had been produced The world of Westminster at last knew that Mr Mel was clearer than this,--that though catching the Catholic vote would greatly help a candidate, no real Roman Catholic could hope to be returned This last article vexed Mr Melmotte, and he proposed to his friends to send a letter to the 'Breakfast Table' asserting that he adhered to the Protestant faith of his ancestors But, as it was suspected by e, that Melmotte had been born a Jew, this assurance would perhaps have been too strong 'Do nothing of the kind,' said Mr Beaucha, say that you are a Protestant But it isn't likely, as we have none but our own people Don't go writing letters'