who looked like a verger, entered with a telegram, and the Warden said:

"You can go, Burscough."

And Burscough went; that was the first episode.

CHAPTER XXVI

S. J.

WHEN next Fernando was "wanted" the matter was somewhat serious.

He soon became aware that though the great majority of his schoolfellows were not much concerned with such matters, there were some few who were, or were disposed to be, quite as High Church as himself. I daresay, though I do not pretend to know if it were so, that they were sons of clergymen with "advanced" views. To some of them St. Wolstan's seemed painfully moderate. How the boys found each other out I cannot tell, but they certainly did find Fernando out, and gradually came to talk to him of these things. This was not till he had been some time at the school, and perhaps he was then known to be even more "High "than was approved by some of his pastors and masters.

The result of these confidential discussions

was a scheme that was, it must be confessed, peculiar. To Fernando it seemed a pity that the boys with ideas like his own should be mere lonely isolated units, scattered through the school, unable to encourage and support each other. If united somehow in a group they might give mutual help to one another; especially help to be High Church. Why might they not combine and make of themselves a sort of guild?

Then the scheme, as first imagined, grew in the boy's mind, and became more ambitious. Why should not the guild extend beyond St. Wolstan's and bring together boys with the same ideas belonging to different schools?

Fernando himself knew boys, a few of whom were High Church, at several of the great schools. No doubt they also felt themselves isolated, and no doubt they, too, would like the idea of such encouragement as would come from association with boys of like mind in their own schools and elsewhere.

Certain simple rules might be kept by all, and certain practices followed, such as confession, prayer to the saints, prayers for the dead, and so on.

It is not necessary to put down in detail all that the scheme was meant to effect, or how; even if Fernando had thought it all out then and could remember it all

now.

He did enter into correspondence with some boys at other schools, and found adherents to the scheme. So did other boys of the group of St. Wolstan's.

Finally he drew up a paper and had it printed at the town, five miles away, nearest to St. Wolstan's. The paper set out the objects of the union, and (I think) the methods to be followed and the rules to be observed. And it gave the name by which the members were to call their association. The name was, perhaps, the most singular feature of the scheme.

At the top of the paper the Holy Name was printed in a Cross, thus :

J

E

JESUS

U

S

And the little association or guild took for its designation that of a very great and famous one it called itself the Society of Jesus.

Now how did the boy hit upon that title? It must be remembered that he had now read the Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola; and that no doubt answers the question. But he did not mean to copy the name absolutely. In the Life the Order founded by Saint Ignatius was always mentioned as the Company of Jesus, and Fernando did not know that in English-speaking countries it is in fact known as the Society of Jesus. So the boy, purposely avoiding the word "Company chose that of Society." I cannot help wondering what Saint Ignatius thought of it up in heaven. A schoolboy in a nonCatholic school was plagiarising the name of his own great Society for a queer, unauthorised, highly illicit, little association of other Protestant schoolboys. For my part, I think he understood. What the Saint founded was meant to band Catholics together in defence of the ancient faith then assailed by a new menace. What the unsaintly boy meant was to help himself and others to be Catholics in an isolation that made it difficult. Perhaps the smiling Saint only prayed that the lad might really be made a Catholic.

Well, the paper was printed, as has been