In reference to the priests of St. Wilfrid's, we shall only
specially mention, and that briefly, the Rev. Father Cobb. No man in
Preston cares less for fine clothes than he does. We once did see
him with a new suit on; but neither before nor since that ever-
memorable day, have we noticed him in anything more ethereal than a
plain well-worn coat, waistcoat, and pair of trousers. He might have
a finer exterior; but he cares not for this kind of bauble. He knows
that trappings make neither the man nor the Christian, and that
elaborate suits are often the synonym of elaborate foolery. He takes
a pleasure in work; is happy inaction; and hates both clerical and
secular indifference. Priests, he thinks, ought to do their duty,
and men of the world ought to discharge theirs. In education, Father
Cobb is far above the ordinary run of men. He has a great natural
capacity, which has been well regulated by study; he is shrewd; has
a strong intuitive sense; can't be got over; won't be beaten out of
the field if you once get him into it; and is sure to either win or
make you believe that he has. Like all strong Catholics he has much
veneration--that "organ," speaking in the vernacular of phrenology,
is at the top of the head, and you never yet saw a thorough Catholic
who did not manifest a good development of it; he is strong in
ideality; has also a fine, vein of humour in him; can laugh, say
jolly as well as serious things; and is a positively earnest and
practical preacher. He speaks right out to his hearers; hits them
hard in reference to both this world and the next; tells them "what
to eat, drink, and avoid;" says that if they get drunk they must
drop it off, that if they stuff and gormandise they will be a long
while before reaching the kingdom of heaven; that they must avoid
dishonesty, falsehood, impurity, and other delinquencies; and,
furthermore, intimates that they won't get to any of the saints they