At the Westminster Police-court yesterday week Father Charles Bowden, of
the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, was examined before Mr. Selfe for having induced the daughter of Mrs. M'Dermot to leave her home and to live in a Roman Catholic refuge. The charge turned out to be baseless. Mr. Selfe., who incidentally mentioned that his wife was a " wise and good person,"—in short, his better self,—procured for the young woman a private interview with this lady, and it appeared that Father Charles Bowden had simply advised the young woman where to go, she being herself, for an unexplained reason, anxious to get into a Catholic refuge. The only questionable look about the proceedings was the evasive manner of Father Charles Bowden's replies. Instead of telling his story simply, he seemed to be anxious above everything not to com- mit himself, and to evade investigation. It was probably all for the girl's sake, but the mental habits of the Catholic priests some- times seem to inspire a kind of inability to answer a plain ques- tion without reserves.
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