sure it is true that St. Peter erred; and those also may err, who call themselves St. Peter's successors, and they ought to be resisted when they walk not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel,' as understood and professed by the ancient Catholic Church."

"But you have not the faith of the Catholic Church."

"Yes, we have the Creeds of the Church; we have the same Creed as the Church of Rome uses in the administration of Baptism, -the Apostles' Creed, and we have the same Creed as the Church of Rome uses at the Holy Communion, the Nicene, or Constantinopolitan Creed,—and we have carried our moderation toward the Church of Rome so far that we have retained the 'filio-que' in the latter, believing as we do that it is a true assertion, although it was inserted by one of the Popes in an irregular way."

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"But you have altered the ancient offices of the Church."

"Have we ? which do you mean?"

8 Pope Nicolas I., who was Bishop of Rome A.D. 858

to 867.

"You have altered the Te Deum; and I will show you where you have done it."

He went into the Sacristy, and brought out a Service-book, where he pointed to the verse in the Te Deum, "Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem non abhorruisti Virginis uterum."

"Pardon me, we have not made any alteration there," and I repeated the words as they stand in the English Liturgy; "we recite those words in our Churches every day."

Our American Brethren have altered that verse in their liturgy, and we may hence take occasion to observe that alterations of ancient formularies, which have been received in the Church for many generations, are very dangerous, and furnish occasion of reproach to our brethren of the Church of Rome, who are always on the alert to take advantage of them, and to denounce those who alter ancient offices, as innovators and schismatics.

This may also serve as a warning to some among us who would tamper with our English Book of Common Prayer, and perhaps rob us of some of those formularies by means of which

we communicate with ancient Christendom. If (as some of our friends propose) we were to part with the Athanasian Creed (as the American Church has unhappily done), we should expose ourselves to censure from our enemies, and give a triumph to Popery;

"Hoc Ithacus velit, et magno mercentur Atridæ."

My young friend seemed a little disconcerted, and I tried to comfort him with the assurance that there were very many things in which we were entirely of one mind; and in this Church of S. Ambrose I could solemnly make the following assurance: "We receive the same Scriptures as S. Ambrose did; we profess the same faith, in the same Creeds, as S. Ambrose and S. Augustine did, and as all the greatest Fathers of the ancient Western Church did; and if we are not agreed in some points with the present Church of Rome, it is because she has departed in these respects from that ancient Faith, which S. Ambrose and S. Augustine held and taught; and because we know from the voice of God Himself in Holy Scripture that if any man, or

9

even an angel from heaven preach to us any thing beside what was preached' by the Apostles, and was received by the Apostolic Churches, he is to be Anathema.""

CHAPTER VI.

MILAN (continued).

May 24th.-I called with an Italian friend on a distinguished person, formerly a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and now a Senator of Italy, and a Judge, who has written many valuable works on the present condition of Italy, especially with regard to the See of Rome. Like almost all the letterati of Italy at the present day, he is very eager for the abolition of the Pope's temporal power. He is well versed in the history of the Papacy, and -what is more remarkable in an Italian layman-well acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, which he quoted in the words of the Vulgate with readiness and precision. "Is the Bishop of Rome necessary to the Church?" he said. "If so, what becomes of the Church, when the Papal See is void? Does she cease