might be turned into foolishness. Accordingly, just at the time when they were carrying all before them, Pascal was raised up and sent to dwell in the antichristian city, and had grace given him to expose Jesuitism, and turn it into foolishness. By overruling the counsel of Ahithophel, Hushai did more for David than if he had stood by his side, or fallen in his cause; for, if the counsel of Ahithophel had been followed, in all human probability the interests of David had been ruined. And the blow which Pascal inflicted on the Jesuits, did more for the cause of truth than his open advocacy of it as a Protestant could have done. If the reputation of the Jesuits had continued at the same point, it would have been fatal to the interests of Christ upon earth. But the writings of Pascal ruined their reputation, blighted their influence, and led ultimately to their destruction. It was thus intimately connected with the humbling strokes which more than a century afterwards fell on the whole papal system.

Though mistaken in their popery, the Jansenists were sincere in their Christianity. Honouring God in their own day, he has caused posterity to honour them. Their works shall long continue to praise them in the gates. Their genius, their example, their sanctified courage, will long nerve the hands of those who are called to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. And let us hope that the seed which they scattered in that goodly land of France-and which has also been sown so abundantly with the ashes of martyred men-let us hope that this seed, though long buried, shall in due time be turned up to the dew and the sunshine. Let us hope that the men of Port Royal, by whom the Catholic portion of the French nation is historically connected with vital truth, will be to that land what Wick. liffe was to England, what Huss was to Christendom, the morning stars of a brighter day, the forerunners of a Gallic Luther and a glorious Reformation.

THE great mass of our population, we feel morally certain, have no idea of the power and the plausibility of Popery. Not that our people are wholly ignorant of the system, but that that they are strangers to its practical influence. We know a good deal about Popery; but we know little or nothing of Papists. We may know something of the system so called, historically, theologically, or theoretically; but we have not been brought into personal contact with it. have not seen it as it is, or close at hand, in all its glory and perfection. Three hundred years have passed over our land since Popery reigned in it; and during that time it has been kept out of public view. It has never recovered from the fright it received at the reformation. Placed under the ban of law, it has not dared, till very lately, to lift up its head or shew its

We

The consequence

face in our streets. is, that the most vague and inadequate conceptions have been formed of its character. It is regarded by many with supreme contempt, for the absurdity of its dogmas, and the childishness of its rites. Along with this, there may be an hereditary dislike towards it, chiefly with those who have dipped into history, as a system of bigotry and persecution. But the advancing spirit of liberalism is fast getting the better of such feelings; and the general opinion seems to be, that, like all other forms of religion, it should be allowed to have its full swing, and that no harm is to be anticipated from it.

The masses of our people are thus placed, in relation to Popery, at a great disadvantage, and in imminent danger. Sunk for the most part in religious ignorance, or what is worse, religious.

apathy, they have not even the advantage which Scotland possessed at the reformation of having been personally familiar with its superstitions, its snares, and its enticements. They have not learnt, like our fathers at that period, to dread the snake in the grass; they have never felt the iron of its slavery entering into their souls. And yet the Popery of the 16th century -the same system under which our fathers groaned, and which, on discovering the foul and deadly nature of the system, they flung from them, with all her meretricious ornaments-that system, unchanged in its spirit, and resuming its ancient garb and garniture, is now hasting upon its way with rapid and stealthy steps. Science may be advancing; evangelism may be reviving; but alongside of these, Popery has made more progress during the last three years, than during three preceding centuries. True, our Romanism in Scotland is not indigenous but exotic; the article, as hitherto seen, is not home-grown, but imported chiefly from the sister island. But it is not on that account the less dangerous. We must not judge of the progress of this religion as we may of other heretical churches, from the comparative numbers of its adherents in our own country. The indications of its presence among us are but the small fibres at the extremity of a monster superstition, which covers with its gigantic bulk a great portion of our globe. They are but the ripplings of the tide at our feet; and easy as it may be to stem the progress of a small mountain stream swollen by the rains, it will be found a different matter to repress the advances of a tide propelled by the swell of the mighty ocean.

We confine our observations at present, however, to one point of the danger-namely, that which is to be apprehended from the revival of the gorgeous ceremonies and processions of the Romish Church. The second reading of Mr Watson's bill" for the relief of Roman Catholics," has been lately carried in the House of Commons by a small majority. That bill, among other modes of "relief," pro

poses that we should be relieved by seeing our streets paraded by Romishecclesiastics in full canonicals, and by the refreshing spectacle of Popish processions. To this last proposal some demur has been made, it seems, on the part of Government; and it may be somewhat modified in Committee. Still the pulse of the Protestant public has been tried by the motion being made and carried in a British House of Commons; and the well-known perseverance of the body from which it emanates, warrants the prediction that the spirit which prompted the overture, will not rest until its end has been accomplished. We do not stay to indulge in the reflections which such a gloomy sign of the times suggests. We shall not dwell on the feelings of amazement, mingled with awe, at the inscrutable ways of Providence, which arise on reflecting, that at a time when Popery is at a discount in almost all the Continental States, it should have risen to a premium in the British islands-that when even "priest-ridden Spain" has abolished her inquisition, shut up her monasteries, and when, as we are credibly informed," the power of the clergy over the great mass of her people is gone for ever,"* England, "the bulwark of Protestantism,"should be taking them by the hand and consoling them by acts of relief!" We come to the point at once. What is the nature of these religious processions which it is sought to revive among us, and whence is their danger?

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bishop and all his clergy attended in full costume; and, by degrees, what in earlier ages may have been something very like a funeral procession, was converted into a grand ecclesiastical demonstration.* In the ninth century, as we learn from Mosheim, "the carcases of the saints transported from foreign countries, or discovered at home by the industry of designing priests, not only obliged the rulers of the Church to augment the number of festivals and holidays, but also to diversify the ceremonies in such a manner that each saint might have his peculiar worship. And as the credit of the clergy depended much on the high notion generally entertained of the merit and virtue of the saints they had canonized, it was necessary to amuse and surprise the people by a variety of pompous and striking ceremonies. Hence, the splendour lavished on the churches in this century, and the prodigious number of costly pictures and images with which they were adorned; hence, the stately altars, the multitude of processions, the gorgeous garments of the priests, and the masses celebrated in honour of the saints." The same writer informs us, that in the twelfth century, "the whole care of an ostentatious clergy and a superstitious multitude were employed upon

that round of external ceremonies that were substituted in the place of genuine religion and substantial piety. Some changed the music, others tortured their invention to find out some new mark of veneration to the relics and images of the saints; while several ecclesiastics did not disdain to employ their time, with the most serious assiduity, in embellishing the garments of the clergy, and in forming the motions and postures they were to observe, and the looks they were to assume.'t It deserves to be mentioned, that one of the grandest processions in the popish church, that which takes place on festival of the holy sacrament," owes

"the

re

its origin to a signal triumph which she gained over heresy, in the person of the celebrated Beranger, Archdeacon of Angers, who died in the year 1088. Beranger denied the dogma of transubstantiation, but afterwards canted; and though he subsequently retracted his recantation, wrote against it, and died with grief for having perjured himself by it, the Church of Rome, proud of the disgraceful act, appointed a festival in honour of the occasion. The following extract from a Romish catechism, will shew the light in which it is regarded:

"Q. Why does the Church make a solemn procession on this day, in which the Holy Sacrament is carried?

"A. To celebrate the triumph which Jesus Christ gained for his Church over the enemies of this mystery, and to make a sort of amende-honorable for the insults which are daily cast on it by heretics."‡

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It thus appears that the procession of the host is neither more nor less than a public triumph over Protestantism, or, to use the language of this catechism, over the error revived by Zwingle, Calvin, and other sacramentarians." The revival of such a ceremony in our streets, would, of course, be regarded by them as a triumphial celebration of the victory of Rome over us poor Calvinists. Yes, and the causeway must be cleared-the troops drawn up in line to protect the ghostly parade— the civic force in readiness to quell any disturbance from the crowd; andwho knows?-our civic rulers, the liberal-minded portion of them at least, may lend their presence to doff their hats, if not to bend their knees, in honour of the occasion; while Popery flaunts in our faces the insignia of her ovation over the bigotry and rebellion of heretical Scotland!

In order that our minds may be prepared for submitting with due resignation, if not with reverence, to this somewhat humiliating spectacle, let us

I i

study the following lively account of the festival just referred to, as it was celebrated in Portugal, June 1787, in the palmy days of Catholic ascendency :

"A most sonorous peal of bells, an alarming rattle of drums, and a piercing flourish of trumYou are too pets, roused me at day-break. piously disposed to be ignorant that this day is the festival of the Corpo de Deos, (the Body of God.) Every one was gone before I set out, and

the streets of the suburb I inhabited were entirely deserted. The murmur of the crowds assembled round the patriarchale, reached us a long while before we got into the midst of them, for we advanced with difficulty between two rows of soldiers drawn up in battle array. Upon turning a dark angle, we discovered houses, shops, and palaces, all metamorphosed into tents, and hung from top to bottom with red damask, tapestry, satin coverlids, and fringed counterpanes glittering with gold. I thought mys. If in the midst of the Mogul's encampment, so pompously described by Bernier. The front of the Great Church, in particular, was most magnificently curtained; it rises from a vast flight of steps, which were covered to-day with the yoemen of the Queen's guard, and a multitude of priests bearing a gorgeous variety of painted and silken banners; flocks of sallow monks, white, brown, and black, kept pouring in continually, like turkeys driving to market. High mass was performing in the Church with awful pomp, incense ascending in clouds, and the light of innumerable tapers blazing on the diamonds of the ostensory, just elevated by the patriarch with trembling devout hands to receive the mysterious wafer. Before the close of the ceremony, I regained my window, to have a full view of the coming forth of the sacrament. All was expectation and silence in the people. The guards had ranged them on each side of the steps before the entrance of the church. At length a shower of aromatic herbs and flowers announced the approach of the patriarch, bearing the host under a regal canopy, surrounded by grandees, and preceded by a long train of mitred figures, their hands joined in prayer, their scarlet and purple vestments sweeping the ground, their attendants bearing croziers, crosses, and other insignia of pontifical grandeur. The procession slowly descending ten flights of stairs to the sound of choirs, and the distant thunder of artillery, lost itself in a winding street decorated with embroidered hangings, and left me with my senses in a whirl, and my eyes dazzled, as if awakened from a vision of celestial splendour."*

Several reflections unavoidably present themselves to us on reviewing such a scene, and imagining its effects, were an attempt made to enact any thing resembling it in our land. That it would afford the highest gratification to the giddy and gaping crowds in our

cities, who take such delight in “rain shews" of all kinds, there is too much reason to apprehend. Little do they know of the high treat that is awaiting them. Our paltry pageants--our masonic, and civic, and celtic cavalcades, with their miserable equipage, and their still more miserable music-how will

they be eclipsed by the overpowering splendour of one procession of the Corpo de Deos! The Church of Rome has been studying the subject for centuries. She has made it her profession, and has brought the processional science to the highest pitch of perfection. Well does she know how to get up her processions, and when to get them introduced! The seductive influence of such arts, she has also been able to enhance by long experience. For the upper classes, she has her worldly pomp, and sentimentalism, and artistic embellishment. To gratify the lovers of the fine arts, she has succeeded in embodying into her service the noblest productions of genius; so that the most masterly pieces of music are masses, the most splendid paintings in the world are images of her idols, and the finest specimens of architecture are the churches in which they are worshipped. But for the lower ranks, who have neither time nor taste for such things, she has her imposing processions.

"The genius of

that religion," says one who had studied it deeply, "is such that, notwithstanding all its absurdities, it easily recommends itself to weak, illiterate, and uncultivated minds; in which class the greater bulk of mankind may still be ranked, even in the most scientific age, and the most enlightened countries. It addresses itself more to the senses than The pompous rites, the reason of men. the splendid imagery of its worship; its music, shewy habits, processions, and exterior decorations, easily attract the grosser minds, and win the affections of the mob."+

But another consideration suggests itself here. Before Popery can succeed in reviving her idolatrous spectacles among us, she must be secured against

all insult or interruption. The slightest mark of irreverence-a smile, a jest, at the holy pageant, would be accounted wholly incompatible with the intended effect. Popery can only walk in state where she enjoys the ascendency, or where Government lends her power to command public respect. In many places on the Continent, from want of this power, she finds it impossible to maintain her processions; while in others, every knee must bow before them. This introduces a very puzzling question of casuistry; for if Papists make it part of their religion to parade an idol through the streets, it will go hard if some staunch Protestant may not consider it part of his religion to smash the idol to pieces. It may be from a salutary fear of some such feeling being brought into play by the arrogant pretensions of Popery, and turning the whole superstitious mummery into contempt and confusion, that may be inducing some of our legislators, for the sake of the public peace, to lay an interdict, for the present, on these processions.

But how, and in what spirit, we may ask, in conclusion, is the alarming progress of Popery, indicated, among other things, by this atrocious proposal, to be met and put down? "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord ?" And never did the signs of the times read us a more impressive commentary on these words of the Most High. During the three last centuries, three different plans may be said to have been em

ployed to arrest the progress of this superstition. In the sixteenth century, it was put down by force of law; in the succeeding century, it was assailed by theology; and in the last century, it was encountered by reason. Each of these methods had their own measure of success. Proscribed by law, Popery sunk into the disgrace of a criminal, who, having been convicted, has been sent away with the brand of a felon. Attacked by our learned theologians, its boasted support from Scripture and the Fathers was struck from under it. Scrutinized by the keen eye of Christian philosophy, it was found incapable of standing the test of reasoning. But none of these methods have succeeded in finally extinguishing the system. This seems to be a triumph reserved for vital Christianity, under the influences of the Spirit of God. Let the Church be purified from carnal connections, and clad in the panoply of truth; let her go forth to the battle in the strength of the Lord and in the power of his might. Let the Christian remember, that it is only by cultivating spirituality in his religion that he can be effectually shielded from the fascinations of a carnal superstition. And let all earnestly pray that, by the revival of genuine piety, and being awakened to a sense of our danger, we may be prepared for the final struggle with that mystery of iniquity which "the Lord: shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."