the Pope (Count Montalambert) declared, that "the Roman Catholic Church is not the slave, the client, or the auxiliary of any one. She is sovereign or she is nothing."* Warned by such words, let us unite and she will be nothing-the breath of the Almighty will destroy her. Her power is political or superstitious, not moral or spiritual, and must succumb to the truth.

And finally, let me fetch an argument for union among Christians from the present aspect which Popery presents. How compact and well-knit are the enemies of the truth! How broken and disjointed we! One firm front is presented in favour of Popery throughout the whole earth; its adherents appear all of one heart and mind whereas the friends of religion are torn up : into sections, and rather contend with each other than against the common peril. Need we add, that these things ought not so to be? If only one-sixteenth part of the globe be nominally Protestant, how loud the call for union! If the Romanists be rallying all their strength for one decisive struggle more, (which we know from prophecy will be its last, and perhaps its most bloody,) how important that we lift up a banner for the truth, and lift it up together! If the infidelity of the kingdoms of this world conspire with the superstition of Rome to extinguish or overlay the word of God, shall not we seek by his grace to spread it far and wide? If Popery has invaded our territory, and spread its delusions among us, (and we have found its pernicious tracts in quiet circulation in the city of our habitation,) shall not we make reprisals in those lands where the gospel can be freely preached, and will be gladly welcomed? We enjoy a day of privilege: let it be embraced, and God will honour us; let it pass un

*North British Review, vol. ii. p. 642.

improved, and our candlestick may either be removed, or our light wax dim, and dimmer still, until it be quenched in blood. Our nation loudly boasts that the British legions have triumphed on the plains of Belgium. The day has not long gone by, when the names of Wavre, and Waterloo, and Charleroi, and Brussels, were frequent in the bulletins and despatches of murderous war; they are now familiar in the reports of the soldiers of the cross. Let them become more familiar still by God's blessing on our help, and that land so rich and beautiful by nature, will become more lovely still, when the beauty of "holiness to the Lord" is abundant there.

NOTE.

The following extracts from the Report of the Evangelical Society of Belgium for 1842-3, will illustrate some points in this Lecture:-"Only a few days since, in one of the largest churches in Brussels, a most splendid crown was presented to a " Miraculous image of the Virgin," invoked as the Mother of Mercy. It is stated that there were 90 ounces of pure gold in the Crown, and the workmanship alone cost £280. The following is a description of the Crown, as given in the Journal de Bruxelles, 31st May 1843.

'The front of the cross which is on the orb, is ornamented with 5 superb Sapphires; the one given by her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians, is placed in the middle; on the sides are 4 Brilliants, 4 fine Rubies and 45 Rose diamonds. The back of the cross is the same as the front, with the exception of the Sapphires, for which Peridots are substituted; in addition to these, the cross is enriched by 33 fine Pearls. The arches are of Gothic form and studded with 40 Diamonds and 48 Vermeilles; enamelled ivy branches climb the sides of the arches and meet at the top. The band which encircles the orb, and that which crosses its upper

hemisphere, are of sky-blue enamel, and are adorned with 12 Diamonds and 4 Rubies. The fleurons are embellished with 16 fine Hyacinths and other precious stones. The cap has 4 beautiful Gothic ornaments, with four fine Siberian Amethysts and 284 Diamonds. Between each of these ornaments, there is an inscription in sky-blue enamelled letters, Maria Matri Misericordiæ. The Crown is lined with Gothic lace of golden filigree work, intermixed with Rubies, Diamonds, Emeralds, Sapphires, Turquoises, and 344 Pearls. The total number of precious stones in the Crown, is 593, and of fine Pearls 377. What in the eye of faith infinitely augments the value of these precious stones is, that they are the gifts of the middle classes, who have imitated the zeal of the poor. (The subscription to buy the Crown was begun by the poor.)

The circle of the Diadem bears an inscription, Mariæ Matri Misericordiæ, in azure letters, because Mary is Queen of heaven by the almighty power of God. The emblems are taken from different royal and imperial crowns, to show that Mary's crown includes and far surpasses them all. On the top of the four arches (after the royal crown), is an orb surmounted by the sign of Redemption, because the Mother of the Saviour reigns by this sign of Salvation.'

"As may be supposed, the ceremony of crowning the image was one of great pomp. The Journal de Bruxelles gives the following account of it :

The evening before Ascension-day, all that part of the High Street which reaches from the church to the parsonage-house, was planted with firs, on which were hung garlands of evergreens and red, blue and white calico. Several triumphal arches were also placed in the streets. Early in the morning an immense crowd gathered around the church. At six o'clock the Cardinal-Archbishop celebrated the mass, and during two hours administered the communion.

'The confessors had been engaged until midnight in hearing the confessions of the people. At eight o'clock, the Archbishop of Damietta, Nuncio at Brussels, celebrated mass and then continued to give the communion; in an adjoining chapel, the holy eucharist had been distributed from five o'clock in the morning. Several hundreds of persons, seeing the difficulty of approaching the Holy Table, went to other churches to satisfy their devotion. There were three thousand communicants at the chapel alone (the

Church in which the ceremony took place). At ten o'clock the Rector Magnifique of the Louvain Catholic University chanted high mass, at which the Cardinal was present in his pontifical dress, surrounded by his Grand-Vicar, several Canons and a great number of the Clergy.

'At two o'clock, the procession quitted the parsonage-house for the church, headed and closed by a detachment of the Guides (the King's Body-Guard), their music in front.

The procession was formed by a deputation of the different Brotherhoods of the parish-the Council of Administration of the Church-the Community of the Brethren of Christian Schoolsthe Fathers of the Company of Jesus and of the Congregation of Redemptorists-the Curé of the Parish and a numerous Clergy— the Cardinal-Archbishop and his Vicar-general-the Rector Magnifique of the University of Louvain and several Canons.""

LECTURE VI.

PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF EVANGELICAL RELIGION IN SWITZERLAND, ESPECIALLY GENEVA.

BY PATRICK M'FARLAN, D.D.,

MINISTER OF THE FREE WEST CHURCH, GREENOCK.

SWITZERLAND is one of the most wonderful, and, perhaps, the most interesting country on the face of the earth. The magnificence of its mountain scenery, the beauty of its lakes, and the cultivation and literary taste of a large portion of its inhabitants, make it an object of attraction and admiration to men in all quarters of the globe. Its history in past and present times is not less remarkable than its external appearance. To the successful struggles of the Swiss cantons for national independence, and to their courage and perseverance in defending their dear-bought liberties, we look in vain for a parallel; whilst the actual working of a republican and federal form of government for several centuries, presents some most important lessons in political science, which it were well that the rulers and people of other countries were more inclined to consider and apply.

It is not, however, of the physical appearance or the civil history of Switzerland that we have to treat in the