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however, were the works of the church, or at least some suitable tracts or sermons, translated into our language. For this reason I, during my visit to London, in 1860, made an application to the London Missionary and Tract Society for some aid to enable us to translate and publish tracts, as we had no resources of our own; and some time after, I was informed by the secretary of the society that it had generously granted us £10. for that purpose. Delighted with it, my brother, corresponding with Baron Holmfeld, told him the good tidings, upon which the Baron answered by expressing his wish to receive that sum, if the Society would permit it. The reason he assigned was, that he had, at his own expense, translated and published two of the Four Leading Doctrines, viz., the Doctrine of the Lord, and the Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures; that he had just translated the two others, but wanted funds for publishing them; and that if he could obtain this money, he would immediately print them, and give us as many copies of all the Four Doctrines as we wanted.* As nothing, of course, could be more desirable to us than a translation of those excellent works, I did not hesitate to inform the Society of it, expressing my wish that the money might be delivered to the Baron; and some time after we received a quantity of those works. With sincere thankfulness we felt that a great work was now done, and we have not neglected to avail ourselves of the opportunity of presenting the books wherever we have deemed it useful, but living very retired the opportunities of doing so have been few, and we dare not hope to be able to make much use of the works until a good lecturer has drawn public attention to them; but if we do not get a lecturer from some other country, as England, Germany, or Sweden, we have very little prospect of any extended diffusion of the truth. In Christiania, an English gentleman, who is living there as the minister of a congregation of his countrymen, commonly delivers lectures every winter, on English literature, to a rather large auditory; and I do not doubt that an English New Churchman would find a somewhat prepared field, or at least would get a large auditory of intelligent *The written language of Norway is the same as that of Denmark.-ED.

men.

Dissatisfied with the slow progress of the Truth, we resolved to get admission to the press; so my brother, as an experiment, sent an article to a magazine for children. This was received, and from that time he has continued to send articles, chiefly translations from your children's magazine. Having received promotion, I removed, in the spring of 1859, into the country; here I got admission to the columns of a newspaper, published in a neighbouring village, and have since that time been one of its most regular contributors. The subjects treated of have been an unfolding of the internal connection between the laws of matter and of spirit, partly by means of the laws of matter, and partly by those of human physiology and psychology. Some allegories and similes, explained according to correspondences, translated from American New Church writers, produced a great sensation and excited much interest.

Last summer, circumstances having become favorable for the establishment of a practical school in the village where the newspaper I have mentioned is published, I inserted an advertisement expressing my intention of establishing one. But having now become known

as a

"Swedenborgian," my intention caused great excitement. The matter was discussed in public meetings, most persons expressing themselves against me, and some even urging the clergymen present to warn people against me from the pulpit; while others desired them to explain in what the fallacies of my ideas consisted. This the clergymen proposed to put off to another meeting; some argued, on the other side, that my ideas, if they were no other than those I had put forth in the paper, were sound and good; and they thus concluded that the ideas which I had not put forth must be so too, so that they therefore did not fear in trusting me with their children. Most of them, at last, agreed to intrust me with their children, if I would engage a person of the established church as their religious instructor. To do them justice, I must add, that the clergymen could easily have got up a resolution against this, which is due only to their tolerance, as I was not personally acquainted with any of them. So my school was established, and the clergyman was among

the first to send me a scholar, a boy of his own family. Since the fall, my school has gradually increased in numbers, and it is my dearest hope to make it a little nursery for heaven. I am not, indeed, teacher in religion myself, but as intellectual exercise, I frequently have reading and explanation of old fables and allegories, by which I have opportunities of preparing the minds for sounder ideas. In the youngest class my wife, a devoted New Churchwoman, is teacher in religion; first of all, however, we endeavour to gain the confidence of our pupils, and by the aid of the Lord, we hope to become successful herein. If I succeed in this undertaking, my dearest wishes for this life are fulfilled; the school yields, indeed, no material riches, for in order to overcome the people's distrust to me as a "Swedenborgian," and induce them to commit their children to my charge, I made the fees so low, that nobody could compete with me, who regard them only as an addition to my income, and a means of procuring education and instruction to my oldest son, in a New Church school, so as to become able to assist and afterwards succeed me as teacher; and so to found a permanent New Church seminary in my country. This hope does not seem improbable to me: the school is situated in one of our richest and best populated districts, between two neighbouring villages, with several, factories; while an excellent circulating library, a newspaper, and a "Society for the welfare of the District," spread their beneficent influences even to the labouring classes. As soon as I had removed hither, some members of the society referred to founded another, for the purpose of getting regular lectures in the winter season. This society soon increased, so that lectures have during the winter been held every other week, and although it is yet in its infancy, I entertain the hope that it will prosper, and thereby become able to induce sounder ideas in the people. May the Lord bestow His blessings upon our weak and humble endeavours!

With kind regards to all friends, I am yours truly and affectionately,

T. F. BOYESEN. P.S.-As you will perceive from the enclosed letter, I entertain the hope of being, if it is the Lord's will, settled for life in the place where I now live, and

that my next great journey will be to the spiritual world. I have hitherto felt a great desire to become personally acquainted with my New Church brethren; I shall now have the satisfaction of enjoying spiritual intercourse with them through the "Repository," an intercourse I very much need, to assist me to advance in true usefulness, especially in my task as teacher and educator of the young, I need not say how happy I should be, if I were allowed to lay a good religious foundation, but, as this is denied me, I am limited to giving secular education, which may be conducive to the reception of sounder religious views at some future time. Therefore, I should be very thankful for any information that in any way may be serviceable for that purpose. In order to enable my pupils to read English works, I instruct them in that language every other day, hoping thereby to enable them, at some future time, to become acquainted with the teachings of the church. As to school books, we are so far, I know, greatly deficient, as well in history as in the sciences-that is to say, of books written in agreement with the teachings of Swedenborg. I only know, besides "Illustrations of Scripture for Children of the New Church," "Correspondences of Animals," by Benode, and Physiology," by Rice, but none of them are fit for school-books, still less "The Human Body and its Connection with Man," by Wilkinson. During my visits to England and America, I purchased a lot of books; but now I do not know how to procure them, for through the booksellers here, they become almost thrice as dear as in England; we can, indeed, get papers and periodicals through the post, but not books. If my school should increase so as to afford a livelihood for a man, I could wish to engage my eldest son as teacher, in order to leave him the school afterwards. But, before that, I should wish to send him to a good New Church school, where he could be thoroughly instructed in Religion and the Natural Sciences, for which he manifests great interest, and a quick mind. Therefore, I wish very much to be able to send him to such a school in England, if there is one, and I can afford the expense. I should, therefore, like to know what it would cost annually, to place him there. He is now in his fourteenth year, and for his age, rather

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well prepared; he understands and reads English well. When he is fifteen, I think he would profit by a stay of two years in England. I cannot express how delighted I should be, if any English New Churchman would visit Christiania as lecturer; my brother, Captain Charles Boyesen, would gladly receive him, and assist him; he lives at No. 1, Universitystreet. T. F. B.

GERMANY.

By an obliging effort of the printers, we are enabled to lay the following interesting letter from Dr. Tafel before our readers in the present number:

Tübingen, 17th April, 1862. My dear Sir,-There now resides here, for the purpose of thoroughly studying the works of Swedenborg, a Catholic prelate, well known in most parts of Europe by the high position he has occupied, by his numerous publications, &c. His father, who for very many years was at the head of the administration of one of the first depart ments of the Russian empire, had been a receiver of Swedenborg's doctrines from the year 1780. His brother, Councillor of State in St. Petersburg, also adopted the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and the other members of his family are in possession of nearly all the publications of the New Church.

In the year 1843 I first made the acquaintance of this gentleman, who had been directed to me by his elder brother. After having also made a journey to France and England, his career was a most extraordinary one; and if he finally embrace the full truth, we shall be justified in saying that his past life has been a providential preparation for the spreading of the true doctrines. As he never doubted the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, he came to Germany in 1842 with the sole purpose of combatting the atheistic and infidel philosophers; but having doubts concerning the truth of the Greek church, in which he was born, he employed his time and his money in studying everywhere all the sects in Europe. After a long examination, he came to the conclusion that the systems of all the Protestant sects were false, as not having the character or even the pretension of a Divine revelation; and he proceeded to Rome, in order to choose between Swedenborg, the Greek, and the Romish church. The

Jesuits prevented him from fully studying Swedenborg, and after an examination of some months' duration, he in 1845 embraced the Romish church, notwithstanding the great sacrifices which, by the Russian laws, were the consequences of such an act. In the Catholic Church he devoted himself to a most complete study of philosophy and theology; after having, in 1842, graduated in Law, and attended the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, Oxford, &c., he was made priest, and, as Père Etienne, exercised the functions of Conference, as Superior of the Missionaires de la Banlieue de Paris, Confessor at the Church of St. Gênéviève, etc., and received the title of "Missionnaire Apostolique." After that time, the Curia of Rome entrusted him with delicate missions in Germany and Sweden, and in 1855 he was made a prelate, becoming "Apostolic Prefect" of the North of Europe, with the power and jurisdiction of a bishop. This function he exercised for seven years, during which time he established not only parish churches but two dioceses. His memory, however, always reverted to Swedenborg, and after having given in his resignation, he declared to the Archbishop of Florence, where he lived last winter, with a Russian princess of his family, that he would now study Swedenborg thoroughly. This archbishop, in a letter to him, recognised his profound theological knowledge. What the will of the Lord may be, I know not, but it is possible that he may come to a full conviction of the truth of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem. And, considering his antecedents, and his energetic character, his case deserves attention, as perhaps he may become the instrument of energetically disseminating the New Church doctrines. He knows thirteen languages, seven of which he speaks and writes, and is in constant correspondence with eminent persons, who repose great confidence in him.

Although he has filled the highest offices in the Catholic church, these having been held immediately from the Pope, yet, as his desire has only been as far as possible to glorify the Lord, and sanctify himself, and contribute to the salvation of the greatest possible number of souls, he would not refuse, in case of his becoming fully convinced of the truth of Swedenborg's doctrines, to accept the title and office of

an auxiliary minister of the New Church, by travelling in all the countries where there are members of the New Church, and aiding their ministers. But having found a convenient locality, in the neighbourhood of Tübingen, he has especially in view, the establishment of a New Church seminary for ministers, in connection with New Church scholars, who might also be invited from other parts of the world.

He finds that residence here is attended with comparatively little expense, and the students would have the advantage of the neighbourhood of our University, in which they could hear everything they wish.

Although he has still some means, it would be necessary to assist him in his proceedings, as his own resources would be insufficient for the purpose. I should be happy to be favoured with the views of our English friends and brethren on the matter, in the event of his being fully convinced. I may add that he speaks the English language well. I enclose the cover of one of his latest publications, which also contains a list of his other writings.

His present purpose is to remain here for some time; and in case he should be fully convinced, to publish with me an Apology for Swedenborg, and to write a Methodology of his doctrines, to make him known under the form admitted by the Catholic and Protestant divines. He also contemplates publishing his own memoirs, containing a complete description of the present religious state of Europe, and the letters of a great number of celebrated men, which will serve as a bridge between Swedenborg and the present age.

It appears to me that there is something providential in the whole case, which we should not reject, but rather meet, especially when we consider his sincerity, his attainments, and his influence.

According to the request of the Swedenborg Society, I sent at the beginning of this month copies of my new edition of "Apocalypsis Explicata," vols 1 and 2, and of "Summaria Expositio sensus interni Prophetarum et Psalmorum," together with eight copies for the Manchester Printing Society. At present I am occupied in publishing volume 3 of the Index Biblicus."

I remain, my dear Sir, very affectionately yours, EMANUEL TAFEL.

List (translated from the French) of Dr. Stephen de Djunkovskoy's Publications, referred to in Dr. Tafel's letter.

In Russian.-Historical Sketch of Early Russian History; Essay on Homer's Odyssey, with a Poetical Version of the First Book; Travels in Esthonia and Finland.

In German.-Defence of Christianity, by Eiler; Philosophic Testament of Schelling.

In French.-Evidences of Divine Providence, derived from the latest discoveries in Astronomy and Zoology. (This work has been translated into Italian, German, and English.) The Methodists, their History and Doctrine; Historical Sketch of Religion in Denmark; History and Theory of Statistics; The Spiritual Sovereignty of the Pope proved by 500 Greek and Latin Texts of the Early Centuries; The Doctrine of the Modern Israelites examined in the Talmud; Religious State of Russia.

In English.-Norway as it is, and as it might have been; The Atlantic Telegraph of the North; Sermon on the Peace with China; Memoirs of a Happy Man.

In Italian.-Sermons preached at Rome on the Love of God and of the Neighbour.

In Norwegian.-Triumphs of Catholicism in the Nineteenth Century; The Real Causes of the Triumph of the Church; History of Religious Intolerance during the Three Last Centuries; The True Doctrine of the Gospel; The True Monument of Luther; On the Definition and Infallibility of the Pope, &c.; Ricasoli's Project and the Triple Alliance.

EXPOSITION.

Habakkuk iii. 8, 15.-" Was Jehovah displeased with the rivers? was Thine anger against the rivers? was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride upon Thy horses; Thy chariots are salvation? Thou hast trodden the sea with Thine horses, of mud of many waters.” Who does not see that by "horses" in these passages are not understood horses; for it is said of Jehovah that "He rideth upon His horses," that " He treadeth the sea with His horses," and "His chariots are salvation"? These things are so expressed, because "riding upon horses" signifies that Jehovah, that is, the Lord,

is in the understanding of the Word in its spiritual sense; and because thence is the doctrine of truth, which teaches the way of salvation, it is added, "Thy chariots are salvation;" "chariots" sig nifying doctrine. And by "treading the sea with His horses," is signified that Jehovah, or the Lord, is in the under standing of the Word in its natural sense; for the "sea" there signifies that sense, and in general all things which pertain to the natural man, and which are for the natural man; and because divine truths are there in their ultimate, it is therefore added, "The mud of many waters;" "mud" signifying the ultimate from and in which are truths, truths being signified by "waters." (A.E. 355.)

Obituary.

Departed this life, at Leigh, on the 11th August, 1861, Mrs. Betty kell, aged 65. She was brought up in the Established Church, of which she was a consistent member, and became a receiver of the New Church doctrines in 1816. She was married in 1821, and lived in harmony with her husband during 40 years. She contributed, according to her means, to the support of the society. She was a member of the Peace and Temperance Societies, and was a kind friend and a good neighbour. She endured a painful and lingering illness with exemplary patience, for a period of 12 months; but the season of her probation on earth has now expired, and those who knew her best have every reason to hope that she is now in some heavenly mansion, in the Lord's kingdom. S. S.

On Thursday, Jan. 23rd, 1862, Mrs. Hester Stanbury, the beloved wife of Mr. James Stanbury, of Castle Bar Hill, Ealing, departed from the natural into the spiritual world, in the 74th year of her age. She received the heavenly doctrines soon after the decease of her first husband, Mr. Thomas, or about the year 1820, through the medium of the late Mr. Mansfield, of Reading, whose establishment she managed. The first work which arrested her attention was the small tract on "The Caterpillars and the Gooseberry-busb," with the vene

[Enl. Series.-No. 101, vol. ix.]

In the

rable author of which she afterwards had the privilege of corresponding; but the work which led finally to a most cordial conviction of the divine verities of the New Church, was Swedenborg's most wonderful and admirable Treatise on Heaven and Hell. This work was most exactly suited to her state, which was one of severe trials, and she found that it led her to a well-spring of living consolation. After the decease of Mr. Mansfield, she removed, with her beloved daughter, an only surviving child, to London, where she first joined the society in the Waterloo-road, under the ministry of the late Rev. T. Goyder, and on its separation, that meeting for worship in Friar-street. year 1838, her daughter, Miss Eliza Ann, a most amiable young lady, was removed into the spiritual world, in the twenty-third year of her age, of whom an interesting obituary appeared in the Intellectual Repository of that year; for she had been diligently trained from early childhood in the devout love and practice of New Church Christianity. Soon after her daughter's decease, Mrs. Thomas again entered into the marriage relation with Mr. Stanbury. So long as she was able, she was constant in her attendance upon the public worship and ordinances of the church, and identified herself in every possible way with the progress and success of our holy cause. She was, from the first, a most useful and active member of the Benevolent Society. She was ready on all occasions to make self-sacrifices for the good of others, and pursued an unbroken and unostentatious path of duty. She was always interested and delighted with the preaching and intercourse of the Rev. Messrs. Sibley, T. Goyder, and Shaw; and ever took great interest in conversation on religious topics. Her illness was of long continuance, and her sufferings were severe; but she was enabled to bear her trials with Christian fortitude and resignation. She is doubtless removed to a happy heavenly home, where it is delightful to reflect, that if found prepared, we shall again meet her, and our other beloved but departed friends, defecated from the impurities and frailties of mortality, where there is "fulness of joy;" and where sorrow and sighing are for ever fled away. B.

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E. M.

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