certainty that Pope Alexander died of poison, which he had intented for others. But is there any reason for doubt ?] (To be continued.) PERPETUAL CHASTITY. We read that Aloysius "received of God a perfect gift of chastity; that in his whole life he never felt the least temptation either in mind or body against purity, as Jerome Plautus and Cardinal Bellarmin assure us, from his own mouth." Again-"He never looked at any female, kept his eyes strictly guarded, and generally cast down; he was afraid and ashamed to let a servant see so much as his foot uncovered." MASSES FOR THE DEAD. (Continued from p. 358, Vol. I.) But there is another strange thing connected with masses for the dead. One might imagine that the clergy were so holy, that they would require no masses for the repose of their souls. How can holy men require to be taken out of purgatory, or need any thing to be done by their survivors for procuring peace to their souls? Yet there are more masses offered up for the priests than for the people generally; more for the bishops than for the priests, and most of all for the popes themselves. Are we to understand by this that popes and bishops and priests, require more cleansing than the most wicked of the people, unless they be very rich and can pay for as many masses as are said for popes, and bishops, and priests? Or is it to be regarded as a mere compliment which the clergy pay to one another, according to their different ranks, as soldiers fire a certain number of rounds of gunpowder over a private, many more over a captain, more still over a colonel, most of all over a general? Soldiers, however, do not sell this honour, and a rich private or captain could not obtain for money, as many rounds to be fired over him as a general. The clergy arrange the matter differently. They determine the number of masses to be said for one another by their ranks, seeing the masses cost them nothing; but when the laity wish to share in the benefit of the masses, they determine the number according to the money to be paid for them. They do not in such cases consult the necessities of the individual who has died, and who is, according to their doctrine, writhing in the fire of purgatory, which they say is as dreadful as the fire of hell, while it lasts; but whether he may have been very good, and so needed less purification, or very bad, and so needed more, they give to both not according to what they need, but according to what they pay; and if they pay no moncy, they get no masses. But it is thine to contrast this whole system with the religion of the Word of God. If any advantage was given by the Lord Jesus to any persons, it was not to the rich, but to the poor. He himself gives this description of his ministry— "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them," Matt. xi. 5; and he says further, "that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Matt. xix. 24. And the apostle Paul says, (1 Cor. i. 26) "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised has God chosen, yea, and things that are not, to bring to nought things that are." And the apostle James says, "hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him. But ye have despised the poor. Do not the rich oppress you, and draw you before judgment seats? Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called?" James ii. 56. The apostle Peter also says, that we are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. 1 Pet. i. 18. But according to this system of processions and masses, rich men have great advantages given them over the poor. They have only to take care that, after they are dead, and can hold the money no longer, abundance of priests be employed in saying masses for them; and if there be any virtue at all in the mass, they obtain the whole of it, except what the clergy appropriate to themselves. When will the eyes of the people be opened of this system of chicanery and imposition? Let them be assured that a merciful God gives no power to a rich man, to obtain any pardon or grace which a poor man cannot acquire, by simply believing and receiving God's offer of mercy, and putting his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of God offers free pardon to all, rich or poor, who will humbly lay down the arms of their rebellion against God, and thankfully accept of his forgiveness bestowed through Jesus Christ our Lord. And not only so, but it offers freely the blood of Christ, that cleanseth from all sin, to cleanse the most filthy, and make him fit for heaven. The Scriptures tell of no such way of salvation as opening a public-house, making money by enticing people to drink, and then employing the money so got to pay priests for saying masses. The only way of salvation revealed in the Word of God, is "repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." "He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark xvi. 16. By grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works." Ephes. ii. 8, 9. Let, therefore," the wicked man," whether poor or rich, "forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Is. lv. 7. And thus without purgatory fire, or masses, to get you out of it, "though your sins were as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool." Is. i. 18. "For the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." 1 John i. 7. POPISH THEOLOGY, BY THE REV. A. S. THELWELL, A. M. The first subjects to which your attention is called is this The candidates for the priesthood in Maynooth College are trained in a system of awful perjury. They are trained in a system that opens the door for the violation of every oath that man can take to his fellowcreature. I first call your attention to Bailly's Moral Theology. This is one of the books which the scholar is obliged to purchase at his own expense. It is stated here as a proposition, vol. ii. p. 117, 66 A promissory oath obliges, under the penalty of mortal sin, to do that which is promised in the oath." Well, that is very sound; then follows, "unless a legitimate cause excuses. Well, there may be causes, certainly, that preclude the observance of a promissory oath. Turn now to consider some of these causes, and we find, p. 119, a chapter with this title, "Of the causes which prevent, or take away, the obligation of an oath." On this observe, that some causes prevent an oath from imposing any obligation; so that, though a person took an oath, yet he never was bound to keep it. Some causes, again, take away the obligation after it has been imposed; so that a man is bound by the oath after he takes it, but then some cause arises which delivers him from the obligation. Let us first mention some of the causes that prevent an oath from imposing an obligation. There are seven causes enumerated. Some of these seven causes are just and right; as, for instance, the defect of liberty-that is, that a person has no right to take an oath a child has no right to take an oath to do a thing which his parent will not allow him to do. A third cause mentioned here is, the hindering of a greater good which is oppose to the thing promised by the oath. So that if a man takes an oath, and then there is some greater good that might result if he had not taken the oath, the oath involves no obligation at all. The Word of the living God says, "He that sweareth to his neighbour and disappointeth him not, though it were to his own hindrance" the Church of Rome says, "The hindering of a greater good prevents the obligation of an oath." The seventh cause, excusing from the obligation of an oath, is the limitationeither expressed, or even tacitly and silently understood-of the intention of the swearer. For in every oath certain general conditions are, from justice and use, included. One of them is, unless you except, unless you remit; another is, "salvo jure alieno-that is, saving the right of another." Every Roman Ca tholic must take this oath-saving the right of his superior-saving the right of the Pope, of his bishop, or his priest. Again, there are five causes that take away the obligation of an oath, after the oath has imposed an obligation. One of them is, "If the thing sworn becomes impossible, or unlawful on account of the prohibition of any superior-" illicita ob superioris prohibitionem." So that if a man takes an oath, and then his superior is pleased to prohibit the observance of it, according to the Church of Rome, the obligation of the oath is entirely taken away. to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, it may also be more profitable to pass by the wonders of nature, and of art, and learn to gather instruction from the death-bed of an Irish peasant. The fourth cause is, "the making void of the oath by him to whom the person of the swearer, or the matter of the oath, is subject." See how this is illustrated. "This the superior (that is, the general) of all the orders of the monks can validly, even without cause, make void the oaths of all his subjects." One of these men, Dr. Anglade, professor of divinity, is asked, in this Report of the Commissioners, Where does the Superior of the Dominicans reside? At Rome. Where does the Superior of the Franciscans reside? At Rome. Where does the Superior of the Jesuits reside? THE RAMBLER. IV. I claim a right to ramble and run wide, Wherever chance, caprice, or fancy guide. An intelligent child, on reading the criticism in the last Rambler, remarked, "What a funny man W. H. C. must be!" Funny indeed, to convert a Rambler into a guide, and send him to the Wizard Lakes of the south or to the Giant Causeways of the north, and make him become as chatty as a magpie, in order that his readers may shell out at the end of the journey. There certainly was an abrupt transition from historical recollections of round towers, and the perusal of the Irish Scriptures, to scenes of sickness and of want. Such however is human life! The transition is often as sudden, from scenes of amusement and mirth, to those of sadness and gloom; and if it be better My last ramble needs an apology; and it shall be accompained by an offer to become a guide to the "noble estuaries," "the mountain torrents," "the lovely glens," "and the majestic streams," (as Mr. O'Connell would say), of this emerald Isle, if I could but serve one poor Irish family. There was a law among the Romans, that if a person was found near the emperor's tent, he must suffer death, unless it could be proved, that he was there with a petition on behalf of another. Let this be my plea. I asked aid for another;-for a poor man who had persevered for many years, notwithstanding the disapprobation of his priest, in reading the Irish Testament to his neighbours, and who did persevere, until death, and on this account was left in his affliction to suffer the loss of all things; as his published letter amply proves. The seed has been scattered, it shall accomplish that (saith Jehovah) which I please. Behold the seed germinating! A farmer's son called on me for a loan of the English Version, and on inquiring how he had been led to feel an interest in the Scriptures, he said, by attending the sick bed of a man who read a portion of the Irish, and then the same portion in English, he found the one threw light on the other." That sick man was W. K. Our English friends have but little conception of the situation of an Irish peasant, who has the moral courage to open an Irish Bible, in opposition to the command of his spiritual guide. Often, in the cabin of W. K., or at a neighbouring farm-house, the people would collect together on a Sunday evening to compare the Irish and English Versions. The peasantry of Ireland are anxious to read the Bible, were they permitted to do so. What a guilty power attaches to the Roman priesthood! A power to ensnare the minds of their flocks, and hold them in thraldom. The church of Rome is incapable of real reform, and will continue to be so, as long as that community refuse to submit" to the law and to the testimony." No act of the legislature can improve it. It has departed from the faith once delivered to the saints. Its most mischievous principle is submission to a priesthood! This is essentially wrong. This unscriptural principle shall one day be destroyed; not by the voice of the British Senate, "but with the spirit of his mouth, and by the brightness of his coming."(2 Thess. ii. 8.) I had been from home, and, on my return, stationed near the town, I met two Roman Catholic farmers, who were waiting for me. One of then accosted me, and said, "W. K. knows now, if it be a crime to read the Scriptures." I found that he was no more. I inquired from them the particulars of his death,-it appears, some members of his family brought the priest to visit him, but he did not wish it; he was quite satisfied that all human aid was unavailable, and that none but the Son of God could help him. About an hour previous to his dissolution, he requested that his Irish Testament should be placed in his coffin, and interred with him, remarking, they had been united in life, and death should not separate them." Some one said to him, "Do you think it necessary?" "By no means, was the reply; we will ask and whatever he says shall be done. This satisfied him. He then said to his brother, "Go to Mr. and tell him, that God will reward him for his kindness to me and to my family." Mr. " by the ruling powers to govern this most unfortunate country-a system which is as foolish as it is wicked! The Irish are a people who never will be calmed by gifts. If it be right and proper to adopt a certain course, do so; if wrong, refrain, and leave all consequences. They will outwit all the prudential and expediency resolves of any administration; and make all subservient to the advancement of that power they are sworn to increase. I am pleading for personal acts of kindness between Protestant and Romanist. If the faith of the former be more excellent than the latter, let him prove it, not by exulting over a man in error, but by extending to him a friendly hand. This, to most ministers of the Gospel, whose means are generally circumscribed, is a serious affair, nevertheless, it may be done; a cup of cold water is not costly! Candour obliges me to confess, I never won a man by argument ! I may have gained a victory, but I lost his affections. The command to do good is universal; the limitation is to the household of faith, and it is not a difficult task to apply the limitation to those entertaining the same views as ourselves, and thus forget the universality of the command. 66 I wish I could do more than I have been able to do, for the widow and five children, left in destitute circumstances. To those who have the power to do good, here is an opportunity. This desolate widow "has no English;" she came to me to return her grateful thanks, and she was accompanied by a respectable man, one of nature's noblemen;" and as soon as she caught sight of me, she fell on her knees, clasped her hands together, raised her eyes to heaven, and in a most impassioned manner, poured forth her warmest and most fervent petitions on all who had aided her. Tears were falling from the eyes of that manly countenance, as he rendered the prayer into English. As for myself, I am free to confess, it completely unmanned me; I was compelled to turn away from so natural, so unaffected, and so touching a Romanism is almost inaccessible. There is strong reason to conclude, that controversy, conducted as it generally is in this country, has had an injurious effect. To the Romanist it has proved a stumbling-block. To the Protestant it has too often fostered a feeling of pride and self-satisfaction, leading him to suppose he was much superior to the other. This has invariably been the case when the Protestant disputant has used the Orange tinge with too unsparing a hand; therefore it is, that in the present posture of affairs, the most powerful arguments fail to accomplish any real good. Nothing but acts of kindness will win men opposed to you in sentiments; you shall declaim in vain, if you do not manifest a desire to promote their welfare. Put them into the crucible of love, and melt them down, and you can command the Irish heart. Let not the readers of the Protestant Advocate suppose for a moment, that I am pleading for mere conciliation, the system adopted | tions." scene. In conclusion, allow me to say to all, "Learn to do well; relieve the oppressed; judge the fatherless; plead for the widow. Pure religion is to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflic EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. The following interesting letter, every sentence of which is clothed with Christian charity, we insert with much pleasure, and believe that it will be perused with satisfaction and delight. Dr. Campbell's reply we have seen, and attentively read; and consider it to be so far from what we should have anticipated from the pen of so eminent a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus, who "wept" at the grave of Lazarus, that we cannot pass it by in silence; and trust that that which we are willing to believe he has written in "haste," will be retracted at his leisure. LETTER FROM SIR CULLING E. SMITH, BART. TO THE REV. DR. CAMPBELL, UPON THE MY DEAR SIR,-Your specimen number of the Christian's Penny Magazine has reached me. Most cordial good wishes attend your attempt. I am sure that there is abundant room for such a publication, and the cause of the universal Church cannot but be served by giving a wide publicity to those Congregational peculiarities, (truths, as I believe,) with which the Lord has entrusted us. But your disposition is too generous and candid, to object to hear faults; and you will allow me to say, why I do most deeply lament your having reprinted the Tract on the Church of England in page 12. It is, throughout, aggressive on a sister Protestant community, and I deprecate this; first, because it is not the way to attain truth; and, secondly, because it is the way to produce alienation among brethren. It is not the way to attain to truth; for you are, I am sure, too large-minded to suppose that all truth resides with us Congregationalists. We have our portion of peculiar truth, no doubt; but so, I am persuaded, have Episcopalians. If we meet in the spirit of love, we shall not only stir up one another in attachment to the common truth, but also interchange peculiar truth. I need not say how ardently I desire to see certain portions of truth, in which I think Episcopalians are behind us, introduced into that system; and certain equivocal parts, (to say the least,) of the formularies of the Prayer Book, expunged. But I am not less hopeful to see some introduction of Episcopalian truth among ourselves. Will any impartial man say that the total absence of the Liturgical element from our services, that the all but isolation of our churches from each other in matters of discipline, and the theory of admission by vote to membership of the church-that these things among others do not require some modification? Now, if our people are taught to regard the whole Episcopalian system as antagonist to their own, what prejudices are likely to be fostered! in other words, what losers of truth we are likely to be! . But, in the second place, love is as much a duty as the attainment of truth. It is more, it is the greatest privilege and joy of the Christian. Wholesale aggression on other communities is fatal to affection. Look at some of the expressions in the article which you have endorsed. The Church of England is said to be wholly "a political system," "altogether a worldly body:" "the ministers, or priests, as they are profanely called, are very few of them faithful men;" "buildings, ignorantly called churches;""a rite similar to the Lord's Supper, which Papists and Churchmen call the sacrament." Now, some of these statements are not true. It is not historically true that the Church of England is "a political system, instituted by worldly men for worldly ends." That worldly men have used it for their worldly purposes-that they have restricted it from self-reformation, and stereotyped it in the imperfect state in which all Protestant Churches came out of the great apostacy in the sixteenth century, is perfectly true. But it is not less true that it was instituted by religious men. Henry VIII. could never have made the Thirty-nine Articles. Charles II. enforced liturgical uniformity; but neither a Stuart nor a Tudor made the Liturgy. The Canons themselves, objectionable as they are, were not made by worldly men, in the sense of non-ecclesiastical men. It is feeding a vulgar error to represent the Established Church as nothing more than a construction of crafty politicians. I will not go through the other points, for |