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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10831-0.txt b/10831-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3513118 --- /dev/null +++ b/10831-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2304 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10831 *** + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS; + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE; + +AND + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. + + +M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dôme. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dôme; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc. + +[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.] + +In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child. + +"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost." + +"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger." + +"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us." + +"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment." + +"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion." + +M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety. + +"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!" + +"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof." + +"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--" + +"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?" + +"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?" + +M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----." + +"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?" + +"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ." + +"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?" + +"Catholic," replied M. ----. + +Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done." + +"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the _Roman_ +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls." + +"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain." + +"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?" + +"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called _beguines_[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us." + +[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.] + +While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--" + +"Madam, I will not only procure you _one_," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please." + +"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ." + +The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass." + +"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven." + +Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart. + +The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants. + +"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, _ou rés illuminés_, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fête or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough." + +This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray. + +These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "_Les Deux Vieillards_," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers. + + +"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem. + +"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live. + +"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled _'Les Deux +Vieillards'_? + +"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ," + +"Your very humble servant," + +"The Widow ----." + +The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ." + +Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821: + +"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel. + +"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than _five days_ the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible. + +"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ," + +"The Widow ----." + +It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply: + +"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge. + +"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people. + +"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ, + +"The Widow----." + +In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within _two days_ +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the _roulage accéléré_, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris. + +There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +_Diligence_, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by _Roman Catholics_, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground. + +While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity." + +Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men. + +On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to _preach_ to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart. + +To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly. + +After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"_There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved_." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his _servants_, +rather than his _son_? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the _Son_? Will you have recourse to +the _Virgin Mary_, or some favoured _servant_, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that _'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved_?'" + +Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"_Monsieur! Monsieur_" + +"What, madam, what?" said M. ----. + +"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?" + +"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants. + +"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table. + +"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here." + +"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated." + +Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors. + +M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "_Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you_" Matt. 5:10, 12. + +M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body." + +When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed: + +"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend." + +On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"_only_ Mediator between God and man." + +With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life." + +They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited. + +After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit. + +[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.] + +On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed. + +Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell. + +The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!" + +When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives. + +As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in _eight days_, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel. + +The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded. + +M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." + +NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH. + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN. + +* * * * * + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4] + + + + +[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiére, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject. + +"......The autograph of Bayssiére's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nérac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiére and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth." + +"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."] + + +MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty. + +It _is_ my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life. + +It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life." + +It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word. + +May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion. + +It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel. + +Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite. + +As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13. + +Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit. + +As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which _I +might_[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome. + +[Footnote 5: "_I might have_," but I am far from supposing that I +_ought_ to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.] + +Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church. + +With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation. + +Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be _eaten_ by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it. + +The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe. + +Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace. + +In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +_the way_, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church. + +Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul. + +The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered." + +I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once." + +I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible _as the word of God_, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this _lucrative_ doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory. + +With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source. + +Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell. + +I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any _purging fire_ before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." &c. Luke, 2:29, 30. + +I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +_to-day_ thou shalt be with me in Paradise." + +I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +_no_ condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation. + +I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one. + +I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from _all_ sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them." + +Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith. + +Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively _from whence_ the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that _the Pope_ must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover _who_ the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives. + +I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches. + +This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority. + +I found in St. Matthew the _calling of_ Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles. + +In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first _mission_ which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred. + +The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of _all_ his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of _all_ in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding. + +I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, _speaking to all_ had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21. + +I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had _twelve foundations_, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14. + +By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true _foundation_, the +_corner stone_ on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am _also an elder_" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, _they +sent_ unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14. + +"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?" + +[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.] + +I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory. + +If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, &c. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch. + +Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches. + +I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the _creature_ EATS _his Creator_!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity. + +This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view. + +I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a _commemorative +ceremony_, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I _had_ indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before. + +When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." + +It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms _eating_ and _drinking_ only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few. + +I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in _like manner_ as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven." + +I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes. + +I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell. + +Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a _memorial of himself_ which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten _in remembrance of him._ Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, _in remembrance_ of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread _represented_ his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of _commemoration_, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord. + +Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do _show_ the Lord's death _till he +come."_ 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do _show_ the Lord's death _till he come_" + +In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass. + +Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory. + +Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was _not_ as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation. + +Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew. + +During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." + +I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +_abuses_, the _superstition_, and the _errors_ which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity. + +Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world! + +I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a _work_ replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence." + +This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed. + +Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?" + +I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct. + +This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading. + +I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found _there_ the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and _there_ I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The _positive_ +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The _negative_ precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually. + +"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel. + +Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity. + +When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the _morality_ of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the _doctrines_ on which it was +founded. + +"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, _must_ be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth. + +From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life. + +In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation. + +Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +_real_ conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you. + +Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search. + +For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking. + +Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point. + +As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me. + +I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was. + +One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood. + +When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words: + +"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?" + +"Yes, Bayssière," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides." + +"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?" + +"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, &c. &c. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently." + +"Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?" + +"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably." + +[Illustration: PETER BAYSSIERE] + +I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters. + +All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "_This is_ the morality of the Gospel." + +Satisfied on this point, I turned to another: + +"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?" + +"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?" + +"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter. + +"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly." + +In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?" + +"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church." + +"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?" + +"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor." + +"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!" + +The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty. + +On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of _A Letter to Malanie_, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, &c. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity. + +It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion. + +I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nérac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church. + +On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nérac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred _symbols_ of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness. + +Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but _instruction, reason_, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support. + +May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me." + +P. BAYSSIERE. + +_Montaigut, Dec_. 31, 1826. + + + + +THE HISTORY + +OF A + +BIBLE. + + + + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + +After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak. + +We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell. + +A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room. + +[Illustration: HISTORY OF A BIBLE.] + +My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time. + +A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former. + +The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, &c. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, &c. + +He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in _all things_ written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell. + +But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him. + +William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the _ungodly_; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him. + +God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord. + +Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will _never_ leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his _word_ to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing. + +At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me. + +I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him. + +William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord. + + * * * * * + +After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a _good +moral life_, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper. + +An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies. + +He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him. + +George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation. + +One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels. + +In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing. + +After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth. + +After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties. + +At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality. + +But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased. + +I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety. + + + +END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10831 *** diff --git a/10831-8.txt b/10831-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..67be06e --- /dev/null +++ b/10831-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2724 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of +Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: January 25, 2004 [EBook #10831] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS; + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE; + +AND + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. + + +M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dôme. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dôme; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc. + +[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.] + +In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child. + +"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost." + +"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger." + +"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us." + +"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment." + +"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion." + +M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety. + +"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!" + +"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof." + +"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--" + +"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?" + +"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?" + +M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----." + +"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?" + +"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ." + +"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?" + +"Catholic," replied M. ----. + +Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done." + +"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the _Roman_ +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls." + +"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain." + +"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?" + +"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called _beguines_[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us." + +[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.] + +While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--" + +"Madam, I will not only procure you _one_," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please." + +"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ." + +The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass." + +"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven." + +Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart. + +The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants. + +"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, _ou rés illuminés_, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fête or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough." + +This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray. + +These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "_Les Deux Vieillards_," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers. + + +"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem. + +"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live. + +"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled _'Les Deux +Vieillards'_? + +"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ," + +"Your very humble servant," + +"The Widow ----." + +The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ." + +Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821: + +"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel. + +"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than _five days_ the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible. + +"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ," + +"The Widow ----." + +It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply: + +"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge. + +"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people. + +"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ, + +"The Widow----." + +In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within _two days_ +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the _roulage accéléré_, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris. + +There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +_Diligence_, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by _Roman Catholics_, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground. + +While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity." + +Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men. + +On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to _preach_ to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart. + +To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly. + +After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"_There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved_." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his _servants_, +rather than his _son_? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the _Son_? Will you have recourse to +the _Virgin Mary_, or some favoured _servant_, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that _'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved_?'" + +Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"_Monsieur! Monsieur_" + +"What, madam, what?" said M. ----. + +"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?" + +"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants. + +"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table. + +"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here." + +"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated." + +Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors. + +M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "_Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you_" Matt. 5:10, 12. + +M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body." + +When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed: + +"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend." + +On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"_only_ Mediator between God and man." + +With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life." + +They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited. + +After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit. + +[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.] + +On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed. + +Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell. + +The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!" + +When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives. + +As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in _eight days_, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel. + +The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded. + +M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." + +NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH. + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN. + +* * * * * + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4] + + + + +[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiére, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject. + +"......The autograph of Bayssiére's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nérac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiére and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth." + +"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."] + + +MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty. + +It _is_ my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life. + +It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life." + +It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word. + +May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion. + +It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel. + +Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite. + +As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13. + +Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit. + +As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which _I +might_[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome. + +[Footnote 5: "_I might have_," but I am far from supposing that I +_ought_ to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.] + +Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church. + +With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation. + +Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be _eaten_ by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it. + +The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe. + +Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace. + +In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +_the way_, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church. + +Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul. + +The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered." + +I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once." + +I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible _as the word of God_, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this _lucrative_ doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory. + +With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source. + +Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell. + +I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any _purging fire_ before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." &c. Luke, 2:29, 30. + +I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +_to-day_ thou shalt be with me in Paradise." + +I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +_no_ condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation. + +I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one. + +I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from _all_ sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them." + +Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith. + +Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively _from whence_ the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that _the Pope_ must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover _who_ the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives. + +I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches. + +This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority. + +I found in St. Matthew the _calling of_ Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles. + +In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first _mission_ which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred. + +The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of _all_ his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of _all_ in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding. + +I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, _speaking to all_ had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21. + +I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had _twelve foundations_, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14. + +By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true _foundation_, the +_corner stone_ on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am _also an elder_" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, _they +sent_ unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14. + +"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?" + +[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.] + +I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory. + +If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, &c. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch. + +Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches. + +I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the _creature_ EATS _his Creator_!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity. + +This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view. + +I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a _commemorative +ceremony_, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I _had_ indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before. + +When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." + +It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms _eating_ and _drinking_ only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few. + +I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in _like manner_ as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven." + +I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes. + +I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell. + +Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a _memorial of himself_ which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten _in remembrance of him._ Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, _in remembrance_ of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread _represented_ his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of _commemoration_, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord. + +Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do _show_ the Lord's death _till he +come."_ 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do _show_ the Lord's death _till he come_" + +In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass. + +Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory. + +Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was _not_ as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation. + +Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew. + +During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." + +I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +_abuses_, the _superstition_, and the _errors_ which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity. + +Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world! + +I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a _work_ replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence." + +This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed. + +Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?" + +I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct. + +This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading. + +I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found _there_ the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and _there_ I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The _positive_ +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The _negative_ precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually. + +"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel. + +Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity. + +When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the _morality_ of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the _doctrines_ on which it was +founded. + +"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, _must_ be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth. + +From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life. + +In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation. + +Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +_real_ conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you. + +Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search. + +For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking. + +Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point. + +As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me. + +I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was. + +One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood. + +When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words: + +"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?" + +"Yes, Bayssière," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides." + +"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?" + +"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, &c. &c. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently." + +"Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?" + +"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably." + +[Illustration: PETER BAYSSIERE] + +I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters. + +All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "_This is_ the morality of the Gospel." + +Satisfied on this point, I turned to another: + +"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?" + +"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?" + +"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter. + +"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly." + +In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?" + +"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church." + +"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?" + +"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor." + +"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!" + +The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty. + +On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of _A Letter to Malanie_, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, &c. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity. + +It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion. + +I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nérac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church. + +On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nérac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred _symbols_ of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness. + +Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but _instruction, reason_, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support. + +May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me." + +P. BAYSSIERE. + +_Montaigut, Dec_. 31, 1826. + + + + +THE HISTORY + +OF A + +BIBLE. + + + + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + +After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak. + +We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell. + +A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room. + +[Illustration: HISTORY OF A BIBLE.] + +My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time. + +A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former. + +The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, &c. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, &c. + +He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in _all things_ written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell. + +But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him. + +William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the _ungodly_; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him. + +God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord. + +Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will _never_ leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his _word_ to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing. + +At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me. + +I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him. + +William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord. + + * * * * * + +After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a _good +moral life_, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper. + +An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies. + +He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him. + +George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation. + +One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels. + +In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing. + +After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth. + +After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties. + +At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality. + +But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased. + +I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety. + + + +END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 10831-8.txt or 10831-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/3/10831/ + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; + and History of a Bible + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: January 25, 2004 [EBook #10831] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + + + +<H1>THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS;</H1> + +<H1>CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE;</H1> + +<center><H3>AND</H3></center> + +<H1>HISTORY OF A BIBLE.</H1><br><br><br> + +<center><pre> * * * * *</pre></center> + +<br><br><br> + + +<H2>THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS.</H2> + + +<p>M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dôme. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dôme; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.]</p> + +<p>In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child.</p> + +<p>"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost."</p> + +<p>"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger."</p> + +<p>"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us."</p> + +<p>"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment."</p> + +<p>"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion."</p> + +<p>M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety.</p> + +<p>"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!"</p> + +<p>"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--"</p> + +<p>"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?"</p> + +<p>M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?"</p> + +<p>"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ."</p> + +<p>"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?"</p> + +<p>"Catholic," replied M. ----.</p> + +<p>Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done."</p> + +<p>"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the <i>Roman</i> +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls."</p> + +<p>"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain."</p> + +<p>"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?"</p> + +<p>"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called <i>beguines</i>[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.]</p> + +<p>While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--"</p> + +<p>"Madam, I will not only procure you <i>one</i>," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen."</p> + +<p>"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please."</p> + +<p>"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ."</p> + +<p>The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass."</p> + +<p>"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven."</p> + +<p>Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart.</p> + +<p>The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants.</p> + +<p>"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, <i>ou rés illuminés</i>, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fête or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough."</p> + +<p>This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray.</p> + +<p>These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "<i>Les Deux Vieillards</i>," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers.</p> + +<p>"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live.</p> + +<p>"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled <i>'Les Deux +Vieillards'</i>?</p> + +<p>"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ,"</p> + +<p>"Your very humble servant,"</p> + +<p>"The Widow ----."</p> + +<p>The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ."</p> + +<p>Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821:</p> + +<p>"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel.</p> + +<p>"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than <i>five days</i> the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible.</p> + +<p>"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ,"</p> + +<p>"The Widow ----."</p> + +<p>It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply:</p> + +<p>"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge.</p> + +<p>"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people.</p> + +<p>"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ,</p> + +<p>"The Widow----."</p> + +<p>In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within <i>two days</i> +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the <i>roulage accéléré</i>, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris.</p> + +<p>There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +<i>Diligence</i>, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by <i>Roman Catholics</i>, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground.</p> + +<p>While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity."</p> + +<p>Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men.</p> + +<p>On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to <i>preach</i> to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart.</p> + +<p>To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly.</p> + +<p>After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"<i>There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved</i>." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his <i>servants</i>, +rather than his <i>son</i>? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the <i>Son</i>? Will you have recourse to +the <i>Virgin Mary</i>, or some favoured <i>servant</i>, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that <i>'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved</i>?'"</p> + +<p>Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"<i>Monsieur! Monsieur</i>"</p> + +<p>"What, madam, what?" said M. ----.</p> + +<p>"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?"</p> + +<p>"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants.</p> + +<p>"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table.</p> + +<p>"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here."</p> + +<p>"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated."</p> + +<p>Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors.</p> + +<p>M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "<i>Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you</i>" Matt. 5:10, 12.</p> + +<p>M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body."</p> + +<p>When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend."</p> + +<p>On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"<i>only</i> Mediator between God and man."</p> + +<p>With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life."</p> + +<p>They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited.</p> + +<p>After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.]</p> + +<p>On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed.</p> + +<p>Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell.</p> + +<p>The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!"</p> + +<p>When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives.</p> + +<p>As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in <i>eight days</i>, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel.</p> + +<p>The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded.</p> + +<p>M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."</p> + +<p>NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society.</p><br><br><br> + + +<CENTER> + +<H2>CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE<br> + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH<br> + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH.<br> + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.</H2></center><br><br> + +<center>* * * * *</center><br><br> + + +<center><H3>TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.</H3></center><br><br><br><br> + + + +<H2>CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE<br> +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4]</H2><br><br> + + + + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiére, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"......The autograph of Bayssiére's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nérac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiére and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."]</p> + + +<p>MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty.</p> + +<p>It <i>is</i> my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life.</p> + +<p>It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life."</p> + +<p>It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word.</p> + +<p>May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion.</p> + +<p>It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel.</p> + +<p>Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite.</p> + +<p>As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13.</p> + +<p>Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit.</p> + +<p>As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which <i>I +might</i>[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 5: "<i>I might have</i>," but I am far from supposing that I +<i>ought</i> to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.]</p> + +<p>Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church.</p> + +<p>With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation.</p> + +<p>Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be <i>eaten</i> by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it.</p> + +<p>The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace.</p> + +<p>In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +<i>the way</i>, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church.</p> + +<p>Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul.</p> + +<p>The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered."</p> + +<p>I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once."</p> + +<p>I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible <i>as the word of God</i>, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this <i>lucrative</i> doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory.</p> + +<p>With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source.</p> + +<p>Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell.</p> + +<p>I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any <i>purging fire</i> before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." etc. Luke, 2:29, 30.</p> + +<p>I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +<i>to-day</i> thou shalt be with me in Paradise."</p> + +<p>I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +<i>no</i> condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation.</p> + +<p>I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one.</p> + +<p>I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from <i>all</i> sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them."</p> + +<p>Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith.</p> + +<p>Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively <i>from whence</i> the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that <i>the Pope</i> must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover <i>who</i> the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives.</p> + +<p>I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches.</p> + +<p>This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority.</p> + +<p>I found in St. Matthew the <i>calling of</i> Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles.</p> + +<p>In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first <i>mission</i> which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred.</p> + +<p>The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of <i>all</i> his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of <i>all</i> in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding.</p> + +<p>I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, <i>speaking to all</i> had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21.</p> + +<p>I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had <i>twelve foundations</i>, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14.</p> + +<p>By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true <i>foundation</i>, the +<i>corner stone</i> on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am <i>also an elder</i>" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, <i>they +sent</i> unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14.</p> + +<p>"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?"</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.]</p> + +<p>I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory.</p> + +<p>If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, etc. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch.</p> + +<p>Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches.</p> + +<p>I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the <i>creature</i> EATS <i>his Creator</i>!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity.</p> + +<p>This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view.</p> + +<p>I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a <i>commemorative +ceremony</i>, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I <i>had</i> indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before.</p> + +<p>When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."</p> + +<p>It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms <i>eating</i> and <i>drinking</i> only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few.</p> + +<p>I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in <i>like manner</i> as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven."</p> + +<p>I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes.</p> + +<p>I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell.</p> + +<p>Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a <i>memorial of himself</i> which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten <i>in remembrance of him.</i> Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, <i>in remembrance</i> of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread <i>represented</i> his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of <i>commemoration</i>, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord.</p> + +<p>Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do <i>show</i> the Lord's death <i>till he +come."</i> 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do <i>show</i> the Lord's death <i>till he come</i>"</p> + +<p>In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass.</p> + +<p>Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory.</p> + +<p>Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was <i>not</i> as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation.</p> + +<p>Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew.</p> + +<p>During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."</p> + +<p>I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +<i>abuses</i>, the <i>superstition</i>, and the <i>errors</i> which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity.</p> + +<p>Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world!</p> + +<p>I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a <i>work</i> replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence."</p> + +<p>This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed.</p> + +<p>Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?"</p> + +<p>I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct.</p> + +<p>This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading.</p> + +<p>I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found <i>there</i> the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and <i>there</i> I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The <i>positive</i> +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The <i>negative</i> precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually.</p> + +<p>"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel.</p> + +<p>Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity.</p> + +<p>When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the <i>morality</i> of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the <i>doctrines</i> on which it was +founded.</p> + +<p>"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, <i>must</i> be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth.</p> + +<p>From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life.</p> + +<p>In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation.</p> + +<p>Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +<i>real</i> conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you.</p> + +<p>Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search.</p> + +<p>For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking.</p> + +<p>Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point.</p> + +<p>As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me.</p> + +<p>I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was.</p> + +<p>One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words:</p> + +<p>"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Bayssière," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides."</p> + +<p>"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?"</p> + +<p>"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, etc. etc. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently."</p> + +<p>Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?"</p> + +<p>"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably."</p> + +<center> +<img src="001.png" alt="Peter Bayssiere" style="width: 758px; height: 511px;"> +</center> + +<p>I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters.</p> + +<p>All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "<i>This is</i> the morality of the Gospel."</p> + +<p>Satisfied on this point, I turned to another:</p> + +<p>"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?"</p> + +<p>"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?"</p> + +<p>"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter.</p> + +<p>"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly."</p> + +<p>In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church."</p> + +<p>"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?"</p> + +<p>"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor."</p> + +<p>"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!"</p> + +<p>The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty.</p> + +<p>On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of <i>A Letter to Malanie</i>, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, etc. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity.</p> + +<p>It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion.</p> + +<p>I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nérac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church.</p> + +<p>On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nérac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred <i>symbols</i> of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness.</p> + +<p>Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but <i>instruction, reason</i>, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support.</p> + +<p>May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me."</p> + +<p>P. BAYSSIERE.</p> + +<p><i>Montaigut, Dec</i>. 31, 1826.</p><br><br><br> + + + + +<H2>THE HISTORY<br> + +OF A<br> + +BIBLE.</H2><br><br><br><br> + + + + +<H2>HISTORY OF A BIBLE.</H2><br><br> + + +<p>After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak.</p> + +<p>We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell.</p> + +<p>A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room.</p> + +<center> +<img src="002.png" alt="History of a Bible" style="width: 769px; height: 514px;"> +</center> + +<p>My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time.</p> + +<p>A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former.</p> + +<p>The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, etc. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, etc.</p> + +<p>He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in <i>all things</i> written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell.</p> + +<p>But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him.</p> + +<p>William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the <i>ungodly</i>; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him.</p> + +<p>God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord.</p> + +<p>Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will <i>never</i> leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his <i>word</i> to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing.</p> + +<p>At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +<p>William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me.</p> + +<p>I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him.</p> + +<p>William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord.</p><br> + +<center><pre> * * * * *</pre></center><br><br><br> + +<p>After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a <i>good +moral life</i>, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper.</p> + +<p>An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies.</p> + +<p>He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him.</p> + +<p>George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation.</p> + +<p>One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels.</p> + +<p>In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing.</p> + +<p>After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth.</p> + +<p>After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties.</p> + +<p>At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality.</p> + +<p>But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased.</p> + +<p>I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +<p>I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety.</p> + +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>END</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 10831-h.htm or 10831-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/3/10831/ + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: January 25, 2004 [EBook #10831] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS; + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE; + +AND + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. + + +M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dome. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dome; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc. + +[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.] + +In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child. + +"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost." + +"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger." + +"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us." + +"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment." + +"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion." + +M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety. + +"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!" + +"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof." + +"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--" + +"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?" + +"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?" + +M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----." + +"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?" + +"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ." + +"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?" + +"Catholic," replied M. ----. + +Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done." + +"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the _Roman_ +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls." + +"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain." + +"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?" + +"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called _beguines_[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us." + +[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.] + +While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--" + +"Madam, I will not only procure you _one_," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please." + +"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ." + +The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass." + +"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven." + +Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart. + +The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants. + +"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, _ou res illumines_, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fete or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough." + +This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray. + +These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "_Les Deux Vieillards_," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers. + + +"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem. + +"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live. + +"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled _'Les Deux +Vieillards'_? + +"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ," + +"Your very humble servant," + +"The Widow ----." + +The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ." + +Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821: + +"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel. + +"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than _five days_ the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible. + +"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ," + +"The Widow ----." + +It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply: + +"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge. + +"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people. + +"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ, + +"The Widow----." + +In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within _two days_ +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the _roulage accelere_, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris. + +There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +_Diligence_, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by _Roman Catholics_, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground. + +While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity." + +Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men. + +On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to _preach_ to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart. + +To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly. + +After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"_There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved_." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his _servants_, +rather than his _son_? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the _Son_? Will you have recourse to +the _Virgin Mary_, or some favoured _servant_, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that _'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved_?'" + +Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"_Monsieur! Monsieur_" + +"What, madam, what?" said M. ----. + +"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?" + +"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants. + +"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table. + +"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here." + +"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated." + +Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors. + +M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "_Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you_" Matt. 5:10, 12. + +M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body." + +When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed: + +"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend." + +On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"_only_ Mediator between God and man." + +With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life." + +They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited. + +After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit. + +[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.] + +On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed. + +Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell. + +The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!" + +When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives. + +As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in _eight days_, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel. + +The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded. + +M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." + +NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH. + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN. + +* * * * * + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4] + + + + +[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiere, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject. + +"......The autograph of Bayssiere's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nerac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiere and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth." + +"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."] + + +MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty. + +It _is_ my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life. + +It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life." + +It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word. + +May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion. + +It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel. + +Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite. + +As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13. + +Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit. + +As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which _I +might_[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome. + +[Footnote 5: "_I might have_," but I am far from supposing that I +_ought_ to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.] + +Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church. + +With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation. + +Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be _eaten_ by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it. + +The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe. + +Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace. + +In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +_the way_, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church. + +Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul. + +The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered." + +I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once." + +I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible _as the word of God_, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this _lucrative_ doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory. + +With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source. + +Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell. + +I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any _purging fire_ before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." &c. Luke, 2:29, 30. + +I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +_to-day_ thou shalt be with me in Paradise." + +I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +_no_ condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation. + +I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one. + +I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from _all_ sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them." + +Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith. + +Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively _from whence_ the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that _the Pope_ must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover _who_ the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives. + +I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches. + +This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority. + +I found in St. Matthew the _calling of_ Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles. + +In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first _mission_ which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred. + +The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of _all_ his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of _all_ in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding. + +I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, _speaking to all_ had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21. + +I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had _twelve foundations_, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14. + +By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true _foundation_, the +_corner stone_ on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am _also an elder_" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, _they +sent_ unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14. + +"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?" + +[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.] + +I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory. + +If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, &c. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch. + +Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches. + +I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the _creature_ EATS _his Creator_!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity. + +This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view. + +I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a _commemorative +ceremony_, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I _had_ indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before. + +When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." + +It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms _eating_ and _drinking_ only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few. + +I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in _like manner_ as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven." + +I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes. + +I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell. + +Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a _memorial of himself_ which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten _in remembrance of him._ Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, _in remembrance_ of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread _represented_ his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of _commemoration_, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord. + +Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do _show_ the Lord's death _till he +come."_ 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do _show_ the Lord's death _till he come_" + +In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass. + +Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory. + +Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was _not_ as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation. + +Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew. + +During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." + +I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +_abuses_, the _superstition_, and the _errors_ which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity. + +Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world! + +I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a _work_ replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence." + +This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed. + +Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?" + +I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct. + +This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading. + +I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found _there_ the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and _there_ I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The _positive_ +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The _negative_ precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually. + +"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel. + +Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity. + +When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the _morality_ of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the _doctrines_ on which it was +founded. + +"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, _must_ be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth. + +From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life. + +In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation. + +Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +_real_ conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you. + +Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search. + +For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking. + +Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point. + +As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me. + +I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was. + +One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood. + +When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words: + +"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?" + +"Yes, Bayssiere," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides." + +"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?" + +"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, &c. &c. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently." + +"Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?" + +"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably." + +[Illustration: PETER BAYSSIERE] + +I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters. + +All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "_This is_ the morality of the Gospel." + +Satisfied on this point, I turned to another: + +"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?" + +"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?" + +"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter. + +"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly." + +In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?" + +"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church." + +"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?" + +"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor." + +"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!" + +The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty. + +On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of _A Letter to Malanie_, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, &c. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity. + +It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion. + +I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nerac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church. + +On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nerac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred _symbols_ of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness. + +Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but _instruction, reason_, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support. + +May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me." + +P. BAYSSIERE. + +_Montaigut, Dec_. 31, 1826. + + + + +THE HISTORY + +OF A + +BIBLE. + + + + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + +After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak. + +We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell. + +A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room. + +[Illustration: HISTORY OF A BIBLE.] + +My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time. + +A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former. + +The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, &c. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, &c. + +He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in _all things_ written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell. + +But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him. + +William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the _ungodly_; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him. + +God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord. + +Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will _never_ leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his _word_ to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing. + +At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me. + +I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him. + +William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord. + + * * * * * + +After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a _good +moral life_, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper. + +An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies. + +He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him. + +George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation. + +One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels. + +In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing. + +After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth. + +After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties. + +At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality. + +But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased. + +I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety. + + + +END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 10831.txt or 10831.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/3/10831/ + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0300459 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10831 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10831) diff --git a/old/10831-8.txt b/old/10831-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..67be06e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10831-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2724 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of +Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: January 25, 2004 [EBook #10831] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS; + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE; + +AND + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. + + +M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dôme. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dôme; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc. + +[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.] + +In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child. + +"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost." + +"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger." + +"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us." + +"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment." + +"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion." + +M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety. + +"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!" + +"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof." + +"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--" + +"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?" + +"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?" + +M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----." + +"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?" + +"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ." + +"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?" + +"Catholic," replied M. ----. + +Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done." + +"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the _Roman_ +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls." + +"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain." + +"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?" + +"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called _beguines_[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us." + +[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.] + +While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--" + +"Madam, I will not only procure you _one_," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please." + +"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ." + +The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass." + +"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven." + +Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart. + +The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants. + +"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, _ou rés illuminés_, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fête or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough." + +This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray. + +These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "_Les Deux Vieillards_," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers. + + +"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem. + +"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live. + +"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled _'Les Deux +Vieillards'_? + +"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ," + +"Your very humble servant," + +"The Widow ----." + +The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ." + +Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821: + +"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel. + +"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than _five days_ the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible. + +"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ," + +"The Widow ----." + +It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply: + +"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge. + +"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people. + +"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ, + +"The Widow----." + +In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within _two days_ +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the _roulage accéléré_, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris. + +There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +_Diligence_, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by _Roman Catholics_, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground. + +While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity." + +Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men. + +On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to _preach_ to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart. + +To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly. + +After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"_There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved_." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his _servants_, +rather than his _son_? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the _Son_? Will you have recourse to +the _Virgin Mary_, or some favoured _servant_, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that _'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved_?'" + +Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"_Monsieur! Monsieur_" + +"What, madam, what?" said M. ----. + +"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?" + +"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants. + +"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table. + +"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here." + +"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated." + +Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors. + +M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "_Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you_" Matt. 5:10, 12. + +M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body." + +When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed: + +"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend." + +On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"_only_ Mediator between God and man." + +With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life." + +They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited. + +After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit. + +[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.] + +On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed. + +Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell. + +The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!" + +When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives. + +As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in _eight days_, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel. + +The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded. + +M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." + +NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH. + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN. + +* * * * * + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4] + + + + +[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiére, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject. + +"......The autograph of Bayssiére's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nérac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiére and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth." + +"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."] + + +MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty. + +It _is_ my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life. + +It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life." + +It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word. + +May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion. + +It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel. + +Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite. + +As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13. + +Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit. + +As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which _I +might_[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome. + +[Footnote 5: "_I might have_," but I am far from supposing that I +_ought_ to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.] + +Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church. + +With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation. + +Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be _eaten_ by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it. + +The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe. + +Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace. + +In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +_the way_, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church. + +Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul. + +The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered." + +I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once." + +I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible _as the word of God_, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this _lucrative_ doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory. + +With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source. + +Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell. + +I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any _purging fire_ before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." &c. Luke, 2:29, 30. + +I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +_to-day_ thou shalt be with me in Paradise." + +I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +_no_ condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation. + +I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one. + +I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from _all_ sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them." + +Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith. + +Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively _from whence_ the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that _the Pope_ must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover _who_ the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives. + +I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches. + +This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority. + +I found in St. Matthew the _calling of_ Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles. + +In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first _mission_ which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred. + +The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of _all_ his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of _all_ in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding. + +I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, _speaking to all_ had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21. + +I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had _twelve foundations_, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14. + +By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true _foundation_, the +_corner stone_ on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am _also an elder_" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, _they +sent_ unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14. + +"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?" + +[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.] + +I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory. + +If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, &c. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch. + +Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches. + +I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the _creature_ EATS _his Creator_!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity. + +This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view. + +I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a _commemorative +ceremony_, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I _had_ indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before. + +When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." + +It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms _eating_ and _drinking_ only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few. + +I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in _like manner_ as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven." + +I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes. + +I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell. + +Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a _memorial of himself_ which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten _in remembrance of him._ Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, _in remembrance_ of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread _represented_ his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of _commemoration_, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord. + +Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do _show_ the Lord's death _till he +come."_ 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do _show_ the Lord's death _till he come_" + +In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass. + +Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory. + +Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was _not_ as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation. + +Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew. + +During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." + +I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +_abuses_, the _superstition_, and the _errors_ which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity. + +Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world! + +I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a _work_ replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence." + +This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed. + +Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?" + +I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct. + +This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading. + +I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found _there_ the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and _there_ I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The _positive_ +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The _negative_ precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually. + +"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel. + +Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity. + +When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the _morality_ of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the _doctrines_ on which it was +founded. + +"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, _must_ be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth. + +From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life. + +In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation. + +Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +_real_ conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you. + +Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search. + +For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking. + +Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point. + +As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me. + +I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was. + +One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood. + +When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words: + +"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?" + +"Yes, Bayssière," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides." + +"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?" + +"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, &c. &c. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently." + +"Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?" + +"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably." + +[Illustration: PETER BAYSSIERE] + +I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters. + +All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "_This is_ the morality of the Gospel." + +Satisfied on this point, I turned to another: + +"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?" + +"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?" + +"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter. + +"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly." + +In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?" + +"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church." + +"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?" + +"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor." + +"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!" + +The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty. + +On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of _A Letter to Malanie_, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, &c. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity. + +It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion. + +I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nérac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church. + +On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nérac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred _symbols_ of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness. + +Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but _instruction, reason_, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support. + +May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me." + +P. BAYSSIERE. + +_Montaigut, Dec_. 31, 1826. + + + + +THE HISTORY + +OF A + +BIBLE. + + + + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + +After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak. + +We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell. + +A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room. + +[Illustration: HISTORY OF A BIBLE.] + +My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time. + +A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former. + +The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, &c. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, &c. + +He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in _all things_ written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell. + +But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him. + +William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the _ungodly_; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him. + +God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord. + +Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will _never_ leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his _word_ to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing. + +At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me. + +I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him. + +William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord. + + * * * * * + +After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a _good +moral life_, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper. + +An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies. + +He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him. + +George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation. + +One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels. + +In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing. + +After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth. + +After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties. + +At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality. + +But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased. + +I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety. + + + +END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 10831-8.txt or 10831-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/3/10831/ + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; + and History of a Bible + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: January 25, 2004 [EBook #10831] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + + + +<H1>THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS;</H1> + +<H1>CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE;</H1> + +<center><H3>AND</H3></center> + +<H1>HISTORY OF A BIBLE.</H1><br><br><br> + +<center><pre> * * * * *</pre></center> + +<br><br><br> + + +<H2>THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS.</H2> + + +<p>M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dôme. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dôme; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.]</p> + +<p>In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child.</p> + +<p>"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost."</p> + +<p>"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger."</p> + +<p>"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us."</p> + +<p>"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment."</p> + +<p>"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion."</p> + +<p>M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety.</p> + +<p>"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!"</p> + +<p>"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--"</p> + +<p>"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?"</p> + +<p>M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?"</p> + +<p>"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ."</p> + +<p>"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?"</p> + +<p>"Catholic," replied M. ----.</p> + +<p>Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done."</p> + +<p>"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the <i>Roman</i> +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls."</p> + +<p>"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain."</p> + +<p>"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?"</p> + +<p>"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called <i>beguines</i>[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.]</p> + +<p>While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--"</p> + +<p>"Madam, I will not only procure you <i>one</i>," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen."</p> + +<p>"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please."</p> + +<p>"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ."</p> + +<p>The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass."</p> + +<p>"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven."</p> + +<p>Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart.</p> + +<p>The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants.</p> + +<p>"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, <i>ou rés illuminés</i>, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fête or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough."</p> + +<p>This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray.</p> + +<p>These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "<i>Les Deux Vieillards</i>," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers.</p> + +<p>"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live.</p> + +<p>"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled <i>'Les Deux +Vieillards'</i>?</p> + +<p>"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ,"</p> + +<p>"Your very humble servant,"</p> + +<p>"The Widow ----."</p> + +<p>The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ."</p> + +<p>Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821:</p> + +<p>"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel.</p> + +<p>"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than <i>five days</i> the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible.</p> + +<p>"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ,"</p> + +<p>"The Widow ----."</p> + +<p>It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply:</p> + +<p>"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge.</p> + +<p>"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people.</p> + +<p>"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ,</p> + +<p>"The Widow----."</p> + +<p>In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within <i>two days</i> +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the <i>roulage accéléré</i>, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris.</p> + +<p>There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +<i>Diligence</i>, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by <i>Roman Catholics</i>, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground.</p> + +<p>While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity."</p> + +<p>Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men.</p> + +<p>On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to <i>preach</i> to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart.</p> + +<p>To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly.</p> + +<p>After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"<i>There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved</i>." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his <i>servants</i>, +rather than his <i>son</i>? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the <i>Son</i>? Will you have recourse to +the <i>Virgin Mary</i>, or some favoured <i>servant</i>, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that <i>'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved</i>?'"</p> + +<p>Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"<i>Monsieur! Monsieur</i>"</p> + +<p>"What, madam, what?" said M. ----.</p> + +<p>"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?"</p> + +<p>"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants.</p> + +<p>"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table.</p> + +<p>"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here."</p> + +<p>"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated."</p> + +<p>Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors.</p> + +<p>M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "<i>Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you</i>" Matt. 5:10, 12.</p> + +<p>M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body."</p> + +<p>When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend."</p> + +<p>On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"<i>only</i> Mediator between God and man."</p> + +<p>With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life."</p> + +<p>They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited.</p> + +<p>After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.]</p> + +<p>On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed.</p> + +<p>Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell.</p> + +<p>The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!"</p> + +<p>When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives.</p> + +<p>As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in <i>eight days</i>, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel.</p> + +<p>The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded.</p> + +<p>M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."</p> + +<p>NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society.</p><br><br><br> + + +<CENTER> + +<H2>CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE<br> + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH<br> + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH.<br> + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.</H2></center><br><br> + +<center>* * * * *</center><br><br> + + +<center><H3>TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.</H3></center><br><br><br><br> + + + +<H2>CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE<br> +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4]</H2><br><br> + + + + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiére, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"......The autograph of Bayssiére's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nérac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiére and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."]</p> + + +<p>MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty.</p> + +<p>It <i>is</i> my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life.</p> + +<p>It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life."</p> + +<p>It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word.</p> + +<p>May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion.</p> + +<p>It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel.</p> + +<p>Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite.</p> + +<p>As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13.</p> + +<p>Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit.</p> + +<p>As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which <i>I +might</i>[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 5: "<i>I might have</i>," but I am far from supposing that I +<i>ought</i> to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.]</p> + +<p>Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church.</p> + +<p>With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation.</p> + +<p>Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be <i>eaten</i> by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it.</p> + +<p>The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace.</p> + +<p>In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +<i>the way</i>, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church.</p> + +<p>Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul.</p> + +<p>The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered."</p> + +<p>I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once."</p> + +<p>I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible <i>as the word of God</i>, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this <i>lucrative</i> doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory.</p> + +<p>With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source.</p> + +<p>Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell.</p> + +<p>I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any <i>purging fire</i> before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." etc. Luke, 2:29, 30.</p> + +<p>I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +<i>to-day</i> thou shalt be with me in Paradise."</p> + +<p>I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +<i>no</i> condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation.</p> + +<p>I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one.</p> + +<p>I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from <i>all</i> sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them."</p> + +<p>Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith.</p> + +<p>Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively <i>from whence</i> the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that <i>the Pope</i> must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover <i>who</i> the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives.</p> + +<p>I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches.</p> + +<p>This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority.</p> + +<p>I found in St. Matthew the <i>calling of</i> Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles.</p> + +<p>In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first <i>mission</i> which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred.</p> + +<p>The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of <i>all</i> his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of <i>all</i> in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding.</p> + +<p>I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, <i>speaking to all</i> had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21.</p> + +<p>I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had <i>twelve foundations</i>, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14.</p> + +<p>By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true <i>foundation</i>, the +<i>corner stone</i> on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am <i>also an elder</i>" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, <i>they +sent</i> unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14.</p> + +<p>"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?"</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.]</p> + +<p>I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory.</p> + +<p>If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, etc. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch.</p> + +<p>Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches.</p> + +<p>I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the <i>creature</i> EATS <i>his Creator</i>!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity.</p> + +<p>This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view.</p> + +<p>I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a <i>commemorative +ceremony</i>, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I <i>had</i> indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before.</p> + +<p>When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."</p> + +<p>It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms <i>eating</i> and <i>drinking</i> only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few.</p> + +<p>I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in <i>like manner</i> as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven."</p> + +<p>I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes.</p> + +<p>I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell.</p> + +<p>Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a <i>memorial of himself</i> which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten <i>in remembrance of him.</i> Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, <i>in remembrance</i> of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread <i>represented</i> his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of <i>commemoration</i>, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord.</p> + +<p>Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do <i>show</i> the Lord's death <i>till he +come."</i> 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do <i>show</i> the Lord's death <i>till he come</i>"</p> + +<p>In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass.</p> + +<p>Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory.</p> + +<p>Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was <i>not</i> as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation.</p> + +<p>Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew.</p> + +<p>During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."</p> + +<p>I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +<i>abuses</i>, the <i>superstition</i>, and the <i>errors</i> which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity.</p> + +<p>Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world!</p> + +<p>I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a <i>work</i> replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence."</p> + +<p>This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed.</p> + +<p>Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?"</p> + +<p>I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct.</p> + +<p>This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading.</p> + +<p>I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found <i>there</i> the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and <i>there</i> I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The <i>positive</i> +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The <i>negative</i> precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually.</p> + +<p>"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel.</p> + +<p>Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity.</p> + +<p>When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the <i>morality</i> of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the <i>doctrines</i> on which it was +founded.</p> + +<p>"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, <i>must</i> be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth.</p> + +<p>From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life.</p> + +<p>In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation.</p> + +<p>Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +<i>real</i> conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you.</p> + +<p>Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search.</p> + +<p>For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking.</p> + +<p>Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point.</p> + +<p>As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me.</p> + +<p>I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was.</p> + +<p>One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words:</p> + +<p>"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Bayssière," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides."</p> + +<p>"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?"</p> + +<p>"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, etc. etc. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently."</p> + +<p>Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?"</p> + +<p>"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably."</p> + +<center> +<img src="001.png" alt="Peter Bayssiere" style="width: 758px; height: 511px;"> +</center> + +<p>I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters.</p> + +<p>All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "<i>This is</i> the morality of the Gospel."</p> + +<p>Satisfied on this point, I turned to another:</p> + +<p>"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?"</p> + +<p>"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?"</p> + +<p>"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter.</p> + +<p>"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly."</p> + +<p>In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church."</p> + +<p>"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?"</p> + +<p>"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor."</p> + +<p>"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!"</p> + +<p>The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty.</p> + +<p>On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of <i>A Letter to Malanie</i>, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, etc. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity.</p> + +<p>It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion.</p> + +<p>I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nérac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church.</p> + +<p>On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nérac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred <i>symbols</i> of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness.</p> + +<p>Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but <i>instruction, reason</i>, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support.</p> + +<p>May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me."</p> + +<p>P. BAYSSIERE.</p> + +<p><i>Montaigut, Dec</i>. 31, 1826.</p><br><br><br> + + + + +<H2>THE HISTORY<br> + +OF A<br> + +BIBLE.</H2><br><br><br><br> + + + + +<H2>HISTORY OF A BIBLE.</H2><br><br> + + +<p>After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak.</p> + +<p>We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell.</p> + +<p>A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room.</p> + +<center> +<img src="002.png" alt="History of a Bible" style="width: 769px; height: 514px;"> +</center> + +<p>My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time.</p> + +<p>A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former.</p> + +<p>The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, etc. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, etc.</p> + +<p>He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in <i>all things</i> written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell.</p> + +<p>But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him.</p> + +<p>William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the <i>ungodly</i>; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him.</p> + +<p>God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord.</p> + +<p>Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will <i>never</i> leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his <i>word</i> to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing.</p> + +<p>At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +<p>William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me.</p> + +<p>I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him.</p> + +<p>William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord.</p><br> + +<center><pre> * * * * *</pre></center><br><br><br> + +<p>After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a <i>good +moral life</i>, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper.</p> + +<p>An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies.</p> + +<p>He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him.</p> + +<p>George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation.</p> + +<p>One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels.</p> + +<p>In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing.</p> + +<p>After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth.</p> + +<p>After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties.</p> + +<p>At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality.</p> + +<p>But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased.</p> + +<p>I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +<p>I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety.</p> + +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>END</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 10831-h.htm or 10831-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/3/10831/ + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: January 25, 2004 [EBook #10831] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS; + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE; + +AND + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. + + +M. ----, a merchant, at the head of one of the first commercial houses +in Paris,[1] had occasion to visit the manufactories established in +the mountainous tracts of the Departments of the Loire and the Puy de +Dome. The road that conducted him back to Lyons traversed a country +rich in natural productions, and glowing with all the charms of +an advanced and promising spring. The nearer view was unusually +diversified; not only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the +uncertain course of small and tributary streams, and the varying +hues of fields of pasture, corn, vines, and vegetables, but by the +combinations and contrasts of nature and of art, and the occupations +of rural and commercial industry. Factories and furnaces were seen +rising amidst barns and sheep-cotes, peasants were digging, and +ploughs gliding amidst forges and foundries; verdant slopes and +graceful clumps of trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly +mouths of exhausted coal-pits; and the gentle murmur of the stream +was subdued by the loud rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. ---- and his +friend halted amidst all that is delightful and soothing; and after +a short advance, found themselves amidst barrenness, deformity, and +confusion. The remoter scenery was not less impressive. Behind them +were the rugged mountains of Puy de Dome; the lofty Tarare lifted +its majestic head beside them, and far before appeared the brilliant +summit of Mont Blanc. + +[Footnote 1: An American gentleman then residing in that capital.] + +In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts of a hamlet placed on +the declivity of a mountain; and being desirous of finding a shorter +and more retired track, he stopped at a decent-looking dwelling-house +to inquire the way. From the windows several females were watching the +movements of a little child; and just as M. ---- inquired for a road +across the mountains, the infant was in danger of being crushed by a +coal-cart which had entered the street. The cries and alarms of the +females were met by the activity of the travellers, and the companion +of M. ---- set off to snatch the infant from danger, and place him in +security. An elderly female from the second story, gave M. ----, who +was still on his horse, the directions he desired; and, at the same +time, expressed her uneasiness that the gentleman should have had the +trouble to seek the child. + +"Madam," interrupted M. ----, "my friend is only performing his duty: +we ought to do to another as we would that another should do to us; +and in this wretched world we are bound to assist each other. You are +kind enough to direct us travellers in the right road, and surely +the least we can do is to rescue your child from danger. The Holy +Scriptures teach us these duties, and the Gospel presents us the +example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in ignorance and +danger, came to our world to seek and to save that which was lost." + +"Ah! sir," replied the good woman, "you are very condescending, and +what you say is very true; but your language surprises me: it is +so many years since in this village we have heard such truths, and +especially from the lips of a stranger." + +"Madam," resumed M. ----, "we are all strangers here, and sojourners +bound to eternity; there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, who +can conduct us safely; if we feel this, young or old, rich or poor, +we are all one in Christ; and however scattered on earth, shall all +arrive at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to prepare mansions +for us." + +"These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, "support the hearts of +many of us, who have scarcely travelled beyond our own neighbourhood; +and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them from others, that, if +it will not be an abuse of your Christian politeness, I would request +you to alight and visit my humble apartment." + +"I shall comply most cheerfully with your request," replied M. ----; +"for though time is precious, I shall be thankful to spend a few +minutes in these mountains, among those with whom I hope to dwell for +ever on Mount Sion." + +M. ---- mounted to the second story, followed by his companion. +He found the female with whom he had conversed, surrounded by her +daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily employed in five looms, +filled with galloons and ribbons, destined for the capital and the +most distant cities of the world. The good widow was between sixty and +seventy years of age; her appearance was neat and clean; and all the +arrangements of her apartment bespoke industry, frugality, and piety. + +"Ah! sir," she exclaimed, as M. ---- entered, "how happy am I to +receive such a visitor!" + +"Madam," replied M. ----, "I am not worthy to enter under this roof." + +"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked to us of Jesus Christ +and--" + +"Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner and hope only for salvation +through the cross. I was yesterday at St.----, where they were +planting a cross with great ceremony; were you there?" + +"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses in the streets, if +we do not carry the cross in our hearts, and are not crucified to the +world. But, sir, if you will not he offended, may I ask what you are +called?" + +M. ----, giving a general sense to the French phraseology, answered, +"My name, madam, is M----." + +"Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this is not what I meant; I +wished to know whether you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a +priest?" + +"Madam, I have not the honour to be either; I am a merchant; I desire +to be a Christian, and to have no other title but a disciple of +Christ." + +"That is exactly as we are here, sir," exclaimed the good widow, +and added, "but, as you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or +protestant?" + +"Catholic," replied M. ----. + +Madam looked confused, and observed, "that it was rare for the +catholics to talk as her visitor had done." + +"I am a catholic," resumed M. ----, "but not a member of the _Roman_ +Catholic church. I love all that love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. +I do not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are guided and +nourished by the good Shepherd and Bishop of souls." + +"O what a favour the Lord has granted us to meet with a Christian like +ourselves," said the affected widow, looking round her: "we desire to +live in charity with all mankind; but, to be frank also, sir, we +do not go to mass, nor to confession, for we do not learn from our +Testament, which is indeed almost worn out, that we are required to +confess to sinners like ourselves, nor to worship the host, nor to +perform penance for the salvation of our souls; and we believe we can +serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a chamber, or on a mountain." + +"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. ----, "that I am exceedingly +astonished to find such persons on such a spot; pray how many may +there be of your sentiments?" + +"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, there are from three to +four hundred. We meet on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, +to pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to converse about the +salvation of our souls. We are so much persecuted by the clergy, that +we cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are called _beguines_[2] +and fools; but I can bear this, and I hope a great deal more, for Him +who has suffered so much for us." + +[Footnote 2: Religious enthusiasts.] + +While the conversation, of which this is a sketch; was passing, the +rooms had filled; the neighbours had been informed and introduced, at +the request of the worthy hostess, and as many as could quit their +occupations pressed to hear of the things of the kingdom of God. M. +---- desired to see the New Testament. It was presented. The title +page was gone, the leaves were almost worn to shreds by the fingers of +the weavers and labourers, and M. ---- could not discover the edition. +A female of respectable appearance approached M. ----, and said, "Sir, +for several years I have sought every where a New Testament, and I +have offered any price for one in all the neighbouring villages, but +in vain. Could you, sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly pay +you any sum you demand--" + +"Madam, I will not only procure you _one_," replied M. ---- eagerly, +"but, in forty-eight hours I will send you half a dozen." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed the astonished villagers. "May we, sir, +believe the good news? May we rely on your promise? It appears too +great--too good--we will pay for them now, sir, if you please." + +"You may depend on receiving them," said M. ----, "if God prolongs my +life. But I entreat you to do me the favour to accept them, as a +proof of my Christian regard, and an expression of my gratitude for +having been permitted to enjoy, in this unpromising spot, the +refreshing company of the followers of Christ." + +The conversation then turned on the value of the sacred volume, and +the sinfulness of those who withhold it from perishing and dejected +sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, "Pray, sir, can you +tell us if any thing extraordinary is passing in the world? We are +shut out from all intercourse; but we have an impression that God is +commencing a great work in the earth, and that wonderful events are +coming to pass." + +"Great events have taken place, and news is arriving every day," said +M. ----, "from all parts of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, +and the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then gave to his +attentive and enraptured auditory an outline of the moral changes +accomplished by the diffusion of the Bible, the labours of +missionaries and the establishment of schools; but only such an +outline as was suited to their general ignorance of the state of what +is called the religious world. And when he had concluded, they all +joined in the prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as +it is done in heaven." + +Anxious as was M. ---- to pursue his journey, he devoted three hours +to this interview. He exhorted them to receive and practise only what +they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave to the Lord with full +purpose of heart. + +The termination of this extraordinary meeting was most affecting: +tears of pleasure, gratitude, and regret streamed from the eyes of the +mountaineers; and the traveller, though more deeply moved by having +seen the grace of God than by all the scenes through which he had +passed, went on his way rejoicing, and following the directions of +the good widow, he arrived at the town of S----. In this town he had +correspondents among the principal inhabitants and authorities, and +under the impression of all he had witnessed, he inquired, as if with +the curiosity of a traveller, the name of the hamlet he had passed on +the mountains, and the nature of the employments, and the character of +its inhabitants. + +"The men," said the mayor, "work in the mines, drive the teams, and +labour in the fields; and the women and children weave. They are a very +curious people, _ou res illumines_, (new lights,) but the most honest +work-people in the country--probity itself. We have no occasion to +weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take it in, for we are +sure not to lose the value of a farthing; and the kindest creatures in +the world: they will take their clothes off their backs to give to any +one in distress: indeed, there is no wretchedness among them, for, +though poor, they are industrious, temperate, charitable, and always +assist each other; but touch them on their religion, and they are +almost idiots. They never go to mass nor confession--in fact, they are +not christians, though the most worthy people in the world; and so +droll: imagine those poor people, after working all the week, instead +of enjoying the Sunday, and going to a fete or a ball to amuse +themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and sometimes in the +mountains, to read some book, and pray, and sing hymns. They are very +clever work-people, but they pass their Sundays and holidays stupidly +enough." + +This testimony, so honourable to his new acquaintance, was confirmed +to M. ---- from several quarters; and he learned from others, what +he had not been told by themselves, that, besides their honesty and +charity, so great is their zeal, that they flock from the different +hamlets, and meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, at eight +or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the interruption of their enemies, +and to sing and pray. + +These accounts were not calculated to lessen the interest excited in +the breast of M. ----, and immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he +dispatched six copies of the New Testament, and some copies of the +Tract entitled, "_Les Deux Vieillards_," (The Two Old Men.) Some +time after his return to Paris, M. ---- received, through one of his +correspondents at Lyons, a letter from the excellent widow with whom +he had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation is subjoined, +the modesty, dignity, and piety of which not only evince the influence +of true religion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this narration +no exaggerated statement has been made of the character of these +mountaineers. + + +"Sir,--I have the honour to write you, to assure you of my very humble +respects, and at the same time to acknowledge the reception of the +six copies of the New Testament which you had the goodness and the +generosity to send us. My family, myself, and my neighbours know not +how, adequately, to express our sincere gratitude; for we have nothing +in the world so precious as that sacred volume, which is the best food +of our souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Jerusalem. + +"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus +Christ could alone have inspired you with the desire to distribute +the sacred Scriptures to those who are disposed to make a holy use of +them, we hope and believe that the Divine Saviour will be himself your +recompense; and that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, +the grace to understand and to seek a part in his second coming; for +this ought to be our only and constant desire in the times of darkness +and tribulation in which we live. + +"It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to have the goodness to +send six more copies of the sacred volume for several of my friends, +who are delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, but +especially with the purity of the edition; for it is sufficient to +see the name of Monsieur le Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this +edition is strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as the +persons who have charged me to entreat you to send six more copies of +the New Testament would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they also +charge me to say, that if you accomplish their wishes, as your truly +Christian kindness induces them to hope, and will mark the price on +the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and duty to remit you +the amount, when I acknowledge the arrival of the parcel. Could +you also add six copies of the little Tract, entitled _'Les Deux +Vieillards'_? + +"I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have taken, and to +believe that, while life remains, I am, in the Spirit of our Lord +Jesus Christ," + +"Your very humble servant," + +"The Widow ----." + +The reception of this letter revived in M. ---- that lively interest +which he had been constrained to feel for the prosperity of these +happy villagers. Often had he called to mind the Christian kindness +with which they received him, and often had he presented his ardent +prayer to the God of grace, that he who "had begun a good work in +them," would carry it on to "the day of Jesus Christ." + +Instead of complying with the request of this venerable woman to send +her six copies of the New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing +her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but to present them, at +her own discretion, to those who were desirous of obtaining them, and +had not the means to purchase, "without money and without price." +With these he also presented to the widow, as a mark of his Christian +affection, a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen copies of +the Tract which she had requested, and several other religious books. +In acknowledging this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a +letter, dated July 17, 1821: + +"Respected friend and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--It is +impossible to describe the satisfaction that my heart experienced on +the arrival of the kind communications which you have been pleased +to send me. I could not help reading over and over again the letters +enclosed, which afford fresh proof of the desire of yourself and your +friends to contribute to the advancement of the reign of the Divine +Redeemer. I cannot find words to express the happiness I have derived +from perusing the entire copy of the Old and New Testament, which you +beg me to accept as an expression of your christian affection. I was +more gratified and edified by this mark of your regard, as it was my +intention to have requested, in my last letter, some copies of the Old +Testament; but I dared not execute my design, for fear of abusing your +Christian kindness and charity. The Old and New Testament, properly +understood, are but one Testament; such is the connection of the +sacred books--for the New Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old +the same to the New. In innumerable passages of the Old Testament, the +birth, death, and glory of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms +more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and +Isaiah, we perceive that those prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as +though they had lived with him on the earth. His second coming is also +foretold in many passages, especially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and +Daniel. + +"The box which your christian generosity has sent, has excited +universal joy in the hearts of all our friends in this district. +Immediately after they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to see +me, and to have the happiness and advantage of procuring the Testament +of our Redeemer; and in less than _five days_ the box was emptied. +I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to those who had not +the satisfaction and consolation to procure a complete copy of the +Testament. The whole was so soon distributed that many could have +nothing; and there are also many who do not yet know of the arrival +of the second box. I intend to lend the copy of the Bible, and of +the books which I have reserved for myself, among our friends in the +neighbourhood, in order that the books we have may be as useful as +possible. + +"As I hope you will do me the honour and the christian kindness to +acknowledge the receipt of this, I request you to inform me how I can +remit you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen of the New +Testaments. As our brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through +his grace altogether free and unmerited, look for his second coming to +salvation, are delighted and edified by the truly Christian salutation +which you have sent through me, they desire me to express their +gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs in the same spirit. I +unite with them in beseeching you and your respectable friend ----, +and all your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to the Father +of Lights, that he may give us grace to persevere in the same +sentiments, and grant us all the mercy to join the general assembly, +the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that happy day, I entreat you +to believe me your very humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ," + +"The Widow ----." + +It may well be supposed that the reception of this interesting letter +produced an effect on the mind of M. ----, as well as on the minds of +many of his Christian friends at Paris, of the happiest kind. M. ---- +informed the widow of the great satisfaction with which he had learned +the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word of God, and that +he had directed his friend, the publisher of the New Testament of De +Sacy, to send her fifty copies more; at the same time promising her a +fresh supply, if they should be needed. He also expressed to her the +hope, that, as he expected his business would, within a few months, +call him again to S----, he should be able, Providence permitting, to +avail himself of that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of another +visit at her residence. To this communication she some time afterwards +returned the following reply: + +"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,--May the grace and +unmerited mercy of our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope in +our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and your dear friends to pray +for us, that the celestial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would +vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with his love; for without +the aid of this Divine Light, even though we should commit to memory +the Old and New Testament, it would avail us nothing; but rather tend +to our greater condemnation in the sight of our Sovereign Judge. + +"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of the box which you had the +goodness and christian charity to send me, containing fifty copies of +the Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not arrive until the +25th of last month, on account of its having been detained in the +public store at S---- for several days without my knowledge. As soon +as I learned it was there, I sent one of my daughters to inquire for +it, as I was then so ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief +that I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt myself +so much better for a few days past, that I begin to think that my +pilgrimage will be prolonged for some time, and that I may yet have +the pleasure and consolation of again seeing you, and conversing with +you upon the things which regard our eternal peace. It is with such +feelings that I would beg an interest in your prayers, that the +precious blood which the Divine Saviour has been willing to shed for +us and other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in that moment +when I shall depart from this vale of tears; for my age admonishes +that this time is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother in +Christ, that I shall never forget you in my prayers, however feeble +they may be; for I can never forget the day when, urged by Christian +friendship, you entered my house, and imparted that truly spiritual +nourishment which serves for time and eternity, and we discoursed +together upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, and the +restoration of the covenant people. + +"I look forward to the happy moment when I shall have the honour and +pleasure of seeing you again; and in the meantime beg you to believe +me your very humble and affectionate friend and servant in Jesus +Christ, + +"The Widow----." + +In a letter received soon after the above, M. ---- was informed that +the Bibles and Testaments had all been disposed of within _two days_ +from the time of their arrival, and that many, who earnestly desired +a copy, were yet unsupplied: the distribution having only created an +increased demand. M. ---- resolved not to neglect their wants, as +long as it was in his power to supply them; and the day being not far +distant, when he proposed to repair to S----, and to make a second +visit to the Village in the Mountains, he prepared a case of a hundred +New Testaments and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded to +Lyons by the _roulage accelere_, or baggage wagon, to meet his arrival +there; and soon after took his departure from Paris. + +There were some interesting incidents in the progress of this tour, +which so delightfully point to the hand of God, that the reader may be +gratified in becoming acquainted with them. On his arrival at Lyons, +M. ----, finding no other way of transportation except the common +_Diligence_, a public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this +conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments which he had forwarded +was so large, that the only method by which it could be carried was to +set it up on end in the basket attached to the back of the Diligence; +and such was the weight and size of the box, that it was with no small +difficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that it was safely +adjusted. At first the passengers objected to taking their seats with +such a weight behind, lest they should meet with some accident, or be +impeded in their progress. After much persuasion, however, and after +presenting a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, and +requesting the conductor to drive slow, they were prevailed on to +proceed on their journey. The course they were pursuing led through a +part of the country solely inhabited by _Roman Catholics_, where, the +year before, M. ---- had distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, +the reading of which, he had subsequently ascertained, had been +forbidden by the priests, who had not only demanded them, but +consigned most or all of them to the flames. M. ---- thought +necessary, in this journey, to suspend his distributions in this +immediate vicinity. But the providence of God had other views, and +so ordered it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the sacred +records should be scattered among that people. On reaching the place +of his destination at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from +the Diligence, M. ---- discovered that the case had opened at the top, +and that not a few Bibles and Testaments had been scattered along the +way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, some in wagons and some on +horseback, some with a Bible and some with a New Testament under +their arm. They informed him, that, for eight or ten miles back, the +inhabitants had been supplied by the Diligence, as the books had +fallen out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled over rocky and +uneven ground. + +While taking the case from the Diligence, several more persons came +up, each bringing his Bible or Testament, which they most readily +offered to return to M. ----, but which he as cheerfully requested them +to accept, observing to them, that they had been destined for their +perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand directs all human events. +Though ignorant of the contents of the volume which God had thus given +them, they expressed many thanks to M. ---- for his generosity, and +were about to proceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when M. ---- +dismissed them by saying: "My friends, I feel peculiarly happy in thus +being the instrument of putting into your hands that volume which +contains the records of eternal life, and which points you to +'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' If you +faithfully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious truths, and +obey its precepts, it will render you happy in this life, and happy +during the endless ages of eternity." + +Having opened the case, M. ---- found that forty-nine Bibles and +Testaments had been thus distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers +were ready to believe that the box had been intentionally left open, +but M. ---- assured them that it had been carefully secured in the +usual manner, and that not until his arrival at the spot where +they alighted, had he known that any had fallen out. Having made +arrangements to have the case forwarded to the widow, and having +addressed to her a note informing her of his intention to proceed to +the large village of S----, where he proposed tarrying a few days, +during which time he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, M. +---- resumed his seat in the Diligence, and arrived at S---- the same +night. On the next day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably +surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to find the hotel where +he lodged surrounded by fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the +gentleman who had, a day or two before, presented to a number of their +citizens THE BOOK, which, as they said, "contained a true history of +the birth, life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others of them called it by its proper +name, the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All +of them were anxious to purchase a copy of it. As soon as M. ---- +ascertained the object of their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and +expressed his regret that he had no more of those interesting volumes +with him; informing them that, if it pleased God he should return to +Paris, he would forward a hundred to his correspondent in that place, +that each of them might be furnished with a copy. This was accordingly +done immediately after his return to Paris. And during his residence +there, M ---- had the satisfaction to see, that more or less +individuals from S----, who came to solicit orders for their +manufacturing establishments, also brought orders for an additional +supply of the sacred volume. And the number of Bibles and Testaments +which were introduced into a dense catholic population, in consequence +of the apparently trivial circumstance of the opening of the case in +the Diligence, will probably never be ascertained until the great +day of account; nor will it be known to what extent they have been +instrumental in reclaiming and saving the souls of deluded men. + +On the day following M---- received a deputation from the Village in +the Mountains, anxiously desiring to hear on what day and hour they +might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. He proposed to be at the +widow's house the following morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with a +carriage and horses by one of his friends, he set out accordingly; +and, on reaching the foot of the mountain, was met by a deputation of +twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of the Lamb, who greeted +his approach with demonstrations of joy. He immediately descended from +the carriage, and was conducted to the house of the widow with every +expression of the most sincere Christian affection, some taking him by +the sleeve, and others by the skirts of his coat, some preceding and +others following him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at the +house, to find an assembly of from sixty to eighty, who, with one +voice, desired him to _preach_ to them! M. ---- observed to them, +that he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqualified for such a +responsible duty, and the more so at that time, as his mind had been +occupied in his secular business; and he felt the need of himself +receiving instruction, instead of attempting to impart it to others. +But a chair had been placed for him in a suitable part of the room, +and a small table, covered with a green cloth, placed before it, on +which was laid the copy of the Bible which M. ---- had, some months +before, presented to the widow. M. ---- saw he could not avoid +saying something to this importunate company, and looking to God for +assistance and a blessing, took the chair which had been set for him, +and resolved to attempt to draw from the Bible, for their benefit, +such instruction and consolation as he might be enabled to impart. + +To the eye of M. ---- every thing gave beauty and solemnity to this +unexpected scene. The room into which he was conducted was filled with +the villagers, all conveniently accommodated on benches. A large door +opened, in the rear of the house, and discovered the declivity of the +mountain on which it stood, skirted also with listening auditors. +While, at a distance, the flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, +the trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving in the breeze, +and all nature seemed to be in harmony with those sacred emotions +which so obviously pervaded this rural assembly. + +After addressing the throne of grace, M. ---- read a part of the +fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He turned their attention +more especially to that interesting passage in the twelfth verse: +"_There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we +must be saved_." He endeavoured to point out to them the exceeding +sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of violating the law of God, +the inefficacy of all those expedients which the ignorance, the pride, +or the self-righteousness of men had substituted for the "only name," +Christ Jesus. He spoke of the necessity of this great sacrifice on the +cross, of the love of God in sending his Son into the world, of the +fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty redemption, and of the duty +of sinners to accept it and live. "It is through Christ alone," said +he, "that you can have hope of pardon and salvation. You must take up +the cross and follow Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee to +Christ. You must renounce your own righteousness, and trust alone in +Christ. You must renounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If +you had offended an earthly monarchy to whom you could have access +only through his son, would you address yourselves to his _servants_, +rather than his _son_? And will you then, in the great concerns of +your souls, go to any other than the _Son_? Will you have recourse to +the _Virgin Mary_, or some favoured _servant_, rather than address +yourselves to Him who is 'the way, and the truth, and the life?' and +when God himself assures us, that _'there is none other name under +heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved_?'" + +Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes, and +at a moment when the greater part of his audience were in tears, the +widow suddenly came running to M. ----, saying, with great agitation, +"_Monsieur! Monsieur_" + +"What, madam, what?" said M. ----. + +"I perceive," said she, "at a distance, the deputy mayor of a +neighbouring village, in company with several women, approaching with +a speedy step towards my house. These people are among our greatest +persecutors--shall I not call in our little band of brothers and +sisters, and fasten the doors?" + +"No, madam," said M. ----; "on the contrary, if it be possible, open +the doors still wider; trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the +direction of this matter." By this time considerable alarm seemed to +pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion ensued, in consequence +of several leaving their seats. M. ---- begged them to be composed, +and to resume their seats, saying, that the object for which they were +assembled was one which God would accept of and approve, which angels +would delight in, and at which Satan trembled; and that they had +nothing to fear from the arm of flesh. By this time the mayor made his +appearance at the threshold of the door, together with his attendants. + +"Come in, sir," said M. ----, "and be seated," pointing to a chair +placed near the table. + +"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here." + +"But I prefer," said M. ----, "that you come in, and also your +companions, and be seated." + +Perceiving M. ---- to be firm in his determination, they complied, and +were all seated among his nearest auditors. + +M. ---- then, without any further remarks, having the Bible open +before him, directed their attention to those words in Christ's +Sermon on the Mount: "_Blessed are they which are persecuted for +righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are +ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all +manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be +exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted +they the prophets which were before you_" Matt. 5:10, 12. + +M. ---- proceeded to set before them the sufferings of the apostles +and primitive christians for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the +constancy and firmness with which, in all circumstances, they endured +these sufferings, on account of the love which they bore to their +Saviour; that they had good reasons for so doing, for they were +assured by Christ, in the words just read, that "great should be +their reward in heaven." M. ---- then proceeded to show the immense +responsibility which those assumed, and the enormity of their guilt, +who, ignorantly or designedly, persecuted the followers of Christ. +That they were but "heaping up to themselves wrath against the day of +wrath." That the day was not far distant, when the awful realities of +eternity would burst upon their view; and that every man would then be +judged "according to the deeds done in the body." + +When M. ---- had proceeded in this manner for ten or twelve minutes, +bringing the truth to bear especially upon the minds of his new +audience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes with the cuff of his +sleeve, who, rising at that moment from his seat, exclaimed: + +"Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt an enmity towards +many of the people whom I here see before me; and have, as far as my +influence extended in my official capacity, endeavoured to break up +what I have considered their illegal assemblies, and to coerce them +back within the pale of the mother church, which one after another of +them have been abandoning for years past. But if all that you have +expressed be true, and is in conformity with the sacred volume of +God's word, and if the book which you hold in your hand is a correct +translation of the original copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may +peruse it myself, and give the reading of it to others better able +to judge of its contents: and if I there find the promises and +threatening as stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon it that, +so far from persecuting these in other respects harmless people, I +will hereafter be their friend." + +On hearing this, M. ---- immediately requested the widow to bring +several Bibles from the case which he brought with him in the +Diligence, and which had reached the house according to his direction; +one of which he presented to the mayor, and one to each of his +catholic associates. On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into +his hand, M. ---- observed, that he had much pleasure in presenting +it to him, as well as to his companions, in the hope that they would +hereafter not only become the friends of this interesting people, but, +what was of more importance, the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the +"_only_ Mediator between God and man." + +With this they took their departure: M. ---- observing to them, that +his heart's desire and prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, +and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their understandings +might become enlightened, and their hearts imbued with the riches of +divine grace; that they might thereby be led hereafter to advocate the +very cause which they had hitherto been attempting to destroy; and +that, when they had done serving God their Saviour here below, they +might find themselves among that happy number "whose names are written +in the Lamb's book of life." + +They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply +impressed with the truths which had been exhibited. + +After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of +the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before +him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who +had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. +While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred +volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the +table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, +in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them +he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to +put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names +of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible +Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow +brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy +francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as +it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in +compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had +indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to +purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that +neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be +willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it +was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place +the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be +distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom +they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers +by the caving in of a coal-pit. + +[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.] + +On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded +M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with +their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the +most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed. + +Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was +compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of +heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell. + +The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had +reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if +any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of +the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor +slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of +you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear +cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and +do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come +off conquerors, and more than conquerors!" + +When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all +mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers +and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet +in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds +unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After +M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow +that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that +many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain +them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in +the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond +the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of +this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by +the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide +circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had +forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of +Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and +a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. +---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, +where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their +return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of +their lives. + +As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow +fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other +choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were +all actually disposed of in _eight days_, of which the widow gave +early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the +benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, +her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the +word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with +which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic +families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. +She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; +and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings +to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his +children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent +institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the +destitute a knowledge of the Gospel. + +The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left +the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children +had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and +Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded. + +M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received +twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their +attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of +their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from +the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present +before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other +religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, +to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply +with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and +exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye +always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent +hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should +hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where +"the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." + +NOTE.--The original letters of the widow, in French, are deposited in +the archives of the American Tract Society. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE + +FROM THE ROMISH CHURCH + +TO THE PROTESTANT FAITH. + +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN. + +* * * * * + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. + + + + +CONVERSION OF PETER BAYSSIERE +IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.[4] + + + + +[Footnote 4: This Narrative was originally entitled, "A letter to my +children, on the subject of my conversion from the Romish church, in +which I was born, to the Protestant, in which I hope to die. By Peter +Bayssiere, Montaigut, Department Tarn and Garonne." (France.) "As much +of the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the London +edition, "depends upon its authenticity, the reader is referred to the +subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector +of Pakefield, dated May 20, 1829, which will probably remove any +doubts on the subject. + +"......The autograph of Bayssiere's letter I saw when I was in the +South of France, in the year 1826. It had just then been received by +M. Audebez, the minister of Nerac; who, as appears by the Tract, was +well acquainted both with Bayssiere and his circumstances. Confident +of the genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been +published in French, and translated into English. It cannot but be +interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth." + +"FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM."] + + +MY DEAR CHILDREN--I purpose to give you, in this letter, an account of +my conversion to the true Christian religion--that religion which was +established by our Lord and his apostles, professed by their followers +during the first two centuries of the church, and which is now +followed by the protestant or reformed Christians. I am conscious that +neither my abilities nor my education qualify me for this task. A mere +mechanic, and possessing but few advantages of education, I find it +very difficult to express, as I could wish, the thoughts and feelings +which crowd upon my mind. But how great and numerous so ever may be +the difficulties which I must encounter in such an undertaking, I am +impelled to it by the tender affection I bear you, and by the earnest +desire and hope of being useful to you. May God be my helper; may he +not suffer me to be deterred by any obstacle; and may he grant me the +blessing of accomplishing that which I consider as a sacred duty. + +It _is_ my imperative duty to make you acquainted with the real +motives which have produced the most important, solemn, and decisive +step in my life. + +It is my duty to give glory to God for the unspeakable mercy which +he has deigned to show me, in calling me from darkness into his +marvellous light; in opening to me the treasures of his infinite +compassion, and in giving me the hope of salvation by faith in his +Son, who only "has the words of eternal life," being alone "the way, +the truth, and the life." + +It is my duty to endeavour to render my experience profitable to you, +to show you the path by which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, +and to the fountain of living waters; and, above all, to labour in +prayer for you, that you may be partakers of the peace and joy with +which my spirit is filled under the influence of his blessed word. + +May this paper, my dear children, by the blessing of God, contribute +to the triumph of the Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and +Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with the love of truth, +and by leading you in the way of true religion. + +It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in the present year, +(1826,) that I openly embraced and professed the Protestant religion, +after having given it the most serious and attentive examination, +and being convinced that it was indeed the true religion of Christ, +agreeable, in every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel. + +Like you, my dear children, I was born in the Romish church; but birth +has, in fact, very little to do with religion; the utmost that it can +effect is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pretext to timid, +interested, or indifferent persons, to justify their external +adherence to a form of worship in which their hearts do not unite. + +As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, it is not flesh or +blood that can make known to us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, +and Saviour of men. Faith, through which alone we can become children +of God, and true members of the church of Christ, is a gift of the +Holy Spirit, and by no means transmitted to us with our existence +by our parents. St. John teaches us this when he says, "As many as +received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to +them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of +the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John, 1: +12, 13. + +Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor Protestants by birth; +and it is a great error for any one to feel himself bound to either +church, because he has been born within its pale. Religion, like every +thing else, must be studied and examined; and no one is truly a member +of a church, further than as he understands and acknowledges its +doctrines. His adherence on any other ground only proves him +credulous, ignorant, and superstitious; the slave of prejudice and +habit. + +As for me, my children, although born in the Romish church, I can +assure you that I never participated in its belief. It would be +foreign to the end I have in view, to relate here the various +circumstances of my childhood and youth, which preserved me from being +brought into the bosom of the Catholic church by the usual rites +and ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no vow by which _I +might_[5] have afterwards felt myself bound to the church of Rome. + +[Footnote 5: "_I might have_," but I am far from supposing that I +_ought_ to have fell myself indissolubly tied to the Roman Catholic +church by any sacrament that I might have received, or by any +engagement that I might have entered into: on the contrary, I lay it +down as an incontestable principle, that every vow and every oath are +null, and neither can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which +he has discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the word +of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth alone, and the full +conviction of truth, constitute a tie which can inviolably connect +us with any church whatever. From the moment that this conviction no +longer exists, and that error is discovered, it is an imperative duty +to abandon a mode of worship which does not accord with our true +sentiments; and he who perseveres against this conviction becomes a +hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and condemned before God.] + +Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could have no idea of what +was done to me, I was doubtless received into the church by the +usual ceremony; but as this act was performed without any consent or +co-operation on my part, I have never regarded it in the light of an +engagement to the Catholic church. + +With regard to what is called "the first communion," (which is +considered as the public ratification and confirmation of the vow of +my parents,) this I never received in the Romish church, nor did I +receive what is called the Sacrament of confirmation. + +Before I could be united by the sacred bond of marriage to your +virtuous and beloved mother, it was necessary that I should confess. +This I did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing could be at +once more absurd, more tyrannical, or more degrading, than to oblige a +man to prostrate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a sinner, +a child of corruption like himself, and there to make confessions to +him, which offended Deity alone could have a right to require: and to +receive absolution from him for faults with which he had no concern. +I could not, however, marry without confession, and therefore I was +obliged to submit; but no power on earth could have constrained me to +go further. The Sacrament, as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, +from infancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My mind had always +revolted at the idea, that the great God of heaven could allow himself +to be _eaten_ by his creatures in the form of a little flour. Under +various pretences, therefore, I contrived to avoid the ceremony, and +obtained the nuptial benediction without it. + +The Lord, who never leaves himself without the witness of his numerous +mercies to us, even when we are offending him in so many ways, was +pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my dear children, crowned +our joy, and left us nothing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, +and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! little did we +suspect, whilst thus delightfully engaged, that this joy was to be so +soon disturbed, and that death would deprive us of her who had given +you birth. But our great God, whose ways and whose designs, though +often inscrutable, are always full of wisdom, saw good to separate +us; you from a tender and excellent mother, and me from a beloved +companion and inestimable friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a +few days' illness, leaving me in a state of affliction which it would +be in vain to attempt to describe. + +Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and heart-rending as was the +separation, I can now acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary +chastisement, sent by sovereign love; and one of the links of that +chain of Providence by which the Lord saw good to deliver me from the +miserable state in which I was then living; and to lead me to the +fountain of grace and true peace. + +In fact, the death of your poor mother gave rise to a train of +circumstances, which, by drawing my attention to subjects that I had +hitherto totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind a degree of +energy of which I could not have supposed myself capable, ended by +engaging me most unexpectedly in the serious study of religion. The +particulars I am about to give you respecting these things, will +convince you that God can overrule the wickedness of men for good, and +will show you that a Romish priest was the means of directing me to +_the way_, (I mean the perusal and free examination of the word of +God,) which led me, eventually, to the Protestant church. + +Your mother's funeral was conducted with Catholic ceremonies, and, +according to my means, I spared nothing to honour her remains. I +likewise consented, either from conformity to custom, or from a wish +to please my relatives, who were influenced by the fear of purgatory, +or perhaps from participating myself in the false notion that bought +prayers can mitigate the sufferings of the dead--from one or all of +these causes, aggravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and +inflamed my imagination, I consented to the performance of the nine +customary masses for the rest of the soul. + +The priest to whom I first went, told me that he was too busy to +undertake the whole, but that I might depend upon him for three. From +him I went to another, who engaged to say the remaining six, and did +so without delay. Sunday after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went +to the first, to inquire whether my three masses would be said in the +following week. He always found some excuse, saying that "there were +others more urgent than myself--that he was previously engaged--that +he had undertaken more than was in his power to perform,". From +February to June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. Worn out, +at length, by so many fruitless efforts, I resolved to put an end to +them, and mentioned the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, +expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She asked me if I had offered +the priest the amount of the masses which he had promised to say? +"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me; but even if it had, I +should not have dared to do it, for fear of offending him. It is not +usual", I added scornfully, "to pay before one is served. No one ever +pays me for a saddle before I make it." "No matter," replied your +aunt, "my advice to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay +for the masses which you have ordered." + +I did as she advised me, and this time my request was favourably +received. The priest seized the six-franc piece which I laid on the +table, looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say six?" "No," +I replied, with a feeling of indignation which I could hardly +repress--"No, sir, I only want three. Return to me the rest of the +money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so much at once." + +I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having contributed to gratify +his cupidity, and very much disposed to think the religion we were +taught was nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to which the +thirst of gold and silver had given birth. I cannot tell you all the +sad and painful reflections that occupied my mind during the remainder +of that day; I was overcome by them, and rejoiced to see the night, +hoping to find relief in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my +eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what had so disgusted me, +a multitude of thoughts crowded on my imagination. I knew that the +priests claimed the word of God as their authority for all their +doctrines and ceremonies, which word I also knew was contained in the +Old and New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I did not then +regard them as a divine revelation. In fact, I believed no more in +the Holy Bible _as the word of God_, than I did in the doctrine of +purgatory; still I felt a desire to search and to ascertain whether +this _lucrative_ doctrine was contained in the Gospel, and in what +manner it was there established: at the same moment I recollected that +there was, on the chimney-piece of my room, a New Testament, in which +I had learnt to read, but which I had never opened since I was nine +or ten years old. I jumped out of bed, and hastily dressing myself, +resolved to begin, without delay, my researches on the subject of +purgatory. + +With this sole object in view, I read through the Gospels, the Acts of +the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John; confining +my attention exclusively to those points that tended either to +establish or controvert this doctrine. This perusal of the New +Testament, which, from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and +resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once stopping, except for +refreshment, proved to me that the doctrine of purgatory was not to +be found in the Gospel, but must have been derived from some other +source. + +Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a single passage which +established it, either directly or indirectly: on the contrary, I was +struck with many declarations completely opposed to it. Thus I read in +St. Matthew: "The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, +but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46. This absolutely +destroys the idea of any intermediate abode between heaven and hell. + +I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly appears that the good +old man had no idea that he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that +he would have to undergo any _purging fire_ before he could get there; +for he exclaims, holding the infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation." &c. Luke, 2:29, 30. + +I read the promises which Jesus made to the thief on the cross, when +he said to him, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." +Luke, 23:42, 43. If there were such a place as purgatory, and if any +one were likely to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have +been this malefactor, condemned by human, laws, and probably guilty +of many crimes: yet our Saviour replies, "Verily, I say unto thee, +_to-day_ thou shalt be with me in Paradise." + +I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, that "there is now +_no_ condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1. A +doctrine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, which teaches that +Christians are, after this life, subjected to a process of torments +before they are free from condemnation. + +I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it is appointed to men +once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. 9: 27, which clearly +proves that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irrevocably +fixed from the moment of their death; and that there is no purgatory, +from which masses, prayers, or rather gold and silver, can deliver any +one. + +I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that "the blood of Jesus +Christ," the Son of God, "cleanseth us from _all_ sin," 1 John, +1:7, which excludes all other kinds of purification, and formally +contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. Finally, I read in the book of +Revelation, that "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from +henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their +labours, and their works do follow them." + +Here is another declaration which confirms what the preceding and +many other passages establish in so convincing a manner. Not having +discovered a single text of the New Testament which told in favour +of purgatory; but, on the contrary, having observed and meditated on +those which I have quoted, and many other equally opposed to this +doctrine, I was fully persuaded that it never had been thought of by +the writers of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear children, +that this discovery in no way tended to strengthen the bonds which +held me to the Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith. + +Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed to know +positively _from whence_ the priests had derived their vain system. +This desire filled my mind for some days, and at last it struck me +that _the Pope_ must have been the inventor of it. I then naturally +began to wish to discover _who_ the Pope was, and what right he had +to impose such a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in +conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter was the chief and +head of the Apostles; that he had been the first pope at Rome; and +that all succeeding popes had inherited his rights and prerogatives. + +I conceived a wish to know what the New Testament said upon this +subject, and I immediately undertook a second perusal of it; in the +same state of mind as before, that is to say, absorbed by one sole +object, and having nothing in view but to find out whether St. Peter +had really been set over all the other apostles, and placed at Rome as +head of all the churches. + +This examination, which was pursued with a degree of attention of +which I should now be scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that +the supremacy of St. Peter was no better established by the New +Testament than the first doctrine which I had sought for, and that +undoubtedly the papacy was without scriptural authority. + +I found in St. Matthew the _calling of_ Simon, who was afterwards +called Peter; Matt. 4:18, 19,20; but it did not appear to me to differ +from that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the other apostles. + +In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also observed that the +first _mission_ which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles, was given +to all, without any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true that +Peter is the first named, but this is merely an accidental priority, +which implies neither distinction nor superiority; one must have been +mentioned first. I made the same observation on the last mission which +they received on the day of their Master's ascension, and which is +related by St. Matthew, 28:19, 20; by St. Mark, 16:15; and in the Acts +of the Apostles, 1:8. This mission, though variously expressed in the +three places, is the same in substance. It is given indiscriminately +to all; the promises by which it is accompanied are for all; and on +all, the same powers are, equally conferred. + +The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, where it is +said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," +startled me for a moment, and I was on the point of mistaking the true +meaning of this declaration. But having reflected that Jesus Christ +asked the question in the 15th verse, of _all_ his disciples, and that +Peter expressed the sentiment of _all_ in his animated reply in the +16th verse, I considered that the words which Christ addressed to +Peter, were applicable to all disciples; and that no supremacy could +be attributed to him from this passage, more than from any of the +preceding. + +I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read in the Gospel of St. +John, that Jesus, _speaking to all_ had made them nearly the same +promise: "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, +and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained," (John, 20:23;) +and also by what St. Paul says to the Ephesians, "Ye are built upon +the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself +being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed +together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephes. 2:20, 21. + +I was still more strengthened, when I found in the Revelation, that +St. John says, "the wall of the city had _twelve foundations_, and in +them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14. + +By these passages, and many others which I think it unnecessary to +quote, I discerned that Jesus Christ is the true _foundation_, the +_corner stone_ on which the Christian church rests: that all the +apostles and prophets are indeed mentioned as its foundation, but only +because all their doctrines refer to Him; and I was convinced that St. +Peter was in no degree more distinguished or more elevated than his +fellow-labourers. Although I did not then understand, at least not so +fully as I do now, the evangelical meaning of the 18th and 19th verses +of chapter 16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the papacy or +sovereignty of St. Peter could not reasonably be deduced from them +Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not above the other apostles, +was completed by observing what he says himself in his first epistle, +"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am _also an elder_" 1 +Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "I was not a whit +behind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11:5; by noticing that +St. Paul, according to his own account, "withstood him to the face, +because he was to be blamed;" Gal. 2:11; and that he severely and +publicly reprehended him, because "he constrained the Gentiles to be +circumcised;" by seeing how the common disciples of the church of +Jerusalem made no scruple of reproving Peter, because "he went in +unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 11:3; how they +required from him an explanation of his conduct, and how the apostle +hastened to justify himself, by relating to them exactly how the thing +had happened. Finally, by observing that "when the apostles which were +at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, _they +sent_ unto them Peter and John." Acts, 8:14. + +"There can be no doubt," thought I, as I perused and re-perused all +these testimonies, "that Peter was in every respect equal to the other +apostles; that he had no superiority nor jurisdiction over them. Had +he been, had he thought himself, or had others thought him, the prince +of the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, would he have +called himself an elder like unto the other elders? Is it possible +that St. Paul would have declared himself to be 'not a whit behind +him;' that he would have 'withstood him to his face,' and blamed him +publicly? Is it probable that mere believers, common members of the +church, should have ventured to dispute with him, to require an +explanation of his conduct, or that he should have thought it +necessary to satisfy them by giving one?[6] Is it likely that he would +have been sent by the other apostles, or have received their orders, +when it would have been his part, had he been their chief, to command +and to send them?" + +[Footnote 6: The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so +obliging; they have been always solicitous to make their authority +felt.] + +I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly convinced that all which is +taught by the Romish church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of +the sovereignty of the popes, his pretended successors, was a fable +destitute of the slightest foundation; at all events, a doctrine no +more to be found in the Gospel than that of purgatory. + +If I were surprised at this, I was no less so when I observed, that in +the whole New Testament there was not one word which gave reason to +imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had even ever been, at +Rome, where the Roman Catholics assert, and believe as an article of +faith, that he was the first pope. The Acts of the Apostles maintains +the most profound silence on this subject, and affords no ground +whatever for the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally in +darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the +Philippians, to the Colossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle +to Philemon, all written from Rome at different periods, and that to +the Hebrews, written from Italy, make no mention of Peter's being +there. In the last four, the apostle speaks of his companions in +suffering, in labour, and in the work of the Lord, but says not a word +of Peter as being with him. Undoubtedly he would have mentioned him, +as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, +Livius, Claudia, &c. had he been at Rome; but neither his name, nor +any allusion to his abode in the capital of the world, is to be +discovered in any part of St. Paul's Epistles. In my opinion, there is +no proof of his ever having been there, much less of his having held +the bishopric. Finally, his own two Epistles furnish no evidence for +such a supposition: the first, and in all probability, the second +also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5:13, and addressed, not to +the Romans, but "to the strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) +scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," +1 Peter, 1:1, countries where, it would appear, that he exercised +his ministry, after having for some years preached to the church at +Antioch. + +Thus, my children, I discovered that these two primary doctrines of +the Romish church, viz. purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had +not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers of the Gospel. I +cannot tell you what interest I felt in the new ideas I had acquired. +The New Testament, which I was still far from regarding as a divine +revelation, appeared to me a collection of precious documents, in +whose authority I then began to feel some degree of confidence. Though +I found this study novel and difficult to a poor uneducated artisan +like myself, it was at the same time so attractive to me, that I was +induced to continue my researches. + +I have already mentioned to you, my dear children, the invincible +repugnance which I had always felt to receiving the sacrament as +administered in the Romish church. I have said that nothing in the +world could have forced me to this act, by which it is profanely +pretended that the _creature_ EATS _his Creator_!! I could never even +think of it without shuddering. This doctrine, which asserts that +Jesus Christ is present, in body and in spirit, in the consecrated +wafer, and that every communicant is actually nourished by his flesh +and blood, is, of all the tenets of popery, that which contributed the +most to alienate me from the Christian religion, to which I attached +it, and to drive me to infidelity. + +This, therefore, now attracted all my attention; and again I began to +read the New Testament, entirely occupied, as previously, by the one +object which I had in view. + +I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. +Luke, which gave me the least reason to suppose that their author had +recognized the real and corporeal presence of Jesus Christ in the +sacrament of the holy supper. The words of the institution, as related +by the first, Matt. 26:26, 27, 28, by the second, Mark, 14:22, 23, 24, +and by the third, Luke, 22:19, 20, reported with slight variations by +the three Evangelists, and which I took great pains to collate +and compare, conveyed no other idea than that of a _commemorative +ceremony_, designed to preserve and call to remembrance the +sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. In my then wretched +condition of unbelief, the magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of +the sacrament did not strike my mind; but, excepting that, I imbibed +from the consideration of these passages the views which I still hold. +So far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of the real presence; +but I thought I _had_ indeed found it specifically established when I +read these words: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: +if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread +that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the +world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can +this man give his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, +verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and +drink his blood, we have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the +last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. +He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I +in him." John, 6:51-56. These words appeared to me to be undoubtedly +the foundation of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought that +the writer of them had the establishment of this doctrine especially +in view. At that moment I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further +my researches on a doctrine which I thought I had found clearly +set forth, but the absurdity of which had never appeared to me +so palpable. I then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel; +nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisible power, which was +then unknown to me, but which I now recognize to have been the Holy +Spirit, the author of all divine revelation; and attracted, as it +were, in spite of myself, by the Spirit of God, who graciously +purposed to teach me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the truth +of his word, I resumed my New Testament, which I had for a moment +thrown aside, and recommencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of St. +John, I read it to the end, which I had not done before. + +When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was struck as by a flash of +light, which instantaneously discovered to me the mistake that I had +at first made in the meaning of the six verses transcribed above, and +imparted a new value to the Gospel. When I read "It is the Spirit that +quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing--the words that I speak unto +you, they are Spirit, and they are Life," John, 6:63, I had, as it +were, the key of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the +doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that it in no way referred +to swallowing and digesting, with our corporeal organs, the body and +blood of Christ: I saw that the expressions of eating and drinking +were used figuratively, and that they really signified nothing +but knowing Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as it is +explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same chapter, where Jesus +Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never +hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." + +It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that Jesus Christ used the +terms _eating_ and _drinking_ only in a spiritual manner; and (as I +now understand them) as referring to that faith, which, while it is +living and active in our hearts, unites us to him in an inexplicable +manner, and clothes us in his merits at the same time that it purifies +and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and our desires. After +having thus discovered my error, I found myself more than ever +inclined to persevere in my reading, and to search and see whether the +doctrine of the real presence would not he better established in +the subsequent parts of the book. The further I advanced, my dear +children, the more reason I had to be convinced that neither Jesus nor +his apostles ever intended to convey such an idea. I should be too +tedious were I to point out to you all the passages which I found +expressly contradictory to this revolting tenet; it will be sufficient +to quote a few. + +I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Jesus Christ ascend on +high, carried upward by a cloud which concealed him from their sight, +and that two angels appeared and said unto them, "Men of Galilee, why +stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from +you into heaven, shall so come in _like manner_ as ye have seen him +go into heaven." Acts, 1:9, 11. "There never was a priest," said I, +"there never was a Roman Catholic, administering or receiving the +sacrament, that ever saw Christ descending from heaven, in this +manner, to enter into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declared +that he should descend from heaven in the same manner as he went up +into heaven." + +I found, in the same book, "that the heavens must receive Jesus Christ +till the time of the restitution of all things." Acts, 3:21. "He is +then," said I, "no longer corporeally on the earth." I found, in the +Epistle to the Colossians, that "Christ sitteth on the right hand of +God;" chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference that he certainly +cannot be actually present on so many altars, or in so great a number +of wafers, as the doctrine of the real presence necessarily supposes. + +I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, the +strongest declarations, not only against the real presence, but +against the whole system of the mass, by which it is pretended daily +to renew the passion and sacrifice of our Saviour. When the apostle +says that "Christ is entered into heaven itself;" Heb. 9:24; when he +says that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time +without sin unto salvation;" ver. 28; lastly, when he says it is the +will of God to sanctify us "through the offering of the body of Jesus +Christ once made," chap. 10:10, and that "this man, after he had +offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of +God," ver. 12, having "by one offering perfected for ever them that +are sanctified," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with the most +unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine of the real presence, and all +connected with it, was as far removed from the creed of the apostle as +the east is from the west, or as heaven from hell. + +Finally, my dear children, the very words of the institution of the +Lord's Supper, related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid +particular and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow of doubt on +my mind that the doctrine of the Romish church, on the subject of the +Eucharist, is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gospel, and +must, consequently, have been derived from some other source. In fact, +all that our Saviour says on the occasion of instituting the Lord's +Supper, clearly shows that it was a _memorial of himself_ which he +established, and which he wished to leave behind him. After having +taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he commands that it should be +eaten _in remembrance of him._ Having given them the cup to drink, he +adds, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, _in remembrance_ of me." The +words, "this is my body--this cup is the New Testament in my blood," +appeared to me only what they really are, figurative expressions, +signifying that the bread _represented_ his body, and the wine his +blood. These words do in no degree change or modify the principal +idea, that of _commemoration_, which runs throughout this action of +our Lord. + +Had it even been possible that these words had deceived me; had +I taken them in their literal meaning, I should soon have been +undeceived by those which immediately follow, which in themselves +utterly overthrow the doctrine of the real presence, and the whole +system of the mass. These are the words: "As often as ye eat this +bread and drink this cup, ye do _show_ the Lord's death _till he +come."_ 1 Cor. 11:26. After this declaration, connected with so many +others, what further proof was wanting that St. Paul never believed +that the bread and wine contained the actual body of Christ? I clearly +saw that in this passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, and +wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the actual body and blood +of the Son of God. I perceived that he taught that the Lord is not +actually present in that ceremony according to the sense of the Romish +church, because he distinctly says, "that by participating in it, we +do _show_ the Lord's death _till he come_" + +In short, I was convinced that, according to St. Paul, it is not the +body and blood of Jesus Christ that the priests hold in their hands, +and which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass. + +Here, my children, I suspended my researches, convinced, as much as +it is possible to be convinced of any thing, that the doctrine +of transubstantiation is not to be found in the New Testament. I +concluded that it must have the same origin as those of the papacy and +of purgatory. + +Diverted as I had been from my usual occupation, during the time that +I had thus devoted to study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself +and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no other immediate subject +of perplexity, I returned to my daily labour, and discontinued the +perusal of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly gained much in +my esteem; but without stopping to consider exactly in what way I +valued it, I think I may say that it was _not_ as containing the Word +of God, and the knowledge which is unto salvation. + +Thus not being really or heartily interested in it, I replaced it a +second time on the spot it had so long occupied on the chimney-piece +of my room, and eighteen months or two years passed without my +thinking of consulting it anew. + +During this period I married again: your tender age, and the care you +required, which my business and absence prevented my giving you, were +the motives which induced me to take this step. God in his fatherly +kindness mercifully directed my choice, though I had never thought of +asking him to do so; and you have found a second mother in her who has +ever been to me the most estimable and best of friends. During this +period also, I thought more of religion than ever before. Though I had +read the Gospel only to satisfy my curiosity on the three points of +doctrine that I have mentioned, and although my attention had been +exclusively directed to these points, it is probable, notwithstanding, +that I had almost unconsciously imbibed some of the impressions which +the word of God is calculated to produce, and that even then I was in +some measure under its secret influence. One thing I am sure of, that +from that time some idea of religion, although then comparatively +vague and confused, never left me; I frequently caught myself musing +on the origin of the universe, on the vicissitudes of nature, and on +the future condition of those numerous beings, who are seen for a +short time on the earth and then disappear. My own destiny, also, +frequently engaged my thoughts. But I was far from referring it to +Him, on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In all these thoughts +God was excluded from the place he ought to have held. With nothing +but false and uncertain notions of him, I was far indeed from +regarding him as the vivifying principle, which, to the eye of the +Christian, animates and embellishes every thing, and as that pure +light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." + +I am bound to tell you, my children, what was the real state of my +soul at that time. I was in so deplorable a condition of blindness and +ignorance, that sometimes I thought there was no God, but that he was +an imaginary being; and sometimes confounding him with the works of +his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the material world. "The +fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," and I dare not deny +that these words of David were for a long time, and even perhaps at +the period of which I am speaking, applicable to me. But while I +acknowledge that the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad books +I had read, were in part the causes of the sad state I have described, +I cannot help also attributing the greatest part of them to the +_abuses_, the _superstition_, and the _errors_ which disfigure +Christianity in the Romish church, and which had so disgusted me that +they had driven me into total infidelity. + +Such, then, being in fact my religious state, you may well believe, my +children, that I was not happy; for it is impossible to be so without +trusting in God, who is the source of supreme good and true peace. +I was assiduous in my occupation; I frequented the society of my +friends; but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after something +which I could not obtain, was never content. My mind, restless and +agitated, could no where find an object to fix and satisfy it. +Listlessness followed me every where, and seemed to increase upon +me. O how unhappy, and how pitiable are those, who are, as was then, +without God, without Christ, without hope in the world! + +I was in this wretched state when it pleased God to have pity upon me, +and to cause a ray of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, after +the labours of the day, instead of going as usual to the club which I +frequented, I went alone upon the public walk, where I remained till +the night was far advanced: the moon shone clear and bright: I had +never before been so struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and +I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I said, (after +contemplating for a long time the impressive scene before me,) "no, +nature is not God," (for till then I had entertained this opinion,) +"God is certainly distinct from nature: in all this I can only +recognise a _work_ replete with harmony, order, and beauty. Although I +cannot perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, and wisdom are +every where so strongly imprinted on it; still, both my reason and my +feeling combine to convince me of his existence." + +This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, was the result of the +reflections in which I had been that evening absorbed. + +Some days after this, the examination of a watch, its springs, its +various wheels, and its motions, brought me afresh to the same +conclusion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of a God, the +Creator of all things. "If this watch," I argued, "could not make +itself, and necessarily leads us to suppose an artist who made each +part, and so arranged the whole as to produce these movements--how +much stronger reasons have we for concluding that the universe has a +Contriver and Maker?" + +I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence of a God, than I +trembled at the thought of his attributes, and my relationship to him. +The sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply affected me. When +I called to mind the many years I had passed in forgetfulness of +this great God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbelief of +his existence; I felt that I must indeed be, in his sight, the most +ungrateful, and the most sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was +an anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I determined to lay down +such a plan for my future life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of +that Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After having made many +efforts to recall the best maxims of wisdom and rules of virtue that +I had met with in the course of my reading, I at length came to a +resolution of examining what moral precepts the New Testament might +contain, and whether it might not afford me the rules I was seeking +for the regulation of my conduct. + +This was the motive which brought me again to the New Testament, and +induced me to undertake a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it +were in my power to recount to you, my dear children, all the effects +that the eternal word of God produced upon my heart; for from that +time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the revelation of +sovereign wisdom; the genuine expression of the Divine will; the +message of a tender and compassionate Father, addressed to his +ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting them to return and find +happiness in him. I wish I could retrace all the impressions that this +divine message produced on my mind, the vivid emotions I experienced, +and the thoughts and feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) +excited by that reading. + +I was like a man born blind, who should suddenly recover his sight in +a magnificent apartment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at least +corresponded with those of a man under such circumstances, were they +possible. How glorious was the light of the Gospel to me! I sought for +morality, and I found _there_ the most simple, clear, complete, and +perfect system of morality that could be conceived; and _there_ I +found precepts suited to every circumstance that could present itself +in life, as a son, a brother, a father, a friend, a subject, a +servant, a labourer, a man, a reasonable creature: my duty in every +relation of life I there found inculcated in the most admirable +manner. I could not imagine one moral duty for which I did not there +find a precept; not one precept unaccompanied by a motive; and no +motive that did not appear to me to be dictated by reason, or enforced +by an authority against which I felt that I had nothing to object. I +observed two kinds of precepts which, though tending to the same end, +i.e. perfection, produced a different effect upon me. The _positive_ +precepts presented to my mind an idea of the high degree of holiness +at which that man would arrive who could keep them without a single +violation. The _negative_ precepts, by leading me to a close +self-examination, impressed me with a deep sense of my corruption, and +convinced me that the authors of them must have possessed a profound +knowledge of the human heart in general, and of my heart individually. + +"Who then," said I, "were the writers of this book?" And when I +reflected that they were poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, +the question immediately presented itself--how could fishermen, +tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, acquire such extraordinary sagacity, +penetration, wisdom, and knowledge? "Ah!" I exclaimed, "this is indeed +a problem, which can only be solved by admitting their own assertion, +that the Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all they wrote +was divinely inspired." Such, my children, was my conclusion after +this examination of the morality laid down in the Gospel. + +Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New Testament, and took my +first step toward Christianity. + +When I had once acknowledged the divine origin of the _morality_ of +the Gospel, reason and personal experience combined to convince me +of the truth and divine source of the _doctrines_ on which it was +founded. + +"If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them to give to the world +the purest and most perfect system of morality that can be conceived, +is it to be supposed that in the remainder of their writings he would +leave them to themselves, and permit error or imposture to be mixed +and confounded with truth?" No: from the same source cannot proceed +sweet waters and bitter. As the moral precepts of the Gospel are +divinely inspired, so, likewise, _must_ be its doctrines. This +reasoning appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received with full +conviction the whole contents of the New Testament, as dictated by the +Spirit of truth. + +From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his divine character, his +miracles, the end for which he came into the world, his sufferings and +death, attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At the account of +his passion, which, till then, I had read with indifference, my heart +was melted, and my eyes overflowed with tears. In short, I found +and felt such a suitableness between the wants of my sinful soul, +destitute as it was of all peace and comfort, and the work which the +Saviour had accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no longer +doubted that the promises of the Gospel were personally addressed to +me. I believed that Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for +me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto God; and from that +moment I have enjoyed an inward peace, the source of which I believe +to be faith in Christ alone--a peace which the world can neither give +nor take away, and which, as I myself have frequently experienced, is +alone able to support and strengthen us through all the sufferings and +afflictions of life. + +In this manner you see how, a sinner and prodigal as I was, our +heavenly Father met me, and received me to the arms of his mercy; how +he made known to me his free grace and heavenly gift, of which I was +utterly unworthy. It is his grace that has accomplished all in me. He +it was who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will perfect this +work of salvation. + +Without his intervention, that is to say, without the aid of his +Spirit operating upon my heart, it never could have experienced a +_real_ conversion. To him also do I ascribe, with gratitude, my +admission into the protestant church, of which I have now the +privilege of being a member--as I shall proceed to tell you. + +Having found, as I have already said, peace and joy in that word of +God which I had received with my whole heart, I immediately felt the +desire and the need of intercourse with gospel Christians; I was +convinced that such there were, because the Saviour had promised "that +the powers of hell should never prevail against his church." But not +finding them in the Roman Catholic church, which presented to me +nothing but a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doctrine +and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to find the real Christians +for whom I was in search. + +For the first time in my life the thought occurred, Is it possible +they may be among the protestants? But instantly I repelled an +idea which early prejudice had rendered revolting to me. In places +inhabited exclusively by Roman Catholics, where the doctrines and +worship of the protestant Christians are little known, the term +protestant is regarded by most as synonymous with heretic, blasphemer, +and reprobate. The people generally are imbued with these prejudices, +which are diligently kept up and disseminated by some among them, and +I myself was at that time too much under their influence to admit, at +once, that the protestants could be the true Christians for whom I was +seeking. + +Soon, however, the thought returned; and as I reflected on that +declaration of St. Paul, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus +shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12, possibly, said I, these +protestants may be calumniated on the very ground of their religion +being more in accordance with the Gospel. Many other passages of +Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which led me to believe +that this supposition might be correct. I therefore determined to lose +no opportunity of clearing my doubts upon this point. + +As there were no protestants either in our town or neighbourhood, whom +I could consult, I determined to write to the only one I knew; and +though but little acquainted with her, I ventured to request that I +might be apprised of, her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was +anxious to consult him on a subject of importance. Either she did not +understand my letter, or from some other motive, her answer, though +obliging was not satisfactory on that point which most interested me. + +I waited patiently for some time, and applied myself diligently to +reading and meditating on the word of God, which had become like +necessary food to my soul. In all my prayers I entreated the Lord that +he would condescend to direct me to those true Christians of whom his +church was composed, and permit me to become one of their number. I +felt a confidence, from all that I had experienced, that my divine +Benefactor would grant my request whenever he saw it good for me; this +confidence quieted me, but could not remove my desire to ascertain +what the protestant religion really was. + +One day, particularly, this anxiety became stronger than ever, and +degenerated, I acknowledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at +my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend to whom I could +communicate my dearest interests; I believe I could have gone a +hundred miles to have found any one who thought and felt as I did. It +was at this moment of perplexity and weariness, on my return home, at +the close of a day's work, that the thought struck me of consulting my +wife, your present mother, and I had a presentiment that through her I +should discover what I so long wished to know. She is, as you know, a +native of Libos, and I remembered having heard her say that there were +protestants residing in that town and neighbourhood. + +When the supper was ended, and we were seated by the fire, each in our +chimney-corner, she took her work, and I began the conversation nearly +in the following words: + +"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say that there are many +protestants in Libos and the neighbourhood?" + +"Yes, Bayssiere," she replied, "there are a great many, but they are +a good deal scattered about the country. They belong to the church of +Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister resides." + +"And do you know any of them? Have you ever spoken to them, or been at +their houses?" + +"O yes, I was acquainted with many families; I knew Mr. ----, and +Mr. ----, &c. &c. (I suppress names.) I have been employed in their +houses, and seen them frequently." + +"Well, then, can you tell me what sort of people they are, and what +their characters and habits?" + +"O yes, I can assure you that they are the best set of people in the +world. They are esteemed, loved, and respected by every one: I never +heard any thing but good of those I knew, and they always appeared +to me to conduct themselves irreproachably." + +[Illustration: PETER BAYSSIERE] + +I continued to question your mother on the manner in which the +protestants brought up their children; how they treated their +servants, strangers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony +prevailed among them, and how they conducted themselves as parents and +children, brothers and sisters. + +All her answers tended to convince me that pious protestants lived +under the influence of the word of God; and at each disclosure she +made, (though unconscious of the value I attached to it,) I said to +myself, "_This is_ the morality of the Gospel." + +Satisfied on this point, I turned to another: + +"How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths and festivals," I asked, +"separated as they are from each other and their church? Do they ever +assemble for prayer, or do they live without worship?" + +"O, no! they don't live without worship; they have their divine +services; they are at too great a distance from their minister and +each other to meet every Sunday, but they have a church in the country +where they assemble many times in a year, I believe once a month; and +at other times they meet for prayer at their own houses." "Oh! then +they have a church near Libos? I should very much like to know," said +I, "how they conduct their worship, and what they do at their church?" + +"I can tell you perfectly," replied your mother, "for I was present at +one of their assemblies. There is nothing grand or striking in their +churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, images, nor any ornament +whatever, but consist simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower +end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in front of which is a +table, and around it are seats occupied by the elders. The rest of +the church is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on which the +congregation seat themselves as they enter. + +"I observed that most of them, before they sat down, leaned upon the +back of the seat before them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. +Their service was as simple as the building, devoid of ceremony. When +the congregation had assembled, one of the elders ascended the pulpit +and prayed aloud in French; then he gave notice that he was about to +read the word of God; and having requested their attention, he did +read, for some time, from a great book, which they told me was the +Holy Bible. He then offered prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave +me great pleasure at the time, but which I now forget. I well remember +that throughout the service there was no noise nor disturbance of any +kind in the church, and one feeling seemed to pervade the whole: this +struck me forcibly." + +In this description of the protestant worship, imperfect as it was, +I thought I could recognise those traits of simplicity that +characterized the worship of the primitive christians: and when your +mother had finished, I said to myself, "This is indeed like the +worship recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." But I added, without +allowing her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this +information afforded me, "Is this all you know of the protestant +worship? Did you never see them receive the sacrament?" + +"Yes, I have," she replied, "on that same day, which was the only time +I ever entered their church." + +"Do tell me, then, how was it conducted?" + +"I told you, if you remember, that there was a table in front of the +pulpit: this table was their altar; it was covered with a very white +cloth: in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two chalices of +wine. When the minister had finished preaching, he took a book, and +read from it some beautiful passages on the communion, sufferings, and +death of Christ; he also spoke of the duty of communicants; then +every one stood up while he prayed: after which he descended from the +pulpit, and came in front of the holy table; he here repeated aloud +some words which I have forgotten, and took a small piece of bread and +ate it; this done, he took the two cups in his hands, and again saying +something that I did not hear, he drank some of the wine. The elders +then approached the table, and each received a piece of bread, which +they ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup which was +presented to them. The rest of the congregation did the same, the +women after the men; and when all had communicated, the minister +re-ascended the pulpit, gave another exhortation, offered a concluding +prayer, and closed the whole by urging upon them the care of the +poor." + +"This," thought I, "is indeed the supper of the Lord!" + +The conformity that I had already observed between the practices of +the protestants and those of the primitive christians, created in me a +feeling of joy which I had never before experienced. I desired, with +renewed ardour, to search to the bottom of their doctrines, and +from that time I anticipated that I might myself become a decided +Protestant. This expectation, my children, soon increased into a +certainty. + +On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets fell into my hands; one +was published by a Roman Catholic priest, and contained an attack on +the protestant religion: the other was an answer, in defence of that +religion, written by a protestant minister: these were the first words +of religious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly did I devour +these two little works. That of the first (which had been written on +the occasion of a respectable family having recently embraced the +Protestant faith) contained nothing that was solid, or that I could +not have refuted in the very words of Christ and his Apostles; +therefore I did not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title +of _A Letter to Malanie_, was the very thing I wanted, and was so +anxiously desiring to find--an exposition of the protestant creed, or +at least of its most essential points. It taught me that the Gospel +was their only rule of faith, worship, and conduct: that they admitted +all that they found established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected +every thing else, and especially prohibited the invocation of saints, +the worship of images, of relics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught +me that they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ his Son; +that their only hope of salvation was in his mercy, revealed in the +sacrifice of the cross of Christ; that they recognised no other +Mediator, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor with God, than +him who gave himself as such, and who alone has the right of saying to +sinners, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." It taught me that +they believed no more than myself in purgatory, in the supremacy of +the pope, or in the real presence, &c. In short, it taught me that +the protestants received and professed no other than primitive +Christianity. + +It would be impossible for me to tell you how rejoiced I was to find +my most intimate feelings expressed by a minister of a religion +founded on the Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother had +told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants were unjustly accused and +misrepresented by the wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in +truth those christians, according to the word of God, to whom the +promises of the Gospel are made. From that time I acknowledged them +as my true brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was to be +admitted into their communion. + +I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making an open avowal of my +religious principles, and by publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I +should raise many violent passions against myself, and expose myself +to a thousand trials; but the truth was dearer to me than life, and +conscience spoke louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, +without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before men, let the result +be what it might, and I immediately wrote to Mr. ----, the pastor +at Nerac, and the author of the letter I had read, requesting the +assistance of his experience and kind advice. In short, after I had +been eleven months in correspondence with this excellent minister of +the Lord; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint him more +fully with the state of my mind, and to enjoy the privilege of his +instruction; after I had frequently attended the performance of +Protestant worship and their different religious ordinances; after I +had carefully compared these, as well as their doctrines, with the +only standard of truth, the word of God, and was fully convinced of +their perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for delay, but +requested admission, and was received as a member of the Protestant +church. + +On the twenty-third of the December following, I went to Nerac, and on +Christmas day, in the presence of the whole congregation, having, as I +trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I became publicly united to +his saints, and received the sacred _symbols_ of the body and blood of +my Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself to remain faithful +to him till death. I trust that he will vouchsafe to me his assistance +for the fulfilment of this promise, and manifest his strength in my +weakness. + +Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became a member of +the Reformed Church of Christ. I have now explained to you the +circumstances and motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the +presence of God I attest the truth of all I have now written. The +ranks of the true church are not recruited by means of bribery, +deceit, fraud, false miracles, or compulsion; all means are rejected +but _instruction, reason_, and persuasion. This church has been +formed, and still exists, notwithstanding the blows that have been +levelled at it; and it will for ever continue, in spite of all the +rage of hell; sustained by the simple exhibition of that Gospel which +is its only guide and support. + +May it please that God whom I supplicate for the salvation of all men, +and more especially for the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, +to give his grace to you, my children, that you may be found among the +number of those who shall be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be +your natural father, but also your spiritual father! Happy, indeed, +should I be, if at that great day, when we shall appear before God +to receive the sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able to +present myself and you, without fear, and say, "Here, Lord, am I, and +the children thou hast given me." + +P. BAYSSIERE. + +_Montaigut, Dec_. 31, 1826. + + + + +THE HISTORY + +OF A + +BIBLE. + + + + +HISTORY OF A BIBLE. + + +After remaining a close prisoner for some months in a bookseller's +shop, I was liberated, and taken to the country to be a companion to a +young gentleman who had lately become major. The moment I entered the +parlour where he sat, he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing +his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which was scarlet, +embroidered with gold. The whole family seemed greatly pleased with my +appearance; but they would not permit me to say one word. After their +curiosity was satisfied they desired me to sit down upon a chair in +the corner of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, and +confined in the family prison, called by them the library. Several +thousand prisoners were under the same sentence, standing in rows +around the room; they had their names written upon their foreheads, +but none of them were allowed to speak. + +We all remained in this silent, inactive posture for some years. Now +and then a stranger was admitted to see us: these generally wondered +at our number, beauty, and the order in which we stood; but our young +jailor would never allow a person to touch us, or take us from our +cell. + +A gentleman came in one morning and spoke in high commendation of some +Arabians and Turks who stood at my right side; he said they +would afford fine entertainment on a winter evening. Upon this +recommendation they were all discharged from prison, and taken down +stairs. After they had finished their fund of stories, and had not +a word more to say, they were remanded back to prison, and one, who +called himself Don Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being +extremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, (for that was our +proprietor's name.) Indeed, for more than a fortnight he kept the +whole house in what is called good humour. After Quixotte had +concluded his harangues, William chose a "Man of Feeling" for his +companion, who wrought upon his passions in a way which pleased him +vastly. William now began to put a higher value upon his prisoners, +and to use them much more politely. Almost daily he held a little +chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr. Hume related to him the +history of England down to the Revolution, which he interspersed with +a number of anecdotes about Germany, France, Italy, and various other +kingdoms. Dr. Robertson then described the state of South America when +first discovered, and related the horrid barbarities committed by the +Spaniards when they stole it from the natives. William wept when he heard +of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to +him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was supreme +governor among the nations; that he raises up one to great power and +splendour, and putteth down another. He told him, what he did not know +before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to +happen hundreds of years afterwards, and directed him to converse with me, +and I could fully inform him on that subject. William resolved to +converse with me at a future period, but having heard some of his +relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. +At length my prison door was unlocked, and I was conducted to his +bed-room. + +[Illustration: HISTORY OF A BIBLE.] + +My first salutation struck William. In the beginning, said I, God made +the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he +placed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in +it, except one. I then related the history of Adam, the first man: +how he was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to mind God's +prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; and how by this +abominable act he had plunged himself and posterity into misery. +William not relishing this conversation, closed my mouth, desiring me +to say no more at that time. + +A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk of the wickedness of +the old world: how God sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to +threaten the destruction of the whole world, if they did not repent +and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; +and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such as +would contain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the +inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was +rather more relished than the former. + +The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, +showing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, +extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his +commandments. William became much more thoughtful than I had seen him +upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his +friends at table. Their conversation was now more manly and rational; +formerly they conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, &c. now +about the history of the world, its creation, the remarkable men +who had lived in it, the different changes which had taken place in +empires, kingdoms, &c. + +He was wonderfully taken with the account I gave of that nation whom +God had chosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how +wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he +drowned in the Red Sea an army of Egyptians, with their king at their +head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I told him of the holy law +of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders +and said it was too strict for him. Well, William, said I, cursed is +every one who continueth not in _all things_ written or commanded in +that law. He pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon became sick +and feverish. His mother begged of him to tell her of his sudden +distress. He said I had alarmed him exceedingly; that he found himself +a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in the world to come. His +mother came running up stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me +into my old cell, where I remained in close confinement for some days. +But William could not dispense with my company; accordingly I was sent +for. I found him very pale and pensive; however, I faithfully told +him, that the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, +and that continually. He said he lately began to feel that; he had +tried to make it better, but could not. Upon this a stranger entered +the room, and I was hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were +quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with William. The stranger +remarked that he had seen him talking with me, assured him that I +would do him much more harm than good: that I had occasioned great +confusion in the world, by driving many people mad. On this, they all +joined in scandalizing my character, and I was again confined to my +old cell. + +But when my God enables me to fix an arrow in any sinner's heart, the +whole universe cannot draw it out. William was always uneasy when I +was not with him; consequently he paid me many a stolen visit. I told +him one day not to trust in riches, for they often took to themselves +wings, and flew from one man to another, as God directed them. Job +once possessed houses, lands, sheep, a flourishing family, all of +which were taken from him in a few hours; but God never forsook him. + +William's friends got him persuaded to take a tour for a few weeks, to +remove the gloom which hung upon his mind. He did so; but he returned +more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived I was sent for to talk +with him. I directed him to behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the +sins of the world: I said there was no other name given under heaven +among men, but the name of Jesus, by which they could be saved; that +God so loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save it by his +death. I then went over the whole history of the Saviour, from +his birth at Bethlehem to his death on Calvary; describing his +resurrection, and pointing out the evidence of it; then led his +attention to Bethany, describing the marvellous circumstances +attending his ascension to his Father; and testified to him the +wonderful effects which followed in the immense increase of +conversions to the faith. I then enlarged upon Christ's commission +to his apostles, commanding them to publish to every creature under +heaven the glad news that Christ had died for the _ungodly_; had +finished redemption, and ascended up on high to receive gifts for men, +and to bestow them on all who believed God's testimony concerning him. + +God opened the mind of William to perceive the importance and truth of +these things. He began to hope in God, through the offering of his Son +a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to follow holiness, without +which no man shall see the Lord in heaven, or can continue to see +his glory on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men; to be a +faithful steward of whatever God had given him. I told him how Christ +rewarded those who overcame all their enemies through faith in his +blood, and by believing the word of his testimony. This conversation +made him very happy, and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord. + +Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful heart, complaining that he +did not feel the Lord's presence; that God had forsaken him. I assured +him that was impossible; for God expressly says he will _never_ leave +nor forsake his people; and that he changes not in his love to them. I +warned him to be cautious how he spoke against God, for such language +is calling God a liar. I told him likewise, that the church had once +preferred a similar complaint against her God; upon which Jehovah +protested that it was possible for a mother to forsake her infant +child, but impossible for him ever to leave or to forsake his people; +for he had pledged his _word_ to the contrary. Wherefore I warned +him to be no more faithless, but believing; and by doing so he would +glorify God greatly before men: it would tend to make men think more +favourably of God, and probably lead some to seek an interest in his +favor, who otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with tears, +Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I change in my love, but thou +changest not. William left me, determined to rejoice evermore, and to +pray without ceasing. + +At first his friends thought religion had made him less happy than he +was before; now they declared they had never seen him in such good +spirits, and so truly happy. They began to wish they were like him. +William longed for the coming of the Lord, while they trembled at the +very thought of it: they rather wished he might never come. This was a +great advantage he had over them by the grace and tender mercy of +the Lord. He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, and he would +receive them also with open arms. + +William was afterwards brought into great affliction. I told him God +sent it to him for good, to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin +and the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed me, and praised +God for his attention to him, to send this messenger of affliction to +do him good. A person who came in, expressed sorrow at seeing him so +pained. William replied, don't sorrow for me; rejoice rather, because +God has said that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, +work out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. I +am willing to be sick, or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases; +whatever pleases him pleases me. + +I was never from him during his sickness; he praised God daily that he +had ever seen me. He was happy only when he talked with me or about +me. He recommended me to all who came near him, declaring that my +words created a heaven in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God +to him. + +William was completely recovered from his indisposition, by which his +knowledge of God, and experience of his faithfulness and love, was +much increased. I continued his bosom companion for many years. He +talked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, +till at length he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of his +Lord. + + * * * * * + +After conducting William to the gates of the New Jerusalem, I was sent +for to reside with a young man in the middling ranks of life, who had +received a liberal and religious education from his parents, lately +removed from this poor world. The effects of their example and counsel +were evident in all his conduct. He lived what men call a _good +moral life_, his deportment was very agreeable, and his sobriety was +commended by many. He regularly conversed with me twice every day, and +prayed in his closet morning and evening. On Sabbath I talked to him +from dinner to tea, and from tea to supper. + +An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him to go abroad to amass a +fortune. He did not at first relish the advice. One day he consulted +me. I bluntly told him to be content with such things as he had; not +to hasten to be rich, for he would thereby pierce himself with many +sorrows: that numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness of riches. +Labour not for the meat that perisheth, said I, but for that which +endureth to everlasting life. After this conversation, he reasoned +with his uncle against leaving his country and friends merely to make +money in a foreign land: he declared that the object was a pitiful one +to an immortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal adieu to the +affairs of time. However, after standing his ground for some months, +he consented to go a voyage to the West Indies. + +He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along with him. As there were +several passengers in the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he +was ashamed to let me be seen; of course I was hid in a corner of the +state-room, completely masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took +a single peep at me before the other passengers awoke. I hastily told +him to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; that God was every where +present to witness the works of men. He resolved to abide by my +advice, and to keep at as great a distance from those on board as he +well could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, but he refused. +Pho! said they, we have got one of your superstitious Christians along +with us; we shall have nice sport with him. They teased him with his +religion the whole day, and poor George could not well bear it. One +bold sinner asserted, that before they reached their destination, they +would have all his enthusiasm hammered out of him. + +George having none to encourage or countenance him, and not possessing +firmness sufficient for confessing me before men, resolved to dispense +with his religion during the voyage, and to comply with their +abandoned customs, while he continued in the ship. Thus he fell before +temptation. + +One day in the midst of his merriment, he recollected an advice which +I had solemnly given him. It was this: When sinners entice thee, +consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of the cabin, threw +himself on his bed, and wept bitterly. He cried out, (but not so loud +as to be heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my worthy mother +have said, had she witnessed my conduct for days past. On his return +to the cabin, the sadness of his countenance was observed by the +company; they laughed heartily and assured him that his reluctance to +join them in what they termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of +education: that he must endeavour to banish all his fears of futurity, +and mind present enjoyment. These and similar observations gradually +unhinged the principles of young George, and before reaching their +destined port, his checks of conscience were almost gone. What a +dreadful state, when man's conscience ceases to be his reprover! Men +are often glad when they obtain this deliverance, but the infatuation +is as shocking to a pious mind as to see a man in flames rejoicing in +the heat which will infallibly consume him. After the arrival of +the ship, we all went ashore; and George was soon fixed in a very +advantageous situation for money making. When the first Sabbath +arrived, he protested against transacting business on that day, +declaring that he had never been accustomed to any thing of that kind. +They advised him to labour hard seven days in the week, that he might +return sooner to the country from whence he came; and at length +prevailed on him to conform to their infidel practices. I told him +that for all these things God would bring him into judgment; that he +was like the rest of the wicked, who waxed worse and worse; that +he did not love Jesus Christ, else he would keep his commandments, +notwithstanding all the raillery and reproach to which he was exposed. +I warned him that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ before men, +of him would he be ashamed in the presence of his Father and the holy +angels. + +In a few months he became as wicked and abandoned as any on the +island. He made a present of me to a poor native, who could read a +little English. I frequently conversed with him, but he could +not understand what I said. He often desired me to speak to his +companions. A few were greatly affected with what I said. They often +called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly said my words made them very +happy, they desired to go to that happy world which I commended so +highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus to take them to it. An old +slave creeped in one day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for +very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus +came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. He is able to +save unto the very uttermost all who come unto God through him. The +black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, Good book! tell me good news! +Like the Ethiopian eunuch, he went away rejoicing. + +After some years I was sent for in great haste to visit my old +proprietor George, who by his intemperance was brought to the gates +of death. In his affliction he remembered me. I told him fools make a +mock at sin, but sin finds them out. God had been long angry with him +every day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. He said that bad +company had been his ruin: that by following their example he had +destroyed a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle +companions had all forsaken him; they could not bear the thought of +death. Had I my days to begin again, said he, I would flee from a +swearer or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He prayed fervently +that God would forgive his iniquity for the sake of his Son Jesus +Christ. His fever increased, and in a few days he went the way of all +the earth. + +After this I became the inmate of a respectable family which had +long been on the island. The master and mistress were professors of +religion, but during their residence in the island they had neglected +many of its most important duties. + +At length one of their children became ill and died. They came to me +for consolation. I gave them to understand, that it was because they +had gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their affliction +was designed to call them back to duty. They were at length persuaded +of their error, and praised God that he had loved them so much as to +chastise them. They now strove to serve God with all their hearts. +They listened to me when I told them that they should instruct their +children in religion on every proper occasion, both when they sat in +the house and when they walked by the way. The youth of that family +became at length distinguished throughout the island for every +virtuous and amiable quality. + +But what did more to make religion respected in that house, was the +practice of family prayer. I was brought out night and morning, and +permitted to speak before all the family, which was seated around the +room in a respectful and attentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more +effect than on these occasions. I addressed every member of the family +in their turn. I commanded the parents to treat their children with +mildness, and the children to obey their parents. I told the little +ones that Christ took little children in his arms and blessed them; +and bade the servants do their duty to their master, and the master to +be kind to his servants. And when my instructions were finished, all +in the house united in singing a hymn to God; and I believe they +sometimes made melody in their hearts. When they had sung, my master +would kneel and offer up a humble prayer to God. These exercises +caused harmony to prevail throughout a numerous family. I observed +also that although the inhabitants of the island did not relish my +master's piety, yet he every day obtained more and more of their +respect, as his piety increased. + +I have lived many years, and have seen all those children grown up (I +believe through my instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by the +bed-side of their parents when the messenger Death came to call them +away. I spoke to them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabitants, +who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not day nor night. They cried, +"Lord Jesus, come quickly," and ascended to glory. + +I have always been a faithful friend to all who have sought +acquaintance with me. I will be faithful to thee, reader! I will show +thee the only path that leads through this world to heaven. Follow my +instructions, and you will arrive there in safety. + + + +END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Village in the Mountains; +Conversion of Peter Bayssiere; and History of a Bible, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 10831.txt or 10831.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/3/10831/ + +Produced by Renald Levesque and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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