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TIIEOLOG!CALSEV!NARI

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REMARKS

ON THE

VAUDOIS OF PIEMONT,

DURING AN EXCURSION In the Summer oflS^5»

REV. J. L. JACKSON, M.A.

LONDON :

PRINTED FOR T. CADELL, STRAND.

1826.

Printed by R. Woodward, Weymouth.

"And they shall prophesy a thousand two " hundred and threescore days, clothed in " sackcloth." Rev. xi. 3.

" Nonnihil etiam ad horum Waldensium " confirmandam tolerandamque sectam confert, " quod prceter haec, quae contra fidem reli- " gionemque nostram assumunt, in reliquis " ferme puriorem quam caeteri Christian! vi- " tarn ag-unt. Non enim nisi coacti jurant, " raroque nomen Dei in vanum proferunt» " promissaque sua bona fide implent, et in " paupertate pars maxima degentes Apostoli- " cam vitam, doctrinamque servare se solos " protestantur." Claudius Seisellius.

PEIITGETOIT

ADVERTISEMENT.

To the South-West of the City of Turin, and under that part of the Cottian Alps which separates Piemont from Dauphin e in France, are still to be found the descendants of the ancient Waldenses^ — a people, not only inter- esting from the length and severity of their Persecutions, but for the Cause by which they were brought to endure them : literally may they be said to have suffered for Conscience^ sake. Mixed as the Vaudois are with seven- teen or eighteen hundred Romanists, they now amount to nearly twenty thousand souls, and are divided into thirteen different Parishes, a2

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which are scattered througheut the Valleys of Luzerne, Perouse, and >S'^. Martin, Before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, they were much more numerous : they, for instance, in- habited Luzerne, Luzernetta, Fenile, and Cam- piglione in the Valley of Luzerne ; with seve- ral towns in the Valley of the Clusone, and the Prageilato. Of the present extent of their country, abput fifty square miles, ^ very large proportion is occupied by mountains, alone rendered capable of cultivation by the most patient and laborious efforts of human indus- try. Often, during" his Excursion among the Vaudois of Piemont, has the Writer of the fol- lowing Remarks stood amazed at the little ter- races, which are formed on the shelves and crevices of rocks, bearing a scanty crop of potatoes, or buck-wheat, and which, he was assured,, had been covered with layers of earth, brovight by the peasants from the vales be- neath upon their own backs. A more hard- working, industrious people he never saw.

Of the three Valleys of Luzerne, Perouse, and St, Martin, that of Luzm-ne is the most considerable. Its width is continually vary- ing; but its length is about fourteen Italian,

or English miles : it comprises the six parishes of >S'/, Jean^ La Tour, Villar, and £obi, from East to West, along the course of the Pelice ; JRora, to the South; and Angrogne to the North. Jean Leger, in his Histoire generals des Eglises VaudoiseSy says, that the Valley of Luzerne has had, for a great length of time, as its armorial Device, a light and seven stars, with the motto. Lux lucet in tenebris ; and that from it, the Valley takes its name. To this Device Luther appears to refer in his Preface to the Vaudois Confession of Faith in the year 1535. " We should" (he declares) •' give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord *' Jesus Christ, who, according to the riches ** of his Grace, has willed, that the light of the " Gospel should shine forth in the midst of *' darkness to destroy death, and to impart « life to us."

To the North-East of the Valley of Lu- zerne, and between it and the Valley of Pe« rouse, is the parish of Prarustin: it contains two churches, St.Barthelemi, and Rocheplatte^ a mile and a half distant from each other, but under the ministry of the same Pastor, A3

VI

In the Valley of Perouse are the three pa- rishes of ^S*^. Germain, Pramol, and Pomaret ; and in the Valley of St, Martin, situated ,to the South-West of Pomaret, are Villeseche, Maneille with its annexed church of Macel, and Prali with Rodoret^

The Valley of Perouse is so caUed from the town of that name above th« point, where the Germanesca torrent loses itself in the Clusone : it is about ten miles in length ; while the Val- ley of St, Martin cannot be reckoned less than thirteen. This latter receives its name from the town of St. Martin. It is likewise termed the Valley of Balsille, on account of the fortress, celebrated in the History of the Vaudois,^ beneath the Col de Pis. **

Thus, the thirteen Parishes in the three dif- ferent Valleys, with the exception of Rora, are inclosed by tJie Clusone on the North, and the Pelice on the South : both these streams fall ipto the wandering Po.

Of the three Valleys, that of Luzerne is the most fertile and popul6us; and that of ^S*^. Martin f which is immediately under the Alps,

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and extremely narrow and mountainous, the most barren. But compared with the rich plain of Piemont, the term fertility, when ap- plied to the Valley of Luzerne itself, is to be understood in a very low and subordinate sense. This distinction the Reader is request- ed to bear constantly in mind, if mention should be made, in the following- Remarks, of the Productions in its several Parishes. The Scenery however in the Valleys is often perfectly beautiful ; especially at Angrog-ne, Rora, Prarustin, and Pramol,--to all of which the access is by mountain-passes, thickly, clothed with Spanish-chesnut, beech, and other fine timber trees.

The Reader is now presented with an Ab- stract of the Population, and Productions of the thirteen Parishes in the three Valleys of Luzerne, Perouse, and St. Martin r—

Vlll

PARISHES.

VALLEY OF LLZERNE.

La Tour, .. St. Jean, .. Villar, . . , .

Bobi,

Rora, .. . . , Angrog-ne,

PRARUSTIN.

St. Bartlielemi, . . Kocheplatte, . . . .

VALLEY OF PEROUSE.

St. Germain, Pramol, . . . . Pomaret, ...

VALLEY OF ST. MARTIN.

1,600 1,900 3,000 2,000 600 2,700

300 70

100 80 60

120

PRODUCTIONS.

Mulberry trees,vine8,vTheat,

chesnuts, and forage. The same, but in greater

abundance. Wheat, rye, chesnut*, and

forage : few vines. Rye, buck-wheat, chesnuts,

and forage. Wheat, rye, chesnuts, and

forage. Rye, btick-wbeat, chesnuts,

and forasre.

1,400 50 400 30

900

1.100

950

Ville-seche,

Maneille,andMacel, Prali, and Rodoret,

TotaS^.,

MulWrry tre«a,vlne»,wWe«t,

and chesnuts.

Mulberry trees,vines,wheat,

and chesnuts. Wheat, rye, a few vines,

and forage. Mulberry trees,vines,wheat,

and chesnuts.

1,500 240 Vines, wheat, rye, and

chesnuts. 650 330 Rye, buck-wheat, potatoes,

and forage. 1,250 155 The same, but still more

scantily.

19,850 1,735

ix:

Each of the above places has a Church for the Protestants, and another for the Romanists; but that for the accommodation of the former is, in general, too small, and in some instances, as at Pomaret, Macel, and Rodoret, in a ruined and dilapidated condition.

It was during the last Summer, that the Writer visited all the thirteen Parishes in the Valleys of Piemont, and formed an acquaint- ance with each one of their several Pastors. In the hope of strengthening the Lnpression, which has already been happily made in be- half of the poor persecuted Vaudois, he now ventures to offer the result of his Observations to the notice of an intelligent and liberal Bri*» tish Public.

Weymouth, 1st January, 1826.

*'- i

REMARKS, &c.

TURIN.

^d June, 18*25. About six o'clock this evening, I arrived safely, and, thank God! in good health at Turin by the Diligence from Milan, a heavy, lumbering carriage, which holds nine persons in the inside, on three benches, three and three. I never wish to travel by such another. Yet the inconveni- ence of it is not worth mentioning, except from the loss of time. The distance from Milan is only ninety Italian, or English miles, which I have been nearly two days in accom- plishing ; though to-day, with my fellow- travellersj I was routed up at three in the morning to perform the Journey hither from Navarro, sixty miles !

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Navarro is an episcopal city, and has its Cathedral : it has also its ramparts going en- tirely round it ; but withal, is shabby, and ill-built. The situation appears decidedly unhealthy, with its rice-plantations,, and wa- ter-meadows. I observed, from the wall of the ramparts yesterday evening, vapours stream- ing along the low swampy grounds in all directions.

Between Milan and Turin the counti'y is fn general flat, but remarkably well cultivated : in fact, the whole of the plain of Piemont is said to produce six times its own seed. I every-where saw,- in small inclosures, conti- nued rows of Mulberry-trees, from which men were gathering the leaves, and actually strip- ping the branches bare, for the purpose of feed- ing the silk-won»s.

At Bofalora we crossed the Tecino ; and the Doira at Chivasso, Civitas Romanoruni, near which place it falls into the Po ; over the Doira, there is a very handsome stone bridge of six arches, the work of Bonaparte,—" with- " out whom," said one of my fellow-travellers, a Turinese, " we never should have had it."

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So muclj has been done by Bonaparte for the northern part of Italy, that I am not surprised his memory is, to a degree, respected; parti- cularly, when the grossness and severity of the Austrian and Sardinian governments are taken into account. The latter part of the road to Turin from Vercelli acquires more in- terest from the distant view of the Alps, and their snowy summits. Mount Rosa is clearly visible, towering over the rest of the chain.

The companions of my expedition from Mi- lan were four Italians, who slept the greater part of the way, and were altogether insigni- ficant men ; a young Greek from the island of Zante ; a pleasing Frenchwoman, and her little girl of four years of age, proceeding to Lyons, but commonly residing near Como ; and a MiUtaire, I fastened for some time on the Greek, but could get scarcely any inform- ation out of him; he seemed quite unedu- cated. Of the Greek cause, however, I was glad to hear him speak with confidence : the Turks he was pleased to call BovoJii; and declared, that his countrymen, if left to them- selves, and not restricted in their operations B

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by the other powers of Europe, must be suc- cessful, and ultimately prevail.

I found the Militaire to be indeed a most extraordinary personage ! He was a Pole by birth, who, according- to his own account, had risen to the rank of General of Division in the French Service under Bonaparte. For some time, I did not give him the smallest credit for any one word he uttered ; but only thought him a bold, impudent adventurer. Yet he was known by several people on the road, who called him General, and he certainly showed us two scars out of the eighteen^ which he said that he had received in various parts of his body ; one in his breast, and ano- ther in the neck. He would freely have made more exhibitions, if I had not requested him to desist from any further scrutiny. By his own report, he had begun his military career in Russia, under the Empress Catharine: he then joined Koskiusko, and was engaged in the battle of Praga. Having escaped there, he •was whisked off, as a delinquent, by Catharine to Siberia; from Siberia he was sent, on the ac- cession of the Emperor Paul, with the Russian army against Persia. At his return from Per-

15

sia, he appears to kave had enough of the Rus- sian service, and to have entered that of France. In this last, he accompanied Bonaparte to E^•ypt ; was subsequently present at the battle of Marengo ; at those of Austerlitz, Jena, Freid- land, and many more ; and lastly, at Waterloo. The most interesting part of his character seem- ed to be his attachment to Bonaparte, wiiich, I am inclined to think, was real and sincere : J say interesting because faithfulness to a be- nefactor, under any circumstances, is so. When I asked him, if he was employed by the French Government, he replied with feeling, "Non, Monsieur, J'ai perdu mon Maitre." He now resides principally at Bologna on the property, which he had purchased par la munificence de V Entpereur^ But alas ! his conversation was often full of impiety, which I did my ut- most to check*

The Frenchwoman gave me the idea of being a conscientious Romanist : she was lamentably ignorant, having never read a single chapter of the Bible ! Her child, a nice young creature, repeated on the first evening her prayers in the Diligence, and though she continually crossed herself, I began to think of my own dear little B 2

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Girl, wlio, blessed be God, is brought up in a purer Faith. How deeply is the system of Po- pery ingrafted on the members of the Roman church, old and young ! This child exclaimed more than once, ^' Giuro per la Santa Polog-na,'^ a Saintess of the Papistical Calendar, and tliQ Patroness of the village, in which her mother and she usually reside.

On the immediate entrance from the Porta Milanese, Turin is mean, and in no respect in- viting-; but the Diligence, in its passage to the Office, soon began to roll through handsome streets, and squares of very large dimensions : one of these was la Piazza del Palazzo, I am now settled in the Pension Suisse ; my room looking into the garden of the Palazzo Carig- nano, which is formal, and in character with the grand exterior of the Palace itself.

4th June. Thousfh Turin is far less inter- esting than Milan, I have yet found some few 'vhihilia. In my morning's walk to-day, I went again to the great Square, la Piazza del Palazzo, from which the principal streets, and the roads to Milan, France, Nice, and Rome diverge : the Royal Palace forms one side of

17

it. Thence I proceeded to the Strada Nuova, the Piazza di San Carlo, and afterwards to the Cathedral, — a low, heavy building, with cir- cular arches, and vast massive pillars. Its ereat attraction is commonly considered la Cappella del Santo Sudario, built of black marble, also not a little cumbrous, immediately behind tlie high altar. In its centre, under the cupola, by the windows of which it is dim- ly lighted, is an altar, which bears a cryvStal case, inclosing the Sndario, or Napkin, sup- posed to have been used by our Lord at the time of his Crucifixion: this precious relic is however not exposed to the g-aze of the vulgar, except when the Pope himself may happen to be at Turin. And he then displays it. At all other times, it is kept concealed in three dif- ferent chests, one within the other ; the w hole being deposited in the crystal case.

In a side chapel of the Cathedral, a priest was saying Mass in the usually low, mumbling- tone, with which the public services in the Koman church are performed : about eighty persons were present. I looked at many of the little books of devotion, w hich they had in their hands, and found them frequently to b3

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differ from each other : of those, M'hfch were alike, some were reading* at the middle of them, and some at the end. One poor woman seemed particularly attentive to the prayers for the Dead,

On quitting the Cathedral, I called at the principal Bookseller's shop in the Strada Nuo- va, and, after making a few trifling purchases, I asked the man, an intelligent kind of a per- son, "Whether the people could follow the " priests in the churches, even when they " spoke audibly, and were distinct in the per- " formance of the services V^ His answer was, " How could they ? since the services were in " Latin, which so few understood." "This " then," I added, " is the reason, why one per- " son in the church uses this book ; and ano- " ther, that." He replied, "Yes." He after- wards showed me a variety of small prayer books, and devotional exercises, in common use among the Romanists; assuring me, that he sold very few Missals. There was not a single copy of the Bible in his shop, not even the Vulgate, large as his stock of other books seemed to be !

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I should, however, remark, that at Milan a greater degree of liberality is manifested, in the Exhibition of Relics, tlian at Turin. At the extremity of the Choir, and suspended from the vaulted roof of the magnificent Ca- thedral in the former city, il Dnomo, there is always burning- a lustre of five branches, near the case of Rock-Crystal, with its golden ray^-, which contains the most precious Relic, — a hit of ticisted iroTif thought to have been part ot" one of the Nails, that was used also at the Crucifixion of our Lord. Now, this J^ail re- mains contimially exposed to the adoration of the people ! Still it is not unworthy of notice, that the Cathedral at Milan is not the only church, which can boast of a similar treasure. The church at Monza possesses another of these Nails : the abbey of St. Denys has a third, which was deposited \\\ it by Charles the Bald, Otho sent a fourth to Boleslaus, King of Poland, in the year 1001, which is y^ visible in the Cathedral at Cracow. A fifth is to be seen in the Abbey of St. Maxa- mill at Treves; and a sixth in the church of Santa Patricia at Naples, with drops of blood upon it. The Hospital at Sienna, the Abbey at xludechs ia Bavaria, the churches of the

00

Holy Cross at Rome, at Aix la Cliapelle, at Carpentra, — all lay claim to like Relics. And many, many more. — Again : the Emperor Con- stantine is reported to have enchased in the pommel of his sword one of the Nails ; and finally, another is credibly affirmed to have been put into a lance, now preserved at Nu- remburg-, by order of Otho the Great. True it is, that a difference exists among learned men — and the most learned occasionally differ — about the number of these Nails. Some as- sert, that there were three; some, four. Others again have surmised, that a little Confusion has arisen on the subject, by mistaking the true Nails for those which have served, from time to time, for the martyrdom of Saints. This opinion seems, on the whole, to be most credible. But the subject must be worked up at home, when I shall have rather more leisure, and be able to consult the valuable Libraries at Weymouth, and Dorchester ; more especial- ly, the folios of Liutprandius ; Koehlerus de impris. sacra lancea, g. 4; Andr,de Saussay; aiid, above all. Magus de Clavis Dominicis^ cum Gimcrackii Notis, et Variorum^ — Must now eo to dinner*

The repast at the table d'hote being" con- cluded, I visited the Library belonging- to the University at Turin. It consists of four rooms, one of which is filled with M.S.S. I in(j[uired after M. S. S. of the Sacred Scriptures. The oldest was sliown to me, which the Libra- rian said was of the tenth century ; but I doubt the accuracy of his information. It was a Latin Translation of the Bible, which acquires an interest from having* belonged to Thomas Aquinas, I saw likewise a M. S., Poem by Sedulius on the Passover, from a Convent at Bobi ; it was of the seventh cen- tury. The University now contains about two thousand five hundred students. I asked the Librarian, if any of the Professors were Je~ suits : he answered significantly, " One ; but perhaps we shall shortly have more." In fact, the Jesuits are getting up at Turin, as else- where. I found them regularly established at Chamberry in Savoy ; at Friburg, Sion, and Brigg, in Switzerland ; at Rho, near Milan ; and now I discover them in Piemont. They have lately succeeded in forming a College within the very walls of this City, and have already ninety students: some of them (I hear) are from Ireland, Another of their Institu-

22

tions exists at Turin, in which Professors give lectures to four hundred youths. The popu- lation of Turin amounts to one hundred thou- sand souls,

Sunday, 5th June. A blank day ! without the comfort of a Protestant place of worship ! In the morning, I remained quietly in the Ho- tel, reading and writing; and trust, that I breathed out more than one earnest Prayer for them far away, and those also who were near,. Towards the evening, 1 went for a few minutes into a church, and heard part of a Sermon : the Preacher made use of much bodily exer- tion, and, as frequently is the case in Italy, appeared to be acting somewhat al Buffo» I could not follow him in his discourse, and therefore left him. Then I took u\y solitary walk to the Po, where I passed Bonaparte's handsome stone bridge of five arches, leading to the Genoa road, — and proceeded to the Vineyard, a country villa, which belongs to the Queen of Sardinia, and which commands a fine view of Turin, and the adjacent country : it is situated on the hill, near a large Convent of Capuchins. The villa and gardens are stiff and formal; but in the latter, the Nightingales

23

were singing in full chorus^ Their peculiarly clear, tlirillina* notes could not be mistaken. I never before heard so many of them at once. However charmed as I was, 1 did not compose either Ode, or even Sonnet, upoiL them. My time for Philomelizing is past and gone.

PINEROLO.

6th June, I am now actually at Pinerolo on my way to La Tour, having come from Turin this morninsf. Thus, I have delayed delivering my letters of introduction for Turin till my return from the Valleys ; when I hope also to visit the Royal Palace, and see the Paintingrs in it.

'&'

The drive to Pinerolo, lying fifteen miles to the S.W. of Turin, is quite delightful, through a country cultivated in corn, with meadows under irrigation, and patches of flax, and vine- yards : the vines are trained, as they are in Lombardy, on frame-works, which are sup- ported by poles and poplars. 1 saw none of

24

the Horatlan marriages with the lofty elms. Mulberry-trees lined the road nearly the whole way from Turin. But the great delioht of the drive is the chain of Alps to the North and West, var3^ing continually in their form, and covered partially on their summits with snow and clouds. As we approached Pinerolo, the M'ind blew cool and fresh from them,---the weather having been for some days to my northern temperament oppressively hot.

On my arrival at Pinerolo, I strolled through the City, which is episcopal, miA took a turn on the public walk. Pinerolo contains about six thousand Inhabitants : it has ten churches, and two convents — one for Capuchins, and another for females. In the City itself there is nothing particularly attractive, though ii it be compared with a town in France of the same size, it must be considered neat, and well- built. Its shops, like those of Turin, have ar- cades before them. The most remarkable edi- fice in it is a large Barrack, which was raised by Lewis the fourteenth at the time he obtain- ed the possession of Pinerolo, and the Valley of Fenestrelle, from Victor Amadeus the sc~ cond, Duke of Savoy, for the purpose of extir- pating the Protestants in Picmont.

2-5

After my dinner at tlie Hotel, I entered the Cathedral,' a heavy buildin-, very tawdrily fitted up in its interior. The following- are Extracts from a printed paper, which I saw pasted against the sides of ten different Con- fessionals : First, from the Atti di Fede, " Credo, che nel S. S, Sacramento dell' Altare *< vi e il Corpo, Sangue, Anima, c Divinita di « Gesii Christo, sotto le Specie del Pane, e del *' Vino consecrato." Then came the Atti di ^peranza, di Cciriid, e di Pcntimento,—^\\ of which were succeeded by a Xotice from il Papa Benedetto XIII di felice Memoria in these words; '^ ila concesso Indulgenza Pie- *'naria a tutti quelJi, che si eserciteranno in " ciascun giorno per il corso del mese nelk " practica divota dei siiddetti Atti di Fede, '" Speranza, Carita, e Pentimento; da conse- *'guirsi detta Indulgenza per una volta in *' ciascun Mese, in qual di, che si elegeranno, *'a loro arbitrio, nel quale contriti di vtro ^ cuore, confessati. e communicati, pregheran- ** no il Sio-nor Iddio secondo la mente del Scm- *< mo Pontefice." And, lastly, Piu IndiilgeJi-- ''za Plenaria nel ariicolo Morte. " Le so- " pradette Indulgenze sono state cenferniate^ " ed in parte acciesciute, da Papa Benedetto c

ao

" XIV, suo Succesjsore, con facultii aiiclie di *' poterle applicare in suflragio delle Aninie " del Piirgatorio, con ag-giugnere V Indiilgenza " di sette anni, ed aJtretlante <|uarantene colla *' medesiina faculta pure di applicarla ai De- ** funti, per ogni volta clie si rinoveranno fra il *' giorno i delti Alti, come appareda suo Decre- "todelIi28Gei)ai. 1756."

Hoping' to meet with better things in the Valleys, 1 called on Mons'- Monastier, a Vaii- dois, who is the proprietor of a Paper-mill in the neighbourhood, and delivered to him my letter of introduction from his brother at Lausanne: I found him a plain, intelligent tradesman. He walked with me round Pine- rolo, and promised to accompany me to Pra- rustin, and the s/.r parishes in the Valleys of Perouse, and 8t. Martin, on my return to this place. From him I learn, that there are only ten Protestants dwelling at Pinerolo, and they merely by sufferance : he spoke feelingly, but mildly, of the haughtiness, and oppressive disposition of the Priests. The present Bi- shop has only been raised to the See of Pine- rolo within a few months : the last, who is now translated to Chamberry, an Archbishopric,

C7

was very hostile to the Protestants. I am in- formed that the Bishop's professional income is 25,000 francs a year, rather more than £1,000. sterling.

VALLEY OF LUZERNE.

La Tour, 1th June, This morning*, be- tween four and five, I mounted an hired Ca- leche — not very smart, but useful — and came on to this parish, distant from Pinerolo five miles. The drive was very pleasant; though, on quitting the Saluzzo road, my way was as rough and stony, as if 3/c ^^dam had never lived, and his gage had not been known. Having passed the river Ciusone, I proceeded to Briquieras, and thence to *SV. Jea7i, the first of the Vaudois parishes, in coming from Pine- rolo; when I descended from my little car- riage to see the Protestant Church, with no common interest. It is, as 3Ir. Gilly describes it, immediately opposite to that of the Roman- ists, and has the odious Skreen, which had c 2

I

28

been erected before its door by the jealousy of tjie Popish Priest. The building-, which is aitogether respectable, and sufficiently large in its present state to accommodate seven hundred persons, was built in the year 1806, while the Valleys of Piemont were subject to France.

I had scarcely copied the Inscription over the door, "A Dieu Seul Soit Gloire Eternelle- *' ment Par Jesus Christ, Amen." Rom, ch. xvi. V. 27 ; before a tall, fine-looking man present- ed himself with the key of the Chu4'ch, which he had gone to seek, on perceiving- me walk tow ards his place of worship : he opened the door, — and I went in. The Church is oval in its interior, and is fitted up plainly and neat- ly, with wooden benches for the Women on the left side, and for the Men on the right. Immediately before the Pulpit, and the Re- gent's Desk, placed against the South wall, is the Communion-table, — around which, are the sf'ats for the Elders of the Church, and one bench reserved for Strangers. On the wall, opposite the door, is the following- summary of the moral Law in large letters; "i\ime Dicu

29

" J'nn Amour supreme avec Crainte, Respect, et " Foi; Et ton Prochain comme toi m^^me. C'est •• le Sommaire de la Loi." I discovered in the Pulpit Ostervald's French Version of the Bi- ble, and the Liturgies of the Churches of G'6- neva, 1754, and Neufchatel, 1713. The Pastor jMondon uses either of them at his discretion.

Before my visit to the Church was ended, three of the Elders of St. Jean made their ap- pearance, on hearing that an Englishman was in it. They were kind, simple-minded men : they told me, .that every Sunday there are two Church-Services in their Parish ; the first be- ginning at nine in the mornings when a Sermon is preached; the second, at two in the after- noon, only for Prayers, the Reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the Singing of Psalms and Hymns. I asked them, if their Church was well filled: they answered, that it was generally quite full, and that on their Commu- nions at Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, and once more in the year, between the last and first of these festivals, there was not room for the congregation . They added, that Galleries were about to be erected for the better accom- modation of the people.. c3

30

Having' thanked my new Vaiidois acquaitit- ance for their attention, 1 was in the act of ascending- my vehicle, when my former friend came running' after me, and expressed an ear- nest wish, that I should adjourn with him to his house, and partake of such refreshment a» he could give me. I accepted his invitation very willingly. His h(>use was neat and clean, — and a bottle from the corner, quadri-' mum at least, was forthwith uncorked. I drank the health of my host, and hostess too, for she 8Gon came to greet me; and then entered into conversation. The man I found* to he quite a fine fellow,— a soldier, who had risen, under Bonaparte, to the rank of Serjeant-Major, and had expected to have been made an Officer. "However," he gaily said, "those days are " changed." On inquiry, it seemed that very few Protestants are now Officers, and those on- ly who had been appointed as such, while the Valleys of Piemont formed a part of the French Empire, and who cannot, from their past ser^ vices, be pjudently set aside.

I then turned the conversation, and asked^ if the House contained a Bible? The Reply w a!^j " Not a Bible, but a New Testament^"

This was shown me, and proved to be the Ver- sion of Ostervald : with it, was also produced a Copy of David's Psahns, with their appro- priate tunes in Music.

My host, Barthelemi Reveille, most posi- tively refused to accept any remuneration, or acknowledgment, from me, though I repeated-* ly pressed a small trifle upon him.

St. Jean is considered the richest of the Pa- rishes, belonging to tlie Yaudols of Piemont : its wheat and its wine are the the best. How- ever, the principal source of wealth to its in- habitants arises from the silk-worms, for which the mulberry-tree is carefully cultivated. I saw some o-ood meadows under irrigation.

The parish contains one Central Day-School at the village of St. Jean, and six smaller Day-Schools in the eight different hamlets, belonging to it. I may remark, that the for- mer is kept the whole year round, with the ex- ception of the two harvest-months, June and July ; but the last are only open from Novem- ber to the end of February. Boys and Girls attend them all indiscriminatelt/.

32

On coming to La Tour, one mile from Sf. Jean, I passed the T^ngrogne, a brav/ling- tor- rent, nearly at its junction with the Police. La Tour appears, like St. Jean, a straggling, ill-built village, though it is really a kind of market-town for the whole Valley of Luzerne. The approach to it is very striking: indeed, the further I have penetrated into the Valley, the more am I delighted with its fine moun- tains on each side, covered as they are with chesnut-trees. I have now established myself in the nice little Inn, the Bear ; where I find greater cleanliness, and appearance of com- fort, than I have seen in any large Hotel for many weeks. I may go to bed to night with perfect confidence; my bed being tidy, and my room giving me the idea, that ii is, from time to time, washed and swept : I mean there- fore to make my present quarters my chief resting-place, during' my continuance in the Valley of Luzerne.

La Tour, June Stii, After employing my- self for three hours this morning in reading, and preparing my list of Questions for Mr. Bert, the Pastor of La Tour, and Moderator of the Chuixhes in the Valleys of Piemont, I

33

walked through the town to the higher end of it, that I might see the ProtestaKt Church, and the House, which is designed for the Hos^ pital. Strange to say, the latter was built by an Englishman, who, having made some mo- ney in the cooking line at the great City of London, came and settled in these sequest- ered Valleys : his wife was a Vaudois woman. On her death, he quitted his retirement, and again is gone into the world. If the contribu- tions, now making in Switzerland, the domin« ions of the King of Prussia, Holland, the Ne- therlands, and * England, shall permit, it is intended to purchase the House, enlarge it^ ancb fit it up for the reception of Patients, with an attendant Surgeon aud Apothecary. The estimated sum for establishing the Hospi- tal is £4,000. It appears to me, that the situ- ation of the Building is good, being sufficient- ly raised from the lower part of the Valley. The House is just above the Church, and con- sists, at present, of kitchen, cellars, and ten other rooms about sixteen feet square each of

*Thesiini, collected in Eng-land, bcfoce the first of January,, ie:G, rather exceeded i'3,090.

34

them. Whether this Hospital, when comple- ted, could much benefit the Vaudois in the Talleys of Perouse and St. Martin, remains to ha proved : from the mountainous nature of the country, I doubt the fact. There is an ex- cellent Garden to the House,

The Church at La Tour is in neatness and size inferior to the new building at St. Jean : it may however hold seven hundred persons, since there is a deep Gallery against its North wall : it is an oblong, iitted up with benches for the women on the left side of the entrance- door, and for the men on the right. The Pul- pit, and the Regent's Desk, with the Seats for the Elders of the Church, and the Strangers, are, all of them, similarly placed as at St. Jean : The Order of the Public Services for the Sabbath is likewise the same. In the Pulpit were Ostervald*s Version of the Bible, and Copies of the two Liturgies, the Geneva and Neufchatel,of the dates of 1754 and 1713. A large Folio Ostervald's Bible, and the Neuf- cliatel Liturgy were in the Regent's Desk. The Church Services among the Vaudois of Piemont are in the French language, wkich 1

35

am surprised to find* so generally spoken even by the poorest persons, with ^vhoni 1 have conversed ; as neither of the two Valleys, Luzerne and St. Martin, was ever actually in the possession of the French. The proximity to France can scarcely account for the fact; their Piemontese neighbours only making use of their own corrupt Italian.

This afternoon I called on Mr, Bert, and sat with him and Madame son Epouse for two liours. They are a most kind, hospitable couple, pressing- me heartily to go and take up my abode at their own house during' my stay at La Tour. I declined the invitation for fear of occasioning" trouble ; since they have only one maid-servant, though he is Moderator of all the Churches. Mr. Bert appears to me a pleasing, intelligent man. We soon entered into conversation, which we kept up incessantly, in despite of his deafness. The subjects, of course, related to the Vaudois; but as he promised to give nie, in writing, answers to my somewhat long^ list of Questions, I will only note one or two

*TIie g'enePMl use of the Fieiu'h language in the Valleys is afterwards explained by Mr. Beit's sixtieth Answer to my list of Questions.

36

Circumstances, which he mentioned. When 1 asked him, if the Papists were now troublesome; he replied, Not directly ; yet that the spirit of Proselytism loas strony amony them. He spoke with some indignation of the following* cases. A dissolute Protestant, who had squandered all his property, left the parish of La Tour w ithin the last three months, and turned Papist ; he abandoned his wife, but, as f ithcr, claimed his children, and gave them up to the Priests, to be placed in a school, which is under their control at Pinerolo. The mother remonstra- ted, and Mr. Bert, at her request, wrote to the Bishop of Pinerolo, that the children might be delivered to her. He shewed mc the episco- pal answer, which was that of a Jesuit, migh- ty civil, but defending the father's conduct on a relio'ious ti'round. From secret information, which he had received, Mr. Bert had no doubt whatever but that the Bishop had g'ivcn the man money at the time of his apostacy. Ano- ther proof of the spirit of Proselytism he also particularized. In the neighbouring parish of AngTOgne, the poor Romanists absolutely com- plained to Mr.'Goante, the Protestant minis- ter, that their Priest did not now give them any thing, but that he reserved ail his alms pour les noiweaux venus.

37

On speaking to Mr. Bert respecting" the Royal Bounty from Engl^tnd, and expressing to him a hope, that it would ere long be restored to the Vaudois Pastors, he observed, on the sup* position such should be the case, that the Synod had come to a resolution of applying more than one third of it to the following pur- poses. Instead of consulting their own indi- vidual worldly advantage^ the Pastors meant to establish tico new Parishes in the Vklley of St. Martin, by seperating Macel from Maneille, and Rodoret from Prali, to which they are at present annexed. They also intend, by build- ing an house for the Pastor of Prarustin, now residing at Rocheplatte, to enable him to fix his abode at St. Barthelemi, the more populous of the two villages, which he has under his care, and where his presence is most needed. All this, methinks, is rather fine in a body of men, who, on an average, i^ceive but barely eleven hundred francs (rather more than forty pounds sterling) for their yearly professional income, which, with the larger number of them, is their sole Property ! The Pastors' Income is made up of five hundred francs, granted annually by the Sardinian Government to each individualj^^an Allowance of the same value

D

38

from the English Society for propagating" the Gospel, — and a small Pittance from the re- spective pari.«hes. Mr, Bert receives from La Tour sixty four francs ; but this sum is a trifle less than is usually paid. — I am surprised to hear from Mr. Bert, that the Ordination of the Vaudois Ministers now takes place at Geneva, or Lausanne, where their Education has been received. When presented to a Parish, the Minister is only introduced to the Congrega- tion by the Moderator, the Assistant Moderator, or some other Pastor already established in the Valleys.

Q Mr. Bert informs me, that the usual manner,

in w^iich the Landlord contracts with his Te- nant in the Valleys, is, that the latter shall pay a certain sum for the farm-house, stable, barn, and meadows; and that he shall then divide equally the produce of corn, wine, and silk, with the Proprietor. A labourer in husbandry earns fifteen sous a day during winter; and in summer, twenty-five : his average wages through the year are eighteen. The landed properties are generally very small, consisting only of a few acres. Poor rates are quite unknown.

39

N.B. The flies are swarming around me, and are, at the present moment, so troublesome, that 1 wish them all fast asleep: they have incessantly been buzzing about my hair, ears, eyes, and nose, for the last hour. Hot as it is, I am obliged to sit with my travelling cap on my head.

La Tour, Wth June, For the two past days, I have not been able to commit a single line to my Journal, as I was entirely engaged ia an excursion to Villar and Bobi. Indeed I felt so much fatigued yesterday evening on my return to La Tour, that I could only eat my trout from the torrent of Angrogne, drink my coffee, and betake myself to my pillow. I have now slept eight hours consecutively , without let or intermission, — and am myself again.

At seven o'clock on Thursday morning I started on a mule, having by the advice of my good Landlady prepared myself against the heat, which was often oppressive, by taking an umbrella. By the bye, I have no particular affection for the mulish race. However, on an animal of the most stubborn kiiid I went, as- cending the Valley of Luzerne, the v/hole way d2

40

to Bobi\ along the Pelice, which flows benoatfe through its rocky bed.

The country, near the little town of La Tour^ has vines in small inclosiires, which are lined with Mulberry-trees : wheat and rye also ap- pear in the bottom of the Valley towards Villar^ I stopped opposite the crag of Castelluze, forming' a part of the Vandelin Mountain, on the right side of the road, to make inquiries of some peasants, who were at work in an adjoining field, respecting- a Cavern, cele- brated, in the History of the Vaudois, for having concealed a party of the poor perse- euted Protestants, at the close of the seven- teenth Century. They knew no tidings of it themselves; but directed me to an old man, who was employed in repairing a stone-wall, near the spot, for information. He (they told me) was very deep in history. In fact, I found him much more intelligent. He was altogether pleased to enter on the subject, and, with con- siderable animation, gave me to understand, that many of the Fugitives had taken pos- session of the Cavern, on the further side of the Castelluze, and that they had been guard- ed by the Piemontese troopy, who hoped ta

41

gtarve them into submission ; but that they had discovered a way of egress in a different direc- tion from that in which their enemies were stationed, and that they had effected their es- cape by it.

At the entrance from Villar, three miles from La Tour, and two from Bobi, 1 observed vineyards high up on the mountains, but in small quantities; they continue, here and there, to Bobi, where they almost cease. — 1 saw the first Cretin in the Valleys, between La Tour and Villar,— a sad, wretched looking man : he was goitreux, and appeared to be a complete Idiot.

• In Villar there are two Churches. The first, which met my eye, was that of the Protest- ants, and, like those at La Tour and St. Jean, has its modest little tower : the other belongs to the Romanists, for they possess their church also in each one of the Vaudois parishes. I copied the Inscription over the door of the Protestant Church, " J'entrerai dans ta Maison, « et de rendrai raes hommages," — and proceed- ed to the Presbytery of the Pastor Gaij, which is very near. I found him, his wife, and four ^ d3

42

cTiiIcTreiiy just sitting* down to breakfast : tlie thvel ling, and furniture are of the most humble description, and far inferior to the common farm-houses in England, and their contents. The breakfast was likewise humble, — Polento, and goat's milk and water for the children,. with the addition of coffee for the parents^ Though I carried with me no letter of Intro- duction, they received me kindly and hospita- bly. They are a quiet, amiable couple, — he appearing however of a pensive, and rather me- lancholy turn of mind. I was asked cordially to partake of their fare ; and Mrs. Gay went immediately to the kitchen to get another dark brown earthern plate and basin for me, before I could say that I had already breakfasted. As it was absolutely needful, that I should ei- tJier eat, or drink in the house, I took a little coffee.

The family-breakfast being OTer, — and ail things were neat and clean, — the Pastor Gay. informed me, that the Parish of Villar is one of the most populous in. the Valleys of Piemont ; that it consists of three thousand Protestants, and that the number of Romanists in it does nat exceed one hundred ^ that there are sevea

4a

Winter Day-Scliools for boys and girTs, in the^ different hamlets, from the beginning of No~^ vember till the end of February, — and one Cen- tral Day-School at Villar for ten months iob the year.

We went to the Church, and found the Re-. gent standing at his desk, and in the act of commencing the Service, which he performs every Thursday morning at ten o'clock : he had a large Ostervald's Bible before him, with practical Reflections at the end of each chap- ter. He read very audibly the fifth chapter of Ezekiei, with the accompanying Reflections, and repeated a Prayer for all sorts and condi- tions of men ; when he gave out the last six verses of the hundred and ninth Psalm, — and he, the Pastor, and the ten other persons pre- sent, all men, joined in the Singing, in full and sonorous voices. The whole Service was con- cluded with the Blessing, delivered by the Regent.

Besides this Thursday's Service, which I am informed is much better attended in the Au- tumn, Winter, and Spring months, there are, both at Villar and Bobi, Morning and Evening

44

Prayers in the Churches every day through- out the year, with the exception of June, July, and August ; the people then being, for the most part, on the mountains, with their cattle and sheep.

The Church at Villar, which is neat, and very plainly fitted up, appears to be rather larger than that at La Tour ; it has Galleries, and may accommodate eight hundred persons: the arrangement for the men and women is the same as 1 had before seen in the two other buildinors at La Tour and St. Jean. In the Pulpit were Ostervald's Bible, and the Geneva and Neufchatel Liturgies. The Regent con- ducts all the week-day Services.

Having taken leave of the Pastor Gay and his wife, I advanced towards the head of the Valley to Bobi, which, like the parish of Prali in the Valley of St. Martin, borders upon Dau- phine in France. The Scenery becomes bold- er and bolder the whole way from La Tour, and near Bobi is quite impressively grand. Before entering Bobi, I passed the Subiasco torrent, which falls into the Police. Nature here seems scanty of her productions ; except

45

patches of rye, in the immediate vicinity of Bobi, and, occasionally, on little temices in the mountains of thin earth and sand, — with potatoes in the gardens,— I saw no article of human vegetable food, but what the fine Spanish chesnut-trees afford. These last are mostly depended upon by the poor people.

On my arrival at Bobi, I repaired instantly to the Presbytery of the Pastor Muston, which is a kind of Swiss cottage, having an outside Gallery in the front of it. I was again received most hospitably : indeed, I begin to think, that the term hospitable will often appear in my Journal ; at least, I shall not fastidiously be disposed to vary it, if the treatment of the Pastors be similar to what I have already ex- perienced. I was earnestly pressed to take some refreshment ; when having eaten a crust of bread, and drunk some wine and water, Mr. Muston and I fell into full talk. He in- formed me, that the population of his parish exceeds two thousand souls, of which number about eighty are Romanists. "Not" said he " that these last are all natives of my Parish; " but as a station for the Douane is placed at " Bobi, from its nearness to France, the Pie-

46

" montese Government -send iheir soldiers, " with their wives and children, to me." At Bobi there are one Central, and six Winter Day Schools, on the same indiscriminate plan of Instruction for boys and girls, and during the same months, as I have before men- tioned for the Parishes of Villar and St. Jean, I asked Mr. Muston, whether his poor people were sufficiently supplied with Copies of the Holy Scriptures, and whether they were capable of using them ? He assured me, that with very few exceptions, all his parishioners, both old and young, could read. He then pro- duced a book, giving an account of a pastoral visit, which he had made two years ago in the six different Quarters of Bobi, for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent his flock were in possession of the Sacred Volume. From this book, and another paper which he showed me, I should infer, that nearly every family in his Parish has a Copy of Ostervald's Version of the New Testament, and that about one^third of the families is supplied with the whole Bi- ble. I am disposed to think, from my con- versation with the Pastor Gay, that there is a like provision of the Scriptures for the poor at Villar*

47

These inquiries being over, Mr. IMuston showed me his Church, capable of holding from six to seven hundred persons ; but which I was sorry to discover in a shabby, and mean con- dition : windows were dropping in their case- ments, and paper was substituted for glass in the squares of them. My friend, the Pastor of Bobi, is apparently about the same age as Mr. Gay, between forty and fifty years : he seems an easy, open hearted man, — of very good na- tural abilities, and strong mind; but perhaps a little rusted from his retirement, the absence of collision in society, and the want of books. By his Parishioners, he and his nice w ife are greatly beloved. As in the Protestant Churches of Switzeriand,the number oi CommunicaJits at the Lord's Supper appears to me very large at Bobi, and Yillar ; Bobi having usually five hundred and fifty, when the Sacrament is ad- ministered ; and Villar, seven hundred. Both the Pastors, Muston and Gay, have the charac- ter, in the Valley of Luzerne, of being attentive Ministers of the Gospel.

I might mention, yet I am sure with no feel- ing of disrespect, that on my arrival at Bobi, Mr. Muston was employed in kneading a large

46

hutch of bread for his family ; and that for our dinner, because there was no meat in the house, and even village, his excellent wife, really a most pleasing woman, made, with her own hands, three different puddings. We also, strange to say, ate our repast in the bed-chamber, as being the best room in the house : a large bed was placed against one of the walls, and a double cradle, of sufficient capacity to hold two children, top and bottom, at each side of it. Still the room was clean and airy : no monstro- sities, nor unsightly objects were visible.

On Thursday night I slept at the little Inn in Bobi,-— in sober truth, a wretched hovel, which I shall not easily, nor soon forget. O the bitings, and the blisters !

Yesterday morning*, on the conclusion of a slender breakfast at my Inn, I strolled through Bobi, which, no less than Villar, appeared small and deserted : the fact is, that the popu- lation of these Parishes is at all times widely scattered in their several hamlets ; but now that the sheep and cattle are on the mountains, men, women, and children are gone there also, and scarcely twenty people are left in the

49

two villages. During this Migration, which commonly lasts from two to three months iu the Summer season, the poor people dwell in the Chalets, or mountain-hovels.

When I adjourned to the Presbytery, I re- ceived from Mr. Muston a gentle rebuke for not having taken my breakfast with his family* His friendly attack being averted by a few questions, respecting the History of the Vau- dois in the time of their severe Persecution by Lewis the fourteenth, and Victor Aniadeus the second, he proposed to me a short walk, that I might myself view part of the track of his countrymen, on their Return to the Valley of Luzerne, in the month of August, 1689; when having left Switzerland, and crossing the lake of Geneva, they landed in Savoy, and came under Arnauld, at once their Captain and their Pastor, to the Balsille ; and thence to the Col Julien, the Sarcena, and Bobi. It was, as I understood, to be a walk of about an hour and a half; but Me were out, ascending and de- scending, from eleven o'clock in the forenoon till past six in the evening',^being exposed the whole time to a burning sun. However, £

50

thank God ! I have not suffered from the ex- pedition : my companion had not the most distant notion of being tired. We first mounted le Fuijj on which I could not but admire the noble Chesnut-trees, and many of the fine winding-s of the mountain-paths : afterwards, we succeeded in reaching- the Serre-criiel, its real name; and then descended (o facil is de- scensus !) by the Sarcena, At this last place, my companion spoke enthusiastically, but iu somewhat of a martial and mountainous spirit, of an attack, which his countrymen, at their return to the Valley of Luzerne, had made on their enemies; driving them down the Sarcena, where they had been posted, and killing- them to a man. Hating war, as I hope on principle, I could not (I am afraid) help enter- ing, to a certain degree, into his feelings ! In the same temper, he dc? fended the Tirata, a shooting with rifles at a mark, which is still kept up, as a national custom of very ancient date, and which is now practised once every year, in each separate parish of the Valleys, on a Sunday afternoon : here, I strongly con- demned the breach of the Sabbath. In my aerial expedition, (for on the Serre-'Cruel we

51

were on high ground,) I felt glad to have an opportunity of visiting the Chalets, in which the shepherds and herdsmen dwell, with their families, during the summer months. We en- tered three of them. 1 never before saw sueh abodes of human wretchedness, in which men, women, and children were exposed to so many privations, and were sunk in so low a state of poverty. Roofs covered with turves, and stone- walls loosely put together, without lime, or mortar of any kind, were their only shelter ! Still they received their Pastor with cheerful smiles, and a most hearty welcome ; inquiring affectionately after Mrs. Muston and the chil- dren, and producing their best, in an instant, for our refreshment — a thin sour wine, and black rye bread. I shall long remember one old woman, in particular, the wife of an Elder in the parish of Bobi, who went most eagerly to a small chest, and took from it four apples, which, it appeared, she had long kept, but which she presented to us with all her heart pour nous rafraichtr an voyage. Moreover, we were followed with her blessings at our de- parture ! In consequence of these mountain- ous sojourniugs, Mr. Muston's pastoral visits £ 2

52

are often very fatiguing ; at least, they would be so to me. But there is no Sabbath-Service, nor any other public duty performed by him, as Pastor, in the Chalets, The men, who are not very distant, come down to the Village of Bobi, to attend the Church on a Sunday : the women, and children are (I fear) without the public means of Grace during the summers- months.

After again dining at the frugal board of my kind host and hostess, I paced my mule back to La Tour, where I arrived about ten o'clock last night. The breeze had sprung up, and the close of this interesting day — " della notte il bruno " — was quite delightful, in despite of my stiff and aching bones. — Thought on them far away !

I find, that I have forgotten to remark, that mid-way between le Puy and le Serre-cruel, (crvdelissime!) Mount Viso is clearly seen, with a part of the Col d'Abriez on the opposite side of the Valley. From le Serre-cruel a most extensive prospect of the Plain of Piemont to- wards Genoa lies open to the view.

53

Tliis evening", I drank coffee with Mr. Bert, whjom I like the more, the more I see of him : he appears a man of very respectable attain- ments; his sincerity of belief I cannot doubt. In discoursing' with him on the heresies of the Geneva school, he observed with evident emo- tion ; " Thank God ! our Congregations in the " Valleys are not yet infected ! If I knew, that "any one of our Ministers preached Socinian- *• ism, I would immediately convene a Synod, " and denounce the Offender. To deny the " Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is to deny " our Redemption by Ilim. And where then " would be the hope of us, poor Sinners *?" Mr,. Bert feels deeply, and conscientiously, his re- sponsibility as Moderator. He returned me the list of Questions^ which I had put to him, relating-, more or less, to the state of the Wal- densian Church ; but wished to retain the Sug» gestions I had also ventured to offer, for his consideration, a few days longer. Both my Questions in English, and his Answers in Frenchy are verbatim as follows. I should observe, that Mr. Bert understands the English language sufficiently well to read any comiiioii book,

E 3

54

QUESTIONS.

1. Is it supposed, that any ancient M.S.S. Re- cords, or Documents, now exist, relating- to the Origin, and early History of the Wal- densian Church ?

ANSWERS. I

1. Je n'en connois point d'anterieurs a la Rentree des Vau*- dois dans leur Patrie sous Arnauld in 1689.

2. Was the Church of the Waldenses found- ed by Claudius, Bi- shop of Turin ?

2. II n'en fut pas le fondateur, mais les Vaudois, etant dans son Diocese, perse- vererent dans la Doc- trine Chretienne.

3. If not by Claudius, by whom was the Church founded *?

4. What printed His- tories of the Walden- sian Church, as to her Origin, Doctrine, and Sufferings, are deem- ed the most authentic ?

3. La tradition, et let temoignage de leurs ennemies attribuent sa fondation aux Apotres.

4. Perrin, Gil les, et Leger ; et, plus tard, Arnauld, passent pour authentiques.

55

5. Where are airy an- 5, Les M. S. S. origi- cient M. S. S. of " la naiix existent dans ki Nobla Lei^on" to be BiWiothequede Gene- seen ? ve, et (ni fallor) a Cam- bridge.

6. Where are 3Ir. 6. Mes ouvrages sont Bert's Hymns, his Li- encore inedits : mes vrede famille, and his occupations trop nom- Archives, to be pro- breuses, et ma sante, cured ? ne m'ont permis d'a-

chever ce que j'ai commence. Le Seign- eur soit mon aide.

7. What Liturgy, or 7. Celles de Geneve, Liturgies, are now in de Lausanne, et de use in the Protestant Neiichatel, pro arbi- Churches of the Val- trio Pastoris: laLitur- leys of Piemont ? gie de Geneve, dont on

se sert aux Vallees, c'est Tancienne.

8. What Creed, and 8. Le Symbole des Catechisms, are used ? Apotres, et les Cate-

chismes de Pictet, et d'Ostervald,

66

0. Is tTiere any parti- 9. Non. ciilar Confession of Faith used, besides the Apostles' Creed ?

10. Is the Doctrine, 10. Oiii. preached by the Pas- tors of the Valleys, or- thodox, and scriptu- ral ?

11. Are the Doctrines 11. Oui. of the Holy Trinity,

and the Atonement for sin by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, en- forced from the Pul- pits of the Churches ?

12. Is the State of 12. S'il n'avauce pas, Religion now advan- au moins nous nous cing- among the Pas- flattens qu'il n'est pas tors in the Valleys ? retrograde.

13. Is it advancing among the people ?

13. Nous Tesperons de I'heureux effet des Saintes Ecritures re- pandues par Ja Soci-

eie Biblique«

57

14. Have not the peo- ple suffered from their connection with the French, and from the late circumstances of the Times?

14. La Religion a eu sa crise, pendant la guerre, et la revolu-

tion, venu,

Le bien est re-

15. What is the pow- er of the Moderator over the Congreoa- tions, both over the Pastors, and over the people ?

15. Celui de veillera I'observation des arti- cles synodiques, de la discipline ecclesiasti- que, et sur I'adminis- tration desdeniers des pauvres.

16. Can the Modera- tor convoke Synods ?

16. Non, sans le con- sentment des Eglises, et la permission speci- ale du Roi, qui accorde son Patente.

17. Can a Pastor be reproved, or removed from his Cure of souls by the Synod, for un- faithful Preaching, or a vicious mode of life?

17. Oui.

58

18. How often are the Synods convened?

19. Is there any Sub- Synod, or acting coun- cil?

18, Autrefois, detrois en trois ans,^ au plus tard : maintenant, ils deviennent plus rares.

19. La Table supplee au Synode, et elle est permanente d' un Sy- node a r autre.

20. Of whom is the Sub-Synod composed, if it do exist ?

20. De trois Paste urs, dont r un est le Mode- rateur ; le second, le Moderateur-adjoint; le troisieme, le Secre- taire: plus, il-y-adeux Laiqucs.

21. Can a Pastor ex- communicate any re- fractory member of his Church?

21. Oui.

22. What is the mode of electing- a Pastor to a vacant Church ?

22. OnzeEglises, fai- sant laseconde Classe, ont le choix de leur Pasteur daus cette

5^

23. Must the election of a Pastor be confirm- ed by the Synod, or the Sub-Synod?

Classe; mais elle« ne peuvent appeler un nouveau venu, au pre- judice des deux Pas- teurs de Montague, de la premiere Classe, Prali et Maneille.

23. Lorsque le ^y- node confirme, la con- firmation est authen- tique : I'Election par la Table n'est que pro- visoire en attendant le Synode.

24. xlre there Services 24. Les Batemes s' in the Waldensian administrent dans le Church, for Baptisms, temple, ou in asdibus Marriages, and Buri- privatis, avec la Li- als ? turgie : les Marriages

se benissent au tem- ple. Liturgie, Les en- terremens sont suivis d'une Oraison fune- bre, prononcee sur le cimetiere par le Pas- teur, ou le Regent,

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25. Is Infant-Baptism in use, in the Walden- sian Church ?

25. Oui.

26. Are any public 26. Oui, dans quel- Services performed ques Paroisses. during Summer in the Chalets, on the moun- tains ?

27. What is the Popu- lation of theProtestants in the Valleys ?

27. La total it e moy- enne est de dix^-neuf c\ vingt mille.

28. Are Schools esta- 28, blished in each of the Parishes, both for boys and girls ?

Oui.

29. Are these Schools kept separately, or do both the Boys and Girls attend the same ?

29. Quelques Ecoles particulieres existent ^aet lapourles jeunes filles,auxfrais de leurs parens ; mais en gene- ral les gar^ons et les filles sont meles en- semble.

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30. Are there any Sunday-Schools ?

30. Non ; en general.

31. Are the Scliools 31. Lcs Ecoles ge- kept throughout the nerales,appelees gran- year, or only during- des, sont pour 1' annee.

the months of Winter ?

S2. Are the Sacred Scriptures constantly read in the Schools; and is the Catechism taught and explained f

sous deduction de deux mois de conge pendant I'ete: les petites Eco- les de quartier ne se tiennent(]u' en hiver.

32. Oui, pour la lec- ture : r explication de- pend de la capacite des Regents.

33. Do the Pastors usually attend the Schools ?

33, lis les visitent de terns en terns ; et la Table vient de pro- poser des Comites d' Instruction publique pour toutes les Vail ees.

34. Are the Regents 34. Oui, en gejieral, of the Churches, ex des grandes Ecoles. officio, Schoolmasters

I also ? F

i

m

35. What is the ave- 35. La Salaire des

rage Salary of the Re- Regents varie suivant

g-ents? les Eglises : partoiit,

elle est au-dessous de

leiirs fatisues.

to'

3G. Is prayer used in 36. Oiii.

the Schools ?

37. Is thei-e any 37. Non» School established in the Valleys for the daiiohters of the Pas-

tors f

38. Are the people, 38. Oui, etnon. C'est for the most part, pro- a dire, que depuis vided with Bibles '} V etablissement de la

Socitte Biblique beau- coup de families pos- sedent la Bible, mais non encore la plu- part.

39. IfnotwithBibles, 39. Oui, en general, are they provided with

the New Testament ?

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40. At what Univer- sities are the Ministers of the Valleys now edu- cated ?

40. A Lausanne, et a Geneve.

41. Are the four Stu- dents now at Lausanne, and the one Student now at Geneva, wholly supported by the Pro- testant Swiss Cantons, and by the legacy of the Dutch Merchant?

grande

par- Parens

41. En

tie ; mais les

doivent encore aj ou- ter aux pensions dont

jouissent ces Etudi- aus.

42. What is the ave- rage Income of the Pas- tors fromtheirParishes, independent of foreign aid, and their own pri- vate property ?

43. Are the Stipends of the Pastors in the thirteen Parishes, a-

4'2. Outre le fogement, (en general mauvais,) un jardin, et, dans quelques paroisses, un peu de rural, on pay© aux Pasteurs une somme qui varie de cent a deux cents francs par an.

43. Oui.

f2

64

mounting to £292 a year, regularly paid by the English Soci- ety for propagating the Gospel?

44. Is this Sum di- vided in equal, or un- equal parts, among the Pastors?

44. Inegales.

45. When was the Royal Bounty from England suspended, amounting' to £266 a year ?

45. En 1707.

46. Is there any Dutch Bounty now paid ?

46. Oui.

47. Is the number of the Protestant Parishes supposed to have been diminished in the Val- leys?

47. Non, depuis la Rentreede 1689. Mais, avant la revocation de I'Editde Nantes les E- glises du Val Cluson, et du Prageilato, fais- oient corps avee les

65

notres, ainsi que Lu- zerne, Luzernetta, Fe- nile, et Campiglione de la Vallee de Lu- zerne.

48. Do the Protestants of the Valleys now suffer from the Perse- cutions of the Papists^ and the Oppression of

the Sardinian Govern- ment ■?

48. Non, pas directe- ment.

49. Are the Protest- ants of the Valleys obli- ged to observe the festi- vals of the Roman Ca- lendar?

49. Oui,

50. Are the Protest- ants then obliged to abstain from working- in the fields, and from following their usual occupations %

F 3

50. Oui; mais non dans leurs maisons..

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51. What is the num- ber of festivals, which the Protestants are obliged to observe?

51. Comme elies ont varie frequemment, on ne pent en fixer le nombre. Cette annee ci il-y-en a seize par- ticulieres aux Catho- liques.

52. Is the liberty of printing- moral, and re- lig-ions Publications, granted by the Sardi- nian Government to the Protestants of the Val- leys?

52. Non.

53. Is the liberty of printing the Holy Scriptures granted to them?

53. Non.

54. What are the usu- al Translations of the Holy Scriptures in Cir- culation among the Protestants in the Val- leys?

54. Celles d' Oster- vaid, et de Martin.

67

55. Are the Protest- ants of the Valleys pre- vented from rising to the rank of Officers in the Army of the King of Sardinia ; or from following' the liberal professions of Advo- cates, Physicians, or Surgeons ?

55 lis sontsoumis a Ta levee militaire comma les autres sujets dii Roi ; mais ils ne peu- vent esperer d'arriver au grade d' Officier : ils lie peuvent etre> Avocats, ni Medicins; et pour etre Chirur- gien, il faut une per- mission superieure ex- presse.

56. Are any Restric- 56. Non ; du moins, tions put upon the Je ne crois pas. Protestants in the way of Traded

57. Has the Prussian Envoy, the Count Waldburg de Truch- sess, already given any part ofthe 12,000 francs which he received from the Emperor Al- exander, for the Hos- pital at La Tour?

57. II a paye 4,000 fr. pour r Hopital ; 6,000 fr. sont destines pour le Nouveau Tem- ple, qu' on souhaite de batir au Pomaret; et 2,000 fr. sont a la dis- position de Son Ex- cellence.

68

58. Will notthisHos- 58. II est pour toutes pital chiefly benefit the les trois Vallees. Inhabitants of the Val- ley of Luzerne ?

59. Is the Hospital to be visited by Papisti- cal Physicians, Sur- geons, and Priests?

60. How comes the French language to be so universally spoken in the Valleys of Pie- mont even by the poor- est Protestants, so that the Church Services should he in French?

59. Non.

60. Le deficit de Ministres Vaudois a necessite le recours aux Ministres Fran- cois et Suisses aux temps des grandes Persecutions; et des lors nos Ministres fai- soient leurs etudes en pays, ou la langue Fran9oise est en usage.. II en est resulte parmi nous 1' etablissement de ce language*

69

From Mr. Bert's Answers, which he made with the greatest kindness, to my brief list of Questions, a person, though not infected with the rage of book-making, might find ample materials for an interesting- Publication on the past and present State of the Waldensian Church. The subjects would be all ready to his hand. To mention no other reason, I am not, on account of my natural indolence, the man to profit sufiiciently by Mr. Bert's Answers, should it please God to restore me once more to the bosom, and peaceful tranquil- lity of my own dear family in England. But though I have no ambition to let off a Quarto, it is my intention, — during my stay in the Val- leys of Piemont, and while impressions, respect- ing the History, and religious Character of the Vaudois, are fresh and strong- upon my mind, — to despatch to an inquiring friend in England three, or four letters, on the following particu- lars,— the Origin, and Antiquity of the Wal- densian Church ; her Persecutions ; her Doctrine, public Services, and Discipline, To these let- ters, I might also add another, should time and opportunity permit, on the State of Morals among the the Vaudois, and the best Mode, as it shall appear to me, of rendering them

70

Assistance under existing circumstances. If I be enabled to accomplish this lesser plan, I shall not (I trust) say one single syllable for effect; but shall abide, so far as my means of information extend, strictly by the Truth.

La Tour, Sunday, 12th June. In the usu- ally quiet village of La Tour I was this morn- ing awakened by the discordant sounds of drums and fifes. On recovering myself a little from my surprise, I began to recollect that it was the Tirata, a jour de fete, at Bobi ; and getting out of bed, I perceived about a dozen young men, who, with music, their ri- fles, and a miserable kind of flag, were proceed- ing to the field of action, to be in readiness for the afternoon, with divers other companies, who should join them on their way. Not allowing myself to draw any hasty conclusion, I dressed myself, breakfasted, and went to Church. It was my first Sabbath in the Valleys of Pie- mont, — and I had been looking' forward to the public Services of the day with considerable interest. Nor was I, on the whole, disappoint- ed in my expectations, — a convincing' proof, that I ought to be satisfied ; for when the mind has been dwelling on any object for a length

71

of time, even on what is least earthly and sen- sual, complete and entire gratification rarely j follows. O for that higher state of spiritual enjoyment in the eternal world, where all shall 1 be certain, fixed, and perfect ! But to proceed. ' The Church was about two-thirds full. Some I of the men (I fear) were prevented from com- I ing to it by the feats and firings at Bobi ; and ) not a few women of the Parish were eno-aoed j in their attendance on the silk-worms ; these, I i believe, require constant care in changing* the Mulberry -leaves, and form a very princi- pal means of subsistence for a people, who, in ^ their temporal circumstances, are all poor in- deed ! Let me now add, that the Conirreffa- tion of four hundred persons— so humble an one in appearance I never before saw collect- ed—were most orderly and respectful during [ the whole Service, which lasted an hour and ' ten minutes. They are not, for the most part, provided with Prayer books, though several of them had the Psalms of David, with their I appropriate tunes. Ail these joined the Re- gent heartily in the public Singing.

The arrangement of the first Service is as follows : the Regent began it by reading the

72

fifth and sixth chapters of the Gospel by St Matthew, with the Practical Reflections of Osteryaki, after each chapter: Mr. Bert then ascended the Pnlpit, and read, from the old Geneva Liturg-y, a Confession of sin: next came the Singing-; when Mr. Bert after saying a short Collect, and the Lord's Prayer, deli- vered his Sermon on the snbject of Sanctijica^ tion, from John XVII. 19, "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanc- tified throngh the truth." I liked it, and thought it faithful and judicious. Mr. Bert's manner in the Pulpit is, to my feelings, re- markably good,— warm, affectionate, and, in every respect, Mell calculated to fix the atten- tion of his hearers, and to move the heart; yet free from every thing, which borders on vul- garity, noise, and gesticulation. The Sermon was partly repeated from memory ; but the Application of the subject was extempore. After the Sermon, Mr. Bert read from the Geneva Litui^y an excellent Prayer for all Sorts and Conditions of men ; and repeated the Lord's Prayer, and the A postle's Creed. Sing- ing succeeded from the Psalms of David hy the Regent and the Congregation. And the whole Service was concluded by the parting Blessing, which was given by Mr. Bert ;—

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*'Le Seigneur vous beiiisse, et vous con- ^* serve. Le Seigneur vous regarde trun ceil ^' favorable, et vous soit propice. Le Seign- *' eur tourne sa face vers vous, et vous main- " tienne en paix et en prosperite. Amen."

" Allez en paix, et souvenez vous desPauvres, " et que le Dieu de paix soit avec vous, par " Jesus Christ, notre Sauveur, Amem"

This double Blesi?ing was pronounced by tny friend, the Pastor, with peculiar tenderness. The Exhortation, contained in it, relates to a Custom in the Congregations of collecting Alms, before they separate, for the use of the sick and needy. A box, with an opening in its top, is constantly placed at the entrance* door of a Church.

To my great surprise, the second Church Service at La Tour, during the Summer months, follows the first in half an hour, for the con- venience of the distant Parishioners,—many of Xvhom are now mountaineers, and dwell some ^niles from the village. The whole of it is con- ducted by the Regent : he began by reading the two first chapters from St. Paul's Epistk

G

74

to Tittts, with the Reflections from Ostervalil's Version of the Bible ; he theii sang- one of David's Psalms ; read the Prayer for all sorts and conditions of men ; repeated the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed ; and ended by giving" the Blessing. Very few people, as might be expected, were present at this second Service.

Besides this first, and second Sab])ath Ser- vice, there is, throughout the year, a Thursday Regent's Service at La Tour, as in the other Parishes in the Valley of Luzerne; but in the Church there are no daily Prayers.

Thus, it should seem, that the public duty of a Vaudois Pastor, on the Sabbath, is light. Nor, in fact, can it be considered heavy, where there is only one Church, as at La Tour; but it is to be remembered, that the Sermon, if not delivered extempore, must be learnt by heart, as the people will not endure a Discourse to be read. The text being once given out from the Bible, the Pastor proceeds to address the people, without even a Note in writing* before him, and apparently, at least, from the immedi- ate impulse of his own mind. I certainly pre- fer Preaching memoriier to any other mode of

75

delivery from the Pulpit : by it, is avoided both the stiffness of reading a written Discourse, and ,he general flippancy of exte.uporaneous harano-ues.TheOldEnglishDivinesweremthe

Labit of m«»daH«</ their Sermons to memory.

What 1 felt most to want, during the Services of the day, was the unrivalled Liturgy of that Church, to which 1 have the privilege to belong. I well recollect hearing it, after an absence ot some weeks, at the English Chapel of Geneva, and being altogether delighted and comforted

by it.

As in these slight Remarks on the Vaudois of Piemont, 1 am desirous of noting the circumstances, which strike me,-neither ex- tenuating facts, nor trying to exaggerate them in any respect,-! must just mention, that m going to the Morning Service of the Church to-day, 1 passed a large number of young men, ,vho were playing at their favourite game of bowls in the principal Street at La Tour. This, though it be considered no violation of the Sabbath in Italy, France, or even Switzerland, would happily be still thftught a disgrace, and^ a scandal in my dear native country England.' g3

76

Oil retiring to my Inn, I have continued within doors for the rest of the day. My travelling' companion, the small Greek Test- ament oi Robert Stephens' Edition, M.D.XLIX, was lying" on my table, as I entered my room ; and my attention being- drawn, from the Ser- mon of the morning, particularly to the last continued Discourse of the Saviour, during his earthly ministry, to his disciples, I read the Jourteenth,Jifteenthy sind sixteenth chapters of the Gospel by St. John ; together with the divine Prayer, in chapter the seventeenth. The Consolation, which I have experienced from this most affecting portion of Holy Scripture, is amply sufficient to compensate, not only for the want of many outward comforts, to which I have been long accustomed, but of those religious exercises, which have usually, in England, been numbered among my most pleas- ing occupations on the Sabbath. Without family Prayer, or any direct means of improv- ing my children and servants; without the im- mediate power of leading them onwards in the way of Christian principles, piety, and godli- ness ; — as a stranger, and a pilgrim, in a foreign land, I was inwardly filled with peace and joy. Often, and tiften, under apparently the most

77

favourable circumstances and in possession of all the outward means of Grace, has my sluo- gish heart been bowed down to the very earth ; but, blessed be God ! it has risen freely, and unencumbered this evening to the throne of Mercy. And many, and many have been the Supplications, which I have been enabled to pour forth, that all they, who are nearest and dearest to me, may be kept from the Evd One ; and may finally, yea, in time and for eternity, be in God, the Father— and in Christ, his beloved Soil ! Even so come, Lord Jesu ! in the hearts^ of us all.

La Tour, ISth June. This morning, I went out to see somewhat more of La Tour, and St. Jean. My first visit was j>aid to a Manufactory of coarse cloth, which, as it is the only similar establishment, in these Valleys, belonging to the Protestants, is thought by them a concern of great importance : it has been at work for the last seven years, and happily provides botli employment and the means of subsistence, for eiohty persons of both sexes. I counted nine- teen small looms. The several processes of cleansing, carding, spinning, and weaving, are performed within the walls of the Manufactoiy ; g3

I

78

erery thing, in fact, except the dying", whioli is done at Turin : the carding is executed by machinery, which is worked by water from the torrent of Angrogue; but as I am not gnostic in such contrivances, and the utmost extent of my knowledge is just sufficient to distinguish an over-shot wheel from a wheel which is under- shot, I did not remain long at the Manufactory, Moreover, the whole interior of the Building stunk more intolerably, from the heat of the weather, than cloth-mills commonly do. A good weaver earns thirty sous a day ; women and boys, from twelve to fifteen.

At La Tour is founded a Grammar School, which is open for the reception of Boys from alf the three Valleys, and in which those young persons, who are designed for the Christian Ministry, usually receive their Education, I before they repair to the Swiss Universities of Geneva and Lausanne. While I was at the latter place^ I heard much of the state of back- wardness, and deficiency in preparation, with M hich the Vaudois Students enter the Univer- sity,— and consequently I was not led to augur favourably of this School. It is indeed in great Cunl'usion. There is only one Master, and hev

70

with an annual pittance of eiglit lunniivd frano^, amounting only to £33. sterling, is obliged to attend, on an average, to forty boys, from six to fifteen years of age, who are meant to fill different callings in future life ! Of course, no proper classification of the Pupils can be at- tempted; nor, whatever be the abilities and zeal of the Master, can any individual attention be given to youths of a rising and promising^ character. These Evils demand the consider- ation of the friends to the Yaudois.

Besides this Grammar School, La Tour has one Central School in the Village, w hich is open ten months in the year ; and eight Winter Schools, from November to the end of February, in its different hamlets. The population of the Avhole Parish amounts to sixteen hundred Pro- testants, and three hundred Romanists.

In St. Jean I called at the houses of Mr. Mondon, the present Pastor of the Parish, and Mr, Meille, who has within the last nine months resigned its ministerial duties, after having performed them faithfully for forty years. Indeed my chief object in going to St, Jean was to see the latter, of whom I had heard

80

from every person, who spoke of him, a most interesting character. Mr. Mondon, to whoni I first went, has attained his seventieth year, and is yet a strong, hale man ; non prima, at recta senectus. About six months since he actually crossed the mountains by Bobi, and Prali, on foot, — and walked over the Balsille and the Alps into Dauphine. I certainly felt desirous of having an interview with him, as I had by some means entertained no very pleas- ing impression respecting the soundness of his religious principles ; nor is this impression, I must confess, now removed. Buring our conversation, which lasted two hours, he ex- pressed himself far more warmly against Cfpsar Malan, and his associates, than against la Compagnie des Pasteurs de PEglise de Geneve, who issued the prohibitory Reglement of 1817 : he would not allow the Ministers, and Professors at Geneva to be infected with the Socinian heresy ; but yet granted, that they w^ere, for the most part, Arians, I pressed him on the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, — on the Divinity of Christ, original Sin, the Atonement, the JVeed of a Sjnritual Renova- tion oj' heart, and Justification by Faith alone; but he did not admit them fully, nor cordially.

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Respecting the historical Evidences of Christ* ianity he however spoke with considerable fluency and power. On the M'hole, I am less satisfied with Mr. Mondon, as a Minister of the Gospel, than either with Mr. Bert, Mr. Gay, or Mr. Muston. Mr. Mondon received his Edu- 1 cation at Geneva. I

How different were the feelings, with which I parted from 3ir. iJeille ! He appeared to me a true Representative of a Vaudois Pastor, such as I had pictured to myself, — and such, in fact, as a Minister of the lowly andhumbling doctrine of the Cross ought to be, sufficiently informed, I pious, mild, and full of Love to God and man ! He has lost within a few months an only Sou, who was drowned in the Po at Turin. The loss has been most keenly felt, and tends to make him more interesting. He resides in a plea- sant comfortable house, in the midst of a vine- yard, forming part of a small family estate. It was the wish of Mr. Bert, and some of the other Vaudois Pastors, that Mr. Meille should have been selected as the person to visit Swit- zerland, France, Berlin, the Netherlands, and England, for the purpose of making the Col- lections, to establish the Hospital at La Tour ;

82

but his extreme modesty, and diffidence of himself, prevented him from embarking in the world even for such an imdertaking. His manner is peculiarly attractive : he spoke with much affection of his late parish; and seemed most anxious, that some plans, under the Di- vine blessing-, might be adopted to improre; the whole system of Education for the inhabit- ants of the Valleys of Piemont, both male and female. Two objects he has more especially at heart; the 7ierv modelling, and Improve^ merit of the Grammar "School at La Toitr^ — and the Establishment of an Institvtion for the training of Regents, Ai parting', Mr. Meille pressed my hand with great tenderness, and gave me his blessing. He is about sixty- five years of age. O that I more resembled i this excellent Christian 1

The Church Services at St. Jean, on Sun- days and Thursdays, are the srane as at La Tour: the population of the Parish amounts to^ eighteen hundred Protestants, and seventy Ro- manists.

I may here remark, that the Vaudois Pastors take great pains with the young people oi

83

their Parishes, from sixteen to eighteen years of age, in preparing them for their first Com- munion of the Lord's Supper.

La Tour. Uth June. After an early dmner t-o-day at half-past twelve, I proceeded to Rora from La Tour; Rora lying- almost due South, and being five miles distant. It is situated upon the mountains; where, unlike as I be- lieve it to be to the rebellious Edom, it ap- ; pears to have made "its nest as high as the eagle." Jerem. xlix. 16.

Soon after quitting La Tour, I crossed the Pelice, and leaving the town of Luzerne on my kft, began my ascent, which continued the Avhole way to Rora. The road is even grander than that between Villar and Bobi; it is a kind of lesser Simplon, of which it reminded me particularly on the Savoy side, with its bold mountains on the one hand, and its deep yawning valleys on the other. But it is better wooded, principally with chesnut-trees and ! beech. The torrent Luzerne roars beneath in its narrow rocky bed; sometimes nearly choked in its coui-se; and in one part, about tM o-thirds upwards, presenting a fine water-

84

fall : the road itsfelf is often winding, sleep, and as bad as a road can be.

I again attempted Mule-ridings but got so wretched an animal, that I soon abandoned him to my guide, and performed the whole expedi- tion on foot. Not all the bacular arguments of my companion, nor my own coaxings and gentler persuasions, could induce him oftentimes to stir : he obtained a complete victory over both of us»

On arriving at Rora, a poor little village, 1 found to my disappointment, that the Pastor Peirot was not at home, but that he had him* self gone to La Tour. I however went and tailed upon his wife at the Presbytery : she seems a nervous, dissatisfied woman ; and gave me soon to understand, that till her marriage she had lived at Geneva; that she liked (how- ever she was unfitted for it) the busy hum of men, and did not much fancy her mountainous retreat. As I could obtain little, or no inform- ation from her, I soon repaired to the Church \ where I was immediately joined by one of the Elders of the Parish. Shortly afterwards came a tall manly looking figure, without stock- ings, like the peasants in general^ and dressed

85

miicli as in their poor manner: lie proved to be the Syndic, a civil mag^istrate holding- an office similar to that of a Mayor in an English borough town, though very different in his trim and appearance to such a Gentleman. They had both heard, that an Englishman was in the Church, and came to greet me.

T learnt that the Parish of Rora contains six hundred Protestants, and sixty Romanists; and that it has one Central School in the Village for ten months in the year, and three Winter? or Hamlet Schools. The Church Services are the same as at Villar and Bobi : on Sunday morning, the Reading- from the Holy Scriptures, Prayers, and a Sermon ; in the afternoon, Read- ino' from the Scriptures, and Pravers : on Thursday morning-, Reading from the Scrip- tures, and Prayers ; — with daily Prayers throughout the year, the three Sununer months being alone excepted. Singing from the Psalms of David forms a part of all the public Services.

In the Regent's Desk I found Ostervald's large Folio Bible, Avith the Practical Reflect- ions,— theNeufchatel Liturgy, — and the Psalms H

86

of David, with their appropriate tunes : in the Pulpit were Ostervald's Bible, and the Geneva Liturgy. The Church itself is in decent order, arranged like the others, which 1 have seen in the Valleys, — and is capable of holding from three to four hundred persons.

When I had finished my visit to the Church, I entered a cottage, and began to make inqui- ries about Bibles and New Testaments. The owner of the dwelling having produced both of them, I asked a nice looking boy, who appeared to be twelve, or thirteen years of age, if he could read. He instantly took up the New Testament, and, turning to the eighteenth chap- ter of the Gospel by St. Matthew, went through it very perfectly. — I then proceeded to the hovel of two very poor people, and was told, that they did not possess any portion of the Holy Scriptures ; and that neither husband, nor wife, was able to read. The case, I was assured by the Syndic and Elder, was singu- lar: they affirmed, that not only was there almost in every house a Copy of the New Tes- tament, and in some houses a Bible ; but that the Protestants of the Parish, old and young, could generally make use of them. They mentioned a strong instance of the jealousy of

87

the Papish Priests, and of the narrow spirit of the Sardinian Government : Mr. Peirot, no less than Mr. Bert, had introduced into his Central, or Village School, the system of Dr. Bell, /'/«- struction mutuelle ; but each of them was for- bidden,/rom high authority, to pursue it, and was reduced to the necessity of following the old method of teaching the children.

These primary visits and inquiries being made I proposed to the Syndic and Elder to accompany me to the summit of the mountain above Rora, which, I had been informed, over- looked the whole Valley of Luzerne : they very cheerfully accepted the proposal. The View was nearly opposite to that which I had enjoyed on Friday last from the Serre-Cruel, and the Sarcena : it was delightful. I saw Bobi, Villar, and Angrogne, from West to East: to the South-East was the rich plain of Piemont, stretching towards Genoa. As at the Serre^ Cruel, I perceived, that after a certain height, the Chesnut-trees altogether cease upon the mountains, when the beech suddenly begin : on some of the highest, there are pines, but I did not fall in with any of them, either last week,

or to-day.

h2

88

Before I parted from the Syndic and tlie Elder, I adjourned to the house of the former, and drank some Avine and water, — one object of my visit, with which he would, on no ac- count, dispense. Both my new acquaintances showed, in their conversation something- of a religious character, — or at least not an unfa- vourable disposition on the subject of religion: but when I began to speak to them of their ancestors, and the efforts, which by them were made against the Persecution ofLeivis thejoiii" tee?itk, and the Duke of Savoy ^ Victor Amadeus the secondy they became vastly more animated, and talked of the feats of olden times with all their heart. They likevv ise defentled the Tirata? w hich had been celebrated at Rora last Sunday week ; saying that their fathers were much better marksmen than themselves, and that, in their days, most persons could from a Ri- fle hit a stick, which was thrown up into the air at a distance of fifty yards. Towards the English nation they expressed themselves gratefully ; and declared, in the most unaffect- ed terms, the pleasure, which they felt, in showing me all the attention, and respect, in their power.

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La Tour, \^th June, The Pastor Peirot, who had heard of my expedition to Rora yes- terday afternoon, paid me a visit this morning shortly after breakfast In his manner, he seems anxious for the welfare of his Parish, and spoke pleasing-ly, and with great affection, respecting the kindly intercourse, which sub- sists between his flock and himself. He is a quick, sensible man, apparently thirty-five years of age. His Opinion of the Orirjin, and high Antiquity of the Waldensian Church, is the same which is entertained by the other Pastors, with whom I have conversed ; namely, that it is of a very early date, long before the time of Claudius, Bishop of Turin, and, in fact, of the age of the Apostles themselves, or their immediate Successors. The tradition (it seems) is universally current in these Valleys, that the Gospel was, at the infancy of the Christian Church, introduced into them; where, from their locality and seclusion, it has been preserved to the present day. On ob- serving to Mr. Pierot, "Alas ! what you say ** rests only on tradition ; can you now produce <* any M.S.S. Records, or Documents, throwing " light upon the Antiquity of your Church> h3

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" and proving directly her Apostolic Origml" He admitted that these were destroyed in the Persecutions of the Vaiidois ; but however with reason added, That as the Origin of their Church cannot be satisfactorily traced to some particular and definite Epoch: and that as all authentic Ecclesiastical History is silent in regard to her Reformation from the Errors and Abuses oj* Popery, — at leasts their early Profession of the pure princi^ pies of the Gospel must fairly be conceded. " You," (he said) "in England, by the lead- *' ings of God's Providence, have to ascribe " your Reformation to the Instrumentality "of Cranmer, and other Servants of the " Lord, in the sixteenth Century of the Christ- " ian sera : shortly before their time, arose " the venerable Luther and Melancthon " for the enlightening of the Church in " Germany; Calvin, for that of Geneva; and *' Zuingie, Bucer, and (Ecolampadius, for those " of Switzerland: but who are the founders of " our Church, and our Protestantism? Who " indeed, but Jesus Christ's own Disciples, or "their immediate Followers?" Mr. Pierot then dwelt on La Nobla Leigon, to prove*

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if nothing' more could be inferred from it, tliat the Waldenses were the first of the Reformed Churches; since it contains the Doctrine, and religious Profession of Protestants, — and can, from internal evidence alone, be traced to the year of our Lord, eleven hundred.

At Mr. Pierot's departure, I called on Mr. Bert, and had rather a long- conversation with him on the very interesting- subject of the Origin, and remote Antiquity of the Walden^ sian Church, His Opinion quite coincides with that of Mr. Pierot. Makino- use of these strong expressions, he observed ; " I firmly be- *' lieve, that the Doctrine of our Church would *• have been the same, if Claudius, Bishop of "Turin, had never existed. We are derived " from the Apostles. Claudius adopted our " sentiments; we did not adopt his." Ail this, it must be confessed, does not amount to a proof of ^Ae Apostolic Origin of the Walden- sian Church, nor can such Proof he obtained, unless the M.S. S. in the Libraries, not only at Geneva, and Trinity College, Cambridge, but also at Turin,aiid the Vatican at Rome, could be carefully collated : at the two latter, the hope appears, for the present, impracticable;

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thoug^li it is by no means unlikely, tliat one, if not both of them, might possess M.S. S. capable of affording much information on the subject.

Towards noon, I started for Angrogne, situ- ated N. N, E. of La Tour, and distant three miles from it. The parish of Angrogne is par- ticularly celebrated, in the History of the Vau- dois, for their conflicts with their Persecutors, and contains, within its limits, the Pre du Tour, — now a ruin, but formerly a strong fortress, and the retreat of this suffering People. What is certainly not less interesting, it was the scite of the ancient Colleg'e for the Education of the Waldensian Pastors, from which religious In- struction went forth, in the dark ages, to the nations of Europe, while they remained plun- ged in Ignorance and Superstition,

Angrogne, like Rora, her sister Parish, is in the mountains. I began ascending shortly after I left La Tour, and did not cease climb- ing till I arrived at the little village itself. The heat of the weather was so great, that I again ventured to hire a Mule ; but happily, this time, I procured a tractable, and not an

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unwilling' beast, for that race of animals : it had, moreover, a saddle, covered with crimson velvet. So I travelled, in a kind of undue pomp and magnificence, to the humble, thatched Presbytery of the Pastor Goante, The Scenery I should have thought very striking, if I had not before visited Bobi, and Rora : it is how- ever more beautiful than either of them ; the road winds up the right side of the fine Valley of Angrogne, and is often sheltered by the foliage of the Chesnut-trees, which grow most luxuriantly in all directions about it. The ton*ent, which gives its name to the Parish, foams and sparkles beneath.

Mr. and Mrs, Goante received me in the true Taudois hospitable manner, end pressed me to dine with them : I accepted their invita- tion most willingly, and thoroughly enjoyed the day with them. She is an excellent woman, possessed of great feeling, and most unaffected piety; she had formerly resided in Holland , for ten years, in the condi- tion of Governess to the daughters of a Dutch merchant. Now, in her retirement at Angrogne, she is altogether devoted to her Parish. From the Pastor Goante, a plain, and very mild man^

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about sixty years of age, I learnt, that the population of Angrogne consists of two thou- sand eight hundred persons, of whom rather more than one hundred are Romanists ; that in the Village itself there is a Central School ; and also a Day-School, during the four winter- months, at each one of the nine hamlets. But again I was informed of the indiscriminate mixture of Boys and Girls in the Schools.

Just before I quitted the house, to accom- pany Mr. and Mrs. Goante in a visit to part of their Parish, (for its hamlets, as in La Tour, Villar, and Bobi, are scattered over the moun- tains to the extent of some miles,) my attention was attracted to a small Portrait of Arnauld, drawn in Indian ink, with this inscription around it, " Venerandus ac Strenuus Henricus " Arnauld, Valdensium Pedemontanorum Pas- "tor, necnon Militum Prsefectus; ann.Dom. " 1691, oet. 65." The countenance struck me as being somewhat fierce, and altogether in character with the follow ing' lines beneath the Portrait, which are not improbably of his owa composition : —

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" Je preche, je combats, j'ai double Mission, " Etdeces deux Emploismoname est occupee : ** II s'agit aujourdhui de rebatir Sion: •* II faut la Treille, et 1' Epee."

To have found the Portrait of this deterinined Soldier of the Church militant here on earth hanging- in thesitting-roomof thePastorGoante, and placed in a conspicuous part of it by one of the mildest creatures of God's heritage, is to me a proof, not only of the Veneration, \\\ which the memory of Henry Arnauld is held by his countrymen, — but of the keen Recol- lection of their former bitter and cruel Suffer- ings! The judgments of the Lord God of Hosts have however gone forth against the ene- mies of the Witnesses, who were to prophesy a thousand two hundred and three-score days, clothed in sackcloth. Rev. xi. 3. " And the " third angel poured out his vial uponihe rivers " and fountains of waters ; and they became " blood. And I heard the angel of the waters " say, Thoui^rt righteous, O Lord, which art, " and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast "judged thus. Foi' they have shed the blood " of saints and prophets, and thou hast given " them blood to drink : for they are wor- " thy. And I heard another out of the altar

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" say, Eren so. Lord God Almiglity, true " and rig'hteoiis are tliy judgments." Rev, XVI. 4 — 7. Already may it likewise be said, that the fourth and the ffth Viah have been poured, out on the idolatrous Roman Church, The Effusions of the sixth and seventh are yet future. They shall be mark- ed by still more signal manifestations of the Divi'ie Providence; when, in the in- flictions of God's wrath, the arm of Jehovah sliall be made immediately bare. For th(*;e awful days — and the time, be it remembered, mny be at hand, even at the door — is reserv- e^l the Downfal, and utter Destruction of the two Powers, the Beast and the False Pro- phet, who, for the punishment of follen, sinful man, vv^ere established on earth at tlie same sera, who shall, according to the true Word of Prophecy, exist in one unvaried principle of Opposition to the pure Doctrine of the Gospel, for the Period alloted to their reign ; and who shall alike be gathered for the battle of the great day, and perish in the undistinguisliiHg slaughter at the mountain of Megiddo,

My attention had b^t^n much drawn to the Prophecies of Daniel j^wd St, John in the Book

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vfRevelalion, before I quitted England ; more i^articularly by reading the Exposition of the latter by the Rev, Henry Gauntlett : I had also, not without Prayer for the enlightening of God's Holy Spirit, humbly endeavoured, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, to make the revealed Will of God its own Interpreter, Now, to my own full and entire Conviction, I have seen the prophecy of Rev, xi. 3. *partly fulfilled in the Waldenses, and their descendants. I verily believe them to be a component part of God's true Church Jiis Holy Catholic Church, clothed in sackcloth as they have been, and still con-' tinuing to dicell in the wilderness. Rev. xii, 13^-17. Hence do I look forward, with tremb*- ling hope and expectation, to the further ac- complishment of Dan, VII. 25. xii, 7, 11, 12. Luke XXI. 24. Rom, xi. 12, 25 — 27. Rev, xiii. 5. XVI. 12—21.

But to return from this Digression, interest*, ing as the subjects of it are ; for in the sure Word of Prophecy is to be traced the hand of God from age to age, and to the consummation of all things, in the One unbroken plan and Harmony of his Divine Purposes.

* It is very properly observed by Bp. Newton, that the TWO Witnesses (Rev. xi. 3.) denote a successon of .men,

A.NO A SUCCESSION' OF CHURCHES, in which SUCCESSION, THE

Waldenses and tbeir descendants have always held a

DISTINGCiSHED RANK. I

m

1 was delighted with my walk, no less than with my companions, the Pastor Goante and his wife. We did not mount so high as I had gone on Friday last with Mr. Miiston, but yet to a sufficient elevation, to command a great part of the Valley of Angrogne. The view, which is seen from the smaller of Mr. Goantc's two Churches, at le Serre, down the Valley tov»'ards the town of Luzerne, is one of the loveliest I ever beheld : the distance may be about five miles, over hill and dale, and moun- tain and rock, and a thick luxuriant foliage, There is no view, which I saw in Switzerland, superior to it for beauty and richness ; I do not mean richness of soil, but in prospect. Per- haps the noble Chesnut-trees give it a decided advantage. I observed to-day, as in my per- ambulations of the last week, the laborious industry of these poor Vaudois: many little terraces of earth, brought on the backs of the peasants from the valleys beneath, appeared on the sides of the mountains, containing patches of potatoes, and buck-wheat. This last, called bleSarracin, is a most miserable kind of food : the seed is small, black and triangular ; yet, this buck-wheat, (which is sown, I believe, in England only for pheasants near their preserves,

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and which has been introduced into the Valleys within the last thirty years,) forms, together with potatoes, chesniits, and rye, the principal food of the poor. And nearly all are poor indeed! I remarked also in my ascent, what had before struck me in the other Parishes, that some of the tops and summits of the mountains are cultivated ; I saw rye, barley, and oats, in small quantities, far above the village of An- grogne : part of the land was standing for hay. But I did not discover any wheat. Mr. Goante told me that none was grown. His excellent wife declared, with tears in her eyes, that she has often, during the winter-season, beheld women and children sinking down at her kit chc»:i -door with hunger and faintness : she added, that if the poor had a supply of rye- bread the whole year round, which did not often happen, they reckoned them.selves very well provided. There are few, if any Vineyards in the Parish of x4ngrogne. Cattle, of which Booi has comparatively a supply, here nearly fail.

After enjoying the View from the door of the little Church of h Serre, for at least a quarter of an hour, we entered the building to make i2

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an inspection of its interior. It is very plain* ]y fitted up for three hundred persons, and is divided for the men and women^ with seats for the Elders and Strangers, in the same man- ner as the other Churches^ which I had seen in the Valley of Luzerne; but not an atom of glass is in it. The sashes of the windows are covered with white paper, which apparently had been oiled. Ostervald's Version of the Bible, and the old Geneva Liturgy were in th& Pulpit and Regent's Desk. Mr. Goante spoke with horror of the new School at Geneva.

On quitting the Church, we repaired to the house of Pierre Oddin, one of the Elders, an active old man, eighty five years of age, still full of fire and vivacity : he drew a jug of wine ; and, having' invited us heartily to par- take of it, and of his black rye-bread, he began, as a matter of course, to dwell on the times that were past and gone, — how his Grandfather had joined the band under the command of Henry Arnauld, and had shared in its bold, adventurous deeds. I turned the conversation, and found, to my satisfaction, that he had read his Bible, and was acquainted with its contents : he showed me his Copy of the Sacred Volume,

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and assured me, tliat he even now frequrntly studies six and seven chapters a day. Besides the Bible, he possesses Ostervald's Noiirri" ture de VAme, and Pictefs Praijers—hoth of which works I have found in several of the Cot- tages. With evident delight he gave me to ur- de^'rstand, that one of his family, the Oddins, had, from father to son, filled the office of an Elder in the Church of Angrogne, for the last Jive hundred years.

Having taken a friendly leave of Pierrp, we descended to Mr, Goante's principaL Church, near his Presbytery. It is also of the plain- est description, with paper in the sashes of the windows, but capable of holding d(mble the number of people to that of le Serre, six hun- dred instead of three. Ostervald's Version of the Bible, and the old Geneva Liturgy were again in the Pulpit, and Regent's Desk. The Church-Services, on the Sunday and Thurs- dav, are the same as at La Tour : there are no public daily Prayers. Mr. Goante informs mo, that the Regent's Salary, for the discharge of his double office of Regent, and Schoolmaster, is, on an average, in the Parishes of the Yal- I 3

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leys of Piemont, not more than one hundred and fifty francs a year, rather more tlian six pounds sterling,

T parted from my host and hostesss, after drinking a cup of coffee^ with feelings (as I hope) of mutual kindness, — and pursued my way back to La Tour, much gratified at the day, which I had passed.

La Tour, I6th June, As I have no^^ visit- ed all the Parishes in the Valley of Luzerne,, and made an acquaintance with their diflfereiit Pastors, I remained quietly at my Inn during this morning and forenoon ; till I went, by in- vitation, to dine with the Moderator, Mr. Bert* He does not reside in the Presbytery at La Tour, but in a dwelling, which belongs to a small landed property of his wife. His means being rather more ample than those of his bro- ther Pastors, his influence is, of course, more felt in the exercise of Charity, and the acts of be- nevolence which he is enabled to perform. It is really gratifying to hear his Parishioners speak of him. My Landlady, Madame Brez^ who lost her husband within the last six

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weeks, and has been left a widow, with seven children, has indeed found him a very pre- sent help in the time of her trouble.

Mr. Bert lives frugally, but in comparative comfort. Our dinner was excellent for the Valleys of Piemont : the furniture of the house, though plain, is good ; and all things, in fact, are in order, and in their proper places.

In the course of conversation, Mr. Bert men- tioned, that it is a part of his Duty, as Mode- rator, to make a Visitation of all the Churches in the three several Valleys, every two years, for the purpose of inspecting the State both of the Pastors and their people, according to *his Answer to my fifteenth Question : he then preaches at each separate Church. From the Articles of the last Synod in 1822, which he kindly showed me, 1 observed, that it is re- commended to the Pastors to speak French as much as possible with their people, in order to render them more familiar to the Church Ser- vices in that language. 1 copied the follow- ing Article relating to the Catechumens, who,

*Page 57.

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as I remarked after my visit fo Mr. Meille, form especial objects of attention to the Vau- clois Pastors ; " Tout Pastenr doit tenir un " registre des Cateclmmenes qii' il recoit a la " Sainte Cene, et s'ils ne sont pas en Etat de " rendre raison de leiir Foi, du moins pour les " articles les plus simples, on ne doit pas les " inscrire, ni par consequent les admettre a <* la ratification du Voeu du Bapteme."

Two circumstances were mentioned by Mr. Bert with much satisfaction. The first re- ferred to the willingness, with which the poor destitute Protestants in the Valleys of Pie- mont — People as well as Pastors — came for- ward in the year 1823, for the relief of the sufferers in Holland : they had heard of the Inundation, which then occurred in that coun- try, and, at the representation of his Excel- lency the Count Waldburg de Truchsess, the Prussian Envoy at the Court of Turin, they immediately began to raise Collec- tions in their Churches. These Collections from the three Valleys amounted to no less a sum than 45801 francs, which they sent off to their Benefactors ; the poor offering their mite ; Bone, properly speaking, of their abundance, —

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hut all, according to their several ahilitij. The Dutch, it is to be remembered, have great- ly assisted the Protestants in these Valleys. At the present moment, they support the Latin School at La Tour, and (with a trifling addi- tion from the respective Communes) the differ- ent Village, and Hamlet Schools, in all the thirteen Parishes : they likewise contribute to the Pensions, which are granted to the su- perannuated Pastors, and the Widows of Mi- nisters. To the Recteur of the Latin School at La Tour they assign eight hundred francs a year,— an inadequate Stipend, in truth, for his labors, but yet all which he does receive. I most sincerely hope, that ere long some effec- tual pecuniary Assistance may be given to the Vaudois of Pieniont from England, particular- ly for their Schools I

The other circumstance, related by Mr. Bert, was more important, but perhaps less touching. It was the Distribution of 1,270 Bibles, besides a much larger number of New Testaments, among the Protestant families in the Valleys, by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the kindred Institutions of Lau- sanne, Basle, and Geneva, " Thus,'' said the

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Christian Moderator, " is our necessity, in "some degree, supplied: perhaps, one^iliirdY " of our families, with the Copies which they " before possessed, are now provided with the " Old Testament, and nearly every J'amily with l " the New."

If it shall please God, that I shall return to England, I must endeavour, through my re- spected friend, the Rev, Andreio Brandram,} to make an application for more Bibles* to the London Committee in Earl Street : the Vau- dois of Piemont, who cannot, with propriety, be called to purchase, should be gratuitously \ supplied. Nor have I the smallest doubt of Biblical Liberality in England. May God, in his mercy, impart the Teaching of his blessed Spirit to the Reading of his own inspired Word in every land, and among every people, where- cver, by human Agency, it shall be his Will to send it. Amen, Amen.

*I have new the g^ratefiil dr.ty of acknowledging-, not only a FREE Gift of ?hven hundred Bibles for the Vnndois of Piemont from the London Comroittee of the Biitisli and Foreig-u Bible Sofietj', but also of three hundred Copiks from the Bible Society at Paris. It is more especially incumbent U[io« me to state, that the latter grant was most checrfiiily made, at ihe instance of a foreigner, and an utter stranger.

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:. Towards the Evening, I adjourned with Mr. Bert into his Study, and found in it a very fair Collection of Books : to me many of them bore a peculiar interest, as they related to the Church of the Vaudois, both in her past and present State. I have now brought a ie^Y of them with me to the Inn, and hope to enjoy a quiet day to-morrow in looking' into their con- tents, and extracting the pith out of some of them.

Pinerolo, Saturday Night, 18f/i June, I re=- niained so long at La Tour to-day, that I but just secured day -light for arriving at this place. Y^esterday, for some hours, I was busily em- ployed in making Extracts from the Books, which Mr. Bert had lent me, and in sketching' the plan of my letters from the Valleys of Pie- mont. The first of these, on the Origin and Antiquity of the Waldensian Church, I how- ever began towards the evening. This afternoon [ finished it, and shall now send it off to En- gland. What I felt more immediately anxious to obtain were Authorities, from Roman and Protestant Writers, for the Facts, which I should state, relating to the History and Doc- trine of the Church of the Vaudois. In ac-

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€omp[isliiug this Object, which 1 might not he able elsewere to effect, I was much assisted bj Mr. Bert. He has added to the many othei obligations, which I owe him, by offering tt come to PiiKroJo, and see me, on my retun from the Valleys of Peroiise, and St. Martin.

My road hither was the same as I had before* gone to La Tour, through St. Jean, and Bri4 quieras. In traversing the former village, I] gave a lingering look from my Caleche at the Vineyard of Mr. Meille, but did not see him ir it. Here then I am, in readiness for to-morroiv morning's Service at the Protestant Church ol St. Germain, the first of the Vaudois Parishes! in the Valley of Perouse, on quitting Pinerolo.)

LETTER THE FIRST.

La Tour, IStJi June, 1825.-

My dear Friend,

I well recollect the promise, which I made you before I quitted England, and am now preparing to fulfil it, so far as my inform- ation goes respecting the Origin and Anti»»

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fjuitp of the Waldensian Church, The subject, you are fully aware, is involved in some diffi- culty by the contradictory Accounts of Histori- ans, both among- Protestants and Romanists. Mosheim, with many otlier compilers, has as- serted that Peter Waldus of Lyons was the Founder of this Church, and that it received its name directly from him. Of course, I have not the work of Mosheim now with me to con- sult ; but I read that part of it over very care- fully, before my departure from England, which treated of the Waldenses, and feel nearly confident, that he has fallen into this error.

Other Protestant Writers have attempted to trace the Waldenses to the besinninp' of the ninth Century, and to the time of Claudius^ Bishop of Turin ; while some few have, with greater probability, ascribed their Origin to the Apostolic age itself'.

The same degree of uncertainty exists among authors of the Roman Church. And though these last would, for the most part, cause their Readers to infer, that the religious tenets of the Waldenses are both new and strange, they have yet left many striking and favour-

K

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able Testimonies, not only to the Antiquity of their Origin, but to the Soundness of their Principles themselves. A careful examination of facts, as they are established in the authentic records of Ecclesiastical History, may suffice to convince you, my dear friend, that the Doc- trine of the Waldensian Church is such as may at least have proceeded from the teaching' of the immediate Successors of the Apostles, and that their name of Waldenses was taken from those Valleys, which they still continue to in- habit. Such an inquiry is doubtless one of considerable interest : it may prove, that the Waldenses have at no time of their History admitted the corruptions of the Romanists, and that they are not themselv^es, strictly speaking, a Reformed Church, Thus may it tend to confirm the Faith of the Believer, that God has not left himself %'^#/^o^/^ Witnesses^ clothed^ though they have often been, in sackcloth; but that he has been constant to the Saviour's parting Promise to his own people, " Lo, I am " with you alway, eveji ucto the end of the " world." Matt, xxviii. 20.

In considering the high Antiquity of the Waldensian Church, it may be satisfactory for

Ill

US, my dear friend, shortly to review the argu- ments, which have been alleged, for suppos- ing Peter Waldus, and Claudius Bishop of Turin, to have been respectively the Founder, ov the Reformer oi it. That the claim of the former, in particular, to the first of these titles rests on a very slight hypothesis, is evident from the following brief sketch of his Life and Ministry.

Towards the year 1170, Peter Waldus, a rich inhabitant of Lyons, disgusted by the gToss corruptions, which had been introduced, from time to time, in the Church of that city, and shocked, no less, at the licentious habits of the Clergy, appears to have been called of God io oppose them. The immediate cause of his own Conversion is related by my travelling com- panion Lampe in his judicious Synopsis His^ toricR Sacrce^ lib, ii. c. 10, and by Jean Leger, in his Histoire Generale des Vaudois, lie, i. c.2. Being, on a certain evening, with a large num- ber of worldly, dissipated associates, one of them, after supper, m the midst of their gaiety and mirth, swore profanely by the naiae of God, aiul iastan^lv fell down on the Hour of K 3

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the room, and died. This event, at once so fatal and unexpected, operated to such a degree on the mind of Peter Waldus, that he resolved to detach himself from all his former pursuits and disorderly acquaintance : he was, by the Grace of God, enabled to fix his thoughts and affections on heaven, and heavenly things, — and to live the rest of his days^ on earth, as a faithful servant of Christ, his Divine Master. He trod in the steps of the Apostles ; he was much in Prayer, and applied himself diligently to the Study of the Holy Scriptures.

Nor was he satisfied with his own personal Improvement. No long period elapsed, before he began to experience a desire of extending- the benefit of religious Knowledge among his fellow-citizens : he caused the Scriptures to be translated into the vernacular tongue of the Lyonese ; or, as some Writers have affirmed, he translated himself many of the principal Books, joining to them the Testimonies of the ancient Fathers of the Church of Christ. The people resorted to him in companies, both to listen to his instructions, and to receive from him tem- poral aid in their distresses.

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As his views of Scriptural Truth became clear, Peter Waldus disowned the authority cf the Roman Pontiff, and openly avowed, that, on the subject of Religion, it was right to obey God, and not man. He further exposed the scandalous vices of the Plonks, and attacked the Abuses of the whole Papal System, the Prayers and Masses for the dead^ human In^ diligences, Purgatory , Image-tcor ship, the In" vocation of Saints, and Transnhstantiation, This bold and determined conduct drew down upon him (as might be expected) the indigna- tion of a profligate Clergy, and, in particular, that of the Court of Rome. He was command- ed by Jean de Belles-Maisons, Archbishop and Governor of the City of Lyons, to desist from promulgating his opinions ; but in defiance of such interdiction, Waldus persisted in his work of Reformation, preaching' and exhorting every-where, within his reach and influence. The consequences were, that he v»'as excommu- nicated, and anathematized by the reigning Pope, Alexander the third : he, and his fol- lowers were under the necessity of abandoning their native City, and of dispersing themselves in various parts of Europe. Waldus retired into Dauphine, or Lombard v; while his fol- K 3

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lowers took refuge in France, the low Coun- tries, and even in Bohemia.

Hence, it has been supposed, that the Do^*- trine, professed by the Waldenses, being sub- stantially the same as that which Peter Waklus promulgated, he was the Founder of their Church, and has given to it his name. This supposition, it must be confessed, has a certain semblance of truth : the similarity of the names, the conformity of Waldus' principles with those of the inhabitants of the Piemontese Val- leys, and his probable retirement into Lom- bardy, on which Piemont in his time depend- ed, all impart a degree of colouring to it. But if we proceed to Proofs, a very slight inquiry may suflice to show, that their Church was not founded by him. Waldus flourished about the year of our Lord 1 170 : the earliest date, which has been ascribed to his ministerial labors, is 1160. Yet several authentic Works, contain- ing the Doctrine of the Waldensian Church, are anterior to his time, and should reference be made to these, there will be found in them the strongest abhorrence of the whole Papal Superstition. The title of one of them is An^ ti^Christy which is to be found in the History

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of Joan Leg-er, (1. i. 74, 75,) who assigns to it the date of 1120: tliis is an Extract from it; " Now the second deed of Anti-Christ consists " in despoiling- the Saviour of his Righteous- " ness, with all the Sufficiency of Grace, Justi- " fication, Regeneration, Remission of sins, " Sanctification, religious Growth and Ad- " vancement,. together with spiritual Nouri- " ture ; it imputes and ascribes the Righteous- " ness of Christ to his [Anti-Christ's] own as- ** sumed authority and works, to the Saints " and their Intercession, and to the fire of Pur- " gatory ; it separates the people from Christ, " and conducts them to the abuses above- " mentioned, so that they seek not the things " of Christ, nor by Christ : intent solely " on the works of their own hands, they pos- " sess not a living Faith in God, nor in Jesus " Christ, nor in the Holy Ghost ; but they trust " in the will-worship of Anti-Christ, inasmuch " as he proclaims, that Salvation entirely de- " pends on his works and performances." The title of this singular Testimony to the early pu- rity of the Waldensian Faith is — "En ayma lo " fum vay derant lo fuoc, la battailla derant la " victoria, en ayma la tentacion de TAnte-Christ " derant la gloria;" As the smoke precedes the

116

fvp,^ and the battle precedes the victory, even so are the temptations of Anti-Christ thefore" runners of final ayid eternal glory.

In another ancient Writing of the Walden- ses, the celebrated Poem called La Nohla Let- gon, the name of Vaudois, an inhabitant of the Valleys of Piemont, is used in a sense synoni- moiis with that of a Christian ;

" Que sel se troba alcun bon que vollia amar

" Dio, e tcrner Jeshu Xrist ;

" Que non vollia maudire, ni jurar, ni mentir,

" Ni avoutrar, ni aucire, ni penre de 1' autruy,

" Ni venjar se de li sio enemie,

" Illi dison quel es Vaudes e degne de murir ;"

"If" it declares " there be found some holy " man, who would love God, and fear the Lord " Jesus Christ; who will neither slander, nor " swear, nor lie, nor commit adultery, nor kill, " nor steal, nor be avenged of his enemies, — " it is immediately said, that he is a Vaudois, " and should be put to death." This interest- ing document, la JS^obla Le'icon, exists in two very old Vellum M.S. S. v/hich are still pre- served iu the Libraries of GenevUy and Triniitf

117

'College, Cambridge, That at Geneva I saw, md have lately examined : it is written in the ang-uage of tlie Waldenses, — the old Romanzo, Provenzale, and the langiie d'Oc, As may be seen by the few specimens in this Letter, it is neither Latin, Italian, nor French; but con- sists, more or less, of them all three. Of the Romanzo, Crescimbeni thus speaks in his Com^ mentaries on the History of Italian Poetry; " La pill cerla e rag ione vole opinione si e, " ch^ la sua etimologia sia presa dalla voce *' Rci-na, e significhi quel volgare idioma, che " colle colonic de' Romani passo in Provenza " ed altrove, e fuavuto in pregio anchedabar- " bari che quei regni occuparono, e Romano e " Romc^r'"^ il chiamavano."

The Genevese M. S. is very clear and well preserved, and seemed to me quite perfect. But what bears immediately on our subject is, that at the opening of La J^obla Le'lgon there appears direct internal evidence of its compo- sition in the year 1100: in the sixth and se- venth lines are these words ;

j " Benha mil et cent an compli entierement " Que fo scripta lora; que sen al derier temp;

118

" Now are eleven hundred years accomplished, " since it was written, We are in the last time '* — the last dispensation. It may therefore be inferred, that the Waldenses did not derive their name from Waldus; or that he can he properly termed the Founder of their Church ; since *the Vaudois of Piemont had been previ- ously known and described as a separate and distinct People, holding similar opinions to those, which he aftericards entertained.

Many Testimonies, both among* the Eoman ists and Protestants, might be added to show, that the Waldenses were not so called from Waldus ; but I shall now content myself with calling to your attention the words of Beza, in his Portraits of illustrious men, p. 085; " Some persons " he says " have supposed, *' that the Vaudois had for the Founder of '* their Church a merchant of Lyons, surnamed " Waldus ; but in this notion they are mista- I " ken, because Waldus was, on the contrary,

*See Appendix, No. 1, for a List of the M.S.S. in the pub- lic Library at Geneva, relating- to the VValdbksian CutacH.

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so called, from having become one of the * distinguished members of their community." in the same page, Beta also affirms, that the Vaudois icere thus denominated from the Val- leys, which they inhabited. This opinion, in- deed, is the most probable, and resolves every difficulty ; for the Valleys, in the language of the country, were denominated Vaux, and their iiHiabitants, to distinguish them from the neighbouring people who dwelt in the plain, Vaudois, The names, Valdese, in Italian, and Valdensis in Latin, have (it is needless to re- mark) the same origin, and are derived from Val, Valie, and Vallis.

Though I am far from pretending to deter- mine the precise Epoch, in which the Gospel [Was introduced into the Valleys of Piemont, it is, I think, by no means improbable, that the Vaudois received it from the earliest Christians, jand that it has been preserved among- them, '■ from age to age, to the present time.

We learn from Ecclesiastical History, that the number of Christians increased rapidly at Rome under the first Emperors ; when being accused of divers crimes and offences, they

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were, without a shadow of pretence, most severely persecuted by Nero and Domitian, and forced to flee from their barbarous oppressors. Now, some of the fugitives might have sought an asylum in the Valleys of Piemont, and have communicated, in those fastnesses, the know- 1 edge of the blessed Gospel to the people, with whom they had taken refuge from the storm around them.

Granting this however to be only a conjecture, you, my dear friend, may not be disinclined to admit, that, under the Emperor Constantine, and his nearest Successors, the whole of Italy was brought to embrace Christianity ; and that at that period the profession of the Gospel was scarcely disfigured by any mixture of human traditions. It must also be conceded by you, that so long* as Christians preserved their pri- mitive Faith, it would be idle to require from the Vaudois distinct proofs of their purity of Doctrine, since it was that which was held by the prevailing Church. It cannot be thought, that during such a Period, they had any peculiar name. True it is, that in latter times both their friends and enemies have concurred in affixinof to them the appellatives, Waldenses and Van*

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tlv]s ; but the title of CliristJans is in itself too beautiful, and considered by them too dear, that they should themselves have been anxious to assume any other.

For the first six hundred years, the funda*

mental principles of the Gospel were generally

maintained in the Redeemer's Church, however

it may be lamented, that some outward and un*

meaning- ceremonies had latterly been creeping

into it. But from the time o( Gregory the Great

in the seventh Century, the reign of error, and

* the system of papistical delusions may be said

to have commenced. And though the power

i of the Court of Rome was at first restricted, she

i can, from tliat eera, be easily traced, as being

ilesirous of imposing- on the world her danger*

ous and revolting superstitions*

It was at the close of the eighth Century^ "when the spirit of papal Rome began more decidedly to show itself, that Claudms, Bishop of Turin, arose in the Church of Christ; his diocess not only comprehending- the Valleys of Piemont, but the whole of Provence and Dauphine. This venerable servant of God opposed, with holy boldness, the tyrannical

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innovations of Popery. The account given of him by Illyricus is this : " Claudius, Bishop " of Turin, became eminent in the age of Charle* *^ ma one, and of Lewis the Pious; he was a friend '* of the former, before he attained to the " episcopacy. Claudius inveighed, both by *' word of mouth, and by his Writings, against " the worship of Images, the Cross, and Relics ; " against the Invocation of Saints, Pilgrimages, ** the Supremacy of the Pope, and many other *' like Abuses : he treated the Pontiff himself " with the utmost freedom ; so that the latter "was greatly irritated, because Claudius " scrupled not openly to condemn his sordid " traffic with the poor devotees, whom he was " attracting toKome." Catalog, test.VeritatJ.9,

This firm Opposition by Claudius to the delusions of Popery necessarily brought down upon him the indignation of his enemies; yet History, confirmed by the testimony of his fiercest adversary, John, Bishop oj' Orleans, declares, that he was strengthened to persist in his course ; and was faithful to the dictates of his conscience, and to the secret teaching- of God's Spirit, even unto the end of his life.

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A question then doubtless now presents it- self, " Was not Claudius the Reformer of the Waldensian Ciwirch ? " But the answer, which j I would give, is short : He teas not to this end used by the Divine Providence; nor has he any stronger claim to the title, than Peter Waldus had to that of its Founder, who lived three Centuries and half subsequently to him. Though the inhabitants of the Valleys were in his Diocess, the experience of mankind war- rants us to conclude, unless there he direct historical Evidence to the contrary, that if the Waldenses had, before the time of Claudiuf?, adhered to the Abuses which he combatted, they would not easily have abjured them; for it is the very character of a people to love ex- ternal rites, and to cling- to former prejudices, which they do not abandon without many se- cret strugg-les, and after a long- course of years. On the contrary, as Claudius was only in his Diocess comparatively a short time, if we sup- pose him to have been the Reformer of the Waldensian Church, we must be prepared to allow his attack on the Abuses and Abomina- tions of Popery, and the immediate adoption of his opinions by the inhabitants of the Valleys of Piemont,

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But in Older not to omit any Evidence, which can be deemed worthy of remark, that the Waldenses were enabled, by the superin- tending Providence of God, to preserve the pure doctrine of the Gospel till the time of Claudius, I shall now, my dear friend, request your attention to tico different kinds of Testi- mony ; one drawn from the Writings of the Vaudois and other Protestants ; the second^ from those of the Romanists themselves.

The Poem, intitled La JV^obla Le'icon of the year 1100, proves the Vaudois to have con- stantly rejected the traditions of the Court of Rome, and not to have received any other doc- trine than that which is coatained in the in- spired Word itself: the treatise on the reign of Anti-Christy and those against the Invocation of Saint Sy and against Purgatory^ are equally conclusive, and are all of the date 1120. In these several Works, the Waldenses protest, that they never have believed the dogmas which they combat, and that they hope never to embrace them. If their different Confessions of Faith be examined, and the nearly one huU'- dred Petitions^ (both of which may be found in Legefs History,) it will be found, that

125

they speak invariably of their Doctrine, as de- scending from father to son, and from the age of the Apostles : they, all of them, maintain the same language. Such expressions as these are continually recurring j "Sempre, da ogni '' tempo, al solito, da tempo immemoriale," &c. Hence, if their declarations had not been cor- rect, their enemies (we may be assured) would not have been unwilling to expose their impos- ture ; but inasmuch as they have not been de- tected in any false statement, it may be safely taken for granted, that they said no more than they were fully warranted to advance*

Theodore Beza again, in his Portraits of illustrious men, declares "the Vaudois to have " always maintained a true religious Faith.'' He describes them, as desceiidants of the pri^ mitive Christians ; and adds, " that in despite "of the many dreadful Persecutions, which " they have undergone, it is not possible to as- "sociate them, at any period of their History, " with the Roman Communion."

Sleidan expressly says of the Vaudois, " that " they have been always opposed to the Roman

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** pontiffs, and that they have from age to age " professed the Gospel in its purest form.'* History of Charles thejifth, I, xvi. p» 534.

But though it might not be difficult to select a larger number of Protestant Testimonies, you, my dear friend, may perhaps be satisfied with those, which I have already mentioned,^ in favour of the high Antiquity of the Wal- densian Church. Let us therefore turn to their Adversaries, whose opinions, wrung from them involuntarily as they have been, cannot but be considered free from all suspicion* Some few of these I shall now proceed to lay before you.

Reinerus Sacco, Mho acted as Inquisitor against the Vaudois for twenty years in the com- mencement of the thirteenth Century, expresses himself to the following effect, de Sectis anti^ quorum hmreticorum: " Of all the Sects, which " either have existed, or do now exist, the most «' pernicious to the Church is that of the Leon- « ists," — the Vaudois^ — " and that for three es- " pecial reasons ; because it is the most an- " cient, — some persons making it ascend to the

127

" time of Pope Sylvester, and otliers a^-ain eren ** to the age of the Apostles; because ithasex- ^' tended itself in every direction, — there being- *« scarcely a country, into wliich it has not " more or less penetrated ; and because, as " other Sects inspire a degree of horror by the " frightful blasphemies, which they ^ omit, the " Vaudois, in truth, seduce the world by an " appearance of extraordinary devotion, by " purity and holiness of living; they profess " only to believe what is immediately taught " of God in the Scriptures ; and they do not " reject any of the Articles of the Apostles' " Creed. In this alone they directly err, that, " speaking slanderously of the Church of " Rome, they seduce many poor people to " adopt their views and opinions." BihL Pair. Tom. xxv. p, 264.

Claudius Seisselle, who had been raised to the Archbishopric of Turin by Francis the first, explains, why the name of Leonists had been given to the Vaudois, in a publication against them, which was printed in the year, 1547 : he says, that they derived their Origin from a certain Leon, a very holy man, who

128

lived under Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor; that Leon preferred a state of poverty, in simplicity of Faith, to the dpfilement of a rich benefice from the hands of the avaricious Sylvester ; and that all, who duly valued their Christian profession, joined themselves with Leon,

It may suffice to add one more Testimony, which is that of Samuel Cassini, an Italian prior of the order of St. Francis, who, writing in condemnation of the Vaudois, explicitly as- serts, in the beginning" of his publication, Vit^ toria triumphale, Conl, 1510, " that their error " consisted in denying the Church of Rome to ** be the Holy Mother Church, and in resolute- " ly declining to submit to her traditions ; in " other respects " (he acknowledges) " they " belong to the Church of Christ ; and, for his " part, he could not deny, but that they had " always been, and were still members of it/*

Now then, my dear friend, as your patience is doubtless exhausted, I will come to the end of my long letter, — in very deed, verhosa et yrandis Epistola^ Yet before I conclude, let me

1-29

put tho question fairly to you, by way of deduc- tion to all which I have said ; " Do not the above '^ Testimonies" — and many others equally con- vincing might also be specified — ^'•from the " Vaudois themselves, their Protestant Bre- '* thren, and the Romanists, their Opponents* *' all seem to prove, that the Waldensiaii *' Church is altogether independent not only of «' Peter Waldiis^ but of Claudius, Bishop of "Turin?''

I would further ask, " If this Church had ** at any period of time whatever admitted the " abuses and corruptions of the Romanists, " and been subsequently reformed, should " we not undoubtedly knov/, both by whom " sucli a Reformation had been introduced, " and also when, and at what epoch it had, under " the Providence of God, been effected '?" His- torians of various aeras, and distinct and differ- ent characters. Enemies as well as friends, would scarcely hare observed a strict silence on so remarkable an event. Since there does not howev er exist any historical Record of an authentic character, which speaks of a Reform- ation in the religious principles of the inha- bitants of the Valleys; and as the Testimonies

130

of the Writers above-mentioned cannot, with fairness, be controverted, we seem fully autho- rized to make this Inference, thai the Wal~ denses did receive their Profession of the Gospel from a very early, if not the Aposio^ lie age itself of the Christian cera. Blessed be God ! they have also remained stedfastly in the bosom of the Universal Church of the Redeemer- — his Holy Catholic Church — in true simplicity of Faith.

Your's, my dear friend,

Truly and affectionately,

J. L. J.

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Pineroio, Sunday, I9th June, Early this morning I called on Mr. Monastier, tbe Manu- facturer of Paper. Alas ! his wife was ill, and he was therefore prevented from accompanying me in my Expedition to the Valleys of Pt rouse knd St. Martin, ss he had purposed on my re- urn to Pinerolo ; but he offered immediately to go w itli me to St. Germain for the Morning

fler\ ice in the Church at that Parish ; and iirther told me, that he had engaged his ephcAY, Mr. Monastier, the Pastor of Maneille find Mace], to supply his place for the rest of he week. We therefore departed ; walking' o St. Germain, and back again to Pinerolo. ^fter keeping the high road to Fenestrelle for [boat two miles, we passed through the small illage of Abadia, with the Clusone to our left; vhcn crossing' tlie stream, we began mounting* jy a gradual ascent to St. Germain. At the ^i!^tallce of a mile and half from the bridge, we irrived at the village, and repaired forthwith o the Presbytery of the Pastor Motinet. Break- "ast being on the table, we were invited cordially o partake of it. And though the house, and 11 things in it, were plainer, and more homely, han I had even before seen, as belonoino- to he Ministers in the Valley of Luzerne, 1 soon

132

became much pleased witli my host. He ex- pressed himself respecting his Parishioners with great simplicity and considerable earnest- ness of manner ; his view of Scriptural truth seemed to me sound and correct. This indeed was made further manifest in the Sermon, which he delivered. Towards nine o'clock, the people began assembling, and we entered the Church with them, Ov^er the door of Entrance, are two Inscriptions ; one from Epiies, iv. 5, " Unus *' Dominus,una fides, unum baptisma," — and the other from Gen, xxviii. 16, " Que ce lieu ci *' est venerable ! C'est la Maison de Dieu, c'est " ici la Porte des Cieux." The Church itself, which is neat and in good order, had been re- built in 1813, and is capable of holding nearly seven hundred persons ; it has a deep Gallery on its North side. Before the Service com- menced, I discovered from a large and some- what heavy monument, that two English chil- dren, by the nmne of Badham, had been buried in the Church seven years before : their bodies had been brought from Nice, where they died.

The Order of the Prayers, Reading of the Scriptures, and Singing, was precisely the same as I had heard on Sunday last in the

133

Dhiirch of La Tour. The Pastor Moiinet oreached a plain, faitlifiil Sermon to bis poor Deople from Luke xii. 8, 9 : his Application of he Subject to the immediatf circumstances of lis congTegation, and his concluding Address to them, that they should pray earnestly for he Faith once delivered to the Saints, and not deny the Saviour before men, were really afFect- ng. O that his Hearers may be strengthened to iight the good fight of faith, and to lay hold on eternal life, whereunto they are called, and iiave as yet professed a good profession before many witnesses. Thus, may they become the jcrown of rejoicing to their spiritual Guide and Teacher, before the Judge of quick and dead, at the last great day.-^Ostervald's Version of the Bible, with the Neufchatel Liturgy, wei-e in the Pulpit, and the Regent's Desk.

I was informed by Mr. Monnet, that the Population of his Parish consists of nearly one thousand Inhabitants,-^about seventy of whom lare Romanists : it has a Central School in the ivillage of St. Germain, and five other Day- 1 Schools, during the four Winter-months, in its 'live several hamlets. Mr. Monnet is apparently ! sixty five years of age : on taking leave of him,

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he said, that it was really a gratification to him to have had an Englishman under his roof.

On my return to Pinerolo, and while il Lo~ candiere of my small hotel was laying the cloth, and setting' in order my slight dinner, he re- marked that I was somewhat fatigued by my walk, and asked me, " Where I had been?" no common question from a landlord at an Inn in Engitind, though by no means considered other- wise than civil, and quite in the regular course of familiarity, on the continent, between a travel- ler and mine host. " To the Protestant Church *' at St. Germain," was my answer,— which drew forth the following rejoinder, on his part; " In England, Signore, areall the people " Protestants ? are there not some Christians ?" *' Yes," I observed, "I hope, there are many; " for Protestants are Christians," " Protestants, *' Christians ! impossible ; they are not Catho- •' lies. J^on sono Cattolici,'* "Yes; they are " both Catholics, and Christians." This short dialogue led to some further animadversions, in which, I fear, all the different parts of a regu- lar oration were employed, — and as is not un- frequently the case with speeches, orationes magncBy et oratiunculce, — to but little end and

135

I purpose : exordium, expositio, cofifirmafio, et

peroratio, were one and all ineffectual. Ao

Catholic, or, in the poor man's slender theolo-

i gy, No Papist, no Christian ! He went away,

; thoroughly convinced in his own mind, that J

I was a Protestant, an Heretic, an Unbeliever !

I

! I cannot but recollect a similar instance of

I

i hesitation, which had occurred, respecting my I religious character and profession, full twenty years before in Spain. Then I was travelling \i\ the country between Cordova and Granada, to see the celebrated .^//tam6r«. Hence, 1 had join- ed a cortege ot Arrieros, (Muleteers,) and had stopt, for my night's lodging, at a wretched Ven- ta, the name of which I now forget, on the se- cond evening of my Journey. While the olla was preparing, and the eggs were frying- in oil, red pepper, and not a few heads of garlick, I sat down in the dark chimney-corner with a do- zen or fifteen muleteers, contrabandistieros, and other characters equally respectable : our only light was from a small lamp, suspended from the low ceiling of the room ; for that of the fire was entirely hidden by the volumes of pungent smoke, which issued from the logs of olive-wood not sufficiently dried. Converse-

136

tion went on quietly for some quarter of an hour, in discussing the probable gains from certain rolls of tobacco, which were about to be introduced with much cleverness into the walls of Granada, in despite of the Police, and the whole posse of revenue officers ; — when lo! the din of war, at least of Controversy be- gan : it was then discussed with considerable heat, Whether the English tvere Christians^ and whether /, as an heretic^ could be saved ? I was not, I must confess, altogether pleased in thus becoming the immediate subject of de- bate, in a lone house, and amidst so many fierce and lawless characters ; since Ignorance, Superstition, and Cruelty are very closely united. Nor did it altogether tend to tran- quillize my apprehensions, when the hostess of the Venta, a tall Sibylline figure, arose from her cork-stool, and, extending her arm, and assuming a tone of prodigious authority, ex- claimed at the utmost stretch of her voice, ne- ver very mellifluent, " See bien, see bien, los " Ingleses non sono mas Christianos que los " Moros." I might probably have shared the fate of some unhappy Moor in former times, and been made forthwith the subject of an ex- hilarating Atto di Fe on the Olive-logs be-

137

fore me, if happily I had not obtained a few of ithe Controversialists on my side : these (T thank them) maintained, with steadiness and firm- ness, that though the Englisli were not Catho- lics, and, they feared, not Christians, 1 indi- vidually was not so bad as a Moor.

Pramol, 2lst June, Behold, the changes of ithis travelling life! Yesterday morning Iquit- ited the plain of Pinerolo, with the sun shining bright and clear around me, and now I am iperched high upon the mountainous Pra?wo/, amidst clouds and mist: the rain is descending in such torrents, that from this spot, which in fine ; weather commands a view so extensive as to jreach the Appenines.I cannot now distinguish I any object at the distance often yards. But I am I under the hospitable roof of the Pastor Vin^ con, and every person is kind and attentive ! about me ; moreover, I have an opportunity of Ueeing rather more in detail the interior of a iVaudois^ Presbytery. Thus all is well, and ex- actly as it should be.

Young Mr. Monastier, the Pastor of Maneille and its annexed Parish Macel, met me yester- day morning at St. Germain, v. liere we dined M 3

138

with Mr. Monnet. In the afternoon, we walk- ed to Pramol, and arrived here about six o'clock in the Evening ; mounting up the Val- ley of Perouse, and continuing on the ascent the whole way to our present abode. This Val- ley has also its torrent : the Rousillard brawl- ed beneath the windings of the road, which, in many of its parts is extremely bold and steep. Again, the fine chesnut-trees added to the in- terest of the Scenery. The distance from St, Germain to Pramol is four miles.

On entering Pramol, the two Churches, be- longing to the Protestants and Romanists, which are situated near to each other, appear to great advantage; they are both of them white, neat little buildings in their exterior. At the door of the former, his proper place, the Pastor Vinson, who had heard of our in- tended visit, was standing ready to greet us on our arrival, and to lead the way to his presby- tery. He is a very friendly man, and, in some conversations which I have now had with him, he strikes me as a truly conscientious Minister of the Gospel. I have been really much gra- tified with the earnestness of his manner. In the Church, which I was not long in visiting,

139

he expressed himself with coiisi<h ra])If^ Heel- ing on the importance of the Pastoral Office, and his anxiety for the spiritual welfare of his people. The Church itself is much older than that at St. Germain, and not in such good re- pair; it may accommodate five hundrecoand fifty people. I found Ostervald's Version of

i the Bible, and the Neufchatel Liturgy in the Pulpit, and the Regent's Desk. Mr. Vinson informed me, that in the Parish of Pramol there are eleven hundred Protestants, and six- ty Romanists ; it has one Central School in the village, and seven other Day-Schools in its

I hamlets: two of these last Mr. Vinc^on has

t been enabled to establish within the preceding

; year.

M^hen the Pastor and I left the Church, we

saw sixjy, or seventy men separating from the

national festival, the Tirata: they had been

keeping up the sport for more than three

hours, and were going off to their several

homes, in the most perfect order, and good

humour. Mr. Vinson assured me, that he had

I been among- them for the greater part of the

I time, and had not heard a single oath. Hap-

1 pily, Drunkenness, the cause of so much gross-

140

ness of character, and of vice, with onr English poor, is ahnost unknown in the Valleys of Piemont.

The inspection of the Church at Pramol bei*^ g" concluded, I adjourned, a second time, to the Presbytery ; when Madame Vinson made her appearance : she is a^ pretty, pleasing woman, about twenty seven years of age, and is a native of Lausanne; where her husband, rather older, received his ministerial educa- tion. To my delight she speaks English ! for great is the delight of a man to hear his own native tongue in a strange land. Madame Vinson had been- Governess in a School, kept by a Miss Powis in Sloane Street. What a change from Sloane Street, and its long conti- nued row of brick houses, with its wide flat pavement, and its iron-railed areas, to the poor scattered village of mud-built cottages on the lofty Pramol ! She has already two little chil- dren,— and the excellent Pastor contrives at present to live on the pittance, which he ob- tains for the discharge of his ministerial du- ties, just forty pounds a year. Of private property Mr. Vincon is possessed of a mere trifle.

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After supper, Mr. Vinson read the fiftieth, and fifty-first Psalm, — and then added, in an impressive tone," Que chacun fasse ses Dtvo- " ticns an Seigneur dans sa chambre." 1 fol- lowed his advice, and, having- ended my Petitions for myself, my family, and them who were far away in England, I oiferod up to the throne of Mercy a Supplication for a Blessing on the Vaudois Pastors, and their people.

My bed and accommodation were indeed lowly ; but I slept well and soundly for seven successive hours. This morning however, and yesterday evening before the rain, 1 experienced a sensible alteration in the climate, — Pramcl being, from its high and mountainous situation, really cold and chilling. Last week I was obliged, on account of the heat, to doff my under waistcoat; and, during my excursions to the Parishes in the Valley of Luzerne, to change my cloth coat for my grey nankeen jacket: in this trim, I came hither, — and in it, from the absence of my w aidrobe, I must re- main for some days, though I could now w^ell bear to be cased in flannel. In fact, I have just been sitting by the kitchen-fire, where I assisted, or at least attempted to do so, in pre-

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paring the Coffee for breakfast. In the Valleys of Piemont finery must be laid aside. The Pastor Vinson informs me, tliat he makes the bread, and performs many other useful offices, for his family. All this I must not fail to re- late to some of my clerical brethren, a little magnificent, in England. What will the good souls say, — what will not be their wonderment, aye, and of their Lady-consorts too, when I let them into the secret, that the Wife of the 31oderator — the Episcopos himself — laid the cloth, and set the plates, knives, forks, spoons, and dishes, on the table, for the dinner at La Tour ?

During our conversation of this morning after breakfast, Mr. Vinson lamented, that, notwith- standing the liberality of the British and Swiss Bihle Societies to the Vaudois of Piemont, his poor people were still inadequately supplied with Copies of the Old Testament. I therefore took the liberty of suggesting- to him the pro- priety of forming* among his Parishioners a Bi- ble Association, and began to detail to him the benefits, which had arisen in England, within my own knowledge, from such establishments : I even went so far as to offer to prepare the

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sketch of a plan fdr bis use. But alas ! I was at once stopt from even taking" a pen in hand by the assurance of Mr. Vinson, that it was utterly impossible for his poor to make the pin*chase of the whole Bible. " Lately," he said, " I had " one hundred New Testaments sent to me from Lausanne, to circulate in my Parish at a Very " low price : I offered them to my people at "eighteen sous each: many could not buy ** them, and of those who did buy, some, to my " certain knowledge, spared for several suc- ** cessive weeks the very salt — les grains de *' sel quails avoient pour leur potageT This was quite sufficient: I felt convinced, that the poor destitute people of Pramol should not be asked to purchase even the Bible.

Mane'ille^ ^\st June, 10 o^clock at night. About noon to-day, the weather suddenly clearing up, I left Pramol, after dining with my kind friends, the Pastor Vinson and his wife: the former proposed accompanying Mr. Monastier and myself as far as Prali. With a steep walk of an hour and a half we gained the summit of a mountain, to the North-West of Pramol, which commands a view of the two Valleys of Perouse and St, Martin, That of

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Si. Martin is wild and narrow. Ville^Sechej the first of its Protestant Parishes, was directly before us ; and Maneille is seen to the West of Ville-seche. On oiir descent from this moun- tain, and after crossing the Germanesca tor- rent, which was considerably swoln from the late rain, we entered Ville-seche ; having* first passed its two very small annexed Churches of Riclaret and Fa€t» Like all the other Protestant Parishes, the village itself is mean and insignificant, as the far greater part of its population is scattered at considerable distances on the mountains. In proceeding to the Pres- bytery of the Pastor Rostaing^ and at the entrance of Ville-seche, the cottage of a descen- dant of Jean Leger^ the Historian, and also of the same celebrated name, was pointed oiit to me ; but this descendant, poor felloAv! is miserably destitute, and almost an idiot. Mr» Rostaing was standing at the door of his hum- ble dwelling at our arrival, -^aiid though Jloder at eur -adjoint, the second Dignitary of the Vaudois Church, he received us, as a matter of course, in his kitchen. Wine and water were immediately produced, and conversation began. Mr. Rostaing is about sixty years of age, re- markably well looking, quick, lively, fluent,

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ftud sensible: lie seemed tlioroiiglily acquainted with the plan of Salvation; yet, I must own, he did not altogether gain my confidence. There is something, I scarcely know what, ■which always excites my suspicion in a very easy, forward manner. And that of Mr. Ros- taing is decidedly such. In this prepossession of mine I feel that I am wrong' : it has arisen, perhaps, from early and severe disappoint- ments, w hich have been inflicted upon me by similar characters. I must endeavour to struggle against it,— and the more am I in duty bound to do so ; since if there be any one subject more than another, which, in the leadings of Divine Providence, ought to raise deep and lasting- thankfulness within me, it is this, — that evevy high thought, and lofty imagination, which once raged fiercely, and uncontrolled, have now been brought low, and levelled to the dust, by the failure of all my earthly schemes of temporal advancement. Adored be the merciful chastisements of the Lord God of hosts towards me ! O may I be enabled to hold on my way rejoicbic/, in simplicity and godly sincerity, for the remainder of my Pilgrimage here below in the present life ! N

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Mr. Rostaiiig informed me, that his Parish contains fifteen hundred Protestants, and two hundred and forty Romanists ; and that it has one Central School at Ville-seche, and ten other Winter Day-Schools in its adjoining hamlets. The Church, to which we repaired about two hours after our arrival, is in good order, and sufficiently large to accommodate six hundred persons. Mr. Rostaing assured me, that it was in general quite fu\],—plei7ie comme un cevf, I found Ostervald's Version of the Bible, and the Neufchatel Liturgy, both in the Pulpit, and the Regent's Desk. The Church is too small for the population of the Parish.

At Ville-seche there are Vines extending high upon the mountains towards Pomaret, but few of them are seen Westward in the way to Maneille. Wheat, in small quantities, is grown in the Parish, and a few Chesnut-trees appear low down in the Valley on the Germanesca torrent. There are no Mulberry trees.

In coming forwards to Maneille, we tra- versed the little town of St. Martin^ which gives its name to the Valley, wherein the Pro- testant Parishes of Ville^secke, 3Ianeille, and

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Prali are situated. The view of the Chnrch of St. Martin, now alas ! Romany is pretty, on its .western side, towards Maneille. At this latter place we arrived at half-past eight, after a walk of ten miles from Pramol. The road, for the greater part of it, is rough and uneven ; particularly, on the descents of the mountains. In truth, the approach to Maneille is not invit- ing; the Scenery is often bold and awful, but all is black, barren, and stony, — a kind of Ara- bia Petrcea. There is very little wheat grown in the parish of Maneille : and no Vines, Mul- berry or Chesnut-trees, make their appearance to enliven the view, or to gladden the heart. Mr. Monastier, the Pastor, gives me to under- stand, that at Maneille the population does not exceed four hundred persons, and that it is nearly equally divided between the Protestants and Romanists. It has one Central, and two Hamlet Day-Schools.

Though I have again roughed it, having supped in the kitchen of the Presbytery on no very luxurious fare, I now go to bed, well pleased with my companions, the Pastors Vinson and Monastier. The latter has only quitted the University of Lausanne within the n2

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last year, and certainly talks rather too much in the College style altogether to suit my taste; yet he is intelligent, and speaks, with feeling and earnestness, respecting the discharge of his pastoral duties: I can entertain no doubt whatever of his sincerity, and the soundness of his religious principles. It has been my en- deavour, to confirm some of his opinions, — and my own I have delivered plainly, and, I trust faithfully.

Now it is diav/ing towards twelve, the witch- ing hour of the night. But I may just remark that Mr. Ilostaing, who accompanied our party half-way fromVille-seche to Maneille, express- ed himself pointedly, and with much animatioUy against the oppressive, and proselytizing spirit of the Popish Priest, who is Cuyq of the church of the Romanists in his parish. He added, that this man was under t\\^- special protection of the late Bishop of Pinerolo. Yet are these things precisely what might be ex- pected. A conscientious Romanist must, of necessity, be intolerant of all other religion:^ modes of Faith, and be incessantly on the watch to make converts to his own, from tl^e simple and avowed Principle of his Church,

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that ivithin her pale salvation is only attain-- able. May tlio Legislature of my own native Land, while it sliall grant to every man the free exercise of his Religion, be induced wise- ly to withhold, on a principle of just self-de- fence, all political Vow er from the Romanists! Sure I am, that the Oppressions which the persecuted Vaudois of Piemont have continued to endure through a long course of ages, no less than the general and current History of the Church of Christ, most amply and pain- fully testify the abuse of such Power, when- ever Papists have been in the passession of it. The theme is one, which I could continue to discuss for some time longer, but prudence warns me to retire to rest. So, good night, my little Journal !

Prali, 22d June, On rising this morning-, I was gratified in finding a very nice Col- lection of Books, principally on Theology and Ecclesiastical Histor;/, in my bed-room : I had seen a number of volumes last night, but I was busied in writing my Journal, and did not stay to examine them. Mr. Monastier has told me, that he possesses ahnost five hundred dif- ferent works, which he purchased at Lausanne n3

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during' his residence of seven year.% in the Uni- versity, and that they are now a great source of comfort to him in his retirement. I could join heartily with him in the liope, that they might prove also the means of Christian In- struction to the little flock, which is commit- ted to his guidance.

My two companions and I started at nine o'clock, after a breakfast at the Presbytery of Maneille on rye-bread and coffee, — going im- mediately to the Church in the village: it is a small, shabby building for a place of worship, and can scarcely contain one hundred and fifty persons. I discovered Ostervald's Version of the Bible, and the Neufchatel Liturgy, in the Pulpit, and the Regent's Desk.

Thence, we proceeded to Macel, the annex- ed parish to Maneille, which is likewise under the care of the Pastor Monastier. In Macel, (here are four hundred and fifty Protestants, and one hundred and thirty Romanists : it has one Central School in the village, and six other TViiiter Day-Schools in its several hamlets.

I was much struck this morning with the

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fleop gorg'ps of the mountain-scenery, and tlie roaring impetnons Gcrmanesca, on the way to Macel. Some fields of rye were visible, and a few meadows were standing- for Iiay. i\Jr. 3Ionastier informed me, that there are about fifteen hundred sheep belonging to the parish of Macel, which are all now upon the moun- tains.

Our conversation turning on Sheep of ano- ther kind, I learnt that the Regent's Thurs- day-Service is used in the Ciiurches of the Valley of Perouse, but not in those of St. Mar- tin ; though in some of the School-rooms of the latter Valley there is a daily Prayer-meet- ing every Evening of the week. At Prali, a boy goes through the village, crying A la Priere, and inviting the people to assemble. Both the Pastors, Vinson and 31onastier, as- sured me, that in the Winter-months it is a common custom in the Valleys of Perouse and St. Martin, for the families to sit together in the Cow-stables after dark for the sake of warmth ; when some man, in the course of the Evening, reads portions of the Holy Scriptures, Pictet's Prayers, and Qstervald's Nourriture de TAme.

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The Sabbatli-Servicrs in the Churches; of tliese Valleys are the same as tliose in the Valley of Luzerne.

While we were staiiding" at the door of the Chdrch at Macel, my companions, like true Vaudois, directed my attention to the mountain, on which had been the fortress of Balsille, celebrated in the history of their countrymen, and by which the Exiles, under the command of the intrepid and adventurous Arnauld, re- turned to their native Valleys in the year 1689: it was situated nearly due West of our station ; the Col de Pis rose still further from us. My two friends, the Pastors, became quite animated with the view of the ancient site of the Balsille, and entered deeply and warmly into the bloody Annals of their Persecutions.

The Church at Macel is still darker, and more shabby than that of Maneille ; with paper in the Casements of the Windows, instead of Glass. It may hold about two hundred and fifty persons. Ostervald's Version of the Bi- ble, and the Lausanne Liturgy were in the Pulpit, and the Regent's Desk.

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After our visit to the Church, 31r, Monastier, to my gieat surprise, but not less, at the moment, to my entire satisfaction, proposed an adjourn- ment to the house of the Cure, the Popish Priest, who lived very near; assuring me, that he was alio^-ether different from his brethren in general, and was an open-hearted, sociable kind of man Accordingly, we went to the abode of his Reverence, which I found to be a good substantial dwellir.g', vastly superior in its furniture, and accommodation, to any Presbytery of a Vaudois Pastor I hav^e yet seen. On our approach, he was lolling out of a window to kill time, and seemed quite delighted with the interruption. A most lively, merry per- sonage he proved to be ! He declared often and often, that he was far above all common, narrow prejudices; he laughed obstreperously at every third word he uttered ; and was de- termined to make us welcome. The little fat rosy-cheeked old man produced his wine, and, understanding me to be an Englishman, roundly affirmed, that I should have my portion properly medicated : he therefore drew from a Corner- cupboard a bottle of right good Cogniac, and (horresco referens) half filling a tumbler with the strong, and half with the weak, iusi?jted

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upon my drinking up the whole dose. This he wished to repeat for me, but I declined the repetition. Happily, the said tumbler was not of large dimensions.

Warmed by our potations, which, though not deep, were strong, we continued chatting for half an hour, and then took our leave, with many thanks our host for his reception of us.

After quitting Macel,and justas we crossed the Germanesca torrent, Mr. Vinson pointed out to me an Eagle, soaring directly over the Salze mountain, which we were about to as- cend in our way to Rodoret. This said moun- tain of Salze is tremendously long and steep ; so much so, in fact, that I was almost knocked up with the exertion of climbing it, — particu- larly, as the Sun was high, and shining full upon us. However, on its summit we dined, and recruited our strength ; our eatables being a tough hard sausage, and some rye-bread, which my late host, Mr. Monastier, had with much foresight brought with him: we sat down at the edge of a rippling spring', than which the JFojts Bcaidnsicp^hetier shaded though it might be, was not more refreshing, nor did

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it scud forth clearer and sweeter water. Mov^* over, the spot Me had chosen was enlivened by many tufts of Rhododendra, which, as is not unfreqiiently the case on these Alpine heights, were growing in wild and native lux- uriance around us. The pretty little Forrjet^ jne~not, with its pale blue flower, also appear- ed in every direction : I picked several of them, and put them into my pocket-book. And al- beit they have now begun to fade and wither, I shall often recur with pleasure to my dinner on the Salze mountain, and to my friendly com- panions, the two Vaudois Pastors.

Preftinesses and Sentimentalities apart, in which, I trust, I am not very often disposed to indulge, I succeeded, by the help of a short nap, a Siesta of half an hour, upon the bare grass, in reaching Rodoret, and afterwards Prali; yet towards the conclusion of the day's Journey, I must confess that I dragged heavily*

The viHage of Rodoret appears more than commonly wretched even for the Valleys of Pie- mont; and it is so unhappily situated, as to be continually subject to the Avalanches of snow from the mountains, by which it is surrounded.

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Last winter two Louses were completely bu- ried. Its Church is the worst, which 1 have yet seen, — more like a bad stable than the house of Goil ! I observed Martin's Version of the Bible, and the Lausanne Liturgy, in the Pulpit; and Martin's Bible, and Ostervald's Nourriture de I'Ame, in the Regent's Desk. Rodoret contains four hundred Protestants, and one hundred and fifty Romanists: it has one Central School in the village, and five other Vr inter Day-Schools in its hamlets.

In Rodoret and Prali, annexed Parishes, and botl) under the ministry of the Pasior Peyran, the productions are much the same as in Maneille, and Macel, — rye, potatoes, and biK'k-wlieat; but no vines, mulberry and ches- iiut-trees. Some few scanty meadows were standing for hay in the latter part of my walk this evening. But let me not fail to add, that great as the poverty of the people is, — and in Jlacel, Rodoret, and Prali, it exceeds any state of destitution, which I could have con- ceived, before I witnessed it myself, w ith my own eyes, — 1 found the peasants cheerful, and apparently happy. Many, and many a tiiiic, were we hailed by them, in the course of

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tlie day, and invited to enter their cabaus; for such lam compelled to call them: and where-, ever we did enter, we were immediately fur- nished with tlie little all, which they pos- aessed— black bread, and a thin acid iclne.

At Iength,after again mounting fromRodoret, and again descending by a most rugged path, amidsl rocks and precipices, which cut my feet sadly, we crossed the Germanesca toiTent, and arrived at Prali, It is indeed a most doleful village, placed in the bottom of the Valley, amidlt sand and barrenness. The Al ps, which are still capped with snow, frown forbiddingly around it. Glad was I to reach tlie Presbytery of the Pastor Peijran, and to repose myself by liis kitchen fire'; since I had to-day walked not less than ten hours, climbing upwards, and frequently struggling and slippingdownwards. Mr. Peyran received 'us very hospitably,— as Vaudois Pastors, and Laymen usually receive their guests. He is a singular man, possessed of very good natural abilities; perfectly ori- ginal ; simple in his manners, often abstracted, and occasionally dry, caustic, and full of humour. Though he manifests little of a de- o

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votional spirit, 1 have good reason to think him, from his Observations, a sincere Christian.

My Supper, the Conversation of my host, and the Elasticity of this monntain-air have all now assisted in reviving me to such a de- gree, that tired and jaded as I was, when I first arrived at Prali, I have been enabled to continue my Journal, till, on looking at my watch, I discover it to be very near midnight. To bed, to bed!

Prali, 2SdJune. At breakfast this morning, Mr. Peyran read a Reply of his Uncle, the late J, Rhodophe Peyran, Moderator of the Pro- testant Churches in the Valleys of Piemont, to the Bishop of Pinerolo,who, in his Pastoral Addresses to the Romish Clergy of his Diocess, had let off some absurd tirades against the re- ligious tenets of the Vaudois. The Reply was quite a treat! very able, and full of point antl learning; for a work of Controversy, it was also admirable in its temper and moderation ! His Lordship never answered it. I begged hard for a Copy ; but as it was too long to be easily transcribed, and Mr. Peyran had only one, I could not, in common propriety, press

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my petition to the utmost : he tells me how- ever that the Rev» Thomas Sims of Clifton^ is in possession of the Work in M. S. So I may again see it, and, I trust, in print,

Mr. Peyran has not only informed me, that Jean Leger, the Historian, entered upon his Ministry, as a Vaudois Pastor, in the annexed. Parishes of Prali and Rodoret ; but has kind- ly pointed out to me two Passages from the Ahrege of his Life, which, as they bear imme- diately on his past labors, — the place in which I am, — and the very walk, which I took yes- terday evening-, — 1 feel not unwilling to intro- duce among my own Remarks. The climate even now at Prali, towards the latter end of June, and at noon-day, the time that I am wri-» ting, is piercingly cold.

" Me voila done par la grace de Dieu sain " et sauf dans les Vallees, ou je fus re9u Pasteur " au Synode de S. Germain !e 27me. de Sep- " tembre, en la memo annee 1639, et donne li 'TEgiise de Prals et Rodoret, seule vacante, ** pour lors la plus haute et plus froide de toutes f* les Vall(^es, et d' ordinaire couverte de neiges o 2

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" luiict on neiif mois tie V an, avec ordre de " faire quatre preches par semaine."

" En Fev. 1641, partant tout seiil des Prals " un Dimanche an point du jour pour aller *' faire le I'*, preche au Rodoret, a une lieue "d' Allemagne de la, comme je traversois la ** Colline cju' on appelle la Tracenea, je fus *' accueilli d'un si farieus tourbillon de vent que "j'en fus long-temps roule parnii les iieiges, " ou je perdis mon chapeau : niais arrive que " je fus au Village nomme la Ville, \\\\ Barbe " David Guigou Ancien, m'en ayant prete un " autre, je passai outre : Cependant comme ma " tQie avoit este detrempee parmi les neiges, " el!e ne trada gueres dese trouver garnied'un *' bonnet de glace, avec lequel je ne laissay " pas de poursuivre mon cliemin : arrive que " je fus au Rodoret, je degelay bien un peu "ma pauvre tcic *aupres du feu, mais cela n' " empecha pas que quelqucs semaines apres je

*This was wrong-. The Aposleme, avid its satl consequences, mig-lit li-ave been avoided j but Leger, though an excellent Historian, was not deeply versed in physics. Instead of ex- posing' liiniseif suddenly to the heat of a fire, he should have caused one of his parisiiioners at Rodoret to chafe his Pauvre Tete with snow-water. — Vide Captain Parry's Nariiativs OF uis Voyages to the Arctic Ocdan, passim.

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<* ne fus alitte tout a plat, et si rudement travaille ** cr line Aposteme que tous les Medicins qu' " on put consulter ne me coiitassent eiUre les " morts; mes oreilles etoient si fort enilees qa' *' elles avoieiit V epaisseur de plus de deux *' doig'ts : mes Machoires etoient si feraiees " qu' il n'estoit pas possible de m'ouvrir les dent?^ " pour me pouvoir mettie quelque cueiiierio " de boiiillon dans la bouche : si bien que pour " le faire avec une canule d arg-ent, le Sieur <* Laurens mon Oncie trouva bon de me rompre ** une dent macheliere."

The Pastor Peyran has happily not been vi- sited by so fierce a tourbillon as his Predeces- sor, in traversing* the mountains between Prali and Rodoret; bat he assures me, that, for seve- ral months in the year, he is, on the return of every Sabbath, under the necessity of wading- up to his knees in snow, in getting- to the latter village at four miles' distance, for the dis- charge of his pastoral duties. Most sincerely do T hope, that li I receive no other benefit from my Excursion to the Valleys of Picmont, I may at least derive this practical lesson, which shall never be erased from my mind, — Not to he discomposed at the minor difficulties o3

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of life. Having witnessed the patience and cheerfulness of these excellent men, the Vau^ dots Pastors^ amidst their poverty and many severe privations, I mnst not, if my ov/n days be prolonged, cease to remember, that in Eng- land the lines are fallen unto me i-n pleasant places; yea, I have comparatively a goodly heritage. And who hath made me to differ? and what have I, that I have not received, un- worthy as 1 am, from the free, sovereign Grace, and Mercy of God alone? I might, had such been the Will of my heavenly Father, have been fixed in these Valleys at the worst of times, exposed to Persecution, Insult, and Con- tumely, destitute, afflicted, tormented! Laus Deo.

These reflections raising* my mind (as I humbly trust) in thankfulness to God for the Privileges, and numberless Blessings, which I myself enjoy, I shall now prepare my second Letter for England on the Persecutions of the Vandois Cktrrch. For this task I have the rest of the day, and to-morrow morning before me, sii^ce Mr. Peyran has most kindly urged me net to think of leaving him for the next twenty four hours. Setting aside bodily fatigue and stiffncjfe, which 1 still feel very sensibly, as the

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effects of my exeitioiis for the Ir.st three days, I am by no means disinclined to spend a little more time with my present Associates, even at Prali, the most forlorn, in outward circum- stances, of all human abodes !

LETTER THE SECOND.

Prali, 23dJu7ie, 1825.

My dear Friend,

I am now actually at Prali, and at the Presbytery of the Pastor Peyran, An I am invited by the kindness of my host to remain quietly beneath his roof till to-morrow after- noon, I shall employ myself in giving- you, ac- cording to my promise, and the plan of ray letters, a slight Sketch of the Persecutions^ which have been endured by the Church of the Vaudois. The shortness of my time how- ever compels me to go immediately to my Sub- ject,— at once, in mcdias res.

Though occasionally disturbed on account of their religious Faith for more than one hun- dred years, the Persecutions of the Vaudois may be said properly to have begun towards

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the end of the fifteenth Century : in 1477 was published the infamous Bull of Pope Innocent VIII, from which may be dated tlie Commence- ment of their cruel Sufferings. This Bull may be seen in Jean Leger^s History, (2d Part, ell. IT,) and is, I believe, still preserved in M. S. at the Library of Trinity College, Cam" bridge. The haughty Pontiff complains in it, that the Vaudois both say and do many things, at once offensive in the eyes of God, and per- nicious to the souls of men ; and he therefore commands all Bishops, Archbishops, Vicars- general, and other Priests of the Holy Roman Church, to obey the Inquisitor, whom he should send, and to co-operate with him, to the utmost of their power, for the extinction of what he is pleased to term heresy.

In the year 1535, theVaudois of Provence, and Piemont, underwent an open Persecution, which was directed by Bressour, and which terminated in a rupture between the Duke of Savoy, and Francis the first. The Valleys then passed under the dominion of France, to which they were subjected about the space of twenty three years. During the grealer part of this time, the Vaudois were not directly molested

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for their religious principles ; some indivitluals only being- made the victims of Inquisitors.

But in 1556, Commissaries were sent to declare inthename of //e/iri/ the 5eco??c?, that the inhabit- ants of the Valleys of Piemont were to attend Mass on pain of death. Far from submitting to such an alternative, these faithful people only replied ; " That they were ready to change " their religious Profession, if it could be proved " to them from the Holy Scriptures, that they " were in error." Monks were therefore em- ployed to convert them; but their preaching, and exhortations had not the desired effect. Recourse was then made to flatteries, promises, and threats. All however were unavailino-. At length, their Persecutors endeavoured to obtain by force from the Vaudois what they had voluntarily refused to concede. The Pastors of the Valleys, with twelve of the principal laymen, were cited to appear at Turin : the Syndics, or Mayors of the different Communes^ were ordered to receive the Preachers, whom the Bishop of the diocess should send them. On this trying occasion, the Vaudois entreated the King to alloxo them to live peaceably in the possession of that Creed, which they, in their

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consciences, believed to have been tavght by Jesus Christ, and his Apostles, Such an answer only tended to irritate the enemies of the Vaudois, who shortly afterwards came to issue with them.

In 1559, the Pope, the King of Spain, and some of the Powers of Italy, induced Emma- nuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, to proclaim a new Edict against the Vaudois. The Perse- cution, which followed, was long, violent, and deeply marked with cruelty. But on account of the successes of the Vaudois themselves; the intercession of Margaret, the Dutchess; the sickness of le Comte de la Tririite, the Commander; and the desertion of his sol- diery,— the Duke was not unwilling to termi- nate the war by a Proclamation of the fifth of June, 1561, in which he not only left to the inhabitants of the Valleys the free exercise of their religion, but granted them the privilege of earning their livelihood in any part of his dominion^.

The occurences, which followed till the mid- dle of the seventeenth Century, are, in the eventful History of the Vaudois, scarcely of

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sufficient interest to arrest our attention. From the foreign wars, in which the Dukes of Sa- voy were engaged, the Vaudois were only obliged to endure some slight vexations.

But I novr hasten to the most afflictive Pe- riod of their History. The storm, which had been lowering for some time over the Valleys of Piemont, suddenly burst upon them : the zeal of the Propag-andists of Rome, and their con- ceit, that, in point of doctrine, all men are obliged to submit to the dictates of the Pope, were the immediate causes of a frightful Mas- sacre in the year 1655. An Order was is.sued from the Auditor Gastaldo, who had been de- legated from the Court of Turin as Commissary general for the extirpation of heresy, in which he enjoined the inhabitants of the least moun- tainous parts of the Valleys to quit their dwell- ings in three days, and abandon their proper- ty, unless they would consent to attend Mass : all, whether old or young, male or female, sick or in health, were to traverse, in the very depth of winter, mountains covered with snoAv, But, observes J^e«« Ler/er, " c'est une chose ad- " mirable que de tout un si grand peuple il ne " se soit rencontre une seule personne, qui n*

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" ait pliitot dioisi une si funeste condition, " inille fois plus amere que la mort, a cause de " lalangucur et longueur desmiseres, on ils se " jettoient, Cjue de demeurer a leur aise dans " leurs niaisons et biens, et de jouir de plusieurs *' grands avantages, a condition d'aller a la " Messe."

The Vaudois sent several deputations to Ga>i;taldo, and to the Court of Turin ; but these were without effect. On the seventeenth of April, 1655, the JIarchese di Pianezza en- tered the Valleys with an army of fifteen thousand men. In his two first attacks on the Vaudois, he was repulsed with considerable loss: when he had recourse to a most infamous stratagem. He summoned the deputies of the Vaudois before him, and succeeded in pursuading them, tliatthey should have no caut^e of alarm, if they would only, in testimony of their submission to the Duke of Savoy, receive for three days, in each of their Parishes, a regiment of infantry, and two troops of cavalry. The Vaudois ac- cepted the proposal ; but scarcely had the military entered the villages, then they took possession of the passes, and proved too late to the wretched inhabitants, that they were be-

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Irayed, On the fatal twenty-fourth of April, the signal was given ; and forthwith, every Vaudois, whom the assassins could seize, was murthered with all the barbarity, which the most ingenious maKce could devise. If History had not made us unhappily familiar with the ex*- cesses of Papal bigotry, well might we doubt the x;ruelties, which are said to have been committed at that awful time. Children, snatched from their mothers' arms, were butchei*ed in their ^ight. The sick, the eld of both sex^s, were burnt in their houses ; or were tied together, and precipitated from the summits of rocks. Virgins, and married wom«n were vroiat^d, and afterwards actually impaled alive. Men had their nails torn from their hands, and their eyes from their sockets : the arms, and legs of some were cut off, and, in this state, the Suffer* ers were left to expire in the most lingering* deaths. At the bare recital of such horrors *the heart sickens; but more especially at th'e

* It was on the occasion of this nefarious Matssacre, that Milton wrote his sonnet,

*'Aveng-e, O Lord, thy slaughtered saintis, whose bones '1—

"Vengeance rs mine; I will repay, said) the Lord." Bt 1 it remembered, that although the mystic City now again reai^ her head for a little space, her doom is fixed, and the time of lier end may be drawing near.

Cioiely connected with th^ pouring- out cf tub scvcNTfi

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thoiig-lit, that men could have been found to experience a savage delig-ht in torturing their fellow-creatures, who should have been united to them by one common bond of brotherhood, as Servants, and Followers of the same mild and merciful Saviour.

Such was the result of this dreadful act of treachery by the * Marchese di Pianezza, a name handed down to infamy, and general Execration. The Massacres continued several

,ViAL is tlie total aiid entire Destruction of BabVLon tite Great. Rev. xvi. 17 — ^l comp. xviii. 1 — 8, Independent of lier other plagues, wliicb sliall come upon lier in one daj- — DEATH, AND MOUUNiN o, AN D FAMiKE — "she shall be utterly *' burned with fire: for strong' is the Lord God who judgeth *' her." NoW) it is well known to those persons who have vi- sited Rome, that she is built on subterraneous fires j for the whole country in her vicinity appears to be covered with ex- tinct Volcanos, of which the forms are still clearly marked. Sulphur impregiiTitcs the soil. At a distance of fourteen miles from Rome o« the plain towards Tivoli, there is a strong- sul- phureous lake, witli a stream issuing- from it, which infects the air forseveral miles. Either the same, or another stre^im cross- es the road from R«me to Alhano, ten miles from the former place, producing the like sensible efiects.

Here then are the materials prepared, as they were formerly, •\\hen the Lord God caused fire to rain out of heaven on the proud cities of the plain-, sending- liis lig-htnings abroad, and igniting- the bitumen and naptha of the soil around Sodom and Gomorrah '.

*Denina Tittempts to palliate the atrocities of this Com- mander, though he cannot but allow, '* che il Marchese di Vk\. *' nezza fosse anche animato da zelo excessivo nel consig-liare e " nel condur quella guerra." IsTORiA DULLA Italia Occi-

DENTALE,

II

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days, — and the land was inundated with blood. At length the Court of Turin yielded to the many earnest representations, which were made by the different Protestant powers, but more especially by the Reformed Cantons of Sivit" zerland, and by Oliver Cromwell: she pub- lished a truce, which was followed by a treaty of Peace, concluded at Pinerolo, the eighteenth of August, 1655. This Treaty, in confirming- the Privileges, which were formerly granted to the Vaudois, permitted such, as had fled the country, to re-enter it, on condition, that they should not inhabit any other places than they before possessed.

At this epoch, the Protestants of Switzerland, Holland, and England, commiserating the evils which the Vaudois had suffered, and the degree of wretchedness, to which they were reduced, came forward liberally and nobly, for their relief. Switzerland raised Pensions for edu- cating the young Ministers in her Universities; Holland provided for the support of the Schools; and England, at the instigation of Cromwell, collected no less a sum, from a general lu' gathering among her religious Congregations than £38/241. 10s. 6d.,—of which amount p2

17^

^21,908. Os. 3d, were appropriated in the sub- sequent two years and half, in money, and a supply of the common necessaries of life. Witk the money the Vaudois were enabled to re« Luild some of their houses, and Churches^ which had been burnt, or otherwise demolished ill the impious and cruel war of Extermination*

After the Peace concluded in 1655, the Vaudois, under the immediate protection of the Protestant Powers of Europe, enjoyed a degree of tranquillity till the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Lewis XIV, having then formed the idle and wicked project of abolish- ing^ Protestantism in France, pressed the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadcus the second, to imitate his example in Piemont, and to fore© the Vau-^ dois to embrace Popery. The Duke appears to have resisted for a time, but at length yielded to the influence, which the haughty French Mo- narch exercised in a large part of Europe, and accepted his offer of fourteen thousand Auxil- iary troops. These poured into the Valleys, with the atrocious Catinat at their head. The Vaudois, being now attacked by so formidable an army ; and worn out, and exhausted by their former Persecutions^ foresaw ^.that^ by persisting

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in the contest, they sliould be utterly over- whelmed. Hence, thoy offered to surrender, provided they might be allowed to quit the territory of the Duke. Their proposal was accepted ; but instead of being permitted to depart, all, who would not abjure their Faith, were perfidiously seized, — and seventeen thou- sand unhappy victims were cast into prisons^ where many of them perished miserably by cold, and hunger; or in the midst of torments. While in their dungeons, they were often assailed by Priests, who tried to effect their Conversion. No means were neglected to ac- complish this purpose. The offer of temporal Riches; the threat, and exhibition of the most afflictive Punishments, were all, by tnrn, pre- sented : but, by the Grace of God, some few individuals were alone found sufficiently weak to abjure their religious principles. Thus, the Duke perceiving, that he could not succeed in his object, and that the Prisoners were entailing upon him a heavy expence, condemned the three thousand survivors to go into exile : their property was divided among the Convents, and the small number of Apostates.

Destitute, and nearly heart-broken, the r3

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wrefclied Vaiidois cast a lingering look upon their native Valleys, and departed, in the midst of winter, scarcely knowing- whither they should direct their steps. But Switzerland was still open to receive them. After many difficuitie.«, they arrive at Geneva, and are there received with hospitality and kindness. Each citizen wished to admit one of the unhappy Vaudois into his house: their wounds are dressed; and the rags, with which they were covered, are ex- changed for warm and decent clothing. Some of the destitute Vaudois reached Berne in 1687, and are there sheltered with like tokens of af- fectionate and Christian regard.

Restless however, and disquieted, the Exiles sigh after their own Valleys, endeared to them even by their Sufierings, — and soon do they form the hazardous design of regaining, by force of arms, those abodes, v/hich they had quitted. Having first sent emissaries to trace their line of march, they made every prepara- tion within their povver; and after surmount- intr some obstructions, attendant on their de- part are from Switzerland, they finally set ofi' froJii Nyon on the memorable night of the six- teenth of August, 1689.

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Never was an Enterprise more boldly planned nor attended with more complete success. From eight to nine hundred Vaudois, all armed, and determined to re-enter victoriously into their own dwellings, or to perish in the attempt, em- bark on the lake of Geneva, pass into Savoy and traverse that mountainous and wild coun- try. Neither the badness of the roads, the steep- ness of the passes, the rain, nor the prospect of the enem}^ deters them from pursuing- their course : the love of their native Valleys, and their devoted confidence in God, strengthen them to bear up against every obstacle in their way.

Yet it is worthy of remark, that they do not hasten forwards, as men who are prompted by revenge, or who had allowed their passions to subvert their reason : they pay for the provisions which are furnished them : thev take hostaoes from the people, wherever they go ; and con- duct themselves mildly and peaceably to all, who occasion them no impediment: they do not seek out their Foes; but if such oppose them, the Vaudois prove what men are capable of doing, when they act on a fixed and truly patriotic Principle. Being arrived at the Val-

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ley of Oiilx, between Suza and Briancon, they find themselves surrounded by an hosttle foree of two thousand five luindred soldiers, and a body^of armed peasants. Then are they obliged to come to an engagement, in order to force the passage of a bridge, near the village of Sala- bertrans, which the French troops, so much superior in number, had barricadoed, and at that time defend. The Vaudois rush upon them, sword in hand, pierce their ranks, and, after a most obstinate eno-aoement of two liovirs, become masters of the bridge. Worn out with hunger and fatigue, they continue their march ; and at length gain the fortress of the Bahille, whence they discover the Valley of St. Martin. At the sight, their hearts overflow with joy ; but amidst the conflict of feelings, which crowd upon them, one sentiment of Gratitude prevailed: they unite with their Leader and their Pastor, the victorious Henry Arnauld, in Prayer to God ; they render Thanks and Praises for past Mer- cies, which had carried them victoriously through so many difiiculties and dangers. In this spirit of holy courage, they, on the next day, pursue their march ; when one division enters the Valley oiSt, Martin by this village

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oiPraliy — and another passes over the Col Ju-^ lietif and the Sarcena, to Bobi in the Valley of Luzerne. Most deservedly is the 3lemory of Henri/ Arnauld cherished by the Vaudois of Pieniont !

But though successful in regaining Xha Val- leys of Piemont, they find their habitations laid waste, or given to the Romanists. Victor Aniadeus, being' informed of their arrival, sent troops against them: yet harrassed by fatigue, and destitute of other resources, their unshaken confidence in God, their courage, and their arms remain to them ; and they resolve not to quit their country a second time. They take refuge in the mountains for nine months ; till their little band was so much lessened by ac- cumulated Sufierings, that they were under the necessity of retiring to the Pre du Tour, — a fortress of considerable strength, situated in the parish of AngTogne. Scarcely are they arrived at this retreat, than deputies from Turin come with terms of accommodation, and solicit them to accept the Treaty, which they offer them. The real cause of these pacific senti- ments is soon apparent : it was a rupture^

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which had occurred, in the month of June, 1690, between the Courts of France and Savoy.

In this manner, may be said to have termi- nated the long series of active Persecutions, to which^ the Vaudois of Piemont had been ex- posed for the Sincerity of their Belief. But it is not the least interesting trait of the Sufferers' Character, that Jeaii Leger, and their other Historians, with Henry Arnauld himself, admit most reluctantly the part, which their legiti- mate Sovereigns, the Dukes of Savoy, had in their afflictions. They seem all anxious to as- cribe them to the cruel emissaries of the Court of Rome, and the Kings of France, — two for- midable Powers, whom their own Princes were vmable to resist. The Inquisitors, and the Priests were, in fact, the chief authors of these Persecutions : aware that their preaching, and exhortations had been useless, they thought that force might be a surer, and a shorter mode of Conversion. And to this end, they did their utmost to exercise it, in the very gall oj' hitter^ nessy and in the bond of' iniquity.

From the Treaty in the year 1690, the

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Pj-inces of Piemont engaged in different wars, which required the services of the Vaudois. Nor is it too much to say, that these proved themselves, on every occasion, faithful and de- voted Subjects,

But for the degree of tranquillity, which they were permitted to enjoy, the Vaudois were indebted, humanly speaking, to political circumstances, and to the active and continued protection of the Protestant Powers of Europe. Holland, and above ad, to lier credit, be it spoken, England interested herself in their be- half. William the third, (who had just been the Instrument, under God's Providence, in effecting the glorious Revolution of 1688, and had thus established the civil and religious li- berties of England,) sent a Regiment of Infan- try for the defence of the Vaudois, and, by the acquiescence of Victor Amadeus the second^ Le conferred the rank of Colonel of it upon Ilen^ ry Arnauld, the Pastor, The original docu- ment, which gives a company in this Regi- ment to Daniel Arnauld, his brother, is still preserved by Mr. Paul Appia of La Tour; it bears date the fourteenth of May, 1601, from

IBO

f//e llcigue; is signed " Guillaume,'* and couti* tersigned " Nottingham*''

Queen Mary, wife of William the thirds had ^already taken into consideration the destitute icircumstances of the Vaudois Pastors, who, by *a profligate Robbery of Charles the second, re* ceived no further aid from the Balance, which remained due to them of tJie hi-gathermg under Oliver Cromwell. She, therefore, by her influence with the English Parliament, obtained for their maintenance and support, an annual grant of two hundred and sixty-stx pounds, which received the appellation of the Royal Bounty, Nor while England thus proved her liberality, and affection for Protestantism, was Holland inattentive to the wants of the Vaudois of Piemont : it raised diflPerent Collections, of Avhichthe Interest was applied to the assistance of superannuated Ministers of the Gospel, and the widows of Pastors; to the maintenance of the Master of the Grammar School ; to the support of Village, and Hamlet-Schools, in the three Valleys; and to the relief of the Poor in general.

*Tliis Robbery is more fully explained in the fourth Letter.

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Yet though possessed of comparative tran*; qiiiility, aad not directly exposed to any severe trials of their Faith, the Vaudois were still a suffering persecuted People, The House of Savoy ceased not to shackle their industry, and to put many restraints on the free exercise of tlieir Religion. As proofs of the temper in the Government towards them, it may suffice to advert to ihe two following Proclamations from the Court of Turin? by the one, dated 1717, it Was forbidden them to allow any person, not professing the Protestant Creed to enter their Churches; by the other, the Edict of 1663 was renewed in the year 1746, which limited the number of their Notaries to six, who M^ere likewise restricted from executing any legal business, where one of the parties might be a Romanist.

iThe History of the V^audois however Ceases to excite any particular interest till the close of the eigbteenth Century • for, unhappily, the chief Interest, which the History of any People does excite, arises from its Sufferings and its Sorrows. On the breaking out of the French Revolution, they, with every other part of the Q

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CoiitineiitofEurope,experiencedsomecliaiigts. But it is only a debt of Justice to add, that when the Valleys of Piemont were united to the French teiTitory, as the Department of the Po, the temporal condition of the Vaudois was greatly ameliorated: they enjoyed, under their new Government, those Privileges, of which they had been, Century after Century, deprived, and they were placed on the same footing, in every inspect, with the rest of their fellow-countrymen. The income of the Pastors was also increased, though Mr. Pitt in 1797 withdreAv fix)m them the EngUsh Royal Bounty o/'£2(i6, a year, on the consideration, that they had theti become the subjects of France. To each of the thirteen Pastoi*s were assigned one thousand francs^ arising from the produce of certain lands, which were made over to Messrs. Veriu and Brcz, in trust, for the yearly pay- ments. Thus, with the addition oi the National Bounty from England, (the Interest of a Col- lection, made in her different Churches in 1770, and which has ever since been regularly re- mitted to the amount of £292. a year by the Society for ■propagating the Goftpelin Foreign Parts,) together with the small Payments from the respective Parishes, the annual Income of

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a Pastor cannot have been estimated at less

than fifteen hundred francs, or about £63.

Sterling, t.

In 1814 the ancient dynasty of Savoy re- mounted the throne of Piemont. But on the Restoration of the King of Sardinia, the Yau- dois, to very little purpose, deputed Mr, Paul Appia, at that time a Magistrate at La Tour, and Jlr, Frederic Peyran, Pastor of Pramol, to en- treat his Majesty, Victor Emmanuel, to continue ;to them the same civil and religious rights, pri- vvileges, and immunities, which were enjoyed by the rest of his Subjects; making however this Exception, that they were, in no wise, desirous of being admitted to any Exercise of political Power in the State, and Government » of their Country, They addressed themselves also to Lord William Bentinch, Commander in chief of the British Forces in the Mediterra- nean, who was then stationed at Genoa, with the request, that he would use his influence with the King in their behalf. What measures his Lordship adopted are not exactly ascertained; but it is generally supposed, that he was far i from using the manly and vigorous tone, . which had been adopted, a Century and half Q2

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before, by CromtcelVs Envoy at the Court of Turin, Sir George Morlcmd, Cromwell and his i^gents however were in earnest ; they were men not easily to be resisted, nor turned aside from their purpose. Now, in this our day, we have become more polite, supple, and compromising-, even in matters of Religion, and of the highest moment. Certain it is, that the King of Sardinia recovered his thronp principally through the arms and mediation of England; and that these were employed, with little success, for the benefit of the VaU'> dois of Piemont, Victor Emmanuel was in- deed so far attentive to their condition, that in 1816 he published a Proclamation, by which he assigned an annual stipend of five hundred francs to each of the thirteen Pastors; bu which is raised on the landed property of the Protestant owners. Nor had Victor Emma- nuel cause to complain of the fidelity of his Vaudois Subjects; for in 1821, not o?ie indi^ vidtial of them was discovered to have been an accomplice in the Revolution, which led to his Abdication of the crown.

Victor Emmanuel, while he did sit on the throne, was not prevented, by any considera-

1

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tioii, from enforcing", in their full vigor, seve- ral of the intolerant enactments, which his Predecessors had declared against the Vaudois. It may suffice to mention, as an instance of the spirit of his Government, the following fact. The Protestants in the parish of St. Jean had profited by the liberty, which they enjoyed, under the French Administration, to erect a Church in the middle of their Village; but one of the first acts of the King's Government , was to issue Letters-patent of the thirtieth of September, 1814, directing it to be closed, on the frivolous and absurd pretext, that it had not been built w^ithin the prescribed limits. It is now re-opened, — ^yet with a large wooden Skreen before its door, to spare the feelings of the tender-hearted Romanists, who might other wise actually see their Protestant neiahbcurs flocking to the House of God !

The Vaudois are, in fact, still greatly op- pressed. On the Restoration of Victor Em- manuel to the throne of Sardinia, seven years before his Abdication, the Vaudois were imme- diately deprived of all the Offices which ihey had occupied under the French Government; Q 3

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siidi as of Receivers of taxes, and Prefectsf. In the reign of his present Majesty, Charles Felix, they are exposed equally to harrassing vexations. Their Soldiers had served with credit in the French armies, and had, in some instances, risen to the rank of Officers, by their courage and military talents; several of them of them returned to their Valleys with the decorations of the Legion of Honor. Now, no Protestant Soldier rises higher than Ser- jeant.— In the liberal Professions, a Vaudois cannot become either an Advocate, or a P%- sician; because, on taking the Laitrea at the University of Turin, to practise in Law, or Medicine, an Oath, declarative of the Pope's Supremacy, is deemed indispensable : this the conscientious Protestant cannot digest. Even to act as Surgeon, a Protestant must obtain an express permission Jrom the Minister of the Interior at Turin, To the same personage must application also be made to effect any trifling alteration by the Protestants in the Churches, and their Church Property! No Burying-ground can be inclosed in the Val- leys ! no Tower can be added to a Church \ no Gallery raised ! no Presbytery rebuilt, nor

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enlarg^Gfl, without his consent I This vile TVor- casserie is not unfrequently increased by ob- stacles, which are occasioned througli the perverseness of the Roman Priests, and the Bisliop of Pinerolo, in whose Diocess the Val- leys are situated.

If it were not for the liberality of the Bible Societies, and of private friends, a virtual Pro- hibition would be made to the Supply of the Holy Scriptures, and of Books of Devotion, for the use of the Protestants of the Valleys; since they are not alloiced to print them; and the duties amount to thirty-fixye per cent, ad valorejn, which it would be utterly impossible for the Vaudois to pay, from their own re- sources.

The Vaudois are further politically op- pressed, in being' interdicted from making any new Purchases of landed property.

Another severe grievance to i\\G Vaudois proceeds yVom the Necessity of observing the Festivals of the Roman Calendar, This year, there are not fewer than seventeen, and a

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case of some hardship occurred. The Agents of the Police discovered two Protestants, on a mountain, watering a meadow at a particular Festival, and accordingly imposed a Fine, Nor was it considered any excuse, that the supposed offenders had never heard of the name oi the Saint, or of the Saintess,

What the Vaudois now require is only *rea- sonable, — an Admission to equal Rights and Privileges, civil and religious, political Poic- er alone excepted, with the Romanists, ivho are Subjects of his Sardinian Majesty ; in other words, thcg wish to he considered in the same State, as under the French Government,

I have endeavoured, my dear friend, in this Letter, merely to state facts, which can be sub- stantiated by authentic Documents, and the History of the still suffering Vaudois of Pie- mont. But hating Tyranny with a perfect ha- tred, it is, I must confess, with difficulty, that I have refrained from occasionally yielding to

♦The Petition, remitted to the Count Bubna, and, tliroiivh hiiH, to the Government of the King- of Saidinia, iii the year 1814, is inserted in thcAfFENDix, No. 2.

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sonio little ebullitions of anger and resentment, in the progress of my narrative; whether the Oppressors of the Vaiidois have been of the House of Savoy ^ the Court of France ^ or the Inquisitors and Agents of PAPAL R03IE. Those last, even they have shed the blood of Saints and Prophets!

Your's, my dear friend,

Truly and affectionately,

J. L. J.

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Pomaret, 2ith June, This morning before 1 took my departure from Prali, I repaired with the Pastor Peyran to his Church in that villag-e. It has paper, instead of glass, in the Casements of the Windows, but compared with the Churches at Rodoret, and Macel, it is other- wise neat, and in good order; it can accom- modate nearly four hundred people. In the Pulpit were Martin's Version of the Bible, which Mr. Peyran prefers, on the whole, to any other, and the old Geneva Liturgy ; in the Regent's Desk were Martin's Bible, and Ostervald's Nourriture de TAnie. Mr. Peyran informed me, that in his Parish of Prali there are eight hundred and fifty Protestants, and only one family of Romanists, consisting of five individuals. Yet a regular Papistical Service is performed for them every day in their own church by a Priest, who is constantly resident at Prali ; though his attempts at mak- ing Proselytes among the Protestant inhabit- ants have hitherto been altogether unsuccessful. At Prali, there are ten Day Schools, — one Central in the Village, and nine others, for the Winter months, in its hamlets.

From the Church we strolled to a neighbour-

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itig- Waterfiill of some considerable heiglit, ami of three different bounds ; but as it issues from a bare naked rock, and, (like the Pisse-Vache, between St. Maurice and Martigny, in the Yallais of Switzerland,) wants the accompa- niment of trees and foliage, it forms no very pleasing object*

in despite of my mtilish aversion, I was not son*y to obtain an animal of that mixed breed, and be conveyed by it to Pomaret, this place of my destination, which is computed at twelve miles' distance fromPrali along the Germanesca torrent. My feet were cut and much swoln from my late rough, and flinty perambulations, —and I really dreaded the repetition of another day's trudge. Otherwise, I was quite well, and in excellent health and spirits. These last (thank God !) have never, for an instant, flag-ged, during" the whole of my Excursion in the Val- leys of Piemont,

Being provided with my quadruped, we accordingly departed ; I riding on my mule, — and my friends, the three Vaudois Pastors, Vingon, Monastier, and Peyran walking; for the latter had proposed joining our party some

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few miles. We kept along the course of the Germaiiesca, crossing it three different times in our way to Perera ; thence we again passed it twice, and, about six o'clock this evening Mr. Vinson and I arrived safe and well at Po- maret. The Scenery on the Germanesca, filways bold and wild, is in one of the passes, at the entrance of the Valley of Perouse, par- ticularly grand amidst the confragosa, pr(P~ ruptaque ; the torrent is nearly choked by the high perpendicular rocks, which rise, on each side, immediately from the water. It falls into the Clusone a little to the Eastward of Pomaret,

1 should not fail to add, that \re dined at Perera w ith a Vaudois Surgeon and Apothe- cary,— a connection of Mr. Monastier, who there took leave of me for the present, but htis kindly offered to come and see me at Pine- rolo, before I leave it for Turin. From my new medical acquaintance, (whose house, fur^ niture, and manner of living are certainly much superior to those of the Vaudois Pastors,) 1 learnt, that, in the Valley of St. Martin, two or three heterogeneous animals exist, such as Leger describes in his History, a copufatione

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Tciuri cum Asina, There is no other ^scula- pius, but this individual, for the Valleys of Perouse, and St. Martin. He had qualified to ;act as Surgeon in the time of Bonaparte, and iad been for some years attached to a Pie- montese regiment in Spain, during the penin- sular V/ar. Nor is his present mode of life very easy and tranquil. His ridings and walk- ings over these mountains, would be sufficient to frighten the most operative practitioner m Dorsetshire, or any other thinly-inhabited county in England, where the Journeys are both wide and wearisome.

On our arrival at Poniaret, Mr. Vinson and I went as a matter of course, uninvited and unexpected, to the Presbytery of the Pastoi* J alia » 1 was instantly requested to sup, and sleep at the house ; to breakfast the next morning, and to stay with him as long as I possibly was able, — the longer, the better. Shortly after these preliminary arrangements were settled, I proposed a walk to the Church, and about the A^illaoe of Pomaret. The Church may be capable of holding- five hundred and fifty persons, but is in a most wretched dilapi- dated condition, open to all the winds of hea- R

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veil. Mr. Jalla rejoiced me by tbe intelligence, that it was very shortly to be taken down and rebuilt. At present no books can be kept in it, from tho flights of birds, which nestle with- in its walls, and from its excessive dampness. The Pastor however informs me, that he makes use of Martin's Version of the Bible, and the old Liturgy of Geneva.

At quitting the Church, we repaired to the Burying-ground, an open strip of land, like most of the Receptacles of the dead in the Valleys of Piemont. Here I stood for some minutes at the grave of the late Moderator J, Rodolphe Peyran. The following simple Inscription appears on a very small upright stone, not more than two feet high above the sod, which covers his mortal remains ; —

J. R. PEYRAN,

Pasteur et Moderateur : ne le lime. Dece, 1752;

mort le 26^^ Avril, 182a

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From all wliicli I am able to learn of ./T/r. /. llodolphe Peyran, I suppose him to Lave been a man of considerable learning, and of an un- commonly acute, reasoning mind. Under a more fatherly government than that of the King of Sardinia, he might have risen to the highest eminence of character and fame. He has left behind him two Sons, and one Daugh- ter. The former are in low, and even distress- ed circumstances; the latter is respectably married to a Protestant at Fenestrelle, where she resides.

Mr. Jalla tells me, that his Parish of Poma- ret contains nine hundred and fifty Protest- ants, and seventy Romanists ; and that it has ons Central School in the village, and seven other Day-schools for the Winter-months in its different hamlets, — Coming from the stony Valley of St. Martin, Pomaret strikes me as a kind of Arabia Felix : it produces wheat and vines, with chesnut, almond, and mulberry- trees* though the last are net seen in such ahr.iidarice as at St. Jean, and La Tour, m tLe VaUey of Luzerr.e.

' My host, the Pastor Jalla (about sixty )'('ars K 2

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of age) is a plain, simple-minded, humble man. In his ministerial character, he is uni- versally esteemed.

When our visit to the Church, the Cime- tiere, and Village, had been made, we retired to Mr. Jalla's house ; where supper had been getting ready for us by the help of his two daughters : it was the very best, which could be procured in the place and neighbourhoods

Pineroloy 2oth June, But supper being over,. in due time I betook myself to my bed, which had been prepared for me in the corner of the room, in which we had eaten, and spent the evening. Yet I was very far from betaking myself to rest. I had just fallen asleep, whea I was roused by loud barkings of the canine race, — and then I heard, what I dreaded much more, the mewing- of a cat very near me. Un- happily, 1 have a kind of dread of cats, espe- cially in a bed-room. It was therefore abso- lutely needful, that 1 should by some means expel the enemy. For this purpose, I got up much sooner than I could have wished 5 groped to the door in the dark, — no very easy iViatter in a strange room)— and, having sue-.

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creeled in opening' it, began the nsual alterna- tives of scolding first, and then coaxing-. 3fy eflbrts Vt'ere all in vain. Puss remained stea- dily in her position under the bed, and I, fear- ful of a personal encounter with her claw*., did not venture to pull her from the fastness in which she had lodged herself. Poor 3Ir, Jalla was now alarmed by the fray, and came kindly to my aid. On relating to him my dif- ficulty, he, with great simplicity, observed, that as there were divers holes in the wain- scoat and floor, he was really afraid Puss could not be kept out of the room ; but th^t he would do his utmost to prevent a repetition of her troublesome visit. He accordingly pro- ceeded, without delay, to stuff the wainscoat with cloths, and to lay blocks of wood on the openings of the floor. These arrangements being made, again I laid myself down in bed, but not to sleep. Quite the contrary ! the nu- merous flies and fleas, and my other teasing- and noxious companions, kept me fully on the alert for the greater part of the night. Still the recollection of all my disasters soon va- nished in the society of 3Ir. Jalla, and my excellent friend, the Pastor Vinson. Wo breakfasted gaily ; partaking of some delicious r3

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honey, wbicli was not surpassed by that which I had formerly eaten at Cliamonix ; nor even at Narbonne itself, avec son petit gout de JRomarin,

But what is always painful under similar circumstances, the hour of separation m as at hand ! Mr. Vinson however accompanied me through the town of Perouse, from which the Valley receives its name, to St. Germain ;^ where I felt desirous of calling ag-ain upon his Uncle, the Pastor Monnet, The good old man seemed highly pleased (I might say, gratijied) with my visit. I stayed with him an hour, — and then taking an affectionate leave of Mr. Vincon, whom I cannot but esteem for the Earnestness of his manner, and tlie Scrip- tural soundness of his principles, I came on to Pinerolo ; thankful to a God of mercies for having thus far brought me on my way in health and safety !

The ride from St. Germain, by the Western bank of the Clusone, to this city, is very pleas- ing. An evident improvement, in the soil and its productions, appeared, as I advanced to- wards Pinerolo, which continues progressively

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to the rich plain of Piemont. These, unhappily, are Papistical ! The small Parishes of St, Germain^ Pramol^ and Pomaret, are all m Ijich now remain Protestant in the Valley of Pe- roiise. Pomaret is twelve miles from Pinerolo.

Pinerolo, Sunday, 26th June, I had been very desirous of attending Divine Service this morning" in the Church of St. Barthelemi, for the two-fold purpose of hearing the young Pastor Bostainr/, Son of the Modtrateur- adjoint, preach, — and of seeing the state of his Congregation, who were reported to me as being so much interested about him. Conse- quently last night, I engaged 3Ir. Monastier,, the proprietor of the paper-mili, to accompany me to the Parish of Prarusiin, which contains the two Churches of St. Barthelemi andRoche- platte, and is situated between the Valleys of Perouse and Luzerne : it lies South-West of Pinerolo. We started at seven o'clock after an early breakfast, and first went to St. Barthele- mi, which is distant four good miles from Pine- rolo; having crossed the Chisone, and passing through San Secondo, a pretty village. The whole of our walk was beautiful ; and the view from the hill,onAvhich the Church of St. Bar-

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flu'Irmi is built, in the direction of Turisi!, ap- pears particularly rich. On the opposite side of the same hill is another delightful vale, but of far smaller exterit^ in which the Protestant Church of Rocheplatte, forms the principal object, at a mile and a half from St.Barthelemi.

Prarustin is one of the most fertile of the Vau- dois Parishe?!, producing* wheat and vines, with chosnut, mulberry, and many other fruit-trees.

I was quite pleased with my expedition of the day, — more especially, with what 1 heard and saw in the Church of St. Barlhelemi. It was cro^wled ; indeed many of the people were standing without the door for want of room in the interior. A more fixed and atten- tive ConaTcoation 1 never beheld, — six hun- dred plain country men, women, and children ! The Service was conducted precisely in the same Order as at La Tour, and St. Germain, — the Order, which is customary in all the Churches of the Valleys of Piemont. Young Mr. Rostaing preached a faithful, and, I may truly add, an able Sermon from Proverbs ir, 6, — in which, while he ascribed all Wisdom, and the Knowledcfe of all sjiiritual things, in

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man, to the free, sovereign Will of God, he, practically, and >vith much effect, inculcated upon his Hearers, that the Father of Mercies is inclined, for the sake of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and by the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost, to impart this Wisdom^ and this Knoio ledge, in answer to Prayer, to all and every one, who shall diligently seek them, by the Use of his appointed Means of Grace. The Ser- mon was, at once, humbling to the Pride of (be human heart, but full of Encouragement to the Believer. I felt the better from hearing it. Nor shoiild I omit to observe, that it was deli- vered by my youthful Teacher ^vith consider- able effect, — as if he experimentally felt the force of what he said, and the Power of Divine Truth. O what an awful responsibility does that man take upon himself, who ventures to ascend a Pulpit! He should (as good old Richard Baxter expresses it) preach, like a dyijig man to dying men^

Mr. Rostaing makes use of the Neufchatel Liturgy, and Martin's Version of the Bible. The Regent read the fiftieth, and fifty-first chapters of the Prophet Isaiah, from that of Ostervald, with the accompanying reflections.

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On the Conclusion of the Moniing-'s Service, I had rather a long conversation with three of of the Elders of St. Barthelemi, who mani- fested much seriousness of character ; and then I adjourned, for an hour, to the Pastor's lodg- ing', which he has taken, for the present, in one of the peasant's cottages, that he may re- side in the more populous part of his Parish, because Rocheplatte contains little more than one-fourth of the number of inhabitants, Avho are in St. Barthelemi. I mean to visit young Mr. Rostaing again, before I quit the neighbourhood of these Valleys,

At my return to Pinerolo, I have been well satisfied to remain quietly in my Hotel for the afternoon, and the rest of the day. Very dif- ferent from the weather in the Valley of St. Martin, the heat has been excessive; the Sun shining bright and clear, bringing out the beauties of the Scenery, which I witnessed in the morning, but somewhat too powerful for my feelings. I have now enjoyed a few peace- ful hours in what I wish always directly to form my Reading on the Sabbath, — the Gospel and Epistles of St, John^ and the Prophecies of Isaiah* The fortieth chapter of the last

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iiispired Writer I have just read, ajiplying, as 1 went along, some of its parts to the actual state of the Vaudois Church; and never do I think, have I before been so strongly im- fpressed with the cheering and precious Promises which it breathes. God, in his in- finite JMercy, grant, that the Pastors, and Servants of the Lord, in every land, and every iclime, may go on and comj'ort his helievmg people ; may they speak comfortahly to the ^fpirkual Israel, O let one and all of them be uliy assured, that they icho icait vpon the ord shall renew their strength : they shall loinit rip icith wings as eagles; they shall tin, and not be weary ; and they shall icaHc, and not faints

Pinerolo, ^9th June, For the last three days i have been fully occupied in drawing up two Dther Letters, which I purpose to take with me, md put into the Post at Turin, for England : the first is on the Doctrine, public Services, ind Government of the Vaudois Church; the iecond, on the State of Morals among the VaU' dois, and the best mode of aiding them under existing circumstances, I would fain hav« treated the Subjects, which are themselves of

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great Interest, in a more satisfactory maniiev ; yet I have worked hard, and done my best* The Letters are as follows ;-^—

LETTER THE THIRD.

Pinerolo, 2Sth June, 1825.

My dear Friend*

I now resume my Correspondence for the purpose of giving you the best information, which I have been able to collect, respecting the Doctrine of the Waldensian Church ; to-* gether with some slight account of her present public Services, and her ecclesiastical Govern-* ment. Nor is it, I am convinced, needful for me to suggest, that my present Subjects heat with them a peculiar interest.

Tiie enemies of the Waldenses, in order to ??xcuse the titles of Heretics and Schismatics^ which they have lavished upon them, endeas* voured, at a very early period, to prove their Doctrine erroneous. To this end, they com- posed various works, in which the Waldenses are branded with the most opprobrious names,

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as being Manichceans, Arians, and the fol^ loicers of many other spurious Sects, There is, in fiict, scarcely an Error, however gross, with which the Waldensian Church has not been charged. But are such accusations (I would ask) well founded ? and are the authors :of them to be credited on the bare word of itheir own assertions ? Let us rather, my dear (friend, seek in the Writings of the Waldenses fthemselves, what their Doctrine has really been.

On pursuing this Inquiry, we shall find, that these Writings are not only numerous, but that they have been composed at different epochs; some premoushj^ and others suhse^ unienthj to the times, in which the religious Principles of the Waldensian Church were impugned. The Writings also differ in their Subjects : they are either Instructions for youth, as la Nobla Lei^on in the year of our lord 1100, and a Catechism of the same date; ^s Expositions of the Lord's Prayer, the Apos- les' Creed, and the ten Commandments : or, hey are Treatises against the papistical notions L)f Purgatory, and the Invocation of Saints ; gainst human Traditions, and the power of ^nti-Christ : or, they are Confessions of Faith y s

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which were presented by them, on a variety of occasions, to their temporal Rulers, to Inqui- sitors, and to some of the Protestant Reformers. Besides these authentic Documents, there ex- ist likewise a few Sermo)is, which had been delivered by the Barbes, or Waldensian Pas- tors, in their several Parishes. The Originals of these Works, as I observed in my Letter on the Origin and Antiquity of* the Waldensian Church, may be found in the public Library at Geneva, and at Trinity College, Cambridge; but you, my dear friend, may see Copies of many of them in the first Part of Jean Leger^s general History. They are composed in the Vaudois idiom, and in Latin, Italian, or French, according; to the circumstances under which they were written. Nor is it any exaggeratioti to say, that in them all the same line of Doc- trine is expressed with simplicity and clearness; it is the Doctrine of Christ crucified.

The following- are Extracts from three dif- ferent Waldensian Publications; namely their ancient Catechism, and V Almanac Spiritual, both of the very early part of the twelfth Cen- tury; and a Confession of Faith, presented to the Cardinal Sandolet, and the Bishop o

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Castiglione and Carpentras,— but which was afterwards publicly read before Francis the first, King of France, by the Chamberlain Anagnoston; when his Majesty, who had been attentively listening to it, was compelled to exclaim, " He-quoy ! quel mal y-a-t'il? trouve ** t'on a redire a cette Confession, dont on fait " tantde bruit?" And then, alas ! every person at court was silent, though many before had been most vehement in their invectives; and not one single individual was found, who had the courage to ofifer the least objection to its contents.

CATECHISM.

PASTOR. SCHOLAR.

Q. In what are all A. In two great

these Commandments Commandments, T^.o?*

[the Decalogue] com- shalt love God above

prehended? all things, and th^

JVeighbour as thyself',

Q. Who is the Foun- A. The Lord Jesus datioa of these Com- Christ, of whom the

s2

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mandments, by whom thou mayest enter into Life eternal, and with- out whom no man can keep the Command- ments ?

Apostle hath said, — " Other foundation can •* no man lay than that " is laid, which is Jesus "Christ."! Cor. III. 11.

Q. How canst thou build upon this Foun- dation ?

A. By Faitlu It is contained in the Scrip- tures, *' Behold, I lay " in Sion a chief cor- " ner-stone, elect, pre- "cious: and he that " belie veth on him " shall not be con- "founded." And the Lord\i2ith. said, " Who- " soever believeth, hath " eternal life."

Q. How canst thou attain imto the chief Christian Graces; to Fait/i,Hope,dind Cha^ rity.

A. By the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

Q. Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost?

A. I do believe in Him, For the Holy

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Ghost proceedeth from the Father, and the Son : he is one Person of the Blessed Trinity, and, touching the God- head, he is equal unto the Father, and the Son .

Q. Thou believp^^t God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, to be three Persons ; hast thou then three Gods ?

A. No ; I have not three.

Q. And yet thou hast named three.

A. It is in respect to the distinction of Per- sons, that I have named them; but not in re- spect to the Godhead itself. For, although there be three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, they are but one God.

S3

V ALMANAC SPIRITUAL.

" A Sacrament, according' to St. Augustine " in his book on the City of God, is the repre- " sentation of an inward grace by a visible " sign.

" There are iico Sacraments ; one of Water, " and the other of Bread and Wine,

" The first is called Baptism, that is Washing " by Water, either from a river, or spring ; and " must be administered in the name of the Fa- " ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

*' Now this Baptism is visible and material, *' which does not of itself necessarily make the " person either good or bad, as we learn in " Scripture concerning Simon Magus, and St. *' Paul. But, inasmuch as Baptism is admi- " nistered in the Congregation of the faithful, ** it is to the end, that he, who is thus received " in it, be deemed a Brother and a Christian ; " and that ail pray for him to become such " inwardly in heart. And it is for this cause, " Children are presented for Baptism, — a Prac- *' tice, which they, whom Children most con- '* cern, should invariably follow, as Parents, *' and all those to whom God has given a like " degree of Love."

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CONFESSION OF FAITH.

<*We believe, that the Holy Sacrament of «' our Lord Jesus Christ's Table is a sacred *« Memorial, and an act of Thanksgiving, for '* the Benefits, which we have received by the *' death of Jesus Christ ; and that it ought to " be celebrated in the Assembly of the Saints, " in Faith and Charity, and by an inward Ex- " perience of Christ's Merits. It is thus, by " partaking of the Bread and Wine, we have " Communion with the Body and Blood of " Christ, as we read in the Holy Scriptures."

From these Extracts, and other Writings of the Waldenses, it might not be difficult to prove, that they clearly took the Holy Scrip- tures for the ground-work of their belief. Faithful to their Principle of admitting only what is contained in the inspired Word of God, they were enabled to endure a great fight of af- flictions, rather than embrace any of the nume- rous perversions, which the ages of ignorance and superstition had engendered. The notions, which they did refuse to admit, were the wor- ship of Images, the invocation of Saints, Purga- tory, the authority and supremacy of the Roman

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bishops, Transubstantiation, the Sacrifice of the Mass, and other palpable errors and tlelusions of Popery : these they were firmly convinced, had not been received till the seventh Century of the Christian sera. Of the violent measures, which attended their intro- duction into the Church, it is needless, my dear friend, for me to remind you : alas ! the partisans of papal Rome were necessitated ta employ, in their defence, bulls, excommunica- tions, anathemas, and temporal arms. This we indeed know, that the Apostles, and their immediate Successors, had no occasion to recur to such unworthy means : they, in the temper af their Divine Master, and in the spirit of the Gospel, went forth to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. And the beauty, simplicity, and excellence of then: Doctrine, were, under God, of sufficient power to draw even the hearts of Pagan Idolaters to the reception of the Truth.

But I will now briefly notice a few of the different Testimonies, which may be brought forward in favour of the orthodox character of the Waldensian Church, iit the first burst of the Reformation, in the early part of the

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sixteenlh Century, the Vaudois sent deputies to some of the distinguished Protestant leaders: these deputies are described by George Morel, one of their number, to have conferred with Zuing'le, *CEcolampadius, Melancthon, and Bu- cer, — and to have come back into their Val- leys with a Testimony, which, on the whole, was highly satisfactory. It went to show, that the illustrious Reformers commended the unsha- ken firmness, with which the Vaudois had pre- served, from father to son, the Doctrine and Worship of the primitive Christians : it ap- proved of all the Articles in their Confession , of Faith ; but, at the same time, it freely cen- sured a few particular weaknesses into which they had fallen by their intercourse with the Romanists. The Vaudois had, for instance, suf-

*Dknina, the Historiaa of Western Italy, g-ives an account of the Conference of certain Vaudois with CEcolampadius ; «' Or sia che i Bernesi ed altri Svizzeri mandassero primiera- ** mente a visitare queste valli per aver inteso che quivi si <* professava da lunjfo tempo una religione confornie a quella <' ch'essi novellauiente aveano abiacciata, ovvero che i niinistri ** Valdesi, coaosciiiti gia col nome di Barba e Barbetti, inteso **quello che accadeva tia gli Svizzeri, andassero di proprio <'iBOTimeato a far coaoscenza coi nuovi dottori Tedeschi, il **€aso voile che alcuni di questi Valdesi s'incoutrassero e s' ** intrattencssero con (Ecolampadio, che allor si trovava iu «BasiIea." Lib. vai, c, 11,

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fered their children to be occasionally baptized in the churches of their Persecutors.

Luther himself, who for some time regarded tlie Church of the Waldenses with suspicion, afterwards wrote his Preface to their Confes- sion of Faith in 1535, in which he acknow- ledg-es, on becoming more intimately acquainted with them, not only that it was unjust to con- demn them as heretics, but that he could not be prevented from admiring their courage in renouncing all human systems, and abiding stedfasthj by the revealed will of God.

The learned Theodore Beza gives it, as his deliberate opinion, that it was principally, by means of the Vaudois, the knowledge of the Gospel had been extended through a large part of Europe ; and he expressly says, in his Portraits of illustrious men, that the Vaudois Lad continually preserved the true Faith of the Gospel, without being tempted to renounce their Principles by any worldly inducement, or temporal afHiction whatever.

It would not be difEcuIt to multiply TestJ- jjioBies from other Reformers, in confirmation

ai5

t)f the Faithfulness of the Waldensian Church ; but since they could only be a repetition of what has already been advanced, vre may now pass to its Adversaries themselves. Their Testimonies, you will allow, cannot be suspec ted, and are, in fact, unanswerable. Though they do not directly praise the Vaudois, and their expres- sions are often vague, and savour more of censure than approbation, much that is .satis- factory may be extracted from their writings, and even from their reproaches and their calumnies,

I may here advert to a circumstance, at once singular and not unworthy of remark, that with the exception of some discreditable persons, who accuse the Vaudois of errors, no where to be traced in their writings, all their other Ad- versaries do not attack them on the Articles of Faith, which they believe; but only on certain points, which they refuse to admit. They say, ** You are heretics, not because you adopt a " particular tenet; but because you reject this, " or that opinion." Let the Adversaries how- ever speak for themselves.

The first of them, who presents himself to

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our view, is titat very Reinerus Sacco, who was appointed by the Court of Rome Inqui- sitor against the Vaudois in the thirteenth Century. In his book, which I (juoted in my first Letter, he enumerates the principal causes of their pretended heresy ; he affirms, " that *' both men and women, young and old, th^ " labourer and the scholar, omit not, by day or " night, to instruct themselves, and diligently " to teach such as know less of divine truth ; " that they learn by heart large portions of the *' Old and New Testament, which have even been " translated into the vulgar tongue ; that the " scandalous lives of particular persons inspire " them with horror, so that when they see an " individual to be vicious in his morals, they " say to him, the Apostles did not thus conduct " themselves ; that, moreover, they regard as *' fabulous whatever a teacher may assert, un- " less he be able to adduce, in its confirmation, ** the authority of Scripture." Reinerus then goes on to explain, why the Vaudois are pe- culiarly dangerous to the Roman Church; " Because they are of all sects the most ancient, "and the most widely dispersed; because in " fact, while others inspire horror by the fright- ** ful blasphemies which they vomit against

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« God, these maintuiii a great appearance of "piety: they lead regular and correct live*;; *' they have just ideas of the Deity, and believe " all the Articles of the Apostles' Creed. Only" (he adds) " they censure the Romua Church, ^' and her Clergy."

This Testimony of an Inquisitor might suffice to prove the purity of the Waldensian Church ; but to it alone we are not, my dear friend, reduced. Many more of their Adversa- ries concur to furnish us with Evidence equally satisfactory. But I will select that only of jEneas Sylvius Piccolomini, who was made Pope in 1458 by the title of Pius the second. In reviling the Vaudois of Bohemia, (whom, in his History of Hungary, c. xxxv, he rightly traces, though under the Catalogue of heretics, to the ancient inhabitants of the Piemontese Valleys,) he says; "They bark ^' against the Priesthood, and being separated " from the Catholic Church, they belong to the *' impious sect of the Vaudois, — that pestilen- " tial Sect, so long time under condemnation, *' whose dogmas are these." And he then pro- ceeds to enumerate their dangerous Errors, — dangerous, no doubt, they are to the Roman Apostacy ! t

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*' The bikliop of Rome is only equal to other " bishops !

" Whenjthe Soul quits the body, its only " state is either t^at of eternal punishment, or " happiness !

" There is no fire of Purgatory !

" Prayers for the dead are vain, and have " only been introduced by the covetousness of " Priest* !

" The Images of the Saviour, and of Saints, " should be removed !

" Holy Water, palm-branches, and all simi- " lar benedictions are idle mockeries !

" Confirmation, as used by the Popes, with " chrism; and extreme Unction are notcompri- ** sed amono* the Sacraments of the Church !

" Baptism is to be administered *with pure

* " SuBSTANTiALE [Baptisml] omnium consensu est aqTia, " ut ex Matlh. iii. 6. Act. x. 47, atque aliis locisest videre, *' ac proinde piano superstitiosa sunt, quee a Pontificiis huic " uiateriBeadjungiintur,qualia sunt sal et oleum 3 item sputum.

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« water, without any mixture of holy oil, or " any other ingiedient !

" Recourse to the Intercession of Saints, who "reign with Christ in heaven, is vain and « useless!'' &c. &c. &c.

True it is, that the Waldenses did not admit the Efficacy of invoking Saints; that they rejected the supreme Authority of the Church of Rome, and the Despotism of the Papal Power? that they held altogether as vanity, yea, less than vanity and nothing, Purgatory, Auricular Confession, the Merit of human works and works of Supererogation, Indul- gences, Prayers for the dead, Transubstanti- ation, and the Sacrifice of the Mass. And these, the descendants of the ancient Waldensian Church do still reject, and refuse to hold. But blessed be a God of all Grace and Mercy, they continue to profess their Belief in the Union of the Sacred Three, the Father, the Son, and the

«« cerei et s^milia : qua vel a Christi miracubs, vel a pnmi- « tivs'EcclesifE ritu in crypt is aut noctu convemre solitae mu- " tuo simiuta sunt. Quum Dei mandatis nee addendum quic- " qua.n, nee adimendum sit, Deut. xn. 32, et frustra colatur « Lndatis hominum. Matt. xv. 9." Synopsis Pcrioris TiiEOLoei^, Disp.xLiv, de Sacramento Baptismi. T 2

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Holy Ghost, in the One undivided, everlasting Godhead; they believe the Holy Catholic Church ; they believe, that the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin; that the Christian is bound to confess liis offences unto God; to do works of holiness; to obey the Pastors of the flock of Christ, who preach the glad tidings of sal vation ; to respect the civil Magis- trate, and pay him tribute.

On the present Character of the Vaudois Church, I am happy, my dear friend, in being able to assure you, that it is still sound and scriptural. It was, as you well know, one of t\ie chief objects of my Excursion to these Valleys, that I might ascertain the continued Orthodoxy of this ancient Christian people; nor am I (may 1 be permitted io say M) dis- posed to rest content wiih slight and incon- clusive Evidence. I certainly have experienced thereat comfort of hearing the main,and leading Truths of the everlasting Gospel admitted, both in the Pastors' exhortations from the Pulpit, and in my social and confidential intercourse with them; and I do not scruple to affirm, that they maintain, with one sin^fe exception, the Doctriues of the ever^blessjd

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Xf-ir^ity^^the Incarnation of its second Per* so%-^ Justification to sinful man hij Faith alone in the blood and Righteousness of Christ,— the Corruption and Depravity of human nature,— and an absolute Need of the ^ regenerating and sanctifying Influences of the Holy Ghost, both in preparing man to believe the Gospel, and subsequently to walk in the icay of its Commandments,

. I shall now endeavour to give you some ""rittle insight into the manner, in which the

Church-Services are performed among the , Vaudois,

The principal Service is on the Morning of the Sabbath throughout the Valleys of Pic- mont; it is hegun hy the Regent, or Clerk, who reads generally two chapters of the Bihle from the French Version of Ostervald, with the accompanying Reflections. When these are finished, the Pastor ascends the Pulpit, and reads, from one of the Liturgies of the Re- formed Swiss Churches, a Confession of sin. "Singing follows from portions of David's Psalms, in which, tlie RegentJeads at this m-'

T 3

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teresting part of public Worship, and many of the Congregation join audibly and heart- I ily wi(h him. The Pastor then offers up a short Collect ; says the Lord's Prayer ; and ^ delivers his Sermon, either memoriter, or \ extempore, but never by reading' it. At the conclusion of his Sermon, he repeats, from a Swiss Liturgy, a Prayer for all sorts and con- ditions of men, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. And the whole Service is finished by singing a few verses from a Psalm, with the parting Blessing from the Pastor. I would observe, that the only difference in the Arrangement of the first, or Morning Sabbath Service, is, that the Pastors, according to their discretion, make use either of Martin's, or Ostervald's Version of the Bible, and of the Neufchatel, Lausanne, or the old Geneva Liturgy.

I mvist add, that the very appearance of the plain Congregations, among this simple-minded |.eople, has been to me not only striking, but well calculated, in every respect, to can*y me back in imagination to the primitive Worship iii Christians, in the first age of the Redeemer's Church. Here, are no images, tapestry, can*

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delabras, crosses, incense, nor relics in vases of silver, gold, or crystal! No Processions, and constant movings to and fro, as in the gorgeous Ceremonials of the Romanists, which I have lately witnessed! The women and children place themselves quietly on long wooden benches on the left side of the entrance in the Church, where they remain from the beginnings to the end of the Service ; and the men, in like manner, at the right. Immediately before the Pulpit, and the Regent's Desk, situated against the south wall, is the Communion-table, aroimd which are the Elders' Seats, and one form re- served for Strangers. In this last, I, as a wan- derer and a pilgrim, have lately been used to take my place, and, I may add, have felt my- self, for three successive Sabbaths, comforted by the affectionate, scriptural Addresses of my spiritual Teachers, and the order and pious at- tention of their devoted flocks !

Let me here remark, that the Services of the Vaudois Church are all now in the French language, and have continued to be so from the time of the great Persecution, towards the close of the seventeenth Century; when from want of Pastors, the people were under the ne*

224

cessity of inviting to their Pulpits Ministers from France and Switzerland. Hence, have resulted the use of the French language, and the introduction of the Swiss Liturgies, in the Church. An article in the last Synod of 1822 strongly enforced upon the Pastors the pro- priety of speaking French, as much as possi- ble, with their people, in order that the latter might be familiarized to it.

In the Churches is also a seco7id Sabbath Service, which is conducted entirely by the Regent: he begins by reading two chapters from Ostervald's Version of the Bible, with the Reflections; then sings one of David's Psalms; says the Prayer for all sorts and con- ditions of men; repeats the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed ; and concludes by pro- nouncing the Blessing.— There is also in most of the Churches in the Valleys a Wednesday, or Thursday Morning Service, similar to the Regent's second Service on the Sabbath.

I cannot refrain from mentioning^ that a very interesting- part of the Pastor's duty among^ the Vaudois, and deemed by them of the great- est importance, consists in preparing the youn^

225

people of their respective Parishes, from six- teen to eighteen years of age, for their first Communion of the Lord's Supper. The course of Instruction generally takes in the three Winter months of two successive years from December to March; during which periods, the Pastors, for an hour in three evenings of every week, hear the youth, intrusted to their spiritual guidance, read portions of the Scrip- tures, and repeat the CatechisnTof Ostervald. It may not be too much to say, that this salu- tary Practice not only accovmts for the large number of Communicants in a Parish, often one-fifth, and sometimes one-fourth of its po- pulation; but tends inaterially to strengthen the friendly and endearing intercourse, which so commonly subsists between the Vaudois Pastor and his flock.

My letter, already somewhat lengthened, shall now be brought to a close by a few gene- ral Remarks on the Ecclesiastical GovernmeiH^ and ConstitutiGtij of the Vaudois Church, The Government is directed by a Synod, con- sisting of the thirteen Pastors, from whose body are chosen the Moderator, an Assistant- Moderator, and a Secretary. A current opi-

226

I'

nion prevails in these Valleys, that the Modera tor was originally styled * Bishop ^ and wagjss addressed as such ; though, from the extreme poverty of the persons holding" the episcopal office, the title has now, for many years, been dropped. The Moderator still presides in the I convocations of the Synod, which should take place every third year. In consequence how- ever of the expence, amounting to nearly £50. sterling of our money, attendant on procuring a patent, and the jealousy of the Sardinian government, which contrives to throw every possible impediment in the way, four or five years sometimes intervene between one convo- cation and the next. This summer is the re- gular time for assembling in council ; but, to my great disappointment, the Synod is not likely to meet.

* It appejirs from David Cranz' History of the United Brethren, translated by BenjaininLATROBE, that they received tbtir episcopal Consecration first from the Vaudois Bishops : he says, "that as the Waldenses trace the succession of thefr " bishops from tjje apostolic times, they" (the Un. Br. in Bo- heTTjia, A.D. 1467. com p. Part iv. §. 46) " despatched three of *' their priests, already ordained, (amongst whom Michael of *' Zanjberg- is mentioned,) into Austria, to Stephen, bishop of *' the Waldenses •, who, rejoiced at the report of the Brethren's ♦' eniigration and regulations, laid before them, in presence of the *' elders, the rise and progress, the various vicissitudes, and the " episcopal succession of the Waldenses, and consecrated theia, "with the assistance of hisco-bisho]) and the rest of the clergy, " bishops of the Brethren's church." Part ii. ^ , 12.

227

Another most unpleasant circumstance (to ![say the least of it) attends the convocation of the Synod. The Sard inian Government always sends the Intendant of the Province, with his Secretary, to be present, who are, of course, regarded as spies, and tend materially to check all freedom of discussion. It is likewise need- ful previously to submit, to the Minister of the Ulterior at Turin, the subjects to be brought forward for deliberation in the Synod ; and to these subjects alone, ichen ajjproved, the Pastors must confine themselves.

But besides the Synod, there is in the Vau- dois Church a Sub-Synod, or, as it is usually termed, the Table, composed of the Moderator, the Assistant-Moderator, and the Secretary, with two lay-members, who meet, from time to time, for the despatch of business, relating to the interests, both of the Pastors and the People. These lay-members have only been introduced within a very few years, and the Innovation is considered objectionable by many of the Vaudois. '' ,

■ ' ■:. ^ -

Out of the Synods, the Moderator has no power, and even in them he is only primus

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inter pares ; he does but preside, and, with the assistance of the other members of the Table, prepare subjects for discussion. No salary is attached to his Office. You, my dear friend, may form some idea, of the present ex- cellent Moderator's primitive state of poverty, by bearing in mind, that in his episcopal Visit- ations, which occur every second year, he per- forms his journeys on foot to all the thirteen Pa- rishes of the three Valleys. His circumstances do not enable him to keep either horse or mule.

In addition.to the above general Government^ or, as it might more appropriately be termed* the Polity f of the Vaudois Church, there ex- ists, in each separate Congregation, a Consis- tory, for the management of its internal affairs, temporal and spiritual. Thus a Parish is divided into Quarters^ varying in number, according to its size and population ; and every Quarter sends an Elder, who, with the Pastor, form the Consistory, One of these Elders is termed the Deacon^ to whom is intrusted, under the Direction of the Pastor, the special Office of distributing to the poor and needy such alms as are collected at the Communions, and from other charitable Offerings in the Church. The

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Consistory elect the Regent, wlio is commonly the principal Schoolmaster in the Parish.

On the Constitution of the Vaudois Church, I would remark, that the thirteen Parishes are divided into two Classes ; Prali and Maneille forming- the first; and the other eleven, the second of them. Accord in o- to an established Reg-nlation of the Synod, the Minister, last ordained, is appointed, on a vacancy being declared in any Parish of the second Class, to one of the distant cures, Prali or Maneille ; and the Pastor of Prali, or Maneille, succeeds, if it be his wish, to the vacant Parish A, or B. But from this Regulation (I would remark) a difficulty has arisen during my stay in the Val- leys, which gives the excellent Moderator much uneasiness. A vacancy had occurred six months before in the Parish of Prarustin, and the last ordained Minister had been ap- pointed, ad interim, to perform the pastoral functions of it : with him however the people are so well pleased, that they refuse to part with him, and receive, in his place, a Pastor of the primary Class. As the power of the Moderator and the Synod is not coercive, much Prudence and Christian temper are doubtless requisite

230

to enforce Ibe Regulation upon tbe Parish, It must therefore be admitted, that, in this in- stance, the Ecclesiastical Government of the Vaudois Church is weak, and clearly defective. Yet it is much easier to discover such weakness, than to pronounce authoritatively in whose bands the Patronage of a Church ought to be vested; since Holy Scripture, the sole infalli- ble Guide, has left the subject undetennined. This agitated question however I conceive to be perfectly distinct from that of Ordination, which I can only think valid, according to Apostolic appointment, in the laying on of hands by a person, or persons, holding the episcopal Office, Jlcts viii. 17, 18, 1 Tim. IV. 14. V. 22. 2 Tim. i. 6. Heh, vi. 2.

A School is established, for the most part, in each distinct Hamlet of the Valleys. But on the very interesting subject of Schools, you shall hear a little more from me in the accom- panying Letter.

Your's, my dear friend,

Truly and affectionately, \ J. JL« J«

231 LETTEU THE FOURTH.

Pinerolo, 29th June, 1825.

My dear Friend,

In my former Letters, I have endeavoured to give you a slight Sketch of the Origin and Antiquity of the Waldensian Church, of its Persecutions, and its Doctrine, 1 shall now therefore proceed, according to my design, to lay before you, so far as my information extends, the State of Morals among the Vaudois, and thefttest Means of rendering them Assistance. May you, mv dear friend, be the means of ex- citinoan interest in their behalf, and of inducnig many persons in England to come forward and open their hand wide for the relief of our poor Christian brethren in the Valleys of Piemont.

I have no hesitation in saying, that I think them, even in their present circumstances, the most moral people iu Europe. From this qualification, you may infer, that a degeneracy, and falling away have, to a certain degree, un- happily taken place among them. But you shall iudo-e for yourself, when 1 have described them

Q32

siicli as they have been, and such as they now show themselves to be. The Comparison can alone enable you to form a just Estimate of their real character.

Tacit uSy who saw deeply into the mazes, and corruption of the heart, has truly said, Pro~ prium humani generis odisse quem Icnseris* Thus, the Persecutors of the sutlering Vaudois have never ceased to calumniate their moral character, and to express their hatred towards them ; but of their aspersions it may be at once affirmed, that they are utterly false and wicked. We may go still further, and declare with the respectable Jean Leger, that the Vau- dois, before the eighteenth Century, have not been excelled by any other people whatever in zeal for the pure Word of God, and in cor- responding holiness of life. Their Morals, strictly speaking', were patriarchal. Dwelling* in the seclusion of their native Valleys, and being far removed from the contagion of popu- lous towns, they appear to have been ignorant of many vices, which reign in the world at large. Of course, it is not, for an instant, to be supposed, that they were not liable to sin and error, like every individual, without exception,

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of tho fallen race of man ; yet in vain shall wo search their Annals to discover a single instance of Crime, which made them amenable to the Laws of their country. Thy anus, the Histo- rian, in speaking of the State of Morals among the Vaudois in the vale of Angrogne, assures us, that the first lawsuit, on record, occurred j in the sixteenth Century, and arose from the following trivial circumstance. A peasant, somewhat richer than his neighbours, was desirous that his son should study the law, I and, for this purpose, sent him t6 the Uni- versity of Turin; when, being returned home, the young coxcomb cited his neighbour into a ! court of justice, with the hope of obtaining * compensation for a few cabbages, which a flock of goats had been inadvertently allowed to ^at in his father's garden. In fact, the little j differences, which existed among the Vaudois, I were settled by friendly arbitration. The « gi-eatest Harmony prevailed among them. In- I cessantly persecuted as the Vaudois were, j and accustomed, from their infancy, to sacri- fices, and the severest privations, they felt anxious not to bring* the smallest scandal upon their body. To cultivate their barren fields in peace, where the Providence of God had placed v3

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tliem, and to eat their breatl without molesta- tion in the sweat of their brow, was the highest degree of happiness to which they aspired. Though they successively passed under tlie dominion of the Dukes of Milan, the House of Savoy, and the Court of France, at no time did they show themselves disobedient to their earth- ly Sovereigns; except when allegiance to an higher Master, and their Christian consistency of Principles were in question. Then indeed Submission would have been sinful, and Re- sistance became with them a paramount Duty.

But here, my dear friend, you will retort upon me, and exclaim, "Is not this Picture " overcharged ? you are surely drawn away " by some enthusiastic feeling." Let then the Testimony of Romanists, no less than of a Pro- testant, who have written on the State of Mo- rals among the Vaudois, be consulted. They afford alike the best answer to the calumnies, which have been uttered.

Viffneaiix, a Frenchman, who discharged the office of Barbe, or Minister of the Gospel in the Valleys of Piemont, during forty years, towards the close of the fifteenth, and the

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beginning of the sixteenth Century, bears an unequivocal Testimony in favour of tlie Vau- dois : he describes them, in his Memoires sur la vie, les mceurs, et la religion des Vaudois " as a faithful people, who lived an irreproach- *' able life, and were the enemies of sin." And, in speaking" directly of the Vaudois of his own time, he adds, " We dwell peaceably in the " Valleys of Piemont, in mutual harmony one *' with another. Our moral condition, and " habits are so far pleasing- to the members of " the Roman church, that many of their great " and rich families prefer taking men-servants, ** and women-servants, from our people, than ** their own ; they come from far to seek among ** us nurses for their children, declaring that " they find them less unworthy of their con- " fidence." Certain it is, that when the troops of the Comte de la Trinite were encamped at La Tour in 1560, the Romanists of that town gent their wives and daughters, for security against the violence of a brutal soldiery, to the Vaudois, who had taken refuge on the mountains.

c' A barbarous order emanated in the year 1572 from the Court of France, by which

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Biragues, Governor of the Marqiiisate of Saluzzo, was about to inflict summary ven- g-ence on all the Vaudois under his jurisdiction; when, on previously communicating" his inten- tion to the principal laymen, and Ecclesiastics of his council, the Archdeacon himself honestly, and courageously, opposed the execution of it, affirming, " That the King of France had re- " ceived wrong" information ; since the poor " inhabitants of the Valleys commanded respect " for their virtues, and were faithful to their ** allegiance; that they lived peaceably with " their neig-hbours, and that, in truth, there " was no other reproach to make them, but " that they did not belong to the church of " Rome."

Girard, moreover, in the tenth book of Ms History of France, asserts, " that no reason ** whatever had so forcibly operated to excite *' the hatred of the Popes, and of several reign- " ing Princes, ag'ainst the Vaudois, as the " freedom, with which they had reproved their " vices; more especially the dissolute conduct " of the Priesthood. This" (he says) " is the " real cause of the abhorrence, in which they

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^* are held and for which they have been so " mortally persecuted."

And William Paradin, in the second book of his Annals of Burgundy, scruples not to declare, " that the errors and vices, of which " the Vaudois have been accused, are only " malicious fictions ; they having committed " no other fault than that of freely censuring- " the vices of the Prelates."

If indeed we examine the Causes, which, under the Providence of God, tended above all others, to favour an extraordinary purity of Morals among- the Vaudois, it may not be difli- cult to trace them to their inviolable attach^ ment to the Gospel; to their strictnesst of Ecclesiastical Discipline ; and to the freque?}t PersecutionSy which they were called to endure.

• ,As, in point oi Doctrine y they only admitted Trhat is clearly enforced in the Word of Goil itself, so they endeavoured to practise, in their moral Conduct and Deportment, the several Duties, which it teaches both towards God, and towards man.

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,f

So great was the Severity of their Disei^ pline, that the smallest outrages against decency of behaviour brought down on the offender a public Censure of reproof. It is recorded of the wife of a certain Pastor, that, having been present at a ball, which was given by some Romanists, her neighbours, she was obliged to submit in the open Church to an admonition i of the Minister in the adjoining Parish. i

Nor is it to be doubted, but that tlie Perse-> crtiions, to which the Vaudoi« were, for many ages, immediately exposed, tended materially to Promote their Purity of Morals; since, in order to prevent the evils, which threatened them, they made every effort to appear exempt even from the semblance of evil, in the eyes of their jealous, and malignant Adversaries.

Such is represented to have been tJie State of Morals among* the Vaudois before the eighteenth Century, And highly satisfactory would it be, my dear friend, for me to add, that this is their State at present. But Truth obliges me to own, that the resemblance un- happily does not exist. Glacowo Brezzi^ in his Histoire des Vavdois par tin Vaudois, had

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bccasion, in the last Century, to deplore the legeneracy of his countrymen. And there low, perhaps, exists a still greater reason for amentation. The Vaudois, it must be con- ceded, do not possess, to so great a degree, the virtues, which were cherished by their ances- tors, and which eminently distinguished them for the peculiar people of God. Their Religion, and the profession of it are the same ; but their attachment to the Gospel is less ardent : they have not the same dread of giving offence. Lawsuits, for instance, have multiplied at La Tour, and in some Parishes of the Valley of Luzerne,

But after every abatement, which a strict regard to Truth compels me to make, I would, on no account, be thought to underrate the present moral character of the Vaudois, If the Vaudois have degenerated, it is (I should say) in reference to their own virtuous Ances- tors ; for compared with other people, it might be seen, that they are still equal, if they do not surpass them. Not inferior to the Swiss in the Protestant Cantons, they are certainly more moral than our agricultural poor in Eng^ land, to whom they should be likened, \i they

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be brought into comparison at all >vith any class of our countrymen.

During" my residence in the Valleys of Pie- mont, I can take upon myself to declare, that I saw no instance of Drunkenness; nor was 1 offended by hearing- a single oath of Swearing und Blasphemy. Having but lately quitted France the absence of this last sin, in particular, has been quite a relief to me. A Frenchman swears, as if his impiety issued from the very bottom of his heart, or the heart's core itself j and his execrations come slowly grating along his throat, and through his closed teeth, as if lie deeply regretted getting rid of them. A strong contrast this to his usually voluble, and rapid mode of utterance !

I have reason also to believe, that from the Ecclesiastical Discipline, which still remains in the Church of the Vaudois, the sin of Unclean^ ness is much less common than among any other European people. The very respecta- ble Pastor of Pramol mentioned to me a case, proving the extent to which he is even now enabled to enforce the Censure of the Church in his own Congregation. A woman about

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thirty years of age, had inveigled a man ' younger than herself to form an illicit connec- tion with her. But on the knowledge of the circumstance coming to the Pastor's ears, he summoned both the parties before him; and having ascertained from the man, that it was his intention to marry her, the marriage im- mediately took place,— when both male and female were excommunicated till after her con- finement. They then were obliged to submit to a public Confession of their sin, and were restored to Church Communion.

And while I would bear this unfeigned Testimony of respect to the Vaudois population in general, I cannot properly withhold it from my friends, the Pastors, It has certainly not been my lot, at any time, to be acquainted with men, more creditable in their habits of living, and who are more correct in discharging the important duties of the Christian Ministry. Yet subdued as they are by oppression, and crampt, in their exertions, by poverty ; with scanty means, for the most part, of purchasing books, and not having the privilege of resorting to public Libraries; destitute of religious Insti- tutions, and far removed from the collision and w

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excitement of them, — it is not to be supposed, that any great degree of zeal, or any bright exception to mediocrity of talent, among so small a body of men, should be likely to exist. Still however, for ability and learning, such an Exception did appear in the late Moderator, J, Rodolpht Peyran,

The subject of admiration is, that, as a body, the Vaudois Pastors are what they are. Pro- videntially, the hand of their God and Father has been upon them. They have fought a good fight ; they have kept the Faith ; the excellency of the Power being not of man, but of God.

M^hen we come maturely to weigh the con- dition of the Vaudois, as a People^ it is to be expected, that they should be less moral than their forefathers. It is indeed sufficient to know, that their Communication with fo- reigners has been increased. A principal cause of their degeneracy has doubtless ari- sen from their Intercourse with the late Em- pire of France. They, with every other tri- butary State under Bonaparte, were liable to the Conscription, and many of their young

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men were incorporated among his troops. In any circumstances, the dissoluteness of a mili- tary life is the deadliest Evil of war; but the moral danger in the French armies was pecu- liarly fatal. It may not be too much to say, that a very large proportion of the Officers were professed Infidels. Hence, a young man, who was seen reading his Bible, and who, in the sobriety and moderation of his habits of life, exhibited any traits of the Christian cha- racter, immediately became a subject of ridi- cule; and unless he actually proved to be converted in heart and soul, he was soon forced down to the level of ordinary licentiousness. Now, it happens, that some of these soldiers of Bonaparte have returned to their native Val- leys, and have brought with them much con- tagion. Others again (I rejoice to hear from their Pastors) do not appear to have suffered in their Morals, but are following the common agricultural pursuits of the country in a quiet, and even exemplary manner.

Yet though it be admitted, the inhabitants

of the Valleys of Piemont have, to a certain

extent, been lately demoralized, I may with

truth add, that the Evil has hitherto not made

w2

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many ravag-es, and shall, by the Divine Bless- ing', be materially lessened, if fit and suitable remedies be applied.

But to tbis end, it is in vain to deny, that the Vaudois are now in a condition to require effectual assistance, A prudent direction should be given to the kindly feeling", which this small and interesting remnant of the ancient Waldensian Church appears to have excited among a large class of Protestants in various countries of Europe. Many benevolent per- sons are coming forward by their Subscrip- tions in Switzerland, Germany, the Neth- erlands, Holland, France, and England, to found an Hospital at La Tour for the benefit of the Vaudois in the three Valleys of Luzerne, Perouse, and St. Martin ; nor does there seem much doubt but that sufficient funds will be raised for the Establishment.

But yielding all possible credit to the pro- moters of such a plan for the benevolence of their intention, I must at once declare, that I greatly doubt, whether the Establishment of this Hospital be the best means of affording Assistance to the poor Vaudois under their pe-

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culiar circumstances. Without taking' into ac- count its Expence, which is estimated at £4,000. Sterling, tlie locality of the Valleys cannot, of itself, make the Hospital at La Tour generally useful : it may aid the inhabitants of Luzerne, but not those of Perouse, and St. Martin. To put one, or two cases. How could a patient suffering under a fever, or by a bro- ken limb, be transported from the Parishes of the two latter Valleys, over mountains, and the roughest possible paths, at a distance, varying from eight to nearly thirty miles ? If it be de- termined to give medical aid to the Vaudois, perhaps it might be more judicious to fix a Dispensarif in some central part of each of the three Valleys, which could be supported in private houses at a trifling yearly charge, and could administer relief where it should be re- quired ; at La Tour, for instance, in the Val- ley of Luzerne ; at St. Germain, for Prarustin, and the Valley of Perouse ; and at JIacel, for the Valley of St. Martin.

But should we not, I would ask, rather at- tempt to strengthen the things, which remain to the Vaudois oj' moral and spiritual growth? should not our attention, at first, be directed >v 3

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more to their Souls than to their bodies ? Per- mit me to say, that our Attention oiig-ht to be directed principally to the following Objects; namely, to ameliorate the Condition of the Pastors, and to provide the Means for edu-^ eating the ichole Protestant Population of the Valleys,

To effect the first of these desirable Objects, representations should be made to our own Government to restore, for the benefit of the Vaudois Pastors, the Royal Bounty from England, which was suspended by Mr. Pitt in 1797, but which, till that time, had been regularly voted in their behalf, as an annual grant by Parliament, from the year 1690. It is, I may add, only a small part of the Debt^ which is justly due to the Vaudois of Piemont.

I conceive it to be, in some measure, at the option of a Nation, as of an Individual, to im- part a benefit ; but once a gift is declared by the donor to be applied to a particular purpose, it becomes the property of the person or com- munity, for whom it w as designed. Thus, under the Protectorate of Cromwell, the Patron of the Vaudois, it appears from the Statement iu

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Sir George Morland'a History, that a general Iv.gathering^ or Congregational Collection, throughout all England and Wales, was made I for the Protestants in the Valleys of Piemont, I amounting to £38,241. 10s. 6d.,— the Pro- lector himself subscribing £2000. : of this Sum, £21.908. Os. 3d. were given in money, corn, bedding, clothes, and other necessaries, between June, 1655, and January, 1658; and a Balance of £16,333. 10s. 3d. remained in the Treasurer's hands, to be put out at interest on the death of Cromwell. But of this Balance neither princi- pal, nor interest, ever found its way into the Valleys of Piemont. It was seized by Charles the Second, on his Accession to the throne, and lavished with his usual profligacy on his own selfish and sensual debaucheries : he might probably have poured it into the lap of the Dutchess of Portsmouth. For this Balance — not to mention the compound and accumulated Interest — I cannot but think, that our own Government are strictly responsible to the Vaudois ; since good faith is, in no instance whatever, to be broken, on a plea of detestable Expediency, publicly or privately. Yet, if by- some process of arithmetic, which, I confess, my ordinary notions of a debtor's and creditor's

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account are not able to compreliend, this Ba~ lance is at once to be wiped out by the politi- cal sponge, surely it would be no very great act of Liberality, on the part of our Government? to restore to the Vaudois Pastors the Royal Bounty, — a paltry sum of £266., which was originally granted through the intercedence of Queen Mary in 1690, and had been continued for 107 years; when it Avas withholden in 1797, because, from the events of the great revo- lutionary war, the Valleys of Piemont had be- come subject to France. Now, they are again dependent on the throne of Sardinia.

Should the Royal Bounty be restored, — and and it is highly probable, that a well authenti- cated Memorial, addressed to our Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Right Hon^i^. Robert Peel, the steady and consistent Friend of Protestants, might effect the mea- sure,— the Pastors of the Valleys, in that case, would become more easy in their circum- stances; and their charities, and influence, which are, at present, limited from necessity, would be much extended among- their poor neighbours. Nor are the above the only bene- ficial Consequences likely to ensue. It is meant by these virtuous men to establish, from

24^

tich an accession of funds, two neio Parishes: ley would sepnYRte Maneille from its annexed /hurch of Macel, and Prali from Rodoret ; nd would fix a stated Minister of the Gospel it all the four Villages. This (I can take upon iiyself to say) is the arrangement, which has een prospectively settled in the Vaudois Sy- od. The sum of £100. a year will be disin- erestediy relinquished by the thirteen Pastors or the maintenance of their two ncAvIy-ap- 3ointed brethren at Macel and Rodoret; while he remaining £166. shall be only appropriated o the increase of their own slender annual sti- pends, now amounting individually, on an iverage, to £42. Yet with the yearly addition bf £12. or £13. to each of their Incomes, the thirteen Pastors will consider themselves in comparative Affluence. May the hearts of our Rulers be open to their Necessities, and their Claims.

To proceed to the Consideration of the fit- test Means for providing a suitable Education for the w hole Vaudois Population.

The friends of the Vaudois should begin wiih the Grammar School, already existing at

250

La Tour, from which the young Candidates fo; the Pastoral Office are chosen to go to thei Swiss Universities. For this School there is? now but one Master, who has commonly undetj his tuition forty boys of different ages, and de-l grees of forwardness. So very inadequately is he paid for his incessant labors, that he seldom retains his situation more than a few years, — his Salary, which is wholly derived from Hol- land, not exceeding £33. per annum. Nor is any house found him. It would be highly advisable, in order to fix him in his Office, to add £20. to his yearly Salary. By appoint- ing an Usher, or Assistant, at an annual Salary of £40., who should undertake the lower Classes, the Head-Master might then be ena- bled to devote his whole time and attention to the older Boys. Here, would be a charge of £6*0, a year.

To provide ge?ierally for the Education of the Protestants in the Valleys, it might not be required to form any new Schools for the Boys ; as, in addition to the Jifteen primary, or CeU" tral Day~Schools in the Villages, (kept the whole year round, with the exception of Sun- days, and the two Harvest-months, June and

251

ily,) there are already ninety-fonr other Day- chools in the different Hamlets, open from lie beginning- of November till the end of Fe- riiary : the number of these last is thus large 1 consequence of the Population being very •idely scattered over a mountainous, and ug'ged country. In fact, many of the ham- iets are surrounded, during the four months »f AVinter, by deep «now ; so that the passage rom one to another, amidst precipices and avines, is not only attended with considerable langer, but rendered nearly impracticable. The Teachers of all the Schools, both in the V illages and the Hamlets, are however wretch- edly paid ; though to the Credit of the Dutch Protestants^ be it remembered, the Incum- brance falls at present entirely upon them. A man receives for the care of a Central School £0. a year ; and for that of a Winter, or Hamlet School, only, on an average, a gold Napoleon, — between sixteen and seventeen shillings of our money ! Now, \i the sum of £4. a year were added to the Salaries of the Masters of the Jifteen Central Schools, and £2. to those of the ' Teachers of the ninety-four Winter Schools in the Hamlets, the whole yearly charge would I not exceed £248. Yet with such an Increase

252

of Salaries, all the Schools, both in the ViU lages and Hamlets, might then he converted into Sunday Schools throughout the whole year; and the Masters, still thinking- themselves suf- ficiently paid, would enter cheerfully on their respective works of Instruction !

But highly desirable would it be to attach to the Central School at La Tour, or at some other principal place in one of the three Val- leys, another most important Establishment; I mean an Institution for the training of Re-" gents and Schoolmasters, similar, though on a smaller scale, to that of Beuggen, near Basle in Switzerland ; or, rather to that at *Glay, in the Department of the Doubs in France. At Beug'gen, and at Glay, young men are not only taught Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, but, having learnt some useful trade, or handicraft, are enabled to work as shoe-makers, tailors, weavers, and carpenters. If it be borne in mind, that the Regents, in the Valleys of Pie- mont, perform part of the Church-Services, and act also as Masters in the Primary, or Central Schools of the Villages, it is scarcely needful

*See Appendix, No, 3.

253

to observe, that it is of the utmost moment they should be qualified to diejcharge their important I Duties creditably to themselves, and to the benefit of those, with whom they are connected. By knowing- a Trade themselves, they might likewise be able better to support their Fami- lies. The expence of Outfit for establishing" the Regent's Institution I am not prepared, at present, to state ; but that being- once incurred, Ishould reckon the annual charge for its support at £80. — on the supposition, that there be in training, one year with another, ten Candidate!?, for the Offices of Regents and Schoolmasters in the different Villages and Hamlets of the : Valleys; and that the Expence, as it is at j Glai/f of each Candidate might be £8. Of course, the Regents should be chosen from the most promising young men.

Still howevei '^oes the Education of the Vaudois Females remain unnoticed! And favourable indeed are the results of moral and religious Culture in Females to the well-being, temporal and eternal, of a people! In point of fact, very few Girls' Schools are now to be found in the Valleys of Piemont, earnestly as they are desired by the Pastors, who are them- X

254

selves too poor to maintain them. By esta- blishing in the\i\\ages^teen Central Schools, for ten months of the year, at the rate of £7. each ; and ninety-four smaller Schools, to be open during* the four Winter-months in the Hamlets, each at £2. lOs., the whole ex- pence of them would but amount to £340. an- nually. From the information, which I have received from the Pastors, I can have no doubt of competent Mistresses for these Schools being- found in the Valleys, who could teach the Children to read, and instruct them in needle- work, knitting, and spinning. Now, if the Girls do go to Schoool, they are mixed indis- criminately with the Boys, and learn none of those Works peculiar to their Sex. The Girls' School should also be kept on Sundays through- out the year.

Thus, my dear friend, for less than seven hundred and thirty'pounds a year, might a suitable Provision be made for educating the Protestant Population of the Valleys of Pie- mont, amounting to nearly twenty thousand souls, divided, and widely separated as that Population is! And yet how trifling is this sum, when compared with the Importance of

255

the Object! May God incline the hearts of my countrymen to come forward liberally, and Tender their Brethren this most effectual Aid. " He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth *' unto the Lord : and look, what he layeth out, ** it shall be paid him again."

I have forborne to enter into particular De- tails, as they are only dull subjects for a let- ter, and maybe discussed in a more satisfactory manner, if we shall again meet in England • 1 have also purposely refrained from mention- ing any specific Plans of Education, either for the Regent's Institution, or the Schools for the Vaudois Population in general. These, I think, should be left to the direction of the Ta^ hie, or Sub-Synod, — under whose control dl the public Establishments, for moral and reli- gious Culture, should be placed, and to whom a Committee of our English Friends, appointed to receive Subscriptions, might forward their remittances. What these Friends should at- tempt is simply — to open a Fund for the Edu^ cation of the Vaudois of Piemont, and to use their best endeavours towards its Support, The Pastors of the Valleys are intimately ac- quainted, not only with the religious wants of X 2

<156

their own people, but with the peculiar diffi- culties, which may arise from the narrow spi- rit of the Sardinian Government, and the con- tinued interference of the Popish Priesthood. Against these last they must be upon their guard, and take such measures as Experience, and Discretion may suggest. At the same time I can have no hesitation in saying, that they will not be unmindful of their Benefactors in England, nor disinclined to carry into effect every practicable Recommendation from them. It is needless to observe, that Christian In^ struction, or a Knowledge of the Holy Scrip^ tures, ought to form the leading Object of Education for any people whativer.

Believe me,

My dear friend.

Truly and affectionately your's,

J. L. J.

257

Pinerolo, SOth Jnue. Being tired of my se- flentary employment of the last tbvee days, I ao-ain departed this afternoon for Prarustin, yv'nh the hope of seeing young Mr. Rostaing, and having some further conversation with him. Nor have I been disappointed. In my way to Prarustin, and in one of the environs of this city, I visited a Manufactory of Silk,— the chief source of its w^ealth to Piemont. The Manufactory is a large concern, employ- ing, throughout the year, about forty men, and one hundred women, besides double the number of children. From their deplorable appearance,! should fear, that no little mischief is o-oing on among the two latter classes : hap- pily, the winders make such a continual noise and turmoil, they cannot, while they are at work, by any possibility, hear each other speak. Every thread (1 find) is spun twice; and when two of them are twisted together, the silk is in a fit state for bleaching and dying. Some of the silk is however almost white, on coming immediate- ly from the cod of the worm. About two-thirds of the winders, or forty out oi^ sioctij, are turn- ed, though imperfectly, by Steam. The men x3

25S

earn twenty sous a day ; the women fifteen ; and the children from ten to twelve.

On my arrival at Prarustin, Mr. Rostaing- was out, visiting some of his sick parishioners, but came back to his lodging in less than an hour. Our conversation lasted from five till seven o'clock in the evening, and referred, du- ring the greater part of the time to the duties^ and responsibility of the ministerial Office. He has undoubtedly read his Bible with at- tention, and gives me clearly the idea of being blessed with a devotional frame of mind. I consider him quite sound in his opinions, hold- ing the Truth, as it is in Christ Jesus.

St, Barthelemi contains fourteen hundred Protestants, and Rocheplatte only four hun- dred: in the former, are fifty Romanists; and in the latter, thirty. There is a Central School in the village of St. Barthelemi ; and four Win- ter Schools in four of the hamlets of Prarus- tin. A Regent's Thursday Service is held at both of the Churches, which are plain, neat buildings. That at Rocheplatte contains about three hundred persons.

259

The Burying-ground at St. Barthelemi is like many others in the Protestant Parislies, — an open strip of Ground, To have it walled in, Application must, of necessity, be made to the Government at Turin; when the Minister of the Interior would consult the Bishop of Pine-

i rolo, — and the Bishop of Pinerolo would ask the opinion of the Popish Priest at St. Barthelemi, — and then,?ind then, if neither of these last person-

I ages should see any just cause, or impediment against the said Wall, or Walls, the Inclosure might actually take place ! Such is the fa- therly kindness and protection of a Papistical Government to its Protestant Subjects! I re- joice to find, that the Prussian Envoy, the

I Count Waldburg de Truchsess^ is the steady friend of the Vaudois, and assists them, to the utmost of his power, in all their difficulties with the Government at Turin. May the new British Envoy, Mr, Forster, feel e<jually in- terested in their behalf. To the last Gentle- man, who resided eight years at Turin in that capacity, the poor Vaudois of Piemont had no thanks to give ; whereas, they never speak of the Count Waldburg de Truchsess, but m terms of the highest respect and gratitude !

260

Tho Account, which Mr. Rostamg; made of the Supply of the Holy Scriptures for his Parishioners, would lead me again to conclude, that though nearly all the Vaudois families are now furnished with Copies of the New Testament, certainly not more than one-third of them can be said to possess the Bible.

Let me here observe, that it is to me a real disappointment to have found the Schools dis- persed at this season of the year, in which I have paid my visit to the Valleys of Piemont; since I had much wished to have made a per- sonal Examination of them, and to have in- spected their management. One palpable Evil, (which 1 have before frequently remarked, arising from a deficiency of funds to accomplish a Separation, so much desired by the Pastors,) is the indiscriminate Mixtv re in the Schools, of Boys and Girls, Thus, to mention no other Ob- jection to the present want of System and due Arrangement, it is sufficient to know, that the latter cannot be taught any works, appropriate to their Sex. which contribute so materially to the future comfort of families; as sewing* knitting, spitining, &c.

261

I have however endeavoured to meet my disappointment by getting knots of children together, from time to time, in the Villages, and hearing them read portions of the Holy Scriptures : I did so to day at St. Barthelemi, while I was waiting for the Pastor Rostaing; and, according to my usual custom, questioned my young scholars as to the meaning of parti- cular passages. I may therefore be allowed to say in those cases, which have fallen under my own observation, that the progress of the Boys and Girls in the knowledge of Divine Truth is certainly inferior to that which is acquired in those Day-Schools of English towns, where the National System of Education has been embraced ; and not quite equal to that in the Sunday Village Schools of England when the plan of the Rev. Dr. Bell is really followed.

Before I quitted St. Barthelemi, Mr. Rostaing conducted me to a farm-house, in which was a room, about fourteen feet square, filled with thousands and thousands of Silk-worms, now in the act of spinning. The room was divided, on each of its four sides, regularly into small compartments, a foot and half deep, and a foot high, formed of broom, — against the twigs of

262

which the little animals fasten themselves, spinning, and weaving the silk so completely round their bodies as to be entirely envelopped by it. This visit brought to my mind the Hymn, which Mr. Bert had kindly given me, and which is written by himself:—

HYMNE

pour la Recolte des Cocons, sur le Chant du Pseaume viii.

Qu'il f st adroit cet Insecte admirable f Dont le travail tonjours inimitable Vient nous fournir un tissu precieux, Fait pour flatter et les doigts et les yieux^

Le Tisserand meme le plus habile, La Fileuse meme la plus agile, Sont toujours, chacun dans son metier, Fort au dessous de ce vers ouvrier.

Sans atelier, et sans secours externe, Uniquement de sa substance interne 11 sait tirer, et conduire a sa fin, Le vetement le plus beau, le plus fin.

Mais, 6 prodige, en croirons nous la chose? L' Insecte meurt, et se metamorphose :

263,

Li ressuscite, et perce son tombeau ill etre aile, pour vivre de nouveau.

^pprends, Chretien, par cet exemple insigne, ^ mediter sur iin siijet plus digne: ^e Dieu, qui fit 1' Insecte industrieux, \ttend de toi ton hommage, et tes voeux.

Le Ver a soie, est encore un image Du sort heureux, qui sera ton partage; Car en tombeau tu ne resteras pas : Christ a brise l' aigaillon des trepas.

Un jour aussi, tout rayonnant de gloire, !Et sur la mort reraportant la victoire, Tu revivras en Jesus, ton Sauveur: Espere en Lui ; sois son Imitateur.

TRANSLATION. ON THE SILK-WORM.

This little Insect how adroit!

Whose toil inimitable Affords us, flattering touch and sight

A tissue beautiful.

264

E'en she who boasts to spin so fast, E'en he who weaves so firm,

Each, in their trade, has ne'er surpast This small laborious worm.

Without a w heel, and outward aid,

But from itself alone It quickly spun, it quickly made

Clothing, the finest known.

But ah ! at last it meets its doom ;

Is changed ; in air it flew : It rose again, it pierced the tomb,

A Moth to live anew.

Then, Christian, let the little worm Teach better thoughts to thee ;

For he, who pleased this worm to form, Expects Utility.

'Tis too the image of thy lot, When thou resign'st thy breath ;

Thou shalt not rest beneath to rot. For Jesus vanquished death.

The Day draws near ! with Glory clad. Hell overcome, in heaven

265

Thou, in thy Saviour's presence glac], Shalt live, thy sins forgiven !

Pinerolo, Xat Juhj. This morning I took a lonff walk round Pinerolo and its immediate neighbourhood. The country is itself remark- ably pleasant and cheerful ; but the people, for the most part, seem a listless, lounging, idle race of beings. A manifest superiority in intelligence exists, in favour of the Protest- ants in the Valleys, above these unhappy Ro- manists ! I am informed, that but few of the latter are able to read, and that, with a small number of exceptioi^is, the sum total of their

religious Knowledi , amourils to a formal re-

?. 'lid

petition of the d^d^, and Pater Noster,

/Another circumstance has been decidedly in- jurious to them. Till the time of the French Revolution, a large proportion of the Piemon- tese, in the lower rank of life, depended prin- cipally for their subsistence, not on their own exertions, but, as was usual among the Papists, on the alms and donations of the Convents, Tliese Institutions have now been, nearly all of them, suppressed ; yet much time is required,

266

under any Government, to form a people to active, useful habits. But that of Piemont is doing its utmost to encourage ignorance, and seems to dread the idea of promoting indus-

try.

At one o'clock, I had a party, and gave a very good dinner to such of the Vaudois Pas- tors, as I was abJe to collect for the occasion. Mr. Bert, the Moderator, had come in from La Tour, to bid me farewell, — and 1 had before invited Mr. Vin<^on, Mr. Monnet, Mr. Monastier of Maneille, and Mr. Rostaing' Junior. Mr. Monnet brought his Son. Thus we sat down together, and seemed to enjoy ourselves great- ly, T was delighted to show my friends this little mark of regard and .|ttention ; though I endeavoured, in the cou ^ of the afternoon, to turn our meeting to some future advantage of the Vaudois Church.

Mr. Bert continued with me some time longer than his Brother Pastors, and then re- turned the Paper, containing the Suggestions which I had ventured to give him at La Tour, together with his OAvn Remarks in writing- upon them : he had consulted Mr. Meille ou

267

their purport. The Suggestions referred prin- cipally to a better system of Education for the Protestants of the Valleys in general, and were offered, on the presumption, that the Christian Instrucrion of the Vaudois, however favourable under existing circumstances, is still capable of much improvement. But as the Substance of them is contained in my last Letter to England, it would be needless for me to enlarge upon their contents. I may tru- ly say, that they received the cordial appro- bation of my much respected friend, the Mo- derator of the Vaudois Church.

Let me add, that the Pastor Vinson, when he came to Pinerolo to-day, brought with him his Copy of Jean Leger's History, and in- sisted that I should keep it, as a token of his regard. Dear man ! I should often think of him, without such a Remembrance, highly as I value it; but shall I live to reach England, it is my intention to have the Folio well bound, gilt, and lettered,— and to place it in a prime part upon one of my own foriiU, God bless him, and all the Vaudois of Piemont, both the Pastors, and the People ! X 2

268

Turin, 2d July » A Contrast to my late mode of living, and pursuits in the Valleys ! 1 quitted Pinerolo this morning- at five o'clock, (for my Exmirsion among the Yaudois is now, alas! ended,) and, shortly after my arrival at Turin, went to see the laqueata tecta of the King of Sardinia's Palace. Beneath its vaulted and gilded ceilings are splendid and costly furni- ture, tapestry, marble columns, and Paintings! The most valuable of these last appendages had been put away in some of the upper chambers of the Palace, during the first irrup- tion of the French into Piemont after the com- mencement of their Revolution ; and having lain for several years c|uite neglected, all co- vered with dust and cobwebs, were lately brought again to light, and added to the other pictures, which had been left, by way of show, to ornament the Palace. At least, this is the Mstoriette, which an attendant of the Court of Turin, was pleased to tell me.

Of the Collection, I was most struck with three Portraits by Vandyke; one, of Croni" well; a second, of Charles the first of Eng- land, a full-length figure, the perfect gentle- man, and quite a contrast to the bold, hardy

1

269

Protector; and a thirti, of Victor Amadeus tlio second, the Diike of Savoy. The last is the finest, — a proud, haiiglity man, on a rear- ino-, white war-liorse, witJi a flowino' mane and tail ! If 1 am not mistaken, there is a similar Portrait of Charles the first by Vandyke, in the royal Collection of Paintings in England, which was exhibited some four or five years ago in the British Gallery at Pall-mall.

In passing- through the suite of show-rooms, my conductor pointed out to me the closet of the present King, Charles Felix, in which he performs his private devotions. It is beauti- fully fitted up. A small highly-wrought ivory Crucifix is suspemled over the table ! I gently closed the door, and, *' spite of the image and the silver shrine," knelt down ; when, I trust, with no idolatrous feeling in my mind, I offered up to the throne of Mercy a short, but sincere Prayer, for the poor, persecuted Vaudois ! that God, for the sake of his beloved Son, Christ Jesus, would graciously touch the hearts of their Rulers, and make them their nursinr/ J at hers !

This Evening, I have been to the Ca^)uchin Y 3

270

Convent, at the opposite side of the Po to Turin, which is situated on the hill, near the Queen's villa, where I listened to the Night- ingales last Sunday three weeks. It was the hour of Vespers when I arrived ; and the Friars, about fifty of them in number, were all in the chapel.

In the course of the morning, I had entered a church for a few minutes, and had again be- held that grossest and most appalling- of all the delusions of the Romanists, Transubsfan- tiation itself not excepted ; when on the ting- ling of a small silver bell, at the elevation of the host by the priest above the altar, the Sa^ crijice of the Mass is supposed to take place, — a Sacrifice, perhaps repeated not less than one hundred times every day in the City of Turin alone ! TJie letter killeth, but the spirit €jiveth life. In the present instance however, both the letter and the spirit of Holy Scrip- ture are most decidedly against the Roman- ists, John III. 14 — 16. comp. Heh, i. 3. vii. 27, IX, 12, 26.

As I paced, this evening, through the stone cloisters of the Convent with the lay-brother.

271

ukI Iieard tho rlmunting of the clioir; hut more especially, when I turned aside the cur- tain at the entrance of the chapel, and saw the devotees, their contortions, their incessant bendings, and their risings, my mind reverted, as it were, for relief, to the simple Christian Services of the poor Vaudois. I have now, thank God! become personally acquainted with the descendants of those holy Men, who Avere the very first Heralds to proclaim the church of Rome to be the apocalyptic BABY- LON, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMLNATIONS OF THE EARTH.

GOD LS A SPIRIT : AND THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM, MUST WORSHIP HLM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.

272 PRAYER.

lie o-lorifiedjOGod the Father of our Lortl Jesus Christ, be thou glorified on all the earth. Cast out errors and corruptions from the Church; heal divisions; and restrain the spirit of pride, and persecution, among the Kings and Potentates of this world.

Vouchsafe to look with an eye of pity on a World, that Jieth in wickedness; and grant that the throne of Christ may be established, where Satan now reigneth. Convert idol-shep- herds, and change them into Pastors after thine own heart. Sanctify the labors of all, even the lowest of thy worshippers, who, in any way, are attempting' to recover sinners to the knowledge of Christ's blessed Gospel. Assist and guide thy ministering' servants, and make them wise to win souls. Add to their number continually. O send out thy Light and thy Truth ; and sub- due all people, and nations, and languages, to the Obedience of Faith.

Build up, O God and heavenly Father, thy Church, thy Holy Catholic Church, and cause it to flourish exceedingly. Let not the gates

273

of hell prevail against it, nor permit the rod of the wicked to rest upon the lot of the rig-Iite- ous. O let thy Word run and he glorified nnto the ends of the Earth, from the North unto the South, and from the East unto the West.

Comfort such as are afflicted in mind, body, or estate. Especially be pleased to strength- en the still suffering Vaudois, the Witnesses clothed in sackcloth, under their several trials. And should their earthly rulers not prove kind, and nursing fathers to them, graciously dispose the hearts of the British nation, and the hearts of thine own People in every land, freely to communicate to tiieir relief and consolation, according to the ability, and the means, which thou, in mercy, hast bestowed upon them.

Hear, O Lord God, these weak and imper- fect petitions, through the merits of thine Only-begotten Son Jesus Christ; to whom, with Thee, O Father, and Thee, O Holy Ghost, — unto the Sacred Three in the One un- divided, everlasting Godhead, be all honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

274 APPENDIX.

No. 1.

The following is a List of the M. S. S. in the public Library at Geneva, relating* to the History and Doctrine of the Waldensian Church, as they are numbered, and marked, in the Cataloyne raisonne of Mr, Jean Senebier : —

207. La Nob fa Le'igon ; an Octavo Volume in Vellum. Mr. Senebier says, "On donne ce " nom a ce Volume, paroequ' il renferme 1' " ouvrage, qui porta ce titre.'* In the Volume are found —

^71 E deposition of Solomon's Sony, The Poems, intitled — La Barca. Le JSTovvel Sermon, lua J^obla Leigon, Lo Paire Eternel, Le JS^onvel Consort, Li Dispersi del Mondo ei delta Morte, et de li quatre semens de Penitenza,

572

Besides the works, above mentioned, there are bound up in the same Volume two short Treatises; one is, An Abridgment of the His- tori/ of the Church till the Coming of Jesus Christ ; the other, An Antidote to the Per- versions oj* the church of Rome,

All these M. S. S. written in the ancient Vaudois Dialect, are very clean, and well pre- served: they appeared to me (juite perfect. Respecting- La Xohla Lelgon, it is observed by Mr. Senebier, *' Je crois ce M. S. du xii"'^. ^Siecle; 1' ecriture et le langage confirment " cette opinion."

208. Coniroverses Vaudoises avec V Eglise Itomaine ; an Octavo Volume on Paper, con- taining Treatises on the following Subjects ; iiamely —

The Articles of Belief

The Seven Sacraments,

The Commandments,

Purgatory,

The Invocation of Saints^

False Penitence,

The Apostacy,

276

" Ce M. S. est du xtv'"p. Siecle, et en patois Vaudois." Jean Senebier,

209. Les Conseils des Barhets, 8yo. on Paper.

" Ce M.S. incomplet renferme divers mor- *' ceaiix de Tlieologie, et de Morale, en patois *' Yaudois." Joan Senebier, He (J. S.) is of opinion, tliat the M. S. was written in tbe fif- teenth Century.

In addition to these M. S. S. wliich I exam- ined, there is another Work, mentioned in the Cataloffue raismme, but which 1 did not see, —No. 88, "Memoires sur les affaires du Pie- *' mont de 1551 a 15G0, folio ;" with still two more, not specified in the printed Catalog-ue, but on a leaf, in writing*, affixed to it, — nnme- ly. Memoirs of the noble J'awily of Saluzzo, and a short Liturr/y in the Vaudois Dialect : this last is a small Octavo, on Vellum, bound in crimson Velvet* I saw it, and thought it <|uiie complete.

277 APPENDIX.

No. II.

PETITION ET GRIEFS DES VAUDOIS.

Art. I. Qu'il leur soit accorde une entiere iiberte pour la celebration de leur culte, et que ies lois leur garantissent la meuie protection qu'aux autres sujets du roi.

Art. II. Que leur religion ne soit plus un empechement a ce qu'ils occupent des places dans Tadministration civile et dans I'armee, et a ce qu'ils puissent obtenir de ravancement comme Ies autres sujets du roi.

Art. III. Qu'il leur soit permis de garder Ies terres qu'ils ont acquises au-dela des limites fixees par Ies edits, et que la faculte d'acquerir iibrement leur soit accordee.

Art. IV. Qa'il leur soit pt^rmis des' etab ir dans Ies etats du roi, partout ou il leur plaira de se fixer.

Art. V. Que I'existence des pasteurs soit z

278

garantie par la continuation de» traitemens dont ils jouissaient sous I'ancien gouvernmcnt, qui leur avaitalloue un traitement annuel d'environ mille francs.

Art. VI. Qu'il leur soit permis d'utiliser leur eglise de St-Jean,batieau-deIa des limites, d'en construire de nouvelles, ainsi que des ecoles, partout oii besoin sera ; et qu'il soit perrais au pasteur de resider dans la paroisse de St.-Jean.

Art. VII. Qu'il leur soit permis de se pro- curer les livres qui sont necessaires pour le service de leurs eglises, soit en les faisant im- primer dans les etats du roi, soit en les faisant renir de I'etranger.

Art. VIII. Qu'il soit permis aux jeunes gens vaudois, de la religion reforniee,de pren- dre I'etat de medecin, de pharmacien, de chi- rurgicn, d'avocat et de notaire.

Art. IX. Que dans la formation des conseils municipauXjOn ait egard dans chaque commune a la proportion des habitans catboliques et refonnes, et que des etrangers ou des catboli-

279

que* ne soient plus places dans les villages protestans et aux frais des protestans.

Art. X. Qu'il leur soit permis d'entourer leurs cimetieres de murs^ de reparer ou de batir des edifices soit pour le culte, soit pour Tiii- struction scolaire.

Art. XI. Que les en fans au-dessous de quinze ans ne puissent plus etre contraints, sous quelque pretexte que ce soit, de changer de religion.

Art. XII. Qu'ils ne soient plus obliges de celebrer toutes les fetes marquees dans I'al- manach catbolique.

Art. XIII. ET DERNIER. Qu'il leur soit ac- corde de jouir en tout des menies droits et pri- vileges que les sujets catholiques de sa ma- jestie le roi de Sardaigne, ainsi qu'ils en jouissaient avant que sa inajeste le roi de Sar- daigne n'eut ete retabli sur le trone de ses peres. lis demandent enfin le statu quo du mois de Janvier 1813.

z2

280 APPENDIX.

No. II r.

EXTRACT FROM THE FIRST REPORT

de r Institut etabli a Glay, Dept. du DouhSy destine a former des Regens pour des Pa^ Toisses paiwres, et a elever des Enfons panares,

II sera peut-etre interessant pour nos amis, que nous entiions dans quelques details, con- cernant les eleves regens et les enfans de V Institut, et que nous leur fassions connoitre le soccupations et les metiers introduits jusqu'- ici dans la maison.

La journee commence et finit par une heure d'^dification, dans laquelle on fait la lecture et une explication familiere de la bible. On se sert de Tabr^ge de Risler pour I'explication de Tancien testament. Les eleves regens sont occupes toute la matinee a recevoir des le9ons et I'apres-midi a travailler de leurs metiers, Les enfans re^oivent leurs le9ons I'apres-midi, et sont occupes le matin a des ouvrages en paille, comme nattes, cliapeaux &c. Deux de

281

BOS eleres regens sont de la paroisse de Glay, I'uu tisserand et Tautre apprenti cordonnier> deux autres de la paroisse de Blamont, voisine de celle de Glay, Tun menuisier et I'autre sa- botier; un cinquieme, des environs de Mou- tiers, Canton de Benie, apprenti menuisier? un sixieme, apprenti tisserand, est du Canton de Neuchatel, et a ete envoye par une danie bienfaisante de cette ville, qui paye pour lui la contribution annuelle de fr. 200 — fix^e dans notre prospectus; un septieme, tailleur, est du Canton de Vaud, et un huiteme, apprenti me- nuisier, des Valines du Piemont. Ce dernier nous a et^ envoy^ de ces Valines avec un jeune gar9on qui est entre dans classe des enfans.

FLNIS.

Richard Woodward, Printer, Weymouth.

13694YB 16J

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Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries

1 1012 01292 3183

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