scendants of their oppressors, and has preserved the oppressed to attest his faithfulness.

For many years, it does not appear that much was known of their circumstances in this country, till Mr. Jones, in his very excellent history, called the attention of the country once more to this interesting people. Since then, information has poured in upon us, and we have now three works on our table relating to them, all deserving the attention of our readers. We shall endeavour from them all to extract such an account of their history and present circumstances as will, we have no doubt, interest the public both in the publications and in the people to which they refer.

"The Vaudois are confined by an oppressive law to a small tract of mountain country, between the valley of the Po on the south (which river rises at the foot of Mont Viso), and the valley of Fenestrelle or of the Clusone on the north, through which passes the great road from Briançon to Turin by Mont Genevre. The eastern part of this little tract descends into Piémont; but by far the greater consists of lofty and barren mountains, bounded on the westward by that part of the central chain of the Alps which runs nearly in a northerly direction from Mont Viso to the Col de Laus or d'Abries, and then by a high branch, in the same direction, as far as the Col d'Abergian, the central chain having made an abrupt turn to the westward, in the direction for Mont Genevre. The whole is under the dominion of the king of Sardinia, and in the diocese of Pignerol, through which town lies the approach from Turin, the distance between them and this capital being about thirtyfive miles. Formerly, they inhabited more than double this space; but continual persecutions, amounting, in one instance, almost to total annihilation, and actually to total extirpation as far as relates to the soil, have thus contracted their circle, which would have otherwise, in all probability, diverged over the whole of Piémont."-Ackland, pp. 2, 3.

To visit the Christian inhabitants of this secluded spot, the steps of the several travellers whose works now lie before us were directed. The following is Mr. Gilly's account of the first

"After walking half an hour or more, the village of Pomaretto discovered itself, and seen as it was, in its wintry aspect, never did a more dreary spot burst upon the view. It is built upon a declivity, just where the mountains begin to increase in height and number, with rocks above, and torrents below. There is such a scene of savage disorder in the immediate vicinity of Pomaretto, that one would imagine it had been effected by the most violent convulsions of nature; huge fragments of rock encumber the ground on all sides, and it seems as if the mountains must have been rent asunder to produce so much nakedness and desolation. The

street which we slowly ascended was narrow and dirty, the houses, or rather cabins, small and inconvenient, and poverty, in the strictest sense of the word, stared us

in the face at every step we took. In vain did we cast our eyes about, in search of some better looking corner, in which we might descry an habitation fit for the reception of the supreme Pastor of the Churches of the Waldenses. The street was every where no better than a confined lane. At length we stood before the Presbytery of M. Peyrani, for by this name the dwellings of the ministers are known. But in external appearance, how inferior to the most indifferent parsonages in England, or to the humblest manse in Scotland. Neither garden nor bower enlivened its appearance, and scarcely did it differ in construction or dimension from the humble cottages by which it was surrounded. The interior was not much better calculated to give us an idea of the otium cum dignitate, which usually appertains to the condition of dignitaries in the church; and had we not known it before, we should soon have discovered, that additional labour only distinguishes the appointment of moderator of the Vaudois.

"We were received at the door by a mild, sensible, and modest-looking young man dressed in faded black, to whom we communicated our wish of being introduced to M. Peyrani. He replied, that his father was very unwell, but would be happy to see any English gentlemen, who did him the honour of a visit. We were afraid that we might disturb the invalid, and therefore hesitated to intrude, until we had begged M. Vertu to see M. Peyrani first, and ascertain whether the sight of strangers would be agreeable. The answer was in our favour, and we were now conducted up a narrow stair-case, through a very small bed-room, whose size was still further contracted by several bookcases. This led into another bed-room, more amply provided still with shelves and books. The apartment was about

fourteen feet square, low, and without any kind of decoration of paint or paper hang ing. It was thick with dust; and the only attention to those munditie vita, to which we were in the habit of looking, were the sheets of the bed, than which nothing could be cleaner. At a small fire, where the fuel was supplied in too scanty a portion to impart warmth to the room, and by the side of a table covered with books, parchments, and manuscripts, sat a slender, feeble-looking old man, whose whole frame was bowed down by infirmity. A nightcap was on his head, and at first sight we supposed he had a long white beard hanging down upon his neck; but, upon his rising to welcome us, we perceived that it was no beard, but whiskers of a length which are not often seen, and which had a very singular effect. His dress consisted of a shabby, time-worn, black suit, and white worsted stockings, so darned and patched, that it is difficult to say, whether any portion of the original hose remained. Over his shoulder was thrown what once had been a cloak, but now a shred only, and more like the remains of a borse-cloth, than part of a clerical dress. This cloak, in the animation of his discourse, frequently fell from his shoulders, and was replaced by his son with a degree of filial tenderness and attention extremely prepossessing.

"The sickly-looking sufferer, in this humble costume, in this garb of indigence, was the moderator of the Vaudois; the successor of a line of prelates, whom tradition would extend to the Apostles themselves; the high-priest of a church, which is, beyond all shadow of doubt, the parent church of every Protestant community in Europe, and which centuries of persecution have not been able to destroy. It is indeed a vine, which has stretched her branches to the sea, and her boughs unto the river.' but while her branches areflourishing, the wild boar out of the wood doth root up the stem, and the wild beasts of the field devour it.' And unless

the same Providence which first planted this vine, and made room for it, shall turn again, and look down from heaven, and visit it, it must, it is feared, perish; for nothing short of the divine succours can enable men to bear up against the poverty, humiliation, and deprivations, to which most of the Vaudois clergy are exposed to this hour."-pp. 67-69.

.This interesting man is now no more. He died about three months after this interview, leaving a son desirous of following his footsteps, and occupying his place, to struggle with all the poverty of his family. Assistance, in part procured for him by the benevolent

exertions of Mr. Gilly, enables him now to prosecute his studies.

In the following passage, Mr. Gilly favours us with an account of the ecclesiastical regime of the Waldenses:

"The general affairs of the Waldensian church are regulated by a synod, which cannot be held but with consent of the government, and consists of the thirteen pastors, and one elder from each parish. The moderator, who presides at the synod, and is the primate of the church, is elected by this venerable assembly, but he must be formally approved by the king, before he can enter upon his office. It is the synod also, which appoints a pastor to a vacant charge. The parish, which has lost its minister, nominates two or three candidates, and the general assembly chuses the most worthy.

"It was affecting to hear the amiable pastor of La Torre explain the solemnities, which precede and accompany the administration of the Holy Sacrament. Young people consider their first celebration of this sacred rite as an epoch in their lives, and the preparations beforehand are long, and of the most serious nature. There is a great number of Protestant families at Turin, and it frequently happens, that young persons of each sex are sent from the capital to the most retired villages among the mountains, that they may have the full benefit of a parochial minister's instruction, and may have their minds effectually impressed with the awful responsibility, which they are about to take upon themselves. There is even a formulary, or catechism, in which they are expected to be perfect, before they are admitted to the Lord's Table. For this purpose they attend the minister at first privately, and afterwards appear collectively, at church, a few days before the Sacrament is administered, to give an account of their studies and meditations.

"There are four seasons in the year at which the holy Supper is commemorated, and as the greater proportion of the population regularly attends upon these occasions, two successive Sundays are employed in administering the consecrated elements. On the Sunday before the administration of the quarter, particular prayers are introduced in the service, and appropriate Psalms and lessons, to prepare the congregation for the duties of the following Sabbath.

"Schools are no new institutions in these retreats of pure Christianity; each parish has its schoolmaster, and the objection to educating the lower orders, which is so frequently heard, viz. that those who are taught to read make bad servants, and despise the labours of husbandry, has long met with a practical answer in the Protes

re

tant valleys of Piemont. All the children, as. I have observed before, are instructed in the elements of common knowledge; the whole population is pastoral; and the Vaudois servants are the best in his Sardinian Majesty's dominions."-pp. 206--208. We should have been truly glad to be furnished with a more particular detail of the state of piety among these interesting people, than is contained in the works now under review. When ligion becomes hereditary it invariably suffers; and although the Vaudois have been, by their peculiar circumstances, preserved from the dissoluteness and corruption which have so extensively prevailed in other quarters, we doubt whether the vitality of religion is as vigorous and productive as a superficial observer might suppose. We know not very well what to make of the following

Scene:

"The time passed so imperceptibly with the good pastor of La Torre, that it was late before we remembered, that we were engaged to look in upon the little festive party, which was collected at the house of one of the family of the Vertus. M. Bert's son and daughter, and one of his English pupils, had set out long before us, and I began to fear, lest I should have the appearance of forgetting the early habits of these simple mountaineers. My venerable friend quieted my scruples, by assuring me, that upon occasions like the present, amusements were extended till long past midnight.

"We found the house to which we were invited, as full as it would hold. All the principal families of La Torre were assembled together, young and old, and the largest room was set apart for the use of the dancers. One or two adjoining apartments were employed as rooms, to which the company might adjourn for refreshments, or conversation. In the most complete sense of the word, it was a rustic assembly, where all was good humour, cheerfulness, and frankness. The music consisted of a flute, and a couple of violius: the dances were those of the country; the refreshments were a thin wine, and cakes; and the dress was principally the costume of the Alps. One or two young girls, and among them the charming girl to whom the younger M. Vertu was engaged, were dressed in white; but colours, and chiefly red, were conspicuous. The young men were attired without any regard to the fashions of Turin; and the movements of

their steps were regulated by nature, and a good ear; and not by the studied lessons of a ballet master. The elder personages looked on with unfeigned satisfaction; and the youthful actors in this happy scene, performed their parts with all that gaiety of heart, and simplicity of manners, which distinguish the inhabitants of remote villages. It was, indeed, a genuine, unmingled delight, to witness the innocent happiness of the hour: for if the sight of pain, be itself pain; the sight of pleasure is no less pleasure, where the heart is pure, and the mind is uncorrupted.

"I was interested in observing how much M. Bert entered into the spirit of the amusements of the evening. Austerity the Vaudois; and this worthy minister forms no part of the religious character of

thought it not at all inconsistent with his sacred profession, to be present at an assemblage of his flock, where music and dancing were admitted. "I love,' said e,

to see cheerfulness and happiness under every form; and where can be the harm of young persons thus recreating themselves under their parents' eyes, where nothing Indecorous is done; or of my being the

For

spectator of their innocent revels?' merly, dancing was prohibited among the Vaudois; but it was in those dark and dismal times, when these poor people were scarcely ever secure of their lives, and when any indication of merriment agreed but ill with their miserable condition. In days of active persecution, piety will naturally assume something of the gloomy tincture of the period; and when the heart ought to be sad, every movement of levity is ill-timed, and unbecoming. Upon this occasion, every body had a smile, or a salutation, or an expression of affection for their benevolent pastor, and seemed to derive additional pleasure from his presence. The domestics of the family, and several of the peasantry, were in the room where the dancing was going on, or at the door; and though they did not dance, they entered into familiar conversation with all. One of these, a female servant of the house, had a countenance of rather striking beauty: the brilliancy of her eyes was Italian, but there was a modesty, and sweetness of expression, peculiar to the Vaudois. In general, and it may be mentioned as a remark extending to all mountaineers, personal beauty is not a distinction to which the peasantry of the Alps can lay any claim; nor have I observed in any country, but in England, that lovely features, or fine symmetry, prevail among the lower orders. In Italy, it has been said, that beauty rises with rank. The Swiss peasants cannot be thought handsome; and the dress of the female peasant, in many of the French provinces, is enough to disguise and deform the most perfect figures."—pp. 237--239.

We must leave our readers to draw their own conclusion from this passage, both respecting the spiritual views and feelings of the narrator, and those of the Vaudois pastor and flock. If such scenes are frequent among the people, and countenanced by the pastors, we fear much the spirit of religion has passed away with the persecutions which formed and excited it. We have never known a dancing, fiddling priesthood, or a. people fond of such things, without finding a lamentable deficiency in the leading qualities of the Christian character.

Though the circumstances of the Vaudois are greatly improved, they are still very far from enjoying that full liberty of which we can boast. They are subject to many restrictive laws, which, together with their poverty, must produce great privation.

"The Vaudois are, in fact, still greatly oppressed. On the restoration of Victor

Emmanuel to the throne of Sardinia, seven

years before his abdication, the Vaudois were immediately deprived of all the offices which they had occupied under the French Government; such as of receivers of taxes, and prefects. In the reign of his present Majesty, Charles Felix, they are exposed equally to harassing 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 returned to their valleys with the decorations of the legion of honour. Now, no Protestant soldier rises higher than serjeant.--In the liberal professions, a Vaudois cannot become either an advocate or a physician; because, on taking the Laurea 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 from 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 Valleys! no tower can be added to a church! no gallery raised! no presbytery rebuilt nor enlarged without his consent! This vile Tracasserie is not unfrequently increased by obstacles, which are occa

sioned through the perverseness of the Roman priests, and the Bishop of Pinerolo, in whose diocess the valleys are situated.

"If it were not for the liberality of the Bible Societies, and of private friends, a virtual prohibition 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 allowed to print them; and the duties amount to thirty-five per cent. ad valorem, which it would be utterly impossible for the Vaudois to pay, from their own resources.

"The Vaudois are further politically oppressed, in being interdicted from making any new purchases of landed property.

"Another severe grievance to the Vaudois proceeds from the necessity of observing the festivals of the Roman Calendar. This year there are not fewer than seventeen, and a 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 offensaint, or of the saintess."-Jackson, pp. 185 ders had never heard of the name of the 188.

To the honour of Great Britain, she has frequently afforded the most liberal aid to this poor persecuted people. They still need our assistance, and we add, they have a right to that assistance; there exists a claim upon our government, which we cannot for a moment suppose they will be averse to comply with. We therefore give all possible publicity to the following statement.

"I conceive it to be, in some measure, at the option of a nation, as of an individual, to impart 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 community, for whom it was designed. Thus, under the protectorate of Cromwell, the Patron of the Vaudois, it appears from the statement in Sir George Morland's History, that a general in-gathering, or congregational collection, throughout all England and Wales, was made for the Protestants in the Valleys of Piemont, amounting to £38,241.10s. 6d., - the Protector 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 principal 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 account are not able to comprehend, this balance is at once to be wiped out by the political sponge, surely it would be no very great act of liberality, on the part of our Government, to restore the Vaudois pastors the royal bounty,—a paltry sum of £266., which was granted through the intercedence of Queen Mary in 1690,

and had been continued for 107 years; when it was withholden in 1797, because, from the events of the great revolutionary war, the Valleys of Piemont had become subject to Erance. Now they are again dependent on the throne of Sardinia."pp. 46-48.

Here we are sorry we must take · our leave; we cannot convey any adequate idea to our readers of the interest which belongs to the works on our table. Every one of them deserves to be extensively circulated. A continuous narrative we found it impossible to maintain, and even our extracts must fail to produce that powerful impression which has been made upon our minds in favour of this most interesting portion of the church of Christ.

BIBLICAL RESEARCHES and Travels in Russia; including a Tour in the Crimea, and the Passage of the Caucasus: with Observations on the State of the Rabbinical and Karaite Jews, and the Mohammedan and Pagan Tribes, inhabiting the Southern. Provinces of the Russian Empire. With Maps and Plates. By E. Henderson, Author of Iceland, &c. London. Nisbet. 8vo. 16s.-We give the earliest notice in our power of this most valuable volume, of which we hope to furnish some account in our next number. In the mean time, we assure our readers it contains a large portion of very valuable information, both of a literary, a biblical, and a geographical nature.

ARRENDEL; or Sketches in Italy and Switzerland. London. 8vo. Nisbet. Price 3s. 6d.-This beautiful little volume, published under a fictitious name, contains a number of sketches, partly in prose and partly in verse, of some natural and moral scenes which passed under the author's eye in different parts of Italy and Switzerland. There are also a few critical paraphrases of Scripture. An air of sentimentality pervades the volume,but we have been much interested

NEW SERIES, No. 18.

by several parts of it. The story of Albert is exceedingly touching and well told. Our readers, we are assured, will be pleased by a perusal of the volume.

SIR RICHARD HILL'S DEEP THINGS OF GOD; or, Milk and Strong Meat for Babes, Young Men, and Fathers in Christ, particularly suited to such as know the Plague of their own Hearts. A new Edition, with Recommendation by Rev. John Rees, Minister of Crown Street Chapel, London. 12mo. Price 3s. boards.

AN ENLARGED SERIES CF ExTRACTS from the Diary, Meditations, and Letters of Mr. Joseph Williams, of Kidderminster; with Notes Biographical and Explanatory, &c. By Benjamin Hambury. Second Edition. London. Westley and Davis. 12mo. Price 6s. -We are glad to see this most valuable work, in a new edition, and at a price which will bring it within the reach of many who could not afford to purchase the former. The name of Joseph Williams requires no eulogy from us; it is written in heaven, and will long be remembered and cherished on earth.

THE HUSBANDMAN'S CALLING;"

2 T