The dress of the people does not differ much from that of their Italian neighbors on the one hand, or that of the French on the other. Their manners are in the highest degree amiable and prepossessing. We never met a man, woman, or child on any road in the country of the Waldenses, who, if a Waldensian, did not speak to us in a polite and kind manner. In this respect, as well as in many others, they much excel their catholic neighbors of Piedmont; though it must be stated, that the Piedmontese generally are far from being an uncivil people. They are much superior in this particular, which is far from being an unimportant one, to the people, whether inhabitants of the city or of the country, of these United States. Though it may seem to some persons a small thing, yet the kindly salutation of every passer-by, in some countries which we have visited in Europe, does seem to us infinitely more amiable and pleasant than the morose and silent manner in which we so generally pass each other, unless personally acquainted, in this country.

The language of the Waldenses, in their ordinary intercourse with each other, is a patois, compounded of French and Italian, not only mixed together, but often arranged in sentences in a way very different from the idiomatic forms of either language. And yet almost every individual can speak both French and Italian, with greater or less purity. Every child, even, to whom we spoke in French, along the road, answered, without hesitation, in the same. We do not mean to assert, however, that the mass of the people comprehend either the French or Italian as well as they do their own patois. All their ministers know the French language well, and use it much. This is owing to the fact, that they have all, for two or three hundred years, been educated in the universities of Switzerland, and especially in those of Geneva and Lausanne. And here we may state, that the country of the Waldenses is divided into fifteen parishes, and that the number of their pastors is also fifteen, when there are no vacancies. When we were there, there were thirteen pastors, owing to the fact, that two parishes had been rendered vacant by the death of their But it was expected, that their places would soon be filled from their young men who were in the Swiss universities. The government of the churches is presbyterian, and not episcopal. They have a synod, composed of all the pastors, which meets regularly once in five years; though it may hold extraordinary meetings, when convened by the superintendent at the request of two pastors. Ordination is performed by the

laying on of the hands of the synod. The office of the superintendent is not that of a diocesan bishop, but it is that of a perpetual president of the synod, and has a very special relation to the government of the country. The superintendent is made to bear a great responsibility towards the Sardinian government, and is, in fact, held in a great degree responsible for the entire community of the Waldenses. It is exceedingly important, therefore, that he should be a very wise and provident

man.

It is well known to our readers, that the Waldenses claim to be the lineal descendants of the apostolic churches which existed in their country, and far and wide on each side of the Alps, in the first centuries of the christian era. They maintain, that they have received, through an unbroken chain of faithful witnesses for the truth, the doctrine and discipline of the primitive churches. They claim to have history worthy of credit, to prove, that they existed as a body, holding the truth incorrupt, in the ninth century. That they did thus exist in the thirteenth century, is confessed on all hands. But it is not our intention to enter at present into the discussion of these points. We will only add that, when the Reformation broke out in Germany and Switzerland, these churches in the valleys of Piedmont sent some of their best men to see the Reformers and learn what were their doctirnes. These men, when they had become acquainted with the doctrines and discipline of Luther and Calvin, at once said, that their churches had always maintained these same doctrines and this same discipline. And from that day commenced that intimate union which has ever since subsisted between them and the Swiss Reformed churches, and which, whilst it has been of some advantage to the Waldenses, has also been a source of no little evil, inasmuch as it has caused them to be viewed by the civil government, which was wholly and always subservient to Rome, as protestants. This simple fact has been the occasion of not a little of the persecution which has fallen upon them within the last three hundred years.

It is not maintained by the best informed of the Waldenses, with whom we have conversed, that their ancestors did always keep clear of the corruptions of Rome. They admit, that there were times when the errors of Romanism did undoubtedly overshadow the truth to a lamentable degree. But they say, that these seasons were not of long duration, and that the orb of the pure gospel soon emerged from these passing clouds. In later times, there have been seasons in which sound doctrine and vital piety sadly declined among them, and perhaps never more

than during the latter half of the last century, and the beginning of the present. Even twenty years ago, it is believed, most of their ministers were tainted with neological errors, and few of them gave evidence of knowing much about experimental religion. Blessed be God, the state of things is different now! Sound doctrine and evangelical practice are advancing visibly among them. Most, if not all, of their pastors, are reckoned theoretically sound in the faith, and some of them appear to be pious; whilst among the laity there has been a decided increase of vital piety in some parts of their country, within the last few years. This has been owing, under God, to an increased knowledge of the sacred scriptures, and especially to the labors of some faithful men of whom we shall speak more fully towards the close of this article. We are far from saying, that the state of religion among this people is a flourishing one. But we would confidently assert, that religion is decidedly on the increase, and the prospect is more cheering at this moment than it has been, probably, for a century and more. We would add, in this place, that the persons who are laboring to promote a revival of pure religion among these people, are denominated methodists by their opposers; a fact which shows, that those in every country who labor zealously to promote true religion, are called to share in the same abusive designations from those who hate it.

The state of morals in these valleys is incomparably better than that of the surrounding country, though it is not so good as it ought to be. Instances of the crimes and vices which are to be found every where else among mankind, even in those parts of the world where pure christianity exerts the greatest influence, certainly exist among the Waldenses. And yet so much better are these people than their catholic neighbors, that their little country is almost deserving of the name of a moral garden in the midst of a moral wilderness. Probably the greatest and most besetting vice among them is a miserable spirit of litigation about their lands. This arises from the fact that their limits are very restricted, and land is therefore the most eagerly sought for of all earthly possessions. Every acre, and even every foot of land is highly prized and strenuously contended for. The sins of fornication, adultery, theft, etc., although they exist among them, cannot be said to be any thing like so frequent as they are in every other part of Italy. In this particular, the poor Waldenses maintain a great and glorious superiority over their neighbors, and show the powerful influence which a pure faith exerts upon a people even long after its vigor

has been in a great degree lost. We will only add, in passing from this topic, that the spirit of litigation is greatly fomented amongst them by their own petty magistrates, and not a little by the malicious influence of the catholics, who live either in villages by themselves, or in a more dispersed manner amongst them. The number of these catholics is about four thousand. It is one of the most desirable objects in the estimation of the Waldenses, and naturally so, to get these catholics out from their midst. For this purpose they are solicitous to buy them out. But it rarely happens, that a catholic is willing to sell his farm or house, inasmuch as they prefer, whether from attachment to their native soil, or encouraged by the Sardinian government, to persevere in remaining there, to be thorns in the sides of these people, and spies upon their conduct.

As to the political condition of the Waldenses at the present time, we have to say, that although it is far better than it was two centuries ago, yet it is bad enough. They suffer many things from the government which are hard to bear. The gov ernment of Sardinia is greatly under the influence of the priests, and they bear an unmingled hatred to these poor Waldenses, whom they slander on every occasion. We are inclined to believe, that the present king, if he would follow the dictates of his own heart, would pursue a liberal policy with regard to this people. He was himself educated among the protestants in Switzerland, and is not naturally of a cruel disposition. And here we cannot forbear to state a fact which greatly redounds to the credit of these poor people, which is, that when the French conquered Piedmont in 1796, and when they drove off the king of Sardinia from the continent (which they did a few years afterwards) the Waldenses refused to accept the most advantageous offers which were made to them by Napoleon. On the contrary, they were loyal to their king, and many of them bravely fought to sustain his declining fortunes! And yet, by a law of the kingdom, they could not then, nor can they now, rise to a higher rank that that of colonel, if so high, in the service of their sovereign! At present it may be said, that they live under the shield of the good old king of Prussia, whose ambassador at Turin is their friend and protector. No difficulty occurs between them and the government officers (and such difficulties occur often) which his prompt intervention does not seek to arrest and redress.

Nor can we pass over without remark the goodness of God in raising up such a friend for this people, so long "peeled" and trodden under foot. This ambassador, the Baron Treuchness,

is a relative of the king of Prussia, and so attached is he to his poor protegés, that he prefers to live at Turin, in order to look after them, to the acceptance of a diplomatic station in Paris, London, Vienna, St. Petersburgh, or at the Hague. Nor is his interposition in behalf of these without avail. To give an instance: the Roman Catholic bishop of Pignerol, who may be called their hereditary enemy, lately wrote a book of five hundred pages in octavo, in answer to the first volume of M. Mustin's History of the Waldenses-a work which is still in progress, and which promises to be a valuable acquisition to church history. The bishop in his work, every page of which is surcharged with the bitterness of gall, not only abuses the Waldenses, but also attacks the king of Prussia, their protector. The book was written in the French language, and published at Paris. As soon as it fell into the hands of the Prussian ambassador, he carried it to the king and demanded that its sale in the entire kingdom of Sardinia should be prohibited. And his demand was granted!

The state of education among the Waldenses, though better perhaps in some respects than that of their neighbors, has always been low. There was at every period a great want of good schools among them. But the prospect at present is inthe highest degree encouraging. And this brings us to speak of one of the most remarkable instances of beneficent and welldirected effort on the part of an individual of which we have ever heard. But before we do so we would beg the reader to bear in mind what we have already said respecting the extent of the country of the Waldenses and its division into fifteen parishes. We would further add, that the number of these people is between twenty one and twenty two thousand, exclusive of about four thousand Roman Catholics, who live among them. The entire population of these valleys may be put down. at not far from twenty six thousand. Having stated these facts, we proceed to give some notice of the exertions of a most excellent British officer, Col. Beckwith, who has spent a large part of his time for eight years among this people with the view of doing them good. We are not able to state what it was that induced this devoted christian to make the country of the Waldenses the theatre of his benevolence. It is sufficient to say, that having lost a leg in the battle of Waterloo, he was compelled to retire from the active service of his country; and being a man of 'some fortune, and deriving a very handsome income from his salary, or rather pension, and having only a mother and two sisters who may be said to have any claims on Vol. X. 65