his attention, he was led in the providence of God about eight years ago to visit the country of the Waldenses. Upon seeing their condition his heart became so much interested in their behalf, that he has, ever since, spent about six months annually with them; the other six he has spent with his mother and sisters. In this way his winters are spent in Italy and his summers in England.

The first object to which the attention of this philanthropist was directed when he came among the Waldenses, was the completion of a hospital which had been commenced some years before, and to build which, funds had been solicited by letter from the benevolent in England, Germany, and Switzerland. This hospital stands in a village about two miles to the westward of St. Jean, and is sufficiently central to the whole country. The necessity for having such a refuge for the sick poor, as well as for the stranger, is obvious. It has been com pleted for several years, and proves to be a great blessing. If we remember rightly, it is large enough to accommodate from thirty to forty persons. It is seldom that it is full.

The next object of his regard was the erection of a college in which the youth of the Waldenses who seek a liberal edu cation might receive what may be called a college education. Hitherto they had been compelled to go to Switzerland or France for their entire collegiate and professional education. It was his intention to render it unnecessary for them to go abroad for any thing more than their professional studies. And here we may say, that it is a fact of great interest, that these people have ever highly prized knowledge. When we were among them we learned, that there were then seventeen of their youth at the University of Lausanne, two at Geneva, one or two at Ber lin, and we believe one at Montauban. Besides these, there were seven boys in their own college, which had just been opened, under the instruction of two young professors, who had themselves been taught in universities of Switzerland. So that not less than thirty youth from this small and oppressed community were actually in varions stages of a classical education. As to the college which they have erected amongst themselves, it is a plain, substantial edifice, much like a good New England academy in point of size, built of stone, stuccoed, white-washed, and covered with slate. It has rooms for various classes, as well as one for a library, and another for philosophical and chimical apparatus. It is a handsome and convenient building. It is intended, that the students shall board in private families in the village, where they can live comfortably for a dollar per week, if not for less.

Another enterprise which this excellent Englishman undertook, and the first, indeed, which he accomplished, was to cause to be erected a large school-house in each parish, in a central town or village, for a school of a more elevated description than usual, and which might accommodate a large number of scholars. These schools are all now in operation.

But a far greater enterprise was undertaken by him, which was to have a school-house built in every district throughout the whole territory of the Waldenses. This enterprise is now in progress. The number of school-houses, when all shall A have been erected, will be, as Col. B. told us, one hundred and sixty. They are all to be built of stone, plastered outside, white-washed, and covered with slate. They are to be large enough to hold from twenty-five to forty scholars each. Nearly ninety of these school-houses are already built; and the whole will be erected before long. And when the whole one hundred and sixty shall have been built, then,-we have no hesitation in saying it, this little community will be better supplied with handsome and convenient school-houses than any spot on this globe, of equal extent, so far as our knowledge extends. As it is, many parts of the country are ornamented with these little white temples, consecrated to teaching "the young idea how to shoot."

And here we ought to state, that in no case has Colonel Beckwith carried on his benevolent enterprises at his own sole expense. His plan has always been to propose to the people, that if they will undertake to accomplish this or that desirable object he will contribute so much towards its accomplishment. This he did in erecting the college, in building the parish school-houses, and in erecting the district-school houses. In way he has secured their interest as well as their co-operation. And although, through the cheapness of labor in that country, these various enterprises have cost far less than they would have cost in almost any other country, yet we speak advisedly when we say that the liberal Colonel has probably paid, or will have paid by the time all is accomplished, at least the sum of twenty thousand dollars!

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The next enterprise which this excellent man intends to attempt, if God spare his life, is the establishment of a school or seminary for the education of teachers for the schools throughout the community. This he feels, and justly, to be essential to the success of all the other parts of his educational scheme. When this shall have been accomplished, and when he shall have brought up the people, by his efforts, to sustain these

schools, he thinks he will have accomplished all his plans in relation to education. His object is to make this little community a sort of nursery, where many youth may grow up like plants, and who, if God should pour out his spirit upon them, may go forth to flourish in other lands, and especially in France, as ministers of the gospel, or as useful men in other professions. Could any thing be more beautiful or more important? Who will not offer a sincere prayer to God for the success of these philanthropic plans and enterprises?

Another object which this good Colonel has had much at heart, is the publication of the New Testament in the patois of the country, in order that the word of God may be more fully comprehended by such as do not read either French or Italian well; and their number is not small.

Before we take leave of this benevolent man, and his excellent enterprises, we cannot but ask whether it would be possible for him to employ his income, whether great or small, in any way which would secure him a greater amount of happiness, than by thus devoting it to the promotion of the best interests of his fellow men, both for this world and the next? We think not. We know that he thinks so too. Simple and unaffected in his manners, he moves about among these people, when he spends his annual sojourn of six months among them, by the aid of a crutch and a cane, attended by his faithful dog. Wherever he goes, le pauvre colonel, (the poor colonel,) as he is every where called, is welcome to the hospitality of every house, throughout the entire community. And there are few, if any, houses in the whole of their country, into which he has not entered and received the cheerful and grateful smiles of those who occupy them. There is scarcely a house in the whole land of the Waldenses (save those occupied by the catholics,) in which the lithographed picture of the colonel, with his crutch and his gun, accompanied by his dog, does not adorn one side of the chief room, done up in a nice though simple frame. May his life be long spared to be a blessing to that people! Such is our prayer. Such, too, is the prayer which ascends from many pious hearts among that people in whose behalf he takes so lively an interest, and for whom he has done so much, and in so prudent a manner, that he has never had the slightest difficulty with the government. The secret of this is two-fold: he does nothing contrary to the laws of the Sardinian kingdom, and he does every thing openly.

We close this notice of our visit to the Waldenses, by giving some extracts of a letter which we recently received from one of

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the most devoted of the portion of the Waldenses who are called "methodists," but who hold the doctrines and maintain the discipline which the Waldensian church held and maintained in its best days. This letter is dated January 15, 1838.

"It is with pleasure that I have just received your letter, and all those to whom I have read it, have experienced joy in its contents, and all say to us how much is such a letter, received from a brother from America, a country so far off, of which we have heard so many things, and in which there are so many dear children of God, who labor with so much zeal to extend the kingdom of our common Saviour, calculated to make us experience the sweetness of the communion of saints. Every where they have the same language, they are interested in the same work, which is to rescue souls from the power of Satan, by whom they have been taken captive at his will, and to translate them into the kingdom of light, by the power of Him who alone bears the name by which we can be saved. For America, as well as for the old continent, Jesus Christ is the same; for he gives to all those who receive him, the privilege to be called the children of God, brethren in Jesus! What grace! May all the children of Adam soon receive it! Amen. "Dear brother, you desire some information respecting the state of evangelical religion among our pastors and churches. May the Savior direct my understanding and my pen, that I may reply to your inquiry with charity and truth, persuaded that I reply to a child of God, who knows by experience what conversion of the heart is, and what is the difference between him who serves God, and him who serves him not; between the just [justified] and the wicked. In order to be understood, I must tell you what was the state of the Waldenses before the recent religious awakening. They were like all other protestants, generally speaking, throughout our continent, dead in trespasses and sins, having their religion only in prayer-books; brethren in name, but total strangers to the piety of their ancestors. This was their state until Felix Neff, of blessed memory, accompanied by brother Blanc,-now pastor of a church at Mens, in France, came into our valleys preaching that man is condemned and lost, and that salvation is only through grace in Jesus Christ. The Waldenses in a body, pastors and churches, rose up against such a manner of exhibiting the christian religion. Notwithstanding this, the Savior caused his word to penetrate some hearts, which led them captive to the obedience of Jesus. These persons, continuing to meet together to speak of the "one thing needful," saw themselves exposed to all sorts

of outrage from the part of the co-religionists who were seconded by the government, which forbade us, with severe menace, to hold our meetings. To such a point did matters go, that some of us were cited to appear before the governor of the province, and this several times, where we were forbidden, under penalty of the prison, to continue our meetings. The Lord gave us grace to persevere. This was about the time that dear Mr. and Mrs. W- visited us, and saw for themselves the animosity which pastors and flocks bore to us. Notwithstanding this, the religious awakening continued to make progress. This excited our adversaries to attempt every thing to extinguish it. We believed, that we saw, that it was then the will of God, that we should organize an evangelical church upon the confession of faith and discipline of our forefathers. After this, the persecution continuing, several were beaten so as to be left dead. The government, punishing our murderers, forbade our meetings with more severity than ever. Our enemies, (protestants,) encouraged by such conduct on the part of the gov ernment, formed the plan of having one of our leaders banished. They had the satisfaction to receive the order for his exile. But the Lord came to our succor. This brother received permission to remain, and still more, the king granted us permission to hold our meetings in full liberty, to pray, to sing, and to exhort each other as much as we would. We had not dared to ask for these favors, nor do we know from whom we have received them. It was the Lord who touched the heart of the king. It is He who has pitied us. Glory to our God, His compassions are eternal. From the preceding statement, you will be able to judge what was our religious state when our religious awakening commenced. None of the pastors took part with the revival of religion. On the contrary, by their disapprobation, expressed from the pulpit and elsewhere, the people were encouraged to despise us, and trample us under foot. This was, in few words, the state of things at the commencement of the revival.

"As to our actual position, glory and thanks to God, we continue to enjoy a very great degree of religious liberty. Under the protection of the government we can hold meetings wherever we wish. To make the most of this liberty, our church has found it useful to name two brethren, who, during the term of two months, traverse our valleys, making known the gospel as the Savior gives them opportunities. When they have finished their course, two other brethren are named to take their place. This work begins to be blessed by Him who put it in