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any? Why did he not make them all uniform? A man may as well tell me I have no eyes, as deny that some Catholic catechisms have been published without the second commandment. Now, why was ever a catechism published under Catholic sanction without it? Did they ever publish one in which they omitted any other of the commandments? Did Protestants ever publish a list of the commandments with one omitted, and another divided so as to make out the ten? Alas for them! there is no getting out of this dilemma into which they have brought themselves by their mutilation of the decalogue. It is about the most unfortunate thing they ever did for themselves. I do not wonder that Mr. B. was restless under the charge. But surely, he had too much good sense to suppose that he had answered the Bishop, when he showed him a catechism that had the commandment in it. It is as if a man, charged with falsehood in a particular instance, should undertake to answer the charge by showing that in another instance he had spoken the truth. The Catholics are very uneasy to get rid of this millstone about the neck of their religion. They see it is in danger of sinking it. But they cannot slip it off so easy; and if they cannot manage to swim with it, it must sink them. Well, if it does, and nothing but the system goes to the bottom, I shall not be sorry.

In the course of his letter, Mr. B. speaks of "the anarchical principle of private judgment." And is this a principle which leads to anarchy ? Paul did not seem to think so. He "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." What anarchy must have existed in the Berean church, where, after

says:

hearing the word, they "searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so!" What confusion there must have been where all read and thought for themselves! They needed an Inquisitor to set things to rights. He is the man to mend matters when people fall to "searching the Scriptures." Well, if the 19th century will tolerate the denunciation of private judgment on any subject, I suppose it must be so; but I cannot say Amen.

58. A New Method of Exciting Devotion.

There seems to be no end to new discoveries. Marching mind appears to have no idea of halting. Probably improvements will go on until the world itself terminates. What should I see, in taking up the Observer of January 3d, but an article headed "Cathedral at St. Louis?" Then followed a description taken, be it known, not from any scandalous Protestant paper, but from the Catholic Telegraph, printed at Cincinnati, of the building, altar, &c. By the way, the altar is of stone, but they tell us this is only temporary, and will soon be superseded by a superb marble altar which is hourly expected from Italy. Why go all the way to Italy for an altar? Why not employ our own mechanics and artists? We have marble enough here, and men enough. But I suppose it is a present. Our country is receiving a great many presents now from abroad. Foreign Catholics are particularly kind to us. You know we are making the

great experiment whether a free, representative government can sustain itself; and our Austrian and Italian brethren, sympathizing with us, want to help us all they can. They mourn especially over the deplorable lack of religion in this country, and are anxious to supply it. Nor is it in building and furnishing churches alone that they are disposed to help us. They cannot bear to see our children growing up in such ignorance. They are not used (they would have us believe) to an ignorant population; and then, what is to become of the republic if the people are not educated? So they come from Ireland, France, Italy, and all those countries, male and female, to educate us. A sceptical person might be tempted to ask if there is nothing of the kind to be done at home-if, for example, they cannot find any uneducated children in Ireland, but they must come over here to find them. However that be, they come. But what strikes me with wonder, is, that when they get here, they are all for educating Protestant children. Why do they not give the children of Catholics, their own people, a chance? There are many of them scattered over the land, and they are not all self-taught. I should like to have this explained. Common sense suggests that there must be a motive for making this distinction, and shrewdly suspects it is proselytism. Charity waits to hear if any more creditable reason can be assigned. But this is digression.

Well, on the 26th of October the grand building was consecrated. The procession consisted of an "ecclesiastical corps " amounting to fifty or sixty, of whom four were bishops, and twenty-eight priests, twelve of whom were from twelve different nations. You see

they are coming upon us from all quarters. It would really seem as if all Europe was conspiring to pour in its priests among us. Here are priests of twelve different nations met at St. Louis! Protestantism has to depend for its men and money on native Americans; but Popery, you perceive, has all Europe to draw upon. If, with this advantage, the latter religion should make considerable progress in our country, we must not be surprised. Whether this influx of foreign priests augurs good or evil to our free institutions, is a question on which I will express no opinion.

I come now to the novelty which suggested the title of this article—the new discovery-the improvement I spoke of. The editor, or his correspondent, says, "As soon as the procession was organized, the pealing of three large and clear-sounding bells, and the thunder of two pieces of artillery, raised all hearts, as well as our own, to the Great and Almighty Being." Now is not this something new? I always thought bells were to call people together, not to raise them up. But here he says they raised all hearts. However, it was with the help of the thundering artillery. It was the bells and guns together that did it. They made such a noise that at once all hearts were raised. What an effect from such a cause! Will the reader please to consider what was done and what did it? All hearts were raised to God by means of three bells and two guns! Is not this a new method of exciting devotion? Who ever heard before of noise composing the mind and preparing it for devout exercises? According to this, the fourth of July should be the day of all others in the year most favorable to devotion. And what a calamity deafness now appears to be; and how to be

pitied they are who lived before the invention of gunpowder! I never knew before that this was among the benefits of that invention, that it inspires devotional feelings, and raises hearts on high. But we must live and learn.

Well, all hearts being raised as before, "the holy relics (alias, the old bones) were moved towards the new habitation, where they shall enjoy anticipated resurrection-the presence of their God in his holy tabernacle." What this means, the reader must find out for himself. Now, when the relics were moved, the writer tells us what the guns did. "The guns fired a second salute." They could not contain themselves. Neither could the writer. "We felt," says he, "as if the soul of St. Louis was in the sound." A soul in a sound! Here is more that is new.

Then we are told who preached the dedication sermon; and afterwards we are informed, for our edification, that "during the divine sacrifice, (the Protestant reader, perhaps, does not know what is meant by this phrase, but if the twelve nations continue to send over their priests, we shall know all about it by and by,) two of the military stood with drawn swords, one at each side of the altar; they belonged to a guard of honor, formed expressly for the occasion. Besides whom, there were detachments from the four militia companies of the city, the Marions, the Greys, the Riflemen, and the Cannoniers from Jefferson Barracks, stationed at convenient distances around the church." The reader will not forget that certain professed ambassadors of "the Prince of Peace" were here engaged in dedicating a church to his service; and this is the way they took to do it. If they had been conse

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