denial, unauthorised as it is, must not be allowed to abate our hostility to a system which renders to "the outward emblems and representations" of the saints, the utmost possible degree of external homage and worship-such only as their devotees could give, had they actually" alienated" their hearts from God, and yielded them with idolatrous devotedness to the creature.

That such is, indeed, the case, has been attested by travellers, not only in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, but also in France and Switzerland, who have supplied innumerable instances of such excessive homage, which came under their own observation.*

In a visit I made to Belgium, in the beginning of last September, I had many opportunities of seeing, in the course of that journey, the devotion of the people to the virgin, it being the eight days' festival to celebrate the nativity of "the mother of God!!"

Anxious to witness the manner in which this commemoration was observed, I made it a point to visit every village church, city cathedral, or monastic chapel, in my way; and my impressions, therefore, were not derived from an isolated fact, but from the uniform practice of the clergy and people throughout the Netherlands. In every church or chapel I entered, there was an image of the virgin, dressed for the occasion, and placed near the railings of the altar, or in the centre of the church. In some instances the figure was paltry and poor, like a dressed doll; but in others, it was large and expressive, and attired in costly lace and jewels, with a rich diadem of gems and gold upon its head. Garlands of artificial flowers were prepared by young people to crown the image, and costly plants, orange and lemon trees, myrtles, &c., were brought from the conservatories of the rich, to adorn the churches in honour of the festival. In the church of St. James, at Antwerp, which surpasses, in magnificence, all the churches of Belgium, the image of the Madonna was crowned with a splendid coronet, and a veil of the richest lace, hung from its shoulders, while scores of wax tapers, in massive candlesticks of gold and silver, were blazing around it; the orchestra poured forth the sweetest sounds, and the censers of a crowd of ministering priests breathed forth most fragrant incense. In every place, multitudes of all classes were to be seen bowing with the profoundest homage before the image; and I can never lose the impression which the ecstatic gaze and uplifted arms of several kneeling devotees produced upon my mind.

be

It may very true, as Dr. Wiseman says, that a spectator could not know the state of their hearts before God; but as the actions of the body naturally express the feelings of the mind, and as the attitude of worshippers is the natural sign of adoration and worship, so when I

* See Mariolatry; or Facts and Evidences Demonstrating the Worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Church of Rome, &c. Second edition. pp. 67–117.

saw their impassioned gaze at the image, their imploring look, and their prostrate persons, I felt that it would be impossible to add to the apparent force or intenseness of their worship, had it been offered to the Lord of all.

The language of the formularies they address to the virgin, is in painful agreement with these acts of their worship. Let the reader judge from the following parody on the Lord's prayer, which is printed on illuminated cards, and sold in the shops at Brussels :—

'A MARIE.

Notre Mère qui étes aux Cieux.

Notre mère qui êtes aux cieux, ô Marie, que votre nom soit béni à jamais, que votre amour vienne à tous les cœurs, que vos désirs s'accomplissent en la terre comme au ciel; donnez-nous aujourd'hui la grâce et la miséricorde, donnez-nous le pardon de nos fautes, comme nous l'espérons de votre bonté sans bornes, et ne nous laissez plus succomber à la tentation, mais délivrez-nous du mal. Ainsi soit-il.

The English reader may judge by the following translation:

TO MARY.

Our Mother who are in Heaven.

Our mother, who are in heaven, O Mary, blessed be your name for ever; let your love come to all our hearts, let your desires be accomplished on the earth, as in heaven; give us this day grace and mercy, give us the pardon of our faults, as we hope from your unbounded goodness, and let us no more sink under temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

But if, in the face of such evidence, we allow the disclaimer of Dr. Wiseman, as to the worship of the virgin, there can be no mistake about the doctrine of her mediation.

The streets of Antwerp were placarded with posting bills, four feet long, announcing the festival. I obtained one of them, and the following translation will be sufficient to show that the word of God, and the mediation of our "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," are quite forgotten, while the testimony of St. Bernard and St. Anthony, and "the example of Pius VII. of blessed memory," are held to be sufficient to authorise a system which virtually supersedes the work of "the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

"Solemn Week's Festival for the members of the society, called 'Christians' Help,' in the parish church of the Holy Apostle St. James, on occasion of the Birth of the Holy Virgin, Maria, the Mother of God.

“With what gratitude have our forefathers, for a long train of centuries, thought on Mary, convinced that the powerful intercession of that God-like mother has always procured for Christians the greatest favours, according to the testimony of St. Bernard, who said, that 'such a thing was never heard of as that any one seeking the help of Mary was rejected.' This was the foundation on which all Christendom reposed amidst persecution, sorrow, and dangers; and however desperate their circumstances at a distance might appear, still this reliance on Mary has never been disappointed.

* Roman Catholics usually speak of and address the Deity in the second person plural.

"It is unnecessary to recapitulate all the events in which the aid of Mary has been manifested in behalf of Christians; we have all frequently experienced, and, indeed, feel daily still the great power of her who, as St. Augustine observes, has more power with God than other saints. Hence it is that we see Christians, in all their difficulties, flee to her for refuge, according to the example of Pope Pius VII. of blessed memory, who, supplicating Mary during his banishment and imprisonment of more than twenty-eight years, experienced so perceptibly her help, that he instituted in perpetuity this festival, whose celebration we now solemnly hold.

"And, indeed, who can go to Mary, and not have hope of being heard, while St. Anthony assures us it is impossible that God should not listen to Mary?' Let us then, believing Christians, revive our confidence, and during this festival of eight days, flee to the holy mother of Jesus, and lay before her our griefs and afflictions, in the assurance that both in our temporal and spiritual necessities we shall be relieved.

"To this end the Divine services in connexion with the above society are arranged as follows:

'Wednesday, 7th September, will be celebrated at ten o'clock, A.M., a solemn mass, at which the children of the parochial schools will come and present their offerings. At precisely a quarter before five, P.M., the venerable image of the most Holy Mother of God will be taken from the chapel, and carried into the body of the church, during which is to be sung the anthem, Ave Maria Stella, and then the solemn musical performances.

Thursday, 8th September, the Birthday of the Virgin, at six in the morning, in her chapel, the most holy sacrament of the Altar will be held up for worship, with ringing of the great bell; at half-past eight, the usual parish sermon; at ten o'clock, the Rev. Father Morel, of the Society of Jesus, will preach in French; after which the Venerable J. B. Dierickx, pastor of this parish, will celebrate the Mass with magnificent music. At half-past four in the afternoon, the Very Reverend J. B. Dierickx, above-named pastor, will preach, after which the solemn musical performance, and the grand procession attendant by all the fraternity, will take place in the church.

'Sunday. The most holy sacrament will be exposed for worship at six o'clock, A.M. in the Chapel of our Dear Lady; at half-past eight, the usual parochial sermon; at nine o'clock, the solemn Mass will be celebrated by the Rev. G. de Ridder, sub-pastor and spiritual patron of the above society; at half-past ten the usual sermon; in the afternoon, at half-past four, the Rev. J. Vranchx, sub-pastor of the parish, will preach, and then follows the solemn music.

The remaining days of this festival, the solemn mass, in honour of our dear Lady, will be celebrated at ten o'clock, and sermons preached at half-past four in the afternoon, &c.

"Thursday, 15th inst., to close this festival, the most holy sacrament will be held up for worship, at six o'clock in the morning, in our dear lady's chapel; at ten, the solemn mass will be sung by the Rev. F. J. Coonen, sub-pastor of this church; afternoon, at five, the sermon by the Rev. J. Moons, sub-pastor of this parish, after which the solemn anthem in magnificent music; and then the venerable image of Mary, the holy mother of God, will be solemnly taken from the middle aisle of the church to the great Chapel.

"Friday, after the festival, a solemn mass of gratitude for all the benefactors of the above fraternity, will be celebrated at half-past six o'clock; at eight, a mass will be read for the deliverance of the souls of the brethren and sisters of the community who have died.

"All to the increasing honour of God and His Holy Mother."

I find, from an "Appeal of the Belgian Evangelical Society," that the citizens of Brussels have recently exhibited their devotion to the virgin in the same spirit which, three centuries ago, led them to inscribe, on the front of the Broodhuys in their Grand-Place-A peste, fame et bello, libera nos Maria pacis.

It is said that there is, in one of the largest churches in Brussels, a miraculous image of the virgin which has so excited the fanaticism of the poor, that they commenced a subscription to purchase a crown of gold for it, and which they invoke as "the Mother of Mercy." The middle classes imitated the zeal of the poor; and, to aid the enthusiasm, the Queen of the Belgians gave a superb sapphire. The subscription enabled them to employ ninety ounces of pure gold in the crown; (the workmanship of which alone cost £280;) and there are 593 diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and turquoises, besides 377 fine pearls set in it. The crown is lined with gothic lace of gold filagreework, and its circle bears an inscription, Mariæ Matri Misericordiæ, in azure letters; because, as the Journal de Bruxelles (May 31st) expressed it," Mary is Queen of Heaven, by the almighty power of God." As may be supposed, the ceremony of crowning the image was one of great pomp. The same journal gives the following account of it :"The evening before Ascension-day, all that part of the High Street which reaches from the church to the parsonage-house, was planted with firs, on which were hung garlands of evergreens, and red, blue, and white calico. Several triumphal arches were also placed in the streets. Early in the morning an immense crowd gathered around the church. At six o'clock the Cardinal Archbishop celebrated the mass, and during two hours administered the communion.

"The confessors had been engaged until midnight in hearing the confessions of the people. At eight o'clock, the Archbishop of Damietta, Nuncio at Brussels, celebrated mass, and then continued to give the communion; in an adjoining chapel the holy eucharist had been distributed from five o'clock in the morning. Several hundreds of persons, seeing the difficulty of approaching the holy table, went to other churches, to satisfy their devotion. There were three thousand communicants at the chapel alone (the church in which the ceremony took place.) At ten o'clock the rector Magnifique, of the Louvain Catholic University, chanted high mass, at which the Cardinal was present in his pontifical dress, surrounded by his grand vicar, several canons, and a great number of the clergy.

"At two o'clock the procession quitted the parsonage-house for the church, headed and closed by a detachment of the Guides, (the king's body-guard,) their music in front. "The procession was formed by a deputation of the different brotherhoods of the parish; the council of administration of the church-the community of the brethren of Christian schools-the fathers of the company of Jesus, and of the Congregation of Redemptorists—the curé of the parish and a numerous clergy-the Cardinal-Archbishop and his vicar-general-the rector Magnifique, of the university of Louvain, and several canons.

"More than 500 men of the different regiments in town, were drawn up in line to keep order.

"The crown was borne by eight young ladies dressed in white, accompanied by others carrying flowers and laurels. When they reached the church, it was placed on a rich pedestal at the feet of Mary.

"In the morning, the Curé of the church was informed, that the king had decided on accompanying her majesty the queen, and bringing with him his royal highness the Duke of Brabant. At three o'clock, the royal suite arrived; their majesties were accompanied by the Countess Merode, &c. &c., (here follow the names of their majesties' suite) . . . . . At the entrance of the church, the Cardinal-Archbishop, at the head of his clergy, complimented the king on his following the example of his august consort, in honouring the grand solemnity with his presence.

"The cardinal began the Veni Creator, which was executed by a full orchestra. The Rev. Father Boone addressed the assembly in a short and touching discourse, proving, in a few words, that the crown offered to Mary, was a crown of glory for her, and a crown of joy for the people. The cardinal then blessed the crown, after which, the imposing ceremony of the coronation took place. Preceded by two priests who carried the precious treasure, the cardinal ascended the steps which were raised before the throne of Mary; and when the crown, proof of so much affection and of so many good works and conversions, was placed on the head of the mother of mercy, the eyes of all the assembly were fixed on this good mother, and expressed a feeling of the purest joy and most filial attachment; no pen can describe that moment of enthusiasm. The music of the guides, which had played during the ceremony, now ceased, and that of the college executed a hymn. The cardinal then consecrated to Mary, the king, the queen, their august children, the parish, the capital, and the whole of Belgium; and began the Magnificat, which, chanted by a numerous clergy, constrained every heart to the deepest devotion. The affecting ceremony being ended, the cardinal went to the high altar, and gave the triple blessing with the holy sacrament, and then conducted their majesties to the church door. It is impossible for us to describe the enthusiasm of the people when the royal family entered and quitted the church. 'Long live the king!' 'Long live the queen!' 'Long live the Duke of Brabant!' were repeated by more than 30,000 tongues. We are happy to see that it is to honour Mary, the Duke of Brabant appears for the first time publicly in a church. In the evening there was an illumination in the streets through which the procession had passed, and also in different parts of the parish; the poor places vied with the rich in the number of lights. It was impossible for the people to be happier than they were, at seeing the royal family, the nobility and the high clergy associate with them, in a festival which they had begun in such an interesting manner, and which, in establishing their religious principles, has given them a lesson of such high morality."

With such facts and scenes before them, Protestants will not be deterred from calling these scenes idolatrous; which threaten to lead the people of Europe back again to the open blasphemies of the middle ages, when the virgin was installed as a fourth person of the Godhead!

Before I conclude, I would express a hope, that devoted Protestants who read these statements, or who may witness these scenes in Belgium, will not be content to deplore them, but will aid, by their prayers and their contributions, that faithful little band of Protestant Christians in Belgium, who, under many difficulties, continue to bear their humble but zealous testimony against these abominations. B.

Subscriptions to the funds of the Belgian Evangelical Society are received by the Rev. Thomas James, 7, Blomfield-street, Finsbury, London.-EDITOR.