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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 it any more creditable reason can be assigned. But this is digression.

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Well, on the 26th of October the grand building was consecrated. The procession consisted of an “ clesiastical 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 1 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

crating a temple to Mars, I don't know how they could have selected more appropriate ceremonies. Here we e soldiers, drawn swords, guns, and, as we shall see presently, colors and drums too, all to dedicate a church to the meek and lowly Jesus, and that too on the day of rest!

One more quotation from this glowing description. "When the solemn moment of the consecration approached, and the Son of the living God was going to descend, for the first time, into the new residence of his glory on earth, the drums beat the reveille, three of the star-spangled banners were lowered over the balustrade of the sanctuary, the artillery gave a deafening discharge." All that seems to have been wanting here was three cheers. Those would have been quite as suitable as the other accompaniments of the service. Reader, is this religion; and are these the things which are pleasing to God?

I have a word to say about the star-spangled banner. That is an ensign endeared to every American heart. Whether it is as highly esteemed by the twelve nations, I cannot say. But a church is not its appropriate place. There is another banner which should wave there-and that is not star-spangled. One solitary star distinguishes it-the star-the star of Bethlehem. Let us keep these things separate: under the one, go to fight the bloodless battles of our Lord-under the other, march to meet our country's foes. This is the doctrine of American Protestantism-no union of church and state, and no interchange of their appropriate banners.

THE END.

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