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listen me! But though His Majesty's Ministers know I am not guilty, they have availed themselves of the opportunity they had of destroying me, because they think me a friend to truth and justice, an enemy to oppression, and an advocate for liberty!

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The perturbed state of my feelings, previous to the attack of this dangerous malady, had doubtless tended to augment the fever's height; whilst the ravings of delirium too fatally convinced my respected father, of the democratic principles I had unhappily imbibed. * All that I had seen and heard on the fatal morning of the Colonel's execution, appeared to be perpetually passing before my eyes, and repeatedly did I condemn the lukewarmness of Rainsford's feelings, in not making a powerful effort to preserve his friend's life.

To this inflammatory declaration, much more was added, equally calculated to rouse the passions, and excite sympathy; and to such a pitch of phrenzy had it wound up my feelings, that I would willingly have sacrificed my own existence, to have preserved Despard's life! That Great Power, however, who in mercy stretched out What acute anguish must this amiahis hand to preserve me from the ble and affectionate parent have sufcommission of any of those wildly sug- fered, at receiving such a decided proof gested plans to which the affecting of the perverted principles of his fascene had given rise, decreed that the vourite child; and how severely did he moment I had quitted the spot, new in- condemn himself for allowing the prosterests should be awakened, and sensa-pect of worldly advantages, to hazard tions more congenial to my nature take possession of my mind.

the corruption of a pure and untainted mind! Alas, he then only knew a small Though totally unfitted for my usual part of that corruption which his unoccupation, I was aware of the neces- worthy son had imbibed; for, less than sity of appearing to be employed; and a twelvemonth's association with those approaching my desk, I perceived a who termed themselves Freethinkers, letter lying, in the superscription of had effaced those religious impressions which, my favourite sister's hand-writ- which had been implanted in early ing was recognized. An indefinable life. As soon as my father thought dread of some melancholy intelligence me sufficiently recovered, not to be seized my faculties. It was one of agitated by those admonitions which those overwhelming prognostics, for a sense of parental duty enjoined, he, which no reason can be assigned. I in the most glowing colours, expatihastily tore off the envelop, and found ated on the pernicious consequences that I had lost the best,-the most af- which must ensue from the perverted fectionate of mothers; that my father sentiments I had imbibed; and in lanfelt symptoms of the same malignant guage which had all the pathos of indisorder; and conjured me to endea- spiration, warned me of the misery I vour to obtain leave of absence, that was laying up for myself in the prenight. The friend who had obtained sent and future life! my appointment, fortunately at that moment entered the office, and, perceiving me overwhelmed with sorrow, unhesitatingly granted the wished-for leave. The irreparable loss I had sustained, united to the dread of a still greater, too completely occupied my feelings to admit a thought of Colonel Despard; and when I reached home, the alarming state in which I found my father, kept my mind in a constant state of apprehension. At the expiration of a fortnight, however, he was pronounced out of danger; at the end of which time, it was evident I had caught the infection, and for several weeks I was reduced to such a state of mental and bodily weakness, as not to be sensible of any thing that took place.

Wretch that I was, to have remained insensible to such a warning! I listened, it is true, to his arguments, and endeavoured to confute them by mine; but in this attempt, indignation got the better of affection, and, with eyes overflowing in tears, he commanded me to quit his sight.

Those pernicious counsellors who had taken so much pains to warp my religious sentiments, had been equally successful in weakening those of the moral kind; for frequently had I heard parental authority reprobated as a clog that would bow down the freedom of the human mind! All the proofs of parental tenderness, which from infancy I had received from the Author of my existence, were buried in the imaginary insult of that memor

night; for the having been commanded to quit his presence, I considered as an insult, or a mode of displeasure only applicable to a child.

Convinced that the salary I received would support me as a gentleman, and that my father had assumed an authority derogatory to my manhood, I impetuously formed the resolution of quitting the abode of my ancestors before any part of the family were risen, yet not without leaving a letter upon the table, explaining the mortification I had endured from the imaginary insult! Oh! how sincere,—how | ardent, has been my repentance for presuming to pen that daring epistle! But, alas! repentance came too late; for I never felt it, until the heart which it had so deeply wounded, was beyond the reach of my contrition! All the ingratitude it contained, I am incapable of recollecting yet I remember its tendency was to prove, that the child owed no gratitude to the authors of its existence; who had not ushered it into life for the purpose of conferring an obligation upon it, but for their own sensual gratification.

This daring letter, is is true, was penned under the influence of those rebellious passions which had been roused by the conviction that my father had treated me as a child, without suffering one moment of cool reflection to calm the tumult which had arisen in my mind. Aware that one of the London coaches passed the gates of the avenue, on the following morning, between four and five, I threw myself on the outside the bed for an hour or two, and then, punctual as a lover, crept silently to the gates. Scarcely had I reached the spot, when I perceived the expected vehicle approaching, which I instantly hailed, eagerly demanding whether I could have an inside place? The door was immediately opened,-my only companion a man, who had fixed himself in one corner of the stage, but whose hat was brought so completely forward, that it was impossible for me to obtain a distinct view of his face. To my observation that the morning was unusually dark and gloomy, he merely assented by an inclination of the body; at the same time, in an under tone, I thought I heard him say,- Alas! it bears a striking affinity to the darkness of my fate!

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We had travelled some miles with

out entering into any conversation, and during the whole distance he had never raised his eyes; at length, a sudden shock from the coach coming in contact with some hard body, jerked him forward, and gave me a complete view of his face. It was a countenance on which sorrow appeared deeply indented; but at the same time it was handsome, interesting, and manly: in short, there was a something in it, which in a peculiar manner interested me. That he laboured under some heavy affliction, was evident; and I hope a better principle than curiosity, made me desirous of discovering whether it could be relieved. The coach soon stopped at the accustomed place to breakfast; and I flattered myself I should be able to draw him into conversation, during that generally social meal. When the waiter opened the door, I sprang out of the carriage, concluding my melancholy companion would follow; and entering the room prepared for our reception, ordered the waiter to bring in breakfast for two persons. "The gentleman in the ' coach, Sir, does not choose any," replied the fellow, " and does not mean to get out." The idea that poverty might be his hinderance, suddenly occurred to me, and I was in the very act of returning, to request him to partake of my fare, when his being an inside passenger convinced me I had formed an erroneous opinion. However, when the coffee and hot cakes were placed smoking upon the table, I could not reconcile it to myself to partake of them alone, and, darting out of the room, I unceremoniously opened the door of the coach.

"You would pardon this intrusion," said I in a conciliatory accent, "if you knew how insupportably painful it is to me to take any meal alone; besides, my dear Sir, you are either ill or unhappy, and must allow me to act as your physician; in short, you will confer a real favour upon me, if you will alight, and partake of an excellent breakfast."

"I cannot reject an offer which evinces so much humanity," he replied, with a dejected bow: “I can drink, I allow; but I assure you on my honour I could not force a morsel of food into my mouth." He, however, complied with my request, and unhesitatingly followed me into the room; and upon taking off his hat, presented

be kept with heretics;" and that the Council of Constance, held in 1415, confirmed the decrees of the Lateran Council, and acted upon them, by com

to my view a countenance at once strikingly dejected and exquisitely handsome. An expressive shake of the head was the only reply he made to my request, that he would endea-mitting John Huss and Jerome of vour to eat a small piece of roll; however, as he drank two large cups of coffee, with a good deal of milk in it, I was satisfied that he would not find the want of nourishment.

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[Continued from col. 638.]

Your correspondent tells us, that the charge made against the Church of Rome, of holding the obnoxious doctrine, that " no faith is to be kept with heretics," is disproved by the facts of the case; and, in support of this assertion, he refers us to the faithfulness with which the Spanish merchants have fulfilled their mercantile engagements with this country. Surely this is not reasoning. Would any man, who makes any pretences to sound logic, ever think of proving the non-existence of obnoxious tenets in a man's creed, from his conduct on particular_occasions, and under particular circumstances? Self-interest, which binds human society together in all cases where nobler principles cease to operate, would prevent the Spanish merchants from breaking their engagements with a great commercial nation; for if they adopted a contrary line of conduct, it would interdict all intercourse, and totally annihilate their foreign commerce; not to mention the danger of provoking hostilities with a people so powerful, both by sea and land, as the British. Many of the most notorious highwaymen have been known, at certain seasons, to mingle with society; to put on the manners of social life; to enter into engagements, and to discharge these engagements with a fidelity truly astonishing, even while carrying on their nightly depredations. And if the better principles of our common nature, as well as selfinterest, and the usual forms of civilized society, should influence Roman Catholics, on all ordinary occasions, to act contrary to certain obnoxious tenets, is that any proof that such tenets have no place in their creeds?

That the great Lateran Council, held in 1215, declared that "no faith is to

Prague to the flames; and that all Roman Catholic priests and bishops swear to hold and maintain all things decreed by the general Councils; are historical facts, which, till now, I thought no man, making any pretence to historical information, would attempt to deny. Permit me, however, to inform the "Member of the Established Church," that it was not intended to bring the obnoxious tenet alluded to, into operation in mercantile transactions. Had he been aware of this, he might have spared himself the trouble of giving us a whole paragraph concerning the Spanish merchants. The decree runs thus: "No faith or promise is to be kept with heretics, to the prejudice of the Catholic faith," cap. 3. Hence it appears evident, that the Church of Rome, in this diabolical tenet, only aimed at the lives of those men whose doctrines and labours might be injurious to her interests. The "Churchman" therefore might be very safe and comfortable at St. Austell, while writing in favour of Catholic Emancipation, and while he took no active part in promoting the interests of the Protestant religion; nay more, he might enter into mercantile engagements with the Spanish merchants for many years, without knowing that the tenet in question had any existence : but if he were placed in the circumstances of John Huss, when at the Council of Constance; or of Luther, when at Worms; or of Cranmer, when the British sceptre was under the influence of Papal authority; he would soon be undeceived.

It is also asserted, that the Roman Catholic religion is not hostile to civil liberty; and in support of this assertion, we are referred to "the histories of Austria, France, Saxony, Genoa, Venice, Lucca, and Switzerland," as furnishing examples of "all the different degrees of government, from absolute monarchy to the extreme of republican liberty." It was certainly unnecessary to inform us, that there are despotic governments in Roman Catholic countries; for we are fully aware that Popery is a soil in which despotism will thrive well. But he

must be either very ignorant, or he must have a very mean opinion of the understanding of the enlightened and independent part of the British nation, who would attempt to persuade them, that even civil liberty will thrive as well in Popish as in Protestant ground. The few insignificant republics at present existing in Roman Catholic countries, to which we are referred, are only so many examples of the natural energy of the human character, breaking loose from the chains of slavery, and throwing off the yoke of tyranny and oppression. But did any of them, in their struggles for liberty and independence, ever receive any assistance from popish principles or popish influence? On the contrary, wherever those principles had their full effect, the human mind was enslaved; and wherever that influence could be exercised, it was always exercised in favour of despotism, injustice, and oppression. In proof of this, we need only refer to the history of our own country. Who was it that tried to procure a license for the clergy to commit murder with impunity? Who endeavoured to raise the spiritual authority above that of the crown; and, in pursuance of that ambitious project, encouraged the ungrateful Becket to insult his benefactor and king, one of the best of sovereigns, while endeavouring to purify the streams of justice, to redress the grievances of his people, and reform the abuses of a licentious priesthood? Who endeavoured to destroy the great Charter, the foundation of our liberties, as soon as it was in being? And who sent foreign troops into the kingdom, to make war upon the barons who procured and stood up in defence of the Charter? Was it not the Pope? Yes, it was the Pope; and wherever the Pope had influence, it was always exerted in the same manner, and for the attainment of the same object. The Church of Rome has often strangled liberty in the birth, or made it bleed to death afterwards; but I challenge any man to produce a single instance, in which that church ever cherished liberty.

It betrays great ignorance to appeal to any of the governments now existing on the continent; since the elements of whatever was favourable to | liberty in the constitution of these governments, previous to the time of the Reformation, may be traced either to

the barbarous nations who overthrew the Roman empire in the west, or to causes over which the Church of Rome had no control. The French parliament was only a continuation of the Champs de Mars of the ancient Franks, which were annual assemblies of the people, in whom the legislative power was lodged. Pepin Le Bref, the father of Charlemagne, first summoned the chief estates of the nobles and clergy to meet annually, and deliberate on public affairs. Charlemagne afterwards caused these assemblies to meet twice in the year, and added a third estate, namely, that of the people, by admitting twelve deputies or representatives from each province, and thus completed the outlines of the French constitution.

Almost all the monarchical states of both Italy and Germany, sprung up on the ruins of the great Western empire which was founded by the Franks. During the fading power of the Carlovingian race of the Frank kings, the governors of the provinces made themselves independent; but as provincial conventions had been established previously to that period, for the purpose of inspecting the administration of justice throughout the empire, a foundation was laid for some degree of liberty in the constitutions of all the new states. Many of these, however, in process of time, became entirely despotic; but whatever liberty any of them once possessed, or still retain, that liberty must be traced to the provincial conventions. The imperial cities, and most of the republics, first rose to opulence by commerce, and then obtained their freedom by various means: some, by lending money to the Emperor of Germany, for which they received charters, conferring privileges upon them, and acknowledging their independence; others, by associating together for their mutual defence against the tyranny of both the Popes and the Emperors; and the disputes which so frequently arose between the Popes and the Emperors, were peculiarly favourable to republican associations. The formation of the Venetian republic was laid by those who fled from the Huns, when they were ravaging Italy, under their leader Attila, about the middle of the fifth century. The "Churchman" is certainly very unfortunate in his reference to this republic; a republic in which the

Inquisition was established, and the government of which was always a tyrannical aristocracy. The republic of Genoa was founded in the eleventh century, when the contest between the Popes and the Emperors was approaching its height. That of Lucca purchased its independence from the Emperor Rodolph, in the thirteenth century, for 10,000 crowns. The Swiss, galled by the tyranny of Albert I. threw off the Austrian yoke in the beginning of the fourteenth century: but the foundation of their liberties was laid in blood; for they had to meet their enemies in sixty pitched battles, before they gained their independence. Whoever is well acquainted with the history of the barbarous nations; the fall of the Roman Empire; the rise of the great Western Empire, under the Franks; and the condition of Italy and Germany during the middle ages; will, I trust, acknowledge the correctness of these statements: and if these statements be correct, it is evident, that all the traits of civil liberty which are to be found in the constitution of any of the governments that have been, or are now existing, in Roman Catholic countries, must be traced to causes over which the Church of Rome had no power.

to an untimely grave, for no other reason but because they thought proper to judge for themselves in religious matters.

Here let us pause a little; for this circumstance is worthy of our most serious attention. At one time, we behold an oppressed people, rising up in arms against their oppressors, freeing themselves from the shackles of despotism, and manfully fighting for civil liberty; and at another, we behold the very same people, rising up in arms against their unoffending brethren, embracing the cause of despotism, and brutishly fighting against religious liberty. In one case, we see the native energy of the human character, breaking loose from the galling yoke of tyranny, and a people nobly asserting their freedom; and in the other, we see the human character enslaved by a base system of religion, and a people infuriated with principles of intolerance and persecution, as if they were devils, come upon earth with a fresh commission and fresh chains from the infernal fiend who first enslaved the human race: and all this, not at the mandate of a temporal power, not under the influence of a despotic government; but at the mandate of a spiritual power, and under the influence of a free constitution, and not only free, but extending all the privileges of civil freedom to the utmost limits of democracy: a sure

Roman Catholics be admitted to share in its administration, can afford no security against religious intolerance and persecution.

But there is one thing asserted concerning this people, in the "Churchman's" reply to Omega, which requires confirmation. He says, "the majo

But even supposing, for argument's sake, that our civil liberties were not in danger; is religious liberty of no value? Are we to be called upon to give that up, and to give it up for no-proof, that even a free constitution, if thing? In my opinion, religious liberty is far more valuable than civil liberty, especially to Protestants; and, therefore, as Protestants, we must be pardoned for entertaining some fears concerning a thing so essentially necessary to the interests of the Protestant religion. That the Constitution can afford us no security for the continuation of religious liberty, if Roman Catholics be once admitted to the exercise of political power, is evident from the circumstance, that there is no such thing as religious liberty in any of those republics on the continent, that are under the influence of the Church of Rome. We have already seen that the Inquisition was established in Venice; and even the Popish republics of Switzerland, on whose merits the Churchman dwells with such pleasing delight, took up arms against their brethren, after the Reformation, and sent many of them

The

rity of the Swiss cantons are Catholic."
This I am inclined to question. If he
means simply the majority of the can-
tons, he is correct; but if he means
the majority of Swiss population, I
have some doubts upon the subject.
Zurich and Bern, the two chief can-
tons, are entirely Protestant.
former takes precedence of all the
others, and always fills the President's
chair at the general diets; and the
latter is, by far, the largest and the
most powerful of all the Helvetic
Union. And I think, one half, if not
a majority, of the Swiss dependencies,
are Protestant. If I am mistaken, I

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