diate and entire absolution. Behind its ample and benignant cover, the evil doer found a secure refuge for every act of villainy-an asylum from retributive vengeance. Few persons are aware of the extent to which the trade in indulgences was carried, or the manner in which the venders disposed of their wares.

Fortunately, we are in possession of well authenticated accounts, descriptive of the manner in which indulgences were disposed of. Tetzel, the prince of these nefarious venders, the chief scene of whose exploits was Germany, was accustomed to select some prominent place, generally a church, and then address the assembled multitude in a style of which the following is a specimen: "Indulgences," said he, "are the most precious and sublime of God's gifts." This cross, (presenting a small cross he usually carried with him) has as much efficacy as the cross of Christ. Draw near and I will give you letters, duly sealed, by which even the sins you shall hereafter desire to commit, shall be forgiven you. I would not exchange my privileges for those of Saint Peter in heaven, for I have saved more souls with my indulgences than he with his sermons. There is no sin so great that the indulgence cannot remit : only pay largely, and all shall be forgiven. Even repentance is not necessary. But more than all this indulgences save not the living alone-they also save the dead. Ye priests, ye nobles, ye tradesmen, ye wives, ye maidens and ye young men, hearken to your departed parents and friends who cry to you from the bottomless abyss, we are enduring horrible torments, a small alms would deliver us; you can give it, and you will not. The very moment that the money clinks against the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies free to heaven."

:

Not only did Zwingli witness this practice at the convent of Einsiedeln, but about this time, Benardin Sampson, a Franciscan monk of Milan, furnished with a license by Pope Leo X. came into the neighborhood selling indulgences, as Tetzel had done in Germany. Zwingli at once denounced the practice, and launched all the thunders of his eloquence against it from the pulpit, proclaiming it an unjust and ungodly act, sanctioned neither by God nor the true christian and deserving of the severest condemnation. He devoted all his energies to throw the practice into disrepute, and left no means untried to bring the people around to his way of thinking, and with such success were his efforts attended, that Sampson's mission to Switzerland was almost a total failure. He took his departure in a short time for a more congenial region, but not before the Zurichers had positively refused him permission to enter their city for the purpose of pursuing his abominable practices. It is worthy of remark, that in his crusade against the sale of indulgence, Zwingli was supported by the Bishop of Constance. This was the boldest stand he had yet taken, and his name with that of Luther, was known in every part of the Papal world.

Zwingli's stay at Einsiedeln was not of long duration. Erhard Battman, the pastor of a congregation in Zurich, having resigned his situation, the friends of Zwingli, endeavored to persuade him, to offer himself as a candidate for the post. Believing that in this new and more extended sphere of action, his efforts would be crowned with greater success, he at length consented to apply for the situation. Notwithstanding the

opposition of his enemies, so highly was he esteemed by the canons of Zurich, that out of all the votes cast, (twenty-four in number) he received seventeen, which secured his election. Henceforward Zurich was the scene of his labors. He continued in this city until his career was stayed by death. Pericles hardly gained a greater ascendancy over the minds of the Athenians, than did Zwingli over the Zurichers. Almost every measure, either political or religious, that he advocated, was adopted by the people of the canton. Availing himself of the popularity he had acquired, he naturally attempted still further reforms. The Papal church, as we have already observed, did not fail to discover at an early day, through its emissaries, the heretical tendencies of Zwingli, and endeavored by gentle persuasions and flattery, to bring him once more within the consecrated fold. It even went so far as to grant him a pension, and the Pope's Nuncio, Antonio Pucei, was instructed to address a letter to him, bearing the assurance of his possessing the distinguished consideration and regard of the wearer of the triple crown. All these bribes were of no avail. The truth as it existed in the heart of Ulric Zwingli, had gone forth, and sooner might the whirlwinds of heaven have been gathered in, than the course of the word of God been stayed. Pope Leo X. saw not the end, neither will the Pontiff of the present day. Zwingli's means of spreading the truth, did not consist in preaching alone. The press afforded him the means of gaining adherents beyond his own immediate neighborhood, and all the prominent doctrines he advocated were scattered far and wide through the Swiss Confederacy. Everywhere men read and believed, so that when the great crisis had arrived, from every quarter came men, eager and ready to encounter every danger that menaced their religion; this was one of the secrets of its immediate success. So rapidly had it spread, and so numerous had its adherents become, that when the Papal church endeavored to crush this new order of things, it had assumed a magnitude that had never been thought of, and which precluded the possibility of its being overcome or stayed by ordinary means. Persuasion was thought of no longer: pensions and bribes had lost their efficacy, and as the last, and as was believed, the most effective means, the thunders of the Vatican were hurled upon the heretics.

We have dwelt so long upon the early career of Zwingli, that our space will not allow us to follow up his later years with the same minuteness. To show the manner in which the Reformation had its origin, and the means employed for its successful promulgation, was one of our main objects, and for this purpose it was necessary to dwell at some length upon the events of his early life. We have reached the period when its success could no longer be considered doubtful; as a last resort, the Roman church desired to try what efficacy there was in argument, and accordingly disputations were held in every part of Switzerland and Germany, in which the Reformers invariably proved triumphant. Zwingli was a dangerous and powerful antagonist to meet in debate, and for this reason, was both feared and hated. The history of these disputations is related with much ability and minuteness, in the latter part of the volume before us, but our limited space forbids us to make further extracts, and we can only refer the reader to the book itself.

The condition of the Cantons of Switzerland at that time, bears so

strong a similarity to the state of our own republic at the present day, that the attentive reader cannot fail to observe it. Indeed, the entire history of Switzerland is so much like our own, that we cannot forbear alluding to it. Like ourselves, they at first numbered but a few districts. Honest, hardy and industrious, they sought not to change their form of government, until the tyranny of the House of Hapsburg became unbearable. Then, like our gallant forefathers, uprose the heroes of Helvetian independence, Furst, Stauffacher and Melchthal, and like them, they pledged their honor and their lives to the sacred cause. Saratoga, Monmouth and Yorktown are not more proudly pointed to by the patriotic American, than are the glorious battle fields of Morgarten, Sempach and Morat, by the enthusiastic Switzer. Tyranny incited them to revolt, and the preservation of the liberty they had achieved, united them in a federal compact. Thus were they united when the Reformation commenced. Determined and courageous, they commanded the respect of their more powerful neighbors, who left them unmolested amid their Alpine fastnesses. The Reformation at once introduced sectional strife amongst them. While some of the Cantons adopted the new religion with the wildest enthusiam, others clung with a like pertenacity to the old. Suspicion and discord at once crept within the sacred precincts of the Confederacy, which it was plainly seen, would result in revolt, and perhaps disunion. And so the sequel proved. On the one side were arrayed the Catholic Cantons of Schweitz, Uri, Unterwalden, Zug and Lucerne; on the other Zurich, Berne, Schaffhausen, St. Gall and Bienne. Both parties prepared to appeal to arms. Zurich, deserted by her allies, was left to bear the shock of war by herself. Zwingli fell upon the field of Cappel, gloriously fighting for his religion and his country. "Not in sullen stupefaction, not in a fit of frenzy or of recklessness did he march forth, but with the earnestness of a man, who knows what may happen, and, not girding himself with his own hands, relies on the arm of Him who is best acquainted with the human heart, and pardons us the multitude of our errors, if only redeemed by faith, love, and a spirit of self-sacrifice." Not the black cloud of religious strife hangs over our heads in this land of freedom, but sectional strife of even a more portentous and threatening character is agitating our country throughout its wide extent. Let the history of that little Republic beyond the sea, not be forgotten by the men of our own time, for it speaks eloquently of once glorious days, and points silently to the rocks that threaten the gallant bark of human freedom.

So much has been said and written about the individual claims of Zwingli and Luther, in bringing about the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, that it may perhaps not be amiss to allude to the matter here. Priority in the great work is claimed by the partisans of each, while in addition, many of Luther's adherents contend that Zwingli was nothing more than an active and energetic follower of the great monk of Erfurth. We think it can be clearly proven that neither was indebted to the other for his peculiar views, and that without any knowledge of each other, the work which a Divine Providence had placed before them, was commenced and successfully carried forward.

The following extract from the pen of that eminent Scotch theologian, Dr. Eadie, than whom perhaps no higher authority can be found, throws

some light upon this vexed but unnecessary question. He says: "the contests of Zwingli and Luther on the nature of the Sacraments of the Lord's Supper are well known, but the Swiss proved himself freer from early prejudices and traditional teachings than his great German antagonist. It is needless to discuss the relative merits of the two illustrious reformers, their position and sphere of influence being so very different. The fame of Luther has overtopped that of Zwingli, yet the Swiss divine had perhaps more caution and sagacity, and certainly more learning and refinement than the Saxon. He was also earlier alive to the errors of Rome, and though he died a young man, yet in his narrow circle of action he carried out the Reformation farther than Luther did." The testimony of Zwingli himself on these points is of such a convincing character that we cannot forbear giving it. He speaks in the following manner: "the great and powerful of this world have begun to proscribe and render odious the doctrine of Christ under the name of Luther, so that they, by whom it is preached, are called Lutherans. Thus it happened also to me. But before any one in our country ever heard the name of Luther, I had commenced to preach the gospel in the year 1516, since I never went into the pulpit without placing before me the words read in the gospel of the mass for that day, in order to explain them from the holy scriptures alone. In the beginning of the year, when I came to Zurich, no one yet knew any thing of Luther, except that a book was published by him on indulgences, but it taught me little, for I had already been instructed concerning the fraud of indulgences by a disputation, which my beloved teacher, Thomas Wittenbach of Biel, held at Basle, although during my absence. Who then shall give me the nick-name of Lutheran? And when Luther's little book on the Paternoster appeared, and I had shortly before explained the same Paternoster in Mathew, I well knew that many pious people suspected me of making that book and adding Luther's name to it. Luther is, as it strikes me, an excellent soldier of God, who with great earnestness has looked through the scripture as no one has ever done in a thousand years on earth, and with manly, undaunted spirit, has attacked therewith the Pope of Rome as no one has ever done like him as long as papacy has endured, yet without receiving abuse from others. Does Luther preach Christ? Then he does just what I do; although, God be thanked, a thousand fold more will be led to God than by me and others, whose measure God makes greater or smaller as he will. Nevertheless I will bear no name but that of my captain, Christ, whose soldier I am, who will give me office and pay as much as seems to him good. Now I hope everybody will understand why I do not wish to be nick-named Lutheran, although I esteem Luther as highly as any man living."

We desire to say a few words about Zwingli as a man, before concluding this brief sketch. So different are the views that may be taken of his life, that what might seem to one as a correct estimate of his career, might perhaps by another be regarded in an entirely different aspect. Zwingli, as is the case with every great man, was far in advance of his age. His early efforts were one continuous struggle to inculcate sound political principles, well aware that such a course would prove of the utmost importance in his ulterior religious designs. Zwingli was a thorough-bred republican. Not with the hope of private emoluments—

not with the desire of personal aggrandizement did he manifest so great an anxiety to reform the corruptions that had crept into the administration of justice in the free cantons of Switzerland. The consideration of self never for a moment swayed him from the path of right. His aim was his country's prosperity, and he never lost sight of it. In religion he was sincerity itself. Too head-strong and not sufficiently calculating, he may, perhaps, at times have been, but unless he had had these very qualities, the great work could never have been successfully accomplished. Had he, with all his abilities and learning, been deficient in boldness and courage, his life would have been nothing more than a splendid blank. Fearless and totally regardless of consequencess, he sent forth to the world these truths, which in more timid and shrinking persons, would have slumbered forever. Unsuccessful in many of his projects, his motives nevertheless were ever pure and unselfish. Inflexible determination and strong sense were the great means whereby his successes were achieved. Once fixed in his purposes, no obstacles could discourage and no dangers daunt him. Strong in his love for his wife and children, he hesitated not when duty bade him gird on his armor and march to the field of death. Generous in his friendships, he never forgot or forsook a friend, and was ever ready to conciliate an enemy. He was one of those men whose coming marks an era in the world's history, whose influence cannot be confined to the time in which they lived, but stands out a beacon light through all coming time-the flight of years but adding new rays to its brilliancy. He was a hero in the widest sense of the word, and worthy of the noblest eulogy mankind can pronounce-a firm friend, a sincere man, and a true christian.

Once more we would thank Prof. Porter for presenting us with this most valuable work, from which we have so largely drawn in preparing this article. To have a great want supplied is always a cause for thankfulness, but when the task is so skillfully accomplished as in the present instance, we have additional reasons to be grateful. It should, and will be widely circulated and read, by all who feel an interest in the men and the times that sent forth truths which shall exert their influence when time itself shall be no more. F. R. D.

THE BAREFOOT BOY.

BLESSINGS on thee, little man,
Barefoot boy with cheeks of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloons,
And thy merry-whistled tunes;
With the sunshine on thy face,

Through thy torn brim's jaunty grace;
From my heart I give thee joy-

I was once a barefoot boy;

Prince thou art-the grown-up man
Only is republican:

Let the million dollared ride ;

Barefoot trudging at his side,

Thou hast more than he can buy,

In the reach of ear and eye

Outward sunshine, inward joy;

Blessings on thee, barefoot boy.-WHITTIER.