THE BRITISH PROTESTANT. No. XXIV. DECEMBER, 1846. THE BRITISH PROTESTANT. We intend to reduce the price, and very slightly the size of our Periodical. At present it cannot be transmitted by post under four pence, that is, two pence for the Magazine, and two pence postage. By abridging its size a very little, and at the same time reducing its price, the Committee of the British Reformation Society will henceforth be enabled to send it free of price or postage to every Subscriber to the Society. At the same time it is necessary to state, that, henceforth, it cannot be left at the houses of any of those who have ordered it heretofore; if they wish to continue it, they must order through the nearest bookseller; and we are persuaded, that its small price and peculiarly important contents, will render it a valuable addition to the periodical works taken in by those interested in the progress of Evangelical Protestantism. The Romanists are statedly multiplying their organs. It will surely then argue either great coldness or carelessness in us, if we give our attention to every topic of the day, except that which is leaving an impress upon our social, national, and personal condition indelible for ever. We confidently expect new subscribers to the Reformation Society, as well as new readers to our periodical. Dark as some of the signs of our age may be, we can neither begin to despond nor cease to pray; if some lean to that system which our Reformers renounced, and others are ashamed of that Protestantism which is the teeming source of all that elevates and adorns our race, it is not for us to cease to deprecate the inclination of the one, or to endeavour to evive the first love of the other. Let the living work "while it is called to-day.". THE CHURCH AND THE CHURCHES, BY THE REV. CANON M'NEILE, M.A. THIS is a work of no ordinary merit. It is enlightened, tender towards brethren that differ, and faithful towards those who supersede or repudiate the truths of the gospel. The whole work is pervaded by that profound apprehension of the leading truths of Christianity, which Mr. M'Neile alone, of living Divines, has not only reached but clothed in language of great and eloquent simplicity. The work is a manual of Protestantism, full of earnest and effective reasoning-disposing of Popish objections with great ease, and impressing Protestant truth with powerful effect. No member of the Protestant Church ought to be without this work, and we trust the clergy will not fail to recommed it to their flocks; some of the most important points in the controversy are treated with great precision. We may instance Mr. M'Neile's remarks on the text, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church." After reading his explanation of these words, believed by Romanists to be the great stronghold of their system, we can have no further perplexity about their meaning. MODERN POPERY, OR RELICS AT ROME. THE following valuable letter was addressed to Mr. Nangle, and inserted in his valuable Missionary Herald, by the Rev. M. H. Seymour, formerly Secretary to the Reformation Society. Mr. Seymour's acquaintance with the controversy-the deep interest he takes in it —and, above all, the value of the letter, all encourage us to give it a place in our pages. "As I believe there is nothing more useful than a simple statement of facts, I shall narrate the proceedings of one day-the public exhibition of Relics in the Church of "The Holy Cross of Jerusalem," on the fourth Sunday in Lent, in the year 1845. This church is one of the seven privileged churches of Rome, and fourth Sunday in Lent is for it the most remarkable and important in the year. All who attend the services of that church on that day are entitled to certain indulgences-all who have part in the masses there celebrated are entitled to the release of one soul from purgatory. The record or official statement and verification of these privileges is suspended near the High Altar of the church; I have carefully copied it, but it would occupy too much space to transcribe it at present. The great scene-- -the fete connected with this day and this church, takes place in the afternoon, and is attended by a vast concourse of persons. I recognised princes and princesses in all the frippery of fashion, jostled and pressed by dirty pilgrims and wretched beggars. The crowd contained very few of the English, and was essentially Italian. It was diversified by the sombre dresses of the monks and the showy dresses of the Roman peasants. Here was some Italian lady, brilliant in all the newest elegance of Parisian fashion; there was some tall pilgrim with staff in hand, and large scallop-shells attached to the front and back of his pelerine; here knelt some peasant girl in all the yellow and green and crimson, that give so showy and brilliant an appearance to the festivals of Rome; there sat some sturdy beggar saying his bead-prayers, with all vociferation, interrupted only by his demands on the charity of those around him; here stood a group of Capucine Friars, with their long brown dresses, and their long beards drooping to their breasts; there stood a kind of Franciscan Friars, with their shaven crowns and shaven beards, and their ropes-the cord of St. Francis-around their loins. A few, perhaps one-tenth of the assembly, seemed silent, and prayerful and devotional, while all the rest chatted upon any and every topic, till a perfect Babel of many tongues pervaded the vast assemblage. The principal object of this motley crowd was the public exhibition of the precious relics for which this church is so remarkable, and the exhibition of which takes place on this day. The catalogue of these relics is suspended near the High Altar; I carefully copied it. It is as fol lows: Three pieces of the most Holy Cross, deposited by Constantine, and kept in a case of gold and jewels. The title placed over the cross, with the inscription in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. One of the most Holy Nails with which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. Two Thorns from the crown of thorns of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Finger of St. Thomas, the Apostle, which touched the most holy rib of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. The transverse beam of the cross of the good thief. One of the pieces of money supposed to be given for the betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ. The bodies of the Saints Cæsarius and Anastasius. The Cord by which our Lord Jesus Christ was bound to the cross. The sponge that was extended to our Lord with vinegar and gall. A large piece of the coat of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the clothes of St. John the Baptist. A vessel of the balm in which the head of St. Vincent was dipped. Some earth from Mount Calvary, saturated with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. A bottle full of the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. A bottle full of the milk of the most Blessed Virgin Mary. A piece of the sepulchre of our Lord Jesus Christ. A piece of the place where Christ was smitten. A piece of the stone where the Angel stood at the annunciation of the Most Holy Virgin. A piece from the house of the Most Holy Virgin. A piece from the house where our Lord was sitting when he pardoned Mary Magdalene. A piece of the stone where our Lord sat after having fasted. A piece of the stone on which Christ wrote the words, given through Moses, on Sinai. A piece from the place whence our Lord ascended to Heaven. A piece of the stone from the grave of Lazarus. A piece from the place where the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ was found. A piece from the stone where St. Peter and St. Paul repose. A piece of the cotton in which was collected the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the manna with which God fed the Israelites in the wilderness. Some relics of eleven Prophets. A portion of Aaron's rod, that budded. A portion of the head of St. John the Baptist. A portion of the head of St. Clement, Pope and Martyr. Some relics of Prossede, Virgin and Martyr. Some of the skin and hair of St. Catherine of Sienna. A tooth of St. Peter. A tooth of St. Gordon. Some bones of St. John the Baptist. |