Papal system, though I have long been convinced that to such a connection may be traced, as to their natural source, all the prevailing peculiarities both of the doctrines and discipline of Popery. Suffice it to remark, in passing, that the great opposers of Popery in every age, have been men whose minds were thoroughly instructed and established in the doctrines of grace, and that the firmest bulwark against the diffusion of the principles of the Romish Church will ever be found to exist in a clear, consistent, decided and uncompromising vindication of those doctrines. Alas! for the prospects of the Protestant Churches of Christ in the present day, that so many professed preachers of the Gospel, and advocates of the doctrines of the Reformation, should hold so loosely, and exhibit so feebly, sentiments for which the first reformers contended as the very essence of truth, and which were the only foundation of the hopes which cheered their dying moments, and enabled them to triumph in Christ, when the flames were enkindled around them! They well knew wherein consisted the basis and main prop of the Papal system, and they devoted their best energies to the maintenance of truths, which are now to the ears of thousands of professed Protestants, as 'old wives' fables !'. But I must not dwell on this melancholy topic. Blessed be God, the rock on which his true Church is built is immoveable, and the covenant sealed by the blood of the Great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, ensures the certain salvation of all the sheep of Christ, "whom God hath from the beginning chosen to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth!"-" My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give

unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

This declaration of our Lord affords a firm footing for our dependence, amidst all the storms which may assail his Church. "Let not then our hearts be troubled," though occasion may exist for many apprehensions.

To return from my digression-the chief purpose of the sermon delivered by the Romish priest, was to shew the divine goodness, wisdom, and power, in the method of administering the blessings of the great provision of salvation! This he declared to be the appointment of authorized dispensers of those blessings, favoured with the teaching and influences of the Holy Ghost, in order to give and enforce the reception of an infallible interpretation of truth, and an unfailing supply of spiritual benefits. These authorized dispensers of the blessings of salvation, he stated to be the ministers and governors of the Catholic church, for whose uninterrupted unity and succession from the times of the apostles, he distinctly contended. He directly addressed his Protestant audience, as sheep that had wandered from the one true fold, and apostrophized England, as once the seat of the true church, but now the hold of every form of delusion and error. His appeals were powerfully persuasive, and delivered with an air of great dignity and authority. It is to be feared, many, not perceiving the fallacy of his assumption, might be won by the tenderness, or overawed by the authority with which they were urged. He earnestly entreated their return to the pastoral care and attentions of the only commissioned teachers and feeders of the flock of Christ; and he made a forcible use of the

diversified and discordant opinions of the Protestant sects, to establish the claims of the Roman Catholic church, which he maintained had been, from the beginning, uniform in opinion, discipline, and practice.

He closed with an application for their pecuniary assistance, representing, that by giving their money towards the erection of that place of worship, they would perform an act of the highest and most sacred benevolence, pregnant with present and eternal advantages to themselves and others! When he had concluded, several ladies, each acccompanied by a priest, went round to solicit contributions. They applied to the congregation individually; and it required no small degree of firmness to resist an application made personally in the most polite manner by a lady, and reverently urged by an attendant priest. Many, very many Protestants yielded to the application; and I have heard that a hundred pounds were collected principally, if not exclusively, from the Protestant part of the congregation.

Some eminent preacher has delivered a sermon every Sabbath since the day of opening, and attempts have been made to draw the attendance of Protestants in various ways. A gentleman, whom I very well know, was present on Sunday last, when he observed a young female following the service, with a Protestant church prayer-book. This fact elucidates the lamentable ignorance of some who are likely to be won over! Two individuals were stationed at each door of the chapel, who, when mass was over, and many were going away, that they might in part attend some Protestant place of worship, were told to interpose, and urge them to remain, as a very fine

preacher was about to preach the sermon. Many staid in consequence, and my informant says, the sermon was a most powerful appeal, from which every thing offensive to Protestants was cautiously excluded. I expected an instance of this kind of policy on the day of opening, and was not a little surprised to find the discourse on that occasion, directly aimed against Protestantism. But the skill and art with which the attack was managed, vindicate the wisdom of the plan then adopted.

Thus have I given with few comments, an account of proceedings, interesting to all, who deplore the present efforts made to spread through the land, the pestilence of Popery. I regret to add that the congregation of Protestants at the opening of the chapel, was not only numerous, but highly respectable, comprising many persons of influence in Brighton.

I shall be happy to enter, on a future occasion, (if agreeable to the readers of the Lady's Magazine,) into a consideration of the errors involved in the several statements of the discourse which I heard delivered, but I must at present conclude with expressing an earnest hope that the watchmen on the walls of our Protestant Jerusalem, "will never hold their peace, day nor night," while such abominations as the system of Popery contains, are spreading through the land; and that the time will soon come, when they shall all see eye to eye," discerning afar off the common danger by which Protestantism is threatened, and when they shall all unite in one band of holy brotherhood against “the man of sin.” SCRUTATOR.

66

Brighton, Aug. 12, 1835.

A MOTHER

CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN

AND HER CHILDREN.

[Continued from page 134.]

CONVERSATION V.

ON THE EYE.

Emily. You said that besides the three coats of which you have told us, there were other things in the eye?

Mamma. Yes, these are called humours. There are three, the vitreous, the crystalline, and the aqueous. The second is generally called the crystalline lens, because it performs the office of a lens, or glass, for reflecting objects.

Frank. Where are the humours placed?

Mamma. The vitreous humour fills up the hollow of the cavity, which is made by the retina. The crystalline is in front of this, and the aqueous (which word means watery) is a small quantity of clear water which occupies the space between the crystalline humour and the cornea; here the iris is placed.

Emily. I suppose the iris had such a soft bed that it might move about the more easily.

Mamma. Yes, had it been situated otherwise it could not have dilated and contracted as it does,