Swiss cottages. It is divided by a wooden partition into two separate houses, for two families. In the corner of each house a large wooden box, meant to supply the place of an apartment, is constructed. This box is the guest-chamber, and there we break fasted. The outer portion of the fabric is put to many uses. It is at least the kitchen, bed-room, hen-house, and goat-fold; and yet this cabin is described as "large and beautiful." It is inhabited only in summer.

Refreshed and remounted, our next point was the Col de Four, whence another view upon Mont Blanc repays a traveller for the labour of the ascent; but the tempest that began to howl permitted us to have only toil for our employment, and disappointment for our reward. We reached the summit-between eight and nine thousand feet above the level of the Mediterranean, though still six thousand lower than Mont Blanc-just to see that nothing could be seen; and to add to our chagrin, our guides were careful to tell of the spot where two of our countrymen recently perished in a storm on the mountain. The footprints of the chamois were visible upon the snow; for we were now within the region of perpetual congelation --and these were our substitutes for views upon Mont Blanc, the Great and the Little St Bernard, Mont Cenis, and the wide range of mountains that cluster round the highest. Even at the altitude we had now reached, we found a cross erected. The sign was dimly visible through the drifting clouds-an emblem of what the superstition of this land has done to the religion of the crucified One.

Our descent partook of the nature of a retreat. We had passed the highest point which we expected to attain, and had not found what we sought; yet is there "good in everything;" and if we saw less of the world without, we were the more thrown back upon the microcosm within.

On the very summit of the mountain, at least when we had passed the region of snow, the sure-footedness of our mules surprised us. We had often read of their steady sagacity, in places of utmost peril, but it is one of the few things which exceed description. Their pace is, no doubt, tedious; but that is amply compensated by its safety, even at spots where the chamois might have need of care. More than once we thought our journey at an end on that wild mountain, as it seemed impossible, at least for fourfooted animals, to proceed. And the mules did refuse to proceed, if we attempted to direct them. But, left to themselves, they would travel along, scenting the rock over which they clambered, snorting louder and louder, in proportion to the danger, making one foot firm ere they moved another, and carrying us at least in safety to the green slopes on the Swiss side of the mountain, where both they and we needed repose.

The neatherds in those uplands are dressed in singular attire, such as irresistibly reminded us of the figures of Robinson Crusoe, with which his adventures are commonly embellished. They wear capotes and other garments of undressed goat-skin; and the shaggy covering gives them a fantastic or half saFage appearance-magnified by the mist, superstition might easily mistake them for something else

than men.

We descended by Notre Dame de Gorge, through

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the Valley of Bionney, to the baths of St Gervaise, and thence to the Valley of

CHAMOUNIX.

Scarcely more than a century (1741) has elapsed since this district was discovered; and previous to that period it was nearly as little known as the heart of Africa, so completely is it secluded by the surrounding mountains-the loftiest in Europe. Now, however, it is the most frequented of any spot in Switzerland, unless Geneva should be excepted. As we entered the Gorge at the lower extremity, the mists which had obscured the mountain began to clear away, and slowly there appeared, first the Dent du Nord, then the Dome, then the Dent du Medi, with the numerous aiguilles round Mont Blanc. The Glacier of Buissons, stretching down from the base of the Dome far into the valley, is the purest; and the ice is of the brightest tints of all that we had seen. In the valley you have no thoughts to spare for aught but this glacier and the mountain-the former a mass of ice two hundred feet thick, and seven miles in length.

The first impression made by the mountain is that of disappointment. Seen in all its extent, from summit to base, you cannot at once take in the idea of its grandeur; and it continues to grow in magnitude as one acquires a new standard of measurement. But when you have grown familiar with distances and heights, the mountain compensates for all one's toil. Seen in the light of a cloudless sunset, the spectacle is one which the mind never can forget. We ventured by moonlight up as far as it was safe; and if anything that is merely of the earth could fill man's soul, such sights might do it. And yet it is full of instruction-when one of the bold adventurers who have lately ascended to the summit had reached the highest point, his exclamation of disappointment, by his own confession, was: IS THIS ALL? There is only one thing that can fully satisfy the vast cravings of man's soul-the friendship of his God; and it is a law unalterably passed, that till that friendship be enjoyed, nothing else can truly or lastingly gratify.

At Chamounix, we met Jacques Balmat, who was the first to plant his foot on the summit of the mountain, about fifty years ago, and who subsequently conducted Dr Paccard to the Dome. Three days and six guides are required for the journey, and about ten successful and as many abortive attempts to ascend are on record. The ascent which has latterly been performed even by some women from Chamounix, has been mentioned along with the attempts to penetrate into the heart of Africa, and to discover a north-west passage from the Frozen Ocean to the Pacific, as just within the bounds of practicability. And yet Paccard, Saussure, Beaufoy, Woodley, Forueret, Doorthausen, Rodaty, Meteyeski, Renseyler, Howard, Undrel, Clissold, Jackson, Clarke, Sherwell, Fellows, Hawes, Auldjo, Barry, Tilly, and Waddington, are named as those who have mounted to the giddy height. He who has stood on the summit has been fifteen thousand seven hundred and seventy-five feet above the level of the Mediterranean-has gazed over a space said to extend to the distance of two * It was curious to see corn fields growing close to the glacier.

hundred and forty miles; and yet we have seen that the feeling of some, when they reached the Dome, has been expressed by the cry: "Is this all?”

It would be long to tell the wonders of this valley. The source of the Arvieron, a broad expansive river at its very fountain-head-the Mer de Glace seen from the Montagne Verte like a vast river, as broad as the Thames at London Bridge, congealed in the act of dashing down a cataract, while tossed by the violence of the fall into pyramids, or sunk into abysses these are some of the most noted marvels. The green and blue tints of the glacier, contrasted with the dull granite or the bright snow, all gave additional interest to this valley of ice; while the fantastic appearance of some of the mountains shooting far up into the sky, like obelisks of Nature's rearing, enhance one's wonder at the whole.

The chamois hunters of these wild highlands are perhaps the most adventurous race of men in Europe. The shyness and speed of that goat, its inaccessible haunts, and its quickness of perception, render approach to it well-nigh impossible; but there are men who give themselves to this employment, and they are armed cap-a-pie for their work. Their shoes are strongly spiked; they carry an axe to cut steps in the snow or ice by which to climb, and an Alpen Stock by which to support themselves on the giddy precipices which they skirt, or to aid them in their bound over the gulfs which cross their path. Their gun and provisions are slung across their shoulders; and, thus equipped, a chamois hunter may be found at earliest dawn watching among the rocks for his prey. When he has succeeded in wounding without killing the goat, the pursuit is described as most perilous; and it is well if both the huntsman and the game be not buried beneath an avalanche, or dashed to pieces over a precipice.

But we must away from this secluded valley, and our outlet is by the Col-de-Balme, at the height of between seven and eight thousand feet, where at last we saw the Dome, in all its magnificence, at once above and below us, as we were now at about half its height. Only in such a position can the mountain be clearly seen.

This upland is patriarchally pastoral. The occupants of the lowlands drive their cattle to the mountains to pasture during the summer and early autumn. It is in such employments that the famous Rans des Vaches is sung; but we were not regaled by any such

music. Each cow has a bell attached to its neck, so

that it may not stray without being easily heard; and

as we stood in the midst of a vacherie of two hundred and forty cows, with as many bells, the tinkling was not "sweet music."

We reached Martigny on the sixth day after we had left it, so that that was the time occupied in making the circuit of Mont Blanc. In leaving the homes of those mountaineers, we cannot but reflect on their intense nationality, their thorough intelligence of the history and condition of their country, and their kind courtesy to strangers. We met with few Swiss gentlemen who had not been in all the cantons, and some have travelled in foreign lands, with a view to the improvement of their own. In short, the conviction was often forced on us, that just after

the instinct of self-preservation in a Swiss mind stands the love of Switzerland. Patriotism is an universal instinct. Youth, manhood, dotage-all are alike. They know its mountain passes, and climb them-its valleys and rivers, and expatiate on their beauty. Their learned men are often objects of amusing national pride; and yet, with all their failings and all their nationalism, a Scot can scarcely help loving a Swiss. To admire his country is to make him your friend; and, as we visit it avowedly for its grandeur, our visits are as gratifying to him as to us. That country speaks both to the eye and to the heart; and as its climate combines the frost of thei north with the sunshine of the south, so its people, although they possess an egotism which may sometimes be amusing, have also a natural worth, which to know is to respect.

We have of late been from time to time traversing the scenes where religion found an asylum when Popery had nearly extirpated Christianity; but our sojourn has been too brief to detect the hidden ones -the afflicted and the poor people-the reinnant, like the last olive berries on the withered branches. The cross, with its gewgaw decorations, crowns nearly every summit, or chapels, with their hideous caricatures, stand wherever they can be decently reared; and one mourns to find that the religion of form and of death has thus supplanted the religion of spirit and of life. Of the twenty-two cantons, twelve are Reformed and Popish; six are Popish and Reformed; while the three parent cantons-Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwald-along with Lucerne, are exclusive and devoted Papists. Were we free (which, however, we are not) to judge from what we have seen, for example, in the cantons of Glarus and St Gall, we should say that it would not be difficult for the rising superstition of our age to lay all the cantons-Reformed and Popish alike-prostrate again beneath its iron heel. In some of the Swiss valleys men are still religiously as dark as in the fourteenth century.

The Semplon and Mont Cenis still remain.

NOTHING PERFECT ON EARTH.

EVEN as the soil (which April's gentle showers
Have fill'd with sweetness and enriched with flowers)
Rears up
her sucking plants, still shooting forth
The tender blossoms of her timely birth;
But if deny'd the beams of cheerly May,
They hang their wither'd heads, and fade away:

So man, assisted by the Almighty's hand,
His faith doth flourish and securely stand;
But left a while, forsook, as in a shade,
it languishes, and nipp'd with sin, doth fade.
No gold is pure from dross, though oft refined;
The strongest cedar's shaken with the wind;
The fairest rose hath no prerogative
Against the fretting canker-worm; the hive
No honey yields unblended with the wax;
The finest linnen hath both soil and bracks;
The best of men have sins; none lives secure;
In nature nothing's perfect, nothing pure.

QUABLES.

THE DOCTRINES OF MAYNOOTH.

PART IV.

HOW THE CHURCH OF ROME TREATS THE WORD OF GOD.

THAT the Church of Rome denies the sufficiency of the Bible as a rule of faith and practice, and adds to it human traditions, we have already proved. We proceed to show, that

III. She takes from the Bible divine commandments. -We refer particularly to her treatment of the Second Commandment, which she omits in almost all her catechisms used for the instruction of the young. The reason of her doing so is obvious. That commandment distinctly condemns, as idolatry, the making and worshipping of images; and Popish doctors and priests see well enough, that if it were allowed to get into the hands of the common people, they, having more conscience than their leaders, could not avoid seeing how contrary these practices, and the law of the Church which er joined them, are to the will of God-and that thus the power of the priestcraft might be endangered. And, therefore, they resolve to suppress it altogether. The following evidence of Dr Doyle, a Romish bishop, on this subject, when examined before Parliament in 1825, is well worthy of perusal. It will be observed, that he not only admits the suppression, but defends it :— "You are aware that the Second Commandment, as it stands in the catechism of the Established Church, is taken verbatim from the established version of the Scripture? Ans. Yes; I believe it is. Ques. Is there not in the Douay version of the Scriptures a similar portion, though somewhat differently expressed? Ans. There is. Ques. Is that portion inserted at all in the decalogue? Ans. Yes; it is in our Larger Roman Catholic Catechism; but in those in general use we seek to abridge all the doctrines of Christianity, leaving, at the sametime, sufficient to convey to the tender mind exact notions of the truths which we wish to have conveyed to them. Ques. In point of fact, are the children of the peasantry in Ireland instructed in any catechism which contains any portion of the Scriptures now referred to? Ans. We have four sizes of catechisms-the first size, the second size, and the third size, and what we call the Abridgment of Christian Doctrine. In the three smaller ones I do not find the entire words which we find in Exodus put down at length; but I find that the substance of them is clearly put down in the larger or third size, and in the Abridgment; but I am not certain the commandments are given at full length except in the Abridgment. Ques. Have the goodness to state the words which you conceive convey the substance of the passages which are omitted in the smaller catechisms. Are they any other but I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods but me ? Ans. No; I believe not; these are quite sufficient. Ques. You consider these words are commensurate with the Second Commandment according to the authorized version? Ans. Certainly I do; for that latter part of the commandment is rather a ceremonial part, than one founded upon the law of nature. The law of nature and the positive law of God forbid idolatry, but the very making of images seems to have been prohibited to the Jewish people on account of their propensity to idolatry. Now, when idolatry had ceased throughout the greater part of the earth, and the religion of Christ was established in its place,

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there was no necessity for inculcating that ceremonial part on a new people, who had been far removed from the revolting idea of worshipping things made by the hands of man. Therefore, that part which is founded on the law of nature is retained, and that part which was more ceremonial than derived from the nature of man, or the wisdom of God, is left out, because no longer necessary for the new people. Therefore, I conceive, that the commandment in its present shape, contains all the doctrine necessary to be conveyed to the people of God in these our times, and that the addition respecting the making of images is quite unnecessary now as a matter of instruction" in the faith."

Can anything be conceived more profane and presumptuous than this ?-the Church of Rome and Dr Doyle abrogating the commandments of God!

In some of the catechisms used in Scotland, the commandment is inserted, evidently from fear of the exposure which would follow its omission. But in Dr Butler's Catechism, which is in general use in Ireland, there is not a word of it. Mr Godkin, a converted Popish priest, states, he was much surprised when he first read the Second Commandment in the Bible-never having before heard of its existence.

We may add, that though Rome thus deletes one of the commandments, she has still ten-supplying the omission of the second by the dividing the tenth into two-a division, however, so evidently unnatural and absurd, that in their catechisms, the two are generally considered together as the ninth and tenth, instead of separately, as is the case with the other eight. Thus in the Douay Catechism, one question asked is: "What are the Ninth and Tenth Commandments?"

IV. She denies the sole authority of the Bible.-She not only maintains that tradition is equal in authority to Scripture, but actually asserts that she herself has a right to issue commandments, which shall be as binding on the consciences of men as those which the Bible contains, and the transgression of which shall be sanctioned by even a greater penalty. Thus, in one of the most cautiously worded of all the Romish catechisms-a catechism which bears upon it the imprimatur of the Pope's legate, the mandate of the Archbishop of Paris, and the decree of Napoleon (in whose time it was published)—all enjoining it to be taught in the Romish churches of France the following questions occur:

"Ques. Has the Church the power of making commandments? Ans. Yes, undoubtedly. Ques. How many commandments of the Church are there? Ans. Six. Ques. Repeat them? Ans. 1. Thou shalt keep the holy days which are commanded. 2. Thou shalt attend mass on Sundays, and holy days likewise. 3. Thou shalt confess all thy sins at least once a year. 4. Thou shalt receive thy Creator with humility at least at Easter. 5. Thou shalt fast on ember weeks, vigils, and the whole Lent. 6. Thou shalt eat meat neither Friday nor Saturday.”

Then follows a regular and lengthened exposition of these six commandments, of which the following is a specimen :

"Ques. Repeat the Sixth Commandment? Ans. Thou shalt eat meat neither Friday nor Saturday. Ques. What does this commandment forbid? Ans. Eating meat on Fridays and Saturdays without necessity, under pain of mortal sin.”

We need scarcely remind our readers of what we have already shown them, that to trangress the law of God, by lying, stealing, meditating murder, &c., is reckoned by the Church mere venial sin; while the eating of meat on Fridays, against the commandments of the Church, is thus declared to be mortal. The same doctrine is taught in all the other Romish catechisms which take up the subject.

We

Thus does Rome not only raise her own commandments to a level with those of God; she raises them even above these. We might give many additional proofs of this revolting part of her doctrine. might refer to the power which she claims of dispensing with promises and oaths; to the decree of the Council of Trent, which declares that the Church has a right to dispense with the laws of Scripture regarding the marriages of relatives, and also a right to forbid marriages as unlawful which Scripture sanctions. But we forbear. Rome does not deny her guilt in this matter. She glories in it.

HINTS TO YOUNG MEN IN LARGE TOWNS. In a previous paper we addressed a few words of advice to parents on the subject of sending their sons to large towns; we now propose to throw out a few hints to the young men themselves; and, for the sake of brevity, we shall arrange our remarks under different heads.

Religious Duties.-If it is possible to conceive of any one class that more than another require the shield of religion, it is young men coming from the country into large towns. Under any circumstances, youth is a dangerous period of life; but in the case of those upon whom new scenes are suddenly disclosed, and when the disclosure takes place contemporaneously with the emancipation of the youth from all kind of restraint, it will easily be perceived that the dangers that fall to be encountered are of no ordinary magnitude. Bold measures must at once be resorted to the youth must, at the very beginning, take his stand on the firm ground of Christian principle. From the very outset of his city life, he must show distinctly, by his words, actions, and companions, that if not already possessed of a renewed nature, he is striving to attain to it. Such an intimation may be made without the least particle of ostentation or officious parade of piety; for neither religion nor irreligion can be hid, and both, in the ordinary current of human affairs, will spontaneously develop themselves. Early decision is of inestimable importance, and that for a variety of reasons. Among others take the following: A decided testimony in favour of religion, when modestly but firmly emitted, and, above all, when consistently persevered in, overawes vicious companions, and in time compels them to give up their "enticements." If they find you invulnerable, they will, sooner than you anticipate, leave off troubling you, and lay themselves out for more accessible prey. No general wastes time in trying to take an impregnable fortress; but, should any assailable point be discovered, no effort will be spared to effect an entrance, and the raising of the siege will be protracted indefinitely. So, in like manner, if any fissure be discernible in your walk and conversa

tion after you have made a profession of religion, depend upon it that dart after dart will be levelled at the crevice, for the purpose of making you their own. But more especially is decision necessary at the beginning, on account of the cruel use that will afterwards be made of any false step that you may now take. Of all the obstacles which impede the progress of the young disciple this is the most distressing. When the ways of heavenly wisdom come to be felt as not only those of peace, but pleasantness, conscience will sometimes conjure up gloomy phantoms of remorse at past misdeeds, committed in more heedless days; and the torture thus self-inflicted is hard enough to bear; but when the spirit of malignity stirs up a tempter to reproach him with the sin, j, the wound is probed with a violence which mere earthly philosophy will not be able to withstand. The glistening snail that draws itself slowly over a cherished flower, is not more loathsome than the dark shadow that thus passes over the fair robe of a now spotless reputation. The devils in human form who, in London and elsewhere, teach children to steal, are never sure of their victims till they get them actually to put forth their hands, and then the feeling of self-respect once destroyed, the downward course to destruction is ever afterwards pursued. Many a promising disciple has made shipwreck of his faith, from having been enticed into the commission of some gross action; and although certainly not so common, some have also been known to "look back," because of the pertinacity with which former iniquities have been cast in their teeth. Early and prayerful circumspection prevents all this; but if it should happen that you are overtaken in a fault, go not to the bottom of a hill simply because you may have stumbled at the top. Back! back at once!-you may yet be saved. Science will tell you that the velocity of falling bodies is as the square of the period of descent; and Religion will tell you that spiritual declension observes laws of a somewhat similar kind. Each successive step of downward progress paves the way for that fearful acceleration of speed which will hurl the sinner like lightning to the abyss that yawns below. Resist, then, that fatalism with which men are often smitten when they go astray, and which leads them in despair to think that once they have gone wrong, they must of necessity involve themselves deeper and deeper, till irrecoverably lost. The struggle may not be sufficient to place you at once on the vantage-ground you originally occupied; but if you can stop short when about to commit even one sin, grace may be given you to regain more than your former ground by Him who knows your weakness.

One of the best preservatives against temptation is active religious duty. "An idle brain is the devils / workshop;" and although, from your business-engagements, you may have little time at your disposal, yet, that little improperly disposed of may cause your ruin. Choose out for yourself a faithful pastor, and statedly attend on his ministrations. A common and pernicious habit amongst young men is to wander about from church to church, running after every stranger that comes to town-a practice which may i gratify a passion for novelty, but which, by exciting! the mind to an undue degree, will tend seriously to