grow rich, and what he would have men to do with their wealth. The Bible writes as with a sunbeam the curse and the provocation of selfishness. To be selfish, therefore, is to fly directly in the face of God, and set him at defiance, and provide for punishment.

Under these convictions we feel that so long as we have the opportunity of speaking to our fellowChristians, we must urge them by every argument we adduce, to do their utmost, each in his respective sphere, to diminish the sum total of our national delinquency, aud the consequent danger of our national judgments. We are solemnly impressed with the conviction, that it will not be out of place, and that all will be little enough if we occupy every department of our labours for the press with an urgent call to our fellow-Christians to get more and more out of the limits of their petty selfishness, and, in the comprehensive meaning of the term, to "consider the poor and needy." We best consult our own happiness in so doing, and most assuredly our safety. The times loudly call upon us to "make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness." How soon may our opportunities for so doing be snatched from us. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh, shall find occupying his talent faithfully and efficiently.

Now, to do this properly, we have to consider our means, and the claims which most directly attach to us. With respect to the latter, we are well aware of the duty of guarding against the accumulation of new enterprises of benevolence to the detriment of old established institutions. It is a fact never to be lost sight of, that we can scarcely turn an eye to a single religious institution which could not be largely extending its usefulness if it had the means. If the Church Missionary Society, for instance, has its £100,000 a-year, who that reads the Reports attentively does not see that if it had its £200,000 a-year, or even more, it has openings, and calls, and fields of usefulness which would take it all. We cannot contemplate the realization of so vast a sum as the present with any degree of satisfac

tion. It is impossible, while we couple with it the thought, that there is far more left undone than is at present in hand; and the thought, too, that there is wealth enough in England to do all that the world needs for its evangelization, without intrenching on the real well-doing of any dispenser of God's bounty. Our old institutions, therefore, which, with all their feebleness and inadequacy, are the best bulwarks of our nation, must be kept up, and enlarged, and rendered more available. How easily would this be effected, if our wealthy merchants and prosperous manufacturers rightly understood the proportions of charity, and the luxuries of charity, and the riches of charity! If, instead of setting alongside the sovereign subscription of a poor burdened pastor, another sovereign, they would consider whether it would not be in better proportion, and better every way, to give a hundred or a thousand sovereigns; if, instead of making haste to grow rich for their own aggrandizement and selfishness, they would begin to make haste to be rich for God, and his poor, and a perishing world; as good stewards; as men who have done with seeking their own things, and are now seeking the things which are Jesus Christ's. There would be nothing unreasonable in all this; none will think so by and bye. And, most assuredly, there would be a present luxury in it, unknown to those who are only rich to themselves, and laying up treasure for this world. This, then, is manifestly the first duty -to uphold and enlarge existing institutions.

Yet there are other cases specially demanding our sympathy and aid; and some, because they present a peculiar obligation, and we would add, a call to remove our arrears of neglected succour. Of such a character is the case before us. We owe a debt we can never repay, to those who were valiant for the truth in the days of the Reformation, and who, not counting their lives dear to them, formed its depository in the fastnesses of the Alpine vallies, when it had well-nigh perished out of the earth. Here, then, is a debt to discharge, and we think our readers will not

consider that we have gone too far in promising them an abundant treat from this little source of historical information, or failed to set before them a legitimate call to practical sympathy and co-operation.

We must first give our readers the exact position of the valley to which the work before us refers :

"Bregaglia (in Latin, Prægallia, the foremost part of Gallia Cisalpina,) is one of the three valleys of the Grisons, which border on Italy, and whose inhabitants speak Italian. This valley is about five leagues long, very narrow, enclosed by very high mountains, and contains six parishes, the most northerly of which is Casaccia. Then come Vicosoprano, Stampa, Bondo, Soglio, and Castasegna, which last. is only two leagues distant from Chiavenna, the first large town in Italy after crossing the Splügen. Bregaglia has about 1800 inhabitants; the northern part of the valley consists of Alps (pasture land), but the southern part presents quite different scenery. Owing to the mild Italian climate that reigns there, a majestic wood of chesnut trees, which has scarce its like, adorns the southwestern slope of the mountain, about a league long, and in the gardens figs are cultivated. The inhabitants of Bregaglia have the same language and natural vivacity as the Italians, but not the same character and manners, which is no doubt to be ascribed to their being Protestants, and living under a free government. It must be confessed that the language spoken is a very corrupt dialect, which the Romanese inhabitants of Engadin understand with more facility than the natives of Tuscany. The people, however, understand good Italian, which is spoken by the ministers in their sermons, and in which their Bible, Prayer - Book, Catechism, Hymnbook, and other religious works are printed."

The past history of Bregaglia is very interesting :

"The light of the Reformation penetrated into this valley from Italy, from whence in earlier times the knowledge of the Gospel came. Bartolommeo Maturo was perhaps the

first Reformer of the valley. He had been prior of a Dominican convent at Cremona, and on renouncing Popery preached the Gospel in the Valteline. Having been accused to the Diet which met at Ilanz in 1529, and sentenced to banishment, he found a friend in the deputy of Bregaglia, under whose protection he preached the Gospel in Bregaglia. He was pastor of Vicosoprano and Stampa, two of the present communes of the valley, and continued here till 1547.

"Among the most distinguished of the Italian exiles was Pietro Paolo

Vergerio, formerly Bishop of Capo d'Istria, and legate of Popes Clement VII. and Paul III. in Germany. He had an interview in 1533 with Luther, at Wittemberg, who said to him, in reference to the Council of Trent, "You Papists toil and labour in vain with your plots and schemes; for in your councils you do not deliberate about wholesome doctrines, neither of sacraments nor of faith, which alone saves and justifies; nor of decent behaviour and conduct, but only of foolish and childish matters; how long the garments of the clergy should be, how broad the girdle, and how much of the crown of the head should be shaven; how monks and nuns are to be reformed and subjected to severer discipline; and about the distinction of meats and drinks, and such like children's things." Luther spoke in this way, Vergerio turned aside, and, supporting his head with his hand, said to one of his suite,He has hit the nail on the head.' The chief events in the life of this extraordinary man are, however, so well known, that I will only remark that he came into Bregaglia in 1549, and was, during five years, minister of Vicosoprano, from which he made frequent excursions into other parts of the valley, the Valteline, Chiavenna, &c., in order to pave the way for the Reformation. Lower Bregaglia first embraced the evangelical doctrines, and, in 1552, the mass was abolished and Popery renounced in Upper Bregaglia."

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"It appears that at the Council of Trent, it was determined to root out the evangelical party in the Italian

valleys of the Grisons, and in the three provinces subjected to it, in order to prevent the contagion of their doctrines; but if this was not the case, many circumstances prove that the attention of Rome was particularly directed to this part. In 1561, Pope Pius IV. sent a nuncio to the Grisons, who demanded that those of the evangelical party who had fled from Italy should not be suffered to remain in the Valteline, &c., and that none should be allowed in future to seek a refuge there. The Diet, however, rejected the demand, because the exiles, as much as was known of them, had committed no crime." * * *

"It may be here remarked, that it is calculated that, in the year 1550, the exiles amounted to two hundred, of whom a fourth or a fifth part were men of letters, and those of not the meanest name. Before the year 1559, the number increased to eight hundred, and from that time to the year 1568, we have reason to believe that the increase was fully as great in proportion; and down to the close of the century, individuals were to be seen after short intervals flying to the north to escape the fires of the Inquisition.

"Rome could find no better instrument for rooting out Protestantism in these parts than Cardinal Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, who did all he could to place Italian priests in the Valteline, Chiavenna, Bormio, Misocco, &c., where, according to a resolution of the Diet of the Grisons, only priests, citizens of the Republic and of the Swiss Confederacy, were to be tolerated. The property of the evangelical party was often seized in the territory of Milan. An evangelical merchant of Chiavenna was seized at Cremona (whither he went on business), sent to the galleys, and there suffered death by drowning. In 1568, Francis Cellerio, the Reformed minister of Morbegno, in the Valteline, was seized on the Lake of Como, on his return from the synod, dragged to Milan, and notwithstanding the intercession of the government of the Grisons, who sent ambassadors there, was delivered to the Inquisition at Rome, and burnt there. În 1572 the Reformed pastor of Millio was shot at in the pulpit, as he was preaching,

by two monks. Many similar instances of the tender mercies of Rome might be here cited, but these are enough. I will, however, remark, that the practice of man-stealing by the Popish party was, during a course of years, a subject of continued complaint from the Diet of the Grisons, and not only exiles from Italy, but citizens of the Republic, were carried off."

"I will here observe, that the number of Protestant churches to the south of the Alps, up to the end of the sixteenth century, appears to have exceeded twenty, which were for the most part served by exiles from Italy.

"The Protestants in these parts were not a little alarmed when the news reached their valleys of the massacre of St. Bartholomew. The Chevalier Hercules de Salis, of Soglio, in Bregaglia, showed his sympathy with the fate of his persecuted brethren in France, in a way that deserves to be recorded. After serving France many years as an eminent and faithful warrior, he returned to his parental valley, receiving a pension from the French government for his distinguished services. He resided at Soglio, when the news was brought him of the massacre, and hastening immediately over the mountains to Coire, a distance of twenty leagues, in one day, declared to the French ambassador residing there, that he would no longer accept a pension from the faithless King Charles, who was the murderer of his brethren; and then returned to Soglio. All the endeavours of France to induce him to change his resolution proved fruitless. An old ballad preserves the remembrance of this event among the people. The inhabitants of Bregaglia, as well as those of other parts of the Grisons, gave a friendly reception to those of their brethren who, having escaped the massacre, came into these parts. The parish books of Castasegna contain many notices of the arrival of Huguenots; the family of Curtini, in Bondo, are descended from these, and only a few years since a female died in Castasegna, of the name of Conte, who was descended from the famous family of that name. These poor

exiles, no doubt, soon felt at home in Lower Bregaglia, as it has great resemblance to their former home; and chesnuts, as there, are the chief food of the inhabitants.

"The memorable Valteline massacre, which was a kind of Bartholomew's night, happened July 20, 1620. As this event is well known, I will only remark, that the massacre commenced at Teglio, when the Protestants were assembled in the church, and the minister was shot dead in the midst of prayer, and the congregation murdered. As some escaped into the steeple, the church stools were broken up, a fire kindled, and they perished by suffocation, or being burnt alive. About six hundred were massacred on this occasion in different parts of the Valteline, and a great many besides lost their lives through being exposed to the severity of the weather, and from huager in wandering about the mountains. Those who escaped found a friendly reception in the Grisons, St. Gall, Berne, Geneva, and particularly Zurich, where Paravicini preached to them every Sunday in Italian. The loss by the Grisons of the Valteline was the consequence of this massacre. Austrian, Spanish, French, and Papal troops kept this part in possession for nearly twenty years. The government of the Grisons, in their long and various negociations respecting the return of these parts under their authority, stipulated for the religious liberty of the Reformed party. The people of Bregaglia had, from 1620 to 1630, much to suffer for their faith. Their valley, as well as other parts of the Grisons, where Austria had still some possessions, were devastated by Austrian and Spanish troops in 1621 and 1622, under Baldiron, who proclaimed himself openly the executor of the decrees of the Council of Trent, seeking in all possible ways the extermination of Protestantism, but he found, happily, great firmness from this part of the inhabitants. The people of the valley were plundered, and only allowed to make peace on condition that they should abstain from all public worship. Pastor Paravicini, who preached, notwithstanding, one Sunday in Vicosoprano, was seized

and delivered to the Inquisition in Rome. In 1624 the commander of the Papal troops, who had his quarters in the Valteline and Chiavenna, compelled the inhabitants of Bregaglia to dismiss their ministers, and gave the churches to Capuchin monks, who were, however, not able, with all their threatenings and flatteries, to bring back the people under the yoke of Rome. The word of God was indeed taken out of their houses and hands, but not out of their hearts, where it had taken deep root. History does not inform us how long the Capuchins exercised their sway in Bregaglia; but it is probable that this valley obtained again much of its liberty in 1630, when Duke Rohan came to the Grisons as extraordinary ambassador of France, and who was afterwards commander of the French troops in the Valteline and Chiavenna. thing is certain, that the inhabitants of Lower Engadin used the presence of the duke, who was himself a Protestant, to recall their exiled evangelical pastors. The inhabitants of Bregaglia have, since this time, at least as far as it is known, been undisturbed in the possession of their religious liberty, and have always shown themselves steadfast friends of the Protestant cause."

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"The first printing presses erected in the Grisons was at Poschiavo, and which contributed greatly to the progress of the Reformation, and was the cause of many complaints from the Papal court. The first work printed was in 1552, and the Italian translation of the New Testament, by Beveroni, appeared in 1560. On the night of April the 25th, 1623 (scarcely three years after the Valteline massacre), a blood-thirsty multitude, headed by a Popish priest, came from the Valteline to Poschiavo, in order to massacre the Protestants in this valley. They had, however, fortunately, notice of the plan, so that the most were able to escape into Engadin, and only twenty-six perished. Poschiavo contains at present a population of 1,300 Protestants, and 1,900 Roman Catholics; and Brusio 300 Protestants, and 700 Roman Catholics. These two communes are particularly exposed

to the attacks of Popery, and the exasperation of the Romanists in the spring of last year (1845) was so great that the Protestants were obliged to go armed to church, and to place a guard before the doors. I regret that my time did not allow us to visit this part, but I hope to do this before long. From my conversation with persons acquainted with this valley, particularly with a minister formerly settled in this part, we are able to state that most of the remarks we shall have to make regarding Bregaglia, can apply also to these two communes."

Who can read the foregoing particulars without feeling his faith encouraged in the reality of Christ's power and love, which enable his followers to continue stedfast in the faith amidst the greatest difficulties and temptations to swerve from it?

But we must hasten to the present condition of this interesting people. Dr. Marriott says :

"In perhaps no part of the Continent is the Sunday better observed than in Bregaglia, and a traveller passing through it finds most of the houses closed. At the sound of the bells, old and young hasten to church, and those who through residence in other parts have learned to love the world, must, on their return to their native valley, attend regularly divine service; for the reason of any one being absent is always a matter of enquiry, and the whole valley would speak its anathema,' as one of the ministers wrote me, 6 on a person who seldom or never went to church, and absented himself from the Lord's table.' The inhabitants of the valley frequent not merely the morning service on a Sunday, but also the catechising, and the sermons, and prayermeetings during the week. In some of the churches there is a sermon on Sunday evening. All married females and grown-up young women generally present at the catechising, and these latter frequently, as well as the children, repeat portions of the catechism, which is explained by the minister. The grown-up young men do not do this, as the greater part of them go into foreign parts after their confirmation, and on their return are

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too proud to submit to it. The young people, as well as their mothers, remain after the catechising, from halfan-hour to an hour, in order to sing psalms and spiritual songs. The psalms form the chief part of the singing, and were put into rhyme by an Italian exile, during his residence in Bregaglia. At the commencement of divine service, the school children of both sexes repair to the choir on the minister giving out the hymn, and stand round the baptismal font, singing first a hymn of Trizzoni, or Planta, and then a few verses of a psalm, the singing of which is usually led by the schoolmaster. There are no organs in the churches. The congregation take but little part in the singing, which must, however, be ascribed in some measure to the great want of hymn-books. There is great need of improvement in the singing in most if not all the parishes of Bregaglia, and which will no doubt be effected, as the children in the schools receive at present better instruction in this branch than formerly, and the ministers give themselves trouble in improving it. Even now the Roman Catholic inhabitants of Lombardy, residing in the neighbouring villages of Castasegna, listen to it at the church-doors with the greatest interest, notwithstanding the strictest commands of their priests to the contrary; and are able on this comparatively indifferent point to convince themselves that Protestantism possesses something that supplies all the jingle of the Roman Catholic worship. Divine service is held in nearly all the churches of the valley throughout the year on Saturday evenings, and from New Year's Day to Easter during the week, both of which are well attended, not merely by the women, but also by the men, except in Stampa, which arises from the inhabitants being much scattered, and the great distance the people have to go to attend church. Good Friday is strictly kept, which is not the case in most parts of Switzerland, where the day preceding is celebrated; and in the afternoon of that day the yearly confirmation of the youth takes place in the church, whereas in many other parts of Switzerland this rite is of a