The golden prayer book; or, A manual of spiritual devotion: to which are added a collection of English hymns, the vesper psalms and hymns &c., eompiled by a priest

ance, would counterfeit a Christian in a Christian congregation.

Hence in Rome, where the Jews are tolerated, they are never forced to go to Mass; and in France and other countries, where there are many Calvinist and Lutheran servants, and no place of their own way of worship convenient, they are left at full liberty on Sundays to worship God in the manner most agreeable to themselves.

To profess a religion, it is not sufficient that it be true in itself, the person who professes it must also believe it to be true; for although it be true that Christ is the Son of God, yet the Jew who disbelieves it would be guilty of idolatry, if in a congregation of Christians he pretended to pay him divine worship. To burn a grain of incense, or to enter a splendid temple, were merely in themselves harmless and innocent actions; but when either the one or the other served as a distinctive mark that a person had renounced his religion, or had become an occasional conformist, therein consisted the crime.

The situation of Catholic servants in several parts of England is much to be regretted: to be deprived of a place for the public exercise of their religion, in a kingdom where their ancestors had raised so many noble fabrics, several of which are still extant, to the worship of God, is their misfortune, but not their fault; but the want of priests or chapels in this or any other country, can by no means justify the Catholic servant who joins in the religious worship of others; because in so doing he would tacitly deny his own religion, and give scandal even to Protestants themselves, who would consider him as an egregious hypocrite who imposes on the congregation. He does not concern himself in the question, whether the religion, in whose worship he is requested to join, be true or false, or whether its professors be in the right or wrong road to heaven; it is their business, not his,

to make such an inquiry; it is sufficient that he believes his own religion to be the true one, and that he has a well-grounded confidence, if he lives according to its precepts, of obtaining eternal salvation.

But if it be the main point to do every thing to edification, he who believes his own religion to be the true religion, and now and then, through complaisance, makes open profession of another, such a person, instead of edifying, scandalizes both parties. As God is every where present to hear his creatures, and relieves them in their necessities, would it not be more edifying that Catholic servants, circumstanced as they are in this country, should say their prayers, or read the holy scriptures at home, (for it is not the reading, but a false interpretation of them, that is forbidden by the Catholic church,) than to exhibit themselves as public objects of scandal to Protestants as well as Catholics? for although, on the absurd and fallacious conception of charity (so prevalent in this enlightened age,) which puts all religions indiscriminately on a level, by asserting that the terms of salvation are not confined to one system more than to another; although some, say, on this LATITUDINARIAN principle, might not consider them as double-dealing dissemblers, or temporising hypocrites, yet others infallibly would,

A. O'LEARY.