but grace, in the strength of heaven's great Architect, assisted him to build a great bridge across the things of time and sense, and to enter, by faith, into that holy place where he that overcometh shall sit down even with the Lord the king for ever and

ever.

It was about this time that Mr. Vernon received a sealed letter from his unknown correspondent: it bore no date, and was in the Italian language.

66 TO THE REV. L. T. VERNON.

"Sir,-How shall I sufficiently thank you for your kind letter? Your extreme consideration having permitted me again to address you, I willingly avail myself of your goodness; and, in requesting you to reply to the following questions, I can only beg you will excuse the great trouble I give you, from my excessive ignorance upon many topics which indeed ought to be familiar to me. With very great difficulty I obtained a New Testament for a short time; and have been thus able to peruse a considerable part

of the scriptures, to which you refer. I regret, however, to state that I have been unable to retain it, my confessor having obliged me again to relinquish the holy volume.

Do

not blame, but pity me. It is no easy matter for one of our church, on the one hand anxious to obtain knowledge, and on the other to withstand the express commands of his spiritual adviser. I have read your valuable letter, very frequently; much of its contents were entirely new to me, particularly on the doctrine of the nature and efficacy of divine grace. I do not wish to offend you, but truth demands that I should observe that these doctrines were condemned by our church, i. e., in the manner in which you appear to me to understand them. The same opinions were advocated by Jansenius, bishop of Ypres, who doubtless was well-intentioned, but endeavoured to sow discord in our most holy church. Protestants have shown no small favour for his writings, as well as others of his followers, of whom Pascal, Nicole, Arnaud, Quesnel, are amongst the most celebrated.

"Nevertheless, I am far from feeling satisfied, and shall, I confess it to you, redouble my acts of penance? Still I must persevere, though I know not the issue. The church anathematises those who declare that the just ought not to expect a reward for his good works;' though as yet I receive no comfort to my soul, perhaps it may be reserved for me in another world. I dare not assent to your opinions, and still I am anxious to learn more of your belief: it may be I have greatly erred in my apprehension of it.

“Till very lately I have refused all communication with such as our church esteems (pardon the expression) heretics;' but I am greatly distressed in mind by the open profligacy of some of her members, as well as lament my too great incredulity concerning a miracle with which the faithful are much engrossed here. O that I could implicitly believe, as they do, the works of God, and as recognised by the holy successor of St. Peter! I am ashamed to send this unconnected letter to you: I must ask you to accept illness as

an excuse. I am able to write but a few lines at long intervals. If you will further devote some part of your precious time to the wants of a lone sufferer, will you answer this epistle? and, if I should not live to trace another word, receive the expression of the esteem of your unhappy, but ever obliged,

"LUDOVICO DI BERONI."

It will not, we trust, be uninteresting to the reader to subjoin Mr. Vernon's reply.

66

"TO SIGNOR LUDOVICO DI BERONI.

"Ashton Rectory, Oct. 183-.

My dear Sir, I lose no time in answering your letter. Believe me, I am in no way ' offended' by your attributing to me a similar belief as Jansenius. I am, however, anxious to assure you that in many respects we totally differ. I am a Protestant, a member of the Church of England; and I need scarcely recal to your mind that the Jansenists considered Protestants as heretics.' Far be it from me to deny the praise due to men of holy lives, such as those to whom

6

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you refer; and I honour them as far as they honoured the glorious Author and finisher of our faith. I may not do more, and truth compels me to say that, much as there is to admire in their lives and in their writings, they are deeply tinged with superstition and fanaticism."

66

"In support of what I have said, I would instance the conduct of the Abbot of St. Cyran, who, undertaking to conquer the heretics, (Protestants,) with his nephew, Martin di Bacos, being constrained to peruse, to this intent, a great many of their writings, before venturing to open a book written by a Protestant, he marked on it the sign of the cross, to expel the evil spirit.* St. Cyran's notions on prayer are very far from just; and I should err did I pass over in silence his opinion that men ought to obey 'the first motions and impulses of their minds

* Vide Lancelot, Memoires de la vie de M. St. Cyran, tom. i. p. 226. Il lisoit ces livres avec tant de piété qu'en les prenant, il les exorcisoit toujours, en faisant le signe de la croix dessus, ne doutant point que le demon n'y résidoit actuellement.'