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Let apartments be provided for inmates of different ranks-those of the higher class being furnished with all those elegancies and conveniences to which they have been accustomed-such as books, music, drawing, newspapers, &c., and having free access to the gardens or pleasure-grounds of the premises; and let the apartments for the working-classes be supplied with all the tools and apparatus necessary for enabling them to carry on their respective trades; and let visitors be appointed to examine the working of the establishment, at periodical intervals, to see that the regulations are rigidly enforced; the inmates to consist of two classes-those who, like the man mentioned by Dr. Guthrie, voluntarily offer themselves, as the only means of being liberated from an intolerable bondage, and those who may be confined by warrant of the sheriff, on the application of their friends, and after the case has been properly investigated. I am persuaded that not a few victims of intemperance would gladly avail themselves of such a retreat; and, as they passed within the gate, would feel like the bird which has escaped from the snare of the fowler, and would begin to breathe the air of liberty. It was once my privilege to attend on a confirmed drunkard, who had been sentenced to some weeks' imprisonment in our burgh jail for a petty theft; and I shall never forget the satisfaction which he repeatedly expressed to me, at being placed, during the period of his confinement, beyond the reach of temptation. No stimulant of any kind being allowed in the prison, he told me his appetite for food was restored, his general health was improved, and his spirits were less depressed than they had been for years. And I have often thought, that, had it been legal to have prolonged the term of his imprisonment, at least for a year, he might have been restored to his family and friends, like the man who had the legion, "clothed and in his right mind." But, alas! the period of restraint was too short to subdue the old habit; and no sooner were the doors of his cell opened, than he found his way to his old haunts, and returned, "like the dog, to his vomit." I have also before my eye a young man, respectably connected, and of superior talents for business, who had been promoted in one of our public offices, for some improvement by which he greatly facilitated certain calculations, who yet became an early victim to this fell destroyer, and died, in a very hopeless state, at the age of twenty-seven; his last words being, "Give me my cutter;"-a cant term which he applied to a small bottle of spirits which he kept under his pillow, and which his attendants in vain attempted to remove : and at this moment two other members of the same family are hastening, from the same cause, to an untimely grave, in a state of pitiable imbecility both of body and of mind. For such cases there seems to be no remedy but permanent restraint, and complete seclusion from the means of indulgence.

It may be asked, how long it would be necessary to continue such restraint? This, of course, would depend on circumstances, and might be regulated, as in cases of insanity, by the advice of the medical attendants. Those voluntarily offering themselves might be allowed to prolong their stay indefinitely. As a general rule, the term of confinement might be extended from one to three years. A permanent cure

could hardly be expected in any case in less than twelve months; and where the habit had been of long standing, three or four years might be required. It is certain that, after a lengthened period of probation, the taste for intoxicating liquors may be greatly weakened, if not wholly eradicated. I remember conversing with an aged female, who had been suspended from church communion in the place where she resided, many years before, in consequence of falling into intemperate habits. This act of discipline seems to have been blessed as the means of recovering her from this snare; and for a lengthened course of years she maintained a humble, sober, and consistent deportment. I asked her if she did not feel it a difficult task to conquer her former habits? said, at first it was; but now she had lost all inclination for spirituous liquors-nay, she could not bear the taste of them; and though a bottle were standing on her table, it would cost her no effort to abstain from it; she would as soon think of drinking poison. And I had every reason to believe she spoke the truth.

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It may be asked, how is the expense of such establishments to be provided for? Now, if the cost to the country, of spirituous liquors, as Dr. Guthrie shows, cannot be estimated at much less than seventy millions of pounds sterling yearly, the Government, which so liberally provides places of punishment, in the shape of bridewells, jails, and convict establishments, and which has spent such vast sums in the erection of workhouses, where the poor are maintained in idleness, at a ruinous cost,-the Government, I say, could not consistently refuse the necessary funds for providing places of cure and reform for the drunkard. The buildings and grounds might be furnished at the public expense, and the establishment might, with careful management, prove self-supporting. The more wealthy inmates would of course be required to pay a handsome board; the profits of which might go far to defray the expense of management; while those belonging to the working-class might be able to maintain themselves, by the labour of their own hands, at their respective callings; and as the generality of drunkards are men of superior talent, and first-rate workmen in their own department of business, the surplus of their labour might be sold for the benefit of their wives and children, who are now allowed to starve, or are left as a burden on the public.

The number of such institutions would of course be regulated by the demand. Let the experiment first be made in one model establishment, and the success that might be expected from its proper working, would of course lead to the opening of others, in various districts, according to the exigencies of the case, on the same principle that has regulated the number of lunatic asylums. Thus, in process of time, every victim of intemperance would have access to" a city of refuge," within the walls of which he would be secure from the pursuit of the fell destroyer. I am aware that certain establishments of this kind already exist in various parts of the country, in the shape of private boarding-houses; but the grand defect of these retreats is, that they have no power to receive or to retain inmates, without their own consent; and they are conducted on too limited and expensive a scale to allow of the poorer classes

deriving any advantage from them. If I remember rightly, I have read somewhere that houses of refuge, of the kind I plead for, publicly authorized and regularly licensed, are to be found in certain parts of Germany; and perhaps some of your readers could give information whether this be indeed the case, and on what principle they are conducted. The experience of other parts of the world would assist us in attempting an experiment of the same kind in our own country.

Of course everything should be done to render such institutions schools of reform, in the highest sense of the word, by promoting the intellectual, moral, and religious improvement of the inmates during the period of their confinement. Besides being supplied with a regular chaplain, whose duty it would be to conduct devotional exercises through the week, and to hold public services on the Lord's day, as well as to labour for the spiritual benefit of the patients indi.. vidually, let periodical lectures be delivered, by properly qualified persons, more directly bearing on the evils of intemperance, and illustrative of the baneful effects of spirituous liquors on the physical system, as well as on the moral constitution. This is a subject which has been amply and ably discussed, of late years, by our Temperance Lecturers, but from whose labours, alas! the intemperate have hitherto derived but little advantage, from their unwillingness to avail themselves of such means of information. But the result might be very different were the same arguments brought to bear upon them within the walls of such an institution, where they could sit with unclouded intellects, and feel the full force of the facts and reasonings that would be brought before them. With a view further to occupy the minds of the inmates, and to give them a taste for higher and nobler pursuits than the gratification of their sensual appetites, the means of instruction might be rendered more varied and attractive by the occasional delivery of lectures on some scientific subject, such as Geology, Astronomy, Chemistry, or Natural History. The medical attendant might also be authorized to prescribe such a course of treatment as would not only be best calculated to restore the healthy tone of the digestive organs, but to produce that loathing of spirituous liquors which it is well known certain medicinal preparations have a tendency to effect.

I have thrown out these few hasty and unconnected hints, not with a view to obstruct the labours of Temperance Associations, or Total Abstinence Societies, whose efforts must be regarded rather as a means of prevention than of cure; but as supplementary to their praiseworthy exertions, and to serve as a basis for future consideration and discussion; and they are now submitted to the candid attention of those who are aiming, by different methods, to stem that torrent of intemperance which threatens to carry all before it, and to swamp the religion, the morality, and the prosperity of our land. St. Andrew's, Yours, sincerely, 23rd January, 1851.

W. LOTHIAN.

BLACKPOOL CHAPEL.

No. I.

SIR,-Your correspondent, "X. Z.", has well remarked, that "there are two ways of pervert

ing the truth," &e., and his letter contains striking proof of the truth of these statements.

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In "X. Z.'s" letter it is said that "the church at Blackpool had a chapel of mean appearance, quite sufficient for their own wants (for they are a small community and poor), but not sufficient for the visitors," &c. They (the visitors) thought it right to build for themselves a chapel," &c. "This they did at their own cost." You will scarcely be prepared to learn that this "small" and " poor community," who already possessed a chapel "sufficient" for themselves, were expected, and agreed, to raise the sum of £200 towards the new chapel, and that a larger amount was actually contributed by them towards this object; yet such is the fact.

"X. Z." goes on to say that the visitors having built this chapel "at their own cost," then made an "offer" to the Blackpool Church. "Our chapel is prettier and more comfortable than yours; you are welcome to its use when we are not wanting it," &c.; and it is added, "This offer the church thankfully accepted." On read. ing this statement I was astounded, and immediately went over to Blackpool to inquire into its truth, and I have no hesitation in declaring it a pure fabrication. No such "offer" was ever made to the church, and therefore it was not "thankfully accepted." The truth is, that the church were not aware of the intended clause in the trust-deed until they had worshipped in the new chapel some time; and as soon as it was known that the trustees were to have the entire control over the pulpit for six months every year, application was made to the district-committee of the County Union for aid in securing their rights, when the following resolution was adopted :

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"That the Committee of the Preston District County Union Meeting having heard with regret, at its annual meeting, holden in Lancaster, February 13th, 1850, that it is proposed to introduce certain clauses into the trust-deed of the new Independent Chapel, Blackpool, giving to the trustees equal power with the church, in the election of a pastor for the church, assembling in the said chapel, and having been earnestly requested by the church at Blackpool (which unanimously and strongly objects to the introduction of the said clauses into the deed) to interfere on its behalf, begs very earnestly to record its protest against the embodiment in the said trust-deed of the said proposed clauses, as alike unscriptural in principle, and opposed to the customs and polity of the Congregational churches of this county."

In addition to this resolution, the church ad. dressed a letter to the trustee-meeting, held in Manchester, February 27th, 1850, expressing their views on the subject, and referring to the fourth and fifth rules of the Declaration of Faith and Church Order, printed in the beginning of their Church Book, and published by the Congregational Union of England and Wales.

The only redress obtained by these appeals was a vote, limiting the authority of the trustees to four months, instead of six, which is embodied in the "deed" as follows:-"And it is hereby further declared, that the trustees alone for the time being of these presents, or the major part of them, may and shall appoint any minister or ministers for supplying the pulpit of the said chapel or meeting-house during the morning and evening services on the Sabbath days of

the months of June, July, August, and September in every year, if they shall think it desirable for the sake of the visitors so to do, and whether there be a stated minister or pastor, or not." A former clause makes it imperative on the deacons to provide not only for the support of the stated pastor, but likewise "in obtaining all other supplies for the pulpit, whether the same are appointed by the said church, or by the trustees hereof," &c. Will it be believed that, in a subsequent part of the same deed, the following principles are set forth: "Fourthly, That every Christian Church has the right of managing its own affairs, independently of the jurisdiction, control, or interference of any other church, or of any ecclesiastical authority whatsoever; and, fifthly, "That the inalienable right is vested in every church of choosing its pastors and teachers?"

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Now, it is because I believe these principles to be scriptural, and because, in the Blackpool Chapel case, there is a departure therefrom, that I have been induced to bring the subject forward. I have no personal or private feelings to gratify. My object is the public good; the desire to prevent the introduction of principles and practices which are alike unscriptural, and opposed to the polity of Independent churches. The church at Blackpool are a weak and feeble body; but I trust that on this account they will receive the more consideration and sympathy from the public, and that their weakness will not be made the ground of an unjustifiable attempt to wrest from them their "inalienable rights."

Some of the trustees are as much opposed to the obnoxious clauses of the deed as myself, and it was not until they learnt that the deed would be valid without their signature that several of them were induced to sign it; whilst (to their honour be it spoken) two of the trustees have persisted in their refusal to sign the document; and one of them addressed a letter to the church, explanatory of his reasons for this conduct, which, but for the fear of trespassing upon your space, I should have been glad to have transcribed.

Having thus defended the statements advanced in my letter, signed "No Popery," and shown that those of "X. Z." are at variance with fact; and also given proof that the clauses of the deed which have called forth my animadversions have been resisted and denounced by the church at Blackpool, I would express the hope that you would raise your voice against the inroad of such evils, which, though commencing in expediency, will ultimately be found to prove injurious to the Church of Christ, being, as I conceive, a departure from the principles which he has laid down in the Scriptures of truth. This is the more necessary, as, if my information be correct, the Blackpool case is not alone. As I am appending my name to this paper, I hope that all future correspondence on this subject will be verified by the signature of the writers. I am, dear Sir, Your's faithfully, SAMUEL BOOTHROYD. Southport, February 10th, 1851.

P.S. I would suggest that, if the subscribers to the chapel were not informed of the intention of its promoters, in reference to the trustdeed, it would only be fair to offer to return the VOL. VIII.

money; and, at all events, the Blackpool people ought not to be expected to contribute towards their own subjugation.

No. II.

SIR-The Independent Church at Blackpool having observed a letter, headed "Blackpool Chapel," &c., and signed" X. Z.," in the February Number of the WITNESS, feel compelled to offer respecting it a few remarks. This they do with considerable reluctance, as it is far from their wish to enter the arena of controversy.

The writer, "X. Z," states that there are two ways of perverting truth, viz., by intention and by carelessness; and that the latter, though not so wicked, may be as injurious as the former. He then reads to you, Sir, a brief homily on the importance of urging upon your correspondents the "strict necessity of inquiry into the truth of the statements they make, especially when these affect religious communities."

The writer strongly reminds us of him who preaches, "Do as I say, and not as I do." Has "X. Z." inquired into the "truth of the statements" which he has made respecting Blackpool Chapel? If he be not a "perverter by intentional falsehood," we do not hesitate to declare that he has not. Had he possessed the very first qualification of a writer, some knowledge of his subject, he could not have made such "random statements" as are found in his letter.

Prior to the year 1846, there had been a good deal of talk about a new chapel at Blackpool. In that year the following appeal was drawn up, printed, and widely circulated :

"To the Inhabitants of Blackpool, the Strangers visiting that place, and the Christian Public generally, the following case is respectfully submitted:

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"It has long been the wish of some of the followers of Christ in Blackpool, and of many who visit it, to erect a neat and commodious Congregational Chapel in the centre of the Their present place of meeting is far too small for the summer population, and its inconvenient situation prevents the invalid from attending it. To further the object contemplated, a committee has been formed to aid in procuring donations, subscriptions, &c., and it is proposed, probably at the expense of £1,500 or £2,000, to erect a chapel, school room, and minister's house. An eligible site has been procured, and it is intended, in the erection of the chapel, that elegance and economy shall be studied; its appearance will be inviting, and its size such as shall meet the wants of an increasing population. Several gentlemen have already signified their intention to contribute, and this appeal is made to the Christian public with the confident hope that, by their liberality and influence, a house for God in character with this interesting watering-place will be raised."

Through this appeal money was contributed in Blackpool, and in most of the towns of Lancashire and West Riding of Yorkshire, and it was contributed under the idea that it was to be a bmâ fide Independent chapel. All the circulars which were issued, and appeals made from 1846 to 1849, were headed," New Independent Chapel, Blackpool." No statement was made that the trust should in anywise differ from those common to Independent places

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of worship. The church at Blackpool contributed and collected to the utmost of their power, believing that the Deed would be similar to that of the chapel they were about to vacate.

It is not true that the visitors alone built the chapel; and built it for themselves. In a circular issued by the Building Committee, dated May, 1849, addressed to the inhabitants of Blackpool, we read-" It is for yourselves-for yourselves exclusively, during winter; and during summer, for yourselves and your visitors, on whose comfortable accommodation your prosperity so much depends."

It is not true that the visitors ever made any offer of the new chapel to the church, saying, "Our chapel is prettier than yours," &c. We ask, whence has "X. Z." got his quotation, for the above words are put in inverted commas ? No such words were ever heard or read by any member of the church until they were read in "X. Z.'8" letter. Is not the putting forth of this as a quotation shamefully deluding the public? The whole is a fabrication. Surely "X. Z," should study the homily with which he began his random expressions.

It was not until the completion of the building, and after the church had occupied it, that they knew of the intention to insert a clause in the trust giving the trustees co-ordinate power with the church in the management of its affairs. Against this clause the church solemnly protested, and its protest was supported by the Independent Churches comprising the Preston district of the Lancashire Union.

These protests were laid before a meeting of trustees and principal subscribers, held in Manchester, February 27th, 1850, at which meeting the above clause was erased. At the same time a motion was carried, that the trustees should have power to choose supplies during four months of the year.

The insolent tone and the offensive epithets which "X. Z." uses we pass over, only intimating that they have been painful to many of us, and injurious to our cause.

We exceedingly regret that we should be dragged before the public by such writers as "X. Z.," as we believe that enemies to our denomination will pervert our discussions, to the damaging of our common cause.

(Signed on behalf of the church,)
RICHARD HODGSON,
JOHN WADE,
Deacons.

The above was adopted at a Church-meeting, held March, 1851.

HOWARD'S FIRST VISIT TO THE CITIES OF THE PLAGUE.

From the Second Lecture, by the Rev. John Corbin, "On the Life and Labours of John Howard, the Philanthropist."

The year 1783, and three parts of 1784, the philanthropist spent at Cardington in comparative rest, though not in indolence; for he had schools and cottages-child, friends, and workpeople-all presenting their claims on his notice, and all sharing his time and attention. But there was one purpose of his life yet unfulfilled. Seven years before, he had indirectly felt some of the terrible consequences of the Plague.

What he had then experienced, and what he afterwards witnessed in visiting some of the hospitals and lazarettos on the Continent, awakened in his mind the desire to do something, if possible, to arrest the progress of that dreadful scourge, and to mitigate the sufferings of those on whom it fell, He had called the attention of the public to the subject, in the last edition of his book, and had tried to stimulate others to undertake this work of mercy. But his call was not responded to: the work was not done; and so far as appearances went, there was no prospect that it would be undertaken unless he did it. This conviction determined his course; and in November, 1785, he who had taken many a journey and braved many a danger, as the friend of the prisoner, now set out on an enterprise more perilous than ever, as the friend of the plague-smitten, and the afflicted. On this heroic undertaking Mr. Hepworth Dixon very justly remarks, "Mind of man cannot conceive a sublimer spectacle than is afforded by the apostle thus going forth voluntarily to encounter perils, from which other men are so eager to flee; for the good of strangers, to confront that deadly pest in its chosen seats, and at the imminent risk of his own life, win, if possible, the important secret of its causes, mode of propagation, and remedy."

There was at that time a certain quarantine establishment at Marseilles, that had gained a European reputation. In that he had intended to commence his new work; but, to the everlasting disgrace of the Government of the day, France not only forbad his inspection of the establishment, but forbad his entrance into the kingdom, on pain of arrest and probable imprisonment for life. But Howard was not the man to be turned aside, when he believed that humanity called for his services, and that duty bade him go forward. His friends did all in their power to keep him back; but it was all in vain his plan was laid; he resolved to go, and he went.

With an assumed name, and under the disguise of a physician, he hastened from the Hague to Brussels; thence to Paris; thence to Lyons; and onward till he reached Marseilles. All this time he was watched, and tracked, and thought as good as captured again and again. A spy had travelled in his company from Holland to Paris, and had watched him into his lodgings. Under the guidance of this spy, an officer of police had entered his bed-room in the middle of the night, and in answer to the question, "Is your name Howard ?" had received the characteristic reply, "Yes, and what of that?" The first thing told him when he reached Marseilles was, They are watching for you in all directions." And yet, in spite of all this vigilance and ill-directed energy, he got into the lazaretto-he saw what he wished to see-he heard what he wished to hear-he took the drawings and measurements he wished to obtain, and then went out again in safety. And now,

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having gained the object for which he had braved so many perils, he made his way to Toulon. There he waited in secret through four days, at the end of which he got into a Genoese ship, and by paying a high price for his rescue, got safely landed at Nice.

He afterwards learned that he owed his escape from Paris to the following providential circumstance. The Government had then recently

been charged with making arrests on false or frivolous grounds. To ward off this unpopular rumour, they had begun to act with caution. On the very day of Howard's arrival in Paris, the prefect had gone over to Versailles, and had left word in the morning that "No new arrest was to be made till his return." When the officer went into Howard's bed-room, this prohibition had not been removed; and Howard took care that when he returned, with full powers to arrest him, the bed-room should be minus its occupant.

One can hardly forbid his imagination the treat of picturing to himself the intense mortification of these official gentlemen, when they found themselves baffled and beaten; while the illustrious man, whom they thought to make their prisoner, was rattling away over the great high road that led into the south; blending, very likely, with his morning devotions, the grateful acknowledgment, "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we are escaped."

After his arrival on the Italian shores, he went on with his investigations in all the principal cities of Italy, beginning at Nice and ending at Naples. Leaving the Continent, he sailed for Malta, where he found in one hospital belonging to the Knights of St. John, 600 patients, waited on by dirty, ragged, and inhuman wretches, who were either debtors or criminals, some of whom could amuse themselves with the delirium of their dying patients. His next halting-place was the small island of Zante; leaving which he sailed for the Asiatic continent, and landed at Smyrna. After remaining here several days, he made his way to Constantinople, where the plague was raging at the time of his arrival, and in the very midst of its ravages he remained for more than a month. Leaving the metropolis of the Turkish empire, he returned to Smyrna, and took his passage in a plague-smitten vessel bound for Venice. Here he underwent all the horrors of a forty days' rigorous quarantine. This was a deliberate act, resolved on for the purpose of learning by experience. He had, from observation and inquiry, learned much about the sufferings of the quarantine discipline; but he thought he should understand them better, and be better able to give his testimony respecting them, if he were to go and endure them in person. This he did; and he survived the sufferings and perils of the heroic act, though in more ways than one, it had well nigh cost him his life. After his liberation from the Lazaretto, he spent a week in Venice, and then made his way to the Austrian capital. Leaving Vienna, he hastened homeward through the midst of Europe, and reached Cardington in February, 1787.

If you follow him through all the details of this eventful journey, you may see him entering prisons, hospitals, pesthouses, lazarettos, and infected caravanseries, going where guide, interpreter, and even physicians refused to follow him, and visiting scenes which he dared not describe, for fear of awaking the alarm of the most courageous.

You may see him shunned as infectious by multitudes who otherwise would have courted his company, suffering repeatedly from fevers, and always while in the lazarettos from a burning pain across the forehead, tormented by millions of fleas and gnats, living for weeks

together upon nothing but dry biscuits and tea, and longing, though in vain, for a little of the skimmed milk that was freely given to his own cottagers at home.

You may see him in the midst of all this, drawing plans, writing descriptions, and collecting information-going about with the reputation and doing the work of an English physi. cian; at one time curing a young man at Smyrna who had been beaten almost to death at a bastinado; at another raising from the gates of death the favourite daughter of a wealthy Musselman, in Constantinople, and then refusing for the cure a proffered purse of £900 sterling, and asking instead a handful of grapes from the garden of the grateful parent.

You may see him refusing the invitations of mere politeness or kindness, whether they came from Ambassador, Prince, Grand Duke, or Emperor, lest if he accepted them he should be hindered in his great work, and the wretched and the suffering should be neglected.

You may see him, when some practical good was to result from it, consenting to a solicited interview with Pope Pius VI., and to another with Joseph II. of Austria; but distinctly stipulating beforehand that he would neither kiss the toe of the Pontiff, nor bend the knee in the presence of the Emperor.

You may see him offending the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, by telling him of the vicious arrangements of his prisons and hospitals, and advising him to undertake their supervision himself; and then fearlessly pointing out to the Austrian Emperor the defects and mismanagement of his prisons, hospitals, and workhouses; and then mortifying the pride of a pompous Count and his Countess, who had called on him with a lordly air to patronise him by their visit, by telling the Count that the prisons in his district were the worst managed in all Germany, and by recommending the Countess to visit the female prisoners personally as the best means of rectifying the abuses of their management, and then, as the haughty lady showed evident signs of mortification at such a monstrous suggestion, and with flaunting airs, hastened down the stairs as though her dignity had received a wound from which it would never recover-seriously reminding her that she was but a woman, and that "soon like the most miserable female prisoners in a dungeon, she would inhabit only a small space of that earth from which they had equally sprung."

And, finally, you may see him bracing his nerves in the midst of his perils, by falling back upon his religious principles; ascribing his escapes and preservations to the watchful care of Divine Providence, and thanking God that the approval of his judgment and the steadiness of his resolution did not leave him.

Apostles and martyrs had trodden the streets of some of the cities which he visited during this journey, and had been borne upon the seas through which he sailed; but never did an apostle labour with a purer motive; never did martyr suffer with a more heroic virtue.

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