THE DEATH OF AN INFIDEL.

THE following extracts are taken from an account printed and circulated by the American Baptist Publication Society :

A youth, who had received a religious education, was sent at sixteen to a university. He was there five years; and for the whole of that period his conduct was so becoming that he was looked upon as a blessing and ornament to his family. At twenty-one he began to study law. He then formed new acquaintances, and some of these laughed at him for his reverence for religion. At first he would say to them, "Gentlemen, you, who pretend to reason, cannot think laughter a conclusive argument. If religion is so absurd as you would have me believe it is, why don't you give me some good reasons against it? ” This some of them would attempt to do. Their endeavours were at first unsuccessful; but the poison by degrees took effect, and at last it tainted him as deeply as it had themselves. He was next received into a society of theirs, which met to lay down rules for pursuing wickedness so skilfully that the law would not be able to take hold of them.

At length he was taken ill, and found that (notwithstanding all his precautions) he had not yet shaken off the expectation of another life. This made him break forth in exclamations such as these "Whence is this war in my breast? What argument is there now to assist me against this matter of fact? Do I assert that there is no hell, while I feel it in my own bosom? Am I certain that there is no future retribution, when I feel a present judgment? Do I affirm my soul to be as mortal as my body, when my body languishes, and my soul remains as vigorous as ever? Wretch that I am, whither shall I flee from this breast? What will become of me?"

One of his old companions, on coming in, said, "How now, brother? Why this melancholy look and posture? What is the matter?" "The matter!" replied he. "It is that you and your companions have instilled your principles into me; and that now, when I have most need of comfort, these leave me in confusion and despair. What comfort have you with which to fortify me against the fearful expectations of another life? Are you certain that the soul is material and mortal, and that it will dissolve with the body? "So certain,” replied the other, "that I venture my whole upon it."

At this moment a stranger, whom we will call Mr. A came into the room. He addressed himself to the sick man, and said that, though he was a stranger, yet, having heard of his illness, he thought it his duty to offer to render any service of which he might be capable. "I thank you," said the sick man,

"and would desire you to engage that gentleman who sits there, and to prove to him that the soul is not matter, nor mortal.” "That," said Mr. A, "is easily proved. Matter is universally allowed to be indifferent to motion or rest. If it be at rest, it will rest to all eternity, unless something else move it; and if it be in motion, it will eternally move, unless something else stop it. Now, you who think that the soul is matter, say that it first moves the animal spirits, that these move the nerves, and these the limbs; but to say this is to say that matter moves itself, which is absurd, and contrary to the maxim just mentioned; therefore, the soul is not matter, and, consequently, not liable to be dissolved as matter is."

The sick gentleman answered only with a groan, and his infidel friend hastened out of the room. Mr. A- was surprised

to find that what he had said had such an effect on the sufferer, and desired to know the reason of his discontent. "Alas! sir," said he, " you have undeceived me, when it is too late. I was afraid of nothing so much as the immortality of the soul. Now that you have assured me of this, you have assured me of hell. You have now sealed my damnation, by giving me an earnest of it-I mean an awakened conscience; one which brings my sins to remembrance, and makes me think of the long catalogue of them, for which I must go and give an account. Oh, apostate wretch, from what hopes art thou fallen!"

Mr. A stood speechless for some time at these expressions, but, as soon as he could recollect himself, said, "Sir, if you are convinced that the soul is immortal, I hope it is for a good end. If you had died ignorant of this fact, you would have been miserably undeceived in another world; but now you have some time to prepare for your welfare." He replied, "The convictions which you have awakened are a part of my heavy judgment, for you have given me a sensible horror of my sin, by proving my soul to be immortal. Had I gone straight to hell, in my old opinion, I had endured but one hell, whereas I now feel two. I mean that I not only feel that inexpressible torture which I carry in my breast, but an expectation of I know not what change and yet I dread to die, because the worst will never have an end. All this he spoke with so much earnestness, and such an air of horror, as is scarcely to be imagined. Before Mr. A took leave, he wished to pray with the sick gentleman. The latter, with much reluctance, consented. During prayer, he groaned extremely, tossing himself as if he were in the agonies of death. When prayer was over, Mr. A asked him the reason for this. He answered, "Oh, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!' If God were not against me, I should not care if all the power and malice of man were joined to engage

me.

This is intolerable! inexpressible! Ah! who can dwell with everlasting burnings? Oh, who can stand before Him when He is angry? What stubble can resist that consuming fire?"

At another time, several of his friends from the country, having received an account of his circumstances, came to visit him One of them told him that he and several more of his ations haa come to town on purpose to see him, and were sry to find him in so weak a condition as his appearance indicated. He answered, "I am obliged, in common civility, to thank you all. But who are my relations? I may properly say that none but the atheist, the reprobate, and all such as do the work of the devil, are my relations. This little tie of flesh and blood will dissolve in a moment; but the relation I have to the damned is permanent. The same lot, the same place of torment, the same exercises of blasphemy, and the same eternity of horror will be common to us all."

His friends, who had heard that he was distracted, hearing him deliver himself in such terms, were amazed, and began to inquire what it was that made him talk in such a strain. He heard them whispering together, and, imagining the cause, said, "You imagine me to be melancholy or distracted. I wish I were either; but it is a part of my judgment that I am not. No; my apprehension of persons and things is rather more quick and vigorous than it was when I was in perfect health. Would you be informed why I am become a skeleton in three or four days? Know, then, that I have despised my Maker, and denied the Redeemer. I have joined myself to the atheist and profane, and continued this course under many convictions, till my iniquity was ripe for vengeance, and the just judgments of God overtook me. They did so at a time when my false security was the greatest, and the checks of my conscience the least. There is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved but the name of Jesus; and it is this Jesus whom I have reproached, ridiculed, and abused in His members-nay, whom I have induced others to treat in the same manner.'

Having uttered a few sentences more, his voice failed again, and he began to struggle and gasp for breath. He recovered a little, and then, with a groan as dreadful and loud as if he had been more than human, he cried out, Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell and damnation!" and expired.

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Reader, how different is the lot of those who have Christ for a Refuge, and who are sheltered in Him, safe from the wrath to

come!

We pray that the foregoing solemn account may be the means of warning many against the flatteries and lies of those who y the truth of God's holy Word, which teaching can only leave

the soul in darkness and misery, when death comes upon those who imbibe such views.

May you, dear reader, be led to Christ, and find in Him a. Saviour able to deliver from the curse.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIRECTORY FOR 1883. ACCORDING to this Directory, which is "published by theauthority of the Cardinal-Archbishop and the (Catholic) Bishops of England," the total of clergy of that religion in England and Wales amounts to 2,112 priests and 17 bishops, who serve 1,188churches, chapels, and missionary stations. Besides these, in Scotland there are six bishops and 306 priests, whose ministrations are distributed over 295 chapels. For England and Wales there is one archbishop, with 14 suffragans and two auxiliary bishops, and two archbishops for Scotland with four suffragans. These numbers are about double those which figured in the same Directory a little before the constitution of the hierarchy in 1850. There are 29 Roman Catholic peers who have seats in the House of Lords; there are four Roman Catholic Privy Councillors; there are 47 Roman Catholic baronets, the premier being the "infant" Sir Henry Alfred Doughty Tichborne, and✩ the last in rauk Sir Maurice O'Connell. The Sacred College of Cardinals, when complete, consists of 70 members; but some few "hats" are generally kept vacant. At present the college consists of six cardinal bishops, 46 cardinal priests (among whom stand the names of Cardinals Manning, Howard, and M'Cabe), and 13 cardinal deacons, eighth among whom is Dr. John Henry Newman. There are five vacancies, therefore, at the disposal of Pope Leo XIII., during whose Pontificate no less than 22 cardinals have already died. The Directory gives also, from official sources at Rome, a complete list of all the patriarchal, archiepiscopal, and episcopal sees, and "apostolical delegacies, vicariates, and prefectures," in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia, and the Islands of "Oceanica."

[We give the above items in order that our readers may see the strides Popery is making, and we add the following to show how politicians pander to our foe.]

ENGLAND AND THE POPE.

Rome, December 31st, 1882. THE Voce, remarking upon the recent negotiations in respect to an English Resident at the Vatican, says that England has not hesitated during the whole of the past year to have recourse

to the Holy Father respecting the vital questions threatening her-sometimes indirectly, sometimes quasi-officially.

The Opinione, commenting upon the increasing influence of the Pontiff, says "The late Pope fulminated his excommunications, but he was isolated in the world. The present Pontiff, acting with greater calmness, serenity, and flexibility, succeeds in cementing intimate relations with all the States, excepting Italy-of which country he complains with pertinacious constancy. Prince Bismarck no sooner found that even he was unable to stand the cross fire of the Socialists on one side, and the Clericals on the other, than he bethought him of establishing, as far as possible, an accord with the Curia. The French President and his Government study to live in cordial peace with the Papacy. Even Russia bends to negotiate, if not to establish an accord ; and Protestant England, under the auspices of Mr. Gladstone, the author of the famous pamphlet on Vaticanism, has sent a representative to the Pope. These facts clearly reveal the increasing influence of the new Pontiff in the affairs of the world. He has not shut himself up in solitude, like Pius IX., but has thrown his net into the troubled waters of modern society to fish for souls, and the Governments for other reasons second him. To gain this end, the new Pontiff has displayed great mildness and temperance. He presents himself as a messenger of peace, moderating exigencies, and keeping in the background his political pretensions, which he asserts only towards Italy. Herein lies the new danger, which can only be met by vying with him in moderation and finesse." The Opinione concludes by exhorting "the generous youth who shout from the Universities against this or that injury inflicted upon us, and the tribunes who drape themselves with patriotism, and hurl their invectives at this or the other head of foreign and friendly Governments, to think that perchance the Vatican may rejoice, and that their exhibitions of fury may form part in the calculations and combinations of our adversaries."

THE PUSEY MEMORIAL.

WE now give a few extracts to show what is being done by traitors to the Protestant cause in the Church of England, for the assimilating her to the Church of Rome.

A correspondent of a local paper writes as follows:

"Well may the poor old Church of England write 'Ichabod,' when this is the man she delights to honour-one who has damaged her, perhaps, as much as ever Laud, or any other of her false sons by subscribing thousands of pounds to perpetuate his memory."