man, they were the more marked in their attentions to me. The same name of the English officer was pronounced, and I was asked if I knew him, but I could not exactly make out of whom they were speaking.

At last I collected, that I was advised to go to a place called Rora; and, by means of the directions I received, to Rora I went. The approach to this village was by a very precipitous path. It is like an eagle's nest built on the top of a lofty rock which cannot be reached but by a weary and steep ascent. I could scarcely believe that the rugged crags over which I had to pass led to the habitations of man; and as summit after summit rose above me, I fancied I must have lost my way. At last I saw before me half a dozen cliffs, and upon each was perched a small hamlet. The principal of these was Rora. The whole constituted a mountain fortress, which had been chosen in former times as a place of refuge and defence. So it was. And here the mystery of all which had lately excited my interest so strongly was solvedRora is the last village, towards the South, of the WALDENSES.

I had forgotten, or, like many others, I was ignorant, that this wonderful community, this Alpine Church, which has been indestructible in the midst of persecution after persecution, from time immemorial, was planted in Italy-I thought it was in Switzerland-and to find PROTESTANTS within a day's, or halfday's walk, of the sources of the Po, was the last thing I should have expected. The valleys of the Waldenses are the very next yalleys to the valley of the Po; and until fire and sword swept them away, their offshoots extended to Praviglielma, Pæsano, Revello, and even to Saluzzo. How, then, can I describe my delight when I first learnt at Rora that I was among the descendants of that noble race which makes such a conspicuous figure in Milner's Church History. WALDENSES, or VAUDOIS! by whichever name they have been known to history-here was one of their most celebrated strongholds. Isolated from the rest of their fraternity; at the very extremity of the Waldensian frontier; with Roman Catholics for their next neighbours on every side but one, the firmness of the people of Rora has been sorely tried through centuries of affliction.

Need I tell you how impatient I was to make acquaintance with the pastor, and with the principal inhabitants of this Christian fastness? How they smiled at the confessions of my ignorance of the existence of their community in this region, in Cisalpine Gaul! I fancied myself another Hannibal when I looked down from their rocks on the plains of Italy, and exclaimed, THERE CAN BE NO PEACE WITH ROME.

The conduct of the poor man in the cathedral of Saluzzo, and when he afterwards entreated me to let him have a Bible,

and the apparitions of well-informed peasants in the heart of a Romish population, were now explained. The limits to which the Waldenses are confined are too narrow for an increasing population, and every year young persons are obliged to leave their mountain homes, and go into the plains in search of employment. Some of them settle there; and young women who marry Roman Catholics are forced to conform to the dominant religion, and to bring up their children in that faith. But ancestral recollections are strong among the descendants of these exiles, and many a professing Papist is, in heart, a Vaudois; and provides himself secretly with copies of Scripture, and with the religious books of the people from whom poverty compelled his mother or his forefathers to come out.

The secret of the grammars and elementary treatises which I saw in the cottage at the foot of Mount Viso was also revealed. They are in use in the Waldensian villages, and not having been prohibited, find their way into the families of the Roman Catholics who live in the plain; many of which are now reaping the benefit of the educational system adopted among the Protestants. Who can tell what important results may be felt even in Rome itself from the seed thus sown? The rudiments and the springs of knowledge which are pouring from the mountains of the Vaudois into Piedmont and Lombardy will not stop there, and though Italy will not yet consent to receive her religion from the little Church of the Alps, she will gladly accept the boon of education which school-books and schoolmasters are proffering amidst her vineyards and oliveyards.

I myself was a witness of the vexations to which these unoffending Vaudois are still exposed. For the few Roman Catholics in Rora, a church has been built very near the Protestant temple; and that they may not be disturbed-pious souls-by the psalmody of the Protestants, the latter have been commanded by the civil authorities, at the instigation of the Popish priesthood, to hold their services at an earlier and inconvenient hour in the morning. But God, in his own way and at his own good time, brings good out of evil. The Protestant Church is a runious old building, insufficient to accommodate the members of the congregation; and this grievance has urged them to make every effort to obtain a new site for a new Church, where it can be no longer alleged against them that they interrupted the devotions of their Romish brethren.

I ardently hope, that the curiosity of your readers will be excited, as mine has been, to learn more about the history and destinies of a faithful Christian community who are the remains of the primitive Church in Piedmont; who have witnessed a good confession in a baptism of blood; who are soldiers of

Christ, stretching out their hands from the watch-towers on the mountains which they have defended so long and so manfully, and who call out to us, saying, 'Come over and help us, not with your weapons of war, but with your benefactions, with your alms, and with your Bibles; with your sympathy and your prayers.'

C. M. M.

MILTON.

Oh! he was of perfection's mould,
The best beloved of freedom's seed,
Her councillor in depth of need,
Or standing on the step of gold.

And day by day his course he kept
Within the bounds of virtuous aim;
No razor-bridge o'er gulfs of flame,
But the broad path where honour stept.

Life's topmost heights he firmly trod,
As grandly journeyed through “the mean ;”
Defeat bowed to his front serene,
His worn eyes ne'er lost sight of God.

And therefore Freedom did entrust

To his sure hand the two-edged blade,
Which slays who wrongly seeks its aid,
And only serves the pure and just.

P. F.

A WARNING TO THE INDOLENT.

Laziness begins in cobwebs, and ends in iron chains.

EVENINGS WITH THE EDITOR.

EVENING THE FOURTH.

Aug. Oh, Mr. Editor, we have had such a treat!

Emm. Indeed, we have!

Ed. What kind of treat ? tea, plum-cake, and a game of play? Aug. Really, sir, you have strange notions of us! As if we should care about such things.

Ed. Well, I do; whenever I can get them. Explain, if you please, the kind of gratification you have enjoyed.

Aug. We have been to a musical meeting at Crosby Hall, to hear illustrations given of Mr. Curwen's SERVICE OF SONG.* Ed. How were they given?

Emm. A choir of Mr. Curwen's friends had engaged to sing the tunes; but the audience were permitted to join; which they did.

Aug. And, as nearly all of them appeared to be singers, the effect of so many voices was peculiarly striking.

Emm. It quite gave me the notion what congregational psalmody would be, if the singing were not left, as it frequently is, to the choir and the school children.

Ed. As you were mostly singers, you did not meet to learn singing?

Aug. Oh, no; we met to try the tunes in Mr. Curwen's new book, on which he has bestowed much time and trouble; and he was anxious, I suppose, to subject his efforts to the criticism of public experiment; and to practically test the correctness of the principles which had guided his choice of

tunes.

Ed. Did you ascertain what these principles were ?

Aug. As applied to the "Service of Song," they were these: He said-1. Tunes should be closely adapted to the hymns in actual use. After an analysis and registered classification of hymns, which formed a long and pleasant labour, the mind of Mr. Curwen, in selecting his tunes, from a large collection of good tunes previously made, was kept in unceasing contact with the hymns for which these tunes were wanted. By them his judgment was guided. 2. The melodies introduced should have a popular character. While the noisy and trifling tunes are

* London: Ward and Co.

excluded, those bold, lively and elegant melodies which are so plainly required by the spirit of our hymns, should be carefully retained. 3. Attention should be strictly given to the simplicity and singable character of the harmonies. These should be not only rich and tasteful, but also homogeneous with the character of the melody, flowing, and within the reach of ordinary voices." Ed. Did the "Illustrations" really illustrate these points? Aug. Admirably; the spirit of the hymn, and that of the tune were perfectly sympathetic.

Old L. If you have talked enough about new-fangled singing. books-I never heard of them in my young days-will you hand that pamphlet which lies close to your elbow, Augustus, to Mr. Editor, that he may give me his opinion of it?

Aug. What, this pamphlet with the singular title of the SEVENTH HEAD?*

Old L. Yes; that is the book. I read it last evening; and when I went to bed, I dreamt of nothing but the Battle of Armageddon. I never will read such books again late at night. Why do people write so alarmingly about the future?

Ed. If danger is approaching, is it not right that an alarm should be given?

Old L. But do you think any danger is coming? Do you agree with this pamphlet ?

Ed. On the whole, I do. It does not seem to state anything about the future which is unreasonable or fanciful,

Mrs. M. But what is its object?

Ed. Its object, so far as I have read it-for I have only had time for a passing glance-appears to be, to show that the restoration of Louis Napoleon to the Emperorship of the French is the fulfilment of St. John's prophecy respecting the head of the Beast, which was wounded to death, and afterwards restored to life.

Old L. But, sir, do you really think it is?

Ed. I am disposed to think so; but some writers take a different view. Some think that the "Seventh Head" may be identified with the Papacy; or with the Exarchate of Ravenna, or with the line of the Western Cæsars from Honorius to Augustulus.

Emm. It is plain enough it cannot mean the Papacy, for that has neither continued "a short space," nor been slain by a sword. Ed. Besides, as the Woman seated upon the Beast is manifestly the Papacy, we cannot make one of the heads of the beast the Papacy also.

* London: Sampson Low and Son.