Page images
PDF
EPUB

(4.)-I have not insinuated, that the " political opinions of the Manichæans were the real pre"lude to the doctrines of liberty and equality, so "frightfully propagated in our times."-All I have stated is, that, "the writers whom I have men"tioned, have said little on the political tenets of "the sectaries; that those, who should investigate "the subject, should consult Monetæ adversus "Catharos et Valdenses, libri quinque ;" and that I wished Dr. Southey would undertake the investigation; but that he "would not complete it in the manner his friends would wish, without ransacking foreign libraries, I observe that the great "point for investigation is, whether these sectaries "did not, by their disorganizing tenets, prelude "to the doctrines of liberty and equality." In what I have said, is there one word that insinuates' an opinion of my own, that they did? I have read and thought much on the subject; but I have* met with no satisfactory evidence for the affirmative,' though I think I have met with both facts and authorities for it, which deserve consideration.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

2. Most sincerely do I condemn the persecution' of the Lollards, and every other persecution, either by Catholics or non-Catholics, with which the annals of history are stained. No person has spoken with greater harshness than I have done of the Inquisition, or of the revocation of the edict' of Nantes,—and I have studied the history of each with attention. If the recent outrages at Nismes have been fairly represented,-of which I entertain

some doubt,-I think they deserve all the abuse which they have received in this country.

I say the same of the persecution of the Waldenses. But I have not seen a Roman Catholic account of this persecution; and I never come to a conclusion upon any subject, before I have heard both sides. For the honour of my church, I hope that much exaggeration of the accounts given by Protestants of the persecutions of this worthy and unhappy people, can be proved. If it cannot, there is not in language an expression of condemnation, or, in the human heart a feeling of detestation, which they do not deserve.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

In page 141,-You mention my account of "the 66 serene demeanor of some nuns, in the French Revolution, who chaunted their hymns to the "Virgin, till the sounds ceased only with the exe"cution of the last of their number. You after"wards say, let me not seem harsh, if I inquire, "whether active virtue, as well as passive resig "nation, would not have been as ornamental to "the sufferers, and more useful to society? Would "not the cause of virtue, religion, morality and

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

*

order, have been more promoted by the good ex

ample which these excellent women might have set, as mothers, daughters and sisters, in social "life, than by their learning the Litanies of the "Virgin in the cloister, and singing them in their way to the scaffold ?"

[ocr errors]

In the first place,-allow me to say, that, speaking generally, the ladies, with whom convents were

filled, were in those scanty circumstances, which make poor and uncomfortable sisters, and poor and uncomfortable aunts, and either prevent marriage or occasion poor and uncomfortable marriages, and thus fill the world with beings that are wretched in themselves, and a burthen to the state. To ladies of this description, a convent was an invaluable retreat; and, from my own knowledge, I most confidently affirm, an abode of happiness. In the next place, allow me to ask, whether it was not greatly to the advantage of the state, that it should possess such permanent institutions as convents of females, for the instruction of the female portion of the community of every rank and every condition? Can it be justly said, that such an employment was not active virtue of the most useful kind? Is it fairly described, by saying, that "the inmates learned the litanies of the Virgin, "and sung them in their way to the scaffold. What confirmed habits of faith, of hope, of charity, must they have acquired in the convents, to have so died?

[ocr errors]

3.-No person admired or felt more than I did, the reception of the French exiles in this country. An humble tribute of admiration which I paid to it, I transcribe in a note.*

66

"At the respectable and afflicting spectacle which so many sufferers for conscientious adherence to religious prin"ciple, presented, the English heart swelled with every ho"nourable feeling. A general appeal to the public was resolved upon. The late Mr. John Wilmot, then member of Parlia

66

F

You return to our Legends.--I have told you, and I tell you again, that they make no part of the

"ment for the city of Coventry, took the lead in the work of "beneficence. The plan of it was concerted by him, Mr. Ed"mund Burke, and Sir Phillips Metcalfe. An address to the "public was accordingly framed by Mr. Burke, and inserted "in all the newspapers. It produced a subscription of "£.33,775. 15s. 94d. This ample sum for a time supplied "the wants of the sufferers. At length, however, it was ex"hausted; and in the following year, another subscription was "set on foot. The venerable name of King George the Third "appeared first on this list. This subscription amounted to the sum of £.41,304. 12s. 6d. But this too was exhausted.

[ocr errors]

"The measure of private charity being thus exceeded, Par"liament interposed, and from December 1793, voted annually

66

a sum for the relief of the ecclesiastics and lay emigrants. "This appears by an account which the writer received from "Mr.Wilmot, to have reached on the 7th day of June 1806, "the sum of £.1,864,825. 9s. 8d. The management of these << sums was left to a committee, of which Mr. Wilmot was the president; and the committee confided the distribution of the (6 succours of the clergy to the Bishop of St. Pol de Leon. A "general scale for the distribution of the succours was fixed: "the bishops and the magistracy received an allowance some"what larger than others: but the largest allowance was small, and none was made to those who had other means of "subsistence. The munificence of Parliament did not however, "suspend the continuance of private charity. Individual "kindness and aid accompanied the emigrants to the last. "Here the writer begs leave to mention an instance of the

[ocr errors]

66

splendid munificence of the late Earl Rosslyn, then Chan"cellor of England. It was mentioned at his lordship's table, "that the Chancellor of France was distressed, by not being "able to procure the discount of a bill which he had brought "from France, The Chancellor of England,' said Lord Rosslyn, is the only person to whom the Chancellor

[ocr errors]

Roman Catholic creed. I leave them wholly to their fate. Every person has my permission to

[ocr errors]

66

[ocr errors]

"of France should apply to discount his bills.' The money was immediately sent, and while the seals remained in "his hands, he annually sent a sum of equal amount to the "Chancellor of France. At Winchester, at Guilford, and in "other places, public buildings were appropriated for the "accommodation of the clergy. In the hurry in which they "had been forced to fly, many of them had been obliged to "leave behind them their books of prayer. To supply in part "this want, the University of Oxford printed for them 2,000 "copies of the Vulgate version of the New Testament from the "edition of Barbou; and the late Marquis of Buckingham printed an equal number of the same sacred work, at his own expence. Every rank and description of persons, exerted "itself for their relief. There is reason to suppose, that the 66 money contributed for this honourable purpose, by individuals "whose donations never came before the public eye, was equal "to the largest of the two subscriptions which have been men❝tioned. To the very last, Mr. John Wilmot continued his "kind and minute attention to the noble work of humanity. "It adds incalculably to it's merit, that it was not a sudden "burst of beneficence: it was a cool, deliberate, and system"atic exertion, which charity dictated, organized and continued "for a long succession of years, and which in its last year, 66 was as kind, as active, and as energetic, as in its first. "Among the individuals who made themselves most useful, one unquestionabiy holds the first place. At the name,' says "the Abbé Barruel, of Mrs. Dorothy Silburn, every French 66 6 'priest raises his hands to heaven to implore its blessings on "her.' The bishop of St. Pol took his abode in her house; "and it soon became the central point, to which every Frenchin distress found his way. man It may easily be conceived, "that great as were the sums appropriated for the relief of the "French clergy, the number of those who partook of them were

[ocr errors]

46

[ocr errors]

so large, as to make the allowance of each a scanty provision

« PreviousContinue »