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mian language; of the Lutheran Church, gious liberty. In it there are expres-›}, one part ause the Bohemian, a second sions like these The Protestantsio the German, and a third the Polish lan both of the Lutheran and reformed guage It has been estimated that there confession, have the right indepen are throughout Bohemia, 204,936 Pro dently to regulate, to administer, and h testants and 109 congregations of the to manage their ecclesiasticalo affairs for Reformed confession and Lutheran. In "Full freedom for the Evangelicalor It must not be-imagined, however,oo profession of faith, as well as the w that the Edict of Toleration allowed right of common public performing much liberty to the Reformed Church of worship are assured to them for of Bohemia and Moravial Up to the all future times."of orofor} 287 ¿tilidom year 1848, the Church was subjected to At the same time it should be borne ins legal regulations, framed in a spirit of mind that not much more than just them distrust, jealousy, and l'injustice. On right of Protestant profession is guarant every occasion Protestants were given teed by this edict of 1861. The famous ( to understando that they were only a concordat with the Papal seb is still inzo toleratediffisect", Evangelical pastors force, by which the rights of the Prosv were under the superintendence of the testants are manifestly injured, and the {} Romish priests, who were styled the general political laws are so rigorous;29 regulan parish clerks of the Protestant as to place obstacles in the way of manybe population, and proselytism was forbids a good work. Thus, with the excepB denunder heavy penalties Pastors tion of the Gustavus Adolphus Society,W were made responsible that no Romans which was ostensibly favoured by the Catholics were present at Protestanti Government, ministers are not able tờní public worship; those who wished tood form a single private society or comitio join the livangelical Church were bound Imittee for evangelical purposes.d Somero toy undergo cat six weeks' course of in-zi time ago, id few of them undertook tolil struction from their priests, which termɔo was often arbitrarily extended to as many years 929 Protestants were coilpelled to observe Roman Catholic holi daysizando thb pastors were bound to it amidunce them from the pulpits they were to pay titles and taxeszitooteib Romish clergy, and to bow to Romishit processions theipzohapels wore toobeto built in the style of common dwelling houses, with quadrangulat...windows, with neither street-doors, for steeples, norbells/ Tovfound schools was madeto very difficult, and to found nonéw con

92

form a society for providing the poorer t brethren with religious ordinances, and BIL others took steps to the formation ofnaoz Bohemian Tract Society but in both cases the Government refused the[perts mission.st tand gift to 000,02 meilt orom

Similar restrictionsɔzarę also con-ło nected with the present form of Church government; a modified form of Churchoq government being established by the d "provisional decree" which was issuedoɗ along with the Imperial edict of 186100 These, restrictions are very rigid bothe supreme power in ecclesiastical affairs

gregation almost an impossibilityIdsdoq is invested in the hands of a Consistory, t

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99

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9

In 1848, and subsequent years, somero the members of which are not elected ofaithese restrictions were removed by the Church, but simply appointed and lastly in 1861, a new order of by the Government, and the power][ things was introduced. The rediebrofit given to these menilis do extended 1860 istow the basis upon which them that no schoolmaster in tlie premotest; [ legal position of the Church is estabel village may be appointedlo no pastor lished, and, compared with former regus I allowed to make a trip of one or twoto lations, the hewilaw must be admitted days to Dresdenor Berlin, nor soon.zi to be an important step towards reliels gregation permitted to enter into cdr-ai

I respondence with foreign brethren, without the previous authorization or

suitable building for an Evangelical Teachers' Training School may be pro

intervention of the Consistory of Vi-cured, and the salaries of the teachers

enna. By the same decree, a Synod is instituted, with this important proviso, that it is to meet once in six years, and 11—have no executive power. Although thus struggling for life, it is very gratifying to see already signs of progress. The interesting letter before us enables us distinctly to understand the variety of useful agencies employed by the Reformed Church of Bohemia and Moravia, for the promulgation of ↑ Protestant doctrine, notwithstanding, restrictions and provisional decrees. ---¡| Let us begin with the Schools, which at present occupy a prominent place in the attention of their ministers and people. Bohemians generally, and the

+

f

7

Lysa

paid. The Committee have met with much encouragement, but without important help, their means being so slender, the work contemplated cannot be realized for many years to come. At Lysa, a little town about thirteen miles from Prague, and in which a number of Protestants reside, a Teachers' Preparatory, Training School has been originated. In former days, Ly was a famed residence of the Bohemian Brethren, but at the present time the congregation, there numbers only, 800 people, most of whom are poor. In 1862, they invited, the Rev. Joseph Procházka, of Namslau, in Prussian Silesia, to be their pastor, and although Protestants amongst them especially, he relinquished more t he relinquished more than half, the stiare fond of instruction, and are desirouspend he was receiving at 1 Namslau to of repairing the neglect of former years. labour at Lysa for £40 per annum, he It is a source of no common satisfac-made the sacrifice, that he might t take tion to find that during the last four advantage of the increased religious years as many as fifteen have been liberty, and be of service to the Church sadded to the thirty reformed Congrega-of his native country. By dint of great tional Schools already in existence. It should not be forgotten, however, that about one half of the children, are obliged, for want of accommodation, to attend the Roman Catholic, schools. Schoolrooms are required, and especially good Christian teachers; to find these is now almost impossible, seeing that there is no Evangelical Teachers' Seminary or Training School. School-attainments, but of decided evangelical

11

h

1

J

exertions, and great sacrifices on the part of the pastor and his poor flock, hardly a dozen of whom were in moderate circumstances, a house was at length bought, a teacher installed, and the school opened last summer.ne new teacher, a Prussian, but knowing the Bohemian language perfectly well, is a man not only of considerable

The

principles; he, too, has given proof of
his disinterestedness, and of his desire
to be useful in the country of his
fathers, for his employment in Pr
in Prussia
was much more remunerative than the
present one betsommos vĺaterbommi

The work at Lysa seems to be a very practical and a promising step towards providing evangelical teachers, the want of whom is unanimously felt. In the course of time, it is hoped that this young Institution will grow into a complete, Teachers' Training School and Seminary; meanwhile, it is very satis

02

factory to know that young minds will, for four years, be brought under the influence of Protestant octrines and

also

been

f

institutions, although as the law at pre-House of God has suggested the desisent stands, they will be compelled to rableness of employing a minister to finish their education' at the Romanist visit them regularly, to preach to them, JTraining Schoo100 1019biola and to administer the Sacraments!--It Another Christian work has a is believed there are about 5,000 Protestant members of the Bohemian Church thus scattered, many of whom would greatly value the ministrations of such a missionary loan to

002

2

It is gratifying to know that some

al commenced, the Children's Home and
Deaconess's Preparatory Institution, in
Krabsice, by Roudnice. Some piou
members of the congregation in this
place, while distributing money weekly
to inquiring
wants, found that in many cases poverty
had deeper roots than want of money.
assist the
To poor more effectually,
they formed the benevolent resolution
to take care of the children. They
made a subscription among themselves,
bought a suitable house, engaged the
daughter of a neighbouring pastor to
take charge of the little ones, and
finally, on November 1st, 1864, opened
the Children's Home. From a report
Tately published it appears that the
Jnumber of children boarded, lodged, and
instructed in this home is twenty.six;

hend to their thing though ever so little, is done on

I

I

behalf of the widows and orphans of the devoted, simple-hearted pastors. There are eleven widows on the Re"formed Ministers Widow Fund of Bohemia, and the annuity granted to each of them is £4 Another Ministers' Fund is in Moravia, and for the Lutheran ministers' widows there are somewhat large annuities! As yet there seems to be no provision malle for aged and infirm ministers! o moið

Thus it will be seen that, notwithstanding the pressure under which the Protestants of the country have so long lain, and the difficulties which they still "j have to encounter, the Reformed Bohemian Church is manifesting significant

dust, and preparing diligently to use Dany favourable opportunities that may arise, for the spread of the pure doctrine. All hearts will pray most heartily, that the difficulties may become less and less, and a way widely opened for publishing the glad tidings, to which the hearts of their fathers so warmly responded slamnur out of destin

for thirteen of these the parents pay a · ` small sum, for five of them the parents are able to pay but half of that sum; the remaining eight children are re-signs of life, shaking herself from the ceived gratuitously, being either orphans, or children of destitute parents. #ILL .IIS. The work at Krabsice, in connection with which there is a training school for girls, or Deaconess's Preparatory Institution, as it is termed, depends exclusively on voluntary contributions. During g the short time of its existence, "the Institution has exercised a blessed influence for good, not only upon those immediately connected with it, but upon wider spheres. It promises to become entre round which the friends of living, earnest Christianity will gather, and from which, by the Divine blessing, many a ray of spiritual light will go out to quicken the souls of men. busAnother important means of useful

that religious Tracts and Publications are not equal to the wants of the people; both in number, style, and arrangement, they are far from what is actually

Literature of Bohemia continued to progress until the catastrophe of 1620, and the anti-reformation of Ferdinand II. and III. Then Literature fell into the hands of the Jesuits, not to be culpequired. There are many valuable tivated, but destroyed. To their eyes it seemed to be desperately infected by heresy, and one of them is reported to have boasted, on his death bed, that he had himself given 60,000 volumes to the flames. They published a list of those Bohemian books which ought to be seized by the priests, and other wholly or partly destroyed, and many precious books disappeared in consequence, [ƒ I

At the beginning of the present cen› tury, however, Literature revived with and

the revival of 44 p

B

at the present time there is an abun dance of publications, while the number, of readers is continually on the increase. Authors and writers are more popular and influential than the nobi lity and clergy Last year, in Prague alone, there were edited twenty-seven Periodicalsband in other towns of Bohemia, Moravial and Hungary, |'à great number besides were publishing. Protestants may therefore take advan

V

10

tage of the press to diffuse
house the tidings

of salvation throughout the land.
Bibles are provided by the British and
Foreign Bible Society at a cheap rate,
the Society having recently established
a depôt in Prague, and it is pleasant to
know that during the short time of its
existence, many hundreds of Bibles
have been sold. This result is the
more gratifying, because last year there
were published three different editions
of the Holy Scriptures two of them
having been prepared by Romish priests,
who in Bohemia may not openly in-
veigh against the Bible, but may try
by corrupt versions and commentaries to
neutralise its teaching, and the third
edition being a Protestant one, with the
Apocrypha, to which the Lutherans
seem still to attach great value.eol
But while the Bible may thus be
easily obtained, it is to be regretted

old books of which but few copies exist, and there is a great dearth of works explanatory of the Bible, Com mentaries, and the like! There is also an urgent necessity for those works, which explain" in" the most simple manner the way of salvation, seeing that multitudes are ignorats of the Bible, and even of the principal truths of God's revelation to man. The chief ovol to artcon Dits PR Mug H reason of this lack of religious Tract

literature is, that
that no authorization

11

could be obtained from the Government for a Tract and Book society. Whatever is done, therefore, to meet this urgent want, must be done by individuals, and there is no doubt it would be attended

with considerable expense 918 trdW Some Tracts, however, have lately appeared, chiefly through the "endedvours of the Rev. Subert, and the London Tract Society have published onim busyLOY bus

this

an Pi is year an edition of Bunyan's grim's Progress," in Bohemian, for which many will be grateful. It is, earnestly to be hoped, that in this age of reading and printing, a devout and suitable Tract Literature will be forthcoming to counteract by its wholesome influence the working of the irreligious press

And is it not also to be hoped, let us ask, in conclusion, that the simple Christian brethren who are thus labouring amid many discouragements, will receive substantial aid to prosecute their endeavours from their more highly-favoured fellowChristians in England. We trust that the Society, through whose instrumentality so much good has been effected on the Continent already, will, at the present juncture of public affairs, receive a great increase of support, and that the time may soon come when the ys of Bohemia will again re-echo with the grateful songs of a free and Protestant people.

10 191lte b ́B07201] -'990i7¶ odT" not "

Lafforger od of er di bonindo viens

* From "The Prince's Progress, and other Poems."