in which her name takes the place of our blessed Lord's ; whether blasphemously or not," she observed, "I leave you, my dear Mrs. Sandford, to decide. The copy was taken by the worthy divine himself from the original illuminated card, sold in the Continental book-shops :

"Notre mère, qui êtes aux cieux; O Marie! que votre nom soit beni à jamais; que votre amour vienne à tous les cœurs; que vos desirs s'accomplissent en la terre comme au ciel. Donnez nous aujourd'hui la grace et la misericorde; Donnez nous le pardon de nos fautes, comme nous l'esperons de votre bonté sans bornes; et ne nous laissez plus succomber à la tentation, mais delivrez nous du mal. Ainsi soit il.'

"I shall continue my documentary evidence from Romish publications," observed the lady of Derwent Cottage, "though I fear it has already wearied you; but which its deep importance forbids me to curtail; by reading to you the following extracts from the Psalter of St. Bonaventure, in honour, and to the distinction of whom, the Romish Missal contains a special collect.

"The Athanasian Creed is thus perverted and desecrated by the canonised cardinal:

"Whosoever wishes to be saved, it is necessary above all things, that he have a firm faith concerning Mary; which unless he keep whole and entire, he will without doubt perish eternally. She alone, continuing a Virgin, brought forth— she alone destroys all heresies,' &c.

"The Litany is thus given,- Be merciful unto us and spare us, O lady,-deliver us from all evil, from the anger and the wrath of God,-from presumption and despair. By the joy at the incarnation of Christ:-By the grief and anguish at his passion ;-by the joy at his ascension-by the joy at his

R

coronation-in the hour of death, in the examination of the Judge, and from the torments of the damned deliver us, O Mary. We sinners do beseech thee to hear us.'*

"The Te Deum by Bonaventure is as follows,-' We praise thee as the mother of God,-we confess thee Mary, the Virgin. All the earth doth worship thee, the spouse of the eternal Father. Thee all angels and archangels,-Thee, thrones and principalities faithfully obey;-to thee all choirs-to thee cherubim and seraphim-to thee every angelic creature,-cry aloud, holy, holy, holy art thou Mary, Mother of God, and Virgin,' &c.

"From the body of the Psalter, or version of the Psalms, as given by the Cardinal," continued Mrs. Gracelove, "and which is entitled the 'Psalter of the Blessed Virgin, compiled in honour of the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord,' I will read to you a few extracts. The first Psalm commences thus— Blessed is the man that loves thy name, O Mary the Virgin. Thy grace will comfort him, and he shall be as a tree watered from fountains of water,' &c. The second Psalm is thus given, -'Why have our enemies raged and meditated vain things against us? Let thy right hand protect us, O Mother of God. Come unto her all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and she will give you rest.'

"The ninety-fifth Psalm is paraphrased in the following manner:- O come let us sing unto our Lady, let us heartily rejoice in Mary our Queen, who brings us salvation. Let us come before her presence with joy, and praise her together in songs,' &c.

"The fifty-first Psalm is thus expressed-Have mercy upon me, O Lady, who are called the mother of mercy, and according

* The Rev. Dr. Cumming has in his possession the whole Te Deum, Athanasian Creed, and Litany, thus altered by Bonaventure, in Latin, from which these extracts are accurately taken.

to thy great compassions, cleanse me from all my sins, pour thy grace upon me, and take not thy mercy away from me.' &c.

"That the Virgin Mary, according to the salutation of the Angel Gabriel, was 'highly favoured;'-that she was 'blessed among women,' *there can be no doubt whatever. But there can also be as little doubt, according to the very expression employed on this angelic mission, that she was but a 'woman? Therefore, was she not to be divinely worshipped, neither indeed worshipped at all. Whoever, therefore, presumes to pay to her divine honours-a false adoration-violates as well the first as the second commandment; transgresses against the glorious Majesty of Heaven-the ONE SUPREME throughout the boundless universe.

"In order to throw the fullest light on this interesting subject, let us consider what were the sentiments entertained towards the Virgin by her own Divine Son, according to the flesh. We have the most decisive testimony on this important point in the Gospel of St. Matthew. In the 12th chapter we read as follows:

"While He yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

"Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

"But He answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren ?

"And He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. †

"What more can be required than such an incontrovertible declaration as this from the very lips of our Lord, to prove that He regards every disciple that doeth the will of God as equal, + Matt. xii. 46-50.

* Luke i. 28.

in his estimation, to the Virgin Mary. Christ Himself hath said it; who shall dare to deny it?

"Who, then, shall presume to worship the Virgin, unless prepared also to worship every true disciple of the Church of Christ?

"The usual doxology at the end of the Popish books is— Glory be to God and to the blessed Virgin;' from whom it is said, the sinner receiveth pardon, the righteous grace, the angels joy, and the whole Trinity glory. She is represented in pictures as sitting between the Father and the Son, with a dove, symbolical of the Holy Ghost, hovering around her.

"Can, then, the Church of Rome deny that they worship the Virgin?

"How would the meek and pious spirit of the Virgin Mary," observed Mrs. Gracelove, "have been shocked and wounded, could she have foreseen the idolatrous worship of the Church of Rome to be paid in after times to herself; a worship that places her, with such striking impiety, upon an equality with the Great Jehovah. Nay, in some sense it makes her superior to our only Lord and Saviour; by the act of her votaries beseeching her to command her Son to grant their petitions."

Before I conclude this head of our discussion," said our exemplary moralist, "I will superadd the following prayers, used by Roman Catholics, in illustration of their worship of the saints, and of the cross, for your consideration. I now read to you the prayer to St. Anne, the Virgin's mother :"O great saint, in honour of God's regarding, and exalting thee in his eternity, to those most high and sublime estates of mother of the mother of God, and grandmother of Jesus Christ; in adoration of all the virtues of thy life, and of the last breath in which thou gavest up thy spirit; in the state of great grace consummated by the hand of your grandson and your Lord; in homage of the right and power which you had of mother

over your daughter, and of grandmother over her Son, and of their submission and reverences which they render to thee-we pray,' &c. &c.

"The book containing this prayer was thus approved of at Paris: We, Doctors of divinity, of the faculty of Paris, do certify, that we have read and examined this book, entitled The prerogative of St. Anne,' in which we have found nothing but what is conformable to the Romish Church; on the contrary, we have thought it worthy to be published, as very useful to maintain the devotion to Saint Anne.'

"The following is the prayer for St. Nicholas :-' O God, who by innumerable miracles hast honoured blessed Nicholas the bishop, grant, we beseech thee, that by his merit, and intercessions, we may be delivered from eternal flames.'

"I now read to you," said Mrs. Gracelove, "the prayer for St. Scholastica:-' O God, who to recommend to us innocence of life, was pleased to let the soul of thy blessed virgin Scholastica ascend to heaven in shape of a dove; grant that, by her prayers and merits, we may lead innocent lives here, and ascend to eternal joys hereafter.'

"The following is the prayer used by Roman Catholics at the consecration of images, authorized by Pope Urban VIII. :Grant, O God, that whosoever before this image shall diligently and humbly, upon his knees, worship and honour thy only begotten Son, or the blessed Virgin, or this glorious apostle, martyr, confessor, or virgin, (as the case may be,) that he may obtain by his (or her) merits and intercessions, grace in this present life, and eternal glory hereafter.

:

"The last I shall give you, my dear Mrs. Sandford," said her friend, "is the prayer at the consecration of a crucifix :We beseech thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, everlasting God, that thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless this wood of thy cross; that it may be a healthful remedy to mankind, a