must come to God through Christ, the true and only Mediator with God.

Having shown what the church of Rome teaches upon this topic, I will give the doctrines of the Bible as I understand them now. There is an infinite distance between God and man. "Your iniquities [says the prophet Isaiah]' have separated between you and your God." These have caused the breach which the sinner could not by any exertion heal. Hence our sins expose us to the condemnation of God's law here, and eternal misery hereafter. God in his love and pity, provided a way for the sinner to come to him, which is thus plainly expressed by the Saviour: "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the father, but by me.' The barrier to our approach to God was sin, but this Jesus has removed by the sacrifice of himself. And as God

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which he paid for the sinner, so it is through Him alone the sinner must go to God, present his petitions through him, and expect an answer to prayer

'Isaiah, chap, 59, v. 2. 2Rom. chap. 3, v. 9. 3John, chap. 14, v. 6.

'Heb. chap. 9, v. 26.

in the same way. Hence the great stress laid upon the intercession of Christ in heaven,' and

the constant reference to him as our mediator and advocate with the Father.

There are three features in his mediation, which give us boldness to approach in his name. 1st. It is single, that is, He exercises it alone, and none shares it with him. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' "2 There is one God and one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all.3 2dly. This intercession is suitable to man's wants and conditions, for he is omnipotent, he is full of tenderness and power. He feels our miseries and enters deeply into our condition. 3dly. His intercession is perfectly efficacious; he never can plead in vain. He is our advocate with the Father, and prevails with God. "Him thou hearest always." What more does the Father require than the mediation of his dear son? And why should the sinner seek further than the aid

'Romans, chap. 8, v. 34, and Heb. chap. 7, v. 27. 2John, chap. 14, v. 1.

1

Timothy, chap. 2, v. 5 and 6.

'Heb. chap. 4, v. 15,

1 Ep. of John 20.

of the beloved? Can the voice of many be required here? Surely not.

If the church of Rome contends for the supremacy of the Pope; I will uphold the supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If the church of Rome clings to the tradition of men; I will receive nothing but the written word of God, as the rule of my faith. And if she teaches the intercession of saints, I will direct my heart and my mind to the perfect Mediator of Christ.

THREE MONTHS IN THE CONVENT OF THE CORDELIER.

After this result of my inquiries, my readers may easily imagine the perplexity of my mind. No friend in whose bosom I could pour the distress of my troubled spirit; no prospect of any relief for the anguish of my heart, no refuge against the wrath to come, and if the true state of my feelings become known among the Catholic clergy, whither should I fly to avoid the fiendish tortures of the Inquisition? The Bible, which should have been my consolation, only augmented my sorrows, and was as a worm constantly prey

ing upon my heart; for the more I read it, the stronger became my convictions, that the church of Rome had deserted from the doctrines and practices, of the primitive church of Christ. In the midst of this perplexing state of mind, I saw also the impossibility of leaving the church. For in what church should I take refuge? I had no chance in Rome. Should I leave Rome and join a Protestant heretic church? I hated even the idea, for my intention was not to become a Protestant, but a faithful believer in Christ. The meditations of Thomas A' Kempis were, next to the Bible my companion; I also procured several French works of the Jansenists, in order to instruct myself better in the truth of the gospel; \these strengthened my determination not to leave the church, but labor for its reformation. Inspired with this idea, I resolved to separate myself entirely from the world, and live a monastic life. I consulted with my friends, who represented to me all the difficulties of such a change. My habits, temperament and health were taken into consideration, I both acknowledged and felt the force of these objections, but believing as I did, that cloisters are the residences of holiness and science, and looking upon monks as perfect, and

the only godly men in the church; I entertained no doubt, that I should be able to overcome all these difficulties, by the superabundance of spiritual good I should receive. So I resolved to become a Capucin friar. My mother was greatly displeased with this change; my sisters ridiculed me, they called me a crazy, lazy and ignorant friar, and did all in their power to prevent such a step. But I had been seeking that peace for my troubled conscience, which the world could not give me; the confessional was not sufficient to bind up my broken heart; the mediation of the Virgin Mary I considered, only a trick of the priests to get money. I had no one to direct me to the fountain of life, to the mediation of the crucified Redeemer as the only refuge, I sought refuge in the cloister and entered not the convent of the Capucins, but the minor order of St. Franciscus, whose manner of living is not as austere as that of the other orders of St. Franciscus, and who are also men of learning.

Towards the end of the year 1826, I entered the convent of the Minorites, the so-called Cordeliers as a novice. The superior of the convent, treated me in a very gentleınanly manner, as a grown up person, and being in sacerdotal orders,