Strict Baptist Chapel at Guyhirn, now closed, was orginally founded by French refugees, large numbers of whom settled in that part of the country. The many French surnames also bear witness to the magnitude of the numbers who escaped to England. A hostile authority computes, that no less than one million persons fled from France for conscience' sake during the reign of Louis XIV.

From the middle of the eighth century, when Pepin, one of the most powerful of the early kings of France, in return for the confirmation by the Roman Pontiff of his usurped power, descended from the Alps, drove the Lombards from their conquests of large provinces in Italy, and conferred them on the Pope, the French king has always been considered eldest son of the church."

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Of all these "eldest sons none was more wicked, none more superstitious and more of a persecutor than Louis XIV., who occupied the throne of France for the exceptionally long period of seventy-two years-1643 to 1715. Persecution had raged before his birth, but his reign, like that of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, was marked by the most determined of all efforts to stamp out true religion.

The Edict of Nantes, passed by Henry of France, gave tolerance to the Huguenots (a word meaning confederates) or Protestants. On October 18, 1685, Louis, by the advice of his mistress and his Jesuit confessor, revoked it and then burst the storm on the heads of the Lord's people.

The joy of their enemies was supreme, the Chancellor on affixing the great seal of France to the deed, exclaiming "Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." A celebrated authoress wrote, "They have just taken twenty-four or thirty of these men and are going to throw them off; hanging is quite a refreshment to me." A government official wrote, "I have just condemned seventy-six of these wretches and sent them to the galleys."

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The mob sacked and pulled down the Protestant churches, and on the destruction of the great church at Charenton a Papal preacher exclaimed, Happy ruins, the finest trophy France ever beheld!" A brazen statute of the king who had rooted out heresy was erected in Paris, and medals were struck in honour of the event.

Dragoons were billeted upon the Protestants to "convert" them; their lands was confiscated; their children were taken from them, the boys being educated in Jesuit schools, the girls in nunneries, the parents being made to pay the expenses. All Protestants were forbidden to exercise their calling whatever it might be. All bibles and good books were collected and burnt, and every insult that could be devised was heaped on the Huguenots. Hence the tremendous emigration before referred to, which the Government tried in vain to stop, delicate women and children escaping in all manner of disguises. Large numbers had no means of leaving the country, and so religious assemblies began to be held in "the Desert as the deserted quarries and secluded valleys were called. Here the meetings were, often surprised by the military-the preachers were hanged or broken on the wheel-the women were sent to prison, and the men made galley-slaves for life. The priests did their best to destroy the Bible, and it became very scarce. All the Huguenots knew the greater part of the Psalms by heart, and when a Testament was obtained, it was lent about and various persons undertook to learn one or more chapters in the Gospels and Epistles, and so a large portion was committed to memory for their own spiritual profit, and for use at their services.

These terrible persecutions continued almost without intermission until the year 1762, when the last Huguenot was executed. This was in the reign of Louis XV. In the year 1775 the two last galley-slaves were liberated by Louis XVI.; they were two old men, one seventy-eight

years of age, had been a galley-slave for thirty years.

The priests, the religious orders, and notably the Jesuits, were the instigators of these revolting cruelties. The Jesuits had the education of the country in their hands, and were the directors and confessors of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., their debauched and superstitious tools. The priests complained that the hangings of Protestant pastors were too few, and that the agents were neither active enough nor pitiless enough. The faithful pastors were hunted like wild beasts. One of them, Cortes, wrote, "I have slept fifteen days in a meadow, and I write this under a tree." Paul Rabant, one of the leading pastors and advisers of the Church of God at this time, lived under a pile of stones and thorn bushes. The restless malice of the priests would not allow the dead to rest in their graves. In Provence a Protestant died and was secretly interred. The Papists opened the grave, took the corpse, tied a cord to the neck and hauled it through the streets to the sound of joyful music. At every step it was kicked until it burst, and then parts of the body were carried on poles amidst cries of "Who wants preachings?" wants preachings ?"

'Who

These details are almost sickening, and yet they ought to be widely known, for these occurrences took place only in the last century, and suffice to show how unchangeable is the Papacy, and how implacable is its enmity to the truth of God.

Our thoughts are carried back to that awful day in Jerusalem when the people shouted, "His blood be on us and our children," and then we think of the fulfilment of those words in all the horrors of the siege thirty_seven years after. And the priests of France had their day of suffering when the Revolution burst upon their unhappy land. Hunted from place to place, they were killed without mercy by the people whom they had taught to show no mercy to the heretics. In the September massacres of 1792, no less than 202 priests perished.

The names of a few of the noble Protestant witnesses for the truth of God of this period, and a few particulars of their last utterances may not prove uninteresting.

Fulcran Rey was one of the most celebrated of the earlier victims. This young pastor was captured by means of a spy and delivered to the dragoons, when after examination and torture, he was hung. On his way to death he said, "My life is not of value to me, provided I gain Christ. After torture he exclaimed, "I am treated more mildly than my Saviour." On nearing the gallows he exclaimed, "Courage, courage! the end of my journey is at hand. I see before me the ladder which leads to heaven." The monks wished to mount the platform with him-" Return,' "said he, "I have no need of your help. I have assistance enough from God to take the last step of my journey." He was about to make a public confession of faith when his voice was drowned by the roll of military drums, and his ransomed spirit soon joined "the church of the First-born above."

Claude Brousson was another nobleminded man-the advocate, the pastor, and the martyr of Languedoc. For four years he ministered to the persecuted Huguenots, often spending the night in a cave or under the shelter of a wood, and nearly perishing for lack of food. Marvellous escapes he had; at one time eluding the soldiers by concealing himself behind a cupboard door, and on another occasion in a niche in the bottom of a well. At last, through a spy, of whom there were great numbers in the employ of the Jesuits, he was captured, and on November 4, 1698, after dreadful torture, he was executed at Montpellier in the presence of twenty thousand people.

The list of all the good pastors who suffered for the faith would indeed be a long one, the two mentioned are but prominent representatives of a goodly

thiere, eighteen years of age, was taken before the Intendant. What, are you one of the preachers forsooth?' said he "Sir, she replied, "I have exhorted my brethren to be mindful of their duty towards God, and when occasion offered, I have sought God in prayer for them; and if your Lordships call that preaching, I have been a preacher.' But, said he, 66 you know that the king has forbidden this ?" Yes, my Lord," she replied, "I know it very well, but the King of Kings, the God of heaven and earth, He hath commanded it." She was ultimately condemned to imprisonment for life in the Tower of Constance.

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In one district, Marshal St. Ruth, known as the "Scourge of the Heretics," was appointed commander. His soldiers used to rush upon their victims with the cry, "Death or the mass."

It is interesting to notice, that this man was killed in 1691 at the battle of Augrim, in Ireland, to which country he had been sent in command of forces to aid James II. in his endeavour to regain the throne from which he had been so justly expelled. Charles II., his predecessor on the throne, had condescended to become a pensioner of that Louis XIV. of whom we have been writing, thus giving abundant evidence of the love the Stuarts all bore to despotism and to its representatives, to their hatred of Bible religion, and affording an indisputable instance of the depth of degradation into which our country fell after the death of the greatest of our rulers-Oliver Cromwell.

The history of this fiery trial, a few incidents of which we have noticed, is one of undying interest, coming down so near to our own times, and affording further evidence, were any more required, of the terrible curse the Jesuits have been to every state in which they have attained to power. Can we wonder at their expulsion at different times from several of the countries of Europe? and does it not behove the people of England narrowly to watch the movements of the large

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MR.

PHILIP DICKERSON.
Continuation of my .Narrative.

OUR last concluded with an account of an affliction by scarlet fever, and its termination with us. From that time, for several years, nothing in particular occurred in our family, save the frequent indications of consumption in the person of my dear wife, which would damp our pleasure ; but she rallied, and then we went on our way rejoicing. And perhaps we were never favoured with a larger measure of prosperity in our ministerial labours than during the eight or ten years following that affliction. From a private memorandum now before us, it appears there were added to our church during nine of the years alluded to, 164 persons, amongst whom we find many of the excellent of the earth, and one of whom is now employed in preaching the glorious gospel, Brother Whorlow. But as

we do not consider there was anything occurred during the above period of time worthy of any special notice, and as it is not our intention to write just for the sake of writing, we shall pass over that space with this devout reflection, expressed in the language of inspiration: "The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." Not for our worthiness or ex

cellence, but from His own graciousness and loving kindness; and to His holy name be all the glory and praise, now and for ever. Amen.

In the early part of the year 1842, our feelings as parents were taxed with a heavy trial. Our second son, a fine intelligent youth, about 19 years of age, became unsettled. He was articled to a watch finisher; his master failed, he was transferred to another master, he also went wrong, and thus the youth when wanting two years of the term his of apprenticeship, was thrown out, and became unsteady, and expressing a desire to go abroad, and fixing upon Sydney, we procured him a passage, which with his outfit, &c., cost us £50.

This was a heavy pressure upon us at the time, but we were enabled to surmount it. He sailed in June 1842, and reaching Sydney in due course, soon found employment; but after continuing there several months, his employer left Sydney for Madras in the East Indies, and our son went with him. Soon after this my dear wife's constitution gave way, and led us to expect from the symptoms which discovered themselves, that she could not hold out much longer. Still she lingered on through the winter of 1843 better than we could have expected; and having tried the use of a respirator, found so much benefit from it, that we really began to hope favourably of her as we entered upon the spring of 1844. But, alas! as we entered upon May, all our hopes were cut off by a violent attack of inflammation in the chest, which baffled all the efforts of medicine. Our own medical man soon desired us to call in a physician. He named Dr. Ramsbottom; he was immediately applied to, and with our own doctor was soon at her bedside.

The physician justified the medical course which had been pursued, but gave us very little reason to hope the patient would rally, owing to extreme exhaustion.

These sad forebodings proved too true; for in about ten days my dear wife passed away from time into eter

"Beneath His smiles my heart has lived,
And part of heaven possessed;
I'll praise His name for grace received,
And trust Him for the rest."

After the physician had seen her, she asked us what the doctors thought of her case. We told her they gave us but little hope of her recovery, and considered her in great danger. She said, “That is what I expected." We said, we trusted she was not afraid to die; she replied with great calmness and firmness, "No, it is a solemn thing to die; but I trust I can say for myself

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress; Midst flaming worlds in these array'd, With joy shall I lift my head.'

"There is my hope, in these alone can I confide, and these alone can enable a guilty sinner to hold up her head in the presence of God." Two days after, when the writer was going to the house of God (it being Lord's day), she very composedly took her leave of him, saying, "I am now the Lord's waiting servant, and blessed be His name, I am not afraid to die, Death is the Lord's servant, and the Christian's servant.

'And now His office is to wait
Between the saints and sin;
A porter at the heavenly gate,
To let the pilgrims in.'

She lay this and the next day pretty quiet, and was so comfortable during the night of Monday, 6th of May, that one of the family who sat up with her was delighted to think she was much better; but a change took place about five in the morning, which led us to fear a speedy dissolution. She desired to see her medical friend (Mr. Rutherfoord); he kindly attended instantly. She told him she did not expect he could do her any good; but she was desirous of seeing him once more to thank him for all his kindness to her and her family. She told the doctor she was dying, was going to heaven, and hoped she should meet him there. And cordially shaking his hand said, "God bless you, Sir, God

bless you. The two senior deacons came to visit her, to whom she related the substance of her experience from first to last, mentioning the darkness she had passed through, the supports she had received, and the joy she felt in the prospect of death. With delightful emphasis she quoted the following verse of the hymn which was at first blessed to her soul.

"Sweet Jesus, every smile of Thine,

Shall fresh endearment bring," &c. "Oh!" she said, "What a night have I passed, what music have I heard, the music of angels !*

But we must not here enlarge upon

* One of our daughters was sitting up with her. She asked her to open the windows that she might hear it inore distinctly. There was no music in the street, But was not the music of angels? I have no doubt she heard such-P.D.

that painful, yet delightful subject. Suffice it to add, she breathed her last in the embraces of her Saviour in the evening of May 15, 1844. The last sentences the writer caught from her dying lips were:

"O if my Lord would come and meet,

My soul would stretch her wings in haste, Fly fearless through death's iron gate, Nor feel the terrors as she passed." "Jesus can make a dying bed

Feel soft as downy pillows are."

But had not strength to finish the verse. Just before her departure, a friend in attendance heard her gently whisper," Angels hover," and "millions, millions," and then without a struggle or sigh, sank into rest. We doubt not but her happy mind was musing upon the following lines, in which she always took great pleasure: 'Angels shall hover round my bed, And waft my spirit home."

And also,

"Millions of years my wandering eyes Shall o'er thy beauties rove."

We

Thus closed the life and sufferings of my beloved wife, Mary Anne; having sustained that endearing relationship sixteen years and ten months, in the thirty-seventh year of her age. felt impelled to compile a brief memoir of her life and peaceful death, which was published, and fifteen hundred copies were soon circulated. We trust they were made a blessing. The little book has long been out of print, and many have asked for a new edition.

But space reminds us we must close this letter,

Yours respectfully in Jesus,
P. DICKERSON.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF MRS. ANN FREEMAN,

The dearly beloved wife of Mr. J. H. Freeman, of Soho Chapel, Oxfordstreet.

(BY HER BROTHER, MR. JOHN SAW.) "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance."

"The memory of the just is blessed."

IN reference to the early life of our dear departed sister, she with us had