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The Suppressed Evidence:
Or, Proofs of the Miraculous Faith and Experience of the
Church of Christ In All Ages From Authentic Records, Fathers, Waldenses,
Hussites, Reformers, United Brethren, and etc. An Historical Sketch
Suggested by the Hon. and Rev. B.W. Noel's Remarks on the Revival of
miraculous powers in the Church.
By The Rev Thomas Boys, M.A.
Published -- 1832
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page 341
APPENDIX
NOTE (A)—p. 15.
Supernatural occurrences.]—The following extract, from the Jewish Expositor, relates to those points in which there is a partial agreement between Mr. Noel's views, and those of the advocates of post-Apostolic miracles. " Remarks on the Revival of Miraculous Powers in the Church.
By the Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel, M.A., Minister
of St. John's Chapel, Bedford-row, London.
" Though the work before us contains much that we cannot assent to, and are even disposed to controvert, we observe some admissions at its commencement, which we are glad to see; and which, as far as they go, supersede the necessity for contention. Hence, though we cannot admit that the worthy author's views are in all points correct, we by no means regard him as so far opposed to the truth, that to enter into a discussion with him would be a compromise: and indeed, had nothing been advanced, against miracles, beyond what is contained in some of the leading statements now before us, we might never have felt ourselves called upon, at least in the Jewish Expositor, to meddle with the subject at all; much less to meet the sentiments advanced with such unqualified terms of condemnation, as, not without great offense to many, we have been compelled to apply to some opinions recently broached. The admissions of Mr. Noel, to which we refer, are the following :—
' Supernatural answers to prayer have indeed been expected, and some such have been recorded, which it would * be found very hard either to disprove or to explain away.'
" And again :
' But for many ages miracles, if wrought at all, have been
342 APPENDIX.
' wrought immediately by God : and that not systematically, ' but in insulated cases; not by promise, but in a sovereign ' way, beyond promise.' " And again:
' If a miracle be necessary to accomplish what is best for him, [the praying believer,] it will assuredly be done.'
" Now we by no means take these passages as a full and satisfactory statement of the truth upon these subjects. But certainly, if from the influence which Mr. Noel holds in the religious world, he should be the means of causing such sentiments to be generally received, the views of the subject, now too commonly entertained, will be much improved; and a mode of thinking will prevail, far different from some opinions respecting miracles that have been lately advanced, and, by many, approved. And, though we should not wish to see the Church settling, or taking up its final position, in a view of the question which went no further than the preceding quotations, yet it is very possible that they are some such views to which the Lord's people, in their gradual recovery from error on the miraculous subject, may be brought in the first instance; and such positions may very well serve for stepping-stones to the truth, though not sufficiently broad to afford a safe and permanent resting-place.
" On this part of the subject, then, in respect to which we are happy to discover some approach to an agreement between Mr. Noel's Sentiments and our own, we wish only to make one observation, and it is this : That if a believer do, like Mr. Noel, really hold, in opposition to many opinions which have recently discovered themselves, such truths as these: that there have, since the first ages of the Church, been some supernatural answers to prayer that cannot be explained away j that in some isolated cases, of late ages, miracles may have been wrought of God ; nay, that if a miracle be necessary to accomplish what Is best for God's children, it will certainly be done : we say, if Mr. Noel admit and believe all this, then that he admit and believe it, is by no means sufficient. We mean, it is by no means sufficient that he merely acknowledge it. It is by no means sufficient that he merely grant it in the way of concession in argument. He is bound to declare it. He is bound to urge it. He is bound to employ the full force of those talents with which he is gifted, in pressing
APPENDIX. 343
such truths against opposing errors. It is not enough for him to say, of such things, that they would be found ' very hard either to disprove or to explain away;' which is as much as to say, that he would if he could: but he ought cordially to hail such occurrences ; for all God's doings should be welcome to us, whether they tell, in argument, for our system, or against it. Any single miracle, or supernatural manifestation of the Divine power and presence, is such a glorious and adorable, yea, to believers such a joyful and heart-affecting manifestation of their God, that, while they rejoice in all his spiritual manifestations in the kingdom of grace, there is also an exultation due to these : especially since, as we have endeavored to prove from Scripture in a former article*, (and the opinion is not new in the Church of Christ, as we might shew from Quesnel and Melancthon,) miracles, whatever be their aspect to the unbelieving, bear in their aspect towards believers a character of spirituality and edification. And therefore if any one such instance can be so established, that it cannot be disproved or explained away, this ought not to be received, as the Church would at present be too much disposed to receive it, with suspicion or even enmity, but in the spirit of a Bishop of the latter part of the seventeenth century ; who, hearing of a miracle which had recently taken place in London, (we are afraid to give particulars or references at present, dreading some harpy's touch, ere we can bring the case forward,) joyfully addressed a lady of quality in terms to this effect—' Madam, the Lord is still amongst us." We wish to urge the consideration of this point, that a conceded miracle is not properly the ground of concession merely, but of joy and exultation in the Church, not on Mr. Noel only, but on the others who occupy about the same ground as he does : on those, we mean, who grant that some miracles may have been wrought, and that there stand some supernatural answers to prayer on record, ' which it would be found very hard either to disprove or to explain away.' Why, is not this the very language held, in former times, by the enemies of the Gospel? ' What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest
" * Number for February, page 40."
344
APPENDIX,
to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and vie cannot deny it.' Acts iv. 16. But is this the ground for Christians to take, as if their only care was like that of the Jewish council, in the next verse, ' that it spread no further among the people?' No. We should rather expect them to declare such a truth; to do all they can to spread it; to vindicate it against all opponents j to clear it from all objections. On the contrary, behold, in the present instance, a pamphlet, containing not one word of warning, from beginning to end, against the extraordinary error of those who call in question all miracles since (the Apostles > but entirely directed-against those, whose whole offense is, that they believe all that the author does, and a little more. Nay, further: the pamphlet, in its progress, drops altogether the appearance of a qualified opposition to miracles continuing in the Church, and employs arguments, which, if they have any force at all, go plainly to disprove all such miracles. Yes, all such miracles j and so the work seems to be taken. Hear what the ' Christian Observer' says. ' We recommend D. D. D. to peruse an excellent pamphlet just published by the Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel, shewing, on Scriptural grounds, that there is no warrant for the belief in the manifestation of miracles in the present era of the Christian dispensation.' This of a writer, who says that some supernatural answers to prayer have been recorded, which it would be found very hard either to disprove or to explain away! Nay, more: though this pamphlet, which shews us ' that there is no warrant for the belief in the manifestation of miracles in the present era,' contains in its very first paragraph a statement, that if a miracle be necessary to accomplish what is best for the believer, it will assuredly he done, yet it goes on to employ language which would make it appear, not only that miracles in the ' present era' are out of the question, but that the gift of miracles must have done a great deal of harm, in the days of the Apostles themselves. It may surprise the learned author to be told where he is ; but this is where the march of his ratiocination has really brought him—to make out that miracles had a very dangerous tendency even in the Apostolic age. For we actually find the following expressions.
'First, what good would it do to the careless and worldly? ' If granted as it was granted in the primitive Church (the only
APPENDIX. 345
' supposition we are at liberty to make), it would only con-' firm them in their neglect of religion 1'
" If the gift of miracles, now granted as it was granted in the days of the Apostles, would only confirm the careless and the worldly in their neglect of religion, how can we acquit it of the same tendency, when those days were actually in progress? We mean not seriously to impute any such sentiments to Mr. Noel: but how much better, if, instead of first granting much that believers in the miraculous character of the Church will cordially hail, and then giving all the strength of his argument to their opponents, he had moved his syllogisms in a different line of march; employed logic, too often abused for the perversion of right, as a weapon for its defense ; and bound demonstration to truth by the cast-iron chains of his many-linked arguments. But no. He has, (unwittingly, we doubt not,) produced a work which would go far—but for truth, the subverter of syllogisms—to prove that any kind of belief in the manifestation of miracles, in the present era of the Christian dispensation, is perfectly unwarrantable ; and, having done this, he may appreciate the full value of the compliment, standing where it does, that he has published ' an excellent pamphlet *"
*** A friend has favored me with the loan of a work well known in Scotland, and entitled "Scots Worthies " or " Biographia Scotiana; or a brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and memorable Transactions of the most eminent Scots Worthies, &c." Edinburgh. 1812. The writer, whose name is withheld, was a Mr. Howie; and the work has been considered of authority by all classes in Scotland. It contains many instances of miraculous power which deserve to be recorded : and in fact every person who is at all acquainted with the history of religion in Scotland may well perceive, that Scotsmen, and professed members of the Kirk, who reject all miraculous manifestations in the Church of Christ, are, both theologically and nationally, a degenerate race, unworthy of their illustrious forefathers. Whether, of late, there have been among them, or have not been, some
* pp. 123—126.
346 APPENDIX-
spurious claims to miraculous power, is not now the question. Miraculous manifestations did certainly enter into the occasional experience of God's servants, in the best days of Scottish religion. And even false pretensions to miracles, supposing any such to have recently occurred, would not have pushed the sons of the Kirk from this confession, had they been sound in their father's faith.
We have already related the apprehension of Wishart, according to his own prophecy, by the machinations of his enemy the Cardinal (David Beaton). This same persecutor was present at the Martyr's death, reposing luxuriously, with other prelates, upon rich cushions laid for their accommodation in the windows of a tower, from which the execution might be seen. The following is from the account of it.
" Being raised up from his knees, he was bound to the stake, crying with a loud voice, ' O Saviour of the world, have mercy upon me ! Father of heaven, I commend my spirit into thy holy hands !' Whereupon the executioner kindled the fire, and the powder that was fastened to his body blew up. The captain of the castle, perceiving that he was still alive, drew near, and bid him be of good courage : whereupon Mr. Wishart said, ' This flame hath scorched my body, yet it hath not daunted my spirit; but he who, from yonder place, beholdeth us with such pride, shall within a few days lie in the same, as ignominiously as he is now seen proudly to rest himself*.' "
Not three months after, the castle was surprised, and the Cardinal put to death+. His body was afterwards suspended from the window whence he had witnessed the death of Wishart, whose prediction was thus fulfilled ++.
Mr. John Scrimgeour was an eminent minister at Kinghorn in Fife, singularly distinguished by his success in prayer.
" When he was minister at Kinghqrn, there was a certain godly woman under his charge, who fell sick of a very lingering disease, and was all the while assaulted with strong temptations, leading her to think that she was a cast-away, not-
* p 19. +. p. 20. ++ p. vii.
APPENDIX, 347
withstanding that her whole conversation had put the reality of grace in her beyond a doubt. He often visited her while in this deep exercise; but her trouble and terrors still remained: as her dissolution drew on, her spiritual trouble increased. He went with two of his elders to her, and began first, in their presence, to comfort her, and pray with her • but she still grew worse. He ordered his elders to pray, and afterwards prayed himself, but no relief came. Then sitting pensive for a little space, he thus broke silence : 'What is this! Our laying grounds of comfort before her will not do, prayer will not do. We must try another remedy. Sure I am, this is a daughter of Abraham; sure I am, she hath sent for me : and therefore, in the name of God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who sent him to redeem sinners; in the name of Jesus Christ, who obeyed the Father, and came to save us; and in the name of the Holy and blessed Spirit, our Quickener and Sanctifier—I, the elder, command thee, a daughter of Abraham, to be loosed from these bonds.' And immediately peace and joy ensued.
" Mr. Scrimgeour had several friends and children taken away by death ; and his only daughter who at that time survived, and whom he dearly loved, being seized with the king's evil, by which she was reduced to the very point of death, so that he was called up to see her die; and finding her in this condition he went out to the fields (as he himself told) in the night-time, in great grief and anxiety, and began to expostulate with the Lord, with such expressions as, for all the world, he durst not again utter. In a fit of displeasure, he said, ' Thou, O Lord, knowest that I have been serving thee in the uprightness of my heart, according to my power and measure; nor have I stood in awe to declare thy mind even unto the greatest in the time, and thou seest that I take pleasure in this child. O that I could obtain such a thing at thy hand, as to spare her !' And being in great agony of spirit, at last it was said to him from the Lord, ' I have heard thee at this time, but use not the like boldness in time coming, for such particulars.' When he came home the child was recovered, and, sitting up in the bed, took some meat; and when he looked at her arm, it was perfectly whole *."
* pp. 89,90.
348 APPENDIX.
Here, by the bye, we may remark, that the idea of high spiritual experience in believers, with no miraculous experience, seems to be little more than a modern figment. It has been devised, apparently, to keep us satisfied, in our present low standard both as to miracles and spirituality.
What would a professor of these days, fired with fanatical zeal against " modern miracles," think of giving a third of his time to prayer? Eight hours in the twenty-
- four ! Such was the practice of that eminent minister, Mr. John Welch, Knox's son-in-law. And to such devotion, miraculous manifestations were largely granted.— First, respecting his prayers:
" His custom was, when he went to bed at night, to lay a Scots plaid above his bed-clothes, and when he went to his night-prayers, to sit up and cover himself negligently there-
with, and so to continue. For from the beginning of his
ministry to his death, he reckoned the day ill spent, if he
stayed not seven or eight hours in prayer *."
" Sometimes, before he went to sermon, he would send for his elders, and tell them he was afraid to go to the pulpit; because he found himself sore deserted : and thereafter desire one or more of them to pray, and then he would venture to the pulpit. But, it was observed, this humbling exercise used ordinarily to be followed with a flame of extraordinary assistance : so near neighbors many times are contrary dispositions and frames. He would many times retire to the church of Ayr, which was at some distance from the town, and there spend the whole night in prayer; for he used to allow his affections full expression, and prayed not only with an audible, but sometimes a loud voice +."
" As the duty wherein Mr. Welch abounded and excelled most was in prayer, so his greatest attainments fell that way. He used to say, he wondered how a Christian could lie in bed all night, and not rise to pray; and many times he rose, and many times he watched ++."
Prayer, in Welch, was united with great sobriety and industry.
*p. 92. + P- 94. ++ p- 95.
APPENDIX. 349
" He gave himself wholly to ministerial exercises, he preached once every day, he prayed the third part of his time, was unwearied in his studies; and for a proof of this, it was found among his papers, that he had abridged Suarez's Metaphysics, when they came first to his hand, even when he was well stricken in years. By all which it appears, that he has not only been a man of great diligence, but also of a strong and robust natural constitution, otherwise he had never endured the fatigue *."
Such was the character of the man. Now let us pass on to his miraculous experience. We observe in him, for instance, a remarkable gift of prediction and discernment.
" While he was at Kirkcudbright, he met with a young man in scarlet and silver lace, (the gentleman's name was Mr. Robert Glendinning,) new come home from his travels; he much surprised the young man, by telling him, he behoved to change his garb, and way of life, and betake himself to the Scriptures, which at that time was not his business, for he should be his successor in the ministry at Kirkcudbright which accordingly came to pass some time thereafter +."
" But when he was to leave Selkirk, he could not find a man in all the town to transport his furniture, except only Ewart, who was at that time a poor young man, but master of two. horses, with which he transported Mr. Welch's goods, and so left him but as he took his leave Mr. Welch gave him his blessing, and a piece of gold for a token, exhorting him to fear God, and promised he should never want; which promise providence made good through the whole course of the man's life, as was observed by all his neighbors ++."
" While Mr. Welch was at Ayr, the Lord's-day was greatly profaned at a gentleman's house about eight miles distant from Ayr, by reason of great confluence of people playing at the foot-ball, and other pastime. After writing several times to him, to suppress the profanation of the Lord's-day at his house (which he slighted, not loving to be called a Puritan), Mr. Welch came one day to his gate, and called him out to tell him, that he had a message from God to shew him, that because he had slighted the advice given him from the Lord,
* pp. 93, 94. + P- 93- ++ P- 92-
350 APPENDIX.
and would not restrain the profanation of the Lord's-day committed in his bounds; therefore the Lord would cast him out of his house, and none of his posterity should enjoy it: which accordingly came to pass; for although he was in a good external situation at this time, yet henceforth all things went against him, until he was obliged to sell his estate; and when giving the purchaser possession thereof, he told his wife and children, that he had found Mr. Welch a true prophet *."
" But though Mr. Welch had, upon the account of his holiness, abilities, and success, acquired among his subdued people a very great respect, yet was he never in such admiration as after the great plague which raged in Scotland in his time. And one cause was this : The magistrates of Ayr, forasmuch as this town alone was free, and the country about infected, thought fit to guard the ports with sentinels and watchmen ; and one day, two travailing-merchants, each with a pack of cloth upon a horse, came to the town, desiring entrance, that they might sell their goods, producing a pass from the magistrates of the town from whence they came, which was at that time sound and free; yet, notwithstanding all this, the sentinels stooped them till the magistrates were called and when they came, they would do nothing without their minister's advice; so Mr. Welch was called, and his opinion asked. He demurred, and putting off his hat, with his eyes towards heaven for a pretty space, though he uttered no audible words, yet continued in a praying posture ; and after a little space told the magistrates, they would do well to discharge these travelers their town, affirming with great asseveration, the plague was in these packs : so the magistrates commanded them to be gone, and they went to Cumnock, a town about twenty miles distant, and there sold their goods; which kindled such an infection in that place, that the living were hardly able to bury their dead. This made their people begin to think of Mr. Welch as an oracle +."
" Another wonderful story they tell of him at the same time :—The Lord Ochiltree, the captain, being both son to the good Lord Ochiltree, and Mr. Welch's uncle-in-law, was indeed very civil to Mr. Welch j but being for a long time,
* pp. 94, 95. + P-96
APPENDIX. 351
through, the multitude of affairs, kept from visiting Mr. Welch in his chamber, as he was one day walking in the court, and espying Mr. Welch at his chamber-window, asked him kindly, how he did, and if in any thing he could serve him? Mr. Welch answered him, he would earnestly entreat his Lordship, being at that time to go to court, to petition king James in his name, that he might have liberty to preach the Gospel; which my Lord promised to do. Mr. Welch answered, My Lord, both because you are my kinsman, and for other reasons, I would earnestly entreat and obtest you not to promise, except you faithfully perform. His Lordship answered, he would faithfully perform his promise ; and so went for London. But though, at his first arrival, he was really purposed to present the petition to the king, when he found the king in such a rage against the godly ministers that he durst not at that time present it; so he thought fit to delay it, and thereafter entirely forgot it.
" The first time that Mr. Welch saw his face after his return from court, he asked him what he had done with his petition. His Lordship answered, he had presented it to the king, but that the king was in so great a rage against the ministers at that time, he believed it had been forgotten, for he had got no answer. Nay, said Mr. Welch to him, my Lord, you should not lie to God, and to me; for I know you never delivered it, though I warned you to take heed not to undertake it except you would perform it; but because you have dealt so unfaithfully, remember God shall take from you both estate and honours, and give them to your neighbour in your own time: which accordingly came to pass for both his estate and honours were in his own time translated to James Stuart, son of Captain James, who was indeed a cadet, but not the lineal heir of the family.
" While he was detained prisoner in Edinburgh castle, his wife used for the most part to stay in his company, but upon a time fell into a longing to see her family in Ayr, to which with some difficulty he yielded; but when she was to take her journey, he strictly charged her not to take the ordinary way -to her own house, when she came to Ayr, nor to pass by the bridge through the town, but to pass the river above the bridge, and so get the way to his own house, and not to come into the town j for, said he, before you come thither, you
352 APPENDIX.
shall find the plague broken out in Ayr; which accordingly came to pass *."
, The following occurrence reminds us of Gosner's life of Boos.
" An honest minister, who -was a parishioner of Mr. Welch many a day, said, 'That one night, as he watched in his garden very late, and some friends waiting upon him in his house, and wearying because of his long stay, one of them chanced to open a window toward the place where he walked, and saw clearly a strange light surround him, and heard him speak strange words about his spiritual joy +."
I conclude with an instance of judgment, and one of mercy.
" He was some time prisoner in Edinburgh castle before he went into exile; where, one night sitting at supper with the Lord Ochiltree, who was uncle to Mr. Welch's wife, as his manner was, he entertained the company with godly and edifying discourse, which was well received by all the company except a debauched Popish young gentleman, who sometimes laughed, and sometimes mocked and made wry faces; whereupon Mr. Welch brake out into a sad abrupt charge upon all the company to be silent, and observe the work of the Lord upon that profane mocker, which they should presently behold; upon which the profane wretch sunk down and died beneath the table, to the great astonishment of all the company ++."
The other occurrence took place in the south of France.
" There was in his house, amongst many others who boarded with him for good education, a young gentleman of great quality, and suitable expectations, and this was the heir of Lord Ochiltree, captain of the castle of Edinburgh. This young nobleman, after he had gained very much upon Mr. Welch's affections, fell ill of a grievous sickness, and, after he had been long wasted with it, closed his eyes and expired, to the apprehension of all spectators, and was therefore taken out of his bed, and laid on a pallet on the floor, that his body might be more conveniently dressed. This was to Mr. Welch a very great grief, and therefore he stayed with the dead body full
* pp.101,102. + P-96 ++ pp.100,101
APPENDIX. 353
three hours, lamenting over him with great tenderness. After twelve hours, the friends brought in a coffin, whereinto they desired the corpse to be put, as the custom is : but Mr. Welch desired, that for the satisfaction of his affections, they would forbear it for a time; which they granted, and returned not till twenty-four hours after his death were expired; then they desired, with great importunity, that the corpse might be coffined, and speedily buried, the weather being extremely hot: yet he persisted in his request, earnestly begging them to excuse him once more; so they left the corpse upon the pallet for full thirty-six hours; but even after all that, though he was urged, not only with great earnestness, but displeasure, they were constrained to forbear for twelve hours more. After forty-eight hours were past, Mr. Welch still held out against them; and then his friends perceiving that he believed the young man was not really dead, but under some apoplectic fit, proposed to him, for his satisfaction, that trial should be made upon his body by doctors and chirurgeons, if possibly any spark of life might be found in him ; and with this he was content. So the physicians are set to work, who pinched him with pincers in the fleshy parts of the body, and twisted a bowstring about his head with great force; but no sign of life appearing in him, the physicians pronounced him cold dead, and then there was no more delay to be made: yet Mr. Welch begged of them once more that they would but step into the next room for an hour or two, and leave him with the dead youth j and this they granted. Then Mr. Welch fell down before the pallet, and cried to the Lord with all his might, and sometimes looked upon the dead body, continuing in wrestling with the Lord, till at length the dead youth opened his eyes, and cried out to Mr. Welch, whom he distinctly knew, O, sir, I am all whole, but my head and legs; and these were the places they had sore hurt with their pinching.
" When Mr. Welch perceived this, he called upon his friends, and shewed them the dead young man restored to life again, to their great astonishment. And this young nobleman, though he lost the estate of Ochiltree, lived to acquire a great estate in Ireland, and was Lord Castlestuart, and a man of such excellent parts, that he was courted by the Earl of Stafford to be a councilor in Ireland j which he refused to be, until the godly silenced Scottish ministers, who
354 APPENDIX.
suffered under the bishops in the north of Ireland, were restored to the exercise of their ministry j and then he engaged, and continued so for all his life, not only in honour and power, but in the profession and practice of godliness, to the great comfort of the country where he lived. This story the nobleman himself communicated to his friends in Ireland *."
The following letter, inserted in an old number of the Evening Mail, contains an extract from the works of M. de la Harpe, a French Academician, and afterwards a true convert to Christianity.
'Sir,—Having just perused some part of the "Select and Posthumous Works " of the celebrated M. de la Harpe, of the French Academy, which were recently published at Paris, in 4 vols. quarto, I beg leave to submit to you the following extract, which has appeared to me so extraordinary in its nature, and so striking in its contents, that you may perhaps be disposed to insert it in your interesting journal, for the consideration ' and reflection of your readers. The Editor makes no remarks upon it, but relates it simply in these words :—" It appears to me to be but yesterday—and it was, nevertheless, in the beginning of the year 1788. We were at the table of a brother academician, who was of the highest rank, and a man of talents. The company was numerous, and of all kinds— courtiers, advocates, literary men, academicians, &c. We had been, as usual, luxuriously entertained; and, at the dessert, the wines of Malvoisie and the Cape added to the natural gaiety of good company that kind of social freedom which sometimes stretches beyond the rigid decorum of it. In short, we were in a state to allow of any thing that would produce mirth. Chamfort had been reading some of his impious and libertine tales j and the fine ladies had heard them without once making use of their fans. A deluge of pleasantries on religion then succeeded. One gave a quotation from the Pucelle d' Orleans; another recollected and applauded the philosophical distich of Diderot,—
" Et des boyaux du dernier pretre Serrez le cou du dernier roi."
* pp. 103, 104.
APPENDIX. 355
"And of the last priest's entrails form the string
Around the neck of the last king."
A third rises, and, with a bumper in his hand, ' Yes, gentlemen,' he exclaims, ' I am as sure' "—(there is no need to repeat the blasphemy) "' as I am certain that Homer is a fool.' The conversation afterwards took a more serious turn, and the most ardent admiration was expressed of the revolution which Voltaire had produced; and they all agreed that it formed the brightest ray of his glory : he has given the ton to his age, and has contrived to be read in the anti-chamber as well as in the drawing-room. One of the company mentioned, and almost burst with laughter at the circumstance, that his hair-dresser had said, while he was powdering him : ' Look you, sir, though I am nothing but a poor journeyman barber, I have no more religion than another man.' It was concluded that the revolution would soon be consummated; and that it was absolutely necessary for superstition and fanaticism to give place to philosophy. The probability of this epoch was then calculated, and which of the company present would live to see the reign of reason. The elder part of them lamented that they could not flatter themselves with the hope of enjoying such a pleasure : while the younger part of them rejoiced in the expectation that they should witness it. The Academy was felicitated for having prepared the grand work, and being at the same time the strong hold, the center, and the moving principle of freedom and thought. There was only one of the guests who had not shared in the delights of this conversation. He had even ventured, in a quiet way, to start a few pleasantries on our noble enthusiasm. It was Cazotte, an amiable man, of an original turn of mind; but unfortunately infatuated with the reveries of the illuminati. He renewed the conversation in a very serious tone, and in the following manner : ' Gentlemen,' said he, ' be satisfied : you will all see this grand and sublime revolution. You know that I am something of a prophet; and I repeat that you will all see it.' He was answered by the common expression, ' It is not necessary to be a great conjuror to foretell that.' ' Agreed; but perhaps it may be necessary to be something more, respecting what I am going to tell you. Have you any idea of what will result from this revolution; what will happen to every one of you now present; what will be the immediate pro-
356 APPENDIX.
gress of it, with its certain effects and consequences?' ' Oh,' said Condorcet, with his silly and saturnine laugh, ' let us know all about it, a philosopher can have no objection to meet a prophet.' ' You, M. Condorcet, will expire on the pavement of a dungeon; you will die of the poison which you will have taken to escape from the executioner—of poison which the happy state of that period will render it absolutely necessary that you should carry about you.' At first there appeared a considerable degree of astonishment; but it was soon recollected that Cazotte was in the habit of dreaming, while he was awake, and the laugh was as loud as ever. ' M. Cazotte, the tale which you have just told is not so pleasant as your Diable amoreux. But what devil has put this dungeon, this poison, and these hangmen into your head? What can these things have in common with philosophy, and the reign of reason?' ' That is precisely what I am telling you: it will be in the name of philosophy, of humanity, and of liberty : it will be under the reign of reason, that what I have foretold will happen to you. It will then indeed be the reign of reason; for she will have temples erected to her honour, Nay, throughout France there will be no other places of public worship but the temples of reason.' ' In faith,' said Chamfort, with one of his sarcastic smiles, ' you will not, however, be an officiating priest in any of these temples.' ' I hope not. But you, M. Chamfort, you will be well worthy of that distinction ; for you will cut yourself across the veins with twenty-two strokes of a razor, and will nevertheless survive the attempt for some months.' They all looked at him, and continued to laugh. ' You, M. Vicq d'Azyr, you will not open the veins yourself; but you will order them to be opened six times in one day, during a paroxysm of the gout, in order that you may not fail in your purpose; and you will die during the night. As for you, M. de Nicolais, you will die on the scaffold : and so M. Bailly, will you; and so will you, M. Malesherbes.' ' Oh,' said Roucher,' it appears that his vengeance is leveled solely against the Academy. He has just made a horrible execution of the whole of it. Now tell me my fate, in the name of mercy." ' Oh !' it was universally exclaimed, ' he has sworn to "exterminate all of us.' ' No, it is not I who have sworn it.' ' Are we then to be subjugated by Turks and Tartars?' 'By
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no means. I have already told you that you will be governed by reason and philosophy alone. Those who will treat you as I have described will all of them be philosophers, will be continually uttering the same phrases that you have been repeating for the last hour, will deliver all your maxims, and will quote you as you have done Diderot and the Pucelle.' ' Oh, it was whispered, ' the man is out of his senses;' for, during the whole of the conversation, his features never underwent the least change. ' Oh no,' said another, ' you must perceive that he is laughing at us, for he always blends the marvelous with his pleasantries.' ' Yes,' answered Chamfort, ' the marvellous with him is never enlightened gaiety; he always looks as if he were going to be hanged. But when will all this happen?' ' Six years will not have passed away before all which I have told you shall be accomplished.' ' Here indeed is plenty of miracles,' (it was myself, says M. de la Harpe, who now spoke,) ' and you set me down as nothing.' ' You will yourself be a miracle, as extraordinary as any which I have told. You will yourself be a Christian.' Loud exclamations immediately followed. ' Ah,' replied Chamfort, ' all my fears are removed; for, if we are not doomed to perish till La Harpe becomes a Christian we shall be immortal.' ' As for us women,' said the Duchess de Grammont, ' it is very fortunate that we are considered as nothing in these revolutions. Not that we are totally discharged from them, but it is understood that in such cases we are to be left to ourselves. Our sex '—' Your sex, ladies, will be no guarantee to you in these times. It will make no difference whatever whether you interfere or not. You will be treated precisely as the men. No distinction will be made between you.' ' But what does all this mean, M. Cazotte? You are surely preaching to us about the end of the world.' ' I know no more of that, my Lady Duchess, than yourself. But this I know, that you will be conducted to the scaffold, with several other ladies along with you, in the cart of the executioner, and with your hands tied behind you.' ' I hope, sir, that in such a case I shall be allowed at least a coach hung with black.' ' No, madam, you will not have that indulgence. Ladies of higher rank than you will be with their hands tied as yours will be, and to the same fate as that to which you are destined.' 'Ladies of higher rank than myself! what, princesses of the
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blood?' ' Greater still.' Here there was a very sensible emotion throughout the company, and the countenance of the master of the mansion wore a very grave and solemn aspect. It was, indeed, very generally observed, that this pleasantry was carried rather too far. Madame de Grammont, in order to diperse the cloud that seemed to be approaching, made no reply to this last answer ; but contented herself with saying, ' You see he will not even leave me a confessor.' "No, madam, that consolation will be denied to all of you. The last person led to the scaffold who will be allowed a confessor, as the greatest of favours, will be'—Here he paused for a moment. ' And who is the happy mortal who will be allowed to enjoy this prerogative?' ' It is the only one which will be left to him. It will be the King of France.' The master of the house now rose in haste, and his company were all actuated by the same impulse. He then advanced towards M. Cazotte, and said to him, in an affecting and impressive tone, ' My dear M. Cazotte, we have had enough of these melancholy conceits. You carry it too far; even to the compromising the company with whom you are, and yourself along with them.' Cazotte made no answer, and was preparing to retire, when Madame de Grammont, who wished if possible to do away all serious impressions, and to restore some kind of gaiety among them, advanced towards him and said, ' My good prophet, you have been so kind as to tell us all our fortunes ; but you have not mentioned any thing respecting your own.' After a few moments of silence, with his eyes fixed on the ground, ' Madam,' he replied, ' have you read the siege of Jerusalem, as related by Josephus?' ' To be sure I have; and who has not? But you may suppose, if you please, that I know nothing about it.' ' Then you must know, madam, that during the siege of Jerusalem, a man, for seven successive days, went round the ramparts of that city, in the sight of the besiegers and the besieged, crying incessantly, in a loud inauspicious voice, Woe to Jerusalem: and on the seventh day, he cried, Woe to Jerusalem and to myself. At that very moment, an enormous stone, thrown by the machines of the enemy, dashed him to pieces.' M. Cazotte then made his bow and retired."
' Such, sir, is the extraordinary paper which M. de la Harpe left behind him. I have observed, in the beginning,
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that the editor of his works makes no remarks upon it, neither shall I venture to offer any. But you, who are so well acquainted with the events of" the last twenty-five years, cannot fail to know that the whole of the predictions, here ascribed to M. Cazotte, were literally fulfilled.
' Yours, &c.
A Constant Reader.
Not having the immediate opportunity of verifying this extract, I content myself with inserting it here : remarking only, that the above account has very lately been attested by a nephew of M. de la Harpe, who vouched for its truth, and stated that his relative's conversion to Christianity took place while he was in prison, by the instrumentality of a Jansenist similarly circumstanced.
It may not be generally known, but distinct traces of the miraculous faith of the early Church may be found in the most ancient Liturgies. See, for instance, the work entitled " The Ancient Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem*;" wherein we find the clearest evidence of a faith in miraculous healings, as also in satanic possession, and in dispossession. Some persons question the antiquity of such liturgies : and a learned writer has given it as his opinion, that there was no written Liturgy used in any Church, before the latter end of the fourth century, or the beginning of the fifth. But supposing this opinion to be correct, and the liturgies in question to be less ancient than some have imagined, this serves only to give the greater importance to their testimony, as it establishes the miraculous faith of the Church. For that the Church had such faith in the first ages is admitted by all, and needs no proof; and the further in advance we date the origin of the liturgies, the further we advance our miraculous evidence into those ages, when it has been denied that miracles prevailed.
""The Ancient Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem, being the Liturgy of St. James, freed from all latter additions and interpolations, &c. ' London. 1744
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The plan of the Editor is this: In his first column he gives' the " Liturgy of St. James," as we have it at present; in the second, the same Liturgy, freed, as he conceives, from interpolations, so as to be the ancient Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem, restored to its true form ; in the third, St. Cyril's account of that Liturgy; in the fourth, the Clementine Liturgy; and in the fifth, corresponding parts of other Liturgies, (" St. Mark's," " St. Chrysostom's," and "St. Basil's,") added for confirmation, or illustration.
In the " Liturgy of St. James," we find the following petition, which is given, also, without any alteration, as part of the "Ancient Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem."
" Remember, O Lord, those who are diseased and sick ; and those who are troubled by unclean spirits; and do thou, who art God, speedily heal and deliver them*."
I do not recommend the work from which I now cite, and which betrays an evident leaning to Popery. But the above extract, alone, affords a distinct proof of a miraculous faith.
* (Greek omitted) p. 50. Here, apparently, the (Greek omitted) relates to the diseases and sicknesses, and the (Greek omitted) to the unclean spirits.
Ellerton and Henderson, Printers, Goough Square, London.
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