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attention of passengers should be arrested. "Wisdom" must be allowed to "cry without, in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates;" and though a commanding position may cost a little more, it will be cheapest in the end, and most productive. Recent events go far to prove that the reasons which, for fifty years, have existed for the erection of Wesleyan metropolitan chapels, now apply themselves with greater force than ever. That body of Christian professors has never stood obtrusively forward, though occasion to advance has not been wanting; but now they must seek a local habitation, and a tenable abode. Nor will it be quite irrelevant to state, that, by providing a decent roof, under which divine worship shall be conducted, the usual and long-standing practices of Wesleyanism will be preserved. Mr. Wesley, from the very beginning of his public career, used to say, "I do not desire to go before, but to follow, the leadings of Providence." He was often an invited guest, but never an unbidden intruder; and if, in process of time, he became the public teacher of his people, and an eminent one, it was not that he sought the office, but that those who thirsted for instruction sought out and selected him. He at first preached in cathedrals and churches; when excluded from them, he took refuge in private houses, in assembly-rooms, in townhalls, in theatres, in barns; then in the open air, with the sky for his sounding-board, by means of which, or some other heavenly agency, he was so mightily assisted, as to make himself heard by three or four thousand persons at once. After that he retired with dignity to the chapels that successively arose in his Connexion; that is, he consulted the taste and tendency of the times in which he lived, and

the manifest desire of his hearers: the very thing that must be done now. Whoever takes a retrospect of public events for the last few years, will perceive that, in the propagation of any tenet or system, the most effective measures for its enforcement are taken within the walls of some suitable building. There have, it is true, been certain attempts at out-door speaking, both by Tee-totallers and Chartists; but these orators, all and sundry, have seldom secured an audience, and never an attentive one. And even with regard to the preaching of the Gospel, it is submitted, of course with deference, that open-air preaching is less effective than formerly. Many able and zealous men have occasionally, as Whitefield used to say, “gone forth without the camp, bearing his reproach;" but generally speaking, the listlessness of the spectators has indicated a decided preference for the worship of God within the precincts of the sanctuary. That this view is adopted both by Episcopalians and Dissenters, is evident: witness the numerous churches and chapels of recent erection.

The malady, therefore, under which the Wesleyan interest in London has laboured, consists in excessive confinement. The remedy, if effectual, must secure an enlargement of its borders, so that the healthful exercise of its pent-up powers may induce an increase of liberty and health. Taken as a statement of facts, this paper may at least be useful in exciting attention to an important subject in quarters where effective co-operation may arise, and be beneficially applied. There is in London no lack of means for producing chapel-room; and while the heart indites good matter, hands will be found to convert sound theory to profitable practice. OCCIDUUS.

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ROBERT RAIKES, ESQ., AND THE SABBATH-SCHOOL ON "THE GREEN."

(To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine.)

As Sunday-schools are becoming a general topic of conversation and of notice, it may be interesting to put on record the following fact, related by the late Rev. Thomas Roberts, of Bath, forty years ago; at the same time requesting me to accompany him to a village near Gloucester, for the purpose of visiting the place where an elderly pious woman (a Methodist) had long lived on what was called "the Green," where the children of the village had been accustomed to assemble every Lord's day as though it had been their appropriate play-ground. This greatly moved the righteous soul of the Christian spectator; and often and earnestly did she pray, that God would be pleased to employ her in some way to be useful to them. She was in humble life, but knew that the Lord did not despise the day of small things. At length, as though awakening from a dream, a novel object arrested her attention by presenting a view beyond that of "the green,' so often covered with the sportive gambols of frolicsome youth: another feeling was aroused, which induced the inquiry, " What can be done to prevent this evil? Can anything be accomplished? Is there any step that I can take?" Instantly she beckoned the children: they approached: she showed them pictures, telling them that on the following Sabbath they should see more, and then she would tell them the meaning of what they saw. The little folks did not forget her invitation; nor did the Scripture history, when related in this simple and affectionate manner, fail to win their attention; Sabbath after Sabbath they flocked around her; and soon did she perceive that God had answered her prayer, and that that was the inspiration of her effort and her theme. After a while the case obtained publicity; so that Robert Raikes, on hearing of it, went to see the patriarchal

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lady surrounded by her docile and listening tribe. The light from heaven lit up his spirit,-a light which has enkindled nation after nation! a light now reaching into eternity, whilst countless throngs admire and extol that wisdom so beautifully described by the Apostle: “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things which are!" Neither ought it to be forgotten, that such was the enthusiasm of Mr. Roberts, when speaking on this subject, that he said, "If a monument be raised to Robert Raikes as the founder of Sabbath-schools, there ought to be a primary one to the Christian woman as the originator of the scheme; for she pre-eminently took the lead in that work of mercy." And it was his wish that such a monument should be raised, by every Sabbathscholar subscribing, if only to the amount of one halfpenny; which would probably have been done, ere this, but for the supineness of the writer of this paper.

If a trophy worthy of high and jubilant admiration and renown be wanting, let us look to "the village green" in Gloucestershire. How simple in its origin, yet how rich and glorious in its consequences!—like "a grain of mustard-seed, which is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Here is the description, the parallel, the completion, which constitutes a living exhibition, an undeniable exemplification, that "the word of the Lord abideth for ever." Little did the lowly, retired Christian think what would be the produce

of the grain of mustard-seed thus scattered by her feeble hand! But unconscious as she was of its increase and its growth, the branches have multiplied, and the birds continue to come and lodge under its wide-spreading shadow! And still it offers and gives shelter to many a poor, lost, wandering spirit! And to whom are the nations of the earth indebted for this unspeakable blessing? To God, the Author and Giver of all good. And on whom did he please to confer the honour of becoming the first instrument of doing such service? It was on one who might safely be intrusted with the task. It was evident that she looked to, and depended upon, God to appoint her work,-any work, no matter of what sort! and then, it was the fruit of prayer. She was, in fact, like Saul of Tarsus, led into it blindfold! There was also another Saul, who was sent to seek asses, and instead thereof he found a kingdom; (1 Sam. ix. 3; x. 24;) but who would have thought it possible that such results should follow the child-like action of showing pictures to playful youths? and who could have imagined such consequences would have ensued from the crying babe lying in a basket among bulrushes in the river of Egypt? (Exod. ii. 5, 6.) Well does the tissue of the case merit our notice! The whole affair in question is admirable; for, by a woman, a Methodist, in seclusion and in obscurity, the mighty movement commenced! not by a man, wise, learned, far-seeing, calculating, firmly resolving, and promptly performing. Here, then, is evidence to silence the gainsayer, that God will not give his glory to ano

ther: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." He sets his seal, his blessing, on the poor. (Luke vi. 20.) "Blessed are ye that weep now, blessed are ye that hunger, blessed when men shall revile, hate, reproach, persecute you." All this is congruous with what is revealed of the birth, life, and death of "the sent of God." His humiliation is the Christians' honour and inheritance; his sorrow, their consolation; his contumely, derision, and mockery, their fame and highest reputation; and his death of torture and of agony, the Christians' paradise. Look we, then, once more on the poor, humble saint in her retired cottage, and we behold in her the most befitting instrument to give the A B C of instruction; the wisdom of God being peculiarly manifest in the

selection of one so suitable for the work. An intricate and stately apparatus might have caught the eye of inspection, and probably of invention; but it would have been comparatively lost labour. Whereas no design in this instance was visible, no human skill was requisite. What was needful was at hand; that hand was there instantly stretched forth to beckon the gazing children. The signal was no sooner given, than the rustic host prepared for the battle, not armed as riors, but each ready to take a sling and stone to defeat the Goliath of ignorance. Let man, with his carnal wisdom, succumb to the village green,' and own that "it was not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit," as the Lord hath said.

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VERITAS.

SPANISH MARTYRS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

PART III.

(To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine.)

THE second auto-de-fé, or act of faith, in the city of Valladolid, was celebrated October 8th, 1559. It was attended by the King, Philip

VOL. XXIII. Third Series.

II., together with his son, his sister, the Prince of Parma, three Ambassadors from France, and a large assemblage of Prelates and nobility. AUGUST, 1844. 2 Z

The Inquisitor-General, Valdes, administered the oath to the King; on which occasion Philip, rising from his seat, and drawing his sword in token of his readiness to use it in support of the Inquisition, swore and subscribed the oath, which was afterwards read aloud to the people. Twenty-nine prisoners appeared on the scaffold; sixteen of whom wore the garb of penitents, while the others were doomed to the stake. Among the penitents was Donna Isabella de Castilla, wife of Don Carlos de Seso, and a descendant of the Royal Family of Castile and Leon; together with her niece, Donna Catalina, and three Nuns of St. Belen. Donna Isabella and her niece were condemned to lose all their property, to wear the san-benito, and to be imprisoned for life. Another Nun of St. Belen, Donna Catalina de Reynoza, daughter of the Baron de Auzillo, and sister of the Bishop of Cordova, was put to death. She was only twenty-one years of age, and was charged with having said to the sisters, when engaged in their monkish devotions, Cry aloud, that Baal may hear you break your heads, and see if he will heal them."

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Don Carlos de Seso was a distinguished nobleman, born at Verona, and having rendered important services to the Emperor Charles V., had been held by him in great honour. He was not less elevated by dignity of character, mental accomplishments, and decorum of manners, than by his birth and connexions. While he resided at Valladolid, he connected himself with the Protestants in that city. Toro, at Zamora, and at Palencia he zealously promoted the cause of reformation, by the circulation of books, and by personal instructions. After his marriage, he settled at Villamediana, and was successful in diffusing religious knowledge at Logrono, and in the surrounding country. He was arrested at Logrono, and thrown into the secret prisons of the Inquisition at Valladolid; where, in June, 1558, he answered the interrogatories proposed to him. His conduct during

his imprisonment was worthy of his noble character, and of the active part he had taken in the cause of religious reform. In the examinations which he underwent, he never varied, nor sought to excuse himself by attaching blame to those whom he knew his Judges were anxious to condemn. When informed of his sentence, on the night before his execution, he called for pen, ink, and paper, and having written a confession of his faith, gave it to the officer, saying, "This is the true faith of the Gospel, as opposed to that of the Church of Rome, which has been corrupted for ages. In this faith I wish to die, and in the remembrance and lively belief of the passion of Jesus Christ, to offer to God my body, now reduced so low." The whole of that night and the next morning were spent by the Friars in ineffectual attempts to induce him to recant. He appeared in the procession with a gag in his mouth, which remained till he reached the place of execution. It was removed after he was bound to the stake, and the Friars began again to exhort him to confess. He replied in a loud voice, and with great firmness, I could demonstrate to you, that you ruin yourselves by not imitating my example; but there is no time. Executioners, light the pile that is to consume

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They obeyed; and De Seso expired in the flames without a struggle or a groan, being in the forty-third year of his age.

Pedro de Cazalla, parish Priest of Pedrosa, when arrested in April, 1558, acknowledged that he had embraced the Protestant doctrines. He refused to make confession to the Priest, sent to intimate his sentence, and appeared in the auto with the gag; but after he was bound to the stake, being supposed to ask for a Confessor, he was strangled, and then cast into the fire. He was only in the thirty-fourth year of his

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De Seso. He first appeared before the Inquisition in May, 1558, and afterwards underwent frequent examinations. Deluded by the prospect of a merciful sentence, he was induced to make certain professions of sorrow, and to throw out insinuations unfavourable to the cause of Archbishop Carranza; but as soon as he was undeceived, he craved an audience of the Inquisitors, at which he did ample justice to that Prelate, without asking any mitigation of his own punishment. On the night before his execution he refused the services of the Priest, appointed to wait on him. When the ceremonies of the auto were finished, and the secular Judge had pronounced sentence on the prisoners delivered over to him, De Roxas, in passing by the royal box, made an appeal to the King's mercy. "Canst thou, Sire, thus witness the torments of thy innocent subjects? Save us from so cruel a death." "No," replied Philip, sternly, "I would myself carry wood to burn my own son, were he such a wretch as thou." De Roxas was about to say something in defence of himself and his fellow-sufferers, when, the unrelenting despot waving his hand, the officers instantly thrust the gag into the martyr's mouth. There it remained, contrary to the usual custom, after he was bound to the stake so much were his Judges irritated at his boldness, or afraid of the liberties he would use. The account inserted in the records of the Inquisition states, that his courage failed at length, and that, having begged for a Confessor, and having received absolution, he was strangled. But private letters written at the time from Spain, say that, notwithstanding all the efforts of the Monks, urging him to recant, "he answered them with a bold spirit, that he would never renounce the doctrine of Christ:" and another author, Sepulveda, mentions De Roxas among those who were thrown alive into the flames, because they persevered in error.'

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to the Netherlands, under a fictitious name. Thinking himself safe, he wrote letters in May, 1558, addressed to Donna Catalina Hortega, in whose family he had formerly resided. That lady having been seized as a suspected Lutheran, the letters fell into the hands of the Inquisitors, who sent information to Philip, at Brussels. Sanchez was apprehended, conveyed to Valladolid, and there delivered over to the secular Magistrate, as an impenitent heretic. The gag was taken from his mouth at the place of execution; but as he did not ask for a Confessor, the pile was kindled. When the fire had consumed the ropes by which he was bound, he darted from the stake, and unconsciously leaped on the scaffold used for receiving the confessions of those who recanted in their last moments. The Friars instantly collected to the spot, and urged him to retract his errors. Recovering from his momentary delirium, and looking around him, he saw on one side some of his fellow-prisoners on their knees, doing penance, and on the other side, Don Carlos de Seso standing unmoved in the midst of the flames. Hereupon he walked deliberately back to the stake, and, calling for more fuel, said, "I will die like De Seso." The executioners, incensed at what they considered a proof of audacious impiety, strove who should first comply with his request. He died in the thirty-third year of his age.

Donna Marina Guevara, a Nun of St. Belen, when first denounced to the Inquisition, owned that she had entertained certain Lutheran opinions, but with hesitation, and in ignorance of their import and tendency. Her petition to be reconciled was refused, because she would not acknowledge some things which the witnesses had deposed against her, and because she persisted in asserting that she had not yielded a cordial and complete assent to the heresies with which her mind had been tainted. She was connected with persons of high rank, including Valdes, the Grand Inquisitor, who used every means for her deli

Juan Sanchez, at the commencement of the persecution of the Protestants in Valladolid, had escaped

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