LETTER XIX. Martigny. MY DEAR IT often happens that where we expect the greatest gratification we enjoy the least. I have felt the force of this reflection in my visit to Geneva. The shortness of our stay did not allow us, indeed, to see any of its society; and the information I had previously obtained of the state of religion was not such as to excite in my mind very exalted expectations of pleasure from that source. Few of the doctrines, and little of the spirit, which once rendered it the glory of the Protestant world, now remain and that truth, which was asserted and maintained by Calvin, a name to which the city of Geneva is more indebted for its celebrity than to the grandeur of its scenery, the beauties of its lake, or the stern character of its ancient independence, has scarcely an asylum within its walls.* The pastors : * What was the state of things in this respect, in Voltaire's time, may be pretty correctly gathered from the friendship that subsisted between that arch-infidel and the pastors of Geneva. In a letter to D'Alembert, in 1757, he writes, "The magistrates and the priests come to dine with me as usual. Continue to leave with me and Tronchin the charge of the pleasant affair of the Socinians of Ge. neva." In another to the same correspondent, he says, "It cannot be otherwise then that, in Calvin's own town, with a population of four and twenty thousand free thinkers, there should still remain a few Calvinists; but they are extremely few, and are well abused. of its churches are almost to a man, Arians, or Socinians. A few, perhaps, may cherish the genuine principles of the reformation and feel their influence. I know, indeed, that this is the case, but they bear no proportion to the majority, who are sunk in infidelity and scepticism, and can do but little towards the diffusion of that divine light, and the spread of that glorious gospel, by the resuscitating energy of which the Church of Geneva may again awake from the philosophic dreams of infidelity, and emulate the zeal, the piety, and the simplicity of former times. All honest folks are deists." These are surely awful testimonies against them; for what communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part bath he that believeth with an infidel? Another evidence as to the state of religion in Geneva about that time, may be gathered from the article Genève, in the French Encyclopædia. The writer of that article says, "To say all in one word, many of the pastors of Geneva own no religion but pure Socinianism. They reject all those things that are called mysteries, and consider it as the first principle of a true religion, that it shall propose nothing to be believed that offends reason. Also, when pressed upon the necessity of revelation, that dogma so essential to Christianity, most substitute the term utility, (utilité) which appears to them more soft. In this, if they are not orthodox, they are, however, true to their principles." No wonder, that in the very next paragraph in the same horrible article, should be the following passage: "It is not surprising that the progress of infidelity should be less deprecated at Geneva than elsewhere, since their religion is reduced almost to the adoration of one only Godrespect for Jesus Christ and the Scriptures being the only things which distinguished the Christianity of Geneva from pure deism." "The pastors of Geneva," says Rousseau," are asked if Jesus Christ is God: they dare not answer. They are asked what mysteries they admit: They dare not answer. A philosopher casts upon them a haughty glance; he sees through them; he discovers them to be Arians, Socinians; he proclaims it, and thinks that he does But I was somewhat disappointed in the general appearance of the city. The style of building, in the commercial part of it, is extremely uncouth and barbarous. The roofs of the houses project entirely over the footpath, and are supported by long pillars from the streets. Lines of little shops, not unlike the moveable offices which you see upon the quays in London and in Liverpool, are placed between the footpath and the horse road, so that the light being impeded both from above and below, the whole has a mean and gloomy appearance. There are some good houses in the upper part of the town, built of them honour. Immediately alarmed, terrified, they assemble, they consult, they are agitated; they know not what saint to call upon ; and after manifold consultations, deliberations, conferences, the whole terminates in a nonplus, in which is neither said, Yes, nor No. These clerical gentlemen of your's are, in truth, singular beings. One knows not either what they believe or what they disbelieve; one does not even know what they pretend to believe ; their only method of establishing their own faith is by attacking that of others." Thus it was fifty years ago: how it is now, may be learned from the catechism which the pastors of that church have lately published, in which every thing essential and vital in Christianity is omitted; nothing is left to be believed, and unbelief is the very essence and spirit, if it can be called so, of the system. I rejoice, however, that there is a remnant of holy and devoted men still in Geneva, who retain the most ardent attachment to the doctrines of their forefathers, and fear not to preach them faithfully. These men have recently been encouraged by the countenance and zeal of a few British Christians, and by their united efforts, with the blessing of heaven, we have reason to hope that the pure principles of the reformation may yet prevail again in Geneva. Those who wish to see more on this melancholy subject, may consult a most important article in the Eclectic Review for January, 1818, on the above-mentioned catechism, and the catechism itself. stone, and very lofty, commanding magnificent views of the lake and the surrounding country. There is little uniformity in the streets of Geneva. They are wild and irregular, and, with few exceptions, very steep, in perfect accordance with the character of the neighbouring scenery. Many parts of the city reminded me of Chester, especially those streets in which the roofs of the houses project as I have described. They present a nearer approach to the rows of that ancient city than any thing I have seen elsewhere. Geneva is surrounded by fortifications, and is entered by gates and draw-bridges. The entrance from the French side is very hand some. On Sunday, I debated much in my own mind where I should worship. Unhappily, the gentleman to whom I had an introduction was from home, and our mâitre de place could give me very little information on religious matters. Aware, however, of the state of things in the churches of Geneva, and ignorant who and what I might hear, I determined for the English episcopal chapel. I felt the devotional part of the service extremely edifying, and was much impressed with the scriptural character and deeply devotional spirit of the liturgy. I wish I could say as much of the sermon. The chapel was very respectably attended by English families, resi dent chiefly in the vicinity of Geneva. There were several carriages, and some with coronets, at the door, after service. We were then too late for any of the churches; and indisposition, the result, I be lieve, of extreme fatigue, induced me to remain at home the rest of the day. There was more external decency observed in Geneva than at Paris; but, nearly the whole of the afternoon, they were fiddling and dancing in the opposite house to our hotel, quite after the manner of a continental sabbath; and from six in the morning, I was completely robbed of my repose, by a Frenchman in the next chamber to mine reading aloud what appeared to me to be a French play with all the intonation and vociferation of an actor, studying his part for the performance of the evening. The views of the lake from my bed-room window would have been delightful, but the incessant rain that fell during the whole of the day, and the thickness of the atmosphere in the morning, deprived me of their full enjoyment. But the lake, in this part of it, is ever restless; the Rhone about to issue from it prevents its repose, and its murmurs are pleasing to the ear. They awakened many interesting associations in my mind, and the impression was, perhaps, as powerful, as if all the majestic scenery that surrounds it had been perfectly unveiled to my view. We had not been long in Geneva before we were waited upon by a Monsieur Crotet, who offered his services as our guide to the glaciers of Savoy. He had served the Princess of Wales in that capacity, and possessed her attestation, together with that of many other distinguished characters, to his qualifications for such an office. He traced out to us the plan of our route, upon a beautiful model of the Alps of Savoy, executed in relief, which he brought |