ened, the earth trembled, and the graves restored their dead. 6. The saints and their heavenly inheritance are protected by this name. To none of the great ones of earth has this charge been committed-"Henceforth," says Paul, "there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." Christ is thus chief among ten thousand -let us fear and love Him. We must all appear before Him in judgment—let us be prepared. SWADLINCOTE.-Our Foreign Missionary services were held on Sunday, January 27th, when the Rev. I Stubbins preached two sermons. On Tuesday, 29th, the public Missionary Meeting was held, the Rev. J. J. Irving, pastor, in the chair. Addresses were given by the Revs. I. Stubbins, W. Bailey, W. Sharman, and Mr. Crane. The secretary reported that £14 4s. 6d. had been collected by the juveniles. Total amount collected for missionary purposes amounted to £24 8s. 10d. Foreign Letters Received. BERHAMPORE-H. Wood, Feb. 2. CUTTACK-J. Buckley, D.D., Feb. 12. MISSION BOAT "HERALD"-W. Miller, Jan. 27. Contributions Received on account of the General Baptist Missionary Society from February 16th, Subscriptions and Donations in aid of the General Baptist Missionary Society will be thankfully received by W. B. BEMBRIDGE, Esq., Ripley, Derby, Treasurer; and by the Rev. W. HILL, Secretary, Crompton Street, Derby, from whom also Missionary Boxes, Collecting Books and Cards may be obtained. The Evangelization of Italy. OUR first sight of Rome, by the clear light of day, was on a Sunday. That Sunday had long been advertised as the opening day of our New Chapel in Rome; and therefore it may fairly be supposed that it was a day on which the thoughts of many readers of this Magazine turned their attention to the religious life of Rome and Italy. Hence our first "chat" about Rome and the Romans, and the extensive country of which Rome, after long and much-perplexed ages of suffering, is still the beating heart, may, with some fitness, be directed to its moral and spiritual condition. But we wish to state at the outset, and would like it to be remembered, that this, and any following papers on Italian topics, will only be "gossips." They cannot claim to be more. A month in Italy, of all countries in the world, is not likely to represent anything of any particular value, save to those who have not enjoyed even so short a visit as that. The condition of twenty-six millions of people cannot be fully estimated from the window of a railway carriage. A country so prodigiously rich in antiquarian and historical interest, so fertile in themes for the man of science and the student of architecture, for the lover of the pure forms of sculpture, and of the rich gifts of painting and poesy, for the learned jurist and the acute theologian, refuses to yield its full treasures to men hurrying along in an express train. Thorough examination is necessary for original and profound views, and thorough examination is precisely what we could not give. Still our information is the best that could be obtained in so brief a space. Access was afforded us to the capital features of interest, and to some of the best authorities on Italian subjects; and our statements will, at least, have the merit which belongs to an honest expression of honest impressions about facts on which we have striven to earn some right to speak. VESPERS IN ST. PETER'S, AND PREACHING IN THE "SALA CRISTIANA" First call for attention. We attended "Vespers" on Sunday, the 31st of March, in the world-famed basilica of St. Peter's. We heard an Italian sermon the same evening, preached to a crowded but small gathering of Romans, in the new and little-known chapel just erected in the Via Urbana. A more violent and suggestive contrast it is impossible to conceive. Facts more completely typical of the religious condition of Italy one could hardly find. The "vespers" were performed, or offered-we are unfamiliar with the correct ecclesiastical phraseology, and must trust to our impression of the character of the act, and therefore say, Vespers were performed— in an edifice which is the admiration of the world, the central home of the largest church bearing the name of Christ, the magnificent result of one hundred and seventy-six years of labour, and of the genius of fifteen architects, amongst whom were the celebrated Raphael and the GENERAL BAPTIST MAGAZINE, MAY, 1878.-VOL. LXXX.-N. S. No. 101. more illustrious Michael Angelo, and which, by its enormous mass, fills the beholder with an overwhelming, soul-subduing awe, that gradually subsides, on a close inspection of the details of which the mass is composed, into a feeling of intense and lively admiration. It is, indeed, a marvellous building. Paganism is there. The site is that used for the Emperor Nero's circus. The form of the edifice, though much altered, betrays the outlines of the ancient basilicas. The marble and bronze, stolen by Christian Popes from the Pantheon and other structures belonging to Old Rome, tell their own tale, and show, as Mr. Shakespeare Wood told us, who were the real Goths that destroyed the Rome of the Cæsars. Early Christianity is also there. For in that circus the first Christians valorously confessed their faith in Christ; and it is traditionally held to be the spot on which the Apostle Peter died. But the marriage of Christianity and Paganism is the most dominant feature of the place. It appears in the colossal statues of Constantine and Charlemagne; in the sacred relics so sedulously preserved; in the eighty-nine ever-burning lamps round Peter's tomb; and in the bronze statue of the Apostle. The edifice and its contents are a sermon. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." How unspeakably different our plain and unpretending structure on the Monti! Though it, too, is associated with the earliest memories of the followers of Christ. Reared on the site of the Palace of Pudens, it calls to mind the victories of the gospel over men and women of rank and station; and photographs a picture in which Paul and Timothy are seen holding fellowship with their friends Pudens and Claudia "concerning the things of the heavenly kingdom" in Rome. No magnificence is here; no pomp, no show. All is simple and serviceable. The "Sala" is built for use; and in all its appointments is the fitting home of men and women who desire to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to do all the good they can for their beloved fatherland. Passing from the building to the worship and work, the contrast is not less marked or representative. The "vespers" are performed by a large company of cardinals, priests, deacons, and others, arrayed in the distinctive and various attire of the Roman Catholic Church; but all so robed as to mark them off from the rest of men, and to indicate that they constitute a well-ordered and carefully graduated clerical caste. The worship in the "Sala" is conducted by a man, who dresses like a man, speaks as a man amongst men, and as a brother and friend amongst brethren and friends. Not a trace of priestism shows itself in the service in the Via Urbana. In St. Peter's the priest is all and in all ! The singing in the choir chapel of St. Peter's is most artistic and effective; more operatic than devotional, and is restricted to a wellselected and able choir. At our service all is heartiness, vehemence, and joy; and when "Sicura in man di Christo" is sung to the tune of "Safe in the arms of Jesus," English and Italians alike feel perfectly at home. Next to the singing, the offering of incense was the leading feature of the "Vespers." Beginning with the highest in clerical rank, the incense bearer, after certain well-executed genuflexions, swung the censer before each ecclesiastic, descending step by step with amusing carefulness, until at last the people are reached, and some of them are THE EVANGELIZATION OF ITALY. 163 incensed, in more senses than one. All this, and the carrying of lighted candles, the bowing of the knee, the crossing, and indeed the whole ritual, was performed with faultless grace and admirable agility. We wondered how they could help laughing at each other; and indeed, thought we detected some slight movement of the muscles usually exercised for the expression of risible emotions, but could not withhold our admiration of the agility, freeness, ease, and grace, with which every part of the whole performance was gone through. English ritualism has a long way to go before it approximates in these respects the actors in St. Peter's. The principal element in the "Sala" service was the sermon. At St. Peter's it was skill in the use of muscles; at Mr. Wall's it was an exercise of intellect. In the first there was the titillation of the nose with fumes of incense, the bending of the knee, the swift carriage of lighted candles without extinguishing them; in the latter, there were questions for the head, and emotions of faith and love roused within the heart. We wished we could follow the preacher fully. His text was 2 Timothy iii. 13, 14, 15, and his topic the Primacy of Rome; and his argument was to prove that the real Primacy of Rome was not derived from any figment of apostolical succession, but from the fact that six of Paul's letters were written in Italy, and five of the six in Rome, and one specially for the Romans. Mr. Wall is thoroughly master of his work, understands the Italian character and habits and needs completely, and held his audience in fixed attention to the last. He illustrated his sermon by reference to Luther and his ascent of the Holy Stairs, and to the legend of the Three Fountains that sprang up at the points where the head of Paul, after it was cut off, bounded to; and ridiculing the legend, showed that the real fountains of St. Paul were His world-fertilizing Epistles. By so much as the heart is more than muscle, and the direction of the intellect more than the bending of the knee, was the Sermon in the "Sala" superior to the Vespers in St. Peter's. And the Italians are beginning to see this. It seemed that there were scarcely any persons present to witness the vesper ceremonies, except those who went out of curiosity, or those who were attracted by the singing. Mr. Wall had a congregation that filled the new chapel to the doors, and nine out of every ten were men-shrewd, practical, and earnest and they listened to the last with fixed attention. We have never seen such a preponderance of men at any religious meeting. TWO RELIGIONS. These two scenes closely following one another, stand for the two chief factors in the religious life of United Italy-for its old, paganized, ritualistic misrepresentation of Christ and His gospel; and for its new evangelizing forces the former is hoary, and honoured, deeply-rooted in the prejudices and customs and habits of the people; but it is false; false to the New Testament, to man, and to God. The latter is feeble, but true; true to Christ, and to man. They embody two religions. They differ fundamentally in their conception of God and of Christ, in their idea of the church and of worship, and in their results on men and nations. They are based on two antagonistic principles. One says, pure ritual and undefiled before God and the Father, is a faultless ceremonial: the other says it is a faultless life and an overflowing love. One is mechanical and selfish; the other is spiritual and aglow with the love of God and man. The one is a renewed Paganism; the other is the mind of Christ. The forces which represent these religions differ incredibly. A few Christians of different denominations from England and America, are the leaders of a small army of suffering and loyal Italians, who have bravely surrendered, in some cases, the means of obtaining a livelihood to witness for Christ. On the other hand is an army of priests, wellofficered, well-drilled, and sustained by the wealth, the prestige, and the whole power of the nation. Wisely may the faithful and brave few say, "Who is sufficient for these things?" and with no less wisdom may they take heart, as they recall the early victories of Christianity on Roman and Italian ground. God is the same now as then, and His gospel has not lost a fragment of its power. VARIETY OF EVANGELICAL AGENCIES. The labours of those engaged in seeking the return of primitive Christianity to Rome are not, however, restricted to the preaching of the gospel. They show a living adaptation to the special necessities of the Italian habits and character. General Baptist churches sustain evangelists in connection with Mr. Wall's work in Rome. Colporteurs distribute the ever-quickening Word. The press is freely used. Sunday schools are in active operation; and the Wesleyans and others take advantage of day schools for the dissemination of gospel truth. Converts are watched over with sleepless vigilance, and nourished in the faith, with tact and sympathy. Mrs. Wall has an admirable work amongst the beggars of Rome; and at NAPLES, where we spent our second Sunday, we found a Young Men's Christian Association, attended by students of the University and others, in vigorous operation under the leadership of the second son of our friend Dr. Landels. Week evening classes for teaching writing are about to be commenced. A church of twenty-two members has been gathered, and the true "notes" of a church of Christ in suffering, self-denial, devotion, and simplicity, are present. An evangelist, sustained by the Baptist churches in Naples, is also employed; and a second preaching-room, in a good position, is about to be engaged. In short, there is not only a recurrence to the primitive spirit, but also to the primitive freedom and flexibility of movement, on the part of those who are seeking to bring the Italians from the dead works of the Papacy to the service of the living God. ENGLAND'S NEGLECT OF EUROPE. But the capital need is more men and women to work in this extremely difficult, but most promising field. From north and south alike, the cry comes for Christians of apostolic fervour and zeal, fired with a divine and irrepressible enthusiasm, gifted with tact, good sense, patience, and all but exhaustless capacity for toil. The Free Churches of England have only recently woke up to the needs of Europe. Baptists are not even yet fully awake. They have adopted the policy of |