Letters from Abroad (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1878 edition. Excerpt: ...Protestant church, the chaplain of which is an old Cambridge friend of mine, Mr. Frossard. I also visited the French Protestant church, and the Protestant hospital. In that hospital, among other patients, I found an old sailor from Cornwall; and I was glad to see that he was improving his time by reading one of the valuable publications of our London Religious Tract Society. Opposite Mr. Frossard's house is the Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph, husband to the virgin Mary. On the top of the church outside, there is engraven on the stone walls in large letters, "Deus comtituit Joseph quasi patrem regis et dominum universce domus ejus." (" God appointed Joseph father as it were of the king, and lord of his universal church.-") Where do we read of any such appointment being made by God? Not surely iu "God's" word. In the garden adjoining the church is a monastery, and I saw the monks with their cowls over their shoulders walking up and down the garden. In that garden is a lofty statue of the virgin Mary; and these monks at certain hours come and perform their devotions on their knees around this statue. What authority again have they for this? Not surely God's word, which says (Exod. xx. 5), "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them." But how can we expect things to be different, when both priests and people alike are so ignorant of the Scriptures? To the Roman Catholic population of France the Bible is almost an unknown book. I entered yesterday one of their day-schools for a hundred and sixty girls, taught by nuns. I saw there many statues and pictures of Mary, but I could not see a single copy of God's Word. How privileged are our boys and girls in England, who, in all our schools (with a very few unhappy exceptions), have God's own Word...