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to behold Notre Dame and St. Geneviève con

verted into Gymnasia.

A French gentleman of some celebrity speaking to me the other day of a young and distinguished member of the House of Commons, said, and he was speaking to a large audience: "Mais il est un grand méthodiste n'est-ce pas ?"-"No; not that I know of," I replied. "Eh bien, je vous dirai ce qui m'est arrivé avec lui. We were talking of religion, I abused the catholic religion, your countryman, Sir, was particularly civil; 'Monsieur est donc protestant,' he said. 'Non, monsieur, je ne suis pas protestant.'-' Vous n'êtes pas protestant, vous n'êtes pas catholique-est-ce que vous êtes mahométan ou juif.'- Non; je ne suis ni protestant, ni catholique, ni mahométan, ni juif.'-' De quelle religion donc êtes-vous,' continued the young Englishman. Monsieur, je suis de la

religion de Socrate.'-' Eh bien ! voulez-vous le croire,"" exclaimed my French gentleman, "votre membre des Communes en avait l'air tout choqué."

Now this was said loud in a saloon where there were many persons, whom I happened to know where rigid and strict catholics, and yet no one seemed in the slightest degree annoyed at this public and unnecessary avowal

of deism on the part of the person who had been speaking so indecently.

In England we know that a person using such language would not only have excited the disgust, the just and decent disgust with which such an avowal of infidelity in a countryprofessing itself christian, ought to be received; far beyond any disgust of this kind, the feeling excited would have been a sort of bloodcurdling horror of superstitious abomination, which would have exaggerated into a ghost or vampire, a living mass of murder and impiety, the person who professed himself thus openly a pupil of Plato. It would therefore be very natural for an Englishman to suppose that the persons who listened quietly to Mr.'s declaration, were in fact of his opinions.

But Mr. Stuart mentions several cases of a similar kind in the United States of America, where there is certainly as much christianity, and even as much christian fanaticism as in Great Britain; yet, where no person thinks he has any right to abuse, and condemn a fellow citizen for having different convictions from his own, however atrocious he may deem those convictions.

This proceeds in both countries-in France and in America-from the general feeling of equality, which is established among all men;

an equality which is so much a habit of life, as to become a habit of thought, and which has to a certain degree extended itself from rights to ideas.

But notwithstanding any isolated facts to the contrary, many of which must necessarily fall within the reach of a partial enquirer, I think the state of christianity in France may be thus fairly described, as it exists at the present moment.

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That the districts most distinct from France, in general, are:-CHRISTIAN.

That the classes most wealthy in France, are:- :-CHRISTIAN.

That that part of the population numerically the most important in France, is:-CHRISTIAN. On the other hand:-That the spots in France most mixed up in French affairs, are:-INDIFFERENT OR OPPOSED TO CHRISTIANITY

VOL. I.

F 11

That the classes most influential in French

society, are: INDIFFERENT OR

to CHRISTIANITY.

OPPOSED

That that part of the population politically (electively and municipally,) the most important, - INDIFFERENT OR OPPOSED TO CHRIS

is

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TIANITY.

The national religion in France is considered to be the religion of the different influential sects in the nation; and the state pays a salary to the minister of the Catholic, the Protestant, and the Jewish worship.

I give the first at three different epochs.

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1,100 1,100

A Desservan (answers to our from 900 from 1,000
Curates in some degree.)

to 750 to

The changes have been in diminishing the salaries of the higher and raising the salaries of the lower clergy. The casuel' or fees from his parishoners double the Catholic priest's allowance.

The Protestant clergyman receives no ‘czsuel;' his allowance from the state varies from 3,000 to 1,000 francs, and may average about £60.

The grand Rabbin at Paris receives 6,000 francs- the other grand Rabbin 3000-the other Rabbins vary from 2,000 to 300 francs.

The Catholic religion has no longer any estates separate from its allowance. During the restoration, it was allowed to receive donations within a certain limit.

From 1820 to 1825-this was during the heat and fervor of the religious struggle I have described-the donations to the church doubled what they had been from 1815 to 1820-but let not political hypocrisy pass for religious zeal!

There were five times as many ANONYMOUS donations to other charitable institutions.

In an exposition of the rights, honours, preeminences and privileges of the ancient clergy of France, the author, a priest, and anxious to revive the ancient order of things, makes a comparison which, I believe, is a just one.

"The revenue of the ancient clergy of France," he says, "amounted before the revolution to about 135 millions of francs, (about five millions and a half sterling.) The budget of this year, (he was writing in

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