196 THE HYACINTH, 



forth to commence a new arrear, with perfect as- 

 surance that by the same process that too shall be 

 made to pass away. Thus is the conscience sear- 

 ed, and the sinner deluded ; as was poor Doghery, 

 until, through the faithful testimony borne without 

 reserve against his darling errors, he was led to 

 feel his dreadful peril, while walking along a bridge 

 of straw, over a gulph of ascending flames. And 

 this is the case with every member of the church 

 of Rome, high and low, rich and poor. Thus are 

 we guilty concerning our brethren, if we fail to set 

 before them the peril in which they stand. The 

 wild fanatics who murdered Doghery, were less 

 guilty than we, if we hold our peace, when oppor- 

 tunity is given to plead' with a member of that 

 anti-Christian church. They acted up to the spirit 

 of the religion tte they professed ; we do not. 

 They killed his body ; but in so doing sent his 

 soul to glory : we study the ease of our own bo 

 dies, and to retain the mistaken good-will of our 

 neighbours, at the fearful price of accelerating 

 their pace to everlasting destruction. I say accel 

 erating ; for if we, calling ourselves Protestants, 

 withhold the PROTEST, which by that very 

 name, we are pledged to make, what must their 

 inference be, but that we are not of the same mind 

 with our fathers, who yielded their bodies to the 

 flames, rather than even feign a tacit acquiescence 

 in the fearful delusions of others ? They see us 



