CHAPTER VII.

Dedication of the temple in Freyssinières.—Formation of the school at Dormilleuse.-Other labours.

'Guillestre, the end of August and Sept. 1824. 'THE subject on which I am now about to write is one of peculiar interest; the dedication of the temple in Freyssinières. Such a festival in France is of no light nature. After having seen the temples everywhere destroyed, and the faithful obliged to assemble in secret, at the risk of their lives, in woods and caverns; it is a solemn spectacle to see these temples rebuilt by permission and assistance of the Sovereign; and very natural that the Protestants should testify their gratitude, not only to God, but to the monarch who protects them.

'At the dedication of our temple we expected M. Blanc from Mens. M. Bonifas had also written to say he would come, and M. Bost, moderator of the Vaudois churches of Piedmont, promised to attend, with some of his colleagues. The president of our consistory, M. d'Aldebert, who had fixed the day for our festival, was also to be present, and the subprefect, though a Papist, had also promised to join us. But of all whom we expected, the sub-prefect, and an aged Vaudois pastor were the only two who The rest had all some excuse, or reason, for not keeping their appointment; and had it not been

came.

for the old Vaudois pastor, who at the age of ninetythree was not afraid to pass the High Alps, I should have been as it were alone; which would have been quite an affront to the church of Freyssinières.

'The solemnity took place on Sunday, August 29; and the evening before, I began the preparations. A bower of oak-branches in full leaf, shaded the entrance to the building, intended to shelter from the sun, those of the auditors for whom there might not be room in the temple.

'On Saturday morning several strangers arrived ; among others, our friend Ferdinand Martin from Champsaur, with his uncle and others. In the evening came the old Vaudois pastor attended by several laymen. The people were greatly mortified not to see either M. Bost, or the president; but we expected them in vain.

'It seemed as though we were doomed to mortifications; for during supper, I was drawn into an argument with the Vaudois pastor, which at last became rather warm. He launched out into such unqualified praises of Protestants generally, and of the Vaudois in particular, exalting them to the clouds in comparison with Roman Catholics; that I could not help venturing a few remarks on the danger of flattering people, and of the little good to be derived from extolling one party at the expense of another; reminding him of the duty of pulling the beam out of our own eye. M. M— retorted, and soon displayed the fallacy of his own principles. I was very awkwardly placed. On the one hand it was scarcely becoming in me to enter into a dispute so publicly, with a respectable old man, who had taken the trouble to come so far to attend our service; and on the other I could not bear the idea of allowing error to pass uncontradicted. I endeavoured therefore, to express myself at once with mildness and candour, and in fact, the old man was the only one who was really angry.

The dispute lasted some time; and as he was certainly fighting on the wrong side, he constantly contradicted himself, and was condemned by the very texts he brought forward in his own defence. At length on his accusing me of severity, I reminded him of the discipline of his own church; which however, he thought strict; but said, 'if you read M. Vincent of Nismes, and M. Sailer, you will see that the string must not be drawn too light, but that we must accommodate ourselves to the age.' I had not much difficulty in answering him; but asked him if he would have the Holy Spirit go to M. M. Vincent and Sailer, and learn to reform the Gospel in conformity with the fashion? He was extremely angry, and declared that M. Vincent was the light of the age, and the glory of protestantism. I contented myself with saying, that I had always imagined Jesus Christ to be the light of every age; and there the discussion ended.

'Being anxious to prevent this dispute from causing vexation to our friends, and throwing a gloom over our festivities, I followed the old man to his room, and wished him good night. Touched by this, and feeling he had done wrong by giving way to passion, he embraced me affectionately, and we parted for the night in peace, to the great satisfaction of all our friends. No fresh altercation arose during his stay, and I endeavoured to treat him with every respect. When he left us, he gave me a cordial invitation to visit him.

Early on Sunday morning, the temple was filled with people from the neighbouring valleys; Papists, as well as Protestants. I ascended the pulpit at 9 o'clock, and explained some verses in the Epistle to the Hebrews, drawing a parallel between the Old and New Covenants.

After this service the sub-prefect arrived; and then, finding it in vain to look for the president, I requested the old Vaudois pastor to perform the dedi

catory service; a compliment due to his age. He preached from Jeremiah vii. 4, 5. Though full of years, he preaches with all the force and energy of a young man. After the sermon, I offered up the benedictory prayer; and the Vaudois pastor then read to the assembly some verses of his own composition, full of touching recollections. The service being concluded by a psalm and the blessing, we went to dine with the sub-prefect, an open-hearted amiable man. He takes much interest in the commune of Freyssinière, and often visits it, to inspect a flock of Thibet goats, which are kept there for the king. It may not perhaps be useless to me to have made his acquaintance on this occasion.

'After dinner, the sub-prefect returned to Embrun, and we adjourned to the temple. Supposing that we should have been joined this day by two or three presidents of consistory, I did not at all expect to preach on the occasion, much less, to do so twice; and I was in no way prepared, though long in the habit of preaching extempore. I preached from Hebrews viii. 2. I defined the material church made with hands, according to the Old and New Covenant. I then divided my discourse into three heads, First,-Christ is the Minister of the heavenly sanctuary, into which he is entered as Priest and sacrifice. Second,-The church both militant and triumphant, called a temple boly to the Lord. Third,—Our hearts are the temples of the Holy Ghost. At the end of each division, I earnestly exhorted the people to receive the offered grace of Christ, and to go to him.

'On Monday 30, I went to Briançon, with a brother of Blanc, his cousin, and Cordier's eldest son. The other brother of Blanc returned to Mens, and I made him the bearer of letters.

6

My reason for going to Briançon, was, that I might see more of M. Blanc the younger, who appeared quick and intelligent. We conversed a good

deal during our walk, and though he at first made many objections to the doctrines of the Gospel, he seemed at length to understand them more clearly. He lives in Piedmont, and earnestly invited me to visit him there.

'On Wednesday, September 1, I returned to Freyssinières. On arriving at Pallon, I found the wife of the ex-Mayor ill with an epidemic, which has visited all the houses in this hamlet, but has not once proved fatal. The inhabitants of these districts have no idea of the management and nursing of the sick : if they recover, it is entirely through providence, for no one gives them anything, even to drink, unless it be some wine. I made some gruel for this poor woman, (a mother of six little children) and. sat up with her that night to give her some from time to time; and the next morning I gave her husband the best advice I was able respecting her, and then left them.

'On Thursday I went to Minsals, and on Friday to Dormilleuse, where I was furnished with a horse and guide, to the Col d'Orsiere, which I passed; and arrived the same day at Champsaur, where I was to spend the following Sunday. I had already crossed the Col on the 9th of August; there was then not much snow to be seen, till within a league and a half of the summit, we met with some snow-heaps more than thirty feet thick. This was below the glaciers, and as you will easily believe these heaps were not melted by the 3rd of September. Though the Col is much higher than the glaciers, several little plants are here and there met with, which are not to be found in the valleys.

'Saturday evening brought me to the house of Ferdinand Martin. Sunday being the day of the patron-saint; much dissolute and profligate conduct often takes place, for the people of Champsaur are great drinkers, and very violent. On this day, how