them, in return for what they have taught me." I. 98. We hope to be excused the accusation of malice towards M. Boré, if, farther to illustrate his character, we extract the following specimen of vanity, which sufficiently establishes his claim to being entirely French. "I tried my English saddle at Pera the other day, and in cantering before the spectators, many of whom would not perhaps have disdained my talent, I praised myself over and over for having gone to Thirion's riding school. Reflecting on the thousand miles I had to ride, I said to myself, 'If you had not principles, how could you accustom yourself to horses of every kind of mouth? How could you guess their instincts and forestall their malice," " I. 133.

The route which M. Boré took, carried him along the shores of the Black Sea to Samsoon, thence to Tocat, Sivas, Erzroom, and Tebriz, deviating from his main route whenever attracted by any relics of antiquity. During a considerable part of his whole tour he was accompanied by M. Scafi, Superior of the Lazarist convent at Constantinople. The topics in his pages which would probably most arrest the attention of our readers, are his observations on the Armenians, on the Chaldeans or Nestorians, their language, history, and modern Protestant missions among them, the obviously new phase of Popery and Popish missions, and lastly the extension of French influence in those countries. We will first slightly touch on his notice of the American Catholics.

The designs of the Romanists upon the Christian races in the East, are more aimed at the Armenians than at the Greeks. They have lost nearly all hopes of gaining the latter, who are members of the "Great Orthodox Eastern Church," as they proudly designate it; and are supported by Russia, a power nearer and stronger than France. If ever they change extensively, it will be the result of the intrigues of their rulers. Catholic Armenians are also a young sect in Turkey, and the success of the past twenty years affords them great encouragement for the future. We see, therefore, that the Latin monks and priests, who have made their home in the East, carefully seek the Armenians, endeavor to establish schools for them, print books for them in various cities, on every subject; while for the Greeks they print nothing but a few books of devotion, and those too in the Roman character, although in the Greek language. Besides, the somewhat successful labors of Protestant missionaries among the Armenians, have given a piquancy

to their zeal, surpassing its ordinary degree. The monopolizing and procrustean spirit of Rome is not at all satisfied with the spirit of the Armenian Catholic clergy-they have too much nationality, and too little Romanism. M. Boré needlessly distributes them into four classes as respects their tastes and sympathies. Those educated at Rome, Venice and Vienna, Mt. Lebanon, or in Turkey, make each a party by themselves. The contests of the last fifty years between the Venice party protected by Austria, and the Ro nan or Mount Lebanon party, are every where notorious. "Those of Venice are most influential. They have the advantage over the others of a more varied education; their manners are more engaging, and they form, so to speak, the aristocratic portion of their hierarchy. Having been first to gain honor for the Armenian language and literature, they represent in their community the national party." I. 156.

We can say more plainly than M. Boré that these Mechitarist Armenians of Venice have lost favor also at Rome by the character of their publications, which are very numerous, and tend greatly to elevate the whole mass of Armenian mind. They have prepared helps for studying most of the languages of Europe, and especially for the study of the English language, which of course introduces them to a pure and uncontaminated literature. They circulate various works on morals and religion, where the appeal is made by far too much to the human. reason and too little to the authority of the church. They are also by far too willing to humor the Armenians of the standing order, in retaining all their ancient days, rites, and ceremonies. But Rome is not satisfied with allowing the large nucleus of Armenian Catholics to proselyte in the Levant in their own way, merely with the aid of her treasures. She has sent from time immemorial her own missionaries; and since the days of Pius VI., all the establishments of the Jesuits have been confided to a more modern order, the Lazarists, who, with a central station at Constantinople, have the charge of all the other missions in the East, whether in Persia, Turkey, or the countries of Russia bordering on these. We hope soon to introduce the Lazarists more particularly.

A plan in detail is given for speedily converting to the Romish faith all the Armenians of Persia. The first point to be aimed at, according to this scheme, is to obtain public protection for Romanism. This part of the plan was so effectually followed up by M. Boré, that, after obtaining imperial firmans for their schools, the Shah was obliged to issue another firman ex

pelling all Catholic missionaries from the kingdom, which took place in 1842. The second item in the plan is entitled "pecuniary assistance to relieve the unfortunate;" and under this head, 6000 francs is asked for the salary of an apostolic vicar, and 6000 francs for an interpreter and five priests, and an equal sum in presents to the civil and religious authorities, (i. e., to the Armenians of the standing order,) and to provide shoes for the children; so that more than one half of the expenses of the first year, aside from the salary of the vicar, are to be in presents. II. 476. The third point to be arrived at is, to gain possession of the lands of the three ancient Catholic convents at Isfahan. We learn from Chardin (Voyages en Perse) that in 1598 the Augustine monks began Catholic missions in Persia-and in his time, 1670, there were already convents of four other European orders at Isfahan,-the Carmelites, the Capucins, the Dominicans, and the Jesuits. Besides these, there were twelve other missionary convents in various parts of Persia. So much however has the missionary zeal of Catholics been checked from various causes, that all these establishments are now reduced to a single convent in Isfahan, inhabited by an Armenian Catholic monk, and he has a parish of about one hundred souls. "All the succeeding generations of the proselytes made by these missionaries have again become heretics," is M. Boré's confession. The Lazarists are laboring to put things on a better footing; but unless all their efforts are assiduously followed up, their success will be destitute of permanence. One corrupt doctrine laboring by the side of another will always have but a feeble hold, unless the proselyters are at hand with peculiar incentives to faith.

We are glad to be able to justify the wisdom of the American Board in having established a station at Erzroom, which M. Boré says "has become the most important town of all Armenia, by its favorable situation on the borders of the Ot toman and Persian empires." The next place to which he directs our attention, as well as that of the Catholics, is Vau. "The first positions to seize upon are Trebizonde, Erzroom, Tocat, and especially Vau." II. 287. He calculates the whole number of Catholics in Georgia, Persia, and Turkey, evidently from the reports of those who wished to please him. He carries their number up to 3,621 families, and is very severe on Messrs. Smith and Dwight because they could find so few. Yet we have his own confession cited above, which confirms their testimony, and also his admission, that whereas in 1750 there

were 450 Catholic families in Erzroom, there are not now forty. I. 396. We think this notice of the diminution of the Papal forces is important. While we may be alarmed by the display of their present zeal, or by modern triumphs, we may console ourselves by their having run out and disappeared in places where they were formerly in vigor.

Of all the subjects which engaged the ardor and the zeal of M. Boré, there is no one on which he dwells more largely than the state of the Chaldean or Nestorian church: and we shall therefore be excused, if we give it the same relative proportion in our notice of his travels. Let us accompany him, therefore, on his visit to the plain of Oroomiah, and hear his tirades and calumnies on the labors of the American Protestant missionaries there. Who would wonder that a man filled with a mere spirit of proselytism, and only some feeble desires for the general amelioration of the human race, should be filled with gall and bitterness, at finding a field of wheat, where he had imagined none would dream of reaping but his own party, already occupied by men whom he regards as "thieves and murderers," and who find the field white even for the harvest? Listen then, without surprise, to his impudent wholesale scandal of our missionaries, which none could believe but a Romanist, trained up in the same course of conduct as that which he charges upon them. We shall quote not a tithe of the whole, but enough to more than substantiate a charge of wilful falsehood on the writer.

"The Protestant mission established at Oroomiah, limits its exertions to buying men's consciences with gold." "They gain no proselytes but by the aid of silver." "The enterprising and commercial spirit of the Americans is well known; but it is not so well known, that these propagandists have mingled with the religion which they bring the financial element, and that money is the nerve and the instrument of all their operations.' "The whole expense of the mission amounts to 100,000 francs a year." II. 59, etc.

"They are anticipating aid from an Armenian as a French teacher, whom they have gained over to their belief, or rather who, like themselves, believes nothing." "When the Nestorians asked them for their faith, they said, we believe in God; Their creed was as short as this one article. When they were asked what they believed about Christ, the missionaries stammered out an answer which seemed to harmonize with the confesSECOND SERIES, VOL. XI. NO. I. 3

sions of the Nestorians, and they rejoiced." "These Protestant missionaries, already arrived at Deism, deny at the bottom of their hearts the divinity of Christ, although the confession of this mystery just expires on their lips. The Nestorians believe in every thing which the Americans deny; they practise whatever the latter reject. The negation of a creed does not constitute one." II. 324, 350.

"The mission determined to give a pension to all the Nestorian bishops, or rather to buy their adhesion to the school, and to pay each scholar twenty-five cents a week and more as the child should grow older." "They have forbidden them to make the sign of the cross." II. 353, 352.

It is not necessary to ask for explanations from our missionaries, to refute these and similar charges. We know too well their Christian character to seek for their denials. As to the amount of money expended, we see, by a report of the American Board for 1838, that for the numerous members of the mission there, and all their operations, there was expended but a third of one hundred thousand francs; so that M. Boré's estimate is three times too large. Three bishops have at different times been partially in their employ as teachers and translators only, and the laborer is worthy of his hire. There are now forty schools supported by the mission, in only one of which is any allowance made to the scholars, namely the Boarding Charity School. Of course the poor children of this school, who find their own clothes, must have food to eat; and they, like indigent students in America, receive food gratuitously, being allowed a sum which approaches nearer, if we are not misinformed, twenty-five cents a month, than twenty-five cents a week. M. Boré is too well educated not to fully know the doctrines of the Protestants; and the very tract against Popery which they have circulated, and of which he gives a translation at the close of his work, is a sufficient testimony of their orthodox faith. He calls it a Protestant libel; but while we wonder, we thank him for having given a translation of a valuable Scripture argument against Romanism, for the benefit of his French readers.

M. Boré gives a detailed account of his troubles with Mar Gabriel of Ardisher, where he wished to establish a school. The bishop was not a Catholic, but, won by promises of money, (which promises M. Boré admits he had made,) he gave his consent for the school. The Nestorians succeeded in getting the proposed school stopped. By means of presents M. Boré