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goose of a saint I know not, unless they intended to intimate to their disciples, thatwhoever becomes a Romish devotee must begin by parting with his understanding.”
Another instance of superstition may be noticed in connexion with the Abbey ofEinsiedeln , of which Murray has given a full account, as well as of the ceremonies of arecent jubilee. To take only a fragment of the narrative, he says: “ This place isannually visited by many thousand pilgrims, especially on the 14tlx September, and when-ever the 14th falls on a Sunday, the festivities are greater than usual. For the last tendays, even before we left Baden, and while in the French territory, wo have met atalmost every step troops of pilgrims plodding on their way to this Swiss Loretto . Theparties seemed generally members of one family, or of one village, from the similarity oftheir dress, and they were invariably repeating their aves and paternosters aloud as theypassed along, or uniting together in singing a hymn. They consisted almost entirely ofthe lower class of peasants, who repair to this spot from both far and wide. Alsatia andLorraine, the Black Forest, Suabia, the Grisons, Bavaria, and the whole of Switzerland ,all contribute their quota to augment the throng. The average resort annually, betweenthe years 1820 and 1840, was one hundred and fifty thousand.”
Very few parishes have more than one Protestant minister. There is no Swiss national church; but in each canton, that formula of doctrine and order which hasseemed best to the ruling powers has been established by public sanction. In respect ofdoctrine there is no great difference, so far as creeds go, between the different cantonalchurches, almost all of them holding professedly by the ancient Helvetic Confession ; andin point of order they are more or less strictly conformed to the Presbyterian model,though in some cases with a slight infusion of the episcopal element, and in others withcertain leanings to the congregational system. Thus, as respects the appointment ofthe ministers, in some cantons the choice rests exclusively with the people, who havopower to appoint and power to remove, independent of any superior control; in othercantons the government nominates the clergy, and the people have not a veto on theappointment; in other cases, the people send up a list to the government, with whomthe final appointment rests; in some cases a right of interference belongs to the body ofclergy already in office ; and in one case, that of Neuchatel , the clerical body absorb theentire power, subject only to the supervision of the King of Prussia , who never interfereswith their movements. For the most part, the Presbyterian parity is preserved amongstthe clergy, the office of doyen, which is the highest rank among them, being simply thatof primus inter pares, the first among equals, and lasting but for one year at a time inthe case of each occupant. In the canton of Bale, however, some vestiges of the Episcopalsubordination aro retained ; the first minister of the minster church in the city of Bale,holding a certain official pre-eminence amongst his brethren; and his colleague, thesecond minister, bearing the title of archidiaconus, or archdeacon. The tenure by whichthe ministers hold their parishes is also very different in different'cantons, some beingelected for life, or until any fault worthy of deposition is committed; others for a termof years, and others from week to week.
“ In the mountain districts,” says Dr. W. L. Alexander, “ Catholicism appears in muchthe same guise as it bore before the Reformation : it is the religion of an honest, untu-tored, and superstitious race, who receive it in all its integrity, submit to it with undis-guised sincerity, and regard with horror all who would calf it in question. In the Italianstates there is more of astuteness, more of mere formalism, less depth of feeling andsincerity of devotion, but not less of bigotry or ignorance. In the French cantonsCatholicism appears under a more cosmopolitan guise; it is the religion of a peopleacquainted with letters, accustomed to the usages of cultivated society, apt to be assailedby arguments directed against their faith, and consequently more versed in crafty devicesand plausible reasonings. The Jesuits , who ever since the foundation of their order have